Monday, October 31, 2011, marked the 494th anniversary of Martin Luther nailing his 95 Theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany. To celebrate this day, Hartland College teamed with the Orange Seventh-day Adventist church to collect food so needy families may enjoy a delicious and nutritious Thanksgiving Day meal.

At 5:35 PM, two 15-passenger vans and two 7-passenger minivans with 43 students and four staff descended on the town of Orange. Within two hours, 378 Last Generation magazines were hung on doors knobs, and 45 bags of food for the needy were collected. We give God thanks for the 12 percent of families in our target area participating in the food drive.

Orange County Social Services is providing us with the names of six families with whom we can share the blessings of the food drive. Please pray for this project and for the 400 plus families in Orange who are out of work.

Submitted by Brian Beavers, College Outreach Coordinator

“I’ve been through a tough week and a very hard day.” Tears flooded the man’s eyes as he shook my hand after a concert. “Now I feel such peace.” During our 2010 winter break, the Three Angels’ Chorale spent three weeks presenting concerts from Virginia to California and back. Throughout those 9,200 miles, we received many opportunities to witness the Holy Spirit working in people’s hearts as we presented “Heaven’s Greatest Gift,” a seasonal celebration of the life of Christ. Whether in churches, prisons, schools, homes or even gas stations, God had specific individuals for us to meet.

“We are so amazed. We rarely see people your age doing this kind of work!” People are inspired and encouraged when they see young people presenting Christ in music and testimony.

We also have been blessed with special power to reach other young people. At a youth correctional facility in California the chaplain explained, “Some of these young men and women are facing life sentences. They don’t need entertainment. They need Jesus.” Some of those teenagers had committed violent crimes. The spiritual warfare grew visible as we sang, and we prayed that God would speak to them through us.

“God worked here tonight through your music,” the chaplain told us later. “When these young people go back to their rooms, the battle begins as they struggle with what they have seen and heard. Please pray for our work here,” he pleaded.

Sometimes we ourselves forget the tremendous power of sacred songs to convict and comfort. This proved especially true at a boarding school in Arizona where caring Seventh-day Adventists work for Native American youth, many from traumatic backgrounds. Our choir director, Betsy Mayer, met a senior named Emanuel at breakfast. He shared about his baptism.

“Do you know what your name means?” she asked him.

He shook his head.

“It means ‘God is with us.’ During our concert we will be sharing a song entitled ‘Immanuel.’ It has a special message just for you.”

Classes started as soon as our concert ended, but Emanuel took the time to tell us how much the music meant to him. He even asked for some of the music so that he could learn to play it himself.

We later learned from a school counselor how God really was with Emanuel. During one school break he had found his clothes outside his home in a box and no trace of his family. Now the Seventh-day Adventists at the mission school are his family.

When the last note sounds at a concert, our ministry doesn’t end. The music frequently opens the way for us to pray with our guests and share about God and the unique missionary training we receive at Hartland. We often leave Last Generation magazines, and many people buy our CDs and receive information about our school.

At a gas station in Utah, a Native American lady selling beads motioned Adrian, a black choir member, over. “Come here. I want you to meet my husband.” She explained, “My husband is black, too, and we never see black people out here.”

“At first I feared that I was about to be robbed, but then I sensed an opportunity to witness,” Adrian says. “She took me to the back of the parking lot and began asking me questions.”

Adrian shared that he sang in a Christian choir, and the woman opened up about her desire to return to God. Her husband, completely skeptical, mocked her. “He just wants your money!” As Adrian and the wife continued talking, the husband walked away.

“I felt impressed to offer her a CD,” says Adrian. “I ran to the van for one, but when I got back to her, the husband had returned.

“Then her husband yelled, ‘You actually bought one of those things from him?’ When I explained to him that it was a gift, his expression changed to one of surprise.

“As I turned to leave, the man stopped me and said, ‘You know, she’s going to play that thing, and it’ll probably drive me crazy, but that’s okay. I need God right now, too.’”

As I reflect on this trip, I am reminded how God used us to bring the Three Angels’ Messages to people who might have never attended a prophecy seminar or a Seventh-day Adventist church. Our tour was not just a series of nice songs, but music with power, testimonies from the heart, and an opportunity to witness and to encourage others.

by Claire Ware, Junior, Christian Secondary Education

Giving birth at home? While the idea may raise some eyebrows, a growing number of women with low-risk pregnancies opt for a midwife as their primary caregiver during pregnancy.

Midwives spend more time with their clients in prenatal and postpartum visits, as well as during the actual birth, than do obstetricians. This can result in fewer birth complications and medical interventions. Home environments also slash risks from hospital infections and, a major factor to many, midwifery care can cost from half or even less than half the total expense of traditional hospital deliveries. ¹

From September 6–10, 2010, Hartland Institute hosted a midwifery seminar by Dr. Mary Ann McNeilus and Patricia Barnes, CPM (Certified Professional Midwife). Offered every two years, the seminar covers prenatal care, labor and delivery, postpartum care, natural birth planning, and neonatal assessment.

“I heard about this seminar from a Christian midwife group called Charis Childbirth,” comments Amy Elliott. Amy, a doula (a woman who assists women during labor and after childbirth) who attended from Norfolk, Virginia, continues, “Currently, I teach childbirth education classes in Central Asia, and I definitely feel this seminar gave me more confidence to move forward with that.”

Patricia Barnes, a CPM for many years, shares, “Midwifery is not a business or a hobby. It’s a ministry. You learn to work in the fear of the Lord. Even with the training and experience I already have, I still need God’s presence to make decisions that could mean life or death. It’s not just catching babies.”

Dr. McNeilus adds, “Women will always meet women who need this information. We would like to put together a midwifery course where you can be certified and learn the unique service offered by Seventh-day Adventist midwives.”

Students appreciated the seminar. Martha Castañeda comments, “My mother suffered a lot having me as a baby, and even more so with the births of my sister and my brother. What I learned this week helped me understand why. I am so excited to have the knowledge to help others avoid more suffering, especially in the mission field.”

Ladies, plan on being at the next midwifery seminar in September 2012!

by Leilani Hortaleza

¹ ezinearticles.com, Devine, Joseph, “The Benefits of Using A Midwife During Childbirth,” June 12, 2008

by Joseph Ware

Are you thinking about coming to Hartland College to prepare for God’s service? We spoke with Aaron Baker, Bible Instructor at Hartland College, to show you what it’s like to be a student at Hartland.

“You’re going to be challenged at Hartland.” Aaron Baker makes no bones about it as he advises prospective students. “Expect to be pushed to another level.” Do you have what it takes?

“If God is calling you to leadership, Hartland College is where you should be,” Pastor Baker goes on. “You don’t just come to Hartland to learn to give Bible studies. That has a role, but what makes Hartland different is that this institution trains leaders. You will have a desire not only to learn the Bible, but also to use it practically to finish the work.”

Hartland has a distinctive curriculum to ensure that both of these things happen—that Hartland graduates will both know their Bibles and how to apply them to God’s work.

“Here are the tools that you need to have,” explains Pastor Baker, referring to Hartland’s program. “You will have a much more thorough understanding of the Scriptures if you use these tools correctly.” Once you have the tools, Hartland gives you direction with classes such as Principles of Self-Supporting Work. “This is where you will learn how to be a leader and how to establish a ministry which should become a light,” continues Pastor Baker. “Wherever you are in the vineyard, you should be a light.” Through programs like “Lord, Send Me,” Hartland helps its students establish their place in God’s service even after graduation.

The challenges that face a Hartland student also have potential to make him/her a better worker for God. “The number one way for God to reveal His will to you is for you to grow. And you cannot grow if you don’t have trials,” explains Pastor Baker. “That’s why we encourage students to stay the course. You may have a rough quarter, but this will help God reveal His will. Endurance, prayer, and consistent devotions cannot be neglected at Hartland.”

This education bears fruit. Giancarlo de Miranda, a senior Pastoral Evangelism major, says of his experience, “I see major changes in my life. I only wish I had applied myself even more so that God could have done an even greater work in me.”

Pastor Baker concludes, “Don’t expect to see your understanding of Christianity here. Expect to be challenged in what it means to be a Christian. Expect to grow. Hartland is here to train young people based on the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy so that they can reproduce this training, whether it’s by establishing strong churches or ministries, by being solid teachers, or by publishing God-filled literature that teaches truth in love.” Is this your dream? Perhaps you should be a Hartland student!

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood…”

by Joan Reichard

He knows he has lost. Surrender is near. With a general’s craftiness, he ravages the land. He may have lost, but his enemy won’t benefit, because everything this enemy has fought for will burn. As the vanquished flees before the victor, he burns bridges, sacks towns, and salts fields.

To stop this sabotage, the victor must quickly send trained units to put out fires. He must engage his foe constantly to distract him from destruction. He must also assure the inhabitants of the defeated land of his noble intentions so they will not assist in the ransacking.

In the greatest war of history, God’s enemy has already lost. When Christ paid the penalty for sin, Satan could no longer claim that God was unfair. Sin required death, and “Christ gave His life to save the sinner from the death sentence.” In Heavenly Places, p. 361.

When Satan knew he was defeated, he decided, like the general we began with, to snatch the benefits of victory from Christ. Since Christ came to save men, Satan wants to ensure that there are few to save. He has focused his energies to deceive and distract men from our Savior, trying, among other things, to convince men that Christ’s death and work in the sanctuary are not enough to enable them to keep God’s law. As his time shortens, the battle intensifies, and more and more souls perish in his grasp.

Christ must end this sabotage. He, like the victor of our beginning, needs trained soldiers to douse the fires of Satan’s delusions, to dispel darkness with light, to draw souls from the clutches of Satan through the love of Christ.

Hartland College is a war college, one of Christ’s tools for fitting leaders for this spiritual conflict. We are here to equip God’s men and women, so our graduates can effectively help God win battles in His way.

This is the focus of this Hartland Ministry Report: How God is using Hartland to prepare soldiers for this conflict. We report on the ordination of two graduates on pages 6 and 7, and on student battle plans coordinated by the new “Lord, Send Me” program on page 11. We give a detailed perspective of Hartland’s aims and methods in our interview with Pastor Baker on page 9.

If God is calling you to Hartland College, heed His voice. If you are open to the Spirit, Hartland will arm you. Whether or not Hartland is for you, consider this a general call to throw yourself into this final push against evil. Let us, with God’s help, end this war and go home.

by Lynette Allcock

Hartland helped me be a guiding hand in the lives of young people.

David Preisner was studying at a community college in Utah when he discovered God’s calling for his life. He saw that many youth were losing their way because no hand was there to guide them. He knew that God wanted him to be one of those hands. Without hesitation, he signed up for the Christian Secondary Education major at Hartland College.

“One thing that stands out in my mind about Hartland, and the reason that I attended, is their continual passion to hold the standard high,” says David. “Hartland continually calls for those who are willing to put all on the altar.”

One of his memorable experiences as a student happened one Friday evening after vespers. “My good friend Daniel Lombard and I sat watching a field where thousands of lightning bugs were flashing their secret messages to each other, while above us unnumbered hosts of planets, stars, and galaxies made ordered patterns in the sky.

We contemplated the goals and directions of our seemingly insignificant lives, knowing that in the scope of eternity our lives are like the brief flash of a lightning bug, yet they have the possibility of making the lasting impression of a star.” That night, David again dedicated his life to God, determining to let Him guide his future.

In January 1998, God led him to an internship at Oklahoma Academy. There he met and married his wife, Tasha, and today they both continue to serve at the academy. Tasha is the accountant, while David serves as a teacher and the vice-principal. The effect of his time at Hartland continues to impact him and those around him. “In addition to my classroom duties as a teacher,” he says, “I direct the communications department, overseeing the school newsletter, website, yearbook, and other productions. Through it all, my motto is this: All for God.”

“Although Hartland was only a small part of my life,” David concludes, “it gave me tools for my ministry. It passed on to me the high standard of excellence. Always upward, always honor God, always seek to save the lost.”

by Samantha Coon

“I’m learning to depend on God rather than on myself.”

Ikechukwu (Ike) Anurukem grew up in a home that was split by conflicting religious beliefs: Adventism and Catholicism. Born in Nigeria, his family immigrated to England when he was 17. How did this young man come to accept the Seventh-day Adventist message and end up at Hartland College?

“After I attended a series of evangelistic meetings in London, I was baptized,” explains Ike. “When I was studying the Bible with my friends, I met Reggie Wright, who told me about Hartland.” Three years later Ike came to Hartland College. “I am thankful that my parents helped me with enough finances to cover one year of school. But during my first term here I got really discouraged, and all I could do was pray. It was truly in that experience that I learned how to depend on God rather than on myself.”

Hartland has provided not only a great learning environment for Ike, but also many other blessings. He is currently studying Pastoral Evangelism and Agriculture. “One of the biggest blessings for me was the summer gardening program and the opportunity to work at the farm,” he says. “One of the things I learned while working on the farm was cause and effect. I realized that everything I do has a consequence, so every choice has to be thought out properly.”

After graduation, Ike plans to return to London and use the things he has learned here to make a difference. He would also like to go back to his motherland of Nigeria to share the message of our soon-coming Savior with his people. “If I work as a pastor in a rural area, I will be able to help people practically with the things I am learning in agriculture. By God’s grace, it will give more validity to the message I share.”

Were it not for your faithful gifts to the Missionary Training Fund, Ike would not be able to continue his training for God’s service. “I was planning to just go back home and work, but it worked out for me to get help from the Missionary Training Fund. Now I can stay to continue my education.”

To those who sacrifice to make his and other students’ education possible, Ike says, “It’s good to know that in God’s church there are people who are willing to support young people so they can train to preach the Three Angels’ Messages. Thank you and God bless.”