Participants: Gary Krause (Host), Laurie Falvo, Ricky Oliveras
Series Code: GMS
Program Code: GMS000058B
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00:01 Welcome back.
00:02 My guest is Ricky Oliveras, so is a video producer 00:04 with the Office of Adventist Mission. 00:06 And thank you so much for joining us, Ricky. 00:09 A long way, all the way from- Yeah. 00:12 You just got back this morning from the country of Haiti. 00:15 That's right. 00:16 And you're looking surprisingly refreshed 00:18 I have to tell you that way. 00:20 Yeah, I feel pretty good actually. 00:21 Now not so long ago you went to the country 00:22 of India for the first time. 00:24 Tell me what your impressions were? 00:26 Well, it was completely new experience for me. 00:29 The cities were packed with people. 00:31 I had to kind of wiggle my way through the crowds. 00:34 There were new flavors, there are bright colors 00:36 and it was just sensory overload. 00:40 Yeah. 00:41 I'm sure was and how you like Indian food? 00:43 I like Indian food here, so- 00:45 I love it too. So it's an easy transition. 00:48 Ricky we have a lot of Global Mission projects 00:52 happening in India what did you visit? 00:54 I visited- there's are so many Global Mission Pioneers 00:58 in India first of all. 00:59 I made a stop in one city by Calcutta 01:03 and we met about 20 to 30 01:05 Global Mission Pioneers just waiting for us there. 01:07 And I went out with one, one day 01:10 and a they just showed me basically a day in the life. 01:13 I followed them around for the day 01:15 and they showed me what they do, 01:16 meeting with people holding Bible studies, 01:20 just knocking on doors and starting a small group. 01:25 And I met another Global Mission Pioneer 01:28 who and his wife near New Delhi 01:30 and it was really cool because they had 01:32 a transformation story basically. 01:35 His name was Pothiram and he used to be a drunkard. 01:39 He used to drink heavily, he used to mistreat his family, 01:42 he used to do all kinds of terrible things 01:45 and so of course this made his family, 01:48 his wife really sad. 01:50 They didn't know what to do 01:51 so one day his wife was sitting in front of their house 01:54 and she was just crying. 01:56 She said what am I gonna do now I don't know. 01:59 Where's my life going? 02:00 I have a husband that's no good to me 02:02 and so a woman was walking by 02:05 and she noticed and she stopped at 02:08 and to comfort her and to talk to her. 02:10 And so she talked to her and invited her to her home. 02:14 She brought Pothiram's wife home with her 02:17 and she introduced her to the husband 02:19 and husband asked can we pray with you? 02:22 And so the wife said sure. 02:25 You know, she's never really prayed, 02:26 this was a Christian family that asked to pray with her. 02:28 She never really prayed to Jesus before. 02:31 So they asked, can we read something to you? 02:33 So they pulled out the Bible read from the Bible 02:36 and Pothiram's wife loved it so much 02:39 and she felt so good after reading 02:41 and praying with them she returned week after week. 02:44 And after, you know, three or four weeks 02:47 the family gave her a Bible of her own 02:50 and she was so excited about that. 02:52 But the only problem was she couldn't read. 02:55 She was a literate so she had this Bible 02:58 which she was very happy to have 03:00 but she couldn't do anything with it 03:01 except for flip through the pages. 03:04 So one day her husband Pothiram came home stumbling 03:08 and he had been drinking. 03:10 And she asked, can you read this to me 03:12 because he could read. 03:13 She said he didn't want to read it to her. 03:16 He said, no that's not for me, I don't want to. 03:19 After some pleading with him he finally agreed. 03:22 Okay, fine I'll read one small portion. 03:25 So he started reading 03:27 and he read any he couldn't stop. 03:30 The Bible- he described to me this is him telling me, 03:33 he said the Bible was clearing like the words 03:36 were so clear even though he had been drinking. 03:39 The more he read, you know, 03:40 his thoughts were clearing just from reading the Bible. 03:43 Is that right? Yeah and it was really cool. 03:46 So night after night they spent time together 03:49 reading from the Bible and he decided, 03:53 you know, maybe this is something I wanted to pursue 03:56 and maybe I can start drinking less. 03:59 So he drank less, he read more 04:02 and Pothiram wife invited him to the Bible study 04:05 that she had been attending. 04:07 He attended the Bible study even with some hesitation, 04:10 you know, he still wasn't 100 percent convinced. 04:13 But so he attended week after week to the Bible study 04:16 and he was- after a few weeks he was convinced, 04:19 you know, this word is true. 04:22 I want to follow the Bible, I want to follow Jesus. 04:25 And he gave up drinking completely any he turned in- 04:29 you know, he was a different man. 04:30 He was not- he didn't mistreat his family, 04:33 he wasn't drinking and they decided together 04:37 as a family to be baptized into Seventh-day Adventist Church. 04:41 And to go one step further 04:43 he wanted to totally leave that his past like behind him. 04:47 So he said to the- to the pastor 04:50 that they've been meeting with 04:52 what can I do, you know, 04:54 to totally dedicate my life to God? 04:56 And so the pastor told them 04:58 about how he can share with others, 05:00 you know, what he has learned. 05:02 And so he eventually became a Global Mission Pioneer 05:05 and that's where he is now on 05:07 and that's when I met him it was at that stage of his life 05:11 and you can just see the transformation 05:13 from where he started and he- he's passionate. 05:17 He just loves sharing about Jesus. 05:19 He loves going out meeting with people 05:22 and he can hardly- him and his wife they both, 05:25 you know, they go together and- 05:26 That's nice. 05:28 Yeah, and they can't contain 05:31 on themselves from sharing about Jesus with anybody. 05:33 Yeah, wonderful. 05:35 Now when you met- meet with these Pioneers 05:38 do you visit some of their homes? 05:39 Yes. Describe their homes. 05:42 Their homes- first of all their homes 05:45 and their lives are just humble 05:49 is the word that comes to mind 05:51 because, you know, 05:52 they don't live lavish lifestyles, 05:54 they don't have a lot. 05:55 And they- they have what they need 05:59 and even then they share, they are willing to share 06:02 not only the word of God 06:04 but they're willing to share 06:05 you know the physical things that they have. 06:08 There in their communities, you know, 06:10 sharing the spiritual message but also sharing 06:14 and tending to people's physical needs 06:16 despite how little they have themselves. 06:18 Yeah, so they're putting into practice Christ method. 06:21 They are mingling with the people, they become- 06:23 because that they don't really stand out 06:24 because they basically living 06:25 at the same socio-economic level as the people at. 06:27 Absolutely, yeah. 06:29 That- that's what's really interesting about it 06:31 is because they're not coming in from, 06:33 you know, an outside perspective. 06:37 They are from these communities. 06:38 They know the language, 06:39 they know the customs and culture 06:41 and so it's really cool that, 06:44 you know, they are there to share 06:46 in a way that people understand. 06:48 Fantastic. 06:49 Ricky, thanks so much for sharing with us today. 06:51 Thank you. 06:52 And viewers at home, 06:53 please remember Global Mission Pioneers, 06:55 in India, various parts of the world. 06:58 It can be a very challenging work 07:01 starting a new Christian congregation 07:03 and it can sometimes be lonely 07:05 it can sometimes be discouraging as 07:07 to know that a World Church 07:10 is praying for them is very encouraging. 07:12 Well, let's continue our visit 07:14 to the southern Asian region of the world. 07:19 This region of the world is home 07:20 to some fascinating places. 07:22 In earlier days, 07:23 when the British colonized India, 07:25 they would sail across the ocean to reach Southern Asia. 07:28 They would arrive in Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay. 07:32 The first structure visitors arriving by boat 07:35 would see is the Gateway of India. 07:37 This structure stands 85 feet tall 07:39 on the edge of the Arabian Sea. 07:42 It is a monument built to honor British royalty. 07:45 Visitors travel here to see the impressive monument 07:47 and explore the other sights along the coast. 07:53 Many visitors to India 07:54 will also make a stop to see the Taj Mahal. 07:57 This world heritage site 07:59 attracts millions of tourists each year. 08:02 If you can make it through the crowds, 08:04 you can walk right into the buildings 08:05 and learn the history behind these structures. 08:08 The Taj is made out of white marble. 08:11 It was built by a Mughal emperor in memory of this third wife. 08:15 This tall structure is an impressive site to see. 08:19 Despite all the amazing things to see in India, 08:22 it is still a difficult place 08:23 for the Adventist church to reach. 08:25 There is a great need for Jesus in this part of the world. 08:29 So many people have never opened a Bible 08:31 or even heard the name of Jesus before. 08:34 One way the Seventh-day Adventist Church is spreading 08:36 the gospel to the people of Southern Asia 08:38 is through Global Mission. 08:40 Global Mission is focused on starting 08:42 new Adventist congregations 08:44 in some of the most challenging places on earth. 08:47 Global Mission pioneers are on the front lines of this work. 08:51 They plant churches among groups 08:53 who have never heard the gospel. 08:57 There are many people who have come to know Jesus directly 08:59 because of the work of our Global Mission Pioneers. 09:05 Pothiram is one of many Global Mission Pioneers 09:08 working throughout India. 09:09 Pothiram was not always working for God. 09:12 He used to drink heavily. 09:13 He would do terrible things and did not care for his family. 09:17 One day, a neighbor saw Pothiram's wife, Jeshoda, 09:20 crying in front of their house. 09:22 She invited Jeshoda to her home 09:24 where she could go and pray with the family. 09:27 Jeshoda went week after week to pray 09:29 and study with the Christian family. 09:32 The family eventually gave her a Bible of her own. 09:34 She was so happy, 09:36 but there was only one problem, 09:38 she couldn't read. 09:40 The only solution was to bring the Bible home 09:42 and have her husband read to her. 09:44 At first Pothiram resisted, but he eventually agreed. 09:48 The more he read from the Bible, 09:50 the better he felt. 09:51 His heart was being changed. 09:55 Jeshoda invited her husband to join her next Bible study. 09:59 The more he studied, the more he felt 10:01 convicted to change his life. 10:03 He gave up alcohol and made his family a priority. 10:07 Although he still faced temptations, 10:09 Pothiram was convicted that God's way is the right way. 10:12 He and his family were baptized. 10:15 He wanted to do more to serve God 10:17 so he became a Global Mission Pioneer. 10:20 Now, Pothiram and Jeshoda go into the community 10:22 together to share the gospel message. 10:25 They can't imagine doing anything else with their lives. 10:29 They love spreading this message with everyone they encounter. 10:32 Their life is filled with joy and they have a happy marriage. 10:36 The family reads their Bible and prays together 10:39 because this is what is most important to them. 10:46 We can support Global Mission Pioneers 10:48 through our prayers and other resources. 10:51 As you can see, people in the Southern Asia region 10:53 of the world is busy spreading the gospel in many ways. 10:57 They face some of the hardest mission challenges 10:59 in the world today, 11:01 but it doesn't stop them from doing the work 11:03 that God has called each one of us to do. 11:06 Please pray for the work in Southern Asia. 11:09 Pray that they can teach 11:10 millions of people about the gospel 11:12 so we can see Jesus return soon. 11:22 Global Mission Pioneers are doing a wonderful work 11:25 sharing hope in Jesus in India, in Botswana 11:29 and so many other countries around the world 11:31 and always humbled and inspired 11:33 by the dedication at least tireless workers for God. 11:37 Please join us in praying for the people of India, 11:40 the people Botswana and all the Pioneers 11:43 starting new congregations in these countries. 11:46 And also please pray for Adventist schools 11:49 that are helping provide many children 11:51 with new opportunities through Christian education. 11:55 Before we go we would like to share this music video 11:58 as Christians we have a message of hope, 11:59 a message that God loves us no matter what. 12:03 And that's the message we share 12:04 that God loves you He loves me just as I am. 12:09 Until next time I'm Gary Krause for Global Mission Snapshots. 12:15 Just as I am, 12:21 without one plea 12:27 But that thy blood 12:33 was shed for me 12:39 And that thou bidst 12:44 me come to thee 12:50 O Lamb of God, 12:56 I come, I come 13:09 I'm not that strong, 13:15 my hands are unclean 13:20 My heart sometimes fills 13:26 with sins unseen 13:32 And yet He bids, 13:36 oh, he pleads, 13:40 but I can't understand 13:46 Why He loves me, 13:55 here I come 14:03 [Singing in foreign language] |
Revised 2014-12-17