Support for the mission activities of the Seventh-day Adventist church has always been part of the Sabbath School program. This video is Mission Spotlight for this week.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llWolG1RNSo&w=560&h=315]

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/mission-spotlight-for-february-4/

Troubled Boy to Church Elder

By Sheron Ndhlovu

Edmond was a troubled child in Mzuzu, Malawi. He refused to obey his parents, teachers, or any other adult. At school, he hit the other boys and even the teachers. He gained such a fearful reputation that children and adults alike were scared of him.

Image © Pacific Press

One day, Edmond decided that it would be fun to disrupt the Pathfinder club. He took his unruly friends to Chasefu Seventh-day Adventist Church, and they mocked the marching and singing Pathfinders. Edmond enjoyed seeing the Pathfinders react, so he and his friends returned week after week.

But as the weeks passed, Edmond became interested in Pathfinder activities. He wanted to know more about what the children were doing and what they believed. When the church organized evangelistic meetings at Mzuzu Stadium, he decided to go, but he did not tell his friends for fear that they would laugh at him. He also did not tell his parents, who belonged to another Christian denomination, because he worried that they might punish him.

At the meetings, Edmond fell in love with the God of heaven and the Lord of the seventh-day Sabbath. Even though he was afraid that the Adventist children and adults whom he had mistreated so terribly would reject him, he summoned up the courage and gave his heart to Jesus in baptism.

His parents found out about the baptism four months later, and they immediately disowned the boy. Edmond stayed in the homes of church members, and they taught him more about the Bible until he became well-versed in its teachings. He also worked odd jobs to pay required fees so he could stay in school. Three years passed. Edmond’s parents saw that he was faithful to God. They saw that he had become a new creature in Christ, and they asked him to return home.

Today, Edmond Tchiri is married to an Adventist wife, and they have two sons. He also serves as an elder at Chasefu Seventh-day Adventist Church, the place where he used to torment the Pathfinders. He says that only God could have transformed the troubled schoolboy into a church elder. “Never look down on children, no matter how bad-behaved they may be,” he said.

Thank you for your 2021 Thirteenth Sabbath Offering that is helping to construct a community outreach and leadership development center on the Mzuzu campus of Malawi Adventist University, so more boys and girls, men and women, can learn about the transforming power of Jesus in Edmond’s hometown and beyond in the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division. This quarter’s offering will support six more educational projects in the neighboring East-Central Africa Division.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. Find more mission stories at adventistmission[dot]org

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/inside-story-troubled-boy-to-church-elder/

Further Thought:

 The three-step process of debt elimination is actually found on one page of Ellen G. White’s writings. Emphasis has been added to highlight the points.

“Be determined never to incur another debt. Deny yourself a thousand things rather than run in debt.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

This has been the curse of your life, getting into debt. Avoid it as you would the smallpox.

Make a solemn covenant with God that by His blessing you will pay your debts and then owe no man anything if you live on porridge and bread. … Do not falter, be discouraged, or turn back. Deny your taste, deny the indulgence of appetite, save your pence and pay your debts.

Work them off as fast as possible. When you can stand forth a free man again, owing no man anything, you will have achieved a great victory.” — Counsels on Stewardship, p. 257.

If you need additional help to become debt-free, try these points:

Establish a budget. Make a simple budget by keeping a record of all your income and expenses/purchases over a period of three months. Many are surprised to learn how much money they spend on unnecessary items.

Destroy credit cards. Credit cards are one of the major causes of family indebtedness. They are so easy to use and so hard to pay off. If you find that you aren’t paying off the cards in total each month, or that you are using them to purchase items that you would not otherwise have bought, you should destroy your credit cards before they destroy you or your marriage or both.

Begin economic measures. Sometimes we aren’t aware of how much we could save on our monthly expenses just by being careful about some of the small things that we purchase. They quickly add up.

Discussion Questions:

<–Thursday

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/friday-further-thought-dealing-with-debt/

Join It Is Written Sabbath School host Eric Flickinger and this quarter’s author, G. Edward Reid, as they provide additional insights into this Quarter’s Sabbath School lessons, “Managing for the Master, Till He Comes”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPLsYgSpVdM&w=560&h=315]

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/5-dealing-with-debt-it-is-written-discussions-with-the-author/

Key Thought: Today a much larger number of the people are in debt. We will consider the reasons for debt and how to deal with it.
February 4, 2023

1. Have a volunteer read Deuteronomy 28:1,2,12

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. What is God’s ideal for His children regarding debt?
3. Personal Application: How can we attain to this ideal concerning debt What principles can we apply to ourselves today? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “Everybody’s in debt. The government’s in debt so far, they’ll never be able to pay it back. In order to buy a house, a car, things for the house, and recreation; you have to go into debt. I think it is okay as long as you don’t go overboard.” How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read Matthew 6:24, I John 2:15, Psalm 50:14,15.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What is the common theme found in these verses? What attitude should people live with?
3. Personal Application: What does it mean to “pay your vows”? Are there examples of paying or not paying vows in the Scripture? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “Working hard to earn a good living doesn’t seem to me to be the same thing as making money or wealth an idol. What do you think? Is it the same, or is there a difference?.” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Proverbs 6:1-5, 17:18, 22:26.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this passage is.
2. What is the message in these passages?
   (Note: Studies show that 75% of cosigners end up making the payments on the loans,)
3. Personal Application: In what ways are those who borrow under bondage to the lender? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your neighbors states: “Nobody’s going to take advantage of me, If anyone borrows from me; I charge them interest and double it if they don’t pay on time. That way I make money and insure that I get paid on time.” How would you respond to your relative?

4. Have a volunteer read Deuteronomy 15:1-5.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What challenges do you see in lending money to someone, or in borrowing money from someone, especially a friend or relative
3. Personal Application: Have you ever lent money to someone? How fair and kind were you in your dealings with them? How responsible were they? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared.”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/5-dealing-with-debt-teaching-plan/