Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY190091A
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00:02 I want to spend my life
00:08 Mending broken people 00:13 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 01:08 Hello, and welcome to another 3ABN Today program. 01:11 I'm Jason Bradley. 01:13 And I'm so excited that you could tune in 01:15 today on this very special program. 01:17 We have Dr. Neil Watts, 01:19 and he is the Field Director of Volunteers In Action. 01:24 Welcome to the program, Dr. Watts. 01:26 Thank you. It's great to be here. 01:27 It's great to have you here. 01:29 This is my first time 01:31 having the opportunity to sit down with you. 01:34 And I'm looking forward to diving into this interview. 01:37 But prior to that we're going to be blessed in song 01:40 by Sandra Entermann. 01:42 And she'll be singing, "Who Am I. 02:00 Who am I, 02:02 that the Lord of all the earth 02:06 Would care to know my name 02:10 Would care to feel my hurt? 02:15 Who am I, 02:17 That the bright and morning star 02:21 Would choose to light the way 02:24 For my ever wandering heart? 02:30 Not because of who I am 02:34 But because of what you've done 02:37 Not because of what I've done 02:41 But because of who you are 02:46 I am a flower quickly fading 02:51 Here today and gone tomorrow 02:55 A wave tossed in the ocean 02:58 A vapor in the wind 03:01 Still you hear me when I'm calling 03:06 Lord, you catch me when I'm falling 03:09 And you've told me who I am 03:15 I am yours 03:29 Who am I, 03:31 that the eyes that see my sin 03:35 Would look on me with love 03:39 And watch me rise again? 03:44 Who am I, 03:46 that the voice that calmed the sea 03:50 Would call out through the rain 03:54 And calm the storm in me? 03:59 Not because of who I am 04:03 But because of what you've done 04:07 Not because of what I've done 04:11 But because of who you are 04:15 I am a flower quickly fading 04:20 Here today and gone tomorrow 04:24 A wave tossed in the ocean 04:28 A vapor in the wind 04:30 Still you hear me when I'm calling 04:35 Lord, you catch me when I'm falling 04:39 And you've told me who I am 04:44 I am yours 04:58 Not because of who I am 05:02 But because of what you've done 05:06 Not because of what I've done 05:10 But because of who you are 05:16 I am a flower quickly fading 05:21 Here today and gone tomorrow 05:25 A wave tossed in the ocean 05:28 A vapor in the wind 05:31 Still you hear me when I'm calling 05:36 Lord, you catch me when I'm falling 05:39 And you've told me who I am 05:45 I am yours 05:52 I am yours 05:59 I am yours 06:07 Whom shall I fear, whom shall I fear? 06:13 'Cause I am yours 06:30 Wow, thank you Sandra 06:32 for that beautiful, beautiful song, who am I? 06:34 Who am I? 06:36 All right, then it is in Christ. 06:38 All right, Dr. Neil. 06:39 Amen. Amen. 06:40 You're also a pastor. 06:42 Correct? I am. 06:43 I'm semi-retired, 06:45 but I'm still pastoring 06:46 and work as an area mentor for pastors in a conference. 06:50 Okay, so tell me a little bit about your background? 06:54 Well, I started in ministry back in 1971. 06:59 And I've worked over time since up until now. 07:03 Fortunately, God's blessed 07:05 and I started off as a young pastor, 07:06 as an evangelist and then into youth work 07:09 and then send out to the... 07:11 What we call the mission field of the South Pacific. 07:13 Yeah, okay. 07:15 And I spent a total of 11 years in various roles 07:18 in the Pacific islands of Papa New Guinea, 07:22 Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu, 07:25 some of those places, 07:27 which are part of the mission field 07:30 of the South Pacific division. 07:31 Wow! What was Fiji like? 07:34 Oh, Fiji is a wonderful place 07:36 and I was teaching there at our college, 07:39 Fulton College, 07:40 and also as the church pastor of the college there. 07:44 Before that I was a missionary 07:46 that used to go around the islands 07:47 in mission boats, and canoes, and little planes 07:50 and so forth 07:52 in remote villages. 07:54 I did that for three or four years. 07:56 And then I came to the capital of Papua New Guinea, 07:59 Port Moresby and was evangelist and university chaplain... 08:03 Wow. Before then moving to Fiji. 08:06 Wow. 08:07 So you've had quite the career 08:08 you've been traveling, traveling a little bit. 08:10 I have, yes. 08:12 After that I came back to Australia 08:14 and went back again to Papua New Guinea. 08:17 When Pacific Adventist College or now university opened 08:21 and was church pastor there 08:23 and also a theology teacher there. 08:26 Wow. 08:27 And then went back to Australia, 08:29 I became a departmental leader, 08:32 Union ministerial secretary and church ministries director. 08:35 Wow. 08:37 And from there became a president in South Australia. 08:40 And from there, I was called out 08:42 to the Pacific Islands again. 08:45 And this time it was to the Western Pacific. 08:47 And I was a union president there 08:50 for three years. 08:52 Wow. What was your childhood like? 08:54 Childhood was growing up in Perth, 08:55 in Western Australia. 08:58 Fairly poor background, working class family 09:01 and my mother was a Seventh-day Adventist, 09:03 my father belonged to the Salvation Army. 09:05 Okay. 09:07 And we prayed for him, asking, 09:11 you know, he had Bible studies for years, 09:13 but resisted that. 09:14 But eventually 09:16 when I was just entering my teens, 09:18 he and I both went to an evangelistic series 09:20 and I decided that I had to make up my mind, 09:24 what to do, 09:26 because I used to go with him on Sunday 09:27 and my mother on Sabbath. 09:29 Oh, okay. 09:30 And so I began studying for myself 09:33 to find out what's the real truth 09:35 and I decided to be baptized. 09:36 And praise God, my father was baptized with me. 09:39 Praise the Lord. And one of my brothers. 09:41 Praise the Lord. That was wonderful. 09:43 And now you're with Volunteers In Action. 09:47 VIA for short, right? 09:48 Yes. That's right. Okay. 09:49 Tell me about VIA? 09:51 What do you do 09:52 and how did you get involved with them? 09:56 Well, first of all, 09:57 VIA started about 22 years ago, 10:01 with a lay couple in Brisbane, 10:04 and in Queensland, Australia. 10:07 And Cliff and Val Morgan was the name 10:10 and Cliff was a retired government school principal 10:13 and teacher. 10:15 And he came out to the islands for some reason 10:17 and saw the great need 10:19 and realize that there's no way 10:21 the missions with their small budgets 10:24 and the amount of resources 10:25 they had could really carry the work forward 10:28 and really fulfill our mission. 10:30 And so he got the vision from the Lord 10:33 that he should try 10:35 and start up an organization that would support lay pastors, 10:39 because there weren't enough trained pastors 10:42 to carry out the work 10:44 and to fulfill all the needs of those islands, 10:46 and Papua New Guinea 10:48 especially is a huge place with 8.5 million people 10:52 and villages scattered all over the mountains 10:54 and everywhere. 10:55 And so we needed a lot more workers, 10:59 and the only way we could fulfill the mission 11:01 that we've been given is to have lay pastors. 11:04 And so he raised up an organization called VIA, 11:07 Volunteers In Action. 11:09 And eventually, 11:11 it's built up to about 126 sponsors 11:16 and about 26 churches. 11:18 Wow. 11:20 And this small group support almost 400 VIAs 11:23 throughout the islands. 11:24 Wow. Yeah. 11:26 So it's a big burden 11:27 for just a small number of people. 11:30 Yes. 11:31 The VIAs are supported with a small stipend, 11:34 just enough to buy essentials basically. 11:36 Uh-huh. 11:38 So they really sacrifice to take on this role. 11:41 Some of them do it for years. 11:43 And it's a challenge for them, 11:44 they really have to work hard and sacrifice. 11:47 Yes. 11:49 And apart from that, 11:53 you know, we cover the big areas 11:57 I'm not sure, the map has been shown, 11:58 but it covers especially Papua New Guinea, 12:02 Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Kiribati, Nauru, 12:06 and we do have a few in other islands as well, 12:08 just we're expanding as we go. 12:10 But that's the main area, 12:12 so there are lots of needs 12:15 in those particular areas of the Pacific. 12:19 And... 12:20 How do you determine what those needs are? 12:23 What's the process there? 12:25 Well, the process basically is some of them fairly obvious. 12:30 They need books. 12:32 They need Bibles, they need other resources. 12:35 And in my role as a field officer, 12:38 I go around and visit with them 12:41 and encourage them and train them and so forth. 12:43 And also ask them what are the needs they have. 12:46 So you'll see some of them on the screen later, 12:49 but some of them are books, Bibles, 12:53 maybe lanterns, 12:55 so they can see at night. 12:56 Okay. 12:57 Some might be utensils they need 12:59 for building their house like a saw, 13:02 to be able to cut timber. 13:05 Some of them need bicycles. 13:07 We've even been, 13:08 being able to provide some with motorcycles... 13:11 Oh, wow. Through a good donor. 13:13 Wow. 13:14 But we can't do much of that. 13:15 But mostly it's a smaller, cheaper items. 13:19 So it's essentially, 13:20 it's implementing Christ method. 13:23 Right? 13:24 You establish relationships with the people, 13:26 you determine what their needs are, 13:29 and then you meet those needs. 13:31 And then you lead them to Christ, correct? 13:33 Yeah. 13:34 Well, that's the work of the VIAs to do that. 13:37 Yes. 13:38 And you've heard of TMI, 13:40 Total Member Involvement, of course? 13:42 Yes. 13:43 That's very much a thing out in the Pacific Islands, 13:46 they really taken on board. 13:47 Gotcha. Gotcha. 13:48 And so the VIAs themselves plus other church members, 13:52 they do a lot of work 13:53 in meeting people in the villages 13:55 and helping them with practical needs. 13:58 And then eventually, 14:00 hopefully winning them to come to meetings 14:02 or Bible studies and to be baptized. 14:04 Amen. 14:06 Now, how has God blessed this ministry? 14:09 Well, He's blessed it in many ways. 14:11 I mean, we have, 14:12 for example, on the screen, 14:14 you'll see a picture of a baptism. 14:16 This is just one of many that happened. 14:19 In fact, every year 14:21 about 3,500 people are baptized 14:25 through the work of these Volunteers In Action. 14:28 Wow. 14:29 And it's amazing. 14:30 The work is growing there so rapidly. 14:34 The local missions can't keep up 14:36 with the amount of church buildings 14:40 that they need, 14:41 plus the amount of pastors to care for them. 14:46 They don't have the money, 14:47 and they don't have the resources of manpower 14:50 or women power to do it. 14:52 So this is where VIA comes into play 14:56 because we're able to provide lay pastors, 14:59 who can go into remote areas. 15:02 They can work hard in places that most ordained pastors 15:06 probably wouldn't want to go, 15:09 and where we don't have enough anyway 15:10 to send them there. 15:12 And so they do a tremendous work 15:15 in building up the church. 15:18 And in the next few years, 15:20 we're gonna have thousands of new evangelistic programs. 15:23 And it's going to be a real challenge 15:27 to build church buildings 15:30 and to provide, nurture, 15:31 and pastoral care for all of these... 15:34 Hopefully, they're planning 15:35 on trying to have 30,000 more baptisms 15:38 in the next year or two. 15:40 Yes. So it's a great challenge. 15:42 But apart from supplying VIAs 15:47 for outreach, 15:48 we also supply roofs for local churches. 15:52 Okay. 15:53 And we have a picture, 15:55 I think that will show us 15:56 what we do is send out 15:59 or get them to buy a metal roofing 16:02 for local churches. 16:04 The old thatched churches, 16:06 which you'll see in the next picture, 16:08 they last for a little while, but don't last forever. 16:12 Okay. 16:13 And so, we're trying as much as possible. 16:15 And over the last, 16:17 I think it's about 19 years 16:18 we've supplied 16:21 1200 to 1300 church roofs. 16:24 Wow, 1200 to 1300? 16:26 Yeah. Wow. 16:28 And so it's about one every 5.7 days 16:30 I think someone has calculated. 16:33 So it's been a great ministry 16:35 to give people a place to worship 16:37 where they're not gonna get wet when they sit inside. 16:40 Yes. 16:41 And it's going to be something that they can rely on 16:43 for many years. 16:44 Yes. 16:46 In that last picture, you saw a group of people 16:47 in front of that old church 16:49 and they've been asking for a roof 16:52 for that bush material church. 16:54 And the people in that church were all brought together 16:57 and build up as a church by one VIA. 17:01 It just gives you an idea of what happens in remote areas 17:04 that if a VIA goes in, 17:06 and he befriends the people, 17:09 conducts Bible studies, 17:10 perhaps runs evangelistic meetings, 17:12 and he builds up a church. 17:15 And as you saw in that picture, 17:16 there are many, many people 17:18 that have been won to the Lord through 17:20 just that one VIA. 17:22 Yes, yes. 17:23 So they're making a world of difference. 17:24 Yeah. Yes. 17:27 So, where does your passion stem from? 17:29 Because you seem like you're very passionate 17:31 about this particular ministry. 17:34 Well, I started in, as I mentioned before, 17:37 I've been a missionary in Papua New Guinea 17:41 and other places, Solomon Islands 17:44 and before and Vanuatu and so on. 17:48 And when I was president, 17:49 some years back in South Queensland Conference, 17:53 Cliff Morgan, the founder of VIA 17:56 was living in that area 17:58 and he would come in and tell me about it, 18:01 it had only been going then for, 18:02 you know, a small number of years. 18:04 But he would come in and tell me 18:06 and share about excitement of seeing what's happening. 18:09 Uh-huh. 18:10 And then each year, 18:12 he and some of the committee members, 18:14 a small group of people, 18:16 they would come in and provide a lunch for us 18:19 as office staff in the conference office 18:21 and share some of the stories and some of the pictures. 18:24 So I got very interested in the work. 18:28 I didn't think, I'd ever be involved in it. 18:29 Uh-huh. 18:31 But what happened after I semi-retired 18:34 from being a president, 18:36 went into other work, 18:38 pastoral work. 18:41 I was working along one day 18:43 and I got a phone call from Cliff. 18:46 And he said, look, 18:47 we've just had retirement from our field director. 18:51 He wants to pull out 18:52 and we thought you'd be a good one, 18:54 you've had administrative experience, 18:56 you've lived in the islands, you can talk pigeon, 18:59 which is a local dialect or common language. 19:02 Okay. 19:04 You've been a Bible teacher and administrator, 19:06 would you be prepared 19:08 to take over Field Director for VIA. 19:11 And so I saw the Lord's leading in that 19:14 and agreed to it. 19:16 So that's how it happened. 19:17 Gotcha. 19:19 Are you married? Do you have a family? 19:20 Yes, I've a wife and two children 19:22 and three grandchildren. 19:23 Nice, nice. 19:25 And so what did your wife say when you told her about this? 19:28 Because I'm sure you told your wife about this? 19:31 When I retired from being president, 19:33 I was due to keep going for a few years, 19:35 but we had family down south 19:38 and she had said, 19:40 why can't we retire now and go down 19:42 while our grandchildren are young, 19:43 and we prayed about it 19:45 and when I was asked to go down there 19:48 and, you know, be part of an area mentoring, 19:53 area coaching program and pastoring. 19:58 She put her arms up in the air and said, praise God. 20:02 She wanted me to get out of the full time work 20:04 of administration. 20:06 Uh-huh. 20:07 And, 20:09 so I went down and did this part time work, 20:10 but it was because I had worked in the islands before. 20:15 And I had a love for the people in the islands. 20:16 And I was happy to do it. 20:18 And, she was happy with it. 20:21 She didn't like the idea of me 20:22 being away for many weeks at a time, 20:24 traveling around, 20:25 but she has been a good support in that. 20:28 Yeah. Praise the Lord. 20:30 What stories can you share of lives 20:32 that have been transformed 20:34 or impacted as a result of this ministry? 20:38 Well, let me... 20:41 I'll give some specific stories later. 20:43 Let me just go to the next picture, 20:45 which shows how remote 20:46 sometimes our work is. 20:50 I went to early this year to the highlands 20:53 of Papua New Guinea, the Western Highlands. 20:55 And that's very remote, very rugged. 20:58 And we're able to charter the mission plane, 21:01 we have one mission plan 21:02 or two is it up in Papua New Guinea. 21:04 Okay. 21:05 I was able to go out into some of the remote areas. 21:08 And we went to a place that, 21:12 you know, flying through these mountains 21:14 and clouds covering them is quite an experience. 21:17 Some who've done it will know, 21:19 where you can't see anything down below 21:21 and you know there are mountains below. 21:23 And the pilot is very skillful looking for a gap 21:25 and he suddenly goes down through that gap 21:27 and you come out 21:28 and there's an airstrip in front of you. 21:30 Yes. 21:31 So we went to this remote place, 21:33 it's just one example of the kinds of areas 21:36 and ministry that goes on there. 21:39 We were dropping off 21:40 some three volunteers to spread out, 21:43 they had to walk for two days to get to their location. 21:46 And they were going to start work 21:48 in those new areas. 21:50 And when we were there, 21:55 we went then into another airstrip 21:57 very, very remote one, 21:59 where there was no mobile phones, 22:01 no connection, no roads out... 22:04 Wow. 22:06 Nothing. They were just isolated. 22:07 Once you're there, 22:09 the only way you could get out was to walk for days on end 22:11 or otherwise, 22:13 get an airplane to come in, which is very expensive. 22:15 Yes. 22:16 So I met this family in our next picture, 22:19 which shows this little man 22:23 and his family. 22:25 And what happened there, 22:27 they started this place or about 11 years ago. 22:32 And he's been there as a volunteer for 11 years. 22:34 Wow. 22:36 Very little education, 22:37 might have had a little bit of training, 22:39 but he would go 22:41 and look after eight different churches 22:43 that he had started. 22:45 The farthest one he had to go for two days walk, 22:48 just to reach it. 22:50 Wow. Two days walk? Yeah. 22:52 And he had very little contact with anyone else 22:55 besides the people in that little village. 22:58 And what was amazing, 23:00 he told me that he was building a church 23:03 and you would have seen in that last picture, 23:06 a church that he was building 23:08 and he wanted to put on roof on it. 23:12 We had supplied some money for the on roof. 23:15 But unfortunately, he had to walk for four days 23:19 with some elders of the church, little helpers. 23:21 Uh-huh. 23:23 Four days to get to the nearest town, 23:25 where he was able to put a piece of iron on his back 23:30 and walk four days back 23:32 and put it on the roof. 23:34 And they had to do that several times. 23:37 Four days there, four days back, 23:39 carrying on their back. 23:40 He would walk four days... 23:42 Yeah. 23:43 And then pick up iron and then put it on his back 23:45 and then walk four days back. 23:47 Exactly. And did that several times? 23:50 Yeah. Wow. That's dedication. 23:52 It is, I always really inspired and felt humbled 23:55 by the dedication and sacrifice 23:57 some of these people give, 23:59 you know, it's amazing. 24:01 That's just one example... 24:02 Yeah. 24:04 Of what happens. 24:06 Yeah, so that was an inspiring story. 24:08 And I really praise God 24:10 that people are prepared to do that. 24:11 Yes. You know, they give up a lot. 24:14 Some of them that I meet with, 24:16 they have children who need to go to school. 24:18 They don't have enough money, they live very basically, 24:22 some like him don't have shops and things to go to. 24:25 And no email or internet, 24:30 no banking facilities, 24:31 they're just out there in the mountains. 24:33 Wow. And it's really humbling. 24:36 So there's lots of stories I could tell you about that. 24:39 And so they pretty much 24:41 utilize the resources that they do have, 24:43 what little resources they do have 24:45 to accomplish the mission. 24:48 That's right. 24:49 I still can't get over the four days, 24:51 back and forth, 24:52 carrying iron. 24:54 I mean, it's enough to just walk four days. 24:57 And this isn't on flat ground. 24:58 This is up mountains and down mountains, 25:01 and bush tracks through the jungle. 25:02 Wow. 25:04 You know, it was very inspiring to hear that story 25:07 and the dedication of them is amazing. 25:10 Absolutely. 25:11 We supply our resources, as I said of all kinds. 25:14 And in the next picture, 25:16 I'll show you a group of people, 25:18 VIAs who we met last year. 25:22 Cliff Morgan, by the way, is one with a white hair 25:24 there in that picture. 25:25 Okay. He's the founder. 25:27 He was 84 years of age... Wow. 25:29 When that picture was taken, and he was still going. 25:32 Wow. 25:33 And these were a group of VIAs 25:35 that had come from the Madang Manus Mission. 25:39 There were many more of them 25:40 there on the day we brought them in. 25:42 We paid for them to come in, some had to come by truck, 25:47 some had to come in by walking. 25:49 Today some had to come by canoe or boat. 25:52 And we brought them all together 25:53 for a few days of training and encouragement 25:55 and sharing resources. 25:57 Five of those men had to walk for five days 26:03 to get to the meetings. 26:05 And then five days back home again. 26:07 Wow. 26:09 And the resources, you might not have seen 26:10 that they are on the picture. 26:12 But, one of the resources we gave them 26:13 was a rubber sleeping mat. 26:16 Because they were sleeping at night, 26:18 just on the jungle floor, and some of them wanted that, 26:22 some of them wanted lanterns, 26:23 some of them had a little solar panels 26:26 that would give them light at night. 26:28 Yeah. 26:29 Others wanted saws, that they could cut timber 26:32 with and build their house or church. 26:35 But the dedication again, 26:37 five days there and five days back, 26:38 just to get to the headquarters of the mission. 26:42 Yeah, it makes me think about all the things 26:44 that we take for granted. 26:45 Oh, yeah. 26:46 You know, I mean, walking five days. 26:50 That's incredible. Yeah. 26:51 That's incredible. 26:53 Most of the VIAs are men, 26:58 some are single, but most are married with families. 27:00 Okay. 27:02 We also have a couple of single women who are VIAs. 27:07 In our next picture of a lady called Brenda. 27:12 She went to a church in a remote area 27:14 of Papua New Guinea in the Highlands. 27:18 And she came to this church where there were 34 members. 27:22 And she worked there with them and with some of the ladies, 27:25 and in one year, they are able to have 43 people baptized. 27:29 Wow. 27:30 You know, that increased the church by 126%, 27:33 I think it is. 27:35 It's incredible. 27:37 She's working with some of the ladies 27:39 in the church now, they visit villages, 27:41 have Bible studies and so on. 27:43 And they've set a goal 27:45 for 100 more baptisms by May, next year. 27:49 Wow. 27:51 So that's a commitment. 27:52 That is. 27:53 And she's one of the few women that do it. 27:55 But there are more and more who are willing to join too. 27:58 So... 28:00 It sounds like an intense work, but one that's rewarding. 28:05 It is. It's very rewarding. 28:07 And the missions are appreciated. 28:09 Yes. 28:10 I have actually one little note 28:12 from one of the mission presidents 28:14 from the Solomon Islands. 28:15 I'll read it to you. Yes. 28:17 Dear, VIA sponsors. 28:18 I want to gratefully acknowledge once again 28:20 your kind assistance to the work of God. 28:23 The VIA program has been a great blessing to the mission 28:26 because we have a shortage of full time workers. 28:29 Please convey our sincere thanks to our supporters, 28:32 and their kindhearted donors 28:34 who contribute faithfully toward this course. 28:37 Had baptism last Sabbath, in Honiara, 28:41 organized churches and companies, 28:44 had a baptism of over 150 28:46 and reports are still coming in. 28:49 Most of these baptisms resulted 28:51 from the work of our VIA ministers. 28:54 God bless you all. Wow. 28:55 So and I have other letters 28:57 like that from mission presidents 28:59 because they acknowledge, that they don't have the money 29:02 or the workers to be able to fill all the gaps. 29:05 Yes. Yes. 29:07 Yeah, it's very much appreciated. 29:09 Laborers are few. Yes. 29:11 Indeed, indeed. 29:12 What miracle stories can you share with me? 29:15 Well, I have a couple of stories 29:17 I could show or tell about. 29:20 First of all, just a general one, 29:22 there was one man called, Stephen. 29:24 He used to go around just with a pictorial aid. 29:27 I don't know if you've seen them. 29:28 They like a book that opens up with the pictures 29:31 of the prophecies and Bible studies. 29:33 Uh-huh. 29:35 And that's all he had. Uh-huh. 29:36 He would just get people together, 29:38 and sit down and talk with them, 29:41 and tell them stories of Jesus and then the doctrines. 29:44 And he would start a church just through doing that. 29:47 Wow. Yeah. 29:49 There's another man who used to just go around by his canoe, 29:52 and he'd have a raincoat, he'd put over his supplies 29:55 and he would go from village to village and talk to people, 30:00 and start new churches. 30:01 Wow. That's happening all the time. 30:03 There's just so many stories like that. 30:05 Yes. 30:07 Sorry. What about? 30:08 Oh, no problem. 30:10 What about casting out evil spirits? 30:12 Yeah. 30:14 Well, there was one story of a devil priest, 30:18 he was wanting to, you know, get rid of Adventists 30:21 in his area, and one of the VIAs came 30:24 and he started to talk with him and then ran meetings at night. 30:28 And to cut a long story short, 30:30 this devil priest and his family 30:33 gave up all of their things 30:37 that they have in devil worship, 30:39 and came to the meetings and gave their life to Jesus. 30:42 Wow. 30:44 So that was just a simple story, 30:45 that's happening, you know, quite regularly. 30:47 Yes. 30:49 There's another man in the Solomon Islands. 30:52 He was a former drug addict. 30:54 And he would go around and talk to people 30:58 about the experience he had with Jesus. 31:00 Run meetings, and again baptisms in another church. 31:04 It just goes on and on. 31:05 So he went from former drug addict 31:07 to just being on fire for the Lord 31:08 and spreading the gospel. 31:10 The next picture I wanna show you is about a man 31:12 who had some remarkable experiences. 31:14 This man is called Max. 31:16 Okay. And he's from Vanuatu. 31:19 Now he preached in one area, which was, I think, 31:24 I won't mention the name of the church, 31:25 but different denomination. 31:27 And he was so successful under the power of the Holy Spirit 31:32 that the pastor of that church said, look, you better 31:36 take over our church because all of our members 31:38 want to become Seventh-day Adventists. 31:40 Wow. 31:42 And so, there was a whole church 31:43 that had come over and they turned that 31:46 other denominational church into an Adventist Church. 31:49 Wow. 31:50 The whole church converted to Adventism. 31:52 That's amazing. Yeah. 31:54 That happens quite a number of times too. 31:56 Yes. 31:58 But on another occasion, the same man, 32:01 Max was visiting a village 32:03 and they'd been a lady there who had, 32:06 was trouble having birth. 32:08 She'd been weeks trying to give birth to a baby 32:11 and the local doctors and witch doctor 32:14 or whatever kinda doctor it was, 32:15 he said, the baby's dead. 32:17 And there's no hope 32:18 and 'cause she was so disappointed 32:21 and crying and she was in pain. 32:24 And Max, and one or two others came along and heard about her. 32:28 Now she had been prayed for and with by her own church, 32:33 nothing had happened. 32:34 The elders of that church have come, 32:36 nothing had happened. 32:37 Max came along and said, could I pray for you please? 32:42 Well, he knelt down with two other helpers with him 32:45 and they prayed to God that he would help this lady. 32:49 The next morning, the baby was born alive and well. 32:53 And that's so influenced the people of that village 32:57 that they just wanted to hear more 32:59 and this lady gave her testimony. 33:02 And people wanted the church built there 33:04 and said, can you Adventist come and teach us 33:07 the truths of God's Word? 33:08 Wow. 33:09 And, yes, that was amazing. 33:11 And then some months later, she went to a big Lay Congress. 33:15 Uh-huh. 33:16 She gave her testimony there, and show the power of God. 33:20 And she's a baptized member now and praising God for it. 33:23 Wow. 33:24 And then, a few days later, this same man, 33:27 Max went to another village where there was a woman 33:31 who had been bleeding, bit like the woman in the Bible. 33:34 Yes. 33:35 Bleeding for many months, and it couldn't stop it. 33:38 The local people couldn't stop it, 33:40 they'd prayed for her many times. 33:42 And eventually, her husband wanted to throw her out, 33:46 he thought she was either cursed 33:47 or she was so diseased that he didn't want her. 33:50 Yeah. 33:51 He was just not gonna handle it any further. 33:54 Just before that happened, Max came along and he asked, 33:58 if he could pray for her, and he knelt down 34:01 and he prayed for the Holy Spirit 34:03 to heal this lady in the name of Jesus. 34:06 And within the next 24 hours that bleeding stopped, 34:11 and she was completely healed. 34:13 Wow. 34:14 Her husband was so amazed. 34:16 He said, look, I've never seen anything like this. 34:18 He said, I'm one of the leaders of this village. 34:21 Please tell us where you want some land to build a church. 34:24 We want you to come and to come to our village 34:27 and start a church. 34:28 Wow. 34:29 What a blessing and what a witness that was. 34:31 Incredible. 34:32 Yeah, so a lot of miracle stories taking place. 34:37 Oh, I could tell some more, I got a few jotted down here. 34:39 I can't remember them all. 34:41 But another man, another place in Mindy, 34:45 a man called Jack. 34:47 He had just been there six months 34:49 and he had baptized seven people. 34:53 And he continued on with Bible studies 34:56 and 125 Bible studies 35:01 had joined. 35:03 And one of the converts was a pastor 35:06 from another church. 35:07 Uh-huh. 35:09 And he gave his church to them, 35:12 plus 20 of his members came along 35:13 and were baptized with him. 35:15 Wow. Just from this one man. 35:17 That's incredible. 35:19 How has your family been impacted 35:21 as a result of this ministry? 35:23 Because I'm sure they hear the stories 35:25 that you know that you share with them? 35:27 Well, my two children are quite a distance 35:30 from where we live and they're not involved in, 35:33 I suppose, but I share where I can the stories, 35:36 but my wife is impacted by it. 35:38 She started a website called Friends of VIA. 35:42 And she's written some things about them on the website. 35:47 Has that going. 35:49 But yeah, she's happy to hear the stories 35:52 and also very happy when I return safely home... 35:55 Yes, yes. 35:56 From my visits. Yes. 35:58 And how has this ministry strengthened 36:00 your walk with Christ? 36:02 Well, it's been a blessing to me it. 36:05 I guess it grounds me, 36:07 you know, I live in a Western society 36:09 and I go out there and live in a more primitive area 36:13 or less developed area. 36:15 See the sacrifice that people make, 36:18 see the faith and trust they have in God. 36:21 Yeah. See how God's working. 36:24 And the way the church is growing and it inspires me. 36:28 Yes. 36:29 I feel sad that it's not the same 36:31 in developed parts of the world. 36:32 Yes. 36:33 You know, North America, Australia, 36:35 Europe, it's much harder. 36:37 It is. 36:38 But to see the Holy Spirit working in that way out, 36:40 in that area where people 36:41 give up so much to serve the Lord is an inspiration. 36:46 Yes. 36:47 And I come home feeling very grateful 36:49 that I live where I do and a little humbled that, 36:55 you know, sometimes you might complain about hardships, 36:57 but it's nothing compared 37:00 to what they have to go through. 37:01 Yes. 37:03 Now being in ministry, 37:04 you know, oftentimes you're giving and giving and giving. 37:08 How important do you find it to make sure 37:11 that you have a strong devotion life 37:14 or devotional life, like staying in tune with God? 37:19 Well, you have to stay in tune with God. 37:21 It's easy, sometimes not to, 37:24 to go on your experience and background and get busy. 37:28 But it's also very important that we do spend especially 37:31 the first moments of the day with the Lord. 37:33 Yes. 37:35 And commit your life to Him. 37:36 And thanking for the blessings and to pray for His work 37:39 that the Holy Spirit will not 37:41 only work in myself and my family, 37:43 but work in the world church, so that the gospel 37:46 can go quickly to places that are difficult. 37:49 Yes. 37:51 And to bless His workers so they'll have the power, 37:54 the inspiration, the discernment, 37:58 the wisdom that they need to be 37:59 able to do God's work in an effective way... 38:03 Yes. And to nurture the church. 38:05 Amen. Yeah. 38:06 What are some other miracle stories you can share? 38:09 Okay, well, there was a man called Clifton. 38:12 Okay. 38:14 He was working in a remote area, 38:15 and he was conducting meetings 38:16 and there was an old witch doctor there 38:18 and he wanted him to go away and leave them alone. 38:22 He wasn't wanting the Adventist message 38:25 to come into that place. 38:26 And so he either cast the spell or something. 38:29 But the story goes that he, 38:32 I was told he was sent an evil spirit 38:35 from the witch doctor to our worker there, 38:37 to try and kill him and destroy him. 38:41 But the next morning, the people came along 38:44 and saw that he was still alive 38:46 and they said, hey, what happened? 38:48 We saw all this European soldiers 38:50 around you last night. 38:52 Where have they gone? 38:54 They had actually seen what they thought 38:56 was European soldiers surrounding his house. 39:00 When the evil spirits were going to come 39:02 and try and destroy him. 39:03 Wow. 39:04 And so he was able to tell them that wasn't evil spirits. 39:07 So that wasn't European soldiers. 39:09 God was surrounding us with His angels. 39:12 And that story got around and people were impressed. 39:16 And again, eventually, that witch doctor 39:19 got changed in his heart and the people wanted 39:22 to hear more about the gospel that he was preaching. 39:26 People were drawn to Christ. Yeah. 39:28 I heard a story something like that 39:30 from the wartime in Solomon Islands 39:33 when the Japanese were fighting in the area 39:36 and they were going to attack one of our mission leaders. 39:40 And they again saw his place surrounded 39:43 by what they thought were soldiers, and ran away. 39:47 There's a couple of stories in the islands in recent times 39:49 similar thing to that actually. 39:53 There's another place 39:54 where a man called, Nathan Vent. 39:56 And the people there feared his influence 39:59 and the drunken men were sent out at night 40:01 to with rocks and knives to kill him. 40:05 And he, nothing happened, he slept on. 40:08 And then he woke up in the middle of night 40:11 and he heard a noise. 40:13 They were throwing rocks on the local church there. 40:16 And so he ran out and went into the bush 40:19 and they couldn't find him and he escaped. 40:22 So I believe God protected him too. 40:24 Yes. 40:25 Because they were wanting to kill him and get rid of him. 40:28 Oftentimes, some of our missionaries, 40:30 they go into new area and they have to plant 40:32 their own garden, they've to build their own house. 40:35 Yes. 40:36 And sometimes people who are against them 40:39 will come and cut down or burn their house 40:41 or cut down their garden, 40:43 and they go through real hardship, 40:45 but God looks after them. 40:46 Yes. 40:47 And the plants grow again and people support them, 40:50 and they're able to continue on their work. 40:55 There was another, one where, 40:57 as a devil priest in Bible studies 40:59 were conducted with him again 41:02 and he was again after a long period, 41:05 willing to give up his witchcraft and to surrender 41:09 to Christ just through this one man. 41:12 So that's incredible because, you know you have a pastor 41:17 and you know the whole congregation converting, 41:21 and then you have witchdoctors converting. 41:25 And then I mean, God is just moving 41:28 in a mighty way and showing people 41:30 that He wants to do everything 41:32 that He possibly can to save all those that He can. 41:37 Yeah. 41:38 Now, that's true. 41:40 And there's another story 41:41 of a man from the Solomon Islands. 41:42 He was a notorious criminal. 41:45 He was a drug addict. 41:47 He would stop cars on the road with, 41:51 you know, a gun or something 41:52 and he would steal money from them. 41:55 But eventually one of our VIAs was able to visit him 41:59 and he talked with him and shared his testimony 42:01 of what Jesus had done for him. 42:03 And he challenged him and opened up some Bible texts 42:06 and talked to him and appealed to him 42:08 to give his heart to Christ. 42:11 And this man changed and he was converted. 42:14 He became a wonderful influence in that area. 42:16 And he went and did discipleship training, 42:19 and he's doing that right now. 42:20 And he wants to be a missionary for God as well. 42:23 Wow. 42:25 And, again, it's just one of those stories 42:27 of hundreds that I could tell of how people have been 42:30 changed by the Volunteers In Action. 42:32 Yes. 42:33 There's one last story, which I think is amazing too. 42:37 Not so much in kind of the miracles of witchcraft 42:41 or evil spirits, but in a different way. 42:43 And this was up 42:45 in the highlands of Papua New Guinea 42:46 with one VIA called Jonathan Hip. 42:50 And he was running meetings with some other supporters. 42:53 And they had a baptism call and two former pastors 42:57 from other churches were baptized. 43:00 And one of them had served for 32 years 43:03 in his other denomination. 43:05 And he said, all these years I have never really understood 43:10 how to worship God, I'm not worshiping God really meant. 43:13 Yeah. 43:15 And he said, now I know. 43:16 And he came along with some of his members, 43:19 and six of his members were baptized with him. 43:22 Wow. 43:24 And more studies are going on now. 43:26 The other pastor would been 28 years 43:29 in his congregation 43:30 and preaching with his denomination. 43:33 And he was moved by the truth that Jonathan 43:35 and the others were preaching. 43:37 And he talked to his members too 43:39 who encouraged to come along, 43:41 and most of his church followed them. 43:44 And they were baptized on the same day. 43:46 Wow. 43:47 And at the end of the meeting, Jonathan called for a call, 43:50 for people to come and step forward, 43:52 who'd like to be baptized, 43:54 and 224 came forward on that day. 43:58 And now they're working in building up 44:00 new churches and new villages around that area. 44:02 Yes, yes. 44:03 So God is really blessing the work out there. 44:07 A lot of growth. 44:10 I wanna talk about, you know, some of your ministry needs, 44:13 but before we do that, we're going to go 44:16 to our last song by Stephanie Dawn 44:19 and it's entitled "Speechless." 44:57 I'm speechless, 45:01 Overcome by joy 45:04 That reaches 45:08 Into my heart so deep 45:16 It's almost too good to be true 45:27 In this quite 45:31 I'm in wonder 45:36 Of Your kindness 45:41 I'm speechless, 45:45 Silenced by how good 45:49 You are to me 45:58 When pain has been 46:01 So shattering 46:04 I could not give it words 46:10 There was comforting to know Him 46:15 That through Your spirit You heard 46:21 But now it's all the gratitude 46:26 I struggle to express 46:32 My amazement has 46:34 Your overwhelming love 46:39 And faithfulness 46:44 I'm speechless, 46:47 Overcome by joy 46:50 That reaches 46:54 Into my heart so deep 47:01 It's almost too good to be true 47:11 In the quite 47:16 I'm in wonder 47:21 Of Your kindness 47:27 I'm speechless, 47:32 Silenced by 47:34 How good You are to me 47:44 When I compare what I deserve 47:50 To how I've been 47:52 So blessed 47:57 I am in awe, 48:00 That instead of justice 48:03 I find tenderness, 48:09 I'm speechless 48:34 In this quite 48:39 I'm in wonder 48:45 Of Your kindness 48:51 I'm speechless, 48:56 Silenced by 48:58 How good You are to me 49:08 I'm speechless, 49:15 Silenced by 49:18 How good You are to me 49:35 Wow. What a beautiful song. 49:37 Beautiful song. Amen. 49:39 I can't believe we're almost out of time, 49:42 but I wanna know what are some of the other ways 49:45 that VIAs used to reach people with the gospel? 49:49 Well, apart from what I've mentioned, 49:51 in fact friendship evangelism and helping people 49:53 and pictorial aids. 49:55 The one that's often very important in remote areas 49:59 is what we call the God pod. 50:00 Okay. 50:02 It's a little solar powered thing like a size of a phone. 50:04 Uh-huh. 50:05 And it's made in China, it's recorded in Israel, 50:09 and then sent to Australia and then we send it out. 50:11 And on that is recorded the whole Bible, 50:14 lots of books by Christian authors, 50:17 there's other lessons and Bible studies on it. 50:20 And our VIAs go to places where there's no power, 50:24 and this thing can be recharged by the sunlight. 50:27 And as far as possible, give them to each village, 50:31 but they have on themselves and they let the people listen. 50:34 I wish I had a photo of them to show you 50:37 where the people are gathering 50:38 around listening to this little thing, 50:40 hearing the Bible story and Bible lessons. 50:43 That's incredible. That's very effective. 50:45 Yes, that's incredible. 50:46 What are some of your needs as a ministry? 50:50 Well, the biggest need I think is, 50:53 well, we need resources, of course, 50:55 but that's a challenge to get out to the people. 50:58 The most important thing 51:00 I believe is actual finances or sponsors. 51:04 Yes. 51:05 Because as I said before, we only have 126 people 51:08 who are sponsoring all these volunteers 51:11 and next year and the years to come 51:13 with a great evangelistic thrust, 51:15 we're gonna need a lot more. 51:17 And so it costs around... 51:20 Well, in Australian dollars 1500, 51:22 about 1100 US dollars a year. 51:24 That's all it costs to sponsor a person for whole year. 51:28 They will send you pictures and reports twice a year. 51:31 And so that's very important. 51:34 The other one is for roofing, money for roofing irons. 51:36 Yeah. 51:38 Okay, so you also need volunteers too? 51:42 Yeah. 51:43 Well, we're gonna go to a quick address role 51:46 and news break and we'll be right back. 51:51 Volunteers In Action is a group 51:53 of Australian and New Zealand church members 51:56 who have a heartfelt burden to see the gospel 51:58 taken into isolated areas of the Pacific Islands. 52:02 VIA equips committed National Layman Volunteers 52:06 to work among their own people by providing them 52:09 with Bibles, bicycles and roofs for local churches. 52:12 You can visit their website at VolunteersInAction.com.au. 52:18 You can email Dr. Watts at nwwatts48@gmail.com. 52:23 You may also write to them at Volunteers In Action, 52:27 PO Box 577, Spring Hill, 52:30 Queensland 4004, Australia. |
Revised 2019-12-03