SPECIAL FEATURE

 

 

Mission stories often thrill us as we learn what God is doing through His people around the world. Other times they shake us to our very core as we visualize how much work remains to be done. And always they inspire us to fall to our knees in prayer and challenge us to do what we can to help further the gospel commission.

 

As I’ve traveled to various regions of the world as a result of my work, I’ve seen God’s spirit operating in the lives and hearts of those I meet. These experiences have encouraged me, motivated me—and even changed me.

 

It was Thursday afternoon in a Middle Eastern country. Sunita,* a nurse from India, was finishing up her duties in the hospital and getting ready for the long weekend. She had been planning for this weekend for months—especially for the Friday night Communion service.

 

Sunita’s pastor lived in another country. Only he and one other Adventist pastor oversaw the churches in seven different countries of the Middle East. He had to apply for a visa every time he came to visit Sunita’s church, and for more than a year the government had not granted his visa requests.

 

EAGER FOR THE WORD: Egyptian Adventists attending camp meeting at Nile Union Academy in Cairo eagerly examine Arabic books being sold by the Adventist 
publishing house.So when Sunita heard that my wife, Barbara, and I were coming to visit her country, she asked if I would hold a Communion service for them. She and others then set to work planning and preparing. This was going to be their first Communion service in more than a year.

 

Sunita made arrangements to have that weekend off work—even working extra shifts to be accommodating. Everything was going well—until Thursday afternoon when her boss walked into the nurses’ station.

 

“Sunita,” he said, “I’m sorry to have to say this, but several staff members are sick, and I need you to work tomorrow night.”

 

All Friday night at work Sunita was upset. It isn’t fair! she thought. Why did God allow this to happen?

 

Suddenly a door flew open, and with a shout of excitement in rushed 10-year-old Muhammad.

 

Sunita had known Muhammad since he was a baby. He had been born with a medical condition that required frequent and painful treatments. Many times she had been his nurse during those difficult sessions. She had held him and gently rubbed his head. In her heart she had prayed for this little boy and his family.

 

But Sunita hadn’t seen Muhammad for two years. When he had turned 8, his wealthy family had left the country. They traveled the world looking for a cure for Muhammad’s condition—or at least for a less painful treatment—but had recently returned without success. Now Muhammad was having another attack and needed treatment immediately.

 

As the little boy looked up at her through pain-filled and fearful eyes, he squeezed her again and said, “Oh, Sunita, I am so glad you are here! I prayed you would be.”

 

Tears ran down Sunita’s cheeks. She knew now why she was in the hospital instead of at church. She was there to help answer a little boy’s prayer.

 

For years Sunita had wondered if her work in this country was making any difference. She wasn’t having Bible studies with anyone. That was illegal. No one had been baptized or had started coming to church because of her influence. She wondered if she was a failure as a missionary. But now she felt God had opened her eyes. Maybe she was making a difference after all.

 

In that same country another Adventist nurse was also wrestling with what she was doing for God. Janet had been in the region for 17 years. Sometimes it seemed to her that they had been wasted years. “How will the work of taking the gospel to the world ever be finished if I can’t even find a way to do it here where I live and work in the Middle East?” she wondered.

 

One day she invited my wife and me to visit some friends with her. The hosts welcomed us warmly, and it was obvious they considered Janet part of the family.

 

At one point when the family was out of the room, Janet said softly, “Pastor, look at this!” and she reached over to the giant screen satellite system on the wall and turned it on.

 

I gasped in surprise as a familiar picture came up on the screen. It was a well-known Adventist pastor preaching on one of the Adventist satellite channels. “Janet,” I asked in amazement, “how is it that this family is watching Adventist television?”

 

She laughed and said, “They like cooking. So when I saw a cooking program, I told them about it and offered to tune their satellite and program it into their favorites so they could see it anytime. Now they watch many of the Adventist preachers and programs.”

 

“Have you done this with anyone else?” I asked.

 

“Yes,” she said. “I have done it with most of my friends and coworkers. I find a program I think they would like, then tune their satellite and enter it into their favorites list.”

 

I gently chided Janet. “Don’t tell me you aren’t making a difference here,” I said. “You may not be seeing people baptized or in church, but all over this city families are watching Adventist television because they have learned to love and trust you. Some of them will be walking the streets of heaven with you when Jesus comes again!”

 

Sometimes we may think that no one around us is interested in hearing about our beliefs. We might even be in a place where we don’t feel free to share our beliefs. But don’t be discouraged. As with Sunita and Janet, the Lord could be working through you to reach others in ways you might not realize.

 

Almost 150 years ago the Adventist Church started as a small, English-speaking group in the United States. It took members a long time to realize that the church had a responsibility to carry the gospel to the entire world. But once they did, they poured their hearts into that mission, and the church has grown rapidly ever since.

 

In 1863 there was one Seventh-day Adventist for every 373,143 people in the world, so taking the gospel message to all the world seemed to be an overwhelming challenge. In less than 50 years, however—by 1900—we had one member for every 21,487 people! Another 50 years, 1950, and we had one for every 3,300. In 2000 there was one member for every 519 people. And by the end of 2007 it was one for every 429 people on earth. What amazing progress!

 

The church now claims almost 16 million members, or 25 to 30 million members if we count the children, as most churches do. We are no longer just an English-speaking church in North America. Spanish is now the church’s number one language. One third of the members live in Central and South America. One third lives in Africa. And the final third is divided up between North America, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, the former Soviet Union, and the rest of the world.

 

The Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division now has one Adventist for every 68 people. Inter-America has one for every 90. South America has one for every 114. The East-Central African Division has one member for every 119 people. The North American Division has one member for every 319 people. In 18 countries Adventists make up more than 5 percent of the population. And in several countries Adventists are 10 percent or more of the population!

 

This is fantastic progress. We have much for which to be thankful. But before we pat ourselves too much on the back, let’s look at some other statistics: 

Let me illustrate it another way.

 

Let’s pretend we can climb the tallest building in South America and have all the people living in the South American Division file by one per second, single file, 24 hours a day. How often would we see a Seventh-day Adventist walk past? Every 1.9 minutes.

 

But if we climbed the Mount of Olives in Israel (or the mountains of Central Asia) we would have to wait 148 minutes (2.5 hours) between every Adventist. And if you came with me to Egypt and we sat on a pyramid and had the people of Egypt file by one per second, single file, 24 hours a day, we would have more than a day between each member (25.1 hours). For Saudi Arabia it would be 284 days (9.5 months) between each Adventist!

 

In Matthew 9:37, 38 Jesus says our focus doesn’t need to be on the harvest, because the harvest is already ripe. He says we should be praying for laborers.

 

When Barbara and I were working in the Middle East Union, we lived in Cyprus. One day we walked into a small shop managed by a Greek Orthodox man.

 

He was a talkative guy and was happy for a chance to practice his English. Soon he asked where we were from and why we were in Cyprus. When I said I worked for the Seventh-day Adventist Church, his eyes narrowed. “Church!” he spat out the word. “Are you Christian?”

 

Hesitantly, I said, “Yes, we are Christian.”

 

“Well, what do you believe?” he said with an air of superiority.

 

I sent up a prayer and then answered, “I believe Jesus died for me. He paid the price for my sins, rose again, and is coming back to take all who will accept Him to heaven.”

 

A wistful look came over his face as he said, “I wish I knew that Jesus died for me.”

 

We talked some more, and I left his shop—puzzled. How could a Christian not know that Jesus died for them?

 

Millions of people don’t yet know the good news. They aren’t just Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, and Muslims. There are also many “Christians” who don’t know that Jesus died for them. The harvest surely is ripe.

 

We need laborers. We need Adventists living in every country, city, town, and village on earth. We need volunteers fanning out around the world to spend a year or two learning to know people in places where there are few other Adventists. We need members who can show what it means to be a faithful follower of Jesus and help people realize that Jesus died for them.

 

Being a laborer isn’t always easy. It involves sacrifice and risk. But the harvest is ripe. Jesus is longing to come. All He needs now are laborers.

 

For information about being a volunteer, go to www.AdventistVolunteers.org. 

 

*Names in this article, other than the author’s and his wife’s, are pseudonyms.