SDARM in the Seychelles

Matthew 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”

 

My name is Jacques and I was born in the Seychelles. Seychelles is made up of 115 Islands spread out within the vast blue waters of the Indian Ocean, south of India and east of Africa.

 

I grew up in the Advent faith and was baptised in the Adventist church at the age of fourteen. I was raised by my lovely, God-fearing parents and received good Christian teaching throughout my early years.

 

My early Christian experience, however, was one of rebellion and resistance to the Spirit of God. Some unwise decisions in my choice of friends led to my stale and faithless early Christian walk.

 

I moved to Australia in 1986 and met my wife while attending Carmel College. Michelle and I married on the 12 of April 1992. We have been blessed with four lovely children: Amariah, Charmaine, Emma and Isaac. We now reside in West Australia and are members of Guildford Church in Perth.

 

It was during the third year of our married life that we came to hear of the Reformation message. We were at the time living in the Seychelles and working for my father’s company. My mother-in-law, Sister Maureen Parkes, came for a visit from Australia and, while in the Seychelles, zealously shared the Reformation Message with us.

 

Those of you who know this dear Sister today would agree with me when I say that she speaks her conviction from the heart. She was no different back then. During the course of her stay with us, I was moved to study the Word for myself, something I had not quite achieved before. I was studying, however, to prove her sayings and testimonies wrong and, if I may add, prayerfully doing so too.

 

I remember one night after one of my studies, at about 2:00am, feeling exhausted and drained, saying to myself, "I truly cannot fault or find error with her testimonies." The more I searched and read, the more convicted I became that I needed Christ more than anything. In the days that followed, the Lord opened my mind and understanding to the Sanctuary message and the Health message. I felt so humbled by the work of my Saviour in my behalf and began sharing the messages to my Adventist brothers and sisters. However, my letters and publications were rejected.

Sister Maureen had also been sharing the Reformation message to some close Adventist friends of ours, including my uncle, an ex-Adventist Bible Worker, Brother Fred Egbert. He had resigned from the gospel work some years before over some fundamental points. He felt that Bible truth was being compromised and attempted for many years to encourage the ministry to teach the truth. His warnings went unheeded.

 

As we went out sharing, we were met with opposition and ridicule. We decided it was time to spend time apart to consider our position in regards to the will of God for us.

 

I encouraged a number of interested souls to meet at our place on an assigned weekend for a special retreat. The Lord encouraged us as we reviewed the platform of truth. At the end of the spiritual retreat, we made the decision to meet together on a weekly basis, while still determined to reach out to our Adventist brethren.

 

We acquired numerous copies of the Sabbath Bible Lessons and would faithfully study the lessons each day and share our findings at Prayer Meetings. The Sabbath day was usually full of praise, and our studies would be Christ centred.

 

In the weeks that followed, we received copies of “The Good Way Series” from Perth and made a decision to study these during our Sabbath afternoon meetings. The Lord blessed our gatherings as we continued in our weekly gathering to seek His perfect will for us.

Sometime in June of 1995, we decided it was time to get help and wrote to the GC requesting assistance. Brother Sureshkumar and Brother Doss made their way to the Seychelles in the month of August of the same year. I was at the time in Australia visiting my wife who had just given birth to our eldest daughter, Amariah.

 

During their visit, they reviewed the foundation of truth with the brethren and baptised and organised the little group according to

gospel order.