Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY190020A
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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 00:29 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 01:10 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn. 01:11 I'm JD Quinn. 01:13 And we welcome you once again to 3ABN Today. 01:15 Amen. 01:16 We've got an inspiring program today. 01:20 We will be talking with the Oklahoma Academy. 01:25 And their youth group or their group, 01:30 their school group went on a mission to Cuba. 01:34 Well, they do so much at Oklahoma Academy. 01:36 It's amazing. 01:38 But they went on a mission to Cuba, 01:39 and we gonna be talking about the work in Cuba. 01:42 And what these young people are accomplishing 01:44 for the glory of the Lord... 01:45 It's amazing. 01:47 It is amazing, isn't it? 01:48 Yes. 01:49 I wanted to share a scripture with you 01:51 because I love this scripture. 01:52 And it was something to me when I found this promise 01:56 that I understood 01:57 what walking by faith is and listening 02:00 for the still small voice of the Lord. 02:01 And this is Jeremiah 33:3, this is the Lord speaking. 02:06 And he says, "Call to me, and I will answer you." 02:11 In other words, asked me for wisdom, 02:14 pray to me. 02:15 Look, you know, if you're looking for direction 02:18 call on me, 02:19 He said, "I will show you great and mighty things 02:22 which you do not know." 02:24 And this is what walking by faith is all about. 02:27 And you know what? 02:28 This is what our group is doing. 02:29 I mean, these kids went to Cuba and started home churches. 02:34 They did all kinds of things that they're too young 02:37 to even know how to do that. 02:38 At my age, 02:40 I wouldn't know how to do that, would you? 02:41 Well, I'll just appreciate 02:43 the holy boldness that they have, 02:44 that they are stepping out in faith at such a young age. 02:47 Amen. 02:48 And bless your heart, 02:50 you're gonna realize should the Lord tarry, 02:52 the dividend someday that your efforts are providing 02:56 right now. 02:57 Amen. Amen. 02:59 Amen. Absolutely. 03:00 And we love the leadership. 03:02 Yes! Love the leadership. 03:03 We're grateful. Amen. 03:05 So let me introduce our guests. 03:07 First, we have... 03:08 We've got two presidents here with us today. 03:10 First, we have Henry Stubbs, 03:12 who is president of World Youth Group. 03:14 We're gonna come back, 03:16 get a little tiny bit of your story 03:17 because you, 03:18 basically the Lord led you to start this work in Cuba, 03:24 and then we have Karen Holland, 03:26 who is the president of Oklahoma Academy. 03:29 Karen, I interviewed you and your husband, Brian, 03:32 because you have the life size sanctuary 03:36 that you take around and that's so fascinating. 03:39 Oklahoma Academy is just rich in activities 03:44 and projects for the Lord's glory. 03:46 Praise God. 03:48 Yes, amen. 03:49 Then we have Juliette Kasari, Kasuri? 03:54 Karasira. Karasira. 03:56 If I had to look at my notes, I would have said it right. 03:58 But I was determined not to look down. 04:01 And, Juliette, what grade are you in? 04:04 I am in 10th grade. 04:06 Okay, so that makes you a sophomore 04:08 at Oklahoma Academy. 04:10 That's great. 04:11 And then we have Cameron Shurely. 04:13 Amen. 04:15 And, Cameron, you also attend Oklahoma Academy. 04:18 What grade are you in? 04:19 Tenth grade as well. Yes. 04:21 Okay, so you are a sophomore as well. 04:23 Well, we're very excited to have you here. 04:27 And then we're going to switch out 04:29 about halfway through 04:31 and bring in a second group of people 04:33 that were also on this trip. 04:35 So this is gonna be fast paced. 04:37 It's gonna be really interesting, 04:38 but we want it and we're all prayed up. 04:41 We've prayed couple of times before the program. 04:43 Henry... Very important. 04:45 Yes, it is. 04:46 You came from a hospital administration background, 04:49 you retired. 04:50 Tell us how the work began in Cuba? 04:53 Well, it's a mystery, Shelley, to think how it began. 04:59 All I know is my mom and dad 05:00 planted a church in a rural areas, 05:02 people in the town, 05:05 and in a dark area of South Carolina. 05:07 And by dark we mean where the gospel really... 05:10 Where the gospel really needed to penetrate more fully. 05:12 Thank you. 05:13 Right. Thank you very much. 05:14 And we noticed about every time we got a youth 05:18 that there was nothing much happening 05:22 in the little local rural church. 05:25 And it was started by some retirees, 05:27 so there wasn't a lot of young people there. 05:30 And we started a youth class, 05:32 a Bible study class with one youth. 05:35 And we decided, 05:37 "Lord, what can we do, 05:38 we had never been on a mission project 05:41 in a national one or an international one." 05:44 So we prayed about it, 05:45 and through a story that's too long to tell. 05:47 The Lord led us to get involved in foreign mission work. 05:52 We went twice to Chile, 05:53 and our little one grew to seven. 05:56 And the next year, it grew to 15. 05:59 And the next year, it grew to 28 and... 06:02 Out of a town of 2,500 people? 06:05 Out of a town of 2,500 people. 06:07 So it's really exciting. 06:08 And we got asked to come to Cuba, 06:10 we knew nothing about how do you go to Cuba, 06:11 but that was 1997, its 22 years ago. 06:15 So it was a little Bible study youth class 06:19 in a small rural church plant 06:22 that started the work of World Youth, 06:24 which is now today. 06:26 It was originally WYG, Westminster Youth group. 06:30 And now it's World Youth Group, 06:31 and it's a 501c3 working in Cuba. 06:34 Praise the Lord! 06:35 Now, you have worked with Oklahoma Academy, 06:39 Karen, how long? 06:41 First of all, how long have you been 06:42 president of Oklahoma Academy? 06:43 I've been president since 1999. 06:45 Okay. 06:46 And how many missionary trips 06:50 have you taken other than Cuba too? 06:51 I mean, total? 06:53 I don't know. 06:54 I have not ever really counted them, but numerous. 06:57 Yeah, you do it a number each year. 06:58 Yes. 07:00 So when you did the World Youth Group, 07:03 or started the World Youth Group, 07:05 did you contact Oklahoma Academy 07:07 or they contacted you? 07:08 No, not at all. 07:10 The first few years 07:11 was only the local youth in Westminster. 07:15 And we decided, 07:16 you know, we wanted to go to just cities 07:19 that were essentially unreached, 07:20 meaning that the gospel presence 07:22 was just not there. 07:24 Nobody was looking for Jesus to come in these towns. 07:27 And so these youth decided, after the first trip, 07:31 we wanna go back. 07:32 And so we went to what we designated 07:35 as unreached areas every year... 07:37 In Cuba? 07:39 In Cuba, but it was just with local youth. 07:41 And then the Lord blessed and expanded it, 07:45 gave us a completely different vision. 07:47 And so we've had many churches, 07:51 many academies, many youth groups, families, 07:54 individuals, and churches and schools, 07:58 and organizations come with us over the years. 08:01 And it's much safer now than it was 20 somewhat years ago. 08:04 It's a lot different today, 08:05 we don't get interrogated anymore, 08:08 it would be very rare. 08:10 But in the early days, we did. 08:11 Yeah, I admire what you do. 08:13 And I know that God has blessed 08:17 the growth of the World Youth Group. 08:19 He has. That's amazing. 08:20 But you're still looking for more and more people 08:22 to come on board. 08:23 We just will say right here, Shelley. 08:25 One of the... 08:26 There may be somebody listening today 08:28 that says, you know what? 08:29 "I need an experience. 08:31 I need to taste and see," 08:32 what you just read from Jeremiah 33:3. 08:33 Amen. 08:35 That you can call on the Lord, 08:36 and when you are in the mission field, 08:38 you're gonna call on the Lord. 08:40 There's plenty of opportunity. 08:42 So there's people watching that need that experience, 08:44 maybe individuals, maybe a family, 08:46 maybe a school group or church group, 08:49 and we'll give contact information in the end. 08:50 But we got... 08:52 Yeah, I think we actually may have a lower third 08:54 that we can put the World Youth Group 08:56 number up right now. 08:57 So in case someone can't study with us 08:59 through the whole program. But 09:01 that's what we do. 09:02 And so it's been a pleasure. 09:03 This is our second opportunity, working with Oklahoma Academy. 09:06 Amen. 09:07 Really been a great experience both times. 09:09 Okay. 09:11 Well, Karen, tell us about it to me, 09:13 we only had a few minutes to talk in the greenroom 09:16 before we came out here. 09:17 But I think one of the most amazing stories 09:20 that I just heard a little bit about was your bell choir. 09:24 Tell us about the trip to Cuba, in the bell choir? 09:27 When we first got an invitation to Cuba last summer 09:31 when our music director was in Cuba, she is Cuban. 09:36 And she went with her family to meet, 09:40 visit with family and the conference president 09:42 down there invited her. 09:45 He said, "When are you coming back?" 09:47 Because we had been in 2003 with our music. 09:50 And he said, "When are you coming back to do that again? 09:52 We want you to come back." 09:53 And so she came back to the school 09:55 and talk to us about it. 09:56 And we said, "Yes," that we wanna do that. 09:59 And, of course, we had worked with Henry 10:01 in the World Youth Group before. 10:03 And so we contacted him 10:05 and got things rolling to go to Cuba. 10:10 And we were so excited 10:12 about all of these opportunities 10:14 and what we're gonna do, 10:17 and it ended up to be a music trip 10:19 and when we divided up into six groups. 10:23 But the music trip itself 10:27 was just a miracle in itself, 10:30 just getting us down there from getting to Dallas, 10:33 to be getting everybody on the plane, 10:35 which was, 10:37 you know, amazing because we were there three hours early 10:40 like we were told to be, 10:41 and then we almost didn't get everybody on the plane. 10:45 But praise God, we all got there. 10:48 And then some of our religious visas 10:52 didn't have the right information on them. 10:56 So when we got to Miami, 10:58 and we had to go through 10:59 the section of the religious visa, 11:01 somehow every one of those young people 11:02 that went through that had a religious visa 11:05 that was not correct. 11:07 The individual that was checking them 11:09 got sidetracked, 11:11 and just stamped their visa and never really looked at it. 11:17 So we all got on the flight to Cuba, 11:18 and then we had to go through all of the customs 11:20 and try to get all of our things. 11:23 And that night, the first night we were there, 11:26 what was the time of our first concert? 11:30 Nine thirty. 11:31 Nine thirty. Yeah. 11:33 So we've been up at night. 11:35 So we've been up for 40 hours 'cause we left Oklahoma Academy 11:39 at midnight to drive to Dallas. 11:42 So we've been up, we're tired, we're, 11:44 you know, we don't have time to even change our clothes. 11:48 And we get down the road, 11:50 an hour and a half from Camaguey, 11:53 where we were to give a concert starting at 9:30 at night. 11:56 Now when you go to do a concert like that, 12:01 have they got wonderful equipment 12:03 for you to use? 12:06 Actually, you know, when you take the bell choir, 12:09 you have eight tables, and pads, and covers, 12:14 and bells and all of that. 12:15 Well, we had taken some tables that we had made, 12:19 not our regular tables, 12:21 but different tables that we had made to... 12:24 They're easier to travel with and a little bit lighter 12:28 and they don't take up so much space. 12:30 And so, but when we went through customs, 12:33 we realized that four of those tables 12:35 didn't come from Miami over. 12:38 So we were missing four tables at that first concert. 12:42 We had kids that were playing from their knees on the floor. 12:46 Then we had other makeshift tables 12:47 and then we had the other four tables 12:49 that we were doing so 12:51 and then we didn't bring our own pads. 12:53 We used kind of mattresses that... 12:56 I think we've got a picture actually of your girls 12:59 or the group carrying the mattresses down the... 13:06 As they went down the street and I just love that. 13:09 I watched the video clip of the girls 13:12 carrying these mattresses and I just loved. 13:15 There's little girl that's gonna pass 13:17 in just a second. 13:18 And she's obviously a Cuban and she looks at you all like, 13:22 "What's going on? 13:24 Are you moving in somewhere? 13:27 Here she is. 13:29 That's cute. 13:31 So you get down there and you have the piano 13:35 at the church had no legs. 13:39 That's correct. 13:40 We've got a picture of that as well, I believe. 13:42 Yeah. 13:43 This is the piano, the legless piano, 13:46 just up on something. 13:48 And then is this what you met the first night? 13:50 This was what we met the first night. 13:52 Is the legless piano. 13:54 And then we've got a little video clip of you all singing. 13:56 Yes. 13:57 And you've learn the songs in Spanish, Juliette, 14:00 I'm really impressed. 14:02 Praise the Lord! 14:03 Here's a little short clip of them singing. 14:05 And if you look at this picture, 14:08 I'm not gonna speak over it, 14:09 but you can see a young man 14:11 on the far left at the very back, 14:14 he's standing to play this piano. 15:03 Did you all feel a little like you're kind of waving around 15:07 trying to stand up? 15:09 I was just amazed. I'm sorry. 15:11 I was just amazed that with the condition of the piano 15:15 and the different keys that it went through 15:17 in that introduction that the choir 15:19 just came in right on pinch. 15:22 They were just right there. 15:23 Yeah, I was gonna say, 15:25 we had done two concerts 15:26 or one concert before that concert. 15:30 And this was our best sounding concert. 15:33 I was amazed because I was sitting there, 15:35 I'm like, we've never sounded this good, singing. 15:37 Oh, that's wonderful. 15:39 And that was a surreal experience for me. 15:42 Because I have been praying like this, we're finally here. 15:44 You know, we've been praying, 15:46 and we've been working for this so hard. 15:48 This is our first concert, and we do not smell good. 15:50 It was just, we were not prepared at all, 15:53 but we sounded, 15:55 I thought like the angels must be singing with us, 15:57 because we sounded so good. 15:59 I'm not trying to say that, 16:01 you know, trying to be power play. 16:02 No, it's just you're giving glory to God. 16:03 Yes. 16:05 Absolutely. Yeah. 16:06 And the interesting thing that was, 16:07 I don't think was mentioned was our concert 16:09 actually started an hour or two before that. 16:13 And... 16:14 It was supposed to start. 16:16 Yeah, it was supposed to, 16:17 and we ended up getting there two hours late. 16:19 But that just kind of shows the relaxed pace of the Cubans. 16:24 They waited for two hours, 16:26 and were still exuberant when we came ready to listen 16:30 to our concert. 16:32 It is quite different in the Latino countries. 16:34 We have visited places where you have your dinner 16:37 at 11 o'clock at night, you know, it's like, "Oh!" 16:41 What's exciting to me 16:43 is to see how God works in our life, 16:46 especially as you 16:47 because you don't have ideal conditions. 16:50 But he doesn't take a nap 16:52 just because you don't have ideal conditions. 16:55 And so it's just fascinating to me, 16:58 what child, 16:59 what adult wouldn't grow 17:01 and grow and trust 17:03 and appreciation of how He works in our life. 17:07 Amen. 17:09 You know, you started out asking me about the bell choir. 17:12 And one of the things that was so exciting 17:17 in many ways about this is, 17:21 the bell choir was just like amazing to the Cuban people. 17:26 It's just they don't see that very often. 17:28 In fact, we were there in 2003 with the bell choir. 17:31 I don't know if they've seen one 17:32 since we were there in 2003. 17:34 But that it got a lot of attention. 17:37 People came, they listened, they just loved the bell choir. 17:42 It was kind of like, I guess you would say, 17:45 the star of the show. 17:47 And I don't mean that in a bad way, but they just... 17:49 The main attraction. 17:50 Yes! 17:52 The conference president would get up afterwards, 17:53 and he would just go on about how this was wonderful, 17:56 "We need this kind of music in Cuba. 17:58 And maybe we need to go to the nearby Catholic Church 18:01 and take their bells, so that we can," 18:04 you know, so that we... 18:05 Bell Tower, right? 18:07 From the Bell Tower. Right. 18:08 From the Bell Tower, 18:09 so that we can have some kind of bell music in Cuba. 18:11 And I was not aware that he was saying these things 18:14 because unfortunately, I don't speak Spanish. 18:16 So it's just like, I was listening to this, but... 18:19 Can I jump in? 18:20 Sure. Sure. 18:21 Even the government sent some officials 18:24 to, like check this out, and they were very enamored. 18:28 We had the privilege of baptizing 18:31 the president of the TV network station, 18:36 in the same city, about a year before. 18:39 And she worked tirelessly to try to get them on Cuban TV, 18:45 which is, they don't want anything religious, 18:49 you know, that's a very, very common thing. 18:52 And ultimately, 18:53 the chief official in the region said, 18:55 "No, we didn't get to do it on TV." 18:57 But many of them came, 18:58 and particularly from the TV station, 19:00 and they were blown away. 19:02 Wow! 19:04 But now you did something that really to me... 19:09 The bells are what? 19:11 Worth $20,000 or so, 19:13 and you all are known for your bell choir. 19:15 But you reflected the... 19:18 They definitely reflected 19:20 the self-sacrificing love of the Lord. 19:22 Tell us what happened, 19:24 what you and your students decided to do? 19:27 Well, let me just preface that 19:29 by saying that just in the last year, 19:30 I have read the book Councils to Stewardship, 19:33 Council on Stewardship by Ellen White, 19:35 and the first six chapters of that book 19:38 talk about generosity and benevolence, 19:41 and all of that. 19:43 So the Lord's really been working on my heart, to say, 19:47 you need to be a more generous, benevolent, 19:49 you know, giving person 19:51 and He's still working on my heart. 19:53 So that's kind of a preface to the situation. 19:57 Everything that's done in this is all glory to God. 20:01 It's not anything for us, 20:03 but I began watching and seeing how much 20:06 they appreciated the bells. 20:07 What a unique situation, this was for them. 20:11 What a draw for people to come and see. 20:14 And so we were sitting at one concert, 20:18 it was church, it was Sabbath, 20:20 and the thought came into my head, 20:24 "What if you left the bells in Cuba?" 20:29 And that, I kind of ruminated on that thought. 20:34 And so, I didn't know who would you give them to? 20:38 How would they use them? 20:40 Would they even want them? 20:42 What is that? 20:43 So after church, I began to, 20:47 you know, follow through on that thought, 20:50 and I talked with Christopher Beeston 20:51 who was representing the World Youth Group. 20:53 And I asked him, I said, 20:55 "What would you think about if we left the bells in Cuba?" 20:59 Oh, he said, 21:01 "That would really be wonderful!" 21:02 I said, "Well, who would we leave it with?" 21:04 You know, what entity, what church was, 21:08 you know, who would we leave it with? 21:10 And he thought for a little bit, 21:12 he said, "You know, 21:13 I think that it would be good 21:15 for you to look at leaving it with the seminary," 21:18 which is in Havana, 21:19 we're in Camaguey in the studio. 21:20 That's Seventh-day Adventist Christian Seminary? 21:22 Seventh-day Adventist Christian Seminary. 21:23 Yes. 21:25 And so I said, "Okay." 21:26 But then I thought, 21:27 "Well, I can't just do this by myself." 21:30 So I talked to our music director about it, 21:34 I talked to our principal who was there about it. 21:37 And then I felt that I needed to include my bell ringers. 21:43 Now because this is something that means something to them, 21:46 they work hard to be a part of this. 21:49 So I drew them together, kind of in a upper room, 21:53 I guess, where the bells were being kept. 21:55 And I think we've got a picture of you 21:57 all praying with this decision. 21:58 Yes. Yes. 21:59 And I just told them what the thought that I had. 22:02 And I don't believe 22:04 that thought comes from the devil. 22:07 I think God gives lots of generosity. 22:10 And so I told them, I said, 22:11 I need you to understand what this means. 22:14 This means, we probably won't have a bell choir 22:16 for the rest of the year. 22:18 We won't be playing, 22:20 for possibly we won't be playing for graduation, 22:22 we always do a concert at graduation. 22:24 And we have seniors in the bell choir 22:26 who want their family to hear. 22:28 So we probably won't be doing a bell choir for, 22:31 you know, graduation. 22:33 And so they thought about that a little bit. 22:35 And they said, you know, 22:37 "If this is what God wants us to do, 22:40 then this is what we should do." 22:41 Glory to God. Yes. 22:42 I remember that day when we are up there, 22:46 and I have come to not believe in coincidences. 22:50 Amen. Absolutely. 22:52 And when he told us that he wanted to give away 22:54 the bell choir, I could not believe it. 22:56 Because the bell choir is like, 22:59 the, one of the most fun things to do on campus. 23:02 But then really thinking about it, and I was like, 23:05 it has been such a blessing to play with the kids, 23:08 and 'cause they always wanted to play a song with us, 23:11 and to watch everybody recording us when we play. 23:15 And I thought how much more of a blessing 23:17 to other people could this be? 23:19 And it was a good decision, I believe. 23:21 Amen. 23:23 And you know, it's not like you had budgeted $20,000 23:27 to replace this, but you know what I'm believing? 23:30 I'm believing that there is somebody 23:32 that is watching right now 23:33 and the Lord is moving on your heart that, 23:37 you know, you have given. 23:40 I believe that you're going to receive some donations 23:43 to Oklahoma Academy that God will help you replace that 23:48 because that's the way the Lord works. 23:50 It's just amazing. Praise God! 23:52 The most important thing to us though is that we left it there 23:54 to be a mission. 23:56 We want them to use it evangelistically. 23:58 And unbeknownst to us, 24:01 the seminary is starting a school of music 24:04 for the purpose of evangelism. 24:06 Praise God. 24:07 That's wonderful. 24:08 It's always the way the Lord works. 24:10 And the leader of that... 24:11 Praise the Lord. 24:13 And the leader of that is so excited 24:15 and they have already trained him. 24:17 Amen. Praise God. 24:19 And it's exciting. 24:21 A lots gonna happen as a result of this. 24:23 Okay, well, we just have a very few minutes 24:25 left in this first half, 24:27 Juliette, just kind of give us a couple minute summary 24:31 of what you were doing down there in your small group? 24:34 Okay, so in my group, I was the adult speaker. 24:38 And so that means I did the evangelistic series 24:40 every night on the Book of Revelation, 24:43 actually, well, more on the Adventist beliefs 24:46 and why we believe them. 24:47 But one story of a woman, she was helping to cook, 24:52 and for us, 24:54 and she's the sweetest lady in the world. 24:57 But she wanted to be baptized, but she wore earrings. 25:01 And these earrings were coming between her 25:04 and her decision for Christ. 25:06 But after I believe it was the first night I spoke, 25:10 she was really felt deeply in her heart 25:13 that she wanted to pray, she wanted to, God. 25:17 "I wanted to be baptized, 25:18 but how can I take these earrings out of my ears 25:20 that my mother put into my ears 25:22 when I was only three years old?" 25:24 And she wrestled with God until two in the morning, 25:27 until she said, "I'm totally yours." 25:29 She came the next day and she says, 25:31 "Look, I'm not wearing my earrings. 25:32 I want to be baptized." 25:34 And she was baptized at the end of the campaign. 25:37 But for me, being the speaker was kind of, 25:42 it was something I didn't want to do. 25:46 I didn't feel comfortable. 25:48 You didn't feel adequate. 25:49 I didn't feel adequate, speaking the Word of God, 25:52 especially things that even though I had been raised 25:54 in the Adventist Church, and I was learning new 25:57 when I was studying to preach to other people. 26:00 And I thought, "God, how can I...? 26:03 Why me, out of all the people You could have chosen?" 26:06 And I was not even supposed to be in that town, 26:09 things had gotten with the visas mixed up, 26:11 some people couldn't get their visas. 26:12 So everything watered down to me being a speaker. 26:15 And I said, "You know, Lord, I'm totally dependent on You." 26:20 And so it was hard, but God is good. 26:23 But you know, that's the secret is that you depended on God. 26:25 Let me tell you a little secret too, 26:27 doesn't matter how long somebody's been preaching, 26:30 as they study the Word of God in preparing for a sermon. 26:33 Amen. 26:34 They're always learning something, 26:36 because that's the way the Lord works. 26:37 Amen. Amen. 26:38 All right, Cameron, give us just about a two 26:41 and a half minute synopsis here of what you did, 26:44 and you have a little personal testimony with it? 26:47 So I was also an adult speaker 26:50 during the event of evangelistic series there. 26:53 And about halfway through, 26:57 I realized I was calling people to be baptized. 27:00 And yet I had not been baptized myself. 27:03 And it was interesting, 27:06 because I had kind of a personal requirement 27:08 of something that was keeping me 27:10 from being baptized. 27:12 And during this trip, I've been so close to Christ, 27:16 He had just become such a friend to me 27:18 that I had gone without 27:20 that thing throughout the whole trip. 27:22 And I realized that the Sabbath, 27:25 that I would be baptized, 27:27 if I made that decision would be exactly 10 days, 27:30 exactly the amount of time 27:32 that I had set 27:33 as a personal requirement for being baptized. 27:37 Plus, I realized that, you know, the dynamic of me, 27:42 speaking to them, and saying that, 27:44 you know, I'm going to be baptized with them. 27:46 I thought that was, could be a powerful dynamic 27:48 that God could really use to kind of put us 27:52 on the same ground and that the audience 27:55 would feel that I was really, 27:57 truly looking out for their good as well. 28:01 So I, you know, called at my parents, 28:05 got the permission to be baptized. 28:09 And we had six people baptized there at that church. 28:13 Praise God. 28:14 That is so wonderful. 28:16 And that's just a small part of the whole work there. 28:19 Of all 6 of the groups in total baptized 46 people. 28:25 So 46 people and we heard now 28:27 that there's from these meetings, 28:31 there's now 105 people in advanced Bible studies 28:34 because of them. 28:36 It's just really amazing what God has been doing there. 28:38 This is where you plant the seed, 28:40 and all of a sudden, it's coming back tenfold, 28:42 fiftyfold, and a hundredfold. 28:44 Amen. Amen. 28:45 Well, we have eight now, 28:47 was it you or your brother, Michael, 28:48 that put this little promo clip together? 28:52 I put it together. It was yours. 28:53 Okay. 28:55 So what we have here is a video clip that Cameron 28:59 put together to talk about the work in Cuba. 29:03 However, my brother, he did the narration. 29:05 So, yeah. 29:06 Okay. All right. 29:08 Team effort. 29:10 You can only prepare so much. 29:13 Before we knew it, we were there. 29:15 For many, the reality didn't hit them 29:17 till we were on the plane. 29:19 God is all about taking us beyond what we can prepare for. 29:23 In July, it was just an idea. 29:25 By August, we were going, it was final. 29:29 The Stubbs came from World Youth Group 29:31 in January of 2019. 29:33 And as the date of our departure grew nearer, 29:36 tensions arose between the US and Cuba. 29:39 Visas were harder to get. 29:41 And then we heard that the Stubbs' request 29:44 for visas was denied. 29:46 They were rejected from entering. 29:49 We followed the action. 29:51 It's authentic, real people as missionaries for Christ. 29:54 This story is about overcoming obstacles. 29:57 It's about how God worked with 6 groups in 6 cities 30:00 to convert 46 souls and bring hundreds more closer to Christ. 30:05 It's about trusting in God through the storms. 30:08 And it's about seeing 30:09 the Great Controversy come to life, 30:12 which means, it's about you. 30:16 That was absolutely fantastic. 30:18 That comes from your media department, is that right? 30:19 Yes. 30:21 Yeah, also we're gonna talk about that, 30:22 I think just a little bit. 30:23 Well, we have new guests to introduce, of course, 30:26 we've got Henry that is staying with this second half. 30:30 And then we have Harry Shurely, 30:32 Harry, you are 30:33 with the Oklahoma Academy Development Department. 30:36 Right. Is that correct? 30:37 Correct. 30:39 We'll come back and find out 30:40 a little bit of what that means. 30:42 And Magdalene Ocel, correct? 30:45 Good. 30:47 Magdalene, you're a senior. 30:48 That's right. 30:49 And I understand that Magdalene is an anointed speaker. 30:53 We'll get her story in a second. 30:55 And then we have Michael Shurely with us. 30:58 And, Michael, you are a graduate. 31:00 You graduated 31:02 from Oklahoma Academy in 2018, correct? 31:03 Yes, Yes, I did. 31:05 Yeah. Wonderful! 31:06 Hey, I'll tell you what? 31:07 Harry, you've got two of your sons, 31:09 we had your younger son on the program first half. 31:13 You're doing something right, brother? 31:15 I married a very good lady. 31:17 Praise the Lord. 31:18 So tell us about your experience. 31:21 I know you were a stowaway barely made it, 31:23 but God had it in His plan that you would be there. 31:27 But what was Cuba like for you? 31:31 Cuba, it was wonderful. 31:34 My wife and I, when we talked about it later, 31:37 we thought this wasn't any sacrifice. 31:39 This was a vacation. 31:41 And the people we met was nicer 31:43 than what you would meet on a vacation. 31:46 So it's hard to beat. 31:47 And I would encourage anyone with a church group 31:50 or just themselves, call up some friends and say, 31:52 "How can we get involved and do this?" 31:53 Amen. 31:55 You know, and I always say if people want, 31:59 if you want to get your child connected 32:02 in an intimate way with the Lord, 32:04 take him on a mission trip. 32:05 Amen. 32:07 It is unbelievable. 32:08 So what were you doing on the trip? 32:12 I was just overseeing a group. 32:14 And in fact, Karen's husband, 32:17 Brian was supposed to have this group, 32:18 I was just tagging along with my wife. 32:21 But Brian's parents got in a car wreck. 32:24 He had to drop out of the trip. 32:26 But I was a staff member with a visa, 32:29 and so I was given this group, 32:31 they were given me just at the last moment. 32:34 And it worked very well, 32:35 I think we worked well together. 32:37 And we fit together with the people 32:41 that were working in the town. 32:42 They prayed over all the groups. 32:44 And still, 32:46 I think the Lord knew how to juggle it, 32:47 so that it all ended up just right. 32:49 Amen. 32:50 So I know that you were very impressed 32:54 by how many of the youth from the cities 32:58 and we're gonna come back to this. 33:00 They're going into areas of Cuba 33:04 that are what we call dark, 33:06 if you will, that there's not an Adventist Christian 33:09 presence there. 33:11 And so they go out into the cities to introduce 33:15 people to the gospel 33:17 of the grace of our Lord and Savior, 33:19 Jesus Christ. 33:20 But the people were really bringing 33:23 their little ones with them. 33:24 We had a lot of reception with the young people, 33:27 not in our town, but one of the towns, 33:29 another church tried to set up games and crafts and things 33:32 to keep the kids from coming, 33:34 and it didn't work. 33:35 Oh, I think we've got a picture actually of kids The children 33:36 just kept coming. 33:38 Yes. 33:39 That are all with their crowns on 33:40 and you can see how crowded. 33:43 It was 40 to 60 young people at each... 33:45 Look at that. 33:46 That is amazing. 33:48 That's amazing. 33:49 Now, Ocel, I understand that you were one of the speakers 33:55 for the adults preaching. 33:57 And I was told that you're a very humble person. 34:01 So you wouldn't say that. 34:02 But I was told that the conference leaders 34:06 and the church leaders were saying, 34:07 "Wow, this woman preached with an anointing." 34:11 Was this your first time to preach to a large group? 34:16 I had previously spoken before. 34:18 My parents and I were able to go to India this summer 34:21 and we did a week of prayer there. 34:24 And, but this was the first time 34:25 I was doing kind of series all by myself. 34:29 And I wasn't supposed to do it to begin with. 34:34 But God set it up so that I was doing it. 34:37 And I wasn't exactly nervous when I was up there. 34:42 But I felt like I should have been. 34:45 But also, I didn't feel worthy at all, 34:48 because as Cameron said earlier, 34:52 like, how he wasn't baptized, I wasn't baptized. 34:56 And like when we're talking on all these different doctrines, 35:00 how baptism is so important, and it's like really, 35:04 you're declaring your relationship 35:05 with God to the world. 35:07 And I hadn't had that. 35:09 And, but I was still preaching it to everyone. 35:12 And it wasn't until one night that we had talking about 35:17 kind of our own personal testimony 35:19 that I shared mine, where I had problems, 35:22 where I had things that kept me 35:25 from coming to God. 35:26 And when I saw those things, keeping me from coming to God, 35:32 I wanted to surrender them. 35:34 And I didn't wanna be that person 35:38 who was like telling everyone else to be baptized 35:40 when I wasn't myself. 35:42 And I made the decision to be baptized, 35:45 and I was baptized. 35:46 So this was a life changing event for you for certain, 35:50 wasn't it? 35:51 It definitely was. 35:52 Yeah, I believe with all of my heart, 35:56 that when, you know, 35:58 one thing that I never teach on is temper, or anger, 36:02 because I've got a few this long. 36:04 So it's something that 36:07 what I try to teach on are things 36:09 that God has helped me overcome. 36:11 But I guarantee you as you're teaching 36:13 the Word of God, 36:14 it's, you know, we learn to teach, 36:17 but we teach to learn. 36:18 And that's when it comes in as how important it is. 36:23 Now, Michael, tell us about some of the things you did, 36:27 because I know you had a particular experience 36:30 with a woman who had been kind of an adversary or antagonistic 36:35 towards Seventh-day Adventist coming. 36:37 Tell us about your experience in Cuba? 36:40 So in my group, 36:44 there was in the town we were in, 36:46 there was a lady who had stage 4 cancer. 36:50 And so she was on her deathbed, 36:55 and she had asked for us to come and pray with her 36:59 because she knew she was going to die soon. 37:02 And while we were there, 37:04 she was telling us how she had been studying and learning 37:09 of that the Adventist church had the truth, 37:12 and that she wanted to be baptized. 37:15 And when I was there, I was thinking, 37:17 "Well, this is amazing." 37:19 But it wasn't until later that I learned 37:22 that she had actually been someone 37:25 who would scoff 37:26 and mock Christians for being Christian. 37:29 And one of her neighbors who heard about her decision 37:33 for baptism was absolutely shocked. 37:35 Because it was not like her, 37:38 they just didn't expect her to want to be baptized. 37:40 Oh, you know, it's exciting that the Lord, 37:43 you know, what do they say, 37:45 there's no atheist in the foxhole, right? 37:48 But it is exciting that God led her to study, 37:51 it's easy to scoff at something that you don't know. 37:54 And sometimes preconceived opinions can effectively 37:58 insulate our mind against truth. 38:01 So you have to get into the Word for yourself. 38:04 And I think we've got a picture of this dear soul, 38:07 so she was baptized. 38:08 She was. 38:10 Yeah, I think we've got a picture of her. 38:11 And you went to her home to pray with her. 38:14 And that's the precious thing. 38:16 Ocel, you did some groups... 38:19 Magdalene, that was your last name, 38:21 I was focused on pronouncing that right. 38:24 But you all did studies with groups, 38:27 in addition to the evening studies, 38:29 is that what you did? 38:32 Or no, you've just got a group picture here. 38:33 Yes. 38:35 Okay. 38:36 So when you returned, 38:42 what has been the dividends in your own life 38:45 as young people going there? 38:48 Have you felt more connected to the Lord now? 38:53 Yes, I have. 38:55 And one of the interesting things 38:58 about being in a communist nation, 39:00 there's no, like capitalism or anything. 39:02 So you get a different view on life. 39:05 We're so sucked in by 39:07 all of the things that this world 39:10 tells us we need or gaining more money, various things. 39:15 But there it was different. 39:18 And I was able to focus on God more and see. 39:20 The most important thing is not the things we can attain, 39:23 but the people we can help be in the kingdom with Jesus. 39:26 Amen, Michael. 39:28 Amen. 39:30 You know, the sad truth of it is, 39:31 there's probably people who spend more time on Facebook 39:34 than they do in the Word of God nowadays. 39:37 And we are... 39:39 Some developed countries are on a hedonistic treadmill, 39:43 very materialistic, but that's good. 39:46 How about for you, Magdalene? 39:49 For me, when I was there, I saw some people who... 39:55 There was one specific woman who, 39:57 she'd been coming to the meetings. 39:59 And she came the year before actually. 40:03 And she had been coming up until a point 40:05 where it was a point of... 40:11 So, she was offended. Right. Yeah. 40:12 Good. 40:14 Like it was the talk on the Sabbath, 40:15 and so she didn't agree with that. 40:18 So she stopped coming. 40:19 And when we came this time, 40:20 she had come to most of the meetings, 40:22 until we had another controversial point on Babylon. 40:27 And she felt offended, 40:29 because when I was speaking that night, 40:31 she felt that I was kind of calling her Babylon, 40:35 and that her church was in Babylon. 40:37 And when I later learned that, 40:39 I felt upset 40:41 that I had offended her at first, 40:43 but then, like, later on, 40:45 I realized that she was hearing the truth, 40:47 and she wanted to learn the truth. 40:49 But in her own life, she had things 40:51 that were keeping her from accepting it, 40:54 and the fact that I offended her, 40:57 and that she felt she was living in Babylon, 41:02 that kind of kept her back. 41:04 And she had her church and like her whole lifestyle, 41:08 that was keeping her from coming to God. 41:10 And I just saw, like, 41:12 there's those things in all of our lives 41:14 that can keep us from coming to God. 41:17 And I didn't want that in my life anymore. 41:19 Amen and amen. 41:21 One time, 41:22 the still small voice of the Lord spoke this, 41:26 whispered this in my ear. 41:28 And what he said was, 41:29 "The spirit of offense is the spirit of pride," 41:33 which is the spirit of antichrist. 41:36 So anytime you're feeling offended, 41:39 and if you think about that. 41:42 If it weren't, your pride were hurt, 41:45 you wouldn't be offended, right? 41:46 That's right. 41:48 Anytime you feel offended, 41:49 at least what I've learned to do 41:50 is, I repent for my pride, 41:53 and ask God to take it away from me. 41:55 Henry, we want to come back 41:59 to the World Youth Group. 42:03 And it's so exciting 42:07 what you're doing in Cuba, 42:09 but you've got a vision of going beyond Cuba. 42:12 And you have an exciting project right now. 42:15 Tell us about that? 42:18 I'll try. 42:20 You've been keeping this under wraps 42:22 for some time. 42:23 I have. 42:25 I just wanna make a comment, though, 42:26 about the work of Oklahoma Academy in Cuba 42:28 just real short, if I can. 42:30 But from the Westminster Bible study youth class 42:36 in Westminster, South Carolina 42:37 that grew into World Youth Group 42:40 that grew into a 501c3, 42:43 God gave us four things 42:45 that are really the pillars of the ministry 42:49 God has given us. 42:51 And this is 25% of it, praise the Lord. 42:54 But those four things is to have a school in Cuba 42:57 to train young people, 42:59 to do the practical gospel, 43:02 that's the gospel of the relief of suffering, 43:04 to help people that are disenfranchised 43:06 and impoverished and down and out. 43:08 So we have a school in Cuba, 43:10 we've graduated 770 people in Cuba so far. 43:15 Number two is we support them to go into unreached areas 43:20 where the gospel doesn't have a strong presence, 43:23 where nobody's looking for the soon coming of Jesus. 43:26 And so we're working now in 44 cities full time. 43:31 And then number three... 43:32 That's in Cuba, 44... 43:34 In Cuba, 44 unreached cities 43:35 where we've, certainly a Seventh-day Adventist 43:38 have never been before sharing Christ 43:40 and the good news. 43:41 And then number three, 43:43 the third pillar is we bring down youth groups 43:45 that's what we started as, 43:47 as a youth group ourselves going down. 43:49 But we bring down churches and people 43:53 with the same hair color as me, 43:55 as well, but a lot of schools and churches and groups 44:00 and help with the harvest. 44:02 And number four, 44:04 we buy a house in that town, 44:05 which becomes the church. 44:07 And we support it 44:08 until there's like 40-50 members 44:10 with children's department 44:11 and it's gonna be strong. 44:13 And at that point, we give it to the conference, 44:15 but pray for us, we have 97 workers, 44:20 we're busy. 44:21 I know, you know, your wife, Arleen, 44:23 sends me updates every now and then. 44:26 Does she? 44:27 And it's just wonderful, what's going on. 44:28 I'm glad you mentioned Arleen, 44:30 because it just wouldn't be at all 44:31 what it is, if it wasn't for, you know, JD, 44:35 you can relate. 44:37 Amen. Amen. 44:38 But nevertheless, you asked about something 44:41 that we haven't really talked much about. 44:43 And I'm gonna try to tell you in a nutshell. 44:45 What do I have, 60 seconds? 44:47 No, you've got about four or five minutes. 44:49 Okay. 44:50 Well... 44:54 I have been, as you mentioned, 44:56 in nursing administration and healthcare administration 44:59 for 40 years. 45:02 The Lord called us to go full time into this work. 45:07 But while I was there, in the hospital, 45:11 I was overwhelmed. 45:13 I had to complete a master's degree, 45:15 I was working 60 hours a week just in my job, 45:18 plus going to school for a master's degree, 45:20 plus running a youth group, plus doing foreign missions 45:23 once a year on my vacation, and I was just overwhelmed. 45:25 One day, I told my secretary, 45:28 "I'm gonna be out of the office a few hours, 45:30 cancel appointments, take my calls." 45:33 I went to the hospital chapel. 45:35 And I said, "Lord, I'm not leaving 45:38 until You make it clear. 45:39 What am I? 45:41 Am I in nursing administration or healthcare administration? 45:46 Am I an elder in my church, which I was, 45:50 you know, am I mission leader, am I youth leader, 45:52 you know, I just got too many irons in the fire, 45:54 which one do I need to focus on?" 45:57 And there was just no answer. 45:59 And so I kept praying. 46:02 And I was reading the Bible. 46:04 And you know, I claim the promise 46:06 that you read today, Jeremiah 33:3. 46:10 I said, "Lord, you got to talk to me. 46:14 And I'm calling upon You. 46:16 You promise, You would show me what I need to do, 46:19 great things and mighty things." 46:22 And so it was if the Lord said, 46:24 take out a piece of paper and a pen. 46:27 And I did. 46:29 And I said, "Okay, now what?" 46:30 You know, and it was like, 46:31 "What have I given you?" 46:33 Okay, and I started naming them, 46:35 You've given me healthcare administration, 46:37 You've given me church leadership, 46:40 You've given me a wonderful wife. 46:43 And I was just the basics, 46:45 okay, youth, a lot of youth, 46:47 missions, foreign missions. 46:50 And it was like, it was what else 46:52 and I'm trying to think of the next thing. 46:53 And finally, it was like, "What else?" 46:55 And I said, "Lord, I think I'm out." 46:56 And He said, "No. 46:58 What else?" And I said, "Sailing. 47:01 Sailing, Lord?" 47:03 And He said, "Yes, write it down." 47:05 And I wrote down sailing. 47:07 My wife and I love to sail 47:08 and we love offshore sailing in the ocean. 47:12 And I said, 47:14 "I thought sailing was just for us. 47:16 It was kind of our getaway." 47:17 And He said, "No, it's missions." 47:21 So He said, "Combine them." 47:25 "Combine what?" 47:26 Health, missions, leadership, 47:30 youth, sailing, 47:34 and even though nothing left my plate, 47:38 I got up with totally new energy. 47:40 I ran back to the office, 47:41 I couldn't wait to get home that night and tell my wife. 47:44 But anyway, we're building a sailboat, 47:46 a 44-foot steel sailboat, 47:50 capable of crossing 47:51 all the major oceans in the world. 47:54 And we see that sailboat, 47:57 we're praying and asking the Lord, 47:59 "What's the purpose?" 48:01 But it's an alternative to air travel 48:04 to the islands and coastlines of the world. 48:06 It's very useful in Cuba. 48:08 We can't take enough supplies 48:09 for all the mission work we're doing. 48:11 And so we're able to take, 48:12 will be able to take more supplies, 48:15 but it's also World Youth Group. 48:18 It's about youth, 48:19 and an opportunity to have a boot camp. 48:21 You know, when you go out in the ocean, 48:25 "How many billboards do you see?" 48:28 You know, like, how many sounds do you hear 48:31 that don't come from God? 48:34 Seagulls, the marine life, salt air. 48:37 Where did Jesus go with His disciples? 48:40 Where can you have a more captive audience? 48:42 I can remember doing Bible studies 48:43 at our house on Friday nights, 48:45 and there'd be 20-30 kids in the living room, 48:47 and we'd be studying the Bible. 48:49 And one popular kid says, "You know, I'm getting bored. 48:51 I think I'm gonna go to the store or something, 48:53 and about four kids, five kids would go, 48:55 and I don't think that'll happen on a... 48:57 I don't know. 48:59 But anyway, 49:02 we're building a colossal project, 49:06 very challenging project. 49:09 We're not sailboat builders, or manufacturers. 49:11 But we're in a state 49:13 that used to have a navy shipyard. 49:15 And so we're getting a lot of consultation and help, 49:17 and pray for us. 49:19 We believe this is gonna be like a boot camp to prepare. 49:23 You know, when you get on a plane, 49:25 and you're in the electronic world, 49:26 and you're on your cell phone, and you're not really prepared 49:29 for what you're about to face in a third world. 49:32 But the sailing experience, it's work, 49:35 it takes organization, it's challenge, 49:37 it's mentally stimulating, 49:40 and it is an opportunity to be immersed in God's creation, 49:45 in nature, and in the Word of God. 49:48 Amen. 49:49 Well, I know that you and your wife, 49:51 I mean, this is not an inexpensive project, 49:54 let's put it that way. 49:56 And you and your wife have funded over 60% of it 49:59 personally now. 50:01 But I'm sure 50:03 that if you would like to support 50:07 the World Youth Group, 50:11 we're gonna put up there a lower third right now, 50:14 where you can see 50:15 how you can get in touch with Henry Stubbs 50:17 at World Youth Group. 50:19 Perhaps, you want to fund the building 50:23 of a church in Cuba, 50:25 or wanna some of their Bible workers, 50:28 perhaps, you want to fund, 50:30 help fund this boat, 50:32 or I guess we call it boat, right? 50:35 Yeah, sailboat. 50:36 But also, maybe you wanna bring your youth group 50:38 or maybe you're out of school 50:40 and you wanna bring your school kids 50:43 on one of these missions. 50:44 It's amazing, every time Arleen sends a story, every time. 50:49 It's miracle after miracle after miracle. 50:52 I didn't know you had time to read them. 50:54 Ah, well, I don't always get. 50:56 And I get reports from so many ministries. 50:58 I bet. 50:59 And sometimes I just skim through but... 51:01 I'm humbled. 51:03 But there's always such fabulous miracles. 51:06 Now, we also want to put up in just a second, 51:10 we will put on the screen, 51:12 the address for the Oklahoma Academy. 51:16 This academy has so many wonderful projects 51:20 here with the sanctuary, 51:22 and your media and in all of these things. 51:25 But I just want to mention to you, 51:28 remember how God led them to make 51:31 such a self-sacrificing gift 51:34 of their bell choir to Cuba. 51:38 And perhaps, the Lord will be leading you 51:40 to make a contribution to replace 51:43 that $20,000 bell equipment that you gave away. 51:49 Now, we're gonna take a quick break. 51:52 First, we'll have their address and in the news break, 51:54 and we'll be back in just a moment 51:56 for a final word. 51:59 If you're interested in inviting 52:00 the Oklahoma Academy students to your church 52:03 to share their mission experiences, 52:05 or if you're interested in sponsoring 52:07 one of their trips to the mission field, 52:09 you can reach them at Oklahoma Academy, 52:12 6100 Academy Lane, Herra, Oklahoma 73045. 52:17 That's Oklahoma Academy, 6100 Academy Lane, 52:21 Herra, Oklahoma 73045. 52:25 You can call them at (405) 985-1368. 52:29 That's (405) 985-1368 52:33 or you can find them online 52:35 at OklahomaAcademy.org. |
Revised 2019-06-11