Participants:
Series Code: MTS
Program Code: MTS002703B
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00:04 Welcome back to Panama City.
00:06 And behind me you can see the headquarters 00:08 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church 00:10 here in Panama. 00:11 Next up, we travel back to Silver Spring, Maryland 00:14 to hear the story of the pioneer 00:17 of Adventist work in Venezuela. 00:19 My guest today is Dr. Myrna Costa 00:22 from the inter-American Division. 00:24 Dr. Costa is one of the regional editors 00:26 for the encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. 00:29 And this brand new reference work 00:31 is overseen by the Office of Archives, 00:34 Statistics, and Research. 00:35 It'll be full of thousands 00:38 of entries in a variety of topics, 00:41 including articles on mission work. 00:43 And Dr. Costa, thank you so much 00:46 for joining us on Mission 360 TV today. 00:48 Thank you very much. 00:49 Today, you're going to tell us 00:51 a story about a missionary named Rafael Lopez Miranda. 00:56 So why did you choose 00:57 this particular missionary to talk about? 01:00 Well, that's a good question 01:02 because the author of this article 01:05 is a very good friend of mine, Dr. Lourdes Morales-Gudmundson. 01:09 And she happens to be 01:10 the granddaughter of this missionary, 01:13 Rafael Lopez Miranda. 01:15 So may I talk to you about her? Sure! 01:18 Because she has a book about him, 01:22 Rafael Lopez Miranda, and it's called 01:24 "El Viajero," which is "The Traveler." 01:27 She will have a new edition this year in English. 01:30 And this book is all about him. 01:34 But in the article 01:36 of the encyclopedia will be very short. 01:37 Right, right. 01:39 So if people want the full expanded version, 01:42 they can read that book. 01:43 Exactly. Great. Great. 01:45 So talking about Lopez Miranda, 01:47 was there ever a time 01:49 that he experienced God's protection 01:51 as he served as a missionary? 01:53 Yes, many times. Many times. 01:55 When he was 10 or 12 years old, he encountered two things. 02:00 He was at the beach and there was a shark, 02:03 almost got him. 02:05 And then another time in a zoo, 02:07 a lion escaped and came charging 02:10 at him but he escaped. 02:12 So we know that God 02:14 had something special for this little boy. 02:17 When he was a teenager, 02:20 his father died in a shipwreck. 02:23 That was sad. 02:25 He was given the task 02:27 of taking care of his mom and sister, 02:30 and that was too much for him. 02:31 So he started drinking heavily. 02:34 And until he met, who was going to be his wife, 02:38 the name was Esperanza Gortigo. 02:40 And he stopped drinking, 02:42 he married her, they were very happy. 02:45 They had a little boy, the name was Rafaelito. 02:48 But then again, sadness happened 02:49 because when he was six, the boy died. 02:52 And again, he started drinking 02:54 and some family violence occurred. 02:59 But God had other plans for him. 03:02 Because one day when he was walking home, 03:04 he came across some papers on the floor, 03:06 he picked them up. 03:07 And it's happened to be two pages of the Bible. 03:10 And John 3:16 was there. 03:14 And he read it. 03:15 And it really got to him through what he went. 03:20 And the next day, colporteur came to his place 03:24 and offered him some books. 03:25 And also, again, talk to him about John 3:16. 03:30 So God had plan for him ever since. 03:32 And his conversion was instantaneous. 03:37 It just changes total 03:41 his way of life and his family, 03:44 just because the change that had occurred in him, 03:48 they all converted too. 03:50 Wow! Praise God! 03:52 Sounds like God was really leading despite 03:55 the tragedies he faced, losses he had faced. 03:58 Sounds like God still had plans for him. 04:00 And he was open to God's leading. 04:02 Yes. And he became a colporteur. 04:04 So he distributed books along the island. 04:07 And he went to the American Republic, 04:09 and after that he went to Venezuela, 04:11 a place where the Seventh-day Adventist Church 04:13 had not been there. 04:15 And he just felt the need to go 04:18 and into the jungles of Venezuela 04:21 to talk to them about Jesus soon coming 04:24 and distribute books. 04:27 So one day though, 04:30 after arriving in San Cristobal, 04:34 he thought he was, in fact, let's go back, 04:37 he encountered a death threat. 04:41 Yeah, there was a priest that didn't want him to be there. 04:44 So they told him, 04:46 "You better leave or I'm going to have you kill." 04:49 Well, of course, he didn't pay any attention 04:51 and he kept doing his work. 04:53 At that time, 04:54 he was already known as the traveler 04:57 and because he was travelling from place to place, 04:59 so they call him and nicknamed him, 05:01 the traveler. 05:04 He was never to return back to Puerto Rico. 05:07 He was born in Puerto Rico, I forgot to tell you that. 05:10 And that's one thing that why I chosen Puerto Rico too. 05:15 He was never to return. 05:18 And his wife begged him to come back 05:20 and soon ask him to come back, but he didn't. 05:22 And his wife sent American flag to Venezuela, 05:29 the mission to tell them that he was an American citizen, 05:33 just in case something would happen. 05:36 Right, right. 05:37 So it sounded like he faced 05:38 a number of serious threats events with life. 05:42 Were there any other dangers to his life that he faced? 05:45 Yes, as a matter of fact, 05:46 at one time he was in a restaurant, 05:48 and he ordered some food and the waiter came, 05:51 brought him some food. 05:52 And when the plate was in front of him, 05:55 he started praying, and when he opened his eyes, 05:58 he saw that the waiter had taken his food away 06:01 and was bringing him another plate. 06:03 And he asked, "Why?" 06:04 And he said, "Well, I had been instructed to poison you. 06:07 But because I saw you 06:09 and I heard you praying, I couldn't do this." 06:11 Wow! 06:13 So it sounds like God was really preserving his life 06:16 throughout many dangers that he faced. 06:18 Yeah, but at the end, he was staying at this inn. 06:23 And one day, the owner told him, 06:27 he had to leave. 06:28 And he said, "Señora, we'll see you. 06:31 I'll see you another day at that eternal morning, 06:34 we will see each other again." 06:36 And she knew that something was gonna happen. 06:38 And sure enough, when he reached 06:40 the creek nearby, 06:43 there were some assassins waiting in the shadows. 06:46 And yes, they shot and killed him. 06:51 And to this day, my friend, 06:53 Lourdes, she has the hat that he was wearing, 06:57 with bullet holes and everything. 06:58 So, yes, it's tragic, 07:04 how our colporteurs 07:05 and our missionaries have suffered. 07:09 Right, right. 07:10 But sounds like despite 07:12 everything he was faithful to God, 07:14 literally until death just like Paul 07:17 and a number of other biblical figures 07:19 where it sounds, like, his impact, 07:21 his legacy effects even those, 07:23 you know, personally today like your friends. 07:26 Thank you so much Dr. Costa for sharing the story 07:29 of Rafael Lopez Miranda. 07:31 Thank you. Thank you for having me. 07:32 Reporting for Mission 360, I'm Chelsy Tyler. 07:52 Next up, we travelled to the trans-European region 07:55 to learn more about 07:56 this quarter's 13th Sabbath Offerings. 08:06 So we spoke to some of the leaders 08:10 in municipalities, the mayors and these things 08:13 through representatives, 08:15 and we asked them 08:16 what are the real needs in the community. 08:20 And one area that really stuck out 08:24 as a major need was loneliness. 08:42 In Sortland, Norway, loneliness is a key challenge 08:46 among both the elderly and the young. 08:49 About one third of the teenagers 08:50 here say they feel lonely. 08:53 So this is why we started thinking, 08:56 well, what can we as a church do to contribute 08:59 and meet that need. 09:06 We're trying and failing and seeing what works, 09:10 what doesn't work and through that learning 09:14 that don't necessarily know the name of God and who He is. 09:19 But a lot of people do believe there is a God. 09:23 And so, belief in God 09:28 is quite typical at the same time 09:31 as traditional church is seen as problematic 09:36 in regard to the core cultural values. 09:38 This region was one of the key areas 09:42 for Adventism in Norway. 09:44 We had areas here with the highest density 09:46 of Adventists in all of Norway. 09:49 Now our churches are dying. 10:03 Similar to many places around the world, 10:05 the church has lost its foothold, 10:08 struggling to be known as 10:09 an integral part of the community. 10:11 Can the church still be relevant here in Sortland? 10:14 Pastor Kenneth believes so. 10:16 The key is forming connections 10:18 where people are 10:19 and meeting their most painful needs. 10:22 The family structures is, 10:25 sort of, something also this under attack, 10:28 you know, in this region, 10:30 so a lot of unstable family relationships. 10:37 So we had a family retreat recently. 10:40 We wanted to place a focus upon families 10:44 spending time together. 10:45 So that was the overall goal, strengthening family bonds. 10:50 Over the six days of the retreat, 10:52 the eight families focused on spending 10:54 wholesome time together, 10:56 organized activities like crafts 10:58 and games provided opportunities for bonding, 11:01 and a lot of laughter and smiles. 11:03 It was very positive. It was very encouraging. 11:06 They were so grateful because these families 11:08 were also families 11:10 that couldn't afford vacation themselves. 11:13 So this was part of it. 11:15 Also, we were offering them a vacation experience. 11:17 And they were just so grateful for that experience. 11:20 And friendships building over that week, 11:24 we've spent together was... 11:25 So it was a very encouraging time. 11:27 It has been sort of quite touching, 11:30 also seeing how God 11:31 has been opening doors that we did not expect. 11:35 When they see we as a church really wanting the best 11:39 for the community, 11:42 so they've given access where we can, 11:45 sort of, be quite bold and open about faith, 11:49 and it's received quite well as well. 11:52 So I think this is not something we've been doing, 11:56 but it's seeing how God is working 11:59 on the lives of people and the hearts of people 12:01 and opening doors that seemed very closed. 12:06 Please pray for church members in Sortland, Norway. 12:09 Pray that God uses them to overcome 12:11 the challenges of loneliness, broken families, 12:14 and skepticism in the community and that through this, 12:17 people can come to know Jesus personally. 12:21 This quarter a portion of your 13th Sabbath Offering 12:24 will help build a centre of influence 12:26 for Pastor Kenneth and the church members 12:28 to host programs and events 12:30 geared toward the community. 12:32 The offering will also help 12:33 construct an urban center of influence in Cyprus 12:36 and establish a church in Serbia. 12:39 Please consider how you can support 12:41 these projects through prayer and by giving to this offering. 13:00 Well, thank you so much for joining us 13:02 on today's program. 13:03 I hope that you've been challenged 13:05 and inspired by what you've seen and heard. 13:09 As we've looked at the pioneer early days 13:12 of mission in Venezuela, 13:14 as we looked at mission here in Panama, 13:15 and we've looked at 13:17 what your 13th Sabbath Offerings 13:18 can do in Europe, 13:20 you can see that there's many opportunities, 13:22 wonderful things are happening, 13:23 but we still face many challenges. 13:26 And I want to thank you so much for your support 13:28 of Adventist mission to help make it possible. 13:31 Whether you pray for mission, whether you give for mission, 13:35 whether you're personally involved in mission, all three, 13:38 we consider you part of our Adventist mission family, 13:41 our Adventist mission team. 13:42 So please continue to pray, 13:44 please continue to give, please continue to go. 13:48 Well, for Adventist Mission, I'm Gary Krause. 13:51 And I hope that you can join me next time 13:53 right here on Mission 360. |
Revised 2020-06-11