Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY190055A
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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 00:30 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 and welcome to another 3ABN Today 01:12 program. I'm Jill Morikone, and we're so glad that 01:15 you've taken time from your day to join us. 01:18 And I don't know if you caught on that wide shot, 01:21 but we have some incredible guests today who are dressed 01:24 in some fantastic garb. We're gonna talk about 01:27 some of the countries that they have been in 01:29 for mission work. I'm speaking of AWR, or 01:34 Adventist World Radio. We have featured them 01:37 many times here at 3ABN before. They have a program 01:41 on 3ABN, and we are delighted to partner 01:44 together with helping to spread the gospel. 01:47 We want to bring them in today to share an update 01:51 with you-the countries that they've been, the 01:53 lives that've been changed, the baptisms that are taking 01:57 place-and they have some incredible stories today, 01:59 so I don't want to waste any more time. We want 02:01 to introduce them to you now. We have Duane McKey, 02:05 Elder Duane McKey is the president of AWR and the 02:09 assistant to the General Conference president for 02:12 TMI. Did I get that right? - That's correct, 02:14 yeah. - We're so glad to have you here. - Great 02:16 to be here. Thank you, 3ABN, and thank you 02:18 so much, Jill. This is a real privilege; thank 02:21 you. - It's a privilege to have you here. How 02:23 long have you been president of AWR? 02:25 - Oh, I'd say two-and-a-half years. - Two-and-a-half 02:27 years. Okay. All right. And sitting next to you 02:28 is your beautiful wife, Kathy McKey. You are 02:32 the social media and outreach coordinator 02:34 for the General Conference president. Is that right? 02:36 - That's right. - Aww. - It's a privilege. - So 02:39 what does that entail? - Well, I do some writing 02:43 for social media, and specifically Facebook and 02:47 Twitter for Elder Wilson, and then social media, 02:51 all these TMI projects, I'm involved in. - So, 02:55 tell us right off before we introduce the rest 02:56 of our guests. What is TMI? Does that mean 02:59 "too much information"? - No-no, no, "too many 03:01 people in Indianapolis". [laughter] - So, tell 03:06 us what Total Member Involvement is. - Yeah. 03:08 Mrs. White makes it very clear the work won't be 03:09 finished until the pastors and the laypeople work 03:13 together, join hands, administrators, and then 03:15 as we work together the work will be finished. 03:17 And so, we're very passionate about that. Elder Wilson's 03:20 very passionate about it, and so I'm his assistant 03:21 for that. But to kind of put it together; we call 03:24 it AWR360° Broadcast to Baptism. So, that's AWR, the 03:28 broadcasting, plus the Broadcast to Baptism. 03:31 The 360 brings Total Member Involvement together with 03:34 AWR. - Amen! That's wonderful. So, AWR 03:37 combining with that Total Member Involvement 03:40 with the broadcast with the evangelism and baptism. 03:43 - Right. - Oh, praise the Lord! Okay! And then we 03:46 have Kyle Allen who is the vice president for 03:49 AWR, and we're so glad to have you here. - It's 03:51 great to be back to 3ABN. - Absolutely. How long 03:54 have you been with AWR? - Oh... What, a year and a 03:58 half, about roughly? - Yeah. - It's just like that. 04:01 I mean, so much is going on, you don't 04:03 even know a year and a half passed, but yeah. 04:04 [laughter] It's been a blessing. - It's a privilege 04:07 to have you here. I know we've worked together 04:08 many years with ASI, as well, and you're a pastor, 04:11 and we're just glad to have you here. - Thank 04:13 you, Jill. - And sitting next to you is Cami 04:15 Oetman. And Cami, you are the AWR vice president 04:18 for advancement. - Yes. And it is an honor and 04:22 privilege. I love what I get to do for the Lord 04:24 through AWR. - Amen! Amen. So, tell us just 04:28 a moment, before we jump into why we're dressed 04:31 this way and what country you just came back from, 04:33 tell us about AWR-Adventist World Radio. - Well, our focus 04:39 is the world, of course. We want to communicate 04:42 the gospel on every media possible. Social media, 04:48 AM/FM, shortwave broadcast radio...anything we can do 04:52 to broadcast the news that Jesus is coming back 04:55 soon-the good news. And so, that's what we're 04:58 about: sharing Jesus with the world. And of 05:00 course, like Cami says, I think that we go where... 05:04 - We go wherever air goes. - Ooh! - When you think 05:08 about that, that's the truth. Radio, the broadcast 05:11 waves, can go wherever air goes, and it's just 05:14 such a powerful message. - There's no walls, no 05:17 borders, no limits. - Yeah, that's right! Exactly! 05:20 And what I love is that we do not just broadcast 05:23 but Broadcast to Baptism. - Amen. - That's AWR360's 05:27 motto, because we are not only broadcasting 05:32 through the airwaves, but we have boots on the 05:33 ground, so we're doing the work of the front lines, 05:36 evangelism, and it's very high-touch, is what we 05:41 call it, ministry. - High-tech to high-touch. - Yes! 05:46 [laughter] Sorry! - No, it's fine. [laughter continues] 05:49 - Exactly. - 'Cause for a long time, we've been 05:50 broadcasting around the world, and that's great. 05:52 But just to broadcast is one thing, but then 05:56 to help complete that circle to lead people to 05:59 make a decision to follow Christ and to become a 06:01 part of the church, that's kind of the vision of AWR360. 06:05 - Yes; connecting them to a church family. 06:07 - We're even using cell phones. - Nice. - So, we're connecting- 06:11 we don't know for sure- 200,000-300,000 people 06:14 around the world every week. We're connecting 06:16 with them through the cell phone-evangelistic 06:17 sermons. - Amen! So these are podcasts? These are 06:21 that people can download and watch or listen to, 06:24 or...? - Oh, no; we're on the cell phones. We share the 06:26 numbers through WhatsApp. - Through WhatsApp, Facebook 06:29 Messenger-sending Bible studies, basically, through 06:31 these different messaging services. People receive 06:33 the Bible studies; they get audio and they listen 06:35 to the sermons right there on their phones. 06:37 - Yes. - This is direct digital evangelism 06:39 is what we're talking about. - It is. Very powerful. 06:42 - Yes! - I believe it's going to be a big part 06:45 of how the Lord finishes the work, because everyone 06:48 has a cell phone-the majority of the world. 06:50 - And we're using in our radio stations, radio 06:52 stations broadcasting, and then directing people 06:54 to study the Bible through their cell phones, finding 06:56 people on Facebook... It's just the whole cycle 06:58 just using all these different forms of media to reach 07:01 people's hearts. - Amen. - So do you have a team 07:03 of people who will help answer these as far as 07:05 the social media and the Facebook and the cell 07:07 phones? And you have people locally in different 07:09 countries, or how do you work that? - It's growing. 07:11 We have what we call a center for digital 07:13 evangelism. The first one is in the Philippines. 07:16 - Yes. - A college working with that. You got a lot 07:18 of information you can share. - We're very 07:20 excited. We're getting young people involved in 07:23 becoming digital evangelists. If you can imagine like a 07:26 call center where they're not only answering calls 07:28 but responding to Facebook posts, WhatsApp messages, 07:31 reaching people, praying for them, studying the Bible 07:35 with them... That's our vision. We've just started 07:37 in the Philippines. We're hoping to expand in other 07:39 places around the world, as well. - Amen! That's 07:41 exciting. I mean, wow. It just makes your head 07:44 spin, almost. You know, every project you're involved 07:46 in... - We could spend a whole hour talking about 07:47 that. [laughter] - Well, we'll do that sometime. 07:49 [laughter continues] But we want to talk about... 07:51 You all are dressed in some fantastic- it's 07:54 beautiful, your outfits. And they come from the 07:57 Maasai, so tell us where you just came back from. 07:59 - Yes, the traditional Maasai! - Okay. - We 08:00 were in Tanzania. And so, we did so much in Tanzania, 08:03 and we're excited to share about that. We started, 08:07 actually, with entering a village of the Maasai, 08:10 our video crew, so we could learn about their 08:12 traditions, their culture... And so, there's a few 08:15 photos that we'd like to share with you. Of course, 08:18 the Maasai are known for their jumping. That's how 08:21 they- it's incredible how high these men 08:24 can jump. As you can see, our video crew attempted 08:26 to do that with them. - Oh, that's great! - It 08:28 was an absolute ball; they loved that we joined 08:29 in with them, and it's a bonding thing, really. 08:32 [laughter] And then we actually learned about 08:36 how they live. They use every part of the cow. 08:39 The cow is very important to them, and they herd 08:42 hundreds and hundreds of cows, which we have an 08:44 incredible story coming up about that. But if 08:46 you show the next picture, you can see even we carried 08:49 their... - The one with the baby on your back? - Yeah, 08:51 did you show that? Okay. - I just saw that. Let's 08:53 put that up again. That was a great picture. - It 08:55 was so sweet. We were invited into their huts, of course. 08:59 They're very simple, but just such loving people, 09:02 and they're hungry for the Word of God. And so, we 09:06 went into- their huts are made out of even 09:09 cow dung, and... I mean, they use EVERY part... 09:11 - Literally. - Yeah. It was like 100 degrees or more 09:15 in there. But anyhow... [laughs] And bless their 09:17 hearts; they're just the sweetest people, 09:19 and it was a privilege to spend time with them. 09:21 And one of our incredible stories came out of the 09:25 Maasai village, and I know Duane- this is 09:28 a favorite story, and it's about Abraham. - Kathy 09:32 and I grew up on a farm. - Okay. - North Dakota 09:34 and Oklahoma. They had wheat and grain and things; 09:37 we had cows. And as I remember back for, oh, 09:41 50 years and my parents had cows, first beef and 09:43 then dairy cows, I can only remember a one set 09:46 of twins. - Okay. - Cows have one baby. - Right. 09:50 - Nine months, like people; one baby. [laughs] 09:54 Sheep and goats have one or two; never three. 09:58 And so, Abraham became an Adventist, went to series 10:02 of meetings, was out in the field... He's much like 10:04 a chief; has lots of cows-hundreds and 10:07 hundreds of cows. He's very wealthy. And he's 10:09 listening to his radio, and he's listening to 10:11 AWR, and he hears about tithing. So, he decides 10:15 he's going to tithe. - Oh, wow. - And so, he brings 10:18 his cows in, gets them all in a huge pen, and 10:21 he counts them out. One, two, three, four, five, 10:25 six, seven, eight, nine, tithe. [laughter] One, 10:29 two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10:32 tithe. His neighbors come and they start watching. 10:36 They're non-Christian neighbors, and they 10:38 start laughing. "Abraham has lost his mind. No 10:41 Maasai in his right mind would give away a cow." 10:44 Sometimes, the bull is more important than 10:47 the kid. I mean, they're very special to them. 10:50 They don't give away their cows. And they're 10:52 saying, "Abraham is crazy; he's lost his mind." No, 10:56 he just keeps counting: one, two, three, four, 10:58 five, six, seven, eight, nine, tithe! [laughter] 11:00 And so they take the cows away, and he gives, 11:05 I think that day- was it... - He gave $30,000 worth 11:09 of cows away. - Oh, wow! - He had called in the 11:15 conference and to come and receive these cows 11:20 for tithe. That's right. It was amazing. - And so 11:25 the weeks start going by, and his cows, nine months 11:30 later, start having babies. But instead of one, they 11:34 start having two. - Did they have twins? - Yes! 11:37 All the cows. - Twins. Unheard of. - All of the 11:43 cows? - All of the cows. - And the sheep, instead 11:45 of having one, they're having two and three. 11:47 Two and three! - Wow. - And so, the neighbors 11:50 are so impressed, they go to the conference. 11:54 And they said, "We want to pay tithe." [laughter] 12:01 But they said, "You're not Adventist." "We don't 12:03 care! We want Abraham's blessings! We want to pay 12:05 tithe!" [further laughter] - That's right. And here's 12:08 another thing: if people, thieves, came to steal 12:13 their cows, Abraham's cows, they would always 12:16 come back. - The cows return on their own. 12:20 - The cows would like having a homing device. 12:22 - Yes. - Yeah, that's right. And so finally, 12:24 the word went out with the thieves: don't steal Abraham's 12:27 cows. It's no use, because they'll go back home. [laughs] 12:31 - You know, it's the promise of Malachi. - Amen. - You 12:33 know you return that to God, and He will open 12:35 up the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing, 12:38 but there's not even room to receive it. 12:40 - You can't- like we say on the farm, that 12:42 God's scoop shovel is bigger than ours. [laughs] 12:46 You can't out give God. - Amen. - That's right. 12:49 - What a witness! And that happened before you all 12:52 came in. - That's right. - And they told you the 12:54 story. - That's right. - But we met Abraham 12:57 and...yeah. - Oh, yeah. - Yes, there's a few 12:59 photos of that. And what's so great is that while we 13:02 were there in Tanzania... - Is this Abraham? - Yes, 13:04 this is Abraham listening to AWR Radio. - Aww. - That's 13:08 right. - That's wonderful. Praise the Lord. - And 13:12 then there's... This is actually a shot from 13:14 when we actually recreated his story for a video, so 13:17 be looking for that. Awesome, awesome story to have on 13:21 video. So, there I am in the middle of hundreds 13:23 of cows. [laughter] ...stampede, but I learned 13:26 how to, like, guide them with a stick, and it was 13:28 pretty fun, yeah! - With a stick. - With a stick, 13:29 yes. - And she learned how to walk. - That's impressive! 13:32 - You know, they kind of really direct, but I couldn't; 13:33 I just kind of lightly tapped, and they listened! 13:36 You know, I can't...you know. Whip or anything, 13:39 but anyway, you know- and it was just fun to 13:41 be out there, be with them...so yeah. But 13:44 you know, many amazing things happened while we 13:45 were there in Tanzania. See, the radio broadcasters 13:49 there, we let everyone know that we were 13:50 coming before. We had our evangelistic series. 13:52 And in doing that, the evangelistic series, they 13:56 would invite people to the evangelistic series, 13:58 and then they would give a Bible question of the day 14:00 on the radio. - Ah! - And then, you know, 14:03 they talk about a certain topic, and the next day, 14:05 people would call in and answer the Bible 14:07 question of the day, and they would win a radio. 14:09 But what was so awesome that they thought of is 14:11 that you come to pick up the radio at church on 14:14 Sabbath. - What a great idea! - Isn't that a good 14:17 idea? - Yeah! - So we were there in church, 14:19 and they came to pick them up, and Kathy, this 14:22 one... - This one was a blind young man, and 14:26 he had listened intently to the radio to get the 14:31 answer to the question of the day right. And so, 14:36 he won that radio. - And actually, he knew the answers 14:39 better than anyone else, because he learned to 14:40 listen. He was blind, and he learned to listen well. 14:43 - Wow. Amen, amen. - And here was another young 14:45 man. He listened to the radio, and he memorized 14:50 1,000 memory verses. - Wow! - 1,000! - 1,000 memory verses. 14:57 - In under a year. - That's amazing. - Yes. - Amen. 15:00 - So we were there, and they gave the radio as 15:01 they came out. We took pictures of it... - Yeah. 15:03 It was wonderful. - Exciting. Yeah. - What a blessing. 15:07 - It was. - So you had the evangelistic series? 15:09 Did you have several evangelistic series? 15:11 - Oh, yeah. Yeah. - How many? Do you remember? 15:12 - I think over 90, wasn't it? - Yeah, we had 89 of 15:15 our broadcasters giving the series, but we'd love 15:20 to share that after the video. We'll show one of 15:21 our protection from the pigs video now. - Ooh, 15:25 exciting! I want to see this. Protection from the 15:28 pigs in Tanzania. Let's take a look at that video 15:30 now. - Yes. 15:36 - Welcome to a country shared by thousands of 15:39 animals, over 120 different travel groups, and home to 15:46 some of Africa's most famous national parks. 15:49 - I'm in Tanzania, and this is AWR360. [cheering] 16:10 - My name is Michael, and I live in the northern 16:13 part of Tanzania. I have a beautiful wife and family 16:19 and grow vegetables to sell. - As a teenager, Michael 16:25 had embraced the Seventh-day Adventist message. But as 16:28 the years passed by, he laid aside his faith and 16:31 slowly forgot about God. [music] 16:35 Michael settled down, married, and began to 16:38 put all his time and energy into growing 16:40 vegetables for sale. He took pride in his beautiful 16:45 garden and always kept it neat. Then, one day, 16:49 something happened that would disrupt their peaceful, 16:53 quiet lives, and ruin Michael's garden. 17:10 - I started having terrible problems. Wild pigs 17:13 would come into my garden at night, destroying my 17:17 plants and eating my vegetables. In order 17:23 to protect the crops, I began staying up all 17:26 night to keep watch. [music] 17:39 - One evening as he kindled a fire and prepared for 17:42 another long night, Michael switched on his 17:45 radio. The station playing was new to him, but 17:48 the words sounded strangely familiar. It had been so 17:51 many years since he had heard anything about 17:54 Jesus. It was all such a distant memory. The 17:58 night passed more quickly this time, and when morning 18:01 broke, Michael's little radio was still playing 18:04 the station he would later learn was Adventist World 18:08 Radio. The second night, Michael again turned 18:12 his radio to AWR, and this time invited 5 of 18:16 his neighbors to come listen, as well. 18:19 - On the third night, a message about faith 18:22 was presented on the radio. My heart was touched, 18:26 and I say to my friends, "If there is a God big 18:29 enough to protect our crops, why are we staying 18:32 up the whole night?" - Michael decided he 18:37 would give God a second chance. In an effort to 18:42 test and see if God was real, Michael remained 18:46 home the next night instead of going out and watching 18:49 over his crops. Before bed, he gathered his 18:53 family together to listen to AWR and pray for 18:57 God's protection. [uplifting music] 19:04 The next morning, Michael went outside to survey 19:07 his crops. Amazingly, there was no damage! 19:16 - I was so excited, and when running back to 19:18 share the good news with my family, for the first 19:22 time in my life, I realized that God was real and 19:26 cared for me. - Night after night, 19:31 Michael returned home, listened to his radio, 19:34 and once again prayed for God's protection before 19:37 peacefully sleeping. Michael's neighbors 19:42 began to ask questions. They had watched as the 19:45 pigs passed by Michael's fields, only to eat THEIR 19:48 surrounding crops. The neighbors felt sure it 19:51 was witchcraft...but Michael gladly explained 19:55 about the radio and a God who would even 19:57 protect vegetables from pigs. - Several of my 20:02 neighbors decided to test God, too, and listened to 20:06 AWR at home instead of guarding their crops at 20:09 night, and the pigs no longer bothered their 20:12 vegetables, either! - Before long, Michael, 20:18 his family, and 30 other people from his village 20:22 decided to give their lives to Jesus through 20:25 baptism. 20:33 - We are so thankful for Adventist World Radio. 20:36 If we had not heard it, we would still be out in 20:40 the dark, guarding our crops from pigs and 20:43 would've missed hearing about Jesus. - Three 20:47 years later, Michael's garden continues to 20:50 grow well, and the wild pigs have never returned. 20:54 Michael loves to tell everyone about Jesus, 20:57 and with a big smile, shared with us that he 21:00 is a missionary now. His love for Jesus and 21:05 the Seventh-day Adventist church has been rekindled, 21:08 and he has a passion born from a personal experience 21:12 of faith and trust... and all of this is the 21:16 simple result of a radio broadcast and a God 21:19 big enough to answer prayer. 21:25 Thank you for your generous support of 21:27 Adventist World Radio. Through it, lives are 21:30 being touched and transformed for eternity. From Broadcast 21:34 to Baptism, this is AWR360. 21:55 - Amen. What an incredible story. You know, as I was 21:58 listening to that and watching that, it reminded 22:01 me that we read the stories in the Bible of 22:03 Jesus walking and healing the lame and raising the 22:07 dead, and we think, "Okay, that happened in Bible 22:09 times." But our God is just as alive and powerful 22:13 today! [Amen. That's right.] And to make 22:16 miracles. That is a miracle. That's an 22:19 incredible testimony. - For three years now. 22:21 [Go ahead.] - It reminds me of that verse that 22:25 says the battle is the Lord's, right? Sometimes, we try 22:29 to fight for ourselves. But when we trust in 22:31 God and have faith, pray, the battle is His! And when 22:36 we seek Him first, all these other things will be added 22:38 to us. - Amen. - So, you know, he sought 22:40 the Lord, he listened to AWR and God protected 22:43 his vegetables from those pigs. - Yes! And 30 other 22:46 people were baptized, right? Wasn't it 30 22:48 other people? - Yeah! Yeah. - Amen! - And 22:50 there'll be more. There'll be more. He's a missionary 22:52 now. - Amen. Amen. So, you went to Tanzania and 22:55 did all of these evangelistic series there? - Mhm. 22:58 - Yeah. Actually, we had 89-actually, more, I 23:01 think-but our producers come in. Now, Kathy and 23:03 I spent 10 years with missionaries in Africa, 23:05 so we know Africa, and I thought perhaps having 23:08 the producers come and preach, they would be 23:11 experienced evangelists. Most of them hadn't 23:14 preached before. One lady was so scared to death, 23:17 she said, "I can't do this. I cannot do this." 23:18 [laughter] But all of them preached. They 23:21 had life-changing experiences. 23:23 So excited about Broadcast to Baptism. It was life-changing 23:27 for our producers to learn to be better producers, 23:30 and also to learn that they can be evangelists on the 23:32 radios as they broadcast the messages about Jesus. 23:36 - Amen! Amen. - Yes. It's exciting that they 23:39 are embracing- we've heard reports across 23:41 Africa of how, really, our producers are loving 23:44 this Broadcast to Baptism motto, our theme, because 23:48 it's just making it so plain and practical, 23:51 and that's what we're doing. We're soul winners. 23:53 That's what Jesus wants us to be: soul winners! 23:55 - And I think the important thing is, you know, we're 23:57 not just creating radio programs to give information 24:00 good information. It's nice to give good information 24:04 about health or... You could even give good 24:06 information about the Bible. But as radio producers, 24:09 we want them to be soul winners. - Amen. - We 24:11 want them to call people to make decisions to follow 24:14 the Lord and to follow His truth. And so, that's why 24:16 this powerful combination of bringing them to do 24:18 evangelism, AWR360°, showing them the cycle, 24:22 and then sending them back to their countries where 24:24 they're now going to implement that in their 24:26 local context, in their language, to help win 24:28 more souls for Christ. - Amen. What an incredible motto. 24:31 - Yes. There's nothing quite like experiencing 24:33 it for yourself, having the Holy Spirit use 24:36 you, speak through you, to win people's souls. 24:39 And when you have caught that fire inside, it just... 24:43 - Yeah, it's a fire. - Yeah, it is. Then 24:44 when they go back, it's gonna come through the 24:46 radio broadcast. It's gonna come through the 24:48 communities and their churches, and it just 24:49 spreads. - Amen. - Like a wildfire. - It does, 24:51 amen. - Actually, one of our producers that 24:53 was there with us had come from a different country, 24:57 and he shared his story. It's absolutely incredible, 25:00 Cami. - Yes. You know, God really protects our 25:02 precious producers around the world. And this story 25:05 that we're about to show you on video is just one 25:08 of the stories, and it's powerful. I tell you- 25:10 let's please keep our radio producers in our 25:13 prayers. They need it, because their lives are 25:16 at stake in many of the countries that they broadcast 25:18 in. - Oh, wow... - And this is one of those stories. 25:21 - Let's take a look at that story now. Before 25:23 we go to that video, though, tell me how many 25:25 producers do you have? Do you even know... 25:28 - We have 120 in Africa, about. We have 89 of 25:32 them that came for the special event. Some of 25:35 the rest had other conflicting schedules, and they said, 25:38 "Please, do it again! Or next year! We want to 25:41 go to Papua New Guinea with you!" [laughter] 25:44 - Okay! This is a picture- - That is. That was a picture 25:46 of the producers that came to Tanzania and actually 25:48 did their own evangelistic series. - Okay. So the video 25:51 we're going to see now is one of the producers 25:53 here from that 120. Let's take a look at that video now. 26:00 - Come with me to the continent of Africa where 26:02 one of our faithful radio producers has 26:05 sacrificed so much to reach his fellow countrymen 26:08 for Jesus. Hi, I'm Cami, and this is AWR360°. 26:37 - It was late one afternoon as I closed the door to my 26:39 office at the AWR station. I would be gone for several days. 26:55 - As Assad boarded the bus, nothing seemed 26:58 unusual. It was like any other day-only today, 27:02 he was traveling farther- this time, returning home 27:05 for a short visit. Despite religious persecution in 27:10 his country of birth, Assad longed for his people to 27:13 know Jesus...and this spurred him on. All 27:18 of a sudden, Assad's thoughts were 27:20 interrupted. [suspenseful music] 27:38 - I cringed as they reached for me, too, and then 27:41 to my horror, yelled, "This is the man we 27:43 are looking for!" 27:49 They said they knew of my work with the radio 27:51 and wanted my contracts. Unsatisfied with the answers 27:55 I gave, they threw me into a large, empty container. 28:07 - Shut out from fresh air and sunshine, he 28:10 sat in darkness. His socks, shoes, and jacket 28:14 were taken, and Assad suffered from the extreme 28:17 conditions. As the sun beat down in the day, 28:21 the metal container intensified the heat...while at night, 28:26 a sharp chill sat in. 28:32 Without food or water, Assad soon fell very sick. 28:38 - As I sat in the dark isolation of the container, 28:41 my mind went back to my childhood. Scenes 28:45 of my village being raided by night flashed before me. 28:56 Those men had worn masks, too. 29:01 [screaming] 29:03 Somehow, I escaped, though, and I ran with all my might. 29:09 Alone in the darkness, I wondered for the 29:11 first time, "What would become of me?" 29:18 - Assad's mind lingers on the memories. It 29:22 was the orphanage he was taken to and the boys that 29:25 introduced him to Adventist World Radio. They huddled 29:29 together, listening, knowing that if caught, punishment 29:33 would ensue. Christianity was not allowed here... 29:38 but this only made them long all the more for the 29:41 truth. 29:45 Then there was that day when the orphanage director 29:47 had called him into her office. Assad was old 29:51 enough now, and he must leave the orphanage. 30:03 His heart ached as he walked away, never to 30:06 return. Again, he wondered, "What will become of me?" 30:12 Now, he sat alone in a metal shipping container, 30:16 pondering this same question he had as a lonely child and 30:19 dejected orphan. Assad closed his eyes and thought about 30:24 his work with Adventist World Radio. Since escaping 30:28 his home country, Assad had been producing Adventist 30:31 Radio programs in his native tongue for his people back 30:34 home. Christianity was forbidden in his country- 30:37 but the radio could carry the message that missionaries 30:41 could not. 30:52 - I wondered, "What would become of my radio program 30:55 now? Who would carry on the work if I didn't 30:58 return?" - The days and weeks passed. 31:03 Assad was released from the container, but the inhumane 31:07 conditions remained. Starved, beaten, and 31:10 even electrocuted, he had endured more than 31:14 any human should. - One day, without 31:19 notice, my hands were unbound, and I was told 31:22 I could return home. I could hardly believe 31:26 it! I was free! I was praising the Lord as 31:30 I boarded a bus again, this time headed home 31:34 to my family and my work at the radio station. 31:40 - Despite the? experience Assad has been through, 31:43 he faithfully continues his work with AWR, producing 31:47 messages of hope and truth for his home country. 31:51 Assad trusts the Lord to keep him safe and knows 31:54 that as long as God wants him to be producing these 31:57 programs, nothing can stop him. 32:05 - There are many others like Assad who have 32:07 suffered great persecution to share their faith, and 32:10 yet there are many more who still need to hear about 32:13 Jesus. Please pray for these precious souls, and 32:16 consider helping to further the work of Adventist World 32:19 Radio around the world by donating today. Together, 32:22 from Broadcast to Baptism, this is AWR360°. 32:44 - Wow. That's an amazing story. His faithfulness to 32:49 God even under persecution. So, I know Assad is not his 32:54 real name, and I saw the little disclaimer at the 32:57 beginning that the pictures we saw and the people, 33:00 the reenactment of it- none of those have any 33:03 relation to him, 'cause you're trying to protect 33:04 his identity. - That is correct. - But did he go 33:06 to another country afterward, or...? - Yes, yes. - To try to 33:10 protect himself? - Yes, and they've tried to kill 33:12 him two other times since then. - Even recently. So, 33:15 we protect his identity. - He's very careful. - Oh, 33:19 wow. I just want to say to you at home: let's join 33:21 AWR and the team here in praying for Assad. The 33:25 Lord knows his name, the Lord has it engraven on the 33:28 palm of His hand, and the Lord can put His protection 33:31 over him. And not just Assad, but I imagine there's 33:34 a lot of people who are enduring that persecution 33:37 or trying to spread the gospel in closed countries, 33:40 so we want to pray for them. Yeah. Now, let's 33:43 move from Tanzania to Zambia! You all have done work in 33:48 Zambia. Tell us about that. - Oh, my. Zambia's 33:50 been such a thrilling experience. The videos 33:53 that you will see that are coming up are 33:55 absolutely incredible. There are thousands of 33:58 people that were baptized. Just a year ago, we went 34:01 there, and we were told we came the wrong time 34:03 of the year. Nobody would be baptized because it's 34:05 cold. Actually, it WAS cold. - Was it cold? - Kyle preached, 34:09 so Cami did the video and we were there, all of 34:12 us were there... We would go to these 34:14 meetings, and they would get the little... What are 34:16 they called,? - Well, that's what we 34:18 call them in?. - Yeah, they're little charcoal 34:20 burners, and little families would get around 34:22 the charcoal burners to stay warm and say, "Listen 34:24 to the sermon." [laughter] It was kind of amusing, 34:26 but they were so committed to keep coming and coming. 34:29 We'd broadcast and broadcast and broadcast three months 34:32 before, then we continued afterwards, and then we 34:35 had all these people. I think we said...is it 34:38 80%? - 80%. 80%? - From the radio. - Of the people that 34:42 came was from the radio. And you know, the amazing 34:44 thing was x2, they were talking about how it was 34:46 too cold and all this. But as the meetings progressed, 34:48 more people came! They just- more people came! 34:51 And they came in their big jackets and blankets 34:53 'cause it was cold, but they were being warmed 34:56 by the Word of God. - Amen. - And then the result was 35:00 just tremendous what God did. - That's right. 35:02 And actually, we have a visual of the results, which 35:05 is pretty incredible. We want to show you 35:06 so that your eyes can take it in. It's actually rather 35:09 shocking, the results of that final day. - It's 35:14 not shocking; it's unbelievable. - I know, 35:16 right!? Well, it's a miracle! - Miraculous. 35:19 - Miraculous. I like that. - Here's the thing that 35:21 the union officers said to us. We said that 35:26 June was too cold. But they said, "We know now 35:30 that God is a god of all seasons. He will work 35:34 cold, warm-whenever." So they said, "You come 35:39 any time of the year." [laughter] - And I will 35:42 tell you, I have never been so cold as standing 35:44 in that pool (which you'll see in a moment). Two 35:47 hours-Duane-two hours in the waters, baptizing. 35:50 And we're not- this isn't a long, lengthy, each 35:52 person... We're talking, you know, 15-20 seconds 35:54 each person... 30-something pastors, and they're baptizing 35:57 for two hours. I was shaking, I was so cold! 36:00 But it was so exc- I've never been so excited, 36:02 and all the people were so happy. You will be 36:04 excited as you see are the pictures of that 36:07 baptism. - So we're talking a lot of baptisms here! 36:09 [agreement] Okay. - And the water went from blue 36:11 to dark brown. - Oh, yeah. [laughter] - 'Cause so many 36:15 people were getting baptized. - Okay. Well, let's take a 36:17 look at that video here, and then we can talk 36:19 about it a bit more. - Yes. 36:23 Welcome to Zambia, a land filled with rugged 36:26 mountains, abundant wildlife, and many people 36:29 searching for Christ. God is at work in this 36:32 land, and we are excited to see how lives are being 36:35 transformed through the radio. 1,070 evangelistic 36:40 campaigns have been held across Zambia and the 36:43 surrounding region. God blessed, and it was a huge 36:46 success. People came by the thousands. After the 36:50 meetings, almost 18,000 people were baptized, and 36:54 more than 80% of those baptisms came from listening 36:57 to Adventist World Radio. Hi. I'm Cami, and this is 37:02 AWR360°. 37:18 - We're here in Lusaka, Zambia for the Zambia 37:20 for Christ 2018 meetings, and we have an incredible 37:24 team of evangelists that have come from all over the 37:28 world, really. United States- and then particularly, Europe. 37:31 We have a lot of people that have come from 37:33 the European continent who have come to Africa 37:37 because they want to share the love of Christ 37:40 with the people here. - Adventist World Radio 37:42 has been broadcasting in Zambia since 2004. But 37:47 just before the evangelistic series, we began a special 37:50 emphasis. - Three months before we got here, we 37:54 started broadcasting on a daily basis the 37:56 prophetic message-the same message that we're 37:59 presenting night after night here on our 38:01 evangelistic crusades. The results are showing, 38:04 because we're finding people who have listened 38:07 to the radio and they're coming to our meetings, 38:09 and they're accepting Jesus because of it. 38:12 - Just over a year ago, I was in Lusaka with Bob, 38:14 Peck, and Kathy, and we were talking together- 38:17 talking with all the pastors in the city of Lusaka. They 38:21 said to me, "We listened to a thousand meetings!" 38:23 [chuckles] So, a thousand evangelistic meetings all 38:26 in one city all at one time. That's the first; 38:29 that's the first time in the history of the 38:31 Adventist church that so many meetings will 38:33 be held and that have been held now. 38:37 - Before Zambia for Christ began, AWR 38:40 broadcasters would ask the listeners a question 38:43 of the day. This was based on the message 38:45 that was presented the day before. Every day, 38:48 one man named Mr. Wika would call in with an answer 38:51 or to ask a question of his own. We found out 38:55 more about this man, and it turns out that 38:58 he runs a small business repairing furniture. And 39:01 every day, he stops his work early so his employees 39:04 can listen to the AWR message. AWR has not 39:08 only reached the countryside but has also penetrated 39:12 through prison walls. After listening to AWR 39:15 on the radio, nearly 900 inmates in Zambia's 39:19 maximum security prison have been baptized. 39:30 In a nearby town, a lady had a dream- 39:33 and in this dream, she saw a small radio. Later 39:36 that very day, her husband brought home the same 39:39 radio she had seen in her dream! When they 39:42 turned it on, AWR was the only channel that 39:46 they could tune in no matter where they set 39:48 the dial! As they listened, God's love transformed 39:52 their home-and today, they are both members 39:55 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 40:00 The speakers here are becoming part of stories 40:02 like these on a daily basis. The Lord is 40:05 using them in a mighty and powerful way. 40:09 - I was struggling to give the sermon about 40:13 health on Sabbath, because I thought the people I'm 40:18 approaching, they know everything. So I spoke 40:20 about tobacco, I spoke about alcohol, I spoke 40:23 about clean and unclean... And when I did a baptism 40:25 call, the first person who came up was known by 40:28 the community as being someone who was really addicted to 40:32 tobacco and had a huge alcohol problem. - There 40:36 is a surprising, amazing lesson I've learned in 40:39 Zambia, and that is when I return home and wherever 40:43 I'm gonna go to preach, I will end all my sermons 40:46 with an appeal. There are many people that 40:48 want to give their life to Jesus, but somebody 40:50 has to challenge them to do so. - On the fourth 40:52 evening of our meetings, an old lady came. She 40:56 said to me, "I had a dream before the crusade started. 41:00 I had a dream-and in my dream, I heard a voice 41:03 calling me. Now, I didn't see the face, but I could 41:05 hear it was a lady's voice." And when she 41:08 came on the crusade and she heard me, she said, 41:11 "This is the voice!" She recognized the voice from 41:14 her dream. So she said, "I know that God has 41:16 called me to the meetings." - When I see people putting 41:20 up their hands or giving their lives or wanting to 41:23 give their lives to Christ, it gives you a feeling that 41:26 is literally undescribable. It's an amazing feeling. 41:31 And you know, it's not necessarily you-it's 41:33 Christ working through you. And that feeling of Christ 41:37 working through you is amazing. 41:40 - On the last Sabbath, all of the meeting sites 41:42 converged together for one mass baptism. 17,968 41:49 people, giving their lives to the Lord, 41:51 walking into the depths of the water, and coming 41:53 out new. We are told that 80% of those being 41:57 baptized here today came from listening to Adventist 42:01 World Radio. 42:06 - We really need your help to help us keep 42:08 the radio broadcasting after these meetings, 42:11 whether it's in Rwanda or Romania or here in 42:14 Zambia because-you see- the members came to the 42:17 meetings because they'd heard the message on the 42:19 radio! They got excited about the health messages, 42:22 about the Adventist prophetic messages. And then, after 42:25 they're baptized, they go back to their houses, 42:27 and they still have their radios! And so, we still 42:29 need to continue to broadcast. It's not 42:31 cheap; it does cost a lot of money, but we need 42:34 to keep the broadcast going so that they'll 42:36 listen to the message over and over again. 42:38 Thank you so much for your support for Adventist 42:41 World Radio, AWR360° Broadcast to Baptism, 42:45 as we continue to broadcast, connecting people with Jesus, 42:48 training them through the AWR360° Total Member 42:51 Involvement concept to witness for Jesus, live 42:54 for Jesus, listen and learn and study as 42:57 they share the good news of Christ's soon return 43:00 with their friends and neighbors so this work 43:02 can be finished and Jesus will come. 43:32 - Amen! As we say here, that is a two-hander! 43:35 Praise the Lord for almost 18,000 baptisms! And what 43:41 I loved as I watched that was not only the people's 43:43 lives who were impacted, who came to the meetings, 43:46 but the people who preached were impacted, 43:49 as well. It works both ways! What an amazing 43:51 experience. - Yeah, we brought a number of 43:53 Europeans. The European ASI president and others came- 43:56 pastors and laypeople and young people... - And they go 44:00 back on fire!-because our message is so beautiful- 44:03 the Adventist message. It just... You can't help 44:06 but share it because it's so wonderful. - Yeah, 44:08 it really does change our lives. We've had 44:10 several occasions where a young person has come, 44:12 maybe unsure of their faith or unsure of, you 44:14 know, what they truly believe in, and then they 44:17 preach the message of hope and salvation in 44:20 Jesus and all of our Seventh-day Adventist 44:22 end time message, and they just become so 44:26 committed and say afterwards, "This changed my life." 44:28 So, this is happening in young and old; it doesn't 44:31 matter. - Even people who thought they could 44:34 never speak, by God's grace, they had an 44:36 opportunity to speak- changed their life. They 44:38 saw God... - Deepens your faith. - Yes. They 44:40 saw God use them, and then it's just a miracle 44:43 what God can do. - All of our AWR staff-all 44:45 of these-had done evangelistic meetings 44:47 like this. They had this life-changing experience. 44:50 Most of our staff. And actually, if somebody's 44:54 from 3ABN, Jill, would want to come and join 44:56 us in Papua New Guinea next year, you're welcome! 44:58 [laughter] - Amen! - Thank you! I would love to come 45:02 preach for a series. I mean, that would just 45:04 be life-changing, you know? But thank you 45:06 for the invitation. - The emphasis will be 45:08 on PNG next year. In May 1, meetings begin, 45:14 and they go for two weeks. - This is 2020 we're talking 45:17 about. - Uh-huh! - 2020. - Yup. - That's the emphasis 45:20 of the General Conference. - Yes. - And AWR. - That's 45:23 right. So if you're interested, go to AWR.org 45:26 to keep up with the information that we 45:27 will be releasing about how you can get involved. 45:30 - We would love to have you come and preach... 45:32 And you may not think yourself a preacher, but 45:35 Kathy, we've seen a lot of people...right? - I mean, 45:39 thousands of people whose lives are totally changed. 45:43 It takes you up out of your comfort zone, 45:47 and you realize that it's not about you, but it's 45:50 about God. He can work in and through you and 45:53 expand your territory. Yeah. - Amen. - So come 45:58 to Papua New Guinea, preach, be a part of 46:00 our AWR360° Medical Clinic. - That'll be before. - Yes. 46:04 They are so excited there. We have a few pictures of 46:07 the crowds that gather when Duane and Kathy 46:09 and Sue and Ray went to go and... - Oh, wow. - It 46:13 was phenomenal. - The back of those shirts 46:15 says, "Soul-willing is our business." - Amen! 46:20 already in a baptismal 46:23 class. - Wow. - In PNG. - In PNG. - Yeah. They'll 46:27 have 3,000 evangelistic meetings, and they are 46:30 praying. And in Rwanda, the Lord blessed in a 46:33 marvelous way with 100,000 baptisms with that TMI 46:36 project and AWR there. - Wow. - In Rwanda. Now 46:40 they're saying, "If Rwanda did it, we can, with God's 46:43 blessings"... They're praying for... - Well, more than 46:47 100,000... - More than 200,000 baptisms. And 46:51 we said, "This is never gonna happen." I said, 46:53 "Yeah, but it's never gonna happen." And then they 46:55 said... - Those are dangerous words to say, 46:56 Duane. - That's right! With God, nothing is 46:59 impossible. [laughter] - And then they told us, 47:01 "Well, we already have 10,000 people in a baptismal 47:03 class." And they each one, before they can be 47:06 baptized next year- they're holding them 47:08 over-before they can be baptized, they have 47:10 to win 5-7 people themselves. - So, 10,000 times... 47:18 - This is incredible. We have one more video 47:20 roll I want to make sure we get in before our 47:22 time is up. So, let's take a look at that now. 47:26 - Madagascar is one of the poorest countries 47:29 in Southern Africa. But despite this, in 1996, 47:33 church leaders managed to step out in faith to 47:37 establish one of the very first first Seventh-day Adventist 47:40 FM stations in Africa. Today, there are more 47:43 than 22 FM stations covering the urban 47:46 areas-and this combined with two hours of daily 47:49 shortwave broadcasts to the more remote parts 47:52 of Madagascar has triggered the birth of over 40 churches. 47:56 With just a handful of paid staff and hundreds 47:59 of committed volunteers, God is using AWR in a 48:03 mighty way to proclaim the good news of Jesus' 48:05 love and His soon coming. 48:10 - I am in Madagascar, and this is AWR360°. 48:33 I used to hate the Adventists. 48:37 If they had evangelistic series, I would throw 48:39 stones on the roof. 48:53 - One day, Cihalavo? watched as many beautiful 48:56 young ladies walked into the Adventist meetings. 48:59 An idea popped into his head. "I need a 49:02 good wife," he thought. "Maybe I can find one here." 49:11 He entered the meeting, and sitting in the back, 49:13 surveyed his options. One girl stood out to him. 49:16 And after the meeting, he introduced himself. 49:19 [speaking in native tongue] - I didn't tell her about 49:22 my bad past, and I started praying to impress her. 49:26 We were married soon after. But instead of 49:29 marriage and a beautiful wife fixing my problems, 49:32 things got worse. - Cihalavo? had a criminal 49:36 record which caught up to him, and after being 49:39 found guilty of murder he was placed on the 49:42 Most Wanted list. Realizing his situation, 49:46 Cihalavo? fled to a remote forest. 49:56 He lived here for four years. 50:01 I was living like an animal in the woods. 50:04 I had made a mess of my life and felt like there 50:07 was no hope for me. - Like the prodigal son 50:13 who realized he had nothing to lose, Cihalavo? ventured 50:16 out of the forest. Knowing his family 50:19 had surely abandoned him, he went to the 50:21 Seventh-day Adventist Church. An elder met 50:24 him and assured? that his place was 50:26 in the church and he was always welcome. 50:29 These words brought a glimmer of hope to his 50:32 heart. - Though the church elder was very 50:36 welcoming, the other members avoided me. 50:39 My past began to haunt me again, and in fear 50:43 I returned to the woods. - But this time, Cihalavo? 50:53 took something with him to the woods-a radio. 50:59 This was his only connection to the outside world, and 51:02 he listened eagerly to different programs. 51:15 One day, he stumbled across an AWR broadcast. 51:19 The words stirred his soul, and he began to 51:22 fall in love with the Jesus who would 51:24 forgive a sinner like him. Excited about his new 51:32 friend Jesus, Cihalavo? began inviting other thieves 51:35 and criminals in the area to come and hear 51:37 the AWR programs, too. Convinced of their salvation 51:42 through the blood of Jesus, Cihalavo? and 15 other 51:47 ex-criminals came out of the woods and were 51:50 baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist 51:52 Church. - Together with my friends who 51:57 were once thieves, we built a church where 52:00 we'd all worship together on Sabbath. - Today, 52:07 Cihalavo? also leads out in a small group study 52:10 where they listen to AWR programs and pray together. 52:18 Cihalavo? preaches like John the Baptist wherever 52:21 he goes and is often called "Apostle" by 52:24 those who know him. - AWR changed my life. 52:30 Through it, I found forgiveness and hope. 52:37 - Thank you so much for your support of 52:39 Adventist World Radio. Truly, great things are 52:42 happening even in the remotest parts of the 52:45 earth. - And together, we are making waves 52:47 from broadcast to baptism. [Together:] This is AWR360°. 53:11 - Amen. What an incredible story of people who are 53:15 outcast by society, but the Lord Jesus reached 53:19 their hearts through the ministry of AWR. - Wow. 53:21 Amen. [Amen.] - And that happened in Madagascar. 53:23 - That's in Madagascar, yes. And that's just 53:25 one of the stories that came out of Madagascar. 53:28 We have several including a witch who was dedicated 53:32 as a child and was brought up in witchcraft, and she 53:36 became supremely powerful across all of 53:39 Madagascar; became very wealthy. She would be 53:41 paid by different groups to protect their cows, 53:45 because of the thieves, cow thieves would come, 53:48 and she could even stop their bullets in midair- 53:51 yeah. To protect- it's crazy stuff. Yes. 53:54 And we met with all of her and the church members 53:57 that have witnessed her change, because she would 54:00 even dive down to the bottom of the sea to 54:03 commune with the devil. I mean, things like this. 54:05 So now, she listens to AWR; her whole life's 54:07 changing. Now, she's a missionary for Madagascar 54:08 and has many churches that she... - Amen! Amen. - Yes! 54:11 Amen. There's many stories like that. - Amen. What we 54:13 want to do right now is put up the contact 54:15 information for AWR. We encourage you to 54:18 pray for this ministry to financially support it. 54:22 They send out-if you like these videos-they 54:24 send out weekly emails with news and updates 54:27 and reports. You can like them on Facebook, 54:29 you can visit their social media sites-you can go 54:32 to PNG and get involved! Here's how you can do just that. 55:25 - Amen! This has been a power-packed interview 55:27 with the stories of lives that have been changed 55:29 for eternity through the ministry of AWR. We just 55:34 have a couple moments left in this program. 55:36 Cami, you want to give us a final thought or appeal? 55:38 - Yes, I would love to. You know, God is coming- 55:42 He's coming soon, and we see His miracles 55:45 happening all over this world through AWR. And 55:48 just as we've shared the stories today of faith and 55:51 protection and provision that God does give each 55:55 one of His children that ask, those that believe 55:58 in Jesus, have salvation just there ready for them, 56:02 and the world needs to know this. They're hungering 56:04 for this truth. And with AWR, we can share that 56:06 through so many venues. Through, obviously, our 56:10 AM/FM, but shortwave, and we have our social 56:13 media. And we have stories that come in every week! 56:16 And if you liked these videos and you want to 56:19 share them-perhaps you want to use them for, like, 56:21 your family worship. Maybe you want to use 56:23 it as a mission spotlight in your church or Pathfinder 56:25 group. Just sign up on awr.org for our weekly 56:30 newsletter, and every Friday it will come into 56:32 your email and you will have a new video to 56:34 share with others of God's supremacy and 56:38 what He's doing around the world right now. 56:40 Just like the pioneers and just like the Old 56:42 Testament and New Testament- you know, 56:45 we see all these incredible Bible characters. Well, 56:46 God is still writing the Bible, so to speak, 56:49 right now because all of these characters 56:51 are still carrying the message and doing the 56:52 end time work! And so, if you want to partner 56:55 with us and be involved with that and stay up-to-date 56:59 on what we're doing, please contact us on 57:01 all our social media- Facebook, YouTube- 57:04 and we are excited to share this with you. 57:06 Please, stay in touch with us, keep us in 57:09 your prayers, and support with us. - Thank you so 57:12 much, Cami. Appreciate it. Thank you, Pastor 57:14 Kyle; thank you, Kathy; thank you, Pastor Duane. 57:17 What a privilege to have you here. And we 57:20 are so glad that you joined us today for 57:22 this program! We want to encourage you to get out 57:25 of yourself and get involved in evangelism. 57:27 - Amen. - Bye-bye. - Thank you, Jill. |
Revised 2019-12-18