Living for God: Adult Mission Story for May 16, 2026

By Gina Wahlen

This story is an update on a previous Thirteenth Sabbath Offering, also known as the Quarterly Mission Project Offering.

Mary was born without hearing in Kenya. Her parents died when she was very young, and a kindly uncle raised her.

The uncle wanted Mary to have an education. But when the girl went to public school, she couldn’t understand what the teachers were saying. She couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

Her uncle searched for a long time to find a school for children who are deaf. He found several, but they charged tuition. He was a maize farmer, and he couldn’t afford to pay tuition. He had trouble just feeding Mary and the rest of the family.

Then the uncle went to a camp meeting with Mary when the girl was seven years old. While there, a pastor saw Mary and advised the uncle to send her to a Seventh-day Adventist boarding school for deaf children.

The uncle liked the idea, but it seemed like a dream. They lived far from Mwata Adventist School for Deaf Children and lacked money for bus fare and tuition. However, the uncle wanted the girl to learn. So, he sold enough maize to buy bus tickets to travel to the school.

At the school, the principal welcomed Mary and told her uncle not to worry about tuition and other costs. He showed Mary the dormitory where she would stay with the other girls during the school year.

Mary said goodbye to her uncle and quickly immersed herself into a new life. She liked having friends who also were deaf. She liked having enough food to eat every day. She especially liked learning about God. Every morning, a teacher read a Bible verse before the start of classes. Mary loved John 3:16, which says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (NKJV).

As she learned to read, she wanted to be given a chance to read the daily Bible verse.

“Let me read the verse today, Teacher,”
she said.

And she read it.

A year passed. Two years. Three years. She saw that God was faithful to her. She reflected on her old life and understood that God was giving her an education and had a future. She decided to give her heart to Jesus and be baptized.

“I’m going to live for God,” she told the school principal.

Today, Mary is 13 years old. She has studied at the school for six years, and she is living for God. These days, she does much more than read the daily Bible verse. She prepares sermons and preaches at the school’s church or at other churches on Sabbath. She loves to preach about the Jesus who will return one day soon and give hearing to all who love Him.

“Although I am deaf, I have heard Jesus,” she said.

Part of a 2023 offering went to help expand Mwata Adventist School for Deaf Children in Kenya with the construction of a new dormitory for the boys and girls and a multipurpose hall with a modern kitchen and dining area. Previously, the children ate in an open field, and their food was cooked over an open fire in a makeshift kitchen built of iron sheeting. Thank you for your generosity, which is helping share Jesus’ love with the children at Mwata Adventist School for Deaf Children and beyond. One of the mission projects for this quarter is another school, Merisho Advent Community Nursery School, that also teaches children about God in Kenya. Thank you for giving to this important project.