Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY018069A
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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 01:11 Hello. I'm Shelly Quinn and once again, we welcome 01:13 you to the Mending Broken People Network 01:16 and especially to the Today program. We're so 01:19 glad that you're joining us. We have an 01:22 inspiring and fascinating story to share with 01:25 you today. Before we begin, I want to thank 01:29 you, of course, for your prayers and your love 01:32 and your financial support of 3ABN because we 01:34 couldn't do this without you. We're all partners 01:38 together in the Lord's work. I'd like to share a 01:41 scripture from Acts 16:9. It says, "A vision 01:46 appeared to Paul in the night. A man 01:49 of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him 01:52 saying, 'Come over to Macedonia and help 01:57 us!'" There are so many places in 02:00 the world that have been unreached for Christ, 02:04 particularly in the 10x40 window which we'll 02:07 discuss in just a moment. But you know, Jesus 02:10 said in Matthew 24:14 that the gospel had to go 02:14 to all the world before the end would come. 02:19 So, we've still got a work to do and the 02:22 Lord is still working with us and we've 02:24 got a special, precious couple with us here 02:26 with us today. Let me introduce you to our 02:28 guest Kyle Tumberg. Kyle, thank you 02:31 so much for being here. - Thank you for having 02:34 us. - And thank you for what you're 02:35 doing for the Lord. And his wife Cindy Tumberg. 02:38 Cindy, we're going to get to hear some of your 02:40 story. Who is this gorgeous baby girl? Ally, can you 02:45 smile? Yes! Look at that big smile! How 02:50 old is Ally? - She's 2 years old. - 2 years 02:54 old and talkin' up a storm. This is a 02:57 smart little girl. Well, we're just really, really 03:01 glad that you're here. You're actually on furlough 03:03 right now, Cindy. Is that correct? - Yes. So, how have 03:06 grandma and grandpa enjoyed seeing Ally? 03:09 - Oh, they've enjoyed it a lot. - Yeah? - Had a 03:12 lot of fun together. - Absolutely. It was- 03:15 she's a doll. Well, before we get into their story, 03:19 and it's such a beautiful story, we would like to 03:23 invite our own CA Murray, Pastor Murray, who's 03:27 such a wonderful Bible expositor, but he is also 03:32 a singer for the glory of God and he will 03:35 sing for us, "Is It Any Wonder?" 03:53 When I think how Jesus loved me 03:59 How He waited patiently 04:04 Even when I turned my back and walked away 04:10 When He knew I wanted everything 04:15 This world could offer me 04:19 Well, I guess He knew the price I'd have to pay 04:25 So He watched me stumble downward 04:30 Saw each compromise I made 04:33 Heard each lie I whispered just to get my way 04:40 Still He waited there to hear me 04:45 When I cried to Him and prayed 04:50 Then He saved my soul and that is why I say 04:56 Tell me is it any wonder 05:03 That I love Him 05:07 When You consider all He's done for me 05:15 And is it any wonder 05:19 That I long to do His will 05:23 And let His light shine out for all to see 05:30 And is it any wonder 05:35 That I praise Him 05:40 Each time I think of how He's made me free 05:47 And is it any wonder? 05:51 That I've given Him my heart? 05:55 When Jesus freely gave His life for me 06:14 When I think how Jesus loves me 06:19 How He watches patiently 06:24 How His arms are stretched to meet me when I run 06:30 When I'm feeling down and lonely 06:34 How He's there to comfort me 06:39 In the darkness He becomes my morning sun 06:46 When I think of how He's healed me 06:50 How He's touched me in my pain 06:53 How His gentle hands have wiped my tears away 07:00 How He's taken every heartache 07:04 And brought happiness again 07:08 Oh, I want the world to hear me when I say 07:15 Tell me is it any wonder 07:21 That I love Him 07:25 When you consider all He's done for me 07:33 And is it any wonder 07:37 That I long to do His will 07:41 And let His light shine out for all to see 07:47 And is it any wonder 07:53 That I praise Him 07:57 Each time I think of how He's made me free 08:04 And is it any wonder 08:08 That I've given Him my heart 08:12 When Jesus freely gave His life for me 08:41 Oh, thank you my dear friend CA. He is such a 08:45 communicator of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Well, 08:48 once again, if you're just joining us, our special 08:51 guests today are Kyle and Cindy Tumberg. 08:54 We've allowed Ally to go put some puzzles 08:57 together so she has left the set. You all 09:01 are working in Thailand for how many years 09:04 now? - We've been there for almost 6 years. 09:06 - Okay. 6 years and they're doing a great 09:10 work, but before we jump in and explain the work, 09:13 how did the two of you meet, Cindy? 09:17 Well, we were both involved a church plant 09:20 project and in Arkadelphia. Kyle was teaching at 09:23 Ouachita Hills Academy and College and I was 09:26 working at a dental office close by and we both 09:29 got involved in the church plant project that the... 09:31 some of the college students were involved with 09:34 and that's really how we got to know each other. 09:36 So, it wasn't necessarily that you met and it 09:40 was like, this is it. But there was a special 09:43 attraction there and you began dating. When did 09:49 you feel this call to go to mission, Kyle? - You 09:55 know, the call to go overseas really developed over 09:58 several years. I first heard someone give a 10:02 sermon several years ago about the needs of the 10:05 unreached world. When I heard that sermon, I was 10:09 really struck by just the sheer amount of people 10:11 worldwide that have never heard the name 10:13 Jesus Christ. There are today roughly about 10:17 3 billion people... - 3 b! B. Billion 10:20 people! - Yes. 3 billion people that have never 10:22 heard the gospel. And I was shocked when I 10:25 heard that. I remember when I heard it the 10:27 first time thinking, "Maybe God is calling 10:29 me to be an overseas missionary." And for 10:32 the probably next 5 years, I really wrestled with 10:35 whether or not that was so. But God and His 10:39 providence and in the providence of the Holy 10:41 Spirit eventually led me to make that decision 10:44 to give me life to His cause overseas. 10:48 - Okay, so during that time that you were 10:49 attending college and- what was your major 10:53 in college? - I have a bachelor's in religion. 10:55 - Okay, alright. Now, Cindy, when you all 10:59 married, did you have any idea that he was 11:02 thinking about missionary work? Had he discussed 11:05 it with you? - At that point, I was aware, 11:08 but previously when we were dating, I wasn't 11:10 aware that that had been something he 11:12 had been interested in in the past. - So, at ASI, 11:16 something happened. Tell us about that, Cindy. 11:19 - So, we were dating and we went to an 11:24 ASI and before that time, I- 11:25 - And let me explain real quickly to our viewers. 11:27 ASI is Adventist Laymen & Services Industries 11:31 and they have an annual convention that there'll 11:34 be just- several hundred booths of Adventist 11:39 ministries that are reaching around the world. So, 11:43 you were attending there as a dating couple. 11:46 - Yeah. So, shortly before leaving, I had prayed a 11:49 prayer that if God- if there was anybody 11:52 we needed to meet or any circumstances 11:55 that needed to happen that God would bring that 11:57 about to help direct our future. At that 12:00 time, we weren't even really thinking seriously 12:03 about marriage, so it was kind of, looking 12:05 back, an odd prayer. But when we got there, 12:10 there was one day we were walking around 12:11 all- the booth area where all the ministries 12:14 are there and Kyle was reading a pamphlet 12:17 that he had picked up at a booth and I could 12:20 see ahead the Adventist Frontier Mission booth and 12:23 I wasn't really interested in foreign mission so I 12:25 purposely was looking at everything on the other 12:28 side of the isle. At one point, I realized 12:33 Kyle wasn't walking next to me anymore. 12:35 I turned to see him, his nose buried in a 12:38 pamphlet, reading as he walked up to the 12:42 recruiter for Adventist Frontier Missions, John 12:45 Baxter. I expected that when he saw, he was 12:49 going off course, he would come back and 12:52 join me but he didn't. He started a conversation. 12:54 I was somewhat frustrated that he was showing 13:00 interest because I wasn't interested, but after that 13:04 conversation, the Lord brought the prayer 13:06 back to my mind and it kind of started me 13:10 wondering and praying and thinking about foreign 13:12 missions. - So, actually, John Baxter was the one 13:17 whose sermon you had heard and you'd really 13:21 wanted to talk with this... - Correct. When 13:24 I heard John speak initially several years 13:26 ago, I wanted to talk to him but I didn't 13:29 have a chance before he left the campus, so I 13:32 called him and he told me to call him later in the 13:34 week. He gave me his office phone number 13:36 and I did not call back. So, when I saw him at 13:40 the ASI convention a year and a half 13:42 later, I had a chance then to ask him questions 13:45 that I wanted to ask him a year earlier. - Okay. 13:48 Explain to us what Adventist Frontier Missions is. 13:52 - So, Adventist Frontier Missions is a ministry that 13:55 supports the work of the Seventh-Day Adventist 13:57 church. They send missionaries into the parts 14:00 of the world where there is little or no Christian 14:04 presence and they are working to establish 14:07 church plants that are locally led and 14:10 that will continue to function after the 14:13 missionaries leave the field. - Okay, and what 14:16 is the process- when the Lord finally brought you to that 14:20 point that you're both going... You're now married 14:23 several years and you say, "All right. God is 14:26 calling us to the missionary field." 14:30 When you sign up with Adventist Frontier 14:33 Missions, what is the process? What is the 14:36 training before you actually go into the 14:39 field? - Well, with AFM, they actually have 14:42 a very thorough application process. 14:44 You do a number of different tests where 14:47 they learn about your family history, your 14:50 medical history, your psychological well-being 14:53 and so forth. So, they're very thorough. 14:57 It takes several months to complete 14:59 all of those different steps. Once you actually 15:02 finish the application and take a call, you 15:05 have to do fundraising to raise supporters 15:08 that will support you while you're in the field. 15:11 So, from the time that you take the call- er, 15:14 well, when you actually begin the application to 15:16 when you launch, it can take sometimes 15:18 between 2-4 years depending on how 15:21 things go. - So how long did it take for you? 15:24 - Well, we actually started and stopped the 15:28 application process with AFM twice, and after our 15:32 second time, AFM, I think, kind of wrote us off. But the 15:36 Lord continued to speak to our hearts. When 15:41 we finally made that decision to go through 15:45 with it, from that day to when we actually 15:48 launched to Thailand, it took us about a 15:53 year and a half. - Okay. So, a little bit more 15:57 accelerated than some. Now, do they say just 16:00 say, "Okay, you've helped raise the funds. 16:02 Here you go!" or do they take you through 16:05 some kind of a cultural sensitivity 16:07 training? - AFM has a very good program 16:12 where they train people to go cross-cultural 16:14 work every summer. They hold a 3-month 16:18 training program where you learn about things 16:20 like culture shock, how to adjust to 16:23 life in a new culture, you learn about different 16:26 worldviews and how to understand how 16:28 people think in different parts of the world. 16:30 We also learn about how to have healthy 16:34 and effective teams in the mission field, 16:37 because oftentimes, there can be conflict 16:39 in the mission fields, so we want to be able 16:42 to deal with that in a healthy way and in a way that will 16:44 preserve the relationships and continue to allow the 16:48 work to go forward. So they cover many 16:50 different things. Those are some 16:51 of the highlights. They do a great job 16:53 of preparing you, ask much as they can, 16:56 for the step of going overseas and living 16:59 for several years. - Well, it's a big 17:00 commitment. It sounds- just to uproot yourself 17:04 and go off somewhere that you don't know the culture, 17:09 it IS a big commitment. So, it's wonderful that 17:13 they offer all of this training. Let me ask 17:15 you-did you choose Thailand or did God 17:18 choose Thailand for you? - God definitely 17:20 chose Thailand. When we made the choice to 17:24 do this, we were willing to go wherever God 17:28 wanted us to go. We had only been overseas 17:32 briefly in the past; we didn't have a 17:35 lot of extensive experience from 17:37 cross-cultural work and we didn't know 17:41 what to expect, really. So, we said, "God, 17:42 wherever you want us to go, we're willing to go." 17:45 We were kind of thinking maybe India. Thailand 17:48 was not our radar at all, but it was on God's 17:51 radar. When AFM suggested Thailand as the place 17:57 they wanted to send us, at first, we were kind of 18:00 surprised. But as they explained the dynamics 18:03 of the country and the project, we could see 18:05 God's hand really leading in that direction. 18:07 - Amen. So, Cindy, what was it like when 18:10 you got there? Even though you've been 18:11 through the training to help overcome the 18:16 cultural shock, what was it like? - It was a good 18:21 experience. It was exciting in many ways 18:24 just being able to actually be there. 18:27 It's something we had been praying about and 18:30 dreaming about for over a year. So, in some 18:33 ways, it was nice to have that kind of 18:35 completed. But it was definitely a challenge. 18:38 I remember, especially for me, just feeling like 18:41 trying to find my way around. I remember 18:45 feeling like I didn't know how to cook 18:47 again, having a hard time finding ingredients 18:51 I was used to, or... Yeah, just really 18:55 struggling at times. I was sick within 18:57 the first week of being there and that was just 19:00 a low point for me, often wanting to just 19:03 go back home. - And this was something you 19:06 actually didn't realize that you had had it 19:08 when you left, so it wasn't that you got 19:11 a local illness but you were sick. You know 19:14 what? I don't care how old you are 19:16 when you get sick. You think, "Momma!" [laughter] 19:19 So I can understand that you wanted to go 19:21 back home. - Yeah. - So, you got there. 19:25 Was there- were you being merged into a 19:28 team that was already there or how did that 19:32 work? - Yeah, so when we launched, we joined 19:36 another family that had launched the year prior 19:38 to us arriving. We were going to be starting 19:41 a new project-our two families-in the city of 19:45 Khon Kaen which is in the northeastern part 19:48 of Thailand-about 6 hours north of Bangkok. 19:51 - Did you have any language studies 19:53 for this? - Yes. AFM allows their missionaries 19:58 to do up to 2 years of full-time language 20:01 learning if that is needed, so we spent almost 20:06 our first two years doing full-time Thai 20:09 language learning both in Bangkok and Chiang 20:11 Mai. - Okay. So now, afterwards of your 20:14 being joined into a team, you have some 20:18 basic understanding of the language. Spell 20:22 the name of the city for us. - Spell it? - Uh-huh! 20:25 - Well, in English, it would be Khon Kaen. 20:33 - Khon Kaen. Okay, and in Khon Kaen, 20:35 what is the city like? - Khon Kaen is a 20:39 growing city, I think the population 20:40 of about 120,000 people. There is a major 20:44 university. I think maybe the fourth largest 20:48 university in Thailand is in Khon Kaen, Khon 20:51 Kaen University. There are a lot of businesses; 20:55 it's a growing city. It's an important 20:57 city, but in many ways, living there, you 21:03 kind of get a taste of two worlds because 21:06 you have the city life- there's shopping 21:09 malls and stores and so forth, but you also, 21:11 in some of the smaller neighborhoods and 21:14 villages, you can still see some of the 21:16 traditional aspects of Thai culture and 21:19 Thai life. - Ok, so explain Thai culture 21:21 to us. - Well, Thai culture is multi-faceted. 21:27 Where we are in Khon Kaen, it's becoming more 21:29 modernized, but Thai people are very 21:34 friendly, they're very family-oriented, they're 21:38 Buddhist... The saying goes that to be Thai 21:42 is to be Buddhist, so they put a lot of 21:45 pride into their religion and being Buddhist. 21:51 Thai people-they work hard, they're respectful, 21:57 and they're very family-oriented. 22:01 - Okay. First, I'm going to ask you about the 22:05 Buddhists, but I understand they're 22:07 also animist. I'll ask you about that. 22:09 What are the tenants of the Buddhist religion? 22:12 - So, the goal of Buddhism is to reach 22:17 the state of nirvana- the state of nothingness 22:21 where you feel a sense of peace with who 22:24 you are and just with life in general. Buddhism 22:29 teaches that suffering exists and that the root 22:34 of our suffering is our desires, and so 22:39 in order to get rid of suffering, we 22:41 have to get rid of our desires. And to do that, 22:44 they propose walking this 22:49 eight-fold path with right thinking, right doing, and 22:52 so on and so forth. If you adhere to that 22:55 path, it will help you to reach the state 22:58 of nirvana. - Through reincarnation, and, I 23:03 mean- multiple lives, usually. - Yeah, yeah. 23:06 But for most Thai people, they're not 23:09 really aiming to reach nirvana, I don't think. 23:12 They're just trying to get through this 23:13 current life and they're hoping that maybe in 23:16 their next life they can be a better person 23:19 and have a better chance. So, Thai 23:22 people are very interested in using religion to help 23:27 them with their everyday problems and so forth. 23:30 - Okay. But there's also a blend before Thailand 23:35 became Buddhist. They were animists. Why 23:38 don't you explain a little of that, Cindy? 23:41 - Right. So, they were, like as you mentioned, animists 23:44 before Buddhism came, and much of that has 23:47 just been intertwined into the Buddhist 23:49 religion. - I guess we ought to explain 23:51 what animist is. - It's a worship of spirits 23:57 where spirits control many things in life and 24:00 many animists feel like they either have to 24:04 control these spirits or appease them 24:05 to have a better state in life. In Thailand, 24:13 one practical way you see that is that 24:17 there are spirit shrines everywhere. 24:18 So in our city, there's a spirit shrine that's 24:21 where the spirit that's in control of the whole 24:26 city resides. Our neighborhood has one. 24:29 Just- everywhere, you see that influence still. 24:33 - Do you see demonic possession there 24:37 at all? - We have seen it. I remember actually, 24:41 a few years back, our team was praying 24:45 for a lady that had a son who was being 24:50 very difficult. He was an older man but he 24:53 had a mental problem and he was causing 24:56 her some trouble. She was a Christian lady 24:59 but she wanted us to pray for her son, and 25:02 while we went to go and pray for this lady's 25:05 son during our time of prayer, we actually 25:07 heard a demonic voice speaking through this 25:11 Christian lady. And so we ended up going back 25:16 to pray with her every day for about a week 25:18 and a half till the demonic activity was 25:22 clearly no longer an issue. So we have 25:25 encountered that. - Ok. So, you are in this 25:30 culture, the people are friendly... Tell us how 25:35 God has led there in Cancun. - Kohn Kaen. 25:39 - Kohn Kaen. - Where you are. [laughter] 25:42 - So, this has totally been God's project. 25:46 Anything that has been accomplished has been 25:48 by his grace, not because of us. 25:50 Mission work is very humbling. It shows you 25:53 how much you need His power and His grace to 25:56 work. So, we claim no credit for anything that He 26:00 has done. We've only been tools in his hands 26:03 and we've been a part of a great team. We 26:05 joined, as we mentioned earlier, Palacio's 26:09 family, Ricardo and Alesha Palacio 26:10 later on, a lady named Danielle Akoning 26:13 joined us, and then eventually, our team 26:15 merged with another team in Thailand, 26:18 Chris and Shannon Sorenson, and Robby 26:20 and Kelly Doss. So, we've had great 26:23 missionaries to work with-great student 26:25 missionaries to work with-and through it, 26:27 God has been able to work. The first thing 26:30 that our team did to try to reach out to the city 26:34 of Khon Kaen was to start a music school. 26:37 That was kind of unconventional, but our 26:39 partners at the time, Ricardo and Alesha 26:43 ? saw that music was really a way to open 26:46 doors. - To all classes. - Yeah, to all classes of 26:49 people. Specifically, children performing 26:53 music was a way to get in, you know, to 26:56 different places in the community. For example, 26:58 in Bangkok, the violin ensemble at the 27:04 Thailand? Adventist Church was able to 27:07 go and perform at the Thai government 27:10 several years ago. So, it really opens up 27:14 doors. Ricardo had the idea to begin a 27:17 music school as a way to offer a needed service 27:21 and as a way to make relationships in a 27:24 very non-threatening environment. - So, the 27:26 music school isn't overtly Christian, 27:29 but all of your teachers are Adventist Christians. 27:32 - Yes, that's correct. - So then, once you've- 27:36 how many students do you have now at 27:38 the music school? - Well, currently, we have over 27:40 60 students that, primarily, all of them 27:44 come from Buddhist families. - Okay. 27:47 And you have how much interaction with their 27:50 parents? How do you interact with the parents? 27:52 - So, the way that our school works is 27:54 the students come in, usually once a week, 27:57 for either a half-an-hour lesson or an hour lesson. 27:59 They go and study with the teacher one-on-one, 28:03 but we have a waiting room in our school where 28:08 the parents can just sit on the couch, they 28:10 can read, they can interact with the 28:12 secretary or with other people sitting in that 28:16 room, so we can go in there and we can talk with the 28:18 parents. That's one way. Our school also 28:21 does recitals once a quarter so the students 28:24 are able to go and perform music they've 28:27 been working on for the last couple of 28:29 months, and we also try to hold special 28:33 events during times of the year like Christmas 28:36 or Easter or the Thai Mother's Day, and 28:39 we'll perform concerts and we'll do like a meal 28:44 afterwards and we do a lot of socializing, 28:47 so it really gives us a chance to build 28:50 community and get to know people in those 28:53 kind of settings. - So, how do you bridge? 28:58 I know that there's so much in foreign 29:01 missionary work where it's all about building 29:03 relationships, and we need to learn that even 29:06 here in the States is that the best way, 29:09 you know Christ's way was to go out and meet 29:12 the needs of the people and build those relationships 29:14 before you really started preaching. 29:17 How do you bridge from, okay, we've got a 29:21 well-respected school, we're getting in front 29:25 of the parents, we're getting to special 29:27 places... How do you bridge that to the 29:31 gospel? - You know, it's only by God's grace, 29:34 by His spirit that draws people. 29:36 What we have seen- and I can share a 29:38 story to illustrate this-is that people, 29:44 when they experience Christian community or 29:48 when they see Christianity lived out in very 29:50 practical ways, it creates a thirst for something 29:55 more. And this is illustrated in a story 29:57 by a man named Jun. Jun actually heard about 30:02 our school about 4 years ago. He heard an ad 30:05 on the radio station that was advertising 30:07 our school. He had never heard about Peace 30:09 Music Academy, our school before, but 30:12 he was interested so he drove to the school 30:14 and he enrolled his two daughters. They 30:16 eventually began taking music lessons, and after 30:19 a couple of weeks or couple months, 30:21 Jun himself enrolled to take music lessons. 30:24 Later on, his wife enrolled. So his 30:27 whole family was taking lessons at our school. 30:30 - Let me ask this real quick question; 30:33 pause. The Thai people are taught some English 30:38 in school, but they're being taught by 30:41 Thai-speaking people. - For the most part. 30:44 - So, your school are English-speaking people 30:47 and you're actually- your teachers kind 30:50 of end up teaching English a little more so 30:54 that's an appeal. - It is. It is an appeal. We've 30:57 had several faithful student missionaries 31:00 that have come and they've devoted at least a 31:02 year to teaching in our school. They speak 31:04 English, so the students get English during their 31:07 music lesson which is a draw-an appeal to the 31:09 parents. But Jun, yeah. Jun came and he was 31:14 studying. After probably 3 or 4 months 31:17 of studying, after one of the classes-actually 31:20 a class named Morality through Music-that 31:22 our school had offered as a way to teach Biblical 31:26 principles but using music and so forth. 31:29 After one of those classes, Jun was talking 31:32 with one of our teachers and he said, "You know, 31:35 I've noticed that all of the teachers in this 31:37 school are nice. Is there a religion behind this 31:40 place?" And so the teacher 31:43 said, "Of course. We are Christians. In 31:45 fact, we go to church every Saturday right 31:48 here in this building." So, a few weeks later, 31:52 Jun came to church for the first time. He actually 31:56 was able to help play music with our 32:00 praise team during the worship service. 32:03 After his second or third visit, he 32:05 told us that he was going to start coming 32:07 to church every single week. And so every 32:10 Saturday, he was coming to church; he would play 32:12 with our praise team, he was showing interest 32:16 in drawing closer to Jesus and becoming a 32:21 Christian. This past December, P Jun was 32:28 baptized into the Seventh-Day Adventist 32:30 church and we actually have a picture of that- 32:33 of his baptism. - Okay. We'd like to see that! 32:37 - But he was- right there. That's P Jun. 32:41 He was baptized this past December and he is now 32:44 a member of our church, our local 32:47 church. - He's doing something- your local 32:51 church has... What is the attendance of the 32:55 local church plant? - So, on a given 32:57 Sabbath, we have between 40 and 60 people 33:01 that come to church. - Praise God. - That 33:03 includes missionaries, all of our team, 33:06 it includes the Thai people, but also 33:08 includes a large international group. 33:11 We have, if you can believe it, 33:14 between probably 20 and 30 Filipinos that 33:18 come to church. Many of them work locally 33:21 as teachers in different Thai schools and a lot 33:25 of them are Adventists. So, they come to our 33:28 church and we've been trying to integrate these 33:32 Filipinos into the mission in Khon Kaen. Many 33:36 of them have been missionaries in the 33:38 past as students, they have a real desire 33:42 to serve God, they've grown up going to 33:45 AY programs and going to church... 33:48 - AY, Adventist Youth. - Exactly, yup. 33:50 They want to serve but they don't know 33:52 the Thai language. So, we've been trying to 33:55 figure out, "How can we get these people 33:58 involved in the mission?" Well, earlier this 34:02 past year, during one of our church services, I 34:06 challenged our internationals to begin learning Thai. 34:12 I challenged our Thai members to teach our 34:18 internationals Thai. You know what? P Jun 34:21 took that challenge to heart. The next Sabbath, 34:25 he came prepared to teach a class, 34:28 a Thai class, to our internationals. 34:31 We had 20 international people attend that 34:34 class, and P Jun was teaching the Thai 34:36 language, he enlisted other Thai helpers to help 34:40 as tutors. For the past several months, 34:43 these international members have been 34:46 learning Thai so that they can begin making 34:48 friendships with Thai people and can 34:50 be more effective in their missionary outreach. 34:53 - You know what's so exciting about that 34:54 when someone- P Jun, just newly 34:58 baptized, but when you get them involved 35:01 in work that's going to help support God's 35:04 work, that really cements their bonds 35:09 and relationship with people. Now, do you 35:13 do at these concerts... So that's- we see that 35:18 there is a bridge, by God's grace, but 35:20 are you ever intentional? Like at your Christmas concert. 35:24 You've got all of these Buddhists come-do you 35:27 bring up Christ? - You know, when we 35:32 do concerts, let's say for Christmas or for 35:34 Easter, it's very easy to bring up Christ 35:37 because we're celebrating a Christian holiday. 35:39 And so at these- you know, for example, 35:43 at the Christmas concerts at the 35:45 Easter confer- sorry, Easter concerts, we 35:48 will have our local Thai pastor give a short, little 35:53 sermonette explaining the meaning of Christmas 35:56 or Easter that gives people an understanding 36:01 of why we're celebrating! - What it's all about. 36:04 - Exactly. Exactly, yes. - Now, because 36:07 the Thai people are interested-they're 36:10 very pragmatic and they're interested 36:11 in practical benefits from Buddhism- I 36:17 mean, whatever those things are-they are 36:21 very much watching you. The apostle Paul 36:29 said that we are epistles written- 36:34 we're a letter from Christ to other people. They're 36:37 watching us. We're written on the heart, 36:42 not on paper. People are watching you very 36:47 much, aren't they? - Mhm. - How does that, though, 36:51 when you recognize that you're- I don't want to 36:55 say in a fishbowl, but because they're 37:00 studious of your lifestyle, how has 37:04 that affected you practically? - Practically 37:08 speaking, what I've come to realize very 37:11 clearly is that in order to influence 37:14 Thai people, you have to build a relationship 37:19 with them, that you have to demonstrate Christianity 37:23 to them. I've realized that if I'm not walking 37:26 with God daily, if I'm not allowing Him to change 37:29 my heart, if I'm not allowing Him to bring 37:32 deeper healing in my life so that I can reflect 37:35 His love more fully, I have nothing to 37:37 other these people. And so I've been challenged 37:39 to really pursue a deeper level of wholeness in my 37:46 spiritual life and in my physical life and 37:50 in my mental life. I've really been challenged 37:55 to allow God to have full control of my heart. 37:59 - Can you tell the difference in him, 38:01 Cindy? - Yes, yeah. - So, it is impacting you 38:05 personally-your own relationship, then. 38:08 That's good. And it's interesting to me 38:11 that we all have- you said the 38:15 Thai people enjoy this. I believe 38:17 anywhere we go, it is all about relationship 38:20 and it is that we are a letter written on the 38:24 heart. People don't care so much what you 38:26 say; they're watching what you do and if 38:29 you're living it out. So, is it easy to say 38:33 that God is blessing you personally-you're growing 38:40 through this time in the mission field? 38:42 - No question. I know for me personally, 38:45 because of some past experiences in 38:49 my life, I've been afraid of relationships in many 38:52 ways and I've oftentimes hid behind work and 38:56 even ministry as a way to not get too 39:00 close to people. - To protect yourself from 39:03 being hurt. - Exactly. In Thailand, I realize 39:07 that if I don't have a relationship with people 39:10 that is meaningful, I can't influence them. 39:12 So, it forced me- it forced us-to really 39:17 seek God for deeper healing. And when 39:20 you go overseas, you're confronted with a lot 39:22 of new realities, you're having to operate 39:25 in a second language and figure out a new 39:27 culture... Oftentimes, you don't feel very 39:29 useful. In my case, or our case specifically, 39:32 we're not musicians but we're working at a 39:35 music school. And so, in that environment 39:38 where our product is focused on music, 39:41 and we're not musicians and we're learning Thai 39:43 and figuring out a new culture, I often 39:45 felt like I wasn't that useful. When 39:47 you add that on top of other insecurities, 39:51 it can create a lot of inner turmoil. It 39:55 can create tension in the marriage and so 39:57 forth. So, the Lord, I believe, used those 40:02 circumstances to show me that he wanted to 40:06 go deeper in my life to bring a deeper sense 40:09 of healing. You know, we were actually at 40:13 the point of leaving the mission field completely 40:16 about 3 times over the past couple of years. 40:19 But, by God's grace, He's been able to 40:23 help us to seek healing, to work with some very 40:27 committed Christian counselors that have 40:30 been able to help us process some of those 40:32 heart issues. I praise God because He's used 40:36 this experience to grow us individually, 40:39 as a couple, and to help us be more whole 40:42 so that we can better reflect the love and the 40:46 character that God wants us to reflect 40:48 to these people. - You know, I submit to everyone 40:53 that's listening to my voice that any time 40:55 God calls you somewhere to work for Him to be 40:58 a blessing to others, I think He always doubly 41:02 blesses you. - Amen. Amen. - You know, because 41:05 you have to learn; you mentioned the 41:07 humility. That's-to me- total dependence 41:12 on God, and until we get to that point, we 41:15 really can't enjoy the full benefits of our 41:19 Christian lives. That's what He does, isn't it? 41:22 - For sure. - So, what are the plans for the 41:24 future? You're in a rented building now. 41:28 What are you planning on doing for the future 41:30 there? - Well, the ultimate goal is not 41:33 just to have a nice music school, but we 41:35 want to have a church that is strong, that is 41:38 locally lead, and that is capable of functioning 41:41 and continuing the work even after the missionaries 41:44 leave the project. The school is just the first 41:48 step. It's the platform that we're working from 41:51 right now to make connections to build relationships, 41:54 but we want to offer other ministries to 41:57 meet practical felt needs. We want to help 42:01 people with their health. We want to help people 42:04 have stronger marriages, wanna help people be 42:07 better parents, and to ultimately come to know 42:11 the God that has shown us how we can live a 42:14 truly productive, satisfying, fruitful 42:17 life in this world. Yeah, we want to have a 42:23 holistic evangelistic approach that is capable 42:27 of reaching the city of Khon Kaen. 42:29 Our current facility right now is starting 42:33 to feel kind of cramped. In fact, we're- 42:36 - Praise God. - Praise God. We're actually 42:39 having to turn away students because of 42:40 lack of space in the school. And on Sabbath, 42:44 when we meet together, when we have combined 42:46 services, it's often very tight in our 42:50 little space. So, we're currently working with a- 42:54 - You actually do two services-one in English 42:56 and one in Thai. - Yes. On a given Sabbath, we 42:58 have a Thai service at 10 a.m. and we have an 43:01 English service at 11 a.m. But once a month, we 43:04 will do a combined service where we all 43:06 worship together with a translated sermon. 43:08 We're in the process right now of working 43:12 with a local Adventist Thai architect who's 43:17 helping us to design a new facility. Maybe 43:21 you can see a picture on the screen. We 43:23 have a- the idea is that we will have both 43:29 a church and a school and a shared auditorium 43:32 that we can have recitals and concerts 43:36 and seminars. We will have space in the 43:41 building where we can do cooking demonstrations 43:42 and health seminars. We also- 43:45 - And you already have the land for this. - We 43:48 do, yes. Actually, land was purchased not long 43:51 ago to build a permanent structure. 43:56 So, we want to do holistic evangelism. 43:59 Our local Thai pastor has a burden to 44:02 provide leadership training for Thai 44:05 Adventist youth all across the country 44:08 during semester breaks so we want to hold 44:11 maybe two or three week or month training 44:14 programs for these young people so that 44:17 they can then become leaders in the church 44:20 in the future. So, that's where we're 44:23 at right now and that's what we're planning 44:25 for in the future. - Okay. You brought 44:28 a video that's just kind of a little 44:30 summary that- I want to make sure we get 44:33 to watch this video, so this is basically 44:36 summarizing the mission work there, right? Okay. 44:39 We'll roll that now, then. 45:01 Certainly a major element of the Thai people's 45:04 sense of loss and mourning for the past 45:07 king was based on the fact that he was 45:09 such a caring, benevolent, loving ruler. 45:17 They're looking for peace, hope, and 45:20 assurance because Buddhism doesn't really offer 45:24 any certainty for the future. 45:31 Christian mission in Thailand has been 45:33 here for close to 100 years but with very 45:37 little impact, you can't just move into a 45:40 community and start handing out food; that's not 45:43 what's needed. Nor can you move into 45:46 a community and start preaching on the 45:47 street corners. No one would listen. You have 45:51 to be willing to invest the time and the effort 45:54 in caring and meeting people's everyday needs 45:59 for friendship, for love, for personal interaction, 46:04 and only once you've done that will people 46:08 begin to trust you. 46:17 Welcome to Thailand. Thailand is a great 46:19 country. The people here are friendly and nice. 46:22 The culture is beautiful. But apart from these 46:24 great things, Thailand has a big problem. 46:27 Even after 100 years of Christian missionary 46:31 effort, still today at 1% of the population 46:34 observe the Christian religion. 46:58 We're in the city of Khon Kaen. Khon Kaen 47:00 is a growing city in the northeastern 47:02 region of Thailand. Over 120,000 people 47:06 live in this city. 47:13 There's never been a Seventh-Day Adventist 47:15 church planted in Khon Kaen, and that, my friends, 47:20 is why we are here today. 47:24 Amen. Just remember this-there's 3 billion 47:27 people in the world who've never heard 47:29 about Jesus Christ, and that's a beautiful 47:31 thing about Adventist Frontier Missions is that 47:35 you're getting the training to know 47:37 how to go in and to break through the 47:41 barriers-bring down the walls. Now, the student 47:44 missionaries that come to work with you, 47:47 are these mostly being sent by Adventist 47:50 Frontier Missions? - Most of them are, yes. 47:52 - What do they do? Just agree to come for 47:55 a year? Or... - That's the initial commitment 47:58 is one year, and we've had a few that have 48:01 stayed longer than a year. - Alright. You 48:03 know, it occurs to me; I love the fact that 48:06 you are really doing discipleship-making 48:09 training. Like with your newly baptized 48:13 member who's teaching others. Because we've 48:15 got to not just bring people into the church; 48:20 we've got to get them active and working 48:23 in the harvest field because otherwise, 48:28 it will not grow exponentially and you 48:31 can just see it seems like an overwhelming 48:33 work. - For sure. - So, what would 48:35 you say to people that might be thinking, 48:39 "Wow, God might be calling me into the mission 48:42 work." - The first thing I would say is, God 48:45 IS calling you into the mission work in some 48:47 capacity. Maybe you're not called to go 48:49 overseas, but you're called to support missions 48:52 by prayer or by giving of your means. But 48:57 I believe that God is calling more people 49:00 overseas than are responding to that 49:03 call. If you sense that maybe God is calling 49:07 you in that direction, I would really encourage 49:09 you to spend some time praying and to ask God 49:12 to make you willing to go wherever it is 49:16 He is calling you to go. You may feel overwhelmed, 49:20 you may feel it's just a radical idea-and in 49:25 a lot of ways, it is-but as you respond to that 49:28 call, God will give you an experience that 49:32 is out of this world. You will grow in your 49:36 spiritual life, you will develop as an individual, 49:39 and He will use you in ways that you never 49:42 would've imagined possible. God is able to open 49:46 the doors and make it possible for you to 49:48 serve. I'm convinced that if you feel genuinely 49:54 called by God to go overseas, the funding is not 49:57 an issue. God can provide the means. 50:00 He can provide the ways. He can open the doors 50:02 if you're willing to say yes and go 50:04 wherever it is He leads. - Amen. 50:06 Cindy, do you have any regrets that 50:08 you've spent the last six years in Thailand? 50:12 - No, I don't. None. - You do get to come 50:17 home every now and then, right? The furloughs? 50:19 Explain that. - So we've had two furloughs in our time so 50:23 far. Every two or three years, we'll 50:25 come back home and spend several months 50:27 updating churches, visiting with donors, as 50:31 well as time to spend with family. - Amen. 50:33 Well, you know, I just believe that God is 50:38 calling, as you said, more people than are 50:40 responding. And if you would, if you feel any 50:44 tug in your heart that, maybe this is what the 50:48 Lord wants me to do, then we want you to 50:51 be able to get in touch with Adventist 50:53 Frontier Missions. They have an incredible training 50:56 program. Really, everybody that I've met that's 51:00 with an AFM ministry seems to have been 51:04 really well grounded before they were put 51:07 into the field, which is important because the 51:09 field has its challenges but it develops you 51:13 personally and it develops your dependence upon 51:15 God, so you know that your Christian life is 51:19 going to go straight up. But we want to give 51:23 you the opportunity and here is how you can 51:26 get in touch with them. 51:30 If you would like to support AFM missionaries, 51:32 please visit their website AFMOnline.org. 51:36 There, you can experience their mission work 51:39 through videos, read their amazing stories, 51:42 and find out how you can help support this 51:44 important work. That website, again, is 51:47 AFMOnline.org. You may also call them 51:52 toll-free at (800) 937-4236 or write to Adventist 51:58 Frontier Missions Post Office Box 286 52:02 Berrien Springs, Michigan 49103. Kyle and Cindy 52:07 would love to hear from you. Just email them at 52:10 KyleTumberg@gmail.com. |
Revised 2018-09-18