Latest / Mission SONlight CHATT / Mission SONlight Chatt Season 4 Ep. 14 Diana Guinard - Bangladesh ministry

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Mission SONlight Chatt Season 4 Ep. 14 Diana Guinard - Bangladesh ministry · Mission SONlight CHATT

• 0:09
  Welcome to Mission Sunlight Chat from the media
• 0:12
  missionaries of Network 7. We are at the General
• 0:14
  Conference Session Exhibit Hall, delighted to
• 0:16
  be here sharing with what other exhibitors are
• 0:19
  doing around the globe. As an exhibitor ourselves,
• 0:22
  we're a group or part of the group of hundreds
• 0:25
  of ministries and even businesses and other ministries
• 0:30
  that are exhibiting here at the General Conference
• 0:32
  session. Of course, the General Conference itself
• 0:34
  is the world business meeting of the Seventh
• 0:36
  -day Adventist Church that's held every five
• 0:38
  years where leaders are elected and policy and
• 0:42
  decisions are made about the operation of the
• 0:46
  church. This is the fun part where we are in
• 0:49
  the exhibit hall, and we are delighted as we
• 0:51
  get an opportunity to visit with international
• 0:53
  guests. One of those that we have here is from
• 0:57
  Bangla Help, and that is Diana Guinard. Did I
• 1:01
  say it right, Diana? You got it perfect. All
• 1:03
  right, very good. Thanks so much for being here.
• 1:05
  We're excited to learn more about Bangla Help.
• 1:07
  Thank you for giving me the opportunity. Would
• 1:10
  you begin us with a word of prayer? Sure. Let's
• 1:12
  pray. Father in heaven, we thank you so much
• 1:15
  for the life you've given us, for calling us
• 1:19
  into your marvelous light. Amen. I pray, Lord,
• 1:22
  that we will be able to fulfill the commission
• 1:25
  you've given us to bring the three angels' message
• 1:28
  to all parts of the world, and that we may please,
• 1:32
  by your Spirit, set the captives free. In Jesus'
• 1:36
  name I pray. Amen. Amen. Diana, you are the president
• 1:42
  of Bengla Help. But before we talk about that
• 1:45
  and your ministry there, I'd like to learn a
• 1:47
  little bit more about you. Tell me about your
• 1:50
  childhood and your family growing up and kind
• 1:53
  of where you're from now. Sure. So we used to
• 1:56
  travel. quite a bit due to my dad's work. And
• 2:01
  so when I was around three, I was born Catholic.
• 2:06
  And when I was about three, we moved into Brazil.
• 2:10
  And in Brazil, actually, we learned about the
• 2:14
  Seventh -day Adventist message through... a very
• 2:18
  difficult situation um basically like which there's
• 2:22
  a lot of witchcrafting in brazil and so this
• 2:27
  um as sunday adventist lady the lord just placed
• 2:30
  her in my mom's uh path and she taught her how
• 2:35
  to pray and once we prayed like she taught us
• 2:40
  um like speaking to god like you know to a father
• 2:44
  that listens to you and cares about every single
• 2:47
  situation that's happening to you the whatever
• 2:51
  was happening in our home stopped and it you
• 2:56
  know we lived there for three years and we were
• 2:58
  the only tenants to last that long because people
• 3:01
  wouldn't last even two days in that place so
• 3:05
  at that moment my mom understood there was a
• 3:09
  power that she's never understood it existed
• 3:14
  before She understood there is a God that is
• 3:18
  a personal God and that cares and worries for
• 3:22
  us. Amen. Indeed, He is personal and He does
• 3:25
  care. So, am I understanding your mom was a single
• 3:28
  mom then? No. Actually, my dad was out very much
• 3:32
  working, so we would kind of be by ourselves
• 3:36
  for three, four days. He would come back and
• 3:39
  then leave again for another project. Any siblings
• 3:42
  in your home? No, I don't have any siblings.
• 3:45
  Just you? Just me, yes. All right. And tell me
• 3:48
  a little bit about after that experience growing
• 3:51
  up, where did you end up in school and where
• 3:55
  you are now? So I think I would say we... were
• 3:59
  kind of nominal Christians though like a seven
• 4:02
  -day Adventist like my mom got baptized I got
• 4:04
  baptized later my dad got baptized but I believe
• 4:08
  we never understood the importance of being connected
• 4:12
  to the true source of our of our beings and our
• 4:18
  you know spiritual life and so I believe we were
• 4:21
  just like nominal Adventist I would put it that
• 4:24
  way and so Time went on, and I went to university.
• 4:30
  I started at law school. I'm from Columbia, South
• 4:37
  America, and so I was in my third year of law
• 4:40
  school when the Lord made a big call in my heart
• 4:45
  to come and train a Semitic missionary in Heartland
• 4:50
  College. Okay, so you went to Heartland, which
• 4:53
  is based in Virginia. That's right. From Colombia,
• 4:55
  that was probably a bit of a culture shock for
• 4:57
  you? It was okay. It was Heartland, and it's
• 5:02
  still very multicultural. So I made amazing friends
• 5:07
  that was in 1996, and I'm here with them today.
• 5:12
  So they've been like lifelong friends for me.
• 5:15
  Okay. Yes. Very good. And how did you connect?
• 5:19
  with heartland or post heartland to bangla help
• 5:23
  what was next for you yes so what happened is
• 5:25
  i left as a missionary to dominican republic
• 5:29
  okay yes since i speak spanish then it was like
• 5:32
  very easy to to relate to the culture etc there
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  i got married to a missionary as well and we
• 5:40
  had two two kids today my kids are 24 and 23
• 5:44
  and when my kids were 10 and 11 You won't believe
• 5:50
  this, but my ex -husband today and myself, we
• 5:55
  became atheists. Oh, wow. Yes. And so we were
• 6:00
  thinking we could keep up with good principles
• 6:03
  and be good people without the Lord. And you
• 6:07
  know that's a big mistake. Because once you've
• 6:11
  known the truth and the light and you reject
• 6:14
  it, you are left in complete darkness. And so
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  I believe we just spiraled down without knowing
• 6:20
  we were spiraling down. And in 2021, there was
• 6:25
  a very tragic, traumatic situation in our family.
• 6:30
  And basically our family got destroyed. And I
• 6:34
  had to continue on my own with my kids. And,
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  you know, it was just so, so much trauma. And
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  the Lord, I believe the Lord in his compassion
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  and wisdom allowed me to go my own way. But he
• 6:49
  was ready to rescue me in the darkest point of
• 6:53
  my life. And so that's what he did. He actually
• 6:56
  protected my life because at some point I think
• 7:00
  I could have lost it in the darkest day of my
• 7:04
  life in 2021. And he showed me. Somebody is caring
• 7:09
  for me. And he took a year to show me that he
• 7:14
  who had taken care of me was the creator, was
• 7:17
  the God of the Bible, and that he was love. Even
• 7:21
  though I had denied him for more than 11 years,
• 7:25
  he showed me he is pure love. If we have an understanding
• 7:31
  that maybe God doesn't care or he's maybe like
• 7:34
  harsh. or judge or whatever we might call you
• 7:39
  call him i am pretty sure that is satan gaslighting
• 7:46
  god with his own character and making us think
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  God does not love us and God does not care. That's
• 7:53
  what he does. Yes. But God does love us and God
• 7:55
  does care. Absolutely. You know, he healed me
• 7:58
  from so much trauma, physical, spiritual, mental,
• 8:03
  emotional. For me, it is a miracle. I'm standing
• 8:07
  here today happy with no fear, with no anxiety.
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  I can sleep at night because I committed my life
• 8:16
  to the Lord and I asked him to heal me. And that's
• 8:20
  what he has done for me. So to answer your question,
• 8:24
  I started praying. Once I came back to God in
• 8:29
  2023, I got re -baptized. I started praying,
• 8:33
  Lord, what would you have me to do? Because I
• 8:37
  was feeling pretty useless. I was about to turn
• 8:41
  50. And I was feeling pretty useless, like nobody
• 8:45
  cares. Wait a second. You can't be 50. Yes. Okay.
• 8:51
  Folks on camera, she looks like she's 30. Thank
• 8:54
  you so much. That makes me even, you know, more
• 8:58
  motivated to keep taking care of myself. Anyway,
• 9:01
  so, you know, I start praying every single night.
• 9:08
  Like, Lord, what will you have me to do? Like,
• 9:11
  how can I be of use to you? I don't want to be
• 9:14
  just... accepting you and then sitting on a bench
• 9:17
  every Sabbath and that's it. And so one night,
• 9:22
  I'm going to tell you this, one night I had this
• 9:26
  dream where I was crying and praying and saying,
• 9:29
  Lord, what do you want me to do? And I heard
• 9:33
  this voice that said, you will know in 285 days.
• 9:38
  And at the beginning, I did not pay much attention.
• 9:41
  But then every time I would try to pray every
• 9:44
  night the same prayer, like, Lord, I feel useless.
• 9:47
  What will you have me to do? I was pretty convinced
• 9:49
  nobody would want my help or to hire me or anything.
• 9:54
  And so the Lord will bring back that memory of
• 9:59
  that dream. And so I decided to write it down
• 10:03
  and to Google the 285 days from start point to
• 10:07
  end, see which would be the 285, like, date.
• 10:13
  And so I found, like, okay, it's this date on
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  this month, so I'm just, you know, going to keep
• 10:19
  praying, doing my best, and wait. Well, you won't
• 10:22
  believe me. One of my therapists calls me. She's
• 10:26
  a dentist, and she's like, My husband works for
• 10:31
  this ministry in Bangladesh. They help women
• 10:34
  and children in danger. And they're looking for
• 10:38
  another board member, and I believe you would
• 10:41
  be the perfect fit. So I get interviewed, and
• 10:44
  I got accepted at that same day that the 285
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  days came to pass. Wow. After that, I started
• 10:53
  working with them, just being part of the board.
• 10:56
  and learning more about the ministry. It's an
• 10:59
  amazing ministry, to tell you the truth. And
• 11:01
  so I started writing their newsletter. Recently,
• 11:07
  in May, I started feeling stuck in my own, because
• 11:12
  all of this is volunteer work. None of us get
• 11:15
  paid. And so recently I started getting like,
• 11:19
  felt like stuck in my own job. I do property
• 11:23
  management. I felt like I need to work for the
• 11:28
  Lord 24 -7. So I was looking for my replacement,
• 11:32
  and the day I got my replacement, the past president
• 11:36
  of Bangla Help calls me and says, I want you
• 11:39
  to be the new president for Bangla Help. So I
• 11:42
  accepted this past May, and 10 days later, I
• 11:46
  was in Bangladesh. Wow, you weren't expecting
• 11:48
  that. I was not expecting that, but it was definitely
• 11:52
  my dream come true. What a great story. I want
• 11:56
  to know more about Bangla Help. We're going to
• 11:57
  take a break in just a moment here and come back
• 12:00
  and talk about the ministry of Bangla Help, banglahelp
• 12:05
  .org. Thank you for being a part of our listening
• 12:08
  and viewing audience today. We are grateful to
• 12:10
  have you along, too. MissionSunlight .org is
• 12:12
  a place where you can go to learn more about
• 12:14
  Network 7 and about the various activities we
• 12:16
  have. And, of course, you can click the Donate
• 12:18
  button there. Also, text us, 1 -423 -855 -4877,
• 12:23
  or email hello at MissionSunlight .org. We'd
• 12:28
  love to hear from you. We'd love to have the
• 12:29
  connection, so feel free to get in touch with
• 12:31
  us. This is Mission Sunlight Chat. We'll be back
• 12:34
  in a moment with more. Being a media missionary
• 12:44
  can mean many different things. It means the
• 12:47
  love of a home at the heart of the planet, the
• 12:51
  intrepid spirit of a village, and the vibe of
• 12:54
  a great metropolis. It means camera one and camera
• 12:58
  two. It means transforming a school, orphanage,
• 13:02
  or hospital. It means fire, rain, ice, and snow.
• 13:07
  It means gifts by the dollar and by the check.
• 13:11
  It means donations that roll and donations that
• 13:15
  fly. It's a movement on a trail or down a motorway.
• 13:21
  It means family. All of us together. And individually.
• 13:27
  It's who you are or who you are becoming. And
• 13:32
  to her, it's a simple gesture that means hope.
• 13:35
  Whatever it means to you, being a media missionary.
• 13:39
  means more than you might think. Welcome back
• 13:50
  to Mission Sunlight Chat from the exhibit hall
• 13:52
  here at the General Conference. the session meeting,
• 13:56
  every five -year meeting, the business meeting
• 13:58
  of the Seventh -day Adventist Church that's being
• 14:00
  held here. And exhibitors also come into the
• 14:03
  exhibit hall to share what Jesus is doing in,
• 14:06
  as we would say in the South, in their neck of
• 14:09
  the woods, but literally all over the globe.
• 14:12
  Ministries have come to share what Jesus is doing.
• 14:15
  And so it's a blessing for Network 7, for Mission
• 14:18
  Sunlight to be able to be a part of this conversation.
• 14:21
  And from all over the world, we have one of our
• 14:24
  ministries, Bangla Help. Deanna. Guinard is our
• 14:29
  guest today, and she's been sharing her personal
• 14:31
  testimony. And Diana, you are now, as you shared,
• 14:36
  president of Bangla Help, a fairly new president.
• 14:39
  That's right. How has that transition been for
• 14:41
  you? Have you enjoyed it? I think I have really
• 14:44
  enjoyed it because, let me tell you, I enjoy
• 14:46
  challenges. Okay. And so I believe that once
• 14:50
  I landed in Bangladesh, then I really started
• 14:53
  understanding. What was our ministry about? I
• 14:57
  heard about it. I've seen the pictures. I've
• 15:00
  seen the videos. I have sat at our board meetings.
• 15:03
  But to be there, it's something completely life
• 15:07
  -changing. And the language of Bangladesh, they
• 15:10
  consider that Bengal or Bengali? Yes, Bengali
• 15:13
  or Bengla as they say it. So you're Colombian.
• 15:18
  You speak Spanish. Yes. Clearly well articulated
• 15:22
  in English. And now you have this third language
• 15:25
  that you're learning. And I think there's maybe
• 15:27
  even some tribal languages in Bangladesh. I believe
• 15:30
  so, yes. Yeah, so you've got your hands cut out,
• 15:33
  a big learning curve. Yes, that's right. Tell
• 15:36
  me what Bangla Help is. I have this fantastic
• 15:38
  brochure. It says the mission is Bangla Help
• 15:41
  exists to bring hope and change to needy young
• 15:45
  and old people in Bangladesh by meeting needs
• 15:47
  and sharing Jesus. By God's grace and with our
• 15:50
  donors' help, we help 1 ,000 -plus needy kids
• 15:54
  daily. That's with education, school supplies,
• 15:56
  and meals. You train 100 -plus sex workers to
• 16:00
  read, write, and sew to give them new industry,
• 16:02
  a new way of making money. That's right. Jordan,
• 16:05
  I know you had the shot of that. I don't want
• 16:06
  to get it out in front of my face. And then sponsoring
• 16:09
  three safe homes for 50 -plus at -risk children
• 16:13
  of sex workers. That's right. That's the mission.
• 16:18
  That's a description. Tell me more about what
• 16:21
  is Bangla Help. Yeah, so... Basically, this mission
• 16:25
  was started by Dr. Mascala. I don't know if you
• 16:28
  heard about him. And so he started basically
• 16:31
  feeding hungry children in the streets. Afterwards,
• 16:35
  he saw, you know, the slums. The kids don't get
• 16:38
  to go to school, so they stay on the streets,
• 16:41
  and they can end up in any kind of situation.
• 16:45
  Basically, boys end up with, like, drugs. crime,
• 16:51
  involved in drugs and crime, and the girls usually
• 16:53
  go into sex trafficking, basically. And so what
• 17:00
  we try is to go into the slums with the biggest
• 17:04
  needs. Well, there's much work there to do, but
• 17:08
  right now we have five schools, five slum schools,
• 17:11
  in different parts of Dhaka, which is the capital.
• 17:14
  And we have about 1 ,000 -plus children that
• 17:19
  come every day to school. With free education,
• 17:23
  we provide their uniforms, their books, their
• 17:28
  textbooks, everything, and a meal, which would
• 17:31
  be lunch. We also have village schools, so in
• 17:35
  the poorest parts of the countryside. While we
• 17:41
  were working there, we saw there was a big need
• 17:45
  at the biggest brothel in Asia, in Daulatia.
• 17:49
  So Daulatia is about four hours away from Dhaka.
• 17:53
  Dhaka being the capital city. That's right. So
• 17:56
  we traveled in a small van. Then our van got
• 18:00
  on a ferry. And then it's like 30 minutes on
• 18:05
  a ferry, and then you land in Dalitia and you
• 18:09
  drive there to the brothel. And let me tell you,
• 18:12
  nothing could have ever prepared me to go into
• 18:16
  that brothel. I had to be bodyguarded by three
• 18:21
  men with guns. and five brothers of our of our
• 18:27
  ministry came and they were like all around me
• 18:30
  so it was eight men and at some point i thought
• 18:34
  i felt like i was every step i would take into
• 18:38
  that brothel i felt like i i felt evil i felt
• 18:43
  evil and i felt like i was going like straight
• 18:47
  to hell and i couldn't believe people have to
• 18:50
  live all their lives there like these women Many
• 18:54
  of them have been tricked into going for a job,
• 18:58
  and they end up being sold, and they cannot get
• 19:02
  out as young as 10 years old. And some others
• 19:07
  are sold by their own family. Others, I guess,
• 19:11
  they came because they had no other option how
• 19:15
  to make money. And so what happens is they end
• 19:18
  up getting pregnant. They live in a small room
• 19:21
  where they get abused and they keep their children
• 19:24
  there. So they started begging us to take their
• 19:29
  children out of the brothel. So we have started
• 19:33
  a couple of safe homes where we started receiving
• 19:37
  the girls first. But then they were like, please
• 19:41
  take the boys as well. we just started one new
• 19:45
  safe home for boys. And they are allowed to come
• 19:49
  and visit their children, but they're always
• 19:52
  supervised, they're always watched. They know
• 19:54
  that if they go further than what they had asked
• 19:58
  permission for, they'll probably be killed. And
• 20:02
  so... What we do is we have like a small room
• 20:06
  in the brothel where we teach them how to read
• 20:09
  and write and basic math. Once they've gone through
• 20:12
  that, we have another space where we have industrial
• 20:17
  sewing machines, and we give them a six -month
• 20:20
  course where they can get certified, and then
• 20:23
  they can go get a job. So it's not easy for them
• 20:28
  to get a job, to tell you the truth. From all
• 20:33
  the courses we do. Amen. But only 28 have been
• 20:37
  able to get out because they've gotten a job.
• 20:40
  Or they've received them back into their homes
• 20:44
  and they start their own business from their
• 20:45
  home. Okay. Yes. Wow. These are scarred, hurting
• 20:51
  women. And Bangla Help is helping them have a
• 20:55
  hand out of it. It sounds like a little more
• 20:58
  than a third are able to find... their way back
• 21:03
  into mainstream life? That's right, that's right.
• 21:06
  And we have many projects in mind, like we would
• 21:09
  like to start kind of a business that we can
• 21:12
  also be self -supporting in some way, and then
• 21:16
  be able to hire them in case they don't find
• 21:22
  a job out in the world. The only reason we don't
• 21:28
  have any more slum schools or any more safe homes
• 21:33
  to take more children is lack of funds. Okay.
• 21:36
  Yes. So let's answer that question. How can people
• 21:41
  connect with you if they want to support with
• 21:44
  funds or volunteer in some other way? How can
• 21:47
  they connect? Sure. So on the brochure I gave
• 21:50
  you, there's a QR code. Okay. and so we can we
• 21:53
  can show that qr code so that will be one and
• 21:58
  the website is and the website is banglahelp
• 22:01
  .org and we're going to put that in the bio so
• 22:04
  if people want to click on that or they can see
• 22:06
  yeah there we go so we have the bangla help and
• 22:12
  the qr code if you want to hold that up i think
• 22:15
  jordan's going to get a shot of it for you and
• 22:17
  we'll Which camera are we going to? There we
• 22:22
  go. Yeah, and people can just snap that. QR code,
• 22:26
  turn it a little toward me so it's a little bit.
• 22:28
  There we go. Yeah, thank you. Thank you, Deanna.
• 22:32
  We're going to encourage people to consider supporting
• 22:34
  banglahelp .org and the ministry that is transforming
• 22:39
  these women and children, right? That's right.
• 22:42
  And these little children's lives as well. And
• 22:45
  as you said, the only thing stopping you from
• 22:46
  helping more is resources. That's right. And
• 22:49
  we also sponsor them if they want to continue
• 22:54
  their life to a professional career when they're
• 22:57
  done with high school. We can sponsor them to
• 23:01
  go into Adventist universities and get their
• 23:07
  own careers. Yeah. And learn more about the love
• 23:09
  of Jesus. Exactly. But it's interesting. The
• 23:12
  love of Jesus begins with meeting their felt
• 23:15
  needs. They're tangible. Help, food, education,
• 23:21
  work. It's hard to think of a God who cares about
• 23:26
  you when you've got all of that other junk happening
• 23:30
  around you. That's right. So helping their basic
• 23:32
  needs. I think it's Isaiah 58 that talks about
• 23:36
  the kind of fast that God wants us to have. And
• 23:42
  it's first a fast of helping, sacrificing from
• 23:46
  self and helping. That's really what he wants
• 23:49
  from us in the very beginning, in the very basic.
• 23:52
  How will we help others? Banglahelp .org. That's
• 23:55
  right. We'll be back in a moment with a little
• 23:57
  more from you, Deanna. Thank you so much for
• 23:58
  sharing your story in this program. We will be
• 24:02
  back in a moment. We want to connect you with
• 24:04
  missionsunlight .org is our website. If you want
• 24:07
  to connect with us, 1 -423 -855 -4877 is where
• 24:10
  you can text. I want to remind you, clicking
• 24:13
  the share button will let others know about ministries
• 24:16
  such as Bangla Help and the other programs you've
• 24:19
  heard here. If you're blessed by Mission Sunlight
• 24:21
  Chat, I want to please ask you to click share
• 24:24
  and let someone else know through text or email
• 24:26
  or whatever way you want to do that. You can
• 24:28
  share that with a friend or even an enemy. We'd
• 24:32
  love for you to have others know what you are
• 24:35
  sharing in today. So thank you for doing that.
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  We'll be back in a moment with more Mission Sunlight
• 24:40
  Chat. is reconnecting ourselves with the Creator.
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  We must learn to abide in Jesus now. We move
• 25:07
  ahead with our mission objectives, recognizing
• 25:09
  that we are serving together the Most High God.
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  Welcome back to Mission Sunlight Chat. We are
• 25:27
  at the general conference session of the Seventh
• 25:30
  -day Adventist Church in the exhibit hall. Look
• 25:32
  around at all the exhibitors that are exhibiting
• 25:34
  here. There are literally hundreds of ministries
• 25:37
  here to share what Jesus is doing around the
• 25:41
  world. Not only are there ministries here, some
• 25:43
  of the other exhibitors are sound companies,
• 25:45
  accounting firms, travel, tour, the Holy Land
• 25:50
  organizations. Just a variety of people who are
• 25:54
  involved in some way of sharing ministry. And
• 25:58
  it's such a blessing to be here and be a part
• 26:00
  of that. We're delighted to have our mobile studio
• 26:02
  here from Mission Sunlight Chat. And we are extra
• 26:05
  delighted to have Deanna here from Bangla Health.
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  Deanna, you have touched my heart with your personal
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  story and definitely with your story about these
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  women. I don't want to get too much into my own
• 26:18
  story. But I was my birth mother was conceived
• 26:23
  illegitimately. And I am thankful for my parents
• 26:28
  who adopted me and kept me from a very, very,
• 26:33
  very messy life. And I am a Christian today because
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  of those two Christian people who said, we want
• 26:41
  a boy and we want to share Jesus with him. I
• 26:43
  am thankful for for being. saved from that experience
• 26:49
  as I watch others who were not. Amen. Thank you
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  for sharing that. It touches my heart. I know
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  you have an encouraging word you want to share
• 26:57
  with us. Take your time and share what Jesus
• 26:59
  has laid on your heart. Sounds good. And just
• 27:02
  so you know, for those that are viewing, it's
• 27:03
  this camera here on the left. You can look directly
• 27:05
  at them if you like. Sounds good. Yeah, so basically
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  I like what you pointed out, that it's not only
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  about helping people get educated and get fed.
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  Above all, we do all of this because we don't
• 27:21
  want them to be lost. We want them to hear about
• 27:25
  the truth. And Bangladesh, it's a Muslim country
• 27:29
  in its majority. It has some few minorities on
• 27:34
  Hinduism and also Buddhism. So it is very difficult
• 27:40
  to actually share. the message from the Bible
• 27:45
  as you can imagine, but I guess this is the way
• 27:50
  the Lord has given us to do it in places like
• 27:55
  Bangladesh. We believe in Isaiah 61 .1. I would
• 28:02
  like to read it. It says, The Spirit of the Lord
• 28:05
  God is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed
• 28:08
  me to preach good tidings unto the meek. He had
• 28:12
  sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim
• 28:17
  liberty to the captives and the opening of the
• 28:21
  prison to them that are bound. I do believe the
• 28:26
  enemy has bound people in Bangladesh. We were
• 28:31
  sharing the message of a God that created heaven
• 28:34
  and earth. And I remember this particular time.
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  they came to listen to us in one of our schools
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  the parents came to listen and It was just so
• 28:47
  touching they were basically They practice Hinduism
• 28:54
  and so when we were talking about a God that
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  loves you that created a perfect world And this
• 29:01
  is not what he intended the way, you know, to
• 29:05
  have to go through pain and sorrow and you explain
• 29:09
  to them that it's actually the work of an enemy
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  and not of a God that needs to be pleased and
• 29:17
  that feels wronged but actually yearns to call
• 29:22
  his children to come to him and be saved and
• 29:25
  be protected. in this sinful, broken world. It
• 29:31
  is just very touching to see their faces, how
• 29:34
  they would react. I could see their eyes light
• 29:40
  up. When they heard like, you know, there is
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  a God that loves us. There is a God that he created
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  everything perfect. We had no pain. We had no
• 29:50
  sorrow. We were not hungry. We didn't know what
• 29:53
  fear was. We didn't know what death was. We didn't
• 29:57
  know what anxiety was. And so when you describe
• 30:01
  all of that to them, they wanted to, you know,
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  know more, to learn more. And so if we are able
• 30:09
  to do any little thing for them, I believe that
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  will mark them for life and will help them at
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  some point when it comes their time to make the
• 30:20
  decision for the Lord, for the truth. And I believe
• 30:25
  our world is definitely coming to that point
• 30:28
  when all of us are going to be put to test and,
• 30:33
  okay, decide, you know, where are you going to
• 30:36
  go. And I believe it's only through love, and
• 30:40
  Ellen White mentions, it is love that breaks
• 30:44
  the hardened heart. So I would like to ask if
• 30:50
  you have been touched by this ministry's work,
• 30:55
  if you have been touched by the need of the children
• 30:58
  and sex workers in Bangladesh, that you would
• 31:01
  please... consider not only donating but also
• 31:06
  praying for us because we face much challenges
• 31:09
  in this country. Amen. I would add my encouragement
• 31:15
  that they consider how they can help, whether
• 31:18
  it's resources, volunteering, and most definitely
• 31:22
  prayer. Prayer changes lives, doesn't it? Amen.
• 31:26
  Diana Guinard, banglahelp .org. Thank you for
• 31:30
  coming and sharing with us. I hope folks will
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  connect with your ministry and that it will continue
• 31:35
  to be a blessing. Jordan and I have been to Bangladesh.
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  Jordan, do you recall how long ago that's been
• 31:43
  since we were in Bangladesh? That's probably
• 31:46
  been about 12 or 13 years. Yeah, and while we
• 31:50
  were there, we visited a girls' school where
• 31:52
  they were taking girls and giving them training
• 31:55
  to be independent and teaching them some... microfinance
• 31:59
  and some basic business skills along with their
• 32:01
  other education. We also went and visited in
• 32:04
  some of the slums there in Dhaka. And so I've
• 32:07
  seen a piece of what you're talking about. And
• 32:12
  there is a great need there in Bangladesh. So
• 32:14
  thank you for bringing the story of the Bengali
• 32:17
  people here to us. Praise the Lord. Thank you
• 32:20
  for the opportunity. Jordan, would you just wrap
• 32:22
  us up in a word of prayer? Sure. Let's have a
• 32:24
  prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the
• 32:27
  way that you work in our lives. And we thank
• 32:30
  you that there are ministries that are reaching
• 32:33
  out to these special sect of people that are
• 32:40
  often forgotten about, but also they're taken
• 32:43
  advantage of in many ways. And we pray that you'll
• 32:46
  continue to help Bangla Health to continue to
• 32:50
  touch their hearts and teach them. how to have
• 32:55
  a business or be productive so that they don't
• 32:59
  have to be in these situations that are so harmful
• 33:03
  to their mind and their body and their soul in
• 33:07
  the end. I pray that you'll continue to touch
• 33:11
  the hearts there and direct their path as they
• 33:14
  will eventually turn their hearts to you. and
• 33:17
  choose to have a relationship with you. Thank
• 33:19
  you for everything you do in our lives, and thank
• 33:22
  you for using us to reach others for your kingdom.
• 33:25
  In your name, amen. Amen. Thank you, Jordan.
• 33:28
  Thank you, Deanna. We've been blessed to hear
• 33:29
  your story. Thank you to our listeners and viewers
• 33:31
  who've joined us along the way today. And thank
• 33:33
  you for giving us your prayers. Those are meaningful
• 33:36
  to us and know that we are also praying for you.
• 33:40
  MissionSunlight .org is a place where you can
• 33:41
  connect with us. We are currently doing a series
• 33:44
  of stories from the General Conference session
• 33:46
  at the... 2025 business meeting of the Seventh
• 33:50
  -day Adventist Church here in the exhibit hall.
• 33:52
  Really blessed to have this group of exhibitors
• 33:55
  here. I'm thankful that you came along to join
• 33:57
  us. We'll see you next time. This is Mission
• 34:00
  Sunlight Chat. This has been a Beeson Brook production
• 34:05
  in association with Network 7 Media Center. Executive
• 34:10
  Producers Christopher and Rebecca Beeson Roddy
• 34:13
  Scarborough Don and Nancy Van Ornam Associate
• 34:17
  Producers Jordan and Ashley Wagner. Gary and
• 34:20
  Dina Bartle Wagner. Your host today, Christopher
• 34:23
  Beeson. Director of Production and Audio Engineer,
• 34:26
  Jordan Wagner. To suggest guests, topic questions,
• 34:30
  to pray with us, or to give, visit missionsunlight
• 34:33
  .org or text us at 423 -855 -4877. You may write
• 34:40
  to us at Network 7 Media Center, Box 25468. Chattanooga,
• 34:46
  Tennessee 37422. This has been a production of
• 34:50
  Network 7 Media Center.