by Joseph Ware

Are you thinking about coming to Hartland College to prepare for God’s service? We spoke with Aaron Baker, Bible Instructor at Hartland College, to show you what it’s like to be a student at Hartland.

“You’re going to be challenged at Hartland.” Aaron Baker makes no bones about it as he advises prospective students. “Expect to be pushed to another level.” Do you have what it takes?

“If God is calling you to leadership, Hartland College is where you should be,” Pastor Baker goes on. “You don’t just come to Hartland to learn to give Bible studies. That has a role, but what makes Hartland different is that this institution trains leaders. You will have a desire not only to learn the Bible, but also to use it practically to finish the work.”

Hartland has a distinctive curriculum to ensure that both of these things happen—that Hartland graduates will both know their Bibles and how to apply them to God’s work.

“Here are the tools that you need to have,” explains Pastor Baker, referring to Hartland’s program. “You will have a much more thorough understanding of the Scriptures if you use these tools correctly.” Once you have the tools, Hartland gives you direction with classes such as Principles of Self-Supporting Work. “This is where you will learn how to be a leader and how to establish a ministry which should become a light,” continues Pastor Baker. “Wherever you are in the vineyard, you should be a light.” Through programs like “Lord, Send Me,” Hartland helps its students establish their place in God’s service even after graduation.

The challenges that face a Hartland student also have potential to make him/her a better worker for God. “The number one way for God to reveal His will to you is for you to grow. And you cannot grow if you don’t have trials,” explains Pastor Baker. “That’s why we encourage students to stay the course. You may have a rough quarter, but this will help God reveal His will. Endurance, prayer, and consistent devotions cannot be neglected at Hartland.”

This education bears fruit. Giancarlo de Miranda, a senior Pastoral Evangelism major, says of his experience, “I see major changes in my life. I only wish I had applied myself even more so that God could have done an even greater work in me.”

Pastor Baker concludes, “Don’t expect to see your understanding of Christianity here. Expect to be challenged in what it means to be a Christian. Expect to grow. Hartland is here to train young people based on the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy so that they can reproduce this training, whether it’s by establishing strong churches or ministries, by being solid teachers, or by publishing God-filled literature that teaches truth in love.” Is this your dream? Perhaps you should be a Hartland student!

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood…”

by Joan Reichard

He knows he has lost. Surrender is near. With a general’s craftiness, he ravages the land. He may have lost, but his enemy won’t benefit, because everything this enemy has fought for will burn. As the vanquished flees before the victor, he burns bridges, sacks towns, and salts fields.

To stop this sabotage, the victor must quickly send trained units to put out fires. He must engage his foe constantly to distract him from destruction. He must also assure the inhabitants of the defeated land of his noble intentions so they will not assist in the ransacking.

In the greatest war of history, God’s enemy has already lost. When Christ paid the penalty for sin, Satan could no longer claim that God was unfair. Sin required death, and “Christ gave His life to save the sinner from the death sentence.” In Heavenly Places, p. 361.

When Satan knew he was defeated, he decided, like the general we began with, to snatch the benefits of victory from Christ. Since Christ came to save men, Satan wants to ensure that there are few to save. He has focused his energies to deceive and distract men from our Savior, trying, among other things, to convince men that Christ’s death and work in the sanctuary are not enough to enable them to keep God’s law. As his time shortens, the battle intensifies, and more and more souls perish in his grasp.

Christ must end this sabotage. He, like the victor of our beginning, needs trained soldiers to douse the fires of Satan’s delusions, to dispel darkness with light, to draw souls from the clutches of Satan through the love of Christ.

Hartland College is a war college, one of Christ’s tools for fitting leaders for this spiritual conflict. We are here to equip God’s men and women, so our graduates can effectively help God win battles in His way.

This is the focus of this Hartland Ministry Report: How God is using Hartland to prepare soldiers for this conflict. We report on the ordination of two graduates on pages 6 and 7, and on student battle plans coordinated by the new “Lord, Send Me” program on page 11. We give a detailed perspective of Hartland’s aims and methods in our interview with Pastor Baker on page 9.

If God is calling you to Hartland College, heed His voice. If you are open to the Spirit, Hartland will arm you. Whether or not Hartland is for you, consider this a general call to throw yourself into this final push against evil. Let us, with God’s help, end this war and go home.

by Lynette Allcock

Hartland helped me be a guiding hand in the lives of young people.

David Preisner was studying at a community college in Utah when he discovered God’s calling for his life. He saw that many youth were losing their way because no hand was there to guide them. He knew that God wanted him to be one of those hands. Without hesitation, he signed up for the Christian Secondary Education major at Hartland College.

“One thing that stands out in my mind about Hartland, and the reason that I attended, is their continual passion to hold the standard high,” says David. “Hartland continually calls for those who are willing to put all on the altar.”

One of his memorable experiences as a student happened one Friday evening after vespers. “My good friend Daniel Lombard and I sat watching a field where thousands of lightning bugs were flashing their secret messages to each other, while above us unnumbered hosts of planets, stars, and galaxies made ordered patterns in the sky.

We contemplated the goals and directions of our seemingly insignificant lives, knowing that in the scope of eternity our lives are like the brief flash of a lightning bug, yet they have the possibility of making the lasting impression of a star.” That night, David again dedicated his life to God, determining to let Him guide his future.

In January 1998, God led him to an internship at Oklahoma Academy. There he met and married his wife, Tasha, and today they both continue to serve at the academy. Tasha is the accountant, while David serves as a teacher and the vice-principal. The effect of his time at Hartland continues to impact him and those around him. “In addition to my classroom duties as a teacher,” he says, “I direct the communications department, overseeing the school newsletter, website, yearbook, and other productions. Through it all, my motto is this: All for God.”

“Although Hartland was only a small part of my life,” David concludes, “it gave me tools for my ministry. It passed on to me the high standard of excellence. Always upward, always honor God, always seek to save the lost.”

by Lynette Allcock

“Lord,” Joseph prayed, “if it is Your will that I attend Hartland College, please show me tonight whether I should proceed with my application.” Joseph’s first application for a visa had been denied. What if he were turned down again? That night he had a dream in which a thin American man wearing long sleeves approved his visa application.

“When I applied for the visa the next day,” says Joseph, “I was surprised to see that the man whom I saw in my dream was the one interviewing me for my appointment. When he saw my application—to be a gospel missionary—he asked, ‘What are the teachings of Seventh-day Adventists?’ So I preached to him for five minutes about the Sabbath, the Law, and the health message! Then he told me my application was approved.”

Joseph Bruce Palange, from the Philippines, dreamt of studying nursing so he could train young people as medical missionaries. He enrolled in a nursing course, but when he began attending, he believed that this was not where God wanted him.

So God led Joseph to come to Hartland instead and gave him a visa, but the story doesn’t end here. “I had no money for a plane ticket, so I prayed that God would provide one,” Joseph continues. “I reserved the ticket, but was told that if I couldn’t pay for it, it would be canceled and given to another person. Ten hours from the deadline to pay, I received an unexpected call. Someone gave me $900 to pay for my ticket, and I hadn’t even asked him for help!”

Joseph arrived at Hartland in the fall of 2008 as a Pastoral Evangelism major. “I’m learning many things here. The subjects presented draw me closer to God. My Bible classes help me to be humble, to be like Christ, to die daily.” When he finishes at Hartland, he plans to return to the Philippines to establish a school similar to Hartland College. “When you have the spirit and character of Christ, you will be a successful worker. I believe the lessons I’m learning here are preparing me to train young people to be workers for God.”

“I praise God that there’s an institution like Hartland to train young people to be humble instruments of God in these last days, but I wouldn’t be able to study here if it weren’t for the Missionary Training Fund,” Joseph says. “I really thank those who support the MTF students. The Lord has made you instruments to support those of us who need training as laborers for God.”

by Martin Colebank

“Hartland is to me what the school of the prophets was to the children of Israel,” says Dennis Ng, a ‘93 graduate of Hartland College. “The best thing Hartland did to prepare me for my ministry was to convince me that the Bible must be my only rule of faith and practice, and the basis of all my labor.”

God has blessed Dennis since he graduated from Hartland sixteen years ago. On January 17 of this year, he was ordained as a minister of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Malaysia, where he works as a pastor. “I am a church pastor under denominational employ,” Pastor Ng explains, “and I also coordinate the Spirit of Prophecy Ministry for our mission.”

Pastor Ng fondly recalls his time at Hartland. “All my memories of Hartland are good,” he told us. “I really appreciated the sincerity of each staff and student, and their desire to follow God’s will.”

To exemplify his experience he told us this story: “I was planning a solo evangelistic trip to the Philippines. It would be my first public evangelistic effort. I had started school late that quarter and would have to leave before finals. Every day, I was in bed by 8:30 or 9 pm and up by 3 or 3:30 am. The mornings were great because I spent time with God, did my assignments, got ready for my finals ahead of time, and prepared 17 doctrinal messages plus devotionals for the Philippines trip. That quarter must have been my best.

“Thank God, I managed, and before I left campus, I went to the dorm to wish my fellow students goodbye. Steve, one of the juniors, asked the rest to gather around and pray for me. As they filed out for classes, each shook my hand, assuring me that God would go with me. I knew then that I was among family.”

Pastor Ng wholeheartedly believes that God used Hartland as a tool to ready him for his work. “It is God alone who makes the difference in our lives. Hartland can only be the instrument in God’s hands. At that defining moment in my life, Hartland was the right place for me to be. It was God who led, opened doors, and financed my studies.”
“Hartland,” Pastor Ng concludes, “made a difference in my character and kindled in me a quiet confidence in my God.” As Pastor Ng put it, Hartland is an instrument in the hand of God, and we rejoice to see the abundant fruit of this tool’s work. We wish Pastor Ng God’s blessings as he labors in his new role in the field.

Dennis Ng is not the only Hartland graduate to have recently been ordained to the gospel ministry. We also have good news about Rodney Millin, a ’97 graduate serving in the turbulent country of Zimbabwe, who has just been ordained by the Central Zimbabwe Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist church. His ordination ceremony took place November 22, 2008, at the Windsor Park Church in Zimbabwe. We invite you to pray for Pastor Millin as he continues in his service for the Master’s glory.

Besides being an ordained minister, Pastor Millin wears many hats. He is Multicultural Ministries Director, Conference Evangelist, and Sabbath School Director for the Central Zimbabwe Conference, as well as father. Married in 1999 to Charlotte Narsi, he now has two children, Jessica and Jeffrey.

by Samantha Coon

“I’m learning to depend on God rather than on myself.”

Ikechukwu (Ike) Anurukem grew up in a home that was split by conflicting religious beliefs: Adventism and Catholicism. Born in Nigeria, his family immigrated to England when he was 17. How did this young man come to accept the Seventh-day Adventist message and end up at Hartland College?

“After I attended a series of evangelistic meetings in London, I was baptized,” explains Ike. “When I was studying the Bible with my friends, I met Reggie Wright, who told me about Hartland.” Three years later Ike came to Hartland College. “I am thankful that my parents helped me with enough finances to cover one year of school. But during my first term here I got really discouraged, and all I could do was pray. It was truly in that experience that I learned how to depend on God rather than on myself.”

Hartland has provided not only a great learning environment for Ike, but also many other blessings. He is currently studying Pastoral Evangelism and Agriculture. “One of the biggest blessings for me was the summer gardening program and the opportunity to work at the farm,” he says. “One of the things I learned while working on the farm was cause and effect. I realized that everything I do has a consequence, so every choice has to be thought out properly.”

After graduation, Ike plans to return to London and use the things he has learned here to make a difference. He would also like to go back to his motherland of Nigeria to share the message of our soon-coming Savior with his people. “If I work as a pastor in a rural area, I will be able to help people practically with the things I am learning in agriculture. By God’s grace, it will give more validity to the message I share.”

Were it not for your faithful gifts to the Missionary Training Fund, Ike would not be able to continue his training for God’s service. “I was planning to just go back home and work, but it worked out for me to get help from the Missionary Training Fund. Now I can stay to continue my education.”

To those who sacrifice to make his and other students’ education possible, Ike says, “It’s good to know that in God’s church there are people who are willing to support young people so they can train to preach the Three Angels’ Messages. Thank you and God bless.”

by Rachel Perry

Our newest teacher is fresh from prison.

“I have a passion for working for Jesus,” says Sung Hoon Kang, “and I believe Hartland is one of the few places on Earth that is following the counsels of God and helping the youth come close to Him.”

After graduating in 2006 from Hartland College with Pastoral Evangelism and Christian Media Management majors, Sung Hoon Kang joined the staff. However, shortly thereafter he had to return to South Korea to serve in the army. Due to his firm stance as a conscientious objector, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Many of you may have read his story in previous issues of Hartland Ministry Report or Last Generation magazine.

Despite his unfortunate circumstances, Sung Hoon is confident that God used it to prepare him for his future ministry. “In prison I met a lot of people who did not know God,” he shares. “As I lived with them and dealt with them, it really helped me to understand their points of view and how to reach them. Also during that time, away from earthly ties and distractions, I could really spend time studying the Bible and communicating with God. That experience was a blessing to me.”

Sung Hoon was providentially released from prison three months before his sentence was up. At this point, he was faced with an important decision. Several potential employers were vying for his commitment. Which offer should he accept? Deep inside, his heartstrings were tied to Hartland. So he put out a fleece. “If You don’t want me to go back to Hartland,” he prayed, “don’t let me get a visa.”

More than a month and several documents later, Sung Hoon received his visa and passport. Having been just released from prison, he knew this was nothing short of a miracle. “If it were not for God, I probably would not have received the visa,” he reflects. “A lot of people were praying for me, and somehow He directed me to the right person at the right time. Even though it took longer than usual, I know it came in God’s timing.”

We are overjoyed to have this dedicated soldier of Christ join our ranks at Hartland as a Bible and media teacher. “I believe that God is calling me to share the gospel through media; but if I don’t have the content, it’s useless. That’s why I chose to train in both Bible and media.” Already, God is using Sung Hoon to inspire other young people with zeal to spread His Word. It is our prayer that these ripples will quickly spread around the world to mobilize a mighty army of young people to finish the Lord’s work.

by Joseph Ware

I thought my summer at Hartland would be filled with boredom and drudgery. Was I ever wrong!

While most of my friends went home for the summer, I decided to stay and fulfill Hartland’s agriculture requirement. With the consolation that I would never have to do this again, I queasily slid into the most life-changing summer of my life.

Actually, I have nothing against gardening. I grew up on a farm, and I knew all the good reasons for growing a garden. I probably could have challenged the class, but for some reason, I felt compelled to take it. I didn’t really know what I was expecting, but it was along the lines of a stale peanut-butter and jelly sandwich. What I got was more like a juicy portabella mushroom on rye, with alfalfa sprouts on top (all organic and non-GMO, of course).

From the first day, with the fourteen of us gathered around our teacher, Bob Gregory, in the morning mist of the Virginia Piedmont, that portabella on rye just got better and better. Of course, it wasn’t always easy. My biggest challenge was getting up in time to be out in the garden at 5:30 – but it was worth it.

Since this was a class, the most obvious question is: “What did you learn?” I discovered how to plant, cultivate, and water, of course. I also learned why; why it is important to know how our food is grown; why organic and non-GMO produce are issues. Daily, I had the privilege of putting this knowledge into practice.

I also made a lot of friends. My class set a record – we are the first gardening class ever to start and finish the class with the same group of students. We formed a cohesive bond that, by God’s grace, will never be broken. However, the most important bond I formed this summer was with another Friend – the God who programmed the bean seed to drive upward through the soil to seek the sun. As a class, we had the privilege of spending five mornings a week for ten weeks inside the book of nature, and as our object lessons at the end of each class revealed, God was opening it to us.

This summer did change my life – but not just mine. All of us were moved by our experience in the garden. A fellow classmate said, “It was the biggest blessing I have had since I’ve been at Hartland.” I know that as we gathered the literal fruit from our plants, God was teaching us that we might bear spiritual fruit as well.

by Samantha Coon

God called me from the fashion industry to train as a missionary.

“Something’s wrong. God doesn’t want me to do this,” said Nastasya in the midst of her early career. One can easily see how Nastasya Bravarets could have continued to be a model, which she started to do at age 15.

However, while the cameras were focused on the outside, God saw Nastasya’s life through a different lens. He convicted her that the modeling life would not lead her to heaven. “God gave me a reason to stop,” she explains. “He moved me to another city where I couldn’t continue modeling.”

A Hartland graduate, also from Russia, told Nastasya about Hartland when she was just 16. Although she applied for admission, she was too young. “I had already graduated from high school and couldn’t just sit home for two years and do nothing,” recalls Nastasya. “I left my parents and went to Siberia, where I studied business management for two years. But I wanted to do something different. I wanted to do something for God.”

For Nastasya, working for God meant leaving behind her comfortable life in Russia. “I had to leave a lot of friends. I had everything that I could wish for over there.”
Nevertheless, she left Russia, her university education, and her friends to study at Hartland. “I had no clue how things were going to be. I just knew that God was leading me here,” she says. “I wanted to study health so I could be a missionary. When I arrived at Hartland, everyone was so patient and friendly. I felt like I was at home.”

Nastasya, a Health Ministries major, now finds herself in a different kind of educational system. She doesn’t want the focus to be on her, but on what she can do for others. “I want to serve God wherever He wants me to go, especially in Russia. I would also like to go to South America.”

This year, half of Nastasya’s tuition is being supplied by the Missionary Training Fund. “I’m really thankful for the Missionary Training Fund,” says Nastasya. “This fund helps students who don’t have the money to study at Hartland to be workers for God. Thank you so much!”

by Lynette Allcock

Hartland gave Jay direction to his life.

Jay Krueger was dissatisfied with life and the study path he’d chosen, and he felt discouraged in his spiritual life. “I didn’t understand that we could overcome our sins or that it was even necessary,” he admits. However, when God led him to Hartland College, things began to change.

While at Hartland, Jay’s Christian experience became established. He learned the truth about conversion and was re-baptized. “Every day, I could fellowship with almost a hundred people and discuss spiritual truths or the Bible with them,” he says. “That was exciting and a special blessing to me. The Christian friendship was very unique.” He also appreciated the dedication of the staff and the high principles employed in the school. “Young people need guidance. I needed to know what was right and wrong, and I needed someone to help me follow the right.”

Jay graduated in 2001 and believes that studying at Hartland gave him a foundation for his current work in Sweden. “It was helpful to understand that the Seventh-day Adventist message is grounded in the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy,” he says. While at Hartland he also participated in health outreach and literature evangelism, gaining experience which has aided him in his current work.

Jay and his wife Beathe operate a ministry in Sweden that publishes and distributes literature. Each year they hold three convocations to strengthen the faith of Seventh-day Adventists and help ground new believers. They have also recently begun to accept health guests, teaching them the principles of a healthful lifestyle. A mission center has been established as a venue for the convocations and to house their health guests and a small school.

“Some of the guests we’ve had are really interested in studying the Bible,” Jay says. “They try to take these principles into their daily lives, and they can actually see how their lives are changing, even after just one or two weeks with us.”

Jay met Lillian, a woman from Gothenburg, when he was colporteuring. Later she was baptized as a Seventh-day Adventist. She now supports Jay’s ministry with her finances and by translating. She told Jay, “I am so grateful for the speakers, meetings, and truth that your ministry provides.”

By God’s grace, Jay hopes to broaden the work of the health center, and to expand the current school program to train even more European young people.

by Emily Dana

At first, Piedmont Valley Youth Bible Camp 2008 seemed like just another year at camp.

There was nothing out of the ordinary about the schedule. Line Call and morning exercise, meals, Deep Bible Study, and classes followed each other in an orderly litany. The campers ended each day around a campfire, listening to mission stories told by Bob Norton, a missionary pilot from Venezuela. It was the same routine as any other year.

Yet what started as a few embers soon burst into flames. The campers this year seemed like an extraordinarily good group of kids, and everyone was excited. The Devil noticed and took action. It began with counselors getting very sick, and campers getting sick and homesick. Soon, counselors felt overwhelmed with the problems their campers faced.

But while the Devil tried his best to discourage, prayers added fuel to the fire of God’s power. At testimony time on Saturday night, campers came forward in a steady line to share how the power of God had transformed their lives. Tears fell as campers spoke of finding Someone at Piedmont who could heal the hurt in their hearts.

As campers left on Sunday, their flames were burning high as they spoke of ways to share their light at home. This was not just any year at camp. This year was a special year in which God used Piedmont Camp to break through the barriers of many hearts. Lives were changed for eternity.

What will happen next year? You will have to come to find out!

by Rachel Perry

While studying at a university in his home country of England, Aaron Wilson joined a Bible study group. There he befriended Ike Anurukem, who told him about Hartland College. (Ike, who enrolled at Hartland a year later, learned about Hartland from one of our graduates.) “At that time, I was not interested,” Aaron admits. “But when I left the university, I looked into Hartland and searched out what they stood for, and I realized that Hartland has really taken up the challenge of training young people for selfless service for Christ. This is the kind of training I was looking for.”

Coming from a secular university, Aaron was used to a rushed schedule with little time for personal devotions, Bible study, or evangelism. He admits that the temptations and distractions there were very strong. “But since coming here,” he says, “I have been able to spend more time with God and to appreciate more of His creation. I have seen how much I need Christ and that I ought to be an example and a witness for Him.” Through his testimony and example in this area, Aaron has been able to encourage other students to spend time with God daily.

Now in his third year at Hartland, he is majoring in Pastoral Evangelism and working towards a minor in Agriculture. “Studying for my major has broadened my view of the pastoral role. It’s not just about being the leader of a specific church; it also entails many other aspects of ministry, such as preaching, teaching, door-to-door work, and health. By God’s grace, I plan to go back to England and minister to the people there, especially those in the church who do not know these things which I am learning.”

The Lord clearly opened the way for Aaron to come to Hartland, and we are glad he is here! However, due to the lack of consistent income or help from his family, Aaron no longer has a way to pay his tuition. This is why Hartland has the special Missionary Training Fund.

“If it weren’t for the Missionary Training Fund,” says Aaron, “I wouldn’t be able to continue my studies here.” To those who give to this fund, he adds, “I thank God that He has given you the means to support young people who are training for the final work. By God’s grace, we are the last generation. I pray that you will stay faithful not only in giving your funds, but also in doing the work of Christ.”

by Betsy Mayer

Our Spring community concerts opened doors to hearts in three surrounding counties.

“I’m a retired Methodist minister, and I just can’t get over how quality this program was. This is such a witness for your school.”

“We saw an ad in the newspaper for your concert and we decided to come. It was beautiful! We loved it! We need more of this!”

“I saw the concert advertised at my Catholic church and decided to come. This was wonderful! I’m so glad someone thought to contact my church.”

These were only a few of the many comments we heard after each of three community concerts we performed the weekend of May 16 and 17.

The performance was entitled Sing the Story, and highlighted the three centuries of Christian heritage we share in this region as depicted through music. The two-hour concert included selections by the Hartland Campus Choir, the Three Angels’ Chorale, soloists, instrumentalists, as well as a historical narrative.

The audience was especially moved by the Campus Choir’s rendition of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” “I started crying when those young men came marching out to sing the middle section of the Battle Hymn and then marched back in,” shared a guest at the concert in Orange. Her husband, a production technician for PBS, wished he could have had his film team at the concert. He especially liked the Three Angels’ Chorale rendition of “Cold Water,” a temperance song from the 19th century.

This is the fourth concert series in which we have shared the religious history of our region. We started first in Culpeper County in 2003 as partners with the Museum of Culpeper History. The next year we added Madison County and partnered with the Madison Historical Society and the Madison Chamber of Commerce. But it wasn’t until this year that we were able to find an opening in Orange County, making it possible to share this special musical story with all three counties that border Hartland Institute.

The partnerships with all the churches, the museum, the chamber of commerce, and the historical society and all their help with promotion and receptions has been a wonderful experience. Two of the three churches that hosted us are on the National Register of Historic Places. In Orange County we were also blessed by the partnership of the Orange SDA CHIP (Coronary Health Improvement Project) team who hosted the reception following the concert and advertised their upcoming health programs.

“You can come every year,” said the pastor of Madison’s Hebron Lutheran, the oldest continuing Lutheran congregation in the U.S., which has now hosted us three times. “And we’ll be glad to put on the reception for you again,” said the members of the Madison Historical Society as they cleaned up after a reception for 100 people. “We are honored that you would come and share such beautiful music. It’s a great way to share history.”

“Let’s make this an annual event,” said Lee Langston Harrison, director of the Museum of Culpeper History.

As Hartland Institute celebrates its 25th anniversary, sharing these free community concerts is one way we can say thank you to our friends and neighbors for 25 good years. It also gives them an opportunity to meet Seventh-day Adventists and experience the work that Hartland is doing in their communities.

by On Yoo Cho

Some of On Yoo’s students have been baptized into the SDA church.

“No, Mother,” said Yin Soo,* “I cannot bow anymore to honor my ancestors.” Shocked at his apparent disrespect, Yin Soo’s parents hit him a few times, hoping to knock some sense into the boy. But he wouldn’t give in. Yin Soo is one of my students.

I arrived at Hartland in 1996, while still in my teens. I was young and inexperienced, and I struggled to learn English. But I praise the Lord for loving Christian friends and teachers who helped me. They taught me through their example what true Christianity is all about. The Bible classes at Hartland answered my questions and helped me get rid of the doubts and discouragement that plagued my mind.

One of the most important lessons God taught me at Hartland was that I should live for others and for God, not for myself. Life isn’t only about making money and having a comfortable life. For that main reason, I have been working at self-supporting academies ever since I came back to Korea. At one point, I got discouraged and gave up. I thought, It’s no use educating kids in this kind of setting. But God showed me that I was actually doing a great work. He helped me to see the future, not the present condition of my students. Although they might be rowdy teenagers today, tomorrow they could be great workers for God. I am taking part in raising the future servants of God! What an honor!

Recently, God called me to help start a self-supporting academy, following the principles outlined in the Spirit of Prophecy. It opened in March 2006, with six students. Now He has blessed us with more students, several of whom are non-Adventist, like Yin Soo. Since Yin Soo started attending our school, he has stopped eating pork and dog meat, which he used to love. His parents have noticed that he has become more spiritual.

We have seen God’s working not only in the lives of our students, but also in the lives of their parents. Some of them have been baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist church as a result!

I don’t know what God has in mind for my future, but I want to help expand God’s work here at the school until He calls me to some other place. Whatever I do, I want to glorify Him and serve my fellow human beings. After all, isn’t that what I learned at Hartland? May the Lord keep and sustain me.

*Yin Soo is a pseudonym.

by Rachel Perry

From pro-basketball to Bible studies

“My love of basketball started at the age of nine,” says Lauren Simms, a freshman at Hartland College. “Basketball became my life, and I dreamed of someday playing professionally.”

Lauren went on to play basketball in college. Just before she graduated she received a $40,000 contract to play professionally overseas, and she thought this was the answer to her prayers. But the Lord had other plans.

“My family had been studying the Bible with an Adventist family, Ron and Tonya Jackson, during my last year in college,” Lauren explains. Interestingly, the Jacksons had found the truth through a radio station that was being operated by Suzanne Harpine, a Hartland College graduate. Lauren continues, “I heard the first lesson the Jacksons shared with my parents while I was home for the summer. I didn’t take it seriously, thinking that my parents would probably not continue with the studies. But when I went home after graduation, I sensed a different presence in my family – a joy and a peace that I had never felt before.”

Lauren’s parents shared with her all the truth they had learned, and she fell in love with it. “I had never heard these things before! I had a strong desire to know the Lord better.”

But Lauren still had the basketball contract to deal with. “There was a battle going on in my heart. I had desired my whole life to play professional basketball, and it seemed that God was answering my prayer. Yet, at the same time, I felt an irresistible urge to stay here and learn more about God.” Praise the Lord that she made the right decision – to learn more about God.

That summer Lauren’s family heard about Hartland through the family they had been studying with, and they attended their first Hartland camp meeting. “My mom’s first question was, ‘So, Lauren, when are you going to come to Hartland?’ I told her, ‘I don’t really think it’s for me,’ but as I got to know the Lord better He made it clear that He wanted me to go to Hartland.”

Lauren is now working towards her degree in health ministry. Her goal is to work in a lifestyle center or health clinic where she can use the health message to help draw people to God.

“What I appreciate most about Hartland are the people who have been so willing to help me in this new practice and faith, teaching me and having Bible studies with me. This is a new journey for me. I have so much more to learn! I pray that one day the Lord will allow me to share with my former coach and teammates what I’ve learned here at Hartland College.”

by Christine Lockwood

Your donations have enabled Julieta Tano to receive further training for God’s service

“While I was a missionary in South Korea, the Holy Spirit touched my heart to surrender my life and work for Him.” From then on, Julieta Tano began to search for a school where she could receive further training for God’s work. She looked at various schools on the Internet but did not find what she was looking for.

“I met Seven Lee, who was on his internship in South Korea,” Julieta relates. “He suggested that I go to Hartland. But I said, ‘That’s too far, and I don’t have money.’ He smiled. ‘Just pray about it, and try checking the website. Who knows? Maybe that’s the place God wants you to go.’”

She pushed it to the back of her mind, but her desire to be trained for God’s work never left her. As she continued to pray, she decided to take a step of faith and apply to Hartland College.

“By the time I returned to my home in the Philippines, I had already decided to go to Hartland. But money was an issue. Even though my family supported me, they could not give me money.” But she still pressed forward in faith. With only a few hundred pesos, ¹ she went to the embassy to get her visa.

Giving her a temporary denial, the officials told her they needed other papers to process her visa. “When I was denied, I thought of giving up,” Julieta admits, “but the Holy Spirit came to me with the thought, This is just a test of faith. If you quit, you will never succeed. So, after I had done my best, I decided to accept the result as God’s will for me.” Later she found out that those papers were not applicable in her case. When she went back to the embassy, she was pleasantly surprised to see the officer holding her visa.

Now she just needed to get her ticket, which she had reserved in faith two weeks prior. “I didn’t have much time to raise the money, so I sold my digital camera and my computer.” That gave her a little less than half the money she needed for her ticket. Some of her family members gave her the rest of the money, even getting themselves into debt so that she could buy her ticket.

“I am a health major,” says Julieta, “but I want to take as many Bible classes as I can. I want to teach people how to live a healthful lifestyle following the pattern God has given us. I want the world to know that our body is the temple of God and that it’s entrusted to us.” To all those who give to the Missionary Training Fund, she says, “I greatly appreciate your generosity. This opportunity is an answer to my prayers.”

1. The peso is the currency used in the Philippines. One hundred pesos is worth about $2.50 USD.

by Rachel Perry

A few years ago, Mike Kwon was an agnostic. Then someone at his university gave him a Bible. “Once I read it, I began to realize that the God of heaven really was real, and that I could have a personal experience with Him.” Mike started going to church regularly and was later baptized.

Mike’s parents, also Seventh-day Adventists, wanted him to study for the ministry. They suggested Andrews University. But Mike, impressed by the dedication and godliness of Hartland students at his church (such as Douglas Na’a, David Casas, and Michelle Chai), replied, “What about Hartland?”

Now a junior, Mike says, “My experience here has drastically increased my spirituality. I’ve realized that a worldly lifestyle can only be selfish; but when we are laboring for souls without having self in mind, that’s when we are able to grow spiritually.”

Classes provide much-needed theory, but the most integral and unique part of Hartland’s educational program is vocational training, where students learn to apply the theoretical in a practical way. “My most important lesson was learned in the gardens, experiencing with my own hands the principles of how God’s government works. In the kitchen, I learned righteousness by faith from washing dishes; I learned how to be faithful in the least. By applying these lessons and being faithful in little things, I have been trained to be ready for the bigger responsibilities.”

Truly the Lord has honored Mike’s faithfulness. Mike recently has been given the “bigger responsibility” of coordinating Hartland’s outreach activities. Almost every afternoon, he can be found in a nearby town visiting Bible study contacts and opening God’s Word to hungry souls. Now he is in the process of starting a prison ministry.

Unfortunately, Mike’s parents can no longer support him in his studies at Hartland College. He tried to support himself through work scholarship, but soon realized if he wanted to graduate, it would take him nine years! Mike has a deep burden to go out and finish the work quickly. He realizes that we don’t have much time left on this earth! Now, because of the Missionary Training Fund, Mike is looking forward to graduating in a couple of years.

“My vision is to take the everlasting gospel to the world,” says Mike. “After graduation, I plan to work in the South as a Bible worker, bringing truth into the homes and watching the Holy Spirit change lives through the truth of God’s Word.”
Without your gifts to the Missionary Training Fund, Mike would not be able to fulfill his goal for many years. Thank you for helping to hasten Christ’s coming!

Isabel is using her Hartland training to touch children’s hearts.

“I didn’t know how I was going to direct my life,” says Isabel Larrotta, “but once I got to Hartland, I realized what God was calling me to do.”

Isabel comes from Colombia, South America. While at Hartland, she discovered that the Lord had given her a talent and a love for teaching children. “In every place I work, I see how children are affected by their environment. I want to be a bright spot in their environment and make a difference in their lives.

“During my junior year I taught at the Hartland Elementary School. I think I learned the most from the patient example of my supervisor. He taught me how to reach the students’ hearts, especially in discipline. Now that I’m on internship, I value his example even more. I didn’t realize it was so important.”

Looking back on her years as a student at Hartland College, Isabel recalls, “I experienced many things, both exciting and challenging, but I never thought they might have happened for a reason. Now I realize that God was preparing me for things I would face after I left Hartland. I cherish the lessons I learned, not only about teaching, but also about life. I learned the difference between really trusting God and merely having theory.”

Isabel is currently interning at a small SDA church school in Wilmington, North Carolina, where she teaches five students. She says, “They wanted someone from Hartland because they knew we use biblical principles in practical application. What I like most about working with my students is that they are so impressionable. I teach them simple things, and they get so excited when they understand! I really love that part of teaching.”

Recently she shared an encouraging experience she had. Little Johnny* had trouble reading. “Every day for the first month he would have the same problem. He knew the letters, but something seemed to be blocking his mind. Often he would start crying because he was so frustrated with himself. One day I took him outside the classroom. ‘Would you like to pray with me?’ I asked. ‘Yes,’ he sniffled. When we went back inside, he had calmed down a lot. Since then, he has made significant progress.”

Isabel’s dream is to work in a Spanish-speaking country where the people aren’t well-educated. With God’s help and with the education she has received at Hartland, she is sure to be a success wherever the Lord leads her.

*Name has been changed.

…to know their Bibles and be on fire for Christ.”

“What could I do to make this possible? I didn’t know.”

Yik Foo Soon is from Malaysia, where Islam is the official religion. Although he didn’t grow up in a Seventh-day Adventist home, Yik Foo loved to go to the Pathfinder meetings at the nearby SDA church, where he heard Bible stories and made Christian friends.

However, he fell in with the wrong crowd at school. “I did a lot of bad things – gambling, video gaming, computer gaming, stealing, watching bad movies—as the youth in the world do. But I thank God for the seed that He planted in my heart. Because of the influence of Pathfinders, I didn’t do the really bad things.”

Then a church member invited him to attend a youth mission conference. “The speaker said, ‘If you want to give your life to Christ, you have to give up many things.’ He listed several examples, and one was video games. Video games were a part of my life! I was convicted and went forward with tears in my eyes. At that moment, I made a firm decision to be baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church.”

Two years later, Yik Foo enrolled in the medical missionary training course at Aenon Health Farm. There he met Canny Tay, Tat Ying Wong, and other Hartland graduates who told him about Hartland College. After finishing the course at Aenon, he applied to Hartland.

“My mother did her best to support me, even borrowing money from relatives, but I could only raise enough money for pay for two terms. I did get my visa, though, so I came to Hartland by faith. I decided, I will just move one step and see what happens. Now I praise the Lord, because he provided a way through the Missionary Training Fund.

“I really can say that my spiritual life has continually grown while I have been here, even though sometimes I was down. But because of all the difficulties and problems, God has made me stronger in Him.”

Yik Foo is now a sophomore, training to be a pastor/Bible worker, with a minor in agriculture. “My ultimate goal is to establish a college in Asia like Hartland College. If all the church members knew their Bibles and lived true Christian lives, the church would be on fire. I want to be like Paul, to train them and help them grow in Christ. Once they are stable, they can grow themselves and go out to work more mightily.”

Without your help, Yik Foo’s vision might never come true. He says, “Thank you so much for donating to the Missionary Training Fund. Because of this fund, I am able to study for the ministry to hasten the coming of Christ.”

By Staff Writer HMR Dec. 07 – Jan. 08

Many years ago, a love for Africa was born in the heart of a little German girl.

Sometimes I say, “I’m African, not because I was born in Africa, but because Africa was born in me.” Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to go to Africa , but I never thought that my dream would actually come true.

This past summer, the Lord opened the doors for me to go to Cameroon to work with some friends in our ministry, “Seeds of Truth 4 Africa.” I already knew that the people would have many needs, so I brought a whole suitcase full of baby clothes and a box of medical supplies: bandages, alcohol wipes, vitamin E oil, charcoal, goldenseal, etc.

The Lord worked the first miracle for us at the customs checkpoint in the Cameroon airport. An officer in plain clothes ordered us to open the box containing our supplies. “What is in the box?” he demanded.

“Medical supplies,” my friend Charles answered, breathing a quick prayer. “They are to be used for missionary purposes.”

“Well then, I need to have proof from the Ministry of Health.”

However, after opening the box and seeing only the baby supplies which were packed on top, the officer just asked us to close the box and go through. Praise the Lord! Charles later told me that for customs procedures in Cameroon , that is very unusual.

When I arrived at our destination, I noticed almost immediately the great medical needs. Besides the very low level of income, there is also ignorance about God’s simple ways of staying healthy. I was so thankful for the medical supplies I had brought with me! Soon we had an overwhelming host of people coming to us with various medical conditions. The people generally do not see a doctor, so most complaints had lasted a very long time. Though we didn’t have a lot of medicine or knowledge, we did our best, and the Lord blessed beyond what we could imagine.

“Your medicines are so wonderful!” one of the villagers told us. “No,” Charles replied, “our God is, not the medicines.”

Besides ministering to the many medical needs, we also did home visitations and Bible studies. Soon after I arrived, we were invited into a home where a 21-year-old girl had just given birth to triplets. After sharing about last day events and the soon return of Christ, we prayed with the family, especially for the newborns. “Please come again to pray and share with us,” begged the elderly man whom I assumed to be the head of the household. “This means more to us than any money that you could have given.”

When Joseph learned about the Sabbath from our Bible studies, he said, “With the truth that you have and the method you work [medical work], we can have more than 1,000 churches in less than 10 years!” Joseph now worships with us every Sabbath and faithfully invites many others.

However, when God’s work is flourishing, the devil doubles his efforts. The pastor of Joseph’s former church (Pentecostal) went to the village chief to complain about our activities. He told the chief that Joseph was bringing strange people into his house to have studies and worship with them.

“They have helped and are helping many people with their health programs,” the chief replied. “Even my wife is getting better from her head problem after following the advice they gave her. Why are you complaining?” The chief told us he will support our work no matter what. After all, his two grandchildren are attending our Sabbath worships!

Please pray for our ministry in Cameroon . The field there is ripe for the harvest. The few worshipers are asking for a building in which to worship, and Joseph has already offered land for a church building and treatment center. This is an opportunity we cannot let slip!

HMR Dec.07 – Jan. 08

At Hartland College she heard God’s call to help finish His work. “What I truly appreciate about Hartland is that my questions were answered-not with meaningless phrases such as ‘just because,’ but right from God’s Word so the answers made sense to me.” Janine had become a Christian only three years before coming to Hartland College, and she still had many questions. She says, “As I saw Christ’s love shining out from the lives of my instructors, I wanted to experience what they were experiencing.”

When Janine took the “Conversion and Righteousness by Faith” class, things finally began to come together and make sense for her. “That’s when my faith became really grounded,” she recalls. It was during her time in Hartland College that Janine learned how to truly live for Christ and how to experience the practical aspects of Christianity. She feels it was while she was there that she gained a deeper and living relationship with Christ.

Janine Kowell graduated from Hartland College in 1999 with a major in Christian Elementary Education. Now she is putting her teaching skills to use in Southern California, where she works with preschool-aged, specialneeds children. Although her official title is “teacher,” she is actually a missionary in disguise! She is excited about the many opportunities she has had to share her faith with her co-workers, as well as the parents of some of her students.

In addition to her job at the school, Janine serves as a Sabbath School teacher at Advent HOPE, a Sabbath School group on the Loma Linda University campus that is committed to helping others prepare for eternity. She is a co-founder of Advent HOPE, as well as of the General Youth Conference. GYC is an intensive five-day conference held annually that brings together dedicated Seventh-day Adventist youth and young adults who are fully committed to the distinctive message and mission of the SDA church, including the proclamation of the Three Angels’ Messages.

Janine is also currently giving Bible studies. “A few years ago, through singing bands, I met a young lady who was a patient in the hospital. She studied the Bible with me for about a year and has recently made a commitment for baptism!” It is a joy to see that Janine is committed to being a co-laborer with Christ for the saving of souls, both in Southern California and wherever else God leads her.

In reflection, Janine praises God for leading her to Hartland College, for it was there that she caught a vision and now has a testimony to share. Janine says, “Hartland is where I found my calling, both for my profession and my ministry. I learned the significance of the times in which we are living, and I heard God’s call to help finish His work here on this earth.” Praise God for Hartland College!

By Rachel Perry/HMR June-July 2006

Piamporn came to Hartland College to find a closer walk with Jesus, and left with a vision to start an Adventist school in Thailand.
“Wow! I can’t believe I made it through three years at Hartland. I praise God that He helped me through it!” exclaims Piamporn Tantrarungrot from Thailand. She first heard about Hartland College when Emanuel Baek, a Hartland alumnus, went to her country to do an evangelistic crusade. She attended the meetings and gave her heart to Jesus.After high school, Piamporn went to a university in Singapore. “I had planned to study there for a year, but I found myself drifting farther from God. I knew my life needed redirection. At that time, my aunt encouraged me to come to Hartland.”
Hartland College changed Piamporn’s life. She arrived not knowing about a devotional life or the health message, and she had only begun to understand the Bible. However, that all changed. “I used a lot of my free time to study, and my friends offered companionship and support; but having regular devotional time in the morning was the most essential to me. If we are right with God every morning, I’m sure He is faithful to help us go through our day with success. This is the most important key. Instead of planning to be an ambitious, moneymaking woman, I now want to live a life fully dedicated to Christ’s service.”
As a senior Christian Secondary Education major, she is currently doing her internship at Oklahoma Academy. Now that she is interning, Piamporn is learning how to stand alone. “I have to be an example to my students. I know that I should have the character of Christ in order to win them to Jesus. This encourages me to walk closer to Him.” The Missionary Training Fund has greatly helped Piamporn in her education. Because of this fund, many students from third-world countries are given the opportunity to learn God’s Word and be trained to be missionaries in their home countries.
In the future, Piamporn wants to start a high school in her country. “We have only an elementary school in my hometown, and the students there need to receive true education. Most important decisions are made during the high school years.” Thailand is a Buddhist country, and Piamporn wants to spread the gospel to this dark territory.
Much work needs to be done. With your help, many students like Piamporn will be equipped to go back to their countries to hasten the coming of Jesus.
By Hilary Overcash/HMR | June-July 2006

Born and raised in China, Lai En and his family moved to Malaysia when he was fourteen. While in Malaysia, he furthered his education at Aenon Health Farm, a medical missionary training school. There, he met David Fam, a graduate of Hartland College and the president of Aenon. David recognized Lai En’s sincerity and told him of his alma mater.

With David’s encouragement, Lai En decided to transfer to Hartland College to learn more about the Bible. He does not regret his decision.
“God led me here for a purpose. Hartland has taught me many good habits that have helped form my character. This school is valuable to me because it has provided a quality spiritual environment and Bible classes that I have not found in anywhere else in the world.”

As is so often the case with international students, Lai En says, “My parents are not rich, so they cannot help me with my tuition. I used to think that it would take a long time to finish school because we did not have enough money.”
The Missionary Training Fund (MTF) provides many opportunities for international students, and one of these students is Lai En. His vision is to work with the Chinese people and tell them about Christ’s soon return. In China, only two percent of the population is Seventhday Adventist, out of a total population of 1,303,701,000 people.
Lai En expresses his gratitude: “Thank you so much for supporting the MTF, because without you, I would not be at Hartland. I pray that God will continue to bless you and provide you with funds to help other students like me who otherwise would not be here.”
Much work needs to be done to spread the gospel in China. With the training at Hartland College and your faithful support of our Missionary Training Fund, Lai En’s vision of reaching China with the gospel will be a reality. It needn’t take “a long time” to send him forth to that huge mission field.

By Janine Legaspi and Jean Handwerk HMR – April/May 2006

After Twelve Years Reggie Finally Graduates. One of the immigration officers asked a startling question. “So, Mr. Wright, are you
going to be speaking about the New World Order this time?” Reggie Wright attended Hartland College as a pastoral evangelism major from September 1993 until January 1996, when his father died. At that time Reggie went home to England to sort out his family’s affairs, missing the winter and spring terms of school. He returned in the summer of that year and colporteured in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Colporteuring is a curriculum requirement for all Hartland students and is usually done during semester breaks or for several weeks during the summer. While foreign students with an I-20 visa are not allowed to earn money except as a requirement for training, technically a student may accept donations. So Reggie colporteured on that basis.
That fall, he interned at Miracle Meadows School, a Seventh-day Adventist boarding school in West Virginia for troubled youth, ages seven to seventeen. He made sure he wasn’t paid in violation of his visa. Then he returned home for Thanksgiving and Christmas. He was on track to come back to the US for the winter quarter starting in January 1997. All looked good—until….
He and a friend arrived at Boston’s Logan Airport. The friend hadn’t filled out his immigration form correctly, and Reggie’s movements within the U.S. the year prior attracted attention to himself. What started out as a general, routine check for Reggie turned into a seven-hour interrogation session. The officers focused their questions on where he had traveled, with whom he had stayed, and what he had done during the spring, summer, and winter breaks.
They ruled that his colporteuring was illegal work. Reggie explains, “I wasn’t breaking any law; it was part of my curriculum. They were also concerned that I was traveling around the U.S. on my I-20 visa. Besides that, I think they didn’t like the titles of the messages I was preaching, such as ‘The Externalization of Satan’s Hierarchy.’ I had some Reformation books and other historical books on me, which didn’t help the situation.” One of the immigration officers asked a startling question. “So, Mr. Wright, are you going to be speaking about the New World Order this time?” Reggie wondered how the officer knew what his sermon topics might be. The computer record seemed to have quite a bit of detail about him. He wanted to see what else might be on the computer about him, but wasn’t allowed.
The immigration officers eventually informed Reggie they were part of a secret religious society. Charging him with visa violations, they told him, “Don’t even try to come back to the U.S. for ten years.” Armed officers put him on a plane back to England. Back home, the English customs officials couldn’t understand why he had been treated as
he had in a country with religious freedom.

The next time he tried to return to Hartland, his application for a student visa was denied, but Reggie kept his trust in God through it all. A ten year open visa was approved instead, but it took a representative from the British Parliament working out matters with the American ambassador in London and the immigration department.

Reggie says, “It was always in the back of my mind to finish what I had started.” During that time away from Hartland, he worked full time in soul-winning work with Voice in the Wilderness, a self-supporting ministry that he and Gary Harrison, a clos friend, had started. With God’s blessing, much hard work, and perseverance under discouraging conditions, this ministry has reached out to five continents through its publications, multimedia materials, seminars, and evangelistic meetings. It has reprinted eleven books including Seventh-day Adventist pioneer reprints, books by Louis Were, and some works dealing with endtime events. Their newsletter focuses on civil and
religious liberty and prophecy.

Then the door opened for Reggie to speak at Hartland’s Old-fashioned Family Bible Camp Meeting in August. It was also a long-awaited opportunity to finish his education.
Back at Hartland, by God’s grace and with help from his friends, he was able to finish his class work while maintaining his speaking schedule. Reggie commented, “Time was running out, so a couple of my brethren typed what I wrote and dictated. This
helped greatly.”
Twelve years after Reggie entered Hartland College, on September 14, 2005, Hartland College conducted a very special graduation ceremony just for him. His brother Roland, his coworker John Noel, and two new Hartland College students from England—Eliezar Alemeza and Michael Dantzie— were among the attendees on this happy occasion.
Reggie’s vision is to see the work expand in London, especially since the bombings this past July. “If we get a state-of-the-art printing press that can be hooked up to a computer, and one that is able to print high quality resolution at a faster rate than our current equipment,” Reggie says, “we could churn out books, tracts, and newsletters like
the leaves of autumn.” They also want to move into the realm of internet radio and revive their tape ministry.
Please keep Reggie and his ministry in your prayers as they fulfill the commission found in Evangelism, p. 415: “There is a great work to be done in England. The light radiating from London should beam forth in clear, distinct rays to regions beyond.”

You may contact Reggie at: Voice in the
Wilderness, P.O. Box 2015, London, W12 9ZJ,
ENGLAND or voiceinthewildrw@yahoo.co.uk.

By By Jean Handwerk and Sheri Trueblood | Hartland Ministry Report – Dec 2005 / Jan 2006

Diego Silva, one of our students on internship, shares:

Joyce, a former Amazing Facts contact, told me recently, “I had been praying that the Lord would send someone to study the Bible with me.” Amazing Facts gave us a list of their correspondence contacts in the Stafford area. Joyce received her first lesson in 1999, but never responded. I called to see if she still lives in the area; but the phone was disconnected, so I crossed her off my list. One afternoon, another student and I happened to be down the street visiting another contact, when I realized that Joyce lived nearby. I was impressed to go to her door.

When we mentioned Amazing Facts, she remembered that name and invited us in. After she found out that we were Seventh-day Adventists, she began to share, with tears in her eyes, that God had been convicting her about the Sabbath. We started studying with her, her husband, and her mother. Now the home is filled with people, including a group of children who are studying the Bible with other college students.
The Fundamentals of the Christian Faith class went door-to-door taking surveys in order to find people interested in attending the Amazing Facts Net 2005 evangelistic series. Rebecca Lui, one of the students, had an encouraging experience when she was asked to teach two church members how to fill out the surveys: I wasn’t planning on training others, at all.

I was nervous, because we had to ask questions such as, “Do you believe there is a God?” and “If so, who do you believe He is? Is Jesus the Son of God?” I am naturally shy, and I had never confronted people with such direct questions about God before.

We got a few surveys filled out. When one of my friends knocked on a door, I prayed that she would gain more confidence. The man who answered the door told us that he noticed that his neighbors weren’t answering their doors, even though they were home. He felt sorry for us and decided to help us out with the survey-“but no personal information.”

At the end we asked, “Would you be interested in doing Bible studies? Would you give your name and address?”

“I said, ‘No personal information,’” he replied.

I prayed, “Lord, please change this man’s heart to accept our offer for Bible studies, and help this to be a good experience for my friend.”

The man asked, “What denomination are you? I was good friends with a Seventh-day Adventist minister. I used to study the Bible and attend church with him. I believe that the seventh day is the Sabbath.” He was still hesitant to give us his name and address, but he finally did. Praise God that He answered my prayer!”

After two hours, despite many rejections, the students and church members found more than twenty people who were interested in studying the Bible. We praise the Lord for giving us these contacts for His kingdom.

By Diego Silva and Rebecca Lui | Hartland Ministry Report, April/May 2005