Participants:
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000932
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01:01 Our Father Which art in heaven
01:08 Heaven 01:11 Hallowed be Thy name Hallowed be Thy name 01:18 Thy kingdom come Thy kingdom come 01:22 Thy will be done 01:26 Thy will be done on earth 01:34 As it is in heaven 01:43 Give us this day 01:48 Our daily bread 01:54 And forgive us our debts 02:00 As we forgive our debtors 02:09 As we forgive our debtors 02:20 And lead us not into temptation 02:26 But deliver us from evil 02:34 For Thine is the kingdom 02:40 And the power 02:43 And the glory Forever 02:51 Amen 02:58 Amen 03:03 Amen 03:08 Amen 03:12 Amen Amen 03:20 For Thine is the kingdom 03:26 And the power, and the glory 03:33 The kingdom, the power, the glory 03:40 Forever and ever 03:48 Amen 03:56 Amen 04:03 Amen 04:09 Amen 04:24 Good evening. 04:25 Have you been blessed tonight? 04:28 Oh, I have been so blessed to see our young people, 04:32 our youth up here shining for Jesus, 04:36 isn't that a blessing? 04:38 It really is. 04:40 Tonight is going to be a special night tonight. 04:43 In fact, we decided that 04:45 we needed to know the rest of the story. 04:49 We've been able to have the privilege 04:52 of giving our offerings to many projects, 04:55 and so we want to revisit some of those projects. 04:58 And I think, in fact, I know, 05:00 you're gonna be so blessed to hear what God has done. 05:04 And actually, we're going to be visiting, 05:08 let's go around the world actually. 05:11 The first place we're going to be going is to former Burma. 05:15 And I'm actually standing right beside my mother-in-law, 05:19 so what a privilege to have 05:20 my mother-in-law on the stage with me tonight. 05:23 And she is going to tell us the rest of that story. 05:26 Then we're gonna talk about the Happiness Digest Project. 05:30 Herald Lance will be telling us about that. 05:33 And then my friend, Elder Mike Ryan 05:37 is going to be revisiting Sow 1 Billion. 05:40 Remember that project of few years ago? 05:42 How about Go 1 million. 05:45 And then we're gonna be going to Africa, Roofs over Africa. 05:49 I know you're going to be blessed 05:52 and I know that God is going to be given the honor, 05:56 the praise and the glory. 05:58 So without any further words, 06:00 I will pray that you will receive 06:03 such a spiritual high from this evening. 06:09 Good evening. 06:12 In 2002, ASI participated in the project 06:17 in the country of Myanmar, the former Burma. 06:20 That project consisted of 180 churches, 06:24 125 schools, 60 academy buildings 06:28 and staff houses for a total of 365 buildings. 06:34 All were built in one year by lay leadership there. 06:38 And I think these people are 06:39 some of the most special people in the world. 06:41 And I'd like to show you pictures 06:43 of just two of those academies. 06:46 The first one would be Mount Vernon Academy. 06:49 Mount Vernon Academy is located 06:51 in the northwest portion of Yangon, the capital. 06:55 And I don't know 06:56 why I don't think the date is on these pictures 06:58 but these actually were sent to us in the month of June 07:01 so they're very current. 07:03 It's situated in the lush rolling hills 07:06 at the part of that country. 07:08 It was a small struggling campus 07:10 but it has been completely rebuilt. 07:13 They have new dormitories. 07:16 This is the classrooms, kitchen and dinings halls, 07:20 multi purpose buildings, additional staff housing, 07:24 dining room. 07:25 You can see some of the artwork that they do there. 07:27 They're very talented young people. 07:29 And this is a big multipurpose room 07:32 that was build for them, 07:33 so they could all meet together in one place. 07:36 So that was a very great project. 07:39 The second one is the Eric B Hare school, 07:42 some of you remember Eric B Hare through his stories 07:44 and some of us that are older actually 07:46 remember hearing him reading his books 07:49 of the Haunted Pagoda, Dr. Rabbit, Pip Pip. 07:53 Well, when the war broke out that school was destroyed, 07:59 and so a new piece of land was secured. 08:01 And when I visited there, 08:02 it was really a sad, kind of a dry barren place 08:06 and it was a very struggling school. 08:08 And, then you remember maybe that year 08:10 that we had actually had a model 08:11 out in the lobby of the school. 08:14 Well, that school is built and I like to show you 08:16 what that school looks like today. 08:19 A well was dug there and a water tower built, 08:24 and now you can notice all the well kept buildings 08:27 and even the growth of the trees 08:28 in a few short years. 08:30 They have new dormitories and just a lot of spacious room 08:35 that they needed to really enlarge their enrollment. 08:39 The children there are very happy, 08:40 they're very busy children. 08:42 And it was really interesting for me and inspiring for me 08:45 as I met with the teachers there 08:47 that they were actually students of Eric B Hare. 08:50 So you can see through the generations, 08:52 the work that goes on in these places. 08:55 And... 08:57 Just look at the pictures there of the beautiful campus. 09:00 They have lots of gardens there, 09:04 lots of rice fields. 09:06 They've lots of trees and lots of fruit 09:08 that grows there that they can have in abundance. 09:16 Just some more campus shots that we have there. 09:19 And I've always been impressed with the people there 09:21 and their willingness to work. 09:23 This gentleman is one of the teachers there 09:26 and the happy children and their happy faces. 09:33 Can't resist the children. 09:34 I'm so amazed that the foods that they grow there, 09:37 grow most of their foods 09:39 and everything grows with the watering there, 09:41 it's just a beautiful setting there. 09:45 It's been really interesting to watch 09:46 the growth of their school through the years. 09:52 You can see them even doing some of the yardwork, 09:55 and they have the buffalo there and then the rice fields. 10:01 And the students' work, because of your generosity, 10:05 over 10,000 students 10:07 are receiving a Christian education today 10:10 in all of the schools in Myanmar. 10:15 10,000. 10:21 As you know this part springs, 10:23 Cyclone Nargis struck the country of Myanmar. 10:26 Approximately 80,000 people lost their lives in that storm. 10:32 And I'd like to share with you 10:33 some parts of some of the emails 10:35 that we have received from the leadership there 10:37 through the past few months. 10:39 He says, "I have no words to describe 10:42 the suffering here of our people. 10:44 I just came back from a place 10:46 where house churches were damaged 10:48 and many of our church members lost their lives. 10:51 Although the roof of the buildings 10:52 were blown off, the structures stood still 10:55 and that is why many villagers were survived, 10:58 by staying in the rain 11:00 and in the storm inside the buildings." 11:03 Remember, when we built those buildings, 11:05 they were built out of ironwood, 11:06 a real strong sturdy wood. 11:08 There were two storeys high 11:10 and the top part was the church and the bottom part was 11:14 where the pastor or the teacher lived. 11:17 And it's a custom in Myanmar, in Burma 11:20 that the second storey, 11:22 the higher part is where the church is 11:24 to be the sacred part of the building. 11:26 And so it says 11:28 those four buildings were named Noah's Ark. 11:31 One building was completely untouched 11:33 by the Nargis Cyclone. 11:35 There were, the whole village took shelter. 11:38 They thanked God for providing such a building. 11:42 Those church members are known for paying tithe 11:45 and giving their offerings 11:46 and for regular church attendance. 11:49 And that is why he says that he is interested 11:51 in helping them build up and start their lives anew. 11:54 He says we can't go on giving them rice. 11:57 Most of them have fields of their own, 11:59 but all their buffaloes that they used in plowing 12:01 had been destroyed or had died, 12:04 so they had nothing to work with, 12:05 and the plowing season was nearly over 12:08 and they were in a hurry, 12:10 so they would have something to eat at harvest time. 12:13 And they told us that they would like to have 12:15 some hand tractors, 12:16 so they could plow quickly and broadcast the seed 12:19 and so those items were given to them. 12:24 And then I want to show you a picture of the church here 12:26 and tell you a little bit about it. 12:27 This is another one that they referred to 12:29 as the Noah's Ark church. 12:32 There's another church in Karen Chiang Village. 12:34 In spite of the storm, 12:36 the members conducted the vesper meeting. 12:39 Gradually the storm became stronger, 12:41 the church members continue to worship 12:43 and the villagers also took shelter in that building, 12:46 as the houses in the village were all destroyed. 12:50 There were all together 300 of them in that building. 12:54 At about 10 o'clock the roof was blown off. 12:57 The people continue to stay in the building 12:59 in spite of the terrible storm and the heavy rain. 13:03 They just held on to each other 13:04 for nearly 9 hours and prayed. 13:08 Toward the dawn, 13:09 the tidal wave and the storm stopped. 13:12 The people were saved 13:14 because of that church that you built. 13:18 Now I'm gonna show you some pictures of it, 13:20 some children that were there. 13:24 In another email he says, "The day before yesterday, 13:27 30 children arrived at our campus, 13:29 there many of them orphans. 13:31 And I'm sorry to say that some of our worthy students died 13:34 along with parents 13:35 and other students have lost both parents." 13:38 Since we will do our best to look after all the children 13:41 who have survived the cyclone, 13:44 and they're all in school today. 13:47 Although there was a lot of damage 13:48 to the churches and the schools, 13:50 none of the academies or colleges 13:52 were too badly affected. 13:54 And then in closing, 13:56 I just like to read you one more email. 13:57 I called home this week and Darwin's secretary said, 14:01 "We have another email from Myanmar." 14:04 And I said, "Well, read it to me." 14:06 And so I want to share that with you. 14:08 "I'm happy to inform you that all the house churches 14:11 that were damaged during Cyclone Nargis are under roof 14:14 except for the ceilings of the buildings. 14:16 The church members can worship inside the buildings 14:19 and the children can have classes once again. 14:23 One of the house churches in Kayah Yang village 14:25 which saved the many lives of the villagers, 14:28 are going to be rededicated the church 14:31 and have Thanksgiving ceremony 14:33 because of the house church that saved their lives. 14:37 Thank you, ASI. 14:52 There are some projects that come and they go, 14:56 and then there are some that stay with us for a long time. 14:59 It was in 1988, just 20 years ago 15:02 that the Happiness Book Project was born. 15:06 This was the project that was 15:08 the thoughtful work of Gilbert Welch, 15:12 an ASI member from Tennessee 15:15 who thought it would be good 15:16 to have a colorful series of message books 15:23 that had a bright attractive cover 15:25 and interesting line drawings at every chapter on the inside. 15:30 And he dreamed it up 15:33 and did the basic work on it and presented it to ASI, 15:37 and ASI said, this looks like a good project. 15:39 "How are we going to get it off the ground?" 15:42 And in one of our board meetings, 15:45 several of the ASI members said, 15:48 each one would pay 15:51 for the development cost of a book 15:55 and those books are Great Controversy, 15:57 Desire Of Ages, Ministry of Healing, 16:00 Christ's Object Lessons and Bible readings 16:02 and now Prophets and-- Patriarchs and Prophets, 16:06 and in Spanish Ministry of Healing 16:09 and Christ's Object Lessons. 16:11 But the initial project was born 16:15 when several of the men around the room said, 16:18 we'll pay for the development cost of the book 16:21 and depending on the size of the book 16:22 that varied in cost from about $25,000 to $55,000. 16:28 And so, in order to print 16:35 that's how much money it took. 16:37 And we had a plan at that time. 16:40 The plan was 16:41 to price the books in such a way 16:44 that they could be low cost giveaway books, 16:49 that people could use in their daily witnessing context. 16:53 And then we build into the-- 16:55 we built into the project, 16:59 a replacement for the printing cost 17:02 and a 15 percent override over the top of that, 17:06 so that if things came up that made the books higher, 17:09 we'd have money to proceed. 17:12 They have been a remarkable success. 17:15 Over the years, there has been 17:17 approximately five million of those books produced. 17:22 I was asked to see 17:25 a church contact, who was in jail 17:29 within the last year or two and I went to jail, 17:33 sitting there in the waiting room, 17:35 and there was another man next to me 17:36 and I didn't know who he was, 17:38 but he had some books that looked strangely familiar. 17:42 It was our Happiness Books 17:43 that he was taking into the jail, 17:46 and we get stories of people 17:48 getting our Happiness Books in jail. 17:51 One man went into a cell and lifted up the mattress 17:55 and there someone who had been in jail 17:58 before him had left Desire of Ages for him. 18:02 Well, what's happened since then? 18:05 Every year, we get a report 18:10 of what the progress of the sales of the books are. 18:13 So far this year, 18:15 with no particular marketing thrust, 18:19 we have already sold more books 18:23 up through July 31st this year then last year 18:27 or almost any other year. 18:30 About 190,000 books have been sold in this way 18:34 so far this year. 18:36 If as an ASI member or friend, 18:39 you wanted to get these books in case lots, 18:42 you can do that from your ABC 18:43 and they will pay the freight for you to your place 18:48 and you can get a set of all six books 18:52 for under $10, if you buy in case lots. 18:56 And then when you had your contacts within the community 19:00 that you want to share these with, 19:02 you can do so. 19:03 They are attractive, they won't throw them away, 19:05 they'll read God's message there. 19:08 And so at the end of 20 years, we have distributed 19:13 approximately five million books. 19:17 We now have in our reserve fund, 19:19 more money than what we started with 19:22 and an inventory of several hundreds thousand dollars, 19:25 so God has blessed this project, 19:27 make use of them, 19:28 they're tools for you in God's service. 19:44 I'd like to welcome you to the continuing report 19:46 of the rest of the story. 19:48 Elder Finley, what is Sow 1 Billion. 19:52 Sow 1 Billion, Mike, is a project of the ASI 19:56 and the General Conference 19:57 to distribute one billion invitations 20:01 for Bible studies throughout the world. 20:03 Do you know how much one billion is? 20:04 Yeah. That is exactly what I was gonna ask you. 20:07 How much is one billion? 20:08 Well, 1 billion, if you can image this, 20:11 if you take one billion Bible study cards 20:15 and put them on end, 20:17 that would go 72,000 miles 20:21 or it would circle the earth 20:23 with Bible study cards three times. 20:26 There are days that I feel like 20:28 I had been assigned the task of counting them. 20:31 Let me ask you this. 20:33 You're the pioneers of our church. 20:35 Do you think that they ever envisioned 20:37 a number of one billion? 20:39 Well, if they believed the visions of Ellen White 20:42 and I'm sure they did. 20:44 They must have. 20:45 It was in 1848 20:46 that James White in Rocky Hill, Connecticut 20:49 published our first track called the Present Truth. 20:53 Ellen White had a vision that she saw our publishing 20:56 work going at streams of lights around the world. 20:59 Early Adventists saw this by faith. 21:02 We today can see it by reality. 21:05 Now, I remember when Sow 1 Billion was envisioned, 21:09 and they began to do the translation 21:10 and the publication and the publishing 21:13 of all these tracks that we're gonna be 21:14 distributing around the world. 21:15 I remember that process. 21:17 Now, Mark, you've traveled the world, 21:20 you know, in various countries. 21:22 Tell me what has been the story of Sow 1 Billion? 21:25 The people in this room helped fund that project. 21:28 What's been the story? 21:29 Well, let's look at 21:31 some of the varying countries in the world. 21:32 Let's begin with North America. 21:34 Twenty five million cards for Bible studies 21:39 were distributed here in North America 21:42 from coast to coast 21:44 and thousands of Bible studies came in. 21:47 If you go for example to the South Pacific division 21:50 and you look it to Australia, New Zealand, 21:52 and the islands of the Pacific. 21:54 There were six million cards distributed. 21:57 Look at the country of Poland, for example, 21:59 a Catholic country, 3.3 million cards distributed. 22:02 Mike, as I have traveled the world, 22:05 whether it's Africa, inter or South America, 22:08 the former Soviet Union, 22:10 God has blessed this project 22:13 with thousands of people taking Bible studies. 22:16 In fact, not only was this project 22:18 involving the distribution of Bible cards, 22:21 but we used Discover Bible course 22:24 to support those Bible cards. 22:27 And the Discover Bible course, by the Voice of Prophecy was 22:30 translated into 29 different languages. 22:33 So this program has resulted in hundreds of thousands 22:37 of Bible studies and people coming to Christ. 22:39 Now I know initially, people at the planning session, 22:43 which was part of those people right here at ASI, 22:45 it was the hope that if we distributed a billion of them, 22:50 and there were about six billion people in the world 22:52 that we would put one in almost every home in the world. 22:56 Now, I know I've seen them 22:57 in some rather unique environments. 23:00 But I want to just ask and get right down to the-- 23:03 we have little bit of time left here. 23:04 Mark, tell us a story 23:06 of how these cards have changed a person or people's lives. 23:13 It is amazing how God works. 23:16 Come with me to Cassius, Brazil. 23:20 An old man was walking down the street. 23:22 As he walked down the street in his town, 23:24 he saw a torn piece of paper, 23:27 that torn piece of paper 23:28 was a fragment of one of these Bible cards. 23:32 The only thing he saw on it was the address 23:35 of the Seventh-day Adventist church 23:37 and the words prophecy. 23:39 He looked at it and said, "I'm interested in prophecy 23:42 and if that church teaches about prophecy, 23:45 I want to go there." 23:46 And so he knocked on the door of the Adventist church, 23:49 fortunately the pastor was there that day. 23:51 The pastor invited him in. 23:52 They began a series of Bible studies. 23:54 The pastor recognized the torn fragment of the card, 23:57 gave him the Discover Bible course. 23:59 This man's heart was opened, prompted by the Holy Spirit. 24:02 Today he is a baptized Seventh-day Adventist. 24:06 Fantastic. That is just a-- 24:08 You know, the Lord has a plan to lead people to His love. 24:14 Let me ask you. 24:15 Now, you know, when we talk about changing people's lives, 24:19 Mark, what probably is the most unique story 24:23 that you have heard 24:25 on the distribution of these cards 24:27 in bringing someone to Jesus. 24:29 That maybe in Chernivtsi in the Ukraine. 24:34 There in the Ukraine, 24:36 the Seventh-day Adventist church had a vision. 24:39 You know, the Bible says in Galatians 6:7, 24:42 "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." 24:46 And the Adventist church had a vision 24:48 that they would cover that entire city with cards. 24:51 They did. 24:53 Former communists began 24:55 writing in for the Bible course. 24:57 Former atheists were touched with the gospel. 25:00 They followed up the passing out of the cards 25:03 with a Discover Bible school and followed that up 25:06 with a series of evangelistic meetings. 25:08 And what impressed me most was that this was a total program. 25:12 The passing out of the cards, following up with Bible studies 25:15 and culminating into evangelistic meeting. 25:18 More than 150 people were baptized, 25:21 many of them former communists or atheists 25:24 in that local church in one city, 25:27 one church in the Ukraine. 25:29 Amen. That's fantastic. 25:30 There's a question that I want to get to. 25:32 You know, many times we launch a program 25:34 and it's a good idea and we get started 25:38 and we go out and do something 25:40 and we come back and tell a few war stories, 25:42 but I want to ask the hard question here. 25:44 We said that we were going to distribute 25:46 a billion of these. 25:48 Did we distribute a billion? 25:51 We did not distribute a billion. 25:53 Okay. 25:54 We distributed probably a 1,200,000, 25:57 a 1,300,000, a 1,400,000. 26:00 What do you think? 26:02 Let me give you some amazing numbers. 26:06 If you look at the number we hand distributed. 26:10 We hand distributed over 900 million. 26:16 When I first tracked that, 26:18 I said, well, we're some short, 26:20 but then I began to look at the number 26:23 we put in the newspaper. 26:24 In the Japanese newspapers, 26:27 in secular Japan, we put 14 full page ads 26:33 covering 35 million people in Japan. 26:37 That's right. 26:38 We made spot announcements and taped these 26:42 and put them on national television across the world. 26:47 In addition to that, Mike, we took web pages 26:51 and we put simple advertisements 26:55 on the web pages, so it's clear as we can tell, 26:58 we've had over one billion-- 27:01 We've given people over one billion opportunities 27:05 to sign up for Bible studies to know Jesus. 27:07 Thank you very much for that. 27:09 A little side trivia, 27:10 Japan has been a very slow growth area. 27:14 As a result of that advertisement 27:15 that went in the paper, 27:17 it was the largest response they had for Bible studies 27:20 in more than 50 years in that country. 27:22 So it's a tremendous thing that took place there. 27:24 Mark, I want to thank you for being our guest 27:26 and coming and giving a report 27:27 on the rest of the story on Sow 1 Billion. 27:30 Thank you. 27:31 There was another program 27:33 that the sponsor called Go 1 Million. 27:36 Elder Jim Zackrison, 27:37 he was the former director of personal ministries 27:40 at the General Conference. 27:42 Since then, I don't think you've ever retired really. 27:44 Not really. I tried but it didn't work. 27:47 Welcome to the rest of the story, Jim. 27:50 Go 1 Million, what was that program? 27:52 Well, this is a program that was born today 27:55 you and I were called to the General Conference 27:57 president's office and he presented us 28:00 with a vision of having a million, 28:03 a million church members around the world 28:06 who'd really never done anything before 28:08 to mobilize them and get them out 28:10 in actual soul winning. 28:12 Now, we know that ASI has not only been involved 28:14 in this program financially, but they've also been involved 28:17 in this program in going around the world 28:19 equipping people for ministry. 28:22 Absolutely, the whole idea was to take 28:24 already existing materials in each part of the world 28:28 according to where they were in their language and so forth 28:31 to build a little kit that they could give to these people, 28:34 train them in a very simple way, 28:36 and they could actually go out and do something. 28:38 ASI had been deeply involved in it. 28:40 Now, Go 1 Million was a-- 28:42 You know, that's a pretty ambitious goal 28:45 to have a million people committed to going out, 28:48 finding someone and bringing him to the Lord Jesus Christ. 28:51 What has happened? Has it stayed at Go 1 Million? 28:55 The idea was to have 28:57 1 million people within a five year timeframe. 29:01 Well, nine months later, 29:02 we already had a million people. 29:05 Up to now, it's been about 3 million people 29:07 involved in this whole thing. 29:08 So it's changed to Go 3 Million. Absolutely. 29:11 What, I just think that, you know, 29:12 we have to understand in hearing that report 29:15 is the miracle that has taken place in the hearts of people. 29:20 And it's people like the world church, 29:24 not just those who happen to have 29:25 an ordain ministers' license. 29:27 This whole thing just grabbed people's attention. 29:29 They liked it, it was easy to do. 29:31 And all kinds of people got involved in doing 29:34 all kinds of unique things. 29:35 And of course, I know that ASI 29:37 has also been involved in the little kits, 29:40 that had been distributed around the world 29:42 that have excited a lot of lay people 29:44 about bringing someone to Jesus. 29:46 These kits have been in every corner, 29:47 anything from a bag that people could carry things in 29:50 to an envelop with a series of Bible study. 29:52 They'd come out in all different kinds of ways, 29:55 but ASI has been deeply involved 29:57 in building these different kinds of kits. 29:59 Now, Elder Zackrision, I know that we've brought 30:00 just a few slides that have come with your report, 30:05 but I want to ask you the question, 30:06 tell me some stories of what has happened? 30:10 You know, there was one church 30:11 in Oklahoma right, here in the States. 30:13 In their whole history, 30:15 they never had more than 10 members, 30:17 because of some kind of financial problems there, 30:20 seven members moved away, left them with three members. 30:24 When Go 1 Million came along, 30:25 those three members along with their pastor 30:28 got excited about it. 30:30 They put it in the action, 30:31 they got doing something in their church. 30:34 And within six months, 30:35 they had 30 members in that church. 30:37 Unbelievable. That's absolutely incredible. 30:39 Yes. Okay, all right. 30:42 I want you to just share a few stories with me. 30:43 Yeah, okay. 30:45 There was a gentleman in Brazil 30:46 who was walking down the road. 30:49 He was barefoot 30:50 and he was walking down the path 30:51 and he stepped on something 30:53 and it stuck between his toes. 30:55 He reached down and pulled it up 30:57 and it was a Go 1 Million invitation 31:00 that had only, all it said was 31:03 free Bible studies and an address. 31:05 Everything else was gone on that piece of paper. 31:08 He sent it in. 31:09 The Go 1 Million people found him. 31:11 Today, he is a local church elder. 31:14 Unbelievable. 31:16 You know, I also met a lady in South America 31:21 that decided to become involved in this program. 31:24 And on the day that I was there, 31:26 she had just completed 31:28 one year involvement in the program 31:30 and you already know how many people 31:32 she brought to the Lord. 31:33 She brought more than 1000 people to the church. 31:37 As a result. And it-- 31:39 I'll tell you that touched me when I looked at her. 31:42 I remember one lay congregate said that was, 31:43 that word Go 1 Million was the big thing 31:45 in that particular congregate. 31:47 This was in Patagonia in the northern part. 31:49 That particular mission, the equivalent territory 31:55 is like from Chesapeake Bay to the Ohio state line 31:59 and from the Canadian border 32:00 to the North Carolina state line, 32:02 that's what it covers in that part of the world. 32:05 Every single church in that area 32:08 had up on the wall 32:10 it's "Go, how many contacts it was gonna make. 32:14 How many baptisms it hoped to have?" 32:16 And all of those goals were met 32:18 under the Go 1 Million program. 32:20 Absolutely incredible, how people got mobilized. 32:23 You know, Elder Zackrison, 32:24 I know that there are lot of people here 32:27 that have made a very firm commitment 32:30 to the mission of this church, I know that. 32:33 But, you know, as we see this program, 32:36 is it a program that will end before Jesus comes? 32:40 It will keep going until Jesus come 32:42 because people get mobilized, they want to do something. 32:45 And what happens, Mike, is that once they do it, 32:48 they will recruit somebody else to go and do it as well. 32:52 And people would work with their relatives, 32:54 they'll work with all kinds of people 32:56 they never thought of before. 32:58 I got to tell you one story. Okay. 32:59 A pastor came up to me, he told me this story. 33:03 He said, for 10 years, 33:05 I'm the only Adventist in my family, he said. 33:07 And for 10 years I've been working with my family. 33:10 Nobody would pay any attention. 33:12 He said, one Sabbath morning, 33:14 I took my Go 1 Million materials. 33:16 Now, this is the pastor of a large district. 33:19 I took my Go 1 Million material, 33:21 went to my family members and told them, 33:24 okay, I've been talking to you about this for 10 years. 33:27 Today is the day you're gonna make a decision. 33:29 And as a result, 15 members of his family 33:33 made a decision to join the Adventist church. 33:35 Oh, fantastic. Fantastic. 33:37 You know, we've got just a few, a few seconds here, 33:40 I've a couple little questions I want to ask you. 33:42 Okay. 33:43 As you look at this Go 1 Million program 33:47 that is going around the world, 33:49 would you say that most of the countries in the world 33:55 including the 10/40 Window were involved in this program? 33:57 Absolutely. 33:59 People invented ways to do this that we never thought of, 34:02 they'd never thought of before, but they came up with ideas 34:05 under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 34:07 They came up with ideas on how to do this 34:10 in unique ways we never thought of before. 34:12 Everybody's been involved in it. 34:13 Yeah, and I guess I asked the question 34:16 because I think most people here tonight, 34:18 you know, that there are places in the world 34:19 that are not easy to work. 34:21 As a matter of fact, it's extremely dangerous 34:24 and I know that I've been to those environments 34:26 and I've seen people involved in this program 34:28 and they've done that at great risk 34:31 and yet, there has been a harvest for the Lord. 34:33 In the seconds remaining, people are going to walk out, 34:36 what do you want them to carry in their mind 34:38 as they leave this evening? 34:40 Listen, everybody, you can take a little track, 34:42 you can take an enrollment card, 34:43 you can do anything. 34:45 Give it out in the gas station. Give it out in the post office. 34:48 Talk to somebody. 34:49 All of us can do something 34:51 with this Go 1 Million, now Go 3 Million. 34:52 Thank you, Elder Zackrison, 34:54 for being part of the rest of the story. 34:55 Thank you for being our guest. 35:02 A third program that ASI has been very involved in 35:07 is the Africa Roof Project. 35:10 Now, I know that many of you may have heard of this, 35:14 but I think that, 35:15 that the thing that I always take away with me 35:19 when I visit many, many areas of the world, 35:24 is that there are people Sabbath by Sabbath 35:28 that for years have worshiped with no church. 35:34 Alan Knowles, 35:35 I know that you've spent, how many years in Africa? 35:38 We came to Africa, my family and I in 1985. 35:41 1985. 35:43 What is the Africa Roof Project? 35:47 Africa Roof Project is a partnership between ASI 35:51 that's you folks and me, 35:53 along with the church leaders in all of Africa 35:56 and the local congregations, 35:58 helping economically challenged congregations 36:02 to get a hard roof over their church. 36:05 You know, they build up the walls 36:06 up to the roof level and we come 36:09 and we're able to put a roof on their church. 36:11 Okay, now you put up a roof over their church. 36:14 Who provides the rest of the material? 36:17 Well, the local congregation 36:18 is important part of the partnership 36:22 and they have to build from the ground up 36:25 with their local materials, 36:27 scrapping from what they can from their lowly existence, 36:30 it's usually an economically poor areas 36:33 that we can help the most. 36:35 Okay, after having spent all those years in Africa, 36:38 there's no question in my mind, 36:40 but what, you have visited 36:41 a lot of the countries in Africa. 36:44 And as you traveled just an estimate 36:48 on how many congregations out of 10 36:52 would have their own church building to worship in? 36:57 Well, Mike, you can go into the cities, 37:00 into the urban areas and into the rural areas 37:03 and you'll find the same thing over and over again 37:06 where people are meeting in burrowed rooms in houses, 37:11 in open fields under a tree, 37:14 Mike, that's where they can worship, 37:16 they don't have a church building. 37:18 I was there just a few months ago, 37:19 met with the congregation 37:21 that had worshiped under a tree for 26 years. 37:25 And, you know, when I saw that it just touches your heart. 37:28 The Sabbath school classes take place 37:30 in little places around by a bush or something. 37:34 Let me just come to this question. 37:36 You know, as you look at that tremendous need, 37:41 does it make a difference 37:45 what ASI has been partners with on the Africa Roof project? 37:51 And I can think back of many stories of experiences 37:55 that I've had, Mike. 37:57 Being privileged to go out right into the rural areas 38:03 and putting a roof on a church 38:04 and the experiences that I have there, 38:08 it touched my heart. 38:10 I just want to share with you one. Please. 38:12 We were in Malawi along the lake, beautiful Lake Malawi 38:17 and we had been there the year before 38:19 on a passing visit. 38:21 And we found the Seventh-day Adventist church there 38:24 where we want to worship on Sabbath 38:26 and one full wall had fallen down. 38:31 So my wife and I said, 38:32 we really would like to help this church, 38:35 but we don't have time right now. 38:37 We gave them a few shekels to get some cement, 38:41 to build their wall up 38:42 and will be there next year we told you to help. 38:45 But it took him a whole year 38:46 to make the bricks again, get the walls up. 38:49 The next year when we visited them, 38:52 we drove up with our roofing materials, Mike, 38:56 we starting unloading, and a lady came from behind 39:01 screaming and shouting, jumping up and down. 39:05 And when you're in Africa, 39:06 you're never sure what that means. 39:09 It could be devil possession, 39:11 could be just crazy in their head. 39:14 Our Pentecostal friends get like that sometimes. 39:18 Well, we were working, putting the roof on 39:21 and we see this lady in and out 39:22 making this noise again and we weren't sure, Mike. 39:26 We finished the roof on Friday 39:27 and we worshiped to them Sabbath morning. 39:33 The rain came down Sabbath morning 39:36 on top of our hard roof, 39:38 praising the Lord, we're in there. 39:39 And this lady was in church 39:41 and we were wondering a little bit 39:42 what was going to happen, but I found out that 39:45 this lady was part of the church membership 39:48 and she wasn't crazy, she wasn't devil possessed, 39:51 she was a happy on fire Seventh-day Adventist lady 39:55 who had been praying for a church roof for 20 years. 39:58 It was the fourth time they had built that church, 40:03 and now they had a hard roof on it, Mike. 40:05 And we praise the Lord with them all that Sabbath day. 40:09 Now, they had something to be proud of. 40:10 Oh, fantastic, amen. 40:12 You know, I know we have about 40:13 70,000 Adventist churches around the world 40:18 and there are many of them that have a church building, 40:23 but most likely it is an estimate that we-- 40:28 of the church buildings that we have, 40:30 we could double that 40:31 or even triple that number of buildings 40:34 and still not provide 40:36 the number of church buildings needed to house our members. 40:40 And I know that, I know that if you put up a church 40:46 does it help stabilize that congregation, 40:49 that's the question. 40:51 Mike, it not only stabilizes, it's a tool of evangelism. 40:55 That church becomes a light in that community, 40:59 people are proud to go 41:01 and invite their friends to that church, 41:03 it becomes a tool for evangelism 41:05 and it stabilizes that church. 41:07 Okay. Now... 41:09 we have just a few seconds here left 41:11 and I want to, I want to just ask you, 41:14 if you had a favorite story to tell. 41:17 And I know you've told one already, 41:19 but if you had a favorite story to tell 41:22 about the Africa Roof providing a shelter, 41:25 what would that story be, I want you to share that, 41:27 just turn to the congregation and share that story. 41:31 Well, most of my experience 41:33 comes with building from the ground up, 41:36 and the roof is just the culmination, Mike, 41:39 that tops it off, it's like the icing on the cake, 41:42 that's the best part. 41:44 But the building part as I like to share, 41:46 we went to this one church where we had promised them 41:49 we would give them a roof if they could get the walls up. 41:53 And these people, bless their heart had built, 41:55 burned their bricks down by the river, 42:00 baked them, got them ready 42:02 and needed to haul them up the hills to the church. 42:05 Well, they needed some transportation to get up there 42:08 and the local transportation was busy that day, 42:10 that's the oxen and the ox cart. 42:12 The man said the ox cart is ready. 42:15 My oxen are gone. 42:16 Well, those church members became the oxen. 42:20 Four in the front, two on the wheels, 42:22 two behind pushing those bricks up the hill, 42:24 Mike, they worked for that church. 42:27 Did their part and when we came, 42:29 we found the walls up 42:30 and we were able to put our roof on that church. 42:32 Mike, there is a congregation there now that feels a part 42:36 of ASI, a part of their union, a part of their neighborhood 42:40 and they're witnessing for God in that church. 42:42 Not long ago, I had the opportunity 42:46 to visit in the country of Congo. 42:48 And there was a time 42:51 that the Africa Roof Project was going, 42:54 but as you know the Congo was a territory 42:57 where war broke out. 42:59 And as we traveled along, 43:01 there was one building, church building after another 43:04 that had the walls up, many of them had crumbled down, 43:08 many of them had faded, and I said what happened. 43:10 They said, well, 11 years ago, 43:13 we were waiting for a roof on the Africa Roof Project, 43:17 war broke out, they couldn't bring the roof 43:19 and now the rain has made it come down. 43:21 I want you to know 43:23 that just in recent months, the Africa Roof Project 43:28 has been made possible for the Congo again 43:30 and there are churches with roofs going on as I speak. 43:35 Well, probably not as I speak 43:37 because they wouldn't do it on Sabbath. 43:39 But there are roofs going on, on the churches in Congo 43:42 after many years 43:44 of them worshiping with no roof at all. 43:46 And so I know that it's a blessing 43:48 in the places that it comes to. 43:50 Amen, Mike. 43:51 Alan, I want to thank you again for being 43:52 part of the rest of the story, for being here. 43:54 One thought for the audience that you want them to take 43:57 with them tonight as they leave? 43:58 You're partners 44:00 and you only get one part of the roofing program. 44:02 Thank you for allowing me to be a part 44:04 of putting the roofs on in Africa. 44:07 And I thank you Asante Sana, Zikomo Kwambiri from Africa. 44:12 And may God bless you 44:14 as you continue to be part of the rest of the story. 44:45 There is power in the word of God 44:49 He speaks three simple words 44:53 And the world is born 44:56 Let there be 44:58 A world of beauty 45:01 A perfect place 45:03 For His crowning act 45:07 Throughout six days of creation 45:12 He speaks and life is born 45:17 Ought to know that creative power 45:22 In my life 45:27 Let there be 45:31 creative power unleashed 45:34 Oh, Lord, reveal that in my life today 45:39 Speak those three simple words 45:43 And create in me 45:45 A clean heart 45:56 The Creator now He is kneeling 46:01 His fingers move with purpose 46:04 Through the sand and clay 46:07 Words no longer can create the scene 46:12 As He moulds a perfect man 46:15 In His image 46:19 The crowning act of creation 46:24 Lies before His eyes 46:29 Now He kneels once more to give 46:34 That first breath 46:39 Breathe in me 46:43 Creative power 46:46 Oh, Lord, reveal that in my life today 46:51 Breathe your life into me 46:54 And create in me 46:57 A clean heart 47:18 After six days of creation 47:23 Jesus sanctified the Sabbath day 47:29 Setting it aside as a day of rest 47:34 Inviting us to walk with Him always 47:40 He says My child come closer 47:45 I long to walk with you 47:50 To give you My salvation 47:55 And My pleads 48:00 Walk with me 48:04 My life is in Your hands 48:07 Oh, Lord, Your spirit moves within my heart 48:13 Living Your life through me 48:16 You have created in me 48:19 A clean heart 48:28 Living your life 48:32 Through me 48:36 You have created in me 48:43 Your clean Heart 49:07 Isn't that wonderful to be part of the ASI family? 49:12 You know, whenever I think about 49:15 all of the wonderful things that have happened today, 49:18 from our early morning devotional times through 49:21 the presentations that have gone on, 49:23 I think of Jerry and Janet Page and their discussions about 49:27 the need for us to be in prayer and everything, 49:29 to the kids programs tonight, 49:31 to hearing about our project reports, 49:33 things that have happened. 49:34 My heart is truly warmed, how about you? 49:39 Our family has been coming to ASI for 26 years. 49:43 Actually 26 years ago, Fred and Sandy Miller 49:46 invited us to come to this convention 49:48 and we haven't missed one convention in all 26 years. 49:52 And when we first started to come, 49:55 our boys were very little. 49:56 Danny was six and Jamie was two. 49:59 There weren't any children's programs back then. 50:02 They had to just sit and endure the adults' meetings. 50:06 But they still enjoyed coming. 50:08 And we looked forward to ASI every year. 50:13 There were a number of reasons we enjoyed coming. 50:16 One of them was for spiritual renewal. 50:19 Every time we left the convention, 50:21 we were motivated and inspired to go out 50:24 and share Jesus with our friends and our neighbors. 50:28 And you have to admit that the fellowship here 50:30 just can't be beat. 50:32 I have run into friends from college, 50:35 from Andrews University this week 50:37 and I thoroughly enjoyed that. 50:40 And then I've made a lot of new friendships here too 50:43 and I know that their friendship is for eternity. 50:47 But even though all of that is good, 50:49 there is still a higher purpose for our being in here. 50:54 You know it's one thing for us to come here 50:57 and enjoy the program. 50:59 How many of you are enjoying 51:01 this program here at ASI in Tampa Bay? 51:04 You know, it's-- that's something that we enjoy 51:07 and it satisfies our heart's desires, 51:10 but you know we're here on this earth, 51:12 not just to satisfy ourselves 51:14 as good as that maybe at a place like this. 51:17 We're here for the purpose of reaching out 51:19 and touching other people's lives 51:21 for Jesus Christ and for eternity. 51:23 And, you know, as I listen 51:25 to our Youth for Jesus tonight particularly, 51:27 I thought how wonderful, these young people 51:31 so full of energy, so full of vitality, 51:35 channeling their energies into reaching out 51:38 and touching people in this community 51:40 and via this convention touching you, touching me 51:44 and for those who may be watching on television tonight 51:47 having touched you as well. 51:51 You know, one of the things 51:53 that we do at ASI is we take an offering. 51:57 And I don't know how many of you 51:59 actually have a copy of your program. 52:03 Can I see some programs out there? 52:04 How many of you got copies of you programs? 52:06 I like for those of you who have that copy 52:08 to open it right up to the center, 52:09 right up to the very middle. 52:11 And you will see a large world map 52:15 on that program and for those who don't have your program 52:17 and for those of you who maybe watching at home, 52:19 we're just looking at a map 52:21 in the middle of our ASI program 52:23 that shows places around the world, 52:27 where the different projects for this year 52:31 are going to be focused for 2008. 52:35 Now what I'd like to ask you 52:37 at this time, just think about it. 52:39 I want you to turn the page over, 52:40 for those of you who have it, just one more page over. 52:43 And you're gonna see a section 52:44 where it begin to have little pictures 52:46 and summaries of the various projects 52:50 that our convention offering is going to go for this year. 52:54 You know, I looked down here 52:56 and I look and I see Southeast Asia projects, 52:59 touching the lives of people 53:00 on that far corner of the globe from here. 53:04 I see better life television in Southern Oregon. 53:08 Maybe there will be some people 53:09 who are actually watching us tonight over that network. 53:12 I look on here on the next page 53:14 and I see the generation of Youth for Christ, 53:16 what a fantastic group of young people we have. 53:18 Some of your kids are involved in that, 53:20 some of the generation of Youth for Christ 53:22 are actually here in our audience tonight. 53:24 I look down here and I see International Children's Care. 53:27 We have organizations that are helping 53:29 with orphanages around our world. 53:32 And, Karen, what else do you have that you see here? 53:35 In our own backyard we have Project Patch 53:38 and that is such a wonderful ministry 53:40 that's helping troubled kids. 53:42 And we have a lot of, even our own kids 53:44 that need to go to Project Patch. 53:46 And, you know, there is also a place here 53:48 that says something about a internet project 53:51 over in Poland and for my Polish wife 53:54 that's something that's very special to her 53:56 to think about an internet project going on 53:58 in the land of her ancestry. 53:59 And I can't help but see on here 54:01 that there is a Pastor Don and Marti Schneider 54:04 welfare program. 54:05 Now, I want to hasten to let you know that is not, 54:08 that does not mean that they're on-- 54:10 we're doing a fund raising for Don and Marti Schneider, 54:13 they're doing just fine, but they were over in Nigeria. 54:17 And they discovered the need of some of the orphan kids 54:21 that are over there and some of the needy people 54:23 and they allowed their name to be used 54:26 to establish a special project fund 54:29 to help some of those people that are very unfortunate 54:32 over there that have not enjoyed 54:34 some of the things that we have. 54:35 And there are many other things here on this program 54:39 that we're gonna be talking about little bit more tomorrow, 54:41 but here's what I'd like to ask. 54:42 And the reason why we are doing this tonight is very simple. 54:46 Tomorrow morning in our worship service, 54:49 we will be actually taking our offering 54:52 and I'm gonna ask those of you who are here singly tonight, 54:55 maybe you came by yourself. 54:57 Tonight I'd like to invite you 54:59 just in privacy of your hotel room tonight 55:02 to open this program up and just look over 55:05 all of these different projects. 55:09 Those of you who are couples, 55:11 so that tomorrow at the very end of the offering appeal, 55:13 you don't have to look at each other 55:15 and say how much should we give. 55:16 What's our part? 55:18 I want you to look at tonight. 55:20 Families, if you are going to be going back to your room 55:23 tonight after this program is complete, 55:26 I want to invite you to lay these out on the bed 55:29 in your room and kneel down 55:30 and say, Lord, what is our part 55:34 of this offering that's going to be taken. 55:36 What is going to be the mission in ministry 55:38 that our part is for this coming year. 55:41 Also, want you to take that envelope that's in there. 55:44 Actually just put it in your hands, feel it because 55:47 what is written down on this envelope tomorrow, 55:49 what is on the checks that are written 55:51 will be what the mission in ministry of ASI 55:54 is for this next year around the world. 55:57 And what a privilege and I want to tell you, 55:59 we Karen, and I are doing that as well. 56:03 We're actually going to be sitting down and saying, 56:04 Lord, what do you want us to do in this matter? 56:09 And it's only the Holy Spirit that can tell us 56:11 that and can tell you that. 56:13 But, you know, when I think about 56:15 the pictures that I saw tonight of Burma, 56:18 when I think about the little cards 56:20 that had gone out around the world 56:22 in such a powerful way in the past. 56:24 Those are all things that we've already done, 56:25 we've spent our money on it and done those. 56:28 My heart is warmed to think that I have a privilege, 56:31 Karen has a privilege, the two us, 56:33 each one of you have a privilege of sharing in this. 56:37 What I'd like to do 56:38 is I'd like to just ask you if you bow your heads with me. 56:41 I'm going to pray about this 56:43 and this is going to be our closing prayer tonight. 56:45 If you just bow your heads, 56:47 in fact I'm gonna ask you to stand up where you are, 56:48 just stand up with me if you would. 56:51 And I'm gonna pray for you as you go and pray 56:54 and talk to Lord about this tonight. |
Revised 2015-12-03