The following is a true story that happened in a small village of southern Hungary in the fall of 1947.
It was cold, and the wind was blowing through the yards. Ten-year-old Andrei Birike wrapped his old, shabby scarf around his neck and left for school. When he arrived, he took off the scarf, folded it carefully, and placed it in his school bag. Then he hurried to class, for it had already begun. He politely greeted the teacher and the other students: "Good morning!"
Without waiting for a response, he went up to the teacher and said, "Mr. Teacher, please excuse me for being late, but our clock stopped."
The teacher knit his brows and then looked at Andrei's bare feet. "Why did you come to school barefoot?" he asked.
"Mr. Teacher, I took my shoes to the shoemaker, because the sole came off, and it will be two days before it's ready."
"Go to your seat!" said the teacher, and he turned to the class. "We'll continue," he said in a gentle tone of voice.
Everyone looked at him and answered all the questions. The children were restless and could hardly wait for the bell to ring.
"We're finished for today!" the teacher said, standing by his desk. The children stood up and filed out of the room two by two. When Andrei was about to leave, the teacher said, "Andrei Birike, you stay here!"
The children looked at each other and figured Andrei would get his punishment for being late. He bowed his head and approached the teacher. After the last child had left the room, the teacher closed the door and sat down at his desk. Andrei stood a step in front of him. The teacher looked at him earnestly and asked, "Tell me, my son: What does your Mother do?"
"Mr. Teacher, my dear Mother has many things to do. She cleans and washes at the house of a lord. She also accepts many other things, like sewing, and sells religious and health books." The teacher stood up, took a ƒ100 bill out of his wallet, and gave it to the little boy.
"Give this to your Mother and tell her to buy you a new pair of shoes. You don't have to come to school tomorrow, so you can buy go and buy them." (At that time, ƒ100 was a lot of money.) But the little boy didn't want to take the money.
"Take it!" urged the teacher.
Andrei answered, "Mr. Teacher, I would like to thank you for your goodness; but I can't take it, because I have another pair, but I wear them only on special days."
"Then you're going to have yet another pair," said the teacher confidently.
"But, Mr. Teacher, I still can't take it, because my Mother would be very much ashamed. And we believe that the Lord will help us and give us what we need."
"Alright, Andrei! It's good that you believe in God; but at the moment He's using me to give this to you, and I'm just a tool. And, by the way, it's not me, but the school, that's giving you this money, because of your effort and study. Let's make an agreement that whenever you have enough money, you can pay it back. Take it; it's yours!"
"Maybe I can take it this way. Thank you very much," the little boy said shyly and put the ƒ100 between his books.
"Go, and come back day after tomorrow with the new shoes." With quick steps Andrei hurried home, and his Mother was already waiting for him at the gate. "Where have you been so long?" she asked worriedly. Andrei told his Mother everything word for word. She listened and said, "Very well, my son! Since the teacher said that you can pay the money back as soon as you can, I think it's better earlier rather than later. Today you can come with me to sell books, and half of the money may be yours. Would you like to help?"
"Gladly!" he answered and hugged his mother's neck. After eating lunch, they left, and Andrei went from street to street, from house to house. When he went to the first house, he was shy; but the people there were very kind, and they even bought three books--religious books. Gaining confidence, he continued; but no one bought anything from him at all the other houses. He became disappointed because of his lack of success.
Then he came to a bar and heard a man singing inside. His heart started beating faster and faster. What shall I do? Shall I go inside? he asked himself. Then he braced himself and went inside. He took one step toward the people and stopped. "Good day to the gentlemen!" he said in a loud voice.
"For you, too!" answered a hoarse voice.
Another asked, "And you? Who are you looking for? Your father?"
"I don't have a father; he died during the war," answered Andrei, sadly.
"Then, what do you want here?" asked a third.
"I would like to sell some books."
A man started to laugh and said in a harsh, loud voice. "What is that for, boy? We don't want to be any more intelligent!"
"These books are to help in in your conversion," said the little boy bravely.
"What?" a man yelled at him.
"Go to hell, you missionary boy, or you're going to taste a piece of my leather belt," cried one of the drunk men.
While the others hushed the man, they gave a sign to the little boy to leave. He went back to the door, turned, and looked at the drunk man. He was thinking about the preaching on Sabbath. How good it was to know that the Adventist men don't drink alcohol! And how terrible it is for the poor little children whose fathers drink. How much happier their family would be if they wouldn't drink! But how can I tell these people that what they are doing is wrong? His eyes became blurry. He was thinking about his Dad, whom he had lost and who was a temperate man. If he would see me here, what would he think of me? As he was thinking, he remembered his father's favorite song. Oh, yes! He started to sing the song he had learned from his father.
Have you any room for Jesus,
He who bore your load of sin?
As He knocks and asks admission,
Sinner, will you let Him in?
Chorus
Room for Jesus, King of glory!
Hasten now, His word obey;
Swing the heart's door widely open,
Bid Him enter while you may.
Room for pleasure, room for business,
But for Christ the Crucified,
Not a place that He can enter,
In the heart for which He died?
Have you any room for Jesus,
As in grace He calls again?
O, today is time accepted,
You will never call in vain.
Room and time now give to Jesus,
Soon will pass God's day of grace;
Soon your heart left cold and silent,
And the Saviour's pleading cease.
As the little boy was singing, the glasses tinkled together. The men put them down. All eyes in the room turned to the little boy. Then suddenly they jumped up and began reaching for the books. In a few minutes, Andrei's little satchel was empty, and he had another bag as well. The money poured into his little satchel without being counted. Andrei kept telling them not to put in too much money, but they wouldn't listen. They said, "Little boy, we just can't give enough for what you've done; you deserve it!"
Andrei hurried home with a joyful heart, and his Mother was waiting for him. The next day, he went to school in his new shoes and arrived early. He returned the money to the teacher. "Dear Mr. Teacher, my Mother would like to thank you very much for your goodness and the money; but now we can give it back, because the Lord has blessed us more than we deserve. And please accept this little book as our thanks--Steps to Christ."
The teacher looked at the boy with big eyes, and the only thing he could say was, "Thank you!"
This story is an example of how we should do missionary work and never give up, to be confident but humble. The men in the bar first refused him; but since he didn't give up, he won the battle against Satan. Missionary work is only part of what the story is about. It also teaches us about behavior, understanding, and faith--all of which together gave him the victory. In this story, each one of us can find at least one thing that is common to his own behavior, or character--on the good or bad side. I could see myself in more than one place in the story. What I especially learned was this: Never reject Jesus' invitation but receive it and be a help and blessing to others. As the Bible says in Acts 10:42: "And He commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is He which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead."
--K. S., Hungary
