Participants:
Series Code: GMS
Program Code: GMS001103A
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00:15 The Amazon, the river, jungles,
00:18 tribal peoples, anacondas 00:21 and big cities coming up next. 00:28 Just before He went up to heaven, 00:30 Jesus gave us a command. 00:33 He gave us a mission. 00:36 Jesus said "Go, 00:39 go unto all the world telling them of His love." 00:44 This is our mission. 00:46 This is our Global Mission. 00:54 Hello, and welcome to Global Mission Snapshots, 00:57 coming to you today from Manaus in Brazil. 01:00 We're here in the heart of the Amazon region, 01:03 and behind me is this football stadium 01:05 that was constructed especially for 2014 FIFA World Cup. 01:11 It's a world cup 01:12 that many Brazilians tried to forget about, 01:15 but it's the time when people come together 01:17 and they cheer for their teams, 01:20 and it's a time when a lot of money you spend, 01:23 because people are rallying around what... 01:25 For some, it's almost a religion. 01:28 As we look at the church, we rally together too, 01:31 we probably don't make as much noise 01:32 on Sabbath morning. 01:33 But we come around a common cause 01:35 and common causes, 01:37 and one of those causes is mission. 01:39 And every quarter the 13th Sabbath offerings 01:42 go to special projects for mission. 01:45 And doesn't matter where you are in the world, 01:46 if you're a Seventh-day Adventist, 01:48 you can contribute to the 13th Sabbath offering, 01:51 where we're doing something special in mission. 01:55 Next up, let's travel to Papua New Guinea 01:57 and visit a 13th Sabbath offering project. 02:04 Papua New Guinea is one of the largest countries 02:07 in the South Pacific. 02:08 That terrain ranges from coastal towns 02:11 to remote highland villages. 02:13 This is a people oriented society, 02:15 and a lot of socializing happens in the marketplace. 02:29 Judith lives in the city of Lae. 02:31 Judith and her daughter Marjolaine are very close 02:35 and love to play together. 02:37 Marjolaine was adopted when she was just a baby. 02:40 Judith was walking home one day 02:42 and heard cries coming from a nearby cemetery. 02:45 She walked into the cemetery 02:46 and found a crying baby in terrible condition. 02:49 Judith took the orphaned baby home, 02:51 and nourished her back to health. 02:53 Marjolaine has lived with Judith ever since. 02:56 And they love each other as family. 03:00 Judith care so much for the people around her, 03:02 and dedicates a lot of time to impacting their lives. 03:06 Today, she is teaching a group of people 03:08 how to let God be included in their lives. 03:11 Judith has been meeting this group for sometime now. 03:14 They frequently welcome new people 03:16 to be a part of their events. 03:18 Judith discusses how their goals, 03:21 daily habits and practical skills 03:23 all play a part in their success. 03:25 She makes sure to keep God in the center. 03:29 Most of the people in this group 03:30 don't have regular jobs, 03:32 so it's important for them to learn a skill or craft. 03:35 Some are recovering from drug or alcohol abuse, 03:38 other's lack the education 03:40 required to get a decent paying job. 03:43 And others have something else 03:44 standing in the way of opportunity. 03:47 So Judith tries to give them practical skills, 03:50 to get them back on their feet. 03:52 After the classroom discussion, 03:54 the lesson transitions outside for another practical exercise. 03:58 Today, the group is learning how to make their own soap. 04:02 They go through the process from start to finish. 04:04 It takes a few hours to go through each step, 04:07 but they enjoy every minute together. 04:09 They are taught the ingredients, 04:11 how to properly combine and heat the mixture, 04:14 and how long to let it cool. 04:25 In the end, 04:26 they are left with fresh smelling, 04:28 high quality soap. 04:30 This is a valuable skill for the group members. 04:33 They can take what they have learned 04:34 and sell the soap to earn an income 04:36 to support their families. 04:38 It's just one way they can advance their lives 04:40 and take care of their families. 04:43 It's a long process and it's only by God's grace, 04:46 I'll be able to help them, yeah. 04:49 So I am just counting on God's grace, 04:52 and doing what I can to help. 04:55 Judith takes pride in the part she plays in their success. 04:59 She has a passion to help the people of Papua New Guinea. 05:02 She has a heart for mission 05:03 and specifically children's ministry. 05:06 On this Sabbath, 05:07 Judith is visiting a church in the foothills. 05:10 She speaks to the children and tells them stories. 05:13 She wants them to know that Jesus cares about them, 05:15 and so does she. 05:17 Unfortunately, many children from the community 05:20 are abused. 05:21 Judith wants to instill encouraging words 05:24 that the children from church 05:26 can share with other students at school 05:28 and in their neighborhoods. 05:29 She educates parents by sharing good parenting tips with them. 05:33 So, yes, one thing I would ask the world church to do 05:36 is to pray for the kids, 05:38 who are suffering from all forms of abuse 05:41 and negligence and some of them 05:43 are not intentionally done by parents, 05:46 you know, 05:47 basically because they've been brought up in that way, 05:50 they think that this is the right way of parenting. 05:54 And so in the mind of, you know, good parent 05:58 what he or she may be doing like as spanking a child, 06:01 for them it's okay, that's normal, 06:04 because of their own upbringing. 06:07 The church in Papua New Guinea 06:08 is filled with children who love the Lord 06:11 and want to do his will. 06:12 Many times there is not enough room 06:14 in the churches for everyone. 06:16 This quarter, a portion of your mission offerings 06:19 will go towards building lamp shelters, 06:22 where the children can worship 06:23 and have a place for themselves. 06:25 They need a safe place to bring their friends 06:27 who may not know about Jesus. 06:29 Please continue to support this offering 06:32 to give hope to a young generation. 06:42 My guest is Pastor Arildo, 06:44 who cares for church planting, personal ministries 06:48 and many other things in this region of Brazil. 06:51 Thanks for joining us, Pastor. 06:53 Here in Manaus, 06:54 there are many different types of ministries, 06:56 can you explain 06:58 some of the various types of church plants there are? 07:02 Yes, Pastor, we have created some specific ministries, 07:05 that spring up from the necessity to reach 07:08 a variety of people groups, 07:10 who live here in Manaus, or at the Amazon region. 07:13 For example, we have worked with Haitians, 07:16 who arrived here as immigrants. 07:18 Adventist members are concerned about them, 07:20 so we developed work in Manaus, 07:22 and put a value for the Haitians. 07:24 We also established 07:26 English speaking churches to people 07:28 from a neighboring country to us, 07:29 the country of Guyana. 07:32 You'll find these churches in Boa Vista 07:35 and in the state of Roraima. 07:37 We have churches located to the post-modern mindset, 07:40 one of these is in Ponta Negra. 07:42 And the other was planted by our hospital, 07:45 the Seventh-day Adventist hospital in Manaus. 07:47 This groups of churches 07:49 aim to reach the affluent people of our city. 07:52 Another interesting outreach is the work 07:54 among the Jewish people, in our community. 07:57 There are large number of Jewish people in Manaus. 08:00 The name of their church or synagogue is Beth B'nei Tsion. 08:04 It's an Adventist Jewish synagogue. 08:06 Lastly, close by to where we are 08:09 is the church in the mall, 08:11 this mall is located in one of the most 08:13 rich neighborhoods of our town, 08:15 and this was the last neighborhood 08:16 with no Adventist presence. 08:19 So the organizers found the place 08:21 inside the mall like a store, to start a church plant, 08:24 with the goals to reach a lot of people for Jesus. 08:26 Wonderful. 08:27 Now, Pastor, you have a big urban cities like, 08:31 urban cities are all over. 08:32 You have cities like Manaus, 08:35 but you also have vast regions along the Amazon, 08:38 and I've heard about a floating church, 08:41 what is this? 08:45 The Amazon presents a unique challenge. 08:48 Here in Brazil, we have large footprint 08:51 of one of the least reached people groups in the world. 08:55 The first people group is the indigenous people. 08:58 And secondly, 08:59 the people who live along the Amazon River, 09:01 or as we know them riberenos, 09:04 meaning they're people who live beside the water. 09:06 We have about 10, 000 of these communities 09:08 of riberenos. 09:10 Many live in an area with no Protestant presence. 09:14 Either they will have a Catholic presence, 09:16 or no Christian presence whatsoever. 09:18 This naturally presents a great challenge to regions 09:21 of very difficult access. 09:24 On top of it, 09:25 many of these communities are closed in, 09:27 especially when they already have a predominant religion. 09:30 Then they simply shut themselves in, 09:33 so the floating church, 09:34 or church that navigates is a visionary project. 09:37 It will enable us to reach 09:39 the distant communities of the Amazon. 09:44 Okay. 09:45 Now, you are focused very much on church planting. 09:48 Why is church planting so important for mission? 09:52 Church planting for us it goes 09:54 hand in hand with fulfilling the great commission 09:56 to take the gospel to the whole world. 09:58 This is the best method, the best tool that we have. 10:02 We want to make disciples to plant new churches, 10:05 to equip and educate the members, 10:08 so they become disciples of Jesus. 10:10 Church planting is fundamental 10:12 and is very important to us here. 10:14 Now, can you tell me an experience of someone 10:17 whose life has been touched through ministry? 10:21 Recently, we had the privilege to witness a community 10:24 along the Amazon River, 10:25 that was reached by the gospel message. 10:28 This community is not far from here. 10:29 It's only about 100 miles away. 10:32 In this place we worked together with ADRA 10:35 offering humanitarian assistance. 10:37 We also worked with the Adventist church there 10:39 to support this village. 10:40 And in the end, 10:42 we were able to start a new congregation. 10:45 Now we see the people changing their habits, 10:47 changing their unhealthy customs, 10:49 and giving up their addictions. 10:51 The people are becoming more friendly there, 10:53 more loving, they are getting closer to one another. 10:56 We hear beautiful testimonies from them 10:58 about what God is doing. 11:00 Stories like this are happening often now, 11:03 because of God's miracles in this region. 11:06 Thank you, Pastor. 11:08 Why is mission so important for you? 11:14 Mission is my life. 11:22 I was called by God to work as a pastor, 11:25 to be a minister of the gospel. 11:27 Before I was a civil engineer, and I am a pastor, 11:30 because of God's direct calling that I chose to accept. 11:35 My biggest goal now is to preach the good news, 11:37 and I praise God for this privilege. 11:41 Pastor, do you have one more story 11:43 that you can tell me? 11:47 There are a lot of stories that I could share, 11:50 but one recent one is about a lady 11:52 that we found very sick. 11:54 Miraculously, when she accepted the Adventist message, 11:58 Jesus restored her to health. 12:00 One day in an Adventist church, 12:02 as she shared her testimony, 12:03 she said I was able to get back to work, 12:06 and now I feel healthy again. 12:08 Now I have an income and after a very long time, 12:11 I can go to the market and purchase things for myself. 12:14 You look at me today, 12:16 the dress that I am wearing, 12:17 the sandals on my feet were purchased with my money, 12:20 from my job. 12:21 I was able to return God's tithe to give offerings 12:25 and I am very happy about that. 12:27 God changed my life, she said. 12:30 Stories like this encourages to continue 12:32 moving forward. 12:34 Thankfully we encountered 12:35 many of these stories with the happy ending. 12:38 And all I can do is praise God, 12:40 because He allowed me to experience 12:42 these beautiful transformations, 12:44 He's creating in people's lives 12:46 right here in the Amazon region. 12:52 Pastor Arildo, 12:54 and please pray for mission here in northwest Brazil, 12:58 for the cities and also along the Amazon River, 13:01 as churches are being planted 13:03 and people are finding hope in Jesus Christ. 13:06 We'll be right back after this break. |
Revised 2016-05-12