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08 Dec

INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE DIFFERENT ARE NOT DIFFERENT STUDENTS LEARN

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By Abigail Hernandez – Colorado Springs, Colorado … Students in second through fourth grades at Springs Adventist Academy are learning about individuals who live with disabilities.

Pupils are engaging in the subject through a series of readings, research, guest speakers, and activities.

In the month of September, they were introduced to Dr. Mary Schlieder, Union College professor, and head of the “Circle of Friends” inclusion program at Lincoln Public Schools. Schlieder expressed that everyone has certain strengths and challenges, pointing out that we are all more alike than we are different.

In November, the class met with Erwin Velbis, a stroke survivor. He explained to the students that he experienced two strokes and how they drastically changed his life. He was a nurse anesthetist previously, and he discussed how he would get annoyed with stroke patients because they were slow and were difficult to understand. Now, Velbis, a stroke survivor himself feels what his patients felt and asked the students “to pray for those with disabilities.”

The elementary pupils also learned about a fifth grader who has cerebal palsy by reading the book “Out of My Mind” by Sharon M. Draper. The story takes the readers along the emotional rollercoaster of one who is physically disabled and not able to talk, yet is mentally sharper than most people.

Along with these experiences, students are each researching disabilities and writing a short essay on one disability, including how to show empathy towards them. Along with the essay, they are preparing an art piece to create awareness in others that it is okay to be different.

The class work will be displayed in January at the Ruth Holley Public Library in Colorado Springs.

–Abigail Hernandez is second – fourth grade teacher at Springs Adventist Academy; photo supplied (students without masks in picture are under the age 10 and are exempt from the mask mandate.)

07 Dec

“WHY AREN’T WE REOPENING?” – COMMENTARY

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By Evgeni Kovachev – Denver, Colorado … Individuals, church leaders, and even courts have been discussing whether churches should open again and if they can be restricted in any way. Recently, in a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court sided with religious groups in a dispute over New York Covid-19 restrictions limiting the number of worshippers. At the same time, The Denver Post reports, Colorado COVID hospitalizations rose by more than 15%.

What do we do?

Who do we listen to?

During a recent sermon, I listed several reasons why it seems God might advise us to pause our plans for opening when COVID cases are increasing and hospitals are full.

JESUS IS IN CONTROL of our life.

There are different “seasons” in our journey that God has planned for us so He can achieve His purposes. Trust Him. In Genesis 8:22, God gives seasons as an assurance to Noah that He will be with him through everything. Solomon gives his famous “there is a time for everything” wisdom so we can be ready for unexpected changes in our circumstances. In Ecclesiastes 3:5, he says: ‘there is … a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing.” Times change, seasons come and go; God is still with us and we can trust Him. Let’s enjoy what He is doing for us during this season.

JESUS LOVES PEOPLE and their safety and health are of the highest priority for Him.   

In Leviticus (see 13:46), He gave multiple health and social principles for His people to follow so they ‘don’t have the sicknesses of Egypt.’ One of these was the distancing and quarantining of people with infections that can be spread. It was the responsibility of the priest to assess the symptoms of a person and decide if they should stay outside the camp (13:4). At some point, the king of Judah had to be separated into a different house and live there to the end of his life. His son took over the kingdom (2 King 15:5). David himself writes Psalm 38 while he is in isolation from his ‘friends and companions (who) must stand distant because of my [his] plague,’ and even his ‘relatives stand far off.’ (V.11). Jesus loves us and our safety and health are of the highest priority.

JESUS IS ACCESSIBLE EVERYWHERE and there is more to church than worship service.

In the Old Testament, God dwelt in the Sanctuary. His dwelling was separated by a curtain and had limited access in time and person, once a year only, by the High Priest only.

Jesus tore apart the ‘curtain’ that separates us from God. Now, where there are two or three gathered, He is there. While we miss seeing our dear friends in the church, we have Him, anywhere we go.

Jesus’ perfect plan for his disciples wasn’t just to spend time with Him in corporate worship; rather, His plan of discipleship was for them to enjoy deeper fellowship in smaller groups, to minister to the needs of others, and to introduce Him to those who don’t know Him (Acts 2).

We are called to focus on the mission, spreading the good news and serving those in need. We have fallen in love with bricks, mortar, and instruments. Jesus loves people and wants to make us accessible to those who need Him.

What can we do?

Continue to worship, build an altar, pray, invite family and neighbors to your place.

Continue to serve people. Find someone who is worse than you and help them.

The happiest people in the church are those who serve.

–Evgeni Kovachev is the senior pastor at Denver South Adventist church; photo by UnSplash

This article was adapted from an article originally published in the Denver South newsletter.

07 Dec

MONTROSE CHURCH MEMBERS DONATE BICYCLE FOR MISSION IN ZAMBIA

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By Cheré Fisher – Montrose, Colorado … Members of the Montrose Seventh-day Adventist Church donated funds for a bicycle in support of evangelistic outreach in Zambia, according to Chere’ Fisher, operations officer for the church. The bicycle was purchased for Chabby Alfred Chabala, a lay missionary in Zambia, Africa.

Chabby is now joyfully loading Bibles and Christian literature on the bicycle, excited to have a new transport vehicle to replace one borrowed for many months.

There are many needy individuals hungering and thirsting for God’s Holy Word in Zambia, says Cherie’. Working with Chabby to send donated Ellen G. White books and Bibles to Zambia is www.empoweredlivingministries.org. They invite donors to support this missionary work, Cherie’ adds. Chabby is also organizing a group of local believers who plan to translate books into several local languages.

“Thank you for your kindness and concern for my missionary work here in Zambia-Luapula Province. You are [giving] a tremendous and miraculous support here,” said Chabby.

He explained that without help from Montrose, little would be accomplished in his province. “Let us be faithful and Jesus will come soon,” Chabby added.

— Cheré Fisher, is operations officer of the Montrose Seventh-day Adventist Church. Photo supplied.

03 Dec

MY SEVENTH BIRTHDAY AFTER GOD’S MIRACLE

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By Dorie Panganiban … A song I love to sing goes like this: “How can I say thanks for the things You have done for me? Things so undeserved, yet You gave to prove Your love for me; The voices of a million angels could not express my gratitude. All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe it all to Thee. To God be the glory!”

In the sentiment of this song, I want to share my testimony of God’s miraculous working in my life and why, on Dec. 13, 2020, I will be celebrating my seventh birthday. Yes, my second chance at life. How can I forget that Friday? It was about 9 o’clock in the morning and I was walking from the parking lot of the La Vida Mission office to the pathway that leads to our church building to wrap and pack Christmas gifts for the community with my volunteers. That’s when I was run over by a big dually diesel truck. It backed up over me and then drove forward, running me over twice.

When the truck backed up on me, the tires stopped on my left shoulder, as if an angel was telling it to stop there so it would not crush my head and my face. When it drove forward, it left me lying on 3-4 inches of snow that had fallen the night before, which served as my cushion and prevented me from being completely crushed.

The first several minutes, it didn’t hurt, and I didn’t feel anything. But after an hour of lying on the snow-packed ground, the pain hit and I lost my sight for three days. Airlifted to San Juan Regional Medical Center in Farmington, New Mexico, I was subjected to various tests and X-rays, which showed that I had 15 broken bones, from my clavicle to my ribs to my pelvis, leg, and ankle bones. My kidney was also cut, and my left lung collapsed. In addition, I suffered PTSD for at least two months.

One alarming part of it was that I didn’t have health insurance. The workman’s comp insurance at the mission had expired and the vehicle insurance for the truck that ran me over, was minimal–certainly not enough for my almost $150k hospital bills, helicopter ride, and rehab expenses.

How was I able to pull through this whole situation, I was asked. God pulled me through these difficulties. I was weak and helpless and knew not what to do, except to cry and pray.

I was aware that many, many people from all over the world were praying for me. I received hospital visits, texts, calls, messages from family and friends, childhood classmates, and my Navajo community family—all assuring me they were praying for me. That was a great encouragement, so I trusted my God and depended on Him for healing and for financial and hospitalization needs.

And God did care for me. After being confined to the hospital for two weeks and being at the Rehabilitation Center for ten days, spending both Christmas and New Year’s away from home, I was on the road to recovery. Miracle of miracles, after four or five months, my hospital bills were all paid off and I was debt free!

It took almost a year for me to walk with no help, but my journey from hospital bed to wheelchair, to a walker, followed by crutches, a cane and finally my own feet again was truly a miracle of God’s love. For that, I give thanks and tribute to Him.

In all these things, I have come to know my God more and to trust Him more! Our God is not some fantasy or fairy-tale hero. Our God is real, and we can always depend on Him. Our God is omnipotent and all-powerful. There’s nothing that He cannot do.

It is not what we know but Who we know that makes the difference He gives peace and joy, color and meaning to our lives. Do you know Him?

– Dorie Panganiban is office manager and outreach director, La Vida Mission, Farmington, New Mexico

03 Dec

MINISTERIAL RETREAT FINDS A NEW HOME IN 2021

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By Jon Roberts – Denver, Colorado … Scheduled for February 8-9, 2021, the annual ministerial retreat weekend at Glacier View Ranch, will transition to a virtual event due to the current pandemic situation in the Rocky Mountain Conference. A recommendation to hold it via Zoom was made and accepted at the ADCOM meeting in late November, according to Mickey Mallory, RMC ministerial director.

“With the current uptick in the virus and the failure to see any significant changes in the current COVID protocols two months from now, I felt it was best to move to a Zoom format,” Mallory explained.

Disappointed by the lost chance to fellowship and network together, Mallory has confidence the online meetings will give that opportunity yet.

“By now, our pastors have learned to make the best of the online platform. While it does not provide the opportunities that we would have face to face, it still gives us a chance to see each other and hear how everyone is coping,” Mallory said.

Shayne Vincent, Casper, Wyoming district pastor expressed disappointment in hearing the news, “These meetings are a source of encouragement and comradery as it is often the only opportunity to get to know one another. It will be missed.”

The mission for the yearly retreat, taken from 2 Peter 3, hasn’t changed: “To inspire and equip pastors with tools that they can use to help their churches and communities grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3:18

The theme for the 2021 retreat, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ,” will feature Michael Harpe, NAD stewardship director giving a seminar titled “Stewarsdhip, Revolutionary Generosity & Life Management”, and Dr. Ranko Stefanovic, Andrews University seminary professor will be sharing some practical tips on how to interpret and teach the book of Revelation with Jesus Christ as the central focus.

—Jon Roberts is RMC communication/media assistant

02 Dec

HOW TO RESOLVE SANDBOX FIGHTS AT CHURCH

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By Jon Roberts – Denver, Colorado … “I have often said that the title PLAY NICE in Your Sandbox at Church has to be among the dumbest titles you have ever heard. Do we really need a book that tells Christians they ought to get along with each other?” Ron Price wrote in the introduction of his latest book.

Price, an RMC executive committee member from Farmington, New Mexico, and conflict resolution author, recently released his third book in the series Play Nice in Your Sandbox.

His latest book deals with conflict resolution at church and between one another as believers.  This topic shows some believers running and hiding, pretending conflict doesn’t exist, while others use membership transfers to solve conflict instead of dealing with the root issue.

Ed Barnett, RMC President, in a forward to Price’s book, wrote, “As I read this book by Ron Price, I thought to myself, “It would be nice to buy a copy for every member. Ron has a great sense of humor and just the right mix of quotes, both from the Bible and other writers, to make the book interesting and enjoyable. He really gets to the bottom of the issues in getting along at church.”

As Price explains, this book is not typical as it is designed to be read in sections instead of all at once, very similar to other self-help books.

With sections titled: Pray, Pray, Pray; Love Yourself as You Love Your Neighbor; Choose to Remain Civil and Christlike; and Embrace Conflict as Opportunity, there is advice for resolution and healing of the majority of conflicts that exist in churches and between members, though it may not solve the debate between green and blue carpet. Each chapter concludes with a challenge, as well as advice on going deeper with the subject matter covered.

The need for this book was very clear for Price.

“As a mediator for over 30 years, I’ve seen my share of disputes and disagreements. In my humble opinion many of these situations were unresolvable, while many others I felt could be resolved or even prevented from ever having occurred. Disputes in workplaces and at home are understandable, but disputes in churches between children of the same God,” Price said.

It was not only addressing the issues at church, but also an offer to training church members in conflict resolution. “While most people say they dread conflict, most have never been trained or equipped to prevent or resolve differences they will have with others. That belief drove me to do my part to help people be more confident in their ability to address conflict in a mutually-satisfying manner. I like to say that while conflict is inevitable, damaged relationships are optional,” Price added.

PLAY NICE in Your Sandbox at Church can be found at many of your online retailers including Amazon.

–Jon Roberts is RMC media/communication assistant; Photo by Jon Roberts

02 Dec

SHAVING CREAM AND CANDY KEY TO LEARNING CREATION AT HMS RICHARDS SCHOOL

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By Haley Enochs – Loveland, Colorado …Taking advantage of in-person school this semester, Kristie Smith, a kindergarten teacher at HMS Richards school, is helping her students explore the story of creation in a fun, interactive way.

The activities she has presented to her students include constructing creation scenes out of candy, drawing events with shaving cream, and talking about why each part of creation was essential to the world. “It was a very big, messy project,” stated Smith.

Due to the uncertainty 2020 has brought, Smith wanted to encourage reading the Bible and building a closer relationship with God among her charges. However, for kindergartners, it can sometimes be hard to focus their attention on the Bible, but hands-on activities keep them engaged.

Smith explained, “I feel like this year with COVID, Bible class is a very important part of the curriculum because, while we don’t know when Jesus is returning, there are so many signs right now that He will be returning soon.”

In Smith’s classroom, helping students connect to God isn’t just limited to Bible class. Throughout the day, when students bring up personal concerns, she teaches them to stop and pray. “We’ve seen miracles already happen in our class,” explained Smith. “We’ll pray about something and, many times, just a few minutes later, we can see how God has answered us.”

Because of the pandemic, it is always a question if schools will be able to stay open for in-person learning.

“Every day I go in, I know it’s a blessing that I’m there with my kids and we’re not meeting online,” said Smith. “It’s just really neat to be with them and laugh with them. Every day is a miracle and my kids know that too. We thank God and pray that we can continue to stay open.”

–Haley Enochs, is a senior at Campion Academy; photos supplied

02 Dec

That Time When Two NAD Departments Collaborated… and Saved the Church Nearly a Million Dollars in the Process

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By Richard Stephenson — Columbia, Maryland … In June 2019, the North American Division (NAD) adopted Zoom as its official video-conferencing service, following NAD Education’s recommendation and endorsement.

NAD Information Technology Services (ITS) completed the migration that August, including setting up seven Zoom Rooms in the NAD headquarters. NAD ITS and NAD Education negotiated a two-year corporate contract with Zoom, and, with the Lord’s blessing, the NAD was able to get a discount of more than 55% off the cost of the necessary Zoom products. One of the crucial terms of the contract that Martha Ban, Director of Technology for Education, and Richard Stephenson, Director of ITS, insisted on, was that this service could be shared with any Adventist institution. Little did anyone know, just a few months later, that this contract stipulation would save the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America approximately $900,000.00

At the end of March and beginning of April, thousands of NAD churches began to close their doors and attempted to migrate to online worship services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The vast majority of those churches did not have an existing video-conferencing or live-streaming solution in place. The demand for Zoom skyrocketed literally overnight, and more than one hundred requests came in each day asking for Zoom licenses from the NAD’s Zoom service agreement. Martha Ban and Richard Stephenson worked six days a week filling Zoom requests from our churches, schools, youth camps, retreat centers, conferences, and unions. Licenses were also made available to media ministries such as It is Written, as well as to the GC, ADRA, and other world divisions and conferences.

NAD institutions immediately put these licenses to good use, sharing the gospel message of hope and wholeness to a vast online community. Though the physical doors of these entities had been shut, an unprecedented flurry of online ministry and mission burst forth. “It has been exciting to see how our partnership with Zoom has helped church attendance and school enrollments boom in the midst of the pandemic,” Martha Ban said.

The Zoom services stipulated in the contract not only included video-conferencing capabilities, but also live recording, transcription services for the impaired, branding (so entities and institutions could advertise their unique identity in the local community), and live-streaming capabilities to Facebook and YouTube. It was as though the Lord chose each of these features to be included in the NAD corporate contract, knowing that His Church would need those very features in the near future. “Looking back over these past 8 months, I can clearly see the Lord’s hand leading His Church and His people! I’m awestruck by His incredible faithfulness!” said Richard Stephenson. To date, the NAD has provided 4,200 Zoom licenses, 52 Zoom Rooms, and dozens of other Zoom products (webinars, large meetings, Zoom Phone, etc.).

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a far-reaching impact on the Adventist Church. While some of our churches are reopening physically, we hope that our churches will never close virtually and that they may continue to be a beacon of light for online audiences.

–Richard Stephenson is NAD IT Director; photo by Pixabay

Editor’s note: In RMC we have 58 paid licenses and 171 total users (some are on free education licenses Zoom has provided to eligible schools during the pandemic).

Reprinted from NAD Insider, October 29, 2020, a weekly, internal e-publication.

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