Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY190086A
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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 00:30 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, I'm Shelley Quinn. I'm JD Quinn. 01:11 And we are so glad that you are joining us 01:14 once again for a Today program. 01:16 We have... 01:18 Somebody said I use the word exciting all the time. 01:20 I get excited about 01:21 what God is doing throughout the world, 01:24 but we have a very inspiring 01:26 and informative interview for you today. 01:30 But first we want to take this opportunity 01:32 to thank you once again from the bottom of our hearts 01:35 for your love, your prayers and your financial support 01:38 because if it weren't for you, 01:40 we couldn't be doing what we were doing, 01:43 and you know 01:44 this is the Mending Broken People network. 01:46 We're reaching people around the world. 01:49 People are coming to know Jesus. 01:51 They're coming into the church 01:53 and we're very excited about that. 01:55 Let me read a scripture for you. 01:58 This is Matthew 6:33, one of my favorites 02:02 and actually I had not chosen a scripture 02:04 before we sat down on the set and one of our guests said, 02:09 this is what they're hanging their hat on. 02:11 Yes. Amen. They're nailing it. 02:13 And it's Matthew 6:33, these were the words of Jesus. 02:17 He said, "Seek first the kingdom of God 02:21 and His righteousness, 02:24 and all these things shall be added to you. 02:27 This is following him, say, 02:29 "Don't worry 02:31 about what's going on in your life today." 02:34 Yes. 02:35 Each day has enough problems of its own, 02:39 so don't worry about tomorrow. 02:40 God will supply all your needs. 02:43 That's what our guests are saying, 02:45 so let me go ahead 02:46 and introduce these two men of God. 02:51 And first we have Israel Prasad. 02:54 And, Israel, you are the Director, 02:58 the Indian Director for Jesus for Asia. 03:02 Yes. And we're very glad. 03:03 Is this your first time here on 3ABN? 03:06 Yes. Yeah. Yes, it is. 03:08 We are glad you are here. Thank you. 03:09 We're anxious to hear your story. 03:11 And then we have Jon Wood, 03:12 who is the President and co-founder. 03:15 You and your wife Natalie began Jesus for Asia. 03:18 Yes. 03:19 Jon, just give us the reader's digest version, 03:22 why and how did you start this ministry? 03:24 Okay. 03:25 Well, it's a long story, but it started in 1996 03:29 when I was converted on a mission trip 03:30 through Cambodia. 03:32 Heard my first AK-47 go off behind me. 03:34 And I realized that I had so much peace and joy 03:38 'cause I knew at that point I was in God's will. 03:40 I didn't wanna go back to my life of being... 03:43 following my own will. 03:44 Praise the Lord. 03:46 And so I gave my life to Christ then 03:47 and within a couple of years, the Lord led me to 3ABN. 03:51 And as I first time I ever saw people take the Word of God 03:55 for the daily sustenance, the whole entire ministry. 03:59 And when you say he led you here, 04:00 you actually worked here. 04:01 Yeah, so I worked here for a couple of years 04:03 and my paycheck was being, 04:05 was coming from somebody's faith. 04:07 Amen. 04:08 And I was like, wow, you know, 04:09 and so then God called me to work at PUC, 04:12 Pacific Union College, 04:13 teach there in the film and television program. 04:15 And then 2001, 3ABN went to India to Ongole, 04:21 and they invited me to come and photograph, 04:23 and I saw 40,000 people sitting on the ground 04:26 at an evangelistic series. 04:28 And it blew my mind, I'm like, wow, I wanna be part of that. 04:31 Amen. 04:33 I wanna be part of God's way of His gospel 04:35 going into the whole world. 04:36 So I started praying and just agonizing 04:39 and thinking for several years and then in 2005, 04:41 stepped away from our regular income 04:44 and we started a ministry. 04:45 Had no income, we had no estate, 04:47 we have no equity, we had a little bit of debt, 04:49 but we had the promise that you just read. 04:51 Amen. 04:52 And when we seek His kingdom... At first. 04:54 And here we are 14 years later and God has provided. 04:57 We are in eight different countries in Asia. 05:00 We have Bible workers in India, and lot of different projects 05:03 that just makes, just brings us a lot of joy. 05:06 Amen. 05:07 And you know what I find about 05:10 anytime we talk with somebody 05:11 who has been ministering in India. 05:14 When people have been put in a caste system 05:17 and told that they cannot, 05:18 you know, their local beliefs, the Hindu beliefs. 05:21 They're taught that they can, they're untouchables, 05:26 they're undeserving 05:28 and when they hear about the love of Jesus, 05:30 it is life changing. 05:32 So that's why you have these huge crowds that come 05:37 and, you know, it may start off with 30,000 one night 05:40 and be 50,000 the next and 60,000, 05:43 and they come from all around, it's amazing. 05:46 Everybody wants to stand on the promise of hope. 05:49 Amen. Amen. 05:51 Okay. Yeah. 05:52 I was like... Well, we love music. 05:54 So who's gonna sing for us today? 05:56 Well, Shelley, we're blessed because Stephanie Dawn, 05:59 accompanied by her step-father Dann Thornton, 06:03 "From the Rising of the Sun." 06:18 From the rising of the sun 06:22 Until its setting 06:26 The name of the Lord is to be praised 06:34 From the rising of the sun 06:38 Until its setting 06:43 The name of the Lord is to be praised 06:55 Lord is high above 07:00 All nations 07:04 His glory is above the heavens 07:10 And from the rising of the sun 07:16 Until its setting 07:20 The name of the Lord is to be praised 07:56 O Lord, You're high above all nations 08:04 Your glory is above the heavens 08:11 And from the rising of the sun 08:16 Until its setting 08:21 The name of the Lord 08:24 Is to be praised 08:29 And since that glorious morning 08:33 When the stone was rolled away 08:39 Because You live we rise 08:42 To give our offering each day 08:49 From the rising of the sun 08:53 Until its setting 08:58 The name of the Lord is to be praised 09:06 From the rising of the sun 09:09 Until its setting 09:14 The name of the Lord is to be praised 09:22 The name of the Lord 09:26 Your name O Lord 09:31 The name of the Lord is to be praised 09:53 She just inspires, ain't she? 09:56 Her voice is so beautiful and thus is so... 09:59 She's such a sincere Christian. 10:00 It's so clear. Yeah. Yes, it is. 10:02 Thank you so much, Stephanie. Yes. 10:04 Well, if you're joining us just a moment late, 10:06 our special guests today are Israel Prasad 10:09 and Jon Wood with Jesus for Asia. 10:13 Amen. 10:14 Now, what we want to do, Israel, 10:16 before we talk about the ministry 10:19 that you are now finding yourself involved in. 10:23 Please... Let's go back. 10:25 Did you grew up in a Christian home? 10:27 Yes. Okay. 10:29 So where did you grew up in India? 10:31 A place called Chennai in South India. 10:34 When you say it's Christian, 10:36 was that a Seventh-day Adventist Christian? 10:37 Yes. 10:39 Tell us a little bit about yourself? 10:40 Yes, I'm a born Seventh-day Adventist and my parents, 10:42 my mom was a Seventh-day Adventist. 10:45 My father was a very strong Hindu man. 10:47 Okay. He hated Christian people. 10:50 And, he was really, really strong on his belief, 10:54 and he never let my mother to go to church, 10:57 and most of the time she was hiding 10:59 and going to church. 11:01 Because she cannot give up her faith 11:03 and she's brought up that way. 11:04 And God is mightily inspired 11:07 through a Father to know about this truth. 11:10 So after knowing the truth, she cannot give up. 11:13 So she stood very firm for this truth. 11:16 And then what, how... 11:17 Tell us what happened, 11:19 your mother is sneaking off to church, 11:21 keeping the faith, rearing, 11:23 you have a brother and a sister? 11:24 Right. 11:25 So she's rearing you to know the Lord. 11:28 Yes. 11:29 But you're seeing this strong praying mother, 11:32 how did that affect your father, 11:33 I mean what was going on? 11:35 Yeah, one particular day 11:37 she was going to church as usual, 11:39 and my father came to know that she went to church. 11:42 When she came back home, he was very angry 11:44 and he took hold of the Bible 11:47 which was under a bag hidden, 11:50 and he caught hold of the Bible, 11:51 he tore the Bible and just threw it 11:54 and he said, "You're not going anymore to that church." 11:57 And my mother never gave up praying. 11:59 Amen. 12:00 She was praying, fasting and praying for my father. 12:03 And God touched my father. 12:06 He became the head elder of that church which he said... 12:10 Of the Seventh-day Adventist Christian Church! 12:11 Yes. I love it. I love it. 12:14 He became a very strong believer. 12:17 And, Jon, you knew his father... 12:18 Yes. His father was a... 12:20 Became a very gentle and compassionate man 12:23 and strong Christian. 12:25 So, I just wanna say one thing before you jump off on this. 12:29 Ladies, do not give up praying for your husbands. 12:32 A praying wife or a praying husband 12:35 can make all the difference in a marriage, 12:37 and it's important that they're on the same pitch. 12:40 And the point I just want to bring up, 12:42 allow God to be God. 12:44 Amen. God is Almighty. 12:46 God is the Creator. 12:47 God cares and He does hear our prayers. 12:52 Amen. Yes. 12:53 Amen. Wow. 12:55 All right. 12:56 So when you were just a little baby boy, 12:59 you became very ill. 13:00 Tell us about this praying mother and your illness? 13:03 Yes, I was born like other kid, a normal kid with healthy body, 13:08 healthy, you know. 13:10 But unfortunately when I was 9 months old, 13:13 as I was just playing in my house, 13:16 my mother was doing her work. 13:18 All of a sudden, 13:20 down to my neck completely every part of, 13:24 you know, legs and were paralyzed completely. 13:28 And it was not moving, 13:29 it was not functioning and I was just, 13:33 you know, there, just lying 13:35 without any movements in my body. 13:37 When my mother saw it, she was terrified. 13:40 She was afraid. 13:42 She came and took hold of me because it was like a paper. 13:46 My head was functioning, all my other organ body, 13:49 it was just like paper hanging without any support. 13:52 Polio. 13:54 Yes, very terrific polio, 13:55 and she took me to the hospital 13:58 which was nearly two miles from my house. 14:02 She went all the way walking to the hospital 14:06 and went and met, saw the doctors 14:08 to do something for me 14:10 so that I'll be cured and I'll be normal again. 14:13 But, it was so sad that they gave up. 14:15 They said, "We cannot do anything for your son 14:18 because he's very strongly affected by this disease. 14:22 So we cannot do anything." 14:24 But she never gave up. 14:26 She said, "At least for my sake, 14:28 for my satisfaction, 14:30 please do something for my son." 14:32 They said, "Okay for your..." You know, it's just for... 14:35 And she was calling on the name of Lord 14:36 most of the time. 14:38 Yes. Yes. 14:39 And, they said, "Okay, yeah, we will do it." 14:41 All those 40 days when I was in my cast, 14:44 she was praying continuously for fasting and praying for me. 14:49 And every time she comes to the hospital, 14:51 the other mothers who were seeing her doing this, 14:54 they used to advise her, 14:56 "Please you don't die, you know, your son is gone. 14:59 His life is ruined, that is all. 15:01 He's not going to come anymore. 15:02 So you don't spoil your life. 15:04 You don't die." 15:06 She said, "No, I have a living God. 15:08 He's not going to let me down. 15:10 I'm not going to, you know, stop praying or, 15:14 you know, I have that hope, that faith 15:16 that God will heal my son completely 15:19 or to an extent of he can do things of his own, 15:22 not depending on others for help." 15:25 And the time came for the third cast to be removed... 15:28 So you've got the first casting, 15:31 they remove it and the legs are still limp. 15:34 The second casting, they remove and your limbs are still limp. 15:37 Still limp. But the third casting... 15:39 When the doctors cut open that, they were amazed. 15:44 God performed such a mighty miracle 15:48 in the medical field 15:49 because the doctors said, 15:51 "We've never seen anyone cured from this effective polio." 15:55 Glory to God. 15:57 And when they opened all my hands and my legs, 16:00 you know, by the grace of God 100% came. 16:03 My right leg has got 75% of good health but the 25%, 16:08 it's because my mother prayed. 16:11 She said, "You heal him completely 16:14 so that he can do what you know by himself, 16:17 not depending on someone." 16:18 God answered the prayer, 16:20 you know just like I'm really, 16:22 you know, when my mother tells me about this incident, 16:26 it always makes me cry. 16:28 Well, it should because 16:30 He is still a miracle working God, 16:32 not everyone gets to be the beneficiary of a miracle, 16:36 but you obviously were because 16:38 God knows the end from the beginning. 16:40 He had a purpose for your life. Amen. 16:42 So you grow up then in love with the Lord, 16:46 you really had a relationship with the Lord. 16:48 You went to Spicer University, what did you study there? 16:52 I did BBA. 16:53 So that's a Bachelor of Business Administration. 16:56 You come out, what happened after college? 16:59 If you don't mind please, 17:00 I want to share some more thing which happened in the hospital. 17:04 Oh, sure. 17:05 When the other mothers were seeing 17:07 what was happening to me, they were touched. 17:10 Oh, I'm sure. Amen. 17:12 They came to my mother, they said, 17:14 "Your God is a true living God." 17:16 Oh, wow. 17:17 Hallelujah. Amen. Amen. 17:19 So your mother was a witness to the entire community. 17:22 Yes, yes. Amen. 17:25 And then I went to Spicer, and all of my life 17:27 I studied in a Seventh-day Adventist school 17:30 and then went to college. 17:32 I did my BBA there, and from there I went home 17:35 and for some reason, 17:37 I was not inspired to work in the mission, 17:40 you know, but I had that faith, 17:43 you know, keeping up the Sabbath 17:44 and everything was there, 17:46 but I was just going like that 17:48 and that is when 17:49 my father was insisting on me very strongly 17:52 that I should get a job. 17:54 So that is when I got a job in call center. 17:57 In those days... In the call center, okay. 17:59 Yeah, in those days it was a very god job, 18:02 you now because they were paying high salary 18:06 and I got a job. 18:08 But, unfortunately I didn't have Sabbath off. 18:11 I went and talked with my team leader. 18:13 I went and talked with my manager 18:15 because they used to batch the call, 18:17 every call we make and they used to complain 18:20 that your calls on Friday's are dropping down. 18:23 You are not doing the best. 18:24 Why, what is the reason? 18:26 And I tell them that this is the day 18:28 where I worship my Lord. 18:30 I cannot work here, 18:31 and you know God gave me a privilege 18:33 of sharing this truth with my fellow workers there. 18:36 Amen. 18:38 And they said, "Oh, we are very sorry 18:40 because since I was working for an American company, 18:43 Friday was end of the week 18:46 and we have to achieve all the targets on that day 18:49 and they said, "We cannot give you Sabbath off." 18:51 But still my mother was praying about 18:54 because she was really worried 18:55 that I'm working now on Sabbath. 18:58 So, and when we are talking about Sabbath, 19:01 we're talking that the Sabbath, 19:03 according to the Bible is from sundown to sundown, 19:07 so sundown on Friday evening. 19:09 So you wanted off in time that you could be home 19:13 and in place to worship the Lord. 19:15 Yes. Was this a night shift? 19:17 Yes, it's a night shift. 19:18 Oh, it was a night shift 19:19 because you missed the whole night shift. 19:21 Yeah. Oh, okay. 19:23 I was in India 19:25 and I was working for an American company so... 19:26 Okay, I got you. 19:28 Yeah, it's night time and I quit the job, 19:31 and that is when I came to know about Jesus for Asia. 19:34 I came and joined this ministry just for 1000 rupees salary. 19:40 So you went from what 300 and... 19:43 About $500. 19:44 Five hundred dollars a month to... 19:46 Twenty five dollars. Wow. 19:47 You went from $500 a month to $25 a month. 19:52 Yeah. That's amazing. 19:55 That's amazing. I mean... 19:57 But then we go back to Matthews 6:33, right? 20:00 Amen. But I mean that... 20:02 Seek first the kingdom of God. Yes. 20:03 And that shows that God... 20:05 There was a call on your life for this. 20:07 You are now the India Director for Jesus for Asia. 20:11 Right. 20:12 And you have, in India a lot of Bible workers. 20:17 Tell us what the Bible workers are doing. 20:21 And I think we've got a couple of pictures 20:23 of your Bible workers. 20:24 But tell us about that? Yeah. 20:26 Well, we started out with one Bible worker 20:28 back in 2005 20:30 and now we're up to 300 Bible workers in India. 20:31 Wow. 20:33 Now all of these Bible workers in this picture? 20:35 The two on the right, the husband and wife team. 20:38 They used to be, he used to be a Pentecostal pastor. 20:40 Wow. 20:42 He is now converted his entire church 20:44 over to Adventism. 20:45 Praise the Lord. 20:46 And he's our Bible worker, so is she. 20:48 Okay. 20:49 Are you satisfied with 300, I mean... 20:51 No. 20:52 There's 400,000 towns and villages in India 20:55 that have never heard the gospel of any kind. 20:58 So we could easily hire another 1000 21:00 by the end of this year. 21:01 My goodness. Yeah. 21:03 And for people who don't know what Bible workers do, tell us, 21:06 our audience what they're doing? 21:08 Sure, yeah. 21:09 They are the national worker, they already are there, 21:12 they already know the language, 21:13 they interact with their culture, 21:16 and so they just go to door-to-door, 21:18 knock on people's doors, 21:19 do you have anything we can pray for. 21:21 Somebody maybe sick, maybe have tuberculosis, 21:24 they start praying for them and Jesus heals them 21:27 and then they become believers. 21:29 And they also give Bible studies or...? 21:32 They give Bible studies. 21:33 They also take care of the churches 21:34 'cause there's lot more churches 21:36 than we have pastors in India 21:37 so they take care of two, three churches 21:40 and do the outreach. 21:41 And many of them, 21:42 some of them do the evening schools also. 21:44 They oversee the evening schools, make sure that... 21:46 And we're gonna start talking about those evening schools, 21:48 but now you work closely with the conferences 21:52 so the administration, 21:55 do they kind of oversee the Bible workers as well? 21:57 Yes. 21:58 For example, 22:00 if we have a Bible worker in a conference, 22:02 the conference president is our area coordinator. 22:05 Okay. 22:06 He supervises the work and he gives us a report 22:09 and I go, see, oversee the work there 22:13 and go to the field, encourage them 22:16 and along with me the president also comes. 22:19 Praise the Lord. It's wonderful. 22:21 We go to the railway stations, 22:24 we go to the bus stop 22:25 where our workers are gathering. 22:27 We pray there, from there they go to the areas. 22:30 Glory to God, and you, 22:32 I know you're seeing baptisms from this. 22:34 How much you said you could use with 1000 tomorrow 22:38 if you have the funds? 22:39 How much does it cost per month for a Bible worker? 22:42 It's less than a $100 a month 22:44 to sponsor a full-time Bible worker. 22:46 Amen. That's amazing. 22:50 A huge, it's such a great investment. 22:52 Absolutely. 22:53 'Cause we're averaging about one baptism 22:55 per Bible worker per month. 22:57 Glory to God. That is... 23:00 But now you're also seeing baptisms 23:02 from a television ministry. 23:04 Imagine that. Tell us about your TV ministry? 23:09 Yes, this was started when I was invited 23:12 to preach in a local channel. 23:14 That was the first time I experienced, 23:16 you know, and I went, I spoke. 23:19 After my message, I was waiting in the lobby 23:22 and there was that phone which was ringing. 23:24 I went and answered. 23:25 It was a lady from Sri Lanka. 23:27 She said, "I was blessed by your message." 23:30 Glory to God. God touched my heart. 23:32 This one message, 23:34 if it can touch a person's heart. 23:37 Outside of India, even Sri Lanka. 23:39 I was just thinking, 23:41 God inspired me very, very strongly 23:42 that you know if one message can change a heart, 23:46 imagine if we have a TV ministry. 23:48 Amen. 23:50 That is when we started 23:52 with lot of prayer this TV program, 23:55 TV ministry. 23:56 And I know, let look at some of the pictures 23:57 that you have here for the TV ministry. 24:00 This young, see the tall man there. 24:03 Tell us about this young tall man? 24:05 He's our JFA Bible worker, Pastor Dora Raj, 24:08 he's a retired conference president. 24:12 Now he's working as a volunteer. 24:14 Okay. 24:16 And the young man next to him? Yes. 24:18 It is their house, 24:20 they went to pray with that young man 24:23 because he was watching our television program. 24:26 He was really like, you know, he wants to kill himself... 24:30 Suicidal. 24:31 And he was ready for that. 24:33 That is when he saw this program in the TV, 24:37 talking to him, saying that 24:39 God has a new beginning in your life. 24:43 Because at that time, 24:44 his business was completely gone, 24:46 his family was ruined, everything was gone. 24:48 He said, "Why should I live?" 24:51 And he gave up. 24:52 And when he heard, God has a new beginning. 24:56 And there we have this 24/7 telephone number 25:00 which goes down there. 25:02 He called that number, 25:04 and it was my mom who is also a prayer warrior 25:07 who answered the call, she said, 25:10 "Oh, yes, what can I do?" 25:12 "I heard this pastor telling me that God has a new beginning. 25:17 Who is this God? 25:19 I want a new beginning in my life 25:21 because my life is completely gone." 25:23 She started to pray with him, console him, 25:26 give him Bible study. 25:28 By the grace of God, now he is ready for baptism. 25:31 Praise the Lord. You know, this is some... 25:33 I imagine most of our viewing audience knows this, 25:37 but to me the Holy Spirit is present everywhere. 25:41 Amen. 25:42 I mean, he's taking care of godly business in India, 25:48 and he's taking care of godly business say in Dallas, Texas. 25:52 And He can do all that at the same time. 25:54 Yes. Wow. 25:56 So this gathering picture that we just saw, 26:00 that is in the church. 26:02 Is that where you've been using for studio or...? 26:04 Yes, yes. Okay. 26:06 And then we've got another picture that... 26:08 Tells about this one? 26:11 And this is the house, you know, 26:14 a couple called us 26:16 because they did not hear this message 26:19 before the remnant truth, the Sabbath message. 26:22 They come from a Christian background, 26:25 Sunday worshipper background, 26:27 but they've not heard about the Sabbath message. 26:30 Okay. 26:31 So when they were hearing this message in the TV 26:34 and when they were connected with the prayer warriors, 26:37 they were telling them about this truth 26:41 which is the true Sabbath day according to the Bible. 26:45 They were impressed, they were really. 26:47 They told these prayer warriors till this day, 26:50 our pastor has never told us this truth. 26:53 We don't know, this is very new to us. 26:56 How come my pastor didn't teach me this 26:58 from the Bible? 27:00 You are using the same Bible what we are using. 27:03 Why did he hide this message 27:04 which is a very important message? 27:06 And she was really impressed 27:08 and she called the prayer warriors for her birthday. 27:11 She said, "You are coming to this birthday 27:13 because it's very special 27:15 because I have accepted this Jesus Christ, 27:17 the new Sabbath day. 27:19 You know, I wanted to celebrate with God's people, 27:21 so please come." 27:23 These prayer warriors, they bought the cake 27:26 and the saree and dresses... 27:27 How precious. 27:29 You know, for this couple and they went to Coimbatore, 27:33 and along with them Pastor Dora Raj was there, 27:36 and they went as a team 27:37 and there she invited her pastor, 27:41 the previous pastor, 27:43 that group their church as a whole. 27:46 Now was this the Pentecostal pastor? 27:47 Yes. He's a Pentecostal pastor. 27:50 Yes, you can see in the picture, 27:51 you know, the... 27:53 I think we end up seeing him in a baptismal pool, don't we? 27:56 Yeah. 27:57 Is that him? Oh, not this one. 27:59 Oh, okay, he's another one. Yeah. 28:01 And he was there with his members 28:03 and here these two prayer warriors, 28:06 they started preaching, 28:08 teaching about the true Sabbath. 28:10 Her Pentecostal pastor was very, very angry. 28:13 He got up, he said, "You all come, 28:16 we are not going to stay here anymore. 28:18 These people are anti-Christ. 28:20 They're false witnesses, no." 28:24 And this really made an awareness, 28:27 brought an awareness to those couples 28:30 because they have never seen their pastor getting so wild 28:33 because they have an impression 28:36 that God's children will be very soft and, 28:38 you know, that too a pastor. 28:40 He was very angry and they said, 28:43 "Pastor, we have invited our friends to our house. 28:47 Why are you doing like this?" "No! 28:50 You know, these people are really false prophets." 28:54 But they are speaking from the Bible. 28:56 They had this argument between their church members. 29:00 And as a result, he said, "No, I'm going," and he went. 29:04 This man stood up, the owner of the house 29:07 who was getting the Bible study by the prayer warriors. 29:09 He said, "This is my house, they are not going from here, 29:13 you go out of this house." 29:15 So he, 29:17 all of them became Seventh-day Adventist Christians. 29:21 That pastor did not, but the gentleman 29:23 we just saw in the baptismal pool, 29:27 was he a pastor as well? 29:29 Yes. 29:30 He's our Seventh-day Adventist pastor. 29:32 But who is he baptizing here? 29:34 A member of that group. 29:36 A member of that group. Praise the Lord. 29:39 That's precious. 29:40 And you talk about your TV message, 29:42 I mean, shown once a week or twice a week or...? 29:45 It's twice a week. Okay. 29:47 And we have a local channel 29:49 which is every day we have program. 29:52 So that twice a week is on the national channel. 29:54 Yes. 29:56 And then you have a local channel, that's twice a day. 29:58 Right. So you stay busy. 30:00 Yes. Oh, you do it. 30:03 I think that you brought a little video. 30:06 We want to see more about their television ministry. 30:09 You know, we are so blessed to live in this day and age 30:12 because there are tools and technology available to us 30:17 that I'm sure through your television ministry, 30:20 you're finding that you can reach people 30:23 who might not answer the door, 30:24 might not let you in their home to do a Bible study, 30:27 might even be like this pastor who say, 30:31 hey these people are wrong, 30:33 but when you're using the Bible, 30:36 and people can go see it in the Bible 30:38 to see that it's not your message, 30:40 but it's what the Bible says. 30:42 It's bringing people 30:43 into a relationship with the Lord. 31:12 Hello. Praise the Lord. 31:15 When she gets a call, this is a rough note. 31:18 She'll write it on this notebook. 31:20 And once after writing it, she'll put it in this notebook. 31:26 This is the date, time, when they've called, 31:29 the person, the phone number, 31:31 from where they've called, and what is the request. 31:37 We've just traveled across the northern half 31:40 of the state of Tamil Nadu. 31:42 And what's amazing to me 31:44 is that almost every single church we go into, 31:46 especially on Sabbath, somebody's there 31:49 because of the television ministry. 31:52 They heard about the Sabbath 31:54 through the Television ministry. 31:55 They heard about God 31:56 through the television ministry. 31:58 And so, it's been a real eye opener to me 32:02 to see how effective this ministry has become. 32:06 Through this program 32:08 God has given this beautiful whole family. 32:12 Today, the head of this house, he took baptism. 32:16 People came and asked her, "What is happening? 32:18 We can see a lot of changes in your family, 32:21 changes in your physical health. 32:23 Your husband has given up drinking. 32:25 He has given up smoking, chewing tobacco. 32:29 What is happening?" 32:30 And she said, "I've accepted the true Jesus Christ 32:34 as my personal savior. 32:35 He's leading us. He's giving us this strength. 32:39 These people started asking her, 32:41 would you please give us the number 32:43 where you're calling and asking for prayer. 32:46 We too want them to pray for us, 32:48 because we are also in problem. 32:54 So these people have taken baptism. 32:57 They are going to church, attending churches now. 33:00 I just wanna encourage you to be a part of this ministry 33:03 that brings souls into the truth. 33:06 It goes into their living room, on the television. 33:09 It's something that comes in and gives them hope. 33:12 And it changes their lives for the better, 33:15 and it's so exciting to be part of this. 33:17 Please remember this ministry in your prayers 33:20 'cause it's making a huge impact. 33:33 You know, JD commented is that 33:35 it was playing the most amazing thing 33:37 about that is when she said, 33:39 I have accepted the true and living God, 33:42 Jesus Christ as my personal savior 33:44 because 85 to 90% of the people in India are Hindus. 33:48 Yeah. 33:50 In Hindu religion, there's not a lot of hope. 33:52 Tell us what Hindus believe? 33:54 Hindus believe in reincarnation, 33:56 so this life is one out of millions of lives to come. 34:01 They believe in the caste system 34:03 so whatever caste system you are born into, 34:05 that's where you have to stay. 34:07 And so that's a socioeconomic thing 34:09 that if you're in one of the lower, 34:11 I mean I know that we once interviewed a man, 34:14 I met a man who is pastor now 34:17 in India Seventh-day Adventist Christian. 34:20 He grew up on the streets and I hugged him, 34:23 and you know we'd been talking for a couple of hours 34:25 the three of us, and afterwards I hugged him. 34:27 And he just broke down crying because he said, 34:29 "I never had a mother to hug me before, 34:33 and it was something that, 34:37 he was one of the... what they call untouchables. 34:39 If you're born into that lower caste, 34:42 they think you did something bad in your life before 34:45 and you have come into live like this, 34:47 so many of these people are shunned by everyone else. 34:52 Yeah. 34:54 They have about 300 million gods. 34:56 Three hundred million gods! 34:58 Yes. That's amazing. 34:59 And their life is to appease the gods, 35:01 so the gods won't visit difficulties upon them. 35:05 So they're constantly trying to pay penance 35:07 and do something to appease the gods. 35:09 Yeah, so. 35:11 Well, now, Jesus for Asia 35:16 does a lot of different kinds of ministries 35:19 besides the Bible workers and the television. 35:22 Let's talk about what I know is 35:25 Israel's favorite part of the ministry 35:27 because his eyes light up 35:30 and shine when he's telling the stories. 35:32 Tell us what you're doing for the children? 35:35 Yes. 35:36 By the Grace of God, 35:37 we were able to start this project 35:39 for very, very poor children 35:41 who do not have even proper meal a day. 35:47 So this was when I was a Bible worker working in that place 35:51 called Chembarambakkam. 35:53 We were, I was going around with my uncle, 35:56 we both were Bible workers that time. 35:59 And we saw they were so many little children 36:02 who did not have proper food, 36:04 who did not have proper shelter 36:06 or education you know, 36:08 and they were just scattered here and there, 36:10 and they were using bad words 36:14 and they were stealing for food, 36:16 and they were all different kinds, 36:18 you know, very, very bad, 36:20 and that really touched my heart. 36:23 And you now, I was praying, O Lord you love Your children. 36:27 Amen. 36:28 Because in the Bible you say, that I love children. 36:31 When I saw these children having this terrible life... 36:35 You know, I was impressed to start something for them, 36:38 and that is when God really put this ministry 36:41 to give them free education 36:43 because they did not have proper education 36:45 and moreover give them a stomach full of food. 36:50 Amen. Amen. 36:51 A meal, nutritious food and... 36:55 So tell us what you're doing? 36:57 You have schooling for, 37:00 going from the first grade to the tenth grade? 37:02 Yes. 37:03 You're going into the poorest of villages, 37:05 the poorest of towns. 37:06 And a village can be what? 37:08 A 150 to... Several thousand. 37:11 To several thousand people, 37:13 and you are now in nine locations, 37:16 but tell us what the program is about. 37:19 You're feeding them, you say, you feed them. 37:21 What do you feed them? Yes. 37:23 And this is all about two and half hour program every day 37:27 and now we start the school at 5:30 in the evening 37:31 and children come to the school and first we go with them... 37:34 We have teachers who are teaching them 37:36 the education, you know, giving them education, 37:39 math, science and all the subjects 37:42 and after that, half an hour we teach them Bible. 37:45 Amen. Teach them how to sing songs. 37:48 Teach them how to pray and teach them 37:51 every day one stories from the Bible. 37:54 And these children, you know, 37:56 they're really very much into this biblical part. 38:00 They love it because they've not heard before. 38:03 You know, they've never known what to do with, 38:05 you know, praying. 38:07 What is prayer? They don't know what is prayer. 38:09 And when we teach them that you're calling to someone 38:13 who can support you, 38:15 who can give your needs and they're so happy 38:18 because they don't have that in their home. 38:21 There's no one to, you know give them 38:23 what they ask for 38:24 and when we taught them about prayer, 38:26 there were miraculous stories 38:28 happening in these evening schools. 38:30 Children every Friday's also we have schools 38:32 but we call it as a "Talent night." 38:34 We don't teach them the worldly education, 38:36 only we tell them it's talent night 38:38 whatever you have studied all the week, 38:40 you know you come and recite those memory verses 38:43 or you give a witness, 38:45 you know what God has done to you 38:46 and sing those songs... 38:48 Like a vespers program, huh? 38:50 Yeah. Okay. 38:51 And you know these children, 38:52 they come and they tell us that, 38:55 you know, I lost my pencil, I knelt and I prayed, 38:58 God gave me that pencil. 39:00 Amen. How precious. 39:01 And there are children who come and say, you know, 39:05 I was in need of this, 39:07 like I didn't have proper clothes to wear. 39:10 I was praying. 39:12 God answered my prayer. 39:14 Praise God. 39:15 So you teach them 39:17 and they do go most of these children 39:19 to a government school 39:20 but there you don't know 39:23 if the teachers are gonna show up 39:25 or if they're qualified teachers 39:27 so they come from 5:30 to 8:00 every evening, 39:31 and you feed them what kind of food? 39:33 I mean, these children would not have, 39:36 some of them may only have one meal a day 39:38 if they're lucky enough to have a meal. 39:40 And what do you feed them at night? 39:42 We give them grams, you know mixed with vegetables, 39:46 and we call it "sambhar." 39:48 You know that is the famous dish in South India, 39:52 children love it. 39:53 If you serve that, you need to make more food. 39:58 You know, a small kid of maybe third grade 40:01 would eat three times. 40:04 Three helpings. Three helpings. 40:05 Yeah. Wow. 40:07 So sad to see because you know, they don't have that at all. 40:10 Yeah. 40:12 I'm so happy that God has this ministry 40:14 to support those helpless children. 40:17 Amen. 40:18 I think we've got a couple more pictures of the children, 40:20 they're so precious, and we see them coming here. 40:24 We've got some at the school, 40:26 and then I know there's another cool picture of yours... 40:29 Oh, tell us this story 40:31 because you mentioned to me 40:33 when we saw this picture previously 40:36 that the little girl in the middle, 40:37 Jon, what did you say about her? 40:40 She has two children. 40:41 She's pregnant with a third and she's just turned 16. 40:45 Sixteen! Yeah. 40:47 And a third child on the way. Yeah. 40:51 And she would have no hope 40:55 if she couldn't get a good education. 40:57 Yes, right. 40:59 She would not have a healthy baby 41:00 if she could not get a good meal to eat. 41:04 But how amazing is that? 41:08 This particular village is so outcast 41:11 that our Bible worker couldn't go and start, 41:14 we couldn't start an evening school right away. 41:16 They were afraid of outsiders. 41:19 And so our Bible worker went and she just befriended them 41:22 over a course of three months, brought them meal every day 41:25 and so she won their confidence, 41:27 then she was able to start 41:28 the evening school in that village. 41:30 And now the villagers are just so excited 41:32 because now that our daughters have an option, 41:35 they don't have to get married at 13. 41:37 Oh. 41:39 They can get an education and have options in their life. 41:42 It's just... 41:44 What a difference. Oh, my goodness, yeah. 41:45 Yeah. 41:47 And if these children, now you're in nine cities, 41:53 how much does it cost for a child per month? 41:58 About $7 per child. 42:00 Seven dollars per month covers the teaching 42:02 and I mean the education... 42:04 Food. And the food. 42:05 Yes and the... Seven dollars per month. 42:10 A lot of people spend $7 a week on something, 42:14 some kind of a soda, or a latte or whatever but $7 dollars. 42:19 We have most of these evening schools in our churches, 42:23 so the churches get used throughout the week. 42:25 Praise God. 42:27 People become familiar with their churches 42:28 and they see our churches now 42:29 as providing to the communities, 42:31 helping the community, not just another religion. 42:34 You had a beautiful picture of this little girl 42:37 and she's got. 42:38 We wanna show you this. 42:40 Ooh, what a precious face. 42:42 Explain what the white dot is there 42:45 between her eyebrows. 42:48 This, they believe that, when they have this, 42:52 their God is with them you know, 42:55 those 3 million or 3 billion you know the God is with them. 43:00 And so we're unfamiliar with the red dot, 43:03 that means they're married. 43:04 Yes. If they are wearing a red dot. 43:06 Like this beautiful little baby. 43:08 So you're not necessarily trying to "convert them," 43:13 but you are introducing them to the Lord. 43:15 Yes. And the Lord reaches them, huh? 43:17 The Holy Spirit convicts them, yes. 43:19 And there was one, 43:22 I was really impressed to see that incident. 43:26 One of the child was not feeling well. 43:28 He was at home 43:29 because he couldn't come to the school. 43:31 He was very sick and these children, 43:33 they got to themselves, they talked to each other, 43:35 they said, "You know, our friend is not here 43:37 because he's not feeling well, we have to go pray for him." 43:41 Wow. Praise the Lord. 43:43 They went and they prayed for him. 43:46 Praise God. 43:47 God answers children's prayers. Amen. 43:50 The next day, the boy was in our school. 43:53 Praise the Lord. 43:54 Amazing witnesses, you know, God is mightily working. 43:58 And I went to a wedding of our first batch, 44:04 you know, student was graduate. 44:07 He was getting married. 44:09 I went to his marriage, he was so happy to see me. 44:11 He invited me and there were so many other friends 44:14 who came to that school. 44:15 And he said, "You know you remember this sir, 44:17 a pastor?" 44:18 Yeah, we remember, yes. 44:20 He was the one, you know, the project gave us food 44:23 when we didn't have food. 44:25 They gave us education, good education. 44:27 They've disciplined us. 44:29 And one of the boy, he came and told me, 44:32 "Sir, whoever came to that evening school, 44:36 our lives, sir, God has blessed our lives. 44:39 Praise the Lord. 44:40 We have a very good job now and we all are settled, 44:43 but those children who did not come to the school, 44:47 they are into drugs. 44:50 Ah. Their lives are not good. 44:53 So, these schools, your attendance is 30-40 44:57 and this is out of the village of maybe a 150 to 1000 people, 45:01 so they're very well attended. 45:03 I mean they're accepted. 45:05 But, how many more schools could you start if... 45:11 Would you like to start? 45:12 Currently, we have a request for another 11 schools. 45:14 Another 11 and... 45:16 But this is super scalable, 45:17 there's so many villages in India. 45:20 Yeah. So many opportunities, but... 45:23 But now, when you have the schools, 45:27 I know you told me a story that the school actually kind of, 45:33 was a launching pad for another ministry, 45:36 a widow's ministry. 45:38 Tell us how and why that started? 45:40 Yes. 45:41 There was this mother, she used to bring her son 45:43 to the school every day. 45:45 She's a very good loving mother 45:47 and she is a very decent mother that time. 45:51 She used to come every evening, talk to me 45:53 and you know and all of a sudden 45:55 then one day what happened was, 45:57 her husband and the cows what they had at home, 46:01 as he was taking care of those cows, 46:03 pasturing them, 46:04 a lightning struck on him and the cows. 46:10 All the cows were died on the same spot. 46:12 And the husband as well. Husband, yes, he passed away. 46:16 And using that situation 46:19 because she didn't have anyone to support her, 46:22 the men in that community started using her, 46:25 abusing her 46:26 and slowly it became her lifestyle. 46:30 She's trying to support and feed children. 46:34 She had nothing else that she could do. 46:36 So she was forced to do that. Yes. 46:39 And after that, you know, 46:41 I came to know this through my uncle 46:43 because she never comes to me, talks to me like before. 46:47 I was thinking that because her husband is no more, 46:50 she is in a sorrow, you know 46:52 but my uncle said, "No, 46:54 her life is completely changed now." 46:56 So the shame wouldn't allow her to look you in the face. 46:59 Look at me. Yeah. 47:00 You know, one day, she came, 47:02 she could not see me face to face. 47:06 That really broke my heart. Sure. 47:08 This beautiful lady, this well-disciplined lady 47:13 see the way her life is now. 47:15 Yeah. Yeah. 47:16 Because there is no one to support. 47:18 So that is how we started this tailoring project, 47:22 the sewing project for the widows. 47:24 And now, these widows, they come, they learn, 47:27 and they have their own livelihood. 47:30 Praise the Lord. 47:31 So you, when they go through this school 47:36 where you're teaching them to sew 47:38 and you know what ladies, 47:39 they don't use patterns in India. 47:41 Everything is done by measurements, 47:43 so there's a little more, 47:45 I guess I'll say talent required or training required, 47:50 but once they go through this school, 47:52 do they get... 47:54 How do they get a sewing machine? 47:57 People provide the sewing machine. 47:59 We give them a sewing machine that they can then go 48:01 and use to start their own business 48:03 and support their families and their kids 48:06 and have a decent life 48:07 and their kids have opportunities then. 48:09 Praise the Lord. 48:11 Does this lady that was widowed, 48:14 did she come to this school? 48:15 Oh, yes. Amen. 48:17 Oh, praise God. Yeah. 48:18 She came and her life was completely changed 48:20 and now she is, you know, having her own life, 48:24 having her own business taking care of the kids. 48:28 Glory to God. Wonderful. 48:30 Now, also, we're just almost out of time, 48:33 but I want to hear, or, 48:35 I want you to tell our viewers about the water project, 48:39 because we've all heard how bad the water is in India, 48:42 and sometimes there isn't any water, 48:44 tell us about that? 48:45 Yes. 48:47 For the last two, three years, 48:48 we didn't have proper rain at all and even before, 48:51 you know, the water is a big problem 48:54 and this particular village called Bharati Nagar, 48:58 they don't have water at all. 49:01 For nearly 12 to 14 days, they get only once a day water, 49:06 and that too they get 50 liters of water, for a family. 49:10 So these ladies, 49:11 they have this big pot on their head 49:14 and one on their hip. 49:16 They go walking nearly four miles one way, 49:20 with the water, with that heavy pot, 49:22 you know, on their head and on the hip, 49:24 they come back again. 49:26 So eight mile round trip for a pot of water? 49:29 Yeah, it was very difficult. 49:31 And that is when they come and requested us. 49:34 It'll be nice if we can give them water. 49:36 The church, because the church already 49:38 was providing food for their children, 49:40 you know, teaching, giving them free education. 49:43 So they come and requested us, and we said, 49:46 "Yes, by God's grace, we can help you out." 49:48 And so we add this water plant, 49:51 you know, started like drilling the well. 49:54 But there were people telling us, you know something? 49:57 Just across the road, you see, 50:00 there is a well without water in a Hindu temple. 50:05 They tried doing it, 50:07 but those loving brothers, they could not get water, 50:11 they didn't have water. 50:12 So they dug a well, 50:14 it just didn't produce anything. 50:15 Any water. There was only smoke. 50:17 And they said, "Don't waste your money, 50:20 and don't drill a well here. 50:22 You are going to go without water." 50:24 But we said, "We serve a living God." 50:27 A living God who gives water even in the wilderness, 50:31 you know, fed so many people. 50:33 So we believe and we just, and they said, 50:35 "No, you need to bring some people 50:37 who does that, all these, you know... 50:40 Incantations. 50:41 Yeah, the diviners and drillers. 50:43 To see where there is water and we said, nothing doing, 50:47 we are praying to the living God... 50:49 We knelt, we prayed 50:50 and we asked the person to drill the well there. 50:53 And then they started, you know, drilling the well. 50:58 By the grace of God, we got beautiful, tasty water. 51:02 How precious so, you know, I'm just thinking. 51:05 When you began this ministry, 51:07 you brought them the living water 51:10 of the Holy Spirit in Jesus Christ. 51:13 And now you are actually bringing them 51:16 the physical water. 51:18 We're going to have to take a break. 51:19 But what we want to do, 51:21 I just believe with all my heart, 51:23 that there are people who are watching that, 51:26 maybe the Lord is impressing upon your heart 51:29 that you would like to support Jesus For Asia,, 51:33 whether it's a onetime gift, or maybe a monthly support. 51:36 Maybe you want to support a Bible worker, 51:39 or for $7 a month, 51:41 you can send a child to the night school. 51:44 Or maybe you want to help with the widows, 51:46 or with the TV ministry, 51:48 because I know you have to pay for that airtime. 51:51 Or perhaps for the water project, 51:53 so, here is how you can get in touch with them. 51:58 If you feel impressed to help Jesus for Asia, 52:01 and its multiple projects, 52:02 please visit their website, Jesus4Asia.org. 52:06 That Jesus, the number 4, Asia.org. 52:10 You may also call them at (423) 413-7321. 52:14 That's (423) 413-7321. 52:19 Or write them at Jesus For Asia, Inc. 52:21 PO Box 1221, Collegedale, Tennessee 37315. 52:27 That's, Jesus for Asia, PO Box 1221, 52:31 Collegedale, Tennessee 37315. |
Revised 2020-02-12