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Series Code: MTS
Program Code: MTS002604B
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00:07 Welcome back to Chicago.
00:09 And if you missed the first part of this program, 00:11 I encourage you to go to m360.tv. 00:15 That's m360.tv, 00:16 and there you'll find many mission stories 00:19 from around the world. 00:20 Next up, Ron Kuhn 00:22 from the Institute of World Mission, 00:23 who's had many years experience as a missionary 00:26 talks about cross cultural mission. 00:28 From missionary to missionary trainer, 00:31 you'll enjoy what Ron has to say. 00:33 My name is Ron Kuhn. 00:35 I work for the Institute of World Mission, 00:38 and what I do is very interesting. 00:40 Sometimes I ask people, 00:42 have you ever heard about teaching people 00:44 to adjust to other cultures? 00:47 That's what I do. 00:48 And we are actually having a training for people 00:51 who are going to serve all over the world, 00:54 doctors, dentists, engineers, teachers, administrators, 00:59 people who moved from one culture, 01:02 from one country to another country. 01:05 And the question is, 01:08 what does it has to do with sharing your faith? 01:11 I would say everything 01:13 because if you don't understand the people you are serving, 01:16 you want to live, you want to, to learn from them, 01:21 you cannot share what you know, 01:23 because you will be sharing in a very awkward way. 01:27 For example, you arrive in a country 01:29 that people don't touch each other, 01:31 they don't greet with the handshake, 01:33 they greet with a wai, 01:35 and you want to hug, you want to handshake, 01:38 you will not create a good impression. 01:40 So, why people have to learn 01:43 about cross cultural work, 01:46 cross cultural values, world view, 01:49 understanding of reality? 01:51 Because you can be more efficient, 01:54 you arrive and you know better, 01:56 and then give you the initial tips, 02:00 and tools for you to adjust. 02:03 Quite often we use the expression, 02:05 cultural shock. 02:06 Why? 02:08 Because there's so much you don't know 02:10 that when you arrive and you start to leave, 02:14 you are overwhelmed 02:16 with so many things you don't understand 02:18 and it create a negative feeling, 02:21 which can be said, a culture shock. 02:25 Well, people will ask the following question, 02:29 what is the best way then 02:30 to share, to serve, to go somewhere else 02:33 as an international worker, 02:35 as a cross cultural cross cultural service person 02:41 that could be for governments, for embassies, 02:46 for United Nations as well as for different churches? 02:51 People want to know how they adjust 02:53 to another place. 02:54 The best way, of course, a part of training. 02:58 We provide training, if you want to know more, 03:01 we provide training for two weeks, three weeks, 03:04 sorry for three weeks. 03:07 And then people have the tools and resources 03:10 to adjust to another place. 03:12 The question, the main question we ask is, 03:16 how did God related to humans? 03:22 Did God send an email 03:26 with His plan, with His will, 03:29 with His care and love? 03:31 Did He send an angel? 03:32 Did He send a book? 03:34 All of these maybe one could say, 03:36 yeah, it's true. 03:38 But God chose something far more effective 03:40 and that's what I want to share with you. 03:43 He came to live with the people. 03:47 He chose to incarnate in our reality 03:51 and then, the question is, 03:52 are we really following the example of Jesus? 03:55 Are we incarnating in the reality of other people? 03:59 Many times people go to serve in another culture 04:03 and they bring loads of things 04:06 so they never detach from their culture, 04:09 they are afraid to really adjust. 04:11 Imagine if God will have done that. 04:14 Jesus will have come to this earth 04:17 with huge squad of angels, 04:22 many containers of supplies and goods, 04:25 how will we feel? 04:27 But He came and He became one of us. 04:30 What an example? 04:31 He is always the best example of service and incarnation. 04:36 So therefore, the best way, 04:39 a part of all the training one can get 04:41 is to go with an open heart, 04:44 to go with a willingness to adjust, 04:48 and the first prerequisite is you go as a learner, 04:53 forget your doctor degrees, forget your expertise, 04:58 your titles and what you have done. 05:00 The first thing when you move to another culture, 05:03 you go as a learner, you learn, so you can share. 05:07 Then once you understand, you create bridges. 05:10 That's what Jesus did. 05:13 He learned His stories, His examples, 05:16 His parables were based on the reality of life. 05:21 Why don't we learn from Him? 05:22 So if you want to go, go as a learner, 05:26 incarnate in the reality of the people, 05:29 learn from them, love them, don't judge them, 05:33 suspend judgment of things you don't understand. 05:36 And when you have learned enough, 05:40 you will find ways and bridges to connect the gospel truths 05:45 and the love of Jesus in a way that people will understand. 05:49 And then the gospel will be meaningful to those 05:51 who may have never heard, 05:53 because they will see an incarnation 05:56 of the love of God. 05:58 May God bless you, all of us, 06:00 as we cross boundaries 06:02 to serve the needs of the world. 06:06 Something strange happened 06:08 when Abraham returned 100 cows as tithe, 06:12 his neighbors were so confused. 06:14 Let's travel to Tanzania 06:16 to find out more about this story. 06:20 The Maasai tribe in Africa loves cows, 06:23 they often wander from place to place 06:25 and the cows come with them. 06:27 Life in the desert can be hard. 06:29 So when an older person or a baby dies, 06:31 families have to move on quickly. 06:34 But when his cow dies, 06:35 a Maasai man will mourn terribly. 06:38 He knows that cows are very valuable 06:40 and help him take care of his family. 06:42 He loves his cows. 06:46 So it came as a big surprise to Adventist leaders to hear 06:49 that a wealthy Maasai man 06:51 had decided to give 100 of his precious cows 06:54 as a tithe to God. 06:56 The man, Abraham, became an Adventist 06:59 after meeting a Global Mission pioneer 07:01 in Northern Tanzania 07:02 and felt impressed to give 1/10th 07:04 of his cattle as tithe. 07:06 Abraham called the local pastor to collect the cows. 07:09 "I don't want to keep what belongs to God," he said. 07:12 Abraham took the stunned pastor to his field 07:15 and began to count out the tithe 07:17 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 07:22 Abraham counted the cows in his herd, 07:24 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. 07:29 When he reached the 10th cow, 07:31 he told a helper to put a tag on its ear 07:33 so the cow would be set aside for tithe. 07:36 That one is for the Lord, he said. 07:39 He counted out a 100 cows for tithe. 07:42 Abraham's Maasai neighbors who were not Adventist 07:45 thought he had gone mad. 07:47 Why would you give away your cows? 07:50 Someone said, 07:51 if you can give away a 100 cows as tithe, 07:54 why don't you also count your children 07:56 and give the 10th child as tithe, said another. 08:00 I know a person in the Bible 08:01 who didn't even have 10 children, 08:03 he said, he only had one and he was more than willing 08:06 to return that child to God. 08:08 His name was Abraham too. 08:11 After Abraham returned the tithe 08:13 of a 100 cows to God, 08:15 something strange happened to his cattle, 08:17 his cows started giving birth to twins. 08:21 Cows usually give birth to just one calf at a time. 08:24 But all of Abraham's cows began to give birth to twins. 08:29 The neighbors were shocked. 08:31 Abraham had given away 100 cows, 08:33 and now he had more cows than ever before. 08:37 "Call your pastor," one neighbor said, 08:39 "I also want to give a tithe. 08:41 We want our cows 08:42 to have twins too," said another. 08:45 Abraham marveled at how God was blessing him 08:47 and decided that he didn't want to return just one tithe, 08:50 he wanted to give two tithes. 08:52 He called the Adventist pastor again. 08:55 "When I gave the 100 cows as tithe nine months ago, 08:58 I wanted to see what would happen," 09:00 Abraham said, "I have seen so many blessings. 09:03 Instead of having one calf, my cow started having twins." 09:07 Abraham took the pastor to his field 09:09 and counted out double tithes, two cows out of every 10. 09:13 The pastor was amazed 09:15 by how God had blessed Abraham's faithfulness. 09:18 "You are never losing when you return to God," 09:21 the pastor said. 09:22 The Lord is faithful, 09:24 He will even multiply what little you have. 09:39 Well, thanks so much for joining us 09:40 on today's program. 09:42 And I hope that you've been inspired and challenged 09:45 by our 360 degree view of mission around the world. 09:49 It was great to see how fun activities, 09:52 introducing children to Jesus in Georgia. 09:55 It was wonderful to see the dedication 09:57 and commitment of the man tithing a 100 cows in Tanzania, 10:01 and around the world today 10:03 we see so many examples of creative, faithful mission. 10:07 I want to thank you so much 10:09 for the part you play in making this happen. 10:12 Whether you pray, give or go, 10:14 you are part of the Adventist Mission team 10:16 in helping to spread the good news 10:18 about Jesus around the world. 10:20 And I want to thank you so much for your prayers, 10:23 your continuing financial support 10:24 that do make a difference. 10:26 Well, until we meet next time on Mission 360, 10:29 I'm Gary Krause, for Adventist Mission. 10:42 There is nothing in this world 10:47 That can truly satisfy me 10:52 Like Jesus 10:57 Jesus love 11:02 For His love is truly deeper 11:07 Truly purer, truly sweeter 11:13 Than anything I've ever known 11:23 I searched the world to find things 11:28 To bring meaning to my life 11:34 But nothing satisfies me 11:38 Like Jesus love 11:44 There is nothing in this world 11:49 That can truly satisfy me 11:54 Like Jesus 11:59 Jesus love 12:05 I've tried so many times 12:10 To fill the void inside 12:15 But nothing brings me peace and joy 12:20 Like Jesus love 12:25 There is nothing in this world 12:30 That can truly satisfy me 12:35 Like Jesus 12:40 Jesus love 12:45 Won't you ask Him today 12:51 He will fill you up inside 12:56 There's no emptiness or loneliness 13:02 Where Jesus Christ resides 13:09 There is nothing in this world 13:14 That can truly satisfy me 13:19 Like Jesus 13:24 Jesus love 13:29 Only Jesus 13:34 Jesus love |
Revised 2020-03-02