Participants:
Series Code: ASIC
Program Code: ASIC190003S
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00:19 We're looking forward to the meeting this morning,
00:22 there's gonna be testimonies, 00:23 we're going to hear exciting ways 00:25 that we can share Christ. 00:27 And I was thinking about the blessing 00:29 of being able to share Christ in the marketplace, 00:32 and we each have our own experience. 00:34 And I'm happy to be here with Brenda. 00:36 She is Vice President for Finance. 00:38 We're really glad that you're here this morning. 00:41 It's going to be a wonderful day. 00:43 The children are getting ready to go on a field trip. 00:45 They're going to the Ark Encounter. 00:47 Sounds exciting. Oh, they are very excited. 00:50 We've been there. It's a great place to go. 00:52 Well, if you ask any of them this morning 00:54 if they were going, their eyes just light up, 00:57 they say, "Yes, they are." 00:58 They do. Yes. 01:00 They're looking forward to it. 01:02 Yes, we're so glad 01:04 that each of you are here this morning. 01:06 And before we get started, we'd like to just bow our heads 01:09 and ask the Lord to bless us. 01:10 We're going to ask Him 01:12 to bless the children on their trip 01:13 and to bless us as we go through the day today. 01:16 Let's just bow our heads. 01:19 Our Dear Heavenly Father, 01:20 we're so very, very thankful for Your blessings. 01:23 We're thankfull 01:25 that we can come together in this family once a year, 01:28 and rejuvenate, and network 01:30 and be a part of your community. 01:33 Please bless us as we work 01:36 and interact with the people of this city. 01:38 We pray that You'll bless the children today 01:40 as they take their trip and that they will learn a lot 01:43 and to be a blessing and a witness for You. 01:46 And we pray for this meeting in a special way, 01:48 in Jesus' name, amen. 01:50 Amen. 01:51 Now we have something special for you. 01:54 The Weaver children are so anxious 01:57 to go on their trip 01:59 that their Daddy emailed me and he said, 02:01 "Oh, they're supposed to sing at the end of the service, 02:04 and they won't make it for the trip." 02:06 And so I said, 02:08 "Oh, we're going to take care of that. 02:09 We'll make sure that they can come and sing first. 02:12 And then we're going to get them on the bus." 02:15 This is the Weaver family. 02:36 O brother, be faithful! 02:39 Soon Jesus will come 02:42 For whom we have waited so long 02:49 O, soon we shall enter our glorious home 02:56 And join in the conqueror's song 03:02 O brother, be faithful! 03:05 For why should we prove 03:08 Unfaithful to Him who hath shown 03:14 Such deep, such unbounded and infinite love 03:21 Who died to redeem us his own 03:28 O brother, be faithful! 03:31 The city of gold 03:34 Prepared for the good and the blest 03:40 Is waiting its portals of pearl to unfold 03:47 And welcome thee into thy rest 03:53 Then, brother, be faithful! 03:56 Not long shall we stay 04:00 In weariness here, and forlorn 04:06 Time's dark night of sorrow is wearing away 04:12 We haste to the glorious morn 05:21 O brother, be faithful! 05:24 Eternity's years 05:27 Shall tell for thy faithfulness now 05:33 When bright smiles of gladness 05:36 Shall scatter thy tears 05:40 A coronet gleam on thy brow 05:45 O brother, be faithful! 05:49 The promise is sure 05:52 That waits for the faithful and tried 05:58 To reign with the ransomed 06:01 Immortal and pure 06:04 And ever with Jesus abide 06:10 And ever with Jesus abide 06:18 Amen. 06:22 Wasn't that beautiful? 06:24 Praise God. 06:26 How many of you are familiar with Soles for Souls? 06:29 Our outreach initiative here, that was not enough hands yet. 06:33 So we are doing a program 06:36 that we can actually help the people 06:38 of Louisville in a specific way 06:41 by providing shoes and socks for people. 06:45 Now if some of you did not yet get a pair of shoes or socks, 06:49 I want to encourage you, 06:51 just get your phone out and look for a shoe store. 06:55 You will find a place nearby 06:57 where you can get a pair of shoes. 06:59 Nina, I have a few questions for you this morning. 07:02 Good morning. 07:03 We're so glad you're here. 07:05 Thank you very much for joining us. 07:06 Thanks for having us. 07:07 Please tell us a little bit 07:09 about the Wayside Christian Mission. 07:12 How long has it been around? 07:14 Wayside Christian Mission was founded in 1957 07:18 by Reverend Dick Anderson. 07:20 Since that time, we opened with a shelter for 10 men 07:25 on December 8, 1957. 07:27 Today, we house anywhere up to 650 men, women, 07:31 and families every night. 07:33 Every night? Every night. 07:34 Six hundred and fifty people are coming there. 07:37 Now, our specific ASI project is called Soles for Souls. 07:43 So we're providing shoes and socks for people. 07:45 Is that really a big need? 07:47 That is definitely a big need. 07:50 A lot of the homeless folks live out in camps, 07:53 they live on the streets. 07:54 They have only what they carry with them. 07:57 And we do see them coming in without shoes, 08:00 and especially without socks. 08:02 And so we're always trying to find these things for folks. 08:05 In addition, we run a good Samaritan patrol. 08:08 We've done that since 1988, 08:10 where we actually do ministry 08:12 out on the streets and in the camps. 08:14 And so anytime we can find resources to help folks, 08:18 we're very grateful for that help. 08:20 That's fantastic. 08:21 So the Wayside Christian Mission, 08:24 I was reading in the newspaper, doing a little bit of homework, 08:27 and I found out that 08:29 the mission has done a great deal 08:32 to help the people of Louisville. 08:35 Can you tell us a little bit 08:36 about the challenge of homelessness 08:38 here in this city? 08:40 We have a lot of homeless folks in this city, 08:43 around about 7,000 people. 08:45 We only have 1,800 shelter beds in the city. 08:50 And so there's a lot of need for folks. 08:54 We at Wayside have a full gamut of services 08:58 from emergency shelter to transitional shelter, 09:02 to permanent supportive housing. 09:04 And in December, 09:05 we actually opened a low-barrier shelter 09:08 that has an additional 100 people. 09:11 So we have a great need here. 09:13 And anytime we can partner with folks to help, 09:17 that's really important. 09:19 About one third of the homeless people nationwide, 09:22 and it holds true in Louisville as well, 09:24 are homeless due to substance abuse issues. 09:27 So we run a large recovery program 09:31 for men and for women. 09:33 And in addition, we do job training, 09:35 we do parenting classes. 09:37 We do a lot of services in conjunction 09:39 with the universities here 09:42 so we can help people get back on their feet 09:45 and live a good self-sufficient life. 09:48 Well, again, Nina, we're just so glad 09:50 that we can partner with you 09:51 in this small part of the mission. 09:53 And ASI family, 09:55 I want to encourage you once again. 09:57 If you have not yet put your pair of shoes or socks 10:01 in the receptacles 10:03 that are found by the registration booth. 10:06 Please do so today or tomorrow. 10:09 Thank you so much. God bless you. 10:10 Thank you. Thank you very much. 10:15 This morning, Philip, 10:16 we want to take just a little bit of time 10:18 to talk about ASI 10:21 and kind of its strategy going forward. 10:25 ASI was founded as most of you know in 1947. 10:29 Now that's just a few years ago. 10:30 In fact, it was before I was born. 10:32 Me too. Philip, you too? 10:34 Yeah, absolutely. Oh, wow. 10:35 Okay, well, we're... 10:38 So the organization has a few years on it. 10:41 And ASI, the executive team 10:42 has spent the last couple of years 10:44 thinking about the future of ASI. 10:47 But when you think about the future of something, 10:49 you also have to think about 10:51 the history of the organization. 10:53 And so this morning 10:54 we're gonna just talk a little bit about that. 10:57 ASI was founded as a result 11:00 mostly of the work going on at Madison College. 11:03 Now in your registration packet, 11:05 you received a little booklet 11:08 called ASI Strategic Plan 2019, 11:12 Sharing Christ with the World in our Generation. 11:16 And so if you have that with you this morning, 11:18 we're going to spend a little time looking at this. 11:21 And as I was thinking, I said, well, it's kind of dry, 11:23 but it may be that it's really exciting, Philip, 11:27 because what we're talking about 11:28 is how to take ASI to the future. 11:30 Amen? Amen. 11:32 We want ASI to be a strong organization 11:35 until Jesus comes. 11:36 That's right. 11:37 Because we believe that if we empower the lay people, 11:40 we can help get the job done. 11:42 They're just not enough preachers. 11:43 Now, Philip, if you would share with the audience today 11:47 what is the purpose of ASI? 11:49 What is the purpose? 11:51 The executive committee spent a lot of time on these words, 11:53 just share with us what is the purpose? 11:55 Steve, I'm so excited to share the purpose. 11:56 The purpose of ASI is to connect 11:59 and equip lay ministries, business people, 12:02 and professionals, and their families 12:04 to regularly and passionately 12:07 share Christ in the marketplace, 12:08 and to actively support the Adventist church's message 12:12 of sharing the three angels' messages 12:14 of God's love and grace 12:16 in preparation for Jesus' soon return. 12:20 Philip, I'd like to emphasize 12:21 a couple of things in that statement 12:23 because when we just read it, maybe it doesn't fully... 12:26 We don't fully grasp exactly what we're saying here. 12:30 Awesome. 12:31 We're saying we have a target audience. 12:33 And the target audience that we have is the lay people, 12:37 first of all. 12:38 And then within the group of lay people 12:40 in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 12:41 we focus on several subgroups of that... 12:44 That's right. 12:45 Business owners, professionals... 12:48 And ministry people. And ministries. 12:50 That's right. 12:51 So business owners, professionals, and ministries, 12:53 that's the target group, the focus group of ASI. 12:58 Now, we included something here 13:00 though an interesting word we said and their... 13:03 And their families. 13:04 Families. That's right. 13:05 How many of you have family? 13:07 Anybody here have family? Amen. 13:09 Do you love your family? Absolutely. 13:10 Do you want to involve them 13:12 in something exciting, like ASI? 13:13 Absolutely. Yes. 13:15 In fact, I just tell you, my daughter is here. 13:18 And I have two grandchildren here. 13:21 And I have my daughter's husband here. 13:23 And then the cousins and their families came. 13:25 That's five cousins, right, Steve? 13:27 Yeah, five more cousins. 13:28 So there's like... 13:30 We're doing a little takeover here 13:32 in the kids department 13:33 since so we're gonna apologize for that. 13:36 I've got six-month old PJ, Philip Jr. men. 13:39 And I want to get him involved in ASI, 13:41 even now I'm teaching him about it. 13:43 Amen. Amen. 13:44 Start them early. That's right. 13:46 All right, good. 13:47 So, Philip, ASI has for years had a motto. 13:53 What is that motto? 13:54 Our motto is sharing Christ in the marketplace. 13:58 That's our motto. 13:59 Now if you've heard the term ASI, 14:00 you probably have connected with it 14:02 that understanding 14:04 that we're here to share Christ in the marketplace. 14:07 I want to share though now, there are some things 14:08 that are very, very important to ASI. 14:12 And we've made the list quite short 14:14 so that we can try and remember it 14:16 because, you know, 14:18 we have to make things easy, right? 14:20 Right. 14:21 So there's just three things 14:22 that we think are very, very important. 14:25 And we've kind of reduced it down to three things. 14:28 First of all, 14:30 if you're involved in ASI in any way, 14:33 whether as a member or as a chapter, officer, 14:38 or in the leadership of the national 14:40 or on the ASI board... 14:42 Right. 14:43 We believe that every individual in that 14:47 and in those categories should be committed 14:51 to the Seventh-day Adventist Church and its mission. 14:54 It's actually under our Values if you want to follow along 14:57 in the PowerPoint slide under Values. 14:58 That's the first thing, committed to Adventist Church. 15:01 Committed to the Seventh-day Adventist Church 15:03 and its values. 15:04 If they're not committed to that, like, 15:06 you could go somewhere else, you know, Okay. 15:09 There are a lot of organizations 15:11 in this world, right? 15:12 You can go check it on the internet, 15:13 nonprofit organizations. 15:15 They could join any one of those, right? 15:16 That's right. That's right. 15:18 But what we are about is 15:20 we are committed to the Seventh-day Adventist Church 15:22 and its mission. 15:24 That is a powerful thought 15:27 to think we have the opportunity to partner 15:30 with the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 15:32 Secondly, 15:34 this organization is empowered by lay-driven leadership. 15:39 Amen. 15:40 Now you see a lot of people running around here, 15:43 and you'll see a lot of people doing things. 15:46 But these are volunteers. 15:51 Lay people who volunteer their time, 15:54 their energy, their passion... 15:56 Their talents. 15:57 Their talent and their resources... 15:59 That's right. To help us. 16:00 Amen. 16:01 Philip, the last thing is 16:04 if you're associated with ASI, 16:07 you should be actively engaged in ministry. 16:10 Actively engaged in ministry. Actively. 16:13 I like the way you said actively. 16:14 Yeah. Got to do something. 16:17 And you need to be doing it all the time, 16:19 not just now and then. 16:21 Yeah, not just coming to church and sitting on the pew 16:23 but getting involved. 16:26 Philip, our strategy to accomplish this 16:28 and take us to the future 16:30 is that we would continue to plan 16:33 and execute a powerful annual convention. 16:36 Amen. 16:37 You know, this in fact is... 16:39 The way I would describe it is the showcase 16:42 of what you as members are doing throughout the year. 16:44 That's right. 16:46 It's not to showcase, Philip, or me, 16:47 or whatever else, 16:49 it's to showcase what our members 16:50 are doing throughout the year. 16:52 Our exhibit hall is full of ministries doing things. 16:55 It's amazing to go in the exhibit hall 16:56 and just see what's happening there. 16:58 It really is. Okay. 17:00 The other thing that's really important, 17:02 as we looked at the future on a strategy 17:04 is that we be collaborating. 17:07 We're not out here to do something by ourselves, 17:09 but we're going to collaborate. 17:10 The other thing is we're going to innovate. 17:12 That's right. We're going to innovate. 17:13 We're known as an entrepreneurial 17:16 kind of organization. 17:17 People who think about new ideas, 17:19 and then just don't think about them, 17:20 they go do something. 17:22 Yes. 17:23 So innovators and collaborating with our church. 17:25 The last thing on that list of strategies is 17:27 we want to engage the next generation. 17:30 And so today, I hope that as you look around 17:32 and you see young people here, 17:34 you will encourage them to come back. 17:36 So we're happy with that. 17:37 Philip, I want to end this morning though 17:39 by talking about something that's really on my heart. 17:42 And that's the opportunity. 17:43 Yes. 17:45 Philip, just think about this for a moment. 17:49 Can you imagine what would happen? 17:52 I just want you to think this morning for a minute. 17:54 If every single Seventh-day Adventist 17:58 business person, 18:01 professional, 18:03 and ministry person was 100% engaged 18:09 in taking this three angels' message to the world. 18:14 Wow! 18:17 With about 19 million members worldwide. 18:22 I don't know how many of those are business 18:23 and professional people, but there's a good number. 18:25 Yes. 18:27 There's a lot of lay people involved in ministry. 18:30 But can you imagine what would happen 18:32 to the work of God 18:35 if all of us were all in? 18:39 Like the 12 disciples, 18:40 we could be known as the ones 18:41 that turned the world upside down for Jesus Christ. 18:45 Today, we pray that God will bless you 18:47 and your experience here at ASI, 18:49 and that you would join us in the mission of ASI 18:52 of taking the gospel to the world 18:54 in this generation. 18:56 Amen. 20:59 Hey, everyone, I'm with Sandra 21:01 who is the Executive Director 21:03 for Adventist Colleges Abroad or ACA. 21:06 Sandra, tell me how does ACA contribute to the mission 21:10 of a Seventh-day Adventist Church? 21:12 Good morning. 21:15 I will answer your question in just one second. 21:17 Okay. 21:19 First, I would like to tell you all 21:20 that confirm that you receive this magazine in your bags. 21:26 And here you have a lot of information already 21:30 about these programs and who they serve, 21:35 about the countries 21:36 where our young people can go and study. 21:40 Every registration bag, so if you look in your bag, 21:43 you can see the magazine. 21:44 So how does Adventist Colleges Abroad 21:47 contribute to our church mission 21:49 in many ways and very powerful ways? 21:52 Nelson Mandela said that, I'm going to paraphrase. 21:58 But if you talk to somebody in a foreign language, 22:00 you are talking to their head. 22:02 But if you are talking to them in their native language, 22:05 you talk to their heart. 22:07 Amen. 22:08 Our mission in our church, 22:09 whatever we do in our different ministries, 22:12 we all have the same goal, which is reaching hearts. 22:17 And so ACA also contributes to that goal 22:21 by equipping our young people with the knowledge of language. 22:26 We can't give a message if we don't have words, 22:28 if we don't have the language. 22:31 Did you know that in America right here at home, 22:36 there is no official language. 22:39 And that is because 22:41 there are 350 languages spoken right here at home 22:46 in the United States. 22:48 So we are equipping our young people to do mission, 22:52 not only in the world but here and at right at home. 22:56 So we send them to 11 countries. 22:59 Wow. 23:00 And we mostly send university students. 23:04 And the preferred experience that we advise them all 23:08 to do is one academic year 23:11 because not only they are learning more language, 23:14 but they are getting an experience 23:16 that they will never forget, 23:18 and that will impact their life for ministry. 23:21 What are some of the countries you send them to? 23:23 Oh! 23:24 Well, they are mostly in Europe. 23:27 Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, 23:31 Lebanon for Arabic, 23:34 for Portuguese, we have Brazil. 23:37 For Spanish, we have two countries, 23:39 two experiences, we have Argentina and Spain. 23:44 Israel in the summer for Hebrew. 23:46 Our Hebrew students in the theology programs. 23:50 And we have Chinese, Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan. 23:55 Now I see you have this hat. 23:56 Tell me about this hat? All right. 23:58 So I have more information about these, 24:01 two minutes is not enough. 24:03 So I am very happy to talk to you. 24:08 Please come, ask me questions. 24:11 We not only send university students 24:15 but we also send students 15 years old and up. 24:19 So your academy students, they can also go abroad. 24:23 Come ask me the questions. 24:24 And so... Please. 24:27 Okay, that's a fancy hat. 24:30 I think you can't miss me with this hat, right? 24:33 So at the end of this meeting 24:35 I will wear this hat 24:37 so you can spot me and you can come to me. 24:40 I have a few more materials for you. 24:42 So just look for the lady in the beautiful hat. 24:46 Wow! 24:47 And last question, how can we get more involved? 24:49 How can we help? 24:52 Well, would you pray for our students? 24:57 When they go abroad, they travel 24:58 and that is part of their maturity. 25:01 We want them to grow. 25:02 We want them to make friends with people of other cultures. 25:05 We want them to be quick 25:07 at empathizing and slow to judge. 25:11 We want them to embrace differences, 25:14 to embrace diversity. 25:17 And so they travel. 25:18 And we ask your prayers for that. 25:21 But we also ask you to share in your churches 25:25 with your friends, your family, relatives 25:29 that this opportunity is for all of our students. 25:34 Even if your student is not enrolled 25:36 at the Seventh-day Adventist University 25:39 or at an academy, still, talk to me. 25:42 I will give you some news. Awesome. 25:45 I have a brother that went 25:46 to Adventist Colleges Abroad overseas 25:48 and he came back transformed. 25:49 So thank you for the ministry that you're doing. 25:51 God bless you. 25:53 I just want to ask, 25:54 I'm sure there are ACA alumni in this room here 25:58 'cause I see a show of hands very quickly. 26:01 Are you ACA alumni? Or... 26:03 I see some hands. Awesome. 26:05 Or if you have a child 26:07 or a grandchild that went to ACA, 26:10 ACA is going to turn 60 years old. 26:13 And would you please do send the text 26:16 as it says on the screen. 26:18 I promise you will only receive two texts 26:20 and that's it from us. 26:22 Thank you so much. 26:23 Thank you, everybody. 26:27 Good morning, ASI. 26:29 This is another offering in action segment 26:32 when we highlight projects 26:34 that will be recipients in this year's offering. 26:37 And with me is Brad Mills. 26:39 He's the Director of Amazon Lifesavers. 26:42 And tell us first, Brad, what is Amazon Life Savers? 26:46 Debbie, good morning. 26:47 Amazon Lifesavers is a ministry 26:49 that connects lay people with the Northwest Brazil union 26:53 to do church planting. 26:55 And where do you do this church planting? 26:57 So the Amazon is a big basin, 27:00 actually is in several countries, 27:02 and we are in the northwest area of Brazil, 27:05 working in the jungle areas in the northwest of Brazil. 27:09 So exactly what do you do there? 27:11 So we actually look to do church planting global missions 27:16 and initiative with the local lay people 27:19 to take volunteers out into the jungle 27:23 and plant churches 27:24 where the Adventist church has never entered before. 27:26 So we do that using various ways. 27:29 For example, we actually use mission groups on boats. 27:32 And we will travel out on boats 27:34 into the jungle with a group of 25 to 30 people 27:37 and serve the community. 27:39 So you can imagine a group of young people 27:41 sleeping on a hammock, heading out onto a boat 27:44 and working in the community to reach what their needs are. 27:47 For example, this very month 27:50 we had a group that went out into the jungle 27:52 in a village that has never had an Adventist in the area. 27:56 And we went in, and we put in a well, 27:59 and we plumbed the whole village. 28:01 The group came in and put water in. 28:03 You can see the picture here. 28:04 This actually was this month 28:06 what happened is these people live on the bank of the river, 28:09 but they don't have fresh drinking water. 28:11 And the group came in, they put in the water, 28:13 and they went door to door 28:15 into the little jungle village huts 28:17 and turned on the faucet with the people 28:19 for the very first time. 28:21 This is a picture of the kids 28:22 playing in the water for the first time. 28:24 That night if you can imagine 28:26 these people never had an Adventist church, 28:28 that night, we had our very first meeting in the village 28:31 and every single person in the whole village 28:33 came to find out 28:34 who these people are and what they have to say. 28:37 So that's really wonderful. 28:38 But help me understand this, 28:40 this all you do is 'cause ASI boats in water? 28:44 No, Debbie. 28:46 We are all about church planting. 28:48 So we believe exactly what Jesus did. 28:51 As we work with the people, meet their needs, 28:54 we can gain their confidence. 28:56 And through this work, health fairs, medical work, 28:59 dental work, putting in water, putting in village gardens, 29:04 then we can place in Bible workers. 29:06 So we have a program that we have Bible training school, 29:11 and we send them out two by two. 29:13 You'll see a picture here 29:15 of two of our Bible workers going out, 29:16 and they will live for over a year 29:19 in a jungle village with the Indian people 29:22 or with the river people. 29:23 There's two different types of people 29:25 that live in the river. 29:26 This picture is a picture of Lucas and Georgia, 29:28 and they are heading out 29:30 and they lived in an indigenous area. 29:32 And this area and that they lived in, 29:34 we have worked for over five years. 29:36 But it is an area where the Indians, 29:38 they live very primitively still. 29:41 They're very cautious 29:44 to have us come into their area. 29:45 They don't know who we are, what we really want to do. 29:48 And so I remember the first time 29:49 we went to their village, they actually asked us 29:52 to leave after a day of medical care. 29:55 They watched us, 29:56 we took care of them with medical care. 29:58 We had a group of physicians and dentists, 29:59 and by the end of the day, 30:00 they said we could leave their village. 30:02 And so we came back again. 30:03 And we came back again. 30:05 And after a long time of working here, 30:07 they said, "Hey, we would have some people live with us." 30:10 So Lucas and Georgia went out and lived with them. 30:12 After living with them, working with them 30:15 going out to their gardens and fishing, 30:16 then they're able to start doing Bible studies. 30:19 And they'll sit with the people, 30:21 and they'll open up the Bible, and they'll study God's word. 30:24 In this actual, 30:25 and you'll see the picture of them 30:27 sitting with the people. 30:28 In this village, Lucas was able to learn the local language. 30:32 It's an indigenous dialect. 30:34 We wrote the very first ever Bible study in their language. 30:40 He studies with them in their language. 30:42 And so I went out and visited this very village 30:45 about a month ago. 30:47 We have a program, so we're taking out groups 30:50 and we open up the villages 30:51 and we put in our Bible workers. 30:53 And then we come out with a floating boat 30:55 that our union has to do public evangelism. 30:57 But I went out to do a visit and say, 31:00 "Is this community 31:01 that has been so resistant to us 31:03 really open to any kind of evangelism? 31:06 You know, can you take that step forward?" 31:08 And I went out, and I met the Indian chief. 31:10 And Lucas, the Bible worker presented me as his chief 31:13 because I'm the director of the program. 31:14 So this was chief to chief having a talk. 31:16 And he brought me into his hut, and we sat and talk. 31:20 And I asked him, you know, how was it going with Lucas 31:23 and how did he feel about us 31:25 being more present in the community? 31:27 And he said to me, he said, 31:28 "I want Lucas's church here in my community." 31:32 We were so excited 31:33 because they've never been open for that. 31:35 So right now, in this very moment, 31:37 we have our floating church in front of the community. 31:41 I spoke to the pastor that lives on the boat yesterday. 31:44 Just yesterday, he said to me, 31:45 we have 50 people 31:47 that are going to be baptized the end of this month. 31:50 So this is brand new. 31:51 This is an area 31:52 that we've never had an Adventist church before. 31:54 So Amazon Lifesavers 31:56 really looks to do a complete service 31:58 with the social work that really just opens up, 32:01 finding out the need, working with the people, 32:03 loving the people and leaving churches as we go. 32:05 So what will this year's project do 32:09 from the offerings that you'll receive? 32:11 This year, we have partnered with ASI, 32:13 and you guys are helping us 32:15 so that we can reach 10 new areas. 32:17 So with the money 32:18 that we're going to be receiving from ASI, 32:19 we will train beginning in January 32:21 10 new groups of Bible workers, 32:23 they come at our base, 32:25 and they do a two-month training course 32:27 where we have all the different areas 32:29 they are trained in 32:30 and then they'll be living out in the jungle for a whole year. 32:32 We hope by the end of 2020 32:34 to have 10 new regions with 10 new churches. 32:36 Amen. 32:38 Well, thank you so much for everything. 32:39 It's happening with Amazon Lifesavers. 32:41 Now I understand that my next interviewee, 32:44 James Hartley who leads LIGHT, 32:47 is a partner of yours in ministry. 32:49 How does that work? 32:50 He is, Debbie. 32:51 LIGHT has actually been a partner with us. 32:53 We have another school in our union as well 32:56 where we train medical mission, 32:58 and LIGHT has been a great partner with us 33:00 both in our training school in the Amazon 33:02 and our training school in Honduras, 33:03 where we train medical missions. 33:05 Thank you for helping me 33:06 introduce James to the audience. 33:07 Thank you. 33:10 So now we'll have James Hartley, 33:11 who is the president of LIGHT 33:13 come out and tell us a little bit more about 33:15 that ministry. 33:16 Of course, you know, we've been here on stage 33:18 so much together. 33:19 That's right, Debbie. 33:20 You should probably me interviewing me. 33:22 Debbie, could you tell the audience 33:23 what LIGHT stands for? 33:24 Well, I'll let you go ahead and do that today. 33:26 I've put you on the spot. 33:27 So LIGHT stands for the Lay Institute 33:29 for Global Health Training. 33:30 Our partners with ASI, something we really appreciate. 33:32 So LIGHT is a nonprofit organization 33:35 that provides quality health evangelism 33:39 training to church members around the world. 33:42 And, you know, we do that through short courses, 33:45 through workshops, through online studies. 33:47 And our goal is really to provide 33:48 health evangelism training to every church member 33:51 in their country and in their language. 33:53 What we want to see what our goal, 33:54 what our vision, I should say is, 33:56 is to see that every Adventist Church 33:59 is a thriving community health center, 34:02 where the church members are sharing the love of Christ 34:04 through ministering to the practical needs 34:06 of the community around them, 34:07 not just warming their church pews, 34:09 but out actively engaged in the community. 34:11 This is what LIGHT is about. 34:12 So we have a 350-page training manual. 34:16 It's a little hefty. 34:18 Okay, it takes 125 hours to go through 34:20 because we want them to be well-equipped. 34:22 And through the program, 34:23 which is normally three or four weeks, 34:25 we get them engaged in the community. 34:27 So our staff are out working with the students 34:29 in the community, conducting health expos, 34:32 doing door to door work, 34:33 doing health seminars, and so forth. 34:35 And so we're teaching them. 34:36 So when we leave, 34:38 and then we also leave them with materials, 34:39 so they can continue on in that type of work. 34:42 So yeah, it was just something 34:44 I feel privileged to be a part of. 34:45 It's amazing. 34:47 I was thinking of my first ASI was 2001. 34:49 I've been Seventh-day Adventist for 20 years, 34:53 and I've been pretty much doing this type of work ever since. 34:55 And, you know, it's just exciting to be a part of it. 34:58 And, you know, we're just trying to help 34:59 strengthen the right arm of the gospel 35:01 and equip church members to be able to use it, 35:04 you know, more effectively. 35:05 So how do ASI funds help support LIGHT efforts? 35:09 So LIGHT has a network of over 50 LIGHT missionaries, 35:13 we call them that are scattered throughout the world 35:14 that work full time throughout the whole year. 35:17 They're traveling, 35:18 they're conducting short courses 35:20 three to four weeks, 35:21 some of them help with six-month schools 35:23 and engaged in a lot of other community health evangelism, 35:27 you know, activities. 35:28 And so it's supporting those 50 plus missionaries. 35:32 Also we're translating our material. 35:33 Our curriculum is in 12 different languages. 35:37 And so we produce materials, 35:38 and we also have the materials that... 35:39 We have the training materials, the health expo materials 35:42 that we use in our courses. 35:43 So since we've been an ASI member since 2008, 35:47 and so since that time is about 11 years now, 35:49 we've trained well over 25,000 church members 35:52 through our curriculum in over 90 countries. 35:55 So that's kind of, you know, it's right around... 35:58 I guess around 2,000 or so per year 36:00 that we're training right now. 36:02 We're not trying to get numbers, 36:03 but we want to have accountability, 36:05 it's what we do. 36:06 So all of our missionaries provide activity reports 36:08 to the regional LIGHT directors 36:09 would send that to our main office. 36:11 And so I get to read those, and all these testimonies 36:14 and all these stories. 36:15 So I've got two that I wanted to share, you know, 36:18 'cause one of our projects is providing LIGHT courses 36:22 to every conference and union in the country of India. 36:25 And so I have a story of a lady. 36:27 We just conducted our course this spring in India. 36:30 And one of our missionaries, her name's Jane. 36:33 She didn't speak the local dialect. 36:35 So we had a health expo, lots of people attending, 36:39 so she was at the massage booth 36:40 'cause she couldn't communicate in the language. 36:43 And for an hour, 36:44 she was massaging all these different women. 36:46 One woman came and she looked very, 36:48 you know, wore out and discouraged and down, 36:51 and so she dialogue with the woman. 36:53 The woman said she had pain from her shoulder to her feet, 36:56 she hadn't slept in nights. 36:57 She was just in a terrible condition. 37:00 And so, you know, 37:02 our missionary is giving advice about what to do and so forth. 37:04 But it was just... 37:06 The lady was just discouraged. You know, it wasn't... 37:08 It wasn't resonating with her. So she said... 37:10 You know, she felt impressed to offer a full body massage. 37:13 So she's like, you know what, I want to try to help you. 37:14 So they found a room, 37:16 she went into a back room and gave, 37:19 spent 45 minutes giving this woman 37:21 from head to toe this massage 37:23 and she could sense the woman's breathing 37:25 was becoming more relaxed. 37:26 Finally, the woman fell asleep, 37:28 but she hadn't done in a long time. 37:29 And she was just there snoring away on the bed. 37:32 And so our missionary is like, I'm not going to disturb her. 37:34 I mean, this woman needs rest, right? 37:37 You know, she lives a hard life. 37:38 Many of them sleep on dirt floors, 37:39 they might just have a mattress, 37:41 but they might have to surrender to their kids. 37:43 You know, it's a hard life. So she's just let her sleep. 37:45 She goes outside, tells her husband. 37:47 You know, can we just let her rest, 37:48 so she sleeps there for quite a while. 37:50 Finally, she comes out and her face is relaxed. 37:52 She's smiling. 37:54 She's really, you know, relaxed and she was so happy 37:56 trying to communicate to her appreciation. 37:58 And so anyway, the next day at LIGHT course, 38:00 this lady shows up in the class. 38:03 So this is a picture actually of the lady 38:05 with this pink shawl circled there. 38:07 So she just shows up to our LIGHT course, 38:09 and she brings with her four other women. 38:11 And this is in fact a massage class. 38:13 And so she gave a testimony 38:14 and all the ladies with her asking all kinds of questions 38:18 this woman from the community. 38:19 And then the next day she came with five more women. 38:22 And so it was like, this group was growing. 38:24 And these women are asking all kinds of questions 38:26 where our missionaries were visiting their homes, 38:28 giving them advice. 38:29 And so this, you know, 38:31 experience along with others lead this woman 38:34 to convert to Christianity 38:36 and give her heart to the Jesus Christ, 38:37 so it was just really exciting to see that sort of thing. 38:40 Now another story. 38:41 We just finished a course in Romania this summer, 38:43 just in June. 38:45 And there's this Moldovan lady, her name is Larissa. 38:48 She was living in Romania. 38:51 And it's really a tragic story. 38:53 She was given... 38:54 She was diagnosed with cancer a year and a half ago. 38:57 She has two little children. 38:59 And she's not a Seventh-day Adventist. 39:03 So in April, end of April, 39:06 she had to get a surgery due to some complications 39:09 with her medical condition. 39:10 And they realized that 39:11 this cancer had metastasized severely. 39:14 After the surgery, she was on a respirator, 39:17 she was riddled with cancer. 39:18 The doctors basically gave her up for dead. 39:20 And I've heard of telling someone, 39:22 you know, you've got three months to live. 39:24 They told her she has three days to live. 39:26 They said... 39:28 But in this condition, 39:29 she's going to die in three days. 39:30 So her family's crying and they're supporting her, 39:32 and she even tried to kill herself in that time. 39:36 And her family ended up, you know, 39:37 charming her with love 39:39 and begging the doctors to let her go home to die 39:42 and say goodbye to her family and so forth. 39:43 They let her go. 39:45 So then one family member, like 39:46 pulls her, hears about our training 39:48 and this little, like, 39:50 home like lifestyle program that they heard about, 39:53 which were a ministry that we are partnering with. 39:55 So they bring her there, okay, 39:57 which is unusual, as a terminally ill person. 40:01 But our students surround her, they hear her case 40:03 and they just surround her with prayer. 40:04 They're on their knees praying for her 40:06 doing everything that they can, you know, 40:08 they just did simple things, you know. 40:12 But she started sitting in our classes 40:14 and started to be impacted by this. 40:15 And she started living one day, two days, three days, 40:18 one week, two weeks. 40:19 When she got there, she could hardly walk. 40:22 Now she finished the whole program 40:23 and was walking a kilometer, 40:25 her health just keeps getting better and better. 40:27 And you know what, 40:28 she started getting Bible studies, 40:30 she is gonna be... 40:31 She's scheduled to be baptized next Sabbath on August 10. 40:34 And it's just an amazing story. 40:36 So she was given three days to live 40:38 and she's been living three months. 40:41 We don't know the result of it, 40:42 and we're not trying to say it was, you know, 40:44 the food or whatever that healed everything. 40:45 God healed her. 40:47 But, you know, I just feel like, you know, 40:48 those kind of circumstances when someone gets... 40:50 She has a new motivation for life, you know, 40:53 and she just really surrendered her heart to God, 40:54 and it's just... 40:56 You know, it's amazing the body that God gave to us 40:58 and the healing power that He has, 40:59 so we hope she lives long and is able to be a missionary. 41:02 That's what she wants to do. Yes. 41:03 But we don't know. 41:05 But her heart is getting ready for the Lord's 41:06 for the Second Coming regardless, so... 41:08 Isn't this amazing 41:09 what can happen when God blesses our efforts? 41:13 Thank you so much with what's happening through LIGHT. 41:16 And we pray that God will continue the blessings. 41:18 God is good. Thank you, Debbie. 41:21 So now coming our last story today is from NAPS. 41:27 And they have their whole contingent with them. 41:31 So with us is... 41:33 This is Letitia Bullard, 41:37 who is the NAPS impact mission food director. 41:40 And then Bethie Melidor, who's the principal of NALA 41:44 and we'll explain that later. 41:46 So first I wanna start with Letitia. 41:49 Tell us what NAPS is? 41:51 What was the original purpose and where are we now? 41:55 Okay, so NAPS stands for the National Association 41:58 for the Prevention of Starvation. 42:00 And it was originally started by a college student 42:03 who would pass by some homeless people 42:06 who were under bridge every day after school. 42:09 And then he finally decided, you know what, 42:11 I have to do something about this. 42:13 So he gathered some friends. 42:15 They decided to wake up early before classes 42:17 and they start providing these people with food. 42:20 This was over 40 years ago, 42:22 and now NAPS has expanded so much 42:25 to where we do medical relief, disaster relief, 42:28 feeding programs, youth programs. 42:31 We have over 13 branches around the world, 42:33 three in the States. 42:34 We have a wellness center in Alabama, 42:37 as well as the NAPS Abundant Life Academy. 42:40 Okay, so you said the NAPS Abundant Life Academy? 42:44 Yes, ma'am. That's NALA. 42:45 Que you. 42:47 All right, so then, Bethie, tell us about NALA? 42:50 Where's Joy. 42:52 NALA to me is an amazing opportunity for me. 42:56 As you said NALA stands for NAPS Abundant Life Academy. 43:00 Letitia talked about those college students 43:02 doing work going out and serving their community 43:04 starting with food and expanding. 43:07 One of those students and one of those missions 43:09 decided to go serve in an area that is amongst the poor 43:13 that has one of the most poorest counties 43:15 it is hill county, green county, 43:16 Some of the counties, 43:18 they're on the top five of the poorest counties 43:20 in the entire United States. 43:22 And because of what she experienced 43:24 there at the time and the educational relief 43:27 that she saw that was needed 43:28 because of the struggling educational system 43:30 in that area. 43:32 She decided we should start a school 43:34 and as a college students she moved on that vision 43:38 and NAPS was able to start NALA now 43:40 in K-8th school that is serving in that area. 43:44 And NALA is not a typical school. 43:47 NALA students have received a gift of service from NAPS 43:52 and all the missions and a history 43:54 and now they are serving and reaching out 43:57 and doing missions on their own. 43:58 So these are elementary age school children. 44:01 Yes. K-8th. Okay. All right. 44:03 So let's talk a little bit about the food program. 44:06 Letitia. 44:08 Okay, so NAPS Abundant Life Academy 44:11 is able to do a food program every month, food bank. 44:15 And it so happened that in the beginning of the year, 44:18 the director of the program had to unexpectedly leave. 44:21 So now everyone's questioning like 44:24 who's gonna run this food bank, 44:26 you know, it's servicing over 200 families, 44:29 over 500 individuals who's gonna take that up? 44:32 And the kids from NAPS Academy, 44:34 they volunteer, they say, "We are gonna do this." 44:37 So they divide themselves up into groups 44:41 become leaders decided to take on the calling 44:44 for the food bank, 44:45 the packing, the unpacking, everything. 44:48 And it's such a blessing. 44:50 And we actually have a short video 44:52 of one of the students 44:54 who was in charge of it one time. 44:56 Her name is Diane 44:57 and we'll hear a little bit more 44:58 about what she has to say about it. 45:00 Okay. 45:01 My name is Diane, and I go to the school NALA. 45:05 And today we're operating a food bank, 45:08 for the community. 45:10 And it just makes me feel good just 45:12 to serve the people for those who don't have, 45:16 for those who probably have, 45:17 but it's still a blessing to share with them food 45:21 and to do the work for that. 45:23 Well, she's quite an articulate little young lady. 45:26 She knows exactly what to do. 45:28 So what kind of impact is that having on the community? 45:32 Well, what's so great about doing the food bank 45:35 is that it not only caters to 45:36 the physical needs of the community there, 45:39 but also what we're able to do 45:41 is that we can invite all the families 45:43 that come through, 45:45 they are invited to the exercise classes 45:47 at the wellness center, that's not too far away 45:49 or they're invited to the Bible study. 45:51 And the last time I was there just a week ago, 45:54 so the Bible study was packed 45:56 and these are all people who aren't Adventists 45:58 or don't know much about it who we are, 46:00 but they're so receptive to what we have to say 46:03 because we have met their physical needs. 46:05 So just a blessing around all around. 46:08 So has this had an impact on the students 46:11 that are participating in this way? 46:14 As a teacher, I'll put it this way, 46:16 I have not seen any amount of lesson planning 46:19 or even in class study, 46:20 do what one day of service have done for these kids. 46:23 Amen. 46:25 I call it, my not so secret weapon for academies. 46:28 We talk about the children and the struggles with them, 46:30 engage them in service. 46:32 These children, their hearts have been transformed. 46:36 Their character has been built, 46:38 and most importantly, spiritually, 46:40 it's like they walk in the walk of Jesus 46:42 and they identify with the Bible in a way 46:44 that I haven't seen the children 46:46 do other places before. 46:48 So it's been an amazing journey 46:50 and just recently in our baptism 46:52 in May eight of those students stood up to be baptized. 46:56 Amen. 46:57 And so just to show a taste of what they get, 46:59 and we didn't have to do must be on showing them 47:02 and they get to walk the walk themselves. 47:04 Okay, now there's a picture of a young man. 47:07 Oh, and there he is. 47:09 Tell us a little bit about his story? 47:10 He's one of our original students in NALA. 47:13 We call him DJ. 47:14 And it was amazing because 47:16 in that area as well spiritually, 47:19 you need to get the mental picture 47:21 that church for this community is more like a heritage, 47:25 is this is where I was born family history traditionally. 47:28 So it's not some situation 47:30 where you see people are willingly 47:32 just trying to open to learn about other faiths, 47:34 it's culturally lead that way. 47:36 So for him being from that background, 47:39 he'd been in our school for about four years, 47:42 and he wanted to transform. 47:43 He learned a lot. 47:45 He told his mother 47:46 that he wanted to be able to be baptized, 47:49 but she said, "You know, you've been at our church, 47:51 you've been baptized for?" 47:52 He said, "No, Mom, what I'm learning, 47:54 the way I'm growing. 47:56 I want to be baptized here." 47:57 And after six students had already been baptized, 48:00 he was struggling with that 48:01 he was on the phone with his mom, 48:03 at that time did not want the baptism to pass 48:06 and he stood until she surrendered to him 48:09 and allowed him and his sister to be baptized. 48:12 And this is him taken the core. 48:14 This is not us standing for him pushing his parents for him. 48:17 These are the kids themselves on the move, 48:20 ready to give their life to Christ and to serve. 48:23 And we're talking 7 to 13 year olds. 48:25 Yes. 48:27 So the impact that we can have on children is tremendous 48:30 if we just give them the opportunity to serve Jesus. 48:32 Amen. That's wonderful. 48:34 And so the funds that we will provide for NAPS 48:37 will help to increase the capacity 48:40 for their food donor program 48:41 and obviously impact many more lives. 48:43 Thank you. 48:44 We are so grateful for all supporters. 48:46 Thank you very much. |
Revised 2020-01-08