Florida Seminar

The Florida Conference began on June 27 at Camp Ithiel. The teachers present were Brothers: Henry Dering, Gary Foster, Timothy Martin, and Idel Suarez. It was a nice time of fellowship for those who were able to make it.

Every morning at 7:00 a.m. the youth went out for a half an hour walk while Br. Gary Foster instructed the youth about health, the importance of exercise and the reason for dress reform. The youth asked questions and spent a nice time in nature in the early morning. Worship was held every morning by a different youth.

In the afternoons there was time to play volleyball, and weather permitting, to go canoeing.
Brother Idel Saurez spoke of the health of the soul, in regards to the mind, body, and spirit, and how a medical missionary can reach others through the gospel of health. He related the health of the body in relation to the Bible, which gave us a new perspective on this subject.

We had a chance to learn about the specifics of our own health as we had a chance to measure our: BMI (Body Mass Index), the circumference of our waists, our pulse rate, blood pressure, respiration rate, haemoglobin, glucose, the amount of calories per day we need, the amount of protein, a nutritional assessment made through a Food Frequency questionnaire, and our body frame sizes.

This assessment of our health was very useful since it gave us an insight about the degree of our own health and how we can apply these concepts as medical missionaries, bringing the gospel to the world.

Brother Gary Foster spoke of the benefits of natural remedies. He gave us lessons on the uses of different herbs.
Later we had a chance to go around the campground and identify and learn about different herbs found in Florida. We also had a lesson on hydrotherapy, and how different water treatments could be used for treating different maladies.
Another lesson was on making poultices along with the benefits of charcoal, water and flaxseed. Brother Foster emphasized the importance of the natural remedies being in accordance with the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. The topic of natural remedies is one that is essential for the medical missionary work.

Brother Henry Dering spoke about prophecy in Daniel and Revelation. He went through the seven churches, which are seven time periods the church went through. He also explained the seven seals (significant events which happened and will happen to God’s people). We also learnt about the United States in Bible Prophecy. John saw “…another beast…[who] had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon” (Rev 13:11). Since only the United States fits the description of this beast it must be this beast. He also went through spiritual Babylon and her characteristics. Even members of our church can be part of Babylon by what they do, the way they act and how they speak.

Brother Timo Martin spoke about the past, present and future of our church. Even though our church’s history can be traced all the way back to Adam, because our time was short, he decided to begin with the history of the early Adventists. It wasn’t until 1831 that William Miller began preaching Christ’s Second Coming though he had understood the 2300 days prophecy years before. People who had never come into contact with the Millerites understood this message all over the world, with the help of the Holy Spirit. He also retold stories about the early Adventists and how God helped them through their troubles. When 1844 came and Christ did not come a great disappointment fell upon the people; only one in a hundred remained. The Early Adventists remained faithful and with Ellen G. White as a prophet helped build the foundation of what we presently believe. The main focus was on the message of 1888 given by Jones and Waggoner at the Conference in Minneapolis.

All the General Conference leaders rejected the message, yet they remained leaders of God’s Church. In 1914 they failed to remain faithful by joining the army. Anyone who refused to do so was disfellowshipped. Next, he spoke about the shaking the church experienced in 1951. Many would blame Satan or Nicolici for this separation, whereas it was actually God who did it. Lastly he spoke about what we, as a church should expect in the near future.

On Thursday, the entire day was spent at Jerusalem Park (The Holy Land Experience) until 3:00 p.m. It was a small re-enactment of what Jerusalem must have looked like. Within the park, there were people dressed up like Jews, including the shop keepers, a small version of the Jerusalem Temple, a diorama of the entire city of Jerusalem, a scriptorium museum with special effects depicting the entire history of the Bible and how it was written from beginning to end, ending with the hope that in Jesus we can all be saved.

There was also a live musical presentation of “La Via Dolorosa”, and other hymns, by people dressed up as the women who followed Jesus and the disciples.

Finally, there was a demonstration of the sacrificial system with a view of what the Holy and Most Holy place must have looked like, complete with a man dressed as Aaron the High Priest would have been dressed.

Two evening worships that stood out were a short one by Br. Idel and a slideshow, power-point presentation by Br. Dering.

Br. Idel said that as a child he used to love to play hide-n-seek, one person was the seeker and he would have to count to 10 while the rest would hide. Another game he loved to play that was very similar to this one was Sardines in a Can. In this game, one person hides while the rest count and search for him. Each time a person finds the hiding spot he joins in, until all have found it…hence the name, sardines in a can.

He compared these childhood games to the way we try to hide from the Lord. Although we try so hard to hide from Him like Adam and Eve did, He still searches for us until He finds us.

In Colossians 3:2 it says: “ In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Instead of hiding from God we should desire to hide with Him and in Him.

On another evening, Br. Dering showed a slideshow power-point presentation of his trip to Peru. He spoke about all of his adventures there and all the wonderful things that are currently happening in Peru.

On Sunday, the camp people who run Camp Ithiel said that they were thankful to have had such a special group with them and that although cooking was a bit hard with such a strict vegetarian diet it had also been a blessing. They were even motivated to eat like vegetarians for the 10 days of the seminar.

After morning worship, held by Br. Idel, the conference came to an end. It was a wonderful blessing and plans are being made to hold another one like it in Canada for the summer of 2004 with the help of God.
Amen.