Welcome back to Yangon, Myanmar.
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Next we travel to Timor Leste
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where the only
Seventh-day Adventist pastor
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in the entire
country shares his dream
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and vision for
Adventist education.
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Thanks, Gary.
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I'm right now in the Dili,
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Timor Leste which is the capital
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of this one of the
newest nations on the planet.
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And I'm here and I have
the privilege of interviewing
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and being with my
friend Pastor Inaciu Da Kosta.
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Pastor Inaciu Da
Kosta is the first and only
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Timor Leste
Seventh-day Adventist pastor
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and God has been working
in mighty ways in his life.
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Pastor Da Kosta,
welcome to the show.
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Thank you.
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I wanted to
have a chance for you
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to share from your heart
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how has God worked in your life?
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First of all let's ask
how did you first meet Jesus?
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Yeah, thank you.
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I first met Jesus
because of one of the member
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of Seventh-day Adventist church
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and he sent me to one of their--
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to this academy
and I got admission.
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And finally I learned
many things from there.
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So I found
Jesus Christ in there.
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About two years, you know,
two years to find Jesus Christ.
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Right.
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So that's amazing on
how this one church member,
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what was his name?
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His name is
Paulus. Paulus, okay.
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And he was from Indonesia
serving in the local town.
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And he was serving
as in what capacity?
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What was his
position? Actually a policeman.
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Okay, so he was an policeman.
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But he work also
for the church also.
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Okay.
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And so as a
Seventh-day Adventist
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he was then
working in the community?
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Yes, of course.
What was his vision?
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His vision?
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He worked to prepare many
young people so they can come,
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they can hear and
so share the good news.
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They got this in
whole country here
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because of a big
dream for this to stay here.
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Right, and that dream
was true Christian education?
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His dream is through
education so he can establish
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in some
education in this country
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or this province
that I so can help
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young people so they
can more be educated.
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And when you came back
after meeting Jesus Christ
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and accepting Him and
what was on your heart
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when you saw the
condition of your nation?
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Because I know
you had the civil war,
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you had the other turmoil
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and the strife both from outside
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and then the UN stepped in.
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Yes.
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What was on your heart?
What dream did God give to you?
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The first my dream,
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only may be my
dream the first my life
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when I come back to my
country is for the education
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because through education
we can prepare many people,
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prepare the human
resource for even in the church,
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even in country.
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So that's why my dream
is only for the school.
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This is a 15 years back process.
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And even I sent
letter to the division,
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so I asked them to do this.
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Well, I'm glad that
we're able then to--
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the world church
now and our viewers
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we're able then to help
make that dream a reality.
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Yes.
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As we're here and
we're surrounded by all these
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precious kids in
your neighborhood.
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Yes, these are
very good children.
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And so this is
something right now--
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what are they--
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as these kids are growing
up what are the challenges
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that are being faced
in your country right now?
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Yeah, you know as you
see that we have a very kids
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surrounded as but they
have some education limit
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that because we're
just grow up and just be.
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So you know that some classes--
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actually the place
is just for 30 or 40
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but they can pull
there all together is what 70
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and very crowd
and also limited times
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we have to
change and everything.
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So you know, this
is one opportunity
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and also this is my dream
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so we could have some education.
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Right. Wow.
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And so your country right now
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because it as it's developing
is facing these classrooms
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that are overcrowded and
maybe not enough teachers
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and not enough schools.
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Yes. It's true.
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And so that's
something right now your dream
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that God put in
your heart 15 years ago
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was to then have a
school that then can teach you
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on how to have
excellent education
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as well as then teach
about Jesus and His love
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and His soon return.
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Yes. Yes. Well, that's great.
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Can you know now share,
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I know that as
you've shared with me
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in the past your experience,
you're like a modern-day Paul
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and I know that
you're a humble man
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and but can you
share with our viewers
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how God protected you that
one night at Nolasco's house
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in one of the far provinces?
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How did God send His
angels to protect you?
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Protect you.
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Because that has
happened of course
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because of education
and many young people
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come to the church
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the Seventh-day
Adventist church,
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you know, but they
are facing challenges
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in the word of Sabbath.
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So they don't go to the school.
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So you know, after
that and their parents
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all they needed to
carve their future.
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So when I visited their
houses far away from the city.
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No electricity, the mountain
and after they were planning
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to get there at
midnight at 12 midnight
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they come and they meet people,
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they come and they stop
me and they want to kill me.
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Even one of two people
they want to go to the police
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but you know they,
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they make a arrow
want to kill them.
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So we wait until 5 o'clock
and after they kind of vacated
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and they wake up, hit me and--
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but I thank God that
on the spot they come in
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and till now so
I still have life.
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Wow, praise God.
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Just not that, not only
that because of big thing
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but I think that's
one that I want to say
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for all of the
friends in the world.
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Right. Right.
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And I know that that
was caused like you were
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just sharing that you
received those death threats
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and the stoning and
there was even the police
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like you were just
saying they were gonna shoot
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even the police with arrows.
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Yes. That was caused why?
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Because of Christian education
you were giving Bible studies
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and educating the
neighborhood kids?
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Yes. To read?
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Yeah.
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I'm said it you got good
news for the people there
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and also there are more people
that after you say the church
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but they don't have--
they don't have education here.
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So if now they go
to the public's school
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and they treat not fair
because of the Saturday.
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So that's why their
parents are thinking,
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that this isn't
a future for them
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so but if we have for
some education system in here
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so there is no problem
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because they can enjoy
this and they can study there.
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That's why very
difficult for them.
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So their parents
sought to kill me
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because it's they told
that I have been teaching
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something wrong
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because there is no
future for them, the more few.
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Yeah.
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And you know that because
of their maybe misunderstanding
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as well as in
this developing country
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where religious liberty
maybe can be strengthening
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and so that something--
what else can our viewers--
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what can we pray for
Timor Leste in this nation?
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Yes, I think we
have to pray for his
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for their religion of liberty,
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for we can exercise our
faith, that's the first one,
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the second we
didn't really pray for us,
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so how we can
have some education,
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education, Christian education,
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the quality education
to educate our young people
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and even outside
so they can teach them
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it's not only that
knowledge in the war
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but also knowledge for how
to they reach Jesus Christ.
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That we really we
want to pray for us.
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All right, well,
thank you Pastor Da Kosta,
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for inviting us and bringing us
embracing to your neighborhood.
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And thank you Gary, I
hope that you've been able
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to be touched by
how God is working
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in this wonderful
country and how our viewers
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and together we
can continue to uplift
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Timor Leste in our
prayers. Back to you, Gary.
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Next stop Sri Lanka
where we continue to learn
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about the importance
of Adventist education.
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Avinash is a young
boy from Sri Lanka.
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He dreamed of
going to school some day.
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Many of his friends
studied at Lakpahana
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Seventh-day Adventist school.
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But Avinash's family
simply could not afford
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his education anywhere.
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Fortunately the local
Adventist pastor invited Avinash
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to become a student at Lakpahana
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and he promised to
help pay for the expenses
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of a good Christian education.
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Avinash eagerly started
getting ready for school
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but one day as he was
climbing a tree to pick fruit
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his foot slipped
and down came Avinash.
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He was badly injured
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and was taken to the
local Adventist hospital.
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There doctors examined
Avinash and took x-rays.
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The doctors told him it
could take several months
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for him to get better,
what was he going to do?
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This was his only
opportunity to attend school.
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As the nurses cared for Avinash
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his dad came to
encourage him to get well soon.
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If he did he could
begin school right away.
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Although in a lot of pain
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Avinash was
anxious to get better.
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For an entire month Avinash did
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all he was told
to try and get better
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but the doctors
wouldn't let him go.
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It was only after two of
the longest months of his life
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that Avinash was
cleared to leave the hospital.
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Avinash quickly
got ready for school.
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When the bell rang he was
there ready to start classes
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and he worked hard to
get the best grades possible.
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In this school
Avinash has learned
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many important lessons.
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He has also learned about
God and His healing power.
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So today he studies his
Bible and works with his hands
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in the school gardens.
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He is helping
pay for his studies.
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Avinash asks you to
pray and support the work
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of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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If it wasn't
for Lakpahana School
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he would never
have the chance to study
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and become one
of God's children.
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Well, that's about
it for today's program.
00:10:09.44\00:10:12.01
I hope that you've
been challenged and inspired
00:10:12.04\00:10:15.41
by what you've seen and heard
00:10:15.44\00:10:17.45
from the busy streets in Yangon,
00:10:17.48\00:10:19.48
Myanmar to East
Timor to Sri Lanka,
00:10:19.51\00:10:22.78
in urban areas, in
rural areas among the rich,
00:10:22.82\00:10:26.15
among the poor, among different
cultural and language groups.
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The light of God's love is
being shared by men and women,
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boys and girls.
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And thank you for your
continuing prayerful support
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of mission around the world.
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It does make a difference.
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Before we go I'd like to
send you a small free gift
00:10:41.97\00:10:45.51
as a small token of thank you
00:10:45.54\00:10:46.98
for your continuing
support for mission.
00:10:47.01\00:10:49.71
Oh, that's it for
Global Mission Snapshots.
00:10:49.74\00:10:52.01
I'm Gary Krause
for Adventist Mission
00:10:52.05\00:10:54.12
and I hope you
can join me next time
00:10:54.15\00:10:56.55
right here on this program.
00:10:56.58\00:10:57.92