(dramatic music)
00:00:00.53\00:00:02.96
- Hello and welcome
to "Jesus for Asia Now."
00:00:21.88\00:00:24.02
I'm Natalie Wood, and my husband
Jon is here with me today.
00:00:24.02\00:00:27.09
Hello, love.
00:00:27.09\00:00:27.89
- Hi, darling. How are you?
00:00:27.89\00:00:29.02
- I'm doing well. How are you?
00:00:29.02\00:00:30.49
- I'm doing good.
00:00:30.49\00:00:31.66
- Good. Well, what
are we gonna see today?
00:00:31.66\00:00:33.83
- Today we're
going to go to India,
00:00:33.83\00:00:36.10
and we're going
to see some churches
00:00:36.10\00:00:39.57
that have been
closed for many years.
00:00:39.57\00:00:41.70
- Okay.
00:00:41.70\00:00:42.97
- And that's not a
really positive subject.
00:00:42.97\00:00:44.87
- [Natalie] Nope.
00:00:44.87\00:00:46.14
- Except that the
remedy is very exciting.
00:00:46.14\00:00:49.14
- Okay. Well, let's go
straight to our first video.
00:00:49.14\00:00:51.68
- [Jon] Okay.
00:00:51.68\00:00:52.68
- Which is with the president
00:00:52.68\00:00:53.85
of the church in
this part of India.
00:00:53.85\00:00:55.82
- Sounds good.
00:00:55.82\00:00:57.39
(gentle music)
00:00:57.39\00:01:00.09
- In the year 2006,
00:01:02.89\00:01:05.23
they had a program
called 50 Village Program.
00:01:05.23\00:01:08.56
They had bought land and
constructed around 40 churches.
00:01:08.56\00:01:13.30
People from US had come.
00:01:13.30\00:01:15.87
They had evangelistic campaign.
00:01:15.87\00:01:19.54
They were able to establish
00:01:19.54\00:01:21.24
around 50 centers
here in Vellore section.
00:01:21.24\00:01:25.15
When they were about to open
it or dedicate the churches,
00:01:26.55\00:01:30.49
there was a kind of
political issue that came up,
00:01:30.49\00:01:35.56
and the foreigners were
forced to go back to US,
00:01:36.69\00:01:41.56
and that is where
the problem started.
00:01:41.56\00:01:45.17
And later on,
00:01:45.17\00:01:47.47
there were two basic underlying
problems that they had.
00:01:47.47\00:01:52.07
One was lack of finance,
00:01:52.07\00:01:55.24
and secondly, political issue.
00:01:55.24\00:01:59.41
And the third one, I should
say, is lack of Bible workers.
00:01:59.41\00:02:03.72
(gentle music)
00:02:03.72\00:02:06.45
After me coming to this
place, when I had a survey
00:02:07.69\00:02:11.89
of all my four
districts, I found this,
00:02:11.89\00:02:15.56
you know, 50 Village program
00:02:15.56\00:02:17.60
that has taken
place in the year 2006-7.
00:02:17.60\00:02:20.14
And then I wanted to
implore into all these churches.
00:02:22.20\00:02:25.74
And all these churches
were like, you know, abandoned.
00:02:25.74\00:02:29.74
Some of the churches
had, windows were broken,
00:02:29.74\00:02:32.98
doors were broken,
00:02:32.98\00:02:34.38
and all the churches were,
you know, like Amazon Forest,
00:02:34.38\00:02:38.89
these churches were under
the custody of the local people.
00:02:38.89\00:02:42.89
Some of them had used
these churches as cow sheds.
00:02:42.89\00:02:47.13
I literally saw the
cows inside these churches.
00:02:47.13\00:02:51.03
And some of the
churches were literally broken.
00:02:51.03\00:02:54.90
And it was a
countryside bathroom, like.
00:02:54.90\00:02:59.37
And I literally had to
stand there and cry, stating,
00:02:59.37\00:03:03.81
"God, how could this
happen to your church?"
00:03:04.95\00:03:07.55
(gentle music)
00:03:07.55\00:03:10.29
And then I decided that instead
of going into a new project,
00:03:11.69\00:03:16.12
let me see how the older
projects can come into life.
00:03:16.12\00:03:20.50
And so when I was
praying about this,
00:03:20.50\00:03:23.43
one of my good
friend, Elder Israel Prasad,
00:03:23.43\00:03:26.63
the JFA director for Asia here,
00:03:26.63\00:03:30.21
he was able to
listen to my story,
00:03:30.21\00:03:33.17
the burden that I
had for this section.
00:03:33.17\00:03:35.48
And he was able to present
this to the JFA group in the US,
00:03:35.48\00:03:40.08
and now we are
overwhelmed to see
00:03:40.08\00:03:43.79
that this group has come to us.
00:03:43.79\00:03:47.39
They have, you know,
tapped on our shoulder
00:03:47.39\00:03:50.26
and they have just said,
"Brother, we are behind you to
00:03:50.26\00:03:54.23
see that these churches
are going to be opened up."
00:03:54.23\00:03:57.00
They have given us
near about 20 Bible workers
00:03:57.00\00:04:01.70
to work for these churches.
00:04:01.70\00:04:03.87
And that was a very,
very, very great help to me.
00:04:03.87\00:04:08.61
And these churches,
which were abandoned and closed
00:04:08.61\00:04:12.61
and destroyed, they
were able to paint it.
00:04:12.61\00:04:16.02
And now with the
furnishing and everything,
00:04:16.02\00:04:18.69
it's a pukka working church.
00:04:18.69\00:04:20.92
And God was so good to us,
sending the JFA group to help
00:04:20.92\00:04:25.69
us. And now we
are overwhelmed to see
00:04:25.69\00:04:29.30
that the JFA team is in
valor to open up seven churches,
00:04:29.30\00:04:33.70
and there are 20
churches more to open.
00:04:33.70\00:04:36.54
(gentle music)
00:04:36.54\00:04:39.27
I think the church
is going to grow nicely.
00:04:47.82\00:04:50.55
And we see that, you know,
there is a Bible worker in it,
00:04:50.55\00:04:53.86
and the church will
function every Sabbath.
00:04:53.86\00:04:57.06
And I see a very bright future
00:04:57.06\00:04:59.56
for all these
abandoned churches.
00:04:59.56\00:05:01.40
And I'm grateful,
grateful to the Lord Almighty,
00:05:01.40\00:05:04.00
and to the people of
the JFA who are so generous,
00:05:04.00\00:05:08.50
and God bless this
group called Jesus for Asia.
00:05:08.50\00:05:13.58
- So you can do
things in the house with joy,
00:05:14.78\00:05:17.38
and it happens with
a song in your mind,
00:05:17.38\00:05:19.81
because you don't wanna
stray when the relief happens.
00:05:19.81\00:05:23.12
(congregation shouting)
00:05:23.12\00:05:26.52
So basically what he's
saying is that many years ago,
00:05:34.83\00:05:37.50
a group came in and built.
00:05:37.50\00:05:39.20
The target was to
build 50 churches.
00:05:39.20\00:05:41.64
They got 40 churches built.
00:05:41.64\00:05:43.71
And he called it
a political issue.
00:05:43.71\00:05:46.11
But there is an extremist group
00:05:46.11\00:05:47.71
that kicked them
out of the country.
00:05:47.71\00:05:49.64
- Right.
00:05:49.64\00:05:50.98
- So the very first night
that they held evangelism,
00:05:50.98\00:05:52.41
they were kicked
out of the country.
00:05:52.41\00:05:53.92
And because of the
financial challenges
00:05:53.92\00:05:56.62
of supplying Bible
workers for all 40 churches,
00:05:56.62\00:05:59.39
the local
conference couldn't keep up.
00:05:59.39\00:06:01.69
And so instead of
nurturing these churches
00:06:01.69\00:06:04.19
and being able to
put Bible workers there,
00:06:04.19\00:06:06.29
they just, all 40
churches were closed.
00:06:06.29\00:06:09.43
- So now he's
trying to find them.
00:06:09.43\00:06:11.20
- [Jon] Yes.
00:06:11.20\00:06:12.33
- And he's finding
them little at a time,
00:06:12.33\00:06:15.10
which is a huge challenge.
00:06:15.10\00:06:16.50
- Mm-hmm.
00:06:16.50\00:06:17.77
- One of them, I
remember they told us a story.
00:06:17.77\00:06:19.04
They only found because
one of the pastors was going
00:06:19.04\00:06:22.28
to somebody's
birthday party in a village.
00:06:22.28\00:06:24.78
And as he passed by,
he saw this roof shape
00:06:24.78\00:06:27.18
that he recognized from
off the side of the highway.
00:06:27.18\00:06:30.29
And so he was
like, "What is that?"
00:06:30.29\00:06:33.56
And so they went and found
out it was an Adventist church.
00:06:33.56\00:06:36.76
- But this is what
he's decided to do.
00:06:36.76\00:06:38.36
Instead of building new
churches and new villages,
00:06:38.36\00:06:40.73
why not just restart the
churches that are already there?
00:06:40.73\00:06:43.53
- Right, and
encourage the members
00:06:43.53\00:06:45.30
that were there
at the beginning,
00:06:45.30\00:06:46.87
and make it available to
those that weren't members yet.
00:06:46.87\00:06:50.17
- Yeah, now that church
that you saw in that video
00:06:50.17\00:06:52.27
with all the
people, it was packed out.
00:06:52.27\00:06:54.28
(laughs) Why are
you smiling so broadly?
00:06:55.58\00:06:57.35
- Because we had the privilege
of serving in that church.
00:06:57.35\00:06:59.78
- Yes, yes.
00:06:59.78\00:07:01.02
- And it was precious.
It was a precious time.
00:07:01.02\00:07:03.49
- And the other thing
that these closed churches do
00:07:03.49\00:07:06.05
is they put a smear on the
name, on the face of Jesus,
00:07:06.05\00:07:10.93
because the
local Hindus will say,
00:07:10.93\00:07:13.13
"Hey, our God
takes care of our temple.
00:07:13.13\00:07:15.60
Look at the
beautiful temple that we have.
00:07:15.60\00:07:17.77
What's wrong with your God?"
00:07:18.57\00:07:19.93
- [Natalie] Yeah.
00:07:19.93\00:07:20.74
- Maybe your God doesn't exist.
00:07:20.74\00:07:22.00
- Yeah.
00:07:22.00\00:07:23.00
- And so
reopening these churches
00:07:23.00\00:07:24.14
to us has become a
huge burden and a joy.
00:07:24.14\00:07:27.64
- Right, right, and yeah,
00:07:27.64\00:07:29.68
the precious,
precious people in that church,
00:07:29.68\00:07:32.65
you know, the
children, they're so cute.
00:07:32.65\00:07:35.58
They're naughty,
but they're so cute.
00:07:35.58\00:07:37.45
- Yes.
00:07:37.45\00:07:38.25
- Precious, precious smiles,
00:07:38.25\00:07:39.52
and to have the young
people come and ask for prayer,
00:07:39.52\00:07:43.83
"My exams are coming,
00:07:43.83\00:07:45.83
please pray for me
to do well on my exams."
00:07:45.83\00:07:48.26
- Yes.
00:07:48.26\00:07:49.40
- And to have the
older people come and say,
00:07:49.40\00:07:52.87
what did Little Baby say?
00:07:52.87\00:07:54.14
- She says, "I'm so
thankful that I was able to live
00:07:54.14\00:07:57.34
until this day, until this
message came to my village."
00:07:57.34\00:08:00.61
- [Natalie] Right, and
she's not a young lady,
00:08:00.61\00:08:02.31
but that is what her name means.
00:08:02.31\00:08:04.35
- [Jon] Yeah.
00:08:04.35\00:08:05.31
- [Natalie] She
has a Tamil name,
00:08:05.31\00:08:06.11
but her name means little baby.
00:08:06.11\00:08:08.38
She's quite an elderly lady.
00:08:08.38\00:08:09.98
- Yes, she would come and
talk to me after the program
00:08:09.98\00:08:12.82
and she would talk to me,
00:08:12.82\00:08:14.06
and I would talk to her,
and she would talk to me.
00:08:14.06\00:08:15.99
I had no idea what
each other was saying,
00:08:15.99\00:08:18.39
but I knew it was good.
00:08:18.39\00:08:20.13
And then later
somebody came and interpreted
00:08:20.13\00:08:22.86
to us what she was saying,
and that's what she said,
00:08:24.20\00:08:26.30
that she's so thankful
00:08:26.30\00:08:27.57
that this message came
and she would pray for us.
00:08:27.57\00:08:30.01
Precious souls like that.
00:08:30.01\00:08:31.71
- Yeah.
00:08:31.71\00:08:32.97
- Make it so worthwhile,
and how many other villages
00:08:32.97\00:08:35.34
with closed
churches have those same kind
00:08:35.34\00:08:37.65
of precious souls just waiting
for the good news to come?
00:08:37.65\00:08:41.05
- All right, well,
we don't wanna stop now.
00:08:41.05\00:08:43.02
We've got another video
from another one of the churches
00:08:43.02\00:08:45.75
that was
reopened at the same time.
00:08:45.75\00:08:47.66
And this church
is extra special,
00:08:47.66\00:08:50.09
because it was
Gayle Haberkam's church.
00:08:50.09\00:08:52.06
- [Jon] Okay.
00:08:52.06\00:08:53.40
- And Gayle is one of
our missionaries in Thailand.
00:08:53.40\00:08:54.96
- [Jon] Yes.
00:08:54.96\00:08:55.80
- We took her to India.
00:08:55.80\00:08:56.63
- Yes. (laughs)
00:08:56.63\00:08:58.53
(gentle music)
00:08:58.53\00:09:01.27
- 2006, 2007,
this church was built.
00:09:04.21\00:09:09.28
And after it was built,
00:09:09.94\00:09:12.48
the section
appointed lay volunteers,
00:09:12.48\00:09:17.19
Bible workers, to
take care of the church.
00:09:17.19\00:09:20.62
They took care of
the church for some time.
00:09:20.62\00:09:23.86
Due to the financial crisis,
00:09:23.86\00:09:26.96
later they stopped
the lay volunteers.
00:09:26.96\00:09:31.93
- DC Kuppam was
occupied by one lady
00:09:31.93\00:09:35.10
where she used to
put all the grass, hay,
00:09:36.27\00:09:39.37
and whatever, the
foodstuff that she used
00:09:39.37\00:09:42.58
to give it to the cows.
00:09:42.58\00:09:44.71
And the cows were inside.
00:09:44.71\00:09:46.98
And just at the
entrance there was a cow shed.
00:09:46.98\00:09:50.65
And she wasn't
allowing me to go inside.
00:09:50.65\00:09:53.29
Even after throwing everything
from the church outside,
00:09:53.29\00:09:56.12
she was not taking the cow
shed, which was at the doorway.
00:09:56.12\00:09:59.59
And we had to talk
to the village people,
00:09:59.59\00:10:02.60
the village headmen,
and to government officials,
00:10:02.60\00:10:06.10
and through which she was forced
to, you know, be taken out.
00:10:06.10\00:10:10.81
(cow moos)
00:10:10.81\00:10:12.14
(gentle music)
00:10:12.14\00:10:14.88
- This was painted by
Elder Dennis and Judy.
00:10:16.64\00:10:21.72
This couple stayed
here almost three months,
00:10:22.85\00:10:24.09
painted many churches,
and this was one among that.
00:10:24.09\00:10:27.49
And after 20 years, it's
reopened in this year, 2024.
00:10:27.49\00:10:32.29
We had 10 days meeting.
00:10:34.20\00:10:36.43
Sister Gayle
present a beautiful message
00:10:36.43\00:10:39.30
to the people in this village.
00:10:39.30\00:10:41.97
And we hope that
many will accept Jesus
00:10:41.97\00:10:45.47
as their personal Savior.
00:10:45.47\00:10:47.11
(congregation speaking)
00:10:47.11\00:10:48.64
(gentle music)
00:10:48.64\00:10:51.28
And we like to
appoint a JFA Bible worker
00:11:09.30\00:11:14.37
to do the follow-up work.
00:11:15.14\00:11:17.04
And in future,
00:11:18.27\00:11:20.21
we would like to have
evening school conducted
00:11:20.21\00:11:24.78
in this place,
00:11:24.78\00:11:26.15
where the
students in this community
00:11:26.15\00:11:29.42
will be benefited by studying
00:11:29.42\00:11:32.25
and knowing about Jesus Christ.
00:11:32.25\00:11:35.09
And this will definitely
help the community know
00:11:35.09\00:11:39.09
about Jesus Christ,
00:11:39.09\00:11:40.60
and we'll be able to
win many souls for Christ.
00:11:40.60\00:11:44.53
(gentle music)
00:11:44.53\00:11:47.17
- Isn't that beautiful?
00:11:53.61\00:11:54.88
- Yeah, and it's
so neat to know that,
00:11:54.88\00:11:56.75
you know, they're
thinking long term.
00:11:56.75\00:12:00.05
You know, we gotta
put a Bible worker here,
00:12:00.05\00:12:02.35
and we'd like an
evening school here.
00:12:02.35\00:12:04.52
And speaking about
the evening schools,
00:12:04.52\00:12:06.29
there isn't one there yet.
00:12:06.29\00:12:07.59
- [Jon] Correct.
00:12:07.59\00:12:08.59
- But we're
praying for the funding
00:12:08.59\00:12:09.29
to be able to open it.
00:12:09.29\00:12:10.73
- Yeah.
00:12:10.73\00:12:11.56
- It's such a beautiful thing
00:12:11.56\00:12:13.43
to have the
evening school there,
00:12:13.43\00:12:14.93
because it builds up the church.
00:12:14.93\00:12:16.50
It actually keeps
the church building open.
00:12:16.50\00:12:19.47
So there's something happening
00:12:19.47\00:12:20.87
in the church
every day of the week.
00:12:20.87\00:12:22.84
So besides giving tutoring
in the regular schoolwork,
00:12:22.84\00:12:27.91
it gives them an
evening of worship,
00:12:28.91\00:12:30.75
and they can learn
stories from the Bible,
00:12:30.75\00:12:33.21
and character building
stories, and moral stories,
00:12:33.21\00:12:37.25
and Bible texts
and spiritual songs.
00:12:37.25\00:12:40.32
And they also get a meal.
00:12:40.32\00:12:42.32
And the meal is
very, very important,
00:12:42.32\00:12:44.59
because many of these
villages are very poor.
00:12:44.59\00:12:47.30
And many times, the children
get one good meal a day.
00:12:47.30\00:12:51.33
Sometimes they get a second
meal, but it's not very good.
00:12:51.33\00:12:54.30
Many times we've seen,
00:12:54.30\00:12:55.70
it'll be like the
water from cooking the rice,
00:12:55.70\00:12:59.07
or like a rice soup with
a few grains of rice in it,
00:12:59.07\00:13:03.21
and they just drink
the water basically.
00:13:03.21\00:13:05.01
And so it's
such a huge privilege
00:13:05.01\00:13:07.18
to provide that
for the children.
00:13:07.18\00:13:08.92
- [Jon] Yeah.
00:13:08.92\00:13:10.12
- So, and that's
just $9 a month per child.
00:13:10.12\00:13:11.89
So we're really praying
that we can open a school
00:13:11.89\00:13:14.52
in that village,
because it helps the children,
00:13:14.52\00:13:16.79
and it helps the church as well.
00:13:16.79\00:13:19.29
- Yes, yes.
00:13:19.29\00:13:20.70
- So we have another video
from another reopened church,
00:13:20.70\00:13:23.97
but it's in a
slightly different area.
00:13:23.97\00:13:25.97
- Yeah, it's in the same
region of the Adventist Church,
00:13:25.97\00:13:29.30
but it's like an
hour and a half away,
00:13:29.30\00:13:31.47
a whole another
city with a number
00:13:31.47\00:13:33.54
of closed
churches around that city.
00:13:33.54\00:13:35.64
And so we had another team going
00:13:35.64\00:13:36.95
to that place
at a separate time.
00:13:36.95\00:13:39.51
- Okay.
00:13:39.51\00:13:40.78
- This is a mountain
which is in Thiruvanamalai,
00:13:40.78\00:13:44.35
one of the Holy Mountains,
00:13:44.35\00:13:46.89
which the Hindu people
believe that if they come
00:13:46.89\00:13:50.73
and see this
mountain once in their year,
00:13:50.73\00:13:53.50
once in their lifetime,
00:13:53.50\00:13:55.26
they feel like all
their sins are washed,
00:13:55.26\00:13:57.40
and they feel very holy.
00:13:57.40\00:13:59.17
And this place,
by the grace of God,
00:13:59.17\00:14:01.70
God opened the
door in the year 2009.
00:14:01.70\00:14:05.51
There were 17 to 28
churches which was constructed.
00:14:05.51\00:14:10.58
And they had a
big grand opening,
00:14:11.58\00:14:13.38
and the churches were open,
00:14:13.38\00:14:14.95
But unfortunately, you
know, Satan had its own way,
00:14:14.95\00:14:19.19
and he stopped
all these churches.
00:14:19.19\00:14:22.02
These churches were locked.
00:14:22.02\00:14:23.39
(gentle music)
00:14:23.39\00:14:26.13
By the grace of God, in
the year 2023, we prayed,
00:14:27.36\00:14:31.57
and God showed us this place.
00:14:31.57\00:14:33.80
And the local Vellore
section administrators,
00:14:33.80\00:14:38.01
they were really concerned
to open these churches.
00:14:38.01\00:14:42.54
And these churches
were looking very different.
00:14:42.54\00:14:46.41
Trees were grown, and plants
were grown. Bushes were there.
00:14:46.41\00:14:50.42
People started using these
places for many other things.
00:14:50.42\00:14:54.02
By the grace of
God, this year, 2025,
00:14:54.02\00:14:58.86
in the February
month, we were able
00:14:58.86\00:15:01.26
to get into five new
villages, five churches,
00:15:01.26\00:15:06.07
which were
locked for many years.
00:15:06.07\00:15:08.77
God showed us these churches,
00:15:08.77\00:15:11.17
and helped us to
renovate these church,
00:15:11.17\00:15:14.91
and pray for these churches
00:15:14.91\00:15:17.01
and paint these
churches, clean the churches.
00:15:17.01\00:15:20.32
And also, God spoke
in the hearts of people
00:15:20.32\00:15:23.39
to come from abroad, from US,
00:15:23.39\00:15:25.85
to do one week of evangelism.
00:15:25.85\00:15:28.79
I really wanted to thank the
Lord for speaking those acts,
00:15:28.79\00:15:32.39
which need to be spoken.
00:15:32.39\00:15:34.00
Because of that, now all
these five churches are open.
00:15:34.00\00:15:38.30
(gentle music)
00:15:38.30\00:15:41.04
- So how many churches
have we reopened so far?
00:15:44.41\00:15:46.81
- About 30.
00:15:46.81\00:15:47.74
- That's awesome.
00:15:47.74\00:15:48.58
- [Natalie] Yeah.
00:15:48.58\00:15:49.58
- How many
churches left to reopen?
00:15:49.58\00:15:50.98
- About a hundred. (laughs)
00:15:50.98\00:15:53.62
- So a few more.
00:15:53.62\00:15:55.08
- Right, and not just in this
one area or this one district,
00:15:55.08\00:15:58.82
there's in other
areas of India also.
00:15:58.82\00:16:01.16
- Yeah. So are we
planning to do any more?
00:16:01.16\00:16:03.32
- Yes, actually, every
year. When would that be?
00:16:03.32\00:16:07.46
- We usually go in the
wintertime, so it's only hot.
00:16:07.46\00:16:10.27
- [Natalie] Okay.
00:16:10.27\00:16:11.10
- Instead of really hot.
00:16:11.10\00:16:11.93
- Okay.
00:16:11.93\00:16:12.77
- Or super rainy.
00:16:12.77\00:16:14.14
And we go there and we, as
many big groups as can come,
00:16:14.14\00:16:18.24
we form up into teams and
we help reopen those churches.
00:16:18.24\00:16:21.31
Sometimes we'll
do some paintings,
00:16:21.31\00:16:22.71
sometimes we'll do
some medical clinics,
00:16:22.71\00:16:25.91
depending on who's
there and what kind of local-
00:16:25.91\00:16:27.82
- Right. And sometimes VBS.
00:16:27.82\00:16:29.25
- VBS, that's a big deal.
00:16:30.02\00:16:31.12
The kids love the VBSs.
00:16:31.12\00:16:32.25
- Yeah, so if
there's enough on the team
00:16:32.25\00:16:34.96
and enough children
at one of the churches,
00:16:34.96\00:16:36.79
we'll try to do
a VBS there also.
00:16:36.79\00:16:38.59
So what time of
year would that be?
00:16:38.59\00:16:40.26
What month of the year?
00:16:40.26\00:16:41.63
- Well, we're looking at usually
going in January, February.
00:16:41.63\00:16:44.33
- Okay.
00:16:44.33\00:16:45.17
- Sometimes into March.
00:16:45.17\00:16:46.23
But you know, the
wintertime for us,
00:16:46.23\00:16:47.70
that's the cool season for them.
00:16:47.70\00:16:49.44
- Okay.
00:16:49.44\00:16:50.24
- However, their cool season
00:16:50.24\00:16:51.24
is still like a
mild summer for us.
00:16:51.24\00:16:54.21
- Yeah.
00:16:54.21\00:16:54.88
- So it's very pleasant,
00:16:54.88\00:16:55.68
but definitely on the warm side.
00:16:55.68\00:16:57.51
- Yeah. 85, 90,
somewhere in there usually.
00:16:57.51\00:17:00.85
- Right, yeah, and so we have
a lot more churches to reopen
00:17:00.85\00:17:04.65
and a lot more
opportunity for people to come
00:17:04.65\00:17:06.92
and see, get a taste
of what it's really like
00:17:06.92\00:17:10.46
on the front lines.
00:17:10.46\00:17:11.43
- Yeah.
00:17:11.43\00:17:12.39
- And we usually
design these trips
00:17:12.39\00:17:13.09
to be two-week trips.
00:17:13.09\00:17:14.36
So if you have a job, you can,
00:17:14.36\00:17:16.63
most people can
easily take two weeks off,
00:17:16.63\00:17:19.17
go over to the other side of
the world, open some churches,
00:17:19.17\00:17:22.07
meet some people,
bless some people,
00:17:22.07\00:17:24.34
come back with a
experience of a lifetime.
00:17:24.34\00:17:27.41
- Right.
00:17:27.41\00:17:28.48
Right, well,
speaking of experience,
00:17:28.48\00:17:30.51
we have a testimony of one
00:17:30.51\00:17:31.78
of the people who
went on this trip.
00:17:31.78\00:17:33.38
- [Jon] Okay.
00:17:33.38\00:17:34.72
- So as I came here
for my first mission,
00:17:34.72\00:17:38.19
I'm asking God, "Okay,
God, what do you want me to do?
00:17:38.19\00:17:41.52
Where do you want me to go?"
00:17:41.52\00:17:43.93
I had a friend
who sent me a book
00:17:43.93\00:17:46.90
written by Tim Maddocks,
00:17:49.40\00:17:50.93
and I was reading the
book on my travels here.
00:17:52.10\00:17:56.30
And by the time I
finished the book,
00:17:56.30\00:17:58.57
I was just crying
and crying and crying.
00:17:58.57\00:18:02.14
And I said,
"Okay, God, I understand.
00:18:02.14\00:18:04.48
Well, where do I go?"
00:18:04.48\00:18:05.68
(gentle music)
00:18:05.68\00:18:08.42
I became a massage
therapist here. (laughs)
00:18:09.52\00:18:14.02
I was giving,
massages at the health camp,
00:18:14.02\00:18:17.66
and it was the
most amazing experience
00:18:17.66\00:18:20.20
that I could ever have.
00:18:20.20\00:18:21.50
And I was part of the
presentations in the churches,
00:18:21.50\00:18:26.33
me and Elder
Douglas and Sister Lenny.
00:18:28.17\00:18:31.31
I don't know how (sighs)
00:18:36.58\00:18:40.42
people can be captive so much,
00:18:41.48\00:18:44.09
and it makes me
hate Satan a lot.
00:18:45.05\00:18:49.16
A lot, because we
were not made to go
00:18:50.26\00:18:54.30
through this level of suffering.
00:18:54.30\00:18:56.43
God created us and He
said that it was good.
00:18:56.43\00:18:59.73
So a prayer walk really
00:19:00.97\00:19:02.84
made me mourn,
00:19:05.77\00:19:07.08
mourn a lot for
the people of India
00:19:07.08\00:19:10.71
to recognize how
the dissection has been
00:19:10.71\00:19:14.15
so effective in them,
00:19:14.15\00:19:16.65
to look at the
darkness that's around them
00:19:18.82\00:19:23.19
and the lack of
knowledge that they have faith,
00:19:24.46\00:19:29.06
but they don't have faith
00:19:29.83\00:19:30.83
in the true God
that can save them.
00:19:30.83\00:19:32.20
So the more I
pray, the more I ask,
00:19:33.84\00:19:36.47
"Lord, You have
Your remnant here,
00:19:36.47\00:19:41.54
and I know that You
are able to save as many
00:19:42.68\00:19:45.98
as want to be saved."
00:19:45.98\00:19:47.98
And I believe that.
00:19:47.98\00:19:49.22
I believe God is
able to save as many
00:19:49.22\00:19:51.89
as who want to be saved.
00:19:51.89\00:19:52.99
It is going to be hard work,
00:19:52.99\00:19:55.09
because culture and the
things that, the practices,
00:19:56.36\00:20:00.96
are really hard to break free.
00:20:02.83\00:20:04.87
But God is able.
00:20:05.67\00:20:06.57
God is able to do mighty things.
00:20:07.37\00:20:09.04
(gentle music)
00:20:09.04\00:20:11.77
I live in a level of
comfort that now bothers me,
00:20:16.78\00:20:21.78
seeing the amount
of need that is here.
00:20:21.78\00:20:24.09
So I am
returning, moving forward,
00:20:24.09\00:20:27.02
with the thought and the desire
to change my life completely
00:20:28.52\00:20:33.53
and dedicate my life
for the rest of the years
00:20:33.53\00:20:35.93
that God wants to
give me for missions.
00:20:35.93\00:20:39.00
(gentle music)
00:20:39.00\00:20:41.64
Now being here, seeing
the need, there is no way
00:20:52.38\00:20:56.72
that I can return
to my regular life.
00:20:56.72\00:20:58.95
My life is too comfortable,
and Jesus is coming soon.
00:21:00.39\00:21:05.19
They are so many
souls that need the gospel.
00:21:06.39\00:21:09.70
And I am no longer in the desire
00:21:10.50\00:21:15.00
to just stay at
home and maybe say,
00:21:15.00\00:21:17.44
"Okay, maybe I
can give this amount,
00:21:17.44\00:21:19.51
or maybe I can help this way."
00:21:19.51\00:21:21.68
I wanna be part of the work,
00:21:21.68\00:21:23.81
and it will be
more fulfilling for me
00:21:23.81\00:21:26.35
and my personal relationship
with God to be here with those
00:21:26.35\00:21:31.19
that are also working so hard
to bring souls to the gospel.
00:21:31.19\00:21:35.42
- And so she has decided to
become a full-time missionary.
00:21:40.23\00:21:43.57
- Yeah, now the
book she talked about
00:21:43.57\00:21:45.53
is "When Sacrifice is
Gain" by Tim Maddocks,
00:21:45.53\00:21:48.30
who is a missionary in Cambodia.
00:21:48.30\00:21:50.61
And so we're so
thankful for God inspiring Tim
00:21:50.61\00:21:53.61
to write that book.
00:21:53.61\00:21:54.68
- [Jon] Yes.
00:21:54.68\00:21:56.11
- And using it to
connect Ruthie with his work.
00:21:56.11\00:21:58.08
- Yes. Can people
get ahold of that book?
00:21:58.08\00:21:59.85
- Yes. It is available now
at every major book distributor.
00:21:59.85\00:22:03.18
So you can get it online
at Amazon or Barnes and Noble,
00:22:03.18\00:22:06.82
you know, whatever your
local bookstore might be.
00:22:06.82\00:22:10.73
They might have it in stock,
or they can help you order it.
00:22:10.73\00:22:13.50
- Cool.
00:22:13.50\00:22:14.56
- All right.
00:22:14.56\00:22:16.00
Well, we have one more video,
and that is of another church
00:22:16.00\00:22:19.93
that needs to be reopened.
00:22:19.93\00:22:22.47
(gentle music)
00:22:22.47\00:22:25.21
- So we're standing in
front of a church right here
00:22:34.02\00:22:36.38
that was built, but they
weren't able to complete it
00:22:36.38\00:22:39.85
because a local extremist
group came and put a stop to it.
00:22:39.85\00:22:44.86
And that was 13 years ago.
Now we're trying to reopen it.
00:22:44.86\00:22:49.26
So now we're inside the church.
00:22:49.26\00:22:50.73
And this church
just a few weeks ago
00:22:50.73\00:22:52.90
was not painted like this.
00:22:52.90\00:22:54.87
And there was big
holes in the wall back there.
00:22:56.10\00:22:59.31
And they didn't, they thought
00:22:59.31\00:23:00.78
that they could reopen
this church and have no problem.
00:23:00.78\00:23:03.45
So this was gonna be
one of the seven churches
00:23:03.45\00:23:05.71
that we have recently reopened.
00:23:05.71\00:23:07.78
But the property that was access
00:23:07.78\00:23:11.75
to this church
has been built over.
00:23:11.75\00:23:14.69
And so now we're looking
at having to put a road in
00:23:14.69\00:23:17.93
and a bridge over a
big drainage ditch here
00:23:17.93\00:23:21.86
in order to get access
00:23:21.86\00:23:22.96
just so that we
can get to the church.
00:23:22.96\00:23:24.97
And so we've got this church.
00:23:24.97\00:23:27.04
We've got this
tool for God's kingdom
00:23:27.04\00:23:30.27
that's been
sitting empty for 13 years.
00:23:30.27\00:23:32.97
And I just don't think,
00:23:32.97\00:23:37.25
I don't think that it's right.
00:23:43.15\00:23:44.19
(dog barking) I
don't think it's right
00:23:44.19\00:23:44.99
to be sitting closed like that.
00:23:44.99\00:23:46.82
(both speaking foreign language)
00:23:54.46\00:23:55.56
(Jon laughs)
00:23:55.56\00:23:56.53
- How are you?
00:23:56.53\00:23:57.80
- How are you?
(speaking foreign language)
00:23:57.80\00:23:59.20
- Praise the Lord.
00:23:59.20\00:24:00.44
And how did you become
a Seventh Day Adventist?
00:24:00.44\00:24:03.44
- [Translator] I
became an Adventist
00:24:03.44\00:24:04.81
after attending a series
of meetings held in the area.
00:24:04.81\00:24:08.14
The pastor approached me
00:24:08.14\00:24:09.34
and asked if I knew
of any land in this area
00:24:09.34\00:24:11.61
that they could buy
to build a church on.
00:24:11.61\00:24:14.32
I owned this land and
was in need of the money,
00:24:14.32\00:24:17.19
so I sold this land for
them to build a church on.
00:24:17.19\00:24:20.32
- All right. So
they came and built this.
00:24:20.32\00:24:23.96
And how do you feel about
the fact that it's been empty?
00:24:23.96\00:24:27.40
- [Translator] There
was a pastor assigned
00:24:27.40\00:24:28.70
to this church in the beginning,
00:24:28.70\00:24:30.07
but he was
transferred to another place,
00:24:30.07\00:24:32.40
and since that time, the church
has been unused and barren.
00:24:32.40\00:24:36.20
- Okay, all right.
00:24:36.20\00:24:37.87
Where were you going
to church up until now?
00:24:37.87\00:24:40.21
- [Translator] Since
this church was closed,
00:24:40.21\00:24:41.78
I've been going
to the CSI church.
00:24:41.78\00:24:43.85
- Oh, okay. All right.
00:24:43.85\00:24:46.65
So are you wanting to
have this church reopened?
00:24:46.65\00:24:50.19
I imagine you
would love to see it.
00:24:50.19\00:24:52.25
- Yes.
00:24:53.05\00:24:53.96
(people chatting)
00:24:55.82\00:24:57.23
- The president's here for
the local area of the church.
00:24:57.23\00:25:01.36
He doesn't know how
much it's gonna cost
00:25:01.36\00:25:02.83
to put that road in,
00:25:02.83\00:25:04.20
but it's probably cheaper
than building a new church,
00:25:04.20\00:25:08.40
buying the land and
building the new church.
00:25:08.40\00:25:10.07
You can see the floor (laughs)
leaves a lot to be desired,
00:25:10.07\00:25:15.14
so it really needs a
little bit more work.
00:25:16.31\00:25:18.05
But still the structure
itself is pretty solid.
00:25:18.05\00:25:21.62
I can almost guarantee that
if this church was reopened,
00:25:21.62\00:25:25.29
there would be people coming
00:25:25.29\00:25:26.62
to this church,
especially children.
00:25:26.62\00:25:28.89
The churches that we have
reopened recently in this area,
00:25:36.97\00:25:40.07
as soon as we open them,
there's people, there's kids,
00:25:40.07\00:25:43.47
there's grownups, there's
people that come to the church.
00:25:43.47\00:25:45.87
They wanna learn about Jesus.
00:25:45.87\00:25:48.01
We had one lady,
her name is Little Baby.
00:25:48.01\00:25:50.71
She was crying two nights ago.
00:25:50.71\00:25:53.45
She says, "I am so
thankful that I got
00:25:53.45\00:25:56.42
to live long
enough to hear this truth.
00:25:56.42\00:25:59.55
I am so thankful."
00:25:59.55\00:26:01.16
And she was crying,
and it's like, you know,
00:26:01.16\00:26:03.32
how many other
people are like that?
00:26:03.32\00:26:05.19
In this village, you know,
00:26:06.49\00:26:07.76
there may be one
soul in this village
00:26:07.76\00:26:10.90
that would love
to come to a church
00:26:10.90\00:26:12.37
and learn about
Jesus if it was open.
00:26:12.37\00:26:14.84
(gentle music)
00:26:14.84\00:26:17.57
I'd like to invite you to
please pray for this church.
00:26:20.71\00:26:23.91
There are people here
that Jesus knows very well,
00:26:23.91\00:26:26.72
and I believe that he would love
00:26:26.72\00:26:28.18
to have this thing open again.
00:26:28.18\00:26:29.88
(gentle music)
00:26:29.88\00:26:32.62
It breaks your heart to
see a church sitting there.
00:26:41.50\00:26:44.60
So many times we go to
cities where there's no church,
00:26:44.60\00:26:48.04
and we're praying,
"Lord, please put a church here
00:26:48.04\00:26:50.47
so people can get to know you."
00:26:50.47\00:26:51.84
And there's a
village with a church.
00:26:51.84\00:26:54.04
- [Natalie] Yeah.
00:26:54.04\00:26:54.84
- And the church is closed.
00:26:54.84\00:26:56.11
- Yeah, I mean, you
think about what the donors
00:26:56.11\00:26:58.61
for these churches
and the people who came
00:26:58.61\00:27:00.48
to build those
churches, what they went through
00:27:00.48\00:27:03.52
to get the funds together.
00:27:03.52\00:27:05.32
You know, many sacrificed,
00:27:05.32\00:27:07.22
I am sure, to build these
churches in the first place.
00:27:07.22\00:27:10.89
And so to now be
able to reopen them
00:27:10.89\00:27:12.86
and have them filled with
people learning about Jesus
00:27:12.86\00:27:16.23
and hearing the gospel,
many for the first time.
00:27:16.23\00:27:19.93
it's just, it's a huge, huge
privilege to be a part of it.
00:27:19.93\00:27:24.57
I would like to invite you
to pray for funds to reopen more
00:27:24.57\00:27:28.41
of these churches,
to sponsor Bible workers
00:27:28.41\00:27:30.91
to keep them open, to
put evening schools in these
00:27:30.91\00:27:34.65
churches, and
also for people to go
00:27:34.65\00:27:36.82
and conduct these
series, to bring the gospel,
00:27:36.82\00:27:40.29
to bring Jesus and
hope to these communities.
00:27:40.29\00:27:44.16
If you would
like to be involved,
00:27:44.16\00:27:46.19
please contact us
at Jesus for Asia,
00:27:46.19\00:27:49.00
PO Box 1221,
Collegedale, Tennessee, 37315.
00:27:49.00\00:27:53.47
Call us at 423-413-7321,
00:27:54.90\00:27:59.34
or visit our
website at jesus4asia.org.
00:27:59.34\00:28:03.04
May God richly bless you,
00:28:03.04\00:28:04.71
until we see you next
time on "Jesus for Asia Now."
00:28:04.71\00:28:07.92
(dramatic music)
00:28:07.92\00:28:10.82