Participants: C. A. Murray (Host), Kamil Metz & David Pano & Michelle Odinma
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY016007A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain, 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:07 Hello, and welcome to 3ABN Today. 01:09 My name is CA Murray, 01:10 and allow me once again to thank you 01:12 for sharing just a little of your 01:13 no doubt busy day with us. 01:15 So thank you once again for your love, your prayers, 01:17 your support of this ministry 01:19 for assisting us in doing what we're called to do. 01:22 And that's take the gospel around the world 01:24 to every man, woman, boy and girl, so thank you. 01:27 I'm very excited about today's program, 01:28 because I'm in the presence of people 01:29 that are automatically honored, because they can do, 01:32 and are doing what I've never been able to do. 01:35 And they are doing it well, and they are doing it 01:39 in the power of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 01:41 We're gonna talk about literature ministry, 01:43 we're gonna talk about... 01:44 what they used to call back in the day colporteuring 01:47 which is now literature evangelism, 01:49 which is really a much more apt term, 01:51 because that's what these men and women are, 01:54 they are literature evangelist. 01:56 I tried it when I was in college, 01:58 and was a apocalyptic failure. 02:02 So when I hear about the stories that they have, 02:04 it gives me hope, 02:06 because God gives each of us ministries, 02:08 and this one was not mine, but it is theirs, 02:11 and are doing it well. 02:12 And they've got great stories, great, great stories to tell us 02:15 about how God is blessing their ministry 02:17 and changing lives, changing not only their lives, 02:20 but changing the lives of those 02:21 that they share the literature with, 02:23 and many, many people have been brought to the Lord. 02:26 Before we go to our music, 02:27 I want to introduce them to you. 02:28 Kamil Metz is the literature ministries, 02:31 director for the Michigan Conference. 02:32 Kamil, good to have you here man. 02:34 It's good to be here. 02:35 He comes from a long way. 02:37 We're gonna mine that story in just a little bit. 02:38 But the accent may bespeak the fact 02:41 that he wasn't born in Michigan. 02:44 But he is living in Michigan now 02:45 and working in Michigan Conference. 02:47 And then someone whose family I actually know. 02:49 This is Michelle Odinma. 02:51 I think I married your uncle and aunt. 02:55 Oh, wow. 02:56 In fact, I'm almost sure that I performed their wedding, 02:58 one of them is back in the... 03:00 it is '80's or '90's, 03:01 they've been married a little while, yeah. 03:03 When I saw the name Odinma, I know your uncle Piyus, 03:07 we used to call him Chikay. 03:08 Okay. 03:10 And I know your dad. Yes. 03:11 So I know the family when I saw the name Odinma, 03:13 I said, "I got to know them." 03:14 They are from originally Ghana? No, Nigeria. 03:16 Nigeria, Ghana, I know it was one of the two. 03:18 And I pastored that family back at the Ephesus Church 03:21 in Manhattan for many, many years. 03:23 So it's good to have you here, it's like old home week. 03:24 Thank you. 03:26 And then Daniel Punyo. 03:28 David Punyo. David, I said Daniel. 03:30 David Punyo. Yes, that's correct. 03:31 Forgive me, David. 03:32 We've actually met before, I know you've been here before, 03:34 I've seen the face before. 03:35 So you're all involved in literature ministry. 03:38 You are the head guy, David is your assistant, 03:42 and Michelle is part-time literature minister, 03:46 and part-time singer, songwriter. 03:49 Teacher. And part-time teacher. 03:52 And in your spare time, 03:54 walk on water or something like that. 03:55 Exactly, exactly. 03:57 That's not a thing. Good to have you guys here. 03:59 And, Kamil, I want to start with you, 04:02 because you are the... 04:03 How long have you been the director 04:05 of literature ministries in Michigan? 04:06 I've working for the Michigan Conference, 13 years. 04:08 Ah, been there while. 04:10 Excellent. 04:11 Where you're from originally? 04:13 Well, I was born and raised 04:14 in the communist Czechoslovakia, 04:16 in a home of a communist father, 04:18 and a mother who became an Adventist, 04:20 when I was a little boy. 04:21 Ah, I was gonna ask you. 04:23 So you grew up in a semi Adventist home, 04:25 because you have Adventist mom, non-Adventist dad. 04:28 Was there are a lot of conflict, 04:30 or did your dad allow your mom to kind of practice her faith? 04:32 Religion was not allowed in the home. 04:34 But my mother was very strong, she was on fire for God. 04:37 And even though religion was not allowed, 04:39 we had morning and evening worships. 04:41 Wow. 04:42 So if you can imagine, 04:44 we're living in an apartment complex, 04:45 and we just knew when dad would be coming home. 04:47 And when we hear the elevator stop, 04:50 we quickly prayed, put the books away, 04:53 hid them behind the clothes, 04:55 and then we would welcome our dad. 04:57 Bless you heart. 04:58 How did your mother find out about the Adventist church? 05:01 What's interesting is when my oldest brother was born, 05:06 there was an argument about my brother 05:08 being baptized as a baby in the Catholic church, 05:11 because my father was raised in the Catholic church. 05:14 And so there was an argument, 05:16 and at the end, my dad actually left her, 05:19 like he was gone for couple of weeks. 05:21 So she went on a walk, 05:22 and she was walking around mile away from our house. 05:25 There was a lady who stopped her and said, 05:27 "How you're doing?" 05:28 And said, "I'm doing fine." 05:30 And the lady said, "Why don't you come in, 05:31 let's talk." 05:33 And they began to talk, 05:34 and she began to share her faith, 05:36 the Adventist faith. 05:37 She shared the Sabbath message with her, 05:39 and my mom saw it right away, 05:41 she says, this is biblical, and that's how 05:42 she was introduced to the Adventist message. 05:46 So in Czechoslovakia, in those days, 05:50 religion was not totally banned, 05:51 there was some, you know, some religion that was allowed. 05:54 Yeah, in the '50's of course, the churches were closed, 05:58 they were sealed, the property was taken away. 06:01 In the '70's, '80's it became more tolerant. 06:03 So we were able to go to church, 06:06 but we were required to go to school on Saturday, 06:09 you know, so we have to work through that as well. 06:12 Wow. 06:13 Did your dad ever become a believer or not? 06:16 He... there was a short time 06:18 when he began to attend the church, 06:19 like he was very convicted by the message. 06:21 And, you know, 06:23 he was never asked to be baptized. 06:25 And so after six months, 06:27 he began to drink again and walk away from the church. 06:30 Wow, wow. He's not pretending. 06:32 But your mom stayed faithful? 06:33 Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. 06:35 She's been winning soul. 06:36 She's been bringing people to church. 06:38 Praise the God. She's still on fire for God. 06:39 Oh, praise the Lord. 06:40 Is she here in States or in Czechoslovakia? 06:42 No, she lives in the Czech Republic now. 06:43 The Czech Republic, yes, yes, yes. 06:45 And you have one brother? 06:47 I have two brothers and four sisters. 06:49 Oh, wow. 06:51 Now where are you in that line? 06:53 I'm number five. Yup. Number five. 06:54 Ah, down to the back end. Yeah. 06:56 Are the rest of your siblings in the church, in the message? 06:58 Excellent, excellent. 07:00 In fact, six of us have done literature evangelism, 07:02 out of seven. 07:03 So that's kind of in the DNA. 07:09 All right, so obviously 07:10 you came from Czech Republic to here. 07:12 When did you leave... European comes to the States. 07:16 Came in May of 1997. 07:19 I came with the goal of studying English here. 07:22 I want to go back home 07:23 and study International business, okay. 07:25 So I began to study English, 07:27 I had a roommate, he was asking, 07:28 "So what do you want to do in your life?" 07:29 I told him, "Business, study business." 07:33 And he began to ask questions, like really, 07:35 "We're living in the last days, 07:36 that's what you want to invest in." 07:38 And I began to pray, 07:39 "So Lord, what is it really that you want me to do?" 07:42 Till then, it was my plans for my life. 07:45 Yeah, your agenda. 07:46 And then it's like, "God, what you want me to do?" 07:48 And it was couple of months later, 07:49 I began to canvas with the group, 07:51 with the school, training school, 07:53 and I have done ever since. 07:56 Well, praise the Lord. Praise God. 07:58 Okay, excellent. 07:59 Michelle, I want to come to you, 08:01 because before we go into that actual ministries, 08:02 just get a little history. 08:04 Adventist home growing up? 08:06 Yes. 08:07 I grew up with my mother, 08:09 and my mom always instilled in us 08:13 that church and spirituality was first. 08:17 And so she made sure we were there, 08:19 we were involved, pathfinders all of those things 08:21 and so I was raised in Adventist home. 08:23 Okay. 08:24 Now it is one thing to do the Adventist thing, 08:27 it is another thing to know Jesus. 08:29 Right. 08:30 When did being raised in an Adventist home 08:32 translate into personal relationship with Christ? 08:34 Well, I had always been a very spiritual kid, 08:38 someone very interested in religion and faith. 08:41 And so I was baptized initially when I was twelve at a seminar 08:46 at a evangelistic meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan, 08:49 put on by David Asscherick 08:51 in Mission College of Evangelism. 08:52 Okay. 08:54 And later as I grew, I went to public school, 08:56 and I had a lot of different people around me 09:01 that influences, 09:03 and so I kind of steered away from my initial convictions. 09:06 In the wilderness time, that's what we call it. 09:08 Exactly. Exactly. 09:10 Yeah, yeah, little wilderness years. 09:11 So it wasn't until college at Michigan State University, 09:15 the student group there, 09:17 they kind of ran after me and chased after me. 09:20 That wasn't until my... 09:21 towards the end of my first year of college 09:24 that I decided to come back to the Lord. 09:27 This was an Adventist student group? 09:30 Adventist student group in the public campus. 09:32 So it touched once again in your heart. 09:34 Yes. They did. Okay. 09:35 And through a series of events, 09:37 the Lord had actually been preparing me 09:40 prior to them reaching out to me. 09:41 I was thinking a lot more about the end times, 09:45 things that I knew I was having different dreams. 09:48 And it was, it was making me think about the future. 09:53 And I went to GYC in 2006. 09:57 And I... they made a call, and I heard them preaching. 10:01 And I thought, you know, 10:03 I can't waste my life, I need to do something today. 10:07 And so I went back to my campus, 10:08 and I decided to become more involved. 10:10 But I still hadn't fully committed to being 100 percent. 10:15 And so what happened was the students there, 10:18 they asked me, and they said, hey Michelle, we think that 10:22 you could teach a Bible study in your dorm. 10:25 And I said... 10:27 That's kind of putting, tossing you in the deep end. 10:28 Yeah, they just threw me right in there. 10:31 And I said, you know what, let me think about it. 10:34 And I went, I thought about it and I prayed, 10:36 because I knew that if I decided to do that. 10:39 I had to be, all the way, all or nothing. 10:41 Oh, yeah. 10:42 And hypocrisy was a thing 10:44 that I had seen a lot in my life. 10:45 And I didn't want to be someone who continue that pattern. 10:48 And so I decided, okay, I'll do it. 10:51 So I started a weekly Bible study in my dorm room. 10:54 And every week, 10:56 I would invite people and share with them. 10:59 And through that process, 11:00 the Lord was teaching me about my faith. 11:02 Yeah, one of the best ways to strength your own faith 11:04 is to try to help someone else or teach someone else, 11:06 because you find that there is this 11:08 reciprocity kind of bounces right back to you, 11:10 and makes you stronger in the Lord. 11:11 Exactly. Good deal. 11:13 Exactly. 11:14 David? Yes. 11:16 Who I called Daniel. All right. 11:17 But you are David. 11:19 You're from? I'm from Bolivia. 11:20 From Bolivia originally? Yes. 11:22 Adventist home growing up? Yes. 11:24 My dad actually, he was a pastor, 11:26 he left the church and... 11:28 Well, he is in the process of coming back right now 11:30 by God's grace. 11:31 Oh, praise the Lord. My grandfather was a pastor. 11:33 So I was raised in this pastor's kids environment. 11:38 Yes. 11:39 What happening is like, 11:41 that fact that you were born in an Adventist church, 11:43 it doesn't mean that you'll automatically 11:44 know Jesus personally. 11:46 Very true, very true. 11:47 It took me a while until I was 26 years old, 11:51 that's when I personally met Jesus 11:53 for the first time in my life. 11:56 Two years later, I was joined in a school, 11:58 and I know that God wanted me to be trained to serve Him, 12:02 but I didn't know which area. 12:04 And that's when I got a call, 12:07 and I was ready to go to school, 12:08 and I called to that people in charge and I asked them. 12:12 What do I need to do in order to join that school, 12:15 and they send me to canvas or colporteur ministry 12:18 or literature evangelism. 12:20 And that was a quite experience, 12:22 I didn't know that my training was going 12:27 to be main and focused in literature ministry, 12:29 because that's... I mean 12:31 the best experiences that I have 12:33 and the best stories that I have in my life 12:35 seeing God working, 12:37 it has been in literature ministry. 12:38 Praise God. Praise God. 12:40 Growing up in an Adventist home, 12:41 being a pastor's child, 12:43 pastor's child of a pastor's child. 12:45 Did you always kind of stay with the Lord 12:47 or did you have your own set of wilderness years, 12:49 were you always kind of with him 12:50 or did you wandered little bit? 12:53 What I can say is, I always went to church. 12:56 But my heart was all the way... 12:58 I live my life from... 13:01 you say like six days a week in the world, 13:04 deep into the world, 13:06 but one day I will go to church. 13:08 So it was in a double life experience you can say. 13:13 That's when until I met Jesus for the first time. 13:16 I mean the Bible became a different book for me, 13:19 I was hungry for it. 13:20 And I did want to know more about Jesus 13:23 something that transformed me as... 13:25 young people that was committed. 13:27 Young people was committed. 13:29 Shook my worldview basically, and I decided to join them. 13:33 Praise the Lord. 13:34 And that led me to literature ministry actually. 13:36 Praise the Lord. 13:37 You know I'm listening to all of your stories 13:38 and when you meet people, 13:40 you tend to put them in an age bracket. 13:44 I've got to push everybody's ages up, 13:45 because I'm listening to your stories. 13:47 I figure, you guys all are older than you look. 13:50 So it occurs to me 13:52 that selling literature keeps you young. 13:55 You know it does something to your skin, 13:57 and something going on here that, that I miss, 14:00 I need to go out and sell some books, 14:02 because in listening to your histories, 14:05 they belie your years. 14:07 So you're all older than you look. 14:10 So that means that 14:12 sharing of literature keeps you young, 14:14 it's like the fountain of youth. 14:16 So if there's anybody out there 14:18 and your start to see some wrinkles 14:19 that you don't like. 14:21 Share some literature and you look like these guys, 14:24 because these guys look great. 14:27 And I'm really happy about that. 14:28 I want to go to our music. 14:29 Then I want to lock down on the minister 14:31 because you've got some great stories. 14:33 And God is really blessing the work. 14:35 Our music ministry today comes from our good friend ET Everett 14:39 who is in charge of our sound center here 14:42 on the campus here at 3ABN. 14:44 Wonderful person, wonderful producer. 14:46 She produced my CD and just about everybody here, 14:49 she's had a hand in doing their work. 14:51 But she's also a great pianist. 14:53 And she's going to be playing 'Jesus loves me'. 17:36 Well, that is ET Everett, a good friend of this ministry. 17:39 We've got Kamil Metz, David Punyo, 17:41 and the lady Michelle Odinma. 17:44 And we're talking about youth ministry. 17:46 I want to get to you, Kamil, 17:47 'cause you're kind of the head guy here. 17:49 How long has the Michigan conference 17:52 had this focus on youth literature evangelism, 17:54 you know per se, 17:56 because growing up in Northeastern Conference 17:58 in New York we had literature evangelism. 17:59 But there was no particular focus on youth LE work. 18:03 And how long has Michigan Conference been doing that? 18:06 Yeah, it's interesting, because we are talking about 18:08 the maga book ministry. 18:10 And that really started in Michigan. 18:11 Yeah. 18:12 The conference president, Glenn Aufderhar, 18:14 he was reading a quote from Ellen White 18:17 where she talks about how she has written 18:19 Christ's Object Lessons, that book, 18:21 specifically for young people to earn money for school. 18:24 So he was reading that quote, 18:26 and then he walked down to the ABC, 18:28 talk to the manager about it. 18:30 Like what can we do to have our young people 18:33 start earning money for school using that book. 18:35 He says, "Well, Dick Thomas happens to be here. 18:39 He works at the Review and Herald, 18:40 he's visiting his brother here today. 18:41 You should talk to him about it." 18:43 So he walked over to Dick Thomas, 18:44 read the quote to him, and then he looked at it, 18:47 and he says, "What are you gonna do about it?" 18:50 And few months later, 18:52 Dick Thomas came up with the first maga book. 18:55 And now maga book is not spelled M-E-G-A, 18:57 its spelled M-A-G-A, because back... 19:01 before they were selling magazines. 19:03 Now they would use a book that is a magazine size, 19:06 so maga book. 19:08 And of course we have the very first maga book here. 19:12 I did not know I had this in my library. 19:15 I didn't know this was the very first one. 19:17 But it is a book that is magazine size. 19:20 So it is a maga book. 19:22 And this book was printed in 1987. 19:26 Jesus Taught Love, or rather He Taught Love 19:28 and Jesus Lessons for Living. 19:31 So this was the very first maga book. 19:33 And, of course, there's been many, many, many since then. 19:35 So the ministry came out of some work 19:37 by the late Glenn Aufderhar, someone I knew very, very well. 19:41 And started, I did not know it began 19:43 in the Michigan Conference. 19:44 Yeah, and of course, now it's spread 19:46 across the division. 19:48 Yeah, God knows the timing, 19:49 there was a school, Edenvin school. 19:52 And they had it, it was a small school, 19:55 and they were like $30,000 in debt. 19:58 So they were talking about closing the school. 20:00 And then, Dick Thomas was... he grew up in that area. 20:03 And so even though he lived in Maryland now. 20:06 He came back, he brought some people 20:08 from the conference and community. 20:10 And they used this book 20:12 to basically get rid of the debt. 20:15 Wow. 20:16 And in ten days they raised $30,000. 20:19 There is a term that we used to use 20:21 during my aborted attempt at LE work. 20:24 Big books. 20:26 Define what is the difference 20:27 between big books and maga books? 20:29 Okay, so we talked about the magazine size maga book, 20:32 that's a maga book. 20:34 But prior to that of course or even now 20:36 we're using also the hardcover books. 20:37 Right. 20:39 Like the Conflict of the Ages series, 20:40 and bedtime stories, Bible stories. 20:43 Those are hardcover books, we call them big books. 20:45 Big books, okay. 20:47 Maga books tend to sell 20:49 better than big books, is that not true? 20:51 Well, it's cheaper. 20:53 People give a donation of around $10. 20:56 While the hardcover set may be 20:58 two, three, four hundred dollars. 21:01 In the Michigan conference do you have 21:03 a large number of young people that are part-time, full-time? 21:06 How does that work? 21:07 Well each summer we have our 90 young people to do this. 21:10 And so like for example last two summers... 21:12 What's great about this program is 21:15 the conference gives my department money, 21:18 we hire young people, and they earn their own money. 21:22 Okay, so you could, what you could do is, 21:24 you could give them just scholarships 21:25 and they can go to school. 21:26 Michigan believes that young people 21:28 can earn their own money. 21:29 Last two summers 21:31 they raised for the education over $500,000. 21:36 So it's a great, great thing. 21:38 Now, David, you are the associate. 21:42 What are your specific responsibilities? 21:45 I'm actually working with the literature department 21:47 in Michigan Conference 21:49 which involves different ministries 21:51 and part of that is glow ministries 21:54 which is small pamphlet, so we passed out in the area. 21:57 But also literature ministries and maga books 22:00 sort of canvassing what, that's what it's called. 22:02 And this is beautiful, 22:04 because I actually started working with him 22:07 as the leader in the canvassing programs. 22:11 Last year I worked in, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. 22:13 Yes. 22:15 So I'm doing part of everything 22:16 about literature ministry with young people. 22:19 Praise the Lord. You know I didn't ask. 22:22 Kamil, are you married? 22:23 I'm married, yes. Children? 22:24 One wife, two children. One wife, two children. 22:27 That's the way to do it, 22:29 better than the other way around. 22:31 David married? No. 22:32 No. Michelle? No. 22:36 Okay. 22:37 We've got two good looking LEs on the block. 22:39 Praise the Lord. 22:42 Just keep that in mind. 22:43 Okay. Let's move on. 22:46 So you've been, you've been working since 1997? 22:50 And, Michelle, part-time since? 22:52 Well, I don't work for 22:54 the literature department currently, 22:56 but I started canvassing in 2007, 22:58 so 2007 to 2011. 23:01 Okay. And sing a song, what you said. 23:03 Correct. Are you any good. 23:05 Well, if I said I was bad... that wouldn't help me. 23:10 Then we wouldn't invite you back. 23:11 Exactly, exactly. Very good. 23:13 And David not married? Not married. 23:15 Okay. And speak two languages. 23:16 Oh, yes. Praise the Lord. 23:18 Okay. 23:19 Let's talk about the experience of selling, 23:21 because as I said. 23:22 I was sharing literature. 23:24 Better put it that way because I tried it 23:25 and it just didn't work so well for me. 23:27 But it is obviously working well for you. 23:30 What... And all these kind of ontological questions 23:34 we ask every now and again. 23:35 What is the best thing 23:36 about selling or sharing literature? 23:42 Anybody? 23:43 I think it's the package. 23:45 It's what it does to the people in the community, 23:48 it impacts their lives. 23:49 What it does to the young people 23:51 for the spiritual life, but in the same time, 23:54 it provides the finance for them to go to school. 23:58 Do you find that sharing literature 24:02 does something specifically for the person... 24:05 We know that if you put it in the hand of someone, 24:07 they're going to be blessed. 24:08 But the person who is selling, 24:09 the person who is sharing, 24:11 do you see a change in their life? 24:12 Because it occurs to me 24:14 that knocking on doors, going door to door. 24:17 One, you can't be easily offended, you know, 24:20 if the door gets slammed in your face, 24:21 you've got to just blow that off 24:23 and go to the next house. 24:24 I on the other hand tend to carry that with me 24:26 which I think was part of my problem. 24:28 But I think that, 24:29 there is a special kind of faith that it takes 24:32 to make your living 24:34 or to make money sharing literature. 24:36 Do you find that in the lives of young people 24:37 that you're working with? 24:38 Well, there is something we call... 24:40 it's called canvassing amnesia. 24:42 Uh-huh. I like that. 24:43 So something that happens at the door, you forget it. 24:45 The second thing we tell them is run to the next door, 24:48 because you don't have time to think about this. 24:50 But you know, it does something to your character. 24:52 I remember, I worked with Adriana one day, 24:54 one of the students, 24:56 and she was little stubborn with the Lord. 24:58 You know, she just want to do it her way. 25:00 And she's going door to door and it's not happening. 25:02 She's not able to place books in the homes 25:04 and she's getting angry with the Lord. 25:08 Finally she calls on a two way radio. 25:11 I was in the van, and she calls and said "I need books." 25:14 So we came over. "So what happened?" 25:17 She said, "I finally gave up, I went down on my knees. 25:19 Said, Lord, you take over now. 25:21 And the moment she did, she said, 25:23 "I went to the next door." 25:24 And people started being receptive to the books. 25:28 So you fight with the Lord and finally when you give up, 25:31 when you say, "Lord you take over." 25:32 Things happen. Yeah. Yeah. 25:34 I see Michelle is nodding yes, yes, yes... 25:35 True, very true. 25:37 You had that experience? I have had that experience. 25:39 In 2009 I was big booking, 25:41 and I was a decent 25:45 maga book sharer. 25:48 And, but I found that 25:50 when I transitioned into big books, 25:52 I was having a difficult time, which I didn't anticipate. 25:55 And so for the first whole half of the summer, 25:58 I was not able to get any of those big books out. 26:02 And so finally I had to give up. 26:05 So I took my 2002 Malibu, 26:08 and I pulled it over on the side of a cornfield. 26:11 I said "Lord, what do you want?" 26:14 That's just where he wanted to be too. 26:16 Lord, what do you want, 26:18 that's exact spot, he wants you to be in. 26:19 Exactly and so, 26:20 right there I prayed, and after my lunch break, 26:23 my pitiful lunch of a PB&J sandwich, 26:28 and some chips and water I got out. 26:30 And the first door I hit, I knocked, the lady bought 26:34 two sets of the Conflict of the Ages series. 26:35 Oh, well, praise the Lord. 26:37 I went to the next door, another set, 26:39 went to the next door, half set, last door, 26:41 another half set, end of the night. 26:43 And I said, "Okay, I understand now." 26:45 Praise the Lord. That's how it's done. 26:47 That's out it's done. 26:49 Now, I want to give you each a second, 26:50 want you to think about your best LE story, 26:53 The one that thrills you the most, 26:55 the one that is your most encouraging and 'cause we... 26:58 My fear is, we're going to run out of time, 27:00 so you got some good stuff. 27:01 So let's start with David. 27:04 Okay. 27:05 I have many stories. 27:07 One of the ones that impacted my life. 27:09 You were talking about, what is it in LE work. 27:12 I studied theology. 27:14 But you read the theory on the books in the classes 27:18 and all that, but when you're in the field, 27:21 that's when you see the practical. 27:22 That when you're in the field is when you see that, 27:24 if God is really real. 27:26 Yes. 27:27 And you see that through the... like you says, 27:29 there might be doors that will slam on your face. 27:32 But when you have these experiences with God Himself. 27:35 Yes. 27:37 It helps you to realize, you know, 27:38 the God actually exist. 27:40 The God that opened the Red Sea, 27:41 the God, that same God 27:43 is working in your life and through you. 27:44 And it's amazing, 27:46 because it fortifies your faith. 27:47 Yes. 27:48 And one of the times I also... 27:50 Remember I was in Texas, I was knocking doors. 27:52 And as I knocked the door, one of the ladies, she was... 27:56 She answered the door. 27:57 Well, she didn't answer the door. 27:59 She opened, she looked at me by the window 28:02 that was right next to the door. 28:04 And I show her a maga book, actually that's called 28:08 Peace Above the Storm which is Steps to Christ. 28:09 Oh, yes. 28:11 And I showed her, you know, this is book, 28:12 it's going to help you to, you know, 28:14 to be free from guilt, all the worries, distress. 28:16 And when she heard the word distress and problems. 28:19 She opened the door immediately 28:21 and she grabbed the book right away. 28:23 I was like, "All right." 28:25 And she was like, "Yes, I need help." 28:28 And she started telling me... 28:29 She told me, "I need this book, I need this book." 28:32 And I told her, "You can keep the book today actually." 28:35 But what happened? 28:37 She mentioned to me that five days before 28:39 that when I was meeting her, 28:41 her husband left her for another woman. 28:44 And she has been begging her husband to be back home. 28:49 And the husband will not want to do that. 28:52 And for the last four days, 28:53 she has been crying in her house, 28:55 not going out at all. 28:57 So she will come up from her room, 28:59 just clean her face and feed her child, 29:02 and go back to her room and keep crying. 29:06 So in that process, as she, it got to a point 29:09 that she was really, really, she hits really, really bottom, 29:12 like she was completely destroyed. 29:15 And that's when she realized, I need to plead to God. 29:19 So she knelt and she said, "Lord, please I need help. 29:23 Can you send someone that can help me? 29:27 Please Lord." 29:28 And the moment that she said that prayer, 29:31 and when the moment when she said, "Amen." 29:33 I was ringing the bell. 29:34 Oh, wow. 29:36 I was ringing the bell, 29:37 that's when she came out and she's like what... 29:39 And she was telling me, "David, this is from God, 29:41 because this is a straight up answer to prayer. 29:44 I know that God loves me." 29:46 Amen. "I know that God cares for me." 29:48 And she opens the book and she opens a book 29:52 on the page where it says, "Broken heart." 29:55 She opens right there in that page. 29:57 And she shows me, 29:58 "I'm telling you this is from God." 30:00 Amen. 30:01 It has to be from God 30:02 and that led me to realize, wow. 30:04 I mean, she was fully blessed, and she said Lord..." 30:08 You know, David, 30:09 I'm gonna clean my house right now 30:11 and start reading this book. 30:12 Amen. "I know God loves me." 30:13 So she was super blessed, 30:15 but to me, I was like, God is real, 30:19 God is working miracles today. 30:22 Amen. Amen. Praise the Lord. 30:24 Michelle, I'm gonna to tell you 30:25 which story I want to hear from you. 30:28 You don't get to pick. 30:30 I'm gonna tell you, 30:31 I want to hear the pastor story. 30:33 Okay. 30:34 Because it's a really good story. 30:35 It is a good story. Yeah. 30:37 That same summer when I was big booking. 30:38 I knocked on a door in Holt, Michigan. 30:41 And it was coming to the end of the day, 30:43 it was very hot, and I was tired. 30:46 And I knocked on the door, 30:47 and this nice Hispanic lady invited me in, 30:50 my friend and another, another big booker as well. 30:53 And she fed us, gave us cake, water. 30:55 And so we had a great conversation, 30:58 she treated us like we were her children. 31:00 And so I said, "Oh, this is a wonderful." 31:01 So I showed her some of our books, 31:03 and she said, "Oh, I love these so much, 31:04 these are wonderful. 31:06 But do you have them in Spanish?" 31:07 And I said, "No, but I can give them for you in Spanish. 31:10 And so I made an appointment to come back 31:13 and deliver books to her in Spanish. 31:15 So then, the following time I came, 31:17 unfortunately I didn't have them in Spanish. 31:20 But I felt convicted. 31:21 Usually sometimes people will schedule 31:23 an appointment with you, 31:24 and then when you go back, it falls through. 31:26 But I decided, you know what, something told me, 31:28 go back and just tell this lady 31:30 you're going to get the books for her. 31:32 So I go back a second time, 31:34 chat with her, and I meet her son, 31:36 and get to chat with him a little bit. 31:38 And he said, he had planned to become an actor 31:42 in California, was planning to move to LA soon. 31:44 And so I connected with him a little bit, 31:46 told him about myself, and how I sang, 31:48 and some of my family members, they sing too, 31:50 since he was in the entertainment industry 31:52 and I left. 31:53 So I made an appointment to come back a third time. 31:56 And the third time, I had Spanish maga books. 31:58 We weren't able to get the big set in Spanish, 32:01 but we had Spanish maga book. 32:02 So I took a stock of those and I headed over 32:05 with my leader Sebastian Braxton. 32:07 When we come to the door, 32:08 and unfortunately she wasn't there, 32:10 but her son was there. 32:12 And so we started talking to him at the door. 32:14 He asked us what we did, what we were doing. 32:16 We shared with him, 32:17 oh, we're Christians, we're missionaries. 32:18 Shared some different experiences we had 32:20 traveling around the world and sharing the gospel. 32:22 And his eyes just started lighting up. 32:25 And he said, wow, and he started sharing with us 32:27 what he was doing in his local church. 32:29 And so he said, "Hey come on in." 32:31 So he invited us in and just that moment 32:34 that the mom pulls up. 32:35 And so I start talking to her, 32:37 sharing the Spanish books with her. 32:38 And at the same time my leader is answering 32:40 some theological questions, that this young man had. 32:44 And he was so mind blown, he was like, 32:47 "How can I get more of this?" 32:49 So at that moment I turn around I said, 32:51 "We can have Bible studies." 32:55 Oh, amen. 32:57 The good news was that Holt, Michigan was near campus. 33:00 It's a Michigan State, East Lansing, 33:02 so it's right next door. 33:03 So that same week, that Friday, 33:06 we had our first Bible study on Daniel chapter 2 33:09 in Kamil's backyard, on his back porch. 33:12 And I remember what he said after the first lesson 33:15 he said, "Wow. 33:16 That was good for today." 33:18 And I... And then after that every week after that, 33:21 every Friday at six in the morning, 33:24 myself and my friend Cynthia Salinas, 33:26 we would go over and we study the Bible with him. 33:29 Well, that's not where the story ends. 33:31 So we continue doing that. 33:33 And as canvassing ended for that summer, 33:36 we transition into the school year. 33:38 And so he started coming out to church 33:39 started coming out to events. 33:41 And what ended up happening was he got baptized. 33:44 Amen. 33:45 He got baptized, but not only him, 33:48 then his mother came in. 33:49 Praise God. 33:50 And then his brother came in, his younger brother. 33:53 And then his father also goes to 33:55 the East Lansing Church as well. 33:57 And so his aunt got baptized, 33:59 I mean, it was just, it was in the water. 34:05 Literally and figuratively. 34:08 After that he himself became 34:10 a colporteur and a canvassing leader, 34:12 because he wanted to share in the experience as well. 34:15 He said, "Someone reached me through knocking on my door. 34:17 I want to knock on other people's doors." 34:19 So he did that, he also did campus ministries, 34:23 the program was a missionary for a year. 34:25 And then after that he went to Southern to study theology 34:28 and he is now currently a pastor in... 34:31 I believe Buffalo, New York, pastoring two churches. 34:34 So we praise God for that. 34:35 How does it make you feel 34:39 to know that the Lord use you to have a part 34:42 in not only bringing entire family, 34:44 but getting a pastor in the bargain, 34:47 that must make you feel pretty good. 34:49 Oh yeah, it's kind of mind blowing. 34:52 And also it just reminds me that, you know, 34:54 no child of God nothing happens by chance 34:56 for child of God, you know. 34:58 And God divinely orchestrates our pass, 35:01 so that we can meet people on the way, 35:03 who also need to come. 35:04 And so it's just, I'm just thankful, 35:06 if that was the only door I had knocked on that summer, 35:09 would have been a good summer. 35:10 Oh, very much so. 35:12 You know, you pile the stories one on top of the other. 35:17 David, a woman is left by her husband, 35:20 as she gets off her knees, from the prayer, 35:23 knock on the door and God's got something for her. 35:27 You go to house, knock on a door. 35:30 Years later we've got a pastor, 35:31 and a whole family in, you know, in the message. 35:35 And we praise the Lord for that. 35:36 I want to stop right here, before I go to you Kamil, 35:38 talk about this book a little bit. 35:39 Because this is a collection of stories, is it not? 35:42 Tell me about this book? 35:44 Well, you know, for years I would sit with young people 35:47 that would tell stories 35:49 and I would just look around like, 35:50 "Man, I wish my conference president 35:52 or my union president 35:53 were here to listen to what God, 35:55 how God is using our young people. 35:57 And so finally I shared that vision 35:59 of putting a book together 36:01 with the stories of our young people 36:04 with a Joint Conference publishing leader. 36:06 And he says, "Why don't you put the book together." 36:08 And so I work with him and thankfully 36:11 this book was published just a year ago. 36:13 Praise God. 36:15 It's called, 'The Open Door', 36:17 and it is a collection of stories 36:20 of LE work from young people. 36:23 Yeah. Yeah. 36:24 Where can this we've gotten. 36:26 Well, currently, it's available at the Lake Union ABCs. 36:30 And also on our website theopendoorbook.com. 36:33 theopendoorbook.com. 36:34 Very, very good. 36:36 Now, I don't know if you wanted me to have this, 36:38 but it is in my hand. 36:40 And as such by default, it becomes mine. 36:44 So the only thing that's left you to do is sign this for me. 36:46 Sure. 36:48 And then, 'cause I want to read this, 36:49 this kind of stuff excites me. 36:50 And this is meat for the soul. Yeah. 36:54 Now, Kamil, as a leader you've got many, many stories. 36:57 So regale us with one if you want. 36:58 Well, let me tell you a story or two from this book. 37:01 Yes. 37:04 Arielle was married lady 37:06 and she was showing her cookbook, 37:08 we usually start with the cookbook 37:10 to make friends with people. 37:11 And then she went on to show her the Great Controversy. 37:14 The lady grabbed and she says, 37:16 "This is the book, this is the book." 37:18 Of course I didn't want to know, 37:19 "What are you talking about?" 37:21 And so she began to explain, she says, 37:23 "I got it last year from another young person. 37:26 I read it and it changed my life." 37:29 And then she thought, "If I gave my life to Jesus. 37:32 Why is my husband still treating me the way he is?" 37:36 So she thought, if that book changed my life, 37:38 it can change his life too. 37:40 So she thought about how can I get him 37:42 to read the book. 37:43 Yeah, yeah. 37:44 So what she did, she took the Great Controversy, 37:46 she put it on a table in the living room, 37:48 hoping that her husband will pick up and read it. 37:50 One day while she was away, 37:52 her husband picked it up and began to read. 37:54 But he was very catholic and now he's reading 37:56 a little bit about the history of the church and, you know, 37:59 some of the things they have done in the past. 38:02 He was filled with anger when he read that. 38:04 He was so angry that he walked to 38:06 the burning fireplace and he threw the book in. 38:09 Wow. 38:10 Couple of hours later his wife comes home. 38:12 And she finds him in a chair with tears in his eyes 38:18 and book, 38:19 the Great Controversy in his hands. 38:21 He said, "This book must be from God, 38:24 because it will not burn." 38:27 Praise God. And God changes life too. 38:29 Praise the lord. 38:30 That is powerful, that's powerful. 38:32 And that's one of the stories in the book. 38:33 That's one of the stories. That is excellent. 38:36 Give us another. 38:38 Okay, I'll tell you one of my, one of my, you know, 38:39 you ask them for their stories, right? 38:40 Yeah. 38:42 I'll tell you one of the stories that, 38:43 my story that's in the book. 38:45 Ellen was one of my students. 38:47 And I was the driver, I was the leader 38:48 and suddenly she calls me to a radio and she says, 38:51 "Mobile one, " that's how, you know, 38:52 we used to send codes. 38:54 She's asked me to come pick her up right now. 38:56 And it was urgent, so I drove over immediately. 38:59 And I said, "Hop in." 39:00 I said, "What's happening?" 39:02 She says, "I cannot do this anymore." 39:05 I said, "Tell me what's happening?" 39:06 She says, "I went to a door, showed them a cookbook 39:09 and then the next book I show, and its Great Controversy, 39:11 and she said at that moment, "I felt a pain in my stomach." 39:14 She said was like a knife stabbing, 39:17 you know, stabbing me. 39:19 And she says, 39:20 So I...she couldn't talk, you know. 39:22 Suddenly she's like 39:23 "this is the Great Controversy," 39:25 she couldn't talk any more. 39:26 And the lady is like, "are you okay,? 39:27 Are you okay?" and she's like "I'm okay, I'm okay." 39:30 The lady got the Great Controversy 39:32 and signed in for personal Bible studies. 39:34 At that moment the pain went away. 39:36 Wow, wow. 39:38 She went to the next door and she showed the cookbook 39:39 and here's the Great Controversy, 39:41 and she couldn't talk. 39:43 You know because of the so much pains, 39:45 and like "are you okay?" 39:46 "I'm okay." 39:48 But she was not of course. 39:50 The lady got the Great Controversy, 39:51 and she also signed for personal Bible studies. 39:53 Wow. At that moment. 39:55 Ellen, she's 60 years old, you know. 39:57 She's like "I can't do this and more". 39:58 So she called me. 40:00 Now she's sitting in the van next to me and thinking 40:02 "Man, I'm just a college kid, you know, 40:04 and I don't have all the answers, 40:06 I'm like, "I wish Mark Finley or Doug Batchelor were here. 40:08 Now they have all the answers. 40:10 Well, I was there alone, but you know what, 40:13 the Lord will teach you things. 40:15 At that moment I remember a quote that I memorized 40:18 from colporteur ministry it says, 40:20 "No sooner the name of Jesus 40:22 is mentioned in love and tenderness, 40:25 then angels of God draw near 40:27 to soften and subdue the heart." 40:30 And I said, "Ellen, what you have to do is, 40:33 when you show the Great Controversy, 40:34 you must use the name of Jesus 40:36 as soon as you can lovingly and tenderly. 40:40 Because then angels of God will draw near, 40:42 and evil angels will have to flee. 40:44 We prayed together, she went to the next door. 40:47 Showed a cookbook, 40:49 and here is the Great Controversy, 40:50 and she couldn't talk, 40:52 and then she said the name of Jesus. 40:53 She said at that moment 40:54 the pain went away and never came back again. 40:57 Wow. 40:59 It's amazing. 41:00 Attack of the enemy. 41:02 See, the devil knows that something good 41:03 is about to happen, even though we don't. 41:04 Exactly. 41:06 You know, that's a powerful, powerful witness. 41:09 As you look back over the numbers of young people 41:12 that you've had a chance to help through this program. 41:15 Is there one that stands out 41:17 in your mind as being particularly, 41:20 I'll just say hard headed, 41:21 who the spirit just touched and really changed their life? 41:25 I thought you were gonna ask the opposite 41:26 who is the best worker you ever had. 41:30 I think I like David to talk about 41:32 an experience that happened this past summer 41:33 with somebody like that. 41:34 But let me tell you 41:36 the best colporteurs I ever had. 41:37 Okay. 41:39 The best canvasser I ever had, my wife. 41:41 You know we were dating, and she was my student. 41:43 And, you know, as a leader I drive by, 41:45 deliver books and I'm driving by 41:47 and I'm hoping she will, you know, 41:49 just look at me and waive and smile, none of that. 41:53 You know even when I was at the door with her. 41:56 She knew this may be the only chance they will get, 41:59 there's no time for... 42:01 So you're... now your wife was 42:02 at one time one of your student? 42:04 Oh, one of the best colporteurs. 42:05 Oh, so little side benefit of you job. 42:09 Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. 42:10 Lord tossed a little bone there, all right. 42:13 When she would be at the door, 42:14 it was a 100 percent for this couple, 42:17 because it was all about their souls. 42:19 I did not exist when I was next to her. 42:21 But praise God, you know. 42:23 So she was, she was focused. She was very focused. 42:24 And you were focused to, just on two different things. 42:27 Well, praise the Lord. 42:28 But David got a good story I think. 42:30 Yeah, actually one of the beautiful parts 42:32 of this ministry is like you outreach, 42:34 you see people compare by the ministry. 42:36 Yes. 42:37 Also this inner reach, when young people 42:39 themselves sort of benefit out of it. 42:41 Last summer we have a young man, 42:44 16 year old actually and he had a rough past. 42:47 I mean, he ended up living on the streets 42:49 in such a young age, surviving his own. 42:53 And he ended up in an academy. 42:56 And among them, a lot of things 42:57 he had to pay himself to the academy actually. 43:00 He ended up canvassing with us. 43:01 He ended up joining the program. 43:04 And when he came, he came with this mentality, 43:07 he told me that the last past year 43:09 he has tried to commit suicide, 43:11 because his life has been so hard on him 43:13 and he will look at the mirror and he will say. 43:15 He will repeat to himself for many hours, 43:17 "I hate my life. 43:19 I hate my life. I hate my life.' 43:21 And he will repeat it to himself 43:22 and he will be always, you know, anger with life. 43:25 So he came to the program. 43:27 I remember we received him, "Hey, welcome." 43:30 And just automatically we love him, 43:32 because he was the youngest, 43:34 one of the youngest students and we love him. 43:37 We embrace him. 43:38 And he told me later on that he was planning 43:40 to run away that very night 43:42 because he's living in the streets. 43:44 So it was nothing new for him. 43:45 Yes. 43:46 So he was planning to do that, 43:48 but something told him to stay here, stay there 43:49 so he decided to stay. 43:51 And he was telling me that he was anger with us 43:53 because we were happy. 43:56 And we're happy in Jesus, that was the best part. 43:59 And he was like anger, because he thought this people, 44:02 they don't know what life is. 44:04 They don't know what bills are, 44:05 and I have to pay all of this and all of that. 44:07 But suddenly as he... 44:09 We have worships in the programs. 44:11 So as he listen to worships, 44:13 as he started experiencing this God in his life. 44:17 As he saw all of that, weeks later 44:20 is when he started giving his life to God. 44:23 His life changed totally. 44:25 And in the week six and seven, 44:28 this young man, he was shy, he will not speak. 44:32 But in the middle of the week, he started changing. 44:34 Like, he was like, 44:35 he will be always happy singing with us 44:38 and he told me, "David, after I gave my life to Jesus, 44:43 I can smile for the first time 44:45 and not will be faking about it. 44:46 Amen. 44:48 So it changed his life totally. 44:49 And he became, actually one of our 44:51 like boldest colporteurs, 44:52 because he will be at the door saying he will be like, 44:54 "Sir, This is the book." 44:56 And we will be "No, no, no, I'm not interested." 44:58 One time he did that actually, "I'm not interested." 45:00 He's like, "Sir, are you ready for what's coming?" 45:03 And he's like, "What's coming?" 45:05 This book is gonna help you. 45:07 So his life has changed totally. 45:09 Praise God. 45:10 And he's now one of the spiritual leaders 45:12 in his academy. 45:14 I mean this is total change for his life 45:16 and that's one of the beauties of this ministry. 45:20 Because as a group of students, you support each other. 45:23 You give Bible studies to each other. 45:25 And you never know, 45:27 you can embrace mighty spiritual giants. 45:30 Excellent. 45:31 Kamil, I want to just focus on you for just a little bit. 45:36 Can people from outside of the conference 45:38 come under your umbrella 45:39 and work in the Michigan Conference? 45:41 Are you accepting young people? 45:42 Maybe someone hearing 45:44 this particular program or seeing this program. 45:47 And doesn't have this program in their conference, 45:48 but wants to get involved in this. 45:50 Can they make application and come 45:52 for vacation or summer or, that kind of thing, 45:54 how does that work? 45:55 They can, but we really encourage them 45:57 to go back to their own fields. 45:59 You know, if you're from California, 46:00 you can relate to the people in California. 46:03 One reason I put this book together 46:06 is to inspire young people to be part of the ministry. 46:09 And then our website, it has a map of the United States 46:12 and they can click on their own state. 46:14 And will show them how they can join 46:16 the work locally so. 46:18 I would say the best they can do 46:19 is go back to their own field 46:21 to support their own conferences. 46:22 Do most conferences to your knowledge 46:24 in North American division have an analogous program, 46:26 something like this or close to this? 46:28 I would say around half of them. 46:30 For those who don't have a program, 46:32 of course they can join us. 46:33 Oh, praise the Lord. 46:34 Praise the Lord. Now forgive me. 46:37 We're gonna go to our contact information. 46:41 But indulge the romantic in me for just a little bit, 46:45 because you touched on something. 46:49 So you got this student. 46:51 At one point in your relationship with her, 46:54 your professional relationship with her. 46:57 Did it occur to you, "Hey this may be somebody 46:59 I want to spend forever with." 47:01 You know at what point did that kind of germinate 47:03 in your mind? 47:05 Well my first... 47:06 very first time I was canvassing, 47:07 my mother happen to be cooking for us. 47:10 And Annette was actually in the kitchen helping her. 47:13 And so she's like my mom came to me 47:15 and she's like, "She is the one. 47:18 And I said, "Mom, I came here to work, 47:22 I'm not interested in relationships. 47:24 I'm gonna stay focused." 47:25 But of course I was very impressed by her work ethics 47:28 and devotion to God. 47:29 And took around a year and a half 47:31 when I finally sort everything out 47:33 and then we began to talk. 47:36 But you had been in her company for that time, 47:38 because you were working. 47:39 We went to school together. Oh, okay. 47:41 We canvass together and we also worked... 47:42 went to school together. 47:43 So the idea appeared in your mind first before hers? 47:49 I think there was a mutual thing we happened... 47:50 the following summer we left together, we work together. 47:54 One Saturday afternoon we are having Bible study. 47:56 It's just me and her. 47:58 Everybody else was resting, and she began to think wow. 48:01 When born a wonderful one day 48:02 to study the Bible with my husband. 48:04 So but, you know, I was trying to stay focused. 48:07 Not to blame her that she was not, 48:09 she was very focused too, 48:10 but you know we took our time to this. 48:13 So when it sort of came to the surface, 48:15 it was a mutual kind of thing. 48:17 Yes. Praise the Lord. 48:18 That's the way it should happen. 48:20 And it's always good when you find someone 48:22 who is like minded and, who loves the Lord like you do. 48:26 So it wasn't a stretch. 48:27 So I suspect your mom was happy. 48:29 She was very happy. 48:33 If not taking credit for that. 48:35 Give me one more story from the book? 48:37 Okay. 48:40 Kayla visited three businesses and when she was walking out. 48:44 There was a man sitting under a tree. 48:46 And she walked to him and he ended up getting a book 48:48 and he says, "Now you went to these businesses, 48:50 did anybody get any books?" 48:52 She's not really, says "let's go back." 48:54 They went back inside the businesses 48:56 and he pointed at one man, he says, 48:58 "you give her ten dollars, she'll give you a book." 49:00 And then he would point different people like that, 49:02 okay. 49:03 Then they went over to another set of three businesses 49:06 and again he would do the same thing, 49:07 he could even speak Spanish. 49:09 But it was obvious that he didn't know those people. 49:12 Because they ask, "Is that your father?" 49:14 And she says, "No that's just my friend." 49:16 They walked up out of the businesses, 49:18 and he gave her a brief hug and tell "God bless you." 49:22 And then she went ahead of him. 49:24 And then she turned around to just tell him 49:26 how much she appreciated his help. 49:29 He was nowhere to be found. 49:31 So we believe he was an angel. 49:33 And in that book we have a chapter called 49:36 "Angels among us," and there are stories about 49:38 people bringing two bottles of water 49:40 and they would say this is for you, 49:42 and this big bottle is for your friend. 49:44 And they would say, "Where did your friend go?" 49:46 So you know, Ellen White does talk about 49:49 how angels are waiting to cooperate with us. 49:52 So when we work for God, angels are working with us. 49:55 Yes, yes. Praise God. 49:56 That is a wonderful, wonderful story. 50:00 Again the book can be gotten where? 50:03 The opendoorbook.com. 50:05 The opendoorbook.com. 50:06 Because they don't have that on the contact information. 50:09 But I think, this is a great book. 50:10 And it's one that you really want to add to your library 50:13 and it will encourage you, you want to read 50:14 encouraging literature, 50:16 this is the kind of book that will do precisely that. 50:20 In the summer, when you have large groups of people, 50:23 do you attack like a particular city, 50:25 do you spread them out across the conference. 50:26 How does that work? 50:27 Yeah, we divide them into groups around 50:29 20 per location. 50:30 So we, let's say go to Detroit, Grand Rapids, 50:33 Lansing, you know, Flynn, we divide them 50:36 because we found it's easier to handle smaller group, 50:38 you can really mentor them better than 50:40 having a large one, one large group. 50:42 When it comes to time management, 50:44 it's hard to manage a large group 50:46 so we divide them in groups of 20. 50:47 Yeah. Let me ask this question, 50:49 where do they stay, how do they... 50:51 Are they responsible for housing? 50:52 Do you do that for them? We... 50:54 You know if I've got a child, 50:55 I want to send them where they want to go. 50:56 I want to release my child to you, 50:58 so walk me through some of that? 50:59 They either stay in our local school or local church. 51:02 And then we provide, 51:03 of course we provide breakfast for them, 51:06 we have shower facilities for them and. 51:08 They spend the summer it's like a mission trip, 51:09 everybody having sleeping bag. 51:11 Yeah, yeah. 51:12 So there is oversight. 51:14 And there's someone that's running that group 51:16 that is responsible for them. 51:18 We train our leaders and they oversee the group, 51:20 but it's a ministry where young people train 51:24 other young people through the ministry. 51:26 I just mentor the young people. 51:28 What's your low, your low age, your low end age limit? 51:31 Sixteen. Sixteen, Up to? 51:34 Up to 30. 51:36 Okay. All right. 51:37 Excellent, excellent. 51:38 This is the kind of thing 51:40 that you really want to be involved in. 51:42 If you're a young person that you see maybe 51:45 getting a little lax, maybe a little loose, 51:47 you want to put him in something. 51:49 You don't necessarily want to send him 51:50 to a foreign country. 51:52 He can have a rich mission type experience 51:55 right here in your home and across it. 51:56 If you're in the Michigan Conference, 51:58 this is your daily work. 52:00 This is your mission field. 52:01 And this is something that we can highly recommend 52:03 and endorse. 52:05 Should you want to make contact with Kamil 52:07 or the Michigan Conference 52:08 or the Youth Literature Evangelism Department, 52:11 here is how you can do precisely that. 52:16 If you would like to know how you can get involved 52:18 with Youth Rush 52:19 or if you'd like more information, 52:21 then you can write to Youth Rush, 52:23 320 West St. Joseph Street, 52:26 Lansing, Michigan 48933. 52:29 That's Youth Rush. 52:30 320, West St. Joseph Street, Lansing, Michigan 48933. 52:36 You can call 866-356-0832. 52:40 That's 866-356-0832 52:44 or you can visit them online for stories, missions 52:47 and more at theopendoorbook.com. 52:50 The opendoorbook.com. 52:53 Call or write to them today. 52:54 They'd love to hear from you. |
Revised 2019-07-19