Welcome, back next stop
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Rick Kajiura talks
with Pastor Antonio Montero,
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who shares some
of his experience
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of being in Toga Jail.
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Our guess today is
Pastor Antonio Montero.
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Pastor Montero
was imprisoned in Togo
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for a crime that
he did not commit,
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he spent 22 months in prison.
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People around the
world were praying for him
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and we're happy
that he's been released
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and he's with us today.
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But the other day
Pastor Montero said something.
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He said, I wasn't in prison,
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I wasn't a
prisoner, I was on a mission.
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So Pastor Montero, I'd like to
talk to you a little bit about,
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what your mission
was in that prison?
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What was it that you were doing
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in the prison to
minister to people around you?
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It's true I considered
myself a missionary in prison.
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An innocent
missionary for a time in prison.
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I never looked at
myself as a prisoner,
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but as someone
doing mission work.
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I would preach in my prison cell
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and give Bible studies every
Tuesday and every Thursday.
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And many of the people
would accompany me to church.
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There was a place where we would
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gather together on Saturdays,
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I would preach to
them each Sabbath.
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Also on Tuesday's
between 10 and 11 in the morning
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I taught a Bible class.
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Then on Thursdays from 10 to 11
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another Bible
class would take place
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to further the knowledge
of the baptize prisoners
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and to help
others to know the truth
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that leads to eternal life.
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I was able to distribute a lot
of pamphlets and books there.
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There were about 400
books given in that, prison
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among these were
the Adventist Home
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and the Great Controversy.
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The prisoners
would devour these books.
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They had never before had access
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to the Adventist literature
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and above all other books,
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the Adventist Home did
wonders inside that prison.
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Many families, many
husbands requested this book
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and would mail them
to their wives to read.
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As you know this improve
their lives a great deal.
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People of different world views
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such as
Buddhists, Muslims and others
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they were reading these books
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as quickly as they
could get their hands on them.
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I was able to undertake all
the services I just mentioned
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and also do better counseling.
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I remember a
young man who came to me
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and told me that he
had stolen a lot of money,
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but after hearing the messages
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he felt impressed to give the
money back that he had stolen.
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I was able to counsel
them and to give guidance
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as to how to properly
return the stolen money.
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I didn't want him to
have any further problems
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so I told him to
look for is lawyer
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and to inform
him of his decision.
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Then later call the
judge and proceed properly
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so we would be
protected and not expose himself
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in the hands of the
people he stole from.
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I also counseled
couples, people who had problems
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and needed someone to
talk to in confidence.
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I prayed with
people over the phones
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some who I had
never seen before.
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Some husbands call their wives
and attempted reconciliation.
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They would ask me
to pray with them.
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You know, prison
has this negative side
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where it destroys the individual
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as well as damaging the family.
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People who spend even
a few months in prison
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are in jeopardy
losing their family.
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I feel that God
utilized me to counsel
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and help a lot of prisoners.
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I remember talking to Togo's
former minister of defense
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who was brother
to Togo's president.
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He was in prison
for five years already
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and sentenced to 20 years.
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I have the
opportunity to minister to him
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and to pray with him.
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I presented him a series
of DVD's from a local pastor
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and gave him the
Great Controversy book
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that he was anxious to receive.
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In this manner I was able to do
missionary work even in prison
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and it brought
forth positive results
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as we baptize nine people there.
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We celebrated communion for the
first time ever in that prison.
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So you can see that
God has blessed the work,
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and I believe more
fruits will come in the future
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as we will see
many more souls saved.
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I will always tell God if this
is come to further Your work
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and praise be to the
Lord use me to do the work.
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Pastor Montero, many people
go through hardships in life.
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What advice
would you give to them
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on how to find
their mission calling
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and to turn
hardship into a mission?
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It's true
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a lot of people in this world
go through difficult situation.
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The enemy's main target
is destroying the family's,
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thus we see crisis after crisis
with the family institution
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but we also see
individuals who face challenges,
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difficulties and struggles.
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Sometimes one battles
finances, health other times,
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educating their
children, unemployment,
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there are a wave of challenges
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and it's natural for
people to feel depressed,
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discouraged or even
desperate and it's not easy,
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but if you're going
through difficult times
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I have to tell you that I
went through a trying period.
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For 22 long
months my family suffered
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and had to face this
crisis for 22 months.
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It wasn't easy at all,
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but I need to tell you
that our Lord Jesus Christ,
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He is in control of everything.
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Our God tells us that
He will never leave us,
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even if a mother would forget
her childrenwho she nourishes
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God would never forget us.
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Right there where you
are facing your problem,
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going through heavy turbulence
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lift up your eyes look
to God with confidence,
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with faith in prayer
in, with determination,
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you will overcome.
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I overcame thanks to
prayer and intervention
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with the help others.
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Allow God to unite with
you to fight your problems
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and win the fight for in Christ
we are more than conquerors.
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Take courage and look to Jesus
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who is the author and
finisher of our faith.
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Thank you, Pastor Montero.
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And to you viewers,
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no matter what
you're going through
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please turn to God
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because He can help you
find the mission in your life.
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When you help
others it helps you.
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But please also pray for
Pastor Montero and his family,
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and many others who are
imprisoned for their faith.
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Sometimes we make the mistake
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of thinking of the mission field
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as being somewhere far away
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however, in
reality it also includes
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wherever we as
Christ followers live.
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Next let's travel to Indonesia
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to meet Philipus
a church planter.
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If you visit this
small city in Indonesia
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you'll find a Seventh-day
Adventist congregation
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worshiping on top of a hill.
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This church was started
because a man named Philipus.
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Philipus was
born here in Kaimana
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and he has a heart for mission.
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When he was younger
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Philipus wanted to
become a police officer.
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He ventured to other cities
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to get an education and
enrolled in police training.
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On his journey he
learned about the gospel message
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and became a strong believer.
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The Bible was an
important part of his life.
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As he was sleeping one night
Philipus had a unique dream.
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I had a dream that told me
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I needed to build a church
for my own tribe in Kaimana.
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There were no
Adventist in Kaimana,
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but God had impressed
him to plant a church.
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He knew this job
would be difficult,
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he left police training and
connected with church leaders.
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He was assigned to a far region
to teach people about Jesus.
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But Philipus felt a
burden to reach his own tribe.
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The leaders eventually
agreed to let him go back
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to his hometown.
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He came back
encouraged to share the message.
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I started by
visiting my family's house
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and witness to them
through Bible study.
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Eventually they
accepted the message.
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Philipus knocked on
doors to spread the word.
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Although many were skeptical
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about allowing new
religions into their town,
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some people
allowed him to teach them
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and accepted
the message of hope.
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A small group of believers
met each Sabbath for worship.
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We made this area
a temporary church,
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this area right here.
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Overtime many more people
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have accepted
Jesus into their lives.
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The congregation grew so much
that they had to build a church
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where they could
worship on Sabbath.
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Today members are
active in the community.
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One form of outreach
is through the children.
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They sing and pray with
people right on their doorsteps.
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The children have so
much fun singing to people
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who have never
heard these songs before.
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Later that day some
other kids visit another site
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where another
congregation is quickly growing.
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They gather regularly at
a member's home to worship.
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Their group has grown so much
00:10:03.39\00:10:04.83
that they plan to build
a new church there soon.
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The group continues their
worship at the building site
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and prays that God will
bless their congregation.
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They take joy in
mixing the concrete
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to begin
building their new church.
00:10:16.89\00:10:19.20
God used Philipus to
plant a church in Kaimana.
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Although this
congregation is growing
00:10:22.86\00:10:24.64
there are many challenges
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while working in
this region in the world.
00:10:26.07\00:10:28.95
Please pray for the
people of Indonesia.
00:10:28.98\00:10:31.77
Pray that God
will touch their hearts
00:10:31.80\00:10:33.32
so that many will
come to know Jesus.
00:10:33.35\00:10:36.15
And thank you, for
supporting mission.
00:10:36.18\00:10:38.80
Well, thanks so
much for joining us
00:10:46.41\00:10:47.74
on Global
Mission Snapshots today.
00:10:47.77\00:10:49.44
I hope you've been
inspired and challenged
00:10:49.47\00:10:51.93
by what you've seen and heard.
00:10:51.96\00:10:53.69
You may recall at
the start of the program
00:10:53.72\00:10:55.58
I mentioned a ministry method
00:10:55.61\00:10:58.05
that actually
transcends different cultures.
00:10:58.08\00:11:01.01
Ellen White
describes it as Christ method
00:11:01.04\00:11:04.48
and we see this
clearly in the gospels
00:11:04.51\00:11:06.21
with the Savior
mingled with people.
00:11:06.24\00:11:08.35
He showed His sympathy to them,
00:11:08.38\00:11:10.14
He ministered to their
needs, He won their confidence
00:11:10.17\00:11:13.59
and then He bid
them to follow Him.
00:11:13.62\00:11:15.87
It's a beautiful method.
00:11:15.90\00:11:17.30
It's a method that's
bathed in love and compassion,
00:11:17.33\00:11:20.87
and it's a
method that truly works.
00:11:20.90\00:11:23.62
If you live in North America
00:11:23.65\00:11:24.96
we would love to send you
00:11:24.99\00:11:26.02
a small gift of appreciation
for your support of mission.
00:11:26.05\00:11:29.93
It's the Mission 360 DVD
00:11:29.96\00:11:32.13
and it's full of mission stories
00:11:32.16\00:11:34.05
like you've seen
on today's program.
00:11:34.08\00:11:36.19
Simply call the toll-free
number on your screen right now
00:11:36.22\00:11:39.23
and ask for the Mission 360 DVD
00:11:39.26\00:11:42.41
or if you prefer you can
go to the Adventist Mission
00:11:42.44\00:11:45.19
website as well and ask
for the Mission 360 magazine.
00:11:45.22\00:11:49.31
Well, that's all
for today's program,
00:11:49.34\00:11:51.48
thanks so much for joining us
00:11:51.51\00:11:52.73
and I hope you
can join us next time
00:11:52.76\00:11:54.50
right here on
Global Mission Snapshots.
00:11:54.53\00:11:57.18