Participants:
Series Code: MTS
Program Code: MTS002005A
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00:15 Some of my favorite stories from the past,
00:17 including the little church planter 00:19 on the Amazon River, and the Trumpet family 00:22 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 00:24 All that and much more coming up next. 00:51 Hello and welcome to Mission 360. 00:54 Coming to you today 00:55 from the city of Jerusalem in Israel. 00:58 You know, Jesus often came 01:00 to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives to pray, 01:05 often with His disciples. 01:07 And, of course, the most famous occasion 01:09 was on that night when Jesus struggled 01:13 with the fact that He was going to die. 01:15 We don't know what anguish went through His heart, 01:18 went through His soul, but we do know that 01:22 He made a decision there 01:24 that has repercussions for eternity. 01:26 And we're so thankful for that decision. 01:29 Of course, this garden today 01:31 looks more romanticized with beautiful flowers. 01:34 Back then I imagined it was a much rugged, 01:36 much more rugged, rough look. 01:38 When Jesus' disciples couldn't stay awake 01:41 to keep praying with Jesus. 01:43 And I've wondered would I have done any better 01:46 under those circumstances, 01:48 under that sort of pressure, 01:50 but whatever it was Jesus was there alone 01:53 in the garden with the Father. 01:55 Well, the good news is that yes, 01:57 Jesus died but He was resurrected 02:00 and that is what now empowers our mission. 02:03 And on today's program, 02:04 we'll be taking you all around the world 02:06 to see mission in action. 02:08 First up, let's travel to Brazil 02:10 and meet a little church planter 02:12 traveling in a canoe. 02:33 If you want to get anywhere in northern Brazil, 02:35 you need to be comfortable on a boat. 02:37 It can be a large ferry carrying lots of people, 02:40 cars and trucks or as small as a canoe. 02:44 Water travel is a way of life 02:45 along the rivers of the North Brazil Union 02:48 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 02:50 This area of Brazil has seen tremendous growth 02:53 over the past few years. 02:54 And not all of it has taken place 02:56 in the large churches and the big cities. 02:58 In some very remote areas 03:01 people are hearing the good news of Jesus 03:03 and His love and forgiveness. 03:05 Lives are being changed 03:07 and people are being reached all along the water. 03:33 Vitoria seems like any active 10-year-old girl. 03:37 She loves to spend time 03:38 with her parents and Brother Daniel. 03:40 She even has a pet Toucan, name Samson. 03:43 Yet Victoria has done 03:44 something most young girls haven't done. 03:47 She has planted a small group 03:49 that meets every week to study the Bible. 03:52 One day a week Vitoria climbs into her small canoe 03:55 and paddles her way up the river 03:57 that her family lives on. 03:58 The river is part of the Amazon River Basin 04:01 which covers this part of Northern Brazil 04:04 like a million slithering snakes. 04:06 With skill and determination, 04:08 she makes her way up river to the houses of friends 04:11 that she picks up to take to the Bible study. 04:14 Vitoria explains why she's willing to navigate 04:16 such a big river in such a small boat. 04:24 I had to take a canoe 04:26 because I had no way of going in a bigger boat. 04:29 I'm too small, so I had to go with the canoe. 04:33 Sometimes her brother comes along to help out. 04:36 And when the canoe is full, 04:38 they make their way to a path 04:39 that leads them into the jungle. 04:42 They walk on top of fallen logs 04:44 trying not to fall off into the thick mud 04:46 that covers the forest floor. 04:49 They finally come to a small hut 04:51 on stilts that overlooks another outlet of the river. 04:55 This is the home of another friend 04:57 who has offered to host the Bible studies 04:59 as long as he's allowed to attend as well. 05:02 The young people start with prayer 05:04 and quickly open the Small Groups magazine 05:06 produced by the South American division 05:09 to use as a study guide. 05:10 They also use the Sabbath School lesson 05:12 to guide their studies. 05:14 After a discussion on the topic of the lesson, 05:16 they sing songs and close with a prayer. 05:20 Vitoria gives a simple reason 05:22 for wanting to tell her friends about Jesus. 05:29 Because I want to be in heaven with them. 05:32 Three of Vitoria's friends have been baptized 05:34 because of her witness, 05:36 and they are inviting more friends 05:38 to their weekly lessons. 05:40 If a young child is willing to brave 05:42 a big river to share her faith with her friends, 05:45 just imagine what we all can do 05:46 to help spread the gospel around the world. 05:49 All we need is a little faith, courage, 05:52 and the work of the Holy Spirit. 05:53 And we can do wonders in Jesus name 05:56 just like a little girl up on the Amazon River. 06:02 The purpose of the Global Mission pioneer program 06:04 is to start new groups of believers 06:06 in new areas or among new people groups. 06:08 And the idea is to have a pioneer 06:11 from within that culture. 06:12 They know the language, they know the people. 06:14 But that's not always possible 06:16 because there's parts of the world where, 06:17 of course, we don't have enough Adventist believers 06:20 if we have any at all. 06:21 And that's the case 06:23 where my guest today is working. 06:25 And you came here from your home country 06:29 many, many miles away. 06:30 And I'm wondering, 06:32 what was the purpose for your coming? 06:33 What motivated you to come here? 06:36 Well, the special thing I was motivated is 06:40 because my love for the mission, 06:43 my love for God because I received many things 06:47 from God and I decided to serve Him. 06:50 Okay, so you were serving as a pastor 06:52 in your home country. 06:53 How did your family react when you said, 06:56 "I want to go to Middle East North Africa?" 06:59 You know, all the people around me, 07:02 they were surprised because it was a hard decision. 07:08 I talked to my father and my mom. 07:11 And they said, "Okay, 07:13 if it the wishes of God, you can go. 07:17 For us it's not easy, 07:18 but we know that God will be with you wherever you go." 07:23 Wonderful. 07:24 So you came here different language, 07:28 different culture, 07:29 different climate, different environment, 07:31 what were the major challenges that you have faced? 07:36 Yeah, at the beginning was a little bit hard 07:41 because all that you mentioned, all the stuff... 07:46 In the three first months, 07:50 it was hard. 07:52 Because, you know, you have to learn many things 07:57 about people, about culture, language especially, 08:02 I speak Spanish and English, 08:06 no French, no Arabic. 08:09 So it was so hard for me, 08:13 but I can support that. 08:16 Good, good, good. 08:17 So tell me what sort of activities 08:20 have you been involved in? 08:21 Yeah. 08:23 Normally, I try to make friends. 08:27 I go for gym or some places 08:32 and try to connect with them, 08:35 maybe exchange numbers. 08:38 Yeah, chatting by Facebook 08:41 or WhatsApp and, you know, 08:44 to know each other and to share experience. 08:48 So are you learning the language? 08:51 Yeah, I know I learned 08:55 some the basic parts of the language. 08:59 So tell me an experience 09:02 that you've had 09:03 where you've had the opportunity 09:05 to share with somebody? 09:08 Yeah, at the beginning it was... 09:11 What I expected was like 09:14 I can't share anything about my beliefs. 09:17 Right. 09:19 But after when I met some friends, they asked me, 09:24 you know, like who are you? 09:27 Where are you coming from? 09:30 Are you religious? 09:32 Do you have any religion? 09:34 And it was... 09:37 Yeah, it was so exciting for me. 09:39 And I continued to talk about the topic. 09:44 Finally, we talked about 09:49 the special thing 09:50 that we came to share, you know, about salvation, 09:54 about the kingdom of God, 09:56 about similar beliefs that we have with the local people. 10:02 But the most exciting thing for me was 10:05 when I talked with my friends 10:09 about the salvation that we have in Jesus. 10:12 It was the best part 10:14 and the best experience that I have and I had. 10:18 Yeah, I think it is so nice in this part of the world. 10:24 So when they asked you about your beliefs 10:27 and then you are able to share the story of salvation, 10:30 how did they react? 10:34 Well, the reaction of them, you know, 10:37 you have to explain them step by step. 10:40 Yes. 10:42 But at the beginning, I have to learn, 10:46 I have to know about what they believe 10:48 and learn about the book of them. 10:53 I can share about the book that I use, 10:57 it means the Bible. 10:59 But I study a lot of about the Quran 11:04 and learn the similarities 11:06 that we have between Quran and Bible. 11:09 And talk about with them 11:11 only about the Quran not about the Bible. 11:13 Right. 11:15 And they were surprised 11:16 because they don't study like I have studied. 11:20 And they say, "Whoa, really? 11:21 It says in the Quran. 11:23 In the Quran talk about Jesus?" 11:25 "Yes, look at this. Here is a verse." 11:27 Yeah. "Read it. You can read." 11:29 Yeah, this is a wonder how I managed 11:33 the conversation with my friends. 11:35 Right. 11:36 So you're following Jesus' example of meeting people 11:39 where they are within their understanding. 11:42 Wonderful. Yeah. 11:44 Now what plans do you have for the future? 11:47 Well, the plan is to create 11:52 a sports club for children, 11:57 for young people to teach sports. 12:02 We already did this project. 12:07 I hope in some days after, 12:11 we will start this project, to open this project. 12:15 Right. 12:17 And so this will give you an opportunity 12:18 to be a center of influence 12:20 where you can connect with the community, 12:22 with children with their parents? 12:24 Exactly. This is the plan. 12:25 Connect first with the children and then talk with the parents, 12:29 maybe have some meeting with them. 12:31 And teach also Spanish for the children 12:35 because in the part where I'm living, 12:39 they like a lot of Spanish. 12:42 That's very, very helpful. 12:44 Well, thank you so much for sharing with us today. 12:47 And God bless you in the work that you're doing. 12:50 Thank you so much 12:51 for letting me sharing this experience. 12:54 That's a privilege. 12:55 And viewers at home, 12:57 it's not easy 12:58 being on the frontlines of mission. 13:00 It can be lonely. 13:01 Sometimes it can be discouraging far from home, 13:04 so please pray for people such as our guest today. 13:08 Pray that God will be close to them that 13:10 they'll feel God's presence 13:12 and that He will continue to bless their ministry. 13:14 We'll be right back after this break. |
Revised 2020-08-28