Nehase 20 — August 26

Abba Salama, Who Brought the Bible to Ethiopia

Today we remember a kind teacher named Abba Salama. People called him "the interpreter," because he helped others understand words they could not read or speak before.

Long ago, many people in Ethiopia did not yet have the holy stories of the Bible in their own language. Abba Salama worked very hard to share God's word with them, so they could read it and love it for themselves. Because of his loving work, more and more people came to know and worship Jesus.

On this same day we also say a happy hello to Saint Hizawi (also called Hizaku) and to James the Pure. "Pure" means his heart was clean and full of love for God. We thank God for these good friends who lived close to Him.

Salutation to Salama. Salutation to James, the Pure.

The Seven Young Men Who Slept for a Very Long Time

On this day we also remember seven brave young men from a city called Ephesus (say it: EFF-uh-sus). They were soldiers, and they all loved God very much.

There was a powerful king named Decius, a ruler over many lands, who did not love God. He wanted everyone to bow down to idols, which were statues that some people prayed to instead of praying to the real God. The seven friends said no. They would only worship the one true God.

To keep safe, the seven young men went up a mountain and hid inside a cave. They were tired, so they lay down and fell asleep. And here is the surprising part: God let them sleep for a very, very long time, more than three hundred years! A kind soldier wrote their brave story on a metal sheet and tucked it in the cave wall, so it would not be forgotten.

Many years later, some people had started to wonder, "When we die, can God really wake us up again?" God wanted to show them a happy answer. So He gently woke the seven sleepers! They thought they had only napped for one night.

One of them walked into the city to buy bread. But everything looked different now! He saw crosses on the gates, and he heard people happily talking about Jesus. When he tried to pay with his very old coins, people stared in surprise, because those coins were older than anybody could remember.

The good emperor Theodosius and the bishop came to the cave and read the metal sheet. They saw it was true: these men had slept for hundreds of years, and now they were awake and well! Everyone understood God's gentle lesson: God is so strong that He can wake us up after we die, just as He woke these seven friends. After they shared their story, the seven gave their souls back to God, and signs and wonders happened through them. We thank God for showing us such a hopeful thing.

God woke the seven sleepers to show everyone that He can wake us up too — death is like a sleep, and God is stronger than it.