Participants:
Series Code: OTG
Program Code: OTG201102S
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01:30 Welcome
01:32 to Adventist World Aviation Special Presidential Update. 01:37 Thank you for watching our previous episodes 01:39 on the updates as the year has progressed. 01:42 This has been an unusual year for sure. 01:46 Many good things have happened 01:49 and the year of 2020 will go down in history 01:52 is to be remembered 01:53 as a certainly a confusing year, 01:56 that's for sure. 01:57 A lot of positive things have happened 01:59 throughout Adventist World Aviation 02:00 in the previous months, 02:02 we are now entering into the fall. 02:05 As we enter into the fall, 02:07 our mind turns towards year end. 02:11 And, of course, we have the election upon us 02:14 that has many of us worried which way will it go? 02:19 Will America be transformed into something we don't want? 02:24 Or will our country remain a free state 02:28 and to be able to worship God freely? 02:30 The only advice I have that I really dare say 02:33 is that vote for freedom. 02:35 Whatever side you feel will give us 02:38 the most religious freedom 02:39 to be able to share the gospel message 02:42 throughout the world, 02:43 then that's where you need to be. 02:47 Politics notwithstanding, 02:49 it's important to be able to serve 02:50 God's people. 02:51 And there are certainly some scary things 02:55 that have happened on the horizon. 02:56 And so my suggestion 02:59 is to let's pray for continued freedom 03:02 to be able to share the gospel of this world. 03:05 You know, we're coming up on Thanksgiving 03:07 and one of the things on Thanksgiving 03:08 is said that you shouldn't argue 03:11 about politics 03:12 and you shouldn't argue about religion 03:14 at the Thanksgiving table 03:15 and while I agree that arguments are bad 03:18 or they can be. 03:20 They really not so bad when you think about it 03:22 because arguments bring out 03:25 the best of both sides. 03:29 Isaiah said, "Come, let's," really what he said is, 03:32 "Come let's argue together." 03:34 He said, "Come let's reason together." 03:35 Arguments don't have to be argumentative, 03:38 both sides can be presented and that sharpens your steel. 03:42 And really there are only two things 03:44 worthy of discussion. 03:47 And, of course, that is number one is Jesus, 03:50 and the Bible, and religion. 03:52 Religion is a wonderful thing to be able to talk about 03:55 at the Thanksgiving table 03:56 because it shows our gratefulness 03:58 to our Creator. 04:00 And what we are, are thankful for. 04:02 Politics just happens to assure the ability 04:05 to be able to discuss the freedom of religion. 04:09 And so, really in a real sense, 04:12 those are only two things 04:13 that are worthy of arguing about 04:15 and that is politics and religion. 04:17 Politics just assures the ability 04:18 to be able to have a conversation about religion. 04:20 So vote and vote for that 04:24 which will give us the most freedom. 04:26 That's my recommendation to you. 04:29 Adventist World Aviation has come a long way this year. 04:33 We've certainly had some challenging times, 04:35 but all throughout the year, we've been working diligently. 04:39 Even though we have been on lockdown 04:40 throughout the world 04:41 and many of the countries that we serve, 04:43 we've also had limited opportunity 04:46 to be able to move freely about in our own country, 04:49 which is really unusual for United States citizens 04:53 or North Americans, 04:55 we're used to be able to freely travel, 04:57 go into a store freely shop, communicate with others freely. 05:03 Even embrace somebody 05:04 that needs a something as simple as a hug, 05:06 we're able to do that. 05:08 And that has been challenging, 05:09 especially for those of us that enjoy social interaction, 05:14 or accomplish things through social interaction. 05:16 So that has been a challenge, 05:18 of course, but at that same time, 05:21 we've been able to accomplish a lot as well. 05:23 Much of the maintenance 05:25 that we've not been able to accomplish 05:28 throughout the years, 05:29 we've been able to accomplish here at headquarters. 05:32 Hello, my name is Kyle Stevenson. 05:34 I'm the Chief of Maintenance for Adventist World Aviation. 05:38 And I'm here to talk about 05:39 the importance of aircraft maintenance. 05:42 So this aircraft we have here that took Ohana 05:45 is one of our Angel Flight aircraft. 05:48 And not too long ago, 05:49 it was scheduled to fly with Rebecca and Rick 05:55 to do an Angel Flight, but in the morning, 05:58 they weren't able to leave 06:00 because of an issue with the battery, 06:03 the aircraft wouldn't start. 06:05 And so I had to quickly figure out 06:06 what the problem was, 06:07 so that they could get on their way 06:09 to go pick up their passenger. 06:14 So it took me about four hours, 06:16 but I finally figured out what the problem was, 06:19 the battery ground 06:23 where it connects into the airframe 06:25 had corroded to the point 06:27 where electricity wasn't flowing 06:30 through the connection itself. 06:32 And it was kind of hidden underneath the battery box 06:36 where the battery stored in the aircraft. 06:38 So once I found that out, I cleaned it all up, 06:42 relocated the ground, 06:44 and they were able to leave and go on their way 06:47 to the Angel Flight and get there safely. 06:51 And, you know, they pick up their passenger. 06:54 Good morning. Welcome. 06:57 We're here in Smithfield North Carolina, 06:58 Monique and I just arrived a couple of weeks ago, 07:01 from Sagpangan, Palawan, the Philippines. 07:04 We're gonna be here in North Carolina 07:06 for the next couple of months, at least. 07:08 During this time here, 07:10 we're getting to know all the people 07:11 that are supporting AWA in many ways. 07:15 This morning, I wanna introduce you 07:16 to two lovely young people 07:18 who are volunteering their time, 07:20 given us their... 07:21 Using their God given talents and experiences 07:24 to help us with maintenance here 07:27 at the hangar in North Carolina. 07:30 If you'll follow me for a second, 07:33 I wanna introduce you to a young man, Malachi. 07:38 This is Malachi, 07:40 please introduce yourself to us. 07:44 Hi, I'm Malachi. I'm 14. 07:46 And I've been working at AWA or volunteering at AWA 07:49 for around four years, three years. 07:52 Three years. 07:54 And, Malachi, as you're here to earn your A&P, right? 07:57 You're trying to, 07:59 you're doing a bit of maintenance 08:00 on the aircraft right now. 08:01 They're working on the Mooney. 08:03 And they are doing different tasks 08:06 so that they can get Mooney to be up and running. 08:08 And Malachi is earning his A&P. He's 14. 08:12 That means he's in his home school 08:14 here in Smithfield area. 08:16 And he's eventually going to earn his A&P 08:19 and his pilot license. 08:21 Thank you, Malachi, for your service. 08:23 And thank you for your dedication 08:24 to supporting us. 08:26 Next, we have a lovely young lady over here. 08:28 Hi. Hi, this is Jasmin. 08:30 Jasmin, would you please introduce yourself 08:32 and tell us a little bit about what brings you to AWA? 08:35 Sure. I'm Jasmin. 08:37 I have two children and a husband. 08:42 We both, my husband and I are in the military. 08:45 I'm with the Air Force Reserve, 08:47 my husband with the National Guard, 08:48 Army National Guard. 08:51 I decided to join AWA 08:52 because I had been blessed through the military 08:56 to learn avionic systems. 08:58 And I decided well, 09:00 how can I use this for God's purpose 09:02 and I found AWA through the church. 09:04 And I've been working or volunteering 09:07 for five months now. 09:08 And it's been a tremendous help, 09:10 and a blessing to me. 09:12 So, yeah, that's a little bit about myself. 09:14 Well, thank you, Jasmin, 09:15 and you're trying to earn your A&P 09:17 or what's part of your other reasons 09:20 for being here? 09:21 Oh, my A&P is kind of like a plus side to be in here. 09:25 A big point is just really helping out 09:28 learning and kind of exploring 09:30 what there is to offer for the aviation 09:33 and more specifically this the AWA Ministries. 09:36 Well, thank you so much, Jasmin, 09:38 for your time and your dedication. 09:39 Thank you. 09:40 I thank you both for your service. 09:43 Well, the other news in Palawan, 09:46 we have seven or eight young youth people 09:50 that are learning a song by Casting Crowns, Who Am I. 09:55 You'll see a short video clip of that in the background. 09:58 And these youth have come to us on a regular basis, 10:02 about once a week to visit us. 10:04 And one day they asked Sister Monique, 10:07 if they could teach him a song in English, 10:09 a Christian song in English. 10:10 And so they thought about different songs 10:12 they came up with, Who Am I, by Casting Crowns. 10:15 Not because of what I've done 10:19 But because of who you are 10:23 I am a flower quickly fading 10:28 Here today and gone tomorrow 10:32 A wave tossed in the ocean 10:35 A vapor in the wind 10:37 Still you hear me When I'm calling 10:42 Lord, you catch me When I'm falling 10:46 And you've told me who I am 10:51 I am yours 10:56 And these young people are young, young, teenagers 10:59 of Malachi's age, 11:00 and they are not Seventh-day Adventists 11:03 and they have limited English vocabulary skills. 11:07 So they basically can't communicate 11:09 very much in English, 11:10 so they wouldn't learn the English song. 11:12 And you're gonna see this song, 11:14 To God be the glory 11:15 because they are trying to understand 11:17 Who Am I and all creation. 11:27 We've been able to deliver aircraft 11:29 that probably still be in maintenance 11:33 had it not been for our ability 11:34 to concentrate our efforts on that 11:36 and we're excited to announce just a couple of days ago, 11:40 we are able to deploy Charlie Foxtrot, 11:44 WOHR our aircraft, 11:47 our specially outfitted Cessna 185 on floats 11:51 its Amphibious Floats to Sioux Lookout 11:53 in the Ontario project area 11:55 to be able to serve 11:56 the indigenous peoples up there. 11:58 And it took off just a couple of days ago. 12:01 And we are so happy that was able to take off 12:04 and had the opportunity to test fly at here, 12:06 we landed on water as well as on land, 12:10 test flew this amazing, amazing aircraft 12:12 that has the ability to take off at gross 12:15 with the specific type Robinson type STOL kit 12:19 that we installed in it, 12:21 which gives us an incredible performance 12:24 on take on short takeoff and landings. 12:26 And so we have this incredible aircraft 12:29 that will be serving the indigenous peoples 12:31 in Canada and Northern Ontario, 12:33 and in Sioux Lookout 12:35 and all throughout that region 12:37 to be able to help 12:38 in a variety of areas of ministry 12:40 and suicide prevention 12:41 and helping the local indigenous people 12:43 with their medical needs and transportation needs, 12:46 of course, and food, 12:47 and something as simple as daily rations 12:51 and supplies that are needed in areas 12:54 that are on lockdown because of weather, 12:58 or rain, or snow, or whatever they face. 13:01 So we're excited for that. 13:04 We'll be turning to Ray in a moment 13:06 to share what's happening there. 13:09 So that was exciting to be able to see that. 13:12 We have a pilot 13:13 that came down here from Ontario. 13:14 He's got a lot of experience in floatplanes. 13:16 His name is Brian. 13:18 And Brian did a awesome job of demonstrating 13:21 that he'll be a qualified pilot up in that area. 13:23 So one of the pilots that we have is Brian, 13:25 and we appreciate his service and willingness 13:28 to help in that area. 13:31 For this very meaningful moment. 13:35 The whole transition 13:37 of this plane to us 13:42 and to ministry here in Ontario 13:45 has been little while in coming. 13:48 It has been a few years since we have negotiated 13:51 and signed off on this agreement 13:54 entered into a memorandum 13:56 of understanding with Adventist World Aviation, 14:00 and have had many dialogues 14:04 with the leaders in the indigenous context 14:08 in Northwestern Ontario. 14:11 And we have been with eager anticipation 14:14 looking forward to the moment 14:15 when we would have had this plane on the ground 14:18 here in Ontario. 14:20 Our administration turned it over to North Carolina, 14:23 where the plane was for a little while 14:25 and we had dialogues there, we had prayer over it. 14:31 There were some hitches and some bumps, 14:35 but in the process of time God has overlooked and guided. 14:40 And today here we are 14:42 with our plane right here on the ground. 14:45 And the Ontario Conference 14:48 and the Adventist World Aviation 14:51 were both excited to begin this important ministry. 14:56 So I share with you for example 15:01 something that was scary for me. 15:03 Number one, in Northwestern Ontario, 15:06 the indigenous people had a higher incidence 15:08 of all cancers, all cancers. 15:13 They dominated the Ontario report 15:17 at the highest level, 15:19 they have the highest incidence of all circulatory diseases, 15:24 the highest incidence of all respiratory diseases, 15:29 high incidence of all unintentional injuries, 15:35 and, of course, 15:36 highest incidence of all intentional injuries, 15:41 self-harm, 15:43 and highest incidence of suicide. 15:47 This, for me, 15:52 was a statement of desperation and hopelessness. 15:57 They need help. 16:02 They need hope. 16:07 And this is best given in the name of 16:12 and through the power of Jesus Christ Himself. 16:17 So therefore, we resolve and we will not be moved 16:21 from the fact that we have decided 16:22 we will not be spectators of this unfortunate reality 16:28 because Jesus has modeled 16:30 that we should never relegate people, 16:33 He never excluded people, 16:36 Jesus always included the excluded. 16:40 And so, we will do our best 16:44 to help the people who need help. 16:47 With health trainings and seminars and support 16:52 to agricultural projects, 16:54 we will do our best to help those who need 16:58 to access medical facilities 17:01 to be flown back to access the facilities 17:04 in Thunder Bay or Sioux Lookout, 17:06 which they would not be able to afford normally. 17:10 And so today, I'd like to thank 17:13 Adventist World Aviation. 17:17 Ray is representing right now joining us in this partnership, 17:22 and as we hold each other hands as two important partners 17:25 in this project. 17:26 We believe 17:28 that Jesus will bring a blessing and a benefit 17:31 and improvement and amelioration 17:34 to the people in that region. 17:37 Incrementally, yes, 17:39 but one at a time makes a difference. 17:42 Jesus was into empowerment. 17:45 He said to the man of the gate of the temple, 17:48 rise, take up your bed and walk. 17:53 And so that's what we wanna do. 17:56 We wanna give these people a lift. 17:59 We want them to find betterment in Christ 18:02 through our interventions. 18:04 And we'd like this to be a launch of the transition 18:08 of the cultural operation of our church 18:10 so that we can see the value of community engagement 18:16 at another level and go for it 18:18 without hesitation or relegation. 18:22 So God be with you. 18:23 Thank you so much for your presence today 18:27 because this assures us 18:28 that you will be praying for this project. 18:32 Hey, guys, Ray here in Canada, 18:34 with our beautiful 185 floatplane 18:36 we got it in the hangar here in Winnipeg, 18:38 and now we're doing some post-flight maintenance 18:41 and getting ready for winter. 18:42 And I'll give you a little shot of what Brian has to do here 18:46 to get these floats ready for the winter. 18:49 So, Brian, what is it we're doing here 18:50 and why do we have to do it? 18:52 Yeah, well, this is Canada and Manitoba in particular, 18:56 and Northern Ontario get very cold. 19:00 So what we do 19:01 is we have to winterize these floats 19:03 by popping these plugs out 19:05 and putting a little antifreeze into the wells 19:08 so that they don't freeze. 19:11 And what we're gonna do is pour 19:12 about a cup full of antifreeze 19:17 in each one of the wells 19:21 and that should keep them 19:24 from freezing up and cracking. 19:29 So a little bit of water freezing in them 19:30 over the winter at minus 30 minus 40 19:33 could cause damage to the floats? 19:34 Absolutely. 19:36 It gets into the wells, into the cracks, 19:38 into the seams, 19:39 and as water freezes it expands. 19:42 And as it expands, 19:43 it can literally pop the seal on the float 19:48 and have a very leaky float comes spring 19:51 so we put a little bit of antifreeze down in there. 19:54 Keep some nice and... 19:56 Okay, there you go. 19:57 There's a quick short update from Canada. 20:00 And we hope to have this plane within the next few weeks 20:03 on some wheels. 20:05 And we'll try to update you as soon as we can on that. 20:08 Thank you all who have participated 20:09 in getting this plane delivered after many years of hard work, 20:13 and God bless. 20:15 We'll have more on that later as well, 20:17 but the other thing 20:18 that we've been able to accomplish 20:20 here at Adventist World Aviation 20:21 is I'm glad to see 20:24 that our Angel Flight program has been ongoing, 20:27 we've been able to accomplish 20:28 a couple of really powerful Angel flights 20:31 in the last few weeks here at Adventist World Aviation. 20:35 And one of them is a remarkable story. 20:39 Pray for Walter. 20:40 Walter is a one-year-old, he's 22 months old. 20:44 He's gonna come up 20:46 on two years old here pretty soon, 20:47 but he was diagnosed with neuroblastomic cancer, 20:52 if I said that right of the brain is brain cancer. 20:56 And he was up in children's hospital 20:58 up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and I know Children's Hospital, 21:01 I pastored up there for many years, 21:03 and ministered up in the Midwest for many years. 21:07 And he was 21:08 at one of the best oncology centers 21:09 that's available here in the United States, 21:13 but they took him as far as they could, 21:15 with the treatment that he had up there. 21:18 Little Walter is, he's Native American, 21:21 and he's from the Chippewa tribe 21:24 and lives up in Rhinelander area 21:28 in Wisconsin, 21:29 and his grandmother and mother and his father 21:34 want little Walter 21:35 to be able to live a normal life. 21:39 And so they reached out to us through a partner, 21:43 Angel Flight organization 21:45 that we work in partnership with 21:47 and they called me and they said, 21:49 "Pastor Ric, we understand that you may be up here. 21:52 And we had the opportunity to go up there. 21:54 It was a sad opportunity. 21:56 We had two dear friends of ours that had passed away 21:59 former church members 22:00 and went up there in two different occasions 22:02 to participate in their funerals. 22:04 And they asked 22:06 if we would consider flying Walter 22:09 to a special treatment in Charlotte, North Carolina." 22:12 Evidently there's some specialized treatment 22:14 for this type of cancer 22:15 that little Walter could participate in 22:17 and he needed to get down there by Wednesday. 22:20 And so we were up there on Sunday, 22:23 where we performed the funeral 22:25 and we're able to take off that afternoon. 22:29 Later on and fly little Walter back. 22:33 Little Walter is, as you can see in the picture, 22:36 he's a cute little fellow. 22:39 And he, very good attitude 22:43 and just you'd never know he was sick. 22:47 Just a charming young man full of curiosity 22:50 like most little boys are. 22:53 His grandmother was there with us 22:54 and his mom and his father 22:56 were going to drive the car down, 22:58 but they wanted to get Walter 23:00 to his appointment 23:02 as quickly as they possibly could. 23:03 So the Angel Flight was the option 23:07 and we flew 23:08 through some quite interesting weather 23:11 had I not had those two needs 23:14 the need to be with the family 23:16 and comfort the family of the lost loved one. 23:19 Lucille and Hans Jakobson, 23:22 Lucille Stanislawski was a matriarch of a church 23:25 and we love her dearly and her family, 23:28 Joni and Becky and Steve Arthurs and the rest 23:31 and Hans Jakobson was my head deacon 23:35 for many years, and his wife Candy, 23:37 and their five boys, just wonderful family, 23:39 but it was... 23:41 We felt like it was necessary to be there to comfort 23:43 those loved ones that we care about so much. 23:45 And so going up was a challenge, 23:50 and then when we got the call for Walter, 23:54 I thought, "Oh, my how can we say no." 23:56 And God is the God of creation, 23:59 and He can make all things possible. 24:02 And so the scripture verse comes to mind, 24:04 "I can do all things through Christ 24:06 who gives me strength." 24:07 And I thought, "Well, this is what we train for." 24:10 And so we took off, 24:12 now, we normally don't fly in instrument conditions, 24:16 especially when there's a passenger 24:18 on board. 24:19 We're very careful not to do that, 24:21 but we're trained pilots 24:22 and so we went up there 24:24 without a patient on board or anybody. 24:26 So we were trained to fly this, 24:28 but the conditions were quite interesting 24:31 because the hurricane had just come through. 24:33 And the hurricane conditions were quite thick. 24:37 So I called into flight service 24:38 and talk to them 24:39 about the conditions of the flight 24:42 and we knew it was gonna be what's called IMC 24:44 or instrument conditions 24:46 all the way through the layers 24:48 I should say it wasn't the entire trip, 24:50 but we knew we had probably about 24:51 two hours of flight into instrument conditions. 24:55 We knew it was gonna be raining. 24:56 So the good side of it is 24:58 we get a nice plane wash out of the deal. 25:00 It doesn't cost us anything, the plane wash is free 25:02 because you're flying through rain, 25:04 but rain can be challenging 25:05 because the plane 25:07 is a little bit doggy in the rain 25:09 and I had hoped 25:10 that I would be able to climb through it, 25:12 but we found out later that the ceiling was reaching 25:17 all the way up beyond 20,000 feet 25:18 and we weren't gonna climb that high, 25:20 we went up to I think 12,000 feet and, 25:22 but we were in good smooth air. 25:24 And so we were confident 25:25 that things were we're gonna be okay. 25:26 And so we flew in IMC conditions 25:29 where it's just milky out the windshield, 25:31 you can't see anything. 25:33 And we had 700 foot ceiling. 25:35 So I knew if we had to make an emergency landing somewhere, 25:38 we would break out at about 700 feet 25:40 on an instrument approach. 25:41 So I was confident in our skills 25:43 to be able to pull it out if necessary and get, 25:48 and so we went nice and high 25:49 and we just flew in that 25:51 and that's a lot of IMC time for a single engine aircraft, 25:55 but we get good reports that the weather was fine. 25:58 So we punch through that. 25:59 And we flew in it for two and a half hours, 26:01 and then we broke out are those most amazing glory. 26:05 And the verse that comes to mind 26:07 is Psalm 53. 26:08 And, you know, I just I don't think 26:10 there are many pilots out there 26:12 that can say that there is no God 26:14 because when we broke out of that glory, 26:16 and we saw this wonderful, wonderful sunrise scene 26:21 where the sun was just dancing happily 26:24 on top of the clouds, 26:26 we knew that God's glory was there in that, 26:28 He had our backs and we felt that way, 26:31 all the way through that trip 26:32 and we landed in just beautiful weather 26:35 and we just praise God for the ability 26:39 that God has given us to be able to fly. 26:41 So we did the funeral. 26:45 And sadly, we were able to be with that family 26:50 and it was a rejoicing event 26:53 because we celebrated the lives of these two 26:55 because we know that when Jesus comes 26:57 in the clouds of glory, that we will see them again, 27:01 we may not recognize him 27:02 because they won't be sick or old or feeble, 27:05 but they will be young and healthy and vibrant 27:08 and so immediately will recognize 27:10 their personality in their life. 27:12 And so we look forward to that they we celebrated that fact 27:15 that we will see them again. 27:17 And so Lucille and Hans, you know they're sleeping now, 27:21 but we can't wait for the day that we see you again 27:24 and to the families 27:25 so that's gonna be an exciting day 27:26 we wait for that. 27:28 So the next day we were able to spend the night 27:31 and the next day we were able to pick up 27:33 little Walter so we went and picked up Walter 27:35 and his grandma and we were able to fly them. 27:40 It's just a beautiful day. 27:42 Of course, usually after a storm 27:43 there's just beautiful weather 27:44 and it was that way a rain across the country. 27:46 And everybody at the airport that saw little Walter 27:49 was just amazed at the character 27:52 of this young boy that's so sick with cancer. 27:56 And we flew him directly down, 27:57 we made one stop along the way 28:00 to just give a little rest to the family 28:03 and let Walter and his grandma rest 28:05 and take a break a little bit, 28:06 and then we took off again and just beautiful weather 28:09 and landed in Charlotte, 28:10 the big airport in Charlotte, North Carolina. 28:12 We call it a Class B airport 'cause it is big busy. 28:16 Anyway, we landed there at Charlotte 28:17 and the people at the airport there 28:19 were so gracious to us and lent us a car 28:23 to be able to take little Walter 28:25 to his new home. 28:26 We're right next to the hospital 28:28 where he was scheduled to have surgery, 28:31 I guess the next day where they put the poor thing 28:32 and did some procedures on him. 28:34 We didn't get a report back that surgery went perfect 28:37 and the physicians are so happy 28:39 to have them down there right now 28:41 and they are treating him and he is doing really well. 28:46 So in closing, I want to say thank you for your support 28:48 for Adventist World Aviation 28:50 throughout the months and years passed. 28:52 Who knows how much time we have left? 28:54 Do we have months? Do we have days? 28:56 Do we have years? We don't know. 28:58 But in the meantime we do the best we can. 29:00 Helping all of humanity, helping them know about Jesus, 29:05 healing the sick, feeding the hungry, 29:08 giving drink to the thirsty, helping the helpless. 29:13 It's what we do. Pray for us. 29:16 God bless you. |
Revised 2020-11-15