Participants: Gary Krause
Series Code: MTS
Program Code: MTS001206A
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00:10 Our first program just for children
00:12 and for the young at heart, 00:14 including animated stories coming up next. 00:41 Hello and welcome to today's program 00:43 coming to you from a very cold day 00:46 in New York City. 00:47 In this city, there are hundreds 00:49 and thousands of children. 00:51 In fact, there are some 2 million people 00:53 who are under age 18 in New York City. 00:57 You know, children had a special place 00:59 in the heart of Jesus. 01:01 He said, "Don't stop them from coming to Me 01:02 because of such are the kingdom of heaven." 01:05 And today's program is going to be focused on kids, 01:08 on children who are special to the heart of God. 01:11 First up, we're going to look at a special animation 01:15 of a kid's story from Fiji. 01:19 Fiji lies in the center of the South Pacific Islands, 01:23 the capital city Suva is home 01:25 to several international institutions, 01:27 including a university, a medical school, 01:30 and a technical school. 01:31 These schools attract the brightest students 01:34 from throughout the South Pacific. 01:37 About 500 Adventist students are enrolled at these schools. 01:41 But until recently, there was no Adventist Church nearby. 01:45 No place where these young people 01:47 could come to worship 01:48 and bring their friends to fellowship or study 01:51 in a welcoming atmosphere. 01:52 For a while the group rented a hall at the university. 01:56 But the university needed all of its larger halls 01:59 on Sabbath morning, 02:01 leaving the Adventist students with no place to worship. 02:05 Thanks to the 2006, 13th Sabbath offering, 02:08 funds for a new church were available, 02:10 but church leaders weren't able to find 02:12 anything suitable and affordable 02:14 near the university. 02:18 One evening, mission youth chaplain 02:20 Pastor Joe and other mission leaders 02:22 met with Adventist student representatives 02:24 on the university campus to choose a property. 02:28 Although none of them were ideal, 02:29 the group voted to purchase a steep block of land 02:32 about two kilometers from the university. 02:35 It was after 10 pm when everyone left, 02:38 as a group of students walked along the street, 02:41 a car stopped in front of them. 02:43 A man jumped out, 02:45 ran up to a fence surrounding a large house 02:48 sitting on a prime piece of property quickly posted 02:51 a "For Sale" sign and left. 02:54 We should tell our chaplain about this. 02:58 The next morning Pastor Joe's phone rang. 03:00 He listened as an eager student described the property 03:03 and its prime location. 03:05 Thanking the students, 03:07 Pastor Joe phoned the number on the sign. 03:09 Right after the call, 03:11 Pastor Joe went to see the property. 03:13 It was perfect. 03:15 Located just two blocks from the university 03:17 and directly across the street from the largest cinema 03:19 and shopping mall in Fiji. 03:21 The pastor couldn't imagine a more visible 03:24 and accessible location. 03:26 He immediately called the real estate company 03:28 and told them he wanted to buy the property. 03:31 Pastor Joe met the man who hung up the sign 03:33 and introduced himself as an Adventist chaplain. 03:36 He told the man about his group's need 03:38 for a permanent place to worship. 03:41 As the pastor spoke, 03:42 he noticed tears beginning to stream down 03:44 the man's face. 03:46 "You know, as you were talking, 03:48 I remembered the things I learned 03:49 at the Suva Adventist primary school. 03:52 I remember the Bible stories and the singing. 03:55 I'm going to call the owner of our company now." 03:58 Before long, another man walked in, 04:00 looked at Pastor Joe and exclaimed, "Oh, it's you. 04:04 I know you. 04:05 Some years ago, an Adventist girl 04:07 I worked with invited me to come to church 04:10 during a visitor Sabbath. 04:11 I came and you were the one speaking from the front. 04:14 After some negotiating, 04:16 Pastor Joe got the ideal property 04:18 just two blocks from the university. 04:20 The only problem now was that there was no church building 04:23 on the property, just an old house. 04:26 The group decided to build a new church building 04:28 and replace the house. 04:30 It took eight months for the permits and permissions 04:32 to start building. 04:33 But the group finally got the approval. 04:35 They chose an architectural plan 04:37 featuring walls made of windows 04:39 on either side of the new church. 04:42 They used a lot of glass in the construction 04:44 so that people coming out of the mall 04:45 and cinema would see them worshipping. 04:49 Today, more than 300 04:51 university students worship here. 04:53 The church is within easy walking distance from campus 04:56 and has become a gathering place 04:57 for faith building and outreach activities 05:00 during the week, as well as on Sabbaths. 05:02 This transparent church truly shines 05:05 as a bright light for all to see. 05:08 Every weekend, people from all over 05:10 the island come to sell food at Fiji's biggest market. 05:13 Since they are travelling, 05:15 they often have to sleep in the street 05:17 with little food and water. 05:19 They wait for the market to open so they can earn 05:21 enough money to take back home. 05:23 The youth group brings food to those who make the long trek 05:26 into the city each weekend, people see them as a blessing. 05:30 And really appreciate all they do. 05:32 The students have made friends with many 05:34 of the travelling vendors. 05:37 The youth are proud to serve the needs of others. 05:40 And to shine a bright light on the island of Fiji. 05:43 Please pray for this group as they continue to be 05:45 an influence on the community around them. 05:48 Thank you for supporting the 2006, 05:50 13th Sabbath offering. 05:59 We're in the Queen's Spanish church 06:01 in Queens, New York. 06:03 And my guest is Aurora. 06:04 Aurora, thank you so much for joining us. 06:07 And this is your home church 06:09 and you are the Community Services 06:11 Director. 06:12 Give me some sort of idea of the sort of activities 06:16 that you're involved in with the community? 06:19 Thank you for having me. 06:21 I'm very involved with a compassion ministry 06:24 as well I'm the Community Service 06:26 Director of this church. 06:28 We do compassion projects in this city, 06:31 not only in Queens, 06:32 and we serve the homeless in this community. 06:35 Wonderful. 06:37 Now do you involve children or is it just for adults? 06:41 With the compassion ministry we involve children, 06:45 youth and adults. 06:46 Okay. 06:47 So what do the children do? 06:49 The children are highly involved 06:50 in the planning, we ask them what they would like to do 06:54 and we assign them an area for them to work. 06:58 So you actually ask the children, 07:01 what do you want to do? 07:02 You don't tell them what to do? 07:04 No, I ask them what to do. 07:05 Because this way, 07:06 they are more enthusiastic with what they like to do. 07:08 Yeah. 07:10 So tell me some of the things that they've been doing. 07:12 In the month of September, 07:14 on September 19 we have a health fair in Corona. 07:17 We have the use of the plaza, a huge place like a park. 07:21 And the children were involved of distributing the book, 07:26 Be Healthy. 07:27 And they were distributing, giving out apples, water, 07:32 brand new clothing, taking out the blood pressure, 07:36 giving out the books and every time a person came 07:39 to their stations. 07:40 For example, when they were giving out water, 07:42 they told the people you must drink 07:46 eight glasses of water. 07:47 And in so and so chapter in the book talks about 07:49 the benefits of water, you must read the book. 07:51 And then in the following station 07:53 they gave out apples and they talked 07:55 the benefits of eating fruits like fiber, 07:58 and they bring people to read the book. 08:01 They actually encouraged them, not only gave out the fruit, 08:04 they also encourage them to read the book. 08:07 Wonderful. 08:08 So the children in this church don't sit around 08:10 just playing video games all day, they're involved. 08:14 Yes, they are highly involved. 08:15 They enjoy cleaning out our local park 08:19 and normally giving out tracts, 08:20 they're interacting with people and helping them 08:24 to make healthy habits. 08:26 Wonderful. 08:27 Now you're talking about compassion ministries. 08:31 What do you call your ministry as compassion ministries? 08:34 Compassion ministry is different 08:36 that community service. 08:39 In compassion ministry, 08:41 we minister the people needs in their environment. 08:46 It's a actual interaction with individuals. 08:49 It's different than cleaning a park. 08:51 We interact with the individual in the need we see they have, 08:55 the needs that we don't see, 08:56 we leave it to our God to minister and guide us 08:59 to minister those needs. 09:01 For example, 09:02 there is a highly 09:03 unemployment rate during winter. 09:06 So we call and serve the day laborers and homeless 09:11 and compassion ministry brings a lot of young Adventists. 09:16 Many of them don't attend church, 09:18 but they are involved with helping others. 09:22 And also we have the largest volunteer 09:26 with the New York City Marathon. 09:28 That is compassion, helping people in their needs. 09:31 The New York City Marathon? 09:32 Yes. 09:34 Okay. 09:35 One of the six major world marathons, 09:36 and we help there, 09:38 we are the Adventist Youth Group. 09:40 Oh, you hand out water, what do you do? 09:43 Oh, we are medical volunteers. 09:45 Medical volunteers. 09:46 Yes. 09:47 We have several young 09:49 Seventh-day Adventist medical trained, 09:51 so they are medical volunteers. 09:56 As you said, we translate and interpret. 09:59 Many runners come from different countries 10:03 to run the race, 10:04 so we help them to interpret in their language. 10:08 Wonderful. 10:09 Did you run the marathon yourself? 10:11 I have run half marathons and 20 miles, 10:14 not a full marathon yet. 10:16 But my goal is drawn 10:18 that we're Seventh-day Adventists Marathon, 10:20 the Seven Bridges. 10:21 Oh. 10:23 We have it in the United States. 10:24 Oh, very good. 10:25 Now how do you discover what the community needs? 10:28 You know, you're involved in various ministries, 10:31 but how do you find out 10:33 what the needs are in the community? 10:36 We go to our local authorities, 10:39 and they know their constituents. 10:41 And they tell us the needs of their community. 10:44 For example, the community where my church 10:47 is located this church, 10:49 it's a highly populated community with families, 10:53 but the school is just right behind this church, 10:56 so there's a lot of families 10:57 with children in this community. 10:59 And also, the local authorities told us that this community 11:05 has the high asthma rates. 11:07 So we have to teach them how to be healthier. 11:12 Wonderful. 11:13 So that they can run the marathon too, right? 11:16 Yes, eventually. 11:18 So tell me, Aurora, 11:19 what does it mean to you to be involved in the... 11:21 You're not happy to just be sitting here in the pews, 11:24 what does it mean to you to be involved personally? 11:27 To me personally, is to preach with our hands, 11:30 what we do speaks louder than what we say. 11:35 So to make the preaching of the gospel practical 11:39 and involve others. 11:42 It sounds a little bit to me like Christ's method 11:44 of ministry. 11:45 It is. 11:47 Yeah. 11:48 Actually, that's what it is. 11:49 As Ellen G. White says, that's the best method. 11:52 The only method. 11:53 The only method, yes. 11:54 That's right. 11:56 So for any children who might be watching this program, 11:58 what would you encourage them to do? 12:01 I encourage them to start doing compassion 12:04 with their peers at school. 12:06 Okay, that's a good starting point. 12:08 Yes. 12:09 With the elderly in their building, 12:11 in their community. 12:13 Yeah, because elderly people love 12:15 to have kids around, right? 12:16 Yes, yes. 12:17 Everybody accepts a hug. 12:20 A good talk, Bible promises, no one rejects children. 12:26 So children are our best assets in compassion. 12:30 I like that, our best assets in compassion. 12:33 Aurora, thank you so much for sharing with us. 12:36 And thank you for sharing what we do in Corona, Queens. 12:39 Oh, it's a pleasure. 12:40 Compassion and community services. 12:42 Wonderful. 12:43 And viewers at home, 12:44 please find ways that not only can you be involved 12:47 in compassionate ministry, 12:48 but how to involve your young people 12:50 and children to get them involved 12:52 in service as well. 12:54 We'll be right back after this break. |
Revised 2020-12-10