Participants:
Series Code: OTG
Program Code: OTG000019
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00:01 Adventist World Aviation is an aviation based ministry
00:04 with the mission of reaching the unreached people 00:06 all around the world. 00:08 Currently they have mission outposts in Guyana, 00:11 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. However, they also 00:31 do much more to minister to the local people. 00:34 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, 00:50 and that is just what they are doing here in Palawan today. 02:04 Adventist World Aviation has had a presence here 02:06 in Palawan for over 8 years. 02:09 Their airbase and mission outpost is in the heart of the 02:12 community of Sagpangan. Within the community is a 02:18 simple bamboo church which, Adventist World Aviation 02:21 leadership helped plant. 02:24 Years ago, a series of evangelistic meetings was held 02:28 here in this area, which lead to a bountiful baptism. 02:31 Shortly after, a simple bamboo structure was built 02:36 for the new members to worship in. 02:38 Since then the church membership has continued to grow. 02:42 Sadly to say, the building is deteriorating. 02:46 Now, years later, Adventist World Aviation leaders 02:49 are back again to visit the church. 02:52 They plan to restore and grow the membership while improving 02:56 the house of the Lord here, in Sagpangan. 03:00 We are standing here in the Philippines in Sagpangan. 03:06 We are here with our lay pastor, pastor Edgar. 03:09 Pastor is our airbase manager. For the lack of a better term. 03:15 Edgar is been working with Adventist World Aviation 03:18 now for nearly 7 years, yeah 7 years. 03:23 Edgar, we have worked hard to build this church here 03:29 in this area. I know that Adventist World Aviation 03:32 was crucial in the formulation of this church here in Sagpangan 03:37 Just right next door airbase, really just basically 03:40 across the street. Isn't it? 03:41 Edgar tell us, how did this church get it's start? 03:46 It started when I first came here in 2007. There was an 03:55 evangelistic meeting here with the request of Nemy Marcelo. 04:02 When I came, the evangelistic meeting was already started 04:09 And many were baptized, 55 souls. 04:14 Because we did not have any church, we went to different 04:21 houses to have a meeting, but we were so many, 04:25 so we did this church. 04:28 Nemy is our Adventist World Aviation ambassador here. 04:32 Nemy had asked Adventist World Aviation if we could help 04:34 sponsor evangelism here. Seeing there is an airbase was 04:38 in this area some time ago. We have no Adventist presence here 04:43 Up until then, about 7 years ago So we held a series of meetings 04:47 here. It was a great success resulting in a church plant. 04:53 A church plant not only needs people, 04:56 but it needs a place to worship in. 04:58 Ric Swaningson, president of Adventist World Aviation 05:02 speaks with the Palawan Mission president about 05:06 working together to expand the church here in Sagpangan. 05:10 It is always the goal of AWA to support the world wide 05:15 Seventh-day Adventist Church and work together 05:18 to grow the kingdom of God in the hearts of people. 05:22 So we are standing inside the sanctuary here which was just 05:25 freshly built it's as I look around Edgar, it looks like 05:29 this sanctuary, it looks old, but really, how old is it? 05:34 2008, so it's already 6 years old. 05:39 It is 6 years old and it's suffering some 05:42 condition problems, isn't it? 05:44 Jah, because of the termites are coming very fast. 05:48 They say this place was on top of the house of termites. 05:54 Termites are really fast eating the light materials, 05:59 as you can see. 06:01 2008 the church was built. Since than there's been great 06:06 amounts of deterioration. Of course termites are a problem 06:11 all throughout the Philippines, but it has especially been 06:14 a problem here. I think the devil would like to destroy 06:16 what we are doing here. 06:18 Termites of course, the weather conditions. We had enough money 06:22 to put a metal roof on this structure, 06:25 which has saved this building I think, hasn't it? 06:27 That is the reason why this building is still exists today 06:33 because of this roof. 06:35 When it was originally built 6 years ago, 06:37 the Sagpangan church also included detached 06:41 mission housing, and an exterior children's room. 06:45 At the time, there was not enough funding to put metal 06:49 roofing on these exterior structures. 06:51 So within a few short years, unfortunately the buildings 06:55 have completely deteriorated due to the natural elements. 06:59 Now all that is left, is the one room church, with no place for 07:03 the youth to meet, and no place to house 07:06 Bible workers for this area. 07:08 This foundation actually is the remnants of a construction 07:13 that happened just 7 years ago. Is that right? Right! 07:18 This is our children's department, 07:20 our children's department, they would sing and had their Sabbath 07:24 school songs here and worship here. They would have children's 07:29 programs going on here. I understand even maybe the 07:31 pathfinders would meet in here from time to time. 07:34 This was their building. 07:35 Unfortunately we didn't have the money to put the metal roof 07:39 on this structure. It was just a typical flat roof 07:41 on this structure. As a result of that the weather has totally 07:46 deteriorated the building to where it is gone. A common lawnmower 07:49 was able to care of the cleanup after the deterioration. 07:53 That's how poorly, quickly deteriorated. 07:56 Had we had a metal roof like we have on our church over here 08:00 this building still would be here. Again a metal roof 08:03 doesn't sound like it's a lot of money. Something as simple 08:07 as that. If we can get the right construction material 08:10 build this thing back up again. Due we need this? 08:13 Yes, we really need it. Because we do not have any 08:17 children's division. 08:18 We don't have a shelter for children and the youth. 08:23 This church desperately needs to rebuild both their 08:26 children's room and their missionary housing. 08:30 The work they are trying to accomplish here is being greatly 08:33 impeded with the lack of facilities. 08:36 Without housing, no long-term Bible worker 08:40 can come to this area. 08:41 And without a place for the children, 08:43 their growth potential is extremely limited. 08:47 So it is the prayer of Adventist World Aviation, to be able to 08:51 restore and expand this church. 08:55 One of the goals of Adventist World Aviation is of course 08:58 to continue supporting the work that we done 09:00 again just a matter of tools. 09:02 We fly the mechanics in to work on our equipment here. 09:06 We fly the construction workers in here to work on our project 09:10 to build a church and to continue maintenance. 09:14 Unfortunately as this church was built during 09:17 the economic decline. Funding has been less than desirable 09:23 As a result our church is suffering for it. 09:26 Now one would think, why isn't the local church membership 09:29 just jump in and pay for the church? 09:31 No money! 09:33 What seems to be a simple expense to us, could be 09:38 a year's wages to a local, that lives in remote areas 09:43 of the Philippines. You know, quite often we take for granted 09:47 the simple things in life, but a $100 is a lot of money here. 09:53 The materials here, sadly for metal roof and for timber 09:58 and all the other things is about the same, as it is 10:01 in the United States. It might be a little bit less. 10:03 But none the less, when it is out of reach, when it takes 10:07 a year's salary just to put up a simple wall. It becomes 10:12 extremely difficult for our locals to be able to that. 10:15 So it is our hope and our prayer that we'll be able to continue 10:17 to support our church here, that we affectionately call our 10:22 little home church here for our AWA airbase. 10:25 We are proud that we have pastor Edgar on our team. 10:29 He is our airbase caretaker and he makes sure that the church 10:33 is well taken care of as well. We are hoping that we will be 10:35 able to accomplish some good work here in our church, 10:39 so we just thank you. I hope you'll pray for what's 10:43 taking place in our little church that AWA was involved 10:47 in helping structure and build. So thanks for your prayers. 10:51 Renovating the church building is not the only concern 10:55 of Adventist World Aviation. The primary focus is on 10:59 filling the inside of the church with souls. 11:03 Yes, evangelism is a large part of the Adventist World 11:06 Aviation's work. 11:07 One of the things that Adventist World Aviation is trying to do, 11:12 is of course lead as many as many souls to Christ. 11:15 Aircraft is just tools, means to an end. 11:20 We use our tools the best we can to build churches, 11:24 to heal the sick, to help the poor. What ever we can do. 11:29 What Jesus would do. In the Bible. He spent more time 11:32 healing, and walking and talking amongst the people. 11:36 We're excited, that Adventist World Aviation is able 11:38 to sponsor continued evangelism here, it's not a - evangelism 11:43 is not an event, it's a process. It's ongoing. 11:46 Adventist World Aviation is sponsoring evangelism right here 11:50 at the airbase church and throughout this area here. 11:54 This is our primary concern right here. 11:57 We want to see this church flourish. Our church can 11:59 currently can seat probably how many, would you say? 12:03 50, We can hold maybe 50 12:06 That's if we pack them in real tight. 12:08 We need a larger church. This one is in desperate need 12:11 of repair, so the appeal is that we can continue to grow. 12:16 And continue to expend our church here at the airbase. 12:21 The AWA team has assembled a group of Evangelists from 12:25 North America to come and conduct meetings in this area 12:28 for the next couple of weeks. 12:31 Adventist World Aviation is doing everything possible 12:34 to grow and expand the airbase and the church here in Sagpangan 12:40 Holding meetings here to reach new souls will surely 12:43 grow the church family. However the old church 12:47 building is already at full capacity. 12:50 For AWA, expanding this church building is a high priority, 12:54 so that they'll be able to welcome many new sheep 12:58 into God's fold. 13:18 Adventist World Aviation called 9 evangelists to the Palawan 13:23 Island to hold meetings simultaneously 13:26 throughout the island. 13:27 Gene Porter, a rancher from Oregon felt impressed to 13:32 respond to Adventist World Aviation's call for evangelists. 13:37 Gene was invited to stay in the home of Edgar and his family 13:42 so that Gene could live in the community 13:45 he came to minister to. 13:47 I am Gene Porter and I was at the Sagpangan church. 13:54 About 3 years ago my wife died. I thought you know one on the 14:01 ways I can get back at the devil I am not strong enough to get 14:06 back at him. But one of the ways I can get back at him, is if I 14:09 do more of God's work. And so this is the second mission trip 14:13 that I've been on since she's died. I hope to do many more, 14:17 not just mission trips, but helping out 14:19 in my own local church also. 14:24 Evangelism is important to me, because I want the Lord 14:30 to come back. One of the things that He is waiting on, to 14:34 come back is to get this gospel spread to the whole world, 14:38 so that everybody has a chance to make their decision for 14:41 or against Him. And the sooner that He comes back, 14:45 the sooner I will like it. 14:49 Holding this crusade is very important to Gene. He truly 14:53 wants to make an impact here in the hearts of the people 14:56 and grow the church. 14:58 Since the current church building is so small, 15:01 the meetings in Sagpangan are scheduled to be held 15:06 in the down town plaza, under the open sky. 15:12 The site where we were at, was called the town plaza. 15:16 There was a basketball court and some bleachers there and a stage 15:23 so we set up on the stage and set chairs out on the basketball 15:28 court for the people to be able to watch and there were people 15:31 on the bleachers also. 15:33 The town plaza is essentially a basketball court with a 15:37 stage beside it. It's not an elaborate set up, 15:41 but it's all that is needed. 15:43 The simplistic nature of the meetings doesn't discourage 15:48 Gene or the people from attending. 15:50 Each evening, community members bring chairs 15:53 from their homes, so they will have a place to sit. 15:56 There is also a bleacher for people to sit on. 16:00 Each night, the outdoor basketball court is turned 16:04 into an amphitheater. 16:06 Since the meetings are held in the town center, 16:09 they are in the public eye and many people are curious, 16:14 they stop to listen to Gene preach. For the next few weeks 16:18 Gene preaches every night. And the community responds 16:22 to his messages. Hundreds of people, both children and adults 16:26 are curious to hear the message of God's love, 16:31 that Gene presents to them. 16:33 Our response was more than they were expecting. We probably 16:40 averaged. We would average over a 100 people a night there. 16:45 I think one of the reasons why so many people are coming out 16:48 to our meetings because we are holding them on neutral ground. 16:53 If we held them in the church here. It was not near big enough 16:57 to hold all the people that are coming. We were told, that 17:01 if we held meetings in the town plaza, that there would be many 17:04 more people that would come and that is holding true. 17:07 I think the church has really supported in helping to bring 17:13 people to these meetings. 17:14 Each night's meeting begins with a children's program. 17:20 Up to 80 children flock to the plaza nightly. 17:24 Excited and eager to listen and learn. 17:28 They do crafts and listen to Bible stories. 17:32 As Gene looks into the children's faces, he wonders 17:36 what will happen to these children 17:39 after his meetings are over? 17:42 Friends, there is clearly a desperate need here to rebuild 17:47 the youth room at this church, so these children will have 17:51 a place to worship. 17:53 Following the children's program Gene turns his attention 17:57 to the adults. They seem to be a bit more shy and often 18:01 listen from the shadows. 18:03 As the meetings progress, the bleachers fill more and more. 18:08 A diverse group of people attend the meetings including the local 18:12 leaders, police officers, as well as the pastor 18:16 of another denomination. 18:18 Night after night Gene unpacks the mysteries of the Bible 18:23 and the audience soaks in the news like a sponge. 18:28 Holding meetings in an open air settings doesn't go 18:31 without challenges however. 18:32 Weather, especially in the topical setting of the 18:36 Philippines can be quite challenging. 18:39 With no roof, one would think rain would give reason 18:43 to stop or cancel a meeting. 18:45 But this is not the case here in Sagpangan. 18:49 Undeterred, Gene preached through the rain, 18:53 and the audience stays to listen. 18:55 They were so focused on hearing the message, that 18:59 they didn't let a little rain drive them away. 19:01 Instead, they sit in the rain attentively. 19:05 I would like the people from my meetings to know 19:07 that Jesus Christ loves them so much, that He gave up 19:12 all heaven and He came to this earth. And He died to pay 19:15 the penalty for each one of our sins and that there is nothing 19:18 that we can do to make Him love us more. 19:21 I hope the people here can see that there is hope no matter 19:27 what they are faced with and that they realize that 19:31 their hope is in Jesus Christ. 19:44 While Gene is holding his meetings in Sagpangan, 19:48 other meetings are also being held within 20 miles distance. 19:52 One of the meetings is being held in the Bagong Sikat area 19:57 with Joseph and Jimmie Story. The Storys are retired ministers 20:03 who also have a desire to make an impact in this area 20:06 of Palawan. 20:08 They have given their entire lives serving the Lord 20:11 and desire to continue sharing God's love in their retirement. 20:17 I am a retired pastor from the Dakota conference. We are 20:22 from Hot Springs South Dakota. This is my wife Jimmie. 20:26 We've been working in the village of Bagong Sikat. 20:30 On the island of Palawan. We been working with the church 20:36 their Seventh-day Adventist Church. We had a retired pastor 20:40 working with us. We've been reaching out to people there 20:45 in that village. 20:46 The Story's have much different accommodations then Gene. 20:50 They are stationed in an existing church. 20:55 Holding an evangelistic series in a foreign country 20:58 brings with it many unknowns, including the people's 21:02 reception of the message. Opening night of the meetings 21:06 could be a very nerve racking thing when you don't know 21:10 what to expect, or how the people are going to respond. 21:13 But they move forward in faith. 21:17 Well, the first night we didn't think anybody was coming. 21:22 Started off nobody was there no children came. We were ready 21:30 for a health program. Nobody came. We started singing 21:34 a little bit. We had just a handful of workers, 21:38 maybe 6 people and we started singing and all the sudden 21:41 the people came. And we had 80 people there that night. 21:47 As the night progresses more and more people attend the meetings. 21:52 The children's program especially is overflowing 21:55 with excited kids. 21:56 It's clear just by looking at them how trilled they are 22:01 to have a program going just for them. 22:04 For an hour each night, they sing, they do crafts and 22:08 listen to stories all focused on their best friend, Jesus. 22:13 Last night we had, I counted 44 children and I am not sure 22:20 I may have stopped counting too soon. There were a whole lot of 22:24 children there. Altogether we had over 120 people there. 22:29 It's growing. It seems to be an interest in what we have 22:33 to present and the Lord is blessing. 22:35 Pastor Story is paired with another local retired minister 22:40 to translate for him. 22:42 The pastor that I am working with is proved to be 22:46 a very fine man, I just really enjoy working with him. 22:49 I have enjoyed working with the AWA personnel. 22:53 Everyone here is just been great And the people out there that 22:57 we're working with are just special people. 23:01 They're really nice. Both my wife and I are really enjoying 23:07 the fellowship with these people. 23:11 Winning hearts to Jesus is Adventist World Aviation's 23:16 main objective. 23:17 Aircraft and aviation are tools used to expand their reach. 23:21 Reaching people with the good news of the gospel message 23:25 is always the primary focus. 23:27 Here in Palawan, the evangelists are able to do just that. 23:32 And the people are responding to the Biblical messages 23:35 they hear each night. 23:38 We had decisions for Christ, We had decisions for baptism. 23:45 We had people who are in the valley of decision. 23:48 It's been a very exiting time. Winning souls is what it's about 23:57 I just enjoy reaching out. I'm also a nurse practitioner, 24:02 but I found, no matter what I am doing, I am ministering. 24:06 That's just what God has called me to do. Because I like to see 24:12 people come to the Lord, be baptized 24:15 and get ready to meet Him. 24:16 I've done mission trips. Evangelism mission trips 24:20 on several occasions. The Lord has blessed me, 24:24 given me souls for His Kingdom. Many people has been baptized. 24:30 I am just looking forward to seeing more of that happen 24:32 Seeing people get ready to meet the Lord. 24:35 I guess I just have to say that's something that I really 24:40 enjoy seeing happen. 24:42 This evangelistic crusade has left a spiritual birthmark 24:48 on both the attendees and the presenters. 24:53 I would say it has confirmed again my love of doing 25:01 evangelism and we have enjoyed working together, we always have 25:08 I guess personally it's been a good experience. I've enjoyed it 25:16 In reaching out to others, and helping them prepare, 25:20 it helps us too. It's an opportunity to be fellow workers 25:25 with our heavenly Father. With the God Head and with the Angels 25:31 The biggest thing I find that people everywhere 25:34 even though cultures are different, people still respond 25:40 to love. Respond to the message of the Bible and 25:44 the soon coming Savior. 25:45 I would like everyone to remember Jesus. He is our hope 25:53 He is our salvation, He is why we are here. 25:58 The Bible unmistakably has a transforming power 26:02 that was at work here in Palawan. 26:04 At the end of the 2 weeks, all 7 meetings come to a close 26:09 across the island. 26:11 The evangelists are incredibly happy with the work 26:14 God has done through them. 26:16 As a result of the meetings, over 150 souls were won for 26:21 the kingdom and baptized into fellowship with Jesus Christ. 26:26 On the last Sabbath in Palawan, the evangelists were given 26:31 the honor of having a mass baptism. 26:33 Joseph Story, an ordained minister, was among those 26:38 that were baptizing the new believers. 26:40 Joy and excitement filled the air. 26:43 God's church family here in Palawan has grown again. 26:49 We praise God! 26:51 I found out with these evangelistic meetings they take 26:55 a lot of time and energy. Sometimes you wonder how much 27:00 good you are doing, but when you see all the baptisms 27:02 that come from it it makes it all worth it. 27:08 If AWA is not around here, maybe the church would not be here. 27:15 We need to keep working for Jesus till He comes. 27:17 It's become very evident that there is a desperate need 27:22 for a new church building. 27:24 The membership now has outgrown the current structure 27:28 here in Sagpangan. 27:30 It is the goal of Adventist World Aviation to provide 27:34 the needed updates and expansions for this church, 27:38 so the church body can continue to grow and thrive 27:42 as a new expending family of God. 27:47 Please continue to keep Adventist World Aviation 27:50 in your thoughts your prayers and your giving. 27:55 As God's loving hope of salvation is shared with every 28:00 person here in this island of Palawan Philippines. 28:05 Jesus said in the great Gospel commission of Matthew 28:19-20 28:11 That we are to go into all the world. 28:13 Well Adventist World Aviation is dedicated to doing just that. 28:18 There are now over 7 billion people that live on planet earth 28:22 And 2 billion of them have never heard of Jesus Christ. 28:26 Out of that 2 billion, 800 million of them are only 28:31 accessible by means like aircraft, or through aviation 28:34 support. Adventist World Aviation goes into those 28:38 unreached areas of the world. 28:40 Bringing the good news of Jesus Christ. 28:43 Through aviation we're able to bring health, hope 28:47 and life eternal. Through aviation we can spread 28:51 the Gospel message to the far corners of the world 28:54 and show them the love of Jesus. 28:57 The message that we bring them is absolute hope. 29:00 We do not do this alone. Jesus calls everyone of us 29:04 to be a part of this great work of reaching the unreached 29:07 of this world. 29:08 We desperately need your prayers 29:11 If you would like to get involved or find out 29:14 more information about Adventist World Aviation 29:16 Please call Three Angels Broadcasting Network 29:20 and ask for Adventist World Aviation. |
Revised 2015-08-12