YOUTH AND ADULT MAGAZINE MISSION 2013 • QUARTER 1 • South Pacific DiviSion www.AdventistMission.org Contents On the Cover: Village in Papua New Guinea. PAPU Vanuatu 4 An Urgent Need | January 5 20 Standing Tall for Christ | March 2 6 Joy in the Morning | January 12 22 Ready to Serve | March 9 8 His Mother’s Prayers | January 19 24 The Hidden Village | March 16 10 So Many Dreams | January 26 26 The Devil’s Lies | March 23 12 A Boy’s Burning Faith | February 2 Resources 14 Saving the School | February 9 28 Thirteenth Sabbath Program | March 30 16 Run Away to God | February 16 31 Resources 18 The Bridge That God Built | February 23 32 Map = stories of special interest to teens Your Offerings at Work The children of Papua New Guinea and the other islands of the South Pacific say thank you for giving them flipchart pictures to look at as they listen to the Bible stories in Sabbath School. Adults like to listen to the children’s Bible stories and see the flipcharts as well. South Pacific Division ISSION M © 2013 General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists® • All rights reserved 12501 Old Columbia Pike, DVENTIST A Silver Spring, MD 20904-6601 800.648.5824 • www.AdventistMission.org 2 Dear Sabbath School Leader, This quarter we feature the South in 13). The countries with the highest Pacific Division, which includes standard of living tend to have the Australia, New Zealand, and the islands of smallest proportion of Adventists. This the Pacific south of the equator, including creates challenges, not just for reaching Cook Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, those who have not yet been reached, Pitcairn, Samoa, Solomon Islands, but for financing the work in the rest of Vanuatu, and others. the region. While the ratio of Adventist to non- The Challenges Adventist is high in many of the island Almost 37 million people live in this nations, leaders have few resources to region, including more than 423,000 nourish their members. Children’s leaders Adventists. That’s a ratio of one have no lesson quarterlies, no felts, and no Adventist for nearly every 87 people. pictures to hold the children’s attention However, New Zealand and Australia during Sabbath School and impress in have ratios of one Adventist for about their minds God’s eternal lessons. every 400 people. The majority of The South Pacific Division is focusing Adventists live in other island groups, this Thirteenth Sabbath Offering on such as Fiji (one Adventist in 32 reaching the people in the island nations people), Papua New Guinea (one in 28), of the division through three proven the Cook Islands (one in 19), Vanuatu methods: providing medical clinics in (one in 14) and Solomon Islands (one isolated regions, audio Bibles and Bible lessons for adults and children on MP3 players (commonly called “God pods”), and 15,000 Bibles in either English or pidgin (the trade language of the island Opportunities nations) for children, who often are the only members of their families who can This quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath read well and who will share God’s Word Offering will help: with their parents and extended families. build clinics in at least four isolated areas This quarter we can help reach even in Papua New Guinea more people for Christ by giving a generous Thirteenth Sabbath Offering. purchase solar-powered MP3 players (“God pods”) for Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu Yours for the kingdom, provide 15,000 Bibles for children in the islands of the south Pacific to use and share with their families. www.AdventistMission.org 3 An Urgent Need PAPUA NEW GUINEA | Jan. 5 not return for several days. And even if he returned quickly, if he didn’t have an inhaler Sasa could still die. Their only hope was to journey on toward the hospital in the capital. They hiked to the only road in the region, hoping to find a public minibus to take them to the hospital, but they were too late. There would be no minibus until morning. The weary couple came to a small village. They didn’t know anyone there, but they stopped a woman and asked if athleen and her husband, Sasa, any Seventh-day Adventists lived in the Kenjoyed living in the remote village in village. She led them to a house where a south-central Papua New Guinea, where kind husband and wife welcomed them, Kathleen taught school. But when Sasa fed them, and offered them a place to began having trouble with asthma, the sleep. Kathleen and Sasa quickly fell into couple had to walk for hours on the muddy an exhausted sleep. Later Kathleen awoke path to the nearest government clinic to to a voice. The wife was praying for them. get an inhaler to ease Sasa’s symptoms. Kathleen praised God for watching out for them, and she dozed off again. Desperate Hike for Help In the morning the couple gave One night Sasa awoke wheezing and Kathleen and Sasa some food, and her gasping for breath. Sasa’s inhaler was husband led them to where they could empty, and Kathleen feared Sasa would catch a public minibus. An hour later die before they could get medical help. one approached and stopped for the At first light the couple set out along couple. When the driver learned how sick the rugged path toward the clinic. They Sasa was, he drove them straight to the South Pacific Division finally reached the clinic late that night, hospital in the capital city. ISSION but it was closed. Neighbors told them Doctors diagnosed Sasa with severe M that the nurse had gone to the provincial asthma, pneumonia, and malaria. When capital to collect his pay. Sasa was discharged, the couple made DVENTIST A Kathleen feared that the nurse might their way back to the village. 4 Critical Caring themselves. Malaria, tuberculosis, and Life in remote regions of Papua New pneumonia broke out, killing many. Guinea is uncertain. Illnesses that we Jack took a short medical training might consider inconvenient can be life- course and did his best to help his people, UINEA threatening without medical help. Many but they needed a trained nurse and a people in the isolated mountain villages better building for a clinic. Recently must journey days to reach medical the clinic has been rebuilt as part of a G W treatment. Some don’t make it. division-wide effort of the Adventist NE On the westernmost frontier, the village Church to upgrade medical care in such of Tumolbil sits on the border between isolated regions. Irian Jaya and Papua New Guinea. Today an Adventist nurse ministers ua Jack grew up in the village, but left to to the villagers. And Jack has turned his study when he was a young man. While attention to sharing his faith. Because PAP studying he became an Adventist. He the people have seen that Adventists returned to his village to share his faith. are people who care, they are willing to He was the only Adventist living there. Some people listened to him, but they listen to God’s message of love. Today had never heard of Adventists and were more than 200 villagers in Tumolbil reluctant to commit to a church they and the surrounding area have accepted hadn’t heard of before. Jesus as their Savior and joined the Then fighting broke out along the Adventist Church. border, and the government teachers and Come and Help Us nurse fled, leaving the locals to fend for But many more isolated regions are crying, “Come, and help us!” They still must hike for hours or days over some of Fast Facts the most rugged terrain in the world to Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a carry their sick and wounded to receive mountainous island nation that lies medical help. north of Australia. About 6.3 million people live in PNG. Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help provide at While the country has several relatively least four medical outposts in the most modern cities, most of the people still isolated areas of Papua New Guinea. live in small villages in the mountains, isolated from medical facilities. If The clinics will be stocked with the someone becomes ill or is injured, they equipment the trained nurses need to must hike or be carried hours—even minister to the needs of the people. And days—to the nearest clinic. when the people know the Adventists Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath care, they will listen to God’s message of Offering will help build at least four love. Their future is, quite literally, in our medical clinics in the most isolated hands. Let’s care as Jesus does and give regions of PNG. sacrificially so that they can have life, both physical and spiritual. www.AdventistMission.org 5 PAPUA NEW GUINEA | Jan. 12 Joy in the Morning Wama After the funeral the family visited their relatives and friends. They shared stories of their home in the highlands. One night as Wama and Siong lay on their sleeping mat listening to the crickets sing, she said ama and Siong jostled against each softly, “I want to stay here and tell the Wother as the bus splashed through people what we’ve learned about God. I shallow rivers, bounced over rocky roads, want our sorrow to become a cause for joy.” and slogged through muddy sandbars Siong had the same thought. “That’s toward the village at the end of the road. good. I’ll come back every chance I get, Wama and Siong had left this village and as soon as I can, I’ll join you.