Welcome back to
Global Mission Snapshots.
00:00:01.06\00:00:02.97
Next up we're traveling
to the former Soviet Union
00:00:03.00\00:00:06.66
and more specifically
to the country of Ukraine
00:00:06.69\00:00:09.99
and to tell us
about this is Gina Wahlen.
00:00:10.02\00:00:12.61
Gina, thanks so
much for joining us.
00:00:12.64\00:00:15.12
You're the editor
of these publications
00:00:15.15\00:00:17.37
the Mission Magazines
00:00:17.40\00:00:20.12
and in Sabbath
schools around the world
00:00:20.15\00:00:22.88
in Adventist Sabbath
schools these stories
00:00:22.91\00:00:25.44
are told every Sabbath so,
a focus is kept on Mission.
00:00:25.47\00:00:29.54
Gina that's a big responsibility
00:00:29.57\00:00:31.93
to know that you start and
they read around the world.
00:00:31.96\00:00:34.61
Well you know it's
really a privilege, Gary.
00:00:34.64\00:00:36.66
Yeah.
00:00:36.69\00:00:37.72
I love going around the
world seeing mission in action
00:00:37.75\00:00:41.43
seeing God move
in people's lives
00:00:41.46\00:00:44.07
and that's what these
stories are really all about.
00:00:44.10\00:00:46.75
And why is mission
so important to you?
00:00:46.78\00:00:49.36
Well, you know I
have a heart for mission
00:00:49.39\00:00:52.49
and for many reasons I
love Jesus as we all do
00:00:52.52\00:00:55.38
and we want to serve Him
00:00:55.41\00:00:57.06
and one of the
places I have been
00:00:57.09\00:00:59.73
is Russia and Ukraine
00:00:59.76\00:01:01.65
the former
Soviet Union countries.
00:01:01.68\00:01:04.77
My family and I
serve there for six years.
00:01:04.80\00:01:08.27
Now you're at a
Adventist seminary?
00:01:08.30\00:01:10.38
Right, 75 miles south of
Moscow is called Zaokski.
00:01:10.41\00:01:14.64
And we had students
there from all around
00:01:14.67\00:01:17.59
the former Soviet Union
and those were the early years
00:01:17.62\00:01:21.36
just after communism
fell and our students came
00:01:21.39\00:01:24.96
from all across the former USSR.
00:01:24.99\00:01:28.45
We trained them
and now those students
00:01:28.48\00:01:31.63
are now leaders in that area.
00:01:31.66\00:01:33.77
Now that was quite a
story of how that seminaries
00:01:33.80\00:01:36.64
Zaokski actually got started
00:01:36.67\00:01:38.75
that was kind of a
miracle story wasn't it?
00:01:38.78\00:01:40.79
Really it was.
00:01:40.82\00:01:42.59
In fact there's a
book about it called
00:01:42.62\00:01:44.32
God's Soviet Miracle
written by Mikhail Kulakov, Jr.
00:01:44.35\00:01:48.39
And he was very instrumental
in starting that seminary.
00:01:48.42\00:01:52.05
It is the first
Protestants seminary
00:01:52.08\00:01:55.54
in the whole history of Russia.
00:01:55.57\00:01:57.81
Wow. Yes.
00:01:57.84\00:01:59.23
What an amazing thing. Yes.
00:01:59.26\00:02:01.58
Okay, we're going
next door to Ukraine,
00:02:01.61\00:02:03.79
tell me a story from there?
00:02:03.82\00:02:05.74
Okay, well, in
Ukraine in the far west,
00:02:05.77\00:02:10.41
there's an old city called Lviv.
00:02:10.44\00:02:12.83
Now Lviv has gone back and forth
00:02:12.86\00:02:15.20
because it's
right on the border,
00:02:15.23\00:02:17.22
for many years it
was part of Poland
00:02:17.25\00:02:20.31
and then Ukraine
and so it's one of these
00:02:20.34\00:02:23.13
border countries where
it's gone back and forth.
00:02:23.16\00:02:25.74
Currently, it's in Ukraine.
00:02:25.77\00:02:27.96
A beautiful place
beautiful old buildings
00:02:27.99\00:02:30.88
and they also have
00:02:30.91\00:02:32.47
a very important
university there.
00:02:32.50\00:02:34.60
And that this story
is about Paulo and Andre.
00:02:34.63\00:02:38.88
They were best
friends growing up.
00:02:38.91\00:02:41.44
And so they went through
elementary high school together
00:02:41.47\00:02:44.93
and it came time to
apply for university.
00:02:44.96\00:02:48.20
And they both wanted to go
to this university in Lviv.
00:02:48.23\00:02:52.01
They travel there
together, they took the exam
00:02:52.04\00:02:55.57
and after the exam they
were walking around campus
00:02:55.60\00:02:59.36
and as they were walking
they noticed this big poster
00:02:59.39\00:03:02.93
with a large military jet
on it advertising an air show.
00:03:02.96\00:03:07.61
A military air show
celebrating the 40th anniversary
00:03:07.64\00:03:11.07
of this particular area
of the Ukrainian Air Force.
00:03:11.10\00:03:15.95
And they said let's
go, let's go, looks great.
00:03:15.98\00:03:18.45
They were excited
about it, they were looking
00:03:18.48\00:03:20.78
on the poster for the details,
00:03:20.81\00:03:23.09
and all of the sudden
Paulo became very quiet.
00:03:23.12\00:03:26.13
Andre's thinking,
what's the problem here.
00:03:26.16\00:03:29.46
You know I
thought we were gonna go.
00:03:29.49\00:03:31.30
And Paulo says
"well, you know what,
00:03:31.33\00:03:34.26
I'm not gonna
get to this air show
00:03:34.29\00:03:36.88
I'm gonna go to church.
00:03:36.91\00:03:38.60
And you want to come with me."
00:03:38.63\00:03:40.54
Andres looking at
his friend but what's,
00:03:40.57\00:03:43.17
what's the deal here
you want to go to church
00:03:43.20\00:03:45.30
you don't want to
go to the air show
00:03:45.33\00:03:46.68
I thought you liked airplanes.
00:03:46.71\00:03:48.82
And Andres says
well, actually I mean,
00:03:48.85\00:03:51.84
Paulo who says it's on
Saturday and that's Sabbath
00:03:51.87\00:03:57.95
and I'm gonna go to church.
00:03:57.98\00:03:59.43
Why don't you come with me?
00:03:59.46\00:04:01.41
And Andres could see,
you know he's really serious
00:04:01.44\00:04:06.27
maybe I should check
it out why would he choose
00:04:06.30\00:04:09.47
to go to church over
this air show so I'm gonna go.
00:04:09.50\00:04:13.13
So the two friends went together
00:04:13.16\00:04:15.28
and had a wonderful time.
00:04:15.31\00:04:16.90
The people were friendly,
they had a meal afterwards,
00:04:16.93\00:04:19.85
they spent the afternoon there
and it was a really great day.
00:04:19.88\00:04:24.44
Now that evening they heard
00:04:24.47\00:04:29.01
about what
happened at the air show.
00:04:29.04\00:04:32.52
During the air
show at about 1 o'clock
00:04:32.55\00:04:35.35
in the afternoon
right the height of it,
00:04:35.38\00:04:38.43
when they would
have been there for sure
00:04:38.46\00:04:40.50
there was a horrific accident.
00:04:40.53\00:04:43.77
In fact, the worse
accident in air show history.
00:04:43.80\00:04:46.47
Is that right?
00:04:46.50\00:04:47.53
Yes, a military jet
00:04:47.56\00:04:49.46
that's coming
out of the maneuver
00:04:49.49\00:04:51.39
in as it was coming down
00:04:51.42\00:04:54.80
somehow the pilot lost control
00:04:54.83\00:04:57.59
and he crashed right
into the crowd of spectators.
00:04:57.62\00:05:01.33
Oh, no.
00:05:01.36\00:05:02.39
Hundreds of people were
killed many more were injured
00:05:02.42\00:05:06.51
and Paulo and Andre
they would have been killed
00:05:06.54\00:05:10.38
because they
would have been standing
00:05:10.41\00:05:12.51
right where that plane crashed.
00:05:12.54\00:05:16.29
A good day to be at church.
00:05:16.32\00:05:18.24
Yeah yes, yes a very
good day to be at church.
00:05:18.27\00:05:22.40
Wow, so that would have
been a formative influence
00:05:22.43\00:05:25.28
in their lives.
00:05:25.31\00:05:26.51
Absolutely,
absolutely and you know
00:05:26.54\00:05:29.49
we hear about people
who learn about the Sabbath.
00:05:29.52\00:05:33.11
And we know that sometimes
it costs them something
00:05:33.14\00:05:36.95
it might cost them
the job that they had,
00:05:36.98\00:05:40.31
they might lose something.
00:05:40.34\00:05:42.36
They might lose
friendships but in this case
00:05:42.39\00:05:46.90
instead of loosing something
00:05:46.93\00:05:49.79
they actually gained
something, their lives.
00:05:49.82\00:05:53.26
And I think it's a
good thing to remember
00:05:53.29\00:05:55.94
that when we follow
God's way, we will always gain
00:05:55.97\00:05:59.64
we will gain life.
00:05:59.67\00:06:01.58
So what happened to
these two young men?
00:06:01.61\00:06:03.77
Well, they ended up
going to the Adventist seminary
00:06:03.80\00:06:07.15
in Bucha which is near
Kiev and they're studying
00:06:07.18\00:06:10.96
to become
Adventist pastors today.
00:06:10.99\00:06:13.91
Wow, and they have a
tremendous story to tell.
00:06:13.94\00:06:16.65
They sure do, they sure do.
00:06:16.68\00:06:18.68
And this story is contained
in the Mission Magazine.
00:06:18.71\00:06:22.59
That's right.
00:06:22.62\00:06:23.69
And for anybody
who maybe watching
00:06:23.72\00:06:26.25
and maybe doesn't go
to an Adventist church
00:06:26.28\00:06:28.09
can they access these stories?
00:06:28.12\00:06:30.06
They certainly can
just go to our website
00:06:30.09\00:06:32.56
adventistmission.org.
00:06:32.59\00:06:34.42
Go to resources and
you'll see both those magazines
00:06:34.45\00:06:37.80
as well as DVD's
00:06:37.83\00:06:39.28
that tell many of
these stories to them.
00:06:39.31\00:06:41.06
Fantastic.
00:06:41.09\00:06:42.12
Gina, thank you, thank
you for joining us today.
00:06:42.15\00:06:44.08
You're welcome.
00:06:44.11\00:06:45.14
And if you'd like to find out
more about mission as Gina said
00:06:45.17\00:06:48.67
go to AdventistMission.org.
00:06:48.70\00:06:50.80
You will find stories, pictures,
00:06:50.83\00:06:53.06
videos missionary blogs.
00:06:53.09\00:06:55.20
All sorts of
information about mission
00:06:55.23\00:06:57.18
and how you can be involved.
00:06:57.21\00:06:59.21
Next up we travel from Ukraine
00:06:59.24\00:07:01.08
to the country of India.
00:07:01.11\00:07:02.83
They get admission for
colleges based on the result
00:07:16.85\00:07:19.78
and therefore
it is very crucial.
00:07:19.81\00:07:22.26
Very determinant
for their future life.
00:07:22.29\00:07:24.85
One cannot think of not
attempting that examination
00:07:29.46\00:07:33.59
if they want to
pursue their study further.
00:07:33.62\00:07:36.83
Dr. John is principal of
Kottarakara Adventist School.
00:07:41.84\00:07:45.88
Like many Seventh-day
Adventist Schools in India,
00:07:48.45\00:07:50.85
Kottarakara is a mission school,
00:07:50.88\00:07:53.55
with about half of the students
coming from Adventist families.
00:07:53.58\00:07:57.51
The school has been accredited
00:07:57.54\00:07:59.27
through the Indian government
as a higher secondary school.
00:07:59.30\00:08:02.72
This accreditation
00:08:02.75\00:08:04.16
comes with
government administered testing
00:08:04.19\00:08:06.29
during the students
tenth year of study.
00:08:06.32\00:08:10.11
Recently this crucial
test was given on Saturday.
00:08:10.14\00:08:13.58
Dr. John made an appointment
00:08:17.03\00:08:18.79
with the Minister of
Education for his district,
00:08:18.82\00:08:21.11
and asked that an accommodation
be made for his school,
00:08:21.14\00:08:23.97
so that his students
could stay true to their faith,
00:08:24.00\00:08:26.93
and not take the
exam during Sabbath hours.
00:08:26.96\00:08:30.20
He said "I'm also Christian,
00:08:30.23\00:08:32.21
I would write
an exam on Sabbath,
00:08:32.24\00:08:33.80
I would do
anything on Saturday."
00:08:33.83\00:08:35.73
I said, let's not
debate on that matter,
00:08:35.76\00:08:37.96
because your faith is different,
00:08:37.99\00:08:39.88
my faith is different.
00:08:39.91\00:08:41.53
I wouldn't do that, and
my students won't do that.
00:08:41.56\00:08:45.90
And therefore,
please, make it possible
00:08:45.93\00:08:49.01
for my children
to write the exam--
00:08:49.04\00:08:50.36
make some
alternate arrangements.
00:08:50.39\00:08:52.78
The Minister of Education
did not make an accommodation,
00:08:52.81\00:08:57.62
and told Dr. John to
take his issue to the court.
00:08:57.65\00:09:00.77
Court passed an
order in favor of us
00:09:09.76\00:09:12.67
to protect the religious faith.
00:09:12.70\00:09:15.78
The court ordered
that exam may be conducted
00:09:15.81\00:09:17.87
in the same day in the night,
00:09:17.90\00:09:19.57
after 6 o'clock in the night.
00:09:19.60\00:09:22.77
This court order
caused a flood of media
00:09:22.80\00:09:25.30
to descend on the school campus.
00:09:25.33\00:09:27.59
Newspaper, and
from the TV channel,
00:09:27.62\00:09:29.66
everywhere people flooded in
00:09:29.69\00:09:31.82
and they asked
me, 'what is this?'
00:09:31.85\00:09:34.11
The whole
public, the entire public
00:09:34.14\00:09:36.26
came to know about Sabbath.
00:09:36.29\00:09:38.58
What is Sabbath and
why they keep Sabbath?
00:09:38.61\00:09:41.50
Now when I go to
the government office
00:09:41.53\00:09:43.83
I say I'm from the
Seventh-day Adventist school,
00:09:43.86\00:09:46.05
I'm the principal of
Seventh-day Adventist.
00:09:46.08\00:09:47.86
"Oh, your the exam on Sabbath--
00:09:47.89\00:09:49.40
Sabbath keepers."
00:09:49.43\00:09:50.86
Immediately they know,
00:09:50.89\00:09:52.37
and then when I start explaining
00:09:52.40\00:09:53.63
"no need to explain Sabbath,
we have read it in the paper."
00:09:53.66\00:09:55.75
But this is only a
short-term victory.
00:09:55.78\00:09:58.94
The court order
will eventually expire.
00:09:58.97\00:10:02.20
The long term
solution for Dr. John
00:10:02.23\00:10:05.08
and the students at Kottarakara
00:10:05.11\00:10:07.30
is for the
school to be accredited
00:10:07.33\00:10:08.98
by a different organization.
00:10:09.01\00:10:11.77
Many other Seventh-day
Adventist schools in India
00:10:11.80\00:10:14.72
are affiliated
with the Indian Council
00:10:14.75\00:10:17.04
of Secondary Education.
00:10:17.07\00:10:18.83
This accrediting
body takes special care
00:10:18.86\00:10:21.26
to administer tests
to Adventist schools
00:10:21.29\00:10:23.60
on Sunday.
00:10:23.63\00:10:26.38
Currently Kottarakara facilities
00:10:26.41\00:10:28.84
will not pass inspection
00:10:28.87\00:10:30.50
to become a
member of the council.
00:10:30.53\00:10:32.58
Member schools
00:10:32.61\00:10:33.64
must have adequate classroom
space for each student,
00:10:33.67\00:10:36.82
and this school has far
outgrown its current buildings.
00:10:36.85\00:10:41.92
Because of your
financial support
00:10:41.95\00:10:44.33
of the world budget
and mission offerings
00:10:44.36\00:10:46.62
a new classroom
block will be constructed
00:10:46.65\00:10:49.06
on the Kottarakara campus.
00:10:49.09\00:10:51.11
The new building will
bring 20 new classrooms,
00:10:51.14\00:10:54.23
and allow the school to be ready
00:10:54.26\00:10:55.69
for the council's inspection.
00:10:55.72\00:10:57.60
Thank you for your
support of the mission
00:11:05.12\00:11:06.82
of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
00:11:06.85\00:11:10.73
To find out more please visit
00:11:10.76\00:11:12.70
AdventistMission.org.
00:11:12.73\00:11:14.82
Well, I hope you enjoyed
today's snapshots of mission
00:11:21.21\00:11:24.36
from all around the world
00:11:24.39\00:11:25.89
from the dense
jungles of West Papua
00:11:25.92\00:11:28.60
to the dungeons of Armenia
00:11:28.63\00:11:30.78
from the vast
territories of Eurasia
00:11:30.81\00:11:33.42
to the huge population of India
00:11:33.45\00:11:35.79
people are finding hope and joy
00:11:35.82\00:11:37.87
in the good
news of Jesus Christ.
00:11:37.90\00:11:40.71
If you have enjoyed the
stories on today's program
00:11:40.74\00:11:43.02
I know that you'll
enjoy the Mission 360 DVD.
00:11:43.05\00:11:47.09
Full of
action-packed mission stories
00:11:47.12\00:11:49.22
it's our gift to you.
00:11:49.25\00:11:50.99
So if you live in North America
00:11:51.02\00:11:52.81
just visit our website
at adventistmission.org
00:11:52.84\00:11:55.41
or call the toll-free
number on your screen right now.
00:11:55.44\00:11:58.65
And ask for the Mission 360 DVD
00:11:58.68\00:12:02.00
and we'll be happy to
send it to you for free.
00:12:02.03\00:12:05.52
As we close our program
00:12:05.55\00:12:07.20
let's take time to reflect
00:12:07.23\00:12:08.72
on what God's calling you to do,
00:12:08.75\00:12:11.47
what He's calling me to do
00:12:11.50\00:12:13.88
and let's watch the
video "I Know You Are."
00:12:13.91\00:12:17.36
Thanks so much for
joining us on today's program.
00:12:17.39\00:12:20.48
For Global
Mission I'm Gary Krause.
00:12:20.51\00:12:22.92
And I hope you
can join me next time
00:12:22.95\00:12:24.79
right here on
Global Mission Snapshots.
00:12:24.82\00:12:27.73