Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY210022A
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00:01 As you're well aware,
00:02 we're living in unprecedented times. 00:05 Join us now for Today special program. 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Mending broken people 00:23 I want to spend my life 00:29 Removing pain 00:34 Lord, let my words 00:39 Heal a heart that hurts 00:44 I want to spend my life 00:50 Mending broken people 00:55 I want to spend my life 01:00 Mending broken people 01:15 Hello, friends, and welcome to 3ABN Today. 01:17 We are so blessed that you are joining us 01:19 and you know what? 01:21 You're watching the Three Angels Broadcasting Network. 01:24 And, of course, this particular program, 01:25 as you can see is entitled 3ABN Today. 01:28 We have usually different types 01:29 of Today programs that we do. 01:31 It might be a Today Bible topic 01:33 where we come together 01:34 and we talk about a particular biblical subject 01:37 and we go deep. 01:38 Sometimes it may be a Today music program 01:40 where we come together 01:41 and we just have music the whole hour. 01:43 And we also do interviews and stories and testimonies 01:47 and things like that on this Today program, 01:49 as we are going to do today, 01:51 because we have Sunnydale Adventist Academy 01:55 with us today, I'm very excited. 01:57 We have some students, we have the principal 01:59 and the chaplain with us today, 02:01 and we're excited to talk about the ventures 02:04 and all the possibilities and the future 02:06 and everything that's going on, 02:07 the missions that Sunnydale is doing there. 02:09 And so we're just excited that you are joining us. 02:12 So get your friends, family, everyone around. 02:14 If you're interested in what the Lord is doing 02:16 in our education systems. 02:18 Sunnydale is a great example of that. 02:20 And my name is Ryan Day, 02:22 and I'm going to introduce our guest right now. 02:25 I might as well get right into our story 02:27 because we're going to be switching out about halfway. 02:29 We're going to be switching you guys out 02:30 and bringing in the other half, 02:32 but Brother Gary Russell, all the way across the table, 02:35 brother, you are the principal of Sunnydale Adventist Academy, 02:39 and it's a blessing to have you. 02:40 Thank you. 02:41 Being at Sunnydale Academy 02:43 has been such a huge blessing in my life. 02:45 Sunnydale started in 1946 and then we'll fast forward. 02:49 It was born in a barn that's what it's known as. 02:52 The first chapels were held in the hayloft of a barn. 02:56 This was a hobby farm for an industrialist 02:58 who basically donated. 03:00 He sold the land and the farm, the dairy to the church 03:04 so that there could be a school for kids. 03:06 And he sold it at a fraction of the price of 03:08 what the value was. 03:09 That's amazing. 03:11 So fast forward to 2005, I came to Sunnydale. 03:13 That was a little bit of a low point. 03:14 Our enrollment was at 85, 03:16 through the Lord's blessing 03:18 and talks among the new administration 03:20 that was working together. 03:23 About 2007 03:24 our conference president came and he said, 03:26 Gary, what do you think 03:28 Elder Dean Cordon came, he said, 03:29 "What do you think if I were to take some kids to India 03:31 to do evangelism and preach?" 03:32 Oh, okay. 03:34 I said, "Go, take them and go." 03:35 So he left with kids before Thanksgiving, that year. 03:38 They went over, they spent three weeks 03:39 doing an evangelistic series. 03:41 They came back, they went to the Sundarbans Islands, 03:43 where there was almost zero Christian influence 03:45 at the time. 03:47 As of this day, 03:48 the last number I heard in that region of India, 03:50 there's now over 15,000 Seventh-Day Adventists. 03:53 And we now have a school 03:56 elementary through high school age 03:58 program over there 03:59 that has been developed by the people over there 04:01 because of the influence of Christian education. 04:04 Wow. Praise the Lord. 04:06 That's amazing. 04:07 So I'm gonna come back to you in just a moment. 04:09 We're gonna talk a little bit more about the missions 04:11 and all that Sunnydale is involved in, 04:13 but I also want to introduce our other two guests here. 04:16 We have Mr. Brian Flores right here. 04:18 You're a 12th grade student, right? 04:20 Yes. All right. 04:21 Both of you are seniors, I guess. 04:23 I guess all of our students on here today are seniors. 04:24 You brought a good representation today. 04:25 Praise the Lord. 04:27 And then also we have Miss Hayley Erickson. 04:28 How are you guys doing? We're doing amazing. 04:30 I'm so glad to be here 04:32 since it's our first time on 3ABN. 04:33 I know, first time. 04:34 I've always seen it growing up as a child. 04:36 And so it's pretty cool to be here. 04:37 Amen. Praise the Lord. 04:39 That's really good to hear 04:41 because a lot of times I ask kids, 04:42 you know, have you heard of 3ABN? 04:43 And some of them haven't, I guess 04:45 just because they're so young and haven't heard of it, 04:46 but it's a blessing to know that you guys have. 04:48 And we're gonna be talking to you guys also 04:50 here in a little while about your missions 04:53 and all that you are involved in 04:55 with Sunnydale missions. 04:56 And so, yeah, it's a blessing to have you guys as well. 04:59 So Brother Gary, I'm gonna come back to you at this time. 05:02 Let's get a little deeper into talking about, 05:04 you know, Sunnydale in general, its missions and you know, 05:07 its programs and all that you have 05:09 to offer there at Sunnydale and what you're involved in. 05:11 Well, as I mentioned, 05:13 we started 2005 with 86 students 05:15 at the academy 05:17 and it was a low point. 05:18 But through the blessing, 05:19 through the opening of the doors, 05:21 Katrina hit shortly after that. 05:23 Oh, that's right. 05:24 And we looked at ourselves and said, 05:26 "What can we do? How can we get the kids down there to help?" 05:30 So over the next three years, we took a total of five trips. 05:33 We identified where we could go help rebuild. 05:35 We found Waveland, 05:36 which was an area that was out of the way. 05:39 Wasn't getting a lot of help. 05:41 We rebuild homes, we cleared property 05:43 and just the blessing of the kids going down, 05:46 our laypeople from our conference 05:48 would volunteer to go with the kids. 05:50 It was just a true blessing 05:52 and we felt that blessing inside 05:55 and we felt the calling that, 05:57 "Hey, we need to keep our kids going and active." 05:59 Absolutely. 06:00 So the development of the India trips all started 06:02 shortly after the India trips. 06:04 We started going to the continent of Africa 06:07 and to different countries and building schools. 06:11 Some may have heard of the one-day school buildings. 06:13 That's right. Yeah. 06:15 Over seven years, we put up seven schools 06:17 over in countries of Uganda and Zambia 06:20 and Tanzania and Zimbabwe. 06:22 Wow. 06:23 A little later Brian's going to talk about Tanzania 06:25 and our more recent trip, 06:27 which was more focused on, on evangelism, 06:30 but I'd like to give 06:31 a just a little bit of a prehistory to that. 06:34 Yeah. 06:35 In 2019, when we went to Tanzania, 06:37 we were focused on helping the mission station, 06:40 Kibidula, 06:42 and we were gonna do a little work for them 06:44 and also do some evangelism 06:46 with their primary school students. 06:48 And we were asked before we came, 06:50 would you go to another school and teach Bible for two days? 06:54 And I'm reading my email, like, 06:55 what does that mean to teach Bible for two days 06:57 at a school that I know nothing about. 06:59 And they said, 07:01 "Just present the same programming 07:02 that you're doing for the primary school there." 07:05 So as we got there, we found out that 07:07 this was the school run by a Swedish couple 07:09 called Liberty School. 07:11 Okay. 07:12 They were there just for education, 07:14 but recently they had become connected with Kirby doula. 07:17 And the wife had actually started attending church 07:20 with the Kibidula Church. 07:22 So we took our kids 07:23 and we went over there for two days. 07:25 On the second day, 07:26 our kids were presenting 07:28 VBS type programming with all of their kids. 07:30 Wow. 07:32 The headmaster was there 07:33 and he came to our leaders and said, 07:35 "Next year, will you guys please come back 07:37 and do a full week with us?" 07:39 Wow. 07:41 And we thought, "Man, what are we gonna do?" 07:43 So we came home, we prayed about it. 07:44 We actually had another school building 07:46 that was ready to go. 07:47 So we didn't plan to go back to Tanzania. 07:49 And in November, our trips are in February. 07:52 So by November, we're buying airline tickets, 07:55 our school project, 07:56 all of a sudden we got noticed wasn't going to happen. 07:58 Hmm, okay. 08:00 So I felt very impressed by the Lord, 08:02 get in contact with Kibidula. 08:04 Right. 08:05 See if it's okay to bring kids back again. 08:06 And they welcomed us with open arms. 08:09 They contacted the Liberty School people 08:11 and they said, yes, please come. 08:12 And please be there for all week. 08:14 So we went back in 2020. 08:15 Brian was part of that trip. 08:17 He'll talk about that a little bit. 08:18 All right. 08:20 The experience of being with the kids 08:21 and presenting at the two different schools, 08:22 one on the mission station and one off site. 08:25 That's amazing. 08:26 So that, you know, hearing you talk about this, 08:29 'cause then you talked about a lot 08:30 just in those few minutes, 08:32 you're following the commission that Christ has given us. 08:34 And that is to take the gospel to the world. 08:35 And sometimes that means literally 08:37 taking the gospel to a whole another world. 08:40 In this case, you know, third world countries in which, 08:43 you know, people haven't probably 08:44 even heard the name of Christ, 08:46 but you guys are over there building schools 08:47 and sharing the good news of gospel of Jesus Christ 08:50 with, you know, young folks 08:52 and who knows all kinds of ages. 08:54 I suppose. 08:56 It's very amazing to us to go over there and visit 08:58 and be at the primary school and to hear their stories. 09:00 Sure. 09:02 I mean, the teachers will talk to us and say 09:04 that child walks to school an hour and a half each way, 09:07 and we're talking a second or third grader 09:10 and they say in the rainy season, 09:11 it's hard for us to get the kids here 09:12 because they won't come if it's raining. 09:14 Sure. 09:15 And these are, 09:16 I mean, these kids are coming from a wide area 09:18 and you know, they're not Adventist kids. 09:20 Amen. 09:22 And so just being able to go 09:23 and sing the songs of Jesus with them 09:25 to present the Bible stories, 09:27 we just, we walk ways. 09:29 I believe more blessed 09:31 than what we can leave with the kids. 09:32 Amen. 09:33 This is a perfect example of what true education is 09:35 because, you know, a lot of people, 09:37 when they think of education, 09:39 they think of those primary subjects, 09:40 math, science, history, 09:41 you know, English, writing, literature, 09:43 all those other things. 09:44 But you know, we're counseled and we're told that 09:46 this is the blessing of having a Christian 09:48 in this case Adventist school system. 09:50 Because while all of that 09:52 other those other primary subjects are taught. 09:54 You guys spend a bulk of your time 09:55 or majority of your time 09:56 sharing the gospel, learning of Christ 09:58 and sharing Christ with others. 10:00 And this is exciting to hear because, 10:02 you know, especially 10:03 when you see these young people here, 10:05 you know, we live in a world today 10:06 with so many different distractions. 10:07 And so, you know, it just seems like it's very difficult 10:09 to get young people involved, 10:10 but to see you guys here 10:12 and to hear that you're involved, 10:14 that excites me. 10:16 And so, if you're okay, 10:18 I'm gonna transition to Hailey at this time. 10:19 Hailey, share with us 10:21 because we know you're deeply involved in the missions 10:24 that Brother Gary was speaking of. 10:25 So, tell us your story? 10:27 So this year I... 10:28 Oh, not this year, I apologize. 10:30 Last year I decided to go to La Vida, New Mexico, 10:33 which is just like the small school, 10:36 literally in the middle of nowhere. 10:37 It's just a desert. 10:39 My plan originally was for senior year 10:42 to go overseas to Africa, 10:44 but due to COVID, we weren't allowed, 10:46 so back to La Vida. 10:49 Whenever I went our chaplain last year, 10:51 Pastor Rick asked me to head 10:54 the week of prayer for their school 10:56 'cause we were there for a week. 10:57 Right. 10:58 And so, the first night we had a group of students 11:02 had songs already to sing. 11:04 One of them, I remember specifically, 11:06 we are soldiers and we got up there. 11:07 We were so excited. 11:08 We sing these songs, 11:10 but we couldn't connect to the kids. 11:11 It was a struggle because they just... 11:12 They were sitting there 11:14 and they were such sweet children. 11:15 We love them, but they just... They weren't singing. 11:17 And I could feel that 11:18 the connection just was not there. 11:20 And so, I remember going back to the rooms 11:22 that they had provided for us that night. 11:24 And I was just, I was pretty distraught. 11:26 I'm not gonna lie. 11:27 It was really hard 11:29 because I wanted to connect with these kids. 11:30 And so I remember I sat there and I prayed. 11:33 It was like, God, how can we connect 11:35 with these children? 11:37 And so, I remember specifically that I left, 11:41 I went outside of the room 11:42 and I talked to one of the staff 11:44 that had gone with us to La Vida. 11:46 And she had told me, she's like, you know what? 11:48 Why not just go over to the dorm rooms 11:51 and just talk with them, 11:52 ask them, you know, 11:53 what kind of songs do you wanna sing like, 11:56 what interests you? 11:57 And so, me and a friend decided to go over 11:59 and we went to their dorm rooms 12:01 and it was really like interesting. 12:02 I love talking to them 'cause they were so sweet. 12:05 And basically they just explained, 12:07 you know, we don't sing those types of songs. 12:09 We have different songs that we'd like to sing. 12:11 And so we learned the songs that they loved 12:13 and we sang them and they interacted. 12:16 It was just a great connection. 12:18 And so, I find that really, really awesome. 12:21 The fact that you can't just... 12:24 Not, you cannot connect with someone, 12:26 but then pray about it and then God will help you. 12:29 And I actually have a picture, 12:31 there are two pictures that I'd like to share. 12:33 Yeah. Let's pull those up and show them. 12:34 You could tell us about them. 12:35 So the first picture is just the children. 12:37 They were so sweet. 12:40 We got to go 12:41 to a bunch of different hiking areas with them, 12:43 got to interact with them. 12:45 And then the next picture. 12:47 So, you know, on every mission trip, 12:49 you can connect with the kid. 12:51 That's kind of how it goes. 12:52 And Kate here was the kid that I connected with the most. 12:56 During our praise team, 12:58 I would be strumming my ukulele. 13:00 And I found out afterwards that she played ukulele. 13:03 Okay. 13:04 And so, together we would sit down 13:07 and just play our ukuleles in our free time because... 13:10 Amazing. 13:11 Yeah, and it was just amazing to interact with them. 13:13 And then a couple of other things that we did 13:14 besides just the week of prayer was fixing a sewage line, 13:19 which was very interesting. 13:20 Okay. 13:21 We plumbed, we got plumbers in the group, too. 13:23 All right. Exactly. 13:24 There was four of us girls, actually, 13:26 the guys were working somewhere else. 13:28 And so four of us girls and the staff 13:30 that fixed the sewage line, and I'm gonna say this, 13:33 I stepped in something 13:35 that I wish I would have not have stepped in, 13:37 but you know, it's an experience 13:38 and it's something... 13:39 It's a humbling experience. 13:41 It is, it is. 13:42 But I really, really enjoyed it. 13:43 It was amazing. That's amazing. 13:45 Praise the Lord that, you know, 13:46 hearing what you just told about the story, 13:48 you know, the kids, it was hard to connect with them at first, 13:50 but then after you went over 13:51 and visited them and talk with them, 13:53 that is a direct example of an expression 13:55 of what we find 13:56 in what's called Christ method alone, 13:58 which Mrs. White says the only method of true success 14:02 in reaching the heart and souls of men 14:04 that Christ first mingled with them, right? 14:07 You know, sympathizing with their needs, 14:08 meeting their needs. 14:10 And so that's exactly what you were doing, 14:11 playing ukulele. 14:12 That's awesome. 14:14 We have to have those personal connections 14:15 if we're gonna reach the heart of man. 14:17 So thank you, Hailey. 14:18 That's a blessing 14:19 and I will never forget your plumbing story too. 14:21 That's an interesting story as well. 14:23 I will never either. All right. 14:26 So, Bryan, my man, 14:28 so you were very much involved in the missions 14:31 as Brother Gary was bringing out. 14:33 So tell us your story as well? 14:34 So I had the privilege to go Tanzania last year to Africa 14:37 and quite experienced. 14:39 I'm just flying and a lot of delays, 14:41 but once getting there just the cultural change. 14:44 Oh, okay. 14:46 Kind of left the US once, 14:48 but like that was the first time 14:49 I can remember in detail 14:50 and it was different from the US and... 14:52 All right. 14:53 Once we got to the mission site in Kibidula. 14:57 We didn't have a plumbing system. 14:59 We were... 15:00 So that was a nice unique experience. 15:03 No showers, but that was fun. 15:04 You know you learn how to be grateful. 15:07 Something that we take granted for here in the US 15:08 and once we went to the Kibidula School, 15:11 I was like, I saw the kids and I was kind of worried that 15:14 what we were gonna teach them 15:15 or tell them that they were gonna remember, 15:18 or once we've gone, 15:19 they might forget after a couple of weeks. 15:21 Right. 15:22 But then we have one of our adults Miss Evelyn 15:23 came up 'cause she's been there years before, 15:25 she started singing a song or start with a word, 15:29 and then they would finish the rest of the song 15:31 or memory verse over the years they've been there. 15:33 And I was really impressed 15:35 'cause I was like, okay, maybe what I teach won't... 15:38 You know, I'll stick around. 15:39 So that was really exciting. 15:41 Amen. 15:43 I think there's a picture of the group we went with. 15:44 Yeah. Let's pull the picture up. 15:46 So this is you in Tanzania? 15:48 Yes. Okay. 15:49 All right. 15:51 So yeah, the girls got stay in that, on building. 15:53 The guys got to stay in the dorm 15:54 where the other students would stay with. 15:57 So we got to sleep with them. 15:59 It was really fun, but teaching them all this, 16:04 later that week, 16:05 we taught them how to put a band aid on 16:07 because they don't have that like, 16:08 they don't have that. 16:10 Wow. 16:11 So they will come over like, did we put this on right? 16:14 Or one of them got scraped playing soccer 16:16 and we're like, oh, you put it on here. 16:18 You know, clean it. So it wouldn't get infected. 16:20 And that was really fun. They remember everything. 16:22 And then later after we did the Kibidula program, 16:26 we will go to the Liberty School 16:28 and they hadn't heard much about Christ 16:31 and neither had the teacher. 16:32 So we teach the kids the program, 16:35 tell them about God. 16:36 And then they'll do, we have a little project afterwards. 16:38 Sure. 16:39 And in the Kibidula School, the teachers weren't involved, 16:42 they were just making sure that kids will behave, 16:44 but in the Liberty School, 16:45 it was cool to see the teachers 16:46 also wanting to do the project with the kids 16:48 and we're helping them. 16:49 And they're asking questions and this really... 16:52 It's really cool and unique that they're grateful 16:54 for the little things they have that. 16:57 Over here in the US we'll get really upset 16:59 if our shoes got dirty, but they don't have shoes. 17:01 Their shoes like would just wear out the soles. 17:04 They don't even have sole under their shoes. 17:05 There's just barefoot and just the shoe around them. 17:08 That's amazing. So it's pretty cool. 17:10 And they were I think were special. 17:12 This always stick with me was balloons, 17:14 they will inflate them, 17:16 but then they will like untie them 17:17 so they can keep the balloons. 17:18 So it can be in their memory or it wouldn't pop. 17:22 So that was really cool to see that. 17:23 That is awesome. 17:24 So you know talking about 17:26 obviously a giant cultural change, 17:29 a cultural shock that someone might say 17:30 from going to America over to Tanzania. 17:33 You know, there, obviously here in America, 17:35 it's, we hear it often, 17:37 the notorious that Americans are very complacent. 17:39 It's hard to reach Americans with the gospel 17:41 because of our culture and the distractions, 17:44 and all that did... 17:45 When you went over there, 17:47 did you experience any challenges 17:48 as far as people receiving, 17:50 or did you find that it was easier 17:52 to minister to someone in Tanzania 17:54 as it would be here in the United States? 17:56 I personally felt like 17:58 it was easier to minister to the kids 17:59 'cause they were willing to learn. 18:01 They look forward to this date 18:03 that we were gonna come and teach them. 18:04 They were... 18:06 We all get to the school 18:08 and there'll be there to sing the national song. 18:10 And then after that, 18:11 they'll run to the rooms 18:13 like they were hiding from something, 18:14 but then our nowhere desk chairs, 18:16 like they were getting all the things they can sit on 18:18 took us to where we were gonna have our VBS 18:21 and they were just ready to learn. 18:23 It was pretty cool 'cause at least here in the US, 18:25 like not every kid is willing to like sit and listen 18:28 and the kids there, they were quiet. 18:31 They were willing to listen. They were involved. 18:33 They were singing. It was pretty cool. 18:34 That's amazing. 18:36 How joyful they were. 18:37 True joy. 18:39 Brother Gary, you gotta be proud of these kids. 18:40 I am. 18:41 I think Bryan had a picture, 18:43 maybe a story about playing soccer with them. 18:44 Yeah. Show us that one. 18:45 So we have a picture of Bryan and some kids playing soccer. 18:48 Let's see if we can pull that up. 18:50 So I remember this is at the Liberty School 18:53 and are Swedish. 18:55 It was really cool. 18:57 They love soccer, really competitive. 19:00 And so I usually don't see... 19:04 I wouldn't say they got in a fight, 19:05 but like when they tap each other 19:06 just more aggressive than 19:08 what it would be here in the US. 19:09 So I was worried, 19:11 I thought I'd have to break up something, 19:12 but they were just, that's how they are. 19:13 It's just the way they do things, huh? 19:15 Yeah. So that was pretty cool. 19:16 Just that culture change, like I said, it was different. 19:18 So you have to adapt quick. 19:20 That's cool. 19:21 So again, just seeing that picture there, 19:25 you with the kids and playing soccer, 19:26 this is an opportunity for you 19:28 to connect with them on a personal level. 19:29 We can't expect to win people's confidence and to, 19:32 you know, again, 19:33 as it says to bid them, to follow Jesus, 19:35 if we don't first have that personal connection. 19:37 So I could imagine that in your mission experiences 19:40 while you, I'm sure you're sharing 19:42 a lot of Christ in His Word, 19:43 I'm sure there's probably a lot of time 19:45 that you spend connecting on a personal level 19:47 with these people, 19:49 getting to know them, doing things with them, 19:50 whether it's recreational activities 19:52 as we just saw there. 19:53 So, yeah, that's awesome. 19:55 Praise the Lord. 19:56 Well, Brother Gary, we have just a few seconds 19:59 before we have to switch out here, 20:01 but I just wanna say thank you guys 20:02 for coming on and for being with us. 20:05 And it's a blessing to have you guys here with us 20:07 and to see what's happening at Sunnydale Adventist Academy, 20:11 as you guys are watching us, if you're just now tuning in, 20:13 we have Sunnydale Adventist Academy 20:15 in the house with us. 20:17 We're here with Brother Gary Russell, 20:18 principal of Sunnydale Academy. 20:20 And as you have just seen, 20:22 as we have been discussing the last few minutes, 20:24 these guys are deeply involved. 20:26 Not, obviously not just in schoolwork 20:28 while that's important into the mission 20:31 and into the gospel of Jesus Christ 20:33 and sharing the gospel with the world. 20:35 And so that's what 20:37 true Adventist education is all about. 20:39 And I'm proud to have you guys here. 20:40 So what we're gonna do now, 20:42 we're going to actually take the time now 20:43 and go to a song. 20:44 I got my brother in Christ, Brother Tim, Parton. 20:47 He's going to be playing a special number for 20:48 "There's Power in the Blood." 20:50 And when we come back, 20:51 we're gonna switch out. 20:53 We're going to have a new group in here. 20:54 So we'll see you in just a moment. 20:55 Here's Brother Tim Parton. 24:04 Amen, thank you my brother, Tim. Parton. 24:06 He's always a blessing, he's an incredible pianist 24:09 and I appreciate your, your music, brother. 24:11 It was such a blessing. 24:12 We have switched out some people. 24:13 We now have some new faces here with us as we... 24:16 If you're just now tuning in, 24:18 we have Sunnydale Adventist Academy with us 24:20 and sitting across from me at the other end 24:23 is the chaplain for Sunnydale Adventist Academy, 24:26 Victoria Tobing. 24:27 How are you? I'm good. How are you doing? 24:29 It's a blessing to have you guys. 24:30 And we also have a couple of new students in here. 24:32 We've Ashlyn Bonnei, and you're... 24:35 What grade are you in? I'm a senior. 24:36 You're a senior. Okay. 24:37 I think all of you are all seniors. 24:39 Yeah, we're all seniors. I just wanted to confirm that. 24:40 And we also have Hannah Ikpeama. 24:42 Did I say that right? Yes. 24:43 All right. 24:45 So Hannah, Ashlyn and Victoria, 24:47 it's such a blessing to have you guys here as well. 24:49 And we're continuing our conversation 24:51 about the wonderful missions and involvement 24:53 that Sunnydale Adventist Academy is, 24:56 you know, as far as the mission 24:57 that Christ has placed upon you guys, 24:59 it's not just about the academics. 25:01 It's about continuing 25:02 to do all that we can to meet 25:05 that great commission that Christ has given us 25:06 in sharing the gospel. 25:08 And so on campus, 25:09 you guys have a campus ministries 25:11 that's very much involved 25:13 and I think that's what you're gonna 25:14 be talking to us about, Victoria? 25:15 Yeah, actually this year, we're trying a few new things. 25:17 And one of the new things that we're doing is 25:18 we have instead of one shop 25:20 and we've got a team of three chaplains. 25:22 So there's myself and two other chaplains 25:24 who are working together. 25:25 And that has the benefits of sharing the load 25:27 and exchanging ideas 25:29 and kind of having different perspectives. 25:31 But I think the biggest benefit to what we're trying new 25:34 is actually bringing the students in 25:36 and allowing this department be very student led. 25:40 And one of the things we've modeled it after was 25:42 the Union College campus ministries program 25:44 where Pastor Richard is the chaplain there. 25:47 And when I was a student there, 25:49 we had our programs completely run by students. 25:52 Vespers was planned by students. 25:54 Church was planned by students. 25:56 Different worship opportunities throughout the week. 25:58 The ministries were all planned and led by students, 26:00 and his role as a chaplain 26:01 was just to equip us and to empower us. 26:05 And so we kind of followed that model. 26:07 And what I noticed is 26:08 that student working underneath that model 26:10 is that after graduation, 26:12 we felt more bold in ministry 26:14 because we'd already been doing it. 26:16 It wasn't something new to us. 26:17 And so our goal with these kids, 26:18 it's the same thing 26:20 where after they leave Sunnydale, 26:22 they can still be bold in ministry 26:23 because they've already been doing it. 26:25 It's something they've already been a part of. 26:28 The other thing that we want to model it after 26:30 is something that Jesus did. 26:32 In John, we see that he wasn't doing the baptizing. 26:36 It wasn't him doing everything in ministry. 26:38 He partnered with His disciples. 26:40 He partnered with people in the town. 26:41 He sent out 70 at one point, 26:44 so that they could be part of that process with them. 26:46 And so we want our kids to, to see that 26:48 and to follow His example in that 26:50 where it's not just the chaplain 26:51 or just the principal, 26:53 it's something where we're asking you guys, 26:56 the students to partner with us and equipping them 26:58 and encouraging them to be a part of that too. 27:02 When we were looking a little bit early, 27:04 actually a few weeks, I think ago at staff meeting, 27:06 we were reading the book Education 27:08 and our principal brought up a quote 27:10 about how to treat students 27:11 and how to be in a relationship with them 27:13 that encourages trust. 27:15 And she talks in her own way. 27:16 In her book Education, she talks about how, 27:18 when a student is trusted, 27:20 they will be more likely to earn that trust 27:24 or to do things to deserve that trust in return. 27:27 And so it can be scary 27:28 to let a group of teenagers 27:31 plan everything for a weekend. 27:32 That would be daunting, 27:34 that would make someone nervous. 27:36 The adults might stay up all night worrying about it. 27:38 Right. 27:39 But if she's taught us that we can try that, 27:41 when we show them trust 27:43 that they will rise to that occasion, 27:46 and that's something that we wanted to try. 27:47 Jesus also did the same thing. 27:48 She talks about, I think in Desire of Ages, how, 27:51 when He was spending time with people, 27:53 His trust in them awakened their trust in Him. 27:56 And so, when we can have 27:57 that kind of relationship with the students 27:59 where I trust you guys to do the things 28:01 and to plan the programs 28:02 and to minister to your fellow students, 28:04 then we can be confident that they'll rise to the occasion. 28:07 So we've got a team of six student leaders, 28:10 we've got two sort of student chaplains 28:12 who are overseeing their fellow student leaders 28:16 and then several students under them. 28:17 And then we also have someone 28:19 who is particularly in charge 28:21 of getting all of our praise music together. 28:24 And so Ashlyn here, 28:25 she is actually one of our student chaplains to say, 28:28 she's one of our leaders of that student team. 28:31 And then Hannah here 28:32 is in charge of all of the music 28:33 in our worship experience, 28:35 where she manages people who are pulled in. 28:39 They also are very intentional about finding students 28:43 who haven't been involved yet. 28:44 Sure. 28:46 And finding someone who maybe didn't have the opportunity 28:47 to be a part of worship and saying, 28:49 "Hey, you wanna help me with this? 28:51 Or what would you like to see in worship? 28:52 Or how would you like to spend time worshiping God?" 28:54 And so that's their job 28:56 was to pull together the campus 28:58 and equip other students then 29:00 to also get involved in that way. 29:02 Yeah. That's awesome. 29:03 So you guys are leaders and so, 29:06 Hailey, talk to me about, 29:08 not Hailey, I'm sorry, Ashlyn. 29:09 I'm looking at my card here 29:11 and I have like five or six names here. 29:12 I wanna make sure I get your name right. 29:14 Ashlyn and Hannah. 29:15 So Ashlyn, tell us about 29:16 like what you do on as far as involvement 29:18 in the campus ministries as a leader? 29:19 Yeah. 29:21 So I'm a leader and my friend Mila is a leader. 29:24 And so we kind of have teams. 29:26 I have, it's me and Ethan, 29:29 and then she has other two students. 29:32 And so we kind of get together at the beginning of the week 29:35 and we kind of go by our run sheet that we have, 29:38 and we go like, okay, who's gonna do vespers, 29:41 special musics. 29:43 Like who's going to be charged of the sermons or scriptures. 29:46 And so we kind of just go down the list 29:47 and we go out and ask people 29:50 and hopefully hoping they say, yes. 29:53 All right. 29:55 It's kind of challenging having, 29:57 it's in the later of the year. 29:58 So a lot of people have already done it. 30:00 And so it's kinda discouraging when people say no, 30:04 but when we get that, yes, like have a new face, 30:06 it feels really rewarding. 30:08 That's awesome. 30:09 So like, okay, you get, 30:10 let's say you get that no from them. 30:12 And you're hoping that they participate, 30:15 is there a way that you encourage them? 30:17 Is there certain methods you use to encourage them 30:19 or do you just kind of just go to another person 30:22 and maybe come back to them later? 30:23 I try to encourage them. 30:24 I'm like, are you sure you don't want to. 30:27 You haven't gotten up there yet. 30:29 It'll be really fun, super quick. 30:31 Like when I ask people to do scripture, 30:33 I'm like, it'll be two lines, you can do it. 30:36 But then if they still say, no, 30:37 I just go on to the next person. 30:39 Okay. 30:40 So I'm guessing in the beginning, 30:41 when you guys started this, she... 30:43 I'm guessing Victoria came to you or how, 30:44 however it happened and you were kind of drafted 30:47 to be one of the leaders. 30:48 Had you done this, something like this before, 30:50 or was this something new that you've done? 30:52 This is something new. Okay. 30:54 So were you nervous in the beginning 30:56 to know that you were gonna be leading out 30:58 and, you know, basically being a leader 31:00 in front of your student body? 31:02 I was nervous a little bit, but after my trip to India, 31:07 I kind of felt more ready to do spiritual things. 31:12 Okay. All right. Okay. 31:14 And Hannah, 31:15 you're the praise and worship leader, right? 31:17 All right. So talk a little bit about that? 31:20 So it's a new program to this year 31:23 having a student lead praise team and team. 31:26 So it's been... 31:28 We've been crafting and like figuring out 31:30 what's going to work best. 31:31 But basically what I do is set up teams to do each week. 31:36 We got it. 31:38 So that it's kind of in a rotation now, 31:39 so that people don't have to go on all the time. 31:41 But at first it was just, 31:43 "Hey, do you wanna do praise team?" 31:45 Okay, great. 31:46 And it was like that, we have a few instruments. 31:48 We tried to reach out to get a lot of instruments 31:51 at the beginning of the year 31:52 and try and incorporate some new stuff. 31:54 But one of the major things 31:57 that made me wanna do this year was last year. 32:00 'Cause music speaks to me personally. 32:02 So I... 32:03 It's one of my favorite parts of a worship service. 32:05 And last year, sometimes I felt like 32:07 it was kind of lacking or whatever, 32:09 or it's not directed towards the youth. 32:11 So this year I wanted to focus on like, 32:13 okay, let's try and get things 32:15 that can include our people age group, so. 32:20 So how many people do you normally have 32:22 involved in a worship service when you bring up to appear? 32:26 We get, it's anywhere from four to like six 32:29 and then plus instruments. 32:31 Have you had any challenges 32:32 as far as getting people involved 32:35 or you know, I'm sure getting people together like that. 32:38 I mean, music, there's an added, 32:40 a little bit of an added challenge 32:41 because now, you know, not only do you have 32:43 all these people who are capable 32:44 of playing these instruments, 32:46 but now you have to bring them all together 32:47 and make them sound good, right. 32:48 And to do it in a collective kind of operative way. 32:52 So how do you... 32:53 Was there any challenges for you in that? 32:55 Yeah, starting out, we realized 32:56 we had some of the, like, they're all talented, 32:58 but like we had to specifically organize a group 33:01 so that they blended together and like made... 33:04 Sure. 33:05 Practices. You have lots of practices? 33:07 Practices, this has been hard to find schedules 33:09 'cause my schedule is full. 33:10 A lot of students who are on placing their schedules 33:12 are full and it's hard to find a matching time, 33:15 but we have set practices 33:16 and hour before every event too. 33:18 And then we try and find at least two in a week. 33:20 So let's talk about this 'cause I... 33:21 This is intriguing to me 33:23 because I'm guessing 33:25 before there was a student led praise team, 33:27 I'm guessing was that the adults that led out. 33:29 Have you guys noticed maybe a difference in 33:32 how the student body responds 33:35 to maybe a student led 33:36 versus maybe not a non-student led 33:39 praise team or worship service? 33:41 I can imagine 33:42 there's a little bit of a different response there. 33:44 Have you guys experienced that at all? 33:46 Is it... 33:47 Does it seem like maybe the students 33:48 are a little more open 33:50 to maybe participating in the worship service 33:52 because their peers are leading out versus 33:54 maybe the adults, 33:56 I guess, that's gotta be an added benefit. 33:58 This is my first year at Sunnydale. 33:59 And so I don't have anything to compare it to, 34:01 but I can say that oftentimes in my classroom, 34:05 after weekend is over, on Monday mornings, 34:08 we'll kind of debrief, 34:09 like how did worship go for you this weekend? 34:12 What did it look like to you? 34:13 What did you see that helped you connect with God? 34:16 And I've noticed how, 34:18 from the beginning of the year 34:19 to now near the end of the year, 34:21 when we have those with the student body at whole, 34:23 not just my leaders, 34:24 the students are more willing 34:26 to bring their ideas to the table. 34:29 And so I think one benefit is that 34:31 it's really showing other students 34:33 who may not be leaders this year, 34:34 that this is something you can be a part of. 34:36 Sure. 34:37 Maybe this year may be over, but next year, 34:39 your ideas can become part of our worship experience. 34:42 Sure. 34:43 So not to put you on the spot here, 34:44 but I just wanna just talk to you as a chaplain. 34:47 What have you learned to be the positive benefits 34:51 of getting the students involved? 34:53 Because, you know, as you said earlier, 34:55 you kind of hinted it. 34:57 You know, some adults may be a little nervous, 34:59 like, oh, I'm putting all this control 35:01 into the hands of these, 35:02 you know, unequipped, 35:04 you know, unpracticed unlearned students, 35:06 you know, some, from some people's perspective, 35:08 but what have you experienced in doing this? 35:12 What are some of the benefits 35:14 and teaching, leading, guiding these students 35:17 to lead out and become the leaders themselves? 35:19 What I keep in mind often is that 35:21 we don't keep our kids forever. 35:23 We have them for a max four years 35:25 and some kids we only have for a few months 35:27 before they move on to their next phase in life. 35:29 And so it's interesting, 35:31 perhaps not with these students, 35:32 I haven't had them yet, 35:34 but with former students at different schools, 35:35 it's interesting to see that 35:36 they're gonna end up in public universities. 35:39 They're gonna end up in Adventist universities. 35:41 They're going to end up in small churches 35:42 or huge churches. 35:44 And to be able to see how, 35:46 when they can relate to what it's like 35:48 to create a worship experience 35:49 and to invite others into worship, 35:52 then when they move on to their next phase in life, 35:54 not only can they empathize with the worship leaders there, 35:59 but they can then volunteer their skills, 36:01 that they can see that worship isn't something 36:03 that I'm passively part of. 36:05 This is something that I can be an active participant in. 36:09 Sure. That's awesome. 36:11 And I can imagine not to talk on a negative note or anything, 36:13 but we are living in different times 36:15 and it seems like the youth of today 36:17 just have so many more, 36:19 I mean, so many more challenges and distractions in the world 36:21 that we're living in today versus a couple of decades ago 36:24 for the youth growing up then. 36:26 You know, now that we're getting kids more involved, 36:29 you know, there's gotta be 36:30 some challenging aspects of that, right? 36:32 Where it kind of, 36:33 maybe it's difficult to encourage them. 36:35 Maybe it's difficult 36:36 to get them to agree to participate 36:38 because they themselves are still trying to learn 36:40 who Christ is, try to find their identity in Christ. 36:43 And I think that's a... 36:45 Whether it's a student, 36:47 who's part of the worship planning 36:48 or just students in general. 36:49 I think that when we have watched them 36:52 and given them the space to try things, 36:54 they're gonna make mistakes. 36:55 We as adults are gonna make mistakes. 36:57 Sure, yeah. 36:58 But then that's another opportunity 36:59 to show them that part of Jesus, 37:01 where in life, we're gonna make mistakes. 37:02 As hard as we try to plan things, 37:04 there's always gonna be something that could go wrong, 37:06 but here's how Christ responds 37:07 when we make mistakes with Him. 37:09 He doesn't hold it against us 37:11 and make us feel terrible about it. 37:13 But here, let me walk alongside you 37:15 and let's try this again. 37:16 Let me show you a new way 37:18 to become the person that He's got in mind 37:20 and kind of demonstrating that grace that He gives us 37:23 in real life with them. 37:25 Amen. 37:26 So, Ashlyn, not to put you on the spot, 37:29 but I just wanna ask you in being involved in this, 37:32 in a leadership capacity, 37:34 you know, how have you grown closer to your peers 37:36 as well as to Christ along the way? 37:39 I've grown a lot. 37:40 I used to just stay in my room for new year. 37:44 And so while doing canvas ministries, 37:49 I got closer with one of my other best friends 37:51 and I've gotten closer with the chaplains 37:55 and also my classmates, 37:57 which has benefited me a lot. 37:58 Amen. 38:00 So I'm excited that it went well. 38:02 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. 38:03 What about you, Hannah? 38:04 Yeah, it's really... 38:06 I mean, it's been really good. 38:08 I... Just 'cause music is like... 38:09 Sure. 38:10 It's just been such a blessing for me 38:12 to just like go on stage 38:14 and be able to praise and worship. 38:16 Praise and worship and lead out your student peers 38:18 that worship the Lord, right? 38:19 That's awesome. 38:21 So I understand you guys are also involved in missions 38:22 there at the school as well. 38:24 So tell us about the missions you're involved with? 38:26 So we've both been here for three years 38:29 and our sophomore year we went to La Vida. 38:32 Okay. 38:34 And last year, junior year, we got to go to India. 38:38 Oh, okay. 38:39 So talk a little bit about that? 38:41 What was your experience while you were there? 38:42 Was it a culture shock for you? 38:44 It was. 38:45 I was very excited to go. 38:47 And when I got on the plane 38:49 and we were stopping in Abu Dhabi, 38:51 I'm like, it finally hit me like, 38:53 "Oh, I'm going to India." 38:55 And so I got really nervous 38:56 and it took me a long time to get used to India. 39:00 Okay. 39:01 A very long time like two weeks. 39:03 What were some of the things that were different about it 39:05 that was just kind of a... 39:06 It was hot. 39:07 It was hot? Yeah. 39:09 The bedding situation, which was... 39:11 It was fine. Sure. 39:13 Challenges. Yeah. 39:15 The shower, like the bathroom. 39:16 It was... 39:18 A humbling experience. Yes. 39:20 Hailey was telling us earlier about her plumbing experience, 39:23 but I can imagine 39:25 you guys had some humbling experiences as well 39:26 while you were over there. 39:28 Yeah, squat pots. 39:29 What was that? Squat pots. 39:30 Oh, squat pots. Okay. 39:32 Interesting. All right. 39:33 So what about you? 39:35 Did you also go to the two places you mentioned? 39:37 Okay. What was your experience while you were there? 39:38 I'm going there. 39:39 Well, before I went there, I was struggling because 39:42 I wanted to go, but then I was like, 39:44 maybe I don't need to go maybe. 39:46 And I was going to say, okay, I'll just go next year, 39:49 which would have been this year. 39:50 So in the end it all worked out really good, 39:52 but I had Mr. Needles runs the mission trips 39:55 and things like that. 39:57 So he really encouraged me 39:58 and my parents really encouraged me 40:00 that I needed to go. 40:01 And I'm really glad I did. All right. 40:03 I'm kind of a home body, 40:05 but like I never had been on a plane, 40:07 never anything. 40:08 So it was like zero to 100. Okay. 40:10 So, I mean, it was an adjustment, 40:13 but it was good. 40:14 Okay. All right. 40:16 So, you know, while you guys were there, 40:17 what did you do while you were there? 40:19 Do you wanna? 40:21 Okay, 40:22 so we preached there, the sermons, 40:28 they have written for us, 40:30 but we were supposed to like make them our own. 40:31 Sure. 40:32 So you did like an evangelistic series? 40:34 Okay. 40:35 And we had a translator, 40:37 so I guess it's kind of new, 40:39 they're working on getting student translators 40:41 at that school 40:43 and pairing them with us from America. 40:46 And so it's, it's really cool to have a student 40:48 like student interaction. 40:49 Before I think it was adults. 40:51 And so it was hard 40:53 because at first you're trying to like 40:56 understand there's a language barrier 40:57 and you're preaching. 40:59 So it's important that your congregation 41:01 or your campsites were gonna understand what you're saying. 41:04 So that was the struggle I had was 41:07 being able to like get the flow 41:09 'cause things don't translate exactly the way. 41:12 I wasn't comfortable with my translator at first 41:14 and neither was he with me. 41:15 Right. 41:17 And so he wouldn't tell me, this doesn't quite make sense. 41:18 He would just kind of wing it. I see, sure. 41:20 And then the leader there from India had to tell us, 41:24 your campsite isn't getting what you're saying. 41:27 And I was like, oh, that's bad. 41:29 That's what we're here for. 41:30 And so we worked on that and... 41:32 Praise the Lord. 41:33 He ended up being a really good translator. 41:36 He's really funny. Everybody loved him. 41:38 Amen. Amen. 41:39 What about you, Ashlyn? How was your experience? 41:42 I loved it. 41:43 As I said, it took me a while to get used to it. 41:46 Going to my site, 41:48 it was a long drive in a little... 41:50 What's it called? 41:52 A car or a vehicle? 41:54 Some type of cart. 41:55 Oh, cart. Oh, okay. Yeah. 41:56 I know what you're talking about. 41:58 And it was a long drive there 42:00 and I'm by myself the first night... 42:03 Okay. I'm by myself. 42:05 It was a little intimidating? 42:07 Yes 'cause we were like on like 42:09 the same like site, site. 42:11 Sure. But they split us up. 42:13 And so she went this way and I went this way 42:15 and I was like, okay, I'm kind of freaking out 42:18 'cause I'm by myself. 42:19 And this is a very long cart ride 42:23 and we get stuck. 42:25 Okay. 42:26 So I'm just sitting there and it's cold. 42:28 And we finally got it 42:30 and we were a couple of minutes late 42:31 to my site, 42:32 but they were so excited. 42:34 And so that made me really happy. 42:36 And by the end of the night, I was expecting like 15. 42:40 When I got there, there was about 13. 42:43 So I'm like maybe like two more people will show up. 42:45 But at the end of the night, I got over 75 people. 42:47 Wow. 42:49 And so that was probably my biggest night. 42:51 And so I'm just really blessed for that. 42:53 So was this the first time 42:54 you guys had ever preached at all 42:55 or preached a sermon like that? 42:57 So, wow. Okay. 42:58 So the first time you've ever preached 42:59 it general ever at India. 43:02 And so while you're preaching, what was the experience doing? 43:05 Were you nervous? 43:07 Or what did the Lord just kind of get you through that? 43:09 Yeah. Okay. 43:11 When I was on the way there in my cart 43:14 I was shaking. 43:16 I was hugging my backpack. I was so scared. 43:19 And I was just really like, oh my, what am I gonna do? 43:22 But I mean, this is like, 43:25 it was a miracle to me 43:26 because I had never been this scared 43:28 and I just was praying. 43:30 And like, all of a sudden when I was done, 43:33 it's like this wave of like, just some peace over. 43:37 And that reminds me of the verse 43:39 in Philippians 4:6-7. 43:40 That's right. 43:41 The peace that surpasses all understanding. 43:43 I can't explain or understand where that came from, 43:45 or I can't explain, but it was just like amazing. 43:47 Yeah. 43:49 Same experience with you, right? 43:50 And at the end of the first night, 43:52 when I saw Hannah, 43:53 when we were waiting, I'm like, oh, thank God. 43:56 There she is. She's still good. 43:59 So, by the end of the seminar, did you guys pick up on the, 44:02 you know, did you become more encouraged, 44:05 more inspired and you know, more open? 44:07 Yeah, they were very loving. 44:08 Nerves gone and you had that more of an encouragement. 44:10 By the end of the, like the third day, 44:12 I was like, I can't wait to go. 44:14 I'm so excited. 44:15 I wanna see my people. 44:17 How did the people, 44:18 you know, the residents of India there were, 44:20 how did they respond? 44:21 Did they respond positively? 44:23 Yeah. Yeah. I've never... 44:24 I didn't have a bad, 44:27 like any bad people. 44:29 That's amazing. 44:30 Mine was a little different because... 44:32 We have this Jesus video, we show part of it 44:35 after we're done preaching every night. 44:38 And my area wanted to only watch the video. 44:42 They didn't really wanna hear me preach. 44:44 And so I was like, 44:45 that's why I'm here, kind of like... 44:47 And we just had to, 44:48 but so I just ended up playing the video for them 44:51 'cause I just didn't want them to get angry or anything. 44:53 So I shortened my sermons, 44:55 make sure to get all the main parts 44:57 and then have time for them to watch extra video. 44:58 Sure. Okay. 44:59 And I was stressed because I was like, 45:01 they're not... 45:02 This video is not gonna last the whole time 45:04 they're gonna leave after the video. 45:05 Oh my. 45:07 But what happened was a group would come stay for, 45:10 it probably lasted about three meetings 45:12 since I showed so much video. 45:14 So that group would come, listen to those messages, 45:18 watch the video. 45:19 And then a new group would come. 45:20 Wow. 45:22 So even though I was thinking, 45:23 "Oh, they're not gonna stay." 45:24 I probably reached more people 45:26 having the video start over and over again 45:28 than I had just kept the same. 45:29 Absolutely. Praise, the Lord. 45:31 Did you sense that the people there in India were hungry, 45:34 that they were hungering... 45:35 Oh, yeah, definitely. 45:37 Maybe different than what we might see here in America? 45:39 That's amazing. Yeah. 45:40 So, Victoria, did you go on these trips with them? 45:42 No, this is my first year. Okay. 45:44 So I wasn't there last year with them. 45:45 All right. 45:47 You gotta be proud of these kids, right? 45:48 This is amazing. 45:49 I don't mean to call you kids, not like a little kid, 45:52 but still, I mean, you guys are growing into young adults. 45:54 It's the first time you've ever preached 45:56 an evangelistic series. 45:57 So Sunnydale talking about the campus ministries 46:00 and even off-campus ministries 46:02 is what we've been talking about. 46:04 This is amazing to see that 46:05 our young people are involved in the mission of our church, 46:08 a mission of taking the gospel to the world 46:11 and you gotta be proud of them. 46:12 Very proud of them. 46:13 And I think also just them, 46:16 I've seen that 46:17 when I can take time 46:19 to be more intentional with my ministry here 46:21 to reach out and help somebody, 46:22 that strengthens my own relationship 46:24 back with God. 46:25 On those days where my personal relationship with Him 46:27 may be in a slump 46:29 or it's not what we would describe 46:31 as on fire or anything, 46:33 reaching out and helping somebody 46:34 or getting involved in something 46:36 is almost like a kickstart 46:37 back into touching base with God 46:39 and relying on Him and using His strength. 46:40 And so I've seen that 46:42 whether or not they're aware of it, 46:43 I think I've seen them be able to grow 46:45 and how close they are with God, 46:47 because of how often 46:49 and how dedicated they've been to their ministry on campus. 46:53 And so not only are they reaching others, 46:55 but they're strengthening their own connection with Him 46:58 and relating back to Him. 47:00 Sure. 47:01 We have about four minutes or so 47:02 before we go to our closing break here, 47:06 but I just wanna talk maybe is, 47:08 are there other aspects of campus ministry 47:10 that perhaps we haven't talked about 47:11 that if a student coming or a parent coming 47:14 and they're seeking, 47:15 you know, they're considering sending their kids 47:17 to Sunnydale Adventist Academy and they wanna know how, 47:21 what does campus ministries 47:22 doing to minister directly to my child? 47:25 Yeah. 47:27 So and campus ministries works very closely 47:29 with the Bible classroom. 47:30 And so, whatever we may be learning 47:32 in the Bible classroom, 47:34 whatever the freshmen to senior curriculum 47:36 might be at that moment, 47:37 it's interesting to be able to have those conversations 47:40 with the kids where 47:41 whether maybe one week we may be learning about Job 47:44 and the things that he's gone through 47:45 and how he wasn't aware 47:47 of why he was going through those tricky times in life. 47:50 But it's interesting to see how the kids can connect it 47:53 back to what their fellow students 47:54 planned for the weekend. 47:56 And so it's almost like the seven days a week, 47:58 24 hour immersion 48:01 and connecting your real life 48:04 to what we find in Scripture 48:05 and connecting your worship experiencing 48:08 to what God has told us about Himself in the Bible. 48:11 And so just having that opportunity 48:14 to have the Bible classroom and campus ministries 48:17 all happening at the same time with the kids 48:20 and not really having a moment without 48:23 it is been powerful, not only to the kids, 48:26 but to myself as well, 48:27 to be able to see how God works in a way 48:29 where I could plan the best lesson, 48:31 or they could plan the best church service, 48:33 or it could be a terrible lesson 48:34 or a not so successful church service, 48:37 but what matters is that 48:38 because His spirit is part of it. 48:40 And because it's His spirit that we're following 48:43 those moments come because He's ordained it. 48:46 Those moments come because He set it up where the, 48:48 where the student can suddenly click in their mind. 48:50 Now I get it. 48:52 Now I see how everything we've been learning 48:53 is connected to me personally, 48:56 or all the songs we've been singing in church 48:58 is connected to what I'm going through. 49:00 And I truly believe that 49:02 we're just lucky to be used by Him, 49:04 to be part of that, 49:05 but it happens because He's present. 49:07 It happens because of His spirit 49:09 leading in our campus in that way. 49:11 Amen. That's awesome. Praise the Lord. 49:13 In fact, Ashlyn, I think we had some pictures. 49:14 Yeah. 49:15 We were supposed to show some pictures, 49:17 a couple of pictures. 49:18 Yeah, I have two pictures. 49:20 Let's pull those pictures up and tell us 49:21 what's happening in these pictures? 49:22 Okay. This is my little buddy. 49:25 I don't know his name. 49:27 They never told me his name... 49:28 Little buddy. All right. 49:29 He was my little best friend. 49:31 So that's that picture. 49:32 Amen. Yeah. 49:34 And then this is a picture from my site. 49:37 These are the people watching the video. 49:40 So I just took a quick picture. 49:41 Yeah. Praise the Lord. 49:43 So this is just, it's incredible to see that 49:48 the Lord is using you guys to witness, 49:51 not just to your peers, not just to people here, 49:53 but also overseas. 49:55 And I just have to ask you, 49:56 we have like a minute and a half. 49:58 We had to take a break here, 49:59 but how have each of you grown since coming to Sunnydale? 50:05 Has your relationship with Christ strengthened 50:07 since being a student here at Sunnydale? 50:09 Oh, yeah, for sure. Okay. 50:11 Tell us a little bit how, 50:12 like what are some of the things 50:14 that you have experienced while you've been there 50:16 that has helped strengthen your relationship with Christ? 50:19 So I've been a Seventh-day Adventist all my life, 50:21 but I haven't like gone to church heavily. 50:24 Sure. 50:25 And so, my parents are alumni from Sunnydale 50:28 and a lot of my family members went there. 50:29 Sure. 50:30 And so, my sophomore year I decided I was like, 50:33 I'm just gonna go. Right. 50:35 So I told mom. I was like, I'm just gonna go. 50:36 Sure. 50:38 And she was like, okay, if you raise some money 50:39 and if you're actually serious, you can go. 50:41 So I raised the money 50:43 and I was there in like three weeks. 50:44 Amen. 50:46 And so I was so happy. 50:47 And after the La Vida mission trip, 50:48 that really opened up my eyes 50:50 and just being there on campus 50:52 and doing like church services. 50:55 And then the India mission trip really opened my eyes 50:58 and then campus ministries came along. 51:01 And so I've been very blessed. 51:03 Amen. Praise the Lord. 51:05 And, Hannah, I know you have as well, right? 51:06 Praise the Lord. Well, that's... 51:08 It's been such a blessing to have you guys here. 51:10 Thank you. 51:11 We're actually about to go to a two-minute break, 51:14 but we wanna show you how you can get connected 51:17 with Sunnydale Adventist Academy. 51:19 We're gonna go to an address roll in just a moment, 51:21 but you know what? 51:22 You may be watching this as a parent, 51:24 maybe as a potential student. 51:25 And you wanna know more about how you can come in contact 51:28 with Sunnydale Adventist Academy. 51:30 Maybe you wanna support them. 51:32 Maybe you want some more information 51:33 or you're planning on attending there yourself, 51:36 and you just wanna get connected with them 51:38 to open up that opportunity. 51:40 We wanna go to that address roll right now, 51:42 Sunnydale Adventist Academy. 51:47 Sunnydale Adventist Academy's purpose 51:49 is to fulfill the gospel commission 51:51 while providing academic excellence. 51:53 If you'd like to help them through your prayers 51:55 and financial support, 51:56 visit their website, 51:58 sunnydale.org 51:59 That's sunnydale.org 52:02 You may also call them at (573) 682-2164. 52:06 That's (573) 682-2164, 52:10 or write to them at Sunnydale Adventist Academy, 52:13 6818, Audrain Road 9139, 52:16 Centralia, Missouri 65240. 52:20 That's Sunnydale Adventist Academy, 6818, 52:23 Audrain Road 9139, 52:26 Centralia, Missouri 65240. |
Revised 2021-05-13