Facing a hectic schedule, power outages and the vagaries of working in three separate languages, Pastor Jan Paulsen, world president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, completed recording four television programs in Cameroon and Uganda.

“It was an extraordinary achievement to produce the Let’s Talk programs on the continent of Africa,” Paulsen said after his taping in Kampala. “I was impressed by a level of interest in the church and its mission by the Adventist young people in this country. The issues faced by our youth are unique in Africa.”

The Uganda recordings, completed August 22, were made at Lighthouse Television studios in Kampala using generator power. “It was a choice between recording the programs with lighting the studio, or having air conditioning,” said John Banks, associate communication director for the Adventist world church, who coordinated the productions. Two programs, in English and Swahili, were recorded, with 67 young Adventists in the studio audience.

According to Banks, Pastor Paulsen has participated in eight other installments in the global Let’s Talk series.  The new programs acquainted him with the circumstances Adventism faces in Africa, where it is one of the largest Protestant faith communities. Previous broadcasts were shown live internationally from locations in the United States, Germany, Brazil and Australia.

The 10th and 11th productions in the Let’s Talk  series were produced in the studios of Cameroon Republic Television (CRTV) in Yaoundé, Cameroon on August 17. Pastor Paulsen told the television studio audience there that he continues to see the benefits of an “open dialogue with the young people of the church who represent 60 percent of the church’s membership.”

Although some of the issues young people face are similar globally, each region has a certain unique set of questions and issues.  In Africa, for example, young people asked questions about polygamy, marriage in a cultural setting, dress for women, and the wearing of a wedding band. Another issue raised was the role of women in leadership in the church and also the role of young Adventist professionals. Young people also expressed concern that in some countries in Africa university examinations were held on Sabbath. Of even greater concern was the perception that the church standards of young people in the “West” are different from what local pastors in Africa proclaim.

In Yaoundé, the first one-hour production was in English, hosted by Mary Ngu Ekukole;  the second was recorded in French, hosted by Jean-Lambert Nang, both young Adventist media professionals. The audience, also consisting of young professionals, was the same for both programs.

A crew of 51 personnel from CRTV was involved in the production. Andre Brink, communication director for the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean church region and director of the church’s media center there, directed the programs in Yaoundé  and Kampala.

The Let’s Talk recordings from Uganda and Cameroon can be seen starting September 23 and 24 on Hope Channel International and Hope Channel Europe. See www.hopetv.org for local times.