>> Welcome to It Is Written
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Canada.
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Thank you for joining us
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downtown on the east side of
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the city of Vancouver where
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there is a lot of personal and
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social need, desperation and
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homelessness.
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Our special guest is Anke
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Jenkins who, after being
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diagnosed with cancer at the
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age of 40, and halfway through
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her chemotherapy treatments,
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decided to go on the adventure
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of a lifetime.
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>> And that decision changed
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everything, not only for Anke
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and her children, but also for
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people on the other side of
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the world who she hadn't
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met yet.
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Anke, we are looking forward
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to hearing you share your
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journey with us.
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>> Thank you for having me and
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letting me share my story.
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[gentle guitar music]
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[people chattering]
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[music continues]
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[VOICEOVER] Hi, my name is Anke
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and I am a survivor and
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a missionary at heart.
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>> So, Anke, you were
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originally from Germany
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then you came to Canada.
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Tell us about that and why did
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you come to Canada?
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>> Yes, I was about 19 years
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old, after I finished school,
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high school in Germany, I
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always had the travel bug and
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I did a South Pacific trip
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which I also included a stop
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over in Canada and since I
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have distant relatives here in
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Canada, I have second cousins
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in the Okanagan, Canada, since
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I was a little child was
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always a big dream.
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I'd never really been on an
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airplane, I'd never been to
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North America until I was 16
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and so that was-- at 19 I got
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the chance to do a big trip
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and Canada was one of my stops.
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>> As a little girl I would
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see and hear about
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missionaries going to Africa
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and helping people in need.
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It touched my heart deeply and
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had a big impact on me.
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I wanted to be part of the
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solution, not just a bystander
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to all the human misery.
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I wanted to give others hope.
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When I was about 12 years old,
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I started thinking I would
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love to become a medical nurse
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and travel to places like
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Ethiopia or Kenya to help
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people in need.
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At the time, the famine in
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Ethiopia was raging and
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consuming so many lives.
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I still remember watching the
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news and seeing countless
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faces filled with pain,
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hunger, and despair.
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[RENÉ] Anke, you've always had
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an interest in helping
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other people.
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Can you tell us about that?
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[ANKE] Yeah, I believe that
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sort of from very little on,
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I've been a caregiver.
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I love looking after, from
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starting as a little child,
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animals to people to, just--
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A lot of people say "a heart
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of gold," just because I
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really loved serving other
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people so when I knew my
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cousin was a nurse, I was
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intrigued, "Maybe I want to
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become a nurse," or being in
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church and having read all
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those missionary stories.
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I was intrigued by African
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missionary stories.
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I wanted to travel and, at the
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same time, do something good
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'cause, you know, from Sabbath
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School on we were taught, you
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know, you need to help other
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people and, you know, at that
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time, sort of around 1984, or
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even earlier, you know, a lot
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of famines in the world so we
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saw a lot of those images and
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it always really, really
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touched my heart to see that
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there's so many people in need
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that I couldn't really relate
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to because I was born in a very
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privileged part of this world.
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>> As the years went by, my
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desire to help those around me
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never left.
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But I got busy with life.
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I became a wife and a mother
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and I put all my energy into
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raising my family.
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>> It just wasn't my
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focus anymore.
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I was always helping people
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along the way, there was
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people at church that needed
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help, I took in a lady that I
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met coming into our church
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when I was a greeter at the
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church, she came off
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the street.
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I was the one that was able to
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build trust with people and
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love on them and kind of met
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them where they're at.
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And so I think God maybe gave
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me a bit of a dry run for what
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was to come because I didn't
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know yet.
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She turned her life around.
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She came from addiction, she
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came from, yeah, from a
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really, really hurtful past
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and just to give her shelter
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and let her live with us and
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she then had the desire
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to change.
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And that is the big difference
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is when people have the desire
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to change 'cause I can be
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there and help people, but
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people do have to do the
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change, we can just
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assist them.
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>> You love to help others.
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What led you to the
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next level?
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>> In May of 2010, my world as
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I knew it suddenly came
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crashing down.
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Doctors diagnosed me with
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advanced uterine cancer.
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I was devastated.
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Was this the end of my life?
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I had so many things I wanted
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to do, so many places I wanted
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to visit.
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I asked God, "Will I be able"
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"to see my children grow up?"
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"Will I be able to travel to"
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"Africa to do Your work?"
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"God, I know You're there."
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"I know You love me."
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"Show me the way"
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"and give me hope."
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>> Here I was at 40 years old,
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having two children that still
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desperately needed their mom.
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At this time I was a single
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mom and I was always healthy.
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I hardly ever got a cold, we
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don't have a cancer history in
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our families and I got
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diagnosed with uterine cancer.
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That walk into the doctors
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office when they tell you,
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"Yeah, I'm sorry to tell you,"
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"but you have cancer."
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I never thought I would ever,
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ever be that one out of five
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people or two out of five, I
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guess it is now, that would be
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told that so that obviously
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shocked me and my first
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thought, ironically enough was
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like, "Wow, I'm going to die."
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"What am I gonna do?"
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"Is this the life I want"
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"to lead?"
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"What is my life like?"
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"What is happening?"
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Obviously my first concern was
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for the children, they're not
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gonna have a mom around to
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guide them.
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It wasn't so much about that
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I'm going to die because
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eventually we all will.
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But I thought it's a little
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early, there's still things
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that I would like to help
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with, especially raising my
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children, but also I never
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went to Africa.
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I remember that so clearly.
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It's like, I've never set out
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to do what I really, really,
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really had the desire to do.
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So after I was diagnosed with
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cancer, I obviously had to
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stop life a little bit as I
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knew it as I needed to go to
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some treatments and-- which,
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thank God to the place we live
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in, medical care is readily
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available, which, again, I
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learned later on in life that
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that is not a privilege that
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many people have.
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>> Throughout my surgery,
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chemo, and radiation, I knew
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God was right there beside me,
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giving me the strength I
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needed and hope of the future.
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>> And about halfway through my
00:08:59.03\00:09:00.70
chemo of my only, thank God,
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three chemo's, the children
00:09:02.74\00:09:05.27
brought home a notice or I got
00:09:05.27\00:09:07.54
an email at the time that they
00:09:07.54\00:09:10.35
are planning a trip to visit a
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school that they had
00:09:12.61\00:09:14.58
established a relationship
00:09:14.58\00:09:16.22
with and send donations and
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things to Kenya.
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And when I saw that, I was
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like, "I'm going."
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"I'm going," like "they're"
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"going to Africa."
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"I have to go with these"
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"children, with my kids,"
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'cause they're qualified, my
00:09:33.13\00:09:34.47
son was in grade 12 and my
00:09:34.47\00:09:36.20
daughter was in grade 9 at
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that time and so my kids
00:09:38.61\00:09:40.04
qualified to go and I'm like,
00:09:40.04\00:09:41.38
"Well, they're going, but"
00:09:41.38\00:09:42.68
"I'm going."
00:09:42.68\00:09:44.58
And it's not typical of
00:09:44.58\00:09:46.01
schools to allow parents to go
00:09:46.01\00:09:47.48
as chaperones, but that I knew
00:09:47.48\00:09:50.12
the person that was in charge
00:09:50.12\00:09:52.29
of the program so I approached
00:09:52.29\00:09:54.42
him and I said, "Listen,"
00:09:54.42\00:09:56.06
"I have to go on this trip,"
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"I want to go with you."
00:09:57.83\00:09:59.36
And since it was their first
00:09:59.36\00:10:00.80
trip and I have some travel
00:10:00.80\00:10:02.53
experience and they knew me,
00:10:02.53\00:10:04.43
they trusted me and said,
00:10:04.43\00:10:06.13
"OK, we'll make an exception"
00:10:06.13\00:10:08.97
"and you can come with us"
00:10:08.97\00:10:11.14
"on this trip to Mombasa."
00:10:11.14\00:10:13.34
>> God's loving hand continued
00:10:14.94\00:10:16.68
to guide me.
00:10:16.68\00:10:18.28
Within a year of my diagnosis,
00:10:18.28\00:10:20.78
I found myself in Africa with
00:10:20.78\00:10:22.55
my kids helping a school
00:10:22.55\00:10:24.65
in Kenya.
00:10:24.65\00:10:26.05
God kept gently guiding me.
00:10:26.05\00:10:28.32
He led me to my dear friend,
00:10:28.32\00:10:30.49
Hemed Mukui.
00:10:30.49\00:10:32.69
Through him, God gave me the
00:10:32.69\00:10:34.66
opportunity to bring quality
00:10:34.66\00:10:36.56
education and hope to
00:10:36.56\00:10:38.90
Kaliang'ombe, a village near
00:10:38.90\00:10:41.20
Mombasa.
00:10:41.20\00:10:42.87
>> So, Anke, tell us what your
00:10:42.87\00:10:45.14
introduction to Africa
00:10:45.14\00:10:46.78
was like.
00:10:46.78\00:10:47.88
>> I had really no idea of
00:10:49.08\00:10:50.85
what to expect in the real
00:10:50.85\00:10:53.11
world, I've seen pictures, I
00:10:53.11\00:10:55.08
read about it, you cannot
00:10:55.08\00:10:56.99
prepare for such things.
00:10:56.99\00:10:59.89
You land in Mombasa and chaos
00:10:59.89\00:11:02.02
starts, but we were welcomed
00:11:02.02\00:11:05.73
by the school that hosted us.
00:11:05.73\00:11:09.80
We came with, there were eight
00:11:09.80\00:11:11.57
kids and three adults.
00:11:11.57\00:11:14.70
We were welcomed at the
00:11:14.70\00:11:16.17
airport with smiling faces,
00:11:16.17\00:11:18.21
with banners, with song, with
00:11:18.21\00:11:20.98
dance, with just a huge, huge
00:11:20.98\00:11:24.21
warm, warm welcome and it was
00:11:24.21\00:11:25.75
just overpowering after flying
00:11:25.75\00:11:27.32
for 32 hours.
00:11:27.32\00:11:29.18
You're overtired, you're just,
00:11:29.18\00:11:31.05
you're done, all you want is a
00:11:31.05\00:11:32.59
bed and you come there, it's
00:11:32.59\00:11:34.16
34 degrees and humid and you
00:11:34.16\00:11:35.59
get off the plane and there's
00:11:35.59\00:11:37.09
this-- there was, I would say,
00:11:37.09\00:11:39.93
about 500 students from that
00:11:39.93\00:11:41.96
school that welcomed us and it
00:11:41.96\00:11:43.83
was, like, the most
00:11:43.83\00:11:45.53
overwhelming-- we were all
00:11:45.53\00:11:47.00
crying, I mean we were tired,
00:11:47.00\00:11:48.40
we would have cried at
00:11:48.40\00:11:49.64
anything, but that was an
00:11:49.64\00:11:51.04
emotional breakout of like,
00:11:51.04\00:11:54.14
"Oh my goodness, these kids,"
00:11:54.14\00:11:56.04
"these people are really"
00:11:56.04\00:11:57.55
"welcoming us with open arms."
00:11:57.55\00:11:59.31
So it was a very
00:11:59.31\00:12:00.75
over-powering, overwhelming
00:12:00.75\00:12:02.88
kind of an introduction and
00:12:02.88\00:12:04.89
then, of course, we started
00:12:04.89\00:12:06.22
going to the school and it was
00:12:06.22\00:12:07.42
a school that was in the
00:12:07.42\00:12:09.32
outskirts of Mombasa in a very
00:12:09.32\00:12:11.96
poverty-stricken slum area
00:12:11.96\00:12:14.83
called Changamwe and the reason
00:12:14.83\00:12:16.83
we went is 'cause the school
00:12:16.83\00:12:18.33
had donated money to build a
00:12:18.33\00:12:19.57
parameter wall around to keep
00:12:19.57\00:12:23.41
bad people out of school.
00:12:23.41\00:12:25.01
So the school that we were
00:12:25.01\00:12:26.31
going with donated over
00:12:26.31\00:12:27.81
$100,000 to build this wall so
00:12:27.81\00:12:29.51
we were there to make sure
00:12:29.51\00:12:31.41
that these funds were going
00:12:31.41\00:12:33.15
for that purpose.
00:12:33.15\00:12:34.68
So we were introduced into the
00:12:34.68\00:12:36.08
classrooms, we went to every
00:12:36.08\00:12:37.62
classroom and that's when my
00:12:37.62\00:12:38.75
eyes were opened.
00:12:38.75\00:12:40.12
Black boards were very rare.
00:12:41.56\00:12:44.09
Materials were not there.
00:12:44.09\00:12:46.63
Kids in classes, 100 kids, one
00:12:46.63\00:12:48.93
teacher, just sitting on top
00:12:48.93\00:12:52.00
of each other in heat, but
00:12:52.00\00:12:54.04
desperate for knowledge.
00:12:54.04\00:12:56.14
I will say developing
00:12:56.14\00:12:57.44
countries are full of
00:12:57.44\00:12:58.44
high contrasts.
00:12:58.44\00:12:59.64
That's when I just fell in
00:13:01.04\00:13:03.14
love with it and it's like...
00:13:03.14\00:13:06.08
I don't know what it is and I
00:13:06.08\00:13:07.62
didn't know at that time, but
00:13:07.62\00:13:09.38
I want to come back.
00:13:09.38\00:13:11.39
And during that time the one
00:13:11.39\00:13:13.32
most important thing that I
00:13:13.32\00:13:15.29
got out of it was I met
00:13:15.29\00:13:17.66
Hemed Mukui.
00:13:17.66\00:13:19.93
He is a local Kenyan man that
00:13:19.93\00:13:22.66
is, I would say, the most
00:13:22.66\00:13:24.63
amazing human I have ever met
00:13:24.63\00:13:29.07
in this world yet.
00:13:29.07\00:13:32.11
When I met him on this first
00:13:32.11\00:13:33.81
trip, we talked a lot about
00:13:33.81\00:13:38.25
reaching out and what kind of
00:13:38.25\00:13:39.65
projects does he do and what
00:13:39.65\00:13:41.22
is his work and his selfless
00:13:41.22\00:13:44.82
work with children that are
00:13:44.82\00:13:47.19
handicapped and families that
00:13:47.19\00:13:49.39
are just struggling and how he
00:13:49.39\00:13:51.49
worked with it and within the
00:13:51.49\00:13:52.93
system and how many things
00:13:52.93\00:13:54.13
he had done.
00:13:54.13\00:13:55.36
It was like an instant--
00:13:55.36\00:13:57.20
I fell in love with this person
00:13:57.20\00:13:59.23
because he was just the most
00:13:59.23\00:14:00.60
amazing human.
00:14:00.60\00:14:03.07
So the next step was I got
00:14:03.07\00:14:04.57
back and reflected and
00:14:04.57\00:14:06.14
kept on--
00:14:06.14\00:14:08.21
it just didn't leave me alone.
00:14:08.21\00:14:10.35
And so when I talked to Hemed,
00:14:10.35\00:14:12.58
I said, "Can I come for"
00:14:12.58\00:14:13.98
"the summer?"
00:14:13.98\00:14:15.22
"Can I bring the kids?"
00:14:15.22\00:14:16.48
"Is there somewhere I can"
00:14:16.48\00:14:18.59
"be helpful in?"
00:14:18.59\00:14:20.02
And so he said, "Well, yes,"
00:14:21.42\00:14:23.26
"there is."
00:14:23.26\00:14:24.93
"I do have a place that is"
00:14:24.93\00:14:26.63
"just outside Mombasa that is"
00:14:26.63\00:14:29.60
"a small community where"
00:14:29.60\00:14:32.73
"there's very little good"
00:14:32.73\00:14:37.31
"education, children are"
00:14:37.31\00:14:38.91
"roaming on the streets."
00:14:38.91\00:14:40.64
So out of their own
00:14:40.64\00:14:41.94
initiative, not having any
00:14:41.94\00:14:43.24
funds or any means, but their
00:14:43.24\00:14:45.08
desire to help their own
00:14:45.08\00:14:46.25
community, two women put
00:14:46.25\00:14:48.08
themselves together under a
00:14:48.08\00:14:49.75
tree and said, "Invite the"
00:14:49.75\00:14:51.85
"children to come."
00:14:51.85\00:14:53.46
And even though they had no
00:14:53.46\00:14:54.72
education much themselves,
00:14:54.72\00:14:56.22
they would read to them where
00:14:56.22\00:14:57.76
they could, they would teach
00:14:57.76\00:14:59.19
them the alphabet, they would
00:14:59.19\00:15:00.90
teach them songs so that the
00:15:00.90\00:15:02.66
kids didn't have to go into
00:15:02.66\00:15:04.23
Mombasa for begging, the kids
00:15:04.23\00:15:05.80
didn't have to roam and the
00:15:05.80\00:15:07.10
kids were more prepared to
00:15:07.10\00:15:09.07
actually go into a school
00:15:09.07\00:15:10.44
system by the time they go at
00:15:10.44\00:15:11.81
the age of five.
00:15:11.81\00:15:14.24
And so he said, "They're"
00:15:14.24\00:15:16.04
"really, really eager to have"
00:15:16.04\00:15:17.61
"change, but they just don't"
00:15:17.61\00:15:18.98
"have the means to really"
00:15:18.98\00:15:20.58
"make the change that they"
00:15:20.58\00:15:22.45
"want to see."
00:15:22.45\00:15:23.59
So that conversation happened
00:15:25.19\00:15:26.65
over like six months, by the
00:15:26.65\00:15:28.96
time it was around Christmas,
00:15:28.96\00:15:30.39
I remember driving to church
00:15:30.39\00:15:32.39
with my kids, at that time
00:15:32.39\00:15:34.40
they are 18 and-- well 15 and
00:15:34.40\00:15:39.00
17 actually.
00:15:39.00\00:15:40.87
So driving to church and we
00:15:40.87\00:15:42.24
kept talking about Kenya, it
00:15:42.24\00:15:43.74
had impacted them as well, it
00:15:43.74\00:15:45.51
had changed their perspectives.
00:15:45.51\00:15:46.98
I just said, "You know, how"
00:15:48.78\00:15:50.35
"would you feel, guys, if we"
00:15:50.35\00:15:51.68
"moved to Kenya for a year?"
00:15:51.68\00:15:53.15
And they were like, "Oh, Mom,"
00:15:55.05\00:15:57.72
"you're crazy."
00:15:57.72\00:15:59.12
I'm like, "Well, it'll be an"
00:16:00.96\00:16:03.36
"experience of a lifetime."
00:16:03.36\00:16:04.93
So I went into church, walked
00:16:06.96\00:16:08.40
into church, saw a good friend
00:16:08.40\00:16:09.63
of mine and I immediately went
00:16:09.63\00:16:10.90
to her and said, "How would"
00:16:10.90\00:16:12.07
"you like to babysit my house"
00:16:12.07\00:16:13.00
"for a year?"
00:16:13.00\00:16:14.00
And she's like, "Sure..."
00:16:15.67\00:16:19.14
I'm like, "Awesome!"
00:16:19.14\00:16:20.61
"'Cause I'm going to Kenya."
00:16:20.61\00:16:21.91
>> Seeing those young children
00:16:24.01\00:16:25.98
with their beautiful faces,
00:16:25.98\00:16:27.82
those inquisitive eyes.
00:16:27.82\00:16:29.98
I knew I had found a new
00:16:29.98\00:16:31.82
purpose in my life.
00:16:31.82\00:16:33.69
God opened so many doors
00:16:33.69\00:16:36.12
and kept me going.
00:16:36.12\00:16:38.19
I realized my life was coming
00:16:38.19\00:16:39.89
full circle, back to my
00:16:39.89\00:16:41.60
childhood and back to my
00:16:41.60\00:16:43.43
dreams of helping others and
00:16:43.43\00:16:45.70
giving them hope.
00:16:45.70\00:16:47.14
>> I had no education around
00:16:48.87\00:16:51.24
any of this kind of
00:16:51.24\00:16:53.07
fund-raising or charity work,
00:16:53.07\00:16:54.68
I had no experience.
00:16:54.68\00:16:57.95
I really-- you would be--
00:16:57.95\00:16:59.95
I would be the last person
00:16:59.95\00:17:01.08
somebody'd pick from an
00:17:01.08\00:17:02.45
organization to go like, "Go"
00:17:02.45\00:17:03.69
"and do this project for us,"
00:17:03.69\00:17:04.85
'cause I had nothing to show
00:17:04.85\00:17:06.12
for, but the one thing I had
00:17:06.12\00:17:08.49
is the desire
00:17:08.49\00:17:10.49
to go and just to do it.
00:17:10.49\00:17:14.30
And that's when things were
00:17:14.30\00:17:18.53
brought to me.
00:17:18.53\00:17:20.30
God opened doors, God brought
00:17:20.30\00:17:22.50
me the right people.
00:17:22.50\00:17:24.31
[beeping]
00:17:27.11\00:17:31.58
[exchange greetings in Swahili]
00:17:33.08\00:17:38.09
[HEMED] How are you?
00:17:43.26\00:17:44.69
[ANKE] We're doing well, we're
00:17:44.69\00:17:45.83
doing well, winter is upon us
00:17:45.83\00:17:47.13
here pretty soon, but
00:17:47.13\00:17:48.86
we're managing.
00:17:48.86\00:17:50.37
So, Hemed, tell me how are the
00:17:50.37\00:17:51.70
kids doing at school?
00:17:51.70\00:17:54.04
>> Uh, they're doing-- the
00:17:54.04\00:17:55.64
kids are doing really well,
00:17:55.64\00:17:57.37
they're doing amazingly well.
00:17:57.37\00:17:59.41
We're thankful that they are
00:17:59.41\00:18:01.24
safe despite the challenges
00:18:01.24\00:18:04.55
that we've had with COVID.
00:18:04.55\00:18:06.98
The kids are safe, we're
00:18:06.98\00:18:08.28
thankful for that.
00:18:08.28\00:18:09.82
>> Um...moving forward in the
00:18:09.82\00:18:11.92
next few months we need to
00:18:11.92\00:18:13.42
just up a little bit of our
00:18:13.42\00:18:15.26
fund raising so we can keep
00:18:15.26\00:18:17.29
providing for the security at
00:18:17.29\00:18:18.96
the school as well as the
00:18:18.96\00:18:20.80
electricity issue that
00:18:20.80\00:18:22.66
has come up.
00:18:22.66\00:18:24.17
>> That is what I have for
00:18:24.17\00:18:25.70
now, yeah.
00:18:25.70\00:18:27.54
>> Hemed, yeah, it was great
00:18:27.54\00:18:28.70
to catch up, I'm glad we
00:18:28.70\00:18:30.37
covered those points...
00:18:30.37\00:18:33.14
>> I want to thank you so much
00:18:33.14\00:18:34.51
for the meeting.
00:18:34.51\00:18:35.98
It was really nice seeing you
00:18:35.98\00:18:37.81
and getting connected.
00:18:37.81\00:18:39.38
>> Thanks, Hemed.
00:18:39.38\00:18:40.68
Thanks for everything, see you
00:18:40.68\00:18:41.92
next week and we'll catch up.
00:18:41.92\00:18:43.49
Be safe until then.
00:18:43.49\00:18:45.12
[Anke speaking Swahili]
00:18:45.12\00:18:47.19
>> Thank you.
00:18:47.86\00:18:49.06
Appreciate very much.
00:18:49.06\00:18:50.69
>> You started off with one
00:18:52.16\00:18:53.90
tree and the kids were under
00:18:53.90\00:18:55.46
the tree and where is
00:18:55.46\00:18:57.07
it today?
00:18:57.07\00:18:58.33
>> So that tree was and has
00:18:58.33\00:19:00.04
become very significant.
00:19:00.04\00:19:01.57
So the tree is on the donated
00:19:01.57\00:19:02.70
land that we got donated from
00:19:02.70\00:19:04.61
the elder of the village to
00:19:04.61\00:19:06.51
build the school on, that's
00:19:06.51\00:19:07.74
where the women gathered.
00:19:07.74\00:19:09.44
And it was always very
00:19:09.44\00:19:10.95
profound because that tree, at
00:19:10.95\00:19:13.65
that time still a bit smaller,
00:19:13.65\00:19:15.85
was the root, the beginning.
00:19:15.85\00:19:18.05
And it grew, you know.
00:19:18.05\00:19:19.79
So if you water it and if you
00:19:19.79\00:19:21.92
look after it, it will develop
00:19:21.92\00:19:24.29
into a big tree and it gives
00:19:24.29\00:19:25.69
you all kinds of blessings.
00:19:25.69\00:19:26.83
It gives you shade, its
00:19:26.83\00:19:28.13
strength, it has to have
00:19:28.13\00:19:29.66
roots, it has to have all
00:19:29.66\00:19:31.33
these things and so the tree
00:19:31.33\00:19:32.93
really became this icon for us
00:19:32.93\00:19:35.94
that, you know, we're grounded
00:19:35.94\00:19:38.27
here, we will grow together
00:19:38.27\00:19:40.54
and when we put things
00:19:40.54\00:19:42.11
together and care so Jipe Moyo
00:19:42.11\00:19:44.81
became then that around the
00:19:44.81\00:19:49.35
tree and Jipe Moyo in Swahili
00:19:49.35\00:19:52.19
means "give yourself hope"
00:19:52.19\00:19:55.49
and that was then also it came
00:19:57.16\00:19:58.63
from there, that tree wasn't
00:19:58.63\00:20:00.13
looking so great when I was
00:20:00.13\00:20:01.36
there first and then, you
00:20:01.36\00:20:03.06
know, we watered it and it
00:20:03.06\00:20:05.27
became a little bit bigger and
00:20:05.27\00:20:07.20
it just developed and so did
00:20:07.20\00:20:08.74
Jipe Moyo 'cause then there was
00:20:08.74\00:20:11.51
that hope and the tree is
00:20:11.51\00:20:13.34
still there.
00:20:13.34\00:20:15.41
What I learned is what they
00:20:15.41\00:20:18.85
taught me as well is when I
00:20:18.85\00:20:21.65
got sick I was really
00:20:21.65\00:20:24.32
desperate, I was sad, I was
00:20:24.32\00:20:27.32
desperate to do something,
00:20:27.32\00:20:29.06
either get healthy or if then
00:20:29.06\00:20:30.63
if I had some time left I
00:20:30.63\00:20:32.83
wanted-- I had hope that I
00:20:32.83\00:20:34.93
could still do something that
00:20:34.93\00:20:36.20
had meaning and could
00:20:36.20\00:20:37.27
help others.
00:20:37.27\00:20:38.80
So through my devastation and
00:20:38.80\00:20:44.97
my hurt, I had hope and from
00:20:44.97\00:20:49.41
hope it came into the-- it--
00:20:49.41\00:20:52.41
the reconstruction of my life,
00:20:52.41\00:20:54.28
like, the restoration of my
00:20:54.28\00:20:56.65
health, of my mental health
00:20:56.65\00:21:00.16
and so when I got into Kenya,
00:21:00.16\00:21:02.42
I saw that desperate poverty,
00:21:02.42\00:21:05.63
I saw the longing and the hope
00:21:05.63\00:21:08.26
that their children would have
00:21:08.26\00:21:09.80
a better future and I was able
00:21:09.80\00:21:13.60
to go with the help of so many
00:21:13.60\00:21:16.87
and help in that journey of
00:21:16.87\00:21:19.54
hope and restore
00:21:19.54\00:21:23.48
faith in them.
00:21:23.48\00:21:25.45
And that continued with a very
00:21:25.45\00:21:28.98
good friend of mine whose
00:21:28.98\00:21:30.25
little boy died, Sam, he died
00:21:30.25\00:21:31.95
at two years old, very
00:21:31.95\00:21:33.32
suddenly, unexpected,
00:21:33.32\00:21:35.29
devastating as moms or anybody
00:21:35.29\00:21:37.26
could imagine.
00:21:37.26\00:21:39.09
And I had just come back from
00:21:39.09\00:21:40.36
a trip to Kenya so I stayed
00:21:40.36\00:21:41.83
for a year, went back, and
00:21:41.83\00:21:43.10
then kept going back and forth
00:21:43.10\00:21:44.33
to Kenya and they came to me.
00:21:44.33\00:21:48.40
I was on the plane to Canada
00:21:48.40\00:21:50.91
and when I arrived I heard
00:21:50.91\00:21:52.34
the news that he had
00:21:52.34\00:21:53.38
passed away.
00:21:53.38\00:21:54.51
I was heartbroken.
00:21:54.51\00:21:56.14
And so I went into the door
00:21:56.98\00:21:58.41
and knocked and of course we
00:21:58.41\00:22:01.45
cried and the first thing she
00:22:01.45\00:22:03.55
said to me is, "You just came"
00:22:03.55\00:22:05.22
"from Africa."
00:22:05.22\00:22:06.49
And I'm like, "Yeah."
00:22:06.49\00:22:07.52
"You know, we already been"
00:22:08.79\00:22:09.92
"thinking about you."
00:22:09.92\00:22:11.06
"We would like to build"
00:22:11.06\00:22:13.19
"classrooms in honour of Sam"
00:22:13.19\00:22:15.96
"because he could never go"
00:22:15.96\00:22:18.13
"and we would like to have"
00:22:18.13\00:22:19.70
"his life live on for"
00:22:19.70\00:22:22.84
"children that have not got"
00:22:22.84\00:22:24.37
"the opportunity to go to"
00:22:24.37\00:22:26.24
"school so we want Sam's"
00:22:26.24\00:22:28.28
"legacy to be in Africa."
00:22:28.28\00:22:32.61
God entrusted into their
00:22:32.61\00:22:34.42
hearts, like, Sam is not here,
00:22:34.42\00:22:39.02
but Mom and Dad wanted his
00:22:39.02\00:22:41.49
legacy to live on and do
00:22:41.49\00:22:43.69
something in that grief that
00:22:43.69\00:22:46.06
will help other children.
00:22:46.06\00:22:48.20
So again, it was out of
00:22:48.20\00:22:49.66
desperation and to this hope
00:22:49.66\00:22:51.40
to give other kids a bit of a
00:22:51.40\00:22:53.44
better life and education
00:22:53.44\00:22:55.74
which then gives you back into
00:22:55.74\00:22:57.21
the restoration.
00:22:57.21\00:22:59.21
So it's been this beautiful
00:22:59.21\00:23:00.58
wave of sadness, upset, to
00:23:00.58\00:23:03.51
hope, to restoration and it's
00:23:03.51\00:23:05.41
just a continuous flow of that
00:23:05.41\00:23:07.88
and it's like we learn in that
00:23:07.88\00:23:09.68
desperation and then in that
00:23:09.68\00:23:11.29
hope we come back to life and
00:23:11.29\00:23:13.52
then we're restored and then
00:23:13.52\00:23:14.99
we can pass that on again.
00:23:14.99\00:23:16.93
And those children that are
00:23:16.93\00:23:18.13
going through Jipe Moyo, the
00:23:18.13\00:23:20.50
school, for the last ten years
00:23:20.50\00:23:23.97
now have turned out very
00:23:23.97\00:23:26.33
different to the children
00:23:26.33\00:23:27.50
around the area.
00:23:27.50\00:23:29.27
They do better at school
00:23:29.27\00:23:31.37
because we give them love
00:23:31.37\00:23:33.07
first, we respect them, we
00:23:33.07\00:23:36.31
trust, they trust us.
00:23:36.31\00:23:38.48
So once you have their hearts,
00:23:38.48\00:23:41.58
then the rest is easy.
00:23:41.58\00:23:43.85
The rest is reading, writing.
00:23:43.85\00:23:46.29
I was able to create with
00:23:46.29\00:23:48.16
everybody involved an
00:23:48.16\00:23:50.99
environment where kids were
00:23:50.99\00:23:52.43
safe, were loved, and where
00:23:52.43\00:23:54.83
education and learning
00:23:54.83\00:23:57.00
could happen.
00:23:57.00\00:23:58.30
It was a child-centred and not
00:23:58.30\00:24:01.47
curriculum-centred education.
00:24:01.47\00:24:04.24
It was never about me.
00:24:04.24\00:24:06.64
It's never about that,
00:24:06.64\00:24:08.38
it's always about what...
00:24:08.38\00:24:09.74
what did this change,
00:24:10.51\00:24:12.01
the start of something
00:24:12.01\00:24:13.72
different, the beginning, the
00:24:13.72\00:24:15.35
do it now, the begin it now,
00:24:15.35\00:24:17.59
what was the impact to those
00:24:17.59\00:24:18.92
people, that community?
00:24:18.92\00:24:20.89
There is something I took very
00:24:20.89\00:24:23.99
serious and therefore tried to
00:24:23.99\00:24:28.16
live it out and it's in
00:24:28.16\00:24:31.30
Deuteronomy 15, verse 11.
00:24:31.30\00:24:35.97
"Since there will never cease"
00:24:35.97\00:24:37.47
"to be some in need on the"
00:24:37.47\00:24:39.31
"earth, I therefore command"
00:24:39.31\00:24:41.24
"you, open your hand to the"
00:24:41.24\00:24:43.78
"poor and needy neighbours"
00:24:43.78\00:24:45.68
"in your land."
00:24:45.68\00:24:47.65
>> And it's very fitting that
00:24:47.65\00:24:49.58
you are now working here in the
00:24:49.58\00:24:52.72
east side of Vancouver where
00:24:52.72\00:24:55.56
there's a lot of desperation,
00:24:55.56\00:24:57.19
a lot of need, a lot of
00:24:57.19\00:24:58.93
homelessness and addiction.
00:24:58.93\00:25:00.93
>> So after coming back from
00:25:00.93\00:25:02.20
Kenya, the need and the desire
00:25:02.20\00:25:04.57
to do something meaningful
00:25:04.57\00:25:06.67
even in a work situation is
00:25:06.67\00:25:09.54
still really strong and I was
00:25:09.54\00:25:12.51
able to join the First United
00:25:12.51\00:25:14.94
Church in their ministry
00:25:14.94\00:25:16.61
outreach in the downtown
00:25:16.61\00:25:18.11
east side.
00:25:18.11\00:25:19.15
¤¤
00:25:20.02\00:25:21.78
>> It wasn't the path I
00:25:21.78\00:25:23.02
envisioned as a child, but
00:25:23.02\00:25:25.52
through my own suffering,
00:25:25.52\00:25:27.29
despair, followed by healing
00:25:27.29\00:25:29.62
and hope of a future for my
00:25:29.62\00:25:31.76
life, I learned to lean on God
00:25:31.76\00:25:34.03
and trust Him.
00:25:34.03\00:25:35.23
God give me what He had
00:25:36.40\00:25:38.20
prepared for me all along.
00:25:38.20\00:25:40.60
He sent me on my own journey
00:25:40.60\00:25:42.30
of hope.
00:25:42.30\00:25:44.14
God empowered me to help
00:25:44.14\00:25:45.97
others come out of disparity
00:25:45.97\00:25:47.74
to hope and a brighter future.
00:25:47.74\00:25:50.35
Hope for a better life.
00:25:51.28\00:25:53.48
Hope for a life filled with
00:25:53.48\00:25:55.08
purpose, a life filled with
00:25:55.08\00:25:57.49
care for others.
00:25:57.49\00:25:59.39
>> Thank you so much, Anke.
00:26:00.99\00:26:02.79
That's exactly what you did.
00:26:02.79\00:26:05.49
You began it now and God
00:26:05.49\00:26:08.10
opened up the doors for you.
00:26:08.10\00:26:10.10
So I wonder if I could ask you
00:26:11.50\00:26:12.87
to please pray for us.
00:26:12.87\00:26:14.84
[ANKE] Yes, definitely.
00:26:14.84\00:26:17.24
Dear Heavenly Father, I wanna
00:26:17.24\00:26:18.44
thank You so much for the
00:26:18.44\00:26:19.84
opportunity to share
00:26:19.84\00:26:21.61
Your story.
00:26:21.61\00:26:22.98
The story of Kaliang'ombe, the
00:26:22.98\00:26:24.95
story of the children that we
00:26:24.95\00:26:27.68
learned to love and through
00:26:27.68\00:26:30.22
Your possibilities and opening
00:26:30.22\00:26:33.89
of doors and sending people
00:26:33.89\00:26:37.73
for this cause only because of
00:26:37.73\00:26:40.10
that was it possible to help
00:26:40.10\00:26:42.80
this community to grow and
00:26:42.80\00:26:45.37
have hope again, hope and
00:26:45.37\00:26:47.80
knowing that You're alive and
00:26:47.80\00:26:50.04
that You love them and that
00:26:50.04\00:26:52.17
there is help and there are
00:26:52.17\00:26:53.71
people that You send.
00:26:53.71\00:26:55.48
So many things happened that I
00:26:55.48\00:26:57.85
could have never foreseen so I
00:26:57.85\00:26:59.51
wanna give You the glory for
00:26:59.51\00:27:02.02
all that You've done and for
00:27:02.02\00:27:04.62
continuing to bless those
00:27:04.62\00:27:06.35
children and the project.
00:27:06.35\00:27:08.59
I am forever grateful and
00:27:08.59\00:27:11.26
thank You so much.
00:27:11.26\00:27:12.73
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
00:27:12.73\00:27:14.00
[MIKE & RENÉ] Amen.
00:27:14.00\00:27:15.43
>> Anke, your journey is more
00:27:15.43\00:27:16.90
than your journey, it was
00:27:16.90\00:27:18.47
journeys of hope and thank you
00:27:18.47\00:27:20.07
for sharing that with us today.
00:27:20.07\00:27:21.84
>> Thank you.
00:27:21.84\00:27:23.24
>> Friends, our free offer
00:27:24.01\00:27:25.61
today unveils true stories
00:27:25.61\00:27:28.04
that will change your life.
00:27:28.04\00:27:30.45
It is entitled,
00:27:30.45\00:27:31.61
The Invitation.
00:27:31.61\00:27:33.28
>> The Invitation is a very
00:27:33.28\00:27:35.02
powerful book, containing true
00:27:35.02\00:27:36.89
stories of people who were
00:27:36.89\00:27:38.62
destroyed by circumstances and
00:27:38.62\00:27:41.06
rebuilt by God's love.
00:27:41.06\00:27:43.63
This is our free offer
00:27:43.63\00:27:45.49
for you today.
00:27:45.49\00:27:46.93
>> We want you to experience
00:27:48.10\00:27:49.60
the truth that is found in the
00:27:49.60\00:27:51.03
words of Jesus when He said,
00:27:51.03\00:27:52.63
"It is written, man shall not"
00:27:52.63\00:27:54.67
"live by bread alone, but by"
00:27:54.67\00:27:56.94
"every word that proceeds out"
00:27:56.94\00:27:59.04
"of the mouth of God."
00:27:59.04\00:28:00.88
[gentle piano musi]
00:28:00.88\00:28:04.11
[children chatterin]
00:28:04.11\00:28:07.35
[ALL CHILDREN] Bye! Bye!
00:28:19.46\00:28:23.26
¤Oh, blood of Jesus
00:28:30.41\00:28:35.64
¤Oh, blood of Jesus
00:28:36.41\00:28:41.92
¤Oh, blood of Jesus
00:28:42.32\00:28:47.39
¤It washes white as snow
00:28:47.39\00:28:53.36