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Series Code: AVMN
Program Code: AVMN000001
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00:01 ASI is a ministry that's networking all these
00:03 different ministries together with the church. 00:05 Being involved with ASI meeting other people. 00:07 ASI convention is an excellent opportunity just 00:10 a great opportunity. In ASI there is a 00:13 particular fellowship, ASI is really the stamp, 00:15 it's the glue that holds all the ministries together. 00:27 Welcome to ASI Video Magazine. 00:30 I am Dan Houghton. ASI members are committed 00:33 to sharing Christ in the market place and are very 00:37 involved in a wide variety of outreach efforts. 00:40 Some are active in large evangelistic meetings, 00:43 others in personal outreach, and some 00:46 witness through health and lifestyle programs, 00:48 while others witness the technology and media. 00:51 But, the ultimate goal is bringing people to Jesus. 00:56 Wildwood Lifestyle Center in Wildwood, 00:58 Georgia is a long time ASI member organization, 01:01 in fact it was one of the founding ASI organizations. 01:06 Most guests arrive at Wildwood with serious 01:08 health issues and they're looking to improve their 01:11 lives, how they eat, exercise and their daily routines. 01:15 And there are many stories of lives changed at 01:17 Wildwood are nothing short 01:20 of amazing. Let's find out more. 01:37 There is a special revulsive treatment, 01:40 where you put the heart across the chest, you have 01:45 a steam tank in which you get that as really hot and 01:49 then you put towels around it to make it just 01:52 as hot as you can stand. And I'm gonna catch it 01:55 right here, so it will be in shape. Give him enough 02:03 nose room to breathe. After three minutes of 02:06 that, then a ice whole pack is put across the 02:11 chest and they do that three times and it helps 02:15 the lungs to flush the congestion out. 02:19 Put it right up, how is it Joshua, now you don't 02:23 want that on there more than three minutes 02:25 because it's got to be quick stimulating 02:27 type of treatment. We have had people like 02:29 who could hardly walk a block, you know, down at 02:33 the end of the hall and they will leave here 02:35 walking several miles, so its I guess that testimony 02:40 as it goes out draws lot of people to come. 02:52 We have three entities, we have a small hospital, 02:57 we have a clinic, and then we have the lifestyle center. 03:00 And the unique thing about Wildwood is that 03:03 it's one of the few I now think only one in America 03:09 that has a lifestyle center connected with the hospital. 03:13 Wildwood Lifestyle Center is a program, 03:15 where people come into change their lifestyle. 03:18 They want to learn to eat healthy, they want to 03:21 learn to get on a regular routine, their diet is 03:26 important, we teach a vegan diet. 03:29 They do a lot of outdoor work as well, exercise in 03:32 the outdoor, walking. We have many trails around. 03:36 We do have a few, who'll call in that are meat eaters 03:39 and at first it seems to shock them, 03:41 but they come around. We also have a small 03:45 gym for individuals that need you know may be a 03:49 little bit more, who can't walk as much. 03:52 And they have a complete physical examination 03:55 when they come here. We have medical doctors 03:58 then we practice hydrotherapy and 03:59 massage therapy, which is included in the program. 04:03 They do go to cooking demonstrations. 04:05 So, they can learn how to cook and I am now giving 04:08 them a book that it should help them when they go 04:10 home to continue with the vegan diet, which is 04:13 difficult when you come from a meat eating situation. 04:16 It's rather difficult to become a vegan, you know. 04:19 And when they come here they learn that the food 04:21 can be good. 'Cause out, you know some places 04:24 where you go and eat some people's cooking, 04:26 it's not real great especially vegan it's hard 04:29 to make it tasty, but it can be done. 04:34 We get people from everywhere and the 04:37 reason that they come usually is that some 04:41 friend of theirs or some teen from here went to 04:45 their church and talked about what Wildwood 04:50 does and so they were inspired to think when 04:52 they were having health problems that Wildwood 04:55 is the place to go to receive relief. 04:59 We have a whole medical staff and 05:03 we have our own lab. What we are doing the 05:06 most of I guess is those diseases, where a change 05:11 in lifestyle can improve or even eliminate the 05:16 disease, one of the best is diabetes. 05:20 People can come here and within 17 days often 05:24 leave with no insulin needed. 05:27 And we try of course and get our hospital patients 05:31 up as much as possible and get out into the 05:33 sunlight and moving about I mean getting 05:37 active again. Well their program has to 05:40 be monitored carefully by our physicians and we 05:44 don't take people off from insulin or any drug that 05:48 they're on just overnight, we don't do 05:51 that except tobacco. And this whole lifestyle is 05:55 then shared with them and there are times when 05:59 a patient think is well enough that they come 06:00 and they can join the lecture, 06:02 join the cooking class. So, that they can go home 06:06 you know with the education and the 06:08 foundation on which to build again. 06:10 Out in the world you get big salaries and in a self 06:15 supporting ministry we work on a volunteer 06:19 basis, where people are given a basic living 06:23 allowance and accommodation. So, it's not the big bucks 06:28 of the world as it were and it's definitely a 06:31 calling for people to come here, professional people 06:34 too as nurses and physicians to work in our hospital. 06:39 And we had a definite shortage and we had to go 06:44 inactive, the state allows a period of 12 months, 06:48 where the hospital can go inactive. 06:51 The Lord blessed and we were able to get nurses 06:55 and we were also able to do a lot of 06:58 revamping in our hospital. We were able to do a 07:03 hydrotherapy area and painting, and we were 07:09 able to get new beds, and the Lord blessed and we 07:13 were able to open and we passed our inspection, 07:16 it was a rigorous inspection. 07:18 We had six inspectors here for three days and 07:22 the Lord blessed and we were able to 07:25 open without any deficiencies. 07:29 In the world today, teachers graduate from 07:32 school, but they don't always understand. 07:34 While the Lifestyle Center was officially 07:36 organized in 1942 and they've always had an 07:39 educational program, we run primarily a six month 07:42 training course to train lay members of the 07:45 church to use the right arm of the Gospel. 07:49 We teach them in both, we train them as health 07:51 educators and we also train them how to share 07:54 Jesus and we give Bible classes. 07:56 So, it's a combination of Bible and health classes 07:58 and how to use the health message as the right arm 08:01 of the Gospel and communities. 08:02 We teach them how to do health expositions, 08:05 cooking classes, seminars. We teach them how to do 08:08 door to door work, so when they're finished, 08:11 they are ready to work in their communities, they're 08:12 ready to work in their churches, they're ready to 08:16 go overseas and help share knowledge with 08:18 people that they can save them from so much 08:20 sickness and disease. We recently had a student 08:23 that came and took our course and during, during 08:27 the one year that she was here because she worked 08:29 for six months first to pay off her tuition and she 08:31 took the six month course, and she in that 08:34 year lost 75 pounds and it was just a real miracle to 08:39 see her just totally change her lifestyle around and 08:42 she really had a testimony then. 08:43 We have many students that have graduated from 08:46 here that go out into all different countries. 08:50 Well, I went on a mission trip with her and a team 08:53 of students to Brazil, while we help establish a 08:56 Lifestyle Center outside Rio de Janeiro and she 08:59 had such a good experience and she was 09:01 eager to share that, she wanted to be involved in 09:03 this type of work and so I asked her if she would 09:05 be willing to stay and help with the Lifestyle 09:08 Center in Brazil and she did, and she's worked 09:09 there now for two years and she is just having a 09:13 great experience and she is just a committed 09:15 worker for the Lord. You know, when the students 09:17 are finished with their training and they have 09:20 opportunities to work in Lifestyle Centers here in 09:23 the United States or overseas, well more than 09:26 that we're working on a global initiative to foster 09:32 more training programs and more lifestyle centers 09:36 like we have at Wildwood. We're working in 09:38 harmony with different ministry leaders from ASI. 09:41 And then of course ASI is a real blessing to 09:44 Wildwood because when we get to go once a year 09:48 and we hear the stories of what other people are 09:51 doing and our workers hear that, we show it over 09:55 the satellites, so all of our workers can see it. 10:00 But, it just, it creates a moral that makes people 10:05 even more eager to do something for the Lord. 10:08 Our greatest area of expansion is in reaching 10:14 out to other places other than Wildwood because 10:18 not everybody can come here. 10:20 I have been Director of the school at Wildwood 10:22 for six years and I've seen, you know, hundreds 10:25 of applications. I've got stacks of applications 10:28 from around the world and I realize, you know, 10:30 these people need training, they want 10:31 training, but we can't send them all here, it's not 10:33 practical to fly to the United States and it's, 10:37 you know, very impossible to do so for 10:38 most and to get in. So, our goal is to establish 10:41 short training courses for lay members in every 10:44 union of the world field. So, we think every church 10:46 member should have an opportunity 10:48 to receive the training. This past year we've 10:51 started eighteen schools and our graduates from 10:54 the six month course go to these different 10:56 countries to help share what they've learned. 10:59 We also have a natural food store that does very 11:00 well, it's right here on our campus. Our campus is 11:03 only ten minutes from Chattanooga, so it's pretty 11:05 easy for people to get to. And you know it's one of 11:08 the industries that really sustains our campus more 11:10 than that it brings in a class of people that we 11:14 would not otherwise be able to reach. 11:16 So, selling the health foods and it helps you to 11:20 start discussions with people about health and 11:23 then they ask, you know, what is this place and 11:25 what are you guys doing here, and it just opens up 11:27 so many ways to share about your faith. 11:30 Natural remedies work and you don't get that bad 11:33 side affects off of them that you do also, let's say 11:35 pharmaceutical type medicines. 11:37 One of the big ones is Goldenseal because 11:39 Goldenseal has a lot of really 11:41 great properties to it. It's antifungal, 11:43 antibacterial, antiviral stuff, it's used to treat a 11:47 lot of different things, another one we use is 11:50 charcoal. Charcoal's got to be one of the best 11:52 natural remedies that you can possibly have. 11:54 Now we also have an organic farm and so it 11:57 helps us to reach that class as well. 11:59 We sell farm produce and we deliver, we deliver our 12:02 produce to different restaurants and stores in 12:06 town and that gives us more avenues to share. 12:08 There are 40,000 workers on any given day of the 12:12 week that spill out into the streets looking for 12:16 food and so we're the only vegetarian restaurant 12:19 in Chattanooga. People do take Bible 12:22 studies and sometimes people will be baptized 12:25 and come into a church to our program, which is 12:30 a real blessing, you know, that's what we're here for, 12:33 you know, the physical healing is 12:35 as important as spiritual. We have a certain number 12:39 of patients and Lifestyle guests that will start 12:42 asking questions, well why do you keep the 12:44 Sabbath and why do you do this, and then often we 12:48 can give Bible studies while they're here. 12:50 The results are really encouraging at the end of 12:56 a session, we have a graduation and it's really 13:01 encouraging to see that and I encourage many of 13:04 our staff if they ever wonder, if they're being 13:07 effective here to go and listen to one of those 13:10 graduation services. Yeah, there is a lot that's 13:12 included in our program and people, you know, 13:17 when they go through our program they give 13:18 testimonies at the end of it. And they're just 13:20 thrilled with our program. What a testimony to the 13:25 healing touch of our creator. 13:27 ASI is blessed to have member organizations 13:30 like Wildwood and others that are focused on 13:33 service and outreach, sharing Christ in the 13:36 marketplace. If you'd like more information about 13:38 Wildwood Lifestyle Center, call 1-800-634-9355 13:44 or visit www.wildwoodhealth.org. 13:52 ASI was founded in 1947 when a group of 25 self 13:56 supporting Adventist schools and healthcare 13:58 ministries form the association of Seventh-Day 14:01 Adventist self supporting institutions or ASI. 14:05 As ASI expanded over the years the number of 14:08 businesses, entrepreneurs, and 14:10 professionals joined us well. 14:12 So, to better reflect ASI's diverse membership in 14:16 1979 our name was changed to 14:18 Adventist-Layman's Services & Industries. 14:22 When you're out there in the mission field and 14:24 you're working trying to build God's kingdom, 14:27 you know, you sometimes may feel a little lonely. 14:29 Sometimes we feel like Elijah, I am alone. 14:33 Coming to the ASI conference really has 14:35 helped me to see that there are other 14:37 professionals around the world. 14:39 If you want to get encouraged in your 14:40 ministry you need to come to ASI. 14:53 A focus on evangelism was one of the things that 14:56 drew Norman and Gayle Wrights to ASI. 15:00 And as ASI members they have enjoyed 15:01 associating with people, who are excited about 15:05 sharing Christ. Norman and Gayle have gone on 15:08 evangelism trips for a number of years now and 15:11 they're active in reaching out to people right in their 15:14 own community. They even brought their bank 15:17 teller to church. Let's find out how God 15:20 has worked through them. 15:26 This is the receipt for the cow that was purchased 15:29 in station Ghanpur, India. 15:35 Station Ghanpur was a site of our meeting, they 15:38 have 12 villages outside of station Ghanpur and 15:42 one of those villages as we were walking around 15:44 from house to house, there was a family that 15:48 was crying, they were in tears, we thought 15:51 somebody had died, that was the translation 15:54 obtained through by our guide that someone has 15:57 died and we learned that it have been their cow, 15:59 their sole source of livelihood, it gave them 16:02 milk, it gave them cheese, and they could sell it, and 16:05 so it was their cash income. They didn't know how 16:08 they are going to survive. We talked later that day 16:11 with the handlers from Maranatha and they said 16:16 yes they could arrange to buy a cow and they found 16:20 a cow, and they bought it from a market two towns 16:23 away and they brought it to the family and that 16:26 family came till the last night of the meetings and 16:29 was extremely appreciative. You know they bowed 16:33 down, we have to tell them don't bow down, 16:35 you know, not, not, not to worship, but to rejoice 16:39 that God is good and for them it meant their 16:41 livelihood, it meant that four people had a way to 16:44 live, they had a business. It comforted us because 16:49 that's what ASI is all about really. 16:51 We are self employed, the criteria for a full 16:53 membership in ASI is that you are a personal entity 16:58 that makes a panel. You know what it means to 17:02 have expenses, to have income and to make the 17:07 business work. That's exactly what they had in 17:09 this family, they had a cow, they had to feed it 17:12 and it gave them their life. 17:15 I made my living for 35 years by practicing law. 17:19 First half in my career, I practiced Patent 17:21 Trademark Copyright Law, now I practice 17:23 estates and trust. Outside of that, we have a 17:27 Nathan Green picture called the silent partner, 17:30 it shows a customer and a business man with Jesus 17:34 in the background and that I would say for 90% 17:39 of our clients is a sign that we are a believer in God. 17:44 Jesus is the silent partner in this business 17:46 and we must have had several dozen people 17:49 comment that they know we're Christian and that 17:52 they're a believer too. It's very interesting that when 17:55 we put up that picture, we intended to put blinds 17:59 in the front of our office, we have three windows, 18:01 we intended to have privacy with the blind, 18:03 and the landlord promised us as a condition of 18:06 moving in that he would put blinds there, and he 18:09 didn't do it after a couple of months, we reminded 18:11 him, he didn't do it. And after a year he hadn't 18:14 done it and I realized that because the blinds weren't 18:17 there, people would walk by the front of our office 18:20 could see the picture and comment, and so I just 18:22 decided we will leave the blinds down, let the 18:24 picture tell a story. We have three literature 18:28 racks in our office, we have material that 18:33 particularly relates to death because our estate 18:36 practice is oriented that way, every time we meet 18:39 a client we are talking about what happens when 18:42 you die. What do you want to happen, who are 18:45 your heirs, it's not a taboo subject, it is the subject 18:49 that we are dealing with. You didn't do the trust 18:52 that your brother would be your heir and that's 18:54 not what you want. Right. 18:56 You want your stepchildren. Yes, because I feel that 19:00 they have a future and Shelby, she is a grade A 19:04 student, she's a 4.1, right, she was good in high 19:08 school and they have potential 19:12 of going a long way. Good. About two weeks we will 19:16 send your draft and we will see you 19:18 back here after that. Okay. So, I'm glad to have you 19:21 as a client. Thank you. 19:25 The best indicator that we are different is my wife 19:30 who was our office manager and receptionist. 19:33 She is the people, the person that people see 19:36 they hear her, they talk to her, she is nice to 19:39 everybody, and that's not common in this world. 19:43 People will say they've called three law offices 19:45 and they got a certain kind of treatment and 19:48 then they talk to my wife and she is nice to them, 19:50 she is thorough with them, and she greets them 19:52 in person, she treats everybody like a friend, 19:55 like they're worthy of respect. By the time they 19:58 see me, you know, they are sold on the fact that 20:01 this is person that want to be. 20:02 Thank you. How are you today? 20:07 Cold, but not bad. That's going to warm up 20:10 they say. We have the literature rack and we 20:14 just, we have pictures of Jesus as our partner, 20:21 and we have the Ten Commandments up there, 20:24 and we just let people know that we are 20:27 Adventists and sometimes there is a situation that we 20:31 can even pray with our clients when they're here. 20:36 I would say we have half a dozen of our clients, 20:38 who have become Seventh-Day Adventists 20:40 over the years. There are different stories, different 20:43 ways, my forte is preaching, but we will 20:47 also have Bible studies, in this office we have held 20:50 probably four series of Bible studies. 20:53 We had a woman come to our Bible study. 20:56 She was going through, she decided to become an 20:59 Adventist and then her husband got notice that he 21:05 was gong to be transferred, transferred 21:07 from Alameda Naval Air Station to San Diego, and 21:11 so she wanted to get baptized here in 21:13 Hayward, this is where she studied, this is where 21:14 she made her decision. A pastor went to her home 21:18 to go through the check list for baptism. 21:20 He had never met her, she'd come to our office, 21:23 she would come to our studies, and now she 21:24 wanted to get baptized, and her husband who had 21:27 never come to a study, never come to church said 21:32 pastor I want to get baptized too, and the 21:36 pastor said to him, you've never been to church, 21:39 you've never taken a Bible study. 21:41 How in the world can you want to be baptized? 21:45 And he said well my wife would go to the studies 21:47 on Sunday afternoon, she would bring 21:50 her lessons home. She would tell me 21:51 everything she learned, as she learned I learned, 21:56 and I accepted everything all the way along as well, 22:00 and I want to be baptized too. 22:03 And the pastor was a very wise man, he said 22:06 okay, he went through the same process, they were 22:10 both baptized together, the last Sabbath they were 22:14 ever at the Hayward church. I have never seen her 22:17 since, I hear about them from time to time, but 22:20 they left Hayward and went to San Diego, they 22:23 joined a church down there. They became the pathfinder 22:26 leaders, they sent both of their children through San 22:29 Diego Academy and they're in the church today. 22:34 Norm, how long have we been members of ASI. 22:38 Ten years. Ten years. I tried to getting to be 22:43 member before we became members, he says 22:46 I, he didn't have time to do it. 22:48 Well, for many years I resisted joining ASI, 22:51 we had a member of our church who would go to 22:53 the meetings and come back all enthused and try 22:55 to promote my wife and I to join, but I was busy 22:59 with many other things, so I just didn't join. 23:02 The reason that I joined was because I have a very 23:06 strong interest in evangelism and when 23:08 I learned that ASI was really all about 23:12 supporting evangelism, I decided we should go and 23:15 check it out, and in fact it is mostly about getting 23:22 inspired, going and hearing about other 23:23 people, rubbing shoulders, networking 23:26 with people, who are also doing evangelism. 23:28 And you just see people from all over the world 23:32 that are lay people just like we are and they're 23:36 doing things for the Lord. Well as a result of ASI 23:40 we've made connections that have taken us to a 23:43 number of foreign countries to do preaching. 23:46 My business is about law, I speak for a living, I get 23:49 paid for words, whether they're spoken or written. 23:52 I am all thumbs, I couldn't lay brick easily, 23:56 I couldn't do other things easily, but there are 23:59 people who can and are able to do that. 24:04 What ASI is about? It's not about being an elitist, 24:08 not about either having a lot of wealth or a lot of 24:11 professional skill, it's about inspiration. 24:15 You go there and you meet people who are 24:17 doing it, whether they're drilling wells in Kenya, 24:22 whether they're running an orphanage in Guatemala. 24:24 They're out there doing it, and so my particular forte 24:28 is using words and that would be in preaching. 24:31 So, the first meeting that we went to 24:33 was in the Philippines. I met at an ASI meeting, 24:38 a Philippine pastor, who said to me Norman lets 24:41 go do a meeting. You do the preaching and I'll 24:44 make them happy. So, he was the man that did the 24:47 song service and I answered Bible questions, 24:51 and then he turned it over to me and I did the 24:53 preaching. Well, what ASI has done, it has 24:56 magnified our effectiveness. We have had before ASI 25:01 gone to Poland, to Armenia, to Indonesia, 25:04 and we had baptism accounts like 20, 10, 70. 25:11 With ASI with the materials and with the 25:13 opportunities, we've been allowed the privilege of 25:17 going to larger venues and being more effective. 25:20 ASI is integrated into the world church and so if 25:24 you're connected with ASI, you're accepted in a 25:27 lot of places and you are given larger 25:29 opportunities. Through ASI, I have gotten 25:33 a broader range of materials. About 10 years 25:36 ago, ASI leadership decided to develop a 25:39 standard DVD, it's called new beginnings. 25:43 This is the booklet that has all the sermon texts 25:47 and everything in it. The pictures match up to the 25:52 DVD that they're given. And it has greater 25:56 graphics, that has theologically harmonious 26:02 material, and it's been translated into 26:05 about 42 languages. So, it's not perfect, 26:09 it's kind of one size fits all, but it takes the lowest 26:14 common denominator to a very high level. 26:17 We were taking our vacations, but why not 26:22 take a vacation with the Lord. And so we set, 26:26 if we know that we are going go on a mission trip 26:29 we set our calendar, so that we get the work done 26:34 before and then set what needs to be done after we 26:37 get back. And the Lord blesses our 26:39 office while we're gone. We have found without 26:44 exception that when we are committed to do 26:48 mission work, we have not suffered upon and he 26:53 can bring us one case, one case that pays us for all 26:57 the time that we've ever given. 26:59 Yes, he is extremely faithful and has allowed 27:01 us to really commit to doing things. 27:06 We are leaving for two weeks the end of next month. 27:11 We are going to be in three countries, we'll 27:13 probably close our office cold turkey and if past 27:17 experience is true, there won't have been any harm 27:21 and there will be things waiting to do. 27:26 Norman and Gayle consider a blessing to 27:28 serve their Lord both at home and abroad. 27:32 ASI is made up of people who shared Norman and 27:35 Gayle's passion for active service. People who are 27:38 excited to be involved in 27:39 winning souls for Jesus Christ. 27:42 For more information about ASI and becoming 27:44 a member, call 301-680-6450 or visit 27:50 www.asiministries.org. I am Dan Houghton, 27:56 thanks for joining me today on ASI Video Magazine. 28:00 Come back next time for more stories of ASI 28:02 members sharing Christ in 28:04 the marketplace. God be with you. |
Revised 2014-12-17