(soft music)
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- Hello and welcome
to "Jesus for Asia Now."
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I'm Natalie Wood,
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and my husband John is joining
me today as we talk about
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city ministry in
Bangkok, Thailand.
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Hello, love.
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- Hi darling. How are you?
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- I'm excited. - Really?
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- I'm excited to
see what God is doing.
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- Amen. - In Bangkok, Thailand.
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- Cool. Yeah,
Bangkok's an amazing, huge city.
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- Yeah.
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- You know the first
time I was in Bangkok,
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I was five years
old. It was 1969.
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And my parents and my family,
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we were returning from
New Guinea as missionaries.
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And I have slides
from that my dad took,
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and on one
slide, it was in Bangkok
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and it was in my
mom's handwriting.
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She has passed away recently.
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And she says, How will we
ever reach this massive city
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of 3 million people?
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- 3 Million. - Yeah.
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- And now it's
how many times that?
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- Over four times. - Wow.
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- And the question's still
being asked, same question,
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How in the world are
we gonna reach the city?
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Christ has a huge
burden for the cities
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and we're gonna
talk more about that,
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but this is a really,
really exciting project.
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- Right. Right.
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It is because it's
an opportunity to reach
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thousands upon thousands
of young people especially.
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- Yes, yes. Absolutely.
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Hundreds of thousands.
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- We all know that the thinkers,
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the next
generation of leadership
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is gonna be the,
from the young people.
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- Exactly. Yeah.
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And they're going
to school. - Right.
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- So why do you
think that this center
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will reach the
young people in school?
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- Because it's right by a very
large university in Thailand,
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The Ramkhamhaeng University.
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- The Ramkhamhaeng
University before COVID
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had 530,000 students.
That's a lot of students.
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- Yeah.
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- So the seed for this project
was actually when we were
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filming "I Want
This City" back in 2011.
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And there was a church
plant in the neighborhood
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of Ramkhamhaeng and it
was going to be closed.
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And so that video of
this Ramkhamhaeng church plant
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being closed, planted
a seed of hope and desire
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in the hearts of
some young people.
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- So we wanna
look at the project
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with the new
leadership that's there.
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And we want to introduce
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the Kennedy family. - Yes.
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(soft music)
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- So growing up,
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the first book I ever
remember reading was a biography
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about Jim Elliott.
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I tell you, it was
devastating to find out
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that he died at
the end of the book.
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And I was like, I think
six or seven when I read it.
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And so growing up I grew
up on missionary stories.
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David Livingston, Bruce Olson,
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Hudson Taylor, Adoniram Judson.
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And so I think I like
to say I was brainwashed
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to be a missionary.
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And so when I was 18,
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I got the chance to
be able to go to Africa.
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Spent six months in South Sudan
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before it was even South
Sudan doing development work,
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building deaths for schools,
preaching evangelistic series.
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And from then on,
pretty much every summer
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in between my schooling,
I would go to somewhere.
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So I went to
Africa a couple times
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and then ended up
going to Afghanistan.
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There for a little while.
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And then after
that, ended up in Thailand
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to do medical work for
the summer with a school here.
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- I came to Thailand
13 years ago when I was 17
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with my entire family.
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And we came for the first
time with one way tickets.
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I was really upset about coming.
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I always say that I
came kicking and screaming
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and it took me a
few weeks after visiting
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a little bamboo school.
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And after
spending a few days there,
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they asked me if I
would stay and teach.
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And after seeing
all the little children
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and all they had been through,
this was in a refugee area,
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I really fell in
love with it for myself
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and I've really never left.
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- On that first trip
when I came out to Thailand,
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I was coming out to
help do medical work
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with the Karen
refugees on the Burmese border.
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And I ended up working together
with this missionary girl
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that had been out here with
her parents for a few years.
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And the rest is history.
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The first month we
hated each other. Not really.
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but I didn't think that
she was anything special
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and fell in love
the second month.
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And two years later we
found ourselves married and I,
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I moved to Thailand and
we've been here ever since.
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So over the years
we've been living in Thailand
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as self-supporting missionaries,
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doing medical work when we can
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that's still really our passion.
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I'm a nurse, my
wife is a paramedic.
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And so doing medical work has
really been a passion of ours
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over the years that
we've been here in Thailand.
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The last few
years we've been working
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in the corporate worlds.
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So doing, working
with medical tourism
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and then working in the
pharmaceutical industry,
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kind of just following
where God's been leading.
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While we were
living in Chiang Mai
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we had been hearing
about this missionary family
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that had moved to
Thailand that had a little kid
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that was the age of our kids.
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And so we'd been
wanting to meet with them.
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Weren't able to because we
were in various parts of the
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country but then one day
at church there they were.
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We ran into Brian and Jessica
and at that time just Asher
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their little boy. And we
had lunch together at potluck.
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I loved to invite people to
go do stuff because honestly,
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it's probably the best way
that I connect with people.
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And so I immediately said,
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hey guys, you wanna
go rock climbing with us?
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I'd been rock
climbing for quite a few years
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and really enjoyed
taking new people out
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and introducing
them to this sport.
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And so it was a, it
was kind of a natural thing
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to invite them to go with us.
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And so that's what we did.
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Over the next year or two,
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we got together
almost on a weekly basis
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to go rock climbing outside,
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swap babysitting duties to let
the other couple go on dates.
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And that's really how
we got to know each other
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over a few years.
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- Wow, it's really neat to see
how God puts people together.
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- Right. And it's
neat that they knew
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that they were
to be in Thailand,
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after she went
kicking and screaming,
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God really
impressed upon her the need.
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- Right.
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- And so she stayed - Yes.
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- And found joy there.
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And then they
found each other there.
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And then God gave
them a shared burden.
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- You can see the value
of long term missionaries.
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- Right.
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- This is a project
that couldn't happen
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with just a short
term mission trip.
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- True.
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- A lot of people will say,
how are you gonna find a mate,
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a husband or a wife if
you're in the mission field?
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And what we've seen
is that a mission field
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is a great way to find a mate,
to find a husband or a wife.
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- Especially if you
know that God has called you
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to be a missionary. - Right.
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- Because when you're
outside of the mission field,
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you don't always find
someone that shares that burden.
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- Exactly. - For the mission.
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- And when you have that shared
passion, that shared burden,
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it's a great
reason to stay together.
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- Right.
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- And to work
out your differences.
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- Right. So
we're talking about F5.
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What is F5.
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- F5 is a brand start in America
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and it's all about
fitness as an evangelistic tool.
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- Right. - As a
way to bring people
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in healthy
lifestyle, activity, adventure,
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all that kind of stuff.
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And so this is perfect
for the location right next
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to the large
university. - Right.
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- Originally their
idea was to either have
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a fruit smoothie shop, a
restaurant, or a climbing wall.
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- Right. - But the Lord--
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- One of those. - Yes.
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- But the Lord
moved them to a building
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that was so large that
they could do all of them.
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And so they began
with the climbing wall
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up on the top floor.
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And that's what really
brings the interest in.
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That's what really
brings the people in,
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is that climbing wall,
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the whole thing centered
around that climbing wall.
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- Right. - Yeah.
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So they make connections
with that climbing wall
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but then they also
offer trips on the weekends
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to go out into nature.
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To get the city
dwellers into nature,
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to experience
seeing stars at night.
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- Right.
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- And enjoy that kind of thing.
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And then they get to
connect with the people
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when they're on
the end of the rope.
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- Right. Right.
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And connecting
with the God of nature
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is a great blessing also.
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- Yes so.
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- So we have another video
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talking about the
Kennedy starting there
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at the F5 Center. - Okay.
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(soft music)
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- Ever since I
probably was 12 years old,
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I had wanted to
be a climbing guide.
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Like in my dream that
would be one of the things
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that I've wanted to do.
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And so then when Brian,
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it was like kind of the
students surpassed the teacher.
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He's like, yeah,
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I think we're gonna do
this climbing gym in Bangkok
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and we're gonna be able
to reach college students.
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I was like, dude,
that is so awesome.
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Why isn't God
asking me to do that?
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Now looking back,
I know it was because
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I wasn't ready for that and
I had a lot of growing to do.
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But I was super
excited to see it.
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And over the years,
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being able to see the vision
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that Brian and
Jessica had for F5
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really come to fruition,
it's been truly incredible.
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Because honestly I had
always wanted to do it,
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but to do what they've done,
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I never would've
been able to do that.
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It's just not my skillset.
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So it's been really
incredible to see this building,
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which I was in when it
was literally an empty shell
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go from that to
what it is today.
00:10:01.30\00:10:03.87
For the past six or 12 months,
00:10:19.85\00:10:21.75
Maria and I have
really started to feel
00:10:21.75\00:10:24.39
a burden on our heart
that maybe God was wanting us
00:10:24.39\00:10:27.16
to get into
full-time ministry again.
00:10:27.16\00:10:31.03
He'd made it very
clear that we were doing
00:10:31.03\00:10:32.99
what we were
supposed to be doing
00:10:32.99\00:10:34.30
and he'd led us
to where we were.
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So we didn't feel
comfortable in going
00:10:35.56\00:10:37.40
and like actively
trying to find something.
00:10:37.40\00:10:40.87
But we started
praying and we asked God
00:10:40.87\00:10:42.87
that if he wanted
us to do something
00:10:42.87\00:10:45.57
more full-time ministry related,
00:10:45.57\00:10:47.48
that we would actually
be approached by someone.
00:10:47.48\00:10:49.98
And so just a couple months ago
00:10:49.98\00:10:52.31
we were actually in the
middle of talking about how,
00:10:52.31\00:10:55.35
we really want to do something.
00:10:55.35\00:10:57.02
And literally
during that conversation
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I went and checked my phone
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and Brian had
texted us as saying,
00:11:00.42\00:11:02.79
"hey, would you be
willing to consider praying
00:11:02.79\00:11:05.19
about coming and
helping with F5?"
00:11:05.19\00:11:08.66
And so I replied back,
well Brian, funny enough,
00:11:08.66\00:11:13.40
we've actually been
praying about this quite a while
00:11:13.40\00:11:16.00
and been asking that if
God wanted us to do something,
00:11:16.00\00:11:18.91
that someone would approach us.
00:11:18.91\00:11:20.91
(soft music)
00:11:20.91\00:11:23.48
I've been working,
running and improving businesses
00:11:24.85\00:11:27.98
here in Thailand for
the last three or four years
00:11:27.98\00:11:30.52
and I understand
how difficult it is.
00:11:30.52\00:11:33.72
And looking at what
they've done here with F5
00:11:33.72\00:11:37.13
has been just incredible.
00:11:37.13\00:11:38.96
Like what they've been
able to do with God's leading
00:11:38.96\00:11:42.26
is truly amazing.
00:11:42.26\00:11:43.80
And so I'm really excited to
be able to kind of step in now
00:11:43.80\00:11:48.54
and kind of work
in helping achieve
00:11:49.74\00:11:53.78
the true potential here of F5
00:11:53.78\00:11:55.78
and accomplish
what God wants to do.
00:11:55.78\00:11:57.88
But I'm also terrified.
00:11:57.88\00:11:59.15
Like Brian left
some big shoes to fill
00:11:59.15\00:12:01.38
because I know how
difficult it's been to get here.
00:12:01.38\00:12:04.55
But I'm also really
excited about the opportunity
00:12:05.85\00:12:08.56
to be able to see what God
has in store for the future.
00:12:08.56\00:12:11.39
- A lot of times I think
we feel like the ministry
00:12:22.54\00:12:25.01
is dependent on the person.
00:12:25.01\00:12:27.21
But this, when Brian
had to leave Bangkok,
00:12:27.21\00:12:31.35
we were really worried what's
gonna happen to the project?
00:12:31.35\00:12:33.68
- Right.
00:12:33.68\00:12:34.78
- But God already
had it all lined up.
00:12:34.78\00:12:35.92
- Right.
00:12:35.92\00:12:37.02
- He's already moving
on the hearts of people
00:12:37.02\00:12:37.82
that were really well qualified
00:12:37.82\00:12:39.82
to come in and step in and
take what had been accomplished
00:12:39.82\00:12:44.29
and really grow
it and expand it.
00:12:44.29\00:12:46.56
- Right, that's neat too because
00:12:46.56\00:12:48.20
Jordan has the business skills.
00:12:48.20\00:12:50.57
- Yes. - But he also has been
00:12:50.57\00:12:52.03
working in business in Thailand.
00:12:52.03\00:12:53.70
- Yes. - So that has given him
00:12:53.70\00:12:55.77
a unique perspective
that someone just coming in
00:12:55.77\00:12:59.04
as a business
person wouldn't have.
00:12:59.04\00:13:00.68
- Exactly.
00:13:00.68\00:13:01.74
- And so we're
just really thankful
00:13:01.74\00:13:02.84
that they have the
spiritual component.
00:13:02.84\00:13:05.25
The mission focus. - Yes.
00:13:05.25\00:13:06.85
- And the business skills.
00:13:06.85\00:13:08.32
- Yes and being businessmen,
00:13:08.32\00:13:09.95
if it's dedicated to God
is a really excellent way
00:13:09.95\00:13:13.39
to reach a lot of people.
00:13:13.39\00:13:14.92
- Right. Right.
00:13:14.92\00:13:15.72
Powerful, powerful opportunity.
00:13:15.72\00:13:17.63
- And so he has kind of
a background in marketing
00:13:17.63\00:13:20.03
and things like that, which
is very similar to outreach.
00:13:20.03\00:13:23.97
- Right.
00:13:23.97\00:13:25.07
- We use a lot
of marketing tools
00:13:25.07\00:13:26.57
in reaching people
and letting people know
00:13:26.57\00:13:28.80
about the love of Christ and
about the evangelistic series
00:13:28.80\00:13:32.31
or about a center like this
that has amazing climbing wall
00:13:32.31\00:13:35.58
and a program where
people can get to know Him.
00:13:35.58\00:13:37.75
- So in this next video,
00:13:37.75\00:13:39.38
he's talking about
their plans and their dreams
00:13:39.38\00:13:42.32
for the F5 center
from now on. - Excellent.
00:13:42.32\00:13:45.42
(upbeat music)
00:13:45.42\00:13:48.06
- We're located here right
by Ramkhamhaeng University.
00:13:52.09\00:13:55.56
There's a ton of
students all around us
00:13:55.56\00:13:57.87
and we really have a
passion to reach out to them.
00:13:57.87\00:14:00.70
That's what the, Atwell's,
00:14:00.70\00:14:02.84
was their goal when
they started this ministry.
00:14:02.84\00:14:05.01
And we really feel privileged
00:14:05.01\00:14:07.44
to get to carry on with it.
00:14:07.44\00:14:11.48
- Our goals for the next
couple months are twofold
00:14:11.48\00:14:13.92
Of course, number one is
getting the building ready
00:14:13.92\00:14:16.42
for the college
students when they come back.
00:14:16.42\00:14:18.45
So that includes
getting the cafe ready to go,
00:14:18.45\00:14:21.42
as well as getting our
00:14:21.42\00:14:23.12
student lounge
slash study area set up.
00:14:23.12\00:14:26.56
So our goal is to have an
area where college students
00:14:26.56\00:14:29.06
can come study, play
games, we can engage with them.
00:14:29.06\00:14:33.90
Also we're planning
on having English lessons
00:14:33.90\00:14:36.81
once or twice a
week in order to be able
00:14:36.81\00:14:38.67
to connect with them in that way
00:14:38.67\00:14:40.71
and start
developing relationships.
00:14:40.71\00:14:42.98
And secondly of
course is just making sure
00:14:42.98\00:14:45.91
that we get the
business to a point
00:14:45.91\00:14:47.98
where it is self-sustaining.
00:14:47.98\00:14:49.92
Brian and Jessica had been
able to get to the building
00:14:49.92\00:14:52.29
to where they'd
finally broken even
00:14:52.29\00:14:54.49
and it was now a
self-sustaining business.
00:14:54.49\00:14:57.46
COVID turned
that head over heels.
00:14:57.46\00:14:59.46
And we're now again in the area
00:14:59.46\00:15:02.10
where we're operating
at a loss every month.
00:15:02.10\00:15:04.40
Due to regulations in Thailand
00:15:05.60\00:15:07.40
a business needs to be
self-supporting or making a
00:15:07.40\00:15:10.91
profit in order to solidify
its stance as a lawful business.
00:15:10.91\00:15:15.21
So that is something
that we'll be working as well.
00:15:15.21\00:15:17.28
Focusing more on
our outdoor trips
00:15:17.28\00:15:19.65
as well as reaching out to,
00:15:19.65\00:15:22.55
schools and
business development,
00:15:22.55\00:15:24.22
different
things to increase the,
00:15:24.22\00:15:27.16
essentially the reach of
people knowing about our gym.
00:15:27.16\00:15:30.06
(soft music)
00:15:30.06\00:15:32.53
One of the amazing things that
was able to come out of COVID
00:15:34.96\00:15:38.40
was Brian had the
opportunity to purchase property
00:15:38.40\00:15:41.64
about an hour and a half
to two hours south of Bangkok.
00:15:41.64\00:15:45.34
It's an outdoor property
00:15:45.34\00:15:46.41
right next to some
amazing rock climbing.
00:15:46.41\00:15:48.38
It's actually where
we take people to do
00:15:48.38\00:15:50.61
an intro to rock
climbing class, so to speak.
00:15:50.61\00:15:54.22
And so that property,
we have a lot of plans for
00:15:54.22\00:15:57.99
in terms of being
able to create somewhere
00:15:57.99\00:15:59.62
where we can take college
students from outta the city,
00:15:59.62\00:16:02.52
go down, do camping trips,
00:16:02.52\00:16:04.53
but that's kind
of a future plan.
00:16:04.53\00:16:07.03
And we'll be
continuing developing that
00:16:07.03\00:16:09.20
over the next
six months to a year.
00:16:09.20\00:16:12.23
But we are really excited
to start preparing a place
00:16:13.64\00:16:15.50
where we can reach kids,
00:16:15.50\00:16:16.84
not just on a personal to
person level here in Bangkok,
00:16:16.84\00:16:20.24
but actually get
them outta the city
00:16:20.24\00:16:21.88
to be able to connect
with God through nature.
00:16:21.88\00:16:24.55
(soft music)
00:16:24.55\00:16:27.02
- Exciting, isn't it?
00:16:31.72\00:16:32.82
- Yeah.
00:16:32.82\00:16:33.62
- The potential is just amazing.
00:16:33.62\00:16:36.22
- Right.
00:16:36.22\00:16:37.33
- For what God can
do and reaching people,
00:16:37.33\00:16:38.96
making connections.
00:16:38.96\00:16:40.30
It's very rare that
you're able to have a program
00:16:40.30\00:16:42.93
or an opportunity to
take people on a trip,
00:16:42.93\00:16:46.17
spend time with them. - Right.
00:16:46.17\00:16:47.77
- Even for a weekend.
00:16:47.77\00:16:49.44
Right now, they
leave early in the morning
00:16:49.44\00:16:51.27
to take people out to the
climbing mountain, do the climb,
00:16:51.27\00:16:54.41
and then they drive back
in the afternoon or evening.
00:16:54.41\00:16:57.05
- Right.
00:16:57.05\00:16:58.45
- And Mrs. White counsels
us to have outpost centers
00:16:58.45\00:17:00.42
to work the cities. - Right.
00:17:00.42\00:17:02.05
- They decided to do
it backwards this time
00:17:02.05\00:17:04.39
'cause a lot of times
we've seen that people
00:17:04.39\00:17:06.09
build the outpost
centers to work the cities,
00:17:06.09\00:17:08.02
but they never end
up working the cities.
00:17:08.02\00:17:09.89
- Right.
00:17:09.89\00:17:11.03
- It's too much time
and convenient and beautiful
00:17:11.03\00:17:13.73
to stay in the outpost. - Right.
00:17:13.73\00:17:15.53
- And so they did it backwards.
00:17:15.53\00:17:16.63
They started out in
the city and now they,
00:17:16.63\00:17:18.87
they're developing the
outpost center in the country.
00:17:18.87\00:17:21.34
- To have it
available where people can go
00:17:21.34\00:17:23.64
and spend the whole
weekend or even take a week.
00:17:23.64\00:17:26.04
- And the vision for that
property out there is to have
00:17:26.04\00:17:29.44
huts or you could call 'em
like a bamboo cabin so to speak.
00:17:29.44\00:17:33.52
Ecotourism is
like really popular,
00:17:33.52\00:17:35.95
where you can go
out and get rustic,
00:17:35.95\00:17:37.39
get close to nature and stuff.
00:17:37.39\00:17:38.92
So to have a little
camp there with multiple,
00:17:38.92\00:17:41.66
cabins that people can
go and have that community
00:17:41.66\00:17:44.76
and yet be close
to nature and yet
00:17:44.76\00:17:47.03
not be bitten by too many bugs.
00:17:47.03\00:17:49.63
(Jon chuckles)
00:17:49.63\00:17:51.50
- Yeah. So it's exciting
and it's a great opportunity.
00:17:51.50\00:17:55.37
And we're excited to
see where God takes it next.
00:17:55.37\00:17:57.54
- Yes. Absolutely.
00:17:57.54\00:17:58.81
- So I wanted to mention
00:17:58.81\00:17:59.91
that he was
talking about the funding
00:17:59.91\00:18:02.24
and how they were
finally self-sustaining
00:18:02.24\00:18:05.25
and then COVID hit and
that just reverse that.
00:18:05.25\00:18:08.12
- Yeah.
00:18:08.12\00:18:09.18
- And I'm just
thankful they have
00:18:09.18\00:18:10.65
the infrastructure. - Yes.
00:18:10.65\00:18:12.02
- And they have
00:18:12.02\00:18:12.89
some good workers now. - Yes.
00:18:12.89\00:18:14.02
- And they've had a
few good workers all along,
00:18:14.02\00:18:16.73
but now they have a few more.
00:18:16.73\00:18:18.19
It's exciting to
see how God is working
00:18:18.19\00:18:21.36
in spite of the
financial limitations.
00:18:21.36\00:18:23.40
And like he said,
00:18:23.40\00:18:24.50
it's very important
that they show that they're
00:18:24.50\00:18:26.63
self-sustaining for maintaining
their business license.
00:18:26.63\00:18:29.67
- Yes.
00:18:29.67\00:18:31.07
- And so that's something
we're really praying for.
00:18:31.07\00:18:32.17
'cause people can
donate all day long
00:18:32.17\00:18:34.24
and while that helps them
00:18:34.24\00:18:35.68
to, keep the
infrastructure and all of that,
00:18:35.68\00:18:38.61
the business itself
has to show a profit.
00:18:38.61\00:18:41.58
- Right.
00:18:41.58\00:18:42.42
- That's where we're at.
00:18:42.42\00:18:43.22
It's kind of a mixed bag.
00:18:43.22\00:18:44.85
People like to see tent making,
but we also have a reality.
00:18:44.85\00:18:49.39
which is that the building
couldn't have stayed there
00:18:49.39\00:18:52.39
without the donations of those
00:18:52.39\00:18:53.93
that have given during
COVID and things like that.
00:18:53.93\00:18:56.70
And the building wouldn't exist
00:18:56.70\00:18:58.40
without those that have
given through this time.
00:18:58.40\00:19:01.44
And neither would they
have that property out there.
00:19:01.44\00:19:03.97
- Oh, absolutely.
00:19:03.97\00:19:05.34
- And so that's how the
infrastructure gets built,
00:19:05.34\00:19:07.31
is by people giving and taking
up the vision, so to speak
00:19:07.31\00:19:12.15
and supporting that.
00:19:12.15\00:19:13.52
And then God is making the
gym again, self-sustaining.
00:19:13.52\00:19:17.95
They've got a lot
more people coming in.
00:19:17.95\00:19:20.59
The students are
starting to come back
00:19:20.59\00:19:22.12
and so they've got a lot
more people coming in now
00:19:22.12\00:19:24.69
and so it's getting
closer to being self-sustaining.
00:19:24.69\00:19:27.30
- Right. - And it's exciting
00:19:27.30\00:19:29.93
to see God is doing,
00:19:29.93\00:19:31.77
taking the hands of
those that are tent making
00:19:31.77\00:19:33.94
as well as the hands of
those that are willing to give
00:19:33.94\00:19:36.57
to help things to get
started and really get rolling.
00:19:36.57\00:19:39.77
- Since they
have so many floors.
00:19:39.77\00:19:41.34
One of the floors they've
dedicated to become a church.
00:19:41.34\00:19:44.11
- Okay.
00:19:44.11\00:19:45.21
- They're gonna
call it a lecture hall.
00:19:45.21\00:19:46.48
So they're gonna do like
healthy living, cooking classes,
00:19:46.48\00:19:50.29
those kind of lectures to,
00:19:50.29\00:19:51.35
to tie in with
the rock climbing.
00:19:51.35\00:19:54.19
They also have
developed a fruit smoothie bar
00:19:54.19\00:19:56.79
right near the
rock climbing wall.
00:19:56.79\00:19:58.73
And then the hangout
area is where they have
00:19:58.73\00:20:01.76
a place for people to
come in and sit and study
00:20:01.76\00:20:04.90
and then also maybe order
some fruit smoothies or some,
00:20:04.90\00:20:08.54
and play board
games and stuff like that
00:20:08.54\00:20:11.01
where they can interact with
the people and get to know them
00:20:11.01\00:20:13.38
and pray for them
and things like that.
00:20:13.38\00:20:15.51
- Right.
00:20:15.51\00:20:16.88
- This is in an environment
where there really is no,
00:20:16.88\00:20:19.78
almost no
Christian influence. - Right.
00:20:19.78\00:20:22.62
- To develop the infrastructure,
00:20:22.62\00:20:23.95
to get to the point where
they can start the witnessing
00:20:23.95\00:20:26.32
has been a long
term plan. - Right.
00:20:26.32\00:20:28.49
- And so now
we're just to that cusp
00:20:28.49\00:20:30.73
and the Lord's
starting to make inroads
00:20:30.73\00:20:33.03
on the spiritual level,
00:20:33.03\00:20:34.50
but it's the Holy
Spirit that enables them
00:20:34.50\00:20:37.53
to make the
saving impact. - Right.
00:20:37.53\00:20:39.83
- And that's
what's really needed.
00:20:39.83\00:20:41.14
And that's where
we as a family, as a,
00:20:41.14\00:20:43.30
as here in America, our
prayers can be heard in Heaven
00:20:43.30\00:20:47.14
that releases the
power of the Holy Spirit
00:20:47.14\00:20:50.21
and releases
angels into those places
00:20:50.21\00:20:52.45
so that when people come in,
00:20:52.45\00:20:54.02
now the Thai's are
very familiar with spirits.
00:20:54.02\00:20:56.89
- Right. - They're not,
00:20:56.89\00:20:58.39
you don't have to convince them
that there's a spirit world.
00:20:58.39\00:20:59.82
- Right. There's
enough spirit houses.
00:20:59.82\00:21:02.42
And they know what that means.
00:21:02.42\00:21:04.09
- And so when they come in
00:21:04.09\00:21:05.13
and they sense a
different spirit there
00:21:05.13\00:21:07.10
they're aware of that.
00:21:07.10\00:21:08.16
That's where we
as a family of God
00:21:08.16\00:21:11.27
can really make an impact,
00:21:11.27\00:21:12.73
is in places like
this to enable the light,
00:21:12.73\00:21:15.50
the Holy Spirit and and the
good Angels to be present there.
00:21:15.50\00:21:18.91
And people can
sense that. - Right.
00:21:18.91\00:21:20.94
- And they'll
start asking questions.
00:21:20.94\00:21:22.04
- Right, and one thing
I noticed in the videos
00:21:22.04\00:21:24.51
is they've painted
Bible scriptures on the walls
00:21:24.51\00:21:27.78
in English, but
also in Thai. - Yes.
00:21:27.78\00:21:30.25
- Sometimes we
would just see those words
00:21:30.25\00:21:31.75
and just think there's
just some words on the wall,
00:21:31.75\00:21:33.52
but those are
scriptures written in Thai.
00:21:33.52\00:21:35.56
- Right. - Also.
00:21:35.56\00:21:36.66
And so to have the
Lord take those scriptures
00:21:36.66\00:21:39.43
and impress the
people that come to climb,
00:21:39.43\00:21:41.86
as they glance up
there and they see that there
00:21:41.86\00:21:44.07
near them while
they're climbing.
00:21:44.07\00:21:46.10
It's like the Lord
could then use those words
00:21:46.10\00:21:48.24
to impress upon them
00:21:48.24\00:21:49.87
and they'll
start asking questions,
00:21:49.87\00:21:52.51
they'll-- - Absolutely.
00:21:52.51\00:21:53.94
- So the Lord is gonna work.
00:21:53.94\00:21:55.54
- Yeah. - We just have to pray.
00:21:55.54\00:21:57.18
- This is how the head
woman of the village that the
00:21:57.18\00:22:00.05
Sharon's were living in
became interested in Christ.
00:22:00.05\00:22:03.12
She saw the family,
how they lived together,
00:22:03.12\00:22:05.02
but she saw them
writing out the text on the,
00:22:05.02\00:22:07.72
on the wall of
their home. - Right.
00:22:07.72\00:22:09.42
- And she says,
What does this mean?
00:22:09.42\00:22:12.53
Who is this God that
says things like this?
00:22:13.63\00:22:15.66
Now she's one of
our Bible workers.
00:22:15.66\00:22:17.17
- Right. Right.
00:22:17.17\00:22:18.50
So it's neat to see how
God takes the little things
00:22:18.50\00:22:22.54
that we start with and
then just builds upon them.
00:22:22.54\00:22:25.01
- Right.
00:22:25.01\00:22:25.84
- I love that place.
00:22:25.84\00:22:27.21
It's one of those
places where you go
00:22:27.21\00:22:29.01
and you're like you see
00:22:29.01\00:22:30.35
the hand prints of God. - Yes.
00:22:30.35\00:22:32.45
- And you know that
00:22:32.45\00:22:33.52
he would not do this much - Yes.
00:22:33.52\00:22:36.85
- For nothing. - Right.
00:22:36.85\00:22:38.29
- I mean he has put
that place together so that
00:22:38.29\00:22:42.36
people will know him.
00:22:42.36\00:22:44.03
It's not just because he
wanted a climbing wall there,
00:22:44.03\00:22:47.86
but God did so much,
00:22:47.86\00:22:49.60
He has done so much so far
00:22:49.60\00:22:52.07
to reach these
people in this neighborhood.
00:22:52.07\00:22:55.17
And I just, I'm just amazed.
00:22:55.17\00:22:57.61
It's one of those
places where it's like,
00:22:57.61\00:22:59.44
- God was here, God moved here.
00:22:59.44\00:23:01.54
- I mean you can see the
evidence of his moving over
00:23:01.54\00:23:05.55
time. But it's
like the potential
00:23:05.55\00:23:07.72
is like God is moving here.
00:23:07.72\00:23:09.82
God has a plan for
these people to know him.
00:23:09.82\00:23:12.25
And Matthew 24:14 is
actively being fulfilled
00:23:12.25\00:23:17.33
because of this place.
00:23:17.99\00:23:18.79
- Yeah. Yeah.
00:23:18.79\00:23:20.13
I remember when they first
came with the idea of renting
00:23:20.13\00:23:22.96
this five story massive
15,000 square foot building.
00:23:22.96\00:23:27.07
And I've learned
not to speak my doubt,
00:23:27.07\00:23:29.40
but I was thinking
that's too big. There's no way.
00:23:31.01\00:23:34.21
And the kind of,
they had to tear out
00:23:34.21\00:23:36.28
all the insides and
rebuild it from scratch and--
00:23:36.28\00:23:38.98
- Yeah, cause it was a dormitory
and now the floors are open
00:23:38.98\00:23:42.22
so they had to tear out
all the individual rooms.
00:23:42.22\00:23:44.32
- An old worn out
dormitory. - Yeah.
00:23:44.32\00:23:46.12
- And so the kind of
work and the investment
00:23:46.12\00:23:48.82
that had to go
into that building,
00:23:48.82\00:23:50.19
I'm just
thinking there's no way.
00:23:50.19\00:23:52.19
But here it's done. - Right.
00:23:52.19\00:23:53.80
- I'm looking at it,
00:23:53.80\00:23:55.06
I'm thinking this is
like another Noah's arc.
00:23:55.06\00:23:57.30
This is like a
testament to faith in God.
00:23:57.30\00:24:00.20
Then have this
transition happen so smoothly.
00:24:00.20\00:24:02.90
It's a God thing. - Right.
00:24:02.90\00:24:04.31
- Absolute God thing,
that God was preparing a family
00:24:04.31\00:24:07.24
to step in at the very
moment that it's needed
00:24:07.24\00:24:10.21
and to continue and grow
the work, it's just phenomenal.
00:24:11.61\00:24:14.85
- Right. And yeah.
00:24:14.85\00:24:16.72
And God's hand
print, to see the timing.
00:24:16.72\00:24:20.79
To see the skills. - Yes.
00:24:20.79\00:24:22.79
- To see, the
need come at that time.
00:24:22.79\00:24:27.13
It just, it's
just God's hand print.
00:24:27.13\00:24:29.90
And again we wanna say that
the project is not completed.
00:24:29.90\00:24:34.70
There's still more to do.
00:24:34.70\00:24:35.84
They still have
to build the church.
00:24:35.84\00:24:38.01
- Yeah, and then in
addition to the building
00:24:38.01\00:24:40.51
and the little things,
00:24:40.51\00:24:41.51
the changes that
they're making in there,
00:24:41.51\00:24:43.71
they want to be able
to do some marketing,
00:24:43.71\00:24:46.55
to let, so people
can know that it's there.
00:24:46.55\00:24:49.42
So one of the
ideas that I really love
00:24:49.42\00:24:51.22
is to have like a
mannequin of a guy climbing
00:24:51.22\00:24:53.92
on the outside of the wall.
00:24:53.92\00:24:55.62
So when you
walk down the street,
00:24:55.62\00:24:56.73
you see this guy
like hanging from a rope,
00:24:56.73\00:24:59.13
like a climbing thing.
00:24:59.13\00:25:00.43
I think that's a
brilliant idea to tell people,
00:25:01.70\00:25:03.33
hey, there's a
climbing wall in here.
00:25:03.33\00:25:04.73
- [Natalie] Yeah.
This is interesting.
00:25:04.73\00:25:06.53
- A lot of people
walk up and down there.
00:25:06.53\00:25:08.14
Right now the only thing that's
out there is that F5 sign.
00:25:08.14\00:25:11.07
And if you don't
know what F5 means,
00:25:11.07\00:25:13.58
you don't really
know what's in there.
00:25:13.58\00:25:16.11
It's like a beautiful facility,
00:25:16.11\00:25:18.61
but nobody
knows that it's there.
00:25:18.61\00:25:21.48
So that plus handing out flyers,
00:25:21.48\00:25:23.79
plus putting ads in Facebook,
00:25:23.79\00:25:25.79
all that kind of stuff,
it takes that creative mind,
00:25:25.79\00:25:28.36
but also takes funding
to be able to enable them
00:25:28.36\00:25:31.06
to do the kind of marketing
that that place deserves.
00:25:31.06\00:25:34.13
- Right. Right.
00:25:34.13\00:25:35.46
And that's another
thing that they've been doing
00:25:35.46\00:25:37.33
is they've had a bakery.
00:25:37.33\00:25:38.63
And so they make baked goods
00:25:38.63\00:25:40.87
and they sell them
out there on the street.
00:25:40.87\00:25:42.44
They actually have put a
table out there on the street
00:25:42.44\00:25:45.41
to sell those, to
help people to know what,
00:25:45.41\00:25:48.08
what they do inside there.
00:25:48.08\00:25:49.88
And so now with that cafe,
00:25:49.88\00:25:51.38
they're gonna be
making more baked to goods
00:25:51.38\00:25:53.35
and selling them as
people come to eat there.
00:25:53.35\00:25:55.65
But there's so much
opportunity, so much potential.
00:25:55.65\00:25:59.62
And then the, the outpost
property still has a lot of
00:25:59.62\00:26:03.53
need. - Right. - And so we just,
00:26:03.53\00:26:04.89
we just wanna
remember to pray for them
00:26:04.89\00:26:07.73
because they need wisdom.
00:26:07.73\00:26:09.56
It's like as the
little bit of funds come in,
00:26:09.56\00:26:12.53
and more funds come
in, it's like, Lord,
00:26:12.53\00:26:15.20
where do we direct
our emphasis right now?
00:26:15.20\00:26:19.07
What is the most effective
marketing tool for right now?
00:26:19.07\00:26:22.41
And for God to lead and
guide With every step for--
00:26:23.75\00:26:27.98
- So they need wisdom.
00:26:27.98\00:26:29.35
- So they know right now
what they should be doing.
00:26:29.35\00:26:31.19
- Yeah, exactly.
- They need wisdom.
00:26:31.19\00:26:32.85
And they need funds,
but they need wisdom.
00:26:32.85\00:26:35.09
They need God's guidance.
00:26:35.09\00:26:36.19
That spirit needs to
live in that building
00:26:36.19\00:26:38.89
and in the hearts of
those that work there and
00:26:38.89\00:26:41.66
so that they can be touching
the lives of those that come
00:26:41.66\00:26:44.43
through the
doors or even pass by.
00:26:44.43\00:26:46.23
- Absolutely, yeah.
00:26:46.23\00:26:47.90
Well this has
been an exciting show.
00:26:47.90\00:26:49.74
- It has. - I love,
00:26:49.74\00:26:50.74
I love to see how God moves
00:26:50.74\00:26:52.21
and God is
definitely moving here.
00:26:52.21\00:26:54.31
He has a heart for the
cities and God's in the cities.
00:26:54.31\00:26:57.71
We don't feel like it
when we go into the city,
00:26:57.71\00:27:00.32
we see just man's work. We
see man's success and we see--
00:27:00.32\00:27:04.05
- And it's busy and it's loud
00:27:04.05\00:27:06.52
and it's smelly
and it's uncomfortable.
00:27:06.52\00:27:09.09
- Yeah, but God's there--
00:27:09.09\00:27:10.73
- Because he loves
the people. - Because he's
00:27:10.73\00:27:11.96
where the need is.
00:27:11.96\00:27:12.96
He's where the people are.
00:27:12.96\00:27:14.00
He's where the darkness is.
00:27:14.00\00:27:15.93
He's, that's where
his spirit longs to go.
00:27:15.93\00:27:20.30
And so that's
where we should go to.
00:27:20.30\00:27:22.14
- Right.
00:27:22.14\00:27:22.94
- We should go to the places
00:27:22.94\00:27:23.94
where God is
working the hardest.
00:27:23.94\00:27:26.84
- Right.
00:27:26.84\00:27:27.94
I would like to
invite you to pray
00:27:27.94\00:27:29.78
for Jordan and Maria
Kennedy and for their children
00:27:29.78\00:27:32.58
and the Thai workers that
are working there with them.
00:27:32.58\00:27:35.62
And that the Lord would
bless and pour his spirit
00:27:35.62\00:27:38.12
upon this place
that he has built
00:27:38.12\00:27:40.39
to reach out to the
people of Ramkhamhaeng.
00:27:40.39\00:27:43.93
If you would like to be
00:27:43.93\00:27:45.03
a part of this work
in Bangkok, Thailand,
00:27:45.03\00:27:47.60
please contact
us at Jesus for Asia
00:27:47.60\00:27:50.10
P.O. Box 1221,
Collegedale, Tennessee, 37315.
00:27:50.10\00:27:54.54
Call us at 423-413-7321
00:27:55.94\00:28:00.34
or visit our
website at Jesus4asia.org.
00:28:00.34\00:28:04.08
May God richly bless you
until we see you next time
00:28:04.08\00:28:07.42
on "Jesus for Asia Now".
00:28:07.42\00:28:09.18
(soft music)
00:28:09.18\00:28:11.69