(upbeat music)
00:00:00.53\00:00:02.86
- Hello and welcome
to "Jesus for Asia now".
00:00:22.35\00:00:24.82
I'm Natalie Wood,
00:00:24.82\00:00:25.92
and my husband, Jon,
is here with me today.
00:00:25.92\00:00:28.16
Hello, love.
00:00:28.16\00:00:28.96
- Hi darling, how are you?
00:00:28.96\00:00:30.36
- I am doing well, thank you.
00:00:30.36\00:00:31.79
- Good.
00:00:31.79\00:00:32.59
- So where are we going today?
00:00:32.59\00:00:34.86
Virtually going, I mean.
00:00:34.86\00:00:36.43
- We are going to
the country of Cambodia.
00:00:36.43\00:00:40.27
- [Natalie] Okay.
00:00:40.27\00:00:41.77
- [Jon] Cambodia is a little
country surrounded by Thailand,
00:00:41.77\00:00:44.21
Laos, and Vietnam, and the
Bay of Thailand on the south.
00:00:44.21\00:00:47.38
- Cambodia is a
country with an interesting
00:00:47.38\00:00:50.81
and actually
quite painful history.
00:00:50.81\00:00:54.02
Do you wanna explain?
00:00:54.02\00:00:55.38
- Back in the '70s,
Pol Pot rose to power,
00:00:55.38\00:00:59.85
came through with his Khmer
Rouge and took over the country.
00:00:59.85\00:01:04.03
And he then instituted a program
00:01:04.03\00:01:07.66
where he wanted to bring
the country back to purity,
00:01:07.66\00:01:10.80
which meant that he wanted
everybody to be rice farmers.
00:01:10.80\00:01:14.40
Which meant that
anybody that had any connection
00:01:14.40\00:01:17.04
with Western influence,
anybody that had any education,
00:01:17.04\00:01:21.31
anybody that like wore
glasses, spoke English,
00:01:21.31\00:01:23.95
had a ballpoint pen,
he summarily executed.
00:01:23.95\00:01:27.82
And so millions of
people lost their lives
00:01:27.82\00:01:31.39
during that reign of terror.
00:01:31.39\00:01:33.36
- Right. It's called
the killing fields actually.
00:01:33.36\00:01:35.56
- Yeah.
00:01:35.56\00:01:36.62
The effect of that
that we're feeling today
00:01:36.62\00:01:38.29
is that it was the
intelligent people,
00:01:38.29\00:01:41.10
it was those that were educated,
00:01:41.10\00:01:43.43
it was the educators
as well as the educated
00:01:43.43\00:01:46.53
that the
country completely lost.
00:01:46.53\00:01:49.54
And so after that,
00:01:49.54\00:01:51.21
the people that were
left didn't value education.
00:01:51.21\00:01:55.41
- Sometimes we
don't see the value
00:01:56.54\00:01:58.88
and unless we've
benefited from it ourselves,
00:01:58.88\00:02:01.05
we don't see the value.
00:02:01.05\00:02:02.08
- And so that is
affecting the project
00:02:02.08\00:02:03.75
that we're talking about today.
00:02:03.75\00:02:05.05
- All right. And
what is that project?
00:02:05.05\00:02:06.82
- There's a vision planted in
the Cambodia Adventist Mission
00:02:06.82\00:02:10.66
for a boarding academy on
the western side of Cambodia.
00:02:10.66\00:02:15.20
There's a
school up in the north,
00:02:15.20\00:02:16.73
there's a school in Penham
Pan itself, but that's about it.
00:02:16.73\00:02:20.84
There's some other
schools dotted here and there,
00:02:20.84\00:02:23.00
some elementary
schools and things like that,
00:02:23.00\00:02:25.24
but not like a
large boarding academy.
00:02:25.24\00:02:28.61
And so the idea was born and
some people were developing it,
00:02:28.61\00:02:32.38
and then the Howell family
got involved, have moved there.
00:02:32.38\00:02:37.45
In trying to set up the
school and start the school,
00:02:38.79\00:02:40.42
we found that there are
almost no qualified teachers
00:02:40.42\00:02:44.73
that are available.
00:02:44.73\00:02:46.36
There's very few
teachers that are available
00:02:46.36\00:02:48.30
and they are already employed.
00:02:48.30\00:02:50.47
And so what do you do?
00:02:50.47\00:02:52.13
We have students that are
graduates from high school,
00:02:53.60\00:02:56.57
but you can't really
have high school graduates
00:02:56.57\00:02:58.67
teaching high school.
00:02:58.67\00:03:00.34
You need college
graduates teaching high school,
00:03:00.34\00:03:03.35
that have an
education in teaching,
00:03:04.31\00:03:06.78
and as well as the
other arts and sciences
00:03:06.78\00:03:10.29
so that we can elevate the
level of education in Cambodia.
00:03:10.29\00:03:15.36
And so we had to
start from scratch.
00:03:16.42\00:03:18.39
Finding future
teachers that were willing
00:03:18.39\00:03:20.16
to go through
four years of college
00:03:20.16\00:03:21.96
in order to
qualify to become teachers.
00:03:21.96\00:03:24.03
And it's a long-term project.
00:03:25.13\00:03:27.44
It's nice when you can come
into a country and hire teachers
00:03:27.44\00:03:30.07
that already
have qualifications,
00:03:30.07\00:03:31.54
that already
understand the gospel message,
00:03:31.54\00:03:34.54
that already understand
the Adventist lifestyle
00:03:34.54\00:03:36.78
and can start a
program right away.
00:03:36.78\00:03:39.18
But in this case, we
had to start from scratch.
00:03:39.18\00:03:42.12
- Well, the
students are all Adventist.
00:03:42.12\00:03:44.62
Some of them are
very New Adventists,
00:03:44.62\00:03:46.42
but they are all
Adventist, so that's a plus.
00:03:46.42\00:03:48.46
- Yeah. So we do
have these students.
00:03:48.46\00:03:50.09
- It's a start,
00:03:50.09\00:03:51.46
- But they are students,
they're not teachers yet.
00:03:51.46\00:03:53.06
And so we've had them
00:03:53.06\00:03:54.56
in the government
schools there in Cambodia,
00:03:54.56\00:03:57.90
but we're having all
kinds of Sabbath problems.
00:03:57.90\00:04:00.70
- Even when they had a class
00:04:00.70\00:04:01.80
that was scheduled
on like a Wednesday,
00:04:01.80\00:04:04.01
the teacher wouldn't show
up and then they'd be called in
00:04:04.01\00:04:06.68
to find out why they
weren't in class on Saturday.
00:04:06.68\00:04:09.14
They moved the class.
00:04:09.14\00:04:10.48
And so it's like, we
signed up for a Wednesday class
00:04:10.48\00:04:13.78
and now all of a
sudden it's a Sabbath class.
00:04:13.78\00:04:15.62
- Exactly.
00:04:15.62\00:04:16.92
- And so they were
having all sorts of issues,
00:04:16.92\00:04:18.25
besides the fact that they were
being forced to learn things
00:04:18.25\00:04:21.96
that have nothing to do with
what they're gonna be teaching.
00:04:21.96\00:04:24.93
Like Buddhism and
evolution and things like that.
00:04:24.93\00:04:29.00
- It just wasn't working out.
00:04:29.00\00:04:31.23
And so we started
looking for other options.
00:04:31.23\00:04:33.87
And the only options we
could find was out of country,
00:04:33.87\00:04:38.14
and so we are looking at
a school in the Philippines.
00:04:38.14\00:04:41.64
But that's not the only option,
00:04:41.64\00:04:43.61
another option is Heartland
College here in America.
00:04:43.61\00:04:46.61
In the meantime,
they had to learn English.
00:04:46.61\00:04:49.62
- Because no
matter where they go,
00:04:49.62\00:04:51.32
that's gonna be
the common language.
00:04:51.32\00:04:52.79
- Exactly.
00:04:52.79\00:04:53.89
Even in the Philippines,
Mountain View College,
00:04:53.89\00:04:55.12
they have to know enough English
00:04:55.12\00:04:56.89
in order to take the classes
00:04:56.89\00:04:58.26
and understand what the
teacher's talking about.
00:04:58.26\00:05:01.43
So that's what our
missionaries are doing,
00:05:01.43\00:05:04.80
is teaching a bunch
of young people English.
00:05:04.80\00:05:09.34
- Well, that's awesome that
they have the skills to do that.
00:05:09.34\00:05:11.91
- Yeah.
00:05:11.91\00:05:13.24
It's an amazing thing
because the project leader
00:05:13.24\00:05:15.21
has a masters
degree in education.
00:05:15.21\00:05:18.51
And the missionaries have
a huge heart for these kids.
00:05:18.51\00:05:21.52
Just living in a bamboo hut.
00:05:21.52\00:05:23.82
- Going through
all sorts of things.
00:05:23.82\00:05:25.09
Especially rainy
season is so hard.
00:05:25.09\00:05:27.99
And they're there
and they love the kids,
00:05:27.99\00:05:31.36
they love the young
people and it's worth it to them
00:05:31.36\00:05:35.30
even though it's hard.
00:05:35.30\00:05:36.63
- Their four-wheel drive pickup
got stuck in their driveway.
00:05:36.63\00:05:40.07
That's what they're
having to deal with.
00:05:40.07\00:05:41.67
- And a dusty house.
00:05:41.67\00:05:43.54
The termites are
eating the house.
00:05:43.54\00:05:45.24
- Natalie, maybe we should
introduce our missionaries.
00:05:45.24\00:05:47.78
- Her name is Natalie also.
00:05:47.78\00:05:49.18
Natalie Howell and Billy Howell.
00:05:49.18\00:05:51.58
And their daughter Alisa
is with them in Cambodia.
00:05:51.58\00:05:54.38
And their daughter Danielle
00:05:54.38\00:05:55.52
is here in the
States studying social work.
00:05:55.52\00:05:59.22
- We've got a video.
00:05:59.22\00:06:00.62
Maybe we can tell a
little bit about their story
00:06:00.62\00:06:02.59
through this video.
00:06:02.59\00:06:03.49
- [Natalie] Okay.
00:06:03.49\00:06:04.63
(gentle music)
00:06:04.63\00:06:07.23
- In 2018, I
went to a faith camp,
00:06:08.70\00:06:12.33
and while there they
were playing this story
00:06:12.33\00:06:15.50
called "MissionTREK".
00:06:15.50\00:06:17.07
And there was a
call for missionaries.
00:06:17.07\00:06:20.91
There was a great need.
00:06:20.91\00:06:22.51
Up until that point, I
was pushing for Danielle like,
00:06:22.51\00:06:25.55
"You know you need
to become a missionary,
00:06:25.55\00:06:27.08
you need to do missionary work,"
and all that kind of stuff.
00:06:27.08\00:06:30.19
And so as I'm sitting
there watching the video,
00:06:30.19\00:06:34.12
all of a sudden I hear a voice,
00:06:34.12\00:06:36.36
"It's funny how you're telling
Danielle to be a missionary
00:06:36.36\00:06:40.90
when I asked you to be
one and you haven't gone.
00:06:40.90\00:06:44.40
If she is lost as a result
of you, you'll be lost too."
00:06:46.10\00:06:51.17
And I kid you not, is like
somebody used a pin, pricked me,
00:06:52.71\00:06:55.51
I flew out the seat and I said,
00:06:55.51\00:06:56.78
"Jon, where do
you want me to go?
00:06:56.78\00:06:58.08
I have the qualifications,
just tell me where."
00:06:58.08\00:06:59.88
And he's like,
"What's the qualification?"
00:06:59.88\00:07:01.25
And I was like, "It's not
important, just please, please,"
00:07:01.25\00:07:03.72
you know, that urgency
like send me now, tell me where,
00:07:03.72\00:07:06.86
pick anywhere and I will go?
00:07:06.86\00:07:08.69
And then he
bypassed me and said,
00:07:09.69\00:07:12.16
"Danielle, what
credentials your mom have?"
00:07:12.16\00:07:15.00
And then
Danielle say, "Oh, my mom,
00:07:15.00\00:07:17.50
she has her
bachelor's in accounting
00:07:17.50\00:07:19.23
and her masters in education,"
00:07:19.23\00:07:20.94
and his eyes
almost popped out his head
00:07:20.94\00:07:23.91
and he was like, "Huh?"
00:07:23.91\00:07:25.61
And he was like,
"Miranda, she has her masters."
00:07:25.61\00:07:29.54
And Miranda grabbed me
and said, "I get first dips."
00:07:29.54\00:07:32.38
And that's how
Cambodia got in the picture.
00:07:32.38\00:07:34.58
(bell tolling)
00:07:34.58\00:07:37.22
- There's a whole world out
there that doesn't know Christ.
00:07:38.75\00:07:41.66
A lot of us are like,
we're ready for Jesus to come,
00:07:41.66\00:07:43.73
Christ is coming soon.
00:07:43.73\00:07:45.49
But the Bible says, we
gotta preach the gospel
00:07:45.49\00:07:48.23
to the whole world,
and then the end will come.
00:07:48.23\00:07:51.17
And there's 16
million people in Cambodia
00:07:51.17\00:07:55.97
and less than probably
4,000 Adventists, if that many.
00:07:57.34\00:08:01.48
There's so many
places, there's so many people
00:08:01.48\00:08:03.04
that just don't
know who Christ is,
00:08:03.04\00:08:05.25
and work needs to get done.
00:08:05.25\00:08:07.45
And if we don't get it
done in the easy times,
00:08:07.45\00:08:10.12
the Lord's gonna have us getting
it done in the hard times.
00:08:10.12\00:08:13.02
(somber music)
00:08:13.02\00:08:16.02
When you come out here and
you're fully living by faith,
00:08:16.02\00:08:20.56
depending on God, it's
a whole other challenge.
00:08:20.56\00:08:24.60
It's a different feeling
atmosphere than you're used to.
00:08:24.60\00:08:29.30
It's a struggle
sometimes, but we have to learn
00:08:29.30\00:08:33.07
to wait on the Lord
00:08:33.07\00:08:34.14
because that's what
the Bible asks us to do.
00:08:34.14\00:08:36.31
They that wait upon the
Lord shall renew their strength.
00:08:36.31\00:08:38.65
He wants us to
depend on Him fully, 100%,
00:08:38.65\00:08:41.85
and we have to here.
00:08:41.85\00:08:44.22
- I feel like being
here, it's hard to pretend
00:08:47.99\00:08:51.26
that you're a Christian
00:08:51.26\00:08:52.69
'cause you're in a
non-Christian country, you know?
00:08:52.69\00:08:55.76
And my
deficiencies, or my weaknesses,
00:08:55.76\00:09:00.84
'cause it's many,
have been amplified
00:09:01.94\00:09:05.04
and it comes out sometimes
in interaction with others.
00:09:05.04\00:09:08.81
And in those interactions,
I see sometimes self-rising.
00:09:10.18\00:09:15.32
And a lot of times I
see how much I need God
00:09:16.38\00:09:18.52
and how much of me
that still needs to die,
00:09:18.52\00:09:23.02
that I thought I was okay.
00:09:23.02\00:09:24.69
'Cause before, if you asked
me if I had certain issues,
00:09:26.09\00:09:28.10
I would tell you no, that's
not something I struggled with.
00:09:28.10\00:09:31.17
And so being here, I am learning
that it can't be me at all.
00:09:32.50\00:09:37.04
Every step that I
take, it has to be God.
00:09:38.51\00:09:41.21
I mean, look at
this, this is 12 hectares,
00:09:43.55\00:09:45.21
this is almost 30 acres.
00:09:45.21\00:09:47.05
I don't know what to do.
00:09:47.05\00:09:48.62
It's overwhelming.
00:09:48.62\00:09:49.92
Starting raw from
scratch. How do you do that?
00:09:49.92\00:09:54.22
I've never done it before,
00:09:54.22\00:09:56.02
so I'm learning
and continue to learn
00:09:56.02\00:09:59.39
how much this has to be
God, this cannot be Natalie,
00:09:59.39\00:10:04.20
this cannot be Billy,
00:10:04.20\00:10:05.27
this cannot be any
of the students here,
00:10:05.27\00:10:08.00
it has to be 100% Him.
00:10:08.00\00:10:10.71
And that's it.
00:10:11.91\00:10:13.24
So that's the biggest
lesson that I'm learning here,
00:10:13.24\00:10:16.28
that I know nothing, I am
nothing, and I can't do nothing,
00:10:16.28\00:10:21.35
it has to be Him.
00:10:22.42\00:10:23.72
(bright music)
00:10:24.55\00:10:27.22
- So that's Natalie and Billy.
00:10:32.53\00:10:34.46
- Yap.
00:10:34.46\00:10:35.43
- Learning to walk by faith.
00:10:35.43\00:10:36.73
- Yeah.
00:10:36.73\00:10:38.17
And like she said, my
deficiencies, which are many,
00:10:38.17\00:10:41.87
they aren't
hidden, they come out.
00:10:41.87\00:10:44.31
And that's one thing that
we've seen over and over again
00:10:45.74\00:10:48.01
when people go to
a different place.
00:10:48.01\00:10:50.15
Even if it's inside of America,
00:10:50.15\00:10:52.28
if somebody moves
to a different area,
00:10:52.28\00:10:53.85
they endure a little bit of
what's called culture shock.
00:10:53.85\00:10:57.15
But it's even more amplified
00:10:57.15\00:10:58.62
when you go to a
different country.
00:10:58.62\00:11:00.49
And so, yeah.
00:11:00.49\00:11:02.09
- Can't understand their
language, the food's different,
00:11:02.09\00:11:04.46
everything is
different and stuff.
00:11:04.46\00:11:06.70
And yet they're sticking it out,
00:11:06.70\00:11:08.83
they're determined
to follow God's will,
00:11:08.83\00:11:11.00
and this is
something that they've wanted.
00:11:11.00\00:11:12.90
They've wanted to
have that faith trial.
00:11:12.90\00:11:15.20
- Yeah, it's interesting.
00:11:15.20\00:11:16.57
At the beginning of the story,
00:11:16.57\00:11:17.64
she said that
it was her daughter
00:11:17.64\00:11:19.41
that wanted to be a missionary.
00:11:19.41\00:11:20.68
She was urging her
daughter to be a missionary.
00:11:20.68\00:11:23.24
And then God said, I called you.
00:11:23.24\00:11:25.51
That's scary, isn't it?
00:11:25.51\00:11:27.38
And if she's lost, it's because
of you and you're lost too.
00:11:27.38\00:11:30.72
- [Jon] Wow.
00:11:30.72\00:11:31.62
- It was a wake up call for her.
00:11:32.79\00:11:34.09
I remember how intense she was
00:11:34.09\00:11:36.69
when she came during
faith camp and she's like,
00:11:36.69\00:11:40.33
"I have to go, I have to go.
00:11:40.33\00:11:42.60
We have to go."
00:11:42.60\00:11:44.07
- I think a lot of
people get that impression.
00:11:44.07\00:11:47.00
Not very many people act on it.
00:11:47.00\00:11:48.57
- I don't think she
said in there, but she said,
00:11:48.57\00:11:50.17
God had been telling
her for like four years
00:11:50.17\00:11:53.01
that she needed
to be a missionary.
00:11:53.01\00:11:54.68
- I was
impressed with this family
00:11:54.68\00:11:56.21
because they were on track
for getting a very good living,
00:11:56.21\00:12:00.08
very good life.
00:12:00.08\00:12:01.62
She had graduated
and was making good money
00:12:01.62\00:12:03.85
and putting him through school,
00:12:03.85\00:12:05.39
and when he was gonna graduate,
he was gonna make good money
00:12:05.39\00:12:08.32
and they were gonna
live a very comfortable life.
00:12:08.32\00:12:11.49
But they were
concerned about their kids.
00:12:11.49\00:12:13.80
Their kids were
going to daycare,
00:12:13.80\00:12:15.56
their kids were in the hands
of people that were not them.
00:12:15.56\00:12:20.64
And so they left all that
and they went up into the hills,
00:12:22.00\00:12:24.91
into the wilderness,
and bought a piece of land
00:12:24.91\00:12:27.54
and built their own house.
00:12:27.54\00:12:29.81
And then when they were
called to the mission field,
00:12:29.81\00:12:31.75
they didn't turn away.
00:12:31.75\00:12:32.85
When they first started,
00:12:32.85\00:12:33.98
they were not sure
what they were getting into.
00:12:33.98\00:12:37.05
But the more
they learned about it,
00:12:38.32\00:12:39.69
the more difficult it became,
00:12:39.69\00:12:41.36
they realized what
they were up against.
00:12:41.36\00:12:44.06
It's like they just connected
more closely with the Lord
00:12:44.06\00:12:48.03
and just took it on
and are moving forward.
00:12:48.03\00:12:51.13
This is the hard part right now,
00:12:52.03\00:12:54.27
getting something
like this started,
00:12:54.27\00:12:55.80
especially a boarding school.
00:12:55.80\00:12:57.47
It's not an easy thing.
00:12:57.47\00:12:58.44
- It's blood, sweat, and tears.
00:12:58.44\00:12:59.71
- It is. - It really is.
00:12:59.71\00:13:00.88
And a lot of sweating,
especially in Cambodia.
00:13:00.88\00:13:03.85
- Cambodia is one of
the hottest countries
00:13:03.85\00:13:05.61
I've ever been to.
00:13:05.61\00:13:06.58
And yet they're doing it.
00:13:07.58\00:13:08.85
And I just really
appreciate what they're doing.
00:13:08.85\00:13:11.32
- Maybe we can get some
clips from some of her sermons,
00:13:11.32\00:13:13.99
because when she starts sharing,
00:13:13.99\00:13:16.79
the spiritual lessons she's
learning from being over there,
00:13:16.79\00:13:20.56
it's just like, wow.
00:13:20.56\00:13:22.63
She really gets her preach on.
00:13:22.63\00:13:23.90
- Yeah.
00:13:23.90\00:13:25.40
And this is
what's beautiful about
00:13:25.40\00:13:26.90
and why the church
needs missionaries.
00:13:26.90\00:13:29.00
Is because we need to hear
those stories that are bracing,
00:13:29.00\00:13:33.34
that separate
gospel from culture.
00:13:33.34\00:13:36.28
And that helps us to
see and be encouraged
00:13:36.28\00:13:38.65
to serve God more, to realize
there's people in the world
00:13:38.65\00:13:42.35
that don't know Jesus.
00:13:42.35\00:13:43.72
There's still that frontier
of the gospel that's out there.
00:13:43.72\00:13:47.82
And it provokes us to good
works. Provokes us to love.
00:13:47.82\00:13:52.63
And the reason that God gave
us missions in the first place
00:13:52.63\00:13:55.76
was for that very purpose.
00:13:55.76\00:13:57.53
To develop our character
and to enter into the joy
00:13:57.53\00:14:00.44
that Christ has in seeing
people saved and accepting Him.
00:14:00.44\00:14:04.41
- So we do have another video,
00:14:05.81\00:14:07.48
talking about what
they're doing right now,
00:14:07.48\00:14:08.91
teaching the future teachers.
00:14:08.91\00:14:10.98
- [Jon] Okay.
00:14:10.98\00:14:12.28
(upbeat music)
00:14:12.28\00:14:14.95
- When we made a decision for
them to go to the Philippines,
00:14:17.22\00:14:20.19
I realized we needed
to teach them English
00:14:20.19\00:14:22.42
and we needed to get them on
the property as soon as we can.
00:14:22.42\00:14:25.66
So in January, everybody moved
from Siem Reap to Battambong,
00:14:25.66\00:14:29.93
and we've been
living in huts ever since,
00:14:29.93\00:14:32.70
and we've been
teaching them English every day,
00:14:32.70\00:14:37.17
trying to get
them ready to go there.
00:14:37.17\00:14:40.41
I do my part, they do
their part, and God do the rest.
00:14:40.41\00:14:43.78
So a typical day, we
start worship at seven
00:14:47.32\00:14:52.39
and then by 7:45, 8 o'clock
the latest, we start English.
00:14:53.76\00:14:57.83
And we go until 11 o'clock.
00:14:57.83\00:15:01.53
And then we have a
two-hour lunch break,
00:15:01.53\00:15:03.80
and we go from one
till about 4:35 o'clock,
00:15:03.80\00:15:08.30
we have worship, and then
we're finished for the day.
00:15:08.30\00:15:13.38
And so throughout the
day, we're doing dictation,
00:15:14.71\00:15:17.41
we're doing grammar,
we're doing phonetics,
00:15:17.41\00:15:21.45
we're doing reading,
00:15:21.45\00:15:24.95
just about everything
you need to learn in English.
00:15:24.95\00:15:28.09
It helps when you have
students who want to be here,
00:15:28.09\00:15:32.16
who want to learn and
makes the job a lot easier.
00:15:32.16\00:15:35.36
One of the big things how
I've seen a lot of them growing
00:15:39.27\00:15:43.30
is that they would get
sleepy, they would fall asleep,
00:15:43.30\00:15:46.71
they would check out.
00:15:46.71\00:15:48.04
And then I wanna
say like after a month,
00:15:49.18\00:15:53.65
I started seeing one of them
like she started looking at me,
00:15:53.65\00:15:58.12
and then she would have this
smile on her face and I said,
00:15:58.12\00:16:01.62
"Do you understand?"
00:16:01.62\00:16:02.72
And she's like, "Yes,
teacher, I understand."
00:16:02.72\00:16:04.43
I'm like, "Do you understand
how much Jesus loves you?"
00:16:04.43\00:16:07.40
And she's like, "He
loves me so much, teacher."
00:16:07.40\00:16:09.96
And I'm like, yes, she gets it.
00:16:09.96\00:16:12.83
It's like the best
feeling in the world
00:16:14.04\00:16:16.94
when you're able to
connect with someone.
00:16:16.94\00:16:19.47
Not only do they
understand what you're saying,
00:16:19.47\00:16:21.74
but they understand
how much God loves them.
00:16:21.74\00:16:24.51
(bright music)
00:16:24.51\00:16:27.18
Majority of them
are New Adventists.
00:16:28.25\00:16:31.12
One of them in 2000, I think
15, somewhere around there,
00:16:32.52\00:16:37.06
there was an English
school in her village
00:16:39.29\00:16:41.26
run by Seventh-Day Adventists
00:16:41.26\00:16:42.90
and so her mom
told her to go there
00:16:42.90\00:16:45.40
so she could learn English,
00:16:45.40\00:16:46.63
but not to listen to
what they say about God.
00:16:46.63\00:16:49.57
To separate them.
00:16:49.57\00:16:51.14
And she went to
school listening to her mom,
00:16:51.14\00:16:53.48
and then after a while, she
started learning about Jesus
00:16:53.48\00:16:58.08
and she got baptized.
00:16:58.08\00:17:00.12
Her parents aren't
happy with the decision
00:17:00.12\00:17:02.02
of her being baptized and
they still give her a hard time.
00:17:02.02\00:17:05.39
This one young man here,
00:17:08.89\00:17:10.26
who he's been an Adventist
for maybe about four years,
00:17:10.26\00:17:14.60
and when I'm sharing
with him, he sits like this.
00:17:14.60\00:17:18.73
It's like, wow,
that's so exciting.
00:17:20.30\00:17:24.37
God is so good.
00:17:24.37\00:17:26.14
Wow.
00:17:26.14\00:17:27.71
And it's like you hear those
moments and it's not about me,
00:17:27.71\00:17:32.78
but it's him seeing as I'm
seeing how much God loves them.
00:17:34.08\00:17:37.82
One of them, she became
a Seventh-Day Adventist,
00:17:41.79\00:17:44.66
but her mom wasn't.
00:17:44.66\00:17:47.30
And she talked about
how for one year she prayed
00:17:47.30\00:17:50.77
for her mom to accept Jesus.
00:17:50.77\00:17:53.94
And it was the first
time that her prayers
00:17:53.94\00:17:57.01
have really been answered,
00:17:57.01\00:17:58.41
and her mom became a
Seventh-Day Adventist
00:17:58.41\00:18:00.28
and was baptized a year later.
00:18:00.28\00:18:02.11
One of them said, for the
first 10 years of her life,
00:18:04.91\00:18:09.22
she would see demons all
the time, especially the one
00:18:09.22\00:18:12.19
that had just a head
and a stomach, no arms.
00:18:12.19\00:18:15.62
And it would come and
it would press her down
00:18:15.62\00:18:18.16
and she would be like choking,
all different kinds of stuff,
00:18:18.16\00:18:23.10
and she remember, she
would call in Buddha to help,
00:18:23.10\00:18:26.53
but he never helped.
00:18:26.53\00:18:28.14
And how she would
go to visit the monks.
00:18:28.14\00:18:32.61
Whenever she listened to
them speaking or preaching,
00:18:32.61\00:18:36.68
she would always get a headache.
00:18:37.48\00:18:39.11
And so she would
leave and go eat.
00:18:39.11\00:18:41.58
And went on for
many, many years.
00:18:41.58\00:18:43.99
And when she became a Christian
00:18:43.99\00:18:46.12
and she started praying to God,
00:18:46.12\00:18:48.06
everything, the
dreams, the demons,
00:18:48.06\00:18:50.49
all of that stuff
has been completely gone.
00:18:50.49\00:18:53.23
- Isn't that beautiful?
00:19:01.90\00:19:03.20
- That is awesome.
00:19:03.20\00:19:04.44
- So this teaching,
preparing that future teachers
00:19:04.44\00:19:07.68
is in itself mission.
00:19:08.91\00:19:11.45
- Right, right.
00:19:11.45\00:19:12.58
Because they're learning
how much God loves them.
00:19:12.58\00:19:15.68
So many times we
learn about the principles
00:19:15.68\00:19:19.12
and we learn the
doctrines, we learn the truths,
00:19:19.12\00:19:22.86
but somehow the whole
personal connection with God
00:19:22.86\00:19:27.93
doesn't make sense.
00:19:28.56\00:19:30.27
We don't understand
that that's part of it also.
00:19:30.27\00:19:33.23
Or we only
understand a little bit of it,
00:19:33.23\00:19:35.50
and so they're
going deeper together.
00:19:35.50\00:19:37.91
It's awesome.
00:19:38.71\00:19:40.04
- They're combating an
entire history worldview.
00:19:40.04\00:19:43.11
It's such a different
worldview than what we have.
00:19:43.11\00:19:45.35
The idea of a loving God.
00:19:45.35\00:19:47.65
It's revolutionary.
00:19:47.65\00:19:49.38
- [Natalie] Yeah, yeah.
00:19:49.38\00:19:50.89
- And so it's a powerful
thing that's happening there
00:19:50.89\00:19:53.36
with their future teachers.
00:19:53.36\00:19:55.22
And to imagine
that when they get this,
00:19:55.22\00:19:57.66
they're gonna be the ones
teaching our future students.
00:19:57.66\00:20:00.96
So what Natalie's trying to
do is prepare them to get ready
00:20:02.33\00:20:04.50
to go to another
college in a different country
00:20:04.50\00:20:08.07
where they can get
more of this insight
00:20:08.07\00:20:10.67
and understanding of who God is.
00:20:10.67\00:20:12.31
- And get a solid Christian
spiritual education as well.
00:20:12.31\00:20:17.01
- Exactly. Yeah.
00:20:17.01\00:20:18.41
And be able to come
back and spread that
00:20:18.41\00:20:20.12
throughout Cambodia, through
the education of children
00:20:20.12\00:20:23.32
that are gonna be going
through all levels of society.
00:20:23.32\00:20:26.09
And I believe we're gonna
get some very nice Bible workers
00:20:27.46\00:20:30.49
out of that school too.
00:20:30.49\00:20:31.69
- Yes, I agree.
00:20:31.69\00:20:32.79
And I know that
her vision is not just
00:20:32.79\00:20:35.90
for Adventist
children coming to that school
00:20:35.90\00:20:38.03
as a boarding school.
00:20:38.03\00:20:39.33
- Keep praying that
that can start soon.
00:20:39.33\00:20:42.00
We have another video that talks
00:20:42.00\00:20:44.11
about the needs for the school
and how we can get involved.
00:20:44.11\00:20:48.88
- Okay.
00:20:48.88\00:20:50.18
(upbeat music)
00:20:50.18\00:20:52.71
- As I was going through
the village every single day,
00:20:55.65\00:20:59.15
I realized there's a lot
of babies in the community.
00:20:59.15\00:21:01.69
There's
approximately 100 children
00:21:01.69\00:21:03.46
between the ages of zero and 12,
00:21:03.46\00:21:06.19
and they have a school here,
but there's different things
00:21:06.19\00:21:11.23
that's going on with the school,
00:21:12.03\00:21:13.40
and so I figured we should
do a school from elementary
00:21:13.40\00:21:15.27
all the way through high school
00:21:15.27\00:21:17.11
to meet the
needs of the community
00:21:17.11\00:21:18.74
'cause I feel like if we
can get some of those children
00:21:18.74\00:21:21.61
and teach them and train them,
00:21:21.61\00:21:23.48
and then they will go
home and tell their parents
00:21:23.48\00:21:25.38
what they have
learned, that's the gospel.
00:21:25.38\00:21:28.12
- They do have other Adventist
high schools in Cambodia,
00:21:28.12\00:21:30.92
but the closest I
think is three hours away.
00:21:30.92\00:21:33.69
And most of the ones
that they have in Cambodia
00:21:33.69\00:21:36.66
teach in the English language,
00:21:36.66\00:21:39.33
so we wanna teach
in the Khmer language.
00:21:39.33\00:21:42.30
- Schools here are six days
a week, Monday through Sabbath.
00:21:42.30\00:21:46.10
So if you're an Adventist,
00:21:46.10\00:21:48.30
you have to choose either
go to church or go to school.
00:21:48.30\00:21:51.91
And so we wanted
to create a school
00:21:53.11\00:21:55.88
where they don't
have to make that choice,
00:21:55.88\00:21:57.61
that they can have their
education and they can serve
00:21:57.61\00:22:00.92
God. (insects chirping)
00:22:00.92\00:22:03.89
- We have a
group of young people
00:22:04.99\00:22:06.05
that are gonna be teachers,
00:22:06.05\00:22:07.12
that want to
teach at our school,
00:22:07.12\00:22:08.96
but they've been
having a hard time
00:22:08.96\00:22:11.89
with getting their education.
00:22:11.89\00:22:14.56
We sent them to
school here in Cambodia
00:22:14.56\00:22:16.90
and there was a lot
of issues with Sabbath.
00:22:16.90\00:22:19.10
- After much
prayer and research,
00:22:20.60\00:22:22.77
we decided to send them to
the school in the Philippines,
00:22:22.77\00:22:26.27
it's called
Mountain View College.
00:22:26.27\00:22:28.11
And we chose that one
00:22:28.11\00:22:29.41
because it's geared
towards training them
00:22:29.41\00:22:32.31
to be missionaries in addition
to giving them education,
00:22:32.31\00:22:35.65
which is the whole
purpose of the school here.
00:22:35.65\00:22:37.72
It's training them to
go out and finish the work.
00:22:37.72\00:22:41.76
So if they can go there,
learn how to do the work,
00:22:43.12\00:22:46.80
then they'll be
able to come back here,
00:22:46.80\00:22:48.90
teach the students,
and plant in the seeds.
00:22:48.90\00:22:51.77
- But they need to learn English
00:22:51.77\00:22:53.23
to go to school
in the Philippines.
00:22:53.23\00:22:55.27
So right now
we've built bamboo huts
00:22:55.27\00:22:58.37
like the one you see
behind us, it's my current home,
00:22:58.37\00:23:01.01
and we have everybody on
the property at this time,
00:23:01.01\00:23:04.21
and we're teaching them English
00:23:04.21\00:23:05.78
so that they will be prepared
to go overseas and learn
00:23:05.78\00:23:09.32
so they can come back and teach.
00:23:09.32\00:23:10.99
- So once we're finished
language study and they're gone,
00:23:13.86\00:23:17.93
the next step
after that would be,
00:23:17.93\00:23:20.33
I'll be trying to
learn the language.
00:23:20.33\00:23:22.20
Then after I finish
learning the language,
00:23:23.43\00:23:26.07
the next step would be
creating the business plan
00:23:26.07\00:23:31.14
for the school which
includes a balance sheet,
00:23:32.44\00:23:37.05
statement to cash flow,
drawing up the curriculum.
00:23:38.41\00:23:41.08
The curriculum that
they have here in Khmer,
00:23:41.08\00:23:44.02
it has a lot of of things that
we don't necessarily believe,
00:23:44.02\00:23:47.32
and so the plan is to
get an English curriculum
00:23:47.32\00:23:51.06
and have it
translated into Khmer.
00:23:51.06\00:23:54.00
(upbeat music)
00:23:54.00\00:23:57.37
During that time,
we'll be working on building.
00:23:57.37\00:24:00.30
We're gonna be
putting the elementary school
00:24:00.30\00:24:02.74
somewhere close
to where we are now.
00:24:02.74\00:24:04.57
And then in the back,
00:24:04.57\00:24:06.21
on the right hand
side of the property,
00:24:06.21\00:24:08.21
we're planning to
put the high school
00:24:08.21\00:24:11.58
and the dorms and the cafeteria.
00:24:11.58\00:24:14.12
And then on the left
hand side of the property
00:24:14.12\00:24:16.08
where we originally
were gonna put the school,
00:24:16.08\00:24:19.05
staff housing will be there.
00:24:19.05\00:24:21.22
- We've leveled some
land and we have a well dug,
00:24:21.22\00:24:24.59
but we need to get a tower
and run pipelines and water
00:24:24.59\00:24:28.20
and things like that.
00:24:28.20\00:24:29.70
We need to get
the property fenced
00:24:29.70\00:24:31.60
and start building
the school by God's grace.
00:24:31.60\00:24:34.14
I just want this school to
be whatever God wants it to be.
00:24:37.11\00:24:40.24
We want it to be a place
00:24:40.24\00:24:41.31
where when people
walk on the property,
00:24:41.31\00:24:42.64
they feel the Holy Spirit.
00:24:42.64\00:24:44.41
They know that God is here.
00:24:44.41\00:24:46.51
A place where there's
just love and compassion
00:24:46.51\00:24:49.12
between the students and
the teachers and the staff,
00:24:49.12\00:24:51.42
and everybody gets along
00:24:51.42\00:24:53.66
and just wants to
spread God's word.
00:24:53.66\00:24:56.36
A place where when the
students that graduate here
00:24:56.36\00:24:58.63
can go back to their hometowns
and start small schools
00:24:58.63\00:25:01.90
and teach their friends
00:25:01.90\00:25:03.50
and their friends'
children about Christ.
00:25:03.50\00:25:06.07
Where the gospel can
spread from this location.
00:25:07.37\00:25:09.90
- The biggest need that
they're facing right now
00:25:14.91\00:25:16.85
is sending the
students to college.
00:25:16.85\00:25:20.32
It's not a
super cheap operation.
00:25:20.32\00:25:23.32
- No, no.
00:25:23.32\00:25:24.69
Mountain View College that
she was talking about there
00:25:24.69\00:25:27.12
is about 8,000 each.
00:25:27.12\00:25:28.99
- For the first year.
00:25:28.99\00:25:29.96
- Yeah.
00:25:29.96\00:25:31.29
- It's about half that
for the years after that,
00:25:31.29\00:25:32.63
which is quite amazing if
you include the airplane fare,
00:25:32.63\00:25:37.40
the deposit, all
that kind of stuff.
00:25:37.40\00:25:39.77
$8,000 for a whole year of
school, of college is not bad,
00:25:39.77\00:25:43.71
but it's still a lot of money.
00:25:43.71\00:25:46.04
Especially when
there's like nothing
00:25:46.04\00:25:48.48
in the account currently.
00:25:48.48\00:25:49.78
- Right. Right.
00:25:49.78\00:25:51.51
And they have eight right now,
00:25:51.51\00:25:53.68
but the plan is to
have a 12th grade school
00:25:53.68\00:25:57.99
and to have a nurse and
to have an administrator,
00:25:57.99\00:26:01.62
an accountant person.
00:26:01.62\00:26:03.22
So there's probably need to
actually to send more like 13
00:26:03.22\00:26:06.53
to 15 young people
so that they would have
00:26:06.53\00:26:09.00
replacement teachers.
00:26:09.00\00:26:10.50
And if they don't
go to Mountain View,
00:26:10.50\00:26:12.70
it seems like most
of the other options
00:26:12.70\00:26:14.50
are only more
expensive than that.
00:26:14.50\00:26:16.44
- So what do you think is gonna
happen with all these needs?
00:26:16.44\00:26:20.54
- I think that
God's gonna provide.
00:26:20.54\00:26:23.58
- [Jon] You think so?
00:26:23.58\00:26:24.41
- Yes.
00:26:24.41\00:26:25.51
- Do you have any
experience in that?
00:26:25.51\00:26:26.75
- [Natalie] Yes.
00:26:26.75\00:26:28.05
- So you know God.
00:26:28.05\00:26:29.15
- I also have seen
how He has provided.
00:26:29.15\00:26:30.92
He provided the property
for this in the first place,
00:26:30.92\00:26:34.92
He's just been
leading step by step,
00:26:35.92\00:26:37.49
sending Natalie and
Billy there so clearly,
00:26:37.49\00:26:40.76
making the call on them to go,
00:26:40.76\00:26:43.16
it's too clear
that it's God doing it.
00:26:44.27\00:26:46.60
- Yeah. Yeah.
00:26:46.60\00:26:47.84
Well, God is able.
00:26:47.84\00:26:48.97
- Yes.
00:26:48.97\00:26:50.31
And it's not just
sending the students to school
00:26:50.31\00:26:52.54
that we need miracles for, it's
the fencing of the property.
00:26:52.54\00:26:56.01
She didn't really touch on
that in either of these videos,
00:26:56.01\00:26:58.25
but that's a desperate
need also, and it's 30 acres.
00:26:58.25\00:27:01.22
- Yeah. Yeah.
00:27:01.22\00:27:02.35
- Billy talked
about the water situation.
00:27:02.35\00:27:04.79
They need additional
things for the water,
00:27:04.79\00:27:06.96
they need to replace the
pump that they currently have,
00:27:06.96\00:27:09.16
it's not strong
enough to take the water
00:27:09.16\00:27:10.86
from where the well is
to where the buildings are,
00:27:10.86\00:27:13.73
and building the school itself.
00:27:13.73\00:27:16.26
So there's a lot of
miracles on the way.
00:27:16.26\00:27:18.57
- Yes, absolutely.
00:27:18.57\00:27:20.10
Well, this has
been really exciting.
00:27:20.10\00:27:21.67
I'm so glad that they're
out there championing those kids
00:27:21.67\00:27:25.61
and the future youth of Cambodia
that will learn about Jesus
00:27:25.61\00:27:29.64
in practical ways
through this school.
00:27:29.64\00:27:32.45
It just means a
larger population in heaven.
00:27:32.45\00:27:35.32
- Right, right. - Yeah.
00:27:35.32\00:27:37.65
- If you would like to help
the Cambodia Boarding Academy
00:27:37.65\00:27:40.89
to go forward, to send
these future teachers to school,
00:27:40.89\00:27:44.33
to build whatever the
Lord lays on your heart,
00:27:44.33\00:27:46.73
you can contact us at
"Jesus for Asia" P.O. Box 1221,
00:27:46.73\00:27:51.77
Collegedale, Tennessee, 37315.
00:27:52.57\00:27:55.70
Call us at (423) 413-7321
00:27:55.70\00:28:00.08
or visit our
website at jesusforasia.org.
00:28:00.08\00:28:04.05
May God richly bless you,
00:28:04.05\00:28:05.41
until we see you next
time on "Jesus for Asia Now".
00:28:05.41\00:28:08.65
(upbeat music)
00:28:08.65\00:28:11.32