Southeastern California Conference
Garden Grove Church Organizes Mission Trip to Malaysia
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n May, a group of 52 people went on a mission trip, organized by the Garden Grove church, to Sabah Mission on the island of Borneo, which is part of Malaysia. Eight people from the Penang Adventist Hospital joined the trip. Led by Edward Nathan, the group of 60 held 11 series of evangelistic meetings and 11 Vacation Bible Schools, operated five clinics every day in various villages and worked to complete the construction of a local church. The main evangelistic series was held at the Goshen Adventist Secondary School, which was established by missionaries more than 60 years ago. Even though there is a large Muslim population in the surrounding communities, a substantial Adventist community has developed. Today there are 160 students at the high school and 550 kids at the elementary school. During the trip, the team baptized more than 300, most of whom were students from the school. Some of the people that came on the trip were doctors, nurses and dentists. Along with the group from Penang and some local medical personnel from Sabah, they went out into the more remote villages and held up to five clinics nearly every day. Hundreds came each day for health testing, diagnosis, simple treatments and dental work. Pastors and lay speakers from Southeastern California Conference included: Leslie Aragon, Basil Bell, Sara-May Colon, Art Morales, Micah Mupfawa, Richard and Dan Smith. Each night at about 6 p.m., a driver from each of the 11 sites
Children attend the Vacation Bible School program.
would pick up a speaker, the VBS team and a translator. The various groups then headed out to their sites, some as far as over an hour away. There the VBS team would partner with locals to have a Vacation Bible School for maybe 50 or more kids while the main program took place in the church or auditorium. Sandra Caldwell, a church member of the Garden Grove church, organized the curriculum and brought crafts and puppets for four sites and 300 kids. A donor had made a donation of 11 sets of felts for each site, which at the end would be left for the local churches so they can be used in their children’s ministries for years to come. The last Sabbath all the sites came together to the Goshen auditorium, with over 2,000 people present. Over 100 young people got onto the stage to sing “Worthy Is the Lamb,” the theme song for the main meetings. After the worship experience in the auditorium, the entire crowd walked one kilometer in the heat to a pond to baptize the 300 people lining the banks. “Even though many of us have done this for many years, it never gets old, watching their faces light up as they come out from under the water knowing they have stepped over a huge line and have made a choice for God,” said Dan Smith, senior pastor of Garden Grove church. He continued, “Please pray for the new converts, for the incredible needs of the Adventist school there. Pray for the mission as they navigate trying to evangelize in spite of the unique challenges there and finding a good balance with the police and government. It is the largest mission in Southeast Asia, and it was an incredible honor to be part of the Sabah Mission for the two weeks we were there.”
Dan Smith with Enno Müller
Children at Goshen Adventist Secondary School pose for a picture during class periods.
Many people come to listen to the evangelistic series in Sabah Mission in Malaysia.
Three hundred people are baptized on the final Sabbath of the evangelistic efforts.
Participants of the large baptism pose for a picture before baptizing the 300 people that are lined up on the banks. August/September 2015
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