I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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I want to spend my life
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Removing pain
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Lord, let my words
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Heal a heart that hurts
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I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people.
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Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn.
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And once again we
welcome you to 3ABN Today.
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We're just so thankful
that you're taking this time
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to spend with us, and I believe
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you're going to be very inspired
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by today's message.
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We have some
wonderful people here with us.
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We're going to be talking
about being fishers of men.
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You know, in Mark 1,
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Jesus is walking
along the Sea of Galilee,
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He sees Simon, Peter and Andrew,
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and then he sees James and John,
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the sons of Zebedee,
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but He speaks to
them in Mark 1:17,
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"And He says to
them, 'Follow me,
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and I will make
you fishers of men."
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And I'm thinking that
this is something God wants
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all of us to be
is fishers of men.
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You know, when we go
out to share the gospel
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that is obedience
to the great commission
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and that's what God
has called us to do.
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Now, He didn't call us
to be cleaners of the fish,
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that's his job.
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And I think that's where
we get to midland sometimes,
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but He does want us to
be sharing the good news
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of salvation by
grace, the gift of God,
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the wonderful gift
of God, Jesus Christ.
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So let me introduce
you to our special guest.
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Before I do, let
me not forget to say,
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thank you so much
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for your prayers
for this ministry
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and your
continued financial support,
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because we wouldn't
be here without you.
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Now, our special guest today,
we have Pastor Thomas Ongasa.
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Did I say that
correctly? Yes, correctly.
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Wonderful, and you are from
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the Democratic
Republic of the Congo.
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Exactly.
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I'm from the Congo, Democratic
Republic of the Congo.
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How long have you lived there?
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Living in Congo?
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Oh, rest of my life,
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but I left the
Congo to come to the US,
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May 18, 2016 just
for this ministry.
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Oh, wonderful.
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So you have moved then
from the Congo to the US,
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is that correct?
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No, I'm just coming to
visit and promote this ministry.
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I see, okay. Yeah.
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Well, welcome Pastor Thomas,
we're so glad to have you here.
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Thank you.
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And then we
have Karolyn Leonard,
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and Karolyn, you are the
CEO of Train Them to Fish.
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Yes, and we live here
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on the side of
the Atlantic Ocean.
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Okay, but we're
going to get to hear
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a little bit of your
story, and your husband,
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we have Richard
Leonard with us as well.
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And, Richard, you
are a board member
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for Train Them to
Fish, is that correct?
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Correct. Correct.
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So we're anxious to
hear how two missionaries
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who had retired I believe,
but Africa was in their heart
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and they want back to
Africa and God used them
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to raise up a
wonderful ministry.
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But before we get
into the topic for today
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and hear this wonderful story,
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we have Jaime Jorge
with us once again today.
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And, are you
familiar with Jaime?
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He has such a gift from God.
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He is a talented,
talented violinist,
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and he's going to play for us
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"No One Ever Care
for Me like Jesus".
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Wasn't that beautiful.
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We're so
thankful for Jaime Jorge
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and that he dedicates
his talent to the Lord.
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Well, if you're
just joining us today,
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we have three precious
people with us here today
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from Train Them to Fish
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and that is Pastor Thomas Ongasa
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and then we have
Karolyn and Richard Leonard
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with us as well.
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And once again welcome.
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Let's get just a
little bit before we dive off
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into the ministry
that God has united
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and bonded your hearts together.
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Let's just talk a little about,
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who are you
Pastor Thomas Ongasa?
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Yeah, I'm Pastor Thomas
Ongasa as you've all said.
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I'm Seventh-day
Adventist ordained minister.
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And the Lord called me to
serve and, you know, I was born.
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I want to tell you
something special about me,
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my mom used to be
a Roman Catholic nun.
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A Roman Catholic nun. Exactly.
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And the Lord called
us and she was baptized
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and I was born as a
Seventh-day Adventist,
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raised as Seventh-day Adventist.
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She was telling
me that, you know,
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I used to be a
missionary so you my son,
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you're going to take
my place as a missionary
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and she used to tell
me that until she died...
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Absolutely.
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And she wanted me
to become a missionary
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and I praise the Lord
because I'm a missionary now.
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Absolutely, you know,
that's an amazing thing,
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because if your
mother had not been converted
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and become an Adventist,
you wouldn't even been born
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if she had been a
Roman Catholic nun.
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How amazing. My life is a grace.
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Amen.
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So I have to recognize
that I was born by God's grace.
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Absolutely, you were.
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And God has really blessed you,
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because you have been a
pastor for how many years?
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For 15 years so far.
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Fifteen years, you're pastoring,
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but you've already been
the president of a conference
00:10:01.36\00:10:07.64
in the Democratic
republic of Congo.
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For six years you've served
as the conference president?
00:10:11.51\00:10:13.74
Yeah.
00:10:13.78\00:10:15.11
Were you the youngest
conference president there?
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Yes, I used to be the youngest
local conference president
00:10:17.41\00:10:20.82
in my division, the
Eastern Central Africa division,
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so I was serving
as a local conference
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in the South Kivu Conference
00:10:26.69\00:10:28.99
or South Kivu field
in Eastern of Congo.
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Oh, wonderful. Oh, wonderful.
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We're just so pleased that
your mother instilled in you
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that need to serve the Lord,
that desire to serve the Lord.
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And you have three children,
how old are your babies?
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Oh, I have Anastasia my
first born she's a daughter,
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a girl, she's nine.
00:10:51.11\00:10:53.48
The second one is a boy
Mr. Rafael, he is three,
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and then the last
one is a girl Karolyn.
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She was named
after Karolyn, the CEO,
00:11:01.46\00:11:04.19
because she is my best friend.
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Oh, how precious.
00:11:05.73\00:11:07.70
And how old is the
baby? The baby is 15 months.
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Fifteen months, 15
months. Oh, that's precious.
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So, Karolyn, before I ask
you about your background,
00:11:13.84\00:11:18.47
how did you meet this young man?
00:11:18.51\00:11:21.44
Well, we met first of all
with we mail him back and forth
00:11:21.48\00:11:26.51
regarding a mission trip
and then we got acquainted,
00:11:26.55\00:11:30.59
better acquainted as we went
on that mission trip in 2012.
00:11:30.62\00:11:35.86
So now, let's back up
00:11:35.89\00:11:38.09
and were you born
in a Christian home?
00:11:38.13\00:11:41.03
I was and I'm
very thankful for that.
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So you were, was it an
Adventist Christian home?
00:11:43.80\00:11:46.23
Yes. Okay.
00:11:46.27\00:11:47.60
And at what age did
it become real to you?
00:11:47.64\00:11:52.01
I think mission work
really solidified it.
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Okay, so did you meet Richard...
00:11:56.95\00:12:00.95
Richard, were you a pastor? No.
00:12:00.98\00:12:03.28
No, but you were a missionary.
00:12:03.32\00:12:05.22
We headed this mission
for eight and half years.
00:12:05.25\00:12:07.42
Okay, so were you also born
in an Adventist Christian home?
00:12:07.46\00:12:10.99
Yes. All right.
00:12:11.03\00:12:12.36
How did the two of you meet?
00:12:12.39\00:12:13.93
Oh, usually I hear
that that's a long story.
00:12:13.96\00:12:16.16
Give me the
readers digest version.
00:12:16.20\00:12:17.97
It was at a...
00:12:18.00\00:12:21.50
Seventh-day
Adventist retrieve for singles.
00:12:21.54\00:12:24.47
Okay.
00:12:24.51\00:12:25.84
And I have been with
these types of people
00:12:25.87\00:12:28.71
who gave up and figure
out I'll never get married
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and so and so
forth but the Lord...
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I had on my
protection down and met her
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and let's just say
the rest is history.
00:12:37.85\00:12:40.86
How wonderful, wonderful.
00:12:40.89\00:12:42.46
So you were a businessman
00:12:42.49\00:12:44.59
but then you
became a missionary,
00:12:44.63\00:12:46.76
it's your part of Africa...
00:12:46.80\00:12:48.13
I was a plan
engineer for hospital.
00:12:48.16\00:12:49.90
Okay.
00:12:49.93\00:12:51.27
And then we went to Rwanda
00:12:51.30\00:12:52.83
and that was all
before the genocide.
00:12:52.87\00:12:55.20
Wow.
00:12:55.24\00:12:56.57
And then we went
after that to Zimbabwe
00:12:56.60\00:12:59.27
and spent the
rest of our time there
00:12:59.31\00:13:02.18
until I got sick and came home.
00:13:02.21\00:13:04.38
Okay, so how many years
were you in mission field?
00:13:04.41\00:13:06.72
Eight and a half years.
00:13:06.75\00:13:08.08
All right,
Karolyn, you said something
00:13:08.12\00:13:09.48
when I first met you.
00:13:09.52\00:13:10.99
You said that
Africa is in your souls.
00:13:11.02\00:13:14.99
Oh, it is, we love Africa.
00:13:15.02\00:13:17.06
So you went back in 2012
to do a series of evangelism.
00:13:17.09\00:13:22.13
Yes. Is that what it was?
00:13:22.16\00:13:23.50
Yes.
00:13:23.53\00:13:24.87
So tell us something about that?
00:13:24.90\00:13:26.23
And we also had medical doctors
coming and do free clinics.
00:13:26.27\00:13:29.17
Okay. That was really good.
00:13:29.20\00:13:30.84
All right, was
this a ShareHim Project?
00:13:30.87\00:13:32.74
The first one was a ShareHim.
00:13:32.77\00:13:35.71
And then the next
time we went back,
00:13:35.74\00:13:37.98
it was on our own.
00:13:38.01\00:13:39.48
All right, but where were you
00:13:39.51\00:13:41.18
on that
particular mission field?
00:13:41.22\00:13:43.35
We were in Bukavu in Congo.
00:13:43.39\00:13:45.55
In the Congo and
that's where you met?
00:13:45.59\00:13:48.02
That's where we met. All right.
00:13:48.06\00:13:49.76
Now when you began
what gave you the idea,
00:13:49.79\00:13:55.03
I mean you meet,
00:13:55.06\00:13:56.40
you've done an
evangelism series,
00:13:56.43\00:13:58.27
but how did the Lord
percolate all of that
00:13:58.30\00:14:02.60
and bake it I should
say, mixed it up and bake it
00:14:02.64\00:14:06.44
to become this
ministry Train Them 2 Fish.
00:14:06.47\00:14:10.58
I could say
something here. Sure.
00:14:10.61\00:14:13.25
When we would go into the city,
00:14:13.28\00:14:14.85
we would see
people who were begging,
00:14:14.88\00:14:20.02
and they couldn't
walk, they were deformed,
00:14:20.06\00:14:23.79
and it was just very
touching to see this,
00:14:23.83\00:14:26.83
and we wanted to do
something humanitarian
00:14:26.86\00:14:30.97
in order to help them
00:14:31.00\00:14:32.33
to earn a living for themselves.
00:14:32.37\00:14:34.00
All right.
00:14:34.04\00:14:35.37
So the Train Them 2
Fish then is a program
00:14:35.40\00:14:41.71
where you're
training them up spiritually,
00:14:41.74\00:14:44.01
but you're also training
vocationally, is that correct?
00:14:44.05\00:14:46.41
Correct.
00:14:46.45\00:14:47.78
All right, now
this began in 2012,
00:14:47.82\00:14:53.02
tell us a little bit,
00:14:53.05\00:14:54.96
that's kind of actually I think
you brought a video, right?
00:14:54.99\00:14:59.46
Let's get a picture
of the country of Congo,
00:14:59.49\00:15:03.03
because Congo is the
second largest country...
00:15:03.06\00:15:06.33
In Africa. In Africa.
00:15:06.37\00:15:08.50
And it's
thoroughly modern, right?
00:15:08.54\00:15:11.31
No.
00:15:11.34\00:15:12.84
It's very primitive in
most areas, is that correct?
00:15:12.87\00:15:15.44
Yeah, some places but
also we have big cities
00:15:15.48\00:15:18.88
like Kinshasa
00:15:18.91\00:15:20.65
which is the capital
city for Congo Democratic.
00:15:20.68\00:15:23.39
It is the second
largest city in Africa.
00:15:23.42\00:15:27.56
And actually people say
that Kinshasa is the largest
00:15:27.59\00:15:33.96
French speaking
city in the world.
00:15:34.00\00:15:36.06
We got about 12 million
living, people living there.
00:15:36.10\00:15:39.87
12 million in that one city,
00:15:39.90\00:15:41.24
but now the
population of the Congo
00:15:41.27\00:15:43.24
is around 80 million.
00:15:43.27\00:15:44.61
Yeah, around 80 million.
00:15:44.64\00:15:45.97
And in many areas
there is no water.
00:15:46.01\00:15:50.58
Yeah.
00:15:50.61\00:15:51.95
No clean water,
that's what I should say.
00:15:51.98\00:15:54.02
No clean water. No
roads, no electricity.
00:15:54.05\00:15:55.82
No electricity.
00:15:55.85\00:15:57.19
So there is a lot of challenges
00:15:57.22\00:15:59.35
to meet in
ministering in Africa,
00:15:59.39\00:16:02.62
but they brought a video with us
00:16:02.66\00:16:04.23
so that we can get some
ideas of what the Congo is like.
00:16:04.26\00:16:08.90
The Democratic
Republic of the Congo
00:16:43.57\00:16:45.90
is the second
largest country in Africa,
00:16:45.93\00:16:48.60
the eleventh
largest in the world.
00:16:48.64\00:16:51.01
There are more than 80
million people living here
00:16:51.04\00:16:53.74
making it the fourth
most populated country
00:16:53.78\00:16:56.14
on the African continent.
00:16:56.18\00:16:57.85
The capital city of Kinshasa
is the heartbeat of government
00:16:57.88\00:17:01.62
and geography in the DRC.
00:17:01.65\00:17:03.99
It is also a centre of influence
00:17:04.02\00:17:05.79
for the work of
leaders and lay people
00:17:05.82\00:17:08.46
of the
Seventh-day Adventist church.
00:17:08.49\00:17:10.86
Train Them 2 Fish works
closely with the leadership
00:17:10.89\00:17:13.80
of the West Congo Union Mission
to reach the people of Kinshasa
00:17:13.83\00:17:17.80
and the DRC for Jesus Christ.
00:17:17.83\00:17:21.80
Kinshasa is the huge city
over 12 million live here.
00:17:21.84\00:17:25.27
We have 12 churches,
00:17:25.31\00:17:26.64
41 companies
with 17,000 members.
00:17:26.68\00:17:30.01
We have much work to do
00:17:30.05\00:17:31.38
to reach out to
the people of the city.
00:17:31.41\00:17:33.21
This union is the
largest in the country.
00:17:33.25\00:17:35.98
Train Them 2 Fish has sponsored
more than a dozen Bible workers
00:17:36.02\00:17:39.45
in recent years to
work as lay pastors,
00:17:39.49\00:17:43.02
leading people to their savior.
00:17:43.06\00:17:45.29
The members and workers
00:17:45.33\00:17:46.66
are organizing new congregations
00:17:46.70\00:17:48.46
as centers of hope
00:17:48.50\00:17:50.30
as they share with
their friends and family,
00:17:50.33\00:17:52.77
what Jesus has done for them.
00:17:52.80\00:17:54.84
Our focus is to
train more Bible workers
00:17:54.87\00:17:58.31
and medical
missionaries to reach out
00:17:58.34\00:18:01.18
to their French
speaking countries
00:18:01.21\00:18:02.54
of the Central Africa,
00:18:02.58\00:18:04.18
so we want to use Jesus' methods
00:18:04.21\00:18:07.45
on serving people and
humanitarian activities,
00:18:07.48\00:18:10.79
development activities
00:18:10.82\00:18:12.15
and the outreach
program for evangelism.
00:18:12.19\00:18:14.92
Most people when they hear
about supporting ministries,
00:18:14.96\00:18:17.69
they think that they
are coming with money,
00:18:17.73\00:18:19.53
or they are
coming to take money.
00:18:19.56\00:18:21.30
To us here in the
Congo, it means something else.
00:18:21.33\00:18:24.33
It means another
hand where we cannot go,
00:18:24.37\00:18:27.10
supporting ministries will
go and do the work of the Lord.
00:18:27.14\00:18:30.31
We are unable to
reach all these people.
00:18:30.34\00:18:32.57
This Bible worker
program from Train Them 2 Fish
00:18:32.61\00:18:35.04
will increase our capacity.
00:18:35.08\00:18:39.45
The best way for
me to go door-to-door
00:18:39.48\00:18:41.88
make friends with them,
00:18:41.92\00:18:43.25
and from there I can
start Bible studies with them.
00:18:43.28\00:18:45.85
I want Jesus to come soon.
00:18:45.89\00:18:47.46
I need more Bible
workers to join me
00:18:47.49\00:18:49.32
so we can hasten Jesus' coming.
00:18:49.36\00:18:51.33
I encourage people
to support Bible workers
00:18:51.36\00:18:53.63
so that Jesus can come soon.
00:18:53.66\00:18:55.86
The Train Them 2
Fish Bible workers
00:18:55.90\00:18:57.93
have not been satisfied
with helping free people alone
00:18:57.97\00:19:01.40
to know of Jesus.
00:19:01.44\00:19:05.21
I'm very happy to be a
Bible worker in the prison,
00:19:05.24\00:19:08.68
to work with
these special people
00:19:08.71\00:19:10.55
they reject the society,
00:19:10.58\00:19:12.11
but I have hope for their future
00:19:12.15\00:19:14.75
when they meet a man
of God coming to see them.
00:19:14.78\00:19:16.92
It just gives me great hope.
00:19:16.95\00:19:19.99
The Train Them 2
Fish Bible workers
00:19:20.02\00:19:21.99
have gone into prisons
and brought a message of hope
00:19:22.02\00:19:25.36
and freedom to those
with no hope and no freedom.
00:19:25.39\00:19:29.76
So many of those
who have felt guilt,
00:19:29.80\00:19:32.17
they feel forgiven,
00:19:32.20\00:19:33.64
they're opening
their hearts to Jesus
00:19:33.67\00:19:35.80
and experiencing a new life.
00:19:35.84\00:19:37.77
We have so many in prison
00:19:37.81\00:19:39.31
who have heard about
Jesus for the first time.
00:19:39.34\00:19:42.08
There is one person,
he assaulted his aunt.
00:19:42.11\00:19:45.01
His family situation was
bad and his wife was angry.
00:19:45.05\00:19:49.18
When he accepted Jesus, he
asked me to visit his wife.
00:19:49.22\00:19:52.95
When I told the wife about Jesus
00:19:52.99\00:19:54.72
and about forgiveness,
00:19:54.76\00:19:56.52
she forgave him and
his daughter did too him...
00:19:56.56\00:19:59.36
They have a very
good relationship
00:19:59.39\00:20:00.86
and they visit the prison
and the man has been baptized.
00:20:00.90\00:20:04.63
Train Them 2 Fish has
demonstrated great success
00:20:04.67\00:20:07.57
in their Bible worker
and prison ministry outreach,
00:20:07.60\00:20:10.44
as well as a new family
and orphan sowing industry.
00:20:10.47\00:20:14.24
Recently a new
opportunity for the church
00:20:14.28\00:20:17.18
through Train
Them 2 Fish has arisen.
00:20:17.21\00:20:19.78
Property in the
country side became available
00:20:19.81\00:20:22.08
and has been purchased in Gugu
00:20:22.12\00:20:24.95
a village about
two and a half hours
00:20:24.99\00:20:26.92
southwest of Kinshasa.
00:20:26.96\00:20:28.52
We have seen what Train
Them 2 Fish has already done.
00:20:28.56\00:20:31.19
They worked in the prisons
and been to an outer province.
00:20:31.23\00:20:34.33
We have gone to the prisons
and to the outer province
00:20:34.36\00:20:36.67
and I've seen the good results.
00:20:36.70\00:20:38.53
We are
supporting Train Them 2 Fish
00:20:38.57\00:20:40.17
to encourage them
to be established.
00:20:40.20\00:20:42.37
We want them to have property
00:20:42.40\00:20:43.84
so that they can work
together with the church.
00:20:43.87\00:20:46.61
The expanded work at
the new 34 acre campus
00:20:46.64\00:20:49.38
of Train Them 2 Fish
00:20:49.41\00:20:51.05
will include an organized
roll out of building phases
00:20:51.08\00:20:53.78
as resources allow.
00:20:53.82\00:20:55.85
The first phase will be
the school of evangelism,
00:20:55.88\00:20:59.15
training Bible workers
00:20:59.19\00:21:00.59
and lay pastors to
supplement the work
00:21:00.62\00:21:02.92
of the Seventh-day
Adventist organized church
00:21:02.96\00:21:05.79
as their first priority.
00:21:05.83\00:21:07.30
Training a
pastor may take you up
00:21:07.33\00:21:08.93
to four years and
because as you know,
00:21:08.96\00:21:12.93
you may not spend
less than $4,000 per year.
00:21:12.97\00:21:17.01
Times for is you
know, but with this program,
00:21:17.04\00:21:22.84
we can train 60 Bible workers
00:21:22.88\00:21:25.55
within three
months for only $4,000,
00:21:25.58\00:21:29.58
so we can give them equipment
and equip them with skills
00:21:29.62\00:21:33.69
to reach people
in a very short time
00:21:33.72\00:21:36.93
and less expensive.
00:21:36.96\00:21:39.36
Later phases
include a lifestyle centre
00:21:39.39\00:21:42.03
and medical clinic.
00:21:42.06\00:21:43.60
Then medical missionary
00:21:43.63\00:21:44.97
and agricultural
training centers.
00:21:45.00\00:21:47.34
This campus will
streamline training
00:21:47.37\00:21:49.50
and save the church money.
00:21:49.54\00:21:51.81
Overtime it will
become self sustaining.
00:21:51.84\00:21:54.98
We will have our school
00:21:55.01\00:21:56.34
and we have enough
place to do agriculture,
00:21:56.38\00:21:59.08
to produce food for the students
00:21:59.11\00:22:01.82
and we can also
sell some of the product
00:22:01.85\00:22:04.75
to keep the school running.
00:22:04.79\00:22:06.62
We really want
to encourage people
00:22:06.65\00:22:08.06
to support Train Them 2
Fish as a supporting ministry
00:22:08.09\00:22:11.09
as they've started working here.
00:22:11.13\00:22:12.76
We want to ask people to
support Train Them 2 Fish
00:22:12.79\00:22:15.26
so they will be able to continue
00:22:15.30\00:22:16.77
their support of the
mission of the church,
00:22:16.80\00:22:18.67
not only here in Congo,
but surrounding countries.
00:22:18.70\00:22:21.64
To be a part of
Train Them 2 Fish
00:22:21.67\00:22:24.01
through giving,
prayer and talent,
00:22:24.04\00:22:27.74
visit fish4alifetime.org.
00:22:27.78\00:22:32.31
Excellent
video. Excellent video.
00:22:32.35\00:22:34.72
So, Karolyn, tell me
00:22:34.75\00:22:36.99
are you part of
Outpost Centers International,
00:22:37.02\00:22:40.39
are you a ministry of OCI?
00:22:40.42\00:22:42.19
Yes, we are.
00:22:42.22\00:22:43.56
Okay, and this is something
that you began in 2012,
00:22:43.59\00:22:50.23
let's just dive into this
when you heard about this,
00:22:50.27\00:22:53.50
were you then the
conference president
00:22:53.54\00:22:55.77
or were you pastoring?
00:22:55.80\00:22:57.37
I was a conference
president by that time.
00:22:57.41\00:22:59.47
Okay, so you were...
00:22:59.51\00:23:00.84
What made you decide to go
00:23:00.88\00:23:03.91
to leave that part
of your life behind
00:23:03.95\00:23:06.21
and go into evangelism
if you will full time?
00:23:06.25\00:23:10.62
Yeah, can also say
becoming part of a ministry,
00:23:10.65\00:23:13.96
because this is
exactly ministry.
00:23:13.99\00:23:15.79
Yes.
00:23:15.82\00:23:17.16
I was impressed
to see the growth
00:23:17.19\00:23:20.16
and the work of Bible
workers and a retentional rate
00:23:20.20\00:23:23.23
which is over 95
percent of retention.
00:23:23.26\00:23:27.37
So wait a minute,
are you saying that,
00:23:27.40\00:23:28.97
those who the
Bible workers baptized,
00:23:29.00\00:23:32.44
you end up with the
95 percent retention rate
00:23:32.47\00:23:35.31
of those church members.
00:23:35.34\00:23:36.68
That's amazing.
00:23:36.71\00:23:38.05
Yes, so I was so impressed
and I said, these guys,
00:23:38.08\00:23:39.41
they need somebody to
supervise their ministry
00:23:39.45\00:23:41.82
and they need
somebody to train them
00:23:41.85\00:23:45.25
with more skills also.
00:23:45.29\00:23:47.49
I was called and
Train Them 2 Fish said,
00:23:47.52\00:23:50.29
can you help us to coordinate
this project in Africa.
00:23:50.33\00:23:52.89
I said, since it is a call
for ministry, I'm ready to go.
00:23:52.93\00:23:57.20
And praise the Lord,
00:23:57.23\00:23:58.57
because the division
was willing to release me
00:23:58.60\00:24:01.10
and I was released
00:24:01.14\00:24:02.54
to become a part
of this ministry,
00:24:02.57\00:24:04.71
and to coordinate
the project in Africa.
00:24:04.74\00:24:06.84
Praise God, so
Pastor Thomas, what...
00:24:06.88\00:24:11.85
was this your idea,
00:24:11.88\00:24:13.52
I should address Mr.
and Mrs. Leonard, first,
00:24:13.55\00:24:16.28
Karolyn,
Richard, was it your idea
00:24:16.32\00:24:18.22
to use Christ methods to
try to reach these people,
00:24:18.25\00:24:24.83
how did the program, how
did you design the program?
00:24:24.86\00:24:29.66
I think possibly when it came up
00:24:29.70\00:24:31.40
to what we saw
00:24:31.43\00:24:34.04
and I think the Holy
Spirit really guided us
00:24:34.07\00:24:36.20
because if we
look at Christ method,
00:24:36.24\00:24:40.24
he has many methods,
00:24:40.28\00:24:41.61
he didn't just have
one particular method,
00:24:41.64\00:24:43.95
but his whole goal
00:24:43.98\00:24:45.31
was for the
salvation of the people.
00:24:45.35\00:24:46.85
Right.
00:24:46.88\00:24:48.22
And that was its purpose
00:24:48.25\00:24:49.58
and as I want to mention
one of the thing with Thomas,
00:24:49.62\00:24:52.79
since we've lived in Africa,
00:24:52.82\00:24:55.46
we saw in
Thomas, his dedication,
00:24:55.49\00:24:59.23
his commitment and his...
00:24:59.26\00:25:02.60
We would give him for example
some money to do something
00:25:02.63\00:25:05.90
and always would
come back and say
00:25:05.93\00:25:07.40
how did you do
this and, and, and,
00:25:07.44\00:25:10.34
and the Lord really
put that together that
00:25:10.37\00:25:14.21
with somebody who's
really dedicated to Lord
00:25:14.24\00:25:19.38
and desired to see his people,
00:25:19.41\00:25:23.59
he wasn't wanted to
come over to America
00:25:23.62\00:25:25.19
and then live,
00:25:25.22\00:25:26.72
he wanted to work
for his own people.
00:25:26.76\00:25:29.39
So when we say
00:25:29.42\00:25:30.76
that you're using Christ method,
00:25:30.79\00:25:32.29
what are we saying?
00:25:32.33\00:25:34.30
Yes, Christ method is the method
00:25:34.33\00:25:38.33
build on relationship
addressing people's life,
00:25:38.37\00:25:43.44
the issues and problems
they have in their lives
00:25:43.47\00:25:45.97
and proposing solution for that,
00:25:46.01\00:25:48.64
so Train Them 2
Fish has been trying
00:25:48.68\00:25:51.58
to go where people are
00:25:51.61\00:25:54.25
and to help them
improve their life
00:25:54.28\00:25:56.25
especially working
from a country like Congo
00:25:56.28\00:25:59.69
which is known as one
of the poorest country
00:25:59.72\00:26:02.09
in the world,
00:26:02.12\00:26:03.46
so Train Them 2 Fish
is trying to help people
00:26:03.49\00:26:05.89
how they can earn
living like a sowing projects
00:26:05.93\00:26:10.60
with the disabled people,
with widows and single mothers
00:26:10.63\00:26:15.67
to help them to
have training program
00:26:15.70\00:26:17.81
for six months
00:26:17.84\00:26:19.17
and after the training
program giving a sowing machine
00:26:19.21\00:26:22.24
for each one of them...
00:26:22.28\00:26:23.71
Oh, praise the Lord.
00:26:23.75\00:26:25.35
And that will help
them to improve their life
00:26:25.38\00:26:26.75
and to earn some living,
00:26:26.78\00:26:28.82
also like a
basket weaving project
00:26:28.85\00:26:31.85
with those who are jobless,
00:26:31.89\00:26:34.62
so with the
basket weaving program
00:26:34.66\00:26:37.69
they can make
three baskets per day
00:26:37.73\00:26:39.86
and sell for almost a $5 per day
00:26:39.89\00:26:43.30
and when you see a common people
00:26:43.33\00:26:46.10
in Congo living with a
dollar or lesser than dollar
00:26:46.13\00:26:49.40
but with these basket program
00:26:49.44\00:26:51.77
they can make like $5 a
day that's an improvement,
00:26:51.81\00:26:55.04
so we're doing that for people
and they are amazed they say,
00:26:55.08\00:26:59.11
why are you doing these for us?
00:26:59.15\00:27:00.58
We say, because God loves you
00:27:00.62\00:27:02.88
and we want to
share that love with you,
00:27:02.92\00:27:05.32
thus they open their hearts
00:27:05.35\00:27:07.19
and to receive the
seed of the gospel.
00:27:07.22\00:27:09.79
Absolutely.
00:27:09.82\00:27:11.16
Absolutely, so
this is something that,
00:27:11.19\00:27:12.93
you know, what is the saying,
"If you feed a man a fish,
00:27:12.96\00:27:16.80
you feed him for a day,
but if you train him to fish,
00:27:16.83\00:27:21.30
then you're feeding
him for a life time."
00:27:21.34\00:27:23.37
So I'm sure that's
where you got the title
00:27:23.41\00:27:26.21
Train Them 2 Fish.
00:27:26.24\00:27:27.74
And this is something
then that you're going in,
00:27:27.78\00:27:31.08
you establish this
relationship with people
00:27:31.11\00:27:33.75
by meeting their
needs, by training them,
00:27:33.78\00:27:36.99
how to sustain their lives,
00:27:37.02\00:27:40.02
how that they can put
food on the family table
00:27:40.06\00:27:44.39
if you will.
00:27:44.43\00:27:45.76
But now I know your
passion what did you,
00:27:45.79\00:27:49.63
how old did you say he
was when he began preaching?
00:27:49.66\00:27:52.33
He was 16 years old
00:27:52.37\00:27:54.07
and he has been
preaching ever since.
00:27:54.10\00:27:56.14
Sixteen years old,
00:27:56.17\00:27:57.64
so you have this
passion to get the gospel.
00:27:57.67\00:28:02.98
What you've just
described to us Pastor Thomas
00:28:03.01\00:28:05.88
is that everything that would
break up a hardened ground,
00:28:05.91\00:28:11.92
I mean it's like
you're plowing up
00:28:11.95\00:28:13.39
the ground of their
hearts, so that you said,
00:28:13.42\00:28:15.66
you can plant the seed.
00:28:15.69\00:28:17.33
Tell us about the seed planting?
00:28:17.36\00:28:19.16
How did you get
that seed planted?
00:28:19.19\00:28:21.30
So we also have Bible
worker training program.
00:28:21.33\00:28:25.93
They've been trained or
they're still being trained
00:28:25.97\00:28:28.80
as a Bible
workers, church planters,
00:28:28.84\00:28:31.44
as lay pastors as well,
00:28:31.47\00:28:33.41
so we're also training them
in community outreach program
00:28:33.44\00:28:37.15
how they can become
part of the community
00:28:37.18\00:28:39.38
to help the community once there
00:28:39.41\00:28:41.48
to assess the
needs of the community
00:28:41.52\00:28:43.85
and to build relationship
with people from communities,
00:28:43.89\00:28:47.39
and once they are trained,
00:28:47.42\00:28:49.12
they are assigned
to a certain community
00:28:49.16\00:28:51.69
to build relationship
with the community to do
00:28:51.73\00:28:54.23
they need
assessments from the community.
00:28:54.26\00:28:56.56
Once they have a
good relationship
00:28:56.60\00:28:58.17
with people from the community,
00:28:58.20\00:28:59.53
they can now make
plan for Bible studies.
00:28:59.57\00:29:03.04
Okay, so where do you
get these Bible workers?
00:29:03.07\00:29:06.71
I mean how...
00:29:06.74\00:29:08.91
Who are these people
00:29:08.94\00:29:10.28
that you may be
train before to that
00:29:10.31\00:29:13.68
then have become convert,
trained in vocational manner,
00:29:13.72\00:29:18.19
or are these
people out of churches
00:29:18.22\00:29:20.52
where your Bible
workers coming from?
00:29:20.56\00:29:23.02
Our Bible workers
they come from the church.
00:29:23.06\00:29:25.99
Okay, they are
coming from the church.
00:29:26.03\00:29:27.36
So we talk to
different church leaders
00:29:27.40\00:29:29.46
and they help us to find people
00:29:29.50\00:29:31.40
who have good
standing with the church,
00:29:31.43\00:29:33.64
who have a passion
for other people as well,
00:29:33.67\00:29:36.81
and we recruit them
00:29:36.84\00:29:39.74
and we train
them as Bible workers
00:29:39.77\00:29:41.71
and community
development agents,
00:29:41.74\00:29:44.51
also as a church planters,
00:29:44.55\00:29:46.35
so they are from
different Seventh-day churches.
00:29:46.38\00:29:49.48
All right,
Richard, you said something
00:29:49.52\00:29:52.22
during the song when
Jaime Jorge was playing,
00:29:52.25\00:29:54.32
you said that this
was so exciting for you,
00:29:54.36\00:29:58.89
it was fun because why?
00:29:58.93\00:30:02.16
To me it's very encouraging
00:30:02.20\00:30:03.53
because we're seeing
other people working,
00:30:03.57\00:30:06.17
and when we are
seeing the growth
00:30:06.20\00:30:08.90
then how the Lord is working.
00:30:08.94\00:30:12.74
It brings, I don't know,
a sense into our own lives
00:30:12.77\00:30:15.64
that God is
working with us also,
00:30:15.68\00:30:20.95
and that we want to be
00:30:20.98\00:30:22.32
able to do work
here more in home
00:30:22.35\00:30:24.19
and be able to spread the gospel
00:30:24.22\00:30:25.92
here at home.
00:30:25.95\00:30:27.66
It's exciting to
watch growth in people
00:30:27.69\00:30:30.59
who are coming to Christ,
00:30:30.63\00:30:32.79
and it makes you want to go back
00:30:32.83\00:30:36.67
and have another
evangelistic meeting.
00:30:36.70\00:30:38.50
You want to have other people
share in sharing the gospel.
00:30:38.53\00:30:44.04
All right, 'cause
I'm interested in,
00:30:44.07\00:30:46.54
you had a word there.
00:30:46.57\00:30:48.24
Let me just kind of
recap what you said,
00:30:48.28\00:30:50.08
you're taking these people
00:30:50.11\00:30:51.81
who are good
standing with the church,
00:30:51.85\00:30:53.31
you train them
to be Bible workers,
00:30:53.35\00:30:54.88
you send them into
various communities
00:30:54.92\00:30:57.59
where there is no
Adventist presence there,
00:30:57.62\00:30:59.65
and then you are teaching them
00:30:59.69\00:31:02.82
that they spend
the first six months
00:31:02.86\00:31:04.56
assessing the needs,
00:31:04.59\00:31:06.80
getting to know the people,
developing those relationships
00:31:06.83\00:31:10.37
and then they
start the Bible studies,
00:31:10.40\00:31:12.60
but you used the
word church planting.
00:31:12.63\00:31:16.40
So what kind of success
are the Bible workers having?
00:31:16.44\00:31:20.78
Are they seeing baptisms,
00:31:20.81\00:31:22.38
obviously if
they're planting churches?
00:31:22.41\00:31:25.41
They are planting churches
and we have seen great result
00:31:25.45\00:31:30.79
from the Holy
Spirit using common people,
00:31:30.82\00:31:34.39
because most of
our Bible worker,
00:31:34.42\00:31:36.02
they don't have degrees,
they are just common people,
00:31:36.06\00:31:39.09
but with the
passion for the Lord,
00:31:39.13\00:31:40.86
to serve the Lord.
00:31:40.90\00:31:42.26
So far we have seen them
00:31:42.30\00:31:44.90
going through
different communities
00:31:44.93\00:31:46.97
and they have planted so
far 13 new congregations.
00:31:47.00\00:31:50.97
Thirteen new churches, wow.
00:31:51.01\00:31:53.07
Yeah, new churches have
been planted, we buy them,
00:31:53.11\00:31:55.94
and we are just
there to coordinate
00:31:55.98\00:31:57.45
after training them
00:31:57.48\00:31:58.81
to coordinate
what they are doing,
00:31:58.85\00:32:00.18
and over 1000 people
have been baptized so far.
00:32:00.22\00:32:04.12
So they have also a
door-to-door ministry
00:32:04.15\00:32:09.46
with people.
00:32:09.49\00:32:10.93
With this ministry,
00:32:10.96\00:32:12.36
I have seen a
result of over 5,000 houses
00:32:12.39\00:32:16.36
visited by these people
00:32:16.40\00:32:19.13
and they've been
doing Bible workers
00:32:19.17\00:32:21.50
on three times every week.
00:32:21.54\00:32:23.97
So you saw over a
1,000 people baptized in just
00:32:24.01\00:32:26.64
the first four
years of ministry.
00:32:26.68\00:32:28.11
Yeah.
00:32:28.14\00:32:29.48
And how many per
week were baptized?
00:32:29.51\00:32:33.01
Yeah, usually we can
say minimum of 50 people.
00:32:33.05\00:32:37.69
That is amazing.
So God is really...
00:32:37.72\00:32:41.92
I mean these people
have to be on fire for...
00:32:41.96\00:32:44.73
How long do you train them?
00:32:44.76\00:32:47.20
The training
program is one month program
00:32:47.23\00:32:50.70
because we don't
have a center so far,
00:32:50.73\00:32:54.00
and we are planning to
have an established center,
00:32:54.04\00:32:56.74
and God has
already provided money.
00:32:56.77\00:32:59.31
Somebody donated money
00:32:59.34\00:33:00.91
and a property has
been purchased, 34 acres.
00:33:00.94\00:33:05.51
And we're building, master plan
have been already established
00:33:05.55\00:33:11.25
and some people are
already donating money
00:33:11.29\00:33:13.46
toward building program so,
00:33:13.49\00:33:15.26
so far we have a one
month training program
00:33:15.29\00:33:18.09
and 10 days program for them
00:33:18.13\00:33:21.80
to practice what
they have been learning.
00:33:21.83\00:33:23.87
Okay, so when
this, when you began
00:33:23.90\00:33:26.53
you've got 34 acres now,
00:33:26.57\00:33:28.20
but when you began
the school of evangelism,
00:33:28.24\00:33:30.97
will this be a
one month program,
00:33:31.01\00:33:32.37
or is it gonna be extended then?
00:33:32.41\00:33:34.14
Yeah, with the school establish,
00:33:34.18\00:33:35.84
we want to have a six
month training program.
00:33:35.88\00:33:38.35
A six month training program.
00:33:38.38\00:33:39.71
Because we want to include
00:33:39.75\00:33:41.08
a medical missionary
training program as well.
00:33:41.12\00:33:43.12
Oh, excellent,
excellent. That's excellent.
00:33:43.15\00:33:46.45
So that's big dreams
for the future obviously.
00:33:46.49\00:33:51.13
What's been also interesting
when we first went there
00:33:51.16\00:33:53.76
and noticed that Thomas had
the Bible workers pre working
00:33:53.80\00:33:56.87
before the evangelistic series
00:33:56.90\00:33:59.37
and the dedication
of the local people
00:33:59.40\00:34:01.67
would come in, they
came into the church,
00:34:01.70\00:34:04.17
they slept on the
floor of the church
00:34:04.21\00:34:07.71
and would still go out
00:34:07.74\00:34:09.34
and work with
these other new churches,
00:34:09.38\00:34:11.35
where there was,
00:34:11.38\00:34:12.71
when we first went to Bukavu,
it was only two churches,
00:34:12.75\00:34:15.82
and they established 10
other churches throughout
00:34:15.85\00:34:19.75
and that's part
of the church growth
00:34:19.79\00:34:22.09
that they would have
the Bible workers going
00:34:22.12\00:34:24.63
and doing the work first.
00:34:24.66\00:34:25.99
They are plowing the
ground, they are doing other
00:34:26.03\00:34:28.23
so we would come
back as evangelist
00:34:28.26\00:34:31.63
and to help
harvest at the times.
00:34:31.67\00:34:33.94
Absolutely.
00:34:33.97\00:34:35.34
So their work, the work
that they did ahead of time
00:34:35.37\00:34:37.97
was what really
laid the groundwork
00:34:38.01\00:34:39.64
for this success.
00:34:39.67\00:34:41.01
Absolutely.
00:34:41.04\00:34:42.38
And then we went to Bukavu,
00:34:42.41\00:34:43.75
they only have 390
church members at that time,
00:34:43.78\00:34:46.61
but after three
years it's up to 1,400.
00:34:46.65\00:34:49.68
Praise the Lord.
00:34:49.72\00:34:51.05
And it's the
city of 1.2 million,
00:34:51.09\00:34:52.42
so it's growing.
00:34:52.45\00:34:53.79
You're seeing excellent results.
00:34:53.82\00:34:55.16
And 98 percent retention.
00:34:55.19\00:34:56.73
So when you have,
have you seen people
00:34:56.76\00:34:59.29
who've been converted may be
and they're visiting inner city
00:34:59.33\00:35:03.37
and they end up going back.
00:35:03.40\00:35:04.83
Have any of your conversions
gone back to their villages
00:35:04.87\00:35:08.80
to help spread the message?
00:35:08.84\00:35:12.01
Yes, so many people.
00:35:12.04\00:35:13.71
I can mention a young
man, we came from his village,
00:35:13.74\00:35:18.55
he used to be with
a mission background.
00:35:18.58\00:35:22.48
When he came to
attend our meetings,
00:35:22.52\00:35:24.65
he was so impressed
and after the meeting
00:35:24.69\00:35:27.86
he received the free Bible,
00:35:27.89\00:35:29.22
he said, I've never
seen this before having,
00:35:29.26\00:35:32.03
receiving a free
Bible, so he said,
00:35:32.06\00:35:34.30
can you help me to
know more about this Bible.
00:35:34.33\00:35:37.63
And one of our Bible
workers spend the time with him
00:35:37.67\00:35:40.44
to start a Bible.
00:35:40.47\00:35:41.80
And when he went
back to his home village,
00:35:41.84\00:35:44.67
he started to sharing his
new faith and finally said,
00:35:44.71\00:35:48.48
I've been
receiving a lot of questions,
00:35:48.51\00:35:50.28
I'm not able to respond to them,
00:35:50.31\00:35:51.98
can you help me to send somebody
00:35:52.01\00:35:54.38
who has a more
experience in the Bible
00:35:54.42\00:35:56.45
to go back with
him to my village
00:35:56.48\00:35:58.65
to help me to respond
to all those questions.
00:35:58.69\00:36:02.06
So we sent somebody,
one of our Bible worker,
00:36:02.09\00:36:05.36
and he spent three days,
and so many people were coming.
00:36:05.39\00:36:09.53
And finally the
Bible worker said,
00:36:09.56\00:36:11.77
we need somebody to
stay here and we asked him,
00:36:11.80\00:36:15.37
will you like to stay
there as a Bible worker.
00:36:15.40\00:36:17.94
He said, I'm willing to stay
and he stayed after three weeks
00:36:17.97\00:36:23.95
we sent a pastor
to baptize people.
00:36:23.98\00:36:26.45
So they planted a
small congregation there
00:36:26.48\00:36:29.32
with that man, so
he was also excited
00:36:29.35\00:36:32.25
to know a
congregation being born,
00:36:32.29\00:36:35.22
established from his village.
00:36:35.26\00:36:37.23
Amen.
00:36:37.26\00:36:38.59
And also we have a
number of Pentecostal pastors
00:36:38.63\00:36:42.53
we even baptized, three
of them have been baptized
00:36:42.56\00:36:46.03
and two Baptist pastors
00:36:46.07\00:36:48.27
and one nondenominational
pastor being baptized,
00:36:48.30\00:36:51.64
not because we
went to reach them
00:36:51.67\00:36:53.31
but because the Bible worker
00:36:53.34\00:36:54.84
was studying
the Bible with them.
00:36:54.88\00:36:56.81
And those pastor were
impressed to see common people
00:36:56.85\00:37:00.52
with no theological background
00:37:00.55\00:37:03.22
are being able to
explain the Bible to them,
00:37:03.25\00:37:06.05
so they said this is from God.
00:37:06.09\00:37:08.42
And he was baptized,
00:37:08.46\00:37:09.79
they were
baptized, those pastors.
00:37:09.82\00:37:11.43
And some of them
were sent to a university,
00:37:11.46\00:37:14.83
Lukanga Adventist University
in my country in Congo,
00:37:14.86\00:37:17.80
to be more trained,
00:37:17.83\00:37:20.04
and then come back
to serve the church.
00:37:20.07\00:37:22.07
Well, that obviously is God,
00:37:22.10\00:37:24.01
when you have someone
with no theological degree
00:37:24.04\00:37:30.18
and then they got some training,
00:37:30.21\00:37:32.35
it's Holy Spirit
inspired training
00:37:32.38\00:37:34.35
is what they're receiving,
00:37:34.38\00:37:35.72
but when someone
with no theological degree
00:37:35.75\00:37:38.22
can go and speak to
pastors of other denominations
00:37:38.25\00:37:41.72
and see the Lord
convince them of the truth,
00:37:41.76\00:37:45.83
using those humble
people as instruments of truth,
00:37:45.86\00:37:48.76
that's amazing.
00:37:48.80\00:37:50.37
So that's
fabulous story right there.
00:37:50.40\00:37:53.80
And you look like you've
got something you wanted to add.
00:37:53.84\00:37:58.17
I was going to mention that
before he came here to the US,
00:37:58.21\00:38:01.81
just a few weeks
or a month this year,
00:38:01.84\00:38:06.15
that he had
trained 68 Bible workers
00:38:06.18\00:38:09.88
and two of them
while he was gone
00:38:09.92\00:38:12.59
went out to their village
00:38:12.62\00:38:14.32
and started a short
evangelistic series.
00:38:14.36\00:38:18.46
Praise the Lord. On their own.
00:38:18.49\00:38:20.20
Praise the Lord.
00:38:20.23\00:38:21.56
And they are giving me reports
of the work the Holy Spirit
00:38:21.60\00:38:25.43
is doing through them,
00:38:25.47\00:38:27.80
and one of them sent a
picture of eight people
00:38:27.84\00:38:31.04
being baptized
from his own efforts.
00:38:31.07\00:38:33.91
In that short period
of time, that's amazing.
00:38:33.94\00:38:37.51
So where do you run the
schools like the sowing schools
00:38:37.55\00:38:41.78
or the basket
weaving schools where...
00:38:41.82\00:38:44.79
Since you don't
really have a facility,
00:38:44.82\00:38:47.16
do you rent places or where,
00:38:47.19\00:38:49.92
how are you
training people vocationally?
00:38:49.96\00:38:52.76
The vocation training program
we usually rent some places.
00:38:52.79\00:38:56.93
Okay.
00:38:56.97\00:38:58.30
And so we are still
renting that's why we're praying
00:38:58.33\00:39:01.77
for God to
provide a center for us
00:39:01.80\00:39:05.64
where we can be training people,
00:39:05.67\00:39:07.74
but for the Bible
worker training program,
00:39:07.78\00:39:10.48
we're been
training them from churches,
00:39:10.51\00:39:12.78
different churches.
00:39:12.81\00:39:14.15
Okay, now you said that
00:39:14.18\00:39:16.58
people who are going
through the vocational training
00:39:16.62\00:39:19.25
like when a women learns
how to sow for six months
00:39:19.29\00:39:22.49
or and then at the
end of the training
00:39:22.52\00:39:25.09
you give her a sowing machine.
00:39:25.13\00:39:29.00
There is no condition on that.
00:39:29.03\00:39:30.37
You're not saying, well,
00:39:30.40\00:39:31.73
you've got to go
through Bible training
00:39:31.77\00:39:33.10
to get this vocational training?
00:39:33.13\00:39:36.81
I don't believe that Jesus
gave a condition for people
00:39:36.84\00:39:40.84
to be
beneficiary of his service.
00:39:40.88\00:39:44.05
So we don't have a
condition for people.
00:39:44.08\00:39:46.01
Praise God.
00:39:46.05\00:39:47.38
We just see that they have needs
00:39:47.42\00:39:49.28
to improve their lives
00:39:49.32\00:39:50.92
and we're just doing
that, it is up to them
00:39:50.95\00:39:53.59
if they are
touched by the Holy Spirit,
00:39:53.62\00:39:55.79
they can say, oh, why
are you doing this to us,
00:39:55.82\00:39:58.59
because I've
never read in the Bible
00:39:58.63\00:40:00.76
that Jesus said
because feeding you people,
00:40:00.80\00:40:03.57
you need to do this and that.
00:40:03.60\00:40:04.93
He just fed people.
00:40:04.97\00:40:06.77
Amen. Amen.
00:40:06.80\00:40:08.14
And that's what touches
people's hearts so much,
00:40:08.17\00:40:11.67
isn't it?
00:40:11.71\00:40:13.38
We have a few
pictures so we can show that,
00:40:13.41\00:40:15.94
we have some stories too.
00:40:15.98\00:40:17.31
Okay, here we go.
00:40:17.35\00:40:19.98
You want to tell
us about this picture?
00:40:20.02\00:40:21.45
Yes, so that's a one day church,
00:40:21.48\00:40:25.22
it's a local
designed one day church
00:40:25.25\00:40:27.46
after the Bible workers
did the outreach program, so...
00:40:27.49\00:40:32.43
Now explain
what a one day church
00:40:32.46\00:40:33.86
is because some
people won't know.
00:40:33.90\00:40:35.23
One day church is...
00:40:35.26\00:40:36.60
not the one day church.
00:40:36.63\00:40:37.97
This is a local
designed one day church.
00:40:38.00\00:40:40.04
So you built this in a
day is what you're saying.
00:40:40.07\00:40:42.44
Yeah, just 11
hours. In 11 hours.
00:40:42.47\00:40:45.01
With Bible
workers and local people.
00:40:45.04\00:40:47.14
Praise God.
00:40:47.18\00:40:48.51
Yeah, somebody donated
money $3,000 and I said,
00:40:48.54\00:40:53.35
we need a shelter for
those newly baptized people,
00:40:53.38\00:40:56.35
so then together with
Bible workers and myself,
00:40:56.38\00:40:59.52
we went for 11 hours
to build a one day church.
00:40:59.55\00:41:02.26
Praise the Lord.
00:41:02.29\00:41:03.63
That's why we used to call
it a local design one day Bible,
00:41:03.66\00:41:07.66
one day church.
00:41:07.70\00:41:09.20
Amen. Yeah.
00:41:09.23\00:41:10.87
And how many
members started that, 15?
00:41:10.90\00:41:13.34
Yeah, 15 members. Praise God.
00:41:13.37\00:41:15.37
And it' grown to...
00:41:15.40\00:41:17.04
To 38. In how long?
00:41:17.07\00:41:20.88
15 members to 38
members how long,
00:41:20.91\00:41:24.35
I'm sorry, I miss that.
00:41:24.38\00:41:25.71
Two years.
00:41:25.75\00:41:27.08
In two years,
that's praise the Lord,
00:41:27.12\00:41:28.45
that's wonderful.
00:41:28.48\00:41:29.82
Now you have, do you
have any other pictures
00:41:29.85\00:41:31.19
that you like to show us?
00:41:31.22\00:41:32.55
Yeah, so, we have
also a children program
00:41:32.59\00:41:36.36
so the orphans and
children who have no support,
00:41:36.39\00:41:40.70
Train Them 2 Fish has been
providing school fees for them
00:41:40.73\00:41:44.97
on books, uniforms
00:41:45.00\00:41:47.34
and one meal
every Saturday evening,
00:41:47.37\00:41:50.31
so we have a Bible worker
00:41:50.34\00:41:52.87
who is taking
care of those children.
00:41:52.91\00:41:55.14
So far they have 27 children
from a certain community,
00:41:55.18\00:42:00.08
so the Bible worker is
helping them to know Jesus.
00:42:00.12\00:42:04.09
Every Friday
they come for a meal
00:42:04.12\00:42:07.12
and to learn about Jesus.
00:42:07.16\00:42:09.69
He used to tell
them Bible stories
00:42:09.72\00:42:12.23
and to teach them some songs
00:42:12.26\00:42:14.73
and they are leaving
with nursing families,
00:42:14.76\00:42:17.43
most of those families
are not Adventist families.
00:42:17.47\00:42:20.14
So those kids are
serving us as a link
00:42:20.17\00:42:23.04
between the Bible
worker and the families,
00:42:23.07\00:42:25.84
so it's another way to
reach to those families
00:42:25.87\00:42:29.74
because they're just
amazed to see that people...
00:42:29.78\00:42:33.92
They don't know us,
00:42:33.95\00:42:35.35
but they are taking
care of the children
00:42:35.38\00:42:37.59
from our
community, giving them foods
00:42:37.62\00:42:40.42
and helping them
to go back to school,
00:42:40.46\00:42:42.42
so people are just touched
by that kind of ministry.
00:42:42.46\00:42:46.33
Isn't that amazing, how
love can conquer anything
00:42:46.36\00:42:50.80
and that's what it is, it's just
00:42:50.83\00:42:52.23
reflecting the
love of Jesus, amen.
00:42:52.27\00:42:54.97
So now, for the future
00:42:55.00\00:42:58.17
you've got the training classes,
00:42:58.21\00:43:00.68
the vocational classes,
00:43:00.71\00:43:02.04
do you have any
agricultural training classes
00:43:02.08\00:43:04.31
or is that just
something for your future?
00:43:04.35\00:43:06.78
With those
children, the orphans,
00:43:06.82\00:43:09.98
when they're out of school,
00:43:10.02\00:43:12.92
the Bible worker is
helping them together
00:43:12.95\00:43:15.72
with the nursing
families to do agriculture
00:43:15.76\00:43:18.29
and gardening so
that they may produce food
00:43:18.33\00:43:20.56
to feed those children
and to feed the families.
00:43:20.60\00:43:23.16
Wonderful.
00:43:23.20\00:43:24.53
So we have such
program going on so far
00:43:24.57\00:43:26.94
and we are
planning that on our campus
00:43:26.97\00:43:30.07
we may help people to learn
00:43:30.11\00:43:32.64
how to do gardening
and agriculture as well.
00:43:32.67\00:43:35.18
Amen.
00:43:35.21\00:43:36.54
Okay, so these 34 acres
00:43:36.58\00:43:37.91
have been
purchased for the campus?
00:43:37.95\00:43:39.28
Already, yes.
00:43:39.31\00:43:40.65
And then the plan
is to build a center
00:43:40.68\00:43:42.95
that will be a
training and housing center
00:43:42.98\00:43:46.96
for the Bible workers,
00:43:46.99\00:43:49.39
and I'm sure that
the Lord, you know,
00:43:49.42\00:43:51.79
you've got in a
country of 80 million people,
00:43:51.83\00:43:56.70
how many
Adventists still are there?
00:43:56.73\00:43:59.50
Yeah, Congo is a huge city
00:43:59.53\00:44:02.04
and the division decided to have
00:44:02.07\00:44:04.14
three unions in the country,
00:44:04.17\00:44:06.68
so all those unions together
00:44:06.71\00:44:08.44
they have about
500,000 Seventh-day Adventists,
00:44:08.48\00:44:13.05
so that's why we're
thinking that those people,
00:44:13.08\00:44:16.35
if we can train lay people
00:44:16.38\00:44:18.42
from that French
speaking country,
00:44:18.45\00:44:20.46
they can easily help
us to become missionaries
00:44:20.49\00:44:23.09
to reach out to other
French speaking countries
00:44:23.12\00:44:25.43
in the region.
00:44:25.46\00:44:26.80
And there is quite a few.
00:44:26.83\00:44:28.16
Yeah, the
population in Congo is young,
00:44:28.20\00:44:31.13
so the medium
age is 17 years old.
00:44:31.17\00:44:35.80
So if we forecast to train
them as medical missionaries,
00:44:35.84\00:44:39.57
Bible workers, church
planters and lay pastors,
00:44:39.61\00:44:42.71
they can easily as I
believe and as I've seen them,
00:44:42.74\00:44:47.08
they can easily help us
00:44:47.12\00:44:48.45
to reach out to the
French speaking countries
00:44:48.48\00:44:50.22
in Central Africa.
00:44:50.25\00:44:51.92
Thomas, let me
ask you a question.
00:44:51.95\00:44:53.29
When you were a
conference president,
00:44:53.32\00:44:57.13
how many churches
were in your conference?
00:44:57.16\00:45:00.90
Hundred and eighty seven.
00:45:00.93\00:45:02.26
Hundred and
eighty seven churches.
00:45:02.30\00:45:03.63
Yes.
00:45:03.67\00:45:05.00
And your
pastors, how many churches
00:45:05.03\00:45:08.17
does the average pastor oversee?
00:45:08.20\00:45:12.21
Between six and ten churches.
00:45:12.24\00:45:14.01
Between six and ten
churches, that is amazing
00:45:14.04\00:45:18.31
and they're not
always close, are they?
00:45:18.35\00:45:20.25
That's why I saw that
00:45:20.28\00:45:22.42
there is a need
to train a lay people
00:45:22.45\00:45:25.72
to help those
pastors as a lay pastors,
00:45:25.75\00:45:27.89
because you know,
00:45:27.92\00:45:30.73
one pastor for 10
churches, that's not easy.
00:45:30.76\00:45:34.40
And to me, God told to me,
you need to leave this position
00:45:34.43\00:45:38.40
and to train lay
people to fill this gap.
00:45:38.43\00:45:41.64
Amen.
00:45:41.67\00:45:43.00
So the idea is
00:45:43.04\00:45:44.37
as you're training
up the Bible workers
00:45:44.41\00:45:46.57
that they can
serve as lay pastors,
00:45:46.61\00:45:49.41
because a pastor, you know,
00:45:49.44\00:45:51.11
they're planting churches
00:45:51.15\00:45:53.01
and the pastor
can hardly get around
00:45:53.05\00:45:54.52
to the churches he
already has, so that's amazing.
00:45:54.55\00:45:57.92
And you need to
have a lot of money
00:45:57.95\00:45:59.69
to pay your pastor, but
Bible workers, lay pastors,
00:45:59.72\00:46:03.43
they are just
volunteering their time
00:46:03.46\00:46:05.76
with a small
stipend like $120 per month,
00:46:05.79\00:46:10.40
they're happy to do that
00:46:10.43\00:46:12.83
and to minister
to the communities.
00:46:12.87\00:46:14.64
Praise the Lord.
00:46:14.67\00:46:16.20
I think he has
couple more stories,
00:46:16.24\00:46:17.57
if you have time.
00:46:17.61\00:46:18.94
Well, before we
get to that story,
00:46:18.97\00:46:20.31
I just wanted to give
people the opportunity.
00:46:20.34\00:46:23.08
We have an address
roll that will tell you
00:46:23.11\00:46:26.65
how you can get in
touch with Train Them 2 Fish.
00:46:26.68\00:46:30.45
Maybe the Lord is impressing you
00:46:30.49\00:46:32.39
that you should be
supporting this project
00:46:32.42\00:46:34.89
or maybe you have a talent
00:46:34.92\00:46:36.49
that you would like to volunteer
00:46:36.52\00:46:38.63
if they're doing a
medical missionary program
00:46:38.66\00:46:41.40
or if you would like to go over
00:46:41.43\00:46:42.86
and be part of an
evangelistic series,
00:46:42.90\00:46:45.03
here's how you can
get in touch with them.
00:46:45.07\00:46:48.97
If you would like to support
00:46:49.00\00:46:50.34
Train Them 2 Fish International,
00:46:50.37\00:46:52.37
you can do so in
a variety of ways.
00:46:52.41\00:46:54.68
You can write to
them at PO Box 642,
00:46:54.71\00:46:58.11
Fletcher, North Carolina 28732.
00:46:58.15\00:47:01.78
That's PO Box 642,
Fletcher, North Carolina 28732.
00:47:01.82\00:47:07.96
You can call
them at 828-551-7172.
00:47:07.99\00:47:12.56
That's 828-551-7172.
00:47:12.59\00:47:17.30
You can also visit them
online at Fish4aLifetime.org.
00:47:17.33\00:47:22.30
That's fish and
then the number 4
00:47:22.34\00:47:25.01
and then a Lifetime.org.
00:47:25.04\00:47:28.04
This is such an
excellent organization now.
00:47:34.88\00:47:38.19
Karolyn said,
you've got some stories
00:47:38.22\00:47:40.12
that you want to share
with us, so please tell us.
00:47:40.16\00:47:43.86
I have an amazing story,
00:47:43.89\00:47:45.59
one of those
stories is from somebody
00:47:45.63\00:47:48.76
who was a racist as a prisoner
00:47:48.80\00:47:51.73
in Kinshasa, the
capital city of Congo
00:47:51.77\00:47:53.84
we have the huge prison
with over 7,000 inmates,
00:47:53.87\00:47:58.07
so Train Them 2 Fish
had a special program
00:47:58.11\00:48:01.74
in that prison
to give Bibles away,
00:48:01.78\00:48:04.98
to distribute
Bibles to for prisoners,
00:48:05.01\00:48:07.52
and over 300
Bibles were distributed,
00:48:07.55\00:48:11.25
so somebody in the
prison was arrested
00:48:11.29\00:48:14.06
and convict for five
years in the prison and...
00:48:14.09\00:48:17.56
He'd already been
in for five years...
00:48:17.59\00:48:19.29
Yes, he was
convicted for five years
00:48:19.33\00:48:21.50
and by the time we
went to distribute Bible,
00:48:21.53\00:48:24.00
he was just for the
first year in the prison.
00:48:24.03\00:48:26.23
Okay.
00:48:26.27\00:48:27.60
So he received the Bible
00:48:27.64\00:48:28.97
and he started reading the Bible
00:48:29.00\00:48:30.34
and he was amazed to see
people giving him a free Bible.
00:48:30.37\00:48:35.14
So he said, this
Bible is my second friend,
00:48:35.18\00:48:38.81
so I've been reading, he
was reading the Bible everyday.
00:48:38.85\00:48:42.08
And after
reading the whole Bible,
00:48:42.12\00:48:44.25
he wanted somebody else to
help him to understand more,
00:48:44.29\00:48:47.26
and we have a Bible
worker working in that prison.
00:48:47.29\00:48:50.33
The Bible worker went to
help him to understand more.
00:48:50.36\00:48:53.43
And finally the third year,
00:48:53.46\00:48:56.63
the president of
the country said,
00:48:56.67\00:48:58.63
I want to give my
prudential mercy and grace
00:48:58.67\00:49:02.30
for some prisoners to be
free, so I want especially those
00:49:02.34\00:49:06.88
who are been expressing
a change in their lives,
00:49:06.91\00:49:10.05
so this guy was one of
them, because they realized
00:49:10.08\00:49:13.11
that his life was
completely changed,
00:49:13.15\00:49:16.79
and he was like an
advisor for other prisoners
00:49:16.82\00:49:19.42
as well to have a good behavior.
00:49:19.45\00:49:21.92
So that guy, he was released
set free from the prison
00:49:21.96\00:49:25.89
and he's now baptized.
00:49:25.93\00:49:27.50
He said I want to
start a small congregation,
00:49:27.53\00:49:30.03
Adventist
congregation in my home
00:49:30.07\00:49:32.93
because of this book.
00:49:32.97\00:49:34.47
So he was asking me,
pastor, if you have people
00:49:34.50\00:49:37.07
who can donate
money to buy Bibles
00:49:37.11\00:49:39.24
in French and Lingala,
00:49:39.27\00:49:40.84
please tell them that this book,
00:49:40.88\00:49:42.68
the Bible is really
changing people's life,
00:49:42.71\00:49:45.35
because my life
has been changed.
00:49:45.38\00:49:47.28
Oh, Pastor Thomas,
that's such a precious story
00:49:47.32\00:49:49.55
and we hear that, I
actually interviewed a gentleman
00:49:49.58\00:49:52.75
who was given a Bible in prison
00:49:52.79\00:49:56.56
and how God
dramatically changed his life.
00:49:56.59\00:49:59.96
So this man then
ended up only serving
00:50:00.00\00:50:03.13
three of the five years,
00:50:03.16\00:50:04.50
he got out two years early
and now he is a Bible worker
00:50:04.53\00:50:07.50
and planted a church.
00:50:07.54\00:50:09.10
What an exciting story.
00:50:09.14\00:50:10.47
Now, you had a
story about a woman
00:50:10.51\00:50:11.84
that you want to share.
00:50:11.87\00:50:13.34
Yes, before going to the
story of the woman, this man,
00:50:13.38\00:50:15.48
this guy from the prison said,
00:50:15.51\00:50:16.85
okay, I want to
really I was happy
00:50:16.88\00:50:20.75
to go to the
prison because it is,
00:50:20.78\00:50:23.15
it was for me a place
where the Lord came to me.
00:50:23.18\00:50:26.45
Amen.
00:50:26.49\00:50:27.92
Well, we've only
got about two minutes
00:50:27.96\00:50:29.46
before we have to take a break.
00:50:29.49\00:50:30.83
Tell us the story of this lady?
00:50:30.86\00:50:32.33
The story of
another lady, a lady,
00:50:32.36\00:50:34.60
she used to be a prostitute
00:50:34.63\00:50:36.83
and when she
came to meet with us,
00:50:36.87\00:50:38.60
she said I heard that
you're a pastor or so,
00:50:38.63\00:50:40.64
can you pray for me,
00:50:40.67\00:50:42.04
I want to share this
story for my life with you,
00:50:42.07\00:50:44.14
so I'm married and
I have two children,
00:50:44.17\00:50:47.51
but my husband abandoned me,
so I have no idea where he is,
00:50:47.54\00:50:53.05
so can you pray for me.
00:50:53.08\00:50:54.42
I want to know exactly
if my husband is still alive
00:50:54.45\00:50:57.09
or he is already
died that, so we prayed
00:50:57.12\00:51:00.79
and he came and said
00:51:00.82\00:51:02.59
my husband has called me
after four years of prayer,
00:51:02.62\00:51:05.99
so I believe that
God is in your church
00:51:06.03\00:51:08.63
and he said I want
to learn about your God,
00:51:08.66\00:51:10.83
and please allow me
to stay in this church
00:51:10.87\00:51:13.13
because God is here.
00:51:13.17\00:51:14.90
And finally she
started a Bible program
00:51:14.94\00:51:18.61
with one of our Bible workers
00:51:18.64\00:51:20.31
and she decide to be
to give her life to Jesus
00:51:20.34\00:51:25.01
and she was baptized.
00:51:25.05\00:51:26.82
And Train Them 2
Fish raised a fund
00:51:26.85\00:51:29.08
to help that lady to
learn family business,
00:51:29.12\00:51:33.19
so now she received some funds,
00:51:33.22\00:51:36.09
she's doing fabric business
and she's free and she said,
00:51:36.12\00:51:40.60
I praise God
because my life is free.
00:51:40.63\00:51:43.16
Amen.
00:51:43.20\00:51:44.53
So, you know, it doesn't matter
if you're in prison behind bars
00:51:44.57\00:51:48.17
or just in prison by sin,
00:51:48.20\00:51:50.31
when the message of the
gospel reaches your heart
00:51:50.34\00:51:53.17
and when Jesus touches you,
00:51:53.21\00:51:55.24
He set you free and
if the Son sets you free,
00:51:55.28\00:51:57.85
you are free indeed.
00:51:57.88\00:51:59.95
Well, we're going
to take a short break.
00:51:59.98\00:52:02.42
We have to go to
our newsbreak now,
00:52:02.45\00:52:04.09
but then we'll come
back for a final thought
00:52:04.12\00:52:07.32
from the Train Them 2 Fish team.
00:52:07.36\00:52:10.16