Participants:
Series Code: ASIC
Program Code: ASIC190007S
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00:20 Welcome, ASI.
00:22 Thank you for the opportunity to be here. 00:25 I remember my first ASI, 00:26 anybody this is their first ASI? 00:29 Yeah. 00:30 Our first ASI was 2010 in Cincinnati, Ohio 00:33 not too far from here 00:35 and it was what inspired my wife and I 00:39 to be more all in. 00:43 And when you're all in for Christ, 00:44 then he can use you, have you noticed that? 00:48 And we're so thankful to ASI for giving us that inspiration, 00:51 that's one of the reasons 00:52 why we are at Holbrook Indian School. 00:55 One of the stories that I can remember 00:56 from that first 2010 ASI 00:59 that we went to was I learned about 01:01 the Davis Indians. 01:02 Anybody heard about the Davis Indians before? 01:05 I was so fascinated by that story 01:07 and that really helped me to understand 01:10 that when we're all in that God will use you 01:12 in ministry for him. 01:14 And we wanna thank each of you for being here, 01:17 each of you for supporting ASI 01:19 whether it's with your time 01:21 or whether it's with your energy 01:23 or whether it's with your resources. 01:25 And my wife and I work 01:27 at Holbrook Indian School in Holbrook, 01:28 Arizona and we minister to the native youth there, 01:32 and it's an awesome opportunity 01:35 to share the love of Jesus with people 01:37 who have never heard about Jesus before. 01:42 And we ask you to pray for us and the students 01:45 because we see the great controversy 01:47 every day right in front of us. 01:50 So Dianne is gonna have a prayer for us 01:52 as we start this morning, 01:54 and we pray that you 01:55 would have an awesome weekend here at ASI. 01:59 So bow your heads with me while I pray. 02:02 Father God, we are so grateful 02:04 for this beautiful day that you've given us 02:07 and especially thank you for everyone 02:09 who has had a part 02:11 in putting together this wonderful conference. 02:14 It is a blessing Lord to come together 02:17 to learn about the ministries, but we ask, 02:20 Father, that You be glorified, not us. 02:23 We ask that Your name be praised and, Lord, 02:27 may we always remember that Jesus loves us 02:30 and may we share that with others. 02:32 And we pray this in Jesus' name. 02:33 Amen. Amen. 05:30 Wow. 05:32 That was really something very interesting. 05:35 So this is Scotty Mayer. 05:37 He's the president, speaker/director, 05:39 sorry for a Little Light Studios, 05:42 and you are responsible in part for all of what we just saw. 05:46 Can you explain to us? 05:48 Is this a movie that's coming out? 05:49 You know, I actually wish it was a movie, 05:52 but we actually have started a whole new venture 05:55 creating Christian Stock Media. 05:57 And what they are is little video clips 06:00 that are designed for illustration purposes. 06:03 So like if you're gonna preach a sermon 06:05 or if you're gonna make a video and talk about Daniel. 06:09 We went over there and we shot all the parts and pieces 06:12 and we brought them back 06:13 so that we can make them available for people 06:16 and give you a visual of the whole Book of Daniel. 06:19 So you actually went to the Middle East 06:21 to shoot this footage? 06:22 We went to Morocco 06:24 where they have a lot of those biblical sets 06:25 over there in Morocco. 06:27 And in fact, if you've ever seen any period pieces, 06:29 this is where they actually shoot them over there. 06:32 Everybody kinda looks biblical and Middle Eastern 06:34 so it was an awesome project. 06:37 We collaborated with about five different ministries. 06:40 So we got a chance to work with AR TV, 06:43 the Adventist Review, AR Media Labs, 06:46 The Incredible Journey out of Australia, 06:49 Daryl Gungadoo out of England. 06:52 So a lot of people 06:53 came together to make that happen. 06:55 So why is it that we need this aren't there stock... 06:58 Isn't the stock video available to us? 07:01 You know, if you want to illustrate the Bible, 07:04 actually if you look for footage 07:06 to be able to use in your documentaries 07:08 or your sermons, it just isn't available. 07:11 We don't have access to it. 07:13 And so being a part of the small media ministry, 07:16 we're always struggling to try 07:18 and visually illustrate the Bible. 07:20 So we said, you know what, we're gonna solve that. 07:22 We're gonna create a resource library 07:25 called video mission 07:26 and we're gonna make as many biblical illustrations 07:29 as we can and offer them to people 07:32 to use in their sermons or print. 07:35 We took a photographer over there with us. 07:37 He shot 5,000 photos in 5 days. 07:41 And some of these photos are just amazing. 07:44 They look like something out of a magazine. 07:46 So why is it necessary to have images 07:49 that look authentic and current? 07:52 Well, you know, the world responds to media 07:55 and unfortunately the world has been exposed 07:59 to hundreds of millions of dollars from Hollywood 08:02 and people are used to seeing a certain type of quality. 08:05 I work a lot with young people. 08:07 And so unfortunately sometimes 08:09 if we make them not as quality as we can, 08:13 the young people would just dismiss it. 08:14 So we want to really offer high quality images 08:18 to illustrate those biblical topics 08:20 because there's a lot of ministries 08:21 who have beautiful messages 08:23 and they just don't have endless budgets 08:25 to be able to put these things in their projects. 08:29 So speaking of budgets, 08:30 this year's project will provide 08:32 what kind of support for this to continue? 08:35 So we wanna keep going over to Morocco, 08:37 we wanna keep shooting over there on their sets, 08:39 and so we're gonna go over there and the next project 08:41 we're gonna do is the Prophets, the major and minor prophets. 08:46 So we're gonna give video clips, 08:48 we're gonna get pictures, 08:49 and we're gonna bring them back and they'll be offered 08:51 and available on videomission.com. 08:54 What kind of response 08:55 have you had to the availability 08:58 of these pieces so far? 08:59 You know, it's really neat. 09:01 Our church is a worldwide church, 09:03 so we've had ministries from Brazil, from Germany 09:07 and they have purchased these clips from us 09:10 and been able to put them in their projects 09:12 like the ministry from Germany 09:15 was doing a whole project on Nehemiah. 09:18 Where they're gonna get footage of Nehemiah? 09:20 So they were able to go onto our website, 09:22 find a bunch of images of kings, 09:24 they put together a really impactful trailer, 09:27 and a lot of people showed up to their weekend because of it. 09:32 Speaking of cost, 09:35 so am I gonna break my budget 09:37 trying to get access to this stock video? 09:39 Absolutely not. 09:40 We want to design these things 09:42 to be as cost effective as possible, 09:45 something that everyone can afford 09:47 and ultimately we wanna get to the goal, 09:50 there's a lot of websites these days 09:52 that have a real fractional costs like 09:54 $30 a month and you can use whatever's on the site. 09:57 So we want to get to that level 09:59 where we can literally illustrate the whole Bible 10:01 and we can say for a small cost, 10:03 you can use whatever we've created on that site 10:06 to tell the gospel story. 10:08 Well, this sounds really very exciting 10:10 because I remember seeing these things, something, 10:13 oh, that looks like really really old, 10:16 so it would be nice to have something 10:18 that's really current and authentic. 10:19 That's right. Wow. 10:21 What else would you like to tell us about 10:22 what needs to happen? 10:24 So there's a lot of schools that we have. 10:25 A lot of our universities are actually teaching film. 10:28 I actually went to one of our Adventist schools 10:30 and was taught film way back when, 10:32 and unfortunately 10:34 not a lot of jobs are available in ministry 10:38 when those kids come out of school. 10:41 And they have, you know, 10:43 a desire to use their gifts but, 10:44 you know, a lot of them end up 10:46 going to the systems of the world 10:47 and helping them create media. 10:50 And it's like we need help in our church 10:52 and we want to keep the most talented kids 10:54 and anybody that wants to use creativity to sell, 10:57 so this is also something that we've opened up 11:01 this platform called videomission.com 11:04 where we want creators 11:06 who are already traveling around 11:07 and creating media productions 11:09 to have the ability to sell their work 11:11 on this particular platforms. 11:13 So you know in all of these productions, 11:15 we need clips of people praying, 11:17 people studying the Bible, 11:19 and if you've got a talent 11:20 with a video camera and a computer at home, 11:23 we, a lot of these kids can create resources 11:25 that the church can use 11:27 and they can do it from their home. 11:30 Oaky, so they don't have to necessarily be employed 11:32 by a ministry or they can be, 11:34 but they can do these things at home. 11:35 That's right. 11:37 And this is one of the things 11:38 that gets our church working together. 11:40 We need a cohesive working with the creatives 11:44 as well as the preachers and pastors 11:47 and video teams that are making these things. 11:50 We need to connect all the dots 11:51 so that we're all working together 11:53 for the seamless goal of winning souls. 11:56 Scotty, thank you so much for the vision 11:59 that you have cast 12:00 so that we can pull these things together 12:02 and have them available for our use. 12:03 Praise God. Thank you. 12:04 Videomission.com, if you need clips and illustrations, 12:07 pictures, any of those kind of things, 12:09 look up videomission.com. 12:11 Thank you very much, Scotty. You're welcome. 12:14 So coming to the podium now is Jeremiah Weeks. 12:20 Jeremiah, so good to have you here. 12:23 He is the director for ShareHim. 12:26 Now, Jeremiah, I remember fondly, 12:29 I was one of the privilege 12:30 that was able to actually go and preach 12:33 for a ShareHim trip. 12:36 Awesome. 12:37 You know, evangelism, 12:38 so tell us is it still that kind of thing 12:41 that's available and going on 12:42 or what kind of things may have changed with ShareHim? 12:44 Absolutely, and we're focusing right now on young adults. 12:48 Getting young adults involved in studying, 12:52 sharing the message, 12:54 calling people to make decision and a lot of them are making 12:56 decisions themselves. 12:58 So when you say you are focusing on young adults, 13:00 were they a part of the target so to speak in their past. 13:04 How was that a little bit different 13:05 than what has occurred previously? 13:07 Now we are focusing actually exclusively 13:10 on young adults age 18-35. 13:12 And the reason for that is throughout history, 13:17 young adults changed the world. 13:19 Young adults have passion, they have creative energy, 13:23 they have huge potential, 13:26 and sometimes they are the missing soldiers 13:29 in our church. 13:31 As we go look back through history, 13:32 it is young adults who changed the world. 13:34 We see it in the Christian church, 13:36 we think of Martin Luther. 13:39 Those 95 thesis 13:41 pounded on the Wittenberg Castle church door. 13:43 He was 33 when he did that. 13:47 We think of others Tyndale, 13:49 translating the New Testament into English. 13:51 He was 31, just a few years later 13:55 when that happened. 13:57 And it's throughout history, also in society. 14:00 We think of technology the companies 14:02 that seem to control our world. 14:05 We think of Bill Gates, who co-founded Microsoft, 14:08 he was 19, 14:09 Sergey Brin 25 years old 14:12 when he was cofounding Google. 14:14 And we see it 14:15 in the Adventist Church of course too. 14:17 Ellen White, 14:19 20 years old when she had that vision 14:21 about that message to go around the world, 14:23 James, a year later, 27, when they began publishing. 14:29 Now, he wasn't quite a young adult. 14:31 We think of up to the age 35 14:33 but Jay and Andrews was at rippled age of 37 14:37 when he was elected GC President. 14:41 About an year and half later, 14:42 Butler was elected GC President at the same age. 14:46 Young adults have passion, they've energy, 14:49 they've creative energy, 14:50 they have huge potential 14:53 and we are eager to see them be an active part of owning 14:58 the work of their church 15:00 and seeing that mission as their mission. 15:03 I really appreciate hearing that 15:04 and I think that ASI 15:06 has captured a little bit of that vision, 15:08 and it's evident that you're a recipient 15:11 of this year's offering as well as the overflow, 15:13 part of the overflow that we may receive. 15:16 So tell me what kind of impact it's made already 15:19 on young adults that have participated? 15:22 Well, we certainly been blessed in the past 15:24 by the support from you, from ASI 15:27 and by several of you also as individuals 15:29 helping specific young adults. 15:31 We have a number of you 15:33 who are young evangelist sponsors 15:35 helping each year with $600 or $50 a month 15:37 that helps a specific young adult 15:39 have this experience. 15:41 As these young adults study the message, 15:45 call people to make a decision. 15:48 You know, really, it's changing them also. 15:52 You can't study and share the Word 15:54 without it changing you and the Lord has blessed. 15:57 We just praise Him for the way 15:59 that we've seen thousands of young people have... 16:04 And I know it sounds it's an overused phrase, 16:07 but a life changing experience, 16:09 a direction changing experience. 16:12 Just recently, a young lady wrote us, 16:16 her name is Adriana. 16:17 In 2015, 16:19 she was part of a group of 234 young adults, 16:22 mostly from Europe, 16:23 but also from Australia, New Zealand 16:26 and some other areas who were preaching 16:28 in at ShareHim evangelistic trip 16:31 that ASI help support. 16:33 Adriana wrote about the impact this have had on her 16:38 and the vision that it helped her to grow. 16:41 Adriana's now the Associate Youth Director 16:44 in the Welsh Mission in the UK. 16:48 Now Wales is an area 16:49 that has had challenges along the way 16:52 and in the Adventist Church as well. 16:54 But Adriana is fired up. 16:57 She is, by God's grace she is ready to roll, 17:00 ready to share the hope she has 17:02 with other Adventist young people 17:04 and others in Wales who need to hear 17:06 and Adriana wrote saying, 17:08 "Look, we've gotta get young adults here involved. 17:12 What can we do next year? 17:14 Isn't there something we could do?" 17:15 And sure enough with ASI support, 17:17 we're going to be involving 17:19 the five fields in the British Union, 17:22 and in the ShareHim young evangelistic program, 17:26 we also have other fields in Europe. 17:29 For the first time, the Bulgaria Union 17:32 will be involved, the Bulgaria Union. 17:34 The Franco Belgian Union 17:35 who you've supported in the past be part of this. 17:38 Also the Spanish Union 17:39 for the first time out of Madrid 17:41 looking to be involved as well as others 17:42 from around North America, 17:44 15 conferences, 5 unions 17:46 involved in supporting the last couple of years 17:48 here in North America 17:50 and others from Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, 17:54 Australia, New Zealand. 17:55 So we're excited as you can tell, 17:57 we're pretty excited about it. 17:58 Covering the world, yes. 18:00 That is really very exciting that sounds 18:03 like a marvelous challenge for us 18:05 to be able to harness the energy 18:07 and the gifts that you spoke of 18:08 sounding very much like ASI to harness those 18:12 for the spreading of the gospel. 18:14 Right. 18:15 So I just want to thank you Jeremiah 18:17 for everything that ShareHim is doing 18:19 in order to focus their attention 18:21 and give the opportunity for young people 18:23 to be involved in that way. 18:25 Is there anything else that you'd like to share? 18:26 Well, we are just again so thankful for the support. 18:30 We often think of young adults so we pray for them, 18:33 we worry even sometimes for them. 18:36 They will continue to be an active part of the church 18:39 and indeed it's right to pray for them. 18:42 We need to pray for our church as well, 18:44 we need them, 18:47 we need their passion, their energy, their creativity 18:51 and we are just thankful to be partnering with ASI 18:54 to try to build that vision in our young adults. 18:58 Amen. Thank you very much, Jeremiah. 19:00 Thank you. 19:05 Marie's and I do what I do 19:07 is because I'm really just tired. 19:12 Every time I hear the news, every time I look around me, 19:16 I see the world is just a mess. 19:19 Horrible stories coming in from overseas. 19:22 You look at the newspaper 19:24 or you just look around the neighborhood, 19:25 you see people in pain, in misery, 19:28 whether that's in society, 19:30 or whether it's just somebody over here 19:32 whose marriage is falling apart, 19:35 some kid who's lonely. 19:37 You got all these horrible things 19:39 that are going on in the world. 19:41 You got some people, 19:43 it seems like they wake up in the morning 19:45 trying to figure out how to make the world 19:48 more miserable and more painful. 19:51 And I just decided that enough is enough, 19:55 you know, and as I figured, 19:56 there's gonna be people out there in the world 19:58 trying to make the world a miserable place. 20:00 I for one was gonna be one person 20:03 who was pushing back and going into the other way. 20:07 I want to make sure that there's at least somebody 20:09 standing up for the truth, 20:10 standing up for what was right, 20:12 standing up to help somebody who is hurting. 20:15 I might not be able to change the world 20:17 but that drives me. 20:20 I am so angry at all the stuff that goes on in the world 20:24 and my revenge is to do something good. 20:28 My revenge is to do something right. 20:30 My revenge when people are hurting is to help. 22:17 Amen. 22:19 Amen. 22:21 Good morning, everyone. 22:23 Well this that we're gonna share this morning 22:26 is our experience on vacation. 22:30 I have to my left my husband Bob, 22:32 my dear friend and brother Rusty, 22:34 my twin sister Lindy and her husband Brian 22:36 and we like to go on vacation together 22:39 and our favorite vacation is to go sailing together. 22:42 We rent a great big boat with studio rooms 22:45 and we grocery shopped to provision the boat 22:47 because we don't want anybody doing of stuff for us 22:50 and we cook on the boat 22:51 and we go to the grocery store, 22:53 and the first thing we do is 22:54 buy everything we need for one week. 22:57 There were 9 of us on the boat 22:58 and so we had two huge grocery cars, 23:01 by the way we were in Belize. 23:03 We had two huge grocery carts full of food 23:07 and we had every attendant in the store 23:09 taking care of us as we're checking out. 23:11 While the men were paying for the food, 23:13 my sister and I stepped outside 23:15 and two of the workers from inside the grocery store 23:17 approached us and said, 23:19 "Are you missionaries?" 23:22 We said, "No!" 23:23 And my sister said... 23:24 Well they pushed and asked my sister 23:26 "Well, you look like missionaries." 23:28 She said, "Why is that?" 23:30 And they said, 23:31 "We have never seen anybody buy so much food." 23:35 And so, Brian, 23:37 tell us what were we doing in Belize on search of, 23:40 what were our plans? 23:41 Okay, so every year we just try to get together 23:44 with our very good friends and these guys, 23:46 the dear sis and others 23:47 who have been on trips, every other year 23:49 we typically go on a sailing trip 23:50 and we decided to go to Belize this time. 23:52 We're gonna be five days on a boat 23:54 and then five days around the country. 23:56 I happened to have a childhood friend Rich Sutton 23:58 who lives down there 24:00 and so we got in contact with him 24:01 and decided that we would get together for church 24:03 and it turned out that he'd asked 24:05 if we do the church service 24:06 and in common it turns out that they have a mission 24:09 to orphan children at an orphanage, 24:12 and that's a very small church with mainly 24:14 just orphan children that we were going to. 24:16 And, Lindy, what happened on Sabbath morning? 24:19 Well, as we drove up, we were on the, in our vehicle, 24:25 we looked outside 24:27 and we were convinced that this was the wrong place 24:30 and we kept saying are we sure this is the church? 24:32 The bus here you see 24:34 is where the children have their Sabbath school 24:37 and the outside of the church, 24:40 you can see was in quite some disarray. 24:45 The church is composed 24:46 of orphans predominantly. 24:52 And, Rusty, 24:54 we had a very interesting experience in church 24:56 and we did the church service, my husband preached, 24:59 we did special music believe it or not, we all did. 25:02 And, Rust, you had a great experience. 25:04 Tell them about your experience? 25:06 So we just arrived, we had no bulletins, 25:09 the orphans had no clue 25:10 what the scripture reading was going to be. 25:13 So I gave the scripture, had multiple texts in it, 25:16 and as soon as I gave the scripture, 25:18 instantly the orphans started talking 25:20 and then the room is filled with noise 25:21 and I thought, "Oh, no, what have I done!" 25:23 So I keep on trying to find the Bible, 25:25 the text in my app 25:27 and then I realized these orphans 25:29 were quoting word for word 25:32 this scripture multiple texts all from the heart. 25:35 It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. 25:37 Amen. 25:39 And, Brian, what effect did that have on us? 25:40 What did we do after that? 25:42 Well, honestly, 25:43 we thought we are just gonna go to church 25:45 and literally when we pulled up, 25:46 these guys didn't want to get out of the car, 25:48 I didn't wanna get out of the car. 25:49 We're like, we are at the wrong church 25:51 but we were doing the service so we had to. 25:53 But just to see the engagement of these young people, 25:56 children, and teenagers just excited about the message 25:59 and knowing the text just melted our hearts. 26:02 And so, 26:03 we couldn't just leave them in that condition. 26:05 We came home afterwards and thought, 26:07 "What could we do to leave them something more 26:10 than just doing a church service one time." 26:12 And so we talked amongst ourselves 26:13 about how much money would it take, talked to Rich, 26:16 could you guys start a construction project 26:18 and if we could fund it. 26:19 And so, you'll see a few slides just a construction, 26:23 we gathered together a few thousand dollars, 26:25 we coordinated that 26:27 with the missionaries down there. 26:29 They, the church members volunteered their time, 26:31 literally took this church apart. 26:33 You can see the roof was taken off. 26:35 New rafters were put on. 26:36 New windows were framed. 26:38 New concrete was put around at it. 26:40 There was a pavilion put on the sides 26:41 so they could do their Sabbath school 26:43 on the side of the church, not on the bus. 26:45 And it just completely transformed the church 26:49 because we had the opportunity to be there and it really... 26:53 Was really neat to be able to leave something behind 26:56 for this forgotten group of people, 26:59 orphans with one or two families 27:01 that supports them. 27:02 But otherwise, it's a very neglected church, 27:05 no funds, no tithe days and so they get no resources 27:08 and that was neat to see the impact. 27:10 And if you can go, if we can go to the slide shown before 27:14 and after pictures, that'll be great. 27:18 Our slides are a little bit off and I apologize for that. 27:22 But if we can have us go to the before 27:23 and after pictures, that will be fantastic. 27:25 So that is what we saw when we pulled up. 27:28 This is what they've next picture 27:29 should be what they built. 27:31 This is the new inside. 27:32 Lights, new electrical work, a ceiling fan 27:36 and the final result looks like a transformed building. 27:40 It's just neat to see them have that. 27:42 Amen. 27:44 Praise God. 27:45 Praise the Lord indeed. 27:47 And, Bob, why don't you tell us what did that do for us? 27:51 What do we want people to take home from this? 27:55 So we have a new motto for our vacations 27:57 rather than just vacation, 27:58 our new motto was "Vacation Unusual." 28:01 So we are gonna go on vacation, 28:04 but we wanna make every opportunity 28:05 to go on a vacation to be doing something... 28:08 Yes, there's time to come apart and rest a while 28:10 but there's also opportunities all around 28:11 as to be blessing people, all we've been blessed with. 28:15 Statistics show that if you own two pairs of shoes, 28:19 you're in the top 50% of income earners in the world. 28:22 Two pairs of shoes! 28:23 I won't tell you how many pairs of shoes we own. 28:25 But we are so blessed here in America 28:27 so when we go on vacation, we wanna make our vacations 28:29 a members in action opportunity. 28:30 Amen. 28:32 So members in action isn't just what we do at work 28:33 or at the hospital or even in our neighborhood. 28:36 Members in action is a lifestyle, 28:37 it's not a decision, it's not an event. 28:39 So we discovered that when we are on vacation, 28:41 we want to be looking for opportunities 28:43 to be a blessing to those around us. 28:45 So we wanna encourage you, 28:46 if you have the opportunity wherever you are at, 28:48 whether it's on vacation, make it vacation unusual. 28:51 If you're at work, make it business unusual. 28:54 If you're in your neighborhood, make it neighborhood unusual. 28:56 Amen. 28:57 And just share the blessings that God has given 28:59 to each one of us with those around us, 29:00 and it's just a huge blessing for us 29:02 and a huge blessing to the orphans down there, 29:04 and a huge blessing to every one of us. 29:05 Amen. Amen. 29:07 Thank you. 29:09 Good morning, ASI. 29:11 January the 3rd, 2019, 29:15 not very long ago my life turned upside down. 29:21 The doctor came in, she said, 29:22 "Donna, I have good news and I have bad news." 29:27 I didn't hear another word she said 29:30 because all I wanted to know was what's the bad news? 29:35 You see, I had encouraged my husband 29:37 to go and have a physical 29:40 because it had been many, many years 29:42 since he'd had one. 29:44 We live in Rochester, Minnesota, 29:46 we're near the Mayo Clinic. 29:47 They have a wonderful executive plan 29:49 and so that's where he went. 29:52 So I said, "You need to go and have a physical, Denzel." 29:54 And I thought, 29:55 well, if I tell him he needs one, 29:57 I better go have one too. 30:00 So I did and I went and had mine 30:01 and I was feeling good. 30:03 In fact I had really puffy feathers 30:05 about my health. 30:06 I thought I was doing everything right. 30:08 Denzel says, 30:09 "Donny you preach this all the time. 30:11 You might as well believe in it too, right?" 30:15 Okay, well, I had my test and the doctor came in 30:20 that first day on January 2 and she says, 30:22 "Well, I'll see you for your x-ray view 30:24 on January 3rd, the next day." 30:27 The next day I went back in and like I said, 30:29 I didn't hear a word she said 30:31 because all I wanted to know was the bad news. 30:34 And this is what she told me. 30:35 She says,"Well, Donna, 30:37 there's some things that have changed 30:38 in the last few years." 30:39 It had been four years since I'd been there. 30:42 And I said, okay, I'm thinking to myself what changed. 30:45 She said, "Your numbers are going up." 30:46 And then she said, "In fact, 30:48 we have an appointment for you on Monday 30:52 and we are sending you to the heart clinic." 30:55 And I went, "Oh my goodness, what is going on here?" 30:59 I've been living this lifestyle, 31:01 this health message for many, many years. 31:03 I believe in it, I love our health message. 31:06 And all I could think was, 31:08 I don't know what am I going to do? 31:10 So I walked out to their desk and I said, 31:13 "Excuse me, I need to tell you 31:16 that I need to cancel my appointment." 31:18 And they said, "You can't." 31:19 I said, "Yes, I can." 31:21 I said, "But I'll make you a promise, 31:23 I'll be back in six weeks." 31:26 After I went out the Mayo Clinic, 31:27 I walked over to our corporate office. 31:30 I went in my husband's office, we shut the door, 31:32 I burst into tears and he said, "What's wrong?" 31:36 And I said, "Well, my health is not as good 31:38 as I thought it is." 31:40 I said, "We gotta do something about this." 31:41 And he says, "What do you wanna do?" 31:43 And I said, "I want to go to Weimar." 31:46 This is Thursday afternoon. 31:50 He said, "Well, let's get our assistant Barb." 31:52 So Barb comes to the rescue, she calls out to Weimar, 31:56 they answer the phone call. 31:57 They actually called her back in about 10 minutes 32:00 and they said, "Do you have a spot for Donna 32:02 to come and take your NEWSTART program?" 32:05 Well, it just so happened 32:07 that they were starting on Sunday. 32:10 This happened to me Thursday. 32:12 God knew what He was doing. 32:14 He knew I needed to go there. 32:16 So I was on an airplane on Sunday 32:19 and I was there. 32:21 I did the 18-day program. 32:24 What a blessing! 32:26 What a blessing to be a part of this NEWSTART program. 32:30 The physicians, the caretakers there, 32:32 the guests, it was a blessing, 32:35 not only did I get to see people 32:38 being physically helped and healed. 32:41 I saw them spiritually being helped. 32:43 You know, 32:45 it was the biggest blessing in my life, it really was. 32:48 It was a humbling experience for me 32:51 because like I said, I was a proud person 32:53 'cause I thought I was doing everything right. 32:56 But you know they helped me put a lot of the pieces together. 33:00 There were little parts that I wasn't doing right. 33:03 And God knew what He was doing. 33:05 He wanted me to be in the best health possible. 33:10 When I came back, after being at Weimar 33:13 and hearing all the testimonies at graduation, 33:17 I realized that God really wants us 33:19 to not only be physically healthy 33:21 but mentally, spiritually, emotionally healthy. 33:25 And I appreciated all these facets 33:28 that they helped me with there at Weimar. 33:31 When I came back, I went back to the Mayo Clinic, 33:34 I made a promise that I would return and I did. 33:37 When I went back, I remembered the day 33:39 that I was having my test done 33:42 and they stopped me and they said, 33:44 "You don't need to do anymore." 33:46 And I said, "Oh, is something wrong?" 33:48 Oh, no, they said, 33:50 we remember you from 10 years ago 33:51 and you're doing better than you did 10 years ago. 33:55 I said, "Well, that's great. Praise the Lord." 33:58 And they didn't say a whole lot 33:59 'cause you know they don't tell you very much 34:01 when you're having your test. 34:03 When the physician came in to see me she said," 34:06 Oh, Donna, we got a red flag on you." 34:07 When I said, "Red flag." She said, "Yeah." 34:10 And I said, "Is it because I lost 34:11 a little bit of weight?" 34:13 She said, "Well, that could be a part of it." 34:16 I said, "Well, thank you Jesus that I didn't." 34:18 She was looking at me and she said, 34:20 "What have you been doing?" 34:22 And I said, "I'll tell you what I've been doing. 34:24 I've been following God's plan. 34:27 I have been following His message." 34:30 And I said, "I have never felt better. 34:32 I have so much energy now, I'm just so grateful. 34:36 And I'm thankful that God allowed me 34:39 to have this opportunity." 34:42 And you know when she interviewed me, 34:46 she brought in a lot of people to interview me. 34:49 And they told me that if everybody did 34:51 what I was able to have the privilege to do 34:55 that they wouldn't have any other patients 34:57 other than ones that needed to have heart surgery. 35:00 And I said, "Well, thank you Jesus." 35:02 And she said, "You know, what have you been doing?" 35:05 When I told her about how I cleaned up my diet, 35:09 and how our exercise became important. 35:12 But the most important thing was prayer, 35:15 and that I was seeking God's help 35:19 in everything that I was doing, 35:21 and that I wanted to give Him all the glory. 35:24 And I was so thankful that we had a health facility 35:29 that's available to us that we can use. 35:32 I'm thankful for Weimar, 35:34 but let us never forget there isn't just Weimar, 35:37 there are many other of our health ministries. 35:41 You know, God has given this church a huge gift 35:46 and that is the gift of health. 35:48 But He's given us many people 35:50 that are willing to share their lives 35:52 and dedicate their lives and their whatever, 35:56 that they have been given to make for sure 35:59 that we can have better health. 36:01 And so I encourage you, that if you hear 36:04 that still small voice speaking to you 36:07 to seek better health, that you'll do that. 36:10 And again, I am so grateful that we have a God 36:13 that loves us so much and cares about our health. 36:20 I do what I do 36:21 because I believe that the gospel 36:23 is the most beautiful compelling thing there is 36:26 and at times I don't believe that we communicate it 36:29 as beautifully as we can. 36:31 So I design for ministries of Adventist Church 36:34 because the message is beautiful, 36:37 the audience doesn't always see it. 36:39 I think ASI is really great 36:41 because it provides an opportunity for me 36:44 to meet a bunch of really great people 36:46 who have been doing very inspiring work 36:48 in the church, 36:49 and as I want to work with Adventist ministries 36:52 and help them communicate what they're doing. 36:54 I love knowing what they are doing 36:56 and it inspires me to be a better Christian, 36:59 and I think that's something 37:01 that we can all see it's having really great value. 37:09 One of my favorite things to do is 37:11 while I'm traveling to keep my eyes 37:13 prayerfully watching for somebody 37:15 that God is trying to reach. 37:17 As I was coming back from overseas, 37:18 I was on the shuttle, 37:20 I headed towards Berrien Springs, Michigan. 37:22 When a young girl came on the bus 37:24 and began walking in my direction. 37:26 She was obviously from China 37:27 and most likely an international student. 37:30 I barely said hi and she immediately responded 37:33 and came close to me. 37:34 She wanted to talk and so we started talking 37:37 and we ended up talking the whole rest of the trip. 37:39 As I got off, I was able to get her contact 37:42 and my wife called her in just a short time. 37:45 We invited her to our house 37:47 and then we invited her to our Sabbath school class, 37:49 a group that was having a picnic, 37:51 and pretty soon she was connected. 37:53 Angela DeRose started studying the Bible with her. 37:56 And then she found a Christian boyfriend 37:59 moving from her atheist background 38:01 and pretty soon she was married 38:03 off to San Francisco, 38:05 and we were afraid we were going to lose her 38:07 from this closed relationship with Jesus 38:09 that she was developing. 38:11 But someone else got on the phone with her 38:13 and began to study the Bible through the phone, 38:15 and then another person picked her up. 38:17 They're in Hayward, California, 38:19 and I am happy to tell you 38:21 that she was just baptized recently. 38:24 Shen Shen is an example 38:26 of what God is doing so specially 38:28 by bringing people from around the world 38:31 to the United States, 38:33 they might be closer to somebody 38:34 who knows Jesus Christ. 38:36 At our website, reachtheworldnextdoor.com, 38:39 you can look at things like this 38:41 where you can find out 38:42 who is in the city that is near you. 38:45 For instance, Louisville, Kentucky. 38:48 As you look through that, 38:49 you begin to search for those that come from countries 38:52 that you cannot get into with the gospel 38:55 or that have a very small portion of Christians. 38:57 Here there's Nepal with over a thousand, 39:00 people from Bosnia 2500, 39:03 people from Vietnam, Morocco 39:05 and many, many places. 39:08 So beside of being fun 39:10 to meet people of other cultures, 39:11 the beauty is that for God this is strategic. 39:15 He is eager for Jesus to return, 39:17 we're eager for Jesus to return, 39:19 but we need to rise to the amazing challenge 39:21 that He has sent us through international students, 39:24 through refugees, through immigrants, 39:26 through tourists, through business travelers 39:29 and begin to reach out. 39:31 So besides watching and focusing strategically, 39:34 what else can we do? 39:35 But when we see a need, we can meet that need. 39:39 We can begin to watch and pray 39:41 and say, Lord, show me what I can do to help. 39:44 With an international student, 39:46 a lot of times it's just somebody 39:47 who can practice with them for an hour, 39:49 take them down to a shopping center 39:51 if they don't have a car, 39:52 or invite them for Thanksgiving dinner. 39:55 For someone who's a refugee, the needs are much greater. 39:58 For most refuges as they get here, 40:00 they have only about three months 40:02 to get a job and be on their feet. 40:04 And they may not even speak English. 40:07 So we can come alongside them, 40:08 we can be a friend, we can help them 40:11 maybe get furniture in their house 40:13 or learn how to use the dishwasher or many things 40:18 that they're not being used to using. 40:19 Help them work through the paper work 40:21 and just find a way to truly care 40:24 and love them and come close to them. 40:26 But then our heart begins to say, 40:28 how can I go beyond 40:29 just being a friend, just caring, 40:31 and there are ways 40:33 that we can connect spiritually. 40:35 They come from different backgrounds, 40:36 maybe Buddhists or Muslims or Hindu, 40:39 and so sometimes we feel like what can I possibly say? 40:42 I don't know what to say. 40:44 Maybe I should keep my mouth quiet, 40:45 so I don't make some bad mistake. 40:48 But as we focus on listening to them 40:50 and hearing from them, 40:52 we can hear that things that matter to them 40:54 maybe in their own religion most likely the values, 40:57 they're extremely important to them. 40:59 And we can focus on those very things, 41:01 not jumping to the differences that we may feel excited 41:05 and eager and earnest to share, 41:07 but starting first what is in common. 41:10 From those we can bridge to our differences 41:13 through telling stories. 41:15 We wanna feel comfortable as we're sharing, 41:17 and we want them to feel comfortable 41:19 and it is through our own testimonies. 41:21 Through the telling of a story that matches the need 41:23 that they are struggling with 41:25 that they can begin to hear 41:26 and to know there is a God who is alive. 41:29 There is someone who cares 41:31 about the problems they're going through. 41:33 And they can hear it through that kind of story and sharing. 41:36 So listen to the people, 41:38 find the need that you can meet, 41:40 bridge from similarities to differences through stories. 41:43 And then there's one little tool 41:46 that we have found very, very helpful. 41:48 It's called "My language my life." 41:50 It's a website that has over a 150 languages 41:54 of Seventh-day Adventist material, 41:57 Bible studies, videos, television, 41:59 in many, many languages 42:01 so that when you meet somebody 42:02 even if you just have a minute or two 42:04 in a grocery line, 42:05 you can get to know them and then ask the question, 42:08 "Do you speak another language besides English?" 42:11 When they say Tamil or Gujarati or Nepali, 42:15 you can share with them on this website 42:17 and look it up on their smartphone. 42:19 My wife was sitting in the park in there in Houston 42:22 where we have a ministry 42:23 of training young people for missions. 42:25 And as she looked up, 42:27 she saw a lady from Pakistan coming close and sat down. 42:30 At least she guessed she was back from Pakistan 42:33 because there's a lot of people there that speak Urdu. 42:35 So she tried to talk to her, 42:37 but the lady couldn't speak a word of English. 42:40 So Julie pulled out her cell phone, 42:43 found the place on the website 42:45 and began to play the Jesus video 42:47 in that lady's language. 42:49 She grabbed the phone out of Julie's hand, 42:51 held it to her ear 42:52 and just listened and listened for 45 minutes. 42:56 People who have come are often wondering 42:59 do we really want them here. 43:01 They hear the news, 43:02 they understand what's going on, 43:04 they wanna know if we really care. 43:06 And Jesus has asked us to care for the stranger 43:08 that is in our midst 43:10 to come close to them and love them. 43:11 And so He invites us to reach out 43:13 and just share His love. 43:15 The last thing that I wanna invite you 43:16 to think about is beyond these things 43:19 that you can do right where you are. 43:21 Some of you, God may be calling to come and join us 43:24 there in Houston, Texas, 43:26 one of the most diverse cities in the United States 43:28 where thousands of refugees 43:30 have come and are waiting. 43:31 We have over 38 unreached people groups 43:34 from places that just really need the gospel. 43:37 So maybe some of you tonight 43:39 can pick up, come join us 43:41 as we train for missions by doing missions 43:43 but wherever we are, let's pray, let's watch, 43:47 let's boldly share the love of Jesus 43:49 because He's brought the world next door 43:51 so that we can reach them and see Jesus come. 43:57 When I learned that Jesus was so in love 44:00 with everybody in the world 44:01 that He was willing to stay on the cross 44:03 and give up His eternal existence 44:05 if necessary to get us in heaven. 44:08 That totally changed my life at age 16, 44:11 and that's what has compelled me to go 44:12 as a missionary throughout the world 44:15 to be able to just say people have to know 44:18 this God who loves them so much 44:19 that if they are not in heaven, He will miss them for eternity. 44:24 I think that as we meet people, 44:26 as we see them and look at them, 44:28 we have to pray for God to fill our hearts 44:31 with ability to see them like He does 44:33 and to love them that much 44:34 and just know we have to talk to them. 44:37 A lot of times, 44:38 I'm sitting on a plane or somewhere 44:39 and I want to read a book or want to take a nap, 44:42 and then somebody sits down 44:44 and I remember it's my job to ask Jesus, 44:47 what does He wanna say to them, 44:48 how do I interact with them? 44:50 And so He teaches me to put away my book 44:53 and turn to them and begin talking to them. 44:55 And that really is what motivates me. 44:58 It's because Jesus loves them and He will miss them. 45:02 And the more I have had my own children 45:05 and realize how much I witness them in heaven 45:07 if they are not there, 45:09 that also is what keeps me going 45:11 and makes me say, 45:12 I wanna make sure everybody I meet 45:14 has an opportunity to know Jesus 45:17 and is able to be with Him forever. 45:23 Amen. 45:24 Well, good evening, everyone. 45:25 Happy Sabbath. Happy Sabbath. 45:27 Are you having a blessed time at ASI? 45:28 Amen. God is good. 45:30 Well, you know, 45:31 ASI is an amazing organization 45:34 and out of ASI over the years, Dr. Lela, 45:37 a number of very powerful ministries 45:40 have sprung up and taken root. 45:42 And ASI has sheltered them and helped them 45:44 to become ministries that have impacted the world. 45:46 That's right. 45:48 One of those ministries that you may have heard 45:49 a little something about is called 45:51 "Your Best Pathway to Health." 45:54 And with me here on the stage is Dr. Lela Ng, 45:58 the Co-Founder and Director of Your Best Pathway to Health. 46:01 Dr. Lela, can you tell us 46:03 what is Your Best Pathway to Health? 46:04 Well, Your Best Pathway to Health, 46:06 Pastor Kyle, is what I would call 46:08 a comprehensive medical evangelism at its core. 46:11 It is essentially a mobile hospital. 46:12 Actually how many of you have heard 46:14 of Pathway to Health, a few? 46:16 Amen. Amen. 46:17 God has used His method 46:19 to I believe to really bring us alive 46:22 and provide what we have now is Total Member Involvement, 46:25 every single church member 46:27 having an active role 46:29 to play in this wonderful work 46:30 of sharing Christ's love with the masses. 46:31 That's right. 46:33 And the beautiful thing is 46:34 it brings together all kinds of people. 46:35 Everybody. 46:37 Medical, non medical, 46:38 all sectors of the church coming together 46:40 to serve people in Jesus' name. 46:41 Amen. 46:42 So this ministry has had a profound impact 46:45 not only locally here in the North American division 46:49 but also globally. 46:50 But it's impacted volunteers, it's impacted patients. 46:53 Can you give us just a snapshot, Dr. Lela, 46:56 of some of the impact of Pathway 46:58 over the last four, five years? 46:59 Well, by God's grace, actually it's been six years 47:01 of planning now, Pastor Kyle. 47:03 So six years, we've been able to serve 47:05 just about 40,000 patients. 47:08 Forty thousand patients? 47:09 Forty thousand patients. 47:10 Amen. Amen. 47:12 And that was only in 21 days of service 47:13 which was a miracle of God. 47:16 Just under $180 million in free healthcare, 47:19 but what's most important 47:20 is that thousands upon thousands 47:22 have become acquainted with the love of Jesus 47:25 and the true gospel message 47:26 that Jesus wants to share with the world. 47:28 Amen. 47:29 And not only that, we've had how many volunteers 47:31 that have made this possible? 47:32 We have about 15,000 to 16,000 volunteers 47:35 within the data bank now, so God has truly blessed. 47:37 And it's been a cycle, 47:39 it's not just coming to an event. 47:40 In San Antonio in 2015, we had a whole church 47:43 that was planted out of that event. 47:45 So people come, they learn about us, 47:47 they learn about Jesus through these events 47:49 and then they come and get baptized. 47:51 So, Dr. Lela, many have caught this vision 47:54 not only here in North America but also around the world. 47:56 Other countries have said, "We want this too!" 47:58 Help us! What can we do? 48:01 So what happened as that happened? 48:03 So out of that came Adventist World Radio, 48:06 AWR360° Health, 48:08 and that is the international opportunity, 48:10 in fact we just got back from India. 48:12 We did Philippines last year, God truly blessed. 48:15 That's right. 48:16 We had an extremely wonderful event in India. 48:19 We were in the city of Chennai and Calcutta 48:21 and thousands of patients were helped. 48:24 We had... 48:25 A little over 3,000 people, 48:26 that was an absolute blessing from God. 48:28 Many of them came to the evangelistic series, 48:30 Elder Ted Wilson preached in Calcutta... 48:33 That's right. 48:34 And some of the patients that had come to the meetings 48:36 actually came to the series and made decisions for Christ. 48:39 Amen. 48:40 We were so blessed 48:41 to have our local doctors and providers, 48:43 Dr. Jacob who happens to be here, 48:44 a member of ASI 48:46 and many others working together 48:47 for such a beautiful ministry. 48:49 That's right. 48:50 Over 400 eye surgeries 48:51 where the cataracts were removed 48:53 and people could see again, 48:54 but again it's not about just that physical healing, 48:56 it's about bringing them spiritual healing... 48:57 Most importantly turning them to Jesus, absolutely. 48:59 As well. 49:00 So we had a wonderful time in India, 49:03 God has blessed in a tremendous way, 49:05 but Dr. Lela, 49:07 some important things are happening in 2020. 49:09 Can you tell us about some opportunities 49:11 for doing this type of work next year? 49:13 Absolutely. 49:14 Next year, 2020, March of 2020, 49:17 we are going to be doing AWR360° Health 49:20 in Papua New Guinea. 49:22 Where? Papua New Guinea. 49:23 We are expecting it to be the largest health event, 49:27 comprehensive health evangelistic event 49:29 that the church has ever done, 49:30 so we are very excited about that. 49:32 Amen. 49:33 So this is Papua New Guinea in March of 2020. 49:35 How many of you will pray for this? 49:36 Will you commit to praying for this event? 49:39 And not only pray but, Dr. Lela, 49:40 we need some volunteers. 49:41 We do and you keep your eye 49:43 on our website, AWR's website 49:45 and we'll give the specific dates, 49:46 but we definitely need medical and non medical volunteers. 49:49 All right. 49:51 So that's in March, 49:52 but something very special is also happening, 49:55 I heard it's actually happening 49:56 just a couple of hours up the road from here? 49:58 Just two hours in fact. 50:00 In April of 2020, 50:02 two hours north of here in Indianapolis, Indiana, 50:05 something very special is happening 50:07 with Your Best Pathway to Health, Dr. Lela? 50:08 That is right. 50:10 AWR is partnering with Your Best Pathway to Health, 50:12 the General Conference in North American division 50:14 and many other entities for Pathway Indianapolis. 50:17 Brothers and sisters, I am so excited 50:19 about this opportunity. 50:21 Okay, so this is April 8 to 10? 50:22 April 8 to 10. 50:24 Three thousand volunteers are needed? 50:25 Yes, for 7,000 patients to be served. 50:28 Amen. So we need you. 50:29 Amen? 50:31 Doesn't matter if you are medical or not, 50:32 we need you to volunteer, 50:34 come serve and see how the Lord is gonna bless. 50:36 But before our time is done, 50:37 something miraculous happened just yesterday. 50:40 Yes, it did. 50:41 A group of us drove two hours, 50:43 you just saw on the screen just a second ago. 50:45 We drove up to Lukas Oil field, 50:47 we had the wonderful opportunity 50:48 of meeting with the government officials. 50:51 And many of you were here praying 50:53 for that meeting. 50:54 God did something, Pastor Kyle, that we have not seen happen. 50:57 We pay to pay for the stadium, right? 50:59 I mean, it's a big stadium? 51:00 It is a very big stadium. 51:02 The ticket price was over, almost $500,000. 51:06 And... 51:07 And we got in there, 51:10 and by God's grace 51:11 we are so excited to tell you, 51:12 just yesterday this city has given us the function, 51:16 the facility completely for free 51:18 and they are even... 51:19 Praise God. 51:21 Praise God. Amen. 51:22 And on top of that, there even the city 51:26 is in the process of raising money 51:27 to help the Seventh-day Adventist Church 51:30 is bringing 70 to 80,000 people 51:32 to that very same facility a couple of months later. 51:35 Amen? Praise God. 51:37 Brothers and sisters, we need you in Indianapolis, 51:39 we need you in Papua New Guinea. 51:40 Check out the website for pathwaytohealthvolunteer.org 51:44 to find out more information about how you can be involved 51:47 and help change your life as we minister to people 51:50 in Jesus' name as we prepare 51:52 for the General Conference session 51:53 next summer in Indianapolis. 51:55 God bless you. Amen. 51:57 So I fell in love with the idea of evangelism, 51:59 when I fell in love with a man named Jesus. 52:02 And when I came face to face 52:04 with his undying love for me individually, 52:07 I realized that he was someone 52:09 worth losing everything else for. 52:12 And through the course of my experience 52:14 in being a follower of Jesus, 52:16 and being evolved in evangelism and in ministry, 52:19 I came to realize 52:20 that it can be a difficult experience. 52:22 But I've also found that 52:23 it's the most rewarding experience 52:24 that I had ever gone through. 52:26 And I have seen people make decisions for eternity 52:29 that otherwise may not have had it not been 52:31 for the worthy God has called me 52:32 to do individually. 52:33 So whatever sacrifice has been involved, 52:35 I have found to be well worth it 52:37 because I found someone who is well worth. |
Revised 2020-01-30