Participants:
Series Code: MTS
Program Code: MTS002602B
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00:09 Welcome back to Guatemala.
00:11 And behind me you can see 00:13 the Antigua Guatemala Cathedral. 00:15 Next up, we'll hear the story of Pastor Lynn Barnard, 00:18 a childhood hero of mine, 00:20 who was a pioneer medical missionary 00:23 in Papua New Guinea. 00:25 Our guest today is Dr. Barry Oliver 00:27 from the South Pacific Division. 00:28 In fact, he was the division president 00:30 there for eight years. 00:32 Dr. Oliver, welcome to Mission 360. 00:34 Thank you Laurie, it's nice to be with you. 00:36 Today you're going to tell us a story 00:38 about a missionary who served for many years 00:40 in your division, Pastor Len Barnard? 00:42 Yes I am. 00:43 I actually knew Pastor Bernard personally. 00:47 He is one of the real characters 00:52 of our division. 00:54 He was a New Zealander originally, 00:56 and he joined up with the armed forces 00:59 during World War II. 01:01 He was a medic in Papua New Guinea. 01:03 And I guess it was while he was a medic 01:05 that he got a real feel for the country, 01:07 especially for the people. 01:10 He used to see the planes in operation 01:13 while he was there as a medic during the war. 01:16 And when he finished his time in the services, 01:19 he went back to New Zealand, 01:21 and he trained to be a pilot. 01:23 He had this burning in his bones. 01:26 He returned to New Guinea after the war, not as a pilot, 01:30 although he was trained, 01:32 and he worked for just a short time 01:35 in the government office. 01:38 But it wasn't long before he expressed his interest 01:42 to being employed by the church 01:44 because he even then wanted to see 01:46 the church utilizing planes. 01:50 But he was also trained as a medic. 01:53 And so he went very early to one of our Hansenide 01:57 or leper colonies up near Mount Hagen. 02:01 And for a number of years he and his family worked there 02:05 at the Mount Hagen Hansenide colony 02:08 or Togoba Hospital as it's known. 02:11 And while there they experienced 02:14 the highs and the lows I guess of mission service. 02:17 So it's not easy working with people 02:19 who have a terribly debilitating disease. 02:22 They moved around a little. 02:24 Well, more than a little, 02:26 they went to quite a few places in their service. 02:30 All the time, Len saw these planes 02:34 flying overhead, and he said, 02:36 "We've got to have one of those planes. 02:38 He had experiences such as walking into 02:42 the Karamui cannibal country in the highlands of New Guinea. 02:47 It took him 48 days, I kid you not 48 days of hard, 02:52 hard walking, to get from his base of operations 02:56 into to where the people... 02:58 Seeing the planes operating. 03:00 And he would see the planes 03:01 of some of the other missions going over head. 03:04 So the church had no planes at all at that point? 03:06 We are pre 1964. 03:08 This is the 50s. This is a 60s. 03:11 I don't think we actually had planes 03:13 anywhere in the world at that time. 03:16 The earliest planes that we had 03:18 were both the experiences I'm telling you about. 03:21 And I think in South America also, 03:23 someone will probably prove me wrong. 03:25 But Len saw these planes 03:28 and he went to the Union Mission leaders 03:33 and made a case. 03:35 And they providentially thought it was a very good idea. 03:39 And so, after negotiations, 03:43 a plane was accessed and Pastor Len Barnard 03:48 traveled down to Sydney, Australia, 03:51 where the plane was dedicated. 03:53 And I think I've got this right, 03:54 June 27, 1964, 03:57 the division president dedicated the plane. 04:00 Len was there and then he flew the plane 04:02 back to the highlands of Papua New Guinea. 04:06 And I remember reading, 04:07 he was telling the story as he was coming across 04:10 the Gulf of Papua 04:13 and beginning to go up into the, 04:16 to the highlands which 12, 14, 16,000 04:20 feet above sea level. 04:22 There was a huge bank of clouds 04:24 is that just about always is up there. 04:27 And he wondered how in the world 04:28 he was going to get this little, little Cessna, 04:30 180 Cessna into the Kopiago airstrip. 04:34 Providentially again, the clouds opened, 04:37 and he was able to, to go right through, 04:40 and I remember him telling many stories 04:41 time and time again of how the clouds just opened. 04:44 And these little planes were able to get through 04:46 and he used to tell stories 04:48 about the three angels flying on the wings 04:50 of the plane. 04:51 This was quite something, he had that story. 04:54 So the plane is dedicated 04:56 and began operations on June 30, 1964 05:01 and all of a sudden, the mission work opened up, 05:05 Len was able to operate the plane. 05:07 He had a good friend and colleague, 05:09 Pastor Colin Winch, who at the time 05:11 was living down the coast of Madang, 05:13 and together, they pioneered Adventist Aviation 05:16 in Papua New Guinea and the South Pacific Division 05:19 and pretty much in the world apart 05:22 from probably some others, well, who I'm sure 05:24 their stories will be also told. 05:26 Len and Colin flew the plane, 05:31 delivered medical supplies, 05:33 took evangelistic opportunities 05:36 and really opened to begin to open up, 05:38 of course, there weren't all that 05:40 many airstrips at that time 05:41 and so gradually airstrips were being built. 05:44 And they would fly into very remote places 05:46 in the highlands on the coast of that country. 05:50 Two years after the operation started, 05:54 there was almost a tragic accident. 05:57 Well, it was an accident, it was almost tragic. 06:00 Len was trying to test 06:02 the compression of the compeller 06:04 rather get the propeller. 06:06 And as he was turning it, suddenly it gave way 06:10 and it's pretty much sliced his leg. 06:12 It was almost literally hanging by a piece of skin, his leg. 06:18 Right through the bone and everything. 06:19 What was that? 06:20 Right through the bone, everything 06:22 and they said he will never walk again. 06:24 How we're going to take it off. 06:26 But again, providentially after, 06:30 I think it was eight months, he was able to walk again. 06:34 And before long, 06:35 he was back in Papua New Guinea, 06:36 flying the planes once again. 06:38 So tremendous commitment. 06:42 This is a story of great commitment, 06:45 of great vision. 06:48 He was just an ordinary guy... 06:50 He doesn't sound like it. 06:51 But he was something, he was an incredible person 06:54 and so were all the others, you know. 06:56 The story of Adventist Aviation in Papua New Guinea 06:58 is we've had about 66 pilots, 30 engineers 07:02 just in that country, then the Solomon Islands, 07:05 and Len was instrumental 07:07 in founding Adventist Aviation in Australia 07:09 where people would go out 07:11 into the outback to remote places. 07:12 Just an incredible story of Adventist mission. 07:15 You know, we have so much in our history... 07:18 Yeah, we do. 07:20 That often we don't realize, 07:21 but he's rich and he is really inspirational. 07:24 I take my head off too Pastor Len Barnard. 07:26 He is a man I wish I could have met. 07:28 Thank you, Dr. Oliver, for sharing his story. 07:31 It's my pleasure, Laurie. 07:32 I'm Laurie Falvo for Mission 360 TV. 07:36 Next up, we traveled to Uruguay 07:38 to see how your 13th Sabbath offerings 07:41 have helped plant a church there. 07:50 We are planting new churches in strategic locations. 07:53 In places we haven't worked for years. 07:56 Many people here thought it was impossible 07:58 to start new groups of believers. 08:01 But people like Nestor 08:03 are demonstrating that this is possible. 08:05 Nestor is a former businessman 08:07 and retired taxi driver in Montevideo, Uruguay. 08:11 He is also a talented guitar player 08:13 who used his gifts 08:15 to do something difficult in the city, 08:17 Nestor decided to plant a new Adventist Church here. 08:20 Up until recently, 08:22 there were few Adventist congregations in Montevideo. 08:24 Certain parts of the city 08:26 were completely untouched by the Adventist message. 08:29 It seemed impossible 08:30 to reach people in this highly secular society 08:33 with little interest in religion. 08:35 But it was here that 08:36 the Adventist Church of Goes started. 08:39 Nestor and the other missionaries 08:40 working with him 08:42 wanted to use Christ method to reach the community. 08:44 So they mingled with the people and met their needs 08:47 by starting an urban center of influence. 08:52 We had a lot to offer the community, 08:53 the smoking cessation courses, 08:56 healthy cooking classes, guitar lessons 08:58 and spiritual counseling. 09:00 We served food to the homeless, 09:02 we offered them Guiso, a traditional dish in Uruguay 09:05 made of lentils and rice. 09:07 We invited them to spiritual activities too. 09:10 And we saw that God led and brought people to us. 09:16 Many people who were reached 09:17 by the missionaries began to study the Bible, 09:19 and in just the first year 09:21 of activities of the Goes church plant, 09:23 five people were baptized. 09:25 The number of visitors kept growing 09:27 and the newly formed congregation 09:29 started to pray for a bigger building. 09:32 In 2016, God answered their prayers 09:34 through your contribution to the 13th Sabbath offering. 09:38 Adventist members 09:40 around the world supported this project 09:42 and a building was purchased 09:43 in a busy street between many shops. 09:46 Since then, the Church of Goes 09:48 has met in a large hall. 09:49 Approximately 40 people attend Sabbath worships 09:52 and welcome visitors from the surrounding region. 09:58 Goes is practically a family. 10:00 I always feel welcome in this church. 10:03 Here I learned the true faith. 10:05 I learned who the true Jesus is, 10:07 and the true Church of God. 10:09 Because of this, 10:10 I felt confident to become an Adventist, 10:13 and follow the commandments as Jesus asked us. 10:18 The world moves very fast. 10:21 There's time for nothing. 10:22 And when you find a place, 10:24 a refuge like this house of God, 10:27 the people feel good and feel satisfied, 10:31 and decide to take part. 10:35 Through the new Church of Goes, 10:37 God is blessing the city of Montevideo. 10:40 Nestor is thrilled to see this congregation growing, 10:42 but there are other areas of the city 10:44 that need to be reached. 10:46 So Nestor and the local leadership 10:48 have planned a church plant in the La Guate neighborhood 10:51 where more than 200,000 people live. 10:56 God wants us to open new paths and conquer new lands. 11:02 Just as the heroes of our faith in the past, 11:06 we must continue to conquer because time is short. 11:10 And Jesus is soon returning. 11:15 The challenge is similar around the world 11:17 until every member becomes involved in mission, 11:20 the world may remain largely unreached. 11:22 Please pray for more people to allow God to use them 11:25 like Nestor did. 11:27 Pray also for the millions of people 11:29 living in the cities 11:30 that they may desire to know Christ, 11:32 and thanks for your support of the 13th Sabbath offering. 11:51 Well, thanks so much for joining us 11:53 on today's program. 11:54 And I hope that you've enjoyed our 360 degree 11:57 view of mission around the world. 12:00 We've been to Thailand, we've been to Uruguay, 12:02 we've been to here in Guatemala. 12:04 And as you can see cultures change, 12:06 people's change, but the needs remain the same 12:10 and people need to know the good news about Jesus. 12:12 And I want to thank you for everything that you do 12:15 to make Adventist Mission possible. 12:17 I want to thank you for your donations 12:18 to Global Mission, 12:19 your mission offerings, your prayers, 12:22 and also your personal involvement. 12:24 It does make a difference. 12:26 Well, for Adventist Mission, I'm Gary Krause. 12:28 And I hope that you can join me next time 12:31 right here on Mission 360. 12:34 Amazing Grace 12:40 How sweet 12:43 The sound 12:47 That saved 12:50 A wretch 12:53 Like me 13:00 I once was lost 13:06 But now 13:10 Am found 13:13 Was blind 13:17 But now 13:20 I see 13:28 Through many 13:32 Dangers 13:36 Toils and snares 13:41 I have 13:45 Already come 13:55 Was Grace 13:59 That brought 14:02 Me safe 14:06 Thus far 14:09 And Grace 14:13 Will lead me home |
Revised 2020-07-17