In the Month of January 2015, the Sri Lankan field hosted a leadership seminar for all the leaders in the Asian Division. Not all of them were able to attend, but there were representatives from seven different Asian countries.  The setting for the seminar was at a restful resort in the countryside, outside of the city of Kandy.  Here the seminar could be conducted in the quiet scenes of nature without any distractions from the outside world.

The Seminar for the Asian leaders began on a Wednesday afternoon. Over the first weekend, the members from the Sri Lankan Field were also present for their conference on Friday evening and Sabbath.

On Friday evening, Brother Arnolfo Cortez from the Philippines gave the Sabbath opening service. He spoke about the different types of servants in the Bible. The sanctified ones are bearing fruit unto holiness and will receive a crown of righteousness when Jesus comes. Those not sanctified, when the storm comes, will become the most bitter enemies of the righteous. Today God is calling each of His followers to do an important work for Him. Can anyone live, day to day, indifferent to the needs of souls? Many are going to their graves unwarned. We need to take up the work wholeheartedly that God has entrusted to us,  and have a greater burden for souls, then we will be called faithful servants.

Roland de la Paz, also from the Philippines, continued by sharing a study about Metamorphosis. He used the example of a caterpillar who undergoes metamorphosis and turns into a butterfly. God expects Christians to undergo a spiritual metamorphosis—from a sinner to saint. This process the caterpillar cannot do on his own. The change is done by the mighty hand of God.

“What is justification by faith? It is the work of God in laying the glory of man in the dust, and doing for man that which it is not in his power to do for himself.” –Testimonies to Ministers, p. 456.  “But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8. “But while God can be just, and yet justify the sinner through the merits of Christ, no man can cover his soul with the garments of Christ’s righteousness while practicing known sins, or neglecting known duties. God requires the entire surrender of the heart, before justification can take place; and in order for man to retain justification, there must be continual obedience, through active, living faith that works by love and purifies the soul.” –Selected Messages, bk. 1, p. 366

“Beholding Christ for the purpose of becoming like Him, the seeker after truth sees the perfection of the principles of God’s law, and he becomes dissatisfied with everything but perfection.” –The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1098

“The latter rain is to fall upon the people of God. A mighty angel is to come down from heaven, and the whole earth is to be lighted with his glory. Are we ready to take part in the glorious work of the third angel? Are our vessels ready to receive the heavenly dew? Have we defilement and sin in the heart? If so, let us cleanse the soul temple, and prepare for the showers of the latter rain.” – The Review and Herald, April 21, 1891. In order to receive the seal of God we must be without spot.  If we reflect the perfect character of Christ we will receive seal of God. Today is the day of salvation. Now is the time to prepare.

For the divine service on Sabbath, Brother Idel Suarez spoke about the Four Secrets of John the Baptist. John the Baptist represents those living in the last days, to whom God has entrusted sacred truths to present to the people, to prepare a way for the second coming of Christ. John was a reformer.

Secret #1 is self-forgetfulness. “And he confessed . . . I am not the Christ.” John 1:20. “He looked upon the King in His beauty, and self was forgotten.” –The Desire of Ages, p. 103. He forgot about himself because he was too busy with Jesus.

Secret #2 is self-denial. “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30. “If any man come to Me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. Luke 14:26. Character “is formed by hard, stern battles with self.” –Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 331

Secret #3 is self-control. John the Baptist was a reformer, and also a health reformer. “Dedicated to God as a Nazarite from his birth, he made the vow his own in a life-long consecration.” –The Desire of Ages, p. 102. “More than any natural endowment, the habits established in early years decide whether a man will be victorious or vanquished in the battle of life.” –The Desire of Ages, p. 101. John the Baptist wore special clothing and never drank alcohol. Reformers today need to have similar self-control. They must be simple in their dress, avoiding all extravagance, and they must eat healthy foods only.  The appetite and passions must be kept in control to the higher powers. It takes mental strength to stay firm.

Secret #4 is self-discipline. The Sabbath teaches discipline. It is the only commandment about time. We need to plan our time. On the Sabbath we need to control our thoughts; we cannot buy or sell; we must abstain from passion by not seeking our own pleasure. Also, it is important to study the lesson before Sabbath, and then we need to be on time to church every Sabbath morning. Tithe paying also requires discipline; also our Bible reading should be very disciplined. We must read it daily, memorizing verses and teaching it as we can.

“For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” Luke 7:28

Sabbath afternoon was filled with song and praise as we heard some encouraging testimonies.

Brother Pablo Hunger conducted the Sabbath closing service taken from 1 Corinthians 10. In this chapter we read of 5 blessings and then 5 dangers.  We read of the 5 blessings in verses 1–4. In order for us to succeed in our Christian life we need 5 elements. We must be under God’s guidance, we need faith. We also need spiritual food, which is the Bible; and spiritual drink, which is the Holy Spirit. And we must be firmly founded on the Rock, Jesus Christ.

We have the example of the experience of Ancient Israel in the wilderness. In verses 6–10 we read of the dangers that the Israelites fell into. These dangers were, lust, idolatry, immorality and fornication, murmuring and complaining, and rebellion.

“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”  1 Corinthians 10:13

Sunday morning we bid farewell to our Sri Lankan brethren and continued with the leadership seminar.

During the leadership seminar many important subjects were studied which gave much counsel on being a successful leader. The instructors were, Brother Idel Suarez, General Conference President; Brother Pablo Hunger, General Conference Vice President; Brother Douglas Frances, General Conference Treasurer; and, Brother Roland de la Paz, General Conference Health Department Leader.

The Subjects studied included historical Subjects such as, “The Prophetic Identity of the Remnant Church;” “Persecuted, Not Defeated;” and, “A Cloud of Witnesses.”

Organizational Structure, such as church elections, church properties, committees, the treasury department, missionary department, secretarial department and the necessary reporting systems were taught.

Brother Roland de la Paz presented health subjects, which included many problems that are detrimental to health that exist in society, such as: improper dress, jewellery, and cosmetics. Although we are aware of their dangers, we need to have the knowledge to teach and explain our position from the Word of God and spirit of Prophecy.

Also, pastoral subjects such as ethics and successful counselling were covered.

And finally, key doctrinal issues were covered where there is controversy over in the spiritual world, such as the nature of Christ and the nature of the Holy Spirit, both of which are very clear in the Bible and Spirit of

Prophecy.

During the course of the six days, a health fair was conducted where the leaders were introduced to simple diagnostic tools which they can use in their ministry to assist the people with any health concerns. These diagnostic tools included: blood glucose testing, urinalysis, the taking of vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate, respiration rate and temperature). These simple tests can reveal much about a person’s health. Every missionary should have some knowledge of simple health tests and natural remedies as there are so many sick people in the world today.

The seminar concluded with a four hour journey by bus to Colombo. It was a sad time to say farewell, but it had been a blessed time that was spent together. New friends were made, encouragement was given and the leaders were given new tools and knowledge to improve their work.

In some of these Asian countries the work is fairly new, and the obstacles that the devil puts in front of the people are many. Life is not easy in the pioneering work. Let us pray for the leaders of the work, and especially remember those in new areas.

From Sri Lanka Sister Leila and I we were privileged to travel to South India. After a short plane flight into Chennai, we travelled four hours by train to the headquarters in the town of Thirupatter. The sanctuary at the headquarters was newly completed and was ready to be dedicated. Many members from the surrounding churches came for this event. Even Brother Crosswell Rimsu, our minister and leader of the North Indian Field came, travelling more than 48 hours by train. On Friday evening the church dedication took place and we spent a blessed Sabbath together in worship and praise.

Let us pray for the work in India that the work can grow and expand to other parts of the country. “Then saith He unto His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest.” Matthew 9:37–38

SOME OF THE LEADERS PRESENT AT THE SEMINAR IN SRI LANKA

PAKISTAN: Pastor Inayat Daniel

Pastor Daniel is a poet, having written many poems in his language. He grew up as a strict Catholic and wanted to become a priest. Upon entering the seminary, he read the Bible for the first time. He read the 10 Commandments, and noticed that they were different from the ones he had been taught to memorize from the catechism. He left Catholicism behind and went to the Pentecostal church for a few years. Still, the Sabbath commandment was in the back of his mind, so he asked friends if they knew of anyone who kept the Sabbath; and they told him of the Seventh-day Adventist Church that was 800 km away. He went. And learned from them, was baptized and worked in the publishing house. He then became a pastor.

At some point in time he became a member of the 1951 movement. And later he found the true Reform Church after Brother Cholich visited Pakistan. One of the elders in the church of Brother Daniel had invited Brother Cholich to visit. Today, there are 178 members.

INDIA:  Pastor G. Dhiviyanathan (Vice President + Treasurer) and Pastor Ruban David (Secretary)

Both men were led into God’s church from Hindu Backgrounds.  Brother Dhiviyanathan and his younger brother also run the two tailoring schools in south India that are sponsored one by our church and the other by Linda Suarez. These two schools generate some income for the Indian Field and provides an opportunity for missionary work.

MYANMAR, Pastor Suam Kam Thang

Although his family attended the Baptist church, they sent their children to the Seventh-day Adventist  school. This is common in some of the Asian countries as the Seventh-day Adventist schools are very advanced. Not everyone joins the church after their schooling and Brother Suam was one who did not. He decided to enter the Baptist seminary. He then became a preacher in a Protestant church. After some time, he came across the Seventh-day Adventist Reform Church and contacted Brother Idel Suarez who arranged for Brother Justiva and Cortes from Philippines to visit Myanmar.

Brother Thang was the first member we had in Myanmar. There are about 63 people who attend church. All the members have come from his ministry. Many of the members were former members of the church he preached in.

Last October his son had a terrible accident while riding on a motorcycle. It is only by the grace of God that he is alive today. Although he still has difficulty walking, we can praise the Lord that he is alive.  God is good. Thankfully his school teachers permitted him to write his final exams while studying at home. Let us pray for his continued recovery.

Unfortunately, they are not able to buy a place of worship because they are not registered with the government. It is law in the country that you must be registered with the government in order to establish a church building. While the government is promising religious freedom, they are saying but not doing. The new government, while  promise religious freedom, they are, however, refusing to register any new Christian churches. Only those churches who were registered previously can remain registered—no new registrations are currently being granted.

MALAYSIA:  Brother Salleh Suli

Brother Suli grew up going to a Seventh-day Adventist school. His family were evangelicals. During high school, he was convinced of the Adventist message and so he decided to join. His father was angry and said that if he joined, his father would disown him and he would have to leave home.  Brother Suli loved the truth and was baptized; and true to his word, his father made him leave home. He was 20 years old at the time. He studied and worked also, to finish school.  He went to Philippines for a few years to study also.

After some time he became a Seventh-day Adventist Pastor and later he taught in one of the schools. Eventually he met with Brother Cortez from the Philippines and was convinced that the IMS Seventh-day Adventist Church Reform Movement is teaching the pure doctrines of the Bible and living up to the standards, so he joined the church.

Currently the church in Malaysia exists on the island of Borneo. There are about 20 members and at the moment they are not officially organized. Brother Suli is temporarily taking care of the churches in Malaysia.

Let us pray for Brother Suli. He has been a member for just over one year and his former brethren in the Seventh-day Adventist Church have been very antagonistic towards him.

IRAQ:  Brother Basheer Kheder

Brother Basheer was a pastor in the Seventh-day Adventist church for many years. He always taught and preached from the Bible and the testimonies. Slowly he saw the spiritual standards of the church declining. The principles were being compromised. His ministry was not supported when he tried to uphold the standards, so, 12 years ago, he left the church.

Brother Basheer’s sister-in-law lives in  Holland and in speaking with her she told him of some people that she met in the Reform Church. He then spoke with Brother Gabriel Porras, and he put them in touch with the General Conference. The family of Brother Basheer had studies on Skype with Brothers Suarez, Hunger and Watts. They were very happy to hear about the Seventh-day Adventist Reform Church as they thought we were alone. Brother Basheer met with Brother Suarez in Jordan and is now a baptized member.  He attended the seminar with his daughter Ruaa, who was there to translate for him.

Let us pray for these leaders in the Asian countries.  Amen. 

Wendy Eaton