Email | Print |  Share  Digg Facebook MySpace  Yahoo! Buzz Twitter

Photo of the Week Album 1
Mission in Pictures

---

---

Young Monk Buddhist monks like this man get up each morning and go from business-to-business “begging” for their day’s food. More				Proud of Her Heritage This woman from Mexico smiles shyly in her traditional dress and holding a handmade pot. More
Under the Indian Sun The Indian sun hasn't yet burned off the early morning chill as Hindu holy men sit on the steps leading to the Ganges river in Varanasi, India. More.				Lepeshka Bakery The national bread throughout Central Asia is called "Lepeshka." More
Tribute to Mothers This beautiful photo gallery of mothers and their children pays special tribute to moms everywhere. More				Forsaken Weapen This native Fijian chief is holding a cali, a traditional Fijian club for killing enemies. More
Girl Painting A Japanese girl paints a banner for Vacation Bible School. More				Snake Charmer Traditional snake charmers in India play their flutes to "hypnotize" deadly cobras. More
Warm Greetings This Bangladeshi woman greets the photographer with the traditional “Namaste” greeting of India and Bangladesh. More				Ger, Sweet Ger "Staying in a Mongolian ger is an unforgettable experience!" says Adventist missionary Elbert Kuhn. More
Seven Color Mountains The breathtaking Seven Color Mountains can be found in Northern Argentina. More				Roots and Temples Tree roots strangle ancient ruins of the Ta Prohm temple in Angkor Wat,  Cambodia. More
Kissing Cousins Kristian may look like an ordinary child, but he is a walking miracle. More				Auto Rickshaw Auto rickshaws crowd roadways throughout India. More
Flying With the Lord Lying on a handmade stretcher, this patient awaits transport to a medical clinic by mission pilot, Bob Roberts. Check out Bob's blog. More				Girl in the Yellow Scarf This Moldovan girl was spotted sitting in church on a Sabbath morning. The church wasn't well heated but that didn't dampen their joy over being able to worship freely. More
Hill Tribe Girls The girls in this picture are wearing traditional Thai clothing of the hill tribes. More				Aboriginal Man This Aboriginal is a native of Australia. Aboriginals lived in Australia long before Captain James Cook claimed the continent for the British. More
Floating Market Referred to as the Venice of the East, this floating market is 70 miles from Bangkok, Thailand. More				Cleaning Up Mumbai On a hot day in Mumbai, India, several boys get assigned a refreshing job. More
Little Shepherdess This little girl is tenderly caring for the lambs in her family's flock. She's even brought this one into the ger. More				China's Harry Anderson Li Wai San has been called the Harry Anderson of China. More
Woman Washing Lots of questions go through my mind when I think about this woman in Varanasi, India. More				Traditional Welcome Students at Monosapara Adventist Seminary in Bangladesh welcome visitors with a traditional demonstration. More
Ice Cathedral This ice cathedral, modeled after the famous St. Basil’s Cathedral in Red Square in Moscow, was built on the shores of Lake Baikal in central Russia. More				Early Morning Chai Bundled up after a cool night, this patron of a street vendor drinks his early morning chai (spiced tea) from a clay cup in Varanasi, India. More
Israeli Boys These students in Israel had just finished their prayers. Bursting with laughter and energy, they were just like boys in other cultures. More				Holy Man Reading "He fenced himself off from the hustle of humanity. When I walked past he was reading peacefully as though there wasn’t a world rushing past." More
Iguassu Falls Iguassu Falls in Brazil gets its name from the Guarani Indian term for Great Water. More				Weary Pathfinder After three hours of Sabbath School and church plus dinner, this little Pathfinder was too tired to keep up. More
Young Warrior A young warrior in training carries a bow in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. More				Making Pottery This Fijian woman, dressed in a traditional grass skirt, is demonstrating how to make a traditional pot in the cultural center in Fiji. More
The Luzeiro For 27 years Adventist missionaries Leo and Jessie Halliwell served on the Luzeiro, treating disease and spreading the gospel on the Amazon River. More				Ruins of Monte Alban Monte Alban Ruins overlooks Oaxaca, Mexico, an area that will receive part of this 13th Sabbath Offering. More
New Sabbath School This sweet little girl is sitting on the frame of her new Sabbath School class in Papua New Guinea. More				Mirzapur Children These children in Mirzapur, India, seem to be having a good time. While many of them live on the street, they still have the ability to laugh and play. More
Floating Clinic Children in Indonesia rush to meet a medical mission boat funded by Global Mission. More				Tribute to Fathers A touching photo gallery capturing tender moments between fathers and their children all around the world. More
Spinning Wool This Quechua woman is spinning wool at a cultural center in Ecuador. More				A Snowstorm in Bangkok Friends from afar send nine-year-old missionary, Hannah, a package filled with a flurry of fun. More
The Andersons: Intrepid Missionaries to Africa For William and Nora Anderson, traveling by ox cart for six weeks was just the beginning of realizing a vision. More				Giant Anaconda Leo and Jessie Halliwell, Adventist pioneer medical missionaries to Brazil for 38 years, holding the skin of a 20 foot giant anaconda. More
Akha Boy This little boy is from the Akha tribe in Northern Thailand. He was with several friends who were just the happiest kids I have ever seen. More				Their One Meal This darling child is just one of the hundreds of orphans that Mama and her friends help feed in Lesotho, a country devastated by AIDS. More
Pink "Temple" Part of a festival in India, this "building" is constructed of Styrofoam and cloth stretched over wooden frames. More				Floating Candles On the banks of the Ganges River, a young girl sets candles afloat in Varanasi, Hinduism's holiest city. More
"Fighter" for God Johnny Johnson was on his way to becoming a great Middleweight boxing champion. But God had other plans for this giant of a man. More				Spiny Echidna The spiny echidna is not the type of animal you would want to roll over onto while on a camping trip. More
Dwelling With Style A typical dwelling in a village of Gourounsi people of northern Ghana. More				Three Holy Men Hindu holy men on a street near a temple in Katmandu Nepal. More
Hard Work Rice paddies are a vital part of life in rural Indonesia. Growing rice is extremely labor intensive and farmers spend long days cultivating and harvesting their crop. More				They Had Grit! The Hall family, pioneer missionaries wearing traditional Laos costumes, was anything but traditional. When they stepped off the plane in Laos, they didn't even have a place to live. More
Camels in the Gobi A sight seen by missionary Pastor Elbert Kuhn while lost in the Gobi Desert. More				Cooling Off Missionary Style Christopher enjoys nature and friends. But his real passion is sharing Jesus. More
Something to Smile About Dental missionaries Fred and Jane Lee are giving the people of Trinidad more to smile about. More				Little Rascal In the movies for 9 years, the young Pastor Smith played Waldo in "Little Rascals." He could have made millions, but he chose to become a missionary. More
Rug Shop Skilled Argentinian artisans spin wool, creating colorful blankets, bags, ponchos, and other items tourists love to buy. More				Anna Knight Anna Knight, first Adventist African-Ameraican to India, remembers the committee members gathering for prayer before setting to look for property for Oakwood College. More
The Infested Lasagna Life as a missionary is always an adventure. Join Dawn Venn as she prepares Italian for dinner! More			Photo of the Week Album 2

---

Young Monk, Myanmar

---

Under the Indian Sun, India 

The Indian sun hasn't yet burned off the early morning chill as Hindu Sadhus or holy men, sit on the steps leading to the Ganges river in Varanasi, India.

Clad in their orange robes, these ascetics leave material things behind and devote their days to meditation and contemplation in an attempt to gain liberation. In some cases, beggars dress as sadhus to increase their income, especially in popular tourist or pilgrimage sites.

Recently declared a national river of India, the Ganges has long been considered a holy river by the Hindus. Along the banks, you can see young and old taking ritual baths, worshipers praying, and mourners cremating their dead. Some 80 percent of India's 1.1 billion people are Hindu and Hinduism is the third largest world religion with more than 800 million believers. There are some 1.3 million Seventh-day Adventists in India.

Please pray for these Adventist believers in India.

Photo credit: Rick Kajiura, communication director, Adventist Mission.

---

Lepeshka Bakery, 
Kyrgyzstan

The national bread throughout Central Asia is called "Lepeshka." Sometimes it is spelled another way because it is transliterated from a different script and alphabet than ours. It is also made with different recipes. But the lapeshka is always baked on the sides of a round oven with a fire in the bottom. This particular bakery is in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

I am glad Jesus described Himself with many different symbols. I love bread. I can hardly comprehend a meal without it. But some cultures almost never eat bread. To them a sower spreading seeds or a shepherd might be more meaningful.

May we each get to know our neighbors and watch for ways to share Jesus with them in a way that they can relate to.

Photo and thoughts by Homer Trecartin, former missionary and associate secretary of the General Conference.

---

 

A Tribute to Mothers and Grandmothers
Around the World

---

---

Myanmar (Burma)	Congo	Mongolia
Lesotho	China	Cuba
Turkmenistan	Cambodia	Bangladesh
Chad	Papua New Guinea	Kenya
India	Indonesia	Sri Lanka
Pakistan	United States	Russia

---

Forsaken Weapon, Fiji

This native Fijian chief is holding a cali, a traditional Fijian club used for killing enemies. Before missionaries arrived, the Fijian people were cannibals who collected heads or teeth as trophies of conquests.

The first Adventist missionaries to arrive came aboard the Pitcairn, the first Adventist-owned mission ship, that sailed throughout the South Pacific, bringing news of Jesus to the islands.

Today Fiji’s 322 islands are popular tourist destinations, though the country has suffered through a great deal of political upheaval in recent years. The two predominant ethnic groups on the islands are the native Fijians (a mixture of Polynesian and Melanesian races) and the Indo-Fijians (East Indians brought to the islands to work on the sugar cane plantations during the Nineteenth Century. The two races have lived uncomfortably together since then. While the Fijian population has accepted Christianity, the Indian population has maintained its original language, Hindi, and its Hindu religion. The native Fijian population has a slight majority over the Indian population. The Adventist Church membership in Fiji is slightly more than 25,000, which means the island has one Adventist for every 34 people.

In 2006 the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering for South Pacific Division provided funds to start building a church for the more than 500 Adventist students attending the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji. Thank you for helping give these young people a place to worship and grow their faith. 
 

---

Girl Painting, Japan

This Japanese girl is painting a banner for Vacation Bible School at her church. The modern Japanese writing system is a combination of many different scripts. These different sets of characters are used together in a particular way to construct sentences. The different scripts are traditionally used for specific parts of speech or types of words or sounds.

Chinese characters, called Kanji, are usually used for nouns. Hiragana, a script of Japanese origin, is used to represent specific syllables. A third type of script, called Kakatana, is used to describe most common objects. 

In addition to Asian characters, Japan has adopted the Latin alphabet for some uses. All four scripts are used together to create the modern Japanese language and it's common to see all four in one sentence.

Eighty-four percent of Japanese are either Buddhist or Shinto. Shinto is the traditional Japanese religion and until the end of World War II it was the official state religion. Christians remain a small percentage of the population and there are only some 15,000 Seventh-day Adventists. Several new initiatives, such as Hope for Big Cities, have been started to help reach the millions of Japanese people with the saving grace of Jesus. Pray that soon all of Japan will hear of the God whose love is the same in every language.

Photo credit: Charlotte Ishkanian, editor of Mission, Adventist Mission.

---

Snake Charmer, India

For years, snake charmers, like this one in Delhi, have embodied the traditional spirit of India.  These apparently brave men sit on the sidewalk, coaxing venomous cobras out of their baskets with music from flute-like instruments to the amazement of passers by.
 
Snake charming was once widespread throughout India, but there have been fewer snake charmers working the streets in recent years. An Indian law passed in the 1970s but only fully implemented in the past decade, makes it illegal to own snakes. The general increase in knowledge about snakes has also eliminated much of the mystery of snake charming.  

According to experts, snakes cannot actually hear sound in the same range as humans. So the "hypnotizing" effect is likely due to the swaying of the instrument in front of the snake. The music itself serves no purpose at all.

The metropolis of Delhi, with more than 13 million residents, is the second largest city in India. 

---

---

Warm Greetings,
Bangladesh

This Bangladeshi woman greets the photographer with a smile and the traditional “Namaste” (NAH-mah-stay) greeting of India and Bangladesh. She lives in the crowded city of Dhaka in Bangladesh, a country formed when India partitioned off East and West Pakistan in 1947. Bangladesh gained its independence from Pakistan in 1971. 

The majority of people living in Bangladesh are Muslim, with a small population of Hindus and a very small percentage of Christians. The country is one of the most densely populated in the world. Most of the people in Bangladesh are poor, living off what they can raise in small plots of land.

The Adventist Church in Bangladesh numbers about 25,000 members, or one Adventist for every 6,000 people. The Church operates a number of schools and a seminary outside the capital city. Within the capital only one church, at the mission headquarters, operates freely. Several small groups meet in apartments and small homes, but these groups must move if neighbors object to their presence. It is difficult to find a place to rent for worship. Part of the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering in 2005 went to Bangladesh to help purchase a building to house a church.

Photo by Siegfried Mayr, retired president of Bangladesh Union Mission.
 

---

Ger, Sweet Ger,
Mongolia

Hello friends,
 
I would like to introduce you to a ger, one of the most important parts of Mongolians life. It is a traditional Mongolian home and I have had the opportunity to travel through the countryside and stay in a ger. Here I am bringing in firewood to stay warm!
 
The nomads of Central Asia have dwelt in portable tents called gers for thousands of years. These conical, felt-covered constructions, which dot the Mongolian landscape, are also known as ‘yurts' but this term was introduced by Western invaders and is considered offensive to native Mongolians.
 
The design of the ger has evolved over time to suit the lifestyle of its occupants: nomadic herdsmen can pack up their ger in less then half an hour, ready to be transported to new grazing grounds. What’s more, a ger offers comfortable, if basic, accommodation all year long, providing warmth during the near-arctic winters and shade from the scorching summer sun.

Although gers are rapidly being replaced by bricks and mortar in the towns and cities, most Mongolians still prefer their traditional way and spend their summer holidays camping out in a ger. 


Design and Symbolism
Gers are assembled with a whole lot more in mind than simple practicality. There’s a whole set of religious and traditional customs that dictate the design and layout of the interior. The door of a ger always faces south. It is thought that the spirit of the house resides on the threshold, and guests should always take care not to step on it to avoid offending their host.

There are no windows, but a hole known as a ‘toona’ provides ventilation and allows smoke from the hearth or ‘golomt’ to escape through the roof.

The hearth is the central feature of the ger. It symbolizes the family’s ancestral ties and the three stones on which it is mounted represent the host, the hostess, and the daughter-in-law who is to bear the family an heir. It is forbidden and considered and insult to stretch your legs toward the hearth, throw rubbish into it, or bring sharp objects close to it.

The male quarters is situated to the west of the hearth and is thought to be under the protection of heaven, and the female quarters to the east, under the protection of the sun. Individuals should move towards the appropriate area on entering the ger.

The family altar is situated along the back wall, where Buddhist paraphernalia and treasured family possessions are kept. The area immediately before this is known as the ‘khoimor’ and it reserved for the elders. On the photo on the left Cleidi is sitting on the far right next to a Mongolian couple, enjoying a traditional sutetse, milk tea. (Click on image for a closer view.)

It is for sure an unforgettable experience to spend a few days living in a traditional Mongolian ger. The hospitality and warm welcome given by Mongolians will make you feel at home. You are more than welcome to came and experience it.
 
Elbert and Cleidi

Elbert and Cleidi Kuhn served as missionaries to Mongolia. Click the links below to read their blogs.

Meet the Kuhns
Welcome to Mongolia
How Everything Started
 

---

Seven Color Mountains, Argentina 

The breathtaking Seven Color Mountains are a range in in Northern Argentina. The rugged natural beauty of these mountains is caused by mineral deposits in the rock, resulting in colors of reds, ochres, purples, greens, and browns. The range is famously known as "Siete Colores."

Here, too, live many of Argentina’s Amerindians, its native peoples. Quaint adobe houses line narrow streets, and life flows more slowly here.

But the expansion of the Adventist Church in this region is moving rapidly. Perhaps because people here have fewer resources than people in the large cities, they are more open to faith. Churches and companies have sprung up throughout this area. Many of these companies do not have land or a building to call their own. They meet in homes, rented rooms, or whatever they can find.

Part of the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering from second quarter 2006 helped build church homes for 17 companies in Argentina. Thank you for the support of the mission work in Argentina and  across the globe. 

Photo credit: Charlotte Ishkanian, editor of Mission, Adventist Mission. 
 

---

Tree Roots and Temples, Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Tree roots strangle parts of the ancient ruins of the Ta Prohm temple in Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Built in the 12^th century, the temples were first Hindu then later Buddhist. While never abandoned, the temple complexes were ill maintained for hundreds of years. Trees took root in the soil on the roofs and grew long roots that meander through the grounds searching for deep soil.

Cambodia is a country in Southeast Asia bordered by Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. Its 13 million people are primarily Buddhists, but some ethnic groups are Muslim while others are animist.

The Khmer Rouge regime took power in Cambodia in 1975, and lasted through the 1980s. During this deadly regime between 1.5 and 3 million Cambodians died in the violence or died while trying to flee the country. Millions fled the country, many to refugee camps on the border with Thailand. There, some accepted Christianity and were grounded in their faith. When these new believers returned to their homeland in the 1990s, they took with them their new faith. From these fragile beginnings, a healthy church is growing up in Cambodia. The 2006 figures set the Adventist Church membership at 5,422, or one Adventist for every 260 people in the country.

Part of the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering in 2005 helped to build classrooms at a large Adventist boarding school in the capital city of Phnom Penh.


First building at the Cambodian Adventist School in Phnom Penh.

 Students in uniform at Cambodian Adventist School.

 Photo credits: Charlotte Ishkanian, editor of Mission, Adventist Mission. 
 

---

Kissing Cousins, Bulgaria

This is a picture of Mikaela and Kristian, cousins who live in Bulgaria.While Kristian may look like an ordinary three year-old boy, he is actually alive today because of a miracle.

Kristian’s mother noticed he had a lump on his body when he was about three weeks old. They took him to the doctor, who scheduled a surgery to have the growth removed. The surgery went fine, but a few days later Kristian’s parents received the test results. The lump was cancerous.

Kristian’s parents didn’t know what to do. How would a baby so small live through chemotherapy? Kristian’s chance of survival was about 30 percent. After much prayer, they decided to go through with the treatments. Because of the chemotherapy, Kristian lost his appetite and vomited frequently. His parents wanted to cry when they look into his sunken eyes. They decided to have their pastor anoint him. At the same time, his parents asked their friends and family to join them in prayer that day. From that day on, Kristian began to improve.

Today, Kristian is healthy and cancer-free. The doctors say the cancer would have come back by now if he were still at risk. Kristian’s parents thank God for working a miracle to save their baby boy.

Bulgaria is located in Southeastern Europe, sandwiched between Romania, Greece, and Turkey. This mountainous country is slightly larger than the U.S. state of Tennessee. About 5 percent of Bulgarians are the Romani, the ethnic group more commonly referred to as Gypsies. Out of a population of 7.3 million, 7,865 Bulgarians are Adventist. The bulk of the country, 83 percent, associates with the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Only a little more than 1 percent are Christian.

Photo credit: Charlotte Ishkanian, editor of Mission, Adventist Mission. 
 

---

Auto Rickshaw, India

Auto rickshaws like this one crowd the roadways throughout India. These vehicles provide cheap transportation in every city and town with their characteristic putt-putt engines.

They carry as many as five or six children to school, business people to work, and tourists around town.

India is the second-most populous country in the world, with more than 1.1 billion people. This crowded land is one-third the size of the United States but has three times the population. The Adventist message is spreading rapidly throughout this division, and today more than a million Adventists live and worship here.
 

---

Flying With the Lord, Indonesia

Medical flights every Sunday were a highlight of our 1.5 years in Ethiopia. Then on to Tanzania for four months with a Turbo 206 and my first encounter with a nose wheel. Then the call to migrate next door to Zaire and my first flight there was two weeks after our second son was born in October 1977. And again back to a Cessna 185 but this time a 1975 model.




Zaire was home until May of 1992. My wife Jan had a large clinic with a mother-child health program. I had fun putting together a solar powered dental clinic complete with high speed drill, light, x-ray, and ultra sonic cleaner. In 1980 I got a new Cessna 206. Nice but breathless at our 6,000 foot elevation.

Singapore was our stopping point waiting for the magic visa to live in Irian Jaya which is now called Papua. We arrived in August 1992. I had two Cessna 185 and one Super Cub but only one Cessna flying. With time and money  we got all three flying and have since sold two of the planes, keeping the one C-185 and buying a 1976 Pilatus Porter (PC6). 


To date I have accumulated just more than 20,000 hours of flying with 19,500 hours being overseas and 14,500 of that time here in Papua alone. Like the sign my sister sent me says, "God is my Pilot, I'm just the Co-Pilot."

During that time I have had a couple forced landings when the engine decided to take a rest. It is rewarding that both of my sons have become mission pilots. Our family has well over 30,000 hours of overseas mission flying .The photo on the right shows Jan and me at a celebration honoring my 20,00 flight hours.

The airstrips here can be challenging to say the least!

My most memorable medical patient was a fellow with a scrotal hernia. He he had his intestines hanging down to his knees. When asked how long he had been this way the response was, "Three days".  Most of us would have already been dead from infection. So we are just the messenger, to show in some small way Christ's love for us.

---

Floating Market, Thailand

Referred to as the Venice of the East, this floating market is 70 miles from Bangkok, Thailand.

Tourists flock here from all over the world for the unique experience of shopping on the water. 

You can rent boats and float down the canals to buy fruits, vegetable, and souvenirs or just to savor the cacophany of brilliant colors and savory smells. Local vendors in flat boats piled with produce compete eagerly with each other for your business.

The market is open from early  morning through noon daily. But it's recommended that one arrive early to avoid the crowds.

Thank you for your support of the mission work in Thailand.

Photograph by Rick McEdward.  Rick served as a missionary in Sri Lanka and the Philippines. He is currently an associate director at the Institute of World Mission in Berrien Springs, Michigan, U.S.A.

Join Rick on a two-week, action-packed trip through Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. 
 

---

Cleaning Up Mumbai,
India

On a hot day in Mumbai, India, several boys get assigned a refreshing job.They scrub the columns of a government building while a fire truck sprays water far above them, drenching the front of the building in an artificial rain.

Mumbai, sometimes better known as Bombay, is the largest city in India and one of the largest in the world.An estimated 19 million people live in Mumbai.Located on Salsette Island off the west coast of India, Mumbai is one of India's largest ports handling half of the country's passenger traffic annually.  

Large cities like Mumbai provide unique challenges to spreading the gospel.Historically the Seventh-day Adventist message has been much better received in rural areas.In the past several years new initiatives have been started that specifically target the masses of unreached people in urban centers such as Mumbai. 

Please pray for the missionaries who are working to bring the good news of Jesus to cities around the world.

---

Little Shepherdess, Mongolia

This little girl is holding a lamb inside her traditional Mongolian home called a ger.

The nomads of Central Asia have dwelt in portable tents called gers for thousands of years. These conical, felt-covered constructions, which dot the Mongolian landscape, are also known as yurts but this term was introduced by Western invaders and is considered offensive to native Mongolians.
 
The design of the ger has evolved over time to suit the lifestyle of its occupants: nomadic herdsmen can pack up their ger in less then half an hour to go in search of new grazing grounds. What’s more, a ger offers comfortable, if basic, accommodation all year long, providing warmth during the near-arctic winters and shade from the scorching summer sun.

As Adventist missionaries, Elbert and Cleidi Kuhn shared the love of Jesus with the Mongolian people. To meet the Kuhns and read their blogs, click here.

Photo credit: Elbert Kuhn.


 

---

China's Own Harry Anderson

Li Wai San has been called the Harry Anderson of China. He has dedicated his life to portraying Christ to the Chinese people, contextualizing Christianity to the Asian mindset. He wants the Chinese people to know that Jesus loves them.

China claims more than 1.3 billion people, 353,000 Adventists, and 930 Adventist churches.

In the past your mission offerings have helped to build churches and produce radio broadcasting in China.

Part of the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering for fourth quarter 2008 helped produce Adventist television programs in Mandarin Chinese. It was a wonderful and rare opportunity to share the message of God's love with the people of China.

Please pray that the Spirit of God will be poured out upon the Chinese, preparing them to embrace His message of hope and love.

Photo and thoughts by Charlotte Ishkanian, editor of Mission, Adventist Mission. 

---

Woman Washing, 
India

Lots of questions go through my mind when I think about this woman in Varanasi, India. I wonder how many times she's come to the “holy” river Ganga? I wonder how many more times she'll be able to come. Is she just trying to get clean physically? Does she think she'll earn merit and be reincarnated to a better life?

How would her life change if someone shared Jesus with her? Would a three week series of meetings be enough to really change her life or does she need to see a follower of Jesus living in her community before she can grasp the difference knowing Him can make? 

Nearby I saw people scrubbing their cows, brushing their teeth, washing their clothes, and ceremoniously dipping shrouded dead bodies in its dirty brown water before placing them on the huge piles of logs to be cremated. Some may live here in Varanasi and come to the river to care for their mundane chores on a daily basis. Others have probably come on a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to dip themselves in its holy waters. And suddenly I found myself wondering if I was really that different than these people. 

I may not be tempted to bathe next to cows and dead bodies in a dirty river no matter how holy some say it is. But have I grown so comfortable with the abundance of spiritual opportunities that surround me that I no longer see their benefit?  Do I leave the life giving “waters” nearby and go on some long search for some big and special event or experience that I hope will really change my life? Could I be nonchalantly contaminating the worship environment of those around me?

Photo and thoughts by Homer Trecartin, former missionary and associate secretary of the General Conference.

---

Traditional Welcome,
Bangladesh

A comprehensive church and school building program has given vital support to new church members and congregations established by Global Mission pioneers in Bangladesh--one of the world's poorest countries. Through the support of laypeople Garwin and Marilee McNeilus, who have a strong burden for the people of Bangladesh, there are now several beautiful schools throughout the country. These include Monosopara and the Seventh-day Adventist Maranatha Seminary (SAMS), which educate thousands of children and care for hundreds of orphans.These students welcome Adventist Mission staff with a traditional greeting.

Photo credit: Gary Krause, director, Adventist Mission.

---

Ice Cathedral, Russia

This ice cathedral, modeled after the famous St. Basil’s Cathedral in Red Square in Moscow, was built on the shores of Lake Baikal in central Russia. Lake Baikal is the world’s deepest lake and the largest fresh-water lake in Europe and Asia.

The city of Irkutsk, near the southern edge of Lake Baikal, is a thriving industrial center and university city of more than a half-million people. In this city a simple church is being built from cinderblock, to serve the residents of this thriving city. While it won’t look anything like the ice cathedral, it will call people to the Savior.

Believers in Irkutsk have been working on their church for several years, and many have given their savings to help make their church a reality. Part of the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering for first quarter 2008 helped this congregation complete its church, so that it can shine as a light across the city of Irkutsk.

Photo credit: Charlotte Ishkanian, editor of Mission, Adventist Mission. 


 

---

Early Morning Chai,
India

Bundled up after a cool night, this patron of a street vendor drinks his early morning chai (spiced tea) from a clay cup in Varanasi, India.

Varanasi, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities dating back some 3,000 to 5,000 years. This city has had many names over years, including Kashi or Benares.

Each day thousands of Hindu believers flock to the Ganges river that flows through the city to bathe or offer prayers or offerings. Buddhists also venerate the city since Buddha is said to have preached his first sermon here, making Varanasi the birthplace of Buddhism.

With a population of more than 1 million people, there are relatively few Adventists in Varanasi and Global Mission pioneers working in the area have suffered beatings and been thrown into jail.

Photo and thoughts by Rick Kajiura, communication director, Adventist Mission.

---

Israeli Boys,
 Israel

These lively students from a nearby Jewish yeshiva  had just finished their prayers at the Western Wall (also known as the Wailing Wall) in Old Jerusalem. Bursting with laughter, energy, and good humor, they were just like other boys their age in other cultures.

As they congregated outside the holy area, the headmaster chided them, urging them to settle down while they waited for the rest of their classmates before heading back to school.

A typical day at a yeshiva would include the study of Torah, Talmud, and other religious texts pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history.

Part of the first quarter 2004 Thirteenth Sabbath Offering helped build up congregations in Israel and provided housing for existing congregations.Currently, we have more than 800 Adventist believers and 15 Adventist churches in Israel.

Photo credit: Nancy Kyte, marketing director, Adventist Mission

---

Holy Man Reading, India

There were people everywhere. People in rickshaws. People on motorcycles and bicycles. People walking. People trying to sell shoes, tires, cloth, hot tea, or dried cow dung patties for cooking the evening meal. And then I passed by this man’s quiet little plot of dirt and concrete.

He had fenced himself off from the hustle and bustle of humanity. Put up some tarps to protect him from the sun, wind, and rain. And when I walked past he was reading peacefully – just as though there wasn’t a world rushing past his little enclosure.

I don’t know his purpose. I don’t know if he was as calm inside as he appeared on the outside. I don’t know what he was reading, what he ate, what he did with his time, what he believed or didn’t believe. In some ways I admired his ability to carve a bit of peace in the midst of the bustle and noise all around him. No, I wasn’t in danger of letting my hair grow and covering myself with white powder. But I realized suddenly I do almost the same thing in my own way.

It is so easy to try and shut myself away from the people around me, to put up a wall and carve out a “safe” place in the midst of a hectic life. I can read a good book – even one about witnessing. I can sit quietly and meditate on what it means to be a follower of Jesus in these last days.  I can deny myself the normal pleasures of life. But what am I accomplishing?

Oh, I know that we need times of reflection, times to “come apart and rest a while,” but if what I have is what the world needs to hear, how long can I sit there with my legs crossed while they rush by my peaceful little enclave?

Photo and thoughts by Homer Trecartin, former missionary and associate secretary of the General Conference.

---

 

Iguassu Falls, Brazil

Iguassu Falls in Brazil gets its name from the Guarani Indian term for "Great Water." Looking at the falls from any viewpoint, you  can see that they weren't far off calling it that.

These falls are so impressive, that when Eleanor Roosevelt first saw them, she was reported to say, "Poor Niagara."

Near the falls is a lush tropical forest, with iguanas, deer, and plenty of beautiful vegetation. On both sides of the waterfalls, Argentina and Brazil, there are state parks to preserve the beauty and wonder at the falls.

Thank you for your support of the mission work in Brazil, Argentina, and across the world.

Photo credit: Charlotte Ishkanian, editor of Mission, Adventist Mission. 

---

Weary Pathfinder,
Mexico

The Metropolitan Mexican Conference, which includes Mexico City, has 23,000 members in 52 churches. Most members of these churches stay at church all day on Sabbath, so family members can take part in various programs, including Adventurers and Pathfinders. I guess that after three hours of Sabbath School and church plus a warm fellowship dinner, this little guy was just too tired to keep up. You could say he was taking his siesta!

Mexico City proper has a population approaching 20 million, making it one of the largest cities in the world. While the ratio of Adventists to population throughout the country of Mexico is about one in every 250, the ratio in Mexico city is roughly 1 in 1,000. Reaching Mexico City for Christ poses a huge challenge for the church.  

Photo and thoughts by Charlotte Ishkanian, editor of Mission, Adventist Mission. 
 

---

Young Warrior,
Papua New Guinea

This photograph of a young boy carrying a bow was taken in Papua New Guinea by former Adventist missionary Colin Richardson. 

Papua New Guinea is a mountainous island nation. The main island lies just north of Australia. The pointy part of Australia points directly to Papua New Guinea, which shares the island of New Guinea with Papua, a province of Indonesia.

About 6.3 million people live in Papua New Guinea. While the cities are modern, many people still live in small villages in the mountains. Although they may see a village on  another mountain ridge, it could take days to hike there, and it’s likely that they don’t speak the same dialect.

More than 700 different languages and dialects are spoken in Papua New Guinea.

The South Pacific Division has about 400,000 Seventh-day Adventists. That’s one Adventist for every 85 people. But more than half of those Adventists live in Papua New Guinea, where one person out of every 27 is an Adventist. Even so, hundreds of small villages hidden in the mountains and thousands of people walking the streets of the larger cities still don’t know that Jesus loves them, that He died for them. Thousands still worship gods of wood or stone or gods they cannot see but fear.

Part of our Thirteenth Sabbath Offering for fourth quarter 2009 helped further the spread of the gospel in the South Pacific Division.  

Photo credit: Colin Richardson, former missionary to Papua New Guinea. 
 

---

Making Pottery, Fiji

This Fijian woman, dressed in a traditional grass skirt, is demonstrating how to make a traditional pot in the Fijian Culture Center on the main island of Fiji.

Fijian population is roughly half native Fijian and half East Indian, brought to Fiji in the 19th century as workers in the island nation’s sugar cane fields.

Fiji has a population of about 864,000, with almost 27,500 Adventists. That is a ratio of one Adventist for every 31 people. The nation is home to Fulton College, the Adventist college that serves most of the islands of the South Pacific.

Part of the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering for fourth quarter 2006 helped move Fulton College to a new location to provide permanent stability, more efficient housing, and  more convenient access to international flights. 
 
Photo credit: Charlotte Ishkanian, editor of Mission, Adventist Mission. 
 

---

The Luzeiro,
Brazil

Adventist pioneer missionaries Leo and Jessie Halliwell spent 38 years serving in Brazil. For 27 of those years  they traveled up and down the Amazon River, bringing physical and spiritual healing to thousands living along its banks. 

When the Halliwell's began their Amazon ministry, they knew a large steamboat could never meet the challenges of the navigating the Amazon. They thought a launch would be most effective in reaching the 2 million people living along the 40,000 miles of navigable rivers forming the Amazon River basin. But no small boats were available. They would have to build their own!

Undaunted by his lack of knowledge, Leo set out to learn everything he could about boat building and navigating the Amazon. He designed a boat 33 feet long and 10 feet wide but when he showed his plans to the boatyard owner, the man was skeptical. "It'll  turn over the moment it hits the water," he said, sourly.

To get the lumber to build the boat, Leo hired a man who knew Brazilian woods. It took two months to gather the trees from the rain forest and bring them down the Amazon River to Belem where Leo and Jessie lived. Leo hacked out the hull himself and installed the engine ad wiring.
 
On July 4, 1931, about three months after they had begun their search for wood, the Luzeiro was launched. The launch was flawless. The Luzeiro slid into the water and floated exactly at the line Leo had marked as the center of buoyancy.

Leo and Jessie loaded the boat with food and medical supplies. That night as they lay upon the Luzeiro, Leo said, "I can honestly say that this is one of the happiest nights of my life."

Leo lay awake for some time that night, too excited to sleep. His dream was a reality, but even aboard the boat he could hardly believe what God had helped him and the others to accomplish. Leo had wanted to bring light to people and had thought in terms of electrical engineering. Instead, he and Jessie brought not only the first glimpse of electrical light to the Amazon Indians, but also spiritual light and physical healing to thousands.

It was the dream of spreading light that provided inspiration for the name of their boat. Luzeiro is the Portuguese word for "Lightbearer."

Had Leo known then that his one boat would be the first of a fleet, that the Brazilian government would copy his design and award him its highest medal of merit, Leo might not have slept at all that night. Now he and Jessie could go to the most remote places of the Amazon and reach people who had never heard the Adventist message.  

Sources: Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia (Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1996) and Light bearer to the Amazon by Katie Tonn-Oliver (Pacific Press, 1987). Photo credit: Charlotte Ishkanian. 

---

Ruins of Monte Alban, Mexico

Mexico City and its surrounding regions average one Adventist for every 1,000 people. The church tends to grow fastest among the poorer people who have little hope for a better life on this earth. But they can't afford to build a church in which to worship. 

---

---

New Sabbath School,
Papua New Guinea

This little girl is sitting on the frame of her new Sabbath School classroom. Her parents are members of the New Rocks Adventist Church outside Lae, Papua New Guinea. The church members built a pleasant church, but weren’t satisfied to let the children worship under a tree while they held classes inside the church. So they began building their children’s church, made up of several rooms, near the main church.

The children were eager to meet in their own classrooms, even though the walls weren’t yet built. They sang quietly so they wouldn’t disturb nearby classes and gathered close to their teacher for their lesson.

Adventists are well known in Papua New Guinea, with 236,000 members. That’s one Adventist for every 27 people. 

In 2003 a Thirteenth Sabbath Offering was designated to build churches in urban areas. These churches will help draw even more people to Christ in this mountainous country.

The most recent offering taken for Papua New Guinea, third quarter 2006, helped to purchase a new airplane to enable missionaries to make what would be week-long—or longer—journeys over dangerous mountain ranges in a matter of minutes. Thank you for helping advance the work for Christ in PNG.

Photo credit: Charlotte Ishkanian, editor of Mission, Adventist Mission. 

---

 

Mirzapur Children,
India

These children in Mirzapur, India, all seem to be having a good time. While many of them are street children who have next to nothing, they still have the ability to laugh and play as if nothing were wrong. Global Mission pioneers are helping to bring the hope of the gospel to them, so there is even more to smile about now.

Mirzapur is considered one of the most holy districts in India. The name is associated with the Goddess Lakshmi, who came from the sea. It’s also one of the poorest areas in India and many of its inhabitants face extreme conditions from lack of food and money, causing many families to live on the streets.

Mirzapur is located on the banks of the Ganges River near the cities of Bhorasar and Bharuhana. Mirzapur is located in Uttar Pradesh, India‚s most populous state. Mirzapur is in the Southern Asia Division, which contains some of the poorest regions in the world. The Adventist Church in India is rapidly growing and one of out every 1,362 people is an Adventist.

Photo and thoughts by Homer Trecartin, former missionary and associate secretary of the General Conference.

Read a blog from missionaries in India
 

---

Floating Clinic, Indonesia

The West Kalimantan field of the West Indonesia Union has only twelve organized churches to reach out to more than four million people. 

Through private donations to Global Mission a boat was built to be used as a medical launch along the Kapuas river. But after the boat was built there were no funds to operate it. Another donor set up funds to get the boat out of the dock and on to the river where it can provide much needed medical services for the people along the river banks. 

The mission of the boat is to provide a floating medical clinic and a floating witness. A staff of two, a nurse, and Global Mission pioneer makes contacts with people who live along the river banks and minister to their needs. As opportunities open, a Global Mission pioneer is placed in each village along the river bank. The long-term goal is to place 36 Global Mission pioneers in 36 villages that are serviced by the medical clinic. 

Funds have already been provided to build a chapel in each village where a new congregation is established.  The pioneers working in these villages will minister to the village spiritually and the boat will come to the village to help with the medical needs. 

On a recent trip Mike Ryan, General Conference Vice President, spent time on the boat traveling among the river villages. As the boat pulled up to the banks of the river at the village of Sam-set, the chief welcomed the team with open arms.  More than seventy people lined up to get medical treatments.  While the people were being treated, two global mission pioneers led out in children’s games and Bible songs and also visited the people in their homes to pray with them.  The children of the village all come running when the boat arrives so they can sing and play together.  The nurse and the pioneers are building strong relationships with the leaders and the people of these villages. 

As the boat motored up the river, villagers along the banks wove towels to urge the boat to come to their village next.  Because of the boat medical ministry contact was made through the inland village of Samantall where relatives of those who live along the river banks have built homes. After conducting Bible studies in the village of Samantall for four months over seventy people decided to be baptized.  In September of 2007 the village of Samantall has seventy new members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 

After only six months of ministry along the Kapuas river there are now seventeen global mission pioneers working in villages, serving the people and establishing new congregations to build up God’s kingdom. 

Thank you so much for your support of Global Mission. If you'd like to support Global Mission projects, click here.


Watch the Adventist Mission DVD video, The  Floating Clinic

---

A Tribute to Fathers and Grandfathers 
  Around the World

---

---

Cuba	Cambodia	Myanmar
India	Uzbekistan	Indonesia
Bangladesh	Papua New Guinea	Kyrgyzstan
Pakistan	Thailand	United States

---

Spinning Wool, Ecuador

This Quechua woman is spinning wool at a cultural center called Mitad del Mundo. Located near Quito, Ecuador, the museum depicts the traditions of the Amerindian people who live in and near the Andes.

Mitad del Mundo means "middle of the world” in Spanish. Between the years 1979 and 1982, a 30-meter-tall monument was built to mark the point where the equator was thought to pass through the country. It is now known, through GPS technology, that the structure is about 240 meters south of the true equator. 

The Ecuador Adventist Technical Institute shares classrooms and dormitory facilities with the Adventist secondary school in Santo Domingo, Ecuador. In order to be accredited, the church needed to upgrade the school buildings to meet government standards. Part of the second quarter 2008 Thirteenth Sabbath Offering helped renovate these buildings. 

The Adventist Church in Ecuador has several radio stations called Radio Nuevo Tiempo. Part of the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering for third quarter 2008 helped improve the broadcast capabilities of these stations and link them into a more effective network, so that programs could be produced at a central location for use throughout the country.

Photo credit: Charlotte Ishkanian, editor of Mission, Adventist Mission. 

---

A Snowstorm in Bangkok!
Thailand

Discover what it's like to be a missionary kid in Hannah's other fun blogs: 
     I Like Millipedes
     Missionary Work Is Fun
     Pray for the Boys and Girls of Thonburi
     Sabbath in Thailand
     Sharing Jesus Under a Tree 

Meet the Venns

The Venn's ministry
     Hope for Bangkok (what is it?)
     What's Happening in Bangkok Now?
     God's Love Melts Bangkok Ice (olation)
     Jacob's Story 
     The Love Magnet

Blogs by Dawn
     Fish Out of Water
     Mislabeled 
     Would You Like Some Shampoo?

Blogs by Josh
     Crossing Into the Danger Zone
     "Driving" an Elephant 
     My Trip to Bamboo School

---

Intrepid Pioneer Missionaries, William and Nora Anderson, Africa

William Harrison Anderson, or Harry Anderson as his friends called him, served as a pioneer missionary to Africa from 1895-1944.

Anderson and his wife, Nora, arrived in South Africa in 1895 and proceeded by train to Mafeking. They then spent six weeks traveling by ox wagon to the site of Solusi Mission in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe).

In 1903 Anderson traveled by train and foot to search for a place to start a new Adventist mission in Zambia. He found a piece of land about 400 km north of Victoria Falls and named it Rusangu Mission. Today Rusangu Mission consists of The Rusangu Basic School, the Rusangu High School, the recently established Zambia Adventist University, and the South Zambia Conference office.


Zambia Adventist University was established in 2003 to provide a Christian education for Adventist and non-Adventists in Zambia. The school has been operating out of repurposed and temporary buildings as it struggles to raise funds to build up its campus. Part of the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering for second quarter 2009 helped provide a library to house the university’s 42,000 books, most of which are in storage until a suitable building can be completed.

Photograph: Pioneer missionary William Harrison Anderson with F. R. Stockil, superintendent of the South Rhodesia Mission field, trekking by ox wagon to Southern Rhodesia. Courtesy of General Conference Archives.


 

Land Marker for W. H. Anderson, Zambia

1903 Arrival Year
5,436 Acre Land
Granted by
Chief Monze
1905 Work Began
Pioneers
W. H. Anderson
Jacob Detcha
P. Malomo
J. M. Mpofu
A Nyakana
 

Photo credit: Charlotte Ishkanian, editor of Mission, Adventist Mission. 

---

 

Giant Anaconda,
Brazil

Leo and Jessie Halliwell, pioneer medical missionaries to Brazil for 38 years, holding the skin of a 20 foot giant anaconda.

In 1956 the Halliwells left the Amazon to work in Rio de Janeiro. There, Leo assumed fleet command of all of the boats named after the first Luzeiro. They had lived in the river world for twenty-seven years. As a result of their work, they had seen many changes along the riverways.

Clinics had been established along the river. A hospital had been built in Belem. It was operated by Brazilian doctors and nurses and was fully recognized by the country's medical and government agencies. The medical facility was open to people of all faiths, and the doctors often operated free of charge. Leo and Jessie treated more than a quarter million Brazilians and Indians for a host of diseases and shared with them the gospel message.

In recognition of Leo and Jessie's service, the government awarded each of them the Brazilian Cross. It was one of the highest honors the Brazilian government could bestow, and it was the first time a woman had been so honored. The Brazilian government also pledged almost a million dollars to Seventh-day Adventist missions over the next ten years.

By  the time Leo and Jessie left the river, five Luzeiros served the rivers of South America, all built on the pattern of the original, all manned by mechanically-trained church members.

Sources: Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia (Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1996) and Light bearer to the Amazon by Katie Tonn-Oliver (Pacific Press, 1987).

To learn more about the Luzeiro, click here.
 

---

 

Akha Boy, Thailand

This boy is from the Akha tribe in Northern Thailand. He was with several friends who were just the happiest kids I have ever seen. The Akha tribe is in Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos. Tribes are often spread across national boundaries in Southeast Asia.

Every Akha village can be distinguished by the carved wooden gates, which are believed to be presided over by guardian spirits. While the Akha tribe may be the most poor of the hill tribes, they are also the most well known for their exotic appearance, black caps covered in silver coins, and various accessories of bamboo and rattan.

The Akha tribe is also one of the most superstitious tribes of all of the hill tribes. They have precise rules that determine every action a person takes and the effects of the actions. These rules are made as a result of their belief that their actions directly affect the world around them, a world that they respect.  

The last mission offering to go to Thailand was in 1998. It helped the construction of the Thailand Mission College, Muak lek Campus.



Photograph by Rick McEdward.  Rick served as a missionary in Sri Lanka and the Philippines. He is currently an associate director at the Institute of World Mission in Berrien Springs, Michigan, U.S.A.

---

Their One Meal,
Lesotho

Welcome to Lesotho, a country in southern Africa. A lot of the children in this town are orphans. Their parents have died from AIDS. Now they live with their relatives. But they don’t always have enough food. So sometimes they have to find their own food. Some of them wake up hungry every day.

But, now, as the sun sets they know it is time to eat. Children run down the road to a mud brick house where some women are cooking corn meal mash for their dinner. These women are members of the Seventh-day Adventist church across the street.

Inside the house the women prepare the mash. Every day children wait eagerly for their turn to eat. Mama, the woman in the big white hat, spoons out warm mash into a bowl and another woman pours milk over it. The children are glad that Mama and her friends feed them good food.




Now, when the orphans go to school they don’t hear their growling tummies. They find it much easier to learn how to read and to do their math.

Thank you for giving to the World Mission Offering which supports the mission work of the Seventh-day Adventist Church around the world.

Photo credit: Hans Olson, communication projects manager, Adventist Mission. 
 

---

Pink "Temple"
India

Part of a festival in India, this "building" is constructed of carved and painted Styrofoam and pink cloth stretched over wooden frames.

India is the second-most populous country in the world, with more than 1.1 billion people. Less than 3 percent believe in Jesus.
This crowded land is one-third the size of the United States but has three times the population.

The Adventist message is spreading rapidly throughout this division, and today more than a million Adventists live and worship here.

Photo credit: Rick Kajiura, communication director, Adventist Misison.


Read a missionary blog from India.
 

---

Floating Candles,
India

On the banks of the Ganges River, a young girl sets candles afloat in Varanasi, Hinduism's holiest city.

At dusk hundreds of candles can be seen floating down the river weaving their way among the boatloads of visitors.

Recently declared a national river of India, the Ganges has long been considered a holy river by the Hindus.

Along the banks, you can see young and old taking ritual baths, worshipers praying, and mourners cremating their dead.  Some 80 percent of India's 1.1 billion people are Hindu and Hinduism is the third largest world religion with more than 800 million believers. There are some 1.3 million Seventh-day Adventists in India.

Please pray for these Adventist believers in India.

Photo credit: Gary Krause, director, Adventist Mission
 

---

 

"Fighter"for God,
Africa

Adventist missionaries Dr. Johnny and Ida Johnson

Dr. Johnson likes to talk about the time that he was a "fighter for men" and how he became a "fighter for God!" Dr. Johnson was literally on a career path to becoming a great Middleweight champion having won numerous titles during his boxing career. But God had other plans for this stalwart giant of a man.

In an evangelistic meeting conducted by Elder H. W. Kibble, Dr. Johnson accepted the Advent Message. Dr. Johnson thanks God that instead of training to use his God given strength to physically destroy bodies, God called him through the preaching of the gospel to save lives.

Dr. Johnson and his wife, Ida, served in Liberia at Konola Academy, in Ghana at Bekwai Secondary School and Teaching Training College, and in Nigeria at the hospital and nursing school in Ile Ife.

The story of  Johnny and Ida Johnson can be read in Precious Memories of Missionaries of Color by Carol H. Hammond, Ph.D. Dr. Hammond is currently an adjunct professor at Bowie State University and Columbia Union College in Maryland. Her book can be purchased at Barnes & Nobles, Amazon.com, Christian bookstores, and online at www.pleasantwordbooks.com, or by calling the toll-free number, 1-877-421-READ ( 24 hours).   

---

Echidna,
Papua New Guinea

The spiny echidna is not the type of animal you would want to roll over onto while on a camping trip. There are two types of spiny echidnas, the long beaked and the short beaked. The long-beaked, as shown in this photograph, is native to only Papua New Guinea.

Long-beaked echidnas eat mainly earthworms, and are on the endangered species list as a result of habitat destruction.The spines on the echidna are basically modified hairs.

Looking at another one of God's interesting creatures, we get yet another chance to learn more about God's creative side.

Thank you for your support of the mission work in Papua New Guinea and across the globe.

Photo credit: Charlotte Ishkanian; thoughts by Kati Pettit, Adventist Mission intern.

Read a missionary blog from Papua New Guinea
 

---

Dwelling With Style,
Ghana

The Gourounsi people of Ghana are famous for their beautifully decorated mud-brick dwellings. This particular hut is the home of a village chief.

Ghana is a country in West Africa bordered by Côte d'Ivoire on the the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to the east.


The Seventh-day Adventist Church in West Africa owes its beginning to Francis I. U. Dolphijn, according to Ghanaian scholar Dr. Kofi Owusu-Mensa. Dolphijn was an African who in 1888 started keeping the Sabbath after reading a pamphlet he received from a ship captain. Dolphijn accepted his new faith wholeheartedly and set out to build up the Adventist church in Ghana. He began corresponding with the Adventist headquarters in the United States, requesting additional reading material and for the church to send official resident missionaries to his country. Dolphijn's efforts resulted in a Seventh-day Adventist minister coming to Ghana to assess the prospects of Adventism in that country. Upon his recommendation, the General Conference sent the church's first foreign resident missionaries to Ghana in 1894.

Francis Dolphijn was one of the first Adventist literature evangelists in Ghana where he also served as an itinerant preacher and interpreter for the foreign missionaries. His home, Apam, became the first Seventh-day Adventist headquarters in Ghana until Cape Coast took over in late 1894.

---

Three Holy Men, Nepal

Nepal sits on the northeastern border of India. Its varied altitude creates a wide range of climatic zones as the land climbs toward the peaks of the Himalayan Mountains.

---

Hard Work, Indonesia

Rice paddies, like this one, are a vital part of life in rural Indonesia. A dietary staple in most of Southern Asia, rice provides 50-80% of the average person's daily calories. The semi-aquatic environment needed to grow rice is maintained by monsoon, floodwaters, and irrigation.

Growing rice remains an extremely labor intensive task in most of Indonesia. Farmers spend long, backbreaking days cultivating and harvesting their crop. Approximately 11% of the world's arable is used for rice growing in the Philippines.

Indonesia is an archipelago composed of over 17,500 islands, with a total land area approximately three times the size of Texas. Only roughly 6,000 of the islands are inhabited, leaving many of the smaller islands empty and wild. Situated strategically between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, Indonesia controls important sea-lanes. 86% of Indonesians are Muslim, making Indonesia home to the largest Muslim population in the world.

The last 13th Sabbath Mission Offering to go to Indonesia was in July of 2002. The offering went towards the Manado Adventist Medical Clinic at East Indonesia Union Mission and to medical clinics and chapels at West Indonesia Union Mission in West Kalimantan.

Photo credit: Rick Kajiura, communication director, Adventist Mission 

 

---

They Had Grit!
Southeast Asia

Missionary pioneers Dick and Jean Hall with their three children, Janice, left, Mark, center, and Riki, right.

Dick and Jean served in Southeast Asia for twenty five years, including the countries of Thailand, Laos, and Borneo.

There were  some 13 tribes living in Laos when the Hall family lived there, and each could be identified by its particular costume. Jean, Dick, and Mark are wearing Hmong hill tribe dress. Janice is wearing formal Lao dress, and Riki is wearing a Lao villager dress.

The clothes are all hand woven, hand stitched, and hand embroidered.

Photo courtesy the Hall family.


Read the Hall family's story, They Had Grit!

 

---

Camels in Gobi, Mongolia

Pastor Elbert Kuhn and his wife Cleidi are missionaries in Mongolia. Pastor Kuhn recently took this photograph while traveling near the Gobi Desert.

"I was traveling to baptize 15 people in the small town of Gobi-Altai," says Pastor Kuhn, "and while we were on our way, we got lost. That's not uncommon on these Mongolian 'highways!'

"To our relief, we met this group of nomads. They were traveling with all their belongings on the backs of camels. They helped us find our way."

As missionaries to Mongolia, Elbert and Cleidi Kuhn had many opportunities to share the love of Jesus. To read their blog, click here.

Photo credit: Elbert Kuhn.

---

 

Cooling Off Missionary Style,
Guam

---

From Our Gang to the Mission Field

Dan Smith, Senior Pastor, La Sierra University Church

The other day we received a DVD with clips of the “Our Gang” comedy series. We played it, and there was my father! He was Waldo in the old “Little Rascals” film, and this was a program that featured him, “Waldo’s Last Stand.”

My father, before becoming an Adventist and a missionary/pastor, was in the movies for nine years — he was baptized during an evangelistic meeting near Hollywood, CA.

Actually, our family’s Adventist roots go back several generations. My great-grandfather was an Adventist pastor and Conference president, and even further back were Adventist pioneers in Minnesota. But there were misunderstandings, and all that goes with it, and my father’s mother and siblings all left the church for years.

During the Depression my grandparents moved with my father to Hollywood, having fallen in love with the sunshine, orange trees, and the dream of having their son make millions in the movies.

They gave him piano and tap dancing lessons, found an agent, had 8' x 10' glossy pictures taken, and soon he began to build a portfolio of small roles. Then he got lucky, getting a role in the Little Rascals, and going to school on the set, with Spanky, Alfalfa, Darla Hood, Robert Blake, and all the others. He also had a featured role in Best Foot Forward with Lucille Ball!

His grandfather, Elder Reuben Kite, started sending him various religious books, hoping to introduce his grandson to God and the church even though his daughter had left it all behind. Eventually my father secretly went to some evangelistic meetings, and secretly got baptized. However, a few months later, my grandmother found his baptismal certificate, and the secret was out!

He finished high school at Hollywood High, and then went into the Army, serving some time in Korea before the war there. When he returned, he decided to go to La Sierra College where he met, and eventually married, Jean Venden. He graduated from La Sierra and became a pastor in the Southeastern California Conference.

I was a year old, when they attended the General Conference Session in San Francisco. When an appeal was made for mission service, my parents looked at each other, and decided to stand up. Someone gave them a card to sign, and that was the last they heard.

Then out of nowhere they got a message, asking them whether they would consider going as missionaries to Thailand. They didn’t even know where that was, having only known of Siam!They had to get out a new atlas and find where it was!They agonized about taking three babies (four years, two years, and five months) to a foreign land. They finally decided that they couldn’t bear going to heaven someday and meeting the person who decided to go in our place!

So we went.

My first memories are of getting ready, getting shots, and packing up to go. I remember getting on the old freighter ship, saying goodbye to everybody we knew, riding on this old freighter for six weeks, getting off in Bangkok, riding the train up to Chiangmai, and our first house (which is still there, 47 years later)–no cupboards (we used the boxes our beds came in)–no hot water–no kitchen inside the house.

For the most part we traveled by bicycles. We did get a WWII jeep to get around in. That jeep was the bus service for nearly the entire church, making three round trips before and after every church service—that was the only way members could come to church. Once, there were 25 people on the jeep and sitting on the spare tire in the back. Eventually we got a VW microbus, and we had up to 40 in there!

We ended up spending 15 years in Thailand. My father was a church pastor, hospital chaplain, departmental secretary, and eventually the mission president. We were homeschooled for years. After our move to Bangkok, we attended the school for children of missionaries. When we were old enough for high school we attended Far Eastern Academy in Singapore.

I remember my parents as examples of what a missionary should be: humble, hardworking, building needed buildings, helping people, giving Bible studies, running branch Sabbath Schools, holding evangelistic efforts.

I remember one incident where my father, coming back from a trip up country, had gashes in his hips after being thrown off the top of the bus he was traveling on and sailing through the air into the mud of a dried-up river bed.

Eventually we had to come back, so my brothers and I could go to college. We spent years here without having any real chance to return to Thailand. But in 1995 I got to go back to do a Week of Prayer in Bangkok, and since then we have returned every two years to be involved in mission. I am still amazed at the respect and reverence that many of the old-time workers and members still have for my parents. They come, bowing low, with gifts of food, mangos and sticky rice (our favorite dessert). Though I’m sure those early years were incredibly difficult for them, with three little boys, not knowing the language, with no email, no international phone service, no way of contacting their families except by airmail letters, going years without any visits–seeing those early converts still faithful makes it all worth it. To see young pastors–who they recruited, trained, and served with– become old pastors has been very moving.

My father pastored in all of the California conferences after my parents came back. We four sons all grew up, and are now all also pastors here in southern California. My father eventually retired, and moved back to La Sierra, and helped in my church with visitation and giving Bible studies.

In 2002, I was at a meeting with the leadership of “Faith for Today” when the phone rang, and my church secretary said, “Your father has been hit in a hit-and-run accident.” I had no idea what that meant–did that mean he had a wrenched knee, or what? My brother worked there with the “Voice of Prophecy”, and so we called the hospital, trying to get the news. It finally became clear that this was very serious, and we jumped in a car and raced the 100 miles to the hospital, hoping against hope that he would somehow pull through. A small truck had gone out of control, driven up on the sidewalk where he was walking, and hit him so hard that he flew through the air 25-30 feet before hitting a mailbox and slumping to the ground. We got there while he was unconscious but still alive, but by 8:30 that night it was clear he wasn’t going to make it. We stood around his bedside there in ICU as he slipped away and the heart monitor counted down to zero.

There were more 1,200 people at the funeral in our church here at La Sierra. Thai people. Fellow pastors. Church members from all his churches. People he had visited. People he had given Bible studies to and baptized. People whose problems he helped solve. We listened to story after story of the simple acts of Christian service he had done for so many people. That day 1,200 people stood to say goodbye to someone who had poured out 72 years of being a Christian servant.

Because Mission work, and the work in Thailand specifically, was so important to my father our family continues to support the Mission offerings and the work that it does in that area. We also work beyond our giving to the Mission offering, and that has led to our family building a church in Thailand. This church in Thailand stands as a testimony to God’s leading in our lives and my father’s example to all of us. All of tihs because our parents lived a life dedicated to taking the gospel to the Mission field — where ever God lead.

When he is resurrected, my father will hear the words I have for him “Dad, this is the best I could do. I hope it honors you. I owe everything I am, and everything I have done, to the heritage and model you gave me. So here it is, this church set on a hill, in our second home country. Dad, it’s the best I could do.” I can’t wait for that day.

Our father was a pastor. He was a missionary–the best kind of missionary. He could have stayed in the movies–but we’d rather have had him as he was–a Little Rascal who became a true missionary for God.
 

---

---

Anna Knight and the Story of Oakwood College

Many years ago Ellen White said there should be a school for American Black students. Black people were badly discriminated against in the United States during much of the 19th century. They had few educational opportunities. Ellen White advised a search committee that the property for the new school should be located in the country near Nashville, Tennessee, or in northern Alabama. However, a search in proprieties in Tennessee brought nothing that seemed suitable.

Anna Knight, our first African-American missionary to India, remembers the committee members gathering for prayer before they set out for northern Alabama to look for property. This was no "ordinary" prayer session! The group knelt together in the living room of Mr. and Mrs. Chambers' home and with tears pleaded with God to help them find the place He had chosen for the school.

After the prayer, the committee members went to the railway station, took the train to Huntsville, and were directed out to a farm that was for sale.

As they entered the grounds, the committee members put down a deposit to hold the farm until they could report their findings to the General Conference officers. A special offering was planned to raise a fund to establish the new school for African-Americans. Everyone was asked to give a dollar. But in order to have a dollar to give, many people chose to sacrifice one meal a day. They were happy to do without food in order to have money for that special offering.

Ultimately, the money was raised and the purchase of the Huntsville property was made.

Several years after the school had been in operation, Ellen White visited the campus. At an assembly she said, "This is the place that was shown to me by God."

Anna Knight was convinced that Oakwood College, as the school came to be called, was God's school. She saw God answer the prayers of those committee members! Thousands of students have graduated from Oakwood College and have worked for God all over the world.

Photo credits: GC Archives and Statistics  
 

---

The Invested Lasagna

To read Dawn Venn's blogs, click here.

 

• ABOUT US
  • Adventist Mission
  • Mission Challenges
  • Missionaries
  • Global Mission
  • Study Centers
  • Tell the World
  • Institute of World Mission
• STORIES & NEWS
  • Inside Stories
  • Missionary Blogs
  • Mission Stories
  • Mission News
• RESOURCES
  • Mission Quarterlies
  • Adventist Mission DVD
  • Religious Study Centers
  • Resources for Leaders
  • Children’s Activities
• VIDEOS
  • Watch Online
  • Download Videos
  • Subscribe to Podcast
  • Adventist Mission DVD
• GLOBAL MISSION
  • Pioneers
  • Religious Study Centers
  • Prayer Calendar
  • Frontline Edition
  • Picture Story
  • Subscribe
  • Give Now
• GET INVOLVED
  • Prayer Partners
  • Tell the World
  • Mission Offerings
  • Mission Minutes
  • Mission Service
• HOME