Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY018073A
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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 00:30 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 01:11 Hello. I'm Shelley Quinn, and we welcome you 01:13 to 3ABN Today. We're so glad that you've 01:16 tuned in again. I think you're going to 01:19 be very inspired today by this story. You 01:23 know, in Matthew 28 verses 19 and 20, 01:30 Jesus tells His disciples, "Go therefore and make 01:34 disciples of all the nations, baptizing them 01:37 in the name of the Father and the Son and the 01:40 Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe 01:43 all things that I have commanded 01:46 you." We call this the Great Commission. 01:49 As Danny Shelton always says, "What 01:53 God asks of us is that we come to the 01:56 foot of the cross, then we go and 02:00 share the story, and the blessing is on 02:03 the go." You know, some people, in a 02:06 moment of "spiritual heat," they become 02:09 passionate about sharing the gospel 02:11 for this long. But then there are some 02:14 people who really obey this command and 02:18 they make a spiritual commitment to a 02:22 lifestyle of discipling others, and such is 02:27 our guest today. Before I introduce 02:30 him, I just want to take this opportunity 02:32 to thank you from the bottom of our hearts 02:35 for your prayers and your love and your 02:38 financial support, because it is YOU 02:41 that makes this ministry possible-not only to 02:46 reach around the world, the lost and the 02:49 suffering, but to showcase ministries 02:52 like that of today, which is Riverside 02:56 Farm Institute, and our special guest is Alan 02:59 Knowles, who is the director of outreach 03:02 for Riverside Farm Institute. We're so 03:05 glad you're here. - Thank you. - Now, 03:07 Alan, we're going to first have some music, 03:11 but I know-because I've talked with you 03:14 for a few minutes- that in 1985, you 03:19 went to Africa on your first missionary 03:22 journey, and you're still there. - Still 03:25 there. - That is amazing, and we're 03:28 anxious to hear your story and to hear 03:31 what Riverside Farm Institute is all about. 03:36 But before we do that, I know you 03:39 like music and I know that YOU like music, 03:42 so we have John Stoddart with us 03:44 today. He is going to play the piano and 03:47 sing, "Come Thou Fount," one of my 03:50 favorite songs. 04:08 Come, Thou Fount of every blessing 04:15 Tune my heart to sing Your grace 04:21 Streams of mercy, never ceasing 04:28 Call for songs for louder springs 04:33 And teach me ever to adore Thee 04:41 May I still thy goodness prove 04:49 Rather hope of endless glory 04:57 Fills my heart with joy and love 05:06 Ohh... 05:14 Here, I raise my Ebenezer 05:21 Here there by Thy great help I've come 05:28 And I hope, by Thy good pleasure 05:35 Safely to arrive at home 05:40 Jesus sought me when a stranger 05:47 Wandering from the throne of God 05:55 He, to rescue me from danger 06:02 Interposed His precious blood 06:10 His precious blood 06:23 Ooh... 06:30 Yeah... 06:31 Oh, to grace how great a debtor 06:38 Daily I'm constrained to be 06:45 Let that goodness like a fetter 06:52 Draw me closer, Lord, to Thee 06:57 Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it 07:04 Prone to leave the God I love 07:12 So here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it 07:20 Seal it for Your courts above 07:25 Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it 07:32 Prone to leave the God I love 07:39 I love... 07:43 Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it 07:51 Seal it for Your courts above 07:57 Seal it for Your courts above 08:04 Seal it for Your courts above 08:16 Ooh... 08:22 Seal it for Your courts above 08:35 Well, that was John Stoddart and a very 08:37 interesting and unique rendition of 08:40 "Come Thou Fount." If you're joining 08:42 us just a moment late, our special guest 08:44 today is Alan Knowles. He is the director 08:47 of outreach for Riverside Farm 08:49 Institute in Zambia. Before we get into 08:55 the ministry that God called you to, 08:58 let's get to know Alan just a little bit. 09:01 Did you grow up in a Christian home? 09:04 Tell us a little of your story. 09:05 My mom and dad were Seventh-Day Adventists 09:07 when I was born, and I'm born and raised 09:11 Seventh-Day Adventist. - Well, you weren't 09:13 BORN a Seventh-Day Adventist; you had 09:15 to become one. But you were reared in a 09:18 Seventh-Day Adventist Christian home. Okay, 09:20 so when did- sometimes, I think that people 09:25 who've been brought up in this movement 09:29 take things so much for granted, and 09:32 sometimes, it's kind of like they feel 09:34 they've inherited it. When did God become 09:38 real to you? When did Christ become real 09:40 to you? - I think it was after I had 09:43 married. I mean, God was real to me 09:46 as a young person growing up, but after 09:49 I got married, my wife and I went to 09:52 a missionary training school in Southern 09:54 New Hampshire. It was there, I met some 09:57 folks who really pointed me to the 10:00 service aspect of Christianity. - Praise 10:04 God. Now- - And turned my life 10:06 in that direction. - All right; so you 10:08 were in this training school, I believe you 10:10 said, for 3 years. - That's right. - Were 10:13 you planning on overseas mission 10:16 work, or was this more local? - When 10:19 I was a young kid in grade school, 10:21 I remember writing a little report that 10:23 I wanted to be a missionary, you know? 10:25 Didn't even really know what that was, except 10:28 for, maybe, some missionaries would 10:30 come to church or something. It was at 10:34 that training school we were learning 10:36 to be missionaries at home. Learning 10:38 to do cooking schools- five-day plans back then- 10:42 missionary- raise up a church in a dark 10:46 county; that kind of thing. That was our 10:48 intent. - But God had other plans, 10:51 didn't He? - Had other plans. - Okay, 10:53 so tell us- how did- what was your 10:56 profession, first of all? - I'm a builder, 10:58 carpenter, by trade. - All right. You are 11:02 married, have two little boys by now; 11:05 when did you get the call to Zambia? 11:07 - I would say we got the call-a call in 1983, 11:12 which was a year after we had been to the 11:14 mission training school. My wife and 11:17 I looked at each other and we said, 11:18 "No way." [laughter] Then, we spent our 11:23 training time there. Probably a year 11:25 later, my wife said, "What do you think, 11:27 if we should go overseas?" I said, 11:30 "No... No." And then maybe a 11:32 few months later, I would say, "Well, 11:33 I've been thinking about it, Pauline. 11:35 Maybe we should go." She would say, "No, 11:38 I think it'd be safer to have my kids 11:40 stay here." - As the boys were little, 11:43 weren't they? - Then in, probably, 1984 11:47 (and a half), we both got the same 11:49 idea together and we said, "There's a 11:52 call. There's a somebody- there's 11:55 a need in Zambia." My brother-in-law 12:00 had been there, and he was calling me 12:02 every so often, "You should come." 12:06 - But we know where the real call came 12:09 from. [laughs] Okay, so the boys were 12:11 2 and 6 years old when you- 12:14 - 3 and 6. - 3 and 6 when you went to 12:17 Zambia in 1985. Tell us about- what was 12:23 your first impression of Riverside Farm 12:26 Institute? Tell us- just kind of give us 12:29 a little of the history of that ministry. 12:31 - Well, we didn't really know where 12:34 Zambia was at the beginning of that 12:37 call. We researched it and did a good 12:41 study of where we were going, but we 12:44 weren't ready for anything, and when we 12:46 got there, life was completely different 12:49 than we ever expected it. In fact, I remember 12:53 on my desk, I had a calendar and I 12:56 had marked days left before my term was 13:01 up. I remember it going from a thousand 13:03 days left to 999 days left. Imagine. 13:08 I was waiting to go home, but my 13:11 wife said, "No... No. We've been called 13:14 here. Don't even count." And it didn't 13:16 take long. I don't remember any more 13:18 numbers. My wife was my inspiration 13:20 to stay. God turned my eyes away from 13:25 how I felt to the needs that were around. 13:29 - Yeah. So, Riverside Farm- let's just 13:33 back up before you tell us about the 13:35 history there. Tell us about Zambia in 13:38 general. 'Cause, obviously, this was 13:41 a shock to your system. You weren't 13:43 quite prepared for this. - When 13:45 we came in 1985, Zambia was in a 13:47 one-president-for-life political system, and 13:56 it wasn't long before that changed. We were 13:59 thankful for that change. But during that time, 14:01 the economy was very poor. We weren't 14:05 able to buy very much in town. We 14:08 just ate what we grew, basically. 14:11 A few necessities were available in 14:15 town, but sometimes they weren't available. 14:16 It was a rough economy at that time, and 14:20 poverty was all around. Being a 14:23 Third World Country, or a developing 14:25 country, it had some growing to do. 14:29 - What were the people like? - Well, Zambia is 14:33 known as a friendly, warm country, and 14:37 for sure, we experienced that from the people 14:40 we worked with, people that lived 14:43 around Riverside Farm- we just enjoyed their 14:47 openness, their happiness, they're- 14:51 I wouldn't say content with poverty, but they 14:55 understood that happiness is more 14:58 important than prosperity. And 15:03 not that they had a big choice in the 15:04 matter, but they had a choice whether to 15:06 be happy or not. They were an inspiration 15:10 to me. - So, give us the history of 15:14 Riverside Farm Institute, 'cause it's 15:16 been around quite a while. - It has. In 15:19 short, in 1974, an American doctor 15:24 who lived on the property there-or 15:27 in Zambia-an American Adventist self-supporting 15:30 doctor wanted to have a training 15:34 school for Zambians: evangelism and 15:36 agriculture mixed together. So, he 15:39 called for help, and 5 families from Wildwood 15:45 came over to Foster's Farm (it was called 15:51 Foster's Farm at that time-J.G. Foster was 15:53 the owner. During those early days, they were 15:58 chopping out wilderness and started growing 16:01 food in training and started a school 16:04 of evangelism for Zambians. - Praise 16:07 God. So, when we're talking about a school 16:12 of evangelism... First of all, what is- the 16:17 majority of the people in Zambia- 16:20 what is their religious practice? - There's 16:23 a lot of demon possession and demon worship 16:29 that goes on there. - A lot of spiritualism. 16:32 - Christianity is the religion of the 16:36 country. Pronounced that way, "We're a 16:40 Christian nation," but it's mixed with 16:42 spiritualism. - So, you've got the 16:46 witch doctors... This type of thing? - We do. 16:48 And the curses, the anti-curses, remedies 16:53 for curses... People live in a lot of fear 16:57 and interpretation of what's going to happen 17:01 to them and their children and how to 17:04 care for them. Part of our education is to 17:08 teach them God's way. God has a way of 17:11 healing, God has a way of living, and so 17:15 those things have to be adapted to their 17:18 lifestyle, but to turn their eyes from the 17:24 scary evil of Satan's work to the 17:28 Heavenly Father, that He's the One 17:30 who can take care of us, He's the One 17:32 who's going to deliver us, He's the 17:35 One who will heal our children and 17:36 teach them and save them one day in an 17:39 eternal kingdom. That's the hope 17:41 that they need. - You know, Alan, I 17:44 just have to say this to everyone 17:46 at home. When you live in a developed 17:51 country, we don't recognize, sometimes- 17:54 people will roll their eyes if you talk about 17:58 demonic oppression and possession, but 18:01 every missionary I've talked with, everyone 18:05 I know who lives in Africa or Haiti or 18:09 some of these places, it is very real, 18:12 it can be very powerful, and it's a force to 18:14 be dealt with. But we just praise God. 18:17 1 John 4:4, "Greater is He who's in us than 18:20 he who is in the world." So, this 18:24 began, but what is the ministry? I mean, 18:28 here, 1974, we've got these pioneering 18:33 families over there; but what is the 18:34 ministry of Riverside Institute? - Of course, 18:38 the ministry would center around preparing 18:43 people for Jesus to come. So, to do 18:46 that, there are several ways, of course; we 18:48 know that from our educational system 18:51 here in America. Even our goal as Adventists 18:55 to train them means to give them something 18:58 in their hands, give them something in their 19:01 minds so that they can use that to both 19:04 prepare themselves and help others to see 19:06 that this life is temporary. Jesus 19:11 is coming. This is what we need to be 19:13 ready for. - Okay. So, give us what kind of 19:17 programs you're running there. - We 19:19 have four major classes and they run 19:21 in 5-month seminars. Evangelism training is 19:25 our highlight. That's a 5-month program to 19:29 learn how to do evangelism, but also 19:33 how to run churches. There's only- let's 19:38 put it this way. A pastor might have 40 19:41 congregations to take care of, so the elders 19:45 in the churches- - And these are 19:47 Adventist Christians. - The elders 19:51 in these churches basically are the pastors 19:54 and have to run and organize the church 19:56 and encourage people, so they need training 19:58 how to do that-how to be a pastor without 20:01 being a pastor to help the pastor. 20:03 So, our training teaches them how 20:06 to be church administrators, local church administrators, 20:09 and how to present the gospel to their 20:13 congregations on a weekly basis. So, 20:16 evangelism. Then, we have lifestyle educator, 20:19 which takes people from thinking that 20:24 white bread and soda is the best thing we 20:28 can get for our lunch, and to go to the witch 20:32 doctor to get our children better to 20:33 teach them good food, good health 20:36 habits, and how you can, with simple 20:40 remedies, help your children to overcome 20:43 this common, simple- remedies. So, lifestyle 20:47 educator. Then, we have a tailoring 20:49 class that teaches ladies how to sew 20:54 and gives them a trade. They sew on treadle 20:58 sewing machines. - Aw, my grandmother 21:01 had one of those. That's how I learned 21:03 to sew. - Because there's not electricity 21:04 in many places where they'll go, so that 21:07 will help them, and they can support their 21:09 family, make clothes for their children, 21:11 and so forth like that. We teach agriculture, 21:15 or gardening, so that people can take 21:18 that back home, do their evangelism in 21:21 church or whatever, but support their 21:22 family and grow better gardens than just 21:25 the traditional methods that are used around 21:27 the country. - Okay, but where do- you 21:30 said take it back home, so it's not just 21:32 people in the local area; it's people 21:34 from all over Zambia. - That's right. - How 21:36 do your students learn of this and 21:40 where do they stay if they come for 5 months? 21:42 - Well, we have dormitories on 21:43 the campus, and we take 12 students 21:47 in each of those classes, so there's 21:48 about 50 students each 5-month seminar. 21:52 They come from around the whole country. Our 21:56 pioneer Bible workers are out in 22:00 the far reaches, and they do a lot of the 22:02 sending students to us. We also, 22:05 on the weekends, we send our- 22:07 - So, would you say that- I mean, you've 22:09 got a boarding school, in a sense, but this 22:12 is not for high school and under. 22:15 This is for people who have already 22:17 received their- - Passed high school. 22:19 A lot of the young people have finished 22:23 high school and are waiting for funding 22:25 for college or something like that. In between 22:27 them, I come to Riverside and get 22:29 some good health education, evangelism, 22:32 or trade. - So Alan, how many people 22:37 are in staff at Riverside Farm? 22:40 - In our supervisor role is about 25 22:45 who live on campus- 25 Zambian families 22:49 along with the 3 missionary families. 22:52 - Okay, but I know you have several 22:54 hundred acres. Who's farming this? - We 22:57 have a commercial farm and it takes 22:59 a lot of hand labor, so there's a hundred 23:01 workers who come in every day to do 23:04 the farmwork from hoeing, planting, 23:09 harvesting, and sending foods to the market. 23:13 - Okay, so we see a picture here. It's 23:15 a beautiful property. - It's 500 acres 23:18 that are irrigated. You can see we 23:22 have center pivots there. We're growing 23:24 wheat and soybeans in these areas, then 23:28 our campus- you can see the river there 23:30 in the picture. That's where we get our 23:33 water for irrigation. The Lord has blessed. 23:36 This property is one of the closest farms 23:40 to the capital city, so our crops are 23:45 easily sold. - These are banana trees, 23:47 right? - These are banana trees. - We 23:49 just saw the wheat. What is the yield- 23:51 what kind of a yield do you get there? 23:53 - There are 500 tons in our- I think it's 100 23:59 acres, so... I don't know how to convert 24:02 that to bushels and acres and stuff, but 24:04 we grow commercial wheat crop every 24:07 year. - And then you sell this and those 24:11 funds help support... - That's right; pay 24:13 the teachers and support the students. 24:17 The students only pay a small tuition 24:18 that covers their food. The education 24:21 program is available for any Zambian who 24:24 wants to come. - Mmkay. I think we had a few 24:27 more pictures of some of your classes. Let's 24:29 look at those. - Might just add on the bananas; 24:31 that's our biggest crop. We have, probably, 24:35 about 7 million bananas a year we sell. - Wow. 24:39 Now, this, obviously, is the tailoring class. 24:42 - Yeah. You can see the treadle machines 24:44 there, and these ladies come for 5 24:46 months. When they come, most of them 24:48 don't know anything about sewing. When 24:50 they're done, they can actually make 24:51 a suit for their husbands or their 24:53 fathers. - So, this gives them a means 24:55 of livelihood, if you will. - All the 24:58 children wear school uniforms, so they 25:00 can do a little business at home 25:01 making school uniforms. Mhm, 25:04 simple things like that. - Now, what 25:06 is this picture? - Our evangelism 25:07 class teaches young men the skills of, 25:12 like I said, to be administrators in 25:16 churches. These men will go out into the 25:21 far reaches and help the local pastors 25:23 in places where the pastors can't even 25:26 reach. Some of them have to walk for 25:28 two days to get to where these Bible 25:31 workers are actually stationed and are 25:33 working. - It's such dedication. Do you 25:35 call these your pioneer Bible workers? - This 25:37 is our pioneer Bible workers. We have 50 25:39 of them in the far reaches (I said) 25:41 of Zambia that we support. - And how 25:44 do you sup- do they get sponsored? - We 25:46 are looking for sponsors for these young men 25:50 at $100 a month. That takes care of just 25:54 their ministry. They still have to farm 25:58 themselves and to support their families 26:02 and send their kids to school. This is a 26:03 ministry support that we give them. - That's 26:07 amazing. So, when you've got 50 out 26:11 there (now), these are the men who are 26:13 helping do church plants, overcoming- now, tell 26:19 me if this is true, because I have 26:21 heard this. The particular Sunday 26:26 denomination is there that- it has quite 26:31 a good membership; but in that particular 26:35 denomination, they don't worry about if 26:39 people are still using the witch doctors. 26:41 They just want them to come to church 26:42 then go do whatever they want to do. 26:44 Right? So, when you, then- when your people are 26:47 going out, we're teaching them that 26:49 the witch doctor is- you're on the wrong 26:54 side of power. Right? How difficult is that 26:58 to overcome? - I'd say it's very 27:00 difficult. It's generation after 27:03 generation, Satan has done his work 27:07 to create in the whole thought pattern 27:11 that he's the one that helps you. 27:15 So, it's a struggle, but these men are 27:17 determined. Their lives with their 27:20 wives and their families are the 27:22 example for them. So, that's the challenge 27:25 that they have- to be examples that 27:27 Jesus is the One who takes care of their 27:30 children and takes care of their 27:31 diseases-not the witch doctor. - Amen. 27:34 - It's difficult. - So, when they go 27:38 out and they're preaching, they're 27:42 having great success as far as baptism. 27:45 What- I think we've got some more pictures 27:48 that we'd like to show you of them- 27:50 the pioneer Bible workers who are 27:52 preaching. Then what happens after they 27:57 preach? - It's two things that go on 28:00 with evangelism. One is there's a need for a 28:05 church building, and the other is a need 28:08 to educate the children. So, in the past, 28:13 you can see baptisms are in simple, humble 28:17 places and hundreds are baptized each 28:19 evangelistic meeting. The children are 28:25 going to come. That school building that 28:28 you just saw, One-Day School, has been a 28:31 means of evangelism. The children can get 28:35 educated in Seventh-Day Adventist schools. 28:37 That's going to be a tool that will, in 28:42 time, be the strength of our church.- Okay; 28:46 so these men are going out and beating the 28:47 bushes, if you will, or they're out in 28:49 the bush. They, obviously, are having- 28:52 the Lord is blessing in great success. 28:55 When you start this one-day school- 28:59 I mean, when you say "one-day school," 29:00 you're talking about a school that's actually 29:02 constructed in one day. - That's right. 29:05 - Then, how long, though- I mean, what... 29:09 Is that an automatic thing? "Okay, we've 29:11 got all these people baptized. We need a 29:13 school." How does this happen? - Well, 29:15 funding is needed for building schools. 29:18 I'd just like to say thank you to 3ABN 29:21 and its listeners for the support that 29:23 they have been. We were able to put 29:25 13 one-day preschools. The government kind 29:30 of controls grades 1 and up, but the 29:35 preschool- our church can actually own and 29:38 operate and use Seventh-Day Adventist 29:40 teachers to teach the young people in 29:42 preschool. So, 3ABN had sponsored 12 of 29:46 these schools that we built (for these 29:48 pioneers especially). The foundation of 29:51 children- education is the foundation 29:54 for eternity. - Amen. Amen. But then these 29:57 schools kind of become centers of influence- 30:00 centers of evangelism, right? 'Cause if you 30:03 can reach the kids... - That's it. You can 30:05 reach the parents you've interested. 30:07 So with that, the next step is, there's 30:10 a congregation after the baptism. They 30:12 need a place to worship. We have a picture 30:15 here of what kind of a worship place 30:20 we would find in a typical area in 30:22 Zambia. A rundown; grass-thatched. Rain 30:26 comes in, everyone has to move to the 30:29 sides of the church or whatever, and 30:31 the people are eagerly waiting for 30:35 a new church. - Yeah. - The team will come. 30:41 These Bible workers will give us a call, 30:43 and our team from Riverside will come 30:45 as we get sponsorship for one-day churches. 30:48 I'd just like to show a little picture 30:51 here of how our team works. We have a 30:55 video roll that we can put on right now. When 31:00 we arrive at the site, the church members 31:03 are there to help us and they take 31:06 instruction. The church goes up in 31:09 no time. One interesting story: we had a 31:12 young man who was going by in the morning 31:15 with his bicycle and he saw our truck 31:17 there. He drove by, looking and wondering 31:20 what these people were going to do 31:21 there. At noon time, when he came back 31:23 on his bicycle, he was just pedaling by and 31:27 he looked. There's the church building already 31:30 up. He's looking at it as he's driving, 31:33 and he crashed into the side of the road 31:35 and fell right over, got up, and said, 31:37 "Where did that come from?" - You know, 31:39 it is amazing. The one-day church project 31:42 is amazing. Praise God for the work that 31:46 they're doing around the world. But this is 31:49 something that we see the local people are 31:52 excited to come out and help you, because 31:54 they so want a place where they can be 31:59 proud to go to worship and something 32:01 that honors the Lord, right? - And they 32:03 become owners of it as they work for it. 32:05 - I think you brought us a picture- what it 32:08 looked like when it was finished. Quite a 32:11 difference. That's lovely. - That replaced 32:14 that old scraggly- looking church where 32:17 they had to duck when the rains came. Now, 32:20 they have a place of influence; connects 32:23 them to the outside world, is an influence 32:26 in their village, maybe the first tin roof 32:30 in the whole village. You know, not that 32:34 we want people to come for the loaves 32:36 and fishes, we say, but if people will 32:40 come to church because you have a tin roof, 32:44 it gives an opportunity for them to hear 32:47 the gospel then. - Amen. - So, it's a tool. 32:50 It's one of the many tools of evangelism. 32:52 Such a blessing, that program. - But, 32:55 now, some of the evangelism- we have 32:57 friends that are missionaries in Zambia, 33:01 as well. I know that there's a lot of people 33:04 who live along the rivers, so tell us 33:08 about that outreach. - Some of our Bible 33:11 workers, like I said, live places where 33:13 the pastors can't get, and one of 33:15 these in particular lives on the Zambezi 33:18 River, upstream. They really have quite a 33:23 challenge to go to church. During part 33:27 of this year, there's flooding in the area. 33:31 The river floods for part of the year and 33:33 they have to use canoes. They actually 33:34 live out there on little high-elevated 33:38 areas, and the river is around their houses. 33:41 They'll come out in the rainy season 33:43 and come out of their house, and there's 33:46 the river- it's around them, so 33:48 they have to step into their canoe. 33:50 We'll have a picture of one of their churches 33:52 here that, in the rainy season, this is 33:56 what their church looks like. They 33:59 can come out of their house and paddle to 34:02 church, and they won't find anybody 34:04 there because who's going to come to 34:06 church when you can't even get into the... 34:09 - Yeah. Just stay in your canoe. - So, 34:13 the next picture we'll show is when they do 34:15 come. They're standing in their canoes, 34:19 wondering- and they have to be careful 34:22 when they come out of their houses into 34:23 their canoes. There's crocodiles that are 34:26 cruising along in their little villages 34:28 here. You can see the raised mounds 34:32 and all around it. Everywhere around... 34:34 So, here, the people are saying, "Look at 34:38 our church!" when we came to visit there. 34:40 We really are squeezed and we can't even 34:45 worship there in some parts of the area, 34:47 so we called our team from Riverside to 34:49 come and help us with a one-day church. 34:53 When we arrive off the riverbanks, 34:58 the church members are there, helping us 35:01 carry all the materials. - Even the mommas. 35:05 - Even the mommas there from the 35:06 cradle roll department have their helping 35:10 hands to carry them. There's a ton of 35:14 materials that need to be carried. People 35:17 can't carry them all, so what do we have? 35:20 No cars, no jeeps, no trucks; the oxen 35:25 are doing the work here. - So it probably 35:28 takes- it is long to get the materials 35:31 down the river and unloaded as it is 35:35 to build the church, 'cause when we say 35:37 "one-day church," they literally go up 35:39 in a day. - It took us a day to go up the 35:42 river, unload it, and get all the materials 35:45 on site. Then the next day, church was up. 35:50 A miracle. It was the first tin roof in 35:52 this whole area, in the village. This village 35:57 was then a place where it's a sacred 36:02 village. This is our evangelism. You can 36:05 see- - Now, that isn't the 36:06 same place, is it? - That's the same 36:08 place. - That's the same place, so it 36:10 looks like a new church now. That's 36:12 during the rainy season! - In the 36:14 dry season, it's dry and sandy. It's a 36:17 mile from the river to where the church 36:18 is. In the rainy season, you have to 36:20 use a canoe to get to church. We call 36:23 that the Canoe Church. - Wow. That's amazing. 36:26 - So, people will then come with their 36:28 canoes to church if they have a dry place 36:30 where they can sit and worship. - So, 36:34 when you think about some of the stories 36:37 you've heard, or the people you've met, 36:39 because- you and your wife went there with 36:42 your two little babies, 3 and 6 in 1985, and 36:47 I think during that time, you've only 36:49 come home for a short period of time while 36:52 your boys were finishing high 36:54 school, right? - High school- that's 36:55 right. - Now, what- is there anyone 36:59 in particular that- I want two questions. 37:04 #1) How has this changed you, and 37:07 what is one of the greatest changes? 37:09 If you can look back, can you think 37:11 of somebody's story that just will never 37:14 leave you- it's just indelible? - Well, 37:18 you can't help but, being changed, when every 37:21 day, you wake up and go out and there's 37:25 a huge need in front of you. Oftentimes, 37:30 in this society, where we live here in 37:32 America, you don't see a need. You get up 37:38 and you go to work, and you need to go 37:39 to work. But people come to our door 37:43 on a regular basis and ask, "Can you 37:49 help us with food for today?" My wife 37:55 and I look at each other on a regular 37:57 basis and say, "How can we say no?" 38:00 And for a small, little penance of help, 38:04 they turn around and go, "Thank you! 38:08 Praise God! You've saved us for today." 38:11 And it may be that, tomorrow, they have 38:14 some other opportunity; but today is what 38:17 they needed something for. You know, we have 38:20 times in Zambia where the rain doesn't fall 38:23 and there's hunger. I had a family that 38:27 walked for 12 miles 'cause they heard 38:31 there was somebody who was willing to 38:33 help at Riverside. They came and knocked 38:36 on our door, my wife answered, and-I 38:42 don't know. Sometimes, you get overwhelmed. 38:44 She said, "Well, go see my husband." 38:48 Well, they came and found me, and I was 38:50 busy doing something. They sat down behind 38:55 me while I was busy. I said, "Just a minute." 38:58 Then I get up and say, "Can I help you?" 39:01 They just said, "We don't have any food. 39:03 We haven't eaten for three days and we 39:06 walked all the way here." I said, "Well, 39:09 I don't know," and I had something else to 39:12 do, and so I went. I didn't pay attention 39:16 to this still, small voice, and I was 39:19 busy doing something again. I turned around; 39:20 there they were again right behind 39:22 me. They weren't going to give up. 39:23 Three times, I had to move around the 39:25 campus. As an administrator, you 39:28 have to get around and keep things going. 39:30 They just followed me and said, "We're 39:32 not going home until we get some help." 39:33 - Bless their hearts. - It struck me. God's 39:38 trying to tell me something here. 39:40 I'm too busy doing "His work" to just 39:47 listen to people and their today 39:51 need. I said, "No. I'm going to help 39:54 them," so I sent them to a certain 39:56 person who could help them with 39:58 some bananas and some cornmeal-that's 40:02 a basic thing-some vegetables. They were 40:05 actually leftover vegetables, 'cause 40:07 we had sold all the first quality ones. 40:10 They had about 5 sacks of food. There 40:14 was a grandfather, a mother and a 40:16 father, and 5 children. They took those 2 40:22 sacks of food, and they said, "We can 40:24 go home now." - You know, even when we're 40:27 dedicated to the Lord- I mean, we're not perfect. 40:31 There are times that it takes us a little 40:33 while to respond to the Lord's voice. I 40:36 wish we could all learn to just 40:38 respond soon. I pray that all the time. 40:41 "Lord, make me sensitive to Your still, small 40:44 voice." But we can get so busy doing 40:47 good that we can be ignoring an opportunity 40:51 that the Lord brings to us; but praise God 40:54 that the Fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, 40:57 joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, 40:59 gentleness, meekness, and self-control. So, 41:03 when you see some of these Bible workers- 41:10 I mean, 50, and at $100 a month - 41:15 we've got $5,000 right there a month. Are 41:19 they all sponsored, or you're looking for 41:21 sponsors today? - We're looking for sponsors 41:23 today. We have a good number of them 41:27 sponsored, and others are at their homes 41:30 unsponsored doing their Bible work as they 41:33 can afford to. They need help with the 41:36 evangelistic tools: a bicycle to get 41:39 around, literature to pass out, a pen; 41:44 they need to buy a pen so they can help 41:46 mark the Bible studies. I mean, simple little 41:49 things that are, to us- pens are on every 41:53 desk. But for them, a pen is a special 41:55 thing in their pocket. - Yeah. We're so 42:01 spoiled, aren't we? - We don't know. 42:03 - All right. So, and then the other thing 42:05 is, how many one-day churches- and 42:09 as I said, these are churches where 42:12 everything comes to you- all the materials, 42:14 and you must appreciate this as a builder, 42:17 because they come all precut; they come ready 42:20 to erect. Literally, these are 42:23 going up. Not just in Zambia, but around 42:26 the world, they can be erected in one 42:29 day. Not always the brick on the outside, 42:31 but the other... So, how many of those 42:34 are you wanting to build? - We've 42:39 built around 400 of them in Zambia already. 42:43 - Wow. - In my estimation, and with 42:45 the conference leaders' estimation, there 42:47 are thousands that are needed. These are 42:49 small congregations and the rural areas 42:52 that still need help. We have matching 42:56 funds right now (and the kits on-site) for 43:00 a hundred churches. $2,000 matching fund 43:04 for every thousand dollars that we raise. 43:07 So, $1,000 would put up one of these kits 43:10 for one of these Bible workers. 43:12 - Unbelievable. So, let me repeat that. 43:14 You're looking to fund 100 churches. 43:20 If you raise 1,000, you have matching 43:23 funds for 2,000. So there are basically 3,000 43:26 a piece, so that's what you're looking 43:29 for. - And with that, we can put the 43:31 name of your Sabbath school class on the 43:33 church, or the name of your church or 43:37 your group if you would like that. As part of 43:39 the donation, it would be a memorial 43:41 to your group in Zambia until Jesus 43:45 comes. - Amen. Amen! Well, what we want 43:48 to do is, we're going to put- you know, 43:51 I believe with all of my heart- I have 43:55 to tell you; let me back up. When I was 43:58 a brand new Adventist- I'd only been an 44:00 Adventist for about 2 months, and I went 44:06 to ASI. As a matter of fact, that's wehre 44:10 I met Danny Shelton. He had me on that 44:14 eveming sharing my testimony, because 44:16 I told him that 3ABN was instrumental in 44:20 bringing me into the church. I found that 44:23 when I finally started watching- I found that 44:26 everything God was teaching me, 3ABN 44:29 was teaching. So the point is, I'm at ASI. 44:34 I am meeting all of these wonderful people- 44:40 these wonderful ministries, and I 44:43 remember that someone told me about Riverside 44:46 Farm Institute. You were actually under the 44:48 umbrella of Outpost Centers International, 44:53 which is a 501c3. They have so many wonderful 44:59 ministries. Everybody kept telling me about 45:05 Riverside Farm! I thought, "This is so 45:09 amazing." I heard about you when I was a 45:12 brand new Adventist. The work there has 45:15 impressed so many people. We want you 45:19 to have the opportunity. I believe that God 45:23 works in such a way that there's times 45:27 when we hear something 45:28 and it's not just a pluck of the 45:30 heartstring but we know God is saying, 45:32 "I want you to help support this." They're 45:35 looking for sponsors for some of their 45:39 pioneer Bible workers who are going places 45:42 that the pastors cannot go. Just 45:45 think-a pastor having 40 churches. I mean, 45:48 you can barely make the rounds in a year; 45:51 you know? It's unbelievable. So 45:54 they're reaching so many souls for Christ, 45:58 and also need a hundred churches. Right now, 46:04 if you have a Sabbath school class that 46:06 would like to sponsor a church to raise $1,000 46:09 and donate to them, you, really- it's just 46:14 like your money suddenly tripled 'cause 46:15 they've got someone with matching funds 46:18 that they will give $2,000 for every 1,000 46:20 that is donated. So, if the Holy Spirit 46:23 is impressing upon your heart to support 46:26 this work, here's how you can get in 46:28 touch with them. 46:31 - If you would like to help Riverside Farm 46:33 Institute build churches in Zambia, you can 46:36 donate online by visiting OutpostCenters.org 46:39 and clicking on their Donate button. Then, 46:42 click on the Ministries menu and select 46:44 Riverside Farm Institute. That 46:47 website, again, is OutpostCenters.org 46:50 You may also mail your donation to 46:52 Outpost Centers 5132 Layton Lane, Apison, 46:56 Tennessee 37302. Please earmark your 47:00 donation to Riverside Farm churches, and 47:03 thank you for all you do to help spread 47:05 the gospel. 47:16 You know, these pioneer Bible workers, 47:18 particularly, are such a blessing, 47:22 because there's no way these outlying 47:25 breaches could be reached. Now, these 47:28 people- are they recent converts? 47:31 I mean, if they're going out there to 47:32 combat witchcraft, or are they people 47:35 who've been Seventh-Day Adventist Christians 47:36 for some time? - Generally, the 47:39 pioneers will be seasoned Seventh-Day 47:42 Adventists, leaders or deacons in their 47:45 church, and they come to Riverside for 47:47 additional training: how to manage church, 47:51 counsel people, and to give them some 47:55 encouragement that they have a connection 47:57 to something bigger than just themselves. 48:00 So, some of these guys will come across 48:05 stories that curl your blood, or you just 48:10 say, "Praise God for His miracles/mercies." 48:14 I think of one particular man who 48:19 was doing ministry in this area, and the 48:23 chief was opposing him. This goes all 48:26 the time. The chief actually told them 48:31 he couldn't do an evangelistic meeting 48:33 in his village. He had walked for a whole 48:37 day to get there. He had all his 48:39 equipment there, was ready, and 48:43 advertised. "You can't evangelistic meeting 48:47 here or I'll have you arrested." So, 48:51 he decided he'd better not get arrested, 48:54 so he backed up, went to another 48:56 little village that was out of his 48:58 jurisdiction, and did his evangelism. Some 49:01 people were baptized. He decided in the 49:04 middle, he was going to go back to this 49:06 village, sneak in, and tell people that 49:08 there's an evangelistic meeting in the next 49:09 village! Well, unfortunately (or 49:13 or fortunately), the chief heard about it 49:16 and he got the police, or the vigilantes, 49:20 and they arrested him and actually put 49:21 him in jail for a couple of days. 49:25 After a couple of days, he got out 49:27 and went home. They had beaten him, 49:29 even, just for disrespecting the 49:32 chief. When he got home, he heard that 49:35 the chief had fallen sick. Okay, here's 49:38 a story. Chief is sick; the missionary's 49:41 going to come and heal him... No, it didn't 49:44 work that way. He came, and on his 49:50 way, he heard that the chief died. So 49:53 he said, "Well, now I can do the 49:57 evangelistic series in the village!" 50:00 Sure enough, there wasn't anybody else 50:02 opposing him, so he started up again- 50:05 the second evangelistic meeting right in that 50:07 village. I don't know if you can call it 50:11 a miracle that the chief died, but it 50:14 was some kind of a miracle. God allowed 50:16 this, and now they have a congregation 50:19 there with no church building because the 50:21 chief hadn't allowed anything. I think 50:23 there was 12 or 13 people baptized 50:26 there, and they're calling for a one-day 50:28 church right now. When I get back, 50:30 they want one. - Amen. And we just 50:33 want to- I'm glad you mentioned that, 50:35 because we want to say, one more 50:37 time, that right now, you have a 50:41 donor who will more than match funds. 50:44 You've got double-matching 50:45 funds, so just $1,000 from our viewers 50:53 and listeners of 3ABN... For every 50:56 $1,000, that is- and these churches are 50:59 $3,000 each; you need 100 of them. But 51:02 right now, you've only gotta raise 51:05 100,000 because for every thousand you 51:07 raise, somebody will donate 2,000, and 51:11 that is so amazing to me, to think that 51:14 $1,000 can help put up a church. 51:18 I'm sure that you've seen people's lives 51:21 change when they have these churches. 51:24 - That's right. It's a tool of evangelism, 51:26 as I've said before that draws people 51:30 to something interesting, but then 51:34 they get to hear the trained Bible 51:37 worker present to them the gospel; 51:40 the good news: Jesus is coming, this life 51:44 will end... There's a lot of hope for 51:48 a third world person of heaven. - And you 51:54 are helping to fulfill the Great Commission. 51:57 Well, we are going to go to our newsbreak 52:02 right now. When we come back- I forgot 52:04 to ask you about Pauline, your wife, 52:06 so we'll have just a closing thought 52:09 in just a moment. Please stay tuned. |
Revised 2018-10-16