Experiences

Central California Conference

Summer Literature Evangelism Program

Experiences!

"Our confession of His faithfulness is
Heaven's chosen agency for revealing
Christ to the world. We are to
acknowledge His grace as made known
through the holy men of old; but that
which will be most effectual is the
testimony of our own experience."
--Desire of Ages p.347

"O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his
name: make known his deeds among the people.
Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of
all his wondrous works." --Psalms 105:1,2

"...It [canvassing] was the hardest/best thing I have ever done. God showed me
many aspects of life that hadn't occurred to me in the past. I learned so much,
and felt so happy that I was able to bring others to know Christ through the
books. Service and growing in Christ--two of my favorite things."

Savonna

THE MODESTO/FRESNO PROGRAM 2009

One amazing experience in Modesto/Fresno, that revealed to us the presence of God,
happened to a young man named Cesar. While walking along his merry way, he met and
spoke with a middle-aged man in his garage. After showing him The Great Controversy, Cesar
proceeded to tell him about the amazing information found in the book! The man, however,
wasn’t interested. Deciding to try one more time, Cesar showed him a small book called Time
for Peace, an excerpt from the Desire of Ages. The man looked down at the book, up at Cesar,
and then looked just to the left at what seemed to be nothing by air. Repeating this action, the
man looked down at the book, up at Cesar, and then to his left. The man then proceeded to
hand Cesar a few dollars from his pocket, while still looking from Cesar to his left.

“Do you mind if I have a water bottle, Sir?” Cesar asked as he was about to go. The man went
back into his house and returned with two water bottles. Looking at Cesar, he said “Here’s one
for you…” and then as he looked to Cesar’s left, he said, “… and here’s one for your friend.”
After looking around, and across the street, Cesar found no one in sight. The funny thing is:
Cesar continued getting two water bottles from people all day long.

Angels. Sometimes we don’t see them, but we know they’re there. Clearly, angels were with
us in ministry this summer. The pen of inspiration writes that, “In working for perishing souls
you have the companionship of angels. Thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten
thousand angels are waiting to co-operate with members of our churches in communicating the
light that God has given us to share. nerously given, that a people may be prepared for the
coming of Christ.” Testimonies, vol. 9, pg. 129.

THE SAN JOSE/SALINAS PROGRAM 2009

God divinely timed the door-knocking experiences in Salinas Youth Rush this summer.
On a cool Salinas day, Karen Yanez knocked on the door of a man who was searching
for peace. After making friends and showing him a few books, she shared Peace Above
the Storm with him. The man was so interested in the book, and automatically asked for
the address and service times for the local Seventh-day Adventist Church in Salinas. He
ended up buying four books!

Karen didn’t think much of the experience until Sabbath, when the man came to church!
When he walked through the door, Karen knew she had seen him before and recognized
him as the man she had met at the door! In talking to the man, a beautiful story unfolded.
He had been feeling like he wasn’t good enough to come back to church. He had done
too many things wrong. But something in Peace Above the Storm caught his eye. The
words from the book encouraged his heart. It said, “If you see your sinfulness, do not wait
to make yourself better… We can do nothing of ourselves. We must come to Christ just as
we are.” Because of those words, the man said, he was at church that day. He knew that
Jesus accepted him! That Sabbath, Karen’s leader, Ricardo Camacho, connected the
man with the pastor and head elder for Bible studies.

Yanez and Camacho thought the story ended there. However, it did not! While visiting
the Salinas SDA Church recently, Camacho met this man again, only to find out that he
had been baptized three weeks previously into the Adventist Church! He is now actively
participating in church and says that he is there to stay. Praise the Lord for His passion in
reaching out to souls, and for using human instruments to reach them!

THE BAKERSFIELD/SANTA MARIA PROGRAM

God does amazing things through Youth Rush Programs. Not only are lives impacted in
the community, but the students lives are changed.

Youth Rush student, Gisel Tejeda says that God told her to come canvassing. “I didn’t
know what it was about,” she said. “Slowly I got more information on Youth Rush: at
GYC in San Jose, from friends in Fresno, and others. God keep bringing people to me,
answering my questions about the program.

When asked about how Youth Rush impacted her spiritual life, Tejeda’s testimony is for
all of us. “My walk with God changed drastically,” she said. “I didn’t want this to be a
spiritual high, so I decided to have time with God from the very get go. Now I can’t go a
day without my devotions! It feels weird without it.”

Tejeda shares how Youth Rush has helped prepare her from the real world. “Whenever
I hit an obstacle in the real world, I go to God. In Youth Rush, you have to give rejection
to God. Here in the real world, a door closes, you never know what God has around the
corner. I’ve learned how to have full 100% dependence on God.”

“Youth Rush literature evangelism has trials you won’t get anywhere else, but God will
help you defeat them!” Praise God for the experience Gisel had this summer.
Remember it’s one you could have too!