Without Money, Boy Has Gift for God in Kyrgyzstan

Ten-year-old Vitaly lacks money, but he has a good memory.

By Andrew McChesney, Adventist Mission

Every Sabbath, boys and girls gather for the children’s story at the front of a Seventh-day Adventist church in Tokmok, Kyrgyzstan.

After the story, the storyteller asks, “Did anyone memorize a Bible verse this week?” Hands fly up as children who memorized a Bible verse take turns holding the microphone and reciting the Bible verse for the whole congregation to hear.

Every Sabbath for the past year, a 10-year-old boy named Vitaly has raised his hand to share a Bible verse.

Asked why he memorizes a Bible verse every week, Vitaly smiled shyly and said, “I memorize verses as a gift to God.”

Every Sabbath, the Sabbath School teacher tells the children, “God gives us many gifts. What gift do you have for God today?”

God has given Vitaly many gifts. He lives with his grandparents, whom he loves. He has a safe home, a warm bed, and a few toys. And he goes to a good school. But Vitaly doesn’t have any money to give as an offering to God. For a long time, he wondered what gift he could give God. Vitaly knows that he has a good memory, so he decided to memorize a verse from the Bible every week. When he told his Sabbath School teacher about his idea, she said this would be a wonderful gift for God.

On Sabbath after church, an Adventist Mission writer asked Vitaly to share the Bible text that he had memorized as a gift to God that week. He recited Luke 1:68, “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people.”

Vitaly is one of six children who go to the Adventist church in Kyrgyzstan every Sabbath, even though no one in their families is Adventist. The children stand outside their homes on Sabbath morning and wait for the Sabbath School teacher to pick them up in her car. After church, the Sabbath School teacher drives them home.

These children like church so much that they go every week, no matter what. When it snows a lot and other children want to stay in their warm homes, these children go to church. When the weather is warm and other children want to play outside, Vitaly goes to church. The church’s pastor is surprised that these children are so faithful about going to church. He said he knows children from Adventist families who complain on Sabbath morning and say, “Mommy, I want to stay home. I don’t feel like going to church today.”

In fact, little Vitaly loves church so much that he told his half-brother, who lives in another part of town, about Sabbath School, and now his half-brother goes to church every Sabbath, too.

Vitaly also loves his school. He studies in the fourth grade at Heritage Christian School, an Adventist school in Tokmok, Kyrgyzstan, that is named after Psalm 127:3, which says, “Children are a heritage from the Lord.” Heritage Christian School will receive part of the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering in fourth quarter 2017 to expand so more children like Vitaly can study there. Thank you for your mission offerings.