Participants: Gary Krause (Host), Myron Iseminger, Laurie Falvo
Series Code: GMS
Program Code: GMS000014
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00:01 Is the mission spirit genetic?
00:03 Perhaps not, but it is possible 00:05 to pass that spirit on to our children. 00:08 Today, we will meet one Adventist family 00:10 that seems to have the mission spirit in the genes. 00:18 Just before He went up to heaven, 00:20 Jesus gave us a command. 00:23 He gave us a mission. Jesus said, Go. 00:28 Go unto all the world, telling them of His love. 00:33 This is our mission. This is our "Global Mission." 00:42 Hello I'm Gary Krause 00:44 and welcome to "Global Mission Snapshots." 00:46 On today's program we will be meeting Myron Iseminger, 00:50 undersecretary of Seventh-day Adventist church. 00:53 Myron and his family served as missionaries 00:55 in the Middle East and most recently in Asia. 00:59 We will also talk with Laurie Falvo 01:01 about Global Mission in South Africa. 01:04 If you receive Global Mission publications 01:06 which you should, you will see the results 01:08 of some of Laurie's work every month. 01:11 But first up, let's meet a family 01:13 with the spirit of mission in their blood. 01:23 As a physician as you are trained 01:26 your primary goal in training is 01:28 to take good medical care of people to make sure 01:31 that their health is cared for in a proper way. 01:35 But as time has gone by I realized that 01:38 that's really not the primary issue 01:41 that my primary goal is to lead people to Jesus 01:45 and to know Him. 01:46 And so I began to see medical practice 01:50 as a tool to lead people to Jesus. 01:53 And so I tried to focus on 01:56 somehow using my medical practice 01:59 not as-- only as a tool 02:01 to help people have a healthier life 02:02 and to recover from disease 02:04 but even more importantly to come to know 02:07 the one who can provide eternal life. 02:11 Greg, our oldest he has always wanted to be a physician. 02:15 He has ended up being trained as a surgeon 02:17 and served overseas in many different places, 02:19 most recently in Cameroon. 02:28 I'd say it was probably somewhere in high school 02:30 that I decided that I really wanted to be a missionary 02:35 and specifically a physician. 02:41 I guess it was in medical school in Loma Linda, 02:43 where it was really solidified and I choose to be 02:46 part of the Deferred Mission Appointee Program. 02:54 I did three years of residence-- 02:55 three and half years of residency 02:56 in family practice training 02:58 and haven't seen anything here 03:01 that I ever saw in family practice training. 03:05 As a missionary my goal is too pronged, 03:08 I mean of course I'm a physician 03:10 so I want an aspect 03:11 I want to reach their physical needs 03:14 but more importantly 03:16 we need to reach their spiritual needs. 03:18 And there are certain people at the hospital 03:21 that we've been able to minister to 03:23 and we have seen people that have had tetanus 03:26 who have been sick in hospital for many weeks 03:31 and then for a long recovery period after that. 03:34 And with time and praying every single day with them, 03:38 they have come to know Jesus and give their heart to God 03:41 and I think that's the most encouragement 03:44 is individual lives that have been changed. 03:54 Cristy, our middle daughter also wanted to be a physician 03:57 since she was young 03:59 and served in Malamulo Hospital in Malawi. 04:14 I love the chance to come to a place 04:18 and care for people who no one out there really caring for. 04:24 I find that intensely satisfying and I think that's why 04:29 I've always wanted to do this. 04:30 If you stop working at home, 04:33 your patients get upset and they go see someone else. 04:35 Here people die and I think that's what 04:38 I find truly gratifying about being here. 04:43 I feel like it touches into what Jesus talked about 04:45 when He saw the multitudes and He had compassion on them. 04:49 I think that's really what it comes on too for me. 04:53 We always think of blessings as being safe 04:55 or happy or things like that. 04:58 But, I think you can be blessed by loneliness 05:00 and by being homesick. 05:02 I think God Jesus will bless you in a different way 05:05 and by being here I'm getting to be molded by God 05:10 and you don't often get to see that very clearly in your life. 05:17 The Heather our youngest has taken a different track. 05:21 She really was not interested in medicine, 05:23 which was fine with us, so she trained as a teacher 05:26 and taught elementary school for many years 05:29 and now is married to a pastor and she and her husband 05:33 are pastoring four churches in Kansas 05:37 and I guess I see that, 05:38 she is just as much a missionary as our other children 05:41 because she is there helping people 05:43 spreading the gospel just in a different form. 05:46 I mean that is God's mission to go over 05:49 and help people wherever we are. 05:51 Whether we are here in the US 05:52 or whether we are out of the US 05:54 go and help people and teach them about the Lord 05:57 as well as helping their physical well beings. 06:08 There are certain people that I felt 06:12 I have made a real difference in their life 06:17 both in a physical aspect and in being able to have 06:21 the chance of witnessing to them. 06:24 Since I have been here 06:25 probably the verse that come to me 06:27 the most to me is 1 John 3:18 06:30 and that says, "My dear brothers, 06:33 let us not love in word or in tongue 06:36 but in deed and in truth" and that's really 06:39 what I have been talking to my employees here about. 06:42 Let's love in truth each other our patients, 06:45 let's really show what God is like here. 06:50 Donna and I have learned to pray for our kids a lot 06:53 and say Lord, we can't take care of these kids, 06:55 we can't provide for them, 06:56 You are gonna have to take care of them 06:58 I'll overdo in Your work. 07:00 You go to the point where you realize Lord, 07:02 they are Yours they are not ours. 07:04 They never will be ours they have always been Yours. 07:07 And You let them go, 07:09 that doesn't mean you don't miss them, 07:10 that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt, 07:12 that doesn't mean you don't miss family times with them 07:15 special occasions like Thanksgiving 07:16 and Christmas or you know Easter 07:19 or things like that are family traditions 07:21 but you realize that they are doing 07:24 something far more valuable that's eternal. 07:45 I'm happy to welcome my colleague 07:47 and friend Pastor Myron Iseminger 07:50 who is the undersecretary for the World Church. 07:53 Now, Myron, that means that you give leadership 07:56 to the mission program over the church in many ways 08:00 but you don't just sit at the desk thinking about policy. 08:04 You have actually experienced mission service 08:06 and it goes a long way back. 08:08 When did you first remember being interested in mission? 08:13 Well, Gary, I grew up in a Christian home 08:15 and I remember I love to read mission stories. 08:19 And I had never really thought that I would go as a missionary 08:24 until my oldest sister spent a year as a volunteer 08:27 in Japan teaching English. 08:29 And it was during that year 08:31 I saw what a difference it made in her life 08:34 that I vow that I was going to do the same thing. 08:38 So I took a year out of my university experience 08:42 and went to a part of the world 08:43 that I had always been interested in 08:46 actually I was living in Jerusalem. 08:48 Oh, wow. What did you do there? 08:51 We also had an English language school 08:53 there at that time. 08:54 It was in east Jerusalem 08:55 so I was mostly teaching Palestinian students 08:59 and during that year for the first time 09:02 I put myself in their place. Right. 09:06 And I thought, wow how would my life be different 09:09 if I had been born into their home? 09:13 Would I--would anyone have told me about Jesus? 09:17 Would I have had the peace and happiness 09:20 that came from being a Christian? 09:22 And after that year I went back committed 09:25 to wanting to go for a longer mission service. 09:29 Wow, so you were like just a teenager back then? Right. 09:33 So, what was the next step? 09:35 Well, as I was dating my wife we talked about mission service 09:42 and she also was willing to go. 09:44 She had never been out of her home country 09:47 here in the US. 09:48 But we had an opportunity after our daughter was born. 09:54 She was a couple of years old and we got to go back 09:57 to the Middle East this time to Egypt. 09:59 Now, that's a fascinating country. 10:02 It is, it's-- the history is rich, 10:05 the people we fell in love with the people, 10:08 the food but as far as Christianity 10:13 and mission, it's a little more difficult country to work in. 10:19 Now that's an understatement. 10:21 The Adventist Church has been present in Egypt 10:23 I guess for more than 100 years now 10:27 but what are the main challenges we face in Egypt? 10:31 Well, officially the country is more open 10:36 than many in the Middle East 10:38 but of course there is still the distinction. 10:41 If you are born a Christian, you can remain a Christian. 10:45 If you are born into the predominant religion 10:47 of that area then it's expected 10:50 that you will remain so. 10:52 Right and to be an Egyptian 10:53 is to remain in that religion. Right. 10:55 So what did you do when you were in Egypt? 10:58 Well, I worked for our church office 11:01 there in administration treasury 11:05 and so I didn't have a lot of it, 11:07 time to spend in the frontlines as we would say 11:12 as in some other areas of the world. 11:14 But we spent a lot of time getting acquainted 11:18 with the people there. 11:21 You know, Mohammad our vegetable man 11:24 we became good friends with 11:26 and they were just so many instances 11:29 where we could relate on a personal basis with people. 11:32 Great, so from Egypt what was the next stage? 11:36 Well, there is one thing that I want to share about Egypt 11:41 and that was that we didn't see a lot of results 11:45 from our work and it's easy to get discouraged. 11:48 We have a lot of missionaries 11:49 that are working in hard areas like that. 11:52 But it was actually just a few months ago 11:54 when I got a report that really encouraged me 11:57 about that time we had spent. 11:59 One of my colleagues was traveling in Europe 12:02 and ran into a family 12:04 that I had got acquainted with during that time in Egypt. 12:08 The young man was raised in a home 12:12 where his mother was Christian 12:15 and his father was of another faith. 12:18 And so he struggled what he should do. 12:22 His mother came to our church I got acquainted with him 12:26 and you know we studied together 12:28 he ask a lot of questions I answered his questions 12:31 but we lost contact over the years. 12:34 And it was just this year that I found out 12:36 through his mother telling the colleague of mine 12:39 that he had decided to make a stand for Christ 12:44 and is now a faithful practicing Christian. 12:47 Now, that's encouraging. 12:49 So, from Egypt you went to where? 12:52 We came back to the US by the end 12:55 we had a couple of kids and for their schooling. 12:58 We worked here for a few years 12:59 but we still had that burning desire to go out 13:02 and so we did have an opportunity again 13:04 to go this time to Asia. 13:06 And we enjoyed our time there again. 13:10 It's a fascinating part of the world 13:13 and we were able to be 13:15 a little bit more open in sharing our faith there. 13:18 Yeah, now, that's where I first met you 13:20 and there the territories that you are helping care for 13:24 it's a very diverse mission area. 13:27 You had, you are in the heart of the 10/40 Window. 13:30 That's right. 13:32 Myron, what have you gained from your mission experience? 13:36 Well, first I think it has helped me more than 13:40 I feel it's helped the people I went to serve. 13:43 And that's the-- the most interesting thing 13:45 about mission service, it changes us. 13:48 And when I came back even from that year 13:51 as a student missionary, it enforced me to think 13:55 through my beliefs and to understand 13:58 and improve my relationship with God. 14:01 But I think it also gave me 14:04 a better understanding of other cultures 14:07 and that we are all different 14:10 but God all created us with a need for Him. 14:13 And that's really what missionaries are out there doing 14:17 is they are telling people what that empty spot in 14:20 their heart is and that's of course is Jesus. 14:24 Now, the Seventh-day Adventist church 14:28 still sends missionaries. 14:30 I'm surprised how often I get the question, 14:32 does a church still sends missionary. 14:34 How many do we send? 14:36 Well, it depends on what classification of missionaries. 14:39 When you are talking career missionaries 14:42 we have right now, I think 453 families filling 14:48 I think 700 posts around the world 14:51 of course husband and wife are being some of those. 14:54 But then we send volunteer missionaries, 14:58 there are short term missionaries. 15:00 So there are hundreds more. 15:02 Global Mission pioneers, 15:03 interdivision missionaries here. Right, right. 15:07 Myron, thank you so much for taking time 15:09 to share from your own experience with us today. 15:12 And viewers at home, yes, the Adventist church 15:14 still does send missionaries all around the world. 15:18 We like to say from everywhere to everywhere. 15:21 And as Myron has pointed out it can get lonely, 15:24 it can get discouraging, sometimes you don't see 15:27 the sort of results that you want 15:29 and you wonder whether this is where 15:30 God has placed you. 15:31 So please continue to pray for missionaries. 15:35 Pray that God will be with them, will bless their work, 15:38 will encourage them and so that they can help 15:40 build God's kingdom where they are. 16:22 My guest is Laurie Falvo, 16:24 who works with me in the office of Adventist Mission 16:26 at the General Conference. 16:28 Laurie, you are involved in communication 16:30 and you do a lot of work on our Global Mission newsletters. 16:34 How do you feel when you see these 16:35 church planting stories come through? Very excited. 16:38 Yeah, people's lives have been changed. They are. 16:41 Now, you recently came back from South Africa 16:44 and we hear a lot about 16:45 the Southern half of the continent of Africa 16:47 where the church is booming, thousands of baptisms, 16:50 but there is a still a bit of challenge in mission? 16:52 Of course yes, especially in our big cities. Yeah. 16:56 On the Sabbath I was there we were able to visit 16:58 three churches in South Africa. 17:01 At the first one in Pretoria 17:03 we met probably about ten Global Mission pioneers 17:06 and we were able to go off into a quite room 17:08 and talk with them about their work that they are doing 17:11 and their challenges and their successes. 17:13 And they are doing some really exciting things. 17:15 They just had a huge evangelistic meeting series 17:19 where before the meeting started they studied with 500 people. 17:23 They had a huge health expo 17:26 attended by a 1,100 people 17:28 and after the meetings they had quite a few baptisms, 17:31 they are still following up on those. 17:33 But the exciting thing is that 17:34 the people who have been baptized 17:36 have formed small groups 17:37 and they are now reaching out to other people 17:40 their friends you know, the people in their communities 17:42 and a Global Mission pioneers 17:44 are heading up those small groups. 17:46 So this is, you know the thing that is so amazing to me 17:49 about South Africa is these people 17:51 the church members want to be so involved. 17:54 As soon as they come in their mind set is, 17:56 how can I be part of this? 17:58 How can I reach out to other people? 17:59 How can I let them know what I know and share? 18:02 Now, for some one who may be viewing this program 18:05 for the first time what is a Global Mission pioneer? 18:08 A Global Mission pioneer is a person 18:10 "who kind of like a missionary" 18:13 except that they are from the area where they work. 18:17 They already know the language they know the culture 18:20 they work on a small stipend they serve as-- 18:25 in a pastoral role, they do evangelistic meetings, 18:29 home to home Bible studies. 18:32 And the goal is to plant a new church. 18:34 Plant churches, they raise up new groups of believers 18:36 and then eventually they plant churches. Yeah. 18:39 Now Laurie, you were telling me 18:40 about one of the pioneers Jubulani, 18:42 can you tell me his story? 18:44 Yeah, this is a very, very exciting thing for me. 18:48 There was a pastor-- he was a pastor 18:50 who was heading up a Christian church 18:53 of a different denomination in Johannesburg. 18:57 And somehow he came in contact 18:59 with the concept of Sabbath being a question. 19:03 Some other Christians were asking him about it. 19:06 So he wanted to study this matter out 19:08 and there was a Global Mission pioneer couple 19:11 that began studying with him. 19:14 Untill they got to the issue with the Sabbath 19:17 and then they turned over the meetings 19:19 to Pastor Sibanda and his wife 19:22 who are another Global Mission couple. 19:25 And they studied this out together 19:28 and Pastor Jubulani decided that 19:33 he wanted to keep the Sabbath this was the truth 19:36 but he had a couple of really huge challenges 19:38 and one was whether his wife would accept it 19:41 because he and she had started this church together. 19:45 And he needed her support 19:47 and the other thing is what to do with his congregation. 19:50 You know his choice was 19:51 he could just leave them all together 19:53 and but he didn't want to do that. 19:55 He wanted to share the message with them 19:57 and give them an opportunity to make a decision themselves. 20:00 So he asked Pastor Sibanda and his wife 20:03 to come to their church on a Sunday 20:06 and talk about the Ten Commandments 20:08 and the Sabbath which they did. 20:10 The congregation was very interested 20:12 and they pressed for them coming back 20:14 the following Sunday which they did. 20:17 Two weeks later after meeting on these two Sundays, 20:20 the congregation looks at Pastor Jubulani 20:23 and says to him what do we gonna do about this? 20:27 You know we believe that the Sabbath 20:29 is a Sabbath of the Bible. 20:33 We want to begin worshiping at, what you're gonna do. 20:35 So he looks at them and he says 20:37 well, actually I have been waiting on 20:38 you all to make a decision, 20:39 make sure you are comfortable with this. 20:42 So the very next Sabbath he puts a sign up on the door 20:45 services will be held on Saturday, 20:47 we will be closed Sunday. 20:49 And the-- the entire congregation 20:51 except for a few people 20:53 becomes a Seventh-day Adventist church, 20:55 they just completely switchover. 20:58 So Pastor Sibanda then holds an evangelistic series 21:02 and 23 people are baptized 21:05 including Pastor Jubulani's wife. 21:09 So they are all united in this. 21:12 And then they began reaching out to the people 21:14 who have left and over the last few years 21:17 many of those individuals have comeback as well. 21:20 And the church now is growing so quickly with the members 21:24 reaching out to the community 21:26 that they have outgrown the church that they ran 21:28 and they're actually needing to find a new location. 21:31 Well, it seems like they have 21:32 a real comprehensive plan of follow up, 21:36 not just going to an evangelistic series, 21:38 baptize them, see you later. 21:40 No, they do, they follow through with the Bible studies, 21:45 they pray for people, lot of home visitation. 21:48 Now, you met some other pioneers as well? 21:50 Well, I talked to Pastor Sibanda and his wife 21:53 and they have a very interesting story too. 21:57 After they became Christians 21:58 Pastor Sibanda was accused of a crime 22:03 that he says he did not commit and he went to prison. 22:06 He was in prison for quite a few months, awaiting trail. 22:10 His wife came to visit him in prison all the time 22:13 and they would get together on Sabbaths. 22:16 Eventually what happened is, the wardens got upset about this 22:20 and they told her she could no longer come. 22:23 His case--there was never any paper work about his crime, 22:28 the court through his case out all together. 22:32 The very next Sabbath after the wardens had told 22:35 Mrs. Sibanda that she couldn't come to church 22:37 anymore at the prison 22:39 they walked in hand in hand to begin a prison ministry. 22:42 They felt impressed while they were 22:44 that they were such a great need for Jesus in the prison. 22:47 She specifically ministers to young men 22:49 between the ages of say 13 and 17. 22:52 Just the young ones. 22:54 And she has seen a lot of changed lives 22:57 and interestingly the wardens now call her 23:01 and they tell her there's somebody here 23:02 you need to come and counsel. 23:03 There is somebody in here you need to pray for 23:05 and they are actually inviting them to come 23:07 and to do their prison ministries. 23:09 So I think he was cleared of the crime. 23:11 He was. 23:12 In fact he told me that in hindsight 23:14 he actually feels like it was a blessing. 23:16 As hard as it was to go through for both of them 23:19 that it was a blessing from God 23:21 because it began this whole new ministry for them. 23:24 How do you feel when you met with some of these pioneers? 23:29 Mrs. Sibanda cried with me. It was very moving. 23:32 You know she shared just how hard that was. 23:35 She said that there was a time that she felt like leaving God, 23:38 leaving the church everything but then she said I remembered 23:42 Jesus called me out of the devil dancing 23:45 that I was doing and I said to Him 23:48 I cannot go back, I must go forward with Your help. 23:51 Wonderful. 23:52 Laurie, thanks so much for sharing with us today. 23:54 Thank you, Gary. 23:55 Whenever I meet Global Mission pioneers 23:57 like Laurie I'm humbled when I see their sacrifice, 24:01 when I see their wonderful commitment. 24:03 It can be so challenging as a pioneer in a new area 24:06 or among a new people group. 24:08 Where do you start, 24:09 it can be lonely, it can be discouraging. 24:11 So please, continue to pray for Global Mission pioneers, 24:15 that the Holy Spirit will be there to guide them, 24:18 to comfort them in their important work. 24:31 This small group of believers make up 24:33 the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Ingwavuma, South Africa. 24:37 This group was formed several years ago 24:40 when two Global Mission pioneers came 24:42 and started sharing the gospel with the local community. 24:46 Over the years the group has grown 24:48 and now they are a full fledged church 24:51 with more than 80 members. 24:53 They love to sing 24:54 and they love to hear the message of Jesus 24:56 and the new life that can be found in Him. 25:09 The church now has a district pastor 25:11 and the only problem the church faces 25:13 is a lack of space. 25:15 Currently they are meeting in the local community building, 25:18 but they have to share the space 25:20 and it gets very crowded, even for Friday night vespers. 25:24 You should see how packed they are on Sabbath morning. 25:27 The church's children don't have a room of their own to meet in, 25:30 so they worship under a tree 25:33 by the side of the main road through town. 25:35 They also love to sing and learn about Jesus. 25:47 Your 13th Sabbath Offerings 25:49 will help to provide a new church 25:51 for the members in Ingwavuma. 25:53 A plot of land has been obtained 25:55 and now all they need are the funds 25:57 to build their new spiritual home. 26:00 A small room will also be built 26:02 where the children can meet as well 26:04 and also have a place 26:05 where they can invite their friends to come 26:07 and learn about Jesus. 26:10 Your faithful support of both Global Mission 26:13 and the Mission Offering has made this project possible. 26:17 Global Mission provided the workers 26:19 who planted the seeds in Ingwavuma 26:21 that have now grown into a full church. 26:24 Now your Mission Offerings will continue the work 26:27 that was started by Global Mission. 26:30 Please pray for the members in Ingwavuma 26:33 as they continue to grow 26:34 and share their newfound faith with their friends, 26:38 families and neighbors. 26:41 Thank you for your prayerful support of the Mission 26:44 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 26:53 Over the years I had a privilege of meeting hundreds 26:56 of Global Mission pioneers in various parts of the world. 27:00 They always leave me humbled with their spirit of mission, 27:04 their spirit of sacrifice. 27:06 If you enjoy stories of pioneers missionaries and mission 27:10 you want a copy of the mission stories for kids DVD. 27:14 It's designed for kids but it's not just for kids. 27:17 So if you live in North America 27:19 and would like a free copy of this DVD 27:22 simply call our toll free number 1800-648-5824 27:28 or visit our website and ask for the Mission Stories 27:31 for Kids DVD or offer number 304. 27:36 And don't forget to clearly state your name 27:38 and address and be sure to mention 27:40 Mission Stories for Kids DVD or offer 304. 27:45 Well, that's it for today's program. 27:47 Thanks so much for joining us 27:48 and I hope you have been inspired 27:50 by what you have seen and heard. 27:53 On behalf of Adventist missionaries 27:54 and Global Mission pioneers serving all around the world 27:58 thank you for your continuing prayers 28:00 and your support for frontline mission. 28:03 Until next time I'm Gary Krause 28:05 for Adventist mission. God bless.>> |
Revised 2014-12-17