Canada.
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Thank you for joining us.
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The Arab people have an
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expression, "All sunshine makes
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a desert."
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>> I tend to think sunny days
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are the only perfect days, the
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days of peace, plenty and
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pleasure.
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But what if life was always
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sunny?
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Would that really be a
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good thing?
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>> Or put another way, storm
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clouds bring rain, which leads
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to new life and growth.
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>> So on rainy days, I'm
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reminded to be thankful because
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without the showers, my world
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would be terribly dry, like the
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Sahara Desert.
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[MIKE] Yet there are many people
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whose hearts have known so
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little real sorrow.
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They have been more privileged
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and have had to feel so little
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distress, worrying about others,
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that they cannot understand
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people who are struggling.
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>> They are like an
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unenlightened child who is not
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capable of grasping the
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difficulties of life.
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[MIKE] To a child, his mother
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and father's fears probably
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appear needless, but when he
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grows up and years of experience
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have been added to his life,
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when he comes face to face with
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life's challenges, he will look
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back upon his parent's life and
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understand the problems that
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were once so incomprehensible.
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>> Bitter experience always
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gives us deeper insight, wisdom,
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understanding, and sympathy for
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those who are struggling.
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>> The psalmist encourages us
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with these reassuring words...
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[RENÉ] Our special guest on It
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Is Written Canada today is Paul
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Croft, whose life was struck by
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a storm of afflictions and
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countless rainy days.
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In a moment, Paul will share
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his story.
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[theme music playing]
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¤¤
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[truck engine noise]
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>> Welcome to It Is Written
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Canada.
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Thank you for joining us.
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In his own words, Paul Croft
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felt like a lost sheep.
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>> Paul confessed that he lived
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his life the way he wanted to,
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not caring about anyone
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or anything.
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But this eventually cost him his
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freedom and he ended up in jail.
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>> Today, our special guest,
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Paul Croft, is here to share
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with us how God had a divine
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appointment with him in jail and
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his life was about to change in
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ways that he could never have
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imagined.
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>> Paul, welcome to It Is
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Written Canada.
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>> Thank you for having me.
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[MIKE] Paul, let's go back to
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your beginnings.
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Tell us about where you were
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born, your family, and how you
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got to where you are today.
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>> So I was born in Manchester,
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England.
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We moved to Canada in 1972
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at the ripe old age of
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eight years old.
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I had one brother lives out in
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Vancouver Island.
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I'm married.
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We have three adult boys and we
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have two grandchildren, a boy
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and-- a grandson and a
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granddaughter.
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>> Paul, what was your walk with
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God like as you were growing up?
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>> So up until about 2014, I was
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a very lost sheep.
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I lived my life my own way,
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doing whatever I wanted to do,
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not really having any real
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connection with God.
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I dabbled in faith a little bit,
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but never really got serious
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about it so I wasn't really
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following God at all.
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>> How did that affect you?
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>> Well, it got me into trouble
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and that trouble, like you
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said, eventually cost me my
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freedom and ended up spending
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some time in jail.
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>> Paul, life really changed for
00:04:34.50\00:04:36.27
you when you went into jail, God
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had a divine appointment
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with you.
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How did He get your attention?
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>> So-- and I'm not a bad
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person, just did-- made some bad
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choices in life and got in with
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a little bit of bad people.
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So it can happen to anyone,
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we just have to be careful.
00:04:53.39\00:04:55.06
But when I was in jail, I was--
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went to the jail library and I
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found some books that had
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nothing written on the spine.
00:05:02.66\00:05:05.00
And so I pulled one out and it
00:05:05.00\00:05:06.97
was this Bible, and I could not
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put it back.
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Something made me hold on to it
00:05:10.61\00:05:12.57
and take it back to my
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jail cell.
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And I decided to open it up
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and read it.
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It's written in very easy to
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understand English, so it was
00:05:20.18\00:05:21.92
very easy to understand.
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And the more I read into it, the
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more I wanted to read into it.
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So I found myself spending less
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time out with the people, the
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other inmates, and more time in
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my jail cell just reading the
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Bible, because I just wanted to
00:05:40.17\00:05:42.44
spend more time with it.
00:05:42.44\00:05:44.27
>> Can I take a look at
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that book?
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[PAUL] Sure.
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[MIKE] Because it's really
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interesting.
00:05:47.24\00:05:47.81
So there was nothing on
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the spine...
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[PAUL] No.
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[MIKE] ...but it says, "The Keys
00:05:49.91\00:05:50.85
to Freedom," [chuckles]
00:05:50.85\00:05:52.35
and you had lost your freedom.
00:05:52.35\00:05:53.68
>> Yes.
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[MIKE] So someone put that there
00:05:54.38\00:05:56.42
for you.
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[PAUL] Absolutely.
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[MIKE] And you found it,
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something that obviously changed
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your life.
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[PAUL] Absolutely.
00:06:02.99\00:06:03.83
So it changed my life in so many
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ways because, like I said, the
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more I read it, the more I
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wanted to read it.
00:06:10.37\00:06:11.70
And I actually would spend at
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least three times a day
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with the Bible.
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First thing in the morning and
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then we had two little lockdowns
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for an hour each time and both
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of those lockdowns I would spend
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reading the Bible and then
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sometimes before I went to bed
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at night.
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>> So God really got your
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attention.
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>> Absolutely.
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So by the time I was halfway
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through my sentence, I'd read
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through the Bible one time and I
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was starting to read it for a
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second time.
00:06:38.79\00:06:40.16
One of the things that I'd
00:06:40.16\00:06:40.96
noticed was my trucker's mouth
00:06:40.96\00:06:42.16
was gone.
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I used to use a lot of foul
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language and I had stopped using
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foul language.
00:06:45.43\00:06:46.50
My fellow inmates had noticed a
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difference without me even
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telling them anything, that I'd
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changed.
00:06:51.57\00:06:52.71
To begin with, I was smiling
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in jail.
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And one of the things, you do
00:06:54.34\00:06:55.44
not smile in jail, you can't be
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happy in jail.
00:06:56.85\00:06:57.81
And so I was smiling in jail and
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people were wondering what had
00:06:59.61\00:07:01.32
happened, why I was so happy.
00:07:01.32\00:07:03.28
>> Wow.
00:07:03.89\00:07:04.89
God really got hold of you,
00:07:04.89\00:07:06.82
Paul.
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>> Absolutely.
00:07:07.59\00:07:08.56
[RENÉ] So can you tell us what
00:07:08.92\00:07:10.76
happened on your 50th birthday?
00:07:10.76\00:07:13.73
>> So on my 50th birthday, not
00:07:14.03\00:07:16.36
the kind of birthday that you
00:07:16.36\00:07:17.50
want to spend, any birthday in
00:07:17.50\00:07:18.90
jail is sad, but a milestone
00:07:18.90\00:07:20.50
birthday is a very sad day.
00:07:20.50\00:07:22.14
So it was looking to be the
00:07:22.14\00:07:24.37
worst day of my life.
00:07:24.37\00:07:26.04
But I was in the middle of
00:07:26.27\00:07:27.71
writing a letter to my wife,
00:07:27.71\00:07:29.44
which I wrote many letters.
00:07:29.44\00:07:30.88
I think we were I think it was
00:07:30.88\00:07:32.18
45 letters that I wrote during
00:07:32.18\00:07:33.78
the seven-month sentence.
00:07:33.78\00:07:35.25
So I was in the middle of
00:07:35.25\00:07:36.15
writing a letter to my wife, and
00:07:36.15\00:07:38.29
in the letter to my wife, I told
00:07:38.29\00:07:40.66
her that I was committing my
00:07:40.66\00:07:42.06
life to Jesus Christ before I
00:07:42.06\00:07:44.83
even told myself.
00:07:44.83\00:07:47.23
So God had me write the words in
00:07:47.23\00:07:50.07
that letter, and I immediately
00:07:50.07\00:07:52.47
broke down in tears because it
00:07:52.47\00:07:55.94
was really, really significant.
00:07:55.94\00:07:57.81
>> So God was writing your story
00:07:58.47\00:08:00.81
through the pen.
00:08:00.81\00:08:01.88
Sometimes the pen can write what
00:08:01.88\00:08:04.08
the mouth, can't speak, or just
00:08:04.08\00:08:05.95
get those thoughts on paper.
00:08:05.95\00:08:08.02
[PAUL] Absolutely.
00:08:08.02\00:08:08.88
I have no explanation to it to
00:08:08.88\00:08:10.55
this day and we kept
00:08:10.55\00:08:11.72
that letter.
00:08:11.72\00:08:12.55
We kept all the letters, but
00:08:12.55\00:08:13.52
that letter is a very, very
00:08:13.52\00:08:14.79
special one for us.
00:08:14.79\00:08:16.19
>> Paul, what did God teach you
00:08:16.83\00:08:19.29
about true love while you were
00:08:19.29\00:08:21.56
in jail?
00:08:21.56\00:08:22.60
>> I always had a problem
00:08:23.10\00:08:24.57
with love.
00:08:24.57\00:08:25.50
I never really loved anybody.
00:08:25.50\00:08:28.87
I didn't love myself to begin
00:08:28.87\00:08:29.87
with or else I would not have
00:08:29.87\00:08:31.17
ended up in jail, but I had
00:08:31.17\00:08:32.81
struggled with love of my wife,
00:08:32.81\00:08:35.01
love of my kids, and...
00:08:35.01\00:08:38.25
So...
00:08:38.88\00:08:39.88
...I was visited by a jail
00:08:40.05\00:08:43.25
chaplain and he-- we were-- my
00:08:43.25\00:08:45.62
wife was struggling with
00:08:45.62\00:08:46.69
relationships with people around
00:08:46.69\00:08:48.12
the town that we lived in
00:08:48.12\00:08:49.29
because of what had happened
00:08:49.29\00:08:50.69
with me.
00:08:50.69\00:08:51.53
And his response to me was, you
00:08:51.53\00:08:53.90
have to love them.
00:08:53.90\00:08:55.83
And that was very difficult for
00:08:55.83\00:08:57.40
me because if I didn't love
00:08:57.40\00:08:59.07
myself, how could I love others?
00:08:59.07\00:09:03.17
My love was so bad that even
00:09:03.17\00:09:04.81
though my wife obviously knew
00:09:04.81\00:09:06.51
that I was going to jail and my
00:09:06.51\00:09:07.88
kids and even my oldest brother
00:09:07.88\00:09:09.48
knew, I couldn't even tell my
00:09:09.48\00:09:11.55
parents that I was going
00:09:11.55\00:09:12.55
to jail.
00:09:12.55\00:09:13.58
So-- because I was scared
00:09:13.58\00:09:15.78
of that.
00:09:15.78\00:09:16.58
So there was a complete, total
00:09:16.58\00:09:18.19
lack of love in my life.
00:09:18.19\00:09:20.46
But reading through the Bible,
00:09:20.46\00:09:23.22
you learn that God was all about
00:09:23.22\00:09:25.59
love from the very, very
00:09:25.59\00:09:27.30
beginning.
00:09:27.30\00:09:28.33
Even when Adam and Eve first
00:09:28.96\00:09:31.20
sinned, He was all about love
00:09:31.20\00:09:32.63
because He'd set up the
00:09:32.63\00:09:33.57
redemption plan at the
00:09:33.57\00:09:35.10
beginning, and then He gave His
00:09:35.10\00:09:36.91
only Son for us.
00:09:36.91\00:09:38.17
So John is my favorite book of
00:09:38.17\00:09:39.87
the Bible.
00:09:39.87\00:09:41.14
And so when you read what Jesus
00:09:41.14\00:09:43.78
did for us, it just teaches how
00:09:43.78\00:09:48.05
important love is, how important
00:09:48.05\00:09:49.62
it is to love ourselves, but
00:09:49.62\00:09:51.19
also to love those around us.
00:09:51.19\00:09:53.22
So I quickly found out in jail,
00:09:54.16\00:09:56.32
being separated from family and
00:09:56.32\00:09:58.89
how important love was, how
00:09:58.89\00:10:00.80
important my wife was to me to
00:10:00.80\00:10:02.66
begin with.
00:10:02.66\00:10:03.63
Being separated from her really
00:10:03.63\00:10:05.13
was difficult and I found out
00:10:05.13\00:10:07.77
how much I really did love her
00:10:07.77\00:10:09.47
and how much I did love my, the
00:10:09.47\00:10:11.17
rest of my family.
00:10:11.17\00:10:12.91
My wife was on a different page
00:10:12.91\00:10:14.01
though.
00:10:14.01\00:10:14.71
While I was changing, she could
00:10:14.71\00:10:17.31
not really see it.
00:10:17.31\00:10:18.25
It was only letters and the
00:10:18.25\00:10:19.98
biweekly phone calls that we had
00:10:19.98\00:10:22.22
so you can't really get a gauge
00:10:22.22\00:10:23.55
as to where a person is.
00:10:23.55\00:10:25.45
But I knew that I was changing,
00:10:25.45\00:10:27.89
but I needed to be with her to
00:10:27.89\00:10:30.13
prove that these changes were
00:10:30.13\00:10:32.06
actually real.
00:10:32.06\00:10:33.53
So when you're in jail, you're
00:10:33.53\00:10:34.46
in jail with a cross section
00:10:34.46\00:10:36.16
of society.
00:10:36.16\00:10:37.13
There's young, old, all
00:10:37.13\00:10:39.10
different racial backgrounds,
00:10:39.10\00:10:40.80
all different upbringings, all
00:10:40.80\00:10:43.10
sorts of different people.
00:10:43.10\00:10:44.77
To be honest with you, a lot of
00:10:45.11\00:10:46.24
those people in jail, I would
00:10:46.24\00:10:48.24
not have befriended if I was not
00:10:48.24\00:10:52.45
stuck with them in that unit.
00:10:52.45\00:10:54.48
But you have to learn to get
00:10:54.48\00:10:56.25
along with them, you have to
00:10:56.25\00:10:57.22
learn to love them for who they
00:10:57.22\00:10:58.79
are and just recognize them for
00:10:58.79\00:11:01.39
their differences.
00:11:01.39\00:11:02.76
And that helped me to build that
00:11:02.76\00:11:06.33
love relationship because like I
00:11:06.33\00:11:07.96
said, they're not people that I
00:11:07.96\00:11:09.50
would have mixed with on the
00:11:09.50\00:11:10.60
outside.
00:11:10.60\00:11:11.63
So as my release date came
00:11:12.47\00:11:14.64
closer, time stands still.
00:11:14.64\00:11:16.40
I mean, jail time runs slow
00:11:16.40\00:11:17.94
anyways, but time really starts
00:11:17.94\00:11:19.84
to stand still.
00:11:19.84\00:11:21.11
And I needed to be home to prove
00:11:21.11\00:11:23.38
to my wife, to my family, that I
00:11:23.38\00:11:25.15
was a different person, that I'd
00:11:25.15\00:11:26.88
changed completely while I was
00:11:26.88\00:11:28.72
in jail.
00:11:28.72\00:11:29.92
I also needed to prove that to
00:11:29.92\00:11:31.25
myself because while I was
00:11:31.25\00:11:32.89
locked up, I did not have the
00:11:32.89\00:11:34.66
outside influences.
00:11:34.66\00:11:36.73
So very, very limited influence
00:11:36.73\00:11:38.69
that could change me.
00:11:38.69\00:11:40.80
But-- so I needed to get out.
00:11:40.80\00:11:42.96
But it was still time away, but
00:11:42.96\00:11:45.57
just, with just a month left in
00:11:45.57\00:11:47.84
my sentence, I got incredible
00:11:47.84\00:11:49.40
news, that I was going to be
00:11:49.40\00:11:50.94
released a month early and I'd
00:11:50.94\00:11:52.64
previously been told that nobody
00:11:52.64\00:11:54.88
gets released a month early.
00:11:54.88\00:11:56.61
Nobody gets released early
00:11:56.61\00:11:57.98
at all.
00:11:57.98\00:11:58.95
So-- but I'd done a lot of
00:11:58.95\00:12:00.38
prayer on it and through the
00:12:00.38\00:12:01.82
grace of God, I got released
00:12:01.82\00:12:03.92
that month early.
00:12:03.92\00:12:05.52
So I would be able to prove to
00:12:05.52\00:12:07.22
myself and others that I was a
00:12:07.22\00:12:08.42
new person.
00:12:08.42\00:12:09.56
So with three days left in my
00:12:09.56\00:12:11.19
original sentence, I tried to
00:12:11.19\00:12:13.70
phone my wife to tell her the
00:12:13.70\00:12:15.06
news, and there was no answer.
00:12:15.06\00:12:17.30
And I phoned over and over and
00:12:17.30\00:12:20.37
over again that day, trying to
00:12:20.37\00:12:21.77
get hold of her.
00:12:21.77\00:12:22.64
Finally, I got hold of her to
00:12:22.64\00:12:24.84
tell her that she needed to come
00:12:24.84\00:12:26.14
and pick me up in three days
00:12:26.14\00:12:27.41
time.
00:12:27.41\00:12:28.18
And she screamed in my ear,
00:12:28.18\00:12:30.51
literally almost blew out my
00:12:30.51\00:12:31.91
eardrum because we were both so
00:12:31.91\00:12:33.45
excited to be-- that I was
00:12:33.45\00:12:34.45
coming home early.
00:12:34.45\00:12:35.75
>> You know, Paul, this just
00:12:36.15\00:12:37.85
shows me that God's timing
00:12:37.85\00:12:39.79
is perfect.
00:12:39.79\00:12:41.09
He knew that you would be ready
00:12:41.09\00:12:43.66
a month before your release date
00:12:43.66\00:12:46.33
to go out and to show everyone
00:12:46.33\00:12:49.16
how He changed you and that you
00:12:49.16\00:12:52.47
are transformed and a new
00:12:52.47\00:12:54.70
creation in Jesus.
00:12:54.70\00:12:57.27
That's so encouraging.
00:12:57.27\00:12:59.11
>> So all these changes were
00:12:59.67\00:13:00.84
happening in your life, Paul,
00:13:00.84\00:13:02.34
during this time that you were
00:13:02.34\00:13:03.55
in jail, what was happening in
00:13:03.55\00:13:06.08
Judy's life?
00:13:06.08\00:13:07.72
>> So unbeknownst to me, Judy,
00:13:07.72\00:13:10.59
even before I'd gone to jail,
00:13:10.59\00:13:12.52
had been attending the
00:13:12.52\00:13:14.02
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
00:13:14.02\00:13:16.39
Because of the work schedule
00:13:16.39\00:13:17.79
that I had, I was not always
00:13:17.79\00:13:19.39
home on the weekends.
00:13:19.39\00:13:21.10
So she was attending the church,
00:13:21.10\00:13:22.56
she was going to prayer night
00:13:22.56\00:13:23.63
meetings, things like that.
00:13:23.63\00:13:25.17
So while I was in jail, she was
00:13:25.17\00:13:27.50
having regular Bible studies
00:13:27.50\00:13:29.17
with our pastor, and this was
00:13:29.17\00:13:32.37
happening on a weekly basis.
00:13:32.37\00:13:34.34
She was also going to church on
00:13:34.34\00:13:36.14
a weekly basis, never telling me
00:13:36.14\00:13:39.01
any of this at all.
00:13:39.01\00:13:40.65
>> What was your thoughts when
00:13:40.65\00:13:41.98
you started to find this out?
00:13:41.98\00:13:44.42
>> I was honestly not 100% sure.
00:13:44.42\00:13:48.46
I wasn't sure where our lives
00:13:48.46\00:13:50.36
were going at this point,
00:13:50.36\00:13:51.56
because I still had a, I'd had
00:13:51.56\00:13:53.09
so many changes happening in my
00:13:53.09\00:13:54.76
life that I did not know what
00:13:54.76\00:13:56.77
the future was going to hold.
00:13:56.77\00:13:58.80
But it wasn't a bad thing.
00:13:58.80\00:14:01.17
And when I came home and I met
00:14:01.17\00:14:04.61
the pastor, I knew that what was
00:14:04.61\00:14:07.08
going on was an absolute
00:14:07.08\00:14:08.18
good thing.
00:14:08.18\00:14:09.61
[MIKE] There was also a visit
00:14:09.61\00:14:11.18
that you had from a pastor while
00:14:11.18\00:14:14.62
you were in Regina.
00:14:14.62\00:14:16.22
Tell us about that.
00:14:16.22\00:14:17.22
>> So yeah.
00:14:17.22\00:14:17.89
So Pastor Troy Guderyan, through
00:14:17.89\00:14:20.96
the pastor that Judy was seeing,
00:14:20.96\00:14:24.06
had made contact with me and
00:14:24.06\00:14:25.63
asked for permission to come
00:14:25.63\00:14:27.13
and visit.
00:14:27.13\00:14:28.03
And he came and visited
00:14:28.03\00:14:29.30
and it was wonderful.
00:14:29.30\00:14:31.43
He came to visit me the one
00:14:31.43\00:14:32.70
time, gave me a Bible, a new
00:14:32.70\00:14:35.60
King James Bible, which I
00:14:35.60\00:14:37.31
swapped out for the other Bible
00:14:37.31\00:14:39.11
that I'd been reading and
00:14:39.11\00:14:40.24
started reading that.
00:14:40.24\00:14:41.74
And I went away from that
00:14:41.74\00:14:43.31
meeting, thanked him for coming,
00:14:43.31\00:14:44.35
and thought that that was the
00:14:44.35\00:14:45.91
end of it until the next week
00:14:45.91\00:14:48.35
when I got a call to go back to
00:14:48.35\00:14:49.68
the chapel and he was there
00:14:49.68\00:14:50.89
again.
00:14:50.89\00:14:51.79
And he came to visit me every
00:14:51.79\00:14:53.46
week, except for one, for the
00:14:53.46\00:14:55.39
rest of my sentence.
00:14:55.39\00:14:57.09
We developed a really good
00:14:57.09\00:14:58.53
friendship while I was in jail,
00:14:58.53\00:15:00.63
a good relationship, and we
00:15:00.63\00:15:01.70
still have that friendship to
00:15:01.70\00:15:03.13
this day.
00:15:03.13\00:15:04.17
>> So when Paul was in jail, he
00:15:04.57\00:15:07.10
was writing me a lot of letters
00:15:07.10\00:15:09.74
and I was having a difficult
00:15:09.74\00:15:11.97
time writing letters.
00:15:11.97\00:15:13.27
But he was trying to write more
00:15:13.27\00:15:16.48
and more and writing quotes from
00:15:16.48\00:15:19.18
the Bible.
00:15:19.18\00:15:20.42
He wrote the entire love chapter
00:15:20.42\00:15:23.62
in Corinthians.
00:15:23.62\00:15:26.15
And I was starting to think,
00:15:26.15\00:15:28.76
"This man is changing so much."
00:15:28.76\00:15:31.53
Another thing when I was,
00:15:31.53\00:15:35.30
at the time when Paul was in
00:15:35.30\00:15:36.60
jail, my knees were giving me a
00:15:36.60\00:15:39.27
lot of trouble.
00:15:39.27\00:15:40.27
I was needing knee surgery, and
00:15:40.27\00:15:43.24
so I could not mow the lawn.
00:15:43.24\00:15:45.91
So Pastor Ricardo, and I don't
00:15:45.91\00:15:49.08
know of any priests who do this,
00:15:49.08\00:15:51.18
but he would cut my lawn.
00:15:51.18\00:15:53.15
Every week he would come and cut
00:15:53.15\00:15:54.92
my lawn and then he would brush
00:15:54.92\00:15:57.02
the grass off himself and he'd
00:15:57.02\00:15:58.82
be sniffling and sneezing and
00:15:58.82\00:16:01.52
he'd say, "I kind of have a
00:16:01.52\00:16:03.63
reaction to grass, like, I'm
00:16:03.63\00:16:05.53
allergic to it."
00:16:05.53\00:16:06.63
And I'm like, "You're allergic
00:16:06.63\00:16:09.06
and you're cutting my lawn?"
00:16:09.06\00:16:10.90
And what was great is later he'd
00:16:10.90\00:16:13.07
be blowing his nose, but he'd be
00:16:13.07\00:16:14.60
doing a Bible study with me and
00:16:14.60\00:16:17.64
that was another wonderful way
00:16:17.64\00:16:20.01
to learn about the faith, learn
00:16:20.01\00:16:22.24
about the Bible.
00:16:22.24\00:16:23.68
Instead of an hour with learning
00:16:23.68\00:16:25.81
the Bible, he would spend like
00:16:25.81\00:16:27.55
two and a half hours with me,
00:16:27.55\00:16:29.78
and it was a wonderful time to
00:16:29.78\00:16:31.92
learn the Bible, and I was very
00:16:31.92\00:16:34.79
grateful for that.
00:16:34.79\00:16:36.39
>> Now, when Paul ended up in
00:16:36.39\00:16:39.79
jail, I was already doing Bible
00:16:39.79\00:16:43.16
studies with his wife, and that
00:16:43.16\00:16:46.37
was a very sensitive time.
00:16:46.37\00:16:47.90
Judy needed a lot of help.
00:16:47.90\00:16:49.64
I remember going there earlier
00:16:49.64\00:16:52.14
so that I could cut the grass
00:16:52.14\00:16:54.41
and mow the lawn, and then I
00:16:54.41\00:16:56.38
would do the Bible study and it
00:16:56.38\00:16:58.05
was such a nice time.
00:16:58.05\00:16:59.45
And one of the things also that
00:16:59.45\00:17:01.85
it was amazing in that time is
00:17:01.85\00:17:03.85
that though Paul was going
00:17:03.85\00:17:05.75
through a hard time in jail, he
00:17:05.75\00:17:07.82
ended up being in a city that is
00:17:07.82\00:17:10.59
Regina, where I had a friend.
00:17:10.59\00:17:12.76
And Judy asked me if I had
00:17:12.76\00:17:14.30
anyone that I know in Regina and
00:17:14.30\00:17:18.17
I said, "Yeah, I have a good
00:17:18.17\00:17:19.13
friend there, Pastor Troy."
00:17:19.13\00:17:20.70
So I called Pastor Troy and I
00:17:21.37\00:17:23.94
told him, "Buddy, I have someone
00:17:23.94\00:17:26.17
that needs visitation.
00:17:26.17\00:17:27.38
Can you make the time?"
00:17:27.38\00:17:28.58
And of course, Troy, you know,
00:17:28.58\00:17:30.11
got the clearance and he started
00:17:30.11\00:17:31.91
visiting in jail and he started
00:17:31.91\00:17:35.15
basically studying with Paul.
00:17:35.15\00:17:36.58
And that was such a blessing for
00:17:36.58\00:17:38.55
Paul as he was going through
00:17:38.55\00:17:40.89
this hard time in his life.
00:17:40.89\00:17:43.39
The baptism of Paul, that was
00:17:44.36\00:17:47.40
something that it was so nice
00:17:47.40\00:17:48.76
for me because I had the
00:17:48.76\00:17:50.83
privilege to baptize him along
00:17:50.83\00:17:53.00
with my friend, Troy.
00:17:53.00\00:17:54.80
And he wanted it that way
00:17:54.80\00:17:55.90
because both of us, God used us
00:17:55.90\00:17:58.11
to play a very important role in
00:17:58.11\00:18:00.71
that transformational process
00:18:00.71\00:18:02.81
and Paul accepting God and being
00:18:02.81\00:18:04.68
baptized, so...
00:18:04.68\00:18:05.91
>> So by the time I came home in
00:18:07.12\00:18:08.78
November, Judy was already
00:18:08.78\00:18:10.89
talking about baptism.
00:18:10.89\00:18:12.15
She'd been studying with Pastor
00:18:12.15\00:18:13.19
Ricardo, taking Bible studies,
00:18:13.19\00:18:15.16
and had made a decision that she
00:18:15.16\00:18:16.29
was going to be baptized on
00:18:16.29\00:18:17.76
February 14th, Valentine's Day.
00:18:17.76\00:18:20.06
Now, while that day was a very
00:18:20.06\00:18:22.16
emotional and a wonderful
00:18:22.16\00:18:24.03
experience, wasn't quite ready
00:18:24.03\00:18:26.60
for to make that commitment yet.
00:18:26.60\00:18:29.84
Baptism is not something that
00:18:29.84\00:18:31.04
you take lightly, it's something
00:18:31.04\00:18:32.14
you need to make a major
00:18:32.14\00:18:33.17
commitment and I was not quite
00:18:33.17\00:18:35.48
at that place yet.
00:18:35.48\00:18:36.71
>> So Judy was baptized, and now
00:18:37.51\00:18:41.12
when were you baptized?
00:18:41.12\00:18:43.35
>> So I was baptized in July of
00:18:43.35\00:18:45.85
2017 at camp meeting in the lake
00:18:45.85\00:18:50.83
at Camp White Sands.
00:18:50.83\00:18:52.66
Needed to be done in the lake
00:18:52.66\00:18:54.83
because Jesus was baptized in
00:18:54.83\00:18:56.60
the water, He was not baptized
00:18:56.60\00:18:58.30
in a pool, so I needed to be
00:18:58.30\00:19:00.17
done at the lake.
00:19:00.17\00:19:01.10
Was baptized by Pastor Troy and
00:19:01.10\00:19:02.44
baptized by Pastor Ricardo, two
00:19:02.44\00:19:04.31
of the most influential people
00:19:04.31\00:19:06.07
that had been part of my
00:19:06.07\00:19:08.44
becoming a Christian.
00:19:08.44\00:19:10.08
>> So Pastor Troy was the one
00:19:10.08\00:19:12.51
who visited you in Regina.
00:19:12.51\00:19:15.32
Why Pastor Ricardo?
00:19:15.32\00:19:16.85
>> So Pastor Ricardo had done
00:19:16.85\00:19:18.45
the Bible studies with me, but
00:19:18.45\00:19:20.26
he was my pastor at church and
00:19:20.26\00:19:22.32
we just developed a, not only a
00:19:22.32\00:19:25.16
pastor-person relation, but we
00:19:25.16\00:19:28.00
developed a big, strong
00:19:28.00\00:19:29.30
friendship.
00:19:29.30\00:19:30.03
We're still friends to this day,
00:19:30.03\00:19:31.50
and I think that was important.
00:19:31.50\00:19:32.83
I needed both of them because
00:19:32.83\00:19:34.07
they were both so important in
00:19:34.07\00:19:35.60
my life.
00:19:35.60\00:19:36.54
>> So, Paul, now your life has
00:19:37.34\00:19:40.54
completely changed.
00:19:40.54\00:19:41.94
You've given your life to Jesus.
00:19:41.94\00:19:43.88
You've become baptized.
00:19:43.88\00:19:45.81
You got your old job back as a
00:19:45.81\00:19:48.32
professional trucker, which you
00:19:48.32\00:19:50.39
absolutely loved and were
00:19:50.39\00:19:52.12
passionate about.
00:19:52.12\00:19:53.82
And so everything was going
00:19:53.82\00:19:57.29
wonderful.
00:19:57.29\00:19:58.96
And so it was just happily ever
00:19:58.96\00:20:01.03
after for you?
00:20:01.03\00:20:02.60
>> Um, no.
00:20:02.60\00:20:04.00
So we went to camp meeting in
00:20:04.60\00:20:07.87
July of 2019, just prior to
00:20:07.87\00:20:10.47
going to camp meeting I'd been
00:20:10.47\00:20:11.87
given or my company had given me
00:20:11.87\00:20:14.51
a new truck to drive.
00:20:14.51\00:20:16.51
I drove it for a week, went to
00:20:16.51\00:20:18.11
camp for a week, came back,
00:20:18.11\00:20:20.22
drove it for about two more
00:20:20.22\00:20:21.42
weeks and then I started to feel
00:20:21.42\00:20:24.49
something.
00:20:24.49\00:20:25.45
I was not feeling well.
00:20:25.45\00:20:26.89
Got back home, I was feeling
00:20:29.22\00:20:33.29
really sick around Saskatoon,
00:20:33.29\00:20:35.43
about 6 hours from my home, was
00:20:35.43\00:20:38.30
able to get back home, ended up
00:20:38.30\00:20:40.97
in hospital and I have an
00:20:40.97\00:20:42.50
illness called Guillain-Barré
00:20:42.50\00:20:44.07
syndrome.
00:20:44.07\00:20:45.47
It's an autoimmune disorder.
00:20:45.47\00:20:47.71
It got me paralyzed.
00:20:47.71\00:20:49.78
I was paralyzed from the neck
00:20:49.78\00:20:51.08
down and I was in hospital for
00:20:51.08\00:20:53.58
seven months.
00:20:53.58\00:20:55.42
>> So that's what you found out?
00:20:55.42\00:20:57.39
[PAUL] Yes.
00:20:57.39\00:20:57.95
>> You found out you had
00:20:57.95\00:20:58.92
Guillain-Barré.
00:20:58.92\00:21:00.09
How did you find this out?
00:21:00.62\00:21:02.76
[PAUL] So well, here's some
00:21:02.76\00:21:03.59
tests that they run, how they do
00:21:03.59\00:21:04.93
a spinal tap on to figure out
00:21:04.93\00:21:07.03
what was actually wrong, because
00:21:07.03\00:21:08.26
there was all sorts of things
00:21:08.26\00:21:09.30
going.
00:21:09.30\00:21:09.86
My body was just eating
00:21:09.86\00:21:10.97
itself away.
00:21:10.97\00:21:11.83
So they did a spinal tap and
00:21:11.83\00:21:13.23
determined that it was
00:21:13.23\00:21:14.77
Guillain-Barré syndrome.
00:21:14.77\00:21:16.30
It's a very, very serious
00:21:16.30\00:21:17.31
illness.
00:21:17.31\00:21:18.11
Almost killed me.
00:21:18.11\00:21:19.14
I was rushed to the ICU.
00:21:19.14\00:21:21.11
I was intubated.
00:21:21.11\00:21:23.11
My wife was told that they made
00:21:23.11\00:21:24.71
it with just seconds to spare.
00:21:24.71\00:21:26.55
And...
00:21:27.22\00:21:28.38
...it changed my life
00:21:29.62\00:21:31.35
completely, but I never lost
00:21:31.35\00:21:33.52
my faith.
00:21:33.52\00:21:34.59
>> Wait, Paul, help me to
00:21:35.79\00:21:37.83
understand.
00:21:37.83\00:21:38.69
You were paralyzed and intubated
00:21:38.69\00:21:41.33
and nearly died, but you're
00:21:41.33\00:21:43.80
here.
00:21:43.80\00:21:44.50
Can you tell us about your life
00:21:44.50\00:21:47.24
being a miracle?
00:21:47.24\00:21:48.97
>> It's only through the grace
00:21:48.97\00:21:49.90
of God.
00:21:49.90\00:21:50.77
So I was in hospital.
00:21:50.77\00:21:52.31
Just before I got intubated, I
00:21:52.31\00:21:54.04
could still speak and I had a
00:21:54.04\00:21:56.28
visit from Pastor Maxi.
00:21:56.28\00:21:58.61
We'd met him at camp meeting.
00:21:58.61\00:22:00.72
Didn't really know him that
00:22:00.72\00:22:01.58
well, became a really good
00:22:01.58\00:22:03.32
friend of mine as we went
00:22:03.32\00:22:04.62
through this journey in hospital
00:22:04.62\00:22:06.45
through the seven months.
00:22:06.45\00:22:07.82
But he came to visit me and he
00:22:07.82\00:22:09.66
said to me, "Can I pray for you?
00:22:09.66\00:22:12.49
Is there something specific that
00:22:12.49\00:22:14.20
I can pray for?"
00:22:14.20\00:22:15.30
And I said, "Can you pray for my
00:22:15.30\00:22:17.10
hands?"
00:22:17.10\00:22:18.13
I said, "I really, I can't live
00:22:18.13\00:22:20.27
without having my hands
00:22:20.27\00:22:21.37
working."
00:22:21.37\00:22:22.10
And so we did a prayer
00:22:22.10\00:22:23.61
for my hands.
00:22:23.61\00:22:25.27
And a couple of days later, I
00:22:25.27\00:22:27.41
was rushed to the hospital,
00:22:27.41\00:22:28.58
rushed to the ICU and intubated
00:22:28.58\00:22:30.61
and I lost my voice.
00:22:30.61\00:22:32.98
Can't speak anymore.
00:22:32.98\00:22:34.98
And as I was laying in my bed
00:22:34.98\00:22:36.92
with nothing much else to do, I
00:22:36.92\00:22:39.45
just started thinking that I
00:22:39.45\00:22:40.86
should have prayed for my voice,
00:22:40.86\00:22:42.76
should have prayed to have my
00:22:42.76\00:22:43.66
voice back.
00:22:43.66\00:22:45.13
But thinking more of that, it
00:22:45.13\00:22:47.93
was like, "Well, if I get my
00:22:47.93\00:22:49.76
hands back, I can do a lot more
00:22:49.76\00:22:51.83
than just speak.
00:22:51.83\00:22:53.07
I can use my hands.
00:22:53.07\00:22:54.17
I could learn to speak
00:22:54.17\00:22:55.07
with my hands.
00:22:55.07\00:22:55.94
I could learn to do everything
00:22:55.94\00:22:57.07
with my hands."
00:22:57.07\00:22:58.11
So praying for my hands was
00:22:58.11\00:23:00.11
the good thing.
00:23:00.11\00:23:01.51
As my recovery eventually did
00:23:02.48\00:23:05.68
start, the first thing that came
00:23:05.68\00:23:07.98
back to me was my hands.
00:23:07.98\00:23:09.88
And my hands came back strong,
00:23:09.88\00:23:12.32
perfect.
00:23:12.32\00:23:13.25
They worked perfect.
00:23:13.25\00:23:14.99
So much so that I could pick up
00:23:14.99\00:23:17.23
a smartphone and type on a
00:23:17.23\00:23:19.06
smartphone, type messages to the
00:23:19.06\00:23:20.60
doctors, to the nurses, to my
00:23:20.60\00:23:22.00
visitors, to my wife, people
00:23:22.00\00:23:23.63
like that, and tell them what I
00:23:23.63\00:23:25.53
wanted to tell them.
00:23:25.53\00:23:27.34
So the doctors could not
00:23:27.34\00:23:29.90
understand how well my hands
00:23:29.90\00:23:31.77
were working and the only thing
00:23:31.77\00:23:34.04
that made any sense of that was
00:23:34.04\00:23:36.44
that prayer.
00:23:36.44\00:23:37.48
>> Paul, you went through all
00:23:38.15\00:23:39.81
these hardships.
00:23:39.81\00:23:40.92
Is there a story in the Bible
00:23:40.92\00:23:43.05
that you can identify with?
00:23:43.05\00:23:44.79
>> Absolutely.
00:23:44.79\00:23:45.82
Job.
00:23:45.82\00:23:46.89
I mean, Job was put through so
00:23:46.89\00:23:49.06
many tests.
00:23:49.06\00:23:50.09
God allowed Job to be tested and
00:23:50.93\00:23:54.60
Job persevered through all those
00:23:54.60\00:23:56.23
tests, the loss of all his
00:23:56.23\00:23:58.50
crops, the loss of all of his
00:23:58.50\00:23:59.93
animals, the loss of his sons
00:23:59.93\00:24:01.90
and daughters, the loss of
00:24:01.90\00:24:03.20
everything.
00:24:03.20\00:24:04.97
And he never lost his faith.
00:24:04.97\00:24:07.78
When I was in hospital, my wife
00:24:07.78\00:24:10.65
was reading Job to me because it
00:24:10.65\00:24:14.02
just gave us that strength that
00:24:14.02\00:24:15.38
if he could go through all of
00:24:15.38\00:24:16.82
that, then we can go through
00:24:16.82\00:24:18.19
this and we can come out of
00:24:18.19\00:24:19.69
this, so...
00:24:19.69\00:24:20.42
And we did.
00:24:20.42\00:24:22.46
So life's not perfect, but it
00:24:22.46\00:24:25.56
was a journey, and I'm quite
00:24:25.56\00:24:27.73
happy with the way things have
00:24:27.73\00:24:29.06
turned out.
00:24:29.06\00:24:30.10
>> Final question, Paul.
00:24:30.67\00:24:32.37
How did this miracle change
00:24:32.37\00:24:34.17
your life?
00:24:34.17\00:24:35.20
>> Gave me a much bigger
00:24:35.54\00:24:37.24
strength in God, knowing that He
00:24:37.24\00:24:39.64
is there for us, but also gave
00:24:39.64\00:24:41.78
me the opportunity to share my
00:24:41.78\00:24:43.04
story, not just here, but I do--
00:24:43.04\00:24:45.15
I've shared my story at various
00:24:45.15\00:24:46.92
churches across Manitoba,
00:24:46.92\00:24:48.68
telling them.
00:24:48.68\00:24:49.75
I share it online with people,
00:24:49.75\00:24:52.19
I share it on the street with
00:24:52.19\00:24:53.46
people, I've met people and just
00:24:53.46\00:24:54.79
randomly started talking to them
00:24:54.79\00:24:56.39
and have told them this story
00:24:56.39\00:24:58.69
and it just gives them faith
00:24:58.69\00:25:00.80
that God is still there.
00:25:00.80\00:25:02.23
God was doing miracles back in
00:25:02.23\00:25:03.67
the Bible.
00:25:03.67\00:25:04.50
People don't hear about the
00:25:04.50\00:25:05.50
miracles today, so I'm hoping
00:25:05.50\00:25:07.44
that through me they can learn
00:25:07.44\00:25:09.00
that miracles are still
00:25:09.00\00:25:09.84
happening.
00:25:09.84\00:25:10.87
God has given me a ministry
00:25:10.87\00:25:12.14
as well.
00:25:12.14\00:25:12.77
I used to be a long distance
00:25:12.77\00:25:13.64
truck driver, I can't drive a
00:25:13.64\00:25:14.81
truck anymore because I can't
00:25:14.81\00:25:16.18
pass a medical test, but I do
00:25:16.18\00:25:18.68
write a blog.
00:25:18.68\00:25:19.51
I have a blog called "A
00:25:19.51\00:25:21.15
Trucker's Tale of Redemption."
00:25:21.15\00:25:22.88
It's at shinysideup.ca which,
00:25:22.88\00:25:26.05
shiny side up is what truckers
00:25:26.05\00:25:28.36
always want to keep.
00:25:28.36\00:25:29.39
They want to keep the clean side
00:25:29.39\00:25:30.86
of the truck up, not the dirty
00:25:30.86\00:25:32.59
side and that's the side of
00:25:32.59\00:25:34.30
people-- that's the side of me
00:25:34.30\00:25:35.73
that I want people to see is my
00:25:35.73\00:25:37.03
shiny side.
00:25:37.03\00:25:38.17
>> Paul, thank you very much for
00:25:38.70\00:25:40.67
sharing with us on It Is Written
00:25:40.67\00:25:41.70
Canada.
00:25:41.70\00:25:42.34
Sharing your story of how God
00:25:42.40\00:25:44.11
led you through so many places
00:25:44.11\00:25:46.54
in your life to where you are
00:25:46.54\00:25:48.01
now, a completely changed and
00:25:48.01\00:25:49.84
reformed man in the image of
00:25:49.84\00:25:52.05
Christ.
00:25:52.05\00:25:53.21
Can you pray for our viewers
00:25:53.21\00:25:54.82
before we go?
00:25:54.82\00:25:56.08
Pray-- there's maybe someone
00:25:56.08\00:25:57.92
who's thinking God doesn't
00:25:57.92\00:25:59.85
perform miracles today, only in
00:25:59.85\00:26:02.52
Bible times.
00:26:02.52\00:26:03.69
And yet, you know that He has
00:26:03.69\00:26:05.53
performed miracles in your life.
00:26:05.53\00:26:07.86
Can you pray for those people so
00:26:07.86\00:26:09.16
that they can see that God is
00:26:09.16\00:26:10.73
alive and well today and willing
00:26:10.73\00:26:12.67
to work in their lives and show
00:26:12.67\00:26:14.17
His love to them.
00:26:14.17\00:26:15.40
>> Yeah. Let's pray.
00:26:15.40\00:26:17.04
Heavenly Father, we do thank You
00:26:17.04\00:26:18.94
that You are still performing
00:26:18.94\00:26:20.24
miracles.
00:26:20.24\00:26:21.64
People don't see this in real
00:26:21.64\00:26:23.51
life, but I'm one miracle and
00:26:23.51\00:26:25.88
there's many others.
00:26:25.88\00:26:27.05
So we know that You're answering
00:26:27.05\00:26:29.18
prayers.
00:26:29.18\00:26:30.19
Just pray for those people out
00:26:30.19\00:26:31.55
there that are struggling, those
00:26:31.55\00:26:32.99
lost sheep, Lord, we know that
00:26:32.99\00:26:35.69
they are seeking to be found and
00:26:35.69\00:26:37.36
we know that if they just seek
00:26:37.36\00:26:39.36
You, that they will be found.
00:26:39.36\00:26:40.73
We ask for a blessing upon them
00:26:40.73\00:26:42.23
and blessing upon all the
00:26:42.23\00:26:43.57
listeners.
00:26:43.57\00:26:44.50
In Jesus name, amen.
00:26:44.50\00:26:45.80
[MIKE] Amen.
00:26:45.80\00:26:46.84
>> Paul, thank you so much for
00:26:47.40\00:26:49.57
sharing your miraculous life
00:26:49.57\00:26:51.84
today on It Is Written Canada.
00:26:51.84\00:26:54.64
>> Thank you for having me.
00:26:54.64\00:26:55.94
>> Friends, Paul Croft clearly
00:26:56.85\00:26:59.35
experienced the healing power of
00:26:59.35\00:27:01.68
God's love in his life.
00:27:01.68\00:27:04.22
>> Whenever Jesus met people who
00:27:04.22\00:27:06.32
had fallen completely under
00:27:06.32\00:27:07.96
Satan's control with no hope of
00:27:07.96\00:27:10.69
escape, He offered help in the
00:27:10.69\00:27:12.99
kindest, most gentle way.
00:27:12.99\00:27:15.33
Our free offered today is
00:27:15.33\00:27:16.90
entitled "The Healing Power
00:27:16.90\00:27:19.00
of Love."
00:27:19.00\00:27:20.40
>> The Healing Power of Love
00:27:20.40\00:27:22.00
reveals how every moment can
00:27:22.00\00:27:24.24
influence eternity.
00:27:24.24\00:27:26.04
To Jesus, no human was
00:27:26.04\00:27:28.08
worthless.
00:27:28.08\00:27:29.31
He gave hope to the roughest,
00:27:29.31\00:27:31.11
most despondent people, assuring
00:27:31.11\00:27:33.72
them that they could become
00:27:33.72\00:27:35.72
faithful children of God.
00:27:35.72\00:27:37.82
Before you go, we would also
00:27:38.69\00:27:40.59
like to invite you to follow us
00:27:40.59\00:27:42.49
on Instagram and Facebook and
00:27:42.49\00:27:45.36
subscribe to our YouTube channel
00:27:45.36\00:27:48.00
and also listen to our podcasts.
00:27:48.00\00:27:50.70
And if you go to our website,
00:27:50.70\00:27:53.03
you can see our latest programs.
00:27:53.03\00:27:55.44
>> You, too, can experience the
00:27:55.44\00:27:57.11
fullness of life that is found
00:27:57.11\00:27:58.31
in the words of Jesus
00:27:58.31\00:27:59.54
when He said...
00:27:59.54\00:28:00.68
[inspirational music playing]
00:28:10.22\00:28:13.52
¤¤
00:28:13.52\00:28:17.23