Two more days and I'll be back in for Bolivia, Lord willing! I’m excited! Being home the last few months has really been a blessing and inspiration though, as I’ve had so many opportunities to study and share and learn, I just have to share some of them with you! I’ve never seen a church so active in ministry before as the one here in Oroville! There are daily Bible studies in people’s homes and in the church, there is colportuering outreach, personal ministries, community services, and a church choir, all in addition to midweek prayer meeting and Sabbath vespers. Even more importantly is the Spirit behind it all. Things aren't perfect, but God's Spirit is moving! I definitely haven’t run out of things to do! God also provided me with a few days of work at a wholesale business that cuts up old wine barrels and resells them as planters, a redemptive aspect I find very satisfying!
When I was at Weimar a few weeks ago for a Hispanic Youth Conference, about 50 of us got on the Weimar Academy bus Sabbath afternoon and drove to Lincoln where we gave door-to-door surveys to probe people’s spiritual interests. In over half of the homes my friend Sean and I visited, the people spoke only Spanish. It was such a blessing to still be able to communicate. At one house, the young man who answered the door was interested in virtually everything on our survey.
“Health seminars?”
“Si!”
“Cooking and nutritional classes?”
“o si!”
“Seminars on how to manage your stress?”
“Si, seria muy bien!”
Finally we came to a break in the affirmations when I asked about stop-smoking seminars and he said he doesn’t smoke. “Stop drinking classes?”
“Eso si, necesito eso!” he looked sheepishly at his wife.
We took a brief break in the survey as he invited us inside.
“It’s cold out there” he said. His name was Jose Luis, and he introduced us to his wife Patricia and their two little girls, Yaquelin and Sabata. We continued the survey and he said yes to everything else including Bible studies and prophecy seminars. He said his family is facing some really hard times right now and they are looking for all the help they can get. I asked if we could have prayer with them. He looked confused.
“Sure.” He said, “But how?” I was shocked to realize he and his family had no idea how to pray!
“It’s simple,” I said. “We just talk to God like we would to a friend, but also with respect as our Lord and Savior.” We made a circle, and after asking if they had any specific requests, we prayed what must have been their first family prayer.
“Thank you so much!” was all they could say as we were leaving, and their smiles made the 40º weather feel like 75. What a powerful blessing to be able to tell someone the good news that they can talk directly to God, that He listens, and He cares!
In just over an hour we had talked to three more families interested in Bible studies and several more interested in the health seminars. You cannot tell me that the Holy Spirit is not at work today! People are hungry! Sean and I kept thinking about a quote that Pastor Johnny Suárez, director of the Spanish radio programming Pan de Vida, had shared in his sermon a few hours before and we realized there is a big work to be done among the Hispanic communities here in the States!
Pastor Johnny told the story of two colporteurs from PUC (Pacific Union College) who started the Adventist work among the Hispanic population in the U.S. Not able to speak Spanish, they were frustrated until they met a bilingual Baptist pastor. He didn’t want any of their books, however, and instead of offering to help them, he challenged them to a public debate on the topic of the Sabbath.
On the day of the debate, the pastor received a letter from a Hispanic couple in a neighboring town asking him to come explain to them why Christians observe Sunday when their recent study of the scriptures showed Saturday to be the true Sabbath. “Perfect!” thought the pastor. “After this debate I’ll go up there and straighten these guys out too!”
At the debate, the minister thought he would be smart and make the colporteurs go first so he could refute everything they had to say. He hadn’t even bothered to seriously prepare, because he was sure that by merely listening to their arguments he would be able to point out their fallacies. The colporteurs, on the other hand, had fasted and prayed and prepared a presentation including over 40 biblical references. At the last minute however, they felt impressed to keep the presentation simple and stick to a few basic verses. As they began, they noticed the pastor furiously taking notes, but he soon put down his pen in amazement. When it was his turn to speak, instead of refuting the message he publicly confessed Saturday as the true Sabbath and gave his full support to the Adventist cause!
Pastor Suárez went on to share the following statement from Ellen White: "I was shown that the Hispanic work will be placed as the forerunner, and will march as the head of the cause of God in the United States." (Declaration of Ellen G. White to Abel Sánchez in California, 1913.) – The Untold Story, 100 years of Hispanic Adventism by Dr. Manuel Vásquez. Interamerican Publications, 2000, pg. 21.
This statement was probably surprising in 1913 when the Hispanic population was comparatively low. Now however, the Hispanic population is skyrocketing, (the US Census Bureau in 2002 reported* the U.S. population to be 13.3% Hispanic, and a 2004 press report predicts that percentage to nearly double by 2050.) But while the numbers are interesting, what impresses me even more is the open and receptive spirit one generally finds in the Hispanic community.
Incidentally, I talked to the pastor of the Hispanic church in Lincoln, and he promised immediate follow-up on all the contacts we made and asked for our contact information.
“If there are any decisions for Christ, we’ll be sure and let you know” he said. I’m looking forward to an email!
As we drove home that evening we sang scripture songs. Sean is gifted with a mind for numbers. He used to keep track of license plates, always watching for the new series when they would come out. Now, whenever he sees a license plate number it reminds him of a Bible reference.
“Did you know,” he tells us “that the Bible is organized in chiastic structure? At first I didn’t realize it, because you have 66 books, 39 in the old, and 27 in the new. But if you look at it again, you realize you have a group of 12 books at the end of the Old Testament: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah and the rest of the Minor Prophets! We would do well to study the chiastic center of the Bible!”
When he said that, I got really excited. Recently I had been studying some of the Minor Prophets and I had been blown away with the exactness with which their message speaks to God’s church of today. For example, the book of Amos talks about a people who claim to look for the coming of Christ (5:18-22) but are living like the heathen around them (1:1-15, 2:2-12), have rejected the spirit of prophecy (2:12) and have introduced mixed styles of worship and music that produce tumult and confusion (3:9, 5:23, 6:1-6). Again and again you the see the repeating motif of Samaria (a mixture of God’s people and the world, 2 Kings 17), its “tumult” (3:12) and its mountain, where the temple of Gerizim mixed pagan practices with the worship of God, (4:1, 6:1-6, 8:14). And then check out this reference! “Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail, Saying, when will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn, and the sabbath, that we may sell wheat…” It reminds me of the days when I used to count down the hours until it would be sundown so I could “have fun!” For all of God’s people who have lived like this, the prophet says “Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord! To what end is it for you? The day of the Lord is darkness, and not light.” (5:18). What a tragedy! Have you ever looked forward to something with great anticipation only to discover in the end that it was the exact opposite of what you had hoped? It’s devastating! Oh how I pray that doesn’t happen to us with the Second Coming! The remedy? Repentance and real heart work.If you haven’t studied the Minor Prophets lately, go take a look! It’s some powerful stuff if you apply it to your own life and don’t just think it was only meant for the ancestors! It is a blunt straightforward message that calls for soul searching, humility, and repentance. It also promises the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the last days (Joel 2:28-29)
Speaking of the Holy Spirit, last week I had the opportunity to preach at the Oroville Seventh Day Adventist church, and I knew the only way I could do it would be through Holy Spirit power. My presentation didn’t turn out quite as I had hoped, but God really blessed in spite of myself. The title of the message was Acts-pansion: The rapid growth of the church in the book of Acts and how it can happen again. Have you ever been tempted to doubt the word of God that the gospel will be preached to all the world (Matt 24:14) when the world population will grow by 75 million this year alone? We get so excited about a million member increase in church membership, but we are falling seriously behind! What really stood out to me from my study more than anything was just how vital the Holy Spirit is to accomplish the work and what we need to do to receive it. (We have to pray for it, for one thing, as Christ does in the book of John. According to Peter we must also “repent and be baptized …in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). The word remission here means a lot more than simply forgiveness as anyone who has experienced the remission of cancer can attest! There’s a lot more I could share here, but I know some of you already heard my sermon, so I won’t repeat it!
Thanks to all of you for your continued prayers, support, and encouragement. God is providing for our needs for new teachers this year! I just got off the phone this morning with an old friend who is a math teacher, and she and her husband are planning to come in July! She already speaks Spanish fluently, so that is a huge blessing. The only vacancies that haven’t been filled yet are for another primary school teacher and for a high school science teacher (chemistry and physics). Please join me in praying for the students and staff of UETIRG this year and also for the gift of repentance and humility and the further outpouring of the Holy Spirit in all of our lives.
One more thing: we’re still trying to get a crate (think semi-trailer size) container of supplies shipped to Bolivia. The contents include much needed equipment, a truck, and literature to use in outreach, and other miscellaneous items. If you feel impressed to help ship the crate you can make donations to the BEM (Bolivia Education Ministry) account at GMI (Gospel Ministries International.) Go to the How to Help tab on the top right of the page. Or just call GMI directly at 423-473-1841.
May the God of peace keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus!
