Participants:
Series Code: OTG
Program Code: OTG000018
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00:01 Adventist World Aviation is an aviation based ministry
00:03 with the mission of reaching the unreached people 00:06 all around the world. 00:07 Currently they have mission outpost in Guyana 00:10 Alaska, and the Philippines. 00:13 Today we travel to the Philippine island of Palawan, 00:17 where Adventist World Aviation has an airbase. 00:22 Adventist World Aviation primarily focuses their efforts 00:26 on aviation operations and support. 00:29 however they also do much more to minister to the local people. 00:33 Evangelism is an important component of what 00:37 Adventist World Aviation does both internationally 00:40 and domestically. 00:42 That is, building the kingdom of God in the hearts of people, 00:46 is always the first and foremost objective, and that is just what 00:51 they are doing here in Palawan today. 02:04 Adventist World Aviation mission is to reach the difficult 02:07 to reach people of this world. By bringing hope 02:10 through the message of Jesus Christ. 02:12 Aviation and aircraft are primarily the tools they employ 02:17 to do this. 02:18 Currently Adventist World Aviation has mission outposts 02:22 in Guyana, Alaska and the Philippines. 02:26 Although these mission outposts are aviation focused, 02:30 they also do far more to help the local people, 02:33 than just fly airplanes. 02:34 Each of the projects have missionaries on the ground, 02:38 that serve the local people in a number of ways. 02:42 Adventist World Aviation is a ministry that started out 02:45 as a way of providing mission aviation service 02:50 to the missions around the world. 02:53 God's commission to the entire world church, is evangelism. 02:58 To win souls, to bring people to Christ. 03:04 Even though we are about mission service through airplanes, 03:07 we are still about evangelism and bringing people to Christ. 03:12 We are here in Palawan in the Philippines. Where Adventist 03:16 World Aviation does have an airbase. This airbase has been 03:22 here for a number of years and a result of it, 03:24 many souls are being won. A church has been planted 03:29 as a result of Adventist World Aviation. 03:32 And so we came here to continue expanding the church here 03:39 in Palawan through evangelism which is what something that 03:43 God has commissioned each one of us to do. 03:46 AWA Philippines Project is based on the island of Palawan. 03:51 They have an airbase located centrally on the island, 03:55 in the remote village of Sagpangan. 03:59 This outpost consists of mission housing, an airbase, 04:04 and an Adventist church. 04:06 Adventist World Aviation has a presence here in the Philippines 04:09 since around 2003, 2004. We started entertaining 04:13 what's going on here and than later on, just a short year 04:16 or so later. We sent a project missionary to work down here 04:21 to see what we could do to develop a program here. 04:24 Later on as time went forward, 04:26 our project manager was able to construct a beautiful home. 04:28 The airbase is in a perfect location for reaching the 04:33 islands of Palawan here in this area that are in need of support 04:38 We have that history here, that this is a perfect location 04:41 for that. We also have the Adventist Hospital, that's 04:45 in Porta Princessa, that we can med-evac patients to if needed. 04:49 So we just got nice presence here. 04:51 Having the history of Adventist World Aviation in this area 04:55 has been beneficial. The Philipino people already know 05:00 who we are and appreciate some of the work that we have done. 05:03 Adventist World Aviation is in the process of expanding 05:06 their current operations here in Palawan. 05:09 They are making arrangements to place a helicopter 05:13 here in the Philippines. 05:14 Traditionally, Adventist World Aviation has focused 05:18 on fixed winged aircraft. But the terrain here in Palawan 05:23 calls for a different solution. 05:25 I am standing here with Jud Wickwire, director of operations 05:29 We're glad that Jud is part of our team. Jud 's been here for 05:31 last few weeks, scouting the area, making sure that the 05:35 ground work has been laid for the work that Adventist World 05:38 Aviation has been doing here. Not only in evangelism, but 05:41 the ongoing air operations, that we have developed now 05:47 and into the future looking at things like helicopter. 05:50 There is so much happening here that has been sort of delayed 05:53 over the last few years, but the need for mission aviation here 05:56 on the island is tremendous and as we mentioned helicopter too 05:59 which will reach areas in the mountains 06:02 where there simply isn't anywhere to land. 06:04 A Helicopter would be the perfect fit to reach many 06:08 more locations where a regular airplane simply cannot go. 06:13 A helicopter seems to be the perfect fit 06:16 for all this island's terrain. 06:19 The Philippines are so diverse and so vast. And so the need 06:24 for aviation support is unlimited really. 06:28 It will take years to develop different areas 06:31 that we can reach. And it will take a combination of airplanes 06:33 and helicopters in order to reach the places 06:35 that need the help the most. In one particular area you were 06:39 looking at placing a helicopter here in the island of Palawan. 06:42 In an area there is simply isn't anywhere to land an airplane. 06:45 The only way to reach the people and help expand 06:48 the existing work that's being done in those areas and reach 06:51 farther out into the mountains. is where the helicopter is 06:54 the only possible way to reach beyond the distances that people 06:57 can walk. 06:58 The need for aviation in the Philippines is wide ranging. 07:00 Of course there is a continuous need to spread the Gospel 07:05 To reach areas that can't be reached by any other means. 07:08 There is tremendous need for medical care to be delivered 07:11 to the people, who need it. And of course with the locations 07:15 in the Philippines and there are natural disasters that occur. 07:19 on a regular basis throughout the year. 07:22 And we would be in a position to frontline support 07:25 those disasters any time. That will be a key place 07:30 we can be positioned to do the most, when the need rises. 07:34 The Philippine islands often get natural disasters, floods, 07:39 storm surges and typhoons frequently plague this region. 07:44 With aircraft, Adventist World Aviation can offer logistical 07:48 support to disaster relief organizations and bringing 07:53 aid during these devastating times. 07:55 Here in the Philippines one of the key activities that 08:00 we want to be able to do, is disaster relief. 08:04 Of course the Philippines they're in the path of typhoons 08:09 on a regular basis. 08:11 They strike in different parts of the country. 08:13 The impact could be severe. That's a good example of 08:18 what we want to be prepared for to act on immediately 08:22 when those disasters occur. 08:25 Recently of course typhoon Haiyan came through 08:29 and left a terrible, terrible trail of disaster behind. 08:35 Tocloban was the main part the main news, but you know the 08:40 northern part of Palawan. This island that I am on right now. 08:43 Northern part and the island surrounding that section 08:46 were hit very hard, they were directly hit 08:49 sparsely populated area 08:51 never the less people lost their homes, lost their livelihoods. 08:55 Of course, disaster response needs to be... 08:57 You need to be prepared for an immediate response to 09:01 a natural disaster such as a typhoon, which the Philippines 09:05 are often struck directly by the full force of typhoons. 09:09 Recently of course typhoon Haiyan was in the news 09:14 in a major way and disasters like those - if we are prepared 09:18 and ready to go, we can be on those sites within hours 09:21 and meet the immediate needs of the people after disaster. 09:25 We are looking at ways to help communities where their main 09:30 source of income is from the sea they are fisherman, 09:34 they harvest seaweed. They've lost their boats. 09:37 We are acting there now to help them get their livelihoods back. 09:44 with boats and nets for some of the people 09:47 on some of those islands there. 09:49 Most recently, Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines and 09:54 decimated part of the country. 09:57 Thousands of people lost everything they had, 09:59 including their homes and livelihood. 10:01 Through donations, Adventist World Aviation is able to be 10:06 part of the recovery effort. 10:08 A large population of the people in this region of 10:11 the Philippines make their living as fishermen. 10:14 The storm that swept through the area completely 10:17 demolished not only homes, but also destroyed these 10:21 people's income source: their fishing boats. 10:25 Through donations, Adventist World Aviation was able to 10:28 help restore this area by supplying 6 fishing boats 10:32 to the community. 10:34 With these boats, the natives can begin 10:37 rebuilding their lives again. 10:46 Adventist World Aviation located here in the Philippines 10:49 on the island of Palawan in the city called Sagpangan. 10:52 Is where our airbase is. We have our main office, our corporate 10:57 headquarters here in the Philippines in Puerto Princesa 11:01 and the main island of Palawan. 11:03 Our airbase has been here for quite a few years. 11:07 We had an airplane here that was operating for quite some time. 11:09 Unfortunately it is down, un- flyable at this point and time. 11:14 It's requiring a great deal of maintenance. In fact we probably 11:17 looking in the neighborhood of about $100,000 worth of damage 11:22 that we need to repair on the aircraft. 11:24 The airplane here in Palawan is in desperate need of some 11:27 mechanical work. 11:28 It simply cannot fly any longer without undergoing refurbishment 11:33 For this reason, Jud Wickwire is disassembling the aircraft. 11:39 The plan is to ship this airplane back to the United 11:42 States and replace it with another aircraft. 11:45 Our airplane here has been in service for several years 11:48 And it needs to be returned to the US for repair and overhaul. 11:52 So we have been dismantling it in preparation for loading 11:55 it in a container to send back and for the soon replacement 11:59 of another airplane is being prepared in the US right now 12:02 to replace it here for service. 12:04 The replacement plane scheduled for this airbase 12:07 is much more safe and equipped to fly in this terrain. 12:11 Jud has worked on aircraft the majority of his life. 12:15 He is both a pilot as well as an aircraft mechanic. 12:19 His primary concern is to make sure that all the 12:23 Adventist World Aviation planes are flying in optimal 12:27 and safest conditions. 12:28 It's really good that we have Jud Wickwire, now as our 12:32 director of operations. We are just so pleased to have him. 12:34 He is a great asset to our organization. 12:38 Being able to be boots on the ground. Actually working 12:41 the area little bit. See what the needs are. 12:43 And Jud has been not only working with us in evangelism, 12:47 here but while he is here we are looking at maintenance issues 12:50 on aircraft. Couple of vehicles, actually couple of trucks here 12:56 and some motorcycles that are in constant need of support. 13:00 So there is just always something going on. 13:01 Having a director of operations like Jud Wickwire on our team 13:04 is invaluable to us at Adventist World Aviation. 13:15 Although the planes in the Philippines outpost is down 13:19 for repairs. The work and mission efforts are still 13:22 very much in operation. 13:24 AWA currently has a well assembled team living in 13:28 Palawan to carry on the work and do evangelism; 13:32 a very much needed service in this area. 13:36 We're standing here with our board chair of Adventist World 13:39 Aviation Philippines with Nemy Marcelo and pastor Bautista. 13:46 Where are our operations physically located? 13:50 Our airbase is located about 60 kilometers from the center 13:56 of the city of Puerto Princesa. 13:59 We are so happy that it is centrally located. 14:04 We also have a corporate office here, if you will. 14:07 Tell us about it, where is our corporate office located at? 14:09 Our corporate office is located right in the city. 14:13 We are renting a compound and it's accessible to facilities. 14:20 We have been blessed with a group of dedicated Adventist 14:29 believers in this area. Like pastor Batista is our spiritual 14:37 father figure here. And of course Delta Marvie, 14:42 she is a dentist and she has connections. Of course we have 14:47 Edgar. Edgar is our care taker at the airbase. 14:50 He has been trained, he went to school for ministry. 14:54 So he has the background, he has the ability to share the Gospel 14:58 effectively. And that is what he is trying to do in the area. 15:02 Christina has been with us since the very start of the operation. 15:07 She is our accountant. She takes good care of our finances. 15:15 Christine is a vital member of the operation team 15:19 here too in the islands. 15:21 Not only is she an exceptional accountant, 15:24 but she is also assisting in the projects. 15:27 Her office is located in the capital of Palawan so she is 15:32 able to handle important official business. 15:34 She sacrifices greatly to be a part of this mission and gives 15:39 much of her private time to make sure everything 15:42 is running smoothly. 15:44 She is a vital part of this ministry. 15:49 Serving God is more important than earning money, 15:54 that we have been educated in school. The school of business. 16:01 So it has been a blessing to be able to do ministry. 16:07 I intend to continue on until I retire. 16:14 When I accepted to work with AWA I knew that the company will be 16:24 moving to Palawan and that means leaving family and friends 16:28 and the place which I call home. My comfort zone. 16:34 And staying here all by myself is really hard and the only 16:50 reason why I keep on staying with the organization is because 16:56 I know this is where God wants me right now. 17:00 I cannot tell what the future holds, but through prayers 17:08 and constantly finding the will of God, this is where I am 17:21 supposed to be at this time. 17:27 Both Pastor Bowteasta and Namy are seasoned evangelists. 17:33 They've been working hard for years here in Palawan 17:36 preaching the World of God to remote areas 17:39 in the Philippines. Their passion is evangelism. 17:43 We're standing here this morning and this evangelistic training 17:48 center with elder Bowteasta. Elder Bowteasta was a pastor 17:53 here in Palawan for many years. He is now retired and we are 17:57 proud to have him as an AWA board member 18:01 here in the Philippines and he represents our ministry 18:03 here locally. 18:05 I thought of putting up a small building like this 18:09 and finish as it is and train lay people. 18:13 Without any budget coming from anywhere else. 18:18 It is a ministry of faith, so this is what I am doing now here 18:26 I am happy that the Lord is giving me life to continue on 18:31 training our lay people equipping them, 18:33 because there is so much need 18:36 of lay evangelist in our field here in the Philippines. 18:40 Part of what we are doing here in the Philippines with 18:43 Adventist World Aviation is meeting our mission objective 18:46 of reaching the unreached. 18:48 And there is just... There is a trememndance amount 18:52 folks here in the Philippines that have not received 18:55 the message. 18:56 For years, Nemy has held crusades throughout the island 19:01 planting new churches. 19:03 Pastor Bautista currently has a self-supporting, 19:07 lay-man's training center. 19:10 Both men work in harmony with the goals of Adventist World 19:13 Aviation to reach the unreached. 19:16 Their ministries, although not aviation related, 19:19 are an intricate part of what AWA is doing here in Palawan. 19:25 The talent is here, we are about logistics. We are here 19:29 to support the local talent. Mainly what we do is we are 19:33 about support of infrastructure. Bringing ministry to the people. 19:38 That can't be done without the support like aviation. 19:41 So that is what Adventist World Aviation is all about. 19:44 The work related to the Adventist World Aviation 19:49 we with brother Nemy and Dr. Marvie we have been doing 19:54 our part, because of the mission that we have. 19:59 We would like to reach out into these places here, which are 20:05 really unreached in regular or normal way of reaching. 20:10 We are happy that the Lord has blessed our efforts here. 20:15 despite the fact that we are limited in our resources. 20:18 There are many places here in Palawan, which are really rich. 20:23 The number of workers we have here in this mission is not 20:27 capable enough to reach out unless we train more lay people 20:31 to work with the reaching out to these different communities 20:36 around which are still unreached So this I believe only the 20:41 Adventist World Aviation can help us reach out 20:45 to these different places. There are places here that 20:48 I believe only planes and helicopters can only reach. 20:52 Because there are still no roads there and land communication 20:58 or both and I think it only the planes that can reach them. 21:02 Dr. Marvie is a dentist working in the capital, Puerto Princesa 21:08 She joined Adventist World Aviation a few years ago 21:11 and has become a board member of AWA. 21:15 Her passion for evangelism is unique. 21:18 She uses her dental work as a platform to spread the gospel. 21:23 We are here in Dr. Marvie's office. And Dr. Marvie is a 21:28 dentist, practicing dentistry here in Puerto Princesa. 21:33 We asked Dr. Marvie to be part of our board of directors 21:36 here in the Philippines. 21:38 In my practice I have lots of patients. Most of them belongs 21:44 to type A in this society. So I am interested. I am thinking of 21:50 how to give them, or to disseminate to them the 21:53 good news of salvation. So first, I thought of giving them 21:57 The Desire of Ages, the Great Controversy and the rest of 22:01 our religious books written by E. G. White. 22:05 And that's where I started. 22:06 The Lord gave us this opportunity. 22:08 Our ministry is everywhere, anywhere we are. 22:10 What ever we are doing is our field of ministry. 22:14 Dr. Marvie's work here captured our attention at Adventist World 22:16 Aviation because in one sense she is reaching the unreached 22:20 here and her enthusiasm towards aviation support 22:25 captivated our interest. She was introduced to us 22:28 couple of years ago by Nemy Marcelo and pastor Bautista. 22:32 So we are just impressed with Dr. Marvie's work here. 22:35 What she does is in absolute harmony with Adventist World 22:38 Aviation reaching the unreached. And we do it in variety of ways. 22:42 Airplanes are just a tool. Dr. Marvie is using dentistry 22:46 as a tool to reach the unreached We felt that was in harmony with 22:51 what Adventist World Aviation was doing and we invited 22:53 Dr. Marvie. And I want to thank you for being part of our board 22:56 of directors and helping us make decisions here 22:58 in the Philippines. 22:59 It's exiting to see the ministry that is transpiring right here. 23:03 Even though right now our plane is not in the air, 23:07 but the ministry is continuing. Reaching the unreached 23:10 Using tools that you wouldn't normally think as a tool 23:14 to reach a soul for Christ. One would not normally think 23:17 an aircraft as a tool to be used for reaching Christ. 23:19 But as we fly in medical supplies and as we fly 23:22 Dr. Marvie in to locations where you normally can't reach 23:26 by normal means. So we fly Dr. Marvie and a team of 23:30 medical professionals into work on the local indigenous people 23:34 on their teeth, on their health on their life. 23:37 They are interested in their spiritual condition now as well. 23:41 We can reach them through this type of thing. 23:46 Like what Jesus did. You have to give them 23:49 the physical alleviation and than the spiritual. 23:54 Dr. Marvie uses her talent of dentistry 23:57 as a way to reach souls. 23:59 Her entire effort is dedicated to ministry. 24:03 She has religions materials for people to read 24:06 and to take home with them. 24:08 She also gives them Spirit of Prophecy books. 24:11 But most importantly, she shares the love of God 24:15 with all of her patients. 24:18 I asked the Lord 24:21 "Lord how am I going to help You in my field ministry?" 24:26 I am not a pastor, I am not a good teacher. 24:31 When I look at my self, I am not an eloquent speaker. 24:35 "So how will I help You in Your ministry?" And every now and 24:38 than I would think of it. Before I slept, after I woke up 24:43 early in the morning. And than I came to realize that my work 24:50 is my field of ministry. 24:52 People come to me. They come and go, they come and go. 24:55 and than encountered a lot of people from different levels 24:59 of the community the society. So I thought, this is my ministry 25:04 The best thing that we can do is to share 25:08 the good news of Salvation. And as we prepare and 25:12 as we are revived in our spiritual condition, 25:15 others are also being prepared and revived 25:17 for the coming of Jesus. 25:21 The Lord assembled a strong team of mission minded 25:24 individuals to carry on the work here in the Philippines. 25:27 Even though air operations are currently on hold, 25:31 the team isn't deterred from doing what they know 25:34 God has called them to do. 25:37 All the team members of Adventist World Aviation 25:40 are passionate about sharing the gospel. 25:42 Although the mission is focused on aviation, airplanes are not 25:46 the only strong component at this Philippine outpost. 25:51 Yes... Aviation is important in this area. 25:54 However, it is just a portion of what AWA is able to do 25:58 here in Palawan. 26:07 Jesus said in the great Gospel commission of Matthew 28:19-20 26:12 that we are to go into all the world. 26:14 Adventist World Aviation is dedicated to doing just that. 26:19 There are now over 7 billion people that live on planet earth 26:23 and 2 billion of them have never heard of Jesus Christ. 26:27 Out of that 2 billion, 800 million of them are only 26:32 accessible my means like aircraft, 26:34 or through aviation support. 26:36 Adventist World Aviation goes into those unreached areas 26:40 of the world. Bringing the good news of Jesus Christ. 26:44 Through aviation we are able to bring health, hope, 26:48 and life eternal. 26:49 Through aviation we can spread the Gospel message to the 26:53 far corners of the world and show them the love of Jesus. 26:57 The message that we bring them is absolute hope. 27:01 For we do not do this alone. Jesus calls every one of us 27:05 to be a part of this great work of reaching the unreached 27:08 of this world. We desperately need your prayers. 27:11 If you would like to get involved, or find out 27:14 more information about Adventist World Aviation 27:17 Please call Three Angels Broadcasting Network 27:21 and ask for ADVENTIST WORLD AVIATION. |
Revised 2015-08-12