Participants: Jim Ayer
Series Code: MW
Program Code: MW000063
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00:01 It was a divine appointment in the
00:03 marketplace, one person from one 00:04 direction another from a hard distance 00:06 in another direction, the two of them 00:08 meeting and an entire village is changed. 00:45 Africa, second only Asia in size and population 00:49 covers over 20 percent of the earth's 00:50 total land area, almost 15 percent of 00:53 the world's human population lives on 00:56 the African continent. 00:57 Foreign Language When Maasai women 01:21 gather together they sing and dance 01:23 among themselves, they chant lullabies, 01:25 hymn and sing songs praising their sons. 01:34 Women wear various forms of beaded ornaments 01:36 in both lobes and smaller piercings at the top 01:39 of the ear. It is occasionally used as a way 01:42 of displaying wealth, status or rank 01:44 and sometimes as a part of religious practices. 01:48 It is difficult to find out how or why some 01:50 traditions started as with many things 01:52 people do, its just the way 01:54 we've always done it is often the answer. 01:59 Do some of, does the ornamentation have special 02:01 meaning of different things because 02:02 some of the ladies different. 02:04 Foreign Language .We wear these ornaments 02:09 for special occasions and ceremonies especially 02:12 when we receive guests or have marriage 02:14 ceremonies and how about this lady 02:16 with the one almost all the way to the ground, 02:18 does that have special meaning. 02:22 This is special for the woman who has given 02:24 birth to warriors, so it's a, 02:30 they wear that as pride that they have 02:31 warriors in the family. Yes. 02:34 Well tell the ladies I appreciate 02:35 it so much, may I ask one more 02:38 question and again maybe its too personal, 02:40 but I noticed they have pierced ears 02:42 and some are very long, some are short. 02:52 Ask a question. Okay, well how do 02:54 you get yours ears so long, how do you do that? 02:58 I would make this whole by placing a piece of 03:02 wood in my ear lope and it would get bigger. 03:05 How long did it take to get hers that, that 03:08 long? I made the hole when I was 03:11 a little girl and gradually added larger 03:14 wood pieces then I cleaned it and placed this 03:18 weight on it and it stretched longer 03:20 and longer, ask the ladies if they've ever 03:23 heard of Adventist World Radio. 03:33 Yes, we like that radio program. 03:38 Well please keep listening ladies. 03:42 We've heard so many exciting stories 03:44 of the Maasai people and conversions through 03:46 the power of radio. Ben, 03:47 it is wonderful. It is and we in Adventist 03:51 World Radio have been working for the Maasai 03:54 just in the last few years but you know 03:57 the exciting thing is that there is a prophecy 04:00 in the Bible that many people think refer 04:03 to the Maasai people, really? 04:06 It's found in Isaiah chapter 18 and its 04:10 embedded in a prophecy against the nation 04:13 of Cush, now Cush is a country located south 04:18 of Egypt into the area of Ethiopia and Nubia 04:22 in that area. Now those people had some contact 04:28 with the nation of Israel and this prophecy 04:32 kind of prophesize punishment for Cush 04:37 because they did not follow the true God 04:41 and they did not witness properly 04:43 to other people. Now it says here in Isaiah 04:48 18 verse 2 it says "go swift messengers 04:53 to a people tall and smooth skinned, 04:57 to a people feared far and wide, 05:00 an aggressive nation of strange speech whose 05:03 land is divided by waters. " Now this description 05:07 many people think fit the Maasai people 05:10 very well. Now of course at the time 05:12 this was written it was the early family 05:16 of people that lived in that area and eventually 05:20 migrated down through Kenya and into 05:26 Tanzania in this area. Definitely a tall people 05:28 and a fierce people, proud people 05:31 and aggressive, but then verse 3 says, 05:34 all you people who live on the earth 05:37 when banner is raised on the mountain 05:40 you will see it and when a trumpet 05:43 sounds you will hear it. A trumpet, 05:46 a trumpet sound, I want to come back 05:48 to that. It says, at that time predicting 05:52 some point in the future gifts will be brought 05:55 to the Lord Almighty from a people tall 05:58 and smooth skinned from a people 06:00 feared far and wide, an aggressive nation of 06:04 strange speech, whose land is divided by rivers, 06:08 the gifts will be brought to Mount Zion, 06:10 the place of the name of the Lord. 06:13 But here we have a prophecy that these people 06:15 whoever they are, will come to the Lord, 06:18 they will bring their gifts to the Lord 06:21 and they will no doubt respond when the banner 06:26 is raised on the mountains and the trumpet 06:28 is sounding, so at a certain point in time, 06:30 yes they will respond. Now what is the 06:33 logo of Adventist World Radio? 06:35 Oh the trumpets, the three trumpets, 06:38 which symbolize the Three Messages of the 06:41 Book of Revelation, the three angels messages. 06:45 Now it just seems like that the Maasai people 06:48 have all these years not responded 06:51 at all to Christianity. For many years it was 06:55 so difficult to make even one convert, 06:58 in fact they were no converts to Christianity 07:01 for many years but just in the last maybe 50 years 07:05 or so, the Maasai have begun to be reached. 07:10 Now I'm not saying that Adventist World Radio 07:11 is the only agency that has reached Maasai 07:14 people of course but I think Adventist 07:17 world radio is one of the agencies that God 07:20 is using to reach the Maasai people and 07:23 we can see that so evident in the stories 07:26 that we have seen. 07:30 Men women boys and girls, 07:31 everyone is listening to Adventist World Radio 07:33 from Cairo and the great Pyramids, 07:39 to the barren lands of Ethiopia, 07:44 from the vast plains of Kenya and the Maasai 07:47 lands of Serengeti to the slopes 07:50 of Mount of Kilimanjaro. 07:54 All the way here to the exotic shores of 07:55 Zanzibar and beyond. 08:01 As you can see AWRis front line mission radio, 08:05 our first priority is to travel where 08:07 missionaries cannot go. We broadcast thousands 08:10 of hours each day in 70 major languages 08:13 of the world AWR has the capability 08:16 and capacity of blanketing almost 08:18 almost 80 percent of the world's population 08:21 not only do we broadcast 08:22 via short wave radio but our 08:24 signal is on over 1000 FM and AM stations 08:28 around the world as well, 08:30 our podcast subscribers, Internet users, 08:33 satellite downlinks are growing 08:35 rapidly, evidenced by the hundred thousand 08:37 plus emails, letters and phone calls we 08:40 receive each and every year. 08:42 Yes, AWR is your mission radio, 08:46 no walls and no borders. 08:47 For AWR that means changed lives and 08:49 changed hearts around the world 08:51 because God is using to airwaves of AWR 08:55 to reach people everywhere. 09:01 It's kind of amazing to me 09:02 that we're on our way out to the Serengeti 09:04 and here in the middle of nowhere was 09:06 a Maasai village, we're greeted by these ladies 09:09 who have set up a little, almost 09:11 a little shop here, selling their craft 09:13 to make a little bit more money, 09:16 they danced for us and then above 09:18 all things I asked them if they've been 09:19 listening to Adventist World Radio 09:20 and they said they have and they like it. 09:23 Out here in nowhere its pretty exciting 09:25 to well I guess you never know what's 09:27 you're going to find any place, 09:29 it seems like the radio waves 09:30 are getting everywhere. 09:35 As a historically nomadic and then 09:37 semi-nomadic people they have traditionally 09:39 relied on local, readily available material 09:42 to construct their housing. 09:44 The traditional house is designed 09:46 for people on to move and not designed 09:48 to be permanent, the Inkajijik or house 09:51 is generally circular and constructed by the 09:53 able bodied women in the group. 09:57 The structural frame work is formed 09:58 of timber poles fixed directly into the ground, 10:00 and interwoven with a lattice of 10:02 smaller branches, which is then plastered 10:04 by hand with a mixture of mud, sticks, grass, 10:08 cow dung, human urine and ash. 10:12 Within this space the family cooks, eats, 10:14 sleeps, socializes and stores food, 10:17 fuel and other household possessions. 10:20 Traditionally, their diet consisted of meat, 10:23 milk and blood from cattle. 10:26 The mixing of cattle blood and milk 10:27 is done to prepare a ritual drink for 10:29 special celebrations and is 10:31 nourishment for the sick. 10:33 After asking my new friends about 10:35 the cow's blood they told me that 10:37 as Christians they no longer drink it. 10:39 More recently, they've grown dependent 10:41 on food produced in other areas, such as 10:44 corn meal, rice, potatoes and cabbage 10:46 known to the Maasai as goat leaves. 10:50 I've talked with many men about what life is 10:53 like here in Africa, but 10:54 what's it like for the ladies? 11:03 The Maasai people are very far 11:05 behind than other tribes in development. 11:09 In education, we're not very good but 11:12 we're getting better, and in spirituality 11:14 we're also getting better and growing. 11:18 So, the women in Christian culture Maasai 11:21 are treated better than if they weren't Christian 11:25 The Maasai women are spiritually 11:27 ahead of the men. So they are problem 11:29 that remain between Maasai women and men. 11:33 Are you married? Yes. 11:38 Before we became Christians, our lives 11:40 were very tough, because my husband was 11:42 drinking alcohol. It took me a long time to 11:46 approach him and ask him not to drink alcohol, 11:50 but now he is a Christian and has changed his life. 11:53 We're happy at home because we pray 11:55 together and share in home activities. 11:59 May I ask you also, did you get to chose 12:02 your husband or was that arranged 12:04 for you as a child? It wasn't my choice 12:09 because I didn't know until I grew up 12:12 and matured as a women. 12:14 One day suddenly my parents said, 12:17 that's your husband, it was not my choice 12:20 according to our culture. I was 12:23 also thinking one more thing too, 12:24 I've heard that the Maasai people, 12:26 the men before the Christian may 12:29 have many wives, is that true? 12:31 Yes. Are there more wives, does 12:36 your husband have more wives? 12:39 No, only one wife to my husband. 12:41 She's probably very happy about that, yeah. 12:44 I understand that you listen to radio, 12:47 how does the radio help you, the Christian radio 12:49 help you in your walk with Jesus? 12:55 After hearing the good news of Jesus Christ 12:57 on the radio, we changed our lives, 13:03 we moved from the dark to the light, 13:04 when we received Jesus light, we came 13:06 to love our neighbors and each other. 13:09 And now we have hope for our future 13:12 together with God. I'm glad that you're 13:15 part of the family of God, but I, yeah, 13:16 you probably have to get to your family 13:18 so we'll, we'll go ahead and 13:19 we'll walk on home and let you go here. 13:22 Well you and the others were off interviewing 13:25 an individual who had a special story and here 13:28 were all the others in the village kind of looking on, 13:30 wondering what was going on. 13:33 So, I took them aside and visited with them 13:36 with a translator and I actually summarized 13:40 the plan of salvation with them. 13:42 And I asked them if they were able to worship. 13:45 No, they said, we need an evangelist or a pastor. 13:49 I said, well you know, you can worship. 13:51 right here among yourselves. 13:53 You know how to sing, we'll get you a Bible 13:56 so you can read a Bible passage and discuss it. 13:58 It's so hard for me at least in a western mind 14:01 or western culture to think that someone 14:04 doesn't even know how to worship, that's right. 14:06 What's exciting though is the Holy Spirit 14:08 is able to work with what we're doing 14:10 to produce tremendous results. 14:12 Yes, I have been emphasizing 14:17 in our training of our producers, 14:20 the concept of contextualization, 14:23 we want to put our programs 14:25 in the proper context, so that the 14:28 people will understand them simply 14:31 and they will be familiar with the illustrations 14:34 and the messages that we give. 14:36 A good example to me is on this trip, 14:37 the Maasai people to get into the villages 14:41 and see people who a very short time ago 14:44 had no concept of God at all. Exactly, 14:47 and but they love the programs and 14:50 they're wanting to change their life. 14:52 And as they change their lives there are certain 14:55 universals that the Bible teaches about 14:58 what it means to be a follower 14:59 of God and Jesus Christ. But there are 15:02 other things that we westerners have a tendency 15:05 to impose upon these people that don't have 15:09 a religious issue to them, it's just a different 15:12 way of life, different kind of clothing, 15:14 sometimes a different kind of music. 15:18 I am a very conservative person, but even 15:20 I realize that being able to travel in many parts 15:24 of the world that we can't make cookie cutter 15:26 westernized Christians of these people. 15:28 They even jump in praising God, you know 15:32 that sounds like the Old Testament. 15:34 Now, we don't do that very much, 15:36 we feel a little inhibited and uncomfortable, 15:39 but they are singing praises to Jesus and 15:42 they are jumping in praise of God. and 15:45 I think it's a lesson for us that we shouldn't be 15:47 too quick to judge these people in the 15:51 growth of their Christian experience, because 15:53 you can tell their genuineness, 15:56 they may not look exactly like us in their 16:00 practice of worship and how they live yet, 16:03 but they're still growing, they're still 16:05 experiencing this and I think God honor's 16:07 them for their commitment. 16:09 What I've seen Ben is there's this golden thread 16:11 that's woven through every single experience, 16:14 every single person that we interview 16:16 and that's the power of God to change 16:18 their lives and these people are changing. 16:21 You know some might just say they're 16:22 in different stages, but they are changing. 16:25 And you know I think we have to 16:26 allow God to lead them. 16:29 They started out without our help, 16:32 because so many of these groups kind of 16:34 spontaneously formed. Now it's true 16:37 they may have listen to our radio broadcast 16:39 but they kind of naturally formed groups 16:43 and got together and began sharing 16:46 and I think God continues to 16:48 lead them step by step. 16:50 There is no doubt of the Holy Spirit 16:51 is being poured out of them, that's right. 16:53 People are responding everywhere, amen. 17:15 About a year ago, you met these people 17:18 again kind of for the second time that 17:20 you met these people in the market, 17:22 and as I understand that they had 17:24 been Christians many years ago, 17:27 but they had no fellowship, no support, 17:30 no one to talk to, so they just kind of fell away. 17:33 So you told them to turn on their radios 17:36 and listen to a particular program, is that right? 17:41 I have introduced them to the 17:42 Maasai language programs, they continued 17:45 to listen and I've continued to 17:47 follow up with them, so now they desire 17:50 to have their own church, so they can 17:52 continue to grow in their faith. 17:55 Isn't it amazing that God directed you 17:58 to go the market at that time, on that day? 18:03 I was so happy because the place we met 18:06 is so different from the place I live, 18:10 when I was at the market this Maasai lady 18:13 was kneeling at my feet crying as 18:16 she held my knees, please we need to 18:19 hear something about the word of God and 18:22 that's when I introduced them to the programs. 18:25 How does it make you feel now to see 18:27 the growth of these people simply because 18:30 you met them in the market and 18:31 said, listen to this program. 18:35 I am so excited to know that the influence 18:37 of the programs is growing and I pray 18:40 that I continue to influence more people to 18:43 listen to these programs. 18:45 It's so good to be used 18:46 by the Holy Spirit. Amen. 18:52 Radio has played a major role in bringing 18:54 the gospel to people everywhere. 18:57 Not only does it provide the very first 18:59 opportunity for them to hear about 19:01 God's love, but AWR offers comfort companionship 19:05 and instruction for continued growth in 19:07 the life of the new Christian. In India, 19:10 we provided 50 radios to workers who use them 19:13 as soul winning tools and within two years 19:15 they had won 6700 people to Christ. 19:20 We are experiencing the same type of success 19:22 right here in Africa using solar powered radios. 19:26 Bible workers and pastors are not always 19:28 able to travel to meet with those, 19:30 they have been studied with, 19:32 so they are directing their students to listen 19:34 to the radio presentations in their absence. 19:37 Radio is the perfect gospel partner. 20:17 When I was introduced to you, I was told 20:19 that you are the head of the family here, 20:21 is that correct? You are right, 20:23 I am the one. When we pulled in you were 20:26 leading the group singing, are you the one 20:29 who gets everybody together to sing here? 20:33 Yes, I was told by the translator that they 20:36 were singing a Christian song, so have 20:38 you always had them singing Christians songs? 20:47 We used to be Christians before but 20:50 for six years after we moved to this 20:52 new location we had no contact with any 20:55 other Christians and we had lost our way. 20:58 This year when we met this lay evangelist 21:02 is when we were introduced to the AWR programs. 21:06 So, we have only been listening to AWR 21:10 for a few months now, since then we have 21:13 started to sing Christian songs again. 21:17 So that gave you strength and courage 21:19 and as you began listening to the radio. 21:22 Yes, now I'm curious, how often do you 21:24 go to the market? I don't go 21:27 there very often. It is a rare occasion 21:30 that I take a trip to the market. Why did 21:33 you go on that particular day do you think? 21:38 On that particular day I accidentally 21:40 went to the market and met this lady. 21:42 I asked her why she had forsaken us 21:44 for six years. So, do you really 21:48 think it was by accident that you ran 21:53 into her on that day? I think it was 21:54 God's plan because I didn't expect to see any 21:55 Christians there, but she was there. 21:58 So I thank God for coming in contact with her. 22:04 AWR is frontline mission radio. 22:06 Our first priority is to travel where 22:08 missionaries cannot go. We broadcast 22:11 thousands of hours each day in 70 major 22:14 languages of the world. AWR has 22:16 the capability and capacity of blanketing 22:18 almost 80 percent of the world's population. 22:22 Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Anamists or 22:24 no belief at all. God is using the radio 22:27 waves of AWR to successfully call 22:30 and prepare people for his soon return, 22:33 but he work is not finished, your health 22:35 is needed. There are still so many 22:38 who must hear this precious message of hope. 22:41 Please partner with us today so others 22:43 can hear and rejoice in the hope of Jesus Christ, 22:46 the hope that you and I have already found, 22:49 your gift of love will mean so much to so many. 22:52 If you would like to financially partner with 22:55 this or would like additional information. 22:57 Our toll-free number is 866-503-3531. 23:05 Men, women, boys and girls, everyone 23:07 is listening to Adventist World Radio from 23:08 Cairo and the great Pyramids, to the 23:14 barren lands of Ethiopia, from the vast plains 23:20 of Kenya and the Maasai lands of Serengeti 23:25 to the slopes of Mount of Kilimanjaro. 23:29 All the way here to the exotic 23:30 shores of Zanzibar and beyond. 23:35 One of the favorite things people like about 23:37 AWR is its stories. We have stories 23:40 from all over the world, some of them 23:43 involved danger many of them involved 23:44 miracles of God, but certainly all of 23:47 them involved the miracle of changed lives. 23:50 I've written a little book of some of the 23:52 favorite stories in the face of death, 23:54 another radios given by angels. Coming 23:59 to Christ in a Muslim country these and 24:02 many other stories, just write to 24:04 AWR and ask for the book, stories. 24:08 For your free, no obligation book, 24:09 write to Adventist World Radio, 12501, Old 24:14 Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904 or call 24:19 1-866-503-3531 or log on to www.awr.org/mwbook. 24:30 That number again is 1-866-503-3531. 24:37 Tell me now that you've begin listening to AWR, 24:39 you've started your own choir here, 24:42 how is that changing the village? 24:46 Since we started listening to the programs in the 24:49 Maasai language, we have been blessed, 24:52 we can finally hear the word of God which 24:54 we missed for a long time. 24:57 Can you tell us how and when and what time a day 25:00 that you all get together as different families 25:02 to listen to the radio? When we are through 25:06 with day's activities and we've taken back 25:09 the cattle, we come together and listen 25:11 to the programs. What kind of radio is it, 25:14 is the one of our radios that cranks? 25:18 Yes, we received a radio from AWR 25:22 and this is the one we listen to collectively. 25:25 So this is the Maasai program that we 25:27 had that we distributing radios out amongst 25:29 the villagers, so you have one of those radios. 25:34 Yes, we're benefiting from 25:36 one of those radios that were distributed 25:39 to the Maasai people. It's so exciting 25:43 to us to see people's lives changed by 25:47 the power of the Holy Spirit 25:48 through radio, amen, amen, amen. 25:53 Have you been sharing with others I know 25:54 there's other families in the area, are you 25:56 sharing with them too now? Yes, we've been 26:00 sharing with others about the radio programs. 26:04 It's such a privilege to be able to know 26:06 and to meet people from all cultures and 26:08 realize they were all one family of God. Amen, amen. 26:14 In this village it was the women that took 26:16 the initiative to respond to the radio 26:18 broadcasts and to accept Jesus Christ 26:20 as their savior. They are the ones that 26:23 saw a value in what they were hearing, 26:26 particularly in the music, as I was 26:28 talking to one of the mothers here in 26:31 this village, she said, she just loved to 26:33 listen to the music, about Jesus and 26:36 the praise of God. So much so that 26:39 they formed their own choir, they've 26:42 now learned 30 songs about how to praise 26:45 God and talk about their love for Jesus, 26:48 but you know they don't even have a 26:53 Bible in this village. I asked them and 26:54 I was surprised, they have no Bible. 26:57 Adventist world radio is gonna bring a 26:58 Bible to this village. We want to help them 27:01 learn how to worship God on their own, 27:04 because that also is what Adventist World Radio 27:08 does, bringing people through a full cycle 27:10 of salvation. I invite you to help support 27:15 Adventist World Radio in its work of 27:17 reaching people around the world for Jesus Christ. 27:22 The awesome power of radio. If you 27:24 would like to partner with this give us 27:25 a call today1-866-503-3531 or write us at 27:30 12501, Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, 27:33 Maryland 20904. Or log on www.awr.org. 27:41 Thank you for watching and please join us 27:43 again for another exciting gospel adventure, 27:45 because around the world AWR is Making Waves. |
Revised 2014-12-17