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Series Code: MTS
Program Code: MTS002505B
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00:09 Welcome back to Portland, Maine.
00:12 If you missed any part of this program 00:14 or any of our other Mission 360 TV programs, 00:17 you can always go to m360.tv 00:20 there you'll find our programs and many other mission stories 00:23 that you can watch at your leisure. 00:25 Next up, we travel to Thailand 00:27 to learn how we can build better bridges 00:30 with our Buddhist friends. 00:31 I work with the Global Mission Centre 00:33 for East Asian Religions here in Thailand. 00:35 And whenever I travel, 00:37 I like to ask people their stories, 00:39 people who have converted from one... 00:42 from an East Asian religion to become a Christian 00:44 because these are gems 00:46 that we can learn from and understand their stories. 00:49 One of my travels, 00:50 I was actually working here in Thailand, 00:52 I went into the northeastern part 00:53 of the country 00:55 and their Sabbath morning for worship, 00:57 there was a grandma 00:58 and she was just so involved in the singing 01:02 and when it came time for the sermon, 01:04 she was looking for the text in her Bible. 01:06 And, of course, she needed help to find it. 01:08 And afterwards, 01:09 as I was talking to different ones, 01:11 I found out that she had just recently been converted 01:14 to become a follower of Christ. 01:16 And so I decided to interview and find out her story. 01:19 And this is what she told me. 01:21 She said, "I've only been 01:22 a Seventh-day Adventist Christian 01:24 for the last three years 01:25 and now I'm 75 years old." 01:27 I was like, "Wow, that's not very common." 01:30 Often times, though, as folks get older, 01:32 they're more devout in their own faith 01:34 and not looking for something else. 01:36 I said, "Tell me your story." 01:37 She said, "Well, you know, 01:39 it started a long time back when I was five years old." 01:43 She said, "Both of my parents were in an automobile accident 01:46 and they were tragically killed." 01:48 And so at five years old, she became an orphan. 01:51 Now her family took care of her the best they could 01:53 but she said at that funeral, at the cremation, 01:57 she felt some impact in it. 02:00 She didn't understand what it was, 02:01 but she felt uncomfortable and, 02:03 and but she marked that as the day 02:07 that she's began to have problems with spirits. 02:09 That the demons will began to chastise her, 02:13 begin to give her problems. 02:15 And as she grew, and as time passed, 02:18 she began having health problems. 02:20 So she went to the University Hospital, 02:23 actually right there in her town in her city, 02:26 where they even have a special cardiac unit, 02:28 because she was having symptoms of heart congestion 02:32 and all kinds of problems like this. 02:33 And so she went there, 02:35 and they did everything, took a lot... 02:36 did all kinds of tests and treated her, 02:39 but it got to the point where they said, 02:41 "We think your problem is not just medical." 02:44 And they encouraged her to go to find help in her religion 02:48 to ask the monks to help her 02:51 or to go and talk to shamans and see if they can help her 02:54 and so she did. 02:55 She first went to the temple, and that helped, 02:58 she went to the shamans, and that helped, 02:59 but it didn't solve the problem. 03:01 She still had the problem. 03:03 But not only did she had a problem, 03:04 but it kept getting worse. 03:06 By the time she was in her 60s, 03:09 she was struggling 03:10 to get even half a night's sleep. 03:12 She couldn't sleep, 03:14 she was constantly being tormented. 03:17 And once she was 72 years old, 03:21 a new person moved into the door next... 03:23 next door to her. 03:24 She didn't know who it was. 03:26 She didn't really pay attention. 03:27 But on a Saturday morning, 03:29 she heard music coming out of that house. 03:31 So out of curiosity, she went and looked, 03:34 and she's like, "Hello, 03:35 this is, this is Christian worship. 03:37 I want to go and see," 03:38 and so she just kind of stood in the doorway and looked 03:40 and watched what they were doing. 03:43 And she waited until after the service 03:47 and then the pastor come out, actually he was a retired man. 03:52 He had retired and lived there, 03:54 but he was starting a church 03:56 in his retirement as a church planter. 03:58 He came out and talked to her and said, 04:01 "You are very interested, tell me how can we help you?" 04:04 And she told her story. 04:06 And he offered to pray for her. 04:08 And not only did he offer to pray for her, 04:10 but he began to give her Bible studies. 04:12 And you know what? 04:13 God worked miraculously in her life. 04:15 She was healed and she studied her Bible, 04:18 she was excited, and she was baptized. 04:21 And now here she was in church on that Sabbath, 04:24 I was enjoying spending time with her. 04:26 And I said, 04:28 "You know, I'm sure your life has changed a lot, 04:29 not only with the demons, but in other ways." 04:32 Can you just summarize what Jesus means to you today? 04:35 And she said, "Oh, I love Jesus. 04:37 He's amazing, what He's doing for me." 04:39 She said, "In fact, 04:40 I just tell everybody about Him." 04:43 I tell my parents, 04:45 I tell my friends, I tell my family, 04:47 not her parents, her parents passed away 04:49 but she'd tell her family and her friends 04:51 and tell her family and friends again, 04:53 and they just said, "Please be quiet about this. 04:55 We're tired of hearing the same things." 04:57 But she said, "I can't keep quiet." 04:59 Well, she said, you know, "I'm an old lady. 05:04 I know I don't have a lot of years left to live. 05:07 But when I die, I plan that I will, 05:12 when I am reborn in the next life, 05:14 I want to be a Christian again." 05:18 I thought what in the world 05:19 and the Bible worker sitting next to her, 05:22 her jaw just dropped. 05:25 What was wrong? 05:27 Well, we talked, we prayed with her. 05:29 But then we talked together separately, 05:31 the Bible worker and I said, "What happened? 05:33 Why this woman loves God with all her heart, 05:37 her conversion is real, it's genuine." 05:39 Why is it that she's talking about the next life? 05:41 She's been taught about the second time, 05:43 she's been taught about the state of the dead, 05:45 she's been taught about the glory 05:47 that God has for us. 05:50 The issue is, 05:51 is just because we tell people our beliefs 05:53 does not mean that it changes their worldview, 05:56 and how they understand the cosmology. 05:59 So this is something that's really important for us. 06:02 You know, in, in many parts of Asia today, 06:05 we have many converts, 06:07 but they often come 06:08 from another Christian background, 06:10 or from animistic background, 06:11 but very few of those in the world religions, 06:13 including Buddhism, have made that transition. 06:16 And this is one of the big reasons why, 06:18 is that their worldview is so different. 06:20 So how do we deal with this? 06:22 Well, what we've learned is that worldview is formed 06:26 through experience, 06:28 and through stories of other people's experiences. 06:32 And it's really important that what we do 06:34 is take the time to take them 06:35 through the stories of the Bible, 06:37 and help them to have new experiences 06:39 and re explain life events, 06:41 so that these things can make sense. 06:43 This is what the Global Mission centers 06:45 are all about in our Center for the East Asian religions. 06:48 If you would like more information 06:50 on how you can reach out 06:51 to Buddhists and other East Asians, 06:53 go to our website, cear.globalmissioncenters.org. 06:59 May God bless you 07:00 as you live for Him in these last days. 07:03 Next up, we traveled to Sri Lanka 07:05 to meet a Global Mission pioneer. 07:15 In Sri Lanka, 07:17 most young adults in their 20s 07:18 continue pursuing their professional careers. 07:23 But Rupan is taking a different journey. 07:26 At age 23 Rupan realized 07:28 God's unique purpose for his life 07:30 and decided to use his training and natural remedies 07:33 to serve as a Global Mission pioneer. 07:37 My heart is telling me to do God's work. 07:40 I believe it was the Holy Spirit 07:42 who convinced me to do His work. 07:44 And that's why I choose to become 07:46 a Global Mission pioneer. 07:50 He was sent to a town called Omanthai, 07:52 a primarily Buddhist community 07:54 274 kilometers away 07:57 from the country's capital, Colombo. 07:59 With a population of over 22 million 08:02 this South Asian country in the Indian Ocean 08:05 is a land of rich diversity and culture. 08:08 Home to various ethnic groups, religions and customs, 08:12 Sri Lanka has great opportunities 08:14 for mission. 08:18 Rupan tried to find ways to reach out to the community. 08:23 As soon as he arrived, 08:25 he started going around the city, 08:27 visiting one home after another, 08:29 and building relationships. 08:33 After days of home visitations 08:35 and understanding the community's way of life, 08:38 Rupan realized that there was an enormous need 08:40 for lifestyle development and medical assistance. 08:46 He started going around the city again, 08:48 this time introducing the Adventist health message, 08:51 which stirred the interest 08:53 and curiosity of the people he visited. 08:56 One day Rupan came across a family 08:58 who owns a local hotel business. 09:02 The head of the family suffered from diabetes 09:04 and his condition was worsening. 09:09 Rupan's first visit with them wasn't easy. 09:13 They found the health message hard to believe. 09:15 But after giving it much thought 09:18 the hotel owner agreed to try it out. 09:24 Rupan started the first session with a word of prayer, 09:27 which was quite unusual for the hotel owner. 09:30 He then prepared all the things he needed, 09:32 and then went on with the procedure. 09:37 After months of consistent visits 09:39 and water therapy sessions, 09:41 the hotel owner's wounds started healing. 09:44 Amazed by these improvements, 09:46 the hotel owner became more excited 09:48 to learn about the health message. 09:54 In time he accepted Christ and was baptized. 09:58 Now he looks forward to growing more in Jesus. 10:03 By helping them I can share God's love 10:06 through this kind of treatment. 10:08 I also learned how to share love and care more to others. 10:12 So yes, this treatment is really effective 10:16 in reaching people in this area. 10:19 Rupan is just one of many Global Mission pioneers 10:23 sharing the gospel within the 10/40 Window. 10:26 Please pray for Rupan as he continues to reach out to 10:29 and touch lives 10:31 through God's ministry of healing 10:32 in these challenging areas of South Asia. 10:46 Thank you so much for joining us 10:48 on today's program. 10:49 I hope that you've enjoyed 10:51 our 360 view of mission around the world. 10:55 And I hope that you've been inspired 10:56 by the Global Mission pioneers 10:58 that you've seen on today's program. 11:00 These pioneers make tremendous sacrifice 11:03 for the sake of the gospel. 11:05 And the results are seen in new groups, 11:07 new communities of believers. 11:10 And I want to thank you so much for your part 11:13 in making this happen. 11:14 Through your prayers, through your finances, 11:16 and through your personal involvement 11:18 mission continues around the world 11:21 under the blessing of the Holy Spirit. 11:23 Whether you pray, whether you go, 11:26 whether you give, whether you do all three, 11:28 you are part of our Adventist mission team. 11:31 Well, for Adventist Mission, I'm Gary Krause. 11:33 And I hope that you can join me next time 11:36 right here on Mission 360. |
Revised 2020-04-29