Participants:
Series Code: OTG
Program Code: OTG211129S
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00:27 It's not what I do. It's who I am.
00:30 I am a missionary where the darkness is thick, 00:34 and the valley's deep, lift me up to overcome, 00:37 the battle is the Lord's, souls are perishing for Christ, 00:41 they need me to bring. 00:44 I can do all things through Christ 00:46 who strengthens me. 01:18 Adventist World Aviation 01:19 is a humanitarian crisis centered ministry. 01:24 Therefore reaches the individual of great needs, 01:29 saving lives, 01:31 making the principles that Jesus left us. 01:36 A few like healing the sick, 01:39 heal a sick if you can be a witness of the death 01:41 in their health and they're interested in 01:44 or as to why you're interesting in doing this, 01:46 so we're able to reach them 01:49 with the gospel as a result 01:50 of attending to their physical needs. 01:53 Jesus spent more time healing than He did anything else. 01:57 And so, Adventist World Aviation 02:00 has been doing that since 1995. 02:02 It's essential to get help 02:04 go immediately as quick as we can. 02:06 Sometimes the only option is aviation 02:09 to get there quickly. 02:13 Even in today's age of bio component research, 02:16 technological age, you would think that 02:17 we would have other methods to reach people. 02:19 But there's, sometimes there's just no options, 02:22 especially when there's lives at stake. 02:25 To rescue is, is important of the gospel. 02:29 There's 800 million people in this world 02:31 who never heard of Jesus. 02:35 Those 800 million people, I should say, 02:37 are those that are beyond geographic barriers, 02:40 that can only be reached by means like aviation, 02:42 or if you're willing to send somebody in with a donkey 02:45 travel up to 30 days into a jungle 02:47 or two mountains or whatever. 02:50 Traversing the seemingly impossible, 02:55 will 30 or 40 days later, but nobody, nobody does that. 02:57 I mean, it's hard to do that. 02:59 Well, we can make a flight in an hour, maybe two, 03:02 and reach the unreached of this world. 03:05 And that's the 800 million people 03:07 that we're after, that's our target. 03:09 Our target audience is 2 billion people 03:11 that never heard of Jesus, 03:12 but 800 million of them 03:13 can only be reached by means like aviation. 03:15 In spite of the rapid technology advancement 03:19 in weather reporting 03:21 and weather observation stations, 03:23 the distances are so great, 03:26 the weather can change very abruptly 03:29 on any given long cross country flight. 03:34 And so you've got low terrain, 03:37 we have, you know, 500 feet or less above sea level, 03:43 even into the interior of Alaska. 03:46 But yet we have the tallest mountain 03:48 in North America. 03:49 And these mountains present formidable barriers 03:54 to general aviation 03:56 because the minimum en route altitudes 03:59 across these mountains is in excess of 10,000 feet 04:04 on the lowest routes, 04:06 and many of them are 12,000 or 14,000 04:10 minimum en route altitudes. 04:12 The mountains are formidable barriers 04:15 that have high winds. 04:18 They make their own weather 04:20 and they, these are the challenges 04:23 that mission aviation pilots face, 04:26 hauling heavy loads at high altitudes, 04:30 you know, it requires experience 04:33 and very good judgment 04:36 as to when to launch, when to stay, 04:39 and how to safely negotiate these obstacles. 04:44 We offer services of mercy that had can reach anything 04:50 from the kindness of an angel flight 04:53 to involving youth 04:57 in something that's different 05:01 than what youth are being offered today, 05:04 to medical emergencies, to epidemic relief, 05:09 flying in water, and disaster, 05:12 you know, where disaster has hit, 05:14 fundamental needs. 05:16 So Adventist World Aviation was developed 05:19 primarily to serve humanity. 05:20 It's extraordinary to see 05:22 what the level of kindness can do 05:25 in that capacity to someone in their life 05:28 and in their walk in the world, 05:32 that people aren't expecting that kind of kindness 05:36 for someone to go out of their way 05:37 to help them like that. 05:39 And these angel wing flights that we do, 05:42 they're 100% donor supported. 05:45 So thank you for everything that you give. 05:50 The patients that we fly don't pay a dime. 05:53 We take care of them, just as God takes care of us. 05:56 Freely we've been given, freely we give. 05:59 The other flights that we've taken 06:00 that also involved cancer patients 06:02 that we've had the pleasure of flying 06:04 to and from their appointments, 06:07 sometimes they're just, 06:08 they're really nauseous and they're sick 06:10 and then a car ride for 10 to 12 hours, 06:12 that's not gonna work. 06:13 So it's a pleasure to be able to be there 06:16 to help them in their moment of need. 06:18 And then we have say about two and a half hour 06:21 or so flight at most, 06:22 as opposed to a 12 hour car ride. 06:24 So the angel wing flights are needed. 06:27 And they're an incredible ministry, 06:30 they've touched us. 06:32 We have lots of doctors' appointments 06:34 and scans, MRIs, CTs, PET scans, all the stuff. 06:40 And then you read the results and things 06:41 and driving home one day from doctors, 06:46 I was like in tears. 06:47 And it's those moments when it is like, 06:53 why even bother. 06:55 Part of my chemotherapy when I was, you know, so weak. 07:00 You feel just like you want to die and... 07:04 But I'm not that kind of person. 07:07 I just had to, you know, suck it up 07:09 and realize that there's something else for me, 07:11 and God's got plans for me. 07:13 And it's not my time, and it's time to keep going. 07:16 But you lose your courage, it's very easy to do that. 07:19 You just have to keep focusing on 07:21 what God has in store for you 07:23 and not giving up. 07:25 It's lesson that you do need people. 07:27 You need people to help you. 07:29 And to let go of that is difficult 07:32 for somebody like me. 07:34 Part of me is like no, you know, I can handle, 07:37 we can handle driving, we can manage it. 07:40 The other part of me is like Melenie, just let go again, 07:45 and let God's gift to be part of your life. 07:48 I was so grateful. 07:49 Oh my gosh, the amount of gratitude for AWA 07:52 and for the people in my life 07:53 that put me in touch with AWA and Ric, 07:56 and yeah, my flying experience has been great. 08:00 All that, Ric and all the pilots 08:02 and everybody has been wonderful. 08:03 And I just feel like a bonding to it, 08:08 I guess, so to speak. 08:12 I've been so grateful for the blessings 08:15 that AWA has offered me. 08:17 Understand there's a power out there 08:20 that is helping us if we allow it. 08:25 If you let go and let God, life will be so much easy. 08:29 One of the interesting things about angel flights 08:32 is that you never know when 08:33 or how they're going to actually fully conspire. 08:35 When we flew Butch from Savannah, Georgia up here 08:39 to North Carolina to be with his daughter. 08:41 He and his daughter Kris started doing Bible studies 08:44 with Pastor Ric and long story short, 08:47 they were baptized. 08:49 I got to be there with them 08:51 at their baptism along with Kyle. 08:53 And it was incredible 08:55 because we went from angel flight 08:57 to then baptism 08:58 and I even studied with them as well. 08:59 And then shortly after that, 09:02 Butch ended up getting an infection, 09:06 he fell ill, he was in and out of the hospital. 09:09 He just went downhill so fast. 09:11 It was incredible. 09:12 This is why in just a few weeks after he was baptized, 09:15 and he suddenly then was put on hospice. 09:18 And Kris, his daughter was just with us 09:21 for the whole thing. 09:23 It was hard on my heart to see Kris have to go through that 09:26 as well as even just seeing Butch laying there in bed. 09:29 There is one gift that I know that God has given me 09:31 and I use it as often as I can. 09:34 I was so restless 09:35 and oftentimes I will sit especially in the church, 09:37 so I figured the one thing that I know 09:40 is super soothing to people 09:42 when they're going through a hard time is music. 09:45 And that was all that I could offer right then 09:46 because I didn't have any words. 09:48 And so God wooed me to take some time 09:51 and put any fears aside 09:54 of singing outside of the church setting 09:59 and just sit there in the room and sing. 10:02 And as I began to sing, it lifted Kris's spirits, 10:06 she began to sing along with me quietly. 10:10 And we also noticed that it regulated 10:15 that peaceful environment 10:17 and then music began to regulate 10:20 Butch's breathing and his heart rate, 10:22 and he calmed down, 10:23 and he was no longer gasping. 10:28 Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him! 10:33 How I've proved Him o'er and o'er 10:38 Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! 10:44 Oh, for grace to trust Him more! 10:49 For grace to trust Him more! 11:02 Missionary is someone who feels a calling 11:06 from God to serve. 11:08 It doesn't start overseas, it starts in your own backyard, 11:12 it starts in your home, starts in community, 11:16 throughout your state, your country, and then abroad. 11:19 You could be in airport back in the States 11:22 and have missionary opportunity. 11:24 Missionaries being a witness or disciple, 11:26 apostle for Christ. 11:28 And you want to share Christ 11:29 in every encounter you can with people. 11:32 Yeah, anybody can join Pakistan borders, 11:34 join the military, join the State Department, 11:37 Peace Corps, USAID and serve in a foreign country. 11:42 That's not what it's about. 11:44 It's a calling, it's about calling response, 11:46 serving the response 11:48 that the Holy Spirit calling you to be something, 11:50 do something that takes you out of your comfort zone. 11:54 And when you do, you'll grow exponentially, 11:56 I submit, if you allow the Holy Spirit to work in. 11:59 I was in line, was a long line. 12:02 And behind me was a man who was coughing like, 12:06 you know, coughing constantly. 12:08 And you know, with COVID, you know, it's like, oh, 12:11 you don't want to get COVID, you know? 12:12 So, I felt the Holy Spirit impressing me 12:17 to talk to this man, 12:19 you know, and even the Holy Spirit 12:22 was right there, 12:23 right in front of me 12:24 with a bottle of water. 12:27 Right? 12:28 But I didn't want to listen 'cause I was afraid. 12:32 I was overrun by my fear that I could get COVID. 12:37 And so even though I knew that the Holy Spirit was saying, 12:41 "Why don't you ask the man 12:43 how he's doing and give him a bottle of water." 12:45 I didn't do it. 12:48 I left knowing that 12:52 I have grieved the Holy Spirit by not listening. 12:56 And so, but, you know, I know God has forgiven me, 13:01 but it's those things that happens here. 13:05 That if I was overseas, it would become so easy, 13:08 because, you know, I'm very, 13:11 and I also didn't know 13:13 if I would be accepted by this man. 13:15 You know, I was, I would give out 13:17 normally what I would do 13:19 if I wasn't overrun by fear is I would say, 13:22 Hey, how you doing? 13:24 Would you like a bottle of water? 13:25 Here's a tract. 13:27 I would, I know normally that's, that's what I do, 13:30 I give them a tract, you know, 13:32 but I was overrun by fear of getting the COVID, so. 13:37 Being afraid, especially for the boys. 13:42 But what I think and I believe is, 13:46 is that if God wants me, 13:49 or wants us to be there, He's gonna protect, protect us, 13:54 He'll send His angels. 13:56 And everything is gonna be all right, 13:58 so that brings me peace. 14:02 There's a quote that says the safest place to be 14:04 is in the Center of God's will. 14:06 And that place might even be burning 14:09 at the stake for some people, 14:10 you know, what about the martyrs? 14:12 Well, you know, that's where God wanted to be 14:15 and still was the safest place in the world for them. 14:18 And for us, it's just wherever God wants us to be. 14:21 My salvation is secure. 14:23 I know that. 14:25 I know that is true for my family, 14:28 because I... 14:29 We worship together and I know where their hearts are, 14:33 or God knows more than I do. 14:35 But I'm secure in our salvation. 14:38 And so, you know, while we may suffer 14:42 or die in this life, 14:44 that is, that's a vapor. 14:47 And, you know, the eternity is incomparable 14:51 with the span of time, 14:53 if we lived 100 years on this planet, it's nothing. 14:56 So, again, we don't want to be presumptuous, 15:00 I'm not looking to put myself in a dangerous situation, 15:04 and much less to put my family in a dangerous situation. 15:08 But again, if we choose not to go the way God shows us 15:13 He wants us to go. 15:15 And I feel like 15:16 that is the most dangerous place to be. 15:20 The devil has been attacking me, 15:22 I'm getting car emergencies fixes, 15:25 I'm getting things wrong with my health 15:29 that are expensive. 15:31 And it just seems like 15:32 he's making it difficult for me to be up here. 15:36 But, again, or trying to make me 15:39 difficult for me to be up here. 15:40 But I have faith that the Lord will take care of me, 15:45 He'll keep me up there, He wants me here. 15:48 He made it very clear that He wanted me here. 15:51 The move up here was as smooth as it could be, 15:55 especially in this housing crisis time. 15:58 I mean, I bid on my first house up here, 16:02 and they accepted. 16:04 It was the smoothest move that anyone could dream of. 16:08 It's just now that I'm here, the devil is attacking me. 16:11 So I know that I'm here where I'm supposed to be. 16:15 And I know that the Lord will make sure 16:18 that I can stay here. 16:20 Bruce got sick, Bruce. 16:23 And we found out later on his kidney was failing. 16:28 So he was gonna, you know, with focus on, 16:34 go on dialysis and everything. 16:35 So we went back to the States. 16:38 And I was a little frightened. 16:40 I said, Bruce, because I was also afraid, 16:43 you know that, you know, go back. 16:44 I said, Lord, I don't want to go home 16:46 if my husband's gonna be on dialysis, you know? 16:50 So I said... 16:53 Yeah, I, you know, I, you know, 16:57 I don't want this for my husband. 16:58 And so we went to the States in Arizona. 17:04 And, you know, miraculously, God hears prayers, 17:08 a lot of people were praying for Bruce. 17:10 So he started improving, his kidney started improving, 17:13 and until it became normal, 17:15 but they wanted to watch his kidney. 17:17 So you know what I did? 17:19 I said, I'm going back to Guyana by myself. 17:23 So I went to Guyana by myself. 17:25 Bruce stayed in Arizona, 17:28 and I continued managing the project. 17:31 And a lot of people, you know, 17:33 you know, you ask about the questions, 17:35 aren't you afraid, you know, with all these 17:38 kidnapping and all that? 17:40 When you're not afraid when, then you also become a witness, 17:44 because me living by myself. 17:48 People were saying, "Man, you must really trust your God, 17:52 because you're here by yourself." 17:55 That itself was a witness to the people in Guyana, 17:58 in our community that I was there, 18:01 you know, by myself without my husband, 18:04 being there for the people of Guyana. 18:06 Courage that happens with fear. 18:09 If you're in something stepping out in faith, 18:11 despite the fact that you have some fear, 18:14 a level of fear, you won't have a level of fear 18:16 that it's going to paralyze you from doing anything. 18:19 So you're looking behind a bush where some can go wrong. 18:23 So faith and courage are synonymous together, 18:27 I believe, to take risks with crime 18:30 setting on phases in America. 18:32 When I went back, 18:34 you know, the mosquitoes didn't bother me anymore, 18:36 they were still there. 18:37 It's not that they did decrease in number. 18:40 They were still there. 18:42 But it didn't bother me as much anymore, 18:44 or hardly any anymore. 18:46 Because I knew that I was going to start living there. 18:49 I think one of the things that missionaries need to realize 18:53 when they go to another country, 18:54 that that is your home now. 18:57 When you put it in your head, that that's your home, 19:00 then everything else is, 19:03 you know, it's going to be normal. 19:05 The back down was still there. 19:07 Although we did build a lifestyle learning Center 19:10 afterwards and no more. 19:12 No more a family of eight that and you know that, 19:16 but, yeah, that's my mission story. 19:20 I can do all things through Christ 19:22 who strengthens me. 19:24 Not many people would sign up 19:26 for what is essentially less money 19:29 and more work hours, 19:30 but at the same time, 19:33 you're not going to make this kind of a difference 19:34 working for Wall Street. 19:36 I bought car, but I've been growing as a person 19:41 because of taking this role on. 19:44 And I feel like my journey has just started. 19:48 Definitely, I mean, whatever God calls you to is worth it. 19:52 You know, at so many times, I had that question. 19:55 You know, in the midst of it, you know, it's just worth it. 19:57 God, is this worth my time? 19:58 Is it worth my money and attention, 20:00 other people's money was being invested in me, 20:03 you know, is it worth that I hate for it 20:05 to be a waste of my time other people's time, 20:07 my money, other people's money? 20:09 You know, is this really what you want me to do? 20:12 But then do you know, doors would open up, 20:15 you know, and we'd have the place to move forward 20:21 in the trail to having all of our accreditations, 20:25 you know, licenses and things, 20:26 you know, all, so many doors opened up, 20:28 you know, friends have encouraged me, 20:30 money would come in, free things would come, 20:33 you know, opportunities of some form or another. 20:36 And God worked through so many different things 20:39 to get us there. 20:40 Financially, yeah, we believe it was very tough. 20:43 And those opportunities that were presented to me 20:47 to make more money in aviation or something else. 20:50 My boss told me at the airport, "And I'll take care of you 20:53 if you want to move up in the world 20:54 here at the airport, 20:55 you should be director of maintenance eventually, 20:57 and we'll get you on the fast track 20:59 to getting all your licenses 21:00 and then we'll get you flying more and making the big money." 21:05 And he said, "But you want 21:06 to still do the mission field thing, 21:07 I totally, totally get that." 21:10 Yeah, it's flattering, but I want to be a missionary. 21:14 Because what could I say to God, 21:16 you know, if all these doors 21:19 that He's thrown open for me to work for Him, 21:21 and I go and just work for myself or for the world, 21:24 how do you want to put it, 21:25 you know, what am I going to say? 21:28 And it always had to be no, 21:30 you know, I work for somebody else, 21:32 ultimately challenges. 21:34 Maybe at the beginning, in my case, I was thinking 21:37 how am I going to get financial support. 21:42 So because it was so big, in my head, I told God, 21:47 this is Your ministry, this is Your project, 21:50 it's in Your hands, there is nothing we can do. 21:54 And the Lord has been touching people. 21:57 And I mean, without even asking, 22:00 I mean, people just comes and say 22:02 I want to support the mission, 22:04 I want to support the mission. 22:06 And I am surprised because we... 22:10 I don't know we asked like straight up 22:12 one person for support, they just come. 22:16 But our prayer is always, Lord, 22:19 touch the heart of the person 22:24 to help and to support the ministry, 22:25 because this is not ours. 22:27 And I don't want them seeing us 22:29 as the, you know, the ones who are behind the ministry, 22:33 it's really You. 22:35 And if you want this work be 22:39 or your gospel be spread, 22:41 it has to be through Your power, 22:44 not us, so He's doing it, 22:46 He's really doing it and we praise Him for that. 22:49 The challenge being is the time given to your kids, 22:53 because that's everyone's first mission 22:55 field is their children. 22:57 If we fall short on that, 22:58 you know, what are we doing in someone else's work forum, 23:02 trying to convert them to Jesus, 23:05 but I think that's the most challenging things, 23:09 getting too busy, you know, working on the project, 23:13 and the mission in country 23:15 can sometimes take your focus off 23:17 of your own family. 23:18 That's a place where a lot of missionaries 23:21 have fallen short. 23:22 And people, you know, just her living in the States, 23:24 you know, with American dream, 23:26 chasing business or whatever it's also, 23:27 you know, same kind of situation apply. 23:29 That's the biggest challenge is making sure 23:31 that the children have time, it's not, 23:33 you know, being in another country, 23:35 necessarily. 23:37 It's not, you know, raising them 23:40 in that place where, 23:41 you know, it's a third world country 23:43 instead of first world 23:44 where we're having all these struggles to, 23:46 you know, acclimate ourselves to the local way of life 23:48 and whatnot, the language. 23:50 You know, those are challenges. 23:52 But not the biggest challenge for sure. 23:57 You know, we're often, 23:58 both of us are often called away to, 24:01 to do angel flights, need to do maintenance on aircraft, 24:05 in places that are far, far away like Philippines. 24:11 But it's just a matter of letting, 24:14 also letting Hadassah know, our daughter, 24:18 why we're going, what we're doing, 24:20 and keeping in touch with her over, 24:24 you know, thankful to technology nowadays, 24:26 even in third world countries, you can still, 24:29 you know, text and send pictures 24:31 and do video calls, 24:34 whenever we have access to internet. 24:37 You can, it's a struggle, 24:38 but it's also teaching our daughter 24:41 that serving is the right thing to do. 24:46 It's what God wants from all of us. 24:51 Well, first off, Jesus healed the sick and second off, 24:56 He fed thousands of people. 25:00 And third, He died for us in our sins. 25:04 I'm Enoch Rene, I'm 11 years old. 25:08 And I'm a missionary in training with AWA. 25:11 My name is Jodana Rene, and I'm 12 years old. 25:16 And I'm a missionary in training to go to Nicaragua 25:20 with AWA. 25:22 Oh, man, I have this mental image of... 25:25 It was the most beautiful scene I have ever seen 25:30 and can imagine was when a... 25:35 There was a group of people on the shore of a lake, 25:38 and I was watching and everything was silent. 25:42 And one of the people went into the lake, 25:46 and there was someone waiting, and that person got baptized. 25:51 And after that person got baptized 25:52 and came up out of the water, 25:56 the crowd on the shore, 25:57 all raised their hands and do this in silence. 26:03 And I realized that this was a deaf community. 26:08 And I started weeping. 26:12 There's something about watching a person 26:15 give their life to Christ, 26:17 and that there's nothing, nothing like that. 26:20 And so to be able to help people that is, 26:23 that just charges my batteries, 26:26 but to watch them 26:27 actually make a decision for Christ, 26:29 that is my ultimate dream 26:33 for what we're doing with Adventist World Aviation. 26:36 You raise me up 26:39 So I can stand on mountains 26:44 You raise me up 26:48 To walk on stormy seas 26:53 I am strong 26:56 When I am on your shoulders 27:01 You raise me up 27:04 To more than I can be 27:09 You raise me up 27:13 So I can stand on mountains 27:18 You raise me up 27:21 To walk on stormy seas 27:27 I am strong 27:30 When I am on your shoulders 27:35 You raise me up 27:38 To more than I can be 27:46 You raise me up 27:51 To more than I can be |
Revised 2021-12-09