Participants:
Series Code: MTK
Program Code: MTK000004A
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:05 - [Mary Ann] We've grown up in the church, 00:06 an have always been somewhat involved in outreach. 00:09 But how can we get involved in missions overseas? 00:13 My name is Mary Ann. 00:14 - [Lilyann] And I'm Lilyann. 00:16 We wanted to find out. 00:18 Join us on our journey, (gong tolling) 00:22 to discover the culture, the lifestyle-- 00:25 - [Mary Ann] The need, and the mission. 00:27 - In two of Southeast Asia's 00:29 least reached countries. 00:31 Welcome to MissionTREK. 00:37 Welcome back to MissionTREK. 00:39 We're so excited that you could join us again. 00:41 - Last week, we left Bangkok 00:43 and traveled north up to Chiang Mai, 00:45 where we met the JFA media team. 00:47 This week, we're gonna travel even further north, 00:50 to Chiang Rai, 00:51 which is near the boarder of Myanmar, 00:54 which used to be known as Burma. 00:56 - We are going to see a very popular tourist destination, 00:58 (speaking in foreign language), 01:00 which means the White Temple. 01:01 It's a very beautiful place. 01:03 - And even though it's meant to be a tourist attraction, 01:05 it gives us a lot of insights 01:07 into how the people over there see life. 01:10 They have a worldview that is very different from ours. 01:13 (ominous music) 01:19 - We looked at pictures 01:20 trying to decide whether we should come here or not, 01:22 and we're like, "Oh, that looks really, really pretty 01:24 "and really cool, we should go." 01:26 When we got here, we're like, 01:27 "Oh wow, the pictures, they didn't do it justice at all." 01:31 - This temple was actually made by an artist, 01:33 not like, a priest or anything, 01:36 it was an artist who, 01:38 this is their interpretation of heaven and hell. 01:41 It's got white and then, like, silver outlines and stuff. 01:45 (ominous music) 01:49 - You can notice on the sidewalk 01:52 there looks like imprints of flames, and there's hands. 01:56 Kinda creepy, but this part is the hell I guess. 02:02 The temple is heaven, so. 02:09 On the way here we kinda had like a season of prayer 02:14 and sang songs and-- 02:16 - Claimed promises, 02:19 because this is a place of devil worship. 02:20 We just wanna make sure that we're protected. 02:24 (peaceful music) 02:26 This place is really, actually incredible. 02:29 It's kinda of like a work of art. 02:33 - [Lilyann] It's easy to sense that there is strong, 02:36 satanic influence in this place. 02:38 You can almost feel the fear and supposed sacredness 02:41 that the people have for this temple. 02:47 This building is actually the bathrooms. 02:49 They are painted gold 02:51 because the artist wanted to demonstrate 02:52 that the treasures of this world won't last. 02:55 What we think is highly valuable really isn't. 02:59 There were these good luck charms that were for sale. 03:02 People were buying them to help ward off the evil spirits. 03:06 It's so sad, 03:07 because they have no idea 03:08 that those meaningless pieces of metal 03:10 can do nothing to help protect them. 03:14 - They have a whole different world view than we do, 03:16 because they are probably constantly in fear 03:19 of offending the spirits and all this stuff, 03:24 like, on and on and on. 03:26 And if they get sick, 03:27 then it's because they didn't do something right, 03:29 or all this stuff. 03:30 So they're like, 03:32 constantly have to try to work hard to be good. 03:36 - I think the gospel would be valuable here, 03:39 but I think it would be a big challenge to teach them. 03:47 - So we're not allowed to take any pictures 03:51 or film in there,, 03:53 I guess because it's sacred and they don't... 03:55 I'm not really sure. 03:57 Anyway, we're not supposed to. 04:00 (ominous music) 04:14 - We just came out of the White Temple, 04:16 and inside there was a Buddha that was all gold. 04:22 And there was-- - A monk, 04:25 sitting in front of it it. 04:26 Like, I swear he was not real, but apparently he was. 04:30 - We didn't even see him breathe, he didn't blink. 04:33 But he was definitely real. 04:37 And it was kinda creepy. 04:41 Like there were paintings all over the walls. 04:43 - This big mural. 04:47 - [James] What did you see in the paintings. 04:48 It was kind of strange. 04:50 Like, we said, it was like an artist interpretation. 04:54 But it was-- - A city skyline. 04:57 And then, like-- - there was the devil. 05:00 And then there was Superman. 05:02 - And minions. 05:04 - Like, a whole bunch of different, weird action figures. 05:08 - We leave with questions in our mind. 05:10 It was interesting. 05:13 - It was definitely an experience. 05:17 (upbeat music) 05:25 - That was so intense. 05:26 - Yeah, the most shocking part 05:28 was all the people writhing in hell 05:31 with guards to protect the entrance to heaven. 05:34 - Yeah, and it seemed like it was up the the individual 05:36 to work their way to get to heaven; 05:38 there was no savior reaching out to help. 05:40 - Ellen White says 05:42 that the difference between true religion and false religion 05:45 is that false religion is based on the idea 05:47 that you can work your way to heaven by yourself, 05:51 whereas we believe that salvation is a free gift 05:53 that's offered to everybody. 05:55 - It's really difficult to claim this free gift, 05:57 because it means that we have to put away our pride. 05:59 But so many people have never even heard 06:01 that this free gift is even out there. 06:03 The real beauty of the character of Christ 06:05 is seen in the life of the believer. 06:07 And that's why it's so important 06:08 for believers to go live among unbelievers; 06:11 so that they can see Jesus. 06:12 - But back to the story, 06:14 our next goal was to visit the Sharon family. 06:18 - They live west of Chiang Mai, 06:19 and are a family that is reaching out to the local villages 06:23 with health and healing. 06:24 - Yeah, but to get there, 06:25 James, our producer, wanted to explore a different way, 06:28 which was fine with us 06:29 'cause we were all really tired of buses. 06:31 - Yeah! 06:32 We bought a couple of used motorbikes 06:34 to do the Mae Hong Son Loop. 06:36 We found out later that it should have taken us three days, 06:40 but since we wanted to see Mr. Leroy 06:42 teaching in one of the refugee camps, 06:44 we had to do the whole 270 mile loop in two days. 06:48 - Yeah, that was pretty crazy, 06:50 and the roads were really windy. 06:52 - They were (chuckling). 06:53 So the first day, we made it to Pai, 06:55 which was about 80 miles into the trip, 06:58 and we spent the night in some really cool bamboo houses. 07:01 - Yeah that was pretty awesome! 07:02 - It was. 07:04 - The next day, though, was really hard, 07:05 because we had to travel 210 miles in just over 12 hours. 07:10 We finally got to the Sharon's house; 07:12 it was really late at night and we were so tired. 07:15 - We're about to head out 07:18 on the Mae Hong Son Loop. 07:20 We've just kinda gotten out of Chaing Mai. 07:22 And so we're gonna stop and get something to eat, 07:28 and then we're gonna be on our way. 07:29 (peaceful music) 07:34 - [Mary Ann] We stopped at this cute little ride-side shop. 07:37 - The food is really good. 07:39 I think we picked the right place to stop. 07:41 (engines revving) 07:43 - And now we're about to head out, 07:45 we're gonna, it's about 2.5 hours to our destination. 07:49 It's a city called Pai. 07:52 So we're gonna spend the night there. 07:55 But we have to get there first. 07:56 - It's supposed to be really curvy between here and there, 07:59 so we're gonna see how this goes. 08:02 (upbeat music) 08:25 The northern part of Thailand 08:27 is mostly untouched by the gospel. 08:30 As far as we know, 08:31 we did not pass any missionaries on the whole loop. 08:50 It's going good so far. 08:51 Like, the corners are getting a lot sharper, 08:53 so we've had some 180s, 08:55 so more what we were expecting. 08:57 - So we just came around this corner, 08:59 - And there's like, this huge black snake 09:01 that was across one whole lane. 09:04 And when we went past it, 09:07 it's head went up, and it was a cobra. 09:08 - And we went past it, 09:10 and it was like, maybe this far from our legs. 09:13 And we're not wearing long pants, so yeah. 09:19 It was a little bit freaky, 09:21 'cause this huge snake, like, I don't know, 09:22 maybe five feet. 09:24 - I'm frustrated at the truck driver. 09:25 This truck driver stopped, 09:26 and waited for the snake to get out of the way 09:28 before it went on. 09:29 - She just wants the truck driver to have killed it. 09:33 - So now I've seen a cobra in life. 09:36 - Very close, very close. - Really close. 09:39 (upbeat music) 09:44 - We got to Pai, 09:46 took us about a half hour to find a place to say, 09:49 like, everything was full. 09:50 It's this cute little place with bungalows. 09:54 So we're about to go to bed. 09:56 - Looking forward to sleeping well, 09:58 we have a lot of running tomorrow. 10:02 (birds chirping) 10:08 So we had breakfast this morning 10:09 and then we hit the road. 10:10 - And we're heading all the way 10:13 to (speaking in foreign language), 10:15 which is like 200 miles. 10:16 So we're gonna be pretty sore by the end of it. 10:18 - As we ride today, 10:19 we'll be going through lots of mountains, 10:20 and there'll be lots of hill tribes 10:23 that we go through their territory. 10:26 - There's the (speaking in foreign language). 10:34 But it's really pretty. 10:35 There's awesome views, lots of mountains. 10:39 - Just gotta keep riding. 10:42 (peaceful music) 10:56 - So, we're driving and we saw a sign 11:00 that said Lisu Lodge. 11:02 So this is actually a Lisu village. 11:07 - I've never seen a Lisu village before, 11:08 so this is cool how the village is built 11:11 just on the side of the mountain. 11:16 The villages I've been in are more in the valley, 11:18 so this is cool. 11:26 - See right here? 11:27 This is my shift lever. 11:30 And it's supposed to go on right down there. 11:35 - It's stuck in first. 11:37 We're trying to decide what to do, 11:39 because the closest town on the map is, like, 11:41 44 kilometers away. 11:43 Thankfully a Native came and stopped and ask what was wrong, 11:48 and so he was like, "Follow me." 11:50 And he ran a school, 11:51 and he's helping get the bike fixed. 11:55 (triumphant music) 12:20 That was so much fun! 12:22 - It really was. 12:24 At the end, though, 12:25 it started to get a little more challenging. 12:27 We had to travel the last few hours after dark, 12:29 and the road was steep and it was cold. 12:31 And then my dad's shift lever broke again! 12:33 - Yeah, but this time it was in second gear, 12:36 which made it really hard to get up the last few hills. 12:39 You guys even had to use your legs 12:40 to try and make it to the top. 12:42 - Yeah, that was really challenging! 12:43 - But thankfully, even though we had some issues 12:46 along the way, 12:47 it still didn't slow us down very long overall. 12:50 - It was a miracle, really. - It was, it was. 12:52 - So we ended up arriving at the Sharon's house 12:55 around 10 o'clock at night, 12:57 and we had to get up at five the next morning 12:58 and ride three more hours 13:00 to see Mr. Sharon at the Mae Ra Mu Refugee Camp. 13:02 - That was crazy! 13:04 It was so hard to get up and go ride again the next morning. 13:08 But when you're in the mission field 13:09 you have to be willing to do things for the gospel's sake. 13:12 - But we did get to hear an amazing story 13:15 about how God's truth can reach lives. 13:17 (peaceful music) 13:24 - [Lilyann] The Sharon family moved the Thailand 13:26 nine years ago, 13:28 and they have done ministry in many different ways, 13:30 including teaching English, 13:32 training local missionaries, 13:33 and taking care of unwanted children. 13:35 A few years ago, 13:37 when they had to close their school and move, 13:38 because of new laws, 13:40 they were praying about where to go, 13:42 and there was a village that wanted them to come 13:44 and teach English and the Bible too. 13:47 A couple years ago, 13:49 Lisa told the story of the property 13:51 and how they built their house. 13:53 - When we moved here, they offered us this land. 13:56 But we didn't know 13:58 that people had been killed on this place, 14:00 and so it was cursed. 14:02 And so anybody who stayed here should have died. 14:06 And so simply living here is a witness to the village, 14:09 and everybody in every village in this whole area 14:14 knows about it (laughing). 14:15 Here we are, we're still alive! 14:18 The only stipulation was, 14:19 is the government said 14:21 that we had to build permanent buildings. 14:23 They didn't want bamboo buildings anymore. 14:26 We had to move 20 dump truck loads of dirt 14:30 out of the mountain in order to get started, 14:33 and we did this all by hand with just a hoe and our backs, 14:36 and little tiny buckets. 14:38 So that took us a while (chuckling). 14:40 It was really cool, 14:42 because when we first started digging, 14:43 we had nothing in the bank account 14:46 for this project; nothing. 14:49 And as we dug, 14:53 I mean, we didn't get money while we were digging, 14:54 but as soon as it was time to pour the foundation, 14:57 money came in for the foundation. 15:00 And as soon as we needed to start the walls, 15:02 money came in for the walls. 15:03 And so each step of the way, 15:05 we've gotten just exactly what we needed to keep going. 15:09 (peaceful music) 15:14 - Knock on the door. 15:35 - We're in the Mae Ra Mu refugee camp. 15:37 And we finally got to Mr. Sharon where he's teaching. 15:41 He has a classroom, 15:43 and so you can hear them in the background. 15:46 So he's currently teaching a class by using the Bible 15:49 to teach them English. 15:51 So we're here just to learn about, 15:53 kinda more about what he does 15:55 and what life is like in a refugee camp. 15:59 - [Leroy] As though they had been waiting 16:01 ages and ages. 16:02 What is ages? 16:03 Long, long time. 16:05 Ages and ages. 16:06 - We're still at the refugee camp. 16:07 We just talked to the principal of the school here. 16:10 It's actually a junior college. 16:14 And he told us a little bit about the camp. 16:16 It was founded in 1985. 16:20 They can't actually leave the camp, 16:23 because they're refugees from Burma. 16:24 - It's really hard for them to get any education. 16:27 They aren't really allowed to work outside of the camp, 16:31 so they don't have any money really. 16:35 - It's really good that they have a school here. 16:40 (hopeful music) 16:42 - As we watched Mr. Sharon teach English, 16:44 we were impressed by his enthusiasm and commitment. 16:47 He uses Uncle Arthur's "My Bible Friends" 16:50 to teach English, along with Bible stories. 16:52 We could tell he loves sharing the truth in this simple way, 16:56 so we asked him to tell us about his experience 16:58 while teaching in the refugee camp. 17:00 - I laid down right here 17:05 about maybe 45 minutes during the day to rest. 17:11 Other work, all the other time I'm speaking, 17:15 or I'm walking and greeting people, 17:18 or I'm in their house, 17:19 I'm eating with them, I'm all the rest of the time. 17:23 When I'm standing in front of the class, 17:27 talking, half-preaching, but talking, 17:30 that is sowing seeds. 17:34 Teaching the children, the students, to learn on their own. 17:40 I'm teaching them they can read on their own, 17:42 they can understand on their own. 17:46 Just across from here I sat in the Baptist worship service. 17:53 I didn't say anything, I can't understand anything. 17:55 But they like it that I'm there, right? 17:58 I'm a foreigner, I'm kind of an attraction. 18:01 But after the worship service, 18:04 the head elder who was in charge of it, 18:08 he wants to talk about religion, theology with me. 18:12 Well how can we do that, right? 18:15 But there's one girl that can speak English. 18:18 She's a Baptist. 18:19 She can speak to me. 18:21 So I said, "Okay, if you wanna talk religion." 18:25 So he begins to talk about the Sabbath. 18:27 Well, you know, I didn't really want to start with that, 18:30 but he wanted to talk about it. 18:32 So I begin to share about the Sabbath. 18:34 I have to speak to her. 18:36 She speaks to him. 18:38 He then speaks to her. 18:40 She speaks to me, right? 18:42 So it's going back and forth. 18:44 And she's listening to him, "Really?" 18:48 So she tells me, she listens to me. 18:51 "Really, I never knew that!" 18:53 So then she tells him (laughing). 18:55 So this girl is able to hear both sides of it, 18:59 and she's the one relaying the message. 19:02 And I know she's relaying it correctly. 19:05 And then, you know, all the excuses are coming. 19:09 So I'm thinking, you know, 19:11 this is gonna go nowhere, 19:13 because I can't speak their language. 19:16 So God prompted me, ask them who is your God. 19:23 Who is your God? 19:24 So I told the girl, I said, 19:26 "Ask the head elder, 'Who is your God?'" 19:30 So she asked him. 19:31 He goes hmm. 19:34 Thinking about that. 19:35 And I said, "Well? 19:37 "If God is your God, believe the Bible. 19:41 "Believe what the Bible says. 19:44 "But if you are God, you decide, 19:47 "you decide what you believe. 19:50 "If your church is God, follow them. 19:53 "If I am God, follow me. 19:56 "But don't follow me, I'm not God." 19:59 That man got it. 20:02 He's thinking about that. 20:05 He then begins to talk to about 20 people, 20:11 maybe as many as 30 people in the room 20:14 that had been listening. 20:16 He begins to talk to them in Karen, 20:18 I don't know what he's saying. 20:19 The little girl, her eyes got really big. 20:23 She goes, "He's saying that you're right. 20:28 "He's telling the people everything that you just told us." 20:38 You don't get pictures of stuff like that. 20:41 That is what God is doing. 20:43 Doesn't happen very often, not very often. 20:47 Once in a while. 20:50 And if you bring the camera, 20:53 it usually spoils it, yeah. 20:56 But I was amazed. 20:58 He talked for a while. 21:00 I can't say nothing 21:01 'cause I don't know what he's talking about. 21:04 Then everybody stopped talking, 21:06 and we began to eat and talk about normal things, right? 21:13 God planted lots of seeds that I could not have planted. 21:21 - That story was so moving. 21:23 - Yeah, Mr. Sharon is so on fire 21:25 about the work that God is doing there. 21:27 He says there are so many opportunities 21:29 to share the three angel's message 21:31 that he can't fill them all, 21:32 so he's praying for more volunteers to come 21:34 and reach the other villagers in refugee camps up there. 21:37 - Yeah, so while we were at the refugee camp, 21:40 back at the Sharon's house 21:41 a group of local villagers came, 21:44 and one lady had been having seizures and fainting spells. 21:47 She'd even been to the hospital without any relief. 21:53 - Years ago, in 1993, I went to Russia, 21:57 and it changed my life. 21:59 But you know, there was tons of people 22:01 that went over there at the same time I did, 22:03 and it doesn't change everybody, 22:05 but if you really want something better, 22:11 and you're asking God to change you, 22:15 a short-term mission trip can change your life. 22:20 (peaceful music) 22:26 - [Mary Ann] Villagers often come to the Sharon's house 22:28 seeking medical care, 22:30 even though Mrs. Sharon is only an EMT 22:32 and has limited resources. 22:38 - I'm not a doctor, I don't know what to do (laughing)! 22:42 I mean, I can just pray about it, 22:44 praying, and ideas come to my mind, 22:46 but when it's that serious, 22:50 it's like, she's having seizures, 22:53 she can't walk half the time. 22:56 Said the hospitals can't help her. 22:58 They give her barbiturates, but (sighing). 23:03 I just wish I could help 'em. 23:08 I'm sorry. 23:16 She definitely has a circulation problem, 23:18 she's extremely anemic, she's bleeding internally. 23:25 And so the only thing I can think of doing 23:26 is I gave her a tea to stop the bleeding internally, 23:30 and I'm giving her whole grain rice so that hopefully 23:34 it'll get her bowels moving more regularly, 23:36 'cause she's really constipated also. 23:40 And lots of tea and lots of water and vitamins 23:45 to help with the anemia. 23:48 But unless I can stop the bleeding 23:49 I don't think you can stop the anemia. 23:51 I don't know enough to know what I'm doing, 23:54 but I, this is what came to my mind. 23:58 And I know God gives me ideas. 24:02 - [James] So do you get groups like this very often? 24:07 - Yeah. 24:09 Or whenever I go to the village. 24:12 Usually people start gathering, 24:15 and it's all so big. 24:17 It's like, things that I don't know how to do. 24:21 I'm just an EMT, 24:22 I'm supposed to take 'em to a hospital, you know? 24:24 I'm not supposed to have to treat them. 24:27 But God has given me a lot of resources. 24:30 I have natural remedies books. 24:35 So I go to those whenever I can. 24:37 But like this, I'm gonna have to study 24:40 and try to figure out all these things 24:42 before I go back and see if there's anything else 24:46 I can be doing. 24:54 You know, when they're just villagers, it's easier, 24:58 because then you don't really think of them personally. 25:03 But I asked God to give me love for them and I do, 25:07 I just, I love them so much 25:09 and I don't want them to be hurting, with no help. 25:15 I mean, if I'm the best they have, that's pretty bad. 25:20 But anyway. 25:25 I'm thankful that I have what I do, 25:29 I'm not unthankful. 25:30 It's just that I wish I knew more. 25:34 - [James] Would a nurse be helpful? 25:36 - A nurse would be awesome (laughing). 25:40 The handwoman has been begging for a nurse, 25:43 so I've been asking people, but it always falls though, so. 25:48 The only thing is, it's gotta be a special nurse. 25:52 If it's just somebody who's gonna give 'em drugs, 25:55 that's not gonna help 'em. 25:56 I want them to be able to get well, 25:58 and to know what they're doing, 26:00 and their lifestyle that's causing them problems. 26:03 And so I try to not give 'em any drugs unless I have to. 26:08 Usually I just use herbs and things, 26:12 or especially stuff that they can do themselves. 26:19 I wish I had the gift of tongues 26:20 so I could speak to them myself. 26:22 The translation thing 26:24 was just almost impossible to deal with. 26:26 I mean, I don't know for sure 26:28 that she's even hearing what I'm saying. 26:31 So that's why young people are important. 26:34 Because us old folks (laughing), 26:37 we can't learn languages very easily, 26:40 but young people can. 26:43 So I'm praying for young people 26:46 who are really, really dedicated. 26:50 (peaceful music) 27:12 - It's really inspiring what God is doing there. 27:15 Mrs. Sharon had prayed for God 27:16 to give her a love for the people, 27:18 and he's answering that. 27:20 - Yeah, and we each should pray to have that love 27:22 for the unreached put in our hearts, 27:24 so that we are willing to work for him in the future. 27:26 - Yeah, but no matter where you are, 27:29 you can do something. 27:30 For example, last Christmas we had the opportunity 27:33 to go make gift boxes and hand them out 27:36 to the refugee children in our local area. 27:38 There's plenty for everybody to do. 27:40 But the point is that each of us can be the hands and feet 27:43 of Jesus no matter where we are. 27:45 - See you next time on MissionTREK. 27:47 - And please remember to pray for the unreached. 27:50 (peaceful music) |
Revised 2019-11-11