(dramatic music)
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(dramatic music continues)
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- Hello and welcome
to "Jesus For Asia Now."
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I'm Natalie Wood
and my husband, John,
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is here with me today.
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Hello, love.
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- Hi darling. How
are you? - I'm good.
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I'm excited about this show.
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- Yes. - It's about our
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evening schools
and we'd always love
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to tell the stories
from the evening schools
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and then we get to see pictures
in video of the children.
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- Yes. - So I'm
excited about that.
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What is our story today?
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- Well, we have two stories.
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One from South India,
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and this is a young man
who, well, you're gonna have
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to hear his story,
but it's really amazing
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and involves his entire family.
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- Okay, before we start
with the stories, would you like
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to share what an
evening school is?
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- Yeah, sure,
evening school is a result
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of way back in 2004.
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I was filming at five o'clock
in the morning on the streets
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in Chennai, and we came across
a group of homeless people
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that had set up
their houses, like lean tos
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out of whatever they could find.
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- Sticks and tarp and.
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- Yeah, next to the river,
between the road and the river.
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Well, the river had flooded
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and washed away their houses,
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so they were
sleeping on the sidewalk.
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And I followed
one of the guys around
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as he was picking trash.
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That's what he did.
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He went around all the
trash piles in the city
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and pulled out recyclables,
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and then he'd go
sell that for a dollar, $3
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and feed the family for the day.
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And so I asked them,
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"What is your greatest request?"
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And I was thinking
like spoons or pots
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or, you know, cooking utensils-
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- Something for
a house or- - Yeah.
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And the thing that
they asked for is they says,
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"Can we have
education for our kids?"
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Our kids are not
learning at the schools.
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And then I asked them,
do they go to school? Yes.
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But they go to school, but
they're told to sit in the back
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because they're outcast.
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They don't learn anything.
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The teacher doesn't bother to,
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sometimes the
teacher doesn't show up.
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Sometimes he'd sit in the front,
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just read his book to himself.
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It is just not a
good environment.
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And so we've done a lot of study
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and we found that
three biggest challenges
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that kids face is number one,
nutrition, getting enough food
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to mature and have
their brain function properly.
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Number two is
getting an education,
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but number
three is the religion.
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Because the religion actually
keeps them in their cast.
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It keeps them, so if
they were born to somebody
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that picks up trash,
that's all they can be.
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- Ever.
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- Yeah, so if we teach
them a different religion,
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a different mindset that gives
them permission to do better,
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to learn to grow,
it gives them value.
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It gives them a
value of who they are.
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- Yeah. - As a human being.
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We take that for granted,
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you know, this whole thing
of all men are created equal,
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equal rights,
all that kinda stuff.
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That is a purely
Christian concept.
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- Yeah. - And so we came up
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with the idea of,
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actually our in-country
director came up with the idea
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of let's provide an
evening school where they can go
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to the regular
school during the day,
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but in the evening
they get free tutoring.
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So more coaching, you
know, of what they're learning.
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They're reading,
writing, arithmetic-
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- Tutoring. Yeah. - Tutoring.
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And then our favorite part-
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- Is giving them worship.
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Where they learn
about Jesus and then food.
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- Yes. yeah. -
We get to feed them.
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- Yes, so that was back in 2006,
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I think, we
started our first one
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and now we have
over 40 evening schools
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and we feed an estimated
of about 1,500 kids per night.
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- Yep. And it's awesome.
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- It's so awesome.
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And how much does it
cost to feed a child?
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- Well, it's about $7 a month
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for them. - Per child.
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- Yeah. For each child.
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- Wow. - And that does include
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the salaries of the teacher
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and the principal and
having the school there
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and providing the food,
costs are rising a little bit.
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We're hoping we
can keep it at that,
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but that's what it is right now.
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That's what it's been
for quite some time actually.
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- Yeah. - So that works out
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to about a quarter per day,
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which is astonishing actually.
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And it's been
such a huge blessing.
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And that's one of the reasons
we love to tell these stories.
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- Yes, it affects
not only the kids,
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but it affects the
family and the entire community.
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It's long-term evangelism.
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Because we can come in
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and do an evangelistic series
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and call for a
decision, that might be a week
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or two weeks
evangelistic series.
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But these evening
schools are six days a week,
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52 weeks per year.
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Year after year after year.
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And so the kids,
you know, start young
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and grow up through their
childhood and teenage years.
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When they get out,
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they become leaders in the
community, they get good jobs,
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the whole village comes up.
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And that's only the baseline of
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what these evening schools do.
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- Yeah, yeah. Because
it makes a difference.
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- Yes. - In lives.
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- Yeah. - It really does.
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And that's one of
our stories today.
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- Yes. - It
shows the power of God.
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It's a story of redemption.
It's a story of growth.
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And so that's why I'm so
excited about this story.
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- Okay. - We have a video.
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- Yep. - The young man
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that we'll be
seeing, his name is Manoj,
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and I'm excited to
let him tell his story.
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- [John] Okay.
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(gentle music)
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(gentle music continues)
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(Manoj speaks in
foreign language)
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- [Manoj's
Translator] My name is Manoj.
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I am in fifth grade
and I'm 10 years old.
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My father was a
really big drunkard.
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He was always
drinking, and because of that,
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he was also very sick.
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But then I learned how to pray.
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(gentle music)
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(gentle music continues)
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(Manoj's Mother
speaks in foreign language)
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- [Mom Translator] Even though
I came from a Hindu family,
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I had a little bit of
belief in Christianity.
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But since my husband was Hindu,
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I continued worshiping
the gods at the Hindu temples.
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Then 11 years ago, my oldest
son fell into a canal and died.
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I was heartbroken.
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That is when I started thinking,
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I've been worshiping all
these gods and going to temples,
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but none of the
gods helped my son.
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Then I remembered a lady
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from the Seventh
Day Adventist Church
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that told me to
not believe in idols,
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but to believe in Jesus.
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She told me to believe
only Him and to pray to Him.
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I thought, oh,
that sister told me,
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but I never believed her.
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I never accepted
Jesus or went to church.
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Now I have lost my son.
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Why should I worship
these Hindu gods anymore?
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So I gave up everything.
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I threw out all
the idols in our home
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and went to the church.
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I prayed to Jesus
and he started healing me
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and consoling me in the
deep sorrow that I was in.
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I attended church for several
years and then I got baptized.
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(melancholic music)
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(Manoj's mother
speaks in foreign language)
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My husband was a
drunkard for 12 years.
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What would happen is
he would get fully drunk
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and not know what he was doing.
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He would come home and
beat me and the children.
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But then in the
morning he would ask me,
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"Why are you
crying? What happened?"
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I would tell him
that he beat me the night
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before and he would
say, "Oh, did I do that?"
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Our situation was very bad
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because each day he
also used all the money
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that he earned to drink.
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(Manoj's father
speaks in foreign language)
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- [Father's
Translator] I was very sick
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and I went to many
different hospitals,
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but I did not get better.
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(gentle music)
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- [Manoj's Translator] It
was my teacher, Davy, who came
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and told me about
the evening school.
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Since then, I have
been going every day.
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(Manoj speaks in
foreign language)
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I was very happy
to hear about Jesus.
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I learned to sing songs,
and I heard many Bible stories
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and learned memory verses.
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I also learned how to pray.
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(kids singing in
foreign language)
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(Manoj's father
speaks in foreign language)
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- [Father
Translator] When our son went
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to the evening school,
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my wife would tell him,
"Go and pray for your daddy.
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Pray that he
will give up drinking,
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pray that he will be healed
and that he will accept Jesus."
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- [Manoj's Translator]
I asked my teacher to pray
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for my father, and each day I
would go and pray for him too.
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Then when I got
home, I would tell him
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what I had learned
in the evening school.
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(gentle music)
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(Manoj's mother
speaks in foreign language)
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- [Mom's Translator]
After my son started praying
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for his father,
and not only him,
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but also the other
children in the evening school
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he stopped
drinking, he gave it up.
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He also used to beat us,
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and there was a lot
of fighting in our house.
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But now things
have changed so much.
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- [Father's Translator]
For more than four months
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they prayed for me in the
evening school at the church.
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The teacher also came to my
house to visit and pray with me.
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I could feel the difference,
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and I could see
healing in my body.
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God was answering their prayers.
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That is when I started
to have trust in the Lord.
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(Manoj's father
speaks in foreign language)
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My wife said,
"See, God is healing you.
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It is because of the prayers
of our son and the teacher
00:10:02.70\00:10:05.80
and the other children.
00:10:05.80\00:10:07.40
You should believe this
Jesus. You should be baptized."
00:10:07.40\00:10:11.31
So it was because of my
wife that I was baptized
00:10:11.31\00:10:13.88
and I'm feeling even better.
00:10:13.88\00:10:15.94
And now wherever I go
00:10:15.94\00:10:17.65
and in whatever I
do, I only pray to Jesus.
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I don't believe any other gods.
00:10:21.15\00:10:22.98
I only believe
Jesus Christ, my savior.
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(Manoj speaks in
foreign language)
00:10:27.22\00:10:29.29
- [Manoj's
Translator] After my father
00:10:29.29\00:10:30.46
accepted Jesus
Christ, God gave him healing
00:10:30.46\00:10:33.19
and he is
completely changed now.
00:10:33.19\00:10:35.53
He's not drinking
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and he doesn't have any
more pain in his stomach.
00:10:36.93\00:10:39.60
He's a very good father now,
00:10:39.60\00:10:41.24
and I am so happy
to be at home with him.
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- Isn't that
powerful? - That's beautiful.
00:10:50.35\00:10:52.65
The ability of
God to change a life.
00:10:52.65\00:10:55.22
- Yeah. - You know,
00:10:55.22\00:10:56.69
to bring healing physically,
but also spiritually.
00:10:56.69\00:10:59.82
- Yeah. - It's just beautiful.
00:10:59.82\00:11:01.29
- And to think that these
little Hindu kids are praying
00:11:01.29\00:11:05.23
for their families
and God's hearing them.
00:11:05.23\00:11:07.50
- Yeah. - And doing miracles.
00:11:07.50\00:11:09.20
- Yep. - So amazing.
00:11:09.20\00:11:10.73
- It's
beautiful. Very beautiful.
00:11:10.73\00:11:12.60
- Yeah, and this
school is special
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because when we
visited there the first time
00:11:15.47\00:11:18.31
before it was an evening
school, it was just a church.
00:11:18.31\00:11:21.18
- Yeah. - And we
looked at the place
00:11:21.18\00:11:23.14
and we thought this
would be a good place
00:11:23.14\00:11:25.41
for an evening school, but
we need to build a kitchen.
00:11:25.41\00:11:27.52
We need to build a toilet.
00:11:27.52\00:11:28.55
We need to
build a fence because,
00:11:28.55\00:11:30.19
and put lights on the
church and bring electricity in.
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So we said, let's go
home and tell people about it,
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raise some funds,
00:11:37.66\00:11:38.79
and then we'll send
money over to, you know,
00:11:38.79\00:11:41.13
build those things that we need.
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And then we'll start the school.
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- Yeah. - And the next evening-
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- [Natalie] Yeah.
00:11:47.24\00:11:48.07
- Our Bible worker heard
some knocking at the door.
00:11:49.40\00:11:52.31
- Yep. - Went
and opened the door,
00:11:52.31\00:11:53.41
and there was 45 kids saying,
00:11:53.41\00:11:54.78
"We heard you're
starting an evening school.
00:11:54.78\00:11:56.68
Can we do an evening school?"
00:11:56.68\00:11:58.11
- Yeah. So they had to
start before the kitchen.
00:11:58.11\00:12:00.72
- Yeah. - And they had to walk
00:12:00.72\00:12:01.88
with the food
00:12:01.88\00:12:04.09
like a kilometer,
pushing it in a push cart
00:12:04.09\00:12:07.39
so that they
could feed the children.
00:12:07.39\00:12:08.92
- Yeah. - While
we were fundraising
00:12:08.92\00:12:11.09
for the kitchen and the bathroom
00:12:11.09\00:12:12.53
and stuff that
the church needed.
00:12:12.53\00:12:14.10
Yeah, so this is one of
the stories that have come out
00:12:14.10\00:12:16.93
of that, that
amazing miracle story
00:12:16.93\00:12:21.04
of them opening and stuff.
00:12:21.04\00:12:22.57
- Yeah, so it's really neat too,
00:12:22.57\00:12:24.91
to see the changes in the
children in their attitudes.
00:12:24.91\00:12:29.01
And I believe the mother talks
about that in our next video,
00:12:29.01\00:12:32.01
along with a few other things.
00:12:32.01\00:12:33.31
- Okay. (gentle music)
00:12:33.31\00:12:38.39
(gentle music continues)
00:12:43.19\00:12:46.43
(Manoj's mother
speaks in foreign language)
00:12:46.43\00:12:50.13
- [Mom's
Translator] I am so happy
00:12:50.13\00:12:51.20
that this evening school started
00:12:51.20\00:12:53.00
because the children
are learning about Jesus.
00:12:53.00\00:12:56.07
I am also thankful that they
are getting good food there,
00:12:56.07\00:12:58.97
because at home we often
don't have food in the evening.
00:12:58.97\00:13:02.38
(Manoj's mother
speaks in foreign language)
00:13:04.31\00:13:06.75
My son is able
to study well now,
00:13:06.75\00:13:09.12
and he drew those
pictures on the wall.
00:13:09.12\00:13:11.72
They're pictures of
Jesus. He really loves Jesus.
00:13:11.72\00:13:15.02
(gentle music continues)
00:13:15.02\00:13:18.53
(Manoj's mother
speaks in foreign language)
00:13:18.53\00:13:21.73
I've seen a lot of
changes in his character.
00:13:21.73\00:13:24.30
He is very obedient now.
00:13:24.30\00:13:26.60
People in the village
also comment about how obedient
00:13:26.60\00:13:29.80
and respectful he is now.
00:13:29.80\00:13:31.87
I'm so happy
because of these changes.
00:13:31.87\00:13:34.74
My youngest son is
very naughty right now.
00:13:34.74\00:13:37.38
But I am praying
00:13:37.38\00:13:38.58
and I know that as he
grows up in the church
00:13:38.58\00:13:40.85
and going to the evening
school, he will also change.
00:13:40.85\00:13:44.62
I am completely satisfied now
because of the evening school.
00:13:44.62\00:13:48.12
(gentle music)
00:13:48.12\00:13:50.76
I can see a lot
of changes in myself
00:13:54.96\00:13:57.23
and my husband since
we became Christians.
00:13:57.23\00:14:00.30
The people in our
village have noticed too.
00:14:00.30\00:14:03.17
They say, "See,
she became a Christian.
00:14:03.17\00:14:05.37
And since then she's very happy.
00:14:05.37\00:14:08.04
Her husband has
given up drinking.
00:14:08.04\00:14:10.21
His character has
changed. He is working.
00:14:10.21\00:14:13.98
Her children are very happy.
00:14:13.98\00:14:15.78
And now she bought a cow,
00:14:15.78\00:14:17.55
and the cow has
given her two calves.
00:14:17.55\00:14:20.49
God is really blessing her
since she became a Christian."
00:14:20.49\00:14:23.69
My only hope for my
future is to have this faith
00:14:24.96\00:14:27.66
and this peace in my family.
00:14:27.66\00:14:30.10
That is more than enough.
00:14:30.10\00:14:31.67
(exciting music building)
00:14:31.67\00:14:35.24
(Manoj's mother
speaks in foreign language)
00:14:42.34\00:14:46.55
One time last year, my
son, Manoj, had dengue fever.
00:14:46.55\00:14:50.39
Because of that, his
platelets were decreasing
00:14:50.39\00:14:52.99
and getting very low.
00:14:52.99\00:14:54.86
I took him to the
Udayapur Government Hospital,
00:14:54.86\00:14:57.49
but the doctors gave up.
00:14:57.49\00:14:59.53
They said, "His platelets
are really coming down.
00:14:59.53\00:15:02.80
You need to rush him
00:15:02.80\00:15:03.90
to the government
hospital in Coimbatore."
00:15:03.90\00:15:06.77
So they booked an ambulance.
00:15:06.77\00:15:08.17
But before we left, Manoj
kept asking me for the Bible.
00:15:08.17\00:15:12.41
I had brought it with
me, but I couldn't read it.
00:15:12.41\00:15:14.68
So he read it. He encouraged
me and said, "Don't worry, mom.
00:15:14.68\00:15:19.05
God will save
me. God will heal me.
00:15:19.05\00:15:22.08
Then they put my
son in the ambulance,
00:15:22.08\00:15:24.22
and as we were going to
Coimbatore Hospital, I was
00:15:24.22\00:15:27.56
praying and he was praying.
00:15:27.56\00:15:29.19
I thought to myself, oh
Lord, I don't know anything.
00:15:29.19\00:15:32.59
I am uneducated, but I want
my son to be completely healed.
00:15:32.59\00:15:36.80
Please cure him. Oh,
Father, if You are the real God,
00:15:36.80\00:15:40.34
I have faith in You.
00:15:40.34\00:15:42.34
When we got to the hospital,
the doctors came and saw him
00:15:42.34\00:15:45.67
and took a blood test.
00:15:45.67\00:15:47.38
They found that his blood
count had really increased.
00:15:47.38\00:15:50.65
The doctor said, "Why did
you bring him in the ambulance?
00:15:50.65\00:15:53.48
He's okay. He's
normal. He only has a fever.
00:15:53.48\00:15:57.32
His blood count is good now."
00:15:57.32\00:15:59.69
When I heard
that, I was so happy.
00:15:59.69\00:16:02.29
My son's faith
was strengthened too.
00:16:02.29\00:16:05.19
Then we started
praying and thanking the Lord.
00:16:05.19\00:16:08.03
After a few days in the
hospital, we came back home.
00:16:08.03\00:16:11.60
I was so happy
00:16:11.60\00:16:13.03
because I thought that I might
not bring my son back alive.
00:16:13.03\00:16:16.67
God healed him completely.
00:16:16.67\00:16:18.64
He did a miracle
in my son's life.
00:16:18.64\00:16:20.88
(sentimental music)
00:16:20.88\00:16:23.95
(Manoj speaks in
foreign language)
00:16:24.91\00:16:26.25
- [Manoj's Translator]
Someday I want to be a doctor.
00:16:26.25\00:16:28.78
I'm so happy knowing Jesus.
00:16:31.75\00:16:34.32
I'm also really happy
00:16:34.32\00:16:35.69
because He has answered my
prayer and healed my Father.
00:16:35.69\00:16:38.39
(sentimental music)
00:16:38.39\00:16:41.43
- God is so good. - So good.
00:16:49.94\00:16:52.04
- Such a beautiful story. - Yes.
00:16:52.04\00:16:54.18
- You know, not only did
God heal his father physically
00:16:54.18\00:16:57.98
and from alcohol, but He also
healed him from dengue fever.
00:16:57.98\00:17:02.05
And it's just
changing his character.
00:17:02.05\00:17:05.09
There's just so many blessings
00:17:05.09\00:17:06.69
and it's really
neat that she's focused,
00:17:06.69\00:17:09.09
that his mother is
focused so much on, I want this
00:17:09.09\00:17:12.59
what I have with Jesus
in our hearts, in our lives.
00:17:12.59\00:17:15.50
She's not focused on Jesus
is healing us all, all the time.
00:17:15.50\00:17:18.97
We're never gonna get
sick or we're gonna be wealthy.
00:17:18.97\00:17:22.27
You know, she's
not focused on that,
00:17:22.27\00:17:24.24
but she's focused
on the peace and the-
00:17:24.24\00:17:26.94
- Yeah. - You know,
00:17:26.94\00:17:28.08
the blessings that
Jesus has brought, the peace.
00:17:28.08\00:17:31.01
- Yeah, there's
sometimes that, you know,
00:17:31.01\00:17:33.98
operating the
ministry is very stressful
00:17:33.98\00:17:36.58
and you sometimes
wonder, it's like,
00:17:36.58\00:17:38.95
are we really doing anything?
00:17:38.95\00:17:40.82
And it's stories like
this that make us think,
00:17:40.82\00:17:44.09
make me think,
well, it's worth it.
00:17:44.09\00:17:46.09
- Yeah. - Yeah.
00:17:46.09\00:17:47.20
- Yeah. It's
definitely God is in charge.
00:17:47.20\00:17:49.33
- Yeah. - And He makes it
00:17:49.33\00:17:50.70
worth it all.
00:17:50.70\00:17:51.57
- Yeah, absolutely. - Yeah.
00:17:51.57\00:17:53.60
So now we wanna talk about
a place where they would like
00:17:53.60\00:17:55.97
to have an evening school.
00:17:55.97\00:17:57.27
- Yes. - Okay.
00:17:57.27\00:17:58.27
And you visited this place.
00:17:58.27\00:17:59.47
Would you like
to take us through?
00:17:59.47\00:18:00.88
I know you've put in a
few photos, so would you like
00:18:00.88\00:18:03.24
to share with us
what these photos are?
00:18:03.24\00:18:05.58
- Yeah, so this
is Western Gujarat
00:18:05.58\00:18:08.28
and it's very deserty.
00:18:08.28\00:18:09.95
And driving through
that place, I thought, man,
00:18:09.95\00:18:12.05
who would wanna live here?
00:18:12.05\00:18:14.19
We met a pastor,
00:18:14.19\00:18:15.26
and while we
were interviewing him,
00:18:15.26\00:18:16.56
he talked about these
people that were uneducated,
00:18:16.56\00:18:20.23
that were like
gypsies, migrant workers.
00:18:20.23\00:18:22.76
They would pick field cotton.
00:18:22.76\00:18:25.00
So they go from
place to place based on
00:18:25.00\00:18:26.94
where the crops were.
00:18:26.94\00:18:28.14
- Oh, okay. - And where the-
00:18:28.14\00:18:29.34
- Where the work was.
- Where the labor was.
00:18:29.34\00:18:30.74
Yeah. So cotton picking
and different things like that.
00:18:30.74\00:18:33.11
And so I couldn't imagine
living in a place like that.
00:18:33.11\00:18:37.35
And so they took us
there. Now, this is a vision.
00:18:38.61\00:18:41.98
This is a hope,
and this is a dream.
00:18:41.98\00:18:43.72
And this is what we do a lot.
00:18:43.72\00:18:45.99
This is what we get a
lot, is people coming to us
00:18:45.99\00:18:48.26
and saying, "Hey, here's a need.
00:18:48.26\00:18:50.26
Is there a way that
we can fill the need?"
00:18:50.26\00:18:52.46
- Right. - And a lot
00:18:52.46\00:18:53.83
of times our heart surges
up in our throats thinking,
00:18:53.83\00:18:57.27
we would love to fill the need,
00:18:57.27\00:18:58.97
but we're not wealthy people.
00:18:58.97\00:19:01.10
We don't have extra
money laying around.
00:19:01.10\00:19:03.81
And so what we
do is we advocate,
00:19:03.81\00:19:06.88
we bring the
stories back to viewers
00:19:06.88\00:19:10.91
and people that we know
00:19:10.91\00:19:12.61
and say, "Hey,
here's a genuine need
00:19:12.61\00:19:15.78
and would you like
to become a part of it?"
00:19:15.78\00:19:18.62
And I think it's a
beautiful divine co-partnership
00:19:18.62\00:19:23.46
between our friends,
between people like us
00:19:23.46\00:19:25.89
that wanna see the
gospel go to the world.
00:19:25.89\00:19:29.90
But the idea of us
leaving our culture
00:19:29.90\00:19:34.10
and moving there
00:19:34.10\00:19:35.24
and ministering to
a group like this is,
00:19:35.24\00:19:38.64
there is a lot of hurdles.
00:19:38.64\00:19:40.71
- Yeah. - I mean,
when we were there,
00:19:40.71\00:19:42.68
we visited that group
of people for a short time,
00:19:42.68\00:19:45.58
and they said, we need to go
00:19:45.58\00:19:47.15
because we can
attract attention.
00:19:47.15\00:19:49.25
- Right. - Okay.
00:19:49.25\00:19:50.35
Just us showing up
attracts attention.
00:19:50.35\00:19:52.99
- Right. - Unwanted attention.
00:19:52.99\00:19:54.49
- Yeah. - But the local pastor,
00:19:54.49\00:19:57.53
local bible workers,
00:19:57.53\00:19:59.29
they don't draw attention.
00:19:59.29\00:20:00.66
They can mingle, they can
blend, they can live there.
00:20:00.66\00:20:04.27
And it feels normal to them.
00:20:04.27\00:20:05.60
- Right. They
speak the language.
00:20:05.60\00:20:08.04
- Yes. - They eat the same food.
00:20:08.04\00:20:09.87
- Yes. - Without discomfort.
00:20:09.87\00:20:11.24
- Right. Right.
00:20:11.24\00:20:13.17
- A lot of things, they
know how the people live.
00:20:14.41\00:20:16.41
- And it doesn't take a
airplane ticket to fly there,
00:20:16.41\00:20:19.85
and it doesn't take
a visa to live there.
00:20:19.85\00:20:21.82
And so it just
makes a lot of sense.
00:20:21.82\00:20:23.85
So they took us to this place.
00:20:23.85\00:20:25.35
We were only able to
spend a few minutes there
00:20:25.35\00:20:27.49
before we had to leave.
00:20:27.49\00:20:28.52
But I was just
shocked at the kind
00:20:28.52\00:20:32.53
of life the people live.
00:20:32.53\00:20:34.00
I don't
understand how they do it.
00:20:34.00\00:20:36.43
- Yeah. - I know
this is gonna say
00:20:36.43\00:20:38.20
this in the video,
but it's just shocking
00:20:38.20\00:20:40.77
to meet a group of people
00:20:40.77\00:20:42.90
that the kids and the
parents don't read and write.
00:20:42.90\00:20:45.81
- Yeah. Nobody has education.
00:20:45.81\00:20:48.14
- And so really,
if you think about it,
00:20:48.14\00:20:50.21
how would somebody
like me be able to serve
00:20:50.21\00:20:54.18
or even connect, even contact,
even meet people like that,
00:20:54.18\00:20:57.75
it's like you'll
never meet somebody
00:20:58.85\00:21:00.69
like that in your
entire life until,
00:21:00.69\00:21:02.32
unless you go,
unless you're intentional.
00:21:02.32\00:21:04.39
Go out of your way.
00:21:04.39\00:21:05.63
- Yeah. - And so
this was, I think,
00:21:05.63\00:21:07.73
a huge honor to
meet these people.
00:21:07.73\00:21:10.83
Now, Christ died for these
people, just like He died for
00:21:10.83\00:21:15.24
us. - Yeah. - And
so He values them.
00:21:15.24\00:21:18.04
And I can only imagine
someday when they're waking up
00:21:18.04\00:21:22.21
and look into the
sky and see Jesus.
00:21:23.28\00:21:25.78
- Yeah. - And recognize Him.
00:21:25.78\00:21:28.08
And He takes them to heaven.
00:21:28.08\00:21:30.12
What's the look on
their faces gonna be?
00:21:30.12\00:21:32.35
- Right. - I
really wanna be there.
00:21:32.35\00:21:34.56
- Right.
00:21:34.56\00:21:35.62
So we have a
short video from there,
00:21:35.62\00:21:37.56
because you were
only there a short time.
00:21:37.56\00:21:39.36
- Yes. - But let's go ahead
00:21:39.36\00:21:40.36
and watch that now.
00:21:40.36\00:21:41.33
- Okay. (gentle music)
00:21:41.33\00:21:43.90
- Yeah, there are
people, those who are laboring.
00:21:52.04\00:21:54.88
- [Translator] In
this area, there are groups
00:21:54.88\00:21:56.28
of very poor people
00:21:56.28\00:21:57.41
who have a
really difficult life.
00:21:57.41\00:21:59.38
They work in the cotton
fields or peanut fields,
00:21:59.38\00:22:01.85
and they move around depending
on where they can get work.
00:22:01.85\00:22:05.09
They don't have homes. They
just live in makeshift tents.
00:22:05.09\00:22:07.96
They are illiterate and
most of them cannot even count
00:22:07.96\00:22:10.59
or do basic arithmetic.
00:22:10.59\00:22:12.56
Many of them cannot
read the bus route signs.
00:22:12.56\00:22:14.76
So they have to ask other
people where the bus is going.
00:22:14.76\00:22:17.63
When they buy something,
00:22:18.63\00:22:19.80
they will just hand
the seller some money
00:22:19.80\00:22:21.47
and take whatever the seller
gives back for the change.
00:22:21.47\00:22:24.27
Their main goal is just to
work so they can have food.
00:22:24.27\00:22:27.04
They live close to the
fields where they work,
00:22:31.51\00:22:33.35
but the schools are far away
00:22:33.35\00:22:35.02
and
transportation isn't feasible.
00:22:35.02\00:22:37.39
As a result, the
children do not go to school.
00:22:37.39\00:22:40.19
They start working to help
their parents from a young age.
00:22:40.19\00:22:43.26
When I go to visit
these people, the parents say,
00:22:43.26\00:22:45.29
"If our kids can have education,
00:22:45.29\00:22:46.93
then they can
have a better life."
00:22:46.93\00:22:48.70
- John. - John.
00:22:52.60\00:22:54.34
- Say John.
00:22:54.34\00:22:55.67
(people speaking
in foreign language)
00:22:55.67\00:22:58.81
- [Translator] I wanna start
a small evening school program
00:22:58.81\00:23:00.84
to help this community.
00:23:00.84\00:23:02.28
I would like to do about two
hours of class in the evenings
00:23:02.28\00:23:04.88
to help them in the
practical aspects of life.
00:23:04.88\00:23:08.18
Things like reading and
writing and basic arithmetic.
00:23:08.18\00:23:11.32
But more importantly,
we will teach Bible stories
00:23:11.32\00:23:13.72
and teach them how to
pray to the living God.
00:23:13.72\00:23:16.22
Our goal is not just
to provide education,
00:23:16.22\00:23:18.33
but also to show
compassion by ministering
00:23:18.33\00:23:21.13
to their needs like Jesus did.
00:23:21.13\00:23:23.30
Coming directly to them and
preaching will not work well.
00:23:23.30\00:23:26.07
But education is a way to
help them understand life better
00:23:26.07\00:23:29.00
and learn about the Bible.
00:23:29.00\00:23:30.37
Several years ago, I did a
similar evening school program,
00:23:35.01\00:23:38.18
and I would always
pray before teaching.
00:23:38.18\00:23:40.52
Many of the
students were surprised
00:23:40.52\00:23:42.12
that I would just
simply pray like that.
00:23:42.12\00:23:44.42
They said, "When we pray
we have to light a candle
00:23:44.42\00:23:46.76
and do a ritual and offer things
00:23:46.76\00:23:48.89
to our gods to please them."
00:23:48.89\00:23:51.23
So even the simple act of
praying can open opportunities
00:23:51.23\00:23:54.20
to share about the true God.
00:23:54.20\00:23:55.93
We also want to
provide a meal for the children
00:23:59.43\00:24:01.44
because they do
not get good nutrition.
00:24:01.44\00:24:03.81
Sometimes the parents
will just cook chapati
00:24:03.81\00:24:06.01
and they will eat
it with tea and milk.
00:24:06.01\00:24:08.41
So providing food
00:24:08.41\00:24:09.54
with good nutrition
will help the children a lot.
00:24:09.54\00:24:11.85
If we don't help this community,
00:24:15.68\00:24:17.22
the children will
grow up uneducated,
00:24:17.22\00:24:19.09
just like their parents.
00:24:19.09\00:24:20.26
And future generations
will remain uneducated.
00:24:20.26\00:24:23.12
(sentimental music)
00:24:23.12\00:24:26.19
(kids speaking
in foreign language)
00:24:28.76\00:24:33.17
- Precious. - Precious children.
00:24:38.44\00:24:40.51
And so we have a
huge desire to see
00:24:40.51\00:24:42.51
that evening
school come to pass.
00:24:42.51\00:24:45.28
- Yeah. It makes
such a difference.
00:24:45.28\00:24:49.32
You know, like he was talking
about what their food is.
00:24:49.32\00:24:52.62
You know, in
our evening schools,
00:24:52.62\00:24:54.79
we make sure they have rice,
00:24:54.79\00:24:56.06
we make sure
they have vegetables
00:24:56.06\00:24:57.89
and they have to
eat their vegetables.
00:24:57.89\00:24:59.53
- Yes. - That's something
00:24:59.53\00:25:01.10
from the very beginning.
00:25:01.10\00:25:02.36
It's like the kids don't
get to skip the vegetables.
00:25:02.36\00:25:04.33
- That's right. -
And just shove 'em aside.
00:25:04.33\00:25:06.23
They have to eat them also.
00:25:06.23\00:25:07.54
And so they get more nutrition
00:25:07.54\00:25:09.54
and that makes it
easier for them to learn.
00:25:09.54\00:25:11.44
'Cause that's
another thing that we've read
00:25:11.44\00:25:13.41
nutritional studies
where if you're malnourished
00:25:13.41\00:25:16.11
or you don't
have enough nutrients,
00:25:16.11\00:25:19.05
then you can't learn.
00:25:19.05\00:25:20.92
- Yeah. - It affects your brain.
00:25:20.92\00:25:22.35
- We've seen this in
some of our other places.
00:25:22.35\00:25:24.32
Like in Mindoro,
these kids were having
00:25:24.32\00:25:27.42
a real hard time
learning and= - Yeah.
00:25:27.42\00:25:29.72
- They wouldn't have lunch.
00:25:29.72\00:25:31.63
They maybe have a
little bit of breakfast,
00:25:31.63\00:25:33.96
and then they were
hoping for a dinner.
00:25:33.96\00:25:36.20
And so the teacher would
go home to cook and then,
00:25:36.20\00:25:37.73
and the kids
would just stare at him.
00:25:37.73\00:25:39.57
And they were just so hungry.
00:25:39.57\00:25:41.20
And actually two to three
kids per year would die from
00:25:41.20\00:25:46.04
malnutrition
issues, complications.
00:25:46.04\00:25:49.41
And so when we started
the feeding program up there,
00:25:49.41\00:25:51.78
immediately no
more kids started dying.
00:25:51.78\00:25:54.18
- Yeah. - And the kids started
00:25:54.18\00:25:56.18
to be able to learn so well.
00:25:56.18\00:25:57.79
And the transformation
in those kids was amazing
00:25:57.79\00:26:00.32
from these dirty, you know,
00:26:00.32\00:26:02.36
snot running down
their nose, kids to bright-
00:26:02.36\00:26:04.06
- Yeah, with a
bunch of eye problems.
00:26:04.06\00:26:06.03
They all had like
eye problems also.
00:26:06.03\00:26:08.00
- Yeah. - That was really,
00:26:08.00\00:26:09.03
really obvious
when we went there.
00:26:09.03\00:26:11.53
- Yeah, and now they're
clean and they're bright
00:26:11.53\00:26:14.07
and they're, you
know, their eyes shine.
00:26:14.07\00:26:16.27
It's just amazing. - Yeah.
00:26:16.27\00:26:17.64
- And so I just really, really,
really want the same thing
00:26:17.64\00:26:21.01
for these kids
up there in Gujarat.
00:26:21.01\00:26:23.61
- Yeah. It'll be a challenge.
00:26:23.61\00:26:25.65
Because of the
the nomadic lifestyle
00:26:25.65\00:26:28.85
that they tend to to live.
00:26:28.85\00:26:30.85
But you know- -
If you have a pastor
00:26:30.85\00:26:33.22
like that, that cares about it,
00:26:33.22\00:26:34.92
that's all you need.
00:26:34.92\00:26:35.82
- Yeah. - You just enable him.
00:26:35.82\00:26:37.06
- And he'll just go, -
Give him the resources.
00:26:37.06\00:26:38.46
He'll organize it because
he has a heart for the people.
00:26:38.46\00:26:41.30
- Yeah. - If you find somebody
00:26:41.30\00:26:42.50
that has a heart for money
00:26:42.50\00:26:44.30
and wants to do
this to earn money,
00:26:44.30\00:26:46.84
then it's not gonna work.
00:26:46.84\00:26:48.14
- No. - But if you have somebody
00:26:48.14\00:26:49.24
that has
initiative and has a passion
00:26:49.24\00:26:51.81
and wants to help the people,
00:26:51.81\00:26:53.94
God can really work through him.
00:26:53.94\00:26:55.34
- Yeah, and I would
like to invite you to pray
00:26:55.34\00:26:57.88
for these people,
for these dear children
00:26:57.88\00:26:59.68
in the evening
schools, for Manoj
00:26:59.68\00:27:02.25
and his family, to continue
to learn more about Jesus.
00:27:02.25\00:27:05.92
I'm so grateful to
God that they're baptized
00:27:05.92\00:27:08.99
and going to
church and learning more
00:27:08.99\00:27:11.16
and pray for that to
spread in their village
00:27:11.16\00:27:13.33
for more children to
have that opportunity,
00:27:13.33\00:27:15.66
for more families to see,
00:27:15.66\00:27:17.63
as his mother was
saying, the difference
00:27:17.63\00:27:19.77
that God has
made in their lives,
00:27:19.77\00:27:20.90
that knowing about
Jesus has made in their lives.
00:27:20.90\00:27:24.14
And please pray for these people
up in the north in Gujarat,
00:27:24.14\00:27:27.61
that they can have a
school for their children.
00:27:27.61\00:27:29.98
And that they can learn
not only the regular education,
00:27:29.98\00:27:34.55
the language, the math,
those things that they need
00:27:34.55\00:27:37.12
for their daily lives,
but that they can learn
00:27:37.12\00:27:39.52
what they need for eternity
00:27:39.52\00:27:41.39
to learn about the
God who loves them.
00:27:41.39\00:27:43.53
And thank you for joining us.
00:27:43.53\00:27:44.93
And if you would like to
learn more about these projects,
00:27:44.93\00:27:47.96
please contact us at
Jesus for Asia PO Box 1221,
00:27:47.96\00:27:52.70
Collegedale, Tennessee, 37315.
00:27:52.70\00:27:56.24
Call us at (423) 413-7321
00:27:56.24\00:28:00.64
or visit our
website at jesusforasia.org.
00:28:00.64\00:28:04.31
May God richly bless you,
00:28:04.31\00:28:05.75
until we see you next
time on "Jesus For Asia Now."
00:28:05.75\00:28:08.85
(dramatic music)
00:28:08.85\00:28:11.69
(dramatic music continues)
00:28:17.99\00:28:21.60