>> Hello and thank you for
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joining us on It Is Written
00:00:02.50\00:00:03.90
Canada.
00:00:03.90\00:00:05.20
When our daughters were much
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younger, I used to let them
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sit on my lap while I was
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driving our car along an old
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dirt road near our house in
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the country or they would also
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sit on my lap while I was
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working on the skid steer
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moving dirt in our yard.
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[REN巿 And they would come
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into the house so excited,
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announcing, "Daddy taught me"
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"how to drive!"
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"Now I can drive by myself!"
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>> They thought they were able
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to drive by themselves, but
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the truth was that I was
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controlling the speed and the
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direction of the vehicle.
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>> I learned a spiritual truth
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from how my daughters thought
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they could drive
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by themselves.
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I often think that because I
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can't see God, I'm on my own
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driving my own course and
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controlling the steering
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wheel, but in fact I'm sitting
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on His lap, His arms are
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around me, guiding my hands
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and letting me know that I
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have nothing to fear.
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>> In the Bible, King David
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declared his faith in God
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while others were telling him
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to panic.
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He avowed, "In the Lord I"
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David knew that God was in the
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drivers seat and his faith in
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the Lord kept him from
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panicking; calm, confident,
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and composed.
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>> Our special guest on It Is
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Written Canada today is
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Nwamiko Madden whose friends,
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family, fellow actors, and
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even his acting agent thought
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he was completely senseless
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when he decided to put his
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trust in the Lord and let
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Jesus take the wheel.
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In a moment you will hear
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Nwamiko's story.
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中
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[film reel clicking]
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>> Hello and welcome again to
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It Is Written Canada.
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Our guest today is Nwamiko
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Madden who saw one door after
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another opening for him to
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progress higher and higher in
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his acting career.
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However, he knew that he had
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to make a decision about the
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direction that his life would
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take and we're gonna talk to
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him about that today.
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>> Welcome to It Is Written,
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Nwamiko.
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>> Hey, thanks so much for
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having me, guys, I really
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appreciate being here.
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[MIKE] Yeah, we really are
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happy that you're here.
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Nwamiko, you-- we're gonna
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talk about your acting career,
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but before we go there, let's
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go all the way back to your
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childhood, I know you were
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born in Quebec and we want you
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to talk about your childhood,
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but there's a really cool
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story about how your
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parents met.
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>> Yeah, yeah.
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I'm a product of persistence.
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The legend has it that on the
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Island of Montreal where I'm
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from, my father was driving
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down the street and he saw
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this really beautiful lady
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walking down the street and he
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was from Jamaica, she was from
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Grenada so they're both from
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the Caribbean and so they
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kinda noticed each other from,
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you know, being from out of
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town and so he drove by and he
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thought, "Maybe I could just"
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"ask her out," and so he pulled
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over and asked her if she
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wanted a ride, she said, "No."
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He drove away and then he
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said, "Nah, she was just too
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beautiful, I gotta go back
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around," and so she-- he
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actually literally on the
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highway the D嶰arie
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Expressway, came back around,
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said, "Hey, listen, I mean,"
00:03:58.63\00:03:59.60
"what could it hurt?"
00:03:59.60\00:04:00.70
"Just a ride, you know,"
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"I just wanna give you a ride"
00:04:01.87\00:04:02.77
"a couple blocks," and she's
00:04:02.77\00:04:03.71
like, "No, I just live a"
00:04:03.71\00:04:04.81
"couple blocks away, I'm fine."
00:04:04.81\00:04:06.14
And he literally drove around
00:04:06.14\00:04:07.24
after being rejected, I think
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it was, like, six times
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and the walls of the emotional
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Jericho came down and she
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finally said, "Yes, I'll take"
00:04:14.02\00:04:15.18
"the ride for like one block."
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And then he got her number and
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the rest is history, I'm here.
00:04:18.32\00:04:20.99
But the interesting thing
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though was that my father, he
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was raised in the Seventh-day
00:04:24.86\00:04:26.59
Adventist Church, my mom was
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raised Catholic and so what
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happened was he didn't want to
00:04:30.33\00:04:32.10
marry her immediately without
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her being exposed to the
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Adventist message so he
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brought her to my grandmother
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and she kind of said, "Hey,"
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"you need to hear this"
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"message," and taught her the
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Bible, taught her, you know,
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all about spiritual things and
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the gospel and she became a
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Seventh-day Adventist before
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my father married her.
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But my mom, she had her own
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interesting spiritual
00:04:49.78\00:04:51.12
experience which was when she
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was about 17 years old,
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she had what they call a
00:04:55.19\00:04:57.06
"charismatic experience."
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And she, like, just at one
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point felt like she had to
00:05:01.03\00:05:02.83
become a nun.
00:05:02.83\00:05:04.20
This deeply spiritual, like,
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she was crying, and it was
00:05:06.13\00:05:07.47
like a pivotal moment in her
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life and she's like, "But I"
00:05:08.84\00:05:10.51
"don't wanna become a nun."
00:05:10.51\00:05:11.97
And so she kinda said, "No,"
00:05:11.97\00:05:13.44
"I'm just gonna live my life,"
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and she kind of suppressed
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that feeling, as, you know,
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deep as it was.
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And then what happened was
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when she was pregnant with me,
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about four months in, she
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found out that she was gonna
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have a boy and for some reason
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it triggered that experience
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again because she thought she
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was gonna have a girl, she
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just was convinced she was
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gonna have a girl and then she
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found out she was gonna have a
00:05:33.13\00:05:34.10
boy then that charismatic
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experience happened again, she
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was crying, but she's like,
00:05:36.13\00:05:37.10
"Well, I can't dedicate my"
00:05:37.10\00:05:38.13
"life to-- I can't become a"
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"nun now, I'm Adventist and,"
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"you know, I'm about to have"
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"this child."
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"What I'm gonna do is I'm"
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"gonna dedicate this child"
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"to You."
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And so she got down on her
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knees, she put her hands on
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her stomach and she said,
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"This child is dedicated to"
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"Your service, Lord."
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And she didn't tell me 'til
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like 21 years later, so
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disclaimer to all the parents
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out there, you know, if you
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dedicate your children to God,
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let 'em know!
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So they don't, you know, have
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an experience before that, but
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anyway, that's what happened
00:06:02.96\00:06:04.33
and then I remember ever since
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childhood, I came out of the
00:06:05.76\00:06:07.36
womb and God was real, like I
00:06:07.36\00:06:08.56
believed in God from the
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get-go, I never doubted Him
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and His existence.
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I felt like if I turned around
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quick enough, I would see God,
00:06:13.70\00:06:14.70
you know, or my guardian
00:06:14.70\00:06:15.84
angel, you know what I mean?
00:06:15.84\00:06:17.17
It was always very real to me
00:06:17.17\00:06:18.37
ever since childhood, so...
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>> So you've always had this
00:06:20.98\00:06:22.61
very deep faith in God.
00:06:22.61\00:06:24.81
What was that like growing up?
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>> So in theory it would be
00:06:27.22\00:06:29.35
good, but sometimes it didn't
00:06:29.35\00:06:31.29
work out as well because I
00:06:31.29\00:06:33.82
went into elementary school,
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you know, with kinda my whole
00:06:36.26\00:06:38.23
ideology of like, "I need to"
00:06:38.23\00:06:39.69
"spread faith, I need to"
00:06:39.69\00:06:41.00
"spread God," but it turned
00:06:41.00\00:06:42.73
out I was not spreading that
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so much because, you know, as
00:06:44.73\00:06:46.53
Adventist we have certain
00:06:46.53\00:06:48.90
guidelines for life that we
00:06:48.90\00:06:50.17
live by.
00:06:50.17\00:06:51.24
So I don't eat pork so the
00:06:51.24\00:06:52.24
kids would be trading, you
00:06:52.24\00:06:53.24
know, sandwiches in class and
00:06:53.24\00:06:54.41
be like, "Hey, Nwamiko, want"
00:06:54.41\00:06:55.31
"my pork sandwich?"
00:06:55.31\00:06:56.18
I'd be, "I will eat no"
00:06:56.18\00:06:57.25
"such thing!"
00:06:57.25\00:06:58.21
[laughs]
00:06:58.21\00:06:59.21
And they would just be like,
00:06:59.21\00:07:00.25
"OK..." you know.
00:07:00.25\00:07:01.38
And they're like, "Nwamiko,"
00:07:01.38\00:07:02.38
"are you gonna come to the"
00:07:02.38\00:07:03.22
"Halloween party?"
00:07:03.22\00:07:04.22
And I'd be like, "I don't"
00:07:04.22\00:07:05.15
"celebrate the Devil's"
00:07:05.15\00:07:06.19
"holiday," you know what
00:07:06.19\00:07:07.22
I mean?
00:07:07.22\00:07:07.86
And, you know, and I had the
00:07:07.86\00:07:08.96
whole Sabbath thing and so
00:07:08.96\00:07:10.36
going to public school and
00:07:10.36\00:07:11.69
having my firm convictions was
00:07:11.69\00:07:14.10
always a little bit of an
00:07:14.10\00:07:15.33
awkward thing, you know, and
00:07:15.33\00:07:16.46
sometimes we would sit down in
00:07:16.46\00:07:17.50
class and they would be like,
00:07:17.50\00:07:18.77
"Hey, what religion are you?"
00:07:18.77\00:07:20.40
And they'd be like, you know,
00:07:20.40\00:07:21.44
"Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist,"
00:07:21.44\00:07:22.67
"Baptist," and they'd be like,
00:07:22.67\00:07:23.81
"What about you, Nwamiko?"
00:07:23.81\00:07:25.14
"Oh, I'm Seventh-day"
00:07:25.14\00:07:26.04
"Adventist."
00:07:26.04\00:07:27.04
They're like, "What?"
00:07:27.04\00:07:28.01
"Every day a dentist?"
00:07:28.01\00:07:28.94
"What is that?"
00:07:28.94\00:07:30.35
You know, and I'm like, "No,"
00:07:30.35\00:07:32.08
"I'm a Seventh-day Adventist,"
00:07:32.08\00:07:33.55
"it's protestant," you know,
00:07:33.55\00:07:34.62
and they'd just be like,
00:07:34.62\00:07:35.55
"What?"
00:07:35.55\00:07:36.35
"What are you talking about?"
00:07:36.35\00:07:37.49
"We don't know-- we've never"
00:07:37.49\00:07:38.42
"heard of that," you know.
00:07:38.42\00:07:39.32
And so I was like, "OK,"
00:07:39.32\00:07:40.56
"that's a problem, that's a"
00:07:40.56\00:07:41.76
"problem, Lord, because the"
00:07:41.76\00:07:42.89
"more I try to share my"
00:07:42.89\00:07:44.43
"faith," kind of in the,
00:07:44.43\00:07:46.09
you know, young Pharisaical
00:07:46.09\00:07:47.30
way that I had it at that
00:07:47.30\00:07:48.56
time, I realized people
00:07:48.56\00:07:50.10
weren't catching on and so I
00:07:50.10\00:07:51.47
was like, "There's a problem."
00:07:51.47\00:07:53.50
"Adventism needs"
00:07:53.50\00:07:55.44
"some star power."
00:07:55.44\00:07:56.71
And I thought about, you know,
00:07:56.71\00:07:58.11
how like Ronald McDonald is a
00:07:58.11\00:07:59.34
mascot for McDonalds,
00:07:59.34\00:08:01.04
Tom Cruise is a mascot for
00:08:01.04\00:08:02.28
Scientology.
00:08:02.28\00:08:03.75
I'm like, "I'm going to be"
00:08:03.75\00:08:05.08
"the Adventist Will Smith."
00:08:05.08\00:08:06.92
"That's what I'm gonna do."
00:08:06.92\00:08:07.95
"I'm gonna be the first"
00:08:07.95\00:08:09.35
"well-known Adventist actor"
00:08:09.35\00:08:10.99
"to promote my faith."
00:08:10.99\00:08:12.95
That was my idea.
00:08:12.95\00:08:14.76
>> So, Nwamiko, how did you get
00:08:14.76\00:08:16.32
into acting?
00:08:16.32\00:08:18.29
>> Sure, that was a pretty
00:08:18.29\00:08:20.70
circuitous route because as a
00:08:20.70\00:08:23.37
child, like, I guess I had to
00:08:23.37\00:08:25.27
realize what my gift was,
00:08:25.27\00:08:26.84
right, and the way I realized
00:08:26.84\00:08:28.00
it was, you know, Saturday
00:08:28.00\00:08:29.47
mornings when the preacher's
00:08:29.47\00:08:30.77
preaching, what do kids like
00:08:30.77\00:08:31.77
to do?
00:08:31.77\00:08:32.51
Everything else but listen.
00:08:32.51\00:08:33.68
[laughs] Sometimes.
00:08:33.68\00:08:35.11
And so for me and my cousins
00:08:35.11\00:08:36.21
it would be sitting down and
00:08:36.21\00:08:37.41
drawing and doing artwork and
00:08:37.41\00:08:38.58
then they would all look at my
00:08:38.58\00:08:39.81
art and make fun of it.
00:08:39.81\00:08:41.28
Or Friday nights instead of,
00:08:41.28\00:08:43.18
you know, just doing the
00:08:43.18\00:08:44.59
regular thing that we did on
00:08:44.59\00:08:45.85
Friday nights, we would have,
00:08:45.85\00:08:46.92
like, "Adventist Idol" and
00:08:46.92\00:08:48.49
have singing competitions and
00:08:48.49\00:08:49.92
they would all be like, "Oh,"
00:08:49.92\00:08:51.03
"Nwamiko, you can't sing,"
00:08:51.03\00:08:52.33
"hahaha," you know, just make
00:08:52.33\00:08:53.50
fun of me and I was like, you
00:08:53.50\00:08:54.83
know what? Enough of that, I'm
00:08:54.83\00:08:56.46
gonna go hang out by myself.
00:08:56.46\00:08:58.00
And so I started to spend a
00:08:58.00\00:08:59.37
lot more time in isolation and
00:08:59.37\00:09:01.50
when you do that, what you
00:09:01.50\00:09:02.97
play with is not people, but
00:09:02.97\00:09:04.31
your imagination.
00:09:04.31\00:09:05.64
And the Bible says, "As a man"
00:09:05.64\00:09:06.91
"thinks, so is he."
00:09:06.91\00:09:08.31
And so I was able to cultivate
00:09:08.31\00:09:10.08
my imagination to the degree
00:09:10.08\00:09:11.78
that I really could believe
00:09:11.78\00:09:13.48
and create worlds in my mind
00:09:13.48\00:09:15.42
and it actually started to
00:09:15.42\00:09:16.92
impact those things that I
00:09:16.92\00:09:18.32
did, so like I got into the
00:09:18.32\00:09:19.62
arts, started getting awards
00:09:19.62\00:09:21.12
in, you know, mathematics and
00:09:21.12\00:09:22.59
arts and performance and stuff
00:09:22.59\00:09:24.33
like that later on and so I
00:09:24.33\00:09:25.83
realized that yeah, like, my
00:09:25.83\00:09:27.13
imagination was my
00:09:27.13\00:09:28.23
best friend.
00:09:28.23\00:09:29.56
So basically what happens is,
00:09:29.56\00:09:31.23
I go to high school and
00:09:31.23\00:09:33.40
there's high school drama and
00:09:33.40\00:09:35.40
I end up going into drama
00:09:35.40\00:09:36.67
class and it just starts
00:09:36.67\00:09:38.47
working out, you know.
00:09:38.47\00:09:40.08
People really like the scenes
00:09:40.08\00:09:41.94
that I start creating, I start
00:09:41.94\00:09:43.58
imagining scenes and the
00:09:43.58\00:09:45.05
teacher loves them, I start
00:09:45.05\00:09:46.55
getting high grades in high
00:09:46.55\00:09:47.85
school drama.
00:09:47.85\00:09:49.15
And it just kept going really
00:09:49.15\00:09:50.42
well until, like, grade 9.
00:09:50.42\00:09:51.75
Some of my friends said,
00:09:51.75\00:09:53.02
"Hey, I heard," like that
00:09:53.02\00:09:54.19
weren't in my class, a friend
00:09:54.19\00:09:55.16
outside of my class, said,
00:09:55.16\00:09:56.32
"I heard that you were really"
00:09:56.32\00:09:57.56
"good at drama, my sister is"
00:09:57.56\00:09:58.93
"part of a modelling agency"
00:09:58.93\00:10:00.20
"that also does acting."
00:10:00.20\00:10:01.50
"Why don't you join?"
00:10:01.50\00:10:02.80
So I was like, "What do I"
00:10:02.80\00:10:03.80
"have to lose," right?
00:10:03.80\00:10:04.97
So I make the call, I talk to
00:10:04.97\00:10:06.60
the lady and she's like, "Oh,"
00:10:06.60\00:10:07.97
"Nwamiko, you can join my"
00:10:07.97\00:10:09.27
"agency, it's just $500."
00:10:09.27\00:10:11.57
And I was like, "OK, $500..."
00:10:11.57\00:10:13.71
I was like, "Mom, can I"
00:10:13.71\00:10:15.08
"borrow $500?"
00:10:15.08\00:10:16.48
"Don't worry, I'm good for"
00:10:16.48\00:10:17.81
"it, you know where I live."
00:10:17.81\00:10:19.28
And so I borrowed the 500
00:10:19.28\00:10:20.62
bucks from her and, you know,
00:10:20.62\00:10:23.62
she took some photos and gave
00:10:23.62\00:10:24.92
some acting classes and any
00:10:24.92\00:10:26.15
time an agent does that, watch
00:10:26.15\00:10:27.19
out, you know what I mean,
00:10:27.19\00:10:28.29
but-- 'cause they're supposed
00:10:28.29\00:10:29.32
to make money off of you not
00:10:29.32\00:10:30.43
make money from you.
00:10:30.43\00:10:31.63
But anyway, I paid the money
00:10:31.63\00:10:33.13
and I waited about six months
00:10:33.13\00:10:35.90
and did not hear a single
00:10:35.90\00:10:37.23
thing, no auditions, no sign
00:10:37.23\00:10:38.97
of any films or anything like
00:10:38.97\00:10:40.60
that until one day the phone
00:10:40.60\00:10:42.10
finally rings, "Ring!"
00:10:42.10\00:10:43.37
"Hello?"
00:10:43.37\00:10:44.67
"Nwamiko, guess what!"
00:10:44.67\00:10:45.97
"I have an audition for you!"
00:10:45.97\00:10:47.58
And I'm like, "Finally!"
00:10:47.58\00:10:48.98
She's like, "Yes, it's for"
00:10:48.98\00:10:50.08
"this white TV show called"
00:10:50.08\00:10:51.35
"Are You Afraid of the Dark."
00:10:51.35\00:10:52.75
"It's for this Friday."
00:10:52.75\00:10:54.85
"I think you can get it,"
00:10:54.85\00:10:55.98
"you're amazing actor,"
00:10:55.98\00:10:57.29
"go get it."
00:10:57.29\00:10:58.45
"It's Friday at 6:30."
00:10:58.45\00:10:59.49
"OK, bye."
00:10:59.49\00:11:00.62
I was like, "Ah! This is"
00:11:00.62\00:11:01.49
"awesome!"
00:11:01.49\00:11:02.59
I'm like, "Man, I finally--"
00:11:02.59\00:11:03.59
You know, this is great, got
00:11:03.59\00:11:04.46
the script and I'm like,
00:11:04.46\00:11:05.89
"Hold on a second."
00:11:05.89\00:11:07.20
And I was like, "Friday at"
00:11:07.20\00:11:08.26
"6:30," check the calendar and
00:11:08.26\00:11:09.46
I'm like, "6:30 in November"
00:11:09.46\00:11:12.13
"in Montreal, that's sunset."
00:11:12.13\00:11:15.74
And so I'm like, "Lord,"
00:11:15.74\00:11:17.07
"have mercy."
00:11:17.07\00:11:18.41
How in the world is it that my
00:11:18.41\00:11:20.48
first audition is on a
00:11:20.48\00:11:22.64
Sabbath, you know?
00:11:22.64\00:11:24.15
And I'm like wanting to get
00:11:24.15\00:11:25.51
into acting for God, right?
00:11:25.51\00:11:26.72
So you can see the whole
00:11:26.72\00:11:27.95
dilemma's just like...
00:11:27.95\00:11:29.35
And so I'm wondering whether I
00:11:29.35\00:11:30.39
should go, I start asking my
00:11:30.39\00:11:31.52
brother, I start asking
00:11:31.52\00:11:32.75
friends, and, you know, just
00:11:32.75\00:11:34.22
thinking about it and like, my
00:11:34.22\00:11:35.59
mom's like, "Are you sure"
00:11:35.59\00:11:36.66
"you're gonna go?"
00:11:36.66\00:11:37.56
"Are you sure you're not"
00:11:37.56\00:11:38.33
"gonna go?"
00:11:38.33\00:11:39.46
"Are you sure," you know.
00:11:39.46\00:11:40.33
She's going through a
00:11:40.33\00:11:41.13
dilemma herself.
00:11:41.13\00:11:42.26
So we're just like, "OK,"
00:11:42.26\00:11:43.10
"what's gonna happen?"
00:11:43.10\00:11:44.07
I remember one night I was
00:11:44.07\00:11:45.10
just kinda reflecting on the
00:11:45.10\00:11:46.30
whole thing and then, like,
00:11:46.30\00:11:47.47
God gave me this imaginative
00:11:47.47\00:11:49.14
thought where it's like 20
00:11:49.14\00:11:50.61
years in the future and it's
00:11:50.61\00:11:52.11
the Academy Awards, "And the"
00:11:52.11\00:11:53.68
"Best Actor goes to..."
00:11:53.68\00:11:56.21
"Mwamiko Madden!"
00:11:56.21\00:11:57.68
"Da-da, da-da-da-da-da."
00:11:57.68\00:12:00.52
You do the kiss and you're
00:12:00.52\00:12:01.82
like, you know.
00:12:01.82\00:12:03.32
And it's like, tap the mic and
00:12:03.32\00:12:04.82
it's like, "The first person"
00:12:04.82\00:12:06.35
"I'd like to thank, I'd like"
00:12:06.35\00:12:08.06
"to thank--"
00:12:08.06\00:12:08.96
Stop.
00:12:08.96\00:12:10.53
Who do they usually thank?
00:12:10.53\00:12:11.56
[MIKE] God.
00:12:11.56\00:12:12.79
>> And for me, He was like,
00:12:12.79\00:12:14.13
"Don't thank Me 'cause you"
00:12:14.13\00:12:15.63
"broke the Sabbath on your"
00:12:15.63\00:12:16.73
"very first step."
00:12:16.73\00:12:18.43
And I was like, "Mercy."
00:12:18.43\00:12:20.24
And I was like, "It's true."
00:12:20.24\00:12:21.60
If I thought about it, if my
00:12:21.60\00:12:23.34
first career step is breaching
00:12:23.34\00:12:25.81
God's commandments, how in the
00:12:25.81\00:12:27.38
world could I expect that it
00:12:27.38\00:12:28.81
was His success the rest of
00:12:28.81\00:12:29.91
the way, you know.
00:12:29.91\00:12:31.61
And that momentum would just
00:12:31.61\00:12:32.71
be me falling so I said,
00:12:32.71\00:12:34.08
"You know what, I can't do"
00:12:34.08\00:12:35.15
"it, I can't do it."
00:12:35.15\00:12:36.52
And my family's like, "What?"
00:12:36.52\00:12:37.49
"Yeah," and I was like,
00:12:37.49\00:12:38.79
"I just-- I can't 'cause this"
00:12:38.79\00:12:39.82
"is why I wanna do this."
00:12:39.82\00:12:41.06
"I'm doing this for God,"
00:12:41.06\00:12:41.99
you know.
00:12:41.99\00:12:43.22
And so they thought I was
00:12:43.22\00:12:44.29
crazy and I remember sitting
00:12:44.29\00:12:45.26
on the steps of my church at
00:12:45.26\00:12:47.10
6:00, 6:30, right when that
00:12:47.10\00:12:48.50
time passed, you know, I'm
00:12:48.50\00:12:49.90
looking at my watch like,
00:12:49.90\00:12:51.20
"Boom, there goes my first"
00:12:51.20\00:12:52.47
"shot and maybe my only shot."
00:12:52.47\00:12:54.44
And literally it felt like my
00:12:54.44\00:12:55.67
only shot because months and
00:12:55.67\00:12:57.44
weeks after there was never
00:12:57.44\00:12:58.84
another phone call.
00:12:58.84\00:13:00.88
And literally it felt like my
00:13:00.88\00:13:02.18
only shot because months
00:13:02.18\00:13:03.55
afterward she didn't call me
00:13:03.55\00:13:05.05
again.
00:13:05.05\00:13:06.45
And so it just took so long
00:13:06.45\00:13:08.45
that I was like, "Man, this"
00:13:08.45\00:13:09.85
"lady is not working for me."
00:13:09.85\00:13:10.85
"Let me just call her up and"
00:13:10.85\00:13:11.82
"see what's going on."
00:13:11.82\00:13:12.92
And I called her once again.
00:13:12.92\00:13:14.76
"This number is no longer in"
00:13:14.76\00:13:15.86
"service, please hang up and"
00:13:15.86\00:13:16.76
"try your call again."
00:13:16.76\00:13:17.86
"This is a recording."
00:13:17.86\00:13:18.93
I was like, "Wha??"
00:13:18.93\00:13:20.46
"Mom, go to the office!"
00:13:20.46\00:13:22.06
We drive down to the agent's
00:13:22.06\00:13:24.27
office, we see she's left
00:13:24.27\00:13:26.07
town, "For Rent," "A Louer" on
00:13:26.07\00:13:27.54
the front porch.
00:13:27.54\00:13:29.14
I was like, "No," this lady
00:13:29.14\00:13:30.64
skipped town with the $500 and
00:13:30.64\00:13:32.97
never did a single thing with
00:13:32.97\00:13:34.18
it and I was just like--
00:13:34.18\00:13:35.68
And it was raining so no one
00:13:35.68\00:13:37.01
could see you cry in that
00:13:37.01\00:13:38.31
moment and I was just like one
00:13:38.31\00:13:39.81
of those sad, you know, like I
00:13:39.81\00:13:41.48
thought everything was over at
00:13:41.48\00:13:42.68
this point, you know.
00:13:42.68\00:13:43.99
There goes the career, so...
00:13:43.99\00:13:45.32
>> So, Nwamiko, was that the
00:13:45.32\00:13:47.69
end of your acting career then?
00:13:47.69\00:13:50.23
>> I thought so, I thought so,
00:13:50.23\00:13:52.29
but there were other plans
00:13:52.29\00:13:53.73
because in high school at that
00:13:53.73\00:13:55.43
time there was a school play
00:13:55.43\00:13:57.00
that happened at the end of
00:13:57.00\00:13:58.27
the year and I had my own
00:13:58.27\00:13:59.63
monologue in there.
00:13:59.63\00:14:01.00
And there was a possibility
00:14:01.00\00:14:02.40
that some important people
00:14:02.40\00:14:03.67
might come to the monologue
00:14:03.67\00:14:05.11
and that actually did end up
00:14:05.11\00:14:06.61
happening.
00:14:06.61\00:14:07.98
And so I did the monologue and
00:14:07.98\00:14:09.34
then after I did the monologue
00:14:09.34\00:14:11.45
this tall guy with a high-
00:14:11.45\00:14:12.55
pitched voice came up to me,
00:14:12.55\00:14:14.02
he's like, "Hey, I really"
00:14:14.02\00:14:15.45
"like what you did and I'd"
00:14:15.45\00:14:17.12
"like to represent you," and
00:14:17.12\00:14:18.59
he pulls out this card and the
00:14:18.59\00:14:20.22
card, I can tell just from the
00:14:20.22\00:14:21.79
way the light hit the gold
00:14:21.79\00:14:23.02
lines in the card, this is
00:14:23.02\00:14:24.93
money in this card, you know.
00:14:24.93\00:14:26.86
And I was like, "OK."
00:14:26.86\00:14:28.50
And then I was about to grab
00:14:28.50\00:14:29.73
the card and was like, "Wait."
00:14:29.73\00:14:30.67
"Wait, wait, wait, wait."
00:14:30.67\00:14:31.67
I said, "The first thing I"
00:14:31.67\00:14:32.80
"gotta tell you, the very"
00:14:32.80\00:14:34.07
"first thing up front, I"
00:14:34.07\00:14:35.90
"don't work Saturdays, K."
00:14:35.90\00:14:38.14
"So if you have a problem"
00:14:38.14\00:14:39.31
"with that, you need to let"
00:14:39.31\00:14:40.21
"me know now."
00:14:40.21\00:14:41.51
"I don't work Saturdays."
00:14:41.51\00:14:42.58
And he's like, "Oh, that's"
00:14:42.58\00:14:43.38
"OK, I'm Jewish."
00:14:43.38\00:14:44.55
And I'm like, "Yes, yes!"
00:14:44.55\00:14:45.38
"Thank you, God!"
00:14:45.38\00:14:46.58
And I start hugging him, almost
00:14:46.58\00:14:47.58
kissing him, you know, jumping
00:14:47.58\00:14:48.58
up and down like I'd won the
00:14:48.58\00:14:50.12
lottery and it literally felt
00:14:50.12\00:14:51.59
like I won the lottery because
00:14:51.59\00:14:53.22
literally the next week, he
00:14:53.22\00:14:55.12
had me in auditions and come
00:14:55.12\00:14:56.66
to find out, they're one of
00:14:56.66\00:14:57.83
the biggest agencies in
00:14:57.83\00:14:59.23
Canada, they have offices in
00:14:59.23\00:15:01.20
Los Angeles, they run the Just
00:15:01.20\00:15:02.86
For Laughs in Canada, awesome
00:15:02.86\00:15:04.57
people and I'm just like, "OK!"
00:15:04.57\00:15:07.04
"OK, this is what was supposed"
00:15:07.04\00:15:08.14
"to happen," you know.
00:15:08.14\00:15:09.40
And so from right there,
00:15:09.40\00:15:10.57
things start picking up.
00:15:10.57\00:15:12.27
I had auditions right away and
00:15:12.27\00:15:14.71
within a short time I got my
00:15:14.71\00:15:16.28
first role, my first speaking
00:15:16.28\00:15:17.81
role on camera and it was with
00:15:17.81\00:15:19.11
Vanessa Williams.
00:15:19.11\00:15:20.25
I played her brother in a
00:15:20.25\00:15:21.58
Christmas film and my family
00:15:21.58\00:15:23.08
got together at Christmas and
00:15:23.08\00:15:24.49
we all watched the movie and
00:15:24.49\00:15:25.59
they're all like, "Nwamiko,"
00:15:25.59\00:15:26.39
"you're wealthy!"
00:15:26.39\00:15:27.62
Like, I think they all thought
00:15:27.62\00:15:28.62
they were gonna get rich, you
00:15:28.62\00:15:29.62
know what I mean, 'cause like,
00:15:29.62\00:15:30.59
you know, things started for
00:15:30.59\00:15:31.89
me but I was like, "Oh, it's"
00:15:31.89\00:15:32.89
"not that much, but, I mean,"
00:15:32.89\00:15:34.10
"it is something, so..."
00:15:34.10\00:15:36.00
It was really exciting to see
00:15:36.00\00:15:37.57
that beginning and I felt like
00:15:37.57\00:15:38.97
God had brought me full
00:15:38.97\00:15:40.24
circle, like, hey you took
00:15:40.24\00:15:41.80
that first step and now things
00:15:41.80\00:15:43.64
were advancing.
00:15:43.64\00:15:45.04
>> So things are advancing and
00:15:45.04\00:15:47.11
your dreams is coming true,
00:15:47.11\00:15:48.38
you're becoming a star, but
00:15:48.38\00:15:49.61
you're doing this all for the
00:15:49.61\00:15:50.68
glory of God.
00:15:50.68\00:15:51.61
Did you know at this stage,
00:15:51.61\00:15:53.48
did your mother tell you that
00:15:53.48\00:15:54.85
before you were born she had
00:15:54.85\00:15:56.45
dedicated you to God?
00:15:56.45\00:15:58.45
>> She did not.
00:15:58.45\00:15:59.89
She did not at this time.
00:15:59.89\00:16:01.32
But it's weird because it was
00:16:01.32\00:16:03.02
like the calling came in the
00:16:03.02\00:16:05.03
packaging, you know what I mean?
00:16:05.03\00:16:06.76
I knew for some reason that I
00:16:06.76\00:16:08.03
was supposed to do something
00:16:08.03\00:16:09.16
for God and I just kept
00:16:09.16\00:16:10.50
pushing forward and in fact,
00:16:10.50\00:16:12.00
you know, you hear that as a
00:16:12.00\00:16:13.37
young child, like, you know,
00:16:13.37\00:16:14.57
be careful of the
00:16:14.57\00:16:15.87
entertainment industry, you
00:16:15.87\00:16:16.84
know, if you're a watcher of
00:16:16.84\00:16:17.94
the entertainment industry,
00:16:17.94\00:16:19.11
but like to be a participator
00:16:19.11\00:16:20.51
in the industry is a whole
00:16:20.51\00:16:21.84
nother thing and so I prayed
00:16:21.84\00:16:23.98
and prayed and I said, "OK,"
00:16:23.98\00:16:25.15
"Lord, I'm doing this for"
00:16:25.15\00:16:26.45
"real," and so we started
00:16:26.45\00:16:27.82
pursuing and things started
00:16:27.82\00:16:29.08
opening up.
00:16:29.08\00:16:30.59
>> Did you get clarity from
00:16:30.59\00:16:32.45
reading the Bible, praying,
00:16:32.45\00:16:34.09
to answer that question:
00:16:34.09\00:16:35.96
should I go into this or not?
00:16:35.96\00:16:37.56
>> I did.
00:16:37.56\00:16:38.79
I did and I was digging and I
00:16:38.79\00:16:40.03
was reading and I was studying
00:16:40.03\00:16:41.50
and there was a, like I said,
00:16:41.50\00:16:43.13
there was nothing that really
00:16:43.13\00:16:44.60
told me "stop," you know, and
00:16:44.60\00:16:46.33
so I felt like, "OK, I'm"
00:16:46.33\00:16:47.64
"doing this for God so I can"
00:16:47.64\00:16:48.90
"keep going," and I kept going.
00:16:48.90\00:16:50.54
But what happened was there
00:16:50.54\00:16:52.14
was a moment where I started
00:16:52.14\00:16:53.38
to question everything.
00:16:53.38\00:16:54.88
As success started to come in,
00:16:54.88\00:16:56.44
I got to the point where I
00:16:56.44\00:16:57.85
didn't have to audition for
00:16:57.85\00:16:58.88
certain roles anymore, they're
00:16:58.88\00:17:00.42
just being offered for me and
00:17:00.42\00:17:02.12
then-- and, like, I would, you
00:17:02.12\00:17:03.89
know, sometimes the role would
00:17:03.89\00:17:05.05
be like, "OK, Nwamiko, you're"
00:17:05.05\00:17:06.12
"gonna be the cheating"
00:17:06.12\00:17:07.32
"boyfriend, you're gonna be"
00:17:07.32\00:17:08.42
"doing this with a person in"
00:17:08.42\00:17:09.46
"bed and then when the"
00:17:09.46\00:17:10.73
"husband walks in you're"
00:17:10.73\00:17:11.89
"gonna get up and run into"
00:17:11.89\00:17:12.99
"the closet or something and"
00:17:12.99\00:17:14.03
"we're gonna see your ha-ha"
00:17:14.03\00:17:15.13
"for a couple seconds," and I
00:17:15.13\00:17:16.26
was like, "Yeah, no, I'm not"
00:17:16.26\00:17:17.43
"doing those roles, I'm doing"
00:17:17.43\00:17:18.43
"this for God 'cause I wanna"
00:17:18.43\00:17:19.53
"do stuff that my kids can"
00:17:19.53\00:17:20.34
"watch 20 years later."
00:17:20.34\00:17:21.67
"I don't want the scam videos
00:17:21.67\00:17:22.80
to show me, you know what I
00:17:22.80\00:17:24.17
mean, feeling bad about what I
00:17:24.17\00:17:25.81
did earlier on, so...
00:17:25.81\00:17:27.78
So I was feeling like this is
00:17:27.78\00:17:29.44
the direction I should be
00:17:29.44\00:17:30.71
going and then one day as
00:17:30.71\00:17:31.95
success started to come, I
00:17:31.95\00:17:33.35
felt like something was wrong.
00:17:33.35\00:17:35.68
I had just gotten the first
00:17:35.68\00:17:38.42
season of this show completed
00:17:38.42\00:17:40.06
and then there was a second
00:17:40.06\00:17:41.89
season offered and I was like,
00:17:41.89\00:17:44.19
something felt wrong like I
00:17:44.19\00:17:45.89
was getting away with murder.
00:17:45.89\00:17:47.76
And the rich young ruler story
00:17:47.76\00:17:49.33
in the Bible where He comes up
00:17:49.33\00:17:50.70
to Jesus and he's like, "Hey,"
00:17:50.70\00:17:51.77
"I've done everything right,"
00:17:51.77\00:17:52.90
"like, what's missing?"
00:17:52.90\00:17:53.80
"What's wrong?"
00:17:53.80\00:17:54.87
"Why do I feel like"
00:17:54.87\00:17:55.84
"something's missing?"
00:17:55.84\00:17:56.57
And Jesus tells him, He's
00:17:56.57\00:17:57.44
like, you know, "Sell"
00:17:57.44\00:17:58.77
"everything you have,"
00:17:58.77\00:17:59.87
"give it to the poor"
00:17:59.87\00:18:01.01
"and come follow Me."
00:18:01.01\00:18:02.21
And I was like, "I don't think
00:18:02.21\00:18:03.28
God is asking me to do that,
00:18:03.28\00:18:04.35
but I just can't figure out
00:18:04.35\00:18:06.21
what is the sense that I have
00:18:06.21\00:18:07.68
that I know the truth, it's
00:18:07.68\00:18:09.58
the last days, and yet I'm
00:18:09.58\00:18:11.15
about to be this big
00:18:11.15\00:18:12.55
successful actor at the same
00:18:12.55\00:18:13.96
time, it's like these, you
00:18:13.96\00:18:15.19
know, two different
00:18:15.19\00:18:16.32
contrasting ideas.
00:18:16.32\00:18:17.53
And so I was just trying to
00:18:17.53\00:18:18.66
figure myself out and my life
00:18:18.66\00:18:19.73
out at that point and...
00:18:19.73\00:18:22.26
and it was hard.
00:18:22.26\00:18:23.53
>> You've got this inner
00:18:23.53\00:18:24.73
conflict happening.
00:18:24.73\00:18:25.57
>> Exactly.
00:18:25.57\00:18:26.43
Deep inner conflict.
00:18:26.43\00:18:27.57
>> So, Nwamiko, how did you
00:18:28.54\00:18:31.04
manage to resolve this
00:18:31.04\00:18:32.57
inner conflict?
00:18:32.57\00:18:34.44
>> Great question, yeah.
00:18:34.44\00:18:36.34
So at this point, I'm, you
00:18:36.34\00:18:38.25
know, pursuing, pressing
00:18:38.25\00:18:39.88
forward with this career hard
00:18:39.88\00:18:40.95
and what's interesting is
00:18:40.95\00:18:42.28
that, like, I feel like my
00:18:42.28\00:18:43.72
spiritual side of my
00:18:43.72\00:18:45.05
conscience is with me, like,
00:18:45.05\00:18:46.29
things are working, you know.
00:18:46.29\00:18:48.09
In fact the last role I got,
00:18:48.09\00:18:49.99
it was like an international
00:18:49.99\00:18:51.43
production, a leading role,
00:18:51.43\00:18:53.26
and I told them, "Listen,"
00:18:53.26\00:18:54.46
"I'll take this role, but"
00:18:54.46\00:18:55.63
"I'm not working Saturdays,"
00:18:55.63\00:18:56.87
on a three month shoot.
00:18:56.87\00:18:58.20
And they're like, "What?"
00:18:58.20\00:18:59.07
"Are you Jewish?"
00:18:59.07\00:18:59.93
And I'm like, "No."
00:18:59.93\00:19:00.97
And they literally changed the
00:19:00.97\00:19:02.00
entire schedule so I never had
00:19:02.00\00:19:02.87
to work a single Saturday or
00:19:02.87\00:19:03.74
Friday night.
00:19:03.74\00:19:04.87
They changed the entire
00:19:04.87\00:19:05.87
schedule, you know.
00:19:05.87\00:19:06.91
And so I was like, "OK, this"
00:19:06.91\00:19:08.01
"is God leading," and so I'm
00:19:08.01\00:19:09.11
pressing in that direction and
00:19:09.11\00:19:10.78
what started to become clear
00:19:10.78\00:19:12.61
was that the end of the second
00:19:12.61\00:19:13.75
season of that show that I was
00:19:13.75\00:19:15.12
working on, he started saying,
00:19:15.12\00:19:16.55
"OK, Nwamiko,"
00:19:16.55\00:19:17.85
"it's time for a decision."
00:19:17.85\00:19:19.49
Because right at that period,
00:19:19.49\00:19:21.02
L.A. started calling.
00:19:21.02\00:19:22.42
I started doing auditions for
00:19:22.42\00:19:23.56
L.A., I had gotten another
00:19:23.56\00:19:25.06
show where I was a teen lead
00:19:25.06\00:19:26.83
and stuff like that and the
00:19:26.83\00:19:28.13
vice president of casting at
00:19:28.13\00:19:29.53
Fox had come to see me and
00:19:29.53\00:19:31.10
interviewed me in Montreal and
00:19:31.10\00:19:32.20
he's like, "We want to see"
00:19:32.20\00:19:33.23
"you working," I'm like,
00:19:33.23\00:19:34.34
"I wanna see me working,"
00:19:34.34\00:19:35.40
"I love you guys," you know.
00:19:35.40\00:19:36.34
And everything's building up
00:19:36.34\00:19:37.31
so it's like, "OK, well we"
00:19:37.31\00:19:38.37
"just need you to come down"
00:19:38.37\00:19:39.47
"to L.A., you know, 'cause"
00:19:39.47\00:19:40.71
"you already have a portfolio"
00:19:40.71\00:19:41.71
"of things and then pilot"
00:19:41.71\00:19:42.78
"season's gonna be great"
00:19:42.78\00:19:43.55
"for you."
00:19:43.55\00:19:44.65
So I was super excited about
00:19:44.65\00:19:45.71
that and then right at that
00:19:45.71\00:19:47.72
time I was also the youth
00:19:47.72\00:19:49.18
leader at our church and I
00:19:49.18\00:19:50.72
organized a youth week of
00:19:50.72\00:19:52.15
prayer and at the end,
00:19:52.15\00:19:54.16
instead of having a speaker,
00:19:54.16\00:19:55.19
we listened to some tapes,
00:19:55.19\00:19:56.22
I know, it's kinda random,
00:19:56.22\00:19:57.19
'cause we couldn't get a
00:19:57.19\00:19:58.36
speaker, and at the end of
00:19:58.36\00:19:59.56
the youth week of prayer,
00:19:59.56\00:20:00.63
we all go to the front of the
00:20:00.63\00:20:02.06
church and I said, "Everybody"
00:20:02.06\00:20:03.60
"pray and you listen to what"
00:20:03.60\00:20:05.40
"God says to you."
00:20:05.40\00:20:06.97
"You do whatever the appeal"
00:20:06.97\00:20:08.44
"is the Holy Spirit."
00:20:08.44\00:20:09.60
And so I get down and kneel
00:20:09.60\00:20:11.11
and the Holy Spirit says to
00:20:11.11\00:20:12.41
me, "You're not going to L.A."
00:20:12.41\00:20:14.64
And I'm like, "I think I'm"
00:20:14.64\00:20:15.81
"getting bad reception"
00:20:15.81\00:20:16.98
"on my prayer." [laughs]
00:20:16.98\00:20:18.45
Let me go over here and try
00:20:18.45\00:20:19.75
that reception, "Lord, what"
00:20:19.75\00:20:21.18
"would you have me do?"
00:20:21.18\00:20:22.52
And He's like, "You're not"
00:20:22.52\00:20:23.55
"going to Los Angeles."
00:20:23.55\00:20:24.79
And I'm like, "What??"
00:20:24.79\00:20:26.92
You know, like, yeah, that
00:20:26.92\00:20:28.36
can't be real.
00:20:28.36\00:20:29.96
And-- because I'd been
00:20:29.96\00:20:31.36
building this up for the last
00:20:31.36\00:20:32.43
five years of my life, you
00:20:32.43\00:20:33.93
know, and so God is saying,
00:20:33.93\00:20:35.20
"Yeah, you're not going to"
00:20:35.20\00:20:36.13
"Los Angeles," and I can't
00:20:36.13\00:20:37.57
shake this feeling, talk to my
00:20:37.57\00:20:39.00
agent and I'm like, "OK,"
00:20:39.00\00:20:40.07
"I'm ready to go," and
00:20:40.07\00:20:41.27
he's like, "Yeah, you should"
00:20:41.27\00:20:42.04
"be ready to go."
00:20:42.04\00:20:43.17
And basically what happens is
00:20:43.17\00:20:44.61
I get some auditions from L.A.
00:20:44.61\00:20:46.27
that were not really good
00:20:46.27\00:20:47.78
material and at that point--
00:20:47.78\00:20:49.51
like cursing and swearing and
00:20:49.51\00:20:50.48
drinking-- and I said,
00:20:50.48\00:20:51.38
"You know what?"
00:20:51.38\00:20:52.25
"Maybe I shouldn't go."
00:20:52.25\00:20:53.25
And I made that decision to go
00:20:53.25\00:20:54.18
right at that point.
00:20:54.18\00:20:55.65
And this is where things kinda
00:20:55.65\00:20:57.12
really got interesting.
00:20:57.12\00:20:58.45
>> So that was your
00:20:58.45\00:20:59.62
resolution, it's off the
00:20:59.62\00:21:01.12
table, you're not going to L.A.
00:21:01.12\00:21:02.72
>> I, yeah, I was literally
00:21:02.72\00:21:04.06
getting ready for the biggest
00:21:04.06\00:21:05.26
decision of my life, I knew I
00:21:05.26\00:21:06.53
was gonna book something in
00:21:06.53\00:21:07.66
L.A., you know, 'cause they
00:21:07.66\00:21:08.60
were already waiting for me.
00:21:08.60\00:21:09.56
My agent literally said he
00:21:09.56\00:21:10.77
went to the offices at Fox and
00:21:10.77\00:21:12.53
he's like, "There's three"
00:21:12.53\00:21:13.64
"people on the wall: Elisha"
00:21:13.64\00:21:14.94
"Cuthbert, a Hispanic guy,"
00:21:14.94\00:21:16.10
"and you at their offices."
00:21:16.10\00:21:17.64
"They wanna see you working,"
00:21:17.64\00:21:18.84
"Nwamiko, so it's time to"
00:21:18.84\00:21:19.84
"go to L.A."
00:21:19.84\00:21:20.78
I was like, "OK, let's do this."
00:21:20.78\00:21:21.81
But then God is like, "It is"
00:21:21.81\00:21:22.94
"not the time, it is time to"
00:21:22.94\00:21:24.35
"step away."
00:21:24.35\00:21:25.68
中
00:21:25.68\00:21:36.09
儿t may not be
00:21:36.09\00:21:40.03
寸n the mountain's height
00:21:40.03\00:21:43.80
力r over the stormy sea
00:21:43.80\00:21:51.17
儿t may not be
00:21:51.17\00:21:54.88
兀t the battle's front
00:21:54.88\00:22:00.98
刀y Lord will have
00:22:00.98\00:22:03.35
孓eed of me
00:22:03.35\00:22:09.39
丁ut if, by a still, small
00:22:09.39\00:22:13.70
己oice He calls
00:22:13.70\00:22:17.03
三o paths I do not know
00:22:17.03\00:22:25.07
儿'll answer, dear Lord
00:22:25.07\00:22:28.94
已ith my hand in Thine
00:22:28.94\00:22:34.98
儿'll go where You
00:22:34.98\00:22:38.02
已ant me to go
00:22:38.02\00:22:43.76
儿'll go where you want me
00:22:43.76\00:22:47.36
川o go, dear Lord
00:22:47.36\00:22:51.53
力'er mountain or plain
00:22:51.53\00:22:55.54
寸r sea
00:22:55.54\00:22:59.81
儿'll say what You want
00:22:59.81\00:23:03.78
孑e to say, dear Lord
00:23:03.78\00:23:10.39
儿'll be what You
00:23:10.39\00:23:13.69
已ant me to be
00:23:13.69\00:23:20.26
又o trusting my all
00:23:20.26\00:23:24.60
工nto Thy care
00:23:24.60\00:23:29.00
儿 know Thou lovest me
00:23:29.00\00:23:37.61
儿'll do Thy will
00:23:37.61\00:23:41.95
已ith a heart sincere
00:23:41.95\00:23:48.39
儿'll be what You
00:23:48.39\00:23:51.56
已ant me to be
00:23:51.56\00:23:57.23
儿'll go where You
00:23:57.23\00:24:00.34
已ant me to go, dear Lord
00:24:00.34\00:24:05.57
力'er mountain or plain
00:24:05.57\00:24:09.58
寸r sea
00:24:09.58\00:24:13.98
儿'll say what You
00:24:13.98\00:24:16.89
已ant me to say, dear Lord
00:24:16.89\00:24:24.43
儿'll be what You
00:24:24.43\00:24:27.66
已ant me to be
00:24:27.66\00:24:34.27
>> So there's a lot of
00:24:40.61\00:24:42.08
pressure on you now, Nwamiko.
00:24:42.08\00:24:43.95
You know that the Holy Spirit
00:24:43.95\00:24:45.75
is talking to you saying,
00:24:45.75\00:24:47.15
"Hey, you're not going to L.A.,"
00:24:47.15\00:24:48.52
and there's pressure in terms
00:24:48.52\00:24:49.82
of time for our program so
00:24:49.82\00:24:51.12
you're gonna have to come back
00:24:51.12\00:24:52.42
next time, but just tell us a
00:24:52.42\00:24:54.02
little bit about what
00:24:54.02\00:24:55.06
happened next.
00:24:55.06\00:24:56.46
>> So at this point it's like,
00:24:56.46\00:24:58.03
the first time I really hear
00:24:58.03\00:25:00.10
the voice of God because it's
00:25:00.10\00:25:01.40
telling me to do the exactly
00:25:01.40\00:25:03.00
opposite of what I wanna do,
00:25:03.00\00:25:04.37
right.
00:25:04.37\00:25:05.63
And so I'm like, "OK, maybe"
00:25:05.63\00:25:06.77
"this is God speaking to me,"
00:25:06.77\00:25:08.04
you know.
00:25:08.04\00:25:09.20
And so I decide, because I see
00:25:09.20\00:25:10.57
the material, some of the
00:25:10.57\00:25:11.84
auditions I was getting from
00:25:11.84\00:25:12.84
L.A. had, like, alcohol
00:25:12.84\00:25:14.04
and drugs and cursing,
00:25:14.04\00:25:15.51
I was like, "You know what,"
00:25:15.51\00:25:16.85
"maybe this is not the best"
00:25:16.85\00:25:17.91
"thing for me right now,"
00:25:17.91\00:25:18.81
you know.
00:25:18.81\00:25:19.95
And so I decided not to go.
00:25:19.95\00:25:22.18
Well, about ten days later,
00:25:22.18\00:25:25.82
I get a phone call from a
00:25:25.82\00:25:27.62
childhood friend, haven't
00:25:27.62\00:25:28.66
talked to him in months
00:25:28.66\00:25:29.62
if not years.
00:25:29.62\00:25:30.93
This guy calls me and he's like,
00:25:30.93\00:25:32.36
"Dude, we have to have a"
00:25:32.36\00:25:33.63
"conversation, something"
00:25:33.63\00:25:34.56
"crazy has happened."
00:25:34.56\00:25:35.50
I'm like, "Yeah, man."
00:25:35.50\00:25:36.33
"What's up?"
00:25:36.33\00:25:37.53
And he's like, "No, I gotta"
00:25:37.53\00:25:38.33
"come to your house."
00:25:38.33\00:25:39.20
I'm like, "Sure."
00:25:39.20\00:25:40.30
I give him my address, he's
00:25:40.30\00:25:41.30
never been there, he drives
00:25:41.30\00:25:42.10
over an hour, gets to my
00:25:42.10\00:25:43.24
place, I open the door, I'm
00:25:43.24\00:25:44.27
like, "Hey, Dude!"
00:25:44.27\00:25:45.37
"How's it going?"
00:25:45.37\00:25:46.57
He walks past me, he's like,
00:25:46.57\00:25:47.41
"Is anybody else"
00:25:47.41\00:25:48.14
"in the house?"
00:25:48.14\00:25:49.04
I'm like, "Dude,"
00:25:49.04\00:25:49.88
"is everything OK?"
00:25:49.88\00:25:50.95
He's like, "Let's going into"
00:25:50.95\00:25:51.85
"the basement."
00:25:51.85\00:25:52.85
And he literally takes me and
00:25:52.85\00:25:54.08
sits me down on my couch and
00:25:54.08\00:25:55.28
he's pacing back and forth,
00:25:55.28\00:25:56.48
sweat beads on his forehead
00:25:56.48\00:25:58.12
and he's like, "Listen, man,"
00:25:58.12\00:25:59.22
he's like, "I'm gonna tell"
00:25:59.22\00:26:00.29
"you something you cannot"
00:26:00.29\00:26:01.26
"tell another soul on this"
00:26:01.26\00:26:02.32
"planet, do you understand me?"
00:26:02.32\00:26:03.63
And I'm like, "Dude,"
00:26:03.63\00:26:04.83
"what's going on?"
00:26:04.83\00:26:07.03
[MIKE] So, unfortunately we've
00:26:07.03\00:26:09.13
run out of time.
00:26:09.13\00:26:10.70
I hate to cut the story right
00:26:10.70\00:26:12.03
now, but we're gonna have to
00:26:12.03\00:26:14.20
continue next time and you're
00:26:14.20\00:26:17.14
gonna continue with your story.
00:26:17.14\00:26:19.51
You wouldn't have received
00:26:19.51\00:26:20.81
that telephone call if you'd
00:26:20.81\00:26:22.08
gone to L.A. though.
00:26:22.08\00:26:23.14
>> Exactly.
00:26:23.14\00:26:24.41
>> And so God was working
00:26:24.41\00:26:25.51
there and so that's enough to
00:26:25.51\00:26:27.25
be known for now and then next
00:26:27.25\00:26:28.98
week we will continue.
00:26:28.98\00:26:30.99
So we're going end with a word
00:26:30.99\00:26:32.72
of prayer, I wonder if you can
00:26:32.72\00:26:33.86
close with a word of prayer
00:26:33.86\00:26:34.86
for us, can you do that for us?
00:26:34.86\00:26:35.86
>> For sure, yeah, gladly.
00:26:35.86\00:26:36.73
Let's do it.
00:26:36.73\00:26:38.26
Father in heaven we thank You
00:26:38.26\00:26:39.33
so much for the fact that
00:26:39.33\00:26:41.00
every single test we have can
00:26:41.00\00:26:43.53
be turned into a testimony.
00:26:43.53\00:26:45.20
And that's my life experience.
00:26:45.20\00:26:46.90
I pray the everybody that
00:26:46.90\00:26:48.20
heard some of what we talked
00:26:48.20\00:26:49.27
about today today, more than
00:26:49.27\00:26:50.51
anything else, they saw Your
00:26:50.51\00:26:51.94
hand leading and they saw that
00:26:51.94\00:26:53.38
Jesus wants to be the star of
00:26:53.38\00:26:54.98
everybody's movie here,
00:26:54.98\00:26:56.01
dear God.
00:26:56.01\00:26:57.01
So I thank You so much
00:26:57.01\00:26:58.08
for Your love, for Your
00:26:58.08\00:26:59.38
goodness, and Your guidance.
00:26:59.38\00:27:00.88
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
00:27:00.88\00:27:02.42
[MIKE & REN巿 Amen.
00:27:02.42\00:27:03.72
>> Nwamiko, you have to come
00:27:03.72\00:27:04.82
back next week and this is
00:27:04.82\00:27:07.16
real-- a cliff-hanger, sorry
00:27:07.16\00:27:08.72
to cut you off there...
00:27:08.72\00:27:09.86
>> No worries.
00:27:09.86\00:27:10.86
>> ...but we're ready to go
00:27:10.86\00:27:11.79
next time.
00:27:11.79\00:27:12.29
>> Thanks a lot.
00:27:12.29\00:27:13.19
Yeah, I totally get it.
00:27:13.19\00:27:13.80
No problem.
00:27:13.80\00:27:14.76
>> Thank you for joining us
00:27:14.76\00:27:15.83
and we'll see you next week.
00:27:15.83\00:27:16.77
>> Awesome.
00:27:16.77\00:27:17.60
>> Friends, Nwamiko decided
00:27:18.87\00:27:21.07
that the number one influence
00:27:21.07\00:27:22.74
in his life is the word of God
00:27:22.74\00:27:26.01
and that's a good decision so
00:27:26.01\00:27:28.04
we want to help you to also
00:27:28.04\00:27:30.18
understand God's word, the
00:27:30.18\00:27:31.65
Bible, for yourself.
00:27:31.65\00:27:33.18
So our free offer for you today
00:27:33.18\00:27:34.98
is our Bible study guides.
00:27:34.98\00:27:37.59
[REN巿 Whether you want to
00:27:37.59\00:27:38.82
learn the major teachings of
00:27:38.82\00:27:40.32
God's word or Bible prophecy,
00:27:40.32\00:27:42.49
we can assist you to find
00:27:42.49\00:27:44.29
answers for how to face the
00:27:44.29\00:27:46.16
issues and challenges you deal
00:27:46.16\00:27:48.30
with every day.
00:27:48.30\00:27:49.70
>> Friends, we want you to
00:27:51.23\00:27:52.93
experience the truth that is
00:27:52.93\00:27:54.60
found in the words of Jesus
00:27:54.60\00:27:56.30
when He said, "It is written,"
00:27:56.30\00:27:58.54
"man shall not live by bread"
00:27:58.54\00:28:00.51
"alone, but by every word"
00:28:00.51\00:28:02.61
"that proceeds out of the"
00:28:02.61\00:28:04.01
"mouth of God."
00:28:04.01\00:28:06.41
中
00:28:06.41\00:28:51.69