Welcome back to Hong Kong.
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Our very special guest
is Elder Bob Folkenberg.
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And, Bob,
welcome to the program.
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It's good to be here.
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I have enjoyed very much
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listening to the various reports
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and the activities
taking place in China.
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You know, I
remember back in 1975,
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I first came to Hong Kong. Wow.
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Took a train out,
looked across the border
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and what I saw
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and thought then has changed
a quite a bit from today.
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What have you seen taking
place in China for the gospel?
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Well, you are
mentioning the year 1975,
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at that point we didn't know
what God was doing in China.
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And when we got to about 1980,
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we began to start
getting some reports
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of what God had
done, what He was doing.
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And we found that He
was working a miracle
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during those
very difficult times
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in Chinese history.
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When the church went basically
underground in the late '49,
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basically early '50s we
only had 20,000, 21,000 members.
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But in the '80s when we
started getting reports,
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we had over 200,000 members.
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So as you were looking across...
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Yes, God was still working.
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He was still
working in his special way
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and since that time
as China has opened up
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and religious
freedom has blossomed more,
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we have now taken our
membership over 400,000.
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In fact 428,000
we praise the Lord.
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Yeah, you know,
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in addition to the
blessing of the Holy Spirit
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provides to make that happen.
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What do you see
as the key values
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and the key components
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of having that
growth take place?
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Well, I think that
what you see clearly
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especially from those years
of persecution and difficulty
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even up until now is
strong member involvement.
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Okay.
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This is a lay laid church.
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Out of 428,000
members, Elder Ryan,
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we only have about
140 ordained ministers.
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Okay, wow.
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Only 140 and then
we have all of these
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other lay
ministers that are working
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and leading the
church all across China.
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So number one I
would say lay involvement
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and number two is
just a deep love for Jesus.
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They can't help
but share Christ.
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That, you know, I also
know that there're many programs
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that we actually
partner with the government on.
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They give us
permission to print books
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and they're supportive of that,
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and what are some of
the ministries that we see
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taking place in China,
they bring hope to people.
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You know, you are right,
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the government is looking
for churches to participate
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in serving the
needs of a community.
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I just heard just last
week of a new church plant
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and one of the
provinces in China
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that has
developed the relationship
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with an orphanage
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and their members go in
there every week to spend time,
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and these are orphans
that have special needs
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and they are ministering
to those people in that way.
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The government which is...
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by the way the orphanage is run
by the government is delighted
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to have this church come in.
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We have other ministries
like that going on to lepers
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for example, into
other special needs.
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The fact is the
more our membership
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gets involved in the community,
the more relevant they are.
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Well, it's actually
really the ministry of Jesus.
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It is, yeah.
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It's the method
that Christ used,
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He actually
touched people's lives.
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That's right.
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Spend much more time healing
than He ever did preaching.
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Oh, He did.
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Many of our churches
are doing health expos,
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they are teaching
health principles.
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Many of our churches have
what they call health centers
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but what they are,
are lifestyle centers
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and they invite
people with terminal disease
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and lifestyle
diseases to come in
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and wonderful
things happen physically
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but more so spiritually.
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Hundreds of...
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and I'm not just exaggerating.
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Hundreds of
people come to know Jesus
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and join this church.
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Well, I have been,
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was surprised
today to hear of the,
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almost like sanitarium type...
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Yes.
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Institutions that are operating
in China by local churches.
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That's right.
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They are the ones
implementing them.
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That's exact and these
are not small enterprises.
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Lots of people come
and I was surprised,
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when I visited them,
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when they have
their morning instruction
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or their class time,
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they start out with a
strong devotional message,
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they then talk about Jesus,
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they talk about the power of God
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to help them
overcome certain habits.
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They are open with
morning and evening devotionals.
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Let me just put
it that way, worship.
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These are non
Christian people, atheists,
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some of them are
even government officials.
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But you know, we have talked
about the various ministries
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that are taking place in China,
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the things that our
members are involved
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and they make
this growth take place.
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But we cannot sidestep
the question of the challenge.
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Yes.
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The challenge is
there, I mean China is now...
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1.4 billion.
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1.4 billion people and I
know that there are cities
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probably
scattered throughout China
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in which probably
Christianity in general
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has just made a
beginning if anything.
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That is exactly
right, entire provinces.
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You and I when talking usually,
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we have a province
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where we don't even
have one single member.
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And the Christian presence
as a body is very, very scarce.
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There are millions
upon millions of people
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in large cities in
China that have yet to hear
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that they can go to
bed at night at peace
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knowing that Jesus loves them.
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We have one city, Elder Ryan,
that has 30 million people,
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that's more people
in that one municipality
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than all the
states, United States
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except for California,
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and we only have 200
members or so in that huge city.
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I don't want us
to get by the time
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here without this question.
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You know, there're many people
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watching this
from around the world,
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this is the
Adventist mission video,
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and you know when
we used to talk about
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these un-entered cities
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and these
multiple millions of people
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that haven't had the message.
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What role does the
rest of the membership play
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in bringing that hope to them?
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Well, you know what?
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I appreciate that
question because I believe
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the most important role
is please pray for China.
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There is power in prayer.
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This is a God sized
task, pray for China.
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Number two please...
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I like that
expression that God sized task.
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That's exactly right.
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Yeah, just be
sure you remember that.
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A God sized task,
it is, it's way beyond
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our ability even to comprehend.
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So we need to
pray, and secondly,
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please support global missions.
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It is through go
Adventist missions.
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Those funds that you give
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come to help us put
pioneer missionaries
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in un-entered cities.
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They speak the
language, they know the culture
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and they're trained
by our local members.
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There is a lot we can do.
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And that spending
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that is on top of the
mission offering at time.
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Exactly, yes.
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That's exactly right. Yeah.
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Anyway, thank you.
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Yeah, and I'm sure you
want to thank the people.
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Absolutely, our
greatest thanks go to that,
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we feel supported,
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in fact one of the Chinese
pastor just recently said,
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we feel humbled that
there is so much love
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and support around the
world for our church here.
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Thank you, Elder Folkenberg
for being our guest today.
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Now we're gonna go to Rwanda
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and South Sudan
for further stories.
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Africa beautiful landscapes
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with unique cultures
and teeming with history,
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home to more than
one billion people.
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The African continent is
rich with mission opportunities.
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Here you find some of the most
picturesque scenery on earth,
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as well as loving
people who are full of joy.
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Unfortunately this
beauty has been marred
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time and again
by war and violence.
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Despite the problems
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there are more
than seven million
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Seventh-day Adventists
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and three world
division offices here.
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One of the divisions
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is the East
Central Africa division
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and this is our
focus this quarter.
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This territory is
made up of 11 countries
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and more than 11,000 churches.
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Four of the countries
are in the 1040 Window,
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a region considered to be
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the most
unreached area of the world.
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In countries like the
Democratically Public of Congo,
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Burundi, Eritrea,
Rwanda and Somalia.
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War and violence
have taken a heavy toll
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impacting thousands of lives.
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In Rwanda, tribal genocide
affected church members,
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left buildings in ruin
and scattered families.
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But the resilience
of this faithful people
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is helping to make
strikes towards a strong church.
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The church in Rwanda has
more than half a million members
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and is well
respected in the community.
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Rwandans are required to
perform community service
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on the last
Saturday of each month
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but the
government makes an exception
00:08:55.70\00:08:57.33
for Adventist members
to perform these duties
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on Sunday instead
00:08:59.90\00:09:01.70
to accommodate
Sabbath observance.
00:09:01.74\00:09:03.57
In the country of South
Sudan, there has also been war
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and sadly
fighting is still going on.
00:09:12.35\00:09:15.82
But in spite of these
problems, God is working here.
00:09:15.85\00:09:19.52
There are 59 Adventist churches
00:09:19.55\00:09:22.36
with
approximately 24,000 members
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and more and more
people are becoming Adventists
00:09:25.19\00:09:28.06
every year in South Sudan.
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This Sabbath, church members
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from all over Juba are
joining together in worship.
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They celebrate
growth in their territory.
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God is richly
blessing the dedicated work
00:09:39.57\00:09:42.14
of this faithful family.
00:09:42.18\00:09:44.35
Juba is the capital city
00:09:44.38\00:09:46.08
where Adventists
operate a school, a clinic,
00:09:46.11\00:09:49.08
and among other entities
and Adventist radio station.
00:09:49.12\00:09:54.46
There are approximately 900
students at the school here,
00:09:54.49\00:09:57.76
but not enough
classrooms to accommodate them.
00:09:57.79\00:10:00.73
Students sit tightly
together as they share a desk
00:10:00.76\00:10:04.73
and some have
to sit on the floor
00:10:04.77\00:10:06.63
as they write with
notebooks on their laps.
00:10:06.67\00:10:09.44
The children
pay little attention
00:10:09.47\00:10:11.17
to these inconveniences.
00:10:11.21\00:10:13.04
They are eager to learn
00:10:13.07\00:10:14.61
and are very respectful towards
their teachers and faculty.
00:10:14.64\00:10:18.05
Good morning, Sir.
00:10:18.08\00:10:21.38
How are you?
00:10:21.42\00:10:22.75
I'm fine, thank you, Sir.
00:10:22.78\00:10:26.19
Which class is this?
00:10:26.22\00:10:27.59
PII
00:10:27.62\00:10:29.59
PII? Yes.
00:10:29.62\00:10:31.29
Yes, thank you very much.
00:10:31.33\00:10:33.83
There are many plans for growth
00:10:33.86\00:10:35.50
in the East
Central Africa division.
00:10:35.53\00:10:38.17
Please pray for local leadership
00:10:38.20\00:10:40.67
and for church members as
they are actively involved
00:10:40.70\00:10:43.54
in reaching
their world for Jesus.
00:10:43.57\00:10:45.97
Well, I hope that
you have enjoyed today's
00:10:58.19\00:10:59.92
360 degree of
mission around the world,
00:10:59.95\00:11:02.72
and I hope that
you've been inspired
00:11:02.76\00:11:04.43
and challenged by
what you've seen and heard.
00:11:04.46\00:11:07.60
From more rural areas in
Africa through to high density,
00:11:07.63\00:11:11.83
highly populated
cities such as Hong Kong,
00:11:11.87\00:11:14.90
men and women are
sharing the light of God's love
00:11:14.94\00:11:17.44
in very practical ways.
00:11:17.47\00:11:19.44
And I want to thank
you for your continuing
00:11:19.47\00:11:21.04
support for mission
through your prayers,
00:11:21.08\00:11:23.58
through your
personal involvement,
00:11:23.61\00:11:25.15
and through your giving.
00:11:25.18\00:11:26.78
It does make a
tremendous difference.
00:11:26.82\00:11:28.98
And I want to remind you
about companion magazine,
00:11:29.02\00:11:31.95
our Mission 360
Magazine that's full of stories
00:11:31.99\00:11:35.02
just like you see
here on this program.
00:11:35.06\00:11:37.33
Full of stories,
full of pictures,
00:11:37.36\00:11:39.23
full of inspiration to
keep you on the frontlines
00:11:39.26\00:11:43.67
of what's happening in
mission around the world.
00:11:43.70\00:11:45.90
And if you'd like to get a
hard copy of this magazine,
00:11:45.93\00:11:48.87
I'll be happy to
send that to you,
00:11:48.90\00:11:50.64
but if you look at the
information on your screen,
00:11:50.67\00:11:52.57
you can see how easy it
is to download the magazine
00:11:52.61\00:11:55.91
on to your digital tablets
00:11:55.94\00:11:57.58
so that you can read it
00:11:57.61\00:11:58.95
in the comfort of your own home,
00:11:58.98\00:12:00.32
as you're traveling you
can share it with others
00:12:00.35\00:12:02.15
or you can just
view it on the internet
00:12:02.18\00:12:03.55
at adventistmission.org.
00:12:03.59\00:12:05.65
Well, for Adventist
Mission, I'm Gary Krause,
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and I hope that you
can join me next time
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right here on Mission 360.
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