October 2015

Volume 12

Issue 10

To reach London with the distinctive, Christ-centered, Seventh-day Adventist message of Hope and Wholeness.

NEWSLETTER

London, Ontario

In This Issue
Anonymous Donors Pay Off Debt of Adventist Schools in Oregon Conference.1
Migrant Crisis and ADRA response in
Europe4
35 New and Breakaway Members Baptized in Vanuatu....6
Evangelism in Ireland.....7
Gospel Breakthrough in Vietnam...8
New Adventist Group Established in Middle East....9
From Russia, With Gods Love....9
National Event Broadcast Information
Heroes of Faith: October 2 10...10

Western District schedule of speakers,

October 2015..12

Anonymous Donors Pay Off Debt of Adventist Schools in Oregon Conference

Enrollment is surging at the conferences 31 schools as the donors also
sponsor dozens of students.

35 New and Breakaway Members Baptized in Vanuatu

by Andrew McChesney, news editor, Adventist Review, September 1, 2015

Sixteen of the baptisms represent the

first Adventist presence on a remote
island.

Sheer shock flashed across principal Heidi Krugers face at the announcement that someone had paid off the debt of her Seventh-day Adventist grade
school in the U.S. state of Washington. This changes everything! Kruger
cried. This money will allow us to focus on the mission of teaching with the
purpose of getting our students ready for heaven.
Beside her, the pastor and the school board chair of her Riverside Adventist
School in Washougal, Washington, stood speechless, hands over their mouths.
Continue on page 2

Thirty-five people have been baptized

in the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu,
including 16 at the inauguration of the
first Seventh-day Adventist church on a
remote island, and 19 people on another
island who rejoined the Adventist Church
after breaking away 17 years ago.

Continue on page 6

London Seventh Day Adventist Church, 805 Shelborne Street, London, Ontario N5Z 5C6 Canada, 519.680.1965

Continued from page 1.

Officers from the Adventist
Churchs Oregon Conference had just declared their school debt-free during a regional board of education meeting.
Riverside is not the only school to receive similarly good news. Every school
that owed money to the Oregon Conference
saw its debt paid in full by a group of anonymous donors this year.
Moreover, the donors, who have contributed $2 million since last fall, are building a brand-new campus for one of the conferences academies and providing scholarships to dozens of students otherwise unable to study at Adventist schools. At least
one student has been baptized.
As a result of the surprise windfall, enrollment is rebounding at the conferences
31 schools, which include five academies,
and local pastors and educators are reenergized in their efforts to prepare children for
a lifetime of service and Jesus soon return,
said Al Reimche, president of the Oregon
Conference, which covers western and central Oregon and part of southwest Washington.
We didnt expect this at all, but God
has really blessed in a powerful way,
Reimche told the Adventist Review on Tuesday. The schools have a whole new lease
on life.
The remarkable story began last year
when the Oregon Conference, worried
about a decade-long decline in enrollment,
developed an ambitious strategy to enroll
1,000 new students at its schools over the
next five years. The conferences schools
had 2,300 students after shedding about 100
students a year from a high of 3,000.
The conferences new vision caught the
attention of a person who went on to become a donor and the driving force behind
the group of donors, Reimche said.
The donors first contacted the conference with a proposal to give full scholarships to any student who had never attended
an Adventist school and was about to enter
kindergarten, first grade, or ninth grade in
the 2014-15 school year.
A total of 39 students ended up receiving the scholarships, which totaled
$250,000. One of them, ninth grader
Taleigha Schnoor, was baptized in February
in the icy waters of a pond at Milo Advent-

ist Academy in Days Creek, Oregon.

Reimche said the donors felt strongly

about remaining anonymous because they
wanted to keep the spotlight on Adventist
education, not on themselves.
The donors see our schools as a fantastic resource for training our kids, Reimche
said. They told us, We want others to
know that this is how we can help our students and schools. If we dont, the schools
and our mission are going to die in North
America.
The Milo academy baptism and the spiritual growth of the other new students appeared to invigorate the donors, whose
number, Reimche said, has swelled this
year. In March, the donors offered to clear
the $1.1 million in combined debt owed by
the schools to the Oregon Conference.
Their rationale, they said, was to give the
schools a chance to get their heads above
water and put their full attention on the reason for their existence: Adventist education.
Schools around the conference responded with surprise and thanksgiving to God.
It is as if our shackles have been taken
off, Joan Oksenholt, principal of Lincoln
City Adventist School in Lincoln City,
Oregon, told GleanerNow, the newsmagazine for the North Pacific Union Conference, whose territory includes the Oregon
Conference. The same report described the
stunned reaction of principal Kruger from
the Riverside Adventist School.
The debt repayment meant some schools
no longer needed to worry about possible
closure, while others could acquire muchneeded new textbooks and other materials.
Local congregations connected to the
schools also felt relief because many were
giving beyond the regular subsidy to keep
their schools operating, GleanerNow said.

As the staff were collectively praying

and grappling with the reality of their facility, they were not aware that the Lord had
already sent a savior for their school,
Reyes wrote in an article published last
week in GleanerNow.
But the Lords plans for Livingstone
Adventist Academy went even farther than
the most faithful had been able to envision,
he said. Not only was the entire debt
(which was not small by any measure) completely paid off, but a plan is now in full
swing to replace the old, rotting structure.
No more does the school family need to
worry about crumbling structures and leaky
roofs. The Oregon Conference, meanwhile, is pushing ahead with its five-year
vision to enroll 1,000 new students. The
scholarship program, called Every Child
Deserves to Know Christ, expanded this fall
to include second- and 10 th-grade students
so those who enrolled for the first time in
an Adventist school last year can continue
their education. About 130 students are
currently receiving partial or full scholarships.
This has brought an absolute influx of
students, Reimche said. In a first, Milo, the
conferences only boarding academy, welcomed some 20 new students this year
while maintaining last years numbers. Enrollment is around 95 students compared to
70 to 75 last year, Reimche said.
In mid-August, 400 pastors, educators,
and student leaders gathered for a three-day
Together as One retreat at the Sunriver
Resort near Bend, Oregon. Donors covered
the cost of the conference-organized event
to strengthen schools.

The principal of Livingstone Adventist

Academy in Salem, Oregon, felt especially
blessed after the anonymous donors not
only paid his schools debt but also agreed
to construct a brand-new campus.
Principal Joel Reyes led the faculty and
students in praying fervently after the academy opened in fall 2014 with a large debt
and no means to replace the worn-out roofs
of the gym and cafeteria. Then a windstorm
tore off part of the librarys roof in November, and critical cracks were found in water
heaters for the gym and cafeteria. The
large heaters could explode at any moment.

This Newsletter is produced by the Communication department of the London Seventh-day Adventist Church

Continued from page 2.

It helped our pastors and educators to realize that they are
not islands unto themselves but they are stronger when they work
together, Reimche said. It was a total blessing.
While millions of dollars have been donated to Adventist
education over the years, Oregon Conference represents the first
time in memory that anyone has paid the debt of all of a conferences schools.
There are many instances of donors covering the bills for
students. People understand the strain on families and many are
very generous, said Larry Blackmer, director of education for
the Adventist Church in North America. But I do not know of a
case quite like this.
Reimche said his conferences story could be repeated anywhere. The key, he said, is to remember: These are not our
church schools. These are our churchs schools.
His advice to other conferences and schools is to pray and
draft a strategic plan that donors can embrace.
Instead of us crying about the decline in enrollment, we need
to pray that God will stretch our faith and allow us to see the
potential, he said.
He believes that part of the reason that some Adventist
schools have lost students is because educators, pastors, and other conference workers have worked in isolated groups rather than
together to create a vision of growth.
As we work together, our vision of growth becomes something that other people grow aware of, and they are willing to
consider giving, he said. Thats what we saw in our case.
The vision, he said, must focus squarely on Adventist educations mission to redeem people.
If we forget that the mission of our church schools is an extension of our church, then we end up with just ordinary
schools, he said.
Joel Reyes, principal of Livingstone Adventist Academy, tells
how his school got a new campus just when everything seemed
lost:

Sometimes its hard to believe.

You know how it goes. We all believe God can do anything.
Nothing is impossible to God, we say, yet deep inside we filter
our own belief influenced by our personal experience.

If you can?
Sometimes the struggles of life are so debilitating that faith
fades away and reasonable skepticism takes over.
For the last few years, Livingstone Adventist Academy has
struggled under the weight of a growing debt. It came to the
point where drastic changes had to be made.
This past school year, the staff operated under a new project
of financial responsibility, including paying the debt that had
accumulated. This could not be done without deep and painful
cuts to all programs. Like many schools around the
North Pacific Union Conference, the academy has a very aged
campus, and major repairs are needed.
As rain began to fall soon after the school year started, the
staff realized their challenges were larger than imagined. We
needed a new roof for the gym, and the roof in the cafeteria followed. One day the staff had six large trashcans strategically
placed in various locations around the cafeteria, each collecting
large amounts of rain. Then in November a windstorm tore a
section of the roof in the library. After that, the staff discovered
that two of the large water heaters serving the gym and cafeteria
had critical cracks and could blow up at any moment.
We knew there was no money allocated in the budget for any
of these repairs. The repairs were not optional, however, if we
wanted to continue operating a school. We began to get estimates
for all the imperative repairs. The projected cost was astronomical, nothing close to what school resources could provide.
I sat in the solitude of my office late in the evening after students and staff had gone home. This is too much," I thought. "It
cannot be done. The staff resorted to the only source of
strength: prayer. We prayed as a staff. We prayed as a board. We
prayed as a community of churches. The students prayed. Everybody prayed. Then the sea opened.
In early April, the school began drawing projections for the
following school year, mostly by faith because the reality wasnt
too bright. But collective faith can be an extremely powerful tool
in the hand of the weak. It was then that the Lord sent the help
we had been praying for. Often we pray for solutions to our immediate needs. We pray for drops of blessings, unaware of the
flood that the Lord is willing to unleash if we will only believe.
Today we could not be happier. The building committee is
working hard, drawing plans and carefully looking at all the logistic challenges of building a new school. We have seen the Red
Sea open before our very eyes. We can yell from the mountaintop, We believe! Yes, Lord, we know You can.

A story in the gospel of Mark comes to mind in which a father brings his epileptic boy to Jesus. This man loves his boy, and
there is nothing he would not do to see his boy laughing and running around like any other normal boy. He has tried everything,
but nothing has worked. Even the disciples had failed to drive the
evil forces from this boys life.
The father finally came to the terminal conclusion that there
was nothing anybody could do for his beloved child. Oh what a
fatal condition to be in! In Mark 9:21, the father says to Jesus, If
you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.
This Newsletter is produced by the Communication department , Email: newsletter@adventistontario.ca

Migrant Crisis and

ADRA response in
Europe.

and bullets at home.

As Europe struggles with a flood of migrants, Seventh-day

Adventist believers from across the continent are stepping up efforts to feed, shelter, educate, and otherwise help refugees establish better lives.

There was not much time for planning since the cargo had to
be at the Slovenian national airport by 3 p.m. on Thursday for the
last charter flight to Lesbos the following morning, the Seventhday Adventist Churchs Trans-European Division said in a statement. ADRA volunteer s tur ned to social media to pr omote the
campaign. While they initially sought cash donations, people from
across the southeastern European country of 2 million quickly
pitched in. Soon 11 official collection points sprang up together
with more than a dozen unofficial ones in Slovenias capital,
Ljubljana, and other places.

Rafaat Kamal, president of the Adventist Churchs TransEuropean Division, said the migrant crisis revived memories of his
own childhood in a Middle East war, and he urged Adventists to
unite in prayer and support for ADRA and the Adventist churches
that are assisting refugees.

European leaders are grappling to deal with the surge of migrants, mainly Syrians, who have made their way to Europe this
summer. Many migrants are stuck in entry-point countries on the
edges of the continent as authorities tackle a backlog of asylum
applications.
Greeces migration policy minister warned Monday that the
Greek isle of Lesbos near Turkey is on the verge of an explosion
because of the influx of 20,000 Syrian and Afghan migrants. In the
same region, an unprecedented 7,000 Syrian migrants arrived in
Macedonia on Monday, hoping to cross into Serbia and then Hungary before making their way to preferred destinations such as
Austria and Germany. Lesbos, an island off the coast of Turkey,
is one of the entry points to Europe that has taken the spotlight in
the continents migrant crisis. Greeces migration policy minister
warned Monday that Lesbos is on the verge of an explosion because of a build-up of 20,000 migrants, mostly from Syria and
Afghanistan, who are waiting for permission to travel to mainland
Europe.
Adventists working with ADRA, the Adventist relief agency,
are at the frontlines of the migrant crisis. The Croatia and Slovenia
branches of ADRA have been actively collecting in-kind donations for refugees in Greece, Macedonia, and Serbia. A train car
carrying 10 tons of humanitarian aid was sent to Serbia, while 2.5
tons was delivered free of charge to Lesbos by Adria Airways, the
national air carrier of Slovenia. It have seemed like a miracle to
needy migrants. It was and more. Volunteers with the Slovenian branch of ADRA packed the shipment by organizing a lightening donation drive that took the small country by storm and created such a traffic jam of donors that the military had to escort the
cargo through crowded streets to the airport.

Slovenian people are known for their generosity. When the

help is needed, they provide, said Maja Ahac, ADRAs country
director for Slovenia. Most of the donations came from people
with low income, which is not surprising as they understand what
it feels like.

The Slovenia story began on the evening of Monday, Aug. 24,

when ADRA learned via a local group of nongovernmental organizations that an urgent request had come in from a medical doctor
and veterinarian vacationing on Lebos. The pair had reported seeing many migrants in distress and no one assisting them.

National and private television stations sensed a big story and

made the drive the top headlines on their news programs. They
noted that ADRA was the first organization in Slovenia to collect
and send humanitarian aid to migrants in the crisis.
By Wednesday evening, the first day of gathering humanitarian aid in Ljubljana, all in-kind donations for Lesbos were packed,
weighed, listed, and prepared for transport, Ahac said, according
to the divisions statement. We had to rent another warehouse for
the night! And it was only Day One of collection in Ljubljana!
The donations kept pouring in on Thursday, the deadline for
taking the cargo to the airport, causing a major traffic jam on
Ljubljanas main road. Slovenian soldiers stepped in to help
ADRA volunteers transport all the boxes to the airport and the
cargo managed to arrive two hours ahead of the 3 p.m. deadline.

The volunteers had hoped to collect 2.5 tons of goods the

maximum space allotted to them on the airplane. They ended up
with 12.5 tons. ADRA volunteers contacted ADRAs branch in
Serbia to accept the overflow for local migrants. Slovenian railways agreed to cover the cost of transportation to Serbias capital,
Belgrade, and the 10-ton shipment was sent last week. Meanwhile,
Slovanias national airline, Adria Airways, donated the cost of the
transportation of the 2.5-ton cargo to Lesbos. Both airports in
Ljubljana and on Lesbos allowed the cargo to cross the border
without any taxes or other fees.
The aid reached the hands of grateful migrants in Lesbos town
of Molyvos.
Church members from various congregations; church organizations; and local chapters of ASI, a membership-based organization
of Adventist laypeople, also are giving money and in-kind donations to settle refugees in various parts of Europe, Kamal said.

Refugees are really exhausted when they reach Serbia, said

Igor Mitrovi, ADRAs country director in Serbia, who helped
open an asylum information center in the capital, Belgrade, in late
August. They often say that the experiences along the way the
abuse, the extortion of money, the near-death situations, and simple hopelessness turned out to be worse than the destruction

This Newsletter is produced by the Communication department of the London Seventh-day Adventist Church

Continued from page 4

I encourage our members to check with
their local church leaders and ADRA offices
about ongoing plans and initiatives, Kamal
said. If there are not any, I encourage them
to initiate and actively support ADRA and
the church.
The migrant crisis has brought back
many memories to Kamal, who grew up in
Lebanon during its 1975-1990 civil war. He
lost family and friends in numerous attacks
on his village. At one point, a rocket
slammed into his house, destroying a floor.
Kamal left Lebanon in 1984 to pursue business and theology studies at Newbold College of Higher Education, an Adventist institution in Britain.

Migrants are frightened and homeless,

and many have witnessed unspeakable horrors, Kamal said. We must help them. It is
our human and Christian duty. Newbold
College is among the Adventist organizations taking steps to help migrants. It will
send two minibuses with volunteer church
members and students on a 4 -hour trip to
the French port of Calais, where thousands
of migrants are camping in hope of receiving asylum in Britain, said Alastair Agbaje,
the colleges chaplain and dean of men as
well as the part-time community services
director for the Trans-European Division.
The group will distribute food parcels,
clothes, and water over a weekend in October. In addition, Newbold College is setting
up a donation webpage where people can
contribute to various refugee-oriented initiatives that the college intends to announce in
the coming weeks. In Germany, ADRA is
working with 12 other groups under an umbrella organization, Aktion Deutschland
Hilft, to collect money and in-kind dona-

tions, said Anwhich kind of

Continued from page 4.
dreas Mazza, a
assistance. It respokesman for
cently started
the Inter-European Division, which repreoffering German-language classes. Several
sents 20 European countries, including Ger- refugees from countries like Syria and
many, Austria, and Italy.
Ukraine are helping our Adventist volunteers with the weekly breakfast for the
In Italy, ADRA is distributing food,
homeless people, Wagner said. This is a
clothes, and other forms of assistance in the nice sign of integration and their personal
Sicilian port of Palermo, a project that start- involvement!
ed last year. Adventist work with refugees is
especially active in Austria, where multiple
In Villach, church members care for
churches have expanding refugee programs. refugees in their area by collecting clothing
and secondhand furniture to help new arriThe Austrian branch of ADRA, focusing vals get established in apartments. ADRA
on the longer-term integration of refugees,
supports the refugees with stipends for lanhas mobilized church members with the
guage courses and covers their bus fares to
support of the Adventist Churchs Austrian attend. In Braunau/Bogenhofen, church
Union to assist refugees, said Corinna Wag- members got involved a year ago by visiting
a refugee center. The first contacts grew
when they helped the refugees to fix up a
huge former monastery garden to plant vegetables. The church members have visited
other refugee centers since then, and they
now offer language courses, invite refugees
on picnics, hold knitting groups, teach nutrition classes, and offer help in looking for
work, finding and furnishing apartments,
and obtaining used strollers. In St. Veit,
young adults have just formed a Caregroup
organization after establishing regular contact with the main refugee arrival center.
The Adventists receive feedback about
which items are urgently needed and set out
to collect donated materials and money to
meet those needs.
ner, who oversees communications and projects for ADRA Austria. As a result, the
Adventist church in Mdling, located about
9 miles (14 kilometers) south of Vienna, has
offered private lessons to local migrant children struggling with their homework for the
past two years.

In the Wienerwald area, the local ADRA

leader is part of a political coordination
committee for the integration of refugees.
Local church members care for arriving
families and assist them in integrating. In
Innsbruck and Bruck an der Mur, church
members regularly bring secondhand clothing to local refugee centers. At least two
Adventist churches in Austria currently are
considering a request from ADRA to house
refugees in empty rooms in their church
buildings.

Many children have difficulty following the curriculum because of language

problems, and their parents cannot really
support them, Wagner said. The initial
We hope and pray that this will work
turnout of five children at the weekly lesout,
Wagner said. Other churches also are
sons has grown to about 20. The children
contacting
us now. They want to help, too.
also receive a free lunch, engage in sports,
and are invited to go on excursions like hiking trips and ice-skating.
In Vienna, ADRA operates a community
center that initially opened for homeless
people but is now filled with refugees. The
community center distributes food donations from supermarkets, provides a free
weekly breakfast, and offers practical support on which social service to approach for

This Newsletter is produced by the Communication department , Email: newsletter@adventistontario.ca

Continue from page 1

35 New and Breakaway

Members Baptized in Vanuatu

ventist Churchs Vanuatu Mission thanked an elder from

the Epauto Adventist Church in Vanuatus capital, Port Vila, for inviting and sponsoring pastor Solomoni Taipo to
work on the island of Futuna.
Taipo, from Fiji, arrived at Futuna in 2013 without
knowing anybody and unable to speak the local language,
Bislama, a Vanuatu pidgin. However, he felt certain that
God had called him to Futuna and was determined to offer
Bible studies and help the local communities in any way
possible, church leaders said.
His work was soon noticed by a local resident, Kopaji
Maioho, and his wife, Esther, who gave Taipo land to build
a church.
The bond established between the Fijian pastor and the
Maiohos remained strong. When Kopaji Maioho died, Taipo moved in with the widow and her children to help
around the home and support them financially. Kopaji Maiohos mother was among the 16 people baptized.

The Vanuatu Mission has high hopes for Futunas first

Adventist church. The name of the church, Imaraga, means
multiply, and church leaders will soon begin lay training
Sixteen of the baptisms represent the first Adventist pres- to equip people to be missionaries for Jesus. Adventist
Church through baptism.
ence on a remote island.

It was an historic day for the Adventist Church in Vanuatu when 16 people gave their lives to Christ in the first
baptismal ceremony conducted on Futuna, one of the Vanuatus remotest islands. The baptism was held at Herald Bay
in the far south of Vanuatu, with church and community
members from Efate and Tanna islands making the journey
to witness the special event.
Pastor Jonathan Moses, leader of the churchs Tafea district, conducted the baptisms. Two days later, he also led the
dedication ceremony for the first Seventh-day Adventist
church building on the island, marking the establishment of
the Adventist message in an area that had remained mostly
untouched during more than a century of church work in
Vanuatu.
Out of the five islands in the district of Tafea, Futuna
was the only island where there was no Adventist presence,
despite the churchs many attempts, Moses said.
According to Adventist leaders, the people of Futuna
simply did not want other Christian denominations to have a
presence on the predominantly Presbyterian island.

Timothy Kaio and his wife and sons, along with other
members from the group, took part in a reconciliation ceremony after 17 years of separation from the mother church.
Vanuatu Mission president Nos Terry Mailalong officiated at the baptism on the shores of Bethel in front of members from the 11 organized churches on Tanna. He was
joined by mission Ministerial Association secretary Kaio
Timothy, and Tafea district leader Moses. In his testimony
after the baptism, Kaio appealed to other members of his
group to return. Others who were baptized shared their testimonies of how they wasted years criticizing the mother
church and failed to fulfill the gospel commission of Matthew 24.
People traveled from across Tanna to the Bethel church
for the service, with some relatives flying in from Port Vila.
Songs were composed especially for the event.
During a special service after the baptism the Bethel
church choir sang and Mailalong spoke on reconciliation.
Today I am a happy leader knowing that I am leading a
unifying church, Mailalong said.

That attitude has changed, however, as evidenced by

Futunas paramount chief, Johnny Naweiakasi, officially
opening the Imaraga Missionaries Seventh-day Adventist
Church. People, including Christian leaders, from all across
the island attended the ceremony.
During the dedication service, representatives of the AdThis Newsletter is produced by the Communication department , Email: newsletter@adventistontario.ca

Evangelism in
Ireland.

country. Finley quoted Jesus words in John 14:8 I will

not leave you as orphans and spoke of the antidote to
the pervasive sense of abandonment experienced by many
people around the world. Scripture brings the hopeful
message that we are neither alone nor abandoned, but that
there is a greater cause for hope in the life and message of
Jesus Christ, he said. He also emphasized Ephesians 2:19,
which says, We are no longer strangers and foreigners
but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the
household of God.
Every evening, registered participants had the opportunity to receive a gift such as a study Bible. The audience
responded by returning every evening.

Adventist world churchs Mission to the Cities initiative to

share Jesus in the worlds largest cities.
Seventh-day Adventist evangelists seek to share hope,
so it was perhaps surprising when a first-time attendee
acknowledged that he was scared of Jesus. Mark Finley
was speaking during the second night of a four-day series
on the life of Christ in Irelands capital, Dublin, when the
young man had the negative reaction. Im scared of Jesus, he said in a conversation following the meeting.
The young man acknowledged that he was struggling to
like a Christ whom he saw as judgmental and accusatory.
This led into a discussion on penance, purgatory, and hell,
and the young man left the Crowne Plaza Hotel in a suburb
of Dublin with a desire to search the Bible for more answers. The man was among 10 to 15 new people who attended Finleys meetings in response to 11,000 advertisements distributed around Dublin, a city where the Adventist
Church has struggled to make inroads for years. Also in
attendance were scores of local Adventist members who
brought along their neighbors to the Sept. 9-12 meetings,
the culmination of Finleys contribution to a City of Hope
outreach effort that the Seventh-day Adventist Church has
run in Dublin for the past two years. We were really encouraged by the response of the people of Dublin to our
advertising, said David Neal, leader of the Seventh-day
Adventist Church in Ireland.
It was Finleys third visit to Dublin in the past 18
months, and he expressed delight to see how ministers and
members have developed a love for evangelism and how
the church has grown with almost 70 baptisms over that
time.
On opening night, Finley reflected on the various refugee crises that the world has struggled with over the last
few decades, including the ongoing crisis of an estimated
12 million Syrian citizens displaced by the conflict in their

On Sabbath, the meeting moved to the Ballsbridge Hotel

in central Dublin for a much larger event. The large, 700seat ballroom filled to capacity as members from across
Ireland swelled the numbers of local Dublin church members and their friends for a special Day of Fellowship.
The music was superb, said Carol Magee, a church member who traveled 85 miles (135 kilometers) from Banbridge, Northern Ireland, for the day.
Finley spoke about what it meant to identify as a Seventh-day Adventist at this time of the worlds history. It is
about being part of a message and a project that is much
larger than us, a movement to share God's grace with the
world that requires the best effort of all of us, he said.
Many attendees commented that they had never heard the
core Adventist message of Revelation 14 the three angels messages of Christs soon coming presented in
such positive language.

Attendees shared numerous testimonies during the day

about how they were reaching out to others and growing
closer to God. A soloist in a local choir told how she had
been attending the Adventist church for a year and, as a
result of the friendship and care shown, was getting baptized that very evening.
She was not alone. As the day drew to a close, church
members converged on the Ranelagh church where pastors
Gavin Anthony and Ben Pontanar led them in welcoming
six new members through a baptism ceremony. The last
year has been brimming with outreach events in Dublin,
Neal said, beaming.
He said he was grateful for the support of Mark and
Teenie Finley for the City of Hope project, part of the Adventist world churchs Mission to the Cities initiative to
share Jesus in the worlds largest cities.
We have intentionally planned these high-profile
events to support the efforts of church members around the
Irish Mission, Neal said. We are sure that the churches
have been energized to continue the outreach efforts. We
are extremely excited about the new friendships that we
have made over the last two years.

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Continue on page 8

Gospel Breakthrough in
Vietnam
Adventist Young People Receive Government Praise in
Vietnam.
One Year in Mission volunteers make a significant impact on the Communist countrys biggest city.

ers of Phu Nhuan Ward, District 9, presented the certificate at a ceremony

and cited the volunteers work as a
positive contribution to the well-being
and health of local residents.
One project involved cleaning railroad and outdoor market areas,
which was implemented with local government officials and the assistance of
local government volunteers.
In the second activity, qualified One
Year in Mission Vietnam volunteers offered free medical and dental
checks as well as free haircuts and
back massages at a free clinic coorganized with local government officials.

National television featured reports

about these activities as examples of
positive initiatives by young people.
The Adventist volunteers have partnered with other wards and organizations to meet community needs over
the past year. Some of the activities
included the distribution of school supplies to disadvantaged children in partnership with a local pagoda, a cleanup
day, a dental health day, and free motorcycle washes for some of the estimated 3.5 million motorcycles in the
bustling city of 8 million people formerly known as Saigon.

The Seventh-day Adventist volunteers

What do a garden hose, a blood

pressure cuff, and a pencil have in
common?

Not much it would seem.

But in the hands of One Year in
Mission volunteers, these tools are
building relationships and attracting
government praise in Vietnams biggest city, Ho Chi Minh City.
The Seventh-day Adventist volunteers received a government certificate
of appreciation for two community projects in a ward, or subdistrict, of Ho
Chi Minh City over the summer. Lead-

aimed at maximizing the interest and

passion of Adventist young people in
mission and graduating them from
short-term mission assignments of
several weeks or months to long-term
mission. The initiative, which has been
introduced in each of the churchs
world divisions, is part of a broader
program known as Mission to the Cities, which seeks to share Jesus in the
worlds biggest cities.
The Southern Asia-Pacific Division,
which includes Vietnam, has One Year
in Mission coordinators in 11 of the 14
countries on its territory and a large
network of volunteers.
The Adventist Church has more
than 11,000 members worshiping in 15
churches in Vietnam, a Communist
country bordered by China, Laos, and
Cambodia that officially recognized the
denomination in 2008. Only 8 percent
of Vietnams population of 91 million
identify themselves as Christian, while
the majority practice Buddhism.

During a television report about the

school supplies, volunteer coordinator
Le Bao Ngan (Keiko Le) explained to
viewers that the volunteers sought to
not only bring meaningful action and
warmth to children but to inspire
young people to do good.
The Adventist young people are
also reaching out to their peers by creating positive social gatherings such
as free guitar lessons. The nighttime
lessons enable young people to gain a
new skill in what organizers hope is an
uplifting and fun environment.
Its just a small way, but we hope
that the movement will help young
people become more involved and
inspired to impact society, Le said.
The volunteers also work with hospitals, charities, and other entities in
Ho Chi Minh City and throughout Vietnam.
One Year in Mission is a 2013 initiative of the Adventist world church

This Newsletter is produced by the Communication department , Email: newsletter@adventistontario.ca

New Adventist Group Established in Middle East

Seventh-day Adventist believers from across the United

ates.
As more believers moved to Fujairah and the number of
believers in Fujairah increased, the group started to hold
Sabbath morning services locally in a members home in
2009. The next year, with the assistance of other congregations and the Gulf Field, the group rented a bigger room for
worship services and later moved to the Concord Hotel.
With the organization of the Fujairah Company, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has at least one congregation in
six of the seven emirates. The only emirate without
an official Adventist presence is Umm al-Quwain, where a
handful of Adventists live and work but worship in a neighboring emirate, Ras al-Khaimah.

Dubai is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates.

Ajman Fellowship is already functioning although it is

not formally organized yet; just a matter of time though, by
Gods grace, said Jessie P. Colegado, secretary and treasurer of the Gulf Field, which is part of the larger Middle East
and North Africa Union.

Arab Emirates gathered last Sabbath at a hotel in Fujairah

to witness the organization of a new congregation in the
Middle Eastern country.
The Fujairah Company becomes the 21st formally organized congregation in the Adventist Churchs Gulf Field region, which includes the countries of Bahrain, Kuwait,
Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. The region, one of the most challenging areas in the world for
Christianity, has a total of 16 Adventist churches and five
companies, including eight churches and two companies in
the United Arab Emirates.

Gulf Field president Steven Manoukian congratulated

the 25 members of the newly formed company for the hard
work they have done leading up to the dedication service in
a hall at the Concorde Hotel on Sept. 5. He encouraged
them to go forward in faith and have an impact in their part
of the world.Go forth in faith: Faith that can move mountains; faith that is based in Gods word; faith that changes
lives your lives and the lives of those around you; faith
that will help you in the tough times and establish you as
you look forward to the second coming of Jesus, Manoukian said.

From Russia, With

Gods Love
Tears fall as Adventist scholars release a
modern translation of the Bible in Russian.

The congregation grew from a small group of believers

that started meeting in Fujairah on Fridays in 2002. Fujairah, one of the seven emirates that comprise the United
Arab Emirates, has a population of about 152,000 people
living in an area about the size of New York City.
Lorraine Bayot, leader of the new congregation, said the
first meetings took place on Fridays because the weekend
in the United Arab Emirates was Thursday and Friday.
We met on Fridays until 2006, when the weekend was
changed to Friday and Saturday, Bayot said. After the
weekend change, we continued our Friday meeting and in
additional to that, some of us started to attend Sabbath
morning services in Dubai whenever we could.
Dubai is the most populous city in the United Arab Emir-

Continue from page 10

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Continue from page 9

Mikhael M. Kulakov accomplished what many thought impossible. He completed an epic spiritual work started by his father
that transcended denominational affiliation in a country marked
by years of religious intolerance. Kulakov, through an unprecedented collaboration between nearly a dozen Seventh-day Adventist, Russian Orthodox, and Jewish scholars, recently published a new interdenominational Bible translation in Russia, and
only the second major translation to be released in post-Soviet
Russia.
Joyful tears fell and excitement radiated as those involved in
the undertaking of the New BTI Bible shared stories of sacrifice
and dedication at the official unveiling ceremony this summer at
Zaoksky Adventist University, which Kulakov helped establish
near the central Russian town of Tula in 1987.
The plan to convert the Holy Scriptures into modern Russian
was first put into motion through the formation of the Bible
Translation Institute, founded in 1993 by his father, Mikhail P.
Kulakov, a scholar and former Euro-Asia Division president.
Opening the institute inside the Zaoksky Theological Seminary
was his lifelong dream.
It was in the late 1940s, early in his ministry in Daugavpils,
Latvia, and prior to a five-year imprisonment in Stalins labor
camps for being a Christian, that the elder Kulakov began to comprehend the great need for a new translation of Gods Word into
modern Russian. During that time, he frequented the home of
pastor Janis Oltinsh and its massive library of theological literature in various languages. Oltinsh was an accomplished Bible
scholar, and he had a strong, formative influence on the young
pastor.
Oltinsh introduced Kulakov to the advantages of comparing
various translations of the Bible literal and amplified. Out of
that mentorship, Kulakov decided to begin a collaboration with
scholars from other denominations to produce from the original
languages a more accurate version that would help Russians clarify the meaning of passages that may have once puzzled them.
Only two major translations have been released in Russia during the past millennium: the Gennadievskaya version published in
the 15th century, and the Synodal version at the end of the 19th
century. Both use antiquated language that is difficult to interpret,
and the Synodal version was hard to come by, the younger Kulakov said.
As a result, Russian seminarians in the early 19th century
used the more accessible Latin Vulgate Bible. As Russian universities slowly began teaching biblical studies, the Bible was often
absent from the curriculum. Not even students at Kazan Orthodox
Seminary had a Bible of their own.
Translation work was impossible for most of the 20th century
because of the atheistic regime. Only at the end of that century
did translation work resume.

What they didnt realize was that his son was determined to finish
the work.
This son, however, was a full-time professor of theology, history, and philosophy at Washington Adventist University in
Takoma Park, Maryland. He decided to seek the support of Weymouth Spence, the universitys president.
Spences team granted Kulakov the universitys first five-year
sabbatical to complete the translation. I saw how important this
project was to the mission of our church and how it aligned with
our values as a university, Spence said.
We couldnt have done this without the support of Washington Adventist University, Kulakov said at the unveiling ceremony. This is all happening as if it were a dream. It will take a few
years, lots of rest and meditation for this moment to really sink
in. The new Bible is the second to be released in contemporary
Russian. The first translation was published by the Russian Bible
Society in 2011. The New BTI Bible is also a landmark for the
Seventh-day Adventist Church in Euro-Asia.
Although Russias primary religion is Eastern Orthodox, a
more trusting relationship has been forming between the Adventist Church and other faith communities through the Bible translation collaboration and the leadership of Guillermo E. Biaggi, who
served as president of the Euro-Asia Division from 2010 to 2015
and is now a general vice president of the Adventist world
church. This is evident in the New BTI Bibles quick acceptance
in parts of Russia. A number of Orthodox clergymen are excitedly using it, Kulakov said. Educators from the department of biblical studies at St. Tikhons Orthodox University and other theological schools are encouraging their students to use it.
Adventist team members have been surprised to see their
work received so positively, but see it as testimony that the Lord
led in the project. What a blessing it is for this to be received so
positively by other denominations, Biaggi said. We are thrilled
to see this happen in our lifetime.
Dave Weigley, president of the Columbia Union Conference
and board chair of Washington Adventist University, added: I
am so excited that we can be a part of providing the Word and the
Light to the masses. Incredible, incredible opportunity! This will
make such a difference because we know the Word does not return void. The New BTI Bible was formally presented at the
General Conference Session in San Antonio, Texas, in July. Adventist Church president Ted N.C. Wilson prayed there for the
Holy Spirit to speak to the hearts of the thousands of Russian
readers who will get a first or renewed taste of Gods Word.
Next for the new Bible is an effort to reach Russian young
adults and youth. The board of trustees for the Bible Translation
Institute has voted to support the development of a mobile app
version and an illustrated childrens edition.

The elder Kulakov spent more than a decade working on a

new translation of the New Testament and Psalms. It was released
several years ago and can be purchased at Adventist Book Centers across the United States, on Amazon, and
at russianbible.org.
Some of his colleagues became despondent when he died in
2010, assuming that the project and institute would die with him.

Continue on page 11

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10

National Event
Broadcast
Information
Heroes of Faith:
October 2 10
If youre not in Lansing during the broadcast, you dont
have to miss out! You can watch Heroes of Faith wherever
you arehowever you want!
We will live stream an inspiring music program before each
meeting, beginning at 6:35pm ET and 10:35am ET on October 10. Featuring a variety of talented musicians
including Kelly Mowrer, Buddy Houghtaling, Carlot Dorve,
Emily Griffin, Marion Peppers, Gospel 4 Quartet, John Vaden, Brooke Shaffer, Jeremy Hall, and Marguerite Samuelyour heart will be prepared for life-changing Bible
teaching.
The music program will not be televisedbut you can
watch it by clicking the "watch" button on the main menu.
Please join us!

Watch the live broadcast at 7:00pm ET / 6:00pm

CT / 5:00pm MT / 4:00pm PT
AFTV (Satellite & ROKU)
3ABN
www.aftv.org
www.theheroesoffaith.com/home/watch
Watch the rebroadcast at 10:00pm ET / 9:00pm
CT / 8:00pm MT / 7:00pm PT
AFTV (Satellite & ROKU)
3ABN Proclaim!
Watch the live BONUS PROGRAM broadcast on
Saturday, October 10 at 11:00am ET
AFTV (Satellite & ROKU) also watch rebroadcast
at 11:00am PT
3ABN watch rebroadcast at 4:00pm ET / 3:00pm
CT / 2:00pm MT / 1:00pm PT
www.aftv.org
www.theheroesoffaith.com/home/watch

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11

Nilton Amorin

Fred Nichols

Mike Keim

JackPolihronov

SDA South London Church

Oct 31

Oct 24

Oct 17

Alex Golovenko

RaynersCHIP
testimonies

Alex Golovenko

Oct 10

Fred
Nichols

Pathfinders
Investiture

DATE

Evadne
Henry

Teresa Ferreira

Oct 28

Oct 3

Pastor Golovenko

Oct 21

London
Living Truth
Company
970 Oxford
Street W

Pastor Golovenko

Oct 14

London South
Church
805 Shelborne
Street

Clara Baptiste

Oct 7

PRAYING MEETINGS
Adventist Heritage

Daviceto
Swaby

Lars Muller

Juan Carlos
Atencio

Diane
McConaghy

519.680.1965

David Davis

Fred Stele

Juan Carlos
Atencio

Pam Lister

Gordon Baptiste

Gloria Joshua

Pathfinders
Adventurers

Roy West

Jovin
Mwizerwa

Chatham
Church
20 Croydon
Street

Dirk Zinner

Fred Stele

Sarnia
Church
1620 Modeland
Road

Fred Stele

Juan Carlos
Atencio

Lars Muller

Juan Carlos
Atencio

Roy West

Woodstock
Church
594754 Oxford
Road

St.Thomas
Church
380 Manor Road

Dirk Zinner

Charles Shad

DirkZinner

Ramon
Ettienne

Gary Hodder

Leamington
Church
220 Erie Street
N

Marian
Kossovan

Junior Garcia

Windsor
Spanish
Company
3325 Walker
Road

www.adventistlondon.ca

Mansfield
Edweards

MarianKossovan

S.P.Chand

Randy
Saunders

Marian
Kossovan

Windsor Church
5350 Haig Avenue

Pulpit Speakers at Western Ontario District of Seventh-day Adventist Churches

Western District schedule of speakers, October 2015

12

Junior Garcia

Marian Kossovan

Living Faith
Windsor Group
868 Ellis Street
East