A fearless
Global Mission pioneer
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works in Moldova, a
Health Expo in Georgia
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and working among people
from different worldviews,
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all this and much more
coming up on Mission 360.
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Hello, and
welcome to Mission 360.
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I'm Gary Krause.
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Today's program is coming to you
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from the city of Baltimore,
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in Maryland, the United States.
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And this is a
port city and it's part
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of a huge conglomeration
of people stretching
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from Washington DC
all the way up to Boston.
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We'll be looking at Mission
all around the world today,
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but first up,
let's travel to Moldova.
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Vladimir is fearless.
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Without hesitation,
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he often approaches strangers
with books, newspapers,
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and invitations to events.
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The special message he
has to share makes him bold.
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As a Global Mission pioneer,
Vladimir's job is to mingle
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and share Jesus with the people
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in Moldova's
capital city, Chi inau.
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He's a canvassing pioneer,
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selling and giving
books on spiritual topics.
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For the past few weeks,
Vladimir has been visiting
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Angela, bringing
her the latest issue
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of the local
Adventist Church's newspaper.
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She loves reading the articles
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and completing the
short Bible studies
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that are included.
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As Vladimir visits her today,
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Angela promises
that she will visit
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the local Adventist Church soon.
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For those with
little spiritual interest,
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Vladimir offers books
on health and wellness.
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This is a topic of
growing interest in Chi inau,
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so most people are
happy to accept the books.
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When someone shows
interest in health,
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Vladimir invites
them to visit the nearby
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Global Mission
Urban Center of Influence.
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This Urban Center of Influence
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is a health center
attached to a church.
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Visitors are particularly
drawn to the health food store.
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At the front of the building,
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the center proudly
displays different programs
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and services for
passersby to check out.
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Larissa is the
center's coordinator
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and a Global Mission pioneer.
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For today's program,
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she invited a local doctor
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to lead a discussion
with community members
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about healthy habits.
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This doctor regularly volunteers
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her time at the
Urban Center of Influence
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and has developed
a strong relationship
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with the Adventist Church.
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The community members
are eager to learn about
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living healthy lives.
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Zinaida is a frequent visitor.
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She was suffering from
serious health problems
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when she discovered this center.
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Larissa invited
her on regular walks,
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and the two soon became friends.
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We talked a lot
during the walks,
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especially about
Christian topics.
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Then Larissa started
studying the Bible with me.
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I had a Bible at
home for many years,
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but never touched it.
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I thought I had no time for it.
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Now I find time
to read it every day.
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In time, Zinaida decided
to give her heart to Jesus
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and was baptized
into the Adventist Church.
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If it weren't for Larissa,
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the gospel may not
have been shared so clearly
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with many of the
community members.
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Please pray for Global
Mission pioneers like Larissa,
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who are on the
frontlines of mission.
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It's through your
giving that pioneers
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and urban centers of influence
can operate across the globe.
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Thank you for
supporting Global Mission.
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I'm standing on a street
here in the heart of Baltimore.
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And behind me
there is a building
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and this building is being
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used as a
Seventh-day Adventist Church,
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but a few years ago,
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there was no
Adventist Church here
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and it has been planted by
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a group of dedicated
church members led by Joel.
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Joel, thanks for
joining me today.
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You are a lay person.
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You are involved in the business
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here in the city.
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Why did you get involved
in starting a new church?
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First of all, I
want to thank you
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for the
invitation to this interview.
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I got involved in preaching
the gospel in this place.
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As I realized
there was a great need
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to preach in the area.
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I believe that many people
need to know about Jesus Christ.
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That's why I came here
that the church may grow.
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And many people
may know about Jesus
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and find out that
there is a personal Savior.
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In 2014, the
Dundalk Adventist Church
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saw the possibility
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that we could
start another church.
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And so I got
involved in coming here.
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And I feel that God
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can use each of
us if we're willing,
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and we're
faithfully serving Him.
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I believe God will
always be with each one of us,
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giving us that
spirit that we need so much.
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It's a joy for me to serve
God and come to preach here.
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That's my passion.
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I have always said that
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if one day anything
is taken away from me,
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please don't take
away the missionary work.
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Well, thank you
for your commitment.
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Now what sort
methods do you use to start?
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How did you begin this process?
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Twice a month on Sabbath,
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we go from house to
house and knock at the doors.
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We give some books to people.
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And we also do
some community services.
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We work
throughout the neighborhood.
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And that's how
people can meet each of us.
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We greet people friendly,
and we can help them too.
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We invite the children
to see what we offer here.
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That's the way how
parents can know about us.
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Through their children,
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they hear of the
message we offer.
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And so some children have
also brought their parents.
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Another method that we use
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is to start small groups.
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This is very important.
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Mrs. Ellen White said that
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small groups were shown
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to her by one who could not err
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and we know that God is the one
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and we obey Him
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by forming small groups
of seven to eight people,
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then groups of
14 or 15 are formed,
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always with the vision
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that one day they
will become a church.
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This is very important to us.
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Another method we use is prayer.
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We pray
throughout the year at 8 pm.
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When church is online,
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we invite friends
to make their requests
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that way and God is responding.
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I believe that God never
stops responding to the one
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who claims from the heart.
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These are some of
the methods we use.
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We also instruct
and motivate the ones
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who don't want to do the work.
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That way they also get involved.
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The newly
baptized are also included.
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I know these methods
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are always
approved by the will of God.
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Wonderful.
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Now, can you give me
some stories of people
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whose lives have been changed
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by coming to be
part of this new group?
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Yes, we have some stories.
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When his dead of
brother Oscar Chavarria,
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a brother who got sick as
he was studying the Bible.
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We brought him to the hospital.
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I came with him myself.
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We left him in the hospital,
and we were praying for him.
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He was in a coma.
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His family cried.
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The church prayed for him.
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One day, his
wife in a prayer said,
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"The day my husband gets up,
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we will never
stop going to church."
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And then we prayed even more.
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We prayed every day for him.
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So nine months
later, he left the hospital.
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We have a hospital
nearby Johns Hopkins.
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And after nine months of
being in a coma, he left.
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I thank God now that
he's attending church.
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He was baptized
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and his family's
happy being with us.
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Another sister who was with us,
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was not given the
Sabbath off to come to worship.
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We gave her some Bible studies.
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And one day she
decided to quit her job,
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but God is always caring.
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And He places His
people in a good position.
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Whether at work in the family,
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God's people are always happier.
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Fifteen days after
this sister left her job,
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her boss called
her again and said,
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"I will not only
give you the job back,
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but if you come, I
will increase your salary.
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You will have a
little more salary per hour."
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We said,
"Praise be to the Lord."
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Because it is God who
really makes miracles.
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And God is still
working miracles today.
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I believe that in
the church we have here.
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There are so many miracles
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that we would spend
the whole morning here,
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if I were to tell you them all,
00:10:11.14\00:10:13.24
but yes, there are many
things we'd like to share.
00:10:13.27\00:10:18.05
Through prayer, some people
in homes have been restored.
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There was a family
that was separated.
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We told them that
God could change that.
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So we prayed for their family,
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and the families together again.
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Trust and love have
been restored in that family.
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Their children are happy.
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And now they
come and are grateful,
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not so much to us
as men, but to God.
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I always say give thanks to God
because glory is always to Him.
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To Him is everything.
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And that's why I'm happy
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because I always give
all glory only to Him.
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Wonderful.
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Now how many people
do you have worshiping
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on Sabbath now?
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Every Sabbath, we have
about 77 church members
00:11:00.92\00:11:03.83
attending here,
baptized members,
00:11:03.86\00:11:06.96
but we also have
about 20 to 22 people
00:11:07.00\00:11:10.40
who come and worship our
Lord Jesus Christ with us.
00:11:10.43\00:11:14.04
What we do, from
when they get to the door
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to the inside of the
church is to welcome them
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and to make them feel
happy when they're here.
00:11:20.51\00:11:23.51
We thank God for the
number of people who are here.
00:11:23.55\00:11:26.61
We hope that in the same place,
00:11:26.65\00:11:28.58
we will have an
evangelistic series
00:11:28.62\00:11:30.89
and that will be
a successful one.
00:11:30.92\00:11:32.95
We have worked with
people and planted seeds.
00:11:32.99\00:11:35.92
And I think
00:11:35.96\00:11:37.29
we will not
only have 77 members,
00:11:37.33\00:11:39.56
it will grow.
00:11:39.59\00:11:40.93
I think that for the next month,
00:11:40.96\00:11:42.76
we'll have around 87 members
00:11:42.80\00:11:44.93
because 10 more will
be baptized for the honor
00:11:44.97\00:11:48.24
and glory of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
00:11:48.27\00:11:51.34
Gracias. Thank you for sharing.
00:11:51.37\00:11:54.78
Thank you for inviting me.
00:11:54.81\00:11:56.61
And God bless every one of you,
00:11:56.64\00:11:58.65
who let people know
that God is still working.
00:11:58.68\00:12:01.52
And there we have a living God.
00:12:01.55\00:12:03.59
Thank you. Thank you.
00:12:03.62\00:12:08.59
And viewers at home,
00:12:08.62\00:12:10.09
church planting is
happening all over the world
00:12:10.13\00:12:12.39
in various places in
urban areas like Baltimore
00:12:12.43\00:12:15.13
and rural areas as well,
00:12:15.16\00:12:16.97
but please pray for
these church plants.
00:12:17.00\00:12:19.13
They are fragile,
they need guidance,
00:12:19.17\00:12:21.67
they need growth,
they need the Holy Spirit,
00:12:21.70\00:12:23.84
but they are making
a wonderful difference
00:12:23.87\00:12:25.91
for the church around the world.
00:12:25.94\00:12:27.28
We'll be right back
right after this break.
00:12:27.31\00:12:28.98