(uplifting music)
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- Hello and welcome
to Jesus for Asia Now.
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I'm Natalie Wood and
today we've got special guests
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Mike and
Michelle Cordes with us.
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And they work in
Mindanao in the Philippines.
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They have a
project called GoBeDo.
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It's one of the ones
that people can donate to
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through Jesus for
Asia and we're very humbled
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to be able to
support the amazing work
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that God is doing
through them over there.
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Welcome to the
show Mike and Michelle.
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- Thank you. - Thank you.
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- So glad to have you here.
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We just wanna
start off because I know
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that there's a lot the
talk about with the ministry
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but we also wanna know
where has God brought you from
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because I know that
there's a lot of history
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and how you came
together to do ministry,
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is kind of an amazing story.
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So, how did you
get to know each other?
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- It is a long story.
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If we can try to
condense it a little bit,
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circumstances led us
both to Adventist Singles.
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We were both seeking
God's will in our life,
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we were both
tired of making mistakes
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and we wanted
nothing but God in control.
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That was really it.
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We just couldn't afford
to make mistakes in our life
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at this point and we
had made commitments,
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both of us, to
serve God more fully.
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Something that clicked
in us that we just were
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ready for that next step
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and we were both
on Adventist Singles.
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And I think for over a
year I was on Adventist Singles.
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How long were you on it?
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- Maybe two years.
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- Two years.
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And we were so incompatible,
we found out later,
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that we never saw each
other during this time.
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- So the system
never showed you each other
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as an option.
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- No, we were never.
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Well, it did one day.
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She said--
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- Yeah, somebody
dropped a note and say hi.
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Oh okay, and I said
hi too because you know--
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- And I thought it
was her that initiated it
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because it was a popup
saying that somebody wanted
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to talk to me.
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And as I said we found out
later we weren't compatible
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and we never saw
each other before
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but all of a sudden
now, we're popping up.
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I had a ticket to Asia, never
been on an airplane before.
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Circumstances had
led me over there.
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And I had no passport,
but there was a cheap ticket.
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I had no tour guide.
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I was frightened to death.
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And- - Wow.
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- I saw that Michelle was
connected to family in the
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church in the
conference at union levels
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and so I felt pretty
confident in asking her
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if she knew of somebody
that could show me around.
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That's kind of how it started.
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- Okay.
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So then, but you
asked her something.
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- I did. - That really
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threw her for a loop.
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What was that
that you asked her?
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- I asked her if she
would like to, me to call her
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after we got off the chatting.
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Can I, ask her, can I
call you and pray with you?
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- And it made me nervous.
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- Why would that
make you nervous?
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- Because it's one of the
indicators that I had been
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asking from God, if a
man would call and pray,
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then, you know,
that's one of the indicators.
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- [Natalie] Are you
supposed to go with him?
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- Yeah, that's the
man that God has given me.
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- Wow.
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- I can't imagine in two
years that no man ever said,
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you know, "Can we pray?"
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I just can't imagine it.
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- On Adventist Singles.
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- Yeah, yeah.
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- Wow.
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- So she began
to act differently.
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I remember that and yet
I was starting to like her.
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I'm actually, I smile
and she seemed to have
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a real passion for mission work.
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Neither one of us
had ever done missions
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but we both had a
desire to do missions.
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We had both seen
missionaries, heard the stories,
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and we had a desire to
have a significant other
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in our lives that
was mission-minded.
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- So you're seeking
that kind of relationship.
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- Yeah. - From God.
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Okay, so then you were
coming over to the Philippines,
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but you don't have a passport.
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How's this gonna work?
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- Yeah, that's
what we were wondering.
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She was starting to
tell me about the indicators
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that were happening
and that maybe I needed
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to do the same and I
had never done that before,
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you know, but being that
I didn't have a passport,
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I said give me a
little ideas of what,
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of how I should do this.
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- Yeah, what should I do.
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- She said, sometimes
God says yes, sometimes no
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and sometimes maybe.
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I'm thinking okay, no passport.
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If you can give me my
passport by a certain date
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then maybe that's a
yes, we'll be married.
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If it doesn't come in by
that date, maybe it's a maybe,
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and if it
doesn't come in at all,
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by the time my ticket
comes, because we're coming up
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on the date, then that's a no.
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So that's what I did
and I got on my knees
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and I claimed the song,
"It is Well with my Soul".
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- Surrender?
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- Full surrender.
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So I was excited, here
comes the day that was coming
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to see whether I was
gonna be married or not.
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And I went to the mailbox, I
came back without a passport.
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- It wasn't there.
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- It wasn't there.
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I got on my knees and I
said, "Thank you, Lord, anyway."
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I said, "Maybe it's a no
but there's still a maybe."
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And no sooner did
I get off my knees
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than I felt the
phone rang and I got a call
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from the passport
agency saying they were sorry
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for the delay and for all
the trouble but my passport
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had been approved.
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- Wow.
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- I was blown away.
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I was beginning to feel like
I had no control over my life.
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Something was happening
that I didn't understand.
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And I called Michelle and
told her that it looked like
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we might be getting married.
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- Were you happy?
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- No, I wasn't happy.
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I was more and more nervous
and it was like I don't know
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what's going on because
it just happened so quickly.
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- [Natalie] So fast. - So fast.
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- Well I know you
mentioned to us off camera
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that both of you
were looking for somebody
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that didn't have any baggage.
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- Well I understand,
she had two daughters
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and she was worried
about them being able to eat
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and what kind of
father figure they might have
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and it's understandable.
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- It is.
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Okay, so you had the passport
and the ticket was there,
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so what happened next?
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- So next, her dad
asks me to speak a sermon
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and you know, he
wanted a good hour plus sermon
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and I had never preached before.
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So huge anxiety,
never been on an airplane,
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just a couple of weeks
for the trip to happen.
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So all the elders and
the pastor are giving me
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ideas and sermons, here's
a sermon, here's a sermon,
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this is what
they need, you know,
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that kind of thing and I knew
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the Lord was asking me
to trust Him in this journey
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and to seek Him for His words.
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So, with that in mind,
I was about ready to board
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the plane and no sermon.
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And then I got a
call from my dad saying
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that he had lost his
password to his email,
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and I said what's your
email dad and he told me
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it was something
with GoBeDo in it
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and this GoBeDo
just jumped in my face.
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- Now GoBeDo, can you
explain that real briefly?
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In the middle of your topic.
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- Sure, sure no problem.
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The gospel commissioned
to go and share the gospel,
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to disciple others into
Jesus, to be like Jesus,
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so that we can
reflect His character
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and show people who He is.
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And then to put into
action, to do, whatever,
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wherever, and
whatever He asks of you,
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wherever you are and to do that.
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So that's basically, that
was the format for the sermon.
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So I'm excited
and I get on the plane
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and I've got my Bible in my
hand and I'm going through it
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and I get a 17
minute sermon so far.
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- So you're like
reading it to yourself
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and you're timing it?
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- Yeah, timing it and I
got 16 hours on an airplane
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through this trip
and so it's not working.
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So I'm, so I go
back to work and praying,
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"Lord, You gotta give
me more than this, please,
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"like I really need You so bad."
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And ended up with something
in the 20s, 20 minutes, 23,
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27 minute plus and no matter
how many times I practiced it,
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that was it.
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Now, my wife, I knew she--
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I just figured they all spoke
English too, I didn't know.
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So I get there and I realize
they speak another language
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and I'm really
stressed and I get in the church
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and I get a translator,
her mother translates.
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And of course this
sermon goes over an hour.
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God had it
figured out all along.
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He knew what He was doing.
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- Wow, wow, so your
father was content then, or?
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- I don't know
because, probably not,
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because he asked
for an indicator.
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- What was that?
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- That is the,
about the license thing.
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- The license, oh yeah.
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So what happened was there
was a typhoon in the country
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and there was no air
travel, no boat travel.
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And we had only a few
days to get the license, so we-
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- A marriage license.
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- Yeah, a marriage
license and we had to get
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to the middle of
the country in Cebu
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and we're in the
south, in Mindanao
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and the storm was heavy.
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So it was getting
to the end of the storm
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but still, there was no travel.
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And I remember we had
asked the travel agency,
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so let us know if
there was something available
00:10:25.19\00:10:27.82
and the day before the
license, we needed the license,
00:10:27.82\00:10:31.73
they called us and said there
was a small ferry going over
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so we went over to the
whole night on rough waters
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and we got to the US
Embassy, or the Philippines
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Consulate's office.
00:10:40.87\00:10:42.14
- Wow, and then the
next thing happened.
00:10:43.37\00:10:45.97
- It's closed. - It's closed.
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They said, the US
Consulate's office is closed.
00:10:47.58\00:10:51.41
It's a US holiday.
00:10:51.41\00:10:52.75
- Oh wow.
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- So I'm like, I don't
understand what's going on.
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I'm starting to
really like this girl.
00:10:58.65\00:11:00.59
- And yet it seems
like it keeps being no.
00:11:01.62\00:11:05.26
- Yes, no, yes, no.
00:11:05.26\00:11:06.59
- You're kind of going
no- - Yeah, and so we're-
00:11:06.59\00:11:09.80
- [Natalie] What are you doing?
00:11:09.80\00:11:10.90
- We're walking
away, we're walking away.
00:11:10.90\00:11:11.77
We turned
around and walked away.
00:11:11.77\00:11:12.87
And it wasn't no
more than five steps away
00:11:12.87\00:11:14.84
and I felt a tap on my shoulder.
00:11:14.84\00:11:17.47
Turn around, go ask
them, where is the office?
00:11:17.47\00:11:20.18
Let's see it with our own eyes.
00:11:20.18\00:11:22.41
And we did, I
said, "Let's go Michelle,
00:11:22.41\00:11:24.78
"let's go down and look at it."
00:11:24.78\00:11:25.91
"Why? They're closed," she said.
00:11:25.91\00:11:27.68
No let's go, I wanna
see it and we went down
00:11:27.68\00:11:30.25
and it was really closed.
00:11:30.25\00:11:32.12
- wow.
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- So I sat on the ground,
I'm like, I don't get it, Lord.
00:11:33.49\00:11:37.63
I don't really, am I
not really hearing you,
00:11:37.63\00:11:40.03
are we just joking around?
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What's going on here?
00:11:43.10\00:11:44.60
I mean there were so many
things going on in our minds.
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She was happy.
00:11:48.44\00:11:49.30
- Why were you happy?
00:11:50.31\00:11:51.27
- I just had a relief, you know,
00:11:51.27\00:11:53.11
you're not really
getting married yet.
00:11:53.11\00:11:55.41
- Yeah, so as we
were sitting there,
00:11:55.41\00:11:58.11
going through these
emotions, some people came up
00:11:58.11\00:12:01.18
and said, "What are you doing?"
00:12:01.18\00:12:01.98
And we tell them our situation.
00:12:01.98\00:12:04.32
They said that the Catholic
holidays were coming up,
00:12:04.32\00:12:06.62
that whole week would be closed,
the offices would be closed
00:12:06.62\00:12:09.96
but they were the US
Consulates, consular,
00:12:09.96\00:12:12.63
and that they would
take care of our issue,
00:12:12.63\00:12:15.63
our permit and so they
helped us with our paperwork.
00:12:15.63\00:12:19.20
The US Embassy
opened on a closed holiday.
00:12:19.20\00:12:22.17
Amazing, so I'm
back on that yes.
00:12:22.17\00:12:25.74
- God said yes, here we go.
00:12:25.74\00:12:28.41
And you are?
00:12:28.41\00:12:29.41
- Nervous and not happy.
00:12:29.41\00:12:31.18
- So when you went
back to your family's home?
00:12:32.65\00:12:35.08
- And we had to turn in the
license to the local register
00:12:35.08\00:12:38.75
and the local register said
no, can't be, it takes 21 days.
00:12:38.75\00:12:42.22
You have to have
marriage counseling,
00:12:42.22\00:12:43.89
you have to, another 21 days.
00:12:43.89\00:12:45.23
You have to have
marriage counseling,
00:12:45.23\00:12:46.59
you have to have a pastor
who's willing to marry you.
00:12:46.59\00:12:50.07
And they said no.
00:12:50.07\00:12:51.60
So we were out the
office again, out with a no.
00:12:51.60\00:12:54.77
And then what happened?
00:12:56.10\00:12:57.74
- Somebody chased
us outside the office-
00:12:57.74\00:12:59.91
- A government
worker? - And said
00:12:59.91\00:13:01.28
if you can really
talk to one of the pastors
00:13:01.28\00:13:04.01
that would really be
okay to do the ceremony,
00:13:04.01\00:13:08.62
and then the paperwork,
just put it in the date
00:13:08.62\00:13:12.69
when the permit
was being approved,
00:13:12.69\00:13:17.76
then we would allow
you guys to get married.
00:13:18.83\00:13:21.26
- So we went
through marriage counseling,
00:13:21.26\00:13:23.80
which was also a
miracle because it was supposed
00:13:23.80\00:13:26.53
to be scheduled and
they were able to get us in.
00:13:26.53\00:13:29.20
And everything fell
back into place again.
00:13:29.20\00:13:32.41
- Wow.
00:13:32.41\00:13:33.54
- So I asked my
uncle, because he's a pastor
00:13:33.54\00:13:35.78
and he said, "Oh, no problem."
00:13:35.78\00:13:38.31
So it happened,
my dream wedding day.
00:13:38.31\00:13:41.95
I'm supposed to be
happy but you know,
00:13:41.95\00:13:44.49
the devil was talking
to me to running away.
00:13:44.49\00:13:47.22
I wanted to run away from him,
00:13:47.22\00:13:49.39
like I'm nothing
to this marriage.
00:13:49.39\00:13:52.93
But God used one of
my aunties and she said,
00:13:52.93\00:13:56.53
"The devil sees that you
will be happy in the future
00:13:56.53\00:14:00.60
"and he wants
that not to happen.
00:14:01.67\00:14:04.57
"So if you really wanna
run away from this marriage
00:14:04.57\00:14:06.88
"that you told me
is really God's will,
00:14:06.88\00:14:10.11
"you might regret in the
future, you might find somebody
00:14:10.11\00:14:13.05
"that is not really
from God and the result
00:14:13.05\00:14:15.52
"is not really," so with
that advice I just, like okay,
00:14:15.52\00:14:20.59
so I really have to do this.
00:14:21.62\00:14:24.03
So we got married.
00:14:24.03\00:14:26.70
- Wow. - Yeah.
00:14:26.70\00:14:29.46
- Going back, we had helped
a 1000 Missionary Movement
00:14:29.46\00:14:34.24
with a project.
00:14:34.24\00:14:35.54
We had found a bible
worker willing to go up into,
00:14:35.54\00:14:38.47
it wasn't in the mountains
very far, but it was still
00:14:38.47\00:14:40.48
far enough up that it
was like unknown territory
00:14:40.48\00:14:43.75
for the church and we
were, his name was Dudes.
00:14:43.75\00:14:48.35
And Dudes helped
the two missionary girls
00:14:48.35\00:14:51.59
that were, one was from Korea,
one was from the Philippines,
00:14:51.59\00:14:54.59
we helped to establish
that church there with them.
00:14:54.59\00:14:57.39
- You had that, it did start
00:14:57.39\00:14:59.43
with the faith
camp that you attended.
00:14:59.43\00:15:01.76
- It did, I had
already gone to two faith camps
00:15:01.76\00:15:04.13
and so this missionary
idea was just burning in me.
00:15:04.13\00:15:07.44
It was really
burning in me and so-
00:15:07.44\00:15:09.87
- I remember the
second faith camp you had-
00:15:09.87\00:15:11.94
- I was doing
the PA work for the-
00:15:11.94\00:15:13.58
- And you stood up and
you claimed your inheritance.
00:15:13.58\00:15:16.58
- Oh, yeah, I did.
00:15:16.58\00:15:19.05
- The theme of
faith camp that year
00:15:19.05\00:15:20.38
was claim your inheritance,
going off the text in the Bible
00:15:20.38\00:15:23.72
that talk about our seed
shall inherit the Gentiles
00:15:23.72\00:15:26.55
and I will give you the
heathen for your inheritance
00:15:26.55\00:15:29.56
and so you claimed-
00:15:29.56\00:15:30.93
- Every place that the
sole of your foot shall tread.
00:15:30.93\00:15:32.86
I was excited, but as
much as I felt this burning
00:15:32.86\00:15:37.47
coming on me, I said,
"Lord, I'm a pretty dense guy,
00:15:37.47\00:15:42.47
"if You're really talking to me,
00:15:42.47\00:15:43.84
"You're gonna have to
hit me with a bigger stick."
00:15:43.84\00:15:45.21
And those were
really my exact words.
00:15:45.21\00:15:47.68
And for the next three months,
God spoke loud and clear.
00:15:47.68\00:15:50.51
Matthew 6:33 came at me
from every single direction.
00:15:50.51\00:15:54.35
It just like, I
couldn't escape it.
00:15:54.35\00:15:56.92
And like Luke 14, I
was saying, but Lord,
00:15:56.92\00:16:00.06
and I have to
bring my wife here,
00:16:00.06\00:16:01.76
this is gonna be a
huge expense, but Lord,
00:16:01.76\00:16:04.93
you know, I've got
this and I've got that,
00:16:04.93\00:16:07.73
and He just kept
reminding me, seek ye first
00:16:07.73\00:16:09.63
the kingdom of God
and His righteousness
00:16:09.63\00:16:11.50
and all these things
will be added unto you.
00:16:11.50\00:16:13.77
Your way of
thinking, as an American,
00:16:14.80\00:16:16.81
is you get your
skills, you get a job,
00:16:16.81\00:16:19.84
you eight to five,
nine to five, whatever,
00:16:19.84\00:16:22.94
you build your retirement
up and life is good, right?
00:16:22.94\00:16:28.02
- And then, yeah.
00:16:28.68\00:16:30.05
- And so this idea of seek
ye first the kingdom of God,
00:16:30.05\00:16:34.69
and trust everything
with Him, and He's calling me
00:16:36.06\00:16:37.16
to do missionary
work in the Philippines,
00:16:37.16\00:16:38.96
when I'm supposed to be
bring a wife to America,
00:16:38.96\00:16:42.43
doesn't make any sense to me.
00:16:42.43\00:16:43.87
It just doesn't make
any sense, I love America.
00:16:43.87\00:16:46.94
It was hot and
sticky over there.
00:16:46.94\00:16:48.50
It was loud, it was
not agreeable with me.
00:16:48.50\00:16:52.37
But I remember
after three months,
00:16:52.37\00:16:55.24
I really cried like a
baby, I gave in to the Lord
00:16:55.24\00:16:57.85
and said, "You know, I'm
gonna stop running like Jonah,
00:16:57.85\00:17:00.48
"I'm really gonna
listen to your voice."
00:17:00.48\00:17:02.98
And I was excited because I
got on the phone with Michelle,
00:17:02.98\00:17:06.15
and I said,
"Honey, what do you think
00:17:06.15\00:17:07.96
"about doing missionary work
in the mountains in Mindanao?
00:17:07.96\00:17:11.33
And she said-
00:17:11.33\00:17:12.53
- Oh, we're gonna die.
00:17:12.53\00:17:13.80
We're really gonna die.
00:17:14.76\00:17:16.70
That's what I was thinking.
00:17:16.70\00:17:18.17
- Yeah.
00:17:18.17\00:17:18.97
- Why did you have that thought?
00:17:18.97\00:17:20.80
- It's because the mountains,
we live in the coast area,
00:17:20.80\00:17:24.47
coastal area and we don't
really go to the mountains
00:17:24.47\00:17:28.18
because for us, it's
just, there's a lot of
00:17:28.18\00:17:31.61
the people there
have a different mentality
00:17:31.61\00:17:35.82
and they're very,
they have different laws.
00:17:35.82\00:17:40.89
The tribal people
have a different law, so-
00:17:41.99\00:17:43.49
- And it was an
ongoing insurgency.
00:17:43.49\00:17:45.83
There were- -
That's what it was.
00:17:45.83\00:17:47.96
- Between the
communists and the government.
00:17:47.96\00:17:50.60
It's been going on, I
think, since the 1960s, right?
00:17:50.60\00:17:52.90
- I don't know,
it's quite a long time.
00:17:52.90\00:17:55.24
- Yeah. - Wow.
00:17:55.24\00:17:56.04
So there was real danger there?
00:17:56.04\00:17:57.81
- Yeah.
00:17:57.81\00:17:58.64
- Wow.
00:17:58.64\00:18:00.04
So he told you this and
you said, "We're gonna die,"
00:18:00.04\00:18:02.04
and then-
00:18:02.04\00:18:02.84
- I said I'm not really into it.
00:18:02.84\00:18:03.98
- And then we started
researching the books,
00:18:03.98\00:18:06.21
"Christian Service", and
"Welfare Ministry" and other
00:18:06.21\00:18:10.72
books. Seeking the Lord,
how are we gonna do this?
00:18:10.72\00:18:13.25
And praying and
what happened next was
00:18:13.25\00:18:17.36
the circumstances
came, we said, "Okay, Lord,
00:18:19.13\00:18:22.63
"we're not putting
stipulations on you anymore.
00:18:22.63\00:18:25.53
"We're ready to go."
00:18:25.53\00:18:27.94
And as soon as
we were ready to go
00:18:27.94\00:18:29.34
without the stipulations,
a kind and generous woman
00:18:29.34\00:18:33.31
who we had given our last bit
of money to, the year before,
00:18:33.31\00:18:37.98
for dog food and
other needs that she had,
00:18:37.98\00:18:40.25
because she was on hard
times, had come on better times.
00:18:40.25\00:18:43.28
- She didn't ask for it.
00:18:43.28\00:18:44.12
She didn't ask for it.
00:18:44.12\00:18:45.32
- She didn't ask for the money-
00:18:45.32\00:18:46.39
- We just saw- - We saw her need
00:18:46.39\00:18:47.49
and we gave our last
bit of money for her.
00:18:47.49\00:18:50.59
And the following year
she did the same for us.
00:18:50.59\00:18:53.19
And we had figured out,
we found a piece of land,
00:18:53.19\00:18:55.60
we knew what we
were gonna need to begin
00:18:55.60\00:18:57.90
the ministry as a, in an area,
00:18:57.90\00:19:01.50
and she gave us a huge cheque.
00:19:01.50\00:19:04.67
Over $70 thousand.
00:19:04.67\00:19:05.77
- Wow.
00:19:06.84\00:19:08.28
- And, you know, we
were granted one motorcycle
00:19:08.28\00:19:13.35
and then another
motorcycle as we were faithful,
00:19:14.62\00:19:16.75
God enlarged, we got off the
coast, we got in the mountains.
00:19:16.75\00:19:21.22
We were by concept
able to establish a church
00:19:21.22\00:19:25.59
and then another
church and then another church
00:19:25.59\00:19:27.50
and then another church.
00:19:27.50\00:19:28.70
And God continued to bless us.
00:19:28.70\00:19:31.47
Then three schools
later, I mean it just kept
00:19:31.47\00:19:36.14
getting bigger and
bigger and what we thought
00:19:36.14\00:19:37.87
was just gonna be a
vision trip, to go over and see
00:19:37.87\00:19:40.38
you know, spend a
short-term mission trip,
00:19:40.38\00:19:43.95
turned into a
full-blown ministry.
00:19:43.95\00:19:45.91
- Wow, wow.
00:19:45.91\00:19:46.95
- Yeah, it was
amazing. - That's amazing.
00:19:46.95\00:19:49.98
So once you said
yes, then He just--
00:19:49.98\00:19:53.12
- Once we submitted, yeah.
00:19:53.12\00:19:55.32
- That a lot of things happen.
00:19:55.32\00:19:58.26
- Circumstance happened
where were wanted to live
00:19:58.26\00:20:00.66
in wood houses, and
we almost went to jail.
00:20:00.66\00:20:04.27
We thought we were
following the proper procedures
00:20:04.27\00:20:07.20
and we showed up for a,
at the wood to start building
00:20:07.20\00:20:11.21
the house and all the
government officials were there
00:20:11.21\00:20:14.51
and the chief of the
people that we went to
00:20:14.51\00:20:16.61
to actually thought we
were following protocol
00:20:16.61\00:20:19.08
to cut the wood for us,
and we were taken downtown
00:20:19.08\00:20:22.08
for investigation.
00:20:22.08\00:20:23.92
I was threatened
to be blacklisted
00:20:23.92\00:20:25.85
and thrown out of the country.
00:20:25.85\00:20:27.29
- Basically, we
were being betrayed.
00:20:27.29\00:20:29.12
The people that
sold the wood to us,
00:20:29.12\00:20:32.46
they were the
ones that reported us.
00:20:32.46\00:20:35.13
So it was like the
devil doesn't want us there.
00:20:35.13\00:20:38.23
- And we weren't
doing it purposely,
00:20:38.23\00:20:39.80
we really thought we were
following proper protocol.
00:20:39.80\00:20:43.17
So we were forced to
build wood and cement,
00:20:43.17\00:20:46.47
I mean cement and steal
houses in the beginning.
00:20:46.47\00:20:49.64
And, which,
looking back now, you know-
00:20:49.64\00:20:53.75
- It's a blessing.
00:20:53.75\00:20:55.28
- It was a blessing because
we started hearing gunfire
00:20:55.28\00:20:58.75
around the area and hundreds
of people had been dying
00:20:58.75\00:21:02.29
around us within a,
within a probably a seven
00:21:02.29\00:21:05.36
or eight mile area, we were
right in the middle of a war.
00:21:05.36\00:21:09.93
And we didn't know.
00:21:09.93\00:21:11.50
Our first house we were
living in there were 14 of us
00:21:11.50\00:21:13.37
living in this 14 by 10 house.
00:21:13.37\00:21:16.97
It was just small logs,
with bamboo sheeting around it
00:21:16.97\00:21:21.51
and at night time, we'd
hear these rubber boots come up,
00:21:21.51\00:21:24.61
(squishing)
00:21:24.61\00:21:26.48
and they would
breathe next to the building
00:21:26.48\00:21:29.38
and we would tap each other.
00:21:29.38\00:21:31.99
- [Natalie] Pray. - Pray.
00:21:31.99\00:21:34.62
We knew at that point
that we were in the thick of it
00:21:34.62\00:21:38.36
and we needed to
be right with God.
00:21:38.36\00:21:40.73
If ever we were gonna accomplish
and stay alive in this,
00:21:40.73\00:21:44.20
this situation, we were
gonna need to search our hearts
00:21:44.20\00:21:46.97
and be right with God.
00:21:46.97\00:21:48.27
- Wow, what a way
to start ministry.
00:21:48.27\00:21:50.27
- Yeah, it was a real boot camp.
00:21:50.27\00:21:53.14
- Baptism by fire.
00:21:53.14\00:21:54.71
- It was, yeah. - Wow.
00:21:54.71\00:21:57.41
So, how, in your mission
work, I know that you're busy
00:21:57.41\00:22:02.38
all the time- - yeah.
00:22:03.15\00:22:04.12
- And you've got a lot going on,
00:22:04.12\00:22:05.72
how do you
protect your marriage,
00:22:05.72\00:22:08.09
how do you protect your family?
00:22:08.09\00:22:09.72
Because if you've got
14 people living with you,
00:22:09.72\00:22:12.13
or whatever it
is that at the time,
00:22:12.13\00:22:14.73
I know it goes up and
down sometimes for you.
00:22:14.73\00:22:16.90
- We've had as many as 50.
00:22:16.90\00:22:18.47
- Yeah, but how do
you, how do you work things
00:22:18.47\00:22:21.47
so that you stay that
connection with each other?
00:22:21.47\00:22:24.37
- When you take and
look outside of yourself,
00:22:24.37\00:22:27.84
it's easy not to see your
own problems, not to see you
00:22:27.84\00:22:31.85
and see your spouse's faults.
00:22:31.85\00:22:34.15
You know, when you're serving
others, you need each other.
00:22:34.15\00:22:38.12
You need each other and
you're dependent on each other
00:22:38.12\00:22:40.52
for advice and for prayer
and for that comfort, you know?
00:22:40.52\00:22:45.59
We all need that
so that was important.
00:22:46.73\00:22:50.70
God knew what he
was doing, for sure.
00:22:50.70\00:22:52.30
- Yeah, well we've
seen a friend of ours share
00:22:52.30\00:22:55.80
that like in
their mission field,
00:22:55.80\00:22:58.61
out of six families
or something like that,
00:22:58.61\00:23:01.71
four of them ended
up getting divorced.
00:23:01.71\00:23:04.01
And so it's like
we've seen the tension
00:23:04.01\00:23:08.32
because of the devil's
attacks on the marriage
00:23:08.32\00:23:11.29
and upon the family
and it's a good thing
00:23:11.29\00:23:14.72
that you've learned that
you have to be connected to God
00:23:14.72\00:23:18.03
and to each other and be humble.
00:23:18.03\00:23:20.76
There's a lot of attacks, I know
00:23:20.76\00:23:22.70
that everybody has challenges.
00:23:22.70\00:23:25.30
- Our kids suffer for
the, for a lot of years.
00:23:25.30\00:23:28.57
We took them to
the mission field early
00:23:28.57\00:23:31.27
and, you know, sibling
rivalry and sibling fights,
00:23:31.27\00:23:35.08
you know, and with the
people we were working for,
00:23:35.08\00:23:38.05
it's just not acceptable.
00:23:38.05\00:23:39.95
So we had to stop leaving
them, stop bringing them-
00:23:39.95\00:23:43.69
- And so you left
them with grandparents, or?
00:23:43.69\00:23:46.35
- With grandparents and
with other missionaries.
00:23:46.35\00:23:49.69
It was with grandma
for a couple of years
00:23:49.69\00:23:53.33
and so it was
hard on our family.
00:23:53.33\00:23:54.96
We neglected our
kids and so we spent
00:23:54.96\00:23:57.77
the last couple of
years reclaiming them.
00:23:57.77\00:23:59.80
And it's worked out really good.
00:24:00.97\00:24:02.67
- God is good.
00:24:03.71\00:24:05.11
- You know when, the
Bible says to raise up your kids
00:24:05.11\00:24:08.21
in the morning, and the
afternoon and the evening,
00:24:08.21\00:24:11.18
always talking about
the Lord and His goodness,
00:24:11.18\00:24:13.68
and we did that, we
never neglected to do that.
00:24:13.68\00:24:16.52
So we may have
neglected time and listening,
00:24:16.52\00:24:19.82
like we should have, but
I think we caught it in time
00:24:19.82\00:24:23.26
and we're proud of
what's becoming of our kids.
00:24:23.26\00:24:27.13
- Wow, praise the Lord.
00:24:27.13\00:24:28.70
- [Mike] Yeah. -
God is so gracious.
00:24:28.70\00:24:30.60
- Yeah, even when
we don't deserve it.
00:24:30.60\00:24:33.67
- Yeah, so what is the
plan now for your ministry?
00:24:34.97\00:24:39.07
Where are you headed?
00:24:39.07\00:24:40.48
What's the big burden right now?
00:24:40.48\00:24:43.68
- Things are
changing quick in the country.
00:24:43.68\00:24:46.38
There's not anybody
who's reading up on the country
00:24:46.38\00:24:49.48
and Mindanao is,
things are happening.
00:24:49.48\00:24:52.09
Radio, and I was working in
radio before I started missions
00:24:53.52\00:24:57.56
and now the
Lord's bringing it back.
00:24:57.56\00:24:59.93
And we are in a
location where we can reach
00:24:59.93\00:25:04.97
over a million people- - Wow.
00:25:05.83\00:25:07.54
- Not only people but
communist rebels, locals,
00:25:07.54\00:25:12.61
coastal, Islamic-
00:25:14.38\00:25:17.81
- So a variety of people.
00:25:18.61\00:25:20.12
- A variety of
people so we just found out,
00:25:20.12\00:25:24.22
last night, that
it looks like we will
00:25:24.22\00:25:25.75
be going under franchise
and we've been assigned
00:25:25.75\00:25:28.56
our frequencies and everything.
00:25:28.56\00:25:30.23
So we're excited.
00:25:30.23\00:25:31.63
We've got a problem
with our present location.
00:25:31.63\00:25:35.03
Tourism is overtaking
the front of the property
00:25:35.03\00:25:37.83
and we see a need
to move up, higher,
00:25:37.83\00:25:40.44
and out of the way of tourism.
00:25:40.44\00:25:43.37
- So you've got
to put your antennae
00:25:43.37\00:25:45.34
up on the top of the hill?
00:25:45.34\00:25:46.71
- Yeah, we've gotta,
we've got a mountain behind us
00:25:46.71\00:25:49.61
and we've been
praying for that mountain.
00:25:49.61\00:25:52.71
The Lord says,
right- - Go forward.
00:25:52.71\00:25:55.68
- If you add
faith, you can what?
00:25:55.68\00:25:57.25
Move mountains.
00:25:57.25\00:25:58.35
- Move mountains, yes.
- I don't wanna move it,
00:25:58.35\00:25:59.45
I just wanna possess
it, so that we can possess
00:25:59.45\00:26:02.09
the people that it can reach.
00:26:02.09\00:26:03.73
- Wow.
00:26:03.73\00:26:04.79
- So that's our next
goal, we need to rebuild
00:26:04.79\00:26:06.93
the mission post, it's rotting.
00:26:06.93\00:26:09.30
We live at 4000
feet in the clouds.
00:26:09.30\00:26:12.40
Humidity is 99% and
it's already getting tired.
00:26:12.40\00:26:17.37
- Lots of molds.
00:26:17.37\00:26:19.31
- Mold and it's
not safe anymore.
00:26:19.31\00:26:22.38
We need to rebuild.
00:26:22.38\00:26:23.81
- Okay.
00:26:23.81\00:26:24.95
- And so we're
looking at all of our options
00:26:24.95\00:26:26.48
and we need to
build some roads and bring
00:26:26.48\00:26:28.12
some electricity lines up
top and so it's a big task
00:26:28.12\00:26:31.25
and we know that in our
own, in our own estimation
00:26:31.25\00:26:34.76
we'll never
really get this done.
00:26:34.76\00:26:36.09
But we know that what
God has done in the past,
00:26:36.09\00:26:38.33
has been a miracle
and we know that God
00:26:38.33\00:26:39.73
will perform what
He wants us to do.
00:26:39.73\00:26:42.46
Whether that's
His plan, we'll see.
00:26:42.46\00:26:44.97
- Yeah, wow, I just
wanna thank you both
00:26:44.97\00:26:47.64
for coming here today and
sharing your stories with us.
00:26:47.64\00:26:50.77
- Oh, we wanna thank
you too and we had a blast
00:26:50.77\00:26:53.11
at faith camp and
it's been just great
00:26:53.11\00:26:54.91
to see everybody again.
00:26:54.91\00:26:56.48
- Yeah, and praise the
Lord for the opportunities
00:26:56.48\00:26:58.38
to share what God is doing.
00:26:58.38\00:27:01.18
- You know,
Jesus is coming soon.
00:27:01.18\00:27:02.92
And we wanna be
ready. - [Natalie] Yeah.
00:27:02.92\00:27:06.99
- But more than that, we
want others to be ready too.
00:27:06.99\00:27:09.06
- [Natalie]
Yeah, praise the Lord.
00:27:09.06\00:27:10.73
Thank you for sharing.
00:27:10.73\00:27:11.59
- Thank you. - Thank you.
00:27:11.59\00:27:13.83
- I would like to invite you
to pray for Mike and Michelle
00:27:13.83\00:27:16.26
and their ministry
there in the Philippines.
00:27:16.26\00:27:19.07
They are in a place of
real danger but God is big
00:27:19.07\00:27:22.74
and God's angels are
there and He encamps around
00:27:22.74\00:27:25.27
those that fear him
and He delivers them.
00:27:25.27\00:27:28.11
They have many more
stories that they have not
00:27:28.11\00:27:29.88
been able to share
today, stories where God
00:27:29.88\00:27:32.65
has obviously
protected them very obviously
00:27:32.65\00:27:35.05
from clear and present danger.
00:27:35.05\00:27:38.99
You know, if the Lord is
impressing you to be a part
00:27:38.99\00:27:41.66
of this ministry through
financial offerings as well,
00:27:41.66\00:27:45.93
you can send your
tax-deductible love gift
00:27:45.93\00:27:47.86
to Jesus for
Asia, P.O. Box 1221,
00:27:47.86\00:27:51.37
Collegedale, Tennessee, 37315.
00:27:51.37\00:27:55.20
Call us at 423-413-7321
00:27:55.20\00:27:59.07
or visit our
website at Jesus4asia.org.
00:27:59.07\00:28:02.18
May God richly bless you.
00:28:02.98\00:28:05.11
Until we see you next
time on Jesus for Asia Now.
00:28:05.11\00:28:08.42
(uplifting music)
00:28:08.42\00:28:11.39