Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY018029A
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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 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:10 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn. 01:11 And we welcome you once again to 3ABN Today. 01:15 I just want to take this opportunity 01:17 on behalf of all of us here at 3ABN to thank you so much 01:21 for your faithful prayers and financial support 01:23 of this ministry, because you are partners 01:26 and we couldn't do this without you. 01:28 Today we have a fascinating new program 01:32 to talk to you about, and when I said program, 01:34 not a 3ABN program but a new ministry program, 01:38 that is something born of God, I believe. 01:42 Let me go ahead and introduce our guests 01:44 before I actually read the scripture to you, 01:47 and this is Scott and Julie Griswold, 01:50 thank you so much for being with us today. 01:53 Thank you. It's good to be here. 01:56 Now, Scott, you are the director 01:58 of Reach The World Next Door. 02:02 And, Julie, you are the prayer coordinator, 02:04 obviously husband and wife team. 02:06 We're going to get to know 02:08 a little bit about them personally 02:10 and their background, 02:11 but this incredible ministry that God has called them to. 02:15 You know, when the Bible is talking about in Matthew 25, 02:20 when Jesus returns to judge the nations, and He says, 02:24 "Come ye blessed of My Father, enter into His kingdom," 02:29 and He's talking about people 02:31 who reached out and fed the hungry, 02:34 and clothed the naked, 02:36 and visited those who were in prison, 02:39 and it's something interesting that He says in Matthew 25:40. 02:44 He says, "The King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, 02:49 I say to you, inasmuch as you did it 02:52 to one of the least of these My brethren, 02:56 you've done this for Me.'" 02:58 And today we're going to discuss reaching 03:02 the least of these, 03:03 the people that are often overlooked. 03:06 And that is what Reach The World Next Door, 03:10 that's their specialty. 03:11 And I think you're going to really enjoy this program. 03:15 It's going to challenge you. 03:17 I hope, I pray 03:19 that the Holy Spirit will challenge you. 03:21 But before we actually start, 03:24 we've got a dear friend of the ministry of 3ABN, 03:27 she's a precious woman of God. 03:29 She and her husband both serve together, 03:32 they are serving the Lord. 03:34 This is Vonda Beerman 03:35 and she's going to sing for us, "Come". 03:56 Come, when your heart is heavy laden 04:03 Feeling like the joy has faded 04:07 Just come 04:11 Come, believing everything I've told you 04:18 Here are arms that long to hold you 04:22 Just come 04:30 Come, leave behind the mask you hide in 04:36 There is some one to confide in 04:40 I know what you've done 04:45 Come and tell me everything you're hoping 04:51 My Father loves a heart that's open 04:55 Just come 05:00 Oh, I didn't die 05:02 so you could try to save yourself 05:08 I know who you are don't try 05:10 To be somebody else 05:17 Come, believing everything I've told you 05:23 Here are arms that long to hold you 05:27 Just come 05:31 Come, come into the joy of living 05:37 Knowing that your sins forgiven, 05:42 Just come 05:58 Oh, I didn't die 05:59 so you could try to save yourself 06:05 I know who you are 06:07 Don't try to be 06:09 Somebody else 06:14 Come, when your heart is heavy laden 06:21 Feeling like the joy has faded 06:25 Won't you come 06:29 Come, Come into the joy of living 06:36 Knowing that your sins forgiven, 06:40 Just come 06:48 Just come 07:12 Oh, thank you. 07:14 I just love Vonda's voice 07:15 and she is so precious as a person 07:17 if you haven't had the opportunity 07:19 to meet her, invite her to your church to sing, 07:22 because she is a wonderful woman of God. 07:24 If you're joining us just a few moments later, 07:26 our special guests are Scott and Julie Griswold. 07:30 And Scott's the director of Reach The World Next Door, 07:34 Julie is the prayer coordinator. 07:36 But before we get into your ministry, 07:39 let's get to know a little bit about the two of you. 07:41 You were both reared Seventh-day Adventists, 07:44 but where did you meet and when did God... 07:48 Did you know that God was calling you 07:49 to the mission field? 07:52 No, for sure not. 07:53 I was not interested in the mission field at all. 07:55 Yeah, we met in Walla Walla, 07:58 and I wanted to work 07:59 in the inner cities in California. 08:01 So she was the one that got me contagious 08:05 in that direction. 08:06 All right, so... 08:08 I raise my hand 08:09 in the junior Sabbath school class 08:11 when I was probably 12 08:12 when a missionary came and said, 08:14 "Who wants to be a missionary?" 08:15 And I raised my hand. 08:17 And so, at that time at a young age, 08:20 I started planning, 08:21 "Okay, when can I go out as a student missionary?" 08:24 And then... Praise God. 08:25 Just early on, wanted to be a missionary. 08:28 You knew that. 08:29 Now you have, 08:31 you're not doing mission work per se now. 08:34 And that's not what the ministry is about, 08:36 except it's mission oriented to the people just around you. 08:41 But you spent time in Cambodia, 08:43 and you actually adopted a Cambodian son. 08:46 Tell us about that? 08:48 Yes, he came to us 08:49 when we were giving birth to our second son, Nathan. 08:53 And the student missionary wrote a P.S. 08:56 at the end of an email and said, 08:58 as we were in Bangkok, 08:59 'cause there weren't any hospitals 09:01 that I could deliver there in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. 09:04 And he said, "P.S. I hope you don't mind, 09:06 but there's a runaway street kid 09:08 that is hiding out in your house." 09:11 So I came back with a 2 year old, 09:14 and a newborn, and met our son, Rota and he was 7. 09:18 And so he became a part of our family, 09:20 he's now 30 years old 09:22 and has our first grandson, Siame. 09:24 Oh, praise the Lord. How long were you in Cambodia? 09:27 Six years. Six years, okay. 09:30 So after your missionary service, 09:33 and you've come back, I know that you, 09:36 Scott worked for the ASAP ministries, 09:39 what does ASAP stand for? 09:41 It's for Advocates for Southeast Asians 09:43 and the Persecuted. 09:45 It's a ministry that's been there, 09:46 actually when we first went out to Cambodia, 09:48 we started working with Judy Aiken, 09:50 which many of your viewers will know. 09:53 And then again, when we came back 09:55 from being with the general conference 09:57 with the Buddhist study center, 09:59 now known as the Center for East Asian religions. 10:02 We came back, and we're saying, 10:03 "Lord, what do You want us to do?" 10:05 We've been 16 years overseas, now we're coming back, 10:09 because our children are ready for college, 10:11 our two children are at Andrews right now. 10:13 And saying what are we doing here... 10:16 Two of your four. Two of our four. 10:18 Yes, we still have one at home, and I'm so happy for that. 10:20 My son reside at home with us. 10:22 But when you've been overseas that long, 10:24 you're coming back to the States, 10:25 you want to be relevant, so you don't want to be just, 10:27 you know, funny missionary 10:29 that doesn't know how to fit in, 10:30 can't be helpful back home. 10:32 And as we attended a big program 10:35 of young people, GYC there in Houston, Texas. 10:39 And we started looking around 10:40 and it just came back so clearly to me, 10:43 God has brought the world to the United States of America 10:46 by bringing the least reached people 10:48 to our cities, to our towns. 10:50 And when you say the least reached, 10:51 we're talking of people 10:53 of the Muslim faith, the Buddhists, Hindus, 10:56 people who have been immigrating 11:00 to the United States, 11:02 yet they really don't know anything about Jesus, 11:05 most of them, right? 11:07 It's amazing how much that is still true, 11:10 even after being here for 30 years. 11:12 We're meeting immigrants, 11:14 and different people who have come 11:16 and who still have no Christian friends, 11:19 have never been in a Christian church. 11:21 And their people group is one of those 4, 000 11:24 or so that we are waiting on before Jesus can return, 11:27 according to Matthew 24:14. 11:30 You know, Scott, it doesn't really surprise me 11:32 because I had what surprised me, 11:33 I was interviewing a gentleman who was in San Diego, 11:38 I believe, but anyway he was working with the gangs, 11:41 and these are kids that of American origin, 11:46 they weren't immigrants, and these were kids 11:48 and they're 16 to 18 years old, who had never heard the name. 11:53 I mean, there were many 11:54 who had never heard the name of Jesus. 11:56 And you think, "How is that possible?" 11:59 But it is. 12:00 So you... 12:02 As you worked for ASAP ministries, 12:06 this idea came to you to make you relevant 12:09 in the United States to do a program called 12:13 Reach the World Next Door, 12:14 kind of, give us a nutshell, what is the ministry about? 12:18 It started as a dream together with ASAP ministries 12:23 and the North American division, 12:24 looking at this huge unreached mission field 12:27 that God has sent. 12:28 And it's not just immigrants and refugees, 12:30 it's international students too, 12:32 where you have close to a million in North America, 12:35 who come from Saudi Arabia, China, 12:37 different places that they can be key leaders 12:40 if they are reached for Christ back 12:42 in their countries. 12:44 And as we talk, we said, "We need a training kit, 12:46 an online video format training kit 12:49 that a church can do anywhere so that they can learn 12:52 how to be comfortable sharing with the Muslim, Buddhist, 12:55 anybody from a different background. 12:57 And so that's what ASAP helped fund along 13:00 with the North American division 13:02 so that we could come up with that kit. 13:04 And so for the last four or five years, 13:06 that's been used in different churches 13:08 to help start 13:09 new immigrant refugee church plants, 13:12 to help people reach out in campuses, 13:15 and we were in the office helping, 13:17 support the work in Southeast Asia, 13:19 which is primarily where ASAP works, 13:22 and began to just feel 13:23 that desire to be back doing cross cultural missions 13:27 in the field and out of the office, 13:29 and said "We want to do this..." 13:32 Here I am, Lord, send me... 13:33 We began, I in particular, begin talking to Julia O'Carey, 13:37 our director there at ASAP, and said, 13:40 "I feel the need to go out, step out and do this." 13:42 And she said, just like she'd said four years before, 13:45 "We can do this. 13:46 You don't need to go anywhere else, 13:48 we want to do this, 13:49 this is what we're about training missionaries, 13:52 helping people get behind finishing the work." 13:55 And so we started praying, 13:57 "Okay, Lord, where, where do you want us to go?" 13:58 We need to be next to a large city 14:01 with a huge population. 14:03 So that's when I came down 14:06 to be part of a SEEDS church planting conference, 14:08 I had 10 minutes to speak at the Houston Central Church 14:11 about this mission field. 14:13 Because you see, Houston is unique in that, 14:16 it's the most diverse place in the United States, 14:19 the most diverse metro area, 14:21 where you have no majority people group. 14:24 If it were its own country, 14:25 it would be the fourth largest country 14:28 in receiving refugees, 4,000 to 5,000 14:31 new refugees every year come into that city. 14:34 Wow! 14:35 And those are people hurting, 14:37 there are people desperately in need of friend, 14:39 have someone to help them, and just... 14:42 They're just hungry for people to care, 14:44 to be a friend to them. 14:46 And so we began praying about that, 14:48 and through visiting there and sharing, 14:50 we connected with Elder Dan Serns 14:52 with the Texas Conference, 14:54 and later an invitation came for them to partner, 14:58 to support ASAP 14:59 in this by hiring me as a pastor 15:02 and letting ASAP do the operating 15:05 and raise the funds for the rest of the program. 15:08 You know, I always say about the Texas Conference 15:10 that's of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 15:12 'cause we know that actually the majority of our viewership 15:16 are not of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. 15:20 So people are tuning in and learning. 15:24 Let me ask this question or make this comment. 15:28 When we recently, some time ago, 15:31 we were in Phoenix doing an evangelism series, 15:35 and the church the Phoenix 15:38 Central Seventh-day Adventist Church 15:39 where I was, was kind of the mother church 15:43 in that area to begin with. 15:45 And they had reached out to, 15:49 I believe that the people 15:50 were from Burma, I'm trying to... 15:52 The refugees who were coming in... 15:53 Probably the Karen group. 15:55 The Karen, that's exactly who it was. 15:57 So they opened their hearts, 16:01 they opened their arms to receive these people, 16:04 to help them learn the eng... 16:06 I mean, imagine this. You're an immigrant, 16:08 you are trying to escape persecution. 16:12 You come to the United States, you don't speak the language, 16:15 you don't know the culture, and they reached out, 16:18 they opened up their arms, they taught them, 16:22 you know, had English classes, 16:23 driving classes, vocational classes, 16:27 and the beautiful thing about this was God blessed 16:31 in such an incredible way, 16:33 because they have a whole Burmese church now, 16:37 I mean, this group was so big in bringing 16:40 in the immigrants that it was... 16:43 It was too big for the church 16:45 and they've actually started their own 16:47 so they can also hear it in their own language. 16:50 But, you know, we have a tendency, do we not, 16:54 to think that if you're going to be a missionary, 16:57 "Oh, Lord, well, don't send me to Papua New Guinea maybe, 17:01 or send me here, or send me there." 17:04 When God is bringing the world for us in many, 17:08 whether you're watching from Australia, 17:10 or you're watching in the United States, 17:13 or even in London and Europe, God is... 17:17 It's just like God is bringing conglomeration 17:20 of people together and He wants us to be a light 17:25 in their darkness, doesn't He? 17:26 Amen. Amen. 17:27 This is so incredibly strategic 17:29 that God has allowed this to happen. 17:31 He's not behind the wars, 17:32 that's all the fault of us, humans. 17:34 But He has overruled 17:37 in order to do something very special. 17:39 And God gave us a good warning about this over 100 years ago. 17:43 There is a book called Evangelism, 17:45 that was written, and page 517 17:48 it has this incredible statement it says, 17:50 "If we were quick in discerning the opening providences of God, 17:54 we should be able to discern to see 17:56 in the multiplying opportunities 17:58 to reach many foreigners in America, 18:00 a divinely appointed means of rapidly extending 18:03 the third angel's message into all nations of the Earth. 18:07 God in his providence has brought men 18:09 to our very doors and thrust them, 18:10 as it were, into our arms, 18:12 that they might be the means of rapidly extending 18:15 the work to other nations." 18:19 I misquoted the last little bit there, 18:20 but on looking at what God has done back 18:25 in 2, 000 years ago 18:27 when the Holy Spirit was poured out, 18:28 the scriptures say in Acts 2 that there were men 18:32 of every nation dwelling in Jerusalem. 18:35 And then they cried out, 18:36 "How is it we hear in our own language?" 18:37 Yes. 18:39 That's the miracle of the Holy Spirit, 18:40 that God is wanting to do now, 18:41 to finish the work in the world. 18:43 We have over 84 completely unreached people groups living 18:48 in the United States of America. 18:50 Wow! 18:51 You think of India, which has the largest 18:52 unreached people groups, 18:54 then China, then Pakistan, Bangladesh, 18:56 but not far down the list is the United States. 19:00 And these are people 19:01 who are waiting on for Jesus to come. 19:03 And the beautiful thing about it is 19:05 anybody and everybody can be a missionary 19:08 to these people groups. 19:10 It's so true. If we... 19:11 If you're a Christian, well, you're a missionary. 19:15 And I remember, 19:16 because we were out there on the front lines in Cambodia, 19:19 we would come back and share our stories, 19:21 and people would come up and say, 19:24 you know, "I would love to do that but my health isn't good, 19:27 or my wife doesn't want to go, or we have a baby." 19:31 You know, there was all these excuses 19:32 and now it's, 19:34 you know, when you're at the grocery store, 19:36 when you take your kids to school 19:38 and there's children in the school 19:39 that are from Afghanistan or at the bank teller, 19:44 you know, now if we just live in America 19:48 with intentionally looking out and saying God... 19:53 the divinely appointed means of extending, 19:56 rapidly extending the third angel's message back 19:59 into the world while reaching them here. 20:02 And God... 20:03 This is His message, this is His children 20:05 that He is wanting to have for eternity. 20:08 So if we can be praying 20:11 and sometimes we get so wrapped up in our list 20:14 and everything, 20:15 you know, life is just getting busier 20:17 and busier in America. 20:19 But if we would slow down and say, "God, use me today." 20:23 In fact, I was reading in Patriarchs and Prophets, 20:27 page 221, and it says, 20:30 it says that we should not have one... 20:35 not allow one day to pass 20:38 without doing something to advance 20:41 the work of God on this earth. 20:43 And I thought what a motto 20:45 to live every day saying God use me 20:48 to advance Your kingdom today. 20:51 I don't know how it is, if it's just by my smile, 20:53 or if it's really out there witnessing to a Muslim 20:57 or a Buddhist, 20:59 however He wants to do it to have that as our motto 21:02 to extend God's kingdom every day that we live. 21:07 And, you know, I'm thinking we live in a very... 21:09 as you've learned, anybody who flies in here, 21:12 this is your second time to 3ABN, 21:14 where you'd fly into St. Louis, and drive down here. 21:17 We live in a sparsely populated area. 21:20 And you might also live in a sparsely populated area 21:24 and think, "Well, what they're talking about 21:26 is not relevant to me." 21:27 but it is, 21:29 because I go to Wal-Mart and what I have found, 21:32 I see people in their hijab, 21:34 how do you say that word hijab. 21:38 If I met the other day being 14 months ago, 21:43 I was at Dillard's and a woman came in her hijab 21:47 and she was pushing a baby carriage, 21:50 and I spoke very warmly to her and she look so shocked. 21:53 You know what, she came back and she said, 21:55 "Thank you, most people look right through me." 21:58 Wow. Wow. 21:59 And, you know, I think about just here, 22:02 not far from us in Carbondale, 22:04 we have a university that has a lot of students 22:08 from Saudi Arabia. 22:10 And... Now I want to speak... 22:13 I don't want to take all the time 22:14 'cause we want... 22:16 But tell me this, 22:17 I know that if many of the students coming over say 22:21 from some Islamic countries, 22:23 they're being sponsored by their government, 22:25 and I've heard that if they accept the gospel 22:29 that they can have that, their funds dry out, 22:33 so there's all of these challenges 22:36 that people have to meet 22:38 and you've put together a program. 22:41 Tell us about what's going on in Houston? 22:44 Okay. 22:45 Because we've mentioned already, 22:47 it's an online program, 22:48 it's something that people can do 22:49 wherever they are, 22:51 that's got the information at reachtheworldnextdoor.com, 22:54 people can find out more 22:55 how they can right where they are, 22:57 do something to reach out to these people. 22:59 Okay, we're going... 23:01 We will be putting up an address roll, 23:02 but say that a little bit slower, 23:04 because there's some people 23:06 that may not get to watch or hear the program again. 23:08 Yes, reachetheworldnextdoor.com 23:11 has the information on how to reach out to these people 23:14 that you can feel so intimidated, 23:16 I don't know what to say to a lady like that, 23:18 when in reality, being friendly, 23:20 like you were, 23:21 it makes such a huge difference. 23:23 And it's well over half of the people 23:26 that are here from Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu 23:29 that do not have an American friend. 23:31 In international students, it's much higher. 23:33 They will go back to their country 23:35 having never walked into a church, 23:36 never felt like somebody 23:38 was really their friend, and we can change that. 23:41 Amen. So that's the online part. 23:43 But we've actually started now, just recently, just in... 23:47 very in 2017, a new program, 23:51 a live in program for students to come, 23:53 mainly college age students 23:55 to come and spend nine months with us, 23:57 training for missions by doing missions. 24:01 So we have a few... 24:02 But you don't have to be college age 24:03 if you're an older couple who want it. 24:05 Yes, any one that the Lord is calling to be a missionary 24:08 in Houston, we'll take them. 24:11 And they don't necessarily have to end up in Houston, right, 24:13 so somebody from Detroit can take that... 24:16 That's right. The kit. Yes, yes. 24:18 The idea is through training, 24:19 through reaching out to refugees, 24:21 and immigrants, and international students, 24:22 they'll be prepared to be a missionary anywhere 24:25 in the world, at least with that good solid start. 24:30 So in the picture, 24:31 the first picture shows our whole group. 24:33 It's a really international group, 24:35 our team, our staff 24:36 have been missionaries elsewhere. 24:38 They've been missionaries 24:39 among Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, 24:42 and Southern California young people 24:45 who were from all over the world. 24:47 And then the group of students, includes several who've been... 24:50 Who are refugees either from Burma or from Africa, 24:53 and a couple international students 24:55 from Taiwan, and then others, just who are American born. 24:59 So together we're learning, 25:01 we have different kind of outreach 25:04 that we do but the mentoring 25:06 is the really crucial part that we spend time. 25:09 We have a group of only... 25:10 We want only between 10 and 16 students 25:12 that in the picture of Julie, 25:14 they are laughing with Anton, one of our students. 25:17 That shows the kind of closeness 25:19 we want that them to experience what it means to be discipled, 25:24 as Jesus' discipled His disciples. 25:27 And then through that, they're being trained, 25:29 the next picture shows 25:31 that there's vocational training 25:32 that happens every afternoon. 25:34 When we're at home, 25:35 we have three days at the property 25:37 in studying in the morning, classroom learning on missions, 25:41 Bible truth, health ministry, but then in the afternoon, 25:45 we're working together on the property, in the garden, 25:48 on the buildings, 25:49 anything that they might use overseas 25:52 in a primitive place. 25:54 So... 25:55 or they're in a city, 25:56 you know, a little garden, garden boxes, 25:58 or people that miss being in the country, 26:00 being able to help them have some fresh garden produce. 26:04 And then health part is really, really important. 26:06 You see William here 26:08 in the next picture from Taiwan, 26:09 teaching away the language, 26:11 English is a second language for him, 26:13 but he pushed himself hard in our program 26:15 to be sharing with the Cambodian community 26:17 that we were doing this health program for. 26:20 And then most importantly though, 26:23 is taking them out into the city, 26:26 where we are pretty much three days of the week. 26:28 We're down there with refugees, with immigrants, 26:31 and we'll share more about that. 26:33 But there, as you can see, 26:35 this is huge hug from one of the people 26:37 reaching out to one of our students, sweet there, 26:41 just loving her and appreciating so much 26:44 the friendship she has shown to her. 26:46 And that's where they learn the most in our program 26:50 is by the actual cross cultural missionary work 26:52 that we're doing. 26:53 Oh, that's wonderful and Houston gives you the... 26:56 You've got it right there at your feet. 26:58 Yes, yes. 27:00 We wish we could have brought our students with us, 27:02 'cause we want to share some of those stories 27:05 that have happened 27:07 since the program started in August. 27:10 But we will have to share their stories next time, 27:13 maybe they can come and join us. 27:16 And their stories maybe online too in the future 27:19 at the website. 27:20 But there is a little bit more to the story 27:23 of actually ending up in Houston 27:24 that we should share, 27:25 because ASAP had the vision and the mission for it. 27:30 Texas Conference was willing to put in their part, 27:32 more funds were needed, and the denomination, 27:35 other ways has really pulled together 27:36 to make it an urban center of influence, 27:38 and we're really grateful for the funds 27:40 that are helping to make it happen. 27:42 But the biggest miracle really had 27:46 to take place in our hearts first. 27:48 'Cause as I shared my excitement with Julie, 27:51 and, you know, wanted to move to Houston, 27:53 I want to start this new program. 27:55 She's been there before, she knows what it's like to go 27:57 to a place where there are no Christians, 27:59 no programming gear, take her family to a new spot. 28:03 She knows the cost of doing 28:04 that before in Cambodia and Thailand. 28:07 And so she was like, "Wait a minute, 28:10 my two children are here going to school in Berrien Springs, 28:13 Michigan, and you're wanting me to move to a place 28:16 where I knew nobody?" 28:18 And I had to really back off, and say, 28:20 "Okay, Lord, if this is on Your heart, 28:22 You'll have to put it on both of our hearts." 28:24 Right? 28:25 And for about six months, he was pretty good at trying 28:28 to keep down his excitement, 28:30 and when he and Julia would talk, 28:32 I would just pray, 28:34 I wasn't really a part of anything, 28:35 I was just trying to... 28:38 Just, I was just enjoying being, 28:40 still being a family 28:42 even though our kids were now in college and academy, now, 28:44 they're both in the Andrews University, 28:47 and they had a wonderful home school support system there, 28:51 right there, and I was just loving life. 28:54 And so you were home schooling your 14 year old. 28:57 Yes, yes, he's 14 now. 29:00 And God did, 29:04 it was like 3 o'clock in the morning, 29:08 one morning he woke me up and I got up, 29:11 and I started reading in Patriarch, 29:14 a book about Elisha's life. 29:17 And it was so much as I read through this, 29:21 and I knew what Scott had pictured 29:24 as the training for the prophets was similar 29:27 to what Elisha did, small, take him out 29:30 with you while you're ministering, 29:32 and I, through tears 29:36 and six pages of journaling, finally said 29:39 "Okay, God, I have... 29:42 I know that if You're calling, I can be excited, 29:45 and I know that You will take care 29:47 of my family whom I love, and they were very supportive, 29:52 and they've come two or three times now to Texas 29:55 and enjoyed the nice warm weather 29:58 compared to Michigan, where they're in school. 30:02 And God has... 30:04 Yeah, so I just praise God 30:06 that if we are not feeling like that we want to go, 30:12 it's okay, God can handle that. 30:14 He worked with me for at least six, 30:17 I think it was about six months 30:18 that I first started hearing this, 30:20 and God got me around to the point 30:23 where I'm excited to be, 30:25 where I'm at and what we are doing. 30:27 And He doesn't really strong arm, does he? 30:30 When you said that was six hours of tears, 30:32 it's more of us letting go of things 30:36 that we think will make us happier. 30:38 And you know what? 30:40 It is so amazing that God's plan for our life 30:42 is always better than the one that we're living, isn't it? 30:46 It's true. 30:47 So now when you're down there in Houston, 30:50 I can tell you are a loving and nurturing person, 30:54 and that that's your heart, 30:55 and you are an encourager as well, I can tell that so... 30:58 But now you have your students, a whole new family to love, 31:03 and I'm sure God has filled your heart with joy. 31:05 Amen. It really, He really has. 31:08 And that's just, I praise God for that. 31:11 But there's tough times too 31:12 and so we have to tell the miracle 31:14 that keeps us going when we hit those tough times. 31:17 And that is how we got to live where we're living, 31:20 the property that we're in. 31:21 We were... 31:23 We had a call for my position as ASAP behind us, 31:27 their interests there, 31:28 but we had no place to do this all ministry in. 31:31 So we knew, we needed to sell our house, 31:33 and then go find something 31:35 we hoped a whole lot cheaper in Texas, 31:36 that things are going to be better, 31:38 but when we went to search and in January, 31:40 February of that year, 31:42 everybody wanted something in the country 31:44 with several structures, near the city, 31:46 and there was no way we were going to find something 31:48 for a reasonable price. 31:50 Houston is not an inexpensive place to live. 31:52 We found the perfect spot we thought, 31:54 we put an offer on it, it was accepted, 31:56 and then right before we had to go overseas 31:58 for five weeks before we were going 32:00 to then move two weeks later, 32:03 we got a call that the bank had said 32:05 no to their part of it, 32:06 because it was almost in for closure, 32:09 and so that was shut down. 32:10 So there we are, overseas knowing we're moving, 32:13 no place to go, 32:14 I've already taken away from family, 32:16 and I said, "Lord, You have got to show us Your hand in this 32:20 and do something for us." 32:22 So we tried not to look where we were overseas, 32:24 and just focus on Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand, 32:26 and then we got home, 32:28 and were busy packing, saying goodbye, 32:30 when out of the blue, 32:31 I get a call from someone who says, "Hello, is this Jim?" 32:34 At 10 o'clock at night. 32:35 "And I hear you're looking for a property." 32:38 He had gone back to church 32:39 after not attending for a long time, 32:41 and on that week, Dan Serns, our supervisor had met him, 32:46 and they got talking about property, 32:48 and he told them what we were doing. 32:50 So he says, "What shall I look for?" 32:51 And I told him what we need. 32:53 We need a miracle, 32:54 we need a place big enough for a school, 32:56 but cheap enough that it would be, 32:59 that we can afford, 33:00 and he said, "Okay, I'll look." 33:02 And called back, just a little bit later, 33:03 he said, "I'm looking at camps, found one for several million." 33:06 We laughed and he said, 33:07 "But I've got something you need to look at." 33:09 And as we begin looking at it... 33:11 There's a picture... 33:13 Yeah, there is a picture here, we began to look out... 33:15 Oh, that's beautiful. 33:16 You know, through pictures he was sending us, 33:18 we said, "We've got to put an offer now." 33:20 Even without seeing it, 33:22 but the owner wouldn't, he wouldn't, 33:23 we had to move, so we just got in the car and began our move, 33:27 and the next morning 33:28 we went there right after we arrived. 33:31 You take over here. 33:32 He had done a ministry for the homeless, 33:35 and so he didn't want to just sell it to somebody 33:38 who would just make it develop, 33:40 you know, put it into development. 33:42 He wanted someone, and he wanted to spend time, 33:44 so for four hours, 33:46 he took us through and hearing about his story of everything 33:51 that had happened on this property... 33:52 Us telling our stories. 33:54 And us telling our story and then, 33:56 when we got in the chapel he even... 34:00 He said, "So are you all with the organization," 34:02 and we smiled and we said, 34:04 "Yes, we are Seventh-day Adventists." 34:05 And he said, 34:07 "You are the church that has the day right?" 34:09 And he said he's been reading the Bible 34:12 and looking and seeing, 34:14 you know, that Sabbath, Saturday is the Sabbath, 34:17 and he's even taking it to his church at the pastor, 34:20 and so we were able to share with him, and lovely couples. 34:25 Just connected. 34:26 Yes, it was beautiful. Praise God. 34:28 So at the end of the conversation, 34:29 oh go ahead. 34:30 But it was more than what we could... 34:32 We had about 400,000 to work 34:37 with, and that was... 34:39 And he was asking more than that. 34:41 And it was Friday, 34:43 it was Friday already and we thought let's just... 34:45 We're not going to cut counteroffer, 34:47 we're just going to leave it in the Lord's hands, 34:49 over the Sabbath, 34:50 five people looked at the property, 34:53 and they were all way over what we could afford. 34:58 And we just prayed, and the most amazing thing, 35:02 when he was at the SEEDS Conference that year, 35:05 the year before that, 35:06 he dealt with someone from the church 35:08 that had invited him to eat lunch with them. 35:12 Well, over the weekend, when we had just rested, 35:14 this was at a big camp meeting that Doug Batchelor was there 35:17 to do a big camp meeting and they wanted us to be there, 35:21 he met them 35:22 when he went out to the restroom, 35:24 and it was that very couple, the couple, 35:27 we didn't know anyone in this, 35:28 you know, and here they are, and they said, 35:30 "Tell us where are you here now living, 35:32 and you wanted to start a missionary training center, 35:35 where is it at now?" 35:36 So over lunch we're sharing with them, 35:38 but we didn't want to say anything about finances, 35:39 but they kept pressing us, 35:41 "Do you have enough for what you need?" 35:42 "Can we come up and look at the place?" 35:44 The next morning, they walked through with us, and they were, 35:47 like, you know, "Let us know, we'd love to help in some way." 35:49 And they were getting in their car, and we thought, 35:51 "If you don't help now, this property is gone." 35:53 It's gonna be in someone else's land. 35:55 We didn't say that, but we thought, "Okay, Lord." 35:56 But we were feeling that and so we said, 35:58 "Well, let us tell you, you know, what the need is." 36:01 We told them how much we were still needing. 36:03 They looked at each other, and they said, 36:05 "Go, get your checkbook." 36:07 Because that was the exact amount 36:08 that they had in a tax refund that they did not know 36:11 they were having, coming. 36:12 Oh, Lord. 36:14 And they had already told the Lord, 36:15 whatever comes back for taxes is yours. 36:16 I'm gonna give it to you, for God. 36:18 Glorious. 36:19 And it was the exact amount that... 36:21 So we took that over to the owner... 36:24 And told him the story. 36:25 And told him what had just happened. 36:27 And he said. 36:28 And he shook on it, and he said. 36:29 I was just waiting to see if God was in this. 36:32 Oh, it gave me chills all over. 36:34 And then he said, "And I don't know 36:36 why you couldn't just move 36:37 in tomorrow until it closes 36:42 'cause we're just camped out at another place waiting 36:43 to find something out there. 36:45 Amazing. And then... 36:47 His birthday, we were packing up in Michigan, 36:50 not knowing where we're gonna go, 36:53 and his birthday is coming in just a little bit, 36:57 and I was laughing, and I said, 36:58 "I would love to give you a house 37:01 for your birthday, honey." 37:02 And we just laughed 37:03 because that was, like four days, 37:05 four days before his birthday. 37:07 On his birthday is when Jack, the owner, said, 37:10 "I don't know why you couldn't just move in here." 37:13 So on April 25 of this last year, 37:16 we got to move in 37:18 to a beautiful paradise that God gave to school. 37:19 This is 26 acres with seven cabins 37:24 or houses on it, 37:25 and two workshops for vocational training, 37:28 and lots of place for gardening, 37:30 and just a retreat. 37:32 It is such a blessing to bring people out of the city 37:35 to seek God there to do 37:36 the training we needed to show them 37:38 what true Christianity can be like, 37:40 it just was God's plan, 37:43 for the price of a house in the city somewhere. 37:46 Isn't that amazing, 37:47 but you are bringing them out of the city for the training 37:49 and then you take them back 37:50 into the city for their practical. 37:53 So this is what keeps us going in the tough times 37:55 and what God is doing. 37:57 And that's really where we want to move 37:58 from that amazing story to what it's about, 38:00 it's not about that but it's about the people. 38:02 First, let me ask you a question. 38:04 Did the hurricane hit you, Hurricane Harvey. 38:08 It did, as we were ready to start school, 38:11 and on the time 38:12 that the students were supposed to arrive 38:14 is when 50 inches were falling in a day, 38:17 it just pummeling the city, not with big winds, 38:20 but with so much water. 38:22 And the flood was rising and rising. 38:24 And yes, it was coming 38:25 in to what was to be the men's dorm, 38:27 but the big problem was, 38:29 the students couldn't get there. 38:30 The airport was shut down, it was flooded. 38:33 And so we had to put that off for a week, 38:35 and as soon as they arrived, after orientation, 38:39 we were headed down to help the people. 38:41 Praise God. 38:42 And they could have that opportunity of learning 38:44 to reach out and care for immigrants and refugees 38:46 who were in trouble. 38:48 And we have years to, 38:49 I mean, to rebuild it's taken years, 38:51 so we've had so many opportunities 38:53 of helping demolish housing, 38:56 and teaching the kids how to do dry wall, 38:59 and spackle, and flooring, 39:01 you know, we've had to go through people's houses, 39:04 and through that building friendships, 39:06 I mean, this has been since August, 39:09 so the whole every, 39:10 every week we're down in the city. 39:13 Still helping rebuild. Yeah. 39:14 But the place God led us to was a total surprise. 39:17 I had met a lady named Lisa who speaks Spanish, 39:21 her husband is Cambodian, and she said 39:22 there's a Cambodian community south of the city, 39:25 was too far away 39:26 from where we'd want to minister, 39:28 so even though we speak Cambodian, 39:29 we weren't going there. 39:31 But when the hurricane hit, she called, we talked, 39:34 and we knew that's where God needed us. 39:36 So there's a picture here showing some of the devastation 39:39 in that community that you can just see, 39:41 all of that has been hauled out of their house. 39:43 My son's walking up, inspecting, looking at it, 39:46 and then the next picture shows him 39:48 and some of the students beginning to help out building 39:51 that house, rebuilding, repairing things and it just... 39:55 What an incredible experience 39:57 that we've been able to reach out 40:00 and share in that community, and talk to people, 40:04 and then overtime make friendships, 40:06 but then have opened up into Bible studies. 40:08 But, you know, it's not just when God calls you out 40:11 in such a way is that the divine appointment set, 40:13 He set up... 40:14 He also... 40:15 Well, now excuse me, those are specific calls, 40:19 but he does set up divine appointments 40:21 and the answer to prayer, and you made a comment, 40:25 just in the greenroom as we just briefly met 40:27 and ran out here on the set, 40:29 but you made a comment about praying 40:32 to meet a Somalian woman. 40:33 Tell us about that story? 40:35 Yes, we had just heard in the sermon 40:38 that one of the top five countries 40:42 where it is the most dangerous in the world 40:44 to become a Christian was Afghanistan, number two, 40:47 and number three, Somalia. 40:50 And so when we went out, we go out... 40:52 outreach, we're working 40:54 in the churches on the Sabbath, 40:55 getting the churches involved, and helping them to reach out 40:59 in their neighborhoods in the city, 41:01 and then we take them out afterwards in the afternoon 41:04 to the apartment buildings, 41:06 where we've strategically have figured out 41:08 where some of these brothers and sisters 41:11 from these countries are living. 41:13 And so, we were praying 41:15 right after church, and we said, 41:16 "Lord give us a Somali today, please, 41:19 when we're going on outreach." 41:21 Did you know... 41:22 So I'm knocking on the door 41:23 with one of the Spanish speaking members. 41:25 And he's... 41:26 You know, he said, 41:28 "I haven't been out door-to-door in ages, 41:29 this is kind of scary." 41:30 We knocked on the door, a lady opened, 41:33 she said, "No speak English." 41:35 And we said, you know, Afghanistan, 41:37 I just kind of took a guess, yeah, and I said here, 41:40 and I handed her a card, we've made a website with... 41:44 It's called mylanguagemylife.com. 41:47 And at that website... My language my life. 41:49 My language my life 'cause it's their language. 41:52 It is over 150 languages of biblical materials. 41:56 Things like 3ABN in the different languages, 41:59 and other programs Adventist World Radio, 42:01 and the Jesus' video 42:03 which has hundreds of languages, 42:05 so they just click on the continent, 42:06 find their language for her, Afghanistan, 42:09 there maybe Dari or Pashto, 42:12 and then they can play those different programs 42:15 and hear God's Word in their language. 42:17 So we place this in her hand, 42:19 and she doesn't know what it is, 42:21 but, you know, somebody 42:22 in the house will figure it out, 42:23 and closed the door. 42:25 And my partner says, 42:26 "Wow, I can't believe it, someone from Afghanistan." 42:28 We go to the next door and knock, 42:30 this lady has just come from Central America, 42:32 so they're off in Spanish, 42:33 I don't know what's going on for 10 minutes, 42:35 and he turns to me and he says, 42:37 "The second door, and I have a Bible study." 42:40 Oh, glory to God. 42:41 So we get done with our part, we go down, we're waiting, 42:44 we're saying, 42:45 "Julie, we got to hurry and get back." 42:46 And she's going to one more door. 42:49 And at that door? 42:50 And one of our students, I had two students with me, 42:53 and they knocked on the door 42:55 and they were part of that prayer time, 42:56 so they knew we were praying for a Somali, 42:58 and he's knocking on the door and this nice, good looking, 43:03 25 year old Somali man answered the phone... 43:07 And he answered the door. 43:09 And that was probably like in October of this, 43:13 and he, as we were talking 43:17 what he is in need here 43:19 since he's arrived in America is that he had a... 43:22 He has a broken nose because in the refugee camp 43:24 he had helped a young lady 43:28 who was being bullied by several guys, 43:32 and he didn't even know the young lady, 43:33 but he stood up for... 43:35 I mean, he had this broken nose, 43:36 and you could see... 43:38 and he has now, he's in America, 43:39 he has no insurance, and so we call... 43:42 We helped him, we got insurance, 43:44 we came the next week helped him 43:46 fill out his forms, took him to the registration center, 43:50 and so now he is able to get the medical attention 43:53 that he needs. 43:55 And since then, we have gone on picnics, 43:57 in fact, he joined our, 43:58 just this last Sunday he joined us again 44:00 for a picnic at the park, 44:02 and have kept in good conversation with him, 44:08 we've had wonderful visits. 44:09 It's at the picnic 44:11 that they had a two hour conversation 44:12 in which he was just asking questions 44:14 about the Trinity, and about all these things... 44:16 The Son of God. 44:17 And sharing all that he believes 44:19 and just added. 44:21 But it has been able to be a beautiful friendship 44:24 that has great potential. 44:26 And this is happening in answer to prayer, 44:29 and that's one of the major things 44:31 that people can be doing wherever they are, 44:33 we have a prayer guide called Praying 44:36 For The World Next Door. 44:38 And this is just full of statistics 44:41 that open our eyes, 44:42 and stories that help us understand 44:44 who God has brought, and be able to know 44:47 that He wants to use us powerfully, 44:49 so churches can gather and begin to say the word, 44:52 who is in our city. 44:54 And at our website, you can actually click on 44:56 how to find the least reached near you, 44:59 so that there at reachtheworldnextdoor.com. 45:02 You can know in your metro area where they're from, 45:06 which country, and where to go, and what to do next, 45:08 and how to make the friendships. 45:10 And you don't even really don't have to know 45:12 how to speak their language 45:13 because I know that many of the people 45:15 that Phoenix Central 45:17 Seventh-day Adventist Church were ministering to, 45:19 when they first got there, they spoke no English, 45:21 they just love them. 45:23 they just helped them, then got them resources. 45:25 So you can help them learning those too. 45:27 Yeah, that's what they did. 45:28 You can be friend and help that and slowly 45:30 as they develop, 45:31 then you can begin to share more of the love of God. 45:33 Okay, give us one more short story 45:35 'cause I want to get to the steps to becoming 45:39 a next door missionary, 45:40 but get this one more quick story. 45:43 If we can go back to Cambodia, 45:45 not to Cambodia but to the Cambodian village, 45:47 I mean, you go there, 45:48 and there's a Buddhist temple there. 45:50 There are individuals, I think, there's a picture 45:53 if they can get it up there of us sitting 45:55 in the home a little tense, 45:56 while they're trying to rebuild that. 45:58 And several... This was after the hurricane. 46:01 Several of our students had made friends, 46:03 had been in their home, took food, 46:05 Rachel and William took food, and brought it there, 46:07 and they made these different things, 46:09 and we were able to share. 46:11 But as we were sitting there, talking, and sharing, 46:15 making friendships, William finally decides, 46:18 "I'm going to try to share something about Jesus." 46:20 So he pulled out a children's book 46:21 that was intended for their grandchildren 46:23 but they weren't there, 46:24 and he tells them the story of creation. 46:26 They're hearing it for the first time 46:27 and they've lived in America for 30 years. 46:30 Unreal. 46:31 But the wife can't speak English, 46:32 after all this time. 46:34 And so I'm translating for her, 46:36 because they understand Thai even though they're Laotian. 46:38 They are not Cambodian, it's a mix in this community. 46:41 And so she's hearing, 46:43 and they're talking back and forth, 46:45 and then a question is asked to him about... 46:48 Somehow evil spirits come up in all of this, 46:50 'cause that's still such a reality for them. 46:52 So our students, EK, who is telling the story, 46:56 he's sharing, and so I begin to help clarify, 47:01 "No, God is not like an angel, 47:03 no, he's not one of these beings 47:05 that been reincarnated, 47:06 this is the one who made everything." 47:08 And she looks at me and she says, 47:10 "You're telling us about the big God, the real one, 47:14 the ultimate one." 47:15 And we have seen over the weeks 47:17 since then just unfolding as they get a little more 47:19 and a little more 47:21 and their eyes are just opening, 47:22 their hearts are warming. 47:23 These are the people 47:25 God has brought to us in America 47:27 from unreached countries 47:28 that we can have the great joy 47:30 and privilege of sharing 47:32 and helping to heal their heartaches, 47:34 because many of them are here from countries 47:36 where they didn't want to leave but they had to leave. 47:39 Okay, we're gonna come back to your website, just a moment, 47:42 but tell us the steps to becoming 47:44 a next door missionary, 47:46 and then we can always send people 47:47 to my language my life, tell us about that? 47:50 Just show the card, yeah. 47:53 I would invite people to be a next-door missionary 47:56 by just three simple steps. 47:58 Number one, commit to pray for the least reached. 48:01 You can see it on the website, you can order the book 48:04 whatever, but begin to ask who is here 48:07 that will never enter my church doors, 48:09 that has never had anything in their own heart language. 48:12 I'm going to pray for them, 48:13 I'm going to be part of finishing the work. 48:15 So that's number one, pray. 48:17 Number two, commit to being a friend 48:21 to at least one international person 48:23 of another culture, another religion always. 48:26 Just, you know, 48:27 once you've made that friendship, 48:28 maybe they move away, maybe they become 48:30 a follower of Jesus, and then you find another one. 48:32 But just say, "I'm going to find somebody." 48:35 International student, refugee, tourist, whoever, 48:38 I'm going to be a friend, just one person. 48:40 I'm busy, I have a lot going on, 48:42 but God has opened up doors for that one person at a time. 48:47 And number three, 48:49 carry my language my life and give so that card. 48:52 That card, I got another one in my pocket. 48:53 They just keep coming out, 48:55 because that's a way in English and Spanish, 48:59 so many good websites, 49:00 but probably something in their heart language 49:03 and commit to sharing that. 49:05 There is visual, you have all kinds of languages there. 49:08 oh, that's exciting. 49:09 If somebody is willing to do that, 49:11 anybody who's listening, if they can just send an e-mail 49:14 to info@reach theworldnextdoor.com. 49:17 Okay, we're gonna 49:19 put your website up in just a moment. 49:20 Or just go on that website 49:21 then we can know and we can encourage them. 49:23 Tell us very... 49:24 In just a couple of minutes, 49:25 when are you going to begin your next nine month program, 49:29 and how do people, 49:31 you know, you may have people who are saying, 49:33 "I'm very interested in a nine month program" 49:35 And it's really a very reasonable cost, 49:38 tell us about that? 49:39 The program runs from August through May. 49:41 So the end of August to the end of May. 49:43 So we're accepting applications right now 49:46 at that website, 49:47 you could go on there, there's a process of reviewing, 49:50 of getting references, of really communicating, 49:52 here's what it is, 49:53 'cause this is not an easy sit back, 49:55 you know, learn. 49:57 This is a learn something, 49:58 go use it, learn some more, go use it. 49:59 And they are building confidence, 50:01 it's such a joy to see, and it's not that they have to, 50:05 when you're working with other cultures, 50:07 you don't have to have 50:08 all of these Bible verses, it's... 50:10 you're taking a Bible story, they're sharing Bible stories, 50:14 and a theme, and a truth. 50:16 And that's how it's being lodged 50:17 in their hearts, and they're gaining, 50:20 they're gaining confidence 50:22 as we go out, and it's been a joy. 50:25 It's good. 50:27 So from August to May, 50:30 and what is the cost for this program, 50:33 including, I mean, can you encapsulate, 50:36 say including room and board, a nine month program. 50:38 Including room and board, the training, 50:40 every part of it is $7,000. 50:43 That is extraordinary reasonable, 50:46 and that's room and board included. 50:48 And that's God's miracle, 50:49 because He gave us 26 beautiful acres 50:52 with these houses already. 50:53 I don't know what we were thinking, 50:55 but God knew He needed to start this ministry. 50:58 But there are young people out there 51:00 who hear that and say, "There's no way I can do that." 51:02 Because they are working refugee, 51:04 young people who've come here 51:06 are working to support their parents 51:07 and their family, and they think I can't do that, 51:09 but I want to be a missionary for my own people 51:11 and other people. 51:13 They can find supporters, 51:14 they can find people in their church 51:16 and elsewhere who'll say, 51:18 "I'll put a $100 a month towards reaching 51:20 one of the last unreached tribes in this world, 51:22 and I'll do it through you." 51:24 And they can do that through asapministries.org. 51:27 The ASAP operates us, 51:31 so I'm giving too much too quick. 51:33 Yeah, I was just thinking, we've got several web... 51:35 Several websites. Websites going on. 51:37 What I want to do right now, 51:39 because I just believe the Holy Spirit 51:41 is prompting people out there to say, 51:44 "I would like to support this ministry." 51:46 I would like to go for nine months 51:48 and learn how to be a missionary." 51:50 Or maybe, I just want to see 51:53 how I can tell people what they... 51:57 who is living in our area, 51:58 what groups, international groups, 52:01 here is the information 52:03 that you want to get rich, and rich, 52:06 and reach with Scott 52:08 and Julie at the worldnextdoor, 52:13 look at this, Reach the World Next Door. 52:17 If you would like to find out how you can be God's hand 52:20 and voice to refugees, immigrants, 52:23 and international students, 52:24 how to share the gospel in over 150 languages, 52:28 or how to train for cross cultural ministry, 52:31 please visit reach theworldnextdoor.com, 52:34 there you'll find podcast, tools to help you discover 52:38 unreached internationals near you, and much more. 52:41 So visit reach theworldnextdoor.com. 52:44 You may also call them 52:46 at 269-471-3026 52:50 or write them at ASAP ministries, 52:53 P.O. Box 84, Berrien Springs, Michigan 49103. |
Revised 2018-04-23