ANN Video transcript - March 16, 2012

This week on Adventist News Network … a day of prayer for students in Inter-America

… encouraging news for minority faiths in Turkey  

… and reconciliation and church growth in Rwanda

These stories and more, coming up.

This is Adventist News Network, a service of the Seventh-day Adventist world church. Thanks for joining us this week.

We begin this week with what has become an annual event for young people in Inter-America. Adventist students across the region recently put away their books to spend a day in prayer. Thousands of students across Inter-America participated in drama, music, Bible trivia and community outreach to celebrate the spiritual emphasis day. They wrote out prayer requests, shared testimonies and prayed for each other. Church leaders in the region are hoping young people will develop a prayerful attitude toward daily life. In Puerto Rico, students prayed with young people struggling with addiction at a nearby rehabilitation center. Northern Caribbean University students led out in a community prayer and praise service at a local park in Mandeville, Jamaica. The church in Inter-America operates more than a thousand schools, among them fourteen universities.

A series of spiritual gatherings for young adults called God Encounters is marking a decade of ministry in the United States. The group began at a local camp meeting where Florida pastors noticed young adult ministry was often overlooked. Today, ten years later, the weekend series is held several times a year around the country and has crossed borders recently. God Encounters have now been held in New Zealand and Ghana, and organizers are planning events for Canada and the Philippines next year. Presenters address topics such as relationships, worship and service and draw life lessons from Biblical characters who encountered challenges young adults can relate to. You can find out more at God Encounters dot org.

Adventist religious liberty advocates are saying that this year could mark a turning point for Turkey’s relationship with minority faiths. The country is currently rewriting its constitution in a bid to gain full-fledged membership in the European Union. Church religious liberty advocate John Graz says Turkish leaders have a chance to make significant progress in the country’s treatment of minority religions. Turkey’s small Christian population has for years dealt with tough regulations and property confiscation. Graz says Turkish officials are soliciting input from minority religions and calls it a promising sign. The church’s International Religious Liberty Association will continue to monitor the situation.

Adventist world church President Ted Wilson recently toured Rwanda, where church growth matches the nation’s recovery after its nineteen ninety-four genocide. As old wounds heal, the church continues to promote harmony across race and culture in the country. Williams Costa Jr. has this report.

It’s hard to distinguish a sunrise from a sunset. From a distance, it’s hard to identify a building in construction or destruction. Getting closer, we can see that Rwanda is a country in the process of reconstruction.

After a genocide killed an estimated eight-hundred thousand people in one-hundred days in nineteen ninety-four, the country today enjoys peace and progress. Recently, Adventist world church president Ted Wilson visited Rwanda. While there, he toured several church construction and reconstruction projects.

“We are in a country which is moving forward and the Church should not remain behind.” 

In Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali, local officials requested higher buildings downtown where local church headquarters are located. The requirements of the city pushed the church to start construction on new headquarters immediately. 

Another ceremony marked the beginning of a campus extension for Adventist University of Central Africa. Rwanda’s prime minister joined church leaders at the site of a new school of Science and Technology. Prime Minister Damien Habumuremyi and Pastor Wilson together laid the foundation stone for the building.

“The government of Rwanda appreciates the good collaboration between between the government and the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The building on which we lay the foundation leading to change the image of our town because we want to build our society. And as you see the Science and Technology is the priority of our government.

Later in his visit, Pastor Wilson attended the inauguration of the Central Rwanda Association in Muhanga, one hour’s drive from Kigali. The ceremony was marked with joy. After celebrating the country’s growth and development, Pastor Wilson and church leaders reflected on the country’s past by visiting the Genocide Museum in Kigali.

“Even today, there are many people who are being persecuted for their religious convictions and their faith. That’s why it is so important for us to advance and promote the need for religious liberty and freedom of conscience.” 

It is impressive that after all the suffering and pain that the nation of Rwanda has endured, the church in Rwanda is inspired by the Holy Spirit, transformed by the love of God and marked by faith, commitment and joy. Rwanda is a testimony to revival for mission.

“Today is the climax of Pastor Ted Wilson’s visit to Rwanda. We are here at the stadium Amahoro with more than forty-five thousand people participating in Sabbath School and divine service.

It is moving to see them singing, praying, hearing God’s word and fellowshipping. It is only by the healing power of God that reconstruction took place in the hearts of more than half a million faithful Seventh-day Adventists in this country. From Rwanda to Adventist News Network.

When we continue after the break, find out what this week’s edition of Adventist Review has in store.  

[BREAK] 

Welcome back. Here’s Bill Knott with a preview of this week’s edition of Adventist Review.
 
Have you ever walked into a home and seen one of those beautiful cross-stitch plaques right on the entry way that said “Home Sweet Home?” and then discovered that after about ten minutes that it was more of a wish than a reality.  I have, I have been in a lot of those homes as a pastor and discovered that though the sign wishes and urges that it be sweetness and light the reality is a lot more complex.  In this weeks Adventist Review you will read a fascinating interview that I conducted with Willie and Elaine Oliver the co-directors of the Family Ministries department of the General Conference.  It in they address the complex issues of the modern Adventist family.  The fact that the typical Adventist family isn’t necessarily mother and father and 2.3 children anymore, families come in a variety of sizes and shapes and there are a lot of complexities that come with that new picture.  Willie and Elaine talk about how they in their ministry serve. 

You will also find a fascinating column by our columnist Cliff Goldstein on the evidence for believing in biblical creation.  Read it all this week in the Adventist Review.

Air support by Adventist World Aviation is equipping student missionaries in the Philippines with the resources and supplies they need to impact local communities. Here’s Jared Kannanaikkel with more.

Adventist World Aviation has been working solidly in the Philippines for many years. In partnership with the North Philippine Union Conference they have been able to provide aviation support to frontier missionaries, Bible workers, pastors, mission and medical personnel, and hundreds of patients. With operations based in Sagpangan, Aborlan, on the Palawan Islands, they have been able to provide much needed support to student missionaries from Mountain View College into unentered villages in the mountainous regions of the Palawan Islands. The support has been provided by flying over the animistic villages on a monthly basis and air dropping bundled packets containing seeds, medical supplies, literature, Bibles, tools for gardening and basic construction, clothing, food and water.  The student missionaries reside in these villages for one year, teaching the villagers a better way of life, including how to grow their own vegetables, sanitize their villages, and basic educational skills for the children. In addition, they incorporate Bible stories about Jesus and His amazing grace into their own lives. Because of the work of these dedicated student missionaries from Mountain View College, and the air support provided by Adventist World Aviation, many villages have accepted Jesus, been baptized, and have even constructed a simple village church in which to worship God. After which,  the students return to their school to complete their education and other students are sent out to other unentered villages. Then, once again AWA flies over the villages depositing much needed supplies. One pilot stated, “As I flew over the villages nestled within the jungle I prayed that God would protect the missionaries and open the hearts of the villages.” This is just one of the many mission aspect of Adventist World Aviation in the Philippines—serving Christ in the air!

Now let’s turn to Megan Brauner for this week’s Adventist social media highlights.

This week in social media, we’ve been talking about making positive food choices for better health.
On Twitter, we heard from @AnnClegg who said her family eats vegetarian 4 days a week and clean meat the rest of the time.
@TempTraveler says a vegetarian diet with mostly vegan food for 2 or 3 months has led to better health and weight loss.
@BisserStoykov says he stopped eating meat 2 weeks ago and already feels better.
@ArnaldoDlanra says he quit refined sugars on New Years and sees the difference in his concentration and understanding.
@CountryStorm says he gave up pork a year ago.
@PlugIn2God finds eating at five hour intervals has cut out snacking habits
@BeALyght makes fresh fruit and vegetable smoothies to add important nutrients and lose weight
Have a positive choice you want to share? Head to twitter.com/adventistchurch to tell us all about it.
Magazine Adventist Today published an article showing that Adventists in North America are lagging behind when it comes to using technology. Visit us on Twitter and Facebook to share your ideas for promoting technology use among Adventists world wide.

For this week’s Adventist Risk Management feature, we asked Carina Franca for some advice on avoiding social media pitfalls. 

Not too long ago a friend sent me a Facebook notice that she had found a video of me at a high school party and that it was funny. I was mortified that such a video existed and that it soon would be disseminated to my friends and family via social media.

I soon became suspicious that it might be spam.

The damage that malicious spam can cause to your computer or worse, your personal or professional reputation can be costly.

Social networks are a wonderful tool for organizations to market themselves or their ministry. But how can we safely use social networks?

A few simple, commons sense tips can help save you a lot of grief and help combat social media spam:

Make sure your browser and other security software is up-to-date.

Change your password regularly and use a strong password that includes numbers, symbols, and upper and lowercase letters.

If you don't recognize a sender or a message or post looks suspicious use the reporting tools most services have available.

A little common sense and vigilance will help ensure that your online experience is positive and productive.

I'm Carina Franca, this has been a simple solution from Adventist Risk Management, providing risk management solutions for the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Still ahead on Adventist News Network, continuing education for Adventist science teachers.

But up next, this week’s Tech Corner.  

[BREAK: As I was reading the Great Hope I came across this passage that was inspiring to me, It says, “in the bible the sacred and enduring character of the relationship that exists between Christ and His church is represented by the union of marriage.  The Lord has joined His people to himself by a solemn covenant, He promising to be their God and they pledging themselves to be His and His alone.”  This brings me hope because as I view my relationship with Christ and if I choose to view it as He does in a marriage, there is a certain level of commitment – there is a covenant there and the fact that He chooses to view that covenant so strongly is a promise to me that I have the chance for eternal salvation.  It is humbling – it is a blessing.]

Welcome back. For this week’s Tech Corner, Kevan Carbaugh shows us how to secure a Wi-Fi network. 

Many of you may have wireless routers at home, or want to build out some new security to your home network.   Today I will show you how to implement some reasonable security to your wireless Access Point.  There are several brands on the market I have a few here…

Linksys and Netgear – on this particular netgear I will show you how to login and how to configure your wireless access.  The first thing you will need to consider is the default IP address of 192.168.0.1 with all Netgears and the default password is password.  So you login using admin and password.  Once you have logged in you will now see where to configure your wireless settings.  Here you want to make sure that you have a SSID which is seen by all your wireless devices that is unique.  Also, we will go in and make sure that we have set the pre-shared key.  This key will be needed as you connect, we will show you on the MAC how to connect to the SSID that is set up.  In this instance we used Turtle and the password is Ninjaturtle2.  After you have entered your ninjaturtle2 password you should now be connected to your wireless.
  
The Adventist Church’s Revival and Reformation initiative is gaining momentum. Many Adventists worldwide are already joining in prayer at seven a.m. and seven p.m. seven days a week. On April seventeen, they’ll begin reading the Bible together. That’s the day church leaders plan to launch Revived by His Word. The program invites church members worldwide to read a chapter of the Bible every day. Through heartfelt prayer and in-depth Bible study, church leaders hope the process of revival leads to mission and transformed lives.

In January of this year, church leaders launched a new website, answered dot tv, to share stories of transformation through prayer. Every week a new video is uploaded to the site and, to date, more than thirteen thousand videos have been downloaded. These videos are also featured weekly on Hope Channel’s live Thursday night show, “Let’s Pray.”

It was my week to cook, I have to take care of four individuals, including myself and I had no idea how I was going to do it because literally had nothing.  I did the only think I knew I could do, I went down on my knees and prayed.  I said, “Lord, I have no idea how I am going to make it through this week and I pray that You will provide for me like you promised in Luke 12.”

You can watch these stories and share the videos with your friends on Facebook and Twitter at answered dot tv.

Gilbert Cangy has this week’s Youth Ministries feature. He recently got back from Rwanda.

It is a dream of every church, every youth department to have the government come after them and say, “do you want to partner with us?”  I saw a perfect example of that in one of the most unlikely places I visited recently.  This is Rwanda, a country that just came out of tragedy – there we say 18 years ago, one million people decimated in three months, one-seventh of the population.  I was expecting to see a depressed bunch of young people but I saw 2,600 young people who descended to a community called by the government, this with the view of meeting the needs of a whole bunch of refugees that have been pushed back from the Tanzanian border and they had no where to go.  The government called on our young people to come and help.  In one month, they built a hundred houses for refugees on the Tanzanian border.  I had the wonderful privilege to be there and to see the vice-mayor of that community stand up and say, “I am so proud to be in partnership with the Seventh-day Adventist young people and this has been the best expression of Christianity that I have ever met.”  I find this story of inspiration and I trust that it does something to motivate our young people to get out there and to make a difference in their communities.

When we come back, a center for evangelism in the Philippines equips church members for ministry.

And later in the program, remembering a Belgian missionary’s ministry in Africa. 

[BREAK: It is a powerful book and I am just so happy we have a chance now of spreading this around the world, it tells the story of the Great Controversy between Christ and Satan and as a result of that is relevant to every man and to every woman.  Share it with others and I believe that as we do that the Holy Spirit will take our efforts – the effort of each member, each leader, every pastor, every church worker, whoever you are. All I could see was my husband’s body – Just sinking to the bottom.  That day, I will never forget and that prayer was the hardest prayer I have ever said in my life.]

Welcome back. Here’s Sergio Gonzales with this week’s iShare report.

Welcome to iShare, where you bring us the news. This week, ANN viewer, Eugene Prewitt tells us about the Philippines Amazing Facts Center of Evangelism. Here’s a look at the work they’re doing:

Philippine Amazing Fact center of evangelism now in Southeast Asia.  I am Amazing and I will be giving you weekly updates and insider look in PAFCOE.  Amazing Facts Center of evangelism urgently started in North America with the objective of training lay missionary workers through strong Adventist doctrinal foundation and practical education as well and for the first time ever Southeast Asia is blessed with the presence of this institution.  As of this moment, they have distributed 5,000 invitational flyers for the Amazing Facts evangelistic meetings here in Iloilo City and have knocked on three hundred doors as part of their outreach work.

And don’t forget to submit your own stories at news.adventist.org/ishare. 

Benjamin Baker has our look at Adventist history. This week, church co-founder Ellen White receives a vision that would lead to The Great Controversy. The widely read Adventist book traces God’s leading throughout history.

Welcome to This Week in Adventist History…On March 11, 1949, Lewis Harrison Christian died at age 77. Harrison was a veteran church administrator and author, perhaps best known for his book, The Fruitage of Spiritual Gifts.

The very next day on March 12, David Elie Delhove, a Belgian missionary to Central Africa, died at 67 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, witnessing even upon his death bed, where, just before taking his last breath, he attempted to convert the nurse assigned him.  Delhove’s missionary career was legendary for succeeding where others had failed and he did as much as anyone to ignite Adventism’s explosive growth in Africa.

Finally, on March 14, 1858, Ellen White received what is popularly known as The Great Controversy Vision while attending a funeral service in Lovetts Grove, Ohio.  After her husband James delivered the eulogy to a crowded house, Ellen White was taken into vision for two hours while the mourners waited in anticipation.  Of the revelation White recalls, “The great controversy of the ages between Christ and Satan, was repeated, and I was instructed to write it out.” After she revived, the entourage proceeded to the burial place.

And that was This Week in Adventist History….

Thanks for watching this 25th edition of Adventist News Network. Join us next week for more news from the headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

In the meantime, check out our newly redesigned Facebook page and you can connect with other Adventists worldwide and find links to all of our stories, photos and videos. Just visit Facebook dot com, forward slash Adventist News.

And, as always, you can visit news dot Adventist dot org for daily news and videos. Until next week, God bless.

-- transcribed by Carol Little 

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