Latest / Mission SONlight CHATT / Mission SONlight Chatt Season 4 Ep. 18 Alita Acosta - Motorcycle Missionary

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Mission SONlight Chatt Season 4 Ep. 18 Alita Acosta - Motorcycle Missionary · Mission SONlight CHATT

0:09
Welcome to Mission Sunlight Chat from Network
0:12
7's Media Missionaries. We are at the General
0:15
Conference Session 2025 in the Exhibit Hall.
0:19
All around us, exhibitors, people sharing Jesus,
0:24
where He is working around the globe. Hundreds
0:27
of exhibitors. One of those exhibitors is Adventist
0:31
Motorcycle Ministry, Elita Acosta. You are one
0:37
of the... writers in the ministry. Alita, thank
0:44
you for being on the program, first of all. Thank
0:46
you for inviting me. Before we go any further,
0:48
would you mind just saying a short word of prayer
0:50
to ask God's blessing on our conversation? Okay.
0:53
Dear Heavenly Father, please be with Christopher
0:58
and I as we try to spread the word so that more
1:03
people... are aware of our ministry and to know
1:06
that it takes every kind and different kind of
1:09
ministry to reach everybody out there in the
1:12
world. Each one of us has a special talent. Each
1:17
one can minister in our own way, but the whole
1:21
goal is to reach everybody for the second coming
1:24
of Christ. Be with us in all this. We ask in
1:27
Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Thank you for that prayer.
1:32
Alita? Before we talk about motorcycle riding,
1:35
give me a little background about who you are.
1:38
What's your story? Where'd you grow up? Okay.
1:42
Let me see. This is, first of all, I'm Cuba Rican.
1:49
Okay. Cuba Rican. I like it. My mom's Cuban.
1:52
My dad's Puerto Rican. And I don't know if you
1:57
know, this is my second marriage. Okay. But I
2:00
was single for a long time. between marriages.
2:03
And I used to joke around with my mom that when
2:08
we retired, or that when she retired, I would
2:12
have a motorcycle with a sidecar, and we would
2:15
tour all the United States. So then I made...
2:20
Was she into motorcycle riding? Not at all. So
2:22
that was the sidecar for her. Yes. Okay. Not
2:24
at all. But then God sent me my husband now,
2:28
and between us, we decided that... We needed
2:31
a hobby. So it was either going to be scuba diving
2:34
or motorcycles. And I waited on the pool for
2:38
like 10 minutes, and I couldn't stay afloat,
2:41
so we decided motorcycles. And that's how we
2:43
decided to start riding. So we took our endorsement,
2:48
and the day I found a motorcycle was the day
2:54
that he got his motorcycle. And then a month
2:58
later is when... And we got the invitation for
3:02
the first meeting that we didn't even have a
3:07
name yet to start a ministry for bikers that
3:14
were Adventists. All right, before we get to
3:16
that, though, you kind of skipped over a lot
3:19
of your life there. You're a Cubarican. I want
3:23
to know more about that. Where did you actually
3:25
grow up? Okay, so my... Like I said, my mom was
3:29
Cuban. My dad was Puerto Rican. She left Cuba
3:31
around 13 and went to Puerto Rico. And my dad
3:34
in Puerto Rico. It's interesting. We have a Seventh
3:38
-day Adventist college in Puerto Rico. Antillian
3:41
College. Antillian College. I guess it's university
3:43
now, right? Well, it's university now. It started
3:45
in Cuba. And I've actually been to the campus
3:48
in Cuba where it started. You did? That's so
3:50
interesting. There are still some remnants of
3:52
the buildings there that were Antillian. before
3:55
they moved to Puerto Rico. Anyway, just a little
3:57
side trivia. So funny story is my dad, six years
4:00
older than my mom, he went to Antillean College
4:03
in Cuba. Okay. And then once they closed and
4:08
they moved to PR, then my dad became, my dad
4:12
was a Bible professor. And my mom left Cuba,
4:20
came to Miami. got baptized in Miami, and the
4:25
pastor, Pastor Santos back then, told him, hey,
4:28
you should, told my grandfather, you should send
4:30
the kids to Antillian College. So my mom and
4:33
my, her older brother, my uncle, they left, and
4:38
then they were dorm students at Antillian. And
4:41
that's how my parents met, because my dad was
4:44
actually my mom's teacher. Uh -oh. Religion teacher.
4:47
Yeah, exactly. So, but. They became missionaries.
4:52
And being missionaries, they were missionaries
4:55
in Dominican Republic. So my dad would be the
4:58
dean of the college, and my mom would teach math.
5:02
So they started in Dominican Republic. Then from
5:05
Dominican Republic, they went to Honduras. And
5:08
in Honduras, my older brother and me were born
5:12
there. So I'm actually Honduran by birth. Really?
5:16
Yeah. So then they went to Guatemala. And they
5:21
finished their ministry in Guatemala. And then
5:24
my mom finished her bachelor's of elementary
5:31
education in Antinian College in Puerto Rico.
5:34
So we moved here to Florida. Not here, sorry.
5:37
To the United States. To the United States. And
5:41
we've been in Orlando. So I've been in Orlando
5:43
since 1979. Okay. All right. So that's your world
5:49
history. Along the journey, you had a first husband.
5:53
Yes. Any children? Yes. I had one child with
5:56
my first husband, and his name is Christopher.
5:59
All right. What a great name. That's why I like
6:01
the name. Does he go by Chris or Christopher?
6:05
He goes by Kiko. Kiko. Okay. Because my grandmother
6:08
was like, why did you name him Christopher? You
6:12
don't know how to say Christopher. And then we
6:14
were like, a Christopher song is better. So we
6:16
nicknamed him Kiko since he was two weeks old.
6:19
Okay. So, yeah, my Christopher is Kiko. Gotcha.
6:25
Yeah. I ask that because I very much prefer Christopher,
6:29
but people that I grew up with when I was much
6:31
younger would call me Chris, and so I kind of
6:33
had to grandfather them into it. For most of
6:35
my adult life, I've preferred to be called Christopher.
6:38
The only nicknames I've gotten is Topher. And,
6:41
of course, as Adventist vegetarians eating healthy,
6:44
some of my buddies like to shorten that down
6:47
to Tofu. I like that. I like that. Anyway, so
6:53
you have a boy? I have one boy. Okay. And where
6:58
is he these days? He's in Florida? He's, yeah,
7:01
he's living in Mondora, working at AdventHealth
7:04
also. I'm a nurse by train. Okay. I've been with
7:09
AdventHealth for 37 years now. What made you,
7:13
what makes you love Jesus? I think growing up
7:20
with a parent, my mom, that had this love for
7:29
Jesus. She was an elementary school teacher.
7:31
She was a kindergarten teacher. And seeing her
7:35
infuse a love of Christ from a very young age.
7:39
So she taught kinder at the church school. She
7:45
taught Sabbath school. And she was the Friends
7:48
class teacher for Pathfinder. So if you didn't
7:52
get her in Cradle Roll, you would get her at
7:55
kindergarten. If you didn't have her at kindergarten,
7:57
you would have her at fifth grade for the Friends
7:59
class. But it was her unconditional love for
8:05
everybody. And she's been the most Christ -like
8:10
person that I've ever met in my life. And she's
8:14
been the biggest impact. And she's the one that
8:18
instilled the love for Christ and raised me like
8:22
that. Yeah. What a great testimony. Yeah. You
8:26
can show this to her on Mother's Day. Yes. Yeah.
8:29
Or maybe before. Yeah. Any day. Any day. I don't
8:34
have her with me anymore, but she's very special.
8:38
And we were going to tour the United States.
8:41
She was going to be on the sidecar and I was
8:43
going to be on the motorcycle. Hey, maybe you
8:46
can ask the Lord when you get to heaven. Hey,
8:48
Lord, can I get a stream of light with a sidecar?
8:52
Yes. I did get to ride a Hawa 69. So we went
8:58
to Cuba in 2012. And I had a relative that had
9:05
a Hawa 69. I think it's a Polish bike and all
9:08
that. a sidecar, and I did get to take her on
9:12
that one. Oh, good. So you did some sidecar riding.
9:17
Yeah, so. You know, I mentioned the stream of
9:20
light with a sidecar. I'm a big believer in what
9:22
the Bible says in 1 Corinthians. Eye has not
9:25
seen or ear heard things that God has in store
9:28
for us. I'm not positive I remember the chapter
9:31
right, but I think it might be chapter 4, verse
9:33
9 and 10, but I believe that the things that
9:36
we can imagine here. can be even better in the
9:41
kingdom. I'm looking forward to being there,
9:44
and maybe I'll get to meet your mom. Yes, she
9:46
was amazing. All right, Alita, thank you for
9:49
sharing your story. We're going to talk about
9:50
Adventist Motorcycle Ministry in just a moment.
9:52
Let's take a break. Thank you to those who are
9:54
listening and watching today. Please connect
9:56
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10:01
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10:03
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10:27
for you. And thank you for your prayers as well.
10:30
We will be back with more Mission Sunlight Chat.
10:41
Being a media missionary can mean many different
10:44
things. It means the love of a home at the heart
10:47
of the planet, the intrepid spirit of a village,
10:50
and the vibe of a great metropolis. It means
10:54
camera one and camera two. It means transforming
10:58
a school, orphanage, or hospital. It means fire,
11:02
rain, ice, and snow. It means gifts by the dollar
11:07
and by the check. it means donations that roll
11:11
and donations that fly it's a movement on a trail
11:17
or down a motorway it means family all of us
11:23
together and individually it's who you are or
11:28
who you are becoming and to her it's a simple
11:31
gesture that means hope whatever it means to
11:35
you being a media missionary means more than
11:38
you might think. Welcome back to Mission Sunlight
11:49
Chat. I'm Christopher Beeson, your host, and
11:51
with me is Alita Acosta. Did I say that right?
11:54
Yeah, Acosta, yeah. Yeah, Acosta. I have to get
11:57
my Spanish out here. Acosta. I'm not very good
12:00
with the accent, but I do like my broken Spanish
12:03
when I get to practice it. You know, the more
12:06
I'm exposed to it, the better I get with it.
12:08
Listen, I say I speak Spanglish, okay? I do fine
12:13
with people that grow up here and speak both.
12:15
If I get with somebody that's just Spanish, I
12:18
forget all my Spanish. And I sound like horrible.
12:23
I'm like, what is that word? What is that word?
12:26
Adventist motorcycle ministry. What exactly is
12:29
that? Let me see. We're Adventist. We ride motorcycles,
12:36
and we like to minister. Amen. What's in a name,
12:41
they say. Yeah, yeah. A -M -M. Yes. So what exactly
12:45
are you doing? So just to give you a little background
12:49
of how I started, I don't know if you remember
12:54
I was saying that in 2008, actually, is when
12:57
we got our endorsement. The same year, we got
13:01
an invitation to go to this meeting. Down in
13:04
Fort Myers. They said, hey, if you ride motorcycles,
13:07
we're trying to get a whole bunch of SDAs to
13:11
come down and to see what happens. So there was
13:17
an elder. Was he an elder? A chaplain. They have
13:28
him down as a chaplain. His name was Jesus Dominguez.
13:32
He was from Avon Park. And he belonged to LAMA,
13:36
the Latin American Motorcycle Association. That's
13:40
open to the general public. So he was Adventist
13:47
inside of LAMA. But he always felt this tug at
13:54
his heart that we should have... a way of Adventists
14:02
to write together without having to worry about
14:05
going to a bar or hanging out with people that
14:09
drank or hanging out with people that smoked
14:12
or did things that are not, that we're not, that
14:17
we don't do. You know what I'm saying? Without
14:19
having to be compromised in that position and
14:23
just feel uncomfortable and stuff like that.
14:26
So his dream was to start an Adventist club.
14:35
So he spoke with, he kept on hounding some pastors.
14:43
He was Cuban, so the pastors that he was hounding
14:47
were Cubans. So the thing is, in Cuba, most of
14:51
them, when they went from their church to church,
14:55
Their mode of transportation was a motorcycle.
14:58
They would put their wives in the back and put
15:00
their kids in between and had, you know how pastors
15:04
were back then. They had two or three churches
15:06
and stuff like that, so they would have to travel
15:08
between the churches. Not everybody could afford
15:10
a car, so they would get around in motorcycles.
15:13
So then all those pastors came to the States,
15:15
but now in the States they got to have recreational
15:18
motorcycles. So they were writing already. So
15:22
he was like, hey, we're writing already. Why
15:23
don't we have something that has our name, that
15:27
has our church name that we could, you know,
15:30
incorporate? So that was that meeting. There
15:33
were, I don't know, maybe I would say 60, maybe
15:40
70 people that actually went to this meeting
15:42
down in Fort Myers. And that's when they finally
15:45
decided there that, okay. Let's do start a group.
15:48
So with the pastors, we call them our founding
15:50
fathers. So Jesus Dominguez, and it was, I think,
15:55
maybe five Cuban and one Puerto Rican pastor
15:57
that said, okay, let's make this official. So
16:03
everybody that went to the meeting were considered
16:06
founding members. And then my husband and me,
16:09
and then I think Juan Santos, there's a few of
16:12
us that are still in the ministry. and we were
16:16
considered like founding members because we were
16:19
there from the very first meeting. Okay. All
16:22
right. But it was brand new. It was something
16:25
brand new, something that we didn't know about,
16:28
even how to start or anything like that. So it
16:32
was like baby steps, okay? He only knew what
16:36
he... So Dominguez knew how they would do it
16:41
in Lama. You know what I'm saying? But Lama's
16:44
huge, you know? They have hundreds and thousands
16:48
of members. You know, here we are, just 60 little
16:50
members. You know, what are we going to do? So
16:54
we had people coming from Orlando, Avon Park,
16:57
Miami, from Myers and stuff like that. So then
17:02
we decided, okay, whatever city is coming, we'll
17:04
do the chapters from there. And that's kind of
17:07
how the chapter started. But a lot of people
17:10
went just for the novelty. So... So the first
17:15
year, we were just writing to write. I can't
17:21
remember. It was more of a social group. It was
17:23
more of a social group. But then we started to
17:28
get more serious about the ministry. Hey, listen,
17:31
when we write out, we need to make sure we're
17:34
representing the church. We really need to try
17:39
to make it a ministry. So around the same time,
17:43
I think, is when they, in the conference, we
17:46
noticed that they came out with Steps to Christ
17:49
with the face. They had one for NASCAR, you know,
17:53
the front page of the thing. They had a NASCAR
17:55
one. They had, sorry, I just saw somebody. They
18:01
came up with one for the motorcycle. So then
18:04
what we started doing is we started to go to
18:06
Bike Week. And then we were handing out Steps
18:09
to Christ at Bike Week. So that's one of the
18:11
things that we started doing as ministering.
18:13
And we would do that a couple times. We would
18:17
do a toy ride. So in Florida, they have a lot
18:22
of little towns that are like farmer's towns.
18:27
And they have very, very, we have churches, but
18:31
they're very poor churches. Seventh -day Adventist
18:34
churches, but they're very, very poor. So we
18:37
decided to pick one of those little churches,
18:39
and then we would go and we'd do our toy ministry
18:41
there. Just like three or four hours from Central
18:48
Florida. So we would do our toy run. We'd do
18:50
usually our toy run on Three Kings Day because
18:53
the churches that we were doing were Spanish.
18:56
A lot of the pickers were from El Salvador. Central
19:04
America, you know. Coincided with Latino Holiday.
19:07
Yes. And most of us, unfortunately, most of our
19:11
writers, especially at the time, were Spanish.
19:14
Because it started with, you know, pastors are
19:16
Cuban and stuff like that. So we kind of like
19:19
targeted, not that we targeted, the voice, when
19:22
we spread the word, it was mostly to the Spanish
19:24
churches. But yeah, so we started in 2008. We've
19:31
been members since 2008. And I think our purpose
19:35
is, first of all, to help with the church. We're
19:38
not trying to reinvent the wheel. You know what
19:41
I'm saying? So whatever our church has, how do
19:49
you say that? Community service? Yes. We help
19:52
with the community service. Your boots on the
19:54
ground. Yes. Okay. Let me say, I'm members of
19:59
Forest City. So when Forest City Spanish does
20:03
community service, we go, because we're members
20:06
from the church, go do the community service.
20:08
But instead of wearing our, we'll wear our community
20:13
service, our church shirt underneath, but we'll
20:15
be wearing our vests on the outside. We show
20:18
up on the motorcycles. When Pathfinders, if they
20:21
had a parade, you know, we'll be leading the
20:23
parade in the motorcycle. You know what I'm saying?
20:25
Just seeing. that, hey, we're here. You know
20:31
what I'm saying? We're here to support and we're
20:33
here to give you, like I said, support and help
20:38
out however we can. If somebody were to walk
20:40
up to you and your group after you did a ride
20:44
and they said, hey, what are you guys? Adventist
20:48
Motorcycle Ministry. They say, well, I want to
20:50
know more about that. What do you do? How do
20:53
you witness to somebody who has a question about
20:54
the AMM and they're not? They're not a Christian.
20:57
Well, a lot of times it all starts with having
21:00
something in common. You know what I'm saying?
21:03
So the demographic that we're trying to reach
21:06
are writers. You know what I'm saying? Are people
21:10
that write. So we might go out on a ride and
21:15
stop at a gas station or stop to eat. And then
21:19
we notice some motorcycles and it's like, hey,
21:22
you know, nice bike. What do you write? and this
21:25
and that, and that opens a door. A lot of times
21:28
they'll ask us about our vest. What does that
21:30
mean? Like you said, hey, what does that mean?
21:32
It's like, hey, yeah, we belong to Adventist
21:34
Church. We like to ride. Why don't you come for
21:38
a ride with us? And then we invite them to do
21:40
something in common. We find that commonality.
21:45
And then from there, introduce, and then they
21:48
can see immediately. You know what I'm saying?
21:50
Hey, you guys act different. You guys, you know,
21:53
don't drink. Or you guys... You know, we might
21:57
look rough, but you're not really rough. You
21:59
know what I'm saying? We offer prayers. You know
22:02
what I'm saying? A lot of times we've been at
22:04
gas stations, and we can see that people are
22:07
hurting. This one time there was this lady. She
22:10
was at the gas station, and she was just bawling,
22:13
just crying and crying. And, you know, that's
22:16
something that we could see. We stopped and we
22:18
prayed for her. She had just lost her job. And,
22:21
you know. It's little stuff like that. We've
22:25
stopped at the side of the road to help people
22:28
that their cars or even their motorcycle that
22:31
had issues run out of gas or, you know, little
22:36
stuff like that. What a great opportunity to
22:38
meet people in their moment of need with something
22:41
encouraging. Have you, maybe this isn't a question
22:47
I should ask, but have you had folks kind of
22:49
pull back at that, rebuff that? That kindness
22:54
or that ministry effort? In church. Really? Yes.
23:00
We walk in with our pants or our vests. Some
23:06
of them are like surprised. So especially the
23:08
beginning. So we kind of had to come up with
23:11
our own kind of like class. So I grew up in Pathfinders.
23:17
So I'm like, hey, so why don't we, you know,
23:19
get a... Class A uniform and then a Class B uniform.
23:25
So we try to be a little bit more presentable
23:28
like when we go to church. We'll have white shirts.
23:31
The boys will have ties. Nice. The ladies, let
23:35
me see, I have my tie. I think I have my tie
23:36
in here. So here's my little necktie. So I'll
23:43
have my button down. White shirt, and then I
23:46
put my little tie on, and, you know. Something
23:48
dressier. That's nice. Yeah, something dressier.
23:50
I think the leather is great, but, you know,
23:52
I think that is a nice effort to try and meet
23:54
people where they are, too. It looks more uniform.
23:57
You know what I'm saying? It looks more, it gives
23:59
us a more cohesive uniform look. And then when
24:03
we're writing, we'll write, you know, whatever,
24:05
our T -shirts and stuff like that, and it'll
24:07
be our Class B uniform. And it's easy. So for
24:09
church, we try to use our Class A. It is nice
24:12
to look presentable when you're coming in. You
24:14
know what I'm saying? But then we have another
24:20
thing that I've noticed. A lot of SDA, they forget
24:26
that we're for everybody. So we'll have members
24:30
that baptize. So they come in with tattoos. They
24:33
already have their tattoos. They already have
24:36
other markings. You know what I'm saying? But
24:39
I think that's where we come in and saying that's
24:43
okay because God accepts everybody, right? He
24:47
loves us all. He loves us all. And then so we're
24:49
reaching those people that maybe they'd be turned
24:53
off by a regular layman instead of church, that
24:57
they won't go to these areas to reach them, you
25:00
know? We've got some great opportunities to meet
25:03
people that are maybe by. some community standards
25:08
unusual in their practices and lifestyle. And
25:11
we need that. We need people that are loving
25:14
people. And the thing is they all look tough
25:17
and rough on the exterior and they're just teddy
25:20
bears on the inside. And they have the same issues
25:24
that we have. They have to have jobs. They have
25:29
a family. They have the same hurts and they all
25:35
are. All the ups and downs that we go through,
25:38
they do go through also. And the main thing is
25:41
like they ride, we ride, we like to ride outside.
25:44
We like to ride the motorcycles, you know what
25:45
I'm saying? So we could come to them. They're
25:47
going to be hurting just like we hurt, you know
25:49
what I'm saying? But can the elderly reach them?
25:57
Can, you know, everybody has, this is the wonderful
26:01
thing about our church. is that people have so
26:06
many different talents. You have the talent to
26:09
interview. You're interviewing me now. Being
26:12
able to have the media, you know, and spread
26:15
the word. You do it like that, I do it on two
26:18
wheels. You know what I'm saying? So we're lucky
26:22
that God has given all these different talents
26:25
to all these different people. But mainly, you're
26:29
going to shine if you... Have your talent in
26:34
something that you love. And if you love something
26:37
and you're showing Christ through what you love,
26:40
that's going to shine bright. When you're passionate
26:47
about it. Exactly. I like the opportunities that
26:53
AMM presents. I'm going to say that again. Adventist
26:56
Motorcycle Ministry. You mentioned chapters.
26:58
I don't want to spend too much time on that.
27:02
You have different chapters. Is it around the
27:03
U .S. or just mainly in Florida? So we're international.
27:08
Okay. Wow. 32 countries. Wow. 32 countries. But
27:13
chapters usually go by cities in the United States.
27:20
Okay. Outside the United States, like in Brazil,
27:24
a lot of chapters will be associated with a church.
27:27
Okay. Like I said, it all depends. So my husband
27:32
and me, we got to visit Brazil. And they're actually
27:37
the ones, the majority of our members are in
27:39
Brazil. But the difference is, in the United
27:42
States, having a motorcycle is more of a luxury.
27:45
We have our cars here, then our bikes are for
27:48
luxury, for travel, for luxury, right? Very few
27:52
of us here in the United States are traveling
27:54
to work, are traveling to church on motorcycles.
27:58
Versus... Third world countries, that's their
28:02
mode of transportation. That motorcycle might
28:05
be their mode of transportation. So they're going
28:07
to work in their motorcycles. They're going to
28:10
church in their motorcycles. So the amount of
28:14
people that ride motorcycles at churches is a
28:18
lot higher. So the chapters will be by church
28:22
because the people were already riding the motorcycle.
28:26
They're still doing everything they're doing
28:28
at church. They're members at the church and
28:29
everything. They're helping out. So their church
28:32
hands out literature. They're handing out literature
28:35
with the church with their vest on. You know
28:38
what I'm saying? They're handing out food. They're
28:40
handing out food, but with their vest on. And
28:43
they already ride the motorcycles. Right? So
28:46
why not be, you know, part of the motorcycle
28:49
ministry? Yeah. Amen. Yeah. How can somebody
28:53
find out more about AMM? AdventistMotorcycleMinistry
28:59
.org All together. AdventistMotorcycleMinistry
29:04
.org If you go to Facebook, you'll see all the
29:09
little different chapters or states. You can
29:13
type in Adventist Motorcycle Ministry on Facebook
29:15
and you can get the Orlando chapter. You can
29:18
get someone by Chicago, Ohio, Alabama, Tennessee.
29:23
Here, if This is why it's hard for me. You have
29:33
to have a certain amount to have a chapter. If
29:35
it's less, then I forget what it is. They can
29:42
learn more on the website. Yes, thank you. Thank
29:45
you. I don't even know how to say it. They have
29:47
a different word for it. I forget right now.
29:49
All right, Alita, thank you so much. We're going
29:51
to come back in just a moment and wrap up the
29:52
program. I want to thank those that are listening
29:53
and watching. We've been talking about the Adventist
29:57
motorcycle ministry with Alita Acosta. We will
30:01
be back in a moment with more Mission Sunlight
30:02
Chat. Our salvation is a day -to -day matter,
30:14
isn't it? The real principle of the Sabbath is
30:19
reconnecting ourselves with the Creator. We must
30:26
learn to abide in Jesus now. We move ahead with
30:30
our mission objectives, recognizing that we are
30:33
serving together. Welcome back to Mission Sunlight
30:49
Chat. We're at the General Conference Session
30:51
Exhibit Hall taking a look at the exhibits out
30:53
here. There are a number of ministries that are
30:56
just doing some incredible things around the
31:00
globe. And one of those is Adventist Motorcycle
31:04
Ministry with 32 chapters around the world, 32
31:09
countries around the world. More chapters than
31:12
that, I guess. And I heard someone say your mission
31:18
statement. What was that? Every ride? Where every
31:21
ride is a mission. Where every ride is a mission.
31:23
What a great thought. Yes. You're making sure
31:25
you're connecting with people for Jesus, aren't
31:27
you? Yes. Share an encouraging word for our listeners
31:30
and our viewers, would you? Come join us. Come
31:37
ride with us. All right. It'll be exciting. But
31:41
no, it's... One of our girls just passed here.
31:46
I say one of our girls. And I asked her to tell
31:49
you her age. She took her motorcycle endorsement
31:52
at 72. So you're never too young and you're never
31:56
too old to join us. If you have the love of Christ
31:59
and the love of motorcycles, and you want to
32:04
be able to reach people that normally would not
32:08
be reached by sitting in church. Go ahead and
32:13
share what you have there on your phone. So I
32:15
was going to share with you one of the memory
32:19
verses that kind of guides us to what we're doing
32:23
is Matthew 28, 19 to 20. This is New International
32:28
Version. Therefore go and make disciples of all
32:32
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
32:34
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching
32:38
them to obey everything I have commanded you.
32:42
And surely I am with you always to the very end
32:47
of age. So what that literally means to me is
32:52
everybody deserves to know about Jesus. Everybody
32:56
has a right to become his disciple, no matter
33:01
what they look like, no matter what background
33:03
they have had, no matter what they write. Right.
33:08
You know what I'm saying? He's called us all
33:11
to be disciple makers. Yes. Yeah. Not picking
33:16
and choosing, but he's called us all. He's given
33:19
a call to everyone, even the secular who don't
33:21
even know his name. Exactly. We've got some work
33:23
to do, don't we? A lot. And some of that is happening
33:26
with Adventist Motorcycle Ministry. So thank
33:28
you so much for coming and joining our podcast
33:30
and sharing your story, chatting with us. If
33:33
you see us on the road, and honk at us, and we'll
33:36
wave back and honk back. What if we honk too
33:38
loud? It might throw you off. Are they upset
33:40
with me? It's okay. We'll rev it up a little
33:42
bit. All right. Elida Acosta, thank you so much
33:47
for joining us. It's been a blessing to hear
33:49
from you and your ministry. AdventistMotorcycleMinistry
33:52
.org. Excellent. Check them out there. And you
33:55
can also check us out at MissionSunlight .org.
33:58
Thank you for joining us as we've enjoyed being
34:00
here in the exhibit hall at the general conference
34:02
session and for you coming along with us. It's
34:05
great to hear from you, so connect with us at
34:07
1 -423 -855 -4877. Hello at missionsunlight .org
34:12
is the email. And, of course, the website, if
34:15
you want to give, donate, find out more about
34:17
us, missionsunlight .org. That is our program.
34:21
Thank you so much for joining us. This is Mission
34:23
Sunlight. Wait, before I sign off, Jordan, we
34:26
need to have a closing prayer, don't we? Let
34:27
me throw that over to Jordan, and he'll close
34:30
us out in prayer. All right, let's have prayer.
34:32
Definitely, Father, we thank you that you use
34:34
us in the many different areas that you see fit.
34:39
A lot of times we may say this isn't a ministry,
34:42
but you give us talents that we can use for all
34:45
different ministries and to reach people where
34:48
they are. And I thank you that somebody saw a
34:51
vision to reach people that are in the motorcycle
34:54
community, and they said, let's do something
34:56
about this. let that be a challenge to the rest
35:00
of us to see where we can reach out to those
35:02
around us and those in our circles and see what
35:06
we can do that is not considered normal ministry,
35:09
but what we can do to reach people around us
35:11
in our circles. And I pray that if somebody who's
35:15
listening has a mission or a burden to do something,
35:19
that they'll say, God, I want to do this and
35:22
please help me to use this avenue to reach others
35:25
around us. Help us all to have that mindset as
35:29
we move forward. In your name, amen. Amen. Thank
35:32
you, Jordan. Now we're ready to say this is Mission
35:35
Sunlight Chant. This has been a Beeson Brook
35:40
production in association with Network 7 Media
35:43
Center. Executive Producers, Christopher and
35:47
Rebecca Beeson. Roddy Scarborough. Don and Nancy
35:51
Van Ornum. Associate Producers, Jordan and Ashley
35:54
Wagner. Gary and Dina Bartle Wagner. Your host
35:58
today, Christopher Beeson. Director of Production
36:00
and Audio Engineer, Jordan Wagner. To suggest
36:03
guests, topic questions, to pray with us, or
36:06
to give, visit missionsunlight .org or text us
36:10
at 423 -855 -4877. You may write to us at Network
36:16
7 Media Center, Box 25468, Chattanooga, Tennessee,
36:22
37422. This has been a production of Network
36:26
7 Media Center.