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March 2014
Travel Report:
Loma Linda, CA & Maseru,
Lesotho (southern Africa)
With this report we are
using the blog format with embedded slideshows in order to share the
pictures. Hopefully this will be easier
for you to access and easier for me to distribute to those on the email list..
This report has four
parts: two events in Loma Linda and two
in Lesotho. What was planned as two
separate trips ended resulted in one long extended trip due to weather and
flight cancellations.
Loma Linda, California
From a personal
perspective this trip was especially nice in that Carolyn (my wife) was able to
travel with me and we were invited to stay with friends, Hal and Judy Thomsen,
who recently moved to suburb of Loma Linda called Apple Valley. Special indeed!
#1 Interview
with Dr. Richard Hart, President of Loma Linda University.
A primary reason for the
trip to Loma Linda was to interview Dr. Hart for a coming issue of the Dynamic Steward. You may read this insightful interview as
part of the second quarter’s issue coming out in a few weeks. The theme for this issue is: “Stewards of
Influence.” Dr. Hart was chosen both for
his personal influence but also because of the global influence of Loma Linda
University. As president he presides
over three core corporations—the university with eight professional schools,
president of the medical center as well as the hospital system which includes
850 doctors in the faculty medical group.
Despite his heavy administrative load he continues to keep his medical
practice active. For personal therapy he
splits four or five cords which supplies the heat for his home. His passion for
and promotion of global medical mission work is renown. Perhaps I will share
one quote from the interview that I believe reflects a driving principle
throughout his career: “I’ve said many
times, people look at us and say what wonderful things you do for the world
church. I would argue just the other way
around. What wonderful things,
opportunities, the world church gives us!
If we did not have those service opportunities, it would fundamentally
change the character of Loma Linda.”
Indeed, a steward who uses his influence to meet the needs of others.
#2 Meeting a
Friend for the First Time
A few months ago while
conducting a stewardship seminar in Mexico I was asked if I would contact an
American living in Mexico and share with him some literature on how to stop
smoking. We eventually made
connection. I learned that he was a
private investigator working out of Mexico but with an office in southern
California. We connected him with
someone else who wanted to stop smoking and for over three weeks we did a
three-way conference call nearly every evening.
It was an extremely meaningful time for me. Every once in a while we need to apply our
theology to meet real human needs—human successes and times when success comes
only after some slips and falls. I never
met Steve in person but I knew him. We
talked, we prayed, we laughed and we cried.
Then it happened just when things were going so well. He had to leave for a one or two week trip to
go to his California office but promised he would call as this was necessary
for his continued success with the stop smoking plan. He never called. Over a week went by but no call until he did
call. He called from a hospital bed and
recognizing his incoherency at times handed the phone over to his sister Sue. Providentially, I knew a young pastor in the
Redlands area by the name of Kyle Allen.
He served on my President’s Youth Cabinet when I was in
Georgia-Cumberland Conference. He and
his “special friend” visited Steve and Sue and what a blessing they were! I believe it was two weeks (maybe more) that
Sue and I spoke intermittently about Steve, about suffering, about life but
mostly about our trust in God. Steve
would say to me, “Larry, I want to be a man of God” and by that he was
declaring he wanted to part with his former lifestyle. Unfortunately his organs shut down and Steve
died of Legionnaires Disease. Prior to
his death, his fiancée, a Seventh-day
Adventist from Mexico, was with him as was Sue.
Together they sang and prayed with and for Steve. Sue has a Roman Catholic background. We had much in common – the kind of things
that build strong Christian friendships.
While I Loma Linda, Carolyn and I met Sue. What a delightful person. Some day I will meet Steve too.
Maseru, Lesotho (southern Africa)
#3.
Conference-wide Stewardship Emphasis
Pastor Paul Shongwe,
Stewardship Director for the Southern Africa Union Conference, invited me to
conduct stewardship seminars for pastors and teachers and to participate in a
conference-wide stewardship advisory for the members of the conference. Prior to his present position, Dr. Shongwe
was the president of Helderberg College.
His daughter was tragically murdered leading to a change work. He is a delightful, compassionate scholar
with whom to work! Such is one of the
cherished privileges I have!! Lesotho
(pronounced li-soo-too) is a small landlocked country completely surrounded by
South Africa. About 40% of the
population lives below the international poverty line of the U.S. $1.25 a day.
The government is a constitutional monarchy and while the country does have a
king it is largely ceremonial in function and is actually prohibited from
actively participating in political initiatives. The Prime Minister has the executive
authority. In the Lesotho Conference we have 38 churches and a membership of
just over 7200. There are only 7
pastors. The elementary school that I
visited had nearly 700 students.
Adventist education is highly valued in the country – including among
those outside our church. When speaking
with the police at the border they informed us that our hospital is their
too!! It is about two hours away!! The Adventist hospital with its nursing
school is highly valued throughout this country.
#4. Visit to
the Vocational School for the Disabled.
It is my practice when
planning my stewardship trips to ask to visit the Deaf so I can assure them
that they have not been forgotten and that we value them as members. I
discovered that we have no group of Deaf in Lesotho so my hosts arranged for me
to visit a vocational school for the disabled.
This is not a religious institution.
Right now this facility has 32 students ranging from about 18 years old
to much older. The desire is to teach
them some kind of vocation so they can start a business of their own and
provide for themselves.
What I did not know until
after I left was that there was some hesitancy in granting permission for my
visit. Previous religious groups had
come believing that such disabilities happen because the person is filled with
demons. The purpose of their visit was
to cast demons out of the disabled in order to make them whole. That, of course, was not my purpose for
coming. All 32 had been told I was
coming and so they gathered in a meeting hall.
I was not expecting this and I had no intention of “preaching” to
them. I came to learn and to show my
support and concerns for them. That’s
all. However, when I was placed in front
of them they expected me to say something.
I explained who I was and why I have such an interest in them. Then I explained that I was a Christian and
that I believe we are all made in the image of God regardless of whether we can
see, hear, speak or walk without being in a wheelchair. All of which were seated before me.
At this point a young deaf
man probably in his early 20’s stood and with sign language explained that he
had gone to church on a Sunday to learn what he could. There was no one there to interpret for
him. I wasn’t clear if he said he
decided on his own to leave or if he was encouraged to leave, but regardless,
he left very disappointed and I believe discouraged.
I sensed this had
resonated with others in the group so I asked, “How many here would like to
know more about Jesus?” More than half
of the hands enthusiastically were raised.
I was shocked. Here was a group
who wanted to know more about Jesus. I had just come from a part of the world
where many resist church, resist Bible study and resist being associated with
Jesus – not all, of course, but more than I wish.
Then a young lady about
the same age stood. She could
speak. With earnestness she began by
expressing her appreciation for our coming.
She was saying how much she appreciated that someone came who showed an interest
in them but she never finished her sentence.
She never said any more. What she
did next said more than words could express.
She buried her face into her arms, sat down and began to cry
uncontrollably. Someone had come and saw them a real people, with real needs,
and real hearts. I walked back to
console her, placed my hand on her back as she rested her head on her arms and
on the desk in which she was sitting.
She never raised her head. The
tears were real. The feelings of
isolation were apparent. The directors
of the school explained that soon she would be leaving and would go out into
the African world to try to make enough money to support herself. Unfortunately she has no start-up money but
now added to that was the realization that she felt isolated in a world that
saw her as not whole and even those who were Christian saw her as having
demons.
I cannot not erase from my
thoughts either the Deaf boy who found no one to tell him about Jesus nor the
young girl who felt rejected and now thrust into a world while feeling that
those who do see her see her as less than whole if not worse. Such are the reasons why I have asked to take
on this work for the Deaf despite my regular work as Associate Director and
editor for the GC Stewardship Ministries Department.
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