Participants: Gary Krause (Host), Earley Simon, Gina Wahlen
Series Code: GMS
Program Code: GMS000065B
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00:01 Welcome back to Global Mission Snapshots.
00:02 I'm talking with Earley Simon, 00:04 who is the producer of this program. 00:06 Welcome, Earley. 00:08 We're talking about Euro-Asia, but I also want to talk about 00:12 a mission initiative called One Year in Mission, 00:15 tell me about that. 00:16 One Year Mission is part of the focus of the church 00:19 into entering the cities 00:21 and reaching people in the cities. 00:23 This is the program 00:25 where 13 people have been selected 00:26 from all over the world. 00:28 They come from each division, each region of the world 00:30 and they met in New York for six months, it's one year 00:34 because they will spend six months in New York, 00:36 they will take what they've learned there 00:37 and bring that back home and teach all their leaders, 00:40 so that they can keep passing to knowledge on. 00:42 Right and so-- so these while these are 14 including 00:46 representatives from the Middle East. 00:47 These 14 people came to New York, 00:50 and the ideas is this-- this one now multiplies are they 00:53 young people give a year of their life. 00:54 That's right. 00:55 And as I was visited Euro-Asia I met Anna. 00:58 Anna was one of the people 01:00 who were selected for the One Year in Mission. 01:01 Sort of very interesting story, 01:03 she went to a very good school in Russia. 01:06 It was a state school and she knew that 01:08 God had led her there for the studies 01:10 and she is now-- was graduating, 01:12 she was ready to go out. 01:13 And she was excited to put her knowledge to work 01:15 and so she applied everywhere. 01:16 Sent resumes all over the place 01:18 and she expected to get a job quickly 01:20 but that wasn't the case. 01:22 She tried and tried and even though 01:23 she had the qualifications the studies were there 01:26 she couldn't get a job and she didn't understand why. 01:29 So she began to pray, she knelt down and said, Lord, 01:31 please help me to find a job you know. 01:33 I know, You've led me up to here, 01:35 I know You've let me to school and my diplomas here 01:37 and what do I do with this now? 01:39 And as she prayed she encountered 01:41 the youth director for her conference. 01:44 And they started talking and sharing ideas, 01:46 she shared her experience she was looking for job. 01:49 And he remember that One Year in Mission Project, 01:51 so he mention that to her and said, 01:53 you should apply you know. 01:54 There is probably lot of people applying, 01:56 there is only one person that will go 01:57 and represent our division but you should apply. 02:00 And she did, she didn't expect much of it. 02:03 And I don't know how much later she got a call from him, 02:05 saying you know, you've been 02:06 the one selected to go represent us. 02:08 So she was super excited. 02:11 And she went to New York spent six months there. 02:13 And what they did is, when they got there 02:16 they received a lot of training in medical missionary work, 02:21 evangelism you know, door to door approach 02:24 and how to give Bible studies and pray with people 02:26 and communication skills and bunch of other things. 02:29 And they didn't only get lectures but they actually, 02:32 were encouraged to put that into practice. 02:34 So the 14 people got together and said, what do we do now 02:38 to connect with the community? 02:40 And what they did was they would go door to door 02:42 in their neighborhood and ask people 02:44 if they had any needs-- 02:46 if no, if they wanted to be prayed for. 02:49 And they would even stop you from street giving hugs 02:51 if they wanted to and pray with them. 02:53 They just started really interacting with the community 02:55 you know, trying to spend time with them and befriend them. 02:58 And when they did that, they got names, contacts, 03:01 they started doing the cooking classes, 03:03 stop smoking programs and-- and a few other things 03:06 just to help the community you know. 03:09 And all those ideas that they've got there 03:11 and some others they were able bring back to their region 03:15 and Anna was super excited 03:16 because she learned a bunch of things 03:17 and now she was trying in her area. 03:19 And some of these things were-- 03:22 these are people would think of them 03:23 is not this won't work here. 03:25 But they tired it anyway and it's amazing 03:28 those things are working and not only working 03:30 and bringing more people to the church 03:32 but as they trained others in their region 03:35 they also try new ideas and passing this knowledge on. 03:39 This work like a springboard 03:41 you know to whole bunch of leaders 03:43 they come out of one program in New York City. 03:45 Fantastic, now how long will she be working 03:48 as a volunteer back on them? 03:51 The project was six months in New York, 03:54 six months in her region 03:55 but this is volunteer work so she can continue on 03:58 and that's what she wants to do. 04:00 Now I had a couple of days up in New York 04:02 with these young people and tremendous young people, 04:05 variety of backgrounds and we spend a couple of days 04:09 talking about Christ's method of the ministry 04:11 and I think the holistic method of ministry 04:15 is really the only way 04:17 that we're going to have any success 04:19 whatsoever in the cities. 04:22 That's what the thing that I think they took away as well 04:24 is that personal touch in relating to people. 04:28 We often hear the verse 04:29 "Go ye--go you into all the world." 04:33 Sometimes you think oh, I just send a book, 04:34 I'll just send the donation or I'll send a TV program, 04:36 but that's one thing that I felt from Anna. 04:38 She really got that she needs to be involved, 04:41 she needs to be the one to go to spend time with people 04:44 to meet their needs and to befriend them 04:46 and only then you can safely ask someone to follow Jesus 04:49 after they know you that you trust, 04:50 you have won their confidence. 04:53 Now when you're visiting in the Euro-Asia region, 04:58 you know, when the full of communism came 05:02 it seem like people very open to hearing the Christian message 05:05 and the Seventh-day Adventist Church 05:08 had many baptism et cetera, 05:09 today it seems secularism, 05:13 materialism it's pretty dominant. 05:15 How did you find things? You put it very well. 05:20 The church is working hard to reach the people in the city. 05:24 One thing that struck me, quite a bit was 05:27 when I arrived there you see these beautiful 05:29 church buildings, cathedrals 05:30 and you know mosques and like and the Adventist Church 05:34 doesn't have a lot of those big buildings. 05:37 So it really comes down to the level 05:38 where you have to befriend people and interact with them, 05:41 they are not gonna come to the Adventist Church 05:42 because of what we have to present 05:45 these infrastructure and buildings. 05:46 Right. But the church is growing. 05:49 I met a couple of mafia people or former mafia guys. 05:54 Good they are former. 05:55 And these are not typical guys like my size, 05:57 these are the big guys with scars 05:59 and you can see that they really had a tough life. 06:03 But the church is reaching to those individuals 06:04 as well as other individuals in many different ways. 06:08 But put some of the bad thing 06:09 that we don't have too many of the big structures 06:11 because it takes spec to the New Testament model 06:14 where the church grew meeting people's homes it wasn't 06:19 because that will come into some magnificent cathedral. 06:21 Right, right. 06:23 Well, Earley, thank you so much for joining us today 06:25 and telling us that story. 06:26 My pleasure. 06:27 And viewers at home, 06:28 please pray for the young people 06:30 involved in the One Year in Mission Program, 06:34 going to New York City they had the opportunity 06:36 to hear a lot of things, to pray a lot, 06:39 to actually be involved in various models of ministry. 06:42 And now they back home 06:43 putting Christ method into practice 06:46 where they're mingling with people, 06:47 they're showing sympathy, 06:48 they are ministering to needs, their wining confidence 06:51 and they're leading people to Jesus Christ. 06:55 If you want to find out more about Adventist Mission 06:57 and One Year in Mission you can go to our website 07:00 @AdventistMission.org. 07:03 Don't go away we'll be right back after this break. |
Revised 2014-12-17