Participants:
Series Code: JFAN
Program Code: JFAN000106S
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00:00 (uplifting music)
00:22 - Hello and welcome for Jesus for Asia Now. 00:24 I'm Natalie Wood and my husband, Jon, is joining me today 00:27 here in the studio. 00:28 Hello, love. - Hey darling, how are you? 00:30 - I'm doing fine. - Good. 00:31 - I'm doing fine. Now, what's our story about today? 00:34 - Well, today we are going to India 00:37 and we're going with a group of people. 00:40 And the whole idea for this trip 00:43 took place over 10 years ago 00:45 In 2007. 00:47 We had found some churches that had been closed due to 00:50 lack of personnel to, you know 00:52 Bible workers, Pastors, to keep them open. 00:54 Keep the congregation nourished. 00:56 And so, we decided well what if we, 00:59 'cause we were looking at doing evangelism 01:01 and we thought well, instead of building new churches, 01:03 what if we just reopened the churches that are there? 01:06 It's cheaper. - Right. 01:07 (man chuckles) 01:08 And so, we brought six teams over 01:11 and we did evangelism for two weeks, 01:14 we all stayed in the same hotel, 01:15 we all met together every morning 01:18 and compared notes and everything. 01:19 And then in the evenings we went out and we 01:22 did meetings in every church. 01:24 Six churches. 01:26 It was such a blessing. 01:28 And when we left, we assigned Bible workers 01:30 for those churches 01:33 without any expiration date. 01:35 - Right. - So now, 01:37 last year when I went back to that place 01:40 and I saw what an amazing ministry that had grown. 01:44 I mean, story after story of this Bible worker 01:47 brought this person into the faith and then 01:48 that person then became a Bible worker 01:51 and brought this person and then it's exploding 01:53 and I thought, "Man, is there any other place 01:56 the we could do the same thing?" 01:57 So, I want to do the same thing. 01:59 And the Lord led us to a place in southern India 02:04 with 10 churches. 02:06 And so, we wanted to go and visit them 02:08 and build that work up. 02:09 And so, I was just sitting in church one day 02:11 and I get the inspiration, 02:13 let's do this. 02:14 And so, I texted a bunch of people, 02:17 "Are you interesting in going to India?" 02:19 And a few responded. 02:20 And we went forward by faith. 02:23 And in January of 2020, we got to go. 02:26 Notice it's January not March. 02:29 - Right. 02:30 And everybody was back by March. 02:32 - Yeah. Because of course in March 02:34 is when everything locked down. 02:35 And the sad thing about this year, we can't do that. 02:39 And that's pretty painful. 02:41 But this was a year that we could do that in January. 02:45 - Right. 02:46 Okay we have a video 02:48 of some of the participants talking about their experiences. 02:51 - Yeah. So, in a trip like this, what we do is 02:54 we ask God to be in charge. 02:57 And then he brings the people and he works with them 03:00 individually so the experience is really for them 03:03 as well as for the people that we're ministering too. 03:06 Some of the people that are going 03:07 have some pretty amazing stories. 03:09 And so, this video's gonna be a long one 03:13 but I think everybody will enjoy 03:16 seeing people's experiences while they're over there. 03:18 - Okay. 03:20 (violin music) 03:28 - I got an email for Jesus for Asia. 03:31 And the email said, "You are invited to India." 03:34 - When I went to Faith Camp East, 03:36 especially after Tim Maddocks I was saying, 03:39 "Oh man, you know what, I feel like I need to put 03:42 some time into missions. 03:44 - One day in church service, 03:47 Jon spoke up and said, 03:49 "Is there anyone who would like to go to India?" 03:51 And I raised my hand. 03:53 - We didn't' even think it was possible initially. 03:56 Got started up providing just $20 03:59 and I was reminded how he doesn't start something 04:02 he doesn't finish. 04:03 - So I said, "Okay, if I'm ready to go 04:05 I'm gonna get this Visa without any problems." 04:08 And when I opened my email, 04:10 Visa was granted. 04:12 So, I said, "Yes. I am going to India." 04:15 (piano music) 04:20 - Back in 2007, we found some churches that had been closed 04:24 due to lack of pastoral care. 04:26 And we were looking at wanting to do some evangelism. 04:29 We thought well, maybe we should just revive some churches 04:31 instead of building new ones. 04:33 So, we did a six village effort. 04:36 And last year, in 2019, I was looking around that area, 04:41 Bible workers were still there, it was growing 04:43 and just exploding and it kind of felt like 04:46 it had reached a critical mass. 04:48 And I thought, "Man, this was so successful. 04:51 I'd like to do this again. 04:52 There's no reason why we can't do it again." 04:54 (piano music) 05:00 - In preparation for coming to India, 05:04 I was advised by our director, 05:07 Kibidula, in Tanzania that 05:10 okay, when you go through immigration 05:12 you don't let them know in any way that you're a missionary. 05:15 So, when I landed in India, 05:19 I went through immigration 05:21 and the fella at the desk started asking me questions. 05:25 And I was trying to dodge but then we finally asked me, 05:29 he said, "Are you a missionary?" 05:31 I said, "Yes." 05:33 There was no way I could have answered any differently. 05:36 And he got this disturbed look on his face, 05:39 stamped my passport and says, "Go." 05:42 And he let me go. 05:44 (piano music) 05:55 - Think of it as a family. 05:59 Just give me a second. 06:00 - We wanted to do something different. 06:01 A lot of times we bring the evangelism 06:04 that we do in America over here. 06:07 But here, don't know who Jesus is, 06:09 they don't know who God is, 06:10 they don't know there's one God, 06:12 they have around 300 million gods. 06:14 And so, we wanted to give them the big picture, 06:17 the overall picture of the story of redemption. 06:19 And so, we started this series from before Lucifer's fall 06:24 and we're gonna end it after sin has been eradicated 06:27 completely from the universe. 06:28 And so, it gives people a big picture of how to see 06:32 and how to fit the details of the 06:34 individual teachings of Christianity in. 06:37 (soft music) 06:45 - When I came here I was told I would be preaching. 06:49 That's way out of my comfort zone. Way out. 06:53 But I kept on telling people, "It's the Lord, not me. 06:57 He's gonna do the preaching." 06:59 So, the first night I was very nervous 07:02 and I made it through it. 07:04 We have nine nights. 07:06 And the people are eager to learn. 07:09 They're out on the porches, 07:11 they're pulling extra chairs in, 07:14 the children are sitting down in front, 07:17 they're taking notes. 07:19 It's been an awesome experience to see these children 07:23 and the people hungering after the message. 07:26 (piano music) 07:29 - By American standards, 07:31 we would hardly consider it a church it was so small. 07:34 But there were quite a few people who came. 07:38 We actually found out that 07:40 70% of the people who were coming 07:42 weren't actually Adventist. 07:45 There's a lot of other Christian groups kind of in the area. 07:48 So, people from those other Christian churches 07:51 were coming to the meetings 07:53 and learning things about the Bible 07:55 that they said that they'd never really seen before. 07:58 Our translator told us that there were a couple 08:00 girls we had met and interacted with 08:03 that ended up having a Bible study with him 08:05 until 11:00 one night. 08:07 I don't know, when I heard that, I was just 08:10 so happy just to be a part of that is really special. 08:13 (piano music) 08:18 - There were small children, 08:19 there were young people, 08:21 there were old people from Hindu backgrounds. 08:25 They came for prayer, they asked the preacher 08:28 to pray for them. 08:29 - There were so many in need of prayer. 08:32 So, we would pray with them. 08:34 We would pray with the children. 08:35 Families would come over and they wanted 08:37 prayer for their whole family. 08:39 (soft guitar music) 08:45 - So sabbath night, right after the meeting, 08:49 the pastor had us, me and Sarah, praying for people. 08:53 So, the first lady who came to me, 08:55 someone in her family was sick. 08:57 It was very vague. 08:58 I didn't know the details. 09:01 So, I just prayed for her and I asked the Lord 09:04 to heal her family member. 09:06 And you know, I didn't really think anything of it. 09:08 I continued praying for other people 09:11 and then, the next night she told him that 09:15 her grandson had a tumor 09:18 and she had come to our meeting that night, 09:21 she's a church member and she had asked up to pray 09:23 that the tumor would go away. 09:26 And so, the next day 09:28 they got some test results 09:30 and the tumor is actually completely gone 09:33 and no longer there. 09:35 So, we just definitely praised God for that. 09:37 (soft guitar music) 09:40 It was kind of unexpected but it definitely showed me 09:43 that my faith is very small and I need to 09:46 believe that when we ask that we will receive. 09:49 (soft guitar music) 09:54 - The first night of our meetings, 09:55 we had a young man that 09:58 I introduced myself to him and asked him his name. 10:01 He said his name was Shiva 10:03 which I thought was rather strange name for a Christian 10:09 because I assumed he was one of the members here. 10:12 And he came back the next night and the pastor's wife 10:16 introduced him to me as the priest in this little temple 10:20 right here about 50 feet from us. 10:24 And he wanted to talk with me, wanted me to pray for him 10:30 and for his little boy who was with him. 10:34 And so, 10:35 we visited a few minutes and then we had prayer together 10:39 and dedicated his little boy to Jesus. 10:43 (soft piano music) 10:46 - After the first night, the pastor at our church 10:50 had been in a motorcycle accident. 10:53 We were told that he had been having trouble sleeping 10:56 for a really long time and so he was really exhausted 10:58 and fell asleep on his motorcycle and crashed it. 11:01 But he was wearing a helmet and 11:04 he came to the church even the next day, 11:05 he had been in the hospital but he came to the church anyway 11:08 and his hand was all super swollen 11:11 and he had cuts and scrapes on his face and his arms 11:14 and his foot. 11:16 We really felt like it was a miracle that he was okay 11:18 and that the prayers we'd prayed 11:20 for everyone who's going to be involved in the trip 11:23 from the translators, the people driving the vehicles, 11:26 the participants, the people who were coming to the meetings 11:31 and those prayers that we prayed days and months in advance, 11:36 God worked a miracle because of those prayers. 11:40 And that was really impactful. 11:43 (soft music) 11:50 - When we found out we were coming, 11:51 Luke was real excited to speak. 11:52 He was talking about it and 11:55 planning to and, you know, 11:57 real excited to do it. 11:58 And then when we got to our actual village, 12:01 we get a lot of attention 12:03 and it overwhelmed him. 12:04 And so, he got scared and didn't wanna speak 12:07 and our church was full. 12:09 The first night, probably 80 to 90 people 12:11 with people outside. 12:13 And so, he didn't wanna do it. 12:16 But then I got sick and 12:18 he went with a friend but then he was also not able 12:21 to speak that night, got really scared again. 12:23 And he'd been praying this whole time 12:25 'cause he really wanted to and he was trying to surrender 12:28 and wanting to but I could see 12:30 there was a real battle going on 12:32 between fear and him letting go of the fear 12:36 and being willing to just let God use him. 12:39 And after some talking and some more praying, 12:43 he had decided we was gonna do it. 12:45 And so, he did the health thing, 12:46 which is the first 10 minutes or so 12:50 and he did it, he was scared but he did it. 12:53 And then I got up to preach 12:56 and I got about 20 minutes in 12:59 and started coughing really bad 13:02 and then I broke out in this cold sweat and got all clammy, 13:05 I felt like I was gonna pass out. 13:06 As decide to sit down and Luke had to get up and just finish 13:09 and he did a wonderful job. 13:11 God just used him and it was a beautiful thing. 13:14 (soft piano music) 13:18 - We're all staying together in one place every night, 13:20 eating together and sharing our 13:23 learning experiences and praises and challenges 13:26 and everything together everyday. 13:28 Every evening, we have 10 teams going out. 13:30 This is one. 13:32 Myself and Brother Jason are ministering here 13:34 at this small church. 13:36 It's a very active church. Powerful pastor. 13:39 And we're having a wonderful time here. 13:42 (soft piano music) 13:54 - The way they do things is a little bit different. 13:55 They way they talk is a lot different. 13:58 But when you move into their environment, 14:02 you realize very quickly that 14:05 people are people. 14:07 They have the same emotions, the same joys, 14:09 the same fears, 14:10 same concerns 14:13 and that's what I discovered here. 14:15 When we went into our church 14:17 and became aquatinted with the people 14:19 it was very easy to relate on a personal level with them. 14:23 It was very easy to just consider yourself 14:27 a part of the family. 14:28 It makes it very difficult to come here for a short time 14:32 and then pull up stakes and leave. 14:34 (uplifting music) 14:37 - So we started last sabbath 14:39 and went throughout every night of the week. 14:42 And then this sabbath, we brought everybody together 14:45 from all the 10 different villages. 14:47 We all came together and had a 14:48 mini camp meeting type of thing. 14:50 It's just sabbath morning 14:52 but he had over 850 people there. 14:55 And it was an amazing thing. 14:57 The local people are telling me 14:58 that it's such an encouragement 14:59 because a lot of these people are in just little, 15:01 tiny, tiny churches and little tiny villages. 15:03 They think that they're the only ones 15:05 that believe the way that we do. 15:06 An it's so encouraging for them to come together 15:08 and see the bigger group. 15:10 You know, our focus isn't on baptisms, 15:13 our focus is really encouraging the local Bible workers 15:16 that are here day in and day out 15:18 and the pastors that are really working with the people. 15:22 And that has definitely been a success. 15:24 - We were so surprised and blessed 15:27 to have 24 people 15:30 accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior. 15:33 They took baptism. 15:35 It was an amazing moment. 15:37 A blessed day. 15:38 And by the grace of God, we were able to conclude 15:41 the meeting that evening. 15:43 But most of the churches, 15:45 the pastors, the JFA workers, the members, 15:48 the people who attended, the people who took baptism 15:51 were very, very sad because that was our last day meeting. 15:55 But we have assured them, by the grace of God, 15:57 if we have a faithful walk, 15:59 if it is not here, we will meet in Heaven. 16:03 (uplifting music) 16:14 - The look that I see on the faces of the people 16:15 that have been doing this, that have come on this trip, 16:17 it tells me that people are satisfied 16:19 'cause they've got this taste of sharing Jesus with others. 16:24 - If you have a chance 16:27 it would be such a blessing to come 16:29 and experience the mission trip. 16:32 It changes your heart 16:35 and it draws you nearer to God. 16:38 - It's not as easy as staying home would be. 16:40 It's not as cheap as staying home is. 16:43 But definitely has some value 16:45 and definitely has some rewards. 16:48 Even now, 16:50 not to mention what it's gonna look like 16:52 when we get to Heaven. 16:53 - The thing that keeps ringing in my head, 16:55 man, through everything away 16:59 and get into the mission field, 17:01 get in to soul winning. 17:02 Change your job, change your career, 17:05 whatever it takes to do, 17:07 but get into soul winning for Christ. 17:09 Because when it's all said and done, 17:12 and he comes in the clouds of glory, 17:15 everything else is gonna be burnt to ash 17:18 except for the people that you've won 17:21 to the Kingdom. 17:22 (soft music) 17:37 - That's really beautiful to see 17:38 and to hear their testimonies. 17:40 - Yeah. 17:42 - God did some amazing, amazing things to take them there. 17:44 - Oh yeah. Yeah. 17:46 And people were so moved. 17:49 Everybody that went just really, 17:52 we just had a wonderful time. 17:53 And I wish that we could have them all on the show here 17:57 talking to them but many of them, 17:59 they have their own places and stuff. 18:00 - Right, they're not from here. 18:02 - Yeah. They were moved 18:03 and every single person is like, 18:05 "We should do this again." 18:08 - So, some of the people that went on this trip 18:10 only had two weeks off of work 18:11 so they had to come back 18:12 right after that series was finished. 18:14 But then some of the people didn't. 18:16 And so, they were there, you all were there 18:19 and you were waiting because 18:21 there was a special event coming up 18:23 that you had to be at and that was the grand opening 18:26 of our TV studio in Chennai. 18:28 And so, in the meantime, you said, 18:30 "We have a few extra days, 18:32 what can we do to build up the church 18:34 in another area?" 18:35 - Yes, well we were camped out a the orphanage 18:38 which has no kids because 18:41 long story. - Right. 18:42 And we thought is there any more evangelism 18:45 we can do around here? 18:46 Are there and Adventist churches here that we can 18:48 go and meet our brothers and sisters in the faith? 18:51 And yes. 18:52 So, there was me and Gabe and Hannah. 18:56 And the three of us, each one of us had 18:59 a church. 19:01 - Okay, let's watch the video then. 19:03 (uplifting music) 19:13 - So, some of our plans fell through 19:15 and this week we had a few extra days 19:17 so we thought instead of just hanging out 19:19 and waiting for our next plans to materialize, 19:23 let us do something useful for the Kingdom. 19:26 And so, we talk with the president of this conference 19:28 and he helped us arrange evangelism in three small churches. 19:32 We started out Monday night, 19:33 Tuesday night and Wednesday was our last night. 19:35 So, just three days. 19:37 But in those three days, we did a unique approach. 19:40 We told the story of the Bible from before sin 19:43 to after sin. 19:45 The entire great controversy in just three nights. 19:47 - It really all fit together in the end very well 19:52 and it really told the story of God's love 19:56 and Jesus' sacrifice 19:59 and what that means for us and how much 20:03 God has worked to save us. 20:06 (soft guitar music) 20:14 I found out that I was going to be one of the ones 20:17 giving the messages and that I'd have my own church. 20:20 And even though I had just done 20:25 an Evangelistic series in Erode, 20:27 I had a partner there and I felt a little bit more secure 20:31 and this was something new again. 20:34 Public speaking is something 20:35 that is very out of my comfort zone. 20:37 And so, the whole idea of it 20:39 kind of made me nervous. 20:40 But I knew that if anything were to come out of it 20:43 that it would be God anyway. 20:44 (soft music) 20:48 I could see in the eyes of the people 20:51 that they were impacted by it 20:52 and I know that it has to be God. 20:54 It 100% absolutely has to be him. 20:56 And I'm just amazed to see 20:59 how God can work despite me. 21:02 (soft music) 21:06 - The devil has been attacking me, personally. 21:09 Even though God himself is doing amazing things here. 21:13 The devil has been trying to downcast my spirits 21:17 and my hopes. 21:19 But as the Bible says 21:22 in Matthew 11:28 and through 30, 21:25 how to lay all our cares and burdens upon him 21:29 and take up his work. 21:30 The Lord has been teaching me that. 21:32 That it's not my strength 21:35 that I can present the message, the gospel to these people, 21:38 but it's only through Christ himself 21:41 that I'm able to actually do what I need to do 21:43 in order to preach the gospel. 21:45 (soft music) 21:48 - When you get a chance to tell people about Jesus 21:51 and talk about the Bible, the life of Christ, 21:54 what an uplift that is for my own spiritual life. 21:57 But seeing the people's response as they 22:01 grasp the concepts as, you know, 22:04 even if you tell the life of Christ poorly, 22:07 it's still an amazing story. 22:09 And so, being able to see the people come alive 22:12 and see their eyes light up and see the joy 22:15 and the thankfulness that they had in their eyes 22:18 and to see the hope, as we talked about 22:21 the second coming and the Earth made new and Heaven. 22:25 The hope that that inspired in them, 22:27 that there's more to life than 22:29 just what we experience here. 22:32 (piano music) 22:41 - The Lord has been making miracles. 22:44 And specifically, there was one girl 22:48 who was having issues with her family 22:53 and she's going back and forth of whether or not 22:55 coming to church or not going to church. 22:59 But I prayed for her last night 23:02 and she started to weep. 23:05 And I could just see it in her face 23:07 that the Lord, he's calling for her. 23:10 That he's convicting her. 23:12 (piano music) 23:15 - I saw this one lady come in to the church 23:20 at the beginning and as she came in 23:23 she knelt down to pray 23:25 and she kelt down and she lifted her hands up to God 23:29 and I couldn't hear a word she said, 23:33 let alone understand it, 23:35 but just the look on her face broke my heart. 23:38 Just how incredible the need is 23:41 for Jesus in these places and how much they want him. 23:44 (piano music) 23:53 It's incredible and I want to share that with more people 23:56 and glad to be able to share that with more people. 24:00 (piano music) 24:04 - It's something that you don't understand until you 24:07 actually are there experiencing it for yourself. 24:10 That there is someone out there that cares for these people. 24:14 And not just for you and me 24:17 but for people who you've never even met before. 24:19 People you don't even know of. 24:21 And that's what's been happening here at this church. 24:24 (piano music) 24:28 - What an amazing event that was. 24:30 We didn't call for baptism, 24:32 we're leaving that up to the local pastor 24:35 and the local Bible worker. 24:36 They're gonna continue at these churches 24:39 for an indefinite period of time 24:41 and keep growing the churches, 24:43 keep growing and nurturing the faith that's there. 24:46 So, it's an amazing thing to do. 24:49 I wanna do a lot more of that 24:50 and I encourage you to get involved also. 24:53 You don't have to be a preacher, 24:54 you don't have to have a degree in theology, 24:57 you just have to have a willingness to put yourself 24:59 where the Holy Spirit can use you. 25:01 (soft music) 25:13 I wanna go back so bad. 25:14 - Yeah and with the current situation, we can't. 25:18 I'm thankful that the Bible workers are still there. 25:20 - [Jon] Praise God for that. 25:22 - But it's really sad to em that we can't do that. 25:24 Because there is so much need. 25:26 - Yeah, in fact, 25:27 I think that this could be a sign, like a wake up call. 25:30 You know how when the Romans first came 25:33 to surround Jerusalem? 25:35 They surrounded it 25:36 and then they backed off 25:38 and then they came back and they surrounded it 25:39 and then they conquered it. 25:41 That back off period, that was Jesus' signal 25:44 to his people to leave. 25:48 And I just wonder if this is not some kind of, 25:51 if it's gonna relax and then that's gonna be our chance, 25:54 the last chance. 25:57 One of my favorite authors says that, 25:59 "The work which the church has failed to do 26:01 in a time of peace and prosperity, 26:04 she will have to do in a terrible crisis 26:06 under most discouraging, forbidding circumstances." 26:10 So, there's a certain amount of work 26:12 that we are called to do. 26:14 Of source, that's Matthew 24:14. 26:16 - Right. - A gospel into all the world. 26:18 Every known language, 26:21 kindred, people and tongue. 26:22 And so, this work needs to be done before Jesus can come. 26:27 And I believe that the world will continue to get worse 26:30 and worse and worse until this work is done. 26:33 And so, 26:35 we've been used to relative prosperity and ease 26:38 in this country but there are places in the world 26:40 where it's already tribulation time. 26:43 - Right. 26:44 - I've heard this statistic that just this last year, 26:46 there was around 100,000 Christian martyrs. 26:49 - Wow. - And so, for them 26:51 this is not a time of prosperity and ease. 26:53 And they've been moving forward. 26:55 And so, this is the time that we need to do the best 26:58 that we can. 27:01 Even now, it might get worse than it is now. 27:03 Might get harder than it is now. 27:05 I really depends, I don't know the future. 27:07 But I do know that this work needs to be done. 27:11 And we have the opportunity now to do, 27:14 from a distance 27:17 that it would be very difficult to do locally. 27:18 We have missionaries over there, 27:20 we have local missionaries over there already 27:23 and more are willing to join this workforce. 27:27 And so, this is really a time still, right now, 27:29 to wake up and say, "Lord, 27:32 how can you use me? 27:34 How can I most effectively advance your Kingdom 27:37 to fulfill Matthew 24:14 27:40 before it's too late?" 27:41 - Right. 27:42 Right. And I would like to invite you 27:44 to help this work go forward. 27:47 You can contact us as Jesus for Asia 27:49 PO Box 1221 27:51 Collegedale, Tennessee 27:53 37315. 27:55 Call us at (423) 413-7321. 27:59 Or visit our website at JesusforAsia.org. 28:03 May God richly bless you 28:04 until we see you next time 28:06 on Jesus for Asia Now. 28:08 (uplifting music) |
Revised 2021-02-23