INDONESIA Story by Andrew McChesney, Office of Adventist Mission
Animation by Diogo Godoy
Anita’s Sabbath Adventure “Happy Sabbath!” A voice cut through the darkness. Anita stirred in her bed. “Rise and shine, Sunshine!” her father said, poking his head into the door of Anita’s bedroom. It was four o’clock in the morning. Anita’s eyes popped open. It was time to get up! After breakfast, Anita put on her favorite Sabbath dress. Then she slipped her bare feet into flip-flops. Anita gave her Sabbath shoes to her mother to put in a bag. Now she was ready for the trip to church. Anita climbed into the back seat of the family’s white van. Her father slid behind the wheel, and Pastor Kamu sat in the seat beside him. Anita’s mother sat with her in the back, and five university students joined them. Her parents traveled to new churches in Indonesia to speak about Jesus nearly every Sabbath.
At five o’clock, the van left the campus of Mount Klabat College (Klabat University), the Seventh-day Adventist school in Indonesia where Anita’s father and mother taught as missionaries. The sky was dark, and few cars were on the street. But her father still had to be careful as he drove. He steered around sleeping dogs and sometimes had to stop for cows crossing the road. Anita slept on her mother’s lap.
About an hour and a half later, Anita awoke as the van came to a stop. She liked this part of the trip to church. She and the others boarded a small motorboat, and soon they were cruising on the ocean. Anita looked across the dark-blue water. Light was just beginning to crack on the horizon as the sun rose. Warm, humid air rushed against her cheeks as the boat navigated gentle waves.
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