Participants:
Series Code: MTS
Program Code: MTS001906A
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00:16 The sights and sounds of North America,
00:18 a Life and Hope Center opens in Nazareth, 00:21 and a song that stops a baby crying coming up next. 00:50 Hello, and welcome to Mission 360 00:51 coming to you today from the city of Jerusalem. 00:54 And over here you can see this ancient limestone wall, 00:59 it's known as the Western Wall. 01:01 It's one of the retaining walls for the temple 01:03 that Herod the Great built. 01:05 Herod, of course, was not the nicest person, 01:07 but he was a tremendous builder. 01:10 And this place here is a sacred site 01:14 for Jewish people. 01:15 It's the holiest place where they can pray, 01:18 because they see the Most Holy place 01:20 to which they have no access as being in the Temple Mount. 01:24 This is actually only one of four retaining walls, 01:26 but it's special because it's the one 01:28 that gets them the closest to the Most Holy Place. 01:31 For a period of 19 years, 01:33 there was no access at all for Jewish people to this wall, 01:37 and that ended after the Six-Day War in 1967. 01:42 While on today's program, 01:43 we'll be taking you to all parts of the world. 01:45 But first up, let's travel to North America. 01:54 Around the world, Adventist education serves 01:57 as a platform of opportunity for thousands of students. 02:00 Schools provide quality education 02:03 to inspire a brighter future. 02:05 Beyond that, Adventist education shares 02:08 an even greater hope with its students, 02:10 a hope in Jesus. 02:12 In many cases, students have come to know 02:15 a loving God through caring and thoughtful teachers. 02:18 Across the North American Division, 02:20 there are more than 1,100 Adventists primary 02:23 and secondary schools. 02:25 This territory spans over 12 time zones from Bermuda 02:28 in the east to Palau in the west. 02:31 This gives Adventist schools the opportunity 02:34 to serve students from various backgrounds 02:36 and communities. 02:37 And the southwestern region of the United States, 02:39 Holbrook Indian School focuses on educating 02:42 the local indigenous people. 02:44 This school was established as a mission school 02:46 for the unreached native groups of the Southwest. 02:49 The majority of students who come to Holbrook 02:51 are not Adventists, 02:53 and may have never even heard the gospel message. 02:56 Many come from environments 02:58 where they face negative influences, 02:59 and some of these children grow up thinking drugs, 03:02 alcohol abuse and neglect are normal. 03:06 Their experience at Holbrook gives them a new perspective, 03:09 where they find caring teachers and staff, 03:12 a place where they can just be kids, 03:14 and a place where they meet Jesus. 03:18 Today, Holbrook is teaching students 03:19 from grades 1 to 12 in practical ways. 03:22 Their educational program has four pillars, 03:25 physical health, mental health, 03:27 spiritual health, and academic achievement. 03:30 Each component is fundamental 03:32 to the student's learning experience. 03:34 In addition to core subjects, 03:36 they offer classes like native cultural studies, 03:38 welding, woodworking, auto repair, 03:41 agriculture, pottery, and horsemanship. 03:46 They don't want to be stuck on the race, 03:48 because once you're on the race you stay on the race. 03:52 And I want to start something new. 03:54 The one thing my grandpa taught me 03:56 is that God's there for you, you just keep looking forward. 04:01 Don't look backwards. 04:03 That's why I came to Holbrook and Holbrook's been my home. 04:16 When I'm riding horses, 04:19 it just feels amazing because it's silent, peaceful. 04:25 The only thing you can hear is just a bird chirping 04:28 and the breeze and the leaves. 04:32 I feel more myself. 04:36 I conquered my fears and riding horses and stuff. 04:42 And I have no reason to be scared of a horse 04:46 because they're just horses. 05:05 When I run, it just, it feels like home to me. 05:09 I just like the smell of the trees and, you know, 05:12 I can just, I like the feeling of the dirt. 05:16 My brothers, they drink and they smoke. 05:20 I don't like that. 05:23 So I tried to get away from it as possible. 05:27 I decided I wanted to come to Holbrook. 05:30 And when I got there, I noticed it was different. 05:35 I noticed the kids there were a lot more different. 05:39 They weren't so mean or so irritating. 05:42 The teachers too, they were really different. 05:45 They didn't seem so mean 05:46 or they just seem calm and nice. 05:51 They really helped you with all your stuff, 05:52 your education. 05:55 I believe that this school provided more than just 100%. 06:00 And I like that and it's awesome. 06:05 Holbrook Indian School continues to give students 06:08 the chance to create a better future 06:10 and find hope in Jesus. 06:12 Please pray for this school and others 06:15 across the North American Division. 06:17 And thank you for supporting mission. 06:20 My guest is Pastor Roger Robertsen, 06:22 who's the president of the Seventh-day Adventists 06:24 here in Israel. 06:25 Roger, thanks for joining us. 06:27 Now, can you describe 06:29 where the church headquarters is located? 06:32 Church headquarters is located in Jerusalem, of course. 06:35 And it's actually right in the center of everything. 06:39 Because it was bought in the 1930s 06:42 before the city expanded too much. 06:44 So right now it has a prime location, 06:48 perfect. 06:49 So you're just a few minutes' 06:51 walk from the Old City of Jerusalem? 06:53 That's right. 06:54 Between 5 and 10 minutes according to your speed 06:57 and so on, it's located right across the road 07:00 from YMCA Incar 07:02 which they call it so it's a famous location. 07:05 And all the American presidents who come to visit, 07:09 they stay at King David, you know... 07:11 Just around the corner. 07:12 Just around the corner. 07:14 Yeah. 07:15 So can you describe for us 07:17 the Adventist Church here in Israel? 07:20 Adventist Church in Israel has grown since the 1990s. 07:25 Before that, we only had some handful 07:28 so of members, 76 members before 1990. 07:32 But due to the fall of communism, 07:35 people were able to leave 07:36 the former Soviet Union republics, 07:39 and many of them came to Israel. 07:43 So we had a peak in 2003, some 1,140 members, 07:49 but then they were able to go back 07:52 to Europe and many left. 07:53 So we were down to 700. 07:55 But now, again, it's growing. 07:57 And now it's growing in a different way. 07:59 It's growing nationally here in Israel itself. 08:04 Now, when we look at the churches, 08:06 are they only in one area? 08:08 Are they distributed widely? 08:10 Yeah, the biblical expression, of course, 08:12 is from Dan to Beersheba. 08:13 And we are bigger than that, 08:16 because we go all the way down to Eilat. 08:18 Okay. 08:19 So we're scattered all around, 08:21 but I guess most of the members are located 08:24 in the Tel Aviv area. 08:25 Right. 08:26 Now, you have recently established 08:29 what you're calling Life and Hope Centers, 08:31 what are these and what are their purpose? 08:35 So the Adventists around the world are known 08:37 for helping out in communities and helping 08:41 with education and different things, 08:43 health programs, and so on. 08:45 And this is really what we're trying to do here. 08:48 Israel, of course, is a difficult place to work, 08:51 because there's some animosity 08:53 and some hatred among people groups. 08:57 And if we can help young people, 08:59 give them a better education, 09:01 they'll have a better life 09:03 and many of them will stay out of trouble, 09:05 terrorism and stuff like that. 09:07 So we're trying to help them pick up languages 09:10 and get a good job. 09:13 And, of course, 09:15 we're also trying to help people get a better 09:18 and richer life health wise. 09:21 So we have health programs 09:23 and we have educational programs, 09:25 mainly language programs. 09:28 Now, we visited one of the centers in Haifa 09:31 up in the north. 09:33 And can you describe the location of that center? 09:36 Well, I usually say that if I were to look 09:39 at the map of Haifa 09:41 and put my finger at a specific spot 09:44 where I'd like us to get the center, 09:46 it would be right where it is now. 09:48 It's at the foot of the Carmel mountain range. 09:53 You have the high temple garden coming down 09:57 and exactly there at the bottom, 10:00 that's where we have our center right now. 10:03 It's a perfect prime location. 10:05 Wonderful. 10:06 And then the center in Nazareth? 10:08 The center in Nazareth. 10:09 We actually have two centers now which we opened, 10:12 dedicated yesterday. 10:14 And the one that's downtown. 10:16 That's also right in the middle of everything. 10:19 There's one place all tourists go to. 10:22 And that's the Church of Annunciation. 10:25 When you come down the road turn right, 10:27 then you have our center there, 10:28 it's right in the middle of everything. 10:30 Wonderful. 10:31 Now, Roger, your interest in Israel 10:34 goes back a long way. 10:35 Can you tell us a little bit about that? 10:39 Yeah, as a Christian, 10:40 I've always been interested in Israel. 10:42 It's the land of the Bible. 10:44 But in 1976, I was able to join an archeological excavation 10:48 in Israel in Caesarea actually. 10:51 And since then, I've been back, I guess, 10:54 about every second year, 10:55 doing archaeology on the study tours. 10:58 And it's changed and shaped my life actually. 11:03 Now, when I was younger, 11:07 I used to attend 11:08 what we called missions in Australia, 11:09 where the public evangelists would start 11:12 with an archeological series of meetings, 11:14 and then they move to the Bible. 11:16 It's kind of like a natural move. 11:18 Does archaeology prove the Bible? 11:21 Archaeology helps illuminate the Bible very often. 11:26 And, you know, I'm not one of those 11:30 who is trying to prove the Bible 11:31 out of archaeology, because we are saved by faith. 11:35 And you don't need archaeology in order to believe the Bible. 11:38 But oftentimes, you get much closer 11:42 to biblical personalities, and to the history 11:46 and to the geography of the Bible. 11:48 So it's a great help in understanding the Bible, 11:51 and the times in which people live with and so on. 11:54 Can you give an example of how archaeology has helped 11:57 for you to illuminate the Bible or help you better understand 12:02 some passage of Scripture? 12:04 Yeah, just visiting city of David, 12:08 where I've also been excavating, 12:10 you know, you stand up there, you look down, 12:12 you have the Kidron Valley, you see it, 12:14 and you have the whole discussion of King David 12:16 and Solomon, did they ever exist 12:19 or were they just local chieftains and so on. 12:22 As you stand there, and you start looking 12:25 at what we have in the city of David, now, 12:28 what's been excavated, it's amazing. 12:31 Walking down, you can find this huge building, 12:37 the foundation of it, 12:39 where people said there was nothing, 12:40 archaeologists said there was nothing. 12:43 A famous British archaeologist Dame Kathleen Kenyon, 12:46 she was actually knighted 12:48 for her work in Israel archaeology. 12:51 And she was a great archaeologist. 12:54 They said there was nothing, 12:56 palace should be up on top on the city, 12:59 nothing has been found until Eilat Mazar, 13:03 Israeli archaeologist said they have not gone deep enough. 13:07 I want to go down to bedrock. 13:09 And that's what she did. 13:11 Early 2000s for three years, she excavated there, 13:15 and what did they find? 13:17 Huge palatial structure. 13:20 So things sort of fall in place if you're patient enough. 13:24 Wonderful. 13:26 Pastor Robertsen, thank you so much 13:27 for sharing with us today. 13:29 Appreciate it very much. 13:30 Thank you for coming. Welcome back. 13:31 Thank you. 13:33 And viewers at home, please pray for the work 13:34 here in Israel, the people here in Israel, 13:37 and we'll be right back after this break. |
Revised 2020-10-26