Participants:
Series Code: ASIC
Program Code: ASIC190014S
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00:20 My name is Leasa Hodges. I am the vice president
00:23 for membership for ASi. 00:25 And this is Philip Baptiste. He is our secretary-treasurer 00:29 for ASi. He works at the North American Division 00:32 building. And Philip, you have been in our ASi family 00:37 for one year and three days. 00:40 That's right! And so what have you learned about ASi 00:43 during that time that will keep you going 00:46 another year and three days? 00:49 Well thank you, Leasa. And I'm so humbled and honored 00:52 to serve. And ASi is a depart- ment of the North American 00:56 Division, and ASi exists to equip and empower 01:00 lay business people, lay professional people, 01:02 lay ministry people to engage in our mission 01:05 of sharing Christ in the marketplace. 01:07 And I'm so excited about that mission because 01:10 it's the lay people that are going to finish the work. 01:13 And we've got to work together to activate 01:16 every single Adventist lay- member: Total Member Involvement 01:20 and that's why you need to become a part of ASi. 01:23 Young professionals can be a part. 01:25 Everyone can be a part. 01:26 And Leasa, you have been involved in ASi 01:29 since, you know, almost when I was a little kid. Careful. 01:34 Careful! OK? 01:36 For like 35 years now. 01:38 I think I was just running around. Yeah... yeah. 01:40 So tell us: what drives you? What motivates you? 01:43 What keeps you involved in ASi? 01:45 Well, I actually was bribed to come to my first ASi convention. 01:51 But I was so glad 01:54 and it's been a life-changing experience. 01:57 I was converted, actually, at an ASi meeting. 02:00 I was just... You know, I got baptized 02:03 when I was 8 'cause my dad told me I had to. 02:06 And it wasn't until I came to my first ASi 02:11 that I met a God who was really much bigger 02:15 than I had ever even thought of. 02:18 You know, and one of the things that... that... 02:22 We all go to our local churches. We all have our ministry... 02:26 our local ministries. And sometimes we can bring God 02:29 down to that size. 02:31 But when you come to ASi and you go to the exhibit booth 02:34 and you see those hundreds of booths and ministries 02:38 and you think: "The same God that 02:40 holds you up and that holds your ministry up 02:44 He is holding all these hundreds of ministries 02:47 that are going around the world. 02:49 And He is providing for them; He is leading and guiding them. " 02:52 And you get a much much bigger picture of God 02:55 and the work that He has for us. 02:57 And so ASi is just one of those places 03:00 and events at a convention where you can be inspired 03:04 and encouraged and strengthened to go and do that work 03:07 for the rest of the year. So Leasa, you are vice president 03:10 membership. You've served in that role for the last 2 years. 03:14 Tell us: why should someone become an ASi member 03:16 if they're not today? If you want to wake up, 03:20 if you don't want to be a Laodicean church any more, 03:24 join ASi. They will give you a shot of vitamin A, 03:30 B, C, D, and Z. Come on, preacher! 03:33 And they will get you out of your pews 03:36 and into your community 03:38 to be missionaries and to finish the work. 03:42 Amen! Thank you. 03:46 I think the thing that inspires me the most 03:48 is the testimony of a life of self-sacrifice. 03:52 When I go throughout my day I try to think 03:55 of what other people have gone through before me... 03:59 especially on the days that I feel a little selfish 04:02 or I feel like I don't want to do ministry. 04:05 I think about the people that really didn't have a lot 04:09 or not even have a lot of support 04:11 but they kept on going anyway 04:13 because they had a greater reward, a greater goal in mind 04:16 than just how I feel right now 04:19 and having comfort and pleasure right now. 04:22 And the greatest example of that of course is Jesus. 04:26 And honestly, that's where I got my greatest source 04:28 of inspiration. I guess my question would be: 04:32 why would you not want to join ASi? 04:34 Everyone should be a part of ASi! 04:36 There are all types of people: young, old, 04:39 you know... or college students. 04:42 Rich businessmen and women. And everyone is all together 04:46 for a common goal. Really just worshiping together 04:50 and going for that one mission of seeing Jesus come soon. 04:54 All of the interactions and all of the connections 04:57 that I've had with ASi have been so positive 04:59 because they serve to inspire people in ministry 05:03 and give you resources and training. 05:06 And it's such a huge inspiration and encouragement 05:09 for anyone. And I would just encourage everyone to be 05:12 a part of it. 05:18 Our opening hymn this morning is from hymn # 619 05:22 Lead On, O King Eternal. Let's stand together 05:25 as we sing and ring out our voices together in worship 05:29 to our God. 07:50 Amen! You may be seated. 07:56 Happy Sabbath, ASi! 07:58 Amen! So I would like to introduce to you 08:01 Tara Vang, she's the VP for Evangelism 08:04 and Aubrey Seiler who's the VP for Logistics. 08:07 And they represent GYC. 08:10 Aubrey, tell us: what does GYC stand for 08:13 for those who may not know? 08:14 And what is the purpose of GYC? 08:17 GYC stand for Generation. Youth. Christ. 08:23 And the purpose of GYC is to challenge and inspire 08:26 young people to take sacrificial initiative for Christ. 08:29 One of the main ways we do that is through 08:32 hosting an annual international conference. 08:35 Every year over the New Years we have young people from 08:38 all over the country and all over the world come and attend. 08:41 Now ASi has been a long supporter of GYC 08:45 and God has blessed you to accomplish phenomenal things. 08:49 Share with us a little bit about what the outcome was 08:52 of the outreach that you had last year. 08:55 Yes, thank you. Last year we were in Houston. 08:58 And Houston is home to the... it resettles the most 09:02 refugees in America. 09:04 And we thought we should maximize on this opportunity 09:07 to reach the world next door. 09:10 So we took out 32 busses 09:12 and 1/3 of those busses went into refugee territory. 09:16 And we were able to meet the needs of the refugees 09:19 as well as going to the more affluent neighborhoods 09:22 to ask them to donate items that would benefit 09:26 the refugees in their neighborhood. 09:28 And by doing so, we were able to meet the needs of 09:31 both classes and reach them both for Jesus. 09:34 That is wonderful! And what kind of response 09:38 did you get from those who were? Was it difficult to get people 09:41 to donate? No! When we went into the affluent neighborhoods 09:45 we actually left tote bags 3 days before the main outreach 09:49 and asked them: "Please donate these items 09:52 for refugees in your community. " 09:54 When we came back there were more items 09:57 than we could... We didn't know what to do with them. 10:00 It was what we called Tote Bags Until Jesus Comes. 10:05 So it was remarkable that you were able actually to 10:07 reach out to those with means 10:10 and giving them an opportunity to share. 10:12 And that's what opened them up to receive what you had 10:15 for them! Yes. So typically we go in 10:18 and we have like a Bible or a survey. 10:21 But this time we went in and we asked them to give 10:24 to their community. And in doing so, they were open 10:27 to a spiritual conversation. 10:29 And 30% of those who donated 10:33 signed up for Bible studies. Amen! Amen! 10:37 So what's on the books for this year? 10:40 What are the plans for this year? 10:41 So this year we're going to be... In 5 months we'll be 10:43 right here in Louisville, and we want to use the same principles 10:47 of asking those who have the means in Louisville 10:50 to give to the community that needs those means 10:55 here in their own city. 10:56 And we think God is going to bless again 10:58 by using the same principle. Amen! Amen! 11:01 Aubrey, tell me: is GYC something that's kind of local 11:05 to the United States? GYC started in the United States 11:10 but it has since spread really around the world 11:13 in a lot of ways. Because actually I was just 11:16 telling you before we came up here 11:18 that at this last conference in Houston 11:21 we had over 46 countries represented at our event... 11:26 which is really phenomenal. It's so fun! It's like walking 11:29 around the conference and hearing all different kinds of 11:31 languages being spoken. And so the message 11:36 and the spirit of GYC as a sacrificial initiative 11:40 has really spread to Europe, to South America, 11:43 to Australia, to different parts of Asia. 11:46 So it started here but it's not stopping here. 11:49 That's great! That's great! 11:51 Now I know that it's been a blessing for ASi to be able 11:56 to support youth initiatives like Youth for Jesus and GYC. 12:00 Why do you believe it's a good return on our investment 12:04 to continue doing so? 12:06 Well, if you invest in young people, then you're investing 12:09 in your future. I actually was a Youth for Jesus 12:13 participant. I started when I was 15... 12:16 so that was quite a while ago 12:18 even though I only look like I'm 16. 12:20 Thank you. Yeah! 12:22 I get that all the time. 12:25 Yeah, so I started as a Youth for Jesus participant 12:28 back in 2008 and went through that program 12:33 for multiple summers. It impacted my life. 12:35 That's where I decided to give my heart to Jesus 12:37 and was baptized. And then after years 12:41 of going through Youth for Jesus and just being 12:44 reminded over and over why I exist on earth 12:48 when the call came to get involved in GYC 12:52 it was like the natural next step. And so... 12:54 And there have been a lot of my friends and peers who have 12:57 done the exact same thing. 12:59 It just changes the trajectory. I mean, I'm even involved 13:02 in... I'm involved in my local church 13:04 which is a really important aspect of what we do. 13:06 We want young people to get involved in their local 13:08 churches. I am involved leading the youth class in my church. 13:13 I sit on the church board and, you know, things that 13:17 I probably would not have done if it hadn't been for ASi 13:20 initiatives like Youth for Jesus and GYC. 13:23 Amen! So there is a reason 13:26 why we need to continue giving support 13:29 to Youth for Jesus, GYC, other youth initiatives, 13:33 many of the other ministries 13:35 because it helps people become and stay immersed 13:38 in a culture of evangelism. 13:41 So thank you so much for what you are doing 13:43 for and with young people around the world. 13:46 Thank you very much. Thanks, Debbie. 13:51 And we have coming to the podium now Clive and Charlene Coutet. 13:56 And we actually have a video that we'd like to "T up" 13:59 and play at this time before we get into our discussion. 15:14 Wow! That was some incredible footage! 15:16 I can't believe you young people actually travelled 15:19 to locations like that in order to get that footage. 15:23 Clive, you are the media director for Lineage. 15:27 I believe in our program guide it says Ad Fontes 15:29 also or otherwise known as Lineage Productions. 15:33 Share with us how this all started and what it is. 15:37 Well, Lineage is an educational tool. 15:39 We're trying to educate young people 15:42 about the Reformation, about history, and how it's relevant 15:44 to them today. So it's really an educational tool. 15:47 I'm showing them how important that history is 15:49 and how it's preparing us for the future. 15:52 And it basically started when I was reading The 15:55 Great Controversy. And unfortunately, I was looking on 15:59 line for resources to deal with the Great Controversy 16:01 and I was really struggling to find stuff that 16:03 I could connect with. 16:04 They were either really really long or really really old. 16:07 So these videos... And really really boring. 16:09 Well... yeah. 16:11 So these videos are really short. They're kind of like 16:14 snapshots of the Reformation. 16:17 They're 5 minutes long and they're geared toward 16:19 young people with an evan- gelistic appeal at the end 16:22 so they can teach them how relevant this information is 16:24 for them today. Oh, that's wonderful! 16:27 And Charlene, you have something to add to that. 16:29 Yes. What started out as a small project 16:32 all of these episodes have been... There's 100 in all 16:36 as season 1 and 2. 16:37 They've been translated into over 20 languages 16:40 with subtitles and dubbed into four with many more to come. 16:44 So it started out as something just for the UK actually. 16:47 Has blossomed and transformed around the world. 16:50 And that seems to be a theme. Something that you start off 16:53 that you just want to affect just a few people if you're 16:56 praying for that, and somehow God just multiplies it. 17:00 So tell us who is on your team. 17:02 Well, it started with 2 people: my husband Clive 17:05 and the presenter Pastor Adam Ramdin 17:08 and quickly blossomed into ten people. 17:11 All volunteers. Everybody works full time. 17:14 For example, Pr. Adam Ramdin is the youth director 17:17 of the North England Conference. 17:18 Clive is the media director at Weimar Institute. 17:22 And everybody works for an organization that 17:25 wonderfully support missions. 17:27 So without the support of people we actually work full time with 17:30 we couldn't do this. We use our spare time 17:32 to be able to impact into this ministry 17:34 because we're all passionate about young people 17:36 and finishing the work. So speaking of impact, 17:38 Clive. Tell me... has anybody watched these videos? 17:41 Yes! So we have so many testimonies. 17:43 I got an e-mail a couple of weeks ago 17:45 of a lady who was not Seventh-day Adventist 17:48 and she started watching the Reformation videos. 17:51 And because the Reformation continued into Adventist history 17:54 at the end of the whole journey she ended up joining 17:57 a local church and getting baptized. 17:59 We also had another lady who was Adventist 18:02 and her husband wasn't. And she started watching the videos 18:04 and at the end of the journey 18:06 her husband got baptized as well. 18:08 We also heard of them being played in prisons. 18:11 A particular prison ministry is using them 18:14 and studying out a topic and then giving Bible studies. 18:17 And finally we had lots of secular schools 18:21 and Christian schools who are using the videos as a resource 18:23 in their classrooms. But one in particular 18:25 we got a message from some- one who is actually an Adventist 18:28 but he goes to a Catholic school. 18:29 And the teacher is actually an atheist. 18:33 And he was sitting in class one day 18:35 and the teacher just randomly started playing the videos. 18:37 So we don't know how far these videos are going, to be honest. 18:40 Now this atheist teacher 18:42 was playing videos on the Reformation 18:46 which you said has an evan- gelistic appeal at the end. 18:49 That's right. How is it that he came to find 18:52 and use that particular video? 18:54 As part of the curriculum they were studying a topic 18:58 on Aidan. His name is Aidan. He evangelized England 19:01 and he had a training hub, a missionary island, 19:03 called Holy Island. So they were studying this topic 19:06 and the teacher was looking for online resources 19:10 so he punched in Google and found our videos 19:12 and that's how they ended up watching it. 19:13 Now Aside from videos are there any other resources 19:16 that Lineage is working on? 19:18 Yes. We have a website 19:21 that we have set up as an educational tool. 19:24 We finally went to many locations, and you know 19:27 the little placards that say what's going on. 19:29 We found that history is actually being re-written 19:31 and we wanted to be able to provide a resource 19:34 that is authentic. That actually portrays exactly what happened. 19:38 So it's not just the videos. But we have somebody who works 19:41 in Australia really hard to create excellent 19:44 articles and further resources for every single episode that we 19:47 have. We also have T-shirts which have some light humor 19:52 on them to keep things fun. 19:54 We also have study guides that are coming 19:56 so people can use these in their classrooms 20:00 for the Bible study. And we also have 20:03 a coloring book - an educational coloring book - 20:06 that is going to be... I think they're going to show a video 20:09 of it. But it's an incredible resource that we have. 20:14 We have an illustrator who has created custom 20:17 drawings. And by the side of each coloring page 20:22 there is information on exactly what happened. 20:26 There is a "QR" code so you can go directly 20:28 to the video that's fun fact. 20:31 We want to make history exciting for our young people. 20:34 We want it to be accessible. 20:37 So history, if you don't interact with it, it's sad. 20:39 It's nothing. We can't learn from it. 20:41 So we want our young people to be excited by it 20:44 and to use these resources so they can get involved. 20:47 Excellent! Clive, tell us: what's in the future? 20:49 In the future we're planning to shoot a season 3. 20:52 If you look at season 1, it's really the Great Controversy, 20:54 Reformation, and then Adventist history, 20:56 but we want to go all the way back and cover Patriarchs 20:58 and Prophets and then work our way up. 21:00 So that's hopefully in the plans for the future. 21:02 God willing. OK. And that's the project 21:06 for funding this year. That's right. Yes. 21:08 OK... excellent. Well God bless you 21:10 in everything that you're doing through Lineage 21:12 to expose us to the history so that we understand 21:14 better about what's coming for the future. 21:16 Thank you. Thank you. 21:19 Isn't that remarkable? 21:25 Now it's funny to me... Actually, it's not funny. 21:28 It's just a fact of life that cell phones have become 21:31 a major device of communication beyond just "this. " 21:36 All right? And even beyond "this. " You know... texting. 21:40 It's a whole lot more. So we have Kyle Allen 21:44 who's a vice president for Adventist World Radio. 21:47 And Cami Ekman, Oetman! Oetman, OK... who's the VP 21:53 for advancement. Kyle, tell us: how is Adventist 21:56 World Radio doing anything with phones? Cell phones? 21:59 Well, you know Debbie... that's a great question. 22:00 How many of you have one of these? 22:02 Just about everybody, right? 22:03 Do you know that just last week a study was published, 22:06 Debbie, that over 2/3 of the world's population 22:09 has a cell phone. That's over 5 billion people! 22:13 Right. And so we see an incredible opportunity 22:16 in today's world to reach people through these mobile devices. 22:19 You know, Adventist World Radio has been broadcasting 22:21 for many years on over 1,000 radio stations 22:23 around the world: FM, AM, short wave. 22:25 But with these incredible opportunities 22:28 through cell phones we believe we can reach even more people - 22:31 Amen - around the world. OK, so you believe 22:33 you can reach more people. Yes. Are you reaching more people? 22:35 Yes. God is actually doing this. 22:37 Actually, two years ago we were connected with a man in Africa. 22:40 His name is Neville. You'll see his picture there 22:42 in just a moment. But he actually had this vision 22:45 for using the cell phone to send messages to people. 22:48 And what it is is like taking a sermon 22:50 and clipping the audio into short segments 22:52 and sending it over an app. You know, like you have 22:55 apps in your phone like What's App. Like Facebook Messenger 22:57 and instead of just sending a "Hey, how're you doing" text 23:01 sending them Bible studies. Sending these short audio 23:03 segments so that they can learn about the truth. 23:07 And it's incredible - yes - because over 100,000 people 23:11 in 2 years... Over 100,000 people conservative estimate 23:15 have now been receiving these Bible studies. Amen! 23:17 So you just send it to someone and they receive it and? 23:20 Yes. So how does this work? They? 23:22 So they receive the messages and then they forward them on 23:26 to other people. Oh! So it's kind of an exponential - 23:28 OK - sending of messages. That's right. Excellent. 23:31 And we're actually training people how to do this. 23:34 In fact, we're developing training videos. 23:36 That's right. You can go to awr.org 23:38 Soon we're going to have those up for people to know... 23:40 so you can know how you can use your cell phone. 23:43 OK... then for the training 23:45 we don't necessarily need to go to a particular location. 23:47 We'll have access to them online. Absolutely! 23:50 So that's coming up soon. That sounds great. 23:52 Debbie, this is cool, OK? In Israel 23:54 we have a pastor. He's an Arabic-speaking pastor. 23:57 The only Arabic-speaking Adventist pastor in Israel. 24:00 His name is Wisam. By the way, has a tremendous testimony... 24:03 Yes, they can watch it on awr.org 24:06 We can't share it here... that's right. Along with many other 24:08 videos are there. But Wisam said: "What if we 24:10 take these cell phone evangelism Revelation of Hope sermons, 24:14 translate them into Arabic, 24:15 and then send them out to people? 24:16 Well, by God's grace today an entire Baptist church 24:20 just as an example is receiving these messages 24:23 in Israel. Amen? Amen! 24:25 That's phenomenal. Yes! Now this is not only happening 24:27 in Africa and Israel but also let's go to Mexico. 24:31 In Mexico there's a young man by the name of Luis. 24:34 Thirty-five years old. Last Thanksgiving he decides 24:37 he's going to translate these sermons into Spanish. 24:39 So he does that. By Sunday night of Thanksgiving weekend 24:43 he sends it out at 8 o'clock. 24:44 He sends it to ten people as a test pilot. 24:47 He thinks: "Lord, if You could just even give me 100 24:49 what a miracle. " Do you know, within 2 hours 24:52 750 people responded. Amen? 24:56 Amen! Amen! This is incredible. 24:58 So he thought: "Oh wow! " By the next evening 25:01 it was 1,500 people. He thought there must have been 25:05 some kind of a jinx or some kind of a fluke or something 25:08 so he confirmed it with each one of them 25:10 that yes, they all wanted to receive these Bible studies. 25:13 So now to this point he has trained 5,000 people 25:17 that we know of and then reached 80,000 people. 25:22 Just one young guy saying "I want to do something 25:24 for the Lord. " Wow! Amen! So he sends it to a friend. 25:26 They send it to a friend; those friends send it to a friend 25:29 and on and on and on and so that's how it happens. 25:31 I believe this is how God is going to finish the work. 25:33 So, you know, out of these 80,000 messages 25:36 that have been received, many have been by government 25:38 officials, pastors of different denominations, 25:41 anti-government forces, the commanders, 25:43 even criminals with drug cartels... Colombia. 25:46 Actually speaking of which I want to tell you about Maria. 25:50 Maria is a young woman. She was in an abusive relationship. 25:53 Her husband was actually a preacher 25:55 and he was having affairs on her and she became 25:57 so depressed. He lost his job and they divorced. 26:00 Well she went through a terrible time, but she found 26:03 the love of her life two years later. He was a good policeman 26:07 and they had two children. Well one of these times he was out 26:11 he discovered a huge drug shipment 26:16 and he turned it in to the precinct. 26:18 So those drug lords came after him and threatened his life. 26:24 Well one day when he was coming home 26:26 he parked his car and as he was getting out 26:30 sure enough: motorcyclists with machine guns 26:32 did a drive-by shooting shooting at him and his wife. 26:35 He dove over his wife and with his last breath said 26:37 "Take care of our precious children. " 26:39 So this crushed her, of course. Here the love of her life 26:42 and now she has lost him too. 26:44 Very shortly after that her mother passed away. 26:47 So she decided: "You know what? I miss him so much I'm going to 26:51 have a séance because I want to talk to them even though 26:53 they're dead. " So she starts doing this, right? 26:56 She becomes so suicidal, one night she's sitting in her home 26:59 in complete darkness ready to give up. 27:02 And do you know that the light of her phone began to shine? 27:07 And she looked on her phone and it was a message 27:10 from her sister. It was the AWR cell phone evangelism 27:14 audio text. Amen! Amen! She started to listen to it 27:17 and she began to be filled with hope. 27:20 She got to the section on the state of the dead 27:22 and she realized she'd been talking to demons. 27:25 You know, she got rid of all of her candles. 27:27 She got down on her knees and she asked for forgiveness. 27:29 "Lord, come into my life. I want to know the truth. " Amen! 27:33 And by doing that, the Lord impressed her to reach out 27:35 to those people that she hated the most: 27:38 to her ex-husband... her first husband... 27:40 and then also the killers of her second husband. 27:44 Wow! So she sent out a text 27:46 and said to her ex-husband: "I forgive you. 27:48 Do you want to know how and why I can do this? 27:51 I have some messages of hope to share with you. " 27:53 And he was in such shock he said: "Yes, please. " 27:57 She did that and then sent the messages of hope 28:00 the AWR Bible studies to him. 28:02 He is now attending the Seventh-day Adventist church. 28:04 Amen? Amen! Amen! So then 28:06 the finale is that really... the killers... 28:11 Can you imagine sending texts to the killers? 28:13 She got ahold of their information 28:15 and there were three killers. She sent and did the same thing 28:18 to them. Two of them are currently studying right now. 28:22 Amen? God can use the cell phone! Amen. 28:25 Amen! Amen! That's a phenomenal testimony! 28:28 That's great, but it reminds me 28:31 Cami, Debbie that people around the world 28:33 many people just like Maria they're sitting in darkness. 28:37 They're in despair. Maybe they're depressed. 28:39 And they need a message of hope. And God has given each of us 28:42 incredible opportunities - each one of us - to share 28:45 right from our very cell phones! 28:48 Right! We can share these messages. 28:50 The shyest person can be an evangelist! 28:52 That's right. And you know Ellen White had a vision. 28:55 She talked about seeing streams of light 28:57 encircling the globe. She was talking about our publications. 29:00 But in today's world, think about what our publications 29:04 mean today. We can actually send in an instant 29:07 messages around the world - Amen - to people who are hurting 29:11 who are needing Jesus. 29:12 God wants us to use the tools that He has given us 29:15 to send messages of hope. To send these streams of light 29:18 around the world. Amen! Amen! 29:20 He's going to do miracles even still before He comes. 29:21 Amen! Thank you so much. Thank you so much. 29:24 AWR 360 is doing... using cell phones 29:28 to spread the gospel. Amen; praise God! Yes, 29:29 From broadcast to baptism. Yes, From broadcast to baptism. 29:33 All right. Thank you. Thank you so much. 29:34 Do you think they're just a little excited? 29:37 Doesn't that make you excited? 29:39 It should. It should because 29:41 sharing the gospel is an exciting venture. 29:44 And oh, wow! Look at here. 29:47 We have a couple of surgeons... a couple of doctors. 29:50 And we have Andrew Trecartin and his wife Megan. 29:55 Andrew is a general surgeon 29:57 and Megan is a family medicine physician. 30:00 And it looks like you are ready to go off 30:03 and start surgery. So tell me: this is actually about 30:07 Bere Hospital located in Chad. 30:10 Tell us a little about Bere Hospital and how you became 30:13 acquainted with it. So we first heard about Bere Hospital 30:16 when we heard about the work of James Appel. 30:18 And then my brother went to volunteer there as a student 30:22 missionary and I learned about the severe surgical needs. 30:25 And then Megan actually went before we were married 30:29 as a medical student there. 30:32 And I spent a month there and I was just amazed 30:34 at such primitive resources they have there 30:37 and how they were trying their best to take care of patients 30:40 and how even little things made such a big difference 30:44 in that community. 30:46 So then this last December we went to visit 30:49 and the verses that were going through our minds at that time 30:53 was: "Is not this the fast that I have chosen: 30:56 to loose the bands of wickedness, 30:57 to undo the heavy burdens, 30:59 and to let the oppressed go free 31:00 and that ye break every yoke. " 31:02 And we thought: You know, there's few people 31:06 qualified who are willing to go meet the severe need... 31:09 establish themselves in a country and meet the severe 31:12 need in Chad. And we're both willing, so we'd better go. " 31:16 Gotcha. That's incredible! That's really remarkable. 31:19 I want to know... You noticed when you went there 31:23 in Bere, I understand that the One-Day structures 31:27 have greatly improved the facilities on the campus. 31:30 So for those of us who are familiar with One-Day Church 31:33 who has also built One-Day Schools and Clinics 31:37 they've also had an impact on the campus of Bere Hospital. 31:41 And we're so grateful for that. 31:42 What has that done for Bere Hospital campus? 31:46 So the One-Day Hospital... There are basically several 31:49 different buildings. They've added a new maternity ward, 31:51 an ICU ward, an OR, 31:54 a private ward and lots of other... 31:56 It just expanded their ability to hold patients. 31:59 And some of them are still empty shells, though, 32:03 and we're wanting to fill those. 32:06 And they also provided housing for the physicians 32:09 and some of the people teaching in the nursing school 32:12 and the other things. We're actually going to live 32:13 in a One-Day structure when we move there. OK... 32:16 so it's really made a big difference in that community. 32:19 So you and your one-year-old daughter - yes - 32:22 Adelaide are going to be leaving soon to go to Chad. 32:25 That's correct. OK. 32:27 Now you mentioned some of them are shells... 32:29 you know, still waiting to be equipped. 32:31 So the offering for this year is to actually equip 32:35 those facilities - yes - and to have a couple of 32:38 additional operating rooms and equipment. 32:41 So what? Why do we need those? 32:45 I mean... So let me give you a little background 32:47 of the hospital. So the hospital is 104 beds 32:50 plus overflow capacity. 32:52 And they have a nursing school, really the best nursing school 32:56 in the country which is about to graduate their first 3-year 32:59 nursing degree students which I believe will 33:01 be helping to transform the quality of care 33:04 throughout the country. 33:05 And they see about 60 new patients per day 33:08 and perform over 1,400 surgical operations per year. 33:12 Most all of those operations are in a single old dilapidated 33:17 operating room. And just to put it in perspective 33:20 they're all... most of them done by a single surgeon. 33:23 A surgeon here in the US... a busy surgeon... performs about 33:27 500 operations per year... so about 1/3 of that. 33:31 And there's times when they are 33:34 doing 200 operating cases in a month. 33:38 And the team is working from before sunrise 33:41 in the morning until late at night after sunset. 33:46 Not stopping for lunch; not eating dinner until after dark. 33:50 And there's times when they'll be operating on one patient 33:54 on the table and a pregnant mother will 33:57 come in having seizures requir- ing an emergency C-section. 34:01 And they'll have to wheel her 34:05 next to the one patient that's already open on the table 34:09 and two people will be working back-to-back 34:12 on the two patient simul- taneously in the same room. 34:14 Wow! Sounds like a MASH unit! 34:18 OK, so tell us... Megan, you were sharing with me 34:21 some of the... describing to me some of the need 34:24 for these services. Yes. 34:28 I think there's a picture of a group of women that will... 34:31 may have seen or already seen. 34:33 They repair fistulas there, and to describe fistulas 34:36 I first need to tell you that being a woman in Chad is 34:39 not a good thing. Childbirth there 34:43 is very very dangerous. One in fifteen women 34:46 die in childbirth in Chad. 34:49 In the States that's like 1 in 4,200 or something 34:52 like that. And so often women don't have anyone attending them 34:57 when they're in labor and they can labor for weeks. 34:59 Now when a baby's head is in that part of a woman's body 35:01 for a long period of time there's no circulation 35:05 and those tissues die. 35:06 And if the baby doesn't get out soon enough the baby dies. 35:09 And so then this woman is left with no baby 35:12 and dead tissue with a hole between her bladder 35:15 and her birth canal 35:18 which basically means she smells like urine all the time 35:23 and constantly is leaking. 35:26 And these women are ostracized by their families. 35:31 Often rejected by their husbands. 35:33 Are really outcasts in society. 35:37 And so the hospital there... they'll have fistula weeks 35:40 where they'll advertise and women will come in 35:42 to have their fistulas repaired. 35:44 And they could have had their fistulas for 20 years. 35:48 One woman wanted to commit suicide before she got 35:52 the surgery. So when they come to get surgery 35:55 it's a very complicated operation as you can imagine. 36:00 They stay at the hospital a long time, and while they're there 36:03 they get a Godpod, they get a picture book, 36:05 and they get also a new dress so they don't smell. 36:10 So I want you to hear this. So when they come in 36:12 and they receive those physical services to restore their life 36:16 back to them. Then we give them something that can help 36:19 their spiritual lives. So My Bible First is an ASi member 36:23 is a ministry, and so we have those picture books 36:26 in their language that they receive 36:28 as well as what we call a "Godpod" which is? 36:31 It's a MP3 player with an audio version of the Bible 36:34 in their language. Incredible! So there's a whole lot more 36:38 than physical healing that is happening at Bere Hospital. 36:42 We don't have much time left. I just want you to tell us 36:44 about Somidy. OK. So Chad is one of the countries 36:51 in the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery 36:54 where over 90% of the population has no access to surgical care. 36:59 And there's more people dying of lack of access to 37:01 safe surgical care than from malaria, HIV, and TB combined. 37:05 There's no surgical training program in the country. 37:09 And in that context, I want to tell you the story of Somidy. 37:11 Somidy started work at Bere Adventist Hospital 37:14 in the 1970's as a teenager 37:16 sweeping, raking leaves. But he worked so hard 37:20 that he rose through the ranks to become a janitor 37:24 in the hospital. And he worked very hard keeping the hospital 37:27 clean. But his curiosity still unsatisfied, he started helping 37:31 the nurses learning how to take BP and provide medications. 37:37 He was diligent and had integrity 37:40 and so was recruited into the operating room 37:42 and started out scrubbing surgical instruments, 37:44 autoclaving them, sterilizing them. 37:46 But he learned quickly and was so available 37:50 that visiting surgeons began recruiting him 37:53 to assist them in the operating room. Learned how to perform 37:56 the sterile surgical scrub. 37:57 Put a sterile gown and gloves on and hand them instruments. 38:00 Tie sutures; cut sutures. 38:03 And he did this for years. And watched, assisted with 38:07 hundreds of operations. 38:08 There was then a time when there was no doctor 38:11 in the hospital. And one day a woman came 38:15 who needed an urgent C-section 38:18 and there was nobody to do it. 38:21 The hospital administrator because Somidy had 38:24 observed hundreds of these, assisted with hundreds 38:27 of C-sections with other surgeons, 38:29 asked him - in fact, begged him - to perform the operation. 38:33 His fellow nurses begged him. 38:35 The patient's family and the patient herself 38:37 begged him to perform the operation. 38:39 And so with no formal medical training 38:42 but a long experience assisting he performed the operation 38:46 and it was a success. He saved her life. 38:50 He continued to invest tremendous effort in learning 38:53 surgical technique. Visiting surgeons 38:56 put a lot of effort into training him. 38:59 And then when civil war broke out 39:03 at times Somidy was held at gunpoint, asked to operate 39:07 on a soldier. Or another day depending on who occupied 39:11 the territory operate on one of the rebels. 39:14 At a time when the hospital was about to close 39:18 the salary was $10 per month. The hospital was little more 39:22 than a run-down chicken coop in resemblance 39:26 Somidy kept the hospital open. 39:29 He continued operating. 39:32 Finally in 2006 HI with the help of donors 39:36 sent Somidy to nursing school. In 2009 39:39 he graduated with his first official medical diploma 39:43 of nursing school. And now ten years later 39:47 in 2019 Somidy retired. 39:51 It's time to train the next generation of Adventist surgeons 39:54 in Africa. Surgeons who will work as 39:59 hard as Somidy. Surgeons who will be as dedicated 40:03 to their patients as he was and who will save lives 40:07 and open the door to the Holy Spirit to save souls. 40:11 The equipping of the operating rooms will help do just that. 40:14 Thank you so much, the Trecartins, for your dedication 40:18 and your commitment to the gospel to go into a land 40:22 unheard of with such desperate conditions 40:26 to be able to do that. Thank you very much. 40:30 Last night Jared Thurmon said something in his message 40:33 that struck me. He said that we owe it to the world 40:37 to share the truth 40:39 to everyone with whom we come in contact. 40:41 Over the last couple of days 40:43 we shared with you just a few ministries 40:46 who are committed to reaching those people: 40:49 everyone in our world community. 40:52 God has called each of us for a specific work. 40:55 He's called the youth among us. 40:57 GYC, YFJ, Share Him! 41:01 NAPS for their energy, their courage and their determination. 41:06 And they have responded. 41:08 He's called the creative among us 41:11 like Lineage Journey, Little Light Studios, 41:14 Amazing Facts, and they are responding through the medium 41:18 of social media. 41:20 He's called the bold and courageous among us 41:24 like Mission North, LIGHT, Bere Hospital physicians. 41:29 Church planters and Bible workers, armed with the truth, 41:34 through picture rolls and so many more. 41:38 Now God calls us 41:41 to do our part to encourage, 41:45 to equip, and to support these ministries 41:48 so they can accomplish what God has laid on their hearts to do. 41:53 How will we respond? 41:56 I am moved that I need to do more. Are you? 42:00 You have an offering envelope in your hand. 42:04 Does everyone have an offering envelope? 42:06 If you can hold that up I want to make sure that 42:08 everyone has one available. 42:10 If you need one, please raise your hand 42:13 and the deacons will provide one for you. 42:16 On that offering envelope are the instructions about 42:19 how you can provide support for the ministries that are 42:23 highlighted and for those that are listed in your program. 42:26 And so we invite you at this time to do just that. 42:30 I also want to mention that for those that are in Canada 42:34 we are now able to provide donation receipts. 42:38 So you can contact the ASi office for details. 42:42 So we're happy to be able to include 42:44 your desire to donate and support these ministries. 42:48 Our goal this year is $1,250,000 42:53 but I know God is going to bless us 42:56 with so much more so that the five ministries 43:00 that are part of the overflow 43:02 will receive in abundance 43:04 in order to support their ministries. 43:06 So I ask at this time if you would prepare to receive 43:09 the deacons so that they can collect the offering. 43:14 I'll call them forward and then we will have a short prayer 43:17 and God will do the rest. 43:20 Let us bow our heads please. 43:22 Father in heaven, 43:24 now is Your time 43:27 and I ask that You would make us responsive 43:31 and willing servants. Help us to realize that 43:35 nothing gets done by chance 43:37 and that You have provided for us 43:40 opportunity and blessings of resource 43:44 so that we can give back to the work 43:46 and support the efforts that You have laid on the hearts 43:50 of those who are doing the work. 43:52 Bless us now, and we thank you 43:55 in Jesus' name, Amen. |
Revised 2020-03-03