MOVING!

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Honduras

Hey all,

Annie and I are safely here at VIDA Internacional. Honduras is awesome! 

The trip from Matteson to VIDA was about 42 hours. From Oslo to Miami, things when as expected. The trip from Miami to VIDA, got interesting. The descent into the Tegucigalpa airport was awesome. They had to fly right up into the curve of the mountainside to make a clean approach to land. Tegucigalpa was NOTHING like Havana. New cars, Burger King, Wendy's, Mc'D's, etc. Took us about 4/5 hours to get out of the city, because we got lunch, and had to meet someone to pick up a generator(remember, we are on Hispanic time here. "I'll meet you in 30 minutes" means 3 hours). We drove to VIDA in a small Toyota pickup, most of us in the bed with our bigger suitcases. The fabric suitcases and bags were inside in case it rained, which it did. Well, it poured. And sprinkled. And poured. For most of the 2 hour ride to Suyatal. Someone at a gas station gave us a tarp, which we crawled under and used to protect us from the rain. The whole way, the wind kept it blown up like a parachute. What fun. 

We arrived around 8 pm, and got to bed a few minutes after that. Ever since I haven't gone to bed past 8:30 pm. I also get up around 4:30 in the morning. 

There is a mountain close by, which is the only source of decent internet, if you have a 3G phone, or Thumb-drive Data Device(also 3G). Otherwise it works on EDGE network, which is next to dialup speeds. Its about a 30 minute hike to the point where the internet is on the mountain. Everything else is pretty much dead-zones. 

There is no electricity on campus, unless you have a personal solar station. The other option is to go to the office in Suyatal and power up there. No, there isn't internet in Suyatal.

Tegucigalpa is the largest city in Honduras, about 2 million residents. Telanga is the second largest in our province, and it has 30,000 people. Telanga is 30 minutes away. 

Its my job here as Public Relations designer, to create project proposals, design publicity paper stock (Rackcards, Postcards, Info brochures, logos for different projects) take photos, and update the website. That is, until the current PR director and assistant leave in December. Then, its my responsibility to fill in many of their chores until they find a replacement. I will be taking over the Newsletter, web design, and all the other unspoken tasks of this department. Oh yeah, and to some degree, I'm managing the two mission trips along side the director of VIDA. 

By the way, I'm trying to raise some funds for me to go to GYC and meet some people about my future after Matteson, as well and get a spiritual recharge. I will not be going home for Christmas, so I am hoping that you might be interested in helping towards my trip to GYC! You can click here to help out, and see what progress has been made so far! Please do what you can!

I will write more later, I gotta run and see what I can scrounge up for supper.  Hopefully I can write an update for my time at Matteson these past 3 months! 

God Bless! - Seth 

The First Two Weeks of Mission School

Its been almost two weeks since I arrived at Matteson Mission School. I have been learning so much! I love it here. Norway is decidedly my favorite country in the whole world. The air is crisp and clean, you can see as far and land will allow.

Matteson Mission School is everything and more that I expected it to be. The friends I have made here are all sincere Christian brothers and sisters. I have two roommates, Thierry De Rose, and Johannes Huber. I have 10 other classmates, 2 more guys, and 8 girls. Yep, we are out-numbered.
I found that classes so far aren't the most challenging, but that can be expected at the beginning of the school year. But some of it has to do with the fact that I learn a lot of similar things in high school at Oklahoma Academy.

We just finished learning the prophecies of Daniel chapters 2, 7, and 8, with little adventures into chapters 9 and 11.

Practical work involves working at the Komposten, or top soil plant that they have here. It has become an industry to support the school, they receive branches and leaves that are typically composted in a ditch somewhere, and shred them through a chip-shredder, mix with mineral clay and manure, and allow to sit for two years. Then they package the top soil and sell it throughout the area.

The other practical work jobs are working in the garden(organic gardening) and picking berries during the berry season. At least, thats what they have done so far.

We will be going out today for In-Gathering to collect money for ADRA. That is exciting, as I don't know Norwegian. But I'm learning Norwegian, slowly, and I hope to eventually become decent in the language.

That will be all for now, more coming soon! Including pictures!

The Next Journey

Five weeks marks my departure date on a 1-year journey to different parts of the world. It is an exciting adventure that will give me the chance to see new countries, meet new people, and learn new things. I always enjoy a traveling adventure, and I will get to add a few countries to my list of 18 countries I have been to so far. I will also get to meet some important people in my life that I have never seen in person before. I will be learning skills that will determine what I do with the rest of my life. Perhaps the most important feature of this adventure is experiencing this journey with my Creator, and allowing Him to become my best friend.

There is no way to tell the future, so I have no clue what all will happen throughout my journey, as far as specifics go, but I can tell you what expectations I have. First off, I am really excited to meet my biological family in the Los Angeles area of California.I was adopted at birth, and I have never met my birth parents. My father has 7 other children, so I will get to meet a few of them as well.

The journey leads me on from LA to Miami, Florida. I'll get to spend a few days on vacation with my adopted family, sailing in the Keys off the tip of Florida.

August 15 is the true date of departure for my world travels. I will board a plane to Detroit, Michigan, then on to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. My last leg lands me in Oslo, Norway. Here in Norway is where the school year begins.

I will be attending Matteson Mission School, located close to Oslo, Norway. This school equips young people with the skills needed to operate in ministry in the home, in the church, in the community, and in the foreign mission field--throughout their lives. I will have training in 5 different areas. Theological/Biblical studies, Outreach, Leadership, Health, and Agriculture, and by this range of training I will have a very well rounded basic ministerial education. 

The program also provides a Mission Internship program, so I will be going to one of three different countries (Bolivia, Guyana, Honduras) to put all that theory into practice. This will happen about 3 months into my stay in Norway. I will be on the internship for approximately 4 1/2 months, and then return to Norway for another 3 month stay. When all of that is finished, I will come back to the US, probably around the end of June. Hopefully by then I will have a plan for what happens afterwards.

I will be cutting off many of the distractions that often get in my way, by experiencing 

But above all of this exciting adventure, the one thing that excites me most, is a chance to spend so much time learning about, sharing, and praising my God, my Saviour, and the one who is fast becoming my best and closest friend. 

May God bless you,

Seth Greve

A Soldier, for God and for Country

Seth Greve - April 5, 2013.

Sitting down and listening to my grandfather share bits of elderly wisdom, is one of my favorite pastimes. Born in 1919, he lived through World War 1, survived The Great Depression, and served in World War 2. He was in the U.S. 1st Air Force, 556th Air Warning Battalion, stationed in Iceland, waiting for the signal to move to the German front lines. During the seven months he spent there, he found the Sabbath truth and became a Seventh-Day Adventist. At the same time, unbeknownst to him, his expecting wife visited a Seventh-Day Adventist church and decided that was where she would attend.

They had been writing to each other, both telling the other their new-found faith, but because of the location of my Grandfather's battalion, the mail did not go through during the winter months. So neither of them knew of each other's discoveries.

So my grandfather began to think about where his life was going. He thought about the choices he would make in the military, and out, as a Seventh-Day Adventist Christian. One choice he had to make was whether or not to carry a weapon, while in action. He went to his company commander, and the disappointing conversation left him even more undecided. When his company received the command to move into Germany, in 1945, he still didn't know what to do. Fortunately, that choice became a mute point, as the company received a second order, to turn and go back to the US. When he returned, after a few miscommunications, he was discharged.

His life from that point on was certainly not easy, but through God's grace, his 5 daughters grew up with an amazing father who loved God, and his family. The youngest of his daughters was the one that chose me as her son (I'm adopted).

Grandpa always has wonderful bits of wisdom for his family, reflecting on his strong relationship with his Savior, Friend, and God. This has made an impression on my mind, and gives me a standard to strive for as I grow in my own relationship with Jesus.

This evening during family worship, (April 5, 2013) he spoke of how he woke one early morning, feeling depressed, and God reminded him through a still, small voice, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." - Hebrews 13:5

Just little things like that, show me what kind of faith one has when they give their life to God.

One Facebook post I recently saw was a picture of a Bible that was marked up, and falling apart. The caption below it said, "A Bible thats falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn't." That is so true. If your relationship is so with God that your Bible needs to be replaced to make it legible, its likely you know God well.

The World's Greatest Artist

My high school art teacher, and dormitory dean, once told me that the world's greatest artist will most likely never know that they possess the talent for art, and therefore, the world will never know about them. He said this after a few days of my attending class, when I was learning pencil sketching, to outline an oil painting I was going to be working on. I had grown up believing that I didn't possess the qualities of a good artist, and therefore would never succeed in that field. I was wrong. 3 class periods into the semester, I discovered that with a little instruction and practice, I could actually visually sketch a picture I had up on my computer screen, without breaking it down into a 100x100 grid.

Enough about my own art skill, I want to get down to the point of it all. This principle states that you don't know, if you don't try. Apply a bit of moral and common sense, and you've got a good reason to try out a few things that you never would have tried out. I, for one, know that I am horrible at reading piano music. How do I know? I took lessons for 3 years, and eventually gave up the reading method. Instead, I approached the same task by ear. I do much better. But, when I thought I was horrible at art, I tried it out and found out that is not the case. Today I use those skills, and continue to learn them, because I attempted what I thought was not possible. I do graphics design, I do photography, and I write. All of these are creative arts that I would not have known were at my fingertips had I not tried.

By the way, you can visit my art teacher's website, just click on the word teacher at the beginning of the first paragraph, or click here.

God Bless,

Seth

Using your iPad for Devotions

 I've set up my iPad to be very useful in my morning devotions. Mentioned below are a few free apps you can download and use for your own devotions.

 The Olive Tree Reader Bible App is very useful for reading and studying your bible. It has "In-App" purchasing, and there are many great bibles to download. I currently have the King James Version, Holman Christian Standard Bible (and I'm saving up for the Study Version of this same Bible), American Standard Bible, and several others. Other languages are available as well, I have the Romanian and Spanish translations. It includes wonderful study features such as highlighting, bookmarking, and notes.

  The Bible.is(also available on other iOS devices) app by Faith Comes by Hearing, is great for when you are doing activities in the morning, such as your routine exercise, or when you are showering, cooking, or whatever you wish. Simply download app, and listen to the Bible being read by several different voice options, including one with dramatic background + dramatized dialogue (word-for-word), and many different Bible versions(other languages available).

 I use the Ellen G. White Estate Complete Library app(also available on other iOS devices) to read the Spirit of Prophecy writings. This app was designed for Seventh-Day Adventists, but anyone is welcome to use it, and read the writings. It contains the complete EGW Estate Library, including the unpublished articles. This app is great for word, phrase, and topical search studying, as well as reference look up. You can browse through all the titles in the Library, and it also has the King James Version Bible, if you need to cross reference with the Bible. This app comes in English, French, Spanish, and more. Other languages are being developed as well.

 Also for Seventh-Day Adventists, the Sabbath School app is awesome! It has all the Sabbath School quarterlies published by the Review & Herald, and the Pacific Press, including the Youth divisions. It does not have the EGW Notes quarterly, sadly, but that is under construction as a separate app.

 For notes, journalism, and doodling, I just downloaded the Moleskine app, by moleskine.com. This is great for those of you who have an iPad stylus, available at most any store that sells iPad accessories. You can use your stylus to write, like on paper. The response isn't quite like real writing, but it works! You can also insert text, so you can type, and paste quotes you may have copied from the Bible or your EGW app. Here is a picture example of what it can do:

 Happy Studying! 

Seth Greve