Hi, I'm Dustin Comm
with the Maranatha Minute.
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Before the pandemic,
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Maranatha had big
goals for Kenya in 2020.
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We planned on
building 100 One-Day Churches,
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drilling 10 water wells
and building school campuses.
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When COVID-19
brought the world to a halt,
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our team in Kenya
briefly paused as well.
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When
restrictions started to lift,
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Maranatha looked
to a remote region
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in central Kenya
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called Ukambani.
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There is little Seventh-day
Adventist presence here
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as it is a new
mission field for the church.
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And the needs are great.
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Throughout the
rest of this year,
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our One-Day Church crew working
in Ukambani and other areas
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was able to reach
the 100-church mark.
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Our drilling team
also focused in this area
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and has drilled
a total of 37 wells
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surpassing the original goal.
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We've also continued
constructing school buildings
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at Kiutine,
Kajiado and [inaudible].
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Watch videos of
Maranatha's work in Kenya
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and around the world
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by downloading our
app, the Maranatha Channel.
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March, 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 of Maranatha's
total number of volunteers
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for the year.
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March 2020 was
supposed to be the same.
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Maranatha had
recently started working
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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
from Burton Adventist Academy
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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
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this was gonna
like stop the world,
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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 that
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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,
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if we were to get stranded,
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
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 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 that
our trips are safe as possible
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for all our volunteers and so,
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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
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as it is 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,
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all of our
contacts within the church
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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 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 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,
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he was
evaluating 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 with text messages
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from my niece, my
dad, everybody on the trip
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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 were calling
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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,
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you know, 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,
00:07:02.78\00:07:04.75
while other Maranatha
groups make hard decisions,
00:07:04.79\00:07:07.42
as the world continues
to tighten 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.
00:07:27.64\00:07:29.74
Watch Mission Maranatha
00:07:29.78\00:07:31.35
for a comprehensive
look at how God has been
00:07:31.38\00:07:33.78
and continues to open doors
00:07:33.82\00:07:35.48
for the mission
of Maranatha in 2020.
00:07:35.52\00:07:39.05
Visit Maranatha.org
00:07:39.09\00:07:40.42
to watch the
program in its entirety
00:07:40.46\00:07:43.76
or pick an individual segment
00:07:43.79\00:07:45.23
to watch and
share with a friend.
00:07:45.26\00:07:48.20
You can also
watch this mission event
00:07:48.23\00:07:49.96
on Maranatha's YouTube channel,
00:07:50.00\00:07:51.53
at youtube.com/missionstories.
00:07:51.57\00:07:55.94
Bring the mission
field to your living room
00:07:55.97\00:07:57.71
by watching Mission Maranatha
00:07:57.74\00:07:59.31
on the Maranatha
channel for Roku,
00:07:59.34\00:08:01.38
Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV...
00:08:01.41\00:08:04.05
or download the
Maranatha channel
00:08:08.02\00:08:09.75
on your iOS or android device.
00:08:09.78\00:08:13.66
Stay connected to the mission.
00:08:13.69\00:08:15.32
As the West Houston Group
00:08:24.97\00:08:26.30
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 in California
00:08:36.11\00:08:38.91
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
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serving at the
Kajiado Adventist School
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and Rescue Center.
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As airlines around the globe
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began to
announce cuts in service,
00:08:54.13\00:08:56.06
some of the group
moved up their flights
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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 Ate
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.
00:09:26.93\00:09:29.76
Our medical people
were able to see that,
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you know, see some surgeries,
00:09:31.90\00:09:33.23
we had people handing out
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glasses and we had eye doctors
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who were doing, 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 were
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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, okay, well
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you know, there,
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this school is now
being shut down indefinitely.
00:09:59.83\00:10:04.07
These airports
you know it doesn't,
00:10:04.10\00:10:06.07
it doesn't look like you're
going to be able to like travel
00:10:06.10\00:10:07.80
through this certain airport
00:10:07.84\00:10:09.70
or you know certain
countries and stuff like that
00:10:09.74\00:10:11.97
or you know the
number of cases in Texas
00:10:12.01\00:10:15.74
and the number of cases in Peru,
00:10:15.78\00:10:17.48
and you know Peru
is a really big country
00:10:17.51\00:10:19.41
and so, you know, so
yeah, it's area was calculus,
00:10:19.45\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 okay, well,
00:10:27.99\00:10:30.03
how do we deal with this?
00:10:30.06\00:10:31.39
Is this something
where we need to bail out?
00:10:31.43\00:10:32.76
Or is this something
that we're still doing well?
00:10:32.79\00:10:34.50
And I feel like
throughout that entire process,
00:10:34.53\00:10:37.00
we were always very,
very safe, very safe.
00:10:37.03\00:10:40.60
Well, everybody worked so hard
over the course of that week
00:10:40.64\00:10:43.61
and so our reward portion,
00:10:43.64\00:10:45.61
our adventure that after
00:10:45.64\00:10:47.01
we were done with all the stuff,
00:10:47.04\00:10:48.38
was to get in a plane
and fly from Lima to Cusco
00:10:48.41\00:10:52.55
and then make our
way up the mountain
00:10:52.58\00:10:54.65
in this really high elevation
and make it to Machu Picchu.
00:10:54.68\00:10:57.82
We were just so just
at the top of the world
00:10:57.85\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\00:11:08.33
Yeah, we were
literally on top of the mountain
00:11:08.36\00:11:10.07
and we got our
way back to the hotel
00:11:10.10\00:11:12.70
and as we were preparing
to kind of eat and relax,
00:11:12.73\00:11:15.90
then we hear the news.
00:11:15.94\00:11:18.14
What we found out was that
00:11:18.17\00:11:19.67
Peru was going to be
shutting down their airspace
00:11:19.71\00:11:21.91
Monday evening in a
little less than 24 hours
00:11:21.94\00:11:24.78
and unfortunately our
flight leaving from Lima
00:11:24.81\00:11:27.52
back to the United
states via Mexico City
00:11:27.55\00:11:30.39
was going to be
leaving on Tuesday morning,
00:11:30.42\00:11:32.25
very early on
Tuesday morning like at 4 am.
00:11:32.29\00:11:35.49
Also, in Peru,
hearing the same news
00:11:35.52\00:11:37.99
was a group of 38
volunteers from Alaska
00:11:38.03\00:11:40.66
with Amazing Grace Academy.
00:11:40.70\00:11:42.60
They had been
serving in the town of Ika
00:11:42.63\00:11:44.43
to construct a
large school building.
00:11:44.47\00:11:46.97
Twenty members
travelled to Cusco
00:11:47.00\00:11:48.64
in order to see Machu Picchu,
00:11:48.67\00:11:50.17
unfortunately
00:11:50.21\00:11:51.54
they had to
cancel their excursion.
00:11:51.57\00:11:53.44
However, as a smaller group
00:11:53.48\00:11:55.58
they were able to
quickly find flights out of Peru
00:11:55.61\00:11:58.05
through Bolivia
before the midnight deadline.
00:11:58.08\00:12:01.08
The Burton Group
was still two hours away
00:12:01.12\00:12:03.49
from the Cusco airport
00:12:03.52\00:12:04.89
and with rumors that the
roads might soon be shut down
00:12:04.92\00:12:07.62
or curfews enforced,
00:12:07.66\00:12:09.02
the sooner that
they could get to Cusco
00:12:09.06\00:12:10.96
and catch a flight
to Lima the better.
00:12:10.99\00:12:15.03
Because of Burton's
large group of 72 volunteers,
00:12:15.06\00:12:18.63
even once they got there,
00:12:18.67\00:12:20.17
commercial flights
would be difficult to find.
00:12:20.20\00:12:23.04
I've travelled
enough in my own life
00:12:23.07\00:12:26.78
that if I'm on a trip by myself
00:12:26.81\00:12:30.61
or with my family
00:12:30.65\00:12:32.41
and they shut the borders down,
00:12:32.45\00:12:35.48
cool like that's
we'll deal with it,
00:12:35.52\00:12:38.19
it's a cool opportunity
00:12:38.22\00:12:40.12
to have a crazy
experience, right?
00:12:40.16\00:12:42.82
When you're there with 50
something high school kids
00:12:42.86\00:12:47.50
and I looked at
each one of those
00:12:47.53\00:12:49.00
of their parents in the eyes
00:12:49.03\00:12:50.37
and I said I'm
gonna bring your kid home.
00:12:50.40\00:12:53.10
The scariest thing
is when we find out that
00:12:53.13\00:12:56.04
something's about to
go down like I kept...
00:12:56.07\00:13:00.41
To me I just kept coming back
00:13:00.44\00:13:01.78
to how I'm going
to get these kids back
00:13:01.81\00:13:03.81
like that's the promise I made.
00:13:03.85\00:13:06.11
Things kind of
progressed along the trip
00:13:06.15\00:13:08.72
and their kind of starts
to become this like dark cloud
00:13:08.75\00:13:11.32
of like, you know, COVID
00:13:11.35\00:13:13.32
and then you know,
00:13:13.36\00:13:15.86
are they going to
shut our airport down
00:13:15.89\00:13:17.33
and everything,
00:13:17.36\00:13:18.69
and it was very
easy for me personally
00:13:18.73\00:13:20.33
to get into kind of a dark place
00:13:20.36\00:13:21.80
and to really feel you know,
00:13:21.83\00:13:23.40
down and discouraged and
scared and just wondering,
00:13:23.43\00:13:25.60
okay, what's next?
00:13:25.63\00:13:26.97
What's next?
00:13:27.00\00:13:28.34
And the kids were
absolutely my inspiration.
00:13:28.37\00:13:31.04
They were unbelievable.
00:13:31.07\00:13:33.51
Literally almost got a
tear just thinking about like
00:13:33.54\00:13:36.18
the number of kids that
would like come up to me
00:13:36.21\00:13:38.25
and they'd be like Mr. Webb,
00:13:38.28\00:13:40.08
we appreciate you
doing a great job and like
00:13:40.12\00:13:42.38
I could be like I don't
know we're getting home.
00:13:42.42\00:13:43.75
They're like, it's cool
man, we're just having bread,
00:13:43.79\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\00:13:51.63
So we sit around the airport,
00:13:51.66\00:13:53.03
basically all day and try
to come up with a plan for,
00:13:53.06\00:13:57.03
okay, once we get to Lima,
00:13:57.07\00:13:59.07
then how do we get out of Lima?
00:13:59.10\00:14:01.14
And there's a
couple different plans
00:14:01.17\00:14:02.50
that were in place
00:14:02.54\00:14:03.87
and thankfully
we had some people
00:14:03.91\00:14:06.04
from our church,
00:14:06.07\00:14:07.44
who stepped up and
arranged for a flight
00:14:07.48\00:14:12.18
to take us from Lima
back to the United States
00:14:12.21\00:14:17.49
as long as we could get out
00:14:17.52\00:14:19.12
before midnight on Monday.
00:14:19.15\00:14:22.42
Strangely enough I
think our flight was delayed
00:14:22.46\00:14:24.19
like 30 or 45 minutes,
00:14:24.23\00:14:25.59
but I feel like we
got to Lima on time.
00:14:25.63\00:14:30.13
We had to still get our luggage
00:14:30.17\00:14:32.07
that had been
left at the university
00:14:32.10\00:14:33.60
and make our way
through customs and check in
00:14:33.64\00:14:36.94
and we have to make our way
through security and everything
00:14:36.97\00:14:39.37
and everything and everything.
00:14:39.41\00:14:41.01
We get everybody into
this big, gigantic airplane
00:14:41.04\00:14:45.31
and I remember
looking at my watch
00:14:45.35\00:14:47.58
and it was 11:58 pm.
00:14:47.62\00:14:50.25
The airspace was
gonna shut down at midnight.
00:14:50.29\00:14:54.32
I've never been
on a flight before,
00:14:54.36\00:14:55.72
where the plane starts moving,
when people aren't seated,
00:14:55.76\00:15:00.73
somebody almost fell over
00:15:00.76\00:15:02.73
because they were
just trying to get out,
00:15:02.76\00:15:04.50
tried to get out I don't know,
00:15:04.53\00:15:05.87
if there could have
possibly been another plane
00:15:05.90\00:15:07.57
that left after us.
00:15:07.60\00:15:08.94
I feel like we
were the last ones out.
00:15:08.97\00:15:10.84
I mean I keep coming back
00:15:10.87\00:15:12.21
to just how much of a
God thing this trip was?
00:15:12.24\00:15:16.91
I really do truthfully feel that
00:15:16.95\00:15:19.81
we were
constantly in this position
00:15:19.85\00:15:21.28
of being
challenged to this level
00:15:21.32\00:15:23.55
that I could not
possibly deal with myself.
00:15:23.59\00:15:26.92
I couldn't write
plans fast enough,
00:15:26.96\00:15:29.82
I couldn't make
decisions fast enough
00:15:29.86\00:15:33.93
and it took a
pretty incredible level
00:15:33.96\00:15:37.77
of just kind of letting it go,
00:15:37.80\00:15:39.43
having faith in God,
having faith in my team,
00:15:39.47\00:15:42.74
having faith in Maranatha
00:15:42.77\00:15:45.04
and just kind of
like recognizing like,
00:15:45.07\00:15:47.24
we're gonna be taken care of.
00:15:47.28\00:15:49.28
When we come back,
00:15:49.31\00:15:50.65
see how the
worldwide shutdown would impact
00:15:50.68\00:15:52.85
the West Houston Volunteer Group
00:15:52.88\00:15:54.45
in Cote d'Ivoire.
00:15:54.48\00:15:55.82
The work of Maranatha
relies on your support.
00:16:07.53\00:16:09.86
And so far this year,
00:16:09.90\00:16:11.23
you've been incredibly generous
in supporting the mission.
00:16:11.27\00:16:14.34
Thank you to everyone
who has made donations
00:16:14.37\00:16:16.64
to build churches,
schools and water wells
00:16:16.67\00:16:19.21
around the world.
00:16:19.24\00:16:20.94
Now you can ensure that
this mission continues to grow
00:16:20.98\00:16:23.75
even after your lifetime.
00:16:23.78\00:16:25.91
The Maranatha Volunteers
International Foundation
00:16:25.95\00:16:28.45
is here to help you
with your plan giving needs.
00:16:28.48\00:16:31.59
Our expert
consultant will talk you
00:16:31.62\00:16:33.46
through the best options
for you and your loved ones.
00:16:33.49\00:16:36.42
We can also offer ways
00:16:36.46\00:16:37.86
you might choose to
leave a lasting legacy
00:16:37.89\00:16:40.10
for the mission of Maranatha.
00:16:40.13\00:16:42.16
We even have a service to
help you create a will for free.
00:16:42.20\00:16:46.03
All you have to do is go online
and fill out a simple form.
00:16:46.07\00:16:49.54
Or you can call us
00:16:49.57\00:16:50.91
and we'll assist
you in filling it out.
00:16:50.94\00:16:53.11
These services are
free with no obligations.
00:16:53.14\00:16:56.18
It's our way of saying thank you
00:16:56.21\00:16:57.78
for supporting Maranatha.
00:16:57.81\00:16:59.91
To talk to us call
the number on our screen
00:16:59.95\00:17:01.78
or go to
maranatha.org/plannedgiving
00:17:01.82\00:17:04.85
to learn more.
00:17:04.89\00:17:06.22
Some companies
spend millions of dollars
00:17:10.13\00:17:12.26
to bring you
these sounds and images.
00:17:12.29\00:17:15.90
I made it.
00:17:15.93\00:17:18.27
These sounds and images
00:17:18.30\00:17:19.80
are created from the
dollars you give to Maranatha.
00:17:19.83\00:17:23.97
Your support of our
well drilling efforts
00:17:24.01\00:17:26.01
is bringing
clean accessible water
00:17:26.04\00:17:27.98
to communities in Africa,
00:17:28.01\00:17:29.84
India and Brazil
00:17:29.88\00:17:31.95
because while this sells soda,
00:17:31.98\00:17:34.78
this saves lives.
00:17:34.82\00:17:36.62
With all volunteers out of Peru
00:17:40.39\00:17:42.22
and the last
volunteers departing Kenya,
00:17:42.26\00:17:44.53
the only remaining Maranatha
volunteers in the field
00:17:44.56\00:17:47.70
were Greg Hatch's
group, in Cote d'Ivoire.
00:17:47.73\00:17:51.73
Cote d'Ivoire was a great trip
00:17:51.77\00:17:53.97
and to a person
everybody was very excited
00:17:54.00\00:17:57.91
about our time there
00:17:57.94\00:17:59.87
Coronavirus aside.
00:17:59.91\00:18:02.88
I mean it started
that Sabbath morning
00:18:02.91\00:18:04.85
because we got in Friday night
00:18:04.88\00:18:06.41
and Sabbath
morning, we went to church
00:18:06.45\00:18:09.25
at the church
00:18:09.28\00:18:10.62
that had been built
by a previous group.
00:18:10.65\00:18:12.92
Pastor and the first elder
00:18:12.95\00:18:15.92
both of them said
through a translator
00:18:15.96\00:18:18.09
of course because
I don't speak French,
00:18:18.13\00:18:21.16
they said thank you for coming
00:18:21.20\00:18:24.87
and that we've
been praying for you
00:18:24.90\00:18:27.47
and that the whole
church in the entire country
00:18:27.50\00:18:29.87
has been praying for
you over the last week
00:18:29.90\00:18:33.11
and because they've heard
00:18:33.14\00:18:36.34
what's going on with
the Coronavirus and all
00:18:36.38\00:18:38.28
that said we're
just praying that
00:18:38.31\00:18:39.65
you would still come to serve,
00:18:39.68\00:18:41.92
and that was very empowering
00:18:41.95\00:18:44.59
even before we started the work.
00:18:44.62\00:18:46.25
I was working on the roof
00:18:46.29\00:18:47.99
getting the roof on
00:18:48.02\00:18:49.36
and I noticed a crowd of
people gathering over there
00:18:49.39\00:18:51.66
you know where the
bus is usually parked in.
00:18:51.69\00:18:53.90
I called, you know,
Gilbert, where I said,
00:18:53.93\00:18:55.90
"Why is everybody
lined up over there?"
00:18:55.93\00:18:59.83
Oh, he said,
00:18:59.87\00:19:01.20
"They're here
for the evangelism."
00:19:01.24\00:19:02.80
I said, "Evangelism?"
00:19:02.84\00:19:04.27
And I thought to
myself at the time
00:19:04.31\00:19:06.37
when he said that I thought,
00:19:06.41\00:19:07.74
well, the first elder has been,
00:19:07.78\00:19:09.21
he had a chair every
day and he would sit there
00:19:09.24\00:19:12.41
and he would talk to everybody.
00:19:12.45\00:19:14.72
I thought oh,
he's preaching to him.
00:19:14.75\00:19:17.39
I came down, I said
well where's the evangelist?
00:19:17.42\00:19:19.39
He said, "You brother,
you're the evangelist."
00:19:19.42\00:19:22.16
He said, "People came
to watch you guys work
00:19:22.19\00:19:24.53
and this is evangelism."
00:19:24.56\00:19:26.39
And so that was,
00:19:26.43\00:19:27.76
that was also a nice way to end,
00:19:27.80\00:19:29.13
we kind of, you know,
00:19:29.16\00:19:30.50
sandwich between
everybody praying for us
00:19:30.53\00:19:32.60
to get there the
fact that they thought
00:19:32.63\00:19:34.44
what we were
doing was evangelism.
00:19:34.47\00:19:36.91
Every morning
throughout the week,
00:19:36.94\00:19:38.84
I not by choice,
00:19:38.87\00:19:40.38
I was waking up
earlier and earlier
00:19:40.41\00:19:42.18
and had my devotion
00:19:42.21\00:19:43.58
and then I would read
00:19:43.61\00:19:45.91
what's going on
throughout the world
00:19:45.95\00:19:47.42
and that was always a bad idea,
00:19:47.45\00:19:49.48
but it would let us
know what's going on
00:19:49.52\00:19:52.62
and I would have to
put it out of my mind
00:19:52.65\00:19:55.72
while I'm on
the job site though.
00:19:55.76\00:19:57.43
Number one, for a safety reason.
00:19:57.46\00:19:58.79
You got to be, you gotta
00:19:58.83\00:20:00.16
you know watch what you're doing
00:20:00.20\00:20:01.53
but two, you know we
wanted to be very present
00:20:01.56\00:20:04.13
and be there for
why we were there,
00:20:04.17\00:20:06.57
but it was hard, you
know, yeah, during lunch,
00:20:06.60\00:20:08.64
you look at your phone
and you see what's going on,
00:20:08.67\00:20:10.91
but you just have to
put it out of your mind
00:20:10.94\00:20:12.94
and there was time
for that in the evening
00:20:12.97\00:20:14.78
to spend time on
the phone with airlines
00:20:14.81\00:20:18.85
and with
Lisandro and with others,
00:20:18.88\00:20:20.62
but during the day,
00:20:20.65\00:20:22.02
I would do my best
to put it out of there.
00:20:22.05\00:20:25.19
So as soon as we
got there, Claude, Al
00:20:25.22\00:20:26.96
and I realized as
of Sunday, you know,
00:20:26.99\00:20:30.03
the world is continuing
to send into chaos around us.
00:20:30.06\00:20:33.26
We were fine, we
were in good shape
00:20:33.29\00:20:35.46
but getting home was
going to be a challenge.
00:20:35.50\00:20:37.90
We were originally
supposed to be there
00:20:37.93\00:20:39.43
through Tuesday
of the following week
00:20:39.47\00:20:41.27
with a very nice
excursion on the beach,
00:20:41.30\00:20:43.04
it was going to be great.
00:20:43.07\00:20:44.87
We made the
decision on Sunday you know,
00:20:44.91\00:20:46.98
two days after we got there
00:20:47.01\00:20:48.34
like we got to get out
as soon as the work's done.
00:20:48.38\00:20:51.58
When it was time to leave,
00:20:51.61\00:20:52.95
half of the group
departed successfully
00:20:52.98\00:20:54.85
with the help of
an airline manager
00:20:54.88\00:20:56.38
for seven countries in
West Africa named Jean-Luc.
00:20:56.42\00:21:00.86
He's a problem solver.
00:21:00.89\00:21:02.22
So, we continue the conversation
00:21:02.26\00:21:03.93
while our guys make
it through security.
00:21:03.96\00:21:05.59
We weren't going to
leave until they were through.
00:21:05.63\00:21:08.50
And, so he and
Gilberto strike a conversation
00:21:08.53\00:21:11.50
and more information
00:21:11.53\00:21:13.10
and as we're
leaving, we get his card
00:21:13.13\00:21:14.90
because Gilberto thinks
oh, you know, at some point,
00:21:14.94\00:21:18.27
I might need him, right?
00:21:18.31\00:21:19.64
I might need another
group, might have a problem,
00:21:19.67\00:21:22.11
so we get his information.
00:21:22.14\00:21:24.98
And so we leave and
we go back to the hotel
00:21:25.01\00:21:27.58
and we're ready for the next day
00:21:27.62\00:21:29.18
and our group
makes it out no problems,
00:21:29.22\00:21:31.25
they get through
and they get home.
00:21:31.29\00:21:34.22
The second half of the
group's flight was cancelled.
00:21:34.26\00:21:37.76
To make matters worse,
00:21:37.79\00:21:39.13
Jean-Luc told Greg that
00:21:39.16\00:21:40.50
Cote d'Ivoire would be
closing its airport and borders
00:21:40.53\00:21:42.96
the following night.
00:21:43.00\00:21:45.97
They had already
purchased backup tickets.
00:21:46.00\00:21:48.24
So the next day
00:21:48.27\00:21:49.60
the group
arrived at the airport,
00:21:49.64\00:21:50.97
but were denied boarding
00:21:51.01\00:21:52.34
because they had transferred
through Europe the week before.
00:21:52.37\00:21:55.84
They would miss the deadline.
00:21:55.88\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\00:22:07.66
With commercial
flights off the table,
00:22:07.69\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\00:22:15.13
and researched an
expensive charter flight.
00:22:15.16\00:22:18.63
Maranatha worked through
00:22:18.67\00:22:20.00
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\00:22:25.44
where the
remaining volunteers lived.
00:22:25.47\00:22:28.74
There was talk of
an evacuation flight
00:22:28.78\00:22:30.81
for US citizens
later in the week.
00:22:30.85\00:22:35.32
I get a voice
message over WhatsApp
00:22:35.35\00:22:37.52
from the embassy lady.
00:22:37.55\00:22:38.89
She says,
00:22:38.92\00:22:40.32
"I think I've got an option.
00:22:40.36\00:22:41.69
I'm going to be
sending you information
00:22:41.72\00:22:43.06
that you need to
fill out for your group."
00:22:43.09\00:22:44.83
And she said, "Your group
needs to pray that this works."
00:22:44.86\00:22:49.46
A government
employee telling me to pray.
00:22:49.50\00:22:52.30
Okay. I'm going to listen.
00:22:52.33\00:22:54.60
And so we brought
everybody together
00:22:54.64\00:22:56.34
and said guys,
00:22:56.37\00:22:57.71
we're going to have a
prayer meeting right now
00:22:57.74\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\00:23:06.51
And so we laid it all out there,
00:23:06.55\00:23:08.08
and that was the first time
00:23:08.12\00:23:09.98
where I finally truly let it go.
00:23:10.02\00:23:13.92
Up until then,
00:23:13.96\00:23:15.29
I've been trying to
use all of my training,
00:23:15.32\00:23:18.69
all of the experience
to work through the problem
00:23:18.73\00:23:22.33
and that was
finally when I just said,
00:23:22.36\00:23:23.87
"God, take it, go
ahead and You run with it."
00:23:23.90\00:23:28.47
So, we had an
amazing prayer session
00:23:28.50\00:23:31.37
and, you know,
00:23:31.41\00:23:34.11
about a half hour after
we finished a prayer session,
00:23:34.14\00:23:37.58
I get a call from Jean-Luc.
00:23:37.61\00:23:39.55
He calls me
rather than just email.
00:23:39.58\00:23:41.02
He says, "I have
seats, I have four seats.
00:23:41.05\00:23:44.59
Who do you want on it?"
00:23:44.62\00:23:45.95
Twenty minutes later, he
calls me again and he says,
00:23:45.99\00:23:47.76
well, he says,
00:23:47.79\00:23:50.43
"What would you think if I
got all 13 on that flight?"
00:23:50.46\00:23:52.46
I said, "I would think that
00:23:52.49\00:23:53.83
you're a direct answer to prayer
00:23:53.86\00:23:55.20
is what I would think."
00:23:55.23\00:23:56.56
And he started going
through all the information
00:23:56.60\00:23:59.60
taking the credit
card and getting us booked.
00:23:59.63\00:24:01.64
So he said you need to
be at the airport at six.
00:24:01.67\00:24:04.37
So, within
three and a half hours
00:24:04.41\00:24:07.11
of that prayer session,
00:24:07.14\00:24:08.94
we were booked,
ticketed at the airport,
00:24:08.98\00:24:12.45
and that was the most
amazing direct answer to prayer
00:24:12.48\00:24:15.68
that any of us have ever seen.
00:24:15.72\00:24:17.29
I thought, I
knew what prayer was
00:24:17.32\00:24:19.12
until we had our prayer session.
00:24:19.15\00:24:21.39
Right, we were
praying the entire week
00:24:21.42\00:24:23.66
but we weren't, I'll
put, I'll speak for myself,
00:24:23.69\00:24:28.10
I won't speak
for everybody else.
00:24:28.13\00:24:29.46
I hadn't truly handed
it over to God, right?
00:24:29.50\00:24:33.40
And that was a mistake
00:24:33.44\00:24:34.77
and one that I
hope I don't make again.
00:24:34.80\00:24:37.34
The second was faith,
00:24:37.37\00:24:38.71
that we needed to have faith
00:24:38.74\00:24:40.08
that God was gonna,
00:24:40.11\00:24:41.44
He brought us to this challenge,
00:24:41.48\00:24:43.04
He's gonna get us
through the challenge.
00:24:43.08\00:24:46.25
On March 23rd, after
days fraught with drama,
00:24:46.28\00:24:50.05
the group arrived
back in the United States.
00:24:50.09\00:24:54.62
You know, it felt great.
00:24:54.66\00:24:57.73
There's no question about that.
00:24:57.76\00:24:59.09
I told you know,
customs and border patrol,
00:24:59.13\00:25:01.63
he said, "Welcome America."
00:25:01.66\00:25:03.00
I said, "You have no
idea how welcome I am."
00:25:03.03\00:25:05.13
And so one of the
biggest takeaways is
00:25:05.17\00:25:06.80
as I think God was just,
00:25:06.84\00:25:08.40
He was just kind
of sitting behind me,
00:25:08.44\00:25:09.84
you know, just watching
00:25:09.87\00:25:11.21
and finally when it was time
00:25:11.24\00:25:13.11
He just kind of
tapped me on the shoulder
00:25:13.14\00:25:14.61
and said, "Are you
ready for me to take it now?
00:25:14.64\00:25:18.15
Good, you gave it up.
00:25:18.18\00:25:19.71
I've got it now.
Let's get this done."
00:25:19.75\00:25:21.85
You know, two
days of worrying about,
00:25:21.88\00:25:24.42
ten days of
worrying and planning for me,
00:25:24.45\00:25:27.36
He got it done in
three and a half hours.
00:25:27.39\00:25:30.33
So that that's the
biggest learning for me.
00:25:30.36\00:25:33.70
By March 24th,
00:25:33.73\00:25:35.06
all Maranatha
volunteers had made it home
00:25:35.10\00:25:38.60
whether it was disrupting travel
00:25:38.63\00:25:40.54
or postponing
volunteer projects,
00:25:40.57\00:25:42.90
COVID-19 had a
significant impact
00:25:42.94\00:25:45.67
on Maranatha during March 2020,
00:25:45.71\00:25:48.51
but it could not crush
the spirit of Maranatha.
00:25:48.54\00:25:53.08
I was really taken
00:25:53.11\00:25:55.08
by how every single group leader
00:25:55.12\00:25:57.45
that we were working
with, mission trip leader,
00:25:57.49\00:26:00.66
was so focused on wanting
to get their volunteers out
00:26:00.69\00:26:04.09
into the mission field,
00:26:04.13\00:26:05.46
and they were
really focused and really
00:26:05.49\00:26:09.26
it was really important to them
that they fulfilled the mission
00:26:09.30\00:26:12.47
that they had started.
00:26:12.50\00:26:13.84
Many of them had
taken site visits
00:26:13.87\00:26:15.47
ahead of time and felt like
00:26:15.50\00:26:16.84
they made a
commitment to the host community
00:26:16.87\00:26:18.41
that they were going to visit.
00:26:18.44\00:26:19.77
And so that, for them
it was almost personal
00:26:19.81\00:26:21.64
that they might
not be able to go
00:26:21.68\00:26:23.55
and so, almost to a person
these leaders were feeling that
00:26:23.58\00:26:29.55
if God wanted them to
go that He would make the,
00:26:29.58\00:26:33.19
He would open the doors for them
00:26:33.22\00:26:34.56
and make it possible,
00:26:34.59\00:26:35.92
if not He would shut the doors.
00:26:35.96\00:26:37.29
And until the door is shut,
00:26:37.33\00:26:38.66
they were going to
push as hard as possible
00:26:38.69\00:26:40.26
and that was really inspiring.
00:26:40.30\00:26:43.43
March 2020 was a
trying time for the world,
00:26:43.47\00:26:47.50
but in the
following weeks and months,
00:26:47.54\00:26:49.44
Maranatha began to push forward.
00:26:49.47\00:26:54.24
Our local crews,
sheltering in place
00:26:54.28\00:26:56.51
started to safely work
in countries like India,
00:26:56.54\00:27:01.38
Zambia and Kenya.
00:27:01.42\00:27:06.89
The mission was
interrupted, but not stopped.
00:27:11.03\00:27:13.73
Months later
00:27:18.37\00:27:19.70
volunteers would
again serve on projects
00:27:19.73\00:27:22.27
starting in the United States.
00:27:22.30\00:27:23.91
Despite seemingly
insurmountable odds,
00:27:28.04\00:27:31.11
Maranatha would
continue to advance the mission
00:27:31.15\00:27:34.12
with the same
unrelenting passion
00:27:34.15\00:27:36.52
displayed by our volunteers.
00:27:36.55\00:27:38.79