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>> Hello and welcome to It Is
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Written Canada.
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Thank you for joining us.
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Our guests today are two highly
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gifted, highly educated, and
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highly motivated professionals,
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Thando and Seth Amankuah.
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>> Thando is a graduate of
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Harvard University, majoring in
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chemistry.
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And along with being a mother
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of three young boys, she's
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currently doing her PhD in
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Global Health and International
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Development at the University
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of Ottawa.
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Thando also speaks six
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languages, including English
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and French.
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>> Her husband, Seth, has a
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masters degree in Renewable
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Energy and Technologies as an
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electrical engineer and is a
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director in fibre engineering
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at Xplornet.
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>> They both come from very
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humble beginnings in Africa,
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a continent Mike and I
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love deeply.
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Thando and Seth, welcome to It
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Is Written Canada.
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[BOTH] Thank you for having us.
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>> So, Seth, I wanna begin
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with you.
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You grew up in the western
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African country of Ghana, the
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youngest of five children and,
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unfortunately, your father was
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tragically-- tragically passed
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away when you were young.
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And so your mom, she had to
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raise, on her own as a single
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mom, she never got remarried,
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five children and what was that
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like for her?
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>> So sad.
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Obviously in an African country
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in, like, Ghana, you don't
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have the government support as
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a single mother.
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But she worked so hard to
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really take care of all of us,
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the five of us.
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And one thing about her that,
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you know, I am so blessed to
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have her as a mother is that
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she's a woman of faith, she's a
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woman of prayer, and she has
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deep faith in the Word of God.
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Growing up I saw her kneeling
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and praying every night, every
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morning because every day was a
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battle to survive.
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And sometimes-- she was not
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educated, she couldn't read the
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Bible, but I saw her putting
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the Bible under her pillow and
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sleeping over it.
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She could not read, but she
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believed every single word that
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is written in that book.
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And, you know, so it became
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clear to me growing up that my
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only path to success was to
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study a true education.
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So I was really a straight-A
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student and, you know, by the
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grace of God, I got into a top
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university in Ghana to study
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electrical engineering, which
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is, you know, one of the top
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program in that school.
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And I did so well there.
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But when it come to my
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Christian faith, you know, I
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did the bare minimum.
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You couldn't say I'm bad
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because, you know, I followed
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the rules, I'd go to church, I'd
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return my tithe, but it was a
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shallow faith.
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It was just doing the bare
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minimum in my Christian journey.
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>> So your mom obviously took
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her faith seriously,
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but you didn't.
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When did you start to take your
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faith seriously?
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>> So when I was in Kwame
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Nkrumah University of Science
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and Technology, reading
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electrical engineering, and I
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go to church, there's a
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campus church, and within the
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campus church there's this
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small group called "Evangelism
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Wing," and these are a bunch of
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guys who meet, study the Word
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of God, and go around Sabbath
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afternoon knocking on doors on
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campus to study the Word
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with people.
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So I was really impressed about
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these guys and I started to
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learn more about them and I
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just discovered that these guys
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were reading medicine,
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pharmacy, electrical, the top
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programs in the school and they
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were top of their class.
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So I was like, "How are they
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doing it?"
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Because there's a stereotype
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conception during my time that,
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you know, it's a trade-off.
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Either you're academically
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solid and you don't show up for
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church or you show up for
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church all the time, but you
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are not good academically.
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And here are a bunch of guys,
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extremely intelligent, on top
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of their class, but fully
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devoted to the cause of God.
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That was attractive, that was
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beautiful, and that is where,
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you know, I started joining
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them, attending their meeting,
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you know, going with them and
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knocking on doors.
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And guess what happened.
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When I started studying with
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people on campus, they
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challenged my faith, they asked
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tough questions about my faith.
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Some of them I couldn't even
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answer them and I need to come
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back and research and learn and
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that is where I was able to
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have that solid faith because
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now my faith is challenged, but
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the more I learn and search for
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the answers, the more I saw how
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beautiful what we believe and
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how coherent what we believe is.
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>> You were very blessed to
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have friends who were so
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intelligent, but also so
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faithful and strong in their
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faith and they were challenging
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your faith and that made your
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faith grow.
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So how did that influence grow
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from that group to the rest of
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the campus?
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>> So by, you know, divine
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orchestrated plan, majority of
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those who were in Evangelism
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Wing became the leaders of the
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campus church and through
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prayer, planning, and bringing
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that passion of studying the
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Word of God and sharing the
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Word of God, there was a
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revival that happened on our
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campus.
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We were having a Bible lecture
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series where we were presenting
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the Bible in academic hall in
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a circle at university campus.
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You know, inviting people, you
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know, like, people to come in,
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to lecture.
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And the wave, that revival
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wave, you know, happened
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outside the boundary of our
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university.
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So it started spreading to the
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other university.
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And guess what, there were
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foreign students within our
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university who were Seventh-day
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Adventists studying who came
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from Liberia and Eritrea and
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other countries to study who
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were part of this revival and
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when they left to their home
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country, they took that power,
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that fire that was burning in
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their heart, to those country.
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And I was invited to preach in
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Liberia in evangelistic series
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at the very time of my
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graduation.
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So during my graduation, you
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know, people having finals in
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Liberia, you know, spreading
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the Word of God.
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Then we discovered that God is
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working something because
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at the same time that what is
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happened on campus in the
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United States, there were other
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group who were also passionate
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about the Word of God and the
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young people who are hungry to
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learn and to share, you know.
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And it was during that
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encounter and connection that I
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met this beautiful woman...
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[laughter] ...during that.
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So that is how God divinely
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orchestrated all of this and
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I'm so thankful that I was part
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of that.
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[MIKE] So you were very focused
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on ministry, what did you
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notice about Thando?
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>> So I got connected over
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there, I met her at the airport
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the first time and I knew we
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were radical, I knew we were
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passionate, but when I heard
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her story, it was on another
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level because, you know, she
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was in Harvard and, of course,
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the best university in the
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world, and, you know, I heard
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that she took a year off
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to be trained as an evangelist
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and that was really the next
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level, right?
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So I was, immediately I was
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like, I really want to know
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more about this young lady who
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is so passionate.
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But one thing that also make me
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more interested and in order
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to, like, work with her, was
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her passion for Africa, you
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know, her passion to really
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change the thinking of our
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young people, empower them, and
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help them not only to succeed
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spiritually, but also
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academically and professionally.
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Yeah, so it was really, you
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know, divine ordained that we
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met amid all these, you know,
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revival wave that was going on
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and I thank God that it ended
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that way.
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>> And so, Thando, your
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education was also-- top-notch
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education was also very
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important for you and Seth had
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mentioned that you were blessed
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to be a student at Harvard
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University.
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Can you give us a snapshot of
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how you ended up there?
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>> You know, I guess like him,
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too, I owe a lot to my parents,
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especially my mom, you know,
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she really instilled a love of
00:10:07.00\00:10:08.94
learning in my sister and I.
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She worked really, really hard
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to put us into the best schools
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and really pushed us to study,
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study, study, and by God's
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grace, I did very well in
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school, you know, ended up
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getting the best grades in the
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country multiple times at
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national exams and earned
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myself a scholarship to the
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United World College which was
00:10:30.36\00:10:32.23
the only-- I guess at the time,
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maybe still, the only
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international baccalaureate
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school in southern Africa.
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So I got to do the IB diploma
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which, at the time, and still
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is very highly regarded as-- for
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access to universities across
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the world.
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And so it was there while I was
00:10:48.74\00:10:50.25
doing my IB diploma that my
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guidance counsellor-- I had
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never thought about applying to
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Harvard actually at all even
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though I was gifted in school
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and done well, but he really
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encouraged me, "Give it a shot,
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just try, you've got the
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grades, you've got the story,
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just try and apply."
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So I did and God opened those
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doors, I guess, with the full
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scholarship to Harvard.
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[RENÉ] Thando, you came from a
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very conservative Christian
00:11:12.13\00:11:13.94
home, how did going to Harvard
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affect your faith?
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[THANDO] Honestly, it was a
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little like being thrown into
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the deep end.
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Sort of growing up in Swaziland
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where I grew up with my
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parents, it was, you know, back
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home in Swaziland there is
00:11:28.82\00:11:30.09
everyone, there is an assumed
00:11:30.09\00:11:32.12
belief in God, you never
00:11:32.12\00:11:33.66
challenge or question that,
00:11:33.66\00:11:34.99
everyone believes there is
00:11:34.99\00:11:36.06
a God.
00:11:36.06\00:11:36.86
We disagree in what we think
00:11:36.86\00:11:38.09
about that God or how we
00:11:38.09\00:11:39.43
worship Him, but we all believe
00:11:39.43\00:11:40.56
that there is a God.
00:11:40.56\00:11:41.53
And getting to Harvard, it was,
00:11:41.53\00:11:44.37
quite honestly, like I said,
00:11:44.37\00:11:46.03
being thrown into the deep end
00:11:46.03\00:11:47.44
because I was on a secular
00:11:47.44\00:11:49.54
campus, in one of the most
00:11:49.54\00:11:51.07
secular cities in the world,
00:11:51.07\00:11:52.57
Boston, right, where it's sort
00:11:52.57\00:11:54.21
of like, the culture there,
00:11:54.21\00:11:56.01
well, at least when I was
00:11:56.01\00:11:57.05
there, is, you know, this is a
00:11:57.05\00:11:58.91
place where intellectuals
00:11:58.91\00:12:00.28
thrive and there is no place
00:12:00.28\00:12:02.08
for Biblical faith in such an
00:12:02.08\00:12:03.52
environment so it's almost as
00:12:03.52\00:12:05.09
if you-- "You're here, you're
00:12:05.09\00:12:06.79
smart, you're too smart to
00:12:06.79\00:12:08.16
believe in God."
00:12:08.16\00:12:09.42
So it really challenged me, it
00:12:09.42\00:12:11.93
definitely ripped the Band-Aid
00:12:11.93\00:12:13.09
off and I think God used that
00:12:13.09\00:12:15.43
experience to really move me
00:12:15.43\00:12:17.07
from leaning on my parents'
00:12:17.07\00:12:18.23
faith to, I think, owning my
00:12:18.23\00:12:20.60
faith for myself.
00:12:20.60\00:12:22.04
>> So, Thando, did God provide
00:12:22.34\00:12:24.77
you with support for your faith
00:12:24.77\00:12:26.68
while you were in the midst of
00:12:26.68\00:12:28.31
all the secularism at Harvard?
00:12:28.31\00:12:30.85
[THANDO] He did and God is good
00:12:31.48\00:12:33.55
in that He always has a
00:12:33.55\00:12:35.48
thousand ways to provide for us
00:12:35.48\00:12:37.29
that we really don't even know
00:12:37.29\00:12:38.59
because I got to Harvard on my
00:12:38.59\00:12:40.69
first day feeling completely
00:12:40.69\00:12:42.56
lost, you know, first time in
00:12:42.56\00:12:43.93
the United States, first time
00:12:43.93\00:12:45.16
in Boston on this big campus,
00:12:45.16\00:12:47.60
got into my room only to find
00:12:47.60\00:12:49.40
that my roommate was Adventist,
00:12:49.40\00:12:51.40
you know, so talk about
00:12:51.40\00:12:52.37
providence, right?
00:12:52.37\00:12:53.47
And she, funny story, so she
00:12:53.47\00:12:55.67
had asked for an Adventist
00:12:55.67\00:12:57.31
roommate.
00:12:57.31\00:12:57.87
So here I was, you know, met
00:12:58.01\00:12:59.54
her, discovered we're both
00:12:59.54\00:13:00.58
Adventist and she took me to
00:13:00.58\00:13:01.64
church that first Sabbath so
00:13:01.64\00:13:03.21
talk about what a blessing it
00:13:03.21\00:13:04.48
was, you know, to just have
00:13:04.48\00:13:05.58
that connection right away.
00:13:05.58\00:13:07.82
And so, you know, it really was
00:13:07.82\00:13:09.15
through her and the church I
00:13:09.15\00:13:10.85
attended and campus ministries
00:13:10.85\00:13:12.49
that God provided me with a
00:13:12.49\00:13:14.59
shelter and an anchor.
00:13:14.59\00:13:16.46
>> And, Thando, at one stage
00:13:17.76\00:13:20.06
you almost lost your
00:13:20.06\00:13:21.46
scholarship to continue
00:13:21.46\00:13:23.47
studying at Harvard University.
00:13:23.47\00:13:26.10
Can you tell us how that
00:13:26.10\00:13:27.87
happened?
00:13:27.87\00:13:28.94
>> From being inspired by the
00:13:29.84\00:13:31.44
students that I met who were
00:13:31.44\00:13:33.44
doing campus ministries, I got
00:13:33.44\00:13:34.81
involved myself and I think
00:13:34.81\00:13:37.15
getting involved also forced me
00:13:37.15\00:13:38.81
to study, you know, my Bible
00:13:38.81\00:13:40.85
more and to have more answers
00:13:40.85\00:13:43.25
for the questions that I had
00:13:43.25\00:13:45.92
and I ended up, you know, by
00:13:45.92\00:13:47.26
God's grace, leading the
00:13:47.26\00:13:49.46
founding of our Adventist
00:13:49.46\00:13:50.93
Christian Fellowship at Harvard
00:13:50.93\00:13:52.19
and so I was its first
00:13:52.19\00:13:53.19
president.
00:13:53.19\00:13:54.20
And so at the time, there was a
00:13:54.83\00:13:57.53
campus training program in
00:13:57.53\00:13:58.73
Michigan that was running out
00:13:58.73\00:14:00.24
of the Michigan Conference and
00:14:00.24\00:14:02.70
God impressed upon my heart to
00:14:02.70\00:14:03.84
apply and take a year off from
00:14:03.84\00:14:06.21
my studies, but the challenge
00:14:06.21\00:14:08.78
was that I was on a student
00:14:08.78\00:14:10.61
scholarship and a student visa
00:14:10.61\00:14:12.65
and there was just
00:14:12.65\00:14:13.65
complications with leaving
00:14:13.65\00:14:14.98
school and getting a different
00:14:14.98\00:14:16.48
visa to do this training which
00:14:16.48\00:14:19.72
put my scholarship in jeopardy.
00:14:19.72\00:14:22.19
And long story short, you know,
00:14:22.19\00:14:23.73
God worked a miracle, I got the
00:14:23.73\00:14:27.00
visa that I needed, my
00:14:27.00\00:14:28.30
scholarship was put on hold and
00:14:28.30\00:14:30.37
reserved for me, I didn't lose
00:14:30.37\00:14:31.83
it, so I was able to come back
00:14:31.83\00:14:33.34
and continue and when I came
00:14:33.34\00:14:35.10
back, I came back with so much
00:14:35.10\00:14:36.74
more experience and knowledge
00:14:36.74\00:14:38.34
and training and really fired
00:14:38.34\00:14:40.38
up to do so much more on
00:14:40.38\00:14:41.91
campus, you know, so God really
00:14:41.91\00:14:43.71
led with that as well.
00:14:43.71\00:14:45.68
>> That was a miracle that God
00:14:46.61\00:14:48.38
allowed all of that to happen.
00:14:48.38\00:14:50.02
>> It really was, it really was.
00:14:50.02\00:14:51.72
[RENÉ] So you graduated from
00:14:51.72\00:14:53.89
Harvard with your degree and
00:14:53.89\00:14:55.69
you had countless opportunities,
00:14:55.69\00:14:59.79
but then you did the
00:14:59.79\00:15:01.80
unthinkable.
00:15:01.80\00:15:02.80
[THANDO] God really impressed
00:15:03.30\00:15:04.17
upon my heart when I was
00:15:04.17\00:15:05.63
graduating to spend some time
00:15:05.63\00:15:07.47
in full-time ministry to
00:15:07.47\00:15:09.70
university campuses.
00:15:09.70\00:15:11.57
You know, when you look at the
00:15:11.57\00:15:12.54
universe and I think Seth
00:15:12.54\00:15:13.54
mentioned this earlier, that
00:15:13.54\00:15:14.94
reaching the university is such
00:15:14.94\00:15:16.78
an opportunity to reach the
00:15:16.78\00:15:17.98
world because you have students
00:15:17.98\00:15:20.02
from all over the world that
00:15:20.02\00:15:21.12
are coming to study there, you
00:15:21.12\00:15:22.55
know, so Harvard, for example,
00:15:22.55\00:15:23.85
was a microcosm of the world.
00:15:23.85\00:15:26.15
We had students from everywhere.
00:15:26.15\00:15:28.79
And God put on my heart to
00:15:28.79\00:15:30.56
take-- to spend some time in
00:15:30.56\00:15:32.29
full-time ministry, you know,
00:15:32.29\00:15:34.00
so instead of taking jobs that
00:15:34.00\00:15:36.46
I could have had that my
00:15:36.46\00:15:37.73
friends were walking into with
00:15:37.73\00:15:40.04
their Harvard degrees, I chose
00:15:40.04\00:15:41.70
to work full-time in campus
00:15:41.70\00:15:45.21
ministry as a missionary in
00:15:45.21\00:15:46.88
Boston with the Michigan
00:15:46.88\00:15:48.21
Conference as well.
00:15:48.21\00:15:49.71
I could talk for hours about
00:15:49.71\00:15:52.11
the miracles and the Bible
00:15:52.11\00:15:53.42
studies and the students who
00:15:53.42\00:15:54.65
were inspired to come to God
00:15:54.65\00:15:56.48
through that, but God...God
00:15:56.48\00:15:58.95
really blessed.
00:15:58.95\00:16:00.26
>> So, Thando, now you're very
00:16:01.26\00:16:03.63
active full-time evangelist,
00:16:03.63\00:16:06.29
preaching and teaching and in
00:16:06.29\00:16:08.83
the course of your work you
00:16:08.83\00:16:10.57
meet Seth.
00:16:10.57\00:16:11.80
Did you think that you would
00:16:13.13\00:16:15.00
ever marry Seth?
00:16:15.00\00:16:16.37
>> No.
00:16:16.37\00:16:17.07
[laughter]
00:16:17.07\00:16:18.84
No, I mean at the time I was
00:16:18.84\00:16:21.48
very involved in youth
00:16:21.48\00:16:23.01
ministries like GYC and ALIVE
00:16:23.01\00:16:25.58
that, you know, all really
00:16:25.58\00:16:26.65
sought to inspired young people
00:16:26.65\00:16:27.82
to take their faith more
00:16:27.82\00:16:29.25
seriously and to serve Jesus
00:16:29.25\00:16:30.69
and so I was travelling quite a
00:16:30.69\00:16:32.05
bit as part of that.
00:16:32.05\00:16:33.76
I had did missions in so many
00:16:33.76\00:16:35.92
different countries in Africa,
00:16:35.92\00:16:37.16
one of which was Ghana and so I
00:16:37.16\00:16:39.03
met him on my first trip to
00:16:39.03\00:16:41.33
Ghana. [laughs]
00:16:41.33\00:16:43.00
And I'll say, the first time I
00:16:43.00\00:16:44.63
met him, he did not even shake
00:16:44.63\00:16:46.03
my hand and my first impression
00:16:46.03\00:16:48.24
was-- of him was he was very
00:16:48.24\00:16:50.67
stoic, I guess is the word,
00:16:50.67\00:16:52.14
just very proper, very-- so it
00:16:52.14\00:16:53.91
was the furthest thing from my
00:16:53.91\00:16:55.34
mind, but, you know, God works
00:16:55.34\00:16:58.38
in, I guess, yeah, incredible
00:16:58.38\00:17:00.15
ways.
00:17:00.15\00:17:00.68
So we became friends, obviously
00:17:00.85\00:17:02.12
we did several missions
00:17:02.12\00:17:03.35
together and the rest is
00:17:03.35\00:17:05.62
history, I guess, but no...
00:17:05.62\00:17:08.26
[laughter]
00:17:08.26\00:17:09.72
>> So Seth, Thando said it was
00:17:09.72\00:17:11.93
the furthest thing from her
00:17:11.93\00:17:13.23
mind that she was gonna marry
00:17:13.23\00:17:14.40
you, what about you?
00:17:14.40\00:17:15.80
>> Me, too. [laughs]
00:17:15.80\00:17:17.97
And, of course, the focus was
00:17:17.97\00:17:19.60
on mission, mission, mission,
00:17:19.60\00:17:21.44
but, of course, as we met, you
00:17:21.44\00:17:23.57
know, we inspired each other.
00:17:23.57\00:17:25.64
It seems that we were
00:17:26.98\00:17:27.88
interested in the same thing
00:17:27.88\00:17:30.31
and our mission, our work
00:17:30.31\00:17:33.15
together kind of augment each
00:17:33.15\00:17:34.85
other and the collaboration was
00:17:34.85\00:17:36.42
really excellent.
00:17:36.42\00:17:37.65
Twenty-sixth of August will be
00:17:38.65\00:17:40.92
our tenth anniversary and it's
00:17:40.92\00:17:43.39
been amazing journey together.
00:17:43.39\00:17:46.09
We have three boys, Matthias,
00:17:46.09\00:17:48.56
Nathan, and Gabriel, we say
00:17:48.56\00:17:50.30
that we have a disciple,
00:17:50.30\00:17:53.44
a prophet, and an angel
00:17:53.44\00:17:55.10
in our house.
00:17:55.10\00:17:56.14
And so I'm so happy the way
00:17:56.14\00:17:58.51
God made the whole thing come
00:17:58.51\00:18:00.68
together and it's been ten
00:18:00.68\00:18:02.61
years, an amazing journey, that
00:18:02.61\00:18:04.51
we've been together.
00:18:04.51\00:18:05.65
>> Amazing journey.
00:18:05.65\00:18:06.88
You came to Canada and Thando
00:18:06.88\00:18:10.02
was doing her masters degree at
00:18:10.02\00:18:11.65
the time and you ended up
00:18:11.65\00:18:14.02
getting work here, like, right
00:18:14.02\00:18:16.16
off the bat.
00:18:16.16\00:18:17.09
How did that happen?
00:18:17.09\00:18:18.33
>> I moved here and less than,
00:18:19.09\00:18:20.66
almost like 48 hours, I got a
00:18:20.66\00:18:24.07
job, you know, the process, you
00:18:24.07\00:18:25.33
know, I quite remember when I
00:18:25.33\00:18:27.20
hit the send button for that
00:18:27.20\00:18:28.50
resume, I prayed, within about
00:18:28.50\00:18:32.41
six hours I got a call, six
00:18:32.41\00:18:34.74
hours after submitting the
00:18:34.74\00:18:35.88
resume and the person says,
00:18:35.88\00:18:37.78
"Can you come for interview?"
00:18:37.78\00:18:38.98
I say, "Yeah, obviously I
00:18:38.98\00:18:40.05
can come, but not in the
00:18:40.05\00:18:41.05
morning because I just moved to
00:18:41.05\00:18:42.42
this country and I don't even
00:18:42.42\00:18:43.35
know my bearings, right?
00:18:43.35\00:18:45.45
So maybe in the afternoon I
00:18:45.45\00:18:46.76
will start out, get lost, you
00:18:46.76\00:18:48.19
know, in the afternoon I can
00:18:48.19\00:18:49.16
be there."
00:18:49.16\00:18:49.96
So I got job in my field within
00:18:49.96\00:18:52.63
48 hours arriving this country
00:18:52.63\00:18:55.03
and at that time AFL was so
00:18:55.03\00:18:57.00
good to me, they helped me, you
00:18:57.00\00:18:59.03
know, as an engineer, you need
00:18:59.03\00:19:00.34
to, you know, go through your
00:19:00.34\00:19:01.70
licensing process, they helped
00:19:01.70\00:19:03.30
me through all of that.
00:19:03.30\00:19:04.97
Securing a job in my field was
00:19:04.97\00:19:07.74
really, really a miracle.
00:19:07.74\00:19:09.74
>> You're married now, you're
00:19:10.55\00:19:12.48
doing missionary work together,
00:19:12.48\00:19:15.05
you're doing ministerial work
00:19:15.05\00:19:17.12
together, you're doing
00:19:17.12\00:19:18.95
evangelistic series, you're
00:19:18.95\00:19:20.72
doing revival series, and then
00:19:20.72\00:19:23.49
your first son, Matthias, is
00:19:23.49\00:19:25.76
born which means "gift of God."
00:19:25.76\00:19:28.93
So can you tell us a little bit
00:19:28.93\00:19:30.70
about that experience and how
00:19:30.70\00:19:33.30
that was part of your faith
00:19:33.30\00:19:34.84
journey?
00:19:34.84\00:19:35.84
>> The-- so, yeah, the
00:19:36.71\00:19:37.94
pregnancy was going well...
00:19:37.94\00:19:39.91
...up until 32 weeks when I
00:19:41.21\00:19:44.85
developed pregnancy-induced
00:19:44.85\00:19:46.98
hypertension which rapidly
00:19:46.98\00:19:49.22
progressed to preeclampsia and
00:19:49.22\00:19:51.55
it was-- it came out of the
00:19:51.55\00:19:52.95
blue, you know, because I took
00:19:52.95\00:19:54.96
pretty good care of myself,
00:19:54.96\00:19:56.12
I mean, I eat healthy, I
00:19:56.12\00:19:57.76
exercise, I run, even during
00:19:57.76\00:19:59.23
pregnancy I was exercising and
00:19:59.23\00:20:01.20
even the week before I was
00:20:01.20\00:20:03.16
diagnosed, I was at the gym,
00:20:03.16\00:20:04.87
you know, so I kind of looked
00:20:04.87\00:20:06.37
at my doctor and I was like,
00:20:06.37\00:20:07.64
"Where is this coming from?"
00:20:07.64\00:20:08.97
and it's just,
00:20:08.97\00:20:10.11
it's just one of those things.
00:20:10.11\00:20:11.54
I had to be induced at 37 weeks
00:20:11.54\00:20:14.34
because my preeclampsia was
00:20:14.34\00:20:16.91
progressing to HELLP syndrome
00:20:16.91\00:20:18.68
which is life-threatening.
00:20:18.68\00:20:20.45
Basically my liver was starting
00:20:20.45\00:20:22.15
to shut down at the time and so
00:20:22.15\00:20:24.19
I just had to deliver the baby.
00:20:24.19\00:20:26.96
When he was born, he wasn't
00:20:28.42\00:20:30.09
breathing, you know, and so he
00:20:30.09\00:20:33.03
suffered a hypoxic injury
00:20:33.03\00:20:34.56
during birth.
00:20:34.56\00:20:35.76
It just felt like a spiral.
00:20:35.76\00:20:38.43
We had to be air-lifted from
00:20:39.40\00:20:41.37
the hospital where he was born,
00:20:41.37\00:20:42.67
we had to be air-lifted to
00:20:42.67\00:20:44.27
BC Children's Hospital where he
00:20:44.27\00:20:46.27
was in the NICU.
00:20:46.27\00:20:48.51
So many monitors connected to
00:20:49.28\00:20:50.75
him and there was so much going
00:20:50.75\00:20:52.65
on about possible brain injury
00:20:52.65\00:20:55.78
and just-- it was like my world
00:20:55.78\00:20:58.39
just spun out of control.
00:20:58.39\00:21:00.32
You're kind of like, "God, I
00:21:01.19\00:21:02.89
gave you my youth, I've served
00:21:02.89\00:21:04.63
You faithfully, what is this,
00:21:04.63\00:21:07.86
what is this all about?"
00:21:07.86\00:21:09.63
And, you know, it's that
00:21:10.43\00:21:13.27
initial phase was, you know, he
00:21:13.27\00:21:14.87
might have a brain injury and
00:21:14.87\00:21:16.24
then that came back clear, he
00:21:16.24\00:21:17.61
was perfectly fine and then
00:21:17.61\00:21:19.77
just when we thought we were
00:21:19.77\00:21:21.01
going to take him home, he
00:21:21.01\00:21:22.61
caught an infection in the
00:21:22.61\00:21:24.91
hospital and because he was so
00:21:24.91\00:21:26.95
little, that infection took
00:21:26.95\00:21:28.52
over his body, rapidly became
00:21:28.52\00:21:30.35
sepsis and so he was on the
00:21:30.35\00:21:32.72
verge of organ failure
00:21:32.72\00:21:35.09
basically and we were just
00:21:35.09\00:21:36.46
like, "Lord..."
00:21:36.46\00:21:38.29
You know, you....
00:21:41.53\00:21:43.23
It was a crucible, honestly,
00:21:46.53\00:21:48.17
one of the most challenging
00:21:48.17\00:21:49.47
faith experiences in our
00:21:49.47\00:21:50.94
journey because, like I said,
00:21:50.94\00:21:52.97
you sort of live the faithful
00:21:52.97\00:21:54.48
life and then you go through
00:21:54.48\00:21:56.04
this experience and you wonder,
00:21:56.04\00:21:57.75
"What did I do wrong?"
00:21:57.75\00:21:59.45
But I think sometimes, you know,
00:21:59.45\00:22:01.05
we go through moments like
00:22:01.05\00:22:02.98
that, not because we've done
00:22:02.98\00:22:04.62
something wrong or we have
00:22:04.62\00:22:06.42
sinned or whatever, but we're
00:22:06.42\00:22:08.12
in a Great Controversy and
00:22:08.12\00:22:10.39
sometimes, you know, life
00:22:10.39\00:22:12.26
throws you a curve ball and I
00:22:12.26\00:22:14.60
think for me, I have a distinct
00:22:14.60\00:22:17.23
memory of God reminding me of a
00:22:17.23\00:22:19.70
sermon I had preached at GYC
00:22:19.70\00:22:21.97
five years back, about what
00:22:21.97\00:22:23.94
it meant to trust God when
00:22:23.94\00:22:26.54
you couldn't understand where
00:22:26.54\00:22:28.98
He was leading or what was
00:22:28.98\00:22:30.35
happening.
00:22:30.35\00:22:31.11
And I remember I was sitting by
00:22:31.11\00:22:33.25
my son's bedside in the NICU
00:22:33.25\00:22:35.12
and that sermon came to mind
00:22:35.12\00:22:37.79
and it was as if God was
00:22:37.79\00:22:38.85
saying, you know, "You've
00:22:38.85\00:22:40.46
preached that sermon so many
00:22:40.46\00:22:43.39
times, can you live it in this
00:22:43.39\00:22:46.09
moment?"
00:22:46.09\00:22:47.10
Because what it means to trust
00:22:48.06\00:22:49.46
God when you don't know what
00:22:49.46\00:22:52.33
the outcome might be, I
00:22:52.33\00:22:53.54
remember the doctors telling us
00:22:53.54\00:22:54.90
that he may not be able to
00:22:54.90\00:22:56.17
hear, that he could have
00:22:56.17\00:22:57.57
disabilities for life and it
00:22:57.57\00:22:59.27
was just all this swirling in
00:22:59.27\00:23:00.94
my brain.
00:23:00.94\00:23:01.94
How do you trust God when you
00:23:02.78\00:23:04.15
don't understand and you can't
00:23:04.15\00:23:06.88
see His hand and you're at the
00:23:06.88\00:23:09.92
end of your human strength?
00:23:09.92\00:23:11.65
It's easy to have faith when
00:23:12.29\00:23:15.39
everything's going well, but
00:23:15.39\00:23:16.93
it's not faith unless it's
00:23:16.93\00:23:18.56
faith in the darkest hour, you
00:23:18.56\00:23:20.43
know, it's when you're-- when
00:23:20.43\00:23:22.80
you've cried the last tear that
00:23:22.80\00:23:26.47
that's when God's strength
00:23:26.47\00:23:28.87
really matters.
00:23:28.87\00:23:30.07
Our son did recover
00:23:30.07\00:23:31.51
miraculously again because the
00:23:31.51\00:23:33.14
doctors looked at him and were
00:23:33.14\00:23:34.68
like, from how bad his numbers
00:23:34.68\00:23:37.18
were and they just couldn't
00:23:37.18\00:23:39.25
believe that he'd made a
00:23:39.25\00:23:40.62
complete turn-around, you know,
00:23:40.62\00:23:42.05
and so we were in the NICU for
00:23:42.05\00:23:44.55
almost three months, yeah?
00:23:44.55\00:23:46.29
>> Yeah, almost three months.
00:23:46.29\00:23:47.49
>> And-- but he made it-- it
00:23:47.49\00:23:49.39
was a miraculous recovery like
00:23:49.39\00:23:50.76
I'm saying because even the
00:23:50.76\00:23:51.89
doctors were just like, shocked,
00:23:51.89\00:23:53.86
you know, they couldn't believe,
00:23:53.86\00:23:55.13
but he was in perfect health.
00:23:55.13\00:23:57.10
And I remember, though, when
00:23:57.10\00:23:58.53
we're driving home, I know I'm
00:23:58.53\00:24:00.37
thanking God and praising God
00:24:00.37\00:24:01.90
for this-- for His healing and
00:24:01.90\00:24:03.94
the question came to mind of,
00:24:03.94\00:24:05.27
like, you know, "Thando, would
00:24:05.27\00:24:06.84
you still be praising God if he
00:24:06.84\00:24:09.58
hadn't recovered?"
00:24:09.58\00:24:11.25
We named him Matthias which
00:24:12.05\00:24:14.08
means "gift of God" and at the
00:24:14.08\00:24:16.42
time I don't think we even knew
00:24:16.42\00:24:18.89
that-- what a gift it would be
00:24:18.89\00:24:20.82
and I think about it now and,
00:24:20.82\00:24:26.33
you know, it's been almost
00:24:26.33\00:24:28.63
seven years and it's still hard
00:24:28.63\00:24:29.56
to talk about, but...
00:24:29.56\00:24:31.80
...we don't...
00:24:32.43\00:24:33.70
...we don't often think about
00:24:33.90\00:24:36.37
these painful experiences as a
00:24:36.37\00:24:38.31
gift, but that's kind of the
00:24:38.31\00:24:39.97
other thought that comes to me
00:24:39.97\00:24:41.28
every time I look at him still,
00:24:41.28\00:24:43.31
you know, he's almost seven and
00:24:43.31\00:24:44.98
it's like all of these
00:24:44.98\00:24:46.48
experiences we go through, even
00:24:46.48\00:24:48.05
the really, really trying ones,
00:24:48.05\00:24:50.52
the ones that break our hearts
00:24:50.52\00:24:53.56
and make us weep in our closets
00:24:53.56\00:24:56.46
and bang our fists at heaven,
00:24:56.46\00:24:58.03
all these experiences are a
00:24:58.03\00:24:59.56
gift, you know, and they're a
00:24:59.56\00:25:02.06
gift because they do bring us
00:25:02.06\00:25:04.03
closer to God because when you--
00:25:04.03\00:25:06.57
when your faith is tested that
00:25:06.57\00:25:08.20
deeply, there's really nowhere
00:25:08.20\00:25:10.07
else to turn except God and
00:25:10.07\00:25:11.97
it's in those darkest moments
00:25:11.97\00:25:15.31
when God shows up that we
00:25:15.31\00:25:16.58
really learn to trust Him.
00:25:16.58\00:25:18.01
So his name was fitting, we
00:25:18.01\00:25:19.55
didn't know at the time, but
00:25:19.55\00:25:21.75
God gave us him and gave us
00:25:21.75\00:25:23.85
this experience as a gift,
00:25:23.85\00:25:25.59
really.
00:25:25.59\00:25:26.62
We don't think of it that way,
00:25:26.62\00:25:27.86
but it is.
00:25:27.86\00:25:29.39
And so he's a living reminder
00:25:29.39\00:25:31.83
of God's grace to us every day.
00:25:31.83\00:25:34.03
>> Thank you so much, Thando
00:25:35.60\00:25:37.30
and Seth.
00:25:37.30\00:25:38.30
We've come to the end of our
00:25:38.30\00:25:39.53
time, unfortunately, together.
00:25:39.53\00:25:41.24
But before we end, I wonder if
00:25:42.10\00:25:43.77
I could ask you, Seth, to pray
00:25:43.77\00:25:45.54
for our viewers.
00:25:45.54\00:25:46.34
There may be someone right now
00:25:46.34\00:25:47.68
who's struggling to trust in
00:25:47.68\00:25:49.88
God, they may be going through
00:25:49.88\00:25:51.15
something and they need to put
00:25:51.15\00:25:53.75
their faith in Him right now,
00:25:53.75\00:25:55.05
so...
00:25:55.05\00:25:56.05
>> Yes, let's pray.
00:25:56.05\00:25:57.32
Father in heaven, we are so
00:25:58.72\00:26:00.26
thankful for the opportunity
00:26:00.26\00:26:02.49
that you've given us to kind of
00:26:02.49\00:26:05.53
reflect on our life.
00:26:05.53\00:26:08.13
We have seen Your hand, Your
00:26:08.13\00:26:10.33
love, Your protection, and Your
00:26:10.33\00:26:12.83
providence in our life and we
00:26:12.83\00:26:15.14
are so thankful, Lord, that You
00:26:15.14\00:26:17.54
have helped us to keep the
00:26:17.54\00:26:20.08
hope alive.
00:26:20.08\00:26:21.48
So we want to take this
00:26:21.48\00:26:22.51
opportunity to pray for those
00:26:22.51\00:26:24.21
who are listening that if there
00:26:24.21\00:26:26.35
is anybody who is struggling
00:26:26.35\00:26:29.85
and not sure whether the person
00:26:29.85\00:26:33.05
can trust You, we pray, Lord,
00:26:33.05\00:26:36.99
that You will touch that person
00:26:36.99\00:26:38.96
in a very special way and that
00:26:38.96\00:26:42.03
we will come to the
00:26:42.03\00:26:43.20
understanding that there are
00:26:43.20\00:26:44.83
times we cannot see the path,
00:26:44.83\00:26:48.17
but there's one thing that we
00:26:49.07\00:26:50.57
can understand and that is Your
00:26:50.57\00:26:52.74
heart, Your heart of love.
00:26:52.74\00:26:55.38
Let us hold onto You
00:26:55.38\00:26:58.48
in our darkest hours.
00:26:58.48\00:26:59.88
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
00:27:00.62\00:27:03.08
[MIKE & RENÉ] Amen.
00:27:03.08\00:27:04.22
>> Thando and Seth, thank you
00:27:05.15\00:27:06.32
so much for joining us on It Is
00:27:06.32\00:27:08.36
Written Canada.
00:27:08.36\00:27:09.82
[THANDO & SETH] Thank you
00:27:10.03\00:27:10.76
for having us.
00:27:10.76\00:27:11.89
>> Friends, we want to help you
00:27:13.16\00:27:14.96
understand the Bible better and
00:27:14.96\00:27:17.07
become knowledgeable in your
00:27:17.07\00:27:18.70
walk with God.
00:27:18.70\00:27:20.37
Our free offer is our Bible
00:27:20.37\00:27:22.44
Study Guides.
00:27:22.44\00:27:23.81
>> Our Bible Study Guides will
00:27:23.81\00:27:25.17
help you to learn what the
00:27:25.17\00:27:26.94
Bible teaches and how the Bible
00:27:26.94\00:27:29.18
has verifiable answers to
00:27:29.18\00:27:31.41
life's existential question,
00:27:31.41\00:27:33.28
practical answers that makes
00:27:33.28\00:27:35.68
sense and will give you
00:27:35.68\00:27:37.69
assurance for the present and
00:27:37.69\00:27:40.19
for the future.
00:27:40.19\00:27:41.36
[RENÉ] Before you go, we would
00:27:42.06\00:27:43.53
also like to invite you to
00:27:43.53\00:27:44.93
follow us on Instagram and
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00:27:49.40\00:27:51.77
to our Podcasts.
00:27:51.77\00:27:53.64
And if you go to our website,
00:27:53.64\00:27:55.90
you can see our latest programs.
00:27:55.90\00:27:58.44
>> You, too, can experience the
00:27:58.44\00:28:00.04
fullness of life found in the
00:28:00.04\00:28:01.78
words of Jesus when He said,
00:28:01.78\00:28:03.24
"It is written, 'Man shall not
00:28:03.24\00:28:05.25
live by bread alone, but by
00:28:05.25\00:28:07.25
every word that proceeds out of
00:28:07.25\00:28:09.68
the mouth of God.'"
00:28:09.68\00:28:11.15
¤¤
00:28:11.52\00:28:58.33