We are joined by three HBBC students this week. Cleverster Albert, Michael Ethuemar, and Kathlyn Malweliyor discuss their 2024 Christmas program.
Download The Call of Christmas Harvest Time
Episode Transcript:
Chris Harper: Welcome to Harvest Time. My name is Chris Harper, and our host on this program is pastor Gary Walton, the lead pastor at Harvest Baptist Church. Every week, we spend these 25 minutes together telling you the stories of our church by interviewing our members and other friends of the ministry. We’d like to invite you to join us at Harvest Baptist Church this week. There are 2 services every Sunday at Harvest, 8:45 AM and 10:45 AM.
You can see the, church service on hbcguam.org, hbcguam.org during the 10:45 AM service this week. The call of Christmas, it’s a Harvest Baptist Bible College Christmas drama. We’ll talk more about that today. Let’s begin Harvest Time by welcoming pastor Gary Walton. Hi, pastor.
Gary Walton: Hey. Hafa AdaI, Chris. And Merry Christmas to you. Merry Christmas to our audience. We are in the middle of the Christmas season here on campus, and it’s been thrilling.
We’ve come off a couple of weeks. Well, we’ve been having, Christmas music on the radio now for a few weeks, so that helps all of us bring in the Christmas cheer. Last week was Festival of Lights on campus and that was just a fantastic time of inviting many, many visitors, friends, family, neighbors, all across our island to our campus and being able to, sort of a neighborhood party in some ways, a neighborhood get together and then had the opportunity to walk through the city of Bethlehem and then I’ve been communicating to people. It was a way to just kick off the Christmas season at the manger. The whole focus of everything that happened that night brought us to the stable where Jesus was born and trying to communicate to, you know, several thousand people that this is the true center of of of Christmas and where we’re going to be celebrating this year.
So we’ve got concerts going on in the Academy, churches preparation preparing for a special Sunday just before Christmas. I can’t wait for this Sunday. Annually, this is a special time because our seniors, our 5th year seniors at HBBC, Harvest Baptist Bible College, are, presenting a drama and some music along with I think it’s the 3rd, 4th, and 5th year. We’ll be presenting some music in our both of our morning services. We’re gonna have an opportunity as well to to be in the word like we will every Sunday morning, but it is a great time together.
And so I can’t wait, for that time. I wanna invite you to come. You will enjoy the drama. It will be moving for you. It will help you, identify, again, the clarity of the Christmas story.
So I wanna invite you to come. And part of that is introducing you to, 3 of our seniors. So 3 of our 5th year students that will be participating in the drama. So they’re with me, and Chris here in studio. And so, we wanna introduce, Clev Albert, Kathlyn Malweliyor.
Did I say that right? Kat, I was going to ask you about that earlier. And then Michael Ethuemar. So first of all, welcome you guys.
Michael Ethuemar: Thank you.
Kathlyn Malweliyo: Thank you.
Cleverster Albert: Thank you.
Gary Walton: I’m glad to have you. And I know you have all been working very hard on, this drama. It’s actually part of a class for you. Right? Mike, tell us a little bit.
If somebody comes on Sunday morning, tell us what they’re gonna hear and see in this drama.
Michael Ethuemar: So, we’ve been practicing this for quite some time. And, all of us, even all of us are like most of our parts are like, hey. I’m scared. And then the drama itself is, about Jesus coming and and that also for Mary, Kath is playing the the part of Mary. She’s she’s afraid.
She’s scared. And then also as Joseph, he’s like he’s like, I don’t know if I should believe this, and this is not my son. But then the the angel said, this is God’s son that you are chosen to to be the the the father figure for him. And then for us, shepherds were like, hey. Why us?
Why is the angel telling us this? We’re the nobodies. But yet, the angels came to us. I’m playing the the role of shepherd, and he’s telling us. And we’re like, hey. We’re amazed. This is a miracle.
Gary Walton: Yeah. Yeah. And, of course, we’re familiar with the story, but the drama of, the fear I think, that each one experienced, and then the presence of the Christ is really powerful. So, I’m excited for it. Yeah. Let’s do this.
Let me back up a minute. I wanna come back to ask you some more questions about the drama, but let me ask you about about you guys. All 3 of you are part of our senior class. And at Harvest Baptist Bible College, our students have 5 years. It’s a 5 year, undergrad program.
And, so, you all have been here on campus for 5 years getting ready to graduate. This is sort of the capstone of, you know, the number of things. And, our students are preparing for life and ministry, wherever God would lead them, but our desire is that they would be able to be able to go back to their islands and faithfully, be part of God’s church and, reaching people in the islands. So, we’re thankful for that. And our students are education majors and and pastoral or ministry majors.
So, we’re really, thankful for each one that God sends here. And it’s it’s awesome. It feels kind of crazy to me that you guys are 5th year already. I remember when you came just as little freshman and God has really grown all 3 of you together. But let me let you introduce yourself.
Kathlyn, let me start with you. Tell us, where you’re from, a little bit about your life growing up, and, and then how you met Jesus, how you came to become a Christian.
Kathlyn Malweliyo: Well, I’m from the island of Yap. I grew up in a Christian family. My parents are always so faithful going to church, and, I came to know Christ through my pastor, pastor Paul Zimmer. Growing up, I always hear about bible stories with my pastor’s kids and my pastor’s wife. And in my mind, I I thought they’re just, like, bible characters, like, not real people.
But then, there was this one time when my pastor was, it was at a VBS. I was only 10. My pastor was talking about heaven and hell and, made me realize that these things in the Bible are not just fake things, they’re real. So, he asked us, like, if you die, do you know where you’re gonna go? And that kinda, like, make me I was a young girl.
I was like, make that made me think, like, oh, so there’s a place where we go when we die. So, I raised my hand. I was one of the one of the little girls that raised my hand. Then my pastor called me up and he just talked he talked to me about about God and, about if I wanna if I wanna be saved, there’s a there’s a way for me to, be saved, to call Jesus into my heart to be my lord and personal savior. So I did that, but the Christian walk is not always easy. So I got saved 2012 and then 2014, I kinda like, something happened in my family where, I was just so bitter against God.
Gary Walton: Mhmm.
Kathlyn Malweliyo: Got to Kuwait 2 of my brothers and, that was hard for my family. Mhmm. So, I kinda like, distance myself from God. Didn’t wanna do anything with him, but I’m so glad for my parents that they were so faithful in serving God, that they come alongside of me. And even my pastor’s kids and my pastor’s wife, they were there throughout the whole time we were going through that situation.
Gary Walton: And, That’s a powerful story, Kathlyn, of God’s faithfulness for sure, but of how much we need the community of believers. We need the family of believers that will come alongside us and help us because we all go through some hard times and to have, people that will hold us up in that time. Yeah. Thank you for sharing that. How did you end up coming to Harvest HBBC?
Kathlyn Malweliyo: My brother came here. He, Kelsey, he came here. He’s always talking to me about HBBC, but then one of the HBBC alumnis, Richie, from Chuuk, he came and, taught at our school. And seeing his life, it kinda make me wanna have that what he what he have. So he was the one that really encouraged me to come to Harvest. Yeah. So
Gary Walton: Okay. I wanna ask all of you about, you know, life at at Harvest in a little bit. But, Mike, what about you? Where are you from?
Michael Ethuemar: I’m from Yap also, Faiz. Yeah. From Yap.
Gary Walton: Okay. Yeah. And, tell me about growing up and how did you become a follower of Jesus?
Michael Ethuemar: Okay. So, I grew up in Faiz, but most of the time I I would travel to Yap with my parents. And then that’s where I go to the same church that Kath went to, Pastor Balsammer. It’s in 2013 where I joined, youth camp. So one of the, students from HBBC went back home and helped with teen camp.
I remember his name is Andy. Mhmm. I I think he’s in the states now. But he was sharing his testimony, and and that made me think about, hey. His his testimony is just like mine.
And that’s where I I think that’s where I I feel like I I needed the savior. I need to be safe. And then, afterwards, I I walk up to the pastor and approach him and ask some questions. And then he helped me, and then he led me to to the Lord. So in 2013, teen camp, that’s where I gave my life to the Lord
Gary Walton: Okay. And then how about, how did you hear about and how did you end up coming to HBBC?
Michael Ethuemar: My sister came here. She graduated 1st. And then my brother, Clint, came here as well. They both told me about HBBC. I didn’t wanna come.
Gary Walton: Mhmm.
Michael Ethuemar: But then, seeing their lives, how different it is from the normal life that is in the islands, it’s the same thing. I wanna have that. But is it that, it gets my attention like, hey. These guys, they went somewhere. They came back.
Their life changed. Mhmm. And I wanna adopt that saying, hey. I think these these are good role model for me, and I think I should follow that. And then I was I was praying, and then I met pastor Don. He told me that, hey. If you wanna come, I’m gonna pray for you to come.
Gary Walton: Oh, yeah.
Michael Ethuemar: So he did, and I and I’m here.
Gary Walton: That’s a powerful thing, you guys. I mean, you think about this drama that’s, gonna be coming and you’re gonna be, you know, showing, people the story of Jesus. But, the reminder that your lives are a significant impact on others in the same way that that you had HBBC students come back with a changed life and how much that impacted you. This is you know, as you’re getting ready to graduate, I mean, your story is gonna have that kind of impact too. That’s significant.
Cleve, what about you? Where are you from? And then tell us about your spiritual story.
Cleverster Albert: Well, I’m from Duke, the main island. I’m the 3rd generation Christian. So growing up, like, who I go to church every Sunday, and, I always thought that just because I go to church and join the the teen activities, I always thought I was safe, not knowing that. I I wasn’t safe that time until I was when I was 12, it was during a summer camp. My pastor was, preaching about heaven and hell.
Then he asked the question, if you guys died, where do you think you will go? That time, like, I was I was, like, thinking, am I really safe? Then I went up and asked my pastor, Matthew Clossett. Ask him about those stuff, about heaven and hell, to know more because I don’t wanna go, like, where I don’t want I don’t wanna die or I don’t wanna know how is that feel pain or perish. So that’s where he started, like, telling me more and more than I that time, I just knew that I need to be safe. I need to accept Jesus as my lord and savior so that I can be with him instead of being in hell.
Gary Walton: And then, you have family too that has had come to HBBC. Did you did you always wanna come here or not wanna come for a while? Or how did all that happen?
Cleverster Albert: Well, during my senior year, there’s, like, a lot of college that I was planning to go to. And also I was also thinking about just staying back home, joined the community college back home because I don’t wanna I don’t wanna leave my parents. Yeah. But then, my sister called. That time, she was still here. She was a senior. She called and she told my mom to, make sure that I’ll I’ll be on the flight to be here.
Gary Walton: So Well, it’s fun thinking back. I mean, I can’t imagine our campus without all 3 of you and how God leads us in those ways. You think about how different your life might be right now without this foundation. It’s really great.
Tell me about life on campus and life as a student. Kath, let me thought let me start with you. What’s it like to be an HPBC student?
Kathlyn Malweliyo: I love it. It’s been great, actually. Coming from different places, different, like, especially with the other students. To be honest, for me, I’m not a people person. I don’t really, like, get along with socialize with people, but Harvest has been a huge help.
Gary Walton: Mhmm.
Kathlyn Malweliyo: Like, made me get out of my comfort zone and just, you know, get to know the other all girls from different islands. It’s been good.
Gary Walton: Yeah. That’s a big part of it, I think. I mean, there’s so many positive things, but this idea of, you know, girls in in your dorms from all all the different islands across Micronesia, really, that you have a chance to connect with and not just, you know, know them. You are sisters. Right?
There’s a brotherhood and a sisterhood that that takes place. Cleve, anything that you’d add to that about just being a student at HPBC?
Cleverster Albert: Well, for me, it’s kind of a bit of challenging because, like I said, I didn’t wanna leave my island and coming here. It’s just, like, life changing for me.
Gary Walton: Yeah.
Cleverster Albert: Especially during my our freshman year, the COVID here. So it was kind of a challenging because we have to be in the dorms. But after all that, it’s good. I like it. Yeah.
Gary Walton: Yeah. Mikey, anything you add to that?
Michael Ethuemar: I’d I’d I’d say this is the best life because we we’ve traveled all the way here and spending time with people and being surrounded by Christians, mentors, and then just brothers and sisters from all over the place. And especially when we come together to sing, oh, it’s the best. Mhmm. Yeah.
Gary Walton: Yeah. It’s so good. And we’re gonna have a part of the I’ve been talking a lot about the drama, but, Sunday morning will be some singing as well. The 3rd, 4th, 5th year students will be sort of the backup to the to the drama itself. And so a lot of special parts about that.
Kath, you’re playing, your role is as Mary. In your preparation, maybe for the role specifically, but even just in the whole drama presentation. Anything that, you have learned through the prep, for this Sunday?
Kathlyn Malweliyo: Well, for Mary, a girl who who has never been with a man, like, never experienced life and all that, and yet God chose her to be the mother of his son. And, that taught me a lot that, even though you don’t, you think you’re a nobody, God will use you in yeah.
Gary Walton: The story of Mary is amazing because she was very young. Mhmm. And, Yeah. Just, trying trying to imagine, what she would have thought. I mean, the reality of the fear that you talked about, Michael, is true for everybody.
Joseph and Mary were young, and culturally that would have been, you know, more normal during that time, but the, yeah, just the the life, experience of the being the one that would be the mother of the Messiah, really powerful. Michael, what have you learned through the preparation for this?
Michael Ethuemar: I think I mentioned that, I’m playing the the role of a shepherd. Right? Mhmm. And then so as we were, like, learning these lines and learning the the acts of it, these shepherds were, like, fearful, but at the same time, they’re, like, overjoyed. Like, hey.
This is not just a a normal light. It’s it’s shining so bright and it’s real. And then they have to run with their joy and going to tell people about it. And so as we Christians and I I must thinking about that, if we know if we know Jesus as is real to us, we should go and tell.
Gary Walton: Yeah. I think that’s a big part of the big point. Right? Yeah. If we know, we can tell. Yeah. And it’s so great, you guys. I’m excited for you. The preparation is good for you. I know that.
But I know you’ve been praying that the message would truly come through. And I’m I’m already super proud of you. I know that it’s gonna be great, this coming Sunday. Are you nervous?
Michael Ethuemar: Yes. Oh, yes.
Gary Walton: Okay. A little bit of nerves, but God’s gonna help you through that and he’s gonna give you strength for it. And, actually, the nerves are part of what God’s gonna use. Maybe one last question. What do you hope people who come and see the drama will hear and will feel?
Cleve, what would you say about that? What do you hope they come away thinking?
Cleverster Albert: I will I hope that once the year, like, they see the drama, they will see that, they will know that God Jesus is the gift of God that has been sent in from from heaven for us. And I know it’s not the real real thing. It’s just, like, example. Like, we’re just trying to show show them the gospel, the message. Tell them that our savior was born and he died for us.
Gary Walton: Yeah. Great. Michael?
Michael Ethuemar: I just I just hope that, it’s kind of like that’s the same idea, right, for us Christians. If we know, we can tell. And it doesn’t matter if we think we’re nobody. God can still use us. And then, but, yeah, we we can tell.
Gary Walton: Yeah. Okay. That’s great. Kath, what would you say?
Kathlyn Malweliyo: Just, you know, sharing the message to them about, Christ who came as a baby and, he died for our sins. And pastor would always say, you don’t have to memorize your, like, memorize your lines. Just at least try to, like, share display the the message, share the message to the people.
Gary Walton: Yeah. So Yeah. Just, reciting of memorization, that might not have the feeling, but the message that you’re communicating, very powerful. And I was thinking about what you said earlier, Kath, that in your testimony, the idea that these characters, it is not just a story. Right?
I think you said that when you were 10 or 12, the realization. Sometimes when we read a book or it’s almost as if it’s made up. Somebody was making up a story and so but this is a historical reference to something that actually happened. Mary and Joseph were people just like us. They would have experienced and felt, the things that they went through just like we would have.
This is this is real. And I think the drama helps, to present that in a in a powerful way. So we’re praying for you guys and and more. It’s not just you guys, our whole senior classes in involved. We couldn’t get everybody here, in the studio.
So thank you guys for representing the rest of your class.
Michael Ethuemar: Thank you so much.
Gary Walton: But we’re praying for you and praying that the message would be clear. And again, we wanna invite, people that are listening to come. It would be fantastic.
You’ll be blessed. I think you’ll be reminded of what Christ has done for us and why he came. So thank you guys, and we’re looking forward to this Sunday.
Michael Ethuemar: Yes, sir. Thank you.
Chris Harper: And thank you for listening to Harvest Time. Of course, at this point in the program, we just wanna personally invite you again to this very special drama, The Call of Christmas, a Harvest Baptist Bible College Christmas drama. That will be at 8:45 AM and 10:45 AM, and both of those services will be broadcasting it live here on 88.1 FM and on khmg.org. You can also find it on the church website via video livestream, hbcguam.org, hbcguam.org. We hope to see you this Sunday.
Thanks again for listening to Harvest Time.