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September issue of the Mid-America Outlook, News and Inspiration from the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Mid-America

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: September 2009 Outlook
Page 2: September 2009 Outlook

Outlook StaffEditor: Martin WeberManaging Editor/Ad Manager: Amy PrindleLayout Designer: Amy PrindleClassifieds/Subscriptions: Chris SmithCopy Editor: Chris Smith

News EditorsCentral States: Kymone HindsDakota: Heidi ShoemakerIowa-Missouri: Michelle MiracleKansas-Nebraska: John TreoloMinnesota: Claudio ConsuegraRocky Mountain: Karen CressUnion College: Jacque L. Smith

Mid-America Union ConferencePresident: Roscoe J. Howard IIIVP for Administration: Thomas L. LemonVP for Finance: Elaine HageleAssociate VP for Finance: Walt Sparks

Local ConferencesCENTRAL STATES: 3301 Parallel Pkwy.,

Kansas City, KS 66104; 913.371.1071 www.central-states.org

DAKOTA: P.O. Box 520, 217 North Grand Ave., Pierre, SD 57501; 605.224.8868 www.dakotaadventist.org

IOWA-MISSOURI: P.O. Box 65665, 1005 Grand Ave., West Des Moines, IA 50265; 515.223.1197www.imsda.org

KANSAS-NEBRASKA: 3440 Urish Road, Topeka, KS 66614-4601; 785.478.4726 www.ks-ne.org

MINNESOTA: 7384 Kirkwood Court, Maple Grove, MN 55369; 763.424.8923 www.mnsda.com

ROCKY MOUNTAIN: 2520 S. Downing St., Denver, CO 80210; 303.733.3771 www.rmcsda.org

On the Cover: Cover photographer Norman Bolejack loves to head to the moun-tains and shoot wild-life—with a camera! He put his new Nikon D90 to good use in captur-ing the joy of these two women you can read about on page 9.

In This Issue...Did you know you can mingle witnessing

with having fun? And that's not just for kids!

Perhaps we can get so serious that it para-

lyzes our outreach for Christ and generates

toxic anxiety in our churches. See our presi-

dent’s editorial across the page.

Jesus was a man in touch with sorrow, yet He

generated joy. He understood about parties for

a purpose. Not everyone approved: “This man

fellowships with sinners!” was the critique of

Christ’s outreach strategy. Yet he kept socializing

with poor as well as rich, famous and infamous,

troublesome men and even scandalized women.

This month you’ll read about retirees who

are fruitful and fulfilled in selfless service for

the Savior. Some of them are having quite a bit

of joy about it. Their stories start on page 6.

Nevertheless, some fellow Christians consider

Adventists a joy-deficient, legalistic, unbiblical

cult. Recently I attended a public seminar where

SDAs got blasted with such allegations. To coun-

ter these attacks against Adventism around the

world, several of us have started a new website.

See page 4, and check out www.sdaforme.com.

Martin Weber, editor

S ep t e m b e r 2 0 0 9

Mid-America Union

Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3Defending Adventist Funda-

mental Beliefs . . . . . . . . . .4 "Radical Retirees" of the Mid-

America Union . . . . . . . . . .6 "Shining Star in St. Louis" . . . . .6 "Riches in Retirement Building

God's Kingdom" . . . . . . . . . .7 "Retiree Volunteers in District

Churches" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 "Uplifting Their Neighbors" . . .8 "Littleton Retirees Make

Big Impact" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 "More Than She'll Ever Know" . . .9 Central States News . . . . . . . . . 10 Dakota News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Iowa-Missouri News . . . . . . . . . 14Kansas-Nebraska News . . . . . 16Minnesota News . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Rocky Mountain News . . . . . . 20Union College News . . . . . . . . . 22Adventist Health System . . . . . . 24Mid-America Blog Update . . . . 26Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Farewell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Sunset Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

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Rocky MountainConference

Kansas-NebraskaConference

Dakota Conference

Iowa-MissouriConference

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MinnesotaConference

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Central States Conference 10

Find individual conference reports on the following pages...

OUTLOOK, (ISSN 0887-977X) September 2009, Volume 30, Number 9. Outlook is published monthly by the Mid-America Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 8307 Pine Lake Road, Lincoln, NE 68516; Telephone: 402.484.3000; Fax: 402.483.4453; E-mail: [email protected]. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Outlook, PO Box 6128, Lincoln, NE 68506. E-mail: [email protected]. When possible clip name and address from a previous issue. Printed at Pacific Press Publishing Association, Standard postage paid at Nampa, ID. Free for Mid-America church members and $10 per year for non-Mid-America subscribers. ©2009 Mid-America Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. All Rights Reserved.Adventist® and Seventh-day Adventist® are the registered trademarks of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

Unless otherwise noted, all photos are stock photography.

Note: Central States is an ethnically diverse

regional conference encompassing the

entire Mid-America Union territory.

Union College 22

2 August 2009 | Mid-America Outlook

Table of Contents

Page 3: September 2009 Outlook

Dispelling Toxic Anxiety in Your Church by Roscoe J. Howard III

Most men live lives of quiet desperation,” observed Henry David Thoreau, American poet and philosopher. Organiza-tions, being comprised of people, typically reflect this common human anxiety. This includes church congregations and committees, schools and conference offices. Reducing organizational anxiety is one of the most important,

yet least understood, tasks of spiritual leadership.

Anxiety is counterproductive even in the animal world, as farmers are aware. Researchers at Oregon State University report: “When a hen experiences stress, even so minimal as to go unnoticed, she may respond by ceasing egg production.”1 Fear of the fox harms the hens and frustrates their mission even before the enemy invades their shelter to destroy the flock. A wise farmer takes whatever measures are needed to foster an atmosphere of security and peace.

Anxiety within the flock of God’s saints is also damaging and devastating to our fruitfulness. Bold and creative outreach gets para-lyzed. Board members become reactive rather than proactive. Dedicated members descend into “fight or flight mode.”

But when church leaders embrace the peace of God in the unity of the Spirit, morale is restored. People trust each other and be-come collaborative. This generates the synergy in the Spirit needed to transform our churches into fulfilling God’s purpose.

So much for the need to dispel the anxiety among us. How can this happen? Our non-anxious presence is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ, the “Prince of peace” (Isaiah 9:6). “He Himself is our peace” (Ephesians 2:14).

Consider how Jesus calmed the troubled sea. Like many of our churches, the boatload of disciples overflowed with toxic anxiety on the storm-tossed sea. Failing in their attempts to bail themselves out of trouble, the disciples cried out in not-so-quiet despera-tion. Along came Jesus, who spoke peace into their situation: “Be of good cheer! It is I; be not afraid” (Matthew 14:27). When the disciples welcomed Him as leader of their boat, Christ calmed their stormy spirits and reorganized their situation so they could proceed with His purposes for His church.

Sometimes we cling to our concerns, as if anxiety were a virtue. Let’s not confuse being upright with being “uptight.” Edwin H. Friedman, respected Jewish author and systems therapist, reports that even just having a serious spirit can be destructive, being more the cause of problems than the effect of them.2 He sees seriousness as embedded in a constant and chronic anxiety, which makes an organization inflexible and incapable of proper perspective.

We can be so deadly earnest that it kills our ministry. We can be so worried whether the community will come to an outreach event that we don’t even schedule it. We can get so stressed about not having enough baptisms that we won’t even engage in evangelism. Church life itself becomes a suffocating burden instead of an exciting adventure.

To our churches filled with anxiety, Jesus says with a gracious smile: “Come unto Me, and I will give you rest. . . . My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

The fruit of the Spirit is “love, joy, peace…” (Galatians 5:22). Did you notice that joy comes right after love? It’s even listed higher than longsuffering and temperance—as important as those virtues are to Christian living. Happiness in the Lord is one of the most important—and overlooked—Christian qualities. “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10)!

Friedman suggests even having playfulness during meetings—not gratuitous silliness, but strategic humor that defuses anxi-ety. Then everyone relaxes and enjoys getting things done together.

“Wait a minute,” somebody might warn. “Jesus was a man of sorrows—He didn’t have a sense of humor.”

I believe He did. How else would playful children be attracted to Him? Surely He shared our grief and anxiety—and turned them into joy! He even used humor as a tool to defuse anxiety.

Where’s that in the Bible? Mark 3:17. Two of Christ’s top leaders, brothers James and John, had a problem with turbulent anxiety. Jesus not only prayed for them, He playfully nicknamed them “Sons of Thunder.” Christ’s deft touch of humor diffused the toxic anxiety among His disciples, raising morale and helping them bond as a ministry unit.

We may experience the same blessing in our congregations, schools and conference offices when we learn to be happy together. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy and peace!

Roscoe J. Howard III, DMin (can), is president of the Mid-America Union.1http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/html/pnw/pnw565. Accessed via Google, July 24, 2009.2Edwin H. Friedman, Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue (New York: Guilford Press), p. 50.

All Scriptures are from the New King James Version.

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Mid-America Outlook | September 2009 3

Editorial

Page 4: September 2009 Outlook

Rocky Mountain pastor Michael Campbell, one of my good friends, believes in connecting with his community. He’s enjoyed good success in

forming bonds with local civic and Christian leaders in Montrose, Colorado—until he interviewed to be a vol-unteer board member for a respected Christian agen-cy. To his surprise, Dr. Campbell met intense opposi-tion to his participation from a lady who just one week previously said she had not known anything about Seventh-day Adventists. To learn who we are and what we believe, she did what everybody does these days and “Googled” the name of our denomination.

Instantly she got connected with a host of hostile websites that slander the Adventist message, mission and our founders—particularly Ellen White. Michael told a camp meeting audience in Minnesota that he has never experienced anything quite like it before—instant rejection through Internet slander.

Seventh-day Adventists around the world are begin-ning to encounter similar organized opposition over the Internet. Every time an evangelistic brochure gets mailed to your neighbors, we are at the mercy of get-ting Googled into rejection before people even have a chance to meet us and know who we really are. The same is true when you invite a coworker to join you for Sabbath worship.

Our good name is getting massacred by an assort-ment of anti-Adventist websites, usually run by out-of-touch former members. People who dislike or even despise Adventists are defining us to our neighbors. It’s

a huge problem, getting worse all the time. We have to do something about it.

Several of us here in Lincoln, Nebraska have just set up a website—www.sdaforme.com—responding to anti-Adventist opposition with a positive presentation of God’s mercy and truth in our message and mission.

This new website was born the night of June 26, when a former Adventist pastor came to town to do a weekend seminar at a local community church. That Friday eve-ning I heard my Seventh-day Adventist faith defamed hour after hour. The attacks focused on our beliefs regard-ing 1) the Sabbath, 2) the pre-Advent Judgment and 3) the role of Ellen G. White. The main speaker declared: “You can’t be an Adventist without being tainted” by legalism and other unbiblical errors. One of his leading assistants declared to the audience: “God removed from me the Ad-ventist spirit and gave me His Holy Spirit.” As if we Adven-tists are possessed or at least hounded by evil spirits!

The anti-Adventist presenters advertised their own websites, along with half a dozen others, similar to the ones that had poisoned the mind of the woman Pastor Campbell tried to connect with in his community.

Frustrated and heartbroken to see many among the 350 people in the audience confused and led astray, I retreated after the meeting to the Mid-America Union headquarters office. In the basement, our communication department has storage closet with a private prayer location. With no-body else in the building past 10 p.m. Friday night, I cried out to God to do something to defend His truth. Just then my cell phone rang. It was my friends Chris and Candice

A New Website to Defend Adventist Truth: www.sdaforme.com

by Martin Weber

4 September 2009 | Mid-America Outlook

Page 5: September 2009 Outlook

McConnell (who had redesigned our Union website). Al-though I’m three decades older than they are, the three of us share a common bond of confidence and apprecia-tion for God’s grace and truth reflected in the fundamen-tal beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists.

Chris and Candice also had attended the meeting that night. They felt impressed to propose a plan—why not start our own website on which we could address all those misunderstandings and misrepresentations against Seventh-day Adventists? I perceived their pro-posal as God’s answer to the problem I was praying about. The result is the website, www.sdaforme.com.

Although we have set up this online resource with the blessing of the Mid-America Union president, Roscoe Howard, all its content is our own, not supplied by an official church committee. The website name (also ac-cessible as www.sda4me.com, if that’s easier for you to remember) tells you what it is: simply our personal ex-pression of conviction and appreciation for the privilege of belonging to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Chris and Candice contributed their technical professional ex-pertise, and I contributed the doctrinal content, based on chapters, articles, graduate papers, scripts and ser-mons that I’ve written over the past three decades on the points of Adventist truth under attack.

Our goal is not to counterattack the enemies of Ad-ventism, but rather to counter their attack in the spirit of God’s grace and truth. We don’t pretend that the Adven-tist Church is everything it ought to be. In fact, we are quite candid in confessing ongoing issues with legalism, inconsistency and intolerance that have disheartened thousands of formerly faithful and fervent Adventists, influencing them to leave our denomination. We hope to reconnect with their minds through authenticity and credibility while winning their hearts with love.

That’s our goal, anyway. My lead blog post is titled: “Please forgive us!—and don’t forsake us.”

Chris, Candice and I extend our welcome for you to visit www.sdaforme.com, and to invite your friends there too. There is something else you can help us with, and this is really important: When people Google the controversial issues being agitated against our church, we want our new website to show up among all the opposition websites. For this to happen, we need to get www.sdaforme.com linked to as many Adventist websites around the world as pos-sible. Please have your local church website list us as a link. Also, if you have a personal Facebook page or similar so-cial networking account, we have a “widget” you can use to create an automatic link. Click on the "tell a friend" tab on the new website and you will get connected.

One more request: please pray that this website will minister to members among us who are quietly agonizing over questions raised about the Sabbath, the pre-Advent judgment and the ministry of Ellen White. We don’t want to scold them for suffering conscien-tious doubts after somebody challenged their faith. Nor will we offer superficial platitudes—denominational “happy talk”— intended to brush aside their questions. These precious brothers and sisters have honest ques-tions that deserve honest answers. Chris, Candice and I want our new website to be a safe place where they can get the information they need to remain faithful Seventh-day Adventists, happy again in the grace and truth that God has entrusted to our church.

Pray also that we can reconnect with former Sev-enth-day Adventists, precious sheep now scattered from our flock. May God help us engage them in a conversation that will eventually guide them home with us again.

Martin Weber, DMin, is editor of Outlook magazine.

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Mid-America Outlook | September 2009 5

Page 6: September 2009 Outlook

Lillie Fultz-Hopkins is one of God’s brightest shining stars in the Central States Conference and the en-tire Mid-America Union. She is loved by neighbors,

honored by her church family and anointed by God for ministry.

Ms. Lillie, as she is affectionate-ly known, belongs to Agape SDA Church in University City, near St. Louis. Upon becoming Ad-ventist in 1982, her deep love for God and people immediately im-mersed her in community service. She launched "Meals

on Wheels" to help the homeless. Soon after, she became president of the regional Com-munity Service Feder-ation as well commu-nity service leader for her local congregation. She also planned and led the first health fair for her church, which is still thriving today.

Ms. Lillie’s compas-sion is not confined locally. She has min-istered to suffering people in South Dako-ta and each year par-ticipates in a weeklong mission to Mexico, distributing clothing, food and medication.

She has even crossed the ocean to serve in Uganda. Born and raised with 14 siblings in Glendora, Missis-

sippi, Lillie Fultz-Hopkins came to St. Louis at age 22. She recalls simply, “The Lord blessed me.” Following the heri-tage of her mother and grand-mother, Ms. Lillie never let her own background of poverty keep her from being rich in faith and works. Anyone needing help is blessed to be near her.

She testifies that her mother and grandmother taught her to share what the Lord gives her, “because that’s what we’re on earth to do—help people.”

As Ms. Lillie’s years of dedication add up, so do the recog-nitions and awards. Her own Agape Church family has of-ficially recognized her service, along with various St. Louis nonprofit organizations and the state of Missouri. She re-ceived the governor’s HEROES award and medal. So much has she inspired everyone around her that nine years ago the Central States Conference launched the Lillie Fultz Hu-manitarian Award, naming her as the first recipient.

Pastor James White, Central States Conference com-munity services leader, says of Ms. Lillie: “She is a mod-ern day Dorcas of the SDA Church.” Pastor Cryston Josiah of Agape Church adds, “She is motivated by the Spirit of God to help others and feels that God has given her this calling to fulfill the ministry of Matthew 25.”

Most telling perhaps is Ms. Lillie’s own testimony: “Helping people was what Jesus did, and it’s the work He left us to do. That is why I enjoy doing what I do at the age of 73. I trust that soon the Lord will bring an interested person to be trained. But as long as I am able to move, I will continue to work for the Lord.”

"...because that's what we're on earth to do—

help people."

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Shining Star in St. Louis by Lydie Theodor

"Ms. Lillie" Fultz-Hopkins of Agape Church near St. Louis, Missouri

Photo courtesy of the Central States Conference

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Page 7: September 2009 Outlook

Everybody I meet in our community seems to know Robin and Lamorna Riches, and I’m hearing much appreciation for these dedicated Adventist retirees.

Often I bump into Lamorna as she volunteers at the hos-pital and visits hospice patients. Lamorna also organizes our church to participate in ShareFest, a multi-denominational effort that spans a range of community activities from yard work and house repairs to cleaning the local animal shelter.

Robin works with abused and neglected children through Court Appointed Special Advocates, for which he recently received a community award. An avid golfer, he is also teach-ing his pastor how to golf! I never know for sure with whom we may be golfing—recently a community leader and re-tired mayor. Or it may even be someone estranged from our church, getting reconnected because of the Riches.

Robin and Lamorna’s involvement in our community is broad and deep—and they have a good time in the pro-cess. They frequently bring people to Sabbath worship, sit-ting with them and introducing them around the church.

As their pastor, I’m so thankful for the Riches and how they are using retirement years to daily plant seeds for Christ’s kingdom.

Michael Campbell, PhD, is pastor of the Montrose district in Colorado.

.Retirees Robin and Lamorna Riches enjoy church and community activities.

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Riches in Retirement Building God’s Kingdom

by Michael Campbell

Mid-America Outlook | September 2009 7

Page 8: September 2009 Outlook

Dale and Dena Olsen are two retirees who serve from the core of their being as Christ-followers. Dale is head deacon at LifeSource Adventist Fel-

lowship; Dena is the facilitating teacher of a Sabbath school class. And they also serve nonmember neighbors through Denver’s Adventist Community Services (ACS).

Dale Olsen manages the ACS food bank—third largest in Colorado. Last year his team served 48,500 people and dis-tributed 200 tons of food. That food has to be picked up at various locations, sometimes purchased at a reduced cost. Then it is sorted and placed on shelves. Clients choose their own food and get it bagged at a checking stand, just like at a grocery store.

One of the perks for Dale is volunteering with fellow retir-ees. Connecting with each other, while feeling like they are doing something worthwhile for those in need, keeps them all coming back.

Dena manages the ACS thrift store. She receives and processes donations every day, providing low cost goods

to customers. Those devastated by financial circumstanc-es need not pay for what they get; just last year ACS gave away $38,000 in free items. But it also had a sales profit of $50,000, which was put back into ACS family services to buy food, bus tokens, hotel rooms and meet other needs.

Dena acknowledges that serving is not always enjoyable. Many clients have a sense of entitlement and are difficult to work with. Often only one in 10 even seems grateful—like the lepers Jesus healed. But Dena keeps coming back, she says, because she “can’t say no to God.” He has blessed her and Dale, and He has

called them to serve those regarded as least and love those who are lost. Dale and Dena have learned both the joy and the cost of being servant volunteers, and they continue that uplifting ministry because that is who they are.

John H. Cress is pastor of LifeSource Adventist Fellowship (for-merly Denver First Church).

Uplifting Their NeighborsR e t i R e d a n d S e R v i n g

by John H. Cress

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Dale and Dena Olson

Often only one in 10 even seems grateful—like the lepers Jesus healed. But Dena keeps com-

ing back, she says, because she “can’t say no to God.”

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8 September 2009 | Mid-America Outlook

Page 9: September 2009 Outlook

The 200 residents of Marcella Manor have been blessed many years by the talented love of 96-year-old Stella McNeil. God gifted her with sewing, and

she has used it to connect with neighbors and share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Since Stella lives in a secular community, she can’t do much verbal evangelism, but God shines His love through her to everyone she meets. Nearly all residents know that Stella is a Seventh-day Adventist. And not only do they see her faith-fully go to church each Sabbath, but all week long they also experience Jesus’ love in a deeper way because of Stella.

She is one of the veteran prayer warriors for Arvada Church in suburban Denver. Whenever a special request comes in, Stella prays until God answers!

About a year ago, gout and arthritis crippled her hands so badly she had to give up sewing. But she still volunteers in the gift shop every Monday morning. She also ministers to other homebound members of Arvada Church through regular phone calls and greeting cards. Even though writing is difficult for her, she says, “It’s all I can do now.”

Actually, Stella does more than she’ll ever know.

Gordon Anic is pastor of Arvada Church.

One particular retiree in Chris-tian service at

Littleton Church is John Hammond, serving each week at Colorado’s Ridge View youth de-tention center, where he leads a small group and assists the chaplain in worship services. His heart yearns for these

troubled teens, and they respond when he shares Christ with them.

Elise McGrew-Hall of Littleton Church has a true spirit of joy and service. She regularly takes sand-wiches to a hospital oncology unit where cancer

patients, their families and the nursing staff all love her. Elise makes friends for God in having fun, too. She in-

vited Brownie Hamilton, a friend she met while bowling, to church. Brownie then became a baptized Seventh-day Adventist—along with her husband, Bob. Now Brownie serves together with Elise in hospital ministry.

Recently, Elise was featured as one of Denver’s Home-town Heroes on local ABC channel 7.

Bruce Aalborg is pastor of Littleton Church in Colorado.

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.Stella McNeil, active in Arvada at 96

More Than She'll Ever Knowby Gordon Anic

Littleton Retirees Make

Big Impactby Bruce Aalborg

John Hammond

"Hometown Hero" Elise (right) with Brownie, at the bowling alley where they met

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Mid-America Outlook | September 2009 9

Page 10: September 2009 Outlook

The Simba Pathfinders of Philadel-phia Church in Des Moines spon-sored worship one Sabbath in May. Led by Master Guide Milton King and assistant director Roberta Mays, the Simbas in their decorated uni-forms served as ushers, marched with the flag to the front of the sanc-

tuary and recited the Pathfinder Law and Pledge.

The theme of the day was Esther, the Jewish girl chosen by King Xerx-es as his new queen. The Pathfinders put on a skit portraying her life story, which seemed much appreciated by the congregation.

Following the skit, Pastor Marlon T. Perkins presented the message of the day, drawing out lessons from the ancient story of Esther and Xerxes for contemporary young people.

That afternoon, Pathfinders visited elderly church members, distribut-ing gifts.

Their evening service featured an induction and investiture ceremony. A social event crowned the day’s ac-tivities.

Sharon Tate is communications secretary for Philadelphia Church in Des Moines.

One Sunday morning in June, 52 women walked through “The Gate Called Beautiful” to “The Sea of For-getfulness.” It happened at Linwood Boulevard Temple in Kansas City, Mis-souri. Shirley Fordham and her wom-en’s ministries staff welcomed women

of all ages, races and creeds. Vilya Jack-son and Kyrinda Richardson both or-chestrated the event and decorated the church facility.

Speaker Heather Koffler answered the question: “Can I forgive that per-son?” She explained from the Gospel of Matthew how offenses come to all, since we live in an imperfect world. A failure to forgive leaves victims in emo-tional and spiritual bondage. But then we realize our own need for God’s for-giveness through the blood of Jesus. This liberates us from guilt, anger, re-sentment and bitterness. Then we are equipped as born-again ambassadors of Jesus Christ to set others free.

Solos by Pat Green and LaVerne Berkel confirmed God’s forgiveness and

grace. Laughter and tears abounded as the women reflected on what it meant for them personally to forgive and be forgiven. They jotted down any issues they needed to release and brought them for-ward to a beautiful large bowl symbol-izing God’s “Sea of Forgetfulness.” The folded papers they dropped into the blue water dissolved, representing God’s forgiving grace and empowering Spirit.

Finally, the women gathered hand in hand at “The Gate Called Beautiful” as Bobby Rice prayed that their new awareness and freedom would last until Jesus comes.

Pathfinder Day in Des Moinesby Sharon Tate

Cleansed in God’s Sea of Forgetfulness by Janice McKinney

The Simba Pathfinder club

Portraying the story of Esther

Event organizers Vilya Jackson and Kyrinda Richardson

Heather Koffler, guest speaker

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10 September 2009 | Mid-America Outlook

Mid-America Union News

Central States News

Page 11: September 2009 Outlook

The neighborhood food pantry of Northside Adventist Church has been ranked as the number one food bank in their St. Louis region. Northside provides frozen foods, fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy products and freshly baked bread. Led by Laura Morgan, the community services staff has partnered with local businesses such as Whole Foods, Di-erbergs, Schnucks Grocers, St. Louis

Bread Company and Straub’s Gourmet Foods. About 50 do-nations per month are collected from these generous suppliers and distributed every Sunday and Wednes-day through North-side’s food bank.

More than 1,300 clients per month are served, each select-ing their own preferred groceries. Real-izing the need for souls to be fed as well as bodies, Northside offers brief talks about God’s love and invites guests to submit requests for the prayer circle that precedes each food distribution. A community Bible class started in June.

Between 12 and 15 volunteers assist Morgan, each serving from two to 20 hours each week. At present the pan-

try has the use of one well-worn van for pickups. Refrigerators and freez-ers, mostly donated by members of the church, need replacing. Morgan and her staff trust the Lord to sustain the needs of Northside’s ministry in serving the needs of the community.

Brenda Jackson is communication secretary for Northside Church.

Northside’s Food Bank: #1 in St. Louisby Brenda Jackson

Clients receive both food and prayers.

Volunteers at Northside's Food Pantry

Photo courtesy of the Central States Conference

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Mid-America Outlook | September 2009 11

Central States News

Mid-America Union News

Page 12: September 2009 Outlook

An EF3 tornado with winds reaching 150 mph struck Dickinson, North Dakota the evening of Wednesday, July 8. The twister damaged 450 homes and busi-nesses, knocking out power and uproot-ing 70-foot trees. The next day, Pastor Mi-chael Temple phoned Phyllis Alexander, Dakota Adventist Community Services/Disaster Response (ACS/DR) coordina-tor, to discuss how his church and com-munity center could help.

Several conference calls later, head elder Gary Messer was on the road. He took a specially discounted U-Haul to Dakota Adventist Academy and picked up emergency supplies left over from last spring’s Red River flooding.

Elder Myron and Corky Gorden stock-piled supplies at the KPAR Community Event Center, located in Dickinson Mall. Kmart donated $10,000 in new clothing and $3,000 in personal care items. Cole-man donated 100 sleeping bags, 50 cool-ers, 25 camping stoves and 25 lanterns.

Dickinson Church members crafted signs for ACS/DR identifying KPAR as the local Adventist Disaster Response center. The regional FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) of-fice is five doors down from KPAR. Employees there referred clients to the

Adventist distribution center.The local North Dakota Citizen

Corps coordinator worked with Alex-ander and Temple to get the Adven-tist relief center open Sabbath morn-ing. Additional support poured in from Dakota Adventist churches. Ac-cording to Alexander, $1,600 in direct donations ($1,000 from Grassy Butte Church) helped resupply such neces-sities as infant food and clothing.

Working 12-hour shifts, the Adven-tist distribution center served more than 250 tornado victims. Alexander remarked, “I’m so proud of everyone!”

One FEMA representative de-

clared, “You Adventists really have it together. You’re doing a wonderful job, and you did it very quickly!” Sev-eral non-members in the commu-nity expressed interest in learning more about the community center and the local Adventist church.

The Dickinson tornado is the sec-ond significant natural disaster to strike the Dakotas to date in 2009. Ac-cording to Alexander, the conference’s ACS/DR financial reserves need re-plenishing. Dakota Adventists can mark their tithe envelopes “Dakota Disaster Relief” or send donations di-rectly to the conference office.

Dakota Adventists Respond to Dickinson Tornadoby Heidi Shoemaker

Volunteers serving at the Community Center

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12 September 2009 | Mid-America Outlook

Mid-America Union News

Dakota News

Page 13: September 2009 Outlook

Some imagine that it takes a young-ster or a pastor to bring a friend into the church. Not true, according to the exam-ple of Hattie McNeil, longtime member of Pierre Church, who died last fall one month short of her 100th birthday.

For years the faithful South Dakotan brought longtime friend Marge Zibell to church. When McNeil moved to a nurs-ing home and could no longer drive her beloved car, Zibell took over and trans-ported them both to Sabbath services. After McNeil passed away, Zibell con-tinued coming to church on her own.

After an extended family visit inter-rupted her attendance, Pierre pastor Fred Shoemaker met Zibell at the local Wal-Mart. Zibell expressed interest in baptism, and Shoemaker arranged Bi-ble studies. One fair Sabbath afternoon

in July, he baptized her in her chosen location, the Missouri River.

The occasion provided additional

celebration for the life and witness of Marge Zibell, whose legacy proves that one is never too old to witness for Christ.

Never Too Old to Witnessby Heidi Shoemaker

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Marge Zibell and Pastor Fred Shoemaker in the Missouri River

Marge Zibell (second from left) with church family and daughter after her baptism in the Missouri River

Conference CalendarSept. 18–20 Dakota Women’s Retreat Bismarck, North Dakota

Oct. 2-3 SRA/DAA Alumni Weekend

Oct. 4 K-12 Board of Education

Oct. 17 Youth Rally Bismarck, North Dakota

For more information on any of these events, or for up-to-the-minute conference news, visit www.dakotaadventist.org.

Mid-America Outlook | September 2009 13

Dakota News

Page 14: September 2009 Outlook

Last June the “little stone church on the corner,” as Missouri’s Oak Grove Church is locally known, included a time of gratitude with Sabbath worship. Sixteen staff members and volunteers of Davis Memorial Center received certifi-cates of appreciation from the Ad-ventist congregation for helping seniors in their community.

Davis hosts the local Meals on Wheels program. Oak Grove is one of several area churches help-ing with the ministry for seniors.

Many Adventist volunteers return from making home deliveries, commenting on how blessed they feel to be helping. One remarked: “When you set out to change the world, the experience is sure to change you.”

Oak Grove Church also gave Da-vis Memorial Center a plaque for display. City Administrator Ste-ven Craig was so impressed that he showed it off at an aldermen’s meeting.

Following Sabbath worship at

the June celebration, Oak Grove members invited visiting staff and volunteers from Davis Center to enjoy an Italian lunch with them. Longtime acquaintances caught up on each other’s lives and new friendships were formed.

Oak Grove Adventists invites Outlook readers who may be visit-ing their city to join them any Sab-bath for a spiritual feast and a veg-etarian hospitality meal.

Oak Grove Church Thanks Community Volunteersby Connie Thomas

Joyce Eck, Davis Center director, (front center right) receiving a “Thank You” plaque from Oak Grove Church

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14 September 2009 | Mid-America Outlook

Mid-America Union News

Iowa-Missouri News

Page 15: September 2009 Outlook

“No matter where or when you have the next retreat, I will come!” So de-clared a pastor’s wife after experiencing “Spa Guné,” an event for pastoral wives held in March in Branson, Missouri.

The retreat began in 2007 as an event for women, and is held at The Lodge of Four Seasons at Lake of the Ozarks. Planned by Nancy Littrell of Mountain Grove Church and her daughter, Jenni-fer Davis of Columbia, the spa-themed weekend offered relaxation treatments, stress-free stations and spiritual appli-cations of the weekend’s presentations.

“When I attended that original Spa Guné, I was so blessed and inspired that I knew it had to be offered to our pastor’s wives,” said Becki Knobloch.

Planning the retreat took more than a year before its fruition, with a big as-

sist from Gail Coridan, Iowa-Missouri women’s ministries coordinator. The retreat was everything Littrell and Da-vis hoped for, and more.

One unique feature of the retreat is

that each church is invited to spon-sor its pastor’s wife for the event. The majority who attended did receive this gift of appreciation from their congre-gations.

Nixa Expansion Projectby Peggy Hunter

Shepherdess Spa Retreatby Becki Knobloch

Iowa-Missouri's

7th Annual Christian Men's Retreat

Nov. 6–8 at Camp Heritage

The registration brochure is available at www.imsda.org. Click on “Men’s Retreat Registration” on the left side of the home page to download the PDF document.

Featured Speaker: Elder Van Hurst, church min-istries director for the Mid-America Union

You are invited to share a weekend of spiritual encour-agement, growth and fel-lowship at this year’s men’s retreat.

Van Hurst will inspire men with the theme “Growing Together.” Great things await all who at-tend. Make plans to come, and bring a friend.

Van Hurst

Members of Nixa Church broke ground on a building expansion project on July 14. The new square footage will double the seating capacity of the sanctuary, increase the basement level by several feet and provide extra space for existing Sabbath school rooms and the fellowship hall. The project is scheduled for completion in late October.

Pastor’s wife Angela Van Schaik receives a manicure from retreat organizer Jennifer Davis.

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Iowa-Missouri News

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Staff and students at Great Plains Academy (GPA) are ecstatic about a new art center on campus this summer. Geiger Arts Center is named in honor of Joe Geiger. It is the creation of his family, who raised $11,000 to remodel an exist-ing building. Construction began in June.

Born in Ohio, Geiger and his fam-ily lived in Florida, Colorado and New Zealand, although home to

him was Collegedale, Tennessee. As a young man, he took up a career in-terest in architecture. Geiger found-ed Adventist Building Services, which constructed many churches worldwide.

These church facilities were known for beautiful details, such as custom stained glass, chande-liers and wood finishes.

Also a talented artist, Geiger worked with paint and charcoal.

In retirement, he de-voted more time to his pottery wheel and lathe. Friends and family were often the happy recipients of his southwestern pot-tery and lathe-turned wood bowls.

Beyond building churches, Geiger loved Adventist Christian ed-ucation. He believed that young people need teachers who tru-

ly believe in Jesus. He also thought it was important to teach them to work in a real world environment. Geiger’s daughter, Debi Cham-bers, explains, “The Arts Center will not only give young people a sense of purpose, but will also encourage them to develop their talents into a potential source of income.”

The Arts Center is a family affair. GPA Principal Stephen Bralley is Geiger’s grandson-in-law; Stephen’s wife, Tina, is Geiger’s granddaughter and the project manager.

Rocky Chambers, another grand-son, is the architect. Debi Chambers is the general contractor and her husband, Gary, prepared the build-ing for remodeling. The family, along with several friends, volunteered their time in June to accomplish the project.

Anyone interested in volunteering or donating to the project may con-tact Tina Bralley at 785.263.8234.

Hay Springs, Nebraska no longer has an Adventist church. But that doesn’t keep local Adventists from still having a presence in the com-munity—thanks to the Good Neigh-bor Community Center directed by Marilyn Kutschara, a member of Chadron Church.

Open every Wednesday, the center provides clothing, food and referral services. Three other denominations in the community—Methodists, Nazarenes and Lutherans—also of-fer volunteer help and financial as-sistance.

“This is a tremendous commu-nity outreach. We serve not only lo-cal residents in need but many Na-tive Americans in the area as well,” Kutschara says.

Hay Springs, with a population of 660, is located on Highway 20 be-tween Gordon and Chadron, Ne-braska. It’s one of five such centers operated by the Kansas-Nebraska Conference. Kutschara is thankful for the annual subsidy from the con-ference, which comes from Ingath-ering reversion monies.

Art Center Comes to GPAby Darcy Force

Good Neighbors in Hay Springsby John Treolo

The late Joe Geiger with his pottery wheel

Marilyn Kutschara, director of the Hay Springs Good Neighbor Community Center, helps a client select food.

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16 September 2009 | Mid-America Outlook

Mid-America Union News

Kansas-Nebraska News

Page 17: September 2009 Outlook

Travis Sager, an alumnus of Union College, is the new youth ministries/health ministries direc-tor for Kansas-Nebraska Confer-ence. He replaces Michael Paradise, now pursuing his master’s of divin-ity degree at Andrews University Seminary.

After graduating from Union, Sag-er began pastoral ministry in Texas. Having completed his MDiv from Andrews, he is taking PhD studies in pulpit communication from Trinity Seminary.

While in Texas, Sager ministered to Adventist churches in the cities

of Richwood, Bryan and Austin. He also served as senior pastor of Houston West Church. Sager has come with a purpose to Kansas-Nebraska: "Leading the church into choosing and passionately pursuing a ministry for both their own members and their commu-nity.”

Sager is married to the former Re-nee Wickizer, a native Kansan and alumna of Union College, who is an elementary teacher by profession. They have one son, Brady.

Conference Calendar

Sept. 11-13 – Life 101 at Broken Arrow Ranch Speaker: Chanda Nunes Contact: [email protected]

Sept. 18-20 – Wichita Jr. Academy 50th Anniversary Contact: [email protected]

Sept. 28-Oct. 1 – Environmental School Contact: [email protected]

Oct. 9-11 – Women’s Retreat in Grand Island Speaker: Elizabeth Talbot Contact: [email protected]

Oct. 9-11 – College View Academy Alumni Weekend Contact: [email protected]

Oct. 16-17 – Panhandle Camp Meeting in Scottsbluff Speaker: Dennis Smith / Contact: [email protected]

The Sager Family: Travis, Renee and Brady

New Conference Youth Directorby John Treolo

For more information: 785.478.4762 or e-mail [email protected].

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Kansas-Nebraska News

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Students of Mara-natha Adventist Chris-tian School in Dodge Center can’t go around the world building churches, but they can build churches that go around the world.

On the last day of the school year, Maranatha students got an op-portunity to help con-struct steel parts that make up the “One Day Church”—a simple, durable, inexpensive, prefabricated building shell that can be shipped across the ocean and assembled in one day on location.

Garwin McNeilus, designer and manufacturer of One Day Church, invited students for a hands-on ex-perience. They put sheet metal into a machine that molds the pieces into steel studs that make up the

walls. Every student had opportu-nity to work the machine. They even loaded the pieces onto containers that would transport them overseas to members anxiously awaiting the church’s arrival.

The One Day Church phenom-enon has made it possible to build churches quickly and easily around the world. Even the steeple is in-cluded in the prefab package. Lo-cal builders finish the walls and interior with materials that repre-sent their own culture. McNeilus showed the students piles of signs already printed with names for con-gregations awaiting their church building.

One Day Schools also have been designed and are meeting the edu-cational and mission training needs of the Seventh-day Adventist world church.

Maranatha students were delight-ed to have a small part in building churches for our Adventist friends around the world.

Vickie Martin teaches at Maranatha Ad-ventist Christian School.

Churches that Go Around the Worldby Vickie Martin

The Minnesota Con-ference is pleased to wel-come a new member to its educational team—Rebe-ca Suarez, now principal of Northwoods Elemen-tary School in Hutchin-son. Born in Montemore-los, Mexico and raised in New York, Suarez is fluent in both Spanish and Eng-lish and has seven years teaching experience. Suarez recently completed her master’s degree in read-ing curriculum from Southwestern Ad-ventist University.

Adventist education has enriched her own life, and now Suarez is fo-cused on making a lasting difference in the lives of her students.

Pamela Consuegra is Minnesota Confer-ence education director.

Camp meeting attendees who ap-preciated the messages of Jerry and Janet Page may feel doubly blessed to hear that Janet will speak at Minne-sota’s fall women’s retreat. Her theme will address how to experience a daily relationship with God in such a time as ours.

The retreat will be at Cragun’s, Oct. 30–Nov. 1. To register early and reserve a room for yourself and your friends, visitwww.mnsda.com/article.php?id=73, which links to the women’s ministries page; click “download the reservation form” to print and send in. For more details, see ad on the next page.

2009 Minnestota Women’s Retreat

Minnesota Wel-comes New Educa-tion Team Memberby Pamela Consuegra

Maranatha students with a One Day Church structure

Maranatha students help construct the prefabricated parts of a One Day Church shell.

Rebeca Suarez

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18 September 2009 | Mid-America Outlook

Mid-America Union News

Minnesota News

Page 19: September 2009 Outlook

The Blackberry Church Vacation Bible School (VBS) offered 16 children “FLIGHT” training in June. FLIGHT—meaning “Faithfully Living in God’s Holy Truth”—instructed children how to fly high with God. Lessons included activities such as crafts, games and mu-sic to go along with Bible instruction. Drama team members, playing roles of a head flight instructor and two teen-age flight students, taught basic Bible truths while sustaining the kids’ atten-tion through humor.

The mission goal of VBS was to col-lect food for the local food shelf. Do-nations totaled 49 pounds of food. At-tendees, ranging from 3 to 12 years old, all received their own “pilot’s license,” complete with photo, certifying them to “fly high with Jesus.”

Flight Training at Blackberry VBS by Lisa Jokela

FLIGHT training students at Blackberry Church VBS

Rebeca Suarez

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Minnesota News

Page 20: September 2009 Outlook

Ted Torrez, member of Colora-do’s Campion Academy Church, of-fers his time to Habitat for Human-ity every Tuesday and Thursday. That is, unless he is out of town with Maranatha Volunteers Inter-national.

Upon retiring from the Depart-ment of Energy in 1996, Torrez had no construction skills or ex-perience. But he quickly acquired them in service for the Savior.

Loveland’s Habitat for Humanity chapter has built 75 houses in the last 21 years for families in need. Torrez savors the joy of seeing de-lighted responses from those who otherwise couldn’t have a home of their own.

Barry Taylor is pastor of Campion Acad-emy's church.

Shirley Stewart is one of many dis-ciples of Jesus in New Mexico's Piñon Hills Church. But it wasn’t always that way—even though she has been a lifelong Adventist with a commit-ment to God and her church.

For many years, Shirley sensed something missing. She tried hard to be a good Christian, but often became discouraged. She felt that no matter how hard she tried, she still wasn’t good enough for God. Sometimes she even questioned her salvation.

Shirley buried herself in a real es-

tate career, while maintaining a basic connection with God and faithfully attending church. Busying herself in long hours of work, she never devel-oped a deep devotional life.

After her retirement, though, Shir-ley discovered more time to devote to spiritual pursuits. She read books about God’s limitless love and how righteousness was graciously given to those who have faith in Jesus. Shirley began to experience God’s love not just as a theory, but something real.

Shirley finally fully grasped the truth

that God loved her! And if He loved her, then He loved other people too.

Excited about this, she began buy-ing books by the dozens and shar-ing them with friends. She started a weekly home prayer meeting. When I, her pastor, became overloaded with Bible studies, Shirley jumped at the chance to help me.

She took over one of my Bible stud-ies for a lady named Janet DeYapp. Shirley and Janet hit it off immedi-ately. Within weeks Shirley was lead-ing the Bible study by herself while I worked at starting other studies and getting more lay people involved.

When Janet became sick, Shirley brought her flowers. They have gone shopping together, shared gifts and formed a close friendship. With that kind of love and friendship, no one seemed surprised when Janet was re-cently baptized.

This year, Shirley was nominated to be a deaconess for the first time. At a recent baptism, Shirley smiled at me and said, “Pastor, I’ve been a member of this church all these years and this is the first time I’m helping with a baptism. But you know…I’m just now really beginning to live!”

Blake Jones is pastor of Piñon Hills Church in New Mexico.

Just Now Beginning to Live by Blake Jones

Constructing Habitation for the Needy by Barry Taylor

Shirley Stewart (right) with recently baptized Janet DeYapp

Ted Torrez (gray sweatshirt, kneeling) joins fellow volunteers in celebrating the completion of another home for the needy.

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20 September 2009 | Mid-America Outlook

Mid-America Union News

Rocky Mountain News

Page 21: September 2009 Outlook

Loving the Aurora Community by Erica Archuleta

Retirees Serving at School by Luana Harlan

At Intermountain Adventist Academy (IAA), students and teachers are not the only ones who show up at school each day. Retiree volunteers come as well. Ev-ery day they provide vital services at the Grand Junction, Colorado educational center—and also connect with the kids.

Former school board chairman Bob Nicolay and his wife, Sherri, volunteer several days a week. Students affection-ately call them “Mr. Bob and Ms. Sherri.” Among everything else he does, Bob takes responsibility for coordinating other vol-unteers to meet numerous needs: per-forming office secretarial work, preparing and serving hot lunches, helping in the library and maintenance and repair work.

IAA is greatly indebted to its senior volunteers and lauds their dedication.

Luana Harlan teaches at IAA.

Two Intermountain Adventist Acad-emy students are winners of the Lin-coln Bicentenial Contest sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution of Grand Junction. Fifth-grader Zeeda Nkana won the elemen-tary competition, “Who was President Lincoln?” Kathrin Klemm, a sopho-

more, won the high school contest, “Lincoln’s Legacy.” The two winners read their essays for the Memorial Day Program at Veteran’s Cemetery. Both received $100 and a medal.

Ed Harlan is principal of Intermountain Adventist Academy.

Intermountain Students Win Essay Contestby Ed Harlan

Love Ministry began last November in Aurora, Colorado. Members meet every third Sunday of the month to prepare 100 sack lunches, distribute clothes and—most importantly to them—share God's love to those in need.

Plans are underway for increasing this service, so that every Sunday, Aurora First Church will embody the love of Jesus with neighbors in need.

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Essay winners Zeeda Nkana and Kathrin Klemm (left and right) with Bruce Hill, mayor

Mid-America Outlook | September 2009 21

Rocky Mountain News

Page 22: September 2009 Outlook

When Union College students and employees talk about service and missions, they usually mean leaving campus to help others—a legacy ex-emplified by annual events such as the hanging of the Golden Cords and Project Impact. Sixteen volunteers or-ganized through Maranatha Volunteers International once again challenged that notion by choosing Union College as their worksite and mission field.

Once the Maranatha volunteers ar-rived—some from down the street, others from a thousand miles away—Prescott Hall became the priority. The volunteers painted doorframes and walls, scrubbed scuff marks, re-glued baseboards, replaced all the electrical outlets in the rooms and hallways, and provided general maintenance in the men’s residence hall.

With few students occupying dormi-tories and classrooms, summer is the best time for Union’s Plant Services to make repairs and renew the campus for the next academic cycle. The list of proj-

ects is long and usually impossible to fully complete before students tumble back in August. The helping hands lent by the Maranatha volunteers made the registration deadline more attainable.

One of the goals completed in Prescott Hall, replacing all outlets, was begun earlier in the year by two Plant Services workers but was finished ahead of schedule by the volunteers. “The work the volunteers did in Prescott saved us a month and a half’s worth of work,” said Wilson Hardy, Plant Services electrician. The new outlets are safer for use with electronic equipment and may prevent future computer problems.

Coils of electrical cords, paint buck-ets and brushes throughout the dor-mitory illustrated how seriously the Maranatha group felt about service. For many, dedication to the job at hand came from a love they developed for Union College as students.

A 1966 Union College graduate and veteran of Maranatha trips, Sharon Schwartz’s eyes grew bright while de-

scribing working in the Dominican Re-public and the reactions of people who benefitted from their visit. She shared how when she went back to see how they were doing, they remembered her name. But as she arranged furniture in a common room in Prescott Hall, her eyes became even more animated when she started talking about Union.

“I wanted to give back to Union Col-

Maranatha Volunteers Give Back to Union College by Carolyn Scott

Greg Vargas works with conduit piping to bring electricity to the

site of the Class of 2009’s gift, a new gazebo on campus.

Lincoln residents Marlyn ('58) and Sharon ('66) Schwartz combined their passion for Maranatha as well as Union College.

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22 September 2009 | Mid-America Outlook

Union College

Mid-America Union News

Page 23: September 2009 Outlook

lege,” she said. “I thought, ‘I’ve got to do something for the school.’” Brushing dust from her hands, she told how she got fired up to help improve Union’s cam-pus, and the progress the volunteers had made cleaning and fixing up Prescott Hall. Her husband, Marlyn, a 1958 Union graduate, sat on a couch and joined the conversation, teasing Sharon about vac-uuming on her hands and knees.

“Every single person was enthused and willing to do anything,” Marlyn Schwartz said. “And that makes it worthwhile, knowing that the goal is to provide a good habitation for the re-turning students.”

Outside, Greg Vargas, a retired pastor from the Lincoln area, worked on a side project, running electricity to a new ga-zebo donated by the class of 2009 for the front of campus. Working colorful cords through 30 feet of conduit piping in a newly-dug trench for the gazebo, Vargas said, “It will be a nicer ambiance for the students, and I hope they like it.”

Back in Prescott, Richard Enos, who graduated in 1969, was busy removing paint from doorframes so they could be repainted. “I hope the boys will be inspired to take care of the rooms,” Enos said.

Across the hall, Charlie Henkelmann, a 1956 graduate, worked with towel racks to ensure they were securely fastened. He explained that he had gone to Union College “years ago,” and how he enjoyed working on projects for his alma mater.

A Maranatha veteran, Henkelmann stared up at the ceiling and recalled other Maranatha projects at Union Col-lege and in Lincoln, starting with the first project in 1992. “It gives Union a boost,” Henkelmann said. “We help them get ready for the students.”

Doug Tallman, Union’s new dean of men, agreed with Henkelmann, saying that returning students have an advan-tage because of Maranatha’s contribu-tions. “It’s hard to put into words our gratitude for the group of volunteers who worked so tirelessly in Prescott Hall this

summer,” Tallman said. “The work they were able to accomplish in the two short weeks they were here was amazing.”

By the end of the two weeks, the vol-unteers knew how much the College of the Golden Cords was grateful for their help. “Dr. Smith, Gary Bollinger and Linda Becker have showed so much appreciation,” Marlyn Schwartz said. “I didn’t realize it was such a big deal.”

Campus CalendarSept. 7 Labor Day – No School

Sept. 18–20 Parents' Weekend

Sept. 22 Greg Mortenson Lecture (see box for more info)

Oct. 1–3 Preview Days

Oct. 9 FFH (Far From Home) Christian Concert

For more news, visit Union's website: www.ucollege.edu

Arlie Fandrich ('63), professor emeritus and one of the group's local volunteers, works on replacing an electrical outlet in Prescott Hall. The new outlets are safer for computers.

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Union College

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For Dr. Raymond Kim, operating in North Korea couldn’t be more dif-ferent than it is in Denver, where

he practices orthopedic surgery at Porter Adventist Hospital.

While more than 700,000 hip and knee replacements are performed in America yearly, the North Koreans lack the neces-sary tools and implants to perform total joint replacements—even though their doctors are well educated.

Seeing this need and wanting to help improve medical care in North Korea, Dr. Kim volunteered to join 17 other profes-sionals on a mission trip sponsored by Wheat Mission Association, a non-profit humanitarian organization.

It was familiar territory for Dr. Kim. On a previous mission trip to North Korea, he had performed the country’s first-ever hip replace-ment. This time he would add another first to his contri-butions: the successful completion of the country’s first total knee replacement surgery.

Operating in the capital city of Pyongyang at the Red Cross Hospital, the physician team was carefully moni-tored by government guides who escorted them through-out their travels. Yet despite this carefully controlled en-vironment, they were able to teach physicians advanced surgical techniques and to offer training on joint replace-ment follow-up care—including rehabilitation, physical therapy and dealing with medical complications.

“It was a rewarding experience to have an operating room team that consisted of a North Korean surgeon, a South Ko-rean surgeon, and me—a ‘West’ Korean surgeon, all work-ing together to help someone who needed it,” he stated.

His patients—three individuals fortunate enough to

have been selected for the proce-dure—were “extremely debilitated.” Although Dr. Kim found it challeng-ing to be allowed so little time with his patients, he made a positive impact on them and the physicians he trained. “It’s not the style of medicine I prefer to practice,” he said. “But within the constraints of the environment we were operating in, you do the best you can in terms of educating the physi-cians in follow up and enabling them to care for the patients.”

During his trip, Dr. Kim was struck by how the patients lived with the se-verity of their arthritis, requiring the aid of crutches or a walker. For most of these people, access to the type of joint-replacement surgery common in

America would have significantly improved their well be-ing. “We are very privileged in this country to have access to advanced healthcare,” Kim said.

Now, with three mission trips behind him, Dr. Kim remains passionate about helping the North Koreans continue to improve their medical care. He is currently planning another trip this September to help their phy-sicians gain access to the essential technologies needed to continue expanding their joint replacement program.

Dr. Kim’s desire to improve lives transcends cultural and geographic barriers. His firm commitment to his pa-tients’ health and well-being is clear by the new spring in their step—whether in Colorado or Korea.

This article was submitted by Stephen King, senior vice president for mission and ministry for Colorado’s Adventist hospitals, and written by CMBell Company.

Beyond the Demilitarized Zonea P o R t e R H o S P i t a l P H y S i c i a n M a R k S S e v e R a l “ F i R S t S ” i n n o R t H k o R e a

Dr. Raymond Kim, orthopedic surgeon at Porter Adventist Hospital, has performed the first hip replacement and knee replacement surgeries in North Korea while on mission trips to improve the quality of healthcare there.

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24 September 2009 | Mid-America Outlook

Mid-America Union News

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When a loved one is lost, there is a vast range of difference in how people grieve. Some isolate themselves from friends and family while oth-

ers become too dependent. Some individuals eat com-pulsively, others not at all. While some make frequent impulsive changes to stay occupied, other grievers seem to wander aimlessly.

At Shawnee Mission Medical Center (SMMC), the Spiritual Wellness department is equipped to help all individuals who have lost a loved one. The grief sup-port system is not only for patients, but associates and volunteers as well. Vice president of spiritual wellness Peter Bath explained, “Shawnee Mission Medical Center doesn’t stop with medicine. Life after loss goes on. It’s a continued journey of healing.”

When a life is lost, the grief process begins with the loved ones left behind. Hospital president and CEO Sam-uel H. Turner Sr. sends a personal letter of condolence to the family. In addition, nurses who cared for and became acquainted with the deceased follow-up with supportive notes and phone calls to check in on how the family is coping. The Spiritual Wellness department also makes

sure to show compassion at the start of the holiday season in November by sending a letter of sup-

port, as this is a melancholy time for those who have lost a loved one. Every May,

those who have lost a family member are invited to a

memorial service at SMMC for

prayer

and reflection. “For many, this memorial service is the first time they

come back to visit the site at which they lost someone close to them. It is very difficult but important to relive and reflect on the experience with the help of our chap-lains,” said Bath.

Grieving families are also invited to the Grief Recovery Program, a five-week class taught by Chaplain Mike Ja-cob. “I like to call it Grief Healing rather than recovery,” he said. Jacob has found that the acute grief period after a loss lasts anywhere from three to six months. “Only after someone has been through the grieving process can they begin to heal. Grievers know that they lost a loved one but they have to believe it and be willing to experience the pain,” said Jacob.

Other tasks accomplished through the program in-clude adjusting to the environment in which the lost per-son lived and reinvesting emotional energy into other re-lationships. The hard work and support of the chaplains goes above and beyond to prove that SMMC is indeed much more than medicine. Many Grief Recovery Pro-gram attendees have said the Spiritual Wellness depart-ment showed more compassion and guidance than even their place of worship did after their loss.

SMMC’s Spiritual Wellness department not only helps the family members who are left to deal with loss, but also those patients struggling through life’s last mo-ments. SMMC recently started the No One Dies Alone (NODA) program to ensure just that. While many pa-tients have family by their bedside when they pass, those who don’t are comforted by a NODA Friend. Adopted from Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene, Oregon, NODA Friends at SMMC consist of associates and active hospital volunteers.

“There is at least one Friend on call 24 hours a day,” said Chaplain David Ross, who spearheaded the pro-gram. “There was overwhelmingly positive feedback when I initially asked associates if this was a program they would be interested in.”

When NODA launched at the beginning of this year, 33 associates signed up. The program continues to grow.

For more information about the Spiritual Well-ness department at SMMC or any of its programs, call 913.676.2305.

Helping Those Who GrieveS H a w n e e i S o n a M i S S i o n o F c o M P a S S i o n

Mid-America Outlook | September 2009 25

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What Our Bloggers are Saying read more at www.midamericaadventist.org

Nancy Buxton Walt Brown

Seth PierceClaudio Consuegra

Stephanie Halvorsen (guest blogging for Buffy Halvorsen)

Jim MoonJeff Wines

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Lettersto the Editor

I truly appreciate your willingness to explore certain topics, some that we all don’t agree on. The whole debate over worship music styles is interesting to me because when I first became an Adventist, I just didn’t see the harm in celebration-style worship music. Then I learned that rock and roll is still rock and roll.

Music is extremely powerful. I don’t think it’s necessary to detail the many examples that rock incites carnal and even aggressive behavior. The music itself is degraded, so the lyrics become inconsequential. Know them by their fruits.

Another interesting and telling aspect is that often the ones who were formerly musicians of objectionable mu-sic, and now have the most to say against it, are pastors.

There are some beautiful conservative, contemporary piec-es that really are very worshipful and lovely. I love hymns, but I don’t think they are the only appropriate music for worship.

For me personally, I just want to do what is pleasing to God, because I love Him. We should feel good worshipping God! But when it becomes more about my gratification than about truly worshipping God, that’s a problem.

- Diane Watson, via e-mail

Editor’s response: Diane, I value your refreshing Chris-tian spirit. How wonderful to discuss music without deni-grating those with different convictions. I respect your eagerness for God’s will, and how you believe He has led you. You do acknowledge that contemporary music can be worshipful—but only when toned down, perhaps purged of all energy and rhythm.

Now, what music do we find in God’s inspired hymnal? Some Psalms express quietness, while others are exuber-ant. Read Psalm 92, composed specifically for Sabbath worship. Lots of energy there.

I happened to be in Jerusalem for the 3,000th anniver-sary of David’s ascension. Jews everywhere celebrated their victorious royal hero. I saw conservative old rabbis with beards and black hats encircling children, everybody dancing in delight to extremely energetic music. Nothing sexual there—yet those whose music is celibate of rhythm might have felt offended.

We all view and evaluate worship through the lens of our own culture and experiences. You mention people who once performed worldly rock music, now denouncing contemporary Christian praise because it all sounds the same. I understand if ex-prodigals suffer flashbacks from sowing wild oats. But some of us don’t have those memories and thus don’t get those flashbacks.

I confess my own flashbacks when singing some hymns that others find inspiring. Many traditional favorites remind me of my stern and somber childhood church. I’m glad you don’t have those sad church memories, Diane. But please remember, all of us bestow meaning upon music based (in part, at least) upon our own differing experiences and how we interpret them.

Regarding emotion. There’s a drastic difference between emotion, and emotionalism—or its equally lamentable oppo-site extreme: being emotionless, as in a coma. Given that, let’s assess whether Adventists lose more young people because our services are too exciting, or too lifeless. You don’t need to con-duct a doctoral study, as I did, to know the answer to that. Let's just be warned that the fruit of the Spirit is love, JOY, peace.

My mother grew up in Nazi Germany. Every week her Hitler Youth coven fervently sang: “We Gather Together To Ask The Lord’s Blessing.” (That’s #8 in the SDA Church Hymnal.) Even Hitler's national anthem resounded to the stirring strains of hymn #423, "Glorious Things Of Thee Are Spoken." Talk about music incit-ing carnal and aggressive behavior! How about World War II? Afterward, some retired SS soldiers might have heard those beloved hymns in church and felt some feisty flashbacks. (And from their own cultural experience, our Jews for Jesus friends might also miss the blessing in those particular hymns.)

Thinking about Nazis . . . they marched to the same 4/4 cadence as Pathfinder kids do—but for different purposes. “Onward Christian Soldiers Marching Off To War!” Amen? That would depend upon whether Nazis or Pathfinders are marching. Yes indeed, music stirs emotions. It can make us want to march, or even dance. And that may be bad or good depending upon whether we are drunken revelers in a night-club, or delighted worshippers in God’s Spirit.

The same musical sounds, the same instruments, the same energy and rhythm—but not the same experience. God knows the difference, and I hope we Adventists will all learn to discern that difference as well.

One final thought: If conservative Jews can still get excited about what happened long ago in old Jerusalem, perhaps Adventists anticipating a glorious eternity in the New Jeru-salem should also experience genuine joy in our worship.

Or at least have the freedom to do so.

We invite your written reflections, both positive and negative. E-mail: [email protected],

or write to: Editor of Outlook, c/o Mid-America Union Office, P.O. Box 6128, Lincoln, NE 68506

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Mid-America Outlook | September 2009 27

Correspondence

Page 28: September 2009 Outlook

Bieber, George H., b. Jan. 20, 1908, in Tolstoy, SD, d. July 8, in Bowdle, SD. Member of Bowdle Church. Survived by wife, Della; sons, Jim and Rodney; brother, Bill; five grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

Davis, George Vroom, b. Dec. 12, 1912, in Philadelphia, PA, d. Jan. 19, 2009, at his home. Member of Delta Church. Preceded in death by parents, Captain Roscoe and Gettine. Survived by wife, Shawna Reigh; son, Tim; daughter, Eliza-beth; three grandchildren; and nine step-children.

De Herrera, Kathy Jo., b. Oct. 17, 1970, in Judith Gap, MT, d. June 21, 2009, in Topeka, KS. Member of Wanamaker Church. Survived by: husband, Roger; daughters, Tiffa-ny, Jordan, Elizabeth and Brittany De Herrera; a son, Daniel; broth-ers, Vernon and Robbie Ulrich; and father, Robert Ulrich.

Eisele, Dorothy Norma, b. Jan. 22, 1921, d. April 9, 2009, in Bowling Green, FL. Pianist of the Williams and Warroad churches for last 60 years. Preceded in death by par-ents; two brothers; one sister; hus-bands, Byron Eisele and George Johnson; oldest son, Robert; one daughter-in-law; one grandson, and one great granddaughter. Survived by sons, Edwin, Melvin, Reginald and Allen; daughter, Al-ice Anderson; daughter-in-laws, Rita Tasche and Miriam Govatsky; “other daughter,” Gwen Sorenson; “other son,” Bill Hamilton; many grandchildren and great-grand-children; and one great-great-granddaughter.

Fletcher, Joe Emmanuel, b. 1918, in Mt. Horeb, St. James, Jamaica, d.

July 7, 2009, in Lincoln, NE. Mem-ber of College View Church. Alum-ni of Union College. Ordained as SDA pastor and served as a former educator. Survived by wife, Mavis; daughter, Judy; sons, Franz, Wayne and Garth; sister, Inez Henderson; and two grandchildren.

Flickinger, Leah L., b. Aug. 16, 1921, in Idaho Falls, ID, d. July 6, 2009, in Topeka, KS. Member of the Wanamaker Church. Survived by step-daughters, Charlotte Ber-dahl and Cynthia Butler; a sister, Esther John; four grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.

Henderson, Theodore V., b. June 30, 1955, in Hastings, NE, d. June 25, 2009, in Superior, NE. Member of Community Church in Glenvil, NE. Survived by sons, Eric and Daniel Engelkes; and a sister, Don-na Troudt.

House, Winifred Davison, b. Aug. 9, 1921, in Lamar, CO, d. Jan. 20, 2009. Member of North Platte Church. Survived by daughters, Carolyn Kelly, Karen House, Kath-leen Duval and Kristi Jorcyk; son, Wesley House; brother, Robert Harley Davison; and six grand-children.

Jaynes, Leon E “Lonnie”, b. Dec. 26, 1930, in Grand Junction, CO, d. June 13, 2009, in Grand Junction, CO. Member of Grand Junction Church. Survived by wife, Audre Jaynes; daughter, Valerie Speight; Son, Dave Jaynes; sister, Avis Carl-son; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Moon, Kenneth, b. Aug. 2, 1924, in Muskegon, MI, d. June 13, 2009, in Downs, KS. Member of Solo-mon Valley Church. Survived by wife, Dorothy; daughters, Peggy Schmidt, Pamela Lott and Phyllis Klein; sons, Bruce, Kenneth and Milo Moon; a brother, Donovan Moon; 30 grandchildren; and nu-merous great-grandchildren.

Niedens, Wayne L, b. Nov. 15, 1924, in Herington, KS, d. July 13, 2009, in Broomfield, CO. Member

of Arvada Church. Preceded in death by parents Henry & Susan (Friesen) Niedens. Survived by wife of 63 years, Shirley (Sheriff); daughters, Shirlayne Kinser, Diana Norris, Cindy Snyder and Tammy Smith; seven grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.

Olson, Aletha (Evans), b. Feb. 23, 1909, in Monroe, IA, d. July 24, 2008, in Detroit Lakes, MN. Eldest member of Detroit Lakes Church. Preceded in death by husband, Harold Anton Olson; and brother, Dr. Harrison Silas Evans. Survived by daughters, Sue Olson, Ellen Jane Olson Gilbert; and Sally Aletha Olson Tuck; nine grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.

Peckham, Donabell Pierson, b. Mar. 26, 1926, in JayEm, WY, d. Feb. 20, 2008, in Gothenburg, NE. Member of Gothenburg Church. Survived by daughters, Deea Kaufmann, Carolyn Nelson, Jacque Shotkoski, Marilyn Hayes and Barbara Devine; sons, David and Douglas Peckham; sisters, Ruby Scheller, Maysie Helms, and Eunice Horn; and brother, Donald Pierson; two grandchildren; and 13 step-grandchildren.

Sanford, Dorothy, b. Feb. 19, 1916, d. Feb. 5, 2009, in Calla-way, NE. Member of Gothenburg Church. Survived by daughters, Marlene Cote, Myrna Newmyer, Mallory and Muriel Sanford; sons, Monte and Maurice Sanford; 20 grandchildren; and 40 great-grandchildren.

Schmidt, Ruby Jean (Burge-son), b. March 6, 1926, in Miner-al Center, MN, d. March 13, 2009, in Detroit Lakes, MN. Member of Detroit Lakes Church. Preceded in death by parents; and broth-ers, Kenneth and Clifford Burge-son. Survived by husband, Lyle; sons, Jerry and Barry; daughter, Anne Campbell; brothers, Law-rence, Donald and Ted Burge-son; sister, Mary Kessler; sister-in-law, Mary Lou Burgeson; four grandchildren; and one great-grandson.

Schwarck, James D., d. July 3, 2009, in Lincoln, NE. Member of Piedmont Park Church. Sur-vived by wife, Lucille; daughters, Kay Leaf and Linda Salzman; sons, Jim and Terry Schwarck; a sister, Rose Meier; seven grand-children; and 11 great-grand-children.

Somers, Jennie C., d. Feb. 22, 2009, in Minneapolis, KS. Mem-ber of Solomon Valley Church. Survived by husband, Carroll; and brother, Charles Whitley.

Stutzman, Edwin, b. June 5, 1941, in Corvallis, OR, d. June 6, 2009, in Sioux Falls, SD. Member of Sioux Falls Church. Survived by mother, Alice; wife, Valena; son, Chad; daughter, Kerry; sister, Cin-dy Whitmore; brother Gary; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Uptegrove, Marguerite S.M., b. April 29, 1931, in Cole Camp, MO; d. July 7, 2009, near Warsaw, MO. Member of Sedalia, Church. Survived by daughters, Lou-ise Love, Ila Keele, Eva Wilson, Linda David and Glenda Byrd; sons, James, Raymond, Donald and Ronald Uptegrove; broth-ers, Richard and Robert Haase; 21 grandchildren, 36 great-grandchildren and 15 great-great grandchildren.

FarewellObituaries may be submitted via

your conference communica-tion director. To submit directly

to Outlook, e-mail [email protected] or send to Outlook, PO Box 6128, Lincoln, NE 68506.

All obituary submissions must be typewritten to en-sure clarity and accuracy.

28 September 2009 | Mid-America Outlook

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Page 29: September 2009 Outlook

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SERVICES

Adventist Coin Dealer: Silver .900 fine American coins (“Constitu-tional Currency”) by the roll in de-nominations from Barber dimes through Morgan Dollars and all 90% silver in between. Pre-1933 Ameri-can gold coins. Choice world coins, medals and tokens. Free appraisal of individual coin or entire collec-tion. Phone, write or email. Dr. Law-rence J. Lee, World Coins & Medals. 402.488.2646, P.O. Box 6194, Lin-coln, NE 68506. [email protected].

AdventistSingles.org Free 14-day Trial! Join thousands of Adventist singles online. Free chat, search, profiles, match notifications! Adven-tist owners since 1993. Visit www.elliotdylan.com for the Undercover Angels series of novels for Christian teens that build on Biblical prin-ciples and reinforce integrity. Great for Sabbath reading, church and home schools, and gifts!

Melvin McRoy Helps College-bound Students Pay for College. Circle of Neighbors national community ser-vice director, Dr. R.L. Eaton, has recent-ly appointed Melvin McRoy as one of their interview consultants to assist area college bound students with their college funding. All high school or old-er candidates are eligible. Melvin, who provides education-oriented services through his financial service firm, specializes in strategies for solving the college dilemma. For applications information send an email to: www.melvinmcroy.collegeconsultants.org or call 877.550.1456 or 913.206.6141.

Move With an Award-winning Agency. Apex Moving & Storage partners with the General Confer-ence to provide quality moves at a discounted rate. Call us for all your relocation needs! Adventist beliefs uncompromised. Contact Marcy Dante’ at 800.766.1902 for a free es-timate. Visit us at www.apexmoving.com/Adventist/.

Need Help? Try Griffin Nursing & Rehabilitation Center. SDA family owned and operated, w/SDA Chap-lain. Opening for male, female, or couple. Rates from $110. Skilled care facility w/95 beds. Quality 24-hour nursing care. Odor-free environment. Physical, occupational, and speech therapy. Medicare and Medicaid approved. 641.842.2187—Knoxville, Iowa. Online at: www.griffinnrc.com.

Now Online: Nedley Depression Recovery Program and Training the Trainer, (Director and Facilitator training). 1.6 units of CEU available, register at drnedley.com, or call 1.888.778.4445.

Purchase Online at www.inter-nationalbibles.com, a secure, fully functioning online Christian book-

store available 24/7 for your conve-nience; providing church supplies, Bible reference books and foreign language Bibles.We also offer SDA publications, SS quarterlies, study guides, the latest in Gospel music and much more. You may also or-der by phone 1.402.502.0883.

Single and Over 40? The only in-terracial group for Adventist singles over 40. Stay home and meet new friends in the USA with a Pen Pal monthly newsletter of members and album. For information, send large, self-addressed, stamped en-velope to ASO 40; 2747 Nonpareil; Sutherlin, OR 97479.

You Don't Need a Group to have a affordable health plan; just an agent and companies with expertise, strength and commitment—together they mean staying power. Even for

impaired risks. www.mwmcroy.hbwinfo.com, www.wellnessplansusa.com, 913.206.6141

Our Mission:To share God’s love by providing

physical, mental and spiritualhealing.

18 hospitals in:California

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Live the DreamThe journey begins with us.

For job opportunities, visitwww.adventisthealth.org

ClassifiedsAdvertising Policy

Classified ads must be submitted with approval from your local conference or pastor. Ads may be e-mailed, faxed or typewritten. Outlook does not accept responsibility for categorical or typographical errors. Display ad information available at www.midamericaadventist.org or 402.484.3028.Pricing: Inside Mid-America$25 for first 50 words, 35¢ each additional word.Outside Mid-America$35 for first 50 words, 85¢ each additional word.A box can be added around an ad for $5.Notices or AnnouncementsNotices of events, alumni weekends, camp meetings, etc., can be printed at no charge if no product or service is involved and no price is listed. Placement is not guaranteed, however, unless the notice is purchased.

Sunset CalendarColorado Aug. 28 Sept. 4 Sept. 11 Sept. 18 Sept. 25Denver 7:37 7:26 7:15 7:03 6:52 Grand Junction 7:50 7:40 7:29 7:17 7:06Pueblo 7:34 7:23 7:12 7:01 6:50

Iowa Davenport 7:42 7:30 7:18 7:06 6:54 Des Moines 7:54 7:42 7;30 7:18 7:06 Sioux City 8:06 7:54 7:42 7:30 7:17

Kansas Dodge City 8:15 8:04 7:54 7:43 7:32Goodland 7:23 7;13 7:01 6;50 6:39Topeka 7:59 7:48 7:37 7:26 77:15Wichita 8:04 7:54 7:43 7:32 7:21

Minnesota Duluth 7:55 7:41 7:28 7:14 7:00 International Falls 8:03 7:49 7:34 7:19 7:05 Minneapolis 7:57 7:44 7:31 7:18 7:04

Missouri Columbia 7:45 7:34 7:23 7:12 7:01 Kansas City 7:54 7:44 7:33 7:21 7:10Springfield 7:47 7:37 7:27 7:16 7:05 St. Louis 7:37 7:26 7:15 7:04 6:53

Nebraska Grand Island 8:12 8:00 7:49 7:37 7:25Lincoln 8:05 7:54 7:42 7:30 7;18 North Platte 8:22 8:10 7:59 7;47 7:35Scottsbluff 7:34 7:23 7:11 6:58 6:46

North Dakota Bismarck 8:30 8:16 8:02 7:48 7;34Fargo 8:14 8:00 7:46 7:32 7:18Williston 8:43 8:29 8:15 7:31 7:45

South Dakota Pierre 8:24 8:12 7:59 7:46 7:33 Rapid City 7:35 7:32 7:10 6:57 6:44 Sioux Falls 8:09 7:56 7:44 7:31 7:18

Wyoming Casper 7:46 7:34 7:22 7:09 6:57Cheyenne 7:38 7:26 7:15 7:03 6:51 Sheridan 7:51 7:39 7:26 7:12 6:59

Mid-America Outlook | September 2009 29

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TRAVEL/RENTALS

Retire in Western Colorado. Lo-cated above Cedaredge, CO, on Old Grand Mesa Road. Gorgeous views. 2,028 sq ft home on 3.69 acres w/stream and waterfall running through property, 3 bed/2 bath, large room w/windows galore! 2 car garage, laundry, office and den area. Possible Owner financing. $269,000.00. Call 310.422.1738.

Steamboat Springs, CO: Exhilarat-ing year-round vacation spot. World-class skiing, summer fishing, hiking, mountain biking, backpacking, raft-ing. Kids under 12 ski free. Large con-do, sleeps 9-11. Two bedroom loft/two bath. Fully furnished, fireplace, hot tubs, pool. Call 763.506.0436. E-mail: [email protected].

Vacations! Looking for the best value and places for your vacation? Specializing in cruises, beach vaca-tions, wedding destinations and honeymoons. Also knowledgeable in Europe, domestic and mission trips. Let a travel professional take the worry out of your vacation. Call

EMPLOYMENT

Invitation to Teach in Thailand: Missionary teachers needed to serve God in the wonderful country of Thailand. Please answer God’s call! Matthew 9: 37-38. For more information on this exciting oppor-tunity, please contact: [email protected].

Wanted: Around the Clock Personal Caregiver for elderly gentleman. Peaceful, beautiful country setting—90 minutes from Minneapolis! This position requires an individual with high ethics, mor-als and energy. Must be motivated, experienced, or able to learn quick-ly. Position requires a valid drivers’ license to assist in appointments, church and travel between homes in MN. Duties include: dispersing of meds, daily devotions, light domes-tic, food preparation and personal needs. Living quarters possible for the right couple or high energy individual. Person must be a non-smoker, no alcohol, and no pets. Please call if interested/questions: 507.215.1027.

Mary at 800.393.4040 or e-mail [email protected].

FOR SALE

Threat to Religious Liberty? CD: "Islam, Catholicism, and Religious Freedom", $23, (English or Span-ish); DVD’s: "Comparaciones de Libertad Religiosa en los E.E.U.U., Espana, y Mexico", $35; "Exodus of Revelation", Rev. 12-16 from Church-State perspective, 22 hours material, $45; prepared by ordained SDA pastor with Ph.D. in Church-State Studies. 256.454.3840.

EVENTS

Adventists and Islam: What mes-sage do SDAs have for Islam? Find out at a special weekend dedicated to teaching what we have to share with Muslims. Sept. 24–26, LaSierra Uni-versity, CA. Register at www.plusline.org/events.php. For more information, contact [email protected], or 423.368.2343.

College View Academy Alumni and Friends: Join us Oct. 9-11 for our an-nual Alumni Weekend. Friday Golf tournament and evening buffet. Sat-urday Church and Sunday pancake breakfast and silent art auction. Go to www.Ubelonghere.org for more info or call us at 402.483.1181 Ext. 15.

Sunnydale Academy Alumni Week-end—Oct. 1–4. Honor Classes are: ’49, ’54, ‘59 ’64, ’69, ’79, ’84, ’89, and ’99. Ac-tivities begin Thursday evening with the Silver Showcase banquet, continues on Friday with a career day. The Sabbath speaker is Elder Fred Riffle, class of '79. Sunday is Alumni Golf Tournament. For more information, call 573.682.2164, or visit www.sunnydale.org.

Wellness Secrets in NW Arkansas, 5 Day Live-in Health Program, $395 special. A power-packed program that will change your life physi-cally, mentally and spiritually. Also health seminars at your church. Call 479.752.8555; [email protected]; www.anewstartnow.com

30 September 2009 | Mid-America Outlook

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