Welcome back to London.
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Next up, we travel to Albania,
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where Rick Kajiura is talking
with Pastor Julian Kastrati.
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Thank you, Gary.
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We're here in Tirana, Albania
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and I'm here with
Pastor Julian Kastrati
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who's the
secretary of the Union.
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Last night we
had the opportunity
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to visit with a small group,
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and they're some
very interesting people.
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Could you tell me
about some of the people
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who were in that small group?
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Here we have a very
interesting group of people
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because it's backed--
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we probably didn't have
the full group last night
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because it's still
the holiday season.
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But part of that group
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is a member of the
Albanian parliament.
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We have national
celebrities in that group.
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And even children
that come regularly,
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so we have a
nice interesting mix.
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We have students,
we have professionals,
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so it's kind of
a very interesting
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and quite influential group.
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So we had a chance
to meet two other people
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and one of them was a
woman named Julie or Ulie.
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Yes.
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Can you tell us a
bit about her background
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because she is one of
those national celebrities
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you talked about.
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That's right,
Ulie, her name is Ulinda,
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but we call her Ulie.
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She became famous
because she took part
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in the Big Brother reality show,
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in the very first
one that happened,
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that was broadcast in
Albania, I think 6, 7 years ago.
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It's very interesting that
from this kind of worldly event
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that we as
Adventists don't really attend,
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that was the
point of her conversion
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because what was going to
be her future best friend,
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very close friend,
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he was the brother of
two of our church members.
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At that time he wasn't baptized.
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He actually won the
Big Brother reality show,
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she was one of the finalists.
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But he wore this T-shirt,
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I heart Jesus and that
impression stayed with her.
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And she enquired
about why these people
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are so public in
their faith in God.
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I must go to their church.
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So as she got
closer through friendship,
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through the circle,
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influences of the
family and the two sisters,
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she came to church.
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That's when I met her.
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She also took part in a wedding
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that I performed for our...
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two members that got married,
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a Member of Parliament and
another national celebrity.
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And she just
kept coming to church,
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after that and she wanted
to know more and more about God
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and then we
naturally started studies
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but the best idea that ever came
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was having a
small group at her home.
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As you saw, she is very
lively in her personality
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but she's very hospitable,
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very nice and one of
the most active members
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of the church in
Albania, as we speak.
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And that small group
that has been taking place
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for the past
three and a half years,
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almost four years has
produced so many baptisms,
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has led so many
people to Christ and we meet,
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whether the
pastor is there or not,
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and I am there most of the time.
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It has been considered
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the most successful
small groups in Albania,
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in the history of
the church in Albania.
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And it just takes
place every Wednesday--
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every Wednesday at
7o'clock we are there.
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And as you saw, we,
everybody brings some food,
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we fellowship together,
we do some Bible study,
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we pray for each other.
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Very simple format but
so much a blessing from it,
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so much positive energy.
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And you know they
talked a little bit about
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how much it feels
like being part of a family
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when they're
meeting as a small group.
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Go ahead, yeah.
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Now we have been through
some very serious circumstances
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with some of the
members having you know,
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serious sicknesses,
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health issues,
so on and so forth,
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and we all have the confidence
to contact each other,
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even through
Whatsapp, Messenger, messages,
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praying all the time,
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sometimes fasting for each other
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and that has brought
this strong family sense,
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you know, being one
strong spiritual family
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in that small group setting.
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Now you mentioned
Whatsapp, and last night,
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Ulinda talked
about posting on Facebook
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and saying happy Sabbath
and people would ask questions.
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We also talked with
another person last night,
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Andy, and he found
out, from what I understand,
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about the church
a little bit online.
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Could you share
a bit of his story?
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Very interesting and
fascinating story, again,
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and it's not the first time.
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I'm also the web
pastor for Albania,
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I'm in charge of
Internet ministries.
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And it's been amazing
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how God has brought
people to our church,
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not just in Tirana,
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I think other
churches as well in Albania
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but mostly in Tirana
through the internet.
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Through our Facebook presence,
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through our web
presence and in particular,
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as we speak, he's
the guy I baptized
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just one month ago,
one month and a half ago,
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and he is one of
the most active members.
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He basically,
online found out about
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which church is closest
to the Bible so you know,
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he had been
attending before, you know,
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and finding out about
other church denominations.
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But as I say in a joking way,
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he got stuck with the Adventists
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and he's glued, I
would rather say and--
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So he came to me,
he contacted me online.
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In the beginning,
I thought he probably
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wasn't so serious
but he was very serious
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and he just came to
church on that Sabbath
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he said I'm
convinced, on the Sabbath,
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I'm convinced on
the state of the dead,
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all our distinctive
doctrines and I said,
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well, wow, there's
not much for me to do
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but I'm gonna give you a job,
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you know, in the
sense that I want you
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to be an active
lay member for Jesus.
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He's already now one of our
Sabbath school superintendents,
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and he's very
active with the youth group
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and he has already
started the forum online,
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questions and
answers to God and from God
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and its already
extremely successful.
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That's wonderful.
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I mean, just sitting
there with the group last night,
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watching them interact,
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talking with some of
them, hearing their stories.
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It's so exciting to see
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what's
happening here in Albania.
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You know, this is a country
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that is still
very much a challenge.
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It's a relatively young church,
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speaking in terms
of the whole history
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of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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So, people out there,
if you are watching this,
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please remember
to pray for Albania.
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There are many challenges here
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but they're
exciting things going on.
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The people here are reaching out
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in many different ways,
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through the internet,
through personal contact.
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They want to
build a new church here
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in the central part of Tirana.
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Please pray for them.
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Thank you very much
and now back to you, Gary.
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I hope you
enjoyed the first half
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of Lowell and Neria Jenks story.
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Now comes the best part.
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We were
originally brought in here
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to initiate a
vocational program.
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The name of this school
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is Eyira Adventist
Vocational Academy.
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And other than teaching
agriculture to the students,
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nothing was being done.
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And I don't know how many years
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it had been since
a more formal type
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of a vocational
program was going on,
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but they wanted to come in
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and make the
part of the vocation
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in the school's
name more of a reality.
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"The Lord is my
Shepherd, I shall not want.
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He makes me to lie
down in the green pastures,
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He leads me
beside the still water."
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There are different things,
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I'm learning how to
work in an Adventist school.
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And how to share the gospel
of Jesus with one another.
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I study the Bible mostly.
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I've get to know how to study
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and I am acquainted
to study the Word of God.
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This year, this school
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where we're
sitting together with you,
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as happen to be number three
in the world of South Sudan.
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We praise God for that.
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It's good to see who's here.
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You see, we don't have much but,
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God is blessing
the young people.
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You know, if I had come
in here 20 or 30 years ago,
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I would not sense
the physical challenges
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as much as I do now.
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You know, I was
within a month being 60
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when we came in here
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and now I'm
knocking on 65's door.
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A big pin went through,
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fell out of a
control arm down there.
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We should have
checked it the other day,
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I guess, but we didn't.
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Fortunately we
don't do it all the time
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but it isn't the first time
I've done something like this.
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There's no question in my mind
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that the Lord
led us to come here.
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I have no regrets because I knew
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this is where
God wanted us to be.
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And it was not
one fleece I put out
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but two, three, four,
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and every time
it came out positive
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and so I knew this was
where God wanted us to be
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and I have no
regrets of coming here.
00:10:17.20\00:10:21.10
Well, thank you so
much for joining us today
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on Global Mission Snapshots.
00:10:44.63\00:10:46.62
I hope you've been
inspired and challenged
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about what
you've seen and heard.
00:10:49.18\00:10:50.97
From big cities such
as London to smaller,
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rural areas such
as in South Sudan,
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people are touching
other people's lives
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with the light of God's love.
00:10:59.43\00:11:01.23
And thank you so much
for your continuing prayers,
00:11:01.26\00:11:04.01
and financial support,
00:11:04.04\00:11:05.47
and personal
involvement in Mission,
00:11:05.50\00:11:08.03
it is making a difference.
00:11:08.06\00:11:09.86
Before I go, I'd like to
send you a small free, offer,
00:11:09.89\00:11:13.05
it's a book in
titled "True Believer,"
00:11:13.08\00:11:15.66
it's an exciting story coming
from the former Soviet Union
00:11:15.69\00:11:19.56
written by Adventist
Mission's Gina Wahlen.
00:11:19.59\00:11:22.10
I know that you'll
enjoy this small book.
00:11:22.13\00:11:25.68
For Adventist
Mission, I'm Gary Krause
00:11:25.71\00:11:27.39
and I hope that you
can join me next time
00:11:27.42\00:11:29.42
here on Global
Mission Snapshots.
00:11:29.45\00:11:31.84