Participants:
Series Code: JFAN
Program Code: JFAN000087S
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00:00 (swelling inspirational music)
00:22 - Hello, and welcome to "Jesus for Asia Now." 00:24 I'm Natalie Wood, and my husband Jon is with me today. 00:27 We are going to meet some very interesting people. 00:30 Hi, love. 00:31 - Hi, darling, how are you? 00:32 - I'm doing good. 00:33 You know, I'm looking forward 00:35 to meeting the young people we're gonna meet today. 00:36 - Yeah, it's a very interesting story that we have. 00:39 - Yeah. 00:41 - It's kind of more of the behind-the-scenes story. 00:43 We talk a lot about mission projects 00:47 and results and exciting stories, 00:50 miracle stories, and stuff like that. 00:51 But this is more like behind-the-scenes of how it gets done 00:55 and the experiences of people that do this work. 00:58 - Now, the missionaries that we're gonna meet today, 01:00 are they from America? 01:02 - Nope. 01:03 - Where are they from? 01:04 - They are Filipino. 01:05 - So, they're native there? 01:08 - Yeah, well, in the Philippines, there's 7000 islands. 01:15 Not all of them are inhabited. 01:17 But within those inhabited islands, 01:19 there's a lot of different languages. 01:21 So, even though they're staying 01:23 in their country to be missionaries, 01:26 at least the ones that we're talking about today. 01:28 Some of our shows, 01:29 they're going to other countries like Bangladesh. 01:32 But even going up into the mountains 01:35 in Mindoro to the Mangyans, that's really cross-cultural. 01:40 - So, it's a different language 01:41 that they're not familiar with. 01:43 - Different language, different beliefs, 01:45 different social structures, different everything. 01:48 - I mean, the circumstances of life for them at their homes 01:53 where they grew up compared to what they live in 01:57 in the mountains is very, very different. 01:59 - The Filipino culture 02:00 is heavily influenced by Christianity. 02:04 About 90% of the country, 02:07 of the population, is Roman Catholic. 02:10 And we have almost as many (mumbles) 02:12 in the Philippines as we have in North America. 02:14 - Okay, that's a lot. 02:16 - That's a lot, so they understand a lot more 02:20 about Christianity than a lot of Asian countries do. 02:23 - The ministry we're talking about here 02:25 is called Mindoro Outreach. 02:27 And they've been doing ministry for nine years, 02:30 but the Lord is adding to it. 02:32 They started out just doing education, 02:33 and then it became a religious training. 02:38 The people started seeing the difference 02:39 in the lives of the missionary from their own lives. 02:42 - Well, originally the village leaders told them 02:45 not to teach the religion. 02:47 They could teach secular education, but no religion. 02:51 But when the teachers went in there, 02:54 they just lived their life. 02:56 And the kids and the adults 02:58 saw that they were living without fear. 03:02 There's some amazing miracle stories that took place there. 03:05 But the kids and a lot of the leaders 03:07 decided they wanted that religion also. 03:11 And so it's grown from there. 03:13 But the way they do their outreach 03:15 is they've got five or six villages and more. 03:21 So they can't go themselves, 03:22 and so they bring student missionaries in 03:26 and place them in those villages. 03:28 - And these are remote villages. 03:29 They have to hike to them. 03:31 - Yeah, some of 'em are super remote. 03:32 Some of 'em are not so remote, 03:33 but to us, they're all remote. 03:36 - In this first video, what are we gonna see? 03:39 - Well, they're taking a new student missionary 03:41 to their post in a village. 03:46 You'll get to see what the village looks like 03:48 and kinda what they have to look forward to 03:51 for the next year. 03:54 (gentle music) 04:15 (birds chirp) 04:20 (footsteps crunch) 04:42 (rooster crows) 04:45 - [Female Translator] We are here in Binaculan Village 04:47 here in Tuban, Sablayan. 04:53 We brought the teachers here, and from now on, 04:56 they will be staying here for the whole year. 05:05 We entered this village 05:07 through the help of our Mangyan worker who is a lady. 05:14 She can't read or write, 05:16 but God used her mightily to win their hearts. 05:20 Whenever she gives a Bible study, 05:23 she only asks someone to read it for her, 05:28 and she will just hear the words and explain it to them. 05:36 They started to invite us here 05:38 in order to learn more things, 05:42 especially about God 05:45 in preparation for school. 05:52 This village has one Adventist family, 05:59 and, though it's been here a long time, 06:02 they are still education-deprived. 06:07 So we are here to prepare them for higher education. 06:16 - Isn't that cool how the young lady 06:18 that was from that culture 06:21 was the one that opened the village to more, 06:24 not just education, but they wanted to learn more about God. 06:27 And she couldn't even read and write. 06:29 - No, that's really amazing. 06:31 - She would have somebody else read the Bible, 06:33 and then she would hear the words and then explain them, 06:36 obviously, through the Holy Spirit. 06:37 - Yeah, that is really neat. 06:40 Now, one thing we notice in this 06:41 is that this is a very remote village. 06:44 I mean, it's bamboo huts, basically. 06:48 And so, these people will be living there for the next year. 06:51 It's wonderful, it's actually amazing. 06:53 And we've talked to some of these young people 06:55 that have done that, 06:56 and many of them don't just do one year. 07:00 They stay longer. - They stay longer. 07:02 - Or they go back again after they get more education, 07:05 because they see the huge need, 07:07 and they see what a blessing it is to serve. 07:09 They have big smiles on their faces 07:11 when they tell us their stories. 07:13 - Well, the impact that the education has on the kids, 07:16 that's gonna be for another show. 07:17 But it is powerful. 07:20 - So, they have a lot of challenges, though. 07:22 It's not just that their living conditions 07:24 are what they are. 07:25 It's a whole new culture to them. 07:28 A whole new way of viewing the world around us, 07:31 the worldview of interacting with the spiritual realm, 07:37 so to speak, and all of that. 07:40 And that's where our next video comes in. 07:44 - Yeah, this video is, (chuckles) let me see, 07:48 it's not made for television. 07:51 It's kind of behind the scenes 07:53 about this Filipino missionary's experience 07:57 in the Filipino village way up in the mountains in Mindoro 08:00 and the interaction that she had with evil spirits. 08:05 - Okay. 08:08 (missionary speaks in foreign language) 08:12 - [Female Translator] There are times here at this village 08:14 when our faith in God was built stronger, 08:17 and we learned how to submit to God. 08:29 (gentle orchestral music) 08:35 I was with my co-teacher, Apple, and we were sleeping. 08:40 The house we were staying in was not yet finished. 08:42 The only part finished was the roof and part of the walls. 08:48 During stormy weather, the wind and rain would get inside. 08:53 We didn't have a place to sleep, 08:54 so we tied our hammocks to the ceiling. 09:01 One night, around midnight or just before dawn, 09:04 I heard three sets of two hammer strikes each. 09:08 I was thinking that Apple had moved her hammock 09:11 because she was getting wet. 09:13 In the morning, Apple asked me if I had moved my hammock. 09:16 I told her I hadn't. 09:18 She told me she thought I had moved my hammock 09:20 because she had also heard 09:22 the three sets of two hammer strikes. 09:24 I told her I thought it was her who had moved. 09:27 We just left it at that. 09:30 Every afternoon, we would do house-to-house visitation. 09:32 People told us, "You're always hammering away on your house. 09:36 "You're always noisy." 09:38 They told us with certainty that we were so noisy 09:40 in the early morning hammering away at our house. 09:43 We told them that we did not use the hammer 09:45 during those times. 09:46 If we were going to use the hammer, 09:48 7:00 a.m. would be too early for that. 09:50 We just left it at that. 09:51 But at the time, 09:53 I was struggling with the use of my smartphone, 09:54 because I am a fan of Barbie. 09:59 I had a big collection of Barbie movies 10:00 and a lot of their songs. 10:04 That afternoon, I was struggling 10:06 because I had the urge to sing those songs, 10:10 so I went behind the house. 10:12 I stood there and played all the songs 10:14 and sang and sang and sang all those Barbie songs. 10:19 Then that night while sleeping, I was ill at ease. 10:25 Although we had had our worship and I had said my prayers, 10:28 I was still ill at ease. 10:32 Then a while before dawn, I sensed something strange. 10:35 - [Missionary] I felt something strange. 10:37 - [Female Translator] From my position near the door, 10:39 I saw a person enter our house. 10:42 (missionary speaks in foreign language) 10:47 And then the person walked over to Apple's hammock. 10:49 He stood there for a while, 10:50 and then came over to my hammock. 10:54 I could see him coming near me. 10:56 He did not have a face. 10:58 He started strangling me and smothering me. 11:03 I was struggling. 11:05 I wanted to fight against him. 11:06 I thought it was a real person, so I was wrestling with him. 11:12 I could feel myself getting weak, 11:15 and I thought, "Why am I fighting alone?" 11:19 I had not asked God for help. 11:22 And then I stopped fighting. 11:24 I had that feeling of tears and sweat 11:26 and being suffocated with no strength. 11:32 It was then I remembered to pray. 11:40 - This is not real. 11:41 - [Female Translator] Lord, I know that this is not real. 11:45 Please give me faith to fight this. 11:49 Then what flashed on my mind 11:51 was what Jesus said to His disciples. 11:53 "I commission you to cast out devils." 11:59 God, there is no difference between them and me 12:01 since I accepted You and know that I am Your disciple. 12:05 So, give me power. 12:06 - So, give me power. 12:08 - [Female Translator] Because You said 12:10 you would give us power if we receive the Holy Spirit. 12:12 - If we receive the Holy Spirit. 12:13 So, give me, Lord, the Holy Spirit 12:15 and enough faith (speaks in foreign language). 12:18 - [Female Translator] And enough faith to cast this out. 12:20 He vanished. 12:22 I was relieved. 12:23 I was crying uncontrollably. 12:25 Then I was calling out to Apple, "Apple, help me." 12:31 I thought she didn't hear me. 12:34 Then in the morning, 12:35 I didn't tell her about what happened to me, 12:37 because I didn't go back to sleep. 12:39 I just sang and sang, 12:40 because every time I sang, he was not around. 12:43 But if I stopped singing or reciting memory verses, 12:46 he would appear again in front of me. 12:50 I was scared because he didn't have face. 12:53 Every time I left the house, my hair would stand on end. 12:59 I wasn't able to sleep at night because around 2:00 a.m., 13:04 he would walk around the house. 13:07 When you wake up, you see nothing but him. 13:10 When you turn over, he is there. 13:13 When you look up, he is in front of you. 13:16 When you turn, he is still in front of you. 13:18 Out of fear, you can do nothing but cry. 13:22 Fear is all you feel, so I prayed to God. 13:25 - I prayed to God. 13:27 - [Female Translator] Lord, give me even just a small amount 13:29 of faith not to fear, 13:31 because if I am still afraid tonight, I really will go home. 13:34 I don't have a reason to stay here, because I am afraid. 13:37 How can I be a blessing to the village 13:39 when I can't even fight this fear? 13:42 That night when I slept and woke up, I still saw him. 13:45 But I really praise God 13:47 because I didn't have any fear anymore. 13:49 I turned to the side, and he is there. 13:51 I turned to the other side, and he is there, 13:53 but I didn't mind him. 13:54 I slept. 13:56 - So, when we experience a lot of things. 13:59 - [Female Translator] It's okay to get scared sometimes, 14:01 because it teaches us to be prayerful and to cling to God. 14:09 Our Lord didn't teach his disciples to be good preachers, 14:12 he taught them to be prayerful. 14:14 - To be prayerful. 14:15 - [Female Translator] During my meditation, 14:17 I was convicted to get rid of all my music. 14:20 So, I deleted my Barbie songs. 14:24 When I deleted the music, the man didn't suddenly disappear. 14:27 The music was gone from my phone but not my heart. 14:30 But when I submitted everything to God, everything changed. 14:34 - We praise God. 14:37 - [Female Translator] The enemy doesn't want 14:38 what we are introducing to the children here. 14:42 Our presence in this village is redemption, 14:45 writing and reading. 14:47 - Writing and reading. 14:49 - [Female Translator] So, I don't think he likes us 14:51 revealing the love of Christ here in this village. 14:56 So, he tries to make us leave 14:57 by scaring us or using other means. 15:01 But God did not allow that to happen. 15:05 This place needs missionaries that are resilient. 15:10 We need missionaries that will strengthen their faith 15:12 and life and be a blessing to this village. 15:20 - (laughs) What a story. 15:22 Amazing. 15:24 - It's interesting how her walk with Christ, 15:28 she was still having worships and things like that, 15:30 but these things, these songs had such a hold on her. 15:34 And she finally realized 15:37 that it was what was the door that was letting him in. 15:41 As she was serving the people, she was like, 15:43 "How can I be a witness when I'm afraid? How can I?" 15:47 So, the fact that she was there to be a witness 15:51 was instrumental in changing her life, 15:54 which I think is huge. 15:55 We don't have to be perfect to be a missionary. 15:57 We don't have to have all the check boxes 16:00 in our own lives in order to be a missionary. 16:02 - In order to start. 16:03 But as we go in, as we serve Him, 16:06 then Jesus brings us into situations where we then see 16:11 how we can surrender and give up things 16:13 that are holding us away from Him and that He can't work. 16:16 - Our relationship with Him becomes deeper, 16:19 because we realize our need of change. 16:22 - I believe that's the whole reason God gave us missions 16:24 in the first place. 16:26 He gave us the Great Commission not because He hated us, 16:29 but because He saw this would be the biggest blessing 16:31 to the church, to us individually, 16:33 and the church as a whole. 16:35 And as we take hold of His work 16:37 and take hold of His mission, yeah it can be tough. 16:39 But I can tell you one thing, 16:41 being in the world without Him is tougher. 16:45 Because I know this was a tough experience for her, 16:47 but she had somebody to turn to, 16:48 somebody to cling to, and she had victory. 16:50 And now she has a smile on her face. 16:52 And she has a story. 16:53 - An amazing testimony. 16:56 - But I mean, not very many people 16:57 have gone through an experience like this 17:00 where there's a guy, and he doesn't have a face. 17:03 - And she saw him over and over and over again. 17:08 - And I asked them, "What do you mean he didn't have a face? 17:12 "He had no head?" 17:13 Well, he had hair, but there was no facial features. 17:18 So, it was just blank. 17:19 Everything was blank. 17:20 No eyes, no nose, no mouth, just no face. 17:23 And so, obviously, it was a demonic being. 17:27 - Presence, right? Wow. 17:28 - So, coming face to face with that 17:30 is when you start to realize that there is a God. 17:34 - And you need Him. 17:36 - Exactly. 17:37 You know, even Shakespeare says, 17:39 "There are more things in heaven and earth 17:41 "than in all of your philosophies." 17:43 So, here in the West, we've developed a philosophy 17:47 that doesn't include evil spirits 17:50 and beings that we cannot see. 17:53 Angels and even God and Satan. 17:56 It doesn't exist. 17:59 And for those people, 18:00 I'd like to take them to places like this 18:03 where there's no doubt. 18:07 And that's what animism is all about. 18:09 The religion of animism 18:11 is because they have real evil spirits, 18:14 live and functioning, in their lives. 18:17 There's no doubt in their minds. 18:19 But that gives them great faith in God, 18:23 because God is a spirit. 18:25 And, of course, in John 4, He says, 18:28 "Those that worship Him must worship Him 18:29 "in spirit and truth." 18:31 We have a hard time in the West with the spirit side, 18:36 but they don't. 18:38 But, anyway, so this is kind of an experience 18:41 of one of our missionaries from the Philippines 18:44 going to another people group in the Philippines 18:47 and how their faith is strengthened in the process. 18:51 - This trial of our faith is so necessary for growth, 18:54 and it reminds me of that George Müller quote. 18:58 "If we desire our faith to be strengthened, 19:00 "we should not shrink from opportunities 19:02 "where our faith my tried, 19:03 "and therefore, through trial, be strengthened." 19:07 Often, we just avoid taking the Gospel to the world 19:10 because of things like this. 19:12 - Yes, it's scary, it's hard. 19:14 We don't know where our food's gonna come from. 19:16 We don't know how we're gonna survive. 19:17 All these things. 19:19 But that is the very necessary trials and experience we need 19:24 to really develop a firm faith in Christ. 19:27 And, you know, with all the things 19:28 that are going on in the world today, 19:31 we can see that we're coming very close to a time 19:34 where we will need to live by faith and not by sight. 19:38 And so that is the gift of missions that we can invest 19:42 in God's work and look to Him to supply our needs. 19:47 - That's true, very true. 19:48 - Before it becomes a matter of life and death. 19:51 - So, we have another video. 19:53 This one's a little bit different. 19:54 It's not a testimony this time. 19:56 This is just a visit to a village and the church there. 20:01 (gravel crunches) 20:06 (gentle music) 20:31 - [Female Translator] Yes, but it's already tilted. 20:38 It was damaged by the monsoon. 20:44 So, it wasn't finished, and we need to rebuild. 20:51 (villagers chatter in foreign language) 21:11 - [Male Translator] Right now, we are in Turawan. 21:14 This is the newly formed company of our native Mangyan. 21:21 We were invited by one of our Bible workers 21:23 who told us that people are living here. 21:30 And so we came to see them. 21:33 We praise the Lord 21:34 that brother Lloyd was sent here as a Bible worker. 21:38 Before this church was erected, 21:40 they worshiped in a goat cage, but now that is ruined. 21:46 This is much better. 21:47 But it hurts to know that the people of God 21:50 were only gathering in a cage for goats. 22:00 This is only made with light materials. 22:04 That's because they do not own the land. 22:08 They are just transient here. 22:11 A bigger tribe owns this land, 22:14 but they allowed us to build this meeting place here. 22:17 But since the Mangyans don't own this land, 22:20 we don't want to invest much, because we may lose it. 22:26 Though they are only transient here, 22:28 we tried to make them a meeting place. 22:35 And so, this is their situation here. 22:37 We thank the brethren for their efforts 22:39 in putting this shelter up. 22:42 The rafters are only bamboo, 22:44 because that's all that's available here. 22:49 - [Translator] We used to have our worship in a hut, 22:52 but it's worn out now. 22:58 I am thankful that somehow we now have a place to worship. 23:02 We still want to fix up this place 23:05 so that we can have continuous worship. 23:08 - [Interviewer] Is it true that you haven't had a church 23:10 for a long time? 23:12 - [Male Translator] Yes, since the time I migrated here. 23:15 - [Interviewer] So, when you came here, there was no church? 23:17 - [Male Translator] We didn't gather on the Sabbath 23:19 because there wasn't any place to hold worship. 23:21 Instead, we only rested at home during Sabbath. 23:25 - [Interviewer] How do you feel now that there is a church, 23:26 although it only looks like this? 23:30 - [Male Translator] I feel happy thinking about it, 23:32 and my wife is happy, too. 23:35 This church has no pews, and, as you can see, 23:37 the children are only sitting on the dirt floor. 23:42 And so the needs are great. 23:44 It's distressing. 23:47 How can we help our brethren here? 23:51 (singing in foreign language) 24:04 - So, this is a situation 24:05 showing the behind-the-scenes challenge 24:07 that we often run into 24:09 in extending the work into unentered areas. 24:11 - So, we have a Bible worker in that village. 24:14 And we didn't see a picture of it because, 24:16 evidently, it's all broken down. 24:18 But they were meeting in a goat hut. 24:21 - Shed. 24:22 - Shed thing. 24:25 - So, this is better than that. 24:27 - The gentleman who said he was very happy 24:29 and his wife was very happy, that's such a blessing. 24:31 But they don't own the land, 24:32 so they can't really have a church. 24:34 All they have is this shelter. 24:37 And that's really sad. 24:38 I can understand Brother Pete's sadness over the situation. 24:43 - You know, that sadness, that empathy 24:45 is really placed there by the Holy Spirit, 24:48 because most people walk by there and they think, 24:50 "Oh, it's not worth anything." 24:52 But in heaven's eyes, we're all created equal. 25:00 That's a Christ concept. 25:02 That's a Jesus concept. 25:04 You don't find that in other religions. 25:06 - No, that's His heart being placed into our hearts 25:10 when that happens. 25:11 - And so, you know, those people are precious. 25:15 But this is the challenge that they're facing often 25:19 is how do we move forward? 25:21 This lack of funds, this lack of ability to move forward. 25:24 Lack of ability to expand and plant new churches 25:31 and new schools in different villages and go beyond. 25:32 There's always this challenge that they have, 25:35 they're running up against. 25:36 The van that they were driving has since broken down. 25:39 So, they don't have a vehicle. 25:43 So, all these challenges that they have, 25:45 and yet you see their heart for the people, 25:47 and it just inspires you to want to be a part of that. 25:50 - And you know this ministry, we see, 25:52 especially when we get the stories back, 25:54 we see some amazing miracles from this ministry. 25:57 - Yeah, like the one 25:59 where there was this monsoon that came through, 26:00 and their rice field was standing straight up, 26:03 and the neighbors rice field all around them 26:05 were completely flattened. 26:07 - Because they had dedicated that rice 26:09 to feeding the people in the mountains. 26:13 And hopefully one of these days we can back again. 26:15 - Yeah, and see some of those kids. 26:17 You know, some of the kids that, before our feeding program, 26:21 were just really malnourished. 26:23 And now when we see them, 26:25 it's like they're strong and healthy and happy. 26:27 - And clean. - And clean. 26:28 - Because they've learned cleanliness from the missionaries. 26:32 What a blessing these stories are 26:34 to encourage us to surrender everything to God, 26:38 to let go of whatever else in the world might bind us. 26:41 - And you know one thing that this inspires me to 26:43 is I tend to take our Christianity, 26:47 the things that we've been taught, 26:48 that Jesus loves us and has a home in heaven for us. 26:52 We kinda take those for granted. 26:54 And when you see this message in a different culture 26:59 where they don't have that background, you start to see, 27:03 "Wow, what we have been given is so valuable." 27:07 And it just makes me hang onto it more, 27:10 value it more, and live in that. 27:12 It just gives me more joy. 27:14 - And what a blessing and privilege it will be in heaven 27:17 to get to meet the people that God has changed their lives, 27:21 even if we have never met them before. 27:23 - Can you imagine those people that come from a mud hut 27:26 or a bamboo hut to the streets of gold, 27:29 and Jesus Himself places that crown of gold on their head. 27:34 Robe of light. 27:35 They are gonna be so excited. 27:39 - If you would like to support this work in Mindoro, 27:41 you can pray for them. 27:43 Prayer makes a difference, a huge difference. 27:46 And if you'd like more information, 27:47 you can contact us at "Jesus for Asia" 27:50 PO Box 1221, Collegedale, Tennessee 37315. 27:56 Call us at 423-413-7321 28:00 or visit our website at jesus4asia.org. 28:03 May God richly bless you until we see you next time 28:06 on "Jesus for Asia Now." 28:08 (swelling inspriational music) |
Revised 2020-06-17