By Esther Espinoza
“Chase me again! Chase me again!” five-year-old Oliver shouted to his older cousin Henry as he laughed and ran across the backyard.
Henry Taylor pretended to be a bear and roared, “I’m coming to eat you!”
Oliver squealed as his cousin chased him. After a few minutes, exhausted, the boys fell onto the freshly mown grass.
“That . . . was . . . fun!” Oliver’s big eyes sparkled with delight, even though he was panting and very short of breath.
“Yeah, it was,” Henry agreed, staring at his little cousin, who was five years younger than he was. Henry loved Oliver so much. But every time he looked at him, his heart felt sad.
At age three, Oliver had become very ill. After many tests, the doctor had told Oliver’s parents that he had a heart condition called arrhythmia. The doctor predicted that Oliver would only live until he was about six years old.
Henry hadn’t known what arrhythmia was, so he’d asked Mom. She had explained it meant Oliver’s heart didn’t beat steadily. She had said it was like when a drum goes out of rhythm for a moment.
Every day, Henry prayed to God, asking Him to please heal Oliver. He didn’t want to lose him.
“Chase me again?” Oliver asked, standing up and wiping the grass off his shorts.
Henry shook his head. “Could we go inside and have lemonade?”
Oliver nodded, his curls bouncing as he jumped up and down.
Henry opened the door as his little cousin rushed inside. He laughed. Oliver could never stay still.
The weeks went by slowly, and Henry continued praying for Oliver, spending as much time with him as possible.
One Sunday night, Mom reminded Henry that an evangelistic campaign was starting at church the next day. “We’ll be going every night this week, and it finishes on Sabbath afternoon.”
“Oh yeah, I almost forgot!” Henry had seen the posters announcing the program.
“Pastor Williams is coming all the way from England,” Mom added.
Henry nodded. “Cool!” He stood and went to grab the house phone. “Can I ask Uncle Joe whether he’s going too? I want to see Oliver every night.”
Mom smiled a little sadly. “Of course, darling.”
After he hung up, Henry turned to Mom and grinned. “Uncle Joe is running the audio system, so he’ll be there.”
Without waiting for a reply, Henry rushed out of the room. “I’ll pack a coloring book for Oliver so that he can sit with me and color quietly!”
“Good idea, Henry,” Mom said.
As he ran upstairs, Henry heard Mom chuckling.
The next few nights were fun for Henry. First, he really liked Pastor Williams—he was interesting and made Bible stories come to life. Second, he could ask Pastor Williams lots of Bible questions, and the pastor was happy to answer them all. And third, he loved spending time with Oliver.
On Friday night, as the family headed home, Dad announced in the car that Pastor Williams would come over for lunch on Sabbath. “And so is Oliver,” Dad finished.
“And Grandma Rose,” Mom added, turning around in her seat with a smile.
“Oh, yeah!” Henry was very excited.
Grandma Rose usually went to another Adventist church across town, but she was making the trip to hear Pastor Williams and then have lunch with the family.
