Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY190085A
|
00:01 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 00:29 Heal a heart that hurts 00:35 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:09 Hello and welcome to another 3ABN Today program. 01:12 I'm Jason Bradley. 01:13 And I'm excited as we're going to dive 01:16 into what a faith based ministry is all about. 01:22 And here with me to discuss 01:23 this is the Co-Director of Salt Ministries, 01:26 Tim Maddocks. 01:28 It's great to have you here. 01:29 It's blessed to be here, Jason. 01:31 Yes, yes. 01:32 Now, I've had the opportunity to talk to you 01:35 and find out a little bit about Salt, 01:37 and what you've got going on in the world of ministry, 01:43 and how God has grown that ministry exponentially. 01:46 I want to dive into that, 01:48 but we're going to go to song first. 01:50 And we're going to hear from Pastor Wintley Phipps, 01:54 and he's singing Amazing Love. 02:12 Amazing love 02:15 How can it be 02:19 You broke the chains 02:22 and set me free? 02:26 You filled my life 02:29 with joy untold 02:33 You like my spirit 02:35 You feed my soul 02:39 Now I want to let the whole world know 02:46 Of all You've done for me 02:52 I want to praise 02:57 Your name 03:03 Amazing love 03:07 How can it be? 03:10 You sent Your Son to die for me 03:16 He took the blame 03:20 Carried my shame 03:24 All the way to Calvary 03:30 When I thought I was forever lost 03:38 You caught my falling soul 03:44 I want to love You more 03:57 Amazing love 04:10 Amazing 04:15 Amazing love 04:22 Amazing love 04:25 How can it be 04:29 You would give 04:31 Your life for me? 04:35 You bring such comfort to my soul 04:43 You raise me up 04:45 And make me whole 04:49 Now I want to let the whole world know 04:57 Of all You've done for me 05:04 I don't think I could ever 05:11 Ever love You more 05:17 Amazing love 05:32 Amazing love 05:35 How can it be? 05:38 Now I live eternally 05:44 I once was lost 05:48 But I'm found, I was blind, 05:54 but now I see 05:58 And now I'm for every owes 06:05 Soon I'll see Your face 06:11 And I will love You more 06:22 Amazing love 06:45 Amazing love 06:57 Wow, what a powerful song, Amazing love. 07:02 Tim, I wanna find out a little bit 07:04 about your background. 07:06 Where were you raised? 07:08 And were you raised in the church? 07:09 Okay. 07:11 So I was born in England... Okay. 07:14 In the sea town of Portsmouth. 07:17 But my father was in ill health, 07:19 and doctors recommended he moved to a dry climate. 07:21 Okay. 07:23 So he moved our family to Australia, Perth, Australia. 07:26 Okay. So I grew up in Australia. 07:29 County myself as an Australian. 07:30 Okay. 07:33 But at the age of 21, 07:36 just out of university, already married. 07:38 My wife and I moved to Samoa, 07:40 where I taught in an Adventist school for three years. 07:42 Wow. 07:44 And then to Fiji where I taught for two years 07:47 and then ran their school farm two years. 07:49 Wow. 07:51 So you've traveled quite a bit. 07:52 Yes. Yes. 07:53 And where are you now? 07:55 We're based in Cambodia. 07:56 In Cambodia, okay. 07:58 And we've been there for over 27 years. 07:59 Okay. Wow, 27 years. 08:02 For the last 23 years, 08:04 you've been running a supporting ministry 08:06 in Cambodia, correct? 08:07 Yes. 08:08 How did you end up in Cambodia and starting Salt Ministries? 08:12 So originally God called us to Cambodia through ADRA. 08:16 And with ADRA, 08:17 I went there as a project manager. 08:19 And my project was to help rice farmers 08:23 improve their rice yields. 08:25 Okay. Okay. 08:26 So, that was the reason for going. 08:30 But when I got there, 08:31 I realized that God had a different plan, 08:33 I was to help the rice farmers. 08:35 But when I arrived in Siem Reap, 08:38 the town that I live in now. 08:40 I realized that I was probably the only Christian in the town. 08:44 And that my role there 08:47 was more than just helping people grow rice, 08:50 I was helping them to know Christ. 08:51 Amen. Amen. 08:53 Now, so you ended up staying there? 08:57 Yeah, the project I worked on was for three years. 09:00 It ended up being extended to three and a half years. 09:02 Okay. 09:04 And in the last half a year or so, 09:05 God began to speak to me in a, 09:08 like an audible way 09:09 during my worship times in the morning. 09:11 And He began to say some really radical things. 09:14 So He was telling me, 09:16 He wanted me to work full time for Him, 09:19 and to move my family out into the countryside, 09:24 to plant a church where we move, 09:28 to start a layman's training program 09:30 to train new Adventists to be church planters. 09:33 Wow. 09:35 To use all of our life savings about $20,000 09:39 to get that ministry started... 09:42 Wow. 09:44 And not to ask anybody for money. 09:47 There was one more thing, 09:49 He asked us to live like the local people lived 09:52 and the local people out there were poor. 09:54 Really? 09:55 Now, I guess the next natural question for me to ask you is, 09:59 what was your wife thinking about this? 10:02 She... 10:03 When I shared with her 10:06 what I believe God was saying to me. 10:07 Uh-huh. 10:09 Her response was God didn't tell me that. 10:11 Really? 10:14 But... 10:15 She wasn't ready to embrace that yet. 10:17 No, that's a pretty radical move. 10:20 We had two small boys by this time. 10:22 Oh, wow. Yes. 10:23 So to take them out in the countryside, 10:24 the countryside was still not safe. 10:30 The Khmer Rouge weren't completely gone. 10:33 And everybody had guns. Okay. 10:36 So it wasn't really safe, 10:38 and yet to have no financial security. 10:42 Just to take a family out and take your life savings 10:45 and use it to make this happen. 10:47 We weren't trained to do 10:48 what we were being asked to do by God. 10:50 So she really wasn't sure. 10:52 But God reached her heart, gave her a sign. 10:56 She came on board. Praise the Lord. 10:59 We've been doing it ever since. Praise the Lord. 11:00 How did your ministry look when it first began in 1996? 11:04 Well, it was just the two of us, 11:06 and our two boys, 11:08 in a little thatched house on 42 acre piece of land. 11:12 Wow. 11:13 About three miles out of Siem Reap town, 11:16 and we called one other Cambodian family 11:19 that had come to know Christ 11:20 through our ministry in the town, 11:22 to join us and help us. 11:24 And so it was just this little tiny family ministry. 11:27 Wow. 11:29 And so what took place after you started that, 11:31 how did it grow? 11:34 Well, God, in His graciousness, 11:37 didn't tell us all that was going to happen. 11:40 But we began by establishing the training program. 11:44 We started the ministry in 1996. 11:47 We didn't get the training program going until 1998. 11:50 Okay. 11:52 And by this time we build buildings, 11:53 we fenced the compound, build a road into the property. 11:56 Nice. 11:57 And began reaching out to the people in our community. 12:00 So, in 1998, we began our first training program. 12:04 We just ran four months live in training program. 12:08 Wow. 12:09 Encouraged whole families to come and train. 12:12 And we ran 12 programs all together 12:17 between 1998 and 2007. 12:21 About 400 people going through. 12:22 Wow, that was 400 people? 12:24 You said, you started it with your life savings. 12:28 Yes. Right? $20,000. 12:31 All of the things that you just named sound like 12:34 it amounts to more than $20,000 worth of... 12:37 Yes. 12:38 Well, we had to buy the land and build the road, 12:40 do the fencing, 12:42 build the accommodation, etcetera. 12:43 And that 20,000 just shrunk very quickly. 12:47 So where did the rest come from? 12:49 Well, God had given us the promise 12:51 that He would provide all our needs. 12:53 So, Matthew 6:33... 12:56 Oh! I've got that open too. 12:58 You wanna read it? Yeah. I'll read it. 13:00 Sure, absolutely. 13:01 Matthew 6:33, says, 13:03 "But seek first the kingdom of God 13:05 and His righteousness and all these things will be 13:09 or shall be added to you." 13:11 So, we begin resting... 13:13 standing on that promise. 13:15 Uh-huh. 13:17 In 1996, today, we're still standing on that promise, 13:21 and God has never failed. 13:23 So as we needed funds, funds would come. 13:26 And God was leading us into a faith journey 13:29 which meant we were learning to trust Him. 13:34 So it wasn't very long before... 13:36 The vision for what we were there for begin to grow, 13:40 and people started coming to my wife asking her, 13:44 could she help them with medical needs, 13:46 and she had some basic medical training. 13:49 So she began doing what she could to help them. 13:52 And that grew into a clinic 13:54 and the bush hospital type thing. 13:56 And over the next four years, 13:57 she treated 6000 people for all different sicknesses. 14:02 She's self trained to be a midwife, 14:04 delivered over 60 babies. 14:05 Wow. 14:07 But that, then began to open up new opportunities. 14:12 One of the things that the local village 14:15 leader had asked us was to start a school. 14:19 And so, 14:21 we started the school as a literacy school 14:26 for the poorest of the poor in our community. 14:29 One of our local converts, 14:31 we employed her as our first teacher, 14:33 she had grade two education herself, 14:36 and so she was teaching 20 kids on a veranda, 14:38 how to read the Khmer language. 14:40 And she had a second grade education? 14:43 Second grade education. Wow. 14:44 So how did that work? 14:46 It worked well, 14:47 because she knew the difficulty of language. 14:51 Uh-huh. 14:53 And, but the God had a much bigger vision in mind 14:55 to see what He does. 14:57 And we don't limit God's vision, it'll grow. 15:00 And so today that school is a K to 12 bilingual school. 15:06 My first teacher, she still teaches, 15:08 but now she teaches sewing in the school. 15:11 Wow. 15:12 And we have about just under 300 students. 15:15 Wow. 15:17 That's pretty full school out there. 15:20 You know, as a supporting ministry, 15:22 how have you been accepted 15:24 by the Cambodia Adventist Mission? 15:29 This is something that's really a blessing in Cambodia. 15:33 Our Adventist Mission is very cooperative. 15:38 When I first had the vision 15:40 for the ministry that we do and the lay training, 15:42 I went to the Cambodia Adventist Mission president, 15:45 Pastor Daniel Walters, 15:47 and told him what God had put on my heart, 15:50 and he embraced the idea. 15:53 And then as we looked at 15:56 as our ministry started to grow, 15:58 we were training people, 16:00 pastors were selecting who would come to train. 16:04 And then the mission was taking them 16:05 and sending them out to be church planters. 16:08 So we had this very close working relationship. 16:11 Later with the school, 16:13 we needed to register the school, 16:16 we went to the mission and asked, 16:17 could we register under their foundation? 16:20 And they agreed, we would operate it, 16:24 they wouldn't have any saying how it ran. 16:27 But it would be registered as a church entity. 16:30 Wow. 16:32 God also showed us that we would run an orphanage. 16:36 And so in 2003, we began an orphanage. 16:38 And again, 16:40 we registered that under the church foundation. 16:43 And so throughout the years, 16:45 we've had this very close working relationship. 16:48 And our Cambodia Adventist Mission extends 16:51 that relationship to all supporting ministries. 16:54 So there in Cambodia, 16:55 we have this wonderful opportunity to just unite 16:58 and work together as a team. 17:00 So when we have us, 17:02 the Cambodia Adventist Mission 17:04 has a strategic planning session. 17:06 They call all the heads of the supporting ministries 17:09 to come in and contribute. 17:10 And that way we're all on the same page, 17:12 we're all working together, the common goal. 17:15 So our working relationship is excellent. 17:17 Yeah, it sounds like a great working relationship. 17:19 And it's, you know, you can really see 17:22 how God is rewarding that walk of faith 17:25 and the obedience that you had to the calling 17:27 that He's placed on your life. 17:29 I mean, that's exponential growth right there. 17:33 When you think about starting with $20,000 and then, 17:38 you know, He's called you to start a training center, 17:42 then you've got a school, then you've got an orphanage. 17:45 And I mean, there's just so many things that 17:49 and so many different ways that He's grown the ministry. 17:53 Yes. 17:54 Now, I know that you know, 17:56 God has been providing and on time. 18:00 You don't ask for money, do you? 18:03 One of the things God told us was not to ask for money, 18:06 so just to pray. 18:08 And again and again, 18:10 God has stretched our faith 18:13 so that we've learned to trust Him. 18:15 And we've seen miracle after miracle. 18:18 So one of the amazing things 18:21 He's just feeding all these people. 18:24 So, at the peak of the orphanages grows, 18:27 we had 196 children in the orphanage. 18:30 Wow. 18:32 On top of that, our school has a dormitory. 18:35 So we've got kids in the dormitory 18:37 from Seventh-day Adventist families 18:40 out in the countryside, they're too poor to pay, 18:42 or to pay very much. 18:44 So there was a time 18:46 when we were supporting like over 240 kids. 18:51 And we're just depending on God to provide that. 18:54 And He always there on time? 18:55 He always did. Yes. 18:56 Always does. Yes. 18:58 Absolutely. Absolutely. 18:59 Now, do you have any income generating operations? 19:04 We have not had any income generating operations. 19:08 In fact, we added to 19:12 our program a media ministry... 19:16 Inspired partly by 3ABN. Praise the Lord. 19:19 So we have a studio. Uh-huh. 19:20 We have a green screen like your green screen here. 19:22 Okay. 19:24 And we produce videos in the Khmer language. 19:27 Oh, the Khmer language, Cambodian... 19:31 Cambodian. Correct? 19:32 Okay. Yeah. 19:33 So we send them out to the different churches 19:36 through the Cambodia Adventist Mission 19:37 to help support the evangelism they're doing. 19:40 So we're running school, orphanage, and media center. 19:45 Wow. 19:47 And all of that is costing lots of money. 19:49 I believe it. 19:50 And we believe that Ellen White... 19:52 From what Ellen White said that supporting ministries 19:56 should really be self-supporting, 19:59 if possible. 20:00 So we, for years we prayed for God to show us 20:05 how we might become self-supporting. 20:08 And it just seemed impossible. 20:11 Given that Asia, 20:14 it's very cutthroat where everybody works. 20:16 There's not much markup, so it's hard to make money. 20:19 Uh-huh. 20:21 But we live in a tourist town. 20:23 So Siem Reap is the home 20:25 to the Angkor Wat temple complex. 20:26 Okay. 20:28 And we get three million visitors a year. 20:31 And so tourism is the one area that you could make money. 20:35 One day a friend came and he said, 20:37 Tim, why don't you start a butterfly garden 20:39 for tourists? 20:41 Uh-huh. Wow. 20:42 So like, we've got all of these things 20:45 that we're doing and we're trusting God... 20:47 Uh-huh. 20:48 And now we have a potential way of making money, 20:51 but it's gonna cost money to make it happen. 20:53 Wow. 20:54 So I was skeptical. 20:58 But I took it to God, 21:00 and God began to convince me 21:04 this was what He wanted. 21:07 So I sat down and roughed out some plans. 21:10 I'm a biologist by training. Oh, really? 21:12 And I had visited many butterfly gardens 21:15 prior to the idea of being given to me. 21:18 And I roughed out some plans 21:20 and came up with a figure of about $400,000. 21:23 Wow. Wow. 21:26 And it's like, God, we can't do this. 21:29 We are living from day to day, like the Israelites in desert. 21:34 Uh-huh. 21:35 And you want me to do $400,000 project? 21:40 Well, I said to God, you better give me a sign. 21:43 Mm-hmm. 21:44 And so I asked for something very simple. 21:48 I asked to see one particular butterfly, 21:52 laying its eggs on its host plant. 21:54 This is a butterfly project, 21:56 so we're gonna use butterflies as the sign. 21:58 And if God would allow me to crowd source, 22:03 then I should see this butterfly 22:05 laying its eggs. 22:07 Wow. 22:08 Well, that was over four years ago. 22:10 And I have never seen that butterfly lay its eggs. 22:12 Even though I've captured the female butterfly 22:15 and put her in a cage with the host plant. 22:17 Uh-huh. They just die. 22:19 They won't lay eggs. Wow. 22:20 And so, I got a clear sign from God 22:25 that this was not His will for us to ask for funds 22:30 to build this theme park. 22:32 Wow. We had to trust Him. 22:34 This was the next step on our faith journey. 22:37 Wow. 22:38 So, in 2016, 22:42 we have been praying 22:45 that God would send us a donor to help get started. 22:51 We've learned that we don't need all the funds. 22:54 Other projects we've done like building our television studio, 22:58 we just need a donation. 23:00 Television studio, we got a donation for $200, 23:03 so we started. 23:04 Wow. 23:06 Fifteen months later, 23:07 we finished after spending 70,000 23:09 and we never asked anybody for money. 23:10 That is incredible. 23:12 So we learned that's how it works for our ministry. 23:15 Yes. 23:16 And so we began praying 23:18 and God inspired a donor here in the US, 23:22 who we didn't know, but he had heard about 23:25 what we were doing with orphans, 23:27 that he was willing to sell a townhouse 23:30 and give the money 23:31 for long term support of the orphans. 23:33 Wow. 23:35 He sold the townhouse for long term support 23:37 of the orphans? 23:38 So we asked him, well, we told him, 23:41 we've got this project we wanna do 23:42 and it's for the long term support of the orphans, 23:45 would you be willing for us to use part of that money 23:49 toward this project, as well as supporting the orphans? 23:53 And he agreed. Wow. 23:55 So when the money arrived, we began to build. 23:58 Uh-huh. 23:59 And it wasn't long before the money had gone. 24:01 Yeah, I believe it. I believe it. 24:03 And one of the things 24:06 that I've struggled with through my ministry 24:11 is the poor Christian mentality. 24:13 Elaborate on that? 24:15 So, as a Seventh-day Adventist Christian, 24:18 often I feel like, oh, poor me. 24:22 I look at those with lots of money. 24:24 Uh-huh. And I think poor me. 24:26 And I've struggled with this 24:29 and I know it's wrong 24:30 because we haven't got a poor Father, 24:32 we got a rich Father. 24:34 That's right. That's right. And we got a generous Father. 24:36 That's right. 24:37 His problem is that we think, poor me. 24:40 Uh-huh. 24:42 So when I designed the butterfly garden, 24:45 which is one of the largest in the world, 24:49 I decided that 24:50 we were going to go all out for the glory of God. 24:54 It didn't matter what it cost. 24:56 We were gonna do it for the glory of God. 24:58 That's right. 25:00 And so, this new journey of faith began. 25:04 And God has really, really blessed. 25:08 Amen. Amen. 25:10 Again to go back 25:13 to the initial $20,000 investment. 25:17 And then that growth and that growth 25:19 and you know, continuing to listen to the Lord 25:22 and be obedient to what He's calling you 25:25 to do each time. 25:26 And each time it's a walk of faith. 25:27 Yes. 25:29 You don't know where the money's coming from, but... 25:30 No. 25:32 You know that God is going to provide. 25:33 I now have over 80 people working for me. 25:35 Wow. 25:37 We're supporting all these kids 25:38 in the orphanage and in the school. 25:41 So we spend around $20,000 US a month now. 25:45 Wow. 25:47 And we're just waiting on God to provide. 25:50 The miracle that's happen in my heart. 25:54 I don't stress about it. 25:56 In fact, the closer the deadline gets 25:58 to needing the money, the more excited I get. 26:01 Yes. 26:03 Because I know a miracle is about to happen. 26:04 Amen. 26:06 And coming here to the United States, 26:08 we saw miracle after miracle happen. 26:10 How long was your flight coming here to the United States? 26:15 I had four flights, 26:16 with the total traveling time of 44 hours. 26:18 Forty four hours? Yes. 26:20 That is a long, long time. 26:24 Okay, so I wanna go back to the butterfly garden. 26:29 Yes. 26:30 You said, it's one of the largest in the world. 26:32 Yes. Wow. 26:33 We actually have a video of the butterfly garden. 26:36 Let's take a look at that. 26:51 The amazing journey 26:52 here at Butterfly Paradise continues. 26:54 In December of 2018, we opened the doors to the public, 26:59 not yet finished, but the garden, it's beautiful, 27:02 the waterfalls are working, 27:03 there's fish in the pond, there's crocodiles, 27:05 there's turtles, there's rabbits, 27:09 there's birds, and, of course, there's butterflies. 27:12 It's a great place for people to come and visit. 27:15 Just recently, we brought the cinema online, 27:17 so visitors are now able 27:19 to move into the air conditioned cinema 27:21 to get out of the heat. 27:22 And enjoy videos that focus on God as creator. 27:27 Soon the restaurant will be finished, 27:29 the educational area will be finished, 27:31 a small animal house will be finished 27:34 and the souvenir shop 27:35 and will be able to open to the public fully 27:38 and advertise it in a big way. 27:40 And we'll see lots of people 27:42 coming in to enjoy the beauty here 27:44 and to learn about God as their creator. 28:02 A Butterfly Paradise was created 28:05 with three primary goals. 28:07 One of the goals is to raise funds 28:09 to support the orphanage 28:11 and the schools that we operate. 28:13 The second goal is to help people 28:16 experience God through creation, 28:19 through the design in nature. 28:21 And the third goal is to give our young people here 28:24 that are coming out of school, coming out of the orphanage 28:27 with professional work experience 28:31 before they move on to other jobs elsewhere. 28:45 In addition to Butterfly Paradise, 28:47 we are in the process 28:48 of setting up a souvenir workshop 28:50 where our young people can use their hands 28:54 and the creativity that God has given them 28:56 to create little masterpieces 28:58 that we can sell in our souvenir shop. 29:00 And thus generate more income, income for them 29:03 and income for our mission 29:06 of supporting the orphanage and school. 29:08 In addition, we're also building 29:11 and almost finished a tropical plant nursery, 29:15 so that local visitors coming to Butterfly Paradise, 29:19 to see all the beautiful plants in here 29:21 and think they'd like to have them in their garden. 29:23 So they can go to the other end of the car park 29:25 and purchase those plants 29:27 and take them home 29:28 and make a little bit of paradise 29:30 in their garden as well. 29:35 A lot of people have been praying for this project. 29:37 It's a faith based project. It's not quite finished yet. 29:41 But we would invite you to join us in prayer. 29:44 Pray that God will send the funds 29:45 that we need to finish 29:47 and also pray that God will send visitors 29:49 because without them, we can't tell them about Him, 29:52 and without them we won't generate the income 29:54 that we need to support the orphanages 29:56 and the schools. 29:58 You could also promote Butterfly Paradise, 30:01 share the news 30:03 about this wonderful place with your friends, 30:05 and you can like us on Facebook and on TripAdvisor as well. 30:29 That is a beautiful, beautiful place. 30:33 Do you ever have like, devotion there? 30:37 I go there a lot... Uh-huh. 30:39 Just to enjoy the presence of God. 30:43 I sneak in there after everybody's left 30:45 in the evening, go and sit 30:47 next to a pond and feed the fish. 30:48 Nice. 30:50 And just relax knowing that 30:52 God created all this beauty to bring joy to my heart. 30:56 Yes. 30:57 It seems like a very peaceful, peaceful place. 31:01 You've been walking in faith for so long. 31:04 What lessons can you share 31:06 about your walk in faith? 31:11 God is an extravagant God. 31:13 You can see that when we look at nature, 31:17 you look at the butterfly and the colors. 31:21 And God wants to extravagantly 31:25 pour out His love and blessings upon us. 31:29 But often we restrict Him because we don't trust Him. 31:40 We don't ask. 31:41 Is that poor me type of thing? 31:43 The poor me. Yeah. 31:45 If you think of the story of the lost son, 31:48 we usually focus on the lost son in that story, 31:51 but there's the older brother, 31:53 then when the lost son comes home, 31:54 the older brother is all upset and says, 31:59 "Why have you never given me a party?" 32:02 And the father says, "Everything I have is yours." 32:05 Wow. You never asked. 32:07 Yeah, yeah. 32:08 And as God has led us 32:12 on this faith journey, 32:16 we realized that we don't receive 32:19 because we don't ask. 32:22 And often we don't receive very much 32:24 because we don't ask for very much. 32:26 Yes. 32:28 If we will ask for the glory of God, 32:32 He's gonna give it to us. Amen. 32:35 In John Chapter 15, Jesus says, "Ask whatever you desire, 32:41 and I'll give it to you." 32:43 Now, that could be taken the wrong way. 32:44 Yeah, yeah, it could. It could. 32:48 But before that, He says, abide in Me. 32:51 There we go. 32:52 So, if we're abiding in Christ, 32:55 what we're gonna ask for 32:57 would be what Christ would desire. 32:59 Absolutely. 33:00 And so through this faith journey 33:02 we've been learning if we desire what God wants, 33:06 if we ask, He'll give it to us. 33:08 Yes. 33:11 So, He gave us a lay training program. 33:16 And He's given us hundreds, 33:19 maybe thousands of souls as a result, 33:22 as people have gone out and shared the gospel. 33:27 He gave us an orphanage. 33:31 And as a result of that, we've had a lot of kids. 33:34 Yes. 33:36 The orphanage... He gave us the school. 33:39 And again, it's, we've learned to trust Him... 33:46 but it's been growing. 33:48 I like to think of it like a piano, 33:53 the piano is like the faith of Jesus. 33:54 It's a gift that God gives us. 33:57 But I have to learn to play. Yes. 34:00 And the more I practice, the better I get at making 34:03 that piano produce a beautiful sound. 34:05 So the more I practice using the gift of faith 34:09 that Jesus gives us, 34:12 the better I get it using it. 34:14 Yes. 34:15 And God has, He's still teaching us. 34:19 You know, I thought Butterfly Paradise, 34:22 once it was finished, we get a lot of tourists, 34:24 and we would move from being faith 34:26 based to being self-supporting. 34:29 And that worried me 34:31 because I enjoyed living by faith. 34:33 Yes. 34:34 But it hasn't gone there yet. 34:37 Well, it sounds like you're getting a little extension. 34:39 It's still not finished. 34:41 And so God is extending my faith. 34:44 Yes. 34:45 So now on top of everything that we are doing, 34:47 we are also by faith supporting 34:51 the operation of Butterfly Paradise 34:52 and we're establishing these other industries. 34:57 And so God has really stretched us 35:00 to the next level. 35:02 And I appreciate God for doing that. 35:05 Amen. 35:06 Because it's a constant learning and realizing, 35:09 if I would just trust God 100%, 35:12 He would do far greater than He's already done. 35:15 Absolutely. 35:16 Now with the orphanage, 35:18 what happens with the orphans 35:20 is as they continue to grow older? 35:23 I know that I talked to you previously, 35:26 like prior to this interview, 35:28 and we were discussing 35:30 what happens when they get a little bit older. 35:34 When the orphans come in, 35:35 they can stay in the orphanage until they're ready to leave, 35:39 assuming that they're keeping the rules. 35:41 Yes. 35:43 And so we have some orphans that are in their 20s, 35:45 and they're still studying, 35:47 or they still need to be there for various reasons. 35:51 But our goal is to give them an education, 35:55 equip them to serve God 35:58 and then where possible give them work. 36:01 Nice. 36:02 So you provide them with the opportunity 36:03 to serve God too? 36:05 Yeah. 36:06 So, as God has been inspiring us 36:07 to grow the ministry, 36:09 He's been through these young people 36:11 coming out of the orphanage and school, 36:13 supplying us with a workforce of young, 36:17 enthusiastic people. 36:18 Yes. 36:20 And so I said, we have over 80 people working for us. 36:23 The majority of those 80 people 36:25 eventually come through the orphanage and school. 36:27 Wow. 36:28 And so for me, that's really exciting 36:31 because as I invest my life in these young people, 36:35 my reward is to see them growing up 36:38 and using their skills and talents to serve the Lord. 36:41 Yes. 36:42 And I think that a certain level of passion 36:45 comes along with that, 36:47 because, you know, 36:49 they were an orphan at one point, 36:51 they experienced that 36:53 and how much help 36:55 or how much value it added to their life. 36:58 And so now they wanna share that with others 37:00 that are coming through as well. 37:03 How has this journey impacted your family? 37:09 My wife, her name is Wendy. 37:11 And I came to Cambodia 37:14 with a strong faith in God, 37:16 and with two small boys. 37:19 So, we raised our boys to be Cambodian. 37:25 Okay. 37:27 And what do you mean by you raised them to be Cambodian? 37:31 What do you mean by that? 37:32 Well, a lot of missionaries, and this is not wrong, 37:34 but a lot of missionaries 37:37 see their children back in the home country. 37:39 Okay, I got you. 37:41 And having a future in the home country. 37:44 We wanted to see our children as missionaries. 37:47 Okay. 37:48 And we put no timeframe on 37:51 when our service for God 37:53 will end as missionaries, that's up to God. 37:56 That makes sense. 37:57 So we decided that 37:59 what would be great if we're still in the mission field, 38:01 if our children are in the mission field with us 38:03 when they grow up. 38:05 So we raised them to speak 38:06 the Cambodian language to read and write, 38:09 they went to school, they learned that 38:11 and to interact with the local people, 38:14 so that they were their own. 38:17 And so, I guess it was logical 38:19 that eventually our children would fall in love 38:21 with local girls. 38:23 We have two boys. 38:25 And so that's what happened, 38:26 they fell in love and they've married local girls. 38:28 Nice. 38:30 Local girls were on staff, 38:31 and had been through our school 38:33 and one of them through the orphanage. 38:36 So now, they and their spouses 38:40 work together with us in the ministry. 38:43 We also took a young girl seven year old girl 38:47 into our home when her parents had died. 38:50 And so we raised her as our own, a Cambodian girl. 38:54 And so she's grown now, 38:57 married, and her and her husband 38:58 work for us as well. 39:00 So she manages our souvenir industry. 39:03 Okay. 39:04 And her husband manages our plant nursery. 39:07 Okay. Okay. 39:08 And so for us as missionaries, it's an amazing opportunity 39:13 because we have all our children living around us, 39:18 working together with us in the ministry. 39:20 Which is beautiful. 39:22 You know, there are so many things 39:23 that are vying for our attention nowadays, 39:27 and even back a couple years ago, 39:29 and years before that, 39:31 what lessons did you instill in your children? 39:37 I'm not sure that we actually tried to instill them, 39:39 but it just came naturally 39:41 because our lives are based around serving others. 39:46 And so, it was just natural to involve our children 39:49 in serving others as well. 39:52 And so, they've adopted that as their lifestyle practice 39:57 to live their lives in the service of others. 39:59 Amen. 40:01 And God has blessed them with skills 40:05 that complement our skills, match our skills, 40:09 so that we can all work together as a team, 40:12 working in different areas of the ministry, 40:15 but growing the ministry for the glory of God. 40:17 And He's blessed each one of them with a helpmeet? 40:19 Yes. Yes. Yes. 40:21 So now they have a wife, 40:23 they can assist in the ministry as well. 40:24 And my grandchildren live next door. 40:26 Nice. Nice. 40:28 You're a close family. 40:30 Yes. Yes. Wonderful. 40:32 What vision has God given you 40:34 for the future of your ministry? 40:38 So, many years ago, 40:41 while we were on a Pathfinder camp, 40:43 up near what they call a mountain, 40:46 what you would call a hill. 40:47 Okay. 40:49 I felt a strong impression by God 40:52 that we should have a health retreat 40:56 to minister to the rich Cambodian people, 40:59 who were suffering from lifestyle disease. 41:02 And God spoke to me in such a way as to say, 41:06 I want this piece of land for the health retreat. 41:10 But He went beyond that. 41:11 And He said, I want that piece of land for a campground. 41:15 Wow. 41:17 At that time, that didn't seem possible 41:20 for various reasons. 41:22 But God put all the pieces of the jigsaw together. 41:25 So that today we own this. 41:27 Well, I say we own those two properties, 41:30 the Cambodia Adventist Mission owns us two properties. 41:32 Okay. 41:34 And here that's something I'd like to highlight. 41:35 When our ministry buys land, 41:37 we give it to the Cambodia Adventist Mission. 41:39 So they own it, and we develop it for them. 41:42 Nice. 41:43 So we had this property. 41:45 And once the work on Butterfly Paradise 41:48 is completed 41:50 and the other industries are functioning properly. 41:52 Then I hope to turn my attentions 41:55 to developing this health retreat, 41:57 where we can reach out to the rich Khmer people. 42:01 Yes, yes. How do you determine? 42:05 And now I want to shift to church planting. 42:08 How do you determine where to plant a church? 42:11 And what's that process like? 42:17 The church planting that our church planters, 42:20 the ones we trained have done. 42:22 We asked them to pray about it. 42:25 Asked them to pray, 42:27 where would God like to send them? 42:29 And so each of them were praying 42:32 and they submitted to us 42:33 where they felt God would lead them to go, 42:36 and so we sent them. 42:38 And sometimes it seemed crazy. 42:43 One couple, who were barely literate, 42:47 being through our four months training program, 42:49 I said, "Where do you want to go?" 42:50 They told me, a place about 25 miles away, 42:54 which was pretty hard to get to it at that time 42:56 because the roads were so bad. 42:58 This is 1999. 43:00 So, I said okay. 43:02 There's not many people live out there, it's very poor. 43:04 Uh-huh. 43:06 But he had one relative there, so we sent them. 43:10 And they began church planning. 43:13 Now, like I said, they were barely literate. 43:16 But they believed in spiritual gifts. 43:19 And they believed in the gift of healing, 43:21 and in the gift of deliverance. 43:23 Yes. 43:24 And so they ministered to the people 43:26 in those villages there 43:27 by praying over the sick and seeing miracles, 43:30 and by casting out evil spirits. 43:32 Wow. 43:34 So in this rather remote village, 43:37 they planted a church. 43:39 And today we've added to what they've done 43:42 by adding a school. 43:44 So we have a three classrooms school there. 43:46 And they have a nice church building now, 43:50 and the church is growing. 43:53 So back when we asked them, where would they like to go, 43:59 it seem like a foolish place to go, 44:02 but we'd ask them to pray and let God lead them. 44:04 Yeah. So now we have a church there. 44:07 And from that church has grown two more churches. 44:10 Wow. 44:11 So we can see that sometimes the wisdom of God 44:15 is not the wisdom of men. 44:17 Yes. 44:18 Oftentimes, that's the case. 44:21 And it's evident that God was leading 44:23 as they picked that particular location 44:26 to do the church plant. 44:28 Well, we personally benefited from that 44:30 because one of our daughter-in-law's 44:32 came out of that church plant. 44:34 This story gets better and better. 44:37 Wow. 44:38 Okay. 44:41 How many people go out, like for a church plant? 44:45 Initially they would be sent in twos. 44:47 Twos? Okay. 44:48 And the way we were doing was families, 44:49 so husband and wife. 44:51 Okay. 44:52 We're training husband and wife to work together 44:53 as a ministry team. 44:55 Nice. 44:56 What does a day in your life look like? 44:58 Because there's been so many different things, 45:00 school, orphanage, training program, 45:04 butterfly garden, 45:05 what does a day in your life look like? 45:07 There is no typical day. Okay. 45:10 But you know, I would begin the day with my devotions, 45:13 have breakfast with my wife, 45:15 and then be at the school by 7 o'clock in the morning 45:18 for staff worship. 45:19 Okay. 45:20 After staff worship, 45:22 I may remain around the school for a while 45:23 or I may go off to do other things. 45:26 Yes. 45:27 So throughout the day, I would be 45:30 meeting with my staff in different areas, 45:32 making sure they know what they're doing, 45:35 have what they need to make things happen, 45:37 discussing plans together with them. 45:41 Obviously, for the last four years, 45:43 Butterfly Paradise has taken a lot of my time 45:46 working with the builders and working with staff 45:50 and students on planting it, etcetera, 45:54 this time with the media people. 45:56 Yes. 45:58 And I also do the electrical work. 46:01 So any electrical problems I'll fix. 46:03 Wow. 46:05 One of my "hobbies" is extracting teeth. 46:08 So at any point in my day... 46:10 Extracting teeth is one of your hobbies? 46:13 Yeah. Like from humans or what? 46:14 From humans. 46:17 So, I go to day and a half's training for dentist once 46:22 and learn how to do the injections 46:25 and extract the teeth. 46:26 Yeah. 46:28 And so, now village people will show up at any time a day 46:31 with painful teeth and ask me to help them out. 46:33 So usually what I'll do is just lay off whatever I'm doing then 46:36 and go and pull their teeth 46:38 and get back to what I was doing. 46:39 Wow. So my day has a lot of variety. 46:44 I like that. Uh-huh. 46:46 Half way, I mean, 46:48 you just went from church planter 46:50 to tooth extractor. 46:52 So, yeah, there's a lot of variety there for sure. 46:54 Yeah, it could be doing electrical work 46:57 to pulling a teeth. 46:58 Yeah. 47:00 To rushing off to teach a class. 47:03 Yeah. There's never a dull moment? 47:04 No. Never a dull moment. 47:06 I never... 47:07 This list of things to do get any shorter. 47:09 Yes, yes. 47:12 What would you say that you enjoy the most about ministry? 47:21 I think the most rewarding thing 47:24 is to see people 47:27 that we've loved into the kingdom of God. 47:30 Love other people into the kingdom of God. 47:32 Yes. 47:34 And just to see the passion that we have for 47:40 telling people Jesus is coming 47:41 to be passed on 47:44 and see that passion being passed on. 47:47 Yeah, continuing the path forward. 47:49 Yeah. Yes, yes. 47:50 So, you know, I don't get a paycheck, 47:53 so I don't get up every day to go 47:54 and go out and work because I need money. 47:57 Yes. 47:59 I get up every day and go out to work 48:00 because I'm excited about serving the Lord. 48:03 Amen. This is purpose driven. 48:05 Yes. Yes. 48:06 And so when I see the fruit of that, it brings joy. 48:11 Amen. 48:12 What are some of the needs of the ministry? 48:17 Finance is always a need. 48:19 Absolutely. People. People. 48:22 So, we get a lot of, 48:23 we need volunteers to help teach in our school 48:26 and do other things. 48:27 So currently, we have seven volunteers. 48:30 They come from all over the world. 48:31 Most of them are self supporting volunteers as well. 48:34 Oh, wow. 48:35 They may have year 12 education 48:36 or they may have a university degree. 48:38 We don't really mind 48:40 because we believe in spiritual gifts more than degrees. 48:43 Uh-huh. Okay. 48:46 And so, yes, we need people and we need prayer. 48:51 Prayer definitely changes things, for sure. 48:55 What would you say to someone 48:58 who wants to get involved in ministry, 49:00 but kind of on the fence? 49:03 I would say if you hear God speaking, 49:05 please do not say no. 49:07 Just follow the leads that God is giving you, 49:10 because God has got an amazing adventure for your life. 49:14 Yes. I can see that in my own life. 49:16 Yes. 49:18 And if you would just follow God's plan, 49:20 you're gonna have an amazing adventure 49:22 and do things you could never have imagined 49:23 you could be doing. 49:25 Amen. 49:26 And how did you discover your purpose in life? 49:30 By making my life available to God. 49:34 So, both my wife and I, we decided we will go anywhere, 49:39 do anything for any length of time, 49:42 God calls the shots. 49:45 And the purpose of my life I guess, 49:48 the primary purpose has been to be 49:51 where God wants me to be doing what God wants me to be doing. 49:54 Amen. 49:55 Through that I've learned so many other things. 49:57 Yes. Yeah. 49:59 What are some signs that you're walking in your purpose? 50:04 Like how do you recognize once you've arrived in the purpose 50:08 that God has set forth for your life? 50:10 The joy that you feel, the miracles that you see, 50:15 the transformation in other people's lives. 50:18 Yes. 50:20 And your wife, 50:23 she deals with medical missionary? 50:26 She teaches medical missionary work. 50:28 She teaches nutrition, cooking. 50:32 And she does the medical, 50:35 manages the medical side of the ministry, 50:38 patching up the kids in the orphanage 50:41 and doing first aid for the community now, if they needed. 50:43 And she and I work together 50:46 as co-directors of the ministry 50:48 so, whoever says something that goes. 50:51 Nice, yes. Yes. 50:53 Well, you know, we're going to get ready 50:56 to go to a short news break 50:59 and after the new break, we will be right back. |
Revised 2019-12-03