Giving up a paradise
vacation for mission,
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cassava croquettes
from the Mission 360 Kitchen
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and mission in Guatemala,
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all this and much
more coming up next.
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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 Central
American Country of Guatemala.
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And behind me you
can see this old building
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the Palace of the
Captains Generals,
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which was in fact,
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the administrative
and political headquarters
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for the entire
Central American region.
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We're actually standing
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in a park in Antigua, Guatemala
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and this town is noted
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for its beautifully preserved
Spanish colonial buildings.
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And across here you can
see the Catholic Cathedral.
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And during Holy Week
in the lead up to Easter,
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there are many
ceremonies and possessions
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and one of the
most famous features
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are the carpet pictures that
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they actually
put along the ground.
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The carpets made
of sawdust and flowers
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and other natural products.
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Intricate beautiful designs
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and a lot of work goes into them
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so much so that
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it's almost
considered an act of worship,
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an act of sacrifice.
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Well, we're gonna be
talking more about mission
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here in Guatemala,
and around the world.
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But first up, let's
travel to Papua New Guinea.
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Two days before
my wife gave birth,
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she had a dream.
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In the dream, a wild boar
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ate our baby's hands and a foot.
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When my son was born
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without both his
hands and the foot,
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I realized the
devil was attacking me
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for leaving him.
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For years, my friends and
I had been devil worshipers.
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We would go to the
cemetery to dig up graves
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for our cult sessions.
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Anything I asked the
devil he would give me.
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I remember one time,
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I asked him for a
large sum of money.
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When I got the money,
it was spent very quickly.
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In fact, every gift
that came from the devil
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would not last long.
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I became dissatisfied
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and began asking
questions about him.
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My father told me that
the devil is a created being
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and like us had a beginning.
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He also said that he
could not read our thoughts,
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only God can.
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So I started
talking to God in my mind.
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One morning I woke up
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and felt the desire
to kneel for prayer.
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I did not want to show the devil
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what I was doing
so I stayed in bed.
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During the prayer,
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I felt
embarrassed for my weakness.
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So I got up, took my machete
and went deep into the woods.
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I cleared a
circle and knelt down.
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As I prayed, I
sensed a dark presence
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and was afraid.
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But I kept pouring
out my heart to God,
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and I felt peaceful and happy.
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I told God, I would
always come there to meet Him.
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Later, I asked my
father for a Bible.
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He gave it to me,
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along with The Great Controversy
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by Ellen White.
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He told me to read the chapter
called the snares of the devil.
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Soon I decided to give
my life completely to Christ
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and become a pastor.
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It was then that
the devil attacked me
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through my newborn.
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The devil could not keep me
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from devoting my life to Christ.
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And despite the many
challenges and disturbances,
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my family and I arrived
at Omaura School of Ministry
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in Papua New Guinea.
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Here in Omaura my life
changed a lot in a big way.
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Whatever my family
needs, the Lord provides.
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I'm not afraid and
uncertain as before.
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I know the Lord is with me.
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I still face
challenges, but the challenges
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do not discourage
or deviate me from God.
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They guide me towards Him.
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That's the kind
of positive feeling
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I have here in Omaura.
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And I thank God
for Adventist education
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and literature.
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One of my favorite
subjects is Bible discoveries.
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It deepens my understanding
of the Word of God.
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I also love the books
of Daniel and Revelation
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because I want to know
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what God is telling
us about the future.
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The fellowship
here is really special.
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I can mingle with students
from all parts of the country.
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I interact with
active pastors in the field.
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This helps shape my ministry.
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My plan for the
future is to go back home
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to tell the young men
who were digging up graves
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and worshiping the devil,
that there is a better way.
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There is a God
who can change them
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as He changed me.
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My guest is Daniel Santos,
who is the director of a center
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of influence here in
the heart of Guatemala City.
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And it is a
center that is devoted
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to help people rehabilitate
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from drug
addiction and alcoholism.
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So thank you for
joining me, Daniel.
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Now please give me
briefly your testimony
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of how did you
end up being here?
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Well, I was born
into a Christian family
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that was part
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of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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I was raised in Adventist,
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I attended Adventist
Church, and Adventist schools.
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But after many
years in the church,
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the enemy came into my life
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and began to propose
worldly practices in vice.
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I began to smoke, to drink,
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and then I used
drugs like cocaine,
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crack, paint thinner,
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and glue used for
shoe manufacturing.
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I inhaled
solvents that caused me
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severe hallucinations.
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I also used pills they left
me with hypnotic side effects.
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For 18 years, I
was sinking lower,
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lower, and lower still.
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I was deeply addicted to drugs.
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I did many things that I regret.
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Because of the
drugs I went to prison,
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I lost friends,
very good friends.
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Day by day, the drug doses
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were becoming
greater and greater.
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At times, I worked
15 days to earn $300
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that I spent in 24
hours to buy drugs.
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In the beginning, I
weighed about 230 pounds.
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And at the lowest
point of my addiction,
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I weighed 100 pounds.
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From clothes
sizes of extra large
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to small-sized clothing.
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I began to consume an
increasing amount of drugs.
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My hair grew long, my
fingers had burn marks,
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and my mouth as well.
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The burns came
from the instruments
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I used to smoke crack.
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I began living in the streets.
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I walked so much.
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I spent so much
time walking the streets,
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that my shoes were ruined.
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So I would look for
shoes in the garbage.
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I would search for
food in the dumpsters.
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And I would look for
dirty clothes to wear
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because mine were even dirtier.
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At the end, my only
possession was my clothes.
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But in the Bible in Proverbs 22,
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there is a verse that says,
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"Train up a child in
the way he should go.
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And when he is old, he
will not depart from it."
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I remembered that as a child,
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I was trained to serve the Lord.
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So 18 years ago,
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I remember being in
a dark place at dawn,
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dirty, still
intoxicated by drugs.
00:09:03.27\00:09:06.54
And I raised my eyes
and said to the Lord,
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God, help me because I will die.
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These drugs are killing me.
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And the Lord said to me,
"Okay, I am going to help you."
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Since that day, He took my hand
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and has not released me.
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The Lord has indeed
done a great work on me.
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I should have
died many years ago.
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Then I returned to
the Adventist Church.
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I was rebaptized.
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Many people said to
me, "You are that child.
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You're the son of
brother and sister so and so."
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And I replied,
"Yes, I am that child,
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but I was lost for a long time.
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And now I'm back."
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After while,
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I studied to be a
public accountant,
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but I made a
promise to the Lord.
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I said, "Lord, I
don't want to work
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in any company anymore.
00:10:03.57\00:10:05.03
I want to serve You."
00:10:05.07\00:10:08.40
And then a special
desire came into my heart
00:10:08.44\00:10:11.67
to start the
rehabilitation ministry.
00:10:11.71\00:10:15.21
And so the Lord opened the doors
00:10:15.24\00:10:17.21
of the Adventist Church,
00:10:17.25\00:10:18.88
and the church helped me to
open this drug rehab center.
00:10:18.91\00:10:22.28
Wonderful. I'm glad you're here.
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Tell me what exactly
happens here at this center?
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Okay.
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Our first activity is
always to put ourselves
00:10:46.57\00:10:49.94
in the hands of God.
00:10:49.98\00:10:52.61
The people here get up
at eight in the morning.
00:10:52.65\00:10:55.55
And we start with
a Bible reading plan.
00:10:55.58\00:10:58.82
Then we sing
loudly and joyfully,
00:10:58.85\00:11:01.36
as you have heard us singing.
00:11:01.39\00:11:03.59
The praises raised to the Lord
00:11:03.63\00:11:05.79
and inspires in the
beginning of a new day.
00:11:05.83\00:11:09.83
After worship, we
have breakfast together.
00:11:09.86\00:11:12.43
Then we pause
00:11:12.47\00:11:13.80
for an extended worship service.
00:11:13.84\00:11:15.97
We read both the adult
00:11:16.00\00:11:18.01
and the youth daily devotionals.
00:11:18.04\00:11:20.78
Sometimes people
00:11:20.81\00:11:22.14
from the Adventist
Church come to preach to us.
00:11:22.18\00:11:25.05
When the worship is
over, we'll have lunch.
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And lunch is an
exciting time for them.
00:11:27.85\00:11:30.22
By then everyone is hungry.
00:11:30.25\00:11:33.15
And after eating, they're happy.
00:11:33.19\00:11:36.59
Then in the afternoon,
00:11:36.62\00:11:38.23
we have time to brush our teeth
00:11:38.26\00:11:40.33
and to watch some TV.
00:11:40.36\00:11:44.27
Later in the afternoon,
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we studied the
Sabbath School lesson
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for that day.
00:11:47.87\00:11:49.20
In the evening,
other pastors come to share
00:11:49.24\00:11:51.44
the Word of God again.
00:11:51.47\00:11:54.51
And by 8 o'clock our day ends.
00:11:54.54\00:11:57.35
We pray, we go to sleep,
00:11:57.38\00:11:59.71
hoping to wake up the next day,
00:11:59.75\00:12:02.08
if that is God's will for us.
00:12:02.12\00:12:03.85
So, Daniel, you've been
00:12:11.73\00:12:13.06
operating here
now for nine years.
00:12:13.09\00:12:15.63
How many people have been
baptized through this program?
00:12:15.66\00:12:21.34
We're not only a
rehabilitation ministry,
00:12:21.37\00:12:23.94
we're also a restoration
and a missionary ministry.
00:12:23.97\00:12:27.84
This has always been our vision.
00:12:27.88\00:12:30.08
Our vision is to invite
addicts to restore them,
00:12:30.11\00:12:33.78
and to help them to
make a commitment to God.
00:12:33.82\00:12:37.22
Along nine
years of working here,
00:12:37.25\00:12:40.26
1500 people have been
baptized in this place.
00:12:40.29\00:12:45.79
Some of these former addicts
00:12:45.83\00:12:48.33
are serving the Lord
in Adventist churches,
00:12:48.36\00:12:51.37
others returned to
their own churches.
00:12:51.40\00:12:54.30
There are many people
who accepted Jesus Christ
00:12:54.34\00:12:57.01
and are serving Him today.
00:12:57.04\00:12:59.57
I think we will
continue with this ministry
00:12:59.61\00:13:02.31
until God shows
us a different path.
00:13:02.34\00:13:05.68
In the meantime,
we continue working.
00:13:05.71\00:13:07.92
Every 15 days, we carry
out evangelistic campaigns
00:13:12.22\00:13:16.02
so that many hearts
can be touched by the Lord.
00:13:16.06\00:13:21.76
On the fourth floor,
00:13:21.80\00:13:23.13
we have a baptismal
tank where they're baptized.
00:13:23.16\00:13:26.63
In this tank,
they're born as new creatures
00:13:26.67\00:13:30.07
for the greatest glory
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
00:13:30.11\00:13:34.71
To Him be all
the honor in glory.
00:13:34.74\00:13:37.71
Hallelujah.
00:13:37.75\00:13:39.08
Wonderful.
00:13:45.05\00:13:46.39
Well, God is
using that you, Daniel.
00:13:46.42\00:13:48.06
Thank you so much
for what you're doing.
00:13:48.09\00:13:49.82
God bless.
00:13:49.86\00:13:52.59
One thousand five
hundred people baptized
00:13:52.63\00:13:55.06
through this ministry
00:13:55.10\00:13:56.43
over nine years putting Christ
00:13:56.46\00:13:57.80
method of
ministry into practice.
00:13:57.83\00:13:59.50
What a wonderful story.
00:13:59.53\00:14:00.87
We'll be right
back after this break.
00:14:00.90\00:14:02.47