Participants: Gary Krause (Host), Aaron Sartin, Sally Sartin, G. T. Ng
Series Code: GMS
Program Code: GMS000011
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00:06 Hi, I'm standing in the secretariat department
00:09 in the world headquarters 00:11 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 00:13 And on today's program we'll be talking to Dr. G.T. Ng, 00:16 executive secretary of the World Seventh-day Adventist Church. 00:20 Welcome to "Global Mission snapshots." 00:28 Just before He went up to heaven, 00:30 Jesus gave us a command. 00:33 He gave us a mission. 00:36 Jesus said, "Go, go unto all the world, 00:41 telling them of His love." 00:43 This is our mission. This is our Global Mission. 00:53 Hello, I'm Gary Krause. 00:54 Thanks for joining us on "Global Mission Snapshots." 00:57 On today's program, we'll travel to Indonesia 01:00 to see how Seventh-day Adventists 01:02 in this Southeast Asian nation are ministering 01:05 holistically to their communities. 01:08 We'll also be talking with a medical missionary family 01:10 serving at an Adventist hospital in Nepal. 01:14 Located just outside the capital Kathmandu, 01:17 Scheer Memorial Hospital has been providing 01:20 outstanding medical care for more than 50 years. 01:24 And we'll also meet Dr. G.T. Ng, 01:26 executive secretary of the Seventh-day Adventist Church 01:30 to talk about-- you guessed it Mission. 01:33 But first up let's travel to Cambodia 01:35 to meet Peng, a Global Mission pioneer 01:38 I had the privilege of visiting recently. 01:48 Prom Peng is a Global Mission pioneer 01:50 working in Central Cambodia. 01:52 He goes door-to-door 01:54 visiting the people of his local community 01:56 and telling them about Jesus. 01:58 He shares the Gospel with them. 02:00 He becomes their friend. 02:05 Cambodia wasn't always open to the teaching of the Gospel. 02:09 Traditionally, a Buddhist country, 02:11 it has seen many wars and years of turmoil. 02:13 But about 15 years ago the Seventh-day Adventist Church 02:16 started sending out Global Mission pioneers 02:19 to communities where there was little 02:20 or no Christian presence. 02:22 The village where Prom Peng works and lives 02:25 is one such village. 02:27 His wife, Long Chenda, 02:29 runs a small after school program 02:31 in the building that also serves as the local church. 02:35 She plays games with the children, 02:36 teaches them songs and tells them of a God 02:39 who created them and loves them very much. 02:42 One of the people that Peng and Chenda 02:44 met is Un Soksavuth. 02:47 Un worked at a local hospital close to Peng's house 02:49 and they became friends 02:51 when Peng would visit the hospital. 02:53 Un invited Peng to come to his house 02:55 and teach him about the Jesus he was always talking about. 02:58 Un was interested that this Jesus 03:00 could forgive him from his sins. 03:03 The local traditional religion taught 03:04 that sins could only be forgiven 03:06 if a gift was given at the local temple. 03:08 Un was poor and couldn't afford any gifts. 03:11 The thought of a poor man being saved intrigued him. 03:15 He wanted to learn more. 03:19 As they studied Un was converted and soon his wife joined him. 03:23 Un was able to share the Bible with his mother 03:25 right up until the time of her death. 03:28 Because of the Bible studies taught by Peng, 03:30 Un's life was changed. 03:32 He stopped going to clubs and getting into trouble. 03:35 His wife is happy because now she feels 03:37 that Un cares for his family and they spend time together. 03:41 They have found peace and new lives in Jesus. 03:45 Global Mission pioneers work all over the world 03:48 to spread the Gospel to people 03:49 who have never heard the name of Jesus. 03:51 Often times they work and live in very harsh conditions, 03:55 just so that they can help lives become changed. 03:59 Thank you for your prayerful support of Global Mission. 04:10 The Seventh-day Adventist Church 04:12 sends missionaries all around the world 04:14 and it is my pleasure to introduce you 04:17 to Aaron and Sally Sartin. 04:19 Thank you for joining us today. 04:21 And Aaron and Sally are visiting from the country of Nepal. 04:25 Now please for those of us who aren't too good 04:28 in our geography where is Nepal? 04:31 Well, an easiest way to think of that is 04:33 Nepal is sandwich right between 04:35 India to the South and China to the North. 04:37 Okay. Now this is not sea level, right? 04:41 Not a sea level. 04:43 India, of course you have the Ganges plain coming up 04:46 and that's the southern border with Nepal. 04:49 That is pretty close to sea level 04:50 but then very quickly get little rise up quickly into hills 04:53 and then at the very north of Nepal 04:55 along with China border 04:56 we have the Himalaya mountains. 04:57 Right. 04:58 And so do you get to see Mount Everest 05:00 from where you live on a clear day or-- 05:03 On the extremely clear day 05:05 we can perhaps see the peak of it 05:07 now these thoughts what the locals tell us. 05:09 Okay. So we believe that. 05:10 So, you're both medical doctors 05:12 serving at Scheer Memorial Hospital 05:14 what do you do? 05:16 What sort of patients do you see? 05:18 What-- I mean, what's the typical day like? 05:21 So, a typical day we start out off 05:23 with their morning something called morning report 05:25 where we come into the conference like type setting 05:30 and to talk about patients that were admitted overnight. 05:33 And then we go round on our own patients 05:35 in the hospital, 05:37 clinic then we'll start at around 10 a.m. 05:39 Well, we would suppose to start right at 10 a.m. 05:43 And morning clinic then ends at 1:00 in the afternoon. 05:47 Then we're getting an hour lunch break 05:49 and then we start back in there clinic from 2:00 to 4:00. 05:53 And then we would do our evening rounds 05:55 where we go check on our patients 05:57 again in the hospital in the evenings 05:59 before we close the day. 06:01 Now, when I say we close the day that's, 06:03 you know, our typical office our businesses hours 06:06 I guess you would say. 06:07 But after that you know we can get called any time 06:10 from the emergency room or from the ward 06:13 to attend to our patients 06:14 if they need more medical attention. 06:17 So that could happen any time 06:19 in the night pretty much 24/7. 06:22 So this is a fairly full time commitment 06:24 that you involved in. 06:26 Now adding to the commitment 06:29 is that you have a two-year-old son 06:31 and how old is your baby daughter? 06:33 She's a little over two weeks old. 06:34 Two weeks old. 06:36 So, you came back to the United States 06:37 for some vacation time and to have the baby. 06:40 Yes. 06:41 When do you get back to Nepal? The 23rd of August. 06:44 Okay, so, your family will have increased in size. 06:47 Now what made you decide that you wanted to serve 06:51 as medical mission workers? 06:55 I think I'm at least from nearly sides 06:58 always thought of the health field 07:00 is a good way to obviously to help people 07:03 and touch them in a certain way. 07:05 And later as my spiritual life prove us 07:08 that was in a great way 07:09 to open the door to sharing the gospel. 07:11 That's the ultimate goal in the missionary work. 07:14 And how I came into idea of serving overseas 07:19 I met my beautiful life 07:20 at Loma Linda University medical school 07:23 that where we went to the school together. 07:25 And it was in our first year 07:26 that we both assigned at for what's called 07:28 the Deferred Mission Appointee Program 07:30 which means like students who commit to serve overseas 07:34 when their training is complete. 07:36 And through that we were assigned 07:37 to eventually Southern Asia Division. 07:40 And then it would be a few years 07:41 where we decide exactly where we're going to go 07:44 that ended up being Nepal at Scheer Memorial. 07:47 Wow, so, you were both training at Loma Linda 07:50 and you met each other, you married 07:52 and then you had a shared vision for mission together. 07:55 Yes. 07:56 Wow, now of course you could be back here 07:59 in the states earning a whole lot more money 08:00 in working lesser hours. 08:02 Are you tempted? 08:05 Well, where we went to fulfill our commitments 08:08 that we made to the church 08:09 and defiantly we want to see the work 08:10 continue in that country. 08:12 Well, to be honest we think 08:14 what's best for our children and right now 08:17 I think they're still in a good place in Nepal, 08:19 it's a great experience for them to grow up 08:21 with that vision that we hope. 08:23 Oh, yeah. 08:24 They'll be just so-- into their lives, yeah. 08:26 But we certainly enjoyed our annual leave. 08:29 You don't say in order that to catch up 08:31 with family and friends again 08:33 yet we've revive to go back again. 08:36 Now tell me can you give me an example 08:39 how you've been able to touch the lives of people in Nepal. 08:45 I guess I can share a little bit 08:47 about my own experience in the hospital. 08:50 We have many patients actually coming 08:53 after having attempted suicide unfortunately. 08:56 It seems like that may have stem from sense of hopelessness 09:03 something that maybe their religion doesn't provide hope. 09:07 And so we've had a lot of patients 09:10 come through our hospital end up in our ICU 09:14 almost at the verge of death 09:15 but survive and it's at that point 09:18 where I feel as a physician 09:19 I can really trying to reach out to them 09:22 and provide some kind of a sense of hope as, 09:27 you know, talking to them about, 09:29 you know, some of our Christian values and beliefs 09:32 and kind of the hopefully pointing them to Jesus Christ 09:37 as their personal Savior and friend. 09:39 And I remember this one to particular patient 09:42 he was a male patient and basically his family 09:45 because he attempted suicide over and over and over again 09:48 and their families had to expense 09:50 so much on him with the hospital bills 09:52 and so forth that they've pretty much given up on him. 09:56 And so I-- his son actually came 09:58 to visit him in the hospital 09:59 just to scold him and just to tell him, 10:02 you know, his worth nothing and so on and so forth. 10:05 And so I felt really I-- bad for this patient 10:09 and I really took the time to talk to him and say, 10:13 you know, you can really your ways, 10:15 you know, there is hope and, you know, as a Christian 10:19 we've find hope in Jesus Christ. 10:22 And he actually said, well, I'm open to Christianity 10:25 I've always been open to Christianity 10:27 but these bad habits of mine that have kept me down. 10:34 Such as you know, smoking, drinking and other things. 10:38 So I did spend that time with him 10:41 and talk with him 10:43 and he seem to be very open to Christianity. 10:49 But one thing that I do regret is not 10:51 I've had little bit literature at home 10:54 that I want to give to him 10:56 but he was discharged before I could get it to him 10:59 but and I do keep him in their prayers. 11:01 And I think, you know, once you make a connection 11:04 with the patient, you know, you always remember them. 11:06 Oh, yeah, for sure. 11:08 But we have many patients come 11:09 through needing, needing a lot of counsel 11:13 and comfort and encouraging words 11:16 to keep them going. 11:18 Now talking about encouraging words 11:20 are there times that you find it a bit lonely 11:23 that it can a bit discouraging out 11:24 there by yourselves? 11:26 There are times in that especially for me 11:29 when we've had-- 11:31 maybe a string of bad clinical cases 11:33 like patients who come in extremely ill 11:36 and we in spite our best efforts with resources 11:38 that we have patients do die there unfortunately 11:42 and just in those situations trying to comfort 11:45 that the family and, you know, 11:48 provide them some sort of hope of hope. 11:51 Sometimes it shows a bit overwhelming. 11:53 Oh, yeah. 11:54 But I mean it was hope that 11:56 with the Lord as leading where you in the best 11:58 we can and we're planting seeds in their minds 12:01 of what the gospel really means. 12:02 But we've had the blessing of having their Id's 12:07 or their missionary physician families. 12:10 Working with them. 12:11 With working with us 12:12 who've been a tremendous support. 12:14 I'm sure. Yeah. 12:16 Well, thank you so much for joining us today 12:18 and sharing your experience. 12:20 Thank you. 12:21 You know, you're welcome. 12:23 And to our viewers at home, 12:25 thank you so much for your continuing prayers 12:27 and support for mission around the world 12:30 that extends to places like Kathmandu. 13:12 My guest is Dr. G.T. Ng, 13:14 who is the executive secretary for the General Conference. 13:18 And Dr. Ng, I'm so glad you could join us today. 13:21 I'm glad to be here. 13:22 Now when I heard the word secretariat 13:26 over which you are responsible, 13:27 I used to think in terms of policy, 13:30 procedures, paper work, et cetera. 13:32 I know that's all important 13:33 but tell me what is secretariat for? 13:38 That's precisely the question many people ask me 13:42 and my answer has always been 13:44 I'm still in the process of finding it out. 13:48 Secretariat is a complex 13:51 department in the General Conference. 13:55 Most people think that secretariat is the place 13:58 where we shuffle people and push them, 14:02 you know, we do a lot with policies 14:04 and procedures and rightly so we do. 14:07 But secretariat is much more than just to mending things 14:12 that we do from day-to-day. 14:14 Secretariat is thrust to chart the course 14:18 as far as the mission 14:20 and the price of the church is concerned. 14:22 We are intimately involved 14:28 in the training of missionary 14:31 in the recruiting of missionary, 14:33 in mapping out 14:35 what we can do with 10/40 Window. 14:38 What do we do with people live in cities 14:41 and other needed area around the world? 14:44 So it is a much bigger picture 14:47 that most people can see secretariat to be. 14:51 Now since you took on this position 14:54 almost three years ago you are focused very much 15:00 on the need for a combined effort in mission 15:03 and a mission board has been established. 15:06 Tell me the purpose of this. 15:07 Okay. 15:10 My observation of the church has been 15:13 that we tend to operate 15:15 individually in our separate silos. 15:19 We tend to compartmentalize the business of the church. 15:23 You know, if I'm jealous of the southern department 15:26 I will get whatever funding I can 15:29 to enhance the work of that department 15:32 which is fine. 15:33 You know, we need to be progressive 15:35 in whatever task we are called to do. 15:38 Unfortunately, there has been 15:42 little integration among this different entities 15:45 and different departments. 15:47 So one of my burdens is to see that 15:51 there is a greater degree of consolidation 15:54 and collaboration and synergy among different entities 15:58 so that we can be more focused in the area of mission 16:02 which is really the business of the church. 16:04 Without mission and we may as well drive taxi 16:09 and do some other things 16:10 that are not related to the gospel commission. 16:14 So there has been my great burden 16:16 and it seems that we are coming together 16:19 with the establishment of mission board. 16:23 Now mission strategy is not something accidental 16:27 but is something that is intentional. 16:30 We are pulling together the expertise in the church 16:36 as far as mission is concerned. 16:38 We are getting a level of input from Institute of World Mission 16:43 from ADVENTIST MISSION itself 16:46 from Adventist Volunteer Service 16:48 from Archive Statistics and Research. 16:51 All this different components will help us 16:53 to shape the mission of the church 16:56 and that's what mission board is all about. 16:58 Wonderful. 16:59 Now Dr. Ng, you mentioned Institute of World Mission 17:02 and we still have some Seventh-day Adventists 17:05 to express surprise when they hear 17:07 that we are still sending missionaries. 17:10 How important are missionaries to the mission of the church? 17:15 By enlarge the many areas of the world are self sufficient 17:22 as far as the human resource needs a concern. 17:27 Areas such as South American Division, 17:29 Inter American Division, the Asian divisions 17:37 they have enough personnel to mend the work. 17:41 However there are some areas of the world 17:43 where we are very thin on the ground, 17:46 in the Middle Eastern area, in the North African area. 17:51 In some parts of the African continent 17:53 we do not have enough personnel. 17:55 This is where cross cultural missionaries come in. 17:59 That's the reason why we have 900 plus 18:02 missionaries around the globe 18:04 sponsored by the General Conference. 18:06 So missionaries are still very much needed 18:08 and they are doing a tremendous job 18:11 in various institutions as well as frontline evangelism. 18:16 Now what role does the Institute of World Mission play? 18:21 Institute of World Mission or IWM is test 18:27 with the training of missionary. 18:30 So, once three times a year 18:33 we have what we call mission institutes 18:36 where missionaries before going out 18:39 to the field come together. 18:41 Husband, wife and children if they have children with them 18:45 they will come together for three week duration 18:48 either in Andrews University or in Thailand or in Nairobi. 18:53 These are the three usual places where we have meeting 18:55 when they receive instructions 18:58 from IWM stuff on what cross cultural 19:03 and mission is all about. 19:05 And how they can be prepared themselves for mission field 19:09 which is very different 19:11 from what they encounter in the homeland. 19:13 Yes, yes, yes. 19:14 Now they also do something in terms 19:16 of when missionaries come home. 19:18 What's that? 19:21 Once missionaries go on permanent returns, 19:25 they come back to North America 19:27 especially in the context of North America. 19:29 They have what they call special debriefing session 19:36 for missionaries as far as with the children. 19:38 Because after coming back from the field 19:42 you feel that you have lost touch with your homeland. 19:46 Right. 19:47 And so to be able to be accepted back to the-- 19:54 to the society from which you come 19:56 from takes a little instruction. 20:02 And so this is where your home coming program is all about. 20:08 Dr. Ng, thank you so much for giving us a brief window 20:11 into what is happening in mission. 20:13 Thank you so much. My pleasure. 20:14 My pleasure. Thank you. 20:20 The country of Indonesia 20:22 is made up of more than 17,000 islands 20:26 and it stretches from east of Thailand 20:29 to the western part of Papua New Guinea. 20:31 Home to more than 245 million people 20:35 it is the largest Islamic country in the world. 20:39 Its islands are covered with volcanoes, 20:41 jungles, sandy beaches 20:44 and some of the largest cities in Asia. 20:47 The capital Jakarta has a population 20:49 of more than nine million people. 20:56 This quarter two different medical projects 20:58 have been chosen in Indonesia 20:59 to receive a part of our 13th Sabbath offering. 21:03 The first is on the island of Sulawesi 21:05 in the northern city of Manado. 21:07 Here the church is operated the East Indonesia 21:10 Adventist Medical Center since 2007. 21:14 It started off as a small clinic many years ago 21:17 and now has 90 beds 21:19 and plays an important role 21:20 in the churches outreach to the local community. 21:24 Two to three times each month, 21:26 the hospital operates health clinics 21:28 at Adventists churches in the greater Manado area. 21:31 These clinics serves a means of helping the local church 21:35 connect to the outline community. 21:41 So that we want to reach them through clinics 21:44 and we want to introduce 21:48 that Jesus love them through the clinic 21:54 or give healing to the people when they come yearly. 21:59 The church also holds evangelistic campaigns 22:02 that run concurrent with the clinics 22:04 and over the past three years 22:07 more than 300 people have joined the church 22:09 because of the witnessing ministry. 22:12 Part of your 13th Sabbath offering 22:14 will fund these continuing community health clinics 22:17 over the next 12 months. 22:19 This will allow the hospital to extend 22:22 Christ healing hand to those who cannot travel 22:25 to the hospital or afford medical care. 22:28 And we'll also introduce many new people to Jesus. 22:41 The hospital also has a small church 22:44 so that staff, patients and the local community 22:47 can worship each Sabbath 22:48 as well as attend worship each day. 22:51 The staff here take their role of serving 22:53 as Christ healing hands very seriously. 22:56 They understand the important part 22:58 that they play in the mission of the church. 23:01 The hospital operates a surgical unit, 23:03 emergency room, laboratory and pediatric and adult wards. 23:08 Each one serves as a connection point 23:11 to the local community 23:12 where people are searching for peace 23:14 as well as healing. 23:24 Fardy Malanda, serves as the hospital chaplain 23:27 and he explains his role in the hospitals ministry. 23:31 I ask them for pray together, 23:36 you know, and convince them about the Word of God 23:40 that I read the Holy Scriptures 23:44 and especially for healing prayer. 23:48 Then I convince them when you believe Jesus 23:53 because Jesus said that there's no problem, 23:55 you know, for those who believe, 23:58 yeah, that they will be healed. 24:02 The East Indonesia Adventist Medical Center 24:05 has undertaken an aggressive expansion plan 24:08 to expand the size of the hospital 24:10 and increase its ability 24:11 to reach the communities health needs. 24:14 A portion of your 13th Sabbath offerings 24:17 will fund a new emergency room 24:19 and service one of the initial points of contact 24:22 with the local community. 24:24 I believe that this is institution is belong of God. 24:30 So that if you work very hard and seriously 24:36 and have faith in Him, we will get more blessing. 24:43 And this institution to go full of successful. 24:48 Up in the northern part of the island of Sumatra 24:51 lies the city of Medan. 24:54 The church has operated a hospital here for many years. 24:58 Each morning the staff meet 24:59 and share worship together before starting their day. 25:03 They understand the important role that they play 25:06 and not only treating their patient's physical needs 25:09 but their spiritual needs as well. 25:20 This hospital operates a small clinic 25:23 where they offer alternative methods 25:25 of treating cancer as well as training people 25:28 about living a healthy lifestyle. 25:30 The staff also go out into the local community 25:33 and teach vegetarian cooking classes 25:36 to help fight against the high rates of diabetes 25:38 and hypertension that are common here. 25:48 Hospital staff also visit outline communities 25:51 to teach not only proper health practices 25:53 but to share the love of Jesus through their ministry. 25:57 The Medan Hospital understands the powerful role 26:01 that it can play in reaching out to a community 26:03 where many have not heard the name of Jesus. 26:07 This quarter a portion of your 13th Sabbath offerings 26:10 will help provide new medical equipment 26:12 for the Medan hospital. 26:14 They are in need of updating the hospital 26:17 so that it can continue its mission of outreach 26:19 to the people of Sumatra. 26:21 Please pray for the people working 26:23 at the Medan Adventist Hospital. 26:26 Pray for their patients and please pray 26:28 that the people of Sumatra 26:30 will be reached with the good news of Jesus. 26:35 As a small token of thanks 26:37 to our Global Mission supporters in North America 26:40 we'd like to offer a free Adventist Mission tote bag. 26:43 It's our gift to you while stocks last. 26:46 To request your attractive Adventist Mission tote bag, 26:50 simply call our toll free number 1-800-648-5824 26:56 or visit our website 26:57 and ask for Adventist Mission tote bag or offer 306. 27:02 And please remember to clearly state 27:04 your name and address 27:06 and be sure to mention tote bag or offer 306, 27:10 so we'll be sure to send you the right item. 27:12 Again that's toll free 1-800-648-5824 27:18 or our website 27:25 www.AdventistMission.org /offer 306. 27:26 If you enjoy this program 27:27 and would like to give us feedback, 27:29 please visit our website at AdventistMission.org/3ABN 27:34 or our Facebook page at Facebook.com/AdventistMission. 27:40 Well, that's it for today's program 27:42 I hope you've been blessed and inspired 27:44 but what you've seen and by what you've heard. 27:48 Thank you for continuing prayers and support 27:51 for Global Missions frontline work. 27:53 For Adventist Mission, I'm Gary Krause. 27:56 And I hope you can enjoy me next time 27:58 right here on Global Mission Snapshots. |
Revised 2014-12-17