Welcome back to
Andrews University.
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And behind me, you'll
see the seminary building
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where the Department of
World Mission is located
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and there many students
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every year are trained
in missiological principles.
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Next up, we travel to Bangkok
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and a unique urban
center of influence.
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I'm here in the heart of
one of the biggest cities
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of Southeast
Asia, Bangkok, Thailand.
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And here we are in a place
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that I'm not that familiar with.
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But Brian here
is going to tell us
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about what he's doing here
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and what exactly
are we standing by?
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Thanks, Rick.
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So this is actually
our climbing facility
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in our gym.
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Here on the fifth floor,
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we have rock
climbing where we teach people
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in a more safe environment.
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This is indoor climbing,
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it only goes up
about five meters.
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We have very thick mats
here that we're standing on.
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So it keeps people
safe if they fall off.
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And it gives us an opportunity
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to teach people
in a safe environment
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how to do rock climbing.
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It's a fun
exercise for the whole body.
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Now, the majority of population
in Bangkok is not Christian,
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you know, and
you're a Christian here.
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But if we look at these walls,
and you have certain principles
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that you teach people
on how to get up a wall,
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are their principles
that you learn climbing a wall
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that can help people in life?
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Yeah, actually,
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fortitude is
actually a really solid one.
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So climbing up
indoors specifically,
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you have to only use the
holes that are here on the wall.
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And so sometimes
that's really hard.
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You, one, might not figure out.
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You look at it and you go,
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"Well, how can I use
these couple of holes
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and get up the wall?"
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And so it takes determination
and problem solving
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and stick-to-itiveness,
not just giving up
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when something gets challenging.
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But then sometimes
it's physically challenging
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and so you have to push yourself
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and it's easy to just go,
"Well, I just can't do it."
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But that drive to
continue and to keep trying
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even when you fail
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is something
that's really a solid part
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of what we're trying
to help people learn here.
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So can I ask you
what brought you here?
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What inspired you to leave home
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and come all
the way to Thailand?
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So to come specifically
to Thailand, my wife and I,
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we were working
in the United States
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for the North
Pacific Union Conference
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of the church that we attend.
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And we were just
trying to figure out
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what God wanted us to do.
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And we were
trying to help people
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specifically with health.
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My wife and I had both,
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you know, had some health issues
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as younger people
and through influences
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that we had met
through this church,
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we started to improve our health
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and so we wanted to
share that with other people.
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And so we actually
watched a documentary
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called I Want This City.
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And it was about somebody
following around a pastor
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in Bangkok, Thailand.
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And one episode specifically,
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they did a health clinic
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or a free health
seminar type thing
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in one of the big malls.
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And I started watching
the interviews of the people
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afterwards and the
things that they were saying
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they learned,
you know, "I learned
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that you're
supposed to drink water."
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And I said, "Wow, you know,
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I haven't been breathing
correctly my whole life.
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I just take
really shallow breaths,
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and I should be
breathing deeply."
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So it's really basic stuff.
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And so we started research
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and we found that
diabetes at the time
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was the number four
killer of Americans.
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And it was 25% higher
rate of death here in Thailand.
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And there was very
little understanding
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of how to help that naturally
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and as well as heart disease
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and other
lifestyle related issues.
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And so we wanted to
come and try and help people
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to have understanding
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of how they could take control
of those issues in their life
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without needing to
use expensive medicines
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or going to the
doctor all the time.
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You know, and as we
look at climbing walls,
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you know, and
that's a health lesson.
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And then you're mingling
with people on a daily basis.
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You're also doing
other things here.
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I think you're selling bread.
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Did I see that as
well? Correct, yeah.
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So is that part
of that whole health?
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Yes.
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So we're trying to encompass
a holistic health principle.
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A lot of times where we've been,
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a message of health
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would mainly be about nutrition.
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And nutrition is
extremely important.
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But exercise is
also equally important.
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The reason why we
chose rock climbing
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is because as we came here,
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we spent two years in
language and culture study,
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trying to understand the people
that we were living among.
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And as we talked to
them about exercise,
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many of them said,
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"I don't really
like to exercise.
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It's hot and it's boring."
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And so we got
into rock climbing,
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and we started
inviting people to come with us.
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And they saw it
as a fun activity.
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They didn't see it as exercise.
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They just said,
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"Well, this is
really fun and exciting."
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And actually a
couple of months ago,
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we were climbing in here
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and so I put on my
heart rate monitor,
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started my watch,
just doing training.
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And we climbed
for about two hours
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just very light,
like I would climb,
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I would wait 10
minutes, climb again.
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And at the end, I
turned it off and I said,
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"You know what, we
burned 920 calories just now
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and 46% of it was from fat."
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And they said, "No! No, no way!
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We were just having
fun. We're just playing."
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And so it was something
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where we're kind
of tricking people
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into exercising
through a fun activity.
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Yeah, and time
passes a lot faster
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when we're having fun.
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And I have to tell you
that you're on the fifth floor,
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so when I came up
the stairs, I said,
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"Oh, now I know why they
call it a climbing facility."
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That's your
warm-up. That's my warm up.
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I need to get
into a little bit more.
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Can you share a
story maybe about somebody
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who's had a positive
experience by, you know,
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learning climbing or
improving their health
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or something?
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Sure, I can
share a couple stories
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if we have time.
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There's one specifically
about a young woman named Oak.
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And she...
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We have this climbing facility
to teach people as I mentioned,
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we also lead
outdoor climbing trips.
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And so we get people
out of this giant city.
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They go outside
in the mountains,
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you know, the real rocks, trees,
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and it's just a
beautiful experience.
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And it gives us
more time to connect
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and build relationships
connecting with people.
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And so we went
on this one group.
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And this young woman
named Oak, she came along,
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and she was having fun.
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And we were all climbing.
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We had about 12
people on that trip.
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And so we were doing
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what's called
multi-pitch climbing,
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which means we were broken
up into a few different groups
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and one group would go up,
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we'd bring the
rest of the people up,
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and then that first
group would continue on
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and then the next group.
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So we weren't
all really together.
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And so I wasn't
with her in the group.
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But I helped her
with the second part.
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I was doing the ballet section.
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As we finished
and we all went down,
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I ended up walking next to her.
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And I said, "So how was it?"
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And she said, "Well, your group
said it was going to be easy,
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and it wasn't easy."
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And I said, "But you did it."
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And she said, "No, No, I didn't.
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You pulled me up."
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And I was a little
bit surprised and I said,
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"No, no, I didn't pull
you up. You climbed up."
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She said, "No,
you pulled me up."
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And so what I
realized in communicating
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and talking with
her a little bit more
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was in her mind,
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she had told
herself she couldn't do it.
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And so even
though she had done it,
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her mind told
her she didn't do it.
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She couldn't have done
it, somebody else helped her.
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And so I had a
good talk with her
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about the
importance of challenges
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and not just doing
things you know you can do,
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but actually you have to
challenge yourself in life
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so that you can grow
and get better at things.
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And so it was
really an interesting view
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into how our brain
and what we tell ourselves
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actually influences
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what we can do and how we think.
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Yeah,
unfortunately, our time is up
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because I'd love
to hear more stories.
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It sounds like what you're doing
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is really touching
people's lives here.
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And we, as a church,
talk about Christ method,
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you know, very often.
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We have a
difficult time mingling,
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you know, and reaching
people where they really are
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and it's great to see,
you know, something like this
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where you are out there,
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meeting people, and
affecting their lives
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in a positive way.
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And those are some
of the first steps.
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Anyway, thank you very
much for talking with us.
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And for you out there,
thank you for being with us.
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And we'll go back to Gary.
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Next up, we travel to Kenya
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to visit a
Global Mission pioneer
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doing what Global
Mission pioneers do,
00:07:46.93\00:07:49.56
planting churches.
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The jeep bumps along the road
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as Kenyan church
leaders make their way
00:08:00.88\00:08:02.68
to visit a
Global Mission pioneer.
00:08:02.71\00:08:05.21
Driving across Kenya
can be a beautiful journey.
00:08:05.25\00:08:08.28
The wildlife, the
people, and the landscape,
00:08:08.32\00:08:11.29
all contribute to a
fascinating experience,
00:08:11.32\00:08:14.16
although there's always a chance
00:08:14.19\00:08:15.59
of running into a problem.
00:08:15.62\00:08:16.96
But the best
part of this journey
00:08:21.66\00:08:23.06
is meeting people
like Pioneer Leanous,
00:08:23.10\00:08:26.03
he prayed for God to use him
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and was assigned
to work in a town
00:08:28.10\00:08:29.90
where there were no Adventists.
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In time, Leanous helped
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to start a small
congregation of believers
00:08:33.44\00:08:35.74
who are now in the process
00:08:35.78\00:08:37.11
of constructing a
church of their own.
00:08:37.15\00:08:39.25
Everyone takes part
in the construction,
00:08:39.28\00:08:41.12
eager to see the
building finished.
00:08:41.15\00:08:43.18
We're going to see one
example, Jesus Christ Himself.
00:08:49.82\00:08:53.70
Today's visit with
local church leaders
00:08:53.73\00:08:55.73
includes a Bible study
and member testimonies.
00:08:55.76\00:08:58.23
David is a
dedicated church member
00:09:05.77\00:09:07.78
who was part of the Mau
Mau Uprising decades ago.
00:09:07.81\00:09:11.11
Between 1952 and 1964,
00:09:11.15\00:09:13.48
there was a conflict
00:09:13.52\00:09:14.85
between the British
and a group of Kenyans.
00:09:14.88\00:09:17.15
Before he became an Adventist,
David fought in this conflict.
00:09:17.19\00:09:21.06
As he recalls that time,
00:09:21.09\00:09:22.66
many negative
memories resurface.
00:09:22.69\00:09:25.19
But he has since
found hope in Jesus.
00:09:25.23\00:09:28.43
He shares how
God transformed him
00:09:28.46\00:09:30.37
and brought peace into his life.
00:09:30.40\00:09:32.40
Pioneer Leanous studied with him
00:09:32.43\00:09:34.40
and welcomed him into
the budding congregation.
00:09:34.44\00:09:37.51
Other members
share both the burdens
00:09:37.54\00:09:39.37
and the joys in their lives.
00:09:39.41\00:09:41.31
As they close the meeting,
00:09:41.34\00:09:42.68
they pray for God to
use each person in the room
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for His glory.
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The church's
central location in town
00:09:54.92\00:09:56.73
makes it easy for people to
see what the church is about.
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Our church here
00:09:59.69\00:10:01.50
is in the middle
of the community.
00:10:01.53\00:10:04.40
If you look around,
00:10:04.43\00:10:05.77
it's all surrounded by
houses where people live.
00:10:05.80\00:10:09.20
And the idea why we thought
we could have a church here
00:10:09.24\00:10:12.11
is because all the
people who are around here
00:10:12.14\00:10:15.11
would associate with the church.
00:10:15.14\00:10:17.01
And I know it
will bear some fruits.
00:10:17.05\00:10:19.91
As the church was being built,
00:10:19.95\00:10:21.28
one neighbor named Karemera
00:10:21.32\00:10:23.28
saw the congregation's
construction challenges
00:10:23.32\00:10:25.89
and offered to store equipment
in her home to keep it safe.
00:10:25.92\00:10:29.16
She's happy to help
her Adventist neighbors.
00:10:29.19\00:10:31.33
She soon became
friends with Pioneer Leanous
00:10:31.36\00:10:33.80
and started
Bible studies with him.
00:10:33.83\00:10:36.06
During their visit,
the Kenyan church leaders
00:10:36.10\00:10:38.23
get to know the
other community members.
00:10:38.27\00:10:40.84
The neighbors share
that they like getting
00:10:40.87\00:10:42.40
to know their
Adventist neighbors,
00:10:42.44\00:10:44.21
and some would like to visit
the church on a future Sabbath.
00:10:44.24\00:10:47.44
Let's pray
00:10:47.48\00:10:48.81
for the small
congregation in Kenya,
00:10:48.84\00:10:50.58
pray that their example
00:10:50.61\00:10:51.95
reflects Jesus
to their community.
00:10:51.98\00:10:54.58
As Global Mission
pioneers around the world
00:10:54.62\00:10:56.58
continue planting churches,
00:10:56.62\00:10:58.25
let's also pray
00:10:58.29\00:10:59.62
for the
challenges they may face.
00:10:59.65\00:11:01.39
Thank you for
supporting Global Mission,
00:11:01.42\00:11:03.39
making testimonies
like these possible.
00:11:03.43\00:11:05.99
Well, thank you so
much for joining us
00:11:20.74\00:11:22.94
for today's program
00:11:22.98\00:11:24.31
and I hope that
you've been inspired
00:11:24.35\00:11:25.85
and that you've been challenged.
00:11:25.88\00:11:27.68
But what you've seen and heard
00:11:27.72\00:11:29.05
as we've looked at
our 360 degree view
00:11:29.08\00:11:31.45
of mission around the world,
00:11:31.49\00:11:33.29
we've seen how
13th Sabbath Offerings
00:11:33.32\00:11:35.02
are making a difference.
00:11:35.06\00:11:36.76
We've seen a
unique center of influence
00:11:36.79\00:11:39.39
in Bangkok, Thailand.
00:11:39.43\00:11:41.66
We're seeing how missionaries
00:11:41.70\00:11:43.03
are changing lives
in different places.
00:11:43.06\00:11:45.60
And I want to thank you so much
00:11:45.63\00:11:47.37
for your continuing
support of Adventist mission
00:11:47.40\00:11:50.91
through your finances,
00:11:50.94\00:11:52.27
through your
personal involvement,
00:11:52.31\00:11:54.24
and most importantly,
because of your prayers.
00:11:54.28\00:11:57.28
But whether you pray,
00:11:57.31\00:11:58.65
whether you
give, whether you go,
00:11:58.68\00:12:00.02
whether you do all three,
00:12:00.05\00:12:01.38
we consider you to be part
of our Adventist Mission Team.
00:12:01.42\00:12:03.82
So thank you.
00:12:03.85\00:12:05.25
For Adventist
Mission, I'm Gary Krause,
00:12:05.29\00:12:07.19
and I hope that you
can join me next time
00:12:07.22\00:12:09.29
right here on Mission 360.
00:12:09.32\00:12:11.43