A New Church for Jamesi
Jamesi felt different here than he did at their other church.
A true story from Fiji.
Jamesi walked out to the small fenced area where his family kept the pigs. “Here you go, pigs!” He tossed them some food, and the pigs snorted happily.
Then Jamesi carried clean water bottles to the tap outside. Cold water gushed into the bottle as he turned on the tap. Feeding the pigs and getting water for his family was how he helped every day.
“Jamesi!” Mom called. “Ready for church?”
Jamesi shut off the water tap and carried the last heavy bottle inside. “I am now!”
Every Sunday Jamesi’s family went to a Christian church in their town. He liked learning about Jesus Christ.
Soon Jamesi and his younger sisters, Unaisi and Marama, were walking with the rest of their family to church. A few stray chickens clucked in the street.
But when they got there, the doors were closed. “I forgot that the church is closed this week and next week since the pastor is gone,” Dad said.
“Is there another church we can go to?” asked Jamesi. He would be sad to not have church this week.
Dad thought for a moment. “Yes,” he said. “I think I know one.”
Jamesi and his family followed Dad back to their house. They all got into their small wooden boat at the edge of the river. Dad sat in the back to run the motor.
The boat hummed down the river. Jamesi looked for birds hidden in the tall green trees. After about 15 minutes, they saw a small church building. It had a sign that said “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
“This is the church I was thinking of,” said Dad. He drove the boat to shore, and everyone got out. They could hear music coming from the chapel.
Inside, Jamesi sat down with his parents and siblings. They listened to the speakers and the songs. Jamesi felt a warm, happy feeling inside.
When the meeting was over, a nice lady came to talk to them. “We have a special class for children,” she said. “It’s called Primary. Would you like to come?”
Jamesi looked at his sisters. He felt a little nervous to go to a class where he didn’t know anyone! At least his sisters could come too. Maybe it would be fun.
“Sure,” Jamesi said.
“Let’s go!” Marama looked excited.
Jamesi and his little sisters followed the lady to a classroom. There were lots of children sitting on small chairs, talking and laughing. When Jamesi sat down, they smiled at him. Everyone was so nice!
They sang songs, and the other kids helped Jamesi and his sisters learn the words. Then they had a lesson about Jesus Christ. Jamesi felt different here than he did at their other church. It was a good different.
When church was over, Jamesi’s family climbed back into the boat to go home. Jamesi looked at the sign outside of the church building again. It had Jesus Christ’s name on it. So it must be Jesus Christ’s Church! Jamesi wanted to follow Jesus.
“Can we come here again next week?” Jamesi asked.
Mom and Dad smiled. “We were thinking the same thing,” Mom said.
“Yay!” Unaisi cheered.
Jamesi grinned. He knew they had found something special. And he couldn’t wait to learn more.
Illustrations by Bethany Stancliffe