(inspirational music)
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- Hello, and welcome
to "Jesus for Asia Now."
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I'm Natalie Wood and my husband
Jon is here with me today
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as we go back to India.
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Hello, dear.
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- Hi, darling, how are you?
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- I'm doing fine.
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I'm really excited
about our story today.
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- Yes, this has
some really good memories
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and makes me
very warm in my heart.
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- Okay, so where
are we going today?
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- Going to a
place called Garo Hills.
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- And there's something
very unique about this place.
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- It's known as the
wettest spot on Earth.
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- Really? - Yep!
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This is the way that
it kind of came about
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and we see God's hand in this.
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I don't know what I
was doing, I heard somehow,
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that Garo Hills was
the wettest spot on Earth.
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And I'm like, "That can't
be the wettest spot on Earth.
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"I thought that was in
Hawaii or some other place."
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So I went up on
Google and did a search
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for the wettest spot on
Earth, and as you can see by
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this graphic,
that the wettest spot
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on Earth is a
town called Mawsynram,
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something like that.
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- Synram, Mawsynram.
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- And it's very
close to Garo Hills.
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And I just, out of a whim said,
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"Lord, if we could
ever have Bible workers
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"in the wettest spot on
Earth, that would be so cool."
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And within a month we
had sent one of our teams up
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to Guwahati in Assam.
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Assam is the state
in Northeast India,
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it's got 32 million
people, four pastors,
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and JFA has 33
Bible workers there.
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So one Bible
worker per million people.
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- Wow!
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- I figure the
state is reached already.
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- No. (laughing)
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I hate to break it to ya!
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- Right, well, they
were having a meeting there
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and they were
actually handing out bicycles,
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some of the leaders came
all the way from Garo Hills.
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It's like a 10 hour
bus ride, to meet our team
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and request for
10 Bible workers.
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- Wow!
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- And I'm like,
"That's a God thing!"
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- Yeah, for sure.
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- And so I said, "Yes."
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And soon after that
we had a very famous
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and wonderful
violinist, Jamie George,
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do a concert
benefiting Bible workers
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and our children's orphanage.
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And so out of that
concert we sponsored
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these 10 Bible
workers into Garo Hills.
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- Yeah, it was really awesome!
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- Yeah, and so three
years later we send a team back
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to find out what's the report,
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what has happened in Garo Hills?
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Has it made a
difference in God's church...
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To have those
Bible workers there?
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- Right, and we
found out that it has.
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- Oh, yes, big time!
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- [Natalie] Okay, so
we've got a map here,
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can you explain to us
what we're looking at?
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- [Jon] Okay so, in this map
you will see India on the left.
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You'll see Thailand on
the right along with Vietnam,
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Cambodia, Laos, Burma,
and then in the center,
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you'll see that red dot,
that's where we're going.
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That's Garo Hills,
right underneath that,
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and to the left of
that is Bangladesh.
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So Bangladesh is
like a nut in a, I dunno--
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- [Natalie] Almost surrounded.
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- It's almost
completely surrounded by India.
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So Garo Hills is in
the state of Meghalaya,
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right to the
north, like the majority
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of it's border is
touching Bangladesh.
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So it's right up in there.
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Wettest spot on Earth.
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- Okay, now we've
got another map here,
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can you explain to us
what we're seeing on this map?
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Or is this just a closer view?
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- [Jon] Yeah, it's
just a closer view.
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You can see Garo
Hills is right there,
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right on the north side
of, just north of Bangladesh.
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- So you can see on this
closer map that it's just north
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of Bangladesh and
just south of Assam,
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which is also
just south of Bhutan.
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So it's very
small section of India
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there between two countries.
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- Yeah, you can see
it's very mountainous there.
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A lot of hills and
valleys and a lot of rain.
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- Yeah, it looks very green
from the satellite perspective.
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- It is very green up there,
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they get almost
500 inches per year.
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- Wow!
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- Like 450 or
something like that.
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It's like,
"Wow, who's counting?"
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So our team went
there in the dry season
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and so the video that we'll
see is, you don't see any rain.
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I wanna go there when
it's raining just for that
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experience. See what it's like.
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- Okay, let's
play the video now.
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- [Jon] Okay.
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(gentle music)
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- In a village
there a lot of prejudices.
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They always to oppose when we
try to talk about the message,
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and they don't want any religion
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to come into their villages.
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(gentle music)
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One way that we can
approach the people is
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through personal ministries.
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So these volunteers are
really very much helpful to us
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because they do
the home visitation,
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and they make friends with them.
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And that is how we are able
to share the message with them.
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(gentle music)
(speaking foreign language)
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(speaking foreign language)
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- After giving Bible study,
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he's able to help 71
people take a stand for Christ,
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and they took baptism.
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(speaking foreign language)
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He comes across
one man, and initially,
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he was not willing to
listen to the Bible study.
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He refused to listen and
he was not very receptive.
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But he made
friends with this man
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and this man slowly began
to accept the Bible truth.
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And now after accepting the
Bible truth, he took baptism
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and he is now a very
faithful member of the church.
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- We are very happy
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that the Jesus for
Asia volunteers are with us.
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And through them we
are able to penetrate
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to those areas
where we have not entered.
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(gentle music)
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We have about 159
who have taken baptism
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and were added to the
church because of their work.
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(gentle music)
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We don't have much
budget for evangelistic work,
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so JFA is really helping us,
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for which the Garo section
is very much thankful to them
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for the donors and for
the assistance they are giving
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to do the work
here in Garo section.
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(gentle music)
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- All right, so then
you can see the thankfulness
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that the President of
the Garo Hills section has
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for these volunteers.
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They're called volunteers.
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- Yeah they
call them volunteers,
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we call them Bible workers,
it's just a similar term.
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- So a lot of these places,
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you look at the
commission, the church is called
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to reach the entire
area that they're in
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and many of them don't
have the resources to do that.
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Very often we're able to
sustain what has been built.
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It's very
difficult to go beyond that.
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The budget is usually very small
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and so these Bible workers are
able to then extend the reach
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of the church into areas that
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they wouldn't have
been able to do otherwise.
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In fact, there is
studies that show that majority
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of the growth of the church
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in the last few
decades has been by
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these national Bible workers.
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And they do a powerful work.
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- Right and their really
just aren't enough pastors.
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That's the reality.
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So they need help and by having
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these lay people working
alongside them, being enabled,
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it just really makes a
difference for the church.
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- Yeah and you look at
Assam, 33 million people,
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32 million
people, and four pastors.
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All of a sudden those Bible
workers become very important.
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- Right, it shows
the need for the help.
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- Now, what's cool
is that we were able
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to talk to some of
these Bible workers.
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- Right, we have some
of their stories, yes.
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- We're gonna hear a testimony
from another Bible worker
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who's life was threatened
for sharing the truth.
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(gentle music)
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(speaking foreign language)
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- His name is Senwhat Marak
and he has been a Bible worker
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for three years and six months.
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From the time he
began his work he was able
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to baptize 31 people to the
Seventh-day Adventist church.
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(gentle music)
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(speaking foreign language)
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He began his work in this
community called Kemdigri,
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and as he was going for
conducting Bible studies,
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one man stopped him at
the door and he pointed at him
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and he threatened him.
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(speaking foreign language)
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Our volunteer said,
"Well, if you do not allow me
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"to conduct Bible studies,
I will not conduct them,
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"I will go away."
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But then this man says,
"Since today you have come,
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"you conduct Bible study."
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After listening to this
Bible study for a few minutes,
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he called all his
son-in-laws and his children
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and he told them
that, "If all you are going
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"to accept this religion,
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"I will send you
away from my house.
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"I will not
give you the property
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"that you are supposed to get."
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(speaking foreign language)
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Our volunteer told to this man,
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"Before we talk
all about these things,
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"let us listen to
God's word first."
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And they agreed, and
so our volunteer began
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to give them the Bible studies.
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And so after he heard
the message that evening,
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he came forward to volunteer
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and he asked for
forgiveness saying,
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"I have spoken harsh words
against you, please forgive me."
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Our volunteer says,
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"Since you did not know
well, you spoke harsh words,
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"but we forgive you."
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"So now, will you
be able to allow us
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"to conduct some
more Bible studies?"
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So this man says, "You
can come once in awhile
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"so that we can
study the Bible."
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(speaking foreign language)
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This man told, "If
we accept your religion,
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"I think the
village will also remove us
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"from this community."
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But this man's son-in-law
and the daughters told
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that they would
continue to take Bible studies.
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(gentle music)
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On the third
evening, from a distance,
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there was someone listening
and this person shouted
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and he was also
threatening our volunteer.
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And so our
volunteer replied saying,
00:12:11.23\00:12:13.96
"If you do not want me
to conduct Bible studies,
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"I will not conduct
them, I will go back."
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But from the group who wanted
to listen, he defended saying,
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"It is not you who
is going to listen,
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"it is me who
is going to listen.
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"Why are you disturbing?"
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(speaking foreign language)
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Since the
threatening was quite severe,
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our volunteer told
this individual who wanted
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to study the Bible,
"This place is not safe for us
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"to conduct Bible study.
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I will contact you with
the nearest organized church.
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"I will make arrangements
for you to come to that church."
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And so this
individual came to that church
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and they studied
the Bible together.
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(gentle music)
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This man told, "Though we
did not have full Bible study,
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"we are learning about God."
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And they said, "We will
continue to study the Bible."
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And through the help of the
church members they were able
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to study the Bible deeper,
and very soon after that,
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Pastor Tamsang came and
baptized this individual.
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(gentle music)
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- Wow, that's powerful!
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- I know, he was not discouraged
and he was not deterred.
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He's like, "I'm going forward.
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"I have to tell
people about Jesus."
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- And what's cool about
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this is the way
God has arranged this.
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Is that it's put
partnerships together
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from opposite
sides of the world.
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- Right, we have a great
privilege to be able to help
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them. - We do, yes.
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From all they way
from here in America,
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we can make an impact on
the other side of the world
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that we'll never see until--
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- Heaven and I'm
looking forward to that.
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- It's gonna be good.
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- We've got another Bible worker
and he shares his testimony
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and he sees the
power of God in his life.
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(gentle music)
(speaking foreign language)
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(speaking foreign language)
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- In 2016, he had the
opportunity to conduct Bible
00:14:27.86\00:14:32.83
study and during the
Bible study several people came
00:14:34.20\00:14:37.71
and they threatened him
00:14:37.71\00:14:39.87
They threatened to
take away his life.
00:14:39.87\00:14:41.68
They threatened to send
him away from that place.
00:14:41.68\00:14:45.31
But despite the
threatening messages,
00:14:45.31\00:14:49.22
he was able to
withstand and God allowed him
00:14:49.22\00:14:53.69
to continue the Bible study.
00:14:53.69\00:14:55.42
And at the end
of the Bible study,
00:14:55.42\00:14:57.43
two souls accepted Jesus
Christ as their personal Savior.
00:14:57.43\00:15:01.40
(gentle music)
(speaking foreign language)
00:15:01.40\00:15:06.40
Now he is able to work better
00:15:08.17\00:15:10.64
because he is visiting the
members, visiting the people.
00:15:10.64\00:15:15.64
And when they are
sick he takes care of them
00:15:16.85\00:15:19.45
and he does a
lot of social work.
00:15:19.45\00:15:22.42
And as a result
many people are falling
00:15:22.42\00:15:25.79
in love with his work.
00:15:25.79\00:15:27.06
So his work,
right now, is improving.
00:15:27.06\00:15:29.59
(gentle music)
(speaking foreign language)
00:15:29.59\00:15:34.56
(speaking foreign language)
00:15:35.50\00:15:39.20
He wishes that all the believers
around the world would pray
00:15:39.20\00:15:44.21
for him that he
would be able to minister
00:15:45.37\00:15:47.34
to the people more effectively.
00:15:47.34\00:15:49.68
He believes in prayer and
he says, "Through experience,
00:15:49.68\00:15:53.05
"I truly believe
that prayer is the key
00:15:53.05\00:15:56.92
"for ministry in God's work."
00:15:56.92\00:15:59.45
(gentle music)
00:15:59.45\00:16:02.06
(speaking foreign language)
00:16:04.26\00:16:07.50
Our volunteer
is very unfortunate
00:16:07.50\00:16:10.37
because his parents
were not well to do,
00:16:10.37\00:16:13.23
so he did not go to school.
00:16:13.23\00:16:15.70
But as he grew up he
realizes that he needs to learn.
00:16:15.70\00:16:19.44
And so, for one or two
years he attended school.
00:16:19.44\00:16:22.91
And with that education
he joined the work for God
00:16:22.91\00:16:27.92
and he believes that
it is not his skills,
00:16:29.08\00:16:30.89
it is not hos power or ability,
00:16:30.89\00:16:34.86
but he believes it is
God who has been helping him,
00:16:34.86\00:16:38.16
who has been teaching him
00:16:38.16\00:16:39.49
and who has been
guiding him in this work.
00:16:39.49\00:16:42.93
(speaking foreign language)
00:16:42.93\00:16:46.57
(speaking foreign language)
00:16:46.57\00:16:49.47
He's very grateful
to the donors in America
00:16:49.47\00:16:52.97
for their assistance, for
their help, for their prayers,
00:16:52.97\00:16:57.15
because it is because of
their help that he's able
00:16:57.15\00:17:00.05
to serve God in this capacity.
00:17:00.05\00:17:02.45
However, he requests all
of them there to kindly pray
00:17:02.45\00:17:07.16
for him because
he is not educated.
00:17:07.16\00:17:10.66
He finds
difficulty in understanding
00:17:10.66\00:17:13.29
and he knows that
he is not qualified,
00:17:13.29\00:17:15.96
but he wants God's
help so that he will be able
00:17:15.96\00:17:19.10
to serve God more effectively.
00:17:19.10\00:17:21.64
(gentle music)
(speaking foreign language)
00:17:21.64\00:17:26.31
- Now he's complaining
about his lack of education
00:17:26.31\00:17:29.44
and how he has
to rely on the Lord.
00:17:29.44\00:17:32.21
He brought in-- -
Well, he's not complaining
00:17:32.21\00:17:34.62
about relying on the Lord,
we want to be clear on that.
00:17:34.62\00:17:36.38
- That's true.
00:17:36.38\00:17:37.89
- But he is saying that
he feels very inadequate.
00:17:37.89\00:17:41.62
- Yeah, but his
relying on the Lord,
00:17:41.62\00:17:44.96
he's brought more people into
the Kingdom than anybody else.
00:17:44.96\00:17:48.86
71 people in the last three
years, he's brought to the Lord.
00:17:48.86\00:17:53.17
- Right, so when God is
relied on, God does the work
00:17:53.17\00:17:57.17
and it's a good work.
00:17:57.17\00:17:59.27
- Though I have to say,
that all these that we've been
00:17:59.27\00:18:02.24
in that in at Garo Hills
for just over three years,
00:18:02.24\00:18:05.58
so all of the 159 baptisms,
from our 10 Bible workers,
00:18:05.58\00:18:10.59
have taken place in
just the last three years.
00:18:11.75\00:18:13.66
- Yeah that's pretty amazing.
00:18:13.66\00:18:15.96
- That's wonderful.
00:18:15.96\00:18:16.96
- Yeah, God is very, very good.
00:18:16.96\00:18:18.66
- Yeah the other cool thing
is that, so you have Assam,
00:18:18.66\00:18:22.60
and this is Northeast India,
you have Assam in the middle.
00:18:22.60\00:18:25.93
You have a bunch
of states around.
00:18:25.93\00:18:27.50
You've got
Meghalaya, you've got Tripura,
00:18:27.50\00:18:30.34
you've got
Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland,
00:18:30.34\00:18:34.31
and Arunachal Pradesh,
as you can see on this map.
00:18:34.31\00:18:38.15
We have Bible workers in
Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura,
00:18:38.15\00:18:43.15
Mizoram, Manipur,
Arunachal Pradesh,
00:18:44.39\00:18:48.19
we don't have any
Bible workers in Nagaland.
00:18:48.19\00:18:50.93
Now I did a little
research into Nagaland.
00:18:50.93\00:18:52.63
That's like the
frontline of the frontline.
00:18:52.63\00:18:55.73
It is jungle.
00:18:55.73\00:18:56.83
It's crazy out there.
00:18:56.83\00:18:58.00
But we've just
recently received requests
00:18:58.00\00:19:00.47
for Bible workers in Nagaland.
00:19:00.47\00:19:02.67
- Wow, so God is
opening an opportunity
00:19:02.67\00:19:07.14
to help out there
too. - Yes, absolutely.
00:19:07.14\00:19:10.58
So I'm excited about that.
00:19:10.58\00:19:11.81
And I'm praying and asking God,
00:19:11.81\00:19:13.28
"Lord, we need
more Bible workers."
00:19:13.28\00:19:17.22
Because the need is great.
00:19:17.22\00:19:18.52
And you can see the
signs that are happening
00:19:18.52\00:19:21.22
in the world today.
00:19:21.22\00:19:22.59
We don't have much time. - No.
00:19:22.59\00:19:24.63
- I'm really convicted
that the door is closing
00:19:24.63\00:19:27.86
on our ability to take
the gospel to some of these
00:19:27.86\00:19:32.23
countries that have been
open for quite a number of years
00:19:32.23\00:19:34.47
and we have not
done as much as we could.
00:19:34.47\00:19:37.17
So with the little
window that we have left,
00:19:37.17\00:19:40.61
it's like we gotta give
everything that we have.
00:19:40.61\00:19:44.08
We've got to put
everything that we have
00:19:44.08\00:19:45.88
into taking the gospel
to these little unknown,
00:19:45.88\00:19:49.25
unentered areas that
are so open to the gospel.
00:19:49.25\00:19:53.09
There's people out
there that want to learn.
00:19:53.09\00:19:55.19
They're open to the
gospel and it's just a matter
00:19:55.19\00:19:58.79
of someone going
and telling them.
00:19:58.79\00:20:00.96
And so as they're thinking,
us in the United States,
00:20:00.96\00:20:05.93
the people that
are donating the funds
00:20:07.10\00:20:08.97
to keep them going full-time,
the gospel work, (coughs).
00:20:08.97\00:20:11.77
And honestly, I think
my throat is being harassed
00:20:13.68\00:20:16.44
because Satan doesn't
want this message out,
00:20:16.44\00:20:18.81
he doesn't want
people to get involved
00:20:18.81\00:20:20.78
and take away and
threaten his kingdom.
00:20:20.78\00:20:23.18
- Right, because he has
had free reign in these areas
00:20:23.18\00:20:27.09
where the gospel is not there.
00:20:27.09\00:20:29.19
It's his land and he knows it
00:20:29.19\00:20:31.53
and he does not want
the gospel to go there.
00:20:31.53\00:20:34.36
- But you know what?
00:20:34.36\00:20:35.43
He is a defeated foe. - He is!
00:20:35.43\00:20:37.57
Jesus has already won.
00:20:37.57\00:20:38.83
- That's right, and
so with Jesus' strength
00:20:38.83\00:20:41.47
we will do everything we
can in these last few days
00:20:41.47\00:20:44.77
of Earth history to grow
the population of heaven.
00:20:44.77\00:20:48.71
- Right because Jesus
died for them, he loves them.
00:20:48.71\00:20:53.08
He came down here for
them too, not just for us.
00:20:53.08\00:20:57.65
So this is an
awesome opportunity.
00:20:57.65\00:21:00.22
- It's time to grow the
ranks of the heavenly choir.
00:21:00.22\00:21:02.76
- Well we've been
focusing today on Garo Hills,
00:21:04.89\00:21:07.50
but I know there are
stories, short stories,
00:21:07.50\00:21:10.90
about some of the other
places where we have work.
00:21:10.90\00:21:13.40
So lets just share
maybe another story,
00:21:13.40\00:21:15.94
maybe we'll have time for two.
00:21:15.94\00:21:17.37
But how did we get Bible workers
in our Arunachal Pradesh?
00:21:17.37\00:21:20.74
- Oh yes, so I have
some friends that are working
00:21:20.74\00:21:23.45
in India in the
division there at the church.
00:21:23.45\00:21:26.21
They have actually
come to some faith camps
00:21:26.21\00:21:29.15
and they're related
to some very good friends
00:21:29.15\00:21:31.72
that are missionaries also.
00:21:31.72\00:21:33.15
They have been traveling
around India quite a bit
00:21:34.36\00:21:38.39
and they've discovered,
00:21:38.39\00:21:39.73
they went up to
visit Arunachal Pradesh.
00:21:39.73\00:21:42.46
And this is a unique state
because if you look at the map,
00:21:42.46\00:21:46.57
there's a good
portion of the state
00:21:46.57\00:21:49.37
that China
claims and India claims.
00:21:49.37\00:21:53.41
So it's like-- - Contested.
00:21:53.41\00:21:55.14
- Yeah, so the frontiers.
00:21:55.14\00:21:57.38
And so they just got up
there and visited this place,
00:21:57.38\00:22:01.38
they came back with there
request for five Bible workers.
00:22:01.38\00:22:04.59
And so we're like "Okay."
00:22:04.59\00:22:06.96
By faith we
stepped out and said yes.
00:22:06.96\00:22:09.52
And by the way, we get
requests for Bible workers
00:22:09.52\00:22:12.49
almost everyday from
all around the country.
00:22:12.49\00:22:15.80
- Yeah some places need more,
some places don't have any,
00:22:15.80\00:22:18.97
like this one and Garo Hills.
00:22:18.97\00:22:21.54
- Yes and we have a
system where they have to check
00:22:21.54\00:22:24.91
in with us every
single month and tell us
00:22:24.91\00:22:27.64
how many Bible
workers are working
00:22:27.64\00:22:29.41
and what their status is
00:22:29.41\00:22:30.81
and if there's any
changes, stuff like that.
00:22:30.81\00:22:32.15
So we keep in touch
with all these different.
00:22:32.15\00:22:34.78
But some of these
fields are so far out there
00:22:34.78\00:22:36.65
we haven't even visited yet.
00:22:36.65\00:22:38.05
And so we just
heard that they, yeah,
00:22:40.09\00:22:42.02
so we gave them the five and
then just a few months later,
00:22:42.02\00:22:45.39
they're like, "Okay,
this is a real blessing.
00:22:45.39\00:22:47.50
"Can we have 10
more please?" - Wow.
00:22:47.50\00:22:50.53
- And so they caught us,
that message came in at a time
00:22:50.53\00:22:54.54
of a unguarded
moment of faith...
00:22:54.54\00:22:58.54
(laughs) and I said yes.
00:22:58.54\00:23:01.78
We said yes and so
just a month or two later,
00:23:01.78\00:23:05.08
we got a request, "Can
we have just one more?"
00:23:05.08\00:23:07.82
- Aw. - So now,
00:23:07.82\00:23:09.25
there's 16 JFA Bible
workers in Arunachal Pradesh.
00:23:09.25\00:23:13.79
- Wow, praise the Lord.
00:23:13.79\00:23:14.79
- Which is exciting.
00:23:14.79\00:23:15.89
- Yeah, God is good.
00:23:15.89\00:23:17.29
- Yes, so Tripura.
00:23:17.29\00:23:19.03
Ya know, a lot of times you're
not sure, we get requests,
00:23:21.26\00:23:25.73
"Can you please
send Bible workers here?
00:23:25.73\00:23:27.64
"Can you please
send money here?"
00:23:27.64\00:23:29.10
A lot of time
they're independent workers
00:23:29.10\00:23:32.11
and we just don't know.
00:23:32.11\00:23:33.91
And even if
they're not independent,
00:23:33.91\00:23:36.28
a lot of times
we're just not sure.
00:23:36.28\00:23:38.75
We've been--
00:23:38.75\00:23:39.75
- Burned a few
times. - Almost everybody
00:23:40.88\00:23:42.15
that I know, exactly.
00:23:42.15\00:23:44.29
A Facebook friend, who I
didn't realize at the time,
00:23:44.29\00:23:47.02
but you say you know her.
00:23:47.02\00:23:48.66
- Right, I've
known her my whole life.
00:23:48.66\00:23:50.19
She was a good
friend of my Mom's.
00:23:50.19\00:23:52.33
- And a teacher
that taught your mom?
00:23:52.33\00:23:54.00
- She was a Dean or
something at Union College.
00:23:54.00\00:23:56.87
- Wow, okay, so she started
talking to me on Facebook
00:23:56.87\00:24:00.47
about this young that
she's known a long time
00:24:00.47\00:24:02.64
in India from Tripura.
00:24:02.64\00:24:04.64
He's in Spicer
College right now,
00:24:04.64\00:24:06.41
getting his Theology degree.
00:24:06.41\00:24:08.21
So she put us in touch
with him and he started sharing
00:24:08.21\00:24:11.75
with us his passion
for his state of Tripura.
00:24:11.75\00:24:15.45
So few pastors, so few..
00:24:15.45\00:24:18.55
And the pastors that are
there, there are maybe one
00:24:18.55\00:24:22.59
or two others that have had
an education in the entire state
00:24:22.59\00:24:27.13
and the rest of them,
we have 10 Bible workers
00:24:27.13\00:24:29.40
in that state now.
00:24:29.40\00:24:30.60
Which is just
recently been divided,
00:24:30.60\00:24:32.93
it used to be
Mizoram, Tripura were together.
00:24:32.93\00:24:36.97
And the head
office was in Mizoram.
00:24:36.97\00:24:40.68
So recently they've separated
and so now it's on it's own.
00:24:40.68\00:24:45.01
But he was saying how
little resources they have.
00:24:45.01\00:24:49.65
No schools, and he's one of
the only ones from his state
00:24:49.65\00:24:53.39
that's getting
a Theology degree.
00:24:53.39\00:24:55.69
He says, "Can you
please sponsor me with a team
00:24:55.69\00:24:59.66
"from Spicer College
to go to my state during
00:24:59.66\00:25:03.00
"my summer vacation?"
00:25:03.00\00:25:04.77
So with your mom's
friends character reference--
00:25:04.77\00:25:07.57
- Right, we knew that he
was a trustworthy gentleman.
00:25:07.57\00:25:10.71
- Right, we said, "How
much is it going to cost?"
00:25:10.71\00:25:13.07
- He says, "$250."
00:25:13.07\00:25:15.24
For two weeks of
straight on evangelism with,
00:25:15.24\00:25:17.68
I think he had a group of eight
00:25:17.68\00:25:19.55
of his friends that went there.
00:25:19.55\00:25:21.72
They did Bible
studies, they did sermons,
00:25:21.72\00:25:24.55
they did week of prayers,
they did VBS's for the kids,
00:25:24.55\00:25:29.56
they worked with the
schools that were there.
00:25:30.69\00:25:32.39
And did all this work for
two weeks and he was just like,
00:25:32.39\00:25:35.26
"Please, can you help us more?
00:25:35.26\00:25:37.33
"We need help, can
you come and visit?
00:25:37.33\00:25:40.10
"Can you come and do evangelism?
00:25:40.10\00:25:41.67
"Can you come and do training?
00:25:41.67\00:25:42.97
"Can you come
and do all this stuff
00:25:42.97\00:25:44.81
"in this state
that's just brand new?"
00:25:44.81\00:25:48.48
- So they need help.
00:25:48.48\00:25:50.61
- They need a lot of help.
00:25:50.61\00:25:52.78
- There's a lot of need
for Bible workers out there.
00:25:52.78\00:25:55.02
There's a lot of
need for people to go
00:25:55.02\00:25:57.39
and encourage the
church and lift up the church.
00:25:57.39\00:26:00.36
- Yeah, you know
a lot of people say,
00:26:00.36\00:26:01.82
"Well, I don't need to go,
00:26:01.82\00:26:03.32
"I can just sponsor Bible
workers that are over there."
00:26:03.32\00:26:06.03
The truth is that
it's a partnership.
00:26:06.03\00:26:09.06
So what's cool about this
partnership is that when we go
00:26:10.47\00:26:13.50
and we do
evangelism and we do training,
00:26:13.50\00:26:17.27
it's like a partnership where
we not only encourage them--
00:26:17.27\00:26:19.94
- And we also teach them things
00:26:19.94\00:26:21.51
that they didn't
realize were in the Bible.
00:26:21.51\00:26:23.68
Because so many of these
people are untrained workers.
00:26:23.68\00:26:27.45
And it also encourages
the believers that they're not
00:26:27.45\00:26:32.45
alone. That this is a worldwide
church, there are a lot
00:26:33.66\00:26:35.09
of other people from other
lands that believe the same way.
00:26:35.09\00:26:38.53
And it encourages
them because all they see
00:26:38.53\00:26:41.16
in their life is their small
church, their small village.
00:26:41.16\00:26:44.57
- Feel like their
all alone. - Right.
00:26:44.57\00:26:46.33
And so it just brings
them a lot more encouragement.
00:26:46.33\00:26:50.11
- Yes and it's nice for us
00:26:50.11\00:26:51.64
because when we go
there they introduce,
00:26:51.64\00:26:53.41
they are the ones that
bring us into their society.
00:26:53.41\00:26:55.91
They're the ones that
introduce us into the towns
00:26:55.91\00:26:57.91
and villages that
they're working in.
00:26:57.91\00:26:59.58
So it's a really
beautiful partnership
00:26:59.58\00:27:02.58
that God has set
up in these End Times.
00:27:02.58\00:27:04.99
- Right, well our
time for today is all gone.
00:27:04.99\00:27:07.96
But I appreciate you coming
and sharing these stories.
00:27:07.96\00:27:10.29
It's so encouraging
and it's wonderful to hear
00:27:10.29\00:27:13.46
that these Bible
workers are gonna do it,
00:27:13.46\00:27:15.90
no matter what
people threaten them with,
00:27:15.90\00:27:17.87
no matter that they
don't have the education.
00:27:17.87\00:27:20.60
They're just gonna serve
God with their whole hearts
00:27:20.60\00:27:23.37
and it's just so awesome.
00:27:23.37\00:27:24.84
- It encourages me so much
when I hear their testimonies.
00:27:24.84\00:27:27.28
It makes me want to dive deeper
into my personal devotions
00:27:27.28\00:27:30.68
and Bible study and
witnessing in my own life.
00:27:30.68\00:27:32.91
- Yeah.
00:27:32.91\00:27:34.35
Please pray for the Bible
workers we've heard about today
00:27:34.35\00:27:36.45
as they go
forward no matter what.
00:27:36.45\00:27:38.79
Persecution, lack of education,
00:27:38.79\00:27:41.66
they just want to tell
people about Jesus and his love.
00:27:41.66\00:27:44.93
And if you would like to sponsor
one of these Bible workers,
00:27:44.93\00:27:48.20
you can contact us at
Jesus for Asia, P.O. Box 1221,
00:27:48.20\00:27:52.97
Collegedale, Tennessee, 37315.
00:27:52.97\00:27:56.44
Call us at 423-413-7321
or visit our website
00:27:56.44\00:28:01.44
at jesus4asia.org.
00:28:02.18\00:28:03.98
May God richly bless you
until we see you next time
00:28:03.98\00:28:07.45
on "Jesus for Asia Now."
00:28:07.45\00:28:09.35
(inspirational music)
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