(triumphant music)
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- Hello, and welcome
to "Jesus for Asia Now."
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I'm Natalie Wood, and my
husband, Jon, is joining me
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today as we go back to
Assam in Northeast India.
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Hello, love.
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- Hi darling. How are you?
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- I'm doing okay. - Awesome.
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- So as we start
our visit this time,
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let's look at what it's
like there in Northeast India.
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- It's a beautiful area.
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As you can see,
we've got tea plantations,
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big beautiful
trees, very tropical.
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Then this is just
Guwahati, the capital city.
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This is evening time,
after sundown, of course.
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In that part of the
world is very consistent
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between 5:30 and 6:30
throughout the whole year.
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And so this is
my first time there.
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- Okay.
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- One of our donors
had specified specifically
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literature for Bible
workers so that Bible workers
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could take the literature out.
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In the Assam
section headquarters,
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we loaded them up
with all these books,
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and it was really
interesting to see
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how they
strapped 'em all together.
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And then they
carried these things
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to the local
tuk-tuks, or auto rickshaws,
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and then they had
to take 'em to the bus,
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and then take 'em to,
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some of 'em had 15, 16
hours travel ahead of them.
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- Wow. - But they were so happy
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to be able to
take those books out.
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This group was
actually asking for a projector.
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- Hmm. - And they showed me
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the pictures of some
of the evangelistic series
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they were doing.
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- Hmm. - And you can see
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that all this is
temporary shelters
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for the evangelistic series
and how much interest they have.
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They're showing us
how they used a projector
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and a laptop to
really show a lot of people,
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hold the
attention of a large crowd.
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This one, they had rain hit them
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during the evangelistic series,
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so instead of canceling
and waiting for better weather,
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they all just
brought out their umbrellas.
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(Natalie chuckles)
That's one of the reasons
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I love our Bible workers,
is to see their tenaciousness,
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their love for
Christ, and their willingness
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to sacrifice all for the Gospel.
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And it just
inspires me to think about
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what it was like in
Christ's day or shortly after,
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when the disciples
were taking the Gospel
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to the whole world, what
kind of fire and zeal they had
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for the Gospel, and we get
to see a little bit of that here
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with our Bible workers.
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- It's such a privilege
to be of service to them.
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- Yeah, and that's
exactly how I see it,
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is that we're serving them,
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that they can be
enabled to go to places
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that I would
never go in my lifetime.
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- So you mentioned Guwahati
is the capital city of Assam.
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That's where the church
headquarters is located.
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- Correct. - You
said that in part one?
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- Yes. - Now how many people
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live in Assam?
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- Yeah, depending
on who you talk to,
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somewhere between
31 and 35 million,
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so average 33 million people.
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And we have 32 Bible workers,
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so one Bible
worker per million people.
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- Wow. (Jon chuckling)
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That's not enough (chuckling).
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- Yes, exactly.
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We need more Bible workers,
more training, more schools.
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- So how many churches are
there in Assam, do you know?
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- There's about
18 churches in Assam,
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serving 6,000 members,
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and so I think there's a
need for more church buildings.
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- Okay, the director of
the church in this area shared
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with us that there
are seven ordained pastors
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in this whole area.
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So seven ordained
pastors, 32 JFA Bible workers,
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some other Bible workers
from other organizations.
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So there are not
enough workers for this area.
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- We know what
we need to do next.
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This is what God
is doing and moving,
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is we need a media center.
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- Hmm. - So that people,
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even in the poor areas,
a lot of them walk around
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with their faces
buried in the phone.
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- Hmm. - But we need
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to start producing
media with the truth.
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- In their languages.
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- In their
language, by their people,
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so that it can go
beyond the numbers,
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but not replace the
on-the-ground Bible worker.
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- Right, right.
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- Like we have in South India,
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where we have the
Bible workers are the ones
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that then come to
or respond to the calls
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that come in from
people seeing the television.
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- Right, right. - Yeah.
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- Yeah, definitely needed.
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- Yeah, yeah, so, and I
see God moving this direction.
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- That's why we pray.
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We talk a lot about
prayer, Jesus for Asia,
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and we do a lot of
praying at Jesus for Asia
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because we want
God to be in charge.
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- Yes. -
Because he is efficient.
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His work is
effective when he is in charge.
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- Absolutely. -
When he's the one
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opening the opportunities,
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when he's the one
leading his people.
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As we promised
in part one of this,
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we have another testimony
or series of testimonies
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from another Bible worker.
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- Awesome.
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(gentle music)
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(speaking in foreign language)
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- [Translator] I'm a born
Adventist, and here in this
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place, my father and my
uncle were the first Adventist.
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(well squeaking)
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And as I grew up, my parents,
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they came to a
place and then they have,
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they had bought a land,
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and they were cultivating
in the piece of land.
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(speaking in foreign language)
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I have four
brothers and three sisters,
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and I'm the third
one among my brothers.
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And one day in the field
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that my parents
(rooster crowing)
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were
cultivating, my elder brother,
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he went in the field
and he took the bulls
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and the day was
quite past already.
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(rooster crowing)
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And then as he was
returning, then I asked him,
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"It's already quite late.
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Why do you want to
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(rooster crowing)
still do the plowing?"
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I was kind of upset with him.
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Then he told me that "I think
you are reading less Bible,
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and because of
that, you are trying
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to say those things to me."
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So because of that, I
started to read my Bible,
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and I started
to learn the Bible.
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(gentle music)
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(speaking in foreign language)
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Some people from JLT Church,
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they came over as
I was working there,
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and then I talked
to them from the Bible.
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And I quoted so
many Bible verses,
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and they started to be surprised
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that I have so much of
knowledge about the Bible.
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And then because of
that, they then invited me
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to come to their homes
so that I can speak more.
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So I started to visit that
house, and as I talked to them
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from the Bible,
(rooster crowing)
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they're very happy,
and they realized that,
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yeah, I have so much
knowledge about the Bible.
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And later on, even more
people started to invite me,
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and I started
going to more people.
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I talked to them about how
we should live, about the health
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and about some
of the Bible truth
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that we had been talk about.
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And then later
on, (birds chirping)
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there were other Adventists
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who were going for
Amazing Facts training.
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So I was also asked, "Would
you like to be part of that?"
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Then I said, "Okay, yeah, I
would like to try that one."
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And so I went for the training,
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and once the
training was completed,
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then I was not
knowing that Sir Israel Prasad
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would be around there, and
he was there, and he asked me,
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"how many of you would
like to be an evangelist?"
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I was already planning for that,
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and so I couldn't stop myself.
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Then I say,
"Yeah, I would like to."
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So as I started my
ministry for the first,
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there were around nine
people whom I could prepare.
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And then a pastor from
Assam, Pastor Jonas Hembrom,
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he came over, and
then nine were baptized.
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And then in that way, I
started to do my ministry
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as a JFA Bible worker.
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I continued to do my ministry,
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and then there were
others joining the church
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'cause of the ministry.
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And from among those
who came to the faith,
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now there are a few
of them who are working
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in Oriental
Publishing House in Pune.
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And so, yeah, I'm
happy about that one.
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Even now, there
are around five of them
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who are
thinking to take baptism.
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In fact, once a pastor
is ready who can come over,
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then we are thinking to
conduct a baptismal service.
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And there are others with
whom I'm studying the Bible,
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and they're very good.
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When I go to them,
when I want to talk to them
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about the Bible, they
cooperate, they listen to me,
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and they never reject anything.
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And I hope that one day
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the Holy Spirit
will work in their life,
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and they will commit
their lives to Jesus Christ.
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And then there
are two other villages
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where I am going
and visiting the people.
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I have given
some health magazines
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and other Adventist literatures.
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And we are doing our best,
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and we do go to them,
and then we share to them.
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I believe even these
people will be helped by the God
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to accept the truth.
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(gentle music)
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- Yeah, I think in the
beginning of his testimony,
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he was saying that
he lost his temper,
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and his brother says, "I
think you lost your temper
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because you're not
reading the Bible."
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And then he started reading
the Bible more intensely,
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and he learned a lot about it.
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And then when others came
to talk to him about the Bible,
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he knew a lot about it,
and they were impressed.
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- Yeah, God started
embedding a heart of ministry
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in him very quickly.
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- Right. - It seems like.
00:10:01.06\00:10:02.16
- Yeah, so now he's an
effective Bible worker.
00:10:02.16\00:10:05.47
- Right. - And you notice
00:10:05.47\00:10:06.84
how he also incorporates the
health message in there also.
00:10:06.84\00:10:09.50
- Mm-hmm. - And
so the health message
00:10:09.50\00:10:11.77
is the right arm of the Gospel.
00:10:11.77\00:10:13.58
And so with very little
training, just some brochures
00:10:13.58\00:10:16.98
and what he reads
in the Bible and stuff,
00:10:16.98\00:10:19.21
he's moving forward
with great efficiency.
00:10:19.21\00:10:22.15
You notice also
that we didn't have
00:10:22.15\00:10:24.05
to buy him a
airplane ticket to get there.
00:10:24.05\00:10:27.02
- That's one of the
things that's such a blessing
00:10:27.02\00:10:28.76
about our
national Bible workers.
00:10:28.76\00:10:29.76
- Yes. - Because
they're from there,
00:10:29.76\00:10:32.43
and so it's not
like they're gonna be
00:10:32.43\00:10:34.00
culturally
insensitive or, unintentionally,
00:10:34.00\00:10:37.23
completely, totally offensive.
00:10:37.23\00:10:38.87
(Jon chuckling) You know?
00:10:38.87\00:10:40.14
Like we might be
without meaning to,
00:10:40.14\00:10:42.94
but, anyway, it's a
huge blessing to enable them.
00:10:42.94\00:10:46.47
- Ah, absolutely. Yeah.
00:10:46.47\00:10:48.58
- So we have
more of his testimony.
00:10:48.58\00:10:50.75
- Okay.
00:10:50.75\00:10:51.58
(bright music)
00:10:51.58\00:10:52.68
(singing in foreign language)
00:10:52.68\00:10:56.48
- [Translator] One day a
person happened to meet me,
00:10:59.12\00:11:01.86
and then he was
into networking business,
00:11:01.86\00:11:03.76
so he started to talk to me
about that networking business.
00:11:03.76\00:11:08.03
Then he requested me if
we could go to Guwahati,
00:11:08.03\00:11:11.73
so I thought, "Okay,
if I just accompany him,
00:11:11.73\00:11:15.24
maybe there will opportunity
to talk to him about Christ."
00:11:15.24\00:11:18.51
So I just went along with him.
00:11:18.51\00:11:20.44
While returning, right
there in the bus itself,
00:11:20.44\00:11:23.85
during our journey, I started
talk to him from the Bible
00:11:23.85\00:11:26.45
and about Jesus.
00:11:26.45\00:11:28.42
Then at that time, he
didn't say anything to me,
00:11:28.42\00:11:31.15
and then after that, we
departed from one another.
00:11:31.15\00:11:35.89
Then meanwhile, I went to
another place called Dimapur.
00:11:35.89\00:11:40.06
And then we were
making a house there,
00:11:40.06\00:11:43.26
and I took some pictures and
uploaded them on the Facebook.
00:11:43.26\00:11:47.40
And then he was
my Facebook friend.
00:11:47.40\00:11:50.44
Then he commented
there in my Facebook page,
00:11:50.44\00:11:54.08
"Can you give me your number?"
00:11:54.08\00:11:55.88
Yeah, when I get him the number,
00:11:55.88\00:11:58.35
and he contacted me if
I can go and meet them.
00:11:58.35\00:12:02.85
So when I return,
yeah, I went to him,
00:12:02.85\00:12:05.35
and then I saw that
he developed some kind
00:12:05.35\00:12:09.19
of skin disease, which
he started to have itch.
00:12:09.19\00:12:13.23
Then he asked
me to pray for him.
00:12:13.23\00:12:15.80
So I thought instead
of just leaving them,
00:12:15.80\00:12:19.57
why not plan to have
fellowship here with them?
00:12:19.57\00:12:21.50
So I started to go there,
00:12:21.50\00:12:24.44
and then we started some kind
00:12:24.44\00:12:26.07
of a fellowship prayer together.
00:12:26.07\00:12:28.04
(gentle music)
00:12:28.04\00:12:30.71
(speaking in foreign language)
00:12:32.38\00:12:35.32
Now in the town called Tezpur,
00:12:35.32\00:12:38.65
we have a small gathering there.
00:12:38.65\00:12:41.02
These are mostly Hindus,
00:12:41.02\00:12:42.76
(roosters crowing)
00:12:42.76\00:12:44.29
and they have not
started worshiping on Sabbath
00:12:44.29\00:12:46.13
because since they
have their own business.
00:12:46.13\00:12:49.50
Most of them are shopkeepers.
00:12:49.50\00:12:50.80
So Sundays, when
they have free time.
00:12:50.80\00:12:53.70
In the evening hours, we gather.
00:12:53.70\00:12:55.60
There are 14 of us are
meeting even in that place.
00:12:55.60\00:12:58.37
(speaking in foreign language)
00:12:58.37\00:12:59.57
(uplifting music)
00:12:59.57\00:13:02.38
I had a wish to
study in Adventist school,
00:13:04.65\00:13:07.85
but then I think we did not have
00:13:07.85\00:13:11.05
proper
Adventist school in Assam.
00:13:11.05\00:13:12.72
so the wish that I had to study
00:13:12.72\00:13:15.36
in Adventist
school was not fulfilled.
00:13:15.36\00:13:17.46
And because of that,
00:13:17.46\00:13:18.96
I thought that we should
(singing in foreign language)
00:13:18.96\00:13:20.93
probably be having a
school here of our own,
00:13:20.93\00:13:22.96
so I started talk
to our church members
00:13:22.96\00:13:25.97
here in the local
church, and then there were some
00:13:25.97\00:13:29.60
who came up to do
this plan to have a school.
00:13:29.60\00:13:33.61
Then we started a school,
00:13:33.61\00:13:35.91
and then I
started to visit people.
00:13:35.91\00:13:38.51
In that way, I
met Habil Kerketta,
00:13:39.61\00:13:42.12
and then he sent his
children in our school.
00:13:42.12\00:13:45.42
Then when I would
visit to their house,
00:13:45.42\00:13:49.26
whenever they give me water
or some hot drink or biscuits,
00:13:50.63\00:13:53.63
I would pray for them.
00:13:53.63\00:13:54.76
And as he observed
me doing those things,
00:13:55.96\00:14:00.04
he asked me to stay back
more with them and talk to them.
00:14:00.04\00:14:04.34
Then I talk to
them about the Bible.
00:14:04.34\00:14:07.11
In fact, when I talk to them,
00:14:07.11\00:14:08.61
they didn't feel
uneasy or anything.
00:14:08.61\00:14:10.45
They were so interested
to learn more and more.
00:14:10.45\00:14:13.88
And even though I
would talk to them very long,
00:14:13.88\00:14:16.42
they wouldn't get
bored and anything,
00:14:17.52\00:14:19.69
but they would just listen
whatever I would share to them.
00:14:19.69\00:14:23.96
This Habil
Kerketta is a Catholic,
00:14:23.96\00:14:28.56
and his wife is from GL Church.
00:14:28.56\00:14:32.07
And so she's observing us,
and she feels that this church,
00:14:32.07\00:14:35.57
the Adventist Church, should
be the true church of God.
00:14:35.57\00:14:38.34
(gentle music)
00:14:38.34\00:14:40.98
- I'm really inspired
by his starting a school.
00:14:48.02\00:14:51.75
That's one of the
most effective ways,
00:14:51.75\00:14:54.32
long-term evangelism,
to establishing a church,
00:14:54.32\00:14:57.59
to establishing believers,
00:14:57.59\00:14:59.73
that the children
learn all day long
00:14:59.73\00:15:02.76
and not just in the
evening or at a visit.
00:15:02.76\00:15:05.40
They're there, and
they can learn all day long
00:15:05.40\00:15:07.77
for years on end and
really establish the work, so.
00:15:07.77\00:15:11.84
- Yeah, just inspiring.
00:15:11.84\00:15:13.74
- Mm. - To see
how he's just like,
00:15:13.74\00:15:16.38
"I go wherever, and this
guy wanted to go to Guwahati,
00:15:17.75\00:15:21.35
so I went along hoping maybe
I could tell him about Christ."
00:15:21.35\00:15:24.42
How many times do we go
out of our way like that
00:15:24.42\00:15:26.39
for somebody
just on the off chance
00:15:26.39\00:15:29.22
that they will let us
speak to them about Christ,
00:15:29.22\00:15:31.96
that God will open that door
for those divine appointments?
00:15:31.96\00:15:35.50
It's beautiful
00:15:35.50\00:15:37.27
to see that,
yeah. - Very inspiring.
00:15:37.27\00:15:38.50
- To see that. -
Yeah, absolutely.
00:15:38.50\00:15:39.77
- Well, we do have another video
00:15:39.77\00:15:41.14
with some more of the stories.
00:15:41.14\00:15:42.80
- [Jon] Awesome.
00:15:42.80\00:15:43.84
(gentle music)
00:15:43.84\00:15:46.47
- Samra Baraik was
my childhood friend
00:15:50.28\00:15:52.85
when I was growing up as a boy.
00:15:52.85\00:15:55.65
So Samra Baraik
was our neighbor's son.
00:15:55.65\00:16:00.59
And then we grew up together.
00:16:00.59\00:16:02.49
And, yeah, we were
around the tea garden,
00:16:02.49\00:16:07.56
and we were staying
the tea garden quarter
00:16:08.63\00:16:09.76
because we, my
family, worked in tea garden.
00:16:09.76\00:16:13.74
And then as we grew together,
00:16:13.74\00:16:17.47
there was a time that we
were told that the children
00:16:17.47\00:16:21.78
should not take
hold of betal nut
00:16:21.78\00:16:24.45
and not to take those things
00:16:24.45\00:16:26.98
which are
harmful for the health.
00:16:26.98\00:16:28.95
And even this friend
(singing in foreign language)
00:16:28.95\00:16:31.49
who belongs to Hindu family,
00:16:31.49\00:16:33.25
he grew up that
in that lifestyle.
00:16:33.25\00:16:35.99
He did not do the things
00:16:35.99\00:16:37.29
that Adventists
wouldn't usually do as well,
00:16:37.29\00:16:40.20
but as the time passed by,
00:16:40.20\00:16:42.00
we moved to different
place, and it was quite long
00:16:42.00\00:16:45.80
that we were
separated from one another.
00:16:45.80\00:16:48.27
And then later on in 2015,
00:16:48.27\00:16:52.24
my family came
back to this place,
00:16:52.24\00:16:54.04
and I have built my house here.
00:16:54.04\00:16:56.98
And then as we
started to meet again,
00:16:56.98\00:17:01.08
then we were getting
along with one another.
00:17:01.08\00:17:03.95
And then he started
to observe my family,
00:17:03.95\00:17:06.39
our lifestyle at home.
00:17:06.39\00:17:07.86
He found that
many of our friends
00:17:07.86\00:17:11.43
were contracting
different health issues.
00:17:12.56\00:17:16.93
Some would have
diabetes and other things.
00:17:16.93\00:17:18.93
They were actually having
health issues and problems,
00:17:18.93\00:17:21.90
but whereas my family, we
did not have health issues.
00:17:21.90\00:17:26.61
So my friend, he thought that,
00:17:26.61\00:17:29.18
"It's good to
follow this lifestyle,
00:17:29.18\00:17:31.91
and I want my children as well
(singing in foreign language)
00:17:31.91\00:17:33.58
to be healthy and safe,"
00:17:33.58\00:17:35.32
so they started to
be with us together.
00:17:35.32\00:17:38.89
(gentle music)
00:17:38.89\00:17:41.56
But then his wife
was from Catholic church,
00:17:42.86\00:17:46.43
and so she would
not like her husband
00:17:46.43\00:17:49.80
to become an Adventist.
00:17:49.80\00:17:51.77
So because of that,
we had some challenge.
00:17:51.77\00:17:54.50
He was ready to
accept the Adventist faith,
00:17:54.50\00:17:57.47
but then even
then, she was insisting
00:17:57.47\00:18:00.71
that her husband
shouldn't be an Adventist.
00:18:00.71\00:18:04.85
And then in that
way, things got prolonged,
00:18:04.85\00:18:09.38
and at the same time,
00:18:09.38\00:18:11.05
the family members were also
not happy with Samra Baraik.
00:18:11.05\00:18:15.19
They were in fact scolding him.
00:18:15.19\00:18:17.33
And then when his
wife happened to notice
00:18:17.33\00:18:20.43
that he was being
scolded for thinking
00:18:20.43\00:18:22.56
about the Adventist Church,
she felt bad for her husband.
00:18:22.56\00:18:26.70
She somehow thought that,
00:18:26.70\00:18:28.17
"No, I should
probably protect my husband.
00:18:28.17\00:18:31.94
I should be with him."
00:18:31.94\00:18:33.44
And in that way, they
started to be together,
00:18:33.44\00:18:36.78
and they started
to come to church,
00:18:36.78\00:18:38.38
but then there were others
00:18:38.38\00:18:42.02
who wanted to
bring problem to them.
00:18:42.02\00:18:44.79
And in fact, one day
when they were going to church
00:18:44.79\00:18:46.72
on Sabbath day, some of them
were there waiting in the field
00:18:46.72\00:18:50.83
so that probably
they can harm them.
00:18:50.83\00:18:53.29
That was their thought.
00:18:53.29\00:18:55.00
Then interestingly, or
very sadly, we should say,
00:18:55.00\00:18:59.40
that the ones who wanted
to bring harm to this family,
00:18:59.40\00:19:02.94
he suddenly
happened to pass away.
00:19:03.97\00:19:05.77
And then
another auntie was there
00:19:05.77\00:19:09.21
who was also trying to
say so many things to them
00:19:09.21\00:19:14.08
and trying to scold them that,
00:19:14.88\00:19:16.75
"Yeah, what you are
trying to do is not good."
00:19:16.75\00:19:19.95
And even this auntie
also passed away suddenly.
00:19:19.95\00:19:23.56
So because of that,
00:19:23.56\00:19:25.46
now they're not
having much problem
00:19:25.46\00:19:28.43
to come to church.
(singing in foreign language)
00:19:28.43\00:19:29.23
They can come freely now there.
00:19:29.23\00:19:30.73
Even though they're not
baptized, but they're in the
00:19:30.73\00:19:33.10
church. (gentle music)
(speaking in foreign language)
00:19:33.10\00:19:36.40
(speaking in foreign language)
00:19:36.40\00:19:38.51
I want to thank
Jesus for Asia Ministry.
00:19:38.51\00:19:41.81
If it was not for Jesus for Asia
00:19:41.81\00:19:43.51
and the sponsorship
that we are getting,
00:19:43.51\00:19:47.15
probably it
would've been quite difficult
00:19:47.15\00:19:49.22
for us to
continue with the ministry
00:19:49.22\00:19:51.95
that we were able to do.
00:19:51.95\00:19:54.52
I guess part of that could be,
00:19:54.52\00:19:57.16
if that was the case,
00:19:57.16\00:19:59.39
then maybe we would be
busy with our own things
00:19:59.39\00:20:01.90
and going around
would've been difficult.
00:20:01.90\00:20:04.73
And because now I was helped
00:20:04.73\00:20:08.40
to be a JFA worker, I'm
very happy that I would continue
00:20:08.40\00:20:12.71
the ministry and
church here is moving forward.
00:20:12.71\00:20:15.94
(gentle music)
00:20:15.94\00:20:18.61
- There's a real great
controversy going on, isn't
00:20:21.22\00:20:23.69
there? - There definitely is.
00:20:23.69\00:20:25.05
- Between Christ and Satan.
00:20:25.05\00:20:26.42
- Yes. Wow, his friend.
00:20:26.42\00:20:28.56
That's just, that's so intense
00:20:28.56\00:20:31.73
and so sad that
they passed away.
00:20:31.73\00:20:34.83
And there at the end, he
was thanking Jesus for Asia
00:20:34.83\00:20:37.63
for sponsoring
him so he could focus
00:20:37.63\00:20:40.97
on being a Bible worker.
00:20:40.97\00:20:42.50
- Yes. - And he didn't have
00:20:42.50\00:20:43.61
to do all those other things,
00:20:43.61\00:20:45.11
like he was
saying, doing our things.
00:20:45.11\00:20:48.31
We can go and do the work.
00:20:48.31\00:20:50.01
- Yes. - So I just wanted
00:20:50.01\00:20:51.91
to reiterate that, to emphasize
it, because many times,
00:20:51.91\00:20:55.88
we look at the
amount we're sending them,
00:20:55.88\00:20:58.29
which is only
about $100 a month,
00:20:58.29\00:21:00.16
depending on the exchange rate,
00:21:00.16\00:21:02.02
and yet they're so dedicated,
and they're so thankful
00:21:02.02\00:21:05.46
because it enables
them to work for God
00:21:05.46\00:21:08.93
and not have to worry about,
00:21:08.93\00:21:10.50
"How am I gonna support
my family?" all that stuff.
00:21:10.50\00:21:13.80
It's not easy.
00:21:13.80\00:21:14.94
It's not like
they're getting a cush salary
00:21:14.94\00:21:17.07
or something like that.
00:21:17.07\00:21:18.51
It's really not
enough in many areas.
00:21:18.51\00:21:20.64
- Mm-hmm. - Really not enough,
00:21:20.64\00:21:22.64
but God multiplies it
and he makes it stretch.
00:21:22.64\00:21:25.55
He blesses them
because of their dedication
00:21:25.55\00:21:28.08
and their
willingness to work for,
00:21:28.08\00:21:29.98
as they say in
India, for very less.
00:21:29.98\00:21:32.12
- Yes, you remember the time,
00:21:32.12\00:21:33.46
when we were earlier in our
ministry, that we were not able
00:21:33.46\00:21:37.26
to provide a whole
salary, a full salary for them?
00:21:37.26\00:21:40.13
- Yes. - We had started
00:21:40.13\00:21:41.70
this ministry on
pure faith, Matthew 6:33.
00:21:41.70\00:21:45.97
And we had seen God move.
00:21:45.97\00:21:48.77
We left our job,
our regular salary.
00:21:48.77\00:21:52.07
We didn't have
any equity in a house.
00:21:52.07\00:21:54.78
We didn't have
any money in the bank.
00:21:54.78\00:21:56.11
All we had was a
little credit card debt.
00:21:56.11\00:21:58.55
And we wanted to do that
00:21:58.55\00:22:00.18
because we wanted to see
if Matthew 6:33 really worked.
00:22:00.18\00:22:04.85
We'd seen it
work for other people,
00:22:05.99\00:22:06.79
but would it work for us?
00:22:06.79\00:22:07.92
And so we were enjoying
seeing God come through,
00:22:07.92\00:22:11.43
enjoying seeing
that He is a real God,
00:22:11.43\00:22:14.93
a true Father, and
He takes care of us.
00:22:14.93\00:22:17.60
So I was thinking, "Okay, well
we are stepping out by faith
00:22:17.60\00:22:20.84
and doing this work without a
salary, but our Bible workers,
00:22:20.84\00:22:24.17
how are they
supposed to learn faith?"
00:22:24.17\00:22:26.41
And so that God sent them
through this time of very,
00:22:26.41\00:22:30.41
you know, the salary
isn't much to begin with,
00:22:30.41\00:22:33.21
can barely survive, and
then going to 1/3 to 1/2,
00:22:33.21\00:22:35.95
or skipping months of salary
is they learned faith too.
00:22:35.95\00:22:41.02
And we got
testimonies from various leaders
00:22:42.12\00:22:43.76
in the church about
these Bible workers,
00:22:43.76\00:22:46.03
that had not the
regular monthly salary,
00:22:46.03\00:22:49.26
were the ones that
really did the hard work,
00:22:49.26\00:22:51.90
and really dedicated to God.
00:22:51.90\00:22:56.04
I think that's what's so
beautiful in our Bible workers,
00:22:56.04\00:22:59.87
and I'm so proud to
be associated with them.
00:22:59.87\00:23:03.78
- Yeah, yeah,
it's really amazing
00:23:03.78\00:23:08.55
what they have gone
through over the years,
00:23:08.55\00:23:10.92
what they go through.
00:23:10.92\00:23:12.35
So many of them,
00:23:12.35\00:23:13.46
there's
persecution of various kinds.
00:23:13.46\00:23:17.46
Some is just yelling at them
00:23:17.46\00:23:20.63
(Jon chuckling) or talking bad
00:23:20.63\00:23:21.96
about them or whatever, and
some is actual physical harm,
00:23:21.96\00:23:25.57
being threatened
or tried to them.
00:23:25.57\00:23:27.40
- Correct. - And
just their dedication.
00:23:27.40\00:23:30.07
They're gonna go through
whatever they have to go through
00:23:30.07\00:23:32.91
to keep serving God,
and that's so inspiring.
00:23:32.91\00:23:35.54
- Right. - So inspiring.
00:23:35.54\00:23:37.11
- Yeah, and at the same time,
there's a lot of open areas.
00:23:37.11\00:23:41.02
People, as you
saw with this brother,
00:23:41.02\00:23:43.59
that they're open
to hear the Gospel.
00:23:43.59\00:23:45.89
And so the doors are wide open,
00:23:45.89\00:23:47.26
and who is there to
go through those doors,
00:23:47.26\00:23:50.19
and how many
other doors are open
00:23:50.19\00:23:52.43
if we had more Bible workers,
00:23:52.43\00:23:54.83
if there was
somebody to tell them?
00:23:54.83\00:23:57.20
The harvest field is vast,
and we're not anywhere close
00:23:57.20\00:24:00.67
to exhausting the
opportunities that are out there
00:24:00.67\00:24:04.11
for planting the
Gospel in new areas.
00:24:04.11\00:24:06.74
- Right, right, and
speaking of new areas,
00:24:06.74\00:24:10.25
there's so many areas.
00:24:10.25\00:24:11.25
We think about Assam,
00:24:11.25\00:24:12.31
and we think about
the great needs there,
00:24:12.31\00:24:14.88
the small number of
workers, the need for schools
00:24:14.88\00:24:18.75
and church buildings
and things like that.
00:24:18.75\00:24:21.36
And then we look at
the other areas around it,
00:24:21.36\00:24:23.99
those other states that
we've talked about a little bit.
00:24:23.99\00:24:28.23
It's just you start
looking to each of those areas,
00:24:29.80\00:24:33.54
and you see how
vast the harvest field is
00:24:33.54\00:24:36.27
and how many more workers could
be utilized in those areas,
00:24:36.27\00:24:40.14
how many
opportunities that we need
00:24:40.14\00:24:43.95
to follow up on
and stuff like that.
00:24:43.95\00:24:45.68
And then we look at
surrounding countries.
00:24:45.68\00:24:48.12
There's a great
need in Bangladesh.
00:24:48.12\00:24:49.72
There's great need in
Bhutan, which is just nearby.
00:24:49.72\00:24:53.32
- Yes, it actually borders
the northern edge of Assam.
00:24:53.32\00:24:57.09
This is the country of Bhutan.
00:24:57.09\00:24:59.53
And it's completely illegal
00:24:59.53\00:25:02.00
to proselytize in Bhutan.
00:25:02.00\00:25:04.80
- Right. - Or to have a church
00:25:04.80\00:25:07.10
and to convert from
Buddhism to Christianity.
00:25:07.10\00:25:11.61
And if somebody does convert,
they lose their citizenship.
00:25:11.61\00:25:16.68
They have to get
booted out of the country.
00:25:17.75\00:25:19.65
And so what do you
do in that situation?
00:25:19.65\00:25:23.02
- Right. - And Assam is
00:25:23.02\00:25:25.05
the closest place to
start spreading the Gospel.
00:25:25.05\00:25:29.46
I don't know what to do
about that, but God does.
00:25:29.46\00:25:33.16
- Right, and so we pray.
00:25:33.16\00:25:35.46
- We pray and ask God
to take charge of His work
00:25:35.46\00:25:39.87
and to lead it the way
He knows how to lead it.
00:25:39.87\00:25:42.50
And it's only gonna be
in heaven when we find out
00:25:42.50\00:25:44.61
what's really going on.
00:25:44.61\00:25:46.47
- Yeah, it's true.
00:25:46.47\00:25:48.08
Yeah, 'cause
there's so many areas
00:25:48.08\00:25:49.58
that we don't
know what's going on.
00:25:49.58\00:25:53.01
- Right.
00:25:53.01\00:25:54.12
- There's underground
churches in some areas.
00:25:54.12\00:25:55.92
There's no church in some areas.
00:25:55.92\00:25:57.82
There's one
believer in a vast field.
00:25:57.82\00:26:00.79
There's no
believers. There's a few.
00:26:00.79\00:26:03.83
We don't know all
the circumstances,
00:26:03.83\00:26:06.53
and I'm so thankful God does,
00:26:06.53\00:26:08.03
and he knows exactly
how to reach these people.
00:26:08.03\00:26:10.27
- Right. - And so our duty
00:26:10.27\00:26:12.10
to pray for them, to
intercede for them is so big.
00:26:12.10\00:26:16.34
- Yes. - You know, it just,
00:26:16.34\00:26:18.04
we can't go to all these places.
00:26:18.04\00:26:20.28
I mean, physically we
can't go, but God can go.
00:26:20.28\00:26:24.05
- Yes. - His angels can go,
00:26:24.05\00:26:25.58
and He can send people there,
00:26:25.58\00:26:26.98
whether he sends
us or someone else.
00:26:26.98\00:26:28.88
- Right. - He
can send people there
00:26:28.88\00:26:30.52
to share the Gospel with them.
00:26:30.52\00:26:33.19
- Yeah, we're convinced
the whole missionary enterprise
00:26:33.19\00:26:36.83
is based on the
prayers of the saints,
00:26:36.83\00:26:40.13
here at home or over there.
00:26:40.13\00:26:41.90
- Right. - Without prayer,
00:26:41.90\00:26:43.37
it doesn't go
anywhere, but with prayer,
00:26:43.37\00:26:45.77
it goes to surprising places
00:26:45.77\00:26:47.37
that we never thought of before.
00:26:47.37\00:26:48.70
- Right, in surprising ways.
00:26:48.70\00:26:50.61
- Yes! (chuckling)
00:26:50.61\00:26:51.87
And it's not a burden.
00:26:51.87\00:26:54.44
The burden for the
lost is not a burden.
00:26:54.44\00:26:57.48
- Yeah, we call it a burden,
00:26:57.48\00:26:58.98
but it's more like a
heart-rending interest.
00:26:58.98\00:27:02.28
- Yes. - You know?
00:27:02.28\00:27:03.12
It's like this urgency,
00:27:03.12\00:27:05.09
this longing for them.
00:27:05.09\00:27:08.99
It's more of a
longing than a burden,
00:27:08.99\00:27:10.69
I guess you could
say. - Yeah, well, I think
00:27:10.69\00:27:11.53
it's what Christ says,
00:27:11.53\00:27:12.63
"My burden is light
and my yoke is easy."
00:27:12.63\00:27:15.80
Yeah, it might break your heart,
00:27:15.80\00:27:17.77
but that's probably a
good thing (chuckling).
00:27:17.77\00:27:20.30
- It broke His. - Yes.
00:27:20.30\00:27:22.20
- It broke His heart.
00:27:22.20\00:27:23.30
- We're praying
for opportunities
00:27:23.30\00:27:24.84
and the ability to
take advantage of those
00:27:24.84\00:27:28.64
opportunities. - Right.
- And that's why we have
00:27:28.64\00:27:31.71
such a burden for
these Bible workers,
00:27:31.71\00:27:33.52
'cause they're there
to see the opportunity
00:27:33.52\00:27:35.62
and take advantage of them.
00:27:35.62\00:27:37.09
We just need more Bible workers.
00:27:37.09\00:27:38.95
- Right. Right. - Yes.
00:27:38.95\00:27:41.29
- If you would
like to learn more
00:27:41.29\00:27:43.12
about sponsoring
Bible workers in India
00:27:43.12\00:27:45.86
and other places in
Asia, please contact us
00:27:45.86\00:27:48.30
at Jesus for Asia, PO Box 1221,
00:27:48.30\00:27:52.10
Collegedale, TN 37315.
00:27:52.10\00:27:55.67
Call us 423-413-7321
00:27:55.67\00:28:00.14
or visit our
website at Jesus4Asia.org.
00:28:00.14\00:28:03.61
May God richly bless you
until we see you next time
00:28:03.61\00:28:06.58
on "Jesus for Asia Now."
00:28:06.58\00:28:07.88
(triumphant music)
00:28:07.88\00:28:10.85