acIFIC Union
—
H. M. S. Richards and H. M. S. Richards, Jr., father and son, share a ha
pPY
moment in front of the recently installed satellite dish at Voice of Proph-
ecy headquarters. Of the 726 stations which currently carry the Voice of
Prophecy broadcast, more than 100 belong to the Satellite Radio Net-
work. Two hundred additional satellite markets are now available for the
daily broadcast.
1985 GC Offering
Follow the Openings
by Charles Bradford
Adventists have always been a
venturesome people—daring, in-
trepid, resourceful. It’s in our
blood, this urge
to advance, to
move forward.
Think of Ellen
White's words
and let them stir
you: ‘‘If we
would follow the
opening provi-
dence of God,
we should be quick to discern
every opening, and make the most
of every advantage within our
reach.”’—Evangelism, p. 62.
Now comes one of the great
challenges to our faith, a test of
our mettle, the venturesome spirit
that has characterized the Church
4
Charles Bradford
for all these years. Everything is in
place. We have the opportunity to
build and operate a powerful
radio station on the Island of
Guam. It will cost $5 million.
Church leaders around the world
have decided to assign the 1985
General Conference Session offer-
ing to this huge project.
Located on the west side of the
island, overlooking the Pacific
Ocean, the station’s powerful
signal will cover a territory in-
habited by nearly one-half of the
world’s population. What an ex-
traordinary moment! A definite
‘““opening providence’! An op-
portunity to broadcast in the
languages of the region!
We know from experience that
radio reaches people in this part of
(Please turn to page 6)
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New Evangelistic Program Announced
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Monday, October 1, 1984 / Volume 84, Number 7 / Angwin, California / Official Biweekly of the Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
VOP Annual Offering Set for October 13
Now through the Voice of
Prophecy you can reach more
souls than ever before through
satellite broadcasting and Signs of
the Times follow-up.
During the past year, the Satel-
lite Radio Network has brought
the Voice of Prophecy some of its
most responsive audiences. Re-
cently, 200 new markets have
opened up to the daily broadcast,
bringing the opportunity of tre-
mendously enlarging the outreach
of the Adventist Voice—at the
dramatically low cost for air time
of less than a dollar a minute.
For each of the many new lis-
teners responding to the broad-
cast, the Voice of Prophecy will
provide six months of the mis-
sionary magazine, Signs of the
Times. Names will be sent to local
churches for immediate phone
follow-up.
“Signs provides a cost-effective
way to nurture our listeners,’’
reports H. M. S. Richards, Jr.,
director and speaker of the Voice
of Prophecy. ‘‘Because of the
large circulation for Signs, we can
purchase these magazines for
much less than it would cost to
produce our own materials.”’
Walter Blehm, president of the
Pacific Union, declares, ‘I’m so
glad to see the Voice of Prophecy
join forces with Signs of the Times
to strengthen our witness in the
Pacific Union!’ Local presidents,
ERRATA
Steve Aitchison, health edu-
cator serving in Nepal and fea-
tured in the last issue, is the
son of Dr. and Mrs. J. R. Aitchi-
son. Dr. Aitchison is a dentist
practicing in Port Hueneme,
California.
Physicians Needed in Monument Valley, Singapore
Two mission fields are desper-
ately in need of physicians.
Because it is within the Pacific
Union, one 1s often overlooked.
The other, in the second largest
seaport in the world, sounds more
glamorous.
Spanning portions of four states
—Arizona, Utah, Colorado and
New Mexico—the home of 150,000
Navajo and 38,000 Hopi Native
Americans is seldom considered a
mission. Yet for more than 30
years Seventh-day Adventists have
provided health care for the Nav-
ajo Nation in and around Monu-
ment Valley—much of it charity
and/or at minimal cost.
Needs Inspire Physicians
Doctors for the 24-bed hospital
work for less than some of their
overseas certainly
counterparts,
less than other practicing physi-
cians in the Pacific Union. Dozens
through the years have worked on
a limited volunteer basis, spurred
on by the obvious needs.
Their purpose is not to change a
culture—homes called hogans,
made from clay and sticks, chil-
dren and women shepherds lead
ing their herds in search of sparse
grass, meals composed of fried
bread and lamb stew.
Lives Teach Lessons
These practitioners are there to
make the quality of life painless,
unmarred by chemical dependency,
purposeful in Navajo simplicity.
Value lessons are first taught by
people’s lives, by lessons in loving.
Learning those lessons well,
Native Americans do ask about
the God who makes health-care
people different— families who
sacrifice to take their small chil-
dren, nurses who remove them-
selves from urban companion-
ship, doctors and dentists who
dedicate themselves to mere serv-
ice, support staff who joyfully
daily wipe up the red clay, invent
pipe fittings, dig drainage ditches
—and content themselves with
monotonous menus.
All are there at Monument
Valley Adventist Hospital and
Mission because they love people
and want them to learn of the God
of the Universe who loves His
People of the Desert and High
Winds.
Just now there is urgent need
for more physicians, especially
OB/GYN and pediatric specialists.
(Please turn to page 6)
such as Ralph Watts of Southern
California and Charles Cook of
Central California, add their en-
dorsements, too.
Every week letters arrive at
broadcast headquarters from
grateful new believers like Henry
in Arizona, who writes: ‘‘Dis-
covering the Voice of Prophecy
was like striking gold. Now my
wife and I are baptized into the
Adventist Church.”
During the past decade, 20,538
precious souls like Henry have
joined the Adventist family
through the Voice of Prophecy
outreach. Now, with Signs follow-
up to serve the new interests
generated by the broadcasts, more
than ever before can come to
Jesus and His truth.
This year on October 13, Voice
of Prophecy Day challenges the
churches to reach millions of new
listeners through tripling our
number of satellite stations.
“We believe that God will in-
spire our members to move this
project forward,”” says Elder
Richards. ‘The 200 new satellite
outlets will cost $636,000. Sending
(Please turn to page 7)
H. M. S. Richards Honored on 90th Birthday
Paul Harvey made every word
count in a brief announcement on
his 7 a.m. newscast for the ABC
radio network on Tuesday,
August 28:
“A monumental milestone—
radio evangelist H. M. S. Rich-
ards—on the air continuously for
54 years—celebrating birthday
number 90 today.”” He used less
than 25 words, but they were
heard by millions.
As radio listeners heard Paul
Harvey give a longer message
about Elder Richards on his noon
program, the Voice of Prophecy
staff paid tribute to their ‘‘Chief’’
at a candelight buffet luncheon at
headquarters in Newbury Park.
Joining in the event were Robert
Frame and Dale Bidwell, presi-
dent and financial vice president,
respectively, of the Adventist
Media Center; William and Vir-
ginia Vagal of Faith For Today,
and George and Nellie Vandeman
of It Is Written.
Because Elder Richards suf-
fered a stroke six days previously,
he was unable to attend, but a
tape recording was made so he
could listen to the program later.
The stroke caused partial paralysis
on the right side and some speech
impairment. Within two or three
days, however, the paralysis had
left, and Elder Richards was talk-
ing with his family and friends,
eating solid foods, and spending
most of his days in a chair rather
than in bed. He was not hospital-
ized at all.
Franklin Hudgins, station rela-
tions director for the VOP,
emceed the birthday program and
read excerpts from a few of the
hundreds of greetings received
from church officials, government
leaders, and broadcast donors and
friends. Among them were: Neal
Wilson, General Conference pres-
ident; Oswald C. J. Hoffmann,
speaker for ‘‘The Lutheran
Hour’ radio program; George
Deukmejian, governor of Califor-
nia; and Tom McClintock, who
represents the Newbury Park area
in the California legislature.
H. M. S. and Mabel Richards hold a
framed resolution from California
State Assemblyman Tom McClin-
tock honoring Elder Richards on
his 90th birthday, August 28. The
document traces the highlights of
Elder Richards’ lifetime career in
evangelism and radio ministry, de-
claring the Voice of Prophecy
founder to be “deserving of high-
est commendations and heartiest
congratulations from the people
of California.”
Inside this issue:
*Union Executive, Minority Groups Reports (page 2)
*Important Religious Liberty Announcement (page 2)
*Church Dedication in Santa Ana (page 4)
*Surprise Reunion at Arizona Camp Meeting (page 5)
*PUC Receives Major Grant (page 8)