THE STRAITS TIMES, AUGUST 4, 1976 Heavy meals at night harmful, says expert HEART attack or no heart attack, Singaporeans are miktinuing to tuck in to their heaW•ANI:ti'rent at hawker centres and +Ober eating places at night. The warning that heavy meals taken at night are harmful to the heart came from Dr. Charles Thomas, associate professor at NMI tiro • •• !) • S A southeast asia union 11"11191"111 September-October, 1978, M. C. (P) No. 196/1/78 � ADVENTIST HEALTH "BOMBSHELL" BLASTS SINGAPORE Wired with electrodes and on the ergometer bicycle is Chaplain Ng Gan Theow being carefully monitored on the telemetry by Drs. Al Parch- ment and Charles Thomas during Health Workshop Weekend in Singa- pore. Photo—Courtesy New Nation Some of Singapore's affluent car- and motorbike-riding populace were jolted out of smug complacency concerning their optimum health levels early in August. On hand to trigger this concern was health expert Dr. Charles Thomas originally from India, and now Associate Pro- fessor in the Department of Health Science at Loma Linda University, southern California, U.S.A. Cham- pioning the cause of Adventist health reforms for the past 12 years, Dr. Thomas said he owed much to the inspirational counsel given in the late 1800's by Mrs. Ellen G. White in her books Counsels on Diet and Foods and The Ministry of Healing. A simple diet, a simpler life-style, adequate exercise, pre-meal drink- ing of plain water and a vibrant faith in God can work wonders in preventing our modern society's many ills. A heavy meal at night can be "a killer"! Dr. Thomas warn- ed in diametric opposition to a fav- ourite pastime in Singapore. Further maxims were: have a "maxi" break- fast, a "medium" lunch and a "mini" supper. Don't "squeeze" juicy fruit, chew them, pulp and all. Eat more natural whole grains, fruit, vegetables and nuts in preference to refined foods and sugars de- pleted of vitamins and minerals. Walk, jog, swim or cycle daily if you cannot get a good work-out in a garden or in a fresh-air country area. Avoid stress-inducing situ- ations, the glare and blare of city- life, job, school and domestic ten- sions. Learn how to unwind, relax, depressurize to thwart heart attacks and high B.P. (blood pressure) levels which are increasing among younger city-dwellers every year. Evening lectures and the latest supportive films on coping with stress and Alan Larkien's "How to Control Your Time Er Your Life" met with packed audiences at Southeast Asia Union College's ample auditorium, thanks to ar- rangements by Pastor Koh Kang Song and President Don Halenz. Demonstrating at the Water Semi- nar, Dr. Thomas strongly advocated simple hydrotherapy procedures to ward off colds at their onset, relieve pain and reduce fever. All should have a practical knowledge of these, he urged, to promote medical missionary work in the community and in the home. Physical profiles at Youngberg Memorial Adventist Hospital were conducted on a cross-section of almost 300 of Singapore's residents. They were supervised under the expertise of Drs. Thomas and More . . . on Page 6 Inside: Christian Flesh is Sweet to Eat! by Geoffrey Pauner in SARAWAK STORYBOOK also by Paull Dixon and by Case Ketting � See Page 8 San Yu Hi Celebrates � See Page 11 THE MESSENGER Published bi-monthly as the official organ of the South- east Asia Union Mission of Seventh-day Adventists, 251 Upper Serangoon Road, Singapore 13. Yearly Subscription Price S2.50 (U.S.) Editor � Jill Warden Parchment Circulation Manager � Esther Donato "Contributing Editors" throughout our Union field are: MISSIONS: Sabah � Miss Hon Yin Kong Sarawak � Paull Dixon Thailand � Dennis Tidwell W. Malaysia-Singapore Jonathan Ng INSTITUTIONS: Southeast Asia Union College Bangkok Adventist Hospital Haad Yai Mission Hospital Loraine Renschler � Myrtle Fitzgerald Penang Adventist Hospital � Edward Heisler Phuket Mission Hospital �Romulo Bartolome Youngberg Mem. Adventist Hospital ... .Albert Khor Chiengmai Academy � Steve Bassham 1978, M. C. (P) No. 19611.08 SOUTHEAST ASIA UNION MISSION OF SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS DIRECTORY President � Robert Heisler Secretary & Communications � Wu Chook Ying Treasurer & Health � Marshall Chase Assistant Treasurer � Jonathan Kong Auditor � Edmund Ho Child Evangelism � Anita Heisler Education & Stewardship � LeVerne Bissell S.S., M.V. & Temperance � Bernie Donato Ministerial, Lay Activities Et V.O.P.... Calvin Smith Assistant Director V.0 P � Wong Siew Fong Publishing � Ray Ammon SABAH MISSION President � James Thurmon Secretary � Charles S. Gaban Treasurer & Auditor � Peter Wong P. 0. Box 7, Tamparuli, Sabah, East Malaysia SARAWAK MISSION President � Paull Dixon Secretary � Geoffrey Pauner Treasurer & Auditor � Gilbert Maju P. 0. Box 41, Kuching, Sarawak THAILAND MISSION (INCLUDING LAOS) President � Sunti Sorajjakool Sec-Treasurer & Auditor � H. I. Lukman P. 0. Box 11-234, Bangkok, Thailand WEST MALAYSIA-SINGAPORE MISSION President � T. K. Chong Sec-Treasurer & Auditor � C. B. Lim 166-A Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur 06-26 Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia In appreciation, Photo Credits by page number go to: Larry and Lester Wan 7, 11; Ray Ammon 12; Albert Khor 5, 6; Case Ketting 9; Dennis Tidwell 10; Liang Ah Onn 9; Geoffrey Pauner 8, 9; Ed Heisler 7; Peter Foo7; Jim Thurmon 4; Dr. Man Nelson 5; Chin Kong Loi 5; David Macarewa 12; Paull Dixon 8, 9; New Nation 1; Coral Cadence 9; Flame of the Forest 2; The Review 3; Canadian Messenger 3; Echo Stevens 12; Bob Heisler 4. Home—The Most Important School by Dr. Lily Wong Chairperson Education Department Southeast Asia Union College — • There is a time for training children and a time for edu- cating youth, and it is essential that in school both of these be combined a great deal. Yet the early education of the child in the home shapes the character of the youth in both the secular and the religious life. HOME is no doubt the first and most important place that builds and influences the character of the child. Solomon says, "Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it." This training could be interpreted as the direct education and development of a little child in the formative years toward a good positive character. That the home offers by far the most important opportunity for character-building and education found in the life of the individual is indicated by two facts: FIRST, it is in this environment that the child spends the most im- pressionable years of his life, and SECOND, it influences very vitally every one of his important day-to-day interests be they mental, physical, spiritual, moral, emotional, social and recreational. Little wonder then that it is purported, "Home is the chief school of all virtues." Hartshorne, in commenting on the results of a careful study of fifty 'most honest' and fifty 'most dishonest' child- ren states: "The home from which the worst offenders came, might be best characterized as exhibiting bad parental example, parental discord, bad discipline, unsocial attitudes toward children, impoverished community and changing economic or social situation. The homes from which the more honest children came revealed the opposite of these conditions." Careless and incompetent parents are by no means excus- able from the roles given by God. Thus the specific oppor- tunities and responsibilities that shape the whole life of the child are indelibly helped or hindered by his first and most important school . . . THE HOME. For kind assistance, the Editor conveys her gratitude to: (in the U.S.) Elder Robert Pierson, Jane Allen; (in Thailand) Dennis Tid- well; (in Singapore) Robert Grady, Robert Heisler, Al Parchment, Tom Huang, Elaine Halenz and New Nation news media. "1., � - • `' � ritt �. • 4 � tit e- • � . � 4 September-October � THE � MESSENGER � 3 Find it hard to "SHARE YOUR FAITH"? Then read on ... Mixing Racing with Religion! For many Seventh-day Adventist Christians, sharing one's faith often comes under quite comfortable con- ditions as sitting, standing or per- haps even walking with others while talking to them of things eternal. But to 23-year-old Bruce Dews- berry, a vegetarian and an SDA from Toronto, Canada, it came the hard way. He was one of 1,640 contestants Seen here are only some of the 1,640 runners in the Hidden Valley Marathon, 85% of whom were non-Adventists. in the toughest race of his life. It was the strenuous 261/4 mile Hidden Valley marathon, now in its third year and attracting participants from all over North America. This long distance race first beckoned 160 runners, besides countless by- standers, to its beautiful but rugged hill-and-valley course. Public prayer for the safety and success of the runners precedes the starting gun and at the race's con- clusion, a delicious vegetarian din- ner is served. Life and Health and other health literature is made avail- able besides the launching of 200 Temperance balloons, each good for a year's subscription to a nation- al health journal for the recipient. Gradually pulling away from the other 1,638 runners, men and women of all professions, young Bruce found himself neck and neck with last year's winner, Frank Baza- nich, a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. The captain had previously won the race in a scorching 2 hours 39.17 minutes. Bruce determined not only to better that time, but also to use this golden opportunity. So as they relentlessly pounded the track together, puffing hard at the enormous physical strain on each, our young hero was happy to answer many questions concerning SDA beliefs, healthful living and God's wonderful love. Did he win that race? Oh sure! Way ahead of Winning the marathon, Bruce Dewsberry not only witnessed for the truth while racing, but also on the plane returning to Canada when questioned about his 30-inch tall champion's trophy. the others in a stupendous 2 hours 28.59 minutes. But what was more important to Bruce and to the marathon sponsors: Newbury Park Adventist Church, Academy and the Southern California Conference, can be expressed in young Dews- Contact! At 35,000 feet Eighteen months ago, Stephen Lin was flying between Hong Kong and Japan when three friendly-look- ing strangers on the same flight ap- proached him and asked directions to the Adventist Sanitarium in Tokyo, Japan. It just happened that Stephen lived on the same road and From left: Stephen, Grace, Brent and Brian Lin with Pastor T. K. Pang, formerly of YMAH and the VOP. being a helpful young man, invited Pastor and Mrs. J. W. Popowich and Dr. J. W. White, returning to North America from service in India, to share his taxi after clearing Jap- anese customs. "Just happened" did someone say? Don't you believe it! Nothing "just happens" when God is involved. It's all part of His meticulous plan, worked out to the minutest detail, precision-timed to a fraction of a second to win precious souls for His Kingdom. The next two days found Stephen becoming quite acquainted with Adventism and with his new-found More . . on Page 12 berry's words . . . It was the best race I have been to. The course is tough . � . I hope to return next year. I know the Lord reached many people that Sunday. Only time will reveal how rich the harvest will be. — JWP as gleaned from May 18, '78 Canadian A. Messenger and the May 25, '78 Review story by Theda Kuester 4 � T H E � M E S S E N G E R � September-October Hearts! Not Heads are Wanted In May 1977, the Sabah Mission Executive Committee took an action to appoint Pastor Ginduk Laung to be an evangelist. Since his appoint- ment, Pastor Laung has held seven public efforts, the last of which was in April, 1978. The following story is told by him. February and March are the best months of the year for the farmers to plant, to tap rubber and to do business in this part of Sabah as it is the dry season of the year. But best of all, it is a good time to con- duct evangelistic meetings. I have been thinking since last year to hold a public effort in Tamu Darat; but I could not find a suitable meeting place to do so. At last I decided to hold it in one of our small jungle chapels at Batu Lapan (Mile 8), Kota Belud, Jalan Ranau. The jungle chapel was officially dedicated on July 15, 1973. Funds for this jungle chapel ware donated by Mr. Carter Innocent. It measured 16 feet by 24 feet. Since it is quite small, we made temporary extension on both sides of the jungle chapel by using bamboo and canvas. On the opening night, we invited the Honourable Ahli Dewan Un- dangan Negeri, Sabah (Assembly- men of Kota Belud District), Mr. A- pin Gimpoton to declare open the meeting. Everything went smoothly on the first and second nights of the meetings. But on the third night, word reached us that a cer- tain individual came to the meeting with the intention of causing trouble! It was reported that he came from another denomination, but some people said he was a "head hunter". So the people in the community warned those who had been attending the meetings not to continue to attend. "It will be quite dangerous to go to these meetings. You might lose your heads," they cautioned. Some of the parents would not permit their children to come to our meetings for fear that their children might lost their heads. After hearing the above-mention- ed rumour I discussed the matter with my associates, Pastor Padir Juman and Mr. Nelver Sikul and also consulted our church members what we should do about the rumour. We finally decided to report the matter to the Police at Mile 10. At the same time we encouraged the people to continue to attend the meetings and not to fear the "head hunter", as our God is more power- ful than the "head hunter" and even more powerful than Satan. The gracious Lord was truly bless- ing the meetings, for in spite of the rumour of the "head hunter" being present the attendance continued to increase each night instead of de- creasing. They came like ants look- ing for sugar. So much so that we were obliged to pull down all the walls of the jungle chapel so that everyone could at least see and lis- ten to the speaker. The average at- tendance each night was around 900. There were some nights when well over 1,000 people were in at- tendance! At the conclusion of the meetings, fifty precious souls were baptized into the church, two of whom were village chiefs of Kota Belud District. Sabah is indeed ripe for the har- vest; but we need many more work- ers to gather it in. "Therefore said he unto them, the harvest truly is great, labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest." Luke 10:2—Pastor Ginduk Laung Radio Hams to the Rescue Pastor Bob Heisler, 9V1SY/ WA7BAG, recently relayed a mes- sage to the members of the West Coast Amateur Radio Bible Study Group of the critical need to supply a transceiver for an outpost mission school at Goshen in Sabah. This will enable immediate communica- tion with its mission headquarters in North Borneo. There is a separation of 70 rugged miles between these two points, and it requires a rough 4-hour journey by car to travel just one way. The West Coast Amateur Radio Bible Study Group enthusiastically entered into this project and in only 16 days had the funds in hand to provide the radio. This photograph shows some who had a part in this emergency project. From left to right: Bert, WB6QDM; Harry, WB6QDQ; Doc, HOSPITAL NEWS Creative Meatless Cooking :1--•"; delicious and healthful "1` Vegetarian NUTRITIONAL SEMINAR Si COMM DEMONSTRATION - � • The campers are boating to picnic on the last day of the camp. Some of the San- dakan Church members join the picnic. Elder Henry Chow offered free trips by using two of his boats. The best part of the Cooking Classl September-October � THE � M ESSENGER � 5 W6TAV; Barbara, WB6QDK; Rod, WB6QDN, and Reuben, WA6HHR. We praise the Lord for such kind- hearted folk who can respond to the needs of the Far East. Sandakan Youth Go Camping 27 junior and 7 senior youth gath- ered together for camping at the compound of the Sandakan Church, Sabah, on April 2-9 this year.Direct- ing the activities was Tony Chew who was strongly assisted by Eliza- beth Lee and the other senior mem- bers of the MV Society. Church Pastor Chin Kong Loi was the camp adviser and chaplain. The campers who were housed in four large canvas tents greatly en- joyed the eight days of camping. They had singspirations, Bible studies, story-telling, devotionals, group games, hikes, community service, campfires, and many other related activities. The last Sunday in camp was spent on an island across the bay where the campers went swimming and played group games. To help defray their camp ex- penses, the young people went out many times before the camp to sell "How to Stop Smoking" maga- zines. They certainly were able to "shoot two birds" at the same time! Of the 34 campers, 15 were from non-SDA homes. Let us pray that the experience they had in camp will inspire them to continue attend- What's yonder fragrance in the air? Oh it's the yummy food everywhere. Participants take the very front pews, As our pastors spread the spiritual news. Health educators broaden the health scope, With food demonstrations ready to build our hope, They chop or blend or stir till done Now isn't vegetarian cooking a lot of fun? —Albert Khor Held at Youngberg Memorial Adventist Hospital in May of this year, this Nutritional Seminar was yet another of YMAH's community benefit projects. 26 women and men were in constant attendance and the lectures and demonstrations were ably conducted by the director of Nursing Service, Mrs. Ethel Heis- ler with Mrs. Janice Huang, Mrs. Lil- lian Goh, SAUC's Doug Anthes and ing church and make decisions for Christ. A number of the church members contributed to the success of the camp by helping to prepare food for the campers who themselves enjoy- ed doing this and helped in gather- ing sticks for fuel and washing the dishes. — Tony Chew Dr. Marjorie Young-Nelson is no foreigner to mission service. Hailing from New Zealand, Dr. Marjorie hopes to spend at least a year in Singapore. She first saw service in Karachi; Pakistan; in India; in Bangladesh; in Taiwan and spent 7 years in Hong Kong. She has even answered a medical call to the highlands of New Guinea for the Australian Govern. ment. With her effervescent personality, Dr. Nelson cheers the hearts of all with whom she comes in contact. We trust her stay with us Proves equally rewarding to her. Samuel Teo and many others who gave of their time and talents. Much appreciation goes to all who helped. And to those who missed this semi- nar, keep watching for announce- ments concerning others that fol- low. We also have fresh wheat germ and bran among many other items at our health store and en- close two recipes which we recom- mend that you try: More . . . on Page 6 Lilian Goh � Doug Anthes 6 � THE � MESSENGER Dr. Thomas gives Jerry Ee hydrotherapy � Albert Khor and Dorothy Amundson monitor FED's Winston Clark Health . . . from Page 1 Helpers (from left): Laurence Tan, Audrey Ngui, Barbara and Bruce Heisler, Lisa Parchment Ethel Heisler Samuel Teo Youngberg's Chief-of-Staff Alwin Parchment. Also helping were his wife Jill, the Health Department's Albert Khor and Lawrence Tan who both assembled the whole Health Workshop, Director of Nursing Ser- vice Ethel Heisler and nurses Doro- thy Amundson, Dameria Rejab, Ho Lai Fong, Echo Stevens, Kathryn Smith, Janice Huang and Sherry Anthes. Among a host of cheerful helpers were SAPH's Audrey Ngui and Mrs. Ngui, VOP's Andrea Tan, FEA students Kathy Wick, Lisa Parchment, Barbara and Bruce Heisler, maestro Sam Benjamin and wife Leela who first invited Dr. Tho- mas to Singapore, SAUM's Juanita Bissell, Shirley Chase and Edsen Donato, YMAH's Chaplain Ng Gan Theow and wife Ivy, dietician Mrs. B. C. Goh, Personnel Manager Birthe Chan and Thomas Huang who arranged for the use of the ergometer bicycles, courtesy of Asia Health Equipment Ltd. Included in the Physical Fitness Seminar were individual tests ($25 per person) at 10 stations: B.P. and pulse; � cholesterol; � triglyceride; weight and height evaluation; chest Et waist measurement; posture pro- file; grip strength; skin fold test; vital (lung) capacity and endurance (heart) testing. Tabulations from YMAH's Health Department reveal of the 230 test- ed, 43.8% among Seventh-day Adventists, while 33.9% among non-SDAs, had normal blood cho- lesterol; and 86.8% of the SDAs but only 75.2% of non-SDAs, had normal triglycerides. In physical fit- ness testing, 85.4% of the SDAs and only 64.1% of the non-SDAs rated in the good and very good categories. Falling into the poor level were 4.2% of the SDAs, while double that percentage 9.8% non- SDAs found themselves in poor shape! We know Dr. Charles Thomas' September-October it Tom Huang �Janice Huang Mashed Potato Patties Boil 4 or 5 potatoes and mash 1/2 tin gluten burger 1/2 cup oats 10 cents worth of Tau Foo mash Spring onions Fry the gluten burger lightly. Season with 1 tbsp dark sauce and 1 tsp vetsin. After frying, add in the above ingredients and mix well. Mold into patties and fry brown on both sides. Serve with tomato sauce or a garnish of pars- ley sprigs added on top. Oat and Wheat Cracker 3 cups rolled oats 2 cups fine wholewheat flour 1 cup wheat germ 1 tbsp sugar 1 tsp salt 1 cup water % cup oil Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well. Measure water and oil in a 2-cup measuring cup and beat to emulsify. Pour slowly into dry mixture, stirring with fork at the while to distribute the moisture evenly. Mix well and knead lightly. Divide into 2 equal portions. Place each portion on a 10" x 15" well- greased cookie sheet. Flatten with fingers and roll with small rolling pin or cylindrical glass until crackers are thin and even and entirely fill the space. Sprinkle lightly with salt and roll to embed in dough. Cut with pastry wheel into 2" x 3" rectangles. A clean yardstick is useful in obtaining a uni- form size. Heat oven to 400°F. Place trays in oven and reduce heat at once to 325°F. Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Reduce heat and let dry thoroughly. Watch very carefully when nearly done as they brown very quickly at this stage. (It may be necessary to remove some of the crackers along the edges if they start browning before the ones in the center.) Loosen with wide spatula or pancake turner and let cool on cookie sheet. These crackers are crisp, tender and delicious as well as of good nutritional value. They should be browned very slightly. September-October � THE � MESSENGER � 7 magnanimous efforts can never be repaid. He has accomplished much for the benefit of many on this and other global ambassadorial trips of good health and good will. We shall never be the same again. Nor will Youngberg who, it is hoped, will add a permanent physical testing unit to its Health Department. Indi- vidual health, Adventist-style, has gained many new adherents in Sin- gapore and around the world. —JWP Medical Specialists Visit YMAH A group of one dozen American medical specialists recently visited Youngberg Memorial Adventist Hospital in Singapore. These doc- tors belong to a club in California which sponsors annual trips to give their members first hand exposure to the practice of medicine in other lands. The group met in the hospital chapel where Dr. Parchment ex- Al Parchment � Ed Heisler plained to them the practice of medicine in Singapore in general and at Youngberg in particular. They were bursting with questions and were pleased with the answers. They felt they had learned a great deal from their visit. The group re- presented specialists from all over the U.S. One surgeon who uses the facilities of the Florida Adventist Hospital in Orlando offered in all sincerity to come and do relief work here for three months. A tour was organized and they were shown the facilities of the hospital. The tour leader promised to send another group next year.— Edward Heisler A Mission Clinic by M. Lucas Continued . . . Early in 1947 the Division, the late Pastor V. T. Armstrong, FED Presi- dent asked Lucas to go back to Penang Hospital and work there. In reply he said, "How can we shut the door in the face of these pa- tients who are looking to us for help?" This made a deep impression on Pastor Armstrong. He called the General Conference for a doctor to carry on the medical work in Singa- pore. Dr. G. G. Innocent answered the call immediately. January, Lucas returned from furlough. The very next day he and Dr. Innocent went out looking for a suitable place to purchase. They found three houses but, owing to some problems they decided to purchase the one nearer to their Mission Office. Soon after the purchase of the building they terminated the Mission Clinic and transferred the supplies to this new place and continued the work there. This institution was generally known to the public as the Ameri- can Hospital. Later on the Division and Union Committees named it Youngberg Memorial Adventist Hospital in honour of Pastor Young- berg, a pioneer missionary to Sara- wak who died in the internment camp in Kuching during the Japan- ese occupation. Youngberg Hospital is a direct growth from Mission Clinic and it is the Mission Clinic that inspired the idea to start a hos- pital in Singapore and is thus the nucleus of the YMAH. God had great respect for this humble medical work started in perilous times. It was a spot where thousands received healing who would have perished otherwise. God has wonderfully blessed it. Drugs and supplies were provided providentially. Seventy percent of the work done in this Clinic was charity. This Clinic was a living testimony of God-fearing people who had a vision to start such a charitable endeavour. Gratitude goes to Pastor K. 0. Tan, Y. H. Phang, K. T. Kong, Daniel Liem, and to all those who put in their time in making this Clinic a success and the initial effort and support of the late Mr. C. M. Lee is sincerely remembered.—TO BE CONTINUED Lighthouse's Third Spot Early in May 1978, the Lighthouse Singers of Ekamai SDA Church, Bangkok, started their 3rd witness- ing trip. Thus we beamed our light to the southern part of Thailand, at the cities of Haadyai and Phuket. Going down to Haadyai from Bangkok, we witnessed for God to our fellow train passengers. In Haadyai, we sang during the church service. On other days, we spent our time visiting the church members and singing and praying with them. We also helped in their Branch Sabbath Schools. Besides singing, we distributed tracts. We had the chance of sing- ing in a Sunday-keeping church. Our most exciting experience there came when we were invited to hold a real live concert on TVI The Light- house Singers will never forget that experience. On our arrival in Phuket, we were brought to the Phuket Mission Hos- pital compound. The schedule we had for Phuket was almost the same as what we had in Haadyai, but in addition, we also sang to groups gathered at our two jungle chapels in that area. On this trip we not only witness- ed; we also learned more about the More . . . on Page 12 8 � THE � MESSENGER � September-October SARAWAK STORYBOOK Christian Flesh is �"God Sent You Here!" Sarawak Safari Sweet to Eat � — Paull Dixon � —Case Ketting — Geoff Pauner Do you believe dreams can keep people from coming to church? Here is a true story that happened recently in Sarawak. Ani, an eighteen-year-old girl had been attending our church at Ng. Luau, Sarawak, very regularly. One night her father dreamed that the devils in his village were looking for Christians to eat. The flesh of Christians is very sweet, but the flesh of heathens is bitter, they had said. Convinced of this the father of Ani forbade his daughter from ever attending church again. No matter what Joebenny, the pastor, had said, nothing could make the girl come. A few months later Ani had a more specific dream. She dreamt that when Gemong, the church elder at Ng. Luau, took his young- est child to church the devil would come and eat her up. Gemong's wife was terrified. When Sabbath came, Joebenny went to visit Gemong and his family. Gemong's Gemong and family wife now refused to let anybody take her daughter to church. Gemong, however, insisted and took the child to Sabbath School and stayed on for church service while his wife screamed and screamed in fear. The day passed on peacefully, and nothing disturbed Gemong's "Are you Roman Catholics?" "No," replied Jenny, who was with Icha. "Are you Anglican?" "No." "Are you Methodists?" "No." "Well, I can tell by looking at you that you are Christians, what are you?" "I'm a Seventh-day Advent- ist," Jenny smiled and prayed silently. She had just arrived in the heathen village, and couldn't under- stand why the slender talkative man was asking so many questions. The man's cigarette fell from his mouth and he looked pale. "Are you okay?" Jenny asked. "Yes. Yes. God sent you here." Pointing to his twelve-year-old daughter, he told of how an Adventist layman on the Tatau River had prayed for his daughter years before when she was at the point of death. "You must listen to what these girls tell you. They will tell you the truth!" he announced over and over again to the villagers, preparing the way for Jenny and Icha to do child Icha and Jenny evangelism there. After six months of teaching, a new Sabbath School was organized in this village of Nganga Dia. God is preparing a big harvest of souls in this place. One night after hearing a sermon on "I Am The Way," a middle-aged man saw a person dressed in white in his dreams. "Follow me and I will show you the way to heaven," the person said. A sincere young lady has stopped eat- Earlier this year, six of us youth from Far Eastern Academy were settled in a plane droning from Singapore. Mike Ryan was sponsor of the Temperance Team, and John Stuivenga was the sponsor of the Seminar Team, with three of us students in each team. Pastor Dixon, head of the Sara- wak Mission, met us when we land- ed at the Kuching airport at about midnight. Somehow, we managed to get our piles of assorted neces- sities through customs and into the land rover that Pastor Dixon had brought to meet us. Even then, a few of us guys had to hang on precariously to the outside. We settled down in a vacant mis- sion house and slept the few hours until dawn. That day, the Temper- ance team gave two programs, one at Sunnyhill School and the other at Ayer Manis School. Later, Pastor Dixon flew Bill Cochran and our Seminar team, Bill Cochran �Paull Dixon which consisted of Herbert Giebel, Bobby Christensen, and me, to Kapit which was about a five-hour boat trip up the Rajang River from Sibu. Bill Cochran and Pastor Dixon were going to help us get the meet- ings started, then leave us on our own once everything was going smoothly. At the VOP Center where we would be staying, Pastor Dixon and Bill Cochran introduced us to the Case Ketting in action! September-October Flesh . . . child. All the while Ani was watch- ing to see if her dream would come true. When she was convinced that her dream was false, she persuaded her husband to accompany her in attending our church. Both she and Ani and husband her husband are now in the bap- tismal class and hope to be bap- tized very soon this year. Praise God for His mighty power! —Geof- fray Pauner Safari . . . workers. They were Pastor Stephen Agong, his wife and their small daughter, and Frankie and George, both TEE students, meaning that they were ministerial students who were doing on-the-spot training. We all began to plan for the eight meetings we would be having at the government school, the first of which would be that night. Our team and the workers were to be- come one group working to present the theme: What a Christian is and has. The whole point of the meetings was not only to reach the students with God's love and salvation, but to reach the longhouses that they came from, through them. There were 1,200 students in the school and 800 of these came from out- lying longhouses. If we could reach just a few, the initial outreach of the places they came from would really be wonderful( We chose to use an approach which would be very informal but which would get "our" students involved. We planned to start with T H �MESSENGER Stephen � Bobby � Herbert Giebel Agong � Christensen a song service accompanied by my guitar. Then we'd move into what we called an exercise. This would be some sort of question or situa- tion which they'd have to write a solution to. From these solutions we would select some funny ones and some which hit the target area for that meeting's talk to read back to them. Then we'd parallel this to some aspect of the Christian expe- rience. For instance, for the talk on the Holy Spirit we had them draw a picture of the wind. During the school days we gave two meetings a day. When we were through with the meetings we found that we'd had over 800 dif- feren't students attending at one time or another. The day we left, we asked the audience if they wanted to tell some of their friends and family back at their longhouses about what they'd learned. Many raised their hands, and I know only the Holy Spirit could have brought such a response. Since we didn't give meetings all day, we had some time for other things. We also tried to paddle the chief's dugout around, but we didn't get far. By the time we'd dis- covered that we didn't know how to paddle a dugout, we had swamp- ed the boat. When we finally re- More . . . on Page 12 9 Kuching Church Hold Health Seminar The Kuching SDA Church spon- sored a four-session nutrition semi- nar with health lectures and cook- ing demonstrations during the first quarter of 1978. Lindy Su, a staff member of the Lindy Su stirs a stew Public Health Education Department of the Sarawak Mission, gave health talks on various topics and also gave demonstrations on vegetarian cooking. Janet Ho, Home Econo- mics teacher of Sunny Hill School and Mrs. Becky Dixon, wife of Mis- sion President Pastor Paull Dixon, demonstrated the cooking of some nutritious vegetarian recipes. The church members responded enthusiastically to the seminar and at the final session, the attending members brought their favourite dishes for a joyful potluck along with the recipe for each dish pre- sented. We wish to thank all those who helped to make this seminar a success. — Liang Ah Onn God Sent . . . ing pork, even though it has never been mentioned to her. She follow- ed the example set by Jenny and Icha. "I want my family to hear about Jesus, and very soon I will travel far up the river to share this story with them," she said. The woman feels that God healed her of a longstanding illness. God is cer- tainly at work here.—Paull Dixon 10 � THE � MESSENGER � September-October Mixing Rice and Religion It was harvest time in the Karen mountains where Pastor Muak had asked me to help him with evan- gelistic meetings he was conducting in Red Flower Village, an area where he is opening new work. Each morning, rising before dawn, we quickly downed our rice stew and by the time it was light, with borrowed sickles in hand, we were following the villagers along the trail to their rice fields an hour or so away. Rice harvest time, I discovered, is one of the big social occasions for the Karen. Hardly anyone harvests his own field alone. Instead, neigh- bors and friends join in and harvest each other's fields together. The farmer who has a teenage daughter or two is lucky, for the young men from surrounding villages arrive dressed in their best, ready to help and impress! (Apparently they suc- ceed, too, because the winter sea- son, just after harvest time, is a popular time for weddings among the Karen.) Everyone brings his own rice wrapped in a large leaf and at noon gathers to eat the curry pre- pared by the family whose field is being harvested. The mood is light and there is much joy over another good harvest. When he asked me to join him for the meetings, Muak also asked for a small tape player and a good evangelistic sermon or two from our Tribal Cassette Ministry tape file. I was curious to see how he planned to use them. I found out in the rice field. Placing the tape player in his Karen shoulder bag, he turned the volume up and played a sermon and music while we all bent over the sheaves of rice. Very few had ever heard music and preaching like that, so while we rested Muak had the opportunity to answer questions and explain some of the teachings. Choosing a field where there was no radio blaring, Muak tried to meet a felt need and at the same time arouse interest in Christianity with the tape player. The Tribal Cassette Ministry is continuing to develop and expand to meet the spiritual needs of our Adventist members, for both their own spiritual growth and to provide them with an effective tool for wit- nessing to their animist relatives and friends. Each month a new batch of tapes containing sermons and the Sabbath School lessons for the coming month are carried to each village where we have placed tape players. Next month we hope to inaugurate the daily morning watch program on tape. Recently, in addition to the 8 Karen villages where we send tapes each month, we began the exten- sion of the cassette ministry to three Maew villages. These three villages are located in remote areas where there are no local pastors and a pastor doesn't visit more often than once a quarter. The members were overjoyed when we took the tape player and the first batch of tapes to them. No Maew pastors live close to Mae Sariang, so it is not easy for them to come and record very often. The first batch of Maew sermons were recorded by Pastor Rungsit at the Tribal Center in Mae Taeng. To help with the expanding pro- gram of the Tribal Cassette Ministry, we have asked Miss Say Bay, Miss Say Bay edits children's Sabbath School lessons "Silver Piece", to work full-time as recording studio technician. She is now taking over more responsibility in the studio as she quickly learns the intricacies of VU motors, tape editing, etc. We are considering purchasing a high-speed cassette tape duplicator. As our cassette ministry expands we are finding that copying cas- settes using our open reel recorder and two cassette tape decks at nor- mal speed is not only time-con- suming, but also ties up all or our machines for any other purpose. This new duplicator will be expen- sive ($7501, but we know it will make up for this in time saved. Pastor Aw Gaw Paul just com- Aw Gaw Paul pleted recording a series of tapes comparing Karen traditions with the Bible. (See following article.) We think it is fascinating how the Karen. have a cultural heritage that closely coincides with the biblical record. This is certainly evidence that the Holy Spirit has been preparing the Karen people for many generations to one day return to Christ and receive the power of the "latter rain." These special tapes on Karen traditions are going to be used primarily by laymen who will take them to play to their animist neigh- bors. This is one of the best points of contact which we can think of to turn the hearts of the Karen ani- mists back to their Creator. We pray for wisdom that the Tribal Cassette Ministry will fulfill its pur- pose among the tribal people in northern Thailand and that a rich harvest will follow.—Dennis Tidwell September-October � THE � MESSENGER � 11 Singapore's San Yu Hi Celebrates In 1958 the San Yu High School, operated by the Seventh-day Advent- ist Church, opened its doors to admit students to serve the people of Singapore. At that time there were very few Chinese secondary schools in Singapore and many of the students were over age. It start- ed with an enrollment of 167 stu- dents in 4 Secondary One classes. In 1970, 2 Pre-U classes were added and the present enrollment is now 350. A few years ago, the school realized that in order to give a better environment to its students to study well, it had to expand its existing facilities. It decided to con- struct a 4-storey classroom building. On Tuesday July 4, 1978 the prin- cipal, faculty and students cele- brated their school's 20th anniver- sary. Mr. Chai Chong Yii, the Senior From left: Dr. 0. C. Edwards; D. Barnett; M. C. Chai; H. C. Wang; M. Lee; Hon. Chai Chong WI.; T. K. Chong; K. 0. Tan; J. Ng; Y. F. Chong; Dr. L. Bissell 4e � -.fjk � la; A_ 1E4 � at � 547- I;C. Jane Hutapea directs Advent Singers SAUC Spotlighted on Weekend Christian education at Southeast Asia Union College, Singapore, was featured over the weekend of July 7 through 9 with College Open House and visits from the community. Activities started as the second-year students from the San Yu High School and the Secondary 4 stu- dents of the SDA School visited the college focal point where young people from Singapore and the Malaysian countries meet with students from Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Korea. Speech Day ceremonies were opened by Mr. Ivan C. Baptist, Member of Parliament for Potong Pasir. This was followed by an oratorical con- test. First prize of $50.00 was won by George John with his oration entitled, "How to Die Younger". Following the oratorical contest, there was a coronation of SAUC's VIEf i THE 1(14pgi-ft4t4lt Hon. Ivan Baptist with Dr.s Halenz and Wong Minister of State for Education, was invited to be guest of honour. He spoke to the congregation that morning in church and later he offi- cially declared open the new school building. Among the distinguished guests present were high-ranking officers from the Ministry of Education, principals from different secondary schools, leaders from the Division, Union and Mission, and brethren and sisters from different churches in Singapore. king and queen of courtesy. Cour- tesy queen is Miss Christina Lau from Sibu, and courtesy king is Jimmy Toh from Malacca. On Sabbath, Christian education was featured in the various Singapore churches with student and faculty teams fanning out from the College to conduct the church services in each one of the local churches. On Saturday night, the faculty, students, and community were entertained by a variety program produced by the students. The Fair got underway. Featured were dishes from various parts of the world including such things as gado-gado, kimchi, curry, lasagna, kueh lapis, cookies, American des- serts, and you name it. If you missed the first College Weekend and International Food Fair, why not plan to be here next year. Watch for an announcement in your local church.— Donald R. Halenz SAUC's Gymstars In the evening of July 4, 1978 an announcement of our school's cele- bration was broadcast over the radio and on TV. The next morning, the two big Chinese newspapers published, in detail, the school programme of the 20th anniversary and the opening ceremony of the new school building. We thank the Lord that our teachers and students have greatly benefited from this celebration and that we have glorified His name. — H. C. Wang, Principal 12 � THE � MESSENGER � September-October Rev � Harriet Ammon Family Among Friends Arriving late August, Ray and Har- riet Ammon and their 3 children, Eddie, Jodi and Julie found them- selves among friends in the vast Southeast Asia Union Mission fami- ly. Ray, the new Publishing Secre- tary of SAUM, was involved in this in the Washington and in the North Pacific Union Conferences and has promoted Literature Evangelism for over 81/2 years. We welcome the Ammons to this area of the "finishing" world work and know the Almighty will direct and bless all their endeavors for Him. Contact . . . from Page 3 friends, and the White and Popo- wich families in turn, invited him to visit their homes in Canada and in the U.S. This he did on two sub- sequent trips and shared studies from their Bible, Desire of Ages, and Steps to Christ. At a camp meeting in Hope, British Columbia (Canada) Stephen met Pastor Pang Teck Soon who was once chaplain at Youngberg Memorial Adventist Hospital and later the Chinese head of the Voice of Prophecy in Singa- pore. This led to visits in the Lin and Pang homes in Vancouver with Bible studies and Sabbath church attendance for Stephen and the Presbyterian minister visiting him. Later, his wife Grace and their two sons joined him from Japan and they all studied and were baptized together. Stephen is now reading for his doctorate in economics at Recommended by G. C. President Robert Pier- son, these true stories can now be yours with donations of $5 or more. Order from V.O.P. Safari . . . from Page 9 moved our dripping bodies from the river we were definitely glad that there were no alligators in the river! I thought it could rain hard in West Malaysia where I live, but when we got up the next morning at about 5:00 a.m., the sky was really outdoing itself. Since the Rajang is a tidal river and it was low tide, there was about 20 feet of steep, rain-slicked, muddy bank to negotiate before we got to the river level where a boat would pick us up to take us back up-river to Kapit. We had plenty of heavy baggage, too, so we were in for a time of it. We started down the bank with the intention of carrying our baggage down with us, but by the time we'd reached the bottom, most of us had let our baggage carry us the major- ity of the way. We eventually did make it back to Kapit, muddy and cold, but in time for our morning meeting. The Temperance team also gave their program for the school at Kapit, and this is where they got their best attendance. There were at least 700 people. Later we missed the express boat to Sibu and I wondered why when I found myself on the all-night boat the University of British Columbia and with his wife and sons, are part of God's remnant family awaiting His rescue-return to a ravaged world.—JWP gleaned from Canadi- an Messenger's Story by Mrs. L. White YMAH is privileged to have Dr. Glen Stevens and his sweet wife Echo from Loma Linda for 3 months. An internist, Dr. Stevens assists greatly in the church services too. The Stevens are not new to SAUM and are avid bird lovers. to Sibu, packed in with a load of durians (Phew! Not my favorite food!) But when we reached Sibu Sabbath morning and found out about the rescheduled boats, I realized why. I could see that God had been with us the whole trip; He hadn't deserted us at the last minute like it had seemed! Even the Temperance Team had their pro- gram. They hauled out the projec- tor, cranked up the generator and showed the movies with one of the boat's passengers doing the inter- preting. Through God's leading we finally caught the plane back to Singapore. We left a little bit sad, because we really liked life in Sarawak and had received wonderful blessings from our stay there. I am sure that if we received so many blessings there, the people we reached must have, too. I praise the Lord for the chance to go to Sarawak. It brought me closer to Him.—Case H. Ketting Lighthouse Singers . . . from Page 7 Ekamai Enchanters love and care of our God. We had really felt His presence with us all the time. We also learned to love people and hope that those we met will find consolation through Christ and prepare for His soon coming. — David Macarewa