Waiting for Communion: Adult Mission Story for November 9, 2024

By Andrew McChesney

Katrina was overjoyed when she heard that a Seventh-day Adventist church was opening in Page, Arizona. There were no Adventist churches near her home on the Navajo Reservation, and she had not taken part in communion for 20 years.

On the first Sabbath, the elderly woman sought out the church pastor after the sermon. “I have not had communion for more than 20 years,” she said. “When can we have communion?”

Pastor James raised his hands helplessly. “We don’t have the equipment for it now right,” he said.

In reality, the church didn’t have much of anything. It was a miracle that the church even had a building. If a denomination wants a church in Page, it has to buy an existing church building. All churches stand on the same street in Page, and there is no place to build a new church. The Adventist Church managed to buy the Page church building from another denomination with the help of a Thirteenth Sabbath Offering. When Pastor James arrived, however, he found that the church needed major repairs and lacked basic equipment, including items for communion.

But Katrina was determined to participate in communion. “I’ll see what I can do about it,” she said. “What do we need?”

The pastor said the church needed basins for foot-washing.

“When I get my next Social Security check, I’ll go to the store and buy basins,” Katrina said.

Sure enough, when she received her next Social Security check, she went to the store and found white plastic basins. There were six on the shelf, and she bought them all. The next Sabbath, she brought them to church and gave them to the pastor’s wife, Nancy.

“Here’s some, and I’ll be getting you some more when I receive my next check,” she said.

Nancy was touched, and she exclaimed, “Thank you!”

Pastor James and Nancy also wanted to celebrate communion at the church. But with a need for urgent repairs and basic equipment, it was challenging for them to know how to prioritize their limited funds.

Every time Katrina received a Social Security check, she bought all the white plastic basins that were on the store shelf. Usually, there were six. Then she brought them to church and gave them to the pastor’s wife. Sometimes she took money from her husband’s pension payments to help buy the basins. He was Navajo and didn’t go to church, but he didn’t mind helping out.

It took three months for Katrina to buy enough basins.

When she brought the last basins to church, she said to the pastor, “I’ve brought enough basins. So can we now have communion?”

Pastor James thanked her for her generosity. “But,” he said, “we don’t have towels.” Towels were needed to dry feet after washing them in the basins.

“I’ll see what we can do about that,” Katrina said.

When her next Social Security check arrived, she bought enough white towels for everyone to participate in communion.

Then she went to the pastor.

“Here are the towels,” she said. “Now can we have communion?”

The pastor again thanked her for her generosity. “But we have to get communion trays,” he said.

Katrina didn’t know how to find those. So, she said, “When can we get some? I can donate more money.”

Shortly afterward, another Adventist church donated a communion set, and the Page All Nations Seventh-day Adventist Church had everything needed for communion. The pastor’s wife made communion bread, and Katrina and other church-goers celebrated communion for the first time at the Page All Nations Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Katrina was delighted! She thanked the Lord profusely.

“I have always loved communion,” she told Adventist Mission. “When you participate, you let Jesus know how much you love Him and appreciate the help that He has given you.”

Thank you for your 2011 Thirteenth Sabbath Offering that helped plant the Page All Nations Seventh-day Adventist Church, where this story took place. Thank you for planning a generous Thirteenth Sabbath Offering this quarter to further the spread of the gospel in the North American Division.