Participants: Steven Grabiner
Series Code: OCIR
Program Code: OCIR000008
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00:13 From the very beginnings of Christianity,
00:16 ordinary men and women have been committed 00:19 to sharing the love and God with others. 00:21 This passion has especially been manifest 00:24 in the history of 00:25 the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 00:28 One man who typifies this dedication is Joseph Bates. 00:33 Early in his life, Bates was attracted to the sea. 00:37 Eventually, he became a successful 00:40 and wealthy sea captain. 00:42 However, upon yielding his life to Christ, 00:45 his priorities took a dramatic change. 01:04 When Bates retired, 01:05 he and his wife Prudence had a small fortune. 01:10 Together, they decided that they would use their means 01:13 to share the news of Christ's soon return with the world. 01:18 However, they were unprepared 01:21 for how quickly their fortune would be diminished. 01:24 As Bates was working in his study, 01:27 his wife Prudence came in and asked him to buy some flour. 01:31 He took his last coin, a single York shilling 01:36 and purchased four pounds of flour. 01:39 When he brought it home to his wife, she wept. 01:42 The once prosperous sea captain had been reduced to poverty. 01:48 Later that day, 01:50 Bates felt impressed to go to the post office. 01:53 There he found a letter waiting for him. 01:56 It contained $10, a large some in his day. 02:01 With that money he bought 02:03 all the provisions his wife needed. 02:06 He also went to the printer. 02:07 There he placed a down payment 02:10 for the publication of his book. 02:12 "The Seventh-day Sabbath, a Perpetual Sign." 02:16 Today, we will be visiting Oak Haven 02:19 and OCI Ministry located in Michigan. 02:23 Here the workers are inspired 02:25 by the same spirit that motivated Joseph Bates. 02:34 Oak Haven has had several types of ministries 02:38 over the years, 02:39 and the one that we focused on in the last say 02:41 25, 30 years, 02:43 has been Country Life Natural Foods, 02:45 which is a huge food distribution and ministry. 02:49 So we go to about 17, 18 states with trucks. 02:54 Then we are able to ship UPS or postal service, 02:58 and we do have the retail store as well, 03:01 so people come to us 03:02 looking for the good food that we offer. 03:04 The store itself actually carries 03:07 just about every item that would in a warehouse, 03:10 except we would have it in a smaller quantity. 03:12 We have several packaging machines 03:15 that we are able to take the bulk product 03:17 and package it down to smaller sizes 03:19 that are more convenient. 03:20 We are a vegetarian store leaning towards vegan, 03:24 but it is sort of a crossroads for people, 03:26 just learning about what can I do 03:28 if I don't want to eat meat? 03:30 What can I now eat? 03:31 There are good, clean, wonderfully, 03:34 tasty meat substitutes. 03:35 We can hand them our recipe 03:38 from the last cooking class and say, 03:39 here is a great recipe. 03:41 You don't want meatballs anymore, 03:43 but here is a nut ball that's gonna taste just as good 03:46 and give you better nutrition. 03:50 In one area of the operation, 03:53 we actually have a small production facility 03:55 where we bake Granola. 03:57 So we do two flavors of Granola, 03:59 almond delicious and a Cashew Date Delight 04:01 is very popular. 04:03 We bake it a couple of times a month 04:05 then ship it all out with the rest of our products. 04:08 Granola really had some roots in the establishment 04:11 of Country Life back in the early 1970s. 04:15 And they started getting Granola then they wanted some oats 04:18 and they wanted some raisins and almonds. 04:20 And so, the Granola has been integral to them, 04:23 the beginnings of our operation. 04:26 We really feel that our food distribution 04:30 is a food ministry. 04:32 It's not just a business. 04:34 And so everything we do, 04:35 every employee that we have is a missionary. 04:38 What's really nice these times 04:40 when we get to talk about the Lord? 04:41 Doesn't get any better than that, you know. 04:44 So, you know, to me this is a ministry. 04:48 We do deliver the stuff 04:50 which is the main part of the job, 04:52 but then they get those opportunities, 04:54 you know, the divine appointments. 04:58 Our goal is to really reach people for Christ, 05:02 to let them know that God loves them 05:05 and that He cares about them. 05:06 And one of the ways that we can do that is 05:08 through the help outreach because it's so non-threatening. 05:11 We have morning worship every morning for our staff. 05:15 We pray together constantly. 05:17 We look for opportunities to help people 05:20 and not just with physical food. 05:25 Our retail store has thousands of customers 05:28 walking in the door and so they come to buy food, 05:32 but they come to get more than food. 05:35 They come because they are beginning to trust us 05:38 and many of them have a longstanding trust in us 05:41 and relationship that we've built. 05:43 Because we do a lot of telephone work, 05:45 we're always in touch with people. 05:47 And so our ministry aspect is something 05:51 that we keep in forefront of our mind 05:54 that every opportunity God brings to us 05:56 through our contact with people is an opportunity 06:00 to share some aspect of His plan for their life 06:03 or a person that just needs a word of comfort. 06:07 We nearly look to every contact 06:10 that we have to be an opportunity 06:12 for sharing Christ's love directly or indirectly. 06:16 I would say that Country Life Store is a ministry, 06:19 the people that have come in from the community 06:22 become more and more friends. 06:24 You get to know the regular people 06:26 on a first name basis. 06:28 If they have a problem, they can come and say, 06:30 "Jorine, this is going on." 06:32 And I can just stop right there, 06:34 they can come in my office 06:35 or we can just pray right in the store, 06:37 that's just a really good opportunity 06:39 get to know people at an in-depth level. 06:43 The Pullman Seventh-day Adventist Church 06:45 is located on the campus of Oak Haven 06:47 and we are very supportive, 06:48 not only of the work of the local church, 06:50 but of the Michigan Conference. 06:53 That's what we are here for 06:54 to help the church grow as lay people. 06:57 We also have a nice arrangement 07:00 with the Michigan Conference 07:02 where we have Emmanuel Institute evangelism school 07:05 housed on a campus. 07:06 And that's been really exciting over the last four years 07:09 to have them here at Oak Haven. 07:12 Emmanuel Institute fits in really well 07:15 because they share the same philosophy. 07:18 And I remember when we were first meeting 07:20 with Pastor Howard 07:21 and Emmanuel Office associate director 07:24 and they shared with us their passion 07:26 for outpost evangelism. 07:28 And we could see that we are all on the same page. 07:31 And so it's a real blessing working with- 07:34 With them because they do have the same vision 07:37 for outpost ministries. 07:39 We serve a couple purposes and the students 07:42 that come here usually have two things 07:43 that they want to learn. 07:44 They want to learn more 07:45 how to be confident in their faith 07:48 and comfortable in sharing. 07:49 As we understand ministry, 07:52 God's work is not gonna be finished 07:54 by professional ministry. 07:56 It's gonna be finished by lay people. 07:57 You know, that's what we see in a lot of supporting ministries 08:00 is lay people who catch enough of the vision of 08:03 what we are about as Seventh-day Adventist 08:05 to take the ball and run with it, 08:07 to really go out and use the talented skills 08:10 God has given them, to be supportive 08:13 with the mission of the church, 08:16 but to take their talents 08:17 and go where God's called them to help to hasten 08:19 the coming of Jesus, and that thrills me. 08:27 In early Adventist history, 08:29 Michigan became a center of church influence. 08:33 Ultimately, Joseph Bates moved here 08:36 as did Ellen and James White. 08:40 It was in Michigan, 08:41 not far from Oak Haven's campus 08:44 that Ellen White had her famous 08:46 and influential health reform vision. 08:50 In that vision, she was shown the close relationship 08:54 between health and spirituality. 08:57 In her writings, 08:59 she emphasized the importance of health food work 09:03 as a means of communicating the gospel. 09:06 Oak Haven 09:07 not only produces and distributes health foods, 09:11 but they communicate health principles 09:14 with the community at large. 09:17 Health Evangelism really is what Oak Haven's all about. 09:21 And Oak Haven was started to be able to reach out 09:25 to the community in all different ways 09:27 that would help people mentally, 09:29 physically, spiritually, emotionally. 09:31 And it's a real blessing the way it all works together. 09:35 God has given us this opportunity 09:37 to reach people. 09:38 And it's amazing even to us 09:40 as we review week by week the numbers of people 09:44 that we impact. 09:45 We have approximately 15,000 plus active customers. 09:51 We also have some distributors, 09:53 and that doesn't really include the store customers 09:56 that come through. 09:58 So the total number of customers 10:00 that we impact are somewhere between 10:03 I would say 18 to 20,000, 10:06 then knowing that every person 10:08 that we influence has their own sphere of influence. 10:12 And so there are tens of thousands of people 10:15 that are out there gaining the blessing from the food, 10:18 from the lifestyle, 10:19 from the spiritual component and we just feel like, 10:23 God has given that to us 10:25 and we want to be good stewards of handling that. 10:30 Aside from the work that we do in delivering 10:32 food across the country, 10:34 we have quite an active local ministry. 10:36 We have cooking classes that people just stand in line 10:40 to get a seat for we are filled to capacity in every class. 10:46 One of the things that Oak Haven has really practiced 10:49 is what Jesus said, 10:51 "Freely you have received, freely give." 10:54 And we've noticed that from the time 10:55 we first came here that there was a spirit of generosity 10:59 and we've tried to carry that out. 11:01 So we don't charge for our programs. 11:04 People can leave a donation if they want to. 11:07 We offer a lot the regular lifestyle programs, 11:12 diabetes reversal. 11:13 We do depression, recovery program. 11:17 We've done herbal remedies and natural remedies, 11:20 natural treatments, 11:22 edible wild plant classes and just anything 11:25 that we can do to reach the local need 11:28 because then we can personally get acquainted 11:31 with each of those people that we impact. 11:34 At our cooking classes, 11:36 we try to focus on a particular theme or topic each time. 11:41 And so we develop the recipes before hand 11:45 and we show the people how to cook. 11:48 We try to find some way to open up 11:51 the word of God and show them 11:53 that there is a God that loves them 11:55 and try to bring in that spiritual component. 11:59 It's such a blessing to see people 12:01 come to the programs and to hear them, 12:03 share how their lives were changing, 12:05 whether it's their health or their family 12:09 or just their outlook on life whatever it is. 12:12 And it just cheers us on and keeps us going, 12:16 knowing that we're being a blessing to so many people. 12:19 Really one of for most blessings has been Patty and Mark. 12:24 Just their support, you know, 12:27 teaching us how to make our own bread, 12:30 whole-wheat bread. 12:31 And even though one time Donna was asking 12:35 questions and Patty said, 12:37 "I'll come up to your house and help, you know, with-" 12:41 We were, you know, 12:42 an hour and a quarter drive away 12:44 and we just couldn't believe that 12:45 she would offer to do something like that. 12:48 I think the health message 12:50 and the gospel mesh in two ways. 12:54 One is that the health message opens up the way. 12:58 It breaks down prejudice. 13:00 So that people are more interested 13:01 in what we believe as Seventh-day Adventist. 13:05 And also, I think the health message 13:08 just prepares the mind and a heart to be more open 13:11 to the Holy Spirit. 13:12 When our minds are clear and our bodies are healthy, 13:16 we are much more receptive 13:18 to what the Holy Spirit is telling us. 13:19 It paves the way for the Holy Spirit 13:21 to do a work in our hearts. 13:27 We have a concept in ministry that involves churches 13:31 around the country that actually get our food, 13:34 invite their local neighbors and associates 13:37 and then plan an event that often 13:41 we can have a spiritual component 13:43 and tie that in with the monthly food delivery. 13:46 So people come and they get their food 13:48 and they'll get spiritual food 13:50 and some health presentation as well. 13:52 And that's being very successful in many of the churches 13:55 in the Michigan Conference, 13:58 working with the food co-op ministry. 14:02 Starting this year we've tried a new thing, 14:04 which several churches around the country are doing 14:07 and it is small meetings in your home. 14:10 We're using a program called Homes of Health and Hope, 14:13 and it's a follow-up to some of our other programs 14:16 where we have a small group, 14:18 come to our home and it's really exciting 14:21 because people open up a little bit more, 14:23 we get to build relationships 14:24 a little bit closer, pray with people, 14:27 and that's another element that 14:30 it's just prevailing much of what we do. 14:35 As one of the field vice presidents, 14:37 I am excited about being part of OCI. 14:41 It's a blessing to be a part of the family of Outpost 14:44 International. 14:45 And it's really encouraging to be able to visit 14:48 the different institutions and to see what they are doing. 14:51 It's been an opportunity to get the word out, 14:56 more about OCI. 14:57 And it's such an encouragement to see the creativity of God, 15:02 the ideas that God gives to individuals 15:04 of things that they can do as lay people. 15:09 OCI has been such a blessing in the way that 15:13 it has pulled all these 15:15 different lay ministries together 15:17 and with the leadership training 15:19 that it is provided, it is enabled. 15:22 Ministries that have pretty much been out there 15:24 on their own functioning to feel like 15:27 they're part of something. 15:29 And to be encourage by what others are doing. 15:31 And I see God just really moving to 15:35 pull the OCI Ministries together 15:37 and what's been done at the headquarters 15:39 is a big part of that. 15:41 Something that we can't underestimate 15:44 is the value of prayer. 15:46 And one of my favorite statements is from the book 15:49 "Ministry of Healing." 15:50 And it's in one of the later chapters, 15:52 Development and Service and that says, 15:55 "Pray and faith can do what, 15:58 no other power on earth can accomplish." 16:01 And we really take that to heart. 16:05 And our customers often will just light up. 16:10 They'll just respond in such positive way 16:12 just by the simple phrase. 16:14 Can we pray for you or can we pray with you? 16:16 And it's really- 16:18 It's really awesome when hearts are touched 16:21 by the connection that that we have with God. 16:24 We really believe that God answers prayer. 16:27 And that inspiration to people 16:29 is coming through in our ministry and they are often- 16:33 Often, customers will say, 16:35 "Please, bring it up in your staff meeting for prayer. 16:37 You know, mention my name or my needs." 16:40 And it's really encouraging to us. 16:43 Joseph Bates used his talents and resources 16:47 to communicate the good news of Christ's return 16:50 to this world. 16:51 In a similar way, 16:53 the workers in OCI Ministries use their gifts 16:57 to share God's love with others. 16:59 They believe their efforts will bear fruit 17:03 in the great harvest that Christ will reap when He returns. 17:10 We share this globe with about seven billion people. 17:14 That's a lot of people. 17:16 I'm standing here in this busy city. 17:19 It's easy to feel small and insignificant. 17:22 After all, I'm only one person. 17:25 What difference can I make? 17:26 But the fact is each of us can make a difference. 17:30 God is calling us to turn our lives and our skills 17:34 over to Him. 17:35 Around the world, 17:37 the individual workers at OCI Ministries 17:40 are letting God use them to bring hope and healing 17:44 one person at a time. 17:46 You can make a difference, too. 17:48 When you connect to OCI, 17:51 you connect to more than 80 ministries worldwide. 17:56 If you are interested in getting involved 17:59 in the global ministry of OCI, 18:01 visit our website or call our office. 18:04 We'd love to talk to you. 18:15 They are variety of risks confronting 18:17 today's young people. 18:19 In Sub-Saharan, Africa, 18:21 AIDS is a great threat to their existence. 18:25 This deadly virus can affect their lives in many ways, 18:29 from them contracting the virus to the devastation 18:33 that occurs when their parents come down with the disease. 18:37 Throughout Sub-Saharan, Africa, 18:39 there is a missing generation. 18:42 Tanzania ranks 3rd of all the African nations 18:45 in the greatest concentration of AIDS orphans. 18:49 In some parts of Tanzania, 18:51 almost half of the population is afflicted with the disease. 18:55 Another of our OCI Ministries is doing 18:59 what it can to rescue these at risk young people. 19:04 Eden valley Foster Care Mission 19:06 is dedicated to helping AIDS orphans. 19:09 Its focus is breaking the cycle 19:12 that this disease has brought to the people of Africa. 19:18 My wife and I spent 10 years in Africa, 19:20 and on our way home we decided to visit 19:24 our son in Tanzania, 19:27 and there is a man who wanted us to go 19:30 and visit a place called Lupillo in the Makati Mountains. 19:35 There is nothing going on there. 19:36 And so we left him some money to hire Bible workers 19:39 and to do the evangelistic series 19:41 and we flew to America. 19:43 But in America, we began getting emails saying 19:47 there is a lot of AIDS orphans there. 19:51 He came up with the number of 25,000 once, 19:53 another time it's 28,000. 19:55 We thought, "Now wait a minute, 19:58 that's an incredible number of orphans that can't be." 20:02 So we made another trip back to Tanzania 20:05 and we went up again into the mountains 20:07 to investigate this thing. 20:09 We went to the public school 20:10 and between 35 to 50% of the students 20:13 in the public schools were orphan. 20:15 And at that point, 20:16 my wife decided we've got to do something. 20:18 However, I was the president of Eden Valley, 20:22 I couldn't just uproot and go 20:24 and so we decided that she should do what she could do. 20:28 AIDS was the thing that was devastating the land here. 20:35 The whole generation of parents were missing. 20:38 I could see the young people had nothing. 20:42 There is nothing here for the young people. 20:45 And so once we checked over the land 20:49 and we found this place. 20:52 It had water, it had a forest 20:54 and it had some flat agricultural land. 20:58 We decided to go ahead and take it. 21:00 And now we have our whole school campus. 21:03 We have dormitories. We have staff homes. 21:06 We have classrooms. 21:09 We have carpentry, 21:11 beginner sewing and advance sewing 21:13 up to this time. 21:15 But our goal is not to stop there. 21:17 It's to provide agriculture and mechanics. 21:22 And we've built a mechanic shop with the pit 21:25 and now we're just waiting 21:27 for the Lord to provide us a teacher, 21:30 so this program can go ahead. 21:34 The real goal of the place is not just to teach him a trade. 21:39 We are here for evangelism. 21:43 I learned about God. 21:44 I was converted and was baptized while here 21:47 and learning things that will give you a better life. 21:50 And I'm also growing spiritually. 21:55 Every morning we have 45 minute to an hour Bible class 22:00 and then after that they start their classroom studies 22:03 which is carpentry and sewing. 22:08 Every morning from 8 to 9 they have Bible class. 22:11 I've been teaching 22:13 and the Jesus was also a carpenter. 22:15 And the students appreciate that He also did 22:18 what they are now doing. 22:22 With the skills that they are learning here, 22:25 we hope that they will be able to back into their villages 22:29 and do the simple work of making stools, 22:33 tables, beds, chairs. 22:35 And they will be able to not only do that, 22:38 but to reflect Christ in their work. 22:45 I will start my own sewing business 22:48 and we'll teach others how to sew. 22:51 One thing I would like is to have my own sewing machine 22:54 when I graduate. 22:56 We don't have sewing machines to give to every young girl 23:01 when they graduate. 23:02 So we have provided a way by giving them work 23:06 and this is a blessing to them and a blessing to us. 23:11 My education has been very helpful 23:14 because now I can make a living. 23:16 I'm so thankful to Mrs. Fournier 23:19 for helping to get me this sewing machine. 23:22 It is such a blessing. 23:24 To the boys, we give them a plane, hammer, 23:30 saw, chisel and a measuring tape when they graduate. 23:34 And this has been a blessing to them, too. 23:36 Because right straight off, 23:38 they can start a little business for themselves. 23:45 After graduating, I built this carpentry shop. 23:49 I would like to thank to school for my education 23:52 which has helped to me be successful with my work. 23:58 AID's creates many different pressures on local communities. 24:02 It interrupts the flow of normal community life. 24:06 For example, 24:07 the elderly are often trust into the role of being 24:11 primary caregivers for their now orphaned grandchildren. 24:15 Will region such is this suffer under the weight of AIDS. 24:20 There is a need for more education, 24:23 for better medical treatments. 24:26 Eden Valley Foster Care Mission 24:28 is doing what it can to help alleviate 24:31 some of these great needs as well. 24:36 We have a clothes distribution 24:38 that we do for the elementary kids. 24:40 They come over here or if it's a far village, 24:44 we go to their far village and we distribute clothing. 24:49 We buy material and we make dresses for them. 24:54 Last week, we had a clothing distribution 24:58 for the old people. 25:00 And they are always so, so thankful. 25:04 We do a lot of dental work and wound care. 25:08 And usually there is one or two people 25:10 sitting outside our door when we get up in the morning. 25:15 It would be nice to have a clinic. 25:17 We could put a clinic in the village 25:19 or have a clinic right here on campus. 25:23 Last week, we had a lady come to us. 25:26 She had been in the motorcycle accident. 25:30 Her clothes got caught in the wheel 25:32 and it caused the bike to tip 25:35 and so then she thrashed her foot. 25:38 It was very painful. 25:40 And so we put charcoal poultice on it the first night 25:44 and then I had to go away for some meetings. 25:47 I had taught her how to do hot and cold, 25:50 hot and cold. 25:52 And so she faithfully did that twice a day 25:55 which I am very grateful for. 25:57 I left there some charcoal, 25:59 showed her how to make the charcoal poultice. 26:00 And so this morning we went to look at her foot. 26:04 It looks really good. 26:08 We have two Bible workers here on campus. 26:10 They go into he local villages here 26:13 and they teach at the elementary schools. 26:18 They also visit house to house. 26:20 They do to know the people and help the people. 26:23 I feel like I am a pioneer and that I built up the place. 26:30 Now we are needing some people who would be happy to come in 26:35 and to nurture and mentor these young people. 26:39 So this is urgent need of us is to have 26:42 two families who would be willing to come here 26:46 and take over this program 26:48 and teach and to be a part of it, 26:50 and to make it their own. 26:53 It's His vision. 26:55 This is my motivating power. This is the Lord's work. 26:58 Helping people to know Jesus is what we want to do. 27:03 The aim of Eden Valley Foster Care mission 27:07 is to help the at risk young people in this region. 27:10 By giving them practical skills, 27:13 they enable them to earn a livelihood. 27:16 And that's escape the destructive lifestyle 27:19 that awaits so many of their friends. 27:22 The students here also learn of the love of God. 27:26 When they leave the school, 27:28 they go out and they make a significant impact 27:31 in the surrounding community. 27:34 God's blessing has been richly felt in this ministry, 27:38 but you too can have a part. 27:40 Your prayers make a huge difference in ministries 27:44 such as these. 27:46 I encourage you to consider 27:48 what you can do to help the expanding work of OCI 27:52 around the world. 27:57 We value your support. 27:59 Please, visit us at OutpostCenters.org. 28:02 To learn more about the worldwide work of OCI 28:06 and our member ministries, 28:07 such as Eden Valley Foster Care Mission. 28:12 We would also love to hear from you 28:14 at info@OutpostCenters.org. 28:17 Or please call us at 423.236.5600. |
Revised 2014-12-17