Participants:
Series Code: GMS
Program Code: GMS000805A
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00:11 Imagine the line of residents here in the city of Cairo,
00:15 stretching back down this road space one meter apart 00:19 you would travel for some 30 miles 00:21 before you would meet one advertised. 00:24 Egypt and much more coming up next. 00:31 Just before He went up to heaven, 00:33 Jesus gave us a command. 00:36 He gave us a mission. 00:39 Jesus said, "Go, 00:41 "go unto all the world, telling them of His love." 00:46 This is our mission. 00:48 This is our Global Mission. 00:57 Hello, and welcome to Global Mission Snapshots 01:00 coming to you today 01:01 from the ancient country land of Egypt. 01:04 Adventist work began in the Middle East 01:06 right here in this country 01:08 when some Adventist in Italy sent literature to Alexandra. 01:13 Well, today so many years later 01:16 the church throughout the Middle East 01:18 is a minority of minorities. 01:21 In fact, I was doing some calculating 01:23 and if you to imagine 01:25 a line of people stretching from here in Cairo 01:28 directly all the way up to Beirut, Lebanon 01:31 nearly 600 kilometers 01:33 and each person was spaced one meter away from the next 01:37 you could walk that entire line of people 01:39 all the way to Beirut 01:41 and you would meet only three or four Adventist. 01:44 When we see figures such as this 01:47 we ask the question, 01:48 who is sufficient for this things? 01:50 And the answer is certainly not us, only Him. 01:53 We will be coming back to Egypt 01:55 but first up 01:56 let's travel to a totally different part of the world. 02:05 On April 9, 2014 02:08 tragedy struck Papua, Indonesia. 02:12 What was a routine take-off 02:14 turned into a day of deep sadness. 02:17 It took less than 30 seconds 02:19 to devastate Adventist Aviation 02:21 and the hearts of those who loved Captain Bob Roberts 02:24 and he will be missed by many. 02:27 Since Bob Roberts' death 02:29 his son Gary picked up the torch to continue 02:31 his father's work 02:33 as a mission pilot in Indonesia. 02:36 It's difficult and its rewarding at the same time 02:40 to come and serve for your father 02:41 who has dedicated a large portion of his life. 02:46 We had to see definite direction from God 02:50 that this is what He wanted us 02:51 because we're still working in Africa 02:55 and leading several projects there 02:56 that we didn't feel right about just walking away from 02:59 so it did take some time in prayer 03:02 and asking for God to really open the doors for us 03:05 to show us that this was His well. 03:08 Gary's brother Eric was also working 03:10 as a mission pilot in Indonesia 03:12 and was instrumental in keeping the Adventist Aviation program 03:16 going after his father's death. 03:18 When he learned that Gary was coming to work 03:20 Eric happily welcomed him 03:21 to the Indonesian aviation family. 03:24 He'd flown little bit with dad here in the years past 03:27 and so he had some idea of the area already. 03:30 He knew what he was getting into 03:33 and it made-- 03:36 I don't want to say my job easier 03:38 but it definitely has made it easier 03:41 to have Gary here. 03:49 The objectives of Adventist Aviation 03:51 here to reach the areas 03:53 that we can't reach through other modes of travel. 03:56 We don't have many roads here, 03:58 we can't travel up many other rivers 04:01 and so aviation here really exist 04:04 to share the gospel in areas 04:07 that are inaccessible except by airplane. 04:15 And this is truly a mission family. 04:17 Gary and team come together 04:19 each morning to reflect on God's goodness 04:21 and to pray that He will give them 04:23 the ability to continue the work. 04:29 I can't remember exactly 04:31 how many churches dad has been directly responsible 04:35 for building in Papua but there are several 04:39 and a lot of them were built hauling loads on Sunday 04:43 when everybody else was off. 04:46 And really trying to keep a business running 04:51 as well as keep the mission cited things running. 04:54 It's an honor for Gary 04:58 because we still dreaming a pilot like Bob, hard worker 05:04 and have dedication for the church. 05:06 And Bob was an amazing man. He is not only hard worker 05:13 but when he went to the bush area, 05:17 the jungle area, he helped everybody. 05:20 But think you for God 05:22 that Gary chosen for join us in Indonesia 05:26 and replace his daddy. 05:29 I know Gary is also hard worker. 05:36 I guess you could tell stories to till the day has gone 05:39 about the many different challenges 05:41 but it also creates the way 05:44 for God to work in amazing ways. 05:46 And I can say that the benefits of working in this job 05:52 far outweigh the challenge. 06:01 The village of Tenebil is just one example 06:03 have an area that was blessed by Bob's contributions. 06:06 He visited this village to plant a church 06:09 which was eventually finished 06:10 by the efforts of the aviation team. 06:13 Now a Global Mission pioneer works here these highlands 06:16 to spread the love of Jesus and lead people to Christ. 06:19 As the gospel message continues to spread 06:22 throughout the earth 06:23 please pray for projects like these. 06:25 Pray that others will take up the work 06:27 to complete God's mission. 06:30 So often I meet people who say well, 06:32 you know, that's great that you're missionary 06:34 but I haven't been called to be a missionary. 06:38 Well, actually everybody has been 06:40 called be a missionary. 06:42 We've been given that mandate to go into all the world 06:45 and that's your neighbors across the street, 06:47 that's the people who live next door 06:48 and that's the people who live in the very remote villages. 06:51 So you wonder how on earth 06:53 are they gonna hear about Jesus? 06:55 And it's gonna be through influence 06:56 of an operation like this 06:58 where you go in and you meet their needs, 07:00 you supply them with what they need 07:03 and share the gospel with them. 07:05 And so there are tremendous rewards for anybody 07:08 who's willing to trust God and to let Him be in control 07:12 and do what He's asked us to do. 07:26 So it's just coming on sunset here in Giza in Egypt 07:30 on the outskirts of Cairo 07:32 and the iconic pyramids of course behind me. 07:35 And with me is Rick Kajiura 07:37 and Rick is the communications director 07:39 for Adventist Mission. 07:42 Rick, we're gonna talk about a few things 07:43 one of which is the start of the work 07:46 here in Egypt which was. 07:50 Well, you're reading 07:52 and so why don't you share some of that with me. 07:54 I was looking at back in 1877 a group of Adventist in Italy 08:00 actually sent literature across Egypt up to Alexandria. 08:04 So that's the first contact 08:06 that we know of from Adventists, 08:10 not only Egypt but to the entire Middle East. 08:13 Egypt was the first country 08:15 that Adventist came to in the entire Middle East 08:17 which really says something about Egypt. 08:19 Now you have been here before, tell me a little bit 08:22 about the culture here and the people. 08:25 Well, you know, I came as a tourist 08:27 in about a year ago but I think 08:29 that when we look at the coaches of people 08:32 here in the Middle East it seems like 08:35 they have more than emphasis on relationships 08:38 that we sometimes tend to, at least in the modern west 08:42 where it's not sufficient to just go into a shop 08:45 and say I want to buy something. 08:47 They will introduce themselves, 08:49 shake their hands, your name, where you from. 08:52 They will sit down and talk and get to know each other. 08:54 That's right and sit down. 08:56 They invite you to have a cup of tea with them 08:59 etc etera and it's almost like 09:01 you have to build a relationship 09:03 before you even have a business transaction. 09:08 Which is kind of a nice thing I think. 09:10 I mean, for those of us 09:11 who are always rushing around 09:14 we may thing oh,that's too much 09:15 but there is something very attractive about it. 09:18 Oh, yeah, I think in our rush world 09:21 we don't take the time to really get to know 09:22 people and, you know, 09:24 I'm thinking right now people we've been talking 09:27 what they are saying, you know, 09:28 people aren't coming to Egypt, they don't understand us, 09:31 they have this misperception of us. 09:34 And you tell that they are hurting in little ways, 09:38 you know, people don't give us a chance. 09:41 They believe everything they see on TV 09:44 and there are problems. 09:46 By and large the people here are very friendly. 09:49 Well, the thing is that it's very easy 09:51 to get stereotypes and so you see in the news 09:53 that there was this bombing here 09:55 or bombing there and suddenly you then say well, 09:58 all the country must be like this 10:00 and all the people must be like this. 10:02 But it was interesting talking to our better one guide earlier 10:05 when he just said, 10:06 I hope you don't say bad things about Egypt. 10:09 That was very important to him. 10:11 It was very important to him. 10:14 You know, one of the things that 10:16 that as working for mission, 10:19 you know, that we need to remember some of those 10:20 same principles of getting to know people, 10:23 you know, and that's Christ method. 10:25 Yeah, the very step of saying before we go too much further 10:30 I'm gonna find out about you and this is me, 10:32 that's for very nice platform for any relationship. 10:36 Gary, Christ is in this region. 10:38 I mean, it's no wonder but that's a method, 10:41 but it's a method that works with people anywhere 10:43 because people are people. 10:45 That's right. 10:46 And you build that relationship of trust then it's much easier 10:50 and in particular in this region of the world 10:53 because its as Adventist we havea lot in common 10:55 in terms diet and things like that but, 10:58 you know, and Not using alcohol. 11:01 That really can open doors in the Middle East. 11:04 Yeah, well, the-- 11:06 unfortunately in many countries 11:07 around here if you would have to say 11:09 that you're a Christian their immediate assumption 11:12 is what they had seen from Hollywood movies. 11:15 So they will think that you are sexually promiscuous, 11:19 they think that you drink alcohol, 11:21 they think that you curse and swear, 11:23 I mean, the whole, whole list of things 11:24 that they judge Christianity 11:26 by because what they've seen and certain behaviors 11:29 that they have observed of Christians. 11:32 So it's a it's something 11:35 that we need to be very conscious of. 11:36 So there are misperceptions from both sides. 11:38 Right. 11:40 So at some point we need to bridge 11:41 those misunderstandings and find the common ground 11:45 and I think that, you know, 11:48 we can make a difference in the world. 11:50 Yeah, and that's just wonderful to see that Adventist 11:53 in this region of the world are looking for ways 11:55 that they can make a holistic contribution to society. 11:59 So they're looking at-- 12:00 they are looking at what are the needs of people 12:02 and there are tremendous needs here. 12:04 I mean there are needs of education, 12:07 there are needs of people 12:08 who are living in poverty 12:11 and we as-- 12:12 and health needs, tremendous health needs. 12:14 And so we as Adventist do have something 12:17 that we can contribute to society in a positive way. 12:19 And just recently I was in another country 12:21 and we're talking with somebody 12:23 as he said getting to know him sitting down 12:26 and talking with him and he offered us tea 12:29 and as we talked one of the things 12:32 he said is I am struggling with smoking. 12:34 I've tried and tried to quit over and over again, 12:36 and this Adventist have done a tremendous amount 12:38 on helping people to stop smoking. 12:40 So there are wonderful opportunities. 12:42 Yeah. It's interesting Rick, 12:44 to see the different cultural expectations 12:48 we have the way we operate 12:50 and we get to see a few of these things 12:52 just like I was in India recently 12:54 and I could accidentally 12:57 pick up food with the wrong hand 12:59 and if I pick it up with the wrong hand 13:01 then most Indians will say, 13:02 that is so filthy, dirty the way that you're doing it. 13:05 Because somewhere like Thailand and if you put your-- 13:08 you actually accidentally poke your foot at somebody, 13:12 point your foot at someone 13:13 that is a very rude thing to do. 13:15 So being conscious of some of those things 13:18 is very helpful. 13:20 And it's not that, you know, 13:22 it's just a matter of simply understanding 13:24 and respect for the culture 13:27 and not doing things that easily offended 13:29 and immediately offend 13:31 and that takes time, you know, to fly in and fly out 13:34 and expect to make a huge difference 13:37 versus living among the people, 13:40 you know, mingling with them, 13:42 getting to know them, winning their confidence. 13:44 Yes. I think too often we've seen mission 13:48 as some think that you go in and do 13:50 then come out was Jesus Himself demonstrated to us 13:56 through the incarnation that well, 13:59 He is a nice image for the desert, 14:00 He came and pitched His tent among us 14:03 and dwell with us 14:04 and as I say He put on human skin, 14:07 He got His hands dirty 14:09 and often that's something we're not prepared to do. 14:14 And when people get to know you 14:15 and they see the way you live the questions come naturally, 14:19 why do you do this? Why don't you do this? 14:22 You know what you believe? 14:24 And that's when the opportunity opens up 14:26 and it's not for us 14:27 it's a very natural progression of getting to know someone. 14:31 Exactly. 14:32 Thank you Rick, for joining me 14:34 and we'll be right back straight after this break. |
Revised 2015-08-27