Participants:
Series Code: MTS
Program Code: MTS002805B
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00:17 Welcome back to Tokyo.
00:18 You know, in a big city like this, 00:20 you see the high rises, you see the apartment blocks 00:23 and the commercial buildings and the busy streets 00:26 and then you turn a corner 00:27 and you come across a scene like this, 00:29 which is, at least for me surprising to see river boats 00:32 in the heart of the city. 00:34 Anyway, next up, we travel to Brazil to Brasilia 00:37 to meet a Waldensian student. 00:41 Hi, my guest today is a bit unusual, 00:45 not because he's unusual. 00:46 He's an ordinary person, 00:47 but he's doing extraordinary things 00:49 with God's help for mission. 00:52 So we're not going to tell you what his name is. 00:54 We're not going to show you his face 00:56 or where he was serving. 00:58 But I think you'll find this very interesting interview, 01:00 so we're just going to go for a little walk here so. 01:04 Thanks for joining us. 01:06 Now you are working or were working in a country 01:10 that we call a closed country. 01:12 Some people may not know what that means. 01:13 What does a closed country mean? 01:16 So we have some so-called closed countries in the world 01:21 that in that like in that case, 01:25 they have very strict regulations 01:29 on religions and on religious work. 01:32 So that's why we cannot act 01:36 as a normal religious worshiper 01:41 or worker as on many other, 01:44 as in our, most of our Western countries. 01:49 So in these countries 01:50 they don't allow religious workers 01:52 to come in and there are restrictions 01:54 on what people can do there. 01:56 So you were going into this country. 01:58 How did you feel before you went in? 02:01 I mean, were you scared? 02:02 I mean, what's, what is that feeling of? 02:05 I'm going to go. Yeah. 02:07 What motivates that? 02:09 Yeah, I think the biggest motivation 02:11 is knowing that you were accepting a call from God. 02:16 And that and another good thing 02:20 is to know that there are a many other missionaries 02:23 already working there. 02:25 So if I know that many people had... 02:29 are already there working and living with God 02:33 in such difficult circumstances. 02:37 God tells me that I can do that also. 02:39 Okay. 02:41 And there's a term that we call that one is a tentmaker 02:43 and another one is what we call Waldensian student. 02:45 Yeah. 02:47 Where somebody goes into a country 02:48 for a different purpose. 02:50 And they have a legitimate reason to be there 02:52 because they're a Christian, 02:53 they're letting their lives be the witness. 02:58 Now, what was it like? 03:00 Do you have any stories you can share 03:02 about your experiences there being careful of course, 03:04 is it possible or... 03:06 Yes, yes, I can try to remember some stories, 03:09 like as a potential missionary 03:13 in like, oh, 03:15 almost all the Christian missionaries in that country 03:19 entered as a student of the language, 03:23 so I could have to get the visa and be there legally. 03:26 And so in a place 03:30 where religion and religious people 03:33 were treated like differently, 03:37 we need to act differently. 03:39 And we know that we can find sometimes 03:42 some difficult situations on how to act. 03:46 And one day I found it difficult. 03:48 It was a bittersweet situation, a bittersweet feeling 03:54 because I was talking to a teacher 03:56 and, of course, I was there 03:58 to connect with all kinds of people 04:00 and I was trying to connect with that guy 04:02 that seemed to like me, 04:04 but and he started to show some interest on religion. 04:09 But the bittersweet feeling came 04:12 when one day when he already knew 04:14 that I was a Christian, 04:16 we were talking through the hallway after a class, 04:20 and he started to show really, like, 04:23 enthusiasm about religion and knowing the Bible. 04:27 So, but he ignoring that as a mission, 04:32 as a Christian, we need to, 04:34 you know, act under the, under covert, 04:40 he didn't know that we should not, 04:42 you know, I should hide about my religion. 04:45 So inside a secular university, 04:50 talking about religion could be very risky. 04:53 So inside me, I was really excited 04:56 that my local teacher was excited 04:58 about knowing that Christian and having access to the Bible 05:03 and knowing more about the Bible, 05:04 but at the same time, I was really, you know... 05:08 You're a bit worried. 05:10 Yeah, I was really worried 05:11 because many other employees are off the place 05:16 and other students were passing by. 05:18 So that situation could be very risky 05:20 at the same time. 05:21 Yeah. 05:22 I like what you're saying now, 05:24 because Ellen White talked about Christ's method. 05:25 How did Jesus do His ministry? 05:27 And one of the first things she says He did, 05:29 is He mingled and, you know, first of all, 05:32 you needed to be in that country to mingle. 05:34 You have a real reason to be there 05:36 and you're meeting and interacting 05:37 with people every day, 05:39 and they see your life 05:40 and they begin to sometimes ask questions. 05:44 Now, in terms of, well, first, how long were you there? 05:49 I stayed there for one year. 05:50 For one year? Okay. 05:52 And then, in terms of working 05:55 in the closed countries, 05:59 and doing that type of ministry, 06:03 you're constantly wondering, I guess, how much you can say, 06:08 who's watching, and things like that. 06:11 How do you cope with that and maybe, 06:13 what kind of reliance does prayer have 06:15 when you're in that kind of situation? 06:18 Yeah, I think sometimes you can rely only on prayer. 06:23 Because we know that we are watched by people, 06:28 by the government, 06:30 and, you know, by the police maybe, 06:32 but it's never possible for you to know 06:35 how much you are watched. 06:37 So we try to be prudent, 06:39 we try to avoid situations 06:40 that could bring some risks to us 06:43 and to the gospel and to other missionaries. 06:46 So, but at the same time, we are there to work, 06:49 we are there to bring the gospel to those people. 06:55 So sometimes, you know, 06:57 you know that you will need to talk about something 07:02 that is illegal, 07:04 you cannot proselytize, I cannot give you even, 07:07 not even a pamphlet, 07:08 a booklet on the streets that is illegal. 07:11 So it's not easy 07:16 for you to know 07:20 how far I can go on talking, 07:23 or you know about the gospel, about Jesus, 07:27 and how to balance the risks, no. 07:31 But in the end, 07:33 doing missionary work in a closed country 07:36 will always bring you risks. 07:38 And that's why we always rely on prayer above all 07:42 because you cannot avoid that. 07:45 Now, when you're talking about the world today, 07:48 one-third of the world is Christian, 07:49 two-thirds of the world is not 07:51 and some of those we cannot openly go in 07:54 and yet we have the gospel commission 07:56 to share the gospel to the entire world. 07:59 What advice would you give to somebody 08:01 who's considering any kind of mission service, 08:04 whether it is, you know, more traditional 08:06 or a volunteer or in a closed country? 08:14 So in a closed country, 08:18 if you feel called to go there, 08:22 as we already mentioned, 08:24 you will need to rely on prayer. 08:28 You will need to be sure that God is calling there. 08:32 And I like that, God is calling you, 08:34 pray and ask God, what do you want me to do? 08:37 And if He calls you to someplace like that, 08:41 then you have to prayerfully consider 08:42 whether you will answer. 08:43 We're out of time. 08:45 But thank you very much for joining us. 08:46 Thank you. 08:48 For Mission 360, I'm Rick Kajiura. 08:49 And now back to Gary Krause. 08:53 Next up we traveled to Romania to visit a unique church plant. 08:57 When a friend asked me for a ride, 08:59 something impressed me 09:01 that I should bring my family along. 09:02 While we were driving, a strong storm started 09:05 that caused our wooden church building 09:07 to collapse on top of my house. 09:09 We thanked God 09:10 that although our new Adventist Church collapsed. 09:12 By God's protection, no one was harmed. 09:15 And just a few years ago, I was not an Adventist. 09:19 I lived in an older house on this property 09:21 that sits at the main intersection in town. 09:24 In my community, there were some 09:25 who struggled to find a hot meal in the winter. 09:28 When Adventists first came, 09:29 they brought food and compassion. 09:32 A warm bowl of soup can be the perfect way 09:34 into someone's heart. 09:36 They parked a shipping container in my yard 09:38 where they could serve food and connect with our people. 09:41 Many of us felt they sincerely cared. 09:43 So we listened to Bible stories that were filled with hope. 09:46 Through their loving service, 09:48 this group of Adventists won our hearts 09:50 and we trusted them. 09:52 In time, some of us were baptized 09:54 and we built a wooden church next to my house. 10:00 This is my house 10:01 where the church plant activities happened 10:03 over the last 10 years. 10:05 This is the foundation for the church 10:07 we want it to build. 10:08 Unfortunately it didn't last 10:10 because it was destroyed during the storm. 10:13 Over there we had a shipping container. 10:15 From it, we served hot meals during the winter 10:17 for four to five years. 10:19 In the beginning, 10:21 most of the attendees were not Adventists. 10:23 This is still somewhat true today. 10:25 Only about half of the people who come for Sabbath services 10:28 are baptized members. 10:30 The other half come because they have seen 10:32 how Seventh-day Adventists are committed 10:34 to the peace and well-being of this community. 10:37 This active church also connects with young minds. 10:41 Every week, the church takes in some 200 children 10:44 for after school care and tutoring. 10:46 The children are served a daily meal. 10:48 Many parents and children benefit from this free service 10:51 provided by volunteers from the church 10:53 and from the community. 10:56 The children are doing better in school 10:58 because of the activities of this church. 11:01 The government school principal has expressed his gratitude 11:04 to the Adventist Church, even at public events. 11:09 We hope everyone will come to know God. 11:11 We make public invitations 11:13 for those who want to know more about us. 11:16 We organize small groups to discuss the Bible with those 11:19 who are interested. 11:21 I like these activities. 11:22 We are following Jesus' method for building relationships, 11:26 identifying needs, and trying to help people, 11:30 then we're guiding them to God. 11:33 I'm a builder by profession, 11:35 and after the wooden church collapsed, 11:37 we dreamed of building God a new house for worship. 11:40 Miraculously, God intervened 11:42 to give us the land and the funds. 11:45 Currently 20 people are studying the Bible, 11:47 and two of them are ready for baptism. 11:50 We work hard to help those in need. 11:52 In my spare time, 11:54 I assist the less privileged to have their own house. 11:58 I hope someday they will see the love of God through me, 12:01 as we saw God's love through the Adventists. 12:04 I want to thank the volunteer pioneers 12:07 and church planters who came here. 12:25 Thank you so much for joining us 12:27 on today's program, 12:28 and I hope that you've been inspired 12:30 and challenged by our 360-degree view of mission 12:34 around the world. 12:35 We've traveled to the hard to reach areas of the Amazon. 12:39 We've seen church planting in Romania. 12:42 We've looked at mission right here in Tokyo 12:45 and around the world today, 12:46 we face many, many mission challenges. 12:49 The urban city such as Tokyo 12:51 loom large in more ways than one. 12:53 But I want to thank you so much 12:55 for your continuing support of Adventist Mission. 12:59 Every time you pray for mission, 13:00 every time you give a donation to global mission, 13:03 or give your mission offerings, you are making a difference. 13:06 Thank you for your personal involvement. 13:08 And I hope that you can find ways 13:11 to share the good news of Adventist Mission 13:14 with your friends, your family with people at church. 13:17 If you want to learn more about Adventist Mission, 13:19 you can always go to adventistmission.org. 13:22 Well for Adventist Mission, I'm Gary Krause. 13:24 And I hope you can join me next time 13:26 right here on Mission 360. |
Revised 2020-09-18