Participants: Shelley Quinn (Host), Jan Latsha & Terri Yoshida
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY016022A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:29 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:39 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:50 Mending broken people. 01:07 Hello, and welcome again to 3ABN Today. 01:10 We're so glad that you are taking this time 01:13 to share with us. 01:14 And we want to thank you so much 01:16 for your continued prayer, 01:19 your continued love and support of this ministry. 01:22 You know, without you there would be no 3ABN. 01:25 And I know that the Lord raised this ministry up 01:28 as a great evangelistic tool in his hands 01:33 to reach the world, 01:34 with the truth of the Three Angels' messages, 01:37 present truth for Today. 01:40 I'm glad you're joining us today, 01:41 we have some special guests. 01:43 And I want to go ahead and introduce them right away 01:46 before I read this scripture 01:48 because I've got a special friend here, 01:51 Jan Latsha. 01:53 Jan, you have been to 3ABN numerous times, 01:58 since the first of 2000, say. 02:01 Yeah. 02:02 And your project is called or your ministry 02:05 is the Maasai Development Project. 02:08 When did you begin that ministry? 02:11 It began in, actually in the early '90s. 02:16 Just developing friendships with Maasai 02:18 when we were living-- 02:20 my family was living in Nairobi. 02:22 And I was lucky enough not to be on a, 02:29 pay scale or sorry. 02:31 So I could kind of do what I wanted, 02:33 and the Lord just led me into doing, working, 02:38 and I had a desire in my heart 02:39 that I don't know where it came from 02:41 other than the Lord put it there, 02:42 but when I found out we were moving to Kenya, 02:45 I had a desire to know about the Maasai and-- 02:48 but I never told anybody that, you know, the Bible says 02:51 that the Lord knows the desires of our hearts. 02:54 And over the next few years, 02:55 He developed this whole ministry working 02:58 with Maasai. 03:00 Oh, that is so exciting and I can't wait for you 03:02 to share your story with our audience 03:06 because it's an incredible ministry. 03:08 We just love when you come back to give us updates. 03:11 But this time you have brought with you someone 03:13 that I've yet to meet. 03:15 I've met several people in your ministry 03:16 but this is Terri Yoshida. 03:19 Terri, you are a registered nurse 03:21 and you are the executive secretary 03:24 for the Maasai Development. 03:25 Is that correct? Hm-mm, that's correct. 03:27 And how long have you been...? 03:28 You don't have to tell us your whole story yet, 03:30 but how long have you been 03:31 with Maasai Development Project? 03:34 Probably just a little over a year. 03:36 Okay. Well, we're gonna come back in just a moment. 03:39 We're going to find out the stories behind this 03:42 but first before we even go to a song, 03:45 I wanted to share a scripture with you. 03:47 Usually I come out 03:48 and I kind of have in my mind a scripture 03:51 that we'd like to share with you. 03:54 This time I asked Jan, 03:55 "Is there anything particular on your heart?" 03:58 And what she gave me was Isaiah 11 04:02 and let me read verse 6. 04:03 Verse 6 through 9 of Isaiah 04:05 is telling about the Messiah's return 04:08 and that when he returns 04:10 He's going to usher in universal peace, 04:13 there's going to be just, it's going to be 04:17 like the Garden of Eden was meant to be. 04:20 It's going to be perfect. 04:22 And so here's what Isaiah 11:6 says, 04:27 it says, "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, 04:31 the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, 04:36 the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; 04:40 and a little child shall lead them." 04:43 Can you imagine when we look at 04:45 what's going on in our world today 04:47 with all the terrorists attacks, with the wars, 04:51 with the murders, things that are, you know 04:55 just seems that men's consciences have waxed cold. 05:02 But when Jesus returns this is what He promises. 05:05 And it's going to be so exciting. 05:08 Well, right now we are going to listen to a song 05:12 from our own Pastor C.A. Murray, 05:14 who is the general manager also for our Proclaim Network. 05:19 And C.A. is going to sing for us "Jesus Lifts Me". 05:39 He lifts my burdens 05:44 Whenever I'm down 05:49 He gives me joy 05:53 When I'm wearing a frown 05:58 He is my hope 06:01 In the midst of despair 06:06 And He, He is my comfort 06:11 For He's always there 06:22 So I sing 06:25 Not because I feel like singing 06:31 And I praise Him 06:34 Though the end I may not see 06:41 For whenever 06:43 I lift the name of Jesus 06:48 Jesus reaches down 06:53 And He lifts me 07:05 He gives the music 07:09 That makes my heart glad 07:14 He whispers peace 07:19 Whenever I am sad 07:23 He is the sunshine 07:28 That brightens my day 07:32 And He is the lighthouse 07:37 To show me the way 07:42 So I sing 07:46 Not because I feel like singing 07:52 And I praise Him 07:55 Though the end I may not see 08:01 For whenever 08:03 I lift the name of Jesus 08:09 Jesus reaches down 08:14 And He lifts me 08:19 So I sing 08:23 Not because I feel like singing 08:29 And I praise Him 08:32 Though the end I may not see 08:38 For whenever 08:40 I lift the name of Jesus 08:46 Jesus reaches down 08:50 Turns me around 08:53 And He plants my feet on a higher ground 09:00 He reaches down 09:04 And He lifts me. 09:30 And we thank C.A. for that beautiful song. 09:33 If you are joining us just a little late, 09:35 let me once again introduce our special guest. 09:37 Today we are interviewing the ladies 09:40 of 'The Maasai Development Project' 09:43 which is an incredible project. 09:45 I'm sure you've heard of the Maasai, it usually-- 09:49 what this conjures up. 09:50 If you saw Out of Africa or any of these movies, 09:53 you think of these warriors who are running along with, 09:57 you know, for great distances with their shields spears. 10:01 And sometimes I remember 10:03 when I talk to people about you, 10:05 they'll cry, "She is so brave!" 10:07 At this hour, special guest, we have Jan Latsha, 10:10 who is the founder and director 10:12 for The Maasai Development Project 10:14 and then we have Terri Yoshida, who is the executive secretary. 10:20 And you girls are both from Washington? 10:22 I am. You are from Washington, Terri? 10:24 Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Okay. 10:27 Tell me, before we actually get off 10:30 into what the ministry is all about, 10:32 Jan, just give us a nutshell. 10:35 Did you grow up in a Christian environment, 10:38 how did the Lord get your attention 10:40 to have this personal relationship? 10:43 I grew up in an Adventist home. 10:45 My father was a teacher in our academies. 10:47 And, then I left the church for a while. 10:51 And when I began to come back, I decided, 10:55 by the time I was gonna have children, 10:56 I was married and having children, 10:58 I decided it was time. 10:59 And I started studying, but I was getting nothing. 11:03 And so one day I just told the Lord, 11:05 "If You want me to stay 11:08 and if You want a relationship with me, 11:11 You're gonna have to show me something today 11:12 or it's over with, I give it up." 11:15 And that day I opened up the Book Desire of Ages. 11:19 And I began to read and for three hours 11:22 I could not lay the book down 11:23 because alls I could see was Jesus. 11:26 And I just-- 11:28 The tears were just rolling down my face 11:30 as I read and saw Jesus for the first time. 11:32 So though I grew up knowing Him 11:35 and I always had a bent for that, 11:37 but it wasn't until then that I knew 11:40 that I wanted to commit my life to Him. 11:42 Praise God. 11:44 So you knew about Him growing up 11:46 but you actually met Him due to this experience. 11:49 Praise God. I met Him, yes. 11:50 And, Terri, how about you? 11:52 Did you grow up in an Adventist Christian home? 11:54 I did, I did. 11:56 I grew up hearing about the missionaries 11:58 and from the time I was six years old, 12:01 I wanted to be a missionary nurse. 12:03 Really. 12:04 Yeah, so... 12:05 So, now, when did it become personal for you with Christ? 12:11 At a very young age, 12:13 I've always had a close love of God, of Jesus. 12:17 Wonderful. 12:19 And didn't have an opportunity till later 12:23 to be able to actually go on a mission trip. 12:26 And so, actually going with Jan 12:31 on the Maasai Development Project a few years ago, 12:34 just fell in love. 12:36 Praise God. 12:37 And we're gonna get to hear little more 12:39 about that story in just a moment. 12:41 Tell us a little, Jan, about the Maasai. 12:45 Are they as fierce 12:47 as they have been reported to be? 12:53 I would say, knowing what I-- 12:56 I don't view them as fierce but I know other people do, 13:01 still in Kenya and they can be. 13:05 I've seen them to be wild. 13:06 I've, you know, 13:08 and I would not want to be on the other end of the spear. 13:12 You can count on me, I'll tell you that. 13:14 But, very loving-- 13:19 Accepting. 13:20 Accepting, yeah, group of people that I just, 13:24 I have just loved as family. 13:27 So how did a blonde, 13:29 blue-eyed woman end up in a ministry in Africa, 13:33 for the Maasai? 13:34 It's a God thing. 13:36 And it all started out with friendships with women, 13:38 a woman to woman. 13:40 Like I said, I always had this desire 13:43 and because I was not on a budget, 13:44 like I said earlier, 13:46 I kind of was able to develop my own interest in Kenya 13:50 while we were living there. 13:52 And my other friend, Gwen Edwards, 13:56 was living there as well 13:57 and she had started a branch Sabbath school 14:02 with the children in a village 14:04 close to the academy, where they lived 14:07 and where her husband was working at the time. 14:09 And, so they actually were afraid of us. 14:14 The Maasai's. 14:16 They would, yes, they would tell their children 14:17 don't walk too close to those white people 14:19 because they could take you away and they could, 14:22 you know, and you don't know 14:24 what they might do to you, so stay away. 14:25 So they were, they were afraid of us 14:28 but over several years of just going up 14:31 and visiting the ladies, you know, using hand signals 14:35 and talking and playing with the children 14:38 and taking our own children to play with them, they, they-- 14:43 We gained their confidence 14:45 so we developed a friendship and a bond. 14:48 And one day one of the ladies came to Gwen and said, 14:52 "We noticed that you go to church on Saturday. 14:55 We notice that you-- 14:57 Why don't you do that for us." 14:59 And so Gwen went to the principal. 15:00 Now let me just hit the pause there 15:02 'cause you just mentioned 15:04 that you had to use hand signals. 15:05 Do they have their own language? 15:07 Did Gwen speak their language or when this woman came to her, 15:10 did they also speak English? 15:12 They brought a translator with them. 15:13 Okay. Yeah. 15:15 So if there's not a translator, 15:17 we use a few words here or there of Swahili, 15:19 of Kimaasai and of a few English words 15:23 and a lot of hand signals and we would talk. 15:26 But we usually, we had a translator with us. 15:29 Okay. Yeah. 15:30 So anyway, we talked to the principal 15:33 and they opened up, let us have the classroom, 15:36 one of the classrooms for church 15:38 and we started church service for the women there. 15:41 And-- 15:42 What is their typical, traditional spiritual beliefs? 15:51 I don't want to say devil worship 15:53 because it's not really devil worship, 15:55 but it's spiritual worship. 15:57 It's Spiritism. Which is a spirit world. 16:00 Yeah, yeah. 16:03 Although, you know, I've had-- 16:05 we've had some experiences with some of our lay-pastors. 16:07 We have one that right now 16:09 a lay-pastor that, we had to let go 16:11 because he basically sold his soul to the devil. 16:15 Wow. Yeah. 16:16 And so and he became possessed and we had to let him go 16:20 and he is, yeah, making decision. 16:23 So there is that real, spirit. 16:28 There is a spirit worship, there is out there but it-- 16:31 I wouldn't say-- 16:33 Well, that is, it's devil worship. 16:34 It is, it's demonic. It is. It's demonic. 16:36 You know, I just have to say this for our audience 16:38 because sometimes growing up in United States, 16:44 you know, some people don't even know 16:45 if Satan is for real, but I guarantee you, 16:48 if you go to-- 16:49 When I was doing a camp meeting, 16:52 at the Sedaven camp meeting, 16:54 we were talking with the conference people there 16:56 and we asked them, 16:57 "How seriously do you take 17:01 the idea of exorcism of casting out demons?" 17:05 And they said, "Very seriously." 17:08 They said when they get a call to do that, 17:09 they will fast for three days, 17:12 fast and pray for three days solid. 17:15 Before they go, they have to be totally prepared. 17:18 The spirit realm-- 17:20 I think one thing that makes it easier for some of the people, 17:23 once they hear the truth about Christ 17:25 and the Holy Spirit in that area 17:28 is that they're used to working in the spirit realm. 17:33 But there are demonic forces. 17:35 You talk-- 17:37 If you want to ever talk to anybody 17:38 in any religion, that is, 17:41 when they are worshipping animals or spirits, 17:43 you will find that there are definitely demonic forces 17:46 and it's very real, so. 17:49 We actually went out to a village 17:50 where we noticed that friends that we had made 17:54 were all wearing white bands painted around their eyes 17:58 and so and they would turn their backs on us 18:01 when we would come up. 18:02 And so we asked them what, what is this? 18:05 You know, what's going on here? 18:06 And they said, "Well, the witch doctor has said that, 18:12 that they have to do this in protest of Christianity. 18:16 Wow. 18:17 But within a few days it was gone, 18:19 you know, it came off. 18:21 Love has a way. It does. Yeah. 18:23 It conquers all things. Yeah. 18:24 So you began this church service, 18:28 initially, was it just the women coming, 18:31 children, women? 18:32 Women and children with a few men. 18:34 They had some guards that were Maasai 18:36 and they would come as well. 18:39 I started teaching literacy classes 18:42 in during the week 18:43 and then doing the church service 18:44 and then the ladies said, 18:46 "We would like to go out to our home village now." 18:49 And so we went out there 18:52 and we did a three-day seminar and meetings. 18:54 And this is in a Maasai village? 18:55 In a Maasai village. 18:57 We went out for three days and then after that-- 19:01 How did the tribal leaders accept this? 19:03 Were they open to this at first? 19:04 You know, yeah they were fine and we were mainly at a-- 19:08 one family's boma in which there wasn't a problem, 19:11 they welcomed us to stay in. 19:12 But later, about nine months later 19:16 we did another ten-day where we just went 19:18 and camped for ten days 19:19 and I took some youth from Nairobi out with me. 19:22 And we were having meetings and we had the chief 19:27 and some of the elders from the area come and demand 19:30 that we stop our meetings and have a meeting with them. 19:33 And, yeah, I didn't know what to expect but I-- 19:37 it was really interesting because they stood up 19:40 and they said, "What do you want here? 19:41 We don't want Christianity here. 19:42 We don't want Christians here. So what do you want? 19:44 Are you trying to change us? What is that you want?" 19:47 And I remember one of the Maasai ladies 19:51 kind of patted me on the shoulder and said-- 19:52 and motioned for me "Don't worry." 19:54 And, like, we were gonna be praying. 19:57 And, you know, it was a God thing. 19:59 I don't know what I said to them but-- 20:02 I don't remember, 20:03 but when I was finished, they said-- 20:07 and I told them, 20:08 I said, "We are not here to change you 20:10 because your culture is precious. 20:12 We don't want to take your culture, 20:13 well, you have so many good things about it, 20:15 but we just want to share with you about God." 20:20 And, in light of what he has, hope he has. 20:24 And so... 20:26 and then I-- 20:27 What else I said, I don't have a clue. 20:29 But when I was finished, 20:30 the chief came up to me and said, 20:32 "Whatever you want, you can have." 20:34 Pray, that is something. 20:36 Whatever you want, and that was a God thing. 20:38 So I know that whatever words came out of my mouth, 20:40 it was not me. 20:41 Now the culture is precious to them 20:44 but they do have some strange practices. 20:47 Let's talk about the youth 20:50 and how early they get involved in pre-arranged marriages 20:57 and about the circumcision practices. 21:02 The Maasai women, 21:04 they don't have a lot of value except for the girls, 21:08 for the fathers, so they can sell them 21:10 as wives for dowry. 21:13 And the cows are much more important than the women 21:15 or the children. 21:17 If a child is sick or if a cow is sick, 21:18 they are going to treat the cow instead of the child 21:21 because it's worth money. 21:23 The child is not unless it's a boy child. 21:26 But the girls, they are sold at a very-- 21:30 As soon as they reach puberty, 21:31 they go through female genital mutilation. 21:36 I've seen it done as young as seven years old. 21:40 But normally it would be around 11, 12 years old. 21:44 And they go through a thirty-day cleansing 21:47 and then after they've been healed, 21:49 then they are married. 21:52 And most times it's pre-arranged 21:56 and it could be somebody-- 21:58 Maybe this 12-year-old girl 21:59 is going to marry a 70-year-old man 22:02 as may be a sixth wife or a seventh wife. 22:06 And so, basically she's been sold into, 22:10 I would say slavery, is how I would put it. 22:13 But these girls, if they survive the mutilation 22:18 and the cutting, then they are given away then, 22:22 and they become wives and bearing children 22:26 at a very young age and... 22:28 Now, when you said, "If they survive." 22:30 Do some of them actually die during this? 22:31 Many. 22:33 I did a program one time, talking to a group of Maasai 22:37 that had become Christians and talking about circumcision, 22:41 and I asked them, 22:43 "How many of you know of somebody 22:44 who has died because of this?" 22:45 And every single person raised their hand. 22:48 We have a young girl at our rescue center right now, 22:51 whose 12-year-old sister was to be married. 22:54 And the father had already collected 22:56 some of the dowry and-- 22:58 But they had to get her circumcised first 23:01 and go through the cleansing. 23:02 So they cut, they cut her and she bled to death. 23:07 The younger sister saw this. 23:09 The father was arrested 23:10 and sent to jail as well as the lady 23:14 who had done the cutting, 23:15 because it's actually against the law now, 23:17 used to not be, but it is now. 23:19 And he called the wife in and said, 23:23 "Okay you-- 23:24 this is what I want you to do. 23:25 I want you to secretly take the younger sister, 23:29 I want you to take Napuk and I want you to go 23:31 and I want you to circumcise her secretly. 23:34 Give her to the man 23:35 because I'm not giving back the dowry. 23:37 Unbelievable. 23:39 So fortunately we were able to get, we found out about it. 23:43 You intervened. Yeah. 23:45 And she was rescued and brought to our rescue center. 23:48 So let's talk a little bit about the ministry. 23:52 You started in this very humble way. 23:56 I think you came back to the States then, didn't you? 23:58 Before you went back and you went over-- 24:01 was it Gwen that went with you, who went with you-- 24:03 Celeste. It was Celeste. 24:04 Right and Celeste really saw the need for an organized, 24:09 I mean, you just started the work 24:11 but now she's seeing the need for an organized ministry. 24:13 Exactly. 24:15 So tell us, what the Maasai Development Project 24:17 is all about? 24:19 You know when we started out it was mainly-- 24:22 we wanted to share Jesus. 24:25 And so we started with lay pastors 24:29 and we sent Maasai out to win the Maasai 24:35 because it doesn't work so well when you send other people. 24:39 So Maasai to meet the Maasai. 24:42 And it started out 24:45 with just a two lay-pastors and-- 24:47 So you meet them, train them, I mean, they-- 24:50 you know that they've been converted 24:52 so that you send them out. 24:54 And I might add that at this point 24:56 we have 26 workers right now, 26 lay pastors. 24:59 Wow. 25:00 And about nine or ten of them 25:03 were brought in to the Adventism, 25:07 from one of our lay pastors years ago. 25:09 Praise the Lord. Praise God. 25:11 And so, yeah so, we're seeing a second group coming in that-- 25:17 and some of them were just young children 25:19 actually when we first started going out and meeting them. 25:24 That's got to be so rewarding. 25:25 So we see them-- 25:27 Yeah, it is, it is really rewarding. 25:28 So we started out with that but then in the early 2000s 25:32 it came to our attention, 25:33 really about the need for the girl child 25:36 and a rescue center. 25:38 So we were actually supporting a rescue center 25:41 that was already established out in Kajiado. 25:44 And as they grew, we started expanding. 25:48 Maasai Development started expanding elsewhere. 25:50 We were out by the Maasai Mara Game Reserve 25:53 and there is a school there and they asked us 25:56 if we would be willing to come up there 25:58 and have a rescue center. 25:59 And I asked them 26:01 if we had a rescue center built tomorrow or today, 26:04 how many at-risk girls will there be tomorrow? 26:07 And they said 1,500. 26:09 Now if you were to see this, but you should wonder 26:10 where in the world could they be. 26:12 But they are just, they're there in the bush. 26:17 And our youngest-- 26:18 Fifteen hundred, now that shocked me. 26:20 Shocked me. 26:21 And so we immediately started praying about it 26:24 and raising funds and in 2000 and 2010 November, 26:30 we opened up our rescue center. 26:32 We have 58 children 26:36 and some of the children that we've had 26:37 since they were little 26:39 are now in University and in college 26:42 and so we educate them all the way 26:44 from whenever they come, up through college. 26:48 How do the men of the tribe, especially the fathers, 26:52 if these little girls are like chattel to them, 26:55 something that they can sell, how do they accept it 26:58 when they know you rescued their daughter? 27:01 Yeah, we have to walk very carefully. 27:03 And our manager has had-- 27:07 has been threatened in the past by young Moran 27:10 that had come and said, "We are going to kill you, 27:13 because you are taking away our girls." 27:16 And also fathers have-- 27:19 one father knew that we were going 27:21 to start sponsoring his daughter and taking her in. 27:24 So he arranged to have one of his friends rape 27:28 his daughter hoping to get her pregnant so that, 27:33 then we would say no. 27:36 Fortunately, we were-- 27:37 she did not get pregnant 27:39 and we were able to get her away 27:40 and she has been with us. 27:42 She is now in form three or a junior in high school, 27:46 doing very well. 27:48 So is it usually the mothers 27:49 that bring these little girls to you or? 27:52 Mothers have, and I've seen mother-- 27:54 we had one mother who brought her daughter. 27:57 She went back home and then her husband kicked her out. 28:01 So she no longer had a home anywhere. 28:03 She had no place to go. 28:04 She had to just go from place to place 28:06 begging for food and things 28:07 because she had been disowned because she had-- 28:12 she was brave enough to rescue her daughter. 28:14 And we've had many women come and say, 28:18 "Please, I don't want my daughter to go 28:20 what I've gone through." 28:22 Praise the Lord for the ministry. 28:24 So we are gonna come back 28:25 'cause we want to hear the story of Josephine. 28:27 Yes. 28:28 But do you also have-- 28:30 is there a church building there? 28:33 Yes. 28:36 I'm excited to say that finally it's been several years now 28:40 that we've had the one-day churches from ASI. 28:42 Yeah, but they are now out in Maasai land. 28:45 And last October, I went to visit 28:48 one of our lay pastor's churches. 28:51 And here was the framework from the one-day church. 28:56 And so of course after church they as usual they will say, 29:00 what-- 29:01 you know, can you help us 29:03 with this or with this or this is what we're doing. 29:05 And they were telling me that for two years 29:08 they've been praying for a church. 29:11 And coming together 29:12 'cause they've for three years they were just under a tree. 29:16 And so, they have been praying 29:19 and what they didn't know 29:22 was that the previous lay pastor 29:24 had written a letter to his sponsor and said, 29:27 "My goal is to have a church". 29:29 That sponsor contacted me 29:30 previous before me going over and seeing 29:32 that the one-day church had come up there. 29:35 And said, "I want to help this dream come true." 29:38 So as I am sitting there listening to them 29:40 say we want this church, you know, 29:41 can we get help to finish the church. 29:43 I'm just trying to-- 29:46 I am just holding myself to my chair going, 29:48 "Oh, please hurry him, 29:49 finish talking so I can tell you 29:51 there is a church coming." 29:52 And so when they were done and I got up and I said, 29:54 "Yeah, " I said, "I'm so excited to tell you 29:58 we already have a sponsor. 29:59 They are going to help you finish this church." 30:01 And right now, Shelley, 30:02 it is being built as we speak right now 30:04 It's in the-- 30:05 it's being finished, 30:06 that one-day church. 30:08 And our lay pastors, 30:09 if there isn't an opportunity for one-day church, 30:12 they mobilize the community. 30:14 And they will put up a tin structure, 30:16 they'll put up a wooden structure. 30:20 And it's very primitive, 30:22 but as long as they have a building to come to, 30:24 the people come. 30:25 We don't. We don't. 30:27 We so take for granted how blessed we are here 30:30 in the States or any of the developed countries, 30:34 where we've got beautiful churches. 30:36 And in some places like in Europe beautiful churches 30:39 that are not even a fourth of the way filled, 30:42 which is a shame. 30:43 But these people are very passionate about God 30:48 and they're very passionate about having a home 30:51 that makes them really feel, a church makes them feel 30:55 that they really belong, don't they? 30:56 Right, exactly. 30:58 So tell us the story of Josephine? 31:02 In 2011, I was at the centre, spending a few months there. 31:06 And the school master 31:09 from next door came over and said, 31:11 "I have a girl here, she's a runaway, 31:14 she's married and she's runaway 31:17 and would you take her?" 31:18 So we called her over to talk to her. 31:20 And she was 12 years old at the time. 31:23 She's married and she was 12 years old? 31:26 Yes, and she'd been married for two years. 31:27 Oh, bless her. 31:29 And looking for an opportunity to escape. 31:31 And she knew if she could get to the school 31:33 that once she got inside the gates 31:35 that she could be protected. 31:37 And they wouldn't force her to go back. 31:39 But the school master said, "Well, you know, 31:41 we'll have to talk to the chief, 31:42 because you are already married. 31:44 We'll have to talk." 31:46 She goes, "Nope, I won't talk to him." 31:47 He said, "Why?" 31:48 She goes, "Because he can be bought off." 31:50 And if you take me there, he will send me back. 31:53 He said, "Okay, we will call the counselor." 31:55 "Oh no, that counselor can be bought off." 31:58 So they brought her to right next door, 32:01 to our, to our compound 32:03 and we were able to get the Government involved then. 32:07 We could call the Child services 32:09 and we got custody of her. 32:11 And so she came to our centre 32:15 and she said, "I want to go school." 32:18 Of course, she was 12 years old 32:19 and she had to start-- 32:21 she went back to third grade and started. 32:23 And so these little kids now are making fun of her 32:25 and she's like, "You can laugh all you want, 32:27 but I am getting educated." 32:29 And she's now in class seven, finish-- 32:32 and will start class eight 32:34 and two years to go. 32:36 This is Josephine on the screen? 32:37 This is Josephine on the screen. 32:38 Now, Josephine is a special girl. 32:43 In that, last October, 32:46 I was in Kenya, went out to visit. 32:48 And she was... 32:52 I went to church and I noticed first of all, 32:55 because we use a room 32:56 from the school next door to us, 32:58 so when I went, I thought, 33:00 "Oh, we've moved to a larger room." 33:03 And there was a lot more people. 33:04 Then I also noticed that there was a school teacher 33:06 that was coming. 33:07 And, and it was just packed with kids. 33:10 Now on Sundays, the children have-- 33:13 Because the school is not an Adventist school, 33:15 they can either 33:17 go to a Bible study at our center 33:19 or they can go to church service 33:21 there on Sunday. 33:22 So many other children were coming over to us 33:26 for our Bible studies on Sundays at our centre. 33:30 So I had the Bible study the next day. 33:32 And when I walked in, 33:34 I noticed that it was full and of many boys. 33:37 And I'm going, 33:39 "What are all these boys doing in our dormitory?" 33:41 And I think we have a picture. 33:42 We'll show you. And yeah here is our dormitory. 33:45 Now it doesn't look really full there. 33:47 But there's over 60 children there. 33:49 And 30 of our children 33:51 or twenty-some of our children are in secondary school, 33:54 so only 30 of those children out of that 60 33:58 are actually our children from our center. 34:00 The rest are children from the school next door. 34:03 So how did they get there? 34:05 They came because of Josephine. 34:07 When I was through with the study, 34:09 I went and sat down beside Josephine. 34:11 And I said, "Josephine?" 34:13 She said, "How are you doing?" 34:15 She goes, "You see all these kids?" 34:16 I go, "Yeah." 34:18 She goes, "They are my friends. 34:20 I invited them to come and they come, 34:23 and they're coming to Bible study." 34:25 The school teacher, 34:26 from the day before there was a church 34:28 and is now requesting Bible studies, 34:31 is her teacher 34:33 who she'd been talking to and saying, 34:34 "He needed to come to church." 34:35 So what you're saying is she's a bold witness for the Lord. 34:38 She's a bold witness. Praise God. 34:40 Now, now this is the special part, 34:44 is that Josephine-- 34:46 these young boys that you saw in that picture, 34:49 they came to our lay pastor there. 34:51 And they said, "Pastor, we're going home for holiday, 34:54 but we don't have a church at our village." 34:57 And they sent me a message, 34:59 "Can we get a lay pastor for this village?" 35:02 And first of all I'm going, "Okay, where is this village? 35:04 We don't have the funding for another lay pastor. 35:07 We just don't have it right now. 35:09 Because we don't even have enough sponsors 35:10 for what we have. 35:12 And then I said, 35:14 "First of all, tell me where this is?" 35:15 And goes, "Jan, this is Josephine's parent's village. 35:19 This is Josephine's home village 35:21 where these boys are from." 35:22 And we said, "Get a lay pastor there. 35:25 We're gonna step out in faith." 35:27 We still don't have a sponsor for him yet 35:29 but we now have one. 35:31 And those boys, they came and they said, 35:33 "We can no longer go to church on Sunday 35:36 because now we know the truth, 35:38 and now we know the Bible, 35:41 and we are finding the truth from the Bible. 35:44 Praise the Lord. And they said, "Please." 35:45 So now, because of Josephine, 35:49 not only is there now 35:51 a church starting in her home village. 35:53 And she is praying that her parents will be reached 35:56 and that they will come to know Jesus as well. 35:59 Now in the mean time, 36:00 what I was to start to tell you is, two years ago, 36:02 she was looking really sad, and I said, "What's wrong?" 36:05 And she said that her little sister 36:08 who was turning 10 years old, 36:10 was just getting ready to be circumcised 36:11 and sold as a wife. 36:13 We were able to go out and get her. 36:16 To circumvent the circumcision, right? 36:18 There you go. 36:20 Let me ask you this, I mean, if I'm wondering this, 36:23 I know that you're probably wondering this at home as well. 36:27 What is the purpose of the circumcision 36:29 before they're married? 36:31 If you go-- 36:32 if you ask anybody, oops, 36:34 they won't-- 36:36 they won't really know. 36:37 It's just been tradition. 36:39 It's going from a child into womanhood. 36:43 But if you go back into the history of it, 36:46 it was actually given as a gift to the gods. 36:49 So this mutilation, oh my goodness. 36:51 Okay, that's enough. 36:53 I-- yeah, we've got far enough on that one. 36:55 So what does it cost 36:59 to sponsor a Bible worker there? 37:03 A Bible worker is $150 a month. 37:06 $150 a month. Yeah. 37:08 And we have some churches that, you know, 37:11 as a church they will sponsor a pastor or something. 37:14 So then it's not such a burden on one person. 37:16 And we have other people say, 37:17 "I'd like to sponsor a pastor 37:19 but I can only give this much a month." 37:20 So then we put them together. 37:22 Put them together. Yeah, yeah. 37:23 That's wonderful, that's wonderful. 37:26 Now let's-- 37:28 you've been sitting over there being so quiet, Terri. 37:32 And I just got to share with our guest if I may. 37:35 Those who were watching and listening by radio, 37:38 Terri said, "Don't make me talk when I get there." 37:42 So talking is not your thing in front of a camera 37:45 but we're gonna talk. 37:49 Tell us about when you went over on the mission trip 37:53 and how the Lord impacted you through that trip. 37:59 Oh, well, where to begin. 38:04 We started out actually staying in tents. 38:08 And I don't even know the name of the little area we were at, 38:12 but we stayed in tents and we had a small-- 38:14 Did you go over to provide nursing services? 38:16 Nursing services, in a little medical clinic, 38:19 we had a doctor and couple of nurses with us. 38:25 We saw over a course of three days 38:28 over 2,000 people. 38:29 Oh my! 38:31 And they just-- 38:33 they just get there, 38:34 they walk miles to get to see someone 38:39 for some help medically. 38:42 And I was just humbled by the fact 38:47 that they would show up to see us to, 38:50 to get a little bit of care. 38:52 To drive, to walk that far 38:54 and make such an effort to get there. 38:56 And to wait all day, some of them just to be seen. 38:59 Terri had an experience with a young girl 39:02 that is amazing. 39:04 Oh, yeah this was-- 39:08 well a little girl, 39:09 I don't know may be 11-12 years old. 39:14 I had an interpreter that was sitting right with me 39:17 to interpret and kind of go over the medical needs 39:21 of each person, 39:23 usually it was a family that would come. 39:25 And this little girl was by herself 39:27 and she was trying to almost slide, 39:32 you know just to be hidden, she was hiding her face. 39:35 We had to get very close to her to even hear 39:37 what she was trying to ask. 39:38 And it turned out that, 39:43 her story was that she had been put out of her home at night. 39:48 And there were some farm workers from another area 39:52 that three or four of them that had raped her and she was, 39:56 you know, she had an infection and she was miserable 40:00 and so we treated her. 40:01 And then we got James, who's at the girl's center, 40:05 he followed up with her mom 40:08 and tried to make sure that she was safe. 40:11 Yes. 40:13 We didn't know if we needed to rescue her 40:14 and bring her to the center or, but-- 40:19 Bless her little heart. Yeah. 40:21 You know, you just can't even imagine what... 40:23 She was. 40:25 How the cult-- 40:26 you know, the difference in culture, 40:28 how parents would even put their child out at night 40:30 where they would be exposed to this kind of risk. 40:33 We've had mothers that have sent 40:35 their daughters out to the young men 40:37 because the young men will taunt the mothers 40:41 and make them, make their life really hard, 40:44 if they don't send their daughters out. 40:47 Oh, that's unbelievable. 40:49 But now, you had a driver 40:53 when you were on this missionary trip. 40:56 And there was a miracle involved in his family 41:00 and I think that's what touched your heart 41:02 to get involved on a permanent basis. 41:05 Tell us about this driver and his son? 41:09 Well, I think Jan was there. I met the driver. 41:13 He was our driver when we were there 41:15 and got to know him a bit. 41:18 Very special, very special person 41:20 and he's been more and more involved, 41:22 I think with our-- 41:23 with the Maasai Development Project now. 41:25 But I think it was last October 41:30 and I wasn't there on that trip. 41:32 But... 41:34 Yeah, I arrived from the airport. 41:35 And he was driving me home, 41:37 and he told me that they had a baby since-- 41:40 you know, since I was there. 41:41 And that was a real surprise to me. 41:43 And a couple of days later, 41:44 my sister, who is also a nurse flew in and he said, 41:48 "We were supposed to go somewhere the next day." 41:50 And he called and he goes, 41:51 "I had to take my wife and my son, new born son." 41:54 He was, well three weeks old to the doctor, 41:57 well, come to find out the baby had meningitis. 42:00 Oh my! Three weeks old. 42:03 And if the wife hadn't gotten set, 42:05 probably the baby would have died 42:06 before they ever got him to the hospital. 42:08 By the time they got him there, he was so dehydrated. 42:12 Of course, he'd already stiffen back. 42:14 The front nerve was swollen on his head. 42:17 He was comatose. 42:20 So they took him to the government hospital. 42:22 And so we would go and start to pray for the-- 42:26 we prayed over the baby. 42:27 And sent messages all over the world 42:30 on our Facebook page, Maasai development Facebook, 42:33 our personal ones. 42:34 We called our church family here in the States 42:37 and they got prayer warriors going 42:38 and we would just pray. 42:40 And Pastor Bernie Anderson was there visiting. 42:44 So we took him to go and pray over the baby. 42:47 Right now, I think there's a picture of him here 42:49 but-- 42:51 this is him today. 42:52 Oh! Isn't he darling? 42:54 This is little baby Jackson 42:55 and absolutely no residual effects from it. 42:58 And he was-- 43:00 went from about two pounds. 43:05 Three, two and a half, three pounds 43:07 he had lost so much weight. 43:08 And now he is a healthy little boy, 43:11 just smiling and happy. 43:13 And they gave all credit to God. 43:16 And the day before I left, last October 43:19 when I came back to the States, I stopped by their house 43:22 to visit the baby and take pictures. 43:24 And they were saying, 43:27 "Oh, we really need a bigger house." 43:30 They had a very humble, humble home. 43:32 And they asked me to pray for him, 43:37 pray for them and before I left. 43:39 And so I did and I asked, I said, 43:40 "Lord, would you please provide a two-bedroom home for this-- 43:45 nice two bed room home for this family. 43:48 They're needing a bigger place." 43:49 And I forgot all about that prayer. 43:51 When I was there here, just two weeks ago, 43:53 I just got back. 43:56 And I went to visit them in their home. 43:58 In their two-bedroom home. 44:00 In their new two-bedroom, beautiful home. 44:02 And they said, 44:03 "Do you remember when you prayed?" 44:05 And I said, 44:06 "No, I really don't remember that I prayed." 44:07 They go, "Well, you did. 44:09 And we remember that and here we are in our home." 44:12 And I have to tell you this. 44:13 They have watched, they watch 3ABN. 44:17 Oh, glory to God. 44:18 Well if they're watching today, 44:20 I just want to send you kisses out to you. 44:23 Let me ask you, 44:27 and, Terri, I'm gonna come to you first. 44:29 Going-- 44:31 I've always heard that mission trips really can-- 44:36 As you said, it humbles you, it changes you. 44:37 It changes your perspective on life in many ways. 44:41 And is this what made you 44:43 decide to become involved, this executive secretary 44:47 for the Maasai Development Project? 44:50 Well, I didn't have any plans of that. 44:52 I've always wanted to do something. 44:55 And I've always just prayed to be able to do something. 44:59 So Jan called me and we talked about it 45:04 for a while and I just, 45:05 I prayed about it a while because I wanted to-- 45:09 I'm a nurse, I'm not a secretary. 45:12 So it's a big step for me but-- 45:15 It's a stretch. It is. 45:17 God stretches us. He does. 45:19 And He does, watch out what you pray for. 45:22 Yes. 45:25 So, I'm just-- 45:26 Praise the Lord. 45:27 So, how has, either one of you can address, 45:32 it's for both, 45:34 how has being involved in this changed your Christian walk, 45:41 your relation, 45:42 your one-on-one time with the Lord? 45:45 Do you want to go first? 45:48 I think in doing this kind of work is, 45:52 like I said humbling and knowing 45:56 that I can't do anything that it has to all be God. 46:00 Amen. 46:01 John 15:5 and that daily prayer time, 46:08 that daily walk with God. 46:13 Praise God. 46:15 How about for you? 46:17 We're still going because of the grace of God, 46:20 because it's His ministry. 46:23 Shelley, every month is a miracle 46:25 for us at this point. 46:27 And there are times you know, I, 46:29 you know get all the expenses that I'll need to spend over, 46:32 sent for that month. 46:34 And I go through the list 46:37 and then I go through with the available funds 46:40 and I pray. 46:42 And maybe I'll be $6,000 short. So I pray again. 46:46 And I'll go through everything. Maybe I'll be $4,000. 46:51 And so I'll pray again and I'll go through. 46:53 Somehow every month, God provides it. 46:57 And I don't know where it comes from. 47:00 Only God knows. 47:01 And we would not be, if it wasn't for God 47:07 and if He was-- 47:08 and when you have to depend on Him for everything. 47:13 Believe me, we understand that around here. 47:15 Yeah, you do. 47:17 'Cause it's a month-to-month thing. 47:18 We do understand. 47:20 And it's kind of exciting learning to walk by faith. 47:25 You know, you hear people say that all the time 47:28 but it's not to you in the middle of the ministry 47:31 with all these expenses and not knowing 47:34 where the money is coming from. 47:36 That's when you really understand walking by faith, 47:38 going forward by faith. 47:39 Just like you said, getting another Bible worker 47:43 that was a step of faith 47:44 'cause that's a $150 more a month 47:47 to add to your budget. 47:49 But it was something that I'm sure 47:52 God's gonna cover that step of faith 47:54 'cause He knew that village needed to hear. 47:57 So, what are the opportunities? 47:59 I want to put up your address roll. 48:01 They have one ready for you two, 48:02 so that people-- 48:04 you at home or if you are listening in your car 48:06 or watching on TV, 48:07 that you will be able to get in touch with Jan, 48:11 you've got-- 48:12 Do you do these medical mission, 48:16 Jans, periodically? 48:18 And so people can-- 48:20 Yes, in fact we have a mission group going over 48:22 in May 24, this year. 48:25 We have another group that would go over in October. 48:27 So we do about two trips a year. 48:30 Usually June, July and then again in October. 48:33 This year we are taking a little earlier 48:35 so we can get better tickets 48:37 but, but yeah, we usually do about two a year. 48:39 All right. 48:41 And so people can become involved 48:43 in that sense. 48:45 They can become involved sponsoring either a student 48:49 at your school or Bible worker and, of course, 48:54 you can become involved by your prayers. 48:56 That's, I think if you talk to anybody 48:58 in the ministry the one thing they, 49:00 I don't want to use the word covet 49:02 'cause we're told not to covet but it's similar to that. 49:06 What we desire most is your prayer support 49:09 because we know that we have a mighty God 49:11 but at the same time, 49:13 you know, you've heard the story 49:15 where the pastor tells his congregation, 49:19 you know, this is what is gonna cost. 49:22 The good news is God has provided 49:25 for this ministry. 49:27 And then people are going like, yeah, and then he said, 49:30 "The bad news is the money is in your pocket." 49:32 So this is something that is important and we want. 49:36 If the Holy Spirit is inspiring you as you watch, 49:39 if your hearts been moved 49:40 in thinking about rescuing these young girls 49:44 from this horrible genital mutilation 49:47 and being married off at such a young age or, 49:50 and letting these people come to know the truth. 49:53 If you would like to become involved in any way 49:56 or donate to this ministry, 49:58 here is how you can get in touch 50:00 with the Maasai Development Project. 50:06 If you'd like to learn more about 50:07 the Maasai Development Project 50:09 or if you'd like to support this ministry, 50:11 you can write to, Maasai Development Project 50:14 PO Box 6816 Spokane, WA 99217 50:19 That's, Maasai Development Project 50:21 PO Box 6816 Spokane, WA 99217 50:26 You can call them at, (509) 443-5666. 50:31 That's, (509) 443-5666 50:35 You can also visit them online at 4mdp.org. 50:40 That's 4mdp.org. 50:48 If the Holy Spirit is impressing you, 50:50 I'm sure they would appreciate any support 50:52 that you can give them. 50:54 Jan, tell us what your future plans are 50:57 for the Maasai Development Project? 51:00 Well, we want to continue expanding our lay pastors. 51:04 I said earlier 51:05 that we had stepped out in faith and hired. 51:07 We just hired six more, besides that one. 51:09 And that was, that's all on faith. 51:12 And so, but we want to continue expanding 51:14 into un-entered areas of Maasai land. 51:18 With our centre, we just want to-- 51:21 we want to continue growing that, 51:23 we want to expand it to have a place 51:27 where women and widows can come. 51:30 And they can learn cookery. 51:33 We're already teaching our children cook bakery. 51:35 We have a charcoal, 51:37 putting charcoal in the little oven 51:39 and they're learning how to bake and everything. 51:41 So-- 51:42 This is sort of the skill for which they could end up 51:44 actually gaining gainful employment from. 51:47 That's right, 51:48 because where we are out in the Mara, 51:52 there's all these tent camps and the safari camps. 51:55 And so they can go and get jobs as a house cleaner 51:58 or they could go as a cook or a baker or whatever. 52:02 So, and then we want to give them other skills 52:06 and just for those who've never learnt to read, 52:08 we want to give them that opportunity 52:10 to learn to read, 52:11 so they can read the Bible for themselves. 52:13 So when these girls grow up, 52:15 after they've gone through your school, 52:17 you've seen generations now, 52:18 do they have a totally different life 52:20 because of the education, 52:22 because of what they have learnt? 52:25 Yes, they do. 52:28 Like I said, we're just now getting-- 52:30 We have two girls that have just finished college. 52:33 And we have five going 52:35 and now next year will have seven going 52:37 and that are graduating from high school, 52:39 so this is a work, kind of panicking here, 52:41 I mean, this is the big growth for us 52:43 because our goal is to see them through 52:45 as far as they can go. 52:47 Because then they come back and help out their homes. 52:52 It makes a huge impact. 52:54 We have one young girl right now 52:56 and I'll just quickly tell you her mother was one 53:00 that was very supportive of us when we came. 53:02 We even gave her a job. 53:04 And the girl is now in form three in high school. 53:08 And we-- 53:11 but her mom took her and told her 53:18 she wanted her to come away from MDP. 53:21 And she told her mom, she goes, 53:23 "Mom, someday I am going to become a great woman, 53:27 and a woman of promise." 53:28 Praise God. 53:30 And she said, "And where will you be? 53:31 Ooh, praise the Lord. 53:33 And so, have we made a difference? 53:35 Already. Amen. 53:37 Well, we're gonna have to take a quick break here 53:39 and go to a newsbreak, 53:40 but we're gonna come back for closing thought 53:42 with Jan and Terri in just a moment. |
Revised 2016-04-21