Participants:
Series Code: MTS
Program Code: MTS002605B
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00:07 Welcome back to Andrews University.
00:08 And we're just at the entrance, 00:10 the main entrance of the campus. 00:12 And you can see this globe and I love the message here, 00:16 "Seek Knowledge," and around the corner it says, 00:18 "A firm faith change the world." 00:21 What a wonderful message that is. 00:23 Next up, let's travel to the country of Georgia. 00:26 I am in the country of Georgia 00:28 and we are in a place called The Cave city, 00:31 an old fortress back from the 10th century, 00:34 and even more ancient than that 00:37 for some of the pagan beginnings of it. 00:40 We recently came from the place where Stalin was born 00:43 and some of the history that happened there. 00:46 I'm here with Dmitriy Zubkov, 00:48 who is the Adventist mission director 00:50 for the Euro-Asia division. 00:52 And he has a fascinating 00:55 and tragic story about his grandfather 00:58 and his relationship with Stalin. 01:01 Please, Dmitriy, tell us the story. 01:08 Today, we visited historical places 01:10 of this country. 01:12 We're now 50 kilometers 01:13 from the place where Stalin lived. 01:15 This was Stalin's birthplace and where he was raised. 01:19 Stalin was at first known 01:21 for having received a good education 01:24 and unfortunately later, 01:25 he became a dictator of this whole country, 01:28 of the entire Soviet Union. 01:30 We often hear stories about Stalin. 01:33 And history tells us that he killed a lot of people, 01:36 especially those who believed in God. 01:38 This was a form of suppression and hatred against religion. 01:42 One of the stories about Stalin 01:44 involves my very own grandfather. 01:48 It happened in the 1930's, 01:49 when my grandfather was in the SARS service 01:52 in Kiev, Ukraine in Cherkasy Oblast territory. 01:57 My grandfather was a devout and faithful servant of God. 02:02 He did not own a car, not even a bicycle. 02:05 He often traveled on foot, 02:07 walking hundreds of kilometers 02:09 in order to visit different groups of believers. 02:14 My grandfather wanted to teach the Word of God 02:18 and about Jesus life on earth. 02:21 Sometimes he and his colleagues held communion service 02:25 during the night. 02:26 There was no time to waste. 02:28 They needed to move from place to place, 02:30 to reach as many people as possible. 02:33 You see, there were too few Adventist pastors at the time. 02:38 But during the war time, 02:39 where nearly everyone was drafted, 02:42 it was decided that clergymen had to be enlisted 02:45 to fight the enemy, just as well as anybody else. 02:50 So my grandfather was called 02:52 and when he refused to bear a weapon in his hands, 02:56 he was put into prison. 02:59 Then, he and others with him were marched 200 kilometers. 03:05 They were transported by train 03:07 and when they arrived there at a specific place, 03:09 their sentence was pronounced against them. 03:14 Against all of those who refused to bear a weapon. 03:18 There were Baptists, 03:20 there were Adventists and my grandfather 03:23 was a Seventh-day Adventist pastor. 03:26 Sadly, my grandfather was sentenced to death. 03:31 He would be shot 03:32 for his refusal to bear a weapon. 03:35 It's curious that Stalin himself 03:38 signed my grandfather's sentence. 03:40 So the soldiers could shoot him, 03:42 because of his faith, 03:43 because of his devotion to God, and to the Adventist Church. 03:48 All of this happened in 1944. 03:52 These were difficult times, 03:53 because my grandmother 03:55 was left to raise three children all alone. 03:58 My uncle was six, 04:00 my mother was four years old 04:02 and their youngest brother was only 6 months. 04:07 They continue to live together while keeping their faith 04:10 and attending church, 04:12 each one of them showed an exemplary faith 04:15 and the strong devotion to God. 04:18 For me, my grandfather remains in my memory 04:22 as a good and faithful servant of God, 04:24 who preached the gospel and remained true to his faith 04:27 until the very end of his life. 04:31 Now, we have freedom to preach the gospel. 04:34 We're now in Georgian territory 04:36 where lots of believers profess their faith 04:38 in the truth of the Word of God. 04:41 We also serve people 04:43 in the Euro-Asia division territory. 04:47 Our purpose today is to preach the gospel in every tribe, 04:51 language and nation, regardless of ethnicity. 04:55 Our task is to preach the gospel. 04:58 We're establishing centers of influence 05:00 here in the Caucasus 05:01 and in all the Euro-Asia division. 05:05 Our strategy is to start new communities 05:08 and new churches 05:10 as well as to expand the activities to other areas 05:13 in our territory. 05:14 The Lord offered us wonderful possibilities 05:17 and feed them in these days. 05:20 We don't know just how long this freedom will last. 05:23 So we make every moment count 05:25 to preach the gospel in the entire region. 05:30 Wow. 05:32 Thank you for the story and also for the report 05:34 on what's happening in this area. 05:37 There is an incredible... 05:40 Excuse me, 05:41 there is an incredible amount of work 05:43 to be done yet in this area. 05:45 Some of it is very dangerous. 05:48 And we need the prayers of the people 05:51 that are out there. 05:53 There is a lot of support for funding, 05:56 and that is wonderful, we need that. 05:58 But there are people in harm's way out here 06:00 and so, thank you for all of the work 06:03 that you are doing 06:04 and we pray that the work here 06:09 in this part of the world will be able to continue. 06:12 And thank you for sharing that story again. 06:14 You're welcome. Thank you for joining us today. 06:16 This has been a very interesting story 06:20 that we can learn from Dmitriy. 06:22 There are people around that have so many stories, 06:25 especially those that were here during the Soviet times 06:30 that will just blow your mind. 06:33 Continue to pray for this group of people 06:35 here in this part of the world. 06:37 Next up, let's see how your 13th Sabbath offerings 06:40 have made a big difference at a university in Madagascar. 06:54 Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world. 06:58 It is situated 06:59 off the southeastern coast of Africa. 07:01 The population is approximately 25 million 07:04 and there's about 155 people for every Adventist. 07:09 Here, rice paddy fields stretch into their horizon, 07:12 both in the capital city of Antananarivo 07:15 and in the rural areas. 07:18 In this peaceful setting, 07:19 the Adventist Church owns and operates 07:21 the Adventist University of Zurcher. 07:25 This university offers affordable, 07:27 quality higher education in an environment 07:29 committed to Seventh-day Adventist values. 07:32 Since 1996, it has promoted the development 07:35 of the whole person through academic, 07:38 religious and social programs. 07:41 University Adventist Zurcher has received the funds 07:45 from the 13th Sabbath offerings on 2013 07:50 to build two buildings. 07:52 One has the university library 07:55 and the other one is for the technology building. 08:00 The construction of these two buildings 08:03 helped the university to accomplish its mission 08:06 by getting more students to come 08:08 to get university education. 08:12 The library is one of the biggest 08:14 university libraries in the country. 08:17 Many academic and spiritual books 08:19 lie in its shelves. 08:20 Students have online access 08:22 and enjoy open spaces for group study. 08:25 The building also houses 08:26 the Ellen G.White research center 08:28 and the language institute 08:30 where students can learn to read, 08:32 write and speak both French and English. 08:36 Marouha is a student at Zurcher. 08:39 She loves the language institute 08:41 and is grateful for the opportunity 08:42 to attend school here. 08:44 To her, Zurcher is more than just a school she studies at. 08:47 It's a place where she can live out her faith. 08:50 When Marouha first accepted the Adventist message 08:53 and chose to be baptized, 08:55 she feared her family would disown her 08:57 and send her away. 08:59 My parents didn't accept my decision. 09:02 It was a challenging time for me. 09:04 I drew strength from talking with teachers and friends. 09:08 My friends stayed by my side 09:09 and helped me stand firm in my decision. 09:12 Marouha now feels closer to God as she studies His Word 09:15 and connects with likeminded friends. 09:18 She is studying nursing, so she can help people in need. 09:21 Students have also benefitted 09:22 from the new technology building, 09:24 where the university expanded its curriculum. 09:27 Here, more students can be equipped 09:29 for this high demand field. 09:31 The new technology building is very nice. 09:33 We have a suitable laboratory. 09:35 The space is big, there's room for everyone 09:38 and we have one computer per student 09:39 for hands-on training. 09:46 I'd love to send a message to all Adventist members 09:50 who gave offerings for the 13th Sabbath 09:54 to University Adventist Zurcher. 09:57 Thank you because from your offerings, 09:59 we were able to made a dream a reality. 10:03 Thank you. 10:04 For more than a hundred years, 10:06 the 13th Sabbath Offering has empowered 10:08 the Seventh-day Adventist Church 10:10 to launch boats, 10:11 heal the sick, build schools, reach the unreached 10:14 and change lives in many countries. 10:17 Thank you for supporting the 13th Sabbath Offering 10:21 this quarter. 10:38 Well, thank you so much for joining us 10:39 on today's program 10:41 and I hope that you've been inspired 10:42 and challenged by our 360 degree view of mission 10:46 around the world. 10:48 From this campus, this Andrews University campus, 10:51 thousands of trained students 10:53 have gone to all parts of the world 10:55 to serve and to strengthen God's mission 10:58 in many far flung places. 11:00 And that made a huge difference in growing the kingdom of God. 11:04 I want to thank you for your continuing support 11:06 of mission around the world. 11:08 Whether you pray, whether you give, 11:10 whether you go, or whether you do all three, 11:13 we consider you to be part 11:14 of our Adventist Mission Family, 11:17 helping to support mission around the world. 11:19 And I pray that you will continue 11:21 to remember mission in your heart, in your prayers, 11:24 in your giving and in your service. 11:26 For Adventist Mission, I'm Gary Krause, 11:29 and I hope that you can join me next time, 11:31 right here on Mission 360°. |
Revised 2020-03-21