Participants:
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000830
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01:01 Dear Lord we trust You, your love for us is
01:04 wonderful and we want to learn more about it. 01:07 To have been a creation as Adam and Eve were and 01:09 to have had direct communication with you 01:11 would have been so wonderful. 01:13 But we understand that there is war going on here 01:16 in this planet, not only between nations but 01:19 warfare between you Christ and Satan. 01:23 So, as we live our lives in the many cities and 01:26 towns that we come from, yes from all over 01:29 America and even other nations. 01:33 Let us take seriously the opportunity we have to 01:36 present You in the market place. 01:39 Let us be bold in telling others of your creative 01:41 power, Your love for us as demonstrated when 01:45 You came to this earth to give us an example. 01:49 We have different ways to show that love during 01:52 these last days of the war between good and evil. 01:55 Our first is by accepting you as humble children. 02:00 It feels good to be Your child, 02:03 but this warfare is hard on us. As we meet here, 02:07 fill this hall, this whole city with Your 02:10 Holy Spirit so that we can receive wisdom and 02:13 commands from you as to what to do. 02:17 Show us how to personally witness better, 02:20 better ways to use the printed page, 02:22 the radio signals, the telephones, 02:25 television signals and yes the Internet. 02:30 The ASI conventions bring us close together, 02:32 fills our hearts and lives with hope, 02:35 fellowship and happiness. As we now open the 60th 02:39 convention, may it be the greatest of all and may 02:42 we find harmony, love and sharing as you 02:46 would have it. We love You and 02:48 want to serve you, amen, amen. 03:00 Good evening, good evening. 03:02 And welcome to the ASI Convention, 03:05 the 60th anniversary. This is a special year 03:08 isn't it Debbie. Oh! It's truly special, wow, 03:11 think about God has led us to this point, 03:13 that's right, to experience 60 years 03:15 of sharing Christ in our market place. 03:17 That's right, you know years ago our pioneers 03:19 never thought we'd have 60 additional years 03:21 after 1947. I am sure that was never in their 03:25 thinking, no and you know I think maybe what 03:28 had been in their thinking Ron is that so soon 03:31 we would be in heaven. That's right, 03:33 and that is our yearning. While we are extremely 03:36 excited that God has brought us to this point 03:38 we really do want to accelerate the pace so we 03:41 can go on. And that's why we are here tonight 03:42 isn't it? Yes it is, and there are some special 03:44 things besides this 60th, there are some special 03:46 things happening at this convention aren't they. 03:49 Oh! Yes because it's the 60th we have a number 03:52 of exciting features that we want everyone to 03:54 take advantage of. Now I was in the 03:56 exhibits just a little bit ago and it seemed like 04:00 it was especially full, in the past we had about 04:03 300, just under 300 exhibits. 04:05 What's happened this year? Well you know I 04:08 happen to bring a list of, Ron, oh really, 04:10 let me just here, oh really, if we just slip 04:11 right over here I have a very short list, 04:13 you're organized Debbie. Well you know I didn't 04:15 want to really miss anything so, 04:16 can we just highlight a few of them. 04:18 Oh! Let's see, okay alright, 04:19 I know it really is just a few, oh yeah, 04:22 well actually we do have so much to share, 04:26 you think we can highlight all of these or, 04:29 we'll just take a few. Okay we'll just take 04:30 a few, okay we will just take a few, yeah, 04:31 yeah okay. Well you mention the exhibits, 04:32 right, and we actually have over 320 exhibits 04:36 this year, wow. So it's a record breaking 04:39 experience. Oh! That's wonderful, 04:42 that you know these exhibitors have a special 04:45 presentation. Each one of them have something 04:47 special to say to us, right. Yes they do, 04:50 they want to let us know that there are different 04:52 ways, many ways that we can share Christ in the 04:55 market place. I understand that there is 04:56 something unusual happening in the back of 04:59 the exhibit hall this year. Oh! That's right, 05:00 way in the back usually the place where no one 05:03 goes, where it's kind of difficult for exhibitors 05:06 that are back there, I know that, 05:07 but we have some exciting things. 05:08 You know what we're going to have back there Ron? 05:10 Well, tell me? A health expo. 05:13 A health expo, you know when I walk 05:16 around the convention I get tired, 05:18 my muscles just really, really feel it after 05:21 a while. Would they have massage? 05:24 Yes, we have something for those tired muscles, 05:26 oh well. For those aching feet we have 05:28 massage therapist that can help relax those 05:31 muscles. Oh that's for me, that's for me, yes. 05:33 And we have some other exciting things, okay, 05:35 okay, some other features. 05:36 This is one of the places, at the times we are 05:39 able to premier some exciting new things that 05:42 are going to happen for ASI members. 05:43 Well we are in a new era, yes, 05:46 we absolutely are, of technology, 05:47 yes, but are we into technology? 05:49 Yes, we are into technology, 05:50 we are going to take advantage of it, really, 05:52 by using the netadventist.org, 05:55 NetAsi, yes, NetAsi, NetAsi. So we will be able 05:58 to provide to our members as a benefit a free 06:02 websites. No, no, yes, I understood that this was 06:05 worth about $250 a year. It is, it's really 06:08 a fancy stuff, it's complimentary from 06:10 ASI. Wow, and it's for the purpose of ministry. 06:13 You see websites, technology is no good 06:16 unless you use it, wow. But if you can harness 06:19 that power in order to be just really get the 06:22 word out then it's really, it be really useful. 06:25 Now if you're an organizational member, 06:26 a nonprofit supporting ministry or a business, 06:30 you are an organizational member, 06:32 you can actually sign up for it here. 06:34 Yes you can and actually right here, 06:36 there are actually going to be some 06:37 demonstrations, oh, some so people can ask 06:40 questions, so we can watch out, we can get 06:41 training right here. Oh! Right here, right here, 06:44 we want to encourage everyone who is interested 06:46 to having their website to sign up, 06:48 because this is for ministry purposes. 06:50 So, even those who have a business while they may 06:53 have their own website, they can still use it, 06:55 they can still use it for ministry. 06:56 Oh! That's wonderful, because that's what we 06:57 are all about, sharing Christ in the 06:59 market place. I'm thrilled. 07:00 Oh and something else, yeah, you know we have 07:02 our standard 20 seminars, that's wonderful, 07:06 yes we have 20 seminars, I can get training in 07:09 different areas. In different areas, 07:10 and we are actually going to hear more about each 07:12 of those later in the program. Oh good, good, 07:14 so we'll have that, okay we can leave that along. 07:16 Oh! another exciting thing Ron, 07:17 I am really excited about this, 07:19 the train them now initiative, 07:21 train them now, yes, who we are trying to train? 07:23 Well, we're training more lay people to do 07:25 ministry. We're going to train lay people? 07:27 We are going to train lay people to share the 07:28 gospel. I thought we were lay people 07:30 being trained. We are being trained and we are 07:32 training lay people to train, 07:33 well you get the point. Oh well, well, the whole 07:35 point is that we've actually embarked on this 07:38 training initiative and we are going to hear 07:40 highlights of that experience at the 07:42 convention this year. That sounds great, 07:44 that's wonderful. Oh let's see what else do 07:46 we have, oh now this is really exciting. 07:48 You know you can't have a 60th anniversary 07:50 without reflecting on the past and understanding 07:53 how it has brought us to this point, 07:55 that's right. So we actually going to be 07:57 looking at two important pillars on which ASI has 08:01 been founded. During this convention? 08:03 During this convention, okay, 08:05 so on Thursday morning, two pillars, two pillars, 08:07 yes, what would that be? Well the two pillars are 08:09 the medical missionary work, okay, okay, 08:11 and then the education, self supporting work, 08:14 oh wonderful. So, we're going to really 08:17 be highlighting and understanding, right, 08:19 how those have contributed to our 08:20 existence today, right. And look at this big 08:23 crowd out here, oh isn't it wonderful 08:25 to see so many people get a passion about sharing 08:27 Christ. We want to welcome each of you here, 08:29 you took time out of your busy schedule to be 08:32 with us during these important days and we want 08:35 to thank you for your presence and your support. 08:37 We do and we want you to take advantage of all 08:40 that we have planned through the Holy Spirit so 08:43 that we can share Christ more effectively in our 08:45 market place. Oh I can't wait to get to the rest 08:48 of this list, oh I tell you, 08:49 yes it's quite a bit. Well we'll save this for 08:53 the rest of the convention. 08:54 Well thank you, appreciate that. 09:05 It's my privilege tonight to interview one of 09:08 our pioneers, an old timer, Ed Martin. 09:14 Ed, do you have a microphone there, okay. 09:16 Yeah there you got that right on the old timer. 09:19 You know, you know Edwin we put out a special 09:22 magazine this time for the convention and this is 09:25 the 60th anniversary magazine. 09:28 It looks a little old and may be it has some 09:31 features that are a little different then usual. 09:34 This picture, do you remember this picture? 09:36 I sure do, yes, yes I do. When do you think this 09:39 picture was taken? I don't know for sure 09:41 but between around 1938 to 40. 09:43 Okay, okay, and so you saw this picture way 09:47 back then? Yes, long time ago. 09:48 You know the man on this cover 09:50 I knew the man on the cover. 09:52 Wow, now why would we put this man on the cover 09:58 of the 60th anniversary? Because he was the one 10:01 who had the ideas, the one was the 10:03 background for starting ASI, 10:05 and Dr. E.A. Sutherland. And you knew him? 10:09 I did, wow, I am just looking at here and 10:12 thinking that about these many people in this 10:14 first 10 seats here and so attended the very 10:17 first meeting. Can't believe it, that's right, 10:19 that is impressive, a long time ago. 10:22 So, ASI started back in 1947 and 10:26 Dr. E.A. Sutherland was the first president, yes. 10:30 And what was his credentials to be the first 10:34 president of ASI, what was this all about? 10:36 Well he was the one who started 10:38 Madison Institution which fostered a lot of 10:43 little self supporting institutions all through 10:46 the south. Now Madison College began when? 10:49 1904, 1904. Now was there anything special about 10:54 this school? Well everything was special 10:56 about it. I was just thinking about 10:58 Dr. Sutherland and you know he was a deeply 11:01 spiritual man, he believed in Mrs. White, 11:03 he believed in the Spirit of Prophecy, 11:05 he believed in the teachings of the Bible 11:07 and he thought that they should be made practical 11:10 in everything we do. Wherever we go, 11:13 whatever we do, we should be living out 11:15 these principles. So he was an action man? 11:17 He was an action man. Now I understand that 11:19 you went, you went to school at one of the units, 11:22 one of the Madison units, yes, but what was that? 11:25 Fountain Head which is now Highland Academy. 11:28 Fountain Head, now I actually worked at 11:29 Fountain Head. Actually Highland Academy 11:32 several years ago. But what did you, 11:36 you know what was unique about Fountain Head 11:39 these units that came out in Madison. 11:41 What was, what type of education did you get? 11:43 I frequently said that I didn't get a lot of 11:46 book learning. I did very poorly in school, 11:49 but I did learn to work. You learned to work? 11:53 I learned to work, okay, and the Lord has bleesed 11:57 my ability to get up and go to work everyday. 12:00 Okay, lets just talk a little bit so, you're a 12:03 retired business man. What was your business? 12:06 We were into nursing home business. 12:08 A nursing home, we had about 2000 beds, 12:10 2000 beds and you recognized the training 12:13 you received from Fountain Head Academy as a 12:18 training that taught you the importance of value 12:21 of the work ethic. I did, now Dr. Sutherland, 12:25 you were talking about this stool of education, 12:28 a three legged, three- legged stool of education. 12:32 And so it was tied around spiritual 12:36 principles to begin with, in order to be a member 12:39 of ASI which was the association of self 12:43 supporting institutions, you had to have an 12:46 institution and that institution had to have 12:49 three major components, really. 12:52 They had to have an agricultural program, 12:54 a medical program and an educational program. 12:57 And if you didn't have those three you were not 13:00 eligible to belong to what was then called, 13:03 early on it was the Laymen's Extension League 13:05 that was before ASI. Now I understand that 13:09 actually your wife Mary Bill attended 13:13 Madison College but what brought her to come to, 13:17 why did she come to Madison to go to school. 13:20 Well her mother was an Adventist, 13:22 her father wasn't. But there was an 13:25 article that came out in the Readers Digest on 13:28 Madison and your ability to be able to go to 13:30 Madison and work your way through school. 13:32 Wow, and her dad was not able to put her in 13:35 college, so she read about this and said hey, 13:38 that the place I go and work my way through 13:40 school. So Mary Bill read in the Readers Digest 13:43 about Madison College and saw an opportunity to 13:48 receive an education even though she didn't have 13:50 the resources, that's right, within college, 13:52 that's right. Well that is impressive, 13:56 now Madison College is located where. 13:58 Well just out in Nashville, oh it's not, 14:01 not two and half hours from here. 14:04 Yeah, just about, yeah okay. 14:06 Now that's the Southern Union, yes. 14:09 And so out of Madison these units came up, 14:12 right, what impact did these units and these 14:15 schools have on the Southern Union. 14:19 When you were growing up as a young person in 14:22 your day, what was the relationship between the 14:25 supporting ministry schools and the church 14:29 schools or the conference led school. 14:33 Well to be honest, they were only to my 14:35 knowledge and I think I am right, 14:38 there were only 2 schools, academies in the 14:42 Southern Union that were operated by the church, 14:45 and that was Collegedale and Forest Lake Academy. 14:52 And that was the only schools that we had with 14:54 academies in the Southern Union, 14:56 and so they there were probably half a dozen self 14:58 supporting schools. Half a dozen self 15:00 supporting schools, can you name a few 15:02 of those? Oh yes, okay, Madison itself had one, 15:04 Madison okay, Fletcher, Pisgah, 15:09 Fountain Head, where I went to school, 15:15 trying to think of the others, 15:16 now Forest Lake Academy, not Forest Lake, 15:18 now Georgia Cumberland, Pine Forest Academy, 15:20 Pine Forest, down in Mississippi, 15:23 Georgia Cumberland head something but I am not 15:25 sure just what it was. Okay, okay, there were 15:28 the Georgia Cumberland Academy is today, 15:30 there was a little school there and a medical 15:33 work there. Now tell me about the personality of 15:35 Dr. Sutherland. You know we hear about 15:36 E.A. Sutherland and his influence on the church 15:41 and on ASI especially because we are a 15:44 product of Dr. Sutherland's 15:46 Madison College program in some ways, 15:50 tell us about his personality what type 15:52 of man was he? He was a very strong 15:54 man in his thinking and he was a thinker. 15:58 He tried to teach other people to think on their 16:00 own and he wanted you to much like I did when 16:03 my children were growing up. 16:04 I wanted them to think for themselves until they 16:06 began to think different then I did. 16:08 Alright, but I didn't like that certainly. 16:10 You told me, you told me that Dr. Sutherland 16:13 had a habit of talking to some young people, 16:19 some of the kids bringing them into his office 16:22 for a conversation. And the young people 16:25 didn't like coming into his office. 16:27 Now tell me about that? Well, I just thinking 16:29 probably about the fact that someone would say 16:33 to someone else Dr. Sutherland looking 16:35 for you, oh yeah, and he said oh sure, 16:37 I know he is but I don't want to see him. 16:39 Yeah. Because, he's going to try to convince 16:42 me what the Lord wants me to do and I don't want 16:44 to do that, so I don't want to see him. 16:46 Right, right, he was a master psychologist, yes, 16:49 he knew how to deal with people. 16:51 Well, well, you know Edwin I really appreciate 16:55 talking to you because I think you are one of 16:57 the few that, that has this personal acquaintance 17:00 with the founder of ASI, Dr. Sutherland. 17:04 It was real privilege to know and I can tell you 17:06 that. And God has blessed us with a 17:08 wonderful history, a wonderful heritage 17:10 and a wonderful opportunity to 17:13 learn from the past as we look toward the future 17:15 to the second coming of Jesus, amen. 17:17 Thank you so much, thank you so much Ron, 17:20 God bless you. 17:29 One of the most exciting things I think about ASI 17:32 is the opportunity that all of us here at this 17:35 convention and also throughout the year 17:36 have in supporting some of the wonderful projects 17:40 that we have all going on as ASI members. 17:43 And one of the those projects is the 17:46 Advent Home that Dr. Blondel Senior runs 17:49 and Dr. Senior would you tell us just a little 17:52 bit what is in case someone doesn't know what 17:54 is the Advent Home? Advent Home is a license 17:57 residential treatment program for boys with 18:01 ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. 18:06 And we take kids with the various types of 18:08 learning problems. Kids who are failing 18:11 in school or about to fail and they come to the 18:15 Advent Home so we can give them a new start. 18:17 This is kind of a unique program. 18:19 Isn't it you actually were able to patent this 18:21 program weren't you. Well yeah we designed it, 18:23 I never liked the word unique but yeah it's 18:26 different, okay, and we cater to a special type 18:30 of need and a special type of students. 18:33 Tell us a little bit about the services that 18:35 Advent Home provides? Well first we provide 18:37 residential care, they come and they 18:39 live in our program like a dormitory. 18:42 And we have what is called a minimum distraction 18:46 environment, that is we remove all the 18:49 distractions like computer games, baggy pants, 18:53 hairdo, drugs, cigarette and girls. 19:01 We provide counseling, we provide group sessions, 19:05 we provide schooling both remedial school and 19:08 accelerated school. We provide a lot of 19:11 tutoring, we provide parents training. 19:15 Work is therapy at the Advent Home and most kids 19:18 come there allergic to work. 19:20 And so we teach them to work and we provide 19:24 community outreach and placement and follow up. 19:28 When our kids are through we place them in the 19:31 school we think they should go to and we follow 19:34 up to see that they continue to be successful. 19:37 You know I was really interested to hear what 19:39 were saying about the different aspects of the 19:41 Advent Home. You know in a lot of ways, 19:44 what you just heard about what constituted self 19:47 supported institutes back years ago is very much 19:50 alive and well at the Advent Home isn't it. 19:53 Yes, yes, we provide schooling, 19:55 we provide work as therapy and we provide various 20:00 types of activities that gets the kids involved 20:03 and they like to work. Work is therapy, right, 20:06 right. Tell us, you received a little bit of 20:09 help from your ASI family and tell us just 20:13 exactly how you're involved in the community 20:15 and what that, those funds went to. 20:17 First, I must say thank you ASI for a grant that 20:22 we received this past year, $10,000 grant to 20:26 help with our community outreach program. 20:30 And at the Advent Home the health message is a 20:35 wedge, there is no doubt, but the health message 20:38 is a very good wedge to get into the community. 20:41 So our boys take a regular class on health. 20:44 And in it they learn lots of things, 20:46 and the teacher Miss Yoins take the kids into 20:51 the community and put into practice what they 20:53 have learned. The first thing we do, 20:55 we conducted a survey in a community in which 20:59 we live. Now there was about maybe 2500 people 21:02 in that little city and we do a survey in terms 21:06 of their needs and we discover that they have 21:08 the same needs like everybody else obesity, 21:11 smoking, drug problems, alcohol and you know 21:18 basic lifestyle problems. And so we designed a 21:22 program, first thing we did, we trained 21:24 the staff. So we went and we got training, CPR, 21:28 crises prevention intervention and other 21:31 types of first aid training. 21:33 And so our staff are certified to conduct these 21:36 types of first aid training and lifestyle 21:39 training. And then we go into the community 21:42 and we conduct health exposes and health 21:46 seminars and we go to the public schools and we 21:51 will conduct seminars in the public schools and 21:54 we have as many as 200 and 400 kids attending 21:58 antismoking, drugs, et cetera, obesity problems 22:02 and they really liked it. And you know what they 22:05 have asked us, they have asked us to comeback 22:07 and make it a regular part of their curriculum in 22:09 public school. And we are working with at least 3 22:12 schools now and several community agencies. 22:15 We even went to Wal-Mart and we thought that 22:18 Wal- Mart was going to put us at some little 22:20 corner on the outside of their store, 22:22 they put us in the center of the store inside 22:26 the store. Now that's unusual, 22:27 can you imagine that, that's unusual, yeah, 22:29 yeah. Now I want to know if those who are 22:31 here and know Advent Home, how many of you were 22:34 aware that they were involved in the community 22:36 in this way. Not very many, yeah. 22:38 Now I thought of Advent Home really as a specific 22:41 need, yes, and I think most people do but it's 22:43 amazing to hear how you been able to reach out to 22:45 the community in this way and ASI has been able 22:48 to help you. Well they, may I just say one thing 22:50 that the myth is that young people with ADHD are 22:53 bad kids, no, they are very, very bright kids. 22:56 Brighter then the average but they learn 22:58 differently, yeah that's true, I can speak from 23:01 experience on that. Let me talk just a little 23:04 bit about something that's near to my heart and 23:06 that is radio, okay radio. I spend some time in 23:09 radio as an announcer and also we have a little 23:12 radio station of our own. Now I understand that 23:14 you do as well, yes we have a little radio 23:16 station out there in the forest. 23:17 Oh how about that, so tell me, and it was funded 23:20 by ASI, you do a radio program as well Senior. 23:23 Yes, we have a radio program 24 hours, 23:26 we do approximately 14 hours of downing from 3ABN 23:31 and then we design our own program and once a 23:35 week we invite a public official to come to our 23:39 seminar, and come to our radio station and 23:42 conduct a seminar on health for the public, 23:46 amazing, and the public likes it. 23:48 We invite the ministers in the community to come 23:51 and conduct programs and they really like it 23:54 really having a real positive effect upon the 23:58 community in terms of disseminating information. 24:01 Dr. Senior we appreciated hearing from you. 24:04 About 20 seconds left, can you tell us how this 24:08 benefits the community? Well first it benefits 24:12 our own students. Last year we baptized 19, 24:15 this year we have baptized 8 already, amen. 24:18 We have baptized parents, 24:23 we're sharing information with community on 24:25 health and they are responding positively. 24:29 Thank you so much for being with us and talking 24:31 a little bit about Advent Home. 24:32 We want to also give you the opportunity not just 24:37 to support with your money but also with your 24:40 prayers. Thank you so much for being, thank you. 24:43 Our next person that we want a project, 24:45 that we want to talk about this evening and a 24:48 project that you have been able to help several 24:49 times has been Bill and Lois Dull at the 24:54 Living Springs Overseas Retreats, right, 24:57 Missions. Now tell us just a little bit about 25:00 what you're doing there, where your home is? 25:05 Our home is in India. Okay and how long have 25:08 you been there? For about the last 25:10 14 years we lived full time in India. 25:13 Just what really drew you to go to India? 25:20 We went India 33 years ago, 34 years ago for the 25:24 first time we never could get it off of our mind 25:27 after that and so when the Lord opened the door 25:31 for us to go we went and we moved over and we 25:34 been there ever since. Now I could get you go 25:37 on the stories but tell us what it is that you do 25:40 there in India? We have several 25:43 ministries that we've begun. 25:45 We have two orphanages, we have three Bible 25:49 seminaries and a midwifery training 25:51 school that my wife runs. How many orphan 25:55 children do you have there? 25:56 We have about a 150 children that we care for 25:59 and love and house and feed and cloth and teach 26:04 and train. You got some amazing things that have 26:08 happened over the years. 26:09 Tell us just a little bit about some of the 26:10 changes that you seen in people lives, 26:13 children lives there that you are working with. 26:16 Our children come to us from many different 26:19 backgrounds. From, and are, from unbelievable 26:28 circumstances that I can't take the time to go 26:31 in detail to explain to you but some of them 26:33 have been brutally used. Many of our girls have 26:37 been brutally molested and all and so they when 26:44 they come to our place they need a lot of help. 26:46 But we have seen changes that are 26:48 unbelievable in our children and we've seen 26:53 miracles of God in with the children and I just 26:57 like to share an experience with you. 27:00 We got a girl last summer from a, 27:05 she was taken when she was 11 years old, 27:07 when she was, for two and half years she was 27:11 kidnapped and put into a prostitution center 27:15 and this girl escaped, she made it out to our 27:22 place. Her mother brought her, she was terrified 27:28 when she first came, but her life was totally 27:32 changed. We put her in one of our orphanages 27:37 long ways away so that the people would not come 27:41 to get her. After two months, 27:46 a group came to get her at this place where we 27:49 put here in our orphanage, another orphanage 27:54 that we have. They came to get her, 27:58 a whole gang of them came, they parked their 28:01 vehicles at the end of our road and they started 28:04 walking up the road to our girls dormitory to 28:08 get her. She saw them coming, she panicked, 28:12 she called for one of the other girls. 28:15 They came out they prayed and the people stopped, 28:25 they stood on the road and then they turned 28:28 around and they left, praise God, 28:33 they went about a 1000 feet down the road where 28:36 they can still see the dormitory and they stayed 28:40 there clear into the middle of the night 28:43 and then they left and our girl is safe. 28:47 She is learning to know Jesus, she loves Jesus, 28:50 her whole life has been changed. 28:51 And we just praise God. Amazing story isn't it? 28:55 Well, amen, before we run out of time, 28:58 Sister Lois, can you tell us just a little bit 29:01 about what you are up here for? 29:04 Yes we been working in India for many years 29:08 and just a little over a year ago at the end of 29:12 2005 we began a pilot program to train 29:17 midwifery, to training midwifery, 29:20 midwives and I had 11 midwifery students, 29:23 alright, and we went into the homes, 29:27 we worked in about 10 villages and we just were 29:32 looking to find a way to train these young women 29:34 to save lives. In India a mother dies 29:39 every 5 minutes in the process of gestation and 29:43 child birth. And most of it is totally 29:46 unnecessary, 90 percent of the births are in the 29:51 home and this is a great challenge. 29:54 They have those, most of those babies are born 29:57 by a traditional midwives and we are just giving 30:02 them the skills that they need to monitor the 30:05 baby, monitor the mother, get help when they 30:09 needed and prevent a lot of unnecessary deaths, 30:13 amen. Okay, so that's a service that really 30:15 needed and you are helping people to be able 30:17 to provide that services well. 30:18 Yes, we have the same problems there that you 30:22 have here. Alcohol is rampant in the villages, 30:25 in homes, we deal with a lot of that, 30:28 a lot of mental problems among the mothers. 30:31 We had one mother whose third baby had died 30:35 and she came to us pregnant with her 30:37 fourth and she was very frightened of the witch 30:43 that had bewitched her and caused her third baby 30:46 to die and she wanted to give birth in our little 30:48 clinic. She gave birth in the hospital with a 30:53 cesarean because this fourth baby probably would 30:56 have died also. We were able to detect the 30:59 emergency and she had a cesarean. 31:03 Two days later she ran away from the hospital, 31:05 was scared. We brought her back with us for two 31:09 weeks of recovery and she is now studying to be 31:12 a Christian. When the girls went to study with 31:15 her they were 35 of the people in her village 31:17 waiting to study with them also, amen. 31:21 Now Brother Bill, ASI family was able 31:23 to help you with some projects, 31:25 can you tell us what they were and what you done 31:27 with that? Yes, the last, this last project that 31:30 ASI helped us with was $30,000 for a 31:35 building a vocational arts building in our 31:38 Calcutta orphanage and we, the building is almost 31:43 completed. It's well on its way and we have 31:48 training program for tailoring, for welding, 31:52 carpentry, electrical work, 31:55 electrical motor rewinding, we are teaching 31:58 our children and our seminaries students all of 32:01 the various trades, and agriculture and 32:06 then on the second floor of that building we have 32:08 a housing for staff and workers. 32:11 So we just really want to thank ASI for what you 32:16 have done for us in our projects in India. 32:19 We are completely out of time, yeah, 32:21 and I am so sorry but we will have to wind it up. 32:23 I do appreciate you taking the time to spend with 32:26 us this evening and I know that the family also 32:29 appreciate that as well. Thank you ASI and keep 32:32 praying for these projects. 36:08 Good evening ASI family, it's so exciting to be 36:11 here with you tonight and we have wonderful 36:14 testimonies and who do I have standing with me 36:16 tonight. Janet Fournier from 36:18 Eden Valley Foster Care Mission. 36:21 And Janet, what do you do? 36:23 I work with AIDS orphans in Tanzania, Africa. 36:27 Okay, I think that you have some pictures to 36:29 share with us tonight and some stories? 36:32 Yes, I do. Let's have that first picture, 36:34 okay, that's the, let's start talking about this 36:41 picture that we see on the screen. 36:43 Okay, this is Shamimu and her little brother. 36:48 Shamimu is one of our little orphans and 36:53 actually she has a mother but her father 36:54 has died. Shamimu has come to us, 36:57 actually she ran away from home and came to us 37:00 with wounds on her chest and on her cheek. 37:05 And if you change the picture you will see that 37:08 at her house we've bandaged her and looked 37:13 after her. But we found that this isn't the first 37:16 time that Shamimu has been wounded. 37:19 One time as a baby she fell into the fire and 37:23 her head was burned and so the hair doesn't grow 37:27 on half her head. Then the second time 37:31 she ran away from the home because the workload 37:35 apparently was too heavy and so her mother put 37:38 her feet over the fire so she wouldn't run 37:41 away again. And then this time her mother 37:44 took a stick, a poker out of the fire and burnt 37:47 her on the cheek and on the chest and Shamimu 37:53 ran away and came to our house and you know when 37:56 her mother came to get her, we talked very 37:58 seriously to the mother. And Shamimu had to go 38:02 back with her mother but we would report her 38:05 mother to the authorities so that this could 38:07 never happen again and if it did that we would 38:10 take Shamimu away from her mother. 38:13 And that seems like an awful thing to do but 38:15 under the circumstances it's 38:18 merciful thing to do. Shamimu hung on to 38:21 the bumper of my truck and it took one of the men 38:25 to come and pull her away, to drag her home with 38:29 her mother. This is a terrible thing because 38:31 home should be a place where children love to be, 38:34 amen. Let's go to the next picture. 38:37 And what's this story about? 38:39 This is Tyson, Tyson and his little sister. 38:43 One evening my Bible workers who live in, 38:46 some of them live in the same house as we do. 38:49 He and his wife could hear this baby crying 38:51 around 10 O'clock at night. I want you to know 38:54 that I don't live in hot Africa, 38:55 I live where it's cool and sometimes very frosty. 38:59 And so Tyson with his little sister had been 39:04 chased by their parents, who entered the bar 39:08 because he didn't finish filling the water 39:10 buckets. And Tyson came and tried to sleep on 39:15 our porch, it was freezing cold and Tyson, 39:24 when my Bible workers heard this crying they 39:27 went out to find out what happened and so they 39:30 found them on there, we brought them in, 39:32 we wrapped them in blankets. 39:33 They were frozen and then we went to find their 39:35 parents which were at the bar and then we talked 39:39 to the parents seriously again and Tyson is now a 39:43 happy little boy because his parents don't dare 39:45 do such a thing again, amen. 39:48 Let's go to our next picture, 39:49 what's this about Janet? Oh this is Alex, 39:52 Alex is our newest little guy, Alex, 39:59 he was just a little boy sitting on the road had, 40:04 was picking at his feet, was crying, dirty, 40:08 his feet were bleeding. He had Funzas, 40:11 Funzas is a flea and I will show you in a minute 40:14 what Funzas can do. And anyway I said Twandy 40:17 and so he has come and so I took him by the hand 40:22 and he followed me home, no problem at all. 40:25 Washed him up, his feet and started pulling out 40:29 these Funzas, we can go to the next slide. 40:32 And these Funzas, it's quite painful and so we, 40:39 we got rid of the Funzas and then we went to 40:41 find the family out about the family situation. 40:45 He lives with his grandmother who has 40:47 elephantiasis, elephantiasis, 40:50 she can't work in the fields and do farm work, 40:53 so she is a beggar. And so we talked to this 40:55 grandmother we found her in the bar and said, 40:59 don't you love this boy and she says oh I love 41:02 him very much, but what can I do, 41:04 look at me. And so we said alright, 41:10 we will take Tyson to live with us and she 41:13 agreed. The next day she was there at our fence 41:15 watching in our yard to see how Tyson was doing 41:19 and she walked away because Tyson 41:21 was doing fine. Our carpentry teacher said, 41:25 you know I know one thing for sure that Tyson 41:28 is a very happy little boy since he has moved to 41:31 your place. Okay we have another slide that 41:33 we would like to see and tell us about this one 41:36 Janet. This is Funzas, Funzas is a little flea 41:39 that burrows into the skin. 41:40 It causes deformities. They go deeper and deeper 41:45 and pretty soon some of these kids can't walk. 41:48 It infects the toes, the heels, the fingers, 41:51 you can see it's a horrible thing. 41:54 Oh it looks absolutely painful also. 41:56 Very painful, very painful to take these out. 42:00 Well this is a challenge isn't it. 42:01 It is, it is, we have another slide for you. 42:05 Well this is an exciting slide. 42:07 Yes it is, you know we have a carpentry school, 42:11 we have a sowing school, we have the nursery 42:13 school and now after four years of working in 42:17 Africa with these young people they are just now 42:21 taking their stand for Christ. 42:23 They get 45 minute of Bible studies everyday 42:28 before their classes begin. 42:30 It's such a wonderful thing to see them. 42:33 Well I would like for you to tell our ASI family 42:36 exactly a challenge to us, how we can be involved 42:41 in your project and challenge us Janet. 42:44 You know the passion of my heart is to work with 42:49 these, with these young people and you know 42:54 industry is the tools that we have, 42:58 I am just an old lady. I can do this, 43:02 I've seen the need, I can go and do this. 43:05 How many of you can go out and do this who have 43:08 more life, more youth, more strength. 43:11 Come, help us out there, bring these children 43:14 to Christ. This is what we're there for. 43:18 Thank you Janet so much for sharing with us 43:21 tonight and you will be in our prayers. 43:23 Okay, thank you very much, 43:24 thank you, appreciate it. 43:32 Alright, I have a young man here with me in fact 43:35 I am old enough to be your mother. 43:37 Who do I have with me. My name is Jared Thurmon. 43:40 And where do you come from Jared? 43:42 I am from Marietta, Georgia. 43:44 And tell me a little bit about you? 43:48 I am a newly wed in the past year. 43:51 I went to Adventist schools my whole life. 43:55 I was actually home school as a child and 43:57 loved every minute of that and I went on to 44:00 Southern Adventist University where I 44:03 graduated and I was prepared to be the 44:06 Fortune 500 President that they taught me to be 44:08 and as they do all their business majors. 44:11 And I graduated and got into the workforce, 44:15 that's a little bit about me. 44:17 Well that sounds like a awful lot. 44:19 You told me you had an international business 44:21 degree and you planned on using that, 44:23 is that correct? I did, I had about two books 44:26 hundreds of pages each, with all the ideas in the 44:28 world of how to make a buck. 44:31 Well that's sounds interesting, 44:33 but I think something happened to you, 44:36 can you tell me a little bit about that? 44:37 It did, yeah after a few years working and doing 44:40 the daily grind, I wasn't feeling fulfilled in 44:43 the evening when I would get off work and so 44:48 after that over and over that happened again and 44:50 again, then my dad got sick and when you see 44:53 someone go through an illness and death is at 44:55 the doorstep and make sure reassessing things. 44:58 So that happening and in the midst of that a 45:00 friend calls me and says hey we're going to 45:02 India, we want you to go. And I told him India is 45:05 far away and I have been on mission trips to the 45:08 Caribbean, Mexico but India is just a long way. 45:10 He says come on we are going for three and half 45:11 weeks with ShareHim we need you to go. 45:14 So I went with him and that's when the turn 45:19 started. The turn started in India, 45:20 did you go once or twice to India? 45:21 I went once and then he says hey we are going 45:23 back in about six more months, 45:24 so we went back to India and upon coming home 45:27 I said you know there is just something about 45:29 that call Jesus made to the men to say hey, 45:32 leave the boat in the water and follow Me. 45:34 And I couldn't give my allegiance to work and 45:38 ministry, so I decided to take the latter out. 45:41 So instead of fishing for business, 45:43 you it sounds like to me that you started 45:46 thinking about fishing for souls. 45:48 I did, I did, I started thinking how could we 45:51 apply business skills to a ministry. 45:55 And so as I started to think of all the things in 45:57 the world that I enjoy and do, 45:58 the Internet is involved with, heavily with that. 46:01 So I decided to start a website and call it 46:03 Presenttruth.com. So what got you interested 46:07 in doing this website? What's out there that we 46:11 need this new website of yours? 46:13 Seeing that the Internet is something that 46:15 changes every second. This website we've created 46:18 is something that we have the frame work where 46:20 anybody and everybody can come and gain free 46:23 resources that will equip them to be a better 46:25 witness to the world around us. 46:27 And it is an Adventist focus site, 46:29 so it is Adventist material, free sermons, 46:32 free study resources, free videos, lots of free 46:36 things which free is always a good so, 46:38 that's where we focused. 46:39 And is this for everybody? 46:41 This is for everybody, every age group. 46:43 We have some big ideas and we actually have some 46:46 multi language platforms we're trying to plan 46:48 for, because not everyone speaks English in the 46:50 world so. So this is really new, 46:52 do you have other people working with you? 46:54 We do, I am blessed to have hired someone in very 46:58 recent past and I have a number of people 47:01 volunteering to help me out and they brought 47:03 into this vision which we are staying up very 47:05 many late nights preparing for today, 47:08 which is our official launch. 47:09 So did it launch today? 47:10 It did, oh congratulations, 47:12 and how exciting. Now I know having a 47:15 son close to your age that when you go to college 47:18 you are thinking about your career. 47:24 And it's very important that you follow your 47:25 career, but I see that Jesus had something else 47:26 in mind for you. Could you challenge our 47:28 ASI family and youth around the world of 47:32 how they could be involved in doing something for 47:34 Jesus? I would love to say something, 47:38 if you look at the world around you Jesus is 47:41 coming. And the motto to tell them now, 47:44 I have taken that personally tell me now. 47:46 Get into the Bible everyday, the world is 47:49 starving for this gospel that I believe 47:52 Adventists have a special burden to preach. 47:54 And so to young people, old people everyone we 47:57 have family members maybe that aren't in the 47:58 church anymore. We have people that we work 48:02 with that need to hear this and this, 48:04 this sweet message that we have is something 48:08 that I believe is growing very rapidly right now 48:12 and if you, I guess required in your life 48:15 like I am trying to be in listening people. 48:18 The thing is stirring and if I could I love to 48:20 read something that was the tipping point of 48:22 encouragement for me. We would love to hear 48:25 what was so encouraging to you. 48:28 This is from Testimonies volume 7 page 249 48:32 it says, at this time God's cause is in need of 48:35 men and women who posses rare qualifications and 48:38 good administrative powers. Men and women who 48:41 will make patient thorough investigation of the 48:44 need of the work in various fields. 48:47 Those who have a large capacity for work, 48:50 those who posses warm, kind hearts, cool heads, 48:53 sound sense and unbiased judgment. 48:57 Those who are sanctified by the spirit of God and 49:00 can fearlessly say no or yeah and amen to 49:03 propositions. Those who have strong convictions, 49:07 clear understanding and pure sympathetic hearts, 49:10 those who practice the words all ye are brethren, 49:13 those who strive to uplift and restore fallen 49:16 humanity, amen. Well you know Jared, 49:20 you will be in our prayers, let's pray for 49:23 Jared and his ministry and God bless you as you 49:26 continue working for Him, thank you, 49:28 thank you for sharing. 49:39 I want you to put on your seat belts, 49:42 because we are in for one fast paced interview. 49:48 Who do I have here with me tonight? 49:49 Brenda Silva from Greeneville, Tennessee. 49:52 From Greeneville, Tennessee and we are 49:54 excited you're here. Brenda, thank you, 49:56 I want you to tell us, our family how your team 49:59 began their ministry. Well most of you know in 50:02 2004 the movie the Passion of Christ came out. 50:05 There was such a phenomenal interest 50:07 created from that movie that many hearts were 50:10 more receptive at that time to hear about Jesus. 50:13 Well I believe that God wanted to take advantage 50:16 of that opportunity. Well as a result of that 50:18 movie, Remnant Publications came out with 50:21 the movie Passion of Love. God moved on our 50:24 hearts to take those books to Thunder Over 50:28 Louisville, an event which draws between 250 to 50:32 500,000 people during Derby week. 50:36 That day nine of us, mostly family passed out 50:41 4000 books, amen. We developed such a passion 50:46 for going to events that attracted large numbers, 50:49 masses of people. Well, on the way home from 50:52 Louisville that day I believe God gave us a 50:55 vision to go to Bristol Motor Speedway on race 51:00 weekend to pass out the book, 51:02 Race to Victory Lane. This event attracts a 51:07 165,000 people. This also coincided with an 51:14 upcoming evangelistic meeting that 51:16 Pastor John Earnhardt was having in our church 51:19 in Greeneville, Tennessee. You know in Evangelism 51:23 page 35 and 36 it says that we to have to device, 51:27 we have to device new methods to attract people 51:31 where they are, go to them where they are. 51:34 And I believe that's what God has put on our 51:36 hearts and that's what we are doing, amen. 51:40 Tara, tell us some of the miracles that have 51:46 happened during your ministry and tell us who 51:48 you are also. I am Tara Cohen, 51:50 I am her daughter and I am going to run through 51:53 for it real quick, the first one is you just 51:56 don't get into Bristol Motor Speedway. 51:58 And from the very beginning God gave 52:00 us favor with the director of Raceway Ministries 52:03 which is predominantly run by the Baptist church. 52:06 One of the most important privileges that we were 52:08 given was that he allowed us to bring our own 52:11 books in to pass out. They had never done that 52:15 before, that second thing we needed a place to 52:18 stay. God opened the door up for us to have 52:22 a nice Christian home. To go one mile from the 52:26 racetrack and we were able to keep coming back 52:28 and forth very fast. The third is we needed 52:32 books; we didn't have anything to pass out. 52:34 By faith we ordered 20,000 books, 52:38 in two weeks $24,000 was raised. 52:42 I can't tell you how awesome that is. 52:45 The fourth thing is a, we were told from the 52:47 beginning that we only had one shot at giving 52:50 our books out. That was it, 52:52 we were not going to be able to do it at any more 52:54 races. When the race was over the director asked 52:58 us to bring our books back for the next race and 53:01 since then the door has been wide open to get our 53:04 stuff in. God is awesome, 53:07 praise the Lord, how exciting. 53:10 And Patti, tell us who you are and tell us 53:14 what has happened since Bristol. 53:16 My name is Patti Cohen and I am Tara's 53:18 mother-in-law and God is, God is so good he is 53:24 opened so many doors since this first race has 53:27 taken place. When we got home, 53:29 the very first thing that stated happening was 53:32 our phones began to ring off the hook with Sunday 53:35 school teachers and ministers from Sunday 53:38 keeping church is calling and wanting this book 53:42 to pass out to their classes and their 53:45 churches. We began, or Pastor Earnhardt 53:48 began getting calls from ministers in different 53:52 areas wanting him to come and minister. 53:55 The doors to racetracks all through the south 53:59 have opened up for him to be able to minister 54:02 in that have been closed and its only God that 54:04 has opened these doors. He's been called to 54:07 Charlotte, he's been called to Darlington, 54:09 he's been called to Talladega, 54:11 he has been also called to Daytona. 54:14 God is opening these doors for him to be able 54:17 to minister to all of these race fans across 54:20 America because of this little book that has been 54:24 written. Amen, your enthusiasm and 54:28 excitement is contagious. In the spring of this 54:33 year God called Pastor Earnhardt to come over 54:37 to Talladega through a Baptist minister and he 54:40 called then he said, I want you to come and I 54:43 want you to speak to the people in the 54:45 campground. And Pastor Earnhardt said I can't 54:48 do that. He said I will be in the middle of an 54:50 evangelistic meeting and so he said well, 54:53 we happen to have a man in our congregation that 54:57 has his own airplane and he will fly over, 55:01 over to South Carolina, pick you up, fly you in, 55:05 so that you can speak and fly you back home. 55:08 So you will be there to preach to your people. 55:11 Amen, that's what happened. Our family and a 55:15 couple of other church members in Greenville, 55:18 we packed up Tara and Steve's van, we went over 55:22 and we ministered for two days on Sabbath and 55:25 Sunday in this campgrounds passing out this book 55:28 we blanketed those campgrounds and Pastor 55:32 John came over and he told his testimony. 55:35 We have been invited to go back and minister in 55:38 those same campgrounds next fall. 55:41 This coming fall in October and along with 55:44 that we have been given the opportunity to 55:46 minister in one of 12 campgrounds over at 55:50 Bristol. Our little group and our church has been 55:54 called to minister in one of those campgrounds, 55:57 it's called Hillandale that will take place in 56:01 three weeks from this weekend and we are so 56:04 excited. Pastor Earnhardt is coming once again 56:07 and he is going to be ministering to the people 56:10 there again. And so please keep us in 56:13 your prayer. God has called each 56:16 and every one of us, every one of us to be 56:19 ministers of the gospel and in doing that it 56:23 doesn't matter what he asked you to do. 56:26 What he lays on your heart, 56:28 don't say this is too big for me to do. 56:30 Because God can do anything, 56:33 think out of the box. We are Out of the Box 56:38 Ministry for God. Thank you and praise the Lord. |
Revised 2014-12-17