Mission Post - Adventist Mission

32 Pages·2012·12.69 MB·English

YOUTH AND ADULT MAGAZINE
2012 •QUARTER 4 • South AmericAn DiviSion
www.AdventistMission.org
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C o n t e n t s
On the Cover: A Peruvian woman, descendant of the Inca people, needs to hear
of God’s love.
NOrTH PErU
4 Crazy About God | October 6 22 God’s Last-minute Answer | December 8
6 By Faith I See | October 13 24 A New Home | December 15
8 A Passion to Share | October 20
CENTENNIAL
10 God’s Thousand Ways | October 27
26 The Hardest Place | December 29
12 A Child Shall Lead | November 3
14 From Tragedy to Triumph | November 10
rESOUrCES
WEST CENTrAL BrAZIL 28 Thirteenth Sabbath Program | December 22
16 Following the Light | November 17 30 Future Thirteenth Sabbath Projects
18 Preacher Boy | November 24 31 resources
20 Finding Hope | December 1 32 Map
= stories of special interest to teens
Yo u r O f f e r i n g s a t Wo r k
Believers in Ecuador have long supported
Adventist radio stations to take the good
news of God’s love to others in their
homeland. Three years ago part of the
Thirteenth Sabbath Offering helped link
the radio stations so that they could use one
anothers’ programming. Thanks to your
offering many more people in Ecuador can
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Divisio hear the messages of hope
n and love in Jesus via radio.
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ve 12501 Old Columbia Pike,
Ad Silver Spring, MD 20904-6601
800.648.5824 • www.AdventistMission.org
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Dear Sabbath School Leader,
This quarter features the South displays great diversity. Modern cities
American Division, where more than 315 with populations in the millions lie along
million people live. More than 2 million the Atlantic Ocean. São Paulo, Brazil’s
of them, about one out of every 150, is a largest city, is the seventh-largest city
Seventh-day Adventist. in the world. Much of Brazil, however,
Special focus this quarter is on west- lies in the heartland, a less-developed
central Brazil and northern Peru. and less-affluent region of the country.
With the exception of Brasília, Brazil’s
The Challenges
capital city, much of central Brazil is
Brazil is the largest country in
sparsely populated and less developed. In
South America and the fifth-largest in
this region lies the territory of the West
the world. It occupies roughly half of
central Brazil Union. Outside a few cities,
the territory of the South American
most people rely on fishing, farming, and
Division and has a population of about
manual labor to earn a living. The church
200 million citizens. Some 1.3 million
is growing here, but difficult economic
Adventists live there, about one
conditions hamper the work. Part of this
Adventist for every 150 people.
quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will
As with any large country, Brazil
help several projects in this region.
Peru lies on the west coast of South
America. Peru was once part of the great
Incan Empire that ruled western South
America until the Spanish arrived in the
Opportunities
sixteenth Century.
This quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath In the past 20 years church membership
Offering will help provide: has exploded thanks to small-group
ministries. Today about one person out
 churches for existing congregations in
of every 80 is an Adventist. In 2006 the
west-central Brazil
church membership had grown enough
 a church for Central Brazil Adventist to divide the country into two unions.
Academy
The North Peru Union is the focus of the
 churches for existing congregations and Thirteenth Sabbath Offering this quarter.
church plants in northern Peru
 CHILDREN’S PROJECT: training Yours for the kingdom, n.org
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Crazy About God
peru | October 6
Juan
Francisco often visited Juan, and one
Sabbath he even coaxed him out from
under the bed. He washed Juan up as
well as he could and took him to church.
Juan sat in church staring blankly at the
ceiling. But something happened that
day that changed Juan forever. The next
morning he crawled out from under his
bed and said, “I need water.”
Maria hadn’t heard Juan speak in two
years. Hope fluttered in her heart as she
hurried to get him some water. But when
she returned, she found Juan unresponsive
on the floor. Her shoulders slumped, and
Half dressed and unwashed, Juan
her spirits slid to despair. God, why don’t
wandered the streets of Lima, Peru.
you just let him die? her heart pleaded.
He seldom spoke, and his eyes showed no
glimmer of understanding. Most people A New Man
kept their distance from this man they Then Juan stirred and sat up, shouting,
called Crazy Juan. “Jesus has healed me! I’m well!” Maria
hugged her husband tearfully; and their
Loving Friend and Family
children crowded into the room, hopeful
But Francisco didn’t avoid Juan. Instead
but unsure about what had happened.
he searched the streets for his friend.
“I’m hungry,” Juan said. “Bring me some
Often Francisco would find Juan only to
of the food I prepared last night.”
lose him as he began to cry and ran down
“Juan,” Maria spoke hesitantly, you
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Sout But getting Juan home didn’t restore his of grime.
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Missio sanity. Often he’d spend days lying under Later that morning Juan answered the
t the bed, not even coming out to eat. door and found Francisco there. Juan
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n Maria grew desperate, wondering whether exclaimed, “Jesus has saved me! I want to
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A she’d ever have her husband back. become a Christian.” Francisco hugged
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his friend and rejoiced with the family. where Juan and his family had been
Then he invited everyone to attend the baptized, provided outreach resources for
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Adventist church with him. Before long the small group. Juan taught the children r
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Juan and Maria and their older children and youth how to give Bible studies, and P
were studying the Bible together. everyone worked together to plant God’s
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love and truth in the hearts of others.
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New Life, New Mission
The 30 members grew to 200 and
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Juan bubbled over with new life and started another church. Juan knew that O
energy. One day he told Maria, “The when the group was small, everyone N
church is too far away. We must start a worked; but when it grew larger, it was
small group here in our home. The couple more difficult to get people involved. The
invited their neighbors to hear how God members agreed, and two more churches
had saved Juan. Francisco taught Juan were planted, one nearby and the other
leadership skills as he coached his friend farther up the mountain.
in how to give Bible studies and how to God is blessing Juan, who has just a
preach. The formerly silent crazy man third-grade education. His children, who
preached God’s praises with passion. could not study while Juan was mentally
Within three years the small group that ill, are now in school.
met in Juan’s house grew to 30 members.
A Passion for Souls
It was time to move on.
Juan’s passion for leading others to
Juan suggested that the small group
Jesus continues. He and the members
divide and plant another small group in a
of one of the churches he helped found
nearby community. The mother church,
have bought land and are working to
build a simple church as a base for further
ministry. But the members are poor
Fast Facts
and find it difficult to buy the bricks
they need for the church. Part of this
 Peru lies on the western coast of South
America between Ecuador and Chile. quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering
Most of the economic centers lie along will help build a church for one of the
the coast, including Lima, the country’s
congregations Juan helped establish. In
capital city. The Andes mountains divide
turn, this congregation will help the other
the country north to south. East of the
mountains the country is tropical jungle. believers build churches of their own.
“We must keep growing, keep opening
 Lake Titicaca, the world’s highest
new churches,” Juan says eagerly. “Small
commercially navigable freshwater lake,
lies in southeastern Peru. groups are the future of God’s work here
in Peru.”
 The Incan Empire dominated western
We can help the church in Peru grow
Sihnoo urtshtehes sAainxmdte egerunicntahs ,u ctnehtneilt sutmrhyae. l ASl bpraamnnedidssh wo afi rtrhiv ed bany dg itvhirnogu oghur o wuer eTkhlyi rmteiesnsitohn S oafbfebrainthg s, Mission.org
Spanish conquered the Indians. Many Offering we can help build chapels for ntist
of those who survived died from diseases several congregations such as the one Juan Adve
brought by the conquerors. w.
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helped start.  w
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Peru | October 13
By Faith
I See
Rony
Rony hurried down the dusty hillside Rony lay in the hospital bed praying and
toward the church on the campus of wondering what his future would hold.
the Adventist university in Peru. He was
How God Had Led
a Pathfinder leader and thought about
Rony was 14 and living alone after
the program he would lead. He didn’t see
his parents’ divorce. He didn’t like the
the iron bar on which some students had
life he was living and wanted something
hung their tennis shoes.
better. But it had been easier to go along
Suddenly a sharp pain pierced Rony’s
with his friends. Then he found a dusty
eye, and his head felt as if it were on fire.
He staggered and fell. A friend ran to help. book that introduced him to God. As he
Doctors at the local hospital examined read the book, he felt a desire to learn
his eye. “I’m sorry,” a doctor said. “Your more about God.
eye is so damaged we can’t save it.” Rony He learned about evangelistic meetings
struggled to understand the doctor’s and went. Some of his friends went to
words. Lose my eye? How do I tell my disturb the meetings. But Rony listened to
parents? he wondered. They’ll think God the speaker’s messages.
n has abandoned me. On Friday night Rony had planned to go
Divisio The best eye doctor in the nation insisted out with his friends. But he felt drawn to
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merica that Rony would lose his eye. “You need to the meetings. He changed his course and
A sign the papers so I can remove your eye entered the meeting place. He walked past
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Sout before infection sets in,” the doctor said. some friends sitting in the back and went
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Missio “Please, Doctor,” Rony begged. “I am down to the front.
t a Christian. I believe that if it’s God’s When the pastor invited listeners to give
ntis will, He will save my eye. Can we wait a their hearts to God, Rony went forward.
ve
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A few days?” Reluctantly the doctor agreed. He could hear his friends whistling at him.
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Later his friends made fun of him, but University. His local mission helped, and
something had changed in Rony’s life that he sold literature to pay his remaining
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night, something precious and lasting. tuition. He felt blessed and knew that r
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He was baptized and became a member God was leading him. P
of a little Adventist church, where he
Seeing God’s Hand H
was asked to teach the youth Sabbath
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Then tragedy had struck. While
School class and help with Pathfinders.
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Rony lay in the hospital in great pain
His pastor saw Rony’s leadership ability O
and challenged him to organize a small- and uncertain of his future, he prayed N
constantly, “Lord, Your will be done. If
group meeting at a member’s house. Rony
You want me to be a pastor with just one
invited his neighbors and his high school
eye, I will accept that. But if it can bring
friends, and soon the group numbered
honor to You, please let me keep my eye.”
more than 30.
He worried about his family’s reaction
Confronting His Parents to the news of his injury, but when they
Rony’s parents learned of his decision learned about the accident, they called and
to become a Christian and couldn’t encouraged him. He used every opportunity
understand what had happened to him. to tell them that his future was in God’s
When he told them that God was calling hands. One by one his sisters, his mother,
him to become a pastor, his father became and other family members told him that his
angry. “If you do, you’ll be on your own,” faith had changed their lives. His sister has
he said. begun studying the Bible and even brought
Rony’s pastor encouraged him to a friend to hear Rony’s testimony.
study at the Adventist high school. Still Rony didn’t know whether God
Rony worked hard to succeed. When he would save his eye. Before being wheeled
graduated, he enrolled at Peruvian Union into surgery, Rony prayed once more that
God’s will be done.
When he awoke following surgery, he
was in great pain and couldn’t see. Then
Mission Post the doctor entered and told Rony, “Son,
we didn’t remove your eye. I can’t explain
 Rony’s eyesight continues to improve. it, but it’s healing.” Rony could explain.
Rony asks for prayer that the doctor who God had answered his prayers. Rony
saw God’s hand save his eye will give his
forgot his pain. God would give him back
life to Christ.
his eyesight.
 Rony comes from a region where several
Although Rony still faces more surgery,
congregations have no church in
he knows that God has saved his eye for a
which to worship. Part of this quarter’s
Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help reason. “God used this accident to let me
build a church in one of these regions. share His love with others,” he says. “And n.org
many are coming to God because of it.” Missio
 FPMoeirrs usm,i owonra eDt coVhn D tthh.ies wquoarrkt einr’s n Aordtvheenrnti st sucYho uars mRoisnsiyo fnu lofiflfle rGinogds’ sh pellapn y foourn tgh epiero ple Adventist
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lives, plans to serve and honor God.  w
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A Passion to Share
peru | October 20
Eva
trash dump. He came to the first meeting
smelling of filth and alcohol. Pedro
returned every night, and every time he
smelled a little cleaner than he had before.
When Eva offered to study the Bible
with those who were interested, Pedro was
the first to respond. He was the first to ask
for baptism after the Bible studies were
completed. When Eva gently suggested
Eva Sanchez looked out the window
that he might not be ready for baptism
and sighed. She and her husband had
yet, he responded, “Oh, yes, I am. I have
just moved back to his hometown on the
met my Father, and I want to follow Him.”
coast of northern Peru. But Eva couldn’t
Eva thought of the changes she had seen
find an Adventist church in town, or
in Pedro’s life. He was clean and sober,
even a single Adventist believer.
and he loved Jesus. He and seven others
Eva eventually found an Adventist
were baptized together.
congregation some 30 minutes away by
Pedro was a new man, but he still lived
bus. She joined that church and became
in the dump. Then a few days after his
involved in women’s and children’s
baptism, a longtime friend asked Pedro to
ministries. But she couldn’t forget the
live in his house and be the caretaker.
mission field in her new hometown. She
invited her new neighbors to a small Because there was no church in town,
group meeting in her home. Then during Eva took the new believers to the church
n
n Divisio HEvoal yr eWnteeedk ,a tlhitet lwe eheakl ll eaanddi nhge ludp s tpoe cEiaasl ter, 30 minutes away by bus.
merica meetings. She invited her small-group The Park People
A Eva looked for more ways to reach the
h members and urged them to invite their
Sout n neighbors and relatives. And they did. residents of her new community for Christ.
Mtissio Pedro Apacrrko. sLs othude smtrueseitc fproumlse hde trh hrooumgeh wthaes an ight
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n Eva learned that Pedro, one man who air, and youth gathered to drink and use
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A was attending her meetings, lived in a drugs. Often the young people threw trash
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in neighborhood yards, and sometimes parents would react, but she was eager to
they even threw stones. Eva wondered find a better life and decided to invite her
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how she could reach out to these young friends to join her. r
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people. But she didn’t know their culture Eva invited her teenage son Moses to lead P
or how to connect with them. “God, help the Bible study group. Moses wasn’t sure he
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me get to know these young people who could do it, but finally he agreed, saying, “I’ll T
need You so much,” she prayed. go, but you must pray.” Eva agreed.
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Eva learned that Daisy, one of her small- Moses returned from the Bible study O
group members, knew one of the girls who glowing with excitement. “Everyone N
often hung out in the park. Daisy offered had so many questions,” he said. Several
to introduce Eva to the girl. Eva baked a
weeks later Eva visited the small group.
cake and wrote, “I love Nelita, but Jesus
As she approached the house, she heard
loves her more.” Then she and Daisy
singing. She smiled, for the young people
took the cake to Nelita, the girl in the
who had once cursed God were now
park. Nelita accepted the cake, and the
singing His praises.
three talked. Nelita told them about the
problems at home that had driven her to A New Church Home
the park and a troubled lifestyle. Several months later Nelita and two
Eva listened with sincere concern. As other young people were baptized. One
the two became better acquainted, Eva of them, Matias [Mah-TEE-us], had once
invited Nelita to study the Bible. Nelita thrown stones at Eva’s house. Today he
agreed. She was concerned about how her leads the youth group in the growing
congregation that now meets in their town.
Nelita, who had once caused
some of the disturbance in the park’s
Mission Post
neighborhood, now shares her faith with
those same young people.
 About one out of every 80 people in
Peru is an Adventist. One reason for the “When I came to this town I was the
rapid growth of the Adventist Church only Adventist,” Eva says. “But God
in Peru is small groups, members
has given me a wonderful family.” Eva’s
inviting friends to study the Bible and
fellowship in their homes. church family has grown to more than 75
members plus many children. They meet
 Many of these small groups have
in a small building with a courtyard over
grown into large congregations, but for
some it’s difficult to rent a building in which they have spread a tarp. With the
which to worship. Part of this quarter’s help of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath
Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help
Offering, the congregation will build a
Eva’s congregation build a chapel in
church where the tarp now hangs. “It will
which to worship.
be simple,” she says smiling. “But it will be n.org
 To see more about how your Thirteenth to the glory of God.” Missio
SfMoarib scbsoiaontnhg r DOegVfafDetiro.inngs, wwiallt chhe ltph feu Andd vcehnatpiestls of THhuaannkc hyaocuo f o[wr ahhenlp-iCnHg rAeaHc-hk othhe], pPeeorpul,e Adventist
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with your offering.  w
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God’s Thousand Ways
Peru | October 27
Felipe
God and the peace only God can bring.
Then one day a stranger walked up to
Felipe at work and greeted him strangely.
“Hello, Brother!” the man said.
Felipe studied the man. He had never
seen him before. “Why do you call me
Brother?” Felipe asked.
The man pointed to the cap Felipe was
wearing and said, “You must be an Adventist.”
The man’s remark confused Felipe even
more. “What’s an Adventist?” he asked.
It’s said that God has a thousand “And why must I be one?”
Your cap bears the insignia of the
ways to lead someone to Jesus. Felipe
believes that. He found God’s path Adventist youth organization,” the man
through a cap. said, smiling. “Those three lines on the right
Felipe works at a university outside represent three angels. The symbol of the
Lima, Peru. Every day he walks past a Adventist Church is three angels flying.
little store on his way from the bus stop
What’s an Adventist?
to his job at the university. One day he
“What does it mean to be Adventist?”
stopped at the store just to look around. A
Felipe asked the man. The stranger told
display of caps caught his attention. Felipe
him that Adventists walk with God, read
loves caps. One cap caught his attention,
their Bible, obey God’s commandments,
and he tried it on. He didn’t know what
n and share His love with others.
Divisio the cap’s insignia stood for, but he liked The stranger invited Felipe to visit the
n the cap and bought it. He wore his new
merica cap everywhere. Adventist church near the university on
A Sabbath. But when he learned that Felipe
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Sout Felipe’s Search for God lives far from the university, he suggested
n
Missio Felipe had been searching for a church that he visit a little church much closer to
t for some time. He had visited several his home. The man wrote down the address
tis
ven churches, but he hadn’t found one that and directions to the church, and pressed it
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A satisfied his need for a closer walk with into Felipe’s hand. “You will be welcomed
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