Participants:
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000843
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01:01 Welcome to Louisville Kentucky ASI members
01:05 and visitors. If you would, 01:08 I like to have you stand for the prayer. 01:16 Our dearly Father, we wanna thank you for 01:18 the Sabbath Day, for the blessings that 01:21 we've already received. We ask that you be 01:26 with this group, with our youth as they 01:28 sing to us and bring your words. 01:31 Continue to bless us and help us to do 01:34 thy work for I ask it in Jesus name, amen. 01:45 Good afternoon, we're so happy to have you 01:47 here with us today for this fantastic program. 01:50 Debbie, tell me what are we doing here today? 01:51 Well, we're going to hear some wonderful music 01:54 from students in our self supporting schools. 01:56 Well praise God and now tell me a little 01:58 bit about who we have here? 02:00 Well you know we actually have students 02:02 that represent all of our self supporting 02:04 schools that are members of ASI. 02:06 Well that's fantastic, and if you want to know a 02:09 little bit about who's here and what the 02:10 program is going to be all about. 02:12 On your seat you found a little, 02:14 try a double-fold brochure and you can 02:17 pick that up and find out the names of the 02:19 students who are participating today. 02:22 I think we're gonna have a great time together. 02:24 We're gonna hear some testimonies. 02:25 Yes. Not only from students, but who else. 02:28 We're gonna hear testimonies from 02:29 individuals who have actually attended the 02:31 school and have gone on and they're in businesses 02:35 or they're working or they maybe staff that are 02:36 in the schools, so we're actually gonna 02:38 hear a broad range of how the self supporting 02:41 schools have impacted the lives of many different 02:44 people. And just a little bit about how all this 02:48 ties in with the ASI family. Yes, because you 02:52 know you remember that we talked about the 02:54 medical missionary work and how that started 02:56 at Madison. Well another pillar of the 02:58 beginnings of ASI was the educational work. 03:02 And so we actually wanna take you back and do 03:04 another historical review, so you'll 03:06 understanding exactly how all of that was 03:08 pieced together from Madison. 03:10 Well, put your seat belts on and 03:12 enjoy the program, thank you. 03:21 Let thy holy presence, Let thy holy presence, 03:32 Let thy holy presence, come upon us, O Lord. 03:55 Let thy holy presence, Let thy holy presence, 04:11 Let thy holy presence, come upon us, O Lord. 04:40 Let thy holy presence, Let thy holy presence, 04:55 Let thy holy presence, come upon us, O Lord. 05:07 Let thy holy presence, Let thy holy presence, 05:25 Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! 06:00 We're singing joyfully unto God we sing, 06:03 we sing, so joyfully unto God, to God. 06:12 So joyfully unto God, so joyfully unto God. 06:23 We're singing joyfully unto God we sing, we sing, 06:28 so joyfully unto God, to God. 06:35 So joyfully unto God, so joyfully unto God. 06:51 We're singing joyfully unto God we sing, we sing, 06:52 We're singing joyfully, joyfully, joyfully, 06:54 joyfully, joyfully unto God, 06:55 we sing joyfully, joyfully, joyfully, joyfully, 06:57 joyfully unto God, we sing joyfully, 07:00 joyfully, joyfully, joyfully, joyfully unto God, 07:02 we sing joyfully, joyfully, joyfully, 07:04 joyfully, joyfully unto God. 07:06 We sing to God. We sing to God. 07:18 We're singing joyfully unto God we sing, we sing, 07:22 so joyfully unto God, to God. 07:28 So joyfully unto God, so joyfully unto God. 07:40 We're singing joyfully unto God we sing, we sing, 07:44 so joyfully unto God, to God. 07:50 So joyfully unto God, so joyfully unto God. 07:55 So joyfully unto God. Amen. 08:15 It is fitting under 60th anniversary for ASI that 08:19 the Educational Ministry should be highlighted. 08:21 When ASI was established in 1947, 08:25 nearly half of his chartered organizations 08:28 were educational institutions or 08:30 included a school as part of their program, 08:33 but how did the self supporting educational 08:35 work began. Steering testimonies 08:38 came from pen of Ellen White during the 1890s 08:41 encouraging Seventh-Day Adventists to take up the 08:44 work of helping the poor in the Southern regions. 08:47 One of the first to respond to this call was 08:50 her very own son James Edson White. 08:53 In 1895 Edson began to work among the black 08:57 people in the Southern States. 08:59 His work resulted in the establishment of 09:02 several schools in the South. Under the guidance 09:06 of the Holy Spirit Ellen White was shown a plot 09:09 of land in Madison near Nashville, Tennessee 09:12 where a school should be started. 09:14 In 1904 the school was started by the young 09:18 reform minded educator Edward Sutherland. 09:22 His associate Percy Magan and a sturdy band 09:25 of pioneers. The Nashville Agriculture and Normal 09:30 Institute was established to train home and 09:32 foreign missionary teachers, who were to be 09:35 self supporting. Ellen White instructed 09:38 that their school should be of an entirely 09:41 different order from those we have instituted. 09:43 They were not to follow the methods that have 09:46 been adopted in our older established school. 09:50 In this new school at Madison teachers work 09:53 side by side with students in building, 09:56 farming and whatever else needed to be done. 09:59 Students were shown the needs of the poor people 10:02 of the South and instructed of their 10:03 obligation to help these people of the hills. 10:07 Ellen White wrote, every possible means 10:10 should be devised to establish schools of the 10:12 Madison order in various parts of the South. 10:16 Many responded to the needs and went out from 10:18 Madison to start educational medical and 10:21 agricultural work in the South and beyond. 10:32 Good afternoon, my name is Andrew Fisher 10:35 and I'm a senior at Oklahoma Academy. 10:38 Today I will be sharing with you some of the 10:41 evangelistic programs that I have been 10:43 privileged to participate in this year. 10:47 First is our local evangelism. 10:50 In order to reach out to our community we have 10:53 various activities that put us in contact with 10:56 people in need. At the beginning of 10:59 the school year, we went to an area in 11:01 Oklahoma city to feed supper to some homeless 11:04 people. Afterwards we got the opportunity to 11:08 talk with them and sing for them. 11:11 I really enjoyed our, they really enjoyed our 11:13 music and are coming out to be with them. 11:16 I got to play my guitar and sing. 11:18 It was a really rewarding experience. 11:21 Later on in March, we held an Evangelistic 11:24 series in Anadarko. This is a small town in 11:28 Southern Oklahoma. The area was predominantly 11:33 Native American and at the beginning of the 11:34 series, many were hesitant to come out, 11:37 but by the end there were several baptisms 11:40 and even more Bible studies, praise the Lord. 11:43 I thought it was awesome that the students 11:47 withheld from the staff were able to put on 11:50 whole evangelistic series by themselves. 11:54 I was asked to do the song service and to help 11:57 with the children's division. After the 11:59 meetings were over one of the ladies who had 12:02 gotten baptized came up to me and told me how 12:05 blessed she had been by the song services that 12:08 I led. It was amazing to see that God used me 12:13 to touch this lady. I gained a lot of experience 12:17 and we've been come, we've been asked 12:19 to come again next year for another evangelistic 12:21 series. Thirdly, I want to talk about 12:26 our music ministry. This year I've been a 12:29 part of choir and bell choir. This last spring 12:33 we took a trip that went from Oklahoma through 12:36 Indiana and all the way to DC. Our bus broke down 12:41 twice on the way, so we started a 12:43 continuous prayer chain and as a result we 12:46 received enough donations to cover our expenses. 12:51 God also provided the way for the bus to be 12:53 fixed in time so we can make most of our 12:56 concerts. I was blessed to be able to see how the 13:00 Holy Spirit used our music ministry to touch 13:03 people's hearts. Sometimes it seemed 13:06 like the angels were singing with us. 13:09 All together on that trip God worked in many 13:13 marvelous ways that I have never seen before. 13:18 The next outreach that I'm going to talk about 13:20 is Messiah's Mansion. This is a full scaled 13:24 model of the Mosaic Sanctuary. 13:26 In class we studied the sanctuary truths, 13:29 then we traveled in different locations around 13:32 the country where churches can use this 13:35 ministry as a successful means of church growth. 13:40 The students themselves have one and a quarter 13:42 hour tours explaining the beautiful plan of 13:45 salvation through the sanctuary message. 13:49 I was blessed to go with the Mosaic Sanctuary 13:51 to Phoenix, Arizona this year, 13:53 where I held good tours to a few of the thousands 13:57 that came through the exhibit. 13:59 I know that the sanctuary message, 14:02 especially how it applies to each of us 14:05 personally is something that we should all 14:08 prayerfully studying. A few weeks ago 14:11 Oklahoma Academy was asked to lead out in the 14:15 primary division at Oklahoma camp meeting. 14:19 I helped out with that and during the week the 14:22 primary's learned the Three Angel's message and 14:25 they sing it in front of the delighted adults on 14:27 Sabbath afternoon. Helping with the children's 14:31 ministries was a good learning experience for 14:34 me and it was rewarding to have the parents come 14:36 up to me at the end of the week and tell me how 14:38 blessed they were by, how blessed their 14:42 children were that we by the primary class. 14:47 God wants to use young people to reach the 14:48 world with the gospel message. 14:51 The Bible says that the harvest is plenteous but 14:55 the workers are few. I'm so grateful for the 14:58 training I'm receiving at Oklahoma Academy 15:01 to be a worker for God. 15:11 Hi, my name is Ryan Szucs, I'm 15-years-old, 15:15 I come from Berrien Springs, Michigan. 15:17 I'm a recent graduate of Advent Home. 15:20 A lot of students on stage today will give you 15:22 their testimonies about how God impacted their 15:24 lives through mission trips, 15:26 literature evangelism or other kinds of 15:28 activities, but for me, I experienced God the 15:31 most high through the way he has changed my life 15:33 and my family's life. I was a difficult child 15:37 from the beginning, I was diagnosed with 15:39 Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder 15:41 known as ADHD around the first grade. 15:45 I interrupted class, made fun of people, 15:47 don't listen to teachers, during my class work 15:50 I wouldn't concentrate. My reading was always 15:53 my worst subject, by the time I reached 15:56 sixth grade, I felt so stupid, 15:58 second graders could read better than me. 16:01 I always angry and depressed all the time 16:03 and my self esteem was really low. 16:07 To make up for it I tried to be, 16:09 to be funny and popular, as a result I was very 16:13 easily influenced by my parents. 16:17 At home things weren't, oh at home things were 16:21 not that much better. My family really 16:24 didn't talk, we just fought. My mother got 16:27 frustrated with me. I was always acting out, 16:30 yelling and cussing in her face. 16:33 God was never important to me in my life. 16:36 Even though my family is Adventist. 16:38 I thought it was a waste of time. 16:40 I went to church just for the girls and hangout 16:42 with my friends. Basically my life was 16:47 going downhill. I was threatened with 16:50 Juvenile detention, but instead went to 16:52 Advent Home. That was the turning 16:54 point in my life. It wasn't easy, 16:57 in fact it has been two years of hard battles. 17:05 Well I will be grateful for the way the program 17:07 has developed my character and 17:09 my self esteem. I can never repay any person or 17:12 God for how they have changed my life and my 17:15 family's life. I also became a leader among 17:19 the students at Advent Home and it taught me to 17:22 be more trustworthy and responsible. 17:25 It has also helped me to standup to my negative 17:28 peers. Being a leader was really difficult. 17:33 It was then that I realized without God 17:36 in my life it would all go downhill. 17:39 I started praying and doing daily devotions. 17:44 I also learned how to communicate my emotions 17:46 in my family. We stopped fighting 17:49 as much and now my family became much happier. 17:53 I began to understand and respect my parents. 17:56 Now I can honestly say I love my mother and 17:57 my father. I graduated from Advent Home 18:03 a month ago, since then I've seen how much 18:07 God has changed me and how that has affected 18:10 the people I love the most. 18:12 My family and I had a great vacation together 18:15 with no arguments, with no arguments, 18:20 I was able to standout to my friends who 18:21 wanted to go and see a Harry Potter movie. 18:24 I never would have cared, or been able to do 18:26 that before. God has taught me that I'm 18:30 valuable, without his presence in my life I 18:33 would feel and act worthless. Amen. 18:46 Good afternoon, with me is Denzil McNeilus 18:49 the past ASI President, 18:50 of course I'm Debbie Young, 18:52 the current ASI President and Donna McNeilus 18:54 is his wife, our future ASI President 18:57 and they both attended Little Creek Academy 19:00 which is currently, oh which is now 19:02 Heritage Academy in Maxville, Tennessee. 19:04 I thought it would be interesting to find out. 19:06 Donna, tell me how did attending a self 19:09 supporting school impact your life today? 19:12 Oh it had a huge impact on my life in fact it is, 19:16 it impacted me more then probably anything 19:18 that has ever affected me. 19:20 I'm so happy that I had the opportunity to work 19:23 in a kitchen with Mrs. Peach, 19:24 she happens to be here today and I'm honored that 19:27 she is here today. And you it thought me 19:30 how to organize the kitchen and you know for 19:32 last few years I've been working for Youth for 19:35 Jesus and I've been in the kitchen and I've been 19:38 helping them organize and we've been working and 19:41 so far training I feel it was really important, 19:44 plus it helped me in my own home. 19:47 Denzil, I know that you're a successful 19:48 businessman. You're a banker and I 19:51 find that interesting, because I don't think they 19:52 taught banking in the supporting ministry 19:54 schools, so tell me how did that influence your 19:57 life and where you are today in business? 19:59 Well probably the best thing that ever happened 20:01 to me at the self supporting schools 20:03 I met my wife Donna. 20:04 Well that would the best thing yes. 20:06 But I also learned so many opportunities 20:09 and experiences in those four years as a 20:12 work-study program. It has given me a broad 20:15 spectrum of what life and I learned things I 20:17 didn't wanna do in life, but it also taught me a 20:20 lot of basic principles that I use today in my 20:23 day to day business. I remember Mr. Roger Gough, 20:26 who was the past ASI President at the time 20:29 I went to school there and he talked ASI, 20:32 ASI, ASI, ASI and ASI. Yeah, 20:36 I didn't quite understand what all that meant, 20:38 but I sure remember the name ASI. 20:41 I also remember the time that I had to 20:43 actually sing in a choir like this. 20:45 I sing to the ASI family back in, 20:48 back in Tennessee. So I can't believe there 20:52 are still people here after hearing me sing 20:54 fortunately they couldn't with a big choir, 20:57 but the biggest thing that I've learned and the 20:59 most important thing that I've learned about 21:01 Little Creek was that we had dedicated teachers 21:04 that not only taught the love of Christ, 21:09 but they lived the love of Christ everyday. 21:11 And it made me want to become like them and 21:14 become a man who wants to live Christ not 21:20 just tell people about Christ. 21:22 Well it sounds like Little Creek was a special 21:24 part of your life experience. Thank you 21:26 for sharing that with us today. Thank you. 21:42 Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna, 21:44 we praise this way our King. 21:47 Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna, 21:49 we praise him all the way. 21:54 Hosanna, Hosanna, 21:57 we're the people of the Christ 22:00 Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna 22:02 the Christ they crucified. 22:05 Hosanna crucified, crucified. 22:14 Came to Jerusalem, 22:18 city in triumphant which Jesus made 22:26 Through the crowds goes like there's no place 22:31 to see, branches of palm they threw at his feet 22:35 shouts of Hosanna were there to keep our Lord of 22:40 the eternity. The Lord of the eternity. 22:48 Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna, 22:51 we praise this way our King. 22:53 Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna, 22:56 we praise him all the way. 23:02 Hosanna, Hosanna, 23:04 we're the people of the Christ 23:07 Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna 23:09 the Christ they crucified. 23:12 Hosanna crucified, crucified. 23:21 Came to Jerusalem, 23:25 city in triumphant which Jesus made 23:35 Although his cross is soon be bore, 23:38 his hands will be pierced and his feet will 23:41 be torn, he's opened the crowd and let the 23:45 torment goes on. He went through the 23:48 pain today. He looked towards Jerusalem 23:55 Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna, 23:58 we praise this way our King. 24:02 Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna, 24:04 we praise him all the way. 24:10 Hosanna, Hosanna, 24:12 we're the people of the Christ 24:15 Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna, 24:18 the Christ they crucified. 24:20 Hosanna crucified. crucified, 24:24 Hosanna, crucified, amen. 24:35 For God so loved the world, 24:43 God so loved the world that He gave His only 24:55 begotten Son, that who so believeth in 25:01 Him shall not perish, shall not perish, 25:20 shall not perish but have everlasting life. 25:21 For God sent not his Son into the world to 25:26 condemn the world; but that the world through 25:41 him might be saved For God so loved the world. 25:58 For God so loved the world, 26:06 that He gave His only begotten Son, 26:13 that who so believeth in Him shall not perish, 26:26 shall not perish, but have everlasting life, 26:33 everlasting life, everlasting life, 26:40 everlasting life. God so loved the world. 27:00 God so loved the world. God so loved the world. 27:36 One of the earliest schools to be 27:37 established by students from Madison was the 27:40 Oak Grove Garden school near Goodlettsville, 27:43 Tennessee began by child Charles Audoin and 27:46 Brad Mulford. Mr. Mulford 27:48 later started the Fountain Head school which is 27:51 today Highland Academy. A school which started 27:55 at Paradise Rich, Tennessee then 27:57 Chestnut Hill farm schools near Portland, 28:00 Tennessee and others until by 1912 they were 28:04 over two dozens schools in the South as a result 28:07 of the educational work at Madison. 28:11 Over the next decade Madison students started 28:14 schools in Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi, 28:18 Alabama, Kentucky and the Carolinas. 28:24 A school was started at Reese, 28:26 Georgia on the site that is today 28:27 Georgia Cumberland Academy. 28:30 The Pine Mountain School was began at 28:33 Long Island, Alabama. And one at Lawrenceburg, 28:37 Tennessee. The Flat Rock school at Douglasville, 28:40 Georgia. The Kingsville school, Franklin, 28:43 Tennessee, the Sewanee School, Saint Andrews, 28:47 Tennessee and the Cumberland Industrial 28:49 school at Daylight, Tennessee. 28:52 These schools were among the many self supporting 28:55 schools started in the first two decades after 28:58 the first school established at Madison. 29:07 Happy Sabbath. My name is Jolene 29:10 and I'll be a senior at the Heritage Academy 29:12 this fall. I don't have a dramatic experience. 29:16 But I believe that whenever God works 29:18 in your life it is an experience to share with 29:20 others amen, amen. Well my experience 29:23 started three years ago, it was the summer of 29:25 2004 and my father had been called to be a 29:28 Pastor in a church in Northern Kentucky. 29:31 This is the first time we were there, my family. 29:34 It was also the same Sabbath that a canvassing 29:36 program was visiting and sharing their 29:38 testimonies. As I listened to it my heart was 29:41 really touched and I wanted to know more. 29:43 So they found a spot for me in the group and I 29:46 began right away. That summer I got 29:49 some students from Heritage Academy and they 29:51 by their example really impressed me. 29:54 They told me about the school and I started 29:56 to get excited about possibly attending. 29:58 I home schooled my freshman year, 30:00 so I had a lot of time to decide what I wanted to 30:03 attend the following year. Even though I heard 30:06 a lot about it deep down my heart was set on 30:09 attending another school, another Adventist 30:12 school where a lot of my close friends were 30:13 going. And after you know at the end of the 30:17 year Heritage was completely forgotten 30:19 and it was the last place I wanted to go, 30:21 but my God had different plans. 30:24 Because of financial struggles I ended up there 30:26 in the Fall of 2005. I was miserable, 30:29 I cried a lot and just thought my life was 30:31 drowned. But my mother being the wonderful 30:34 person that she is wrote me a three page letter 30:37 to encourage me. And that letter that I still 30:39 have she, noted a text that is still one of my 30:44 favorites. Jeremiah 29:11, many of you know it. 30:48 God promises to give his people a hope and a 30:51 future and to lead them. When I first read I just 30:54 kind of forget about it, but after a while it 30:57 started sinking and God finally won. 31:00 I decided to put that year in God's hands and 31:02 let him, and let him lead, wherever He wanted 31:05 me to go. I was in for a ride, 31:07 that year I had many struggles and I just 31:11 wanted to give up, but because of the 31:14 help of loyal staff, dedicated friends and my 31:17 Savior, I pulled through and saw God leading. 31:20 This year I felt God more then ever and had a 31:24 first hand experience of him answering prayers, 31:26 one such example of a great answer to prayer 31:29 was this year, is when he saved 31:31 my little sister's life. Well she's playing 31:33 at recess one day and she fell and fractured 31:35 her skull. She was in a coma for 12 hours and 31:39 the doctors were not sure she would make it. 31:41 The whole time this was going on, 31:43 I had you know no idea what was happening, 31:45 but all over the U.S. people were praying for 31:48 my little sister. My parents received phone 31:50 calls and emails from people they didn't 31:52 even know. And the next morning when she finally 31:55 came out of her coma my parents called me, 31:57 I was so relieved and seeing God working you 32:01 know by seeing him working I really knew that he 32:04 had something in stored for my little sister. 32:07 Another time I saw God working this year was 32:10 during the past spring week we had a Heritage. 32:14 We had a visiting pastor speaking and after every 32:17 meeting we'll have a session of prayer and 32:20 songs. But there is one night that I will never 32:22 forget. It started off with a usual prayer and 32:25 songs then one after another people started 32:28 sharing experiences. I saw friends that have 32:31 been praying for a change for my very eyes giving 32:34 their hearts to Christ I could not help but weep 32:37 to seeing God's awesome power. 32:39 I have to admit that I've never felt God more 32:41 in my life. My whole life, I've been a 32:44 Seventh-day Adventist, I've had the perfect home, 32:47 the perfect life, but I have to admit but this 32:51 past year was the first time that I felt the 32:54 Holy Spirit and God truly in my life. Amen. 32:58 I definitely see God leading me towards a 32:59 great goal that he has in mind. 33:01 I mean he has shown me that through the many 33:03 leadership opportunities, I've had at Heritage 33:06 and seeing him work so clearly in the lives of 33:08 those around me. I'm willing to follow him 33:11 wherever he leads me, you know even though it 33:14 may take him some self sacrifice and I will 33:16 always remember the promise that he gave me. 33:20 Before I know the thoughts that I think towards 33:22 you says the Lord that's of peace and not of evil 33:25 to give you a hope and a future. 33:28 I pray you'll see God working in your 33:30 life as I've seen in mine. Amen. 33:43 Good afternoon, we're happy to have 33:44 Ebony Daniels with us today. Ebony, tell me a 33:47 little bit about what you're doing right now? 33:49 Well right now, I'm training with 33:51 AFM for missionary service. 33:54 Well Praise the Lord! I know that these things 33:56 don't happen by accident though, 33:58 lets talk a little bit about your journey to the 34:00 point where you've gotten, you know to the point 34:03 where you're actually being trained now by AFM, 34:05 the Adventist Frontier Missions 34:07 for mission service? 34:09 Well, I've always been interested in traveling 34:14 and learning about different cultures, 34:15 but before I went to Harbert Hills Academy 34:18 I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do with 34:20 those interests, but after I went to 34:22 Harbert Hills Academy I became 34:23 interested in mission service. 34:25 Okay, so you got interested in mission 34:27 service there and what else did you learn there 34:30 that helps you on your journey into this service? 34:34 Well at Harbert Hills Academy, 34:37 they teach us how to work like education is 34:42 not free, but they teach us how to work for it 34:44 and they have a program and we were at the 34:46 nursing home and different places and I really 34:49 appreciated their Christian 34:51 prospective on working. 34:54 Okay, so you got some got work ethic and you've 34:56 got some spiritual nourishment there and you 35:01 train to do what? 35:02 What did you receive training in? 35:04 At the nursing home? 35:05 No I mean in your college work? 35:07 Well after that I went to Southern Adventist 35:11 University and I went in their nursing program 35:15 and I recently graduated from 35:17 the nursing program. 35:18 Well praise the Lord, so in your high school 35:21 academy years you had an opportunity to get some 35:24 nursing experience? Yes. And you can kind of 35:26 see how the Lord was guiding you, yes, through 35:29 this process of training and 35:31 preparing you for service. 35:32 Yes, I definitely believe that being at 35:36 Harbert Hills Academy helped lead me to being 35:39 interested in nursing because at the 35:41 nursing home, I saw how the nurses were so caring 35:43 and they had a Christian attitude with the 35:46 patients and I really wanted to share the Lord 35:50 with people in that way, so yes. 35:52 So how did you get connected with 35:53 Adventist Frontier Missions then? 35:56 Well, the final semester of my nursing program, 35:59 I actually met some of their recruiters and they 36:03 just shared with their burden of spreading God's 36:08 gospel to the unreached peoples of the world 36:11 and so I wanted to share in this work. 36:15 So the Lord is kind of continued that journey 36:17 and you're now preparing to go into service and 36:21 how you will be serving and where 36:22 you will be serving? 36:23 Well, yes this is a journey that the Lord 36:26 has directed, originally I would want to go 36:29 somewhere else, but there has been a call for a 36:32 nurse in Guinea, West Africa and so that's 36:35 where I will be going. Lord willing. 36:37 Praise the Lord, isn't it great to see how 36:39 God takes us on a journey through life and he 36:42 educates us in just the way we needed. 36:45 He gives us the experiences that we need, 36:47 so that we might better serve Him? 36:49 Yes. Thank you Ebony for you Testimony today. 36:51 Yes God bless you. 37:04 Nearer, still nearer, close to Thy heart, 37:13 Draw me, my Savior, so precious Thou art; 37:23 Hold me, oh, hold me close to Thy breast, 37:33 Shelter me safe in that "Haven of Rest," 37:42 Shelter me safe in that "Haven of Rest." 37:52 Nearer, still nearer, nothing I bring, 38:02 Naught as an offering to Jesus, my King; 38:11 Only my sinful, now contrite heart, 38:20 Grant me the cleansing Thy blood doth impart, 38:29 Grant me the cleansing Thy blood doth impart. 38:50 Nearer, still nearer, while life shall last, 38:58 'Til safe in glory my anchor is cast; 39:08 Through endless ages, ever to be, 39:16 Nearer, my Savior, still nearer to Thee, 39:25 Nearer, my Savior, still nearer to Thee. 39:36 Nearer, my Savior, still nearer to Thee. Amen. 40:16 Take my life, and let it be 40:18 consecrated, Lord, to thee; 40:23 take my moments and my days, 40:27 let them flow in ceaseless praise. 40:31 Take my hands, and let them move 40:35 at the impulse of thy love; 40:38 take my feet, and let them be 40:42 swift and beautiful for thee. 40:45 Take my voice, and let me sing 40:49 always, only, for my King; 40:53 take my lips, and let them be 40:56 filled with messages from thee. 41:02 Take my silver and my gold, 41:06 not a mite would I withhold; 41:10 take my intellect, and use 41:14 every power as thou shalt choose. 41:17 Take my will and make it thine; 41:21 it shall be no longer mine. 41:25 take my heart, it is thine own; 41:28 it shall be thy royal throne. 41:38 Take my love; my Lord, I pour 41:43 at thy feet its treasure store; 41:47 take my self, and I will be 41:51 ever, only, all for thee. Amen. 42:15 In later decades other schools came on to the 42:18 scene Pine Forest Academy, Little Creek School, 42:24 PV Valley Junior Academy, Wildwood School, 42:30 Laurelbrook School, Harbert Hills Academy and 42:34 many more. Meanwhile another group near 42:38 Asheville, North Carolina responded to 42:41 Ellen White's call for workers in the South. 42:44 In 1910 the Browns brothers and the Spaldings 42:49 started the Naples Agricultural and 42:52 Normal School which is today Fletcher Academy. 42:57 Workers from Fletcher started the 42:59 Pisgah Industrial Institute, 43:01 now Mount Pisgah Academy. Fletcher also aided in 43:06 the development of a school at Banner Elk, 43:08 North Carolina. And the Glen Alpine Rural school 43:12 near Morganton, North Carolina. Some of these 43:16 school existed for a short time and then having 43:19 accomplished their purpose passed out 43:22 of existence. Some have been in continuous 43:25 operation to this day and others are now operated 43:28 by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 43:37 Good afternoon, my name is Elijah Morar, 43:40 and as a student of Laurelwood Academy 43:42 I've seen the Lord's work not only through 43:46 my life, but through the lives of others. 43:49 My parents send both my older brother and my 43:52 sister to Laurelwood before me, 43:54 so I had seen that the Christian education 43:57 is changing for better. But when it became 44:00 my turn to come to Laurelwood it was a little 44:02 bit difficult for me, because I could not speak 44:06 or understand any English only Russian. 44:09 But the staff were very patient and caring 44:12 toward and they also there are lot of praying 44:14 for me and now I am able to speak and 44:17 understand English language. At the start of 44:21 every school year we have an R&R week, 44:23 during this week the whole student body and the 44:26 staff get to camp out and enjoy a week of 44:30 spiritual emphasis in nature. 44:32 I really enjoyed this trip and I'm looking 44:35 forward towards this one in August. 44:38 Every March our school breaks up into different 44:41 mission trips and one of our groups travel 44:43 to Salvador. They conducted children's 44:46 meetings and gave concerts at churches, 44:49 schools and evangelistic crusades all over the 44:52 country. The students and staff seem to 44:55 comeback changed for the better and they told 44:58 us inspirational stories of baptisms and changed 45:02 lives and how the Lord is blessing in that part 45:05 of the world. The second mission trip went 45:07 to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. 45:10 But they had a focus on health ministries. 45:14 The Lord blessed greatly in that many souls were 45:17 led to Christ through the medical missionary 45:19 work. In addition our principal delivered many 45:22 sermons in Spanish and the Lord blessed 45:26 immensely. I stayed in the United States of 45:29 America on an Oregon mission trip. 45:31 Our plans were to hold an evangelistic series and 45:34 held seminars, but unfortunately we didn't 45:37 have a place, a suitable place to hold the 45:40 meetings, but I saw that the Lord was in control 45:44 because a few nights before the meetings were 45:47 to start, a mall called us and they told us that 45:50 they have an open spot for us right in the middle 45:53 of the mall and for no charge. 45:56 And in this I saw that the Lord was working. 46:00 This meetings drew in young and old during the 46:03 two weeks and we were able to meet the public 46:06 needs on a medical level. In the evenings we 46:09 held some children's meetings and gave, 46:11 and gave some Bible studies. We also assisted 46:15 in a week long evangelistic series. 46:17 The person that impressed the most was a 46:21 92-year-old lady that went to every single of 46:25 our meetings and she even skipped her 93rd 46:28 birthday party just to hear the Lord's message. 46:33 I thank God for schools like Laurelwood's 46:35 Academy and I thank my parents for the 46:38 opportunity to attend school that provides such 46:42 a great Christ centered education. Thank you. 46:53 Happy Sabbath, happy Sabbath. 46:56 My name is Jaime Douville, I've been attending 46:58 Laurelbrook Academy for two years and I'm about 47:00 to enter my junior year there. 47:02 One thing I've noticed about self supporting 47:05 schools is that the students get lots of 47:07 opportunities to learn practical skills, 47:09 it's called vocational training. When I went to 47:12 school I figured it would be really easy, 47:14 I thought I knew how to work already. 47:16 Well I was wrong. It took me a long time 47:19 before I finally remembered everything 47:21 that I wasn't expected of me to work in the 47:23 kitchen. The dishes had to washed just right 47:26 and the floor had to be spotless. 47:29 But I called on a little bit everyday and before 47:31 long I was completing my job just as well as 47:33 everyone else, so after I turned 16 they decided 47:37 to train me as a C.N.A. a certified nurse's 47:40 assistant. Ellen White councils the educators 47:43 to include a medical work in their training and 47:46 so Laurelbrook has a nursing home. 47:48 I was very excited to work there. 47:49 During the whole nine weeks of training I 47:51 imagine myself caring for sweet little old ladies 47:54 while my friends do all the hard work in the 47:56 kitchen. I learned it, my duty as a C.N.A. 48:01 would be to help the residents exercise, 48:03 feed them, bath them and take care of all their 48:05 personal hygiene and I learned it, 48:08 but it really wasn't easy like I had expected. 48:10 It was physically much harder than working in 48:12 the kitchen. The one thing I hadn't been prepared 48:16 for in training was feet. I couldn't stand feet. 48:20 I thought they were disgusting and smelly. 48:23 I still think so, without a doubt feet 48:25 are the ugliest part of the human body. 48:29 But one day a resident had me cornered, 48:32 she desperately needed some medicated lotion 48:35 rubbed into her feet and there was no other 48:37 C.N.A to do it. As I uncovered her feet, 48:40 I had to keep myself from making a face. 48:42 It was, it was nasty and I didn't wanna touch her 48:44 feet at all. I said in my mind, 48:47 God this is really nasty, and then I heard this, 48:50 that still small voice speaking to me and he 48:53 said, yeah, so was John's feet and Peter's feet 48:56 and Judas' feet. I said what? 48:59 I didn't really understand what God was trying 49:01 to tell me. I was a little confused. 49:04 But I went home and I read the words of 49:05 Jesus in John 13, if I then, 49:08 your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; 49:10 ye also ought to wash one another's feet. 49:12 Verily, verily I say unto you the servant is 49:16 not greater than his Lord and neither he that 49:19 ascent, greater then he that sent him. 49:21 If he know these things happy are you that do 49:23 them. You know it's natural to not one to do 49:27 unpleasant jobs, but knowing that even Jesus 49:29 washed people's feet and makes it a little bit 49:31 easier. I learning to do my best where ever 49:34 I am and to not always expect every job to be 49:37 easy. I'm still growing and growing is not an 49:40 easy process, but I learned a little bit more 49:42 everyday. One of the advantages that I see 49:46 in working in the nursing home or helping in the 49:49 community or going on mission trips is that I 49:51 learn to have compassion for 49:52 people that need help. I've seen people brought 49:56 closer to Christ simply because someone takes 49:58 time to help them and listen to their needs. 50:01 It seems like that's the whole point of education 50:03 anyhow not just to teach us ideas and facts 50:07 but to teach your head and our hands and our 50:09 heart to work together so that God can come 50:11 sooner. I was baptized on July 14th just a few 50:15 weeks ago, I pledged to follow Christ for the 50:18 rest of my life even if that means washing a few 50:20 dirty feet here and there. 50:22 My prayer is that each of you will follow 50:25 Christ's example of humility and service in 50:27 everyday of your life. Amen. 50:39 I want to welcome this afternoon Josh Voight 50:42 here, Josh tell us a little bit about what 50:44 you're doing right now. Well right now I am 50:46 a pastor in the Chesapeake Conference 50:48 and associated pastor with the three church 50:50 district in Maryland, Baltimore. 50:52 Praise the Lord. Tell us a little bit about 50:54 your childhood and your journey, 50:55 you don't just get to be a pastor suddenly. 50:58 No I don't, I was actually born in New Zealand. 51:00 Auckland, New Zealand. I am a fourth generation 51:03 Adventist and I lived there unto I was seven 51:07 when I moved over to Baltimore, Maryland. 51:10 So moved to Baltimore, Maryland, 51:11 what happened there in Baltimore? 51:14 Well I started getting involved in the wrong 51:16 crowds. I started hanging out with yeah kids who 51:21 weren't doing so well and I started going 51:22 downhill. First music, then smoking, drugs, 51:27 alcohol, drug dealing, gangs, and my life by 16 51:32 had just gone way down. So, let me see if I 51:35 understand this, a fourth generation 51:36 Adventist dealing drugs, that's pretty low. 51:40 Was that as low as it got? 51:41 No, that wasn't as low as it got. 51:44 You see I have gotten so low that the only good 51:50 thing in my life was my mother. 51:52 She became my conscience and she told me when I 51:55 was doing something wrong. So I came up with a 51:57 plan to end her life and within an hour of going 52:01 through with that plan my mom came down to school 52:07 and changed my life. Tell me how she changed 52:09 your life Josh? She made the decision 52:11 to take me out to Miracle Meadows School in 52:14 West Virginia. So she took you to 52:16 Miracle Meadows School and suddenly you were 52:18 transformed into a pastor is that how it worked. 52:21 When I got to the school I wanted to be the best 52:23 I could so they would see that there was nothing 52:25 wrong with me and they would send me home. 52:28 Well within a month it was Christmas time and 52:31 they denied me from going home for Christmas 52:33 breaks. So, I decided I had enough and I ran 52:36 away from the school. Throughout that week 52:39 me and a couple of friends we went up and down 52:41 the east coast just on a crime spree basically 52:44 until like the Prodigal Son we hit the bottom. 52:49 Tell me about that experience? 52:51 I ended up in a crack house in Philadelphia on 52:54 Christmas eve with my friends. 52:56 No one to turn to all my friends and my past life 52:59 had turned their back on me. 53:00 My gang everything and I melt down in this crack 53:04 house Christmas eve and I prayed to God and 53:06 I said, God if you're out there, 53:09 if you cared about me and if you get me out of 53:11 this mess I will study my Bible and I will try to 53:16 figure out who you are and build a relationship 53:19 with you. So trying to make a little deal with 53:21 God on Christmas eve in a bad situation. 53:24 Yeah, alright, you ended up back in 53:27 Miracle Meadows. Yes, Miracle Meadows actually 53:30 took me back. I should have, 53:32 if it wasn't for that I would be in jail probably 53:35 right now and for the rest of my life. 53:37 I had done a lot, Miracle Meadows 53:39 took me back and when I came back I honored 53:42 my vow to God, I started looking at 53:45 my life and I looked around at the staff. 53:50 A lot of them were students from college who 53:53 had given their year to come, 53:55 I saw Christ in them and I wanted that 53:58 for myself. You know Josh it is really exciting 54:02 to see the impact of this kind of program, 54:06 this kind of education can have on our life. 54:08 You know God has taken you on a journey, 54:10 is there anybody you would like to thank today. 54:13 There is a couple of people I need to thank. 54:15 I need to thank my mother for making that 54:17 difficult decision to send me out to 54:21 Miracle Meadows. If she had waited any 54:22 longer there would have been disastrous results. 54:24 I need to thank Miracle Meadows for being there 54:26 for dealing with the whole student. 54:29 Even including the spiritual aspects and 54:32 I need to thank the ASI family. 54:35 Its your financial support that has directly made 54:37 Miracle Meadows possible. Without you I would not 54:40 be standing here today. Amen, thank you Josh for 54:43 sharing with us today, may God bless you in your 54:46 Pastoral journey. Thank you. |
Revised 2014-12-17