Amazing Facts in Africa! (Part 2)

More or less 200 children gathered at the Word of Life Youth Center in Kabete, Nairobi, Kenya last August 25-31, 2013 for the children’s camp meeting of Newlife SDA Church. The venue was a serene place, surrounded with nature, with a very cold atmosphere. The ages of children who attended ranged from 4 to 15 years old and there were 5 non-SDA kids who attended the said event.  The theme of the camp meeting was “Worship the Creator” which was based on the Revival and Reformation theme of the world church for the year 2013 “Revived By His Word”.  Elder Tom Ouma, the head of the Children’s Ministries department was the chairman of the organizing committee. 

Teachers, parents and kids arrived on Sunday, August 25. Everyone was assigned their designated rooms where they will be staying for the rest of the week.

The next day, everyone was up at 5:30 AM and they all gathered at the football field for the morning exercises and morning worship. Breakfast was then served at 7:30 AM. After which they would break out into their respective classes for discussions based on the topic assigned for each day. At 11:00 AM, everyone would proceed to the main worship hall for the Divine Service.  Afternoons were spent for craft activities and other similar activities. Dinner then was served at 6:30 PM then everyone would gather again at the worship hall for the evening sermon.

Renelyn Mendoza [the author of these updates] and Mayvilyn Ramos, child evangelists from the Philippines took turns in preaching during the main worship services both in the morning and evening. They preached on the topics on Daniel 2, Creation, Origin of Evil, Tithe Death, Hell, Second Coming, Law, and Heaven, among others. The children learned more than 20 memory verses as well as scripture songs. Everyone was attentive during the sermons. They really enjoyed the beautiful pictures that came with the sermons.

On Friday afternoon several parents arrived to attend the seminar on parenting. On the Sabbath day, the worship hall was packed as more parents came to join their children for the Sabbath service.

It was indeed a blessed experience. Several parents verbalized their gratefulness for the wonderful experiences their children have gained from the camp meeting.

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Last September 22 to October 5, 2013, Renelyn Mendoza and Mayvilyn Ramos, child evangelists from Philippine Amazing Facts Center of Evangelism (PAFCOE) conducted a two-week evangelistic campaign for the children, the first of its kind in Africa, in Monato SDA Church, Got Rabour, Homabay County. While Pastor Philip Gai, the Publishing and SOP Director of East-Central Africa Division together with Kenneth Ouma, an evangelist, were preaching to the adults, these two Filipino child evangelists also conducted a parallel evangelism program for the children.

On the first night of the program, more than 150 kids attended and they were encouraged to bring their friends on the next day. The following day, more than 200 kids came and on the third day, more than 300 kids attended and the attendance just kept on increasing every day. On the first Sabbath day of the evangelism, attendance reached 500 and there were more than 800 kids on the second Sabbath day of the evangelistic campaign. You can just see the excitement in the faces of these kids as they kept on attending the programs.

Important Bible topics such as Daniel 2, Law, Origin of Evil, Sabbath, Death, Hell and Millennium, Heaven, Health were among the many topics preached to the kids. The children really enjoyed the stories portrayed in powerpoint presentations. Not to mention the scripture songs and memory verses that they learned each night plus the coloring pages and the craft activities that were given out at the end of the program.

A testimony was shared of a Catholic girl who consistently attended the nightly programs. One evening, while the child evangelist preached on the state of the dead, this girl was intently listening and absorbing the truths that she was hearing for the first time. When she reached home, she related to her mother all the new information that she had heard from the program. And the mother, who happened to be a co-teacher of a church member of Monato SDA Church, confirmed with her the truth about the state of the dead. And then began a short Bible study about the topic. It is indeed true that parents, who cannot be reached by the Word, will know the message through these boys and girls.

At the end of the evangelistic campaign, 74 committed their lives to Christ through baptism, 47 of which are children whose ages ranged from 12-14.

 Praises to God for this special program of the Amazing Facts called Child Evangelism. Now, more and more people are being reached by the gospel. Not just adults are being led to the feet of Jesus, but most of all boys and girls, Jesus’ most precious jewels.

To be continued...

From Disappointment to Divine Appointment! (OJT Report, part 4)

 Disappointments… What good can come out of those times?

Often God takes the situations that seem to us to be terrible disappointments and marvelously turns them around in divine appointments. “God never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led, if they could see the end from the beginning, and discern the glory of the purpose which they are fulfilling as co-workers with Him.” Desire of Ages, page 225.

Sometimes we wonder why God allowed circumstances to happen in the way they did and forget that God truly knows best and He has everything under His control. Here is a story of how God took a disappointment and turned it into a divine appointment.

After graduating from the first session of PAFCOE, Erme Jun became a full-time evangelist, going from place to place all over the Panay Island (in central Philippines) to preach the gospel. He is busy with no end of places to work in!

Erme Jun’s father has a small house and a business in Estancia, Iloilo and began coordinating with the local church there for his son to do an evangelistic meeting there.  They were planning this seminar for quite some time, but near the end of October, the church suddenly cancelled it for no reason at all. Both he and his parents were so disappointed that it didn’t work out and wondered why God had allowed this to happen.

Providentially in the next day or two, Dad invited Erme Jun to be the speaker for an OJT site in Cavite who had requested for PAFCOE to send an evangelist to their place. We didn’t know whether Erme Jun would even be available since he has a full schedule most of the time. But because this Estancia seminar had just been cancelled, he was free and agreed to come to Cavite for the seminar.

Before finding out about God’s divine appointment for him, let’s learn about Erme Jun’s child evangelism partner, Maya. Her original site was not in Cavite, either. She had just returned from her mission trip to Africa a few weeks earlier and planned to have her seminar in Romblon (another island in central Philippines).

Sometime before, she had been a missionary in Romblon and already knew the people and the church. Thinking everything was planned for her to be in Romblon, she had no idea that God was calling her to the site in Cavite instead. So her site in Romblon was cancelled. Just like Erme Jun was disappointed at not being able to go to Estancia, so Maya felt the same when she couldn’t go to Romblon.

But God had different plans for both Maya and Erme Jun to turn their disappointments into divine appointments.

There were a few challenges (as is always expected), but God blessed their seminar! The opening night was the same day that the super-typhoon came through the Philippines. Because of the strong wind and rain and the resulting power outage, the first night was postponed to Sabbath night. 

Thankfully, the damage in Cavite was not as severe as in the other places around the Philippines.

However, it was not so in the areas where Erme Jun and Maya were originally supposed to be doing their seminars. In Romblon where Maya was planning to go, it was devastated by the typhoon, but not too badly.  A church member told her it was a blessing the seminar was cancelled because of the damage of the typhoon.

But in Estancia, Iloilo, the damage was absolutely terrible! It was one of the worst hit towns of that island with many deaths.  The town, known as the “Alaska of the Philippines” because of its seafood industry and popularity as a fish trading center, was paralyzed after the typhoon cut off electricity and communications. [Many of the fishing boats either capsized or were dashed to pieces by the powerful storm surge that washed ashore.]  One source said, “At least 99% of houses and other structures were destroyed or damaged.”

The delivery of relief assistance was hampered by impassable roads, with many portions of the national highway from Iloilo City [the major city on that island] littered with fallen trees. Many electric posts were toppled and thrown from one side of the highway to the other. Electric lines were being used to hang clothes by residents who lost their homes and were staying along the road.

When Erme Jun heard the news about the destruction in Iloilo, he suddenly realized God’s divine appointment for him. If he and his family had been in Estancia, doing their evangelistic seminar, quite likely they would have been among the fatalities. Many, many died in the city and they might have been some of the victims, too. Fortunately, his parents were in a safe place, too and amazingly enough, the little house is still standing. Unfortunately, his father’s business was destroyed.

However, Erme Jun and his whole family thanked God for making a way to protect his family! Maya (his partner) said, “He almost cried when he learned what happened in Estancia and really praised God.”

She continued: “We have learned our lesson. Obey first before you complain. Honestly, we had a few complaints because of some of the challenges we faced in our OJT site. But in the end, we were so blessed with our work! My prayer now is, ‘Lord, wherever you send me, I will go. I will always trust and obey Your will.’”

God had taken their disappointments and turned them into divine appointments – divine appointments to get them out of the danger and into a safe place. Erme Jun said, “God is so good to us!”

Maya did the children’s program in the afternoon, so all her helpers could assist in Erme Jun’s adult seminar in the evening, which worked very well. This was her first experience to have two of her students who got into accidents. One of them was the 3 year old daughter of Erme Jun who was hit by a motorcycle. The impact was very great and as her parents rushed to the hospital, everyone prayed hard that she would not be seriously injured.

Really it was a miracle because the little girl just had a few scrapes and bruises, instead of having series injuries! Though it was a big impact when the motorcycle hit her, there was no bleeding or even bleeding on the inside! God really sent his angels to watch over the little girl and keep her safe!

Then in the last week of the seminar, another 5 year girl was hit by a motorcycle on her way to the children’s program. Unfortunately, it was a hit-and-run and off went the motorcycle. After the meeting that night, Maya and her team went to the child’s home because they had heard that the child’s head was already bleeding. Before they went, they prayed for the family because they didn’t know if the family would be angry with them because the girl was on her way to their program when it happened.

Because the family was so poor, they could not go to the hospital to have their injured daughter checked. Maya’s team decided to bring the little girl to the Emergency Room in the hospital because of the bleeding of her head. When the Doctor came, he gave her some medicine and dressed the wounds. The mother began to cry because she was so grateful that someone helped her child even though she and her family were so poor. They also bought some food for the family and everyone was so happy! Though the little girl was hit and had some cuts and scrapes, yet she was really fine otherwise.

Maya said, “We praise God even though we had some challenges, like the accidents, they were a way for people to see that God takes care of us.”

Another inspiring experience they had was to see a mother and her son being baptized together. The boy had heard the truths of God’s Word in the children’s program and the mother in the adult program and both made their decision to follow what they had learned together! Hopefully the father will also follow their decision in the future.

Maya added: “Personally, I praise God how He works in us! We know that even though there were so many challenges in our site, all things work together for good. He really took care of us!”

The next time you are disappointed about something, just wait to see how God will turn that disappointment into a divine appointment for Him!

Keep watching for more stories – coming soon!  

Happy New Year!!

I wish you a Happy New Year!

“Another year now opens its fair unwritten pages before you. The recording angel stands ready to write. Your course of action will determine what shall be traced by him. You may make your future life good or evil; and this will determine for you whether the year upon which you have just entered will be to you a happy new year. It is in your power to make it such for yourself and for those around you.” My Life Today, page 5.

Of course, New Year’s is a time for everyone to make their resolutions and there certainly is nothing wrong with resolving to do better in the coming year than in the past year.

Why not make a resolution during this New Year to win one soul to the Lord in 2014?

If you aren’t sure where to start for that, consider coming to PAFCOE and learning how you can be a successful soul winner for the Lord!

The next session starts January 9, so there’s still time for you to send in an application and become a PAFCOE evangelist! Visit our website to learn more.

In the words of Ellen White, I quote, “May the beginning of this year be a time that shall never be forgotten--a time when Christ shall come in among us, and say, "Peace be unto you." John 20:19. 

Brethren and sisters, I wish you, one and all, a happy new year.

     "We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths;

      In feelings, not in figures on a dial.

      We should count time by heart-throbs. He most lives

      Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best."” Our Heavenly Father Cares, page 7.

Receptive hearts! (OJT Report, part 3)

If you want to work in an area with the most receptive hearts, consider the field of child evangelism. “It is still true that children are the most susceptible to the teachings of the gospel; their hearts are open to divine influences, and strong to retain the lessons received.” Desire of Ages, page 515.

Here is the story of Alyssa* who was in charge of the child evangelism for the OJT site located in the island of Luzon. The church she and her partner were assigned was small, but united in serving the Lord! On the first Sabbath, she was given the privilege of teaching the Sabbath School lesson. The topic was the sanctuary and many questions were asked! Many in the group didn’t totally understand about this important doctrine of the sanctuary and afterwards Alyssa* said, “I was inspired when God guided me to answer their questions from His Word and that they learned something from it. In the afternoon, I was asked more questions and it showed me more than ever that those dear people wanted to learn more!”

She added later on: “One lesson I learned there was to go out even if there’s just two of you, for God will surely be with you!” Friday, the starting day, came and there were still many flyers to be distributed. When she asked around for volunteers to help in passing them out, no one responded. So, Alyssa* determined to go out alone, but God touched a mother’s heart to help her. Now, there were the two of them walking the streets, inviting people to come to the seminar. While they were passing out flyers, God sent two young people to help out and now they were able to go to even more houses and invite lots of kids and adults.

That night, almost 50 children came to the meeting! As the days passed on, Alyssa* became more acquainted with the children who were attending her program each night. She commented on the experience: “This week, I really saw the Holy Spirit working in the hearts of the children, convicting them of God’s holy day. When I did the Sabbath illustration using the 7 jars and made an appeal for who wanted to taste the blessing of the Sabbath, all of them heartily answered, “Yes!”

That next Friday came and because the kids didn’t have class in school, Alyssa* invited them to help her cook the food in preparation for the Sabbath. All of them were so excited to help her! What a great time with the kids she had! While helping to cut the vegetables, they laughed, told stories and asked lots of questions about the Sabbath and how to keep it. Alyssa* just loved answering their questions because it showed they were very eager to follow everything the Bible says. After cooking, they ate lunch together. As they went home, she was so happy to know that they understood that Sabbath is a special, holy day and that they would not play with their toys, cook their food or wash their clothes on the period of time from sundown Friday to sundown Sabbath.

Who has the most receptive hearts? It’s definitely the children!

Alyssa* said: “This week, we presented the topic about spiritualism and ghosts to the children. The day before, when I announced that tomorrow we would study about that, one of the girls approached me and told me that she regularly sees ghosts. Her friend confirmed that she really does and wasn’t telling me lies. After I presented the topic the following night, she came up to me and told me stories of what she had seen before. God gave me the inspiring experience of listening to her tell me that when she learned the dead are in their graves, cannot visit their loved ones and that the “ghosts” are just Satan’s angels pretending to be their dead relatives, she wasn’t afraid anymore! She told me that she just prays whenever she sees a ghost again and that now she feels that angels are in the darkness, not terrifying ghosts!”

Yes, even small children can understand the Bible truths about what happens when a person dies! 

Commenting more about it, Alyssa* said, “I learned that kids are indeed so receptive of the truth. Once you teach them the truths from God’s Word, they are very willing and even eager to accept and believe it right at that moment. And once they’ve learned about the truth, it doesn’t stop there. Their young minds burst with questions to understand even more! This is when God taught me to not skip or ignore even one of their questions. Children have such confidence in the Bible when you teach them what it says!”

And children are not afraid to take a stand for the right, no matter what anyone says. Alyssa* described an incident like that: “This week I experienced God’s love in the way He worked to bring the message to the children at the right time. The schedule of teaching about God’s health laws fell right on the day before that community’s fiesta, where the tables in all the homes were filled with abominable foods and drinks! Just the day before, the children had learned that pork is unclean, that God doesn’t want us to eat it, that it has worms inside and that those who eat it are not taking care of their bodies. The next day, some of the children told me that they had pork served in their homes, but because they already knew it was not healthy to eat, they wouldn’t touch it! Some even told me that it was “yucky”! I praise the Lord for His great love to these children to help us teach about the health message right before that important community day!”

In the last week, a mother came to Alyssa* and told her that though she had not been attending in the program, she had still heard the message. Because she had listened every night from their little store and was so impressed with what the children had been learning!

Another thing that brought joy to Alyssa*’s heart was to see the children fulfilling the pledge they made to have a 10 day trial to try God’s health plan and see if He wouldn’t bless them too just as He blessed Daniel and his 3 friends. They told her when they came to the program that they weren’t eating the unhealthy things they had learned about and how much they enjoyed God’s plan!

Some of the precious children!

Sometimes God speaks to children as in this case that Alyssa* told about: “One child told me his dream about Jesus. He saw Jesus going to a church where there were no idols and then He invited all the children to worship there. I thought that was a great time to make an appeal, so I asked him if he had ever thought that he might be one of those children that Jesus was calling to worship in a church without idols. I also asked him what he is going to do with the truths he learned during our program and he told me, “Teacher, I will follow it!” I praise God for that!”

One of the children who attended so faithfully was the most diligent and attentive one of them all. She wanted to be baptized so badly and had already asked her father many times for permission, but he always said, “No!” Alyssa* felt convicted to talk to the father herself and see what he would say. When she did, the father still said his daughter could not get baptized. The conversation shifted to answering some of the father’s questions.

He told her this was the first time for him to hear the teachings of the Seventh-Day Adventists during the adult seminar (he had been listening from inside his nearby house) and Alyssa* was able to answer many of his questions. Then she appealed to him to support his daughter’s decision to be baptized and he agreed. Then he also said he wanted to learn more about the teachings of our church and study the Bible!

Commenting on the story, Alyssa* said, “Surely, the greatest challenge in the children’s program is how to talk with the parents when their children want to be baptized. It is only as you kneel in prayer to God and ask the Holy Spirit to give you the right words to speak, that your appeal will make any difference on their hearts. I believe that when I was talking to that girl’s father, the Holy Spirit was speaking to him and he listened. He also told me that he had been into many religions and was really searching for the truth. Now he was very open to study more about what the Bible says.”

Most likely, that young child will eventually lead her father into God’s true church! Children are instrumental in reaching their parents. What a joy it was so see that girl being baptized on the last Sabbath of the seminar!

That special girl

Alyssa’s advice to others was:

“In handling the children, it is not only them you are working for. It’s very important to visit their parents and build good relations with them, too. Invite the parents to the adult program too because it will be easier for them to decide to follow the truths together with their children than if the children only learn them alone.”

Keep watching for more stories to be posted soon!

*Not her real name.