Participants:
Series Code: GMS
Program Code: GMS000805B
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00:12 Welcome back to Cairo Egypt.
00:14 Next up we travel to Pune, India 00:17 with Rick McEdward. 00:18 Thank you, Gary. 00:20 I'm here in India. 00:21 So much color, so much spice, so many people 00:24 are focusing on this country. 00:27 They want to come, they want to visit, 00:29 they want to see 00:30 but there is a larger challenge 00:33 and here with me 00:35 is Andrew Tompkins, 00:37 the associate director 00:39 for the Center for South Asian Religions. 00:42 And Andrew we're here, where are we at right here? 00:45 Well, we're right here in front of my home here in India. 00:48 Okay. 00:49 And how long have you been coming and going to India? 00:53 Often on for the past nine years actually. 00:56 All right, tell us about how you got started here. 01:00 I got started kind of in a strange way. 01:02 I was interested in going somewhere for a summer 01:05 and I ended up coming to India, liked it, 01:08 came and went several more times 01:10 and eventually lived here for several years. 01:12 Wow. So that was pretty life changing. 01:15 Yes. In many ways. 01:16 Many ways. 01:18 It set your course in ministry. Right. 01:21 But I think there's another way, right. 01:23 Yeah, I also found my spouse 01:25 who I married to now for five years. 01:27 She is Indian, very happily married together. 01:30 And you're serving together here? 01:32 Correct. Yeah. 01:33 You know, being the center, 01:36 the associate director for Center 01:37 for South Asian Religions 01:39 it's a big responsibility, 01:41 there's a lot of misunderstanding. 01:43 But I wonder if for a minute you could talk about 01:47 the challenge that we face in South Asia. 01:51 Yeah, there is a variety of challenges 01:55 as you hinted at the beginning India is a complex place, 01:58 many people, 02:00 they come from various social backgrounds 02:04 and also various religious backgrounds. 02:06 Majority are Hindu but a huge number of Muslims, 02:10 Sikh's, Jains and then some Christians as well 02:12 that itself is a major challenge 02:14 how do you interact 02:16 with all these different types of people 02:17 and meaningful and respectful ways. 02:20 So navigating all that is not easy, 02:23 it takes a lot of patience and learning 02:25 but we're doing that 02:27 trying our best to do that here. 02:29 we know, you are, we are saying 02:31 actually describes a really complex place, 02:34 really complex people and I mean 02:37 South Asia is made up of much more than just India, 02:39 it's Nepal, Sri Lanka, et cetera. 02:41 So there's actually 02:43 a deeply rooted tradition of various religions. 02:46 Yes. 02:47 And as we think about that 02:49 how do you feel about to the way 02:52 the church has related 02:54 whether it's faith or service or God's love to the community? 02:57 Has it been the fullness to head all these, 03:00 these segment of society? 03:02 Right. 03:03 Certainly we have seen positive things 03:05 a church has done for the last-- 03:07 more than 100 years but also at the same time 03:11 we find there have been times 03:13 and maybe we haven't done as good as we could 03:14 in understanding the local culture 03:16 the local religion, how best to relate 03:19 to people who come from such a different background 03:22 in the normal Christian 03:24 that we might find in the west and so on. 03:26 That has been a challenge 03:27 how do we relate to these people 03:29 in a way they can understand 03:30 and be respectful at the same time. 03:33 So part of your role would then be 03:35 to help the Christians, Adventist 03:38 understand the culture 03:41 and the religious context that you have, right? 03:43 Right and we believe that God of course loves all people 03:48 and He is gone before us 03:50 and part of our job is to understand 03:52 how He is already working with people 03:54 and how we can join with Him 03:56 in understanding those people better 03:58 and then working together, training each other 04:02 to also reach out 04:04 beyond the normal borders that we have. 04:07 You know, when you speak of where God is working, 04:10 you know, reminded of some 04:12 beautiful stories around the world. 04:15 I wondered if there's any story that kind of hits you 04:18 that you'd like to share with our viewing audience. 04:21 Sure. 04:23 As I've been here in the last few years 04:26 we spent quite a bit of time 04:28 working with young people 04:29 who grew up in the church 04:31 but actually have not reached out 04:34 to many non-Christians 04:37 and it's been inspiring to me to watch 04:38 particularly for young people who have spent 04:41 week after week coming to me 04:43 and we engage in discussions 04:46 on how best to relate to people, 04:47 how best to interact with others 04:49 and they have then taken that and gone out into the community 04:52 and are engaging with other types of people 04:55 that in the past they would not have even talked to. 04:58 Sometimes in multi-religious society 05:01 people tend to meet only with their own people 05:06 and don't tend to get acquainted or build friendships 05:08 and sounds from what you're saying 05:11 that that's happening now. 05:12 Yeah, definitely and it's been 05:14 challenging for them at times. 05:16 It's not natural sometimes for us to do that 05:19 but at the same time they feel 05:22 that it's been a blessing to them, 05:24 not just for the people they're reaching out to 05:26 but also in their own growth in life. 05:28 They've grown spiritually through the experience. 05:31 You know, I really appreciate the thought and perseverance 05:36 that you put into your work here. 05:38 You know, as we think about the mission around the world, 05:43 you know, Ellen White says 05:44 some that we should not be one-sided in our work, 05:47 we should have multiple dimensions 05:50 in what we do and how we, 05:52 how we present the glory of God, 05:54 the love God to the nation's. 05:56 And I just want to through out to you audience 05:59 that maybe there's a new way 06:01 that you can share with your neighbor, 06:03 love your community 06:04 and be the glory of God in your community. 06:08 Back to you, Gary. 06:10 Welcome back to Cairo, Egypt 06:12 and more specifically to the Nile River. 06:15 Coming up next 06:16 we go to another part of the world. 06:25 In northern Thailand a village sits high 06:27 on top of the mountainous landscape. 06:34 This is an ideal place to grow tea and other herbs. 06:37 This region of Thailand has a strong Chinese influence. 06:41 Many the older people in the village 06:43 still speak the language. 06:45 Most of the younger villagers only speak Thai 06:47 or local hill tribe languages. 06:49 Retaining their cultural heritage 06:51 has always been important 06:52 to the older members of this village 06:54 but over the years that has been a struggle 06:56 to keep the Chinese language alive 06:58 in the younger generations. 07:00 A few years ago, two young administer in China 07:03 heard about the need to revitalize the language 07:05 among the youth in the community. 07:06 So they left their home in China 07:08 and traveled all the way 07:09 to the small village in Thailand 07:11 to teach Chinese to the children. 07:18 Eventually, they started their own school. 07:21 Parents in the community were so happy 07:23 that their children can learn more 07:24 about their heritage and culture. 07:26 Over the years 07:27 more Chinese missionaries have come to work 07:29 at this Global Mission Center of Influence. 07:32 God is doing amazing things through His willing servants. 07:41 The school has grown in size and support. 07:44 The children like coming to this school so much 07:46 that they are willing to attend this school 07:48 right after their regular school. 07:50 Some of them are even picked up in the truck 07:52 so they don't have to make the long trek across town. 07:55 Children of all ages come to learn and socialize. 07:59 In recent years 08:00 they have also started a dormitory 08:02 where students live and work. 08:04 The Chinese missionaries gathered to pray 08:06 for the students who were in their care. 08:08 The students get room and board 08:10 and attend the local schools by day 08:12 because they're staying in the dorm 08:13 they learn Chinese much faster. 08:15 Several of the students have become 08:17 Seventh-day Adventists. 08:20 Thanks to the Center Influence, 08:21 many of the students are now skilled 08:23 in speaking the Chinese language 08:25 and the younger students in particular 08:27 seemed to learn the fastest. 08:37 This school not only has academic influence 08:39 but includes spiritual education as well. 08:42 Through this school, 08:43 many other children have been introduced to Jesus. 08:46 They pray before class 08:48 and their lessons frequently revolve around God's word. 08:51 Each morning dormitory students 08:53 gather together for morning devotions. 08:55 As breakfast is being prepared by staff members, 08:58 they sing, pray and praise God for His blessings. 09:02 Jesus is making His way 09:03 into the people's hearts in this village. 09:11 If it wasn't for assessing the needs of this community 09:14 these children may never have wanted 09:16 to learn about Jesus. 09:17 Please pray that this Chinese Center of Influence 09:20 will continue to bless the lives of the villagers. 09:23 Pray that God's love 09:24 can spread throughout Thailand and beyond. 09:27 Thank you, for supporting 09:29 Global Mission projects like this. 09:37 Well thanks for joining us on today's program 09:40 and I hope that you've been challenged and inspired 09:43 by what you've seen and heard. 09:45 Thank you so much 09:46 for your continuing prayerful support 09:48 of mission around the world. 09:50 And as a small thank you for your continued support 09:53 would love to send you a small book called 09:56 "A Taste of Travel." 09:58 This book is full recipes from all over the world 10:01 and they even be one from the Egypt 10:03 I'm not sure but it's written by 10:04 Adventist Missions, Nancy Kyte 10:07 and I know that you will be delighted 10:09 by the different tastes 10:11 that you get from these recipes. 10:13 If you live in North America, 10:15 just contact us and it we'll be happy 10:16 to send you a free copy as supplies last. 10:20 Well, thanks for joining us on today's program 10:22 and I hope that you've been challenged and inspired 10:25 by what you've seen and heard. 10:27 Thank you so much 10:29 for your continuing prayerful support 10:30 of mission around the world. |
Revised 2015-08-27