Participants:
Series Code: MTS
Program Code: MTS002201A
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00:18 Missionaries help improve a university in Mozambique,
00:21 a woman who lost two legs becomes a church planter, 00:25 and the story of two pioneer missionaries 00:27 in Cambodia 00:28 coming up next. 01:01 Hello and welcome to Mission 360. 01:02 I'm Gary Krause. 01:04 Today's program is coming to you 01:05 from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 01:08 and I'm actually standing in a museum here 01:11 in Phnom Penh 01:12 that records documents 01:14 a very dark chapter in Cambodia's history. 01:18 That was the period of the Cambodian genocide 01:21 in between 1975 and 1979. 01:25 Different estimates, 01:27 but probably some 1.7 million people were killed 01:31 during that time. 01:32 And as you walk through this museum, 01:34 you go into the cells where people were detained. 01:37 Some of the thousands of photos of the Khmer Rouge 01:40 took of their victims are on display. 01:43 And as you look into the eyes of these people, 01:46 older people, young people, children, 01:49 it's just a record 01:51 of how dark the human soul can be 01:54 without the love of Jesus in dictating, 01:58 directing people's lives. 02:00 And that dark chapter is now 02:03 something that is in the distant past 02:04 in terms of young people today. 02:06 They weren't part of it, 02:08 but it's a history that cannot be forgotten. 02:11 And today we'll be talking more about 02:14 what has happened here in Cambodia. 02:15 We'll be talking about mission in Cambodia. 02:17 We'll be talking to Dr. and Mrs. Ng 02:19 who are missionaries here 02:20 and left about three weeks 02:22 before the Khmer Rouge took power. 02:24 First up, 02:25 let's meet some missionaries in Mozambique, Africa. 02:32 We are in front of Adventist University of Mozambique, 02:36 which is located Beira, 02:37 which is near the center of the country 02:40 and right of the sea. 02:41 The story of how we arrived in here 02:44 is interesting. 02:45 I was a geology professor in pharma, 02:48 the Adventist University of the Amazon 02:51 near Belem, Brazil. 02:53 Malu my wife was the educational coordinator 02:56 in the same institution. 02:57 We were very comfortable, 03:00 but then I received an email 03:02 inviting me to teach 03:03 at the Adventist University of Mozambique. 03:06 I was uncertain at first, 03:09 I had never thought about overseas mission. 03:12 What would it be like? 03:14 How would my family adjust? 03:16 Many things went through my mind, 03:19 but I had to share the news with my wife first. 03:22 When he told me about the email I responded, 03:25 "Really? Let's go. Let's go right away." 03:28 Malu's response caught Dr. Heraldo by surprise. 03:32 Part of him hoped 03:33 she would turn down the invitation, 03:35 but when she immediately accepted it, 03:37 he saw it as God's approval to go. 03:40 When they arrived, 03:41 the university campus was in decay 03:43 and the students and staff lacked 03:45 the most basic necessities like food. 03:48 This is a charcoal oven. 03:51 You put the charcoal below and the pan on top. 03:54 It is a typical oven in this nation. 03:57 One day I found a school worker cooking rice in a small pan 04:01 with a bit of cabbage on top. 04:04 I asked him 04:05 if that was his only meal for the day, 04:08 the man said, 04:09 "Yes, this is my only meal today." 04:12 So I asked him 04:14 if that was going to be enough to feed him. 04:16 And he said, 04:18 "Oh, no, this is not just for me. 04:20 It's for me and two other people. 04:23 Dr. Heraldo returned to his office in tears. 04:26 He and my Malu knew 04:27 the students couldn't study and learn on empty stomachs. 04:30 So they prayed together for God to provide. 04:33 He answered their prayer through a missionary 04:35 who donated funds to start a cafeteria. 04:38 Now the university serves daily meals 04:40 to students and staff. 04:52 Many other positive changes are happening 04:54 at the Adventist University of Mozambique. 04:57 New school buildings 04:58 and fields of study have been added. 04:59 And the student body has doubled in two years. 05:03 The campus church was dilapidated 05:04 and the roof leaked when it rained. 05:06 But now it has been renovated. 05:09 A new library was built and books were donated 05:12 and the university has now received 05:14 the highest level of accreditation 05:15 in Mozambique. 05:17 The faculty has also developed a mission institute 05:19 to equip students for mission and action. 05:23 After lunch on Sabbath, 05:24 the students come here to receive training. 05:27 Then they are divided into groups 05:29 to visit children, elderly, 05:32 former member of the Adventist Church 05:35 and the sick 05:36 given Bible studies as they go. 05:39 Visiting the surrounding area has greatly impacted both 05:44 the community and the lives of the students. 05:47 Some people we reach out to have already accepted Jesus 05:51 and were baptized. 05:53 In the previous year alone, 05:55 this program has strengthened the faith of many 05:57 even resulting in 17 baptisms. 05:59 And the excitement for mission continues to grow. 06:02 We aim to develop 06:04 a fully mission minded university 06:06 that prepares student 06:08 to fulfill God's mission for us. 06:12 God can use us even in simple ways. 06:15 God has used us 06:17 and we feel like we're making a difference here. 06:20 But there are still many challenges ahead. 06:22 Students and staff 06:23 at the Adventist University of Mozambique 06:25 now pray for funds 06:26 to expand the food and nutrition department 06:28 with a hands-on learning environment. 06:31 Their goal is to hold health expos, 06:33 so they can share the health message 06:34 with the community. 06:36 Please pray for cross-cultural missionaries 06:38 like Dr. Heraldo and Malu 06:40 who are serving in remote parts of the world. 06:43 Pray also for the goals 06:44 of the Adventist University of Mozambique. 06:46 And thank you for your support of Adventist Mission. 06:51 My guests are Dr. and Mrs. Ng. 06:53 And Dr. Ng is my boss, 06:55 and he's the secretary for the General Conference 06:57 of Seventh-day Adventists. 06:59 And Mrs. Ng works 07:00 for the Hope Channel International. 07:02 And thanks for joining us. 07:04 Now, for you, this is bit of sweet memories 07:07 coming back to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. 07:10 How does it feel like 07:11 to come back after all these years, Mrs. Ng? 07:14 This is the first time since we left in 1975 07:19 and I really feel so excited to come back, 07:22 you know, after so many years, 07:25 40 some years. Yeah. 07:26 And you came here as young missionaries from? 07:29 Yes. 07:30 We just finished our graduation 07:34 in November, 1972. 07:38 In Singapore. In Singapore. 07:39 And before graduating 07:42 the Southeast Asia Union 07:44 had already assigned us to go to Cambodia. 07:46 At that time, 07:48 the president of the union was Ralph Vas Jr. 07:52 When we first went to Cambodia, 07:55 we thought we must have done something wrong. 07:58 This is a punishment, 08:01 but a perceived punishment 08:04 turned out to be a great blessing to us, 08:06 you know, an experience we will not, 08:12 will not exchange for anything else. 08:14 Now you were trained as a pastor, right? 08:16 Yes. 08:17 And now they've trained you how to be a missionary? 08:20 Not really. 08:21 The curriculum 08:23 did not really cover a mission service, 08:26 mission training, 08:27 cross-cultural training as such. 08:29 In fact, the mission component was rather meeker. 08:34 Mission was not as emphasized as it should be, 08:39 you know, and we were brand new. 08:42 We did not know 08:43 what mission service was all about. 08:45 We were not IDE missionary or international employee, 08:51 missionaries send from the General Conference. 08:55 We were just interim missionary within a far Eastern division. 09:00 And we went there without mission institute, 09:03 without adequate training, without anyone instructing us, 09:07 what mission service was all about. 09:10 And I think, 09:12 for example, a group of people from the union 09:15 and from the church sent us off at the airport in Singapore. 09:19 You know, they were so happy to see off, 09:21 see us off only to find out 09:23 we did not have visa to go to the country. 09:25 A mere technicality. 09:27 And so we had to return to the school 09:33 where we were located 09:35 and a week or two later we applied visa. 09:37 Then off, we went again. 09:39 And, of course, this time, 09:40 the well-wishers were much fewer 09:44 than what it was before. 09:47 So the standard of living in Singapore was very different 09:50 to what you encountered when you came here? 09:51 What was it like when you arrived here? 09:53 How did you feel? 09:56 It was not too bad, 09:57 you know, we were young and ready to do some venturing. 10:02 Yes. Yeah. 10:04 The student missionaries told to us, 10:06 they say, we are preparing your honeymoon suite for you. 10:10 And honeymoon suite turned out to be an empty nest, 10:13 empty apartment, 10:15 but they were very kind, 10:16 they painted the whole apartment 10:18 in the Russian Information Center 10:20 on the top floor of a four-story building. 10:23 So we were very grateful for their warm welcome, 10:28 but it was a stark contrast to what life was in Singapore. 10:33 You know, we were spoiled 10:35 with all the conveniences in Singapore. 10:39 And Cambodia being a foreign country, 10:43 we did not quite know how to behave, 10:47 you know, and how to relate to people. 10:51 And the first assignment given by the union 10:54 was to study the Khmer language. 10:57 So this was an area where we make a lot of errors. 11:01 We had no language preparation whatsoever. 11:04 And so we merely hire elementary school teacher 11:10 to teach us Khmer. 11:12 And of course, 11:14 elementary school teacher did what he used to do. 11:18 And that is to use grade one textbook. 11:24 Memorize all the consonants and alphabets 11:27 of the Cambodian language, 11:29 which had its roots in Sanskrit. 11:33 You know, so it's extremely complicated language. 11:37 And so we memorize all, a lot of words, 11:41 memorize a lot of sentences, but we couldn't put them to use 11:46 because we could not communicate 11:49 when we went marketing and so on. 11:52 Only to find out later that 11:55 that was not the best way to study language. 11:58 And it was only months later, we discovered by chance, 12:03 a textbook published 12:05 by the State Department of the United States government 12:08 in which they train missionaries 12:11 within a short period of time, like three months 12:14 to speak the Khmer language 12:15 emphasizing only on conversation 12:19 and not on the vocabulary. 12:21 The aim was to build up your confidence, 12:23 to speak the language, 12:24 to be able to communicate with people, you know. 12:27 After that you learn the consonants, 12:29 the alphabets, the vocabulary and so on. 12:33 So we began to make headway after that. 12:35 Yeah. 12:37 How, how many church members were there 12:38 when you came? 12:40 There were very few of them, probably 17, 18 of them, 12:45 but we have good attendance. 12:47 Every Sabbath, 12:48 most of them came from the language school itself, 12:52 students from language school. 12:53 They relished coming to Sabbath school 12:56 and worship service 12:57 because they receive free English tuition, 13:00 so to speak. 13:02 So they got to practice their English. 13:06 They got to listen to English lectures. 13:10 And so the attendance was always good. 13:13 The chapel was always full. 13:15 Even Sabbath afternoon we had what we call the story hour, 13:20 making use of the 10 volume, 13:22 a Bible story written by Arthur Maxwell. 13:26 And that's where we got a lot of converts. 13:30 And so every few months we will have baptisms. 13:34 So when we had baptisms, 13:36 we had to go to the church by the presidential palace. 13:42 The baptistery was there 13:44 and it was a time of great rejoicing 13:47 when, before we left, we had 33 members. 13:50 Wonderful. 13:52 Well, thank you so much for joining us. 13:53 And we're going to be talking 13:55 a little bit later in the program. 13:56 We actually here at the genocide museum, 13:59 which commemorates 14:01 a very unfortunate time in Cambodia's history, 14:04 which actually began about three weeks 14:06 after the Ng's were evacuated out of Cambodia. 14:09 But we'll talk about that some more, a bit later. |
Revised 2021-02-25