Strange Noises at Night: Adult Mission Story for May 24, 2025

By Andrew McChesney

Shortly after James moved into his rented house, a next-door couple informed him that it was haunted.

“There are spirits living in your house,” said the husband.

“We have heard them many times at night, and we can’t sleep,” added the wife.

The couple spoke about hearing unusual voices, mysterious footsteps, and strange objects being dropped on the floor at night.

James felt funny when he heard the reports about spirits. No one had lived in the house for quite some time, but he wasn’t worried. He was a student missionary and didn’t fear haunted houses or restless spirits. He had read in the Bible that the dead are sleeping in the ground until Jesus wakes them up, and he was sure God would protect him from any unexplainable noises.

James thanked the couple for coming over.

“I haven’t experienced anything like that,” he said.

James and a fellow student missionary had moved into the small wooden house for their one year of service on a remote island in the Philippines. The house was painted light gray, and it had a green roof. James slept in the bedroom, and the other missionary slept in the living room. The kitchen and bathroom were outside. No one in the community, including James and his friend, had electricity or running water. To charge their cell phones, they paid 10 pesos (about 17 U.S. cents) to hook them up to a generator at night. The town’s mayor lived on the same street.

The island was mostly populated by non-Christians. But Christians lived on the island as well, and James’ mission assignment was to reach out to former Adventists. He was to meet them and to seek to renew their faith.

The next-door couple who spoke about spooky spirits belonged to another Christian denomination. Even though they weren’t Adventist and therefore part of the assignment, James and his friend tried to reach out to them by offering Bible studies. But the couple refused. They wouldn’t even accept a religious booklet.

So, James and his friend decided to share their daily devotions with the neighbors. They reasoned that if the walls of their house were so thin that the neighbors could hear strange noises at night, then the neighbors surely could hear their morning and evening devotions. The neighbors’ house also had thin walls, so the two missionaries could hear when the couple was awake. They timed their devotions accordingly. When they sang, they sang with all their hearts. When they read the Bible, they spoke loudly enough to be heard by a crowd.

James prayed for the couple’s salvation.

As the months passed, James didn’t notice anything unusual about his rented house. He didn’t sense any strange presence when he was alone. He didn’t hear any strange noises. The only sounds at night came from crickets, frogs, and other nocturnal creatures of God.

James and his friend spent the year praying with and encouraging former Adventists. They rejoiced to see the small community grow in its faith.

Baptisms were not part of the mission assignment but, as James and his friend wrapped up their stay, two young people asked to be baptized. James was stunned. Both young people came from non-Adventist homes, and he thanked God for touching their hearts.

As for the next-door couple, James couldn’t tell if the loud singing and Bible discussions had had any impact. But as he prepared to leave, the couple begged him to stay.

“We have been able to sleep peacefully at night after you guys moved in,” the husband said.

“Please stay,” the wife said.

At that moment, James realized that God really was working on their hearts.

Pray for the precious people of the Philippines, and especially unreached people groups in remote areas. Pray also for the missionaries who are trying to reach them with life-saving truth. James went to the island as part of the 1000 Missionary Movement, an organization that is part of the Southern Asia-Pacific Division, the recipient of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering. The 1000 Missionary Movement seeks to train and send 1,000 missionaries across the division every year. The 1000 Missionary Movement center where James was trained to be a missionary was constructed near the Philippine capital, Manila, with the assistance of a Thirteenth Sabbath Offering in 1996. Thank you for planning a generous Thirteenth Sabbath Offering for the Southern Asia-Pacific Division on June 28.