March - April 2019 IntraSyd

MAGAZINE

intrasyd MARCH - APRIL 2019

IGNITE 2019

Greater Sydney

Features: Personal testimonies & Every child. Everywhere. in school.

FROM THE PRESIDENT Terry Johnson

We’re on a journey in our conference to turn up the spiritual temperature!

PRESIDENT Terry Johnson terryjohnson@adventist.org.au

Editor Joyce Taylor joycetaylor@adventist.org.au

Graphic Designer Lynda G. Abreu lyndagomes@adventist.org.au

Other Contributors Kathryn Carey Cathy Hookman Katrina Jorgensen (Graphics) Jungyook Ryan Park Connor Phipps Lauren Bongard Schwarz Vera Su

Next content deadline 26 APR bit.ly/intraSYD

What does that mean? First, we have to CHOOSE to turn up our personal spiritual temperature. God will not do it for us.

Second, we have to OPEN ourselves up to Him in total surrender so that He can fashion us into what He’s always desired—firedup Christian men and women who are far from being lukewarm! Third, UNITED as 98 churches, 6 schools and 2 aged-care facilities, we turn up the corporate temperature so that our city and islands feel the spiritual heat being raised.

What would that look like?

I was talking with Pr Phil Yates recently, and he mentioned a dream of his for Greater Sydney. “Terry, wouldn’t it be wonderful if I walked down the street in my Pathfinder uniform and asked people if they knew who Pathfinders were and they responded by saying, ‘Ahhh, yes, those young people who are always doing acts of service in our community! We know them and they’re awesome!’? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if when people talked about the Scouts, they said, ‘They’re like Pathfinders, right?’ instead of the other way around?”

I resonated with Phil’s dream. What if I were to walk the streets of Waitara, Wollongong, Woollahra or Windsor and asked, “Do you know who Seventh-day Adventists are?” and people responded “Ahhh, yes, they’re the ones who make a difference in our community,” instead of “They’re the ones who don’t give blood, right?” We are constantly confused with other faiths and not known for who we are: a Bible-believing, gospel-preaching, Three Angels mes-

sages-prepared people who are fired up and in love with people all around us. Our mission is to emphatically with empathy love people into the Kingdom! That’s who we are, but it’s not what we’re known for.

Let’s change the narrative!

“And to the angel of the church of Laodicea write; These things says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know your works, that you are neither cold or hot: I wish that you were one or the other, but because you are lukewarm and neither hot or cold, I’ll spew you out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3:14-16) We in the Greater Sydney Conference are turning up the spiritual temperature because lukewarm is not the temperature we want to be. For too long we’ve been sitting on the sidelines expecting. But the time of expecting is over, and the time to choose to be on fire is now. Our biblical passage indicates that God knows us intimately. We can’t hide our spiritual temperature from Him. Every Christian can develop a deeper relationship with God. As James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

Fired-up Christians are needed. What does it mean to be fired up in a spiritual sense?

Simply that we are spending time in God’s Word, prayer, worship and godly service that transforms our communities. It’s nothing new, but when it’s being done by godly people, it sets the world on fire. I want to be part of that, don’t you?

Terry Johnson

@ SydneyAdventists

COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT

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APRIL 2019

UPCOMING EVENTS

ADDRESS Shannon Bldg,185 Fox Valley Rd Wahroonga NSW 2076 PHONE (02) 9868 6522 EMAIL sydney@adventist.org.au

SUNSET TIMES

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IGNITE 2019

A photographic recap of our citywide intergenerational event, IGNITE. Did you miss anything? Is there something you want to relive? Find livestreams, podcast and more at bit.ly/GSCIgnite19. Page 20

ARTICLE

Save the Date

MARCH is Digital Discipleship Month 14-17 APR / HOPE STAYZ 26-28 / Flat Water Canoeing 13-15 MAY / Band Camp 17-19 / Pathfinder Leadership Award 31-2 / Depression /Recovery Program Get the 2019 cal at bit.ly/GSC2018cal NEWS

No Coincedences with God

My name is Cathy. I’m 44 years old and a mother of two boys. I was baptised on 19 January. For as long as I can remember, I have believed in God, but not in religion, and definitely not in going to church. Page 08

ARTICLE

2019 Calendar Features

Meet the Mar - Apr features!

Want to be in the 2020 calendar or create art for it? Have someone to nominate? Write to us at sydney@ adventist.org.au. Page 15

NEWS

An ADRA Experience

If baptism is the highest point of one's spiritual life, then I could see myself going downhill easily after the excitement wore off or if I had no support. However, ADRA brought me back up and kept me stable. Page 14

INTRASYD

Every Child. Everywhere.

Join a global movement to ensure that every child, everywhere, attends school, completes their education, and has hope for a better future.

Page 11

OCTOBER

2018

3

EDITORIALS General Secretary

Adrian Raethel FROM THE CHURCH LTD BOARD

• The Conference President and General Secretary represented the Greater Sydney Conference at a Faith Leaders briefing that was held in December last year on the issue of religious freedom and, specifically, proposed amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 that could have implications for our schools.

discussions with the Dundas Church about conducting a school of evangelism at the facility; • The 3AM Eastwood Company members have transferred their membership and joined with the Ryde Church. As a result, the 3AM Eastwood Company has disbanded.

AUC ATTENDANCE SURVEY

• Thank you to all those who participated in the biannual attendance survey in February. The data from 2019 is currently being processed. From the 2017 survey, the head count was 4,162 out of a membership of 9,567. A total of 14.1% of attendees were aged between 15-24 (the highest group percentage), followed by those aged 65-74 (13.7%) and 55-64 (13.6%).

FROM THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

• In that a number of churches are regularly involved in food bank ministries, the Conference is investigating the possible purchase of a refrigerated truck/s that would be financed from a generous bequest; • The Incredible Journey ministry, lead by Pr Gary Kent, is in

Chief Financial Officer

Eva Ing There is no doubt that the real estate market in Sydney has slowed and in fact house prices have fallen in recent times. This has impacted our Conference Office development at 4 Cambridge Street, Epping, in that apartment sales have also been affected. But we remain confident that the development will commence this year.

Southern Han, our developer, has already achieved presales in other residential projects. There are renewed efforts in marketing both domestically and offshore for our project. The bank (one of the four major Australian banks) remains committed to the project. It is good to be reminded that our share in the

proceeds of the project remains at $12m, strata title to 1,650 sq metres of floor space, and 50 car parking spaces. This will not change despite the downturn of the market. We praise God that we negotiated this outcome during a time when the market was buoyant. At this point of the project, we have already benefited significantly as an approved development consent has been achieved for our building, and that has greatly improved the value of the property.

In the meantime, we’ve enjoyed being at the San at Wahroonga. There have been great benefits for us to be located within our hospital in the Shannon Building. The relationship between the Conference and the hospital has never been better, and it has been a great opportunity for our staff to be directly involved in mission in our everyday working lives. We have been actively involved in taking morning worship, which is broadcast to all staff and patients through San TV. We’ve also added to the chaplaincy team above our requirement. We believe that we are contributing the Adventist culture of the San, and this has been a mutual blessing.

PS: Please remember that our Adventist Book Centre remains at 4 Cambridge Street, Epping until the building is knocked down, so come and support our ABC!

“Nathan Brown and his fellow travellers have delivered an interesting and inspiring account of their travels through the Holy Land. Their vivid writing style brings these places to life!”

—Dr Kayle de Waal, head, Avondale Seminary

Since the time of Jesus, visiting the places of His life has held a fascination and attraction for His followers from many parts of the world. This is one of those journeys, encountering and reflecting on the stories themselves, as well as the realities of visiting these places today.

From the rugged wilderness of Petra and the Dead Sea to the sparkling waters and lush valleys of Galilee, this is a story of re-discovering the stories of Jesus and the Bible, and how this journey changes and challenges us as we seek to follow Him as His disciples today.

$24.95

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www.FalafelsandFollowingJesus.com Available from Adventist bookstores INTRASYD

April

2019

5

PastoralList

2019

GREATER SYDNEY CONFERENCE

New Staff in Camden Valley Group Yellow Anders Svensson

Ministerial Secretary Nataniel Pereira

REGIONAL

Campbelltown Stanley Togafau Warrick Sawyer

Campbelltown Fijian Usaia Baravilala

Fairfield Spanish (Group) Edvard Miler

Filoship (Company) Geoff Youlden

Freshwater Panapa Leuluai Joshua Gonzalez

Fountain in the City (Company) Barend Nieuwstraten Tim Shelton

Fountain Maroubra (Group)

Regional Coordinator - Central

Campbelltown Spanish

Barend Nieuwstraten Tim Shelton

Andre Vieira

Mario Guzman

Fox Valley

Regional Coordinator - North

Caringbah

Alban Matohiti

Ian Cangy

Mark Baines Landry Patii

Regional Coordinator - NorthWest

Castle Hill

Galston

Martin Vukmanic

Pablo Lillo Nicholas Kross

David McKibben

Ghanaian (Company)

Central Sydney Samoan

Felix Opoku-Gyamfi

Frank Ropati

Granville

Frank Ropati

Chatswood

Boriss Soldat

LOCAL CHURCH

Boriss Soldat

Granville Fijian

Cherrybrook (Group)

Shiu Kumar

Ashfield

Eddy Johnson

Warrick Sawyer

Granville Multicultural

Church in the Fields (Company)

Jimmie Cha

ATSIM Bible Worker

Iorangi Eiao

Henry Dunn

Guilford Italian

City Cook Island (Group)

Janusz Jagiello

ATSIM Director

Sitiveni Teaupa

Horace Evans

Harvest Fellowship (Group)

Concord

Matthew Pearce

Auburn

Roger Vince

Holroyd (Company)

Corrimal

Edvard Miler

Bankstown

Allen Bierschbach

Tai Mokoroa

Hoxton Park

Dundas Croatian

Bidwill

Edvard Miler

Andrew Russell Tapiwa Mutseriwa

Mele Lolohea

Eastwood Chinese (Group)

Hurstville

Blacktown

Daniel Chong

Marty Luke

Echo Christian Community

Blacktown Southern Asian Church Plant

Indian Church Plant

Charles Chellaiah Jeya

Hope Chomcyzynski Bernard Deojee

Blacktown Spanish

Elizabeth Lodge (Group)

Katoomba

Regional Coordinator - South/SouthWest Jonathan Valls

Regional Coordinator - West

Felix Opoku-Gyamfi

Jimmie Cha Soman Chu Shiu Kumar

Leandro Cisterna

Tuni Laikum

Duane Haora

Cabramatta

Enmore Fijian

Kellyville

Usaia Baravilala

Joseph Talipuan

CAbramatta Fijian

Epping

Martin Vukmanic Anielle Deojee

Nigel Ackland Kenneth Lee

Kings Langley James Fletcher

Fairfield

Lakemba

Alexis Ratu

Cabramatta West Spanish Leandro Cisterna

Tapiwa Mutseriwa

Ana Lolohea

Light Hope (Group)

Stanmore

Xcell (Company)

---

Geoff Youlden

Frank Ropati

Liverpool Samoan Asofitu Leatuavao

Lord Howe Island John Wells

Marrickville Spanish Carlos Hernandez

Mile End (Company) Craig Vanas James Fletcher

Minto Samoan Rams Tupe

Sydney Central Korean Daniel Chong Abigail Figueroa

Sydney Indonesian (Group)

Mt Druitt Samoan Asofitu Leatuavao Brian Leuluai

Andre Vieira

Bernard Deojeei

Wahroonga

Garth Bainbridge Ian Cangy

Alban Matohiti David McKibben Richie Reid

Tuni Laikum

St Marys Samoan Company Rams Tupe

Abigail Figueroa

AGED CARE CHAPLAINS

Chaplain - Kings Langley Aged Care Alwin Hilton

Joseph Talipuan

Wetherill Park Spanish

Ryde Korean (Company)

Chaplain - University Students

Wantok COMPANY

Panapa Leuluai Joshua Gonzalez

Andre Vieira

Richie Reid Landry Patii John Wells

Roger Govender Dwayne Manoa

Warrimoo

Ryde

Chaplain - Wahroonga Adventist School

Waitara

Pitwater

Brian Leuluai

Marcus Pereira Hope Chomcyzynski Raul Moran

Eddy Johnson

Parramatta

Punchbowl Samoan

Chaplain - Mountain View Adventist College

Thornleigh

Ubuntu (Group)

Mario Guzman

Iorangi Eiao Alexis Ratu Horace Evans Jacqui Namakadre Kalivati Namakadre

The Way (Group)

Norfolk Island

Penrith

Chaplain - Macarthur Adventist College

Janusz Jagiello

Janusz Jagiello

Tim Shelton

Soman Chu

Tahmoor (Company)

Toongabbie

Pendle Hill

Chaplain - Hurstville Adventist School

Sitiveni Teaupa Ben Turner

Lloyd Grolimund Igor Shemet

Daniel Przybylko

Anielle Doejee Jessica Laws

Igor Shemet

Cheonneth Strickland

Parramatta Central (Group)

Chaplain - Hills Adventist College @ Kellyville

Sydney Portuguese

New Hope

Ken Weslake

Nicholas Kross

Ben Turner

Sydney Tongan

Matthew Pearce

Chaplain - Hills Adventist College @ Castle Hill

Tai Mokoroa

Rams Tupe Toni Marsh

Mt Druitt

Fabian Edian

Sydney Cook Island

Mountain View

Carlos Hernandez

Chaplain - Sydney Adventist School Auburn

Sydney Chinese

Sydney Russian

Mt Colah

SCHOOL CHAPLAINS

Kenneth Lee

Chaplain - Wahroonga Aged Care Tuni Laikum Nigel Ackland

Chris Manthey Jonathan Valls Raul Moran

PRISON CHAPLAINS

Windsor

Nigel Ackland

Chaplain - Prisons

Duane Haora

Long Bay Prison Chaplain

Wollongong

Wellington Caqui

Allen Bierschbach

Woollahra Daniel Przybylko

INTRASYD

April

2019

7

"God works in mysterious ways. Do I believe in coincidence? No, not at all. Looking back I see God’s leading in everything: the Sabbath lunches, fellowship of the Galston Church members, Sibilla and her CHEP course, Malcolm and Recipe Club, Bible studies with Pastor David, wonderful people and friendships in Christ, and, most importantly, seeing how God blesses and touches our lives every day."

By Cathy Hookham

M

y name is Cathy. I’m 44 years old and a mother of two wonderful boys. I was baptised on 19 January, 2019. For as long as I can remember, I have believed in God, but not in religion, and definitely not in going to church.

My mum, Sheryl, attended Galston Seventh-day Adventist

Church, but she knew I was not interested in attending. She had

been invited for lunch many times after church, and she decided it was time to return the invitations. She started inviting people home for lunch on Sabbaths, six at a time. Initially I didn’t want

to be included in those lunches with her “churchy friends.” She finally persuaded me to sit in on her first Sabbath lunch. The

people were so lovely, it was hard not to like them. The next

Sabbath, more people were invited. Pretty soon, I knew half the church congregation.

Over lunch one Sabbath, I mentioned that Mum played the pia-

no. Not long after, she was asked to play for church, so I thought I’d better support her and come to church that one week.

Just by coincidence, there was a church lunch that day, and I knew lots of people. I was introduced to Missy and Andrew, who, by coincidence, were visiting that week. They had two young children, one of whom was the same age as my son

Couper. I liked Missy’s Christian values, and we quickly became

friends. Our sons had much in common, and we started meeting for play days in the park.

Mum attended a Women’s Ministries breakfast, where she met Jane. At Jane’s recommendation, she and Jane enrolled in a

CHEP course through Avondale College. It looked interesting,

so I also enrolled, and I met many lovely people. Then I received a voicemail message from Malcolm, asking me to contribute at Recipe Club. She said Malcolm was the Health Director at the

Conference, and he was calling to ask me to contribute a recipe.

As we would be needing to demonstrate a recipe as part of

our CHEP exams, she thought Recipe Club was a good way we could learn to demonstrate in public.

At that time, whilst I believed in God, I was new-age believer. I was involved in new-age practices, angel and archangel cards,

crystal energy and cleansing and reading tarot cards. I was also

studying angelology and how angels related to the Bible. Mum mentioned the three angels’ messages from Revelation, and I thought it was very strange that my angelology course didn’t

mention these three angels. I started reading Revelation to find

out about these three angels and why they had not been included. I knew Pastor David, and I had gradually started coming to church regularly, so I asked if he would give me Bible studies.

Soon we were having weekly Bible study sessions.

Several months later, I had burned all the tarot cards, angel

cards, and new-age course certificates; tipped out all the alcohol, and was impressed to plan for baptism. The date was set for 19 January, 2019.

I invited Lani, a friend from church, to my baptism. She shared that she had been thinking about baptism but was not sure

about the next step. I invited her to Bible studies, and that made

NO SUCH THING AS A COINCIDENCE WITH GOD

two of us preparing for baptism.

The next week Pastor David shared that John from Parramatta

ies until her minister was transferred, so I invited her to our Bible

baptised. We were delighted that he would share this experience

Ronnie, another friend from church, had been having Bible studstudies. She also wanted to be baptised, so that made three of us preparing for baptism.

Then, by coincidence, I received a text from my half-sister Stacey from Darwin. I had not heard from her in over a year. She was

planning her holidays and wanted to know if any family events were coming up so she could coincide her visit. I shared my

baptism plans and said it would be lovely if she could attend, and

had heard about our upcoming baptism and wanted to be rewith us. That made five of us preparing for baptism.

We all have stories and testimonies, but now we are adding the

amazing step of baptism to the journey, sharing this new beginning with church family, friends and, for me, with my beautiful

mum, sister and my fantastic boys, Zayne and Couper. It was a truly a touching day.

we’d arrange a family get-together.

God works in mysterious ways. Do I believe in coincidence? No,

Stacey was educated at the Adventist school and had gone to

Sabbath lunches, fellowship of the Galston Church members,

church regularly with our grandmother until they’d moved. I

arranged to have our Bible studies taped and started sending

Stacey copies. She loved the Bible studies and asked to be baptised too; that made four of us preparing for baptism.

not at all. Looking back I see God’s leading in everything: the Sibilla and her CHEP course, Malcolm and Recipe Club, Bible studies with Pastor David, wonderful people and friendships

in Christ, and, most importantly, seeing how God blesses and touches our lives every day.

LOCAL NEWS

to speak in Melbourne recently where she shared the testimony of the group as part of her sermon. In the audience was a Sevvie car dealer. He happened to have the perfect minivan on site (a Kia Grand Carnival with a clean engine, new tires and the works) and offered it for the price of $6000 (leaving Fahina with enough to cover rego and fuel for the drive back to Sydney). Not only that: He used his own mileage points to fly Fahina and a friend to Melbourne to pick up the car! She now has a way to transport her 5 children back and forth to school––one of our schools!––to church and everywhere else they need to go in life.The family have decided to name their new car Grace.

02. PEACE AT FIRST FRIDAY

BY S. STEPHENSON First Friday is an open worship event that takes place in the Sydney Adventist Hospital Chapel every first Friday of the

D

ON’T HAVE A WILL? Come and visit us at the Greater Sydney Conference office! As a church we provide complimentray service to church memebrs, their families and friends in the preparation of Wills. Our Director of Trust Services can assist you in the planning and disposition of asstes and the prepraration of a valid Will.

Please contact Rodney Woods to book an appointment at rodneywoods@adventist.org. au or on (02) 9868 6522.

Have Have anything anything exciting exciting or or exextraordinary traordinary to to share? share? Email Email us us at at sydney@adventist.org.au. sydney@adventist.org.au.

month. It is a time of inspiring music,

00

prayer, reflection and stories of healing and all are invited to attend On First Friday on Feb 1, 2019 we had a

01. GOD PROVIDES A CAR

BY BERYL LANDERS

lady named Tina (name changed) attend

Fahina is a mother of five (5). Her hus-

after the program. Her husband was a

band left her and the children and left them with the bad car. So often this is a

the service. She also took part in the refreshments and enjoyed the fellowship patient on level 6.

terrible reality.

Tina's husband died the following morn-

Fahina attends the Weekly Women's

attend to the death, Tina shared how

Worship (WWW) at Parramatta Seventh-Day Adventist Church and asked the women there to pray for a vehicle for her. They did and the car died as a result! But in the process, $6900 was raised to replace the vehicle.

Not to be outdone, God gave prayer warrior Orette Collen an opportunity

ing at 6am. When the chaplain went to much First Friday meant to her. Though it was an expected death, she was not expecting it to happen so quickly. She felt it was a blessing that he died the way he died after she attended First Friday and made peace with God and submitted her husband to God.

03. STUDENTS CLEAN UP

BY DANIEL LAVAIAMAT Wahroonga Adventist School participated in cleaning up the bushland along Coups creek. All hands-on were on deck as students were eager to make a difference in our own back yard by removing plastic bottles and general waste, which would have ended up in our water ways.

The cleanup was in conjunction with Clean Up Australia Day,

04. DONATIONS NEEDED AT SYDNEY ADRA CENTRES There's a great need for food donations at our Sydney ADRA Centres, especially at ADRA Community Centre Blacktown.

Since Christmas, the shelves are now bare and they are desperately needing more food. Call (02) 9622 7188 to help.

05. RUOK? COUNSELING SERVICES Anxiety, depression and loneliness

01

can sometimes get the best of us, and that's okay––it's okay not to be okay–– but please don't let it bring the end of you. You are valued and worthy.

Tina just couldn't stop talking about the

because this is once again bringing my phi-

blessings she experienced in the service

losophy of life to light... even if it's one soul

on Friday night. She believes that her

that is saved, influenced, impacted... we

presence in First Friday and the connec-

should run the program and it's worth it.

06. EVERY CHILD, IN SCHOOL AN ADRA INITIATIVE

is the reason why her husband died so

By the Grace of God, every time we have

We believe that every child, every-

quick without suffering prolonged illness.

a program in the chapel many lives are

where, has the right to an education.

She said the message and the worship

touched and there is a miracle story every

Unfortunately, 262 million children

experience was meant just for her and

single time.

around the world are currently denied

tion she made with Gods people and God

Need help? Visit bit.ly/GSCFindHelp.

this right. Please sign the petition

she couldn't believe that the hospital put up a program to meet her needs. She felt

This inspires and encourages me to carry

below, to join a global, Adventist-led

very peaceful, very calm, and very much

on and do more so we can win many,

movement to ensure that all children

prepared for her husbands death as a

many, many souls for His kingdom.

get to attend school, complete their education and have a brighter

result of First Friday.

I thought this is a feedback I should share

For more on First Friday visit sydney.

future. More: adra.org/inschool.

adventist.org.au/first-friday.

INTRASYD

APRIL April

2019

11

Couscous stuffed butternut pumpkins

Serves 4

Prep 20

Cook 60mins

02

03

INGREDIENTS 2 Small butternut pumpkin 2 cups salt vegetable stock 1 cup Israeli couscous 1 teaspoon oil 1 1/2 cups chopped kale 1/4 cup pomegranate arils 1 1/2 tablespoon flaked almonds, toasted 1 1/2 tablespoons coconut flakes, toasted 1 1/2 tablespoons nutritional yeast 1 teaspoon lemon zest

METHODS Halve pumpkins & scoop out seeds. Score the flesh Place pumpkin halves on an oven tray and bake in a hot oven, 200°C, for 45-50 minutes or until pumpkin flesh is cooked Place stock in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add couscous reduce heat and simmer covered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir, cover and set aside.

Heat oil in a skillet and sauté kale until wilted.

Stir kale and remaining ingredients through couscous Scoop out majority of pumpkin flesh leaving 1.25cm pumpkin around the boarder & 2cm at the base. Transfer couscous mixture into pumpkin shells.

Return back to oven and bake in hot oven, 200°C, for 10 minutes or until warmed through.

04

05

PHOTOGRAPHY

CAPTIONS/CREDITS 01 Fahina and Natalie, the WWW member who launched the fundraiser to get Fahina a new car, on their way to the airport & Fahina with her children with their van, Grace.

02 Wahroonga School students cleaning up litter.

03 The shelves at ADRA Backtown. Donations are desperately needed!

04 RUOK? Let us help!

05 Every Child. Everywhere. In School. An ADRA initiative.

12501 Old Columbia Pike ADRA.org/InSchool Silver Spring, MD 20904 #EveryChildEverywhere 12501 Old Columbia Pike ADRA.org/InSchool ADRA.org facebook.com/joinADRA Silver Spring, MD 20904 #EveryChildEverywhere 1.800.424.ADRA (2372) ADRA.org facebook.com/joinADRA 1.800.424.ADRA (2372)

Add your name and join a global movement to ensure that every child, everywhere, attends school, completes Add your name andfor join a global movement to ensure that every child, everywhere, attends school, completes heir education, and has hope a better future. their education, and has hope for a better future.

“I want world leaders to commit to ensuring that all children, adolescents and youth have access to free, “I want world leaders to commit ensuring that all children, adolescents and youth have access to free, equitable and qualitytoprimary and secondary education.” equitable and quality primary and secondary education.”

Name

Name

Email Address Email Address

Country

Zip Code Country

Signature Zip Code

Signature

By signing the petition I confirm that I am over 13 years old and agree to receive emails from the Adventist Development Relief Agency (ADRA). *By signing the petition I confirm that I am over 13 years old and agree to receive emails from the Adventist Development Relief Agency (ADRA).

Please scan or take a photo of the completed petition (making sure the entries are legible) and email it to advocacy@adra.org Please scan or take a photo of the completed petition (making sure the entries are legible) and email it to advocacy@adra.org

INTRASYD

FEBRUARY

2019

13

VERA SU’S ADRA YOUTH AMBASSADOR EXPERIENCE

By Vera Su Two years ago, I had the honour of being the ADRA Youth Ambassador, and it meant a lot to me as a fresh Adventist who had been baptised for just a year.

As many other young Christians, if baptism is the highest point of my spiritual life, then I can see it going downhill easily after the excitement wore off or if I had no support from others. However, the experience with ADRA brought me back up and kept me stable, which means more than anything to me.

During these two years, I went to preach at different churches to promote ADRA and volunteered for events to fundraise for ADRA. These are the things that I had never done before. I also worked for a few months as a volunteer receptionist for ADRA Community Centre Blacktown.

And most excitingly, I went to one of the ADRA Connections trip to Vanuatu. These experiences are very precious to me because I’ve learnt and grown so much from them.

Preaching was my first and biggest challenge. As a Christian who had only studied the Bible for one year and lacked experience in public speaking, it was almost scary for me to step up and preach in front of a whole church.

But after a few times, I became more confident and comfortable speaking in front of people.

Working at the ADRA Blacktown centre was amazing.

It really opened my eyes to see the world, and I got to see different kinds of people and started to understand what is meeting people’s needs.

Growing up I almost never experienced hardship, so if I hadn’t worked there, I wouldn't have been able to imagine what kind of lives other people could be living. Being able to help them and deliver their stories to churches through preaching really fulfilled my life at that time. The ADRA connections trip to Vanuatu was a fantastic journey; our task was to help build the administration office and a water tank for a school in a rural village. Though it was only for two weeks, I’ve gained a lot of building knowledge and made many friends.

I’m not sure how much I have contributed to ADRA, but it benefited me greatly because I was amazed to see what God was able to do through me. I recommend young people to volunteer and apply for this opportunity to become a Youth Ambassador so they can be blessed and grow a stronger relationship with God by helping others.

2019 CALENDAR FEATURES Illustrations by María José Díaz Villarroel

Adventurers Club Cabramatta W. Spanish Church March | Youth Ministries Photographed (L-R): Esteban Guana (Leader), Jahzeel C., Felipe G., Aiden M., Emilia O., Isaac G., Benjamin L. “The commitment and unity of our group is strong and that is helping us create the best memories for our children. At the same time it's attracting new families to our church. Most importantly, we feel that God is using us in this ministry to prepare our little ones for the Kingdom of Heaven.” Esteban

Andrew Hunt New Hope Church April | Digital Disciple “The royal wedding was seen by 65% of the world.

There's a window of opportunity to the world right now and as media evangelists we need to be rushing at it at 1000 miles an hour.”

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EDUCATION MOUNTAIN VIEW ADVENTIST COLLEGE's 50th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS Mountain View Adventist College was established in 1968, with the first students attending the college on 29 January, 1969. This year, we will celebrate our 50th anniversary of Adventist education in the Doonside area on May 25 on the college grounds. With its humble beginnings of just 29 students in years 1–6 in 1969, today Mountain View Adventist College has a student population of over 700 students ranging from Prep to Year 12.

During our 50 years, we have seen 15 principals and thousands of students pass through the college. Former principal Mrs Jenny Gibbons (2004–2017) recalls, “When I first arrived at MVAC, the student population was around 245, and when I retired it was 620. God has blessed this school, students, teachers and staff, all of whom have all made a significant contribution to Mountain View. I know that God has touched the hearts of many of our students over the years, and I have personally witnessed God’s hand at work many times over within this school. Mountain View will always hold a special place in my heart, and I watch in awe at the work that God continues to do in this school.”

Former student Rowan Beyers commented, “I was privileged to attend Mountain View Adventist College (Doonside Adventist School, as it was back then) from 1978 till 1985. The best thing about going to school at Mountain View Adventist College was the diverse cultures represented. This gave us the opportunity to learn how to relate and appreciate the foods and customs from around the world. May God continue to bless our Adventist schools.”

Dr Jean Carter, Education Director and former principal at the college, said, “It has been a privilege to be part of the journey of Mountain View Adventist College as it has grown into the college it is today, offering quality education in a nurturing and caring environment where Christian values are upheld. The impact the school continues to have in shaping the lives of the student population who attend(ed) the college from across North West and Western Sydney is quite remarkable.”

“Having just started working at Mountain View this year as principal, I am honoured and blessed to be able to continue God’s work at this school,” Principal Mrs Julia Heise stated. “All of the previous principals have all made an amazing contribution to this school, and I am excited to be able to continue to build on those strong foundations.”

We invite you to come along and help us celebrate God’s work here in Doonside. Our 50th Anniversary celebration day will be Sabbath, 25 May, 2019. The celebrations will begin with a morning service starting at 10 a.m., followed by lunch, and wrapping up with an afternoon program from 2 p.m. We look forward to seeing you there!

To register your attendance at the event visit www.mvac. adventist.edu.au/50-year-anniversary-registration.

ADVENTIST EDUCATION

e ha M s r a T

Sydney Adventist Schools Scholarship Sydney Adventist Schools are a real beacon in our local community and in our church. We play a vital role in seeing more lives eternally impacted by our school system. Sadly, however, not everyone can afford an Adventist Education for their child(ren).

Here’s where the Scholarship comes in.

The SAS Scholarship was created to help make Adventist Education accessible to families. There are two ways you can help support this fund.

• •

Refer someone you know who could benefit from this scholarship.

Donate! Help send a child to a Sydney Adventist School by giving online at eGiving.org.au (GSC School Scholarship).

All donations of $2 or more are tax-deductible.

Serving: Auburn – Castle Hill – Doonside – Hurstville – Kellyville – Macarthur – Wahroonga CRICOS Provider No: 02622J | ABN 63 106 908 767

FOR MORE INFORMATION contact Daniel Lavaiamat on (02) 9868 6522 or via email at Sydney@adventist.org.au, or visit http://bit.ly/SASscholarship.

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s( nzie

JOIN US FOR A

The SDA Mingle Tour Join us for one of the best cruises organised by

Allround travel centre.

Inside Cabin price from $2832* (2 adults) Inside Cabin price from $5160* (2 adults + 2 children) Outside Cabin from $3638* (2 adults) Cabin with Balcony from $5034* (2 adults) *Prices are for a Guaranteed Cabin allocated by Cruise Line within category. Includes port fees & taxes. Refund up to 150 days prior to departure.

Stay in the know!

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IGNITE 2019 O

n behalf of the Greater Sydney Conference of churches, Mrs Eva Ing, Pr Adrian Raethel and I would like to say,

THANK YOU

to each of the 700 volunteers and a further 500 singers, musicians, the audio and video production team and all manner of support ministry folk who made IGNITE run smoothly.

It is impossible to do such a large event with close to 6000 people attending without you!

We serve a great God and it was a pleasure to hear and see the talent that He has given to His people through spiritual gifts and the ministry of service. There was much to learn to do better from IGNITE and much to celebrate as well and we look forward to coming together again in 2 years time.

Plan now to be part of the volunteering team and serve the church at large.

Terry Johnson IGNITE 2019 | PAGES 20-22 PICS BY JUNGYOOK PARK

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IGNITE 2019 – YOUTH DIVISION PAGE 23 PICS BY CONNOR PHIPPS

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