Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY220009A
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00:01 As you're well aware, we're living in unprecedented times.
00:05 Join us now for today's special program. 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 mending broken people. 00:23 I want to spend my life 00:29 removing pain. 00:34 Lord, let my words 00:39 heal a heart that hurts. 00:44 I want to spend my life 00:49 mending broken people... 00:55 I want to spend my life 01:00 mending broken people. 01:14 Hello. I'm Shelley Quinn and we welcome you to 3ABN Today. 01:19 I'm excited about this interview 01:22 because I have three people at the table with me today 01:26 who are on fire for Jesus 01:28 and they are making a difference in the world. 01:32 So let me just go-ahead and introduce them to you 01:35 right now. First is Julia O'Carey. 01:38 Julia... welcome! 01:40 Hi Shelley. It's so good to be here! 01:43 You know what? Every time I see you 01:45 your face is just so full of joy 01:48 we know that you have a love affair with the Lord. 01:51 Praise the Lord! I DO love Him. 01:53 I know you do. Now you are the executive director 01:56 of a ministry called ASAP. 01:59 Right? And we're going to get to know about that ministry. 02:04 It's just so exciting what God is doing 02:07 in Asia and in the 10/40 window through this ministry. 02:12 You're going to hear a lot of great stories. 02:15 Also though at the table 02:17 we have Byron and Carol Reynolds. 02:20 And you are both board members with ASAP. Yes. For how long? 02:25 About 15 years. Wow! 02:27 That is exciting. Thank you for coming today. Um-hmm. 02:31 Before we get started... 02:32 We've already prayed, but I want you just to get a little 02:38 feeling for these beautiful people. 02:42 Julia, you were the child of a missionary. 02:45 Tell us a little bit of your story of when you really 02:47 came to know the Lord personally. 02:50 Oh, well... the Lord has been real in my life 02:53 since I was a little kid. My parents went when I was 02:56 eight years old to Thailand 02:58 to serve in the refugee camps during the war time with 03:02 Pol Pot in Cambodia... that real difficult time. 03:05 And so I grew up in the refugee camps 03:08 and it was a blessing but it was also hard. 03:11 And when... I have many stories I could share 03:15 but since I'm with you, Shelley, it's such an honor 03:18 can I share about a story how you impacted my life? 03:21 Please. 03:24 Since I worked with ASAP 03:26 we go over there every year to train our missionaries. 03:30 And I was training and sweating like crazy 03:34 and thinking: "What is wrong with me? 03:35 I feel like every bone in my body is breaking. " 03:37 Oh no! And come to find out I was hospitalized with 03:41 Dengue Fever. 03:42 Break bone fever? Yeah, that's what they call it 03:45 'cause you feel like you're dying. 03:47 And I happened to have your book Exalting the Word 03:52 with me on that trip. 03:54 And I was so busy training and teaching 03:57 and loving the people I hadn't even had time 04:00 to read it. But in that hospital bed 04:02 I read it cover to cover and it impacted me 04:06 of the power of God's Word in your life. 04:09 And I claimed those scriptures, Shelley - 04:11 praise God - and that made such a difference. 04:13 So I want to thank you. 04:15 You know what? When I wrote Exalting His Word - 04:17 actually, I think I put it in the book - 04:19 that if I hadn't written it for anybody else but me 04:22 so that I would have a way of "markering" the road 04:25 that I could come back. And I have to go back 04:28 and read it every now and then 'cause sometimes 04:30 God can teach us something and we walk in it for a while 04:33 and then one day we wake up and realize 04:35 "When did I quit doin' that? " You know? 04:37 So... it's powerful. Thank you! Yeah. 04:40 Well, OK... your mother was a missionary. 04:43 We're going to come back to that but you also were missionaries. 04:47 Who's going to tell us your story? 04:49 Well mine starts out I finished physical therapy 04:52 school at Loma Linda 04:54 and I felt impressed that I should dedicate one year 04:58 of my life to the Lord doing some kind of mission work 05:01 because He had helped me get through school 05:02 pretty much debt-free. And there were 2 openings 05:06 and I took the one to Vietnam. 05:08 We had a hospital in Saigon 05:10 and so I went there for supposed to be a year 05:14 but... You mean the Adventist church? The Adventist church, 05:17 the Saigon Adventist Hospital. 05:18 So I went there and had an amazing experience there. 05:24 I ended up treating 60 burn patients 05:27 which I had never treated before 05:29 but I learned how to do it. 05:30 Now were you and Carol already married? 05:33 No... we didn't know each other. Far away. 05:37 So... so then 05:42 I went to Weimar Institute when I got back 05:44 which was just beginning 05:46 and I spent three years helping to start Weimar. 05:48 And that's where we really got together. 05:50 Why don't you tell them a little bit of 05:53 how things went at Weimar. 05:54 Did you grow up in a missionary family or as a Christian? 05:58 Tell us your experience. Sure. 06:00 I'm so happy to be here. 06:02 We're happy... Yes, I grew up in a wonderful Christian home. 06:06 And a lot of my relatives had been missionaries 06:08 but our family wasn't. 06:10 And I came to know the Lord when I was a young person. 06:13 I kind of did my own thing for a while and then I 06:16 really started seeking the Lord and reading the Word 06:18 and that changed my life. Amen! 06:20 And I then committed myself again to what I had wanted 06:24 as a child: to be a missionary. 06:26 And it wasn't until we got together 06:28 and God led us together in an amazing way 06:29 that I was able to go on a mission trip to the Cambodian 06:34 refugee camp that Julia was just talking about. 06:37 And that was absolutely life-changing 06:39 'cause I never realized - you know - the needs of the world, 06:42 what they were really like and how much people were suffering? 06:45 Yeah. And so it really changed my life. 06:47 And I was so blessed then... We were blessed to have 06:50 that same desire to go and serve the Lord in missions. 06:53 Yes. I just have to thank all of you for your service 06:57 because you know it's so amazing to me: 07:01 sometimes we think: "Ah, God's got me doing this" 07:05 and we feel like something is difficult. 07:08 But you see the true service, the true love for God 07:13 when you are in the mission field and see the great need. 07:16 And let me tell you: if you have children - 07:19 teenagers that are kind of going off the wrong path - 07:23 take 'em on a mission trip. It will be life-changing 07:27 when they see the needs of the world. 07:29 So ASAP: as soon as possible? 07:33 Saying a prayer... always say a prayer. 07:36 Whatever that stands for. Tell us how it began. 07:40 Yes. I'd like to show our new logo since we have that there. 07:45 And we chose a butterfly - a hand releasing a butterfly - 07:50 because what we've seen from the very beginning 07:53 27 years ago, Shelley, is that God takes these people 07:57 who are marginalized: 07:59 who are poor, persecuted, refugees, unreached 08:03 and when they know Jesus it transforms their life. Amen! 08:08 And we help them holistically so you see the circle 08:10 on our logo and the hand releasing the butterfly. 08:13 I love it! Every time I witness a life that is transformed 08:17 and then now they're serving as missionaries 08:20 it just makes me rejoice. 08:21 And I know all of heaven rejoices with us too. 08:25 And so I can tell you briefly 08:27 about how when we were in the refugee camps like I mentioned 08:30 my parents served. And my mom took a special 08:33 interest in this one young man named Hang Dara. 08:37 Let me see a picture. 08:38 Did your mother actually start this ministry? Yes. 08:43 She's the founder... 27 years ago. 08:45 But even before that when we were kids 08:47 we were in those refugee camps - OK - planting churches. 08:51 And Hang Dara... he had 25 of his relatives 08:55 pass away in the Pol Pot regime. 08:59 And he was hopeless. They were murdered. 09:01 They were slaughtered. They were. 09:03 Him and his wife's relatives. And so they started with nothing 09:07 there. And my mom shared the Bible with him 09:10 and nurtured him 09:12 and said: "You can do it. " And he ended up pastoring 09:14 8 churches in the refugee camps - praise the Lord! 09:18 and then going back to Cambodia. He ended up serving the Lord 09:22 even though he could have gotten a much better 09:23 job as a translator. 09:25 And now just recently 09:27 he became the president of the Adventist Mission in Cambodia. 09:31 I think you've got a recent picture? I do! 09:33 I do... yes. From that skinny young man 09:36 to now he is a dedicated worker for the Lord. 09:42 And how exciting to think that 09:45 because of your mother's interest that the Lord put 09:48 in her heart for him - yes - how God transformed his life. 09:52 Amen! And you know, it's not just the legacy of ASAP. 09:56 We see it happening time and time and time again. 09:58 And you know, even in the middle of all that's happening 10:02 in this world - wars, COVID, you name it - 10:07 the gospel is moving forward in these difficult places. 10:11 Doesn't matter if it's a Communist government 10:14 or what's going on ASAP sees that the gospel's moving. 10:19 And especially in the last couple of years with media 10:22 evangelism - AMEN! and how we're able to do TV 10:26 in these languages that they never would have known 10:30 the gospel. They don't... Some of them have never even 10:32 heard the name of Jesus. 10:34 And radio and cellphone evan- gelism just in 1 closed country 10:40 over 400 that were baptized this last year. 10:44 And it was primarily Buddhist. 10:46 People are eager and searching. 10:48 So when you say closed country explain what you're saying 10:52 'cause some people are going: "Well what does that mean 10:54 closed country? " Right. 10:55 So what that is a country that's resistant to the gospel 10:59 because of culture, because of long-time tradition 11:03 with their religion. And the government actually 11:06 prohibits the spread of the gospel in their countries. 11:10 So like most of them are Communist 11:12 or there's some regime that's very against Christianity. 11:17 Yeah. And so that's why we have them closed. 11:19 And if I went in there, Shelley, I would be arrested immediately. 11:23 I'm a white lady. But we have local missionaries 11:27 and we empower them and train them 11:31 to restore the marginalized and then disciple them 11:36 to become missionaries. OK, 11:38 now let me sum up what I'm understanding so far. 11:40 The primary ministry of ASAP 11:44 is to reach the marginalized. Yes! 11:47 The children... and you're going to see some amazing pictures 11:51 in a minute... but children that are 11:53 in garbage dumps living just barely 11:58 eking out an existence. 12:01 Or taking people who are persecuted 12:04 and they may be in some kind of a prison... 12:08 what would you do? Refugee camp. 12:10 And you train them in the Bible - 12:13 yes - and then you train them how to be fishers of men. 12:17 Is that right? Yes! And the cycle goes on. 12:19 It's just amazing. So is this all in Asia? Where do you work? 12:24 Primarily in Asia 12:26 but we've expanded to many countries... especially with 12:29 refugees... because the need is so great. 12:34 So we started in Asia but we go through the 12:37 10/40 window and beyond. 12:39 I do want to show the picture of the baptism 12:42 because when one soul in these countries 12:46 accepts God you know 12:49 the rejoicing that happens in heaven... 12:53 Can you imagine the thousands of angels? 12:55 Amen! And I always think of it in this way too: 12:59 it's like just as Jesus could multiply the fish and the loaves 13:05 when one soul comes and they're trained to share 13:09 the testimony, to share the love of God, 13:11 it's like that one soul multiplies and multiplies 13:14 like this person. It's exciting! Amen! 13:18 So you all have a story to share 13:20 about one of the missionaries? 13:23 Yeah, there's one gentleman named Ko Ko 13:26 and he has an amazing story. 13:29 We have a little short video about him 13:31 that kind of explains about him. 13:33 OK... OK... well let's roll that video right now 13:35 and we'll be introduced to Ko Ko. 13:48 After Solomon Lu left the army 13:49 and returned to his home village in Myanmar 13:52 he struggled to get along with his family. 13:54 He slipped into depression and began drinking heavily. 13:59 When his family and friends grew tired of his drunken antics 14:03 they cut him out of their lives. 14:05 But at his lowest point Solomon attended a health seminar 14:09 presented by an ASAP medical missionary named Ko Ko. 14:13 The two men began studying together 14:15 and eventually Solomon gave up drinking 14:18 and committed his life to Christ in baptism. 14:22 He started volunteering at Ko Ko's health outreach center 14:25 and today he is an ASAP medical missionary 14:29 overseeing a program that helps alcoholics overcome their 14:32 addiction. The work of medical missionaries 14:36 often opens doors to the gospel that might otherwise be closed. 14:42 Will you bring hope and healing to the people of Myanmar 14:45 by sponsoring an ASAP medical missionary? 14:48 Because Jesus is coming soon 14:50 now more than ever missions matter. 14:59 We can never underestimate how impactful 15:03 medical missionaries are. And in fact, 15:06 you're a nurse, Carol. We failed to mention that earlier. 15:09 You're a physical therapist. 15:11 And you ended up working, train- ing as medical missionaries 15:15 and you were in the mission field for 12 years. 15:18 So these stories of Ko Ko... How does? Tell us 15:23 what are the results when you train someone locally 15:27 as a medical missionary? Someone like Ko Ko that has no 15:30 background but later he was doing treatments on people 15:35 and he has a young man named James that he mentored later. 15:40 That's an amazing story. 15:43 And just transformed James' life too, just like 15:45 Solomon in that story. 15:47 James was an orphan. At six years of age 15:50 he was adopted by a lady who had many orphans? 15:55 And then she passed away when he was 6 years old. 15:58 And then he went through another home that he was 16:02 stealing and doing different things. 16:04 They kicked him out and so Ko Ko adopted him, 16:07 took care of him, and started taking him to do medical 16:11 missionary work with him. And this little boy's heart 16:13 started being transformed. Ko Ko's wife would cry 16:17 because of the problems that he was causing at home. 16:21 But eventually through this medical missionary work 16:24 his heart was broken and he started wanting to go 16:27 with him and working with him. 16:30 So Ko Ko sent him off on some errands to treat people. 16:34 And this really did it for him. 16:36 I mean, he saw somebody that was totally 16:39 given up by the medical field. And the doctor said 16:43 "No way we can help this patient. " 16:44 And then James helped her 16:48 and she was revived and did fine. 16:51 So now James is helping... But he's seeing the power 16:55 of the Lord working through him. Through prayer, 16:58 through the simple treatments. 17:00 And so now he's doing Bible studies with people. 17:04 He's helping at one of the clinics that Ko Ko has started. 17:07 Ko Ko has started 8 different clinics in 8 different villages. 17:10 Wow! And they have church in those clinics. 17:11 So they have this work in an all Buddhist area. 17:15 Now they have inroads. So... 17:18 you know, just mending broken people. 17:21 Just like in Danny Shelton's song 17:23 at the beginning. That's what it's all about: 17:26 mending broken people and turning them, discipling them 17:29 into missionaries. Isn't that the gospel complete? 17:32 When you think about it it is. There is a picture of James 17:34 that we can show. Oh, wonderful! 17:36 Let's see James. He's grown up. 17:38 It's so wonderful to know that the gospel 17:44 is about mending broken people. There he is! 17:46 What a fine-looking young man! 17:48 How exciting that he was rescued by the Lord. 17:52 They used to call him "the little thief. " 17:53 And now? Lots of problems... but he doesn't any more. 17:57 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Amen. 18:00 So you minister a lot to the Karen, right? 18:06 Do they live in peace now? How are the Karen living? 18:11 Well the Karen are a special group of people 18:15 that became Christians several generations back. 18:18 Many of them... not all, of course, as many 18:20 are still spirit worshipers and Buddhists. 18:22 But there's a large group of Christians there 18:25 and they have been greatly persecuted through the years. 18:27 And there has been a civil war going on in that country 18:30 for more than 70 years. 18:32 Wow! The longest ongoing civil war in the world right now. 18:35 And so there has been so much suffering and persecution. 18:39 Many of them live right on the border of Thailand. 18:41 Myanmar and Thailand. 18:43 Myanmar used to be called Burma. 18:44 And right now maybe you remember in the news 18:50 last year a military government took control of the country 18:55 and it's really caused so much trouble and much more 18:58 suffering and persecution for the people. 19:00 And so we have... ASAP has many schools in that region. 19:04 Over 30 schools and 3,000 students. 19:08 And these students are having to run for their lives 19:11 a lot of time while they're trying to study. 19:13 And the teachers, the pastors... some of them are losing 19:15 their lives. It's a really tough situation 19:18 and they've been persecuted a lot through the years. 19:20 We have a picture of the children in a bunker, too. 19:23 So during the day they are at school 19:28 and then they have to evacuate to go to a bunker 19:31 because of air raids that's going on. 19:34 How do you continue ministering in these things? 19:38 I mean, it's exciting that God gets you into these countries. 19:41 Yeah... it's only God's doing. 19:44 And we see that He raises up certain people 19:47 that are courageous like Joshua in the Bible. 19:50 Yes. And one of them is Pastor Jimmy Shwe. 19:53 And Carol is really close to Pr. Jimmy and so are we at ASAP. 19:58 Do you want to share a little bit about him? 20:00 Sure. OK. Pastor Jimmy... There's a picture of him 20:03 and his wife there. He was a refugee himself. 20:07 Spent over 20 years in a refugee camp. 20:10 Very primitive conditions. 20:11 And God then plucked him up from there and brought him here 20:14 to the U.S. and he became a pastor. 20:17 And now he is taking care of these refugee groups 20:21 that are now re-settled in the United States. 20:23 So ASAP not only works over there 20:26 but they also work... We also help many refugees 20:29 here in the United States in North America and Canada. 20:31 And there's over 50 groups of these. Can I say one thing? 20:36 This is really interesting 'cause you think that these 20:39 immigrants when they're rescued from these terrible refugee 20:43 camps and they're brought into the United States 20:46 often they're separated from their family. 20:49 And they don't know the language; they don't know how 20:52 to even turn on a stove or what a refrigerator is. 20:56 And we don't realize how marginalized they become 21:01 right here in the United States. 21:03 Right. Yeah. So he came from that 21:07 so now he knows how to minister to the people. 21:09 He speaks their language and he knows them 21:11 because they are all in the refugee camps together. 21:13 And then he also has a ministry to those who have 21:16 been resettled in Europe or Australia and around the world. 21:19 Even back in Asia, too. Praise God! 21:22 So God is using him. He was a marginalized person! 21:24 To be a missionary and to train others to be missionaries 21:26 it's just wonderful to see how God does that. 21:28 Amen! And you know he tells me that he was 21:31 so angry about all this war and the effects of it 21:35 he wanted to be a soldier and fight against the military. 21:39 But then now he said: "God worked on my heart 21:42 and I'm a soldier for Christ. " AMEN! 21:45 Yeah. And so now we all together have this vision 21:48 of training refugees that are here in America 21:52 so that they can go back and share with their people. 21:55 And Jasmine is an example of this. 21:58 And Jasmine is close to both of our hearts. 22:01 She lived with me through COVID 'cause she couldn't go 22:03 over there but now she's there on the border teaching. 22:06 She's an Adventist teacher. 22:08 Now hang on just a second. She came from a refugee camp - 22:11 yes - to the United States. 22:13 You all mentored her. Um-hmm. Was she already a Christian 22:18 when she came? She was but she came from a very broken 22:21 family because of all the trauma. 22:23 And she went through Adventist schools by the grace of God 22:27 by generous people that helped her. She was so poor. 22:30 Now she's a Seventh-day Adventist teacher 22:34 and she went back. 22:36 So we have a vlog, so if you go on our ASAP website 22:40 you will see a vlog of her. 22:42 But we also have a little video to show her past. 22:45 I don't want to say more 'cause the video is so good. 22:47 Oh good! Well, let's roll that video now. 22:52 Jasmine Moo was born in a refugee camp in Thailand. 22:56 Her family spent years fleeing from camp to camp 23:00 to escape the violence between rebel groups and the government 23:03 forces in eastern Myanmar. 23:05 Like many Karen young people 23:07 Jasmine's childhood was scarred by war. 23:58 After this tragedy 24:00 Jasmine's family moved to the Mae La Camp, home to more than 24:04 40,000 Karen refugees... but life was hard there. 24:08 Her parents struggled to find work, 24:11 and as the oldest of six children 24:13 Jasmine spent long hours in the summer hauling rocks 24:16 and bamboo from the forest to earn enough money 24:19 for her school tuition. 24:40 Finally when Jasmine was 16 24:42 her family received approval to move to the United States. 24:47 It was a difficult transition. 24:49 The family didn't know English. 24:51 They had no transportation, 24:52 and Jasmine and her siblings were behind in school. 25:31 Jasmine enrolled at Heartland College 25:34 studying health ministry. 25:35 But during this time she had a series of dreams 25:39 about being back in the refugee camps. 25:42 And 2 years later when she re- turned to Thailand on a mission 25:46 trip God's plan for her life began to come into focus. 26:16 More than 100 years have passed 26:19 since Adventist missionary Eric B. Hare and his family 26:23 first shared the three angels' messages with the Karen people 26:26 that led Jasmine's great grandfather to Christ. 26:30 And now she wants to help finish what they started. 27:00 At ASAP Ministries 27:02 we believe God is raising up young refugee men and women 27:06 here in America to return and share the 3 angels' messages 27:10 in their homeland. In 1914 Ellen White wrote: 27:15 "We should be able to see in multiplying opportunities 27:19 to reach many foreigners in America, 27:22 a divinely-appointed means of rapidly extending 27:25 the third angel's message into all the nations of the earth. " 27:30 God in His providence has brought men to our very doors 27:34 and thrust them as it were into our arms 27:37 that they might learn the truth and be qualified to do a work 27:41 we could not do in getting the light before men 27:44 of other tongues. Jasmine is now preparing to launch 27:48 ASAP's first refugee student missionary 27:51 to teach the Bible at the Karen Adventist Academy 27:54 in the Mae Ra Moe Refugee Camp in Thailand. 27:58 Will you support her as she shares the good news 28:01 of Christ's soon return with her people? 28:04 Because Jesus is coming soon 28:07 now more than ever Mission Matters. 28:19 Glory to God for the heart change! 28:21 Here you are in a refugee camp and you can't wait 28:24 to have an easier, more comfortable lifestyle. 28:29 Come to the United States and what does God do? 28:31 He changed her heart; He trained her up 28:35 through ASAP, and she had the dedication, the desire 28:40 in her heart. This isn't just a sacrifice for her. 28:44 It's her heart's desire to go back and minister 28:48 to people 'cause she understands their pain. 28:51 So, you know... tell me about your schools. 28:56 And you have children there. We can actually 29:00 support a child to learn. Tell us about that with ASAP. 29:05 Yeah, Shelley. These schools are just for those kids 29:09 that are the most vulnerable and at risk because of war 29:14 or abuse or poverty. 29:18 And we have over 100 schools by God's grace. 29:22 Wow! Over 6,000 students. 29:24 And you can... people can sponsor these kids 29:27 for only $30 a month. 29:29 Oh, that's mind-blowing! Yes! 29:31 What does $30 a month? When you say sponsor a child 29:34 was does that accomplish? 29:37 That makes it possible for them to go to the school. 29:39 In some schools we have a feeding program 29:43 if they don't have enough food at home. 29:44 And we have SDA teachers that love them 29:50 that share a new world view. 29:52 Most of the children that go to these schools are Buddhist. 29:56 And they learn about Jesus and the stories in the Bible 29:59 for the very first time. 30:01 And then those get in their life and they learn to pray 30:04 and they learn that life is beyond this terrible dark hole 30:10 that they're in and they have hope for the first time. 30:13 And then they go up and they share with their parents 30:17 that are Buddhist, and we see so many coming to the Lord. 30:20 Yeah. Glory to God! That's so exciting. 30:24 So you're training up... ASAP trains up people 30:29 to be missionaries. And I'll tell you something: 30:31 what's really exciting when they come here and they're 30:34 trained and go back home there are many of these 30:39 countries are closed countries. 30:40 And as you said, I'm a 6' tall blonde... 30:44 I couldn't show up and start trying to minister there. 30:47 I'd be in jail immediately as would you. Right. 30:51 But when the people who are indigenous to the area 30:56 when they get trained up either through school 30:58 or coming here and they return 31:01 they can spread the hope of the gospel. It's exciting! 31:06 Now you've got some new initiatives as well. 31:10 Yes. You know, we have a need to start 31:13 a school... an online school for refugee children 31:17 who are stuck in their homes. 31:19 And I can give you a little illustration. Can I tell you 31:22 a quick story? Please! 31:24 OK. Sammy is a 13-year-old boy that I met 31:27 in one of these big cities. And him and his family - 31:32 baby brother, little sister - 31:35 they had to flee in the night because a mob came with 31:39 knives, guns to destroy them in their home country. 31:45 They had to flee... Was this like a racial cleansing? 31:48 No... it was because they were Christian. 31:50 Oh, it's persecution beginning. 31:52 Because they were Christian. And so they fled 31:55 and I met them, but unfortu- nately I was not able to meet 31:58 the father. And I said: "Where is he? " 32:01 And Sammy, 13, said: "For the last three years 32:05 he has been the head of the household" 32:09 he said bravely. 32:11 Because his father went to the little shop on the corner 32:14 to buy some milk for the baby 32:16 and a police officer asked for his identification. 32:20 And he was illegal. He had fled there as a refugee 32:24 and he didn't have it to show him 32:27 and so they took him to the immigration detention center 32:30 and he's been stuck there ever since. 32:33 And the apartment that they lived in 32:36 was where a lot of refugees were hiding out. 32:39 And many raids happen there. 32:42 And so ASAP was able to find a donor 32:45 to move them to this new apartment where I met them. 32:48 And he looked around and he said: 32:50 "Look at this place... it's like heaven! " 32:54 And it was a one-bedroom apartment 32:57 but it was so much better than the little hole in the wall 33:00 in the unsafe area of town that they were in. 33:03 Yeah. And it was close to the SDA school. 33:06 We found a sponsor but it was quite expensive 33:10 for international school in the city. 33:12 And so we had the idea: there are so many more Sammy's 33:16 in the city. We did a survey 33:18 and we decided to start Eternity ASAP Virtual School. 33:23 And it's starting very soon. We've already hired the teachers 33:26 and the coordinator, and God has worked miracle after miracle 33:30 to get this going. So they'll have Adventist education 33:33 online safely in their little homes 33:36 while they're waiting for resettlement. 33:38 Because this is the only option for them for education. 33:41 And it's sharing Jesus with them. 33:43 So pray for this project. It's a HUGE initiative for us. 33:46 And what is it called again? 33:48 Eternity ASAP Virtual School. 33:52 Eternity ASAP Virtual School. 33:55 Two things that come to my mind: 33:58 number one: we don't realize 34:00 how many Christians are being persecuted today 34:04 and how severe the persecution is. 34:07 But the second thing that comes to my mind: 34:10 we need to pray for those people - yes - desperately. 34:13 Uh-huh. But the second thing that comes to my mind is that 34:20 Internet's everywhere. Yes! 34:22 You know, and sometimes we "cluck" our tongues 34:26 and say: "Oh, there's evil on the Internet. " 34:28 I'll tell you what: God is using the Internet 34:32 to minister all over the world and to get into areas 34:37 like this to do a virtual school. 34:39 How exciting! 34:41 And He provided just the right people 34:44 to help us get this started because 34:47 we needed people who really know how to do online education. 34:50 And so He provided key people. One of our board members 34:54 but also someone who's done it in the Adventist system 34:56 successfully. And so we just see God's leading step by step 35:01 making this a reality. Oh, that is exciting! 35:04 What is one of your favorite stories when you think 35:09 about your experience with ASAP? 35:13 Can you think of one? 35:14 That's hard... there's so many. 35:16 Yeah. In fact, every time we are able to go to a Board weekend 35:21 that's a highlight of our year because we just hear 35:23 all these miracle stories of what God is doing. 35:26 I'd say one of them is there was a lady 35:30 in a closed country who was so on fire for Jesus 35:35 she was giving out DVDs to everybody that she saw. 35:38 And she kept being stopped by the police 35:41 and thrown into jail several times. 35:44 And they kept threatening her saying: "You've gotta stop 35:45 doing this. You've gotta stop telling people 35:47 about this. " And she said: "I can't. " 35:48 So finally another time they picked her up 35:50 and they put her in the back of their truck 35:52 and they took her out to the jungle and left her 35:54 in the middle of the night somewhere. 35:55 Huh! And she knew that there were wild animals around. 35:59 She just knelt down and started praying. 36:00 She is a woman of God. Yeah, they beat her and everything. 36:03 And as she was praying there in the night 36:08 in the jungle the wind started to blow really hard. 36:11 And she just kept praying and praying. 36:13 A little while later the wind died down and she 36:15 kind of opened her eyes and looked around 36:17 and she was kneeling on the street corner in her home town. 36:19 Whoa! Angels had transported her back to her home. 36:25 Like when they transported Philip after he baptized 36:28 the eunuch? And there are so many stories like that 36:30 that we hear through ASAP of what God is doing 36:32 for these people in these countries. Incredible! 36:35 And I like the picture of the policemen coming in their car 36:38 back and her kneeling on the street corner 36:41 as they drove by and said: "That's the lady! " 36:43 I don't know if it's true or not - it's probably not - but 36:46 I like to picture that 'cause she might have gotten there 36:50 before they did. You know, it sounds incredible 36:54 to many people, even Christians, um-hmm 36:57 when you hear stories like this. 36:59 But I'll tell you what: when you find people 37:02 of simple faith just as at the beginning of the New Testament 37:08 church when people had faith in prayer and they had nothing 37:13 else. They're totally dependent upon God - 37:17 which is what the definition of humility is 37:21 is to be dependent upon God - 37:23 we hear miracle story after miracle story. 37:27 I think the only reason we don't see miracles more 37:29 in the US is because we've become so self-dependent. 37:33 I wanted to... I remember that you showed me 37:37 a picture and I think we've got that here. 37:40 And I just wanted you to talk about how you find 37:43 many of these children living in a garbage dump. 37:47 And you had a picture of a little boy from the garbage dump 37:53 to... There we see him in that kind of gray T-shirt 37:57 looking so forlorn, languishing 38:02 because he doesn't have the right food, 38:04 he's living in a garbage dump. 38:07 Now we see him... Is this like a school uniform? 38:10 Yes. Tell us about those kids. 38:13 It's so amazing. I'm so glad you came back to that because 38:16 when I started with ASAP over 17 years ago 38:22 we realized that we can't just be spreading the gospel 38:26 in these countries; we have to help them in practical ways. 38:30 And so our church planters - 38:32 ASAP is more about church planting than it is education 38:36 because the goal is to plant churches with every school - 38:40 and so... You have over 100 schools. 38:44 You're planting churches; medical missionaries. Wow! 38:48 God is working! And so the church planters were the ones 38:51 that said: "You know, we need to help these kids. 38:54 They're not going to school... they're on the street. 38:56 They don't have enough to eat. They don't even have enough 39:00 money for a uniform in order to go to school. " 39:03 Yeah. And so I walked those garbage dumps 39:07 and wept seeing those kids digging in there 39:10 and I thought of my own daughters. And I thought: 39:12 "I would never want them to be in there with needles 39:16 and the dangers. " It broke my heart, Shelley. 39:21 And I said: "You know, we HAVE to do something! " 39:23 And so that's why ASAP is such a holistic ministry 39:27 'cause we see what are the needs of the people 39:29 in these villages? How can we help them? 39:32 Is it clean water? Is it a hospice for those with AIDS 39:35 that have been rejected on the streets. 39:37 Is it schools for these children? 39:39 And so we said: "We have to start a school for them. " 39:43 And we started it and they didn't come. 39:46 And we were so confused. We said "Why aren't they coming? " 39:49 And we found out if they went 39:52 their parents and their family wouldn't have enough food 39:55 because they go to the garbage dump to find little recyclables 40:01 to sell for pennies. And so we said: "We have to 40:04 help them with some food. " 40:06 And we've trained up some of the parents and children 40:09 to be literature evangelists now 40:11 and so no longer do they go in those garbage dumps. 40:14 They sell God's Word. They sell books on health 40:18 and they're proud of being able to serve in that way. 40:23 They've come to know the Lord 40:24 and some of them are even teachers in those schools now. 40:27 Praise the Lord! 40:30 It's amazing how God can multi- ply those few fish and loaves 40:35 isn't it? Well I wanted to give you plenty of time 40:39 to talk about how people can become involved 40:45 with ASAP. You see that this is a ministry that has God's 40:49 blessing... God's hand is directing. 40:52 But let's talk about ways in which we can become involved. 40:57 Most importantly we want to appeal to you 41:00 for your prayer support. Yes! 41:03 Yes... we do want to start with that because 41:05 ASAP is a prayer ministry. And you can just remember 41:08 that by ASAP: always say a prayer. 41:12 So when you see our name pray for us. 41:14 And I... We have a number of ways, you can get involved. 41:19 Carol and Byron and I will share those, but 41:22 do we have time for one more prayer miracle story? 41:25 Oh absolutely! OK... well this is 41:28 also in a closed country. 41:30 One of our missionaries that I have known for a number of yrs. 41:35 we'll call him Mr. Lee just to keep him safe 41:38 he and his wife were in the market 41:41 and they met this little old lady - hunchbacked - 41:45 like her head was like parallel to the floor almost - 41:49 and barely getting through the crowd. 41:52 And they tapped her and said: 41:56 "Grandma Bao: would you like a DVD 42:00 and would you like this little story? " A little tract 42:04 in her language. And she took it; she was open. 42:07 And they tried to have a conversation with her 42:10 and she said: "You know, yeah, I'm interested. " 42:12 And he said: "Can I come visit you in your home? " 42:15 So she gave her contact info and they went to her home. 42:21 And they started to make friends with her. 42:23 After the third visit, they said they felt like we should share 42:27 a little bit about our testimony of Jesus 42:30 that we're Christian. And she was resistant 42:34 but she wanted friendship. So they backed off 42:37 and then they started sharing about other things. 42:39 And then he described it as "water dripping on a rock. " 42:46 Slowly the Holy Spirit eroded the hardness of her heart. 42:51 She had been in pain. She's had ridicule 42:54 because of her condition. Yes. 42:56 She was guarded but little by little 42:59 she came to love Jesus 43:01 to the point she accepted Him in her heart 43:05 and they taught her how to pray. 43:06 The first question was: "If God really is this powerful God 43:11 that's in the Bible... all these miracle stories... 43:15 can He heal my back? " 43:18 Ooh! And so Mr. Lee, our church planter, he said: 43:23 "He definitely can. He's the same powerful God today 43:27 as He was back then. He will heal you, Grandma Bao. 43:31 You need to pray. He will heal you immediately; 43:35 He will heal you gradually; 43:36 or He will heal you when Jesus comes in the clouds. " 43:39 "He will heal you depending on His timing. 43:42 You have to trust Him and pray in the name of Jesus 43:45 and believe that He will do what's best. " 43:49 And she said: "OK. " And in her simple faith... 43:52 You know, you were saying in simple faith miracles can happen 43:57 reminded me of this: 43:58 she started to pray for healing. 44:00 And so Mr. Lee and the church plant said: "We'd better join 44:04 her" so they all started praying for healing. 44:06 And she tried to straighten her back... a lot of pain. 44:10 But you know what? They kept praying. 44:13 And after six months Mr. Lee got a call. 44:17 He said he heard Grandma Bao's voice and she said: 44:21 "Call all the house church members that can come 44:25 to my house as quickly as possible. " 44:28 He said: "OK. " So ten of them went there 44:31 and they met Grandma Bao straight up 44:37 running out of the house 44:39 yelling: "Jesus healed me! Jesus healed me! " 44:43 Glory to God! GLORY to God! 44:46 It was absolutely a miracle! 44:47 Oh that we would have that childlike faith here. Amen! 44:52 Amen! Glory to God! And God knew that she needed that. 44:56 And as a result of that some of her family members 44:59 realized the miracle and they destroyed their idols 45:03 and they became SDA Christians as well. 45:06 Some of her relatives are very opposed. 45:09 We'll always have that. 45:10 But she is a living testimony of God's power today. 45:14 I just had to share that story. 45:16 Carol, no wonder you get so excited when you go to these 45:19 annual events - right - and hear these stories. 45:22 It's amazing! 45:24 So I know that as you're watching this 45:28 you're sitting there thinking: "Why isn't God working 45:32 like that in my life? " 45:34 You know, Jesus said "Lest you become as a little 45:36 child... " Um-hmm. It's that childlike faith, 45:40 that childlike dependence upon God, 45:43 that brings the miracle. It really is! 45:47 And I know some of you at home 45:50 your heart's being moved; you would like to participate 45:54 in this ministry, tell us... 45:57 Byron, would you be the one? How can we become involved? 46:01 Well there are many projects 46:03 every year that ASAP has. 46:06 This year we have a budget of almost $5 million 46:09 that we are raising through donors. 46:12 And since we started it's increased every year 46:15 because there are so many things that need to be... 46:18 people that need to be helped and projects that need to go. 46:21 So there's another slide that shows 46:25 the 657 missionaries 46:31 that are sponsored by ASAP. 46:33 I think we've got a graphic... there it is. So say that again. 46:36 So there's 657 missionaries; these are church planters, 46:40 teachers, so forth, that... that we sponsor 46:43 all over Southeast Asia. 46:45 There are over 6,000 students as Julia said. 46:49 They can be sponsored. 46:51 There are over 100 schools. 46:53 Twenty-one water and sani- tation projects, and this year 46:56 we want to do 16 church and school building projects. 47:00 So there's lots of things to do. 47:02 And then the online school pro- ject as well. The online school. 47:05 Yes. You know, each one of us have 401Ks. We have savings 47:09 accounts. We're waiting for the tiny bit of interest 47:12 from those to help us in our retirement 47:14 when God has promised to give interest of souls. 47:17 Amen! And we need to be sharing those things that we 47:23 think maybe will help us in the future 47:25 but Jesus is coming soon. 47:27 There's so much that is going to be left in the bank 47:30 or dissolved or something 47:32 that could be used now. And there are so many souls 47:35 that won't be reached if we don't get active. 47:39 That's right. Another thing that I am so excited about 47:42 that ASAP sponsors is the My Language My Life cards. 47:45 Have you heard of that, Shelley? No, I haven't. 47:47 They have collected over 150 Christian resources 47:51 in 150 different languages. 47:54 Oh, that's amazing! 47:55 And it has all kinds of things on there: 47:57 Bible studies, health programs, 47:59 the Jesus film in all these different languages. 48:02 And so when we travel 48:04 we take one of these. We take many... we take a pack of 'em 48:07 and we give them out to people. 48:09 Whenever we see somebody that we know might speak 48:11 another language... It's called My Language My Life? 48:13 That's right. And in fact, just last night 48:16 we were... Julia and I... we were having a meal out 48:19 and we went into a store afterwards. 48:21 And we saw a lady that looked like she was Asian 48:25 and we just asked her: "Do you speak another language? " 48:27 She says: "Yeah... I'm Cambodian. " 48:28 And she said: "I grew up here but I'm Cambodian. " 48:32 And so we were able to connect with her 48:34 and dropped a few words and she said: "That's my language! " 48:37 'Cause we all speak a couple words of Cambodian. 48:40 And so we were able to share these with her. 48:42 She said: "Oh my Dad will be so excited about this! " 48:44 So these are the kind... Every time we travel 48:45 internationally or anywhere we look for people. 48:48 This card is sending them to a website? 48:51 Yeah, a website in which there's resources 48:54 in all these different languages 48:55 And they click on your website, ASAP? Yeah. 48:58 So this is a separate website - OK - just for reaching 49:02 non-Christian people. How exciting! Yeah. 49:06 In 150 languages. 150 languages. They can choose 49:09 their language. Wow! And if they're really excited 49:12 about being missionaries but they can't go overseas 49:15 they can be missionaries to refugees and immigrants 49:18 who are Buddhist and Muslim? And we have a new kit 49:21 called Reach the Room Next Door that your family 49:24 or church or even a conference 49:27 anyone can take. And it has lessons 49:32 and it's very practical. And it teaches you how to break 49:34 those barriers - yes - and how to reach people for Christ 49:38 that are different than you. So now 49:39 this Reach the World Next Door... 49:43 this is a kit. So maybe the Lord is putting upon your heart... 49:46 Maybe you know that in your community 49:49 there are refugees who've been relocated there 49:54 and you can go on and get this kit and become a missionary 49:59 with ASAP to reach those precious souls. 50:03 We have a quick video we want to show you on this kit. 50:10 At our property in Texas we have a little chapel in the woods. 50:14 And here we have the 3 crosses. 50:16 I love coming to this place and I especially like the fact 50:19 that the pulpit - the place to speak from - 50:21 is by the repentant sinner's cross. 50:23 Not there by the cross of Jesus. Not worthy to be there 50:27 but this place where the one who felt his need 50:30 cried out for salvation and for help. 50:33 The story of Jesus on the cross is the most amazing 50:36 story in the world, and it is powerful to share with those 50:39 who have never had a chance to know the love of God. 50:42 But for many people they look and they don't understand. 50:45 There are Muslims who assume that Jesus would never have 50:47 died on the cross and was taken up to heaven before that. 50:51 There are Hindus and Buddhists who don't understand 50:53 how someone who seems to have such bad karma 50:57 can be the One that we worship. 50:59 Seems like it's foolishness and a stumbling block 51:01 just like Paul said. 51:02 But Paul went on to say it's also the wisdom and the power 51:05 of God. He said it's so important, so special 51:08 that he determined to preach nothing else 51:11 except for Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 51:14 What about you? Are you ready? 51:16 Are you willing to share this beautiful most precious 51:19 story with Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, Jews, and the secular 51:22 people, that live around us? 51:24 Are you spending time with Jesus 51:27 so that it fills your heart with love overflowing 51:30 and you know it is the answer for the problems of people? 51:34 This is what we need to do. 51:36 Jesus wants to come back 51:37 but He has determined He will not return until every 51:40 nation, every tribe, every tongue 51:42 has had an opportunity to hear His story 51:45 and respond to His invitation to receive forgiveness 51:49 to receive the transformation of the heart 51:51 His power over evil. 51:53 We have developed an online training program 51:55 called Reach the World Next Door 51:57 where in 13 sessions you, your family, or church group 52:01 can go through and understand better 52:04 how to share the love of God with immigrants, 52:06 refugees, and international students. 52:08 I hope you will take time to learn from that 52:11 and to get out there into the community 52:13 so that together we can reach the world ASAP. 52:22 We have an address roll to inform you how you can get 52:26 in touch with ASAP and how you can become a supporter. |
Revised 2022-05-18