(uplifting music)
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- Hello and welcome
to "Jesus for Asia Now."
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I'm Jon Wood, and
today we have a special guest
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on the set with me.
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His name is Harvey Steck
and he's coming all the way
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from Thailand.
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Hello, Harvey. How are you?
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- I'm fine. - Good.
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- Happy to be here.
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- Happy to have you. Is
this a first time on our show?
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- Yes. - That's awesome.
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So you live in Thailand.
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How long have you
lived in Thailand?
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- Almost 12 years. - 12 years.
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So what did you go over
there for at the beginning?
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- Well, we knew another
family that was running a school
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over there and they came
to our church a couple times
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and they told our
church what they were doing.
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And the second time
they came to our church,
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they visited our
home and they said,
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"We really need some
people to help at our school.
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We need a principal."
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And they needed
some other helpers there.
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And we hadn't
expected this call.
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It wasn't something we
were looking for particularly.
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And so we saw many
things where the Lord
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seemed to be
indicating this was his call.
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And so it's been a
blessing to our whole family,
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having been called over
there and the experience
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that we have had over there.
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- So you had how many children?
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- We had two daughters. They
were just out of homeschool.
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Finished high school level.
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And so they were able to
help teach in the school.
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And my wife could
help with the sick.
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She's a nurse and so she
was able to be the school nurse,
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village nurse.
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- Okay.
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- And I was able to help in
the leadership of this school.
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And I was able to
see how, in many ways,
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God gives us wisdom to
do things that we don't feel
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like we've had
any training to do,
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but I had never been a
teacher or a principal before.
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And here I'm asked to
do this, and I told them,
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"I know other people
that are better qualified,"
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but they said, "We know you.
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We don't know your
friends. We're asking you."
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And I've always, for a
long time I've heard the phrase,
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"God doesn't call the qualified,
he qualifies the called."
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And I do believe
there is an important place
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for training and education.
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But I also believe that if
God calls us to do something,
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that there's a time to step
forward in faith and trust God
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that he will teach
us what we need to know
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on the job, you might say.
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- Right. Right.
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And if you
hadn't stepped forward,
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that would've
remained empty vacancy.
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- Yeah. That's
right. - [Jon] Right.
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- And our family would've...
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I mean, I don't know what
would've happened with our
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family, but I know that
we've been greatly blessed
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from the experience.
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- So where are
your daughters now?
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- Well, one of them
married another missionary
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and is working,
continuing to work in Thailand.
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And our older daughter
just finished her education
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in college,
Washington Hills College.
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She graduated with
a education degree.
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So God willing, she'll
be going back to Thailand
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to work as a teacher over there.
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- So her heart is
still in Thailand.
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- Definitely. Yeah.
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- So then, after
you left the school,
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where did you go to then?
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- For about three to four years,
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we helped other missionaries
that were working in Thailand
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with different projects, and
kind of intermixed with that,
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we enrolled in a
language school in Chiang Mai
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and studied the Thai language.
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- And then after
that period of time,
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where did you start
working more recently?
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- Coming close to two years
ago, we attended the dedication
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of the Love for Asia
Studio north of Chiang Mai.
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And we were
happy to go back there
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and be there for the dedication.
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And while we were there,
you asked if I would take over
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directing the Love for Asia
Foundation there in Thailand.
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- And so what was
your thoughts about that?
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- God's timing is always right.
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And we had been working
with some other missionaries
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and it was clear that
we were coming to a time
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where there would be a
transition and we would need
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to be finding
another place to go.
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And so it was right at
that time that you talked to us.
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And so it was a real answer
to prayer, that it was clear
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that God was showing
us the next place to go.
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- Okay. Did it
require a move for you?
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- Yeah, rather than
using moving trucks to move,
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we actually moved the majority
of our things on the train.
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- On the train?
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- Thailand has a train
system and you can put things
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on there for very low cost.
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And so we're able
to box our things up
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and even our refrigerator
and stuff like that you can put
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on the train and
it's really inexpensive.
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- So in working
with staff at LFA,
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what percentage are foreigners
and what percentage are Thai?
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- My wife and I are
the only foreigners.
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Well, right now,
I guess I should say
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there is one other
foreigner working with us there.
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But for most of our
time there, up till recently,
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we've been the only
foreigners working there.
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- What's it like
working with Thai staff?
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Are they difficult to
work with? Are they gentle?
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- Thai people in
general are pretty easygoing.
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They'll do actually
almost anything they can
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to avoid confrontation.
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And they're
really good to work with.
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I think they really
have a burden for their work
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and they really try
to do their very best
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in what they're doing.
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- I know that you're
part of the administration,
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so what does
that mean? You're...
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- Right.
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So I try to, as much as
possible, I try to be there
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when we have our staff worship
and just fellowship with them
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during the worship
and participate with that.
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And then there's opportunities
sometimes to talk with them
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about new projects
that are coming on board
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and discuss how we'll accomplish
those and how the manager
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and those that
are working under him
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can manage the organization.
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And basically our work of
our Thai staff is divided up
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into two categories.
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You got some staff that
are working on producing videos
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that are put on
Facebook and YouTube,
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and then others that are
doing written translation work.
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And actually some of the
translators are translating
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into video as well.
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- Okay. And then what is
the purpose of Love for Asia?
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The foundation that you work at?
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The Love for Asia, which is
basically like a wholly-owned
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subsidiary of Jesus For Asia.
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- I would probably put it
into two major categories.
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One is to employ Thai staff
in doing that media production
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and translation work,
because both of those areas,
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we don't see a lot of
that kind of production
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happening in Thailand.
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And the other aspect is that,
because this is a foundation,
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it's a little bit like a
nonprofit organization in
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America, and
foundations aren't allowed
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to have a
profit making business,
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but they can have volunteers
from foreign countries.
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And so it makes it possible
that this foundation can write
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a letter to somebody
who's interested in serving in
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Thailand and say, "We are
inviting you to come here as a
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volunteer," and they can bring
their family and do the work
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that God is calling them to do.
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Almost anybody can go
there for a month or two.
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I mean, yeah, basically any
foreigner can visit the country
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for a month or two
without any special visas.
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But if you wanna be
there more than a few months,
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it's really very difficult.
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Especially if you're
not of retirement age.
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- What do you see the
average term of the missionaries
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that come over with
LFA and Jesus for Asia?
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Are they short-timers?
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Like a year, two
years, or five years?
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- When we accepted the
call to go to Thailand,
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I was telling people, "I
think we need to be committed
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to at least two or
three years minimum."
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But our family's never felt
like we're gonna go somewhere
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for a set period of time,
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and we just want to go
where God wants us to be
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until the cloud
moves somewhere else.
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- That's really interesting.
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You were planning to go
for at least two to three years
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and now it's been 12.
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I know one missionary was,
or a couple missionary families
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were gonna be
there for three months
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and they're there 13, or more.
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What is it that keeps
you in the mission field?
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What is it that that
keeps drawing you back there?
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You feel like God
has called you there,
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that his place for you is
there, instead of coming back
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to a place that you grew up,
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where everybody
speaks your language.
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- After spending time in
Thailand and hearing stories
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also from other countries
as well, it's become more clear
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to me that there is still
a lot that we can contribute.
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We take a lot for
granted of the light
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that God has given us,
that a lot of local people
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just haven't really
had the opportunity.
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Being able to be
there in the country
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and encourage the
local people and to help them
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in different ways to
grow in their understanding
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and also to multiply,
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but we want to help them
to grow to be more effective.
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- Okay. So then the need is
what really keeps you there.
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- Yeah.
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Most of them have never
even heard the name of Christ.
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So many, especially of
the, we say the Thai-Thai.
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The ethnic Thai may be
another term that could be used.
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Many of them have not...
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There aren't as many Christian
churches in their communities
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and Christian missionary
work efforts in their areas
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as there has been among
the hill tribes of Thailand
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and Myanmar and so on.
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And so, especially
in the bigger cities,
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very little Christian
work that's being done compared
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to what is available
to people here in America.
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And so a lot of these
people, like you said,
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it's not a willful decision
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that they're
rejecting Christianity.
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They may not even
know the name of Christ,
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let alone what a
Christian is really all about.
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- Wow. Wow.
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- It really is a sad
approach because they deserve
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the opportunity to have peace
of mind and joy and happiness
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that only God can give us.
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All these other
religions just don't...
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It's a self-works oriented
religion that doesn't really
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offer any hope and
true peace of mind.
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- So what is it like for
a Thai to live their life
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on a daily, regular
basis without knowing Christ,
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with their
religion, with their beliefs?
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What's the experience?
What's their experience?
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You said without
hope and without joy.
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Is that how you see
them living their life?
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- So many of them, yes.
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I mean, how are you
gonna find true happiness
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if you believe that your
life is pretty much the outcome
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of maybe your past life,
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if you believe in
reincarnation and so on.
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- Do they? - Yeah.
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- They believe
strongly in reincarnation.
00:11:45.30\00:11:46.97
- [Harvey] Yes. -
That's their worldview.
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- That's right.
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And so, if I
messed up in my past life,
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I may not even know
what I was in the past life,
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but it's assumed
that if I have an accident
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or if I get sick or
something like that,
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or if my business
goes bankrupt or whatever,
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it's not because I
made bad decisions,
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it's just because in my
past life I did something
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and I got what I deserved now.
00:12:08.32\00:12:10.09
- Wow.
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- And so that
impacts so much in society.
00:12:11.33\00:12:15.13
To me, it's one of the
reasons why people don't even
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think so much in that
country about cause and effect.
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What might be causing
us to get sick or whatever.
00:12:21.90\00:12:25.47
It has nothing to
do with what you ate,
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it's just you had bad luck.
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Or if you... -
Or you deserved it.
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- Yeah, that's right. - Wow.
00:12:32.38\00:12:34.05
- If you got in an
accident and you're a paraplegic
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or something, well, too bad,
you must have had it coming.
00:12:37.72\00:12:41.32
- Wow. Wow.
00:12:41.32\00:12:42.86
- It's really tragic. And
so it affects a lot in society.
00:12:42.86\00:12:46.73
- So when you bring Jesus
in and the worldview of Christ
00:12:46.73\00:12:51.77
and the great controversy,
there's a beginning before sin
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and a time when
there's gonna be no more sin.
00:12:55.50\00:12:58.17
- [Harvey] That's right.
00:12:58.17\00:12:59.61
- How do you see that
changing their outlook on life
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and their experience of life?
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- You have a living
God that hears your prayers
00:13:03.55\00:13:07.02
and he cares about
you, he answers prayer too.
00:13:08.12\00:13:11.19
He doesn't just... You're
not talking to a God that's made
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of concrete and a little
bit of gold on the outside,
00:13:15.49\00:13:20.03
but it's a real living God.
00:13:20.03\00:13:21.76
And not only does he care
for you and answer prayer,
00:13:21.76\00:13:24.33
but he actually can forgive
you for the wrongs you did.
00:13:24.33\00:13:27.44
You don't have to make merit.
00:13:27.44\00:13:29.04
Merit is a big deal as
well in their religion.
00:13:30.14\00:13:32.81
- What do you mean, make merit?
00:13:32.81\00:13:35.01
- You do good
things to try to make up
00:13:35.01\00:13:38.41
for the bad things that you did.
00:13:38.41\00:13:40.68
And you wanna
make the spirits happy
00:13:40.68\00:13:43.49
so that they
don't get angry with you
00:13:43.49\00:13:46.25
or so that in your next
life you don't have to suffer
00:13:46.25\00:13:51.33
to pay for the bad
things that you did.
00:13:52.43\00:13:54.13
So you might
offer gifts to the monk
00:13:54.13\00:13:57.83
and maybe make a very
sacrificial donation to the
00:13:57.83\00:14:02.80
monastery. It's all enriching
the priests and the monks and so
00:14:04.11\00:14:08.28
on. But it's not so much
out of a spirit of generosity,
00:14:08.28\00:14:12.45
but out of a desire
to make merit hoping
00:14:12.45\00:14:15.72
that I'll have a better
life in the next life around.
00:14:15.72\00:14:18.22
- So the origin of
that is fear more than love.
00:14:18.22\00:14:22.86
Is love even a part of?
00:14:22.86\00:14:24.76
- I don't think most of them
understand what love is about.
00:14:24.76\00:14:28.06
Either love to God
or love in the home,
00:14:28.06\00:14:31.20
many homes are really sad.
00:14:31.20\00:14:34.54
They don't
understand what love is about.
00:14:34.54\00:14:36.81
How can we really
understand what love is about
00:14:36.81\00:14:39.71
if we don't have a
model of selfless love?
00:14:39.71\00:14:44.78
And Jesus is the
ultimate model of that.
00:14:45.78\00:14:47.25
They don't have that.
00:14:47.25\00:14:48.12
- Yeah. Wow.
00:14:48.12\00:14:49.58
So I've seen a lot of,
when driving down the street,
00:14:49.58\00:14:51.72
you pass houses right and
left and you see little houses
00:14:51.72\00:14:55.92
on pillars out in
their front yards.
00:14:55.92\00:14:58.26
What is that all about?
00:14:58.26\00:14:59.86
- As I understand
it, those little houses,
00:14:59.86\00:15:02.46
they're called spirit houses.
00:15:02.46\00:15:04.33
And that is part of
the animistic religion,
00:15:04.33\00:15:07.40
which most Buddhists
are animists as well.
00:15:07.40\00:15:10.84
And so that's your little shrine
00:15:10.84\00:15:14.28
where you put your
offerings for the spirits.
00:15:14.28\00:15:18.35
And it's so ironic
because on the one hand,
00:15:20.05\00:15:24.22
if I'm a animist, I'm
afraid of those spirits.
00:15:24.22\00:15:27.12
I'm afraid of
what they might do.
00:15:27.12\00:15:29.02
But on the other hand,
in this little spirit house,
00:15:29.02\00:15:32.16
I have a ladder so
that the spirit can get
00:15:32.16\00:15:34.40
from one level to the other.
00:15:34.40\00:15:36.20
And so many things,
on the one hand, indicate
00:15:36.20\00:15:39.47
that the spirits are
very weak and have no power.
00:15:39.47\00:15:42.24
But on the other hand,
there's a lot of fear involved.
00:15:42.24\00:15:44.71
But that's where they
make their offerings, you know?
00:15:44.71\00:15:48.18
And honestly, if you
don't own your own house,
00:15:48.18\00:15:51.21
sometimes it can be very
challenging to find a house
00:15:51.21\00:15:53.88
to rent that
has no spirit house.
00:15:53.88\00:15:55.88
Some owners are
very reluctant to remove
00:15:55.88\00:15:58.12
those spirit houses
if you're a Christian.
00:15:58.12\00:15:59.82
- Right.
00:15:59.82\00:16:01.36
Now, you watched a family
come in and move into a city,
00:16:01.36\00:16:05.59
Sukhothai, in which there
was no Adventist presence.
00:16:07.00\00:16:10.67
And you watched them buy
property just outside of town
00:16:10.67\00:16:15.74
to adopt children
from slum backgrounds,
00:16:16.81\00:16:20.34
from off the street.
00:16:20.34\00:16:21.48
They had a spirit
house. - [Harvey] Yes.
00:16:21.48\00:16:23.78
- Tell us about that, 'cause
I think there was some incident
00:16:23.78\00:16:26.92
happening on their property,
and they kept happening
00:16:26.92\00:16:31.45
until the spirit
house was removed.
00:16:31.45\00:16:33.29
Tell us about that. - Yeah.
00:16:33.29\00:16:34.69
- Some of the
children, as I understand,
00:16:34.69\00:16:36.19
were having trouble with spirits
00:16:36.19\00:16:39.49
or with Satan harassing them.
00:16:39.49\00:16:41.86
And so one time my wife
and I were visiting there
00:16:41.86\00:16:46.94
and they were sharing a
little bit about that with us.
00:16:48.24\00:16:49.77
And the spirit house was there
on the board of the property.
00:16:49.77\00:16:52.87
And we really wondered,
does Satan have a foothold here?
00:16:52.87\00:16:57.95
Is he seeing this as a way
that he can still harass them?
00:16:59.28\00:17:03.95
And so we talked to
them a little bit about that
00:17:03.95\00:17:05.75
and we encouraged them,
00:17:05.75\00:17:07.46
"Maybe it would be good to
take down that spirit house."
00:17:07.46\00:17:10.76
And so they invited us
to help them with that.
00:17:10.76\00:17:13.80
And we worked together on it,
00:17:13.80\00:17:15.43
and with
sledgehammers and everything.
00:17:15.43\00:17:17.20
And in this case, it was
a large piece of property
00:17:17.20\00:17:21.70
and so it wasn't just
a small spirit house made
00:17:21.70\00:17:24.64
of little sticks and
wimpy concrete or whatever.
00:17:24.64\00:17:29.71
But yeah, it took a sledgehammer
to knock the stuff down,
00:17:30.98\00:17:33.98
but we were able to demolish it.
00:17:33.98\00:17:36.52
And as I understand it,
00:17:36.52\00:17:37.99
those children had no
more problems after that.
00:17:37.99\00:17:39.99
- [Jon] Wow. - Yeah.
00:17:39.99\00:17:41.19
- So if they believe
that there are spirits,
00:17:41.19\00:17:44.13
have you ever seen
approach of talking to them
00:17:44.13\00:17:48.33
or introducing our
spirit, the Father?
00:17:48.33\00:17:52.90
Jesus says in John 4
that the Father is a spirit
00:17:52.90\00:17:56.54
and they that worship
him should worship him
00:17:56.54\00:17:58.31
in spirit and truth.
00:17:58.31\00:17:59.91
Have you ever seen that
connection where somebody finds
00:17:59.91\00:18:03.95
out that God is the true God,
the real God, the strongest God,
00:18:03.95\00:18:08.68
the strongest
spirit in the universe,
00:18:08.68\00:18:10.32
is kind and loving and generous.
00:18:10.32\00:18:12.02
Have you seen that
transformation in people's
00:18:12.02\00:18:15.19
lives? - I have worked with
many young people that have come
00:18:15.19\00:18:17.56
from Buddhist homes where there
was no Christian influence.
00:18:17.56\00:18:21.56
And it's been encouraging
to see their lives transformed
00:18:21.56\00:18:26.17
when they learn
about the loving God
00:18:26.17\00:18:28.77
and they don't have to
be afraid of the spirits.
00:18:28.77\00:18:31.24
Admittedly,
sometimes it's hard for them
00:18:32.31\00:18:34.34
to put some of
those fears behind.
00:18:34.34\00:18:36.51
- [Jon] I'm sure.
00:18:36.51\00:18:37.41
- Especially fears
associated with a cemetery
00:18:38.68\00:18:41.05
and things like that.
00:18:41.05\00:18:42.52
Sometimes those are...
Or just a fear of ghosts,
00:18:42.52\00:18:45.45
things along that line.
00:18:45.45\00:18:46.65
But there's definitely
a freedom and happiness
00:18:48.22\00:18:53.29
that comes from
knowing that we worship a God
00:18:54.46\00:18:57.50
that is more
powerful than the spirits.
00:18:57.50\00:18:59.33
- [Jon] Right.
00:18:59.33\00:19:00.94
- It's not that we deny
or say that they don't exist,
00:19:00.94\00:19:03.61
but the God of
heaven is more powerful.
00:19:03.61\00:19:06.94
- Do you find the
Thais relationally oriented
00:19:06.94\00:19:11.21
or are they pretty
isolationist kind of people?
00:19:11.21\00:19:16.28
- Definitely,
relations are very important.
00:19:17.35\00:19:19.42
And relations, it's a very
positive thing in many ways
00:19:19.42\00:19:23.02
because they're
very close to each other
00:19:23.02\00:19:26.86
and they like
doing things together.
00:19:26.86\00:19:28.70
It also has a powerful influence
on whether a Thai person
00:19:29.96\00:19:33.80
chooses to become a
Christian, because if they do,
00:19:33.80\00:19:37.61
their family may reject
them or even disown them.
00:19:37.61\00:19:40.41
But there's many
beautiful things about it.
00:19:41.64\00:19:44.28
I don't wanna say it's all...
00:19:44.28\00:19:45.65
It's not all
negative because of that.
00:19:45.65\00:19:47.55
But they are very, very much
oriented toward relationships.
00:19:47.55\00:19:51.89
And in fact, a
method of disciplining
00:19:51.89\00:19:54.76
that's very common there
is by trying to cast shame
00:19:54.76\00:19:57.96
on somebody.
00:19:57.96\00:19:58.89
Some would say it's a
shame-oriented worldview
00:20:00.26\00:20:04.37
because shame destroys
our relationships with others.
00:20:05.77\00:20:10.34
- So do you think that
there's still a need or a place
00:20:11.64\00:20:13.38
for physical, flesh
and blood missionaries
00:20:13.38\00:20:17.61
in the mission field?
00:20:17.61\00:20:18.81
'Cause we have the technology
00:20:18.81\00:20:21.05
to send the
gospel around the world.
00:20:21.05\00:20:23.72
- One of the great blessings
00:20:23.72\00:20:26.62
of having missionaries
physically there is the
00:20:26.62\00:20:31.69
neighbors and other people being
able to see these missionaries
00:20:33.06\00:20:34.56
living the real life
and facing real issues
00:20:34.56\00:20:39.00
and difficulties and
how they handle those.
00:20:39.00\00:20:42.00
And especially if
they have children,
00:20:42.00\00:20:44.51
one of the great needs
over there is for people,
00:20:44.51\00:20:48.51
even within our church, to
understand how to raise children
00:20:48.51\00:20:53.48
with godly discipline and
loving discipline in a way
00:20:54.98\00:20:59.42
that actually the children
learn to enjoy being obedient
00:21:00.82\00:21:03.59
and respectful to their parents,
00:21:03.59\00:21:05.06
rather than the children
being in charge of the home.
00:21:05.06\00:21:07.40
- Amen.
00:21:07.40\00:21:08.83
Is there room for more
missionaries in Thailand?
00:21:08.83\00:21:11.33
- Yes, there's really very few.
00:21:11.33\00:21:13.40
When you consider
there's, what is it,
00:21:13.40\00:21:15.87
I think close to 70
million people in the country,
00:21:15.87\00:21:18.94
and there's so few
missionaries in comparison.
00:21:18.94\00:21:24.01
- And there's no plan in
place to put missionaries there
00:21:25.35\00:21:27.55
or plant a church or
do anything at this point.
00:21:27.55\00:21:30.35
- Right.
00:21:30.35\00:21:31.79
- I understand you're
working with a small school
00:21:31.79\00:21:34.42
on the border of
Thailand with Myanmar.
00:21:34.42\00:21:38.09
- [Harvey] That's right.
00:21:38.09\00:21:39.33
- Can you tell us a
little bit about that
00:21:39.33\00:21:40.40
and what the
opportunities are there?
00:21:40.40\00:21:41.73
- The Emerald
Hills School started
00:21:41.73\00:21:43.50
kind of in the
middle of the COVID season.
00:21:45.23\00:21:48.14
There were a lot of young
people from within Myanmar
00:21:48.14\00:21:52.07
that needed education,
but there just isn't enough
00:21:52.07\00:21:55.98
Christian schools in
Myanmar for the number
00:21:55.98\00:21:58.01
of young people
that are looking.
00:21:58.01\00:22:00.32
And so they
started a school there
00:22:00.32\00:22:01.72
with just wood
and bamboo buildings.
00:22:01.72\00:22:05.12
And there were other
mission organizations
00:22:05.12\00:22:09.22
that helped them
for a little while.
00:22:09.22\00:22:11.16
And we were able to
help raise some funds
00:22:11.16\00:22:13.96
for some of their
building projects.
00:22:13.96\00:22:16.40
And to make a long story
short, now they've asked us
00:22:16.40\00:22:20.50
to be the primary
sponsors of that school.
00:22:20.50\00:22:22.70
Some of these kids
have come from a long way
00:22:23.77\00:22:25.81
to come to the school
because right now in Burma
00:22:25.81\00:22:28.98
there's a lot of conflict going
on between the Burmese army
00:22:28.98\00:22:32.68
and almost all the other ethnic
groups in Burma or Myanmar.
00:22:32.68\00:22:37.75
And so some of
the typical schools
00:22:38.85\00:22:41.89
either have been destroyed
or it's not safe for them
00:22:41.89\00:22:44.56
to be attending
school in those areas.
00:22:44.56\00:22:46.96
So the area where this
school is, is one of the areas
00:22:46.96\00:22:49.60
that's had the least amount
of conflict that I'm aware of.
00:22:49.60\00:22:53.00
- So these kids, they
live a pretty difficult life.
00:22:53.00\00:22:57.97
- Yeah, most of them may not
look necessarily malnourished,
00:22:59.44\00:23:02.44
but they come from areas
where it's very difficult
00:23:02.44\00:23:06.58
to grow crops.
00:23:06.58\00:23:08.62
A lot of times they have
to find a lot of their food
00:23:08.62\00:23:10.39
in the jungle
because the Burmese,
00:23:10.39\00:23:14.32
they're always
feeling in danger that people
00:23:14.32\00:23:16.79
are gonna come through
and destroy their crops.
00:23:16.79\00:23:18.56
And so it's very difficult.
00:23:18.56\00:23:20.40
- They feel in
danger for good reason.
00:23:20.40\00:23:22.56
'Cause a lot of times
that actually happens.
00:23:22.56\00:23:24.33
- That's right. - [Jon] Yeah.
00:23:24.33\00:23:25.60
- I think it was just
this last school year,
00:23:25.60\00:23:27.54
the teachers were very
concerned because they saw
00:23:28.87\00:23:32.17
a Burmese fighter
flying over the school
00:23:32.17\00:23:35.14
and along the border there,
and they were very worried,
00:23:35.14\00:23:40.12
especially for a few days
00:23:40.12\00:23:41.55
about whether they were
gonna be bombing in that area.
00:23:41.55\00:23:44.22
- So I want to switch gears
here a little bit and go back
00:23:44.22\00:23:46.65
to the studio that you're
working at north of Chiang Mai
00:23:46.65\00:23:50.16
in Northern Thailand.
00:23:50.16\00:23:51.93
After that miracle story, God
created another miracle story
00:23:51.93\00:23:55.80
with another studio in Meisad.
00:23:56.70\00:23:59.07
- That's right.
00:23:59.07\00:24:00.44
- And now you are
overseeing both of those studios
00:24:00.44\00:24:04.01
and going back and
forth between them.
00:24:04.01\00:24:06.07
First of all, how long
does it take you to drive
00:24:06.07\00:24:07.94
between one and the other?
00:24:07.94\00:24:09.24
- It's about a
six-hour drive from our home
00:24:09.24\00:24:11.05
to the other studio.
00:24:11.05\00:24:12.45
- Okay. And what's
happening at the other studio?
00:24:12.45\00:24:14.25
What do you see going on there?
00:24:14.25\00:24:16.42
- We have eight staff that
are there, seven full-time.
00:24:16.42\00:24:20.49
They started working
on different projects.
00:24:21.59\00:24:23.29
I would say 90% of
their work is video projects.
00:24:23.29\00:24:26.49
We have a studio that's
almost finished construction.
00:24:26.49\00:24:29.70
It's really
exciting to see that.
00:24:29.70\00:24:31.60
While the studio
was under construction,
00:24:31.60\00:24:33.84
they couldn't really do
filming in our temporary studio
00:24:33.84\00:24:37.61
in the house because
there was too much noise
00:24:37.61\00:24:40.98
from the construction.
00:24:40.98\00:24:42.48
So they got creative and
they decided to go outside
00:24:42.48\00:24:46.18
and visit other places and film
testimonies of young people,
00:24:46.18\00:24:51.25
especially and others
that have been converted
00:24:52.35\00:24:53.92
into Christianity from the
Buddhist or Animist religion.
00:24:53.92\00:24:58.06
And some of those
videos have really been amazing
00:24:58.06\00:25:02.20
how they have been
appreciated by others.
00:25:02.20\00:25:05.33
Some of them, at
least one of them,
00:25:05.33\00:25:06.53
has been seen
over 400,000 times.
00:25:06.53\00:25:08.94
- Wow. - [Harvey] Yeah.
00:25:08.94\00:25:10.51
- 400,000
Times. - [Harvey] Yeah.
00:25:10.51\00:25:12.91
- Praise the Lord.
00:25:12.91\00:25:13.84
- And this young lady,
00:25:13.84\00:25:15.34
I had a friend of
mine translate that video,
00:25:15.34\00:25:17.68
write out a translation for me.
00:25:18.81\00:25:20.58
- Into English. - Into English.
00:25:20.58\00:25:21.78
Because I wanted to
know what is her story.
00:25:21.78\00:25:25.12
And essentially her
story was that she had friends
00:25:25.12\00:25:27.92
that invited her to go
to an Adventist school.
00:25:27.92\00:25:31.19
And she went there,
00:25:32.56\00:25:34.20
and just after being
there a very short time,
00:25:34.20\00:25:38.20
she wanted to get baptized.
00:25:38.20\00:25:39.57
And the mother
told her, I think,
00:25:39.57\00:25:40.90
"You can't be
baptized until after I die."
00:25:40.90\00:25:43.77
And so anyway, the mother
kind of changed her answer
00:25:43.77\00:25:48.84
each time that the
daughter would ask her,
00:25:49.88\00:25:51.45
tell her, "I
want to get baptized,"
00:25:51.45\00:25:52.95
but never did the mother
really give her approval.
00:25:52.95\00:25:55.95
And so she finally
decided she did not wanna wait
00:25:55.95\00:25:59.85
any longer to get baptized.
00:25:59.85\00:26:01.42
She went forward with
baptism, and we're just talking
00:26:01.42\00:26:06.46
about probably
maybe less than a year ago
00:26:07.60\00:26:11.27
that this happened,
that she was baptized.
00:26:11.27\00:26:14.04
She shared in her
testimony that her brother
00:26:15.30\00:26:17.91
has cut off his support.
00:26:17.91\00:26:19.41
Basically the family has
cut off their support of her.
00:26:19.41\00:26:22.61
But God has provided.
00:26:22.61\00:26:24.15
He, the Lord led
people to pay her way
00:26:24.15\00:26:27.52
through an
Adventist school there
00:26:27.52\00:26:29.92
that is training
(indistinct) Bible workers.
00:26:29.92\00:26:32.99
And it's just really encouraging
and I think many people
00:26:32.99\00:26:36.22
are encouraged by this
testimony of a young person
00:26:36.22\00:26:40.86
who has chosen to follow Christ
00:26:40.86\00:26:45.07
in the face of
rejection of their family.
00:26:45.07\00:26:48.04
And this happens
over and over again.
00:26:48.04\00:26:49.64
- [Jon] The rejection. - Yes.
00:26:49.64\00:26:50.91
- Yeah.
00:26:50.91\00:26:52.41
Harvey, I just wanna
thank you for filling the need
00:26:52.41\00:26:56.18
that's there and for being
passionate about God's work
00:26:56.18\00:27:00.68
in that place and for being
part of our JFA family team.
00:27:00.68\00:27:05.65
You get to be there.
I'm jealous about that.
00:27:05.65\00:27:08.36
I get to travel
through sometimes,
00:27:09.46\00:27:11.06
but I don't get
to live in Thailand,
00:27:11.06\00:27:14.00
which is what I
would love to do.
00:27:14.00\00:27:15.90
But I appreciate your
contribution, personally,
00:27:15.90\00:27:20.90
and your wife, and also
contributing two young ladies
00:27:20.90\00:27:25.31
that have been and are
continuing to be a big blessing
00:27:25.31\00:27:28.71
in Thailand, and
there's room for a lot more.
00:27:28.71\00:27:31.41
- Amen. Amen. - Yeah.
00:27:31.41\00:27:32.98
So I would like to
invite you, if you would like
00:27:34.32\00:27:35.92
to learn more about
Harvey and his wife Brenda's
00:27:35.92\00:27:38.42
ministry in Thailand, or
if you would like to help
00:27:38.42\00:27:40.62
the Emerald Hills
School up on the border,
00:27:40.62\00:27:43.73
please contact Jesus
for Asia at PO Box 1221,
00:27:43.73\00:27:48.30
Collegedale Tennessee, 37315.
00:27:48.30\00:27:52.23
You can call our
office at 423-413-7321
00:27:52.23\00:27:55.80
or visit our
website at jesusforasia.org.
00:27:58.21\00:28:02.68
May God richly bless you
until we see you again next time
00:28:02.68\00:28:06.01
on "Jesus for Asia Now."
00:28:06.01\00:28:07.88
(uplifting music)
00:28:07.88\00:28:10.79