Hi I'm Dustin Comm,
with the Maranatha Minute.
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More than two decades ago,
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the Indian state of Haryana
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had little to no
Seventh-day Adventist presence.
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There were no church members
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and only a few pastors
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scattered
throughout the entire region.
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Spreading God's love
here would be a challenge,
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but it was a top priority
for the Adventist Church.
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In 1998 and 99,
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Maranatha constructed
37 churches in Haryana
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in partnership with
Adventist Global Mission.
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Over time, these
buildings provided a base
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from which God's
love could be spread.
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By 2003, there were
nearly 2600 Adventists.
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Today there are more than 7750
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and from those
initial 37 churches
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built by Maranatha,
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96 additional congregations
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were formed
throughout the state.
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Church leadership in Haryana
recently thanked Maranatha
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for the blessings
that have now multiplied
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more than 20 years later.
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For more reports
on Maranatha's impact
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around the world,
go to our website.
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March,
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Maranatha's busiest
time of year for volunteers.
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Each year during the spring,
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hundreds of Maranatha volunteers
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pour into the mission field,
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it makes up half
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of Maranatha's total number
of volunteers for the year.
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March 2020 was
supposed to be the same.
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Maranatha had recently started
working in the country of Peru
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and expected
hundreds of volunteers
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to serve there as
well as other locations.
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But an extraordinary
event was developing
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that would soon
ground Maranatha volunteers
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and the rest of the world.
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A novel coronavirus
eventually known as COVID-19
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had begun to
spread around the globe
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infecting significant
portions of the population.
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This virus would
soon bring travel,
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commerce and life
itself to a standstill.
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Chris Webb is a high
school English teacher in Texas
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who was
preparing to lead a group
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of more than 70 volunteers
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from Burton Adventist Academy
on a mission trip to Peru.
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I think pretty early on,
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no one really knew
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how big of a deal this would be.
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No one really knew
that this was gonna like
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stop the world,
stop our country.
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The week leading up to the trip
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was a really
interesting one for us.
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We weren't really sure
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that we were going to be
able to pull it off or not.
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There was some
political concerns,
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there was some nervousness
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I think from our
school board justifiably so,
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that we could leave the country
that we could get back safely.
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You know there was issues
of if we were to get stranded,
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what that would look like.
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After carefully
weighing the risks,
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The Burton Group
decided to move forward
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with their mission trip
and safely departed for Peru.
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As time went on,
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the global response to COVID-19
was beginning to tighten.
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By mid-march,
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things were changing
on a day-to-day basis.
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On March 11,
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the President had
a press conference,
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in which he
restricted travel for people
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coming from Europe
to the United States
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and that really was a
change point for us in that.
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It started to make everybody
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in the United States think,
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okay, something's really
big and different happening here
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and it's going to shift
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whether or not
we're able to travel
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and so people started,
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our group leaders
started to re-evaluate,
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whether they should go out.
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It's really important to us
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that we make sure
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that our trips
are safe as possible
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for all our volunteers
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and so, as we were
looking at mission trips
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happening in the
lead up to COVID,
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we also evaluated,
are these trips safe?
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Are we putting
anybody at a necessary risk?
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And we use a
number of different ways
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to do that,
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but it was
paramount then as it is
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for every mission trip.
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We monitor a lot of information
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that comes from
safety organizations,
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from risk management
companies around the world,
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international
travel type organizations
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and we also rely on our
eyes and ears on the ground,
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so our employees,
all of our contacts
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within the church that
are getting information
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in a real-time
basis on the ground
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are sources for us
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as we determine
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whether a project is safe or not
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and we used all
of that information
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as much as we could
get to evaluate things
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as we were moving through March,
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it related to COVID.
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Groups were
really starting to wonder
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if they were
going to be able to go
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on their mission trip or not.
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And by mid-march,
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many of our trips
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had either
cancelled or postponed.
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Greg Hatch is a
veteran mission trip leader,
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having led more than
30 Maranatha projects
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over the years.
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In March 2020, he was evaluating
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whether his group
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from the West Houston
Seventh-day Adventist Church
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should continue
with their mission trip
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to the African
nation of Cote D'Ivoire.
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The night before we
were supposed to leave,
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we were leaving on a
Thursday kind of midday
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and getting there Friday night.
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My wife and I
were watching something
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and you know everything is done.
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we're just ready to go
all packed ready to go,
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and my phone just
started blowing up
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with text messages
from my niece, my dad,
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everybody on the trip
like have you heard the news?
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You've seen the news?
No, I haven't seen any news.
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I'm watching a game or something
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and that was the night
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that President Trump
came out with his proclamation
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that nobody can fly from
Europe to the United States
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which was a big problem for us
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because we were
flying through Europe
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to get to Cote D'Ivoire
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and then
returning through Europe
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when we were done with the trip.
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So there was about
a four-hour period,
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where Lisandro and myself
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were calling
literally everybody we knew,
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trying to figure
out what this meant.
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Did this mean we
couldn't go on the trip?
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And fortunately
later that night,
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you know it came out that
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yes, if you're a US citizen
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or if you're in
the country legally,
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you can get back in
through one of the 13 airports.
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But that was a
little tense four hours.
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So, at that
point we then you know
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we had to ask a group,
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"Hey do you all
still want to go?"
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And all through the
night, the replies kept coming,
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I'm in, I'm in.
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We're going. Let's do this.
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And we had 31 of the 39
who ended up deciding to go,
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so that was great.
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When we come back,
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The West Houston
group travels to Africa,
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while other Maranatha
groups make hard decisions,
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as the world
continues to tighten
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due to COVID-19.
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Are you wondering
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what is happening in
the world of missions
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during these unique times.
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Watch Mission Maranatha
for a comprehensive look
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at how God has been
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and continues to open doors
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for the mission
of Maranatha in 2020.
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Visit Maranatha.org
to watch the program
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in its entirety
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or pick an individual segment
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to watch and
share with a friend.
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You can also
watch this mission event
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on Maranatha's YouTube channel,
at youtube.com/missionstories.
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Bring the mission
field to your living room
00:07:56.04\00:07:57.74
by watching Mission Maranatha
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on the Maranatha
channel for Roku,
00:07:59.31\00:08:01.41
Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV
00:08:01.44\00:08:03.58
or download the
Maranatha channel
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on your iOS or android device.
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Stay connected to the mission.
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As the West Houston group
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safely made it to Cote D'Ivoire,
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travel
restrictions continued to mount
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and other Maranatha groups
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were forced to
make tough choices.
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A group from the
Gracepoint Adventist Church
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in California
decided to travel to Kenya,
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but ended up turning
around before they made it.
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Another group of volunteers
was already in Kenya serving
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at the Kajiado Adventist
School and Rescue Center.
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As airlines around the globe
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began to
announce cuts in service,
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some of the group moved up
their flights to leave early.
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The rest of the volunteers
departed a few days later.
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Back in Peru,
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Chris Webb's group was safe
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in the midst of a
successful project
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constructing a new building
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for the Huaycan R
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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I think that our mission
trip went amazingly well.
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We built the church
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and no one got hurt
other than sunburns.
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I think we were able
to see 1300 patients.
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Our medical people
were able to see that,
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you know, see some surgeries,
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we had people
handing out glasses
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and we had eye
doctors who were doing,
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you know, checks and all that.
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We were able to
take care of like
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a number of different locations
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as far as like
doing VBS programming.
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And meanwhile my wife and I
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were as we were
running the trip,
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we would kind of be traveling
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between the different work sites
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and uploading pictures
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and you know you
pull your phone out
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and you start seeing stuff like,
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okay, well you know, there,
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this school is now
being shut down indefinitely.
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These airports
you know it doesn't,
00:10:04.13\00:10:06.10
it doesn't look like
you're going to be able to like
00:10:06.13\00:10:07.50
travel through
this certain airport
00:10:07.54\00:10:09.67
or you know certain
countries and stuff like that
00:10:09.70\00:10:11.94
or you know the
number of cases in Texas
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and the number of cases in Peru,
00:10:15.78\00:10:17.55
and you know Peru
is a really big country
00:10:17.58\00:10:19.51
and so, you know, so
yeah, it's area was calculus,
00:10:19.55\00:10:22.48
it's all those pieces together
kind of coming into my head
00:10:22.52\00:10:27.96
and just kind of
like thinking like
00:10:27.99\00:10:29.62
okay, well, how
do we deal with this?
00:10:29.66\00:10:30.99
Is this something
where we need to bail out?
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Or is this something
that we're still doing well?
00:10:32.63\00:10:34.56
And I feel like
throughout that entire process,
00:10:34.60\00:10:36.97
we were always very,
very safe, very safe.
00:10:37.00\00:10:40.64
Well, everybody worked so hard
00:10:40.67\00:10:42.07
over the course of that week
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and so our reward portion,
00:10:43.64\00:10:45.64
our adventure
that after we were done
00:10:45.67\00:10:47.38
with all the stuff,
00:10:47.41\00:10:48.74
was to get in a plane
and fly from Lima to Cusco
00:10:48.78\00:10:52.65
and then make our
way up the mountain
00:10:52.68\00:10:54.72
in this really high elevation
and make it to Machu Picchu.
00:10:54.75\00:10:57.75
We were just so just
at the top of the world
00:10:57.79\00:11:00.89
like literally was
the coolest experience
00:11:00.92\00:11:03.43
on such a beautiful way
to kind of cap off the trip.
00:11:03.46\00:11:08.30
Yeah, we were
literally on top of the mountain
00:11:08.33\00:11:10.07
and we got our
way back to the hotel
00:11:10.10\00:11:12.67
and as we were preparing
to kind of eat and relax,
00:11:12.70\00:11:15.94
then we hear the news.
00:11:15.97\00:11:18.14
What we found out was that Peru
was going to be shutting down
00:11:18.17\00:11:20.98
their airspace Monday evening
00:11:21.01\00:11:22.84
in a little less than 24 hours
00:11:22.88\00:11:24.71
and unfortunately our
flight leaving from Lima
00:11:24.75\00:11:27.55
back to the United
states via Mexico city
00:11:27.58\00:11:30.42
was going to be
leaving on Tuesday morning,
00:11:30.45\00:11:32.25
very early on
Tuesday morning like at 4 am.
00:11:32.29\00:11:35.52
Also, in Peru,
hearing the same news
00:11:35.56\00:11:38.03
was a group of 38 volunteers
00:11:38.06\00:11:39.89
from Alaska with
Amazing Grace Academy.
00:11:39.93\00:11:42.56
They had been
serving in the town of Ika
00:11:42.60\00:11:44.50
to construct a
large school building.
00:11:44.53\00:11:46.97
Twenty members
travelled to Cusco
00:11:47.00\00:11:48.67
in order to see Machu Picchu,
00:11:48.70\00:11:50.37
unfortunately they had to cancel
00:11:50.41\00:11:52.11
their excursion.
00:11:52.14\00:11:53.51
However, as a smaller group
00:11:53.54\00:11:55.54
they were able to
quickly find flights out of Peru
00:11:55.58\00:11:58.08
through Bolivia
before the midnight deadline.
00:11:58.11\00:12:01.18
The Burton Group
was still two hours away
00:12:01.22\00:12:03.55
from the Cusco airport
00:12:03.59\00:12:04.95
and with rumors that the
roads might soon be shut down
00:12:04.99\00:12:07.62
or curfews enforced,
00:12:07.66\00:12:09.06
the sooner that
they could get to Cusco
00:12:09.09\00:12:11.06
and catch a flight
to Lima the better.
00:12:11.09\00:12:15.00
Because of Burton's
large group of 72 volunteers,
00:12:15.03\00:12:18.60
even once they got there,
00:12:18.63\00:12:20.04
commercial flights
would be difficult to find.
00:12:20.07\00:12:23.07
I've travelled
enough in my own life
00:12:23.10\00:12:26.71
that if I'm on a trip by myself
00:12:26.74\00:12:30.61
or with my family
00:12:30.65\00:12:32.31
and they shut the borders down,
00:12:32.35\00:12:35.48
cool like that's
we'll deal with it,
00:12:35.52\00:12:38.15
it's a cool opportunity
00:12:38.19\00:12:39.52
to have a crazy
experience, right?
00:12:39.55\00:12:42.82
When you're there
00:12:42.86\00:12:44.19
with 50
something high school kids
00:12:44.23\00:12:46.93
and I looked
00:12:46.96\00:12:48.30
at each one of those of
their parents in the eyes
00:12:48.33\00:12:50.17
and I said I'm
gonna bring your kid home.
00:12:50.20\00:12:53.17
The scariest thing
is when we find out
00:12:53.20\00:12:55.90
that something's about
to go down like I kept...
00:12:55.94\00:13:00.48
To me I just kept coming back
00:13:00.51\00:13:01.84
to how I'm going
to get these kids back
00:13:01.88\00:13:03.88
like that's the promise I made.
00:13:03.91\00:13:06.11
Things kind of
progressed along the trip
00:13:06.15\00:13:08.75
and their kind of
starts to become this like
00:13:08.78\00:13:10.65
dark cloud of like,
00:13:10.69\00:13:12.15
you know, COVID
00:13:12.19\00:13:13.52
and then you know,
00:13:13.56\00:13:15.46
are they going to shut
00:13:15.49\00:13:16.83
our airport down and everything,
00:13:16.86\00:13:18.19
and it was very easy for me
00:13:18.23\00:13:19.93
personally to get
into kind of a dark place
00:13:19.96\00:13:21.86
and to really feel you know,
00:13:21.90\00:13:23.37
down and discouraged and scared
00:13:23.40\00:13:25.37
and just
wondering, okay, what's next?
00:13:25.40\00:13:26.74
What's next?
00:13:26.77\00:13:28.10
And the kids were
absolutely my inspiration.
00:13:28.14\00:13:31.01
They were unbelievable.
00:13:31.04\00:13:33.48
Literally almost a tear
00:13:33.51\00:13:34.94
just thinking about
like the number of kids
00:13:34.98\00:13:37.08
that would like come up to me
00:13:37.11\00:13:38.45
and they'd be like Mr. Webb,
00:13:38.48\00:13:40.02
we appreciate
you doing a great job
00:13:40.05\00:13:41.55
and like I could be like
00:13:41.58\00:13:42.92
I don't know we're getting home.
00:13:42.95\00:13:44.29
They're like, it's cool
man, we're just having bread,
00:13:44.32\00:13:47.16
like we're good,
we're having a good time
00:13:47.19\00:13:48.52
like you're doing your best.
00:13:48.56\00:13:51.69
So we sit around the airport,
00:13:51.73\00:13:53.09
basically all day
00:13:53.13\00:13:54.93
and try to come
up with a plan for,
00:13:54.96\00:13:57.00
okay, once we get to Lima,
00:13:57.03\00:13:59.07
then how do we get out of Lima?
00:13:59.10\00:14:01.17
And there's a
couple different plans
00:14:01.20\00:14:02.54
that were in place
00:14:02.57\00:14:03.91
and thankfully we had
some people from our church,
00:14:03.94\00:14:07.44
who stepped up and
arranged for a flight
00:14:07.48\00:14:11.98
to take us from Lima
back to the United States
00:14:12.01\00:14:17.52
as long as we could get
out before midnight on Monday.
00:14:17.55\00:14:22.39
Strangely enough I
think our flight was delayed
00:14:22.42\00:14:24.33
like 30 or 45 minutes,
00:14:24.36\00:14:25.69
but I feel like we
got to Lima on time.
00:14:25.73\00:14:30.17
We had to still get our luggage
00:14:30.20\00:14:32.13
that had been
left at the university
00:14:32.17\00:14:33.57
and make our way through customs
00:14:33.60\00:14:35.24
and check in
00:14:35.27\00:14:36.87
and we have to make
our way through security
00:14:36.91\00:14:39.01
and everything and
everything and everything.
00:14:39.04\00:14:40.94
We get everybody into
this big, gigantic airplane
00:14:40.98\00:14:45.41
and I remember
looking at my watch
00:14:45.45\00:14:47.62
and it was 11:58 pm.
00:14:47.65\00:14:50.25
The airspace was gonna shut down
00:14:50.29\00:14:51.62
at midnight.
00:14:51.65\00:14:54.39
I've never been
on a flight before,
00:14:54.42\00:14:55.76
where the plane starts moving,
when people aren't seated,
00:14:55.79\00:15:00.73
somebody almost fell over
00:15:00.76\00:15:02.70
because they were
just trying to get out,
00:15:02.73\00:15:04.07
tried to get out
00:15:04.10\00:15:05.43
I don't know,
if there could have
00:15:05.47\00:15:06.80
possibly been another
plane that left after us.
00:15:06.84\00:15:08.74
I feel like we
were the last ones out.
00:15:08.77\00:15:10.87
I mean I keep coming back to
00:15:10.91\00:15:13.04
just how much of a
God thing this trip was?
00:15:13.07\00:15:16.91
I really do truthfully feel
00:15:16.95\00:15:18.28
that we were
constantly in this position
00:15:18.31\00:15:21.35
of being
challenged to this level
00:15:21.38\00:15:23.62
that I could not
possibly deal with myself.
00:15:23.65\00:15:26.96
I couldn't write
plans fast enough,
00:15:26.99\00:15:29.89
I couldn't make
decisions fast enough
00:15:29.92\00:15:33.50
and it took a
pretty incredible level
00:15:33.53\00:15:37.93
of just kind of letting it go,
00:15:37.97\00:15:39.57
having faith in God,
having faith in my team,
00:15:39.60\00:15:42.77
having faith in Maranatha
00:15:42.80\00:15:44.97
and just kind of
like recognizing like,
00:15:45.01\00:15:47.24
we're gonna be taken care of.
00:15:47.28\00:15:49.34
When we come back,
00:15:49.38\00:15:50.71
see how the
worldwide shutdown would impact
00:15:50.75\00:15:52.81
the West Houston Volunteer Group
00:15:52.85\00:15:54.55
in Cote D'Ivoire.
00:15:54.58\00:15:55.92
Giving Tuesday is December 1,
00:16:07.46\00:16:09.30
and this year
we're raising $100,000
00:16:09.33\00:16:12.07
for clean water in Zambia.
00:16:12.10\00:16:14.40
Between now and then,
00:16:14.44\00:16:15.77
we need people to donate
00:16:15.80\00:16:17.14
or start their
own online fundraiser.
00:16:17.17\00:16:19.74
Creating your own
fundraiser is easy.
00:16:19.77\00:16:22.04
Go to
maranatha.org/givingtuesday
00:16:22.08\00:16:24.91
and click start fundraiser.
00:16:24.95\00:16:27.12
Log in or create an
account if you haven't already,
00:16:27.15\00:16:30.15
then get to work
00:16:30.19\00:16:31.52
customizing
your fundraiser page,
00:16:31.55\00:16:32.95
with photos, video and text.
00:16:32.99\00:16:36.86
From here, you can
easily share the link
00:16:36.89\00:16:38.96
so family and
friends can get involved.
00:16:38.99\00:16:41.46
You can even ask them to donate
00:16:41.50\00:16:43.10
for your participation
in No Tap Tuesday challenge.
00:16:43.13\00:16:47.04
To do the challenge,
00:16:47.07\00:16:48.40
choose one day
leading up to Giving Tuesday,
00:16:48.44\00:16:50.87
where you won't use any
of the taps at your house.
00:16:50.91\00:16:54.28
Just for that day,
find your water elsewhere.
00:16:54.31\00:16:56.91
Get it from a
neighbor, a friend or the store.
00:16:56.95\00:16:59.88
Just keep washing those hands.
00:16:59.91\00:17:02.02
This Giving Tuesday,
give the gift of clean water.
00:17:02.05\00:17:04.89
To get involved,
go to our website.
00:17:04.92\00:17:06.65
Some companies
spend millions of dollars
00:17:10.13\00:17:12.33
to bring you
these sounds and images.
00:17:12.36\00:17:15.76
I made it.
00:17:15.80\00:17:18.30
These sounds and
images are created
00:17:18.33\00:17:20.37
from the dollars
you give to Maranatha.
00:17:20.40\00:17:24.07
Your support of our
well drilling efforts
00:17:24.11\00:17:26.11
is bringing
clean accessible water
00:17:26.14\00:17:28.08
to communities in Africa,
00:17:28.11\00:17:29.84
India and Brazil
because while this sells soda,
00:17:29.88\00:17:34.82
this saves lives.
00:17:34.85\00:17:36.92
With all volunteers out of Peru
00:17:40.39\00:17:42.22
and the last
volunteers departing Kenya,
00:17:42.26\00:17:44.56
the only remaining
Maranatha volunteers
00:17:44.59\00:17:46.90
in the field were
Greg Hatch's group,
00:17:46.93\00:17:48.96
in Cote D'Ivoire.
00:17:49.00\00:17:51.87
Cote D'Ivoire was a great trip
00:17:51.90\00:17:54.07
and to a person
everybody was very excited
00:17:54.10\00:17:58.04
about our time
there Coronavirus aside.
00:17:58.07\00:18:02.98
I mean it started
that Sabbath morning
00:18:03.01\00:18:04.91
because we got in Friday night
00:18:04.95\00:18:06.41
and Sabbath morning, we
went to church at the church
00:18:06.45\00:18:09.42
that had been built
by a previous group.
00:18:09.45\00:18:12.99
Pastor and the first
elder both of them said
00:18:13.02\00:18:17.26
through a translator of course
because I don't speak French,
00:18:17.29\00:18:21.26
they said thank you for coming
00:18:21.30\00:18:24.97
and that we've
been praying for you
00:18:25.00\00:18:27.64
and that the whole
church in the entire country
00:18:27.67\00:18:29.97
has been praying for you
00:18:30.01\00:18:31.51
over the last week
00:18:31.54\00:18:33.17
and because they've
heard what's going on
00:18:33.21\00:18:37.21
with the
Coronavirus and all that said
00:18:37.25\00:18:38.58
we're just praying
00:18:38.61\00:18:39.95
that you would
still come to serve,
00:18:39.98\00:18:42.05
and that was very empowering
00:18:42.08\00:18:44.79
even before we started the work.
00:18:44.82\00:18:46.35
I was working on the
roof getting the roof on
00:18:46.39\00:18:48.92
and I noticed a crowd of
people gathering over there
00:18:48.96\00:18:51.79
you know where the
bus is usually parked in.
00:18:51.83\00:18:54.03
I called, you know,
Gabriel, I said why are,
00:18:54.06\00:18:56.40
why is everybody
lined up over there?
00:18:56.43\00:19:00.34
Oh, he said, they're
here for the evangelism.
00:19:00.37\00:19:02.97
It's evangelism.
00:19:03.00\00:19:04.34
And I thought to
myself at the time
00:19:04.37\00:19:06.51
when he said that I thought
well the first elder has been,
00:19:06.54\00:19:09.28
he had a chair every day
00:19:09.31\00:19:11.31
and he would sit there and
he would talk to everybody.
00:19:11.35\00:19:14.98
I thought oh,
he's preaching to him.
00:19:15.02\00:19:17.49
I came down, I said
well where's the evangelist?
00:19:17.52\00:19:19.22
He said you brother,
you're the evangelist.
00:19:19.25\00:19:22.32
He said people came
to watch you guys work
00:19:22.36\00:19:24.63
and this is evangelism
00:19:24.66\00:19:26.49
and so that was
that was also a nice way
00:19:26.53\00:19:28.70
to end the we kind of,
00:19:28.73\00:19:30.07
you know, sandwich
between everybody praying for us
00:19:30.10\00:19:32.70
to get there the fact
00:19:32.73\00:19:34.07
that they thought
what we were doing
00:19:34.10\00:19:35.44
was evangelism.
00:19:35.47\00:19:36.94
Every morning
throughout the week,
00:19:36.97\00:19:38.84
I not by choice,
00:19:38.87\00:19:40.54
I was waking up
earlier and earlier
00:19:40.58\00:19:42.28
and had my devotion
00:19:42.31\00:19:43.78
and then I would
read what's going on
00:19:43.81\00:19:46.55
throughout the world
00:19:46.58\00:19:47.92
and that was always a bad idea,
00:19:47.95\00:19:49.62
but it would let us
know what's going on
00:19:49.65\00:19:52.75
and I would have to
put it out of my mind
00:19:52.79\00:19:55.82
while I'm on
the job site though.
00:19:55.86\00:19:57.53
Number one, for a safety reason.
00:19:57.56\00:19:58.89
You got to be, you
gotta you know watch
00:19:58.93\00:20:00.26
what you're doing
00:20:00.30\00:20:01.63
but two, you know we
wanted to be very present
00:20:01.66\00:20:04.17
and be there for
why we were there,
00:20:04.20\00:20:06.70
but it was hard, you know, yeah,
00:20:06.74\00:20:08.14
during lunch, you
look at your phone
00:20:08.17\00:20:09.50
and you see what's going on,
00:20:09.54\00:20:11.07
but you just have to
put it out of your mind
00:20:11.11\00:20:12.67
and there was time
for that in the evening
00:20:12.71\00:20:14.88
to spend time on
the phone with airlines
00:20:14.91\00:20:18.95
and with
Lisandro and with others,
00:20:18.98\00:20:20.82
but during the day,
00:20:20.85\00:20:22.18
I would do my best
to put it out of there.
00:20:22.22\00:20:25.35
So as soon as we
got there, Claude,
00:20:25.39\00:20:26.96
Al and I realized as of Sunday,
00:20:26.99\00:20:29.59
you know, the world
is continuing to send
00:20:29.62\00:20:31.93
into chaos around us.
00:20:31.96\00:20:33.36
We were fine, we
were in good shape
00:20:33.40\00:20:35.60
but getting home was
going to be a challenge.
00:20:35.63\00:20:37.97
We were originally
supposed to be there
00:20:38.00\00:20:39.50
through Tuesday
or the following week
00:20:39.53\00:20:41.34
with a very nice
excursion on the beach,
00:20:41.37\00:20:43.17
it was going to be great.
00:20:43.20\00:20:44.97
We made the decision on Sunday
00:20:45.01\00:20:46.84
you know, two
days after we got there
00:20:46.88\00:20:48.21
like we got to get out
as soon as the work's done.
00:20:48.24\00:20:51.61
When it was time to leave,
00:20:51.65\00:20:52.98
half of the group
departed successfully
00:20:53.01\00:20:54.82
with the help of
an airline manager
00:20:54.85\00:20:56.42
for seven countries in
West Africa named Jean-Luc.
00:20:56.45\00:21:01.06
He's a problem solver.
00:21:01.09\00:21:02.42
So, we continue the conversation
00:21:02.46\00:21:04.13
while our guys make
it through security.
00:21:04.16\00:21:05.69
we weren't going to
leave until they were through.
00:21:05.73\00:21:08.70
And, so he and
Gilberto strike a conversation
00:21:08.73\00:21:11.63
and more information
and as we're leaving,
00:21:11.67\00:21:14.24
we get his card
because Roberto thinks
00:21:14.27\00:21:16.24
oh, you know, at some
point, I might need him, right?
00:21:16.27\00:21:19.64
I might need another
group, might have a problem,
00:21:19.67\00:21:22.21
so we get his information.
00:21:22.24\00:21:25.11
And so we leave and
we go back to the hotel
00:21:25.15\00:21:27.72
and we're ready for the next day
00:21:27.75\00:21:29.35
and our group
makes it out no problems,
00:21:29.38\00:21:31.35
they get through
and they get home.
00:21:31.39\00:21:34.26
The second half
of the group's flight
00:21:34.29\00:21:35.92
was cancelled.
00:21:35.96\00:21:37.79
To make matters
worse, Jean-Luc told Greg
00:21:37.83\00:21:40.06
that Cote D'Ivoire
would be closing its airport
00:21:40.10\00:21:42.26
and borders the following night.
00:21:42.30\00:21:46.03
They had already
purchased backup tickets.
00:21:46.07\00:21:48.17
So the next day
00:21:48.20\00:21:49.54
the group
arrived at the airport,
00:21:49.57\00:21:50.91
but were denied boarding
00:21:50.94\00:21:52.27
because they had transferred
00:21:52.31\00:21:53.78
through Europe the week before.
00:21:53.81\00:21:55.91
They would miss the deadline.
00:21:55.94\00:21:58.35
For Hatch, an organized
veteran mission trip leader,
00:21:58.38\00:22:01.58
the realization set in
00:22:01.62\00:22:02.95
that all of his
planning was exhausted.
00:22:02.98\00:22:07.69
With commercial
flights off the table,
00:22:07.72\00:22:09.69
Hatch began to look
into alternative options.
00:22:09.72\00:22:13.19
Hatch reached
out to the US embassy
00:22:13.23\00:22:15.10
and researched an
expensive charter flight.
00:22:15.13\00:22:18.63
Maranatha worked
00:22:18.67\00:22:20.00
through the Adventist
Church World Headquarters
00:22:20.04\00:22:21.90
to contact the US
Department of State
00:22:21.94\00:22:24.01
and Senators from the States
00:22:24.04\00:22:25.37
where the
remaining volunteers lived.
00:22:25.41\00:22:28.78
There was talk of
an evacuation flight
00:22:28.81\00:22:30.81
for US citizens
later in the week.
00:22:30.85\00:22:35.42
I get a voice
message over WhatsApp
00:22:35.45\00:22:37.62
from the embassy lady.
00:22:37.65\00:22:38.99
She says, "I think
I've got an option.
00:22:39.02\00:22:41.66
I'm going to be
sending you information
00:22:41.69\00:22:43.12
that you need to
fill out for your group."
00:22:43.16\00:22:44.99
And she said, "Your group
needs to pray that this works."
00:22:45.03\00:22:49.66
A government
employee telling me to pray.
00:22:49.70\00:22:52.50
Okay. I'm going to listen.
00:22:52.53\00:22:54.77
And so we brought
everybody together
00:22:54.80\00:22:56.71
and said guys,
we're going to have
00:22:56.74\00:22:58.07
a prayer meeting right now
00:22:58.11\00:23:01.71
because it's been,
00:23:01.74\00:23:03.08
we should have done this before
00:23:03.11\00:23:04.45
but it's being asked of us
and so we're going to do it.
00:23:04.48\00:23:06.68
And so we laid it all out there,
00:23:06.72\00:23:08.15
and that was the first time
00:23:08.18\00:23:10.15
where I finally truly let it go.
00:23:10.19\00:23:14.26
Up until then,
I've been trying to use
00:23:14.29\00:23:17.19
all of my training,
all of the experience
00:23:17.23\00:23:20.40
to work through the problem
00:23:20.43\00:23:22.53
and that was
finally when I just said,
00:23:22.56\00:23:24.00
"God, take it, go
ahead and You run with it."
00:23:24.03\00:23:28.60
So, we had an
amazing prayer session
00:23:28.64\00:23:31.47
and, you know, about a half hour
00:23:31.51\00:23:35.28
after we
finished a prayer session,
00:23:35.31\00:23:37.71
I get a call from Jean-Luc.
00:23:37.75\00:23:39.75
He calls me
rather than just email.
00:23:39.78\00:23:41.12
He says, "I have
seats, I have four seats.
00:23:41.15\00:23:44.75
Who do you want on it?"
00:23:44.79\00:23:46.12
Twenty minutes later, he
calls me again and he says,
00:23:46.15\00:23:48.02
well, he says,
00:23:48.06\00:23:49.89
"What would you think
00:23:49.92\00:23:51.26
if I got all 13 on that flight?"
00:23:51.29\00:23:52.63
I said, "I would think
00:23:52.66\00:23:54.00
that you're a
direct answer to prayer
00:23:54.03\00:23:55.36
is what I would think."
00:23:55.40\00:23:56.73
And he started going
through all the information
00:23:56.77\00:23:59.70
taking the credit
card and getting us booked.
00:23:59.73\00:24:01.77
So he said you need to
be at the airport at six.
00:24:01.80\00:24:04.57
So, within
three and a half hours
00:24:04.61\00:24:07.28
of that prayer
session, we were booked,
00:24:07.31\00:24:10.41
ticketed at the airport,
00:24:10.45\00:24:12.58
and that was the
most amazing direct answer
00:24:12.61\00:24:15.32
to prayer that any
of us have ever seen.
00:24:15.35\00:24:17.52
I thought, I
knew what prayer was
00:24:17.55\00:24:19.15
until we had
that prayer session.
00:24:19.19\00:24:21.56
Right, we were
praying the entire week
00:24:21.59\00:24:23.76
but we weren't, I'll put,
00:24:23.79\00:24:27.16
I'll speak for myself,
00:24:27.20\00:24:28.53
I won't speak
for everybody else.
00:24:28.56\00:24:29.90
I hadn't truly handed
it over to God, right?
00:24:29.93\00:24:33.50
And that was a
mistake and one that I hope
00:24:33.54\00:24:35.50
I don't make again.
00:24:35.54\00:24:37.51
The second was faith,
00:24:37.54\00:24:38.87
that we needed to have
faith that God was gonna,
00:24:38.91\00:24:41.31
He brought us to this challenge,
00:24:41.34\00:24:43.14
He's gonna get us
through the challenge.
00:24:43.18\00:24:46.31
On March 23rd, after
days fraught with drama,
00:24:46.35\00:24:50.09
the group arrived
back in the United States.
00:24:50.12\00:24:54.76
You know, it felt great.
00:24:54.79\00:24:57.79
There's no question about that.
00:24:57.83\00:24:59.16
I told you know,
customs and border patrol,
00:24:59.19\00:25:01.56
he said, "Welcome America."
00:25:01.60\00:25:02.93
I said, "You have no
idea how welcome I am."
00:25:02.96\00:25:05.23
And so one of
the biggest takeaways
00:25:05.27\00:25:06.60
is as I think God was just,
00:25:06.63\00:25:08.50
He was just kind
of sitting behind me,
00:25:08.54\00:25:09.87
you know, just watching
00:25:09.90\00:25:11.24
and finally when it was time
00:25:11.27\00:25:13.07
He just kind of tapped
me on the shoulder and said,
00:25:13.11\00:25:15.71
"Are you ready
for me to take it now?
00:25:15.74\00:25:18.28
Good, you gave it up.
00:25:18.31\00:25:19.85
I've got it now.
Let's get this done."
00:25:19.88\00:25:21.95
You know, two
days of worrying about,
00:25:21.98\00:25:24.59
ten days of
worrying and planning for me,
00:25:24.62\00:25:27.49
He got it done in
three and a half hours.
00:25:27.52\00:25:30.49
So that that's the
biggest learning for me.
00:25:30.53\00:25:33.76
By March 24th,
00:25:33.80\00:25:35.13
all Maranatha
volunteers had made it home
00:25:35.16\00:25:38.70
whether it was disrupting travel
00:25:38.73\00:25:40.54
or postponing
volunteer projects,
00:25:40.57\00:25:42.97
COVID-19 had a
significant impact
00:25:43.00\00:25:45.74
on Maranatha during March 2020,
00:25:45.77\00:25:48.51
but it could not crush
the spirit of Maranatha.
00:25:48.54\00:25:53.18
I was really taken
00:25:53.21\00:25:55.18
by how every single group leader
00:25:55.22\00:25:57.45
that we were working
with, mission trip leader,
00:25:57.49\00:26:00.72
was so focused on wanting to get
00:26:00.76\00:26:02.86
their volunteers out
into the mission field,
00:26:02.89\00:26:05.36
and they were really focused
00:26:05.39\00:26:06.90
and really it was
really important to them
00:26:06.93\00:26:10.93
that they fulfilled the
mission that they had started.
00:26:10.97\00:26:13.57
Many of them had taken
site visits ahead of time
00:26:13.60\00:26:15.97
and felt like
they made a commitment
00:26:16.00\00:26:17.41
to the host community
that they were going to visit.
00:26:17.44\00:26:19.74
And so that, for them
it was almost personal
00:26:19.77\00:26:21.74
that they might
not be able to go
00:26:21.78\00:26:23.68
and so, almost to a person
00:26:23.71\00:26:26.88
these leaders were feeling
that if God wanted them to go
00:26:26.92\00:26:32.05
that He would make the,
00:26:32.09\00:26:33.42
He would open the doors
for them and make it possible,
00:26:33.46\00:26:35.32
if not He would shut the doors.
00:26:35.36\00:26:36.99
And until the door is shut,
00:26:37.03\00:26:38.36
they were going to
push as hard as possible
00:26:38.39\00:26:40.30
and that was really inspiring.
00:26:40.33\00:26:43.50
March 2020 was a
trying time for the world,
00:26:43.53\00:26:47.50
but in the
following weeks and months,
00:26:47.54\00:26:49.47
Maranatha began to push forward.
00:26:49.50\00:26:54.28
Our local crews,
sheltering in place
00:26:54.31\00:26:56.51
started to safely work
in countries like India,
00:26:56.54\00:27:01.48
Zambia and Kenya.
00:27:01.52\00:27:06.96
The mission was
interrupted, but not stopped.
00:27:11.03\00:27:13.80
Months later
volunteers would again serve
00:27:18.50\00:27:21.37
on projects starting
in the United States.
00:27:21.40\00:27:24.01
Despite seemingly
insurmountable odds,
00:27:28.08\00:27:31.08
Maranatha would
continue to advance the mission
00:27:31.11\00:27:34.12
with the same
unrelenting passion
00:27:34.15\00:27:36.48
displayed by our volunteers.
00:27:36.52\00:27:38.75