Participants: Jim Rennie, Rick McEdward
Series Code: GMS
Program Code: GMS000046
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00:01 I'm here in one of the major cities of Southeast Asia.
00:05 Behind me stands a health food store 00:08 but this health food store is unique, 00:10 it is becoming a center of influence 00:13 for the people of this community. 00:15 And we are going to talk about 00:16 centers of influence more in just a moment. 00:31 Just before He went up to heaven, 00:33 Jesus gave us a command. 00:37 He gave us a mission. Jesus said, go. 00:42 Go unto all the world, telling them of His love. 00:47 This is our mission. This is our "Global Mission." 00:56 Hello, I'm Gary Krause 00:57 and welcome to "Global Mission Snapshots." 01:00 On today's program we will be talking 01:02 with Rick McEdward about a center of influence 01:04 that's touching the lives of thousands of people 01:08 in the heart of Jakarta, Indonesia. 01:10 Ellen White championed these centers of influence 01:13 saying that they should be located in all our cities. 01:16 We will also visit a project in the Czech Republic, 01:19 which involves Adventist young people reaching out 01:22 to other young people on local university campuses. 01:26 The Czech Republic is one of the most secular countries 01:28 in the world with the highest 01:30 proportion of atheists of any country in Europe. 01:35 And today we will also learn more about a supporting ministry 01:37 that's touching the lives of countless 01:39 women and children in Southern Asia. 01:42 We will be talking with Asian Aid USA CEO, Jim Rennie. 01:46 But first, let's watch this video. 02:12 India is a land full of contrast. 02:16 It's a land of great mystery and beauty. 02:20 It's a land of unspeakable despair. 02:23 But traveling through India one thing is for sure, 02:27 it's a land filled with people 02:28 who should never be underestimated. 02:32 For the last 40 years Asian Aid 02:34 has invested in the futures of people 02:36 who have never been given such a chance, 02:38 and their investment has proven infinite returns. 02:43 Driven by the vision of Helen Eager 02:45 dedicated to helping those who have the least. 02:48 Asian Aid is an organization 02:50 implementing diverse development projects, 02:52 and sponsoring thousands of children. 02:55 Their outreach spans from Bangladesh to Nepal, 02:59 Sri Lanka and beyond from remote villages 03:02 and empty fields to sprawling centers of education 03:06 from nothing to the unimaginable. 03:10 Now Asian Aid decided to document the work 03:13 it has been doing in all these years 03:15 with a desire to show the world what is possible. 03:18 By digging wells in remote villages 03:20 for clean drinking water, and bringing much needed 03:23 healthcare to the women of Nepal. 03:26 By providing an education for orphans, 03:28 deaf and blind children, giving them a sense of place, 03:31 a home but what we really discovered 03:34 was being given was hope. 03:36 Giving hope to children, giving hope to women, 03:41 giving hope to the ones who needed the most. 03:45 This is Hope in Motion. 03:52 On today's program we are focusing on the work 03:54 of the supporting ministry Asian Aid 03:57 and I'm delighted to have as a guest, 04:00 the CEO of Asian Aid USA, Jim Rennie. 04:03 Thanks for joining us Jim. 04:05 Just doing amazing work in --in the world's poorest areas 04:10 and what does it mean to you to be leading out 04:14 in such an important ministry? 04:17 Well, my background was I have been in marketing 04:20 all my life so to be suddenly involved in a non-profit 04:23 and to be involved in the mission field 04:25 was only a new experience it came to me over 04:28 four and half years and I think it's connected me 04:32 with the people at the other end. 04:34 I see the difference we make, 04:36 there are challenges, there are problems, 04:40 but it is just so satisfying 04:42 to win a little child or a boy or a girl comes up 04:47 and thanks you, it's powerful. 04:49 And to know that they are supported 04:53 or sponsored by someone back in America 04:56 or Australia or New Zealand or wherever. 05:01 It's just touching that to see what actually happens. 05:04 Yeah, Jim, you brought some more video, 05:07 tell us what we are going to see? 05:09 Well, we are going to play two videos, 05:10 the first is about a young boy in Nepal 05:14 whose life has been totally turned around. 05:17 And the second one is about 05:19 a special little girl in Hyderabad, India. 05:22 I was actually there when this was filmed 05:25 and after you see it, I will share some thoughts. 05:28 Great, let's see those videos now. 05:41 My father's friend, he killed all of my parents. 05:53 It was God's will that I alone could survive there. 06:20 So, he is very bright. He supervises everything. 06:25 We call him Junior Pastor. 06:27 When I was very small I used to say, 06:29 surely I'll take revenge but when I came here 06:32 I got very good lessons here. 06:34 I should not take revenge. 06:53 I want to give him and even others that 06:58 God could change heart, God can change heart. 08:03 When she came first I used to be after her 08:06 but now she is after me and after all the kids 08:09 and she is very playful 08:11 and she says now she is very happy. 08:24 Jim, those are very moving videos. 08:27 Tell us a little bit more about what we have seen? 08:30 Well, I think the first boy Nima who is in Nepal 08:34 where an uncle killed both of his parents. 08:39 Revenge is a way of life up there, 08:41 so the pressure on that boy even for his family for revenge 08:46 was significant even at that age. 08:49 But he has forgiven them 08:51 and that is just a powerful story 08:54 for a child of that age. 08:56 The second one, Keerthana is very special to me 08:59 because I was actually there when she arrived. 09:02 She was been dropped off by a pastor a total orphan 09:07 and the emotion of a child 09:09 that's been seen from house to house 09:11 who is living now in a proper home. 09:14 When they brought her in it actually got so emotional 09:17 we started filming, we had to. 09:21 But she settled and the house mother said, 09:24 I said how long before she will settle in. 09:27 She said she will be fine in a week, 09:28 and I just didn't believe it. 09:30 We went back two weeks later she was running around, 09:33 she was smiling and happy. 09:35 And just last month, while I was in India 09:38 with Pastor Mrs. Lomacang we visited Elem home 09:42 and we saw Keerthana and it's an amazing story. 09:46 The child that literally taken off the streets, 09:49 now loves the Lord but she is so happy 09:51 and it was so exciting to see her. 09:54 Jim, how many young people, 09:56 children are you supporting through Asian Aid? 09:59 In total in India, Nepal and Bangladesh just over 6,500. 10:04 Wow, now, to any of our viewers who would like to support 10:07 the work of Asian Aid, what can they do? 10:09 Oh, Gary, probably the best way 10:11 is to go our webpage asianaid.org 10:16 and there you will see contact numbers 10:18 for the USA office and the Australian office. 10:22 The key way you could get involved is child sponsorship. 10:26 Even on the web you can see children 10:28 that are available for sponsorship now. 10:31 We always have a pool of children 10:33 available for sponsorship. 10:35 We do support them, but they need sponsors. 10:39 And they are at different levels. 10:40 There's a day student who walks to school, 10:43 in the USA that's $23 a month. 10:45 Then there is a boarding student 10:47 who you support with their education 10:50 and their boarding which is 35 a month. 10:53 And then an orphan or a deaf child 10:55 or a blind child is 45 a month. 11:00 You will get their school reports, 11:02 sometimes it's good news, sometimes it's bad news 11:05 just with your own, like your own child. 11:07 And most of the time they write. 11:10 And you can write to them sometimes help a child, 11:13 so you will have contact with your child. 11:16 We also have various projects which are listed on the website 11:20 that you can get involved with. 11:22 So, Jim most of these students are coming from villages 11:26 and towns and going into a Seventh-day Adventist school. 11:31 What does the sponsorship cover, 11:33 I mean is it covering their food, 11:34 when they are boarding student, 11:35 I mean how much does it cover? 11:37 That child is totally dependant on you, 11:40 so you are paying for their education. 11:42 We supply them book, money, 11:44 boarding student gets a uniform 11:47 and their food and sometimes assistance for transport. 11:52 But now for a boarding child all their education 11:55 and all their living expenses are paid full by the sponsor. 11:59 I remember some years ago, I visited Sunshine Orphanage 12:02 which is one of the Asian Aid orphanages 12:05 but there it's not really one of the big once now, right? 12:07 No. Tell me about some of the others? 12:09 Well, with the help of supporters 12:12 we have just in fact, we are completing 12:14 the last building now of Sunrise Orphanage 12:18 in a town of Bobbili in Andhra Pradesh. 12:21 Where we have currently 80 children 12:23 with capacity now to go to 180. 12:26 It's a lovely orphanage, it's in the country, 12:29 it's got ten acres of land, 12:31 so they have got an element of their own sustainability. 12:35 So that's been our major project 12:37 and we are looking at renovating 12:40 and improving Sunshine in the next few years. 12:44 Now, on the Asian Aid website, 12:46 it will list various projects 12:47 that you involved in at the moment 12:49 and I guess these pictures and video 12:52 and all that sort of thing? 12:54 Yes, on the website you can get involved in sponsorship online. 12:58 You can go in and choose a child and sponsor the child. 13:02 If you want to talk to-- talk to us call USA 13:05 or call the Australian office. Excellent. 13:08 And there is also a list of projects 13:09 and all our videos are there to watch. 13:11 Fantastic. Jim, thanks so much for joining us today. 13:14 Thanks, Gary. 13:15 And viewers at home please pray for Asian Aid, 13:18 pray for thousands of children 13:21 who are being touched through them, 13:23 this wonderful ministry. 13:24 And to close, let's go to India 13:27 and let's visit the Asian Aid Blind School right there. 13:36 In the darkness we have to live all the life. 13:41 My name is Usha Kumari. 13:50 At the age of seven years I lost my sight. 13:59 I feel so sad. 14:07 I want to study like others, don't neglect me. 14:21 I want to become a computer teacher. 14:26 And God has provided this chance 14:28 and to get education here. 14:31 I will never think that I'm a blind 14:33 because I have everything instead of seeing everything, 14:37 we can hear anything and we can learn 14:40 and we can go anywhere. 15:40 As we look at the various mission challenges 15:43 facing the Seventh-day Adventist church. 15:45 One that looms very large 15:47 is the growing urban areas of the world. 15:50 And here to talk to me about that challenge 15:52 is Dr. Rick McEdward who is the director 15:55 of our Global Mission Centers. 15:57 Rick, thanks so much for joining us. 15:58 Glad to be here, Gary. 15:59 I was very pleased to see you out 16:01 exercising early this morning? 16:02 Yeah, it's good. 16:03 You are supposed to say that you are pleased to see me. 16:05 Yes. Rick, urban areas just growing so rapidly. 16:10 Yeah. Not so long ago, you were in the country of Indonesia. 16:14 Tell us about what you found there? 16:15 Well, you know Indonesia has 16:17 I think 16 cities over a million. 16:20 So there are vast cities in Indonesia. 16:24 Especially on the island of Java, 16:28 there are just so many cities and what we saw there 16:32 is that Adventists are reaching out in very creative ways 16:37 to share God's love in the great cities there. 16:41 Ellen White wrote many years ago 16:43 about what she called centers of Influence 16:45 and she said that in every city 16:48 we should have these centers, tell us about that? 16:50 Well, you know, centers of influence 16:52 really ought to be where the people are 16:56 and that's what we saw in Indonesia 16:58 is that the Adventist they are really 17:02 trying to be a resource to their community. 17:04 They are trying to help to reach out to share God's love 17:08 and they are doing in such beautiful ways 17:10 that it really describes its concept 17:12 of being a center of influence. 17:15 So basically what she was describing 17:17 was a platform to put Christ method into practice 17:21 where we would mingle, show sympathy, 17:24 minister to needs, win confidence 17:26 and lead people to Jesus Christ. 17:27 We know it provides a great opportunity 17:30 for church members to be involved. 17:32 So often church members don't have a connection, 17:35 a vital connection with their local community, 17:37 but if we do Christ method guess what, 17:42 there is natural organic connections 17:44 that happen all around us. 17:46 I don't know if we have time but I would like to share 17:48 a couple of the different snapshots 17:50 that I saw in Indonesia. 17:53 One of them was, was kind of incredible, 17:55 it was a not a wealthy area in a large city in Indonesia. 18:00 It was actually may be you would call it a slum, 18:03 primarily it was people not from Java 18:06 who were immigrated into Java and there was a large canal. 18:13 The basic mode of transportation is on foot, 18:16 on bicycle and on motorcycle and this little area 18:20 had thousands and thousands of motorcycles. 18:23 In fact over this little canal, 18:26 dirty canal was a small bridge 18:29 no wider than a motorcycle handle bars, 18:32 that had constant flow of motorcycles across it 18:36 and some brothers and sisters have basically said 18:38 we want to do something that will help these people. 18:43 So what did they do? 18:44 They started right near the bridge a place 18:47 where they wash motorcycles, where they fix flat tires, 18:50 where they do all these practical things 18:52 for that part of the large city there. 18:56 And guess what? Out of that they now know people. 19:00 People are coming back to them. They minister to them. 19:03 They share the bread of life with them. 19:08 And they have been able to start a small group in that area. 19:13 That is really developing into a small congregation. 19:18 Why? Because they have something that people need. 19:21 And they are meeting the need. 19:22 It's not a need that we would ordinarily think of, 19:25 a flat tire though is a real need. 19:27 True. When you need it. 19:28 Exactly, yeah, so basically 19:31 it's a center of influence can be anything 19:34 that connects to needs in the community. 19:35 That's right, that's right. 19:37 I think sometimes as Adventists 19:38 we sometimes think we know what people need, 19:41 but we don't take the time to listen to them first. 19:43 Yeah, you know, I hate to say it 19:46 but we are really good at providing something 19:50 that we have never identified that people need. 19:53 We like to tell them our message. 19:55 Which is good. 19:56 Yeah, we need to, 19:58 but we need to connect with people first. 20:00 And we need that connection point. 20:02 Okay, now, another center that you discovered? 20:04 Yeah, well, very interesting across Southeast Asia 20:07 our huge populations of Chinese. 20:12 In fact, the Chinese are the businessmen 20:14 of Southeast Asia for centuries 20:17 have been running the businesses and what not. 20:19 But the church really realize 20:21 that they have not done much in connecting with this group. 20:25 So about seven years ago, there was a group 20:28 that prayed thought hard, 20:30 what would connect with the people 20:33 who have Chinese background. 20:34 They are in the large cities. 20:36 And they realize that Chinese people 20:40 have a deep concern for their health many not all but many. 20:44 So they started a health ministry 20:48 that has a health food store right there in large cities. 20:52 In fact, they have multiplied these health food stores. 20:54 Up stairs from the health food store 20:55 they have a place where they do seminars and teaching. 20:59 They have started radio programs and a television program 21:03 that connects to the health needs 21:05 and it's in an area that is predominately Chinese. 21:09 And they have gone from just a handful of people 21:13 who have responded to the gospel 21:16 to now having several churches filled with people 21:20 who have said you know they are meeting our needs. 21:23 We see what's going on here. 21:25 We understand the Bible truth 21:27 and we want to join the Adventist in fellowship. 21:31 And so we some really exciting things happening there 21:35 in some of the large cities. 21:37 So, Rick, this one that you are describing 21:38 there is a worship center in one level, 21:40 what are the other levels? 21:41 Well, on the ground floor is a health food store. 21:44 Right. The next level is a teaching and a worship center. 21:49 It's kind of combined so that they can use for seminars, 21:53 family life and health but on the weekends 21:56 on Sabbath it's really used for a church. 21:59 So how many people do they have coming through? 22:01 Ah, you know, I was there just for a little while 22:04 and there were many customers coming through. 22:09 But they have about 70 coming to the church 22:12 but this is replicated in four different sites. 22:15 Not only that, but this is reaching 22:17 what you would call the elite of the city. 22:21 So, this is something that again is connecting 22:24 with the needs of the people. 22:25 That's right and different people have different needs. 22:27 Exactly. Thanks, Rick, for joining us today. 22:29 Happy to be here. 22:30 Viewers at home, Centers of Influence 22:32 what a tremendous method, a model of reaching out 22:37 to people in large urban areas. 22:39 Putting Christ method into practice 22:41 connecting with real needs involving, 22:44 mingling and leading people through these steps 22:48 to come to know the beauty of Jesus Christ. 22:56 In cities throughout Europe, 22:58 sharing Jesus is a growing challenge. 23:02 One of these challenging countries is the Czech Republic. 23:07 In recent years, people have cited studies 23:10 showing that the Czech Republic 23:11 is one of the most secular countries in the world. 23:14 But Adventist groups are finding ways 23:17 to connect with people in their communities. 23:27 A program, known as INRI Road, 23:30 has had great success on college campuses since 2006. 23:34 In the Czech Republic most people leave the church 23:37 during their university years. 23:39 INRI Road is a youth driven program 23:42 that allows youth to refuel their faith 23:44 and gather together for worship. 23:49 The acronym INRI represents 23:52 the Latin inscription, which in English reads 23:55 as "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews." 23:58 This is the inscription the Romans 24:00 nailed to the top of Jesus' cross. 24:04 INRI Road was developed to be a path for young people 24:07 to build a relationship with Jesus. 24:11 Here in the city of Brno a church specifically designed 24:14 for INRI Road runs weekly meetings. 24:17 This group is mostly made up of university students in the area. 24:21 They look forward to the fellowship 24:23 and creative methods of worshiping God. 24:32 Blanca is a volunteer who helps prepare the weekly programs. 24:36 She feels that INRI Road is important to her life. 24:40 INRI Road is like my kind of family. 24:43 They are people, we know each other, 24:45 we help each other with things, we support each other. 24:49 It's like everyone has his own way, own life, 24:53 own personalities, but we have only one God. 24:59 Those who are a part of INRI Road are passionate 25:02 about the programs and feel very strongly 25:04 that this is an important part of their communities. 25:09 We would like to help them to grow personally 25:11 and spiritually and become a strong part 25:14 of our church in the future. 25:17 INRI Road is meant to reach three groups of people. 25:20 The first group includes members of the church. 25:23 It is meant to get them involved in ministry. 25:26 The second group includes students 25:28 from surrounding universities. 25:31 The third group includes all of their friends and family. 25:36 I had opportunity to serve the others. 25:39 To help the others to find Jesus through INRI Road. 25:44 I had opportunity to establish new friendships. 25:49 Other groups throughout Czech Republic are passionate 25:51 about bringing people to know Jesus. 25:54 We can invite our friends and we can tell them 25:58 that we are believers, and this is normal for us. 26:03 I want to do something for God and so I'm in INRI Road. 26:11 Please pray for INRI Road, that it may grow 26:14 and be used to share Jesus 26:16 with the youth in Czech Republic. 26:19 And thank you for supporting 26:20 the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 26:31 As we look at countries such as the Czech Republic, 26:34 as we look at the big cities of the world 26:36 as we look at the 10/40 Window, 26:38 we see tremendous mission challenges. 26:41 We thank you for your support 26:43 at mission work through your tithes 26:44 and offerings and your donations to Global Mission. 26:47 And we thank you for your prayers 26:49 for the missionaries, for the Global Mission Pioneers 26:52 and for the people you meet on this program. 26:56 We are glad you stay connected to Adventist Mission work 26:58 by watching this program 27:00 and we would like to send you a small gift. 27:02 It's just a small Adventist mission carabiner clip 27:05 to help you stay connected 27:06 to your keys or any number of small items. 27:09 But every time you see the Adventist Mission name, 27:11 we hope it reminds you to pray 27:14 for the many mission challenges around the world. 27:17 So if you live in North America 27:18 and would like to receive this small gift 27:20 and information about Global Mission, 27:23 simply call our toll free number 1800-648-5824 27:29 or you can visit our website at adventistmission.org/offers 27:34 and just request the Adventist Mission carabiner. 27:38 Well, that's it for today's program. 27:40 Thank you, so much for joining us 27:42 and I hope you can join us next time 27:44 right here on "Global Mission Snapshots." |
Revised 2014-12-17