Adelaide’s world turned upside-down when her partner died in 2011. In 2014, she suffered another blow when she lost her father. She began wondering where God was in her life and had questions about what had become of her partner and father after their deaths.

One day, while Adelaide was flicking through the channels on TV, she stumbled upon Hope Channel. She had never heard of Hope Channel before, and she decided to watch a few minutes to see what it was all about. She was instantly hooked.

“I just thought, Wow!” Adelaide says. “I was amazed because questions that I had on my mind were being answered more or less when I switched the channel on. It got to the point where I would tell my daughters, ‘Hey, remember that question I just asked about God? Guess what? It’s just been answered. You have to come and see!’” 

Hope Channel soon became the only TV Adelaide and her girls were watching.

After viewing Hope Channel for some time, Adelaide wanted to visit an Adventist church. But the family was a little nervous about walking into a building full of strangers.

“I stalked the church for three months while I was having Sabbath at home with Hope Channel!” Adelaide confesses with a giggle. A couple of times, they drove to the church and then went around the block and drove home again. “The third time we came, we were all dressed up and prepared. We took a deep breath outside the door, and we just said, ‘All right, let’s do this.’ Then we walked through the door, and we came in and sat down. And it just felt like home.”

Garry Hallmond is the pastor of the church Adelaide and her daughters began attending. 

“It’s quite interesting to know what she’d learned through Hope Channel,” he says. “She learned not only about the Sabbath but also about what happens when someone dies and that Jesus is coming again.”

With this new knowledge, Adelaide no longer worried about the well-being of her partner and father. 

“What I’ve learned about death is that those we’ve lost are asleep,” she says. “I really feel at peace with finally knowing the truth.”

Before closing the interview for this story, Adelaide shared with Leandro, the interviewer, that she had recently been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. 

“When I got off the phone with the doctor, I got down on my knees straight away,” she said. “I told God, ‘I’m going to do this with you. We’re going to do this journey together.’”

Then she added, “I would love for my children to come to know that God is real and that he loves us all.”

A month after her interview, Adelaide passed away. Leandro had an opportunity to talk with her daughters not long afterward. 

“Our mother showed us the path to follow,” they told him, “and we will try to remain on that path so we can meet her again.”

Please pray that Adelaide’s daughters and the people of New Zealand will come to know the love of Jesus. And please continue to support Hope Channel through your weekly mission offerings. To give, visit adventistmission.org/donate.

This article was originally published on the Adventist Mission’s website