I was worried. It was the last part of the evangelistic meetings at one of the district churches. Church members from five other churches brought visitors from their sectors.
My job was to direct the children's meetings. The place where we were to meet was not big enough for us to be comfortable. The hall had a rug and two little benches. The church was under construction, so conveniences were few. On opening night, we arrived before the church members. I inspected the room, arranged things in the best way possible, set up the projector, tested the slides, and went over the illustrated material. Everything was in order. I prayed that God would help me and that the teachers would arrive to help.
I went out of the room and looked outside. At that moment, the bus arrived with members from one of the churches. I hurried back inside and stationed myself at the door to greet the large number of children coming in. I was nervous because they were of different ages, and I could tell by the way they acted and by their clothing that the majority were not Adventists. They all looked for places to sit. The bigger children pushed the younger ones. I tried to calm them down by situating the smaller children on the rug. The other teachers helped the bigger children sit behind the benches or near the wall.
I noticed one boy, about 12 years of age, acting restless and rude. "What's your name?" I asked.
"Charlie," he replied.
Charlie was rebellious and obstinate. He wanted to do what he wanted to do. His attitude affected the others. Afterward one of the teachers commented that Charlie was unbearable and out of control. That night I prayed that God would bless Charlie and control him. I also prayed for the other children.
The next night, the children arrived, and Charlie was with them. During the program, he was restless. I asked him to be my helper and to turn the lights on and off as needed. I also asked him to help keep the children in line. He did as asked for a short while, then he left the room.
The third night he came determined to cause trouble. I prayed for Charlie. He left the room again, but the deacons brought him back as he spouted obscene language. Charlie came in ill-tempered. I called him to come up front and sit with me until it was time for the next teacher to lead. Then I invited Charlie to come sit with me on the steps to the baptistry. I gave him a hug. He calmed down. After a bit, two of the church members came out and watched us. They smiled and went back in. Charlie liked being with me and told me a few things. The rest of the meeting was very peaceful, and the teacher was able to teach her class without any trouble from Charlie.
As I left that night, the church elder from the church that Charlie attended asked me, “Sister, what do you have that enables you to control that `monster'