The Seventh-Day Adventist Community
We live in a Seventh-Day Adventist community. Most of our neighbors are Seventh-day Adventists, and they are very good neighbors to be with. We learned from them not only the spiritual things about God but the healthy lifestyle as well.
Way back in 1996, we bought a lot in this community. It was a little bit cheaper then. We constructed our house on September, and by January 1997, we started to live here until now.
My wife and I like the place very much. Our home is abundantly supplied with cool fresh air throughout the day. It faces the east, where tall trees from a nearby academy supply the fresh air every day even during summer.
Besides the good location, the place is very conducive for the study of our children. The academy is near to our home – we are just a few meters away behind its concrete fences. My daughter and her classmates just take a walk when going to school, and there is no need to take a ride.
We like our neighbors too. They are Seventh-Day Adventists who faithfully keep the seventh-day sabbath. We like their worship time everyday. We could hear beautiful melodious songs from our neighbors as they worship every morning. It is very nice listening to praise songs and hymns – it lifts up our soul to God! In the evening, they have their worship too. We could hear the whole family sing songs of praise to the Lord, and see them kneel together in prayer.
Our neighbors are kind and helpful too. Whenever we have problem, whether spiritual or financial, they are ever ready to help us. They would serenade us at dawn whenever one member of our family celebrates his or her birthday. What a joy and happiness to be serenaded on our natal day!
Every Friday afternoon, at 2 p.m., our Seventh-Day Adventist neighbors stop from all their secular works. It is their Day of Preparation for the holy sabbath. As soon as the sun sets on Friday, they stop from all their works to keep the sabbath holy. During Friday nights, at 7:30 up to 8:30 in the evening, they go to church to worship and pray. The following day, Saturday, they go to church again to worship the Lord throughout the day until the end of the sabbath hours when the sun has fully set. They are sabbath keepers, and they are called Seventh-Day Adventists because they keep the seventh-day sabbath, which is Saturday, and are waiting for the Second Advent or coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
These are the beautiful traits of our neighbors that have win us over to Seventh-Day Adventism. Their way of worship, and their healthy lifestyle are the best presence evangelism that effectively converted us. So, in August 1999, after completing the required Bible studies, we were baptized – the whole family: me, my wife, and the children, including my mother-in-law. And by God’s amazing grace, we have remained faithful Seventh-Day Adventists up to this day.