Reporting from Denmark

Dear brothers and sisters around the world: It is my privilege to write a few lines to you about the work I am involved in. I hope that this will be an encouragement to someone. The Three Angels’ Messages have to reach every human being. This involves so much work that it seems impossible to men, but with the Lord’s help this will happen. Maybe not in the ways which we expect, but somehow the Lord is going to use every humble instrument to finish this work. I am personally involved in many different things. First of all I have started a correspondence school here in Denmark. This has proved to be a big blessing.

A few people began the work here with distributing small tracts which we call “The Silent Messenger.” In these we write an article about a chosen topic. After we give out the tract we offer a free book and/or Bible studies by correspondence. We often cover the same area with different issues of the tracts. In this way we try to feed the people with spiritual food even if they choose not to contact us.

The last two years we have tried during the winter time to have a Prophecy Seminar. This has unfortunately not proven to be a success here in Denmark. People are very closed minded and seldom go out to religious meetings. We have found it to be easier to invite people to a correspondence course. This has made us focus more on the correspondence school. The number of students has been increasing. I praise the Lord that as the work has grown He has given me a sister-in-law who is very eager to help me to answer all the letters. It was a great joy to us, when one of our students chose this spring to be united with God’s people.

Besides Denmark, God has given us Romania as a special missionfield. It was under God’s special leading that I first went to Romania in connection with one of John Grosboll’s trips to Europe. There have been many trips since then. We have found a group of good and faithful Adventists, who are doing a large work of evangelism. But the people are poor and they are often in lack of means for evangelism. We have tried to supply them with literature which they can use in their evangelism. We have been printing “Somebody Cares” in their own language in large amounts. In addition to this we have bought Spirit of Prophecy books in Hungary and brought them to Romania.

We have also taken many trips to Romania supplying humanitarian help. We have brought food, clothes, shoes, blankets, and many other things to give to the most poor. This work has proven to be a great advantage for the local people in their evangelism. By first receiving humanitarian help, the people are much more open to the gospel when we arrange for evangelism in that city. When someone would come and give clothes away without charging anything, the people know that we are different and have something to offer. By God’s grace we have had the blessing of seeing people converted as a result of the help we have brought to them.

I thank the Lord that He has given me the privilege of having a part in His work. Wherever He sends me I want to be willing to go. May the Lord show you where your little vineyard is and give you grace and strength to work for Him.

The End

The Gospel in Song

When Call to Praise Ministry was established, I had been singing and sharing the gospel through music for several years. But I had become impressed that God wanted me to do more with this gift of music. I had come to realize what a powerful tool music can be, and how when used in God’s appointed way, it can soften hearts and draw them Heavenward. “There are few means more effective for fixing His words in the memory than repeating them in song. And such song has wonderful power. . . It is one of the most effective means of impressing the heart with spiritual truth.” Evangelism, 496.

We at “Call to Praise” wanted to have a music ministry that would be more than just entertainment, a ministry that would be effective in lifting hearts to heaven and leading souls to Christ. We believe that Jesus is coming very soon, and that all of our concerts should not only encourage, but challenge people to live a more pure, and holy life.

Revelation 14:7 says: “Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” Because of the message we present, we believe our work relates to every soul seeking salvation, no matter what their religious affiliation. We believe that those who are truly seeking the crown of life, must realize the importance of a total surrender of the heart.

Again, in Revelation 14:8 we read: “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” We share a message that people should study for themselves, and realize that those who accept the doctrines of men above the doctrines of God, will one day be lost.

Revelation 14:9, 10: “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God.”

In our concert presentations we share that the Great Controversy is really an issue of worship, that those who truly love God will study and heed all He commands us to do.

We are very aware of the type of music that is available to the Christian today. Music that serves a holy purpose and lifts the thoughts to that which is pure, noble, and elevating is very difficult to find.

By the grace of God “Call To Praise” is endeavoring to provide music that will truly encourage, uplift, and speak to the heart.

We have come to realize that there are many souls facing discouragement, and trials in their lives, and the devil seeks to totally pull them away from the truth. We want to share the music that God has given us, and encourage souls to hang on, because heaven will be worth it all.

“Music like poetry and flowers is elevating and refining in its nature, and should therefore have its place in the worship of God and in the life and experience of God’s people. It is adapted to every mood and feeling of the human soul, and many times has reached hearts when other means have failed.”

“I KNOW”

(first verse)

I know there are times when you’re weary

and I know times may get hard

I know you may face tribulation cause I’ve been right

where you are

And In those times of trouble just call

and I will be there

Cause I know the burdens you bear …

From Persecutor to Persecuted, Part I

Like millions of other young men growing up in the heart of south India, Philip was just another village lad, whose life revolved around home, school, and friends. He belonged to a large, devout, Hindu family, which like most traditional Indian families was very closely knit. Nothing out of the ordinary seemed to break the monotony of his life until one day when he was in his teens, he was recruited by a militant political organization called the RSS. This is the same radical faction which assassinated Mahatma Gandhi for acceding to the dismemberment of India at the time of independence. Rabidly nationalistic, their motto is “India for the Hindus.” Their goal, as might be expected, is to drive out all western influences, including Christianity, from the country. Now there was some excitement to Philip’s life. Marching beside his fanatical peers, shouting patriotic slogans, vandalizing the local Christian churches while persecuting those belonging to this despicable foreign religion, he discovered the euphoria of an adrenaline rush, and perhaps even some meaning, however distorted, to his otherwise humdrum existence. Little did he realize at the time that his life of excitement had only just begun, that soon he would be experiencing euphoria of a different sort; compared to which his past adrenaline highs would pale into insignificance. For One mightier than all the Hindu gods he worshipped had chosen him as a brand from the burning, just as He had done Saul, the persecutor, two millennia before.

Just when it seemed that life was going great, Philip fell ill and all four of his extremities developed severe, crippling contractures. He calls it a “polio attack,” although the precise medical diagnosis is unknown. In any case, he was rendered unable to use his hands or feet. He was only fifteen years old, his entire life stretching before him, but now he was for all practical purposes relegated to the sidelines, a mere cipher in the eyes of society. His self-worth hit rock bottom, as dark, devastating despair rolled over him. Selling a portion of his ancestral properties, his father made the rounds of all the doctors and hospitals in the region in a futile bid to find healing for his son. Everywhere the answer was the same: It is hopeless; his condition is incurable; don’t waste your money on human help. So they turned next to the Hindu gods they revered, but to no avail. They even sought out the Muslim mosques and Allah, but help was always out of reach as he sank deeper into the abyss of depression. At one point he even considered ending his misery by drinking poison out of a bottle, but at the last moment his courage failed him. Perhaps he knew in his heart that he had not totally exhausted his avenues of help. Nevertheless he carried the bottle in his pocket.

For six years Philip suffered unimaginable agony of spirit. All his friends deserted him, and even his family just endured him. He was a pitiful wretch, if ever there was one. But finally, swallowing his pride, he decided to give the Christians one last chance before ending it all. And so it was that one Sunday morning found Philip hobbling toward the local Pentecostal church he had vandalized in the past. This time, however, he was not about to break its doors or destroy its tile roof. Slowly making his way to the front of the congregation he requested that the pastor pray for him. The surprised pastor, of course, was glad to oblige. But just as on numerous previous occasions, nothing happened. Three more months dragged by. Then one day the pastor dropped by for a visit. Greeting Philip he asked how he was doing. “I’m not even one percent better,” said Philip dejectedly. The pastor tried to encourage him and exhorted him to give God glory and recognize Him as the true God whether he was healed or not. So this is what Philip did right then on his knees. But nothing happened outwardly to break the long drought which was withering his parched, despairing soul. Thus another week passed into history.

The following Friday Philip was alone in the inner room of his house. It was past noon. He had been praying and crying for several hours already, but the walls appeared to be closing in relentlessly on him. The darkness of his soul was blacker than midnight. He had obtained a Bible by now and was trying to read it, but his desperation was driving him to the breaking point. And then it happened, the moment which will live in his memory through life, even into eternity. Suddenly the gloomy, palpable silence was shattered by a “divine, heavenly” voice. “Get up, get up,” it urged, “Let your hands down. Don’t keep them tied up.” Scrambling to his feet, Philip whirled around, his whole frame quaking with fear. But his terror-stricken eyes saw nothing unusual. Not sure if he had been dreaming, he glanced around the room to get a grip on himself. No he was not dreaming. The voice sounded again, more insistent, “Let your hands down; don’t keep them tied up,” while a strange dizziness came over him. At this he realized what was happening. The Holy Spirit was taking possession of his body! Raising his eyes heavenward he cried, “Oh God, this is the turning point of my life! You are going to heal me today. You are the only true living God! I will proclaim your name wherever I go.” Immediately his arms, which for six years had been contracted at the elbows, pressing against his chest, and his hands which had shriveled like claws, dropped to his side completely normal! And his feet and toes, which had contracted inwards so that he shuffled about on the outside edges, instantly straightened out.

Philip is at a loss for language to describe his feelings at this point. From the blackest depths of despair his spirits were propelled into the stratosphere, nay, into the very courts of heaven itself! Unable to contain himself he dashed outdoors screaming, “I’m healed, I’m healed.” Just like the beggar healed by the apostle Peter outside the temple in Jerusalem, he wasn’t sure whether to walk or run or jump or all three at once. Grabbing a bicycle, he pedaled furiously to his parent’s home as the neighbors came running out of their houses to see what the commotion was all about. Their eyes grew big as saucers and their mouths fell open as they realized what they were witnessing.

But Philip didn’t stay long at his home. He remembered his promise to proclaim the name of Jesus, so getting back on the bicycle he rode a total of more than sixty kilometers that day, covering over twenty-five of the surrounding villages. All he knew to say was, “Jesus is the true God. He healed me. If you want peace and joy and happiness in your life, just come and bow before Him.” The news was electrifying! Hordes of Hindus acknowledged that day that something unexplainable had happened before their eyes. Their gods had suffered an ignominious defeat at the hands of a superior God being proclaimed by Philip. The seeds of truth began to take root in their hearts. And some years later when Philip returned with a fuller knowledge of the Three Angels’ Messages, more than two hundred of them stepped forward and joined the Remnant church of Bible prophecy! Praise God!

Philip’s healing occurred in 1977, but it was five years before he became a Seventh-day Adventist, having learned the truth from a pastor of our faith. And what is almost as remarkable as his own healing is the gifts of the Spirit that the Lord has entrusted to him. His ministry has seen some truly astonishing instances of healing from diseases of the mind and body which were considered incurable by medical science. Some of these “healings,” as may be expected in the rank heathen culture, have occurred after hair-raising encounters with evil spirits. But the narration of these marvelous, faith-building stories must wait until later because of the constraints of time and space.

What must wait, too, are his spine-tingling experiences of deliverance as God interposed to save him from near-certain death at the hands of his former political friends, who became his mortal enemies following his conversion to the “foreign religion.”

Today Philip carries on a vigorous work which encompasses the full spectrum of the gospel; namely, healing, teaching, and preaching. He lives in a tiny, one room shack with his wife and two young sons. His wife operates a day school while he spends all his time in “village evangelism.” As noted, more than two hundred pagans, who look to him as their pastor, are today rejoicing in the Three Angels’ Messages on account of his labors. No human hands may have been placed on his head to ordain him to the ministry, but from his fruits it is obvious that Heaven has been pleased to separate him to the ministry to the Hindus of South India. Praise God!

Let all God’s faithful recognize this fact. Amen.

To be continued…

Reporting from Oklahoma, USA

In 1987 my husband and I began a Bible Correspondence School. Our goal was to cover Oklahoma with the opportunity to study the Bible. Our flyer offered a FREE Bible to those who might not have one as well as free Bible Study Guides. We did not worry as to how many baptisms would result. We only thought of the benefits of getting the literature into the homes so the Holy Spirit could work and reveal truth to searching hearts. We remembered that the Lord does not work to bring many souls into the church right now because many of us are unconverted. But it is always time to sow seeds in preparation of the Loud Cry. That is when we plan to do most of the reaping of the work that is now being done.

Our program was designed for rural areas since they are the least worked. Everyone gets mail delivery. Reaching people through the mail seemed the most feasible method of designing our outreach. With 77 counties in Oklahoma we decided to cover one county at a time. We used all our spare funds to get things ready. By the fall of the year we sent our first flyers. Our response was one-half to two percent return. As people heard of the work, they wanted to help too. Some people helped get lessons and books ready to mail, others gave money, and many people prayed.

Other churches heard of our project and asked us to cover the rural routes of their cities or counties. This gave them names to visit and opportunity for invitations to Revelation Seminars and evangelistic meetings. Our flyers found backslidden SDAs and the lessons sent to new SDAs helped to ground them in truths they had already discovered.

Later, our church became involved in helping get cards offering a FREE Great Controversy and Bible Studies, ready for the mail. We were able to obtain a non-profit, bulk mailing permit which saved thousands of dollars in postage and enabled us to cover more area at one time.

Today we have expanded so that we have several people employed as well as a whole church full of volunteers. Our work covers other states as well. We send cards out for other church groups all over the United States as long as they pay the very minimal expenses involved. They can decide if they want us to send the Great Controversy and the lessons or they can choose to do it themselves.

God has also opened the way for us to mail the National Sunday Law book all over the United States for Amazing Truth in Illinois. Our non-profit status saves thousands of dollars in postage and our church volunteers love the work.

To date we have covered all but 18 counties in Oklahoma and have sent thousands of Bible studies, books, and literature throughout our state. We are making plans to do a second coverage with the National Sunday Law and in fact have already covered five counties. The responses are tremendous. Several people have been baptized and many others are giving serious consideration to the subject of the Sabbath. After doing a coverage of one county with the National Sunday Law book, one lady wrote in, regarding her convictions for the Sabbath, and said that the book had really created a stir in her town.

If a person or church group cannot afford to cover a whole county, start with one town or one route. But do something! The more seeds we sow now in times of peace the more souls we will reap in the harvest of the Loud Cry!

The End

Reporting from Maryland, USA

I am a certified public accountant. Together with my son, I have a small localized accounting practice in the Maryland suburbs of our nation’s capitol. Since our operations are rather generalized, covering a range of duties from tax planning and preparation to financial planning and auditing, we have a unique opportunity to meet and work with people in diverse stations of life. We sometimes refer to ourselves as financial doctors. To some, lacking a full understanding of our function, this work may sound mercenary and totally secular.

To the contrary, however, we believe there is a direct relationship between a person’s heart and his wallet. Many are the chances that come our way to assist people struggling with personal and corporate economic difficulties. We can often present remedies by sound budgeting, debt restructuring and avoidance, and even good stewardship. In the area of stewardship we can help two ways: first, we demonstrate how you can reduce your taxes in giving to the Lord’s activities. And, secondly, we can point out that God multiplies our meager resources as we are faithful in returning our tithe to Him.

In a personal way we offer to assist with accounting, computer software, and financial audits for Historic Seventh-day Adventist Churches and the members who require such help. At this writing, I am involved in helping one of these churches who have been investigated for possible failure to pay sales taxes where the state taxing authorities have made certain allegations. Our experience in this area is helping to resolve the matter and show the church to be fully exempt of the sales tax provisions in this case.

Another way we can help the Historic churches is by providing an annual audit. Often criticisms circulate that we are not audited. As we hold CPA licenses this matter can be cared for at a greatly reduced cost to the church. Good accountability enhances good stewardship and faithful giving promotes the Gospel proclamation. This is how we see our work relating to helping prepare a people for the end.

“I saw that there was great inefficiency in the bookkeeping in many departments of the cause. Bookkeeping is, and ever will be, an important part of the work; and those who have become expert in it are greatly needed in our institutions and in all branches of the missionary work. It is a work that requires study that it may be done with correctness and dispatch, and without worry or overtaxation; but the training of competent persons for this work has been shamefully neglected. It is a disgrace to allow a work of such magnitude as ours to be done in a defective, inaccurate way. God wants as perfect work as it is possible for human beings to do. It is a dishonor to sacred truth and its Author to do His work in any other way.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 553.

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The Closing Work in Ghana

“Among earth’s inhabitants, scattered in every land, there are those who have not bowed the knee to Baal. Like the stars of heaven, which appear only at night, these faithful ones will shine forth when darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the people. In heathen Africa, in the Catholic lands of Europe and of South America, in China, in India, in the islands of the sea, and in the dark corners of the earth, God has in reserve a firmament of chosen ones that will yet shine forth amidst the darkness, revealing clearly to an apostate world the transforming of obedience to His law.” Prophets and Kings, 188. In our part of the Lord’s vineyard, Ghana, in West Africa, (In fact heathenism is now a thing of the past here) the Historic Adventist Group has always sought to maintain primitive godliness, and to be a part of faithful ones proclaiming the message of the third angel. What methods do they use?

In 1991 I had a chance to attend a Bible Workers’ Seminar in Canada. In the process, it came out that there are various means of reaching the world with the gospel: Tracts, pamphlets, books, Bible studies, magazines, loaf of bread, cooking classes, letters, a telephone ministry, Sabbath schools, character building stories, a prison ministry; the list can go on and on. A good emphasis was put on acquisition of training before one can work effectively in any of these areas.

The Ghanaian group lacks most of these logistics, though good in themselves. But with the assurance that “The Lord will work through humble instruments leading the minds of those who consecrate themselves to His service. The laborers will be qualified rather by the unction of His Spirit than by the training of literary institutions. Men of faith and prayer will be constrained to go forth with holy zeal, declaring the words which God gives them.” Evangelism, 699. His members and workers are fully engaged in the proclamation of the Third Angels’ Message. In this article, I want to share with you some of the unique experiences we have had during the past year.

General profile of work in the churches

Every individual is involved in the house-to-house work especially on Sabbath afternoons.

Volunteer groups like “Christ Support Groups” in Kumasi and Accra are seriously complementing the efforts of ministers.

During the last Easter holidays the youth wing of the church had a 4-day fasting and prayer session, with the view of getting the power of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Third Angel’s Message.

Efforts in the Gold Mining City

Prominent among the strategies used here are door-to-door evangelism, open air crusades, and preaching on the streets. In February 1995, our Mobile Gospel Team (comprising Pastor Sam Bempong, and Evangelists Boakye, Kusj and Anning) embarked on a four week open air crusade at Obuasi (a gold mining town). Apart from going from house to house, they also sold 1080 cassette tapes. These tapes have the following messages recorded on them in the local language: Christian marriage; In the Days of Noah; Who is a Christian?; The Judgment; Health Reform Principles; Prophecy (Daniel 2, 7 and Revelation 13) ; and Is Rapture Real? The interest was indescribable. One hundred and nine persons are receiving Bible studies, and thirty-five souls joined the local church. An interested individual sold his old 15-seater Volkswagen bus to the group. The bus is now running on a second-hand Toyota Carina engine.

The Tema Crusade

Between late June and early August 1995 (4 weeks), the mobile team moved to Tema, an industrial city near Accra, the capital of Ghana. Fifteen souls were won to the Lord and 78 others are receiving Bible lessons. Here too, 430 tapes were sold.

Dunkirk Street Preaching

Dunkirk is a spot close to the center of Kumasi, the city where we have the church headquarters. At this spot daytime street preaching has been going on since July 1993. On a typical day the mobile team and/or some lay members will mount platforms and use the prophecy series in Daniel and Revelation printed on cloths to warn passers-by who are easily attracted to the spot. In fact, many souls have joined our various churches through this effort. Notably, the Tema church was started around an individual who first heard of the message at Dunkirk. Recently, the emphasis has shifted to medical evangelism, where Evangelist Adu Poku (Head of our Sanitorium Unit) and his group are doing the work of the mobile team, whereas the original mobile team has moved into the districts to help for a time.

Now and Beyond

This year, with the establishment of Steps to Life Bible Correspondence School in Accra, more souls are being reached. The lessons are structured in such a way that, midway, the students would be approached by contact persons from the church. Everyone is busy doing his or her part. Dear reader, this is a group that has little, but offers all. Why don’t you get on board?

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Reporting from Oregon, USA

Keep The Faith Audio Tape Ministry is dedicated to the preaching of the Historic Three Angels’ Messages, alerting our listeners to the soon coming Savior. Such beliefs demand a personal preparation that we may be ready to meet the final crisis just ahead.

This ministry was born the day the Oregon Conference president stated that I could no longer preach in any church within the Oregon Conference. Not that he could find anything in my preaching that was contrary to the doctrines of the church, but he said that I was a divisive preacher, telling the people what they did not want them to hear.

I have been active in the Lord’s work for over fifty years as a church pastor, evangelist, and then in conference, union, and general conference leadership. God suddenly laid upon me the responsibility to tell it “like it is;” to alert our people as to how the structure is leading our people into the world-wide ecumenical movement. This movement has but one objective—to create a one-world church that will enforce mandatory worship on the first day of the week, Sunday.

God’s Word and the teaching of His last day prophet has clearly revealed what is happening; the standards are being lowered, celebration and rock music have come into our churches, the pillars of our faith are being torn down, by the printing of books of a new order, which teach new theology. The sacrifice of some of our great institutions, in a vain attempt to bring God’s remnant church into line with Babylon, seems to be no problem.

We solicit your prayers that we will be faithful “watchman on the walls of Zion,” helping the faithful to be ready to stand for the truth and be ready for the final crisis.

God has richly blessed our tape ministry. From a humble beginning of 40 tapes a month, we are now nearing 4,000 each month. If you would like to be on our mailing list, simply write to:

Keep The Faith Audio Tape Ministry

P.O. Box 808

Myrtle Creek, OR 97457

Or you may phone or fax (541) 863–7060

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Reporting From Kansas, USA

Our goal at Steps to life has simply been to be a humble instrument in the hand of God for the preaching of the Three Angels’ Messages to all the world through television, radio, video, and audio tapes, seminars and revival meetings, evangelism meetings, and the printed page. In addition to this, we want to be a humble instrument in the hand of God to awaken a sleeping church with the Elijah message—”to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:17) We believe that the work will be finished in the world-field in the same way that it is finished in our local community (which is the largest metropolitan area in the state of Kansas). For this reason we are actively engaged in evangelistic work here.

From the beginning, we have found that it is the lessons that the Lord is teaching us that enables us to give counsel and to be a blessing to God’s people in other parts of the world enduring similar trials. When people have related to us their trials, we have marveled that God has already led us through a very similar experience right here in Wichita, and we have been able to relate our experience which God used to bring encouragement to others. This we believe is of the Lord and want all praise and thanksgiving to go to Him alone.

One of the main lessons we are learning is that the only way that we can stay on the strait and narrow is to be involved in evangelism. From the trials we have been through in the past, we have learned that any time we lose sight of the big picture, we in are danger of making a serious mistake. Although we believe in literature distribution, if that does not result in Bible studies, almost no harvest will be reaped. In his last sermon, Marshall said that we must go far beyond giving out literature. Giving Bible studies that do not result in baptisms and having baptisms without a church to bring people to where they can get rooted and grounded in the Third Angel’s Message and become sanctified will not accomplish our mission.

Can you be saved if you are not involved in working for the salvation of others? “If they [church members] refuse to practise self-denial, and fail to place themselves in the channel where the Lord, by his Spirit can work through them, they are not registered as Christians in the books of heaven.” Review and Herald, March 22, 1898.

For this reason, Marshall established a ministry to help every one of God’s people to be involved in all phases of evangelism. Some people can sponsor radio or television programs; others can organize churches and use Steps to Life Bible Studies to bring eternal life to their acquaintances; others can take the prophecy seminar scripts and use them to hold prophecy seminar meetings, and others can distribute Land Marks to help awaken and prepare the church for the coming of the Lord. Some can start Bible Correspondence Schools. Audio and video tapes are produced, not only for home church meetings, but to help God’s bleeding, torn, and scattered flock to organize and become more successful in evangelism, church organization and administration and to help us all to put on the wedding garment. The bottom line is that we exist as servants of God’s last army which has the responsibility of giving the Loud Cry under the Latter Rain.

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Reporting From New Zealand

Hope International (NZ) Ltd. Was formed officially back in 1987 after George Burnside, Ron Spear, and others visited New Zealand. Doug Hurley and I were the original founders and a board was formed. The self-supporting work had been going on in New Zealand since the early part of 1980. The work was financed by individuals who worked during the day and witnessed during the night. The formation of this self-supporting ministry was an attempt by dedicated laymen to promulgate the Three Angel’s Message as blended with the Righteousness by Faith message of 1888. It was first financed by the private saving of the founders and several sizable donations from conservative SDAs who believed the church which we all loved was losing the plot.

The ministry has gone from strength to strength and now has eight full-time workers operating computers, printing presses, a book shop, and mail orders for books, tapes, etc. There are several part-time workers and volunteers. It is obvious to those who have watched the spectacular progress of the ministry that a greater Hand than the founders or the board has been over the work.

The ministry’s work has expanded into the Pacific Islands, and at the moment we are actively at work in Fiji, Vanautu, Solomon Islands, and Papua, New Guinea. We support a full-time worker in Fiji who is having wonderful results in his health mission. We also ship tracts and large numbers of tabloid papers there. The Hurley family ran a health mission both in Fiji and Vanuatu. Last year I also ran a workshop in the Pango SDA Church in Vanuatu and an Outreach Mission in the capital, Port Vila. We have just shipped a large screen video projector to the Solomon Islands for the work over there. In Papua, New Guinea, the work is starting to explode as the common people are finding out about the Righteousness by Faith Message. We have just shipped a printing press, plate maker, and a quantity of paper to the brethren in P.N.G. this will allow cheap tracts containing our vital truth to go like the leaves of autumn all over this exciting country. We work in the Islands very closely with various ministries in Australia who are doing a wonderful work all over the Western Pacific. The ministry helped with speakers to P.N.G. Last year and will again send a speaker in July, if our visas get granted. There is a growing opposition to the work by those who are not going in themselves, yet they are trying to hinder those who want to go in.

The ministry runs two or three camps a year in New Zealand. Our big camp is at Easter, which is Autumn. It is held in the country and is very well attended by people from all over New Zealand. We hold an October camp in New Zealand’s capital city, Wellington, which is at the bottom of the North Island. We are holding a camp in late June this year in Auckland which is the largest city in New Zealand. The ministry brings speakers from many parts of the world and they travel the length of New Zealand giving talks to conservative SDAs and holding outreach meetings. The ministry has been supporting street workers for many years. Hundreds of thousands of tracts have been handed out on the streets in just about every city and town in New Zealand.

We have had a booth on health for several years now at the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Show. This has been a great opportunity to share vegetarian cooking and the basic laws of health. Thousands passed through in a matter of days. Two hundred boxes of clothing have just been packed for the Pacific by kind volunteers at the ministry. We also continue to send inexpensive Bibles to every part of the world.

The ministry has made several nationwide drops of newspaper which Australian Carey Rowlandson has pioneered. The mailing list has grown from about 35 in 1987 to approximately 1,000 today, This is a fair indication of the blessing God has given us as He takes the work into His own hands (Testimonies to Ministers, 300) and cuts it short in righteousness with the common people. We are committed to giving to all who wish to listen in the South Pacific area, the opportunity of eternal life through Christ Jesus the Son of David according to the flesh.

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Pure Religion – The Orphanage Experience in Ghana

Ever since I became a Seventh-day Adventist (an Historic one, of course) there is one Spirit of Prophecy quotation which has always impressed me. “The Lord provides for the widow and the fatherless, not by a miracle in sending manna from heaven, not by sending ravens to bring them food; but by a miracle upon human hearts, expelling selfishness, and unsealing the fountains of Christ-like love. The afflicted and bereaved ones he commits to His followers as a precious trust. They have the very strongest claim upon our sympathy.” Ministry of Healing, 202. I found myself never to be satisfied with any other vocation until I purposed in my heart to take up that pure religion that is undefiled before God—to visit the fatherless ( orphans ) and widows in their affliction. James 1:27.

Mission Statement

I started an orphanage in my late mother’s dilapidated home. My mission has always been to bring orphans and needy children to my home, clothe and feed them primarily, bringing them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, always hoping that their characters may be fashioned after the divine similitude.

It has never been that easy, but I have always been strengthened by Christ in the knowledge that “many of them [the orphans] have received an inheritance of evil. They are unpromising, unattractive, perverse, but they are the purchase of Christ, and in His sight are just as precious as our own little ones.” Ministry of Healing, 206. These poor ones are taught in the home during the day and in the evenings and on Sabbath they join our small local church (about 17 members) where they receive more lessons about the Saviour. This interaction makes them feel more of a sense of belonging in our society.

More Hands on Deck

By, and by, more local church members have gotten involved in diverse ways to help. Pastor Melvin Bankhead and his wife Cecilia from Ebenezer Hills, Arkansas, have always been a blessing to us. When Steps to Life came to see us, things improved rapidly. Now we have a decent kitchen, beds for the poor ones, and a roof over their heads. Sympathetic sponsors for the kids from far and near, through Steps to Life Ministry, has put more smiles on their faces. When the new building gets completed more and more orphans will be helped.

Every informed historic Adventist is involved in the proclamation of the Third Angel’s Message. At the orphanage in Ghana our strategy is to educate these poor young ones in these lines, and sooner or later they will be part of the Lord’s army in finishing the work.
Instead of giving all our attention to pets, lavishing affection upon dumb animals, we will devote all our time to these little children. How about you, brethren and sisters?

The End