Participants:
Series Code: MTS
Program Code: MTS002205A
|
00:06 The vital importance of religious liberty
00:08 around the world, 00:09 mission in Vietnam and an unnamed country, 00:12 coming up next. 00:38 Hello, and welcome to Mission 360. 00:40 I'm Gary Krause. 00:41 Today's program is coming to you 00:43 from Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, 00:46 here in Vietnam, 00:48 and I'm standing in front of Independence Palace. 00:51 And this is a historic site because during the Vietnam War, 00:55 it was the home and the office of the South Vietnam president. 01:00 And this was also the sight of the end of the Vietnam War 01:04 because on April 13, 1975, 01:07 a North Vietnamese 01:09 tank crashed through these gates 01:11 during the fall of Saigon. 01:13 Well, through the years this country has been invaded 01:17 by many powerful civilizations, 01:19 but it's, the people have 01:20 proved themselves resilient and strong. 01:24 And I tell you, today's program 01:25 we'll be looking at mission around the world, 01:27 we'll be looking at mission right here in Vietnam. 01:30 But first up, let's look 01:32 at the importance of religious liberty. 01:43 For many Adventists waking up on a Sabbath morning 01:46 and going to church is routine. 01:49 It's something we do every week. 01:51 Many of us can't imagine anything more serious 01:53 than the occasional illness or bad weather preventing us 01:56 from going to church. 01:58 For the most part, 01:59 we have the freedom to worship when, where 02:02 and how we want. 02:03 This freedom is called religious liberty. 02:07 Religious Freedom or sometimes called 02:09 in the international community, freedom of religion 02:11 or belief is part of a cluster of values that 02:16 the international community has identified as necessary 02:21 for human flourishing, for peaceful coexistence 02:25 and also for societal prosperity. 02:28 The religious freedom has its roots in God. 02:32 God that created freedom and the reason is very simple. 02:35 Without freedom, love is impossible. 02:38 Love has to be a choice. 02:40 So therefore God that created freedom. 02:43 Also, even at a deeper level, 02:45 we can think all human beings 02:47 are created in the image of God. 02:50 So if God is free, then God's image ought 02:53 to also enjoy the same freedoms. 02:55 Religious freedom is fundamental in accomplishing 02:58 the mission of the Adventist Church, 03:00 both theologically and practically. 03:02 The freedom to believe is only as valuable 03:06 as your ability to build a church to worshipping 03:10 or to share your beliefs with someone else 03:13 or to keep a day holy 03:16 according to your religious beliefs. 03:17 Without that ability to act, 03:19 religious freedom doesn't really exist. 03:23 Religious liberty is typically seen 03:25 as fighting for the Adventist churches 03:27 right to worship, 03:28 or an individual Adventist's right to worship. 03:31 But at the office of Public Affairs 03:32 and Religious Liberty, 03:34 or PARL at the world church headquarters, 03:36 Adventist take religious liberty 03:39 one step further. 03:41 One of the things that I'm very proud about our church 03:43 is that we don't just protect religious liberty 03:45 for Seventh-day Adventists. 03:46 We recognize that 03:48 religious freedom is a gift from God, 03:49 and that we can't coerce anyone to follow Him. 03:52 We have to protect the rights of all people. 03:55 For instance, 03:56 PARL has signed on to a legal case 03:58 where a young Muslim girl was fired from work 04:00 for wearing a religious headdress. 04:02 PARL representatives 04:04 have supported the rights of individuals 04:06 from other faiths and efforts 04:08 to uphold their religious freedom. 04:10 What PARL advocates is an essential right 04:13 God intended for every human being. 04:16 Without going into all the facts for this case, 04:18 the important thing to note 04:20 is that many people would say, "Why would we ask to protect 04:23 the rights of a young Muslim girl?" 04:25 It's because those similar rights 04:27 in the workplace are the same things 04:29 that we as Adventist require 04:31 when we want to get Sabbath accommodation. 04:33 And so, that's why sometimes in explaining it to people, 04:36 it's important for them to understand that 04:38 religious freedom for all is important 04:41 and without it for all, we can't get it for ourselves. 05:05 My guest is Dr. GT Ng, 05:07 who is the executive secretary 05:09 of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. 05:12 And we're here in Ho Chi Minh City 05:14 and you know this territory 05:15 very well Southeast Asia, Dr. Ng. 05:18 A little bit. Yeah, a little bit. 05:20 In fact, we were just talking earlier about the fact 05:24 that you were born in Singapore, 05:27 and there was something very special about 05:28 where you were born. 05:30 Tell me about that? Yes. 05:31 My mother was the first maternity patient, 05:35 first Adventist maternity patient 05:37 of the hospital. 05:38 And I was the first Adventist baby 05:41 ever born in the hospital. 05:42 And was called the Youngberg... 05:44 Youngberg Memorial Adventist Hospital. 05:47 Wonderful. 05:48 During the 25th anniversary of the hospital, 05:51 my mother was invited 05:52 by the hospital administration to receive a plaque 05:57 from the hospital president. 05:59 And the plaque said, 06:02 "This is given to Mrs. Karina Lee, 06:05 the first Adventist maternity patient 06:10 in Youngberg Memorial Adventist Hospital. 06:13 And the name of his son is GT Ng. 06:19 At that time, I was serving in Cambodia. 06:24 So my mother told me about it later on 06:26 and what an honor 06:28 it was to be the first baby ever born there. 06:30 Yeah, that's wonderful. 06:32 Now you were serving in Cambodia at that time, 06:35 now, that was the time too 06:37 when you were forced to come to Vietnam. 06:40 Tell me about that? Yes. 06:42 We were evacuated from Phnom Penh to Saigon, 06:47 which is now Ottoman City in 1975. 06:52 Ralph was the president 06:54 of Services Youth Union ordered us out of the country 06:58 because according to news report 07:00 the Americans with a stop of bombing Phnom Penh. 07:05 And he said, 07:07 "All of you student missionaries and I, 07:10 myself must get out of the country 07:12 before Khmer Rouge walked right into the city." 07:16 And so we did leave, we obey his order. 07:20 And that's why we landed in Saigon. 07:23 And here we stay for a couple of weeks, 07:26 not knowing when to return. 07:28 And so they put us up in Saigon Adventist Hospital, 07:31 one of the guest houses. 07:33 Which is near here? Which was near here. 07:34 Okay. Yeah, in that direction. 07:37 And so, what was it like 07:39 when you were here for that period of time? 07:41 Uncertain, obviously? 07:43 Very uncertain as to when we will have to return. 07:46 But the first impression of Saigon at the time 07:49 was that Vietnam was a very peaceful country. 07:53 Compared to Cambodia? Compared to Cambodia. 07:56 At that time, Vietnam would have been 07:57 at war for 28 years, that was 1973. 08:03 And so, I thought to myself, 08:08 "Man, this is a peaceful city. 08:11 There's no bombing. 08:12 There is no gunshots that we could hear. 08:15 You know, compare with Phnom Penh, 08:18 there was constant bombardment, 08:20 constant rocket explosions, 08:22 you know, fire on the outskirts, 08:24 lots of military actions, 08:26 B-52 bombing in the evening, 08:29 and F-111 fighter bombings during the day 08:34 while some military activities 08:36 whereas in Saigon, it was very peaceful. 08:39 So we had two weeks... Yeah. 08:41 We could sleep well. 08:42 And so we had two weeks of tranquility. 08:45 But our tranquility was cut short 08:48 when we were order back to Phnom Penh. 08:52 So you went back and you served there for how much longer? 08:55 For about a year more, 08:57 then the situation went from bad to worse. 09:00 And so the union at that time said, 09:03 "There is no hope for Cambodia. 09:05 We want you to go back to Singapore, 09:10 where we will reassign you." 09:12 So there was a second evacuation 09:14 the following year, which was 1974. 09:19 So we stayed there for about three to four weeks, you know, 09:22 relatively longer than 09:24 our period of the evacuation here in Vietnam. 09:27 After that things have calmed down. 09:30 And so they said, 09:31 "Cambodia is still there on the map, 09:34 you return to Phnom Penh." 09:36 So we were shipped back to the Phnom Penh 09:38 where we continue serving for another, 09:41 maybe six to seven months 09:44 when we were finally evacuated for the last time, 09:47 that was March, 1975. 09:50 It must have been difficult to say goodbye 09:52 to Cambodia under those circumstances? 09:55 Yes, we had a 33 church members at that time, 09:58 most of them were baptized 10:00 during our two years program in Cambodia. 10:05 It was very difficult to say goodbye to them. 10:08 You're right. 10:09 Because many of them will ask us 10:11 with tears in their eyes, 10:13 you know, "When are you returning? 10:14 When are you returning? 10:16 We need a pastor here 10:18 to continue to try to sing us the Bible. 10:20 We need somebody to pray for us and with us. 10:23 When are you coming back?" 10:24 I said, "We would like to come back 10:26 as soon as possible. 10:27 As soon as the situation come down. 10:30 We do not control our destiny. 10:34 It's the Services Youth Union that calls us out. 10:37 As soon as they see the situation calms down, 10:40 we will surely return." 10:42 But looking back, it was only empty promises 10:47 because we did not know the situation. 10:49 That will be so bad that 10:54 it was impossible for us to return 10:56 because right after 10:57 our evacuation in the month of March, 11:00 the following month, only a few weeks later, 11:03 Pol Pot took over the country. 11:05 So he began a reign of terror from 1975, 11:11 all the way till 1979, 11:14 in which 1.4 to 1.7 million people were killed. 11:19 So it was a very dark chapter in a history of Cambodia. 11:24 Dr. Ng, thank you so much for sharing with us today. 11:26 It's our pleasure. Yeah. 11:28 And God has never left His work. 11:29 Even at the time 11:31 when we thought the work was being cut short, 11:35 when church members were decimated, 11:37 God has His people being baptized 11:41 and train at the border of Cambodia and Thailand. 11:45 And so there was a rebirth of our church in Thailand 11:50 and many of them returned to Cambodia 11:52 to begin a new work. 11:53 So we just praise God for His oversight 11:56 and over His leadership over the situation 12:01 here in Cambodia and Vietnam. 12:03 Thank you very much. 12:04 Viewers at home, 12:06 we're actually right in the heart 12:07 of the 10/40 Window here, Cambodia, Vietnam. 12:11 And I want you to please continue to pray for mission. 12:14 I was talking with Dr. Ng earlier 12:16 and he's talking about the greatest need that 12:17 we have is workers, people who are prepared 12:20 to serve in very challenging circumstances. 12:23 But we thank God for His leading 12:25 and we know that the future is sure in His hands. 12:27 We'll be right back after this break. |
Revised 2020-07-17