>> Welcome and thank you for joining us on 00:00:00.63\00:00:02.13 "It Is Written Canada." Today, we are in front of the 00:00:02.13\00:00:04.77 home of a man here in Pickering, Ontario. 00:00:04.77\00:00:07.80 His name is Vas Pejcinovski. It was one spring day in March 00:00:07.84\00:00:13.88 2018. It was a very cold and cloudy day. And he was struck 00:00:13.88\00:00:17.08 with a triple tragedy. His wife, Krissy, his youngest daughter, 00:00:17.08\00:00:23.35 by the name of Vanna, and his son, Roy, were murdered. What a 00:00:23.35\00:00:28.69 horrible, horrible tragedy. And how is he supposed to deal with 00:00:28.69\00:00:33.03 all of that? Right after all of this tragedy, he had to deal with his own grief. 00:00:33.03\00:00:37.53 He also had to console his eldest daughter, who is the only 00:00:37.53\00:00:42.50 surviving family member, by the name of Victoria. But he was not alone. He had friends and family 00:00:42.50\00:00:48.94 who were around him -- a community of people who stood by his side to support him. 00:00:48.94\00:00:54.42 >> Besides his family and friends, Vas received incredible support from people that he 00:00:54.42\00:00:59.79 didn't even know at the time of the murder of his family 00:00:59.79\00:01:04.06 members. God started speaking to Vas Pejcinovski and led him to a 00:01:04.06\00:01:09.33 loving church where he was treated with incredible love, support, and kindness. 00:01:09.33\00:01:14.07 Not only did Vas become a born-again baptized Christian, but he somehow managed 00:01:14.07\00:01:20.74 to forgive the accused killer and murderer of his wife and two 00:01:20.74\00:01:26.45 children. >> I have no idea how he did that. How was Vas able to 00:01:26.45\00:01:30.49 find it in his heart to forgive someone who murdered his family and took them away? 00:01:30.49\00:01:35.66 Well, today we're going to let Vas tell his own story. And so come with me inside as 00:01:35.66\00:01:41.73 we talk to Vas Pejcinovski. 00:01:41.73\00:01:43.77 い い >> It opens your mouth like 00:01:46.33\00:02:03.08 this. >> You just open this. >> Oh. 00:02:03.08\00:02:06.82 い い [ Indistinct cheering ] 00:02:06.82\00:02:24.74 >> Oi! Go Roy! 00:02:24.74\00:02:27.81 い い 00:02:27.84\00:02:38.95 >> So, Vas, thank you for inviting us into your home. 00:02:38.95\00:02:42.89 What we're going to talk about is very heart-wrenching. 00:02:42.89\00:02:46.56 And I know from talking to you that this is -- you know, this 00:02:46.59\00:02:50.33 is something that's very personal, and I do respect you, so I don't want to talk, 00:02:50.33\00:02:55.70 you know, about things that might be too sensitive. I want 00:02:55.70\00:03:01.41 to kind of go back in time, like, before you met your wife, before you even had a family, 00:03:01.41\00:03:08.15 and talk about your childhood, talk about what happened in the past. What kind of a person 00:03:08.15\00:03:13.56 were you before this? >> Yeah. Different person from who I am 00:03:13.56\00:03:19.93 today, that's for sure. Great childhood growing up in the city 00:03:19.93\00:03:23.73 of Toronto, Greektown. Happy family. They provided great. 00:03:23.73\00:03:26.67 But living in a city, especially near the downtown core, you do 00:03:26.67\00:03:32.71 surround yourself with, you know, people that are into -- get into some trouble and 00:03:32.71\00:03:38.55 mischief. And as I grew up, I found myself following that path, chasing girls around, 00:03:38.55\00:03:44.12 started to experiment with drugs and drinking, thinking about 00:03:44.12\00:03:47.96 myself, thinking about the next party. So it was -- it was a 00:03:47.96\00:03:52.36 tough ride. Experienced a lot of low points in my life, a lot of times that I really did not like 00:03:52.36\00:03:58.37 myself the next day. >> Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. >> And tell us, Vas, 00:03:58.37\00:04:02.30 did your life change after you married Krissy and had your 00:04:02.30\00:04:07.28 three beautiful children? >> I would say five years... four to five years into our 00:04:07.28\00:04:13.85 marriages where I slowly started leaving my past behind me and becoming a better father 00:04:13.85\00:04:20.32 and husband, the best of my ability at that time. So, yeah, 00:04:20.32\00:04:24.89 it did change. It did take some time, though. There was pretty big hooks sunk into me with the 00:04:24.89\00:04:30.87 drugs, and it was sort of hard to -- to let go of right away. It wasn't immediate. 00:04:30.87\00:04:34.70 It was a slow release, I guess you could say. >> Uh-huh. 00:04:34.70\00:04:37.61 And now you're married and you're moving in a good 00:04:37.61\00:04:42.18 direction. Was there a pivotal time when things really changed for you? >> Yeah. I guess I'll 00:04:42.18\00:04:47.32 give you a little bit more backdrop in our -- in our marriage and who I was at the 00:04:47.32\00:04:51.75 time. So, throughout our marriage, Krissy was a really good woman. But me as a person 00:04:51.75\00:04:57.59 at that point, there was something wrong with me. And it 00:04:57.59\00:05:02.26 might have been, after all the years of what I'd gone through in the sinful living 00:05:02.26\00:05:04.90 and not really fixing anything, not realizing I had to fix anything with my past, 00:05:04.90\00:05:09.77 you know, I began to be a distant husband. She reached out 00:05:09.77\00:05:14.31 to me with a lot of love. There was times where I would -- over the smallest thing, 00:05:14.31\00:05:17.71 I would blow up and I would yell and I would -- words would come 00:05:17.71\00:05:21.02 out of my mouth that were just so hurtful, now that I look back at it. And it didn't even bother 00:05:21.02\00:05:25.82 me at the time. And it was just sort of the person I was. 00:05:25.82\00:05:28.59 But, again, very prideful. In 2014... I became aware that she 00:05:28.59\00:05:38.07 was having an affair. That devastated me. >> I'm sure. 00:05:38.07\00:05:41.24 >> It absolutely devastated me. >> Yeah. >> And I think more 00:05:41.24\00:05:45.34 because my pride and realizing, "How could she even consider another man or look at it? 00:05:45.34\00:05:50.71 Look, I provided a beautiful home. I provide a roof, food on 00:05:50.71\00:05:54.48 the table." And, you know, these silly, prideful, earthly 00:05:54.48\00:05:58.45 thoughts of -- of thinking I was being a good husband or thinking I was being a good father. 00:05:58.45\00:06:03.43 And, really, it was probably the worst four months of my life. The pain, the tears, the hurt, 00:06:03.43\00:06:10.43 the feelings of revenge and, "How am I gonna get back at her? How am I gonna, you know, go 00:06:10.43\00:06:16.20 through that?" I found myself getting in my car at 11:00 at night and driving on 00:06:16.20\00:06:23.75 the highways up until 6:00 in the morning, and just crying, and just trying to -- to get rid 00:06:23.75\00:06:28.75 of the pain that was inside of me. There was a moment... 00:06:28.75\00:06:32.02 I don't remember the exact day, but there was a moment where I'm still struggling with this, 00:06:32.02\00:06:37.43 and -- and I just -- I call it "I heard a voice," but I think 00:06:37.43\00:06:42.73 it was more, now that I look back, it was God speaking to my heart. And the message basically 00:06:42.73\00:06:47.80 said, "Look at yourself. Look into the mirror." >> Yeah. 00:06:47.80\00:06:49.54 >> Mm-hmm. >> You know? "Really look at yourself." 00:06:49.54\00:06:52.91 I started looking back at our marriage, and I started looking back at how I treated her 00:06:52.91\00:06:58.05 and how I treated my kids and how I treated people in general. 00:06:58.05\00:07:01.12 And, you know, she was really trying to make the family unit work, and I pushed her away, and 00:07:01.12\00:07:06.05 I understood that her... her having the affair was a large 00:07:06.05\00:07:14.50 part of my doing. And I remember going to her and sitting her down and telling her how sorry I 00:07:14.50\00:07:20.54 was, how horrible of a husband I was to her, how much she really 00:07:20.54\00:07:24.61 loved me and how much she tried to make the family unit work and that I just pushed her 00:07:24.61\00:07:30.75 away, and I asked her for her forgiveness. I told her I was 00:07:30.75\00:07:35.75 sorry. I had forgiven her by that by that moment in my heart, All the hurt and all the bad 00:07:35.75\00:07:42.29 feelings and evil feelings, revengeful feelings that I had inside of me, the second I 00:07:42.29\00:07:47.46 forgave her, that feeling just lifted, and -- and the feeling of peace and joy came upon me 00:07:47.46\00:07:55.80 that was so powerful, I remember seeing out loud to myself that 00:07:55.80\00:08:00.04 day, "I am never gonna change this feeling. No matter what 00:08:00.04\00:08:03.55 happens to me in my life, I never want to lose this feeling of peace." >> That's incredible. 00:08:03.55\00:08:07.62 >> Yeah. >> Where did you move forward in your relationship 00:08:07.62\00:08:10.29 with Krassimira? >> We had already started the... the process of separation. 00:08:10.29\00:08:16.32 And at that point, even though I'd forgiven, the trust was lost 00:08:16.32\00:08:20.63 in the relationship. But saying that, we started becoming very, 00:08:20.63\00:08:27.84 very good friends. Like, our friendship grew so much stronger 00:08:27.84\00:08:32.21 after we both forgave each other and -- and embraced and hugged at the end. Knowing that we were 00:08:32.21\00:08:37.65 both being open and totally honest to one another, our friendship grew to -- to a place 00:08:37.65\00:08:43.32 that we've never seen before. In that, we realized we had three beautiful children. 00:08:43.32\00:08:47.82 What we both realized was that, "No matter what we do moving 00:08:47.82\00:08:52.56 forward, we have to be on the same page in raising these kids together," even though we lived 00:08:52.56\00:08:57.47 in separate homes, and that, you know, when she needed to discipline the kids and they 00:08:57.47\00:09:01.37 were over here, I followed through with those disciplines, 00:09:01.37\00:09:04.44 and vice versa. Because, in the end, it's all about the 00:09:04.44\00:09:07.44 children, right? And we want to try to guide them in the right path. And that was a big step 00:09:07.44\00:09:10.91 that we both agreed on, and it allowed us to grow in our relationship even further. 00:09:10.91\00:09:16.18 >> So you could still remain friends, even though you were separated from her... 00:09:16.18\00:09:19.69 >> Absolutely. >> ...and you were able to raise those kids, 00:09:19.69\00:09:24.19 as well, together. >> We became on the same page, and we began to laugh together again. 00:09:24.19\00:09:27.20 And that was one of our big strongholds on when we met, was our friendship and our laughter. 00:09:27.20\00:09:31.17 We would laugh about so much, and that came back into our lives after that point. 00:09:31.17\00:09:35.77 So, it did change everything, and it changed me as a person from that day moving forward, 00:09:35.77\00:09:40.74 as well. >> Vas, I think it's such a beautiful gift that you 00:09:40.74\00:09:43.78 and Krissy gave your children -- to be friends. And so, I think 00:09:43.78\00:09:47.85 it's just wonderful that God gave you this gift of forgiveness, not just for you, 00:09:47.85\00:09:52.29 but for Krissy, too, to forgive you. And in doing that, so much healing came about that you were 00:09:52.29\00:09:57.76 able to provide that beautiful gift for your children -- just, you know, to let them 00:09:57.76\00:10:02.50 know, "Mommy and Daddy are okay," and I think it's just wonderful, and so... 00:10:02.50\00:10:07.20 >> The Lord is amazing. 00:10:07.20\00:10:10.74 >> I've known Vas for approximately 30 years now. 00:10:10.77\00:10:15.98 I think he was around 16 years old. 00:10:15.98\00:10:18.05 He was best friends, actually, with my brother-in-law, and 00:10:18.08\00:10:20.78 they'd hang around at my brother-in-law's house... >> Which is my brother. >> ...quite 00:10:20.78\00:10:23.52 often. That was the place where everybody was hanging out. I'd say, when I was about 40, 00:10:23.52\00:10:29.92 40 years old, he was probably 30, 33, I think it was. And he 00:10:29.92\00:10:36.83 came to me with a proposition for business. And at the time, I was working for Bell Canada, and 00:10:36.83\00:10:42.77 I thought about it hard because I had a pretty young family, too, at the time, so it would be 00:10:42.77\00:10:47.41 a big change to kind of transition into your own business, right? I took the 00:10:47.41\00:10:51.98 chance. I took a leave of absence from work, and here we are now, 13, 14 years later 00:10:51.98\00:10:59.22 of being business partners. >> First met Vas when I lived with my brother in our family 00:10:59.22\00:11:06.16 home, and the core group that my brother had still remains to this day the core group. 00:11:06.16\00:11:13.03 When he met with Krissy, that was a beautiful thing. And I'm older, so I was raising 00:11:13.03\00:11:17.27 my family while he was just starting his family. Then, when 00:11:17.27\00:11:21.61 he propositioned Phil, it -- it took him a long time to convince Phil to start their business 00:11:21.61\00:11:27.78 venture. And I'm glad that he did come into our lives, because he did change our lives. 00:11:27.78\00:11:32.62 >> Vas wasn't very religious at all. You know, he -- we never 00:11:32.62\00:11:37.03 really talked about Jesus or God. We never talked about scripture. I would always read 00:11:37.03\00:11:44.90 my Bible, right, from a young age. I think it was -- I was 12 years old when I first came 00:11:44.90\00:11:49.57 to know Christ, right? And three years back, he started asking me 00:11:49.57\00:11:56.68 -- Vas started asking me questions about the Bible. And I got a little curious 00:11:56.68\00:12:01.68 as to why he was asking. And I'd say, "Well, is anything going 00:12:01.68\00:12:06.09 on?" The time with Krissy -- as you know, he probably would've 00:12:06.09\00:12:10.43 told you -- was that they separated. And the reason why, 00:12:10.43\00:12:15.83 the infidelity. And it kind of hit him hard, and he was looking for answers. After weeks of 00:12:15.83\00:12:22.70 talking about scripture, finally, he said, you know, "Do you have a Bible?" And I did. 00:12:22.70\00:12:27.88 I had my personal study Bible that I have, and I gave him that 00:12:27.88\00:12:31.91 Bible. And from there on end, it was... I was amazed at how much he grew in -- in the Lord. 00:12:31.91\00:12:40.96 And how much it eased his heart. >> They amazed me, because Vas had invited us over 00:12:40.96\00:12:47.10 for a barbecue with a bunch of friends, and he said to me, 00:12:47.10\00:12:50.93 "Oh, by the way, Krissy's coming." And I'm like, "Really?" 00:12:50.93\00:12:55.94 And he goes, "Yeah, G, we're co-parenting, and it's beautiful, and we're friends, 00:12:55.94\00:13:01.04 and, you know, we respect each other, and we agree to 00:13:01.04\00:13:04.55 co-parent." And I thought it was -- I was in shock, and I thought it was a beautiful thing, and in 00:13:04.55\00:13:09.65 walks Krissy, her usual smiling self. And I'm like, "You guys 00:13:09.65\00:13:16.26 are weird." Like, "What's going" -- She goes, you know, "We love 00:13:16.26\00:13:19.79 our children." And she goes, "We're gonna co-parent." And I thought that -- To me, 00:13:19.79\00:13:23.90 that was a beautiful thing, and I respected them both, and their children were happy, 00:13:23.90\00:13:29.27 and they saw both their parents together and co-existing, and I thought was beautiful. 00:13:29.27\00:13:33.94 >> And to contrast that, we do have other friends that are going through the same 00:13:33.94\00:13:37.88 situation of them... >> It's horrible. >> ...involving 00:13:37.88\00:13:40.68 children also, and it's horrible. >> Horrible. >> You got to let go of that 00:13:40.68\00:13:43.92 anger. You have to let go of it. You have to be able to forgive. 00:13:43.92\00:13:48.56 Otherwise, it will eat you. い It was early Wednesday, 00:13:48.56\00:13:56.83 March 14th of 2018. I get a call from Vasil, and I heard a little 00:13:56.83\00:14:06.04 -- like he was frantic in a sense, that, "Phil," he goes, "I can't get in touch with -- 00:14:06.04\00:14:11.05 with anyone at the house. I can't get in touch with Krissy. 00:14:11.05\00:14:14.02 I can't get in touch with Roy or Venallia." I actually asked him, 00:14:14.02\00:14:18.95 "Is she maybe supposed to be at work?" And he goes, "Well, I called her boss, and she didn't 00:14:18.95\00:14:24.99 show up." So that's what I told him -- I go, "Listen," I go, "I think it's best you call 911. 00:14:24.99\00:14:29.16 Head on up to Krissy's house, and I'll meet you up there 00:14:29.16\00:14:33.10 also." I just...knew, as soon as he was talking like that, what I heard in his voice, 00:14:33.10\00:14:37.51 I just felt that something horrible had happened. >> Vas, I 00:14:37.51\00:14:44.65 just want to go to that -- that fateful Tuesday evening and, really, the Wednesday morning 00:14:44.65\00:14:52.35 when everything unfolded. Do you want to take us through that? 00:14:52.35\00:14:56.99 >> Yeah. Roy was in the middle of the finals, the GTHL finals. 00:14:56.99\00:15:05.90 >> So he was a -- he was a hockey player? >> Yes, he was a 00:15:05.90\00:15:08.27 hockey player, a goalie. Hockey was very strong in his life -- and in all our lives. 00:15:08.27\00:15:13.01 We've all made sacrifices. He did play at a high level. We've 00:15:13.01\00:15:16.81 played in world championships in Italy, we've played in a big tournament when he was 10 years 00:15:16.81\00:15:21.35 old in Edmonton. So, you're all throughout the States and 00:15:21.35\00:15:24.62 Canada, and even Europe through his hockey. So, it was a normal 00:15:24.62\00:15:29.06 night. The game was a late game. I think it finished around 11:00 00:15:29.06\00:15:33.19 P.M. And we were driving back. You know, he spoke up, and he 00:15:33.19\00:15:37.50 said, "Dad, tomorrow's Wednesday. It's my practice day." His mom was in charge of 00:15:37.50\00:15:41.97 practice day. And he said, you know, "The equipment's in the 00:15:41.97\00:15:45.41 car." He goes, "Why don't you just drop me off at Mom's." And he goes, you know, "This 00:15:45.41\00:15:48.58 way, it will just be easier for her." So we stayed on the 00:15:48.58\00:15:51.78 highway, continued on to Ajax, dropped him off that night, and -- and went home...after. 00:15:51.78\00:15:58.59 And, yeah. Didn't think anything of it at the time. 00:15:58.59\00:16:01.16 >> So you dropped him off at his mom's place? >> Mm-hmm. 00:16:01.16\00:16:03.26 >> And then, the next morning, you went off to work. >> Yes. 00:16:03.26\00:16:07.56 Yes. So, I think another point to add in there was, during the game, while we're at the rink, 00:16:07.56\00:16:13.94 Victoria wanted to sleep over at her friend's. I sent her off in 00:16:13.94\00:16:18.41 an Uber to pick her up from her mom's, and she spent the night at Charlotte's house. 00:16:18.41\00:16:22.44 >> So she wasn't home... >> She was not. >> ...at her mom's 00:16:22.44\00:16:24.88 house. Okay. >> No. Mnh-mnh. >> That's your oldest daughter, 00:16:24.88\00:16:26.48 Victoria? >> That's correct. Yeah. >> Okay. Okay. 00:16:26.48\00:16:29.22 So, now you're -- Krissy was at home with Roy and your youngest 00:16:29.22\00:16:36.86 daughter, Vanna. >> That's right. >> Okay. >> Mm-hmm. 00:16:36.86\00:16:38.19 >> So, you went to work Wednesday morning. >> Yeah. 00:16:38.19\00:16:41.13 So, Victoria started reaching out to me and saying she couldn't get ahold of her mom. 00:16:41.13\00:16:45.30 Her mom was supposed to drive her and Charlotte -- Krissy was supposed her and Charlotte to 00:16:45.30\00:16:50.04 the driving school. And something hit me there. It didn't feel right because 00:16:50.04\00:16:53.64 the one thing with Krissy, she was very responsible and her kids came first in her life. 00:16:53.64\00:16:57.31 Always, always, always. There was never -- Nothing could stand between her and the kids. 00:16:57.31\00:17:02.42 >> So she would answer her phone? >> Absolutely. All the 00:17:02.42\00:17:05.19 time. Like, there was never a question for that when it came 00:17:05.19\00:17:08.26 to her kids. Or if there was a scheduled drive somewhere, or if there was a scheduled pickup 00:17:08.26\00:17:12.86 somewhere, she never missed a beat with things like that. I started reaching out to her, 00:17:12.86\00:17:17.47 and she never answered her phone. And I started reaching 00:17:17.47\00:17:20.37 out to Roy. He didn't answer his phone. Started to reach out to 00:17:20.37\00:17:24.17 Vanna. She did not pick up, either. I felt something was not right, in my gut, and I jumped 00:17:24.17\00:17:31.38 on the highway, and I started driving towards her place. I had called 911 'cause I 00:17:31.38\00:17:36.82 just -- something didn't feel right, and I constantly was calling them, and they're not 00:17:36.82\00:17:40.42 picking it up. Just during that call, something didn't sit 00:17:40.42\00:17:44.89 right, and I just felt something was wrong. And I rushed over to 00:17:44.89\00:17:49.23 Krissy's house... >> Mm-hmm. >> ...at that point. 00:17:49.23\00:17:51.27 >> So, the call -- You mean the call when you called 911? You've had this uncomfortable 00:17:51.27\00:17:55.80 feeling as you were talking to them? >> Yeah. 00:17:55.80\00:17:58.44 I mean, I've called 911 in the past. I've dealt with certain 00:17:58.44\00:18:02.24 times where I've had to speak to a 911 operator, and based off my previous experiences 00:18:02.24\00:18:09.32 talking to the operators, there are certain questions and certain ways they -- they 00:18:09.32\00:18:13.22 speak to you. This call, this operator was not speaking that 00:18:13.22\00:18:17.03 way. It almost felt more compassionate or hard, and it almost seemed like, 00:18:17.03\00:18:20.96 everything I was asking for, it was being done right away. So -- 00:18:20.96\00:18:24.43 >> So she knew. >> She knew. She wasn't letting it out to me 00:18:24.43\00:18:27.40 at that moment, but I think she knew at the time, and that's where I really started getting 00:18:27.40\00:18:33.17 a feeling of dread inside of me. >> So you showed up at the 00:18:33.17\00:18:36.64 house? >> Yeah. Yeah. I showed up at the house, and they were putting tape around 00:18:36.64\00:18:41.65 the house, police were. And I tried to get in. They wouldn't 00:18:41.65\00:18:49.09 allow me to. And I started asking questions, and they would not... they would not give me 00:18:49.09\00:18:54.60 the answers I was looking for. At one point, the ambulance... the ambulance drivers, 00:18:54.60\00:19:02.44 they showed up, and they pulled a woman out of the house on a 00:19:02.44\00:19:06.98 gurney, and they were working on her, and they put her in the 00:19:06.98\00:19:09.21 ambulance. And -- And I couldn't see from where I was. I could not see if it was Vanna 00:19:09.21\00:19:13.55 or Krissy at that time. Constantly talking to the one 00:19:13.55\00:19:17.29 police officer, and I'm begging that police officer, "Just let me know. Is my boy okay? 00:19:17.29\00:19:21.72 Is, you know, my girl okay?" [ Sniffles ] 00:19:21.72\00:19:25.06 And I found out at that moment that there was a deceased male inside, and at that time, 00:19:29.03\00:19:35.10 I knew I was right. >> Mm. >> I still wasn't sure about 00:19:35.10\00:19:41.08 Krissy, and I still wasn't sure about Vanna at that time. But I knew that I lost my boy 00:19:41.08\00:19:46.48 at that moment. I remember...just falling. Just falling and crying. 00:19:46.48\00:19:56.36 Hurt, destroyed. I'd lost my best friend. [ Sniffles ] 00:19:56.36\00:20:05.70 There will never be another day like that, that bad, in my life. There's -- There can't be. 00:20:05.70\00:20:11.54 I lost half -- more than half my family that day. >> When we arrived on -- on site 00:20:11.54\00:20:18.31 at the house there, we saw the yellow tape, all the police. And I just kind of lost it 00:20:18.31\00:20:27.02 'cause I-I knew that...something bad -- It was bad. The police 00:20:27.02\00:20:34.76 tried to keep me back. And I was asking, "Where's Vas?" He was sitting in the back of 00:20:34.76\00:20:40.00 the -- one of the police cruisers with his head down, and 00:20:40.00\00:20:45.54 he's just... he was just in shambles. And I go, "What's going on? Do you know -- Do you 00:20:45.54\00:20:49.81 know what's going on?" "They're gone. They're gone. They're 00:20:49.81\00:20:53.45 gone." It's all he kept telling me. We were both crying, both 00:20:53.45\00:21:00.56 yelling. Trying to make sense of what just happened. Yeah, that was a difficult day. 00:21:00.56\00:21:06.49 A difficult day. Just trying to console him after that, you 00:21:06.49\00:21:11.67 know, I tried to pull myself together. [ Scoffs ] 00:21:11.67\00:21:13.97 From there, they -- one of the officers told us that, one of the females -- they didn't know 00:21:13.97\00:21:21.04 whether it was the mother or daughter -- but one of the females survived and was taken 00:21:21.04\00:21:26.61 to the hospital. So that's when we asked, "Can we be taken 00:21:26.61\00:21:30.72 there?" And, sure enough, you know... they took Vas in the cruiser, and I followed with my 00:21:30.72\00:21:37.59 son to Ajax Hospital. We waited there for a while. We still didn't know whether 00:21:37.59\00:21:43.00 it was Vanna, Venallia, the -- his youngest daughter... >> Or 00:21:43.00\00:21:47.67 Krissy. >> ...or Krissy, his ex-wife. And finally, they said they were transferring -- 00:21:47.67\00:21:54.11 transferring her to Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto, being a trauma center. So, that's when 00:21:54.11\00:22:02.65 we left from there. We went down to Sunnybrook, and that's when 00:22:02.65\00:22:07.26 we found out it was -- it was Venallia, Vanna, his youngest daughter. They came back out 00:22:07.26\00:22:12.79 again and said, no, there was just too much brain damage. There was no activity 00:22:12.79\00:22:16.56 in the brain. So, I guess they had her on life support, 00:22:16.56\00:22:20.17 and we were able to go in, and Vas was there with her. And 00:22:20.17\00:22:25.57 Victoria ended up coming down afterwards, also. Yeah, and a minister did come in for final 00:22:25.57\00:22:31.25 -- final words and prayer. And that's when -- when Vas decided it was time to let her 00:22:31.25\00:22:36.42 go and just -- got the plug. >> We couldn't process what was 00:22:36.42\00:22:41.49 happening, and we were just in shock. It was all... Someone was 00:22:41.49\00:22:46.73 guiding us, because if I think about it now, I just -- I can't. What we went through, I don't 00:22:46.73\00:22:52.37 understand what's happened. And I just -- Someone was guiding 00:22:52.37\00:22:57.84 us. >> You know, in my head, I was -- I was praying, and I was 00:22:57.84\00:23:02.04 asking God, "What -- What's going on? What happened? Why did 00:23:02.04\00:23:06.48 this happen? Lord, give me some answers. Give us -- Give us some 00:23:06.48\00:23:11.69 help here." And in time, He did. For me, I got the feeling that, "It's going to be okay." 00:23:11.69\00:23:18.66 That came upon me. It came over me. And -- And looking at Vas 00:23:18.66\00:23:24.57 over the next few weeks, it was -- you know, I saw his pain, but I also saw a glitter of light 00:23:24.57\00:23:33.78 also, from certain times, the way he would speak, and I knew 00:23:33.78\00:23:41.58 that, "Okay, the Lord is here. He's here with him." >> It was 00:23:41.58\00:23:49.12 probably very hard for you to see Victoria, too, because now she was... She'd lost a brother 00:23:49.12\00:23:54.46 and a sister. >> And her mom. >> And her mother, yeah. 00:23:54.46\00:23:57.47 So... >> [ Sniffles ] Yeah. It -- It was not easy, and... 00:23:57.47\00:24:03.41 [ Stammers ] I mean, you know, with Victoria, it was just the 00:24:03.41\00:24:07.71 most... You know what? [ Sighs ] It was the one strength out of 00:24:07.71\00:24:10.95 that day that I could pull, that I still had Victoria with me. >> 00:24:10.95\00:24:14.45 Mm-hmm. >> That the Lord blessed me with Victoria, that I -- I could still hold her in my arms 00:24:14.45\00:24:19.12 and tell her how much I love her and let her know. Like, it like 00:24:19.12\00:24:22.52 the one blessing, the one silver lining, bright spot in that day, that the Lord still blessed me 00:24:22.52\00:24:26.96 with Victoria. It was so hard. It was so hard to deal with. 00:24:26.96\00:24:32.07 I-I remember just, I-I call it "zombie-like" for the rest of 00:24:32.07\00:24:36.37 that day. I just... >> I'm sure. >> I didn't know. 00:24:36.37\00:24:38.01 I mean, there were still some very difficult moments in that day, moving forward. 00:24:38.01\00:24:42.34 Meeting up with Victoria at the police station and having to let 00:24:42.34\00:24:45.08 her know that her brother was dead, it was not easy. [ 00:24:45.08\00:24:50.42 Sniffles ] Having to rush to Sunnybrook Hospital with the hope, little hope, that they 00:24:50.42\00:24:53.56 brought Vanna's vitals back, but then to learn that she was dead for too long and her brain 00:24:53.56\00:24:59.73 activity was stopped. But having a chance to spend time with her 00:24:59.73\00:25:04.10 in the hospital room, we were there for about five, six hours 00:25:04.10\00:25:07.37 with her, just saying our goodbyes, knowing that, at one point, I was gonna have to -- to 00:25:07.37\00:25:14.38 pull the plug on -- on her life, and... A very difficult day. 00:25:14.38\00:25:22.45 >> Yeah, the most. >> A very difficult day. >> The most 00:25:22.45\00:25:25.69 difficult, yeah. >> I was grieving really hard. I was really grieving. It was just 00:25:25.69\00:25:31.86 before -- You know, getting back to before that, it was close to about a year before the tragedy 00:25:31.86\00:25:37.47 that I found the Lord, and I was growing. I was growing in Him. 00:25:37.47\00:25:42.34 I was learning the Word. >> So you started to read the Bible? 00:25:42.34\00:25:45.37 >> Yeah, I -- In November of 2017, I had finally realized, the blessings that I had in my 00:25:45.37\00:25:52.98 heart and the change in my life and in the person that I am all goes to the glory of Jesus. 00:25:52.98\00:25:58.39 I mean, He was the reason why I was, you know, there. >> Uh-huh. 00:25:58.39\00:26:01.89 >> And I realized it. And I just wanted to find the truth. 00:26:01.89\00:26:04.59 >> Yes. >> I wanted to find the truth. >> So you were searching. 00:26:04.59\00:26:07.30 >> I was searching, and like I did after my -- after my experience of forgiveness with 00:26:07.30\00:26:12.13 Krissy, I went down a road of thinking, was it karma? Was it, 00:26:12.13\00:26:17.94 you know, a law of attraction that I got into? And I realized all -- all those things are so 00:26:17.94\00:26:22.54 empty. There was nothing. There was no foundation. There was no 00:26:22.54\00:26:26.11 truth there. And then, finally, I got turned onto the Lord Jesus Christ, and I started really 00:26:26.11\00:26:33.56 digging and searching for all parts of Christianity. I-I looked at every angle of 00:26:33.56\00:26:39.09 Christianity, and that was my journey. That's where my journey 00:26:39.09\00:26:42.70 really started, and I started going in the knowledge of the Lord. >> I'm sorry we have 00:26:42.70\00:26:47.80 to end this episode, but we will continue again with our next 00:26:47.80\00:26:51.84 one. I would like us to pray as we close off. Let's pray 00:26:51.84\00:26:56.91 together. Father in Heaven, I... You have told us in Your Word that we're in this world 00:26:56.91\00:27:03.62 and we will experience trials and tribulations, we will 00:27:03.62\00:27:07.89 experience things that -- that we could never anticipate. And yet, You will not abandon 00:27:07.89\00:27:13.53 us. You say -- You promise to us that You will never leave us, 00:27:13.53\00:27:16.70 nor forsake us. And I can see that You have done that in Vas' 00:27:16.70\00:27:22.47 life. And I pray, Lord, that You will do that for each one of us, 00:27:22.47\00:27:25.74 Lord. So many of us go through trials, and we -- we get our strength from You, and we thank 00:27:25.74\00:27:32.85 You for hearing and answering our prayers. In Jesus' name. 00:27:32.85\00:27:35.28 >> Amen. >> Amen. >> Amen. 00:27:35.28\00:27:37.19 >> So, friends, thank you for joining us again on "It Is 00:27:37.19\00:27:40.86 Written Canada." And as Vas said, we do not live apart from the Word of God. It is written, 00:27:40.86\00:27:47.30 as Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from 00:27:47.30\00:27:57.17 the mouth of God." >> You saw the evil around you. >> Oh, yeah. >> You saw the 00:27:57.17\00:28:00.68 temptations. The devil's not done with us yet. >> We worked 00:28:00.68\00:28:09.82 so hard on her! I said, "God, how could you?" >> He said to me, "Rob, I've forgiven him, 00:28:09.82\00:28:17.46 and I've prayed for him." And I just was quiet. >> That peace 00:28:17.46\00:28:21.93 comes to you, that human comes to you, and that's -- that's the match. That's the power of 00:28:21.93\00:28:28.70 forgiveness. >> I said, "I'm envious of you." I said, "Because, where you are, I want 00:28:28.70\00:28:33.61 to be." >> And we just fell on each other's shoulder, and we 00:28:33.64\00:28:36.75 embraced, and we cried. >> I don't think God was ready 00:28:36.75\00:28:40.62 to let him go. >> He became a part of us, yes. 00:28:40.62\00:28:46.39