Gam-sa-ha-mi-dah, Korea!

Arigato, Japan!

(THANK YOU!!!)

These two countries, as Jesus said of Mary Magdalene, “did what they could.”

“Jeju? Where is this place? Never heard of it before.” Those were the words many were saying. Yes, it is a faraway country for sure! It’s not so well-known in the western hemisphere, but it is well known in Asia - and it is a beautiful island, especially for vacationers. The island is on the very southernmost tip of the coast of South Korea. Jeju is a “Special Self Governing Province,” meaning, a country within the country of South Korea.

Another question that came up often was, Why go to Jeju to hold a General Conference Session? Aren’t there cheaper places around the world where the meetings could be held instead of in the Pacific region? Cheaper and closer places could be found, of course, but there were other reasons. The main one was that for Jeju, being a famous tourist spot in Asia, no visas are required for most countries of the world, and this would definitely facilitate the documentation of many of our delegates coming from the African continent, Eastern Europe, and from some Asian countries as well. Another strong reason was that the brethren from that region needed a spiritual feast too. So to Jeju we all went, and it was worth it! If you did not come, you certainly missed some of the most spiritual meetings of the SDA Reform Movement. There were not thousands of people attending as in past GC Spiritual Conferences, but there was an Upper Room experience to most of those present.

On the way to Jeju, each delegate had a memorable and unique experience. An interesting factor for those coming from the Western Hemisphere was that we never saw night during our flight. With all the layovers and approximately 20 hours of always traveling eastward, there was no sunset, the sun was shining all the way to Seoul. From U.S.A. we left in the afternoon, arrived in Seoul the next day in the evening, and one day was lost in the horizon somewhere . . .! On our way back to U.S., it was the opposite experience, we left in the morning and arrived on the “same day” in the evening. One interesting fact is that the jetlag remained with us for many days after crossing so many time zones, and we figure it must have caused havoc to the circadian rhythm in our bodies - a good excuse for sleeping in.

The Delegation Session was scheduled to begin Wednesday in the early morning of September 19, 2007. The 19 members of the GC Council arrived a few days earlier and were to meet already on Friday in Jeju. Sabbath was a happy time for all, but on Sunday morning, Nari also arrived in Jeju! If you are wondering who Nari was, it was a deadly typhoon. What a time of deep reflection and lots of prayers for the angels to be very near the brethren there! Following is an excerpt from the local newspaper after the storm passed through:

“Typhoon Nari quietly vanished from the Korean peninsula in Monday’s wee morning hours after lashing the country’s southernmost Jeju Island and southwestern regions. At least 20 people are presumed dead or missing after Nari pounded southern areas Sunday accompanied by gusts of up to 150 km an hour.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, Korea’s highest mountain, Halla [in Jeju], saw 556 millimeters of rain on Sunday alone, the highest daily rainfall since Korea began keeping records in 1927. The storm flooded more than 200 households on the island, swept away hundreds of cars, wiped out roads and wrecked ships at anchor.

All ferries and flights to and from the island were suspended on Sunday, and some 20,000 travelers on Jeju were stranded overnight. Limited air traffic only resumed before noon Monday at Jeju International Airport.”

That was precisely when the majority of the delegates were scheduled to arrive. After the frightening Nari experience, approximately 180 delegates were met at different hours of the day and night from three different airports, Seoul, Kimpo or Jeju airports. We must really congratulate our brethren from Korea for their organization in picking up the brethren arriving from all continents and countries of the world. All the delegates had the same experience with the efficiency of the transportation and accommodations.

Wednesday morning, September 19, 2007, at 7 o’clock all the delegates were assembled at the meeting hall for the first morning worship. Bro. Sureshkumar, GC President, welcomed each one with words of encouragement and thankfulness to the Lord for traveling mercies.

On this first Wednesday morning, the rostrum was nicely decorated with the motto of the 20th GC Session, “Go Ye Into All the World.” Then the members of the outgoing administration walked to the rostrum marking the beginning of the session. Soon they would lay down their offices after presenting their reports. The spiritual address was given by Bro. Sureshkumar and he continued, “exactly four years ago today, after the Brazilian conference in 2003, the Lord helped us and we had success in our path. This path was not a bed of roses, but as Samuel in the past set a monument of thankfulness and called it Ebenezer - ‘hitherto hath the Lord helped us’ - this morning I want to say the same, ‘Ebenezer!’ ”

Bro. David Zic, being the GC secretary, came to the podium and called-up the names of each delegate to come forth and present his Credentials, a letter from his country testifying that he was the official representative for the Session. At the same time each delegate received a binder and pen, a souvenir from the Korean Field, as well as a badge with his/her name, number, and country of representation. Everyone had to be scanned at the entrance of the auditorium before voting on any issue. This technology was all set up by the younger generation of the Korean brethren - all homeschoolers - and we could really say that they were very good at what they did. We must congratulate all of them for the success.

The delegates-at-large were called-up first as part of the outgoing administration, then the regional secretaries, followed by the individual countries. During that first morning, not all delegates had arrived due to traveling complications, but as the first days progressed, 179 had arrived. Not all units were able to send their complete delegation which would have made a total of 187, representing 132 countries and a worldwide membership of 32,856 up to December 31, 2006. According to the provisions of the General Conference Bylaws, there was quorum and the session was declared competent to transact business.

All the new missions or units which became operational during the last quadrennium were presented and accepted by the delegation. Next followed the presentation of the reports by each member of the outgoing administration.

According to the provisions of the Bylaws of the General Conference, as soon as the presentation of the reports is ended, the next step is the election of the temporary chairman and secretary for the continuity of the session. The result of the ballots was: Bro. Peter D. Lausevic to be the Temporary Chairman, and Bro. Paul Balbach to be the Temporary Secretary. At this point, all the outgoing administration laid down their offices and responsibilities, and joined the rest of the delegates on the floor, with rights to vote.

Bro. Peter D. Lausevic then began his chairmanship of the session. The first item was to record our corporate thankfulness to the Lord. Brethren from each region gave their Bible verses as follows: Isaiah 25:1; 12:5; Psalms 116:12-14; 117:1, 2; 121:1; 90:16, 17; 48:14; 25:11, 12; Malachi 3:16, 17; Romans 8:28; Hebrews 3:1.

Various committees were formed and worked sometimes late into the night - especially the Nominating Committee. The first nomination was for the office of the president, and Bro. D. Sureshkumar was reelected. Part of his acceptance speech was:

“Beloved brethren, I want to thank the Lord for the confidence that you have placed on me again. With your cooperation I will be faithful to the Lord and try to serve you. I want to read my favorite Bible verse in 2 Timothy 1:12-14, ‘I know whom I have believed. . . .

“How many will cooperate with me, and pray for me and my family?” Was the important question addressed to all delegates.

The two vice presidents were elected, Bro. Davi P. Silva and Bro. Peter D. Lausevic; the secretary Bro. Paul Balbach and the treasurer Bro. Roberto M. Duarte; the regional secretaries came next, and the directors for all the other departments. You can see the complete list of the officers in the following pages.

On the last Sabbath before the delegation ended, we held the Lord’s Supper. The brethren could not remember if this was ever done in the past. For the foot washing of the brethren, a big circle was formed around the swimming pool of the hotel. The staff must have thought our behavior very unusual, as we observed them taking pictures from the windows and terraces. The hymn singing, the foot washing, and our customary form of greeting each other asking for forgiveness, then the distribution of the grape juice, must have caught their attention greatly. The custom in Korea is to greet one another by bowing respectfully in front of the other person, but they were seeing hugs and kisses among the brethren. Interesting that the Spirit of Prophecy mentions this, “Then it was that the synagogue of Satan knew that God had loved us who could wash one another’s feet and salute the brethren with a holy kiss, and they worshiped at our feet” - Early Writings, p. 15.

Bro. Peter D. Lausevic continued bringing very spiritual insights to the delegation before the business session on the subject of the nature of Christ. What an inexhaustible subject! No wonder this theme will be in heaven the study of the redeemed ones for all eternity.

Special prayers were requested as the delegates were in contact with their families and field of labor. Fathers were asking prayers for their firstborn; sick brethren needed comforting words; families in mourning called to give us the sad news about the loss of a loved one; special prayers were specifically requested for some who had left the Reform Movement and joined another organization; and for the delegates present, discernment to make wise resolutions, as this will affect the future of our church.

The Medical Committee brought their report to the delegates and one of their resolutions was to publish a health magazine called Lifesource Health and Wellness which will be available soon. Our people need to be aware of the new discoveries in the realm of natural medicine, thus vindicating the instructions given over 100 years ago to God’s church by the Spirit of Prophecy.

The Plans Committee brought their recommendations and they were very good ones. One of these recommendations if taken seriously by all members would impact the church immensely. The plan is that each member should bring at least one new soul every year to the truth, just about the bare minimum. Yet, how quickly the membership would increase around the globe, and at the next GC Session we would have not 40,000 but near 160,000 members! The new members would also bring one more, and working on the plan of multiplication, it would indeed make a great difference in our movement.

Finally the time ran out for the business part of the 2007 GC Delegation Session. It was Thursday 1:30 p.m. and the hotel employees needed to rearrange the auditorium for the spiritual meetings beginning that same evening. Bro. Sureshkumar, the reelected president, thanked all the Korean brethren and the young people who had helped very much he compared them as a little Gideon army. Bro. Francisco Devai, a senior brother and former GC president for three terms, came to the podium and pronounced the Aaronic blessing:

“The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: the Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.”

And so ended the 20th GC Delegation Session in Jeju, now gone for eternity!

The hotel workers were quick, and in no time the auditorium changed. You can have an idea if you visit our website, www.sdarm.org click on Jeju, then on Photo Gallery. At this point the entire Travellers Hotel was reserved only for our people. The guests had arrived. Every room, deck, garden, and eating area had our people. It is a pleasant experience to see brethren and sisters everywhere, it gives us a sense of security - a safe environment. Then time to begin the first meeting arrived and, lo and behold, now there were over 400 persons.

We were very impressed to see the involvement of the young people in the services and particularly their devotion to praising God with sacred music. About three to four days before the general meetings started, families from mainland Korea and from Japan (Jeju is a separate island south of Korea) you could see children and youth practicing their instruments. And during the public meetings, we were greatly blessed with their “Heavenly Music” for it gave us a taste of what it might be in the kingdom of heaven. Their music “CD’s” were gone very quickly. There were also very gifted brothers and sisters who sang hymns of praise. Also, it was very touching to see and hear the choir from Japan. They are so few, but every one sang in the choir, literally from ages 5 to 85. What unity among the believers! Our hearts were truly “warmed” by the reception and treatment we received.

The messages were powerful. Just imagine brethren coming from different countries around the world. Was it a coincidence that they all spoke Christ-centered messages? No, the Lord prepared each one, and although the speakers had not communicated with each other, the messages pointed to Christ the Saviour. Although we had busy 12-hour days, we started with prayer and ended with prayer. There were prayer groups throughout the session, particularly in the early morning hours (between 6:00 AM and 7:00 AM). There was also a daily spiritual address by the Session Chairman. Several brethren made appeals that we should be praying and working with our youth, particularly those who have stepped off the platform of truth.

About 10-15 children of different sizes and ages and early teens participated in a string orchestra under the direction of Sis. Tabitha Chang. They played violin, cello, flute, and piano very beautifully. We apologize to these young ones for not including their names herewith. Let’s just call them “little sweethearts” as Bro. Sureshkumar called them. In all the meetings they were faithfully at their post of duty, from 7 a.m. to the end of the day at 9 p.m. They just sat quietly and reverently waiting for their turn to play. That speaks loudly about the homeschooling education of the children. We congratulate the parents and may God grant them wisdom to continue the work they began. A CD called Mission was prepared with special items presenting by the orchestra and other items during the conference. You can contact Reformation Herald Publishing Association to buy a copy of this CD.

The spiritual meetings were so arranged that all the regions were represented and they showed their progress through Powerpoint presentations. Read excerpts in this magazine. The physical needs were different in each region but the great want is the same around the world - Jesus Christ.

We also want to thank the Korean sisters for their nice idea when collecting the offerings during the Sabbath services. They were in their native attire. On Saturday night, a musical concert delighted the attendees and the hidden talents were shown in solos, duets, quartets, choirs, and orchestra items.

October 7 came too soon. The last meeting on Sunday night was the public presentation of the newly elected officers for the next quadrennium. They were invited to come to the rostrum and audibly pledged together:

“We, the servants of God, before Him and in the presence of the witnessing angels and this congregation, pledge ourselves that we will serve the Lord faithfully and we all pray that we will serve you faithfully with the blessing of God. Amen.”

Bro. Marcelo Silva came to the podium, representing the two Brazilian Unions and as a token of appreciation gave to the leaders of the Korean Field, Brethren Kyu Tae Park and Jong Hwan Hyun, a beautiful picture of the Brazilian famous Iguassu Falls with the signatures of the 36 Brazilian delegates present in Jeju.

Korea is a beautiful country. We had beautiful views from our meeting site of mountains and ocean. Think of the vast number of people living in that country and the need to spread the Gospel to so many souls. Just think of Seoul, the capital city, where our planes first landed - it is the second largest city in the world, with over 23 million inhabitants (larger than many countries). Asia has more than half the world’s population, and yet many have not heard the truth about Jesus and the Three Angel’s Messages. With most of Asia being under Communism and Mahomedism, this is indeed the last frontier for the gospel. The good news is that the truth has entered China, Mongolia, Vietnam, and other countries in that area. We were blessed to meet the seven delegates from China. How good it is to see that they embrace the same truth. How good it will be to see our brethren again and better yet, to be able to speak with them in the language of Heaven. The Lord says, “Behold, I come quickly and my reward is with Me.”

“For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit” (Isaiah 57:15).

It was now time to end the last meeting and the well-known hymn began, “Till We Meet Again” and there were teary eyes throughout the congregation. We learned a few Korean words, but one that we will never forget is, “Gam-sa-ha-mi-dah God, Gam-sa-ha-mi-dah Korea, Gam-sa-ha-mi-dah Japan, for a job WELL DONE!