Participants:
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000739
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01:00 Good evening.
01:02 We would like to welcome you 01:03 to the 59th International ASI Convention. 01:07 You know, Ron, I love our theme. 01:09 Tell them now. 01:10 It's such an urgent theme 01:13 and it tells us that we need to share the love of Christ now 01:15 because the world is headed for destruction. 01:18 That's right, Debbie. 01:19 I look behind me I see an orange globe 01:22 and it reminds me that the world is heating up. 01:25 There's global warming with hurricanes 01:28 and changes of weather. 01:30 Then we have pestilences 01:32 and then we have the heating up 01:34 of situations like the Middle East. 01:36 There is no doubt that the world is heating up. 01:40 And even more why we need 01:42 to really embrace this theme to tell them now. 01:45 We need to let the world know 01:47 that there is a Savior who loves them. 01:49 And that He will save us from this world 01:51 headed towards destruction. 01:53 You know I think what we need to do 01:55 is we need to pray for the hot fire 01:58 of the Holy Spirit in our lives. 02:02 We need to pray that through these meetings, 02:04 the Holy Spirit will come down and touch us 02:07 with change and motivate us. 02:10 And so as you attend the meetings and the seminars, 02:13 as you hear the messages and the music 02:16 and the testimonies of God's goodness. 02:18 Even as you tour through the exhibit hall 02:21 and view the many different tools 02:24 that God has given us in order to share His love. 02:27 We pray that you will look for, that you will yearn for, 02:30 that you will pray for the fire of the Holy Sprit. 02:33 So as we are motivated and energized. 02:35 We will tell the world and tell them now. 02:38 Welcome. 02:55 Good evening. 02:56 How is everybody this morning 02:57 or evening or wherever we're at? 03:01 I am Terry Anderson and I have Kim here. 03:04 And we're gonna talk about a project 03:07 that we funded last night or last year, 03:10 I'll get it together. 03:11 Kim, where are you from? 03:13 I'm from Cookie's Retreat Center in Washington State. 03:17 And what do you do there? 03:19 We serve women and children that are victims of abuse. 03:23 Is that your ministry? 03:24 Yes, it is. 03:26 Now you, last year you had your part of our offering 03:30 and you talked about what you did there in Washington. 03:34 How long have you had-- 03:35 What's the name of your ministry? 03:37 Cookie's Retreat Center. Cookie's Retreat. 03:39 How long have you been doing that? 03:42 This is our fourth year serving clients. 03:46 This is your fourth year. 03:47 And we've been with ASI for two years. 03:49 You've been in ASI for two years? 03:50 Yes. 03:52 Now, you have family that help you out there, 03:55 that help you with your ministry 03:56 or what your husband do there? 03:58 My husband is principal of the local SDA School. 04:01 And, yes, he does help. 04:02 Many times we have children 04:04 that come with their mothers that are school age. 04:06 And if it's safe and appropriate, 04:08 we put them in the school, at our local schools. 04:10 So you put them in the-- you put them in the school there. 04:13 So, now last year you said you had three-- 04:18 I think you said you had three people 04:20 that have come to the Lord 04:22 because of the work you're doing there. 04:23 Yes, we did. 04:24 And this year we've had two more. 04:26 And one of them was actually a 16 year old 04:28 who just recently was baptized. 04:30 So we're very thrilled with that. 04:31 A 16 year old? Yes. 04:33 Now when you work with this ministry, 04:36 is it a easy ministry or is it a difficult ministry? 04:40 Well, it's easy to love the women and children 04:42 but it's very hard obviously to see the pain and suffering 04:45 that they all go through, so kind of a little of both. 04:49 How do you get involved with this? 04:52 That's a long story. 04:54 But a real short one is that 04:55 I was praying the prayer of Jabez 04:57 asking God to expand my territory. 04:59 Be really careful if you ever pray that prayer. 05:01 God will take you very seriously. 05:04 So here I am. 05:06 And here you are 05:07 and you started your ministry four years ago, 05:08 two years ago you were here, you're now at ASI. 05:11 Yes. 05:12 Tell us about some of the stories without, 05:16 you know, of course giving us any names, 05:17 but tell us some of the stories that have happened. 05:20 You and I visited and there was some people 05:23 that have gone to college, on to college and schools. 05:26 Sure. Sure. 05:28 Within the last year we've served, 05:31 actually two gals from the same family. 05:33 There were five children and all that were very abused. 05:36 Father is in prison and mom is on the run 05:39 and the two older girls came to our facility. 05:43 They pretty much didn't have plans in their lives, 05:45 especially the younger of the two. 05:47 She kind of didn't figure she was worth much. 05:49 There wasn't anything she could ever do in her life. 05:51 And now I am very happy to say, 05:53 in two days she flies out to attend one of our universities 05:56 and her sister flew out yesterday to a university. 05:59 So they are moving on in their lives 06:02 because of God's healing 06:03 that they received at Cookie's Retreat. 06:06 Amen. 06:07 So you're working with the people 06:09 at one person at a time. 06:10 You know, some of the ministries that we hear, 06:13 we hear about stories 06:14 about how thousands have come to the Lord at one time. 06:18 But yet there are ministries that reach out 06:21 and touch the women and the children 06:23 as the Bible has called us to do one at a time. 06:27 So now you have there-- you have a daughter, 06:31 does she help you out in your ministry there? 06:34 When she's not at school, yes, she does. 06:35 She volunteers in the child care, 06:38 teaches the arts and crafts sometimes. 06:39 And yeah, my whole family is involved. 06:41 It's kind of a family ministry, so. 06:44 Now, you have talked about the kids there, 06:51 some of them get hope they haven't had. 06:54 Some of them don't have fathers and the Cookie's Retreat, 06:58 you try to help them in that manner too by, 07:02 they have some male mentors occasionally, 07:05 your husband, what they do? 07:08 My husband actually fairly frequently takes the kids, 07:11 the young boys out to baseball games and different activities, 07:14 because most of these kids 07:15 are starving obviously for a father figure. 07:18 And most of the children and the women 07:21 don't have a real great view of men. 07:23 So for them to be able to have time 07:25 with good strong Christian men is very important for them. 07:28 And we have to remember that these women and children 07:30 don't come all from unfaith backgrounds. 07:35 Actually 70% of the women we serve 07:37 are from Seventh-day Adventist homes. 07:41 Thirty percent are from unfaithed 07:43 or other denominations 07:45 and out of that 30% those baptisms came from, so. 07:49 Now this, you talked earlier 07:51 about the two girls who went to college 07:53 and the mother is on the run 07:56 and the father is currently in prison. 07:59 I assume they did not come from a Christian background? 08:02 Oh, yes, they did. 08:03 They attended church every Sabbath. 08:06 He held an office in the church and they thought, 08:09 they were thought off by their community 08:10 as a wonderful Christian family. 08:12 They had a good image going on, 08:14 but there was horrible, horrible abuse 08:16 going on at home for years. 08:19 And so these were the kind of people that you deal with. 08:22 How do you-- How are you able to personally help? 08:28 You know, you must have a strong connection 08:30 with the Lord to be going, 08:31 go through the kind of emotions 08:32 that you have to go through with these women. 08:36 Our ministry was based on prayer 08:38 from the very, very beginning 08:39 and every single day, 08:41 not only do I obviously have my personal time 08:44 that gives me the strength to keep going 08:46 but every day the staff, 08:48 all meet for prayer, every morning in the office. 08:50 And the clients know 08:52 when the office door is closed they are praying, 08:54 so don't knock, unless it's an emergency. 08:56 And then we obviously have worship every morning. 08:58 A lot of the women love that time 09:00 because it teaches them 09:01 how to have their own personal worship 09:03 as well as worship with their children too, so. 09:06 Now the people that you have in your ministry-- 09:11 How many people help you there at Cookie's Retreat? 09:16 Well, we have nine paid staff, 09:20 but we have dozens of volunteers. 09:22 And obviously the volunteers are what help keep us going, 09:25 so lot's of people. 09:27 You have lots of people, so. 09:29 Well, this is an exciting ministry. 09:31 Now, I'm sure some of the people 09:33 who are out there wondering. 09:35 If last year they remember the story, 09:37 there was a woman who was baptized, 09:39 who had cancer and was gonna be here 09:42 but she was too sick to come. 09:46 Can you give us maybe a little update? 09:49 The update on Patty because I did share her name with you. 09:52 As she's still alive, praise the Lord. 09:55 And she actually just flew out yesterday to Norway 09:59 to a health clinic there for treatments for her cancer. 10:03 It did go into remission and it has come back 10:05 but they have good hope for her where she's going. 10:09 Well, let's pray for her. 10:10 Amen. 10:11 Kim, thanks a lot 10:12 and it's wonderful the ministry you're doing there. 10:15 Thank you. Thank you very much. 10:24 We're gonna talk with Rick Fleck 10:27 and some of you may know Rick and some of you may not. 10:30 But, Rick, where are you from? 10:33 We're from Vancouver, Washington. 10:35 Vancouver, Washington. 10:36 There's a lot of people from Washington here. 10:37 I run into many of them. 10:39 And what do you do there in Vancouver? 10:41 We have International Children's Care. 10:43 It's a ASI Organization from the very beginning. 10:47 And we work now in 19 different countries around the world, 10:51 taking care of children. 10:52 Nineteen different countries? 10:54 So now you do this ministry fulltime? 10:57 Yes, fulltime. 10:58 We have about 11 people in our office there in Vancouver. 11:01 Eleven people. 11:02 Now, how often do you get around 11:05 to see these different orphanages 11:07 or children or whatever you have? 11:09 Children's villages we call them. 11:11 Yeah. 11:12 Because we build homes for the children 11:14 and we hired native Adventist couples to take care of them. 11:18 My wife Sharon and I go to these projects all year along. 11:23 And you can imagine 11:25 trying to go to all of these different places. 11:28 We just got back from Cambodia 11:30 and the Philippines a few days ago. 11:33 And we're heading down to the ASI in Panama pretty soon. 11:38 And we'll also visit our project in Nicaragua, 11:41 in El Salvador while we're down there. 11:43 Now, how many children 11:45 do you try to reach and help throughout the world? 11:49 Right now I think there's about 1,200 children 11:53 that are directly under our care. 11:54 Now ASI, how much did we give you last year? 11:57 Twenty thousand dollars came for the ICC Congo Project, 12:02 that's in the Democratic Republic of Congo 12:06 in the middle of Africa. 12:08 Now we've heard a little bit 12:09 in the news lately about the Congo. 12:11 There's been some political elections I think 12:13 that have been going on over there. 12:14 Tremendous strife in that country. 12:16 Over the last few years, 12:17 estimates are that more than four million people 12:20 have lost their lives in that country 12:22 because of the conflict, famine, 12:25 mostly unnecessary loss of life 12:29 because it's disease and things that are happening 12:31 because of political problems. 12:34 Well, I know tonight, Rick, you brought a video 12:37 and you want to talk a little bit about that. 12:40 So what they are gonna do is, we're gonna play the video 12:42 and then maybe you can give us some comments on that video. 12:46 Yeah, we took some video the last time we were there, 12:48 and I wanted to show some of what we're doing 12:51 and some of where the money from ICC, 12:53 from the ASI is going. 12:57 This is on a island in Congo, in the big lake Kivu. 13:03 We've been taking care of children 13:04 in these temporary wooden structures. 13:07 We've built two houses like the one you see there. 13:10 We had to put two families of children 13:12 in each home temporarily 13:14 until we can construct additional homes. 13:16 The money from ASI is to help us build an additional home. 13:22 And so during the times since then 13:25 we've been working on making blocks 13:27 right there on the island. 13:29 It's a very remote place and it's a beautiful construction 13:33 that they are able to do way out there 13:35 in the middle of nowhere. 13:36 Everything has to be taken across the lake 13:38 about four hours in a little boat. 13:40 A lot of hand labor goes into the construction, 13:44 but the children are so excited. 13:46 You know what they like most? 13:47 They like to be able to go school. 13:49 I don't know if your kids like that, but they are so excited. 13:52 When we were there, I laid the ceremonial cornerstone 13:56 and that's the kind of house that we're building. 13:59 Now, while we were there, 14:00 the foundations were complete to some of the houses 14:04 and since then we have I think a still photo 14:08 of some of the houses that are being completed. 14:11 And I understand that at least 14:13 one or two of those houses are complete now, 14:16 and we've moved some children into them. 14:19 Thanks to the offering that ASI has made 14:22 and other generous donors 14:23 that have helped us with this project. 14:26 So right there on that island, 14:28 it's an amazing little construction 14:30 that you can see that they are able to do 14:33 way out there in the middle of nowhere. 14:35 So you built these facilities on an island? 14:38 It's an island and it's called the Patmos, 14:41 ICC's Patmos Children's Village. 14:44 That's what they decided to call it, right there. 14:48 We have been doing some drawing of corn, cashews, 14:53 beans, other things out there, so that they can-- 14:57 Yuca is something, some people refer to it as yuca or cassava. 15:01 This is a mill that we were able to get. 15:04 And that mill is a little industry now. 15:06 Because the village ladies come 15:08 and instead of pounding their own flour, 15:11 they can bring it here 15:12 and in exchange for a little bit of their product, 15:15 we will grind it for them. 15:17 And so that's a way for them 15:18 to earn some money for the operation there. 15:23 This cassava, it's a yuca, they grinded into flour 15:27 and that's one of their main foods 15:29 that they eat on the island. 15:31 As we were leaving, 15:32 the kids stood on the foundation of the house 15:35 that they were going to live in, 15:36 singing in appreciation for what's being done for them. 15:41 Looking forward to the time 15:42 that they can have their very own home 15:45 and their own place that they can lay their head down. 15:48 Well, that's exciting about the work 15:50 that you're doing in this particular project, the Congo. 15:55 How many kids are in this particular village? 15:59 There's about 180 children in that village. 16:02 Now because of the conflict and the strife 16:05 that has been going on there in the Congo 16:07 and the elections coming up, 16:10 the children that we had, 16:11 we have a receiving center 16:13 in the town of Goma which is nearby. 16:15 They have to move all those children out there too, 16:17 and they have just been bunking up together with everybody else 16:20 until some of this dies down. 16:22 But you know this island is kind of a haven 16:24 and they don't hardly ever have any conflict 16:27 right out there on the island, 16:28 that's why we decided to locate there in this case. 16:31 So God opened the door for you guys 16:33 to go out there on this island which is, 16:35 I mean, it's pretty symbolic an island 16:38 that you have for these children 16:40 to get away from the conflict 16:42 that they have been through already, 16:43 probably losing their parents through the process. 16:46 And many of them, 16:47 they have lost their parents through the conflict, 16:50 through disease, through, you name it. 16:54 And you have an opportunity to witness 16:57 and tell these kids about Jesus? 16:59 They are learning to sing all the same songs that you know 17:02 and they speak French there as a second language 17:05 and so most of what they learn is in French, 17:07 but they have even learned some things in English too. 17:09 Now do you speak French? 17:10 No, I have to go through an interpreter 17:13 when we were over there. 17:14 Oh, that's great. 17:15 Well, Rick, thanks a lot 17:16 and may God bless in your ministry 17:19 and continued support. 17:20 Thank you. Thank you. 17:21 We have a booth here, 17:22 and so if people want to come by 17:24 and see some more, we'll be glad to share 17:26 with our other countries that we're into. 17:27 Okay. Thank you. 17:29 Thanks, Terry. 17:37 Now, I got to tell you. 17:38 Rick, he showed up here. 17:40 I hadn't had a chance to talk to him a little bit, 17:43 but I was sure glad when he did. 17:46 And now Virgil is a little bit different. 17:47 I've known Virgil for a while, 17:49 since we're both from the same union. 17:51 Virgil, where are you from? 17:53 Lincoln, Nebraska. Lincoln, Nebraska. 17:55 Now how long have you lived in Lincoln, Nebraska? 17:58 Oh, since 1961. 18:00 And what do you do there? 18:02 Running an assisted living retirement center. 18:05 So, but you're not here tonight to talk 18:07 about assisted living, retirement centers? 18:09 No. Peru Projects. 18:12 Peru Projects. 18:14 So last year ASI through the generous contributions 18:19 helped your Peru Project, right, 18:21 yours and other people's Peru Projects. 18:26 ASI donated $25,000 to Peru Projects last year 18:32 and we hopefully have used it wisely. 18:38 Tell us about those. 18:40 What-- the Peru Project? 18:41 What's your goal? What's your vision? 18:44 What do you want to see happen there? 18:46 To take the gospel to the jungle of Peru. 18:49 So now do you have chapels there? 18:52 I imagine you have chapels with little like highways 18:55 that goes by and they are on streets and blocks and stuff, 18:58 like we have here? 19:00 No highways. 19:02 Our highway is the river or the air. 19:05 And we do have chapels with ASI and the Quiet Hour moneys, 19:11 we've been able to build six chapels in the last year 19:16 and have another six or seven in the process of being built. 19:21 How important is it to have a chapel there? 19:24 Do they-- To have a church for the people to go to? 19:28 Well, if you want a congregation 19:30 to be able to flourish and to continue, 19:33 you need to have a place for them 19:36 to worship that they can call their own. 19:39 Now, you have some, some workers, some gospel workers, 19:42 some missionaries that, that work there. 19:44 With again with ASI money and Quite Hour money, 19:49 we have about 24 indigenous missionary volunteers. 19:55 Most of them are couples, some are even families 19:59 that leave their home and go to a different village 20:04 to live and work for a period of at least 18 months 20:08 to establish that congregation 20:11 and then some satellite congregations. 20:14 Now, how do these missionaries, the people, the volunteers, 20:17 how do they get around to the different villages? 20:20 Well, Peru Projects has a mission launch 20:24 and then two airplanes, 20:27 one is an amphibious airplane that can land on the rivers, 20:32 the other one is the Cessna 182. 20:35 And we're able to transport workers 20:39 back and forth as needed. 20:42 So you got the launch too that goes up and down the rivers 20:45 and then you got planes that can take people in that way. 20:48 The launch generally goes to a village 20:52 and stays there for a week, 20:55 maybe to as many as three weeks, 20:58 providing medical health and education, 21:02 their personal hygiene, community hygiene, 21:08 health education type activity. 21:12 So your goal first when you go in there is to make friends, 21:15 help them with the missionary side of things 21:19 and then build them a chapel? 21:22 With the success of the Lord working with us, 21:26 we would hope that a congregation 21:29 would be raised up 21:30 and then of course we want to teach people to sponsor others 21:36 and to work with others and maybe another village nearby. 21:41 So you're getting these-- 21:42 the churches or the chapels that you raise up, 21:45 hopefully they will throw more churches. 21:48 That's for sure. 21:50 It's sort of a spoke and wheel 21:55 or hub and wheel method 21:57 where you have a central village 21:59 and then you can go to outline villages 22:02 from where you're living 22:04 without having to establish a new base. 22:07 So you have their people helping their own people. 22:11 That's the idea. Wow. 22:14 And this has been successful. 22:18 We've had some changes in personnel 22:20 over the last year and half, 22:22 but for the most part people stay with the commitment 22:28 and learn to witness in a more effective way. 22:33 And then they are going to transmit 22:37 that knowledge to these new believers. 22:40 Now, this project, is it pretty easy? 22:43 You don't have much troubles, 22:44 you're just, you're able to raise all the funds you need 22:48 and go over there and do all the missionary work 22:50 and it's a happy skippy life. 22:52 Well, God is good and God does provide, 22:56 there's no doubt about that. 22:58 With all of your help and the Quiet Hour 23:02 and various other individual donors 23:05 that we have a very modest budget. 23:09 We have a pilot and his wife that have been there since 1998 23:16 and then another administrative person 23:20 to help lighten the load and carry the burden. 23:24 Well, that's sounds like an exciting ministry. 23:28 How many-- do you have an idea 23:29 of how many people you can reach on an annual basis? 23:33 Well, the villages vary in size, 23:36 from a very few to maybe several hundred. 23:41 And so at this point in the year 23:46 we've baptized several hundred people. 23:51 I don't have the exact count but it's several hundred people 23:55 when you're baptizing 25 to 50 people per baptism. 24:02 The Lord has been good. 24:04 That sounds like an exciting ministry. 24:07 Well, we've enjoyed it. 24:10 Clyde Peters was our founding sponsor. 24:14 He had been a missionary there 24:16 for in the '60s and early '70s and he's a pilot. 24:21 And he's been very inspirational to all of us 24:25 that work with the Peru Project. 24:27 Thanks a lot, Virgil. 27:51 Good evening. 27:53 It's exciting to be here tonight with our ASI family 27:56 and this is one of my favorite parts. 27:59 It's doing interviews. 28:01 Finding out what is going on 28:03 around the world and also right here. 28:06 And tonight I've got the privilege 28:08 of introducing you to some fine people. 28:10 And who do we have here this evening with me. 28:13 I'm Barbara Neher. 28:15 And I'm Jack Neher. 28:16 Where do you guys live? 28:18 Cadiz, Kentucky. 28:20 Western Kentucky. Western Kentucky. 28:23 And tell me is this your first time to ASI? 28:26 Yes, ma'am. Sure is. 28:28 Well, we're glad that you're here. 28:30 What's your impression of ASI so far? 28:33 Awesome. 28:34 Awesome. That's good. 28:36 Well, you have a really special project. 28:40 And I want you to tell me a little bit about 28:42 what your project is called and what you're doing? 28:46 Well, it's called-- 28:47 it's My Very Own, the Bags of Love. 28:51 Now what does that mean, Bags of Love? 28:55 Okay. 28:56 It's all about-- 28:58 these bags we give to the child protective services. 29:03 When they have to go out and remove children 29:06 due to drugs or abuse 29:08 and this way they have something 29:10 to give to the children 29:11 because this is a very stressful time. 29:14 And it's stressful for the children 29:15 as well as the CPS case worker. 29:18 So what's inside that bag? 29:20 We have lots of goodies. 29:22 In the top of the bag we have a large stuffed animal 29:26 because they need to have a friend 29:28 and something they can cry to and to hug. 29:31 So this is their new best friend. 29:35 Then we also have two brand new toys. 29:38 I like to open new things and I'm sure that you do. 29:43 This is obviously for a little girl, 29:46 but we have them brand new 29:49 so that they have something to open up 29:51 because this is very special at this time. 29:54 So, but we have all kinds of little things in there. 29:58 More toys I see. Yes. 30:00 And then in the bottom of the bag 30:03 we have a handmade quilt 30:05 and I insist on having a handmade quilt 30:09 because what this does 30:11 is it shows that somebody really cares. 30:15 And by-- this gives them then something 30:19 to snuggle with and to cuddle 30:22 and with their little stuffed animal 30:24 they are able to cuddle and take care of their wounds. 30:27 So how much does it cost for a bag like this, 30:30 this bag of love? 30:31 If you had to do it from scratch it's $35 to $40. 30:35 Okay. 30:36 If we had to buy it each and everyone. 30:39 Now you told me that you're in more then one state. 30:43 Tell us about where you're located 30:45 and what happened there? 30:46 Well, the Lord blessed us I'm telling you. 30:50 We were invited to go on 3ABN 30:53 and the cork blew out of the bottle. 30:56 We are everywhere. 30:57 We're in 42 states and 10 countries. 31:00 We have three chapters down in Australia. 31:04 We're just so excited. I'm so excited. 31:07 I'm so happy for you. 31:11 The Lord's work. 31:15 You know we can't all go out 31:18 and do things like go to India or go to Africa. 31:23 But we have-- excuse me. 31:26 We have a mission field right in our own backyard 31:30 and this is the way to reach it. 31:32 And by doing this, we not only help children 31:35 that are in a desperate need. 31:38 This is at a time 31:39 that they are at the lowest point in their lives 31:41 and when they are taken from their homes, 31:43 they can take nothing with them when it's in matte. 31:46 So when they come out of there, 31:47 it's just whatever they have on their little bodies. 31:50 And then they are taken and they are disinfected basically. 31:53 And so they need to have something 31:56 that they can call their very own. 31:59 Now tell me how long you have been in this little project 32:04 that you've got going on? 32:06 Well, we were doing it for about a year 32:09 and it was growing and it's developing beautifully. 32:14 And like I said the Lord had a plan 32:17 and when we were invited to do 3ABN, 32:20 it exploded and so we're just only about 18 months old. 32:24 Only 18 months old 32:27 and you're in all these states and all these countries. 32:30 Well, God is really blessing. 32:31 Yes, He is. 32:32 Now I visited with Barbara and Jack on the phone 32:35 a few weeks ago and I was really touched. 32:38 Anything that has to do with young people 32:40 really it touches my heart. 32:42 And you told me a very special story, 32:45 would you share that with our family here? 32:47 One of the case workers told us 32:49 that as she went out to pick up these children, 32:51 there was a sister and a brother, 32:53 they were about 10 and 14. 32:56 And when they saw the bag 32:58 and the one thing we didn't mention 33:01 was the personal care items that are in the side pocket 33:05 and it has a brush, toothpaste, toothbrush and all of that. 33:08 Well, the older one spotted that and he opened this up, 33:14 the pocket because that was the easiest thing to get into 33:18 and he looked in there and he saw the toothbrush 33:20 and he says, oh, great. 33:21 I get my own toothbrush. 33:23 I don't have to share anymore. 33:26 And you see we don't realize the simplest little things, 33:30 how much they mean. 33:32 And this bag itself is very important 33:35 because they get moved quite frequently from home to home 33:39 and this is their luggage 33:42 and it gives them a sense of ownership. 33:45 Jack, you look like you have something to tell us. 33:47 Well, just recently Barbara heard from a lady 33:50 who used to be a supervisor for the CPS in New York City 33:54 and she said, this bag was of great importance. 33:58 This gives that child some esteem 34:01 that most of the time only have to carry 34:03 the things in as the garbage sack. 34:06 Well, you're telling me 34:08 then we can all be involved in this outreach opportunity. 34:12 Yes, your church, your pathfinders, 34:16 we have a 10 year old girl that is sewing quilts for us. 34:20 How old is she? 34:22 She's 10 years old and she's on her fifth quilt. 34:25 So we all can do this. 34:26 Pathfinders and juniors, I mean they can all become involved. 34:31 Amen. 34:32 Well, I want to encourage 34:33 our ASI family to stop by your booth 34:36 because you have a lot more information 34:38 and it's a worthy project. 34:40 And God bless you, guys, and welcome to our ASI family. 34:43 Thank you. Thank you so much. 34:55 Welcome. 34:56 Well, thank you. 34:58 I have not met this precious lady, 35:01 only by the phone about a week ago, is that right? 35:05 That's correct. Tell us who you are. 35:07 My name is Dirci. 35:10 And I'm from the beautiful country of Brazil. 35:13 Oh, it's a beautiful country I agree. 35:16 Where are you living right now? 35:18 In Frederick, Maryland, where we have our business. 35:21 Well, tell me what is your business all about? 35:27 My business is very exciting. 35:32 Just to make it simple we import design, 35:38 custom fabricate and install exotic, eccentric, 35:43 ornamental stone counter tops. 35:46 But I'll tell you one more thing. 35:48 We have the access to the heart of the American homes. 35:51 When we enter a kitchen, 35:53 the kitchen is never the same again. 35:55 It isn't, is it? Yeah. 35:57 Well, now how did you get into this business? 36:02 Attraction for the beauty of nature maybe. 36:05 Okay. 36:06 The powerful aspect of it. 36:09 Okay. 36:10 Well, I'm sure being an Adventist business lady 36:14 and it's a family business, is that correct? 36:16 Yes, correct. I run it with my two sons. 36:18 You have two sons that are involved. 36:21 Now I'm sure there are some challenges in your business 36:25 being a committed Christian lady. 36:27 Could you tell me something about that? 36:29 Yes, indeed. 36:31 I think the... 36:34 Sabbath was really what made us different from the others. 36:41 Because when we decided to start this venture, 36:45 the competition, the experts in the area said, 36:47 you must be absolutely crazy, you're a Sabbath keeper. 36:52 You will never succeed. You are up to failure. 36:55 What they didn't know, Donna, is that, you know, 36:58 when God is your partner things are different. 37:01 Amen. 37:04 And we have tested that in a great way. 37:09 Amen. 37:10 Now I know that you have another project. 37:15 This is a really exciting outreach opportunity. 37:18 Tell us about this. 37:21 Well, after 5 years this company was started in 2000. 37:24 It has doubled every year and I only thank God for that. 37:31 But our commitment was that, we wanted to make a difference, 37:34 we wanted to be a different type of business people 37:38 that are not just there for making money. 37:41 We wanted actually to give something back. 37:44 To give something back not just the community around us 37:47 which is in good products and good services, 37:49 but the communities where our products came from. 37:53 And I don't know if you knew that, 37:55 but 80% of the exotic granites of the world 37:58 come from my country. 38:00 Okay, that's good to know. 38:01 So imagine that my responsibility now 38:04 is to help those communities. 38:06 And we picked up an area in the Northeast country of Brazil 38:11 which is named Aquiraz. 38:13 And today after 5 years of volunteer work, 38:19 we have thousands of people whose lives have been changed. 38:23 We have more than 400 children learning music, 38:26 it's almost magical. 38:27 What God has been able to accomplish 38:31 with common and ordinary people like you and me 38:34 doing extraordinary things just because God was put first. 38:38 And I tell you one more thing. 38:40 Today, I think I'm busier with the ministry 38:45 than with my own business. 38:47 Well, amen, that's why God blesses your business 38:50 so that you can be involved in His business. 38:52 That's correct. 38:53 Now this ministry that you started, what's the name of it? 38:58 Grantops, Ston'Art Galleria was then founded later. 39:03 And today we are the only in the Mid-Atlantic area, 39:09 the only exotic Ston'Art Galleria. 39:12 Okay. 39:13 So now you have taken volunteers 39:16 outside of this country. 39:18 Correct. 39:19 And you have taken them to Brazil. 39:21 Yes. 39:22 What do they do in Brazil? 39:25 At five plus years we have had more than 80 missions, 39:29 most of them were health related. 39:32 And we got volunteers from all over the country. 39:35 But last year we had a different approach, 39:39 was not just an upcoming help, people to people. 39:44 We decided, we wanted to leave something more. 39:47 We started evangelistic meetings 39:48 and vacation Bible school and planting church, 39:51 so now we have a different challenge. 39:54 It's incredible. 39:55 And by the way, if you or anybody else 39:59 who wants to check our new developed mission serve 40:03 interlocking building system. 40:07 I'll tell you what that does. 40:10 It's so easy, it's so easy not just a homeowner can do, 40:15 a housewife, but even lawyers can do that. 40:18 Well, that sounds exciting. 40:20 Well, tell us more. 40:21 Well, it's all-- 40:23 It's like the little toy the kids play Lego. 40:27 And anybody can assemble those walls. 40:31 So the plan is that we arrive on Thursday, 40:33 start the work Friday, 40:35 the first Sabbath where either under the tree 40:38 or in the garage or anywhere, 40:40 but and we work the whole week building these blocks, 40:44 the next Sabbath the church is inaugurated. 40:48 Praise the Lord. That's exciting. 40:50 Well, you know, I actually went through the booth area 40:52 looking for you this afternoon 40:54 and I saw them building a church. 40:57 Is that correct? 40:58 Is that's what's going on in your booth? 41:00 That's correct. 41:01 I mean we want to prove to people that it works. 41:03 So we have a machine, it was flown here. 41:06 It was flown here from Brazil because we tested them there 41:10 with the mud and everything to make sure it worked. 41:13 We brought it here. 41:14 We had the bricks made, so the plan is that, 41:17 the volunteers will come 41:19 and the bricks are readymade by the locals, 41:21 so they can work together. 41:23 And the bricks have to dry 7 days. 41:24 So they have to be done the week before. 41:28 We assemble everything. 41:30 It's like one of how to do little book for kids. 41:34 That's that easy. Oh. 41:36 So you're saying that our ASI family can be involved in this? 41:39 Oh, sure. 41:40 And are you wanting people to come by your booth 41:43 and ask how they can volunteer with you? 41:45 No, I want more than that. 41:46 Okay. 41:47 What I want is to tell everybody. 41:49 If you want a countertop, this sort of advertisement, right. 41:54 If you want a countertop that's made of a special gem stone, 42:00 you call the Ston'Art Galleria. 42:04 Now, if you want an experience in life 42:07 that would change your life for, forever. 42:11 You call this Ston'Art Galleria, 42:13 but ask them to transfer you to mission serve international 42:17 and then they can give their names 42:19 and you can bring your friends and your family. 42:22 We are going to have 42:25 an ASI short term international mission trip 42:29 in February for the Colombia Union members. 42:32 Okay. 42:33 So that's a beginning. All right, that's a beginning. 42:35 That's a beginning. Okay. 42:36 So we're gonna come by her booth 42:37 and check you out, Dirci. 42:39 Thank you. 42:40 Thank you so much for sharing with us tonight. 42:41 You're welcome. 42:49 Well, good evening, gentlemen. 42:51 Good evening, Donna. 42:52 And who do I have with me tonight? 42:54 Harold Lance. Ray Hamblin. 42:56 And, Harold, where do you live? 42:59 We live in Ukiah, California. 43:01 And, Ray, where do you live? 43:02 I live in Brooklyn, Michigan. 43:04 Well, there's something special about you two 43:07 because I like being in the company, 43:09 our past ASI presidents. 43:12 I'm married to one. 43:13 So tonight are you two past ASI presidents? 43:17 Six years each. Well, that's good. 43:21 Now I happened to know something 43:22 very special about you two. 43:24 You work well together. 43:27 I believe. 43:28 Amen. That's right. 43:30 And by working well together, 43:32 tell us what happened a few years ago in the Philippines? 43:37 Harold. 43:39 The ASI decided to initiate 43:43 a special evangelistic series called "New Beginnings." 43:48 They had to try it out on someone and by someone 43:52 and we went to the Philippines with the first group 43:55 to try out "The New Beginnings" evangelistic materials. 44:00 Was that the first time you had ever co-preached together? 44:04 That was the first time. 44:05 In the Philippines? In the Philippines. 44:07 And so you decided that if you could do it together, 44:10 you might continue this project together, is that correct? 44:13 That's kind of worked out that way. 44:15 It kind of worked out that way. 44:17 So since the Philippines, what's happened? 44:20 Well, we have done now 44:22 four evangelistic campaigns working together 44:26 as a team in the Dominican Republic, 44:29 the Philippines and Ukraine. 44:33 Now you have been in several countries, 44:36 they are all not warm, is that correct? 44:39 That's right. That's right. 44:41 Now, Ray, tell me 44:43 what has been the biggest blessing in your life 44:46 by being involved with Harold 44:48 co-preaching using the New Beginnings. 44:51 And tell us what the New Beginnings is? 44:53 Just explain that a little bit for our audience? 44:55 Well, The New Beginnings is the series of lessons that ASI 44:59 and It Is Written together produced. 45:03 And they're really designed for lay members 45:06 to use in evangelist series. 45:11 And if we can do it, anyone can do it. 45:13 So that's really a nice thing about New Beginnings. 45:18 Well, now, when we were visiting 45:20 behind the stage here for a little bit, 45:23 you told me that there are other things 45:25 that were involved in getting this together. 45:27 What were some of things, Harold, 45:29 that you were telling me about? 45:30 Well, in order to make the presentation 45:34 really effective and really meet needs of the people, 45:39 we found out that the health component 45:42 is probably the most important aspect of bringing people there 45:48 and having them through better appreciation of their health, 45:53 sense their need of God. 45:56 That's good. 45:57 So the health message is definitely the right arm, 46:00 isn't that right? 46:01 It gets us in places sometimes 46:03 that other things won't get us into. 46:05 Yes. 46:07 The health materials that we use are also lay friendly. 46:14 They can be done by someone 46:16 who is not a nurse or physician or anything of that kind. 46:20 And they were developed in a project 46:22 that was co-ventured by ASI and Wildwood 46:28 and primarily with Chuck Cleveland 46:31 in his, her ministries 46:33 and they are very effective ways 46:36 of giving people an insight 46:39 into the health issues that really affect them. 46:43 It really opens the door in a non threatening way. 46:45 It allows you to develop friendships and confidence. 46:48 Right. 46:49 Let's go back to your preaching. 46:52 Knowing that you had not preached before, 46:55 was it easy to use this tool 46:57 as far as the New Beginnings was concerned? 47:00 Well, having conducted Revelation 47:02 and Daniel seminars previous, 47:06 I found The New Beginnings lessons 47:08 to be just an excellent tool. 47:13 I thought they were very, very-- 47:15 I wouldn't say easy to use but they were, 47:20 they are designed so that you can do it with a minimum 47:23 because remember you meet every night. 47:26 So it was every morning 47:27 you were preparing for that evening. 47:30 They're world class graphics, 47:32 they are the best graphics that are available 47:34 in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 47:36 And you know they are fascinating to people. 47:42 They see them presented 47:44 in their own language on the screen 47:47 and it's something that makes a powerful impact with them. 47:50 The graphics really reinforce. 47:53 Well, I happened to be with you two 47:55 when we were in the Philippines 47:56 because we were part of that group. 47:58 And I can remember, 48:00 I actually had the opportunity to go to Harold and Ray sight, 48:04 and I was so blessed because here were two gentlemen 48:08 that were sharing Christ using this, this wonderful tool. 48:12 And I just was wondering, is there a particular story 48:16 or an event that happened 48:18 that you would like to share with our ASI family 48:20 using The New Beginnings? 48:26 When we were in the Philippines, 48:28 we were in a rather primitive situation 48:32 and we were getting ready 48:33 and getting the material set up and the equipment set up 48:38 and it was in a rural area 48:40 and just before the meetings began 48:44 here came a pig just running-- 48:48 I don't know, I never heard of a homing pig before 48:50 but this was a homing pig 48:52 and he ran through the meeting place 48:55 and into the yard that was right close by where they were. 48:59 But it was a fascinating thing and in that series of meetings, 49:05 we were just one little part of about 300 total meetings 49:11 and about 10 or 15 ASI teams that were involved, 49:15 that resulted in a baptism of over 3,000 people in one day. 49:21 It was such a blessing to be there. 49:24 Well, as we end here, Ray, 49:26 is there some words of encouragement 49:28 that you could share with us? 49:30 Well, I think, Donna, we see Harold and I 49:33 that this is really an extension 49:36 of what ASI shared with us. 49:39 And the reason that ASI exists is to promote lay involvement 49:44 and so I remember 49:46 and I see Henry and Robin down here in front. 49:48 And I remember the first convention and I said, 49:50 if those guys can do it, I can do it. 49:53 And so all of us here tonight, 49:55 we can be active partners with God 49:57 in sharing around the world. 49:59 Well, thank you. Soon coming of Jesus. 50:01 Thank you so much. Thank you. 50:09 Well, I have a tall gentleman here with me tonight. 50:12 And I just had the privilege of meeting you, Michael. 50:15 Who are you? 50:16 Well, my name is Michael Smith. 50:17 I'm most recently working in Country Life Restaurant 50:20 and now I'm working at Wildwood Health Retreat in Iron City. 50:23 And where are you living for us that don't know? 50:26 Well, where I'm living right now? 50:28 Right now? 50:29 In Iron City, Tennessee. 50:31 In Iron City, Tennessee? 50:33 I just moved from Wildwood. 50:34 Just moved from Wildwood. 50:35 Okay. Okay. 50:36 Michael, you told me your personal testimony tonight. 50:40 And I would love for you to share 50:42 a little bit with us tonight about what happened to you. 50:45 Well, about, not quite 3 years ago 50:48 at institution at Wildwood Health Retreat 50:51 that I'm now working at. 50:52 I was-- I went there to get off drugs. 50:55 I overdosed on a combination of pills and my parents-- 51:00 the doctors told my parents 51:01 that I probably wouldn't make it 51:03 or turn out to be a vegetable, 51:04 but praise the Lord I made it 51:05 and they send me to an Adventist rehab 51:08 and it changed my life. 51:09 My mind got restored 51:11 through reading God's word in about 2 weeks. 51:14 Yes. Praise the Lord. 51:20 Michael, if you would tell us, how old are you? 51:23 I'm 25. 51:24 You were raised in a Seventh-day Adventist home? 51:27 Yes, I was. 51:28 You went to Seventh-day Adventist schools? 51:29 Yes, I did. 51:30 And what happened to you during this time? 51:33 Well, just some of the wrong influences. 51:36 I got attracted to the wrong things 51:39 and I liked excitement more than going to church 51:42 and that kind of grew and blossomed into something 51:45 that yielded some really bad fruit 51:47 and some bad curiosities. 51:49 So Wildwood has been an instrumental part 51:52 in changing your life? 51:53 Yes, it has. 51:54 Now you're involved in a mission. 51:55 Yes. 51:57 An exciting opportunity for us to be involved with. 52:00 I would like for you to tell us what is happening in Thailand. 52:03 And I believe we have some pictures to share tonight also. 52:05 Yes, we do. 52:06 You can go ahead and show the first picture while I talk. 52:09 This is what the jungles look like in Burma and Thailand. 52:15 Two and half years ago, 52:16 I got introduced to a special group of people 52:19 known as the Karen 52:20 who once lived in the mountains of Burma. 52:23 And after World War II 52:25 they were pushed out of their home country 52:27 all the way across the river to Thailand. 52:29 And now they are basically divided up into three groups. 52:31 The third group is the one that I have been working with 52:35 and they basically live life on the run. 52:38 And jungle full of four types of malaria, dengue fever, 52:42 yellow fever, dysentery, cholera and HIV. 52:45 Oh, my. 52:46 So their living conditions are not very good. 52:48 I think the other pictures that we have will show that for us. 52:51 This is a refugee camp 52:53 and that's the second largest group of the Karen 52:56 and living standards there are not best, 52:58 a lot of them escaped out of the refugee camp 53:00 to live on the run. 53:02 Okay. And this is another picture. 53:05 This is the typical Karen, 53:07 typical scene you will see in the jungle. 53:09 A Karen woman with some children, 53:11 most of them probably not her own because, 53:13 what will happen, the soldiers will come into the villages 53:15 and burn down the houses 53:17 and usually shoot the older gentlemen 53:20 and that's why there's a lot of orphans 53:23 that are left wandering, 53:24 they will find a family to join a lot of the times. 53:27 Okay. And our next picture. 53:29 This is me and James Hartley who was up here earlier. 53:32 Last July we went to Thailand. 53:35 We trekked up the mountain 53:37 about 10 hour hike into Thailand 53:40 and to a newly formed church. 53:43 And 5 years ago there was no Adventists 53:45 in Thailand, in this area. 53:48 And now there are over 100, 4 churches, 2 schools 53:53 and the outcome of these schools is amazing. 53:56 The heathen round about, 53:57 see the results from these Adventist run schools. 54:02 So they send their children there 54:03 and they teach them our doctrines 54:05 and these are two of the orphan children 54:10 that I grew especially closed 54:12 to up in the mountains of Burma. 54:14 And our next picture. 54:16 This is one of the hospitals that was set up in the jungle. 54:20 And this man here has malaria, 54:22 one of the worst kind malaria PF, this one too. 54:28 And our next picture. 54:30 Yes, this is the most recent church 54:33 that was formed in Thailand along the border. 54:36 This is me and James Hartley last July 54:38 with that church group there. 54:41 Now, I'd like to share a short story. 54:45 You know, they go the schools and a lot of times 54:48 we go to schools and things don't stick. 54:49 When I was walking around and I was kind of in a rush 54:53 and I dropped a 1000 baht which is worth quite a bit of money. 54:56 The ratio to America dollars is about 50 to 1. 55:01 And I dropped a 1000 baht on the ground 55:02 and a little orphan girl ran up and gave it to me 55:06 and several hours later and said you dropped this. 55:08 Well, she could have kept that and I asked her why she didn't. 55:11 I had a translator and she said that 55:12 she was taught in one of our schools 55:14 "thou shall not steal." 55:15 Oh, praise the Lord for that. 55:18 So there really wasn't a lot 55:21 that was happening until 5 years ago. 55:22 Is that correct? 55:24 Yes, yes. Okay. 55:25 And how has this work progress so rapidly? 55:29 Well, when the people hear that it spreads fast 55:32 but there's in ratio to the amount of people 55:36 that are accepting the truth. 55:38 The amount of lay workers that are working there is very few. 55:40 So a lot of people don't know about this. 55:42 This is probably the first time 55:44 a lot of people are hearing about this right now. 55:46 And you know the devil has really wanted to mess this up. 55:51 I've seen him working overseas and he's worked here too. 55:54 I'm one of the few people that know about this. 55:56 And I've gone there three times. 55:58 The second time I went there, well, I was preparing to go, 56:02 my car got stolen, 56:03 so I couldn't drive to different churches to go 56:05 and share my presentation to raise money. 56:08 But I was able to go 56:09 just a few months later than expected. 56:11 This last time that I went, 56:13 three days before my mission trip, I was driving 56:16 and actually driving the man out to Iron City 56:18 to go to a rehab. 56:20 And I had a misunderstanding with the police. 56:23 Make a long story short. 56:25 They kept my car and all of my mission trip money, 56:28 all the $5,000, three days before my mission trip. 56:31 And actually went to jail and spent the night in jail. 56:33 And I'm thinking Lord how is this-- What was going on here? 56:35 I've got to go to Thailand, 56:37 I've got to take this money with me. 56:39 These children need to be ministered too, 56:41 but you know the Lord can work what I did in six-- 56:45 or the Lord did in 6 months, he can do in three days. 56:49 So I ended up going over there with more money than I did, 56:52 than I had originally. 56:54 Praise the Lord, Michael. How exciting? 56:56 So we all can be a part of this work, can't we? 56:59 Yes. Yes, you can. 57:00 And if we have more questions, Michael, 57:02 where are you going to be, what booth area? 57:04 I'll be at the Wildwood Health Retreat 57:06 and the number there is 931-724-6706. 57:11 Thank you, Michael, for sharing with us tonight. 57:13 What a testimony that he has for us. 57:16 Thank you. |
Revised 2015-05-14