Hello, this is
the Maranatha Minute.
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In late March,
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more than 80 members
of the Multiple Group team
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wrapped up a mission trip
to the Dominican Republic.
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This unique group,
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built two churches
from the ground up,
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painted two other
churches and ran a medial clinic
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where volunteers
learned how to extract teeth.
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The team also donated
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a collection of baseball
equipment to a local coach
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who teaches sports
to community children.
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The Multiple Group Project
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gathered small
teams of volunteers
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who don't quiet have the numbers
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for an entire
mission trip of their own.
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This year's group
mostly came from California.
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While they were many
individual volunteers,
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the majority were
teenagers from various academies
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or church groups.
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Look for photos from our
most recent mission trips
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by liking our
Maranatha Facebook page.
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Go to maranatha.org/facebook.
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Coming up, we go to
the northern part of Ghana
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where volunteers
meet a tribal chief
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and his village
in need of a church.
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Welcome to
Maranatha Mission Stories.
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I'm your host Dick
Duerksen and today,
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we're headed out on a genuine
African mission adventure.
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Take a map of
Africa, go down the west side
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and just below the
bump you'll find Ghana.
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Now going Ghana and go to
the far north eastern corner
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and somewhere up there
you'll find the town of Tamale.
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The chief has offered land,
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the church has
agreed to hire teachers
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and Tamale has
asked for a school.
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Now if you live in California,
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it will take you about
30 hours to get to Tamale.
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Are you ready? Let's go.
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Twenty seven people from
all regions of North America
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arrived as Maranatha
volunteers to Tamale, Ghana,
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to construct a 12
classroom elementary school.
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The population of
Tamale is 500,000,
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90% of which are Muslim.
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My name is Jean Ellis,
I'm from Wale, Colorado,
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and this is my
first mission trip.
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This project I think,
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educating the
children of the community
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is gonna be huge for
giving them the opportunities
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that they don't have
without that education.
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I think that, you know,
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we were walking
through the village yesterday
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and I saw just a little
baby sitting on the dirt with--
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I think he probably had just
a diaper on in and that was it
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and he was just chewing
on a dirty poppy pod and,
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you know, giving that
little boy an opportunity
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to be educated is gonna
be just huge in his life
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and any other
little child in his trinity
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having that opportunity
could change their lives
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and could change, you know,
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numerous lives
down with the road
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and who knows what
the outcome could be.
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In this region of Ghana,
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land is still owned and operated
by local village chiefs.
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The land had been donated
by the chiefs to church members
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for the
construction of a school.
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These
classrooms were constructed
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by Maranatha
volunteers of all age groups
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and levels of expertise.
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Locals from surrounding villages
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also helped to
work on this project,
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which gave volunteers
many great opportunities
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to get to know local
culture and create friendships.
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One of the things on this trip
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that really changed
my prospective on Africa
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because this is the first
time that I went to Africa
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was the genuine
friendliness and welcoming
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that even though peoples that
live here can't speak English,
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at least most of them
and I certainly can't speak
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their language
but they were just as,
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as warm and
welcoming as going to a picnic
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in the summer time
and you meet your cousins
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that you haven't met
in eight or ten years
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and you're just family.
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And it was a
wonderful kind of thing
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to come to a place at
work to build the school
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and have those
kinds of nationals
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that lived around
us and work with us.
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These schools will
give surrounding villages
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an opportunity for
a Christian education
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that they may have
never had otherwise.
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On Sabbath, Maranatha volunteers
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have the opportunity of
visiting local churches.
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They were blessed by the
worship they experienced.
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Volunteers had the privilege
of visiting local villages
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giving them a chance to
see how local people live.
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They also brought along
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clothing and food to
pass out to families.
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On Sabbath the first day--
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the second day that
we were here in Tamale,
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we went to a village
where a lot of the people
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had never even
seen a white person
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or white skinned person.
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And I brought a bag
of balloons for the kids
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and watching
their faces when they--
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as I blew up these balloons
and tied them off for them,
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it was just incredible
because they had never seen
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anything like that, let alone,
you know, white blonde woman.
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That you know, they
were trying to get over,
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just seeing now
for the first time
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the balloon is very
colorful thing coming out them
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and get being
able to play with that.
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So that was pretty amazing
when you think that you know,
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these kids we had
balloons all the time
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and knew exactly
what they were and so--
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The volunteers didn't expected
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and were surprised to
spread the message of Jesus
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in different villages
through children's ministries.
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Hundreds of children
would attend each ministry
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and would hear
stories, sing songs
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and do activities
all in Jesus name.
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I see these schools--
the school rooms actually
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and the Christian
teachers that will be here
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having a tremendous
impact in this community.
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I was talking with
one of the nationals here
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just within the
last couple of days
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and he was estimating--
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he's a local
businessman and I said,
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what would be your best
guess at the number of children
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that would come
to these classrooms
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over the next year or
decades for that matter
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that would be Christians
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or Seventh-day
Adventist Christians?
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And he said, I would say
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we're expecting over 70%
of the students that come here
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that really don't have
any Christian background,
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certainly not with
Seventh-day Adventist.
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And so I see that is a,
just an exciting possibility
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of really
educating young children
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and eventually
maybe on into high school
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here at this school in Tamale.
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When the mission
trip came to an end,
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12 buildings stood.
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These buildings will soon impact
the lives of many children
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and families by giving
them an opportunity to learn
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and expand their
horizons like never before.
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If something that
changed my prospective
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in coming on this trip is,
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I've always naturally
been a very high strong
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kind of very
driven person in work
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and personal life and everything
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and I just kind of learned
by seeing the people here and--
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the way they live
and everything that not
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everything is all that important
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and then you kind of just
take a breather once in a while
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and you know, look at the sky
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and just
appreciate what you have.
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Thanks to these
Maranatha volunteers.
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There will be 40
children in each classroom
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growing in a way that will
change not just their own path
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but the way of life
in their communities.
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I think two week mission
trips really give an individual
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an opportunity to
stretch themselves
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whether they are skilled
in the building trades or not,
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but to volunteer
with other people
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that are willing to
put forth a lot of energy
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and focus and give and
take in the variety of people
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that come and make up a team
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to construct these
schools or churches.
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And I think that's just
a great way of doing that.
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It's a spiritual
enlightenment when we meet
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people from other cultures
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as well as the
opportunity to know.
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When you get done
with this project--
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really the generations of
children that will come after
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and be blessed here
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that to me is really an
exciting prospective to have.
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This trip not only changed
the lives of those in Tamale,
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but also changed to something
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in each of the
volunteers that came as well.
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I would definitely
do another mission trip.
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I think it is an very
fulfilling experience.
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You know, you
just don't understand
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how much it
affects your prospective
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and you know, I in
these two weeks have had
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just a total
paradigm shifts and that--
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I just can't
even begin to explain
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how amazing it is
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and how my
total way of thinking,
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looking at the
world is different.
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One of things I really
appreciate about Maranatha
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is that on all our
open team projects,
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we provided chaplain
pastor to kind of provide
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a spiritual foundation
for the whole trip and to--
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to help everybody who goes
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get the most possible
out of their experience.
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Well, our pastoral team
on the Tamale trip in Ghana
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is Pastor Walt and Brenda Groff.
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I'm so glad you went.
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Brenda, you work in technology
00:10:55.73\00:10:57.55
at Adventist Health, right? Yes.
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And, Walt, you are the pastor
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of the Rocklin
Gracepoint Church in Sacramento
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but you're also
ministerial director
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for the Northern
California Conference.
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Correct.
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Before I see any other pictures
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I want to ask you
one very simple question.
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What is your emotional
response to the experience today
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after you've
been home for a week?
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Well, sorting it off through
it's a little overwhelming
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at the same time it
creates a new foundation
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for the way you look at life.
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Sad enough
that's an emotional now
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but that's really
what it is at present.
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Is that same for you, Brenda?
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Yeah, I think so.
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It truly has opened my eyes
to not what I can do for God,
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but when you make
yourself available,
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what amazing things God does
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and that paradigm shift is.
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You took your
iPhone to take pictures
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but Brenda you took a camera.
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Yes. And I love your pictures.
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So I need you to walk
me through some of these.
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This picture of
the two little boys,
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I can't even see their
faces but it just says to me,
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adopt these
kids bring them home.
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Yes, we thought
that several times.
00:12:09.18\00:12:12.43
We weren't able to
come home with them
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but that was one of the
most overwhelming things
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and when you go
into the villages
00:12:16.33\00:12:17.92
to be swarmed by that,
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see the beautiful faces and--
00:12:19.63\00:12:21.95
But you were always
swarmed like this village
00:12:21.98\00:12:25.57
and this is a typical
village where you were right,
00:12:25.60\00:12:27.60
there is nothing really--
00:12:27.63\00:12:29.67
this wasn't built just for
tourist to come and look at.
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This is not a Hollywood set.
00:12:32.72\00:12:35.75
So the children come and
peaking around and they see you.
00:12:35.78\00:12:39.58
And they cry. And they cry?
00:12:39.61\00:12:45.07
All it took was one glance
and they burst into tears.
00:12:45.10\00:12:47.83
Oh, you were telling me
about one who hid behind mom.
00:12:47.86\00:12:50.02
Yep.
00:12:50.05\00:12:51.09
Hey there was a little boy
00:12:51.12\00:12:52.15
who-- he would
hide behind his mother
00:12:52.18\00:12:54.53
and look out and cry
and go back behind his mom
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and look out and cry
00:12:57.43\00:12:59.04
and this happened
three or four times
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and I finally just
decided to disengage
00:13:00.13\00:13:01.76
because I don't
like making children cry.
00:13:01.79\00:13:04.78
But you managed to change that.
00:13:04.81\00:13:07.37
You didn't leave
any of those villages
00:13:07.40\00:13:09.03
with the bunch of
crying, terrified children.
00:13:09.06\00:13:11.54
No.
00:13:11.57\00:13:12.63
I think we left engaged
connected in a different way.
00:13:12.66\00:13:18.57
On the way out
of the same village,
00:13:18.60\00:13:20.09
this village is Kanbaku
00:13:20.12\00:13:22.41
and on the way
out of this village
00:13:22.44\00:13:23.47
where the chief
said they'd never been
00:13:23.50\00:13:25.26
occasional white person
in the history of village.
00:13:25.29\00:13:28.50
I was walking out of the path
toward the vehicles to leave
00:13:28.53\00:13:32.54
and I feel
something touching my hand
00:13:32.57\00:13:34.25
and I look down
and it's a little boy.
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And then I feel
something touching my other hand
00:13:36.30\00:13:37.87
and I look down and
it's another little boy.
00:13:37.90\00:13:39.78
Hence I walked the
rest way out of the village
00:13:39.81\00:13:41.57
hand in hand with
these little two guys.
00:13:41.60\00:13:43.52
Who said to you?
00:13:43.55\00:13:44.79
Oh, just-- just
warms your heart.
00:13:44.82\00:13:46.61
It just touches you
in ways that you know,
00:13:46.64\00:13:49.49
you know you're
building a relationship
00:13:49.52\00:13:50.80
that you don't share language,
00:13:50.83\00:13:52.23
you don't share
common backgrounds
00:13:52.26\00:13:54.30
and everything almost any way
00:13:54.33\00:13:55.65
except that you are
two human beings connected.
00:13:55.68\00:14:00.90
Brenda, tell me about this lady.
00:14:00.93\00:14:03.58
When we first
arrived in the village,
00:14:03.61\00:14:05.16
of course we were
greeted by these children
00:14:05.19\00:14:07.02
who were following our cars
in swarms just surrounding us,
00:14:07.05\00:14:11.30
could barely open
the doors to get out.
00:14:11.33\00:14:13.93
And first they wanted to us
00:14:13.96\00:14:15.63
to come and meet
the elders and the chief
00:14:15.66\00:14:17.20
and talk with them a little bit
00:14:17.23\00:14:18.60
and so they escorted
us to this particular area
00:14:18.63\00:14:21.62
and while we
were waiting for them
00:14:21.65\00:14:22.93
to get organized et cetera,
00:14:22.96\00:14:25.35
of course we
were taking pictures
00:14:25.38\00:14:26.91
and I caught this lady
out of the corner of my eye,
00:14:26.94\00:14:30.04
she was just
standing there glancing at us
00:14:30.07\00:14:31.82
and I made eye
contact with her and said,
00:14:31.85\00:14:35.36
you know, through
my visual expression
00:14:35.39\00:14:37.38
can I take your picture
00:14:37.41\00:14:39.38
and she was quiet
please, so she poised herself
00:14:39.41\00:14:42.58
and I took this
lovely picture of her
00:14:42.61\00:14:45.48
and to me it
resonated the kindness
00:14:45.51\00:14:49.12
and graciousness
that was in her heart.
00:14:49.15\00:14:51.41
And that we encountered
00:14:51.44\00:14:52.54
so many times on
this particular trip
00:14:52.57\00:14:55.01
it was-- it was pretty neat.
00:14:55.04\00:14:57.41
I don't think we
met a single person
00:14:57.44\00:14:58.78
who is ever
unkind or unwelcoming.
00:14:58.81\00:15:01.54
The standard
greeting was you're welcome
00:15:01.57\00:15:05.03
which is the end
of the sentence for us
00:15:05.06\00:15:06.55
but it's an
introduction for them.
00:15:06.58\00:15:07.78
But it's the beginning,
if you're welcome in my home.
00:15:07.81\00:15:09.63
You're welcome, yes.
00:15:09.66\00:15:10.69
Tell me about their
homes, that we saw the picture
00:15:10.72\00:15:13.17
you know of the clay houses.
00:15:13.20\00:15:15.13
There's lots of variety
in the town and the cities.
00:15:15.16\00:15:18.36
The compounds in the
villages were pretty amazing.
00:15:18.39\00:15:22.06
Tell me about the chief
00:15:22.09\00:15:24.07
and I want to look up
here at this picture again.
00:15:24.10\00:15:27.17
The chief is the
guy on the ground?
00:15:27.20\00:15:29.65
No, he's the guy in the white.
00:15:29.68\00:15:30.91
Okay, fellow in
the white, all right.
00:15:30.94\00:15:33.20
But the fellow on
the ground in green,
00:15:33.23\00:15:35.01
what is his job? So
do the talking chief.
00:15:35.04\00:15:37.29
He's the one who spoke with you,
00:15:37.32\00:15:38.58
the other one spoke to him.
00:15:38.61\00:15:39.85
Okay, so he's the mouthpiece?
00:15:39.88\00:15:41.16
Right, chief never
speaks directly to you.
00:15:41.19\00:15:44.93
And this was the
chief who told us
00:15:44.96\00:15:46.31
that this
village was had never had
00:15:46.34\00:15:48.66
occasional white
person in before.
00:15:48.69\00:15:50.45
Wow.
00:15:50.48\00:15:51.51
And so it was a fun experience.
00:15:51.54\00:15:54.40
It was our first tribal council.
00:15:54.43\00:15:58.66
You know, that's just kind
of weird to even think about
00:15:58.69\00:16:01.34
because in our American history
and in our world history classes
00:16:01.37\00:16:06.84
we're always taught
that David Livingston
00:16:06.87\00:16:08.52
walked all the way
through, everywhere in Africa
00:16:08.55\00:16:10.81
and that he took
care of all of it and --
00:16:10.84\00:16:14.78
but they're still places there
today were you can walk in,
00:16:14.81\00:16:18.16
they never seen a white man.
00:16:18.19\00:16:19.90
Do they know about Jesus?
00:16:19.93\00:16:22.29
It was a real interesting place.
00:16:22.32\00:16:24.36
There's an Adventist
Church in that community,
00:16:24.39\00:16:26.55
little village of
about the 1,000 people.
00:16:26.58\00:16:29.25
We met under the trees
for our worship service.
00:16:29.28\00:16:31.53
Under the tree? Under the trees.
00:16:31.56\00:16:32.96
Well, how long is this--
this is a brand new church then.
00:16:32.99\00:16:35.33
The church is been there for
-- from the apparent discussions
00:16:35.36\00:16:40.39
we had, maybe 20, 30 years.
00:16:40.42\00:16:42.75
Wow, still under tree.
Still meeting under tree.
00:16:42.78\00:16:45.52
The man that was
just up on the screen
00:16:45.55\00:16:47.04
and the elder stood up
00:16:47.07\00:16:50.00
and this is actually
a picture of the trees
00:16:50.03\00:16:52.84
but this elder
stood when we were--
00:16:52.87\00:16:54.40
The green shirted guy.
00:16:54.43\00:16:55.46
Yeah, when we were
having this little discussion,
00:16:55.49\00:16:57.82
this council with the leaders
00:16:57.85\00:17:00.43
and we asked are there
any questions you have for us.
00:17:00.46\00:17:03.12
And he's stood upon and he said,
00:17:03.15\00:17:04.82
the Baptist come
to build a church.
00:17:04.85\00:17:07.04
The Catholics
come to build a church.
00:17:07.07\00:17:08.83
You've been here
longer than any of them
00:17:08.86\00:17:12.00
and you still
haven't built the church.
00:17:12.03\00:17:13.52
If you build a church,
we take you more seriously.
00:17:13.55\00:17:16.90
What was great is there
stands, the country coordinator
00:17:16.93\00:17:20.81
who's in charge of
coordinating building
00:17:20.84\00:17:24.15
David Lopez, who
is a project manager,
00:17:24.18\00:17:27.15
a project coordinator from here
and the conference president.
00:17:27.18\00:17:30.75
And so the country
coordinator turns to Daivd,
00:17:30.78\00:17:33.51
Daivd turns to the
conference president
00:17:33.54\00:17:35.32
and he says to the
conference president,
00:17:35.35\00:17:37.24
Maranatha builds
where things are requested.
00:17:37.27\00:17:39.92
So if we're gonna
build in this community
00:17:39.95\00:17:41.34
you would have
to make a request.
00:17:41.37\00:17:43.41
Would you like
there to be a church here?
00:17:43.44\00:17:44.90
Well, to which the
president said absolutely.
00:17:44.93\00:17:47.38
And the chief responded,
if you build a church here
00:17:47.41\00:17:50.86
I'll go to that
church because the Adventist
00:17:50.89\00:17:54.11
who lived in that
village had paved the way
00:17:54.14\00:17:57.31
in the
relationship with that chief.
00:17:57.34\00:18:00.37
Wow.
00:18:00.40\00:18:02.54
That is just
one strong testimony
00:18:02.57\00:18:04.85
for the value of
what we're doing there.
00:18:04.88\00:18:06.29
Absolutely, absolutely.
00:18:06.32\00:18:07.89
Take me to what you think
00:18:07.92\00:18:08.95
the school is gonna
do for the community.
00:18:08.98\00:18:12.74
This school, 12
buildings, would--
00:18:12.77\00:18:16.09
could today hold 400 students.
00:18:16.12\00:18:19.84
The vision from
the mission president
00:18:19.87\00:18:22.85
is to start with
the primary school,
00:18:22.88\00:18:25.24
go on to a secondary school.
00:18:25.27\00:18:27.04
And more building. And
eventually build a college.
00:18:27.07\00:18:29.96
Wow.
00:18:29.99\00:18:31.02
Because in his understanding
00:18:31.05\00:18:32.68
and the way he sees
00:18:32.71\00:18:34.51
children progress
through Adventist education.
00:18:34.54\00:18:36.57
Now this is the only
school in Northern Ghana
00:18:36.60\00:18:39.03
that would be solely owned
and solely mend by Adventist.
00:18:39.06\00:18:42.45
All the others that
our Adventist schools
00:18:42.48\00:18:44.97
are owned by the church
00:18:45.00\00:18:46.58
but the government
provides the teachers.
00:18:46.61\00:18:50.10
So you have teachers
of all sorts of faith
00:18:50.13\00:18:52.02
in these schools and so it
makes things very complicated.
00:18:52.05\00:18:55.54
So this is going to be
a private Adventist school
00:18:55.57\00:18:59.70
and its probably
gonna stand for 50 years.
00:18:59.73\00:19:03.10
Yeah.
00:19:03.13\00:19:04.16
So imagine, 50 years of students
00:19:04.19\00:19:06.19
coming through that
school, its generational impact.
00:19:06.22\00:19:09.99
If the country of Ghana
currently has the words,
00:19:10.02\00:19:14.35
the estimate
that was given to me
00:19:14.38\00:19:15.80
was about 40% of the leadership
00:19:15.83\00:19:18.04
that graduated from
Valley View University in Accra.
00:19:18.07\00:19:21.55
Which is an
Adventist University.
00:19:21.58\00:19:23.87
So this church already
00:19:23.90\00:19:25.87
has a huge
impact in the community.
00:19:25.90\00:19:28.84
All the way across the country
there is no question, yeah.
00:19:28.87\00:19:31.80
And for the
Muslim portion of Ghana
00:19:31.83\00:19:34.26
where they, they
really value education
00:19:34.29\00:19:36.48
to have this
Adventist educational center.
00:19:36.51\00:19:39.44
I just, I look at it and say,
00:19:39.47\00:19:40.89
you can't build
better legacies than this,
00:19:40.92\00:19:42.94
you can't leave
better legacies than this.
00:19:42.97\00:19:44.95
Thanks for coming.
00:19:44.98\00:19:46.40
Thanks for going and
thanks for looking towards
00:19:46.43\00:19:50.72
whatever it is God
has planning for you next.
00:19:50.75\00:19:53.80
Amen. That's exciting.
00:19:53.83\00:19:55.83
I love your Maranatha
tag line, "we build people."
00:19:55.86\00:19:59.95
Yeah.
00:19:59.98\00:20:01.01
I think that's
what happened to us.
00:20:01.04\00:20:02.45
Very, very true. We love it.
00:20:02.48\00:20:04.25
You like that?
00:20:04.28\00:20:05.54
That's what Maranatha is
all about, building people.
00:20:05.57\00:20:09.26
Why we build builders?
What are you doing next week?
00:20:09.29\00:20:42.99
If you don't have plans
maybe you can head on over
00:20:43.02\00:20:45.70
to Blue Mountain
Academy in Pennsylvania
00:20:45.73\00:20:47.78
for a Maranatha Mission Project.
00:20:47.81\00:20:50.01
From April 20 to May 4
00:20:50.04\00:20:52.08
we need more
volunteers to help us
00:20:52.11\00:20:53.83
replace roofs and windows
00:20:53.86\00:20:55.57
and rebuild a
wall on the campus.
00:20:55.60\00:20:57.76
We'll also be doing
some panting and landscaping.
00:20:57.79\00:21:00.60
No experience is necessary,
we'll teach you everything
00:21:00.63\00:21:03.82
you need to know
to be of service.
00:21:03.85\00:21:05.95
Then in June another
school needs our help,
00:21:05.98\00:21:09.02
Sierra View Junior
Academy in California
00:21:09.05\00:21:11.40
need some renovation work
00:21:11.43\00:21:13.12
and Maranatha is
recruiting volunteers.
00:21:13.15\00:21:15.69
We'll be putting
up a chain link fence
00:21:15.72\00:21:17.75
completing block work on a wall
and painting some buildings.
00:21:17.78\00:21:21.30
Sierra View Junior Academy
00:21:21.33\00:21:23.08
is located at the base of
the Sierra Nevada Foothills
00:21:23.11\00:21:26.06
in the middle of California's
Agricultural Valley.
00:21:26.09\00:21:29.75
Lodging and meals are provided
00:21:29.78\00:21:31.37
for both of these school
projects in North America.
00:21:31.40\00:21:34.29
If you're
interested in learning more
00:21:34.32\00:21:35.97
be sure to check out
00:21:36.00\00:21:37.03
our project
calendar @maranath.org.
00:21:37.06\00:21:41.12
The key word on each Maranatha
Mission Trip is flexibility.
00:21:41.15\00:21:45.77
No, there will be surprises.
00:21:45.80\00:21:47.63
The hotel will
cancel your reservations.
00:21:47.66\00:21:49.78
The airline, it'll be on strike.
00:21:49.81\00:21:52.36
The blocks, they will
not be the quality you need.
00:21:52.39\00:21:54.51
The oven timer won't work
and there will be no lettuce.
00:21:54.54\00:21:59.69
We'll need to
deal with surprises,
00:21:59.72\00:22:01.76
is right at the top
00:22:01.79\00:22:03.71
of the learning
moments on our trips.
00:22:03.74\00:22:06.44
I think it's a lot like walking
through Palestine with Jesus.
00:22:06.47\00:22:10.41
One day after a
long conversation
00:22:10.44\00:22:13.20
with thousands of people on
the side of hill in Galilee,
00:22:13.23\00:22:16.26
Jesus turned to
His disciples and said,
00:22:16.29\00:22:19.25
guys, please feed the
people, they're hungry.
00:22:19.28\00:22:23.59
I think Jesus was teaching
them how to deal with surprises.
00:22:23.62\00:22:28.38
And watch that
happened on missions trips.
00:22:28.41\00:22:30.54
Suddenly there are 20 more
meals to feeding yesterday.
00:22:30.57\00:22:34.19
Oh, it's the
Maranatha local workers,
00:22:34.22\00:22:36.03
dignitaries and just playing
hungry folks would come by.
00:22:36.06\00:22:39.67
Time and again
I've watched volunteer
00:22:39.70\00:22:42.54
cooks, smile, greet the guest,
00:22:42.57\00:22:45.56
ask someone to set
more places at the table
00:22:45.59\00:22:48.86
and then the cook goes back
00:22:48.89\00:22:49.99
behind the steaming
door and performs a miracle.
00:22:50.02\00:22:54.52
Often I think back
to the hard afternoon
00:22:54.55\00:22:57.51
when Jesus and His followers
00:22:57.54\00:22:59.44
walked to
Jacob's well in Samaria.
00:22:59.47\00:23:03.68
The team trudged on
into town to get some food
00:23:03.71\00:23:07.46
but Jesus He
chose to just collapse
00:23:07.49\00:23:10.20
in patch of
shade beside the well.
00:23:10.23\00:23:13.25
There was a woman
there and He asker her
00:23:13.28\00:23:15.74
if she would draw some
water for Him from the well.
00:23:15.77\00:23:20.21
You know, the result
of that surprise request
00:23:20.24\00:23:22.57
is one of the most
loved moments in scriptures.
00:23:22.60\00:23:25.80
A story that
includes Jesus promising
00:23:25.83\00:23:29.67
that if we drink
from His water of life,
00:23:29.70\00:23:33.29
we will never thirst.
00:23:33.32\00:23:36.13
Now the woman was dumb founded
disbelieving and surprised.
00:23:36.16\00:23:43.97
On one of our
trips, my wife Brenda
00:23:44.00\00:23:46.34
were given a motel room
with in suite toilet facilities
00:23:46.37\00:23:51.02
and sense the weather
was blistering hot and humid.
00:23:51.05\00:23:54.72
We were eagerly
looking forward to a shower,
00:23:54.75\00:23:56.74
even a cold shower.
00:23:56.77\00:23:58.89
However, when we
pulled back the shower curtain
00:23:58.92\00:24:01.22
we were surprised
by two plastic buckets
00:24:01.25\00:24:04.40
and a great big
dipper and no water.
00:24:04.43\00:24:08.24
Oh, the water
comes on once in a while
00:24:08.27\00:24:11.24
when the government
thinks we may need it
00:24:11.27\00:24:13.02
and I can't put
the water into the tank
00:24:13.05\00:24:15.23
at the same
time you are using it
00:24:15.26\00:24:16.87
and you may have to be
ready to catch the drips just
00:24:16.90\00:24:20.18
whenever we get it
running, flexibility.
00:24:20.21\00:24:24.15
When I speak about Maranatha
00:24:24.18\00:24:25.46
with high school
or college students
00:24:25.49\00:24:27.47
I always provide
considerable time for questions.
00:24:27.50\00:24:30.28
The first question is always,
where do you go to the bathroom?
00:24:30.31\00:24:33.54
And that makes
with the local poor,
00:24:33.57\00:24:35.64
so I tell them
about nice hotels,
00:24:35.67\00:24:37.61
the perfect western toilets
and the long drop dunnies
00:24:37.64\00:24:41.01
and then I tell them
about the church building
00:24:41.04\00:24:42.82
and well drilling
project in Mozambique.
00:24:42.85\00:24:45.88
Well, the outhouse was a
hole with the reed wall, no it's
00:24:45.91\00:24:51.36
fine. Trouble was the reed wall
was less than four feet tall,
00:24:51.39\00:24:54.73
surprises and flexibility.
00:24:54.76\00:24:58.47
Surprises, like walking
through a market in Ecuador
00:24:58.50\00:25:01.79
and ran into my great friend,
00:25:01.82\00:25:04.04
president of the
Nebraska Conference.
00:25:04.07\00:25:06.55
Surprises, like
visiting a vacation Bible school
00:25:06.58\00:25:09.65
at a tiny town
hanging off an Indian cliff
00:25:09.68\00:25:13.70
and discovering
a college classmate
00:25:13.73\00:25:16.58
who had joined his daughter
00:25:16.61\00:25:18.27
on this mission trip
hoping to find Christ again.
00:25:18.30\00:25:22.88
The Tamale school was
filled with surprises.
00:25:22.91\00:25:27.73
School end was half
the size that was promised.
00:25:27.76\00:25:30.71
The market had
lettuce only once.
00:25:30.74\00:25:33.55
The nights where some
times harder then the days.
00:25:33.58\00:25:36.45
The local people who had first
00:25:36.48\00:25:37.98
were totally
terrified of the visitors,
00:25:38.01\00:25:40.56
quickly became best friends.
00:25:40.59\00:25:42.96
Surprises, you bet.
00:25:42.99\00:25:45.35
Flexibility? Yes, sir.
00:25:45.38\00:25:47.90
God's blessings, always.
00:25:47.93\00:25:51.40
Like traveling
through the world with Jesus.
00:25:51.43\00:25:56.34
A question that
we get asked a lot
00:25:56.37\00:25:57.92
here in Maranatha is who
pays for all the churches
00:25:57.95\00:26:01.13
that Maranatha builds?
00:26:01.16\00:26:02.95
The truth is many
people around the world
00:26:02.98\00:26:05.17
provide funds to build
urgently needed churches.
00:26:05.20\00:26:08.20
All of them gave
us if they are able
00:26:08.23\00:26:10.16
and no gift is
considered too small.
00:26:10.19\00:26:12.75
In fact, one of the
most important programs
00:26:12.78\00:26:14.98
we have is
called the $10 Church.
00:26:15.01\00:26:17.64
It's simple really
as it invites people
00:26:17.67\00:26:19.74
to get $10 each month
to help build churches.
00:26:19.77\00:26:23.05
Ten dollars is not a
large amount of money
00:26:23.08\00:26:24.84
in today's economy,
00:26:24.87\00:26:26.47
it might buy you a small
pizza or a paperback book.
00:26:26.50\00:26:30.54
But $10 can be powerfully
used to build a church.
00:26:30.57\00:26:34.38
By itself it might pay
for several concrete blocks.
00:26:34.41\00:26:37.90
But added together with $10
from thousand of other people
00:26:37.93\00:26:41.31
and your $10 can
have real impact.
00:26:41.34\00:26:44.61
Over the course of many months,
00:26:44.64\00:26:46.28
great things can come
from a regular donation of $10.
00:26:46.31\00:26:49.90
In fact, Maranatha
builds many churches
00:26:49.93\00:26:52.00
each year through this program.
00:26:52.03\00:26:54.46
Ten dollars is an affordable
amount for most people.
00:26:54.49\00:26:57.43
By itself, a $10
donation cannot build a church
00:26:57.46\00:27:00.60
but when combined
with the donations
00:27:00.63\00:27:02.18
of many others it
can go out long ways.
00:27:02.21\00:27:05.91
Some people chose
to send $10 each month,
00:27:05.94\00:27:08.59
others send one check for a
$120 for once during the year.
00:27:08.62\00:27:12.87
I'd like to invite you
to join the $10 church team.
00:27:12.90\00:27:15.88
With your help we can
build more churches each month.
00:27:15.91\00:27:18.76
Sign up today at
maranatha.org or call our office
00:27:18.79\00:27:22.21
and ask to join
the $10 Church Program.
00:27:22.24\00:27:26.16
Thanks for joining us today
on Maranatha Mission Stories.
00:27:26.19\00:27:29.01
As you know our program
00:27:29.04\00:27:31.00
feature stories
of spiritual heroism
00:27:31.03\00:27:33.81
in the midst of
answering God's call
00:27:33.84\00:27:36.47
to share the
gospel around the world.
00:27:36.50\00:27:39.00
This week, Ghana, next
week wherever God leads.
00:27:39.03\00:27:45.22
I'm Dick Duerksen
and I'm looking forward
00:27:45.25\00:27:46.89
to next week with you on
Maranatha Mission Stories.
00:27:46.92\00:27:50.86