Greetings from Adventist
World Aviation headquarters
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here in North Carolina.
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I'm Pastor Ric Swaningson,
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president and CEO for
Adventist World Aviation.
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Well, the end of winter
time is finally in sight.
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And while the weather in
many regions of the world
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is cold and dreary,
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we here at AWA are
dedicated to warming the hearts
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with the love of Christ.
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In one of the
coldest regions of the world,
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the frozen Tundra of Alaska,
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AWA missionary,
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Jim Kincaid is
reaching out to remote villages.
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Currently,
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most of the 225 native villagers
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are without
public water and sewer.
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Can you imagine the
challenges of trying
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to follow basic
hygiene practices
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in this type of environment?
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Several agencies are
there working together
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to help with this
difficult situation.
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AWA Alaska will be
distributing supplies
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to 11 villages in the interior.
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ACS or Adventist
Community Services
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is providing warehouse
space in Fairbanks, Alaska
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for securing storage
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until the
shipments can be distributed
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to the villages.
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And lastly,
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AWA Alaska will be
completing final distribution
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to the 11
villages in the interior.
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This will require
between 25 and 30 flight hours
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over a span of
more than two weeks.
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Recently, Jim reported that
villages located on the Yukon
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that depends on
subsistence resourcing
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for their daily
fare were hurting
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due to lack of those resources.
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Salmon usually
provides a major portion
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of both human and animal diets.
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This year alone
the annual salmon run
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did not materialized.
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The lack of adequate
salmon run is a disaster
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for both man and dog.
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The Purina food
company is generously donating
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more than 30,000
pounds of dog food.
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Jim made contact
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with the principal
leaders of these efforts
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and offered
flights to any villages
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within about 300 nautical miles
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of our AWA air base
in Fairbanks, Alaska.
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We are on standby to help
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wherever the
need comes or arises.
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In other parts of the world
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we're re-establishing
our mission basis.
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In Nicaragua, Josh and Yosi Fix
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are finally
deployed into that country.
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They're there now
with Ray and Julie Young
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and the boys doing
their initial assessment
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of the needs for that country
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and getting the plane ready.
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They're working on
the plane this very day.
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We're excited to see that
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they were able to talk
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to the aviation
officials in Nicaragua
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to be able to re-establish
our flight ops there again.
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And hopefully before
Josh and Yosi come home
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to pack up their things
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for permanent
deployment to Nicaragua,
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that they'll be able to
even take a few medevac flights
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and save some of the
lives of the Nicaraguans
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and the Miskito people.
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In the year 2020, we
had so many false starts.
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It was very easy
for our missionaries
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to become discouraged
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and Josh and Yosi,
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the Lord seen them through
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and they're there now,
and their boys are happy.
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They feel like
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they have found a
home in Nicaragua.
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Ray and Julia Young
are working diligently
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to make sure that all
the logistics are there
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and the aircraft
is annualed properly.
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And all the details
of project management
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are well-maintained.
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So this morning in La Tronquera,
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we have hired five of
the local community members
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to cut 13
sections of the runway.
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I'm taking video of it.
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This is one step further
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in getting the
runway clear for flying.
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We've had some good help there,
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but it's time now
for our missionaries
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to go into play.
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So pray that we can get
that permanent deployment
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underway very soon.
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So in the meantime,
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they will be there
for at least 90 days,
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working with the local leaders
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with our
conference there in Nicaragua
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and with the local pastors,
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as well as the
local community leaders,
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to make sure that
things are going well.
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Much need is there.
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We, of course, this last year,
we're able to supply water.
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Well, by
installing a water tower
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in our community,
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the water has been something
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that's been so
crucial to that community.
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And they know it
came, of course, from AWA,
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which we give
all the glory to God.
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We let them know that
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this is living water from Jesus.
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Water is a very necessity
of life that keeps us going,
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but Jesus is our life giver.
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So they recognize
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the Christian
aspect of the water
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in the water tower
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that we were able to
build and provide for them.
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Over years,
we've worked very hard
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to get to this point.
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And so, Josh and Yosi
are there now making sure
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as that process continues.
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We also had a
Christmas Fund Project
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that went forward to buy food
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for those that
are less fortunate,
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that can't provide
for their families.
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And so we've
delivered food to them
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and they're in the process
of working on that as well.
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So much is needed
there, much is going on.
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And we're so grateful
that God has delivered
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finally our
missionaries to that project.
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So pray for them.
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In Guyana,
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we were able to send
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our executive
vice-president Bruce
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and Monique Wilkerson to Guyana.
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They spent a
couple of months there
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and re-established
our relationships there
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and fed some of the
hungry there as well.
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We have new missionaries
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that are in
preparation to go to Guyana.
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The Runne family are
preparing their work right now
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and we're praying for them.
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Hello, we're the Runne family.
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My name is Caleb.
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My name is Glenda.
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I'm Judanna.
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I'm Enock.
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We wanted to tell
you a little bit about
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how we decided to go
into foreign missions.
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When Glen and I were
getting to know each other,
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we had talked about
going to the missionary field.
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That's one of the things
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that attracted
us to one another.
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And we found that now
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the way that we've
seen the world changing,
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the way that
everything seems so united,
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that these, the birth
pains that Jesus talked about
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before His second
coming are right now.
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We know we're in the toenails
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of that image of Nebuchadnezzar.
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And so we felt like
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now was the right time
to join in foreign missions.
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And that move us to look online
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for different
ministries to join.
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And God brought us to AWA.
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And since I talked to Reba,
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it was very clear
that that was a place.
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She mentioned that they
were praying for a family,
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for families to join them.
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So here we are happy to
be part of the AWA family
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and ready to go to Guyana
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or any place that
you require for us to go.
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And God, of
course, want us to go.
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Glenda is in the
midst of flight training
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and she's coming along nicely
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because we can do
all things through Christ
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who gives us strength.
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So pray the Lord of harvest.
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We have new
workers in our office
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headquarters here
in North Carolina.
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Jose Aponte
Morales is now with us.
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He and his wife
Betsy are working with us
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and their girls.
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We're so happy that
they're part of our family.
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He's in final stages
of his FA Equivalence,
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he's been a
mechanic for the US forces
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and it has his
military equivalency,
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but he now needs the
civilian equivalency.
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So he's working on his AMP,
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finishing the details up
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that he's got all
the papers signed by the,
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what we call a FSDO,
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which is a
Federal Aviation Officer.
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He is a private pilot.
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We're gonna finish his training.
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We're excited
about Jose and his family
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and his wife
Betsy being with us.
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And we hope that we
will have a country for them
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to deploy to very soon.
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I felt the call from God.
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And I decided just to come here
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and work for God here.
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I'm just
completely new with these,
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thanks to Kyle,
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he's the one is pitching me
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how to go with general aviation.
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When I used to work completely
with a fighter aircraft,
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it's completely different work.
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And I'm just here
taking all the knowledge
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that I could from Kyle
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and getting ready
for me to get my AMP
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and all the stuff
that required for me
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just to perform the work
that it needed here in AWA.
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Philippines is doing evangelism
and church planting process
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there has been so amazing.
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Plane is there.
It's ready to fly.
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It's been annualed.
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We are praying the
Lord of harvest there
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to supply good missionaries
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to be able to fly
our plane there as well.
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Here at home, we've
been working tirelessly,
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making planes
ready to go into country.
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The Nicaragua plane
is all but ready to go.
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Kyle has been
working diligently on that.
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We've been working
on donated aircraft
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to either put them up for
sale or put them into service
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so we can continue
the ministry there.
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And we've been
doing angel flights.
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We've accomplished
several over this year.
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For a while it was difficult
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because people weren't
getting their treatment
00:10:21.92\00:10:23.72
for fear of COVID,
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but now our angel
flight program has picked up.
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And we're glad to see that
it's starting to move again.
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We recently took
Melanie to up by Washington DC,
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just outside to John
Hopkins Medical Center up there
00:10:35.26\00:10:37.77
to have specialty treatment.
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We're sitting
here with Melanie Blue,
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and Melanie has been
suffering with cancer
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for quite a few years.
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Unknowingly. Unknowingly, yeah.
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And then the sad part of
it is she was misdiagnosed.
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They were
treating the wrong cancer.
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Is that right? No.
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They were treating
me for neurofibroma
00:10:58.29\00:11:01.02
and it turned out its malignant.
00:11:01.06\00:11:02.52
Okay.
00:11:02.56\00:11:03.89
So they were
treating her for different,
00:11:03.93\00:11:05.66
you know, different
obviously different procedures
00:11:05.69\00:11:08.50
and she was getting treatment
in Greenville, South Carolina.
00:11:08.53\00:11:12.63
So tell us your
journey on all of this
00:11:12.67\00:11:15.44
and what's happened to you?
00:11:15.47\00:11:18.47
Well basically I was having
some kind of autoimmune issues
00:11:18.51\00:11:22.78
or what I thought
were autoimmune issues
00:11:22.81\00:11:24.85
and having some
pains and things,
00:11:24.88\00:11:26.88
and the doctors would
say, you have fibromyalgia.
00:11:26.92\00:11:29.32
They're telling me I had
this, that, and the other thing,
00:11:29.35\00:11:30.82
I'm like, no,
it's something else.
00:11:30.85\00:11:32.85
And my neuron, my
neurologist sent me
00:11:32.89\00:11:34.79
for an MRI of my lower back
00:11:34.82\00:11:36.73
and found a mass on my spine.
00:11:36.76\00:11:41.73
Sent me directly to an
oncologist in Greenville
00:11:41.76\00:11:44.93
who had some more scans done
and they want to do surgery.
00:11:44.97\00:11:48.40
And then God put a lot
of roadblocks in my way
00:11:48.44\00:11:52.27
where I couldn't have surgery,
00:11:52.31\00:11:53.64
because the surgery,
they said my young children,
00:11:53.68\00:11:55.01
it would leave me paralyzed,
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but they wanted to
watch the growth of it.
00:11:56.95\00:11:58.58
They did a biopsy, said it was
a neurofibroma or schwannoma,
00:11:58.61\00:12:01.55
they weren't sure
they had sent it off,
00:12:01.58\00:12:03.82
you know, Harvard or
someplace to be tested.
00:12:03.85\00:12:05.45
And even then it came back odd.
00:12:05.49\00:12:07.52
But they went with
the neurofibroma scenario
00:12:07.56\00:12:10.96
and just kind of wanted to watch
00:12:10.99\00:12:13.09
the growth pattern of it.
00:12:13.13\00:12:14.46
They didn't know
how long it been there.
00:12:14.50\00:12:17.17
So he watched the
growth of it annually.
00:12:17.20\00:12:18.83
They do an MRI
00:12:18.87\00:12:20.20
and if it grew more than like
a centimeter or more a year,
00:12:20.24\00:12:22.80
they'd see about removing
it and things like that.
00:12:22.84\00:12:25.17
But I had young children
and they didn't want me to,
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if I could deal with pain,
00:12:27.14\00:12:28.48
they said that would
be the better way to go.
00:12:28.51\00:12:29.84
And that's what I did.
00:12:29.88\00:12:31.25
How many years ago was that?
00:12:31.28\00:12:33.42
2014, 2013, 14 in that area.
00:12:33.45\00:12:36.79
Yeah.
00:12:36.82\00:12:38.15
Around 2017 or so I asked
about the growth of it being,
00:12:41.36\00:12:47.70
you know, sometimes
more than a centimeter a year
00:12:47.73\00:12:49.66
and it was getting bigger
00:12:49.70\00:12:52.57
and the neuro, the
neurosurgeon was basically like,
00:12:52.60\00:12:55.37
you know, I'd rather the
tumor paralyze you than me.
00:12:55.40\00:12:58.77
And I was like okay.
00:12:58.81\00:13:01.88
And what if it
becomes malignant?
00:13:01.91\00:13:03.31
Would you remove it then?
00:13:03.35\00:13:04.68
And then he was like,
00:13:04.71\00:13:06.05
well, by the time we
find that it's malignant,
00:13:06.08\00:13:07.42
you might as well go home
and spend what time you have
00:13:07.45\00:13:08.78
with your family.
00:13:08.82\00:13:10.15
So at that point I was
like, I need a second opinion.
00:13:10.19\00:13:12.82
And I got a second opinion
00:13:12.85\00:13:14.19
from doctor in
Spartanburg who said,
00:13:14.22\00:13:15.56
"Oh yeah, I can, de-bulk
it for you 'cause it grown.
00:13:15.59\00:13:17.79
It was growing in 2018,
00:13:17.83\00:13:19.16
it started
growing into my abdomen
00:13:19.19\00:13:21.20
in 2019 area.
00:13:21.23\00:13:23.33
I couldn't feel it before,
00:13:23.37\00:13:24.70
but then in 2019 I
could feel it a lot.
00:13:24.73\00:13:27.27
And, um, I was sick
with the flu in 2018
00:13:27.30\00:13:30.11
and had a lot of lung problems.
00:13:30.14\00:13:31.47
They couldn't do
surgery to the bulkhead.
00:13:31.51\00:13:33.68
So then when I finally got well
00:13:33.71\00:13:35.74
enough to go back to the doctor,
00:13:35.78\00:13:38.21
he decided that de-bulking
was probably not the way to go
00:13:38.25\00:13:41.35
and I should go
to a bigger hospital.
00:13:41.38\00:13:43.55
So at that point I was
referred to Presbyterian
00:13:43.59\00:13:46.82
that didn't really work out.
00:13:46.86\00:13:48.19
So then I ended up
with Johns Hopkins.
00:13:48.22\00:13:50.19
So Johns Hopkins up
here in Washington DC area.
00:13:50.23\00:13:53.19
Oh, wow.
00:13:53.23\00:13:54.56
So right up here, you
didn't go anywhere else.
00:13:54.60\00:13:56.67
Right, now I went
straight to Johns Hopkins.
00:13:56.70\00:13:58.23
Yeah.
00:13:58.27\00:13:59.60
The doctors
were interested in me
00:13:59.63\00:14:01.04
and they talked to me
00:14:01.07\00:14:02.40
and I felt in my heart,
that was where I needed to be.
00:14:02.44\00:14:06.68
At that point I
didn't know I had cancer,
00:14:06.71\00:14:10.18
so they did a biopsy
00:14:10.21\00:14:11.71
and determined that I had cancer
00:14:11.75\00:14:13.25
and told me I was misdiagnosed.
00:14:13.28\00:14:14.85
That actually was
not a neurofibroma
00:14:14.88\00:14:16.58
or schwannoma, but a sarcoma.
00:14:16.62\00:14:20.19
I wasn't discouraged
00:14:20.22\00:14:22.12
because I knew God
had a plan at some point.
00:14:22.16\00:14:24.93
Of course when you
find out you have cancer,
00:14:24.96\00:14:26.49
it's very challenging,
00:14:26.53\00:14:29.46
I guess your
courage gets challenged.
00:14:29.50\00:14:31.30
And I'm not going to
say I didn't have my moments
00:14:31.33\00:14:34.30
where I was less,
like, I can't believe it.
00:14:34.34\00:14:38.34
It's not gonna work,
00:14:38.37\00:14:39.71
but then I have to
get my grips back about me
00:14:39.74\00:14:41.94
and realize that
00:14:41.98\00:14:43.38
God's taken me
this time, this far.
00:14:43.41\00:14:44.95
And it will be all right.
00:14:44.98\00:14:47.38
Melanie, you
have three children.
00:14:47.42\00:14:50.09
So she has three children.
Her husband's name is Todd.
00:14:50.12\00:14:52.99
Todd is a loving man
00:14:53.02\00:14:54.69
and has been right by your
side during this whole time.
00:14:54.72\00:14:56.86
Melanie raises
miniature donkeys as well.
00:14:56.89\00:14:59.79
And tell us a little
bit about your children
00:14:59.83\00:15:01.43
and your husband,
00:15:01.46\00:15:02.80
how they've been
handling all of this?
00:15:02.83\00:15:05.43
Surprisingly, well,
the kids, I think, um,
00:15:05.47\00:15:07.87
there's been a little
showing out of my youngest son,
00:15:07.90\00:15:10.61
but I'm thinking that's,
00:15:10.64\00:15:11.97
you know, just trying
to process everything.
00:15:12.01\00:15:13.78
And I know he's a
very sensitive person
00:15:13.81\00:15:15.98
and he's concerned,
00:15:16.01\00:15:17.35
but my husband, I think had a...
00:15:17.38\00:15:20.65
The first time I
was here for my chemo,
00:15:20.68\00:15:23.32
I think it was a
huge adjustment for him.
00:15:23.35\00:15:25.35
You know, he's got
the household by himself,
00:15:25.39\00:15:27.32
the farm by
himself, the kids by himself.
00:15:27.36\00:15:29.39
And he can't be here
with me because of COVID.
00:15:29.42\00:15:34.06
He couldn't even
go in the hospital
00:15:34.10\00:15:35.43
when they took me in.
00:15:35.46\00:15:36.80
He had just
dropped me off and leave.
00:15:36.83\00:15:38.17
And I know that's
heartbreaking, so.
00:15:38.20\00:15:40.34
Yeah, that's hard for him.
Yeah, it's hard for us all.
00:15:40.37\00:15:42.44
Well, in a few minutes,
we're gonna be taking off here
00:15:42.47\00:15:44.51
and we're gonna
have prayer with Melanie
00:15:44.54\00:15:46.34
and I'm, I
just, our office staff
00:15:46.37\00:15:49.28
has been so
encouraged by your story
00:15:49.31\00:15:51.61
and your courage of
faith in God and all of this.
00:15:51.65\00:15:54.48
And I know that as
we press forward for
00:15:54.52\00:15:57.45
waiting for Jesus to come
00:15:57.49\00:15:59.02
it's stories like this
00:15:59.05\00:16:00.39
that keep us going
00:16:00.42\00:16:01.76
and keep the faith
alive and keep our hope high.
00:16:01.79\00:16:04.43
And so, let's...
00:16:04.46\00:16:06.73
Can we pray with you right now?
00:16:06.76\00:16:08.10
Yeah. Let's pray together.
00:16:08.13\00:16:09.46
Okay. We gonna pray.
00:16:09.50\00:16:10.83
Father in heaven,
00:16:10.87\00:16:12.20
we wanna thank You for
all that You do for us.
00:16:12.23\00:16:14.57
We gonna pray that
You bless our journey now,
00:16:14.60\00:16:16.60
as we loaded up the plane.
00:16:16.64\00:16:18.11
Yeah, pre flights
done, check seatbelts,
00:16:22.51\00:16:24.55
seatbelts are on you.
00:16:24.58\00:16:25.91
Melanie, you know how to
get in and out of your seatbelt.
00:16:25.95\00:16:28.05
Yes. Okay.
00:16:28.08\00:16:29.42
Clear.
00:16:29.45\00:16:30.79
All right.
00:16:33.86\00:16:35.19
And we have air pressure check.
00:16:35.22\00:16:37.89
Awesome.
00:16:37.93\00:16:39.39
We are ready for
getting our clearance here.
00:16:39.43\00:16:43.16
And so, we're praying
for Melanie and her family
00:16:43.20\00:16:46.40
that all goes well
00:16:46.43\00:16:48.00
and that she can
continue with her treatments
00:16:48.04\00:16:50.51
and hopefully find
00:16:50.54\00:16:52.57
some sort of cure to
the cancer that she has.
00:16:52.61\00:16:54.28
So that's where
Adventist World Aviation
00:16:54.31\00:16:56.21
and other angel
flight organizations come in.
00:16:56.24\00:16:58.41
You can take a flight at
no burden to the patient.
00:16:58.45\00:17:01.18
We can get them up
there in a matter of hours,
00:17:01.22\00:17:03.49
as opposed to 8 or 10 or 12,
00:17:03.52\00:17:05.75
or even sometimes 15
hours of driving time,
00:17:05.79\00:17:08.66
over a bouncy road,
swaying back and forth.
00:17:08.69\00:17:11.49
It's better to
have a quick flight
00:17:11.53\00:17:13.29
than it is to have a
long bumpy ride on roads
00:17:13.33\00:17:18.47
when you're sick.
00:17:18.50\00:17:19.83
We have our school in Tennessee
and Chris Adams Flight Academy.
00:17:19.87\00:17:23.04
We have one
student enrolled there now.
00:17:23.07\00:17:25.54
So Steven Leger
and his fiancee Sasha
00:17:25.57\00:17:28.38
are very excited
to be missionaries
00:17:28.41\00:17:29.74
with Adventist World Aviation.
00:17:29.78\00:17:31.21
Currently, Steven is in training
00:17:31.25\00:17:34.05
at Chris Adams Flight Academy.
00:17:34.08\00:17:35.62
And he's asking
for your prayers,
00:17:35.65\00:17:36.99
he's coming right along.
00:17:37.02\00:17:38.35
He's doing a great job,
00:17:38.39\00:17:39.72
and they're very excited
to go into the mission field.
00:17:39.75\00:17:41.96
They're looking to
get married here soon.
00:17:41.99\00:17:43.63
So Steven is
asking for your prayers.
00:17:43.66\00:17:45.86
We've got a lot
of exciting things
00:17:45.89\00:17:47.86
happening inside of
Adventist World Aviation.
00:17:47.90\00:17:50.53
It literally takes $365
to take on average flight
00:17:50.57\00:17:55.27
even in third world countries
00:17:55.30\00:17:56.81
and even here in
the United States,
00:17:56.84\00:17:58.34
but with $365,
00:17:58.37\00:18:01.84
we can accomplish
a life-saving flight
00:18:01.88\00:18:04.35
and it can affect the life,
00:18:04.38\00:18:06.11
not just here on this
earth, but for all eternity.
00:18:06.15\00:18:09.92
Our missionaries
need your support.
00:18:09.95\00:18:11.62
Our projects need your support.
00:18:11.65\00:18:13.36
The aircraft
certainly needs support.
00:18:13.39\00:18:15.02
Aircraft are kind of expensive,
00:18:15.06\00:18:16.66
but more
importantly they're priceless
00:18:16.69\00:18:18.59
when it comes to saving a life.
00:18:18.63\00:18:20.33
Pray that the Lord
of harvest will produce
00:18:20.36\00:18:22.66
those necessary
flights and the harvest funding
00:18:22.70\00:18:26.57
to be able to get that done.
00:18:26.60\00:18:29.00
Because when you compare
00:18:29.04\00:18:31.17
maybe even a
thousand dollar trip
00:18:31.21\00:18:32.91
to a life.
00:18:32.94\00:18:34.28
Is it worth it?
00:18:34.31\00:18:35.64
You said, "Well,
yeah, we can get,
00:18:35.68\00:18:37.01
we can take a
boat ride 30 bucks."
00:18:37.05\00:18:38.38
It's gonna cost
you a thousand dollars
00:18:38.41\00:18:39.75
to do a life flight,
00:18:39.78\00:18:41.12
but yeah, a
boat ride you'll die,
00:18:41.15\00:18:43.02
but a flight can save your life.
00:18:43.05\00:18:44.59
Our flights are very
necessary and very crucial.
00:18:44.62\00:18:47.22
Same thing up in Alaska,
00:18:47.26\00:18:48.59
one hour flight, or even
sometimes 15 minute flight.
00:18:48.62\00:18:51.93
I remember when I was up there,
00:18:51.96\00:18:53.80
I would travel back and forth
00:18:53.83\00:18:55.20
from one small
village to another.
00:18:55.23\00:18:57.37
It was only 15 miles
apart, 15 nautical miles.
00:18:57.40\00:19:00.77
And we were
flying supplies and fuel
00:19:00.80\00:19:02.44
and different
things back and forth.
00:19:02.47\00:19:03.97
It sometimes takes
hours to get 15 miles.
00:19:04.01\00:19:07.81
In fact, if you remember on foot
00:19:07.84\00:19:10.31
the average journey for somebody
00:19:10.35\00:19:11.85
that was able to make a
journey over a countryside
00:19:11.88\00:19:14.15
with relatively flat terrain,
00:19:14.18\00:19:16.69
20 miles was the daily
average of what you could,
00:19:16.72\00:19:20.06
what you could accomplish.
00:19:20.09\00:19:21.42
So 15 mile
journey can mean a lot.
00:19:21.46\00:19:25.09
Three, four,
five, ten minutes later,
00:19:25.13\00:19:27.30
you can be there in an aircraft
00:19:27.33\00:19:28.76
with the much needed
supplies for communities.
00:19:28.80\00:19:31.57
Even in our
homeland, places like Alaska,
00:19:31.60\00:19:34.10
in Canada,
00:19:34.14\00:19:35.47
we have our Canadian
floatplane now in place.
00:19:35.50\00:19:37.67
And we have a pilot up there.
00:19:37.71\00:19:39.51
Brian is volunteering
his time and resources.
00:19:39.54\00:19:43.65
He's helping us.
00:19:43.68\00:19:45.05
He's getting some
remuneration to make that happen
00:19:45.08\00:19:47.45
because nothing happens for free
00:19:47.48\00:19:49.92
in colder regions of this world.
00:19:49.95\00:19:52.39
So we're grateful for Brian
00:19:52.42\00:19:54.52
and God providing us a
way to make that happen.
00:19:54.56\00:19:57.23
So our Ontario Conference
plane is up there now,
00:19:57.26\00:20:00.53
and we're having
some logistic issues
00:20:00.56\00:20:02.96
that we have to work through
00:20:03.00\00:20:04.33
to make sure that
00:20:04.37\00:20:05.70
we're registered
properly up there,
00:20:05.73\00:20:07.27
but we've already started doing
00:20:07.30\00:20:08.64
some minor flight operations up.
00:20:08.67\00:20:10.84
And we hope that this year
00:20:10.87\00:20:12.21
will become a very busy
year in Ontario, Canada.
00:20:12.24\00:20:16.11
Serving the same type of
needs that we serve in Alaska,
00:20:16.14\00:20:19.45
helping the
indigenous peoples in Canada,
00:20:19.48\00:20:22.82
and as well as
helping our church
00:20:22.85\00:20:25.29
get the work done up.
00:20:25.32\00:20:26.65
Friends, Jesus is
coming again soon.
00:20:26.69\00:20:29.16
There's no doubt,
00:20:29.19\00:20:30.76
we live in the last days
with famines and pestilences,
00:20:30.79\00:20:33.66
oh, my goodness,
00:20:33.70\00:20:35.03
wars and rumors of
wars and political upheaval.
00:20:35.06\00:20:38.23
It has been a
very discouraging year
00:20:38.27\00:20:41.30
in many ways.
00:20:41.34\00:20:42.67
We have a work to do,
00:20:42.70\00:20:44.37
and that work is to
prepare the people of this earth
00:20:44.41\00:20:47.24
to be ready for Jesus coming,
00:20:47.28\00:20:48.88
because, you know, it's
nice to save a life here,
00:20:48.91\00:20:52.18
and we certainly wanna
live as long as we can,
00:20:52.21\00:20:54.62
but the most important thing
is to save a life for eternity.
00:20:54.65\00:20:59.39
If you can save
a life for eternity
00:20:59.42\00:21:00.92
now you've made an impact.
00:21:00.96\00:21:02.29
If you can change
somebody's perspective on life
00:21:02.32\00:21:05.09
and if you can
change their lives
00:21:05.13\00:21:06.83
and so that's what we try to
do at Adventist World Aviation.
00:21:06.86\00:21:10.27
I'm an evangelist.
00:21:10.30\00:21:12.53
I've traveled this world
over and I've preached in,
00:21:12.57\00:21:14.34
I don't know how many
different countries over 20,
00:21:14.37\00:21:16.81
where I've worked in
00:21:16.84\00:21:18.34
and probably 35
different countries
00:21:18.37\00:21:19.74
where I've actually done
some Bible work or lay work,
00:21:19.77\00:21:21.61
but have held
many series of meetings
00:21:21.64\00:21:23.45
over the years.
00:21:23.48\00:21:24.81
I'm used to seeing,
00:21:24.85\00:21:26.18
when I was in India,
00:21:26.21\00:21:27.55
we'd see
baptisms by the thousands.
00:21:27.58\00:21:29.08
And we'd see souls converted
and coming over to Christ
00:21:29.12\00:21:31.79
and coming to a
better way of life
00:21:31.82\00:21:33.36
by the thousands.
00:21:33.39\00:21:34.76
And with
Adventist World Aviation,
00:21:34.79\00:21:36.12
it doesn't
happen quite that way.
00:21:36.16\00:21:37.49
We save the world
one person at a time,
00:21:37.53\00:21:39.76
one life at a time.
00:21:39.79\00:21:41.36
And while
evangelism is important,
00:21:41.40\00:21:44.93
saving the
individual is where it's at.
00:21:44.97\00:21:47.54
Because when Jesus said,
00:21:47.57\00:21:49.80
"He that is holy,
let him be holy still.
00:21:49.84\00:21:51.64
He that is filthy,
let him be filthy still."
00:21:51.67\00:21:54.08
He was talking about
individual decisions.
00:21:54.11\00:21:56.04
That one person will have
made a decisions either for
00:21:56.08\00:21:59.98
or against God.
00:22:00.02\00:22:01.75
And once that
last decision is made,
00:22:01.78\00:22:05.22
that's when Jesus will come in,
00:22:05.25\00:22:06.89
and it's not done by the masses.
00:22:06.92\00:22:09.52
It's done by the individual.
00:22:09.56\00:22:11.46
Decisions are made individually
with one soul at a time.
00:22:11.49\00:22:16.13
If you think of yourself
as being one of the souls
00:22:16.16\00:22:20.74
that have been
won for Christ kingdom
00:22:20.77\00:22:22.67
and I hope and
pray that you are,
00:22:22.70\00:22:24.47
but would Jesus
spend His time for you?
00:22:24.51\00:22:26.78
And the answer
to that question is,
00:22:26.81\00:22:28.14
of course, yes, He would.
00:22:28.18\00:22:29.51
I'm so grateful
when I think about it,
00:22:29.54\00:22:30.98
because we all
have a tendency to
00:22:31.01\00:22:33.42
our world kind of
centers around our own self.
00:22:33.45\00:22:37.09
Jesus said, "Love
your neighbor as yourself."
00:22:37.12\00:22:39.35
And I think He
gave us that example.
00:22:39.39\00:22:41.12
So we would
have an understanding
00:22:41.16\00:22:43.73
of how important we are to Him.
00:22:43.76\00:22:47.43
We are certainly
important to ourselves,
00:22:47.46\00:22:49.26
but Jesus holds us, holds you
00:22:49.30\00:22:53.74
in the same love and even more.
00:22:53.77\00:22:57.17
If you can imagine that
00:22:57.21\00:22:58.54
He loves you more
than you love yourself.
00:22:58.57\00:23:00.34
And He says to love
our neighbors as ourselves.
00:23:00.38\00:23:02.58
So the individual,
00:23:02.61\00:23:04.25
wow, the
individual is so important.
00:23:04.28\00:23:06.55
So pray for us as
we reach these people,
00:23:06.58\00:23:09.42
one soul at a time.
00:23:09.45\00:23:11.99
As a result of that,
00:23:12.02\00:23:13.99
we've been able
to build churches
00:23:14.02\00:23:15.46
and do church plants.
00:23:15.49\00:23:17.23
And then the evangelism happens.
00:23:17.26\00:23:18.76
And even at
Adventist World Aviation,
00:23:18.79\00:23:20.70
we've been able to participate
00:23:20.73\00:23:22.53
in worldwide evangelism
00:23:22.56\00:23:23.90
where yes, hundreds of souls
00:23:23.93\00:23:25.40
have surrendered
their life to Christ
00:23:25.43\00:23:26.84
and live a better
life as a result of that.
00:23:26.87\00:23:30.01
And so, yes, one at
a time then evangelism,
00:23:30.04\00:23:33.07
then we build, we do harvest,
00:23:33.11\00:23:35.44
but it's all, you
know, at the end of the day,
00:23:35.48\00:23:36.98
what it's about is
about improving life.
00:23:37.01\00:23:39.58
We're not able to save
everyone, we come in contact,
00:23:39.61\00:23:41.85
but I do know this.
00:23:41.88\00:23:43.22
We always leave the
people that we work with
00:23:43.25\00:23:46.69
in a better condition
than when we found them.
00:23:46.72\00:23:48.52
And they remember that.
00:23:48.56\00:23:50.49
And when they see
what we do for them,
00:23:50.53\00:23:52.79
it's such an odd thing for them.
00:23:52.83\00:23:54.96
They consider that.
00:23:55.00\00:23:56.33
And many say, I
want to know more
00:23:56.36\00:23:58.93
about this Jesus that
made you change your life.
00:23:58.97\00:24:01.74
Because we all have a testimony
00:24:01.77\00:24:04.01
where we were also
selfish in our life,
00:24:04.04\00:24:06.27
but when Jesus finds
His way into our heart,
00:24:06.31\00:24:08.68
we become less interested
00:24:08.71\00:24:10.55
in what's going
on internally in us
00:24:10.58\00:24:12.68
and more
interested in helping others.
00:24:12.71\00:24:15.78
So one by one,
00:24:15.82\00:24:17.32
that's what we here at
Adventist World Aviation do.
00:24:17.35\00:24:21.66
It's been a journey.
00:24:21.69\00:24:23.02
I've been president
now for going on 10 years,
00:24:23.06\00:24:25.96
but I gotta tell you,
it's been worth the battle.
00:24:25.99\00:24:28.16
There's been a lot
of uphill struggles
00:24:28.20\00:24:30.53
that we at Adventist
World Aviation have overcome.
00:24:30.57\00:24:33.64
And we've done that
00:24:33.67\00:24:35.00
through prayers and support
of our constituency and you
00:24:35.04\00:24:39.41
and our new members of
Adventist World Aviation.
00:24:39.44\00:24:42.38
I just wanna say, thank
you. We don't do this alone.
00:24:42.41\00:24:44.61
We don't take you for granted
00:24:44.65\00:24:45.98
by any stretch
of the imagination,
00:24:46.01\00:24:47.52
you means so much to us.
00:24:47.55\00:24:49.68
if it wasn't for you,
00:24:49.72\00:24:51.49
seriously, we
couldn't do what we do.
00:24:51.52\00:24:54.12
And I can think of,
there was a young man.
00:24:54.16\00:24:55.66
When I went to a country
that we started working with,
00:24:55.69\00:24:59.73
we worked with him
and it impacted his life
00:24:59.76\00:25:03.80
so that he left
his former way of life.
00:25:03.83\00:25:08.10
And now he's helping others
00:25:08.14\00:25:10.01
and he's doing it
in an encouraging way.
00:25:10.04\00:25:12.21
So these stories
happen all the time.
00:25:12.24\00:25:14.61
Sometimes it
takes 10 or 15 years
00:25:14.64\00:25:17.11
to find out the
impact of your life.
00:25:17.15\00:25:18.88
Jim Kincaid up in
Alaska told me that
00:25:18.91\00:25:21.62
work is generational up there.
00:25:21.65\00:25:23.32
You have to
change a whole generation
00:25:23.35\00:25:26.19
of thinking in Alaska.
00:25:26.22\00:25:27.96
A lot of it is,
there's a lot of alcoholism,
00:25:27.99\00:25:30.06
there's a lot of drugs,
there's a lot of drinking.
00:25:30.09\00:25:32.03
Life is not the
healthiest form of life
00:25:32.06\00:25:35.90
that they live
00:25:35.93\00:25:37.27
and you have to
change an entire culture.
00:25:37.30\00:25:38.90
So you begin with the children
00:25:38.93\00:25:40.27
and you work with
them for 10 years.
00:25:40.30\00:25:42.84
At some level,
00:25:42.87\00:25:44.54
you've changed a culture
00:25:44.57\00:25:45.97
because if you
get a 10 year old,
00:25:46.01\00:25:47.34
well, of course,
10 years from now
00:25:47.38\00:25:49.01
that young
child is 20 years old.
00:25:49.04\00:25:51.71
It changes them.
00:25:51.75\00:25:53.45
In order to continue
00:25:53.48\00:25:54.98
to relieve the
critical situations
00:25:55.02\00:25:56.92
we need your
help and your prayers.
00:25:56.95\00:25:59.25
Prayers make things
possible that seems impossible.
00:25:59.29\00:26:02.66
Prayer makes things
possible for us to save lives
00:26:02.69\00:26:05.73
and share the love of Jesus.
00:26:05.76\00:26:07.66
Thank you for your prayers.
00:26:07.70\00:26:09.96
We also need your
financial support.
00:26:10.00\00:26:12.67
Your donations make the
mission flight possible.
00:26:12.70\00:26:16.17
Please go to our
website, flyawa.org.
00:26:16.20\00:26:20.71
That's flyawa.org.
00:26:20.74\00:26:23.91
Or give us a
call at 1 888-477-8945
00:26:23.95\00:26:30.15
or locally at 919-938-awa0.
00:26:30.19\00:26:35.42
That's 919-938-2920.
00:26:35.46\00:26:40.93
Call and make
that donation today.
00:26:40.96\00:26:42.86
Thank you.
00:26:42.90\00:26:44.23
And God bless you.
00:26:44.27\00:26:45.60
Together we can
reach the hurting
00:26:45.63\00:26:47.77
and the hopeless
people of this world
00:26:47.80\00:26:50.11
with the love of Jesus.
00:26:50.14\00:26:53.01
God bless.
00:26:53.04\00:26:54.38