Adventist World Aviation
is an aviation based ministry
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with the mission of
reaching the unreached people
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all around the world.
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Currently they have
mission outposts in Guyana,
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Alaska and the Philippines.
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Today, we travel to the
Philippine Island of Palawan,
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where Adventist World
Aviation has an airbase.
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Adventist World Aviation
primarily focuses their efforts
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on aviation
operations and support.
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However, they also do much more
to minister to the local people.
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Evangelism is an important
component of what Adventist
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World Aviation does both
internationally and domestically
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That is, building the kingdom
of God in the hearts of people
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is always the first
and foremost objective.
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And that is just what they
are doing here in Palawan today.
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Adventist World Aviation has
had a presence here in Palawan
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for over 8 years now.
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Their airbase and mission post
is in the heart of the community
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of Sagpangan.
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The airbase includes missionary
housing, aircraft and airstrip
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operations, as well as a
simple bamboo church, which
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Adventist World Aviation
leadership helped to build.
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I am the director of operations
for Adventist World Aviation
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I am really interested in
the logistics and the mechanics
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of the work that we do.
And of course with the emphasis
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on the use of Aviation. There
are other things that we use
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to reach people.
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You know, vehicles and
boats and a variety of things,
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but aviation is what
we are about the most.
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And of course I am a pilot, I
fly helicopters and airplanes.
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I have flown in the mission
field. I just have really seen
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the need myself first hand.
And I have seen the difference
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that aviation can make. Reaching
people in the most remote places
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on the earth. I just want to do
my best to find ways to support
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those missionaries, those
workers, that are in places
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that aviation can help
them do more and do it better
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do it more safely.
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Behind me is the airstrip
here, which is almost completely
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prepared. It's nice and level.
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We have our
approaches at both ends.
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Full length of use. The only
thing left is to get about 3-4"
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of gravel on the surface
and get it nicely grated out,
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so that when it rains,
it doesn't turn into mud.
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Get it packed in and we'll
have an airport that is ready
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for service for airplanes.
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Currently, the aircraft
here in Palawan is undergoing
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refurbishing. During
this time no air operations
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are being performed.
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Though flights are
currently at a stand-still,
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the Espinoza's are not.
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They continue to remain
very active working in the area.
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Edgar Espinosa and his
wife Rayleen, are the caretakers
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for the mission outpost.
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They not only take care of
the grounds, but they also do
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an enormous amount of
personal ministry with the local
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indigenous people.
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Our airbase here is looked
after and managed by Edgar
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and his wife Rayleen. They
live right here and they're
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very active in looking after all
the interest of Adventist World
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Aviation here. Also sustaining
themselves with agriculture.
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With the recent addition of
irrigation here in a large scale
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they'll be able to cultivate
this land with rice patties
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and other crops that can
sustain their needs for food.
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And other missionaries working
in the area as well as hospice
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cash flow to just also make them
as self sustainable as possible.
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The Espinosa's would
like to make this outpost
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as self-sustaining as possible.
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One of their plans is to
accomplish this in planting
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rice patties along
the sides of the airstrip.
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They have more than
enough land to accommodate both
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a landing strip and rice crops.
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The profits they could generate
from the agriculture crop
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would greatly aid in reducing
their ministries operating costs
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It would also provide a source
of income for village workers.
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I am Edgar Allen Espinosa,
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Edgar is a remarkable individual
Edgar has been working for
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Adventist World
Aviation for several years now.
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He is our airbase caretaker.
He takes care of the grounds
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on the airbase, he
makes sure that all is well.
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He is helping us install and
put in the runway and all the
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buildings and structure.
He takes care of everything.
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But Edgar does
more than just that.
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Edgar is our
missionary boots on the ground.
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He literally walks for miles and
miles. Sometimes taking journeys
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that can only be made by
foot. Truly he is reaching
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the unreachable. We're so proud
to have Edgar, pastor Edgar
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on our team. Edgar has worked
tirelessly throughout the years.
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Leading souls to Christ. As
the result of his mission work,
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we've been able to build,
plant and build a new church.
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Here right by our airbase.
We've also been able to help
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the missions in
the field as well.
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Edgar houses on many different
occasions in the missionary
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housing that we have on our
complex. He houses missionary
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students that come in.
Medical workers that come in.
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He takes them hand in hand.
He takes them trudging through
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the jungles. Sometimes even
through the mountainous areas.
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Reaching people that
you wouldn't think would
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even be interested learning
about Jesus. Because they're
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so far out there.
Normal means of transportation
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wouldn't get you
there. Sometimes it's by foot.
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Sometimes it's by motorcycle
sometimes it's by their
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sheer force of will of Edgar's
determination to get there.
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And Edgar is working
very hard to do just that.
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The typography of
Palawan is very diverse.
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The island consists of mountain
ranges, dense jungles and
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marsh lands; making travel
by land often very difficult.
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A large majority of mountain
villages are in locations with
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no road access; leaving
them completely isolated.
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There is no road system in the
jungle nor is there a place to
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land the plane in the mountains.
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The only way to reach
these people is by foot.
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Even though they are only a
few miles away, reaching them
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often means 18 hour of
hiking through dense jungles.
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The jungle foliage
makes hiking a very slow
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and exhausting process.
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Edgar cannot drive or even
fly to these remote villages
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since they are located
so deep in the mountains.
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The only option to
reach these people is to hike
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those countless hours.
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Adventist World Aviation's
main concern is reaching
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people who are in
isolated areas and bringing them
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the hope of Jesus Christ.
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Whether by air or by foot,
AWA's mission is to bring hope
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to these isolated areas.
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Edgar is doing just
that here in Palawan.
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He travels by foot through
dense vegetation, and over
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difficult terrain for the
simple reason of spreading
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the gospel message.
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Edgar desperately wants these
people to hear about the love
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of God and he happily makes
the journey on foot to share
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this message with them.
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Pastor Edgar related a story
to me that happened a few months
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ago. He and some of the church
members wanted to go and visit
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some of the villages up in
the mountainous areas that are
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hard to reach. Some of these
people have never heard of Jesus
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They don't know the hope that
He has to give each one of us.
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So he and his church members
started out on a really early,
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like 3 o'clock in the morning
on a Friday. And they started
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walking. And by noon they
come to the first village.
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And there the villagers received
him. They had tracks in their
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hand that were written in
their language and they pass out
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these tracks to the people. And
talk to them for a little bit.
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And then they prayed with them.
And then they wanted to continue
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their journey onto the next
village. That first village that
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they visited. Asked them and
begged them, please stay with us
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stay with us for couple of days
and tell us more about Jesus.
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But Edgar had already made
a commitment to continue on.
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But he said, You
know, we'll be back.
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We'll come back
and visit you again.
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He continued on to the next
village. He had to go through
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jungle, up some
cliffs, in through rivers.
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Just the total jungle type of
terrain that you would expect.
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Once Edgar reaches a
village, he is warmly welcomed.
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These village people welcome
visitors, especially ones
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dedicated enough to
take the journey on foot.
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Edgar goes from home to home
offering Bible studies, passing
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out tracks and offering
prayer for whoever will accept.
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Edgar clearly has a passion to
reach his fellow Filipino people
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with the gospel message.
He travels for many hours
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on foot to go to places no
conventional transportation
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can go. And he does it
all for the simple joy of
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sharing Jesus
Christ with others.
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He visited several other
villages. Prayed with them.
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Handed them tracks.
Halfway through the weekend
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they decided it was time to
start back home. By the time
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they got back home it was
early morning on a Monday.
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During the time they were
gone, they may have visited
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about 6 villages. But it
took them a lot of walking
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through jungle, through rivers,
to get to visit these 6 villages
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That's why Adventist World
Aviation here is in a process
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of expending our operation
and getting that helicopter.
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That helicopter can easily,
within a couple of hours could
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of taken Edgar, through some
of these areas in the villages
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and could have more of a daily
contact with these villagers.
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So that telling them stories
about Jesus, praying with them.
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Spending time with them is
so much easier. There is so much
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need up on those high grounds.
That only through a helicopter
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is it going to be possible
for us to get the Word of God
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to these people.
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As a result of my own
field survey here, just seeing
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first hand just really
how rugged the mountains are.
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And the facts are, getting
in here is uphill, downhill,
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or side hill. There is virtually
no flat ground what so ever.
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Which just leaves no place for a
plane to land. The only solution
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to reach these communities
here is with a helicopter.
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What makes a helicopter
particularly effective
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in this area, is that
the distances are so short.
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The time to walk between the
communities is hours and hours.
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But the distance in a straight
line, straight across the valley
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around the mountain is just
a very few miles, it just takes
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a few minutes in a helicopter.
Helicopters are designed for
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close end support.
They're not designed for flying
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long distances. We
have airplanes to fly
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hundreds of miles. We
have helicopters to fly, I mean
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in this case five, ten, twenty
miles is kind of the distance
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that we are looking at.
Which is really the close-end
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support that the
helicopter is best designed for.
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Just recently we sent our
director of operations up on
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the mountains to take a
look and see what we could do.
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The answer comes
back helicopters.
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And so we're happy to
be able to support them.
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Again, we are about logistics.
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We are about
getting the work done.
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Sometimes we're
involved getting the work done.
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Sometimes we're about helping
others get the work done.
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The important thing is
that this work gets done.
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The message of Jesus
Christ, the gospel message
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of Matthew 28:19-20. The Three
Angels message of Revelation 14
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chapters 6 through 12.
How do we get that out?
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Unless we deliver a
messenger to do just that.
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Edgar has been such a powerful
instrument of God here in the
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Sagpangan region.
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He has allowed God to
use him as a vital instrument
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to reach His people.
00:15:38.40\00:15:39.80
He has given Bible studies
and God has sent His Holy Spirit
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to change many lives.
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In this area of the
Philippines, the devil has
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a very real presence.
00:15:49.48\00:15:51.48
Physical manifestations
and demon possession
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is a sad reality to many here.
00:15:55.32\00:15:58.65
Edgar is theologically trained,
even though he is a layman.
00:15:58.69\00:16:02.02
They call him a lay pastor.
He is working at the church.
00:16:02.06\00:16:05.43
Recently he worked
with a lady that had
00:16:05.46\00:16:08.76
an animalistic belief structure.
00:16:08.80\00:16:10.37
She was demon possessed, clearly
she had the spirit of the devil
00:16:10.40\00:16:15.04
inside of her. Invited
him to come in frequently.
00:16:15.07\00:16:18.01
Many times the invitation isn't
an open invitation, but it's
00:16:18.04\00:16:22.28
allowing the devil to
work in our lives, that he can
00:16:22.31\00:16:24.71
take control. And many
times because they have such an
00:16:24.75\00:16:28.75
emphasis on the belief, that
these spirits can take control
00:16:28.78\00:16:33.82
of their lives and actually
influence them. They end up
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inviting them in inadvertently.
Well - this woman had been
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demon possessed. Edgar went
in and worked with this lady.
00:16:39.63\00:16:42.70
Edgar has had
first-hand experience
00:16:42.73\00:16:45.70
in encountering demons.
One family in particular,
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He and the Holy Spirit had
to do battle with the devil
00:16:49.94\00:16:52.97
in order to free
them from Satan's grasp.
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Arlita is a 28 year old
wife and mother, for many years
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she was haunted and
possessed by two demons.
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She was held
captive for over 9 years.
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Until Edgar was able
to bring her to Christ.
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She recounts her story.
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He shared with her the
simple love of Jesus Christ.
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Shared with her the simple
fact that Jesus died for her
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She doesn't have to give way to
these evil spirits any longer.
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He also exposed the
devil for who he is.
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By revealing Jesus Christ
through the book of Revelation
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Through the gospels of
Christ, in Matthew, Mark, Luke
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and especially John, the
beloved where John tells us
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for God so loved the world, that
He gave His only begotten son
00:25:06.03\00:25:09.00
Sharing that super verse,
that Jesus loves us so much
00:25:09.04\00:25:13.38
that He would send Himself. God
would send His son to die for us
00:25:13.41\00:25:18.41
Sharing those simple verses
with this lady caused her to
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surrender her life to
Christ. And she's been baptized
00:25:22.08\00:25:25.12
as a result of that.
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We can praise the
Lord, that we're literally
00:25:26.79\00:25:28.99
reaching the unreached.
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Evil forces have a very
powerful impact here in Palawan.
00:26:57.45\00:27:02.45
Thankfully however,
we serve a loving God,
00:27:02.48\00:27:06.09
Who is even more powerful.
00:27:06.12\00:27:08.49
The work of Adventist World
Aviation is most needed here.
00:27:08.69\00:27:13.33
Spreading the love of God, and
sharing the message of freedom
00:27:13.36\00:27:16.80
is AWA's primary mission.
00:27:16.83\00:27:19.73
The aircrafts, are just
tools. The real power and
00:27:19.77\00:27:24.67
effectiveness are
within the men and the women
00:27:24.71\00:27:28.08
who allow God to
work through them.
00:27:28.11\00:27:31.55
Please continue to keep
Adventist World Aviation
00:27:31.58\00:27:34.45
and their staff in your prayers
as we all work together to bring
00:27:34.48\00:27:39.45
freedom and hope in Jesus
Christ to all around the world.
00:27:39.49\00:27:45.39
Jesus said in the great Gospel
commission of Matthew 28:19-20
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That we are to go
into all the world.
00:27:57.91\00:27:59.97
Well, Adventist World Aviation
is dedicated to doing just that.
00:28:00.01\00:28:04.31
There are now over 7 billion
people that live on planet earth
00:28:04.35\00:28:08.75
And 2 billion of them have
never heard of Jesus Christ.
00:28:08.78\00:28:12.32
Out of that 2 billion,
800 million of them are only
00:28:12.35\00:28:17.39
accessible by means like
aircraft, or through aviation
00:28:17.43\00:28:20.90
support. Adventist
World Aviation goes into those
00:28:20.93\00:28:24.23
unreached areas of the
world. Bringing the good news
00:28:24.27\00:28:27.50
of Jesus Christ.
00:28:27.54\00:28:28.87
Through aviation we're
able to bring health, hope
00:28:28.90\00:28:33.48
and life eternal.
Through aviation we can spread
00:28:33.51\00:28:37.88
the Gospel message to
the far corners of the world
00:28:37.91\00:28:40.48
and show them the love of Jesus.
00:28:40.52\00:28:42.52
The message that we
bring them is absolute hope.
00:28:43.32\00:28:46.29
We do not do this alone.
00:28:46.32\00:28:48.29
Jesus calls every
one of us to be a part
00:28:48.32\00:28:51.19
of this great work of reaching
the unreached of this world.
00:28:51.23\00:28:54.30
We desperately need your prayers
00:28:54.33\00:28:57.07
If you would like to
get involved, or find out
00:28:57.10\00:29:00.10
more information about
Adventist World Aviation
00:29:00.14\00:29:02.87
Please call Three Angels
Broadcasting Network and ask
00:29:02.90\00:29:06.64
for Adventist World Aviation.
00:29:06.68\00:29:10.01