Some say that some places
in the world are just too hard
00:01:07.56\00:01:10.67
to reach with the
Gospel. Guinea would probably
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fit into the hardest
to reach of this group.
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With a population of 9 million,
this country is a descendant
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of the ancient Sosso Empire of
the 1100s. Animism was at that
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time the religion, but it was
not long before Muslim tribes
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moved into the area,
forcibly converting those that
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they found. Now, Guinea
is a bit of a melting pot,
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close to Arab Africa, yet firmly
entrenched in West Africa.
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90 to 95 percent of
the population is Muslim.
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Marc and Cathy Coleman founded
the Susu Project of Adventist
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Frontier Missions in Guinea
in the year 2000. And after
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several years of learning
the culture and language,
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launched into an active
ministry of medical missions,
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friendship evangelism,
and development work.
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As young people started to
convert, education later became
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part of this program.
Now, many years later,
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a thriving church and
school, a lay training program,
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and local leaders fill
their places. God has shown once
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again that no place is
impenetrable, impermeable
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to the Gospel, because
God is bigger than all of
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the challenges.
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Hello, we are the Colemans.
My name is Marc. I'm Cathy.
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I'm Rebecca. And I'm
Chelsea. If you were to ask me,
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"What is your lasting
impression of Guinea, or what is
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one picture you have that
stays on your mind that left an
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indelible impression upon you?"
And I could tell you stories
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from now till next week
about checkpoints - military
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checkpoints... There was one
particular day when a soldier
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came to the car. We
were stopped at a checkpoint.
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And they always had guns,
but this young man was full of
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knives, talismans, and a machine
gun strapped over his shoulder.
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And it was a particularly tense
time in the country. And he
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came up to the car in a
very menacing way, and it was a
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little frightening to look
at him. We didn't know what
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would happen. But after a quick
prayer, and some very pleasant
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exchanges, this young
man became our friend.
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And to me this is a symbol
of what it was like to work in
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Guinea. Sometimes the
obstacles seemed insurmountable
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and very frightening to look
at. But through prayer, through
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perseverence, through
faith, we saw those obstacles
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become oftentimes
the means of blessing and
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opening hearts to the
Gospel. Come with us now.
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Let's take a further look
at how God opened the door
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of this
relatively unreached country.
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From the beginning all
the way until now, members
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have faced a variety of
challenges. The number-one
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thing is cultural and family
issues. But there is another
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area where all of the members
have faced a big challenge.
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And that is the area of Sabbath.
And so we have a couple of
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members that have especially
poignant stories when talking
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about the Sabbath.
Joshua is one of those people.
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He is a very gifted locksmith,
and he is also a very good
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mechanic, so the pressure
for him has been amazing.
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Brother David, one of our
faithful members, has also
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faced great persecution
from his own immediate family.
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He has made a faithful choice
to follow God and to trust.
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One day I was seated at home,
and my friend came and said
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to me, "Hey
friend, I saw a new church.
00:06:14.14\00:06:19.01
It's called the
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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Can't you go with me today so we
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can visit? But
they keep the Sabbath."
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I said, "What in the
world is the Sabbath?"
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I came home, and I gathered
my whole family together,
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and I said, "I've begun to go
to a church, and it's called the
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Adventist Church.
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My children and my wife said,
"It's not good. Let's stay where
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we are. It's not good." I
said, "Let's go and visit there
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just to see." And I
began to go every Sabbath to
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church.
00:07:02.82\00:07:04.15
But my friends
weren't happy with me at all.
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And they began to
really persecute me.
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They all left me.
Everyone abandoned me. They
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wouldn't even speak
about me. My children at home
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wouldn't listen to
me. And above all else,
00:07:20.24\00:07:23.30
my wife turned against me.
But I continued to adhere to
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the Adventist Church, especially
because of the Sabbath.
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It really, really hurt me
on the day of my baptism that
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not one of my family members
were there. It hurt a lot.
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But because God was with
me, I was happy to be baptized.
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Today I feel good.
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Because what I
forgot, what I didn't know,
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what I hadn't yet discovered,
that's what I found at the
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Seventh-day Adventist Church.
00:08:00.21\00:08:02.38
When I was at my old church,
I was doing all kinds of things,
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especially drinking. But I
left all those things behind.
00:08:08.15\00:08:11.69
I thank God so much.
And my friends now tell me,
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"It's good that you went
to that church. He's changed
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your life." And I said,
"Well, you see now, maybe
00:08:18.76\00:08:21.23
that's what He wants
for you. Maybe you can come
00:08:21.26\00:08:23.77
and join me."
00:08:23.80\00:08:25.57
Niouma is an interesting
story. He first came to
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church on a community
guest day. We had a small
00:08:32.61\00:08:35.44
group - five or six
people only. But we would have
00:08:35.48\00:08:38.45
community guest day. We
would invite a large number of
00:08:38.48\00:08:41.38
people - Muslim, Christian -
and we would tell them we were
00:08:41.42\00:08:44.99
going to answer their
questions on a particular topic.
00:08:45.02\00:08:47.72
And Niouma was sitting in
the back. Well, he ended up
00:08:47.76\00:08:51.09
learning about the truth
and becoming a member at the
00:08:51.13\00:08:54.83
school. And that is
when the persecution started.
00:08:54.83\00:08:58.93
I remember people talking
to him and telling that he
00:08:58.97\00:09:02.24
had made poor decisions,
that he would never go anywhere.
00:09:02.27\00:09:05.47
He worked hard. He was teased
because he was the only person
00:09:05.51\00:09:09.88
in his class who went
all the way through school,
00:09:09.91\00:09:11.55
decided to sit the national
exams. That year it didn't fall
00:09:11.58\00:09:16.38
on the Sabbath. And Niouma
placed first on the national
00:09:16.42\00:09:21.16
exam in our city. So
now, suddenly from being a
00:09:21.19\00:09:26.36
pariah, now he is being
congratulated by the very
00:09:26.39\00:09:31.43
people who were discouraging
him. But, then again, the
00:09:31.47\00:09:34.07
persecution started and,
"So what are you going to
00:09:34.10\00:09:36.67
do with your life now? You
can get a full scholarship to
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any university you want to."
Which is very difficult to do,
00:09:39.21\00:09:41.68
by the way."Well," he
said, "I want to study to be a
00:09:41.71\00:09:44.08
minister." People
again began to ridicule him,
00:09:44.11\00:09:47.15
"What's wrong with you?
You want to be a minister?"
00:09:47.18\00:09:50.19
They were forgetting what
they had said to him before
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and how God had miraculously
provided. But he had already
00:09:53.05\00:09:55.79
seen God work for him through
his education, and he held firm.
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I'm pleased to tell you today
that he is getting very high
00:10:33.56\00:10:37.37
grades at our university
in Cameroon. And he is
00:10:37.40\00:10:40.50
preparing for the Gospel
ministry. And I just thank
00:10:40.54\00:10:43.61
the Lord for young
people like Niouma, who through
00:10:43.64\00:10:48.11
AFM, through the
faithful prayers and support of
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people like you who want
to build up the work in very
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difficult places, Niouma is
now preparing for the Gospel
00:10:56.32\00:10:59.92
ministry for this
country, that as of yet, has no
00:10:59.95\00:11:04.13
national
Seventh-day Adventist minister.
00:11:04.16\00:11:09.70
It's not an easy thing to
face the persecution that people
00:12:23.74\00:12:26.51
face when they do make a
choice to become a Christian.
00:12:26.54\00:12:29.38
The challenges are
amazing, and that's why it's so
00:12:29.41\00:12:32.71
important - the biblical
ideal of a family in Christ
00:12:32.75\00:12:35.65
made up of all nations
so that we can provide the
00:12:35.68\00:12:38.85
support structure for
those who are being pushed away
00:12:38.89\00:12:41.62
from their familiies as
a result of their decision
00:12:41.66\00:12:44.36
to follow Christ.
00:12:44.39\00:12:45.99
Linda Scabey had been attending
a lot of different churches
00:18:07.75\00:18:10.75
over a period of time,
trying to find one that
00:18:10.79\00:18:13.92
taught the truth. She
was finally introduced
00:18:13.96\00:18:17.03
to our little Adventist
group here, and she started
00:18:17.06\00:18:20.03
attending. She was impressed
by the the way the Bible was
00:18:20.06\00:18:24.23
taught and how it was
taught simply so that everyone
00:18:24.27\00:18:27.10
could understand. And
so, she wanted to share this
00:18:27.14\00:18:30.14
experience with her
son, Ousmane, who was around
00:18:30.17\00:18:33.34
the age of 11 at that
time. But he didn't want to
00:18:33.38\00:18:36.48
have anything to
do with Christianity.
00:18:36.51\00:18:38.61
But even though
outwardly he didn't want to have
00:18:39.18\00:18:41.78
anything to do with
it, inside he was battling.
00:18:41.82\00:18:44.45
Because he would go to
the mosque, and he would hear
00:18:46.76\00:18:48.79
the imams preach, "Don't steal."
00:18:48.82\00:18:50.99
And yet, everyone still
stole, and it was just normal.
00:18:51.03\00:18:54.46
He would hear the
imams preach, "Don't lie."
00:18:54.50\00:18:57.83
But yet, if you told a good
lie and didn't get caught at it,
00:18:57.87\00:19:00.30
you were
considered clever or smart.
00:19:00.34\00:19:02.37
The imams would preach to
stay healthy and stay away
00:19:02.40\00:19:05.91
from bad eating habits and
keep your body in good shape.
00:19:05.94\00:19:09.41
Yet the town was of full
so- called Muslims who were
00:19:09.44\00:19:13.28
alcoholics, smokers,
drug abusers, and just so many
00:19:13.31\00:19:16.62
things. So he was confused.
He wasn't sure if he really
00:19:16.65\00:19:19.92
wanted to
embrace Christianity yet.
00:19:19.95\00:19:22.09
Time went on, and
one day his mother came
00:19:24.09\00:19:28.16
to our house and shared with
us that Ousmane had a serious
00:19:28.20\00:19:31.37
hernia, and she
was asking for help.
00:19:31.40\00:19:33.80
So we talked it over with
the team and decided that it
00:19:38.71\00:19:41.58
would be a good thing if we
could help him get an operation.
00:19:41.61\00:19:44.85
So we arranged for him to have
an operation, and fortunately
00:19:56.93\00:20:01.43
it was successful and went
very well. And after he got
00:20:01.46\00:20:05.53
out of the hospital, he
came with his mom to our house
00:20:05.57\00:20:09.60
and thanked us
for what we had done.
00:20:09.64\00:20:11.21
After that, it's like something
changed. And he started
00:20:11.24\00:20:15.14
coming to church on Sabbath
with his mom. And pretty soon
00:20:15.18\00:20:19.01
he was a regular attendee.
And he really seemed to
00:20:19.05\00:20:21.85
be enjoying it.
00:20:21.88\00:20:23.08
He joined a Bible study group
and even expressed a desire
00:20:23.12\00:20:27.09
to be baptized. And we were
just really excited about it.
00:20:27.12\00:20:31.46
And on top of all that,
he even raised his hand to be
00:20:36.63\00:20:40.10
a cell Bible study group leader.
We were just really amazed
00:20:40.14\00:20:44.27
at how the Holy Spirit
had just transformed his life
00:20:44.31\00:20:47.08
from him starting out
before not wanting to have
00:20:47.11\00:20:49.74
anything to do with
Christianity to being so on
00:20:49.78\00:20:52.58
fire for the Lord and so
eager to spread the Word.
00:20:52.61\00:20:55.22
So we were just really,
really excited about that.
00:20:55.25\00:20:57.79
But it wasn't
always easy for him.
00:20:57.82\00:21:00.92
He faced a lot of opposition
from his family, a lot of
00:21:07.46\00:21:10.87
persecution. Ousmane
went down to Conakry for
00:21:10.90\00:21:15.17
summer break, and he
went down to visit his father.
00:21:15.20\00:21:19.14
And his father was
a very strong Muslim.
00:21:19.17\00:21:22.71
One Sabbath, Ousmane wanted
to go to church. He didn't know
00:21:22.74\00:21:26.31
where the Adventist church
was in Conakry, so he started
00:21:26.35\00:21:29.58
asking around, and he
found it. So he attended church
00:21:29.62\00:21:32.39
that Sabbath, and when he
got home, his father wanted to
00:21:32.42\00:21:35.19
know where he had
been. So Ousmane said,
00:21:35.22\00:21:37.19
"Well, I went to church."
And his father was very angry.
00:21:37.23\00:21:40.26
He said, "If you go
to that church again,
00:21:40.30\00:21:41.83
I'm going to kill you."
He just said it point blank.
00:21:41.86\00:21:44.93
He said, "No son of mine
is going to be a Christian."
00:21:44.97\00:21:48.04
His mom even had the
same problem. She received
00:21:48.07\00:21:51.97
relatives that were threatening
to take all of her children
00:21:52.01\00:21:54.94
away from her. She had
five kids - Ousmane and his four
00:21:54.98\00:21:57.98
sisters. And she was threatened
to have them all taken away
00:21:58.01\00:22:01.25
from her if she didn't stop
coming to our Adventist church.
00:22:01.28\00:22:04.55
But they remained faithful,
and Ousmane just continued
00:22:08.02\00:22:12.53
coming to church, continued
growing. And we were just
00:22:12.56\00:22:17.00
really, really
excited over what God had done
00:22:17.03\00:22:20.17
in his life.
00:22:20.20\00:22:21.84
We had waited for a long,
long time for our candidates
00:22:36.12\00:22:40.59
to be baptized here in Fria.
00:22:40.62\00:22:42.96
They had gone through
Bible studies for over a year,
00:22:43.89\00:22:48.30
but yet a pastor had not
been tasked to come here to do
00:22:49.16\00:22:54.60
the baptisms. Our
baptismal candidates asked us,
00:22:54.64\00:22:58.84
"When are we
going to get baptized?"
00:22:58.87\00:23:00.61
"When are we going to be
able to join your church?"
00:23:00.64\00:23:04.18
"We've gone through study,
after study, after study and
00:23:04.21\00:23:07.72
we are ready."
00:23:07.75\00:23:09.35
As we waited, we prayed.
We contacted AFM. We shared
00:23:12.09\00:23:15.52
with them our
burden and our concerns.
00:23:15.56\00:23:18.83
Souls were at stake.
00:23:18.86\00:23:20.80
We had young university
students, young men eager
00:23:20.83\00:23:24.40
and ready to give their
hearts to the Lord and to be
00:23:24.43\00:23:27.97
baptized and become members
of this church, but yet silence.
00:23:28.00\00:23:32.31
And so the struggle,
the struggle continued.
00:23:32.34\00:23:36.91
But God performed a miracle,
and we received a letter
00:23:37.88\00:23:42.28
from the Union stating
that they had given Marc the
00:23:42.32\00:23:46.69
permission to now
baptize our candidates.
00:23:46.72\00:23:50.79
Everyone was excited!
We arranged the dates.
00:23:50.83\00:23:54.83
We arranged everything,
and the announcement went out
00:23:54.83\00:23:58.33
that the Seventh-day Adventist
church was going to have
00:23:58.37\00:24:01.84
a baptism. And not
only did we have a baptism,
00:24:01.87\00:24:06.01
but we also had a
baby dedication. Two little
00:24:06.04\00:24:09.51
children were
dedicated to the Lord that day.
00:24:09.54\00:24:12.91
And after that, the
baptismal candidates went to get
00:24:12.95\00:24:18.45
prepared to put on
their robes for baptism.
00:24:18.49\00:24:21.26
You should have just heard
the church. The church was just
00:24:21.29\00:24:24.19
singing - we were full of
joy! We realized that God had
00:24:24.23\00:24:27.13
performed a miracle. We
had waited two years for this
00:24:27.13\00:24:30.73
day to happen.
00:24:30.77\00:24:32.30
And when Marc
said, "It's time now."
00:24:33.40\00:24:36.60
We all marched outside.
We have a little baptistry
00:24:36.64\00:24:40.44
outside, a cemented baptistry.
We all walked outside.
00:24:40.48\00:24:44.78
We all surrounded that
baptistry. And one by one, the
00:24:44.81\00:24:49.05
candidates were baptized.
00:24:49.08\00:24:51.39
But then there was a
solemn, solemn moment.
00:24:54.06\00:24:56.83
Our last candidate,
the fourth candidate,
00:24:56.86\00:24:59.59
as he approached the baptistry,
00:24:59.63\00:25:02.76
I could slightly see
tears coming from his eyes.
00:25:02.80\00:25:07.17
And as he held
his face like this,
00:25:07.20\00:25:11.44
he walked up the steps
and down into the water.
00:25:11.47\00:25:16.18
And my husband asked
him, "Alexandre, what is it?"
00:25:17.28\00:25:22.72
And Alexandre
proceeded to share with us
00:25:22.75\00:25:27.26
his deep concern about
Jesus having had trials
00:25:29.36\00:25:35.13
after his baptism. And
how He faced 40 days in the
00:25:35.16\00:25:40.90
wilderness being tempted
by Satan. And he, too, thought
00:25:40.94\00:25:45.31
at that moment, will he
be able to stand like Jesus?
00:25:45.34\00:25:49.71
He's getting ready to
be baptized. What trials
00:25:49.74\00:25:53.08
will he be facing? Will he
be able to stand firm for Jesus?
00:25:53.11\00:25:58.89
He solicited prayers, our
prayers. He asked the entire
00:26:01.26\00:26:04.69
church congregation to
please pray for me as I make
00:26:04.73\00:26:07.76
this step and this
commitment into the watery grave
00:26:07.83\00:26:10.83
and to become a Christian,
to become a Seventh-day
00:26:10.87\00:26:13.84
Adventist
Christian. And so he went down
00:26:13.87\00:26:16.67
and he came up. Singing went
up again. We were just really
00:26:16.71\00:26:21.44
so excited about this
time. After that, we decided we
00:26:21.48\00:26:27.42
wanted to have a Bible game.
00:26:27.45\00:26:29.05
And it just did my heart well
00:26:29.48\00:26:32.99
when I saw all of our young,
00:26:33.02\00:26:36.46
new believers searching
their Bibles for the answers.
00:26:36.49\00:26:40.96
They are truly Bible students
now. They know their Bibles.
00:26:41.00\00:26:46.13
And after that, we all
were able to walk out together
00:26:49.40\00:26:54.98
as a group, praising the
Lord, singing down the road
00:26:55.01\00:27:00.55
because of what
miracle God performed that day.
00:27:00.58\00:27:03.89
This was truly,
truly a day to remember.
00:27:05.19\00:27:08.16