I built a successful international e-commerce business which I sold in 2014 as God called me into evangelism. I went on to preach 350 sermons over the next three years, leading me to join AWR in 2017. God’s truth changed me . . . from the pursuit of the world to the pursuit of Heaven.

ASI 2021: Into All the World

<p>I built a successful international e-commerce business which I sold in 2014 as God called me into evangelism. I went on to preach 350 sermons over the next three years, leading me to join AWR in 2017. God’s truth changed me . . . from the pursuit of the world to the pursuit of Heaven.</p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Plenary Sessions

Vanessa Dowdley

The Tunnel Syndrome

It's a blessing to be here at ASI to be able to share my testimony with everyone.

My name is Vanessa Doutley and I'm from Cleveland, Ohio.

I'm a mother of 6 children, 14 grandchildren.

It's just a blessing to be able to be a parent and to have so many grandchildren.

I've been there for 7 years working as a lifestyle counselor, which has been also a rich blessing.

I know a lot of people probably will say, well, why are you at UT Pines?

And that is my testimony that I would like to share with you.

But before I share my testimony, that part of my testimony with you, how I got to Uchee Pines, I want to share with you a dream.

And this is the beginning of my testimony.

A dream that I had some years ago, like in 1999, about a storm.

And I know a lot of you, a lot of us have had storms, right?

And you also have had dreams that have came true, that God has given you dreams that have came true, right?

And so I had this dream where my husband and I would often take our 2 youngest children with us anywhere we went, whether we went grocery shopping or just to go visit family and leave the 4 oldest ones at home so they can get through with their homework or their chores or whatever they needed to do.

And in this dream, we were Sitting on top of a hill, out looking the city of Ashtabula.

And as I looked, we were sitting in our van, and as I looked to the north of me, which would be the lake, because we lived closer to the lake, I saw this storm coming.

These clouds that were coming across the sky.

And as they were coming across the sky, it settled over top of our house in Asheville, Ohio.

And I said, oh, wow, this storm is over my house where my 4 children are at home.

And all of a sudden I felt fear, like what's gonna happen to my children and I'm not there with them.

And I look up at my husband who was in the driver's seat.

The van just started shaking and riveling back and forth, and I grabbed my 2 younger children and I took them and put them up under me and I laid on top of them, just to protect them.

And like I said, I remember looking up at my husband, he was just sitting like he couldn't move.

And then I woke up out of that dream and I said, that was a strange dream.

And so my husband and I always wanted to move our children out of the big city from Cleveland, Ohio, into Asheville, Ohio.

Because being in the church, we know that 1 of the things that we hear all the time is what move to the country, move to the country.

And so we wanted to raise our children in the country atmosphere where they can run around and just enjoy the nature and get them out of the big city life.

And we lived where we live at in Cleveland was part of the rough side of Cleveland, Ohio.

But what happened it really pushed us out there was when my son, Rayshon Williams, got jumped by some gangs.

And being a mother, I was very, very upset about that.

And so I go and I leave, looking, going to the streets, looking for this gang of boys who had jumped my son.

I don't know why but that's just a mother right?

But I remember him telling me, he said, mom and they had a gun.

But in my instinct a mother wanted to protect their children, right?

And so I praise God for his Holy Spirit because I could have found that gang of boys and got in their face, which I was planning on doing.

They could have hurt me and could have hurt my son as well.

So of course I didn't find them, but in my mind, I said, okay, it is time to get out of the city, it's time to go.

And so my husband and I would go out into the country and just look and look for houses out in the country and we didn't find anything of course, but we would still, like every other day, just leave Cleveland, Ohio and drive out into Asheville.

To me, that was the closest country out to Asheville, Ohio, to find a home.

And so we couldn't find anything, so we said, okay, well, let's just move to the closest city from the country of Asheville, just move to the city.

We found a home in the city of Ashtabula, a nice big home actually, 4 bedroom place, it was very nice.

And so We made our move out into Asheville, Ohio, Lehman Cleveland.

And once we got there, it was very, very busy trying to get my kids enrolled in school.

You know how that is when you move from 1 city to the other?

There's a lot of paperwork that has to be done, and that's what I was doing.

I was at home doing a lot of paperwork as I'm trying to get all my children to, all 6 of my children into school.

And so at this time, my husband decides to go and get the last load in Cleveland, Ohio at our old house to bring it to the new house.

And so I'm at home with the kids and the day just, the day goes by and it gets dark and I said wow my husband hasn't gotten back yet and I'm wondering what's taking him so long and so at the time I didn't, he had the cell phone, he had the vehicle.

Asheville is an hour away from Cleveland And so of course I couldn't just jump up and leave and go and try to look for him or anything like that.

I did have a house phone, but I didn't have the cell phone.

So a friend of mine, a church member of mine, decided to give me a call and said, Vanessa, I just got a call from the hospital, and they said that Sid just fell down the stairs and broke his neck.

And I said, oh wow, you know, in my mind, it was kind of scary, but at the same time, I said, he's gonna be okay.

My husband has 9 lives, he'll be all right.

And so I get another phone call from her again and said that Vanessa, he is not only did he break his neck, but he's paralyzed.

You know, I'm here by myself with my children, no vehicle, no way to get in touch with him.

So he, my husband's in the hospital so where's my son?

So I guess he's also somewhere in the hospital with them.

And so my friend who had called me, she came and picked me up.

We drive all the way to Cleveland, Ohio to the hospital.

And sure enough, my husband is laying there flat on a bed with a brace around his neck.

And that's when they told me that he was paralyzed from the neck down.

At that time, my whole world was just turned upside down because I didn't know what to do.

No job, no job, because of course I had to stop working to take care of the children and my husband's in the hospital.

And so, like I said, my whole world was turned upside down.

I just absolutely did not know what to do.

I'm wondering God, what's going on with my life?

I had given my heart to God when I was 19 years old, and, but went through the front door and out the back, and was kind of living a worldly life for about 10 years.

And so my husband and I had just given our hearts back to the Lord and all of a sudden, this is what's going on.

We've decided to move out in the country, wanting to do the right thing.

And all of a sudden, now my husband is down, he's paralyzed.

And so, I just didn't know, I did not know what to do.

But I thank God for the church who stepped in to help with funds and to help with food and to help with clothing.

Because of course I couldn't work so I didn't have any money to buy my kids clothing I haven't didn't have money to buy food and and things like that and so it was just it was very stressful it was very very stressful So I would drive back and forth to visit my husband in the hospital every day.

And probably once you get into Cleveland, Ohio, probably it was a little bit longer, maybe an hour and a half, I want to say.

When my kids, I would put my kids off to school, I would go out and just go visit him and sit with him all day.

Members in Action

♪ We are empowered by lay driven leadership, connecting lay ministries and business people to share Christ in the marketplace in support of the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

And I hope you too have been tuning in each and every night to receive your blessing.

And it began on Sunday with some wonderful programs we've had meeting people that's something that's been so enjoyable.

And we've been here early though getting all set up.

I'm so glad to see that we're able to get back to the exhibit booths.

And seeing people, meeting new people, meeting old friends, and the exhibits, the workshops has been wonderful.

And during the day there are many workshops that are designed to enhance business practices with Christ at the center of those business practices encouraging people how to be stronger in their walk and their faith and What else have we had this week?

Well, it's more networking, getting to meet people, people saying how blessed they are by watching 3ABN television as well as radio.

So I've been hearing a lot of good things.

People have been coming to the Lord I've been meeting people for my Crossroads program which has been great meeting people and it's been a blessing now tonight we're going to hear about members in action ASI is about bringing Christ into the marketplace and the testimonies and the stories tonight are going to be thrilling.

We have some preview as we look at the program.

And so we want to encourage people to look in and be involved in the program.

After the pause of last year, Are you enjoying the convention this year?

John, you know, there's so many things at ASI.

There's networking, there is meeting new people, there's booths, there are seminars, there's presentations.

And actually, What is your favorite, John?

I have just enjoyed the fellowship because having missed this, getting together with friends who I haven't seen for more than a year, sometimes 2 or 3 years, it's a blessing.

I think that actually similar, seeing friends and just being together with people that have the same mission in life.

And tonight we're going to have a program that is packed of these experiences.

I enjoyed this evening as always Thursday night.

It is incredible to see stories of people that actually have Christ acting and the Holy Spirit acting throughout the world.

So I hope you're gonna enjoy this evening's program.

I'm gonna ask John if you could lead us with prayer.

So I'm gonna kneel, please bow your heads and let's reverently approach God this evening, shall we?

Dear God, our Almighty Father, Abba, We praise You for Your merciful, loving kindness, and we come to You into Your presence, into Your sanctuary, Your holy place this evening.

And we ask you to cleanse us, to give us a hunger for you, to revive us afresh and anew.

This evening, Lord, enlighten us with your Holy Spirit, that we might bring the light, your light, your everlasting gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.

Please create in us hunger for your word and feed us, Father, so that the things of the world leave a bad taste in our mouth, and we will only be satisfied as we taste and see that You are good, because You are good.

You are merciful and gracious and long-suffering and abounding, abounding in goodness and truth.

Please, write your word upon our hearts, our minds.

Fulfill Your promise that Christ in us, the hope of glory, will transform us as day by day we sit at the feet of the crucified Savior, our Savior, Your Son, Jesus Christ.

So please, Lord, tonight hear our prayers.

Speak to us through what we hear about members in action, through your Word, and may we have hearts and minds to receive, to receive you, our merciful Savior, in Jesus' name.

By show of hands this evening, how many were able to make it to 1 of the seminars this afternoon or this morning?

How many were blessed by the seminars, blessed and challenged?

I was able to attend 2 seminars, and it was truly a blessing.

For anyone that wasn't able to make it to a seminar, you just couldn't pick between 1 of the 2, please know that each of the seminars are recorded.

They'll be available on AudioVerse, and I'd encourage each of you to consider making the time to listen to all the seminars.

We have seminars tomorrow morning as well.

I just wanted to run through those with you.

Again, our focus is on the 3 Angels message and the 3 tracks that we have tomorrow.

Track number 1, David Machado is sharing Rekindle Your First Love.

David is a very dynamic speaker, and I know you'll be blessed as you consider attending that 1.

John Bradshaw will be sharing how to identify a conspiracy theory.

Hm, a few of those going around these days.

Patty Guthrie will be on a panel discussion that she'll be leading, and it will be entitled online or at the door.

Very intriguing topic that I'm sure will be a blessing as well.

So regardless of which seminar you choose I'm sure you'll be blessed and I'm also going to encourage you to take advantage of those recordings that are available afterwards as well.

So, Stephen is my name, and Felicia Lee, we are the leaders of ASI young professionals.

And the best way that I could explain the relation of young professionals with ASI is to tell you very quickly of 3 instances in the Bible.

Before Moses dies, the Lord tells him that he is going to take some of his spirit and put on Joshua.

Even though Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, it was Joshua who led the children of Israel into the promised land.

Cami Oetman

Personal Testimony: Cami Oetman

I am so excited and honored to be with you here today.

Praise God that we can gather together still and hear each other's testimonies.

You know there's an unusual power in a personal testimony and we are told that we need to share what God has done in our lives and that's what I want to do with you today.

I want to lift Jesus up because when we lift him up he draws all to himself.

This is my prayer this morning that I share my testimony with you and that it draws you closer to Jesus' heart.

I was asked here today to share a specific portion of my testimony of my life, specifically the last decade, which I have titled, From the Pursuit of the World to the Pursuit of Heaven.

Heavenly Father, King of the Universe, King of our hearts, Lord be with us today as we gather together to share and uplift you.

Lord, empty me of self and fill me with your Holy Spirit.

Anoint my lips with only your words and fill this room with your holy angels, blocking out all evil and darkness, because we have gathered together as your children and we are so excited for your soon coming.

Since childhood God has been working incredible miracles to keep me safe and alive.

My life has been filled with amazing adventures through 40-some countries, from being stranded in the outback at the age of 19, being capsized overboard at sea, to an angelic rescue in the rice fields of Jakarta, Indonesia.

Those stories are for another day because personally I can't wait to talk with my angel face to face and find out how many other times the Lord saved me.

And each 1 of us are going to do the same thing.

He is there with us by our side as we go through this world.

And when I look back I can see how God has given me validations over and over again to let me know that he is by my side, always holding my hand, never letting me go.

By 2007, I had put my master's degree in social work to good use with the hospice population and quickly became the director of a small medical facility in Southern California.

Now during this time, I had fallen in love with 2 five-pound puppies, yes.

My Yorkie, Olive, and my Maltese, Lily Peach.

And I wish I could show you their pictures, but that's for another time.

Now, I've always had an entrepreneurial spirit and creative streak, and I remember the very day that this business idea struck me.

You see, this was the time period when we began to see celebrities carrying small pups in designer purses and lavishing them with expensive clothes and jewels.

The planning and building of my new adventure was so exciting and all-consuming.

Soon I opened a brick and mortar storefront and became a destination stop for puppy parents far and wide.

I named my company Yuppie Puppy Boutique.

Within a year, I had won local awards and been featured in Business Magazine.

It became clear that I could also do very well online.

So I researched how to build my own website so that I could determine every single feature and be in charge of every detail.

I used Olive and Lily Peach as my online models in print and video ads, and I built my mini kingdom into 20, 000 SKUs of inventory online.

I showcased between 50 and 60 worldwide designers.

Yes, there's that many pet designers in the world.

Yuppie Puppy Boutique was featured in magazines such as Caesar's Way, modern dog, country living, pup style, and many times an OK magazine that you see at the grocery store.

Next, I decided to create my own line of high-end doggy products named Olive Teenie designs.

And I wish you could see them on the screen, but I designed harnesses, dresses with matching hair bows and bling.

Especially popular were my doggy tutus with a base price starting at $125 each and up.

And between us, my cost was $10 to $20 to sew.

Hollywood socialites took notice and started, I started receiving outlandish orders, like orders to outfit all the bridal party dogs for large doggy weddings.

Oh yes, I mean the dogs were getting married.

Also, I had New York and European clients that I would cater to with the latest and greatest bling on a monthly basis, personalized orders ranging in the thousands of dollars.

Life was feeling pretty accomplished and my sparkly mini kingdom was expanding right before my very eyes.

My long hours and intense focus was paying off.

Thankfully, Jesus never stops pursuing us.

About 2011, I began noticing extreme catastrophes like the tsunami in Japan, and I remember watching it live on TV late at night and being horror struck.

I had not seen anything like that before.

Around the same time, some friends invited me to watch a movie titled 2012.

It is a depiction of end time events where this family struggles to stay alive through a series of global disasters and that threatens to annihilate mankind.

The family ends up sneaking on board of 3 arks that were built by the elites, and they survive the devastating world flood.

Well, When the movie finished, my friends, 1 of them stated, I wonder if that's how this world will end.

I realized I had no idea where to look or what the Bible exactly said.

My Adventist upbringing seemed to momentarily vanish.

You see, I did not realize how spiritually starved I had become over the years.

Friends we must pay attention because it can so easily happen.

The next Christmas I flew out to spend time at my dad's.

Many family members gathered around worship in the living room and someone suggested we go around and have a prayer circle.

I couldn't remember the last time that I had prayed, especially in front of others.

As each person finished their prayer, the torture increased and the closer and closer my time was coming and the louder and faster my heart began to beat.

The lump in my throat weighed a hundred pounds and all that came out were tears.

Well, through miraculous events, many God-led people were brought into my life that drove me to the Bible for answers.

And instead of turning the TV on late at night to keep me company while I was uploading and designing things online, I now turned on audio Bible sermons.

I see many faces here from sermons that I listen to that impacted my life and I want to thank you.

Also, do not underestimate your quiet influence on others, friends.

My cousin, Dawn Moffitt, bless her, kept inviting me to all these things, but I, oh, I'm sorry, I'm too busy.

But She invited me to the camp meeting the following summer.

The first night in her home, she happily announced, let's pray, and knelt down beside her bed.

Series

Plenary Sessions

Personal Testimony: Cami Oetman

Transcript

Description

Parent Series

Parent Conference

Sponsor

Recorded

Plenary

No Applications, Only Commitments

58m

Plenary

Coming Forth as Gold

1h 27m

Personal Spiritual Enrichment

Thriving Mentally: Assimilating the Mind of Christ

1h 33m

Plenary

The Church I Want to Belong to is...Terrible

2h 28m

ASI 2013 Plenary Sessions

Confession and Repentance: The Conditions of Revival

1h 28m

Plenary

Why Did You Laugh?

1h 58m

Plenary

Sabbath School: Believe the Gospel

1h 27m

2-Applying the Faith

Delighting In the Almighty- A Practical Guide to Primitive Godliness

1h 9m

ASI 2011 Seminar: Nonprofit and Business

Incubating Ministries for Strength and Stability

1h

Seminars

8 Reasons God Gave the Seventh-day Adventist Church the Health Message

1h 17m

Non-Profit Leadership

Raising Funds For Your Cause- Best Principles and Practices

1h 21m

Unusual Sacrifice

Three Angels’ Messages and End Time Events

1h 21m

Sound Doctrine