Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY190057A
|
00:02 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:19 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:10 Hello and welcome to another program 01:12 from your family in Christ at 3ABN. 01:14 My name is John Dinzey, and I am happy 01:16 that I am with my wife Idalia to share this hour with you, 01:20 and we know you will be blessed 01:21 because we have asked 01:22 the Lord to bless this hour together. 01:25 That's right, friends, 01:26 we are thankful to the Lord for the opportunity 01:28 to share this following hour with you all, our family. 01:33 I tell you what, God is alive and well 01:35 and He is on the throne. 01:37 And He's moving the hearts of many to say, 01:40 here I am, send me. 01:42 Amen. 01:43 So during this hour, we're gonna be so blessed 01:45 as we hear of a ministry that's making a big impact 01:49 in little heights. 01:50 That's right. 01:52 And big heights. 01:54 That's right. 01:55 Well, we are here with members 01:57 of VIDA Internacional. 02:03 So we would like to introduce to you 02:04 the director and founder. 02:06 Yes. Jose Mario Suazo, welcome. 02:09 Thank you, nice to be here. 02:11 Thank you for coming to share with the world 02:14 what God is doing through VIDA missions... 02:16 Amen, it's my pleasure. VIDA Internacional. 02:19 Beside you, would you mind introducing Joseph, 02:23 and what he does, please? 02:24 So Joseph is the director of Public Relations at VIDA 02:28 and he has been working there now 02:30 for several years. 02:31 When he first came there, he couldn't speak Spanish, 02:33 but now he's fluent. 02:35 Praise the Lord. 02:36 And it's been really a nice experience 02:37 working beside him, working with him there. 02:40 Amen. 02:41 Now Joseph, have you moved to Honduras 02:43 or you live in the US? 02:44 Yes, I'm originally from California 02:46 but five and a half years ago, 02:48 I had the privilege of moving to Honduras 02:50 and it's been a blessing. 02:52 Amen. Praise the Lord. 02:54 Well, we're gonna find out more about Joseph and Jose, 02:57 and also this ministry that is doing wonderful things 03:01 for the Lord. 03:03 But before we do that, what are we gonna do? 03:05 Well, before we do that, we're gonna pray. 03:07 That's right. 03:08 And I wanted to clarify to our friends 03:10 that they might think it's a typo on the screen 03:13 when they see VIDA Internacional 03:17 with a C instead of with the T, 03:19 and that's because it's in Spanish. 03:21 That's right. 03:23 But it is a ministry 03:24 that many people of different languages, 03:27 who are called by the Lord to serve, 03:30 are willing to go to Honduras, 03:31 just like we heard about Joseph Collins. 03:33 That's right. 03:34 And learned Spanish and now you're fluent, 03:37 praise the Lord. 03:40 On his way, on his way, right? 03:43 Well, let's go to the Lord in prayer 03:45 and ask Him to bless this hour that we are spending with you, 03:48 and we would like to encourage you 03:51 before we pray to be a prayer partner for 3ABN. 03:56 3ABN has prayer partners in practically 03:58 every country in the world, 04:00 and we encourage you to be a part 04:02 of this vital part of the ministry of 3ABN 04:05 praying for the requests that come at 3ABN, 04:08 and our pastoral staff 04:11 does send a small sampling 04:14 of the prayer requests that come to 3ABN 04:17 to the people that sign up, 04:18 you have to go to our website to sign up 04:20 and be a part of that 04:21 pastoral ministry prayer warrior's team. 04:25 But you can also just pray for the requests 04:28 that you hear on 3ABN or that you see on the screen 04:32 and that will be a blessing for the people 04:35 and for yourself because when you pray, 04:38 you get close to the Lord and that is a blessing. 04:41 Well, it's a blessing to hear how our viewers 04:46 or radio listeners have also contacted us 04:50 in the office or send letters and emails, 04:52 praising the Lord that 04:54 whenever I send a prayer request, 04:56 you all join in in prayer, 04:58 and great things happen in our lives. 05:00 So the Lord is willing to listen to every petition 05:05 that's in your heart. 05:06 So if you have a prayer request, 05:08 a private personal prayer request, 05:10 we will pray for you as well. 05:13 The Lord knows what your needs are 05:15 and He is quite capable of going above and beyond 05:19 what we can think or imagine. 05:20 You know, you said something 05:22 very interesting and important Idalia, 05:24 I was gonna say honey, but it's okay. 05:27 The prayer requests that come to 3ABN, 05:32 if you want them to be personal, private, 05:36 and yes for our team to pray... 05:38 Anonymously. 05:39 And we will keep that just as you have said, 05:43 we will keep it, our team will pray here. 05:45 And it will not be sent out to people, 05:46 it won't be put on screen and so I believe 05:50 that's a ministry as well that people appreciate 05:54 and they tell us please do not put it on the screen. 05:56 I just want you to pray for me, my family, my situation, 05:59 and you can have confidence to call in 06:03 and we will not share these things. 06:05 But let's go to the Lord in prayer now 06:07 and ask for His blessing. 06:10 Our loving Heavenly Father, 06:12 we come to You in Jesus' name. 06:14 Amen. 06:15 We ask You, Lord, to bless this hour 06:17 that we are together with Your children 06:19 all over the world. 06:20 We pray that as we share together, 06:23 Your Holy Spirit will give us the words to speak 06:26 that which is necessary 06:28 that which will be a blessing to Your children will be heard. 06:32 And we do bring to Your attention again, 06:34 Lord, the requests that have come into 3ABN. 06:38 There are many, many names, 06:40 but you are not overwhelmed by them. 06:43 In fact, You welcome us to pray, 06:46 You tell us to ask that we may receive 06:48 so we ask that You will consider 06:51 every need that have come in and that You will be 06:54 with each person 06:56 that You will touch their lives, 06:57 bring healing, supply needs 07:00 and also, Lord, we pray that You will rescue 07:03 and give victory and also we ask 07:05 that You will bless this ministry 07:07 to continue going forward bringing the gospel 07:10 to every person in the world. 07:12 We ask You, Father, for doors to open 07:16 and that You will supply the needs 07:18 to be able to enter into more places 07:20 and into more homes so that people can hear 07:22 Your wonderful message of salvation, 07:26 Your wonderful message of warning, 07:28 and Your wonderful message that will rescue the lost. 07:32 We ask You, Father, for these blessings in the holy 07:34 and blessed name of Jesus, amen. 07:38 Amen. Amen. 07:39 Amen. 07:40 Well, Idalia, we do have a scripture 07:42 that we'd like to share with our friends. 07:45 And this scripture is found 07:47 in the Book of Matthew Chapter 9 07:49 and we are going to verse 37, 07:51 and I am asking Idalia to read that for us. 07:54 Matthew 9:37. 07:55 Well, this Bible text is important to our guests. 07:59 And we're gonna read it and they're going to tell us 08:01 why and comment about this text and it says, 08:06 "Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest, 08:10 to send out laborers into harvest." 08:13 I'm sorry, I read number 38 but 37 says, 08:18 "Then he said to his disciples, the harvest truly is plentiful 08:23 but the laborers are few," 38 goes, 08:27 "Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest 08:30 to send out laborers into His harvest." 08:33 And we have two laborers here 08:35 representing a group of laborers 08:37 that have responded to receive this fruit 08:43 that his heart is ready to be harvested. 08:46 As when we began our ministry there in Honduras, 08:50 we saw that the need is great, 08:53 and one of the main characteristics of our ministry 08:55 is that it was founded and started by young people 08:59 are still in their teens. 09:00 Amen. 09:02 And it's amazing to see that 09:04 God makes Himself responsible 09:05 for the accomplishment of His work 09:07 and this is what we clearly see in this Bible text. 09:09 And that as soon as we take hold of the plow, 09:13 and as soon as we move forward in faith, 09:15 the Lord opens incredible doors for His work to move forward. 09:20 So we have seen that very practically 09:22 lived out there in the ministry in Honduras. 09:25 Amen. Amen. 09:27 Joseph, what do you think about this Bible text, 09:30 the harvest truly is plentiful? 09:33 Yes, it is plentiful and I'm sure you guys here 09:35 at 3ABN know the same 09:37 that a lot of work needs to be done. 09:39 But there's few individuals and so our work, 09:42 God's command, His mandate to us 09:44 we not only need to work but we also need to pray 09:47 because we need more workers. 09:49 And a little bit later, we're gonna be sharing 09:51 how specifically this verse fits in with ministries, 09:55 one of its branches, we can't say it now, 09:57 we gonna pull the rabbit out of the bag too early. 10:01 But yeah, we need a lot of help. 10:03 But we have also been able to see that as we pray 10:06 and as we have a need God makes Himself responsible 10:09 for sending us people at the correct moment. 10:11 And so we have seen it, 10:12 Jose seen it since the beginning. 10:15 So we're thankful and that verse to us 10:17 is very precious. 10:19 Well, we can rejoice to know that 10:22 the harvest is plentiest, 10:24 that's a good thing that the harvest is plentiest, 10:25 but the bad news is that the laborers are few. 10:29 And so the Lord is calling for laborers, 10:31 so that we can reap the harvest 10:35 for the blessing of the kingdom of God. 10:37 I count it joy to be a laborer for Christ. 10:41 Amen. 10:42 We like no good thing, you know, 10:45 God is faithful and He carries us 10:47 and He uses every opportunity be it positive 10:51 in the eyes of some are negative, 10:53 or hurtful, or what have you. 10:57 The Lord manifests His power and His plans for us. 11:01 So we pray always God to close the doors 11:04 that need to be closed, and open the doors 11:06 that need to be opened 11:08 and, of course, He will provide 11:10 each and every need that we have, 11:12 because He says so in the Bible. 11:14 Well, Idalia, we have some wonderful things 11:16 to hear about VIDA Internacional 11:20 and so before we do that we have a musical offering, 11:24 an offering of music to the Lord 11:26 and for your blessing as well. 11:28 Yes. 11:30 And Idalia is gonna share what we have. 11:31 Yes, well, I am pleased 11:34 to share this following song 11:38 by Vonda Beerman who sings in Spanish as well. 11:42 She's not gonna sing in Spanish this time, 11:44 but she does that 11:45 and also evangelistic crusades in Honduras, 11:49 but anyhow, this message in song 11:52 is very personal. 11:54 So please pay attention to the lyrics of the song, 11:59 No one ever cared for me like Jesus. 12:02 Amen. 12:18 I would love to tell you 12:20 What I think of Jesus 12:25 Since I found in Him 12:28 A friend so strong and true 12:34 I would tell you 12:36 how He changed my life completely 12:42 He did something that no other friend could do 12:51 No one ever cared for me 12:57 Like Jesus 13:00 There's no other friend so kind 13:05 As He 13:08 No one else can take the sin 13:13 And darkness from me 13:19 O how much He cares for me 13:36 Every day He comes to me 13:40 With new assurance 13:44 More and more I understand 13:48 His words of love 13:52 But I'll never know 13:54 Just why He came to save me 14:00 Till someday I see 14:04 His blessed face above 14:09 No one ever cared for me 14:15 Like Jesus 14:18 There's no other friend so kind 14:23 As He 14:26 No one else could take the sin 14:30 And darkness from me 14:37 O how much He cares 14:52 For me 15:09 Praise the Lord. Amen. 15:11 Well, we thank Vonda Beerman for coming 15:13 and recording that music that is such a blessing, 15:17 and we encourage you to look 15:20 Vonda Beerman up on Facebook to invite her to concerts, 15:23 participate in evangelistic campaigns 15:25 and her and her family have really dedicated a lot of, 15:30 most of their lives to ministry 15:31 and we praise the Lord for that. 15:33 That's right. 15:34 We are with VIDA Internacional here 15:38 and it's a ministry that is moving into areas 15:42 that are in need. 15:44 And so we want to know more about VIDA Internacional. 15:47 We have the director and founder, 15:51 Jose that is here and he... 15:53 Tell us a little bit about the beginnings 15:56 of VIDA Internacional, how it got started, please? 16:00 One of the main characteristics of the ministry is that 16:03 it was started by a group of young people 16:07 without much experience, and from the beginning 16:10 we were able to see how God was manifesting Himself 16:14 powerfully through the works that we were doing, 16:17 I actually wasn't acquainted with the Adventist faith 16:19 until I went to an Adventist academy. 16:22 Not being an Adventist, I went to an Adventist academy 16:24 and that's where I had my conversion experience 16:27 and I ended up giving my life to the Lord. 16:29 And I thought, well, 16:30 I have never heard about Adventism before. 16:33 So something needs to be done about this, you know, 16:35 I somehow perceived that maybe Adventist, 16:38 the Adventist Church hadn't been in Honduras before, 16:41 you know, because I had never been exposed to it 16:44 and so, but as I went back home, 16:46 I realized that there is an Adventist Church 16:48 that has been established there in, 16:50 but the seed had been planted in going back 16:54 and doing something because there's still people 16:56 that haven't heard about the message. 16:58 So I ended up going back home, 17:01 after my time here in the States, 17:03 and after receiving missionary training, 17:06 and when I went back, I had to face my parents, 17:09 you know, in having this conversation 17:10 about the future and my parents 17:14 were actually very surprised that everything 17:17 that I was sharing with them and they were very supportive 17:19 from the beginning. 17:21 And I told them, "Look, I want to start this ministry." 17:23 And my dad, he almost starts weeping. 17:26 And he says, you know what? 17:28 The Lord gave me this farm that I have. 17:31 And I've had it for several years. 17:33 And I've always wondered why He gave me this property. 17:37 But now that you tell us this, I know why, 17:39 I know God had given me this. 17:41 So that when the time came, 17:43 the ministry could be established there. 17:45 So what you're saying is that God 17:47 was preparing the way long, long before 17:51 you even came on the scene apparently... 17:52 That's right. 17:53 In this world, so your father then, 17:56 you mother and father were Christians as well? 17:59 Yeah, they were Christians and they also were not 18:02 very acquainted with the Adventist message 18:05 and I remember after I got baptized, 18:07 I had a conversation with them about 18:09 what I had been learning and my mother, 18:11 she also started weeping and she said, 18:12 You know what, Jose, 18:14 we believe God sent you to this school, 18:16 and please come back and share more about 18:20 what you have been learning 18:22 and so that was a big marking point. 18:26 Yes. 18:27 And so they, my parents decided to donate this land, 18:30 they were on board with advancing the work there. 18:33 And so they were like, okay, there's the land. 18:36 Now, what are we gonna do? 18:38 Yes. 18:39 And so that was the beginning of the ministry, 18:42 we started contacting, I called the school 18:44 where I was acquainted with the Adventist message 18:46 for the first time, and I told them, 18:47 you guys got me into this mess. 18:49 Now you guys have to come and help me. 18:52 And so they sent the first mission trip 18:55 to come to this school, 18:56 there was a very simple building, 18:59 people were sleeping on the floor. 19:01 Yes. And... 19:02 About how many people came? 19:04 It was a group of young people, 19:06 probably around 12, 13 young people. 19:08 Wow. That's a good number. 19:10 With some teachers 19:11 and they couldn't speak Spanish. 19:13 We didn't have any translators. 19:15 We had the first evangelistic campaign there. 19:17 And they were inviting people 19:19 just pointing at a piece of paper 19:20 with a Spanish invitation. 19:22 Wow. And people showed up. 19:24 Wonderful. Praise God. 19:25 And it was really beautiful 19:27 to see how in this community of us, 19:28 we started where we work, 19:29 the message was being introduced for the first time. 19:33 About how many years ago was that, 19:34 I mean what year was this? 19:35 That was in 2008. Praise the Lord. 19:38 So tell us again, where this was 19:41 because you said it kind of quick 19:42 and I didn't catch that. 19:43 Yes. 19:45 So we're an hour and a half north east 19:47 of the capital city of Honduras, 19:49 in a little village called El Suyatal, 19:52 which is part of the municipality of Cedros. 19:54 It's right 19:55 in the central mountainous region of Honduras. 19:57 Really, really beautiful landscape 20:00 and guava plantation. 20:01 A good place to go do missionary work. 20:03 Yes, an excellent place to go do the missionary work 20:05 and before we started, 20:07 there wasn't any Adventist presence 20:09 in this community. 20:11 And so and like that, 20:12 there's many, many other places around the world 20:15 but even in Honduras, many other places 20:17 that have never heard about the gospel. 20:21 So this is the beginning of VIDA Internacional. 20:25 So how many days, 20:26 how many weeks was this first evangelistic series? 20:31 The mission trip actually came for a couple of weeks 20:34 and one of the weeks we devoted just for evangelistic purposes. 20:38 This is marvelous. 20:40 Now, once this was over, 20:43 what did your parents say and what was next? 20:47 Yes, thank you, that's correct. 20:49 So the idea was to try to continue 20:53 establishing permanent programs 20:57 that could satisfy the needs of the people there. 21:01 We started doing evangelism. 21:04 Actually one of the churches, we invited 21:06 some of the other churches that were in the village, 21:08 and they all showed up and one of the churches there, 21:12 they decided that they wanted to accept the Adventist faith 21:17 and so that was our first congregation 21:19 of seven, eight members that we started with 21:23 but we said, 21:24 so we are working with the adults, 21:26 but what can we do more in the long term. 21:28 And so we started laying out different programs 21:31 that we were able to establish 21:33 so that the work could continue moving forward. 21:37 We started a missionary training program, 21:40 back in 2009, 21:42 which was a 10-month missionary training program 21:45 that would teach evangelism, 21:47 health, and Christian leadership. 21:49 We also started a bilingual elementary school, 21:54 and we're gonna talk about that a little bit later on 21:57 during our conversation. 21:59 We started with two kids and it has really grown 22:02 exponentially and the influence of the school 22:05 and the relationship between education 22:07 and the work of evangelism is really, really powerful. 22:11 Amen. 22:12 We also have a lifestyle center that was established there. 22:16 The health message, 22:19 like nothing else has an ability 22:22 to really introduce people to spiritual things 22:25 and that has been our experience there 22:27 working in Honduras. 22:29 And we also have been working with planting churches. 22:32 We started the first Adventist church 22:34 there in the village of El Suyatal, 22:35 and now we're working in other locations 22:37 that had been entered. 22:38 Church planting. Yes. 22:40 Wow, he said a lot in a short time. 22:43 I want to go already. 22:46 I am excited. 22:47 This is awesome what the Lord is doing. 22:49 Yes, amazing. 22:50 It's amazing because you said it was a farm. 22:54 Now, describe the area a little bit for us, 22:57 because, you know, you said it was a village, 22:59 you say about a farm and then all of this 23:02 is going on in this area. 23:03 Is it, the population? 23:06 I mean, what's the area like? 23:08 So the village of El Suyatal 23:10 is a typical Latin American rural community 23:13 with tiled roof houses, adobe houses, 23:17 there's around 3000 inhabitants in this village. 23:19 Oh, okay. 23:21 And they are an agrarian community. 23:25 They do a lot of farming, mainly corn and beans 23:28 and they also have in the mountains, 23:30 they have coffee plantations 23:32 and so in our place in our campus, 23:34 we're actually in the middle of a guava plantation. 23:37 I don't know if you guys like guava. 23:38 Oh, I love guava. 23:40 Yes, guava yes. 23:41 Every way. 23:43 We also have some mango trees. 23:46 Actually from my house, I can reach out the window 23:48 and take a mango. 23:50 You're torturing us. 23:54 Praise the Lord. 23:55 This property is really beautiful, 23:57 surrounded by a beautiful landscape 23:59 with a nice little creek and in the evening, 24:02 you can hear all the sounds of nature. 24:04 So we're really blessed by a beautiful setting 24:08 in the country. 24:09 Wonderful, wonderful. 24:10 Sounds like a place 24:12 where everyone should want to go. 24:13 Yeah. Now... 24:15 Well, you connect with the creator. 24:16 Yes, you connect with the creator. 24:18 Now you said 24:20 you have these different training programs there. 24:22 So the farm you had to build, 24:26 did you have to build homes, 24:29 buildings, what did you have to, 24:31 how did that happen? 24:32 So we started with two buildings 24:34 that were originally in the property 24:36 but by the grace of God, 24:38 the Lord in His providence has multiplied these buildings 24:40 and when we first, 24:42 we were talking about the ministry, 24:43 we were kind of locating, yeah, 24:45 we're gonna build dorms here and we're gonna build 24:46 the school building here and the people 24:48 who were listening to us were saying, 24:49 "Man, these kids are crazy, 24:51 you know, this is never going to happen." 24:53 And lo and behold, some of them ended up working, 24:55 building some of these... 24:57 Praise God. Some of these buildings. 24:59 And so the Lord has multiplied the work there 25:01 and we started with two 25:03 and now we have around 13 buildings there. 25:05 Wow, praise the Lord. 25:06 And with every brick, I mean, 25:09 there's a story of God's miraculous provisions. 25:11 Wow. Amen. 25:13 We've actually also increased the property. 25:15 We had an original plot, 25:18 and we bought another piece of land 25:21 with elementary school is actually located now, 25:25 and little by little the Lord every year 25:28 was expanding His own work. 25:30 The Lord proves Himself. 25:31 You know, honey, Idalia, when you hear this, 25:36 it's just amazing because you said young people 25:40 that the Lord moved upon 25:43 to create this thriving mission 25:48 that God is blessing 25:49 because the way you're describing 25:51 is every brick, 25:53 every part of the building is a miraculous thing 25:56 that the Lord has done and I know 25:57 we don't have enough time to share all that happened, 26:00 but how many young people are were talking about 26:03 and what were the age groups 26:04 that when people started hearing these things, 26:07 some of them are saying, 26:08 this is not gonna happen, they are dreaming. 26:11 So we could see that the Lord 26:12 had been working even many years before, 26:16 like the first missionary that had come to VIDA 26:19 was actually a classmate of mine 26:21 from the Adventist school that I had gone to. 26:25 And as I went on for missionary training, 26:27 I also met other young people and in praying 26:30 that the Lord would bring workers to the harvest, 26:32 the Lord managed to put together 26:34 this very unlikely group of young people, 26:37 all of us in our late teens. 26:40 And so it was also an international group. 26:44 I remember that one of our earlier missionaries, 26:46 his name is Jesse. 26:48 He was from Switzerland 26:49 and he was in the middle of his theology studies 26:52 and he ended up putting aside his theology studies 26:55 and dedicating several years of his life 26:57 in the pioneer work of the ministry. 26:58 Glory to the Lord, amazing. 27:00 So the Lord has been really blessing 27:04 through unlikely vessels. 27:05 I remember sitting in our first board meetings, 27:07 you know, not really knowing 27:09 what a board meeting really was, 27:12 you know, and then all the board members 27:14 are young people. 27:16 Young people? Praise the Lord. 27:17 You know, and so we can see that the Lord is able to use 27:21 just about anybody to advance His Word. 27:22 Amen. Praise God. 27:23 You know, I was looking in the Bible 27:26 to see a text that came to my mind, 27:29 and I didn't want to say it by memory, 27:31 because my Spanglish kicks in, 27:34 that half in Spanish, half in English, right. 27:36 But it says here in 1 Timothy 4:12, 27:40 "Let no one despise your youth, 27:43 but be an example to the believers in word, 27:47 in conduct, in love, in spirit, 27:50 in faith, in purity." 27:52 I, it says here, "Till I come give attention to the reading, 27:57 to the exhortation and to doctrine." 27:59 I mean, this has been my favorite text 28:02 when I was a young person. 28:05 You still are by the way. 28:06 Well, thank you very much. 28:08 And as you are sharing this experience, 28:12 young people 28:14 that are less than 20 years old, 28:16 who has decided to say, I believe in this, 28:20 we're gonna work for the Lord. 28:22 And the parents of those young people, 28:25 I don't know what the challenges 28:26 were for them. 28:27 No, you have to study, you have to go to school. 28:29 What do you mean, you're going to go 28:31 and serve as a missionary? 28:32 It's not easy. 28:34 But if the Lord is guiding, 28:36 what a precious experience to see firsthand 28:42 how the Lord parts the water for this ministry, 28:45 the opportunities that come. 28:46 So praise God for that young energy. 28:49 Amen. 28:50 Joseph Aaron Collins. Yes. 28:52 Yes, you have two biblical names. 28:55 Yes. 28:56 And you are involved in ministry. 28:58 How did you get started? 29:00 How did the Lord let you know 29:04 that you should be a part of VIDA Internacional? 29:07 Well, I, well from years before, 29:10 I was working in the area of information technology 29:14 in the state of California. 29:15 And you know, how work here, it can become a rat race 29:18 and as I was praying more, it seemed like the Lord's 29:21 leading me more to mission work. 29:22 So fast forward, 29:24 I was studying at a mission school. 29:25 And one day I met a young man, young lady, 29:29 one of the young man was here, Jose. 29:31 He came to teach some of the classes 29:33 and also him and the young lady 29:35 who was a missionary at the ministry 29:36 there in Honduras, 29:38 they were going around giving concerts. 29:40 And this is one of the ways 29:41 in which they were raising money 29:43 for the ministry. 29:44 So I met them there. 29:45 And then after I finished my time there, 29:47 I was doing a six month internship. 29:49 and after two months, I was praying about 29:51 what the Lord wanted me to do after that. 29:53 Whether He wanted me to go somewhere else 29:55 or continue where I was 29:57 and I was praying like that for two months 29:59 and I was praying very specifically 30:01 for four things. 30:02 And long story short, through one email, 30:04 the Lord answered all the four things 30:05 I was praying for. 30:06 Four things, wow. Amen. 30:08 So, and I had the privilege of starting to serve there 30:10 in February of the year 2014. 30:14 Amen. 30:16 Five and a half years, so yeah. 30:18 It's a blessing being there, I've never been happier. 30:21 Yeah, there's always challenges but knowing that the Lord 30:24 specifically tells you to go someplace 30:26 that brings relief to you. 30:28 Now you said you started to say something 30:30 and kind of went quickly. 30:31 You've never been happier? 30:34 How is that? 30:35 Tell us about that 30:37 because you have seen the hand of the Lord working 30:38 in this ministry, 30:40 tell us about that? 30:41 Until I started in mission work, 30:45 I was in the work of the Lord, 30:47 but never had the confirmation that yes, 30:51 this is exactly what I want you to do, 30:53 what I created you to do. 30:55 It wasn't until I started studying 30:56 and then later on when I went to the, 30:58 I was doing the six month internship 30:59 and then later when I went to Honduras, 31:01 that I knew for sure this is exactly the place 31:03 where God want to be. 31:05 So in spite of all of the difficulties 31:07 we may encounter, 31:08 I know that I have the Lord's backing. 31:09 So it's always a blessing. Praise God. 31:11 So you now live in Honduras? Yes. 31:13 And totally different culture. Yes. 31:16 You were raised in different food. 31:18 But you know the Lord put you there. 31:20 Yeah. 31:21 And one thing that I like the best 31:23 not to say that I don't like my country 31:24 here in the United States 31:25 but there is a simpleness there that a lot of times, 31:30 it's much harder to find here in the United States 31:32 because we're so blessed as a people but going there, 31:35 getting away from a lot of the modern conveniences 31:38 that many Americans have in living amongst nature. 31:42 That is a tremendous blessing to me. 31:44 Amen. Praise God. Praise God. 31:46 Well, we have something pending. 31:47 That's right 31:48 And where does the name 31:51 VIDA Internacional come from? 31:54 So VIDA in Spanish means life 31:59 and when we were beginning the ministry, 32:01 we were trying to think about an acronym 32:03 that would represent the type of work 32:05 that we wanted to do, and at the same time 32:07 would be summarized in a short word 32:09 that would be very meaningful and biblical. 32:12 And so the word VIDA that came up, 32:14 and it means... 32:19 Which means a holistic vision 32:23 for existential development 32:26 and in trying to tap into this idea 32:29 that the Lord did more healing than preaching, 32:33 that He was more focused 32:34 in satisfying the needs of the people, 32:36 and this is what He spent most of His time 32:39 doing and this is what brought about most of the conversions. 32:45 And so we are trying to emulate that with our name 32:48 and with what we do in the ministry. 32:50 Amen. Praise God. 32:52 Well, I know that there are pictures 32:56 and I don't know 32:57 if you're ready to start sharing, 32:59 because all these stories and how the Lord has lead, 33:03 I'm already sitting on the edge of my chair here. 33:06 I am like praise God, praise God. 33:08 Thank you, Jesus. 33:09 I'm sure you are also at home, as we see 33:12 how the Lord is using young people 33:14 in the 21st century. 33:15 So young people, there's work for you to do. 33:18 Just ask the Lord where it is that He wants you to go 33:21 and it will be some to Honduras, right? 33:25 So what an opportunity 33:27 precious we've been to Honduras, 33:28 we've had evangelistic crusades there as well. 33:31 So we share the same opinion as far as the culture 33:36 of our Honduran brothers and sisters in Christ. 33:38 So what a wonderful opportunity. 33:41 So let us see what's going on, okay. 33:44 Pictures say a 1000 words, right? 33:47 Yes. 33:48 Okay, what are we looking at here? 33:50 So this is the entrance of the ministry. 33:52 As you can see, it's a very simple landscape 33:56 and behind every one of these buildings and bricks, 33:59 the Lord has worked amazing miracles 34:03 to establish the work there. 34:04 Okay. 34:06 And this is our campus. 34:07 An aerial view. 34:08 So you can see from two buildings, 34:11 it has multiplied now to 13 buildings 34:15 and all serving very specific purposes 34:18 in satisfying the needs of the community 34:21 and nestled in beautiful nature. 34:24 Yes, it is, praise the Lord. 34:26 Next one. 34:27 Wow. 34:29 We very closely together with a Honduran Union. 34:32 So this is a picture of an activity that we had 34:35 and the union president brought all the field leaders, 34:38 all the conference leaders to the ministry 34:41 and we had the opportunity 34:44 of really being introduced 34:47 to the work that the Adventist Church 34:48 is leading out there in Honduras 34:51 and work very closely together with union leaders 34:53 and conference leaders. 34:54 So have you done training with them too for them? 34:57 Yes, actually, as a result of this meeting, 35:01 we ended up participating in a training program 35:04 that we did in every one of the Honduran conferences. 35:08 Excellent. 35:09 So we've shared the blessing of really working 35:12 very closely together with organized church there. 35:16 They can understand best how it works 35:19 and what you offer to the public, okay. 35:21 Correct. So you have more pictures? 35:23 Yes. Okay. 35:26 And this is classroom? 35:27 Now we're in the classroom. 35:29 Yes, this is a picture inside of the classroom 35:31 for a missionary training program. 35:32 It's called IBC it's a Spanish word 35:35 Instituto Biblical Central Americana. 35:37 Now, in English, 35:38 basically Central American Bible School. 35:40 Okay. 35:41 And so this was the very first branch 35:43 that I started there at the ministry 35:45 and every year they have around 11 to 14 students. 35:48 When I first arrived there, 35:49 I had the privilege of serving there 35:51 for about four years. 35:53 And the course last for 10 months, 35:56 starting in February and ending in December. 36:00 And as it relates to the classes 36:02 we normally want to focus on three principal areas. 36:04 Number one, the Bible how to understand the Bible, 36:07 how to teach the Bible, health, anatomy, physiology, 36:11 massage, hydrotherapy, leadership, 36:13 as it relates to self-development, 36:17 finances, those things, a lot of courses, 36:20 they only last for six months. 36:22 But they intentionally, 36:23 we intentionally created this one 36:25 to last for 10 months in order to include 36:28 the leadership principles during the day, 36:32 because of the fact that we want the students 36:33 to have hands on experience, 36:35 we will have them work in the different departments 36:37 in the ministry 36:38 so that they can experience firsthand the things 36:40 that take place day by day. 36:41 So they have a rotation. 36:43 And so they can work inside of the kitchen, 36:45 where they can work inside of the elementary school 36:48 or in the department of health, 36:49 agriculture, construction, these things 36:52 so that as the students are there, 36:54 they don't need to feel that we're just students, 36:56 but they're part of the team 36:57 and so it goes on for 10 months, 36:59 always participating in evangelism, 37:01 active inside of the church and at the end of every year, 37:04 there is a two week mission trip 37:07 that they take, we always focus 37:08 to one of the countries in Central America. 37:11 So the last couple of years, they have gone to El Salvador, 37:14 they have gone to Guatemala, 37:17 also one of the islands of Honduras, 37:19 but this particular year, 37:21 they're focusing on the country of Panama. 37:23 So then, actually, in Costa Rica, 37:26 we've been there as well. 37:27 But this trip is a little bit further away. 37:30 And so they have to raise more money, 37:31 but they're diligently doing that. 37:33 Over the years, we've been able to see 37:34 that God has ways and means in order to share with us. 37:37 Amen, that's right. 37:38 Unfortunately, the trips are not free. 37:40 That's right. 37:41 And so one program that was created last year, 37:44 was created because of the fact that a lot of times 37:46 people want to take the 10 month course, 37:48 but a lot of times 37:49 because of obligations to their family 37:51 or being engaged in other things 37:52 they're not able to. 37:54 So they started a weekend course... 37:57 And so for one weekend, for every month, 38:00 people can come they can pay a very, 38:02 very small, small fee and Friday morning, 38:05 they'll receive a class for four hours 38:06 and eight hours on a Sunday. 38:08 No, not only it's a health class 38:10 and so also a lot of people may be thinking, 38:13 "Well yes, I would like to take a, 38:15 I would like to serve in Latin America, 38:17 or I would like to learn Spanish 38:18 or take this course. 38:19 But I can only speak English 38:21 or I can only speak another language." 38:22 In order to accommodate that, from July to this December, 38:25 we make available a six month Spanish course 38:28 where people can come and be immersed 38:31 in a Spanish speaking culture and learn Spanish 38:33 and use it for evangelistic practice. 38:35 That's wonderful. Praise the Lord. 38:37 I think you have more pictures. 38:38 Yes. Let's see more pictures here. 38:41 That's what I wanted to see, soothing. 38:46 So, several years ago, I think three years ago, 38:49 we started a lifestyle center. 38:51 Amen. 38:52 And it's interesting to see 38:54 the people in the village in Honduras, 38:56 many people with diabetes, with heart hypertension 39:00 and so we developed this program 39:01 specifically for serving lifestyle connected issues 39:07 and we've had incredible miracles, 39:10 a story one of the most amazing things 39:13 that we have experienced with this department, 39:14 there was a lady, her name was Dona Nimia, 39:17 and she had come because she had 39:18 intestinal cancer 39:20 and she was not finding recovery. 39:23 She had gone to surgery several times 39:25 and they will do the surgery 39:26 and then when she will come for the checkup, 39:28 the cancer was back. 39:29 And so they did that, 39:31 that happened to her four times. 39:32 Four times? Wow, devastating. 39:33 And the fourth time the tissue was just, 39:37 the doctor told her, you better go home. 39:40 I mean, we could do some other treatments, 39:42 but get your things in order, you're going to die. 39:46 And so this lady had heard about what we were doing. 39:48 And she walked into the campus and she had a meeting with us. 39:53 And when we got to see her clinical work, 39:57 we saw, oh man, this is really complicated. 39:59 This is really difficult. 40:00 What we do is more on the preventive side, 40:02 so we were feeling a little bit nervous about this. 40:05 But she said, "You know what? 40:07 From the moment that I walked through the gate, 40:10 I have felt that God is in this place. 40:12 So please, I'll sign anywhere, 40:15 you know, to relieve you of the responsibility. 40:18 Just do what would you guys do with everybody else. 40:21 Just please help me I have nowhere to go. 40:24 I'm going to die soon. 40:25 You know, I might as well place myself 40:27 in the hands of people that know God." 40:28 That's what she said. 40:30 What a way to express, you know, her desire. 40:34 And it was a step of faith 40:39 for you as a ministry as well, 40:40 because this is not what you normally do. 40:43 Yeah, it was actually a rebuke to us. 40:45 Because she seemed to be, to having more faith 40:48 and being more convinced than we were, 40:52 you know, we were getting nervous, 40:54 you know, oh man, if she dies here, 40:56 you know what's going to happen, 40:57 you know, and I was so concerned. 40:59 But she had a peace in her heart 41:01 and she said I can trust God, 41:03 I know that it's not you guys working I know, 41:05 I have felt that God is working here. 41:07 And so through diet, you know, 41:10 and using the church's right arm 41:15 and promoting some of these principles 41:17 and exercise and simple hydrotherapy. 41:21 We established a time of eight weeks 41:24 where she was going to, 41:26 to participate of these treatments. 41:28 And then we told her that she should go back 41:30 and see if there was any effect. 41:32 Any improvement. 41:34 Any improvement and so she came back 41:36 to the doctor eight weeks later, 41:37 and the doctor was shocked. 41:39 And the doctor didn't really know 41:41 what was happening. 41:42 Good, that's what we'd like to hear. 41:43 She started crying there at the doctor's office, 41:46 and the doctor told her you're cancer free. 41:48 Praise the Lord. Oh, thank you Jesus. 41:51 One of the main things that had happened with her 41:53 is that every time we would go 41:54 and visit her to pray for her, she was always willing, 41:58 you know, to come to the Lord in prayer. 42:00 She was always wanting to study the Bible 42:03 and we could see how the spiritual was connected 42:06 also with physical 42:07 so it was a really beautiful story. 42:09 Glory to God, it seems 42:11 as if the Lord was sending 42:14 you guys a message through her. 42:16 And what a marvelous story, 42:18 what a praise report for the simple remedies 42:22 that God has provided them. 42:24 Amen. 42:25 So you have more pictures? 42:29 Okay, more pictures. 42:32 This is our, 42:33 we're in the middle of our renovation 42:35 for our lifestyle center. 42:36 Okay. 42:38 And you can go to the next picture. 42:39 The next picture also shows 42:40 what that building is going to look like. 42:43 Because it's growing so fast 42:44 that we are running out of space 42:46 to house some of our lifestyle care. 42:47 So this lifestyle's center, what will it have? 42:49 And so this new building will have new accommodations 42:53 for our lifestyle guests, 42:54 we have a renovated industrial kitchen, 42:58 and we'll have some specific facilities 43:00 for selling some of these health products 43:03 that we get our guests acquainted with. 43:05 Yes. 43:06 So this will have also rooms for people 43:09 who come for treatments? 43:12 We already have the treatment rooms 43:15 that were built for larger groups. 43:17 And so we're now just expanding the housing 43:22 for the lifestyle guests. 43:23 Okay, very good, very good. 43:25 Now, this is a ministry that is doing so much 43:30 and you talked about a 10 month course, 43:33 what happens after the people are done 43:36 with a 10 month course? 43:37 Where do they go from there? 43:38 What capabilities do they have? 43:41 Do you have stories 43:43 that you could share of the people 43:45 that have graduated, they're done with the course. 43:51 And we make two options available 43:53 as it relates to financing the course 43:54 because of course, 43:56 it's like any other course there, 43:57 there is a financial cost. 43:58 And so for those who are able to they're able, 44:01 they can pay monthly, 44:02 for those who are not able to 44:04 they can take the course for 10 months. 44:06 And then at the end, they can work at the ministry 44:08 for another 10 months in order to pay off that cost. 44:11 For those who do pay it off, 44:13 one thing that we do during the year, 44:16 if we have a need at the end of the year, 44:18 we will make a call for them to come 44:21 and to serve with us. 44:22 Or we can make them acquainted with other ministries 44:25 in the area that have certain needs. 44:27 Possibly they may want to serve there as well. 44:30 Another option, since we work together 44:32 with the church, 44:33 there a lot of times 44:35 they're in need of Bible workers. 44:36 Bible workers, okay. 44:37 So a lot of times they would come to us 44:39 asking us do you know of anyone 44:40 who can serve as a Bible worker in order to enter a new field 44:43 where there is no Adventist presence. 44:44 Yes. 44:45 Or like some of them do, especially a young man, 44:49 he came back to visit us last week he finished there. 44:52 And he started a ministry all by himself. 44:55 He has a small plot of land, he's making different products 44:58 that he's making there 45:00 and then he's going out and selling. 45:01 At this point, he's alone. 45:04 But he is such an inspiration to us 45:06 because in spite of the fact that he's alone, 45:08 he's persevering in making everything 45:10 by himself, having to fix his meals, 45:12 so forth, going out by himself to sale, 45:14 but he's dedicated to the Lord 45:15 because he knows that the Lord has led him 45:17 to start this ministry. 45:19 Amen. 45:20 Recently, I received an email from one of our students 45:23 who is working as a Bible worker 45:24 in Guatemala, 45:25 and he sent us these amazing pictures 45:27 of his most recent evangelistic effort 45:30 and many people were getting baptized 45:32 so that is the happiest moment, you know, 45:35 when you see that some of our students 45:37 are actually making a big impact 45:39 in Central America. 45:40 Praise God. Praise God. 45:42 Well, there are four more pictures. 45:44 Let's go through them kind of quickly, 45:46 because we also have a video. 45:48 This is a picture of the old church, 45:50 we first started meeting 45:52 in an old rundown building by the grace of God, 45:56 that we now have a large church 45:58 with a congregation of 50 members. 46:00 Amen. 46:02 This is the first Adventist church 46:04 there in the village of El Suyatal. 46:06 Look at the next picture. 46:07 This is a very special picture to me, 46:10 because it's the beginning of our elementary school 46:13 and we have the volunteers there 46:16 and those two kids in the middle 46:18 our first two students 46:21 that started our bilingual elementary school. 46:23 Amen. 46:25 And the name of the school is Campos Blancos 46:27 and Joseph is going to tell you 46:29 about how that name came about. 46:32 Yes, at the beginning, we read Matthew 9:37, 46:35 saying that the fields are white for the harvest 46:37 but the laborers are few. 46:38 In Spanish white fields means Campos Blancos, 46:41 and so that's where they got the name 46:43 for the school 46:44 because in the town where we are, 46:46 the fields are white, ripe for the harvest 46:48 especially among the young people. 46:50 So that's one of the principal reasons 46:52 why the school was started. 46:53 Amen. Very good. 46:54 So we started with two kids and now by the grace of God, 46:57 this year our matricula 47:00 or registration started with 128. 47:03 A hundred and twenty eight? Praise the Lord. 47:05 So they have been multiplying. Glory to God. 47:07 Many of the people that are coming to the church 47:10 and sympathizing with the church 47:12 are the parents of the students. 47:14 And some of the students 47:16 also have been coming to the Lord 47:17 because of the impact of the school. 47:20 So the school has a very special program. 47:23 We try to emulate 47:24 the principles of true education 47:26 and it's a bilingual school. 47:28 That's the hook. 47:29 So we teach them English using biblical material 47:32 and trying to make the Bible 47:33 the center of our academic content. 47:35 Excellent. Two more pictures. 47:36 Yes two more pictures, kind of quickly now. 47:38 Let's go to the next one. 47:41 So this is the foundation work for our brand new building 47:46 that we're doing. 47:48 We don't have any more space now. 47:51 So we're currently working on expanding 47:53 with for additional classrooms and auditorium and library 47:58 and the next picture 48:00 is what we're going to look like, yeah. 48:01 Okay. 48:03 So the two modules on the side have been built 48:05 and so we're now working with that third last phase. 48:09 And so, and we have seen the Lord provide in the past, 48:12 and we know that He's going to continue 48:14 to providing for it. 48:16 All of this in the middle of nowhere, they say, 48:19 that God is doing a great and marvelous work. 48:22 Well, we have a video. 48:24 And so let's go to that right now. 50:11 Well, that's a fast moving video 50:13 showing the different aspects of the ministry. 50:15 You also grow things, 50:17 what kind of things you've grown? 50:18 Well, we love our tropical fruits 50:20 and so we have a papaya plantation 50:23 and a pineapple plantation 50:25 and we have tamarind, 50:28 I don't know if you familiar with tamarind, 50:30 but that's one of our main industry. 50:31 That was in the video. My mouth got watery. 50:34 So we have 1,300 trees, tamarind trees 50:39 and we make concentrate and we sell that concentrate, 50:41 that's one of our main industries. 50:43 And we recently started an avocado plantation, 50:46 3,500 avocado plants. 50:49 Wow. Wow. 50:50 And so this year is going to be our first trial harvest 50:53 towards the end of the year. 50:54 So if you guys want to eat some avocados 50:55 with tortillas, 50:57 more than welcome to come over. 50:58 Go to Honduras. 51:00 Yes, yes, go to VIDA Internacional. 51:01 VIDA Internacional in Honduras. That's right. 51:03 Well, we praise the Lord for all that we've heard. 51:05 We know you have much more to share 51:07 and that we could not cover in this hour. 51:09 We do have an opportunity now for you to write down 51:13 the contact information. 51:14 There are many needs that the ministry has, 51:18 we're gonna hear some of those needs 51:19 and when we return, but at this time, 51:22 we're going to take you to the information, 51:26 contact information phone number, 51:28 email, web page and all the good things 51:30 you need to be able to contact them. 51:32 First of all great thing is need for prayer. 51:35 And there are financial needs. 51:36 You saw the buildings, 51:38 they have to continue to build these things. 51:39 And so we will then have news break 51:41 and we'll return in a moment. 51:44 If you feel impressed to help VIDA Internacional, 51:48 visit their website, VIDA-internacional.org 51:53 that's VIDA 51:56 - Internacional 52:03 .org 52:04 or email them at HonduranMinistries@gmail.com. 52:09 If you'd like to write them, their address is Buena Vista, 52:12 El Suyatal Cedros, 52:15 Fransisco, Honduras. |
Revised 2019-10-22