(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
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and I want to share
a number of pictures
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and a few stories of
some of our Bible workers.
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Welcome to the show, dear.
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- Hi, darling,
it's good to be here.
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- Yeah, I'm so
excited about this show
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because, you know, I
love our Bible workers.
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- Oh my goodness, yes.
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- And so, how does our
Bible worker program work?
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- Well, it's very simple.
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We receive donations
from here in America.
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We send them to
the church in India,
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or wherever they are
being sponsored from,
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whichever country they are.
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- Right.
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- And then, they then provide
that money directly to them.
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- Right, so where are they?
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Where do we have Bible workers?
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- The majority of our
Bible workers are in India.
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- Right, and those are the
ones we're talking about today?
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- Yes.
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- But we do have
them in other countries.
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- Yes, we have some in Thailand.
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We have some in the
Philippines and Cambodia,
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but the majority are in India.
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India is a unique
country in that it has an active
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and growing Seventh
Day Adventist Church,
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and a lot of people are willing
to work full time for God.
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In fact, many of them
work full time anyway.
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They're willing to
sacrifice an amazing amount
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in order to see
God's kingdom go forward.
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- Right, they want to
share what they've learned.
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This Jesus that they've met,
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they want to share with people.
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- Yeah.
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- [Natalie] Which is awesome.
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- Yes, and so this is a
really excellent country
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in which to have Bible workers.
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And the extra stipend, or
the stipend that they get,
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that they receive
through Jesus For Asia,
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allows them to focus
full time on this work.
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- Right, and it isn't an extra.
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- [Jon] Yes.
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- I mean, in many
places, it's not even enough
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for them to survive on.
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- Right, it's not a large wage.
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- No.
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- They are really--
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- We need to raise it actually,
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but we haven't had
the faith yet to do that.
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- Right.
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- Okay, so why are they
more affective than like ...
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Why don't you go to
India and be a Bible worker?
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Why would they be
more affective than you?
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- Well, first of all,
they're more cost effective.
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- Okay.
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- They don't need a
plane ticket to get there.
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They don't have to
learn the language.
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They don't have
to learn the culture.
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And it would take me several
years to learn the language
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and many years to
learn the culture.
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And so, it's
easier for Bible workers.
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There's many more
of them than just me.
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There's thousands, in fact,
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that are
willing to work for God.
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Full time, if
someone would support them.
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- Right, so what kind of
work do these Bible workers do?
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I mean, do they
just sit at the church
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and wait for
people to come to them?
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What do these Bible workers do?
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- No, what they do,
is they go door-to-door.
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- Just like Bible
workers do in America.
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- Yep, and they knock on doors.
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Often, they
don't have literature.
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Sometimes they have literature,
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many times they
don't have literature.
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So they say,
"Can I pray with you?
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"Is there any need that you
have in this home for prayer?"
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- Okay.
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- And that's the usual way
people come into the truth,
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is they have somebody
that has been to the doctors,
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and been to all
the different gods
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that they can think of,
and they don't get healed.
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So, the Bible workers will
come, they'll pray with them.
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Many times, they'll come
over and over and over again.
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And just continue to
pray with these people.
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And while they're
praying with them,
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of course, they
give a little truth,
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and talk a little
bit about the Bible,
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and talk a
little bit about Jesus,
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and who they're praying to
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and they'll
teach them how to pray.
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Start building that faith
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and start
building that relationship.
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And then some, they get healed.
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There's a healing that
takes place in the family.
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And Jesus does
this all the time.
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And then those
people then, you know,
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they have a new
life, they have a new hope,
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and they found a
god that is real.
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And they become believers.
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- Yeah.
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You know,
sometimes our Bible workers
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are able to help
some other ways too.
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They go ...
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Some of our Bible workers have
medical missionary training,
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and so they help with
charcoal baths or poultices,
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or, you know,
whatever they can do physically
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as well to help.
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So that's part of
their work as well.
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- They go and visit
people in the hospital,
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when they have to go, and just,
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anything they can
think of to connect and help.
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- Yes.
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- To help these people, to know,
and to show that they care.
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- And yes, and they do care.
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They have a hard
burden for souls.
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And some of our Bible workers,
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like we have one Bible worker,
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she asked to take some time off,
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there was things in her family
that she wanted to focus on,
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and after a couple months
she came back to our director
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and says, "Please,
please, can I come work
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"for Jesus for Asia again?
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"I miss the light when I go
and share Jesus with people,
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"when I go and knock on
doors and pray with people.
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"I miss having the Holy Spirit
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"in my life for
ministry like that."
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And, you know, it's true,
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because the Holy Spirit
really is given for ministry.
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It's not given to
make us comfortable sitting
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at home taking
care of ourselves.
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And this is true.
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And so, our Bible workers,
they get a taste of this,
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and I've seen their faith grow,
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and the experiences
that they have in the Lord,
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and how their
faith, and their belief,
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and their focus,
and their prayer,
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becomes more
developed and more beautiful.
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And, you know, we've been
doing this for 14 years now.
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And some of our
Bible workers have been
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from us from
almost the beginning.
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And to see how
their faith has grown,
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their family has grown.
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Working for God is a win-win.
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- All the way around.
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- That's awesome.
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- When you share
Christ with others,
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our Bible workers
do this all the time,
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when they share
Christ with others,
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it blesses them and it
blesses the Bible workers.
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- Right, right.
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So, these Bible workers also
pastor churches in many areas,
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because there aren't
enough pastors to go around.
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- Yeah.
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- And so, they become
the pastoral leadership
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for whatever
church they are assigned.
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- Sometimes two
or three churches.
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There's many places,
well, just to give you an idea,
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in the North India Union, okay,
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that's the entire
northern part of India,
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there are 650 million people.
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That's twice the population
of the entire United States.
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There are 97 pastors.
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- That's not enough.
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- And so, even with
the number of churches,
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like in south India, the
little place that we're at,
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there's 60 churches for a
population of several million.
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And there are 12
pastors, you know?
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So, the Bible workers
play a very vital role
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in the continued
growth of the church
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in many areas in
India, and in other countries.
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- We've been told that
in some areas of India,
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that 65% of their
church growth comes from the
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Jesus for Asia Bible
workers that work in their area.
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- Yes, yes.
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- So we praise
the Lord for that.
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That is just amazing.
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- Yes, so for instance,
last year, in one city in India,
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there were four new
churches planted in the city.
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All four of them were planted
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by Jesus for Asia Bible workers.
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- Wow.
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They also have told us
that the Bible workers bring
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in an average of one person
per month per Bible worker.
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- Yes.
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- To the church?
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- [Jon] Yes.
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- Wow.
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- And it's beautiful, because
now that we've been doing this
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for over 10 years,
we're seeing the fruit;
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we're seeing how
these churches are growing,
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and thriving, and strong,
and they're starting to ...
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Yeah, we just want to do more.
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- Right, so we have a story
that illustrates this expansion
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and this need for the
Bible worker to be there
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and to stay there longer term.
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And this happened
in northwest India.
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- Yep, in a city called Rajkot,
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it's actually the western
half of the state of Gujarat.
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And they had made
that a new region,
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in which there was no believers,
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and they sent a pastor,
president, and a secretary,
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for reaching 10 million people.
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And so they begged us--
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- Three workers.
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- "Can we have
please 10 Bible workers?"
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And so, we said
yes, and with the help
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of those Bible
workers, they've established,
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now they've got like 20
different church centers
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with several hundred people
meeting every single Sabbath.
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- Wow, so God is expanding it?
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- Absolutely.
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- All right, so we
want to go to the pictures
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of the Bible workers,
but first, we have a picture,
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can you explain this
picture to us, please?
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- [Jon] This is a satellite
image of one section of India.
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And the green is, of course,
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the fields, the
rice patties, whatever,
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the brown dots are
towns and villages.
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- [Natalie] Oh, okay,
there's a lot of those.
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- There are a lot of towns.
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In fact, in India,
it is estimated that
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over 400 thousand towns
and villages throughout India
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have never heard the
gospel from any denomination.
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- Wow.
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- 400 thousand
towns and villages.
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- So, there's a
lot of field out there.
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- There's a lot of opportunity.
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- Yeah.
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- There's a lot of opportunity
to get treasure for Heaven.
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- Okay, well, so let's get
started with our Bible workers.
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We want to start with
the story of Priscilla.
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- [Jon] Oh my goodness.
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- [Natalie] Do you
wanna tell this story?
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- [Jon] I'd love to.
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- [Natalie] Okay.
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- But you can jump in and
tell me when I make a mistake.
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- Okay.
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- She was standing
on the top of a hill.
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They were working in an area
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where they had
strong resistance.
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- Strong Hindus.
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- And the
neighbors were into ...
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I mean, in
India, you have people
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that are black
magic gurus or experts,
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they call them sorcerers
and they'll put curses on you.
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So, she was
standing on top of this hill,
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and she heard a
voice, out of thin air,
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she didn't see
anybody, nobody was around,
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she heard a voice saying,
"You are not allowed here.
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"This is not your
place, you must leave.
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"And stop talking about Jesus."
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- Yeah.
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- [Jon] Out of thin air.
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- Right.
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- It's like, what would you do?
00:10:29.76\00:10:31.46
- Um, pray?
00:10:31.46\00:10:32.83
(Both laugh)
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- Yeah, I would be a
little bit freaked out.
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- [Natalie] Right?
00:10:36.13\00:10:36.97
- You know what she did?
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- What did she do?
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- Well, maybe you
can say it better.
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She looked at the air.
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- Yeah, she looked and she said,
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"I serve Jesus Christ.
He is the strongest one,"
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or something to that effect,
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"and you are Satan,
you need to leave here."
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- That's right.
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And so, then the
demon said that again.
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And she responded the same way.
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- Demon said it
again. - Three times.
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- She responded the same way.
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She says, "my God
is stronger than you."
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And then the demon took
form, took form of a man.
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- Like a person, yeah.
00:11:10.03\00:11:11.43
- And started coming at
her, like he was gonna hurt her.
00:11:11.43\00:11:14.90
- Right.
00:11:14.90\00:11:15.70
- And all of a sudden ...
00:11:15.70\00:11:17.27
- She said, "Jesus, help me."
00:11:17.27\00:11:19.14
- Yeah, all of a
sudden it's like Jesus came
00:11:19.14\00:11:21.78
and took her from
there and put her back down
00:11:21.78\00:11:24.68
in the flat area at her village.
00:11:24.68\00:11:27.52
- Right, and so
she goes to the church,
00:11:27.52\00:11:29.78
and she says, "Jesus,
if this was you please--"
00:11:29.78\00:11:33.15
- Yeah, "if it was
you that carried me here."
00:11:33.15\00:11:35.99
- Right, "please do
something in this village,
00:11:35.99\00:11:39.29
"that they will
have a living witness,
00:11:39.29\00:11:41.73
"and these Hindu
people will know you."
00:11:41.73\00:11:44.17
- Yes.
00:11:44.17\00:11:45.70
- Well, she was there in
the church praying for a bit,
00:11:45.70\00:11:48.10
it sounded like, and
while she was there praying,
00:11:48.10\00:11:50.81
a lady came in
and she was crying.
00:11:50.81\00:11:54.54
And she said, "My husband
had an accident just now,
00:11:54.54\00:11:57.35
"and it severed the
nerves in his neck--"
00:11:57.35\00:12:00.22
- [Jon] Yeah, right after.
00:12:00.22\00:12:01.35
- "And he's
going to be paralyzed."
00:12:01.35\00:12:02.45
- Yeah, and he's
not going to live.
00:12:02.45\00:12:04.39
- Yeah, they
said he was gonna die,
00:12:04.39\00:12:05.69
and if he did live--
00:12:05.69\00:12:07.09
- He'd never walk again.
00:12:07.09\00:12:08.19
- He'd be in the
hospital for days
00:12:08.19\00:12:09.59
and he would never walk again.
00:12:09.59\00:12:11.23
- Yeah, so God impressed
her to go with her neighbor,
00:12:11.23\00:12:13.96
to go to the hospital
and pray for this man.
00:12:13.96\00:12:16.00
- Right, so she went and prayed.
00:12:16.00\00:12:18.17
- And then she left.
00:12:18.17\00:12:19.20
- Right.
00:12:19.20\00:12:20.60
- Came back to her house,
and then, that same night,
00:12:20.60\00:12:24.34
this old man, a
hundred year old man,
00:12:24.34\00:12:26.68
comes walking into the hospital,
00:12:26.68\00:12:29.28
and walks up to
the man in the bed,
00:12:29.28\00:12:32.45
puts his hand behind his neck,
00:12:32.45\00:12:36.25
and the man felt his hand,
00:12:36.25\00:12:38.15
and he couldn't feel anything.
00:12:38.15\00:12:39.39
- Right.
00:12:39.39\00:12:40.42
- The nerves-- -
He was paralyzed.
00:12:40.42\00:12:41.52
- The spinal cord was cut.
00:12:41.52\00:12:43.73
And so, he could feel the hand.
00:12:43.73\00:12:46.63
And the man prayed for him.
00:12:46.63\00:12:48.03
And what happened?
00:12:49.90\00:12:51.20
- The man was healed.
00:12:51.20\00:12:52.60
The next day the
doctors were like,
00:12:52.60\00:12:54.97
"There's nothing wrong
with you. You're going home."
00:12:54.97\00:12:58.17
- So he got up and
walked out of the hospital.
00:12:58.17\00:13:00.74
So, he said, "Jesus, the
old man came and healed me."
00:13:00.74\00:13:04.21
And he said, "Now I am ..."
00:13:04.21\00:13:07.05
- "... a living witness."
00:13:07.05\00:13:08.62
- [Jon] A living witness.
00:13:08.62\00:13:09.68
- He used to be a
drunkard, he used to--
00:13:09.68\00:13:12.32
- [Jon] Smoke
cigarettes, be a bad man.
00:13:12.32\00:13:14.79
- Right, and he
says, "God helped me,
00:13:14.79\00:13:16.36
"he's helped me with
all of these things."
00:13:16.36\00:13:18.39
- Yeah, so he no longer
drinks, he no longer smokes.
00:13:18.39\00:13:21.80
His whole family
has taken baptism,
00:13:21.80\00:13:23.87
and they're all so
happy knowing who Jesus is.
00:13:23.87\00:13:27.50
- Right, and it all happened
because Priscilla had faith
00:13:27.50\00:13:31.21
and she didn't obey the
Devil and leave that place.
00:13:31.21\00:13:34.64
- Yeah, this is the
kind of Bible worker
00:13:34.64\00:13:36.75
that somebody here in
America could sponsor.
00:13:36.75\00:13:39.18
- Yeah, and they
work while we're sleeping,
00:13:40.32\00:13:42.45
because we're almost
exactly opposite in time zones.
00:13:42.45\00:13:45.62
- Uh-huh, we go to sleep
and they wake up, work all day.
00:13:45.62\00:13:49.72
What an honor, what an honor,
to have people like this now.
00:13:51.13\00:13:54.96
The Bible workers are
praying for their donors.
00:13:54.96\00:13:57.57
- Right, they do.
00:13:57.57\00:13:58.97
- And to have
people like this praying
00:13:58.97\00:14:00.60
for us is such an honor,
00:14:00.60\00:14:03.67
such a privilege.
00:14:03.67\00:14:05.01
This person is in that
place that we talked about
00:14:05.01\00:14:09.34
in the western half of Gujarat.
00:14:09.34\00:14:11.91
And this person has
a very special story,
00:14:11.91\00:14:15.25
because, you know how
there's a caste system in India?
00:14:15.25\00:14:19.32
And most of the Christian
work is done in the lower caste.
00:14:19.32\00:14:24.39
The upper caste
is very resistant
00:14:25.99\00:14:29.03
to any kind of Christianity.
00:14:29.03\00:14:31.33
But this person,
this Bible worker,
00:14:31.33\00:14:33.23
met a family that was
in the upper, upper caste,
00:14:33.23\00:14:37.41
and they had family problems.
00:14:37.41\00:14:40.34
They had physical
problems, there was illness
00:14:40.34\00:14:41.91
and sickness, business problems,
00:14:41.91\00:14:44.21
the family was
just not doing well.
00:14:44.21\00:14:45.85
And so, they
opened the door for him
00:14:45.85\00:14:47.68
to come and pray for them.
00:14:47.68\00:14:49.05
He prayed for them,
gave them Bible studies,
00:14:50.12\00:14:53.09
they accepted Jesus,
they got healing physically,
00:14:53.09\00:14:55.86
healing emotionally,
healing financially,
00:14:55.86\00:14:59.29
and they gave their
whole lives to Jesus Christ.
00:14:59.29\00:15:02.26
- So they had
healing spiritually too.
00:15:02.26\00:15:04.30
- Absolutely.
00:15:04.30\00:15:05.37
And then, so normally,
00:15:05.37\00:15:06.74
if an upper caste
receives Jesus Christ,
00:15:06.74\00:15:09.90
they become outcast, okay?
00:15:09.90\00:15:11.91
They're kicked out of
their village and persecuted.
00:15:11.91\00:15:16.11
But what this family
did, and it's so amazing,
00:15:16.11\00:15:19.61
I've never heard
of this ever before,
00:15:19.61\00:15:21.98
and it's so exciting to me
because they threw a big party.
00:15:21.98\00:15:25.85
They invited all
their close friends,
00:15:25.85\00:15:27.62
all their families,
relatives, everything.
00:15:27.62\00:15:29.52
They brought them all
there and during the party
00:15:29.52\00:15:31.83
they got up and publicly stated,
00:15:31.83\00:15:34.56
"We have become
followers of Jesus Christ."
00:15:34.56\00:15:38.10
- Wow.
00:15:38.10\00:15:39.00
Wow, that's pretty gutsy.
00:15:40.87\00:15:43.07
(Jon exhales amazedly)
00:15:43.07\00:15:45.11
- Yeah, and they told
they whole story of why.
00:15:45.11\00:15:46.78
They told them what Jesus
did for them, what he means,
00:15:46.78\00:15:50.25
the kind of god that he
is, the kind of character
00:15:50.25\00:15:52.45
that he has, and you know what?
00:15:52.45\00:15:54.38
Everybody was interested.
00:15:54.38\00:15:55.95
- Wow.
00:15:55.95\00:15:57.02
- They didn't shun
them and throw them out.
00:15:57.02\00:15:59.35
It's like, "Wow,
this is a really neat god;
00:15:59.35\00:16:01.89
"this is really wonderful
what's happened to your family."
00:16:01.89\00:16:04.23
And so now this Bible worker
has all kinds of opportunities
00:16:04.23\00:16:08.00
to witness to the
highest caste in society there.
00:16:08.00\00:16:12.47
- Wow.
00:16:12.47\00:16:13.57
- So, just for
that one breakthrough,
00:16:13.57\00:16:16.94
I mean, it's
worth, just like wow.
00:16:16.94\00:16:20.34
- Every life
changed is so awesome.
00:16:20.34\00:16:22.81
- Yeah, and see that
caste is the caste that teaches.
00:16:22.81\00:16:26.82
They're the
spiritual leaders of society.
00:16:26.82\00:16:30.45
- So, it'll be more powerful.
00:16:30.45\00:16:32.52
- They have
that influence there.
00:16:32.52\00:16:33.92
So, pray for that family
and pray for that Bible worker.
00:16:33.92\00:16:37.93
- Yeah.
00:16:37.93\00:16:39.26
- [Jon] Now this group of
Bible workers is from a state
00:16:39.26\00:16:42.50
in India, in which just
a little over a decade ago,
00:16:42.50\00:16:45.97
there was 5,000 Christians
killed in anti-Christian riots.
00:16:45.97\00:16:51.04
And so, these people, they work
00:16:51.84\00:16:53.11
with fear always
in the background.
00:16:53.11\00:16:55.38
This man is the husband
of the next Bible worker.
00:16:55.38\00:16:57.75
This is Saskreema, okay?
00:16:57.75\00:16:59.88
I don't know if
I said that right.
00:16:59.88\00:17:01.82
But when she was
growing up, she grew up Hindu,
00:17:01.82\00:17:05.02
and she told her
parents in her teenage years,
00:17:05.02\00:17:07.26
she said, "I want
to be a Christian."
00:17:07.26\00:17:10.13
Now, she didn't
know any Christians;
00:17:10.13\00:17:12.19
she wasn't
around any Christians.
00:17:12.19\00:17:14.46
I don't know how she
learned about Christians,
00:17:14.46\00:17:16.20
but she says, "Get
me a Christian husband."
00:17:16.20\00:17:18.80
- Wow.
00:17:18.80\00:17:19.67
- And so they did.
00:17:20.80\00:17:22.07
The parents found a Christian
husband, and it was that man.
00:17:23.47\00:17:26.44
And she married him,
and she learned about Jesus,
00:17:26.44\00:17:29.14
and she became a Christian,
she became and Adventist.
00:17:29.14\00:17:31.58
And now she's one
of our Bible workers.
00:17:31.58\00:17:33.52
- Wow, wow, how did
she ever have that thought?
00:17:33.52\00:17:38.32
- I have no idea, I think--
00:17:38.32\00:17:39.75
- It was from
God. - The Holy Spirit.
00:17:39.75\00:17:40.79
Absolutely.
00:17:40.79\00:17:41.59
- It was totally from God.
00:17:41.59\00:17:42.39
- Yeah, and now they work,
00:17:42.39\00:17:44.49
they have a
wonderful ministry there
00:17:44.49\00:17:46.36
in an area
that's very difficult.
00:17:46.36\00:17:48.46
Now this man is a Bible worker
00:17:48.46\00:17:50.00
in an area that has
a very tragic story.
00:17:50.00\00:17:53.60
And this next picture is
the church that is in his area.
00:17:53.60\00:17:57.97
This church was damaged in 2008.
00:17:57.97\00:18:00.91
- [Natalie] Wow.
00:18:00.91\00:18:02.11
- [Jon] By
anti-Christian rioters.
00:18:02.11\00:18:04.58
And this church has
been sitting in that village
00:18:04.58\00:18:07.78
ever since then,
never being repaired.
00:18:07.78\00:18:10.85
And now this man
is new into that area
00:18:10.85\00:18:14.42
and he's working
with that village
00:18:14.42\00:18:17.13
and we still have
Adventist Church members there.
00:18:17.13\00:18:20.00
They're being highly oppressed.
00:18:20.00\00:18:22.90
When I visited there
they kept begging me,
00:18:22.90\00:18:24.73
"please come and
pray in my house,
00:18:24.73\00:18:26.47
"please come and pray in
my house, pray for my family,
00:18:26.47\00:18:28.80
"please come and
offer prayer in my house."
00:18:28.80\00:18:31.54
We were in a hurry, we had
another four hours of driving
00:18:31.54\00:18:34.78
and it was almost
sundown, I didn't wanna,
00:18:34.78\00:18:37.05
but they were so
insistent, I went, "okay, okay."
00:18:37.05\00:18:39.58
I went into one
of the guy's houses,
00:18:39.58\00:18:41.42
and the house was so
poor, I couldn't even film.
00:18:41.42\00:18:45.72
I just had to,
like, I can't film this.
00:18:45.72\00:18:47.69
I went in and I prayed for them.
00:18:47.69\00:18:49.32
I'm like, "We gotta come back."
00:18:49.32\00:18:51.39
We gotta rebuild that church,
we gotta heal that wound.
00:18:51.39\00:18:54.20
We've gotta build up
those church members again.
00:18:54.20\00:18:57.23
So this is a dream of mine,
to bring a small team in there
00:18:57.23\00:19:00.70
and just build that work
up and see what can be done,
00:19:00.70\00:19:05.07
see what needs to
be done and repair.
00:19:05.07\00:19:08.21
- Yeah, because
right now it's a testimony
00:19:08.21\00:19:11.15
to what evil can do.
00:19:11.15\00:19:12.88
But it needs to be a
testimony to what God can do.
00:19:12.88\00:19:15.62
- Yeah, and let them know that
00:19:15.62\00:19:17.42
there's people
that care about them.
00:19:17.42\00:19:19.92
And are looking forward to
being their neighbors in Heaven.
00:19:19.92\00:19:23.96
(both laugh lightly)
00:19:23.96\00:19:27.73
- Well, this next story is
a very precious story to us.
00:19:27.73\00:19:30.57
- Yes.
00:19:30.57\00:19:31.93
- [Natalie] We been to Rajkot
with this family since 2007.
00:19:31.93\00:19:35.47
- [Jon] Yes, because
back in 2007, we found a lot
00:19:35.47\00:19:39.74
of churches in a
certain area that had been built
00:19:39.74\00:19:42.31
and then they were closed
because there was no Bible
00:19:42.31\00:19:45.81
worker, no pastor, to
take care of these churches.
00:19:45.81\00:19:48.25
So we thought, let's
get six teams together,
00:19:48.25\00:19:51.12
and let's go there
and revive churches,
00:19:51.12\00:19:54.16
instead of having
to build new ones,
00:19:54.16\00:19:55.62
let's just revive
ones that are there.
00:19:55.62\00:19:57.26
- Right.
00:19:57.26\00:19:58.13
- Those were in churches
00:19:58.13\00:19:59.13
and surrounding
villages to a main city.
00:19:59.13\00:20:01.20
You remember that?
00:20:02.03\00:20:03.13
- Yep.
00:20:03.13\00:20:04.13
Our family did one of those
00:20:04.13\00:20:05.17
Evangelistic
series in Pukhrayan.
00:20:05.17\00:20:07.40
- [Jon] Yes, little tiny church.
00:20:07.40\00:20:09.77
- Yep.
00:20:09.77\00:20:10.57
- Still thriving, still growing.
00:20:10.57\00:20:12.14
- Yeah, that's a miracle too.
00:20:12.14\00:20:13.27
They had to rebuild
that church recently
00:20:13.27\00:20:15.11
'cause the wall fell down.
00:20:15.11\00:20:17.01
But thank the Lord no
one was in it at the time,
00:20:17.01\00:20:18.71
because we have an
evening school there,
00:20:18.71\00:20:20.95
and they have
church services there.
00:20:20.95\00:20:23.12
- Yep.
00:20:23.95\00:20:24.75
- Someone could've been there
00:20:24.75\00:20:25.82
and it could've
really hurt people,
00:20:25.82\00:20:27.19
but thank the Lord it fell
down when no one was there.
00:20:27.19\00:20:30.33
- So we did a 10
day Evangelistic effort,
00:20:30.33\00:20:32.53
and our Bible workers went
around to the neighborhood,
00:20:32.53\00:20:35.46
in the city,
inviting people to come.
00:20:35.46\00:20:38.13
- Right.
00:20:38.13\00:20:39.40
- So, one of the
houses that they knocked on,
00:20:39.40\00:20:40.70
and gave an invitation
to, was Brother Thomas
00:20:40.70\00:20:42.74
and Sister Jennifer's house.
00:20:42.74\00:20:44.87
And he said?
00:20:44.87\00:20:46.37
- No!
00:20:46.37\00:20:47.21
- [Jon] Yeah, but she--
00:20:47.21\00:20:48.04
- They were Christian.
00:20:48.04\00:20:49.44
They were other
Christian, but he said no.
00:20:49.44\00:20:50.88
- Formerly, he
was a Hindu priest.
00:20:50.88\00:20:53.25
He had been converted
to become a Christian.
00:20:53.25\00:20:56.58
- Right.
00:20:56.58\00:20:57.85
- But he said, "no, we
don't want to go there."
00:20:57.85\00:21:00.29
But she was a
little disobedient.
00:21:00.29\00:21:03.22
- Yep, she went anyway.
00:21:03.22\00:21:04.39
(both chuckle)
00:21:04.39\00:21:05.19
And he was upset with her,
00:21:05.19\00:21:06.33
but then he
finally started joining her
00:21:06.33\00:21:08.23
after she started
sharing what she was learning.
00:21:08.23\00:21:11.57
And so, they both came to the
meetings, through to the end.
00:21:11.57\00:21:14.70
And afterward,
they finished studying,
00:21:14.70\00:21:17.37
and they both were baptized.
00:21:17.37\00:21:19.77
- Yes, so we have a little
video in which Brother Thomas
00:21:19.77\00:21:22.18
talks about that
transition into faith.
00:21:22.18\00:21:24.45
(light uplifting music)
(speaking foreign language)
00:21:25.78\00:21:30.29
- [Translator]
After we took baptism,
00:21:32.65\00:21:34.62
we had a very big
problem in the family.
00:21:34.62\00:21:38.23
We didn't have money.
00:21:38.23\00:21:39.96
We were in a big
confusion about what to do.
00:21:39.96\00:21:43.83
But his wife, Sister
Jennifer, would never give up.
00:21:43.83\00:21:48.67
She was praying and
praying and praying.
00:21:48.67\00:21:51.27
But through those
prayers, God really blessed us.
00:21:51.27\00:21:55.44
(speaking foreign language)
00:21:57.45\00:22:01.08
I quit my job, because I
didn't get the Sabbath off.
00:22:03.82\00:22:07.52
At that job, I used to
get, weekly 2,000 rupees.
00:22:07.52\00:22:11.53
But my wife went and asked
for this Bible worker program.
00:22:11.53\00:22:15.93
They accepted our request.
00:22:15.93\00:22:17.40
They gave us an
opportunity to work
00:22:17.40\00:22:19.70
as Bible workers
together as a family.
00:22:19.70\00:22:22.57
When they were giving
me this privilege to work
00:22:22.57\00:22:25.21
as a Bible worker,
the pastor told me,
00:22:25.21\00:22:27.88
"Weekly you were
getting 2,000 rupees,
00:22:27.88\00:22:30.35
"but now your whole salary
is going to be 2,000 per month.
00:22:30.35\00:22:35.12
"What are you going to do?
00:22:35.12\00:22:36.18
"How are you going to survive?
00:22:36.18\00:22:38.45
"So think about it."
00:22:38.45\00:22:39.92
But he said, "No.
00:22:39.92\00:22:41.59
"We have determined as a
family to work for the Lord.
00:22:41.59\00:22:45.76
We are going to do God's work.
00:22:45.76\00:22:47.86
God will bless."
00:22:47.86\00:22:49.40
I joined the church
in Udamalpet in 2007,
00:22:49.40\00:22:53.37
as a member,
00:22:53.37\00:22:55.54
as a believer.
00:22:55.54\00:22:57.27
And I can not
even imagine today,
00:22:57.27\00:23:00.18
I am now the pastor
of the Udamalpet church.
00:23:00.18\00:23:03.31
I never even dreamt about it.
00:23:03.31\00:23:05.75
Now being a pastor, as
I go to different houses,
00:23:05.75\00:23:10.35
people are sick,
people are in different needs.
00:23:10.35\00:23:14.42
When we go pray,
God is answering.
00:23:14.42\00:23:17.36
What a mighty God.
00:23:17.36\00:23:18.83
(uplifting music)
00:23:18.83\00:23:22.00
(speaking foreign language)
00:23:22.00\00:23:25.93
He visits the
evening schools regularly.
00:23:25.93\00:23:29.14
Every day he has a timetable.
00:23:29.14\00:23:32.04
So according to
that timetable, he goes,
00:23:32.04\00:23:34.78
he buys the vegetables and rice,
00:23:34.78\00:23:38.05
and the
groceries, and the firewood,
00:23:38.05\00:23:40.38
and everything for
those evening schools,
00:23:40.38\00:23:42.72
and encourages
those children there.
00:23:42.72\00:23:45.42
And he is also
encouraging the teachers.
00:23:45.42\00:23:48.46
And if the Bible
teacher is not there,
00:23:48.46\00:23:50.79
he will be there to
teach that day's Bible classes
00:23:50.79\00:23:54.13
for the children that evening.
00:23:54.13\00:23:56.46
(speaking foreign language)
00:23:56.46\00:24:00.17
In the year 2007, most of
these churches were shut down.
00:24:04.14\00:24:08.78
They were not functioning.
00:24:08.78\00:24:10.38
After 2007, all
of these churches
00:24:10.38\00:24:12.71
started having
worships on Saturdays.
00:24:12.71\00:24:16.65
And only on
Saturdays they were worshiping,
00:24:16.65\00:24:19.32
but through
these evening schools,
00:24:19.32\00:24:21.49
now we have all the
days the church is open.
00:24:21.49\00:24:25.33
Children are coming, some
kind of activity is going on.
00:24:25.33\00:24:28.50
We are giving them
free meals, free education.
00:24:28.50\00:24:31.90
Through that we are
able to even approach
00:24:31.90\00:24:34.50
the Hindu families, parents
who send their children here.
00:24:34.50\00:24:38.71
They are asking
me, "What is happening?
00:24:38.71\00:24:41.21
"How are you able to
help these children like this?
00:24:41.21\00:24:44.01
"It's a great help, education
wise, and also with food.
00:24:44.01\00:24:48.35
"While you are giving that,
00:24:48.35\00:24:49.62
"our children are
so healthy and happy.
00:24:49.62\00:24:51.99
"How are you able to do this?"
00:24:51.99\00:24:53.72
So this creates
a kind of rapport
00:24:53.72\00:24:56.09
between the parents and me.
00:24:56.09\00:24:58.56
Through this, I am able
to share the love of God.
00:24:58.56\00:25:01.50
(light piano music)
00:25:01.50\00:25:04.57
It's a great
blessing for those villages.
00:25:06.30\00:25:09.27
Those children, when they eat,
00:25:09.27\00:25:11.04
when they get that education,
00:25:11.04\00:25:13.27
when they learn the
songs and Bible verses,
00:25:13.27\00:25:16.34
they are so blessed.
00:25:16.34\00:25:18.41
Sometimes we ask
the children to pray.
00:25:18.41\00:25:20.82
They pray for the donors.
00:25:20.82\00:25:22.15
They pray for those
people who are helping them.
00:25:22.15\00:25:25.09
(speaking foreign language)
00:25:25.09\00:25:28.59
Thank you for
what you are doing.
00:25:28.59\00:25:30.46
May the Lord bless you.
00:25:30.46\00:25:32.36
(light piano music)
00:25:32.36\00:25:35.40
- Those kids are so precious.
00:25:39.53\00:25:40.87
- Oh, I just love them.
00:25:40.87\00:25:42.67
- It's so neat to
hear Brother Thomas
00:25:42.67\00:25:44.81
and Sister Jennifer's story.
00:25:44.81\00:25:46.47
What, years later now?
00:25:47.44\00:25:49.61
- [Jon] Yes.
00:25:49.61\00:25:50.68
- They've been
church members for years,
00:25:50.68\00:25:51.75
they've been Bible
workers now for years,
00:25:51.75\00:25:54.15
and now they've been helping
00:25:54.15\00:25:56.48
with the evening
school for years.
00:25:56.48\00:25:58.52
It's such a
blessing to see how far
00:25:58.52\00:26:00.59
the Lord is
extending their ministry.
00:26:00.59\00:26:02.49
And how he helps them.
00:26:02.49\00:26:03.93
I mean, Brother
Thomas is a busy man.
00:26:03.93\00:26:06.29
- He's in charge
of 10 evening schools,
00:26:06.29\00:26:08.80
so like 300 to 400
students, children.
00:26:08.80\00:26:12.23
Every evening
they get a free meal,
00:26:12.23\00:26:15.17
and he's in
charge of making sure
00:26:15.17\00:26:16.64
they all have the
supplies to do that.
00:26:16.64\00:26:18.61
Keep it running smoothly.
00:26:18.61\00:26:19.71
And he's a
pastor on top of that.
00:26:19.71\00:26:21.51
Pastoring a church.
00:26:21.51\00:26:22.88
And his wife, she
does the same thing.
00:26:22.88\00:26:24.58
She goes around
and she does all the
00:26:24.58\00:26:26.88
leading the song services
and teaching them Bible songs,
00:26:26.88\00:26:31.25
Bible verse songs and
stuff to the evening schools.
00:26:31.25\00:26:34.19
She's also a
Bible worker in charge
00:26:34.19\00:26:35.76
of several churches as well.
00:26:35.76\00:26:37.99
- Yeah, so they're very busy.
00:26:37.99\00:26:40.50
And their daughters are
studying, going to school, so.
00:26:40.50\00:26:44.70
- Yeah, yeah.
00:26:44.70\00:26:45.80
- Anyway, it's such a
privilege to serve them.
00:26:45.80\00:26:48.24
To see them, to
know their stories.
00:26:48.24\00:26:50.91
I know that Sister Jennifer
has been such a blessing to me.
00:26:50.91\00:26:53.91
We were there
just a year after this,
00:26:53.91\00:26:56.01
a year after
they were converted,
00:26:56.01\00:26:58.01
and I got really sick
and you were traveling
00:26:58.01\00:27:00.35
else where in India,
and she was making food
00:27:00.35\00:27:03.35
and bringing it
to the hotel room
00:27:03.35\00:27:04.95
for James and Mary Anne and I,
00:27:04.95\00:27:07.16
so that we wouldn't go hungry.
00:27:07.16\00:27:08.92
She was so sweet
to take care of us.
00:27:08.92\00:27:10.93
- Such a servant heart family.
00:27:10.93\00:27:12.96
And I love her food, I
love her cooking still.
00:27:12.96\00:27:15.43
(Jon chuckles)
00:27:15.43\00:27:17.17
- Yeah, yep.
00:27:17.17\00:27:18.63
- Yeah, such an amazing
opportunity to serve these
00:27:18.63\00:27:22.27
people. You know, I see
ourselves, I see myself, as
00:27:22.27\00:27:27.01
their servant. - Right.
00:27:27.01\00:27:27.98
- To enable them to do what God
00:27:27.98\00:27:30.25
has called them
to do in their lives.
00:27:30.25\00:27:32.51
- Right.
00:27:32.51\00:27:33.92
I would to invite you to be
a part of serving them as well.
00:27:33.92\00:27:37.59
If you would to sponsor,
or get a group of people
00:27:37.59\00:27:39.95
together to
sponsor a Bible worker,
00:27:39.95\00:27:42.32
please contact us
at Jesus for Asia,
00:27:42.32\00:27:44.89
PO Box 1221,
Collegedale, Tennessee 37315.
00:27:44.89\00:27:47.03
Call us at 423-413-7321
00:27:50.57\00:27:52.53
or visit our
website at Jesus4asia.org
00:27:54.24\00:27:57.74
Please pray for
these Bible workers,
00:27:57.74\00:27:59.47
and remember, they
are praying for you.
00:27:59.47\00:28:02.51
May God richly
bless you until we see you
00:28:02.51\00:28:04.31
next time on Jesus for Asia Now.
00:28:04.31\00:28:07.22
(dramatic music)
00:28:07.22\00:28:10.02