Participants:
Series Code: GMS
Program Code: GMS000804A
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00:10 A nurse making a difference
00:12 thanks to an Adventist school in Sri Lanka, 00:14 hopes and dreams for Adventist education 00:17 in Timor-Leste 00:18 and what happens when a boy 00:20 falls out of a tree and survives, 00:23 those stories and more coming up next. 00:30 Just before He went up to heaven, 00:32 Jesus gave us a command. 00:35 He gave us a mission. 00:38 Jesus said, "Go, go unto all the world, 00:43 telling them of His love." 00:45 This is our mission. 00:47 This is our Global Mission. 00:55 Hello, and welcome to today's program coming to you 00:58 from the beautiful city of Yangon in Myanmar, 01:03 formerly known as Burma. 01:04 You know, if you stand here 01:06 in the center of this capital city 01:08 and you imagine and 3,000 mile radius 01:11 and a circle going all around that some 5,000 kilometers 01:16 in this relatively small area 60 percent 01:20 of the world's population lives. 01:22 That's a huge amount of people and these are people 01:25 who tend to live in poverty, 01:27 they represent major world religions 01:29 other than Christianity. 01:31 On today's program we will be looking at mission 01:33 right here in this country, 01:35 we'll also be traveling to Timor-Leste. 01:37 But first up let's go to Sri Lanka. 01:46 Sri Lanka is an island nation 01:47 off the southeast coast to India. 01:50 Because of its natural beauty and location 01:52 it is known as the Pearl at the Indian Ocean. 01:56 Sri Lanka is a diverse country, 01:58 its home to many religious ethnicities and languages 02:01 with a predominantly Buddhist heritage. 02:04 The Seventh-day Adventist church membership here 02:06 is only about 4,000 members and 37 churches 02:10 in a population of some 20 million people. 02:14 Lakpahana Adventist College and Seminary serves 02:17 as Sri Lanka's only training center 02:19 for church workers. 02:20 With a growing membership 02:21 this school means a lot to mission. 02:24 From its humble beginnings Lakpahana is responsible 02:26 for new members, health workers, 02:29 administrators and pastors to the mission field 02:32 in Sri Lanka and abroad. 02:35 Currently there are some 370 students attending this school 02:39 with 85 percent of the student body 02:41 from other religious groups. 02:43 Lakpahana has a tremendous work and responsibility. 02:48 Several former Lakpahana students have met Jesus here. 02:51 Through education church or branch Sabbath school 02:54 people like Jaya Dias have had their lives turned 180 degrees. 03:02 Jaya comes from a non-Christian background. 03:05 She found in Lakpahana a place to live out her new faith. 03:08 Here she learned values and principals 03:11 that guide her life today. 03:13 Now Jaya works a mentor and supervisor 03:15 at Lakeside Adventist Hospital in the city of Kandy. 03:19 Here she has a unique opportunity 03:21 to connect with people through healing and teaching. 03:24 As Jaya meets patients and nurses 03:27 she emphasizes that our body is the temple of God, 03:30 therefore we must maintain it. 03:33 With words of encouragement and sincere care 03:36 Jaya finds a way into every heart. 03:39 For her this is an opportunity to touch others as Jesus did 03:43 and show them the light of His love. 03:46 I really blessed to be part of God's family. 03:51 I really thank God for picking me 03:54 particularly to serve Him, 03:56 okay, otherwise I would have been another tea plucker. 04:00 God really blessed me of stay at Lakpahana. 04:04 Jaya is grateful for having access to Christian education. 04:08 This education has made all the difference in her life. 04:17 Lakpahana Adventist College is now in urgent need 04:21 of your support for expansion. 04:23 The membership has outgrown 04:24 their humble meeting place of worship. 04:27 We simply don't have enough seats 04:30 and some of them who are sitting on the balcony 04:33 down there in the chapel 04:34 and even we need to put some extra chairs in the corridor 04:38 in order to accommodate all over them 04:41 who come to the church. 04:43 Lakpahana needs a dedicated church building 04:45 to accommodate God's people 04:47 and receive many more every Sabbath. 04:50 As Lakpahana workers do their part to fill God's church 04:53 please pray for the many challenges they face. 04:56 This quarter you can take part in the building project 04:59 through your 13th Sabbath Offering. 05:12 I'm delighted to be talking to my friend Pastor Gavin Johns 05:15 who's the director for Adventist Mission 05:17 here in Myanmar. 05:19 It's great to see you again, Gavin. 05:20 Great. Great. 05:22 And we are here in the middle of summer 05:24 so it's really warm. 05:26 Can you introduce our viewers to the country Myanmar? 05:30 Many of us more familiar with the name Burma 05:32 but just introduce us to your country. 05:34 Sure. Sure. 05:36 Myanmar is part of Southeast Asia 05:40 an its between China, India, Thailand, Laos, 05:47 and it has a lot of neighbors. 05:50 Its a wide country. 05:52 The population is about 53 million 05:57 and about 85 percent of that population are Buddhist 06:02 and the Burma has a lot of tribes in Myanmar, 06:06 135 major tribes and Bamar is the main tribe. 06:11 And Bamar makes up about half of the population. 06:15 It's a very friendly country. 06:17 Yes, I've experienced that. 06:19 Now 135 tribes so does that mean there's 135 languages? 06:25 There's about-- there's about nearly 6,000. 06:32 All right, well, that's quite a challenge. 06:35 Well, can you introduce us now 06:37 to the Adventist church in this country? 06:40 The Adventist church in our country 06:44 is about 100 years old now. 06:47 Two colporteurs came to the country selling books 06:52 and eventually they met two Burma people, 06:57 a brother and a sister, Umamav-- 07:01 and from them they met him, 07:05 they introduced them to the church. 07:07 Eventually Umamav-- visited India 07:10 and he was able to invite some workers to come and work 07:13 in Burma as it was then owned. 07:16 And then eventually the church grew from there. 07:19 Wow. 07:20 So more than 30,000 members you have? 07:23 We have more than 30,000 members now. 07:25 We have five missions 07:27 and the union is situated in Yangon 07:33 and we have about 300 workers over 100 ordained pastors. 07:38 So they are too employed by the church. 07:41 Now Gavin, when we look at the history of the church 07:44 for many viewers who are Adventist 07:47 their knowledge of this country 07:49 is through the stories of Eric B. Hare. 07:51 What is the significance of Eric B. Hare 07:54 to the church in this country? 07:56 Eric B. Hare is the most outstanding person 07:59 well known by the church 08:01 because he was the one that came to Burma 08:04 and you know, he sort of started the work here. 08:08 And in fact, he is well known 08:10 because of his down to earth attitude. 08:13 He usually visit the villages, eat in their homes, 08:17 eat the fish paste 08:18 that even they used to give him, you know. 08:20 Yes. 08:21 Because there was nothing special those days. 08:23 Sleep on a bamboo floors. So he is well-known. 08:27 And I think he is well known is 08:28 because of his music bands that he used to have. 08:32 In fact some of old senior workers still remember 08:36 the days when he used to lead out the band 08:38 and there were members in his band 08:39 used to play the drum, used to play the trumpet. 08:42 They still remember the days. Oh, how wonderful. 08:44 Yeah. 08:45 And so the church is actually celebrating 100 years 08:48 since he first came to this country. 08:50 Well, yes in a certain way but not so widely. 08:54 Yeah, but it's an anniversary. Yes, an anniversary. 08:56 Now, I'm really interested in what you're talking 08:58 about the way that he came in had an incarnational ministry 09:02 where he didn't just keep himself separate, 09:05 he became one with the people to be in his ministry. 09:08 Right. Right, yeah. 09:09 Now Gavin, as we look at the church here today 09:13 what are the major challenges that you face? 09:16 Well, as I mentioned 85 percent of the population is Buddhist. 09:21 So in this hard to evangelize in Burma 09:25 because there is a lot of restrictions you know, 09:30 done by other religions. 09:32 And so we don't have open air meetings. 09:35 We can't conduct those open air meetings. 09:38 We can't do much outdoor activities. 09:42 Mostly the activities we do in the church today 09:45 is within the church only, we can't go out. 09:49 But of course we can print, 09:52 but even for printing we have through different sensors 09:56 that restrict the language in certain ways, 09:59 the usage of language in certain ways you see. 10:03 And now we have a school, 10:05 we have our own Seventh-day Adventist schools 10:07 but they are known as seminaries not as schools, 10:10 because we are not permitted, you see. 10:13 And of course apart from that work is not so bad. 10:16 We can move our around, yeah, we can do. 10:19 Now, I was very encouraged today to visit 10:22 a central influence within the city 10:24 and this facility was actually opened yesterday. 10:27 What are the goals of this ministry? 10:29 Well, the goals of this ministry 10:31 is for the community to be aware of the health 10:35 and to know that there is a God 10:38 that is interesting and wanting them to be healthy. 10:42 So because many people don't understand Christianity. 10:45 They think it's the western religion imported to Myanmar. 10:50 So we want them to know that there is a God 10:54 and He is interested in them. 10:56 And the best way is through the health message. 10:59 Right, so it's a practical way 11:01 of connecting with needs in the communities. 11:04 Very right. Yeah. 11:06 Now tell me a little bit about the schools. 11:08 Do you have any-- 11:10 how many schools do we have in this country? 11:12 We have five missions in Myanmar 11:16 and each mission has their own elementary school. 11:19 Okay. 11:20 Plus they have their primary schools 11:23 and middle schools. 11:25 We have one seminary in Yangon. 11:28 So the school's yes, are functioning well 11:31 and they are overcrowded I should say. 11:34 Yes. Very overcrowded. 11:35 Because there's a big demand to. 11:37 Big demand, yeah. 11:39 Well, thank you so much for talking to us today 11:42 and may God continue to bless your ministry here. 11:45 My pleasure, Gary. 11:47 And viewers at home, 11:48 please pray for the church here in Myanmar. 11:51 Pray for the young people, 11:52 the children and the many challenges 11:55 that are faced here. 11:57 This is not a rich church, their resources a very limited. 12:02 So please pray that God will continue to bless. 12:05 Pray for the center of influence, 12:06 pray for the schools that are reaching out. 12:08 And we'll be right back straight after this break. |
Revised 2015-08-27