Aw july 2014 nad

The International Paper for Seventh-day Adventists

Ju ly 201 4

The

Adventist

Advantage

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Help from

Alongside

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Mission in

Motion

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Essential

Salvation

North American Division | n a d

July 2 01 4 The International Paper for Seventh-day Adventists

July 2 01 4

24

The

Advantage Help from

Along Side

28

Mission in

Motion

42

Essential

Salvation

The Adventist Advantage

The latest research about Adventist health practices is yielding few surprises.

8 God’s Mighty Right Arm W O R L D

V I S T A

By Ted N. C. Wilson

Good health is more than physical.

28 Mission in Motion A D V E N T I S T

S T O R Y

By Leslie R. Martin

Adventist

20

C O V E R

In Southern Asia the personal approach is the best way to share the gospel.

30 A New Reformation in Geneva S p ecial

By Peter N. Landless

Visioning the future of Adventist health ministries

N A D

20 Help From Alongside

It helps to know that we’re not alone.

F E A T U R E

32

By Chandler Riley

By Ricky Oliveras

F E AT U R E

Adventist Volunteers Build Bridges to Health

D E V O T I O N A L

S E R V I C E

by Julie Lorenz

For three days in April Adventists provided essential services in the San Francisco Bay area.

(In)Vulnerable?

40

Dear Friend . . .

By Angelika Kaiser

The myth of indestructible Christians

The Ellen G. White Estate’s ambitious project to make available her unpublished manuscripts

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F U N D A M E N T A L

B E L I E F S

D I S C O V E R I N G O F P R O P H E C Y

T H E

S P I R I T

By Roland Karlman

D E PA RT M E N T S 3 W O

R L D

R E P O R T

3 News Briefs 6 News Feature 10 GLOW Stories 11 NAD News 14 NAD Update 17 NAD Perspective 18 NAD Letters

19 W O R L D H E A Breast Cancer: Treatment

L T H

B I 42

B L E Q U E S T I O N S A N S W E R E D

43 B I B L E S T U D Y Security in an Insecure World 44

I D E A

E X C H A N G E

Essential Salvation

www.adventistworld.org Available in 11 languages online The Adventist World® (ISSN 1557-5519), one of the Adventist Review® family of publications, is printed monthly by the Review and Herald® Publishing Association. Copyright © 2014. Send address changes to Adventist World, 55 West Oak Ridge Drive, Hagerstown, MD 21740. For information about advertising, contact Glen Gohlke, 301-393-3054 (ggohlke@rhpa.org). PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. Vol. 10, No. 7, July 2014.

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Upward Bound

WORLD REPORT

Two Adventist Publishing Houses

Recommend

Restructuring

C o n f e r e n c e

■■ On May 12, 2014, the boards of the Review and Herald Publishing Association and the Pacific Press Publishing Association, meeting respectively in Hagerstown, Maryland, and by telephone conference in Silver Spring, Maryland, approved and recommended to their respective constituencies a proposal to reorganize their operations.

The restructuring plan was jointly proposed to the publishing house boards by the executive committees of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and its North American Division in meetings held on May 8, 2014.

The General Conference and the North American Division have spent considerable time assessing optimal publishing house arrangements for the future that would meet the needs of both the General Conference and its North American Division. Publishing plays an integral part in the mission of the church, and its close linkage with other church programs is of vital importance. Changes in the publishing industry and the church’s publishing ministries have caused financial challenges to operations, particularly at the Review and Herald, and have made this evaluation and proposed reorganization more urgent.

Under the restructuring plan the Pacific Press Publishing Association, located in Nampa, Idaho, will become an institution of the North American Division. It will serve as the base for the North American Division’s publishing program and also provide printing, production, and fulfillment services for the General Conference.

The Review and Herald Publishing Association will cease operations at its current location in Hagerstown, Maryland, but will U n i o n

he speaker’s illustration was simple but effective.

Standing in front of 150 teenagers, he deliberately ignored commonsense rules about how to make a paper airplane.

Folding one wing at an acute angle and the other one crazily oblique, he described how he was “personalizing” his own plane.

Not surprisingly, it spiraled downward to the floor when he launched it over our heads, accompanied by nervous laughter.

“So,” he asked with a searching gaze, “do you think we should go to a set of directions before we make our next paper airplane?”

One hundred fifty heads nodded in agreement.

“You mean,” he said, “there are some rules for making paper airplanes that help them fly higher, stronger, longer?

Would that be true of human lives as well—that there are some instructions (some call them commandments) that help us live happier, healthier lives?”

Again, we nodded in agreement.

Beneath all the discussions, under all the debates about how Seventh-day Adventists ought to live, there lies a foundational awareness that God designed human life to be wholesome, joyful, and satisfying. “His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3): no, in fact, they are the very illustrations of His love and fatherly care.

As you read this month’s cover feature, “The Adventist Advantage,” which focuses on the physical and mental health benefits of Sabbathkeeping and healthy lifestyle choices, ask yourself how well your “plane” has been flying lately. Are you finding the peace and satisfaction for which you were created by living according to the instructions God has graciously provided?

If not, take this opportunity to rediscover the joy for which you were created—flying higher, stronger, longer.

“Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles” (Isa. 40:31).

S o u t h w e s t e r n

T

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WORLD REPORT continue as a General Conference institution. Its corporate office location will be transferred to the church’s world headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, where the reconstituted organization, without printing and production facilities, will oversee the publishing of various products that are currently produced by the General Conference headquarters, such as Adventist Review, Adventist World, Ministry, The Journal of Adventist Education, Elder’s Digest, Liberty, Mission magazines, children’s and youth Sabbath school materials, the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide, Biblical Research Institute publications, and other products. The Review and Herald Publishing Association will also serve as publisher of other products as determined by the General Conference to meet the needs of the world field. This reorganized publisher will require minimal staffing since the editors of the present products are already employees of the world church headquarters.

“The General Conference recognizes the tremendous significance of the publishing work not only to past evangelistic blessings in the Seventhday Adventist Church, but also to our current and future heaven-entrusted mission of the proclamation of the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14 and the fourth angel of Revelation 18,” said world church president Ted Wilson. “We want to follow the inspired counsel of the Spirit of Prophecy regarding the publishing ministries work, and our goal is to see [that] these institutions are best positioned to aid in finishing the work of preparing the world for Christ’s soon return through the power of the Holy Spirit. We greatly appreciate the dedication and com-

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mitment of the employees in the publishing houses and in every aspect of publishing ministries. God is blessing the publishing ministries worldwide, and the North American Division will reach its full potential in utilizing an unprecedented expansion of publishing ministries outreach in fulfillment of its mission goals for its territory.”

“We understand that this is an emotional time for so many dedicated workers at both publishing ministries,” said Dan Jackson, president of the North American Division. “We will move forward only after prayerful consideration and consultation. As ministry models change, one thing remains constant: our commitment to utilizing publishing as a means of reaching people with the hope of Jesus and it serving as a conduit to spreading the message of His soon return.”

A Memorandum of Understanding between the General Conference and the North American Division will outline additional details of the transition and future operations. The North American Division will establish a transition team to determine how the physical assets of the Review and Herald Publishing Association and the Pacific Press Publishing Association will be used going forward.

The transition team will also determine which personnel currently employed by the Review and Herald Publishing Association will be needed at the Pacific Press Publishing Association location. Every effort will be made to accommodate as many as possible of the current Review and Herald staff and incorporate them into the Pacific Press operations. However, a major restructuring will involve loss of jobs from the cessation of operations in Hagerstown, Maryland.

This restructuring plan does not become official until the constituent bodies of each publishing association approve it. The two constituencies will meet independently of each other on June 17, 2014, at the General Conference headquarters. The proposed plan would take effect on July 1 if those constituencies give their approval.

—NAD Communication, ANN, Adventist Review

“Cieling 2.0” Brings Special Visitors ■■ This year’s Cieling event, the InterEuropean Division’s youth gathering held in Madrid, Spain, April 17-20, included some special visitors.

A group of hearing-impaired youth from the Adventist church in Valencia (Spain) participated for the first time. This year’s event brought together more than 1,000 young Adventists from all over Spain. Two individuals provided translation services for the Valencia youth during the four-day event.

Presentations by Pastor Joel Barrios were translated into sign language. Though some attendees were hearing-impaired, they were still able to enjoy the music in a special way.

“The integration of the hearingimpaired in the Cieling event was very impressive,” commented one of the translators. The impact of the meeting was so powerful that two of the young assistants responded to Barrios’ call to follow Jesus’ example. They are now studying the Bible to know more about God’s plan of salvation for humanity.

“This is priceless,” commented one of the guardians who escorted a Valencia youth. “It was truly a miracle trip, filled with many blessings.”

—Cid Leopoldino/CD EUDNews

initiative in 1986.

OHI provides free cardiac, orthopedic, ophthalmic, women’s health, and burn surgery in 13 developing countries across the world, including Papua New Guinea, Cambodia, and Rwanda.

More than 2,000 volunteers have donated their time, skills, expertise, and financial support to enable others to live longer and have better quality lives.

—Open Heart International/Record staff

MILESTONE SURGERY: Project coordinator, John Sanburg (left), presents Nishant and his mother, Harimaya, with a treat in commemoration of Nishant’s role in this milestone event.

L a e n

Nepali Child Receives 5,000th Surgery ■■ Nishant, a 2-year-old Nepali child, became the 5,000th patient to receive free, life-transforming surgery provided by Open Heart International (OHI) volunteers.

Nishant’s right leg was burned severely when he was 6 months old and fell onto the cooking fire in his home. Since he had never walked prior to the accident, his family feared he would never walk at all.

In April, Nishant’s mother, Harimaya, heard that OHI volunteers offered free burn contracture surgery at Scheer Memorial Hospital in Banepa near Kathmandu.

It took Harimaya and Nishant three days to travel the 500 kilometers (300 miles) from their home in Kailali to the hospital, where Dr. David Pennington and his medical team operated on the boy’s right leg. Three days later the toddler was walking with assistance.

“To see Nishant—‘Mr. 5,000’ to the OHI team—running for the first time

H e n r y

in his life brought tears to the eyes of his mother and the team members,” said John Sanburg, OHI’s Nepal project coordinator. “This was my final visit after 20 years of mission trips to Nepal, so to have the 5,000th OHI patient on this trip will be a special memory.”

Burns are the second most common injury in rural Nepal, accounting for 5 percent of all disabilities. Many Nepali women and children are burned at home on their cooking fire, which is traditionally situated on the floor at the center of the household. Government hospital networks cannot cope with the demand for surgery resulting from the burns. Many villages have no access to emergency medical facilities, and some families live as far as a three-day walk from the nearest road.

The OHI team plans to return to Nepal next year. They may operate on Nishant’s ankle, if he and his mother are able to make the journey back to Banepa.

Nishant is one of the thousands of patients who have benefited from the services of OHI since Australia’s Sydney Adventist Hospital launched the

Social Media Campaign Offers Sharable Health Tips ■■ The Seventh-day Adventist Church recently released a social media campaign about healthful living for members to share with their churches and the public.

The Facts With Hope campaign offers 12 one-minute videos that share tips on the importance of physical activity, healthy eating, maintaining healthy relationships, and gratitude.

The one-minute spots can be viewed individually, shown to groups and churches, embedded into Web sites, and shared through social media.

“This is a great way to share our messages about health, which have been backed up by scientific study,” said Katia Reinert, North American Division health ministries director. “We want people to know evidence-based ways to live healthier, happier lives.”

The Adventist Church has promoted healthful living since the denomination was established more than 150 years ago. In recent decades Adventists have been featured in books Continued on next page

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Newbold College Board Appoints New Principal ■■ The Board of Governors at Newbold College in Bracknell, England, appointed John Baildam to the position of principal at its spring

John Baildam B r i t i s h

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U n i o n

C o n f e r e n c e

meeting on May 11.

Baildam has served the college for more than 30 years in a variety of capacities, including English school director, and admissions and records director.

Since 1997 he has served as director of Academic Affairs and more recently as deputy principal. Baildam has also served as chair of Governors for Garth Hill College in Bracknell, since 1999.

Through his involvement with many professional committees and associations, Baildam has developed a deep and comprehensive knowledge of the higher education system in the United Kingdom, and has established a wide network of contacts.

He comes with solid Adventist and academic credentials. He’s the son of Denys and Jean Baildam, an Adventist pastoral family who served across the UK from the 1940s to the 1990s. His wife, Lynda, serves Newbold as associate librarian.

“I am excited by the task ahead as all of us as the college—students and staff—work together to give increasing numbers of young people the opportunity to enjoy the high quality of spiritual, social, and academic life at Newbold,” Baildam said. He is already working to significantly increase enrollment by September 2015.

His message to parents and potential students: “Too many are missing out on the life-changing, faith-affirming experience to be found at Newbold.”

Baildam replaces Philip Brown, who is returning to Australia following a three-year stint at Newbold.

College development under his leadership included campus refurbishment, student life initiatives, a new certificate in health and wellness, and admission to the Adventist Colleges Abroad consortium.

—Kristy Watkins/BUC News

Adventist World - nad | July 2014

Fl o y d

and magazines for longevity; and the U.S. National Institutes of Health is helping fund extensive research about what makes Adventists one of the longest living people groups ever studied.

In 2011 the Pan American Health Organization began a collaboration with the Adventist Church to help implement the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals at grassroots levels throughout North America and South America.

The Facts With Hope series was produced by the Adventist Church’s North American Division Health Ministries Department and the General Conference Communication Department.

See the campaign at factswithhope.org.

—ANN Staff

H ay e s

WORLD REPORT

MANPOWER: Moises Ramirez, a junior at PUC, uses ancient technology to move dirt for the clinic’s foundation.

S

pring vacation can be a muchneeded rest for Pacific Union College (PUC) students who have just completed final exams.

Yet each year groups of students give up their opportunity to spend time with family and take a break.

These students, motivated by the desire to give back and serve God, spend their time on mission-oriented adventures in places far and wide.

From March 20 to 30, 2014, 15 PUC students, joined by missions coordinator Fabio Maia and biology professor Floyd Hayes, flew to Manaus, Brazil, to work in Rosa de Sáron, in the interior of Manaus Amazonas.

The group traveled to this exotic location to build a health clinic, to provide water filters and water education, and to teach English classes.

Some of the students also participated in a tropical biology course led by Hayes, giving them the opportunity to experience wildlife of the Amazon firsthand on morning trips along the river and through the jungle.

PUC partnered with the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) for the service element of the trip. ADRA supports several projects in Rosa de Sáron, including a school, furniture business, church, and medi-

H ay e s Fl o y d

WHEELS OF PROGRESS: Chad Latimer and two friends pilot three of the wheelbarrows that bought fill for the foundation.

By M adeline Miller and Cambria Wheeler

Wheelbarrows and

Water Filters Students spend spring break in mission service.

cal and dental clinic. The clinic is operated out of a boat by ADRAemployed nurse, Thianne de Oliveira.

Oliveira, who also teaches at the school, works with short-term mission teams who come to work in the area, including the group from PUC. The health clinic built by PUC will be used by 32 communities in the area and will create a centralized location for emergency medical cases. Students made hundreds of wheelbarrow trips with loads of dirt, mud, and clay as

they built a foundation and raised the level of the floor to protect the new clinic from annual flooding.

Maia joined local villagers who braved the teetering heights of the loose frame construction to lay down roofing so that the structure would be protected from sometimes torrential rains. With temperatures in the high 80s and humidity reaching nearly 80 percent, dehydration was a serious concern. The daily siesta following lunch was a much-needed blessing and reprieve.

PUC also brought 30 water filters to Rosa de Sáron in partnership with one of PUC’s neighboring churches, the Calvary Christian church in St. Helena, California. Maia taught both students and community leaders how the filters are assembled and used. Using just gravity and a clean bucket, the filters are able to process 1,800 gallons of water a day, turning muddy river water into safe, potable drinking water. “PUC is committed to making a difference in the Amazon by bringing clean water to the communities in partnership with ADRA Amazon,” Maia shared.

Each evening Maia, a native of Brazil, led English-Portuguese classes as PUC students were given the opportunity learn some of the Brazilian national language alongside the people they had come to serve. Several times throughout the process Maia would say with a laugh, “English is so much easier to learn. There are only two forms for the verb ‘to swim’ [in the present tense]: ‘swim’ and ‘swims.’ Portuguese has six.”

Bianca Tolan, a junior at PUC, says, “The incredible thing was that even though there was a language barrier, we were all working on a project together, and we found ways to communicate.”

The English-Portuguese classes allowed for a third way for the group to bond with the community, opening more channels for communication.

The trip had a profound effect on several students, and increased their desire to serve overseas. “I know I felt God, and the joy that comes with experiencing Him. That was a spiritual high that we were able to share together,” shared PUC junior Moises Ramirez.

After the trip five of the students decided to spend a year as student missionaries through the college’s missions program, and two want to dedicate their lives to working abroad. n

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W O R L D

V I S T A

W

e are living in the time of the end. Many people around the world are realizing that things are changing rapidly and that the future is uncertain. As we prepare for the soon coming of Jesus, it is more important than ever that we refocus on our unique, heaven-born mandate of medical missionary work, or as we are now calling it: “comprehensive health ministry”— utilizing the health message in every way possible to bring people to the cross of the Master Physician.

Health reform and comprehensive health ministry are not the gospel—the gospel is the message of a Savior who

God’s

missionary work must be as closely connected with the work of the gospel ministry as the hand and arm are connected with the body. You need the gospel ministry to give prominence and stability to the medical missionary work; and the ministry needs the medical missionary work to demonstrate the practical working of the gospel. The Lord would have

By Ted N. C. Wilson

Mighty

Right Arm Saving Body and Soul P r o v i d e n c e

lived a perfect life, died and rose for us, intercedes for us in the Most Holy Place of the real heavenly sanctuary, and will soon return to take us home to be with Him. We are saved

by His grace and righteousness, as the sanctuary service portrays in all its aspects.

Beautiful Balance

We are told, however, that comprehensive health ministry, or medical missionary work, is the right arm of the gospel—God’s mighty right arm. The right arm symbolizes active involvement and power. It is direct and involved.

The right arm of the body (or, for left-handed people, the left arm) is so important to the accomplishments of the entire body, and it illustrates well how important comprehensive health ministry is for the Seventh-day Adventist Church today in its outreach to the world!

The beautiful balance between the gospel work and health ministry is articulated by Ellen White: “The medical

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L i t h o g r a p h

C o m pa n y

His work carried forward symmetrically and harmoniously.

His message must be carried to all parts of the world.”1 Our Faithfulness Based on His Faithfulness

The Lord’s expectation of our future faithfulness to Him is always based on His past faithfulness to us. In Exodus 20:2, when giving His law at Mount Sinai, the Lord personally admonished His chosen people to remember that “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”

Today, as it was for ancient Israel, God expects our faithfulness to be built on confidence in His past leading and teaching, especially when it comes to arming ourselves with the great opportunities of comprehensive health ministry.

How can we learn from the past to let God lead, to trust in Him and His prophets, and to expand the influence of our church’s health ministries in helping people practically as the three angels’ messages are proclaimed?

Let’s remember how God led the children of Israel out of Egypt.

The Experience of Israel

Exodus 14 and 15 record the amazing events surrounding the Red Sea deliverance from Pharaoh and the Egyptian army. God’s people were jubilant. In Exodus 14:31 we read, “Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses” (KJV).

Analyzing this verse, we notice that: (1) a great work was visually confirmed; (2) the Lord did this work; (3) the Israelites respected and believed the Lord (an important component in this sequence, which is critical for us in God’s church today); and (4) they believed His servant Moses.

The Israelites had trust in God’s prophet—another important component for us as God’s church today.

Three days earlier they had seen God’s incredible power with water in the Red Sea . . . but in just three days they went from triumph to despair.

After the wonderful Red Sea experience everyone was excited, until they came to a big challenge—the desert, where there was no water. They went three days without finding water. Finally they came to Marah, but the water there was bitter.

Three days earlier they had seen God’s awesome power with water in the Red Sea, and they believed in God and His prophet. In just three days, however, they moved from triumph to despair. They didn’t believe in God, or in Moses, or in the protective cloud that led them there and protected them at night as a pillar of fire.

That cloud and pillar of fire is similar to comprehensive health ministry in its overall blessing in that it leads us to the ultimate objective and goal: to understand the gospel message and have a close relationship with our Redeemer.

Highs and Lows

Sometimes we as Seventh-day Adventists seem to parallel the Israelites’ experiences of forgetting and hesitation.

Israel had constant highs of triumph and then lows of complaining; aren’t we tempted that way ourselves? Let’s remember that God has called us to be part of a mighty

Advent movement with comprehensive health ministry as an integral part of the proclamation of the gospel message to the world—and a vital part, according to the Spirit of Prophecy, of the final loud cry.

In Exodus 15:24 the people murmured against the prophet and asked, “What shall we drink?” You would think coming from the Red Sea triumph they would have just said, “Let’s see what God will provide.”

Then Moses cried to the Lord. Whenever we face a challenge or problem, let’s follow Moses’ example and cry to the Lord. It is only in God that we have any power. Verse 25 indicates that “the Lord shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet” (KJV). The message here is clear: when you are asked by the Lord to point people to a better way of life and you run into problems, cry to the Lord and He will show you the solution. He will show you His power.

This truth is underscored by verse 26, one of the most powerful health-related verses in the Bible. The Lord proclaims through Moses, “If thou wilt diligently harken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee” (KJV).

What a powerful text to claim! In your interaction with others, in your health promotion, in your witness, in your preaching, claim the heavenly power of this verse.

A Great Opportunity

Today, all around us, people are asking what they should eat and what they ought to drink and how they should live. It is the greatest opportunity as we go from one international crisis to the next for Seventh-day Adventists to say with Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20 and 10:31: “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (KJV).

Combine that with the powerful instruction given through the apostle John in 3 John 2—“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth” (KJV)—and you have the formula for Seventh-day Adventists to launch a mighty movement that will help society in unprecedented ways to find complete health—physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually.

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W O R L D

V I S T A

Stories Part of the Three Angels’ Messages

Letter 135, 1899.

Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1948), vol. 6, p. 112.

GLOW: Giving Light to Our World

o f

N e ls o n

E r n s t

Giving Light to Our World—GLOW—is an outreach initiative that originated in California, United States, but is now branching out to other world divisions. It’s based on the concept of church members distributing GLOW tracts—free of charge—at every opportunity. The tracts are currently being printed in 45 languages.

Here are two short stories that depict lives touched by GLOW in Fiji:

C o u r t e s y

You and I can proclaim the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14:6-12 through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The health message and work of Seventh-day Adventists are intimately bound up in the three angels’ messages. God has a plan for people, and it involves every aspect of their lives, beginning with health—so that God’s mighty right arm can help them further understand Christ’s special ministry to them mentally, socially, and most of all, spiritually.

Let’s reflect on the Spirit of Prophecy counsel found in Testimonies for the Church: “As we near the close of time we must rise higher and still higher upon the question of health reform and Christian temperance, presenting it in a more positive and decided manner. We must strive continually to educate the people, not only by our words, but by our practice.”2 Like Moses, let’s cry to the Lord to use us in these last days of earth’s history as society crumbles, as moral belief disappears, and the social fabric disintegrates. By God’s grace, let’s be part of a new revival and reformation of what healthy lifestyle and health reform and comprehensive health ministry is all about. God is eager that this life-giving message be heard all around the world. n

Story One: GLOW director Nelson Ernst and International GLOW coordinator Kamil Metz recently were in Fiji working with the Trans Pacific Union Mission to develop GLOW tracts in their local languages.

While there, Nelson took a ride on a public bus and handed a GLOW tract to a bus worker. The bus driver noticed this and asked for a tract READING HER TRACT: also. Nelson handed one to him, but A woman in Fiji studies a then the driver asked for several GLOW tract she just received. more. Another man sitting nearby also asked for several tracts. So before the bus ride had even begun, Nelson had almost run out of the entire stack of literature that he had taken with him for a whole day’s distribution!

Story Two: On a single Sabbath afternoon this past March in Fiji Adventist youth distributed 10,000 “Why I Go to Church on Saturday” GLOW tracts in their communities. “Many lives will be touched from this outreach endeavor,” says Nelson. “Fiji’s people are ready to receive the gospel.”

1 2

Ted N. C. Wilson is president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

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Stories are compiled by Pacific Union Conference, United States, GLOW director Nelson Ernst. To learn more about GLOW, go to sdaglow.org. To watch video GLOW testimonies, go to vimeo.com/ user13970741.

Pa l m e r

H a lv o r s e n

NAD NEWS

STAGE PRESENCE: At the end of the Revelation Speaks Peace series 177 individuals received certificates upon graduating from the Discover Bible School. FIRST IMPRESSION: Shawn Boonstra speaks during the first weekend of Revelation Speaks Peace at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis.

God’s

Perfect Timing

in Indianapolis

G

od’s timing is perfect.

Sunil is one of the more than 200 people who made decisions for Christ in Indianapolis in April. Each night he sat among a sea of faces, faithfully attending the Revelation Speaks Peace meetings at the Farm Bureau Building. Sunil found God, and so did many others.

Raised in India, Sunil moved to the United States to complete a master’s degree. While studying in the United States, he left the faith of his childhood.

Sunil landed a job working for eBay in California. To an outsider, Sunil appeared to have it all: a good job,

living in a part of the world others only dream about. But he was lonely. In his loneliness he reached out to God. When Sunil was offered a job in Indianapolis, his colleagues laughed when he told them about the offer.

New in his journey back to God, Sunil prayed about his decision. He asked God to show him His plan. Sunil decided to accept the new job.

Without a friend in Indianapolis, Sunil tried to settle in to his new life.

Just 11 days after arriving he received an invitation to Revelation Speaks Peace. Intrigued, he decided to attend.

“I knew after the first meeting that

God had plans to bring me to Indianapolis.”

Each night after the meeting Sunil studied the materials, researched the topics presented, and found a new love for history. God’s timing was perfect. If Sunil had arrived in Indianapolis just 30 days later, it would have been too late.

When Hilda’s son Jamie came to her house one evening. He could talk about only one thing: the Revelation Speaks Peace meetings he was attending.

Hilda saw a positive change in her son, and she wondered what he was learning. Skeptical, she decided to attend.

She liked what she heard, and she could see the Holy Spirit was speaking to the heart of her once wayward son.

That night Hilda felt a little confused and overwhelmed. She prayed and found an answer. A test.

After the meeting the next night Hilda approached me. She had $100 cash in her hand and tried to give it to me. I politely refused. “God told me to give it to you,” she insisted. A little Continued on next page

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more forcefully, I again refused, telling Hilda that I never personally accept money for preaching His Word. It wasn’t until later that I learned the rest of the story.

This was Hilda’s test. She had asked God to show her if the things she was learning were true or not. “If this is a man sent by You, then he’s not going to take the money,” she told God. Hilda, along with Jamie, his family, and Jamie’s sister, continued to attend the meetings and make decisions for Christ. Once again God’s timing was perfect.

As a young man Linda’s father wooed her mother, introduced her to his faith, and they were married in the Seventh-day Adventist church. A picture-perfect beginning quickly spiraled into a life of misery.

When she was too young even to remember, Linda’s father abandoned his faith and began to drink heavily.

The situation deteriorated, and Linda and her five younger siblings ended up in the care of the state.

Linda never forgot her parents’ happy beginning. And when she recently gained custody of her granddaughter, she knew it was time to raise her as a Christian; time to give her the childhood she had missed.

Linda knew it was time not just for her granddaughter, but her chance, too, to claim her spiritual inheritance.

God brought her home.

Each evening in Indianapolis I would at some point sneak out to the front to greet guests for a few minutes as they arrived. I quickly learned that the best way to see them was to wait at the Discover Bible School table, because they all made a beeline to pick up their lessons as soon as they arrived!

Out of an estimated 500 students enrolled in the Bible School, 177 com-

12

pleted at least 10 lessons. On the last weekend of the series we held a graduation. Young and old marched across the stage, huge smiles on their faces as they accepted their diplomas and gifts.

Is there any doubt that God’s timing is perfect? He knew when Sunil would arrive in Indianapolis. He knew when Jamie was ready to hear the message and share it with Hilda. And he has known for more than 60 years that Linda needed to come home.

—Shawn Boonstra and Voice of Prophecy Staff

Life on the Line Highlights Adventist Health Care ■■ As he was changing TV channels, a viewer in the Midwest paused to watch a new program, Life on the Line.

Moved by what he saw, he contacted the show’s producers. “I was in a motorcycle accident,” he confided after introducing himself. “I saw part of an episode of your show, ‘Armed for the Challenge.’ It inspired me so much that I wanted to watch the rest of the show.”

Based at Loma Linda University Health (LLUH), Life on the Line is LLUH’s first national television show.

It is sharing the impact a Seventh-day Adventist organization is making on individuals, families, and the world.

In each episode viewers meet individuals who are fighting to stay alive, people whose lives have been impacted because of interactions they’ve had with LLUH doctors, nurses, researchers, faculty, staff, and students. In April Life on the Line aired on the WORLD Channel, a subchannel of local public television stations that reaches more than 68 million households in North America. It began airing on KVCR, a

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L L UH

NAD NEWS

RESCUED: Sebastian, an 8-year-old trapped by debris after the earthquake in Haiti, is featured on an episode of Life on the Line.

public television station in southern California, in May. “Working on this series has been an amazing experience,” says Patricia Kelikani, one of show’s producers.

“This show isn’t just about the doctors, but how real people find meaning in the midst of tragedy. This is where the real story lives and their strength of spirit shines.”

Narrated by Lisa Ling, celebrity host and journalist, the first season featured six half-hour episodes: “Heart to Heart” tells the story of a family whose newborn baby desperately needs a heart transplant.

“Out of the Rubble” captures the life of an 8-year-old Haitian boy trapped under earthquake rubble for three days. “enditnow” follows child abuse victims as they move beyond the trauma and live their lives to the fullest.

“Baby Blue” shows how doctors from opposite sides of the globe collaborate to save Egyptian babies with congenital heart disease.

“Armed for the Challenge” features an athlete who sets out to prove that disability doesn’t mean inability.

“Anchoring Hope” features a medi-

■■ Daily news reports catalogue the staggering numbers of individuals displaced because of war, famine, and persecution. The United States has provided safety and security for thousands of these people.

The Iowa-Missouri Conference has experienced growth among its membership from several African countries, Myanmar (Burma), and Samoa.

To assist refugee parents who desire to provide their children with a Seventhday Adventist education, as well as non-Adventists and non-Christians refugee parents who want their chil-

of refugees, the youngest members of the family are prey for sexual predators, and victims of bullying more often; they join gangs to be accepted, but are trafficked and taken advantage of by their American peers.

A third goal is that given the worldwide connectedness of people through cell phones, it is hoped that children from families who are not Adventist or even Christian can attend Adventist schools, come to a saving relationship with Christ, and share that news with their families back in their home country or those who have immigrated to other parts of the world.

The program’s success is yet to be determined. For the 24 refugee students and their families, the opportunity to attend a Seventh-day Adventist school is truly a blessing.

—Joseph R. Allison, Iowa-Missouri Conference

I o w a - M i ss o u r i

Pilot Program Educates Refugees

dren in a safe, nurturing environment, the Iowa-Missouri Conference has begun a pilot program to assist with tuition scholarships over a three-year period. Donations for this initiative were made by conference members.

The program has several goals: First, to provide financial assistance to make Adventist education affordable for displaced families who have little or no extra money to use beyond basic living expenses. Currently 24 students in three schools—Cedar Rapids and Des Moines, Iowa, and Columbia, Missouri—are benefitting from this pilot program. Other schools hope to join the program and are working to overcome obstacles such as transportation.

A second goal is to provide a safe and nurturing school setting for refugee children, who are most vulnerable for abuse and exploitation. According to agencies that assist in the relocation

C o n f e r e n c e

cal boat from Loma Linda University providing health-care services for people living in the Amazon jungle.

The program is available to public television stations nationwide. The series will begin airing on public television stations this summer; for updated schedules, visit Lifeontheline.tv.

Staff are working on episodes for the show’s second season. Topics include: the story of Malek, a young Afghan who stepped on a land mine in his home country and received prosthetics at LLUH; patients receiving bone marrow and kidney transplants; and a child whose life was saved in the pediatric emergency room at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital.

Viewers who would like to see the show in their area may contact their local public television station and are invited to “like” the series’ Facebook page: facebook.com/ LifeOnTheLineSeries.

—Nancy Yuen, Loma Linda University Health

Above: SCHOOL SPIRIT: The student body and faculty of the College Park Christian Academy in Columbia, Missouri, part of a pilot program to provide Adventist education to immigrants and their families. Right: STUDY BUDDIES: Students and faculty at the J. N. Andrews Adventist School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, are also part of the pilot program.

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N A D U P D AT E

InStep for

Life

A three-day challenge on the Rise

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H e a lt h

Left: COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS: Throughout North America Adventist InStep for Life events have provided opportunities for Adventists to share their commitment to healthful living with their communities.

Right: OSHKOSH CHALLENGE: A three-day challenge for Pathfinders attending the Forever Faithful Camporee in Oshkosh will allow them to earn prizes and other recognition.

M i n i s t r i e s

ary. Gray’s club was among the clubs that received a $1,000 award for their participation reporting top miles and/ or participation rates in the national InStep for Life initiative. The audience cheered Gray’s report, even more when he walked off the stage with a $1,000 check that would be used to help pay the expenses for the Mount Zion club to attend the International Pathfinder Camporee at Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

The Adventist InStep for Life initiative has undertaken the task to engage kids and teens in more active lifestyles and healthier eating. A major effort is been made in collaboration with the NAD Youth Ministries Department and the Center for Youth Evangelism

NAD

W

hen Darrel Gray, Pathfinder director for the Mount Zion Warriors in Kissimmee Florida, accepted the invitation to share what his Pathfinder club had been doing to engage kids from the Mount Zion Seventh-day Church and its community in healthful living, he had no idea his club was among the 10 awardees! His demeanor changed drastically when he realized his Pathfinders were one of 10 other groups that received a check for $1,000.

“I can’t believe it, I can’t believe it,” was his surprised reply, along with a smile that brightened the room at the North American Division (NAD) Health Summit during the InStep for Life Award Celebration event in Janu-

(CYE) at Andrews University to challenge Pathfinders during the International Camporee in August and invite them to live healthfully.

During the Forever Faithful Camporee, which focuses on the faithful life of Daniel, the NAD Health Ministries Department is coordinating the Oshkosh InStep4Life Three-day Challenge August 13-15, 2014. The challenge will engage kids, teens, and adults in a 5K race on Day 1, a boot camp challenge on Day 2 (sit-ups, push-ups, and burpees), and a onemile run on Day 3. Those participating will receive free giveaways, and more importantly, accumulate points for their club toward monetary awards, trophies, pins, and a special patch. Thousands from the NAD and around the world have already registered for the challenge.

The Oshkosh InStep4Life Threeday Challenge is one of several events of the national Adventists InStep for Life (AISFL) initiative, which focuses on promoting a healthier lifestyle through increased physical activity and healthful eating among kids and families in an effort to reduce childhood obesity and prevent chronic diseases.

The AISFL is the Adventist response to the epidemic of obesity in North America, and seeks to create partnerships in communities among churches, schools, hospitals, and other organizations to promote health and well-being. A major partner is the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) through the Let’s Move! initiative supported by United States first lady Michelle Obama.

“Adventists are our major partner among faith communities,” says Heidi Christensen, associate director for community engagement at the Center

RECOGNIZED: Darrell Gray (center), receives $1,000 for the Mt. Zion Pathfinder Club. Helping present the award is Hubert Cisneros, Youth Ministries director of the Mid-American Union, and Katia Reinert, Health Ministries director for the North American Division.

NAD

for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships office, DHHS. Since the launch of this initiative thousands of Adventists have signed up to report their miles of physical activity and gain awards. Hundreds of churches, schools, and colleges have hosted an annual Let’s Move Day, engaging their communities and building relation-

H e a lt h

M i n i s t r i e s

ships and partnerships.

As a result of this initiative, several Adventist health leaders have been asked to participate in city health initiatives as board members to offer their expertise. Among them is Larisa Brass from the Lenoir City Seventhday Adventist Church in Tennessee.

Brass has coordinated this event for

three consecutive years, with increased participation each year. The last event had more than 800 participants, 100 volunteers, and dozens of community partners, including the University of Tennessee, the city health department, and others. “People not only come to our events, but they are also now visiting our church. Some are having Bible studies and preparing for baptism as a result,” says Brass.

The next Let’s Move Day is September 21, 2014, and churches and schools are planning major events across the NAD. For more information about events and activities linked to Adventists InStep for Life contact NADHM@nad.adventist.org, or visit AdventistsInStepforLife.org.

—By Katia Reinert, director of health ministries, North American Division

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NAD PERSPECTIVE

Take a

By Daniel Weber

Chance

T

he summer of 1988 was probably the worst of my life.

I had just finished my second year at Andrews University, and for the first time in my academic career I had failed at something. To top it off, my parents’ divorce became final, and my high school girlfriend had broken up with me.

At the end of spring quarter I decided to apply for a job as a resident assistant. I told God, “If You want me at Andrews next year, I’ll get the job.”

Of course, I didn’t get the job, which deepened my depression.

At the end of the school year, I moved to Cadillac, Michigan. The only job I could find was pumping gas. I made $4 an hour, only because I had taken some college classes. I hated my life. After a few weeks my mother went to Andrews to finish her master’s degree. I was alone in a strange town, working at a job I hated, and feeling as though I had no direction in my life.

In the middle of the summer my mother called to tell me about an opportunity for someone to go to Iceland as boys’ dean. As all good mothers do, she was pushing me out of the nest.

I fought her, saying that it would be a waste of my time and that I wasn’t qualified. The last part was true, the first part wasn’t. God and my mother

kept working on me until I finally agreed to call the chaplain’s office at Andrews.

I scheduled an interview, and a few days later I took the four-hour drive to southern Michigan. I was scared, asking God, “What am I getting myself into?”

Pat Morrison was chaplain at Andrews, in charge of the student mission program. He asked about my classwork, my work experiences, my family background, and my relationship with God. I didn’t have many good answers. Then the subject of my worship credits in the dorm came up, and I knew I wasn’t going to Iceland.

Students at Andrews were required to attend a certain number of worships each week. In addition to attending classes, I worked more than 25 hours a week, and it seemed that most of the worships were when I ran the campus photo lab. Every few weeks I would get a notice from the dean that my worship credit score was low. At one point my score was –120.

When Morrison asked about my worship attendance, I explained the situation. He listened politely and started to smile. He informed me that he had checked with the deans, and that they didn’t have anything to

complain about regarding my behavior. He then shocked me by saying that they were going to approve my application, and I had to be ready to go to Iceland in six weeks. He said something told him they should “take a chance” on me. I walked out of that office feeling as if the burdens of the world had been lifted off my shoulders.

My two years in Iceland were a lifechanging experience. I made lifelong friends, learned a lot about myself, and what I was capable of with God leading in my life. My second year a female student missionary came from Atlantic Union College, and we fell in love. We were married two years later.

More important, I grew up. My time in Iceland served me well, and it still does today.

Several years ago Morrison and his wife, Jane, came to the church I attend as an associate pastor. I wasn’t surprised when he didn’t remember me, considering the thousands of students he had served during his career. I told him of my job at the General Conference, and what it entailed. Then I told him, “I’m here only because you took a chance on me.”

Recently retired, Pastor Morrison and I often wonder how many lives like mine he changed. How many other chances did he take that turned out well? Every one of us should be willing to take a chance on our young people. They will be better for it, and so will the church. n

Daniel Weber is commu-

nication director for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America.

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NAD Letters

Isaiah 8:20 applies to all Adventist ministries, just as much as it does to all other churches.

What Is God Up To?

I’m writing in response to Justin Yang’s article “What Is God Up To?” (May 2014). A lot could be said about Yang’s take on what God is up to, but I will focus on one particular statement: “What if God is fully present and using all Adventist ministries and gatherings to bring to Himself as many of His children as possible?”

While it is true that God tries to reach everyone in whatever place or condition they may be, it cannot be true that He endorses or approves of all of the methods being used to reach them. More than 100 years ago Dr. [John Harvey] Kellogg had a ministry, but God was not in it, and many were led astray by it. Isaiah 8:20 applies to all Adventist ministries, just as much as it does to all other churches.

If one of our current ministries is using methods that come to us from Eastern mysticism, it cannot be true that God is “using” that ministry. God may be able to reach someone in spite of that ministry, but never does He cooperate with Satan.

Walter Sumner Canaan, Maine

Angels’ Food

I just read Lael Caesar’s article “Angels’ Food” (Mar. 2014). It was such a blessing! It fit perfectly with a study that a group of women and I are doing on gratitude. I am thankful that God used Caesar to bless my life.

Bonita Merchant via e-mail

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—Walter Sumner, Canaan, Maine

Facing the Challenge of Abuse in the Church

I found Carla Baker’s article, “Facing the Challenge of Abuse in the Church” (Feb. 2014), most profound. It touched on an important topic.

I agree that sexual abuse has to stop. I thank Baker for writing about this, and I understand how hard it must have been for her to put into words the stories that were provided.

But the article seems to say that once one commits a crime that, in the eyes of the church is unforgiveable, then the church and its members no longer want the person. I understand this—people are scared. They believe that once a sex offender, always a sex offender. The argument is that the person who was offended against is emotionally damaged for life, and that the offender is never healed from their actions and can’t be trusted. . . .

Drug dealers, addicts, adulterers, murderers—they’ve done damage to their victims, if they give up their addictions and repent from their crimes, are they welcomed back into

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the church? Do they have value? . . .

I created a victim by choosing to do what I did. A convicted sex offender, I’ve done my time, finished therapy, and will be released in a few months. I’ve changed my path, thanks to our Lord Jesus. I have something to offer. . . . I’m not saying that every sex offender comes to God and changes their ways. Far from that, in fact few as I see it do turn toward God. But what about those who do?

Daniel Monroe, Washington

Special Days in North America Focus for August: Spiritual Gifts August 23 enditnow Emphasis Day For resources that pertain to this special emphasis, visit AdventSource.org.

W O R L D

H E A L T H

By Peter N. Landless and Allan R. Handysides

Breast Cancer: Treatment

What are the best treatments for breast cancer? ancer therapy, particularly in the event of breast cancer, is most effective when the cancer is totally removed surgically. This means that smaller, well-described cancer lesions that can be excised in totality offer the greatest chances of cure. Be it by an excision biopsy (the biopsy removes it all), lumpectomy, or for more extensive tumors a simple mastectomy or even more radical surgery—such removal is a mainstay of treatment. Radiation of the remaining breast tissue, chest wall, and part of the armpit is most often recommended, since studies throughout the past 60 years have documented statistically significant improvements in prognosis when radiation is added to the surgery.

Once the tumor has been removed, it undergoes intense scrutiny. It is possible to identify the cancer cell’s various receptors and antigens (antigens are substances that evoke an immune response). These markers further define the character of the cancer, and it has been plotted out which types of cancer cells respond best to which specific therapies. The lymph node in the armpit, called the sentinel node, is often removed and examined, as survival relates somewhat to the presence of cancer in these nodes. For example, patients without positive axillary nodes have a 10-year survival rate of 70 per-

C

cent and a less than 20 percent recurrence rate, whereas the increasing number of positive nodes correlates with increasing recurrence rates.

In general, hormone receptor-positive cells are less aggressive than hormone receptor-negative cells. The human epidermal growth-factor receptor (HER) type 2 has been associated with more aggressive tumors, and yet development of a biologic agent, trastuzumab (Herceptin), has revolutionized the treatment of this type of breast cancer.

Today a woman diagnosed with breast cancer who undergoes the diagnostic approaches briefly outlined has better chances of cure than at any time in human history. This does not mean, however, that these chances cannot be improved by healthful living practices.

A calm and prayerful spirit, plus a wellbalanced, vegetarian diet low in animal fats, and the avoidance of tobacco, alcohol, and other noxious substances, accompanied by regular moderate exercise, would seem to us to be the ideal complement to modern, scientifically validated treatments.

We want to make it very clear, though, that a column such as this cannot be presumed to be definitive in its coverage of a topic. We are limited by space, the diversity of our readership, and the scope of our expertise. In matters of cancer you are best advised by specialists who spend years studying their focus of concern.

Throughout the past 75 years oncologists have systematically been cataloging data, so there are millions of person years of experience catalogued about causes, treatments, outcomes, and prognostic probabilities. Regional and national archives collect data so that recommended therapies have rather precise probabilities of outcome. It is in the face of such accumulated data that personal opinion often becomes rather unreliable.

It is our position that we do best to follow the advice developed throughout the decades in the management of cancer. Some of our readers who espouse a dedicated commitment to healthful living have a general distaste for modern medicine, but there need not be an “all or nothing” approach to treatment. Natural remedies can have a very legitimate role to play—not necessarily as “alternative” therapy, but rather as “complementary” therapy. n

Peter N. Landless, a board-certified nuclear cardiologist, is director of the General Conference Health Ministries Department.

Allan R. Handysides, a board-certified gynecologist, is a former director of the General Conference Health Ministries Department.

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D E V O T I O N A L

20

U . S .

A i r f o r c e

H

eavy beads of sweat dripped from my forehead and landed on the padded exercise room floor. I was struggling to complete the last assigned workout for the evening session. Fifty knuckle push-ups more and I’d be done, headed for home.

Because I was relatively new to the exercise class and had developed a rich talent for sitting at my desk, I was the last of seven students that night to finish the push-up set. Our class ethic teaches us to respect our fellow students, so classmates usually are courteous with each other and don’t leave the room until everyone has finished their exercise routines—or time runs out, whichever comes first. Unfortunately, this knuckle push-up exercise wasn’t a timed drill, so I knew I wouldn’t be going home until I finished the last 50 push-ups.

The other students, all younger than I was, sat around the room, stretching and relaxing, relieved to have the workout behind them. I felt eyes on me as the other students casually watched the slowest and oldest learner. Though my body had done its share of protesting, I had recently discovered that I had the determination—the willpower—to push through the difficult exercises, or so I thought. Now with two sets of 50 knuckle push-ups completed as well as other muscle-exhausting exercises, I started in on the last 50 repetitions.

I managed to finish 15 before collapsing onto the floor with an energyconserving thunk!

I took a deep breath, summoned my imagined strength once more, and managed to complete another eight

HelpFrom

By Chandler Riley

Alongside

repetitions. Then five more. It was taking every calorie of my energy to finish this last set.

I had just managed to complete another six when I noticed some movement beside me. Drenched in sweat and exhausted himself, Nate, one of the other students in the class, had lowered himself into position beside me on the floor. He had already finished his own sets, but had decided to help out a fellow classmate.

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“All right, Chandler,” he murmured with a playful smile creasing his face. “Let’s do this.”

That surprising act of mercy from someone I didn’t know well gave me a boost of energy and an extra shot of determination. I was able to finish 10 more push-ups before collapsing again. Nate waited for me, watching my chest heave with each tortured breath. Not wanting to delay because my classmate was beside me, I took

It’s the support of people who truly care about us that helps us survive. another deep breath and pushed on— and up—until I finished the set of 50.

“Thanks, bro,” I panted from the exercise mat where I had collapsed.

Parallel Moves

Though this was the first time a classmate in the exercise class had reached out to encourage me, I realized that I already knew this story.

During my last year of college, my father passed away unexpectedly while I was home for spring vacation. Our house quickly filled with my mother’s General Conference colleagues and friends, as well as our neighbors and friends from church. Within hours relatives had flown in from around the country to offer their support as well.

Now, 16 years later, I look back on that difficult day with amazement because my memories of that loss are as much filled with feelings of love and support as they are with the sadness that initiated those acts of love.

I have mental images of people who work in this [General Conference] building, some of whom I still see daily, who brought us food, stopped by the house, or sent us a note to assure us of their care in those difficult days.

I marvel that any of us can pull through tough times such as that, but I’ve learned that it’s the support of people who truly care about us that helps us survive. What a blessing we who work here have to serve in an environment where we can find others who deeply care about us and our well-being, who lift us up in prayer and with their words.

As believers, however, we have more

than just an earthly support system.

When life gets painful, or we think we have reached our breaking point, we have a God who not only promised, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb. 13:5), but who showed it by His actions as well.

We see His compassion in times of suffering or sadness, as when Jesus’ friend Lazarus died in Bethany. Jesus knew the entire course of Lazarus’ illness and demise, and had already formed the plan to resurrect him. But as He watched the weeping and sadness of Lazarus’ family members over the death, Jesus was overcome and wept with empathetic sadness as well.

We see His tenacity in maintaining relationships with those whom He knew would either betray or deny Him. We see His courage in the ways He interacted with those afflicted by contagious diseases, deformities, or major health conditions. We see His patience as He graciously forgave those who kept making the same mistakes again and again, even when they knew to do better. We see His othercenteredness as He hung on the cross, tortured physically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually. Even with life quickly ebbing from His body, and wracked with pain—even as His tormenters yelled insults at Him— our Lord reached out in His own dying moments to help a criminal on the cross beside Him. From the cross, with all its horror and shame, Jesus made the arrangements with John to care for His mother, Mary.

Are you struggling with the death of a loved one? Jesus willingly experienced loss in His own life. Have you

known betrayal? He walked that road as well. Are you being treated unfairly? He could have filled a book with the narrative of all the unfair things done to Him. Is your body in pain? “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities” (Isa. 53:5).

In every challenge I face, I find that Jesus has been through His own version of it, and that He did so out of compassion for me and while remaining compassionate to me. He lowered Himself, getting down into position, thick beads of blood dropping from His body. He suffered beside me and, of course, for me.

And through whatever trial I face, not only can I understand that He has felt that sting of pain before, but I have the promise that He is willing to go through it all over again—this time beside me, supporting me.

We are blessed to love a Lord who is beside us in our struggles, and who also uses us to come alongside those in pain or grief. Because He has borne our burdens, we may yet be blessed to share the load of those who sweat beside us. n

Chandler Riley is a benefits specialist in the Human Resources Department of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.A. This article is based on a devotional presented at a morning worship session in the world headquarters of the church.

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F U N D A M E N T A L

B E L I E F S

D

o you have a scar—maybe from an accident, a surgery, or from carrying a baby for nine months?

Scars tell stories—about pain, bravery, hope, love. They show us our fragility. Those resulting from a successful surgery often give us hope and courage.

Scripture mentions an essential surgery: “I will remove their heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God” (Eze. 11:19, 20).1

By Angelika Kaiser

vation. Yet the Holy Spirit works on my stony, proud heart to make it receptive so that I can see God’s unconditional love on Calvary. Christ experienced the total disconnect from the Father, something I never have to experience if I accept His atoning sacrifice. He is the cure for my pride problem (Rom. 2:4). Calvary is the place where God’s loving heart broke for humanity. The Holy Spirit works on my heart so I can see this love and my need of Christ. This is the prerequisite for receiving a new heart, which in turn allows growth in the love relationship with God. “To have a new

NUMBER 10

(In)Vulnerable?

The myth of indestructible

Surgery

God spoke these words to ancient Israel, whose experience may echo our individual experiences. The deliverance from slavery and the entry into the Promised Land is an experience that each believer may have. While the promised heart surgery was necessary for the Israelites, we may ask why it is still necessary for each one of us today. The text mentions at least two reasons: for walking in His “statutes” and keeping His “rules” (verse 20).

Accepting Salvation

When the Bible talks about the “statutes,” it usually refers to the Passover, the continual fire in the sanctuary, the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Booths, etc. Thus the “statutes” are clearly connected to the sanctuary system.

Since the sanctuary reveals God’s plan of salvation, His “statutes” are closely bound to the way He deals with the sin problem. However, before we can walk in His statutes, we need a new heart—and, following the biblical sequence, a new heart requires surgery.

As long as my heart is controlled by pride and selfishness I will try to save myself and won’t accept Christ’s gift of sal-

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heart is to have a new mind, new purposes, new motives.

What is the sign of a new heart? A changed life. There is a daily, hourly dying to selfishness and pride,” writes Ellen White.2 This is a gift, from my Surgeon and my Creator.

Living Salvation

A “heart of flesh” is also essential for “keeping” God’s “rules,” which include His laws that help us live with one another (see Ex. 21). God wants me to obey His rules for both my long-term benefit and the blessing of others.

Being called to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and our neighbors as ourselves (Matt. 22:34-40), we are challenged to emulate a divine love that “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor. 13:7). Most people enjoy receiving such a love, and the same is generally true for the giver. When we echo this divine love to others, we receive hope, warmth, and joy. In fact, only this love makes future life possible.

Considering, however, the reality of abuse all around us (emotional, spiritual, physical, sexual, etc.), how can I seriously encourage anyone to love unconditionally? We know intuitively that unconditional love is needed; yet we struggle

to give it. Yes, even after we have had “heart surgery” by our divine surgeon, we are still confronted with difficult situations and questions. Does God ask me to submit to abusive people and support evil behavior? May setting boundaries be an expression of love? How can I express unconditional love to spiritually abusing parents, an emotionally manipulative partner, or a sexually abusing relative? Don’t confuse deep concern for another person with encouragement to sin.

They are not the same. Enduring abnormal relationships is detrimental to everyone involved. Pray for wisdom, courage, and trustworthy people—and look for help.

Even outside of abusive relationships we constantly encounter challenges. Thus loving unconditionally can be tough because we don’t want to run the risk of being hurt.

We don’t want scars on our heart. “We devise strategies designed to keep us warmly involved with each other at a safe distance.”3 Sometimes I tend to think that God wants to give me emotional indestructibility. Yet the Lord of the Bible Himself actually allowed His heart to be broken, and He wants to give me a compassionate, soft heart too. We get closer to God “not by trying to avoid the sufferings inherent in all loves, but by accepting them and offering them to Him; throwing away all defensive armour.”4 This life here can offer us “a change of character that enables us to taste enough of God now to whet our appetite for the banquet later. The kind of internal change that permits a richer taste of God is possible, but it requires surgery,” writes Christian

Christians

Experience of

psychologist Larry Crabb.5 To love as God loves us will draw us nearer to Him, either by the joy we experience or by the pain we encounter. Let’s bring both to Him to stay realistic, yet hopeful and loving at the same time.

Stone or Flesh?

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken.

If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one. . . . Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket—safe, dark, motionless, airless—it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”6 To love is to be vulnerable.

God wants to remove my stony heart and give me a heart of flesh. And I’m scared, because flesh is vulnerable and easy to be hurt. However, even scars are softer than stone. n 1 All Scripture quotations in this article have been taken from the The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

2 Ellen G. White, Messages to Young People (Nashville: Southern Pub. Assn., 1930), p. 72.

3 Larry Crabb, Inside Out (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1988, 2007), p. 59.

4 C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves (London: Geoffrey Bles, 1960), p. 139.

5 Crabb, p. 24.

6 Lewis, pp. 138, 139.

Angelika Kaiser, originally from Germany,

loves languages, laughter, and deep conversations about life. Currently working on a Ph.D. in linguistics, she lives with her husband, Denis, in Berrien Springs, Michigan.

Salvation

In infinite love and mercy God made Christ, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, so that in Him we might be made the righteousness of God. Led by the Holy Spirit, we sense our need, acknowledge our sinfulness, repent of our transgressions, and exercise faith in Jesus as Lord and Christ, as Substitute and Example. This faith which receives salvation comes through the divine power of the Word and is the gift of God’s grace. Through Christ we are justified, adopted as God’s sons and daughters, and delivered from the lordship of sin. Through the Spirit we are born again and sanctified; the Spirit renews our minds, writes God’s law of love in our hearts, and we are given the power to live a holy life. Abiding in Him we become partakers of the divine nature and have the assurance of salvation now and in the judgment. (2 Cor. 5:17-21; John 3:16; Gal. 1:4; 4:4-7; Titus 3:3-7; John 16:8; Gal. 3:13, 14; 1 Peter 2:21, 22; Rom. 10:17; Luke 17:5; Mark 9:23, 24; Eph. 2:5-10; Rom. 3:21-26; Col. 1:13, 14; Rom. 8:14-17; Gal. 3:26; John 3:3-8; 1 Peter 1:23; Rom. 12:2; Heb. 8:7-12; Eze. 36:25-27; 2 Peter 1:3, 4; Rom. 8:1-4; 5:6-10.)

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mina wedges her broom into the corner and presses the closet door shut, glancing at her watch. Yes, plenty of time, she thinks to herself. The house is tidy—the children’s clothes hang neatly, and the kitchenware sparkles.

The shopping is done, and Amina is pleased that the vegetables at the market were especially luscious and colorful today. She’s even had time to make the family’s favorite dish, which is cooling next to the sink. Just then

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her husband opens the front door, and his eyes light up.

Obi is grateful that Amina is able to leave work a little early on Fridays so she can prepare their home for the Sabbath. The children have just finished their baths, and he hurries to wash, looking forward to putting the week behind him. A few minutes later the family joins hands as they sing their favorite hymn, chosen long ago as their own tradition for welcoming the Sabbath. As the sun sinks below

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the horizon, their day of rest begins.

Seventh-day Adventists have many doctrines and behaviors that set believers apart from others, and for which we are well known. One is our belief in the second coming of Jesus— the Latin root adventus means “coming”—and another is our practice of baptism by full immersion. But two things that Adventists are perhaps best known for are keeping the seventh day as the holy Sabbath and the Adventist health message. Let’s examine each of these.

The Sabbath and Emotional Health

Sabbath is an important day to Adventists, and we look forward to it each week. But we may not be aware of just how important it is. Yes, we recognize its value for strengthening

C OV E R S T O RY

Findings From Adventist Health Study–2

Health Study (which is part of the Adventist Health Study–2) provide interesting insights about this particular aspect of religiousness and the ways it is relevant to our health.

For this research study1 more than 5,000 Adventists across North America answered questions about their Sabbath activities, and their responses were combined to create an index of Sabbathkeeping. Higher scores indicated greater avoidance of secular activities on Sabbath, while lower scores indicated a pattern of activities on Sabbath that was more similar to the rest of the week.

The first important finding to emerge was that although Sabbathkeeping was generally quite high across the group, those who held the Sabbath most sacred enjoyed better mental health than those whose secular activities were allowed to creep in.

This association existed for several reasons. First, Sabbathkeeping was associated with more religious coping—for example, during hard times religious coping might involve looking to God for guidance or strength. Sabbathkeeping also predicted greater perceived religious support—that Need some help planning activities for Sabbath? Here are a few suggestions: is, those who were more protecAlone, with family, or with a group of friends, establish a monthly tradition of a tive of their Sabbath time were “Sabbath Sunrise” service. It can be simple and include such things as singing together, more likely to believe, for sharing a text or two, and group prayer. This concept could also translate into small-group example, that if they were services at sunset on Friday or Sabbath. sick, their church family Sabbath afternoon walks or hikes provide a wonderful opportunity to study from God’s “other would help them out. book,” the natural world. Relax and enjoy with no agenda, or make it more challenging by keeping Sabbathkeeping was lists of the animals and plants you find. also associated with better Commit to a monthly Sabbath afternoon activity that benefits others—visiting church members diet and more exercise, who cannot make it to church services or doing something to help those in the larger community. although these pathways Keep a “Sabbath checklist” in your home and review it on Friday mornings. It should contain were not as strong as the things that are traditionally done or needed in your household in order to be ready for Sabbath. those for religious coping This list can help ensure that you don’t find it necessary to do everyday tasks on the Sabbath; and support. In all, howinstead, they will already be done because you will not have forgotten. ever, the evidence was Unleash the creativity God has given you. Sit down on a Sabbath afternoon with some clear: those who kept the sheets of paper and things to write or draw with—and open your mind. Whether you meditate Sabbath holy were more on a text or say a silent prayer, allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you, and then create what you mentally healthy than those feel. You may draw something beautiful or simply doodle. You may find a poem struggling to who treated the Sabbath more break free. When you are finished, share your creation with someone who might enjoy it. like a regular weekday.

Or, if you prefer, put it away somewhere—you will still have had the joy of creating it.

ntage Tips on

our relationship with God and for readying us for His kingdom.

And we know we should keep it holy because that’s one of the commandments. But is keeping the Sabbath beneficial to our health and well-being here on earth?

Are Obi, Amina, and their children better off in their preheaven lives because of honoring this special day?

The scientific literature is replete with studies suggesting the importance of a broadly defined religiousness to health, but less is known about whether the act of keeping a sacred Sabbath is important—and if it is, why. Recent findings from the Biopsychosocial Religion and

Sabbathkeeping

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Eating

The Sabbath and Physical Health

The link between Sabbathkeeping and physical health was not as strong as the link between Sabbathkeeping and mental health, even though each of the pathways listed above (religious support and coping, diet, and exercise) were still meaningful.

This might seem surprising at first, but a closer look reveals why.

Although Sabbathkeeping was associated with religious support, better diet, and more exercise—and these were then associated with better outcomes, just as before—religious coping had a statistical “suppressing effect.” That is, Sabbathkeeping was associated with more religious coping, but the religious coping was associated with poorer physical health.

What? Religious coping is bad for your health? Not likely—a much more reasonable explanation is that people who had more health problems relied more heavily on religious coping than did those who were healthy. Of course, this is not a bad thing to do, as we are in great need of God’s strength when things are difficult!

As Obi, Amina, and their family enjoy their Friday evening meal, their hearts are full. They are content and at peace, looking forward to fellowship at church the next morning. Although each of them experienced stresses during the week, these were easier to manage with God’s help. They know they can call on their fellow church members if they need assistance, and their associations with these friends encourage them to live a more healthful lifestyle than they would likely achieve on their own. The sacred time this family spends each Sabbath helps to reinforce good habits and coping mechanisms; indeed, their Sabbath is not only preparing them for the world to come, but helping them to live a better life in the world they inhabit now.

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More

Plants

Here are a few tips on fun and interesting ways to add more plant foods to your diet: Plant a garden, if you have room. Even if you live in a small apartment, you can grow some herbs on a windowsill. The fresh flavors will make your dishes taste wonderful, and there is great satisfaction in eating something you’ve grown yourself.

If you already grow your own food, think about a sharing arrangement with neighbors and friends who also grow things. Try growing something new or different, and share it with them. Then ask them to do the same for you.

Slice some fruit and soak it in water for a few hours. The water will take on the taste of the fruit and will be especially refreshing (and you can still eat the fruit afterward).

Add an extra vegetable to any recipe you love (well, almost!); it adds extra nutrients, and often is not even noticeable.

If you eat meat regularly, try to set aside one or two days each week to go “meatless.” This is an easy way to reduce meat intake and can provide an enjoyable prompt for testing new recipes and food items.

Diet and Emotional Health

Let’s turn our focus to that meal the family is sharing. In another project2 (also part of the Biopsychosocial Religion and Health Study) more than 9,000 Adventists answered questions about what they ate and also about their experiences of positive emotions, such as “alert” and “enthusiastic,” and negative emotions, such as “distressed” and “upset,” in the past year. People who ate more fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, and nuts experienced more positive emotions (and fewer negative ones). But people who consumed more desserts/ sweets, sodas, and “fast foods” (such as french fries and burgers) reported experiencing

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Emerging Patterns

As we put the findings from these two studies together with the traditional teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, patterns emerge that are both instructive and motivational. The Sabbath and the health message are sound—consistent not only with what we feel in our hearts but with the evidence from cutting-edge scientific studies. And this health message can be used by each of us to make

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lot of vegetables— Amina had been so pleased about the higher-than-usual quality of the fresh items that she had purchased at the market. She had also chosen fresh fruit as a special treat after the main meal. Fortunately for this family, “fast food” appears only rarely on the menu—partly because of their conscious choice to avoid it, and partly because they live in an area that does not have a lot of fast-food vendors.

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fewer positive emotions during the past year.

This study did not look at meat consumption in relation to physical health (although other findings from the Adventist Health Study demonstrate that eating less meat is related to a variety of better health outcomes). It did show, however, that women who ate more meat reported significantly more negative emotions; this trend was weaker and not statistically significant for men.

These findings are consistent with what Adventists believe about the importance of diet, although the typical Adventist health message focuses on physical rather than mental health.

Obi and Amina’s family dinner this Friday night does, indeed, contain a

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improvements in our lives, moving us toward wholeness.

This, then, is your challenge—to find things (even little things) that you can do to connect better with God on the Sabbath, and to make changes, big or small, to your diet to bring it into closer alignment with what we know will promote wellness.

A daunting challenge? In certain ways, yes. Sometimes we lack the wisdom to make the best choices, and even when we do know what is right, putting that knowledge into practice can be a struggle. But we are not alone in this. Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established” (ESV).3 So make the commitment and accept the guidance God has promised. He will help you to establish a plan, and He will help you to achieve it. n 1 D. J. Superville, K. I. Pargament, and J. W. Lee, “Sabbath Keeping and Its Relationships to Health and Well-being: A Mediational Analysis,” International Journal for the Psychology of Religion (2013).

2 P. A. Ford, K. Jaceldo-Siegl, J. W. Lee, W. Youngberg, and S. Tonstad, “Intake of Mediterranean Foods Associated With Positive Affect and Low Negative Affect,” Journal of Psychosomatic Research 74 (2013): 142-148.

3 Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Leslie R. Martin, Ph.D.,

is professor of health and social behavior at the Loma Linda University School of Public Health in California, United States.

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A D V E N T I S T

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n 1898 William Spicer left his home and journeyed to India.

For three years Spicer was the only ordained Seventh-day Adventist pastor in all of what would become the Southern Asia Division, a large territory with currently more than 1 billion people.

Just like our modern-day missionaries, Spicer had to adapt to a whole new culture. He tasted new food, stumbled through foreign languages, and surrounded himself with an unfamiliar environment. Despite the challenges, Spicer did a lot to establish the Seventh-day Adventist Church in India.

Spicer founded the first Adventist periodical in India, published by the Oriental Watchman Publishing House.

Today this publishing house produces thousands of books and magazines every day. Workers monitor presses, knowing that when the process is complete, they will have materials

containing a valuable message.

Jagdish Namey has worked at the Oriental Publishing House for years.

Long ago he lost some of his fingers in an accident. Although working without fingers can be difficult, Namey doesn’t let that stop him. He knows the impact these books have on those who read them. All the employees have a passion for their job, and a passion for sharing the good news of Jesus.

Spicer continued to work throughout India as a church leader. He went on to become General Conference secretary and eventually president. He left his mark throughout Southern Asia.

Quality Education

Education is an important aspect of the Seventh-day Adventist presence in India. Adventist education often plants a seed in the children who attend its schools. Many students who attend these schools are not from

Christian homes. They hear Bible stories for the first time and want to learn more. Students of all ages are inspired by the stories of Bible characters, and how God worked in their lives.

Most Adventist schools in India operate at capacity because of their good reputation. They hold a high standard of learning. Both Adventist parents and parents from the community are happy to send their children to these schools, which range from primary school all the way through college.

Spicer Memorial College was established almost 100 years ago.

Named after William Spicer, it is a well-respected institution in India.

Through the years the college has gone through a series of progressions to make it what it is today.

The beautiful campus offers students a quality learning environment.

A prominent church building features

mission in Motion Taking the gospel where the needs are almost unimaginable 28

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By Ricky Oliveras

services and programs every week.

Students come from all over the world to attend Spicer College.

Many of these students go on to be pastors, teachers, or principals, or find jobs in a variety of other fields throughout Southern Asia.

A Billion Challenges

The Southern Asia Division is made up of only four countries: Bhutan, India, the Maldives, and Nepal.

More than 90 percent of the population is either Hindu or Muslim. This is one of the fastest-growing regions in the world. City streets are clogged with traffic and crowds that seem at times to be overwhelming. Although there are only four countries in this division, it boasts a population of 1.2 billion people.

Of the 1.2 billion, there are about 1.6 million Seventh-day Adventists.

That means that about one of every 750 people you meet might be Adventist.

This region of the world is home to some fascinating places. In earlier days the British, when colonizing India, would, after sailing across the

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UNITED IN SERVICE: Global Mission pioneers, Pothiram and Jeshoda, enjoy sharing with others the story about Jesus, because it changed their lives.

ocean to reach southern Asia, often arrive in Mumbai (Bombay). The first structure visitors arriving by boat would see is the Gateway of India.

This structure stands 85 feet tall on the edge of the Arabian Sea as a monument to British royalty.

Many visitors to India stop to see the Taj Mahal. This world heritage site attracts millions of tourists each year.

If you can make it through the crowds, you can walk right into the buildings and learn the history behind these structures. “The Taj” is made out of white marble. It was built by a Mughal emperor in memory of his third wife.

Despite the amazing things to see in India, it is still a difficult place for the Adventist Church to reach. Many people have never opened a Bible, or even heard the name of Jesus.

Person to Person

One way the Seventh-day Adventist Church is spreading the gospel to the people of Southern Asia is through its Global Mission initiative. Global Mission is focused on starting new Adventist congregations in some of the most challenging places on earth.

Global Mission pioneers are on the front lines of this work. They plant churches among groups who have never heard the gospel. Many people have come to know Jesus because of the work of our Global Mission pioneers.

Pothiram is one of many Global Mission pioneers working throughout India. Pothiram was not always working for God. He used to drink heavily.

He would do terrible things and did not care for his family.

One day a neighbor saw Pothiram’s wife, Jeshoda, crying in front of their house. The neighbor invited Jeshoda to her home, where she prayed with the family. Jeshoda went week after week to pray and study with the Christian family.

The family eventually gave Jeshoda a Bible of her own. But there was only one problem: she couldn’t read. The only solution was to bring the Bible home and have her husband read it to her. At first Pothiram resisted, but he eventually agreed. The more he read from the Bible, the better he felt. His heart was being changed.

Jeshoda invited her husband to join her next Bible study. The more he studied, the more he felt convicted to change his life. He gave up alcohol and made his family a priority. Although he still faced temptations, Pothiram was convinced that God’s way is the right way. He and his family were baptized.

Pothiram wanted to do more to serve God, so he became a Global Mission pioneer. Now Pothiram and Jeshoda go together into the community to share the gospel. They can’t imagine doing anything else with their lives. Their life is filled with joy, and they have a happy marriage. The family reads their Bible and prays together because it is important to them.

We can support Global Mission pioneers through our prayers and other resources. People in the Southern Asia Division are busy spreading the gospel in many ways. They face some of the hardest mission challenges in this world today, but it doesn’t stop them from doing the work that God has called each of us to do.

Please pray for the work in Southern Asia. Pray that they can reach millions of people with the gospel. n To learn more about Global Mission and Global Mission Pioneers, visit GlobalMission.org.

Ricky Oliveras is a video producer for the Office of Adventist Mission.

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S P E C I A L F E AT U R E

A New

Reformation in Geneva

By Peter N. Landless

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dventist health ministries leaders from around the globe are converging on the historic Swiss city of Geneva to attend the Second Global Conference on Health and Lifestyle. Switzerland is known for its elegant watches, cuckoo clocks, and beautiful mountains, lakes, and meadows. It is also known as the home of the World Health Organization (WHO). Why would the Seventh-day Adventist Church choose this venue for its global conference on lifestyle and health?

A Providential Partnership

In December 2007 Dr. Allan Handysides, then General Conference Health Ministries Department director, and I came to Geneva for a special meeting of faith-based organizations (FBOs) from around the world at the WHO headquarters. Sensing that this might be a golden opportunity to extend the health ministries of the world church, we found ourselves in a first-of-a-kind meeting designed to foster working relationships between FBOs and the WHO office of partnerships. The task was to help facilitate the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. These are health objectives that were identified in order to bring about significant improvement in health for all.

Up to that point, however, efforts lagged behind targeted goals. One of

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The Second Global Conference on Health and Lifestyle the ideas motivating the 2007 meeting was to help reach the many millions of people who attend weekly religious services with health information. Seventeen FBOs represented by approximately 23 individuals met for three days of intensive discussions.

At these early sessions we introduced ourselves to James Hill, liaison officer for partnerships of the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO). Interesting and informative visits took place over the following months between PAHO representatives and Seventh-day Adventist Church health workers and the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA). A wonderful working relationship was established that has launched or supported basic health initiatives in some of the most needy countries in Central and South America.

One of the challenges extended to the faith-based organizations was to organize educational conferences on health within their faith communities as well as for the general public. The themes of such conferences were to be related to the importance of lifestyle, prevention of disease, and such public health interventions as food and water safety and security, immunization,

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healthy nutrition, and the focused treatment of tuberculosis. The General Conference Health Ministries Department accepted the challenge, and within two years organized the first Global Conference on Health and Lifestyle in July 2009.

The “Lifestyle and Primary Prevention� conference was well attended by representatives from more than 90 countries. There were speakers from academia, health organizations, as well as from faith-based groups and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

The positive relationships that grew out of this collaboration with WHO and PAHO led to the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the Pan-American Health Organization in 2011. This, in turn, led to the advancement of health work in difficult territories throughout the Americas, and that collaboration continues.

Lifelong Prevention

The theme of the second global Geneva conference is an important one related to the pandemic of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), which is exploding around the world: P h o t o

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S P E C I A L F E AT U R E “Noncommunicable Diseases: Lifelong Lifestyle Prevention, Accessible to All.” What specifically are these NCDs? They include mainly heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases, and they affect all people and communities. The main risk factors are well known and are similar everywhere: n tobacco use n foods high in saturated and trans fats n excessive salt intake n alcohol n excessive sugar intake—especially in sweetened drinks n physical inactivity n obesity Careful attention to lifestyle can prevent many of these diseases. The Seventh-day Adventist Church has

smoking, but we must embrace and implement better strategies to help active smokers quit the habit.

Do you remember the time when our Church was actively at the forefront of this kind of initiative? We can make the difference yet again if we choose to!

The new Breathe Free 2.0 stop-smoking program will be launched during the Second Global Conference on Health and Lifestyle, providing a revised, fresh tool for a growing task in many parts of the world.

It is estimated that the consumption of foods high in saturated fats and trans fats, salt, and sugar is the cause of 40 percent of all deaths annually from NCDs—nearly 14 million people. Many studies have shown the negative effects of these foodstuffs.

Every church can become a community health center, and each church member can be a health promoter. been promoting preventive lifestyle interventions against such diseases for more than 150 years—which is not a coincidence!

Tobacco is smoked or chewed by more than 1 billion people daily, fueled by their addiction to nicotine, and nearly 6 million people die each year from tobacco-related illnesses.

These diseases are preventable if tobacco and tobacco smoke (including secondhand smoke) are avoided.

Although tobacco use has decreased in many high-income countries, there is an alarming increase of use in many low- and middle-income countries.

Teenagers, always susceptible to new perceived trends, remain a prime target of the tobacco industry. In order to reduce the number of tobacco-related deaths and NCDs, not only do we need to reduce the rate of those who start

The Adventist Health Studies (see pages 16-19) have broken new ground in showing the benefits of a plantbased diet, low in saturated fats, with a variety of grains, vegetables, fruits, and some nuts (a small handful daily). The principal investigator, Dr. Gary Fraser, will be reviewing the latest findings from Adventist Health Study 2 at this year’s Geneva conference. His presentation will highlight the practical benefits of the Adventist health message of wholistic health, a vegetarian diet, exercise, temperance, and rest.

Alcohol consumption is the thirdleading cause of preventable death around the world. It contributes to a variety of cancers, and there is no safe level of consumption to prevent this particular danger. Sixty percent of deaths related to alcohol consumption are through noncommunicable dis-

eases. Abstinence is still the only safe approach. Breakout sessions on drugs and addiction at the Geneva meeting will look at the newest strategies to promote abstinence from alcohol.

Physical inactivity is related to the current pandemic of obesity, and type 2 diabetes. Regular exercise leads to better heart health, improved weight management, prevention and improvement of type 2 diabetes, a decrease in some cancers (breast and colon), and improvement in mental health and general well-being. Experts from around the world will share their wisdom on this important topic.

Noncommunicable diseases are a major global problem, and coordinated action and leadership at all levels of both the church and society are needed to curb this destructive scourge of illness. Many of the NCDs are totally preventable. Those at risk can be readily identified. This is a golden opportunity for each local Adventist congregation to be relevant to community needs. Pastors, administrators, health workers, and members can be trained in simple, effective strategies to help prevent NCDs. Attendees can choose from among 23 breakout sessions, many plenary gatherings, and more than 100 presenters—an unparalleled opportunity to promote the Adventist understanding of a healthy lifestyle.

Every church can become a community health center, and each church member can be a health promoter.

Think of the difference we could make upon the world’s health if 18 million Adventists welcomed that responsibility! n Reference: The Lancet 377 (Apr. 23, 2011), www.thelancet.com.

Dr. Peter N. Landless is

director of the Health Ministries Department of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.A.

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N A D F E AT U R E

By Julie Lorenz

Adventist Volunteers

Build Bridges to Health

Central and Northern California conferences help sponsor event.

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ome community members lined up overnight to make sure they would receive care at the San Francisco Armory on April 23 and 24, and O.co Coliseum in Oakland on April 25. In all, more than $5.2 million worth of medical services were provided for free.

The “medical mission trip” was organized and sponsored by the Pacific Union chapter of Adventistlaymen’s Services and Industries

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(ASI). The Pacific Union Conference, the Central (CCC) and Northern (NCC) California conferences served as cosponsors. Many organizations within the Adventist Church, including Adventist Health, were involved in the event.

About half of the volunteers were medical and dental professionals.

Others served in a variety of supportive capacities to help as many people as possible. “We were working

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together for one goal: sharing Christ with those who are most in need,” said event organizer Lela Lewis, a physician from Ridgecrest, Caslifornia, who serves as ASI Pacific Union president.

Many people mentioned that they could feel the presence of God throughout the three days. “The Holy Spirit energized and focused the health professionals, pastors, and volunteers as they did the work Jesus asked us to do, helping other people,” P h o t o s

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DOCTOR’S INSTRUCTIONS: Lela Lewis, M.D., president of the Pacific Union Chapter of ASI, gives instructions to nearly 600 volunteer workers to the Bridges to Health medical and dental clinic in San Francisco.

said Ricardo Graham, president of the Pacific Union Conference.

A Visit to the Clinic

Each morning, as potential patients approached the doors, volunteers gave them paperwork to complete. Once inside, they were directed to registration tables where assistants helped them fill out the forms. Translators were available in several languages, including Mandarin, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. Then patients went to the medical triage station to get their vital signs checked.

Hospitality volunteers escorted patients between stations—screened off by curtains for privacy and con-

tainment—so that everyone moved as efficiently as possible. From triage, patients went to various clinical areas to receive medical and dental services.

Dentists, dental hygienists, and dental assistants provided a full spectrum of services, including crowns, root canals, extractions, and teeth cleaning. The Adventist Medical Evangelism Network provided most of the dental equipment. Dentistry was the most requested service, and appointments filled up early in the day. “The need for dental services is just as great right here in our own country as it is in many of the 25 other developing countries I’ve done mission dental trips in,” said Peter Nelson, a dentist from San Luis Obispo.

The need for people to hear about Jesus is also just as great. Ted McDow, a dentist from Modesto, treated a man who asked what the volunteers were getting for doing their work. McDow told him that they were followers of Jesus and wanted to do what He did.

When the patient said that he hoped he could go to heaven, “I was able to tell him just how easy it is,” said McDow, who prayed with him. The man later told McDow that he planned to visit an Adventist church in the area.

Eye care was the second most requested service. After their eye exams, patients chose from an assortment of glasses frames, trying them on with the assistance of eye-care volunteers. (Prescription glasses were available for pickup several weeks later at local churches.)

As nurse Gertie Warnick, from Martinez, performed eye exams, she met a 71-year-old man who hadn’t had new glasses in 20 years. Warnick was moved by the gratitude that her patients displayed. “They all were very thankful,” she said. “They couldn’t believe we were doing this work for free.”

Other medical services included primary care, women’s health, pediatrics, mental health, HIV/STD screening, X-rays, lab tests, and minor surger-

Recognition From the Mayor’s Office

BRIDGE BUILDING: The Bridges to Health Medical and Dental Clinic was conducted in the San Francisco Armory April 23-24, 2014. The clinic was sponsored by ASI, Adventist Health, the Central and Northern California Conferences, and many partners.

Bridges to Health coincided with the annual convention of ASI Pacific Union, this year held south of San Francisco in Burlingame. On Sabbath afternoon Oakland mayor Jean Quan spoke to the volunteers, thanking them for their work in her city. “All your work has truly been a blessing for our city. We want to thank you for the work you did,” she said. “We hope you can come back sometime.”

Representing San Francisco mayor Ed Lee was Kara Zordel, executive director of Project Homeless Connect in San Francisco. She repeated Alexis de Tocqueville’s famous quote: “America is great because she is good,” and told volunteers, “Thank you for bringing good to our community.”

During her response, ASI Pacific Union president Lela Lewis said: “It’s been a tremendous blessing. We are so happy as a Seventh-day Adventist group to work with you and collaborate with you to help those in need.”

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N A D F E AT U R E

If we touch but ONE life in a small way, we can make a difference.

ies. One man had a grapefruit-sized lipoma removed from his back. A number of the caregivers commented that they enjoyed serving patients in this venue because they could take extra time to make connections. “It was very freeing to work without the usual time restraints,” said occupational therapist Teresita Davis, from Martinez. “Usually it’s a choice between the patient and productivity standards.”

In the women’s health area, physician Melinda Skau, from Oroville, examined a woman who was unhappy with the 70 pounds she had gained.

“We spent about 30 minutes handling the four issues that added to her weight,” said Skau. “At the close of our visit, when I asked if we could pray together, she responded excitedly, ‘Jesus helped me quit drugs, now He is going to help me get healthy!’ She even prayed for me and the other caregivers.”

Throughout the event, pharmacists dispensed medications prescribed by the physicians. After helping an older woman, and arranging for follow-up care, pharmacist Susan Reed was surprised to see her back the following day, saying that she had returned because Reed cared about her. “That was very heartwarming,” said Reed,

who serves as corporate director of pharmacy operations at Adventist Health in Roseville. “If we touch but one life in a small way, we can make a difference.”

Extra acts of service meant a great deal to visitors. Massage therapists gave many chair massages to surprised and grateful patients. Irma Nunez had come in for eye care, but after her exam she received a relaxing massage while her daughter interacted with volunteers in the child-care area. It was just the treatment the busy mother needed. “It was beautiful!” she said.

Other extra touches were designed to give patients a positive experience.

Students from Weimar Academy and Fountainview Academy serenaded the patients throughout the day with choral and instrumental music. Patients who happened to be in the building at lunchtime received a free healthy meal. A children’s area kept kids and babies happy and safe. Weimar Acad-

The LONG LINES Tracy Hogan, along with her friend Dominic Rea and assistance dog Edgrrr (“He named himself,” she said), were the first people in line at the San Francisco Armory on Wednesday morning. Hogan’s determination to get in line almost 24 hours before the doors opened guaranteed her a spot and, she hoped, help. Unable to work because of a disability, she was discouraged by the lack of services available in the community to a person in her position, especially optical and dental care.

Chuck Scott, several spots behind Hogan and Rea, had spent the night waiting in line. He was visiting the Bay Area when he learned about Bridges to Health. Recently retired, he has health insurance, but his plan has no dental coverage, and he is still two years away from receiving Medicare.

As doors opened and patients started spilling into the Armory, Hogan, Rea, and Scott patiently filled out the paperwork and waited for their appointments. By midmorning Hogan had received an eye exam and had picked out new glasses. Rea met dentist Tim Sheu, from Cupertino, and smiled from the lounge chair where he was about to get a healthier smile.

Scott celebrated his sixty-third birthday, the day of the clinic, by having two teeth extracted by Stan Ramley, a dentist from Red Bluff.

Scott couldn’t have been happier about his birthday gift. “It’s wonderful that you guys are doing this,” he said.

—Stephanie Leal, Northern California Conference

UNDETERRED: Eager patients wait in a light drizzle just outside entrance during the Bridges to Health Medical and Dental Clinic at the Oakland Coliseum, April 25, 2014.

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emy students and other volunteers introduced the children to the eight principles of health at different stations, using a variety of fun activities.

Before going home, each child received coloring books, storybooks, and a stuffed animal.

After their exams and treatments, patients met with lifestyle counselors from the Health Evangelism and Leadership Training for Him (HEALTH) program of NEWSTART Global. The counselors reviewed surveys the patients had completed to document their lifestyle practices, such as smoking, exercise, and diet.

They then talked with the patients about the eight laws of health, suggested ways they could improve their health through lifestyle changes, and gave them a magazine about NEWSTART principles. “People really appreciated the one-on-one interaction,” said Sivasa Laupati, who works for NEWSTART Global.

Spiritual Health

Just before leaving, patients had a chance to meet individually with chaplains. During their conversations, the chaplains emphasized the connection between spiritual health and physical health. “We told them they are healthier when they are connected to a faith community, and we asked, ‘Do you have one?’ ” said Teresa Nelson, chaplain at Sonora Regional Medical Center.

They also asked if they could pray with the patients. “Most people said yes to prayer,” said Weimar College English instructor Cosmin Ritivoiu, who served as a chaplain. “Usually they were very thankful and open to telling me what their requests were.” Common requests included help with addictions and help for children and grandchildren.

Often just a few caring words made a difference in the lives of the people who attended. Paul Crampton, assistant vice president for mission and spiritual care at Adventist Health in Roseville, began talking with a couple waiting in line, and the woman burst into tears.

He was afraid he had offended her, but

it was just the opposite. “It’s been so long since someone has treated us with dignity that I couldn’t contain my emotions. Thank you so much!” she said.

At the end of the day, Crampton saw the couple again. “They commented about how loving and caring everyone had been,” he said. “They told me, ‘I’ve heard it said many times that God is love, but today we experienced it through you people.’” They requested a referral to a local church.

A Year in the Making

The idea for Bridges to Health began almost exactly a year before at the 2013 ASI Pacific Union convention. Don Mackintosh, HEALTH director and campus chaplain for Weimar Institute, challenged ASI members to plan a project for their next convention that would be in accordance with ASI’s motto: “Sharing Christ in the Marketplace.”

“The Holy Spirit very much inspired the board and me; this is definitely what God wants us to do,” said Lewis.

She and the board decided to host a large medical outreach event in

The Littler Patients

MORAL SUPPORT: Richard Beckermeyer, a dentist from Niles, Michigan, treats Estella Velazquez, from Oakland, while her 4-year old daughter, Mia, watches carefully.

Four-year-old Mia Velazquez hid under a blanket in her stroller in the long line at O.co Coliseum in Oakland on Friday morning. But the rain couldn’t dampen her spirits. She enjoyed throwing back the blanket and yelling “Cheese!” for a photographer.

Mia was in line with her mother, Estella; both had to visit a dentist. Mia needed a dental form completed in order to enter kindergarten in the fall. Even though her father had a job, and her parents had worked hard to get her covered by their insurance, the paperwork maze had left them anxious to get Mia’s dental form ready. Estella hadn’t seen the dentist since Mia was born and needed a deep cleaning.

As Richard Beckermeyer, a dentist from Niles, Michigan, worked with her mom, Mia slowly climbed into his lap to better see what was happening and to hold her mother’s hand to comfort her. When it was her turn, Mia became a bit more fearful, but Beckermeyer’s calm assurance helped her finish the exam.

Mother and daughter left with the paperwork Mia needed to start school, and the dental procedure Estella needed. “God is a great choreographer. He positions people in particular spots to meet a particular person’s needs,” said Beckermeyer. “It was so important, whether we saw a little child or an adult, to realize the purpose was to uplift Christ and glorify His name.”

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FULL SERVICE: Jerrick Le, from Oakland, has his eyes checked by Jeannette Peterson.

either Los Angeles or San Francisco.

They sent out proposals to the mayors’ offices in both cities and prayed that the Lord would direct them. The San Francisco mayor’s office gave an enthusiastic response. “They called, basically begging us to come,” said Lewis. “We took it as a sign that God wanted us to go to San Francisco.”

Later Lewis discovered that the Central and Northern California conferences were planning joint evangelism work in the Bay Area through a project called Bridges: Bay Area for Jesus. The medical event fit well into the conferences’ goals, and the organizations joined forces. It was decided to add a day of medical outreach in Oakland in order to offer help to both

sides of the Bay. Originally Lewis and her team had planned to recruit about 20 medical providers to work with volunteers from other non-Adventist organizations. However, as time went on, enough Adventists signed up so that 98 percent of the volunteers were church members. They came from all over the United States and other parts of the world, including a woman from Saudi Arabia. “God orchestrated the whole thing, moving the plans in multiple directions to make it entirely a Seventh-day Adventist event, and getting us the support of the mayors and their health offices,” said Lewis.

“In both cities we saw multiple, blatant miracles of God.”

OPEN WIDE: Chuck Scott, from San Diego, California, explains his dental needs to dental triage nurse at the Bridges to Health dental clinic, in the San Francisco Armory.

Spreading the Word

A challenge that worried organizers was discovering ways to reach the people who could benefit from Bridges to Health. Local church members, Weimar Academy students, and others distributed flyers and put up posters in neighborhoods. Students from Souls West handed out tens of thousands of flyers. Local newspaper owner and Adventist Paul Cobb promoted the event throughout Oakland. Signs were posted in BART stations, in buses, and on billboards. Press releases went out, which brought the media in droves.

During the event all major Bay Area news outlets reported on it, including the three major television stations in the area, several doing live feeds from the event itself. In all, nearly 20 media outlets carried stories about Bridges to Health, including USA Today. A photograph of the event became one of the Wall Street Journal’s “Photos of the Day.” The advertising and publicity worked. More than 1,700 people received care during the two-day event in San Francisco, and more than 1,100 received care at the one-day event in Oakland.

The Need Is Great

While numerous stories can be told about the many who were helped during

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the three days in San Francisco and Oakland, many people, unfortunately, had to be turned away. In Oakland alone, about 3,500 people had lined up by 7:00 a.m. on Friday. Organizers had to estimate how many could realistically be served, and let the others know that they wouldn’t be able to receive treatment.

The need for future events such as this is enormous. NCC president Jim Pedersen and CCC president Ramiro Cano want their two conferences to continue to reach people in these cities through the joint-conference program, Bridges: Bay Area for Jesus. “I am really excited about reaching these communities and neighborhoods more with the hope Jesus has given us. This medical event was just the beginning,” Pedersen said.

Cano agrees. “I’m so grateful that so many of us are coming together

from many walks of life with one purpose,” he said, “and that is to relieve the hurting in our communities.”

Lewis hopes that Bridges to Health will serve as a model for others interested in this type of mission work.

“There is no reason this can’t be replicated everywhere in cities across the nation,” she said. “Our goal is to be able to equip our people on a nationwide city effort.” Plans are in the works to bring a similar event to San Antonio, Texas, prior to the 2015 General Conference session.

Events like Bridges can be done on a smaller scale, as well. “At the union we are already developing plans to implement this model at the local conference, local church, and local hospital level,” said Arnold Trujillo, vice president of the Pacific Union Conference.

Lewis gives all the credit for the

event’s success to God. “Prayer moves the mighty arm of God. We saw this on many, many occasions,” she said. “I believe with all my heart that God blessed in such a mighty way because we sought to do His will and present His love, without wanting a specific result. We sought to follow His blueprint according to the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy, which implore each of us as Seventh-day Adventists to go out and do these humanitarian efforts on a local level; to work just as Christ did for those in need.” n

Julie Lorenz is an

assistant in the communications department at the Northern California Conference.

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D I S C O V E R I N G

T H E

S P I R I T

O F

P R O P H E C Y

By Roland Karlman

Ellen White’s personal letters to be published in summer 2014.

Y

ou probably haven’t ever read Ellen White’s personal correspondence. Although excerpts from her letters, even entire letters, can be found in some of her books, the bulk of White’s correspondence has remained unpublished. While the collection is available for study at Ellen G. White Seventh-day Adventist research centers worldwide, mostly scholars and researchers have perused this material.

This is all about to change.

As a first step the Ellen G. White Estate is publishing Ellen G. White Letters and Manuscripts With Annotations, Volume 1 (1845-1859). This volume contains all of White’s letters that have been preserved from 1845 to 1859. Included are her “manuscripts,” basically all of White’s documents that are not personal letters, including her first diary from 1859.

Altogether, these total more than 150 documents.

As an additional bonus, these letters and manuscripts have been carefully annotated, giving readers a wealth of information about persons and contextual backgrounds.

Several general articles written by specialists in the field introduce the volume. A second volume, containing the annotated Ellen White letters and manuscripts for the period 1860 to 1863, is in production. In addition to these printed resources, the White Estate will make available online the entire collection of Ellen White’s letters and manuscripts from 1845 to 1915, with partial annotations, on July 16, 2015, the centennial of her death.*

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I have spent a number of years preparing the notes and biographical sketches for the first volume of Letters and Manuscripts, and people often ask me about my personal impressions of these documents. Here are some features that have impressed me most.

Innermost Feelings Expressed

Very few people writing personal letters imagine that they will subsequently be published and read by thousands of “outsiders.” Hence, personal letters often make for candid reading, revealing the inner feelings of the writer. Frequent examples of this can be found in Ellen White’s letters.

In a letter to Mary Loughborough in 1858 Ellen White confided, “I have looked back at a few past months and as I realize how little I have imitated Jesus’ self-sacrificing, devoted life, I am led almost to despair” (p. 557).

Her longings for a deeper Christian experience are profoundly expressed in a letter to Reuben and Belinda Loveland in 1850: “I do love Jesus . . . with my whole soul, and I m a g e

C o u r t e s y

o f t h e

Ell e n

G .

W h i t e

Es t a t e

my very being cries out after the living God” (pp. 266, 267).

Ellen White’s moving concern for the spiritual welfare of fellow church members is conveyed in a letter to Leonard and Elvira Hastings in 1849: “Oh, how my soul feels for the flock of God. . . . I often awake myself crying to God’s people to get ready, get ready that the cloak of Almighty God may be thrown around them” (p. 173).

Integrity

An impressive feature of these letters is White’s refusal to flatter leaders and persons of “importance.” This is clearly seen, for example, in those letters commonly called “testimonies,” in which she reveals to the recipient what God had shown her in vision about their spiritual condition. These testimonies are invariably frank and may initially shock the modern reader unused to such strong spiritual fare. Regardless of the status of the person receiving the testimony, Ellen White fearlessly reproves a variety of weaknesses that beset early Adventists and tarnished their witness to society.

Topics she addresses include materialism, pride, severity, and an assortment of sins of the flesh. For all, ministers as well as laypersons, there is a clarion call to repentance and reformation through the grace of God. “I love you,” she explains to the church members in Jackson, Michigan, “I love you all, but I must clear my garments from the blood of souls. I shall meet in the judgment what I have told you that God has shown me, and then . . . if I have clipped the truth, where will be my excuse?” (p. 368).

The Development of Seventh-day Adventist Teachings—a Few Surprises

Although it remains true that the defining doctrines of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, such as the Sabbath and sanctuary doctrines, were adopted after intense Bible study and before they were subsequently expressed in the visions of Ellen White, the early letters reveal a few instances in which White’s visions broke new theological ground and where biblical study and confirmation followed a little later.

An interesting example of this is found in White’s earliest visions of 1844 and 1845, which clearly maintain that the saints will spend the millennium in heaven, not on earth, as the Millerites taught. As is pointed out in the notes, however, Joseph Bates, foremost theologian of sabbatarian Adventism in the 1840s, and James White both retained their earlier Millerite beliefs in an earthly millennium for a year or two after Ellen White’s visions before being convinced of the biblical basis for a heavenly millennium (p. 90).

Insights Into the History of the Early Seventhday Adventist Church

Anyone with an interest in early Adventist history will find this collection a veritable gold mine of Ellen White’s

“insider comments” on theological issues that exercised the church during its first 15 years of existence, including the tensions and debates over the genuineness of her prophetic gift. Readers will also come across the names of hundreds of individuals in these documents with whom White interacted, from leading ministers, to average members, to family, friends, and opponents. Throughout the volume readers will have the benefit of notes that identify persons, provide biographical sketches, and give background information.

The Testimonies

About 90 vision accounts or mentions of visions can be found in the letters and manuscripts from 1845 to 1859.

Most of these visions are testimonies to individuals revealing

How often I find my own weaknesses and spiritual struggles closely mirrored in those for whom these testimonies were written 160 years ago. their inner failings and pointing the way to restoration. For me, studying these testimonies has been the highlight of this document collection. It is almost uncanny how often I find my own weaknesses and spiritual struggles closely mirrored in those for whom these testimonies were written 160 years ago. This is sobering but also inspiring reading.

The publication of the Ellen G. White Letters and Manuscripts will open up a treasure trove of annotated primary sources from the defining years of the Adventist movement.

This is only the beginning of an ambitious schedule of publication of source materials planned by the White Estate during 2015, the centenary year of Ellen White’s death. These are indeed exciting times for all who have an interest in Adventist history and Ellen White’s role in it. n * “The Ellen G. White Estate Announces Plans for 2015 Centennial Commemoration of Ellen White’s Life and Ministry,” www.whiteestate.org/estate/2015plans.asp.

Roland Karlman is a retired White Estate

researcher.

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B I B L E

Q U E S T I O N S

A N S W E R E D

Essential Why are the Ten Commandments not included in the apostolic decree in Acts 15:20?

Salvation

Let’s carefully examine Acts 15 to understand the problem faced by the nascent Christian church, then pay close attention to the decree itself. The context of the passage is always the safest guide for interpreting it.

1. Understanding the Problem: The problem is clearly expressed at the beginning of Acts 15. Some Christian Jews are telling Gentiles converts that “unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved” (verse 1). Circumcision was the ritual of entrance into the Jewish faith. It, so to speak, incorporated Gentiles into the redemptive history of God’s people reenacted during the Passover feast (Ex. 12:48, 49).

It would appear then that the statement “unless you are circumcised . . . you cannot be saved” is not strictly legalism. It assumes that salvation comes through the Jews (cf.

Rom. 9:4, 5), and that in order to experience salvation one has to become a Jew. In other words, a Gentile has first to become a Jew in order to benefit from the salvation Christ brought to all.

But there was more. Some Jewish believers expected Gentiles to be circumcised and “to keep the law of Moses” (Acts 15:5). It could be that, according to them, Gentiles would be keeping the law of Moses by being circumcised, but perhaps they had in mind something else. Peter seems to suggest that the problem included ritual laws of uncleanliness. Speaking of the Gentiles, he says that God “made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith” (verse 9). In other words, God did for Jews and Gentiles what the ritual laws could not do, i.e., He purified their hearts (cf. Acts 10:15; 11:9).

2. Understanding the Decree: The decree establishes that circumcision would not be required from Gentile converts; that they would not have to become Jews in order to be saved. The statement made by Peter was assumed to be true: “We believe that through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they” (Acts 15:11). Salvation reaches both groups the same way: through Jesus. The decree itself is based on Leviticus 17

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and 18, and establishes that Gentile Christians are expected to do four things (Acts 15:29): First, “abstain from things offered to idols” (Lev. 17:3-9); second, “from blood” (verses 10-14); third, “from things strangled” (verses 15, 16); and fourth, “from sexual immorality” (Lev. 18:1-30).

We are dealing here with three closely related aspects of the Christian life: The first is basically a statement against idolatry and is a reaffirmation of the first commandment of the Decalogue. This suggests that the Ten Commandments were not being set aside. The next two are related to the health laws found in the Old Testament (Lev. 11). They forbid the consumption of blood by drinking it or by eating the flesh of animals whose blood was not drained out.

These stipulations reaffirm the validity of the health laws found in the Bible by assuming that the flesh of the animals mentioned here is that of clean animals. The last one is about moral purity based on the seventh commandment; but it includes all kinds of sexual immorality. The decree promotes the spiritual, moral, and physical well-being of Gentiles believers, making it easier for them to relate to Jewish Christians.

3. Understanding the Law: Based on our previous comments it could be stated that the decree not only assumes the validity of the moral law of God, but reaffirms its value in the lives of Gentile Christians. This is not new in Acts. According to Acts, many Gentiles attended synagogue during the Sabbath and kept the law, but they had not formally become Jews. These were called “God-fearers” (see Acts 17:4, 17). When many of them became Christians, they were already keeping the Sabbath. It may be that Acts 15:21 is pointing to the practice of Christians, both Jews and Gentiles, of attending the synagogue every Sabbath, where they were instructed about the moral and religious aspects of the law of God. Circumcision, as part of the ritual law, was not imposed on Gentiles. n

Before his retirement, Angel Manuel Rodríguez was director of the Biblical Research Institute of the General Conference.

B I B L E

S T U D Y

By Mark A. Finley

Security in an

Insecure World L et’s suppose a young Israelite in his early 20s was chopping wood for the evening fire, and in his carelessness the ax flew out of his hand, killing a friend instantly. The father and brothers of the slain boy had a right to avenge the death of their beloved family member. Murder was a crime punishable by death in ancient Israel.

But God made special provisions for accidental killings.

Throughout Israel, on either side of the Jordan River, there were six cities of refuge (Num. 35:9-17). These cities were within a half day’s journey of the entire nation. The roads to each one of them were well kept and clearly marked with the word “refuge.”

In this month’s Bible lesson we will discover some amazing truths about these cities and also discover God’s eternal city of refuge for each one of us.

1 What was the purpose of these cities of refuge?

Read Joshua 20:1-3.

2 What kind of acceptance did someone who was condemned find in these cities? Read Joshua 20:4.

In my imagination I see a man racing toward the gates of one of these cities. He is rapidly pursued by avengers. Panting furiously, his strength spent, he races to the gates of the city and, sobbing, presents his case to the elders of the city.

The gates are open wide, and he is welcomed into that city as if he had been born there. He is accepted as a son of the soil. He is embraced as a long-lost child. These cities of refuge speak to us of a larger biblical truth.

3 Read Psalm 46:1; 62:8; 71:7. Whom did the psalmist David declare to be our everlasting refuge?

4

Read Hebrews 6:17-20. Where can we find refuge, security, and hope today in the stresses, worries, and anxieties of life?

A r t

b y

W.

A .

F o s t e r

Chased by anxiety, pursued by fear, harassed by guilt, and consumed with worry, we can by faith flee for refuge into the welcoming arms of our Savior in heaven’s sanctuary.

This passage in Hebrews mentions two “immutable” changeless things: God’s eternal covenant and His everlasting purpose. God will never break His covenant or alter His eternal purpose. In Him we are secure.

5 What divine invitation do we find in Hebrews 4:14-16?

The word “boldly” in verse 16 can also be translated confidently. Jesus invites us to confidently come to His sanctuary, a city of refuge for all of our anxieties. At the sanctuary we are welcomed into the security of His warm embrace.

6 As we come to heaven’s sanctuary—its city of refuge—what promise does our Lord graciously give us? Find this promise in Hebrews 7:25.

Jesus, our crucified Savior, is now our living high priest, ministering on our behalf in heaven’s sanctuary. He is able—fully able—to save all who come to Him in faith, and He invites us to come.

7 Where does all of heaven invite us to look continually, so that our hearts will daily be filled with joy? Read Hebrews 12:1, 2.

Where we look makes all the difference in our Christian lives. If we dwell on our past, we will often be filled with a sense of failure. If we look within our own hearts, we will often be filled with a sense of inadequacy. If we are overly concerned about the future, we may be filled with a sense of worry. Looking to Jesus in heaven’s eternal sanctuary, we discover our true sense of peace. By faith we rest in His love in heaven’s city of refuge. In His arms we are secure, now and forever. n

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IDEA EXCHANGE Thank you for sharing how God has led my brothers and sisters . . . and how His power has turned evil into good.

—Dana (Bassett) Bean, Bermuda

Regarding to Claude Richli’s cover story “From Hell to Hope: Rwanda, 20 Years Later” (Apr. 2014): We adults can remember the horrors reported in 1994. What an inspiring article on how God brought a vision of hope and courage “for the rebirth of the church in Rwanda” that is happening today.

Natalie Dodd Centerville, Ohio, United States I love to see the stacks of Adventist World in my church, ready for someone to pick up and read. This time I was over the moon because, to my surprise, the cover article was about Rwanda. I thought the title “From Hell to Hope” was very appropriate, as I can attest to the fact that 20 years ago that time was scary for me as well.

Claude Richli’s article, however, did bring back positive memories of my

Prayerw

As I was reading the April 2014 cover story about Rwanda, I realized that a mistake was made on page 16—in regard to the identification of one individual in the second picture (above, right). The individual in the picture is not Josué Rusine, who was, rightly so, West Rwanda Field president.

The name of the person in the picture is Jacques Nkinzingabo, who used to be director of the education department at Rwanda Union Mission when I was in Rwanda . . .

As a matter of fact, Josué Rusine is in none of the pictures. I am acquainted with both of these individuals, but Rusine is a particularly close friend of mine.

Thank you for your note. We regret misidentifying Jacques Nkinzingabo in the photo on p. 16.

—Editors

RI C H L I

From Hell to Hope

Thank you and God bless you.

Jean-Claude Kalimunda via e-mail

C L AUDE

Letters

time as a student missionary in Kigali.

In December 1993 I spent Christmas at Mugonero, and I had worshipped at the Adventist University of Central Africa in Mudende. I will forever remember the Clarks, Van Lanens, Houmanns, and Jacqueline Stonas.

Thank you for sharing how God has led my brothers and sisters there, and how His power has turned evil into good.

Dana (Bassett) Bean Bermuda

Monteiro Visits GC Headquarters

I praise God for the article about Antonio Monteiro (“Monteiro Visits GC Headquarters, Thanks Church for Support,” April 2014, pp. 3, 4).

Without exaggeration, this event has put the church on the map in Togo and in the entire world. And not just

PRAISE

Please pray for someone I know who is struggling with cigarette smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages. Also pray for my financial matters.

Ann, United Arab Emirates

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Please pray for me to get a job. I also need prayer for my life—to dispel the spirit of fear that has held me captive for quite some time now.

David, Kenya

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We need to build a new church in Jordan. We have a small room in our school building that we’ve gathered in every Sabbath for nearly 50 years! Not many know of our church since it is on the second floor of the school—I’ve given up everything to work at this church, and it is obvious that we need help!

Joob, Jordan

Where in the

Is This? orld W

the church, but Jesus Christ. May God’s grace stay with Monteiro and his family.

Gagno Yaovi Kpalimé, Togo

Adventist World is produced by the Seventh-day Adventist Church and distributed to members free of charge. We are also on the Internet at www.adventist world.org. Our advice to this reader and others with similar concerns is to contact the Seventh-day Adventist Church in your region of the world. We are gratified that the magazine is filling this need.

—Editors Letters Policy: Please send to: letters@adventistworld.org.

Letters must be clearly written, 100-word maximum. Include the name of the article and the date of publication with your letter.

Also include your name, the town/city, state, and country from which you are writing. Letters will be edited for space and clarity. Not all letters submitted will be published.

Please pray for me to finish my final year of university assignments. Also pray that I draw closer to Christ.

Candy, United Kingdom I request prayer as I am looking for a job. My mom is sick and also needs prayer. Please include my fiancé in

D av i d o f

Thank you for producing Adventist World. Please send me some copies of your publication, which has been very useful to me as a member.

Ogieva S. Nigeria

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ANSWER: Buenos Aires, Argentina. Members of the Jewish Adventist Fellowship meet to observe significant rituals and traditions that go back thousands of years. Services are attended by individuals of Jewish descent, both religious and secular.

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Friend, Jesus Christ! Thank you for the great work you do through Adventist World.

Gift Dorcus Uganda

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Thank You

Revived by His Word A Journey of Discovery Together Through the Bible God speaks to us through His Word. Join with other believers in more than 180 countries who are reading a chapter of the Bible each day. To download the daily Bible Reading Guide, visit RevivedbyHisWord.org, or sign up to receive the daily Bible chapter by e-mail.

To join this initiative, start here: AUGUST 1, 2014 • Ezekiel 35

your prayers. I also pray for peace to prevail in Kenya.

Vincent, Kenya Please pray for me to be able to buy a computer. I was to use the computer in my ministry with an LCD projector.

Win, Myanmar

The Place of Prayer: Send prayer requests and praise (thanks for answered prayer) to prayer@adventistworld.org. Keep entries short and concise, 50-words or less. Items will be edited for space and clarity. Not all submissions will be printed. Please include your name and your country’s name. You may also fax requests to: 1-301-680-6638; or mail them to Adventist World, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600 U.S.A.

July 2014 | Adventist World - nad

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IDEA EXCHANGE “Behold, I come quickly…”

Our mission is to uplift Jesus Christ, uniting Seventh-day Adventists everywhere in beliefs, mission, life, and hope.

92

On July 1, 1922, missionary and educator J. I. Robison announced the opening of La Sierra Academy on October 3 of that year as a full-fledged 12-grade school. He later described the situation: “We did not have a building. We did not have a book in our library, nor a test tube for the laboratory. We did not have a desk or a chair. We did not even have a faculty. . . . But we did have faith. . . .

And so with faith and courage and loyal cooperation and united effort we stepped forward, facing every difficulty, confident that the Lord was leading, and that we would open school on October 3, as we had advertised.”

The school opened as advertised on 300 acres of land known as Rancho La Sierra, which was originally part of a Mexican land grant.

In 1927 La Sierra Academy became Southern California Junior College, whose first president and general manager was W. W. Ruble.

Today La Sierra University is a coeducational institution of higher learning located in Riverside, California. Its nearly 2,200 students attend its College of Arts and Sciences, School of Business, School of Education, and H.M.S. Richards, Sr., School of Divinity.

years ago

Use It

Again

The energy saved by recycling a glass bottle can power a computer for 30 minutes. The energy saved by recycling an aluminum can will power a television for 120 minutes.

Source: The Rotarian

Publisher The Adventist World, an international periodical of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The General Conference, Northern Asia-Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists®, is the publisher.

Executive Publisher and Editor in Chief Bill Knott Associate Publisher Claude Richli International Publishing Manager Chun, Pyung Duk Publishing Board Ted N. C. Wilson, chair; Benjamin D. Schoun, vice chair; Bill Knott, secretary; Lisa Beardsley-Hardy; Daniel R. Jackson; Robert Lemon; Geoffrey Mbwana; G. T. Ng; Daisy Orion; Juan Prestol; Michael Ryan; Ella Simmons; Mark Thomas; Karnik Doukmetzian, legal advisor Adventist World Coordinating Committee Jairyong Lee, chair; Akeri Suzuki, Kenneth Osborn, Guimo Sung, Pyung Duk Chun, Suk Hee Han Editors based in Silver Spring, Maryland Lael Caesar, Gerald A. Klingbeil (associate editors), Sandra Blackmer, Stephen Chavez, Wilona Karimabadi, Kimberly Luste Maran Editors based in Seoul, Korea Pyung Duk Chun, Jae Man Park, Hyo Jun Kim Online Editor Carlos Medley Operations Manager Merle Poirier Editor-at-large Mark A. Finley Senior Advisor E. Edward Zinke Financial Manager Rachel J. Child Editorial Assistant Marvene Thorpe-Baptiste Management Board Jairyong Lee, chair; Bill Knott, secretary; P. D. Chun, Karnik Doukmetzian, Suk Hee Han, Kenneth Osborn, Juan Prestol, Claude Richli, Akeri Suzuki, Ex-officio: Robert Lemon, G. T. Ng, Ted N. C. Wilson Art Direction and Design Jeff Dever, Brett Meliti Consultants Ted N. C. Wilson, Robert E. Lemon, G. T. Ng, Guillermo E. Biaggi, Lowell C. Cooper, Daniel R. Jackson, Geoffrey Mbwana, Armando Miranda, Pardon K. Mwansa, Michael L. Ryan, Blasious M. Ruguri, Benjamin D. Schoun, Ella S. Simmons, Alberto C. Gulfan, Jr., Erton Köhler, Jairyong Lee, Israel Leito, John Rathinaraj, Paul S. Ratsara, Barry Oliver, Bruno Vertallier, Gilbert Wari, Bertil A. Wiklander To Writers: We welcome unsolicited manuscripts. Address all editorial correspondence to 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600, U.S.A. Editorial office fax number: (301) 680-6638 E-mail: worldeditor@gc.adventist.org Web site: www.adventistworld.org Unless otherwise indicated, all Bible references are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Texts credited to NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011

by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.

Adventist World is published monthly and printed simultaneously in Korea, Brazil, Indonesia, Australia, Germany, Austria, and the United States.

Vol. 10, No. 7

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Adventist World - nad | July 2014

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