Furious Father: Adult Mission Story for July 12, 2025

By Andrew McChesney

Dad was furious when he found Tanya’s baptismal certificate in her bedroom in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

Tanya’s Bible was lying on the dresser, and the certificate was under it. Father came to her bedroom to get some hand lotion, and his eyes happened to fall on the Bible. When he picked it up, he saw the baptismal certificate underneath.

“I’m going to beat you!” Father roared.

Picking up the baptismal certificate, he tore it into tiny pieces.

Tanya, who was 17, watched in horror. Then tears began to flow down her cheeks.

“I won’t go to church anymore,” she cried.

Mom came running to the room.

“Let her go to church,” she said. “It doesn’t matter.”

Dad still wanted to beat Tanya.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he stalked out of the house and didn’t return for two days.

When Dad did come back, he didn’t say anything about what had happened.

Tanya couldn’t understand what was going on. She had expected him to reprimand her again or maybe try to beat her.

Tanya had been sneaking out to church on Sabbath for the past year. Her grandmother, who had raised her, was a Seventh-day Adventist. But her grandmother had died a year ago, and Tanya had moved in with her parents.

Dad didn’t like Adventists. Mom had been raised Adventist but had stopped going to church because of Dad. When Tanya returned home, Dad told her that she could go to any church except the Adventist Church. He didn’t say why.

But Tanya loved the Adventist Church. She loved the seventh-day Sabbath. She couldn’t imagine not worshiping God in church on Sabbath.

Many weekends, Dad was out of town because he was a professional rugby player. So, when Dad was away, Tanya went to church on the Sabbaths. But when Dad was at home, she stayed at home. Mom knew that she was going to church but didn’t go with her or tell Dad about it.

Tanya got baptized while Dad was out of town playing rugby.

Then Dad found and destroyed the baptismal certificate.

Dad didn’t say anything about finding the baptismal certificate under Tanya’s Bible for three months.

But he made an effort to be at home on Sabbaths and to prevent Tanya from going to church. On Sabbath mornings, he said, “Let’s hope that you aren’t going to church today.” Then he gave her errands to run so that she was busy all morning.

Tanya prayed for those three months. “God,” she said, “make it possible for me to go to church.”

Then one Sabbath morning, Tanya woke up and prayed again, “God, make it possible for me to go to church.”

As she finished the prayer, Mom came into the bedroom and said, “Go tell your dad that you are going to church today and see how he reacts.”

Tanya was surprised but agreed to try.

Going to Dad, she said, “I’m going to church today.”

He didn’t get angry. He didn’t send her on an errand. Instead, he simply said, “OK.”

Now Tanya really was surprised! She hadn’t expected that from him. She went to church.

Tanya was so happy to be back in church! She thanked God for answering her prayers.

A year has passed since Tanya returned to church. Dad knows that she is going every Sabbath and doesn’t mind.

Now Tanya has a new prayer request. She is praying for Dad and Mom to go to church with her. She is praying, “God, please help my parents.”

Just as God answered her first prayer to go to church on Sabbath, she is sure that God will answer her second prayer for the salvation of her parents.

Tanya is fortunate to have her own Bible where she can learn about God, but many children in Zimbabwe live in families that cannot afford to buy Bibles for them. One of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath projects will provide Adventurer’s Bibles to needy families in Zimbabwe and other countries in the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division. Thank you for planning a generous offering on September 27.