Faife'au

Stories of Adventist youth pastors that travel through time.

• "Father's Day" - When Benji was starting out in his career, he had a confrontation with a student he's never forgotten. Now, years later, we get the full story--plus a little more. (11 mins)
• "Faife'au" - For our final story in Season 1, we hand the mic over to somebody else. He takes us on a weeklong journey that goes behind-the-scenes, on the stage, in front of the camera, and everything in between. (50 minutes)

To learn more, including guest profiles and episode transcripts, visit our website adventiststories.buzzsprout.com, or follow us on Instagram @AdventistStories. Thank you to Blue Dot Sessions, Stellwagon Symphonette, the Pacific Union Conference, and Growing Young Leaders. Please subscribe to our show and leave a rating and review to help us reach more people. We appreciate your support.

Transcript

SPEAKER_20 0:00

Benji is a rare type of Adventist youth pastor, the kind who doesn't stop when they turn 30 or 40 or 50. And when you've served in ministry that long, you actually find yourself with a full resume of jobs you've taken on.

SPEAKER_03 0:12

Anywhere from being the copy repair person to um getting the senior pastor's car wash to going to the paper store, whatever.

SPEAKER_20 0:21

Did you actually have to take your senior pastor's car for a wash or no? No, I never did.

SPEAKER_03 0:25

I was gonna say. I have repaired a lot of copy machines.

SPEAKER_20 0:30

Also on that list, academy Bible teacher. Like many youth pastors, Benji's given a lot of time to the classroom, which is what he was doing when he had a moment with a student he still hasn't forgotten, even after 16 years.

SPEAKER_03 0:43

This kid was was smart. His name was Bryant, and uh he was really, really smart. And also uh didn't like me very much. Why? Why did he not like you? Uh I was not the type of Seventh-day Adventist that he wanted me to be. And not conservative enough for him, or asking him to think through, especially as a junior, uh, issues that he already had for sure answers for and providing gray area.

SPEAKER_20 1:12

You were challenging him, and and he didn't really want to be challenged.

SPEAKER_03 1:15

Yes, challenging him.

SPEAKER_20 1:17

Benji and Bryant had had spats in class before, but it never went over the line. But then came that morning.

SPEAKER_03 1:24

Coming into class, ready for a good day of class, classroom full of students. I'm prepared and uh come in and with an opening statement of class, and I honestly don't remember what it was.

SPEAKER_20 1:37

Benji says it could have been about a number of things, a previous lesson, a current event, an experience he had. What he does remember is that after making those opening remarks, that student, Brian, spoke up from his seat.

SPEAKER_03 1:50

But he called me out in front of the entire class and called me out as a liar. And and I I went immediately to really angry. Like, I I don't know why I got that mad, but like I I I immediately said, I need to step out of the room right now. Uh, I'll be back. Looking back, you're like, dude, why am I so mad at a 16, 17-year-old?

SPEAKER_02 2:16

I should maybe share a little bit of context about who who I was at the time.

SPEAKER_20 2:21

As you might have guessed, this is Bryant, now 32 years old. He explained to me that the summer before that school year, he attended some camps that sparked a spiritual renewal. He also started consuming a lot of religious media that he says made him a bit of a zealot, as he put it. A lot of form, but no substance.

SPEAKER_02 2:41

All of that kind of integrated into creating a little bit of a rigid personality and a very strong perspective. I was uh pretty difficult, uh, to say it politely, um, and just kind of continuously disagreed with them in a very public way. And I think if I think back on the moment, I probably was so difficult that I may have implied that maybe he wasn't living up to his role as our youth pastor and Bible teacher in the classroom. Um Do you remember what you actually said? I don't remember the specific language, but I do remember that I definitely posed the question to the classroom as if I was the uh speaker of the room. What he told me was that you uh actually called him a liar. Oh my gosh, I'm embarrassed. I've you know, I maybe I maybe did.

SPEAKER_03 3:34

I stepped out of the classroom and was just fuming. My blood pressure was probably like way through the roof. I was like, I can't let a kid in front of everybody tell me I'm a liar, but I'm also an adult. He was very frustrated. Um, it was obvious in his face. I I I was probably out of the room for probably two, three minutes. With no adult in the room. You were no adult in the room, but it was I was right outside the door. Which, you know, obviously created an effect in the room. It was quiet in that room. Like it was dead silent in the room. And I walked back in and I said, that was extremely disrespectful.

SPEAKER_02 4:12

For as young and immature as I was, I I did have enough EQ to realize that I had stepped out of line. And and uh it was a pretty awkward rest of the class period. For me, I do remember that coming out of that, I was like, I probably need to slow down a little bit. I definitely think back on it. And it's one of those moments where you kind of wince and you're like, thank goodness people were patient with me. Because I don't know if I would have been patient with myself.

SPEAKER_03 4:44

Fast forward a year, he's a senior. All of a sudden, some change of heart comes in him. And um, he approached me and and he goes, Hey, can I sit down and talk to you? And I go, Yeah, sure. You have no idea what this is about. Who knows what it's gonna be about? Bryant looks at Benji and then says The Jesus that like I got baptized into isn't the Jesus that I know now. And for graduation weekend, I want you to re-baptize me.

SPEAKER_20 5:16

He was probably the last kid that you thought would ever ask you to baptize him.

SPEAKER_03 5:21

100%.

SPEAKER_02 5:24

And there were a number of experiences that occurred over the next year or so where I think to be totally candid, I experienced my own brokenness, like kind of had this concrete realization that no matter how much information or data I ingested or integrated or parroted, that like I was still fundamentally um human, that I needed a savior, um, and that I was not perfect. I think what I did need for sure was a moment in time where all of that past zealotry that was overly focused on reforming others was pushed aside. I would it felt very important to me to enter my the beginnings of my adulthood, designating as like I am now a follower of Christ.

SPEAKER_03 6:13

We start doing Bible studies together. It was one of those really rewarding things in ministry, and it was a cool moment as a teacher and as a youth pastor to be able to do that and see his thinking turnaround and our relationship more important turnaround.

SPEAKER_02 6:28

I was super grateful to have Pastor Benji take me up on the offer, and we were working like on the same side of things, like we were journeying together, and I was I definitely remember enjoying my time with him.

SPEAKER_20 6:44

A short time later, graduation weekend comes. Once again, Brian and Benji face each other as the room falls silent. But this time, it ends with an embrace as the church celebrates. Brian also shared that a few years later, when his mom recommitted her life to Jesus, she said it was watching him on that day that helped her make the decision.

SPEAKER_03 7:04

It was super meaningful. Like he and he wrote a beautiful letter to me, and um just like one of those cool moments in ministry that that that come along, but like you remember those moments.

SPEAKER_20 7:18

Did you ever bring up that moment from his junior year?

SPEAKER_03 7:22

Oh yeah, like I think I brought it up to him in his baptismal tank, like uh, like how far we'd come.

SPEAKER_02 7:28

It's one of those like moments where I just feel like a lot of like joy and elation what became meaningful to me and is still meaningful to me now when I think back of Benji is he was authentic. He he he was consistently himself from the moment he stepped into the classroom to the moment that he was in church to the moments that we were with him and home at it at his home. Um and that really resonated with me, right? When's the last time you talked to Pastor Benji? It's been a couple years. Um this uh conversation is actually reminding me that I should reach back out to him and let him know I'm a proud dad now and that some of the good stuff happening in my life.

SPEAKER_20 8:10

Do you want to do it now? Can I just quickly call Benji and see if he can join us?

SPEAKER_02 8:17

Oh, that'd be amazing. Let's see if he'll pick up. What's up, guys? What's up, man? Hey, what's up, Brian? It's been a while.

SPEAKER_03 8:30

It has been way too long. How are you doing, man? I'm doing pretty good. Yeah, are you still down in the center?

SPEAKER_20 8:36

In this moment, I sit back and enjoy my front row seat as the student and teacher have an overdue reunion.

SPEAKER_02 8:42

But the big news, man, I Aaron was talking to me. He's like, when was the last time you talked to Benji? I was like, this conversation is reminding me I need to retract out to him and let him know I'm a dad now, bro.

SPEAKER_03 8:52

Oh, congratulations, dude.

SPEAKER_02 8:54

Thanks, man. Yeah, we had her first uh first child born uh in February, so she's a little bit over six months old. And yeah, I'm just so happy, bro. I love being a dad.

SPEAKER_03 9:04

Yeah, I love it. Yeah, being a dad's awesome. Yeah, and yeah, I'm sure you're a great one.

SPEAKER_20 9:09

Oh, thanks, man. Doing my best. Yeah, and hopefully um his daughter never looks at him and calls him a liar. You know, that would that would be I think she will.

SPEAKER_02 9:19

I'm just gonna be honest. Like, I I I think she will, and I think I'll have earned it. And I was telling Aaron that, you know, I'm I'm grateful to have had uh a youth pastor that was impactful, stuck around, led from the heart. A lot of kids don't get to have that. Uh so appreciate you, man.

SPEAKER_03 9:38

Yeah, yeah, you as well, and uh hope you're getting some sleep. Um eventually it'll come and enjoy every single moment.

SPEAKER_02 9:47

I'm blessed and highly favored right now. She's a good sleeper, but it's day by day, right?

SPEAKER_03 9:52

Yeah, day by day. Uh my son is leaving for college in two weeks or three weeks, so time flies. That's crazy. He was just a little nugget back when I knew him. Yeah, yeah. He's 6'3 now, can beat me up. Uh, it's pretty wild.

SPEAKER_20 10:09

Benji, thanks for hopping on here, man. I know I gave you no warning at all, but this is Oh, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 10:14

No, it's all good. And uh yeah, it's really Brian, really good to see you always. And um, next time I'm down there, I'll I'll give you a ring. We'll go, I'll take you to coffee or something.

SPEAKER_02 10:23

I'd love that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 10:24

Yeah. We can do that then. Cool.

SPEAKER_02 10:26

Come in. Catch you later. See ya. Thanks, Benji. Bye. Yeah, bye.

SPEAKER_20 10:37

Benji Ferguson is a youth pastor in Northern California. Bryant Rodriguez works in advertising in Southern California. Happy Father's Day to both men. Today on the show, we go from a youth professional of more than 30 years to one of less than three months. A rare look into the daily life of one denominational leader and the challenge of stepping out of the spotlight. That's coming up next, right after this.

SPEAKER_15 11:15

Okay, I'm just gonna slip into the back of this bioclass. Good morning, everyone, and good morning to you, Tyler. Tyler, I noticed you didn't finish your breakfast burrito. Salsa too spicy for you again? That's also hot, bruh. Tyler, I saw your game last night. It was kind of tough. But that block you had in the fourth quarter was clinical. Don't forget to stretch today. Wait, Professor, you were there?

SPEAKER_00 11:38

At Pacific Union College, you aren't just a face in a lecture hall. We know your name, your goals, and apparently your basketball moves. Pacific Union College. Small classes, big support.

SPEAKER_20 11:50

Can you please introduce yourself?

SPEAKER_14 11:52

My name is Lynelle Ingham, and I am the Associate Director of Education for the Pacific Union. Yeah. I was one of those kids that always knew I wanted to be a teacher. I just had such amazing teachers. Uh, there's a lot of them that inspired me.

SPEAKER_20 12:10

Linnelle, what does Adventist education mean to you?

SPEAKER_14 12:14

Adventist education really means opportunity to me. Opportunity to learn, yes. Opportunity for growth and leadership, yes. But the opportunity for kids to come into contact with a relationship with Jesus Christ. That's what I would emphasize to the parents is that your child will be seen. To each parent, their child is their treasure. So we would want them to know that their treasure will be taken well care of and grown. And I think that's important for parents to know.

SPEAKER_20 12:49

To learn more, visit AdventistFaith.com/slash education. Welcome back to Adventist Stories. This is episode eight, which is our season one finale. We have been so appreciative of the response to the show. Truly. Thank you for listening and for messaging us and sharing with your friends. It has been humbling to see the support. We'll be taking a small break as we continue the work that has already begun on season two. And look, I know every pastor and podcaster overplays the phrase really excited, but I am really excited about what's to come on this show. And I hope you are too. So to close out our first season, we wanted to try something different, and that is to hand the mic over to somebody else. This season we've heard stories from teachers, students, a nurse, a therapist, an aircraft mechanic, but especially pastors. And I can say that one of the most common questions I get asked as a pastor is, what do you do? Like they know about Sabbath and church, but what about the rest of the week? Is your job fun or boring? Is it easy or hard? And these are good questions, because there really is no simple answer. Every pastor is different, and every pastor's job is different. Still, these are the leaders in our faith community who teach us, baptize us, marry us, and bury us. They collect our tithes when we're well and visit us at home or hospital when we're not. And so, even if the story isn't easy to tell, that doesn't mean we shouldn't try. And so we set out to find somebody who could show us what professional ministry is really like for them. And we decided it'd be best to find a new pastor. Somebody at the very beginning of their ministry who is quite possibly also learning what the job is. Hardest of all, we'd have to find someone who'd be willing to record themselves for an entire week. The good, bad, and ugly. Who on earth would be willing to do that?

SPEAKER_09 14:50

Hey, so my name is Zion. I am proudly someone. I was born in Hawaii, Honolulu.

SPEAKER_20 14:57

Um, I moved and was raised in Washington State. So Pastor Zion grew up in the Pacific Northwest, moved to California to attend La Sierra University, and became the first college graduate in his family. He was then hired to be the youth pastor at a church in Southern California, not even three months from the day I interviewed him, back in the fall. We first spoke on a Monday afternoon. The next day, Tuesday, would not only be the start to Zion's work week, but his 23rd birthday. And the generational difference between us was not hard to find. Like when we were talking about him learning to play musical instruments from a young age.

SPEAKER_09 15:31

My first instrument was actually the Uke. The UK Lily. So but yeah.

SPEAKER_20 15:35

At that young of an age, you're talking like six, seven years old. What? Were you scared to go on? Oh sorry. I'm sorry. All my kids are like That's wild. Yeah. And was not uh intentional. Zion was honest. He said his parents did push pastoral ministry onto him when he was young. But he made the decision for himself, his junior year of academy. He had a school chaplain who involved him and mentored him. And when he saw a banner for La Sierra University's Divinity School at a college fair, he decided to pursue his dream. Four years later, he was graduating with a degree, and soon, a job. Tell me about when you found out that you were getting hired by this church. Man, I was excited.

SPEAKER_09 16:21

I was really happy. Like, getting hired in the in ministry is like the your NBA draft day. Like with the with the 67th pick in the pastoral ministry. You're at least a first rounder. Come on. No, no. Oh no, but um, man, what a blessing. I was like, yo, screaming. I was dad, I'm I got hired, mom I got hired. Yeah, no, it's like you're getting drafted for sure.

SPEAKER_20 16:49

And like every rookie, he has strengths and weaknesses. Leading worship has always come easy to Zion. He likes the spotlight. But pastoring, especially youth pastoring, is not about the spotlight. It's personal and subtle. As the saying goes, young people today aren't looking for the sage on the stage. They're looking for the guide on the side, which Zion is trying to become.

SPEAKER_09 17:13

When I think of a pastor, I think of someone who forms relationships, someone who intentionally connects with people beyond what it is that they're asking them for, showing up in their lives. And so it's cool to have the music service be all crazy, nice with the screens, LED lights, all that. But I didn't really learn this until my senior year, that actually the most important part of that was the fellowship and connecting after.

SPEAKER_20 17:42

He's now learning all this at a large church. Five pastors on staff, several hundred in attendance each weekend. It's diverse generationally, lots of young families, as well as middle-aged and seniors, but not ethnically. The membership is largely Caucasian. What is it like, Zion, to uh be uh a Pacific Islander pastor in a predominantly white community?

SPEAKER_09 18:04

I think it's very very easy. It's very easy because um Phi Fayao is the Samoan word uh for pastor, but it does not mean position. It's actually like a verb, which means to do the work. And so in my culture, Phi Feao to do the work means serving the people and not the platform. So again, it's uh very easy to serve these people and looking beyond the difference of skin color or whatnot, like it's that does not matter because we've been trained in our culture going with respect, with love and gratitude. I love that. Talk about your youth group a little bit. These kids crave and desire Jesus, and it is evident in how many of them came my first Sabbath that I was teaching Sabbath school, 20 to 25 kids. Um, I was blown away. What is the vision you have for your youth group? What are you building towards for the years to come? Oh, that's so good. I'm so glad you asked me that because it's simply this one to be devoted to Jesus, to two, loving others, loving God. And then, of course, um three, um being a prayerful group. There's this family aspect to the youth group that I really hope um to instill in these kids.

SPEAKER_20 19:35

When I asked what the worst or hardest part of his job was so far, he couldn't answer. He said he loves all of it, which is nice to hear, but sounds like someone who's not yet three months in. Because even pastors have bad days, and maybe Zion was about to prove it. So I have asked you if you would take us on a week of your life as the youth pastor here at this church, um, which I'm so grateful that you're willing to do, because a lot of people don't know what a week looks like for a youth pastor. They have no idea. And so you're gonna help us find out what that looks like. And this week was especially packed. Visiting students, teaching classes, coaching basketball. On Wednesday night, he was planning to cheer at a volleyball game, then early Thursday film devotional videos with other youth pastors, before more teaching and coaching at the school. Then it'd be the weekend, chapel, sabbath school, church, gym night, and a Friday night middle school vespers he was asked to speak for that was being offered as an alternative to going out on Halloween. This is what Zion felt most nervous about.

SPEAKER_09 20:34

I'm still navigating, remaining Christ-centered in those different opposing viewpoints that someone might have towards, you know, a holiday. Ultimately, I think the message of it, the kids and young people being the light of the world, you know, in that kind of space. I really want to focus on that.

SPEAKER_20 20:52

How much of that message do you have prepared at this point?

SPEAKER_09 20:55

Zero. Like, I have the points, but like I gotta find my text, I gotta make my three points and find my story. Well, I'll be praying for you for that, man.

SPEAKER_20 21:05

Please. All right, well, I'm really excited. Um, I'll be checking in with you occasionally. Yes, but I want to give you something. So here is uh your microphone for the week. Thank you for entrusting me with this. Appreciate you, and uh good luck this week. Yes, sir. Coming up, the week begins on a hurried note. Stay with us. This is Kim. Hi, Kim.

SPEAKER_01 21:55

Hi, Erin.

SPEAKER_20 21:56

And for those who don't know you, Kim, who are

unknown 22:00

You?

SPEAKER_01 22:01

Well, I'm Kimberly Stubbard. I'm the executive assistant to Growing Young Leaders and part of the team.

SPEAKER_20 22:07

And tell us about that. What does that mean?

SPEAKER_01 22:10

Growing Young Leaders offers scholarships up to $20,000 for PUC and La Sierra University towards a career as a future teacher or a future pastor for students looking to go to other Adventist colleges outside our area. There are options for that as well.

SPEAKER_20 22:27

That's right. And they also receive mentoring and career support when they graduate. Kim, what is it about the program that you think makes it so special?

SPEAKER_01 22:36

Well, Growing Young Leaders is about making a difference in this world and those around you. We want to help youth and their direction, where God is leading them and their career path so they can make a difference to those around them.

SPEAKER_20 22:51

And so if a student wants to apply, they can find the application on our Instagram at Growing Young Leaders. And if they have questions, they can reach Kim at G UIL at adventistfaith.com. Kim, thank you. We really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 23:05

Thank you, Aaron.

SPEAKER_12 23:10

For many families, choosing a university isn't just about academics. It's about finding a place where faith continues to grow. At last year university, faith is part of everyday life. It's a place that lives out its faith-based identity in advancing progressive, relevant Adventist Christianity. From worship gatherings to service opportunities, students are encouraged to live out what they believe in real and meaningful ways. They're supported academically, grounded spiritually, and surrounded by a community that shares their values. It's a place where students can keep building their relationship with God while preparing for what comes next. Learn more at lastera.edu.

SPEAKER_20 23:56

Hey Zion. So it's been a week since we sat in this spot in your youth room and uh gave you an assignment to record your week of ministry, and I'm very excited to hear how it went.

SPEAKER_09 24:09

It was full. It was full.

SPEAKER_20 24:11

Let's start with Tuesday, the beginning of your week, which was also your birthday.

SPEAKER_09 24:17

Alright, I'm currently in my car. Good morning. Um, so today is my birthday, yes sir. I uh am now 23 years old. Just want to thank God for bringing me through another year and uh blessing me with the opportunity to serve as a young, um fresh and new pastor at uh my church. Not me running late to my staff meeting because I gotta pick up donuts that I wanted to bring and share with my staff. Um I'm not gonna lie, I gotta get better at getting up out of my bed on time, showering and getting ready. Like, I think that's one of the things that as a young, fresh pastor that has gotten out of college who was just trying to make it, um it's a new rhythm my body is adjusting to. I'm not gonna lie, and I need to uh I need to really lock in. I gotta lock in. So, yeah. I can't be doing this. But um, I'm about to walk in now.

SPEAKER_07 25:36

Hopefully they let me slide because it's my birthday.

SPEAKER_09 25:43

Yo sorry guys.

SPEAKER_05 25:45

Hey, no, it's done it. Oh, it's your birthday today! Yes, oh my gosh, it's your birthday!

SPEAKER_09 25:56

So staff meeting, it's literally we get there, um devotional. And the devotional is over typically what is gonna be preached on Saturday.

SPEAKER_05 26:06

But I think what I love about it is like you're being true to the text, right? Yeah, the text is saying we're trying to, Daniel's trying to figure out how do I cope with the situation.

SPEAKER_09 26:15

I think this works. All right, and then after that we have different agendas, like hey, this is what we like to talk about. Okay. Um search committee meeting. I have junior high vespers. Today's a new day. So it's like an anti-Halloween day. But focusing on the kids being the light of the world. Some of my kids are coming to that. And then uh they are.

SPEAKER_05 26:36

Cool.

SPEAKER_09 26:36

Could you let some of your young enough? Do you have a class right now? There's gym night this week.

SPEAKER_05 26:40

Yeah, I'll let them know. Okay. I'll put it in the chat.

SPEAKER_09 26:43

Man, Joseph is hands-on. He is literally uh excuse me. He serves. Okay, who am I here with? You're here with Joseph. And how long have you been serving here? I just sandwiches here. Let's do that. Let's do that. Wait, wait, wait.

SPEAKER_05 27:00

What would you say is very important. You gotta grind, right? Like you gotta be creative. Understand what your your role is and your job, and make sure every single day that is the focus that you do.

SPEAKER_09 27:14

There are days where he clowns me, there are days where he mentors me, and there's days where he just pours into me, and there's days where it's just really fun to work together because we both serve the younger side of our church.

SPEAKER_05 27:25

You know, there is so much to do every single day. Who's your favorite team to serve people?

SPEAKER_11 27:29

Um, it's important. It's like any other job. I watch the card.

SPEAKER_09 27:36

Pastor Ken is someone who's very well informed and also informed by the he's a pastor pastor. And that's a put you on the spot. How long have you been serving here at the hours? Okay, and then ministry and tour.

SPEAKER_13 27:51

All right, y'all take care of the since 1979. So finish wrong, finish wrong, finish wrong, finish wrong, finish wrong. 47-ish years.

SPEAKER_09 28:00

My dad was three. What's up?

SPEAKER_04 28:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 28:04

Okay, I think Joseph is rubbing off on me. Sorry. Um, okay. And Pastor Ken, he just knows he knows it. He's involved in so many of them. Olivia overdue phone for talent show. Both within our church and the conference. He he does like he's been here through so much, he just knows. Oh, this is your first year of music. Any advice for our young and up-and-coming leaders, teachers, pastors? There were games. I think one thing I would call it for a few. Man, there was food.

SPEAKER_13 28:33

Sometimes it's easy, especially when you're getting started, to get really impatient with how long it takes for things to do.

SPEAKER_09 28:37

All right, gymnite tonight. You guys are able to come to Gymnon.

SPEAKER_13 28:42

Oh, a basketball and volleyball gymnite. You know, in a garden you put out seeds, and within a few weeks you've got something growing. And at worst case scenario, you might have to wait three or four months to harvest. When you're working with a church, it's a little bit more like planting a tree. It takes a while.

SPEAKER_19 29:00

Things change slow, things sprout.

SPEAKER_13 29:04

After a while, you've got something that's really sturdy and really strong, and something that's very resilient. But it's easy to get impatient and waiting for that to happen. But the continual nourishing and just kind of attending to things and making sure they have the conditions that have you eventually get there. Yeah. You just have to give the process a chance to work. And trust it, the God's doing stuff. I mean, it took him a while to grow a lot of stuff in me, and he's still got a lot of work to do.

SPEAKER_09 29:34

What an honor, what a privilege it is to serve. Awesome, cool. Thank you. Wednesday, I went to go do a skills training for an hour for basketball for any of the players that wanted to come out, and there was a lot of kids that came out. Right now I'm headed to the school. So I'm gonna go link up with some of the uh high school boys that are on the um the that are on the team because we're gonna get some practicing, some work in just like practicing through some basketball things. Uh you know, I just I made myself available to these kids to say, hey, let's meet Wednesday. So uh yeah, that's what we're about to do and um yeah.

SPEAKER_07 30:23

Alright, so I just walked into the gym.

SPEAKER_09 30:28

Just getting some shots up before the boys come here. It's a sport that I've really hoped at some point that I could use to reach young people, and so now it's here where I'm able to coach and assist. And so, yeah, I'm thankful.

SPEAKER_07 30:43

Armani. What you doing? You coming through to work on some stuff or what?

SPEAKER_09 30:48

Alright, baby, baby. Um, yeah, bro. So um Friday, I'm gonna bring Islander food for you, your sister, and Nadine. Yeah, we'll have lunch. Coach, don't don't play you? Why not? Bro, don't say that. Stand on the free throw line. Look up, look up. Alright, now do this by yourself. Go right low, right low. Right low. Just my love for watching the sport and playing the sport um wasn't gifted to where I could play collegiately, but you know, like I've had a lot of I've been around a lot of people and friends that have been gifted and talented in the sport that have made me adopt a love for it. Sell the V cut, sell the V cut. Grab your own rebound.

SPEAKER_07 31:46

50% pressure. Get in your defensive stance, hold the ball. 10 more seconds, stop. Ready? Here we go. Three, two, one, go.

SPEAKER_09 31:57

Man, I love these kids. A lot of kids came that weren't even on the team two, and then after that, they joined the team the next day. So, like, it was pretty impactful, I'd say. Pretty good.

SPEAKER_07 32:09

If you get your ankles taken, you get your ankles taken. It's okay. You're fouling him, Xander. Zig zag dribble drill. Any questions? We'll start in four seconds. Go! There you go. There you go.

SPEAKER_04 32:22

Yes, exactly like that. Five, four, three, next, close out. Five, four, three, two, one.

SPEAKER_07 32:36

Alright, guys, I think we gotta go. Let's bring it in. Hard work on three. One, two, three.

SPEAKER_09 32:44

Alright, can you guys get the balls back on the the So right now I'm doing a little extra work um just to kind of uh help with the Academy's week of worship um because it's in a couple weeks and the week of worship was not able to acquire a speaker for the entire week. Um, we're just gonna be doing that, and so I have to find um a speaker for the different days that week of worship is. Yeah, can I just do lemonade? I'm trying to get some snacks. I don't want to be a boring pastor that you only see on Friday or Saturday. You know, I want to be able to be someone that meets the kids in things that they love. A lot of my youth are a lot of team. That's the key. I'm losing my two points though. Xarius was uh pulling me to the side and telling me that because this the score was five seven, and he was hoping that it was gonna turn six seven, but thankfully it didn't. So um yeah.

SPEAKER_20 34:26

What are you doing right now? How's the team doing? I just wanted to give it a quick check in and see how the week is going so far.

SPEAKER_08 34:43

I think I've got a way of operating a little bit.

SPEAKER_20 34:51

How was your birthday?

SPEAKER_08 35:11

Happy birthday to me.

SPEAKER_20 35:16

You went there on your birthday. That's a commitment. Have you done any prep for your investment talk on Friday?

SPEAKER_08 35:24

That's what I'm gonna do tonight or early tomorrow morning.

SPEAKER_20 35:31

Well, I'm thinking of you, praying for you. I know it's a full week. I appreciate it. Alright, Zion, we'll talk to you later.

SPEAKER_09 35:44

Um we scored a point, but we're still losing. Okay, so um what kind of things like interesting you? What do you love to do?

SPEAKER_17 36:07

Like I just like being number one. Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_09 36:16

I'd love to talk talk with you, and maybe I'm gonna have lunch here one of these days. And I'll see what we can do, um have you on our team. Yep, I got you.

SPEAKER_12 36:33

Hello. Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 36:41

How you feel?

SPEAKER_11 36:43

Are you okay?

SPEAKER_09 36:46

Okay. You did really good this season. Yeah, you're very good at serving. Good job. How you feel? Are you alright? I am. Yeah. It's for the podcast. But yeah, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 37:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 37:01

Your daughter is very talented, very good.

SPEAKER_01 37:03

Oh my gosh, but my mom's there. Look at their face.

SPEAKER_09 37:07

Can you take a picture of me and Grace?

SPEAKER_01 37:09

Yes, come along.

SPEAKER_11 37:11

Yeah, you're just stressing all the time.

SPEAKER_09 37:12

Alright, so we just finished um the game. Just did some uh talking with uh students and whatnot. Um, but yeah, connecting with the kids, it's the most important. So yeah, definitely have fun with that. I am running so far behind this morning. I got so much to do. Thursday morning I had this video shoot um for a curriculum that is put together by our conference called Growing Together. Off to a great start, ain't I? But it basically oversees all age groups of our conference where they are provided devotionals and Sabbath school curriculum. And even make enough time for me to spend with God this morning and do my daily devotion. I just feel like I've been getting devoured by the time requirement of my responsibilities. And I just feel like I'm really slacking, to be honest. Like right now, I just want to take some time to just pause. Lord, I've just got a lot on my mind, to be honest. I've got a lot on my mind, and I am uh I feel like I'm telling myself that I'm doing okay when it really feels like I'm not when it comes to my job. But I'm gonna continue to just try and show up. I love you.

SPEAKER_19 39:21

Welcome. Welcome to Tim. Okay, so yeah, we'll go up, we'll go upstairs on Sarai.

SPEAKER_09 39:26

Kane, Mark, everyone that's there is specifically chosen, and you get to meet people that you don't know and who even got placed on a new church. Pleasure to meet you. Four videos each, and they're supposed to be a minute, no longer than a minute. Um the person behind the camera is like waving their hand, like yeah. I'll go second. Actually, I'll go first. I'll go first. You know, the scripture I'm doing is Matthew 6 7.

SPEAKER_11 40:00

Really?

SPEAKER_09 40:01

No. No, no, no, it's not. It's not, it's not. It's actually John 3.16.

SPEAKER_16 40:07

Okay.

SPEAKER_09 40:08

Um, good morning. Okay. John 3.16 says, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. I messed up on it. The first one shall not perish what have it ever.

SPEAKER_07 40:25

I was struck between eternal and everlasting. Eternal and everlasting. Alright, Aaron, keep it in. Keep it in.

SPEAKER_09 40:31

Alright, okay, okay, okay. Alright. John 3.16 says, for God so loved the world that he gave it to the world. It's fun because whosoever believeth in him. When you have a good group that you're shooting with, the energy is like, it's like a domino effect and everyone's in a role. It's like a homilytic class where, like, you know, when you say a good devotional, everyone's like hyping you up and like cheering you on.

SPEAKER_02 40:54

You don't go alone.

SPEAKER_04 41:00

Um, then we go.

SPEAKER_09 41:02

I have a question to ask you after. Dude, actually, I have a question for you. Would it interest you? Bro, do you want to speak at the academy? Um, what's your schedule like during the week? Trying to hoop this Saturday night? Pull up the gym night this Saturday. Where do you lift at? Are you guys Dodger fans? Oh, this is gonna be fun. And you speak at the academy? Uh do you play basketball? You don't have to answer now.

SPEAKER_04 41:21

Maybe like a Wednesday?

SPEAKER_09 41:22

Week of worship, week of prayer.

SPEAKER_04 41:24

Oh, Thursday?

SPEAKER_09 41:24

Wednesday or Thursday. Um, I just started. So we have gym night.

SPEAKER_04 41:28

Hey, um, I'm gonna put your name. There's gonna be uh speaking leaders in the section. Yes, I have your number. Yes, yes, yes.

SPEAKER_11 41:38

What?

SPEAKER_09 41:44

Oh, we're eating at a sandwich pot here with a bunch of these pastors. Shout out to Isaac Canby paying for this. Amen. Oh, I got the Rocky Bobo. It's a Philly cheesesteak.

SPEAKER_16 42:00

I'd like that way that's it.

SPEAKER_09 42:01

How do you guys handle baptism? Do you guys re-baptize them in the second service or is the one service you choose? I'm good.

SPEAKER_07 42:11

Like you do it again.

SPEAKER_09 42:17

Okay, so you just they choose the service.

SPEAKER_07 42:23

I've been recording.

SPEAKER_11 42:36

I'll give you man.

SPEAKER_09 42:36

Love you, man. We'll see you around. And then um, let me know what date you're available. So right now I'm about to get um some matcha for one of my youth's birthdays.

SPEAKER_12 42:48

And then I also kind of like day old salad.

SPEAKER_09 42:52

Can I please get um a uh matcha with uh vanilla? Am I able to get a receipt for this? Thank you. Matcha is the way these days. Matcha is the way. Cody? Oh, can I give this him? Sorry, it's his birthday. Happy birthday, bro.

SPEAKER_16 43:20

I want to know about you, but you weren't for my birthday.

SPEAKER_07 43:22

Did you make it though?

SPEAKER_09 43:23

No, I did not. What's your birthday?

SPEAKER_07 43:25

October 4th.

SPEAKER_09 43:26

Yeah, I didn't know that. Sorry. Happy birthday, Cody. I'll see y'all at practice. I go from there to music ministry class. Man, it is a like it's just hot. Like, it's October 30 and it's still 90 degrees. This is that so cow weather, y'all. Did I go to the wrong place? Yeah, I went to the wrong place. Oh my gosh. I teach it with an amazing teacher. This was gonna be an easy way for us to just connect and collaborate and teach a class together about praise and worship. Is the school year going okay for you so far?

SPEAKER_11 44:33

Yeah, just gonna be busy.

SPEAKER_09 44:34

Yeah. Dude, and you're athlete too. Yeah. I was really glad to see you play basketball, bro. Hey pastors, do not get it twisted if you at all at any point have a constituent school attached to your church. Like, show up. Be present. How's uh how's school going for you? Sophomore year?

SPEAKER_10 44:54

It's so easy.

SPEAKER_09 44:55

Okay, except you don't pre- Are you a good student in as far as grades? Okay. Why did you go to educate?

SPEAKER_04 45:04

Bruh, from volleyball?

SPEAKER_09 45:14

I gotta run and practice. I'll see you. Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow. Oh yeah, you got that small running, right? Yeah. Get low, get low, get low.

SPEAKER_04 45:24

Sprint, Jane, sprint, sprint, sprint, sprint, sprint, sprint, sprint, sprint.

SPEAKER_09 45:28

If you're gonna faint, stick to this time, but just push through it. Or grab some water. Nice. Nice. What size shoe are you? You're a size 11? I have uh black, purple, and gold Kobe's if you want to wear them for the season.

unknown 45:47

Let's run. Let's run.

SPEAKER_09 45:49

Alright, so I don't know why I'm feeling like Stanna on October 30. But uh I'll grab her some. Yeah, I'm gonna give these to one of the kids. Let me know if they fit.

SPEAKER_18 46:04

Don't bless them.

SPEAKER_09 46:10

Come to Gymnite Saturday. I'ma send you the flyer. Tell your tell your youth and uh everybody to come through. Do those fit? There you go. Yeah, I don't even wear them. So you got them. Thank you, gotcha. Gotcha.

SPEAKER_18 46:25

Hey, we're gonna full court acts. We're gonna sprint.

SPEAKER_09 46:30

Alright, so right now I just finished practice, um, but I'm gonna take the time now to respond some messages. Yeah, because I need to do that.

SPEAKER_06 46:44

Alright, I am uh I'm about to head out um head to the school for chapel.

SPEAKER_09 46:52

Currently do not like my hair situation right now. So I'm like, um, yeah, we're gonna head to the school right now. I gotta go pick up uh the drinks for the vespers tonight, and then I gotta finish my sermon. Hey, you coming tonight? Okay. I texting your mom. I think she's doing breakfast tomorrow first out of school. What you been up to? Just school? Yeah. And Pokemon? By the way, you should come to the gym night tomorrow if you're not doing anything.

SPEAKER_20 47:20

Jesus is not three. One, two, three. Jesus! My bad, my bad.

SPEAKER_09 47:24

Alright, so I just want to extend an invitation to you guys. Tomorrow night, the Kalmesa Youth Group is hosting a gym night. So there'll be basketball and volleyball happening in the gym from 7 to 11 p.m. 7 to 11 p.m. Alright, say hey guys. We're so excited to worship with you. Please join us as we sing this first song. So, music ministry is a preparation for the kids that are doing music to do music at shop. First, two, first, two, three, four. Got no choice. Come on, Cambreak. Good job. Here we go. Chorus, two, chorus, two, three. Yes. Nice and big. Alright, so just finished worship and um Pastor Joe is about to come speak.

SPEAKER_05 48:28

Good morning, good morning. How do we feel today? We feel good? So let me ask you guys a quick question, right? If I were to say, what does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? What would you tell me?

SPEAKER_20 48:38

Follower.

SPEAKER_05 48:39

Son of man, alright, that's good, right? What does it mean to be a disciple?

SPEAKER_20 48:42

Why do you show up to a chapel that you're not speaking for?

SPEAKER_09 48:45

Why would you not show up at a chapel you're not speaking for? Because if all you're doing is showing up when you're on the stage, like, you know, you miss the whole point.

unknown 48:57

Thank you, Master Girl.

SPEAKER_09 49:01

Hey, do you want to do a a fast for the month of November with me? No. Of not eating until past 6 p.m.

SPEAKER_05 49:08

No.

SPEAKER_09 49:09

Or eating past 5 p.m.

SPEAKER_05 49:11

No.

SPEAKER_09 49:14

Friday was the hardest day because I felt like those different moments were like I needed to say a prayer for myself, not for the mic. Like were like the moments where I felt like lowest in energy. But I was recharged. I was like, man, I'm doing all this recording, all this preparation, and I still don't have things written down of like how I want to go about this giving this Vespers talk. Okay. It's Friday, two hours before the Vespers that is taking place at 7 p.m. Um gonna do some last minute cleaning and chores before I head over. I'm gonna get there by 6. It's currently 5 right now.

SPEAKER_06 49:56

Right. Just got to the church.

SPEAKER_09 50:09

Man, there was a lot of kids, like 20, 25 to 27. And then with my five to six um youth, topped it off at like 32.

SPEAKER_12 50:19

Okay.

SPEAKER_09 50:20

So we're here at the Light of the World Vespers, and I'm here with Jasmine. So Jasmine is one of my youth, and she's actually also one of my youth leaders. Um do you love the youth group?

SPEAKER_12 50:30

Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_09 50:31

What's your favorite part of the youth group?

SPEAKER_14 50:34

Uh the people.

SPEAKER_09 50:35

Why? Why is that?

SPEAKER_14 50:37

Because I get to spend time with them.

SPEAKER_09 50:39

Who do you like getting to spend time with?

SPEAKER_14 50:41

Grace.

SPEAKER_09 50:42

Alright, who am I here with?

SPEAKER_14 50:44

Grace.

SPEAKER_09 50:45

Are you guys allowed to trick-or-treat?

SPEAKER_10 50:47

Nah. So not like if it's on Friday, no.

SPEAKER_04 50:53

Okay.

SPEAKER_09 50:54

And if you guys were to dress up and wear a costume, what would you wear?

SPEAKER_14 50:58

A minion. An angel costume.

SPEAKER_09 51:02

Why? Jasmine, Scotch for you. If you can give any piece of advice to someone who is looking for a youth group and what to find in a youth group, what would you give?

SPEAKER_14 51:18

I don't know. Find somewhere that makes you feel comfortable and find somewhere where you like the people.

SPEAKER_09 51:25

Should they get involved?

SPEAKER_14 51:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 51:27

Yes, okay. Awesome, cool. Thank you.

SPEAKER_11 51:30

Is that gonna be on the podcast?

SPEAKER_09 51:32

He'll cut it out. I'm gonna let it shine. Did a few games that were based around light. And then we had um yeah. We went straight into music and then the word.

SPEAKER_06 51:53

I'm gonna let it slide.

SPEAKER_09 51:55

Okay, you guys ready? Um, alright guys, tune in here. Genesis 1, verses 2 through 4. It says, Now the earth was formless and empty. Darkness, what did it say? Dark what? Darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, Let there be what? And there was what? And so God saw that light was a good thing. And one of the points that I made was how in the beginning, in the creation, when God said, Let there be light, I used that as a way to basically be that like, it wasn't necessarily the command that was life-giving, but the words that he used behind it, and how God cares about light being in a world that is empty and formless. Couldn't you imagine that in someone's situation who might be experiencing darkness through their trials, through their struggles, that they too could use some light? I need three volunteers. We're gonna finish off with this example. And then I had a candle example of where the candle represented us and how each of us had our on fire, we're ignited. And how each of us has a capacity to help others ignite their candle. And boom! Look at that. Look at what Christ in us has done. How many candles are lit now? And now, how many candles do we have? So look, guys, in a world that is dark, you are meant to shine. Okay, you were meant to be in existence, you were meant to live, and you were meant to have Christ shine in and through you. Alright, clap it up for y'all. Thank you guys. You guys are the light of the world. I thought it went really well. Um man, someone you know what's crazy? My kids were the most disruptive. The junior hires were locked in. Definitely felt like the junior hires received it. Yes, of course. Um, are you guys do you guys are doing breakfast tomorrow? Okay. Can I take our family? So I'm just here a little bit late this morning. Um I'm doing uh sub school right now. I usually try to get there at 8 30, but I got there at like nine. I'm just gonna set up a room.

SPEAKER_07 54:59

Smells so good in here.

SPEAKER_09 55:02

Morning. Are you helping out with uh breakfast or junior high? Or high school. High school.

SPEAKER_17 55:10

Oh I'll do junior high too. We got plenty. We can do more if you want.

SPEAKER_07 55:14

Who are your children?

SPEAKER_09 55:15

Delilah. Delilah. Yeah, got it. That's it. Thank you for any time, man. Yeah. Alright, so Mike one. Test, test, test, test. Test. Alright. I'm not gonna lie, y'all. I just didn't have Sabbath school planned. Like, I just fell short in making time. So I was able to offload that onto my former chaplain and former mentor, Jason DeCeno, and he was able to come spend Sabbath school with us. What's up?

SPEAKER_17 55:48

Yo, how are you doing? You're the oldest young person in here, huh?

SPEAKER_09 55:52

Time no seed. Yes. Come through. Welcome to my Eve Room. Have you been here? No, never. Yeah. You play trombone? No. Sax From. Sax From. Dang, that's kind of smooth. I know. I'm not gonna lie. You said I need a haircut?

SPEAKER_11 56:08

My hair?

SPEAKER_09 56:10

Nah, I like it this long. Hi Jonathan.

SPEAKER_11 56:14

Hello.

SPEAKER_09 56:14

What's up? Jaden. Okay with the flannel. Do you have any siblings? Can you come in to gym night tonight?

SPEAKER_07 56:22

Oh, you play piano? That's good.

SPEAKER_09 56:24

Was that scary, trick-or-treaty? No. Do you play koshroyo? Do you play kosh royal? Okay. Do you play any games on your phone? Have you had to furkee?

SPEAKER_07 56:34

What?

SPEAKER_09 56:34

Toeferki? It's tofu turkey. I'm so glad we have breakfast. Aren't you guys glad we have breakfast? Wait, you you don't usually eat breakfast. Happy birthday, dear son and Cody. And Cody.

SPEAKER_06 56:51

Happy birthday to you.

SPEAKER_09 56:57

You wanna blow it? Alright, I'll blow it. This seems like a fire hazard. Cool. Thank you guys. Thank you guys. Oh, that was a fire hazard for sure. Alright, guys, let's gather on the couches. Lord, I live to name on high. That's a high key.

SPEAKER_05 57:24

That's why I said that's a high key.

SPEAKER_09 57:26

Why are we going up? Yeah, we're not gonna do that. Yeah, yeah, that's crazy. I don't know what he was thinking about that chord structure. But I'm glad we pivoted to what a beautiful name.

SPEAKER_06 57:35

What a powerful name it is. The name of Jesus Christ.

SPEAKER_17 57:43

So I'm I'm a nerd. Right? Me too, man. Yeah, you're a nerd? Okay, that's good. Good. Don't know what they're talking about. Yeah, 100%. I agree with you. Right? Grace is God's action in your life to help you accomplish what you cannot on your own. That's actually what it is.

SPEAKER_09 58:04

Amen. Alright, Shaw. Thank you guys for coming. Thanks for having me. See y'all in church.

SPEAKER_19 58:11

Family, church, here is your future.

SPEAKER_09 58:13

Church life is basically welcome and an oxygen. And then we get get into this um segment of like going around greeting, shaking hands, meeting family and friends. I like your hairstyle. Thank you. Sabbath, happy Sabbath. It's a time of connecting, fellowshipping, and also convincing parents if there is an event going on. Hi, happy Sabbath. Are you their parents? Okay, awesome. Yeah, Zion. Yeah, nice to meet you. Yes. Hey, good to see you guys.

SPEAKER_18 58:55

Psychology researchers have found that us humans, we have what they call a negativity bias.

SPEAKER_09 59:03

Tasha Darren gave such a good word.

SPEAKER_18 59:07

Daniel's vision begins with some pretty disturbing images, right? And it can be tempting to put the bulk of our focus here. But listen to what comes next.

SPEAKER_09 59:19

We've been in the series of Daniel and taking a break from you know the revelation and the beast, all that stuff, like you know, the hearing and evangelistic series and tackling just who's on who is at the center on your throne, who's your focus, and so it's been in a good series for us to see.

SPEAKER_18 59:38

The monsters will come and go, but the master reigns forever. That is the good news we are meant to be fixated on. What if when people talked about us, they said those crazy Adventists are so positive? They spread so much joy and hope. They're obsessed with the good news of Jesus. What if that was our reputation? One more picture to show you is from last night. It was of Vespers of our junior high and high schoolers and a few other uh age groups too that had gathered here at church to put their focus on that which is good. I want to say a special shout out to Francis Jansen and Pastor Zion and all the parents that helped. What's your name?

SPEAKER_16 1:00:29

Jake.

SPEAKER_18 1:00:30

What was the scripture on today?

SPEAKER_16 1:00:31

Huh?

SPEAKER_09 1:00:32

What book of the Bible were we in today during the sermon?

SPEAKER_16 1:00:36

I don't know. I forgot. Daniel.

SPEAKER_09 1:00:44

Alright, what did you learn today?

SPEAKER_16 1:00:48

In my Sabbath school?

SPEAKER_09 1:00:50

Oh in church.

SPEAKER_16 1:00:52

I don't know.

SPEAKER_09 1:00:54

Hello. Good to see you. Good to see you. Hi guys. Doing good? How are you? Is the food alright? Yes, yes, yes. Did you make any dish? I'm gonna grab some right now. The baked potatoes are those potatoes. Oh how has your son been? No, how how is actually how has your son been at home? Okay. I'll tell them. I'll tell them walk in. Okay. Alright.

SPEAKER_11 1:01:31

Okay, I'll see you. Hey.

SPEAKER_09 1:01:34

I talked to your mom. You better behave, alright? Okay? No arguing with your sister.

SPEAKER_11 1:01:41

You too, you too, you too. No arguing, alright? No.

SPEAKER_09 1:01:47

Alright, family. Take care. During church life, um, I just got randomly invited. I was like, hey, what are you doing later today? And uh so I just I said yeah, I'm gonna come. And I said, Pastor Jason, I'm sorry. I got members to go to. I bought a new homemade tofu. Wait, wait, wait. Is this like an orange yellow curry? It was like a coconut tofu cream with brown rice and then some salad. Jesus' name, amen. Amen. The beef is about you guys. I'm gonna have some of that already. What is that? I don't know. Barbados pepper sauce.

SPEAKER_16 1:02:21

That's so good. Why it's good?

SPEAKER_09 1:02:23

That's some fire in Barbados.

SPEAKER_16 1:02:25

Oh, we didn't wine you.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:27

I warn my spoon.

SPEAKER_09 1:02:30

Alright, so I'm on my way now to the church. Right now, I'm gonna head over, meet my kids as we get ready to set up for the um gym night. Um my youth leaders were there and we set up, we did worship for gym night. Ready, one, two, one, two, three.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:56

Alright, let's sing it together. Jesus, speech, what am I?

SPEAKER_09 1:03:05

Hour by hour, different people showed up. Glad you're here, Addy. Lots of people came. What's up? What's up? Volleyball over here, basketball over here. Basketball's gonna be going this way. I think around like 50 people came. It was it was so good. The Lakers? Yeah, I've been watching the Lakers because that was like day after day, yeah after day. What a great time. A lot of people showed up. A lot of people showed up. Yeah, I had a great time. Call it a night. Yeah. Tonight was a lot. So I got home uh at like one because I had to go drop off my sister in the riverside, and then we ate canes. Yum. Alright, so I just looked at the calendar today and I definitely if we do the vespers that day on Thursday the 7th, I guess I should have recorded this yesterday because I had um a meeting with my leadership team of like how we reflected on it and what is up and coming. Okay, I think that's good. I'll send out these details in a bit. I'm just gonna work on uploading the content right here, right now. Let me just say that as I am uh waiting for Pastor Aaron Renneker to come and shoot the final um the wrap-up of this entire recording. Um man, I'm exhausted. Tired I need I need a rest. I need to clean up my house. Um I need to do a lot of things, but let me just say this, that this was a really this was a really fun thing to do. It made me appreciate my responsibilities and interactions with people that I see when I'm working. Um, even so much more. Um God is good and all the time, God is good.

SPEAKER_20 1:05:19

And what would you say, Zion, to somebody who is not a pastor? Just something you'd want to tell them about.

SPEAKER_09 1:05:24

Thank you just for being you and giving us pastors a place to serve and a people to serve. It's all cool and all to have the the equipment, the building, and everything, but what good is it if there's no people? So thank you. That's it, really honest.

SPEAKER_20 1:05:44

And thank you, Zahn, for taking us along with you in your week of ministry. I'm going to take back the microphone that I uh saddled you with for the week. You uh your your time is done.

SPEAKER_09 1:05:56

Can I just say something? Um, whomever Takes this mic, whether it's the next teacher or pastor, like just you are already a blessing to the people that you interact with, and may this be a tool to capture such beautiful and rich experiences, real genuine experiences that you have within your day-to-day life. Yeah. God bless whomever is next. So thank you. Much love.

SPEAKER_20 1:06:25

Alright. And now I just dropped it. Hopefully this mic makes it to another person. Adventist Stories is a production of the Pacific Union Conference and Growing Young Leaders. It is hosted and edited by me, Aaron Renneker, with the support of many. Cover art designed by Taji Salim, music provided by Blue Dot Sessions, Stellwagen Symphonette, and Mia Rosado. Mia is a brand new nursing school graduate and a musician who made this hymn arrangement with Praxis Ministry in Lomalinda, California. Congratulations on everything, Mia. We can't wait to hear more. To learn more about our show, please visit our website, adventiststories.buzzsprout.com, and follow us on Instagram at AdventistStories. We are so grateful to everyone who listens and subscribes to the show and leaves a rating and review on their podcast app. Thank you. This is the final episode of season one. We will be taking a break as we continue our work on season two. To stay updated on the show with video and promo content and announcements about future episodes, follow us on Instagram. Once again, that's at Adventist Stories. And for one final time, a big thank you to our amazing Union president, Bradford Newton, for his support of our show, without which it may have never happened. And as Brad heads for retirement after 43 years in ministry, he's become a lot more reflective on his time in denominational leadership, sharing memories and words of wisdom with all of us. And so I recently walked up to him and asked, Brad, what's the biggest thing you've learned in all your years working in the church? And he answered, I don't know. Thank you all so much for listening. We will be back soon with season two. We can't wait for that. And we hope you join us then for more Adventist Stories.