Participants:
Series Code: MTS
Program Code: MTS002406A
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00:07 Warming hearts with ice in Trinidad and Tobago,
00:11 the amazing story 00:12 of pioneer missionary David Babcock 00:15 and when God appeared on television in New Zealand, 00:19 all that and much more coming up next. 00:54 Hello and welcome to Mission 360. 00:55 I'm Gary Krause. 00:57 Today's program is coming to you 00:58 from San Francisco, in California. 01:02 But I'm actually just across the bridge 01:04 in Oakland, California. 01:06 And here you can see the harbor area 01:09 where in 1890, September 1890, 01:13 some 1,500 Adventists gathered together 01:16 for something pretty exciting. 01:18 And it was the launch of the Pitcairn boat. 01:21 What an amazing event that must have been. 01:22 I wish I could have been there 01:24 as church members came together 01:26 to celebrate the sacrifice of church members, 01:29 including children 01:30 to put their mission offerings together 01:32 to launch a boat to go into the South Pacific. 01:35 And it traveled to Pitcairn, to Fiji, other islands 01:38 and open up work in that area of the world. 01:41 On today's program, 01:43 we're going to be looking at mission around the world 01:44 here in San Francisco. 01:46 And, first of all, 01:48 we're going to travel to Trinidad and Tobago. 02:01 I'm a snow cone vendor, 02:03 and I've been selling this since the age of 13, 02:06 and now I'm just about to be 40. 02:09 It's a sugary liquid on ice and with milk. 02:14 It's the best thing in the Caribbean. 02:16 Meet Wesley, a snow cone vendor in Trinidad and Tobago. 02:20 Each day except Saturday, 02:22 he wakes up early to grind ice before leaving for work. 02:25 Then he slowly pedals his cart 02:27 through the quiet streets of Felicity 02:29 to sell his icy fare. 02:31 However, Wesley isn't a regular snow cone vendor, 02:34 he also ministers 02:35 to people's physical and spiritual needs. 02:37 Because that is what I really deem it 02:39 as a privilege to be to bring hope to the hopeless, 02:43 giving encouragement to those that are discouraged, 02:45 to bring fulfillment to those that are empty, 02:47 and also to bring life to those who are dying without Christ. 02:52 Felicity is a rural sugarcane and rice plantation community. 02:56 But even in this peaceful town are painful stories. 02:59 Young children with little food to eat, 03:01 men afflicted by illness, 03:03 and, families struggling to stay together. 03:05 Wesley helps provide food, clothing 03:08 and other basic necessities for those in need. 03:11 He also offers counseling to the families he meets. 03:14 On one occasion, 03:15 Wesley spent two days handing out free snow cones 03:18 to 400 children in the area. 03:20 He does all this to serve a greater purpose. 03:24 Sometimes people will stop me on the street, 03:26 we will pray right there. 03:28 We will enter their home, read the scripture. 03:31 And I give them words of encouragement 03:33 and then invite them to church. 03:36 He's the best person at giving moral support, 03:38 we love him. 03:39 I tell you, he's the best person. 03:42 Because everybody has some string attached to it, 03:46 and he does this without any. 03:52 When talking to him, I feel different. 03:55 Even though this neighborhood 03:56 is made up of people from other world religions, 03:59 Wesley has earned the respect of the community. 04:02 Today he offers physical and spiritual support 04:05 to more than 30 families. 04:08 Through this snow cone ministry, 04:09 the local Adventist Church has had many new visitors. 04:13 Please pray for Wesley's ministry 04:15 that God continues to use him and others 04:17 in Trinidad and Tobago for His work. 04:20 I want to say 04:22 this job that I have is the best job, 04:25 I can even say in the world 04:26 because it helps me to meet people 04:29 and to tell people about the love of Jesus. 04:36 Thank you for supporting mission. 04:39 My guest here in San Francisco is Dr. Urbina, 04:43 who's heading up a unique type of center of influence 04:47 in the Central California area. 04:49 Dr. Urbina, thank you so much for joining us. 04:51 Happy to be here. 04:52 Now, what are you doing exactly in your ministry now? 04:56 You know, I'm the Director for Life Hope Centers Ministry 04:59 as a humanitarian service 05:01 that provides practical and relevant services 05:04 to the community. 05:05 We provide free dental care, 05:07 free vision care and medical screening, 05:09 along with other health related sources or resources 05:13 that the local church has available. 05:15 Now in the office of Adventist Mission, 05:17 we're very interested in urban centers of influence, 05:21 but what you are describing 05:22 is a mobile center of influence. 05:25 Tell me exactly how it works? 05:28 You know, one of our focus is 05:29 the essence of Life Hope Centers Ministry 05:32 is relationship building. 05:34 And in order to build relationship, 05:36 it takes intentionality. 05:37 When we follow Christ's method, 05:39 He mingled as one who sought good in others. 05:43 That's mingling with intentionality. 05:45 So when we prepare for Life Hope Centers program, 05:48 we will meet 05:49 long before the anticipated date of the program 05:53 to prepare our church, finding their resources, 05:56 understanding the needs of the community, 05:58 and serving as a source of matching 06:03 need with resources. 06:04 And so we've worked with the local churches 06:06 and preparing them, 06:08 also to prepare them for the actual day of service. 06:11 And then, most importantly, 06:13 is really having an evangelistic strategy 06:16 of relationship building 06:17 that ultimately leads to introducing them 06:21 to the gospel of Jesus Christ. 06:23 During that process, 06:24 we're actually demonstrating his acts of service, 06:27 which are demonstrations of what the gospel message is. 06:31 And so when individuals begin to hear it in Word, 06:35 then they begin to reflect and match 06:37 the actions with the words, 06:39 and then it makes perfect sense to them. 06:41 Terrific. 06:42 Now, I called it a mobile center of influence. 06:44 What exactly is the center that you have traveling around? 06:50 You know, what we find 06:53 as a health crisis in our country 06:56 has become an evangelistic opportunity. 06:59 And so because dental and vision care 07:02 are much, too much needed services 07:04 that are often elective services 07:06 and people's insurance, health insurance portfolio. 07:12 What we do is that we go to churches, 07:15 and we purposely set up 07:17 our programs in the local church 07:18 to help brand the services 07:21 that we're reaching out to the community 07:23 with the local church. 07:24 And so we will, we will set up our mobile clinic as one 07:27 that we have a 27 foot trailer, and it's mobile, portable, 07:31 so that the equipment that we have in our trailer, 07:34 we unload, 07:35 and we adapt it to the needs 07:36 of the available space in the churches. 07:39 And so we'll set up our dental clinic, 07:41 we'll set up our vision clinic, 07:42 and our medical screening clinic there. 07:44 Now you are a pastor, 07:46 but you in a former life were also a dentist. 07:50 How do you combine these two together? 07:51 How did this happen? 07:53 You know, I practiced dentistry for 37 years 07:56 and God took me through the torturous route 07:59 of learning that profession. 08:04 But He had other plans, unbeknownst to me. 08:06 And so His call to ministry 08:08 was one that left me a bit puzzled initially, 08:10 because why would God call me at this point of my life, 08:14 where I practiced dentistry for 37 years 08:17 and to come into ministry. 08:18 And so, when our Central California Conference 08:21 initiated the program for Life Hope Centers, 08:24 and they called me to help develop the program. 08:27 It was so exciting to realize it. 08:30 Here God had been preparing me all along, 08:33 for combining ministry 08:35 with the practice of health and dentistry. 08:37 That's wonderful. 08:38 Now, you also mentioned 08:40 there's a vision component as well, 08:41 who cares for that side of things? 08:43 You know, we have dedicated volunteers. 08:45 You know, we have 08:46 over half a million dollars worth of equipment, 08:48 but the most important and essential component 08:52 of our Life Hope Centers Ministry 08:55 are the volunteers. 08:56 And so we depend, 08:59 very importantly, on our volunteers, 09:01 we have a team of dedicated volunteer 09:04 optometrists and vision team to join us. 09:07 We are also very intentional in terms of incorporating 09:11 about one-third of our volunteers 09:13 as non-Adventists. 09:14 Wonderful. 09:16 We'd like to have the opportunity 09:17 that provides us mixing shoulders 09:22 with non-Adventist professionals. 09:24 We had one instance 09:26 where we had a program in a local community, 09:29 we've had served over 300 individuals that day. 09:33 And at the end of the day, 09:35 we had a lounge set up for our volunteers 09:37 and I was, you know, 09:41 eating and conversing with two fellow colleagues 09:44 who I presumed were Adventist 09:46 until one of them asked me, 09:48 "You know, I'm just impressed 09:50 by the logistics of Life Hope Centers, 09:54 you know, what is it? 09:55 What is it about this that you're so passionate about?" 09:59 And then his colleagues said, 10:00 "Well, all I know about Seventh-day Adventist is that 10:03 it's a cult." 10:05 And then he came back and commented, 10:07 "You know, all I've heard about Seventh-day Adventists 10:09 is what you don't eat." 10:11 What? 10:12 And before I had an opportunity to respond, 10:15 he came around and the other partner 10:17 or colleague had commented, 10:19 "What is it about Seventh-day Adventists 10:22 that you believe. 10:23 What do Adventists believe?" 10:25 And so therein came the opportunity to talk to them 10:27 about Jesus. 10:29 And I would venture to say that 10:30 we'd be hard pressed finding two individuals like this 10:33 walking into our churches and asking that question. 10:35 Exactly. 10:37 And yet it was in this setting 10:38 that Spirit of God move their hearts 10:40 and open them to inquire. 10:42 So not only you touching the lives of people 10:44 you're serving, 10:46 but the people who are serving with you. 10:48 Exactly, exactly. 10:49 So you're very intentional 10:51 and intentional in not only caring 10:53 for the physical needs of people, 10:54 but also their spiritual needs. 10:56 Yes, yes. 10:57 We know that when we follow Christ's method, 11:00 Christ's method alone is the most successful method 11:03 for reaching others. 11:05 And He mingled with a desire to seek those, 11:08 so it was mingling with intentionality. 11:10 And He sympathized. 11:11 You can't sympathize with people 11:13 without being in the midst of them 11:15 and understanding their needs. 11:17 And then He was able to serve and treat them. 11:20 And as a result of accomplishing that, 11:23 then He bid them to follow. 11:25 And so Life Hope Centers is in essence 11:28 fulfilling that model of Christ method alone. 11:31 Fantastic. 11:33 Dr. Urbina, thank you so much sharing with us today. 11:34 My pleasure. You're welcome. 11:36 And viewers at home, 11:37 what a marvelous initiative this is. 11:39 And there may be some variation of this 11:42 that you can try in your urban communities 11:44 where you live, 11:45 but please pray for this tremendous mission challenge 11:48 here in Central California. 11:50 You know, we understand that through the Bay Area, 11:53 we have between 8-10 million people. 11:55 It's a mission field in itself. 11:57 We'll be right back after this break. |
Revised 2021-02-05