(bright music)
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- Hello and welcome
to "Jesus for Asia Now".
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I'm Natalie Wood, and
I am not in our studio.
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I am actually in
Sukhothai, Thailand.
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We are on an island
that's heart-shaped,
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inside a lake that
is also heart-shaped.
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But I'm not here to
talk about Thailand today.
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The friends that I have
with me are working in Cambodia.
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And I'd like you to meet
Kenton and Rachel Rogers.
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Welcome.
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We're so glad to
have you with us here,
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and we're excited to hear
what God is doing in your lives
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and in the project that he's
having you work at in Cambodia.
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So let's start with how
you ended up in Cambodia.
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- Eight years ago, we
heard about the need of Thailand
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with the lack of
literature that they had.
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And they had copies
of copies of copies.
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So we basically said, "Oh, in
my heart, I'll pray for them."
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But after time goes
by, you forget about it.
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- Right.
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- And so four years later,
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we ended up at a faith camp,
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and toward the
end of faith camp,
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we found out that basically
everything was still the same.
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The same needs were still there.
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Not much had been done.
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And so in my heart I was like,
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"Lord, I guess I forgot to pray.
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And maybe you need
more than just prayers.
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If you want me to go and help,
I'm willing to go and help."
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And with that
commitment of willing to say,
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"I'm willing to
help," God continued to lead.
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And even though we were
first looking at Thailand
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to work there, he actually
ended up leading us to Cambodia,
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which from what I've
learned actually starting there,
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it's easier to
work from than Thailand.
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- God knew.
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So you're now in Cambodia
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and what's going
on in your project?
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- Our goal was to actually
create a publishing house,
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not just to make books.
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And I want to see the work
grow beyond a donation cycle
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where money comes in and
then we could do a printing
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and that's all the
books that are done.
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And for then years
go by with nothing,
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until another donation comes in.
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And then you end up
really not having the resources.
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And we need the work to grow.
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And the work is bigger
than just actually having books,
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'cause the work
includes translators.
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But if the translator is
only there for one month,
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then it's not
really going to work.
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We need writers, we
need then of course printing.
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But then we need
literature evangelists.
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So I want to see the
work grow completely.
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But a part of that is
to have publishing houses.
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A publishing house
helps to store books,
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print books, manage
the production of books
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in that sense of
gather the resources,
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gather the
writers, the translators,
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to help make the process go.
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- Did you start with a building?
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Did you start
with printing materials
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and printing equipment?
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- So when we got to Cambodia,
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I went and talked with the
Cambodian mission president.
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And I was thinking, you
know, maybe I should ask him
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where would be a
good place to what city?
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'Cause there's three
main cities in Cambodia.
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So at the end of
my talk with him,
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I asked him, "What city would
be good to start this venture
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of a publishing house at?"
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- Mm-hmm.
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- And instead of
coming back with a city,
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he came back with,
"How about some property?"
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And I wasn't
thinking about that.
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- Surprise.
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- So he said, "We can take
you and show you it tomorrow."
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So they took us there.
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What we ended up
looking at was a house
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that had been
abandoned for seven years.
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There was a house there,
but no windows, no doors.
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- It was very rough.
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Almost starting from scratch.
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Almost. - Yes. Almost.
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There was no water, electricity.
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So within the first
week of being there,
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we were able to get
water and electricity,
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and later, some
windows and get the doors.
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But what was a blessing
is that property has land.
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So we were able to then spend
a year building a structure
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that can house
publishing equipment.
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- Does it have room
for storing books too, or-
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- It has room for shelving.
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But I don't have
the shelving yet.
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- So then you've spent a
year building a building.
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- [Kenton] Yes.
- So what happened?
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Do you have any equipment now?
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- Yeah, so in the
process of being there,
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it has been an ongoing
dependence on God for finances.
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- Mm.
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- And God hasn't forsaken us.
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The money that just as
it's needed does come in.
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And so yes, we'd
been here for a while,
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but still, okay,
we have the property.
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We were starting to live there,
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but we needed to build something
and you need equipment.
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- Right.
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- So we were able
to share it over Zoom,
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basically with faith camp.
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And during that faith
camp, there was a donation,
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a matching donation of a
hundred thousand dollars.
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- Yes.
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- It was a two to one.
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So that means that
with another $50,000,
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it would be a total of $150,000.
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To me it was like,
whoa, this is a lot
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and God is leading here.
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Actually, inside I got word.
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I was like, "Okay,
well, how am I supposed
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to get another $50,000?"
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And of course,
anxiety comes up, worry.
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And then I realize, no,
Lord, I didn't even ask,
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the first 150, that was you.
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I mean the hundred
thousand, that was you.
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So, therefore, I'll
trust you with the 50.
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And within one week,
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there were a total of three
donations given, which equal-
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- Made the 50,000.
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- Made the
50,000. - I remember that.
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It was like, "Yes!"
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- So that was given.
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And we were then able
to purchase equipment.
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And some of the 150,000 also
went to building the building.
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- So you talked about depending
on God for the finances,
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time after time.
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What about the
other parts of it?
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- So yes, there were times
where it was very difficult
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and things actually came
to crisis points in that sense
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where we needed
God to help and to work
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and to lead
actually in timeframes.
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So there were
some things like that.
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One of them was actually
getting into the village.
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- Mm.
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- Because of COVID,
the villages were closed
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and they said,
"You can't come in."
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So we'd had
permission from the mission
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to start working
there, start building,
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and then they said no.
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And so that left my whole family
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in a one-room
apartment on the third floor.
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- During COVID.
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- During COVID.
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- When they didn't
want you to go anywhere.
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- Yeah.
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So after three
months of being there,
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the landlord was
wanting us to renew,
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not a three-month contract,
but a six-month contract.
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And I was like, "Lord,
my family can't stay here
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in this one-room apartment
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for another six months.
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We either need to
go back to the States,
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or you need to open up
the property for us to go to."
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And again, we
can't speak fluently,
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so it's not like I
could call up the chief
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and talk with him.
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So we made it a
matter of prayer.
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So we had that one
week to make our decision
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and to see what
was gonna happen.
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At the end of the week, we
needed to, if nothing happened,
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go back to the States.
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On Thursday, a friend of
ours that's Khmer, called us up
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and said, "Have you been
able to get to the property?
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How are things going?"
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And I was like, "No,
we're still stuck here."
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And he says, "Okay, well,
then, let me call the chief."
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And so he
actually called the chief.
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And the chief
was much different.
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He was at this point saying,
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"Sure they can come.
Have them come tomorrow."
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And the chief was
going to actually help us
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with all the paperwork.
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And we went
there and he helped us
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to actually get residency there.
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And I was very thankful.
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So that Sunday we moved there.
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That was a crisis point,
which as you go through it,
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it's challenging
because you have to say,
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"You, Lord, you've led
this far. Do we just go back?"
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'Cause it's not just
about how God is leading,
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but how he has led up to
this point builds a trust,
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but then questions.
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So it's just about
presenting them to God
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and saying, "Lord,
we need your help."
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But then when he
does, when you go through it
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and he opens up the door
and now we are at the property.
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We know that, what,
he's led us this far.
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- He took you there, right.
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- And it's a comfort to know
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that I'm actually
where God wants me to be.
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So we ordered the equipment.
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Again, during COVID times,
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you can't just go and
easily travel to go see it.
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Prices for travel
are much more expensive.
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So all the equipment I
bought was basically with videos
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or talking with the people.
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And so I had actually
had a phone conversation
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with the people
that I was buying,
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these are large
commercial copiers from.
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- Mm.
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- Basically I ended up
purchasing one of them on an
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auction. And then when
I contacted him, he says,
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"By the way, I
have three more of them.
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One's a parts, one, so
you'll have spare parts.
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There's actually a lot
of spare parts as well.
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And then I have
these two other machines."
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And in the conversations,
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I was led to believe that they
were nice, running machines.
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- Oh boy.
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- So when they came,
the building wasn't done,
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but eventually as it got done
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and then we got electricity,
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we were able to
then set them up.
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When we set them up,
you can then see the logs.
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And I found out that for,
like, the last four years,
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they hadn't been used.
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And that there
were a lot of errors.
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Just like one trial,
error, one trial, error.
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And I realized he
never had them running.
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- Oh.
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- And my heart sank.
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And it's like, "Lord,
why you led us this way,
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now we can't even print?"
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Yes, I have all the other
equipment that is working,
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but these, I
can't even print now.
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- Because he led
you to buy those.
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- Yes, he did.
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I was woke up
just before midnight,
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which the auction was
ending just after midnight.
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I woke up with one hour
before the auction ended
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and with the thought, you
know, you need to bid on this.
00:10:06.43\00:10:08.80
- Hmm.
00:10:08.80\00:10:09.77
- So I bid on it.
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I won the auction by only $60.
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So, and I actually was in
prayer actually asking the Lord,
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"How much do I bid on this?"
00:10:19.78\00:10:21.42
- Right.
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- And so I put a
thousand dollars on the bid,
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and it was only $60 from that.
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- Wow.
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- Obviously God
could have let that go,
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but he let it come to me.
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And then when it came
to getting it shipped,
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I didn't really have anyone
to go and put it on pallets
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and put it in the container.
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So I was calling
around for people to do that,
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and I couldn't find anyone.
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So I was actually getting
ready and I called the guy up
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and said, "You know, I
can't even just find anyone
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to do this for
me." - To pack them.
00:10:50.88\00:10:52.55
- "I'm gonna have
to basically not buy
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the other three machines.
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And if you want me to,
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I can pay a
garbage truck to come
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and take away the one
that I have purchased,
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if you don't want it,
but I can't do anything."
00:11:00.62\00:11:02.42
Well, he said,
"Here's a number."
00:11:02.42\00:11:04.16
So I called that number.
00:11:04.99\00:11:06.16
Well, that person
said, "No, we don't do it."
00:11:06.16\00:11:08.23
But without me
asking, they said,
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"Here's another
number, call them."
00:11:10.20\00:11:12.03
So I called that
person, they said,
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"No, but here's another number."
00:11:13.54\00:11:16.67
And the third one said,
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"No, we don't do it,
but here's another number."
00:11:19.71\00:11:22.11
The fourth one finally
said, "Yes, we do that."
00:11:22.11\00:11:24.48
- Oh, wow.
00:11:24.48\00:11:25.55
- But I felt like
each one of those,
00:11:25.55\00:11:26.95
I mean, I can't stop and
say God's closed the door here.
00:11:26.95\00:11:29.75
He actually gave
me another number.
00:11:29.75\00:11:32.32
So I do, I got these machines
now and they don't work.
00:11:33.62\00:11:38.76
And I was praying,
00:11:39.39\00:11:40.60
"Lord, how do you
want me to deal with this?"
00:11:40.60\00:11:42.06
But actually God
led me and gave me help.
00:11:42.06\00:11:46.57
I mean, not help, outside help,
00:11:47.47\00:11:49.20
but helped to actually
understand opening these
00:11:49.20\00:11:51.67
printers up and
starting to work on them.
00:11:51.67\00:11:53.61
And one of 'em had a problem,
and I couldn't figure it out.
00:11:53.61\00:11:57.11
I thought, "Okay, well,
I'm just gonna swap this part
00:11:57.11\00:12:00.12
with that machine."
00:12:00.12\00:12:01.52
And in the
process of switching them,
00:12:01.52\00:12:03.59
I moved one of the cables
and one of the cables was loose.
00:12:03.59\00:12:07.46
And when I moved
it, it started working.
00:12:07.46\00:12:10.09
And so I realized that,
00:12:10.09\00:12:11.36
well, the only thing I
changed were those cables.
00:12:11.36\00:12:13.16
- The loca, yeah. The location
of the part and the cables.
00:12:13.16\00:12:16.26
- So just
simple things like that
00:12:16.26\00:12:18.53
where I know God was helping
00:12:18.53\00:12:20.77
and that we did get
the printers working.
00:12:20.77\00:12:24.04
We got two of them working.
00:12:24.04\00:12:25.91
Even though there's
been struggles with them,
00:12:25.91\00:12:27.88
I haven't been
left without printing.
00:12:27.88\00:12:30.05
So we've printed several books,
00:12:30.05\00:12:33.08
and we've helped out
with some of the schools,
00:12:33.08\00:12:35.45
like thematic school
doing their math books.
00:12:35.45\00:12:38.75
And then there's projects
00:12:38.75\00:12:40.02
that, as a publishing
house, we're working with too.
00:12:40.02\00:12:42.69
- Okay, so I
know I have, you know,
00:12:42.69\00:12:45.89
you shared with me already,
00:12:45.89\00:12:47.30
so I have a little
over on our viewers,
00:12:47.30\00:12:49.10
but where's it at with
some of the translation
00:12:49.10\00:12:52.43
that's been happening?
00:12:52.43\00:12:53.70
- So even before
we started building,
00:12:53.70\00:12:56.71
I was working with
trying to find translators.
00:12:56.71\00:12:59.24
There were some pieces
that I wanted to get translated.
00:12:59.24\00:13:02.48
Two of them are
these small ones here.
00:13:02.48\00:13:05.61
One is actually
called "The Victorious Life,"
00:13:05.61\00:13:08.08
but I've retitled
it, "The Letter of Hope,"
00:13:08.08\00:13:10.85
and it's by Ellen White.
00:13:10.85\00:13:12.75
Very encouraging.
00:13:12.75\00:13:13.76
And I wanted the
church members here
00:13:13.76\00:13:16.22
to have access to that.
00:13:16.22\00:13:18.26
So this was one piece,
and then this is another one.
00:13:18.26\00:13:21.50
It's entitled
"Victory in Christ."
00:13:21.50\00:13:23.40
Like what is Christ to me
00:13:23.40\00:13:25.30
is the whole,
kind of, a theme of it.
00:13:25.30\00:13:29.47
And then at the end of each
one of the sections it says,
00:13:29.47\00:13:31.87
"But remember, he loves
you just like he loves me."
00:13:31.87\00:13:34.84
- Right.
00:13:34.84\00:13:35.64
- So it's a very non, like,
00:13:35.64\00:13:38.45
confrontational
presentation of Christ.
00:13:38.45\00:13:40.85
- Awesome. - So
I wanted these two.
00:13:40.85\00:13:42.12
And so these were pieces
that we did have translated,
00:13:42.12\00:13:44.59
but you'd say,
"Oh, they're small."
00:13:44.59\00:13:46.02
But most of the time,
00:13:46.02\00:13:48.26
the translators I have
are working part-time on this,
00:13:48.26\00:13:50.93
in their free time,
'cause they have full-time jobs.
00:13:50.93\00:13:53.80
And so this one
here took two years,
00:13:53.80\00:13:56.23
to go from, like, the beginning
00:13:56.23\00:13:57.60
to actually having
it printed in the end-
00:13:57.60\00:14:01.24
- Because it's not
just a single person.
00:14:01.24\00:14:03.20
- No. - That translates.
00:14:03.20\00:14:04.11
So you have translate
00:14:04.11\00:14:05.61
and you have review and review.
00:14:05.61\00:14:08.31
And you know, you have a
number of people that review
00:14:08.31\00:14:11.51
to make sure that
it's really crossing
00:14:11.51\00:14:13.95
the language difference,
00:14:13.95\00:14:16.05
so the concepts
are understandable,
00:14:16.05\00:14:19.52
and things like that.
00:14:19.52\00:14:20.39
And then you can
00:14:20.39\00:14:22.12
finally print it. -
Then you can print it.
00:14:22.12\00:14:23.36
- [Natalie] Yeah. - Yes.
00:14:23.36\00:14:24.16
We're working on some books too.
00:14:24.16\00:14:26.59
So this is "Living By Faith,"
00:14:26.59\00:14:30.13
and it's been in the works
00:14:30.13\00:14:33.20
for, again, two years
as well, for this one.
00:14:33.20\00:14:35.40
They were needing
some copies of it,
00:14:35.40\00:14:37.24
like pre-release copies.
00:14:37.24\00:14:38.67
So I have a
pre-release of it here,
00:14:38.67\00:14:41.14
but it's still in
the review process.
00:14:41.14\00:14:43.81
So even though it's a book
here, there's still more work,
00:14:43.81\00:14:48.45
but it's close and it's so
nice to actually see the book
00:14:48.45\00:14:52.12
when it's taken this long.
00:14:52.12\00:14:53.69
- Yes.
00:14:53.69\00:14:54.59
- The other thing
is, too, is storybook.
00:14:55.72\00:14:58.43
I believe that there's
a need for the storybooks
00:14:58.43\00:15:01.23
that are from this area.
00:15:01.23\00:15:03.33
The mission story books.
00:15:03.33\00:15:05.53
And there's several
books by Norma Youngberg
00:15:05.53\00:15:08.90
as well as some
others that really share,
00:15:08.90\00:15:11.84
from an individual standpoint,
00:15:13.54\00:15:15.58
someone going through the
process of learning who God is,
00:15:15.58\00:15:19.28
struggling
between culture and God,
00:15:19.28\00:15:23.25
and family and God,
00:15:23.25\00:15:26.29
and showing how
much God is really a part
00:15:26.29\00:15:30.06
and can be
involved in their lives.
00:15:30.06\00:15:33.09
And so I think these stories
00:15:33.09\00:15:34.46
will be a great
blessing to Southeast Asia.
00:15:34.46\00:15:36.67
So we've been working
on them right now in Khmer.
00:15:36.67\00:15:40.14
This is actually a review.
00:15:40.14\00:15:41.90
They were going
through the process
00:15:41.90\00:15:43.84
of reading it
through for the last time.
00:15:43.84\00:15:46.24
And so I actually
put it into a book format
00:15:46.24\00:15:48.58
for them to read,
their last read through it.
00:15:48.58\00:15:51.35
So this one is
actually, like, finished
00:15:51.35\00:15:55.92
with a translation.
00:15:55.92\00:15:57.32
The next process is actually
to finalize the layout of it
00:15:57.32\00:16:00.79
and then we can print it.
00:16:00.79\00:16:01.89
- Wow. That's awesome.
00:16:01.89\00:16:03.09
And what's the name
of that book in English?
00:16:03.09\00:16:04.19
- This one is
"Fire on the Mountain."
00:16:04.19\00:16:06.13
- Okay.
00:16:06.13\00:16:07.13
- Also, we do
stuff for the mission.
00:16:07.13\00:16:08.66
So we did the current
Sabbath school lesson.
00:16:08.66\00:16:13.74
So we didn't translate
this, the mission translates it,
00:16:15.10\00:16:15.90
but then we printed it for them.
00:16:15.90\00:16:17.64
- That's really exciting.
00:16:17.64\00:16:18.67
I'm glad those
materials are available.
00:16:18.67\00:16:21.84
And what other materials are
being worked on at this point?
00:16:21.84\00:16:25.15
- So we're still
working on some other books
00:16:25.15\00:16:28.58
like "Sanctified Life" in Khmer.
00:16:28.58\00:16:31.99
- Now Khmer is?
00:16:31.99\00:16:33.09
- The language in Cambodia.
00:16:34.26\00:16:35.52
- Okay. Just wanna make
sure everybody understands.
00:16:35.52\00:16:37.53
- Yes, and then
we're also working,
00:16:37.53\00:16:39.53
I have two translators in Lao.
00:16:39.53\00:16:41.66
So we're actually
working on some storybooks,
00:16:41.66\00:16:44.40
as well as the
"Living by Faith" in Lao.
00:16:44.40\00:16:47.94
- Okay.
00:16:47.94\00:16:49.17
- Just trying to finish
up some other storybooks.
00:16:49.17\00:16:51.04
We have a total of six
storybook that we're working on,
00:16:51.04\00:16:55.21
and most of them are
in the review process,
00:16:55.21\00:16:57.55
but that's a very slow process.
00:16:57.55\00:17:00.75
I have seven translators,
00:17:00.75\00:17:03.59
so two in Lao, and
then five in Khmer.
00:17:03.59\00:17:07.12
But all of them are working
just on the side of their job.
00:17:07.12\00:17:11.43
So things go slow.
00:17:11.43\00:17:12.46
But it's hard
finding translators,
00:17:12.46\00:17:16.16
finding them that know
English and Khmer equally,
00:17:16.16\00:17:21.24
like they're native tongue.
00:17:22.04\00:17:22.74
So finding some people
00:17:22.74\00:17:23.84
that are strong in
both is challenging.
00:17:23.84\00:17:26.71
- Yeah, because, you
know, some of these things
00:17:26.71\00:17:29.41
that you wanna have come
across in the translation
00:17:29.41\00:17:32.55
are concepts.
00:17:32.55\00:17:34.08
It's not like you can
just translate word for word
00:17:34.08\00:17:36.38
and have the whole
concept come across.
00:17:36.38\00:17:38.45
- Yeah.
00:17:38.45\00:17:39.79
- So they have to be
able to understand the concept
00:17:39.79\00:17:40.96
in both languages to
be able to express it,
00:17:40.96\00:17:43.99
whichever
direction they're going.
00:17:43.99\00:17:45.66
- Yes. And that, you
know, God gives wisdom.
00:17:45.66\00:17:48.10
- Yes.
00:17:48.10\00:17:49.20
- And I actually
do take time each day
00:17:49.20\00:17:51.97
to pray specifically
for the translators.
00:17:51.97\00:17:54.64
And remember, Lord, you know,
they can't do it on their own.
00:17:54.64\00:17:58.07
You need to help them.
00:17:58.07\00:17:59.14
Give them the
ability to understand.
00:17:59.14\00:18:02.01
And then they'll text me
00:18:02.01\00:18:03.18
and say, "Can you help
us with this sentence?"
00:18:03.18\00:18:05.21
And then I'm
saying, "Lord, help me
00:18:05.21\00:18:06.92
to be able to
put it into new words
00:18:06.92\00:18:09.35
so that they can then
understand it better."
00:18:09.35\00:18:12.05
Sometimes it's just
having different words
00:18:12.05\00:18:14.26
and then they get it.
00:18:14.26\00:18:15.06
- To simplify the language.
00:18:15.06\00:18:16.19
- Or taking out the pronouns.
00:18:16.19\00:18:18.73
- Oh.
00:18:18.73\00:18:19.83
- And when you
take out the pronouns,
00:18:19.83\00:18:21.56
so the sentence becomes long,
00:18:21.56\00:18:23.60
but then they understand it.
00:18:23.60\00:18:25.10
They know the pieces
that it's talking about.
00:18:25.10\00:18:27.27
- Oh, that makes sense.
00:18:27.27\00:18:28.74
Okay, so what's the next step
for the publishing house then?
00:18:28.74\00:18:32.34
- So the next step
for the publishing house
00:18:32.34\00:18:35.01
is, with the copiers,
we're able to do short books.
00:18:35.01\00:18:39.21
And most of what we've
been doing for like the school
00:18:39.21\00:18:41.42
is we need 20
books of this math book
00:18:41.42\00:18:43.75
and 20 books of that math book.
00:18:43.75\00:18:45.65
So that's not long runs.
00:18:45.65\00:18:47.36
That's really
nice on the copiers.
00:18:47.36\00:18:50.09
And even the longer ones,
00:18:51.69\00:18:52.86
like the Sabbath
School Lesson was a thousand,
00:18:52.86\00:18:56.26
that still does
nicely on the copiers,
00:18:56.26\00:18:58.97
but when you do a
larger book like this,
00:18:58.97\00:19:01.24
which I'm
wanting to do 5,000 of,
00:19:01.24\00:19:03.37
that's talking a lot more pages,
00:19:04.41\00:19:06.21
a lot more paper
going through the machine.
00:19:06.21\00:19:08.48
And so we're looking
actually at an offset press
00:19:08.48\00:19:11.68
that's able to do, not color,
00:19:11.68\00:19:15.65
but just the
black text inside books.
00:19:15.65\00:19:19.42
So it actually will do
both sides of the paper
00:19:19.42\00:19:23.93
at the same time that
it's going through the press.
00:19:23.93\00:19:27.30
And we'll do a
larger sheet of paper.
00:19:27.30\00:19:29.20
So it actually has many
pages on one sheet of paper
00:19:29.20\00:19:33.74
that gets folded down
and put into the book.
00:19:33.74\00:19:36.20
So it not only is
it cheaper to run,
00:19:36.20\00:19:40.08
but it's also four
times faster than the copiers.
00:19:40.08\00:19:43.71
So we're in the
process of purchasing one
00:19:43.71\00:19:45.78
of those from the UK.
00:19:45.78\00:19:48.15
- Okay.
00:19:48.15\00:19:49.05
- In the process of
buying this new equipment,
00:19:50.29\00:19:51.65
of course, we're
to remember the past.
00:19:51.65\00:19:54.79
How God has worked in the past,
00:19:54.79\00:19:56.36
he will continue
to work in the future.
00:19:56.36\00:19:59.53
And because it is a hard thing
00:19:59.53\00:20:02.00
to get stuff into the country.
00:20:02.00\00:20:04.90
And so sometimes
there is fear in that.
00:20:06.40\00:20:08.67
But a reminder that
God's been there in the past,
00:20:08.67\00:20:11.64
I actually ended up
having two containers get stuck
00:20:11.64\00:20:16.71
and, therefore, cost more money.
00:20:17.51\00:20:18.18
- Ah.
00:20:18.18\00:20:19.15
- And that day I
came to the moment
00:20:19.15\00:20:23.02
when I realized I
didn't have enough money
00:20:23.02\00:20:26.29
for the importing
of this last container,
00:20:26.29\00:20:31.16
my heart sank and I was like,
00:20:31.16\00:20:32.59
"Lord, you see the problem."
00:20:32.59\00:20:35.46
And I didn't have really
any courage at that time.
00:20:35.46\00:20:38.53
All I could do
is go out and pray
00:20:38.53\00:20:40.17
and say, "Lord,
you see, you know."
00:20:40.17\00:20:43.41
And I left praying, realizing
that God, no, no, great.
00:20:43.41\00:20:47.98
Like, oh, he's going
to answer. He is fine.
00:20:47.98\00:20:50.31
All I knew was I
had the opportunity
00:20:50.31\00:20:53.35
to tell him the problem,
and he knew about the problem.
00:20:53.35\00:20:57.42
I woke up the next morning
00:20:57.42\00:20:59.05
and got a text
message during the night
00:20:59.05\00:21:01.92
that said two days
before there was someone
00:21:01.92\00:21:05.86
who had sent a check,
specifically marked "shipping".
00:21:05.86\00:21:09.80
And the amount that it
was when it all came down
00:21:11.07\00:21:14.77
and figured out
was exactly the amount
00:21:14.77\00:21:17.51
that was needed
more to finish it.
00:21:17.51\00:21:20.41
And that was given before I
even knew about the problem.
00:21:20.41\00:21:24.28
And so, as I remember that,
00:21:24.28\00:21:27.28
I know that God
sees his equipment.
00:21:27.28\00:21:31.52
It's not my
equipment, it's his equipment.
00:21:31.52\00:21:34.42
And he can take care of it.
00:21:34.42\00:21:35.86
- Right. Wow.
00:21:35.86\00:21:37.73
How's your family
doing in Cambodia?
00:21:37.73\00:21:39.73
I mean, how many
children do you have?
00:21:39.73\00:21:42.10
- We have three children.
00:21:42.10\00:21:43.97
Our oldest is, well,
she's 19, almost 20 now.
00:21:43.97\00:21:47.57
And our youngest is seven.
00:21:47.57\00:21:49.80
So we've got quite a range.
00:21:49.80\00:21:52.47
I think for them
being here in Asia
00:21:52.47\00:21:55.04
has been a spiritual growth.
00:21:56.08\00:21:58.98
They're not all at the
same level of, you know,
00:21:58.98\00:22:01.35
of commitment to the
mission, if you wanna say that.
00:22:01.35\00:22:04.49
But I've lost my
daughter forever.
00:22:04.49\00:22:05.82
She's gonna be in Cambodia
for the rest of her life.
00:22:05.82\00:22:08.72
She's learning the language,
00:22:08.72\00:22:10.49
she's studying in
college with that language,
00:22:10.49\00:22:12.93
trying to prepare
for translation work.
00:22:12.93\00:22:14.83
And I'm very happy when I
see how she's made it her own.
00:22:14.83\00:22:19.53
It's not about
our choice anymore.
00:22:19.53\00:22:21.60
The other two, I'm happy
that they're choosing God
00:22:22.84\00:22:25.44
and that that's
my main job every day
00:22:25.44\00:22:27.58
is homeschooling and discipling.
00:22:27.58\00:22:30.28
- So I know you said that
you've lost your oldest daughter
00:22:30.28\00:22:32.78
to Cambodia, and she's
preparing to be a translator.
00:22:32.78\00:22:36.82
And I know that you had
mentioned something to me
00:22:36.82\00:22:40.16
earlier about one of the
books that you wanted to share.
00:22:40.16\00:22:42.56
- In her journey of
learning the Khmer language,
00:22:42.56\00:22:46.90
she's been taking language
classes much more faithfully
00:22:46.90\00:22:50.40
than we have and enjoying it.
00:22:50.40\00:22:53.30
And so part of it was, actually,
00:22:53.30\00:22:56.67
she ended up
working on this book,
00:22:56.67\00:22:58.61
reviewing it
together with her teacher.
00:22:58.61\00:23:01.44
So she spent several months
00:23:01.44\00:23:04.71
where she would read through it,
00:23:04.71\00:23:06.08
try to find all the things
that she could find with it,
00:23:06.08\00:23:08.92
and then discuss
it with her teacher.
00:23:08.92\00:23:10.82
And so this book
is part of her work,
00:23:10.82\00:23:14.66
her life spent in this book
00:23:14.66\00:23:17.09
as something she
wants to again share with,
00:23:17.09\00:23:20.66
with the Cambodian people.
00:23:20.66\00:23:22.46
- Wow. That's neat.
00:23:22.46\00:23:23.97
- Yeah. - That's really neat.
00:23:23.97\00:23:25.10
- So it's good to
see her get involved.
00:23:25.10\00:23:27.00
- Yes. - Not just
00:23:27.00\00:23:28.40
because we're there,
00:23:28.40\00:23:29.60
but because her heart's
00:23:29.60\00:23:30.84
in it. - She wants to.
00:23:30.84\00:23:31.67
Yes, yes.
00:23:31.67\00:23:33.07
And God is leading her
00:23:33.07\00:23:34.68
and giving her talents
and skills that are so needed.
00:23:34.68\00:23:38.51
I mean, this is
desperately needed,
00:23:38.51\00:23:40.05
so, well, praise the Lord.
00:23:40.05\00:23:41.75
That's really awesome.
00:23:41.75\00:23:43.72
Now, I know that
you've shared a little bit
00:23:43.72\00:23:46.86
some of the challenges and
some of the answers to prayer.
00:23:46.86\00:23:50.96
But I wanted to
ask you a little more
00:23:50.96\00:23:53.40
about your personal
relationship with Jesus,
00:23:53.40\00:23:56.13
if you're
willing to share with us.
00:23:56.13\00:23:58.30
- I struggle with depression.
00:23:58.30\00:24:00.17
It's easy for
me to fall into it.
00:24:00.17\00:24:02.10
And I see that coming here
00:24:02.10\00:24:05.01
and experiencing things
where it looks discouraging,
00:24:05.01\00:24:08.78
it, actually, in
reality is discouraging.
00:24:08.78\00:24:11.61
But yet God doesn't want
me to become discouraged.
00:24:11.61\00:24:14.98
It's a matter of
trusting him in it.
00:24:14.98\00:24:17.35
And though things
are really challenging,
00:24:17.35\00:24:20.92
in reality, the problem is real.
00:24:20.92\00:24:23.22
The answer isn't
something I can solve,
00:24:23.22\00:24:25.36
but yet it is solvable with God.
00:24:25.36\00:24:27.40
- Right.
00:24:27.40\00:24:28.20
- Learning to put those problems
00:24:28.20\00:24:32.03
and trust those with him
00:24:32.03\00:24:33.80
and not become
discouraged is something I face,
00:24:33.80\00:24:36.57
is something that
I've been growing in.
00:24:36.57\00:24:39.17
Each time a new thing comes,
00:24:39.17\00:24:41.61
it is a new commitment to say,
00:24:41.61\00:24:43.21
"Lord, I'm gonna
trust you to be there,
00:24:43.21\00:24:45.25
not just to solve the problem,
00:24:45.25\00:24:47.52
but in my heart, to give me
the courage to wait upon you."
00:24:47.52\00:24:51.29
- Mm.
00:24:51.29\00:24:52.39
- Because it says,
"Be of good courage,
00:24:52.39\00:24:54.29
wait upon the Lord."
00:24:54.29\00:24:55.92
Why? Because he's able
to strengthen our heart,
00:24:55.92\00:24:59.36
not just in the
realm of the problems,
00:24:59.36\00:25:01.93
but his work in
the realm of my heart
00:25:01.93\00:25:04.93
is part of the whole
solving of the situation
00:25:04.93\00:25:08.90
was before I ever
thought about Thailand,
00:25:08.90\00:25:11.07
but wanting to be
involved in God's work,
00:25:11.07\00:25:13.74
there was the song, "I'll
Go Where You Want Me to Go".
00:25:13.74\00:25:17.21
- Mm.
00:25:17.21\00:25:18.35
- And in there it
talks about that I'll go,
00:25:18.35\00:25:20.58
but with my hand in God's hand.
00:25:20.58\00:25:23.28
I often picture myself trusting
and holding on to God's hand
00:25:23.28\00:25:27.72
and him holding my hand.
00:25:27.72\00:25:28.99
And when things get hard,
00:25:28.99\00:25:30.29
it's not just me
holding onto his hand,
00:25:30.29\00:25:32.53
but him holding my hand too.
00:25:32.53\00:25:34.66
And just
recently, I was reading,
00:25:35.66\00:25:39.50
and I came across a
quote in Ellen White's writings
00:25:39.50\00:25:42.47
where she said,
00:25:42.47\00:25:43.74
"Prayer and
faith are the two arms
00:25:43.74\00:25:48.81
that wrap around the
neck of infinite love."
00:25:49.94\00:25:53.92
I realized, you know,
00:25:53.92\00:25:55.05
God doesn't just
want to walk beside me.
00:25:55.05\00:25:57.52
He wants something closer
00:25:57.52\00:25:59.65
as a child who's sitting
on his lap turning to him
00:25:59.65\00:26:03.49
and wrapping their
arms around his neck.
00:26:04.63\00:26:07.30
And when you think about
that, we who are so small,
00:26:07.30\00:26:10.20
so feeble, so broken,
yet he wants that closeness.
00:26:10.20\00:26:15.27
And in that closeness,
00:26:16.10\00:26:17.47
the child is focusing
fully and completely on Christ,
00:26:17.47\00:26:21.41
on God, his attention is there.
00:26:21.41\00:26:24.65
But also if a parent
has a child on their lap,
00:26:24.65\00:26:27.22
the parent can't do
something over here.
00:26:27.22\00:26:29.78
The parent is, what,
focused then also on the child.
00:26:29.78\00:26:34.52
I realize God's
wanting something very close
00:26:34.52\00:26:38.29
for me to put my
trust, my hold upon him
00:26:38.29\00:26:41.73
as though he's the
only one in my life.
00:26:41.73\00:26:45.63
And, therefore, he
then also relates to me
00:26:45.63\00:26:47.97
as like the only one.
00:26:47.97\00:26:49.90
But God is able to focus on me.
00:26:49.90\00:26:53.91
And knowing what's
happening in my life.
00:26:53.91\00:26:56.01
- And that's one of the
amazing things about him.
00:26:56.01\00:26:57.98
We have
children, we have trouble,
00:26:57.98\00:26:59.55
trying to focus on
more than one at a time.
00:26:59.55\00:27:01.88
But God can do it. It's amazing.
00:27:01.88\00:27:03.72
- Yeah.
00:27:03.72\00:27:04.95
- Well, I'd like to
thank you for being here today
00:27:04.95\00:27:06.72
and sharing with us.
00:27:06.72\00:27:07.76
I know there's
good times and bad,
00:27:07.76\00:27:10.69
and I just appreciate your
honesty and sharing openly.
00:27:10.69\00:27:14.40
It really gives us
an opportunity to know
00:27:14.40\00:27:16.46
how to pray for you also.
00:27:16.46\00:27:17.73
- Yeah.
00:27:17.73\00:27:19.13
- So I would like to invite
you to pray for our friends,
00:27:19.13\00:27:21.84
the Rogers, in Cambodia.
00:27:21.84\00:27:23.97
Pray for the publishing
work, for the translation work.
00:27:23.97\00:27:27.21
It's not just the printing,
it's also the translation.
00:27:27.21\00:27:30.51
Pray for the right helpers,
pray for the right equipment,
00:27:30.51\00:27:34.15
the right timing,
00:27:34.15\00:27:35.38
everything that the word
of God can go out rapidly
00:27:35.38\00:27:39.99
in Southeast Asia
00:27:39.99\00:27:41.59
and to so many places
where people need to know him
00:27:41.59\00:27:44.93
before it's too late.
00:27:44.93\00:27:46.06
If you would
like more information,
00:27:47.13\00:27:48.40
you can contact us at
Jesus for Asia, PO Box 1221,
00:27:48.40\00:27:52.50
Collegedale, Tennessee, 37315.
00:27:52.50\00:27:56.47
Call us at 423-413-7321
00:27:56.47\00:28:00.91
or visit our
website at Jesus4asia.org.
00:28:00.91\00:28:04.91
May God richly bless you
until we see you next time
00:28:04.91\00:28:07.85
on "Jesus for Asia Now".
00:28:07.85\00:28:09.55
(bright music)
00:28:09.55\00:28:12.22