Participants:
Series Code: OTG
Program Code: OTG000022
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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. 00:29 However, they also do much more to minister to the local people. 00:34 Evangelism is an important component of what Adventist 00:38 World Aviation does both internationally 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. 00:49 And that is just what they are doing here in Palawan today. 02:04 Adventist World Aviation has had a presence here in Palawan 02:08 for over 8 years now. 02:10 Their airbase and mission post is in the heart of the community 02:14 of Sagpangan. 02:17 The airbase includes missionary housing, aircraft and airstrip 02:22 operations, as well as a simple bamboo church, which 02:26 Adventist World Aviation leadership helped to build. 02:29 I am the director of operations for Adventist World Aviation 02:33 I am really interested in the logistics and the mechanics 02:36 of the work that we do. And of course with the emphasis 02:41 on the use of Aviation. There are other things that we use 02:44 to reach people. 02:45 You know, vehicles and boats and a variety of things, 02:48 but aviation is what we are about the most. 02:50 And of course I am a pilot, I fly helicopters and airplanes. 02:54 I have flown in the mission field. I just have really seen 02:59 the need myself first hand. And I have seen the difference 03:02 that aviation can make. Reaching people in the most remote places 03:08 on the earth. I just want to do my best to find ways to support 03:14 those missionaries, those workers, that are in places 03:17 that aviation can help them do more and do it better 03:22 do it more safely. 03:24 Behind me is the airstrip here, which is almost completely 03:28 prepared. It's nice and level. 03:30 We have our approaches at both ends. 03:32 Full length of use. The only thing left is to get about 3-4" 03:37 of gravel on the surface and get it nicely grated out, 03:41 so that when it rains, it doesn't turn into mud. 03:44 Get it packed in and we'll have an airport that is ready 03:48 for service for airplanes. 03:49 Currently, the aircraft here in Palawan is undergoing 03:52 refurbishing. During this time no air operations 03:56 are being performed. 03:58 Though flights are currently at a stand-still, 04:00 the Espinoza's are not. 04:02 They continue to remain very active working in the area. 04:07 Edgar Espinosa and his wife Rayleen, are the caretakers 04:12 for the mission outpost. 04:13 They not only take care of the grounds, but they also do 04:17 an enormous amount of personal ministry with the local 04:21 indigenous people. 04:22 Our airbase here is looked after and managed by Edgar 04:26 and his wife Rayleen. They live right here and they're 04:30 very active in looking after all the interest of Adventist World 04:32 Aviation here. Also sustaining themselves with agriculture. 04:37 With the recent addition of irrigation here in a large scale 04:42 they'll be able to cultivate this land with rice patties 04:45 and other crops that can sustain their needs for food. 04:51 And other missionaries working in the area as well as hospice 04:53 cash flow to just also make them as self sustainable as possible. 04:58 The Espinosa's would like to make this outpost 05:01 as self-sustaining as possible. 05:03 One of their plans is to accomplish this in planting 05:06 rice patties along the sides of the airstrip. 05:10 They have more than enough land to accommodate both 05:12 a landing strip and rice crops. 05:15 The profits they could generate from the agriculture crop 05:18 would greatly aid in reducing their ministries operating costs 05:23 It would also provide a source of income for village workers. 05:27 I am Edgar Allen Espinosa, 06:10 Edgar is a remarkable individual Edgar has been working for 06:15 Adventist World Aviation for several years now. 06:17 He is our airbase caretaker. He takes care of the grounds 06:21 on the airbase, he makes sure that all is well. 06:23 He is helping us install and put in the runway and all the 06:29 buildings and structure. He takes care of everything. 06:31 But Edgar does more than just that. 06:34 Edgar is our missionary boots on the ground. 06:36 He literally walks for miles and miles. Sometimes taking journeys 06:43 that can only be made by foot. Truly he is reaching 06:46 the unreachable. We're so proud to have Edgar, pastor Edgar 06:50 on our team. Edgar has worked tirelessly throughout the years. 06:54 Leading souls to Christ. As the result of his mission work, 06:58 we've been able to build, plant and build a new church. 07:02 Here right by our airbase. We've also been able to help 07:07 the missions in the field as well. 07:09 Edgar houses on many different occasions in the missionary 07:12 housing that we have on our complex. He houses missionary 07:16 students that come in. Medical workers that come in. 07:19 He takes them hand in hand. He takes them trudging through 07:23 the jungles. Sometimes even through the mountainous areas. 07:26 Reaching people that you wouldn't think would 07:28 even be interested learning about Jesus. Because they're 07:31 so far out there. Normal means of transportation 07:34 wouldn't get you there. Sometimes it's by foot. 07:37 Sometimes it's by motorcycle sometimes it's by their 07:41 sheer force of will of Edgar's determination to get there. 07:46 And Edgar is working very hard to do just that. 07:49 The typography of Palawan is very diverse. 07:52 The island consists of mountain ranges, dense jungles and 07:56 marsh lands; making travel by land often very difficult. 08:00 A large majority of mountain villages are in locations with 08:05 no road access; leaving them completely isolated. 08:09 There is no road system in the jungle nor is there a place to 08:14 land the plane in the mountains. 08:16 The only way to reach these people is by foot. 08:20 Even though they are only a few miles away, reaching them 08:24 often means 18 hour of hiking through dense jungles. 08:28 The jungle foliage makes hiking a very slow 08:32 and exhausting process. 08:35 Edgar cannot drive or even fly to these remote villages 08:39 since they are located so deep in the mountains. 08:42 The only option to reach these people is to hike 08:46 those countless hours. 08:47 Adventist World Aviation's main concern is reaching 08:51 people who are in isolated areas and bringing them 08:55 the hope of Jesus Christ. 08:57 Whether by air or by foot, AWA's mission is to bring hope 09:02 to these isolated areas. 09:04 Edgar is doing just that here in Palawan. 09:07 He travels by foot through dense vegetation, and over 09:12 difficult terrain for the simple reason of spreading 09:15 the gospel message. 09:17 Edgar desperately wants these people to hear about the love 09:20 of God and he happily makes the journey on foot to share 09:25 this message with them. 09:27 Pastor Edgar related a story to me that happened a few months 09:32 ago. He and some of the church members wanted to go and visit 09:37 some of the villages up in the mountainous areas that are 09:41 hard to reach. Some of these people have never heard of Jesus 09:45 They don't know the hope that He has to give each one of us. 09:50 So he and his church members started out on a really early, 09:54 like 3 o'clock in the morning on a Friday. And they started 09:57 walking. And by noon they come to the first village. 10:01 And there the villagers received him. They had tracks in their 10:05 hand that were written in their language and they pass out 10:08 these tracks to the people. And talk to them for a little bit. 10:11 And then they prayed with them. And then they wanted to continue 10:14 their journey onto the next village. That first village that 10:17 they visited. Asked them and begged them, please stay with us 10:21 stay with us for couple of days and tell us more about Jesus. 10:26 But Edgar had already made a commitment to continue on. 10:29 But he said, You know, we'll be back. 10:31 We'll come back and visit you again. 10:33 He continued on to the next village. He had to go through 10:37 jungle, up some cliffs, in through rivers. 10:40 Just the total jungle type of terrain that you would expect. 10:56 Once Edgar reaches a village, he is warmly welcomed. 11:00 These village people welcome visitors, especially ones 11:04 dedicated enough to take the journey on foot. 11:07 Edgar goes from home to home offering Bible studies, passing 11:12 out tracks and offering prayer for whoever will accept. 11:18 Edgar clearly has a passion to reach his fellow Filipino people 11:22 with the gospel message. He travels for many hours 11:26 on foot to go to places no conventional transportation 11:29 can go. And he does it all for the simple joy of 11:33 sharing Jesus Christ with others. 12:25 He visited several other villages. Prayed with them. 12:27 Handed them tracks. Halfway through the weekend 12:34 they decided it was time to start back home. By the time 12:36 they got back home it was early morning on a Monday. 12:42 During the time they were gone, they may have visited 12:44 about 6 villages. But it took them a lot of walking 12:49 through jungle, through rivers, to get to visit these 6 villages 12:54 That's why Adventist World Aviation here is in a process 12:58 of expending our operation and getting that helicopter. 13:02 That helicopter can easily, within a couple of hours could 13:06 of taken Edgar, through some of these areas in the villages 13:11 and could have more of a daily contact with these villagers. 13:15 So that telling them stories about Jesus, praying with them. 13:22 Spending time with them is so much easier. There is so much 13:27 need up on those high grounds. That only through a helicopter 13:33 is it going to be possible for us to get the Word of God 13:37 to these people. 13:38 As a result of my own field survey here, just seeing 13:44 first hand just really how rugged the mountains are. 13:47 And the facts are, getting in here is uphill, downhill, 13:54 or side hill. There is virtually no flat ground what so ever. 14:01 Which just leaves no place for a plane to land. The only solution 14:04 to reach these communities here is with a helicopter. 14:07 What makes a helicopter particularly effective 14:10 in this area, is that the distances are so short. 14:14 The time to walk between the communities is hours and hours. 14:18 But the distance in a straight line, straight across the valley 14:22 around the mountain is just a very few miles, it just takes 14:27 a few minutes in a helicopter. Helicopters are designed for 14:30 close end support. They're not designed for flying 14:32 long distances. We have airplanes to fly 14:34 hundreds of miles. We have helicopters to fly, I mean 14:37 in this case five, ten, twenty miles is kind of the distance 14:42 that we are looking at. Which is really the close-end 14:44 support that the helicopter is best designed for. 14:46 Just recently we sent our director of operations up on 14:49 the mountains to take a look and see what we could do. 14:52 The answer comes back helicopters. 14:54 And so we're happy to be able to support them. 14:56 Again, we are about logistics. 14:58 We are about getting the work done. 15:00 Sometimes we're involved getting the work done. 15:02 Sometimes we're about helping others get the work done. 15:06 The important thing is that this work gets done. 15:09 The message of Jesus Christ, the gospel message 15:12 of Matthew 28:19-20. The Three Angels message of Revelation 14 15:16 chapters 6 through 12. How do we get that out? 15:19 Unless we deliver a messenger to do just that. 15:29 Edgar has been such a powerful instrument of God here in the 15:33 Sagpangan region. 15:35 He has allowed God to use him as a vital instrument 15:38 to reach His people. 15:39 He has given Bible studies and God has sent His Holy Spirit 15:43 to change many lives. 15:45 In this area of the Philippines, the devil has 15:49 a very real presence. 15:51 Physical manifestations and demon possession 15:55 is a sad reality to many here. 15:58 Edgar is theologically trained, even though he is a layman. 16:02 They call him a lay pastor. He is working at the church. 16:05 Recently he worked with a lady that had 16:08 an animalistic belief structure. 16:10 She was demon possessed, clearly she had the spirit of the devil 16:15 inside of her. Invited him to come in frequently. 16:18 Many times the invitation isn't an open invitation, but it's 16:22 allowing the devil to work in our lives, that he can 16:24 take control. And many times because they have such an 16:28 emphasis on the belief, that these spirits can take control 16:33 of their lives and actually influence them. They end up 16:36 inviting them in inadvertently. Well - this woman had been 16:39 demon possessed. Edgar went in and worked with this lady. 16:42 Edgar has had first-hand experience 16:45 in encountering demons. One family in particular, 16:49 He and the Holy Spirit had to do battle with the devil 16:53 in order to free them from Satan's grasp. 16:56 Arlita is a 28 year old wife and mother, for many years 17:02 she was haunted and possessed by two demons. 17:04 She was held captive for over 9 years. 17:08 Until Edgar was able to bring her to Christ. 17:12 She recounts her story. 24:40 He shared with her the simple love of Jesus Christ. 24:44 Shared with her the simple fact that Jesus died for her 24:48 She doesn't have to give way to these evil spirits any longer. 24:51 He also exposed the devil for who he is. 24:55 By revealing Jesus Christ through the book of Revelation 24:57 Through the gospels of Christ, in Matthew, Mark, Luke 25:02 and especially John, the beloved where John tells us 25:06 for God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son 25:09 Sharing that super verse, that Jesus loves us so much 25:13 that He would send Himself. God would send His son to die for us 25:18 Sharing those simple verses with this lady caused her to 25:22 surrender her life to Christ. And she's been baptized 25:25 as a result of that. 25:26 We can praise the Lord, that we're literally 25:29 reaching the unreached. 26:57 Evil forces have a very powerful impact here in Palawan. 27:02 Thankfully however, we serve a loving God, 27:06 Who is even more powerful. 27:08 The work of Adventist World Aviation is most needed here. 27:13 Spreading the love of God, and sharing the message of freedom 27:16 is AWA's primary mission. 27:19 The aircrafts, are just tools. The real power and 27:24 effectiveness are within the men and the women 27:28 who allow God to work through them. 27:31 Please continue to keep Adventist World Aviation 27:34 and their staff in your prayers as we all work together to bring 27:39 freedom and hope in Jesus Christ to all around the world. 27:52 Jesus said in the great Gospel commission of Matthew 28:19-20 27:57 That we are to go into all the world. 28:00 Well, Adventist World Aviation is dedicated to doing just that. 28:04 There are now over 7 billion people that live on planet earth 28:08 And 2 billion of them have never heard of Jesus Christ. 28:12 Out of that 2 billion, 800 million of them are only 28:17 accessible by means like aircraft, or through aviation 28:20 support. Adventist World Aviation goes into those 28:24 unreached areas of the world. Bringing the good news 28:27 of Jesus Christ. 28:28 Through aviation we're able to bring health, hope 28:33 and life eternal. Through aviation we can spread 28:37 the Gospel message to the far corners of the world 28:40 and show them the love of Jesus. 28:43 The message that we bring them is absolute hope. 28:46 We do not do this alone. 28:48 Jesus calls every one of us to be a part 28:51 of this great work of reaching the unreached of this world. 28:54 We desperately need your prayers 28:57 If you would like to get involved, or find out 29:00 more information about Adventist World Aviation 29:02 Please call Three Angels Broadcasting Network and ask 29:06 for Adventist World Aviation. |
Revised 2015-08-24