Participants:
Series Code: GMS
Program Code: GMS000067A
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00:01 Bangkok, Thailand, sometimes known as the City of Angels.
00:03 It's the commercial and political hub of Thailand. 00:07 And of course many sites and attractions bring tourists 00:11 from all around the world 00:12 from the gleaming stupas of Wat Arun, 00:15 to the grand palace, to markets, 00:17 to huge shopping malls. 00:19 But of course underneath all the tourist glitz 00:21 and glamour is also a seamy 00:23 underbelly of prostitution and poverty. 00:26 There are tremendous needs here in Bangkok. 00:36 Just before He went up to heaven, 00:38 Jesus gave us a command. He gave us a mission. 00:44 Jesus said "Go, go unto all the world 00:49 telling them of His love." 00:51 This is our mission. This is our Global Mission. 01:01 Hello, and welcome to "Global Mission Snapshots" 01:03 coming to you today from Bangkok, Thailand. 01:06 Thailand of course is a Buddhist country 01:08 and 95 percent of the people here 01:11 practice what is known as Theravada Buddhism. 01:14 And it's been said that Buddhism 01:15 is not so much religion, it's a way of life. 01:19 It permeates the way people think, the way they act, 01:21 the way they structure their lives, their world view. 01:25 Thailand is a very tolerant nation 01:27 and there are many different religions 01:29 perhaps a million Muslims, 01:31 a quarter of the million Christians, 01:32 there are Sikhs, there are Hindus and others. 01:35 Almost hundred years ago the Seventh-day Adventist 01:38 movement began here in 1919 with two missionaries. 01:42 And the church has grown to some 14,000 members 01:46 but that's 14,000 among some 66 million people. 01:51 And most of those Adventist believers have come 01:53 from minority tribal groups, a tremendous mission challenge. 01:59 And as you think about those numbers, 02:00 let's travel to the country of Russia 02:03 to visit a humble Seventh-day Adventist Church. 02:15 The city of Kazan is considered Russia's 3rd capital 02:18 and the only sports capital of the country. 02:21 This multiethnic city is honored by UNESCO 02:24 and famous for Muslims and Christians 02:26 living side-by-side in peace. 02:29 This is a territory where beautiful mosques were erected. 02:32 There are approximately 55 magnificent buildings. 02:36 One of them is the Kul Sharif 02:38 that sits inside of the Kremlin Walls. 02:41 The Tatarstan people here 02:42 are accustomed to such sights of grandeur. 02:45 But as they come into the rented space 02:46 of a Seventh-day Adventist church, 02:48 the people find a very different picture. 02:51 The members of this simple church 02:53 travel from far to reach this location. 02:56 When they come, 02:57 they are welcomed into the warm building 02:59 and gladly worship together. 03:01 Here they sing hymns to praise God 03:03 and spend quality time in groups, 03:05 examining the quarterly Sabbath School lesson. 03:08 They are treated to choir music and they pray with one another. 03:11 The children also have a space for themselves 03:14 to learn the precious life-lessons of the Bible. 03:16 Although just a table in a cluttered room, 03:19 they have a chance to interact and build character here. 03:23 There is room for all ages in this Adventist community. 03:26 Today, Albina is visiting the church again. 03:29 She was invited by her friend Timur. 03:31 Timur believes the Bible has well outlined 03:34 how we should conduct ourselves 03:35 and he isn't afraid to live out his conviction. 03:40 I think that people can see in my life 03:41 the difference from others. 03:43 Most of the people smoke and drink 03:45 and do other bad things. 03:47 So when they see that I don't do such things, 03:49 they begin to ask why I am different 03:51 and ask questions about the church 03:52 that has made a difference in my life. 03:57 Timur's deportment sparked interest in Albina 03:59 who was searching for answers. 04:01 Through his invitation 04:03 she began attending this church. 04:06 I like coming to this church 04:07 because I love to sing and I like to pray as well. 04:12 Plus there are a lot of kind and friendly people here. 04:17 Albina plans to keep coming to church 04:19 and has made known her desire to be baptized. 04:23 As the church invites guests 04:24 and studies the Bible with them, 04:26 they are faced with a challenge. 04:28 As you can see there are many people in this hall. 04:31 Many people are sitting outside. 04:33 When we invite new people to study the Bible, 04:35 we have to give the study right here in this crowded room 04:38 among all these old things. 04:40 That's why we need a new building. 04:42 Of course, we do outreach work outside the church, 04:45 distributing literature and inviting people. 04:48 But we also need to do some work inside the church. 04:52 The leased apartment they are using 04:53 is one of three churches in the city. 04:55 Because two of the churches are rented, 04:57 there is no guarantee 04:58 that they can continue using this space indefinitely. 05:02 In answer to these challenges, 05:03 the pastors have acquired land in a prime location 05:06 to hold services near the center of town 05:08 and close to public transport. 05:12 We chose this place because there is a metro, 05:14 also there is a bus stop and train station. 05:18 We are planning to build a church here 05:20 and to hold different evangelistic programs 05:22 and social programs to this new community. 05:26 Now the members are praying 05:28 for the funds to start building. 05:30 The leaders here have big plans for the new church. 05:33 This will also be a center of influence with many initiatives 05:36 to connect with the community. 05:39 Please pray that God will both establish this church 05:41 physically and spiritually. 05:46 This quarter's 13th Sabbath Offering 05:47 will help fund a new church for Kazan, 05:50 as well as many other projects 05:52 that we'll learn about later in the program. 05:54 The next step. 05:55 The amazing story of Pastor Monteiro jailed in Togo. 06:00 Rick Kajiura has that story. 06:02 Rick? Thank you, Gary. 06:05 Our guest today is Pastor Anthony Monteiro 06:08 who's been serving in the West Central Africa division 06:11 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 06:13 Seventh-day Adventists around the world 06:15 had been praying for him 06:16 because Pastor Monteiro spend nearly two years in prison. 06:21 He was falsely accused of a crime 06:23 that he didn't commit, 06:24 but they still put him in jail, there was no trial. 06:27 And so Seventh-day Adventists around the world prayed for him 06:29 and recently he was released and he's talking with us today. 06:33 Pastor Monteiro, it's very good to have you here. 06:37 Many people don't know your story. 06:39 Can you briefly tell us how did you end up in prison? 06:49 One day I received in my office a man 06:51 who wanted to talk to me. 06:54 He came in just to speak with me. 06:57 When he entered my office he said he needed money 06:59 since he did not work. 07:01 He also said he needed food. 07:04 I asked him if he was a Seventh-day Adventist. 07:06 He said, "Yes I'm a Seventh-day Adventist, 07:08 I go to church." 07:11 So I presented him to the elders 07:12 for them to take care of this man. 07:15 It was only three months later that I found out 07:17 the elders of the church did not help him. 07:20 They already knew this man and his history 07:22 and decided not to give him any money. 07:25 He later visited my office a couple more times 07:28 and told me about Bruno Omar 07:30 a man that could help him to purchase a car. 07:33 So I spoke with Bruno Omar on the phone 07:35 on behalf of this man, and Bruno told me 07:37 that if he's able to help out he will do it. 07:42 So the man left my office and called couple of days later 07:45 to enquire about Bruno Omar 07:46 and the help he hope to receive from him. 07:50 So I told him that Bruno had not called yet, 07:53 so the man hang up 07:54 and I did not see him again until the 13th of May. 07:58 He came one more time to speak with me, 08:00 but I was extremely busy and could not see him. 08:04 Then on the 15th of May 08:06 the police came to me and detained me. 08:09 As I entered the police station I saw this man in cuffs. 08:12 They asked me if I knew this man 08:14 and I answered yes, I know this man. 08:19 Then the police officers informed me 08:20 of the accusation the man made. 08:24 The man said that I ordered him to bring fresh blood 08:26 for some secret sacrificial rituals 08:28 in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 08:31 I answered that I had never ordered such a thing 08:34 and that he couldn't even have approached me 08:36 about something like this. 08:39 This was definitely something stage 08:40 then that someone used this man to incriminate me 08:43 and to accuse Bruno Omar as well. 08:46 That's what we believe. 08:49 Nothing could be proved then, 08:52 and we were in prison without evidence 08:54 and without proper explanation, 08:57 that's the summary of what forced me into prison. 09:06 So from that time you are in prison, 09:08 you were not released until nearly two years later. 09:12 When you first went there, did you? 09:14 How did you feel about your situation? 09:17 Did you have any idea 09:18 that would be as long as it was? 09:24 When I was taken to prison on March 28th 2012, 09:28 when I entered prison I saw that 09:29 this was a totally different world. 09:32 They were 2,000 people inside. 09:35 The situation was chaotic to say the least. 09:39 The place was degraded, a terrifying place, 09:42 but what I could I do, I was sentenced to be here. 09:45 So I spend the first night in the room 09:47 with 82 other people. 09:49 It was a very difficult situation, 09:51 I did not sleep. 09:53 The next day they send me to a room with 27 other people. 09:56 I had a bit more room then. 09:58 But there were a lot of people everywhere 10:00 and I spend this long period in jail. 10:03 Actually I never expected to stay there for so long. 10:06 Initially I thought it was only going to be a couple of days. 10:09 The lawyer also encouraged me 10:11 that it wasn't going to be long and they would release me. 10:14 Also I couldn't believe they would put me 10:16 as an innocent person in prison. 10:18 I thought it would take a couple of days 10:20 for them to sort out the facts, acquire more evidence, 10:22 talk to other witnesses and resolve this. 10:25 But as it ends up, I was there 22 long months. 10:35 Now at what point did other prisoners learn 10:38 that you were a pastor? 10:47 When I arrived in prison, even the first night 10:49 the whole prison already knew 10:51 that a Seventh-day Adventist pastor had arrived there. 10:55 I spend the night with 82 people 10:57 and the next night everyone in the prison cell knew 10:59 that I was a pastor. 11:02 So two days later they came to speak to me 11:04 and asked me if I would preach in our prison cell on Tuesdays. 11:09 So I tested them by saying, no, I came here as criminal, 11:12 how can you ask me to preach. 11:15 To that they replied you have to preach to us. 11:18 We know you now. 11:19 We have seen you and you are a man of God, 11:23 so please we want you to preach here on Tuesdays. 11:28 In this manner they recognized 11:30 my vocation from the first days, 11:33 and everyone respected me and protected me there 11:35 because they knew I was a pastor. 11:38 And God helped me to live there 11:40 and to help some of them without any problems. 11:48 I'm curious, 11:49 what was your first sermon about in that prison? 11:57 To speak to prisoners it's something difficult, 11:59 because they are very sensitive people. 12:03 One needs to carefully select 12:04 and consider the topics for a sermon. 12:07 You don't want to hurt the delicate feelings of anyone. 12:12 My first sermon came from Isaiah 60:1-3. 12:16 It talks about this Christ 12:18 that came to set the captives free 12:21 and set prisoners at liberty. 12:24 It was along the lines that I directed my talk 12:26 with those prisoners. 12:28 Christ came to free us 12:30 and we should feel at liberty spiritually speaking. 12:33 The physical liberty would come later as time pass by. 12:38 But this was the topic of my first sermon. 12:43 Past Monteiro, thank you very much for being with us. 12:47 And for you viewers at home, 12:49 Pastor Monteiro has been through a difficult time 12:51 but thanks to your prayers, he is now with us today. 12:56 But there are others, people who are with him, 12:59 the people around the world 13:00 who are in prison are suffering for their faith. 13:03 Please pray for those 13:05 who go through hardships for what they believe in. 13:08 Thanks Rick, that was just part one of Pastor Monterio's story. 13:12 Stay tune to future programs to hear 13:15 and learn more about Pastor Monterio. 13:17 We gonna take a short break. Then we will be right back. |
Revised 2015-03-26