1 00:00:30,459 --> 00:00:32,020 To you as a church as well. 2 00:00:32,212 --> 00:00:33,900 This is not from us personally. 3 00:00:33,972 --> 00:00:37,424 So our friend and colleague Eileen that you saw in the video, 4 00:00:38,324 --> 00:00:42,300 she made a profession of salvation, a profession of faith 5 00:00:42,332 --> 00:00:46,852 in Jesus in 2006, but had not understood the gospel. 6 00:00:46,948 --> 00:00:50,100 She was depending on her attendance to church and the good 7 00:00:50,132 --> 00:00:52,204 works that she was doing for her salvation. 8 00:00:52,364 --> 00:00:57,054 So it was 2017, Lydia got to disciple her, and that is when she 9 00:00:57,094 --> 00:01:00,862 realized she was not actually trusting Jesus for salvation and 10 00:01:00,878 --> 00:01:03,454 she accepted Jesus Christ as her savior at that time. 11 00:01:03,614 --> 00:01:05,734 So she's been growing along with us. 12 00:01:05,814 --> 00:01:07,406 She's a great encouragement to us. 13 00:01:07,510 --> 00:01:10,670 But when she heard we were coming to America, she understands 14 00:01:10,702 --> 00:01:14,438 our relationship with you all as our supporters in prayer and finances. 15 00:01:14,606 --> 00:01:17,406 She asked us how many churches we were visiting, and we thought 16 00:01:17,430 --> 00:01:18,062 she was curious. 17 00:01:18,118 --> 00:01:20,054 We told her a rough number. 18 00:01:20,214 --> 00:01:23,886 And then a few days later, she came back with a sarong or a lava, 19 00:01:23,910 --> 00:01:27,218 lava for each and every church that supports us. 20 00:01:27,366 --> 00:01:29,514 That's at considerable cost to herself. 21 00:01:29,674 --> 00:01:31,370 It was about a month's wages. 22 00:01:31,522 --> 00:01:34,714 But she said, I want you to go and present this to the churches 23 00:01:34,754 --> 00:01:39,226 and tell you all, tell the churches, thank you so much for getting 24 00:01:39,290 --> 00:01:41,754 behind us to send us to Vanuatu. 25 00:01:41,794 --> 00:01:42,482 She said, I understand. 26 00:01:42,538 --> 00:01:46,426 If it was not for those people praying and supporting you, I would 27 00:01:46,450 --> 00:01:49,210 not have had the opportunity to hear the gospel when I did. 28 00:01:49,362 --> 00:01:52,218 So I'd like to present this to the church as itself. 29 00:01:52,266 --> 00:01:56,536 It is not very significant, but the symbolism behind it immense. 30 00:01:56,600 --> 00:02:00,368 So thank you so much, Pastor, on behalf of the church, we'll present 31 00:02:00,416 --> 00:02:15,112 that to you, Eileen, is fruit of your efforts in global missions. 32 00:02:15,208 --> 00:02:18,472 So thank you so much for that as well as there are many others 33 00:02:18,528 --> 00:02:19,284 as well. 34 00:02:19,984 --> 00:02:24,164 For the sake of time tonight, I will not go through and list every. 35 00:02:24,764 --> 00:02:28,260 Every person that we have had the opportunity to impact with the 36 00:02:28,292 --> 00:02:29,020 gospel. 37 00:02:29,212 --> 00:02:33,036 I would like to focus on a few that I'm really fired up about because 38 00:02:33,140 --> 00:02:36,740 we've been doing a lot of planting seeds, it seems, over the 39 00:02:36,772 --> 00:02:39,316 years, and a lot of watering. 40 00:02:39,460 --> 00:02:42,172 But then some of the fruit we thought we had turned out not to 41 00:02:42,188 --> 00:02:42,984 be fruit. 42 00:02:43,284 --> 00:02:47,924 And now we're starting to see some true fruit from the efforts 43 00:02:47,964 --> 00:02:48,900 of our labors there. 44 00:02:48,932 --> 00:02:53,112 So it's exciting for us to see, and we would be negligent if 45 00:02:53,128 --> 00:02:54,832 we did not share that with you. 46 00:02:55,008 --> 00:02:59,424 It's also, on another note, it's so encouraging to see the newsletters 47 00:02:59,464 --> 00:03:00,728 from our missionaries read. 48 00:03:00,776 --> 00:03:05,520 I mean, it's encouraging to us to see that you have such an investment 49 00:03:05,672 --> 00:03:06,328 in missions. 50 00:03:06,376 --> 00:03:07,912 So thank you so much for that. 51 00:03:08,008 --> 00:03:10,008 It's not just another letter on A wall. 52 00:03:10,096 --> 00:03:12,664 But you are paying attention carefully to what happens. 53 00:03:12,744 --> 00:03:15,924 We really appreciate to see that in churches. 54 00:03:16,584 --> 00:03:20,296 So for those of you maybe that have started attending here in the 55 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:23,836 last however many years it's been, I would like to go back a little 56 00:03:23,860 --> 00:03:27,732 bit and explain a bit about the spiritual background to Vanuatu 57 00:03:27,868 --> 00:03:29,588 and what we've been learning. 58 00:03:29,756 --> 00:03:34,076 You see, when we went in 2011 and even the years following, we 59 00:03:34,100 --> 00:03:35,596 felt like we knew a bit. 60 00:03:35,740 --> 00:03:39,820 I wasn't arrogant enough to think I knew everything, and now 61 00:03:39,852 --> 00:03:41,948 I realize how little I know even now. 62 00:03:41,996 --> 00:03:44,916 But God's been teaching us a lot about the belief system and the 63 00:03:44,940 --> 00:03:48,268 culture of Vanuatu as we attempt to share the gospel in a 64 00:03:48,276 --> 00:03:50,496 way that they can clearly understand it. 65 00:03:50,660 --> 00:03:54,080 Because we've been sharing the gospel, preaching, teaching for quite 66 00:03:54,112 --> 00:03:58,368 a while, but we were starting to realize a few years ago that the 67 00:03:58,416 --> 00:04:02,056 same people were continually falling back into the same patterns, 68 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:06,720 were raising their hands for salvation, and even just their lifestyle 69 00:04:06,752 --> 00:04:09,416 just did not match with the message of the gospel that we had 70 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:10,564 been teaching them. 71 00:04:10,984 --> 00:04:13,656 So I'd like to go back a little bit and share a little bit 72 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:14,484 about that. 73 00:04:14,824 --> 00:04:18,284 I would also like to take us to second Corinthians, chapter four. 74 00:04:19,424 --> 00:04:24,456 It ties in quite well to what we've seen in Vanuatu and also hits 75 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:29,368 on a few things about the state that the country is in. 76 00:04:29,536 --> 00:04:31,008 2nd Corinthians 4. 77 00:04:31,056 --> 00:04:34,982 I'll start in verse 1, and we'll read through to verse 7. 78 00:04:35,289 --> 00:04:38,764 2 Corinthians 4:1. 79 00:04:39,584 --> 00:04:43,472 Seeing therefore we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, 80 00:04:43,568 --> 00:04:47,802 we faint not, but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, 81 00:04:47,978 --> 00:04:52,082 not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, 82 00:04:52,218 --> 00:04:56,050 but by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every 83 00:04:56,082 --> 00:04:58,374 man's conscience in the sight of God. 84 00:04:58,834 --> 00:05:03,410 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost in whom 85 00:05:03,442 --> 00:05:06,570 the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe 86 00:05:06,642 --> 00:05:10,962 not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is 87 00:05:10,978 --> 00:05:14,014 the image of God, should shine unto them. 88 00:05:14,514 --> 00:05:19,426 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves 89 00:05:19,490 --> 00:05:20,098 your servants. 90 00:05:20,146 --> 00:05:21,414 For Jesus sake. 91 00:05:22,034 --> 00:05:25,234 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath 92 00:05:25,274 --> 00:05:29,754 shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the 93 00:05:29,794 --> 00:05:32,814 glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 94 00:05:33,514 --> 00:05:37,218 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency 95 00:05:37,306 --> 00:05:40,694 of the power may be of God and not of us. 96 00:05:41,194 --> 00:05:42,134 Let's pray. 97 00:05:42,874 --> 00:05:47,626 Lord God, we thank you so much that we can be part of the effort 98 00:05:47,690 --> 00:05:50,730 to win souls, lost souls across the globe. 99 00:05:50,842 --> 00:05:53,258 Thank you so much for this church and the part they've played, 100 00:05:53,306 --> 00:05:57,298 not only in the ministry we are a part of, but many, many others 101 00:05:57,426 --> 00:05:58,114 in this world. 102 00:05:58,154 --> 00:06:01,074 Lord God, especially as we hear of the team returning from Honduras. 103 00:06:01,114 --> 00:06:03,096 Thank you so much for the soul saved there. 104 00:06:03,210 --> 00:06:05,204 Thank you so much for the people helped. 105 00:06:05,364 --> 00:06:08,140 Thank you that we can be a part of what you are doing. 106 00:06:08,332 --> 00:06:11,692 Lord God, I pray that tonight as I share testimony of what you've 107 00:06:11,708 --> 00:06:16,860 done in Vanuatu, it will be very obvious it is in spite of me 108 00:06:16,972 --> 00:06:19,612 and that this is all glory goes to you. 109 00:06:19,668 --> 00:06:21,660 Through this, you are the one doing the work. 110 00:06:21,812 --> 00:06:24,556 We thank you so much that we have the opportunity to be a part 111 00:06:24,580 --> 00:06:25,428 of what you're doing. 112 00:06:25,516 --> 00:06:26,836 In Jesus name I pray. 113 00:06:26,940 --> 00:06:27,704 Amen. 114 00:06:29,294 --> 00:06:34,038 So we see here Paul is giving us an overview of gospel ministry 115 00:06:34,086 --> 00:06:38,674 of evangelism and he's giving some warnings as well. 116 00:06:38,974 --> 00:06:42,774 Especially if we look at verse three, we have a scary warning where 117 00:06:42,934 --> 00:06:47,510 he warns us if we hide the gospel, we're not hiding it from 118 00:06:47,542 --> 00:06:48,558 those who need it. 119 00:06:48,686 --> 00:06:51,798 If you're a believer in Jesus Christ, if you're a Christian here 120 00:06:51,846 --> 00:06:54,714 tonight, you have trusted Jesus Christ for salvation. 121 00:06:54,894 --> 00:06:57,258 The gospel has done that work in you. 122 00:06:57,386 --> 00:06:59,894 God has done that work in you through Jesus Christ. 123 00:07:00,314 --> 00:07:04,194 So you can now benefit from the rest of the word of God. 124 00:07:04,234 --> 00:07:06,294 But you've already benefited from the gospel. 125 00:07:06,634 --> 00:07:10,442 But if you hide that, then with you and do not share that with 126 00:07:10,458 --> 00:07:13,362 other people, you're hiding it from those who need it. 127 00:07:13,418 --> 00:07:16,414 They have a great need for it, just as you did. 128 00:07:17,314 --> 00:07:19,810 So the fact that the gospel has done a great work in you should 129 00:07:19,842 --> 00:07:23,242 be a driving force for you to share the gospel with other people 130 00:07:23,298 --> 00:07:24,054 as well. 131 00:07:25,074 --> 00:07:29,066 Then if we read along in verse four, we see a bit of a downer, you 132 00:07:29,090 --> 00:07:33,346 might say, in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds 133 00:07:33,370 --> 00:07:36,514 of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel 134 00:07:36,554 --> 00:07:39,814 of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 135 00:07:40,274 --> 00:07:41,266 Who's he referring to? 136 00:07:41,290 --> 00:07:42,722 Who's the God of this world? 137 00:07:42,898 --> 00:07:43,506 Satan. 138 00:07:43,610 --> 00:07:44,042 Satan. 139 00:07:44,098 --> 00:07:45,050 Satan is. 140 00:07:45,202 --> 00:07:45,962 And you know what? 141 00:07:46,018 --> 00:07:49,994 He has had millennia to figure out how to blind people's minds more 142 00:07:50,034 --> 00:07:50,774 effectively. 143 00:07:51,724 --> 00:07:54,644 We may think it's only overseas, but looking around America, 144 00:07:54,684 --> 00:07:57,876 it seems like he's doing pretty well here too, as he uses 145 00:07:57,940 --> 00:08:00,868 distraction to get our minds off the word of God and onto other 146 00:08:00,916 --> 00:08:01,340 things. 147 00:08:01,452 --> 00:08:05,284 As he uses commercialization to make us forget the reason why 148 00:08:05,324 --> 00:08:08,572 we mark certain days and celebrate them as we're distracted 149 00:08:08,628 --> 00:08:12,184 by the glittery lights and things around us. 150 00:08:13,404 --> 00:08:16,428 So Satan has blinded the eyes of the people to the gospel. 151 00:08:16,556 --> 00:08:22,114 We see this very clearly in Vanuatu and in very raw ways. 152 00:08:22,854 --> 00:08:26,646 You see, if you googled Vanuatu on Google right now, you'd 153 00:08:26,670 --> 00:08:27,950 come across a few things. 154 00:08:28,062 --> 00:08:29,822 One of those things is called the. 155 00:08:29,958 --> 00:08:30,854 Let me check the name. 156 00:08:30,934 --> 00:08:32,718 The Happy Planet Index. 157 00:08:32,886 --> 00:08:34,118 The Happy Planet Index. 158 00:08:34,166 --> 00:08:36,630 They go around the world and they try and figure out what's the 159 00:08:36,662 --> 00:08:38,194 happiest place in the world. 160 00:08:38,694 --> 00:08:42,310 And in the past few years, Vanuatu has ranked first in that. 161 00:08:42,462 --> 00:08:45,320 This year again, they were ranked first, first in the Happy 162 00:08:45,352 --> 00:08:46,404 Planet index. 163 00:08:46,704 --> 00:08:50,072 And they base that index off a lot of things, you know, sustainable, 164 00:08:50,128 --> 00:08:53,440 well being of the people and that kind of thing, like how happy 165 00:08:53,472 --> 00:08:55,924 they appear and different things like that. 166 00:08:56,984 --> 00:09:00,248 But how well do you think that translates to the day to day life 167 00:09:00,296 --> 00:09:02,084 of a new Vanuatu person? 168 00:09:02,384 --> 00:09:05,632 If you're a cynical like me, you'd say probably not very well. 169 00:09:05,768 --> 00:09:07,072 And you'd be right. 170 00:09:07,248 --> 00:09:10,964 You see, it can appear like Vanuatu is a very happy place. 171 00:09:11,344 --> 00:09:14,584 You go into the country, everyone is smiling and greeting 172 00:09:14,624 --> 00:09:15,016 you. 173 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:18,200 Depending on how busy it is at the airport, they may even hang our 174 00:09:18,232 --> 00:09:21,920 leis saloo, Saloos, we call them flower chains around your neck. 175 00:09:21,952 --> 00:09:23,624 They're greeting you with a band. 176 00:09:23,784 --> 00:09:24,488 It's amazing. 177 00:09:24,536 --> 00:09:27,124 You jump into a bus, everyone's smiling and happy. 178 00:09:27,944 --> 00:09:31,592 And then if you went into town, most of the two towns there, 179 00:09:31,688 --> 00:09:33,104 the capital is a little different. 180 00:09:33,144 --> 00:09:36,600 I wouldn't go everywhere there but the town that we're in, you could 181 00:09:36,632 --> 00:09:41,596 get up and walk into anyone's yard, house, you could sit down, 182 00:09:41,740 --> 00:09:43,436 not even say a word to them. 183 00:09:43,580 --> 00:09:43,908 Food. 184 00:09:43,956 --> 00:09:45,564 Time comes around, they'd feed you. 185 00:09:45,644 --> 00:09:47,740 When it comes time to sleep, they'd give you a bed. 186 00:09:47,812 --> 00:09:49,228 You haven't even introduced yourself. 187 00:09:49,316 --> 00:09:52,356 They might ask your name or something, but they would just be 188 00:09:52,380 --> 00:09:55,692 very hospitable to you until you had stayed the length of time 189 00:09:55,708 --> 00:09:57,756 that you're going to stay and you leave again. 190 00:09:57,860 --> 00:09:59,068 I've seen this happen. 191 00:09:59,196 --> 00:10:00,304 We had these. 192 00:10:00,924 --> 00:10:03,532 I was going to say crazy, but that might be a little unkind, but 193 00:10:03,548 --> 00:10:07,142 we had some people from Scandinavia there for a while and 194 00:10:07,158 --> 00:10:08,038 that's what they did. 195 00:10:08,126 --> 00:10:12,230 They had come to be a part of an Eden Project where somebody was 196 00:10:12,262 --> 00:10:15,074 trying to create a Noah's Ark for the apocalypse there. 197 00:10:15,374 --> 00:10:17,454 And they ran away from that. 198 00:10:17,494 --> 00:10:18,926 They didn't have a way to leave the country. 199 00:10:18,990 --> 00:10:22,494 So they just went from house to house in the town, just eating 200 00:10:22,534 --> 00:10:26,054 with people sleeping in their houses and so on. 201 00:10:26,174 --> 00:10:27,150 And people were just happy. 202 00:10:27,182 --> 00:10:27,902 That's who they are. 203 00:10:27,958 --> 00:10:29,474 So it seems very happy. 204 00:10:30,014 --> 00:10:34,356 But if you look deeper, you'll see as you get to know them, A little 205 00:10:34,380 --> 00:10:36,332 bit better and understand the belief system. 206 00:10:36,468 --> 00:10:38,180 There is a lot of fear. 207 00:10:38,332 --> 00:10:41,980 A fear of the spirit realm, a fear of the witch doctors, a fear 208 00:10:42,012 --> 00:10:46,212 of people being jealous, of people harming them through witchcraft. 209 00:10:46,388 --> 00:10:49,984 They live in a lot of fear on a daily basis. 210 00:10:50,604 --> 00:10:54,860 I'd like to share a story that I may have shared here already, but 211 00:10:54,932 --> 00:10:59,006 I'm sharing it again because I have more of the story now, years 212 00:10:59,030 --> 00:10:59,994 and years later. 213 00:11:00,574 --> 00:11:03,414 So I started to get to know a little bit about the belief system 214 00:11:03,494 --> 00:11:06,574 in the islands of Anahuatu when I followed a missionary up to 215 00:11:06,614 --> 00:11:09,294 a village called charakoru in 2007. 216 00:11:09,334 --> 00:11:10,238 Or 8 or 9. 217 00:11:10,326 --> 00:11:11,254 I can't remember exactly. 218 00:11:11,294 --> 00:11:12,406 I'm terrible with dates. 219 00:11:12,510 --> 00:11:14,942 That's why I don't even know the last time we came here. 220 00:11:15,118 --> 00:11:18,782 But one of those years, 2008, we'll say that. 221 00:11:18,838 --> 00:11:19,342 2008. 222 00:11:19,358 --> 00:11:20,438 Lydia's nodding. 223 00:11:20,606 --> 00:11:21,390 2008. 224 00:11:21,422 --> 00:11:24,190 We went up to this village with a missionary I was accompanying. 225 00:11:24,302 --> 00:11:26,510 And as we walked into the village, we heard people wailing 226 00:11:26,542 --> 00:11:27,518 and screaming. 227 00:11:27,686 --> 00:11:31,094 It sounds like death, because that's what it was. 228 00:11:31,214 --> 00:11:33,134 They grieve in a very raw way. 229 00:11:33,174 --> 00:11:36,394 Just screaming and wailing and crying for days, five days. 230 00:11:36,894 --> 00:11:40,430 And we asked around and found out a mother had died giving birth 231 00:11:40,462 --> 00:11:41,634 to a baby girl. 232 00:11:42,294 --> 00:11:45,550 A little bit more investigation, and we saw the baby. 233 00:11:45,582 --> 00:11:49,742 There was in the corner of the house, just on a blanket, nobody 234 00:11:49,798 --> 00:11:52,074 taking care of her, just crying away in the corner. 235 00:11:52,424 --> 00:11:54,896 And we asked and said, well, what's happening with the baby? 236 00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:57,560 And they said, oh, the baby's going to die, too. 237 00:11:57,712 --> 00:11:59,528 And we looked at her and the baby seemed fine. 238 00:11:59,576 --> 00:12:00,552 Nothing wrong with her. 239 00:12:00,648 --> 00:12:01,656 We said, what do you mean? 240 00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:04,848 They said, the witch doctor has prophesied her death because 241 00:12:04,896 --> 00:12:08,792 he went down to the river the other day and he saw a vision of 242 00:12:08,888 --> 00:12:10,912 there was some sort of something to do with a goat, I'm 243 00:12:10,928 --> 00:12:11,848 not sure exactly. 244 00:12:11,976 --> 00:12:13,960 And he said, two people will die. 245 00:12:14,152 --> 00:12:18,072 So when the mother died giving birth to a child, which is unfortunately 246 00:12:18,128 --> 00:12:21,526 quite a common occurrence in the jungle, he then said, well, that 247 00:12:21,550 --> 00:12:22,894 baby is going to be the second death. 248 00:12:22,934 --> 00:12:23,974 That's the second death. 249 00:12:24,094 --> 00:12:27,034 Seems very convenient for him that things line up like that. 250 00:12:27,614 --> 00:12:32,134 So anyway, the missionary I was with and myself as well, we felt 251 00:12:32,174 --> 00:12:35,630 like this is pointless, like somebody could save this baby. 252 00:12:35,662 --> 00:12:37,342 There's nothing physically wrong with her. 253 00:12:37,438 --> 00:12:38,510 It's a spiritual thing. 254 00:12:38,542 --> 00:12:40,310 And, you know, like, we're about that. 255 00:12:40,502 --> 00:12:43,838 So the missionary said, well, is it okay then if we try and save 256 00:12:43,886 --> 00:12:44,966 the baby's life? 257 00:12:45,110 --> 00:12:47,870 Because he said, I believe our God can save the baby regardless 258 00:12:47,902 --> 00:12:49,218 of what the witch doctor. 259 00:12:49,406 --> 00:12:53,266 So they said, oh, you can try, but it's a waste, it's futile, don't 260 00:12:53,290 --> 00:12:54,898 worry about it, you know she's going to die. 261 00:12:55,026 --> 00:12:56,386 So he said, okay, we'll pray. 262 00:12:56,450 --> 00:12:58,962 We prayed in the village, in the middle of the village and asked 263 00:12:59,018 --> 00:13:00,802 God to save this baby's life. 264 00:13:00,978 --> 00:13:03,826 And then he managed to convince an aunt of the baby. 265 00:13:03,930 --> 00:13:08,242 One of the believers actually in Taipu now convinced her to start 266 00:13:08,298 --> 00:13:09,114 breastfeeding the baby. 267 00:13:09,154 --> 00:13:10,362 She had her own child. 268 00:13:10,498 --> 00:13:13,186 The mothers would have been happy to take care of her before 269 00:13:13,250 --> 00:13:15,082 we interacted with them. 270 00:13:15,178 --> 00:13:17,786 But they said that they are then jeopardizing the health of their 271 00:13:17,810 --> 00:13:19,586 own baby for one that's going to die. 272 00:13:19,690 --> 00:13:22,450 So for them it was like choosing someone else's child over 273 00:13:22,482 --> 00:13:23,186 their own. 274 00:13:23,330 --> 00:13:25,498 But she said, I'll take care of it for a few days. 275 00:13:25,626 --> 00:13:29,674 We went to town and we brought back formula, baby formula for that 276 00:13:29,714 --> 00:13:30,374 baby. 277 00:13:30,714 --> 00:13:35,626 It was a bit of a drive, a few hours driving, four mile hike up 278 00:13:35,650 --> 00:13:36,282 into the village. 279 00:13:36,338 --> 00:13:39,410 So it took a bit to get back there a few days later. 280 00:13:39,602 --> 00:13:43,350 But we showed them how to use the formula and it was all good. 281 00:13:43,542 --> 00:13:45,246 And they started feeding the baby. 282 00:13:45,310 --> 00:13:48,478 The baby started getting healthy and growing and growing. 283 00:13:48,646 --> 00:13:52,078 And after a while they realized the baby wasn't going anywhere. 284 00:13:52,206 --> 00:13:57,062 So they rewarded her success at living by giving her her custom 285 00:13:57,118 --> 00:14:00,366 name, Vetavui, which is a name she inherits automatically. 286 00:14:00,510 --> 00:14:03,194 And then they gave her her own name of Delphia. 287 00:14:04,054 --> 00:14:08,004 God intervened in some pretty amazing ways in that whole situation. 288 00:14:08,424 --> 00:14:13,016 Once the missionary I was with, he had a feeling, a sense that 289 00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:15,912 the Holy Spirit, from the Holy Spirit, that we should go up to the 290 00:14:15,928 --> 00:14:18,272 village and take more formula, even though they should have had 291 00:14:18,288 --> 00:14:19,712 enough for another month. 292 00:14:19,888 --> 00:14:22,392 But we went ahead and did that. 293 00:14:22,448 --> 00:14:25,312 We took it up there and as we entered the village there was a group 294 00:14:25,328 --> 00:14:27,040 of men sitting around chatting. 295 00:14:27,192 --> 00:14:31,464 And as we went in, we found out that the formula had finished 296 00:14:31,504 --> 00:14:32,240 that morning. 297 00:14:32,392 --> 00:14:34,936 I don't know who else had been drinking it, but the baby wasn't 298 00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:35,992 drinking that much. 299 00:14:36,128 --> 00:14:39,432 Somebody was mixing it in their morning coffee probably and 300 00:14:39,448 --> 00:14:40,312 they had run out. 301 00:14:40,408 --> 00:14:42,696 And they said, well, how do we get the missionary to come? 302 00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:44,616 The cell phones back then weren't. 303 00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:46,444 They didn't have the coverage up there. 304 00:14:46,744 --> 00:14:50,344 The witch doctor said, well, I can do it by using the spirits. 305 00:14:50,464 --> 00:14:53,448 But he said, the missionaries, they don't listen to the spirits, 306 00:14:53,616 --> 00:14:56,936 so you should probably talk to the spirit that they listen to, which 307 00:14:56,960 --> 00:14:57,472 is God. 308 00:14:57,528 --> 00:14:59,760 You see, for them, God is just another spirit. 309 00:14:59,792 --> 00:15:01,424 He's on the same level, just different. 310 00:15:01,464 --> 00:15:04,114 People work with him, not the witch doctors. 311 00:15:04,414 --> 00:15:08,830 So they buttonholed one guy and they said, you used to walk around 312 00:15:08,862 --> 00:15:09,790 with missionaries and stuff. 313 00:15:09,822 --> 00:15:12,062 You know a bit about this God, so why don't you pray? 314 00:15:12,158 --> 00:15:15,350 So he said, I don't know what he said, but he asked that God would 315 00:15:15,382 --> 00:15:15,926 send us. 316 00:15:15,990 --> 00:15:18,894 And less than an hour later, we walked into the village with that 317 00:15:18,934 --> 00:15:19,214 milk. 318 00:15:19,254 --> 00:15:21,074 So that was pretty awesome to be a part of. 319 00:15:22,214 --> 00:15:25,294 Well, that little girl kept growing and growing and she didn't 320 00:15:25,334 --> 00:15:25,954 die. 321 00:15:26,694 --> 00:15:31,036 But this is just gives you a snapshot of the belief system that 322 00:15:31,060 --> 00:15:34,236 they have there enough that they would trust the witch doctor's 323 00:15:34,260 --> 00:15:36,132 word over what they could see with their eyes. 324 00:15:36,188 --> 00:15:39,036 The baby's healthy, she's okay, there's nothing wrong with 325 00:15:39,060 --> 00:15:39,220 her. 326 00:15:39,252 --> 00:15:41,104 The only thing is she needs food. 327 00:15:41,804 --> 00:15:44,748 But they would leave her to die because they trust the witch 328 00:15:44,796 --> 00:15:45,996 doctor implicitly. 329 00:15:46,140 --> 00:15:48,384 They have a witch doctor to control the weather. 330 00:15:49,084 --> 00:15:53,068 2020, thank you so much for your prayers and for the finances 331 00:15:53,156 --> 00:15:56,236 that your church was a part of sending to help us get people back 332 00:15:56,260 --> 00:15:59,756 on their feet after tropical cyclone Harold destroyed the community 333 00:15:59,820 --> 00:16:00,584 up there. 334 00:16:01,284 --> 00:16:03,324 That was pretty amazing to be a part of. 335 00:16:03,444 --> 00:16:04,484 I enjoyed the cyclone. 336 00:16:04,524 --> 00:16:06,324 I didn't enjoy the cleanup afterwards. 337 00:16:06,484 --> 00:16:10,804 But when we were up there and we saw the cyclone brewing on our 338 00:16:10,844 --> 00:16:14,692 weather app that we have, I kept telling people, I said, this 339 00:16:14,708 --> 00:16:16,532 is the strongest cyclone I've seen. 340 00:16:16,628 --> 00:16:19,772 It's brewing out in the ocean, it's coming towards us and it's going 341 00:16:19,788 --> 00:16:21,612 to pass over Santo, our island. 342 00:16:21,668 --> 00:16:23,024 So you need to prepare. 343 00:16:23,374 --> 00:16:26,110 And they all just laughed and said, matthew, you don't understand. 344 00:16:26,262 --> 00:16:27,982 We have Toville, the witch doctor. 345 00:16:28,078 --> 00:16:29,158 That's his job. 346 00:16:29,326 --> 00:16:32,158 He will figure out what devil is controlling the cyclone. 347 00:16:32,206 --> 00:16:35,102 He'll spit at it and the cyclone will go and hit Australia 348 00:16:35,198 --> 00:16:37,590 instead, which is very generous of them. 349 00:16:37,742 --> 00:16:39,554 Australia would have appreciated that. 350 00:16:40,494 --> 00:16:44,062 Well, you know what happened a couple of days later, the cyclone 351 00:16:44,118 --> 00:16:45,994 started turning and going towards Australia. 352 00:16:46,334 --> 00:16:49,510 And I don't like being secretive about these things. 353 00:16:49,542 --> 00:16:51,984 So I showed them, I said, oh look, it's going away. 354 00:16:52,174 --> 00:16:53,588 And they said, yeah, yeah, Sisi. 355 00:16:53,636 --> 00:16:54,556 Toville did his job. 356 00:16:54,580 --> 00:16:55,860 The witch doctor did his job. 357 00:16:55,932 --> 00:16:56,948 It's going away. 358 00:16:57,116 --> 00:16:59,572 Well, that night it just turned around and came straight for 359 00:16:59,588 --> 00:16:59,932 us. 360 00:17:00,028 --> 00:17:03,340 Gathered more power as it came and passed. 361 00:17:03,372 --> 00:17:06,556 The eye of the storm passed directly over the top of the community 362 00:17:06,700 --> 00:17:09,572 and destroyed everybody's houses, crops and everything. 363 00:17:09,668 --> 00:17:11,624 We were picking up pieces for months. 364 00:17:12,324 --> 00:17:15,868 Later on, after the cyclone was over, I thought about Toville 365 00:17:15,956 --> 00:17:18,756 and I went back and asked some of the community who I'd been talking 366 00:17:18,780 --> 00:17:20,516 to prior, prior to the cyclone. 367 00:17:20,660 --> 00:17:22,620 And I said, well, what did he have to say for himself? 368 00:17:22,692 --> 00:17:24,900 Because he definitely didn't chase the cyclone away. 369 00:17:24,932 --> 00:17:25,864 It hit us. 370 00:17:26,164 --> 00:17:28,380 And they said, oh, yeah, we did ask him about it. 371 00:17:28,492 --> 00:17:31,252 And they said he decided he had started sending it away, but 372 00:17:31,268 --> 00:17:32,476 he decided, you know what? 373 00:17:32,580 --> 00:17:34,932 Nobody around here gives me the respect I deserve. 374 00:17:35,028 --> 00:17:36,900 People aren't listening to me like they should. 375 00:17:36,972 --> 00:17:38,476 I need to teach them a lesson. 376 00:17:38,620 --> 00:17:42,664 So he said he let that cyclone pass over them to teach him a lesson. 377 00:17:43,524 --> 00:17:46,388 How can you ever get ahead when the witch doctor, the person 378 00:17:46,436 --> 00:17:49,665 you trust to lead you in spiritual matters, just makes it 379 00:17:49,689 --> 00:17:53,213 all up, makes up the story and deceives you as much as he can? 380 00:17:54,273 --> 00:17:57,001 Well, we didn't have much more to do with that community over the 381 00:17:57,017 --> 00:17:58,373 years following that. 382 00:17:58,993 --> 00:18:03,793 But then in 2014, we were invited back to that community by 383 00:18:03,833 --> 00:18:05,817 the chiefs to go and start a church. 384 00:18:05,865 --> 00:18:09,081 As we said in the video, we went in not really understanding 385 00:18:09,177 --> 00:18:12,241 how to approach them as a community in that setting. 386 00:18:12,337 --> 00:18:16,450 We made a few mistakes, we rectified those mistakes and we started 387 00:18:16,522 --> 00:18:20,498 trying to teach people on a smaller group basis their understanding. 388 00:18:20,546 --> 00:18:23,774 Their belief system is, you have a witch doctor in the community, 389 00:18:24,074 --> 00:18:26,938 his job is like Toville, you know, the weather. 390 00:18:27,106 --> 00:18:28,538 We're covered, everyone's covered. 391 00:18:28,586 --> 00:18:32,402 Even if you don't buy into his ideas, you're covered by him. 392 00:18:32,538 --> 00:18:36,514 So when we went and built a church, we paid right into that mentality 393 00:18:36,554 --> 00:18:39,314 and they said, we have a church building here, we're all set, 394 00:18:39,394 --> 00:18:42,420 we don't have to worry, don't even have to go into the church building. 395 00:18:42,562 --> 00:18:45,808 But Matthew is liaising on behalf of us with whatever God is, 396 00:18:45,856 --> 00:18:49,444 that spirit God, and we're all set because of that. 397 00:18:49,824 --> 00:18:52,432 So we had to change the way they saw that. 398 00:18:52,488 --> 00:18:56,364 So we started teaching people in a smaller group basis. 399 00:18:56,904 --> 00:18:59,524 Last year is when it really started to gain traction. 400 00:18:59,904 --> 00:19:02,992 Last year, in May, the chief of one of the villages, there's lots 401 00:19:03,008 --> 00:19:04,616 of chiefs, there's lots of witch doctors. 402 00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:09,298 It's only a community of 500 or 600 people, but we have at least 403 00:19:09,346 --> 00:19:10,858 six or seven witch doctors. 404 00:19:10,986 --> 00:19:13,626 And every family has a chief for that little area. 405 00:19:13,730 --> 00:19:17,586 So this chief, Avakin, his name is, he came and asked me. 406 00:19:17,610 --> 00:19:20,698 He said, I'd like you to come and teach my family the Bible. 407 00:19:20,786 --> 00:19:22,534 We're interested to learn from you. 408 00:19:23,314 --> 00:19:26,538 So we went in there, but this time we tried to do things in a better 409 00:19:26,586 --> 00:19:30,954 way because we had found out in the time in between our last interactions 410 00:19:30,994 --> 00:19:36,184 with them that for them, they didn't see the Bible as we see it. 411 00:19:36,224 --> 00:19:39,144 We see The Bible as a book that is to be read, it's to be studied, 412 00:19:39,184 --> 00:19:40,672 it's to be preached and learned. 413 00:19:40,768 --> 00:19:42,488 And it is a transformative book. 414 00:19:42,576 --> 00:19:45,928 It will change you if you believe and follow what it teaches. 415 00:19:46,096 --> 00:19:49,912 But for them, they're witch doctors, they all make things for 416 00:19:49,928 --> 00:19:53,040 them that they carry around for protection, for prosperity, for 417 00:19:53,072 --> 00:19:55,008 fertility, for all those sorts of things. 418 00:19:55,176 --> 00:19:57,776 And they felt like the Bible was just the same. 419 00:19:57,960 --> 00:20:00,856 So many people there will own a copy of the Bible whether they 420 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:01,892 can read or not. 421 00:20:02,048 --> 00:20:05,180 And they keep it around the house to keep away some of the spirits 422 00:20:05,252 --> 00:20:05,876 because they believe. 423 00:20:05,940 --> 00:20:08,276 Well, surely it's going to keep some of them away, maybe not 424 00:20:08,300 --> 00:20:09,156 all of them. 425 00:20:09,340 --> 00:20:12,700 So we had to go back and say, no, no, this isn't just another charm 426 00:20:12,732 --> 00:20:15,724 that the witch doctor will sell you for a pig or whatever. 427 00:20:15,884 --> 00:20:17,224 This is something else. 428 00:20:17,644 --> 00:20:19,508 So we started teaching in May. 429 00:20:19,676 --> 00:20:24,484 And over the months between May and December, I made weekly trips 430 00:20:24,524 --> 00:20:28,332 up to that community, sat down with the four or five people that 431 00:20:28,348 --> 00:20:31,356 were there, and just started teaching them through taking them 432 00:20:31,380 --> 00:20:33,844 back to the beginning, hitting the high notes, making sure they 433 00:20:33,884 --> 00:20:37,184 understood the Savior is coming through the old testament 434 00:20:37,964 --> 00:20:42,156 on December 10, after teaching on Jesus ascension back to heaven. 435 00:20:42,340 --> 00:20:45,316 I felt like they should have enough knowledge now to believe in 436 00:20:45,340 --> 00:20:48,612 Jesus Christ or to say, I don't believe that's an option as 437 00:20:48,628 --> 00:20:49,184 well. 438 00:20:49,644 --> 00:20:51,220 And so I gave them the day. 439 00:20:51,332 --> 00:20:54,068 We were preparing for a feast, we were butchering a pig. 440 00:20:54,236 --> 00:20:55,668 So we just took the opportunity. 441 00:20:55,716 --> 00:20:58,212 Whenever somebody had something else to add, we'd stop 442 00:20:58,268 --> 00:21:01,308 and sit down together, and they would share more of their testimony 443 00:21:01,356 --> 00:21:04,212 of why they believe Jesus Christ is the Savior. 444 00:21:04,348 --> 00:21:06,084 I would like to share those testimonies with you. 445 00:21:06,124 --> 00:21:09,668 Not because it's anything new you haven't heard before, but because 446 00:21:09,716 --> 00:21:10,788 this is the effects. 447 00:21:10,836 --> 00:21:16,564 This is the fruit of your missional vision and endeavors through 448 00:21:16,604 --> 00:21:17,212 us. 449 00:21:17,388 --> 00:21:22,004 So Chief Avakin, he told us he didn't have any interest in Jesus 450 00:21:22,044 --> 00:21:23,686 or church attendance before. 451 00:21:23,860 --> 00:21:26,146 Even when we were running a church in the community. 452 00:21:26,210 --> 00:21:28,522 He said, I could see the people that were going to you. 453 00:21:28,658 --> 00:21:30,642 They didn't really want what you had to teach. 454 00:21:30,738 --> 00:21:32,466 They wanted to get stuff from you. 455 00:21:32,570 --> 00:21:35,226 They wanted to, you know, continue living the way they were 456 00:21:35,250 --> 00:21:36,906 living, but feel good about it. 457 00:21:37,090 --> 00:21:40,170 He said, even when we started studying the Bible together, I wasn't 458 00:21:40,202 --> 00:21:41,106 too interested. 459 00:21:41,250 --> 00:21:45,650 But he said, then I heard that God counted Abraham and the patriarchs 460 00:21:45,682 --> 00:21:48,498 as righteous because of their faith in the promised Savior. 461 00:21:48,626 --> 00:21:51,586 He said, I realized I needed to pay attention to who the Savior 462 00:21:51,650 --> 00:21:56,530 was because I could believe if it was him, I would believe as he 463 00:21:56,562 --> 00:22:00,490 heard of Jesus birth and saw the lineage confirmed and the prophecies 464 00:22:00,562 --> 00:22:03,298 fulfilled, he said, I know this is the Savior. 465 00:22:03,426 --> 00:22:04,538 He told us this morning. 466 00:22:04,586 --> 00:22:06,970 I've learned that Jesus died for my sin debt. 467 00:22:07,082 --> 00:22:09,614 Now I am free, and through him I can be joined to God. 468 00:22:10,314 --> 00:22:14,506 His wife, Vikoy, she said, among other things, I'm condensing 469 00:22:14,530 --> 00:22:15,330 these testimonies down. 470 00:22:15,362 --> 00:22:17,528 It was a day of us sitting around talking. 471 00:22:17,706 --> 00:22:19,788 Now I have learned what God says in his word. 472 00:22:19,836 --> 00:22:23,060 I know I am a sinner and cannot earn my own forgiveness. 473 00:22:23,252 --> 00:22:25,492 Jesus had to die to pay for my sin. 474 00:22:25,588 --> 00:22:26,824 Now it is settled. 475 00:22:27,804 --> 00:22:30,460 Avakin, the chief's brother Sorry. 476 00:22:30,492 --> 00:22:34,124 Alatui Avakin's brother I believe the promises God has given 477 00:22:34,164 --> 00:22:34,484 us. 478 00:22:34,564 --> 00:22:35,420 His word is true. 479 00:22:35,452 --> 00:22:37,516 And I trust that Jesus did what God required. 480 00:22:37,620 --> 00:22:38,828 He has taken my sin. 481 00:22:38,876 --> 00:22:42,460 The things I did in the past, things I do now and any sin I commit 482 00:22:42,492 --> 00:22:43,264 in the future. 483 00:22:43,404 --> 00:22:45,004 I'm his child forever. 484 00:22:45,544 --> 00:22:47,056 His wife, Kyle Rose. 485 00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:50,376 I used to trust the traditions of our ancestors and depend on what 486 00:22:50,400 --> 00:22:54,136 the witch doctor told us to do to make the spirits happy. 487 00:22:54,280 --> 00:22:57,408 When the church started, I simply added religion into those 488 00:22:57,456 --> 00:22:58,312 beliefs. 489 00:22:58,488 --> 00:23:01,784 Now I believe that the only road to God is through Jesus because 490 00:23:01,824 --> 00:23:04,244 he died as the punishment for my sin. 491 00:23:05,624 --> 00:23:07,176 These are among some of the testimonies. 492 00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:08,688 We have a few more people as well. 493 00:23:08,736 --> 00:23:10,736 Eileen, she has an amazing testimony. 494 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:14,406 Her sister Linda, their brother Edwin, and some others as 495 00:23:14,430 --> 00:23:14,878 well. 496 00:23:15,006 --> 00:23:17,814 But we'd just like to share what is happening just in the last 497 00:23:17,854 --> 00:23:20,326 year with you to give you an understanding of how things have 498 00:23:20,350 --> 00:23:21,062 been going. 499 00:23:21,198 --> 00:23:25,406 But I'd like to take you back to the passage we read because we 500 00:23:25,430 --> 00:23:27,114 get to see it played out. 501 00:23:27,494 --> 00:23:28,238 Verse 5. 502 00:23:28,286 --> 00:23:31,590 We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus, the Lord, ourselves, 503 00:23:31,742 --> 00:23:33,606 your servants, for Jesus sake. 504 00:23:33,750 --> 00:23:37,070 For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath 505 00:23:37,102 --> 00:23:40,016 shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the 506 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:42,244 glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 507 00:23:42,624 --> 00:23:43,960 This is not us. 508 00:23:44,152 --> 00:23:46,032 This isn't the efforts of our labors. 509 00:23:46,088 --> 00:23:49,280 This is God working through the Holy Spirit in a powerful and 510 00:23:49,312 --> 00:23:51,408 amazing way that we could not do. 511 00:23:51,496 --> 00:23:55,416 To be honest, if it was just us, we would have messed things up 512 00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:56,728 so badly in that community. 513 00:23:56,776 --> 00:23:59,284 There would be no coming back from it and we would be leaving. 514 00:23:59,824 --> 00:24:02,552 But God did an amazing work through the Holy Spirit, through 515 00:24:02,568 --> 00:24:03,336 the Gospel. 516 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:05,724 Verse seven is where we come into it. 517 00:24:06,044 --> 00:24:09,388 We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency 518 00:24:09,436 --> 00:24:11,988 of the power may be of God and not of us. 519 00:24:12,036 --> 00:24:15,204 I take a lot of comfort in that verse, strange as it may be. 520 00:24:15,364 --> 00:24:17,356 Because all I am is an earthen vessel. 521 00:24:17,460 --> 00:24:18,340 You can break me. 522 00:24:18,372 --> 00:24:18,796 You can. 523 00:24:18,860 --> 00:24:22,516 You know, in Israel, they dig up so much pottery from, this is 524 00:24:22,540 --> 00:24:26,660 a side note, pottery from the archaeological digs there that they 525 00:24:26,692 --> 00:24:29,404 use it for paving the national parks trails. 526 00:24:29,484 --> 00:24:31,058 That's how much pottery they have. 527 00:24:31,196 --> 00:24:34,406 There are so many earthen vessels just smashed up, people walking 528 00:24:34,430 --> 00:24:34,934 on them. 529 00:24:35,014 --> 00:24:36,486 You know, I'm happy with that. 530 00:24:36,630 --> 00:24:38,486 That means I still have a purpose. 531 00:24:38,630 --> 00:24:39,774 I'll just be an earthen vessel. 532 00:24:39,814 --> 00:24:40,934 God can break me if he wants. 533 00:24:40,974 --> 00:24:42,198 I'm not going to enjoy it. 534 00:24:42,286 --> 00:24:43,886 He can let people walk over me. 535 00:24:43,910 --> 00:24:44,918 I won't enjoy that either. 536 00:24:44,966 --> 00:24:46,990 But hey, at least I can do that. 537 00:24:47,182 --> 00:24:51,086 But the excellency of the power is of God and not of us, because 538 00:24:51,110 --> 00:24:52,886 we are just broken humans. 539 00:24:53,070 --> 00:24:55,806 You know, wherever you're at in your life, whatever you have faced, 540 00:24:55,830 --> 00:24:58,616 whatever you're struggling with, we're all the same. 541 00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:00,208 We are broken humans. 542 00:25:00,376 --> 00:25:03,456 But through Jesus Christ, through the gospel, we can be so 543 00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:04,200 much more. 544 00:25:04,312 --> 00:25:09,200 We are the children of God and we can serve him as servants to the 545 00:25:09,232 --> 00:25:09,904 most high God. 546 00:25:09,944 --> 00:25:11,044 So it's exciting. 547 00:25:11,784 --> 00:25:15,604 It's also exciting to be learning from the believers as well. 548 00:25:15,984 --> 00:25:19,160 If you've had any part in discipleship over the years, you 549 00:25:19,192 --> 00:25:22,438 will understand that you are not discipling somebody. 550 00:25:22,576 --> 00:25:26,026 You are being discipled as well as you study the Bible together. 551 00:25:26,090 --> 00:25:28,714 If you are not involved in discipleship, I know your church 552 00:25:28,754 --> 00:25:29,962 has a discipleship program. 553 00:25:30,018 --> 00:25:32,682 Maybe they use a different word for it, but get involved in 554 00:25:32,698 --> 00:25:35,770 that because it will be one of the most meaningful things for you. 555 00:25:35,842 --> 00:25:37,026 It's a selfish thing. 556 00:25:37,130 --> 00:25:39,402 You're going to learn from it, you're going to grow from it, but 557 00:25:39,418 --> 00:25:42,050 you'll also be able to share life with somebody else and help 558 00:25:42,082 --> 00:25:43,490 them grow in the word as well. 559 00:25:43,602 --> 00:25:48,250 And it's the same with us, these Christians that we're interacting 560 00:25:48,282 --> 00:25:51,456 with and discipling and teaching that believed for such a 561 00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:52,224 short period of time. 562 00:25:52,264 --> 00:25:55,512 But they challenged me with their faith so often, especially 563 00:25:55,608 --> 00:25:59,848 because the circumstances they find themselves in are way more serious 564 00:25:59,896 --> 00:26:00,804 than mine. 565 00:26:01,264 --> 00:26:05,688 Every day they face the opportunity to go back to the belief 566 00:26:05,736 --> 00:26:10,656 system that they grew up in, or to follow Jesus Christ and follow 567 00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:11,764 the word of God. 568 00:26:12,104 --> 00:26:14,576 And I know they're going to face challenges in that way. 569 00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:17,200 They may not always make the right choice exactly the same as 570 00:26:17,232 --> 00:26:21,184 me, but it is exciting to see that growth as it comes. 571 00:26:21,804 --> 00:26:24,804 In August, Avakin shared a conversation he had with his brother 572 00:26:24,844 --> 00:26:26,644 in law, Toville, the witch doctor. 573 00:26:26,684 --> 00:26:27,812 Remember the cyclone? 574 00:26:27,948 --> 00:26:29,144 He's the weatherman. 575 00:26:29,764 --> 00:26:34,292 So tovel, it was an unseasonable period of rain, a lot 576 00:26:34,308 --> 00:26:36,756 of rain in August and everyone was getting sick of it. 577 00:26:36,780 --> 00:26:38,996 And they might have been throwing Tovel's name around a bit 578 00:26:39,020 --> 00:26:39,724 upset. 579 00:26:39,884 --> 00:26:42,500 So he went and harassed Avakin. 580 00:26:42,652 --> 00:26:45,092 Deflection is always the best defense. 581 00:26:45,268 --> 00:26:48,316 He went and harassed Avakin and said, look, you're studying the 582 00:26:48,340 --> 00:26:50,876 Bible, you're learning about God, so why don't you tell God to 583 00:26:50,900 --> 00:26:52,012 stop it raining? 584 00:26:52,188 --> 00:26:55,092 And as Avakin was telling me this story, I started thinking, how 585 00:26:55,108 --> 00:26:55,796 would I answer him? 586 00:26:55,820 --> 00:26:58,740 Or I'd probably be like, well, I can pray, but I'll pray according 587 00:26:58,772 --> 00:26:59,628 to the will of God. 588 00:26:59,676 --> 00:27:01,900 You know, something comfortable like that. 589 00:27:02,052 --> 00:27:06,228 But I was absolutely rebuked by what Avakin said to his brother 590 00:27:06,276 --> 00:27:06,764 in law. 591 00:27:06,844 --> 00:27:10,028 He said, I told Toval that's the work of Satan. 592 00:27:10,156 --> 00:27:14,856 He tempted Jesus to throw himself down from the temple to prove 593 00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:16,016 that God was protecting him. 594 00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:17,904 And he said, I'm not going to do that. 595 00:27:17,944 --> 00:27:19,232 I'm not going to put God to the test. 596 00:27:19,288 --> 00:27:21,968 Jesus told Satan, you don't put God to the test. 597 00:27:22,056 --> 00:27:23,368 He said, I'm not going to do that. 598 00:27:23,456 --> 00:27:25,404 The weather will be what it's going to be. 599 00:27:26,024 --> 00:27:27,888 That really helped me to gain some clarity. 600 00:27:27,976 --> 00:27:30,440 Avakin understood what Toval was doing. 601 00:27:30,592 --> 00:27:33,680 He wasn't trying to prove the power of God, he was trying to undermine 602 00:27:33,712 --> 00:27:34,264 God's power. 603 00:27:34,304 --> 00:27:37,216 And Avakin says, you know what, I'm not even going to go there. 604 00:27:37,280 --> 00:27:38,844 It is not even worth it. 605 00:27:39,794 --> 00:27:41,938 They are facing challenges as well. 606 00:27:42,106 --> 00:27:43,938 Vekoy, she has very bad cataract. 607 00:27:43,986 --> 00:27:47,666 If you've heard, maybe in the last newsletter, although I think 608 00:27:47,690 --> 00:27:50,226 we accidentally attached the wrong newsletter to the last one, 609 00:27:50,250 --> 00:27:51,234 so don't quote me on that. 610 00:27:51,274 --> 00:27:52,810 I think we put one from last year. 611 00:27:52,922 --> 00:27:57,466 But anyway, Vikoy, his wife, she has really bad cataract to the 612 00:27:57,490 --> 00:28:00,570 point now where she can't work as a kindergarten teacher in the 613 00:28:00,602 --> 00:28:01,174 community. 614 00:28:01,714 --> 00:28:04,210 And it's really worrying her a lot. 615 00:28:04,362 --> 00:28:07,604 Toval, the witch doctor, her brother, he has a solution. 616 00:28:07,904 --> 00:28:12,192 He told Avakin, you know, your wife's cataracts is because somebody's 617 00:28:12,208 --> 00:28:13,184 put a curse on her. 618 00:28:13,264 --> 00:28:16,264 You need to get a red pig, go and kill it in the middle of your 619 00:28:16,304 --> 00:28:20,240 village and it'll raise that curse and her eyesight will come 620 00:28:20,272 --> 00:28:20,844 back. 621 00:28:21,184 --> 00:28:25,416 But Avakin and Vekoy, they've considered it. 622 00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:28,016 Avakin even went and started looking for a red pig. 623 00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:31,880 And God used this old guy who doesn't even believe in Jesus, doesn't 624 00:28:31,912 --> 00:28:33,566 believe in the Bible to stop him. 625 00:28:33,590 --> 00:28:35,790 He said, look, you're looking around for a red pig. 626 00:28:35,822 --> 00:28:37,086 He said, that's not the answer. 627 00:28:37,190 --> 00:28:39,702 He said, tovel and those guys, they don't know what they're doing. 628 00:28:39,798 --> 00:28:42,126 They're messing in things they have no understanding about. 629 00:28:42,270 --> 00:28:44,870 And Avakin told me, he said, I know he wasn't talking about the 630 00:28:44,902 --> 00:28:48,182 Bible, but God used what he was saying to bring the Bible back 631 00:28:48,198 --> 00:28:50,838 to my mind and to make me realize I need to trust God. 632 00:28:50,926 --> 00:28:52,534 We don't need to trust these guys. 633 00:28:52,654 --> 00:28:54,354 This is the system of the world. 634 00:28:54,774 --> 00:28:56,834 So it's exciting to see that growth. 635 00:28:57,254 --> 00:29:00,894 The month we left, October, the day we flew out of the island 636 00:29:00,934 --> 00:29:04,084 that we're on, we met with Avakin and Vakoy, and we gave them 637 00:29:04,124 --> 00:29:06,828 some money to try and get her to the capital to get the cataracts 638 00:29:06,876 --> 00:29:07,904 taken care of. 639 00:29:08,244 --> 00:29:11,308 We have not heard from them since, so I'm not sure if that happened, 640 00:29:11,436 --> 00:29:15,788 but we would like you to be in prayer for them as well as they face 641 00:29:15,836 --> 00:29:19,144 this challenge and as they continue to grow through it. 642 00:29:19,524 --> 00:29:23,636 I have so much more to share, but for the sake of time, I will 643 00:29:23,820 --> 00:29:24,964 bring it to a halt there. 644 00:29:25,004 --> 00:29:28,836 But we want to let you know what God is doing there and how he 645 00:29:28,860 --> 00:29:29,588 is working. 646 00:29:29,716 --> 00:29:33,012 We are so grateful to be your hands and feet in Vanuatu, to be 647 00:29:33,028 --> 00:29:36,324 a part of what God is doing, an extension of the work that this 648 00:29:36,364 --> 00:29:38,196 church is doing for the gospel. 649 00:29:38,300 --> 00:29:39,764 So we thank you so much for that. 650 00:29:39,804 --> 00:29:41,204 I'd like to close in a word of prayer.