9 July 2015 | San Antonio, Texas, USA [Katie Allen, tedNEWS] Evening reports from the Southern Asia Division (SUD) and the West-Central Africa Division (WAD) sandwiched the presentation from the Trans-European Division (TED) on Thursday, 9 July.
Outgoing President of the SUD, John Rathinaraj, was accompanied on stage by a traditional singer and members of his division in bright saris and sherwanis. Their video themed, ‘Reaching the Unreached’, detailed several categories in which members are reaching out to achieve their mission.
An Adventist Media Centre, which produces programming in five dominant Indian languages, covers 350 towns, with a total of 17 million daily listeners. Hope TV India, the Division’s own TV channel, has created a variety of productions, including it’s first Net Evangelism series.
The video highlighted some of the challenges across the region, giving an example of the Kingdom of Bhutan. Here, people follow Buddhism and attempts to convert is forbidden by the government, yet there are now 678 Adventists in 7 congregations across the country.
James Nix, Director of the Ellen G. White Estate, gave his daily insight into the early Adventist Church, focusing on John Andrews, the first overseas missionary, in a presentation titled, ‘Faithful to His Service’.
He shared how the Andrews family moved to Switzerland and began writing and distributing a French ‘Signs of the Times’ publication. To learn the language, the family agreed, with a signed declaration, that for only one hour a day they would speak English, devoting the rest of the time to communicating in French.
Nix unfolded the story behind the deaths of daughter Mary and of John himself. Both affected with consumption, now known as tuberculosis, they died within a short period of each other. Yet, on his deathbed, John was still thinking of ways to benefit the early church. He ensured that the last $500 he had was allocated to the mission in Europe.
The final report of the week was from the West-Central Africa Division, led by departing president, Gilbert Wari. He introduced a video presentation that focused on ‘Revival and Reformation’.
In the last five years, the region has seen an expansion from 6 to 10 Unions and the growth of 39 to 66 local fields. The video emphasised the importance of people’s personal encounters with Jesus and that their mission is a big challenge.
Despite dealing with the presence of religious extremism on the continent, members are seeing, more than ever, how God is blessing their territory. ‘Even if the future ahead is not comfortable or safe, we are moving ahead’, shared the narrator. [tedNEWS]
tedNEWS Staff: Miroslav Pujic, director; Deana Stojkovic, editor
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