Participants:
Series Code: ASAP
Program Code: ASAP000006
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00:19 In many countries throughout Southeast Asia,
00:22 the highland regions are settled by semi nomadic people groups 00:27 known as hill tribe people or ethnic minority groups. 00:31 The mountainous areas of Vietnam 00:33 are home to 15 different ethnic groups... 00:38 not restricted by cultural or family ties to Buddhism 00:42 and spiritual by nature, 00:44 these minority groups are very receptive to the gospel message. 00:49 Whole villages are accepting Christ as their savior 00:52 and are worshiping God together 00:55 as a result of God working through national missionaries 00:58 sent out by Adventist Southeast Asia Projects. 01:04 Hi, my name is Jee Wong 01:06 and I'm one of the many ambassadors 01:08 that are representing the ASAP Ministry. 01:12 What is the truth? 01:14 Do you know the truth? 01:17 How do you know what you believe in is the truth? 01:21 Is it that beautiful hymn that you listen to 01:24 that brought tears to your eyes? 01:27 Or is it the sermon that makes your heart tremble? 01:32 Many people in this world are asking what is the truth? 01:38 I did when I grew up as a Buddhist 01:42 there are many, many different gods 01:43 in the world that I lived in 01:45 and I was not convinced that any of them could give me salvation 01:50 until I found a Savior Jesus Christ. 01:53 I knew that He come to save me and to redeem me. 01:58 Just very recently I have the opportunity 02:01 to visit Southeast Asia 02:03 and to listen and to share many, many of my testimony 02:09 to the people in Southeast Asia. 02:13 And in return these people shared their testimonies with me 02:18 and here are their testimonies. 02:29 One night a few years ago I had a very unusual dream. 02:33 In my dream I saw a long line of elephants coming to my home. 02:38 They were being ridden and lead by people 02:40 from the ethnic villages in the mountains. 02:44 They came so close to my wife and myself 02:46 and I feared that we might be trampled. 02:49 I was strongly impressed that this was no ordinary dream 02:52 and that God was trying to send me an important message. 02:56 I decided to share the dream with my regional leader 02:59 to see if he could help me sort out the meaning. 03:02 The truly remarkable thing 03:04 is that my wife had the very same dream the very same night, 03:09 and had also gone separately to see our regional pastor. 03:13 We were all impressed that God was leading us 03:16 to start a work with the ethnic villages. 03:19 As these tribal people live in areas that are very sensitive 03:23 and the government is not like people 03:25 from the outside visiting the villages. 03:27 We wondered how we might go about 03:29 entering this region of the country. 03:31 For the next two years we fervently prayed for guidance 03:35 as to how we might start a work there. 03:40 The very first ethnic group 03:42 that we were able to make contact with, 03:44 we received opposition, 03:46 the police threw tear gas into the place 03:49 where we were meeting to disperse us. 03:51 We did not feel it was wise to go back 03:53 and work with these people right away, 03:55 but we were not discouraged, we just prayed. 03:59 Later, as we started up our work again, 04:02 we encountered the police opposition many times. 04:05 We made a number of trips into remote areas 04:08 where we had to hike up treacherous mountain slopes 04:11 in order to reach the villages. 04:13 We had many near death experiences, 04:16 but we were confident 04:18 that angels were watching over us the whole time. 04:22 God continually gives us wisdom in how to do this work. 04:25 Sometimes, I would disguise myself as the chicken seller 04:29 in order to get into the villages. 04:32 God opened up the way for me to do much teaching and training 04:36 to build up leaders who were strong in the truth. 04:40 After sometime we felt impressed 04:42 that in order to be truly effective 04:44 we would have to go and live and work among the people. 04:48 We are now seeing the results of patiently praying 04:51 and holding on to the dream God gave us. 04:54 My wife and I cannot thank the Lord enough 04:58 even now as we think of all that has happened 05:01 in these past four years, 05:02 we know that we could not do this ourselves. 05:05 It has to be power of the Lord. 05:08 Yes, only God could bring about the miracles 05:12 that occurred in the past year in Vietnam. 05:15 I believe this was a result of fasting and prayer. 05:18 Even though pastor and Mrs. Bai 05:21 and the ASAP partners were half a world away, 05:25 God's spirit united us as we earnestly pleaded 05:28 on behalf of the many souls seeking for truth in Vietnam. 05:34 You just saw the amazing way 05:36 God revealed His plan to pastor and Mrs. Bai in a dream. 05:40 One dream would be easy to dismiss 05:43 but the same dream 05:45 given to both husband and wife on the same night, 05:48 now that one must take notice off. 05:51 In the rest of this video you get to see the results. 05:55 You will meet four secrets of truth, 05:58 earnest students of God's word. 06:00 Pastor and Mrs. Bai studied the Bible with these individuals 06:05 and they in turn shared the truth 06:07 from God's word with their people. 06:10 Do you believe God's promise 06:15 which says, "You will seek Me and find Me 06:18 when you search for Me with all your heart." 06:21 If you have not found Christ, 06:23 I encourage you to seek Him with all your heart 06:27 and you will find Him as many are in Vietnam. 06:31 This promise took on a new dimension for me 06:34 after I heard firsthand the stories 06:37 you will see in this video. 06:39 It's hard to describe this experience. 06:42 And for their safety we had to blur the images in this video, 06:45 but one thing I can say 06:48 their quest for truth touched my heart. 06:51 I could not hold back the constant stream of tears 06:54 that flowed down my cheeks, 06:56 tears of sadness as they relayed the suffering they experienced. 07:01 And tears of joy as they shared the difference 07:04 finding the truth made in their lives. 07:08 I praise God that in a matter of eight months 07:11 over 2,000 ethnic tribal people 07:15 accepted the truth of the Sabbath 07:17 as a result of God working through pastor and Mrs. Bai. 07:23 I encourage you pray and ask God. 07:26 Lord, what can I do to share with those who are seeking? 07:34 I have always believed that 07:37 there must be a God in this universe, 07:38 but I didn't know who that God was. 07:41 When I was in high school my friend's son taught me 07:44 that the Supreme Being and Jesus were one. 07:47 This was hard for me accept, 07:49 but I still held on to my belief 07:51 in a Supreme Being who looks over all. 07:54 One day I received the news that my baby daughter was not well 07:58 and needed medical attention. 08:01 I rushed home and when I saw that my daughter's condition 08:04 was very serious, I cried out in desperation. 08:08 If there is a God please heal her. 08:11 If You heal her she is Yours. 08:14 If You don't heal her, I'll accept that too. 08:20 My daughter got better and we praised God together. 08:24 Sometime later she got sick again. 08:28 My family members believed 08:29 that it was because of some bad spirit in her, 08:32 they wanted to worship the demons 08:34 and ask them to heal her. 08:37 When I heard that I got very upset 08:40 and destroyed their altars 08:42 before they could conduct the ritual. 08:45 After I stood for the truth and got rid of the idols, 08:49 my daughter immediately got well. 08:52 Right then and there, I resolved to keep my promise 08:56 and serve Jesus the rest of my life. 08:59 I began to study my Bible and pray a lot. 09:03 I was convicted that God wanted me to share my faith. 09:06 I began talking to people one by one. 09:10 I started a small group that has now grown to eight church groups 09:14 with a total membership of 350 people. 09:25 I've encountered much persecution 09:27 since I decided to work for God. 09:29 We've been beaten severely by the local authorities. 09:33 Even though I have documents from the government, 09:36 it doesn't seem to mean anything to them. 09:39 They come to my house and check on our activities. 09:42 In the past they would hang my members up 09:46 by a rope with their arms tied behind their backs. 09:49 They would do this for hours and then abruptly let them go. 09:54 When they would fall to the ground they would yell. 09:57 Will you give up your faith? 09:59 We would say no, 10:00 then they would string us back up for another couple of hours. 10:04 This happened again and again. 10:08 My members had no option 10:10 but to flee from the area to a neighboring village. 10:14 The Bible teaches us to forgive our enemies 10:17 and I don't have any harsh feelings towards them 10:19 for what they have done. 10:21 I used to have nightmares about these experiences, 10:24 but I don't anymore. 10:26 It is my prayer that all the ethnic people 10:29 in my country will become believers. 10:31 Please pray for this. 10:34 The Bible says, "That if we trust in the Lord, 10:38 He will protect us." 10:41 I praise God that four of my groups are now Sabbath keepers. 10:46 Please pray for me 10:47 as I carefully teach the other four groups 10:49 about the truth of the Sabbath. 10:56 Before I was a Christian I worshiped my ancestors. 11:00 I had pictures of my grandparents 11:02 and great grandparents on front of an altar. 11:05 I tried to communicate with them 11:06 and believed that they would bless me. 11:09 I believed that they had a super power to protect me. 11:12 After I became a believer in Christ I had a new life, 11:16 but it was hard in the beginning because I was without a Bible. 11:20 I prayed and asked God that He would help me find one. 11:24 I felt so happy and so blessed 11:26 that the Lord gave me a Bible after six months time. 11:31 It is the most precious book that I had. 11:33 One of my favorite text is John 14:1-3 which says, 11:39 "Let not your heart be troubled, 11:41 you believe in God, believe also in Me. 11:44 In My Father's house are many mansions, 11:48 if it were not so, I would have told you. 11:51 I go to prepare a place for you. 11:53 And if I go I'll prepare a place for you, 11:55 I will come again and receive you unto myself, 11:59 that where I am, there you may be also." 12:03 This passage gives me peace and hope for a better life. 12:10 When I first became a Christian, 12:12 believers were often put in jail. 12:14 When I became a worker for the Lord, 12:17 I was persecuted and fined heavily. 12:20 The officers would ask me questions like, 12:23 why do you believe in God? 12:24 How do you pray? 12:27 I would answer. 12:28 I kneel down and pray and call on God. 12:33 Because I said I would kneel and my turn head heavenward, 12:37 they forced me to my knees 12:39 and put a bowl of water on my forehead 12:41 and ordered me to pray 12:43 so that my God would keep the bowl of water from falling. 12:48 I knelt as long as I could but when I lost my balance 12:52 they kicked me and beat me. 12:55 At moments like this I thought seriously 12:58 about moving away from the area, 13:00 but I could not leave the faithful members under my care. 13:04 I trusted in the power of the Lord, 13:06 God's promises in the Bible 13:08 gave me the strength I needed to go on 13:10 and do the work of spreading the gospel. 13:14 When the members saw 13:15 how I endured these trials with the police, 13:18 their faith grew and so the authorities realized 13:21 that there was nothing that they could do 13:22 to stop us from worshiping God. 13:24 They also saw that we were gentle and harmless to them. 13:29 They are now letting us worship in peace. 13:33 After further study I became a Seventh-day Adventist Christian. 13:39 I found out about the church 13:40 from listening to the sermons of Pastor Isaiah 13:43 on the Peace and Happiness radio broadcast. 13:46 After some time I felt prepared to share the Sabbath truth 13:51 with the four church groups that I care for. 13:54 We studied the word of God intently together 13:56 on this new teaching that I had learned. 13:59 Now, all 300 of my members have accepted 14:02 the truths of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 14:10 Recently on my way to a Bible study, 14:13 my moped caught on fire because of mechanical problems. 14:18 I was able to jump off quick and was not hurt, 14:21 but my moped was damaged beyond repair. 14:25 My church members are so spread out 14:28 that it really limited what I was able to do for a while. 14:32 It was a real answer to prayer 14:34 to receive a new moped from ASAP. 14:37 Now I'm able to easily visit 14:39 all of the church members in my district. 14:42 You know, that in Southeast Asia that the minority people 14:47 still receive a lot of discrimination and oppression. 14:52 During the past 12 years I have many evidences 14:56 how these people have been treated by the authority. 15:00 They don't have the privilege, they are not human being. 15:03 They are very poor. 15:06 Education, they don't have the opportunity for that. 15:09 And they are very limited in their movement 15:14 from one area to another. 15:16 At this moment I have many requests in Vietnam. 15:21 Now only in one language group, 15:23 but we have at least 10 language groups request for Bibles, 15:29 for DVD, for Megavoice 15:31 so they can learn the message of the Bible in their area. 15:35 You know, one village with a 150 members, 15:38 there are only two Bibles available for these people. 15:42 It is very hard to buy Bible through the government, 15:46 even though the government permits to print a Bible, 15:49 but somehow with our house-church movement 15:53 because we are spreading so fast, 15:56 wherever we come in we want to buy the Bible, 15:59 they refuse to sell to us. 16:01 So we have to have a way to have the Bible for our people. 16:04 So if you are touched by the Holy Spirit 16:10 to help in these areas of the gospel, 16:15 I pray that the Lord will guide you, will lead you, 16:18 will impress your heart, to help these people. 16:23 I promise you that every donation, 16:27 I will make it possible for the Bible 16:30 going to these people groups. 16:33 Every materials that I can develop, 16:36 we will use every cent for this, 16:39 to bring the message of our God to these people. 16:44 And may the Lord bless you and thank you so much 16:48 for your prayer, for your support. 16:51 Without your support and your prayer, 16:53 we couldn't make it. 16:54 Together, we can do this for our heavenly Father. 16:58 Thank you so much. 17:03 We met Pastor Bai and his wife from family friends 17:07 who had been taking Bible studies from them. 17:10 I studied the truths of the Sabbath with them 17:12 for three weeks praying and asking God what was the truth? 17:16 They gave me DVD's and other materials to study. 17:21 I understand Vietnamese, 17:22 so I was able to read the books that they gave me, 17:25 but at first it was like a giant puzzle. 17:28 Little by little the pieces came together. 17:32 After careful study of all of the Bible passages 17:34 that were presented in the study materials, 17:36 my heart was convicted and I accepted it as truth. 17:41 I was excited to teach the members in my six churches, 17:45 four of my churches with a total membership of 600 17:49 have accepted the teachings and now worship on Saturday. 17:53 The remaining two villages are in remote areas 17:56 and it is hard to reach them, 17:58 but we are praying that they too will accept the truth. 18:04 I'm a farmer and grow rice, corn and yucca. 18:09 We do not have any irrigation system or a well in our village. 18:13 We depend completely on the blessing of the Lord. 18:17 When I became a Sabbath keeper, 18:19 I made a commitment to rest on the Sabbath. 18:22 The Lord has blessed me with a good harvest 18:24 ever since I started keeping His sacred day. 18:28 Many in my village often suffered 18:30 from shortages of water and food. 18:32 It is not unusual for the people 18:34 to be out of food for three to four months. 18:37 When this happens they have to dig for roots in the forest. 18:42 My church members and I along with other lay pastors 18:45 and believers have all suffered for our faith. 18:49 Vietnam is run by a communist government. 18:52 They are saying to the world 18:54 that they are giving religious freedom for people 18:56 to worship according to their faith. 18:59 Unfortunately, these freedoms are not shared 19:02 equally to all people throughout the whole county. 19:06 Ethnic people still suffer a lot of restrictions and persecution. 19:11 The military here have burned our members' houses. 19:14 People are forced to flee deeper into the jungle. 19:18 When the government finds out 19:20 who the Adventist Church members are 19:22 they cut off their benefits and they no longer receive food. 19:25 When they find out that we do not drink, smoke or eat pork 19:30 they try to force us to do these things to make fun of us. 19:34 I praise God that the members stay faithful to Him 19:37 and hold on to their beliefs. 19:40 Another way that the police try to discourage our faith 19:43 is to fine us if they catch us worshiping God together. 19:48 Recently, when a large group of believers 19:50 were meeting in my house, 19:52 officers charged in and fined me 500,000 Vietnamese dong. 19:58 Fortunately I was able to borrow some money and pay the fine. 20:02 They let me go that time, 20:04 but told me that if I gather people together to worship again 20:07 they would fine me 1 million dong, which is about $130. 20:13 This is about the amount of money 20:15 that my members make in a whole year. 20:18 If we cannot pay the fine 20:20 they force us to work in the forest chopping wood. 20:23 It takes about six months of work to pay off the fine. 20:28 This is a heavy burden on the members 20:30 and we do everything that we can to avoid the police. 20:33 We rotate our place of worship and keep a close watch. 20:38 Many times we have to flee into the jungle to avoid capture. 20:46 I'm taking care of two groups with a total of 150 members 20:51 that are now all keeping the Sabbath. 20:54 I praise God that brother Bai and his wife 20:57 taught us about the Sabbath truth. 20:59 Here's how it happened. 21:01 One day I was cutting bamboo at my brother's house 21:05 when Pastor Bai stopped in to visit him. 21:08 I was curious why he was there, 21:10 so I stopped working and I went over to where they were. 21:13 When I saw that they were studying the Bible together 21:16 I asked if I could join them. 21:18 The things that they were talking about 21:20 I had never heard before. 21:22 As we study together 21:23 the Holy Spirit moved upon my heart 21:26 and I began to understand more about God 21:28 and that the seventh day was the true day of worship. 21:32 When Pastor Bai asked me who my leader was, 21:35 I eagerly told him and together we went to visit my pastor 21:39 and study with my church group in a nearby village. 21:43 I wanted Pastor Bai to explain these exciting beliefs to them. 21:53 Someone must have reported their visit to the police 21:56 because during our meeting they came and arrested brother Bai. 22:00 They also brought me into the police station 22:03 and interrogated me about his visit. 22:06 They released brother Bai but notified the city police station 22:10 to arrest him and his wife again at the foot of the mountain. 22:14 They withheld their documents 22:16 and required them to pay 2 million Vietnamese dong 22:19 as a fine for doing evangelistic work without license. 22:24 The pastor and I gathered our group of 100 people together 22:27 to pray for pastor and Mrs. Bai. 22:30 To our surprise later that same day 22:33 who should walk into our church but Pastor Bai and his wife, 22:37 right after being released 22:39 they had come right back up the mountain to visit us. 22:42 They patiently explained 22:43 the truths found in the Bible with us. 22:47 I could not believe that I had never seen these truths before, 22:50 but I'm confident that it was the Holy Spirit 22:53 who revealed these things to us through Pastor Bai. 22:57 Ever since we became Sabbath keepers 22:59 my family has been happy and at peace. 23:01 I definitely believe that it is the blessing of the Lord. 23:06 As of now about half of my members 23:08 worship on the Sabbath day 23:09 and half that still worship on Sunday. 23:13 Please pray that the other half will come to accept the truth. 23:16 Ever since we started worshiping on the Sabbath 23:18 the police have tried to catch us 23:20 but they have not succeeded yet. 23:23 Twice they have come to arrest me 23:25 since I'm the leader of the group. 23:27 But both times I've been away for training. 23:31 One of these times they searched my house 23:34 and found one of my cell phones. 23:36 From the phone they were able to gather the numbers 23:40 of Pastor Bai and other Adventist leaders. 23:43 Please pray for their safety. 23:46 I will always trust God and thank Him for revealing truth 23:49 about His character and His law to me. 23:53 I will always follow Him. 23:55 I hope you have been inspired by the stories 23:57 about how the Holy Spirit revealed truth 24:00 to our faithful Vietnamese brothers and sisters. 24:03 My heart has moved when I hear their stories. 24:06 The ASAP missionaries have heard the call of Christ. 24:10 For them to respond to Christ call 24:12 means to leave all, sell all and forsake all. 24:16 They make tremendous sacrifices to follow Christ 24:20 and to bring the light of truth to those who are seeking. 24:24 In Testimonies Volume 9, Page 103, it says, 24:28 "It was the Savior's purpose that after He ascended to heaven 24:32 to become man's intercessor, 24:34 His followers should carry on the work that He had begun. 24:38 Shall the human agent show no special interest 24:41 in giving the light of the gospel message 24:43 to those who sit in darkness? 24:45 There are some who are willing to go to the ends of the earth 24:49 in order to carry the light of truth to men, 24:51 but God demands that every soul 24:54 who knows the truth shall seek to win others 24:56 to the love of the truth. 24:58 If we are not willing to make special sacrifices 25:01 in order to save souls that are ready to perish, 25:05 how can we be counted worthy to enter into the city of God? 25:11 Friends, we want to invite you 25:14 to partner with ASAP in taking the gospel to Vietnam. 25:20 Most are not called to make the same kind of sacrifice 25:23 that the missionaries are making in Vietnam. 25:26 Nevertheless there are sacrifices that we all can make. 25:31 We can seize the great opportunities 25:33 we have to help save the lost 25:35 now while we can by whole heartedly 25:38 giving of our financial resources and of our time. 25:43 Your dollars go far in Southeast Asia. 25:46 It cost only $5 to supply 25:49 the word of God to a seeker of truth. 25:52 It takes only $70 to send a missionary 25:54 into the right fields of Vietnam. 25:56 $65 will provide a house-church 25:59 a DVD player and a set of DVD's filled with God's truth. 26:04 $850 will purchase a moped for a lay pastor 26:08 and bring the gospel 26:09 to many more neighboring towns and villages. 26:13 For questions and donations 26:15 please contact Adventist Southeast Asia Projects. 26:20 I thank the Lord for Jee Wong, 26:22 a gifted pianist who finds great joy in using his talents, 26:26 to spread the word about what God is doing through ASAP. 26:30 Our ambassadors are people 26:33 with a passion and a spirit of volunteerism. 26:37 We are grateful for each one 26:39 who uses their time and talents for God's glory. 26:43 Our ASAP ambassadors work in many ways. 26:46 We have prayer partners, 26:47 people that host benefit concerts, 26:49 mission trip participants, 26:51 speakers and camp meeting representatives. 26:54 ASAP would not be what it is today without our ambassadors. 27:00 If you feel that God is calling you 27:02 to serve as an ASAP ambassador please contact us. 27:06 As you hear Jee play "Savior, like a Shepherd Lead Us. 27:10 It is my prayer that Jesus would be the shepherd of your life 27:14 and that He would guide your steps. |
Revised 2014-12-17