Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY230029A
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00:04 I want to spend my life mending broken people.
00:15 I want to spend my life removing pain. 00:25 Lord, let my words heal a heart that hurts. 00:36 I want to spend my life mending broken people. 00:46 I want to spend my life mending broken people. 01:06 Hello, friends, and welcome to 3ABN Today. 01:09 My name is John Lomacang, and thank you for joining us. 01:12 As you know, we're always excited to have you 01:14 as a part of our audience. 01:15 And today I can begin the program by saying, Maranatha; 01:18 Jesus is coming. 01:20 And you'll find out why that term is so significant today 01:23 with our program. 01:25 I want to thank you for your prayers and your support 01:27 for this network as we continue going and growing, 01:29 getting ready for the coming of the Lord. 01:32 Now we have a lot to cover today, 01:34 so I'm going to get right to the point. 01:35 Just before we introduce our guests, 01:37 Ryan Day is going to be singing a song entitled, 01:39 Gentle Savior. 01:59 Where are the signs? Which way should I go? 02:07 I planned each step, but now I don't know. 02:14 Tomorrow is a chasm of uncertainty, 02:21 but I will go there if You will go with me. 02:29 Gentle Savior, lead me on. 02:38 Let Your Spirit light my way. 02:46 Gentle Savior, lead me on. 02:55 Hold me close, keep me safe. 02:59 Lead me on, gentle Savior. 03:17 Why can't I walk away from my regrets? 03:24 Why is forgiveness so hard to accept? 03:31 My past surrounds me like a house I can't afford. 03:38 But You say, "Come with Me, don't live there anymore." 03:47 Gentle Savior, lead me on. 03:55 Let Your Spirit light my way. 04:02 Gentle Savior, lead me on. 04:11 Hold me close, keep me safe. 04:14 Lead me on, gentle Savior. 04:26 And when I reach the valley every soul must journey through, 04:34 I'll remember then how well You know the way. 04:41 I'll put my hand in Your hand, like a trusting child would do, 04:51 and say, 04:58 Gentle Savior, lead me on. 05:08 Let Your Spirit light my way. 05:14 Gentle Savior, lead me on. 05:24 Hold me close, keep me safe. 05:28 Lead me on, 05:32 gentle Savior. 05:45 Lead me on, 05:51 gentle Savior. 06:20 Thank you so much, Ryan, for that wonderful appropriate song, 06:23 Gentle Savior. 06:25 - Wasn't that wonderful? ~ Beautiful. 06:27 Wow, I'm so excited to see my family again. 06:31 My Maranatha family. 06:34 Don Noble, president of Maranatha. 06:37 I just said who you are, but kind of give our audience 06:40 a little overview. 06:41 Somebody is watching that might say, "Hey, my good friend, Don." 06:45 But someone might be saying, "Who's Don Noble?" 06:49 Well, what I am isn't so important, 06:51 but Maranatha is important. 06:54 Maranatha has been working with the church since 1969 06:59 building gospel oriented buildings. 07:02 Churches, schools, and now we are doing a lot of water wells. 07:05 The idea is to provide places for people to meet Jesus. 07:10 And we use a lot of volunteers in that process too. 07:13 So that's exciting. 07:14 But you are Maranatha Volunteers International president. 07:19 ~ Yes, for I guess this is my 41st year. 07:23 ~ Wow, good to have you hear again. 07:24 ~ Good to see you. 07:26 And to your right, your wife, Laura. 07:28 Good to have you here, Laura. 07:29 ~ Thank you. It's always a pleasure. 07:30 Yes, and give our audience an overview of 07:33 your connection to Maranatha. 07:35 ~ Well, I have the privilege of working with Maranatha. 07:38 And I definitely feel that God has brought me here. 07:41 I work with donors. 07:43 So donor relations. 07:44 ~ Okay. - Yeah. 07:46 ~ And right across the water from me is Kenneth Weiss. 07:49 ~ Give them big expanse. - Exactly. 07:52 You know, I've had the privilege also working for Maranatha 07:56 and this great group of people for 27 years. 07:59 And I get to oversee operations, and frankly see what amazing 08:05 ways God is making a difference in the world 08:08 through His people. 08:10 ~ Wow. And about how many countries have... 08:13 - Have you kept up? ~ Oh yeah, yeah, of course. 08:15 You know, historically from the beginning 08:19 we've been in over 90 countries. 08:21 Right now today we're working in 10 different countries 08:25 at this point, yes. 08:27 I want to throw the question out there, what is Maranatha? 08:29 You talked about it briefly, but just kind of give me some more 08:32 and add some more skin onto that. 08:35 Maranatha really builds people as through construction. 08:41 So we have a unique calling through construction 08:44 of urgently needed buildings. 08:46 We are building people. 08:47 That can be volunteers. 08:49 That can be the people that receive a project. 08:53 But really, it's all about bringing people 08:55 into the kingdom of God. 08:57 ~ If you live in this country, the United States, 08:59 you probably aren't aware that much of the world 09:01 has a need for churches and for schools 09:04 within the Adventist church. 09:05 In fact, much of the growth around the world has 09:07 been in places where they can't afford hardly to feed themselves 09:10 let alone build themselves a church or school. 09:12 So there's a great demand. 09:14 We oftentimes have literally tens of thousands 09:18 of requests for projects around the world. 09:20 Take Zambia, for example, where we're working. 09:23 There's over 3000 congregations that meet under trees. 09:26 So the demand for a place to gather to meet God in, 09:32 to be a building that says the Creator God is here, 09:36 and speaking to the community on a 24-hour 7 day 09:41 basis is something that is really necessary. 09:43 It makes a big difference for the growth of the church. 09:45 ~ My wife and I had a chance to see that miracle happen 09:47 down in Zambia and Zimbabwe with you guys. 09:50 I never forgot that story about the deaconess lady 09:53 who had been praying for years. 09:54 She showed us the tree. Remember that? 09:56 And she said, "I've been praying for years for this tree 09:59 to be replaced by a church." 10:00 And when you guys broke grounds and we stood... 10:03 We kept that tree, I think, in the center of the court 10:05 and built around it as a memorial. 10:08 Well, we see people in tears that tell us stories 10:12 that are decades old of their prayers. 10:15 And then we're able to go in there and work 10:18 with God to answer those prayers. 10:19 The volunteers can come in, and they get impacted. 10:21 So they go back and they're excited. 10:23 There's a lot of pieces to it. 10:26 It's not just that we're a construction company. 10:29 It's a lot more than that. 10:30 ~ I like what you said: building lives through construction. 10:33 It is really about people at the end of the day. 10:36 And one of the things, just to add here to the people part. 10:40 The volunteers; it is a place that, it's an organization where 10:44 it doesn't matter what your skills are, 10:47 it doesn't matter what your age is, 10:49 you can actually go there, get involved. 10:51 I mean, we'll talk about it in the program. 10:53 I mean, we've got young people whose lives are changed 10:57 from a mission trip for the rest of their lives. 11:00 And even 80 and 90 year olds who are out there 11:04 making a difference, you know. 11:06 ~ I've seen that, two sisters that were in their 80's. 11:09 And when I first met them, I said, "How old are you guys?" 11:12 They proudly told us their age, mid to upper 80's. 11:15 They said, "What do want us to do, sit home and rot?" 11:17 And they were picking up steel rods. 11:19 And I'm thinking, "Wow." 11:21 And then a young girl in her early teens 11:23 who, one year, she said she went to Disney World 11:25 one year and regretted it. 11:27 She said, "Mom, we need to be with Maranatha." 11:29 So all the age groups can be involved. 11:31 You know what, I've experienced that myself. 11:33 You know, my mom tried to get me to go on Maranatha trips 11:36 forever, and I'm like, "Oh mom, come on. 11:39 You know, like, can you get our nails done there, mom? 11:42 I'm not going on a Maranatha trip." 11:43 And she's like, "Oh no, I think you'd really like it." 11:45 Well, you know, God has a good sense of humor. 11:47 But once you go on a trip like that, 11:50 for me, it's like, "Yeah, I would not want to go to Disney Land. 11:54 Why would I want to go to Disney Land? 11:55 It's all fake, I want to go to, like, you know..." 11:57 ~ Real lives. - Yeah. 11:59 Like, go out there where real people are living real lives. 12:02 It's kind of cool, right now we've gone through this 12:04 Covid thing over the last few years. 12:06 And now, believe me, the volunteers are coming 12:09 out of the woodwork. 12:10 So we've had hundreds and hundreds and hundreds 12:12 of them just in the last few weeks 12:14 that have been going on these projects. 12:16 It's kind of got us a little bit overwhelmed, but it's great. 12:19 It's really good. 12:21 And you even have a project for young people. 12:23 What's that called? 12:24 ~ Ultimate workout - Ultimate workout. 12:26 ~ Where teenagers can go and just go crazy. 12:29 Leave their phones behind and trade it for a shovel. 12:32 Something like that. Yeah we actually have to cut off 12:35 the registrations on that because we get too many. 12:38 Yeah, this year it completely filled up 12:40 literally within minutes. 12:42 We've got waiting lists. 12:43 And they're headed to Dominican Republic this summer. 12:46 It's going to be high impact. 12:48 ~ Well we're going to watch a video that tells us a little bit 12:49 more about Maranatha, but just kind of talk about it 12:52 and lead into it. 12:53 ~ We were talking actually about, like, when you make 12:57 an investment in Maranatha, whether it be your life, 12:59 your time, whatever it happens to be, 13:01 is that really going to make a difference? 13:04 Like, where does that go? 13:05 Does it just end there? Where does it go? 13:08 And so, we were talking about some of the... 13:11 It expands. It's like it grows on its own. 13:14 Why? Because God is in it. 13:15 ~ That's right. 13:17 And you're just taking that mustard seed and going. 13:20 ~ I think specifically the video you're talking about is 13:23 about the Dominican Republic. 13:24 And it's one of the places that graphically 13:27 is kind of in your face, the growth that happens. 13:31 The people down there are so friendly, 13:32 so openly invite people to their churches and the church grows. 13:35 In fact, I first went to Dominican Republic in 1983. 13:39 They had about 20,000 members. 13:41 Now there's over 400,000 members. 13:43 ~ So 20,000 to over 400,000. That is growth. 13:49 ~ That's exponential. - It's huge. 13:51 So we don't have to question when we invest, 13:56 if you want to use the word, invest, 13:57 in a church building or a school building in that country. 14:00 Is it going to be useful? 14:02 Is it going to expand the kingdom of God? 14:04 Absolutely. 14:05 We've got history that shows it over decades. 14:07 We've got a story for you, but let's watch the video first. 14:09 Well, let's watch the video. 14:16 The nation occupies the eastern part 14:18 of the island of Hispaniola. 14:19 An island it shares with Haiti. 14:22 It's also home to explosive Seventh-day Adventist 14:26 church growth that has turned a fledgling group of churches 14:29 into a spiritual powerhouse. 14:33 In the early 1980's, church membership was 27,000. 14:37 Today there are more than 380,000 Adventists 14:41 in the Dominican Republic. 14:43 In just 40 years the Adventist church has increased 14-fold. 14:48 Such a dramatic increase in church membership 14:50 seems hard to believe, but the Adventist church 14:53 has developed a successful formula. 14:55 Passionate church members paired with Maranatha churches. 14:59 After a bold request from Adventist church leaders 15:02 in 1992, Maranatha stepped out in faith 15:05 in what would be a watershed moment for the organization. 15:08 Twenty-five basic church structures were replaced 15:11 by beautiful sanctuaries in just 70 days. 15:15 At the time, the scale of the project was unprecedented. 15:19 And not only did it catapult Maranatha into a new 15:21 sphere of influence, it completely changed 15:24 the Adventist church in the Dominican Republic. 15:28 The original 25 churches Maranatha built in 1992 15:32 have grown, splitting off to create hundreds of 15:35 daughter congregations, grand-daughters, 15:37 and great grand-daughters. 15:39 Maranatha returned in 2002 to build 50 more churches, 15:43 and then again in 2013 to build nearly 50 more 15:46 as membership multiplied, 15:48 creating the need for more churches. 15:50 Now 30 years after building those first churches, 15:54 Maranatha has returned. 15:55 A move that is once again met with excitement 15:58 by local church members. 16:15 Wow, that's amazing. That's so true. 16:17 You look at the growth, I think the term is, 16:19 "You build it, we'll fill it." 16:21 Talking about 20,000 to over 400,000. 16:23 ~ Yes, that's huge growth for sure. 16:25 Tell us about La Caleta. 16:29 I get pretty excited about this particular project 16:31 because I was able to watch it right from the beginning. 16:36 We were getting ready to do the project that was 16:39 mentioned in that video; Santo Domingo 92, we called it. 16:42 25 churches, 70 days, 1200 volunteers. 16:45 We had never done anything like it. 16:48 If we had been smarter, we wouldn't have done it. 16:50 But we went ahead and did it, and God blessed it. 16:55 The last project that they wanted us to do 16:58 was the farthest away from where everybody was staying. 17:01 Over by the airport; it was called, La Caleta. 17:05 And I said, "Okay, take me out there. 17:06 Let's take a look at what the need is." 17:08 So they took me out there on Sabbath morning. 17:10 It was a beautiful setting in a park. 17:13 Palm trees, beautiful ocean. Lovely. 17:17 They started the service, it was wonderful. 17:19 I'm going, "What do you need a church for? 17:21 This is great. 17:23 ~ Exactly. Good outdoors. 17:24 What could be better than this?" 17:26 ~ What's the problem here? 17:27 So we're sitting there. 17:29 I'm going, "Okay, we're not going to do this one." 17:31 Then along comes the boom boxes. 17:34 Boom, boom, boom, boom. 17:37 And then a little bit later it started to rain. 17:40 And so I said, "Well, okay. 17:43 Let's go take a look at the land." 17:44 So we did. 17:46 And we ended up building that church. 17:49 From that church in 1992, that particular church 17:53 has started over 30 churches, just that one congregation, 17:57 plus a school. 17:59 ~ Over 30 churches came out of that one church 18:03 that we just about passed by, like, 18:05 "Ah, what do they need a church for? 18:07 I mean, you know, come on." 18:09 Over 30 churches. 18:11 We just dedicated a church a couple of weeks ago 18:15 in the Dominican Republic. 18:16 It's called, La Caleta 9. 18:18 And I was telling the story of the beginning of that project, 18:23 and after the church service two people came up and said, 18:25 we were in that park with you that day." 18:28 They said, "We know that this is true, 18:32 and what God has done to bless this whole thing." 18:36 Wow, and so as Chief Operations Officer, 18:39 what does that do to you? 18:41 You know, it completely makes what we do worth it. 18:46 So you realize there's many, many different 18:48 aspects of what we do. 18:50 So A, you're taking care of a need right now, 18:52 which is a physical building, right, 18:54 that will get filled up with wonderful families and kids. 18:59 And they'll have weddings there, 19:01 they'll have evangelistic meetings. 19:03 But then it does something else. 19:04 It's amazing in that culture, especially in that church, 19:08 is so vibrant, it propels them to expand 19:10 you know, pretty quick. 19:13 Within days of that new church being started 19:15 they're like, "Okay, let's go start the next one." 19:18 So, boom, there it goes. 19:19 So it's not just taking care of the need of the church now. 19:22 It is an unbelievable effective evangelism 19:26 that helps God's work expand. 19:29 Then here's the other fascinating thing that happens 19:32 every single time. 19:34 All around it while the building is going up, all of a sudden... 19:36 Most of these churches are being built 19:39 in what they call marginal area, marginal zones. 19:42 So they are areas that have been, let's say, 19:45 added to the city limits. 19:47 Because people have come there and they've just settled and 19:49 squatted, and then eventually services have to be brought in. 19:53 Well, these church buildings become 19:55 the center of that community. 19:57 The neighbors adopt it. 19:58 We were just talking, you know, here a few days ago 20:00 with one of the ladies sitting in the shade. 20:02 And she's like, "I'm so happy this church is here." 20:05 Because it's under construction. There's blocks everywhere. 20:07 And we said, "Well, why?" 20:09 She's like, "Well, it's not going to be a disco. 20:12 It's going to be my church." 20:13 I said, "Are you a member of the church?" 20:15 She said, "No, but I'm planning to attend here." 20:19 She's like, "Oh no, I don't know..." 20:20 ~ She's just waiting for the building to go up. 20:23 "I'm on board." 20:24 She's not even a member, and she's like, 20:25 "Yeah, no, I'm coming to this church." 20:28 "This isn't your church, this is our church. 20:30 This is our community church." 20:31 We've heard that in so many different villages. 20:35 They're like, "No, this is our church, this is our church." 20:37 We're like, "How long have you been a member?" 20:39 "Oh no, I'm not a member, but I'll be coming." 20:42 ~ So the church becomes like a vacuum. 20:44 People just gravitate towards, as the Holy Spirit just 20:47 draws them in. 20:49 ~ Yeah, as I was saying earlier, people... 20:50 And you see this crazy thing, it's a building, for Pete sake. 20:53 In this country we just don't relate to it. 20:56 But it's going on all over the world. 20:58 ~ Isn't that sad in America we have so many buildings 21:00 that people just, it's not a vacuum to them 21:03 because they're distracted by so much in America. 21:06 But Maranatha, I love that, we've seen that. 21:09 You could see that, when that building is done. 21:12 We saw it with the schools there in Zimbabwe. 21:15 We saw police officers showing up once on the site, 21:17 and we thought, "Did something happen?" 21:18 "No, we came to sign our kids up." 21:21 And people wonder, "What kind of God do you have? 21:24 Last week there was nothing here. 21:25 Look at it this week." 21:26 ~ Yeah, the other thing about the Dominican Republic, 21:29 as long as we're on that subject, 21:31 is that it's close by the U.S., it's easy to get there. 21:36 It's safe. 21:37 So guess what? 21:38 All the volunteers want to go there. 21:40 There's certain places that we work, or want to work, 21:43 or have requests to work where you question 21:46 whether you should go there. 21:48 Parents don't like their kids to go there, that type of thing. 21:51 But Dominican is a different animal. 21:52 That's why we've had so many people that have... 21:56 We're already full for next spring 21:59 for projects in Dominican Republic. 22:02 Wow, that's amazing. 22:03 But some of your projects are born out of tragedy. 22:06 Let's talk about Zambia, for example. 22:09 ~ Yeah, so this is an example, this is a prime example, 22:12 I think, of something that I'm sure was built 22:17 with the best of intentions, 22:18 but didn't have the right structural support in this area. 22:22 A bad storm comes and it falls in Zambia. 22:25 The church falls on top of the parishioners. 22:29 - And several people died. ~ Yeah, five. 22:32 ~ Wow, that's the aftermath. ~ Yeah. 22:36 Somebody snapped the picture of this. 22:38 It's probably not the best quality, 22:40 but it's what we've got from them. 22:42 That's shortly after the collapse. 22:45 So they asked us, "Can you help us?" 22:48 Well, we happen to be working in Zambia. 22:50 So we're in process, and I think we have a picture 22:54 of the in-process church. 22:55 And people are excited about coming to that. 22:58 So a much better structure. 23:00 All the structural steel and the engineering has been done 23:04 for international code. 23:06 And this will be an attraction in the area. 23:09 ~ They have over 700 members there. 23:11 So it's a big deal. 23:14 And the blessing that is going to be there, 23:17 and they're already seeing it, 23:18 is we're also building them a school 23:21 on that same piece of property. 23:22 So they're going to have a water well, 23:25 a new church, and a school for all their children. 23:27 So it's going to be great. 23:29 You know what's so nice about hearing this story is, 23:31 I've said this before, having been a part of some of 23:33 these projects, you get there and you see the people's eyes 23:37 just continuing to open up as they see, 23:39 "Who are all these people?" 23:41 And people wonder, "How much are they paying you guys?" 23:44 "Nothing. We're all volunteers." 23:46 People are just actually paying their way to go 23:48 to make a difference in somebody's life. 23:50 And they come back changed. 23:51 ~ Yeah, this particular location is quite hard to get to. 23:55 It was advertised as a 10 hour drive on tough roads. 24:00 - It was 15. ~ Oh, man. 24:03 Fifteen hours on very tough roads, very hot. 24:06 And the volunteers got there, and they're going, 24:08 "Why in the world did I do this?" 24:11 Then they got to meet some of the people. 24:15 Some of those that had been maimed. 24:17 Some of them are on crutches still after this accident. 24:22 And after it's all over they said, "Absolutely worth it." 24:26 Absolutely worth it." 24:27 And you can see the reach, like, who goes out there? 24:33 No one. 24:34 So those people, you're talking about eyes getting big. 24:36 They're like, "You've got to be kidding me. 24:38 People are coming here to do this thing for us." 24:42 Guess how many people are signed up for the school. 24:44 ~ Wow. - You know. 24:45 ~ Yeah, it's the gospel to the ends of the earth. 24:48 ~ Right, you cannot tell the impact until the eternity. 24:51 ~ And there is. That's exactly right, Don. 24:53 There's this spiritual, this is happening in the physical world, 24:57 but there's a whole spiritual world, right. 24:59 There's the storm knocks this building down, right. 25:02 We're all having this storm that we're dealing with in society. 25:05 And the church becomes the place you go to, right, for shelter. 25:08 And that church will become shelter. 25:09 The ones in the Dominican Republic, they told us, 25:12 they're designed for hurricanes, "We will be running here." 25:15 Because they live in a house which is made of sticks 25:19 and a little bit of steel, you know, sheeting. 25:22 And so, they will go to the church. 25:23 But that's true spiritually too. And you can't forget that. 25:27 ~ Yeah, you speak about the Dominican Republic, 25:29 I'm sorry to go back to that, but we were just there. 25:32 And we went to this one church that we're building. 25:34 It's got the roof on it now, so they meet there. 25:36 It's not done but they still meet there. 25:37 And I was asking the head elder, I said... 25:41 Now we've been to this church before. 25:43 The only reason it held up is because 25:45 the termites where holding hands. 25:46 That's what we joke about. 25:47 But it was pretty bad. 25:49 I said, "So, was that hard for your congregation 25:52 to have the faith to step out and knock down what you had? 25:57 Because it wasn't good, but you had something." 26:00 He said, "Oh, no." 26:01 He said, "We had one guy in the congregation that stood up 26:04 and shook it, and the whole thing fell down." 26:07 ~ Yeah, so it didn't take long. 26:09 The termites said, "Hey, something's going on. 26:10 Let's let go hands." 26:13 But you've had some impact also in Peru and in Kenya. 26:17 Let's talk about some of those churches. 26:19 ~ Yeah, we've done a lot in Peru. 26:21 And you know, it's interesting, we build the structure. 26:24 In some of these countries we just build the structure. 26:27 Like the steel, you know. 26:28 They put the shirt on the building. 26:31 So here's an example of something that... 26:32 Like, it's going to look pretty different. 26:34 That looks more like America. 26:37 Something you might see here. 26:39 We also have examples in, let's say... 26:42 There's another thing in Peru 26:45 where they're not quite finished with it yet, 26:47 but they're going to meet in that church. 26:48 It's being used right away. 26:51 Also, there's examples of, let's say, Africa. 26:55 It might take them a longer time. 26:57 ~ Just like there is one in Kenya. 26:59 ~ Yep. 27:00 You know, talking about Peru, 27:02 going back there just for a second. 27:04 You know, we've just talked Dominican Republic. 27:05 You fly south, right, to Peru. 27:08 The church there is growing like crazy. 27:10 We have the privilege of being there 27:12 towards the end of the year. 27:14 And the design for the building there, because we modify it 27:19 country by country, the design for the building there 27:22 that we're doing, as they say, "We need small buildings." 27:25 "Well, why is that?" 27:26 Because usually you're expecting them to say, 27:28 "Hey, let's get as big a building..." 27:29 "Well, we have small congregations. 27:32 We don't want them to grow too big. 27:34 We want more, in fact." 27:35 So we have a hundred locations. 27:37 So that's what we're planning to do this year. 27:40 A hundred locations to build very simple buildings 27:43 for their congregations all the way from the jungle 27:47 up to very high elevations. 27:49 Which is Peru. 27:51 ~ One of their Union presidents stood up, and he knew about 27:53 the hundred commitment, and he had an audience there, 27:57 so he said, "Maranatha has agreed to build 28:00 500 churches for us." 28:02 They put you on the spot. 28:04 Well yeah, so that's more their need. 28:08 We can't do everything everywhere that everybody wants. 28:12 I wish we could. 28:13 ~ I think you once mentioned, you said, 28:15 if you fulfilled all the request that have been given to you, 28:20 you can't live long enough to do that. 28:22 You've got more than a hundred years of projects. 28:24 ~ Well, part of the thing we try to do is speed it up. 28:26 And that's part of the reason for the fast build, 28:29 the one day, whatever you want to call it, the church where 28:32 you give them a strong structural system and a roof 28:35 that they can put the walls on it, 28:37 so that we can do more, impact more locations. 28:40 ~ It also helps each congregation feel like, 28:43 "This is mine, this is mine." 28:46 You know, they forget about us, which is great, 28:48 and it becomes theirs. 28:49 ~ Well let's move on, let's look at this picture 28:51 of the Kenya church; because you talk about the difference 28:52 between the Peru one and the Kenya one. 28:54 The different philosophy, the different structure. 28:56 And this one is being built here. 28:58 And they're going to build that 28:59 and add onto that in their own time. 29:01 ~ Exactly. So they'll put their own walls on, 29:02 just like the Peruvians did, and they'll make it their own. 29:06 ~ Some places where it's super-hot, they don't 29:08 put much in the way of walls because... 29:10 They need that breeze. 29:12 ~ Yeah, that church was finished last week. 29:14 I think if my brain doesn't fail me, 29:17 it's Katuma; it's on the western part of Kenya. 29:19 Super-hot. It's nice to have the breeze. 29:23 And it becomes a sacred space. 29:25 And you know what? Most of the places in Kenya 29:28 after we build them, it takes them a little bit. 29:30 They'll fire bricks, blocks, they'll finish it up, 29:34 and it becomes, you know, a light for them. 29:37 And that just... Oh, go ahead. 29:39 ~ We had churches in Malawi, when you drive by you see this 29:42 huge pile of red fired brick. 29:46 And there's the church people out there, they're like, 29:48 "We're hoping you'll come. 29:50 Please, we're ready. We've got all our bricks. 29:52 We're waiting for you, we're ready to put the walls up." 29:54 I mean, it just breaks your heart. 29:55 So they're out there. 29:57 ~ Yeah, we did 900 churches in Malawi, so. 29:59 You know, the numbers get pretty big every year. 30:02 Right now we're doing 300 to 400 churches around the world. 30:06 Sometimes we'd done a little bit more than that in a year. 30:08 ~ Wow, that gives a whole new perspective, 30:10 the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church. 30:13 The church is growing, pushing, and expanding. 30:16 - Praise God for that. ~ Well it is. 30:17 You know, I got a letter from the Division president 30:20 over in India, he said, "According to our calculations, 30:23 Maranatha has built over 40% of the churches 30:25 that we currently occupy in the country of India." 30:28 So it's fun to be involved with God in this unique ministry 30:34 that's bringing people to Jesus. 30:36 That's just the way it is. 30:38 ~ You guys don't wake up in the morning trying to figure out 30:40 "What do we do today?" 30:42 ~ No. ~ No. 30:43 Well yeah, kind of we do. 30:44 Here, here, here, or here? 30:46 ~ "Where do we go today?" pretty much is the question, 30:48 rather than, "What do we do today?" 30:50 Let's talk about some of the Dominican Republic schools. 30:52 - Yeah. - Okay. 30:54 We should have a picture of a... 30:56 ~ It's an empty lot right now. 30:58 There it is; it's a big piece of property 31:00 there that they worked very hard to purchase. 31:03 This is centrally located; there's 80 churches 31:07 within fairly close proximity to this piece of property, 31:10 and there's no Christian school anywhere. 31:13 Wow. That's about to be filled. 31:15 ~ Yeah, so, yeah. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. 31:16 We've designed it for kindergarten through 12th grade. 31:21 Kindergarten through 12th, plus a large church. 31:23 All on that piece of property. 31:25 And it's just getting started. 31:26 We've had a number of groups there. 31:28 The picture showed the wall 31:29 being started around the outside. 31:31 So that's in progress. 31:33 That's going to take a little while. 31:35 ~ I'd love to be there on registration day. 31:39 ~ They're already coming there. 31:40 The people are driving up and saying, 31:42 "Hey, what's going in here? We hear it's a school. 31:44 We want to sign up. Where do we do it?" 31:46 "How can we get our kids..." 31:47 Not even a first foundation broken. 31:50 Right. And it's not just Adventists. 31:52 These schools always attract other people to them. 31:54 That's the whole thing. 31:55 You know that the Holy Spirit is using all those different 31:59 miracles put together, all those families. 32:01 I mean, those kids come home and say, 32:03 "Mom, why aren't we praying before we eat?" 32:06 "What are we doing? Where's the Bible, mom?" 32:09 So there's huge outreach into the community. 32:13 I'm excited to see what God's going to do there. 32:15 ~ And even Panama, talk about some of the stories in Panama. 32:18 ~ Oh my goodness. 32:19 So Panama started, I wasn't there, Don was there. 32:23 He should really tell the story, but I talk too much. 32:25 So anyway, we started with just a hand... 32:28 They said, "Hey, we want schools. 32:30 The school for us is the tip of the spear of the gospel." 32:35 That's how they used it. 32:38 They're like, "This is our strategy. 32:39 We're putting schools." 32:41 We're like, "Why are you putting schools? 32:42 There's not a church around there. 32:44 Are you sure this thing is going to go? 32:45 You're going to get left with this big bill. 32:47 And all of a sudden you're paying all these teachers, 32:49 and nobody is coming." 32:50 They're like, "No, we have a plan." 32:52 And wouldn't you know it, you come back a few years later, 32:55 one particular school there's over 30... 32:59 The city of David, we built a school there about 20 years ago. 33:03 25 years ago now, I suppose. 33:05 And there was really nothing there. 33:08 We built this school; it now has 1200 to 1300 students, 33:11 and 30 some churches all around there 33:14 that has spawned out of that. 33:15 ~ And growing. They can't take any more students. 33:18 Now they're... 33:19 You know, we built other schools there. 33:21 And basically the same story. 33:23 Around every school that they planted, 33:26 they were so intentional, and the church just grew 33:29 in those areas; and those schools are full. 33:31 It's like the axel, and then the formation of this 33:35 ring of light. 33:37 They do the education intentionally there 33:40 as a form of evangelism. 33:42 And you know, you think about the parents are coming 33:44 every day, they've got to go to all those programs, 33:46 they've got to drop their kids. 33:47 They make friends with other parents. 33:49 You know, all of a sudden you're in this community. 33:53 You know, you're studying your Bible with the kids 33:55 to make sure they get through that lesson. 33:57 You know, I mean. 33:59 ~ You know, we have what we consider formal evangelism, 34:02 the programs, and those are good. 34:03 But there's other ways of doing it too. 34:05 And sometimes it involves construction. 34:09 ~ And that's the thing. 34:10 Let's talk about India here for a moment. 34:11 Because, you guys, we're jumping all over the globe here. 34:15 But let's talk about India before and after. 34:18 ~ So in India we have this school. 34:21 I call it the Suzy Bake Oven. 34:23 - But Ken, go ahead. ~ No, no, no, it's okay. 34:25 We can all tag team the India story. 34:28 As an introduction, I'll talk about schools in India. 34:33 Every single school that we've been building here 34:35 in the recent past, they open up full. 34:39 And the lines are out the door. And I'll tell you why. 34:42 Most of the kids that are going to school there, 34:44 they're not Seventh-day Adventists. 34:46 They're not Christian. 34:47 They might be Muslim, they might be Hindu. 34:51 They're after a system that teaches morals. 34:55 And so they bring the kids in there. 34:58 And it is so cool to see these young boys and girls 35:02 learn about Jesus in a culture and a society that, you know, 35:06 fundamentally doesn't have hope, right. 35:10 So they come and they learn about that. 35:11 And the teachers are dedicated. 35:14 And like we've said, this is a great way 35:18 to bring a world view that is much better. 35:23 And so, the parents in India, they will give anything. 35:28 We've been working in India since 35:31 1998 or 1999 we got started. 35:34 There was one time, approximately, 35:36 there was one time I was out, and one site visit there. 35:39 And we went to a little area, and we were looking at a place 35:43 to put a school in. 35:45 And the director back then was Doug. 35:48 And so, we got in the vehicle to leave. 35:50 And a dad lays down in front of the car and says, 35:55 "You can't leave until you promise to build a school here." 35:59 So that will stop you in your tracks, literally, right. 36:02 "And why is that?" 36:03 "Well, because I have a young girl 36:04 who has no chance at education." 36:08 So what are we doing now, Laura? There's the background. 36:11 ~ Well, and I just have to throw in, so many stories from India 36:14 where parents put all their pride aside 36:17 and they're literally hanging onto your shoes 36:21 begging you; you can't move. 36:24 They're like, "You have to let my child in this school." 36:27 We woke up one morning, we stayed at the school site, 36:32 there were, I don't know, hundreds, hundreds of 36:37 parents outside the gate, because today 36:41 is registration day. 36:43 ~ They had stayed there all night. 36:46 They wanted to be the first one in line. 36:48 They took buses. 36:50 I mean, it was a full 24, 48 hour project. 36:54 "I have to get my kid in this school. 36:56 I have to get my kid in this school." 36:58 It's amazing. 36:59 ~ I know, it's a moving thing when you think about it. 37:01 I'm seeing it, because we experienced that. 37:04 ~ Like, this is life or death to them. 37:06 I mean, they are going to get that kid in that school. 37:08 And it's so... 37:10 The uniqueness of India is that... 37:13 Well, maybe I should back up. 37:15 I often get the question, "Why do you keep working in India? 37:19 It's hard." 37:20 - And it is hard. ~ Oh yeah. 37:21 It's a long ways away. 37:23 It's difficult, it's challenging. 37:24 "Why do you keep working in India?" 37:27 Well, there's hundreds of millions of people 37:32 in that sub-continent that have never heard the name of Jesus. 37:35 We're not talking about a Christian country 37:37 where you're moving from one denomination to another, 37:40 or whatever. 37:41 This is people that have never, ever heard, "Jesus Christ". 37:45 And if we can do something to change that, 37:50 which is what we're trying to do, 37:51 God can use that. 37:54 ~ And we're building a lot of these schools among the very 37:56 poor of the poorest. 37:58 I mean, some of these people that are wanting to bring their 38:00 kids, they're making two dollars a day maybe. 38:04 Sometimes two dollars a month, right. 38:06 They're considered the lower spectrum on the 38:10 social economic scale there. 38:12 So this is their access, this is their way out. 38:14 ~ Let's look at this transformation. 38:17 I want to go to this transformation, 38:18 before and after. 38:20 ~ I love the before and after. 38:21 And so, the before picture here, I call it the Suzy Bake Oven. 38:26 Because you sit in there and it's just... 38:28 ~ In India we know it's hot under that tin. 38:30 ~ You will die in there. 38:32 It looks nice on the screen. 38:33 ~ So Kenneth is talking about these poor schools. 38:36 Well this is a great example. 38:38 ~ Of before. ~ This is the before. 38:40 ~ Yeah, and this is after. 38:44 ~ And the number of students, what is it, 38:46 four or five times as many as they had. 38:48 ~ Yeah. ~ Maybe more. 38:52 So they're just, it's great. It's a great success story. 38:55 ~ There's story after story. 38:56 The sheepherder girl goes to school, 39:01 turns out to be absolute genius in mathematics, 39:05 scores top in her state, right. 39:06 - I mean, like, that's really... ~ Tests out at top. 39:10 ~ Waiting, these resources... 39:12 You know, somebody once said the greatest natural resource 39:15 we have are our children. 39:17 Not the gold, not the diamond, not the oil. 39:19 The greatest natural resource. 39:20 That's the untapped resource. 39:22 This is what Maranatha is reaching out to do. 39:24 Investing, I love that, building... 39:26 What do you say? No building buildings. 39:28 - Building people. ~ Building people. 39:30 And the potential is just, you can't even gauge the potential. 39:34 There's nothing greater than the potential of the human being. 39:37 I mean, God created people with capacity. 39:39 ~Let's talk about Falakata. Is that the way you say it? 39:42 ~ Yeah, Falakata - Yeah. 39:44 ~ So we just have a, this is what we call an 39:50 evangelism center. 39:51 ~ Education evangelism center. 39:53 In India, they call them just Maranatha education center. 39:56 This is just a school. 39:57 It's on a campus that we worked on once before. 39:59 They needed another huge hall with more students. 40:02 They've got 1300 to 1400 students there, I think. 40:05 - So that's one school. ~ That's big. 40:07 Yeah, it's huge. Yeah. 40:10 ~ That's a good word. 40:11 ~ It's huge and expensive. I will say that. 40:14 But it becomes a center. 40:15 That's a big auditorium with a ton of classrooms 40:17 and office space, bathrooms, you know. 40:19 It becomes the center for a spiritual community. 40:22 And you can see that. 40:24 We just dedicated that last month. 40:25 There's another one we just dedicated 40:27 we should have a picture of. 40:28 Yeah, I think Lasalgaon. And that's a beautiful school. 40:32 It has the same type of interior, same structure. 40:34 And it is just a beautiful school. 40:36 I wish we had a before and after of that one, 40:38 but that is beautiful. 40:39 ~ You know, the thing I also learned about Maranatha 40:42 projects, in a lot of instances, you don't just 40:46 build the buildings, but you plan ahead of 40:48 time for the landscaping. 40:49 I saw that happen with the project... 40:51 ~ We've been doing quite a bit of that. 40:53 Like in Kenya, we've done a lot of that. 40:55 And you know, why not? 40:57 God is a God of beauty. 40:59 Education is more than just learning to read and write, 41:03 and do all that. 41:04 Teaching them that beauty is important. 41:07 They've oftentimes not grown up with that. 41:10 Look around, it can be beautiful. 41:13 ~ And we've revisited some of the projects, 41:14 to go back and see what it looks like two years later; 41:17 and it's like, wow. 41:19 This was, you didn't see that. 41:21 But you know, nature takes it's time to build that grass 41:23 there, then they manicure it, 41:25 and they stand in front of that church proudly, 41:27 rather than in front of a wood structure or shack. 41:30 Or in some cases a pole with just cloth over it. 41:34 And wow, we've seen that too. 41:35 There was a picture that went up and came back down. 41:39 ~ Okay, India brick building. - Yeah. 41:41 That's a project that we're actually doing right now. 41:44 It's called, Binjipali. 41:45 It's a school that has great capacity, 41:52 but no buildings that are of any value. 41:54 The kids sleep in terrible conditions. 41:57 And so, that's one that's getting started. 42:00 ~ Thinking of a dormitory, are you thinking? 42:03 ~ It will take everything. 42:05 Boys dorm, girls dorm, big education center, 42:09 school, cafeteria, kitchen, bathroom, 42:13 probably teacher housing. 42:15 The whole thing. 42:16 ~ That's so true. 42:18 ~ And people can go on that and volunteer. 42:20 We have it on the list. 42:22 ~ And by the way, we'll give the website information 42:24 at the end of the program so that you can participate 42:26 either as a volunteer or as a financial donor. 42:29 Because the needs are just always there. 42:31 The needs are there. 42:33 And people even can pick where they'd like 42:34 to go and participate, as far as volunteering. 42:37 And we talk about the ultimate workout, 42:39 if you haven't gotten on that. 42:41 I haven't gone to that, but I'm not a youth. 42:42 But that's something for the young people to go on. 42:44 ~ We can work something out for you. 42:47 Make you commitment, we'll work it out. 42:48 I'll wear a cap and hide my hair color. 42:51 Now let's talk about Peru. Let's talk about Peru. 42:54 Peru is another place where you have this 42:56 school/church combination. 42:58 We do. They have tremendous need now. 43:00 We had a lot of volunteers that were excited about 43:03 going down there, but it seems like, I don't know what it is, 43:07 there's been a difficulty in Peru. 43:09 Of course, first, it was Covid. 43:10 Then it became the issue, political issues down there 43:13 that has shut down the volunteers for most of the year. 43:17 But I think that's starting to open back up. 43:19 ~ We're still able to finish a beautiful school down there. 43:24 And while we were dedicating it, the same thing happened. 43:26 People along the street were saying, "Adventista, Adventista. 43:30 Alistar escuela?" 43:32 You know, they're asking, like, 43:34 "Can I get my kid in that school?" 43:36 And look how beautiful that is. 43:38 This one is going to turn out to be a great story. 43:41 We'll some day come here and have to say, 43:43 "Hey, remember when we talked about it?" 43:44 Because the congregation who had a reasonably nice 43:48 church building, the way... 43:50 Okay, relative to their neighborhood. 43:54 And they tore that down completely in faith 43:59 expecting a school. 44:01 Because they really were committed to making 44:03 a difference in the community. 44:04 ~ Couples that had gotten married there, 44:06 their grandparents that laid the block. 44:08 I mean, this was a very emotional thing for them to 44:11 tear it down, but they were willing to do it because 44:14 Maranatha was coming and they believed that we would do it. 44:17 - And then... ~ Then Covid hit. 44:19 And then everything stopped for two years. 44:21 But now they have the building. 44:22 ~ And the school starts full. It's full. 44:26 So the blessings are already starting. 44:27 I mean, that takes a lot when you think about 44:29 nostalgia connected to tearing a building down. 44:32 You're envisioning, "Mom and dad got married here. 44:35 We had our baby dedication here. 44:36 When we look at the building, we think of family." 44:39 And to knock it down, that's not just an act of faith. 44:42 That's disconnecting from the past and saying, 44:44 "God's got something better." 44:46 ~ It really is, and those people were an example of that. 44:49 - For sure. - They really were. 44:51 And even you've done some stuff in Cuba. 44:53 ~ Oh yeah, we need to move quickly because we 44:55 still have a show and tell with John here. 44:58 A special feature we have today. 44:59 So hang on right? 45:01 - Let's talk about Cuba. - Okay, Cuba. 45:02 I'll intro it in 30 seconds. 45:05 Cuba is this amazing country where we have been able to work 45:10 for a lot of years and see God work. 45:12 And right now Cuba is going through a difficult 45:17 economic situation. 45:19 They're having difficulty finding food and getting food. 45:23 A lot of this stems from left over from Covid, 45:27 and then there's, you know, wars with Ukraine, 45:29 this and that, that's affecting that country. 45:31 And so, the church in Cuba was given permission 45:35 to bring food in. 45:36 And then tag, Don, you're it. 45:38 You can keep going on that story. 45:40 ~ Well, we brought in a number of containers of food. 45:45 ~ Let's go back to all those bundles. 45:47 Let's just kind of, let's look at that. 45:48 That's coming out of one container. 45:51 Each container has about 25,000 pounds of food. 45:55 The third one, I think, is on the water right now going in. 45:58 Getting permission. We ship it out of Panama. 46:01 ~ See, that's something else I didn't know. 46:02 I mean, not only are you building buildings, but then 46:04 also in this depressed situation you're able to raise 46:09 the funds needed to get food into the country. 46:11 ~ Yeah, I mean, we actually went down and took pictures 46:14 of people getting the food. 46:16 I mean, there are tears. You know, I mean... 46:18 ~ This was unusual. 46:19 This is not in our main wheelhouse, but you know, 46:23 so to speak, but this was such an urgent need. 46:26 Really what you're providing is hope for the people. 46:28 Because right now anybody that can get out is getting out 46:32 of the country, including church leadership. 46:35 ~ Wow. - They're gone. 46:36 I mean, you might come to church on Sabbath morning, 46:38 and your pastor is gone; and everybody understands. 46:40 ~ You know, not too many years ago I think we were there, 46:42 we dedicated the seminary there even. 46:44 Is that going through difficulty also? 46:46 ~ Oh yeah, in fact, a lot of the food is going there 46:48 so that they can feed the students. 46:50 Because they've lost a lot of the students 46:53 because they couldn't feed them. 46:54 But this is providing food. 46:56 There's enough food to take them through this school year. 47:00 ~ And it's going through the country too. 47:02 The different churches and the church members. 47:04 ~ But the church is growing. 47:06 - Unbelievable. ~ Through it all. 47:08 There are people that are loyal to the whole idea, 47:10 not the idea, but the reality of Maranatha, Jesus is coming. 47:14 Let's not let go. 47:15 You know, through much tribulation, we face 47:17 the fact that this is just temporary. 47:19 The joy is going to be coming. 47:20 For the first time in quite a few years 47:22 we've gotten permission to build five churches right now. 47:25 ~ In Cuba? - In Cuba. 47:26 Wow, that's huge. 47:28 ~ And they're letting us ship in construction materials. 47:31 ~ That's huge. - That's a new day. 47:33 That is a new day. I mean, in a communist country. 47:36 But I think somehow God works in dark situations. 47:40 Well, like you say, through tribulation. 47:42 The churches literally are packed full to the rim. 47:47 ~ Well, and one of the things about tribulation 47:49 is just like the simple thing of not having water. 47:52 And so you look at the ministry of Jesus, 47:56 He so often addressed some urgently felt need. 48:01 And then He had their attention. 48:03 And that's really where the water hits the road. 48:06 ~ Yeah, we just started doing water, 48:07 I don't know, 5 or 6 years ago. 48:09 I don't know why we were so slow. 48:11 But the impact, when you drill a well, 48:14 say next to a church or next to a school, 48:17 you talk about, the people say, "You care about me. 48:23 Why do you care about me? 48:25 Let's see, what else do you have? 48:28 I see you've got a church over here. 48:29 What are you guys teaching?" 48:31 The church growth in those areas is huge. 48:33 ~ It's a catalyst to more. 48:35 And you have a picture of this young lady. 48:37 Okay, the young lady, yeah. 48:39 ~ So here's an example. 48:40 Like the picture of this lady, she's maybe 80 pounds. 48:44 And that bucket on her head is full of water. 48:48 She could walk anywhere from one to five miles 48:51 with that thing on her head. 48:52 We actually brought the carry cans. 48:56 We brought that bucket here today. 48:57 It's right here for you, John, to put on your head. 49:00 This is a first. 49:02 Okay, I'm going to reach down and get this bucket. 49:06 I don't know how these gals do it. 49:08 - Pretty light, isn't it? - Oh, man. 49:11 - I barely can lift this up. - Can you put it on your head? 49:14 Oh man, I tell you. 49:16 I would be singing soprano for the rest of my life. 49:20 I don't need any skull compressions. 49:22 But this is not, this is not light. 49:25 I cannot imagine, carrying it in your hand, a mile is a lot, 49:29 let alone putting it on your head. 49:31 But in it, this is the water of life. 49:33 - Yeah. - Yes. 49:35 And that's something that's needed. 49:36 We've seen so many wells are few and far between. 49:39 ~ Sometimes where they get their water, it's not good water. 49:42 It's not pure clean water. 49:43 And sometimes between where they live 49:45 and where they go it's unsafe. 49:47 Whether it's people that are attacking them, 49:51 sometimes animals. 49:53 ~ But when you bring the water, we have another picture, 49:54 the people surrounding the water, the living water, 49:57 it makes a difference. 49:58 ~ So we try to put the well as close to the church as possible. 50:02 And here's an example of that. 50:05 One of the places that we worked in, really super remote section 50:10 of Kenya right close to the Ethiopian border, 50:13 we were trying to locate with all our fancy equipment, 50:17 you know, fraction trace analysis and whatnot, 50:20 like where' the best place to put that well. 50:21 And the church people said, "No, just put it by the church." 50:24 ~ Oh, they just chose the area. - They just chose that. 50:27 ~ We said, "Well, they tell us that there's 50:28 absolutely no chance that there's water there. 50:31 We need to drill over here." They said, "No." 50:33 The scientists say, like, "Oh no, you can't put it by the... 50:35 No, it's just not... No, don't do that." 50:38 And the church people are like, "No, just put it here." 50:40 ~ Listen to the scientists or the people in the church. 50:42 ~ Well, if you drill, you're wasting resources. 50:46 And I know you're just about out of time. 50:48 But... 50:51 So we went ahead and drilled. 50:53 To make it short, we hit pure water at 30 meters. 50:56 To this day it's still kicking out water for that whole area. 51:01 "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, 51:03 the evident of things not seen." 51:04 And that's what water does. 51:06 Wow, you know, I want to make sure that our audience 51:08 is taking all this in. 51:10 I mean, we talked about so much. 51:11 We've run through it very quickly. 51:12 But you need to know how to be a participant 51:15 in the Maranatha projects and how to support the 51:18 ongoing needs that Maranatha has. 51:20 You may not be able to travel, 51:22 but your donations can travel and make a difference. 51:25 You might ask, "What does the money go for?" 51:27 Well I think the program showed you. 51:29 Not only building buildings, but as Laura said, building lives. 51:33 And introducing to them not only the running water, 51:35 but the living water, Christ Jesus. 51:37 So if you'd like to participate in a financial way, 51:40 or even become a part of the Maranatha volunteer team, 51:43 this is the information that you need to participate. 51:46 After this, we'll be right back for a few closing thoughts. 51:52 If you would like to contact or know more about 51:54 Maranatha Volunteers International... |
Revised 2024-12-16