OCI Ministries

Volunteers join VitaSalus, restoring old buildings to bring a new start to Portugal, p. 10

Vision and Restoration

Latest News From: Zambia, Portugal, USA and More . . .

Vol. 12, No. 2

Summer 2010

News From Around the World

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As the name implies, Vida Internacional is constantly

buzzing with life. Guests come and go, leaving us with tidbits of wisdom or taking the Vida experience with them. Our Pathfinder club is constantly organizing outreach and activities. Students continually seek opportunities to share a message of hope with all who will listen. Dental clinics, health expos, concerts, and camping trips combine to keep life full and abundant for all who dwell on our campus.

Sharing the message of an abundant and healthful life is also a way for us to reach out to our community. Recently we held a health expo at the local high school where nearly 150 students learned about the NEWSTART® principles. Those who missed the expo still got to hear the message during a concert at the beginning of June. Jennifer Jill and

by Naomi Jackson

For more information about Vida Internacional, visit www.vidaprojects.org.

Life More Abundant

Alison Schwirzer touched the hearts of their listeners with the melodies of God’s love, and included a song about the eight laws of health.

God is continually blessing Vida, providing us with opportunities to share the lifestyle He designed us to live here on earth, and opening hearts to the message of eternal life with Him in Heaven.

Top: Vida Internacional reaches out to the village of El Suyatal.Above: Several dentists offer their services to the villagers.

5O C I R E P O R T S

Markus Jaudas Executive Editor Janell Hullquist Editor, Layout &

DesignCheryl Torres Supporting EditorDebbie Hicks Copy EditorPrinted By College Press LLC

OCI Reports magazine is published quarterly by Outpost Centers Inter-national. Please send all changes of address to: OCI Reports, 5340 Layton

Lane, Apison, TN 37302. Please include the old address along with the new. Tel: 423-236-5600. Fax: 423-236-5650. E-mail: ocireports@ outpostcenters.org

Outpost Centers International is D�QRQSURÀW�RUJDQL]DWLRQ�ZRUNLQJ�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. Please send all correspondence to: Outpost Centers International, 5340

Layton Lane, Apison, TN 37302. Tel: 423-236-5600. E-mail: info@outpostcenters.org. For further information, please visit us on the web at www.outpostcenters.org.

About the Cover: VitaSalus plans to expand its health work through the renovated lifestyle center.

Vol. 12, No. 2 Summer 2010

Copyright © 2010 Outpost Centers International

Editorjanell@outpostcenters.org

President’s Perspective

Traveling the globe is at times an eye-opening experience. While visiting health centers in the south

of China, we stopped at a tiny church on the outskirts of a small city. It was obvious that the congregation was not affluent. Chairs and benches of all colors and styles were spread throughout. I saw nothing beautiful or attractive.

A lady in her fifties showed us around and assigned each of us a Sabbath school room in which to stay. A bed—with no mattress—and a single stool gave little contrast to the cold gray walls and floor.

The next morning the breakfast table was full of delicious food, prepared in the hallway of the church, which served as kitchen, dining room, and living room.

Then followed her story:Months ago she had read a copy of the book Ministry

of Healing and lost her inner peace.She approached the church board and asked to use

the four Sabbath school rooms as a small health center where she could treat suffering people and stay with them. Overjoyed when they granted her request, she quit her job, prepared the rooms, and started giving treatments according to the instructions in the book. Her face beamed and her eyes sparkled as she shared the many miracles God had done for her “patients.” She had found her peace again.

Suddenly the chairs, the benches, the unfriendly rooms, and the beds with no mattresses lost their ugliness. Through this lady, the unattractive church had become the most beautiful place on earth. God himself was dwelling there.

ChineseHero

May God dwell within us today!

Markus JaudasPresident

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How do your personalities complement each other?

Rumiko I really appreciate that Don never gives up on Japan. Most Japanese people don’t know the real Christ. All they know is Christmas because it’s just a party. We have a ODUJH�PLGGOH�FODVV��DQG�LW·V�GLIÀFXOW�WR�reach out to them and to break through the customs and culture.

Don I have a burden for the people of Japan because they seem to have such a great need but don’t realize it. It would be easy to give up and go to a place that appreciates us more and where there are faster results. You

How did you become involved with the work in Asia?

Don 0\�ÀUVW�LQWHUHVW�KDV�DOZD\V�been South America because I grew up there; however, the need came up in Japan, where I worked from ’78 to ’82, and I’ve continued to be interested in and supportive of Mount Akagi Institute. I was on the board and traveled back and forth.

Then Rumiko and I were married, and we had a natural interest in working together for Japan and strengthening the work at Mount Akagi. When OCI DVNHG�PH�WR�EH�ÀHOG�YLFH�SUHVLGHQW�IRU�$VLD��LW�ÀW�QDWXUDOO\�LQWR�RXU�ZRUN�

by Hannah Kuntz

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Don and Rumiko Johnson come from opposite sides of the globe. Rumiko is Japanese and the only Seventh-day Adventist in her family, while Don has been involved in self-supporting work for more than 40 years. The couple married in 2006. Since then they have been serving together in ministry, especially with Mount Akagi Institute in Japan, one of the PLQLVWULHV�'RQ�ZRUNV�ZLWK�DV�WKH�2&,�ÀHOG�YLFH�SUHVLGHQW�RI�$VLD��

7O C I R E P O R T S

Insights

Don and Rumiko Johnson are dedicated to serving God wherever He leads them.

pay dearly for every inch of ground you gain, and that tenacity of hanging on, even when we can hardly see the results, is what keeps me going back.

Rumiko complements that very nicely with her soft and gentle approach to her people. She helps me understand the culture and the inner feelings and concerns that the people have, including our own workers and students. She has been an invaluable aid to me. I would have a really hard time integrating with the Japanese culture and helping our missionaries.

What are some of the struggles at Mount Akagi?

Don�:H�FXUUHQWO\�IDFH�D�ÀQDQFLDO�struggle. Because Mount Akagi has been there for some time, the potential for donor interest in supporting the work is not as great as when the project was new and exciting. About $50,000 is still needed to make the lifestyle center representative enough to start taking in guests.

What are the most rewarding aspects of your work?

Don The biggest blessing is to see that the young people we’ve had a part in training are getting into the Lord’s ZRUN��$QRWKHU�VLJQLÀFDQW�UHZDUG�LV�KRZ�the Lord uses us in spite of our human frailty. I often get frustrated knowing the problems I’m going to face and not having any solutions or answers to

WKHP��EXW�LW·V�DPD]LQJ�KRZ�WKLQJV�ÀW�into place with God’s leading.

What are your future ministry goals?

Rumiko I can see that God waited for the right time. Originally Mount Akagi wanted to start a lifestyle program, but at that time there were QR�SHUVRQQHO�VSHFLÀFDOO\�WUDLQHG�IRU�WKDW�OLQH�RI�ZRUN��7KLV�LV�WKH�ÀUVW�WLPH�that Mount Akagi has been equipped to do this. It’s a great opportunity.

Don I’m looking forward to helping OCI grow stronger in Asia and to be better represented in that part of the world.

Part of being able to do that successfully is having a solid home base to come back to. We feel it’s providential how the Lord allowed us to purchase our own piece of property in Tennessee where we can have a place to come back to between trips and assignments.

Rumiko In the future we want to offer our home to self-supporting workers who are burnt out as a place to rest.

Rumiko’s gentle nature aids in her ministry work.

Don helps network and encourage ministries in Japan, Korea, and China.

I was baptized just three months before starting my Bible worker

training at Eastward Missionary College. Having just finished the baptismal studies, I thought I knew all about serving God. I quickly realized just how much I still had to learn!

Patient teachers helped me understand the close connection between character development, health, and spiritual growth. I was called to make some serious and essential decisions in all of these areas.

My experience at Eastward was revolutionary and has shaped my philosophies for life. The learning style is “altogether different” from that of the education centers of the world, and it sets Eastward apart. In

David Brown graduated from Eastward Missionary College in 2009. For more information, visitwww.eastward.edu.au.

by David Brown

addition to equipping me to be a soul winner by God’s grace, my training inspired me to start on a lifelong process of education.

The learning did not stop when we left the classroom. Students, teachers, and staff studied, prayed, and worked together. We became a family, continually seeking to edify each other. And though we parted after graduation, we continue to lift each other up in prayer as we put our training to use.

I am now working for my local church as a Bible worker and seeing powerful results from the combination of the health and gospel messages—especially when knocking on doors.

Ultimately, this is what Eastward taught me: “To reach the people, wherever they are, and whatever their position or condition, and to help them in every way possible— this is true ministry. By such effort you may win hearts and open a door of access to perishing souls” (Ministry of Healing, p.156).

In the Field

Forever Changed

David’s life was forever changed at Eastward Missionary Collge.

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TKH�FRIÀQ�OHG�WKH�SURFHVVLRQ�toward the Great Commission

Project. Resting on the shoulders of the deceased’s family members, it was guiding them to his murderer.

In Zambia, witchcraft is a reality, and it is used to kill people—and to discover their murderers. The local judge was using this to his advantage. When the Great Commission came to the area, the judge had helped the ministry find a piece of land. But then he expected the Great Commission team to return the favor and purchase materials for his house. Angry that they had not done this, he went to the local witch doctor for help.

Using charms, the judge killed a man in the community who suspected his motives. During the funeral, the man’s coffin was hoisted onto his family’s shoulders. They were angry and wanted to know who had killed him. The witch doctor helped the judge direct the coffin to the Great Commission team, but as the coffin neared their property, a church member who was at the funeral sent a warning. The team knelt down and prayed together.

As the procession reached the entrance, the coffin suddenly stopped. It began spinning, as though lost. The

Meiring Pretorius is the evangelism coordinator at Riverside Farm Institute in Zambia, which works with the Great Commission Project.

by Meiring Pretorius

In the Field

Judging theJudge

The Great Commission team (above) is reaching people for Christ, despite direct attacks.

judge, still unsuspected, watched with the others.

After a moment, the coffin steadied and led the group directly to the judge’s village. Arriving, it began knocking against his head. He fell, and the coffin was placed on top of him. Suddenly, it became too heavy to lift. The judge was pinned down.

Seeing that he was trapped, the judge confessed everything. As soon as he finished, the coffin became light again, and its bearers could lift it off of him.

The devil has a strong foothold in many parts of the world, but even in this little town in Zambia, where people cast spells and take advice from witch doctors, God is stronger. Praise the Lord for his power and protection, and praise Him for the work He is doing through the Great Commission Project.

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from the United States. Part of a larger Maranatha mission group of 28, we had come to work on the wellness center at VitaSalus—the first Adventist institution of its kind in Portugal and all of Southwestern Europe.

Before we climbed off the bus, a group of people, including Drs. Virato and Marianne Ferreira and Kim and Joyce Busl, came out to welcome us. As we settled in, we had the opportunity to learn about the ministry that would be our home for the next several weeks.

by Wendy Hamilton

As we rounded the last steep corner, two stone buildings rose

before us, guarding the entrance to our destination. They seemed to have been abandoned for centuries. Further in, an impressive three-story house towered over us. It also showed signs of neglect, as did a long building to our left. But directly before us, welcoming lights shone out the windows of the only occupied building. Three arches graced the front, and we sighed gladly as our bus turned in to park. We had arrived.

Our group had just flown to Portugal

Through its renovated lifestyle center, VitaSalus will be able to reach even more people in Portugal with the health message.

andRestorationVision

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Spotlight on Mission

Wendy Hamilton recently worked with VitaSalus as a Maranatha volunteer. Visit www.medicinapreventiva.pt to learn more about this ministry.

Over the last few years, Viriato and Pastor Daniel Bastos had teamed up and organized many health expos throughout Europe. The response was overwhelming, and they committed to starting a facility where they could treat patients, teach lifestyle changes, provide medical care, and offer health evangelism training.

In 2002 the Ferreiras opened a small outpatient medical clinic in Lisbon. Simultaneously, they began a prayerful search for property on which to establish a wellness center. The Lord led them to this abandoned 23-acre property, and in 2007 they purchased it well below cost.

Kim (former OCI president) and Joyce moved from the United States to join the team in the fall of 2008. They live on the property, working hard to get the place in shape so that the center can open this fall. The buildings will not be finished, but the team is eager to begin training young people and holding lifestyle sessions.

Maranatha caught the vision, and in May 2009 it sent the first team to help with the process of restoring

the old buildings. Laurelwood and Loma Linda Academies, as well as other mission groups, have also traveled to Portugal to help. This April and May, Maranatha sent two more teams, back-to-back, to continue the progress. And it has been a blessing for me to serve and to be a part of this vision.

We have labored together in the cold and heat. We have extracted stones, painted walls, broken through cement, hung sheetrock, watered gardens, and pulled weeds. We have become a family in these short weeks, living, eating, fellowshipping, and working together. Even walking across the courtyard to the bathroom at night is a blessing, for the starry expanse reminds us of the Lord’s tender mercies for each one of us.

Come and participate in a project that will make a difference for eternity. Every stone touched or nail driven brings the project that much closer to its goal: to be a light shining in the darkness, to make a difference in one life and pass it on. Join hands with VitaSalus as it shines the light of the gospel across Europe!The VitaSalus team works tirelessly in order

to open the new center by this fall.

Each volunteer team brings the center one step closer to opening.

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Bill and Gayle Clark had been fostering troubled children for

nearly 17 years when the Mountain View Conference approached them. In the fall of 1987, Herb Broeckel, conference president, and Larry Carter, superintendent of education, asked the Clarks if they would open a facility for at-risk Adventist young people. The conference employees had seen how God used the Clarks to transform the youths living with them. Both men believed the Adventist Church needed an educational facility where children and teenagers could be skillfully guided and spiritually inspired without fear of expulsion.

The Clarks gathered their three daughters and their three adopted

Miracle Meadows School has been helping at-risk students for more than 20 years.

Miraclesby Jaymie Pottinger Every Day

children for discussion and prayer. Each of their lives would be permanently affected. Their home would no longer be their own. The financial risk of leaving secure jobs (Bill was an ordained minister and Gayle a professor of nursing) to start such a high-risk ministry would impact their lives.

After weeks of considering the idea and laying their concerns at Jesus’ feet, one daughter summed up their decision: “This is God’s call. It’s what our family does.”

August 1988 was set as the official opening date, but by February, word had spread and young people were already coming into their home. Miracle Meadows School (MMS) was established and soon recognized by the

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Spotlight on Mission

Jaymie Pottinger works at Miracle Meadows School. To learn more about this OCI member ministry, visit www.miraclemeadows.com.

State of West Virginia as an Adventist alternative school. While students are often enrolled in special education courses, this alternative school is designed to assist at-risk elementary and secondary students in making positive choices.

For 22 years, MMS has helped hundreds of elementary and secondary students with problems like defiance, dishonesty, use of addicting substances, failure in school, attachment disorders, rage, sexual issues, gang involvement, discouragement, and spiritual rebellion. The greatest joy is in seeing these talented youth turn their lives over to God and go on to positive service.

MMS accepts 45 students each year and often has a waiting list. More than 30 mission-minded staff minister to the students, and it is a challenging but deeply rewarding work. Those familiar with the school, including parents and staff, often describe it as a place where miracles happen every day.

In 2009, MMS opened a transitional program on the campus of Mountain State Academy (MSA), 30 minutes

from the main campus. Secondary students who have reached the trust-building stage transfer to this program, which provides the young people with more opportunities to build trust and demonstrate self-control. Students participate in missions, community service, horsemanship, and video production. After completing at least one semester at MSA, students may choose to continue there or transfer to a mainstream academy or high school.

The aim at MSA is to encourage, educate, and empower young people to become positive leaders and role models. Formerly at-risk students are changing their lives, giving up maladaptive behaviors, and solidifying these positive changes. The family-like environment fosters this growth as students get ready to re-enter and make an impact on the “real world.”

Above: At-risk young people are encouraged to turn their energies to praising God.Left: Mission trips give students the opportunity to step back from their own problems and help someone else.

A low teacher-to-student ratio improves the education at Miracle Meadows School.

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Food for Thought - From Our Board

Do It Yourself?

by Raymond Dewar

Do-it-yourself projects have long been a part of my life. Over

the years, I have completed several renovation and building projects, learning as I went.

Today we have access to information on almost any topic. Pick a project, and you can do a Google search for instructions or look on YouTube for a step-by-step video.

And how often do we apply this methodology to our Christian experience? DIY religion is not a new concept; the children of Israel expressed it when presented with God’s commands. Their reply was a classic “All that the Lord has spoken we will do” (Exodus 19:8, NKJV).

There is something for us to do; don’t let me be misunderstood. We need to receive Jesus into our hearts through the gift of His Spirit. When this takes place, “the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the

Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Our righteous works are in actuality the righteousness of the Spirit of God being performed in us and through us.

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints

what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:17-19).

May our reply be instead: “Without

you, God, I can do nothing. Please work in me Your perfect will, fill me with Your Spirit, and bring into my life the fullness of God.”

Raymond Dewar lives in Ethridge, Tennessee, where he and his family run Harmony Hills Farm. Raymond also serves on the OCI Board.

Without you, God, I can do nothing. Please work in me Your perfect will, fill me with Your Spirit, and bring into my life the fullness of God.

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Ministry of Need

Centro Misionero de Salud needs $7,000 to purchase a cargo van for their wholesome foods distribution.

Health Education Resources needs $3,200 to produce high-quality health expo materials in three Indian languages.

Mount Akagi Institute needs $50,000 to repair, renovate, and reopen the lifestyle center.

VitaSalus needs $72,500 to complete the first stage of construction and open their new lifestyle center and consulting rooms.

Oklahoma Academy needs $15,000 for an outreach and activity van and $50,000 for a Cessna 172M to be used for the mission flight program.

Living Springs Overseas Mission needs $58,000 to establish a health food factory in India, enabling the ministry to share the health message and be more self-supporting.

Opportunities With OCIGod provides for His work, and He gives you the opportunity to help.

Please pray for the ongoing work at OCI ministries.

Service Openings

COMPLETE LIST @www.outpostcenters.org

Funds NeededCedarvale Health & Lifestyle Retreat, Australia

General Manager

Center of Health and Preventive Medicine, Moldova

Physician

Centro Misionero de Salud, MexicoEnglish Teachers (Volunteer)Maintenance Person (Volunteer)

Congo Frontline Missions, CongoRadio Station ManagerFarm Manager

Cross to Crown International, NicaraguaMission/Radio Director

Living Springs Overseas Missions, IndiaHealth Food Factory ManagerGirls’ Dean

Oklahoma Academy, USACafeteria ManagerFlight/Mechanics Instructor

The Hope of Survivors, USAPublic Relations Specialist (Volunteer)

The Turning Point Foundation, SwedenAssistant to the Leader

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