Participants: Gary Krause (Host), Earley Simon, Gina Wahlen
Series Code: GMS
Program Code: GMS000065A
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00:01 If you took all the pages
00:02 that this publishing house has printed 00:04 and you put them end to end 00:06 they would pave all the way to Saturn and back again. 00:11 That's around 2.5 billion kilometers. 00:13 That's a lot of paper 00:15 and I guess a lot of former trees. 00:17 Well, we will visit that publishing house today 00:19 and much more on Global Mission Snapshots. 00:34 Just before He went up to heaven, 00:37 Jesus gave us a command. 00:40 He gave us a mission. 00:43 Jesus said "Go, 00:45 go unto all the world telling them of His love." 00:50 This is our mission. This is our Global Mission. 01:00 Hello, I'm Gary Krause 01:01 and welcome to Global Mission Snapshots. 01:03 Today we travel to Russia to meet a young man 01:06 who believes that's vitally important 01:08 to live a drug free life. 01:10 His example is striking contrast to may other students his age 01:15 and he is actually getting the respect of friends 01:17 have started going church with him 01:19 and they are learning about the Bible. 01:21 We'll also visit a Life Hope Center, 01:24 an urban center of influence 01:25 right in the heart of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. 01:29 And we will meet a one year 01:30 in mission volunteer to New York City 01:33 who's now back home training other volunteers 01:36 to reach people in the cities. 01:38 All this much more, so buckle your seat belts 01:41 our first stop is Russia. 01:51 The Seventh-day Adventist message 01:53 entered the Euro-Asia region 01:54 very early in a miraculous way. 01:57 In the early days, new converts to America 02:00 sent tracks back to their relatives and friends in Russia. 02:03 This made a precious impact upon key figures at that time. 02:07 The church grew slowly from 1880 to 1990. 02:11 It was only 110 years later, 02:13 after Perestroika or the restructuring 02:16 that the religious persecution ceased 02:18 and the church was able to officially organize. 02:21 In Russia, the church continues to use literature 02:23 as a means of spreading the good news. 02:26 The Source of Life Publishing House prints many books, 02:29 magazines and other pieces of literature. 02:32 Their mission is to empower members for better service 02:35 and to bring many more 02:36 to a deeper understanding of the Bible. 02:40 We are distributing books around the world 02:43 to where there are Russian communities. 02:45 We sell books to Europe, Israel, the United States, 02:48 South America and other parts of the world. 02:51 We are producing about 40 new books each year. 02:54 We produce mostly in Russian 02:56 and five other different languages. 02:58 As far as quantities is concerned 03:00 there are some interesting statistics. 03:03 If you count the pages we have produced since the beginning 03:06 it would pave the way to Saturn, back and forth. 03:09 billion kilometers. 03:13 We have big perceptive for the future. 03:16 Although the machinery here is more than 20 years old 03:18 and the workers aren't enough 03:20 for the demand the staff aims high. 03:23 The goal to evangelize the world is always in mind. 03:27 We exist to support church mission. 03:30 All that we produce is aim to support the church 03:32 to succeed on the mission field. 03:35 Right next door to the publishing house is Zaoksky. 03:38 Zaoksky Adventist Seminary has emerged 03:40 from years of strict communist rule. 03:43 After numerous petitions to the Soviet authorities 03:46 the Seventh-day Adventist church was give permission 03:48 to open a three year course for training ministers. 03:51 In 1998, Zaoksky opened 03:54 as the first protestant seminary in Russian history. 03:58 The students who first came to the seminary 04:01 were overjoyed to begin study. 04:03 In the beginning there was just theology 04:06 but soon new programs were added and the school grew. 04:11 Today, Zaoksky enrolls more then 600 students. 04:15 In addition to religion, business, language, 04:18 music and agriculture programs are offered. 04:21 Zaoksky also offers classes 04:23 from kindergarten to high school. 04:26 Anton is a theology student here, 04:28 after leaving the church for many years 04:31 he was re-baptized and dedicated his life to teaching Bible. 04:35 There is a special atmosphere here, 04:38 the teachers will support the students 04:40 and we live here as one family. 04:46 Haena's parents came here as missionaries from Korea. 04:49 They are working in the area 04:51 as Haena studies the Russian and English languages. 04:54 I like it very much because the nature is beautiful, 04:58 people are kind and this is our church school 05:00 with a wholesome Christian education. 05:03 The university recently completed 20 years of service 05:06 and they continue to make an impact in this region. 05:10 Zaoksky is located about 80 miles 05:12 south of Russia's capital. 05:14 Moscow is the largest city in the Euro-Asia region 05:18 with the population of more than 11 million people 05:20 and the world famous buildings like 05:22 the Kremlin, Saint Basil's Cathedral, 05:24 the State Historical Museum and Lenin's Mausoleum. 05:28 The city is full of sites and life. 05:30 From crowed streets and parks to tall buildings 05:33 and luxurious lifestyles 05:34 there is a lot to encounter here. 05:39 Next we travel to the former Soviet Union 05:41 and more specifically to Ukraine 05:44 and to tell us about that area of the world is Gina Walker. 05:47 Gina, thanks for joining us. Glad to be here. 05:49 Gina, here we have a couple of magazines, 05:53 Children's Mission, Youth and Adult Mission. 05:55 With in the Adventist Church 05:57 we know these as the mission quarterlies. 05:59 That's right. 06:00 And you edit these magazines 06:02 and you get stories from all around the world. 06:06 What does it make you feel like 06:08 when you listen to someone 06:11 who is telling you how their life 06:12 has been changed by Jesus Christ? 06:15 It is a wonderful privilege, Gary. 06:17 I love going around the world and talking with people, 06:21 whose lives have been changed by Jesus. 06:24 And recently I was in the former Soviet Union countries, 06:27 I was in Russian and Ukraine 06:29 and I met some amazing people there. 06:32 Now for you this was almost like going home 06:34 because you served there form some years. 06:35 That's right. 06:36 We were there our family form 1992 to 1998 06:41 teaching at the seminary in Zoaksky, Russian 06:44 which is about 75 miles south of Moscow. 06:47 Okay, so going to Ukraine, tell me a story from there. 06:51 Ukraine, well, I met a young man named Vladimir 06:56 and he told me the most amazing story. 06:59 Vladimir, he grew up alone with his mom, 07:02 his dad was out of the picture 07:04 when he was only three years old 07:06 and they had very little resources. 07:09 They lived in a very small apartment, 07:12 didn't have enough money for food or electricity. 07:16 His mother became very depressed and in fact decided 07:20 she wanted to commit suicide. 07:23 She made plans, she would send Vladimir off to an orphanage 07:27 and then she would take her life. 07:29 The day came, she looked at Vladimir 07:33 and she couldn't do it. 07:34 She just hugged him and hugged him, 07:38 cried and decided 07:40 she was gonna try to make it through. 07:43 So for the next few years they eked out in existence, 07:48 she worked at a cafe, things were going okay. 07:53 Vladimir turned 12 years old 07:56 and again she went into a deep depression decided 08:00 this is it I just cannot continue any longer, 08:03 I was gonna commit suicide. 08:06 And a friend came up, and invited to her to a concert 08:09 that was being held 08:10 at a Seventh-day Adventist Church. 08:13 And she liked music and she thought, well, 08:15 it wouldn't hurt to go. 08:16 So she decided to go with her friend. 08:19 This concert changed her life. 08:22 A beautiful concert on the life of Christ 08:26 with narration in between the songs. 08:29 After that concert, she came home 08:32 and she told Vladimir, you know I learned today 08:36 that there is a God who loves us 08:39 and who cares about us 08:41 and I want to know more about this God. 08:44 Vladimir was excited 08:46 he could see a real change in his mother. 08:49 Her face just lit up and she said, 08:53 what I think we need do is, get a Bible 08:56 but I don't know where. 08:58 And can you imaging not knowing where to get a Bible, 09:02 it's so easy for us, you know, I have had a Bible 09:04 since I was child I'm sure you probably did too. 09:07 But here these people are where can they get a Bible. 09:11 Well, few weeks went by 09:13 and Vladimir's mom came home one day, 09:16 I found where we can get a Bible. 09:19 Vladimir was excited just one problem it wasn't cheap 09:23 it would cost two weeks of her wages 09:27 and that meant no money for food. 09:32 You know, what are they gonna do? 09:34 So she approaches Vladimir, 09:36 here is a situation what do you think? 09:41 You think we can go without food for two weeks 09:43 in order to get this Bible? 09:46 And Vladimir said, yes. 09:48 Now here is a 12 year old boy 09:50 willing to go without food for two weeks 09:53 so he and his mom can have Bible. 09:57 You know, and so-- 09:59 Its Sobering, isn't it? 10:00 It is. It is. 10:02 So, they bought the Bible. 10:05 They were hungry for food 10:08 but their hunger for the word for Jesus was satisfied 10:13 and everyday they read that Bible 10:17 their lives were completely changed, 10:19 they learned more about God, 10:22 they started studies 10:23 with the Seventh-day Adventist pastor 10:25 and they were later baptized. 10:28 Fantastic, you know, when you look at places 10:32 that were communist countries former communist countries, 10:36 that hunger for the Word of God 10:38 today it seems that materialism 10:42 has crept in a little bit more and it's more challenging now. 10:46 That's right, back then the countries 10:48 were just coming out of communism 10:51 things were wide open. 10:53 Today its -- its different 10:55 there is a lot more materialism not so much hunger for the word 11:01 but there are still people seeking 11:03 and we are finding ways to reach those people. 11:07 Now when you were at Zaoksky, 11:10 you were teaching young people 11:12 who now have become leaders I guess in that region? 11:15 That's right, we were privileged 11:17 to teach people from all over the Soviet Union 11:20 and those people now have gone back, 11:23 they are leaders throughout the Euro-Asia division. 11:27 Some are teaching there at Zaoksky 11:29 and there time to time we get to see them again 11:32 and it is really like going home 11:35 when we go back to Russia, Ukraine 11:39 it's great, it a privilege. 11:41 Now did you have kids when you were serving there? 11:44 Yes, our elder son Daniel is nine moths old, 11:47 when we went over there and so he grew up there 11:50 and he went first grade there in Zaoksky 11:53 and then our last year there we had our second child Heller 11:57 so she spent her first year there. 11:59 Well, Gina, thank you so much for sharing with us 12:02 and these magazines our viewers at home, 12:05 if you don't attend an Adventist church 12:07 and you don't hear these stories every week 12:09 you can actually find them on out website. 12:11 How do they find that, Gina? 12:13 Just simply go to our website AdventistMission.org, 12:17 go under resources and they can find 12:19 both of these magazines the adult and youth children's 12:23 just right there under resources 12:25 as well is DVD's of many of these same stories. 12:29 Fantastic. 12:30 So AdventistMission.org 12:32 for many stories, pictures, videos 12:34 about mission around the world. 12:36 Don't go away we'll be back right after a short break. |
Revised 2014-12-17