3ABN On the Road

Project Reports- Members In Action ( Wednesday Evening)

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

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Series Code: OTR

Program Code: OTR000739


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


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Revised 2015-05-14