Participants: John Lomacang (Host), Louis Torres
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY014104A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:29 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:06 Hello friends, and welcome to 3ABN Today. 01:09 My name is John Lomacang. 01:10 If you've been part of our 3ABN family, 01:13 no introduction is necessary but if you just joining us, 01:15 thank you so much for tuning 01:16 into this very inspirational network 01:20 that we hope you remain connected to. 01:23 Keep that dial locked in, 01:24 because the Lord always has a message 01:27 whenever you tune into this network. 01:29 And my guest today is one 01:31 that I've been looking forward to seeing again, 01:34 man that God has been using for many decades. 01:37 I'll let him tell you how long 01:38 but I know this is gonna be a dynamic program. 01:41 If you've ever thought about missions, 01:44 this program is for you. 01:46 And you'll discover today 01:47 that you don't have to necessarily be 01:49 overseas to be a missionary. 01:51 But the fact of the matter is you are, 01:52 either a missionary or you are a mission field. 01:55 So stay tuned for a very important program. 01:58 As you know we always have music 01:59 and today we have the Burchfield Brothers 02:02 and the song that they gonna be presenting right now 02:04 is one called "Wayfaring Stranger." 06:24 Well, thank you for that wonderfully performed song, 06:27 Wayfaring Stranger of the Burchfield Brothers. 06:31 Thank you for that very much. 06:32 Well, Pastor Torres, good to see you. 06:34 Thank you. 06:35 I want to extend my hand to shake yours. 06:37 Thank you. Like wise. 06:38 I'll tell you, it's so good to see you. 06:40 We've been in many locations together 06:43 and we have somewhat of an affinity 06:45 coming from the same place, Brooklyn, New York. 06:49 And, but there are some people that are watching 06:51 and listening to this program today that may say, 06:53 well, who is Louis Torres? 06:55 I called you Pastor Louis Torres 06:57 because you are pastor and you also-- 06:59 just tell us who you are, the viewing audience, 07:02 listening audience, who you are, 07:03 where you are from and what you do right now? 07:06 I was born in Puerto Rico. 07:07 Okay. 07:08 Left Puerto Rico when I was six years old, 07:11 moved to New York City. 07:13 My mother moved just like a gypsy 07:15 to different places in Brooklyn, 07:17 but most of the place was in Brownsville. 07:19 Okay. 07:20 Brooklyn, New York. 07:22 And that was during the time the west side story dilemma. 07:26 We are Puerto Ricans 07:27 and we were surrounded by Italians 07:29 and there was gang fights and so forth all the time. 07:33 From there we moved to another neighborhood, east New York. 07:36 Okay. 07:37 Where I got interested in music and at the age of 12 07:40 I got into show business and then when I was 21 07:45 I-- while in show business went home 07:50 for two weeks vacation, that time I was bass player 07:53 with Bill Haley and the Comets. 07:54 That's right. 07:55 And we were doing a world tour but in the mean time 08:00 I went home and when I got home found two of my brothers 08:03 who had become Seventh-day Adventist Christians. 08:05 Wow. 08:06 I didn't know that was something that existed. 08:09 When my brother said he was a Seventh-day Adventist 08:12 I thought that was some disease that they had contracted. 08:15 And you said, home, you mean Puerto Rico? 08:16 Oh, this is New York City. 08:17 Oh, New York City. Okay. 08:19 So I turn away from it, 08:25 I had no interest in what that had to offer. 08:28 But I was invited to a baptismal service 08:30 where my oldest brother was going to be baptized, 08:32 Pastor Eugene Torres from Florida. 08:35 And by God's grace, in that experience 08:38 I had a conversion experience. 08:41 And rather than going on tour it's how they take a detour. 08:46 Okay. I like that. 08:48 That detour led me to following Christ 08:51 and then I spent two years in military 08:55 and that's military I came out during the Vietnam war, 08:59 I served as a medic. 09:01 But I came back and decide 09:04 that I wanted to be in ministry. 09:06 Went off one year to college, 09:08 after that one year I felt that was too slow. 09:11 So I jumped out of college, 09:13 they told me if I did not finish, 09:15 I'll never get into ministry. A year later I was a minister. 09:21 There you go. 09:22 For the Chesapeake Conference Seventh-day Adventist 09:24 which covers Maryland and Delaware. 09:25 That's right. 09:26 So then I began doing ministry and been minister every since. 09:30 I've been a pastor and evangelist, 09:32 presently I served as president 09:34 of what is called Guam Micronesia Mission 09:38 which is out there in the Pacific Ocean. 09:40 Beautiful place. 09:41 Yeah, it is. 09:42 You have to invite me there, 09:43 I've always heard about Guam, never been to Guam. 09:46 Not putting the pressure on you, 09:47 but it will be a wonderful place 09:48 because so much of the work that God is doing 09:51 for the church is happening out 09:52 in that small island called Guam. 09:55 Is that also where they have all those radio antennas? 09:59 That's correct. Okay. 10:00 Adventist World Radio. Adventist World Radio. 10:02 Yeah, Adventist World Radio has a ministry there 10:05 that sends the message to all of China, Russia, 10:11 Malaysia, Vietnam and all that area is covered 10:15 with this short wave radio. 10:18 And what's beautiful is that 10:19 in all those third world countries 10:21 most of the people that's what they have is short wave radios. 10:23 Wow. 10:24 And so we're hearing marvelous stories of people 10:28 who are listening and accept the truth of Christ, 10:32 become converted. 10:34 They are asking somebody to go with them, 10:35 baptize them. 10:37 It's just a marvelous ministry. 10:39 And you know, when you talk about the many years 10:40 that God has called you, I like what you said earlier, 10:42 when you left college you were told 10:44 that you would never be able to get into ministry 10:46 but we know, I know personally 10:48 that God always has the final say in where we end up. 10:50 Exactly. 10:51 And we have so we have pastors in our denominations 10:54 that the Lord has used 10:55 the Holy Spirit to prepare them, 10:57 not necessarily literarily training 10:59 Exactly. 11:00 But when you get the Holy Spirit 11:01 as the Bible says in the Book of Acts, 11:03 it's obvious that these men often label by the world 11:06 as uneducated have been with Jesus. 11:08 So which one would you prefer? 11:10 Well, obviously-- 11:11 you know what's funny about it is that 11:14 when I was growing up in Brooklyn, 11:16 I going to school, they gave me an IQ test. 11:20 Okay. 11:21 And the results was, I was in number seven. 11:24 So I came out, so I dropped out of school 11:28 and went into show business, et cetera. 11:32 But then when I went to the army 11:35 I began to try to figure out how the read the Bible. 11:38 Okay. 11:39 My reading level was about a kindergarten see spot run 11:44 and I didn't paid attention to reading 11:47 because I did everything of music with ear. 11:49 Okay. 11:50 So I taught myself and learned to play, 11:53 et cetera by ear. 11:55 So consequently I was very, very slow 11:58 when it came to reading. 12:00 And when I became converted I want to get baptized, 12:04 I went to the pastor and I said, 12:05 I need to get baptized. 12:06 He said, well, first you got to take Bible studies. 12:07 I said, what's that? 12:08 So he handed me stack of studies like this 12:12 and when I looked at the first lesson 12:13 I couldn't even read the name of the king of Babylon. 12:15 Wow. 12:16 Nebuchadnezzar. 12:19 To me those were $50 words, you know. 12:21 And so I thought, man, I'll never get baptized. 12:25 This is what it's gonna take, yeah. 12:26 So I said to the pastor, look-- 12:28 I was too embraced to tell him like 12:29 I was basically illiterate. 12:30 So I said, Pastor, listen, I want to serve the Lord 12:34 with all my heart and I said, I've given up everything. 12:39 I mean, I didn't go on a trip-- on the world tour. 12:42 I called up the Comets and told them I wasn't going. 12:45 And so I gave up my amplifier, my guitar and everything 12:50 and I was finished with that life. 12:52 Sold out to Jesus. 12:53 Completely. 12:55 And so I said, I promise you Pastor, 12:57 I'll study for the rest of my life. 12:59 So he baptized me, praise the Lord. 13:02 And then when I got drafted 13:06 I actually spent most of my time 13:08 studying the word, trying to figure out. 13:10 I took a dictionary, 13:12 I took seven books of Bible commentary 13:15 with me in my duffle bag. 13:17 It was big at that time. 13:18 They are big. 13:20 So I carried them and a dictionary 13:23 so I could figure out what the word meant 13:24 and et cetera. 13:26 And so by the time 13:27 I was finished by the end of the year. 13:29 I was quite conversion concerning the scriptures. 13:32 Praise the Lord. 13:33 I was witnessing to the soldiers, 13:34 sharing with the soldiers. 13:36 And so they couldn't figure me out 13:39 because I was placed in the headquarters' company 13:42 and most of the guys in my barrack 13:45 had Master's degrees. 13:47 And I had a Master dropout. 13:48 So anyway, they couldn't figure me out, 13:52 they couldn't figure how was it, 13:53 that I could give them answers 13:55 when I was basically illiterate. 13:56 Wow. 13:57 But it was the spirit of the Lord, 13:58 leading me, teaching me. 13:59 So by the time I came out 14:02 I was already in comparison to people 14:05 who come out of college. 14:07 This is not a boast because all glory to God, 14:09 but I knew more of the scriptures 14:11 than most of he guys 14:12 who went to theological training. 14:14 Praise the Lord. 14:15 Yeah. 14:18 There's no question the spirit of God can't teach you. 14:20 Now it doesn't mean I don't believe in education. 14:22 Oh, I understand. 14:23 You know, today I have a doctor's degree for example. 14:26 But the doctor's degree came as an afterthought. 14:28 Right, not a before thought. 14:29 That's right. 14:30 But you know the wonderful thing about God's word 14:32 and the text that's going through 14:33 my mind as a pastor to--" 14:35 the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise--" 14:38 The simple. The simple. 14:39 "The entrance of your word giveth light." 14:43 And so whenever you expose yourself to God's word, 14:45 you can't come out of that in the dark. 14:47 Amen. 14:48 There's no downward spiral to the Word of God, 14:51 you know as you study the Word of God. 14:53 When the word of the Lord came to Jonah, 14:55 the word was arise not sit down. 14:57 God always brings you up whenever the word comes to you. 15:01 But I am just excited to see what God has done in your life 15:03 and I've followed you long before I was a pastor. 15:06 I've been a pastor now 28 years 15:08 and you were well into your pastorship by that time, 15:11 growing up in Brooklyn, New York 15:13 and reading your books and even the ones that you put together. 15:15 And you have a couple here that I want to talk about 15:19 because-- just highlight that briefly for me, 15:22 you know, Bothersome and Disturbing Bible Passages. 15:26 This particular book I wrote 15:28 because there are a lot of people who come across 15:34 the text in the Bible they can't explain. 15:37 Right. 15:38 Or that are misunderstood or as the Bible says, rested. 15:44 To their own destruction. 15:46 Yeah, to their own destruction. 15:47 So I have a lot of people that I trained 15:51 and they don't have the advantage of experience 15:55 that I've had. 15:56 So I thought, okay, 15:58 there are all these texts that people throw at them 16:00 and said, this is what it says 16:01 when in reality it says the opposite. 16:02 Exactly. That's right. 16:04 So I put them together here. 16:06 In fact, I think I have hundred and-- verses of scripture. 16:11 It's 173. 16:13 Wow, challenging verses in the Bible. 16:15 Verses that are difficult to be understood 16:17 but the Bible explains it. 16:19 In other words, 16:20 I give a biblical explanation for that. 16:22 In fact, it's interesting that I had a call one time 16:28 from a guy that listen-- that speaks at 3ABN, 16:31 his name Doug Bachelor. 16:32 Oh, yes. Okay. 16:34 Another good friend. 16:35 So Doug called me up and says, 16:38 do you mind if I can use your book? 16:41 And I said, which one? 16:42 He says, Bothersome and Disturbing Bible Passages. 16:44 Can you send me a digital copy? 16:46 Because he has a program called-- 16:48 Bible Answers Live. Bible Answers Live. 16:50 So he wanted it to give a under grading 16:54 to some of the verses and scripture. 16:55 So it's turned up to be well used book 16:59 and in fact Amazing Facts keeps on asking for more. 17:03 This book has really-- this book has quite 17:05 a longevity behind it and it has helped 17:07 a lot of people grab those scriptures. 17:09 You know, one of the ones that I was listening to recently, 17:11 and we're not going to spend 17:12 whole the hour on this obviously, 17:13 but just to highlight what you're talking about, 17:16 there's a verse in the Bible that sometimes people say, 17:18 to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. 17:20 Well, there is not such scripture. 17:22 You know, Paul says, I would rather. 17:24 And so that's one of those scriptures 17:25 that you explained in here which-- 17:27 if you ever get a chance to get a copy of this book, 17:29 Bothersome and Disturbing Bible Passages 17:32 and we'll give you information 17:33 before the program is done to get that. 17:36 But you also talk about your conversion story. 17:39 Is that Demos or Angels? 17:40 No, this-- this one. 17:41 Oh, wait a minute. That's right. 17:42 That's a different on. 17:43 Yeah, this one is on actual demonic possession. 17:48 That's right. That's right. 17:50 And the reason that I wrote this book on demonic possession 17:52 because a lot of people confuse about this issue. 17:54 In fact I don't know if any course is given 17:57 in our theological seminaries on demonic possession, 18:00 how you deal with it, what it appears like, 18:03 what do you do when you see it 18:07 and also mistaken ideas about being possession. 18:12 For example somebody may have bipolar, 18:14 or have seizures and people who are into, 18:17 what is called the deliverance ministries 18:18 go around trying to find the demon in people. 18:21 And so you got a demon of chocolate, 18:22 or you got a demon of smoke, or you got a demon of allergy. 18:25 I've heard those before. 18:26 You've heard those before? Okay. 18:27 So what happens with those situations is that 18:30 if a person actually has a biological problem, 18:33 a physiological problem, a chemical problem. 18:37 In other words, sometimes the chemistry in the brain 18:40 is not functioning right, you can have symptoms 18:43 that are similar to demonic possession. 18:45 Right. 18:46 But let suppose that you are a person 18:48 who has bipolar, all right. 18:49 Somebody comes and says you are possessed 18:51 we're gonna cast out the demon. 18:52 Yeah, many persons have this. 18:53 All right, so they go about trying to cast out the demon 18:56 but there's no demon to cast out. 18:57 All right, so this person still remains with the problem. 19:01 So they begin to think 19:03 that they are subjects to the devil forever. 19:06 They can't be delivered. 19:07 Nobody can deliver him and then they commit suicide. 19:10 That's right. That's a very good book. 19:12 People need to-- you know, 19:13 in the Christian world, I don't want to label 19:15 any particular of the Christian world 19:16 but there are many instances-- you stated that. 19:19 Some people I've heard say, your son has an anxiety demon 19:24 or a demon of unrest and all these things 19:27 which in fact sometimes are just simple things 19:30 that could be diagnosed 19:31 and remedied with basic medications. 19:34 And sometimes its just diet. 19:35 Some people are in a bad diet and you change the diet 19:37 and boom, they are doing well 19:39 By the demon if indigestion, 19:42 could be remedied by a good died in reality. 19:45 And one more, Great Stories for Gaining Decisions. 19:47 That's a good one there. 19:48 I think all pastors need to read 19:51 because a lot of times-- just give us 19:53 a highlight on that one. 19:54 What inspired you to write that one? 19:56 There's a statement that says, 19:57 for the success, the secret of our success 20:00 is the people advocating advanced truth 20:03 who we found in making direct personal appeals 20:07 having unwavering reliance upon the most high. 20:10 Now every discipline has a secret to a success, right? 20:15 So if we are people advocating advanced truth. 20:18 Right. Which we are. 20:20 Which we are. 20:21 Then what is the secret of our success? 20:23 He says, making direct personal appeals. 20:27 So the statement says, making direct personal appeals. 20:30 So when I discovered this that a lot of preachers preach 20:33 wonderful sermons they make no appeals. 20:37 And since they make no appeals people don't decide. 20:39 That's right. 20:41 For example, most people 20:42 who advertise things on television, 20:45 for example, this will cost you $19.95. 20:48 That's it. 20:49 Did they say anything more? 20:51 Oh, they try to get you that-- make sure 20:53 they give you the information how to get it, 20:55 they do make more-- 20:56 Yeah, but when do they say to call? 20:59 Well-- Call now. 21:00 Well, they say, call now, right. 21:02 Okay, there you go. Exactly. 21:03 So what are they trying to make you do? 21:05 They want a decision right at this moment. 21:08 Why? 21:09 Because if all you do is give information 21:11 but you don't call for decision 21:13 then that's all of this information. 21:15 That's a good point. That's a very good point. 21:16 So the gospels are saying, Jesus said, follow me. 21:21 Didn't He? 21:22 And you'll find in the scriptures 21:24 appeals after appeals after appeals. 21:27 As for me and my family, my house will follow Lord. 21:32 "Choose you this day, whom you will serve?" 21:35 So you'll find appeals, appeals, appeals. 21:37 Then I find pastors who don't have the material. 21:41 This book has not only the appeals 21:44 but it has stories to reach the heart 21:46 because people have to be reached in the heart. 21:49 If all you do is reach the intellect... 21:54 You know, let me tell you the way Pastor C.A. Murray-- 21:56 and I am going to borrow this form you, Pastor C.A. 21:59 He was my pastor one time, now I am his pastor. 22:01 He says, if all you do is intellectually reach them, 22:05 you make them convicts, they don't become converts. 22:09 That's correct. Exactly. 22:10 They convicted, you can't argue with that, it's a conviction. 22:12 It's true. 22:13 So what do I do? 22:14 Until they make a decision they are not converts. 22:16 Exactly. 22:17 So in this book I have stories 22:20 about the particular topic that you presenting. 22:23 For example if you're going to be 22:24 talking about the second coming of Christ. 22:27 There are stories there that are heart touching stories 22:31 with the way they throw the appeal, what do you say. 22:34 Because a lot of pastors don't know what to say. 22:36 A lot of them, did you enjoy the message? 22:40 Let's pray. That's all. 22:41 Exactly. Exactly. 22:42 And that's fine but we're told 22:45 that people need to learn to make appeals. 22:47 So that's why I wrote this book. 22:50 It has helped many. 22:51 In fact ShareHim and other people 22:54 who go out and do preaching. 22:58 Several people have told me that they take this book, 23:00 give it to the people who purchase it 23:01 if they think to read the stories 23:02 so they can use for the appeals. 23:04 By getting encourage-- and just for those 23:06 who are listening to the program or watching, 23:07 ShareHim is a mission driven program that young people-- 23:12 older people alike, will go around the world, 23:14 different countries and give their own evangelistic series. 23:17 They have not been trained prior to that 23:19 so this is a very good material. 23:20 And young people, teenagers 23:22 had been amazed at the decisions 23:24 that they've been getting by simply going 23:26 and setting up a projector, preaching the sermons 23:28 and asking for decisions. 23:30 Amen. 23:31 But let's go to Guam Micronesia, 23:33 now because last time we got together in ministry 23:36 that was in Australia. 23:37 Yes. 23:38 You got a whole group of young people from Guam 23:41 and what a contingency you had. 23:44 Tell us about Guam 23:45 and the Micronesian Mission there. 23:47 Guam-Micronesia Mission 23:49 actually covers 2,900 miles across the Pacific. 23:55 Wow. 23:56 It is about 530 miles east of the Philippines. 24:00 Okay. 24:01 And so Guam is the hub or the center of the mission 24:05 but it goes to Yap, Palau, Chuuk, 24:08 Pohnpei, Kosrae, Majuro Islands. 24:11 So that's 2,900 miles. Okay. 24:14 It's about 1,000 miles north and south. 24:16 Wow. 24:17 So it's actually as long as the USA 24:19 is from California to New York. 24:21 It's just a little dot out there in the Pacific Ocean 24:23 like the axle in a bicycle wheel. 24:26 That's correct, it's a small dot. 24:28 But in that territory that now part 24:33 of the United States North American Division 24:37 you have many islands. 24:39 It have different people 24:42 of different cultures, different languages. 24:45 For example in Yap they speak Yapese. 24:47 Chuuk, they speak Chuukes, 24:49 in Pohnpei they speak Pohnpeian, 24:51 in Palau they speak Palauan 24:53 Have you learned any of those? 24:54 I've learned some Palauan and you know, 24:56 it's-- the fortunate thing is that 24:59 we provide education for all the islands. 25:03 In other words, we have schools in every major islands. 25:07 And what's wonderful about these schools 25:08 is that many of the children that go to our schools 25:12 end up going to college then up and end up 25:14 becoming leaders in their particular countries. 25:16 Amen. 25:17 For example, Palau, 25:19 the former president was an Adventist 25:22 who went through our school systems. 25:25 There are several senators who have gone to Walla Walla 25:27 and other colleges, who are living there now. 25:31 The queen went to South Western Adventist University 25:34 and she's still the queen in Palau. 25:37 Their high chief is there in Palau. 25:40 So all of these people, in Chuuk same thing, 25:43 we have some leaders there in Chuuk 25:45 and in Pohnpei the former Lieutenant Governor 25:47 who is now a pastor went through Walla Walla, 25:51 graduated went back. 25:53 The principal of the school was also one 25:54 who went to Walla Walla, 25:56 went back and became principal of the school. 25:58 So in Guam, the former Lieutenant Governor 26:01 went thought our schools 26:02 and finally went back and he's a doctor, 26:05 Went to Loma Linda, studied, became a doctor. 26:08 He's in Guam. 26:10 So what our educational system does is that 26:14 it gives opportunities for these young people 26:17 to better their own country or to find something 26:21 that they can do for their life. 26:24 The interesting thing 26:25 is that most of the teachers are student missionaries. 26:27 Okay. 26:30 That's young people who will take off 26:32 a year of their schooling and volunteer 26:35 and go out and teach English or Social Studies et cetera 26:39 and they serve for a year. 26:41 It's a life changing experience for them 26:44 as well as it's a blessing to their children. 26:48 Their parents want them to come to a school 26:50 that teaches English from English speaking kids. 26:53 Right. Like ESL, second language. 26:55 Yeah. But they are glad that-- 26:58 there are these college students 27:00 that are going and teaching their children in English 27:06 so that their children would be better able to attend 27:09 an English speaking school back in the States et cetera. 27:12 So these-- so the schools that you have 27:13 there in Guam Micronesia that whole territory, 27:18 you're touching leaders of all these different countries. 27:20 That's correct. 27:21 Helping them catapult themselves 27:23 not only in the political world, 27:26 in the secular world but also in the religions. 27:28 They get the foundation 27:30 that stays with them and that's amazing. 27:31 You mentioned the school-- so many of the schools 27:33 that are named schools in our denomination 27:36 the Seventh-day Adventist church. 27:37 And what does that-- 27:40 when you talk about the schools, 27:42 just talk about some of the curriculum there 27:44 because lot of times people may say, well, okay, 27:47 I am interested in maybe-- maybe I want to go to Guam. 27:49 What are some of the things that they could expect 27:51 with the curriculum out there? 27:52 Okay. It depends. 27:53 If they go to Guam, Guam is different. 27:55 You have to have bachelor's degree 27:56 because it's under the Federal system of the United States. 27:59 If you go to the other islands 28:00 then you don't have to have a degree. 28:01 Okay. 28:03 Somebody who's interested-- 28:06 we may have a retired person for example. 28:07 Okay. 28:08 Interested doing some missionary work, 28:11 they are pretty good in reading and maybe good in a subject, 28:14 Mathematics or Social Studies or English et cetera, 28:18 they can actually come out and volunteer. 28:20 They get the stipend, they get the housing 28:23 and they can volunteer for a year 28:24 or two years or three years and serve in changing 28:26 the young people's lives, 28:28 giving them a better chance for-- 28:30 not only for this life but for the life to come. 28:32 Now before you went out to Guam Micronesia, 28:35 you had a school that was Black Hills. 28:39 Talk about that because-- do you still have Black Hills? 28:41 Okay. 28:43 The school was in the Black Hills 28:45 and we got a black eye from that in the sense 28:49 that people still call it Black Hills 28:51 but it was not Black Hills 28:53 it was Mission College of Evangelism 28:55 in the Black Hills. 28:56 I get you. Okay. 28:57 So what happened was, there was a-- 29:00 basically a very diminishing program there, 29:04 wellness program and we went, 29:07 my wife was asked to be the head 29:11 to turn the situation around which then became 29:13 the Black Hill's Health Education Center. 29:15 I got you. Okay. 29:17 But in agreement that mission college 29:21 could be run there. 29:22 So mission college then was run in conjunction 29:25 with the wellness program as well. 29:28 And then in the mission college that's where, 29:29 for example we trained David Asscherick. 29:32 And that's where we trained, there was Rosario Brothers, 29:36 Jay and Yamil and Jeffrey. 29:40 Hiram Rester, John Bradshaw is one of the fellows 29:45 that I trained before. 29:47 So we have a lot of evangelist out there 29:49 that came from our training 29:52 that we did in the Black Hills or other places. 29:55 Then we moved the school from Black Hills to Oregon 29:58 at the old Laurelwood campus 30:01 and we ran a program there for several years 30:04 but then we didn't own the campus and it was sold. 30:06 Okay. 30:07 Well, during that time 30:08 then I got invited to be president of Guam Micronesia. 30:11 Okay. 30:13 So then we took the program to Guam, 30:16 and in fact one of your man that who works, Brandon. 30:19 Okay. 30:20 He went to Guam to take the Mission College program 30:24 and there was a young lady 30:26 who was also taking the program at the same time 30:28 who turned out now to be his wife. 30:30 Look at that. Look at that. 30:32 So he went to Guam, got the training, 30:34 he comes back and now he's working at 3ABN here 30:37 and his wife Jamie of course also took the program. 30:40 You have a picture of the Black Hill's Mission College. 30:45 Here is the picture of the church. 30:48 We just bought the church by the way in Canyonville, 30:50 Oregon, and it was a Mormon church 30:53 and we were able to get it for a wonderful price. 30:57 And this is the actual headquarters 31:00 now of mission college. 31:02 It's actually 9,000 square foot home. 31:05 Wow. 31:07 So it is 10 minutes from the church. 31:11 And so mission college headquarters 31:12 now is moving down to Canyonville, Oregon. 31:16 Okay. 31:17 We finally we're able to buy a place that we could utilize 31:21 as headquarters for the training. 31:23 We're also doing training-- Mission College will begin 31:26 its training next year again on the said site 31:29 but meanwhile it's been done in Guam. 31:32 We're also training medical people. 31:34 Now in Guam or in? 31:35 In Guam. 31:36 We've just began last, pardon me-- 31:39 this year we began medical training program for physicians 31:43 who want to learn how to become soul winners. 31:45 Look at that. 31:46 Because a lot of physicians have the skills 31:48 but don't know they have the skills. 31:49 Okay. 31:50 So they are afraid just to get involve in soul winning. 31:54 So we teach them how to get Bible studies, 31:58 we teach them how to preach, 31:59 we teach them how to get decisions. 32:02 How to make the transaction 32:03 from the physical to the spiritual, okay? 32:06 So that's a three week course. 32:07 In fact, it will begin in Guam the 19th of January. 32:11 So next training for those physicians or health personal 32:16 who want to learn how to make the transaction 32:19 from the physical to the spiritual. 32:21 And you have those various times of the year? 32:24 That's correct. Okay. 32:25 So the next one is in the 19th of January. 32:27 Okay. 32:28 For those who are interested and want to contact us, 32:32 its exciting, they can come for one week or three weeks. 32:35 Some doctors can't take three weeks. 32:37 Right. Demanding schedules. 32:38 But they can come for one week. 32:40 They come for one week, 32:42 they can be there in a tropical area, 32:45 enjoy the sunshine, 32:46 get away from the snow and all that, 32:48 take the training for a week and even if they want to, 32:51 they can come and also volunteer 32:53 the services as relief physicians for Guam clinic. 32:57 We have a clinic there with 200 employees. 32:59 And so it's an urgent care. 33:02 Dentist can come, we have a dental clinic there 33:04 and we have an eye clinic. 33:06 So they want to come and serve for a month 33:09 or three weeks as relief physician, 33:13 they could come. 33:15 You know, it's amazing to me as I am listening 33:16 to the story the Lord takes a young man who-- 33:19 as you admittedly talked about with an education 33:22 that you could barely read and now he's turning 33:24 the Pacific upside down, turning the world upside down 33:27 through all these lives 33:29 that have been touched and equipped. 33:30 You mentioned David Asscherick. 33:31 There are very few people 33:32 that haven't seen David Asscherick. 33:34 And now, right now, John Bradshaw, 33:36 the speaker director now of "It Is Written." 33:39 And Rosario Brothers, 33:41 they've often been at the GYC, 33:46 very gifted speakers. 33:48 Just to name a few, 33:49 because you're been doing this for some time. 33:51 Yeah, Justin McNeillis is one young man. 33:54 Justin McNeillis another good-- Well, very, very. 33:57 But before we go to the Mission College 33:58 I want to let the people that are listening 34:00 or watching the program 34:02 get the address to the Guam Micronesia Mission 34:04 so that if any of you is interested 34:07 you can use this information 34:09 to get in contact withy Pastor Torres 34:11 and those who are participating in that program. 34:13 And then we're going to go over 34:14 to the Mission College of Evangelism 34:16 because there's some new things happening 34:18 that we want the audience to know about. 34:19 Here's the information that you need. 34:22 If you'd like to get involved with this mission 34:24 then you can write to Guam Micronesia Mission, 34:27 290 Chalan Palayso, Agana Heights, Guam 96910. 34:33 That's Guam Micronesia Mission, 290 Chalan Palayso, 34:38 Agana Heights, Guam 96910. 34:41 You can call 671-477-9745. 34:45 That's 671-477-9745. 34:50 You can also email them at louisrtorres@cs.com. 34:55 That's louistorres@cs.com. 35:07 You know when you think about missionaries 35:09 and mission fields and the changes 35:12 that take place in the lives of individual 35:13 exposed to these kinds of training facilities 35:17 that are under the leadership of Pastor Louis Torres here 35:21 you think of those who have done 35:23 and are continuing to do. 35:24 But now there's some new things that you are aiming at. 35:27 We talk about Mission College of Evangelism. 35:30 Now we game some of the history of Mission College 35:32 in the Black Hills. 35:34 Program transaction to Oregon, then out to Guam Micronesia 35:37 but now you're trying to establish 35:38 a new campus talk about that. 35:40 Okay. 35:41 What's interesting about Mission College 35:42 is that it's basically 35:44 the mother of all these other schools that have-- 35:46 That is very true. 35:47 AFCOE was started by a young girl name Annie Care 35:51 who came to our training, 35:53 ARISE was started by David Asscherick. 35:55 That's right. 35:56 It's like mother of the program. 35:57 So Mission College is actually the mother-- 35:58 there's one in JOSIA in Germany, 36:01 there's one Emmanuel up in Michigan. 36:04 So all of these were students of Mission College 36:06 who got inspired and trained. 36:08 Now ARISE, that was down in Florida. 36:10 Exactly. 36:11 You know, you make a point. 36:12 I want to highlight that because you're right. 36:13 Long before all of these other schools 36:15 began to be dotted around various-- 36:18 the inspiration came from what God had been 36:20 doing in your life for many decades. 36:22 I used the words decades not to say you are an older person 36:25 but the experience in the know how, 36:28 they went there to get that because I remember 36:30 when I first met David Asscherick, 36:31 this young man. 36:34 Now he's in Australia, pastoring over there 36:37 but the inspiration came from Mission College. 36:39 But now you are expanding on the program. 36:41 Talk about the expansion. 36:42 Okay, So what now we are doing 36:44 is we are providing also training 36:45 for medical people as well. 36:49 We are now, praise the Lord, 36:53 have a stable center 36:57 because before we didn't own the facilities. 36:59 So since we didn't own 37:01 the facilities it was all usual for us 37:03 somebody to sell it from underneath us 37:05 which what happened in Laurelwood. 37:07 And so then I was struck 37:08 within trailers for almost five years 37:12 because I've been in Guan for five years. 37:14 So finally the Lord blessed 37:16 and this facility that now we have, 37:19 we're moving everything down there 37:21 and the idea is also to provide 37:25 a training that we have been providing 37:28 because there have been people who have been asking, 37:31 now we heard of ARISE, we heard of these schools 37:34 but we also found out that you are the originator. 37:36 So they thought why should I go to the others 37:40 when I can go to-- 37:41 The original one. 37:43 I said, well, you know, don't think that way. 37:45 But if you feel that the Lord 37:46 is leading you to Mission College, 37:48 by all means you come into Mission College. 37:50 So we're excited now that it's gonna be able 37:53 to be run on a regular basis. 37:57 But apart from that we do have the opportunity 38:01 to train medical personal in soul wining 38:05 which just started it in Guam where we, this-- 38:09 last March we did a three week training program. 38:12 Okay. 38:13 And the doctors were taught how to give Bible studies, 38:17 how to make appeals, how to write sermons. 38:20 Then we took them to Palau to do a field school 38:24 and there they able to learn how to pray with the patience 38:28 because these physicians hadn't done that before. 38:31 One was-- 38:32 Not part of the medical training. 38:33 Right, right, it isn't part of the medical training. 38:36 So one was a lady who was a Methodist, 38:38 specialist in wound care. 38:41 So she attended the program and then she went with us 38:44 to Palau and I noticed the first day, 38:46 none of the doctors prayed with any of their patients. 38:50 So in the evening I said, I've noticed that 38:51 you folk are just doing 38:54 the habitual things of you know, 38:57 evaluating, examining and things like that. 38:59 I said, you need to bridge that and get tied together 39:04 with people in the spiritual aspect. 39:06 So this doctor-- they began 39:09 and this doctor at the end of the second day was crying. 39:11 She said, I've been to many mission opportunities 39:15 with you know other people, 39:18 and she said, you finally helped me to connect. 39:23 Wow. Praise God to that. 39:24 And then her husband 39:25 who was sitting next to me said Pastor, 39:29 I've been watching the Adventist now for a while, 39:33 and he said, I want to ask something. 39:36 I said, what's that? 39:37 And he said, when is your next baptismal service? 39:39 Why? 39:41 He said, because in the next baptismal service 39:43 I want to be in it. 39:44 Praise the Lord. 39:45 So they came back all excited. 39:48 Then part of the training 39:50 is also to hold an evangelistic meeting. 39:52 Okay. 39:53 So then we have an evangelistic meeting. 39:54 Praise the Lord, several people were baptized, 39:56 so these doctors were bringing to the meetings. 39:59 Look at that. 40:00 So it just turned their whole life around. 40:04 And I've heard some doctor say, you know, 40:06 I used to do medicine of the body 40:09 but now I do both medicine of the body and the soul. 40:12 You know because you could-- 40:14 the story of Jesus in the paralytic, 40:18 He made two statements. 40:20 First, take the bad and walk and your sins are forgiven you. 40:23 That's the connection to the spiritual 40:25 and the physical together because you could heal the body 40:28 but if the mind is not revived and restored then a person 40:31 as they uses word in the correctional facilities, 40:36 are the recidivism rate. 40:38 They could go back if they had not been freed mentally 40:41 from the things that may have gotten them ill. 40:43 Alcohol abuse, drug abuse whatever those things are, 40:45 those are the actual causes of many of the diseases 40:49 that people suffer from but that's praise the Lord 40:51 that these doctors are getting the spiritual side 40:54 when they've already had the medical given to them. 40:55 Amen. 40:56 Well, another thing that we're doing 40:58 is we're encouraging people into mission. 41:01 And for example, some of our students-- 41:03 I don't know if you know Congo. 41:05 In the Congo there's a Mosier, Keith Mosier. 41:10 I have met him but I could know him. 41:11 All right. 41:12 He came to Mission College, took the training, 41:14 went to Congo, established a training center there 41:18 and that young boy and his wife also, 41:21 they came to our Mission College, 41:22 they were 18 years old. 41:23 They went over there to the Congo 41:25 and they have been there for several years now 41:27 and the last time I saw them with ASI they said they have-- 41:30 they are sponsoring 75 Bible workers. 41:33 What? 41:35 See, there you go. So lighting the torches. 41:38 Exactly, so it's training people to know 41:43 how to be used by the Spirit of God, 41:46 to share the good news of salivation. 41:49 Even if they don't have the qualification 41:51 that most people think you need, 41:54 you know, to do work for the Master. 41:57 Now and the establishment 41:58 of this new school in Canyonville, Oregon, 42:01 talk about some of the needs you have there 42:03 because you know, when you-- 42:04 you got the facility, 42:05 you got the church, the house. 42:06 Praise the Lord for that 42:07 but right now is it in the infant stages? 42:09 It's in the infant stages. 42:11 One of the things we would need would be 42:13 to start building some resident housing. 42:17 Okay. 42:18 Because the house we bought of course will house office, 42:21 will house the-- 42:22 Operations. 42:23 Operations and all that. 42:24 But we'll need-- we have the actual building 42:27 for the classrooms and all that, the church, 42:31 we have the area, we have Medford, Oregon, 42:35 which is a big town, 42:36 in Canyonville we have a Grants Pass. 42:39 So we have other area in which we work 42:41 but now we'll need to get some housing for the students. 42:43 Okay. 42:44 And so pretty much putting together somewhat of a campus. 42:47 That's correct. 42:48 If you think about something like that 42:49 you're talking about units wise. 42:52 So about generally what kind of-- 42:54 how many units-- 42:56 We try to have, to begin with-- 43:00 if we have 12 plex for example where we can have 24 students. 43:04 Okay. 43:05 That would be fine because we try to keep it small 43:11 because here's what we've discovered. 43:12 You can have a bunch of people coming 43:15 and it looks great because of the numbers 43:17 but when you have too many people 43:20 you cannot really work with them 43:22 with their own personal needs. 43:24 That's right. 43:25 So what we discovered is fewer in number, 43:29 do quality training 43:30 and then when they go out they are successful. 43:32 Right. 43:33 There's where you get closer one to one investment 43:36 because you're right, there's some schools 43:37 that have large campuses 43:39 but some of the students that may need more attention, 43:42 they fall through the cracks and they may have-- 43:44 they may have enjoyed their time there 43:45 but they come away not as enhance as-- 43:47 Sure, we discovered this, yes, 43:48 that you can take people who have a natural ability-- 43:52 Those type A's like you and me. 43:53 Exactly. 43:54 And then all you have to do 43:55 is give them a packets and run with them. 43:57 Right. 43:58 But most people are not that way. 44:00 So we used to have-- 44:01 when I used to be vice president of Amazing Facts 44:03 I started the training for Amazing Facts 44:06 in one week training program. 44:08 And what we saw was that they always had these hi flyer. 44:11 For example Brian McMahon was somebody 44:14 that we trained there, 44:16 Steve Wohlberg was somebody that we trained there. 44:19 Kim Kjaer, Jack Pefley, many of these evangelists, 44:26 okay, we did one week training program, okay. 44:30 But we found that also 44:32 that generally speaking a lot of the people 44:34 that came needed under-girding as far as knowing the word 44:39 which needed more time. 44:40 You cannot do that in a week. 44:41 That's true. 44:42 So you have various lengths of program. 44:44 Talk about some of the different durations. 44:47 So we have one week program, we have three week program, 44:49 we have three and a half month program, 44:51 and then we have seven month program 44:53 when we train pastoral ministry. 44:54 Okay. 44:56 The reason for that is that 44:57 we find that a lot of young people 44:59 do not have the training. 45:01 For example in how you run a church? 45:04 How do you operate the church? 45:06 How you do parliamentary procedures? 45:09 The basic things, how do you do baptism? 45:11 How do you do wedding? 45:12 How do you do-- the basic things 45:13 that pastor should have knowledge of. 45:17 Unfortunately not a lot of place you 45:19 don't get trained to do those tings, 45:20 I am talking about universities. 45:21 Right. 45:22 And so then the program that we offer 45:25 is hands on practical program where people can learn 45:28 the practical aspects of ministry. 45:29 They learn it intellectually then they get a chance 45:31 while they are there put into practice. 45:32 That's correct. 45:33 So they're going to say well, 45:35 this week you're going to have your first communion service, 45:37 you're gonna officiate it. 45:38 That's correct. 45:39 And we're gonna take you on a visitation 45:41 to see how you interact. 45:42 Exactly. 45:43 That's good because that's very necessarily. 45:45 And so this new mission in Canyonville, 45:51 you have the church building, you have the office that home, 45:55 you just need the facility, the 12 plex, 45:57 I think that's the word-- 45:58 To start housing people. To start housing people. 46:00 We can put some in the church, we can put some in the house 46:04 but that's not enough, we'll need-- 46:06 Exactly. Yeah. 46:08 So as you've seen based on, 46:10 what you've heard on the program today, 46:11 Pastor Louis Torres has crawled decades ago 46:16 but he's walking by the power and the strength of God 46:18 and so many lives have been transformed 46:20 and trained and changed. 46:22 But if you would like to participate 46:23 in the new mission college campus 46:26 in Canyonville, Oregon, 46:27 that is there, it's at the seed stage now 46:30 and the Lord knows that there are many lives 46:32 that are going to be transformed 46:34 and prepared of ministry. 46:35 If you want to participate in that both, 46:36 prayerfully and financially, 46:38 even if you want to become a volunteer 46:40 to help out and to go to that school, 46:41 here's the information that you need 46:43 to actively involve yourself in this mission. 46:48 If you'd like to know more about this college 46:50 then you can write to Mission College of Evangelism, 46:53 P.O. Box 747, Canyonville, OR 97417. 46:59 That's Mission College of Evangelism, 47:02 P.O. Box 747, Canyonville, OR 97417. 47:08 You can call 800-996-6477. 47:12 That's 800-996-6477. 47:17 You can also email them at mission-college.org. 47:22 Again, mission-college.org. 47:27 Contact them today, they'd love to hear from you. 47:33 As you know friends, our time comes and goes 47:34 so quickly but we talked about the call earlier 47:37 and I want to give Pastor Torres an opportunity 47:40 to what the appetite of our listeners and our viewers 47:42 because many of them are raw martial for ministry 47:46 but they don't know that. 47:47 Let me have you challenge them to participate. 47:49 I have had a lot of people who have obviously 47:55 have not felt like they had the skill. 47:56 Even some people will say, it's not my calling. 47:58 Okay. 47:59 I had a young man who was a pastor, 48:01 who I interviewed then I said, 48:03 tell me how many souls have you won 48:04 since you become a pastor. 48:06 He said, that's not my calling. 48:09 I was shocked by that statement. 48:11 I said, excuse me. He says, it's not my calling. 48:14 And he's a pastor. 48:15 He's a pastor. Okay. 48:16 So if a pastor feels that it's not his calling 48:19 what about regular layperson? 48:21 That's right. 48:22 By the way, with that pastor, 48:24 I trained him and he became a very successful pastor. 48:27 After that he understood it was his calling. 48:31 I had a young man who was handicap, 48:33 his hands like this, his leg kind of twisted 48:36 and his mouth kind of sidewise and he stuttered. 48:40 And he came to our training program. 48:42 The first impression I had was, 48:44 why did they send this young man, 48:46 you know, who's handicap? 48:48 Then the spirit of the Lord rebuked me 48:50 and I said, okay they send him, I am gonna train him. 48:52 So we trained him and send him 48:54 back to his field, to the church. 48:57 A year later I hear from him and he, 48:59 Pastor, can I get my diploma? 49:02 Because we didn't gave diploma unless they did the meeting. 49:05 See, we don't want somebody to hang diploma on the wall. 49:08 So he then said, I said, do you know the calling, 49:13 what you have to do? 49:14 I did my meetings. 49:15 Okay, how many souls? 49:16 Ten souls were baptized. 49:19 And I said, ten? 49:20 He sent me pictures and that one person was handicap 49:22 and then they told me this, 49:24 that when he was off the stage he stuttered, 49:26 when he got on the platform he did not stutter. 49:28 The Lord turned his life around. 49:29 The Lord used him. 49:30 Well, Pastor Torres, we're going to have a news break 49:32 but before we go to the news break 49:34 as the Lord impresses your heart thought the song 49:36 "Be Still and Know." 49:38 Ask the lords what He will have you to do to be involved 49:40 in the mission of His kingdom. |
Revised 2015-06-25