Testimony
“Pastor Mayer, we really appreciate your CDs that come every month,” said a woman at a recent camp meeting. “We can’t wait till they come each month.” Another camper said, “They are so consistent, and there just loaded with so much information in them.”
Pastor Mayer was preaching in January at two camp meetings in New Zealand organized by Autumn Leaves, a New Zealand Ministry led by Doug Hurley. The people enthusiastically listened as he shared the word of God in light of our times along with several other speakers. Both camp meetings, one in the North Island and one in the South Island, were well attended, particularly on the two Sabbaths.
“Thank you so much for your sermons, I appreciate how u are trying to get our people ready for the time of trouble soon to be upon us,” wrote Denise recently. “I just wish more of our pastors would quit watering down the message. Keep up the good work and God bless u in a mighty way.”
Friends, I hope you are taking advantage of our monthly messages on CD and our frequent Prophetic Intelligence Briefings.
Highwood Spirit
“Whatever it was, it worked,” said John who was one of our last guests at Highwood before we started renovations. “I have been depressed for 10 months and I needed some sort of kick start to healing, and I found it at Highwood Health Retreat…” he added. “I am not sure what did it, the vegan diet, the massages, the bush walks, the mud-pack, the steam sauna, the staff who were truly interested in me, or the tranquility, whatever it was, it worked!”
John came to us after his father had died. He had been estranged from him for years, but just at the end, he reconciled with his father. But his death had put John in a bout of depression. He was very impressed with the program at Highwood and felt that it had greatly helped him to overcome depression.
Sandra really enjoyed her stay at Highwood some years ago and she was also impressed by our faith. She just loves the book “Ministry of Healing.” Sandra nearly came to church one Sabbath, and Stine nearly got to study the Bible with her, etc. But almost everything seemed to NEARLY happen. Then finally, after a series of MISHAPS, they ended up at the same place at the same time and had a wonderful study together. It ministered to the needs of Sandra’s soul. Sandra poured out some of her trials to Stine. And as they prayed together, Sandra agreed to do a correspondence Bible study course with Stine. She is very positive to the SDA message and is eager to learn. Please pray for Sandra.
Highwood Health Retreat in Victoria is also making great progress. We will reopen the health retreat later this month (February). All the new bathrooms in our guest rooms will be completed, the kitchen and dinning room will be completed, and we will able to operate our core program. We will continue working on renovations of the office and entry areas, and we still have to finish the two small studio apartments at the end of the building. These periphery renovations are not our core guest areas, so we can work on them over the next couple of months. So, if any of you are still able to help for a month or two, please come and spend some time with us. We can use your help in so many areas right now.
Amaroo Water Gardens
“This place is absolutely beautiful!” said Diane, as she told me how much she admired the beauty of Amaroo Water Gardens. “It’s gorgeous,” said another visitor.
What a day it was! January 11 was our first open house at Amaroo Water Gardens Health Retreat. We invited Adventists from all over South Australia to spend Sunday afternoon with us to catch the vision of what Amaroo could become under the blessing of God. Amazingly, more than 100 people showed up.
And it was not a day short on miracles either. It had been raining for several days including Sabbath, and the forecast was for rain on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. I was disappointed and a little worried that not many would come for the open house if it would be raining. We prayed that God would do something about it. Amazingly, on Sabbath afternoon the forecast for Sunday changed, and Sunday was a beautiful warm and sunny day, just perfect for the open house. Then on Monday and Tuesday, heavy rain descended again on the region.
When Pastor Mayer arrived at 10 a.m. Sunday morning, visitors had already arrived even though the open house didn’t start until noon. And they kept coming, streaming in, one car after another. The parking lot was jammed and we had to find overflow areas. The story of how God had organized Amaroo for His work had spread around South Australia and now they wanted to see it first hand. Our volunteers had prepared tray after delicious tray of sandwiches, dip, chopped up veggies, and tray after beautiful tray of fruit.
After a light meal, they all gathered for a meeting. Dr. Rosemary Brown and I explained the history of Amaroo and how God had arranged for the property to come into our hands and how we planned to convert it to a health retreat under the blessing of the Lord. Ray Carlsen, the local pastor who had sent me the original link to Amaroo Water Gardens when it was for sale, also enthusiastically inspired the audience with God’s providences. The enthusiasm was palpable, as our visitors began to envision what God could do for South Australia through Amaroo Water Gardens.
“You bought this place far below its true value,” said a farmer after the meeting. He offered to help with certain projects. Another woman said she was an architect and would be willing to help us with planning and design. In fact, quite a few people expressed an interest in volunteering, staffing and helping in one way or another. They could see that God was in the work at Amaroo Water Gardens.
Baked Goods can lead to Depression
A new study published in the journal Public Health Nutrition by the U.S. National Institutes of Health has revealed that regular eating of commercially produced baked goods can lead to depression. So before you reach for the brownies, croissants, muffins or donuts, consider that junk food may be the reason you have that “pressed down” feeling. It may be the frozen pizzas that are the cause of your low energy and motivation. Could the cookies be making you anxious? Maybe you are consuming depression-causing chemicals. Oh yes, and the hamburgers, hotdogs and chicken sandwiches are also part of the list, which is nearly endless.
People in Spain who consumed the most fast food and baked goods were 37% more likely to become depressed compared to people who ate the lowest amount of those foods. The study was conducted on nearly 9,000 people.
“The more fast food you eat,” said the lead researcher, Almudena Sanchez-Vallegas, “the greater the risk of depression.” Even eating small amounts of baked goods can increase your chances of depression. There is a “positive-dose response relationship between the consumption of fast food and the risk of depression,” she said.
Though more study needs to be done to determine if the relationship is causative or if it both eating higher quantities of fast food and depression stem from a common denominator, Sanchez-Vallegas said “the intake of this type of food should be controlled because of its implications on both health (obesity, cardiovascular diseases) and mental well being.”
“Grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables constitute the diet chosen for us by our Creator. These foods, prepared in as simple and natural a manner as possible, are the most healthful and nourishing. They impart a strength, a power of endurance, and a vigor of intellect, that are not afforded by a more complex and stimulating diet.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, page 81
Nature Knows Best!
Source Reference
- ked goods and fast-foods linked to depression: Study [1]
- Fast-food and commercial baked goods consumption and the risk of depression [2]
End Notes
Keep the Faith Websites
There are several new features on our website. Please take a look at the pictures of Amaroo if you haven’t already. You’ll find a box link in the right hand column of our home page at www.KTFNews.com [3]. There is also a link to our Highwood Health Retreat website and to Highwood Soul, our alumni Facebook page. On Highwood Soul you find a lot of pictures and postings that will keep you up to date with what is happening at Highwood.
Also, we now have a new section on the right hand column of our home page called “Quote of the Week.” Keep an eye on that, we’re going to bring you interesting quotes, both current and historical that relate to prophecy.
We also now have all our audio sermons on iTunes. Here’s the link:https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ktf-news/id939108950?mt=2 [4]. You can also find it on our website. That means that it is now very easy to download our sermons to your MP3 player.
Check our website often for updated Prophetic Intelligence Briefings and a lot of other information that will help you.
GC Session, San Antonio
And lastly, Keep the Faith has a booth at the upcoming GC Session in San Antonio. Pastor Mayer is looking for a few volunteers to help introduce people to Keep the Faith Ministry. Keep the Faith is looking for those who are energetic and aren’t afraid to approach people and invite them to subscribe to our monthly CDs. Please contact Pastor Mayer if you are interested at hmayer@ktfministry.org [5], or call our office at 540-672-3553.