2010 SUMMER MISSION TRIP REPORT 4

2010 MISSION REPORT – 4

God has truly answered the prayers that many of us have been praying for several months. Several of our Pennsylvania young people have been sharing in the last couple of days how much they themselves have grown spiritually. One of our young persons said, “I came here to help these people, but I think the purpose for my coming was for my own spiritual growth.” Others have echoed similar thoughts. Tonight, we preached on the 2,300 days and the time of the end and the day of judgment. It was wonderful to watch and participate with our PA young people as they worked through the topic material and discussed with different ones of us adults, just what this sermon meant and how best to present the material.

Each morning we meet for worship and prayer time. This worship and prayer time lasts almost 1 hour and most of that time is spent in the group praying out loud together. Each person ends up praying at least 1 time, and many people pray more than once. What a powerful time this group worship and prayer time has become.

Following that, we spend time sharing our experiences from the night before, what unusual things occurred at someone’s site, or what the local church or group did, what we learned, what we saw, or how we handled something. This is also a time we share questions and coach each other with suggestions and things we found helpful. Day by day, this group is experiencing God at work right before their eyes and right inside of them personally.
Some in the group are already talking and praying about the meetings that they will be conducting in Pennsylvania. If you could be here, you would be thanking the Lord for our Pennsylvania young people, and their participation and growth in the life and mission of Jesus. Hearing these kind of comments is worth all the time, effort and money spent to bring these PA young people into mission for the salvation of souls.

2010 SUMMER MISSION TRIP REPORT 3

2010 MISSION TRIP – REPORT 3

Sabbath morning we all were picked up at different times and spread out to our various churches. After preaching our first sermon on Friday night, we took off on Sabbath morning to preach on the Signs of Christ’s Return. Most of us stayed all day in the same church. On the way to my church, the pastor asked me to have a seminar in the afternoon for his church leaders, on Christian Leadership. I had told all the students participating in this mission trip that they needed to be ready at all times for being asked to do something at the spur of the moment that they had no idea they would be asked to do. So… guess who got put on the spot. Me! Fortunately, by the blessings of God, I had given a sermon for church officer dedication in the Stroudsburg Church some months ago, with leadership lessons from the life of Moses. I had that on my computer, and Sabbath afternoon, before the 3 p.m. seminar (that I was giving!!!) I was able to adapt that to fit this setting.
During the church service, the pastor said he was going to do a presentation. In the Hispanic culture, a presentation is pretty much like a child dedication in the Anglo churches. So I said, “That’s fine.” So when the pastor stood up to begin the presentation service, and call the family forward, at the time for the baby dedication prayer, the pastor turned to me and said, we want you to have the prayer. So I got to hold the precious little baby and offer the dedication prayer. She was so good during the prayer, and it’s been such a long time since our two children were that size, that I almost didn’t want to hand her back over to the parents.

Saturday evening, our church was very full, with not only members, but also guests and visitors.
The children, small and primary age, at each church are precious. They love to come up to each one of us, with smiles and eager eyes. At my church, on the first night, 3 boys came and sat right next to me on the front bench.

One of the boys is the son of the head elder, and I had encouraged him -- when I saw him on Thursday night when we went to the church to practice our driving times and to practice setting up the computer and projector – to bring a friend on Friday night. If he brought a friend, I promised him a surprise. So when he came in with 2 friends, I gave him a “Lifesaver.” His little friend sat right up next to me, and kept staring up at me the whole time, like I was some kind of alien or sports hero. Hopefully, he could see Jesus shining through me. The head elder has 3 children, one of whom is about 3 years old. She beams me a smile all the time, and she has started her own version of a game of tag with me. When I am not looking, she will sneak up and tap me on the knee or back or arm, scoot away a little and then look up to see if I notice. Even though neither one of us can speak to each other in a language we can understand, we have no difficulty understanding the language of shared joy and humor.

2010 SUMMER MISSION TRIP REPORT 2

2010 MISSION TRIP – 2ND REPORT

On Friday, each of us finished final preparations for our 1st evangelistic meeting and our preaching. Thursday night, we had all traveled with our Pastor or Elder out to the church site where we would be preaching and practiced setting up our computer and projector equipment. Some of us also practiced the sermon with a translator.

Now Friday was here! On Friday, we especially needed to prepare because not only would we preach Friday night, but then again on Sabbath morning and Saturday night, and Friday would be pretty much our only time to prepare for those two sermons.
Some of us were nervous, some of us didn’t know what to expect, some of us were realizing just what we had gotten into.
Late in the afternoon the local pastors began arriving to transport us to our various churches. The church I was invited to is at least a 45 minute drive from the “hub” city where our hotel is located. One of our young adults, Leilany Rivas rides along to her church since the same pastor is the leader of both church sites (he actually has 17 churches and he meets with the leaders of all those churches every Sabbath afternoon for training and reports, although he is only in 1 church a Sabbath). Our route takes us along part of the Pan-American highway toward the Mexican border some 43 kilometers north.

Most of our churches are very simple with either a concrete or tile floor.

The pews are basic wooden benches with a back board.

The roof may be sheet metal or concrete. One of our group, Justine Link is preaching in a auto garage with speakers mounted so the sound can carry out into the neighborhood. Another of our group, Levi Collins is preaching in a pavilion with half open sides. Five to Seven churches are coming to that one site so there are about 300 people attending there. Most of our churches range in attendance from 60 to 100+.

PA YOUTH MISSION TRIP 2010

2010 MISSION TRIP – DAY 1

We traveled from BMA to Guatemala, starting at 1 a.m.(Tuesday, July 6, 2010) not ending until about 11:30—12 midnight. Our young people amaze me. Even with the long hours and uncomfortable traveling conditions, packed into a 19 passenger van for 4.5 hours and arriving at our simple motel when we were about to fall over from lack of sleep, still their attitude and spirit was so good. Today (Wednesday) we spent with the pastors and elders from the South Guatemala Mission churches where each of us will conduct meetings.

In the morning, Jeremiah Weeks did training for all of us from Pennsylvania and Guatemala together. Then we ate lunch with the church leaders we would be working with. Most of us do not speak Spanish and most of them speak no to very little English, so it was not easy to carry on a conversation, but we smiled a lot and did the best we could.
This afternoon, Jeremiah Weeks continued with just the Pennsylvania Group giving specific instructions in using the computer sermons, appeals, etc.

This evening when we returned to the hotel, we all got our particular set of computer and projector equipment out, hooked up everything, and learned how to get the software up and running. That involved a lot of adjusting and getting used to where the right computer commands were.
Before supper, the young people hung around outside on the veranda and chatted away about what they had learned, how the equipment worked, what they thought they might do and just relaxed together. During that time, Levi Collins was practicing his recorder and his lilting melodies floated across the courtyard and the gathered group of chattering youth.

Tomorrow we each go with our pastor out to the church location to practice setting up and going through a dry run.
In the meantime, we have been informed by the motel owner that tomorrow around 6:45 a.m. the city will shut off the electricity from about 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. So we will not have electric or water! Such is part of the life of being a missionary!

GC Session Day 10, July 3, 2010

PRESIDENT’S BLOG GENERAL CONFERENCE SESSION DAY 10
July 3, 2010

At the beginning of the Divine Worship service Elder Ted Wilson invited Elder and Mrs. Jan Paulsen and Elder and Mrs. Robert Folkenberg to be especially recognized by the gathered worshippers. He would have like his parents, Elder and Mrs. Neal Wilson to also be present, but their advanced age prevented them attending. The entire stadium gave warm and enthusiastic support to Elders Paulsen and Folkenberg.

Elder Wilson, president of the General Conference gave an inspiring and stirring Sabbath morning message, challenging the World Church members to be faithful to our calling as Seventh-day Adventists. To be faithful to the word of God, the Spirit of Prophecy and the mission Jesus has raised this church up for. To remember the Great Controversy theme as the center of God's working and timing of the prophetic hour we live in. To continue to press forward in the work of inviting all nations to be seeking with joy, the second coming of Jesus. His theme and message carries a similar focus as our Pennsylvania Conference 2010 Camp Meeting theme, “Called to be Different,” drawing, as we did, from 1 Peter 2:9,10.

Memories of GC

Pathfinders from the South Atlantic and Georgia Cumberland Conferences served as ushers to take up the offering during church on Sabbath morning.

Beautiful music. Pictured below is my former college classmate Dan Pabon and his wife Milca, leading the worship hymn Sabbath morning. Also the General Conference symphony.

The “Bag People” in yellow shirts met the delegates and those entering the Georgia Dome as visitors every day we were here. Each person entering the Georgia Dome facility is subject to having their bags, purses and the official GC delegate nylon carrying cases inspected as a security measure. As you may remember, during the Olympic Games held in Atlanta there was a bomb placed in one of the public areas. So now they are security conscious in our GC facility. They also did not want us to bring food or drink into the facility.
Since there are 2,000+ delegates, and then visitors in addition to that, and since each time a person may come into the Georgia Dome they have to have their bag searched again, these security people may well have to check bags anywhere from a minimum of 6,000 times up to 12,000 times during a weekday. Then on Sabbath, the attendance hits 30-40,000 people. This second Sabbath they are prepared for up to 70,000.




The first couple of days I would tease the security people that they were looking for the M&Ms in my bag. After a few days, I realized what a job and chore it must be to check thousands of bags each day, over and over. So I started buying 1 small bag of peanut M&Ms and putting it on top of my delegate book for the “bag” security people to find. Then I would tell them that the bag of M&Ms was actually for them. Every time the person checking my bag was so delighted and grateful. Last night as I came in, the security lady checking my bag was about to get her M&Ms and the security bag check man next to her said, “Here comes the Candy Man!” So I guess word was getting around! My hope was that those who were hired to check our bags thousands of times each day, would find that we Adventists could try to bring them a little joy and appreciation.



Every day as you would walk the aisles and hallways of the World Congress Center of which the Georgia Dome is a part, you would hear a variety of languages and dialects, in addition to a colorful array of home country dress and costumes. What an opportunity to grasp in a sensory way, the world-wideness of our international Church Family.




The intrigue of selecting a table in the lunch facility each day, where we did not know anyone, but had the privilege of meeting someone unique from some other part of the world.

Jeanne and her parents took the shuttle bus back to the hotel last night, while I walked the half mile and we had a contest to see who would get back to the hotel first (I won!). Their bus got stranded in the mass of traffic and probably sat on the streets over half an hour. The Adventist passengers decided to start singing songs and hymns with a wonderful spirit. The shuttle bus driver (not an Adventist) was pleasantly surprised and I think impressed with the spirit of everyone, as he thought he would end up with 50+ very grumpy passengers at being so inconvenienced.


Pray for God’s work around the world. Pray that God can use you to share Jesus with the World and also be the missionary to the world where you and I live, work, shop, play and serve.

GC Session Day 9, July 2, 2010

PRESIDENT’S BLOG GENERAL CONFERENCE SESSION DAY 9
July 2, 2010

“A Session characterized by change” is how many would remember the 59th General Conference Session as this session winds down its work.

Key elements of this change would be:
1. New Leadership, with a new GC president, several new vice-presidents, Division and Departmental leaders.
2. The Church Manual revision implements ordaining Deaconesses.
3. An affirmation of Creation statement voted and a process for integrating it into our Fundamental Belief # 6.
4. A vote to definitely define marriage as a monogamous relationship between one heterosexual male and female.
5. GC Leadership indicates a study on the Theology of Ordination will be processed.

Friday saw the delegates finish work on the General Conference Constitution and By-laws. One of the more interesting aspects of what can sometimes seem and pretty dry and tedious, was a discussion and later motion, that up to 30 seats on the General Conference Executive Committee (which handles business of the World-wide Church between General Conference Sessions every 5 years) must be young adult laypersons. The general idea of who young adults are, would be those up to about age 30. This motion received overwhelming support.

The Session Steering Committee brought back a report on a motion that I offered from the floor on Monday. The motion offered and referred to the Steering Committee, was that the incoming General Conference Officers provide a process whereby a Theology of Ordination be studied and then presented to the Annual Council by the year 2013. I went on to observe that the World Church when it meets struggles with various views on the topic of ordination and does not have a key theological position from which to draw up when then trying to decide on applications on ordination. I went on to state that we do not want to have a view on ordination that is a Roman Catholic view, we do not want a culturally limited view, and we do not want a politically influenced view. We want a Theological view. This motion was intended to be entirely gender neutral and not endorse women’s ordination, not oppose women’s ordination, but get us as a World Church into giving a careful study to the topic of ordination from a comprehensive spiritual position.
The Steering Committee reported today, that the General Conference Officers would start a process to address this topic and report back during this 5 year term between General Conference Sessions. Quite a few of the world delegates were very supportive of this way of approaching a topic that has swirled across the World Church without much consensus.

Early this morning, the North American Division local Conference presidents gathered for breakfast to especially honor and show our affirmation and support for Don and Marti Schneider, outgoing North American Division president. Don has served as the North American Division president for the past 10 years. During the many other positions he has served, include time in the Columbia Union as the New Jersey Conference president. He also served as president of the Northern California Conference, the Rocky Mountain Conference and the Lake Union. Many warm and precious stories (along with several humorous ones) were shared by those in attendance. Don and Marti were especially appreciated by many of us leaders in the Columbia Union, as 2 years ago, they led us on a trip to study and grow in understanding of the Protestant Reformation in Germany, Switzerland and Italy. What a powerfully spiritual experience that was to walk in the footsteps of the courageous men and women of faith that put their lives on the line for the sake of following Christ and the Holy Scriptures.
Marti has also been highly influential in the life of the mission of the Pennsylvania Conference as she coordinated the first Equipping University with Bill Peterson, and under Marti’s support, the NAD helped to fund much of the cost of our Church Work’s Presents Equipping University. She was a delight to have with her joyful and eager attitude toward mission and empowering each person in our Pennsylvania Conference churches.


While visiting a few of the exhibits today, Jeanne and I meet Art Randal who for a number of years served as a lay pastor in Seneca, PA., and has been a presenter at our PA Camp Meeting. Art and Beth were with us this year at camp meeting and served as our hosts in the Boy’s Dorm.
We also saw Stephen Bohr at his booth, who provided the evening messages during the week of our PA Camp Meeting this year. We were privileged to be blessed by his ministry.

Tonight, Jeanne, her parents and I were invited as guests of Bill Knott and the Adventist Review and to sit in one of the private stadium sky boxes for the evening worship service. Along with us, were Dr. John McVay, president of Walla Walla University, and his wife Pam, and Esther Knott, staff pastor at the Pioneer Memorial Church at Andrews University. We were almost directly at the back of the stadium and high above the floor and bleachers. What a perspective to view the large attendance spread across the entire Georgia Dome listening to the power message presented. Again, it is thrilling to see our world church delegates on the floor of the stadium, and then the many visitors, some from around the world, and quite a few from local churches, in attendance together for the Friday evening worship.

After the evening meeting, Bill Knott took a few minutes to give us his perspective on some of the dynamics involved with this General Conference.

One GC visitor we met in the exhibit area was this many, who had ridden his bicycle all the way from Brazil to Atlanta, Georgia for this Session. He was 10 months biking all the way up from Brazil.

Walking the half-mile from the Georgia Dome back to my hotel tonight (Jeanne and her parents took the shuttle bus, but I beat them back to the room!) I met Vernon Bramble and his wife who are here for the weekend. Vernon is the head elder of the Bucks County Church.

What a beautiful Sabbath evening to begin the Sabbath hours.



One of the things you are reminded of at a General Conference Session is that with all the problems you can see around you, with the issues in your own local church or Conference, even with the pressures facing God’s work in various countries and regions, there is still a tremendous blessing God pours out on His work and through the Adventist Church family. Over and over we see evidence of God’s leading, of answers to prayer, of mission moving forward, through us as an Adventist Church, working together, even when we express our differences at a General Conference Session. We still come together around the basic Biblical beliefs that God has called this church into existence to proclaim, we come together around the fact that Jesus is our Savior, and around the joy of the second coming.

GC SESSION DAY 8, July 1, 2010

PRESIDENT’S BLOG GENERAL CONFERENCE SESSION DAY 8
July 1, 2010

Shock and dismay rocked delegates as the Thursday morning business session of the General Conference handled Church Manual revision issues. At the time we dealt with the section dealing with marriage, the proposed revision stated from the front was, “Marriage, thus instituted by God, is a monogamous, heterosexual relationship between one male and one female.” When this revision was put before the body, delegates were stunned and shocked when a delegate from the Netherlands, in the Trans-European Division moved an amendment to recognize loving monogamous relationships, intended to recognize homosexual marriage. Delegates hurried to the microphone to express their convictions. After delegates spoke to the issue of the amendment to recognize homosexual relationships and marriage, the delegates overwhelmingly voted down the amendment. Among delegates was wide-spread dismay that such an amendment would even be offered on the floor of the session.
After that amendment was voted down, delegates returned to the main motion, whereupon an amendment was offered to word the proposed statement as: “Marriage, thus instituted by God, is a monogamous consenting adult, heterosexual relationship between one male and one female.” The desire of this proposed amendment was to speak to the issue of child marriages, or arranged marriages. This amendment passed.
With this amendment made, the original proposed statement then came to the floor for a full vote in the modified state. Much discussion ensued as to the legal definition of “adult” in various countries, and also how in some countries, young adults under the legally defined age of “adult” can marry with the consent of their parents. GC Legal Counsel personnel suggested this motion not be voted, in order that more study could be made as to the legal impact if this exact wording would be used.
For that reason, the motion was voted down.

Then the initial motion, stating, “Marriage, thus instituted by God, is a monogamous, heterosexual relationship between one male and one female,” was moved by the delegates, and this wording was voted by all the delegates in session.

As we walked the halls of the General Conference session, Jeanne and I met Bryce Pascoe and his wife. Bryce is about to retire as the secretary of the North Pacific Union. He started his ministry in the Shadyside Church in Pittsburgh, PA. He went on to pastor the McKeesport/Greensburg district, the Montrose/Tunkhannock//Beaumont district and to serve as Conference Health Director while working at a health center in Philadelphia, PA.

The new General Conference Ministerial Director for the world field is Jerry Paige, former president of the Pennsylvania Conference. His wife, Janet, has been elected as the Shepherdess International Director. Many of us know and love Jerry and Janet and have been blessed by their ministry. We wish them every blessing of God as they lead the World Church Ministerial Department. Jerry replaces Elder Jim Cress who died unexpectedly November 2009.

Another delegate from Pennsylvania to the 59th Session of the General Conference, is Bill Oblity. His wife Mercy, was able to accompany him. They are members of the Indiana, PA Church and Bill serves on the Columbia Union Executive Committee. It is a joy to meet him and chat for a few minutes most days, as we pass each other.

Each morning, the delegates from the Columbia Union meet for 15-20 minutes in one of the Conference rooms of the Westin Peachtree Plaza hotel where the NAD has assigned rooms for us to stay. Neville Harcombe and Seth Bardu give us a report of actions, sometimes behind-the-scenes dynamics, and also a preview of upcoming actions to take place during the present day’s business session. Dave Weigley, our Columbia Union President would prefer to be with us to give us these updates, but he has been selected to serve on the General Conference Nominating Committee, and that Committee starts its work fairly early in the morning and continues on through the day.

Another guest at session that I met was Hazel Singleton (on right) and her friend from the Havertown, PA, Seventh-day Adventist Church. It is good to see various members from the Pennsylvania Conference here at GC session.

While visiting the exhibition area before eating lunch, Jeanne and I noticed that one of the popular booths featured a rock climbing wall at the Union College location. Actually, Jeanne wants to come back wearing her jeans and try the rock climbing wall herself!

Another area in the exhibition area includes a HOPE TV set and audience seating area, where HOPE TV broadcasts live material frequently, while the GC Session is not meeting in the main auditorium. As we were standing there, Lonnie Melashanko, former speaker for the Voice of Prophecy was being interviewed “live, on camera.” HOPE TV provides excellent Adventist programming across the world via satellite.