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Denver, Colorado… Summer 2019 were full of witnessing activities for twenty college and high school students working as literature evangelists in the Denver area and Wyoming.

“Their success could be measured in many ways,” explains Matthew Hasty, RMC director for literature ministry. For example, they were responsible for distributing 1,132 copies of the Great Controversy, 997 copies of Christ Object lessons, 803 copies of Bible Readings for the Home, 796 copies of the Ministry of Healing and thousands of copies of Steps to Christ,” he provides the numbers.  The group considers the summer LM program successful as it brought total sales of $133,341, seventy percent of which goes to support our Adventist students attending our schools.

Matthew believes the greatest measurement of success isn’t found in numbers. He cites the Book of Revelation 12:17. “I believe it means what it says. God’s people that live just before He comes will have the testimony of Jesus. These students witnessed Jesus working. They experienced divine appointments that can’t be rationalized off as coincidence. They experienced the struggle that came by sharing their faith,” he comments on the summer canvassing experience of these students.

Matthew adds, “I believe that the twenty students who worked selling and distributing literature, and witnessing what they believe, received much more than a paycheck, they have a testimony of Jesus!  And what good is a testimony unless it’s shared.

As they concluded their canvassing experience, students left with stories they would continue to remember.

Perfect Timing with a Cranky Guy

As I was canvassing someone at a door, I noticed a car pull up behind me. “Great! Divine appointment,” I thought to myself.  After I was done canvassing, I walked back to the car that had pulled up and waved at the driver, hoping that he would roll down his window and talk to me. He looked up at me and yelled loudly, “NO!” As I walked to the next house he got out of his car and said he was having a bad day and told me not to take it personally. I made my way back to his car and asked if I could pray for him. At that moment he put his hands over his face and tried to hold back his tears. Before I prayed for him, he grabbed my hand and asked me to pray for forgiveness. In the end, he even signed up for Bible studies, and I found out that he didn’t even live at the house he was at!  What divine timing God has!

Answered Prayer at Pizza Hut

One morning I was sent to canvas some businesses. Most people aren’t home then, but businesses are open and full of people. One of my favorite places is Pizza Hut. I love canvassing there, because the people are always nice and even if they don’t buy a book, they give me…free food! That morning I started talking to a man and he exclaimed, “You are a Christian!” I affirmed him and asked him how he knew. He shared with me that he had been praying and asked for a Christian to talk to him as his personal and spiritual life was stagnant and he wanted God to give him guidance directly. Then I showed up and he told me I had been an answer to his prayer. Our conversation ended with a sale of The Great Controversy, Bible Readings for the Home, Christ Object Lessons, Steps to Christ and the Desire of Ages!

The Gift of Hands for the Deaf

I approached a middle aged women and began to canvas. She interrupts me, and starts using sign language. She signed, “I’m sorry but I am deaf.”  Well, I actually know sign language. I started canvassing using a sign language, and asked her if she is religious. She opened up telling me that she was Catholic when she was a kid. Now, she was going between religions trying to find out the truth. I asked if I could to pray with her. This encounter ended up leaving her with Christ Object Lessons and the Desire of Ages. God sent me there knowing I was the only person in our team who knew sign language!

 Former Seventh-day Adventist Returns

This particular day I was struggling to connect with people and the rejection was pulling me down. I was praying, but I couldn’t feel God answering my prayer. I kept asking God if he could give me a divine appointment where I could show His love. I told God that I did not want to go and tell people about the “rules of my church.” I really wanted to share the love of God.

I knocked on a door. A man answered and I began with asking him if he is religious. To my surprise, he told me growing up as Seventh-day Adventist. He left the church because he felt church members were “so judgmental.” He said that all they cared about was the Sabbath and Ellen G. White. He then proceeded to tell me that two years ago his wife developed cancer, and he thought it was because God was mad at him for leaving the church. Even still, he started to get back into prayer. The more he prayed the better his wife got, and he knew God was trying to tell him something.

I decided to share my story, and emphasize that we need to focus on the love and relationship with God. “I am a Seventh-day Adventist,” I told him, but I also agreed with him about all of the rules and judgmental stuff, but that negative people in church shouldn’t keep us from going to church.  He ended up buying all of my books and we prayed together.

When we finished, he told me, “God sent you here.” He said that God sent me to encourage him to go back to church, and he was going to give his relationship with God another try.

The Sneaky Walgreens Visit

Some businesses can be easy to canvas while others can be a bit more difficult because they’re really strict about not buying anything while working. That’s how it was at Walgreens, but I went in anyways because God’s work should still be done even if it makes us uncomfortable. People need to hear the gospel. I walked up to a worker, who seems to be in her 50’s, at the counter and begin to canvas at her. She starts to tear up and shares that her husband just died and she was asking God why. How could she find peace in this situation? We continue talking and said if another worker comes up to just pretend I’m a customer. She ended up buying Christ Object Lessons and the Desire of Ages because she felt like God wanted to speak to her through those books.

Books for a new Church Plant

As I was walking down the street, I saw a lady getting ready to leave her house. I quickly approached her and started canvassing. I found out that she had recently become a Christian and was church planting in Denver. She bought all the devotionals and said that she would share them with other churches. Before I left, she told me that she didn’t live in the house that we were at. She was only there for 1 hour and was getting ready to leave. At the exact same moment, we both said “This was a divine appointment!”

Fighting Couple

That day I was canvassing a small cul-de-sac, and the whole time I could hear a couple yelling, slamming doors, and fighting loudly. When I got to their door, the man was getting into his truck to drive away. I stopped at his car window before he could drive away, and I was surprised that he gave me a lot of time to have a conversation. I asked him what he liked to read about, and he said “Oh, I’m a hardcore Christian.” I told him that I was one, too, and “I even have Christian books!” I told him. He got really excited and wanted to help me. When he pulled out a donation, he said his wife had him on a really tight rope so it was a good thing I talked to him and not her. If I hadn’t had gotten there right when I did, I might not have been able to talk to him. Or he might not have been ready to hear about what I was doing. God brought me to a Christian man who needed something peaceful in his day.

Those Who Are Searching, Are Found

On one of the last days of the satellite weeks, I was having a slow day. It had probably been three hours since I got any donations or books. My leader and I were canvassing together and eventually had to leave. Before he left he told me to cross over to the other side of the street right where I was. The lady who answered the door was covered in tattoos and smoking a cigarette, so I didn’t expect much. I recommended to her The Desire of Ages and she stopped me as soon as I mentioned it was Christian. She said, “Don’t tell me anything else, I absolutely need this book”. She explained to me that two of her family members burned to death in a house fire just days ago, and her family doesn’t have a faith in Christ. She believed I was sent by God to reach her entire family through this crisis.

If you’d like to support our youth going door to door or get some literature to share for yourself visit out website:    https://www.rockymountainliteratureministries.com

—Matthew Hasty, text and photos

Colorado Springs, Colorado… Every second Wednesday of each month, since April, 2019, a “Silver Ladies” program attracts retired women at the Colorado Springs Central Church. Aleene Mills and Betty Biggs who lead the gatherings “have the experience, passion, and enthusiasm to lead such a group,” comments Marcia Armstead, assistant for pastoral care.

Since April, Aleene and Betty have combined their intellect in blessing senior citizens of Central church and community. They have conducted and facilitated seminars on physical exercise, nutrition, strokes, and dementia, as well as increasing awareness and promoting a healthier lifestyle. Referred to as a new ministry at the Central church, both women display knowledge and experience in providing leadership to this venture.

Aleene Schaeffer Mills, who started college education when she was only 15 years-old, today holds a Doctorate in Education, Master of Education, and a Bachelor of Education degrees. For over 40 years she has taught at schools in Nebraska to include 19 years in the Education Department at Union College. She has also served as an academy principal in the Mid-America Union Conference.

Betty Biggs, who assists Aleene in these meetings, is a registered nurse and has two master’s degrees: one in Community Health Nursing and the other in Guidance & Counseling. Her BS degree is in Secondary Education. Betty has taught Nursing at Union College and was co-director of the Nursing Division on Lincoln Campus. She has spent most of her life as a nurse and a teacher and was Director of Nursing at the 100-bed nursing home in Rock Springs, Wyoming 1990-1992.

With the monthly growing attendance and increased interests of women, as well as men, the name of this family life auxiliary has changed from “Silver Ladies” to “Silver Seniors.”

“We are happy that with such an intergenerational congregation at Central there are activities germane to every age,” comments Mike Maldonado, church pastor. The sessions have been offered are not only for church members but for the community-at-large, as well as caregivers.

—Marcia Armstead, text and photos

Loveland, Colorado… Standing at the sidelines of a Campion Academy soccer game it is easy to notice two things. The first is how well this team knows and enjoys the game, and the second is how different they look from the teams that they play in Northern Colorado. The Campion soccer team is very diverse, with people from all backgrounds and ethnicities such as Latinos, Asian-Americans and international students from places like Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo. With so much diversity comes many languages including English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish.

One would think that with so many different languages there would be a lot of confusion, but that is not the case. “Some of the newer Brazilians don’t really understand English that well, but if you try to explain it, it will be easier (for them) to get it,” Jeremy Matondo, an international student from the Democratic Republic of Congo and a captain on the team, explained.

“There are not many miscommunications. It’s kind of funny, for the people who don’t understand English as well, the people that can speak their language will explain it to them when Mr. O is talking,” Grant Velbis added.

Even their coach, Randy Ottschofski, speaks a different language, naming many of his plays after German words and names including Mueller, kimmich, and angriff, which means attack. Erick Maldonado, a captain on the team said, “He’ll call it out and yell, ‘Go Kimmich, go Kimmich!’”

“Then everybody will go Kimmich, it’s like a chain reaction,” Caleb Wehling added.

All of this diversity on the soccer team has only enriched the game for the players. “It’s cool how all of us, even though we’re from different backgrounds and speak different languages, have been able to work together really well and we’ve had a really good season this year,” Velbis said.

The Campion soccer team just finished their regular season undefeated 9-0 and 1, and it is safe to say that one reason for their success is that they have been able to benefit from everyone’s unique view of the game. The team is heading into their final tournament of the year at Union College this week.

“It’s fun to play with people from a different background. They have different ways to play the game and a different understanding of the game and it’s such a nice thing to do with them, to play with people who are not from where you are from, and it just brings you closer,” Matondo explained, “Sometimes we don’t talk to each other in the dorm, and soccer is a way to get closer to each other and be friends.”

Campion’s international program and soccer team have brought people together at Campion because even if the players are very different, they can still enjoy the beautiful game of soccer.

—Ashley Herber, Student Editor; photos supplied

Worland, Wyoming…It has been said that SonShine Academy is our primary method of evangelism in Worland—and recently that outreach was rewarded greatly, by God’s grace. Through the church school, we have multiple students from the community attending with no ties to our church at all. This outreach is making a difference in the lives of students and extending into the family as well.

Robert Robinson began attending SonShine Academy a couple of years ago. Through his enrollment at the school, Annette Treat (teacher) became acquainted with Pamela Robinson, Robert’s grandmother and legal guardian. Pamela began asking questions about what our church believed. Annette shared here faith with her and also put her in touch with Pastor Steve Nelson. Pastor Steve spoke with Pamela on several occasions and provided her with various study and resource materials as she continued to pray and study.

One day, Pamela called to ask if she and her family could be baptized. They had been studying and believed that the Seventh-day Adventist Church taught the same things God had been teaching them. After all, it was her husband, Harmonson Robinson, Jr., who had initially studied and told Pamela they needed to stop eating pork. The couple had been studying the Bible on their own and in multiple study groups for years. God, through His Word, had already taught them many of the biblical teachings the church holds dear.

As Pastor Steve met with the family to go over the baptismal vows and beliefs of the church, it was surprising how well they all—even the children—knew and understood what they believed and why. After approval by the church board to proceed with the baptisms, a date was set.

October 19, 2019, the Worland Seventh-day Adventist Church welcomed these seven new members into its membership and fellowship. It was a day filled with joy unspeakable as it was the culmination of those many years of Bible study and prayer for Pamela and Harmonson Robinson, their daughter Angela and their grandchildren, Robert, Jeremiah, Angelica and Jacob. Pamela, especially, beamed with gladness as she began this new journey of her life with her family by her side. The entire family was baptized in the warm springs pool in Thermopolis.

—Samantha Nelson; text and photos

Mile High Academy hosted it’s first annual Walk-A-Thon on Friday, October 4. Students raised more than $20,000!

The day started with a special chapel on the Mile High Academy Soccer Field led by Mrs. Rebecca Berg. Students and faculty were encouraged to obtain sponsorships either per lap or a flat donation.  More than 30 volunteers and parents helped with the event. Depending on the number of laps completed around the field, students were treated to popcorn, Mile High Academy swag, and popsicles. Volunteers counted approximately 4,700 laps that were completed by PK – 12^th graders. Students were encouraged to not only see who could get the most sponsorships but also see who completed the most laps.

“To have such an overwhelming response for this first Walk-A-Thon speaks volumes about our Mile High Academy family,” says Jocelyn Aalborg, VP of Finance and Development. “We appreciate all the support given so all students have an opportunity to attend Mile High Academy and receive a Christ-centered education.”

—Karrie Meyers; photos supplied

On Friday, October 11, Mile High Academy participated in one of its favorite events of the year – Service Day. A huge thank you to organizer, Upper School Teacher and Chaplain Rebecca Berg and for Centura Health for sponsoring another special event, where the Mile High Academy students have an opportunity to make a difference in the local community.

This year students received a custom-designed, navy blue Service Day t-shirt, designed by MHA Senior CeCe Manning. Encouraging students to “Keep Calm and Service On,” the shirt design included the world held between two hands. The back of the shirt featured the Centura Health logo and the service-encouraging verse, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms (1 Peter 4:10).”

All groups met in the gym for Chapel, where students were encouraged to go out into the community and to “Keep Calm and Service on.” The groups were then given last minute instruction and divided up to provide service for the following organizations:

UPPER SCHOOL

Porter Place Visit

Students started the day making cards and wrapping flowers. They later went to Porter Place, handing out the gifts and spending time with the residents.

Food Bank of the Rockies

Another group of students organized and packed meals for the Food Bank of the Rockies distribution. The team organized more than 345 boxes, 10,350lbs of food and 8,626 meals.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Meals on Wheels

Students went to two different King Soopers locations, asking for food donations. Once they collected their goods, they went to Meals on Wheels to help unpack and sort.

Zuma Rescue Ranch

Zuma Rescue Ranch is a new location this year. An equine education center, students helped clean stalls and learned general care for several rescue horses as well as other farm animals.

Sweet Dreams in a Bag

Middle School  plus 5^th Grade

Students worked together to organize bedding packages. These packages will later be distributed to children in the Foster Care system.

LOWER SCHOOL

Project Angel Heart

Preschool – 4^th Grade:

The Lower School students remained on campus and decorated bags for Project Angel Heart, an organization that prepares and delivers medically tailored meals to people living with life-threatening illnesses. They also wrote cards for our local church pastors.

“When we go out of our way to serve others, we are practicing the very thing Jesus did every day for us. In a way, it brings us closer to the heart of Jesus and who He really is,” said Berg. “When we take time out of our school calendar to make service a priority, we are demonstrating the love that Jesus gives us outward to our community, something we as staff and teachers hope will become a lifelong desire for our students.”

—Karrie Meyers; photos supplied

There is no end to creativity in the Rocky Mountain Conference youth department. Kiefer Dooley, RMC director of youth ministry, introduced their new initiative, an eNewsletter Youth Nuggets. A quick scan of the first edition of Youth Nuggets provides a glimpse into a mosaic of the leadership team’s interest in informing church members about initiatives, providing news about youth activities, upcoming events for club ministries and programs, as well as issues which are a part of youth ministry.

“Thank you for signing up to receive communication from the youth department about the various young-people-related projects, goings on, and happenings within the Rocky Mountain Conference,” he commented.

Frequency of the newsletter was also announced. Kiefer said that at least one issue of Youth Nuggets will be sent out to subscribers per quarter, and no more than one per month. No more, no less, Kiefer states.

“We’re looking forward to sharing the things that we’re doing, the ways that you can be involved, and how we can impact our communities in the lives of young people together. Now, get reading!” Kiefer announced.

The subscription block is at the very bottom of every one of our web pages at rmcyouth.org. For instance, it can be found at the bottom of the following Web  pages: rmcyouth.org and rmcyouth.org/camp and rmcyouth.org/greater-summit and rmcyouth.org/calendar.

—RMCNews; selfies supplied

A training weekend, October 11-13, organized in Denver by the Rocky Mountain Conference Women’s Ministry Department, kicked off with “Give God Your Empty,” by Dr. Heather Thompson Day. Some 50 women from around the RMC attended a program packed weekend.

Congregations in RMC “are blessed to have a godly and talented team including a licensed counselor, the former General Conference director of women’s ministries, a development director who has orchestrated multiple events and raised millions of dollars, a former paramedic who now inspects ambulances, a nurse, an analyst, teachers, and more,“ said DeeAnn Bragaw, RMC women’s ministry director.

On Sabbath the Rocky Mountain Adventist women leadership team provided practical workshops designed to empower women of all ages with tools to grow in their leadership in the local church and beyond. Various workshop such as “Called to Lead a Team,” “Called to Counsel a Friend,” “Called to Speak,” “Called to Lead a Group Bible Study,” “Called to Plan an Event,” and more, were presented.

“This gifted group of women poured into, and prayed over, all the women in attendance,” said DeeAnn.

In addition to training presentations, women brought items to fill a bassinet for Jude’s Bassinet, (see: www.judesbassinet.com), a ministry to help new moms in need. “A lot of pink filled the room as we also took time to focus briefly on breast cancer awareness month,” DeeAnn added. She is inviting interested women to a Dr. Shaunna Siler Nketop’s upcoming breast cancer seminar, October 19, at 2 p.m. at Denver South church.

Women who attended the entire weekend event received level 2 certification of the General Conference Women’s Ministries Leadership Training. Many women expressed interest in another training early next year, and expressed much appreciation for the weekend.

—DeeAnn Bragaw; text and photos

In the second Lay Pastoral Training, October 11-13, thirty-three local church activists gathered in Grand Junction for what will be known as the Grand Junction cohort. The participating group came mainly from the Western Slope. What was significant about this training was that roughly a half of participants were women.

The content was similar to the Denver cohort, as reported in NewsNuggets. “They are very excited, encouraged, and motivated to enter or get more involved in this wonderful work,” said Nate Skaife, pastor of Grand Junction Church, and main lecturer.

Comments about the training express what the weekend provided. Rick Pitt from the Wind River Fellowship congregation said that the event helped him “more clearly how important it is to take responsibility to serve and participate.”

“I am so grateful for this experience to grow in my knowledge of Scripture and to learn to bring others to know Jesus,” commented Jan Watson from Grand Junction. Similarly,

Marti Hartnell also from Grand Junction said that the training “is full of important tools to use.”

For Don Kaner from Alamosa, the training event was “generally, a good experience,” but “we tried to put too much material into the weekend – hence too few personal interactions and not enough prayer.”

The subjects for the next training events will be the topic of the state of the dead belief and biblical preaching, as well as Bible study for depth in the January 31-February 2, 2020 in Denver, and February 7-9, 2020 in Grand Junction

—Rajmund Dabrowski with Nate Skaife; photos by Ron Carrick and Mickey Mallory

Simone Salen was a small child at the time and her father, Israel Goldhirsch put her and her mother into hiding until they could ultimately reach England, where she and her mother were hidden and protected from the Nazi regime.

Simone told her story to an audience of 52 people who assembled at the Cody Seventh-day Adventist Church to hear Holocaust survivor tell the story of her and her family’s desperate attempts, and ultimate success by God’s grace, to escape Vienna, Austria, during the Holocaust of World War II.

Simone’s father, Israel Goldhirsch, did not escape without multiple failed attempts, beatings and near-death experiences. His compelling story is now published in the book, My Father’s Lost Diary.

“Simone has felt called to share her family’s story with all ages in order to continue to educate the public about the horrors of the Holocaust and the anti-Semitism that is still taking place today all over the world, including the United States, and even here in Wyoming,” said Samantah Nelson, who organized Simone Salen’s visit to Cody.

Prior to speaking at the Cody Church Monday evening, Simone spoke at the Cody High School assembly on Friday to a group of 200 students, and again Monday afternoon to the students at SonShine Academy in Worland.

“We are greatly indebted to Simone and other Holocaust survivors for bravely sharing their stories so the past will not be forgotten—or repeated,” commented Samantha Nelson.

—Samantha Nelson; text and photos