(dramatic music)
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- Hello and welcome
to Jesus for Asia Now.
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I'm Natalie Wood and
today my husband Jon and I
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want to take you to
India and introduce you
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to a couple of our
Bible workers there.
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Hello dear.
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- Hi darling, how are you?
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- Doing fine, how are you?
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- I'm doing really good.
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Excited about this show today,
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bcause every time we
see these Bible workers,
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and go visit them,
I'm amazed at their heart,
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and their life, and
the stories that they have.
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And really excited about
what we'll be sharing today,
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what we'll be taking
our viewers to to today.
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- Yes, you know
here at Jesus for Asia,
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we have over 50 projects
in six different countries.
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And so there's a
lot of different work
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but what we started
with is the Bible workers.
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- That's right, in the
very beginning in 2005,
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we started by hiring
some Bible workers in India.
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- And that's been
the heart of our work,
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and actually they've
captured our heart as well,
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because we are so,
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it's so humbling, actually,
to see how dedicated they are,
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and what they've gone through.
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So many of them
have amazing testimonies,
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and we're gonna hear some today.
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- Very inspiring.
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- Great.
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They're very
cost-effective as well.
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They don't have to
learn the language,
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they already know the culture,
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how to live there.
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- And those are big things.
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I mean, for me to
learn the culture will take
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five, 10, 20 years?
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- And you still might
not understand every nuance.
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- And I would kind of
stand out with my skin color.
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- Right, right.
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- So I would be
treated differently.
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- Right, they also don't
have to have a plane ticket
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to get there, because
they've grown up there.
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- You know just the
plane ticket from America
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would sponsor a Bible
workers for about a year.
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And so, they're already there.
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And also learning the language,
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would take me at
least a year or two years
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to learn the language.
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- Some of the languages.
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Some are quite a bit
more difficult than that.
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- That one might take longer.
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They've got, how many
characters in the alphabet?
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- We've been told
different numbers.
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But at least 238. -
Between 200 and 300 letters.
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- Yeah.
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In their alphabet.
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- Right. - We've got 26.
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- Right. (Joe chuckling)
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Not that English is easy either,
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but there are
different complications
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I think in each language.
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- In Tamil; in the
place we're going to today,
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there are like 238
characters in the alphabet.
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- Right. - So to
learn that language
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and become effective is a
huge challenge for a foreigner.
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Not to say that
there's no place in the world
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for the foreign missionary.
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There's still 6,000 unreached
people groups in the world.
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There's still a lot of
need for foreign missionaries.
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But in India,
the local missionary,
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they've got the Bible,
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they've got the word of truth,
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they know Jesus,
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they've got a good strong
church support system there.
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So in this country, it's very
effective to just enable them.
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It doesn't mean that we
don't go there any more.
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Because we can go and
encourage and provide--
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- Lift up their hands.
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- Exactly.
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But them going on
a day-to-day basis,
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going out and
meeting their neighbors,
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and praying
with their neighbors,
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and entering
their neighbors' houses,
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and their neighbors seeing
what the gospel looks like
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in their
culture, is powerful work.
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And they do a wonderful work.
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- Right.
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And the stories that we're
gonna share today exemplify
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that really powerfully. - Yes.
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- And each Bible
workers on average
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brings one person to Christ
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- Per month. - Per month.
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- I know that
just is amazing to me.
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- Yeah, it's exciting.
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We don't really track baptisms
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because we've seen that
number kinda get abused.
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But this is the
reports we're hearing.
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- Right.
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- And it's so
exciting to think about
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what that's gonna look
like when we get to heaven.
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- Right.
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At Jesus for Asia, we
don't sponsor the Bible workers,
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but we enable other
people to sponsor them.
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- Correct.
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- We send the funds
directly to the church in India
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- Right. - and
they pay the workers.
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- [Jon] Yeah.
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- So it's a hand-in-hand--
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- Partnership.
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- Yes, and it's only
$100 a month to sponsor them.
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- That's less
than a car payment.
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- Right.
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And 100% of the
sponsorship funds
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go to India to pay the workers.
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- Yeah, we've decided not
to take any cost out of that,
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any funds out of the
donations for Bible workers,
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for overhead here in America.
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- Right. - We just really want
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all the funds possible to go
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and support them in
doing what they do best.
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- Right.
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- And most of these Bible
workers would work for Christ,
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even without pay,
but this allows them to,
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this monthly stipend allows them
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to focus on taking the gospel.
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So all day long, they
can be knocking on doors.
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In the evening,
they can be sharing,
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and to giving Bible studies.
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It just enables them to
be full time missionaries.
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- Right.
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And they work hard.
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And they work
from early till late.
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- Yep. - Many times.
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- Hm mm.
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- And they pray.
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And that's one
thing we want to mention.
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That they pray for us
and they pray for the donors.
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- Yeah.
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They pray for the people
that care about them over here.
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- Yeah.
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- And that's such a
blessing and a privilege
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to think about
them praying for us.
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- Yeah, and a lot of them,
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they're not just doing
outreach and new Bible work.
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What they're doing is
they've become pastors,
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and many of them have several
churches that they shepherd.
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So on top of the
taking care of the churches,
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then they're doing the outreach,
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and some of them are even
overseeing evening schools
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for our children,
children's evening schools.
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And so they're a
vital part of this work.
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- Right. - Yeah.
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- So who is the first Bible
worker we're going to meet?
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- Oh Susanna.
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- Susanna.
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Now, does she have
any children or a family?
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- Yeah, she's got three
kids that are mostly grown up.
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And so she's able to focus
full time on her Bible work.
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- Wow.
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- And she takes
care of two churches
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but we're gonna go and visit
the one village called Dhali.
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- Dhali, okay.
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And we have some
pictures and video,
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so we wanna go ahead
and start into the pictures?
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- [Jon] Yep, the
first thing I noticed
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when I went to her
village is all the white birds.
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Which makes sense 'cause,
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as you can see
from this aerial shot,
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it's surrounded
by coconut trees.
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- [Natalie] Okay.
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- There's lots and
lots. - That makes sense.
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- I mean just coconut trees
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almost as far as
your eyes can see.
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- Wow.
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(chucklings)
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So now we're
moving into the village.
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We're looking
closely at the people, right?
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This is some of the people
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from the
village? - That's right,
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We're just
walking down main street
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and took some
pictures of these ladies
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and these are the
people in that village.
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- [Natalie] Okay, and
this is the church building?
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- [Jon] This is our church.
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And when we first
found it over 10 years ago,
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it was closed and locked up.
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- [Natalie] I know.
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- [Jon] And you remember
that because you lived there.
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- Yes, and it's
such an amazing thing
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to see what God has done.
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I mean there wasn't the funding.
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The local conference
just didn't have the funding,
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after someone else sponsored
the church to be built,
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to keep it going.
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And it's so sad because we
see that in so many places.
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- I know, I know.
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And so, I mean, we were
looking to do evangelism.
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- Right. - And we thought,
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well, instead of
raising the money
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to build a
church in a new village,
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why don't we just
re-open this church?
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- Right.
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And that way,
we're re-empowering them
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to be in that village again.
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- Exactly.
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- It's not like we're
starting something new
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that's gonna take years and
years and years to be built up
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and then have to
finance the church as well.
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- Yeah, because the
seeds had been planted there.
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There were still church members
that came to us and says,
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are you gonna
open this church again?
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In fact there is one church
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where when they went in,
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they found a bag full,
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stuffed full of money.
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And they're like,
where did this come from?
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And the lady came
up to them and says,
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oh we have been taking
our tithe throughout the years
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and taking it into the church
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and stuffing it in
there hoping some day
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somebody would
come and take our tithe.
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- Unreal, wow.
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Wow.
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(chucklings)
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- So anyway, she is
there in this church
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and the church is
growing and thriving.
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And you're gonna
hear her own stories.
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- [Natalie] Right.
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Right now, you have a
fascination it seems with tiled
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roofs because I know our
next video (Jon laughing).
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- [Jon] Yeah, this
roof is kinda unique
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because it looks
really cheap and kinda rickety
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but it allows the circulation
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to come through these churches.
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- Right, but then they,
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they fall apart easily. -
And they fall apart, yeah.
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- They are cheap and, so
now they're replacing them.
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- With the metal roofs,
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with like an open--
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- Like a vented
thing in the top?
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- Yeah, 'cause the sun hits
it and it gets hot down there.
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- Wow. - So that is nice.
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- Okay, let's
play that video now.
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- [Jon] Okay.
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(speaking in foreign language)
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(pensive guitar music)
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- Hello, Sister Taturo.
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(speaking in foreign language)
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- [Translater]
My name is Susanna.
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I'm working in the place
called Dhali and Valagundaburam.
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In these two places, I'm
taking care of the churches.
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(speaking in a foreign language)
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- And this
particular place called
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Valagundaburam,
it is full of Hindus.
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Very strong Hindu background.
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And she says there are nearly
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about 2,000
families in this village.
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And she's telling it's very
difficult to work over there
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because they
call Christians like,
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these people are the people
who'd change your religion.
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So be careful of these people.
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And that one particular man,
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he's very much
against Christianity.
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He's like a leader in that area.
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One day, what he did,
he came in search of her,
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to beat her because she's
proclaiming the Bible, the
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gospel. He's
very much against her.
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And that day she was not there,
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so he went to the lady's house,
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who is kind of a
deacon in the church,
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and he went and threatened her.
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Where is your pastor,
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that lady who's
roaming here with the Bible?
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I wanted to beat
her, I wanted to fix her.
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But the next day, what he did,
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he came to the church,
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he broke all the windows,
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and he broke the lock.
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The next Sabbath when she went,
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she was not
able to open the lock
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because it was completely
broken and it was jammed.
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And this man, one day
she saw him face to face,
00:10:41.90\00:10:45.24
and he told her,
I'm going to kill you.
00:10:45.24\00:10:48.51
If you keep doing this
one, your life is in big threat.
00:10:48.51\00:10:52.78
So don't do this one.
00:10:52.78\00:10:54.72
Don't take the Bible and
proclaim in this village.
00:10:54.72\00:10:57.85
You go wherever
you want, but not here.
00:10:57.85\00:11:00.09
(speaking in a foreign language)
00:11:00.89\00:11:05.13
- What happened,
the next Sabbath,
00:11:09.03\00:11:11.57
he came to the
church in search of me.
00:11:11.57\00:11:15.00
But that
particular day, what happened,
00:11:15.00\00:11:17.21
since the bus was late,
I was going a little late.
00:11:17.21\00:11:20.81
9:30 I went to church.
00:11:20.81\00:11:23.11
That time they
were cleaning the church
00:11:23.11\00:11:24.75
because of some
program in the church.
00:11:24.75\00:11:27.82
And after the cleaning,
00:11:27.82\00:11:28.95
those people
they came and told me,
00:11:28.95\00:11:31.02
that man just came
and was searching for you.
00:11:31.02\00:11:33.99
So they all knelt and prayed
in the church that same day.
00:11:33.99\00:11:38.66
The very next day, he
was going in on the bike,
00:11:40.00\00:11:43.63
he met with an accident.
00:11:43.63\00:11:44.87
He broke his legs.
00:11:46.00\00:11:47.30
He came home.
00:11:48.34\00:11:49.70
She went and prayed
for him in the home.
00:11:49.70\00:11:52.44
After that, she
is not a threat now.
00:11:53.68\00:11:56.34
She's going, praying for him,
00:11:56.34\00:11:59.11
and still his
legs are not healed,
00:11:59.11\00:12:02.08
bu there is no
more threat for her.
00:12:02.08\00:12:03.92
She thank the Lord of that.
00:12:03.92\00:12:06.09
(pensive music)
00:12:06.09\00:12:08.82
(singing in a foreign language)
00:12:08.82\00:12:12.89
- Amazing story, isn't it?
00:12:14.76\00:12:16.00
- Yes.
00:12:16.00\00:12:17.07
- How a man that was
threatening to kill her,
00:12:17.07\00:12:19.83
now become her friend
because she forgave him.
00:12:19.83\00:12:22.54
She didn't hold his
attitude against him.
00:12:22.54\00:12:24.94
But when he had a need,
she went and prayed for him.
00:12:24.94\00:12:28.21
- Yes,
00:12:28.21\00:12:29.51
wow.
00:12:29.51\00:12:30.61
And to see the
tears on people's faces
00:12:30.61\00:12:33.01
as they're praying with her.
00:12:33.01\00:12:34.98
Just shows how vital it is,
00:12:34.98\00:12:37.09
how much they
need that friendship
00:12:37.09\00:12:39.39
and that caring
that she's giving him.
00:12:39.39\00:12:42.39
- Oh yes, we think
of it as a program.
00:12:42.39\00:12:44.73
We think of it as
numbers of baptisms.
00:12:44.73\00:12:47.66
We think of it as
expanding the kingdom.
00:12:47.66\00:12:50.70
But when you go
there and you see,
00:12:50.70\00:12:52.67
it's more than that.
00:12:52.67\00:12:54.14
It's caring for people,
00:12:54.14\00:12:55.70
it's people finding hope,
00:12:55.70\00:12:57.44
it's people
finding encouragement.
00:12:57.44\00:13:00.14
It's vital for them.
00:13:00.14\00:13:01.78
- Hope for eternity.
00:13:02.94\00:13:04.35
Hope for eternity.
00:13:04.35\00:13:05.18
- Yeah, that's right.
00:13:05.18\00:13:06.75
Because their religion in India
00:13:06.75\00:13:09.92
says that you're going to
have hundreds of thousands
00:13:09.92\00:13:13.15
of lives ahead of this one.
00:13:13.15\00:13:14.76
- And you've had a
bunch in the past already?
00:13:16.12\00:13:17.96
- Yes.
00:13:17.96\00:13:19.29
And so to think about
that you can go to heaven,
00:13:19.29\00:13:22.00
and that Jesus,
00:13:22.00\00:13:23.16
here is a god that likes you,
00:13:24.60\00:13:27.14
that cares about you,
00:13:27.14\00:13:28.67
that finds value in you.
00:13:28.67\00:13:30.27
That's mind-blowing stuff.
00:13:31.71\00:13:33.81
- And he's willing
to answer their prayers.
00:13:33.81\00:13:35.74
- Yes, and he does. (chuckling)
00:13:35.74\00:13:38.18
- In amazing ways. - Yes.
00:13:38.18\00:13:39.75
- Amazing miracles. - Exactly.
00:13:39.75\00:13:42.22
And that's one of the things
00:13:42.22\00:13:43.28
I love about
being there is that,
00:13:43.28\00:13:45.69
they don't have a
lot of possessions,
00:13:45.69\00:13:47.59
they don't have a lot of stuff.
00:13:47.59\00:13:48.66
They earn less
than $100 a month.
00:13:48.66\00:13:52.56
So they don't have a lot.
00:13:52.56\00:13:54.60
But they've got faith
and they know how to pray.
00:13:54.60\00:13:58.43
And a lot of times, I don't
understand what they're praying
00:13:58.43\00:14:00.77
but I just love
to hear their heart
00:14:00.77\00:14:04.14
when they call out to God.
00:14:04.14\00:14:05.51
- Right, and they have a
lot of determination too.
00:14:05.51\00:14:09.01
You know, they keep going.
00:14:09.01\00:14:11.11
I mean we have other
stories we're gonna be sharing,
00:14:11.11\00:14:12.91
so I don't wanna give
them away in this show
00:14:12.91\00:14:14.55
but to see her
bravery, you know,
00:14:14.55\00:14:17.02
to keep going there,
knowing this man has said,
00:14:17.02\00:14:19.92
I'm going to kill her.
00:14:19.92\00:14:21.36
- This lady, she could
have asked for a transfer.
00:14:22.82\00:14:25.33
She could have
said, you know what,
00:14:25.33\00:14:26.53
I don't need this money.
00:14:26.53\00:14:28.00
I think she has a husband
that takes of them financially.
00:14:28.00\00:14:31.23
She doesn't need to do this.
00:14:31.23\00:14:33.40
But her heart is in it.
00:14:33.40\00:14:35.40
And one of our
Bible workers that quit,
00:14:35.40\00:14:37.81
because of some
family requirement,
00:14:37.81\00:14:40.08
and she was gone
for a month or two,
00:14:40.08\00:14:42.41
and she came back and she says,
00:14:42.41\00:14:43.55
I have to do this.
00:14:43.55\00:14:44.61
I miss the light.
00:14:44.61\00:14:46.01
I miss the light that I feel
00:14:46.01\00:14:48.75
when I'm sharing the
gospel with my neighbors.
00:14:48.75\00:14:50.92
I have to do this please.
00:14:50.92\00:14:52.82
- Hire me back again. - Yes.
00:14:52.82\00:14:54.89
- Wow, what a
blessing. - It's exciting.
00:14:55.89\00:14:58.53
- It is, huge blessing.
00:14:58.53\00:14:59.96
And to be a part of that.
00:15:00.93\00:15:02.03
And to think that
us as donors might get
00:15:02.03\00:15:05.90
even a little
fraction of the stars
00:15:05.90\00:15:09.07
that are gonna be in
their crowns, you know?
00:15:09.07\00:15:11.54
It's like wow.
00:15:11.54\00:15:12.94
- Yeah.
00:15:12.94\00:15:14.28
- And there's hundreds
more Bible workers out there
00:15:14.28\00:15:16.81
that are willing to
come and work for us,
00:15:16.81\00:15:20.32
if we have more sponsors.
00:15:20.32\00:15:22.12
- Right, and many
areas of the country
00:15:22.12\00:15:23.79
are always
asking for more workers.
00:15:23.79\00:15:25.69
- Absolutely.
00:15:25.69\00:15:26.49
- And it's hard to say wait,
00:15:26.49\00:15:27.79
and it's hard to say no.
00:15:27.79\00:15:29.69
We don't wanna say no.
00:15:29.69\00:15:30.73
- No.
00:15:30.73\00:15:32.03
- Because it's
souls for the kingdom,
00:15:32.03\00:15:33.53
it's souls for heaven.
00:15:33.53\00:15:34.96
It's friends for eternity.
00:15:34.96\00:15:36.77
- This is the
only chance we'll get.
00:15:36.77\00:15:39.20
Very soon, when
Jesus comes again,
00:15:39.20\00:15:41.04
we'll never have another chance
00:15:41.04\00:15:42.84
to bring somebody
out of sin into light.
00:15:42.84\00:15:46.68
- Yeah.
00:15:46.68\00:15:47.94
Well we wanna travel now,
00:15:47.94\00:15:49.51
from Susanna's
village to another village
00:15:49.51\00:15:51.21
in need of another Bible worker
00:15:51.21\00:15:53.78
who used to be an
independent Pentecostal pastor.
00:15:53.78\00:15:57.32
- Yes, which is
an amazing story.
00:15:57.32\00:16:00.46
This is what happens.
00:16:00.46\00:16:01.46
We planted a seed 10 years go,
00:16:01.46\00:16:03.73
and out of that seed,
00:16:03.73\00:16:04.86
some people got baptized,
00:16:04.86\00:16:06.93
and they met other
people who met other people,
00:16:06.93\00:16:09.30
and now they've
connected with this man,
00:16:09.30\00:16:11.90
who had a church.
00:16:11.90\00:16:13.67
He had his own church.
00:16:13.67\00:16:15.04
Pentecostal pastor, and this
is the way a lot of them work,
00:16:15.04\00:16:17.84
is they'll go out and they'll
start planting the seeds,
00:16:17.84\00:16:20.64
and they'll get converts.
00:16:20.64\00:16:22.18
And the converts
will then support them
00:16:22.18\00:16:24.18
and they will
build their own church,
00:16:24.18\00:16:25.55
and have their
own church members,
00:16:25.55\00:16:26.82
and get their
living from that church.
00:16:26.82\00:16:29.42
- Right, so it makes it
hard for them to go under
00:16:29.42\00:16:32.22
another church or organization.
00:16:32.22\00:16:33.66
We've seen that
over and over again.
00:16:33.66\00:16:35.29
So once they're an
independent pastor,
00:16:35.29\00:16:37.99
they like the
money that they earn.
00:16:37.99\00:16:39.53
- Yeah, and even if we
come into their territory,
00:16:39.53\00:16:42.46
they start resenting
us and working against us
00:16:42.46\00:16:44.93
because we're taking away
their income, their sheep.
00:16:44.93\00:16:47.70
- Livelihood, right?
00:16:47.70\00:16:48.84
- But this man
was totally different.
00:16:48.84\00:16:51.31
He heard about the Sabbath
and he got excited about it.
00:16:51.31\00:16:54.31
- Right, and I think
we should play the video
00:16:54.31\00:16:56.18
so we don't give away the story.
00:16:56.18\00:16:57.91
(chucklings) -
Yeah, let's do that.
00:16:57.91\00:16:59.85
(singing in a foreign language)
00:17:00.72\00:17:04.82
We're here in southern India.
00:17:08.39\00:17:10.93
We've just finished worship
in a church right behind me.
00:17:10.93\00:17:15.70
It's a rather large church
for this part of the world,
00:17:15.70\00:17:19.13
for a
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
00:17:19.13\00:17:21.67
It's got a very
interesting story
00:17:21.67\00:17:23.41
of how it came to be a
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
00:17:23.41\00:17:26.54
(speaking in a foreign language)
00:17:27.34\00:17:28.81
- My name is Pastor Padmanapan.
00:17:28.81\00:17:30.98
I'm working the
place called Krishnapuram.
00:17:30.98\00:17:33.45
I was working in the
military as a police,
00:17:34.55\00:17:38.29
and after that, I
came to know about Jesus,
00:17:38.29\00:17:41.59
and I became a Christian.
00:17:41.59\00:17:43.73
The place where right now
I'm working is full of Hindus.
00:17:43.73\00:17:47.23
When I first started this work
00:17:47.23\00:17:49.73
of the ministry as a Christian,
00:17:49.73\00:17:52.30
there were so many opposition.
00:17:52.30\00:17:54.50
(speaking in a foreign language)
00:17:54.50\00:17:58.34
And God told me, anything
which comes against you,
00:17:58.34\00:18:02.41
will not affect you.
00:18:02.41\00:18:04.18
If one comes in one way, I
will split into seven ways,
00:18:04.18\00:18:07.78
and that will go off from you.
00:18:07.78\00:18:09.52
Since I was a military man
00:18:09.52\00:18:11.22
and I have the
promise of the Lord,
00:18:11.22\00:18:13.59
I've got this courage
to do the work of the Lord
00:18:13.59\00:18:17.46
amidst these lot
of problematic areas,
00:18:17.46\00:18:20.56
amidst these Hindus people.
00:18:20.56\00:18:22.30
They said, there
is a man who will come
00:18:22.30\00:18:24.13
to capture
people for Christianity.
00:18:24.13\00:18:27.34
Don't allow him
inside this village.
00:18:27.34\00:18:30.04
(speaking in a foreign language)
00:18:30.04\00:18:31.34
Wherever I went, there
were devil possessions.
00:18:31.34\00:18:33.68
We prayed and devil
flee from those people.
00:18:33.68\00:18:37.35
God was blessing
my ministry like that.
00:18:37.35\00:18:40.02
(speaking in a foreign language)
00:18:40.02\00:18:41.62
In my church, members
were gathering, adding up.
00:18:41.62\00:18:44.85
We were worshiping on Sundays,
00:18:44.85\00:18:46.92
but one time, one
lady called Manogry,
00:18:46.92\00:18:50.03
she came and told us
about this remnant truth,
00:18:50.03\00:18:53.76
about the Sabbath truth.
00:18:53.76\00:18:55.63
(speaking in a foreign language)
00:18:57.13\00:18:58.77
(pensive music)
00:18:58.77\00:19:01.50
- She alerted some
of our JFA Bible workers
00:19:06.64\00:19:09.48
about his openness.
00:19:09.48\00:19:11.45
And so three of
our Bible workers,
00:19:11.45\00:19:14.22
Pastor Thomas, Sister
Jennifer and Sister Susan,
00:19:14.22\00:19:17.62
came and
started meeting with him
00:19:17.62\00:19:19.79
and conducted Bible studies
00:19:19.79\00:19:21.32
over the course
of several months.
00:19:21.32\00:19:23.36
And he was so excited about
00:19:23.36\00:19:24.83
this new truth
that he was finding.
00:19:24.83\00:19:26.39
He says, I've
never heard this before,
00:19:26.39\00:19:27.86
this is so wonderful,
00:19:27.86\00:19:28.90
I'm so happy to
know this new truth.
00:19:28.90\00:19:31.77
(speaking in a foreign language)
00:19:31.77\00:19:33.13
- The Bible says in Genesis,
chapter two, verse three,
00:19:33.13\00:19:36.40
if you observe the
Sabbath and keep it holy,
00:19:36.40\00:19:38.31
God will bless you.
00:19:38.31\00:19:39.61
I was moved by this message
00:19:39.61\00:19:41.91
which I have not
heard in my life before.
00:19:41.91\00:19:44.71
I accepted that message.
00:19:44.71\00:19:46.35
- And he says, but if I
come and accept the truth,
00:19:46.35\00:19:50.12
then my church, my
members, won't understand,
00:19:50.12\00:19:53.15
and they'll all leave.
00:19:53.15\00:19:54.19
And so he says,
let's do this wisely.
00:19:54.19\00:19:56.89
And they did Bible
studies for several months,
00:19:56.89\00:19:59.79
and then he and
his wife were baptized.
00:19:59.79\00:20:02.66
And then he kept
preaching in his church,
00:20:02.66\00:20:05.40
and then he started
inviting the Bible workers
00:20:05.40\00:20:07.60
to preach in his
church on Sundays.
00:20:07.60\00:20:09.87
And over the
course of a year or two,
00:20:09.87\00:20:12.31
almost his entire
congregation has changed over
00:20:12.31\00:20:15.54
to the
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
00:20:15.54\00:20:17.65
(speaking in a foreign language)
00:20:17.65\00:20:19.45
- We, not only me.
00:20:19.45\00:20:21.35
Even my church
members accepted this truth
00:20:21.35\00:20:24.92
and started to believe.
00:20:24.92\00:20:26.79
And now as a
family, as a whole church,
00:20:26.79\00:20:29.89
we have accepted this truth
00:20:29.89\00:20:31.43
and took baptism in
this remnant church.
00:20:31.43\00:20:34.10
And now our church is a
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
00:20:34.10\00:20:37.80
Whenever there is a big
revival meeting in our church,
00:20:37.80\00:20:41.57
there are people
always ready for baptism.
00:20:41.57\00:20:44.27
Five, six, seven people
are there accepting Jesus
00:20:44.27\00:20:49.24
and they are coming
forward to take baptism.
00:20:49.24\00:20:53.18
(gentle music)
00:20:53.18\00:20:55.75
- Isn't that exciting?
00:21:00.86\00:21:01.69
- Yeah, that is really,
00:21:01.69\00:21:03.79
makes it all worthwhile, really.
00:21:05.36\00:21:07.73
- Power of the gospel.
00:21:07.73\00:21:08.70
- Yeah.
00:21:08.70\00:21:10.00
And it's so neat how
Susanna, who we just saw,
00:21:10.00\00:21:12.67
was a part of doing the Bible
studies with him and his wife,
00:21:12.67\00:21:16.91
and a part of
being a leadership--
00:21:16.91\00:21:19.31
- Of bringing
him into the truth.
00:21:19.31\00:21:21.71
But his excitement of hearing
this truth is so refreshing
00:21:21.71\00:21:25.08
because you know he's
not in it for the money,
00:21:25.08\00:21:27.52
he's in it for gospel.
00:21:27.52\00:21:28.85
And the stories
that he has told me,
00:21:28.85\00:21:30.89
which I can't share publicly,
00:21:30.89\00:21:33.05
I mean there are
amazing mind-blowing miracles
00:21:33.05\00:21:37.16
that took place in his life,
as he stood for the gospel.
00:21:37.16\00:21:40.83
- Wow.
00:21:40.83\00:21:42.20
It is so neat.
00:21:42.20\00:21:43.77
It is so neat to see, and
to do it wisely like that,
00:21:43.77\00:21:46.63
and to be willing to go slowly
00:21:46.63\00:21:49.97
for the sake of
others, to have time,
00:21:49.97\00:21:52.87
to take in the gospel truth.
00:21:52.87\00:21:55.54
I think that shows a lot of
humility and a lot of wisdom.
00:21:55.54\00:21:58.98
He wasn't willing
to say, well I know it,
00:21:58.98\00:22:01.38
and I'm going for it,
00:22:01.38\00:22:02.82
and I don't care
about the rest of you.
00:22:02.82\00:22:05.52
He said I'm learning it,
I'm gonna keep learning it,
00:22:05.52\00:22:08.36
and see where this goes.
00:22:08.36\00:22:09.46
- He's got a
true pastor's heart.
00:22:09.46\00:22:11.06
- Yeah. - Yeah.
00:22:11.06\00:22:12.46
- So this is the church,
00:22:12.46\00:22:13.46
this is the
congregation that was there,
00:22:13.46\00:22:15.06
the Sabbath that we were there.
00:22:15.06\00:22:16.30
And it was a high Sabbath.
00:22:16.30\00:22:18.00
Because we were
baptizing the very last
00:22:18.00\00:22:19.87
of his church
that were Pentecostals
00:22:19.87\00:22:22.90
and now are becoming
Seventh-day Adventist.
00:22:22.90\00:22:24.97
- Wow.
00:22:24.97\00:22:25.77
- And we got to be part of that.
00:22:25.77\00:22:27.51
- That's amazing.
00:22:27.51\00:22:28.88
- Yeah, he and his wife
are so excited about learning,
00:22:28.88\00:22:31.11
not only the Sabbath,
00:22:31.11\00:22:32.18
but the Three Angels' Message,
00:22:32.18\00:22:33.52
State of the Dead,
00:22:33.52\00:22:34.62
all these things that
we hold as dear truths.
00:22:34.62\00:22:38.69
This is the angle
from where I was sitting
00:22:39.79\00:22:41.59
in Sabbath school.
00:22:41.59\00:22:43.26
And I thought it would be fun,
00:22:43.26\00:22:44.66
since we were in India
now together with our viewers,
00:22:44.66\00:22:48.66
to play a little
bit of music from India.
00:22:48.66\00:22:51.47
Just to give you a feel
00:22:51.47\00:22:52.77
for what it's
like in Sabbath School.
00:22:52.77\00:22:54.07
- Okay, here we go.
00:22:54.07\00:22:55.80
(singing in a foreign language)
00:22:55.80\00:22:59.77
- So that was
Sabbath School special music,
00:23:28.24\00:23:30.24
and now here's
church special music.
00:23:30.24\00:23:32.21
- [Natalie] Okay.
00:23:32.21\00:23:33.14
(singing in a foreign language)
00:23:34.31\00:23:38.38
- For me I didn't understand
what the music was saying,
00:24:01.34\00:24:03.54
I didn't understand the words.
00:24:03.54\00:24:04.81
I look around and
people were just really moved
00:24:04.81\00:24:07.34
by this style.
00:24:07.34\00:24:09.24
Can you imagine me
trying to sing in that style?
00:24:09.24\00:24:12.78
I mean I would sing in
the style that I'm used to,
00:24:12.78\00:24:15.62
that would move me.
00:24:15.62\00:24:16.75
But it may not move them
00:24:16.75\00:24:18.29
like these two
people moved the audience.
00:24:19.39\00:24:22.39
So this is the
advantage that the locals have,
00:24:22.39\00:24:24.73
the local Bible worker
has over the foreigners.
00:24:24.73\00:24:27.00
That doesn't mean there's
no place for the foreigners,
00:24:27.00\00:24:30.20
but it's more of
a cooperative role,
00:24:30.20\00:24:32.30
and it's beautiful in
places where this is possible.
00:24:32.30\00:24:35.47
- [Natalie] Right.
00:24:35.47\00:24:36.27
So after the service there,
00:24:36.27\00:24:38.34
in the afternoon you went to
another church for the baptism?
00:24:38.34\00:24:41.41
- [Jon] Yeah
because the first church
00:24:41.41\00:24:42.81
didn't have a baptismal tank.
00:24:42.81\00:24:44.58
So we went to this church
00:24:45.38\00:24:46.78
and they had
built the baptismal tank
00:24:46.78\00:24:48.72
underneath the rostrum.
00:24:48.72\00:24:50.02
- [Natalie] Okay, so
they're holding up the lid
00:24:50.02\00:24:51.69
in this picture so
that people can be baptized.
00:24:51.69\00:24:54.49
- Correct.
00:24:54.49\00:24:55.29
So here are doing the baptism.
00:24:55.29\00:24:57.59
(speaking in a foreign language)
00:24:57.59\00:25:01.73
(singing in a foreign language)
00:25:07.27\00:25:11.34
And I don't know
about you, darling,
00:25:39.27\00:25:40.34
but for some
reason, even at my age,
00:25:40.34\00:25:43.74
every time I see a baptism,
it brings a tear to my eye.
00:25:43.74\00:25:47.61
- Me too, and hearing them sing,
00:25:47.61\00:25:49.58
I don't know how
to speak that song
00:25:50.68\00:25:51.95
or how to speak the language,
00:25:51.95\00:25:53.98
but I know the
tune of that song,
00:25:53.98\00:25:55.35
and it's Are You Washed
in the Blood of the Lamb,
00:25:55.35\00:25:57.65
and it gets me, every time.
00:25:57.65\00:25:59.62
- [Jon] I know. - Every time.
00:25:59.62\00:26:01.09
- [Jon] Now this lady,
I found out, was a widow.
00:26:01.09\00:26:03.63
And her kids were kinda grown up
00:26:04.63\00:26:06.90
but she was gonna suffer a
hardship becoming an Adventist,
00:26:06.90\00:26:10.77
because her
family was against her.
00:26:10.77\00:26:13.10
So I'm really praying
and I told our workers,
00:26:13.10\00:26:16.20
you have to make sure
that she learns a trade
00:26:16.20\00:26:19.34
like sewing or something,
00:26:19.34\00:26:21.14
where she can become a
tailor and support herself,
00:26:21.14\00:26:24.21
as an Adventist.
00:26:24.21\00:26:25.55
- So the two ladies that
are in the picture with her,
00:26:25.55\00:26:27.55
on our right is
Christina, who works with us,
00:26:27.55\00:26:30.35
and on our left is
Sharon, who also works with us,
00:26:30.35\00:26:34.12
here in our office.
00:26:34.12\00:26:35.76
They got to go to India,
00:26:35.76\00:26:36.86
and we're hoping to
have them on the show soon,
00:26:36.86\00:26:39.16
so that they can share stories
00:26:39.16\00:26:40.90
that they saw and
witnessed first hand.
00:26:40.90\00:26:43.60
- Yeah, that's gonna be fun.
00:26:43.60\00:26:44.47
- Yeah, very much.
00:26:44.47\00:26:46.10
So this picture is a picture
00:26:46.10\00:26:48.14
of all of the
baptismal candidates,
00:26:48.14\00:26:50.74
along with the pastor
and his wife, correct?
00:26:50.74\00:26:53.27
- [Jon] Yes, the
pastor's on the far right
00:26:53.27\00:26:54.81
and his wife is on the far left.
00:26:54.81\00:26:57.21
- [Natalie] Okay, all
the baptismal candidates
00:26:57.21\00:26:58.68
are in between them?
00:26:58.68\00:26:59.51
- In the middle, yes.
00:26:59.51\00:27:00.62
So exciting day.
00:27:00.62\00:27:01.95
- Yes, and it's so neat
for the pastor and his wife,
00:27:01.95\00:27:04.89
they just love Jesus
and they love the truth.
00:27:05.95\00:27:08.79
- Yes.
00:27:08.79\00:27:10.26
Very sold out for the truth.
00:27:10.26\00:27:11.93
Now this pastor,
00:27:13.13\00:27:14.50
who's so dedicated and
so powerful in his ministry,
00:27:14.50\00:27:18.63
is now a Jesus
for Asia Bible worker.
00:27:18.63\00:27:20.74
- Wow.
00:27:20.74\00:27:22.37
Wow, that shows
a lot of humility.
00:27:22.37\00:27:24.01
- Yeah, humility
and a heart for souls.
00:27:24.01\00:27:26.71
- Yes.
00:27:26.71\00:27:28.11
- And to think that you
can sponsor a person like this.
00:27:28.11\00:27:31.25
You know while I'm
sleeping, they're working.
00:27:31.25\00:27:35.35
- That's true, that's true.
00:27:35.35\00:27:36.92
(chucklings)
00:27:36.92\00:27:39.15
Well if you would like
to sponsor a Bible worker
00:27:39.15\00:27:41.22
like one of these
we have met today,
00:27:41.22\00:27:43.32
please contact us
at Jesus for Asia,
00:27:43.32\00:27:46.19
PO Box 1221,
Collegedale, Tennessee 37315.
00:27:46.19\00:27:51.23
Call us at 423-413-7321,
00:27:51.90\00:27:55.10
or visit our
website at Jesus4Asia.org.
00:27:55.10\00:27:58.34
Most of all, please lift
00:27:59.94\00:28:01.14
these Bible workers
up to God in prayer.
00:28:01.14\00:28:03.68
May God richly bless you,
00:28:04.48\00:28:06.11
until we see
you again next time,
00:28:06.11\00:28:07.75
on Jesus for Asia Now.
00:28:07.75\00:28:09.22
(uplifting music)
00:28:10.69\00:28:13.59