OCI Ministries

Treat &

Latest News From: Canada, Latvia, Ukraine, and More . . .

News From Around the World

OCI Ministries Share Simple Remedies You Can Use at Home, p. 12

Vol. 13, No. 3Fall 2011

Prevent

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Unity in Latin AmericaAt the end of August, supporting

ministry leaders from Latin America met in Colombia for a retreat. The meetings represented the beginning of a more organized effort toward the growth and encouragement of supporting ministries in Colombia and surrounding countries. We look forward to increased unity and further opportunities to promote leadership training among OCI ministries in Latin America.

Banners Build Connections

Health Education Resources, based in Tennessee, continues to reach out to those interested in health around the world. The latest shipments of its health expo banners have arrived in New Zealand, Austria, China, Portugal, and Canada. In Nunavut, Canada, local church workers have had a

NEWSFLASHNews From OCI Ministries Around the World

hard time reaching out to the Iglulingmiut Indians. However, health expo banners in their language, which is in a script form, are rousing community interest. Many locals attended a recent health expo, and church members hope to continue to connect with the community through health in the future.

Film Project in ThailandIn an effort to spread the gospel with

the Mien hill tribe in Thailand, Mission Projects Inc. is helping to sponsor a DVD ministry. Two local pastors and other church workers make DVDs filled with Christian programs with Thai and English subtitles. These are passed out in the community and surrounding villages with a goal of reaching not only the Mien people, but Thai living in other countries as well. As the team seeks to put together additional material, blank DVDs and CDs are needed.

Health Evangelism in ActionOak Haven in Michigan frequently

holds seminars and cooking classes in the community. Robert and Mary Jo began attending cooking classes last year and also signed up for the diabetes program. Through the classes, they learned how to make lifestyle changes that improved their health and attitude. In May, they attended evangelistic meetings and were baptized. Mary Jo is now helping with the Depression Recovery Program this fall. The Oak Haven team is looking forward to a rich harvest as they continue to follow God’s leading.

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New Mural InspiresStudents at Advent Home Learning

Center in Tennessee recently unveiled a mural they created with the help of artist Emanuel Martinez. The Awakening depicts a young man with outstretched arms, open to the Holy Spirit. The colorful morning sky symbolizes a new beginning, which puts him on a better path in life. Martinez was impressed with the students’ work and the school, and he hopes the painting will be an inspiration for visitors and students alike.

Water for the ThirstyRestore a Child is working with

the Maasai people of East Africa. Tom Lestar, a Restore a Child volunteer from Hungary, along with a team from Friedensau University in Germany, are digging a well in Longido, Tanzania. The team is also conducting an evangelistic series as a follow-up to a campaign held last year. To help prepare for the meetings, tape recorders and tapes were distributed with the gospel in the Maasai language, as well as books and 150 solar-powered audio Bibles.

Park Outreach in LatviaThis summer, For Your Heart hosted

more than 100 visitors to their small project. In addition to sharing about a healthy lifestyle and their garden, the team was able to share Jesus with many who came. The ministry would like to build a nature park as an outreach project in addition to their lifestyle center. They ask for your prayers and support as they seek the funds to accomplish this goal, in addition to finishing their lifestyle center.

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Wayne Atwood is president of Better Living in Canada. To learn more, visit www.betterlivingministry.com.

Nine years ago Wayne Atwood and his wife, Isabelle, felt called to an

unlikely mission field: Québec, Canada. About 80 percent of the 7.5 million inhabitants of Québec are French-Canadian, but only about 500 are Seventh-day Adventist.

Despite the language barrier, the Atwoods were impressed to start a media ministry, Better Living. Wayne hoped to use radio and television programming to connect with French speakers in Québec, as well as in other French-speaking countries.

People’s testimonies are a source of encouragement to the ministry. Recently the Atwoods invited a

woman and her family to their home after church. She surprised them with her testimony of how God used their radio programming to change her life. When her daughter had died, she became angry with God and decided to distance herself from Him. One day she found the Better Living website and began listening to the radio programs. She felt the Holy Spirit speaking to her and decided to start going to church and to renew her relationship with God.

by Wayne Atwood

Better Living reaches French-speaking people through television and radio programming.

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Steven Grabiner Executive Editor Janell Hullquist Editor, Layout & DesignHannah Kuntz Content EditorDebbie Hicks Copy EditorPrinted By College Press, LLC

OCI Reports magazine is published quarterly by Outpost Centers International. Send address changes to ocireports@outpostcenters.org, and please include both the old and new addresses. You may also use the OCI contact information below.

Outpost Centers International is a nonprofit organization working in cooperation with the Seventh-day Adventist Church to network and nurture supporting ministries worldwide. OCI operates through the generosity of people like you and issues tax-deductible receipts to U.S. donors. One-hundred percent of all donations goes to the designated ministry. Please direct correspondence to: Outpost Centers International 5340 Layton Lane Apison, TN 37302. Tel: 423-236-5600 Fax: 423-236-5650 Email: info@outpostcenters.org For further information, please visit us on the web at www.outpostcenters.org.

About the Cover: Garlic is one simple home remedy available around the world.

Vol. 13, No. 3, Fall 2011

Copyright © 2011 Outpost Centers International

Editorjanell@outpostcenters.org

President’s Perspective

“Success in any line demands a definite aim” (Education, p. 262). That statement has long been a favorite of mine. It reminds me to continually clarify what is really most important, both personally and professionally. As the new OCI president, friends have asked me questions clarifying my vision for the future of OCI.

Questions like: What will OCI look like in five years? What does the future hold for OCI? If OCI had unlimited time, money, and staff, what would we do? What are the most important goals for us to reach? What are the greatest obstacles that confront us? Where are the most pressing opportunities for service?

Those are all good questions that demand thoughtful answers, which come through prayer, discussion, and listening carefully to others’ input. While the details of the answers to those questions are still falling into place, one thing is clearly in OCI’s future: hundreds of healthy and thriving ministries all around the world impacting their communities for Christ, fulfilling their potential, and experiencing the joy of helping new ministries get established. These projects may be small or large, but they are all powered by lay people longing to serve their Master and by individuals who hear God’s call and respond.

On behalf of the OCI team, I solicit the prayers of OCI’s friends and supporters as we seek the clarity needed to guide OCI and its ministries into the future.

Steven GrabinerPresident

Questions& Clarity

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When and how did you first become involved with self-supporting work?

My first contact with supporting work was in Peekskill, New York. There was a vegetarian restaurant there, a precursor to Country Life. I wasn’t a Christian by any stretch of the imagination, but I was a vegetarian and used to go in there to eat. I liked the idea of working in a New York City vegetarian restaurant, so one day I asked the management if I could join them and they said yes. They took me in and started teaching me the trade.

Through that vegetarian restaurant, I met the Lord and was converted. Sidney Sweet, the leader of the restaurant, moved from Peekskill to Oak Haven and invited me to come with him. I worked there for a couple of years, then went back to New York and ran a wholesale business, then helped start Country Life Restaurant in New York City. That’s where I met my wife, Vivian.

OCI’s new president, Steven Grabiner, has been involved in self-supporting ministry since 1976. He is also an ordained pastor who enjoys teaching and mentoring. Above all, Steven’s priority is to live his life dedicated to God.

How has your work with OCI influenced you as a person and as a leader?

As a person, it’s helped me appreciate not only my gifts, but also the unique gifts that God has given everybody. There’s a human tendency to look to other people and want to be like others. We miss the fact that God created us with unique gifts for service. Supporting ministries emphasize that lay people can be involved in ministry and that ministry is not just for the ordained pastor; ministry is for everybody.

It has impacted my leadership in the sense that God has given people their different gifts, and they are free to exercise those gifts as God leads them. That’s very liberating. As leaders, we need to recognize that God may call people to serve Him in different ways, and we must look for ways to help them fulfill that calling. It’s an expansive view of leadership rather than a focus on “I need to keep everything under my control.”

DedicatedInterview by Hannah Kuntz

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Face to Face

Steven Grabiner and his wife, Vivian, live in Apison, Tennessee, not far from the OCI headquarters office.

How would you describe your style of leadership?

I highly value the efforts of a team. I think there’s only one major historical event that happened through one person, and that was our redemption through Christ. Yet even He chose a team. He chose the disciples to communicate what He had done, but I also believe a leader needs to be able to answer a few questions. For example, what needs to be done? Why does it need to be done? And how is it going to get done?

What are your key responsibilities as OCI president, and how do you plan to accomplish this commission?

One major responsibility is to communicate with lay people and the Seventh-day Adventist Church at large about the benefit that OCI is to supporting ministries. OCI plays an important role in encouraging and helping lay people fulfill their God-given call to be involved in ministry, as well as offering support for these ministries. Communicating that is an essential part of the OCI president’s job.

Another of the things I would like to do is to hold regional retreats to create awareness about OCI in regions where supporting work is not well known, such as Japan, the Philippines, Australia, and

areas of South America. We are also looking for ways to more directly involve the OCI regional representatives (field vice presidents) in their regions.

In addition, I’m interested in helping to equip new leaders. There’s a tremendous wealth of experience in the OCI family. I would like to partner experienced leaders with two or three emerging leaders, to help those who are less experienced avoid some of the pitfalls that the established leaders might have made.

As the new OCI president, what are your goals for the organization?

Besides establishing the mentoring program, my goal is to continue enhancing the perception of OCI, both in the broad Adventist community and among our OCI members. I would like more members to see how they can be part of a healthy dynamic, not only to receive a benefit from OCI, but to also support other ministries within the OCI family.

I’m excited about the challenges and possibilities that await OCI. There’s a tremendous amount of interest in many countries, and that’s exciting to me.

Above: God has actively led Steven from before he was converted (left), through his early years as a pastor (center), and now in his role as OCI president (right).Previous Page: (L to R) Vivian, Jeremy, David, Joy, and Steven Grabiner shortly after moving to Africa in 1996.

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Suzie* was shy and withdrawn. Her eyes scanned the room of children,

but she had no desire to participate in the activities. Yet with encouragement and attention, her fear melted.

Suzie is just one of many children who have been positively impacted through the outreach of students at Oklahoma Academy. As part of their curriculum, students are taught the skills for teaching young kids through age-appropriate activities. Claire Day, the academy music director and speech teacher, requires the junior speech class to put their learning into practice. Once they gain experience, students can work with children’s ministries during evangelistic series, ASI conventions, camp meetings, and mission trips.

As a graduate of Oklahoma Academy, I have enjoyed myself so much that I continue to stay involved. At last year’s ASI, I had the opportunity to work with Suzie. She took me to meet her mother, who tearfully told me about the suffering 8-year-old Suzie had endured because of a recent divorce. I saw Suzie

again this year and was touched to see an improvement.

Other students have been rewarded, too. Sophomore Zach Woolsey was one of nine team leaders at ASI this year. Zach enjoyed watching the boys in his group progress.

“My energetic all-boys team really challenged me,” Zach says. “I was tired at the end, but grateful to see how their spirits softened as they answered the call to serve Jesus.”

These outreach opportunities help students catch a vision of service. Claire says seeing young people experience the incredible joy and love that comes from working with children is gratifying.

The team at Oklahoma Academy will continue to promote children’s ministry outreach. And the programs designed to keep the children’s attention and engage them in powerful, Spirit-led ways often change the lives of students as well.

by Stephanie Brown

Touching Lives

Stephanie Brown graduated from Oklahoma Academy. For more information, visit www.oklahomaacademy.org.

To the Leastof These

*Name changed

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Broken homes and ruined marriages may have been rare 100 years ago,

but the divorce rate is on the rise, even within the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The picturesque wedding day soon fades into the realities of raising a family and dealing with other stresses.

Through sessions designed especially for couples, Fundacion Nuevo Amanecer, an OCI member ministry in Colombia, is helping people build stronger emotional connections with each other and with Christ. For almost 30 years it has trained young missionaries in comprehensive health evangelism. The team believes God uses His simple methods to soften hardened hearts, and these enable them to target a different area of evangelism, the home.

Earlier this year, the ministry hosted its first group, five couples from Margarita Island, Venezuela. Of the individuals who attended, seven were Adventist. Among them was a couple named Victor and Gladys. Owners of a

by Pilar Henao

Touching Lives

Pilar Henao works at Fundacion Nuevo Amanecer in Colombia. To learn more, visit www.outpostcenters.org.

Second Chanceat Love

school on the island, they brought the rest of the group to the lifestyle center.

Dynamic seminars and fervent prayers empowered the ministry to positively impact the couples’ relationships. One husband and wife, Francisco and Maria Rita, expressed appreciation for the experience and a desire to make serious decisions for Christ. During a ceremony to renew marriage vows, another man, Juan, shared that before the program he had decided to separate from his wife. However, God used the retreat to impress him to stay with her.

Since then, the team has hosted other sessions and is satisfied to see homes mended as people put Christ back into their marriages. The ministry is thankful for the privilege God has given them to do His work, continuing to use various forms of evangelism to promote health and healing—and a second chance at love.

Above: Fundacion Nuevo Amanecer helps couples reconnect with each other and with God.Below: Couples renew their marriage vows.

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For more than 60 years, Ukraine was part of the former Soviet Union.

Its rich farmlands and resilient people have weathered a sometimes-turbulent history. Today, Our Home Lifestyle Center & School is working closely with the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Eastern Europe to spread the health message; whether training pastors or treating guests at its lifestyle center, the ministry has embraced its mission.

The idea for Our Home was conceived nearly 15 years ago. Anna Slepenchuk, a dentist and conference health ministries director, had dreamed and prayed about starting a medical missionary training school in Ukraine.

In 1999 she and Charles Cleveland,

Pastors and church members in Ukraine are absorbing the Adventist health message through Our Home Lifestyle Center & School.

by Alexey Ostapenco

EmbracingMissionthe

a pastor and now director of Health Education Resources, organized a training course in a rented Ukrainian church. The course was aimed at providing people with the knowledge and skills to do medical missionary work and to be able to share this knowledge with their local churches, family, and friends. This led to the establishment of Our Home as a permanent school.

In 2002, Anna and her small team also opened a lifestyle center that accommodated 16 guests. Now they hold 25 programs a year with as many as 50 guests each session. About 50 percent of their guests are non-Adventist.

Because of its high standard for education and treatment, Our Home has

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been instrumental in helping start other health ministries in Eastern Europe. Serving as a “mother” institution for many projects and individuals, its annual camp meeting draws several hundred lay missionaries and teams from various sister health institutions, as well as pastors and conference administrators.

Through the years Our Home has developed a close relationship with the Ukrainian Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. In 2010, Anna offered an intensive two-week medical missionary training course for pastors from Ukraine and Russia. Since then, seven courses have been conducted with more than 100 graduates. Two Russian conferences sent all of their pastors and leaders to take the course, and one now plans to start 15 treatment rooms in connection with its church buildings.

Many participants were surprised at the usefulness of what they learned. The training changed their attitude toward the health message, helping them to gain a vision for health evangelism and to grasp the meaning of the Adventist health message in connection with

the gospel, both for personal spiritual growth and as an outreach to others.

When Our Home began, the small team never dreamed that God would provide so many opportunities for outreach. The ministry currently

receives many requests from lay people, as well as church leaders, who are interested in starting a health ministry. One of its latest projects is the production of cooking classes for the Hope Channel in Russian.

The team believes that health and evangelism should be presented together by a united effort of church members and pastors. Through much prayer for revival and reformation, Our Home believes God will move in a special way to train medical missionaries to start health centers and other health ministries to finish the proclamation of the Three Angels’ Messages and to prepare the world for Christ’s second coming.

Mission Snapshot

EmbracingMission

Above: Visiters receive massages during a health expo.Below: Lifestyle guests gain a better understanding of living healthfully during a session.

Alexey Ostapenco works at Our Home Lifestyle Center & School in Ukraine. For more information, visit www.outpostcenters.org.

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Russian Penicillin DrinkMary Fisher, Wildwood Lifestyle Center & Hospital, USA

A boost to the immune system and useful with acute infections, especially respiratory.

Ingredients:1-2 lemons, depending on size2-4 medium garlic clovesPinch of salt (optional)2 cups of water

Directions:Blend all of the ingredients until

smooth. Add an additional 2 cups of water to make a quart, and drink throughout the day.

Onion Cough SyrupMarty Brown, Mount Akagi Institute, Japan

Directions: 1. Peel and chop one medium

onion and place it in a saucepan. 2. Pour enough honey into the pan

to cover the onion. 3. Cook the onion and honey on

low to medium heat until the onion becomes clear.

4. Pour the contents of the pan through a strainer.

5. Add the juice of one lemon to the liquid.

6. Pour this into a bottle or jar and store it in the refrigerator.

Take one teaspoon as needed.

Treat& Prevent

Simple Remedies You Can Use at

Home

The shrill buzzing of your alarm clock forces you from the warmth of your bed. With little time to spare, you rush through your morning routine. Then

it hits you, that prickly, dry ache in your throat. Or maybe it’s a pain in your stomach. Either way, you know you’re getting sick, and you can’t afford to let it keep you down.

As fall’s chill permeates the air, we bundle up everything except our immune system, leaving our bodies susceptible to sickness. Here are a few helpful tips from OCI ministries that will help you treat and beat* some common illnesses, and they’re simple to do at home.

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Health Tips

A Clove a Day May Help Keep the Doctor AwayMichelle Lesher Black Hills Health & Education Center, USA

Garlic is widely recognized to have positive effects on heart health by lowering high cholesterol and blood pressure and helping prevent blood clots. It contains antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, and antiviral compounds, as well as properties that increase mucus clearing and perspiration to support the body’s natural detoxification systems. Garlic may also support the growth of beneficial bacteria in the intestinal tract, thereby enhancing digestion and absorption of nutrients.

To maximize its potentially beneficial compounds, raw garlic should be crushed and left to sit for at least 10-15 minutes before it is eaten.

Chia Seeds: Super Food of the AncientsCynthia Bonas, Living Springs Retreat, USA

Chia seeds have been valued for centuries. Hundreds of years before Chia Pets became popular, the Aztecs cultivated these seeds for their nutritional qualities. Indigenous to Mexico and parts of South America, chia seeds are making a comeback. Recent studies suggest the Aztecs might have been on to something.

According to research by The University of Maryland Medical Center, chia seed may play a significant role in healthy brain function, as well as lowering the risk of cancer, heart disease, and arthritis.

Chia seeds also contain more protein, lipids, energy, and fiber—but fewer carbs—than rice, barley, oats, wheat, or corn. They are an excellent source of calcium, magnesium, iron, and other minerals. Chia seed oil offers the highest omega-3 fatty acid content available from plants.

Dry chia seeds can be ground and sprinkled on salads, or made into a gel to add to smoothies or milk. They can also be added to baked goods.

Directions to make chia gel: 1. Put 1 Tbsp. chia seeds in a jar

with a lid.2. Add 3/4 cup water and shake.3. Let sit for 15 minutes.

*Please consult your healthcare provider if you are experiencing serious health problems.

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Ben Brown and his family runs Eden’s Pathway LifeStyle Center in Tennessee. Find out more at www.edenspathwayhome.com.

by Ben Brown

Food for Thought

Have you ever noticed how little things can have a big effect on

the lives of others and yourself? This summer I got a call from a

lady in Brooklyn, New York, named Sonia. Her doctor had diagnosed her with the beginning stages of type 2 diabetes. While getting her perscription filled, another customer overheard Sonia say that she didn’t want to take prescription drugs the rest of her life. He suggested that she call Eden’s Pathway LifeStyle Center in Reliance, Tennessee, to discuss natural treatment options.

When Sonia returned home that evening, she looked up our ministry and contacted me. We discussed her current lifestyle and the basic priciples of health. She decided to order a couple of products I suggested and asked if her daughter could pay for them the next day. Before we finished our conversation, I asked if I could pray with her, and she said yes.

The next morning I received a call from Sonia’s daughter, Stacey, to pay for the items that her mother purchased. She asked me for instructions for her

mother, but I was not prepared for her next question.

“I understand that you prayed with my mother yesterday,” Stacey said.

I quickly prayed for guidance to know how to respond. I answered slowly, worried that Stacey might be upset that I prayed with her mother.

“I generally make it a habit to ask everyone who calls if I can have prayer with them,” I told her. “I asked your mother, and she said yes.”

I waited for her response. “Can you pray for

me?” Stacey said. “I need prayer.”

I was relieved and overjoyed by her request. A quote flashed through my mind: “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much” (Luke 16:10).

What if I had not been faithful in asking to pray with Sonia? Would I have been able to witness to her daughter Stacey? Never forget, it is often the little things that have the biggest effect on those you come in contact with.

Faithful inLittle Things

“He who is faithful in what is least is faithful

also in much.”- Luke 16:10

Service Opportunities

If you have a desire to serve God, prayerfully consider one of the

following ways to get involved.

Advent Home Learning Center, USA Resident Care Staff CounselorsManagers & SupervisorsIT Specialist

DayStar Adventist Academy, USA Music Teacher

Heritage Academy, USAAuto Mechanic

Mission Projects Inc. (La Loma Luz Adventist Hospital), Belize

Surgeon Internist

Oak Haven, USA Delivery DriverWarehouse WorkerShipping/Receiving

Restore a Child, USA Online Volunteers Coordinator

The Hope of Survivors, USADevelopment Director

Ministry of Need

Service Openings Events

View the complete list atwww.outpostcenters.org.

Holiday Dishes Wrapped With Love When: November 20, 2011 Where: Oak Haven, USA Contact: 269-236-5011 Website: www.clnf.org

OCI Leadership Retreat When: April 2 - 8, 2012 Where: Cohutta Springs, GA Contact: info@outpostcenters.org Website: www.outpostcenters.org/retreat

2012 OCI Mission Trips Trip 1 When: March 2 - 11, 2012 Where: Vida Internacional, Honduras

Trip 2 When: June 4 - 17, 2012 Where: Peru Projects, Peru

Contact: hannah@outpostcenters.org Website: www.outpostcenters.org/missiontrip

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