Precel, her leg crushed when a motorcycle ran into their tricycle (motorcycle with sidecar), was in serious pain, and after surgery, she was incapacitated for many months. She worried about how this would affect her ministry to children. For every Sabbath, it was typical for Precel and her husband Jun to go to outlying areas and transport children to the church they led so they could attend Sabbath School. Before returning them to their homes, she would feed them a nutritious meal. On Sabbath afternoons, Precel and her husband would drive 30 minutes to a tribal gathering house in a faraway village, where again, she and her husband would teach songs and Bible stories to children. Sometimes adults would also come, and out of that group, several took Bible studies and gave their lives to Christ.

When a group further up the mountain from the tribal house requested studies because their daughter had been baptized, they also embraced the truth and eventually formed a company of believers.*

All these outreaches require a lot of stamina and energy for a healthy person, but with a broken leg, Precel worried how things would carry on without her. But they did, though she was sorely missed. For many months, she missed being able to go to church because she could not access the church-on-stilts. Slowly but surely, she has been able to resume her responsibilities. Now, about two years later, I see her again climbing the ladder to church and clambering the hills—perhaps more slowly, perhaps with a slight limp, but with an undaunted desire to reach children for Jesus.

*I visited this company of believers last Sabbath, and what a joy to see the transformation that has taken place in the six months since their baptism. When I first visited, they were just listening to stories. Now they have a growing faith and confidence in God’s goodness, and the children’s outreach at the tribal house has over 25 in attendance, with several adults, too!

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