I want to spend my
life mending broken people.
00:00:04.30\00:00:14.28
I want to spend my
life removing pain.
00:00:15.04\00:00:24.79
Lord, let my words
heal a heart that hurts.
00:00:25.82\00:00:35.53
I want to spend my
life mending broken people.
00:00:36.26\00:00:45.94
I want to spend my
life mending broken people.
00:00:46.88\00:00:56.85
Hello, friends, and
welcome to 3ABN Today.
00:01:06.90\00:01:09.13
My name is John Lomacang,
and thank you for joining us.
00:01:09.16\00:01:11.73
As you know, we're
always excited to have you
00:01:12.03\00:01:14.20
as a part of our audience.
00:01:14.24\00:01:15.57
And today I can begin the
program by saying, Maranatha;
00:01:15.60\00:01:18.87
Jesus is coming.
00:01:18.91\00:01:20.28
And you'll find out why that
term is so significant today
00:01:20.31\00:01:23.14
with our program.
00:01:23.35\00:01:24.68
I want to thank you for
your prayers and your support
00:01:25.28\00:01:27.15
for this network as we
continue going and growing,
00:01:27.18\00:01:29.65
getting ready for
the coming of the Lord.
00:01:29.78\00:01:32.45
Now we have a
lot to cover today,
00:01:32.55\00:01:33.99
so I'm going to
get right to the point.
00:01:34.02\00:01:35.36
Just before we
introduce our guests,
00:01:35.42\00:01:37.19
Ryan Day is going to be
singing a song entitled,
00:01:37.23\00:01:39.79
Gentle Savior.
00:01:39.83\00:01:41.33
Where are the signs?
Which way should I go?
00:01:59.55\00:02:06.15
I planned each step,
but now I don't know.
00:02:07.26\00:02:14.16
Tomorrow is a
chasm of uncertainty,
00:02:14.20\00:02:21.44
but I will go there
if You will go with me.
00:02:21.47\00:02:29.61
Gentle Savior, lead me on.
00:02:29.98\00:02:38.72
Let Your Spirit light my way.
00:02:38.99\00:02:46.19
Gentle Savior, lead me on.
00:02:46.39\00:02:55.10
Hold me close, keep me safe.
00:02:55.14\00:02:59.04
Lead me on, gentle Savior.
00:02:59.07\00:03:09.02
Why can't I walk
away from my regrets?
00:03:17.03\00:03:23.87
Why is
forgiveness so hard to accept?
00:03:24.80\00:03:31.77
My past surrounds me
like a house I can't afford.
00:03:31.81\00:03:38.81
But You say, "Come with
Me, don't live there anymore."
00:03:38.85\00:03:47.22
Gentle Savior, lead me on.
00:03:47.26\00:03:54.90
Let Your Spirit light my way.
00:03:55.46\00:04:02.34
Gentle Savior, lead me on.
00:04:02.57\00:04:10.91
Hold me close, keep me safe.
00:04:11.01\00:04:14.78
Lead me on, gentle Savior.
00:04:14.82\00:04:24.73
And when I reach the valley
every soul must journey through,
00:04:26.29\00:04:34.50
I'll remember then
how well You know the way.
00:04:34.54\00:04:41.78
I'll put my hand in Your hand,
like a trusting child would do,
00:04:41.81\00:04:51.12
and say,
00:04:51.15\00:04:58.46
Gentle Savior, lead me on.
00:04:58.49\00:05:08.24
Let Your Spirit light my way.
00:05:08.27\00:05:14.71
Gentle Savior, lead me on.
00:05:14.74\00:05:24.39
Hold me close, keep me safe.
00:05:24.42\00:05:28.36
Lead me on,
00:05:28.39\00:05:32.29
gentle Savior.
00:05:32.33\00:05:42.20
Lead me on,
00:05:45.74\00:05:50.91
gentle Savior.
00:05:51.25\00:06:01.19
Thank you so much, Ryan, for
that wonderful appropriate song,
00:06:20.48\00:06:23.68
Gentle Savior.
00:06:23.98\00:06:25.71
- Wasn't that
wonderful? ~ Beautiful.
00:06:25.81\00:06:27.52
Wow, I'm so excited
to see my family again.
00:06:27.55\00:06:31.19
My Maranatha family.
00:06:31.65\00:06:33.36
Don Noble,
president of Maranatha.
00:06:34.59\00:06:36.96
I just said who you are,
but kind of give our audience
00:06:37.89\00:06:40.40
a little overview.
00:06:40.43\00:06:41.76
Somebody is watching that might
say, "Hey, my good friend, Don."
00:06:41.80\00:06:45.10
But someone might be
saying, "Who's Don Noble?"
00:06:45.63\00:06:47.97
Well, what I am
isn't so important,
00:06:49.30\00:06:51.77
but Maranatha is important.
00:06:51.81\00:06:53.78
Maranatha has been working
with the church since 1969
00:06:54.34\00:06:59.15
building gospel
oriented buildings.
00:06:59.55\00:07:02.58
Churches, schools, and now we
are doing a lot of water wells.
00:07:02.62\00:07:05.95
The idea is to provide
places for people to meet Jesus.
00:07:05.99\00:07:10.63
And we use a lot of
volunteers in that process too.
00:07:10.83\00:07:13.36
So that's exciting.
00:07:13.40\00:07:14.73
But you are Maranatha Volunteers
International president.
00:07:14.76\00:07:19.50
~ Yes, for I guess
this is my 41st year.
00:07:19.53\00:07:23.27
~ Wow, good to
have you hear again.
00:07:23.30\00:07:24.74
~ Good to see you.
00:07:24.77\00:07:26.11
And to your
right, your wife, Laura.
00:07:26.14\00:07:28.11
Good to have you here, Laura.
00:07:28.14\00:07:29.48
~ Thank you. It's
always a pleasure.
00:07:29.51\00:07:30.85
Yes, and give our
audience an overview of
00:07:30.98\00:07:33.78
your connection to Maranatha.
00:07:33.82\00:07:35.42
~ Well, I have the privilege
of working with Maranatha.
00:07:35.45\00:07:38.29
And I definitely feel
that God has brought me here.
00:07:38.32\00:07:40.52
I work with donors.
00:07:41.22\00:07:42.89
So donor relations.
00:07:43.09\00:07:44.93
~ Okay. - Yeah.
00:07:44.96\00:07:46.29
~ And right across the
water from me is Kenneth Weiss.
00:07:46.33\00:07:49.53
~ Give them big
expanse. - Exactly.
00:07:49.56\00:07:51.80
You know, I've had the privilege
also working for Maranatha
00:07:52.63\00:07:56.00
and this great group
of people for 27 years.
00:07:56.04\00:07:59.64
And I get to oversee operations,
and frankly see what amazing
00:07:59.67\00:08:05.68
ways God is making a
difference in the world
00:08:05.71\00:08:08.92
through His people.
00:08:08.95\00:08:10.42
~ Wow. And about how
many countries have...
00:08:10.45\00:08:13.39
- Have you kept up? ~
Oh yeah, yeah, of course.
00:08:13.42\00:08:15.96
You know,
historically from the beginning
00:08:15.99\00:08:19.29
we've been in over 90 countries.
00:08:19.33\00:08:21.30
Right now today we're working
in 10 different countries
00:08:21.33\00:08:25.07
at this point, yes.
00:08:25.10\00:08:27.47
I want to throw the question
out there, what is Maranatha?
00:08:27.57\00:08:29.94
You talked about it briefly, but
just kind of give me some more
00:08:29.97\00:08:32.34
and add some
more skin onto that.
00:08:32.37\00:08:34.08
Maranatha really builds
people as through construction.
00:08:35.71\00:08:40.98
So we have a unique
calling through construction
00:08:41.02\00:08:44.72
of urgently needed buildings.
00:08:44.75\00:08:46.09
We are building people.
00:08:46.12\00:08:47.59
That can be volunteers.
00:08:47.62\00:08:49.12
That can be the people
that receive a project.
00:08:49.16\00:08:51.93
But really, it's all
about bringing people
00:08:53.60\00:08:55.36
into the kingdom of God.
00:08:55.40\00:08:56.73
~ If you live in this
country, the United States,
00:08:57.20\00:08:59.23
you probably aren't
aware that much of the world
00:08:59.27\00:09:01.84
has a need for
churches and for schools
00:09:01.87\00:09:04.41
within the Adventist church.
00:09:04.61\00:09:05.94
In fact, much of the
growth around the world has
00:09:05.97\00:09:07.61
been in places where they can't
afford hardly to feed themselves
00:09:07.64\00:09:10.61
let alone build
themselves a church or school.
00:09:10.65\00:09:12.71
So there's a great demand.
00:09:12.75\00:09:14.38
We oftentimes have
literally tens of thousands
00:09:14.42\00:09:18.02
of requests for
projects around the world.
00:09:18.05\00:09:20.22
Take Zambia, for
example, where we're working.
00:09:20.26\00:09:22.86
There's over 3000 congregations
that meet under trees.
00:09:23.06\00:09:26.26
So the demand for a
place to gather to meet God in,
00:09:26.90\00:09:32.10
to be a building that
says the Creator God is here,
00:09:32.13\00:09:36.10
and speaking to the
community on a 24-hour 7 day
00:09:36.30\00:09:40.98
basis is something
that is really necessary.
00:09:41.01\00:09:43.11
It makes a big difference
for the growth of the church.
00:09:43.14\00:09:44.98
~ My wife and I had a chance
to see that miracle happen
00:09:45.01\00:09:47.35
down in Zambia and
Zimbabwe with you guys.
00:09:47.68\00:09:50.25
I never forgot that
story about the deaconess lady
00:09:50.62\00:09:53.36
who had been praying for years.
00:09:53.39\00:09:54.92
She showed us the
tree. Remember that?
00:09:54.96\00:09:56.56
And she said, "I've been
praying for years for this tree
00:09:56.86\00:09:59.09
to be replaced by a church."
00:09:59.13\00:10:00.50
And when you guys
broke grounds and we stood...
00:10:00.53\00:10:03.20
We kept that tree, I think,
in the center of the court
00:10:03.23\00:10:05.30
and built around
it as a memorial.
00:10:05.50\00:10:07.57
Well, we see people in
tears that tell us stories
00:10:08.10\00:10:12.34
that are decades
old of their prayers.
00:10:12.37\00:10:15.88
And then we're able
to go in there and work
00:10:15.91\00:10:18.51
with God to
answer those prayers.
00:10:18.55\00:10:19.88
The volunteers can come
in, and they get impacted.
00:10:19.91\00:10:21.78
So they go back
and they're excited.
00:10:21.82\00:10:23.45
There's a lot of pieces to it.
00:10:23.49\00:10:26.62
It's not just that
we're a construction company.
00:10:26.65\00:10:29.12
It's a lot more than that.
00:10:29.49\00:10:30.83
~ I like what you said: building
lives through construction.
00:10:30.86\00:10:33.80
It is really about
people at the end of the day.
00:10:33.83\00:10:36.33
And one of the things, just
to add here to the people part.
00:10:36.36\00:10:39.30
The volunteers; it is a place
that, it's an organization where
00:10:40.30\00:10:44.91
it doesn't matter
what your skills are,
00:10:44.94\00:10:47.44
it doesn't
matter what your age is,
00:10:47.48\00:10:49.11
you can actually go
there, get involved.
00:10:49.51\00:10:51.91
I mean, we'll talk
about it in the program.
00:10:51.95\00:10:53.62
I mean, we've got young
people whose lives are changed
00:10:53.75\00:10:57.05
from a mission trip for
the rest of their lives.
00:10:57.59\00:11:00.06
And even 80 and 90
year olds who are out there
00:11:00.09\00:11:04.76
making a difference, you know.
00:11:04.79\00:11:06.29
~ I've seen that, two
sisters that were in their 80's.
00:11:06.33\00:11:09.03
And when I first met them, I
said, "How old are you guys?"
00:11:09.16\00:11:12.60
They proudly told us
their age, mid to upper 80's.
00:11:12.63\00:11:15.44
They said, "What do want
us to do, sit home and rot?"
00:11:15.47\00:11:17.64
And they were
picking up steel rods.
00:11:17.84\00:11:19.54
And I'm thinking, "Wow."
00:11:19.57\00:11:21.01
And then a young
girl in her early teens
00:11:21.04\00:11:23.01
who, one year, she said
she went to Disney World
00:11:23.28\00:11:25.61
one year and regretted it.
00:11:25.65\00:11:27.18
She said, "Mom, we
need to be with Maranatha."
00:11:27.22\00:11:29.42
So all the age
groups can be involved.
00:11:29.62\00:11:31.55
You know what, I've
experienced that myself.
00:11:31.59\00:11:33.36
You know, my mom tried to
get me to go on Maranatha trips
00:11:33.56\00:11:36.16
forever, and I'm
like, "Oh mom, come on.
00:11:36.19\00:11:39.79
You know, like, can you
get our nails done there, mom?
00:11:39.83\00:11:42.00
I'm not going on
a Maranatha trip."
00:11:42.03\00:11:43.37
And she's like, "Oh no, I
think you'd really like it."
00:11:43.40\00:11:45.23
Well, you know, God
has a good sense of humor.
00:11:45.27\00:11:47.17
But once you go
on a trip like that,
00:11:47.50\00:11:49.84
for me, it's like, "Yeah, I
would not want to go to Disney
00:11:50.17\00:11:54.04
Land. Why would I
want to go to Disney Land?
00:11:54.08\00:11:55.41
It's all fake, I want to
go to, like, you know..."
00:11:55.44\00:11:57.91
~ Real lives. - Yeah.
00:11:57.95\00:11:59.28
Like, go out there where real
people are living real lives.
00:11:59.31\00:12:02.45
It's kind of cool, right
now we've gone through this
00:12:02.55\00:12:04.85
Covid thing over
the last few years.
00:12:04.89\00:12:06.59
And now, believe me,
the volunteers are coming
00:12:06.86\00:12:09.09
out of the woodwork.
00:12:09.12\00:12:10.46
So we've had hundreds
and hundreds and hundreds
00:12:10.49\00:12:12.73
of them just in
the last few weeks
00:12:12.76\00:12:14.20
that have been
going on these projects.
00:12:14.23\00:12:16.40
It's kind of got us a little
bit overwhelmed, but it's great.
00:12:16.43\00:12:19.70
It's really good.
00:12:19.73\00:12:21.07
And you even have a
project for young people.
00:12:21.10\00:12:23.34
What's that called?
00:12:23.37\00:12:24.71
~ Ultimate workout
- Ultimate workout.
00:12:24.74\00:12:26.34
~ Where teenagers
can go and just go crazy.
00:12:26.37\00:12:28.84
Leave their phones behind
and trade it for a shovel.
00:12:29.24\00:12:31.75
Something like that. Yeah
we actually have to cut off
00:12:32.75\00:12:34.82
the registrations on
that because we get too many.
00:12:35.02\00:12:37.85
Yeah, this year it
completely filled up
00:12:38.25\00:12:40.39
literally within minutes.
00:12:40.49\00:12:42.12
We've got waiting lists.
00:12:42.16\00:12:43.49
And they're headed to
Dominican Republic this summer.
00:12:43.53\00:12:45.99
It's going to be high impact.
00:12:46.03\00:12:47.56
~ Well we're going to watch a
video that tells us a little bit
00:12:48.10\00:12:49.86
more about Maranatha, but
just kind of talk about it
00:12:49.90\00:12:52.47
and lead into it.
00:12:52.50\00:12:53.84
~ We were talking actually
about, like, when you make
00:12:53.87\00:12:57.07
an investment in Maranatha,
whether it be your life,
00:12:57.11\00:12:59.44
your time,
whatever it happens to be,
00:12:59.47\00:13:01.31
is that really going
to make a difference?
00:13:01.61\00:13:03.75
Like, where does that go?
00:13:04.15\00:13:05.61
Does it just end
there? Where does it go?
00:13:05.81\00:13:08.22
And so, we were
talking about some of the...
00:13:08.32\00:13:11.12
It expands. It's
like it grows on its own.
00:13:11.62\00:13:14.12
Why? Because God is in it.
00:13:14.16\00:13:15.52
~ That's right.
00:13:15.56\00:13:16.89
And you're just taking
that mustard seed and going.
00:13:17.03\00:13:19.46
~ I think specifically the
video you're talking about is
00:13:20.46\00:13:23.13
about the Dominican Republic.
00:13:23.43\00:13:24.77
And it's one of the
places that graphically
00:13:24.80\00:13:27.30
is kind of in your
face, the growth that happens.
00:13:27.34\00:13:30.51
The people down
there are so friendly,
00:13:31.01\00:13:32.84
so openly invite people to their
churches and the church grows.
00:13:32.87\00:13:35.88
In fact, I first went to
Dominican Republic in 1983.
00:13:35.91\00:13:39.61
They had about 20,000 members.
00:13:39.65\00:13:41.42
Now there's
over 400,000 members.
00:13:41.45\00:13:43.69
~ So 20,000 to over
400,000. That is growth.
00:13:43.72\00:13:49.12
~ That's
exponential. - It's huge.
00:13:49.16\00:13:51.63
So we don't have to
question when we invest,
00:13:51.73\00:13:55.63
if you want to
use the word, invest,
00:13:56.16\00:13:57.50
in a church building or a
school building in that country.
00:13:57.53\00:14:00.40
Is it going to be useful?
00:14:00.44\00:14:02.14
Is it going to
expand the kingdom of God?
00:14:02.17\00:14:04.11
Absolutely.
00:14:04.14\00:14:05.47
We've got history
that shows it over decades.
00:14:05.51\00:14:07.44
We've got a story for you,
but let's watch the video first.
00:14:07.48\00:14:08.84
Well, let's watch the video.
00:14:09.28\00:14:10.61
The nation
occupies the eastern part
00:14:16.15\00:14:18.22
of the island of Hispaniola.
00:14:18.25\00:14:19.65
An island it shares with Haiti.
00:14:19.69\00:14:21.56
It's also home to
explosive Seventh-day Adventist
00:14:22.99\00:14:26.23
church growth that has turned
a fledgling group of churches
00:14:26.26\00:14:29.20
into a spiritual powerhouse.
00:14:29.23\00:14:31.53
In the early 1980's,
church membership was 27,000.
00:14:33.40\00:14:37.31
Today there are more
than 380,000 Adventists
00:14:37.97\00:14:41.31
in the Dominican Republic.
00:14:41.34\00:14:42.84
In just 40 years the Adventist
church has increased 14-fold.
00:14:43.04\00:14:47.95
Such a dramatic
increase in church membership
00:14:48.35\00:14:50.75
seems hard to believe,
but the Adventist church
00:14:50.79\00:14:53.15
has developed a
successful formula.
00:14:53.19\00:14:55.12
Passionate church members
paired with Maranatha churches.
00:14:55.16\00:14:58.73
After a bold request
from Adventist church leaders
00:14:59.06\00:15:02.10
in 1992, Maranatha
stepped out in faith
00:15:02.13\00:15:05.30
in what would be a watershed
moment for the organization.
00:15:05.33\00:15:08.44
Twenty-five basic
church structures were replaced
00:15:08.47\00:15:11.44
by beautiful
sanctuaries in just 70 days.
00:15:11.47\00:15:15.38
At the time, the scale of
the project was unprecedented.
00:15:15.41\00:15:19.11
And not only did it
catapult Maranatha into a new
00:15:19.15\00:15:21.92
sphere of influence,
it completely changed
00:15:21.95\00:15:24.65
the Adventist church
in the Dominican Republic.
00:15:24.69\00:15:27.52
The original 25
churches Maranatha built in 1992
00:15:28.36\00:15:32.29
have grown, splitting
off to create hundreds of
00:15:32.33\00:15:35.16
daughter
congregations, grand-daughters,
00:15:35.20\00:15:37.60
and great grand-daughters.
00:15:37.63\00:15:39.13
Maranatha returned in
2002 to build 50 more churches,
00:15:39.17\00:15:43.20
and then again in 2013
to build nearly 50 more
00:15:43.24\00:15:46.74
as membership multiplied,
00:15:46.78\00:15:48.21
creating the need
for more churches.
00:15:48.24\00:15:50.71
Now 30 years after
building those first churches,
00:15:50.91\00:15:54.12
Maranatha has returned.
00:15:54.15\00:15:55.95
A move that is once
again met with excitement
00:15:55.98\00:15:58.69
by local church members.
00:15:58.72\00:16:00.22
Wow, that's
amazing. That's so true.
00:16:15.54\00:16:17.34
You look at the
growth, I think the term is,
00:16:17.37\00:16:19.57
"You build it, we'll fill it."
00:16:19.61\00:16:21.34
Talking about
20,000 to over 400,000.
00:16:21.54\00:16:23.71
~ Yes, that's
huge growth for sure.
00:16:23.75\00:16:25.48
Tell us about La Caleta.
00:16:25.91\00:16:27.55
I get pretty excited
about this particular project
00:16:29.18\00:16:31.65
because I was able to watch
it right from the beginning.
00:16:31.69\00:16:36.29
We were getting ready
to do the project that was
00:16:36.32\00:16:39.13
mentioned in that video;
Santo Domingo 92, we called it.
00:16:39.16\00:16:42.70
25 churches, 70
days, 1200 volunteers.
00:16:42.73\00:16:45.57
We had never
done anything like it.
00:16:45.60\00:16:48.20
If we had been smarter,
we wouldn't have done it.
00:16:48.94\00:16:50.71
But we went ahead and
did it, and God blessed it.
00:16:50.74\00:16:54.24
The last project
that they wanted us to do
00:16:55.28\00:16:58.38
was the farthest away from
where everybody was staying.
00:16:58.41\00:17:01.55
Over by the airport;
it was called, La Caleta.
00:17:01.58\00:17:04.89
And I said,
"Okay, take me out there.
00:17:05.42\00:17:06.76
Let's take a look
at what the need is."
00:17:06.79\00:17:08.26
So they took me out
there on Sabbath morning.
00:17:08.36\00:17:10.36
It was a
beautiful setting in a park.
00:17:10.66\00:17:12.86
Palm trees,
beautiful ocean. Lovely.
00:17:13.26\00:17:17.37
They started the
service, it was wonderful.
00:17:17.40\00:17:19.27
I'm going, "What do
you need a church for?
00:17:19.30\00:17:21.67
This is great.
00:17:21.70\00:17:23.04
~ Exactly. Good outdoors.
00:17:23.07\00:17:24.41
What could be better than this?"
00:17:24.47\00:17:26.31
~ What's the problem here?
00:17:26.34\00:17:27.68
So we're sitting there.
00:17:27.71\00:17:29.48
I'm going, "Okay, we're
not going to do this one."
00:17:29.51\00:17:31.11
Then along comes the boom boxes.
00:17:31.65\00:17:33.88
Boom, boom, boom, boom.
00:17:34.68\00:17:36.48
And then a little bit
later it started to rain.
00:17:37.49\00:17:39.79
And so I said, "Well, okay.
00:17:40.26\00:17:42.66
Let's go take a
look at the land."
00:17:43.16\00:17:44.73
So we did.
00:17:44.76\00:17:46.09
And we ended up
building that church.
00:17:46.13\00:17:49.13
From that church in
1992, that particular church
00:17:49.16\00:17:53.74
has started over 30 churches,
just that one congregation,
00:17:53.77\00:17:57.94
plus a school.
00:17:57.97\00:17:59.31
~ Over 30 churches
came out of that one church
00:17:59.34\00:18:03.31
that we just
about passed by, like,
00:18:03.35\00:18:05.58
"Ah, what do they
need a church for?
00:18:05.61\00:18:07.58
I mean, you know, come on."
00:18:07.62\00:18:08.98
Over 30 churches.
00:18:09.82\00:18:11.22
We just dedicated a
church a couple of weeks ago
00:18:11.25\00:18:15.02
in the Dominican Republic.
00:18:15.22\00:18:16.89
It's called, La Caleta 9.
00:18:16.93\00:18:18.49
And I was telling the story of
the beginning of that project,
00:18:18.53\00:18:23.03
and after the church service
two people came up and said,
00:18:23.06\00:18:25.17
we were in that
park with you that day."
00:18:25.20\00:18:27.64
They said, "We
know that this is true,
00:18:28.74\00:18:32.11
and what God has done
to bless this whole thing."
00:18:32.14\00:18:36.21
Wow, and so as
Chief Operations Officer,
00:18:36.24\00:18:39.35
what does that do to you?
00:18:39.38\00:18:41.48
You know, it completely
makes what we do worth it.
00:18:41.88\00:18:46.79
So you realize
there's many, many different
00:18:46.82\00:18:48.72
aspects of what we do.
00:18:48.76\00:18:50.33
So A, you're taking
care of a need right now,
00:18:50.36\00:18:52.89
which is a
physical building, right,
00:18:52.93\00:18:54.56
that will get filled up with
wonderful families and kids.
00:18:54.60\00:18:59.20
And they'll have weddings there,
00:18:59.23\00:19:01.30
they'll have
evangelistic meetings.
00:19:01.34\00:19:02.97
But then it does something else.
00:19:03.00\00:19:04.41
It's amazing in that culture,
especially in that church,
00:19:04.71\00:19:08.18
is so vibrant, it
propels them to expand
00:19:08.21\00:19:10.88
you know, pretty quick.
00:19:10.91\00:19:12.25
Within days of that
new church being started
00:19:13.21\00:19:15.65
they're like, "Okay,
let's go start the next one."
00:19:15.68\00:19:18.29
So, boom, there it goes.
00:19:18.32\00:19:19.65
So it's not just taking care
of the need of the church now.
00:19:19.85\00:19:22.62
It is an unbelievable
effective evangelism
00:19:22.66\00:19:26.46
that helps God's work expand.
00:19:26.49\00:19:29.23
Then here's the other
fascinating thing that happens
00:19:29.53\00:19:32.03
every single time.
00:19:32.07\00:19:33.40
All around it while the building
is going up, all of a sudden...
00:19:34.00\00:19:36.87
Most of these
churches are being built
00:19:36.91\00:19:39.21
in what they call
marginal area, marginal zones.
00:19:39.24\00:19:42.04
So they are areas
that have been, let's say,
00:19:42.08\00:19:45.35
added to the city limits.
00:19:45.38\00:19:47.02
Because people have come there
and they've just settled and
00:19:47.05\00:19:49.58
squatted, and then eventually
services have to be brought in.
00:19:49.62\00:19:53.05
Well, these
church buildings become
00:19:53.46\00:19:55.12
the center of that community.
00:19:55.16\00:19:56.96
The neighbors adopt it.
00:19:57.26\00:19:58.59
We were just talking,
you know, here a few days ago
00:19:58.63\00:20:00.80
with one of the
ladies sitting in the shade.
00:20:00.83\00:20:02.63
And she's like, "I'm so
happy this church is here."
00:20:02.66\00:20:05.07
Because it's under construction.
There's blocks everywhere.
00:20:05.10\00:20:07.70
And we said, "Well, why?"
00:20:07.74\00:20:09.30
She's like, "Well, it's
not going to be a disco.
00:20:09.54\00:20:12.51
It's going to be my church."
00:20:12.61\00:20:13.94
I said, "Are you a
member of the church?"
00:20:13.98\00:20:15.51
She said, "No, but I'm
planning to attend here."
00:20:15.54\00:20:18.28
She's like, "Oh
no, I don't know..."
00:20:19.18\00:20:20.78
~ She's just waiting
for the building to go up.
00:20:20.82\00:20:23.02
"I'm on board."
00:20:23.05\00:20:24.39
She's not even a
member, and she's like,
00:20:24.42\00:20:25.82
"Yeah, no, I'm
coming to this church."
00:20:25.85\00:20:27.39
"This isn't your
church, this is our church.
00:20:28.42\00:20:30.33
This is our community church."
00:20:30.36\00:20:31.69
We've heard that in so
many different villages.
00:20:31.93\00:20:35.03
They're like, "No, this is
our church, this is our church."
00:20:35.06\00:20:37.83
We're like, "How long
have you been a member?"
00:20:37.87\00:20:39.20
"Oh no, I'm not a
member, but I'll be coming."
00:20:39.23\00:20:41.50
~ So the church
becomes like a vacuum.
00:20:42.10\00:20:44.11
People just gravitate
towards, as the Holy Spirit just
00:20:44.41\00:20:47.18
draws them in.
00:20:47.21\00:20:49.11
~ Yeah, as I was
saying earlier, people...
00:20:49.61\00:20:50.95
And you see this crazy thing,
it's a building, for Pete sake.
00:20:50.98\00:20:53.45
In this country we
just don't relate to it.
00:20:53.65\00:20:55.98
But it's going on
all over the world.
00:20:56.32\00:20:58.19
~ Isn't that sad in America
we have so many buildings
00:20:58.22\00:21:00.36
that people just,
it's not a vacuum to them
00:21:00.39\00:21:03.12
because they're distracted
by so much in America.
00:21:03.16\00:21:06.43
But Maranatha, I love
that, we've seen that.
00:21:06.63\00:21:09.70
You could see that,
when that building is done.
00:21:09.73\00:21:11.57
We saw it with the
schools there in Zimbabwe.
00:21:12.30\00:21:14.67
We saw police officers
showing up once on the site,
00:21:15.04\00:21:17.17
and we thought,
"Did something happen?"
00:21:17.21\00:21:18.67
"No, we came to
sign our kids up."
00:21:18.71\00:21:20.78
And people wonder,
"What kind of God do you have?
00:21:21.04\00:21:23.61
Last week there
was nothing here.
00:21:24.11\00:21:25.45
Look at it this week."
00:21:25.48\00:21:26.82
~ Yeah, the other thing
about the Dominican Republic,
00:21:26.95\00:21:29.58
as long as
we're on that subject,
00:21:29.62\00:21:31.42
is that it's close by the
U.S., it's easy to get there.
00:21:31.45\00:21:35.76
It's safe.
00:21:36.06\00:21:37.39
So guess what?
00:21:37.43\00:21:38.76
All the
volunteers want to go there.
00:21:38.79\00:21:40.33
There's certain places
that we work, or want to work,
00:21:40.63\00:21:43.10
or have requests to
work where you question
00:21:43.13\00:21:46.90
whether you should go there.
00:21:46.94\00:21:48.27
Parents don't like their kids
to go there, that type of thing.
00:21:48.34\00:21:51.17
But Dominican is
a different animal.
00:21:51.21\00:21:52.54
That's why we've had so
many people that have...
00:21:52.57\00:21:56.08
We're already
full for next spring
00:21:56.44\00:21:59.58
for projects in
Dominican Republic.
00:21:59.61\00:22:02.48
Wow, that's amazing.
00:22:02.52\00:22:03.85
But some of your projects
are born out of tragedy.
00:22:03.95\00:22:06.86
Let's talk about
Zambia, for example.
00:22:06.89\00:22:08.89
~ Yeah, so this is an example,
this is a prime example,
00:22:09.39\00:22:12.86
I think, of something
that I'm sure was built
00:22:12.89\00:22:17.23
with the best of intentions,
00:22:17.27\00:22:18.60
but didn't have the right
structural support in this area.
00:22:18.87\00:22:22.07
A bad storm comes
and it falls in Zambia.
00:22:22.10\00:22:25.31
The church falls on
top of the parishioners.
00:22:25.34\00:22:28.71
- And several
people died. ~ Yeah, five.
00:22:29.68\00:22:32.05
~ Wow, that's the
aftermath. ~ Yeah.
00:22:32.98\00:22:35.92
Somebody snapped
the picture of this.
00:22:36.35\00:22:38.25
It's probably
not the best quality,
00:22:38.85\00:22:40.19
but it's what
we've got from them.
00:22:40.22\00:22:42.06
That's shortly
after the collapse.
00:22:42.09\00:22:44.76
So they asked us,
"Can you help us?"
00:22:45.49\00:22:48.36
Well, we happen to
be working in Zambia.
00:22:48.83\00:22:50.80
So we're in process, and
I think we have a picture
00:22:50.83\00:22:54.24
of the in-process church.
00:22:54.27\00:22:55.67
And people are
excited about coming to that.
00:22:55.97\00:22:58.11
So a much better structure.
00:22:58.51\00:23:00.88
All the structural steel and
the engineering has been done
00:23:00.91\00:23:04.81
for international code.
00:23:04.85\00:23:06.51
And this will be an
attraction in the area.
00:23:06.85\00:23:09.75
~ They have over
700 members there.
00:23:09.78\00:23:11.25
So it's a big deal.
00:23:11.55\00:23:13.89
And the blessing
that is going to be there,
00:23:14.76\00:23:17.26
and they're already seeing it,
00:23:17.29\00:23:18.63
is we're also
building them a school
00:23:18.66\00:23:21.03
on that same piece of property.
00:23:21.30\00:23:22.93
So they're going
to have a water well,
00:23:22.96\00:23:24.63
a new church, and a
school for all their children.
00:23:25.33\00:23:27.70
So it's going to be great.
00:23:27.74\00:23:29.44
You know what's so nice
about hearing this story is,
00:23:29.47\00:23:31.27
I've said this before,
having been a part of some of
00:23:31.61\00:23:33.94
these projects, you get there
and you see the people's eyes
00:23:33.98\00:23:37.28
just continuing to
open up as they see,
00:23:37.31\00:23:39.65
"Who are all these people?"
00:23:39.85\00:23:41.18
And people wonder, "How
much are they paying you guys?"
00:23:41.32\00:23:44.09
"Nothing. We're all volunteers."
00:23:44.39\00:23:46.02
People are just
actually paying their way to go
00:23:46.05\00:23:48.49
to make a
difference in somebody's life.
00:23:48.69\00:23:50.33
And they come back changed.
00:23:50.36\00:23:51.69
~ Yeah, this particular location
is quite hard to get to.
00:23:51.73\00:23:54.40
It was advertised as a 10
hour drive on tough roads.
00:23:55.26\00:23:59.97
- It was 15. ~ Oh, man.
00:24:00.74\00:24:03.20
Fifteen hours on very
tough roads, very hot.
00:24:03.24\00:24:06.57
And the volunteers got
there, and they're going,
00:24:06.61\00:24:08.44
"Why in the
world did I do this?"
00:24:08.88\00:24:11.65
Then they got to
meet some of the people.
00:24:11.68\00:24:14.52
Some of those
that had been maimed.
00:24:15.28\00:24:17.39
Some of them are on crutches
still after this accident.
00:24:17.69\00:24:21.66
And after it's all over they
said, "Absolutely worth it."
00:24:22.06\00:24:26.03
Absolutely worth it."
00:24:26.13\00:24:27.73
And you can see the
reach, like, who goes out there?
00:24:27.83\00:24:32.33
No one.
00:24:33.10\00:24:34.44
So those people, you're
talking about eyes getting big.
00:24:34.47\00:24:36.81
They're like,
"You've got to be kidding me.
00:24:36.84\00:24:38.77
People are coming here
to do this thing for us."
00:24:38.81\00:24:41.74
Guess how many people
are signed up for the school.
00:24:42.01\00:24:44.15
~ Wow. - You know.
00:24:44.18\00:24:45.51
~ Yeah, it's the gospel
to the ends of the earth.
00:24:45.55\00:24:48.18
~ Right, you cannot tell
the impact until the eternity.
00:24:48.22\00:24:51.72
~ And there is.
That's exactly right, Don.
00:24:51.75\00:24:53.89
There's this spiritual, this is
happening in the physical world,
00:24:53.92\00:24:57.59
but there's a whole
spiritual world, right.
00:24:57.63\00:24:59.36
There's the storm knocks
this building down, right.
00:24:59.39\00:25:02.06
We're all having this storm that
we're dealing with in society.
00:25:02.10\00:25:05.17
And the church becomes the place
you go to, right, for shelter.
00:25:05.20\00:25:08.14
And that church
will become shelter.
00:25:08.17\00:25:09.84
The ones in the Dominican
Republic, they told us,
00:25:09.94\00:25:12.54
they're designed for hurricanes,
"We will be running here."
00:25:12.74\00:25:15.41
Because they live in a
house which is made of sticks
00:25:15.44\00:25:19.41
and a little bit of
steel, you know, sheeting.
00:25:19.45\00:25:22.12
And so, they
will go to the church.
00:25:22.15\00:25:23.49
But that's true spiritually
too. And you can't forget that.
00:25:23.92\00:25:27.72
~ Yeah, you speak
about the Dominican Republic,
00:25:27.76\00:25:29.22
I'm sorry to go back to
that, but we were just there.
00:25:29.26\00:25:31.83
And we went to this one
church that we're building.
00:25:32.03\00:25:34.66
It's got the roof on it
now, so they meet there.
00:25:34.70\00:25:36.50
It's not done but
they still meet there.
00:25:36.53\00:25:37.93
And I was asking the
head elder, I said...
00:25:37.97\00:25:41.00
Now we've been to
this church before.
00:25:41.20\00:25:42.90
The only reason
it held up is because
00:25:43.37\00:25:45.11
the termites
where holding hands.
00:25:45.14\00:25:46.47
That's what we joke about.
00:25:46.51\00:25:47.84
But it was pretty bad.
00:25:47.88\00:25:49.78
I said, "So, was that
hard for your congregation
00:25:49.81\00:25:52.61
to have the faith to step
out and knock down what you had?
00:25:52.65\00:25:56.92
Because it wasn't
good, but you had something."
00:25:57.39\00:26:00.06
He said, "Oh, no."
00:26:00.22\00:26:01.56
He said, "We had one guy in
the congregation that stood up
00:26:01.59\00:26:04.63
and shook it, and the
whole thing fell down."
00:26:04.66\00:26:06.26
~ Yeah, so it didn't take long.
00:26:07.26\00:26:08.76
The termites said,
"Hey, something's going on.
00:26:09.03\00:26:10.80
Let's let go hands."
00:26:10.83\00:26:12.83
But you've had some impact
also in Peru and in Kenya.
00:26:13.23\00:26:17.47
Let's talk about
some of those churches.
00:26:17.51\00:26:19.11
~ Yeah, we've
done a lot in Peru.
00:26:19.14\00:26:21.01
And you know, it's interesting,
we build the structure.
00:26:21.04\00:26:24.41
In some of these countries
we just build the structure.
00:26:24.45\00:26:26.85
Like the steel, you know.
00:26:27.02\00:26:28.88
They put the
shirt on the building.
00:26:28.92\00:26:31.05
So here's an
example of something that...
00:26:31.09\00:26:32.75
Like, it's going to
look pretty different.
00:26:32.79\00:26:34.36
That looks more like America.
00:26:34.56\00:26:37.66
Something you might see here.
00:26:37.69\00:26:39.19
We also have
examples in, let's say...
00:26:39.96\00:26:42.30
There's another thing in Peru
00:26:42.93\00:26:44.87
where they're not
quite finished with it yet,
00:26:45.27\00:26:47.54
but they're going
to meet in that church.
00:26:47.57\00:26:48.94
It's being used right away.
00:26:48.97\00:26:50.94
Also, there's
examples of, let's say, Africa.
00:26:51.27\00:26:55.44
It might take
them a longer time.
00:26:55.48\00:26:57.25
~ Just like
there is one in Kenya.
00:26:57.78\00:26:59.28
~ Yep.
00:26:59.31\00:27:00.65
You know, talking about Peru,
00:27:00.92\00:27:02.58
going back there
just for a second.
00:27:02.62\00:27:04.02
You know, we've just
talked Dominican Republic.
00:27:04.05\00:27:05.85
You fly south, right, to Peru.
00:27:05.89\00:27:08.02
The church there
is growing like crazy.
00:27:08.32\00:27:10.96
We have the
privilege of being there
00:27:10.99\00:27:12.73
towards the end of the year.
00:27:12.76\00:27:14.16
And the design for the building
there, because we modify it
00:27:14.26\00:27:19.93
country by country, the
design for the building there
00:27:19.97\00:27:22.40
that we're doing, as they
say, "We need small buildings."
00:27:22.44\00:27:25.54
"Well, why is that?"
00:27:25.57\00:27:26.91
Because usually
you're expecting them to say,
00:27:26.94\00:27:28.48
"Hey, let's get
as big a building..."
00:27:28.51\00:27:29.84
"Well, we have
small congregations.
00:27:29.88\00:27:32.81
We don't want
them to grow too big.
00:27:32.85\00:27:34.28
We want more, in fact."
00:27:34.32\00:27:35.65
So we have a hundred locations.
00:27:35.68\00:27:37.69
So that's what we're
planning to do this year.
00:27:37.72\00:27:40.52
A hundred locations to
build very simple buildings
00:27:40.56\00:27:43.96
for their congregations
all the way from the jungle
00:27:43.99\00:27:47.26
up to very high elevations.
00:27:47.30\00:27:49.10
Which is Peru.
00:27:49.13\00:27:51.47
~ One of their Union presidents
stood up, and he knew about
00:27:51.50\00:27:53.90
the hundred commitment,
and he had an audience there,
00:27:53.94\00:27:57.57
so he said,
"Maranatha has agreed to build
00:27:57.61\00:28:00.18
500 churches for us."
00:28:00.21\00:28:02.14
They put you on the spot.
00:28:02.91\00:28:04.25
Well yeah, so
that's more their need.
00:28:04.28\00:28:07.35
We can't do everything
everywhere that everybody wants.
00:28:08.28\00:28:10.85
I wish we could.
00:28:12.25\00:28:13.59
~ I think you once
mentioned, you said,
00:28:13.62\00:28:14.99
if you fulfilled all the request
that have been given to you,
00:28:15.02\00:28:20.20
you can't live
long enough to do that.
00:28:20.46\00:28:22.26
You've got more than a
hundred years of projects.
00:28:22.30\00:28:24.87
~ Well, part of the thing
we try to do is speed it up.
00:28:24.90\00:28:26.94
And that's part of the
reason for the fast build,
00:28:26.97\00:28:29.17
the one day, whatever you want
to call it, the church where
00:28:29.20\00:28:31.64
you give them a strong
structural system and a roof
00:28:32.04\00:28:35.34
that they can
put the walls on it,
00:28:35.58\00:28:37.31
so that we can do
more, impact more locations.
00:28:37.35\00:28:40.78
~ It also helps each
congregation feel like,
00:28:40.82\00:28:43.65
"This is mine, this is mine."
00:28:43.75\00:28:46.15
You know, they forget
about us, which is great,
00:28:46.19\00:28:48.39
and it becomes theirs.
00:28:48.42\00:28:49.76
~ Well let's move on,
let's look at this picture
00:28:49.79\00:28:51.13
of the Kenya church; because
you talk about the difference
00:28:51.16\00:28:52.73
between the Peru
one and the Kenya one.
00:28:52.76\00:28:54.26
The different philosophy,
the different structure.
00:28:54.60\00:28:56.60
And this one is
being built here.
00:28:56.80\00:28:58.30
And they're going to build that
00:28:58.33\00:28:59.67
and add onto that
in their own time.
00:28:59.70\00:29:01.04
~ Exactly. So they'll
put their own walls on,
00:29:01.07\00:29:02.80
just like the Peruvians did,
and they'll make it their own.
00:29:02.84\00:29:05.97
~ Some places where
it's super-hot, they don't
00:29:06.07\00:29:08.51
put much in the
way of walls because...
00:29:08.54\00:29:10.18
They need that breeze.
00:29:10.21\00:29:11.55
~ Yeah, that church
was finished last week.
00:29:12.15\00:29:14.58
I think if my
brain doesn't fail me,
00:29:14.62\00:29:17.42
it's Katuma; it's on
the western part of Kenya.
00:29:17.45\00:29:19.95
Super-hot. It's
nice to have the breeze.
00:29:19.99\00:29:22.99
And it becomes a sacred space.
00:29:23.02\00:29:25.49
And you know what?
Most of the places in Kenya
00:29:25.59\00:29:28.46
after we build them, it
takes them a little bit.
00:29:28.50\00:29:30.57
They'll fire bricks,
blocks, they'll finish it up,
00:29:30.60\00:29:34.30
and it becomes, you
know, a light for them.
00:29:34.34\00:29:37.77
And that just... Oh, go ahead.
00:29:37.81\00:29:39.67
~ We had churches in Malawi,
when you drive by you see this
00:29:39.71\00:29:42.41
huge pile of red fired brick.
00:29:42.44\00:29:45.88
And there's the church
people out there, they're like,
00:29:46.15\00:29:48.32
"We're hoping you'll come.
00:29:48.68\00:29:50.25
Please, we're ready.
We've got all our bricks.
00:29:50.29\00:29:52.45
We're waiting for you, we're
ready to put the walls up."
00:29:52.49\00:29:54.52
I mean, it just
breaks your heart.
00:29:54.56\00:29:55.89
So they're out there.
00:29:55.92\00:29:57.26
~ Yeah, we did 900
churches in Malawi, so.
00:29:57.29\00:29:59.16
You know, the numbers
get pretty big every year.
00:29:59.79\00:30:02.40
Right now we're doing 300 to
400 churches around the world.
00:30:02.43\00:30:06.13
Sometimes we'd done a little
bit more than that in a year.
00:30:06.17\00:30:08.60
~ Wow, that gives a
whole new perspective,
00:30:08.80\00:30:10.74
the gates of hell shall
not prevail against the church.
00:30:10.77\00:30:13.07
The church is growing,
pushing, and expanding.
00:30:13.21\00:30:15.98
- Praise God for
that. ~ Well it is.
00:30:16.01\00:30:17.35
You know, I got a letter
from the Division president
00:30:17.38\00:30:20.45
over in India, he said,
"According to our calculations,
00:30:20.48\00:30:23.08
Maranatha has built
over 40% of the churches
00:30:23.12\00:30:25.25
that we currently occupy
in the country of India."
00:30:25.29\00:30:27.92
So it's fun to be involved
with God in this unique ministry
00:30:28.02\00:30:34.50
that's bringing people to Jesus.
00:30:34.53\00:30:36.67
That's just the way it is.
00:30:36.70\00:30:38.40
~ You guys don't wake up in
the morning trying to figure out
00:30:38.43\00:30:40.70
"What do we do today?"
00:30:40.74\00:30:42.07
~ No. ~ No.
00:30:42.10\00:30:43.44
Well yeah, kind of we do.
00:30:43.57\00:30:44.94
Here, here, here, or here?
00:30:44.97\00:30:46.47
~ "Where do we go today?"
pretty much is the question,
00:30:46.51\00:30:48.51
rather than,
"What do we do today?"
00:30:48.54\00:30:49.88
Let's talk about some of
the Dominican Republic schools.
00:30:50.05\00:30:52.38
- Yeah. - Okay.
00:30:52.41\00:30:53.82
We should have a picture of a...
00:30:54.82\00:30:56.82
~ It's an empty lot right now.
00:30:56.85\00:30:58.19
There it is; it's a
big piece of property
00:30:58.99\00:31:00.69
there that they
worked very hard to purchase.
00:31:00.72\00:31:03.02
This is centrally
located; there's 80 churches
00:31:03.53\00:31:07.20
within fairly close proximity
to this piece of property,
00:31:07.40\00:31:10.47
and there's no
Christian school anywhere.
00:31:10.50\00:31:13.23
Wow. That's about to be filled.
00:31:13.27\00:31:15.34
~ Yeah, so, yeah.
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:31:15.37\00:31:16.87
We've designed it for
kindergarten through 12th grade.
00:31:16.91\00:31:20.34
Kindergarten through
12th, plus a large church.
00:31:21.01\00:31:23.28
All on that piece of property.
00:31:23.31\00:31:25.11
And it's just getting started.
00:31:25.15\00:31:26.48
We've had a
number of groups there.
00:31:26.51\00:31:27.85
The picture showed the wall
00:31:28.05\00:31:29.65
being started
around the outside.
00:31:29.68\00:31:31.42
So that's in progress.
00:31:31.45\00:31:33.86
That's going to
take a little while.
00:31:33.89\00:31:35.42
~ I'd love to be
there on registration day.
00:31:35.46\00:31:38.16
~ They're already coming there.
00:31:39.46\00:31:40.80
The people are
driving up and saying,
00:31:40.83\00:31:42.66
"Hey, what's going in
here? We hear it's a school.
00:31:42.70\00:31:44.60
We want to sign
up. Where do we do it?"
00:31:44.63\00:31:45.97
"How can we get our kids..."
00:31:46.00\00:31:47.34
Not even a first
foundation broken.
00:31:47.37\00:31:50.04
Right. And it's
not just Adventists.
00:31:50.44\00:31:52.37
These schools always
attract other people to them.
00:31:52.41\00:31:54.54
That's the whole thing.
00:31:54.58\00:31:55.91
You know that the Holy Spirit
is using all those different
00:31:55.94\00:31:59.08
miracles put
together, all those families.
00:31:59.11\00:32:01.52
I mean, those
kids come home and say,
00:32:01.55\00:32:03.08
"Mom, why aren't we
praying before we eat?"
00:32:03.12\00:32:05.95
"What are we doing?
Where's the Bible, mom?"
00:32:06.49\00:32:08.79
So there's huge
outreach into the community.
00:32:09.69\00:32:13.06
I'm excited to see what
God's going to do there.
00:32:13.09\00:32:14.96
~ And even Panama, talk about
some of the stories in Panama.
00:32:15.06\00:32:18.13
~ Oh my goodness.
00:32:18.17\00:32:19.50
So Panama started, I
wasn't there, Don was there.
00:32:19.53\00:32:23.37
He should really tell the
story, but I talk too much.
00:32:23.41\00:32:25.14
So anyway, we
started with just a hand...
00:32:25.17\00:32:28.51
They said,
"Hey, we want schools.
00:32:28.54\00:32:30.15
The school for us is the
tip of the spear of the gospel."
00:32:30.18\00:32:35.95
That's how they used it.
00:32:35.98\00:32:38.19
They're like,
"This is our strategy.
00:32:38.22\00:32:39.92
We're putting schools."
00:32:39.95\00:32:41.29
We're like, "Why
are you putting schools?
00:32:41.32\00:32:42.66
There's not a
church around there.
00:32:42.69\00:32:44.03
Are you sure this
thing is going to go?
00:32:44.06\00:32:45.39
You're going to get
left with this big bill.
00:32:45.43\00:32:47.10
And all of a sudden you're
paying all these teachers,
00:32:47.13\00:32:49.46
and nobody is coming."
00:32:49.50\00:32:50.83
They're like,
"No, we have a plan."
00:32:50.87\00:32:52.20
And wouldn't you know it,
you come back a few years later,
00:32:52.60\00:32:55.67
one particular
school there's over 30...
00:32:55.70\00:32:58.74
The city of David, we built a
school there about 20 years ago.
00:32:59.51\00:33:03.61
25 years ago now, I suppose.
00:33:03.81\00:33:05.71
And there was
really nothing there.
00:33:05.75\00:33:08.32
We built this school; it
now has 1200 to 1300 students,
00:33:08.35\00:33:11.29
and 30 some
churches all around there
00:33:11.32\00:33:13.99
that has spawned out of that.
00:33:14.02\00:33:15.42
~ And growing. They
can't take any more students.
00:33:15.46\00:33:17.99
Now they're...
00:33:18.29\00:33:19.63
You know, we built
other schools there.
00:33:19.83\00:33:21.36
And basically the same story.
00:33:21.40\00:33:23.16
Around every
school that they planted,
00:33:23.20\00:33:25.97
they were so intentional,
and the church just grew
00:33:26.00\00:33:29.50
in those areas; and
those schools are full.
00:33:29.54\00:33:31.54
It's like the axel, and
then the formation of this
00:33:31.57\00:33:35.34
ring of light.
00:33:35.38\00:33:37.28
They do the
education intentionally there
00:33:37.38\00:33:40.12
as a form of evangelism.
00:33:40.15\00:33:41.98
And you know, you think
about the parents are coming
00:33:42.02\00:33:44.09
every day, they've got
to go to all those programs,
00:33:44.12\00:33:46.55
they've got to drop their kids.
00:33:46.59\00:33:47.92
They make friends
with other parents.
00:33:47.96\00:33:49.46
You know, all of a
sudden you're in this community.
00:33:49.49\00:33:52.69
You know, you're studying
your Bible with the kids
00:33:53.43\00:33:55.43
to make sure they
get through that lesson.
00:33:55.46\00:33:57.17
You know, I mean.
00:33:57.20\00:33:58.60
~ You know, we have what
we consider formal evangelism,
00:33:59.00\00:34:01.97
the programs,
and those are good.
00:34:02.00\00:34:03.71
But there's other
ways of doing it too.
00:34:03.91\00:34:05.84
And sometimes it
involves construction.
00:34:05.97\00:34:08.94
~ And that's the thing.
00:34:09.21\00:34:10.55
Let's talk about
India here for a moment.
00:34:10.58\00:34:11.91
Because, you guys, we're
jumping all over the globe here.
00:34:11.95\00:34:15.38
But let's talk about
India before and after.
00:34:15.42\00:34:17.25
~ So in India we
have this school.
00:34:18.22\00:34:21.92
I call it the Suzy Bake Oven.
00:34:21.96\00:34:23.39
- But Ken, go ahead.
~ No, no, no, it's okay.
00:34:23.43\00:34:25.36
We can all tag
team the India story.
00:34:25.39\00:34:28.40
As an introduction, I'll
talk about schools in India.
00:34:28.43\00:34:32.77
Every single school
that we've been building here
00:34:33.37\00:34:35.87
in the recent
past, they open up full.
00:34:35.90\00:34:38.84
And the lines are out the
door. And I'll tell you why.
00:34:39.04\00:34:42.01
Most of the kids that
are going to school there,
00:34:42.04\00:34:44.61
they're not
Seventh-day Adventists.
00:34:44.65\00:34:46.01
They're not Christian.
00:34:46.05\00:34:47.38
They might be
Muslim, they might be Hindu.
00:34:47.48\00:34:51.82
They're after a
system that teaches morals.
00:34:51.92\00:34:55.56
And so they bring
the kids in there.
00:34:55.86\00:34:58.76
And it is so cool to see
these young boys and girls
00:34:58.86\00:35:02.86
learn about Jesus in a culture
and a society that, you know,
00:35:02.90\00:35:06.67
fundamentally
doesn't have hope, right.
00:35:06.70\00:35:10.27
So they come and
they learn about that.
00:35:10.31\00:35:11.91
And the teachers are dedicated.
00:35:11.94\00:35:14.61
And like we've
said, this is a great way
00:35:14.64\00:35:17.75
to bring a world
view that is much better.
00:35:18.15\00:35:23.12
And so, the parents in
India, they will give anything.
00:35:23.32\00:35:28.92
We've been
working in India since
00:35:28.96\00:35:30.76
1998 or 1999 we got started.
00:35:31.06\00:35:34.10
There was one
time, approximately,
00:35:34.13\00:35:36.40
there was one time I was
out, and one site visit there.
00:35:36.43\00:35:39.80
And we went to a little area,
and we were looking at a place
00:35:39.83\00:35:43.61
to put a school in.
00:35:43.64\00:35:45.27
And the director
back then was Doug.
00:35:45.31\00:35:48.14
And so, we got in
the vehicle to leave.
00:35:48.18\00:35:50.65
And a dad lays down in
front of the car and says,
00:35:50.68\00:35:55.28
"You can't leave until you
promise to build a school here."
00:35:55.32\00:35:58.59
So that will stop you in
your tracks, literally, right.
00:35:59.15\00:36:02.19
"And why is that?"
00:36:02.22\00:36:03.56
"Well, because I
have a young girl
00:36:03.59\00:36:04.96
who has no chance at education."
00:36:04.99\00:36:07.80
So what are we doing now,
Laura? There's the background.
00:36:08.10\00:36:11.27
~ Well, and I just have to throw
in, so many stories from India
00:36:11.30\00:36:14.40
where parents put
all their pride aside
00:36:14.44\00:36:17.77
and they're literally
hanging onto your shoes
00:36:17.81\00:36:21.28
begging you; you can't move.
00:36:21.31\00:36:23.55
They're like, "You have to
let my child in this school."
00:36:24.15\00:36:27.92
We woke up one morning,
we stayed at the school site,
00:36:27.95\00:36:31.65
there were, I don't
know, hundreds, hundreds of
00:36:32.85\00:36:37.09
parents outside
the gate, because today
00:36:37.13\00:36:41.03
is registration day.
00:36:41.06\00:36:42.43
~ They had
stayed there all night.
00:36:43.03\00:36:44.57
They wanted to be
the first one in line.
00:36:46.23\00:36:48.14
They took buses.
00:36:48.70\00:36:50.04
I mean, it was a
full 24, 48 hour project.
00:36:50.07\00:36:53.98
"I have to get my
kid in this school.
00:36:54.28\00:36:56.11
I have to get my
kid in this school."
00:36:56.51\00:36:58.11
It's amazing.
00:36:58.55\00:36:59.88
~ I know, it's a moving
thing when you think about it.
00:36:59.91\00:37:01.68
I'm seeing it,
because we experienced that.
00:37:01.72\00:37:03.99
~ Like, this is
life or death to them.
00:37:04.02\00:37:06.49
I mean, they are going to
get that kid in that school.
00:37:06.52\00:37:08.29
And it's so...
00:37:08.32\00:37:09.96
The uniqueness
of India is that...
00:37:10.03\00:37:13.13
Well, maybe I should back up.
00:37:13.56\00:37:15.06
I often get the question, "Why
do you keep working in India?
00:37:15.26\00:37:18.43
It's hard."
00:37:19.10\00:37:20.44
- And it is hard. ~ Oh yeah.
00:37:20.47\00:37:21.80
It's a long ways away.
00:37:21.84\00:37:23.17
It's difficult,
it's challenging.
00:37:23.20\00:37:24.54
"Why do you keep
working in India?"
00:37:24.57\00:37:27.28
Well, there's
hundreds of millions of people
00:37:27.31\00:37:32.21
in that sub-continent that have
never heard the name of Jesus.
00:37:32.68\00:37:35.75
We're not talking
about a Christian country
00:37:35.78\00:37:37.79
where you're moving from
one denomination to another,
00:37:37.82\00:37:40.09
or whatever.
00:37:40.12\00:37:41.46
This is people that have never,
ever heard, "Jesus Christ".
00:37:41.49\00:37:45.13
And if we can do
something to change that,
00:37:45.73\00:37:48.56
which is what
we're trying to do,
00:37:50.13\00:37:51.63
God can use that.
00:37:51.67\00:37:54.00
~ And we're building a lot
of these schools among the very
00:37:54.10\00:37:56.50
poor of the poorest.
00:37:56.54\00:37:58.37
I mean, some of these people
that are wanting to bring their
00:37:58.41\00:38:00.68
kids, they're making
two dollars a day maybe.
00:38:00.71\00:38:04.41
Sometimes two
dollars a month, right.
00:38:04.45\00:38:06.48
They're considered
the lower spectrum on the
00:38:06.51\00:38:10.39
social economic scale there.
00:38:10.42\00:38:11.99
So this is their
access, this is their way out.
00:38:12.02\00:38:14.92
~ Let's look at
this transformation.
00:38:14.96\00:38:17.29
I want to go to
this transformation,
00:38:17.33\00:38:18.73
before and after.
00:38:18.76\00:38:20.10
~ I love the before and after.
00:38:20.13\00:38:21.46
And so, the before picture here,
I call it the Suzy Bake Oven.
00:38:21.50\00:38:26.07
Because you sit in
there and it's just...
00:38:26.10\00:38:28.37
~ In India we know
it's hot under that tin.
00:38:28.40\00:38:30.64
~ You will die in there.
00:38:30.67\00:38:32.01
It looks nice on the screen.
00:38:32.04\00:38:33.71
~ So Kenneth is talking
about these poor schools.
00:38:33.74\00:38:36.48
Well this is a great example.
00:38:36.51\00:38:38.18
~ Of before. ~
This is the before.
00:38:38.21\00:38:40.52
~ Yeah, and this is after.
00:38:40.55\00:38:44.45
~ And the number of
students, what is it,
00:38:44.49\00:38:46.62
four or five times
as many as they had.
00:38:46.92\00:38:48.59
~ Yeah. ~ Maybe more.
00:38:48.62\00:38:49.99
So they're just, it's great.
It's a great success story.
00:38:52.09\00:38:55.36
~ There's story after story.
00:38:55.40\00:38:56.73
The sheepherder
girl goes to school,
00:38:56.77\00:39:01.24
turns out to be
absolute genius in mathematics,
00:39:01.54\00:39:04.97
scores top in her state, right.
00:39:05.01\00:39:06.71
- I mean, like, that's
really... ~ Tests out at top.
00:39:06.74\00:39:09.48
~ Waiting, these resources...
00:39:10.21\00:39:11.98
You know, somebody once said
the greatest natural resource
00:39:12.01\00:39:15.65
we have are our children.
00:39:15.68\00:39:17.19
Not the gold, not
the diamond, not the oil.
00:39:17.59\00:39:19.52
The greatest natural resource.
00:39:19.55\00:39:20.89
That's the untapped resource.
00:39:20.96\00:39:22.52
This is what
Maranatha is reaching out to do.
00:39:22.56\00:39:24.49
Investing, I
love that, building...
00:39:24.86\00:39:26.73
What do you say?
No building buildings.
00:39:26.76\00:39:28.13
- Building
people. ~ Building people.
00:39:28.16\00:39:30.17
And the potential is just, you
can't even gauge the potential.
00:39:30.20\00:39:34.30
There's nothing greater than the
potential of the human being.
00:39:34.34\00:39:37.24
I mean, God created
people with capacity.
00:39:37.27\00:39:39.94
~Let's talk about Falakata.
Is that the way you say it?
00:39:39.97\00:39:42.81
~ Yeah, Falakata - Yeah.
00:39:42.84\00:39:44.18
~ So we just have a,
this is what we call an
00:39:44.21\00:39:47.05
evangelism center.
00:39:50.15\00:39:51.75
~ Education evangelism center.
00:39:51.79\00:39:53.36
In India, they call them
just Maranatha education center.
00:39:53.39\00:39:56.36
This is just a school.
00:39:56.39\00:39:57.76
It's on a campus that
we worked on once before.
00:39:57.79\00:39:59.76
They needed another
huge hall with more students.
00:39:59.96\00:40:02.66
They've got 1300 to
1400 students there, I think.
00:40:02.70\00:40:05.80
- So that's one
school. ~ That's big.
00:40:05.83\00:40:07.44
Yeah, it's huge. Yeah.
00:40:07.47\00:40:09.90
~ That's a good word.
00:40:10.34\00:40:11.67
~ It's huge and
expensive. I will say that.
00:40:11.71\00:40:13.98
But it becomes a center.
00:40:14.01\00:40:15.34
That's a big auditorium
with a ton of classrooms
00:40:15.38\00:40:17.71
and office space,
bathrooms, you know.
00:40:17.75\00:40:19.58
It becomes the center
for a spiritual community.
00:40:19.61\00:40:22.88
And you can see that.
00:40:22.92\00:40:24.25
We just
dedicated that last month.
00:40:24.29\00:40:25.62
There's another
one we just dedicated
00:40:25.65\00:40:27.56
we should have a picture of.
00:40:27.59\00:40:28.92
Yeah, I think Lasalgaon.
And that's a beautiful school.
00:40:28.96\00:40:32.23
It has the same type of
interior, same structure.
00:40:32.26\00:40:34.66
And it is just a
beautiful school.
00:40:34.86\00:40:36.60
I wish we had a
before and after of that one,
00:40:36.63\00:40:38.50
but that is beautiful.
00:40:38.53\00:40:39.87
~ You know, the thing I
also learned about Maranatha
00:40:39.90\00:40:42.74
projects, in a lot of
instances, you don't just
00:40:42.77\00:40:46.24
build the buildings,
but you plan ahead of
00:40:46.27\00:40:48.54
time for the landscaping.
00:40:48.58\00:40:49.91
I saw that happen
with the project...
00:40:49.94\00:40:51.78
~ We've been doing
quite a bit of that.
00:40:51.81\00:40:53.25
Like in Kenya,
we've done a lot of that.
00:40:53.28\00:40:55.35
And you know, why not?
00:40:55.55\00:40:57.42
God is a God of beauty.
00:40:57.52\00:40:58.92
Education is more than
just learning to read and write,
00:40:59.45\00:41:03.32
and do all that.
00:41:03.36\00:41:04.69
Teaching them that
beauty is important.
00:41:04.73\00:41:07.50
They've oftentimes
not grown up with that.
00:41:07.53\00:41:10.20
Look around, it
can be beautiful.
00:41:10.23\00:41:13.07
~ And we've
revisited some of the projects,
00:41:13.10\00:41:14.94
to go back and see what it
looks like two years later;
00:41:14.97\00:41:17.27
and it's like, wow.
00:41:17.31\00:41:19.27
This was, you didn't see that.
00:41:19.31\00:41:20.98
But you know, nature takes
it's time to build that grass
00:41:21.01\00:41:23.61
there, then they manicure it,
00:41:23.65\00:41:25.21
and they stand in
front of that church proudly,
00:41:25.25\00:41:27.88
rather than in front of
a wood structure or shack.
00:41:27.92\00:41:30.95
Or in some cases a pole
with just cloth over it.
00:41:30.99\00:41:33.96
And wow, we've seen that too.
00:41:34.26\00:41:35.86
There was a picture that
went up and came back down.
00:41:35.89\00:41:38.99
~ Okay, India
brick building. - Yeah.
00:41:39.19\00:41:41.56
That's a project that
we're actually doing right now.
00:41:41.60\00:41:44.47
It's called, Binjipali.
00:41:44.50\00:41:45.83
It's a school that
has great capacity,
00:41:45.87\00:41:52.27
but no buildings
that are of any value.
00:41:52.31\00:41:54.74
The kids sleep in
terrible conditions.
00:41:54.78\00:41:57.55
And so, that's one
that's getting started.
00:41:57.95\00:42:00.32
~ Thinking of a
dormitory, are you thinking?
00:42:00.62\00:42:02.28
~ It will take everything.
00:42:03.65\00:42:04.99
Boys dorm, girls
dorm, big education center,
00:42:05.02\00:42:09.42
school,
cafeteria, kitchen, bathroom,
00:42:09.46\00:42:12.16
probably teacher housing.
00:42:13.50\00:42:15.23
The whole thing.
00:42:15.43\00:42:16.77
~ That's so true.
00:42:16.80\00:42:18.13
~ And people can go
on that and volunteer.
00:42:18.17\00:42:20.64
We have it on the list.
00:42:20.74\00:42:22.50
~ And by the way, we'll
give the website information
00:42:22.54\00:42:24.24
at the end of the program
so that you can participate
00:42:24.27\00:42:26.51
either as a volunteer
or as a financial donor.
00:42:26.54\00:42:29.38
Because the needs
are just always there.
00:42:29.41\00:42:31.71
The needs are there.
00:42:31.75\00:42:33.08
And people even can
pick where they'd like
00:42:33.11\00:42:34.62
to go and participate,
as far as volunteering.
00:42:34.65\00:42:37.42
And we talk about
the ultimate workout,
00:42:37.72\00:42:39.75
if you haven't gotten on that.
00:42:39.79\00:42:41.16
I haven't gone to
that, but I'm not a youth.
00:42:41.19\00:42:42.92
But that's something for
the young people to go on.
00:42:42.96\00:42:44.29
~ We can work
something out for you.
00:42:44.33\00:42:45.66
Make you
commitment, we'll work it out.
00:42:47.23\00:42:48.83
I'll wear a cap
and hide my hair color.
00:42:48.86\00:42:50.97
Now let's talk about
Peru. Let's talk about Peru.
00:42:51.67\00:42:54.77
Peru is another
place where you have this
00:42:54.80\00:42:56.20
school/church combination.
00:42:56.24\00:42:57.91
We do. They have
tremendous need now.
00:42:58.84\00:43:00.91
We had a lot of volunteers
that were excited about
00:43:00.94\00:43:02.98
going down there, but it seems
like, I don't know what it is,
00:43:03.01\00:43:07.18
there's been a
difficulty in Peru.
00:43:07.22\00:43:09.28
Of course, first, it was Covid.
00:43:09.32\00:43:10.65
Then it became the issue,
political issues down there
00:43:10.69\00:43:13.22
that has shut down the
volunteers for most of the year.
00:43:13.25\00:43:17.06
But I think that's
starting to open back up.
00:43:17.09\00:43:19.79
~ We're still able to finish
a beautiful school down there.
00:43:19.83\00:43:24.17
And while we were dedicating
it, the same thing happened.
00:43:24.20\00:43:26.90
People along the street were
saying, "Adventista, Adventista.
00:43:26.94\00:43:30.94
Alistar escuela?"
00:43:30.97\00:43:32.67
You know, they're asking, like,
00:43:32.71\00:43:34.41
"Can I get my
kid in that school?"
00:43:34.44\00:43:36.85
And look how beautiful that is.
00:43:36.88\00:43:38.21
This one is going to
turn out to be a great story.
00:43:38.25\00:43:41.05
We'll some day come
here and have to say,
00:43:41.08\00:43:43.25
"Hey, remember when
we talked about it?"
00:43:43.28\00:43:44.72
Because the congregation
who had a reasonably nice
00:43:44.75\00:43:48.89
church building, the way...
00:43:48.92\00:43:50.83
Okay, relative to
their neighborhood.
00:43:50.86\00:43:54.43
And they tore that
down completely in faith
00:43:54.46\00:43:59.93
expecting a school.
00:43:59.97\00:44:01.44
Because they really
were committed to making
00:44:01.47\00:44:03.37
a difference in the community.
00:44:03.41\00:44:04.74
~ Couples that had
gotten married there,
00:44:04.77\00:44:06.27
their grandparents
that laid the block.
00:44:06.31\00:44:08.81
I mean, this was a very
emotional thing for them to
00:44:08.84\00:44:11.35
tear it down, but they
were willing to do it because
00:44:11.71\00:44:13.98
Maranatha was coming and they
believed that we would do it.
00:44:14.02\00:44:16.35
- And then... ~ Then Covid hit.
00:44:17.55\00:44:18.95
And then everything
stopped for two years.
00:44:19.15\00:44:21.36
But now they have the building.
00:44:21.39\00:44:22.72
~ And the school
starts full. It's full.
00:44:22.76\00:44:25.79
So the blessings
are already starting.
00:44:26.03\00:44:27.70
I mean, that takes a
lot when you think about
00:44:27.90\00:44:29.80
nostalgia connected to
tearing a building down.
00:44:29.83\00:44:32.33
You're envisioning, "Mom
and dad got married here.
00:44:32.37\00:44:35.00
We had our baby dedication here.
00:44:35.04\00:44:36.50
When we look at the
building, we think of family."
00:44:36.77\00:44:39.57
And to knock it down,
that's not just an act of faith.
00:44:39.77\00:44:42.51
That's disconnecting
from the past and saying,
00:44:42.71\00:44:44.71
"God's got something better."
00:44:44.75\00:44:46.18
~ It really is, and those
people were an example of that.
00:44:46.21\00:44:49.88
- For sure. - They really were.
00:44:49.92\00:44:51.25
And even you've
done some stuff in Cuba.
00:44:51.29\00:44:53.29
~ Oh yeah, we need to
move quickly because we
00:44:53.76\00:44:55.52
still have a show
and tell with John here.
00:44:55.56\00:44:58.06
A special feature we have today.
00:44:58.09\00:44:59.83
So hang on right?
00:44:59.86\00:45:01.20
- Let's talk about
Cuba. - Okay, Cuba.
00:45:01.23\00:45:02.56
I'll intro it in 30 seconds.
00:45:02.60\00:45:04.63
Cuba is this amazing country
where we have been able to work
00:45:05.17\00:45:10.24
for a lot of
years and see God work.
00:45:10.27\00:45:12.71
And right now Cuba is
going through a difficult
00:45:12.74\00:45:16.08
economic situation.
00:45:17.38\00:45:19.38
They're having difficulty
finding food and getting food.
00:45:19.58\00:45:23.25
A lot of this stems
from left over from Covid,
00:45:23.99\00:45:27.12
and then there's, you
know, wars with Ukraine,
00:45:27.16\00:45:29.96
this and that, that's
affecting that country.
00:45:29.99\00:45:31.69
And so, the church in
Cuba was given permission
00:45:31.73\00:45:35.13
to bring food in.
00:45:35.43\00:45:36.87
And then tag, Don, you're it.
00:45:36.90\00:45:38.40
You can keep
going on that story.
00:45:38.43\00:45:39.97
~ Well, we brought in a
number of containers of food.
00:45:40.00\00:45:45.34
~ Let's go back
to all those bundles.
00:45:45.37\00:45:47.11
Let's just kind
of, let's look at that.
00:45:47.14\00:45:48.64
That's coming
out of one container.
00:45:48.68\00:45:50.85
Each container has
about 25,000 pounds of food.
00:45:51.91\00:45:54.92
The third one, I think, is
on the water right now going in.
00:45:55.22\00:45:58.95
Getting permission.
We ship it out of Panama.
00:45:58.99\00:46:01.22
~ See, that's
something else I didn't know.
00:46:01.26\00:46:02.86
I mean, not only are you
building buildings, but then
00:46:02.89\00:46:04.89
also in this depressed
situation you're able to raise
00:46:04.93\00:46:09.20
the funds needed to
get food into the country.
00:46:09.23\00:46:11.17
~ Yeah, I mean, we actually
went down and took pictures
00:46:11.20\00:46:14.67
of people getting the food.
00:46:14.70\00:46:16.04
I mean, there are
tears. You know, I mean...
00:46:16.07\00:46:17.74
~ This was unusual.
00:46:18.01\00:46:19.71
This is not in our main
wheelhouse, but you know,
00:46:19.74\00:46:23.11
so to speak, but this
was such an urgent need.
00:46:23.14\00:46:26.51
Really what you're providing
is hope for the people.
00:46:26.55\00:46:28.62
Because right now anybody
that can get out is getting out
00:46:28.65\00:46:32.72
of the country,
including church leadership.
00:46:32.75\00:46:34.32
~ Wow. - They're gone.
00:46:35.19\00:46:36.52
I mean, you might come to
church on Sabbath morning,
00:46:36.56\00:46:38.03
and your pastor is gone;
and everybody understands.
00:46:38.06\00:46:40.00
~ You know, not too many
years ago I think we were there,
00:46:40.03\00:46:42.30
we dedicated the
seminary there even.
00:46:42.33\00:46:44.43
Is that going
through difficulty also?
00:46:44.47\00:46:46.10
~ Oh yeah, in fact, a lot
of the food is going there
00:46:46.13\00:46:48.54
so that they can
feed the students.
00:46:48.57\00:46:49.90
Because they've lost
a lot of the students
00:46:50.51\00:46:53.27
because they couldn't feed them.
00:46:53.31\00:46:54.64
But this is providing food.
00:46:54.68\00:46:56.28
There's enough food to take
them through this school year.
00:46:56.31\00:46:58.95
~ And it's going
through the country too.
00:47:00.78\00:47:02.42
The different churches
and the church members.
00:47:02.45\00:47:04.49
~ But the church is growing.
00:47:04.52\00:47:05.85
- Unbelievable.
~ Through it all.
00:47:06.15\00:47:07.72
There are people that
are loyal to the whole idea,
00:47:08.56\00:47:10.83
not the idea, but the reality
of Maranatha, Jesus is coming.
00:47:10.86\00:47:14.43
Let's not let go.
00:47:14.46\00:47:15.80
You know, through
much tribulation, we face
00:47:15.83\00:47:17.53
the fact that
this is just temporary.
00:47:17.57\00:47:19.43
The joy is going to be coming.
00:47:19.47\00:47:20.80
For the first time
in quite a few years
00:47:20.84\00:47:22.17
we've gotten permission to
build five churches right now.
00:47:22.20\00:47:25.31
~ In Cuba? - In Cuba.
00:47:25.34\00:47:26.84
Wow, that's huge.
00:47:26.88\00:47:28.21
~ And they're letting us
ship in construction materials.
00:47:28.44\00:47:31.55
~ That's huge. -
That's a new day.
00:47:31.58\00:47:33.42
That is a new day. I
mean, in a communist country.
00:47:33.62\00:47:36.18
But I think somehow God
works in dark situations.
00:47:36.22\00:47:40.19
Well, like you say,
through tribulation.
00:47:40.22\00:47:42.09
The churches literally
are packed full to the rim.
00:47:42.12\00:47:47.00
~ Well, and one of the
things about tribulation
00:47:47.20\00:47:49.16
is just like the simple
thing of not having water.
00:47:49.20\00:47:52.60
And so you look at
the ministry of Jesus,
00:47:52.63\00:47:56.17
He so often addressed
some urgently felt need.
00:47:56.20\00:48:00.68
And then He had their attention.
00:48:01.04\00:48:03.35
And that's really where
the water hits the road.
00:48:03.95\00:48:06.18
~ Yeah, we just
started doing water,
00:48:06.21\00:48:07.72
I don't know, 5 or 6 years ago.
00:48:07.75\00:48:09.08
I don't know
why we were so slow.
00:48:09.12\00:48:11.05
But the impact,
when you drill a well,
00:48:11.09\00:48:14.46
say next to a
church or next to a school,
00:48:14.49\00:48:16.76
you talk about, the
people say, "You care about me.
00:48:17.16\00:48:22.66
Why do you care about me?
00:48:23.23\00:48:24.77
Let's see, what
else do you have?
00:48:25.83\00:48:27.34
I see you've got
a church over here.
00:48:28.57\00:48:29.90
What are you guys teaching?"
00:48:29.94\00:48:31.27
The church growth
in those areas is huge.
00:48:31.31\00:48:33.54
~ It's a catalyst to more.
00:48:33.58\00:48:35.24
And you have a
picture of this young lady.
00:48:35.54\00:48:36.91
Okay, the young lady, yeah.
00:48:37.91\00:48:39.25
~ So here's an example.
00:48:39.28\00:48:40.62
Like the picture of this
lady, she's maybe 80 pounds.
00:48:40.65\00:48:44.69
And that bucket on
her head is full of water.
00:48:44.72\00:48:48.52
She could walk
anywhere from one to five miles
00:48:48.56\00:48:51.26
with that thing on her head.
00:48:51.29\00:48:52.63
We actually
brought the carry cans.
00:48:52.96\00:48:55.83
We brought that
bucket here today.
00:48:56.03\00:48:57.90
It's right here for you,
John, to put on your head.
00:48:57.93\00:49:00.34
This is a first.
00:49:00.54\00:49:02.00
Okay, I'm going to reach
down and get this bucket.
00:49:02.40\00:49:05.31
I don't know how
these gals do it.
00:49:06.17\00:49:08.41
- Pretty light,
isn't it? - Oh, man.
00:49:08.44\00:49:10.68
- I barely can lift this up.
- Can you put it on your head?
00:49:11.41\00:49:14.28
Oh man, I tell you.
00:49:14.32\00:49:15.88
I would be singing
soprano for the rest of my life.
00:49:16.22\00:49:18.75
I don't need any
skull compressions.
00:49:20.32\00:49:22.06
But this is not,
this is not light.
00:49:22.56\00:49:25.63
I cannot imagine, carrying it
in your hand, a mile is a lot,
00:49:25.66\00:49:29.76
let alone
putting it on your head.
00:49:29.80\00:49:31.27
But in it, this
is the water of life.
00:49:31.77\00:49:33.80
- Yeah. - Yes.
00:49:33.84\00:49:35.17
And that's
something that's needed.
00:49:35.20\00:49:36.54
We've seen so many
wells are few and far between.
00:49:36.57\00:49:39.67
~ Sometimes where they get their
water, it's not good water.
00:49:39.71\00:49:42.54
It's not pure clean water.
00:49:42.58\00:49:43.91
And sometimes
between where they live
00:49:43.95\00:49:45.75
and where they go it's unsafe.
00:49:45.78\00:49:47.35
Whether it's people
that are attacking them,
00:49:47.92\00:49:51.65
sometimes animals.
00:49:51.85\00:49:53.19
~ But when you bring the
water, we have another picture,
00:49:53.22\00:49:54.59
the people surrounding
the water, the living water,
00:49:54.62\00:49:57.43
it makes a difference.
00:49:57.46\00:49:58.79
~ So we try to put the well as
close to the church as possible.
00:49:58.83\00:50:02.00
And here's an example of that.
00:50:02.50\00:50:04.33
One of the places that we worked
in, really super remote section
00:50:05.40\00:50:10.34
of Kenya right close
to the Ethiopian border,
00:50:10.37\00:50:13.51
we were trying to locate
with all our fancy equipment,
00:50:13.71\00:50:16.64
you know, fraction
trace analysis and whatnot,
00:50:17.15\00:50:20.05
like where' the best
place to put that well.
00:50:20.08\00:50:21.92
And the church people said,
"No, just put it by the church."
00:50:21.95\00:50:24.55
~ Oh, they just chose the
area. - They just chose that.
00:50:24.95\00:50:27.06
~ We said, "Well,
they tell us that there's
00:50:27.09\00:50:28.89
absolutely no chance
that there's water there.
00:50:28.92\00:50:30.99
We need to drill over
here." They said, "No."
00:50:31.49\00:50:33.33
The scientists say, like, "Oh
no, you can't put it by the...
00:50:33.36\00:50:35.90
No, it's just
not... No, don't do that."
00:50:35.93\00:50:38.33
And the church people are
like, "No, just put it here."
00:50:38.37\00:50:40.47
~ Listen to the scientists
or the people in the church.
00:50:40.50\00:50:42.67
~ Well, if you drill,
you're wasting resources.
00:50:42.70\00:50:45.94
And I know you're
just about out of time.
00:50:46.54\00:50:48.14
But...
00:50:48.18\00:50:49.51
So we went ahead and drilled.
00:50:51.01\00:50:52.91
To make it short, we
hit pure water at 30 meters.
00:50:53.31\00:50:56.65
To this day it's still kicking
out water for that whole area.
00:50:56.69\00:51:00.99
"Faith is the
substance of things hoped for,
00:51:01.02\00:51:03.32
the evident of things not seen."
00:51:03.36\00:51:04.69
And that's what water does.
00:51:04.73\00:51:06.06
Wow, you know, I want to
make sure that our audience
00:51:06.13\00:51:08.66
is taking all this in.
00:51:08.70\00:51:10.03
I mean, we talked about so much.
00:51:10.07\00:51:11.40
We've run
through it very quickly.
00:51:11.43\00:51:12.77
But you need to know
how to be a participant
00:51:12.83\00:51:15.14
in the Maranatha
projects and how to support the
00:51:15.17\00:51:18.17
ongoing needs
that Maranatha has.
00:51:18.21\00:51:20.61
You may not be able to travel,
00:51:20.71\00:51:22.58
but your donations can
travel and make a difference.
00:51:22.61\00:51:25.18
You might ask, "What
does the money go for?"
00:51:25.21\00:51:27.05
Well I think the
program showed you.
00:51:27.08\00:51:29.15
Not only building buildings, but
as Laura said, building lives.
00:51:29.18\00:51:33.39
And introducing to them
not only the running water,
00:51:33.42\00:51:35.76
but the living
water, Christ Jesus.
00:51:35.79\00:51:37.63
So if you'd like to
participate in a financial way,
00:51:37.93\00:51:40.33
or even become a part of
the Maranatha volunteer team,
00:51:40.36\00:51:43.37
this is the information
that you need to participate.
00:51:43.67\00:51:46.33
After this, we'll be right
back for a few closing thoughts.
00:51:46.37\00:51:49.40
If you would like to
contact or know more about
00:51:52.04\00:51:54.64
Maranatha
Volunteers International...
00:51:54.68\00:51:56.75