Off the Grid

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Series Code: OTG

Program Code: OTG000018


00:01 Adventist World Aviation is an aviation based ministry
00:03 with the mission of reaching the unreached people
00:06 all around the world.
00:07 Currently they have mission outpost in Guyana
00:10 Alaska, and the Philippines.
00:13 Today we travel to the Philippine island of Palawan,
00:17 where Adventist World Aviation has an airbase.
00:22 Adventist World Aviation primarily focuses their efforts
00:26 on aviation operations and support.
00:29 however they also do much more to minister to the local people.
00:33 Evangelism is an important component of what
00:37 Adventist World Aviation does both internationally
00:40 and domestically.
00:42 That is, building the kingdom of God in the hearts of people,
00:46 is always the first and foremost objective, and that is just what
00:51 they are doing here in Palawan today.
02:04 Adventist World Aviation mission is to reach the difficult
02:07 to reach people of this world. By bringing hope
02:10 through the message of Jesus Christ.
02:12 Aviation and aircraft are primarily the tools they employ
02:17 to do this.
02:18 Currently Adventist World Aviation has mission outposts
02:22 in Guyana, Alaska and the Philippines.
02:26 Although these mission outposts are aviation focused,
02:30 they also do far more to help the local people,
02:33 than just fly airplanes.
02:34 Each of the projects have missionaries on the ground,
02:38 that serve the local people in a number of ways.
02:42 Adventist World Aviation is a ministry that started out
02:45 as a way of providing mission aviation service
02:50 to the missions around the world.
02:53 God's commission to the entire world church, is evangelism.
02:58 To win souls, to bring people to Christ.
03:04 Even though we are about mission service through airplanes,
03:07 we are still about evangelism and bringing people to Christ.
03:12 We are here in Palawan in the Philippines. Where Adventist
03:16 World Aviation does have an airbase. This airbase has been
03:22 here for a number of years and a result of it,
03:24 many souls are being won. A church has been planted
03:29 as a result of Adventist World Aviation.
03:32 And so we came here to continue expanding the church here
03:39 in Palawan through evangelism which is what something that
03:43 God has commissioned each one of us to do.
03:46 AWA Philippines Project is based on the island of Palawan.
03:51 They have an airbase located centrally on the island,
03:55 in the remote village of Sagpangan.
03:59 This outpost consists of mission housing, an airbase,
04:04 and an Adventist church.
04:06 Adventist World Aviation has a presence here in the Philippines
04:09 since around 2003, 2004. We started entertaining
04:13 what's going on here and than later on, just a short year
04:16 or so later. We sent a project missionary to work down here
04:21 to see what we could do to develop a program here.
04:24 Later on as time went forward,
04:26 our project manager was able to construct a beautiful home.
04:28 The airbase is in a perfect location for reaching the
04:33 islands of Palawan here in this area that are in need of support
04:38 We have that history here, that this is a perfect location
04:41 for that. We also have the Adventist Hospital, that's
04:45 in Porta Princessa, that we can med-evac patients to if needed.
04:49 So we just got nice presence here.
04:51 Having the history of Adventist World Aviation in this area
04:55 has been beneficial. The Philipino people already know
05:00 who we are and appreciate some of the work that we have done.
05:03 Adventist World Aviation is in the process of expanding
05:06 their current operations here in Palawan.
05:09 They are making arrangements to place a helicopter
05:13 here in the Philippines.
05:14 Traditionally, Adventist World Aviation has focused
05:18 on fixed winged aircraft. But the terrain here in Palawan
05:23 calls for a different solution.
05:25 I am standing here with Jud Wickwire, director of operations
05:29 We're glad that Jud is part of our team. Jud 's been here for
05:31 last few weeks, scouting the area, making sure that the
05:35 ground work has been laid for the work that Adventist World
05:38 Aviation has been doing here. Not only in evangelism, but
05:41 the ongoing air operations, that we have developed now
05:47 and into the future looking at things like helicopter.
05:50 There is so much happening here that has been sort of delayed
05:53 over the last few years, but the need for mission aviation here
05:56 on the island is tremendous and as we mentioned helicopter too
05:59 which will reach areas in the mountains
06:02 where there simply isn't anywhere to land.
06:04 A Helicopter would be the perfect fit to reach many
06:08 more locations where a regular airplane simply cannot go.
06:13 A helicopter seems to be the perfect fit
06:16 for all this island's terrain.
06:19 The Philippines are so diverse and so vast. And so the need
06:24 for aviation support is unlimited really.
06:28 It will take years to develop different areas
06:31 that we can reach. And it will take a combination of airplanes
06:33 and helicopters in order to reach the places
06:35 that need the help the most. In one particular area you were
06:39 looking at placing a helicopter here in the island of Palawan.
06:42 In an area there is simply isn't anywhere to land an airplane.
06:45 The only way to reach the people and help expand
06:48 the existing work that's being done in those areas and reach
06:51 farther out into the mountains. is where the helicopter is
06:54 the only possible way to reach beyond the distances that people
06:57 can walk.
06:58 The need for aviation in the Philippines is wide ranging.
07:00 Of course there is a continuous need to spread the Gospel
07:05 To reach areas that can't be reached by any other means.
07:08 There is tremendous need for medical care to be delivered
07:11 to the people, who need it. And of course with the locations
07:15 in the Philippines and there are natural disasters that occur.
07:19 on a regular basis throughout the year.
07:22 And we would be in a position to frontline support
07:25 those disasters any time. That will be a key place
07:30 we can be positioned to do the most, when the need rises.
07:34 The Philippine islands often get natural disasters, floods,
07:39 storm surges and typhoons frequently plague this region.
07:44 With aircraft, Adventist World Aviation can offer logistical
07:48 support to disaster relief organizations and bringing
07:53 aid during these devastating times.
07:55 Here in the Philippines one of the key activities that
08:00 we want to be able to do, is disaster relief.
08:04 Of course the Philippines they're in the path of typhoons
08:09 on a regular basis.
08:11 They strike in different parts of the country.
08:13 The impact could be severe. That's a good example of
08:18 what we want to be prepared for to act on immediately
08:22 when those disasters occur.
08:25 Recently of course typhoon Haiyan came through
08:29 and left a terrible, terrible trail of disaster behind.
08:35 Tocloban was the main part the main news, but you know the
08:40 northern part of Palawan. This island that I am on right now.
08:43 Northern part and the island surrounding that section
08:46 were hit very hard, they were directly hit
08:49 sparsely populated area
08:51 never the less people lost their homes, lost their livelihoods.
08:55 Of course, disaster response needs to be...
08:57 You need to be prepared for an immediate response to
09:01 a natural disaster such as a typhoon, which the Philippines
09:05 are often struck directly by the full force of typhoons.
09:09 Recently of course typhoon Haiyan was in the news
09:14 in a major way and disasters like those - if we are prepared
09:18 and ready to go, we can be on those sites within hours
09:21 and meet the immediate needs of the people after disaster.
09:25 We are looking at ways to help communities where their main
09:30 source of income is from the sea they are fisherman,
09:34 they harvest seaweed. They've lost their boats.
09:37 We are acting there now to help them get their livelihoods back.
09:44 with boats and nets for some of the people
09:47 on some of those islands there.
09:49 Most recently, Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines and
09:54 decimated part of the country.
09:57 Thousands of people lost everything they had,
09:59 including their homes and livelihood.
10:01 Through donations, Adventist World Aviation is able to be
10:06 part of the recovery effort.
10:08 A large population of the people in this region of
10:11 the Philippines make their living as fishermen.
10:14 The storm that swept through the area completely
10:17 demolished not only homes, but also destroyed these
10:21 people's income source: their fishing boats.
10:25 Through donations, Adventist World Aviation was able to
10:28 help restore this area by supplying 6 fishing boats
10:32 to the community.
10:34 With these boats, the natives can begin
10:37 rebuilding their lives again.
10:46 Adventist World Aviation located here in the Philippines
10:49 on the island of Palawan in the city called Sagpangan.
10:52 Is where our airbase is. We have our main office, our corporate
10:57 headquarters here in the Philippines in Puerto Princesa
11:01 and the main island of Palawan.
11:03 Our airbase has been here for quite a few years.
11:07 We had an airplane here that was operating for quite some time.
11:09 Unfortunately it is down, un- flyable at this point and time.
11:14 It's requiring a great deal of maintenance. In fact we probably
11:17 looking in the neighborhood of about $100,000 worth of damage
11:22 that we need to repair on the aircraft.
11:24 The airplane here in Palawan is in desperate need of some
11:27 mechanical work.
11:28 It simply cannot fly any longer without undergoing refurbishment
11:33 For this reason, Jud Wickwire is disassembling the aircraft.
11:39 The plan is to ship this airplane back to the United
11:42 States and replace it with another aircraft.
11:45 Our airplane here has been in service for several years
11:48 And it needs to be returned to the US for repair and overhaul.
11:52 So we have been dismantling it in preparation for loading
11:55 it in a container to send back and for the soon replacement
11:59 of another airplane is being prepared in the US right now
12:02 to replace it here for service.
12:04 The replacement plane scheduled for this airbase
12:07 is much more safe and equipped to fly in this terrain.
12:11 Jud has worked on aircraft the majority of his life.
12:15 He is both a pilot as well as an aircraft mechanic.
12:19 His primary concern is to make sure that all the
12:23 Adventist World Aviation planes are flying in optimal
12:27 and safest conditions.
12:28 It's really good that we have Jud Wickwire, now as our
12:32 director of operations. We are just so pleased to have him.
12:34 He is a great asset to our organization.
12:38 Being able to be boots on the ground. Actually working
12:41 the area little bit. See what the needs are.
12:43 And Jud has been not only working with us in evangelism,
12:47 here but while he is here we are looking at maintenance issues
12:50 on aircraft. Couple of vehicles, actually couple of trucks here
12:56 and some motorcycles that are in constant need of support.
13:00 So there is just always something going on.
13:01 Having a director of operations like Jud Wickwire on our team
13:04 is invaluable to us at Adventist World Aviation.
13:15 Although the planes in the Philippines outpost is down
13:19 for repairs. The work and mission efforts are still
13:22 very much in operation.
13:24 AWA currently has a well assembled team living in
13:28 Palawan to carry on the work and do evangelism;
13:32 a very much needed service in this area.
13:36 We're standing here with our board chair of Adventist World
13:39 Aviation Philippines with Nemy Marcelo and pastor Bautista.
13:46 Where are our operations physically located?
13:50 Our airbase is located about 60 kilometers from the center
13:56 of the city of Puerto Princesa.
13:59 We are so happy that it is centrally located.
14:04 We also have a corporate office here, if you will.
14:07 Tell us about it, where is our corporate office located at?
14:09 Our corporate office is located right in the city.
14:13 We are renting a compound and it's accessible to facilities.
14:20 We have been blessed with a group of dedicated Adventist
14:29 believers in this area. Like pastor Batista is our spiritual
14:37 father figure here. And of course Delta Marvie,
14:42 she is a dentist and she has connections. Of course we have
14:47 Edgar. Edgar is our care taker at the airbase.
14:50 He has been trained, he went to school for ministry.
14:54 So he has the background, he has the ability to share the Gospel
14:58 effectively. And that is what he is trying to do in the area.
15:02 Christina has been with us since the very start of the operation.
15:07 She is our accountant. She takes good care of our finances.
15:15 Christine is a vital member of the operation team
15:19 here too in the islands.
15:21 Not only is she an exceptional accountant,
15:24 but she is also assisting in the projects.
15:27 Her office is located in the capital of Palawan so she is
15:32 able to handle important official business.
15:34 She sacrifices greatly to be a part of this mission and gives
15:39 much of her private time to make sure everything
15:42 is running smoothly.
15:44 She is a vital part of this ministry.
15:49 Serving God is more important than earning money,
15:54 that we have been educated in school. The school of business.
16:01 So it has been a blessing to be able to do ministry.
16:07 I intend to continue on until I retire.
16:14 When I accepted to work with AWA I knew that the company will be
16:24 moving to Palawan and that means leaving family and friends
16:28 and the place which I call home. My comfort zone.
16:34 And staying here all by myself is really hard and the only
16:50 reason why I keep on staying with the organization is because
16:56 I know this is where God wants me right now.
17:00 I cannot tell what the future holds, but through prayers
17:08 and constantly finding the will of God, this is where I am
17:21 supposed to be at this time.
17:27 Both Pastor Bowteasta and Namy are seasoned evangelists.
17:33 They've been working hard for years here in Palawan
17:36 preaching the World of God to remote areas
17:39 in the Philippines. Their passion is evangelism.
17:43 We're standing here this morning and this evangelistic training
17:48 center with elder Bowteasta. Elder Bowteasta was a pastor
17:53 here in Palawan for many years. He is now retired and we are
17:57 proud to have him as an AWA board member
18:01 here in the Philippines and he represents our ministry
18:03 here locally.
18:05 I thought of putting up a small building like this
18:09 and finish as it is and train lay people.
18:13 Without any budget coming from anywhere else.
18:18 It is a ministry of faith, so this is what I am doing now here
18:26 I am happy that the Lord is giving me life to continue on
18:31 training our lay people equipping them,
18:33 because there is so much need
18:36 of lay evangelist in our field here in the Philippines.
18:40 Part of what we are doing here in the Philippines with
18:43 Adventist World Aviation is meeting our mission objective
18:46 of reaching the unreached.
18:48 And there is just... There is a trememndance amount
18:52 folks here in the Philippines that have not received
18:55 the message.
18:56 For years, Nemy has held crusades throughout the island
19:01 planting new churches.
19:03 Pastor Bautista currently has a self-supporting,
19:07 lay-man's training center.
19:10 Both men work in harmony with the goals of Adventist World
19:13 Aviation to reach the unreached.
19:16 Their ministries, although not aviation related,
19:19 are an intricate part of what AWA is doing here in Palawan.
19:25 The talent is here, we are about logistics. We are here
19:29 to support the local talent. Mainly what we do is we are
19:33 about support of infrastructure. Bringing ministry to the people.
19:38 That can't be done without the support like aviation.
19:41 So that is what Adventist World Aviation is all about.
19:44 The work related to the Adventist World Aviation
19:49 we with brother Nemy and Dr. Marvie we have been doing
19:54 our part, because of the mission that we have.
19:59 We would like to reach out into these places here, which are
20:05 really unreached in regular or normal way of reaching.
20:10 We are happy that the Lord has blessed our efforts here.
20:15 despite the fact that we are limited in our resources.
20:18 There are many places here in Palawan, which are really rich.
20:23 The number of workers we have here in this mission is not
20:27 capable enough to reach out unless we train more lay people
20:31 to work with the reaching out to these different communities
20:36 around which are still unreached So this I believe only the
20:41 Adventist World Aviation can help us reach out
20:45 to these different places. There are places here that
20:48 I believe only planes and helicopters can only reach.
20:52 Because there are still no roads there and land communication
20:58 or both and I think it only the planes that can reach them.
21:02 Dr. Marvie is a dentist working in the capital, Puerto Princesa
21:08 She joined Adventist World Aviation a few years ago
21:11 and has become a board member of AWA.
21:15 Her passion for evangelism is unique.
21:18 She uses her dental work as a platform to spread the gospel.
21:23 We are here in Dr. Marvie's office. And Dr. Marvie is a
21:28 dentist, practicing dentistry here in Puerto Princesa.
21:33 We asked Dr. Marvie to be part of our board of directors
21:36 here in the Philippines.
21:38 In my practice I have lots of patients. Most of them belongs
21:44 to type A in this society. So I am interested. I am thinking of
21:50 how to give them, or to disseminate to them the
21:53 good news of salvation. So first, I thought of giving them
21:57 The Desire of Ages, the Great Controversy and the rest of
22:01 our religious books written by E. G. White.
22:05 And that's where I started.
22:06 The Lord gave us this opportunity.
22:08 Our ministry is everywhere, anywhere we are.
22:10 What ever we are doing is our field of ministry.
22:14 Dr. Marvie's work here captured our attention at Adventist World
22:16 Aviation because in one sense she is reaching the unreached
22:20 here and her enthusiasm towards aviation support
22:25 captivated our interest. She was introduced to us
22:28 couple of years ago by Nemy Marcelo and pastor Bautista.
22:32 So we are just impressed with Dr. Marvie's work here.
22:35 What she does is in absolute harmony with Adventist World
22:38 Aviation reaching the unreached. And we do it in variety of ways.
22:42 Airplanes are just a tool. Dr. Marvie is using dentistry
22:46 as a tool to reach the unreached We felt that was in harmony with
22:51 what Adventist World Aviation was doing and we invited
22:53 Dr. Marvie. And I want to thank you for being part of our board
22:56 of directors and helping us make decisions here
22:58 in the Philippines.
22:59 It's exiting to see the ministry that is transpiring right here.
23:03 Even though right now our plane is not in the air,
23:07 but the ministry is continuing. Reaching the unreached
23:10 Using tools that you wouldn't normally think as a tool
23:14 to reach a soul for Christ. One would not normally think
23:17 an aircraft as a tool to be used for reaching Christ.
23:19 But as we fly in medical supplies and as we fly
23:22 Dr. Marvie in to locations where you normally can't reach
23:26 by normal means. So we fly Dr. Marvie and a team of
23:30 medical professionals into work on the local indigenous people
23:34 on their teeth, on their health on their life.
23:37 They are interested in their spiritual condition now as well.
23:41 We can reach them through this type of thing.
23:46 Like what Jesus did. You have to give them
23:49 the physical alleviation and than the spiritual.
23:54 Dr. Marvie uses her talent of dentistry
23:57 as a way to reach souls.
23:59 Her entire effort is dedicated to ministry.
24:03 She has religions materials for people to read
24:06 and to take home with them.
24:08 She also gives them Spirit of Prophecy books.
24:11 But most importantly, she shares the love of God
24:15 with all of her patients.
24:18 I asked the Lord
24:21 "Lord how am I going to help You in my field ministry?"
24:26 I am not a pastor, I am not a good teacher.
24:31 When I look at my self, I am not an eloquent speaker.
24:35 "So how will I help You in Your ministry?" And every now and
24:38 than I would think of it. Before I slept, after I woke up
24:43 early in the morning. And than I came to realize that my work
24:50 is my field of ministry.
24:52 People come to me. They come and go, they come and go.
24:55 and than encountered a lot of people from different levels
24:59 of the community the society. So I thought, this is my ministry
25:04 The best thing that we can do is to share
25:08 the good news of Salvation. And as we prepare and
25:12 as we are revived in our spiritual condition,
25:15 others are also being prepared and revived
25:17 for the coming of Jesus.
25:21 The Lord assembled a strong team of mission minded
25:24 individuals to carry on the work here in the Philippines.
25:27 Even though air operations are currently on hold,
25:31 the team isn't deterred from doing what they know
25:34 God has called them to do.
25:37 All the team members of Adventist World Aviation
25:40 are passionate about sharing the gospel.
25:42 Although the mission is focused on aviation, airplanes are not
25:46 the only strong component at this Philippine outpost.
25:51 Yes... Aviation is important in this area.
25:54 However, it is just a portion of what AWA is able to do
25:58 here in Palawan.
26:07 Jesus said in the great Gospel commission of Matthew 28:19-20
26:12 that we are to go into all the world.
26:14 Adventist World Aviation is dedicated to doing just that.
26:19 There are now over 7 billion people that live on planet earth
26:23 and 2 billion of them have never heard of Jesus Christ.
26:27 Out of that 2 billion, 800 million of them are only
26:32 accessible my means like aircraft,
26:34 or through aviation support.
26:36 Adventist World Aviation goes into those unreached areas
26:40 of the world. Bringing the good news of Jesus Christ.
26:44 Through aviation we are able to bring health, hope,
26:48 and life eternal.
26:49 Through aviation we can spread the Gospel message to the
26:53 far corners of the world and show them the love of Jesus.
26:57 The message that we bring them is absolute hope.
27:01 For we do not do this alone. Jesus calls every one of us
27:05 to be a part of this great work of reaching the unreached
27:08 of this world. We desperately need your prayers.
27:11 If you would like to get involved, or find out
27:14 more information about Adventist World Aviation
27:17 Please call Three Angels Broadcasting Network
27:21 and ask for ADVENTIST WORLD AVIATION.


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Revised 2015-08-12