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Series Code: ASIC

Program Code: ASIC000015A


00:21 Steve, why don't you tell us what it was like
00:25 as your family pioneered
00:28 ministry at Harbert Hills Academy?
00:31 My Father showed up at Madison College,
00:35 came from California at the young age of 18.
00:38 He left California with just a few dollars in his pocket
00:40 enough for a bus ticket to get across the country
00:43 and to Madison.
00:44 He showed up there and he said,
00:46 "Well, here I am, I'm ready to go to school."
00:48 He was accepted into college.
00:50 And sure enough, they let him in
00:52 with just a few dollars in his pocket,
00:54 he began to work his way through school there.
00:57 My Mother showed up from Massachusetts.
00:59 She had been raised.
01:01 Her Father was in the Navy
01:02 and had moved all over the countryside.
01:04 At the age of 15, she had become converted to Adventism
01:08 through a friend of hers.
01:10 She was the only Adventist in her family
01:12 but she felt impressed
01:15 when it was time to go to college
01:16 that she should try to go
01:18 to a Seventh-day Adventist College.
01:20 Because the family didn't have a lot of money,
01:22 she ended up at Madison College
01:24 and she was taking the nursing course there.
01:27 And her and my Father became acquainted.
01:30 Eventually, they were married.
01:32 One day, they were sitting in chapel together
01:34 and as the custom was for many chapel services at Madison,
01:39 one of the things they did regularly
01:42 was they made an appeal for new work to get started.
01:47 And so, Mr. William E. Patterson
01:50 was standing up in front of the auditorium in chapel there
01:53 and he was saying, "You know, we're going to start
01:55 some new work
01:56 and we have a vision to start a new school
01:59 and I'm going to need some help."
02:02 And he began to describe his vision
02:04 of what he wanted to do in helping young people
02:07 and to earn their way through school
02:09 and to plant an institution
02:12 where there was no Seventh-day Adventist presence.
02:15 And as I heard the story,
02:18 my Mother elbowed my Father in the ribs and said,
02:22 "Louis, I think that's us."
02:24 And of course, with a little elbowing,
02:27 you usually get up, right?
02:29 And so my Father and my Mother went forward
02:31 and dedicated themselves
02:33 to helping to begin the work of this institution.
02:36 This was in 1951, in the late part of 1951.
02:42 And Mr. Patterson went to Hardin County, Tennessee.
02:46 Now Hardin County, Tennessee is an interesting place,
02:49 there was no Seventh-day Adventist
02:50 presence in that county.
02:52 In fact, there was no Seventh-day Adventist presence
02:55 in about nine counties surrounding Hardin County.
02:58 But God had not left this place forsaken.
03:01 Several years before that time, he had sent two colporteurs
03:05 working their way through Madison to Hardin County.
03:07 And these two young men went to the county,
03:10 and there was something very interesting going on
03:12 in the county as they were getting ready
03:14 to do their colporteuring.
03:15 And they found out
03:17 there was a high profile murder case going on.
03:19 And they both had a little interest in that
03:21 and so they said, "You know what?
03:23 We're going to go colporteur
03:25 and then, when we get down colporteuring,
03:27 we're going to go check and see
03:28 what's going on with this case."
03:30 And so they began to watch the case as it went through
03:33 and they became acquainted with the judge
03:36 whose name was Judge Herbert.
03:38 Well, so they were kind of paving the way.
03:41 And when Mr. Patterson showed up in Hardin County,
03:44 he said, "I'm needing some property to start a school,
03:47 who should I see?"
03:49 And someone directed them to Judge Herbert.
03:52 Judge Herbert sat with him in his office and he said,
03:56 "Mr. Patterson, I understand what you're saying here
03:59 and I will be happy to help you.
04:01 Here is a plat of my property, you go out and pick out
04:04 what you think you need and let me know what that is.
04:07 And if you do what you say you're going to do,
04:10 then you can have that property.
04:12 But if ten years from now, you haven't done it,
04:15 it comes back to me."
04:17 So 220 acres was donated to the project,
04:21 the Madison College students came onboard.
04:23 They began to come to Harbert Hills Academy property,
04:25 there was nothing there.
04:27 They started clearing land,
04:28 they eventually built a little camp site there and continued.
04:33 There was no electricity, there was no running water.
04:35 They began to clear it right away
04:36 and bring the electricity in.
04:38 And eventually, drilled a well
04:41 and actually had something going on there.
04:43 So it took a little while.
04:45 But God was blessing in the process
04:47 and people were...
04:48 The students from Madison would come down
04:50 and they would work there
04:51 and trying to get something started there.
04:54 Well, it's just amazing what God does overtime
04:56 and with people that are willing.
04:58 And Mr. Patterson's son, David Patterson,
05:03 and my Father brought their business.
05:05 They were in the business of rebuilding pianos.
05:08 So they moved their business there,
05:10 so that there was an Industry at Harbert Hills Academy.
05:13 My Mother and Mr. Patterson's wife started a nursing home.
05:17 We were the smallest licensed nursing home
05:19 in the state of Tennessee with three beds.
05:21 We laugh about it today, three little beds there.
05:24 And the funds to build that first little home there,
05:28 it's called the Clara Elis Hayes home.
05:31 Mr. Patterson had a bit interesting background,
05:33 Mr. Patterson Sr.,
05:35 he was an agent for the Federal Government.
05:37 And his job was to put people in jail.
05:40 And so it was rather interesting.
05:41 One day, someone knocked on his office door there
05:43 at the college and said,
05:45 "Mr. Patterson, I would like to talk to you."
05:47 He said, "Okay, come in."
05:48 He said, "My name is Roger Hayes.
05:50 Do you remember me?"
05:51 Mr. Patterson says, "No, I don't think I do."
05:54 He said, "Well, you put me in jail.
05:56 And I told you that if ever got out,
05:58 I was going to come back and see you."
06:00 Well, at that point, Mr. Patterson became
06:01 just a little bit nervous wondering what was next.
06:04 But he said," No, I've heard about what you're doing.
06:06 Don't worry, I've heard about
06:07 what you're doing down in Hardin County
06:09 and I want to help you."
06:11 He said, "What do you need?"
06:12 He said, "Well, we need a building.
06:14 We're gonna start a little nursing home there."
06:16 He said," Well, how much is that going to cost?"
06:18 And he pulled out and he wrote Mr. Patterson a check
06:20 for what he asked for to build
06:22 that first little building for a nursing home.
06:24 And Mr. Patterson told him,
06:26 "Look, we've got a problem here.
06:27 We can't name this after you."
06:29 His practice was to name things
06:30 after the person that donated the money.
06:32 He said, "We can't name this after you
06:34 because you're a gangster."
06:35 He said, "I can't have that on the campus."
06:37 And Mr. Hayes said, "Well, no problem.
06:40 You can name it after my Mother."
06:41 And so the Clare Elis Hayes home was started,
06:44 three residents.
06:45 Now we have 49 residents and a beautiful facility there.
06:48 God has blessed immeasurably.
06:50 We have about 60 to 80 students in the school,
06:55 we have a farm program,
06:57 and a radio station broadcasting too
07:00 between Nashville and Memphis
07:02 and all those rural areas out there.
07:05 There are four churches that exist in that local area now.
07:08 And it's not all because of what happened there,
07:10 but Madison had a part to play in this.
07:12 They were inspiring lay people to do amazing things.
07:15 Many people were coming out of Madison
07:16 doing these amazing things
07:18 all across the south and around the world,
07:20 it's just amazing.
07:21 And I believe that God had a plan.
07:24 Madison wasn't an easy place.
07:26 We've heard about that already.
07:28 But I think that was for a reason,
07:30 because God was showing people there,
07:32 if it can be done here, it can be done anywhere.
07:35 You know, Steve, God is racing up a generation of leaders
07:40 in young people who'll carry that torch of self sacrifice,
07:45 of commitment, of mission focus.
07:48 And God is racing up once again in this generation.
07:53 You know one thing though
07:54 that is a little troubling frankly.
07:58 And that is, that Madison did not continue,
08:02 Madison closed.
08:04 Is there a reason for that?
08:06 Are there any instructive lessons
08:08 that the church can learn today
08:10 from the fact that,
08:12 here is an institution that was reported about
08:14 in Reader's Digest,
08:15 here is an institution
08:17 that the United States Education Department
08:19 actually lauded as a model of American education,
08:23 here is an institution
08:24 that spawns scores of other institutions
08:28 and had hundreds and hundreds of students
08:32 go out all over the world
08:33 but yet it does not exist in that same form today,
08:38 what lessons are instructive?
08:40 Well, I think there are several lessons.
08:42 One of the lessons that I take from it
08:45 is the great need of our institutions
08:48 across the country and around the world,
08:51 whether they're supporting ministries
08:52 or church owned institutions.
08:55 There is a huge need for leadership.
08:58 And EA Sutherland was in his waning years.
09:03 In 1955, EA Sutherland passed away.
09:07 The school lasted beyond that for about another nine years,
09:11 but leadership is so extremely important.
09:15 And this was one of things, one of the qualities
09:18 that I believe God was engendering in the people
09:21 that came to Madison
09:23 because the conditions were difficult.
09:25 And as you have mentioned,
09:27 sometimes difficulties in our life are the best teachers.
09:32 They're very instructive,
09:33 we learn rather quickly under very difficult conditions.
09:37 And so I would just challenge our ASI family.
09:42 Some of you are leaders,
09:44 some of you have leadership ability,
09:47 and God may be calling you
09:49 to step out of your comfort zone
09:51 and to step into institutional life
09:53 where leaders are in such demand.
09:56 Just sense being here at this convention,
09:59 I've had several institutional leaders come to me and say,
10:03 "Please help us, we need people.
10:06 While it's true, money is helpful,
10:08 even more helpful than money is people,
10:10 and we need people that are dedicated people
10:13 who would come and put their lives
10:15 into the work that God is doing in our institution,"
10:18 so it's a huge thing.
10:19 I think there's a couple of other things though.
10:24 And as far as being instructive,
10:26 I think we need to be very careful
10:27 with what God gives us.
10:29 Madison had been in a time of decline
10:33 for a number of years
10:35 and the facilities were declining,
10:37 and the relationship with the state demanded
10:40 that they have good facilities,
10:41 and for housing the nursing students,
10:44 and for teaching, and things like that.
10:46 The facilities had been allowed to decline.
10:50 Now this was really at the very beginning of ASI,
10:53 and so there was not that kind of
10:55 organization in place
10:58 to help the institution see the need
11:00 and provide some of those resources
11:02 for capital improvements that needed to take place.
11:05 So it's the leadership issue, capital improvements,
11:09 and sometimes we get distracted
11:13 in an institutional environment.
11:15 We're paying attention to the minor things
11:18 when we need to be paying attention to the big things.
11:21 And so that's another thing
11:23 that I think had some impact on what was happening there.
11:28 So, you know it...
11:31 We do have a need, in fact, for workers without a question.
11:35 You know Elder Wilson, as we think about leadership,
11:38 you sit as President to the General Conference
11:42 of Seventh-day Adventist.
11:44 And leadership is a need all over the world.
11:47 Share with us just briefly a few qualities
11:50 that you see in godly Christian leaders today.
11:54 What are the kind of qualities that God uses in leaders
11:59 to really take the church beyond where it is,
12:01 to take an institution beyond where it is
12:04 for aspiring leaders?
12:07 Essentially, it requires an absolute faith in God,
12:12 a humble spirit.
12:14 And I tell you, and I speak to myself.
12:18 All leaders today can be challenged with the glamour
12:24 or the centrality of position
12:27 and it is only in humbling ourselves before God
12:31 that we'll see anything accomplished of any real value.
12:34 If you are a humble leader, even if you may not be schooled
12:38 in the best techniques of leadership,
12:40 God will use you just as He did to the disciples.
12:44 And self-supporting work and ASI,
12:48 the aspects that we've been talking about today,
12:51 one of the greatest characteristics,
12:53 Steve, is really in terms of leadership,
12:56 people who are willing to do anything they could
12:59 to advance the work of God.
13:01 So leadership certainly has to be humble,
13:04 it has to be knowledgeable,
13:06 it has to be completely leaning upon the Lord Himself,
13:11 and it has to be creative.
13:14 And the Lord intends for us to use creative ideas
13:17 and our own initiative,
13:20 and He will add His blessing to what happens.
13:24 Another huge factor in leadership today is faith.
13:28 Faith in the wonderful remnant understanding
13:33 of God's precious prophetic movement
13:36 and that God truly will be the leader.
13:39 You know, this morning, we had a powerful sermon
13:42 to help us to understand not to place
13:46 our trust in ourselves or in what we can do,
13:50 but to lean completely on God's power to accomplish it.
13:54 And not only God's power,
13:56 but God's way of accomplishing it.
13:58 Amen. Amen.
13:59 And of course, as we read in the Spirit of Prophecy,
14:01 we have so much instruction
14:03 about how God wants to accomplish His work.
14:07 We need to have faith to follow it.
14:11 You know, Charles,
14:13 God trains leaders in a variety of ways,
14:17 and let's get back to some of that early history
14:20 and discover how God trains leaders.
14:23 Elder Finley, when Walla Walla and when Emmanuel Missionary,
14:27 and when Madison each started,
14:29 they each started very much in privation and difficulty.
14:33 There were few bathtubs, there was no air conditioning,
14:37 in many cases there was no heat,
14:40 there was no excess money.
14:42 They made do with whatever they had on hand.
14:46 The first year at Madison,
14:48 they had corn and cows.
14:54 They sold butter to get flour.
14:56 The diet was corn bread and milk toast.
14:59 And to introduce some variety into the diet,
15:02 they created brewis.
15:05 Brewis was when you broke your toast into smaller pieces
15:09 before you pour down the skim milk.
15:14 And when they were tempted to complain,
15:17 Ed would remind everyone that the children of Israel
15:20 ate manna for 40 years, they could manage for one.
15:27 I would like to close my remarks
15:29 with these words from Lida Scott.
15:32 When she was reporting
15:34 to the assembled representatives
15:35 from the units in 1934, and I'm now quoting,
15:41 "Recently, some of the graduates
15:44 of Madison College have had real experience
15:47 in helping to establish a unit in Alabama.
15:50 Working in cooperation with the Mississippi,
15:52 Alabama Conference, none are promised salaries.
15:57 These, they must earn for themselves.
16:01 Two others of our graduates
16:02 have gone to two little church schools
16:04 in needy Mississippi areas.
16:08 As an encouragement to those who are studying
16:10 the self supporting cooperative plan of units,
16:13 I would say this, 'There are units needing re-enforcements,
16:18 there are places still available
16:20 to earnest groups of people capable of working together
16:24 effectively in co-operation
16:26 and able to procure for themselves.'
16:32 The Lord has faithful men and women
16:34 with money being prepared in hidden places
16:39 who will respond to his call in the fullness of time.
16:43 And to illustrate,
16:45 I came across one of these hidden ones this year.
16:48 She said to me, 'If some with vision or will,
16:52 and the muscle will respond, I will furnish the money.'
16:59 She could not get young folks with the will to work
17:02 and the determination to stick it out through thick and thin.
17:06 This woman had been waiting and praying for 20 years.
17:16 'It is easier to raise the means
17:21 than it is to raise the men.'
17:26 The night is coming when no man can work.
17:30 Before the shadows deepen into darkest midnight
17:32 the world has ever seen,
17:34 some must call, answer the call
17:39 saying, 'Here am I.
17:41 Send me.'"
17:43 Amen. Amen.
18:19 The Savior has come in His mighty pow'r
18:22 And spoken peace to my soul
18:25 And all of my life from that very hour
18:29 I've yielded to His control
18:31 I've yielded to His control
18:35 Oh, it is wonderful!
18:38 It is marvelous and wonderful
18:41 What Jesus has done for this soul of mine!
18:44 The half has never been told
18:48 Never been told it is wonderful
18:50 Oh, it is wonderful!
18:52 It is marvelous and wonderful
18:56 Wonderful what Jesus has done for this soul of mine!
19:01 Oh, the half has never been told
19:06 Never been told
19:10 From glory to glory
19:12 He leads me on
19:13 From grace to grace every day
19:16 And brighter and brighter the glory dawns
19:20 While pressing my homeward way
19:22 While pressing my homeward way
19:26 Oh, it is wonderful!
19:29 It is marvelous and wonderful
19:32 What Jesus has done for this soul of mine!
19:35 The half has never been told
19:39 Never been told it is wonderful!
19:41 Oh, it is wonderful!
19:43 It is marvelous and wonderful
19:46 Wonderful what Jesus has done for this soul of mine!
19:52 Oh, the half has never been told
19:57 It is wonderful!
20:02 Wonderful, it is wonderful!
20:04 It is marvelous and wonderful
20:08 What Jesus has done for this soul of mine!
20:11 The half has never been told
20:14 Never been told
20:16 It is wonderful!
20:17 Oh, it is wonderful!
20:19 It is marvelous and wonderful
20:22 Wonderful what Jesus has done for this soul of mine!
20:28 Oh, the half has never
20:31 The half has never, the half has never
20:38 Been told
20:42 Never been told
20:59 What are we going to do?
21:01 Who's going to start another Madison?
21:06 How are we going to continue God's work?
21:10 And the need is huge around the world.
21:13 And as you've heard us talk just a little bit about this,
21:15 the need for leadership is huge
21:18 but God is challenging individuals.
21:21 I recently attended the Madison College alumni,
21:25 they've been closed for over 60 years,
21:28 but they still have an alumni meeting in June of each year
21:32 where the graduates get together
21:34 and they talk about their experience
21:36 that happened to them there at Madison.
21:40 Today, as never before, God is calling for workers,
21:45 He is calling for people who will enter His vineyard
21:48 and do His work.
21:50 You know, it's relatively inviting and comfortable
21:55 to move into a community
21:57 where there are many other Adventists,
21:59 and they're kind of, you know, plant yourself there
22:02 and attend the local Seventh-day Adventist Church
22:05 and sit in the pew.
22:07 It just gets kind of comfortable, doesn't it?
22:10 Well, I believe we're at a time in earth's history
22:12 where God is calling us to do
22:13 something more than keep the pews warm
22:17 in these larger communities.
22:18 We are being called to go to places
22:21 where there is no Seventh-day Adventist work,
22:23 hundreds and hundreds of cities and towns across this nation,
22:26 thousands of cities, and towns, and villages across the world
22:30 needing someone to come
22:32 and give them the good news of the gospel.
22:35 Well, the good news is,
22:37 today that the work that God is calling people to do
22:41 is being responded to.
22:43 We are not in a situation
22:46 where no one is responding to that call.
22:49 We have several stories we want to tell you today.
22:52 The first story comes from the country of Romania.
22:55 I think we have some folks from Romania here today.
22:58 The little school is being started there
23:00 is called the Integritas,
23:02 and they read the book Madison, God's Beautiful Farm,
23:06 and they began to search for what they might do
23:09 to fulfill that kind of vision for education.
23:12 And as they were searching and praying,
23:16 I went at one point to talk with them and encourage them
23:19 in their quest to start something there in Romania.
23:23 And they took me to a piece of property on a hillside there
23:26 and said, "We're going to start something here."
23:28 It's amazing what God is doing there.
23:30 "We're going to start something here."
23:31 I said, "It's a beautiful piece of property,
23:33 it's a lovely place to start a little school."
23:35 They said, "That's what we would like to do."
23:37 And so we began to encourage them,
23:40 and to pray with them,
23:42 and to give them some counsel, and they began to work.
23:46 And we're going to show you
23:48 just a short video clip right now
23:50 about the work that is happening in Romania,
23:52 the beginning of this little school there.
23:55 And I say little school,
23:56 you will see when they show the video
23:59 that God is really blessing there.
24:01 And again, what did they do?
24:04 They started reading the book, they started reading the books,
24:07 God's Counsel, the book on education, other books.
24:10 And they said, "We've got to do something."
24:12 And God inspired them to do something.
24:14 And so we are going to ask them to roll that video right now.
27:00 Things haven't changed, have they?
27:02 Success depends on following God's plan.
27:06 And I would challenge you, my friends,
27:07 to continue to allow God to speak to you
27:11 about what He wants you personally to do.
27:13 We have another story today,
27:15 we are going to share actually four more stories.
27:17 So get ready for four more great stories
27:19 about what God is doing around the world
27:21 with starting new things
27:23 and impressing people to do something for Him.
27:27 I would like to invite Wes Stabel to join me here.
27:30 This story comes to us from Arkansas.
27:35 Anybody here from Arkansas today?
27:39 Wes, you're here from Arkansas. Oh, yeah.
27:41 Amen.
27:42 Now, Wes, you at one point
27:48 were a chicken farmer.
27:50 Yes, sir.
27:51 What happened with it?
27:53 I don't think you're a chicken farmer anymore,
27:55 tell me about that?
27:57 Well, I had always, in my life,
28:00 felt like I was a failure at witnessing.
28:04 And I wanted to do something for God in witnessing
28:08 but I didn't know what to do.
28:09 We had tried so many things.
28:11 I felt like if God handed out report cards,
28:15 I would have an A in prayer, an A in Bible study,
28:18 and a D minus in witnessing.
28:21 And I wanted something to happen.
28:24 So you were open to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
28:28 Your little church appointed you to an office.
28:31 What did they ask you to do?
28:32 They asked me to be
28:34 the Personal Ministries Director of our church.
28:35 Now that sounds pretty innocent,
28:38 just be the Personal Ministries Director.
28:40 What did God do with that opportunity?
28:42 Well, I had never been Personal Ministries Director before,
28:46 and when I took the position,
28:48 I am not the kind that wants to just stand in a podium
28:52 and read the conference papers.
28:54 And I wanted something to happen,
28:56 so I had read an article in the Northern Union paper
29:03 about a Bible worker going to a church in Minnesota.
29:08 And I thought that's what we got to do,
29:14 we need a Bible worker,
29:16 we need a full-time person to come and stir us,
29:20 and get us going in this church,
29:22 I want something to happen.
29:24 So you are looking for a Bible worker,
29:26 did you find one?
29:27 Yes, we did. But it was a difficult task.
29:30 We had found that the Bible worker
29:33 that went to Minnesota
29:34 had come through Luis Torres School in South Dakota.
29:39 And so I called him and he said, "No, Wes,"
29:42 he said, "These people don't just come here
29:44 and take training and then hope to find a place to go.
29:48 They're sent by a church, and they're trained,
29:50 and they go back to their church.
29:52 Actually, he thought he found me someone
29:54 and then we got disappointed
29:56 and it didn't happen.
29:58 So who did you end up getting?
30:00 Okay, I just wish, I need two hours to tell the story...
30:04 But I wish...
30:06 That's okay, we got four more minutes, don't worry.
30:08 You have to keep track of the time
30:10 but, God providentially brought us.
30:13 If we can put on the screen
30:15 the picture of these two people,
30:18 Daniel and Nerida McKibben,
30:21 they were people that we knew nothing about.
30:27 And those people came
30:28 and when I took them through the church
30:30 and through the fellowship hall,
30:32 I heard Neruda say to Daniel,
30:34 "Daniel, we could do our treatments in this room."
30:38 And I'm thinking, "What!
30:40 Bible workers don't do treatments."
30:42 And I said, "Treatments, what?"
30:45 And she says, "Well, we're medical missionaries as well."
30:48 So you not only got a Bible worker
30:50 but you got medical missionaries.
30:51 We got two medical missionaries and of the finest order I say,
30:55 "Well, what qualifies you to do medical work?"
30:59 And that's when I found out
31:01 that Daniel was a licensed massage therapist,
31:04 he had been in charge
31:06 of the Lifestyle Center at Eden Valley
31:08 for seven years
31:09 and Neruda was a doctor.
31:11 So how did that impact how you got into this thing
31:15 with medical missionary work?
31:16 Because I got involved with these people,
31:18 I wanted to know about medical missionary work.
31:20 I had read about it, never met one in my life.
31:24 And we learned a lot about medical missionary work.
31:27 And while they were there, do we have it on the screen,
31:31 that this couple came in who had a huge cancer
31:35 and he had been to the doctors and the doctors have told him,
31:39 "You got two months to live."
31:41 And I am thinking, you know, there is no hope for this man,
31:46 he was 72 years old.
31:48 And believe it or not,
31:51 in six months time through her natural remedy program,
31:56 he was sent back to the doctors
31:58 and he was told that he was cancer free.
32:01 Amen. Amen.
32:02 And he's returned to our center just recently,
32:04 we're talking about 15 years later,
32:07 he is still cancer free.
32:10 So at that point, you kind of bought in to this thing.
32:13 I did, I'm telling you, that said, "Okay.
32:15 Bye, bye, retirement."
32:17 I was saving that for retirement,
32:19 my hot tub, my motor home,
32:22 we're going to travel the whole United States.
32:24 And I said good bye to that.
32:26 I want to do this work.
32:28 So actually what I hear you saying
32:30 is that God impressed you to take these funds
32:33 you'd save for retirement
32:35 and the church has actually purchased
32:37 a little piece of property,
32:38 they have started a medical missionary center
32:40 across the road.
32:43 It's amazing what God has done.
32:45 It would take me too long to tell you.
32:47 I've got it on a DVD,
32:48 if any of you come by the booth,
32:50 it's 245, you'd hear the whole story there.
32:54 So you have the whole story there
32:56 but let me just ask you a question,
32:57 Wes, as we close out here today.
32:59 I want you to just share with the folks here today,
33:02 how has this changed your personal life
33:05 to get involved like this?
33:07 I was a Laodicean Seventh-day Adventist just living life,
33:12 and it has totally changed me.
33:15 I understand what it means to be born again.
33:18 What's inside of me is to do God's work,
33:22 I have no desire for this world of any kind.
33:27 So a Laodicean Seventh-day Adventist gets impressed by God
33:32 to take his retirement money
33:33 and invest in a wellness center.
33:35 And what I hear you saying today
33:38 is it is just completely altered the way
33:40 you think about life in general.
33:42 This is the greatest retirement that I could ever have.
33:46 I am up there everyday, we have worship at 9:45 every day,
33:52 and then we begin our day.
33:54 But it has been the most wonderful experience.
33:57 God has led me there, I had never in my life prayed,
34:01 "Lord, what would You have me to do in my life?"
34:04 I directed my own life,
34:06 but He took me through this means to this work.
34:10 Wes, what would you say to someone sitting here today
34:14 who, as you have been telling your story,
34:16 they've kind of been feeling like may be the Holy Spirit
34:19 is speaking to them, what would you say to them?
34:21 I would just say pray, "Lord, what will Thou have me to do?"
34:26 God is able.
34:27 He led me at the age of 55
34:30 after I had worn probably five different hats in life,
34:35 and He's put me into this work
34:38 and I'm not going to retire until I die.
34:41 What's the greatest need of Wellness Secrets right now?
34:45 The greatest need that we have, I am looking at all of you
34:49 and wondering, who is there,
34:51 you know, it says in Luke l0:2
34:55 that the harvest is great and the labors are few.
34:59 We need labors, we need at least two more.
35:02 One could be the director of the center.
35:05 If we had more workers, what things we could do
35:10 because we have a beautiful center sitting there,
35:13 ready to go if we had more workers.
35:16 Amen. Thank you so much today, Wes, for sharing.
35:18 God bless you and the work you are doing there.
35:20 Thank you for the opportunity
35:21 and I want to say this is a first time at ASI,
35:25 it has been a blessing to meet and hear the testimonies,
35:28 it has encouraged me,
35:30 God is working and He's going to finish the work.
35:33 Amen. Amen.
35:36 Thank you, Wes.
35:41 Our next story comes to us from two young ladies
35:47 who have been called by God to some very interesting work.
35:52 Now I understand that you're working in a closed country,
35:58 so you won't hear us today talking about
36:01 the name of the country in which you are working.
36:03 We're going to avoid that if we can and...
36:06 But we have Gina.
36:09 Gina, how did God get you involved in this work?
36:13 God is so good.
36:15 I was actually working there as an attorney.
36:18 So you had gone to this country,
36:20 you are working there as an attorney.
36:22 And what, that one thing led to another?
36:26 How did the Lord, was impressing you?
36:28 Yes, just seeing the local people,
36:31 their local struggle, just not for financial meets
36:34 but for the lack of spiritual.
36:36 There was no one really to tell them about God,
36:38 and they didn't have the hope or the resources that we have,
36:41 the things we take for granted.
36:44 Haije, how did you get into this?
36:46 Yes, so I'm a physical therapist
36:48 and I actually took a year off to become an English teacher.
36:53 So you're teaching English
36:55 and she is there working as a lawyer,
36:57 and the two of you got together?
37:00 Yes.
37:01 Well, I'm from California
37:03 and she is from Connecticut, Massachusetts...
37:04 That sounds like a close way to get together.
37:06 And God brought us together in this country.
37:09 So He takes you halfway around the world and put you together.
37:11 Yes. Isn't God amazing?
37:14 Yeah, God's amazing in the way He works.
37:16 Well, so you're there,
37:17 you're thinking about all these things.
37:19 God is impressing you that something needs to be done.
37:22 What exactly did God begin to help you do?
37:26 Yes, so we felt impressed to do three things
37:30 to creatively share the gospel through health,
37:33 a wellness center, education, and farming.
37:36 You know, that sounds something like the little book here
37:39 that I read recently
37:40 called "Madison: God's Beautiful Farm".
37:42 I actually read that a year before I came...
37:44 Oh! You read the book?
37:45 Oh, my!
37:47 And God impressed you through that.
37:48 We need a health worker, agricultural work
37:50 and some education work going on.
37:53 Yes. Okay. So, Gina, tell us.
37:56 You got several things going on here,
37:57 how did that work itself out?
38:00 God is so good because when I went back to the States,
38:02 said we're going to work really hard
38:04 and come up with the money,
38:05 and it's going to take us a while
38:07 but God knew better
38:08 and He said, "No, no, no, I am going to provide for you.
38:11 Because if you pay for this land,
38:13 if you pay for these things,
38:14 you're going to take all the credit
38:15 and this is My ministry."
38:17 Okay.
38:18 And so we got a call from a person
38:21 who used to live in that particular area
38:23 that said, "I heard you're looking for land,
38:25 we should talk."
38:27 And so we met with her and she said, "Here."
38:30 We were like okay, so how much do you want?
38:32 And she said," I wanted to use it for God
38:34 and I want you to use it to plant mango trees."
38:37 We were like, we can do that.
38:39 So a donation of property, how big is that property?
38:44 It's almost 20 acres.
38:45 Almost 20 acres.
38:47 But what I want you to know is that,
38:48 we asked her, "When did you buy this land?"
38:51 And she said, "In March of 2014,"
38:53 and that's significant for us because in March of 2014,
38:56 that's when God gave us the vision,
38:58 the calling to start this type of ministry.
39:00 Oh, it's amazing how God is setting things up,
39:02 planning things ahead of time,
39:04 providing resources, inspiring people.
39:07 So God's at work here, He's doing things.
39:09 What are the components did you add to the farm?
39:13 So every Sunday there's an English program
39:15 that happens now,
39:17 the beautiful thing about it
39:18 is that it's actually conducted by the local people
39:22 and they're, of course, non-Adventists
39:25 but they get to share about God
39:28 through the stories that they teach in English.
39:32 So about a month ago, part of the curriculum
39:34 was the story of the good Samaritan.
39:37 And what she didn't mention is that our project manager,
39:40 the one that's running this
39:41 up to about a couple of months ago,
39:44 he was baptized.
39:45 Amen.
39:47 And it's just so exciting
39:48 because, you know, he was a young Buddhist man,
39:50 he was looking for God.
39:51 And by seeing the testimony, why are you doing this?
39:54 Why are you giving so much to these people?
39:56 Because that's what God wants us to do.
39:58 Amen.
39:59 And it was through that that led to Bible studies
40:00 and now he's one of our Bible readers,
40:03 reading Bible studies every Friday
40:05 in our Oon Jai house, like we like to call it.
40:07 Amen.
40:09 So God is setting up things there
40:10 but He didn't stop there,
40:12 He gave you some collaboration actually with the Government.
40:15 Tell us about, I mean the Communist Government,
40:17 Non Christian society,
40:19 and God's kind of set something up?
40:22 So this is like our third miracle,
40:24 I guess, God is so good.
40:25 We said, "Oh, we need information
40:27 on how to collaborate with the Government.
40:30 Let's just go and pick up some forms,"
40:31 And our friends were like, "You can't go like that."
40:34 We were going on a mission trip
40:35 so we're not dressed appropriately
40:37 to meet with Government officials.
40:39 So we're like we have nothing to wear,
40:40 so we had to go borrow clothes, borrow shoes.
40:43 We get there, and we knock, and we're like,
40:45 "Hi, how do we partner with the Governor?"
40:48 And then...
40:50 That's a good start for things.
40:52 You should go upstairs,
40:53 and we go upstairs and as we were going upstairs,
40:56 everyone is looking at us like we're crazy.
40:59 And then the director of ministry of health
41:02 of the whole country comes out,
41:04 and he's like, "What are you girls doing?"
41:05 We're like, "We're looking to speak to someone in charge
41:08 about collaborating on a health project."
41:10 He is like, "Hmm, come to my office."
41:12 So he brings the deputy ministry of health
41:15 and they're sitting in the office
41:17 and both of us are there,
41:18 and we just tell them how much we love the country
41:22 and how much we want to help, and this is our project.
41:25 And the deputy director with almost tears in his eyes,
41:29 he said, "That is my dream, too."
41:31 Amen.
41:32 So you connected with the Government officials
41:35 and now maybe in process of getting
41:37 some amazing work started there in this country,
41:40 God is going to bless that, I know.
41:41 But I have a question as we close out,
41:43 I want both of you to answer this question,
41:45 so you just have a little time
41:46 but how has it impacted your personal life
41:50 to engage in this kind of work?
41:52 God is so good.
41:53 I always wanted to be a missionary
41:54 but I couldn't,
41:56 because I wasn't the teacher or in the medical field.
41:59 And God said, "You don't need any of those skills,
42:01 you just need to serve me,
42:02 and use your skills to do that."
42:04 And I left the private sector to go on the public sector
42:07 so I would have, I still work full time.
42:09 And then my second job is this, so I work full time for this
42:13 and full time for that and God has been so good.
42:16 Haije?
42:17 So I grew up, I was born and raised
42:19 as a Seventh-day Adventist,
42:21 but really sometimes we go to places
42:23 where things do not make sense,
42:24 so God can reveal to us His love.
42:26 And the love that God has revealed to me,
42:29 that is really what I'm willing to share,
42:30 that's why we are called Oon Jai.
42:32 Oon Jai means warm heart.
42:35 Do you have a booth here?
42:37 Yes, yeah.
42:38 Our booth is number 420.
42:40 And for more information, you can go to our website,
42:43 it's OonJai.org.
42:46 Thank you, ladies, so much for sharing with us today.
42:48 God bless you in the work you are doing
42:50 and we'll keep you in our prayers.
42:53 Thank you. Amen.
43:04 I had the opportunity to go to Uganda
43:06 and I had been asked
43:08 by a farmer's co-operative to go into villages
43:10 and teach farmers how to process the soybeans
43:14 that they were already growing in a way
43:16 that would be more healthful for them
43:18 and also that they could start small businesses.
43:21 And what I learnt when I was there
43:22 is that they were growing soybeans
43:24 but they weren't giving any of them to their own children.
43:27 And their children were actually dying
43:30 and being malnourished because of lack of protein.
43:33 And so I knew we had a simple solution
43:35 right there in the community.
43:37 And so we started teaching them about soaking the beans,
43:40 about boiling them, making soymilk,
43:43 adding the byproduct of the soymilk
43:45 right back into the porridge
43:46 that everyone ate for breakfast,
43:48 and about what a difference
43:49 that would make in their health.
43:51 One of the reasons we focus on world farm families is
43:54 because that is where the hungry are.
43:57 The World Food Program estimates
43:59 there is 795 million hungry people in the world
44:03 and 75% of them are in these rural villages.
44:06 And so with these skills,
44:09 we believe that they can have an abundant life
44:12 right in the rural area.
44:13 One thing that I love about
44:15 our Farm Stew team is able to do
44:17 especially in the area of Eastern Uganda
44:20 is to introduce the gospel to an area that is 80% Muslim.
44:24 These individuals are going out
44:27 and taking the message deep, deep into the villages.
44:30 I mean, they are really willing to sacrifice on our behalf
44:33 and on behalf of the villagers
44:36 so that they can bring the message out to people
44:38 who would never even get to the big city.
44:41 When I was there in November,
44:42 one of the places where we trained
44:44 was in a hospital in a malnutrition ward.
44:47 And the team didn't even realize it,
44:49 but they planned it for Thanksgiving day.
44:52 So it's kind of surreal to be sitting there
44:55 and realizing that here I was
44:57 with these incredibly malnourished children,
44:59 and all my friends and family were back here feasting.
45:02 But, you know, it's too late to wait
45:05 until they get to the malnutrition ward.
45:07 Two of the children that I interacted with
45:09 died in the next few days.
45:11 And we believe that if we can make that effort
45:14 and the expense to help our team members
45:17 go out deep into the villages,
45:19 those families won't have come into the malnutrition ward,
45:21 we can prevent that from happening.
45:24 This team in Uganda has already trained 13,000 villagers,
45:28 we keep really good records, and we're going back now
45:31 and visiting those same villages,
45:33 and getting to see that impact that we've had.
45:38 So Joy Kauffman is here with me today.
45:41 She is the director of Farm Stew.
45:43 But, Joy, tell us how did God prepare you...
45:48 I mean, I see you in Uganda,
45:49 you're teaching them how to make soy products.
45:53 How in the world did God prepare you for that?
45:55 Well, I was born in the Adventist hospital,
45:59 became a vegetarian when I was nine,
46:01 and just became fascinated in nutrition
46:03 because everyone thought
46:04 I was going to shrivel up and die of malnutrition.
46:07 They thought I would be stunted in fact.
46:10 And so I ended up studying nutrition in college
46:13 and studying all about Adventist
46:15 through the clinical research
46:16 that was available in the '70s and the '80s,
46:19 I was studying in the early '90s.
46:20 And you are healthy but I never met an Adventist
46:23 until I was 35 years old.
46:24 You're born in an Adventist hospital
46:26 but you never met an Adventist
46:27 until you were 35 years old, this is amazing.
46:31 I think they were praying though in the hospital.
46:33 They must have been praying in that hospital,
46:35 and may be even dedicated you to service or something.
46:38 I hope so. God reached out to you.
46:41 What was your background before becoming an Adventist?
46:43 Well, I married into Mennonite farm family,
46:46 actually I had served overseas internationally
46:49 with the Mennonite Central Committee
46:51 and that prepared me with a heart
46:52 for international development
46:53 which I've had now for three decades.
46:56 And I just really have this deep desire to have a message
47:01 for our global church that has a global reach,
47:04 and that's how Farm Stew was really born.
47:07 How long have you been an Adventist?
47:09 A little less than two years.
47:12 Now some of us have been just a little longer.
47:18 Some of us here have been just a little longer
47:20 but it looks like God has just really taken you
47:22 on the fast pace here, praise God,
47:24 you've joined the Adventist church,
47:26 you already have ministry going,
47:27 you're in Uganda, you're working,
47:28 you're training people.
47:30 I heard the video, 13,000 people trained?
47:32 Yeah, we're actually up to 17,000 now,
47:34 I was there a few weeks ago
47:35 and it is just such a powerful thing,
47:37 these team members, and these are church members,
47:40 lay church members like all of us here at ASI
47:44 who are just thrilled to have the opportunity to be trained
47:47 and equipped with simple health messages
47:49 that can really help them.
47:50 So we came up with this acronym Farm Stew.
47:54 And, yes, these are some of the church members
47:56 I want to introduce you to, Fiona
47:58 especially in the front, a new Adventist like me
48:01 who is now out training.
48:03 And she was really not having the ability
48:06 to share the love of Jesus before,
48:09 but now she can do that in a daily basis.
48:12 Amen.
48:13 So just give us the acronym quickly,
48:15 what does Farm Stew mean anyway?
48:17 I've heard of Newstart,
48:18 but what about this Farm Stew stuff?
48:19 Sounds like we should eat it.
48:21 Exactly, and that's what I want you to think of,
48:23 something home grown, something fresh,
48:25 something local.
48:26 So Farm Stew is a recipe of abundant life.
48:30 Jesus came that we might have life
48:32 and have it abundantly,
48:34 but for the woman that has to go walk for half a mile
48:37 to go get water,
48:38 does she really need to be told go get fresh air,
48:41 sunshine, and exercise?
48:43 Probably not. I think not.
48:44 So we had a few letters to play with there.
48:47 So we started with farming
48:48 because you have to be able to grow the food
48:51 in order to eat it.
48:52 In some African countries, it would cost 52% of the income
48:56 just to get five a day of fruits and vegetables.
48:59 So we started with Farming, Attitude, Rest and Meals.
49:03 Sanitation, Temperance, Enterprise and Water
49:05 is our acronym.
49:07 That is so practical, isn't it? Amen.
49:09 Thank you, Joy, that's a blessing
49:11 that God has impressed you to come up with this.
49:13 What impact has this had in the local community?
49:17 Well, we've had a very powerful impact
49:19 but I want to talk spiritually
49:20 because that's one of the things
49:22 that excites us most.
49:23 The first Sabbath I was there five weeks ago,
49:26 there was 29 baptisms.
49:28 And one of the things I love is that
49:30 we are able to connect our spiritual health
49:32 and our physical health.
49:34 For example, a seed, you all have seen seeds,
49:37 did you know that a seed is a perfect image of the Godhead.
49:41 We have a picture of it here.
49:42 Every seed that can bring forth life in this soil
49:45 is a three in one picture of our one true God.
49:49 And Romans 1:20 tells us that everything in creation,
49:54 the invisible attributes of God are seen in creation.
49:57 And so we talk about the health of our bodies
50:00 eating whole grains and whole seeds,
50:03 and then also for the soil,
50:05 we talk about improved varieties of plants
50:08 and teaching vegetable gardening to women,
50:11 we have people that are not having headaches now
50:13 because they're drinking water all over the country.
50:16 And we've had impressions from high to low,
50:19 like the head commander of the prisons
50:22 who has invited us in.
50:23 He actually is contemplating becoming an Adventist
50:26 because of sharing the health message with him.
50:29 So, Joy, we just have few seconds left
50:30 but tell us, how has this changed your life personally
50:34 to get involved in this kind of work?
50:36 Well, I am so blessed.
50:37 It's actually the Ugandan Adventists
50:38 and their witness that helped me
50:40 cross the line of faith to baptism.
50:42 I knew I had to be part of this family
50:44 and I'm so humbled especially by the East Central Division
50:48 and what they're doing.
50:49 And I just believe all of our resources
50:51 should be mobilized to help equipped
50:53 our church members throughout the world
50:54 so that they can bring this message to the world.
50:57 I thank you for letting me share it today.
51:00 What is your website?
51:01 FarmStew.org.
51:03 Do you have a booth here?
51:04 We don't have a booth yet but next year, I hope.
51:07 All right, praise God.
51:08 Thank you, Joy.
51:09 God bless you and the work you're doing and multiply.
51:11 Thank you. God bless you.
51:13 All right, okay. Thank you.
51:19 It's a real blessing today, isn't it?
51:20 I want to read this to you,
51:22 it comes from Christ's Object Lessons, page 326.
51:24 It says this, "Not more surely, is there a placed
51:29 prepared for us in the heavenly mansions
51:33 then is the special place designated on earth,
51:37 where we are to be workers for God."
51:48 Have you been impressed today
51:50 with the stories of those that have made a sacrifice
51:54 who had a passion in their hearts for Jesus?
51:57 Has that impressed your heart today?
51:59 You know, I just met with the two ladies
52:02 from the unentered country that gave their testimony.
52:06 And as we prayed together, tears flow down their face.
52:10 And I interpreted those tears this way,
52:13 they have a passion for that country,
52:16 they have a great desire to see men and women in that country
52:20 come to Christ and be changed by His grace.
52:24 You know, I'm always impressed with Jesus' statement
52:28 in the Gospel of Matthew 9.
52:33 When the scripture says in Matthew 9:35 and 36,
52:37 "And Jesus went about all the cities and villages,
52:41 teaching in their synagogues,
52:44 preaching the gospel of the kingdom,
52:46 and healing every sickness and every disease."
52:49 Jesus' ministry was a comprehensive ministry.
52:53 He cared for people physically, mentally,
52:57 emotionally, and spiritually.
52:59 Then Jesus makes this amazing statement.
53:03 "But He saw the multitudes
53:05 and He was moved with compassion for them
53:08 because they were weary and scattered
53:10 like sheep without a shepherd.
53:12 And He said to his disciples, 'The harvest truly is plentiful
53:16 but the laborers are few.'"
53:18 How many of you believe the words of Jesus?
53:20 Do you believe the words of Jesus?
53:22 The harvest is, what everybody?
53:25 The harvest is, what?
53:26 Plentiful, but the laborers are, what?
53:29 Few.
53:30 Is God speaking to your heart today
53:33 to raise up a new generation of laborers for Him?
53:38 You know, not long ago, 2015, Saint Antonio, Texas,
53:45 there was something going on
53:46 at the General Conference session
53:48 that you may not have been aware of.
53:50 ASI sponsored 65 pastors from China,
53:57 from mainland China,
53:59 they come to the General Conference session.
54:01 ASI raised that money.
54:03 Every afternoon, we met with them
54:05 and we study the Bible,
54:07 the great prophetic truths of the Adventist church.
54:10 Many of them had never had the opportunity
54:12 to have advanced education before.
54:16 After that time at the General Conference session,
54:20 we invited them to come
54:21 on an Adventist history tour with us.
54:24 We traveled to Washington, New Hampshire
54:26 and studied the Bible Sabbath
54:28 at the first Adventist Sabbath keeping church.
54:31 We traveled to William Miller's farm
54:33 and studied the second coming of Christ.
54:36 We traveled to Hiram Edson's farm
54:38 and studied the sanctuary message.
54:41 We traveled to Battle Creek
54:43 and studied the origin of our health message.
54:46 As we were traveling,
54:49 I had an opportunity to interface
54:51 with many of these Chinese brothers and sisters.
54:56 And one young lady impressed me greatly,
54:59 she was about 5'2"
55:02 and I had to look down quite a bit
55:04 and she looked up as we talked.
55:06 And through the Chinese translator,
55:09 I asked her, "What do you do?"
55:10 She said, "I'm a lay person but I'm a church planter."
55:14 She said, "I've been in a city in China
55:17 that will remain unnamed,
55:19 that has over a million people,
55:21 no Seventh-day Adventist when I went there,
55:23 and I've been there now four years working by myself,
55:27 and I've raised up an Adventist church."
55:30 I said to her, "What's the most difficult experience you had?
55:34 What was the hardest?"
55:35 She said "Pastor Mark, I went there alone.
55:40 I didn't know one person in that city,
55:44 the nights were horrible.
55:46 I had little money of self support,
55:49 and I was staying in a one room apartment,"
55:52 and she said, "the most horrible thing is,
55:54 when I would go to bed at night,
55:56 and the rats would climb up on my bed and bite my feet."
56:02 She said, "Pastor, it was horrible.
56:05 I'd get up at the night and the rats would scatter."
56:08 I said, "Why did you stay?
56:11 Why did you stay?"
56:14 Because there were people that needed to know Jesus.
56:18 That is the spirit of early Adventism,
56:22 that is the spirit of ASI, the spirit of commitment,
56:27 commitment to a prophetic message
56:29 that goes to the ends of the earth,
56:32 that is the spirit of sacrifice,
56:36 that is the spirit of a new generation
56:38 that God is raising up.
56:40 I love the song, "Heirs of the kingdom.
56:42 O why do you slumber?
56:45 Why are you sleeping so near your blest home:
56:49 Wake thee, arouse thee, and gird on thine armor,
56:52 speed for the moments are hastening on."
56:55 I want to be a part of that grand and glorious group.


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Revised 2018-03-22