Two Best Friends
By Chifundo Kanjo
Bahadu Ibrahim was born to non-Christian parents who expected him to follow their faith in central Malawi. He had no problem with that because he did not know any other religion.
Image © Pacific Press
But then an older brother married a Seventh-day Adventist woman and joined the Adventist Church. As a teen, Bahadu was sent by his parents to live with his brother and his wife in Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe. When Sabbath came, his brother expected him to go to church with them. Bahadu did not want to go, but he felt like he had no choice. For two years, he went to church every Sabbath out of a sense of duty.
Returning to his parents in Kaluluma village, he thought to forget the Bible. But he made friends with another teenager who happened to be an Adventist. Bahadu admired his new friend very much for his kindness and gentleness. Everyone in the village admired the young man and spoke highly of him.
One Sabbath, the friend invited Bahadu to go to church. What could Bahadu do? He went. He was glad to spend time with his best friend, even in church. As time passed, their friendship grew, and Bahadu listened to his friend explain that the seventh day was the true Sabbath of God. His friend gave him books to read. Little by little, he understood new truths about God and the Sabbath. However, he was not convinced that Saturday was the true Sabbath. Without his parents’ knowledge, he decided to compare the Bible with his family’s traditional religious book. As he read, he discovered that his family’s religious book contained only one woman’s name, Maryam, the mother of Jesus. He also discovered that Jesus is Lord. Bahadu decided to give his heart to Jesus in baptism. He no longer went to church out of sense of duty. He went to spend special time with his new Best Friend.
After Bahadu’s baptism, his parents disowned him and stopped paying his high-school fees, leaving him unable to graduate with the rest of his class. Both of his parents died without accepting his decision, and many relatives continue to treat him with hostility today. But Bahadu has not wavered in his faith. “This is the best decision that I have ever made,” he said. Today, he is a student at Malawi Adventist University, studying to become a pastor.
Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. Find more mission stories at adventistmission[dot]org
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