Participants: Gary Krause (Host), Jon Paulsen, Marshall & Rosemary McKenzie
Series Code: GMS
Program Code: GMS000036
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00:01 On today's program former Seventh-day Adventist
00:04 world church president Jan Paulsen's 00:06 conversation with young people 00:08 and how Adventists are touching lives through health programs 00:12 in challenging places in the 10/40 Window. 00:26 Just before He went up to heaven, 00:29 Jesus gave us a command. 00:31 He gave us a mission. Jesus said, go. 00:37 Go unto all the world, telling them of His love. 00:42 This is our mission. This is our "Global Mission." 00:51 Hello I am Gary Krause 00:52 and welcome to "Global Mission Snapshots." 00:54 Today we'll be talking with former world church president 00:57 of the Seventh-day Adventist church, Dr. Jan Paulsen. 01:00 While he was president, Dr. Paulsen fielded questions 01:03 from the young Adventists at various meetings 01:06 held in various parts of the world. 01:08 Today Dr. Paulsen will be talking about that experience 01:11 and what he has learnt about mission 01:14 from listening to young people. 01:16 We'll also be talking with an Adventist couple 01:19 who are helping touch lives 01:20 in some of the most challenging 10/40 Window areas. 01:24 They'll be sharing stories about how Adventists 01:26 are ministering to people through holistic ministry. 01:30 We'll also watch a classic Adventist mission video 01:33 called, 'A Cowboy's tale' from South America. 01:36 But first up, let's see how doctors and nurses 01:39 at a hospital in Nigeria 01:42 are touching the lives of children in need. 02:17 And when they are born they don't want their parents to know 02:20 they throw them away. 02:23 Or they bring them to a place where somebody can feed them up. 02:27 When I think of you, I start to smile. 02:32 You are God and you make me so happy. 02:37 People look at me and wonder why I'm smiling all the time 02:43 And I think well, why shouldn't I. 02:47 You make me so happy, 02:56 Jesus, You make me so happy. 03:11 We have a team of nurses who are highly qualified and dedicated, 03:19 taking care of those children and many of them are mothers, 03:23 so they know what they are doing. 03:25 You make me so happy, 03:34 Jesus, You make me so happy. 03:44 Our motto is serving humanity for Christ. 03:49 And that's exactly what we want to do. 03:52 It's my pleasure to introduce our guest Dr. Jan Paulsen. 03:56 Dr. Paulsen, former General Conference president 03:59 heading up the Seventh-day Adventist church, 04:02 has worked in many different capacities for the church, 04:04 as a pastor, as a teacher, as a missionary, 04:07 as a mentor to young people, 04:09 as an administrator, the list goes on. 04:11 You've written many books, Dr. Paulsen. 04:13 I am glad you've come today to share with us. 04:16 This is the most recent book, 04:17 'Let's Talk' hot off the presses. 04:20 Why did you as the General Conference president, 04:23 take time to talk to young people? 04:26 Well, it seems so natural, it seemed normal. 04:29 I mean, they make up the under 32, 04:32 in our church they make up 50%, 04:34 at least 50% of our global family. 04:37 And then many of them feel, oh, somewhat this in franchise. 04:40 They feel that they have no meaningful role 04:45 or place in the church and are overlooked. 04:50 And I felt as president, let me see if I can, 04:53 somehow by conversation with them 04:56 draw them a little bit closer 04:58 into the life of the church, 05:00 may be I also, as an administrator, 05:04 as a church leader have something 05:07 to learn that they can tell me. 05:08 So and to achieve some of that, 05:11 during a seven year period while I was president, 05:15 we held 30 of these live television unscripted, 05:21 many of them shown both on Hope Channel and 3ABN. 05:25 Live conversations in every part of the world, 05:29 from all cultures and yeah, it was a wonderful experience. 05:33 I learned a lot from them 05:36 and it gave them a voice to speak to not just me, 05:39 but to speak to the church. 05:40 There are many who do by watching. 05:42 I remember watching some of these, Dr. Paulsen, 05:45 and my dominant thought was, I am glad it's him and not me 05:49 because you didn't know the questions, 05:51 they could ask anything they wanted, 05:52 it's going on live television. 05:55 Were there any tricky moments? Not really. 05:59 I mean, I said to them typically before we went on the air, 06:03 I said, look, if you want to make 06:05 a fool of yourself, this is your chance. 06:08 Because it was unscripted 06:11 but it became very, very quickly clear to me 06:13 that they felt very protective of the church, 06:17 they felt a strong loyalty to the church. 06:19 They wanted the church, not just them, 06:21 but they wanted the church to look good. 06:24 So they were very, very responsible 06:26 and also I felt in the kind of questions 06:29 that they would like to engage me in. 06:31 Yes, they were some trivial questions also. 06:34 But on the whole, there were questions 06:37 of importance to the church, 06:39 to the life and witness of the church. 06:42 And they were questions which they-- 06:44 who cared profoundly for the church, 06:46 wanted the church leaders to think about it. 06:49 Also interestingly I discovered, 06:53 I mean sometimes I gave them answer, 06:56 I had the answers to most of them I think I probably did. 06:59 But there were times when I did not know, 07:01 and that was not a problem. 07:04 To them the most important thing was, 07:07 they could engage me as a church leader in conversation, 07:11 they were being listened to, and they were being given 07:14 an opportunity to talk to you, to talk to the church. 07:18 And that was the wonderful thing about it. 07:20 Yeah, fantastic. 07:21 Now, Dr. Paulsen, this book, 07:22 'Let's Talk' published by Pacific Press. 07:26 Tell me about the format, 07:27 the way it's structured and its purpose? 07:29 This book was just came out last week 07:31 and we introduced it 07:32 to the General Conference Executive Committee 07:34 which met for their spring meetings 07:36 in Battle Creek, just last week. 07:38 And we gave a copy of it to each member of the committee. 07:42 What we thought in producing this book 07:44 was that we would select, it doesn't solve the main issues 07:51 that came up in these 30 conversations 07:53 because they were a number of core issues 07:56 that kept coming up whether it was in Asia, 07:58 in Africa, in South America, in Europe or in North America. 08:02 Where ever we were, they were core questions 08:04 that kept coming up, questions about 08:07 the function and role of young people in the church, 08:10 question about diversity, race 08:12 and the challenges of cultures which sometimes conflict, 08:16 questions about marriage and co-habitation, 08:18 about homosexuality, about military service, 08:24 about should an Adventist run for election, 08:27 for government office, or for congress or whatever. 08:30 So there were big issues that constantly kept coming 08:33 and they wanted to talk with me about standards. 08:36 Standards of dress, of music, of eating and drinking. 08:40 So these are big issues 08:42 and so we selected a dozen of these 08:46 and made them into chapters in a book. 08:50 At the opening of each chapter, 08:51 however you will find a two-and-half or three pages 08:54 of exact quotations from the young people themselves. 08:58 These were the questions, this is what bothered them, 09:01 we didn't try to polish any of those, so let it be-- 09:04 and some of it may not be comfortable reading 09:07 but it's what they said to the church. 09:10 This is what troubled them. 09:11 This is what they wanted answers to. 09:13 And then I spent the next 7, 8 or 9 pages reflecting 09:19 on what we might possibly say in response to them. 09:23 But we wanted the book to be more than just a book 09:27 which you read and then put on the shelf somewhere. 09:30 We wanted a book to have a active life in the church 09:33 so at the end of each chapter, 09:36 there are, there is a page of conversation starters 09:40 or conversation teasers, that's the way 09:43 by which we are trying to stimulate 09:45 a cross generational conversation into church. 09:48 And frankly you know, 09:49 we need to learn to talk more to each other. 09:53 What happens if you don't talk? 09:54 When people stop talking, they walk away from each other? 09:58 We cannot allow that to happen in our church. 10:01 I want those who are young 10:03 and those of us who are not so young anymore 10:06 to function like a family where we understand each other, 10:09 we care for each other, we embrace each other, 10:13 also our intellect is capable of embracing each other, 10:17 so that we can give some sort of affirmation, 10:20 some sort of authenticity 10:22 to what we stand for and what we share. 10:24 We have to do this together, we need for all, young or old 10:29 to be involved in the life of the church. 10:31 Fantastic, Dr. Paulsen. 10:33 I am sure that-- thank you so much 10:35 for joining us today to talk about this book. 10:38 Viewers at home 'Let's talk,' 10:40 conversations with young Adventists about their church, 10:43 available at Adventist book centers, 10:45 available online and I guess even at amazon.com in time 10:49 so, I just want to briefly read from the back here 10:52 what Dr. Paulsen says, "As I look back, 10:54 I am struck by the richness, beauty and balance 10:57 of what young Adventists men and women have taught me." 11:00 and he talks about, "I continually met 11:03 my master teacher who never tired of teaching 11:06 and re-teaching me the immense value 11:08 of every person for who He died." 11:11 Please pray for the young people in our church, 11:13 the young adults, the young professionals 11:15 who are so vital not just for the future of the church 11:19 but for the present of this church. 11:21 They need to be involved in the mission of this church, 11:23 and they can bring so much, so much strength 11:27 to reaching out to our communities. 12:17 I am very happy to welcome Marshall and Rosemary McKenzie 12:20 who have joined us from the Middle East. 12:23 Thanks for coming. Thank you. 12:24 Now I presume you are doing some other things 12:26 in United States other than visiting me, 12:28 but it's great to have you in our program. 12:30 Now when did you move to the Middle East? 12:33 We moved to the Middle East just, 12:36 it was February, actually of 2011. Okay. 12:39 When we arrived, late in February. 12:41 So you've been there for more than a year. Yeah. 12:43 Now you got kids, 3, 6 and 9. 12:45 That was a pretty big step, right? It was. 12:50 How they are adapting? They are doing very good. 12:52 They had opportunity to make friends 12:55 with kids that are of their age, 12:56 there are some nice group of kids, 12:58 that are very close to their age, 13:00 and it's good, they're enjoying it, 13:03 they are enjoying being able to see. 13:05 Our son said, "Mom, I want to go and see 13:08 all those archeological places. 13:10 So it's good for-- it's good for them. 13:12 That was an experience I will never forget. 13:15 Now, Rosemary, you had a dream since a kid 13:19 to go overseas to do this sort of thing that you're doing. 13:22 Tell me about that? 13:24 Ever since I've been a little girl, 13:26 I always wished that our family could go as missionaries, 13:29 so growing up that never happened, 13:31 but now we've had opportunity to serve in the Middle East 13:36 and so when we were asked to go, 13:38 sure that would be great. Wonderful. 13:40 Now, you are working specifically 13:43 in the area of distributing literature 13:46 to help people in various aspects of their lives. 13:48 You're also involved in helping young people. 13:52 Tell me a story of something that's happening over there. 13:56 You know it's exciting to see 13:59 the young people of the Middle East leading out 14:04 and there is one young man that I really appreciated, 14:09 his friendship, we're growing as friends, 14:11 he is growing, we're friends 14:12 and their families interacts with our children very well. 14:15 And to hear his story 14:17 the fact that he wanted to know God better, 14:22 and through a series of events, 14:24 especially in accident that almost took his life. 14:27 He realized that waking up from a coma that he was in, 14:32 realizing God has a purpose for my life, 14:35 and so he began to follow that purpose. 14:39 Matter of fact he had a dream, 14:42 and in that dream, he saw his friend 14:45 but there was no one else in his village. 14:48 And but they were all congregating, 14:51 his friend said, they're over there, 14:52 they're congregating, they are worshipping together 14:55 and this young man went over to this a group 14:58 and realized all these people were worshipping 15:02 and that his responsibility was to nurture 15:05 these types of families and help people 15:07 to continue to grow closer to God 15:10 and he comes from a war torn area 15:12 and it's exciting to see at the age of 23, 15:16 that here's this young man that gave his life to God 15:18 and now wants to serve God with his whole heart 15:21 and he just wants other people 15:22 to enjoy their relationship with God also 15:25 and have the same joy and service as he's having. 15:28 I mean it's a real encouragement to see those kinds of stories 15:34 come out of the Middle East where sometimes 15:36 people don't think those positive things are happening. 15:39 Now how do you find that people received you as an American 15:46 in a territory that is very sensitive 15:49 at the moment in many political ways. 15:51 How do people respond to you? 15:54 They'd respond very positively, 15:56 because they really appreciate us, 15:59 we appreciate them, we appreciate working with them. 16:02 I found that people have been very friendly to me, 16:06 now of course, in a male society like that, 16:10 it's a little easier, but overall it's been wonderful. 16:14 We've had people get our friends that have come to visit us 16:17 and they've gotten of the airplane 16:18 and people said welcome you know, to our country. 16:21 And they've just been very friendly and very open 16:25 and we've really appreciated that. 16:26 We felt very welcome in the Middle East. 16:29 Rosemary, how about you? 16:31 I would say the same, people are more curious than 16:36 you know sometimes we think that every body hates us or something 16:40 because we are from the United States 16:42 and there's probably people that feel that way, 16:46 but more people are just like, you know, 16:48 they are always asking, where are you from, 16:49 then they would say, and they are like, 16:51 oh, you're- just wanting to understand 16:54 because they don't see a lot of people 16:55 from outside of their culture, 16:57 so they, you know, have whatever idea in their own mind 17:01 and so we also break stereotypes for them. 17:04 Yeah, excellent. 17:06 We were talking before about, 17:08 I think you call them for your life center, 17:11 for your life center, tell me about this? 17:13 The idea is, our goal is just to help the people in the community 17:19 be more aware of their health, 17:22 and so that they can live longer 17:24 and be happier as they are living 17:27 and so this center is for the community, 17:31 it's to help the community, it's to meet community needs. 17:35 And so we actually had some young people join us 17:39 for a couple of weeks and it was exciting to see 17:42 how they were-- we were just doing health screening 17:45 and we didn't expect, the expectation was low 17:49 and in a week we served about 600 people. 17:53 And it was exciting to see them coming 17:55 from all over the city really to come into this 17:58 because they've heard about this for your life center 18:02 and they could get health screening and it was exciting, 18:05 we are meeting people with diabetes, 18:06 that didn't know that they had diabetes 18:09 and we were developing relationships 18:11 and it was exciting to see 18:12 the development of those relationships. 18:16 And we've had young people 18:17 from the Middle East University join us in that 18:21 and with translation and things and to see those two components, 18:26 the young people from outside the Middle East 18:29 and young people from inside the Middle East come together 18:31 and work together to benefit the community 18:34 was just a blessing from God. 18:38 And you told me about a doctor who came and offered to help? 18:41 Yeah, we had this doctor, 18:43 who actually went through the health screening 18:45 they wanted to see what it was about 18:46 they came in, you know, they got their blood pressure, 18:49 they got their finger pricked, you know, for blood glucose 18:52 and then afterwards they said, 18:54 "You know, what you're doing here is a real benefit 18:57 and I work for refugees and we would love for you, 19:03 if you have a chance, if you want to come, 19:04 you let us know, we will give you 500 people in a day. Wow. 19:08 So it was--we saw the doors opening and God just blessing 19:11 because we were meeting a real need in the community 19:16 that existed and people responded to it. 19:19 Rosemary, were you involved in this as well? 19:22 I was involved in a little bit, 19:24 mostly in just helping provide logistical support 19:28 but another contact that was made there was, 19:32 one of the ladies, another missionary wife 19:36 had been praying for an opportunity 19:37 to connect with refugees in our country. 19:40 There's a lot of displaced people 19:41 that are coming into our country right now. 19:43 And she had made phone calls and connect, 19:45 you know, tried to connect with people 19:47 and had made no success at all. 19:50 And so finally she used to say, 19:53 you know, Lord, I don't know to find the opportunity 19:56 to connect with these people but there is a huge need. 19:59 And so because of this health screening 20:02 that was offered, a lot of these people were coming through 20:05 and so she was able to connect with them in a personal way. 20:08 Fantastic. Wonderful. 20:11 Well thank you so much for joining us today. 20:13 I appreciate you and the stories. 20:15 And viewers at home, the Middle East is a place 20:20 with so many people, so many needs, 20:22 and please pray for people such as Marshall and Rosemary 20:26 as they are there serving the people 20:28 and making a difference. 20:36 Manuel Ledesma walks his farm in northwest Argentina. 20:41 At 87 years of age he still works his farm every day. 20:51 He's proud of the fact that he still rides his horse, 20:54 something he had done for the past 80 years. 21:00 As the corn leaves Manuel's hand and falls to the ground 21:03 his sheep quickly fight the chickens for every kernel. 21:07 Manuel not only feeds his literal sheep 21:10 but God's sheep as well. 21:13 Manuel and his wife Elyssia became Adventists 20 years ago, 21:17 and ever since have shared God's love 21:19 with their family and friends. 21:40 Once a week Manuel and his grandson Lucas 21:43 take the short walk to the church 21:45 at the end of their property to prepare for Sabbath. 21:48 This building is home to 20 church members 21:51 and his key to opening the doors of Ojito to the gospel, 21:55 even though his own house doesn't have electricity, 21:58 Manuel has made sure that the little church does. 22:02 The mission offering this quarter 22:03 will help to update the church 22:05 and provide a source of light to a community 22:08 that has been kept in the dark. 22:12 As Manuel sweeps the floor, Lucas practices 22:15 singing his favorite Sabbath song. 22:18 (Foreign language) 22:31 As they start to walk back home, 22:33 Manuel tells his grandson how important it is 22:36 to give back to God and thanks 22:38 for all the blessings they receive from Him. 23:09 Every three months Adventist mission 23:11 produces an inspiring collection of video mission stories 23:14 and reports for the Adventist mission DVD. 23:18 If you haven't seen these videos 23:19 or if your church isn't using them 23:21 to feature mission around the world, 23:23 then we'd like to send you a free sample, 23:25 so you can share it with your church members. 23:28 If you live in North America, and you'd like to receive 23:30 a free sample copy of the Adventist mission DVD, 23:33 just call or visit our website and ask for a sample 'AM DVD' 23:38 or request 'Offer number 301' 23:41 Don't forget to clearly state your name and full address. 23:45 Well that's it for today's program. 23:47 Thank you so much for your continuing prayerful support 23:50 of Global Mission and your weekly mission offerings. 23:54 As we close today's program with a music video, 23:57 may you be inspired to pray for 24:00 and support mission work around the world. 24:03 Until next time, I am Gary Krause 24:05 wishing you God's richest blessing. 24:18 You love me so much more than I could ever know 24:23 Your love is deeper than this world will ever show 24:28 And all of life's beauty shines around this moment now 24:34 The sky and the cliffs they seem to change my life somehow 24:39 And I will, will never be the same 24:45 Never be the same 24:50 I will never be, never be the same. 24:56 Never be the same ever again. 25:05 Here I am waiting Lord, my life is just for you 25:10 Please unfold all the plans that you would have me do 25:16 In all the worlds just a breath and nothing here to stay 25:21 And all of the love we feel will save us anyway 25:26 And I will never be, never be same 25:33 Never be the same. 25:37 I will never be, never be the same 25:43 Never be the same ever again. 26:18 I will never be, never be the same 26:25 Never be the same 26:29 I will never be, never be the same 26:35 Never be the same ever again 26:43 Ever again Ever again 26:54 Never be the same. |
Revised 2014-12-17