Participants:
Series Code: JFAN
Program Code: JFAN000158S
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00:01 (bright music)
00:21 - Hello and welcome to "Jesus for Asia Now." 00:24 I'm Natalie Wood, and today my husband John is here with me 00:26 in the studio, and we'll be talking 00:28 about working in sensitive countries. 00:31 Hello, love. 00:32 - Hi, darling. How are you? 00:33 - I'm doing all right. 00:35 You know, sometimes the most inspiring stories 00:39 are the ones you can't tell. 00:40 - Yes. 00:41 - Because people would be endangered. 00:43 The people who are witnessing, 00:45 or the people who are being witnessed to would be in danger. 00:48 - That's correct. 00:50 - And so it's with a lot of prayer 00:52 that we're sharing the stories that we're sharing today. 00:55 - Yes. 00:57 - And trying to keep them as anonymous as possible. 00:59 - [Jon] Uh-huh. 01:00 - So we're talking about sensitive countries today. 01:02 - Yes, and this is our newest category of Bible workers. 01:06 - Okay. 01:07 - In sensitive countries. 01:08 But it's our fastest growing segment 01:09 because there's several countries 01:13 that we're involved in that we cannot say 01:16 which country they are or which area they are. 01:20 - [Natalie] Right. - Except for the fact 01:22 that they're in Asia. 01:23 - Right. 01:24 - But Asia has 50 countries. 01:26 - Yeah, and some of the countries that we work in, 01:27 there's areas where it's more sensitive than other areas. 01:30 - Correct. 01:31 - So while they might be in the same country 01:33 that we've already listed on our list, as, you know, 01:36 available for Bible worker sponsorship. 01:38 - [Jon] Correct. 01:39 - We're keeping this one in sensitive countries. 01:41 Just because, you know, the stories are, 01:44 it's a sensitive area. 01:47 - Right. - [Natalie] Let's just 01:48 put it that way. 01:49 - And lives are at stake. 01:50 - Yeah. 01:52 - There's a real incident where there was a breakthrough 01:53 in one country into a specific religion. 02:00 Some of the leader, one of the leaders of the, 02:02 that religion was converted to Christianity, to Adventism. 02:07 And so somebody published that 02:09 - [Natalie] Mhm. 02:11 - in a magazine with a wide distribution 02:13 - Mm. - And others, you know, 02:14 that were not friendly, found out and saw, 02:17 and that person that was converted lost their life. 02:21 - Mm. 02:22 - [Jon] And so this is, this is a real thing. 02:24 - It's real, yeah. 02:25 - And the thing is though, that these stories 02:27 are some of the most inspiring 02:28 because there's, there is that opposition and we know 02:32 what's coming in prophecy. 02:35 - Right. 02:36 - That persecution is coming to us 02:37 so we can learn from them and be inspired by them. 02:41 - Right. 02:42 - In their, in their work. 02:43 So we get to tell their stories, 02:45 but unfortunately we have to blur their faces. 02:47 - Yeah, so we don't see their faces, 02:49 but we also don't hear their languages. 02:50 - [Jon] Right. - You know, 02:51 we don't know their names. 02:52 - Right. - [Natalie] None of that. 02:53 - Yeah. 02:55 - Recently, our foreign correspondent team 02:57 was able to go to this area and interview some Bible workers 03:00 in one of these sensitive countries. 03:02 - [Jon] Correct. 03:03 - So, let's watch the first video now. 03:05 - Okay. 03:07 (piano music) 03:10 (bell rings) 03:14 - [Narrator] In countries where challenges abound, 03:16 God's work continues to advance, 03:18 even in the most trying circumstances. 03:20 Recently, we had the wonderful opportunity to visit a group 03:24 of Muslims who have now embraced Christ. 03:26 And at the end of the weekend, 03:28 we bore witness to a powerful testament of faith. 03:31 47 precious souls moved by the Holy Spirit, 03:35 chose to dedicate their lives to Christ in baptism. 03:39 But this journey is not without its trials. 03:42 The Bible workers who are leading these people 03:44 to Jesus face opposition and many difficulties. 03:47 Though their identities remain hidden for their safety, 03:50 this is their story. 03:52 (piano music) 03:59 - I was born into a Muslim family. 04:01 My father, grandfather, and grandmother were all Muslims. 04:06 I lost my sight in 1998. 04:09 I met another blind person who lived 04:11 about 15 kilometers from my house. 04:14 He invited me to his home and offered me some food. 04:18 During our conversation, he told me 04:20 that if I believed in Jesus, my life would become peaceful. 04:25 I told him I would consider his proposal. 04:28 Over time, we continued to communicate 04:31 through our mobile phones, 04:32 and he gave me another brother's contact number. 04:35 I started communicating with him also. 04:38 After about two years, 04:39 he expressed interest in visiting my family 04:42 even though his district was far from mine. 04:45 I told him he was welcome to come visit us. 04:48 And so he came to our home. 04:50 (piano music) 04:54 He spent three days with us, 04:55 reciting the Bible to me and my wife. 04:59 Later, six months after his first visit, 05:02 he returned and emphasized that if I accepted Jesus 05:05 as my savior, my life would be peaceful, 05:08 and Jesus would shoulder my burdens. 05:11 So I decided to be baptized. 05:14 Despite being blind, I felt that God had granted me 05:17 good health and a favorable situation after my baptism. 05:21 I couldn't read, but others read the Bible to me. 05:24 I also composed songs and tried to sing them 05:27 as a method of preaching the good news. 05:30 My songs were based on the miracles performed by Jesus, 05:33 such as healing the sick and giving life to the dead. 05:36 I also wrote songs about his sacrifice for our sins. 05:40 (upbeat music) 05:44 I have established three house churches in my area 05:48 with about 17 people attending. 05:50 I share the knowledge God has blessed me with. 05:54 Although I am physically challenged, I live peacefully 05:57 because Jesus Christ has given me a chance 05:59 to survive in this world. 06:02 However, I faced adversity when some individuals learned 06:05 that I was an evangelist, 06:07 preaching the good news about Christ. 06:09 They attacked me, punched my mouth, 06:11 and broke many of my teeth. 06:13 Despite these challenges, I feel at peace in Jesus Christ. 06:18 Today, I have brought three people who were baptized. 06:21 Let me briefly tell you about one of them 06:24 who is a young man. 06:26 He used to visit our home, and I gave him a book. 06:29 I asked him to memorize the Lord's prayer, which he did. 06:33 And that increased his interest in learning 06:35 about Jesus Christ. 06:36 I did my best to help him understand the word of God, 06:40 and encouraged him to be baptized in the name 06:42 of Jesus Christ for eternal life. 06:45 Today he was baptized. 06:48 (piano music) 06:52 Currently, I live at home with no other job, 06:55 dedicating my time to evangelism 06:57 and writing songs based on the Bible. 07:00 I have a group that enjoys singing, and we meet at my home. 07:04 Four people have shown interest in learning more 07:07 about Christ, and one of them was baptized today. 07:11 I hope and believe that the other three 07:13 will also accept Jesus soon. 07:16 Despite my blindness, I am thankful 07:18 for the peaceful and good life I have, 07:21 and that God has opened my heart so I can see my Lord. 07:25 Please pray for me as I continue to work for our Lord, 07:29 stand firm in my faith, and dedicate the rest of my life 07:32 and time to evangelism for the glory of God. 07:36 Thank you so much. 07:37 (piano music) 07:45 - I love how his friend described 07:47 his relationship with Jesus. 07:48 Like, you will have peace, 07:50 and he will shoulder your burdens. 07:52 - Mm. 07:53 - Doesn't mean he'll take away the burdens, 07:54 but he will shoulder them. 07:55 And it's just, it's so beautiful. 07:57 I mean, he has so many challenges besides being blind. 08:02 He's been persecuted and it's just, 08:05 it's just beautiful to hear. 08:07 - Yeah. 08:08 - That he's gonna do it. 08:09 He's gonna go forward and share. 08:11 - Yeah. 08:12 A blind man leading people to Christ. 08:15 - Yeah. 08:16 - Even though he's lost a bunch of teeth. 08:17 - Yeah. 08:18 - Because of his witness. 08:19 - [Natalie] Right. 08:20 - If he had just stayed home, he wouldn't get beat up. 08:22 He wouldn't get persecuted. 08:23 - Right. 08:25 - Just keep his faith to himself. 08:25 - Right. 08:26 But he doesn't seem to be able to do that. 08:29 - [Jon] No. 08:30 - That's the thing about Christ. 08:32 Christ came into his life and he found a difference. 08:34 - [Jon] Yes. - He found that peace. 08:36 - Yeah. 08:37 - He found the one who can shoulder his burdens 08:39 and he's, he wants to tell other people. 08:42 - [Jon] Yeah. 08:43 - I mean, that's what it boils down to. 08:44 He doesn't wanna keep it to himself. 08:46 - Yeah, it's an internal piece, 08:47 not a piece in his surroundings or situation. 08:49 - Yeah, that's beautiful. 08:51 - Yeah, that's inspiring. 08:52 - Yeah. 08:53 All right, well, we have another video. 08:55 - [Jon] Okay. 08:56 - More testimony. 08:57 So let's go to that now. 08:58 - Excellent. 08:59 (piano music) 09:13 - I was born in a Muslim family. 09:16 I learned the prayers in the Quran from my childhood. 09:18 I used to read the Quran in Arabic every day, 09:21 but I had no idea what I was reading. 09:25 I felt sad because I couldn't understand what I was reading. 09:29 Then one of my friends gave me a translation 09:31 of the Quran in my language. 09:33 After that, when I read the Quran, 09:35 I could understand the meaning. 09:37 I found that in the Quran, it says that the birth 09:40 of Jesus Christ in his life is excellent 09:42 and different from the other prophets. 09:44 Then I heard the message about Jesus from another man, 09:47 and he taught me from the Bible. 09:49 He quoted John 14:6 to me. 09:52 " I am the way, the truth, and the life. 09:57 No man cometh unto the Father, but by me." 10:01 That really touched my heart 10:03 and I received Jesus as my savior. 10:05 (piano music) 10:09 After my conversion, I have faced a lot of problems. 10:13 My son is in sixth grade. 10:14 His classmates said to him, your father is a Christian. 10:18 You are not our friend. 10:20 Even my society hates me. 10:22 They don't like us because I became a Christian. 10:27 I'm a village doctor, but because of my conversion, 10:30 many people don't want to buy medicine from me. 10:33 Many people will just take medicine from my shop on credit. 10:36 But then they say, no need to pay him 10:38 because he is a Christian, 10:40 and he got a lot of money from the Christian society. 10:43 Because of all this, I'm slowly losing business. 10:49 My wife is a teacher at a non-government school, 10:52 and the parents don't wanna send their children 10:54 to that school because of my wife. 10:56 The people think that if they send their children 10:58 to that school, then they will become Christian 11:00 because of the teacher. 11:02 So we are facing a lot of problems, 11:04 but we are preaching the good news 11:06 according to Matthew 28:18 through 20. 11:09 I believe that as Jesus said, 11:12 whoever follows me, he will suffer. 11:15 So I accept whatever suffering 11:17 and persecution we face. 11:23 Now I'm working for God. 11:24 I share with people the truth about Jesus. 11:27 I believe in scripture. 11:28 As Jesus said, "Behold the fouls of the air, 11:31 for they so not, neither do they reap nor gather into barns, 11:36 yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. 11:38 Are you not much better than they?" 11:40 I believe that and teach the simple truth 11:43 to our fellow believers in the house churches. 11:45 They really love this teaching. 11:48 They are not worried about the future 11:49 or what will happen tomorrow. 11:51 They believe that Jesus is always with us. 11:54 They are living, following the scripture like this. 11:58 One of our brothers from the house church 12:00 was suffering from a disease. 12:02 He was taking medicine but did not get well. 12:05 Then our small group gathered around him 12:07 and laid hands on him as we prayed for him. 12:09 The next day he started feeling that he is getting well. 12:13 Now he's completely healed. 12:15 (piano music) 12:18 Please pray for me. 12:20 Though many people do not like to meet with me, 12:21 but yet people are joining with our small group. 12:24 I have been sharing Christ since 2019, 12:26 and I have planted six house churches in these three years, 12:30 and now I'm preaching to more than 200 people. 12:33 And within the next three years, 12:34 I have a plan to plant more than 15 small groups. 12:37 My plan and my prayer is to preach the good news 12:41 to at least 400 people. 12:43 So I ask for your prayer so that I can provide the medicine 12:46 for the physical health 12:47 and also the spiritual life for the people. 12:51 (piano music) 13:01 - Wow, your eyes are tearing up. 13:04 - Yeah. 13:06 It's just beautiful to think about people 13:08 who are sacrificing. 13:09 You know, it's like his whole business. 13:11 He's a doctor and his whole doctoral ministry, 13:14 whatever you wanna call it, 13:16 as a physician is people are not wanting 13:20 to come to him anymore. 13:21 And he's losing his business 13:22 and his wife's, you know, teaching, 13:25 the school she's teaching at is suffering 13:27 and all these things. 13:28 But yet it's like he's got so much joy 13:30 in sharing Jesus with these people. 13:32 - [Jon] Right. 13:33 - And he's praying to be able to share with more 13:34 and it just, yeah. 13:37 It's beautiful. 13:39 - [Jon] Yeah, it is. - I love it. 13:40 - [Jon] It is, it is. 13:41 - I keep saying that, but it's just 13:43 really, really, totally God. 13:47 - [Jon] Yeah. - That can give people 13:48 that kind of heart to share with others 13:52 - [Jon] Yeah. - about him. 13:53 - [Jon] Yeah. - It's really. 13:54 It's really neat. 13:56 - Yeah, it's really inspiring. 13:57 He could have a very good life, you know, 14:00 as a doctor and his wife as a teacher, 14:02 and yet, they choose to share Jesus. 14:06 - Mhm. 14:07 - If they just kept it to themselves, 14:08 they'd probably be okay. 14:09 - Yeah. 14:11 - I mean, he's raising up all these church plants 14:13 and plans to raise up so many more house churches, 14:16 and what can we say? 14:18 I mean. 14:19 - Yeah. 14:20 Yeah. 14:21 - When we struggle to get up in the morning, 14:23 it's on a Sabbath morning and go to church. 14:25 Oh, it's raining outside. 14:26 Maybe we'll stay home today. 14:27 - Yeah. 14:29 - And you know, these guys go out there 14:31 and do this kind of work. - They risk their lives 14:33 on a daily basis. 14:34 - [Jon] Yeah. - In reality. 14:35 - Right, it's such a privilege to be able to have 14:38 a small part in helping them to be able to follow 14:43 what they feel the Lord is calling them to do. 14:45 - Yeah, we keep saying that, but it's real. 14:47 I mean, that's the way we feel. 14:49 It's a huge blessing to be of service to them. 14:52 - Yeah. 14:53 And it doesn't take much. 14:54 - Well, we do have more testimony here, 14:56 so we wanna go ahead and go on with the next video. 14:59 - Okay. 15:00 (piano music) 15:06 - I was born into a Muslim family. 15:08 My father and mother used to read the Quran every day. 15:12 The first time I heard about Jesus was from my parents. 15:16 They told me that in the Quran, 15:18 it says that Jesus will come again 15:20 before the day of judgment. 15:24 My parents shared with me that in the third surah, 15:27 it is written that Jesus is the Word of God 15:30 and a sign of the day of judgment. 15:33 I was inspired by this verse, and it touched my heart. 15:37 I started to search for how I could receive Jesus. 15:40 I tried to find someone who knew more about Jesus. 15:45 One day I met an evangelist 15:48 distributing tracks in our small market. 15:52 I found a track that stated 15:53 Jesus is the savior of the world. 15:56 It included an address for a Catholic mission. 15:59 I asked my maternal uncle to go with me to the mission 16:02 because I believed that going there 16:04 could help me find Jesus. 16:08 When we arrived at the mission, I requested some books 16:11 because I knew that I could find Jesus there. 16:14 However, the priest told me 16:17 that he could not make me a Christian since I was Muslim. 16:20 He directed me to another man. 16:22 But this man was also hesitant to share about Jesus with me 16:26 because I was a Muslim. 16:28 He only taught me about sin, explaining that all humans, 16:31 as children of Adam, are sinners. 16:34 I asked how I could be saved from sin, 16:37 and he said that I needed to receive Jesus as my savior 16:40 and be baptized in his name. 16:42 (piano music) 16:45 We invited him to visit our home, 16:47 and he spent 10 days teaching us. 16:50 We came to believe that we needed to accept Jesus 16:53 in order to be saved. 16:55 After some time, we made the decision to be baptized 16:59 along with 20 other people. 17:02 We formed a group and committed to meeting once a week 17:04 to learn more about Jesus from the Bible. 17:07 (piano music) 17:15 Word spread among the villagers 17:16 that we had become Christians. 17:18 The villagers united to form a committee 17:20 to expel Christians from the village. 17:23 They destroyed our house, seized our cows and belongings, 17:27 and caused significant damage. 17:29 I wasn't at home during this incident, 17:31 so I fled and stayed away for several days. 17:35 I tried to talk to the local authorities, 17:38 but they gathered around 10,000 people 17:40 to take action against us. 17:42 They declared that from this day forward, 17:45 Christians were isolated from society 17:47 and would have no further relations with the community. 17:51 However, the chairman of the committee opposed persecution 17:55 and suggested talking to us 17:57 to understand why we had converted to Christianity. 18:01 But the committee ultimately expelled us from society 18:05 and filed a false court case against me and my family. 18:09 The court later dismissed the case, 18:11 and when asked if I was making Christians, 18:13 I replied that I did not make Christians 18:17 but was a follower of Christ. 18:19 (piano music) 18:23 After a few years, I noticed 18:25 that people were less angry with me 18:27 so I began preaching the good news among my people. 18:31 I now work in my area 18:33 and have established 10 house churches with 120 families. 18:37 (piano music) 18:41 I really love it when I see Muslims coming to faith 18:44 and following Jesus. 18:46 It makes me so happy. 18:49 I always love preaching the good news among Muslims 18:53 because his name is mentioned many times in the Quran, 18:56 and the Quran says that Jesus is the sign 18:59 of the day of judgment, 19:00 so this really inspires me to share the good news. 19:03 (piano music) 19:07 I want to share with you some miracles 19:09 happening in our small groups. 19:12 My sister was sick with an eye disease 19:13 and we believers gathered around, 19:16 touched her, and prayed for her, and she is now fully cured. 19:22 Another time, my sister-in-law lost consciousness. 19:25 And so my son and I laid hands on her and prayed, 19:29 and immediately she regained her consciousness, 19:32 and she is fine. 19:34 Allah has answered our prayers, and we are grateful. 19:38 (piano music) 19:41 The number of people joining us is increasing. 19:44 And today, we baptized eight new people 19:47 who came to seek Jesus as their savior. 19:50 One of them is a woman who was very poor 19:52 but very enthusiastic about Jesus. 19:55 I shared the good news from the gospel of John with her, 19:59 and it touched her heart. 20:01 Though she was just baptized today, 20:03 she has already started a small group 20:05 and meets regularly to discuss the Bible and pray. 20:09 She works tirelessly for the Lord. 20:13 Please pray for us as we strive 20:16 to reach the unreached people of this country 20:18 and work for God's glory. 20:21 (piano music) 20:27 - So let me get this straight. 20:29 This guy, his house was destroyed 20:31 and a bunch of his cows were. 20:34 - Everything was taken. 20:35 - Yeah. 20:37 And now he has how many house churches? 20:39 - He has 10, he said, with about 120 people. 20:44 - Wow, that's amazing. 20:46 - God's multiplication. 20:48 - Yeah. 20:50 So even though I'm sure that these house church members 20:52 that are coming to the house church, 20:54 they're probably getting persecution also. 20:56 - Yeah, probably. 20:57 - So Jesus is attractive, 20:59 even in spite of all these challenges. 21:01 - Yeah. 21:02 - [Jon] Yeah. - Yeah, amazing. 21:04 - Yeah, and here in America, it seems as though 21:06 Jesus has preached as if you follow Jesus, 21:08 you'll have a better life. 21:09 - Mm. 21:10 That's not what happens. 21:12 - [Jon] Not there. 21:13 - No. 21:14 - And yet Jesus is still attractive. 21:15 - Mhm. 21:16 - [Jon] Amazing. - Yup. 21:18 - Amazing story. - Yeah. 21:19 It's especially inspiring 21:21 because like in spite of the trials, he's like, you know, 21:25 I've gotta share Jesus with people. 21:26 - Yeah. 21:27 - And he waited a little bit 21:29 and kept Jesus to himself for a little bit. 21:31 But then he started to notice 21:33 they weren't so upset with him anymore. 21:34 So now, he's boldly going and sharing. 21:37 - [Jon] Yeah. 21:38 - And it's just, yeah. 21:40 - I can't help but think that their anger towards himself 21:43 a little bit when they saw his character change. 21:46 - Mm. - The way that he 21:47 lived his life. 21:48 - [Natalie] Right. - He didn't say that, 21:49 obviously, but that's usually what happens 21:52 when people see, oh, he's actually better. 21:55 - Yeah, and they see the response to persecution. 21:58 - [Jon] Mm. 21:59 - And things like that. 22:00 - Right. 22:01 - And speaking of trials. 22:02 - [Jon] Mhm. 22:03 - We have a story, the first story 22:07 you were gonna share about persecution, 22:10 and unfortunately, we don't have video of this one. 22:12 - Yeah, this was a man of the same group of people 22:15 that are studying the Bible and sharing with others. 22:18 And he was arrested, beaten, taken to the police station, 22:23 and interrogated all day long 22:24 and asking, you know, really tough questions, 22:27 very angry and very aggressive and beaten and electrocuted 22:31 and you know, all kinds of torture and stuff like that. 22:34 And at the end of the day, his persecutors turned to him 22:38 and said, do you have a Bible? 22:42 And so he looked at each one of them, 22:44 each one of the five persecutors asked for a Bible. 22:48 - [Natalie] Wow. 22:49 - So he opened his bag. 22:50 He looked in his bag. 22:51 Guess how many Bibles he had? 22:52 - He had five. 22:54 - [Jon] Yes, he had five Bibles. 22:55 - Wow, wow. 22:57 - So each of his prosecutors went home with a Bible. 22:59 - Wow. (Jon laughs) 23:00 That's really neat. 23:01 - Because they were so impressed 23:02 at his reasoning, his response. 23:04 But they saw that how he, you know, responded to them, 23:07 that he didn't get angry, and he didn't fight. 23:10 He responded with love. 23:11 And you know, he was patient with them. 23:14 And why would somebody that was being beaten up 23:17 and persecuted respond with love and patience? 23:19 - Only because of Christ. 23:21 - [Jon] Yeah. - Because it's not in humans. 23:22 - No. 23:24 And that's what Christ did. 23:25 That's how he, he's, I mean, Christ is such a beautiful, 23:28 such a beautiful hero. 23:31 And so he treated them like that. 23:35 And at the end of the day, they asked for Bibles. 23:37 - Wow. - [Jon] 'Cause they 23:37 wanted to learn more. 23:39 - That is a really awesome story. 23:40 (Jon laughs) 23:42 - Yeah, and there's another story about a man 23:44 who was beaten up and punched in the eyes. 23:47 And so he had to go to the hospital and he lost one eye, 23:51 but he was able to save the other eye. 23:53 And then just recently, he was sharing Christ again 23:56 and they started beating him up again 23:58 and punching him in the eyes. 23:59 And we haven't heard what's happened, 24:01 if he's kept his eyesight, 24:03 but we did hear that his heart 24:06 was to continue to share the gospel. 24:09 - [Natalie] Wow. - And he wasn't gonna give up. 24:11 - [Natalie] Hmm. - [Jon] He was gonna keep on 24:12 sharing the gospel, even if he lost his eyesight. 24:15 - Hmm. 24:16 - I think one of the reasons why they keep going forward 24:18 is that, yeah, they get persecuted, 24:19 but then those that accept Jesus into their lives, 24:23 they see the faith, the peace, that then starts to grow 24:28 in their lives and their souls. 24:30 And you know, the joy that comes from that. 24:34 Even Jesus, you know, Hebrews 12:2. 24:36 For the joy that was set before him, 24:38 he endured the cross, knowing that the cross, 24:42 the pain, the suffering, that's temporary. 24:46 And I think this is something we can learn from. 24:48 You know, as I talked to a lot of my friends 24:51 and I also, growing up in the church, 24:53 was always afraid of the persecution that was coming. 24:57 You know, we're gonna be persecuted 24:58 and I was so afraid of that, the pain. 25:01 How am I gonna handle that and everything? 25:03 It's like, well, the pain is temporary 25:07 and the bliss is eternal. 25:10 - Yeah. 25:12 This group that we've been hearing the testimonies 25:13 from today represents about 20,000 believers. 25:17 - So they have 20,000 followers. 25:19 - [Natalie] Right. 25:19 - Okay. 25:20 - Followers of Jesus. - [Jon] Wow. 25:22 - So, but we haven't been able to give them full sponsorship 25:24 for all of the workers that are in this area. 25:28 We've given them about enough 25:29 for each one to have a third, 25:31 which, you know, that's really not enough. 25:34 - [Jon] Yeah. - And we would love 25:36 to give more. 25:36 - Right. 25:38 - So we just have to keep praying. 25:39 - [Jon] Yeah. - 'Cause God knows, 25:40 and he will provide for them. 25:42 - And there are other countries with people like this 25:45 that we can't even get in to get video. 25:47 - Right. 25:48 You know, we've gotten requests from several 25:49 other sensitive countries. 25:51 - [Jon] Yes. 25:52 - And we're praying to go forward in those places also. 25:54 - [Jon] Right. 25:55 - But again, you know, one of the barriers 25:57 is learning enough to be able to help them 26:00 without endangering them or, 26:03 and actually being able to provide for them. 26:05 'Cause it's hard to get money into some of these areas also. 26:08 - That's right. 26:09 - Some countries don't like companies 26:11 to send money to individuals. 26:13 Some countries are suspicious 26:14 of any money coming from the West. 26:16 - [Jon] Yeah. - Some, you know, 26:17 it's a variety of issues. 26:19 Some of 'em, they don't have an ID 26:21 because they're poor, and they've never had any sort of ID. 26:24 - Yes. - [Natalie] So they can't 26:25 receive funding because they have no ID. 26:28 - Right. 26:29 - So, and no bank account, 26:30 if there's no ID, there's no bank account. 26:31 You know, those kinds of things are a challenge. 26:33 - [Jon] Yeah. - So we're just 26:34 praying a lot to be able to enable these people 26:37 because the gospel has to go to every nation, 26:41 kindred, tongue, and people. 26:42 - Yes. 26:43 - So that means every single place, 26:46 no matter where they are or what the circumstances are, 26:50 no matter what the current religion is or the government is, 26:53 the gospel's supposed to go there. 26:55 - Right. - And these people 26:56 are supposed to have an opportunity to know him. 26:58 - I'm really praying for this fund to continue to grow 27:01 because there are entire countries 27:04 without a single Christian or a single Adventist. 27:07 - Yeah. - [Jon] Entire countries. 27:09 - Yeah. - And so the dream is to 27:11 find people like these people that are willing 27:16 to take a risk and go and start setting up the banner 27:20 in those countries in which there are currently nothing. 27:23 - Right, right. 27:24 Well, I would like to invite you to please remember 27:27 to pray for the persecuted, 27:29 not just that they wouldn't be persecuted, 27:32 but that they would be strong and bold 27:34 and that doors would be opened to the gospel 27:37 to be shared to those around them, 27:39 that God would protect them and enable them 27:41 and give them everything they need 27:43 in order to share with those around them. 27:45 If you would like to learn more about sponsoring 27:47 Bible workers in Asia, please contact us 27:50 at Jesus for Asia PO Box 1221 27:53 Collegedale, Tennessee, 37315. 27:56 Call us at (423) 413-7321 28:00 or visit our website @jesus4asia.org. 28:04 May God richly bless you 28:05 until we see you next time on "Jesus for Asia Now." 28:09 (dramatic music) |
Revised 2023-11-27