Participants: Dick Duerksen
Series Code: MMS
Program Code: MMS000127
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00:01 It was surely an alive church, but we needed other dimensions
00:06 of ministry to challenge us, to flex our muscles, 00:09 to stretch us a little bit. 00:13 And so when--it was actually Steve Salsberry, 00:15 our assistant pastor who joined us about 4 years ago. 00:19 He started talking about we need to go on a Maranatha trip. 00:21 And he was right on. 00:23 The church's youth group had gone on mission trips, 00:26 but the pastoral staff decided to expand the impact 00:29 and plan a project to Honduras open to all their members. 00:34 The idea was let's involve as many church members 00:38 in a life-changing experience with Jesus that we can. 00:41 And so the idea was to open this up to all generations from 00:44 kids as young as 10, all the way until, you know, 00:47 people are a little more seasoned. 00:49 With the hopes that the more people we have coming 00:52 and experiencing Christ on this trip if we can bring 00:55 that energy back to Phoenix and end up impacting 00:58 our own community of Phoenix by impacting the community 01:01 for Christ here in Honduras. 01:03 The concept of a mission trip just helps to expand the 01:06 whole idea of what it means to belong to the Body of Christ. 01:10 Like many other groups they turned to Maranatha 01:12 to help facilitate their mission trip. 01:15 From making sure all the necessary materials 01:18 are on the construction site, to keeping everyone healthy 01:21 and fed with safe food and water, Maranatha gives groups 01:25 all the necessary tools to succeed. 01:28 But every project starts with the discovery of a need. 01:33 I know exactly what needs to happen here. 01:35 We need to bring in a road grader, clean the road 01:38 all the way down to the river, let's asphalt. 01:40 I think that's probably a good idea, because it rains here 01:42 terribly and we don't want it to be just a big mud bath. 01:45 And then down at the river there's a perfect place 01:47 to put a damn. 01:47 With just a little bit of work, we can have 01:49 hydroelectric power. 01:51 And up there on that hillside is a perfect place 01:53 for a brand-new school and a little bit 01:55 of an agricultural training center. 01:57 I think they ought to do that. 02:01 A lot of people come to a place like this and that is 02:03 their immediate response. 02:05 At Maranatha we've discovered something really important 02:08 about our good ideas, leave them home. 02:12 Instead come down and have a visit. 02:15 Sit with the local people. 02:16 Listen to their hearts. Listen to their dreams. 02:19 And create a dream. 02:22 Well, make their dream come to life. 02:26 The Camelback Church did just that. 02:28 After announcing the project to the church, a small group made 02:31 a trip to Olanchito, Honduras, to learn how they 02:34 could best serve the community. 02:37 When you do any kind of a project, or a ministry 02:39 for that matter at all, I think there's such a value 02:42 for being able to just listen to people. 02:45 And I think the danger in not listening is that we could end 02:50 up trying to meet a need that may not be 02:53 the greatest need for those people. 02:55 And so, by us coming down here to Olanchito, doing a pre-trip 02:59 in January, we committed to just listening, to being open 03:02 to what God really was wanting to do here in this community. 03:05 Their original plan had been to remodel an existing 03:09 Adventist elementary school, but they discovered the school 03:12 was already at capacity, leaving no room 03:15 for future growth. 03:17 The pastoral staff felt that God was telling them 03:20 to think bigger. 03:22 And decided to step out in faith and take on the much 03:25 larger project of building a brand-new 03:28 One Day School campus. 03:30 Their church stood behind them 100%. 03:33 And I got to tell you, the church there they accepted it 03:38 with open arms and they were just thrilled at this bigger 03:41 vision that God had given to us. 03:44 When we come back, join the Camelback Church as they launch 03:46 their mission adventure in Honduras. 03:50 [music] 04:00 [music] 05:00 After months of planning and fundraising, Camelback Church 05:04 members and their friends made the journey 05:06 to Olanchito, Honduras. 05:09 Pastor White feels this team of volunteers was 05:12 handpicked by God. 05:14 I've told the group from Camelback from the beginning, 05:17 I believe that every person that's on this trip is here 05:19 because God wanted them here. 05:21 This is his team. 05:23 And they're the people that are supposed to be here 05:25 at this place and at this time. 05:28 A year ago if you had told me that this is what I was 05:30 going to do, there's no way I would have said, 05:33 "You're out of your mind," but I felt that this is where 05:36 God wanted me to do-- where God wanted me to go. 05:39 And here I am. 05:40 For Ron Bortmas, his call to the mission trip was 05:43 a last-minute one. 05:46 He announced from the pulpit, 05:47 "Hey, I have one more ticket to Honduras, Olanchito." 05:51 I talked to my wife, "Should I go? 05:53 Shouldn't I go?" 05:54 I went up there 10 minutes later, 05:56 and I expressed my interest. 05:59 And Charlie said, "Good Ron, but there's six people 06:01 ahead of you." 06:03 Okay. 06:05 I'm at the bottom of the barrel. 06:06 I let go of it. 06:09 And then Tuesday afternoon, 2 days before departure, 06:12 I got a phone call at 2 p.m. 06:13 from Pastor Steve, "You want to go?" 06:17 And I said, "Well, what happened 06:18 to the other six people?" 06:19 "Never mind that Ron. Do you want to go? 06:21 Do you have a passport?" 06:22 I said, "Yeah, I got a passport." 06:24 And so I made it. 06:26 I made it here, you know? 06:28 God wants me to be here. 06:29 He got rid of the other six people. 06:32 So, I'm not going to fight divine providence, you know? 06:36 So, I'm here. 06:37 Their main project was to construct 06:39 a One Day School campus. 06:41 The campus consisted of several One Day School classrooms, 06:45 along with a bathroom block, administration building, 06:48 and library. 06:50 Church members worked together to learn new skills 06:52 and more about each other. 06:54 We are a very large church and so, you have your friends 06:57 and you may meet other people, but when you work with somebody 07:01 else side by side that's when you really get to know them. 07:05 And I just have to say I have not heard one complaint 07:08 out of this crew. 07:09 Everyone that I've been meeting, that I've seen before, 07:14 but maybe haven't known personally. 07:15 I'm just so shocked with the amount of work that people 07:18 are doing, capable of doing, and actually getting in there 07:21 and doing. 07:22 Set on a beautiful piece of land just outside of town, 07:25 the new campus provides the students with room 07:28 to learn, play, and grow. 07:31 All things they were lacking at the old site. 07:39 The classrooms that we have here are very very small. 07:43 The kids stumble on each other. 07:45 They fight with each other, because there's not enough 07:47 space for them to relax. 07:49 But over there it will be different, because they say, 07:52 "Wow, teacher. 07:54 "We just went to see the classrooms there, 07:56 "and they are very big. 07:57 So, we will not be fighting each other there." 08:01 This is convenient for us as teachers, because when we 08:04 administer the tests to the students, we have issues 08:07 because a lot of the children cheat and do not study. 08:11 Now, I told some of my students "You're not going to be 08:14 "cheating anymore, because now there will be good separation 08:18 between each student in the classrooms." 08:21 So, even if we have 50 students in each classroom, 08:23 they will always have space. 08:28 It used to be that when a church came on a mission trip 08:30 they came to build buildings. 08:32 And they would really focus on that. 08:33 The steel would be up. 08:35 They would come and make sure that the concrete blocks 08:36 were just right. 08:38 That there was a wall outside the school. 08:40 They were busy. 08:41 But the Camelback Church from Phoenix, Arizona, 08:43 is demonstrating that there is another option today. 08:46 The One Day School classrooms are designed 08:48 to be erected quickly. 08:50 That provides volunteers with time to connect 08:53 with the community in other ways. 08:55 Although constructing the One Day School campus was 08:58 Camelback's major focus, the group took a holistic approach 09:02 to serving the needs of the Olanchito community. 09:06 A small group of volunteers worked on giving the old school 09:09 a long overdue face-lift. 09:11 With a few repairs and a new coat of paint, 09:14 the old school is now ready to serve the community 09:17 as a center for adult literacy training. 09:21 A steady line of patients kept the medical team busy 09:24 as they cared for many physical ailments. 09:26 We feel it's really important to help the people to see that 09:31 we're concerned about them in a physical way as well 09:34 as spiritual and educational. 09:36 So, and I think that they really do appreciate the 09:38 attention that we give them. 09:40 It's the opportunity also to share the gospel with them. 09:44 So, not only the medical aspect of our mission, but we can 09:48 share our hope with them about the land where there'll be 09:53 no more sickness, no more sorrow, 09:54 no more trials, and it would be paradise. 09:58 The medical team also provided health education 10:00 to the patients. 10:02 Children and adults learned practical health tips 10:05 through humorous puppet shows. 10:07 And prayer was offered to all of the patients. 10:10 Every afternoon hundreds of children gathered in the church 10:14 to sing songs and hear stories about the life of Jesus. 10:18 Volunteers spent time preparing colorful crafts to help 10:21 illustrate Bible stories and God's love to the children. 10:25 A field next to the new school became the center of a soccer 10:29 ministry designed to engage kids in a favorite sport 10:33 and introduce them to their new school. 10:35 At night Arizona conference president, Tony Anobile, 10:39 preached about God's love to a packed church. 10:43 As a result more than 50 people 10:45 made decisions for Christ. 10:47 No corner of the community was left untouched 10:49 by the volunteers' efforts. 10:51 Olanchito will never be the same. 10:55 Compare how the Adventist Church 10:57 here in town, the Maranatha Church, 10:58 is known in this community last year 11:02 as how it will be known next year 11:05 with a new school and lots of activity. 11:08 I would say that there will be a change of 100% or more. 11:13 The entire community will be--will know 11:20 the Adventist church as the best. 11:23 I mean, I'm very happy because this activity have given us 11:29 the opportunity to get in touch almost with everyone 11:34 of this community. 11:35 They're really impacted with the Maranatha team that came 11:42 to visit us and is making a big impact 11:44 with the Bible education, with the campaign, 11:47 and also with the construction of new buildings of the-- 11:51 I mean, I nevered imagined that there's a family in the 11:55 entire community that will not know about the Adventist church 11:58 and his message. 11:59 So, I mean, I feel very very comfortable with this 12:04 movement that I'm seeing in the whole community, 12:06 the entire community. 12:08 When we come back, see the impact a mission trip 12:11 can make on a community and a church family. 12:16 The idea of a $10 church started in 1879. 12:21 Hi, I'm Dick Duerksen with 12:22 Maranatha Volunteers International. 12:24 The Battle Creek Tabernacle was built with dimes given 12:27 by thousands of people, including many children. 12:30 The 10-cent tabernacle idea was proposed by a son 12:33 of Seventh Adventist pioneers, James and Ellen White. 12:36 And that gave Maranatha a similar idea. 12:39 Since 1988, we've built more than 250 churches worldwide 12:44 using donations of $10 a month from viewers like you. 12:48 This strategy provides new churches, but it also helps 12:52 build strong community as we all work together. 12:56 Each month your $10 donations help build nearly 3 churches. 13:01 I want to encourage you, join us in the $10 Church Program. 13:05 It's easy. 13:06 Join us by visiting TENDOLLARCHURCH.ORG. 13:10 Partner with people from all over the world. 13:12 It's only 10 bucks. 13:16 How do you measure the success of a mission project? 13:20 Is it in the number of buildings constructed? 13:22 Or the number of medicines dispensed? 13:25 Or really is it about change? 13:28 God used the Camelback volunteers as his change agents 13:32 in the Olanchito community. 13:34 You know, when we came and we heard there were 13:36 over 80 people coming--you know, I've run mission trips before. 13:38 I've--that's going to be a nightmare. 13:41 And even Lisa and I, and I guess I throw her under the bus 13:43 along with me, we said, "There's no way they can 13:45 "accomplish everything they're set out to do. 13:47 "There's not enough time. 13:49 This is--there's too much." 13:51 I cannot tell you, whoever's listening or watching this, 13:54 how impressed I am with the group of people that came. 13:56 They accomplished everything they set out to do in harmony. 13:59 Every night Pastor White, Pastor Graham, Pastor Steve 14:02 would lead us in an incredible testimony time, 14:04 keep us together as a family. 14:06 To coordinate more than 80 people on a project 14:08 like this is probably unheard of. 14:11 And to have the success that they had is unbelievable. 14:14 After many long days of construction, the volunteers 14:17 and members of the community gather to officially dedicate 14:20 the new school campus. 14:25 The facilities will help the school to accomplish their goal 14:28 of providing a complete education for their students. 14:36 Well, the motto of our institution is 14:39 "To educate is to redeem." 14:42 We redeem for Jesus Christ. 14:44 The first thing we teach our children every day they come 14:48 to class is to seek God, to read his word, but God is first 14:53 and that the most important thing is the fear of the Lord. 14:57 We teach them that true education is not about learning 15:00 how to read and write, but that they should be grounded 15:04 in a perfect and correct foundation, 15:06 which is Christ Jesus. 15:09 There are a lot of people who are professionals 15:11 who are prepared intellectually. 15:13 They might have a master, a doctorate, or other things, 15:16 but that doesn't mean they're educated. 15:19 Being educated is to have values. 15:21 And we teach these values to our students. 15:24 Since values are being stepped on everywhere, we're getting 15:28 more students in our school because we teach good values. 15:33 This mission experience had a deep affect 15:36 on the volunteers as well. 15:38 What value is a mission trip to the Camelback Church 15:42 and to success of your ministry at home? 15:44 Well, see there are several. 15:46 Probably the first thing of value is the fact that our 15:49 members get to experience God firsthand, I believe, 15:52 because the fact that it builds a personal relationship 15:55 with Jesus. 15:56 Because they see the Holy Spirit work 15:59 like they've never seen before. 16:01 Let's face it, most Americans-- they don't understand other 16:04 countries and their cultures. 16:07 They come down here, they experience it firsthand. 16:09 And they get to see the way the Honduran people live, okay? 16:13 And then second of all, not only do they personally grow 16:17 with understanding more about God's love, but they get 16:19 to understand a little more about the culture, 16:21 the way the Honduran people live and appreciate that. 16:24 And then when they get home they're going to look at their 16:26 beautiful home, their cars, their job, and they're going 16:30 to go, "Wow, I guess I didn't have it so bad after all." 16:34 You know? 16:35 And third of all, it builds unity among the church members. 16:39 I mean, these church members are bonded. 16:42 I had one church member come to me and say, "You know, 16:44 "Pastor Steve, I didn't know that so-and-so was this way. 16:48 "And now I 'm getting to know them as a friend. 16:50 "This is wonderful. 16:51 "And when we get back to the States, we're going to be even 16:54 closer friends." 16:55 I mean, you talk about building and partnership and teamwork 16:59 and coming close together as a family. 17:01 I mean, these 85-87 people from Camelback are just bonding like 17:07 never before, you know. 17:09 Nothing, short of a mission trip, I don't think can bond 17:13 people from a church than a mission trip. 17:16 And how does that impact your ministry? 17:19 Your work? 17:20 Oh, absolutely. 17:21 It just--it makes it so much better because the fact that 17:23 when I get back on mission trips and go to the church, 17:26 and of course I run into these wonderful people here that have 17:28 been on the mission trip, you have that bonding. 17:32 You have that closeness. 17:33 And it's just absolutely wonderful. 17:34 And then when you ask, "Hey look we need this help-- 17:38 "we need a help with this certain ministry, 17:40 would you be willing?" 17:41 "Oh, yeah. Sure." 17:43 And so it's kind of like-- in a sense it's like an attitude 17:45 adjustment, too, with our members, you know? 17:48 So, it's a team building, you know? 17:49 They come closer to God. 17:51 They just understand the culture a little more. 17:53 And you know, they just--I just feel they get a little more 17:55 spring in their step towards God and their love for him. 17:59 It's just wonderful to see a change and only 11 days 18:03 a change in people's lives. 18:05 Unbelievable. Unbelievable. 18:08 Working side by side has helped church members 18:11 form deeper friendships. 18:14 The interesting part of this is that we've been going to 18:17 Camelback for about 5 years and we've seen a lot of these 18:20 people, and they look familiar. 18:22 We might know a few of their names, but really haven't 18:25 developed a whole lot of close, close friendships, 18:30 maybe just a handful of people. 18:33 I feel like, not only would I know these people by name 18:38 and shake their hand, I would want to go up and give them 18:40 a big hug and say, "I missed you," 18:42 if I hadn't been at church the week before. 18:46 This has really been special for me and the fact 18:49 that I think that I'm kind of standoffish in general 18:53 and this is really just put me-- you can't have your guard up. 18:57 And you can't have any walls in this kind of a situation. 19:00 You really have to trust people and depend on them. 19:02 And I have enjoyed that dynamic immensely. 19:06 Traditionally Seventh-Day Adventist Church members 19:09 sit on the same pew every week. 19:13 It's like this is their spot. 19:16 You better--don't think about it too much, it's my spot. 19:20 I'm there with my family every week that's why 19:21 I feel comfortable. 19:24 So, basically you meet the same folks every week. 19:28 So, right here being with a group of more than 19:32 80 members we have more chance to interact, 19:35 get to know their names, what they do, 19:37 what is their interest, and to see how nice people are. 19:43 It's for me a great opportunity and I enjoy it, 19:47 every single minute of it. 19:50 I get to know a lot of new folks even though we've been 19:52 going to that same church for more than 6 years. 19:55 It's been so much fun to watch God working in so many 19:58 different ways with all the different groups. 20:01 And our little get-togethers in the evening when everybody 20:03 kind of gives their report, it's just been fantastic. 20:06 It really has. 20:08 At home in Phoenix what I experience most 20:12 is superficial relationships. 20:16 Near a friendship, acquaintances, acquaintances. 20:24 And here they have a connection, 20:26 heart-to-heart, hand-to-hand. 20:31 I've--it's hard for me to talk right now. 20:37 It got to me. It got to me. 20:40 This is the Camelback Seventh-Day Adventist Church. 20:42 Empty right now, but in a few minutes the pews will fill. 20:46 And when church service comes the entire platform is going 20:49 to be covered with volunteers wearing shirts like this one. 20:53 Olanchito Family Impact, that's what really is happening. 20:58 The excited group of volunteers pile on 21:01 to the platform eager to share their experiences 21:04 with their church family. 21:06 They are now on fire for missions and want to share 21:09 that fire with others. 21:12 The effects of this trip will be long lasting 21:16 and continually life changing. 21:20 There will be at least four people from this group 21:24 that will ultimately be baptized as a result of what God did 21:28 in their lives and in their hearts on this trip. 21:33 I was shown ministry doesn't come in any one 21:35 particularly-shaped box. 21:38 And also, I guess this can include church family, 21:42 I'd like to share my wish for you today. 21:46 What I wish is that your days will be blessed with many 21:50 opportunities to serve and that your hearts and souls 21:54 will be blessed by each opportunity you accept. 21:57 I think we should begin the talk early on with the planning 22:00 of this trip as to what we hoped that God would do. 22:04 He just went so far above and beyond our expectations 22:07 that it's--he didn't just raise the bar. 22:10 He exploded the entire bar of what we thought was possible 22:14 with the way this trip could affect our church. 22:17 And we've seen so much unity begin to happen and I think 22:21 it's the whole idea that finally, over the last couple 22:24 of years we really hadn't had a project like this to focus our 22:28 whole church in one specific area, on one specific ministry. 22:32 But God used this Maranatha project to build the school, 22:35 to bring every age and generation together focused 22:38 on one single project. 22:41 And we hope that the church will develop a bigger passion 22:44 for ministry and for Christ. 22:46 And that is exactly what happened. 22:49 And more. 22:50 I think our church seems like they're more passionate about 22:52 missions, evangelism, community outreach, 22:55 about joining of mission projects in the future, 22:58 and also taking on a personal responsibility 23:01 that what happened in Honduras, with this 23:03 project as far as God using the participants, 23:07 that can be my experience if I would just open up myself 23:10 to be used by God right here in my own community, 23:13 whether that's my school, my work place, 23:17 where I work out at the gym, 23:18 or whether I'm at the grocery store. 23:21 And so, I've seen a lot more of a recommitment to being used 23:26 by Christ where you're at in the community. 23:29 One afternoon Jesus looked at his disciples and said, 23:32 "I've got a job for you. 23:34 "I want you to find a partner and go into each little 23:37 "communities all around this part of the world. 23:40 "And I want you to tell them about my father. 23:43 "More than that I want you to touch them. 23:44 "I want you to heal them. I want you to speak to them. 23:47 "I want you to tell them the stories of the past. 23:49 "And I want you to inspire them about the future. 23:51 I want you to make disciples." 23:55 The whole concept of discipleship is one of getting 23:59 together in a team of believers all following the teacher, 24:05 whose name of course is Jesus. 24:08 We're in Olanchito, Honduras, and I've been watching 24:11 disciples being made. 24:12 You see everything that's here is here because somebody 24:16 listened to the people who live here, caught their dream, 24:21 and then added that put my arm around you and together we turn 24:26 and look to Jesus Christ, and we'll all 24:30 become disciples together. 24:33 I've watched a lot of Maranatha projects, I've watched 24:36 a lot of buildings go up, but there's something 24:38 different about this one. 24:40 This whole process, the Camelback people coming 24:44 with their dream and accepting the Olanchito dream. 24:49 The Olanchito people having a dream that was this big 24:53 and the Camelback people helping it become this big. 24:55 As the president of the conference says, 24:57 "You gave us a double-size dream." 25:01 They have and that's stretching everybody. 25:05 But then isn't that what discipleship does? 25:08 Stretch everybody. 25:11 It's certainly what I've seen at Maranatha. 25:13 And I want to thank you for being part of making 25:16 the stretching possible. 25:20 Are you ready to be stretched by God? 25:22 Maranatha has many upcoming projects that need your help. 25:26 Visit our project calendar at MARANATHA.ORG and sign up 25:30 for a mission adventure. 25:32 Or call our toll-free number at 800-467-6386 for more 25:38 information on how your church or school group can experience 25:41 the power of service together. 25:43 Maranatha also needs your financial support to continue 25:47 to respond to an ever growing list of needs worldwide. 25:51 You can send your gift in the mail 25:53 to Maranatha Volunteers International, 25:55 990 Reserve Drive Suite 100, Roseville, California 95678. 26:02 Or visit MARANATHA.ORG to donate online. 26:06 Thank you for your support. 26:07 Our toll-free number is 800-467-6386. 26:12 Our web site is MARANATHA.ORG. 26:16 I'm Dick Duerksen, the host of "Maranatha Mission Stories." 26:18 Thanks for joining us this week in Olanchito, Honduras. 26:22 I don't know where we'll be next week, 26:23 but we'll be somewhere in the world working with you 26:26 on a mission for Jesus Christ. 26:28 "Maranatha Mission Stories," no it's not just as TV show. 26:32 It's a challenge for you that will change your life. 26:37 [music] |
Revised 2013-06-29