Participants: Bev & Sarah Thompson
Series Code: AIM
Program Code: AIM000479
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00:16 Hello, everybody,
00:18 I'm delighted to be back with you here 00:21 on another "Adventures in Missions" program 00:24 where you hear the stories of Gospel Outreach. 00:28 You know about Gospel Outreach, 00:29 I think if you've been 00:30 tuning into these programs over the years. 00:34 But may be you are new 00:35 and so you will learn some wonderful things 00:39 about a frontline mission organization 00:42 that has some of the most delightful people 00:45 you will ever learn about. 00:47 And among those delightful people 00:49 are my guests in this program. 00:53 I kind to think of Bev as a sister of mine 00:56 because we have been rubbing shoulders around for a while. 01:00 Bev Thompson, she is our, 01:05 well I was going to say something different about that, 01:07 but you are the first lady regional director, right? Yes. 01:12 And we are pretty grateful for that 01:14 and you ought to be proud about that too. 01:17 She has discovered her gift beyond 01:20 the medical field to the preaching field even 01:26 and that may be a little scary to start with, 01:28 but God has blessed all the way, 01:31 and today we are extra blessed 01:34 to have your granddaughter 01:35 Sarah here with us. 01:37 Sarah, we are so glad you are here. 01:40 And listen you have gone along with grandma to India 01:43 where her Gospel Outreach team is. 01:46 This is your first time there? Yes, my very first time. 01:50 I might say, she didn't come along with me 01:53 and she had a terrible experience 01:55 transferring in Delhi. 01:57 But she met me in Calcutta. 02:00 And I think that's all we really need to say, 02:04 memories that she would 02:05 just soon put in the back of her mind 02:07 and never hear about again. 02:09 Yes, but as I was commenting 02:11 with someone else in a similar kind of vein. 02:16 It's those experience that are the memorable ones. 02:19 Yes, that's very true. 02:21 And after all they kind of help shape your life 02:27 and give you some direction, 02:29 may be to know how to avoid that 02:31 or may be to benefit from it. 02:34 So you don't need to go into that particular 02:36 but what was it like going to India. 02:39 Oh, man, it's completely different 02:42 from here in the States. 02:44 Coming from a little town 02:46 and you spend a lot of time here 02:48 and then you go over there and you travel. 02:52 The traffic is chaotic to say the least. 02:58 It's very exciting to ride over there 03:01 because you don't just drive, 03:04 you drive and you weave and it's just-- 03:10 it's very exciting to travel over there. 03:12 So you had some rickshaw rides. Yes, yes. 03:15 And unbelievable encounters with animals 03:20 of various kinds including humans 03:23 in the road right in front of you. Oh, yes. 03:26 And so we were talking to you Sarah, 03:31 grandma had to work really heard to get you to go. 03:34 Well, she has been going year after year after year 03:38 and she took my two older siblings before. 03:41 And I hear all these stories all the time 03:44 and I hear like it's very dirty over there, 03:47 the traffic is very chaotic and all these stories 03:51 and they are all very interesting. 03:53 And at first I was like, man, do I want to go over there. 03:56 It's kind of scary and I have never been 04:00 on a mission trip by myself without my family 04:05 and or just with grandma and so I take a little prodding, 04:11 but once you get me with the idea, 04:15 I tend to go for that and so it was good. 04:19 I want you to be thinking, 04:22 we are going to talk to grandma now, 04:23 but I want you Sarah to be thinking about 04:28 a person or some persons that you encountered 04:32 that you are never going to forget. 04:34 Somebody you met, something happened 04:36 with a person or in some of your role or something. 04:39 Be thinking about that. 04:40 We will get back to you in a little bit about that. 04:43 Okay, let's a do a little Gospel Outreach 04:47 update here, Bev. 04:51 We always had new people joining us. 04:53 Gospel Outreach what, where, why so forth. 04:57 Give us your overview of Gospel Outreach. 05:00 Well, Gospel Outreach is where we have a mission 05:04 to spread the gospel to all the world 05:07 and that mission is accomplished 05:09 by hiring local people in faraway lands 05:13 to do the mission work themselves. 05:15 We don't send foreigners. 05:17 We just take donations to pay the salaries 05:20 of the local people to do the work for us. 05:23 And then what Gospel Outreach does is 05:27 many times in these developing countries, 05:30 there is temptations to use money in different ways 05:33 to other than what it was planned for, 05:36 so we have regional directors that go out 05:38 to an assigned region every year to make sure that 05:43 in the best of their ability to see that money 05:47 is been spent the way we are expecting it to be spent 05:50 and that the work is being done 05:52 that we are expecting to be done. 05:55 Last recollection, 05:57 there are 18 regions of Gospel Outreach ministry. 06:02 And so there are-- 06:04 you have 17 counterparts in other regions. That's right. 06:08 And the region is blessed 06:13 with the service of local people 06:17 who are the gospel outreach 06:18 frontline workers. That's right. 06:20 And they are the only ones who get paid. That's right. 06:22 In the gospel outreach organization 06:26 and you and Sarah would be an annual team 06:29 or sometime you go more than once a year, I know. 06:31 Well, most of the time it's once a year. 06:34 But I have taken youth groups a couple of times, 06:36 so it makes it excellent. 06:37 And I appreciate so much your clarification 06:39 and I'd like our viewers to understand this, 06:43 it's not a matter of you participating 06:47 as part of the gospel outreach family 06:48 and sending support for gospel outreach workers. 06:52 You can be assured the likes of Beverly Thomson 06:56 will be going out there to make sure 06:59 that the investments that you are making 07:02 in this ministry accomplish the purpose 07:04 for which the dollars were given. That's right. 07:06 And so you kind of go as an auditor. 07:10 I'm far away from that name but yes. 07:13 Well, let's call it monitor then. 07:15 And you are making sure that your gospel outreach workers 07:21 are doing what they are supposed to. 07:23 But I think really you go more for your own inspiration 07:29 and to encourage them in the work they are doing, 07:33 because that mutual kind of relationship 07:37 will help produce better results. 07:39 That's right and you know it's been-- 07:41 like they tell me when you come every year 07:44 and you see the workers, 07:45 this motivates the workers to do greater and greater, 07:49 preparing for me to come 07:50 so they can show the new souls that have come to Jesus Christ. 07:53 Now, when you go, you do some training 07:56 or seminars and so forth. 07:59 And with you I'm sure with your medical background, 08:03 you can do things in health education 08:06 as well as Bible studies and those kinds of things. 08:10 And we try to equip our gospel outreach workers 08:13 with the basic home health needs. Good. 08:16 There are lots of details 08:18 that viewers deserve to know about, 08:19 we just don't have time for it in these short programs. 08:24 In this particular trip, tell us where you went. 08:28 Well, I started in Chhattisgarh which is in the Central, 08:31 North Central area of India 08:33 and then I went way up to Bhutan area 08:37 and then I worked myself slowly back down to Varanasi 08:42 where I took the plane back to Delhi and home. 08:45 So, I really go to four different states and there are-- 08:51 How many gospel outreach workers in your region? 08:53 About 130. Wow. 08:56 Is that a static number or is it growing or you need more? 08:59 Oh, we need more. 09:01 I come back with requests for more for all of the areas. 09:06 But where I see the work going the fastest, 09:09 that's where I get excited 09:10 and I want to really see if there is any possibility 09:13 of more funds coming in, 09:15 then we can divert it to those places 09:17 where they are really working fast and hard 09:19 and the people are receiving the message in a fantastic way. 09:23 So you followed grandma on all these circuitous route? 09:27 I just got there for ten days of it. 09:31 I was there for five, six and half weeks. Oh, wow! 09:36 Sarah was there for ten days 09:37 and we were in South Bengal. Yes. 09:40 And she went on the boat rides 09:43 on these things out to be, islands 09:46 and then we moved on to Ranchi 09:51 which is the name of a very large city in Jharkhand. 09:56 And that is where this story 09:58 that we are going to be telling you today picks up. 10:01 Okay, are you ready for pictures now already then? 10:03 I think so, yes. 10:04 Okay, let's take a look at some of the illustrations 10:07 that Bev has brought back. 10:10 Yes, those are the right ones. 10:15 This is a way out in the boonies, you might say. 10:21 Far from any city we traveled about 10:24 an hour and a half in a taxi. 10:26 And they have a market place for these outlying places 10:30 and this is how you might say 10:33 the villagers exchange their fruits, 10:37 vegetables, legumes, whatever they have for sale. 10:40 And from this marketplace you could actually see 10:43 our school and church. 10:46 So, when I visited last year, in this area. 10:53 This dear lady is taking her baptism 10:55 or vows and I saw her coming 10:58 and she was little bit crumpled over 11:00 and I wondered about her 11:02 and yes, we walked to the baptism pool 11:05 which is about a half kilometer away. 11:08 And then we had to walk back to the church 11:12 and here she is walking back to the church. 11:15 And you know, I had her in my mind 11:17 a lot as I was thinking about 11:19 coming back to pool again this time. 11:23 And there she is. 11:26 Can you see the little lady on the lower 11:27 right side with the white hair? Yes, yes. 11:31 That is her and so I asked about her 11:34 because you know, she just touched my heart 11:36 because she was quite crippled with hip flexion contractures, 11:39 the knee contractures. 11:41 So she couldn't stand up straight. 11:43 And I found out that she had been a witch doctor. 11:48 And people had come to her for healing 11:51 and for many various and sundry reasons. 11:55 And she would say, well, you have to kill a goat 11:57 and feed the people in the village 11:59 and then you have to bring me a chicken's foot 12:02 or who knows what and they would get healed. 12:07 Well, she accepted Christianity. 12:11 Now, what is she going to do? 12:12 She is not making a living by doing this kind of stuff. 12:15 Well, she isn't making any money either as a Christian. 12:19 But, instead of telling people to kill a goat 12:24 or get a chicken claw to get their sins removed 12:28 or to get healing of their body or mind whatever. 12:33 She says, I will have a prayer with you. 12:37 And she is like a missionary in her home now. 12:41 The people are coming to her home. 12:43 For prayer. For prayer. 12:45 Wow. What a blessing. 12:46 What a transformation. 12:49 And this is what is happening to the people in this village. 12:53 Now, you see the school teacher here on the right 12:55 they're all in the church here. 12:57 That school teacher was recruited 13:01 by the conference president 13:02 by going to Spicer Memorial College 13:05 and finding a teacher who is graduating 13:07 by saying we'd like to hire you 13:09 but we don't have any funds to pay your salary. 13:13 And are you willing to come 13:15 and you can recruit your own students 13:17 and set your own fee 13:18 and see if you can earn a living. 13:21 Well, he was very intelligent young man, 13:23 he came to this area 13:26 and visited every home in that village and told them. 13:30 If they would register their child to come to that school 13:34 that he would give them free tuition for summer school. 13:40 When I got there last year, he had 354 students 13:46 and so he have to have a teachers helper. 13:49 Well, in the mean time we had a donation for another school, 13:55 in fact it was four school rooms we had 13:58 and these four school rooms got built 14:00 with two toilets for boys and two toilets for girls 14:04 and plus a shower each 14:06 and with this I come in they have a 150 some students, 14:14 so they have to hire more teachers. 14:16 Well, the tuition for the-- 14:18 of the children in this very poor region 14:21 is not sufficient to pay for four teachers, 14:25 so the conference there is helping them out some, 14:29 but this is a mission project 14:33 and we will tell you just a little bit more about 14:35 the mission project as we go on. 14:37 You can see, we have a bunch of kids there 14:39 and this is summer school, summer time. 14:41 And these children are also neatly dressed, 14:44 uniforms so do they have resources 14:47 in their families to provide that for the children? 14:50 Well, when you register a child to come to school, 14:53 they have to have the tuition and a uniform 14:56 and fees for books. 14:59 And so it is a stepping out process for the family 15:02 to be able to support their child to go to school. 15:06 But, they stood and perform singing songs 15:09 and saying memory verses and they were just beautiful. 15:13 Oh, there is Sarah? Yes. 15:15 What are you doing there Sarah? 15:17 I'm giving my sermon. 15:19 Oh, good. Good for you. On the Sabbath. 15:23 That's wonderful. Yes, it was really wonderful. 15:25 And look at the leis around your neck. 15:27 They probably adorned you with those, didn't they? 15:28 Oh, they did. 15:30 I got over there and I felt very honored 15:34 and appreciated because I go 15:36 and I'm just tagging along with grandma, 15:38 you know, and then they give her all the garlands 15:42 and then they come to me, I'm like, oh, I'm just, 15:45 I'm just following grandma here. 15:47 Hey, it pays to follow grandma. Yeah. 15:51 But let me tell you when somebody comes with me, 15:53 they don't just tag along. 15:55 I tell them ahead of time, 15:56 I don't have any deadwood come with me. 15:59 You have to have something prepared to give to the people 16:03 and so Sarah had prepared a sermon 16:05 on Sabbath keeping. Oh, wow. 16:07 And it was a very nicely put together sermon 16:10 and you see I was trying to also teach 16:13 the Gospel Outreach workers everywhere I went 16:15 that we wanted them to have a plan for every sermon. 16:19 You're going to have an introduction, 16:20 you're going to have 3 to 5 different parts of your message 16:25 and then you are going to have a summary 16:27 and an appeal because this is a spiritual thing. 16:29 So you become a homiletics teacher also. 16:33 And so Sarah gave an example with hers. 16:36 That's so wonderful. 16:38 She did a very good job. That was nice. 16:42 Then we had a baptism and this time you can see 16:45 there are two young ladies in uniform 16:47 on the right there. Oh, yes. 16:49 And a couple of those others were parents of children 16:53 that were in the school 16:55 and I think this is very significant 16:57 because the teacher actually went to five villages, 17:02 five of the closest villages 17:04 and they have representatives of every village in that school. 17:10 And not only that 17 kilometers away 17:14 there is a group of kids that wanted to come 17:17 but they didn't have transportation, 17:21 they didn't have lodging. 17:23 So the teacher said, you come and stay with me 17:26 and they bring their mat 17:28 and the teacher sleeps with 12 students 17:32 and in the morning they roll up the mats 17:34 and put them to the side and they have class. 17:36 Right in the classroom? Yes. 17:38 And so you will see this is you might say 17:40 this baptism is representative of the work 17:44 that a school does in that community. 17:47 All right, we got to hurry with your pictures 17:49 I'm afraid we are going to miss out on something. 17:52 This is on the way to the baptism. 17:55 Everyone goes to the baptismal pond 17:57 and here the children are leading the procession 18:00 and then the drummers and everyone singing 18:04 and then we gather at the poolside. 18:07 Shall we gather at the river? This is a pool though a pound. 18:11 Oh, he's got this place. 18:15 Anyway, this is looking down on the pound 18:17 from the people that are collected there 18:21 and then the baptism. Isn't it beautiful? 18:23 And you know, with the shimmering 18:25 of the light on the water, 18:27 it makes the water look clean It's beautiful. 18:31 If you could see it otherwise it was brown 18:33 but it was beautiful 18:35 and when the person goes down into the water, 18:38 you can see the cascade around their head, 18:40 it's just like a hallow around their head 18:42 that God is blessing them as they do it. 18:47 There were young men and young women, 18:50 there were some that were older also. 18:52 And see the reflection of them there 18:55 I think of how they reflect Jesus Christ. Wow, beautiful. 18:59 Beautiful and when we got back to the church, 19:04 we went to the back part of the church 19:06 and we had another donation from another classroom, 19:10 so this is classroom number 5 19:13 and they wanted me to dedicate it, 19:15 inaugurate it or dedicate it. 19:17 And so this is the building and it has one class room 19:22 and they said we have it built 19:23 so that we can add three more classrooms to this. 19:27 And with the hope and prayers that will have more donations 19:31 for the classrooms and in a place 19:33 where you see this message going 19:35 because of the school. 19:38 I say great, this sounds like a wonderful place too. 19:40 Bev, I got to interrupt you just-- 19:42 just briefly here 19:43 because I want our viewers to know that 19:47 what you do with, for, through, 19:52 Gospel Outreach makes a powerful difference. 19:55 Evidence by that beautiful classroom 19:58 and we have seen the pictures of the students 20:01 who are involved 20:02 and the culmination in the baptism. 20:06 It is a whole picture, a beautiful picture. 20:09 I'm going to have to ask you to rush along now 20:11 because I'm going to get back to Sarah 20:13 for a little story before we end. 20:15 Okay, so they dedicated the church 20:17 and you can see the ribbon is flying two directions, 20:19 so I have cut the ribbon here 20:21 and we had a picture inside the classroom 20:24 with the president and treasurer of the conference 20:28 and the school teacher next to me there. 20:33 And here you will see a rickshaw on the campus. 20:37 Now, let me tell you, the rickshaw was a donation 20:41 and we have two gospel outreach workers there 20:44 and they are really busy, busy people. 20:47 One drives the rickshaw 20:50 so that he can carry students that live a little distance 20:54 but want to stay at home. 20:56 And so, here it's a Sabbath afternoon, 20:59 and they are filling the rickshaw with kids 21:02 all from one village 21:03 because we are going to have a branch Sabbath school. 21:05 Now, just look at the kids piled in there. 21:08 I don't think I saw them all 21:10 but there were 12 that I counted 21:12 and I saw a last one goes through 21:15 the back window of the rickshaw 21:17 and somebody helped him get in there 21:19 and they are just squished inside. 21:23 But then while they were on their way setting up 21:25 for the branch Sabbath school 21:26 we had the welcome for the people 21:29 who had been baptized then. 21:30 Look at they have put garlands on the people 21:33 and then after they put the garlands 21:35 they give them the Bible 21:37 and their baptismal certificate right there 21:40 and these baptized people now 21:42 really feel part of that community. 21:45 They are told that they are 21:46 but they are also welcomed in this way 21:49 and there is that beautiful bunch of people 21:50 who are baptized with the school teacher 21:53 in the foreground. 21:54 So the school is a strong evangelist outreach 21:59 in that community. 22:01 That's right and here we are 22:03 at the branch Sabbath school in the village. 22:05 They have put the tarp down. 22:06 What did you see that was 22:07 the most interesting there, Sarah? 22:10 I really enjoyed seeing how the school kids 22:14 they led with the song service, 22:16 and then their peers would come trickling in 22:19 from the villages and they'd sit by them 22:21 and they try to sing along 22:23 and then they would see a whole bunch of bystanders 22:25 would come and they were all curious 22:27 and it really is an outreach 22:30 because the curiosity of all these people 22:34 are just pecked with like, people coming in stories and-- 22:39 Well, it becomes the most important thing 22:41 in the village. Yeah. 22:42 One of the things that they told us with the opening 22:45 which to all of these villages was 22:48 don't drink alcohol 22:50 and this picture shows you how the woman brew their own 22:53 and come out and sell it 22:55 and sometimes this is the only way they make money 22:58 and it is so sad, 23:00 but this is one of the opening wedges 23:02 for our people in these villages 23:04 is to have a health message to give to them. 23:07 And here again you see the bystanders 23:10 and those that are coming out to see 23:12 the branch Sabbath school 23:13 and the school teacher is standing there 23:15 with that group of men. 23:16 He is in a white shirt and he is telling 23:18 the children story there. 23:20 Oh, really. And everyone is hearing it. 23:22 And here the children are singing 23:25 and kids that don't know anything at all, 23:27 they have gathered around 23:28 and the ones that are standing are the students 23:32 and I wanted you to see also, 23:35 look at the heals of the little boy that standing. 23:38 He is the student, he is got a big hole in his sock. 23:41 Hole in his sock. 23:43 Now, has he taken his shoes off 23:44 to come on to that mat? Oh, yes, in reverence yes. 23:49 And the children there, they are very, very poor. 23:52 You can see that they don't have clothes that fit them. 23:55 I'm going to let you show a few more pictures. 23:57 This is it. And this is it. 23:59 Yes. okay. 24:00 Just look at the smile on that face 24:02 and I think about those children are the ones 24:05 that are missing out in going to school, 24:07 because their parents don't have enough, 24:09 but they get to learn about Jesus, 24:11 because they bring the message to them 24:14 every Sabbath afternoon. 24:16 But it isn't just this one village, 24:19 it's the five villages that the kids go to school 24:24 at our school there. 24:25 It is those five villages 24:26 they go to every Sabbath afternoon 24:29 to take a branch Sabbath school. 24:31 Can you imagine? It's hard. 24:34 Sarah, you have been thinking 24:37 who, who is in your mind 24:40 that you're never going to forget? 24:42 I have to say, it's the school teacher 24:45 at this school in Polas. 24:48 He takes these kids out to all the different villages 24:53 and he is on fire and he goes 24:56 and he doesn't do it 24:58 just because he is getting paid. It's a good job. 25:00 He does it because he loves God 25:02 and he is going out there and he gets to the kids involved 25:05 and the youth involved 25:07 and so everybody is involved in there 25:11 and he goes out on Sabbath afternoons 25:13 and I think about my Sabbath afternoons. 25:15 What do I do and go to church 25:17 and then take a nap or something 25:20 or go to the mountains or something 25:22 but he is going out there and-- 25:25 I understand how he is one faithful 25:28 and impressive person 25:30 to bring a dozen children into the school 25:33 and to sleep there, so that they can have 25:37 a benefit of a Christian education. 25:40 Well, thank you, Beverly, always glad to be 25:43 where you are and to hear your exciting stories. 25:46 I got to tell you Sarah, to be with your grandma 25:49 and just see the smile on her face 25:51 and enthusiasm that she exhibits 25:54 would sell this story to anybody. 25:56 And I want to thank you for helping. 25:58 Salute to our folks who are viewing right now 26:01 and we are glad all of you have joined us 26:03 for this Adventures in Missions program. 26:06 And I'm sure you are saying to yourself right now. 26:09 I'm not going to miss another one of those program 26:11 and we do want you too. 26:12 We want you to be a part of this family. 26:15 You see on the screen right there the address, 26:17 name, telephone number all of that information. 26:19 Ask for a copy of the newsletter to come to you 26:22 or you can get it online of course 26:24 and thank you for your support. 26:27 Your support helps build school, 26:29 helps develop all of this ministry 26:33 that Beverly and Sarah have told us 26:35 about today in this program. 26:37 And I want to thank you for being a part of this 26:40 very important 21st century ministry 26:44 where God is finding people 26:47 and doing things that we wouldn't have 26:49 dream possible a little while ago. 26:52 But He is able and we are grateful. 26:55 See you next time. |
Revised 2014-12-17