>> Hello and thank you
00:00:00.76\00:00:01.73
for joining us on
00:00:01.73\00:00:02.86
It Is Written Canada.
00:00:02.86\00:00:04.53
>> Friends, it may come as a
00:00:04.53\00:00:06.10
surprise to find out that
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some well-known people were
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once homeless.
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>> Yes, if you do an online
00:00:11.61\00:00:13.94
search of famous people who
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were once homeless, you will
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read about legendary actors,
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directors, CEO's,
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entrepreneurs, and even
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world leaders.
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And after seeing these
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stories, I wonder to myself,
00:00:25.32\00:00:26.99
why do some people remain
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homeless while others are able
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to get off the streets.
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[RENÉ] Studies show that most
00:00:33.33\00:00:35.00
homeless people suffer with
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severe addictions, but these
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are only the symptoms
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and not the root cause of
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homelessness.
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>> In a vast majority of the
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hundreds of homeless people
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interviewed, the root cause of
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homelessness was the collapse
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of close connections.
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[RENÉ] People are dependent on
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connections with other people.
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Remove relationships from the
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equation and everything
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disappears.
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Surprisingly, Jesus once said
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of Himself...
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Though animals and birds have
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a place to call home, Jesus
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found Himself homeless.
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>> Yeah, Jesus understood the
00:01:22.84\00:01:24.45
plight of the homeless first
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hand and although He was
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despised and rejected by men,
00:01:27.72\00:01:30.35
He had an abiding connection
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with His heavenly father that
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gave Him a dignity as well as
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a deep compassion for those
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in need.
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>> Today on It Is Written
00:01:40.23\00:01:41.30
Canada, you will meet Amber
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Andrews who found herself
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living on our cold, Canadian
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city streets.
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After facing the collapse of
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one vital connection after
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another, one traumatic
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experience after another,
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yet through it all,
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Amber knew that God was
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taking care of her.
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¤¤
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>> Welcome again to
00:02:49.76\00:02:51.07
It Is Written Canada.
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Today we are here on location
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in Lacombe, Alberta at Spyder
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Controls, the workplace of
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Amber Andrews who will share
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with you her story how after
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facing the collapse of one
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vital connection after
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another, one traumatic
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experience after another,
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she ended up living on our
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cold, Canadian city streets.
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>> Amber, thank you
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so much for joining us on
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It Is Written Canada.
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>> Thank you for having me.
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>> So, Amber, take us back to
00:03:21.86\00:03:23.30
your beginnings.
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>> Well, my parents met in
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Victoria, they got married and
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had a little boy then they
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moved to Kelowna, bought a
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little house, and had me.
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>> So you were born
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in Kelowna then.
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[AMBER] Yes.
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>> And what was the dynamics
00:03:39.31\00:03:40.48
like in the home?
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>> Good for a little while,
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but my dad did start drinking
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a bit, it did become a problem
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and my mom, when I was four
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months old, she had had enough
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and she asked him to leave.
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Well, my dad moved out and he
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eventually remarried and had
00:03:56.77\00:03:59.03
his-- had another family, a
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son and a daughter and my mom
00:04:01.37\00:04:03.61
also would eventually remarry,
00:04:03.61\00:04:05.87
she met an Adventist man and
00:04:05.87\00:04:09.88
they ended up moving to a farm
00:04:09.88\00:04:11.81
in Saskatchewan and he was
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married and had five children
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from his previous marriage.
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>> So what was that like for
00:04:17.52\00:04:19.09
you moving from Kelowna to
00:04:19.09\00:04:21.46
Saskatchewan?
00:04:21.46\00:04:22.52
Did you like that?
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>> I loved it.
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I was a tomboy.
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I had a horse, I had a 4-H
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cow, I had all the dogs and
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cats a girl could want.
00:04:30.47\00:04:31.97
[RENÉ] So you were happy
00:04:31.97\00:04:33.30
there, but in the meantime
00:04:33.30\00:04:34.47
your dad was staying in
00:04:34.47\00:04:36.10
Kelowna so you would obviously
00:04:36.10\00:04:37.84
go and visit him.
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[AMBER] Yep, each summer we
00:04:39.04\00:04:40.34
would go spend time with our
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dad and he'd missed us a lot
00:04:41.84\00:04:43.95
and so every summer he would
00:04:43.95\00:04:45.45
ask if we wanted to move back
00:04:45.45\00:04:47.45
and eventually my brother
00:04:47.45\00:04:49.55
decided that he wanted to move
00:04:49.55\00:04:51.39
to the big city and so he
00:04:51.39\00:04:52.95
moved and then one year after
00:04:52.95\00:04:54.36
that I moved, so I was
00:04:54.36\00:04:56.22
thirteen at that age.
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>> Can you tell us what it was
00:04:58.09\00:05:00.40
like growing up as a teenager
00:05:00.40\00:05:02.46
with your dad?
00:05:02.46\00:05:04.10
>> It was challenging, I had
00:05:04.10\00:05:06.13
come from an Adventist home,
00:05:06.13\00:05:09.80
God was something we talked
00:05:09.80\00:05:12.94
about every day, we did lots
00:05:12.94\00:05:14.71
of praying, we went to church,
00:05:14.71\00:05:15.84
and then I moved to a
00:05:15.84\00:05:17.98
non-Christian home and
00:05:17.98\00:05:19.95
eventually would go to a
00:05:19.95\00:05:21.32
public school and it was
00:05:21.32\00:05:23.89
challenging.
00:05:23.89\00:05:25.45
My dad had a new family now
00:05:25.45\00:05:27.59
and I kind of felt like
00:05:27.59\00:05:29.62
an outcast.
00:05:29.62\00:05:31.86
His alcohol was still a
00:05:31.86\00:05:33.56
problem at that time and it
00:05:33.56\00:05:35.90
was starting to wear on his
00:05:35.90\00:05:37.27
current marriage.
00:05:37.27\00:05:39.23
I found a group of friends and
00:05:39.23\00:05:41.64
started rebelling quite
00:05:41.64\00:05:43.41
quickly, had a girlfriend that
00:05:43.41\00:05:45.71
stole a pack of cigarettes
00:05:45.71\00:05:47.34
from her mother and we all
00:05:47.34\00:05:49.34
tried smoking cigarettes,
00:05:49.34\00:05:51.15
I was thirteen when we started
00:05:51.15\00:05:53.31
and eventually would try
00:05:53.31\00:05:57.15
marijuana and
00:05:57.15\00:05:59.32
eventually cocaine.
00:05:59.32\00:06:01.22
>> You're now escalating to
00:06:02.16\00:06:04.76
cocaine, what was causing you
00:06:04.76\00:06:07.23
to do all these things, do you
00:06:07.23\00:06:09.43
think, looking back on it?
00:06:09.43\00:06:11.23
>> I think when you sever the
00:06:11.23\00:06:13.17
tie of a family, you break
00:06:13.17\00:06:16.17
those bonds and when your
00:06:16.17\00:06:19.41
parents remarry and they have
00:06:19.41\00:06:21.04
new families, you do feel like
00:06:21.04\00:06:22.44
you're left behind
00:06:22.44\00:06:24.48
and immediately I started to
00:06:24.48\00:06:26.38
feel like the black sheep of
00:06:26.38\00:06:27.72
the family.
00:06:27.72\00:06:28.82
>> And then your dad kicked
00:06:30.05\00:06:32.82
you out at age 16.
00:06:32.82\00:06:34.96
>> He did, yeah.
00:06:34.96\00:06:36.73
I wandered down Springfield
00:06:36.73\00:06:38.96
road with my suitcases and
00:06:38.96\00:06:41.56
ended up at a friend's house,
00:06:41.56\00:06:43.30
he was living with his
00:06:43.30\00:06:44.90
parents and they were gracious
00:06:44.90\00:06:46.43
enough to let me stay
00:06:46.43\00:06:47.84
with them.
00:06:47.84\00:06:49.60
>> So, Amber, now your dad
00:06:49.60\00:06:51.24
kicks you out of the house,
00:06:51.24\00:06:52.64
you're addicted to cocaine
00:06:52.64\00:06:54.48
and you were struggling with
00:06:54.48\00:06:56.38
things at that stage, could it
00:06:56.38\00:06:58.35
ever get any worse?
00:06:58.35\00:07:00.28
>> Yes, it did.
00:07:00.28\00:07:01.85
I ended up going out one night
00:07:01.85\00:07:03.75
partying with my friends, had
00:07:03.75\00:07:05.72
too much to drink, ended up
00:07:05.72\00:07:07.99
being raped by an older man,
00:07:07.99\00:07:11.26
that was my virginity.
00:07:11.26\00:07:13.33
>> And, horrible situation,
00:07:13.86\00:07:17.10
and then you were struggling
00:07:17.10\00:07:18.00
with opioids as well
00:07:18.00\00:07:19.83
at that stage.
00:07:19.83\00:07:21.24
>> Yes, we had done some work
00:07:21.24\00:07:23.67
for a man clipping marijuana
00:07:23.67\00:07:25.41
and you're hunched over for
00:07:25.41\00:07:27.24
hours and he had given us some
00:07:27.24\00:07:29.58
pills to try to relieve the
00:07:29.58\00:07:31.45
pain and me and another young
00:07:31.45\00:07:33.75
lady really liked them and
00:07:33.75\00:07:35.98
it-- we got addicted very
00:07:35.98\00:07:38.12
quickly to them.
00:07:38.12\00:07:39.85
And I also got in a couple car
00:07:39.85\00:07:41.76
accidents, then I was
00:07:41.76\00:07:44.66
prescribed more medication and
00:07:44.66\00:07:47.36
definitely started abusing the
00:07:47.36\00:07:48.50
medication more and more.
00:07:48.50\00:07:50.10
>> Was there any bright light
00:07:51.10\00:07:52.73
that helped to
00:07:52.73\00:07:55.67
give you some hope?
00:07:55.67\00:07:57.11
>> Absolutely, when I met my
00:07:57.11\00:07:58.27
husband, I was 20 years old,
00:07:58.27\00:08:00.81
it was a happy time, we fell
00:08:00.81\00:08:03.18
in love, we got married
00:08:03.18\00:08:05.11
when I was 25.
00:08:05.11\00:08:07.35
It started good, but he did
00:08:07.35\00:08:09.82
drink and his alcohol
00:08:09.82\00:08:12.25
definitely became a problem
00:08:12.25\00:08:13.62
in our relationship.
00:08:13.62\00:08:14.92
I became very depressed,
00:08:14.92\00:08:17.03
I actually had two suicide
00:08:17.03\00:08:18.59
attempts, one of them I ended
00:08:18.59\00:08:21.30
up slitting my wrists, I got
00:08:21.30\00:08:23.80
thirteen stitches in one wrist
00:08:23.80\00:08:25.83
and eleven in the other wrist,
00:08:25.83\00:08:27.70
I tried gassing myself in the
00:08:27.70\00:08:29.30
car, that also didn't work.
00:08:29.30\00:08:32.51
I do believe God wanted me
00:08:32.51\00:08:34.91
here, kept me here, had
00:08:34.91\00:08:36.81
another purpose for me.
00:08:36.81\00:08:38.45
>> You are right at the
00:08:38.98\00:08:40.62
bottom, like you've hit rock
00:08:40.62\00:08:42.35
bottom, how did you get out of
00:08:42.35\00:08:45.32
there, Amber?
00:08:45.32\00:08:46.86
>> It was time to go home to
00:08:46.86\00:08:48.09
Mom and Dad so I went to
00:08:48.09\00:08:50.56
Saskatchewan, I quit smoking
00:08:50.56\00:08:53.60
cigarettes at that time and I
00:08:53.60\00:08:55.53
got cleaned up off of the
00:08:55.53\00:08:57.00
pills, I actually ended up
00:08:57.00\00:08:58.70
getting my tubes tied at that
00:08:58.70\00:09:00.57
time, I got titanium alloy
00:09:00.57\00:09:02.64
coils put in.
00:09:02.64\00:09:05.31
I knew that I was always
00:09:05.31\00:09:07.94
probably gonna be unfit to be
00:09:07.94\00:09:09.88
a parent and would struggle
00:09:09.88\00:09:12.08
with that.
00:09:12.08\00:09:12.91
I started going to church with
00:09:14.85\00:09:16.42
my folks and actually ended up
00:09:16.42\00:09:18.95
getting baptized.
00:09:18.95\00:09:20.42
[MIKE] And that is a time of
00:09:21.46\00:09:24.39
joy, I mean, you know, it's
00:09:24.39\00:09:26.70
just-- that's the high time
00:09:26.70\00:09:28.23
for you.
00:09:28.23\00:09:29.56
Before you were baptized was
00:09:29.56\00:09:31.00
there anything going on
00:09:31.00\00:09:32.80
inside, anything going on
00:09:32.80\00:09:35.07
outside that was like, you
00:09:35.07\00:09:37.04
just changed.
00:09:37.04\00:09:38.61
>> Absolutely, I had thirteen
00:09:38.61\00:09:40.04
piercings at that time and I
00:09:40.04\00:09:42.08
knew I didn't wanna go
00:09:42.08\00:09:43.65
underwater with those so
00:09:43.65\00:09:46.28
as the day drew closer and
00:09:46.28\00:09:48.15
closer, I took out more and
00:09:48.15\00:09:49.55
more piercings until the night
00:09:49.55\00:09:51.29
before I took out the very
00:09:51.29\00:09:52.25
last piercing and never did
00:09:52.25\00:09:53.89
put them back in.
00:09:53.89\00:09:55.29
>> Hi, I'm Darleen, this is
00:09:56.73\00:09:58.73
Nora and we have been prayer
00:09:58.73\00:10:00.43
partners for many years.
00:10:00.43\00:10:03.03
And over the years we've said
00:10:03.03\00:10:04.17
many prayers for Amber.
00:10:04.17\00:10:06.63
>> I wanted God to do a
00:10:08.27\00:10:10.67
miracle and I had heard
00:10:10.67\00:10:13.58
stories about angels appearing
00:10:13.58\00:10:16.78
to people in a dream and I
00:10:16.78\00:10:19.68
would pray and pray, "God,"
00:10:19.68\00:10:22.32
"please make an angel talk"
00:10:22.32\00:10:23.89
"to Amber, please."
00:10:23.89\00:10:25.89
I would believe that God's
00:10:25.89\00:10:27.59
love reached way, way up into
00:10:27.59\00:10:30.16
the sky and I would say,
00:10:30.16\00:10:33.80
"You love her so much more"
00:10:33.80\00:10:36.26
"than me," you know, and...
00:10:36.26\00:10:39.10
And sometimes I would practice
00:10:40.37\00:10:42.50
it, I couldn't do it too well,
00:10:42.50\00:10:44.54
but I'd say, "OK, I'm not"
00:10:44.54\00:10:46.24
"gonna worry about her today."
00:10:46.24\00:10:48.51
"She's Your child, OK, she's"
00:10:48.51\00:10:51.51
"Yours, I'm not gonna worry."
00:10:51.51\00:10:53.65
>> Yeah, it wasn't just pray
00:10:53.65\00:10:55.18
for Amber, it was pray for
00:10:55.18\00:10:56.32
Nora, too.
00:10:56.32\00:10:57.79
>> So, Amber, you're now
00:11:00.26\00:11:01.86
staying with your mom in
00:11:01.86\00:11:03.53
Saskatchewan and you've been
00:11:03.53\00:11:05.33
baptized, you're clean, and
00:11:05.33\00:11:08.13
you've given your heart to
00:11:08.13\00:11:09.76
Jesus and so you decide to
00:11:09.76\00:11:12.27
stay with your mom because
00:11:12.27\00:11:13.84
there's stability and you know
00:11:13.84\00:11:15.84
that your mom has been praying
00:11:15.84\00:11:17.97
for you all along, she never
00:11:17.97\00:11:19.67
stopped praying for you.
00:11:19.67\00:11:21.74
>> I wish I had stayed.
00:11:21.74\00:11:24.31
I decided to move back to
00:11:24.31\00:11:26.21
Lacombe, ended up getting back
00:11:26.21\00:11:28.98
together with my ex-husband,
00:11:28.98\00:11:30.42
we wanted to try it one more
00:11:30.42\00:11:31.99
time and it was still very
00:11:31.99\00:11:35.02
toxic, he was drinking and I
00:11:35.02\00:11:37.29
quickly relapsed and started
00:11:37.29\00:11:39.39
abusing pills again.
00:11:39.39\00:11:41.20
>> You were clean, you came to
00:11:41.20\00:11:43.10
the Lord, you were baptized,
00:11:43.10\00:11:44.73
doesn't He just give you some
00:11:44.73\00:11:46.17
kind of magic, you know,
00:11:46.17\00:11:48.74
stability thing where you're
00:11:48.74\00:11:50.74
never gonna fall ever again?
00:11:50.74\00:11:52.47
Why did you go back to
00:11:52.47\00:11:54.84
your addictions?
00:11:54.84\00:11:56.28
>> The temptation is real, it's
00:11:56.28\00:11:58.25
powerful, it's all-consuming.
00:11:58.25\00:12:01.05
Once you feel the relief that
00:12:01.05\00:12:03.79
it gives you, it's very hard
00:12:03.79\00:12:05.45
to forget that
00:12:05.45\00:12:06.69
and it turns into your
00:12:06.69\00:12:08.36
coping mechanism,
00:12:08.36\00:12:09.82
your security blanket.
00:12:09.82\00:12:11.53
>> So God gave you the ability
00:12:12.39\00:12:15.13
to choose and those
00:12:15.13\00:12:17.17
temptations were there, they
00:12:17.17\00:12:18.90
just kept coming at you, yeah.
00:12:18.90\00:12:20.67
And so you fall again.
00:12:20.67\00:12:22.64
How far did you fall?
00:12:23.17\00:12:24.61
>> Um...it was bad, it was
00:12:25.57\00:12:28.24
really bad.
00:12:28.24\00:12:30.28
The marriage soon deteriorated
00:12:30.28\00:12:33.88
and then I was on my own
00:12:33.88\00:12:35.28
again, I did have a dog with
00:12:35.28\00:12:38.05
me, my dog, Hunter, so he was
00:12:38.05\00:12:41.49
a light unto my life at that
00:12:41.49\00:12:43.26
time and I ended up meeting a
00:12:43.26\00:12:47.10
new man, we started dating and
00:12:47.10\00:12:50.10
we soon moved in together.
00:12:50.10\00:12:51.87
Even though life was better,
00:12:51.87\00:12:53.07
I wasn't better.
00:12:53.07\00:12:55.84
I officially got divorced and--
00:12:55.84\00:12:59.01
but my new relationship also
00:12:59.01\00:13:00.51
had problems of its own and
00:13:00.51\00:13:02.54
it soon ended as well.
00:13:02.54\00:13:04.91
I ended up on my own again and
00:13:04.91\00:13:08.05
I got my own place and I was
00:13:08.05\00:13:10.29
working two jobs at this time,
00:13:10.29\00:13:14.29
met a wonderful family and
00:13:14.29\00:13:17.09
started working with them and
00:13:17.09\00:13:18.66
their two autistic sons.
00:13:18.66\00:13:21.60
>> Amber started working with
00:13:23.87\00:13:27.34
my youngest son, Daniel, about
00:13:27.34\00:13:31.14
ten or eleven years ago.
00:13:31.14\00:13:33.31
Both of my sons have a genetic
00:13:33.31\00:13:36.11
disorder known as
00:13:36.11\00:13:37.35
Fragile X syndrome.
00:13:37.35\00:13:39.71
Amber is awesome with my sons.
00:13:39.71\00:13:43.79
I don't know another word that
00:13:43.79\00:13:46.05
would describe it, she's
00:13:46.05\00:13:47.46
patient, she's quiet...
00:13:47.46\00:13:51.19
she's tuned in.
00:13:51.19\00:13:53.56
That's when I first started to
00:13:53.56\00:13:55.53
notice that Amber was having
00:13:55.53\00:14:00.84
problems was the lateness for
00:14:00.84\00:14:03.27
work which was just so
00:14:03.27\00:14:05.01
against--
00:14:05.01\00:14:06.78
And then I noticed
00:14:06.78\00:14:10.11
her obsessive-compulsiveness.
00:14:10.11\00:14:14.18
>> So how bad did it get?
00:14:15.32\00:14:18.12
>> It got very bad.
00:14:18.12\00:14:20.12
I was at about 65 Percocet a
00:14:20.12\00:14:22.79
day, I ended up going into
00:14:22.79\00:14:24.49
detox twice, I started
00:14:24.49\00:14:28.46
drinking at this time,
00:14:28.46\00:14:30.33
I was living in this great big
00:14:30.33\00:14:31.97
house to myself, I was working
00:14:31.97\00:14:33.87
a lot, I was very lonely, very
00:14:33.87\00:14:36.54
sad and I found Adderall,
00:14:36.54\00:14:41.61
quickly became addicted to
00:14:41.61\00:14:42.91
that, I thought it was my
00:14:42.91\00:14:45.05
answer to everything, I had a
00:14:45.05\00:14:47.28
ton of energy, I could stay up
00:14:47.28\00:14:48.85
for days and get
00:14:48.85\00:14:50.02
everything done.
00:14:50.02\00:14:52.39
It was very expensive though
00:14:52.39\00:14:54.69
and I soon tried meth.
00:14:54.69\00:14:57.76
So I'm about 36 years old, I
00:14:57.76\00:15:00.13
had never tried this, always
00:15:00.13\00:15:02.43
stayed away from this drug and
00:15:02.43\00:15:06.00
it was cheap, it lasted a long
00:15:06.00\00:15:07.84
time, and in the beginning I
00:15:07.84\00:15:10.07
could get a lot of stuff done,
00:15:10.07\00:15:12.11
I thought things were going in
00:15:12.11\00:15:15.28
a good direction because I
00:15:15.28\00:15:16.88
could be so productive in an
00:15:16.88\00:15:18.58
average day, but soon things
00:15:18.58\00:15:22.15
started really slipping.
00:15:22.15\00:15:24.12
For about three months I kept
00:15:24.12\00:15:25.32
my job, but then, I mean,
00:15:25.32\00:15:27.16
you've got a house full of
00:15:27.16\00:15:28.46
people and you've got
00:15:28.46\00:15:30.09
a ton of drama.
00:15:30.09\00:15:32.59
My vehicle ended up getting
00:15:32.59\00:15:34.20
stolen at this time, a man did
00:15:34.20\00:15:36.70
get shot in it, they recovered
00:15:36.70\00:15:39.67
my vehicle and brought it back
00:15:39.67\00:15:41.40
and I just remember cleaning
00:15:41.40\00:15:42.90
all the blood off the ceiling
00:15:42.90\00:15:44.54
and cleaning up all the glass
00:15:44.54\00:15:46.41
and it was traumatizing and I
00:15:46.41\00:15:49.24
actually started having
00:15:49.24\00:15:50.91
nightmares and I was actually
00:15:50.91\00:15:52.65
having nightmares that I was
00:15:52.65\00:15:54.08
running this person over and
00:15:54.08\00:15:55.62
killing him because I never--
00:15:55.62\00:15:57.59
I didn't know if he had
00:15:57.59\00:15:58.95
survived because I didn't know
00:15:58.95\00:16:00.32
what happened, so...
00:16:00.32\00:16:01.96
It was awful and I didn't
00:16:02.86\00:16:06.13
have insurance on my vehicle
00:16:06.13\00:16:07.60
because I had lent my vehicle
00:16:07.60\00:16:09.16
out to my drug dealer so...
00:16:09.16\00:16:12.53
>> Now you're trying to
00:16:12.53\00:16:16.77
stay alive.
00:16:16.77\00:16:18.67
What were you doing to keep
00:16:18.67\00:16:20.44
things going?
00:16:20.44\00:16:22.21
>> Well, I ended up getting on
00:16:22.21\00:16:24.71
welfare so I went from making
00:16:24.71\00:16:27.22
a $750 check payment to living
00:16:27.22\00:16:30.69
off of a $714 welfare check,
00:16:30.69\00:16:33.89
just like that, within
00:16:33.89\00:16:35.19
one month.
00:16:35.19\00:16:36.26
I could hardly leave the
00:16:36.26\00:16:37.43
house, I was so filled with
00:16:37.43\00:16:39.13
paranoia, you would not sleep
00:16:39.13\00:16:42.26
for days, the drug psychosis
00:16:42.26\00:16:44.27
would kick in.
00:16:44.27\00:16:45.87
I would do things like paint
00:16:45.87\00:16:47.30
all the windows in the house
00:16:47.30\00:16:48.80
so that nobody could look in.
00:16:48.80\00:16:53.07
We ended up having the squad
00:16:53.07\00:16:54.58
team come in and I got
00:16:54.58\00:16:58.18
arrested naked, I had to get
00:16:58.18\00:17:00.08
dressed by two officers, one
00:17:00.08\00:17:01.98
of them holding his weapon on
00:17:01.98\00:17:03.49
me, they held their guns on my
00:17:03.49\00:17:06.42
dogs which was very
00:17:06.42\00:17:08.39
traumatizing for me and I came
00:17:08.39\00:17:11.73
home the next morning and my
00:17:11.73\00:17:13.56
house was all ripped apart,
00:17:13.56\00:17:15.40
my rent was behind,
00:17:15.40\00:17:18.17
things were awful,
00:17:18.17\00:17:19.70
the people were so dangerous
00:17:19.70\00:17:20.90
that I was living with.
00:17:20.90\00:17:22.47
I mean, at one point in time
00:17:22.47\00:17:23.84
we had three people in our
00:17:23.84\00:17:25.24
house that were either had
00:17:25.24\00:17:26.94
served time for murder or
00:17:26.94\00:17:28.78
were being accused of
00:17:28.78\00:17:29.88
murdering people.
00:17:29.88\00:17:31.41
We were too behind on our
00:17:31.41\00:17:33.31
rent, I ended up getting on
00:17:33.31\00:17:36.25
medical EI because of the
00:17:36.25\00:17:38.39
trauma and we ended up moving
00:17:38.39\00:17:40.96
into another place and we
00:17:40.96\00:17:42.96
found a roommate to help us out
00:17:42.96\00:17:44.53
with our rent.
00:17:44.53\00:17:45.76
>> And did you end up
00:17:45.76\00:17:46.93
staying there?
00:17:46.93\00:17:48.03
>> We were there for a couple
00:17:48.03\00:17:49.50
months, the roommate was very
00:17:49.50\00:17:52.27
violent and there was a lot of
00:17:52.27\00:17:54.34
drama there as well.
00:17:54.34\00:17:55.80
We quickly became the drug
00:17:55.80\00:17:57.81
house in the neighbourhood
00:17:57.81\00:17:59.91
so I was told to leave this
00:18:01.14\00:18:03.41
house, I now had a specific
00:18:03.41\00:18:06.35
restraining order against the
00:18:06.35\00:18:07.88
house, I wasn't allowed to
00:18:07.88\00:18:09.15
come back, I wasn't allowed
00:18:09.15\00:18:10.55
to be in contact with
00:18:10.55\00:18:11.69
those people.
00:18:11.69\00:18:13.39
>> What did you do,
00:18:13.39\00:18:14.79
in all this desperation?
00:18:14.79\00:18:16.66
>> Well, luckily before this
00:18:16.66\00:18:18.93
went down, I had prayed.
00:18:18.93\00:18:21.33
I had just screamed up to the
00:18:21.33\00:18:23.16
Lord on my knees to get me out
00:18:23.16\00:18:25.20
of there, I had had enough and
00:18:25.20\00:18:28.57
it wasn't the way I thought it
00:18:28.57\00:18:30.04
was gonna look, but it was the
00:18:30.04\00:18:31.71
way it had to be, it was
00:18:31.71\00:18:33.78
tough love, right.
00:18:33.78\00:18:35.68
He ensured it so I wasn't able
00:18:35.68\00:18:37.45
to come back to that house or
00:18:37.45\00:18:39.45
be with the man that I was in
00:18:39.45\00:18:40.92
love with in that toxic
00:18:40.92\00:18:42.45
relationship.
00:18:42.45\00:18:44.02
¤¤
00:18:45.75\00:18:50.19
¤There is a fountain
00:18:50.19\00:18:56.56
¤filled with blood
00:18:56.56\00:19:00.87
¤Drawn from Immanuel's veins
00:19:00.87\00:19:10.91
¤And sinners plunged
00:19:10.91\00:19:16.42
¤beneath that flood
00:19:16.42\00:19:21.12
¤Lose all their
00:19:21.12\00:19:25.36
¤guilty stains
00:19:25.36\00:19:31.57
¤Lose all their
00:19:31.57\00:19:35.84
¤guilty stains
00:19:35.84\00:19:42.04
¤Lose all their
00:19:42.04\00:19:45.85
¤guilty stains
00:19:45.85\00:19:52.45
¤And sinners plunged
00:19:52.45\00:19:57.76
¤beneath that flood
00:19:57.76\00:20:03.06
¤Lose all their guilty stains
00:20:03.06\00:20:13.04
¤E'er since by faith
00:20:13.04\00:20:18.08
¤I saw the stream
00:20:18.08\00:20:23.32
¤Thy flowing wounds supply
00:20:23.32\00:20:33.13
¤Redeeming love
00:20:33.13\00:20:37.93
¤has been my theme
00:20:37.93\00:20:43.00
¤And it shall be till I die
00:20:43.00\00:20:57.02
¤And shall
00:20:57.02\00:21:00.39
¤be till I die
00:21:00.39\00:21:07.23
¤And shall
00:21:07.23\00:21:10.97
¤be till I die
00:21:10.97\00:21:17.97
¤Redeeming love
00:21:17.97\00:21:23.55
¤has been my theme
00:21:23.55\00:21:29.58
¤And shall be
00:21:29.58\00:21:33.36
¤till I die
00:21:33.36\00:21:46.10
>> That song, There Is A
00:21:46.53\00:21:48.90
Fountain, always speaks to me
00:21:48.90\00:21:50.87
personally, Maria on that rock
00:21:50.87\00:21:53.01
with all that water just
00:21:53.01\00:21:54.81
gushing around her is like
00:21:54.81\00:21:56.04
God's redeeming love, it just
00:21:56.04\00:21:57.81
keeps gushing and gushing and
00:21:57.81\00:21:59.35
never gives up, just as it
00:21:59.35\00:22:01.25
didn't give up in your life,
00:22:01.25\00:22:03.49
Amber, and God didn't give up
00:22:03.49\00:22:05.72
on you no matter how bad it
00:22:05.72\00:22:07.42
got, He was always
00:22:07.42\00:22:08.72
there for you.
00:22:08.72\00:22:10.46
>> You got down on your knees
00:22:10.46\00:22:12.16
and just pleaded with God and
00:22:12.16\00:22:14.30
cried out to Him saying,
00:22:14.30\00:22:16.53
"I surrender all," so tell us
00:22:16.53\00:22:19.30
how God answered your prayer.
00:22:19.30\00:22:21.97
>> Well, I was officially out
00:22:21.97\00:22:23.77
of my house, I didn't have
00:22:23.77\00:22:25.71
anything with me, no clothing,
00:22:25.71\00:22:28.01
I had grabbed my dogs and
00:22:28.01\00:22:29.88
their leashes and food and sat
00:22:29.88\00:22:32.11
down on the curb and didn't
00:22:32.11\00:22:34.55
know where I was gonna go.
00:22:34.55\00:22:36.02
And this lovely couple came,
00:22:36.02\00:22:37.65
asked if I needed a ride and I
00:22:37.65\00:22:40.12
had heard of a program that
00:22:40.12\00:22:41.72
the SPCA had where they would
00:22:41.72\00:22:43.26
take care of your dogs for
00:22:43.26\00:22:45.06
women when you're in a
00:22:45.06\00:22:46.93
transition like this so they
00:22:46.93\00:22:48.96
gave me a ride to the SPCA, I
00:22:48.96\00:22:50.97
dropped off my dogs and then I
00:22:50.97\00:22:53.27
was officially homeless with
00:22:53.27\00:22:55.27
nothing and on the streets.
00:22:55.27\00:22:58.64
I ended up being on the
00:22:58.64\00:23:00.24
streets for three to four
00:23:00.24\00:23:02.81
months and I had a family
00:23:02.81\00:23:06.65
friend that had invited me to
00:23:06.65\00:23:08.98
go stay in his camper,
00:23:08.98\00:23:10.72
he said there was no power or
00:23:10.72\00:23:12.82
water and it was way out in
00:23:12.82\00:23:14.22
the boonies and I didn't
00:23:14.22\00:23:15.99
know him very well so
00:23:15.99\00:23:17.56
I declined his first offer,
00:23:17.56\00:23:20.00
but then the SPCA said that
00:23:20.00\00:23:23.47
the time was up, that I had to
00:23:23.47\00:23:25.40
take my dogs so they gave my
00:23:25.40\00:23:27.27
dogs back to me.
00:23:27.27\00:23:29.40
I was on the streets with my
00:23:29.40\00:23:31.07
dogs for a while which was
00:23:31.07\00:23:32.54
tremendously hard, and that's
00:23:32.54\00:23:33.78
when I officially hit
00:23:33.78\00:23:34.78
rock bottom.
00:23:34.78\00:23:35.78
I was OK on the streets by
00:23:35.78\00:23:37.45
myself, but it was way too
00:23:37.45\00:23:38.98
hard with two big dogs and so
00:23:38.98\00:23:41.68
I gave my friend, Bill, a call
00:23:41.68\00:23:43.42
and I said, "I'll take you up"
00:23:43.42\00:23:44.62
"on that offer about that"
00:23:44.62\00:23:46.32
"camper," so he came and
00:23:46.32\00:23:48.39
picked me up, we had a warm
00:23:48.39\00:23:50.09
pizza and off we went.
00:23:50.09\00:23:53.50
So he gave me a job and a
00:23:53.50\00:23:55.66
place to live and I was able
00:23:55.66\00:23:58.20
to start my road to recovery.
00:23:58.20\00:24:00.24
[MIKE] And then after that you
00:24:02.10\00:24:03.87
ended up getting a friend,
00:24:03.87\00:24:06.17
Carrie, who offered you a
00:24:06.17\00:24:08.68
place to stay.
00:24:08.68\00:24:10.08
>> Yeah, I had left Bill's
00:24:10.08\00:24:12.65
house and I had the two dogs,
00:24:12.65\00:24:15.25
it was time for me to move,
00:24:15.25\00:24:16.92
get my own place and I walked
00:24:16.92\00:24:19.52
down the road and a lady had
00:24:19.52\00:24:21.56
passed me and then she passed
00:24:21.56\00:24:23.43
me again on her way back and
00:24:23.43\00:24:24.86
she thought, "I'd better"
00:24:24.86\00:24:26.03
"check on this lady."
00:24:26.03\00:24:27.93
It was dark and I had been
00:24:27.93\00:24:29.50
walking for hours and I was
00:24:29.50\00:24:31.67
singing This Little Light of
00:24:31.67\00:24:33.10
Mine at the top of my lungs
00:24:33.10\00:24:34.67
(laughs) and I had the dogs
00:24:34.67\00:24:38.44
were each on a leash around me
00:24:38.44\00:24:40.21
and my back was getting sore
00:24:40.21\00:24:41.34
'cause I had the leash
00:24:41.34\00:24:42.24
wrapped around me and I ended
00:24:42.24\00:24:43.35
up coming across a pillow in
00:24:43.35\00:24:44.78
the ditch and I thought,
00:24:44.78\00:24:46.05
"How perfect is that,"
00:24:46.05\00:24:47.32
I tucked this little pillow
00:24:47.32\00:24:48.42
behind my back so that these
00:24:48.42\00:24:49.88
leads weren't pulling on me
00:24:49.88\00:24:52.69
and she said, "I have a place"
00:24:52.69\00:24:54.99
"you can stay," and she
00:24:54.99\00:24:57.16
brought me there, I spent the
00:24:57.16\00:24:59.03
night and when I got up in the
00:24:59.03\00:25:00.20
morning she had given me $65,
00:25:00.20\00:25:03.57
a loaf of banana bread and she
00:25:03.57\00:25:05.03
had brought some water for me
00:25:05.03\00:25:06.17
so...
00:25:06.17\00:25:07.17
>> So now you're off the
00:25:07.84\00:25:09.27
streets and we've come to the
00:25:09.27\00:25:11.27
end of this episode, you're
00:25:11.27\00:25:12.91
gonna have to come back next
00:25:12.91\00:25:14.28
week, Amber, and tell us the
00:25:14.28\00:25:15.71
rest of your story.
00:25:15.71\00:25:17.18
It is at this stage, I mean,
00:25:17.18\00:25:19.35
a big thing for you, really,
00:25:19.35\00:25:20.82
was your dogs.
00:25:20.82\00:25:22.25
If it weren't for your dogs,
00:25:22.25\00:25:24.02
where would you be?
00:25:24.02\00:25:25.39
>> Absolutely.
00:25:25.39\00:25:26.69
I had started using needles,
00:25:26.69\00:25:29.06
I mean, I was doing-- letting
00:25:29.06\00:25:31.83
whoever I could find put the
00:25:31.83\00:25:33.66
needle in my neck and I was up
00:25:33.66\00:25:35.80
to a $40-dose of meth looking
00:25:35.80\00:25:39.00
forward to a $50-dose of meth
00:25:39.00\00:25:40.84
so my dogs changed it
00:25:40.84\00:25:43.34
all around.
00:25:43.34\00:25:44.47
>> So you would have died on
00:25:45.97\00:25:47.51
the streets...
00:25:47.51\00:25:48.64
[AMBER] Absolutely.
00:25:48.64\00:25:49.74
[MIKE] ...if it weren't for
00:25:49.74\00:25:50.88
your dogs so God sent you a
00:25:50.88\00:25:53.21
life-line through that.
00:25:53.21\00:25:54.98
[AMBER] He did.
00:25:54.98\00:25:56.32
And little did I know that I
00:25:56.32\00:25:57.79
had a whole church behind me
00:25:57.79\00:25:59.65
praying because of my mother.
00:25:59.65\00:26:02.26
>> So we're looking forward to
00:26:03.96\00:26:05.49
meeting up with you next week
00:26:05.49\00:26:07.30
again, but before we go,
00:26:07.30\00:26:09.10
I wonder if you could please
00:26:09.10\00:26:10.53
pray for us, Amber?
00:26:10.53\00:26:12.20
>> Absolutely.
00:26:12.20\00:26:13.34
Thank you so much for taking
00:26:14.54\00:26:16.07
time out of your day and
00:26:16.07\00:26:17.27
listening to my story.
00:26:17.27\00:26:18.84
I hope that I may be an
00:26:18.84\00:26:20.74
inspiration to even one person
00:26:20.74\00:26:23.14
to show them that God has a
00:26:23.14\00:26:26.72
better way and a path for you
00:26:26.72\00:26:28.75
and a purpose for you, so much
00:26:28.75\00:26:30.65
more than where you are now.
00:26:30.65\00:26:32.92
So open your hearts to Him,
00:26:32.92\00:26:35.29
open your hearts to this story
00:26:35.29\00:26:37.23
and thank You so much for
00:26:37.23\00:26:38.69
everything You do and all the
00:26:38.69\00:26:39.89
blessings, in Jesus' name,
00:26:39.89\00:26:41.36
amen.
00:26:41.36\00:26:42.03
[MIKE & RENE] Amen.
00:26:42.03\00:26:43.70
>> Amen, thank you, Amber, we
00:26:43.70\00:26:45.07
will see you again next week.
00:26:45.07\00:26:46.33
[AMBER] Sounds good.
00:26:46.33\00:26:47.80
>> Friends, freedom of choice
00:26:49.27\00:26:50.64
is one of the most precious
00:26:50.64\00:26:52.47
gifts God has entrusted to us.
00:26:52.47\00:26:55.38
Unfortunately, we often make
00:26:55.38\00:26:56.98
poor choices which may lead to
00:26:56.98\00:26:59.45
destructive habits that
00:26:59.45\00:27:01.28
enslave us, damage our health,
00:27:01.28\00:27:03.59
and even ruin our lives.
00:27:03.59\00:27:06.45
>> Friends, our free offer for
00:27:06.45\00:27:08.42
you is the special Steps to
00:27:08.42\00:27:10.13
Christ Recovery Edition.
00:27:10.13\00:27:12.56
This powerful book includes a
00:27:12.56\00:27:14.60
12-step recover program
00:27:14.60\00:27:17.20
empowering you to overcome
00:27:17.20\00:27:19.27
harmful habits and addictions.
00:27:19.27\00:27:21.74
Above all, you will come to
00:27:21.74\00:27:24.01
know Jesus Christ, the only
00:27:24.01\00:27:26.27
One who can heal and restore,
00:27:26.27\00:27:28.84
strengthen and encourage,
00:27:28.84\00:27:30.91
as well as bring true balance
00:27:30.91\00:27:32.71
and meaning to your life.
00:27:32.71\00:27:35.22
>> Before we go, we would also
00:27:35.88\00:27:37.69
like to invite you to follow
00:27:37.69\00:27:39.19
us on Instagram and Facebook
00:27:39.19\00:27:41.12
and subscribe to our YouTube
00:27:41.12\00:27:42.96
channel and also listen to our
00:27:42.96\00:27:44.99
Podcasts and if you go to our
00:27:44.99\00:27:47.30
website, you can see our
00:27:47.30\00:27:49.96
latest programs including our
00:27:49.96\00:27:51.80
cooking demonstrations,
00:27:51.80\00:27:53.47
our spiritual messages
00:27:53.47\00:27:55.04
entitled, "Daily Living,"
00:27:55.04\00:27:57.41
and our exercise workouts
00:27:57.41\00:27:59.41
called, "Experiencing Life."
00:27:59.41\00:28:02.24
>> We want you to experience
00:28:02.24\00:28:04.41
the truth found in the words
00:28:04.41\00:28:06.01
of Jesus when He said,
00:28:06.01\00:28:08.18
"It is written, 'man shall"
00:28:08.18\00:28:09.98
"not live by bread alone,"
00:28:09.98\00:28:12.39
"but by every word that"
00:28:12.39\00:28:14.02
"proceeds out of the"
00:28:14.02\00:28:15.49
"mouth of God.'"
00:28:15.49\00:28:17.69
¤¤
00:28:17.69\00:28:53.03