Inside Story

“We Like to Help”

A mother with three little girls walked up the road to Iolanda’s home. Iolanda lived in Belo Jaridin, a Brazilian city with 80,000 people.

Iolanda stood at the door of her home. She saw the mother and her little girls coming. Iolanda’s house was on a busy street. People often came to her door to ask for help. As the mother and children walked up the road, Iolanda gave rice and beans to a stranger. The man came to her house for some food. Iolanda was sure the woman and her daughters also needed her help. So, Iolanda waited at the door after the stranger left.

When the mother and girls came to the door, Iolanda looked at the children’s feet.

Iolanda asked, “Why are your children barefoot?”

The woman explained that her 8-year-old daughter’s shoes broke. So, the mother asked her 4- and 6-year-old daughters to remove their shoes so their older sister wouldn’t feel ashamed.

Iolanda said, “I’ll get a pair of shoes and some snacks.”

Iolanda went into the house. Soon she came back with shoes and food. She served her guests crackers, cookies, and water.

The girls smiled with joy. One of the girls asked, “May we call you Grandma?”

The mother was surprised at Iolanda’s care for her and her daughters. The mother asked, “Why are you helping us?”

Iolanda said, “I’m a Christian from the Seventh-day Adventist Church. We like to help people. I sew clothes for children. Church members bring me many gifts. So, I have lots of shoes and clothes.”

The mother said, “I want to be part of your church. I want to study the Bible with you, too.”

A year later, the mother was baptized and joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Iolanda Xavier is an 86-year-old great-grandmother. Iolanda believes that we should obey Jesus’ command, “ ‘So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey everything that I have told you to do. You can be sure that I will be with you always. I will continue with you until the end of time’ ” ( Matthew 28:19, 20, ERV 📖 ).

Iolanda says, “Serving God and doing His work are very important. God gives us new life to work for Him.”

Part of last quarter’s 13th Sabbath Offering went to start a church at Pernambuco Adventist school. The school is near the house where Iolanda lives in the state of Pernambuco in Brazil. Thank you for your offering this quarter. Watch a YouTube show about Iolanda at: https://bit.ly/Iolanda-IS .

Provided by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission, which uses Sabbath School mission offerings to spread the gospel worldwide. Read new stories daily at https://AdventistMission.org .