Participants:
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000929
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00:01 Music playing...
00:15 more music... 00:28 some more music... 00:45 Picture of 3abn truck on the road... 00:53 On the Road 01:00 Now, James, you're with an Organization called L.I.G.H.T. 01:04 tell us what does LIGHT stand for? 01:06 Well, L.I.G.H.T. Ministry is a relatively a new ministry 01:10 it actually started as an ASI Pilot project 01:12 a few years ago where we took several of our young people 01:15 that have taken our short training courses 01:17 and we took them overseas 01:19 to start training programs overseas, 01:22 and we chose two countries, 01:24 one a Muslim country, Tajikistan, 01:26 and the other country... a Western country is Portugal, 01:28 and the project worked so well, 01:30 we felt impressed that we needed to put more into this effort 01:34 and organize it in a bigger way so many OCI Ministry Leaders 01:37 and ASI help, through ASI's encouragement, 01:41 and ASI Austria, especially, and Wildwood, 01:44 we organized a new strategy 01:46 for making available, 01:48 short health evangelism training courses 01:51 to every member of the Seventh-day Adventist church. 01:53 There's a statement that Ellen White said, 01:56 she said, "We have come to a time 01:57 when every member of the church 01:59 should take hold of Medical Missionary work" 02:01 and I've realized how can that be if our church 02:03 is not trained to be Medical Missionaries 02:05 or even has it available, 02:07 I worked at Wildwood as Director 02:08 for the College of Health Evangelism 02:10 for the past six years and we receive a lot of applications 02:13 from all over the world, 02:15 but we're not able to take all these people for training, 02:18 so we thought we should have training schools 02:20 in the country that these people... in every country, 02:23 because it's too expensive to come to the States, 02:25 and these courses are not readily available 02:27 to church members all over, so we thought, 02:30 we have a big job and our goal is to have 02:33 a training school, short training school 02:35 in every Union of the world field, 02:37 so that every Seventh-day Adventist 02:39 can at least have available... have the opportunity 02:41 to get trained to do Gospel Medical Missionary work 02:43 according to the Lord's plan. Amen. 02:47 So our strategy is to enter a new area 02:49 doing several one-month training courses, 02:51 let's say we go into the Philippines, 02:53 we've been working there, 02:54 we've done several one-month training programs, 02:56 then we channel in the most interested 02:59 and best students from those one-month schools 03:00 to a six-month school, 03:02 and then from that six-month school, 03:04 we're looking to train leaders, we're looking to inspire, 03:06 give the vision to these... 03:08 to these young people, 03:10 and then we work to our third phase... 03:13 is to help them establish a permanent ministry, 03:15 an on-going six-month training course, 03:17 we want to help them develop industry for self-support, 03:22 we want to provide Leadership training, 03:24 and we may leave missionaries there after the second year, 03:27 so that it can continue to grow 03:28 and be a lighthouse in that country... in that region. 03:32 I know you have some progress reports or updates and pictures. 03:36 Yeah, yeah, so I have some pictures 03:38 to give you a visual idea 03:39 of how it is, if you want to look at more, 03:42 our website is lightingtheworld. org 03:44 lightingtheworld. org 03:45 this is a family that is from Southern California 03:48 that came to Wildwood, they trained for two years, 03:50 and they have now committed themselves 03:52 to help with the six-month training course 03:53 so they've been in the Philippines now, 03:55 let's look at the next picture, 03:56 we've been working in the Philippines for many years now, 03:59 so we've done a lot of short trainings, 04:01 but we've never done a six-month training, 04:03 so now, we've purchased a piece of property, 04:05 we've got a simple Facility there for training 04:07 and all the other houses on this property are bamboo houses, 04:09 all the staff members and students live in bamboo huts 04:11 and Alain and his wife we teach hydrotherapy, 04:14 we teach natural remedies, principles of healthful living, 04:17 evangelism, Bible, we could go to the next one, 04:19 we teach how to do health expos, how to reach the community 04:22 through the right arm of the gospel 04:24 simple health expo training, 04:26 so there's a picture of some of the students 04:28 that we've got and are working on 04:30 another point on the Philippines school, 04:33 we've just purchased a jeepney, 04:35 and they've got an industry going 04:36 where they're producing soy products 04:38 and they're delivering them around, 04:39 they've got an agriculture program going 04:41 so that's part of the... what we want to accomplish 04:43 because we want to be self-supporting. 04:45 This is a picture from just two weeks ago, 04:48 this is in Tanzania, 04:49 my partner and his wife had travelled all through Africa 04:52 this year doing training schools, 04:53 we have had the privilege to train 37 lay evangelists, 04:57 here are some of our teachers, 04:58 all have spent some time at Wildwood 05:00 with the Conference worker there in the middle, 05:02 here are a couple of our girls 05:05 rubbing shoulders with the Conference President, 05:07 of the Moro Conference in Tanzania, 05:09 they are so excited that the conference workers, 05:12 we got a letter from the Union and the Conferences 05:15 not only asking us, 05:16 they're begging for us to come back 05:18 and establish a six-month training school, 05:20 they are so excited, they were so blessed by it, 05:22 the work is also opening up in Kenya, 05:25 there was another picture, we've worked in Zimbabwe, 05:27 Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, 05:30 that last picture was a picture of Cambodia, 05:34 we've trained 70 workers there, this picture right here, 05:37 is a "Karen" lady that I met, 05:40 hiking through the jungle in Myanmar, 05:43 when we look at the next picture, 05:45 we're working with the special people 05:47 who are called "The Karen" they are kind of displaced, 05:50 they're not citizens of either Thailand or Myanmar, 05:53 here are some Seventh-day Adventists, 05:55 the gospel is working amongst these people 05:56 they are despised and they are persecuted by the Burmese, 05:59 but the gospel is spreading and we're trying to train them 06:02 so they can go around and work amongst their people, 06:04 this is a new training facility that we're building, 06:07 just across on the border on the Thai side, to train 06:09 so they can hike out of the jungles and get to this Facility 06:12 and we're also going to use it to bring people 06:14 out of Vietnam and Laos and Cambodia for training, 06:17 we're going to do a one-month training program 06:18 throughout the year in different languages. 06:20 This is a property that was just purchased a month ago 06:24 in Austria, so we're not working only 06:26 in the ten forty but in the Western world as well 06:28 beautiful facility, here are some of our students 06:31 that we actually have already trained 06:33 in a temporal spot, we now have a permanent place 06:35 with a farm, it's wonderful, 06:36 we're starting a new course in September. 06:38 This picture right here, is from Tajikistan 06:42 and we've had the privilege to train 06:44 several workers in Tajikistan, one... that is a special story 06:47 that I'm going to share with you is this young man 06:50 he's from Uzbekistan, 06:52 he came into Tajikistan for a one-month training course, 06:54 he was extremely inspired about it 06:56 so we could see that, 06:58 so we actually brought him to our training school in Ukraine, 07:01 where he got extra training, he came back to Uzbekistan, 07:04 he opened up his living room to be a treatment room, 07:07 he's doing... here you can see him, 07:08 heating up fomentations for hydrotherapy, 07:10 he is doing consultations, 07:12 the Mayor of the city came into his house 07:14 and got treated himself, with massage, 07:16 now it is actually illegal in this part of the world, 07:20 to meet... to have anything more than two people meeting 07:24 for spiritual meetings, so he now has a massage business 07:27 and so... excuse me... let me explain 07:30 how he got into the massage business, 07:32 so he's working out of his living room 07:35 doing treatments and massage and so forth 07:37 but he wanted to get licensed, 07:39 so he started working with somebody, he got licensed, 07:41 and that person put so much trust and faith in him 07:44 that that person gave him the ability 07:46 to give licenses himself, 07:48 so now, he's able to license all of our 07:50 Seventh-day Adventist workers, that are taking our courses 07:52 and he's turned it into a ministry work, 07:56 people come to his house on Sabbath 07:57 and he teaches massage there 07:59 and they know that it's a health training place 08:02 and so... but they do like... "spiritual massage courses" 08:06 on Sabbath and have these special meetings 08:08 so it's a real blessing, 08:10 the girls that you saw in pictures of Tanzania, 08:13 they both shared in all this, it has changed their lives 08:15 and I can see students that come out of our courses 08:17 they need an avenue to get into the field, 08:19 and when they start teaching the classes 08:21 that they have learned, they learn it so much better, 08:23 they've absorbed it, those girls are... 08:25 they told me just last week, they are committed, 08:26 they want to be involved 08:27 in this type of work their whole lives, 08:29 they've seen how it changes people's lives, 08:30 we've seeing how these short training courses 08:33 are doing a great work and so we hope to make it 08:35 available to everyone in the church. 08:37 Well, thank you James, at this hour of earth's history 08:39 it's important to be able to train people 08:43 in their own country and so that's what L.I.G.H.T. is doing. 08:46 Thank you very much for that report. 08:47 Now we're going to go to the Czech Republic 08:50 to Otokar, and first of all, 08:54 tell us, how did you become acquainted with ASI? 08:59 Well, it's easy, it was 17 years ago in Denver, Colorado 09:04 when I attended my first ASI Convention, 09:06 and it was a big inspiration for me, 09:09 and because of that inspiration, we, created, two years later, 09:14 an ASI Chapter in Czechoslovakia at that time or 09:19 the Czechoslavak Chapter, 09:22 and I had the privilege to serve 09:23 as the President of that Chapter. 09:25 Now, some time before that, you had a disaster happen 09:29 in your life that changed the course of your 09:32 career, can you tell us about that? 09:34 Oh yeah, sometimes when you want to walk on water, 09:40 you have to get out of the boat 09:43 and this was the same case for me, 09:45 we decided to do something for the Lord, 09:50 I was not so happy with what I did 09:53 or I was not thinking that I could be so much involved 09:56 for the Lord as working as a famous photographer, 09:59 this was my business for the previous 15 years, 10:02 and we decided to start a country-life project 10:05 inspired by Country Life Paris, 10:07 we went for training to Paris 10:09 and we had experienced a hard time 10:12 when our... the house we lived in... 10:15 in Paris during our Christmas time in Prague, 10:19 burned down completely, and it was like... 10:22 burning literally the bridges behind us 10:24 because most of my photographic artwork burned there, 10:28 and we had only three things we saved from that, 10:32 my wedding ring, a cooking pot, and my Bible, 10:35 these are all what we got from this fire. 10:39 So, your photography was pretty much behind you, 10:44 and you caught a clear vision of what God wanted you to do, 10:47 what did you do when you got back to Prague? 10:49 When we got back to Prague, 10:51 we started to work on a virgin field, 10:53 because in terms of health food, there was nothing there, 10:56 so we needed to create our own supplying structure 11:00 by creating a wholesale operation, 11:03 and we started, we were the first restaurant 11:06 and health food store in Prague. 11:08 Since then, a lot of things have happened, 11:12 and so far, we have now almost six stores 11:16 because are finishing the sixth one, and we have, 11:19 almost three restaurants running. 11:21 Okay, so here's a picture of the first store. 11:24 This is the picture of our first store, 11:26 this is still the Flagship, and this was a miracle 11:30 we got that place because 11:32 everybody was trying to get that location 11:34 and only by miracle 11:36 we are still having this location. 11:38 So now you have restaurants as well as stores, 11:42 what else do you have as part of that supply warehouse? 11:46 Beside the restaurants and stores 11:50 which are our main business and the wholesale, 11:53 we serve daily about 3,000 customers 11:56 in our stores and restaurants, 11:59 to fill the name of Country Life, 12:02 we started with an Organic Farm in 1992, 12:07 a two-hundred acre organic farm 12:09 where you grow 80 different vegetables and different grains, 12:15 so you see some of the production 12:17 and we were really the pioneers in Organic in Czech Republic 12:22 we saw something which started just... in the beginning of '90s 12:26 we really like to have an Outpost 12:29 because the farm had no buildings 12:33 so in 2001, we started... 12:37 we bought an old cow barn and a hayloft 12:41 which we completely remodeled 12:43 according to the principles of ecological building 12:46 and energy-efficient building, and we became quite well known 12:50 in the country because of this endeavor 12:53 and we also became very well known 12:55 because of our involvement in organic farming. 13:00 The Outpost is now the base for our production, 13:04 our organic bakery, the wholesale 13:07 and also for a school, 13:09 we started also a Medical Missionary Training School, 13:12 an adult training and this school is training 13:16 during the whole year, full-time students 13:20 or during the weekends, distance students 13:24 so we have quite a good group of students 13:26 and those students are getting ready to work in 13:30 the health expos, 13:32 they are also helping with 13:35 one project which is quite interesting 13:38 the health clubs, these are some small groups 13:42 which are... we work with local churches 13:45 to give them tools 13:46 of how to do some Medical Missionary work 13:50 and we have created so far 66 health clubs in the Country, 13:54 and we are now exporting that idea also to other countries. 13:59 Okay, wonderful, 14:01 now, can you tell us a little bit about your Newstart Program? 14:05 Yeah, this is also another activity because 14:08 we want to touch a larger public so we are... 14:11 we have, every year, this year we have nine 14:15 Newstart health weeks so they reach over 300 people 14:20 who are going through those sessions throughout the year, 14:24 and this is a very good place 14:27 where we can have a bigger influence on people, 14:31 not only just one lecture but you have a whole week 14:34 ending with the Sabbath, so you can add spiritual matters 14:38 and as far as we still don't have our own Sanitarium, 14:41 we hope to have one in the future, 14:43 so we do that in rented premises in different locations 14:47 and we have acquired a good group of people 14:50 who are willing to attend, 14:52 but those people who are more interested in spiritual topics 14:55 it's difficult to bring them to a regular church 14:58 because most of the church members in our country 15:01 are not really health conscious, 15:03 so we have created a kind of alternative church, 15:07 we call it the Restaurant Church 15:09 which is recognized by the Conference as a church 15:12 and we have some special programs 15:14 for those who are interested in health. 15:16 So you have church services, actually, 15:20 in your Country Life Restaurant. 15:21 That's correct, so we can use the restaurant 15:24 seven days a week, 15:27 not only six days for the business 15:29 but also the seventh day. 15:30 Wonderful, so you're the largest wholesaler of organic foods, 15:34 you're a pioneer in organic gardening and farming, 15:37 and you have the Outpost, you have the bakery, 15:40 what are the results, are you seeing lives changed, 15:45 souls won, how can you tell us about that? 15:48 Yeah... you cannot see all the lives changes 15:50 from the thousand people which are coming to our premises, 15:53 but we can see some real fruits ending with baptism 15:59 so we have every year, several baptisms 16:02 just in June we had four baptisms from our customers 16:08 but not only from our customers 16:10 but we have a good mission field also among our workers 16:14 because to do all this work, we have about 145 workers 16:18 and we have about one third of them are 16:20 Seventh-day Adventist members 16:22 so the two thirds are potential mission field 16:26 and we had in the past among our students 16:30 and among our workers we had also several baptisms. 16:33 Okay, now you told me 16:35 your health expo that you hold there in your local town 16:38 the town is about 200 people, 16:40 how many people come out to your health expo? 16:43 We have organized, every year, what we call a Harvest Festival 16:49 it's in September and last year 16:53 we had about 4,000 people coming to that small village 16:56 of 200 people, so it was very busy, 16:59 very crowded and even very important VIP people are coming, 17:03 so this year, we're expecting even some Government members 17:07 like the Minister of Agriculture we have invited, 17:10 and the Minister of Education and Minister of Environment. 17:13 You know, I was looking at some of the pictures 17:15 earlier that we didn't have time to show tonight 17:18 and he was telling me that because the town is so small 17:21 and so many people are coming, they encouraged them 17:24 in a "green way" to ride bikes to the Harvest Festival 17:28 and he showed me a picture of the Mayor of Prague 17:31 arriving on a bicycle to the Harvest Festival there, 17:35 so what a wonderful opportunity. 17:36 Yeah, he came with his wife and he is one of the 17:40 most preferred politicians in the Country 17:43 maybe in the future... future Prime Minister 17:46 or maybe even the President, 17:48 he's still young and he's very fit 17:51 he climbed last year to the Mount Everest 17:54 so he's a good example of what healthy lifestyle also can do. 18:00 What do you see as the future of Country Life in Czech? 18:03 I think we would like to expand our activities 18:06 with the shops by doing a Franchise System 18:10 so it could be together with the health clubs 18:14 we can create some small other shops 18:16 in other cities not only in Prague, 18:17 but we want to expand also to the other... 18:21 to the new European Union Countries, 18:23 so the former Communist countries 18:25 by helping them to start something like that 18:27 and one thing which is close to my heart 18:30 because I grew up in a Muslim country 18:32 in North Africa, Tunisia, 18:35 and we were planning with my sister who is living there, 18:38 to start a small project in Tunisia. 18:40 Thank you Otokar, we appreciate you coming 18:43 and sharing what God has doing in the Czech Republic. 18:45 Thank you Chester. 18:46 It is encouraging to see... 18:48 I want to say the last thing. Okay. 18:49 Everything of that will not be possible 18:51 without the help of the Lord, of course, 18:53 but also with the help of ASI 18:56 and we really appreciate your help 18:58 and the help of all the projects 19:00 and the last projects which will be funded this year 19:03 is a Community Center which will be above our restaurant 19:07 where we will have a permanent church 19:09 not only in the restaurant premises 19:11 but we'll do also lectures there 19:13 and a physician counseling room and so on. 19:15 Thank you ASI. 19:17 God bless you and your work there. 19:19 Our next interview is going to be with three young people 19:24 and probably most of you here tonight 19:27 are familiar with the ASI Youth For Jesus Program, 19:31 it's something very close to my heart, 19:33 and we're going to just hear from three of these 19:37 youth for Jesus about their experience here this summer 19:41 right here in Tampa, 19:42 first we're going to start with Brent, 19:43 Brent, where are you from? 19:45 I'm from a small town in Minnesota called Maple Plain. 19:48 Maple Plain, Minnesota, how, I believe you go to school 19:52 at an ASI supporting academy, right? 19:54 Yeah I go to Daystar Adventist Academy. 19:56 Okay, now, was this your first Youth for Jesus Program? 19:59 Yes it was. 20:00 Now, what did you think about, 20:03 now that it's over, what do you think about 20:05 the Youth for Jesus Program, how did it impact you, 20:08 what has been special about this experience? 20:11 Well, the prayer life... we pray a lot there 20:14 at Youth for Jesus, every morning at 7:45 20:17 our whole site would come together and pray for the 20:21 contacts that are coming on, for the Speakers 20:24 and that everything would run smoothly 20:27 and then again at 12:45. 20:29 Okay so twice a day, you and your team from... 20:32 which site were you at? 20:34 I was at the Tampa First site. 20:36 So the team from Tampa First 20:37 would meet together twice a day and pray, 20:39 did you see God answering your prayers? 20:41 Yeah we did. 20:42 Tell me about one of your contacts... Paul. 20:46 Well, Paul started coming to the meetings fairly early on 20:51 and I noticed that no one was sitting by him at his table, 20:55 he was all alone, and so I went and sat by him 20:57 and after the meeting, I just started talking with him 21:01 and getting to know him and he has Bone Marrow Cancer 21:04 and as the meetings went on, he told me about that 21:08 and then... he was saying that 21:09 a lot of times he'd be depressed 21:12 because he'd be in his apartment all alone and everything 21:14 but when he'd come to the meetings, 21:16 he'd forget that he even had Cancer 21:18 because people were so friendly to him. 21:19 Okay, so you went and you had the opportunity 21:23 to make a friend and to get to know him, 21:25 did Paul continue coming to the meetings? 21:28 Yeah, he came faithfully, 21:30 he said that he was only going to come 21:31 on Monday, Wednesday 21:33 and Friday, because Tuesday and Thursday 21:36 were the days he had to clean his apartment and stuff 21:38 but he started coming on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 21:41 Saturdays regularly, which was really good 21:45 and then, at the end, we had our baptism 21:48 he said that he was going to come regularly 21:51 to the church service so I was really glad about that. 21:54 All right, would you recommend the Youth for Jesus Program? 21:56 Yeah, I'd highly recommend it. 21:58 Okay, come a little closer ladies, Alena. 22:02 Hello. Where are you from? 22:04 I'm from Zlín, it's a city in Czech Republic. 22:06 You're also from the Czech Republic, okay, 22:09 now what were the blessings that came to you 22:12 from the Youth For Jesus Program? 22:14 It was a big privilege for me to be here in Youth for Jesus 22:18 and at first, my spiritual life really grew up 22:21 I became closer to God 22:23 and also, a church where I was assigned to, 22:27 it was Westside, so the members, they really accepted us 22:30 and also the contacts, the people, 22:33 at first, it was full of travels and programs 22:37 and later I could see they were full of energy 22:40 and full of God and how their spiritual life grew up. 22:43 So you saw changes in the lives of your contacts and 22:46 that was a real blessing to you. Yes. 22:49 How did you feel about the whole... the team... 22:51 your team, the local church, the contacts, how did you...? 22:55 It was such a big family, 22:57 they... we were so close together. 22:59 Even though you're from the Czech Republic... 23:01 Yeah. It felt like one big family, 23:03 isn't it neat to be part of the family of God? 23:05 And as people were learning the truth, 23:07 they became a part of the family as well. 23:09 Now, you had a contact named Vanessa, tell us about Vanessa. 23:13 Well, this girl, first when I met her 23:16 I said, "Well, I'm not going to talk to her in anyway" 23:20 but later, we became really good friends, 23:22 she's just a few years older than me 23:25 and we can understand together 23:27 and we could talk about spiritual things 23:29 about relationships, about everything 23:32 so it was a big blessing for me. 23:34 Did Vanessa continue coming to the meetings? 23:35 Yeah she did, and she also promised to come here. 23:38 Okay, wonderful and what do you hope to do 23:41 when you get back home, 23:43 anything that you hope is in your future? 23:45 We came here as Czechoslovak Team 23:48 and we are planning to make 23:49 Youth for Jesus next year in Czech 23:52 so just keep us in prayers 23:54 that it will be such great as here 23:57 and also I would like to thank you, 23:59 ASI and Maranatha in Czech, 24:01 because without them, we wouldn't be here, 24:03 so just... thank you. 24:06 Okay, thank you Alena, 24:08 next we have Eniko, and where are you from? 24:12 I'm from Budapest the capital city of Hungary. 24:15 Okay, you're from the capital of Hungary 24:18 now, you I believe came to ASI last year 24:20 here in the States, right? Yeah... 24:22 And you heard a bit about the Youth for Jesus Program 24:24 but you thought, "That could never be for me" 24:27 why did you think you could never be 24:29 part of the Youth For Jesus Program? 24:30 Well, actually I thought that it was just all about preaching 24:34 and in English and I thought, "Oh no, that's not for me" 24:37 So you can't preach in English 24:39 so you couldn't be a youth for Jesus, 24:40 but you found out there is more 24:42 to the Youth for Jesus Program than just preaching, right? 24:45 What did you do while you were here this summer in Tampa? 24:48 Well, I had many great experiences here 24:51 like I did survey and health talk in English 24:55 and children's program and Bible study in English. 24:58 Okay... all in English, you notice, 25:01 that's helpful here, 25:03 so if you are going to give a Bible Study 25:07 you would probably want to have plenty of time to prepare, 25:10 especially since it's in English, 25:12 is that how your first Bible Study happened? 25:15 No, it was... I went with Tanya and Loni 25:19 and they told us that I should experience the Bible Study 25:24 and I said, "Okay, well, I will see how you do it" 25:27 So you went with your Bible Worker 25:29 and they said, "You should experience a Bible Study" 25:32 Yeah, and then, I got to the car and they said, 25:35 "Oh, you are going to do the Bible Study" 25:37 and I said, "Me?" and they said, 25:39 "Okay, don't worry, you have time" 25:41 and I had five or ten minutes to prepare 25:44 but thank God Tanya helped me a lot so... 25:47 Okay, how did that Bible Study go? 25:50 Well, it was great after that 25:52 and the contact's name was Amanda 25:56 and she got baptized so I was really happy about it. 26:00 Amen, isn't that wonderful, praise the Lord. 26:03 Now what do you want to do when you go back home to Hungary? 26:08 Well, I hope we'll have something like that 26:11 in Hungary too because it's such a great blessing. 26:14 Okay, thank you, Youth for Jesus, for sharing, 26:18 for coming here to Tampa 26:19 and for telling your stories here tonight. 26:21 Thank you very much. 26:24 Audience clapping. 26:27 Our next members in action are going to be 26:30 Doug and Debbie Baker, 26:32 now the Bakers... I think... many of us know well 26:36 they're from Heritage Academy, 26:38 and Doug, I'm going to start with you, 26:40 your young people have been involved 26:43 in a variety of outreach activities 26:45 in the recent past and are currently, 26:47 tell us about some of those outreach activities. 26:49 Well, first of all, 26:53 one thing that has really impressed me 26:55 is the way that the Lord has been opening doors 26:59 I would say, kind of like a SWAT team opens doors, 27:03 I mean, He just busts them open for us 27:05 and there they are in front of us, 27:07 one thing that we've been doing for about six years 27:12 is Literature Evangelism 27:14 and the Lord has opened that in such a big way for us 27:19 we do Literature Evangelism from Knoxville to Nashville 27:23 which is about 200 miles 27:25 and all the businesses through there, 27:29 so you know, witnessing in the Marketplace 27:32 and then there are two towns that are near us, 27:35 one is Crossville and the other is Cookeville 27:38 and this last year, we went to every home 27:41 in both of those cities. 27:43 Okay, I think Volkar would appreciate that 27:46 printed-page outreach, right, what else are you doing 27:49 to help your young people involved in 27:50 frontline witnessing? 27:52 Well, we're also working with ACTS 27:53 and when there are disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, 27:57 we respond pretty much immediately 28:01 and we just finished training with FEMA this past May... 28:08 or April... and... so all of our kids are certified 28:14 with FEMA to do disaster relief 28:16 so we can have a much more close relationship 28:20 working with them in Disaster Relief that way 28:24 we went to... 28:27 there was a big tornado that came through 28:29 Jackson, Tennessee, this last year, 28:31 the year before there was a tornado in Florida 28:33 and then of course, 28:35 there was everything that happened in the Gulf, 28:37 so since the hurricanes in the Gulf, 28:41 we've been doing disaster relief for them. 28:44 Okay, I think you're going to be needed more and more 28:46 and it's a wonderful way to reach out to people 28:48 at a time when they really have some felt needs, very much, 28:51 Debbie, tell us about some new exciting programs 28:55 that you're offering for young people at Heritage. 28:59 Well the Lord really impressed us not too long ago 29:03 that there's a real dearth for religious programming 29:07 for teenagers and young adults and through a generous donation 29:11 from ASI and others, 29:13 we've purchased video production equipment 29:15 for the purpose of creating video or programming for kids 29:22 to reach them and I think about a year ago 29:25 one of our students who was new said 29:27 during the summer program, 29:29 had been with us for about three weeks, 29:31 said, "I have been outside 29:33 in the sunshine in the last three weeks 29:36 more than I have in five years" 29:38 because she's from inner city, Atlanta, 29:41 and can't go outside, she comes home from school 29:43 from Public Schools as a young person 29:46 went straight and was locked up in her home, 29:49 and the only thing she had was the television 29:51 and it really struck us, 29:53 turning on the television to religious programming 29:56 would really reach her and how many thousands of other kids 30:00 are trapped inside their homes as latchkey kids 30:02 with this kind of ministry from a young person 30:05 speaking to a young person about the things that affect them 30:09 and in the days that we're living in now, 30:10 could really have an impact on both of their lives, 30:13 both those that are sharing and both that are receiving. 30:17 Okay, so specially here in the Western world where 30:19 sometimes it's hard to get access to those homes 30:21 and Media can be a real outreach 30:23 and it can be something today that even young people can do, 30:26 we're living in a different age technologically, 30:28 and... really young people 30:30 with very small amount of equipment 30:33 can do a lot for Jesus. That's right. 30:35 But what about some of those more remote places? 30:37 You have a program that you're developing, I think, 30:40 that will help young people reach there too. 30:42 You know, I know absolutely nothing... 30:45 as much as I would like to, about aviation 30:47 I had dreams of being an aviator myself 30:50 but the Lord had other plans in store, 30:53 but with... just recently has opened the doors 30:57 by bringing us a pilot as a teacher 31:01 who had put aside the world of being an aviator, 31:05 and said, "I'm going to go minister 31:07 in the classroom, to a bunch of kids" 31:09 but the Lord had something else in store 31:11 and opened up the doors 31:13 by meeting and putting together, right here in ASI last year, 31:18 this gentleman and AWAS, 31:21 we were setting up our booth and they were talking 31:24 and had a chance to witness and share with each other 31:27 and today we are partnered together with 31:30 Adventist World Aviation to begin 31:32 a mission aviation program for our students 31:35 and it's phenomenal to see how the Lord open these doors. 31:40 Amen, so right here at ASI, 31:41 here's a good example of the networking that can take place 31:44 and God can open up new opportunities 31:46 right here at ASI, your teacher, who is a pilot, 31:49 by the way, was attracted to stop at 31:53 the AWA Booth and talk and a vision sort of came together 31:57 and now you're starting the Aviation Program. 31:59 Well, I know that God is going to continue to bless your work 32:03 any last thoughts that you might have 32:05 about what God is doing at Heritage? 32:08 We just fasten our seatbelts and hold on 32:11 because it's just incredible just one step at a time 32:15 He's just making a way for young people to learn 32:19 in one way or another, how to share their faith 32:21 and it's just a powerful as you saw the young people 32:24 that were here just a moments ago 32:26 to watch them give their hearts in ministry for the Lord 32:30 and for us, we're blessed 32:32 to have a small part in that aspect of their lives. 32:35 And of course we know that as the young people 32:37 become active in sharing their faith, 32:39 no matter which arena or skills they're using, 32:42 they're going to be stronger in living for Jesus as well. 32:44 Amen. So thank you for what you're 32:46 doing at Heritage and may God bless 32:47 your ministry there. Thank you. 32:48 Audience clapping... 32:50 Our last interview in this section 32:52 is going to be a gentleman who is no stranger to us, 32:56 Irwin Rogers, now, Mr. Rogers, 33:04 where are you from? 33:06 I'm from Boise, Idaho. 33:08 Boise, Idaho, 33:10 now what is your line of work or profession? 33:12 I have an insurance agency and I've had it for 29 years. 33:17 And... so every morning you'd get up and you'd go to work? 33:21 I'd go to work. 33:23 Now, you've been a part of ASI and a member of ASI 33:27 attending ASI for quite some time... how long has it been? 33:29 My wife and I joined ASI in 1984 33:34 and we went to our first National Convention 33:38 at Big Sky, Montana. 33:39 1984, okay, so... quite a few years... 33:43 now, through the years you went to these ASI conventions 33:46 and you've seen ASI change quite a bit 33:48 you've... back then there was what... 33:50 how many people were in Big Sky? 33:52 We had 300 and real proud of it. 33:54 All right, so ASI has continued to grow 33:57 but... as you kept coming back to ASI, 33:59 what you shared with me was, 34:01 there were some problems that began developing 34:04 with your attendance here, 34:07 there were just things happening 34:09 that were making you uncomfortable. 34:11 There were just a lot of people going on mission someplace 34:15 and getting a wonderful blessing 34:17 and I knew it wasn't for me and I thought, 34:20 "The Lord is blessing them and that's wonderful" 34:22 So you saw people going on our mission trips 34:25 and you thought, 34:26 "That's great but it's not for me" 34:28 what began really making you 34:30 try to avoid certain places in the Exhibit Hall? 34:35 Well, we never missed an ASI meeting for 16 years, 34:40 then my wife got ill 34:42 and she was in the Nursing Home 34:45 with kidney failures and then she had two strokes 34:48 she wasn't able to go anywhere 34:50 so we didn't go to ASI, 34:52 then she passed away in May of 2001, 34:56 and that was... I thought this is kind of a lonesome thing 35:03 and if she'd have lived two more weeks 35:05 we would have been married 59 years, 35:07 so I decided to go to ASI that year and it was in Dallas, Texas 35:13 so I got to Dallas, Texas, 35:15 and checked in at this... at the Booth 35:20 and went to see the exhibits, and the first one I saw was 35:24 the ShareHim Booth, so I went up there 35:27 and Harold Kiney, 35:28 you all should get acquainted with Harold Kiney 35:30 if you don't know him 35:31 as I walked up to him and he grabbed me by the arm 35:35 and I've known him for quite a while 35:37 and he says, "Irwin, this is just for you" 35:39 and I said, "Oh no, Harold, you got the wrong guy" 35:44 and I said, "if you got somebody that wants to go, 35:48 I'll help them with their expenses but it's not for me" 35:52 and Harold said, "That isn't what I mean, 35:55 this is for you, 35:56 it will change your life forever" 35:58 and I said, "I may need my life changed forever 36:01 but this is not for me. " 36:02 So what took place in your personal experience? 36:07 I left the booth and I never went by his booth 36:11 for the rest of ASI, 36:13 I just avoided it but I did go home 36:17 in October, I was shaving one morning 36:21 and I saw "Irwin" in the mirror and I thought to myself 36:26 "Irwin, you coward, if God can use fishermen 36:31 he can use Insurance salesmen" Amen 36:34 so I thought, "Well, I'll call Harold" 36:37 so I went to the office and I called him on his phone, 36:41 never got him, he was out of the country 36:44 but he did return my call and two days later 36:47 I said, "Harold, tell me more about ShareHim" 36:51 and he did, all right, and before I knew it 36:55 I was signed up and the next thing I knew 36:58 I was on the list to go to Romania as a Speaker 37:03 so I went to Romania 37:06 and everything was fine and it went well, 37:09 and I went to Gym Shade Academy and we had our Homecoming 37:15 and Kenneth Mittleider who was the Vice President 37:19 of the General Conference, he also went to that school 37:22 on his 60th anniversary 37:25 and he heard I was going to Romania 37:28 and he was very excited because he said, 37:30 "I go on one of these every year" 37:32 he said, "You'll be good" and I said, "I hope so" 37:36 well I got back and about a week after I got back 37:41 my phone rang and it was 7 in the morning 37:44 and... 37:46 Elder Mittleider lives in Georgia and I live in Idaho 37:50 of course, I guess he didn't realize the time change, 37:53 but he said, "How was Romania?" 37:55 I said that it was wonderful. 37:57 "Oh I'm glad to hear that," he says, 37:59 "I'm going to Madagascar in April of next year, 38:02 and I need another Speaker," and he said, 38:06 "Check it over with your children 38:08 and if it's okay, call me back, 38:09 I need to know by this afternoon" 38:11 and it was fine, and I called him back 38:14 and the first thing I knew I was on my way to Madagascar 38:18 and in March of this year, on the 30th of March, 38:24 I got on the airplane from Boise and we went to Atlanta, 38:33 and I had to stay overnight there, 38:36 the next day I checked in, 38:38 ready to go from Atlanta to Johannesburg, 38:42 well, when I checked in, it was an overseas flight 38:46 and the agent weighed my suitcase 38:50 59 pounds, and she was going to charge me 38:54 $90 for the overweight, then she turned and looked at me 38:59 and she says, "Did they charge you in Boise?" 39:02 and I said, "No" then she took her foot 39:05 and shoved the suitcase on and it went down the ramp 39:08 and away it went, 39:09 I wasn't out of trouble though 39:13 because I went to Johannesburg, 39:18 and then from Johannesburg to Madagascar 39:21 I had to fly on an African airline, 39:24 they have a strict rule of 44 pounds, 39:27 no more, and I had to stay all night in Johannesburg 39:32 and during the night I woke up wondering, 39:34 "What in the world am I going to do?" 39:35 And I thought, "Well I'll just pay for it and get there" 39:38 but the Lord brought a thought to my mind, 39:42 "They don't weigh you," so the next morning, 39:46 I put on a T-Shirt, a polo shirt 39:52 and a regular shirt, 39:54 then I put on three pairs of pants 40:01 and two coats and it had quite a few pockets in it 40:11 and I had to take some of the electrical stuff out of my case 40:15 and I had the computer and so forth 40:19 and I had them stuffed in my pockets, 40:22 and I have to admit to you it was about 89 degrees, 40:28 when I got on the plane, and when I checked my bag 40:32 it weighed 44 and 1/2 pounds 40:35 and the guy said, "That's all right" 40:36 and he pushed the bag in 40:38 so I got on the plane but it was rather warm 40:43 and it was a 3 and a 1/2 hour ride to Madagascar 40:49 and when I got there, everything was fine 40:53 and we have some pictures that will show you 40:57 what happened after I got there. 40:59 Real quick. 41:00 There, that's the hotel that we were staying in, 41:06 and they took pretty good care of us. 41:08 Then this is the house that my translator lived in 41:12 and this is his car, 41:14 and we took 45 minutes to go from the hotel to the site 41:19 where I was conducting on these kinds of roads, 41:23 very narrow and they have shops on both sides 41:27 and notice the potholes and one of the things over there 41:30 you can go either direction 41:31 and whatever direction you were going 41:33 the other driver will let you by, 41:35 this is the vegetable market 41:37 and those of you who know might collect ties, 41:40 I couldn't resist taking the ties. 41:42 This is the local laundromat, 41:43 and this is the village in which I was to speak 41:50 19 sermons... 17 days in this tent, 41:54 we only got rained on once this is a clothing store 41:59 that's between our tent and the main road, 42:01 and of course, here's the Transportation Department 42:06 and this is the group, and what a wonderful group 42:11 and this is the baptismal class 42:14 and our last day which was on the last Sabbath 42:17 we had 23 baptisms from my site, 42:21 and 60 more that would join the baptismal class. 42:25 You see the straw hat there, the church gave that to me 42:29 because they know that I was going on a safari 42:32 and they looked at my bald spot on my head 42:34 but I never worry about that. 42:36 So I understand that you got another trip is scheduled 42:39 would you agree that it has changed your life? 42:41 Oh yeah. Yes... 42:42 Well what happened, 42:44 I gave this report at the Northwest Chapter 42:47 and Duane McKey was there, 42:49 and when I came down from the pulpit, 42:51 he grabbed me by the arm, "Irwin," he says, 42:54 "I need another Speaker" 42:55 and I said, "Where and when?" 42:58 and he told me, and I checked current rules 43:01 and everything was fine, so on the 25th of August, 43:06 I'm going to Tanzania. Amen. 43:09 Thank you for letting God use you, 43:11 you know, you can avoid certain booths at ASI, 43:15 but the Holy Spirit still knows where you're at. 43:18 God bless you. 43:22 Special song by Celest Singers 43:31 Song: God and God Alone 43:38 music... 43:42 God and God alone 43:52 created all these things we call our own 44:00 From the mighty to the small the Glory in them all 44:08 is God's and God's alone 44:16 God and God alone 44:22 reveals the truth of all we call unknown 44:30 And the best and worst of man won't change the Master's plan. 44:38 It's God's and God's alone 44:46 God and God alone 44:51 is fit to take the Universe's throne 44:58 Let everything that lives reserve its truest praise 45:08 for God and God alone 45:17 God and God alone 45:26 will be the joy of our eternal home 45:32 He will be our one desire 45:37 our hearts will never tire 45:41 of God and God alone 45:47 God and God alone 45:53 is fit to take the universe's throne 46:00 Let everything that lives 46:05 reserve its truest praise 46:10 for God and God alone 46:17 God and God alone 46:23 is fit to take the universe's throne 46:30 Let everything that lives 46:34 reserve its truest praise 46:39 for God alone 46:45 Let everything that lives 46:50 reserve its truest praise 46:59 for God and God alone 47:08 alone... 47:16 Amen, people clapping... 47:21 Participants walking on stage... 47:31 The stories and events from different people 47:33 some of them were young kids, 47:37 Irwin, who said, he forgot to tell you that he's 81, 47:42 some were from men, some were from women, 47:47 some from other countries but the theme is the same, 47:50 we're going to tell people about Jesus 47:54 we're all in this together to tell people about Jesus 48:00 you know... some of you... that I went to the Philippines 48:07 and it was a ShareHim Program 48:11 and ASI had been there before I was there, 48:16 people ask me, "How many people were baptized?" 48:20 I don't really like to say anything much about that 48:24 because I didn't have much to do with that, 48:27 the ASI team had prepared 48:31 so many people to preach 48:34 before I got there so hundreds could be baptized 48:40 just after Marti and I left, it's all of us together 48:46 what drives me in this thing, 48:50 I think about the people right now 48:55 that live next door to us, 48:59 right now, I can see the little girl right next to us 49:07 running to meet Marti and hugging her 49:10 I see the boy across the street, he comes and hugs me 49:16 we couldn't bear to think about going to heaven 49:22 and saying, "That's for us but not for you" 49:28 and they won't know unless we tell them. 49:33 Our Division has an interest 49:38 in giving this message to everybody 49:42 the invitation, so we've asked Elder Clouzet 49:47 to be a special point person for us 49:51 to emphasize evangelism during a whole year 49:57 Ron, tell us something about it. 50:00 Thank you Elder Schneider, 50:02 all that we are is about 50:06 sharing Jesus with others, isn't that true? 50:08 That's what we're all about 50:10 that's what we need to be all about 50:12 no matter what we do in life, 50:14 what profession we have, what habits we have 50:19 it is to reach others for Jesus 50:21 and this Division is not well known for 50:26 far out-reaching, outstanding evangelistic endeavors, 50:32 we hear that from other places 50:35 and we heard some of that tonight. 50:37 In fact, we have a growth pattern of about 2.2 percent 50:41 did you know that there was a time a 100 years ago, 50:46 when we grew 18.6 percent in one year 50:49 that was the most we've ever done, 50:51 the second best decade was about 12 percent, 50:55 at this point, we're barely maintaining 51:00 if it wasn't for some key ethnic groups 51:04 that really keep that up, 51:05 well, a few months ago, a group of pastors, 51:11 a group of leaders, a group of laymen 51:14 including one of your vice presidents, Virel Kadamara, 51:19 we got together and we said, "What can we do that God... " 51:23 I mean, "What can we do that we've never done before 51:27 so that we can ignite the passion 51:30 for reaching out to others 51:32 that Jesus wants to put in our hearts?" 51:34 You know we baptize 51:36 about 35,000 to 37,000 people every year 51:39 and that's in North America, 51:41 all of the United States, Canada, 51:43 that's not very much when you compare the challenge 51:47 And Bermuda... And Bermuda, that's right. 51:50 The challenge that we have, 51:51 well, after much prayer and discussion 51:54 we decided that we're going to really test God on this 51:58 and we said, "Let's set a goal, and let's publicize it, 52:02 and let's commit ourselves to it, 52:04 financially, personnel-wise, 52:07 promotion-wise, resource-wise, 52:10 to reach out and baptize a hundred thousand people. 52:14 Now it would have been quite a thing 52:17 for us to have said 45,000 instead of 37,000 52:21 or even 50,000... to be honest with you, 52:25 it is an impossible job, because we're working hard 52:30 to just get the 37,000... 52:32 that is... the people that are engaged 52:35 in leading others to Christ are already working hard, 52:38 so what would it mean, what would it take? 52:41 Well it would take the concerted effort, 52:45 of a united church to really seek after God 52:48 to pray like we've never prayed before, 52:52 to ask for the outpouring of the Spirit of God 52:54 to dig into Scripture, 52:56 to ask God to give us a great love for others, 53:00 that same love that you find in Luke 11... 53:03 you know when that man that had a friend 53:06 who came to him at midnight and went to his neighbor 53:09 and says, "You've got to open the door and give me bread 53:12 because I have to feed somebody else," 53:14 that kind of passion for others, 53:16 that is what we need to pray for, 53:19 and so resources have been made, 53:22 there is a new website we're trying to publicize 53:26 some of you may have seen a promotional DVD 53:29 in Camp Meeting this summer about this project 53:32 the website, which, by the way, is called 53:37 yearofevangelism. org yearofevangelism. org 53:40 I'd like to invite you to visit the website. 53:44 Here's what we want to do with that. 53:45 There are a number of resources there, 53:47 for lay people and pastors to do evangelism 53:51 to start, to get going on that, 53:53 and there's an opportunity to register, 53:56 if you are planning to do meetings, 54:00 direct evangelism... we're talking about, 54:03 inviting people to make decisions for Christ, 54:06 inviting people to make 54:07 decisions for the teachings of Scripture, 54:10 register there, my hope is to see... 54:13 our hope is to see those numbers increase 54:16 larger and larger and larger 54:18 and that would create a momentum... 54:23 a sense of... "You know, maybe God is behind this after all" 54:27 maybe God can use us in ways that He has never used us before 54:32 so the objective is to ask God 54:36 to use us in ways that have not happened before 54:40 you know, the last thing we had of anything of this nature, 54:44 Elder Schneider, I believe, that was probably in 1972, 54:49 some of you may remember that, 54:51 Mission '72... and it was a big splash... 54:54 and there were, we had quite a gain of people 54:58 but it was a one-year thing, 54:59 we don't really want to think about this 55:02 as a one-year thing... 55:04 we really want to think about this 55:06 as a start of doing new things, 55:09 a new way of doing things, in other words, 55:12 putting people first, putting our resources out there, 55:16 putting ourselves out there 55:17 that's one of the beautiful things 55:19 about what we've heard tonight, 55:21 people are... whether thoroughly trained 55:24 or whether thoroughly prepared or not, 55:27 they have the courage to trust God 55:30 in what God had put in their hearts and they did it, 55:33 and that's really the number one requirement, 55:36 so what we hope is to see in North America, 55:39 a working together, lay people, pastors, leaders, 55:45 you know that we're in the initiatives, 55:47 we're asking leaders, 55:49 we're talking about Presidents and Officers 55:54 and leaders of Conferences and Unions, 55:57 to also do meetings, we're asking Pastors 56:00 now catch this, 56:01 we're asking Pastors to do two meetings 56:05 now, many pastors do not even do one, 56:08 we're asking them to do two why? 56:10 Because we need to get off the mode 56:12 of Evangelism as an event, 56:15 and we need to start thinking 56:18 as a process, a cycle of evangelism 56:22 and that will force us to start thinking differently 56:25 about how we plan that and how we work in churches 56:28 and obviously 56:29 we're inviting every lay person to be involved. 56:32 If you can preach, 56:34 if you can lead people to Christ, 56:35 if you can give Bible Studies, by all means, please be engaged, 56:39 and here's a little hint, 56:41 I'd like to encourage our lay people, 56:43 to encourage your pastors in your churches 56:47 to say, "Pastor, I've heard about this year of evangelism, 56:50 what do you think about that, I've been hearing about this, 56:53 I've been reading about it in the Review and other places, 56:56 should we do some evangelism this year?" 56:59 if you get a few people like that the Pastor might say, 57:02 "Well, maybe God is trying to tell me something" 57:05 and that would be a wonderful opportunity 57:07 but obviously... volunteer and say, 57:10 "Pastor, if you decide to do a meeting, 57:12 I am going to be right there with you, 57:14 I am going to help you, I'm going to support you, 57:19 I want to be useful in order to reach out to others" 57:24 this is what would be good, 57:26 we need a lot of prayers for this, 57:28 we need to be bold for Jesus, 57:31 you know one of my favorite stories 57:33 is the story of Caleb, at the age of 85, 57:37 who said to Joshua, "You know, I'm 85, 57:41 but I'm just as strong now as I was 40 years ago," 57:45 and what he meant was not strong in physical strength, 57:49 what he meant was, he was really strong in faith 57:52 and that's really key, in other words, 57:54 "I do not believe that God is any less now than He was before, 57:58 so give me this mountain" 58:00 and what he said was, the mountain full of giants 58:07 let me take this over and the man at 85 58:10 led a group of people to eradicate the Canaanites 58:14 and do the work of God at that time. 58:18 My brothers and sisters, 58:19 I want to encourage every ASI member, 58:22 every person that can hear me 58:23 to dedicate your life to evangelism in 2009, 58:27 if we do this, if we do this at any level 58:31 in the way that God would want us to do this, 58:34 this will begin to turn the tide in North America, 58:38 for us to really put Jesus first 58:40 and put other people first, and put our resources first, 58:44 and once that begins to happen, I really believe 58:47 that the coming of Jesus 58:49 will not take that much longer. |
Revised 2016-01-28