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Saved to Serve

Maxine Dennis from Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, found 3ABN on a visit to Scotland some years ago, and loved the spiritual food she received. But when she heard our camp meeting would focus on the three angels’ messages, she felt a strong desire to attend. However, she didn’t have the funds to come, so with fasting, she took her request to the Lord and miraculously, the funds came in!

As we spoke with her, we realized that life hasn’t been easy for Maxine. As a single mother living on benefits, she struggled to get an education and find a happy relationship. Then one day, a friend introduced her to the Seventh-day Adventist faith and when she attended for the first time, the topic was the Prodigal Son. “I wept through Sabbath School and church, but came back faithfully and was baptized in 1997,” she says. “During that time, I also earned a degree in fashion and textile design and began teaching college, but those successes seemed hollow. So when I discovered 3ABN Dare to Dream network, I found a new joy. The three angels’ messages have given me the drive and passion to help finish the work.”

Maxine wanted to volunteer while she was here, even as she looked forward to hearing the sermons on the three angels’ messages. But when she began working in our camp meeting kitchen, the realization that we had over 1,200 visitors to feed kept her working with her team every day.

“Maxine was like a breath of fresh air with her positive attitude,” says camp meeting chef Melody Prettyman-Caviness. “We laughed so hard as she taught us the King’s English and we taught her some ‘Southern!’ I kept encouraging her to attend the meetings for a few hours, but she wouldn’t leave her post.”

“Psalm 133:1 kept coming to mind,” Maxine says. “ ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!’ We were caring for the needs of others, and that spirit of service was an experience I needed. Those we fed were so grateful, and I got a chance to encourage others to volunteer next time. It’s a blessing to serve—in fact we were saved to serve! Most of my friends knew I was going on a little mission trip, but they didn’t know where. I just told them I was going to minister to someone—and now I see that they ministered to me!”

Might she be back next fall?

“Oh yes,” she says. “I’m planning on it!”

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Out of the Pit of Sin

Out of the pit of sin

Abuse in any form may be the most horrendous and appalling condition that exists in the human family, especially when it is perpetrated against a child, since they will form views of God through the lens of their abuse. As a young child, Sabrine’s abusive alcoholic father set the stage for her descent into sin’s dark pit.

“My dad was very abusive to our family. My mother, a Seventh-day Adventist, gave us Bible studies, taught us to pray, and planted the gospel seed in our hearts. We had learned my mom had a brain tumor while I was in high school.

“I felt so worthless because of my dad’s abuse, so around 18, I left home and rebelled by choice. I chose to smoke, drink, use pot, and became a meth addict. I chose to sleep with the kids that dealt in meth to get my fix, and later to prostitute myself for other reasons. If I survived the night, I was fine; and if I didn’t, I would have welcomed death. To top it off, I found out I had bone cancer, and when my neck broke, they put a lot of metal in there.”

Sabrine was in her late 30s when she learned her mother was very sick, and returned home to care for her during her last years.

After losing her mom she thought, I can’t live like this. I’ll move somewhere and get a new start, so she decided to move to Landers, Wyoming. While there, she checked out a local Seventh-day Adventist church, but felt it just wasn’t time. However, a few weeks later, she found 3ABN. “I knew instantly this was an Adventist station, so stayed at home and contentedly watched 3ABN for three years,” she says. “During one of the programs, Pastor John Bradshaw of It Is Written said we needed fellowship with one another, so I got dressed and went immediately to church. I felt so welcome, and soon I was taking Bible studies from Pastor Jason Logan. I was baptized on August 6 of this year, and I can’t thank 3ABN enough for the way they presented the truth so God could reach deep into my pit of sin to fulfill His promise to me, ‘Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save.’ ”

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Radio Reaches Out in Michigan

Radio Reaches Out in Michigan

We are convinced that God has ordained every broadcast medium to be used in proclaiming the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14 to the world, and the exciting reports coming from a large 3ABN Radio affiliate network in Michigan prove that radio works!

Strong Tower Radio operates both a television station and eleven radio stations, broadcasting a combination of 3ABN and local programming to a huge audience throughout Michigan and the Upper Peninsula.

Tom Mejeur works for them in production and marketing, and recently sent us these reports. “Pastor Jed Genson of the Manistique, McMillan Northwoods, and Sault Ste. Marie Seventh-day Adventist churches, sent us a first-person report. He told us that of the eight baptisms they had in 2016, seven were as a direct result of Strong Tower Radio. Pastor Genson wrote, ‘Our contacts were well grounded in the truth of the Scriptures after listening to the powerful preaching… and when we studied with them, each candidate was already prepared to make a full commitment and follow Christ in baptism. Thank you for your vision and dedication! Radio waves have enabled the gospel to be shared in areas we cannot reach, and lives have been touched for eternity.’

“Then there’s Diane Kobor, in Gaylord, Michigan, who wrote us, saying, ‘Michelle walked in ten minutes before Sabbath School started, and said, “The Lord sent me here to this church!” Evidently she’s been listening to Amazing Facts, and has already decided to stop her business on Sabbath and let work be done on Sunday! Another Strong Tower listener, who was baptized in 2015, signed her up for Bible studies on the spot, and Michelle plans to be back for Thursday’s study in Revelation!’ ”

Yes, the Lord is using every means possible to reach His children, and we are thrilled to work with ministries like Strong Tower Radio. God’s blessing and favor have been poured out abundantly, and their ministry has undergone tremendous expansion. Please pray for both 3ABN Radio and Strong Tower Radio as we seek to reach a lost and dying world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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Charlie’s Request

Charlie's Request

Among the many areas where 3ABN ministers, one of the most amazing is our prisoner correspondence—through our pastoral ministries department. Each week, volunteers and workers read and answer dozens of letters from inmates who watch or listen to 3ABN, and write us, seeking prayer, spiritual guidance, and literature. We recently received a letter from Charlie, who shared a marvelous story of redemption.

He says, “I am writing you today to see if you can find it in your hearts to bless me with a Study Bible. I was in a very dark place in my life before I got locked up. I cried out to the Lord, our God, repented for my sins, for letting Him down again, and for running away from Him. 

“I asked Him once again to save me from the fiery pits of the realm of darkness before it was too late. 

“Praise God for what a kind and loving Father He is, for He picked me up and cared for me, as always. He opened my eyes to His Glory! I told our Father, I am ready this time, one-hundred percent committed to picking up my cross, letting my old self die, and letting You raise me up from the gross darkness to be reborn again for Your Glory. 

“God is good all the time, and as the Holy Spirit was with me, God told me to let His words stick like grease this time and grow. 

“Once again, I was hoping you can bless me with a Study Bible so I can feed on everything I read and put it into practice—not for my glory, but for the glory of God. Please, and thank you. I hope all of you and your family’s spirits stay strong in love and hope. God’s peace be with you, and faith always in God. 

“I have a hard time understanding, at times, and some Christian literature to read will help me to always have faith in God.” 

Charlie, and thousands like him have sought answers from our small staff, and we’re delighted to help them. Your generous gifts provide Remnant Study Bibles to those who would never have the opportunity to acquire them. Surely God is blessing all our efforts, as we unite with you to bring salvation and real freedom to those who are so desperate for truth and hope.

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How I met God

How I met God

Donna Steele grew up with ten siblings at the end of the Great Depression. They were was not raised in church, and God was never mentioned in their home. “In fact, there wasn’t a Bible in the house!” she says.“But I always knew there was a God, because He came to me in dreams.” After visiting a mansion for the first time, she says her goal suddenly became to own one. “But that night, God came to me in a dream, turned over and sat down on an old bucket, and talked to me about life’s values. I was not to seek the things of this world, but to seek love to spread out to others,” she recalls. When Donna’s parents divorced, she began attending her grandmother’s Baptist church, and at the tender age of nine she answered an altar call and was baptized. After she married, she began attending her husband’s Pentecostal church. “The people were loud,” she says, “and I didn’t like it. But it was church, so I kept going.” Her journey took her through the Nazarenes, Catholicism, and even the Native American beliefs, but there was always something missing. “I look back now and I realize that although I had loved and known about God all my life, I’d never met Him,” she admits. Then, several years ago, Donna moved to southern Illinois to help her daughter Kristina, who works for 3ABN. “At that point, I wasn’t going to church, because I didn’t feel like I belonged anywhere,” she says, “but Kristina kept mentioning her co-workers at 3ABN, so I began watching. I liked listening to Shelley Quinn, and soon I fell in love with the preaching of CA Murray, David Asscherick, and Kenneth Cox. Then one day, I met Danny Shelton and suddenly we were talking about the seventh-day Sabbath. I’d been taught that it was just for the Jews, but as I continued studying what Jesus said, everything lined up! Then I knew!”

She began attending the Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church, and says, “Everything I heard was backed up directly in the Bible, and I’ve been there from that point on.

“It’s an amazing journey, and at 75 years of age, I finally have a freedom I’ve never had. No matter what happens, I just trust God!”

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Sharing Her Joy

Sharing her Joy

Jane Gibbs was raised Catholic, but never really knew the Lord. Growing up with ten siblings, her father’s alcoholism and drug addiction made for a very unhappy childhood, but God made sure she felt His love. “A lovely Jehovah’s Witness family lived across the street, and they were very kind to me,” she says. “However, as I grew up, I began self-medicating, and my addictions kept me trapped for most of my life.

Then, one day, I found a channel I’d never seen before on DISH Network, and as I listened to 3ABN I was hooked! In time, I felt a need to be baptized, so I prayed, Lord, if You’re serious about this, please help me find a church. Then I called 3ABN, and they got in touch with the Oakwood Seventh-day Adventist Church in Taylor, Michigan.

When someone called to ask if I’d like to study the Bible, I was so excited that I blurted out, ‘What I really need is to be baptized!’ They sent Mary Skrobowski, who was also raised Catholic. We had so much in common; and as we studied, I felt so alive and so saved that I wanted to tell everybody!

I remember the day I was baptized. When I came up out of the water, I knew my life was different. I’d quit smoking, drinking, and taking drugs before; but this time it was real. The Lord was holding me up!” Pastor Ariel Roldan had the privilege of baptizing her and says that Jane is a tremendous blessing to his church.
“Just a few months ago I baptized two people who received Bible studies from her,” he says, “and she welcomes and nurtures all of our new members!”

Jane believes that 3ABN is a great tool, since it reaches everywhere. “I know firsthand,” she adds, “because you certainly reached me!”

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Impressed by the Spirit

Impressed by the Spirit

The Holy Spirit is moving strongly on the hearts of our viewers. One of those who have been moved is Roberto Chavez, a retired engineer, who lives in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Several years ago he began watching 3ABN Latino and came to the conclusion that we were preaching a message from the Bible that he’d never heard before.

One Sabbath morning, he felt strongly compelled to enter a church building he’d seen many times before on his way home. As he entered the lobby, brother Ovidio Galindo reached out his hand and introduced himself. He proceeded to ask Mr. Chavez if he was coming for the church service, or if he was just looking for someone, to which Mr. Chavez replied, “I’ve been watching a TV channel called 3ABN Latino, and they talk about prophecy and other interesting topics. However, this morning I was impressed that this is the church they make reference to in their programs.” Brother Galindo was delighted, and after the service, they set up a time for Bible studies.

To everyone’s amazement, Mr. Chavez soon proved that he had a good understanding of the truths held dear by the Adventist Church, and it wasn’t long until he made his decision for Christ and was baptized. Today he is an active member of the Guatemala City Seventh-day Adventist Church! We rejoice that the Lord is blessing 3ABN Latino’s efforts to reach the millions of souls who live in Latin America! Thank you for your support!