Participants: Dick Duerksen
Series Code: MMS
Program Code: MMS004084
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00:01 Hello, this is the Maranatha Minute.
00:02 In late March, 00:03 more than 80 members of the Multiple Group team 00:06 wrapped up a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. 00:09 This unique group, 00:10 built two churches from the ground up, 00:13 painted two other churches and ran a medial clinic 00:16 where volunteers learned how to extract teeth. 00:18 The team also donated 00:20 a collection of baseball equipment to a local coach 00:23 who teaches sports to community children. 00:26 The Multiple Group Project 00:28 gathered small teams of volunteers 00:30 who don't quiet have the numbers 00:31 for an entire mission trip of their own. 00:34 This year's group mostly came from California. 00:37 While they were many individual volunteers, 00:39 the majority were teenagers from various academies 00:42 or church groups. 00:45 Look for photos from our most recent mission trips 00:47 by liking our Maranatha Facebook page. 00:50 Go to maranatha.org/facebook. 00:53 Coming up, we go to the northern part of Ghana 00:55 where volunteers meet a tribal chief 00:57 and his village in need of a church. 01:17 Welcome to Maranatha Mission Stories. 01:20 I'm your host Dick Duerksen and today, 01:22 we're headed out on a genuine African mission adventure. 01:27 Take a map of Africa, go down the west side 01:30 and just below the bump you'll find Ghana. 01:33 Now going Ghana and go to the far north eastern corner 01:38 and somewhere up there you'll find the town of Tamale. 01:43 The chief has offered land, 01:45 the church has agreed to hire teachers 01:48 and Tamale has asked for a school. 01:51 Now if you live in California, 01:53 it will take you about 30 hours to get to Tamale. 01:57 Are you ready? Let's go. 02:04 Twenty seven people from all regions of North America 02:07 arrived as Maranatha volunteers to Tamale, Ghana, 02:11 to construct a 12 classroom elementary school. 02:15 The population of Tamale is 500,000, 02:18 90% of which are Muslim. 02:22 My name is Jean Ellis, I'm from Wale, Colorado, 02:25 and this is my first mission trip. 02:27 This project I think, 02:29 educating the children of the community 02:32 is gonna be huge for giving them the opportunities 02:37 that they don't have without that education. 02:40 I think that, you know, 02:43 we were walking through the village yesterday 02:45 and I saw just a little baby sitting on the dirt with-- 02:51 I think he probably had just a diaper on in and that was it 02:55 and he was just chewing on a dirty poppy pod and, 03:00 you know, giving that little boy an opportunity 03:06 to be educated is gonna be just huge in his life 03:10 and any other little child in his trinity 03:14 having that opportunity could change their lives 03:17 and could change, you know, 03:18 numerous lives down with the road 03:20 and who knows what the outcome could be. 03:26 In this region of Ghana, 03:27 land is still owned and operated by local village chiefs. 03:32 The land had been donated by the chiefs to church members 03:35 for the construction of a school. 03:39 These classrooms were constructed 03:41 by Maranatha volunteers of all age groups 03:44 and levels of expertise. 03:46 Locals from surrounding villages 03:48 also helped to work on this project, 03:50 which gave volunteers many great opportunities 03:53 to get to know local culture and create friendships. 03:58 One of the things on this trip 03:59 that really changed my prospective on Africa 04:01 because this is the first time that I went to Africa 04:04 was the genuine friendliness and welcoming 04:08 that even though peoples that live here can't speak English, 04:12 at least most of them and I certainly can't speak 04:15 their language but they were just as, 04:18 as warm and welcoming as going to a picnic 04:21 in the summer time and you meet your cousins 04:24 that you haven't met in eight or ten years 04:26 and you're just family. 04:28 And it was a wonderful kind of thing 04:30 to come to a place at work to build the school 04:33 and have those kinds of nationals 04:37 that lived around us and work with us. 04:41 These schools will give surrounding villages 04:44 an opportunity for a Christian education 04:46 that they may have never had otherwise. 04:50 On Sabbath, Maranatha volunteers 04:52 have the opportunity of visiting local churches. 04:56 They were blessed by the worship they experienced. 04:59 Volunteers had the privilege of visiting local villages 05:03 giving them a chance to see how local people live. 05:06 They also brought along 05:07 clothing and food to pass out to families. 05:10 On Sabbath the first day-- 05:12 the second day that we were here in Tamale, 05:14 we went to a village where a lot of the people 05:16 had never even seen a white person 05:19 or white skinned person. 05:20 And I brought a bag of balloons for the kids 05:24 and watching their faces when they-- 05:27 as I blew up these balloons and tied them off for them, 05:31 it was just incredible because they had never seen 05:35 anything like that, let alone, you know, white blonde woman. 05:41 That you know, they were trying to get over, 05:47 just seeing now for the first time 05:49 the balloon is very colorful thing coming out them 05:52 and get being able to play with that. 05:53 So that was pretty amazing when you think that you know, 05:58 these kids we had balloons all the time 06:01 and knew exactly what they were and so-- 06:08 The volunteers didn't expected 06:10 and were surprised to spread the message of Jesus 06:12 in different villages through children's ministries. 06:20 Hundreds of children would attend each ministry 06:23 and would hear stories, sing songs 06:25 and do activities all in Jesus name. 06:30 I see these schools-- the school rooms actually 06:33 and the Christian teachers that will be here 06:35 having a tremendous impact in this community. 06:38 I was talking with one of the nationals here 06:42 just within the last couple of days 06:44 and he was estimating-- 06:45 he's a local businessman and I said, 06:48 what would be your best guess at the number of children 06:52 that would come to these classrooms 06:55 over the next year or decades for that matter 06:59 that would be Christians 07:01 or Seventh-day Adventist Christians? 07:04 And he said, I would say 07:08 we're expecting over 70% of the students that come here 07:13 that really don't have any Christian background, 07:16 certainly not with Seventh-day Adventist. 07:18 And so I see that is a, just an exciting possibility 07:22 of really educating young children 07:25 and eventually maybe on into high school 07:28 here at this school in Tamale. 07:34 When the mission trip came to an end, 07:36 12 buildings stood. 07:38 These buildings will soon impact the lives of many children 07:42 and families by giving them an opportunity to learn 07:45 and expand their horizons like never before. 07:51 If something that changed my prospective 07:53 in coming on this trip is, 07:55 I've always naturally been a very high strong 07:58 kind of very driven person in work 08:02 and personal life and everything 08:04 and I just kind of learned by seeing the people here and-- 08:11 the way they live and everything that not 08:13 everything is all that important 08:15 and then you kind of just take a breather once in a while 08:18 and you know, look at the sky 08:21 and just appreciate what you have. 08:25 Thanks to these Maranatha volunteers. 08:27 There will be 40 children in each classroom 08:30 growing in a way that will change not just their own path 08:34 but the way of life in their communities. 08:38 I think two week mission trips really give an individual 08:42 an opportunity to stretch themselves 08:45 whether they are skilled in the building trades or not, 08:49 but to volunteer with other people 08:52 that are willing to put forth a lot of energy 08:55 and focus and give and take in the variety of people 08:59 that come and make up a team 09:02 to construct these schools or churches. 09:04 And I think that's just a great way of doing that. 09:07 It's a spiritual enlightenment when we meet 09:11 people from other cultures 09:13 as well as the opportunity to know. 09:14 When you get done with this project-- 09:17 really the generations of children that will come after 09:21 and be blessed here 09:23 that to me is really an exciting prospective to have. 09:32 This trip not only changed the lives of those in Tamale, 09:35 but also changed to something 09:37 in each of the volunteers that came as well. 09:46 I would definitely do another mission trip. 09:48 I think it is an very fulfilling experience. 09:55 You know, you just don't understand 09:58 how much it affects your prospective 10:02 and you know, I in these two weeks have had 10:06 just a total paradigm shifts and that-- 10:12 I just can't even begin to explain 10:14 how amazing it is 10:17 and how my total way of thinking, 10:22 looking at the world is different. 10:26 One of things I really appreciate about Maranatha 10:29 is that on all our open team projects, 10:31 we provided chaplain pastor to kind of provide 10:34 a spiritual foundation for the whole trip and to-- 10:39 to help everybody who goes 10:41 get the most possible out of their experience. 10:44 Well, our pastoral team on the Tamale trip in Ghana 10:49 is Pastor Walt and Brenda Groff. 10:53 I'm so glad you went. 10:55 Brenda, you work in technology 10:57 at Adventist Health, right? Yes. 10:59 And, Walt, you are the pastor 11:01 of the Rocklin Gracepoint Church in Sacramento 11:06 but you're also ministerial director 11:08 for the Northern California Conference. 11:09 Correct. 11:11 Before I see any other pictures 11:13 I want to ask you one very simple question. 11:16 What is your emotional response to the experience today 11:20 after you've been home for a week? 11:23 Well, sorting it off through it's a little overwhelming 11:27 at the same time it creates a new foundation 11:31 for the way you look at life. 11:33 Sad enough that's an emotional now 11:34 but that's really what it is at present. 11:37 Is that same for you, Brenda? 11:39 Yeah, I think so. 11:40 It truly has opened my eyes to not what I can do for God, 11:46 but when you make yourself available, 11:47 what amazing things God does 11:50 and that paradigm shift is. 11:53 You took your iPhone to take pictures 11:54 but Brenda you took a camera. 11:56 Yes. And I love your pictures. 11:58 So I need you to walk me through some of these. 12:01 This picture of the two little boys, 12:04 I can't even see their faces but it just says to me, 12:07 adopt these kids bring them home. 12:09 Yes, we thought that several times. 12:12 We weren't able to come home with them 12:13 but that was one of the most overwhelming things 12:16 and when you go into the villages 12:17 to be swarmed by that, 12:19 see the beautiful faces and-- 12:21 But you were always swarmed like this village 12:25 and this is a typical village where you were right, 12:27 there is nothing really-- 12:29 this wasn't built just for tourist to come and look at. 12:32 This is not a Hollywood set. 12:35 So the children come and peaking around and they see you. 12:39 And they cry. And they cry? 12:45 All it took was one glance and they burst into tears. 12:47 Oh, you were telling me about one who hid behind mom. 12:50 Yep. 12:51 Hey there was a little boy 12:52 who-- he would hide behind his mother 12:54 and look out and cry and go back behind his mom 12:57 and look out and cry 12:59 and this happened three or four times 13:00 and I finally just decided to disengage 13:01 because I don't like making children cry. 13:04 But you managed to change that. 13:07 You didn't leave any of those villages 13:09 with the bunch of crying, terrified children. 13:11 No. 13:12 I think we left engaged connected in a different way. 13:18 On the way out of the same village, 13:20 this village is Kanbaku 13:22 and on the way out of this village 13:23 where the chief said they'd never been 13:25 occasional white person in the history of village. 13:28 I was walking out of the path toward the vehicles to leave 13:32 and I feel something touching my hand 13:34 and I look down and it's a little boy. 13:36 And then I feel something touching my other hand 13:37 and I look down and it's another little boy. 13:39 Hence I walked the rest way out of the village 13:41 hand in hand with these little two guys. 13:43 Who said to you? 13:44 Oh, just-- just warms your heart. 13:46 It just touches you in ways that you know, 13:49 you know you're building a relationship 13:50 that you don't share language, 13:52 you don't share common backgrounds 13:54 and everything almost any way 13:55 except that you are two human beings connected. 14:00 Brenda, tell me about this lady. 14:03 When we first arrived in the village, 14:05 of course we were greeted by these children 14:07 who were following our cars in swarms just surrounding us, 14:11 could barely open the doors to get out. 14:13 And first they wanted to us 14:15 to come and meet the elders and the chief 14:17 and talk with them a little bit 14:18 and so they escorted us to this particular area 14:21 and while we were waiting for them 14:22 to get organized et cetera, 14:25 of course we were taking pictures 14:26 and I caught this lady out of the corner of my eye, 14:30 she was just standing there glancing at us 14:31 and I made eye contact with her and said, 14:35 you know, through my visual expression 14:37 can I take your picture 14:39 and she was quiet please, so she poised herself 14:42 and I took this lovely picture of her 14:45 and to me it resonated the kindness 14:49 and graciousness that was in her heart. 14:51 And that we encountered 14:52 so many times on this particular trip 14:55 it was-- it was pretty neat. 14:57 I don't think we met a single person 14:58 who is ever unkind or unwelcoming. 15:01 The standard greeting was you're welcome 15:05 which is the end of the sentence for us 15:06 but it's an introduction for them. 15:07 But it's the beginning, if you're welcome in my home. 15:09 You're welcome, yes. 15:10 Tell me about their homes, that we saw the picture 15:13 you know of the clay houses. 15:15 There's lots of variety in the town and the cities. 15:18 The compounds in the villages were pretty amazing. 15:22 Tell me about the chief 15:24 and I want to look up here at this picture again. 15:27 The chief is the guy on the ground? 15:29 No, he's the guy in the white. 15:30 Okay, fellow in the white, all right. 15:33 But the fellow on the ground in green, 15:35 what is his job? So do the talking chief. 15:37 He's the one who spoke with you, 15:38 the other one spoke to him. 15:39 Okay, so he's the mouthpiece? 15:41 Right, chief never speaks directly to you. 15:44 And this was the chief who told us 15:46 that this village was had never had 15:48 occasional white person in before. 15:50 Wow. 15:51 And so it was a fun experience. 15:54 It was our first tribal council. 15:58 You know, that's just kind of weird to even think about 16:01 because in our American history and in our world history classes 16:06 we're always taught that David Livingston 16:08 walked all the way through, everywhere in Africa 16:10 and that he took care of all of it and -- 16:14 but they're still places there today were you can walk in, 16:18 they never seen a white man. 16:19 Do they know about Jesus? 16:22 It was a real interesting place. 16:24 There's an Adventist Church in that community, 16:26 little village of about the 1,000 people. 16:29 We met under the trees for our worship service. 16:31 Under the tree? Under the trees. 16:32 Well, how long is this-- this is a brand new church then. 16:35 The church is been there for -- from the apparent discussions 16:40 we had, maybe 20, 30 years. 16:42 Wow, still under tree. Still meeting under tree. 16:45 The man that was just up on the screen 16:47 and the elder stood up 16:50 and this is actually a picture of the trees 16:52 but this elder stood when we were-- 16:54 The green shirted guy. 16:55 Yeah, when we were having this little discussion, 16:57 this council with the leaders 17:00 and we asked are there any questions you have for us. 17:03 And he's stood upon and he said, 17:04 the Baptist come to build a church. 17:07 The Catholics come to build a church. 17:08 You've been here longer than any of them 17:12 and you still haven't built the church. 17:13 If you build a church, we take you more seriously. 17:16 What was great is there stands, the country coordinator 17:20 who's in charge of coordinating building 17:24 David Lopez, who is a project manager, 17:27 a project coordinator from here and the conference president. 17:30 And so the country coordinator turns to Daivd, 17:33 Daivd turns to the conference president 17:35 and he says to the conference president, 17:37 Maranatha builds where things are requested. 17:39 So if we're gonna build in this community 17:41 you would have to make a request. 17:43 Would you like there to be a church here? 17:44 Well, to which the president said absolutely. 17:47 And the chief responded, if you build a church here 17:50 I'll go to that church because the Adventist 17:54 who lived in that village had paved the way 17:57 in the relationship with that chief. 18:00 Wow. 18:02 That is just one strong testimony 18:04 for the value of what we're doing there. 18:06 Absolutely, absolutely. 18:07 Take me to what you think 18:08 the school is gonna do for the community. 18:12 This school, 12 buildings, would-- 18:16 could today hold 400 students. 18:19 The vision from the mission president 18:22 is to start with the primary school, 18:25 go on to a secondary school. 18:27 And more building. And eventually build a college. 18:29 Wow. 18:31 Because in his understanding 18:32 and the way he sees 18:34 children progress through Adventist education. 18:36 Now this is the only school in Northern Ghana 18:39 that would be solely owned and solely mend by Adventist. 18:42 All the others that our Adventist schools 18:45 are owned by the church 18:46 but the government provides the teachers. 18:50 So you have teachers of all sorts of faith 18:52 in these schools and so it makes things very complicated. 18:55 So this is going to be a private Adventist school 18:59 and its probably gonna stand for 50 years. 19:03 Yeah. 19:04 So imagine, 50 years of students 19:06 coming through that school, its generational impact. 19:10 If the country of Ghana currently has the words, 19:14 the estimate that was given to me 19:15 was about 40% of the leadership 19:18 that graduated from Valley View University in Accra. 19:21 Which is an Adventist University. 19:23 So this church already 19:25 has a huge impact in the community. 19:28 All the way across the country there is no question, yeah. 19:31 And for the Muslim portion of Ghana 19:34 where they, they really value education 19:36 to have this Adventist educational center. 19:39 I just, I look at it and say, 19:40 you can't build better legacies than this, 19:42 you can't leave better legacies than this. 19:44 Thanks for coming. 19:46 Thanks for going and thanks for looking towards 19:50 whatever it is God has planning for you next. 19:53 Amen. That's exciting. 19:55 I love your Maranatha tag line, "we build people." 19:59 Yeah. 20:01 I think that's what happened to us. 20:02 Very, very true. We love it. 20:04 You like that? 20:05 That's what Maranatha is all about, building people. 20:09 Why we build builders? What are you doing next week? 20:43 If you don't have plans maybe you can head on over 20:45 to Blue Mountain Academy in Pennsylvania 20:47 for a Maranatha Mission Project. 20:50 From April 20 to May 4 20:52 we need more volunteers to help us 20:53 replace roofs and windows 20:55 and rebuild a wall on the campus. 20:57 We'll also be doing some panting and landscaping. 21:00 No experience is necessary, we'll teach you everything 21:03 you need to know to be of service. 21:05 Then in June another school needs our help, 21:09 Sierra View Junior Academy in California 21:11 need some renovation work 21:13 and Maranatha is recruiting volunteers. 21:15 We'll be putting up a chain link fence 21:17 completing block work on a wall and painting some buildings. 21:21 Sierra View Junior Academy 21:23 is located at the base of the Sierra Nevada Foothills 21:26 in the middle of California's Agricultural Valley. 21:29 Lodging and meals are provided 21:31 for both of these school projects in North America. 21:34 If you're interested in learning more 21:36 be sure to check out 21:37 our project calendar @maranath.org. 21:41 The key word on each Maranatha Mission Trip is flexibility. 21:45 No, there will be surprises. 21:47 The hotel will cancel your reservations. 21:49 The airline, it'll be on strike. 21:52 The blocks, they will not be the quality you need. 21:54 The oven timer won't work and there will be no lettuce. 21:59 We'll need to deal with surprises, 22:01 is right at the top 22:03 of the learning moments on our trips. 22:06 I think it's a lot like walking through Palestine with Jesus. 22:10 One day after a long conversation 22:13 with thousands of people on the side of hill in Galilee, 22:16 Jesus turned to His disciples and said, 22:19 guys, please feed the people, they're hungry. 22:23 I think Jesus was teaching them how to deal with surprises. 22:28 And watch that happened on missions trips. 22:30 Suddenly there are 20 more meals to feeding yesterday. 22:34 Oh, it's the Maranatha local workers, 22:36 dignitaries and just playing hungry folks would come by. 22:39 Time and again I've watched volunteer 22:42 cooks, smile, greet the guest, 22:45 ask someone to set more places at the table 22:48 and then the cook goes back 22:50 behind the steaming door and performs a miracle. 22:54 Often I think back to the hard afternoon 22:57 when Jesus and His followers 22:59 walked to Jacob's well in Samaria. 23:03 The team trudged on into town to get some food 23:07 but Jesus He chose to just collapse 23:10 in patch of shade beside the well. 23:13 There was a woman there and He asker her 23:15 if she would draw some water for Him from the well. 23:20 You know, the result of that surprise request 23:22 is one of the most loved moments in scriptures. 23:25 A story that includes Jesus promising 23:29 that if we drink from His water of life, 23:33 we will never thirst. 23:36 Now the woman was dumb founded disbelieving and surprised. 23:44 On one of our trips, my wife Brenda 23:46 were given a motel room with in suite toilet facilities 23:51 and sense the weather was blistering hot and humid. 23:54 We were eagerly looking forward to a shower, 23:56 even a cold shower. 23:58 However, when we pulled back the shower curtain 24:01 we were surprised by two plastic buckets 24:04 and a great big dipper and no water. 24:08 Oh, the water comes on once in a while 24:11 when the government thinks we may need it 24:13 and I can't put the water into the tank 24:15 at the same time you are using it 24:16 and you may have to be ready to catch the drips just 24:20 whenever we get it running, flexibility. 24:24 When I speak about Maranatha 24:25 with high school or college students 24:27 I always provide considerable time for questions. 24:30 The first question is always, where do you go to the bathroom? 24:33 And that makes with the local poor, 24:35 so I tell them about nice hotels, 24:37 the perfect western toilets and the long drop dunnies 24:41 and then I tell them about the church building 24:42 and well drilling project in Mozambique. 24:45 Well, the outhouse was a hole with the reed wall, no it's 24:51 fine. Trouble was the reed wall was less than four feet tall, 24:54 surprises and flexibility. 24:58 Surprises, like walking through a market in Ecuador 25:01 and ran into my great friend, 25:04 president of the Nebraska Conference. 25:06 Surprises, like visiting a vacation Bible school 25:09 at a tiny town hanging off an Indian cliff 25:13 and discovering a college classmate 25:16 who had joined his daughter 25:18 on this mission trip hoping to find Christ again. 25:22 The Tamale school was filled with surprises. 25:27 School end was half the size that was promised. 25:30 The market had lettuce only once. 25:33 The nights where some times harder then the days. 25:36 The local people who had first 25:38 were totally terrified of the visitors, 25:40 quickly became best friends. 25:42 Surprises, you bet. 25:45 Flexibility? Yes, sir. 25:47 God's blessings, always. 25:51 Like traveling through the world with Jesus. 25:56 A question that we get asked a lot 25:57 here in Maranatha is who pays for all the churches 26:01 that Maranatha builds? 26:02 The truth is many people around the world 26:05 provide funds to build urgently needed churches. 26:08 All of them gave us if they are able 26:10 and no gift is considered too small. 26:12 In fact, one of the most important programs 26:15 we have is called the $10 Church. 26:17 It's simple really as it invites people 26:19 to get $10 each month to help build churches. 26:23 Ten dollars is not a large amount of money 26:24 in today's economy, 26:26 it might buy you a small pizza or a paperback book. 26:30 But $10 can be powerfully used to build a church. 26:34 By itself it might pay for several concrete blocks. 26:37 But added together with $10 from thousand of other people 26:41 and your $10 can have real impact. 26:44 Over the course of many months, 26:46 great things can come from a regular donation of $10. 26:49 In fact, Maranatha builds many churches 26:52 each year through this program. 26:54 Ten dollars is an affordable amount for most people. 26:57 By itself, a $10 donation cannot build a church 27:00 but when combined with the donations 27:02 of many others it can go out long ways. 27:05 Some people chose to send $10 each month, 27:08 others send one check for a $120 for once during the year. 27:12 I'd like to invite you to join the $10 church team. 27:15 With your help we can build more churches each month. 27:18 Sign up today at maranatha.org or call our office 27:22 and ask to join the $10 Church Program. 27:26 Thanks for joining us today on Maranatha Mission Stories. 27:29 As you know our program 27:31 feature stories of spiritual heroism 27:33 in the midst of answering God's call 27:36 to share the gospel around the world. 27:39 This week, Ghana, next week wherever God leads. 27:45 I'm Dick Duerksen and I'm looking forward 27:46 to next week with you on Maranatha Mission Stories. |
Revised 2014-12-17