(upbeat music)
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- Hello and welcome
to Jesus for Asia Now.
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I'm Natalie Wood.
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And today we're going
to check up on a family
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we interviewed here on
this show just over a year ago,
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right before they
moved to Thailand.
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My husband, John,
is here with us today.
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Hello love.
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- Hi darling, how are you?
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- I'm doing good today.
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- Awesome.
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- And I'm
excited about our story.
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- Yes.
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This is an ongoing developing
story, project, vision, dream,
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for probably almost a decade.
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I first went up to Sukhothai,
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which is a small
city in Northern Thailand.
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There's a big plane from Bangkok
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all the way up
several hundred miles.
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And in the Northern end
of that plane is Sukhothai.
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It used to be the capital of
Northern Thailand, way before
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the big unification happened
several hundred years ago.
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There was no
Adventist presence whatsoever
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in that entire
city, 35,000 people.
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So not a huge city.
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But not having presence.
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And I'm
thinking there should be.
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And so I started praying.
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We started praying and we
started putting out the call
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and many, many years went by
and just praying for the city.
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Now, I have to tell you
before we go any farther,
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so I don't forget.
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There's another city we're
praying for also right now.
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- Right.
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- And that city's 125,000
people and it's a big city,
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but it needs to be reached.
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There's no Adventist.
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There's no missionary.
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There's no church.
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There's no Bible workers.
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There's nothing of
our faith in that city.
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That needs to change.
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- Right.
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- So in the fall of 2018,
we went to Virginia to a church
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where a friend of mine
from high school was the pastor.
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- Right.
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- And we made
three presentations
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and this family was
like, "God's calling us."
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- Right.
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- Where can we go?
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Where's your biggest need?
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And we're like Sukhothai.
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- Right. (laughing)
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- So people can
watch that previous episode
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that we shot with
them. - [John] Yes.
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- [Natalie] 'Cause
we interviewed them.
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- [John] Each of
them independently.
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- [Natalie] Right.
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- He had gone over with
me for a couple of weeks
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just to check everything out.
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- [Natalie] Right.
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- She had never
been overseas before.
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His family, he was
raised in a missionary family.
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So he was all, you
know, "We're ready to go."
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Let's do this.
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- Yeah, it was simpler for him.
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- Yes. - But, yeah.
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It was much harder
for her to come to that.
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- Yeah.
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And what's unique about their
family is they had a lot kids.
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- [Natalie] Right,
they have eight children.
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- [John] Yes.
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- [Natalie] And five of
them are in Thailand with them.
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- [John] Aha, the
three others are older.
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And so they've got their own
lives back here in America but-
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- Right, going to
school and stuff like that.
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- Right, yeah.
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- But anyway, so
they launched and they...
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It took them a year to sell
their house, sell everything,
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you know, get everything
organized and get ready to
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launch. But then they launched
and they went over there with
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a family of eight.
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- And one of them -
One of the older boys
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was there with them
when they first went.
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- And so the plan was that they
would settle into Chiang Mai
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for six months and
get language study.
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- [Natalie] Right.
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They got to Chiang Mai
and they didn't thrive.
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They didn't do well.
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- One of their sons has
asthma and with the pollution,
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from the smog from cars there
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and also the burning
that they do in some of
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the agricultural activities,
he was not doing well.
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He ended up in the hospital
like within a week or two
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of them getting there.
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And so it was really scary.
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- Yeah.
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And so during
that time they were...
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She was
struggling and she's like,
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I don't know
what I'm doing here.
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It was just like
between freaking out and face.
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- Right. (laughing)
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- She was back and forth.
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- What's amazing about
them is that before they came,
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they said, you know,
we're scared about this,
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but we want to learn faith.
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We want to see
God work in our lives.
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And we want to be tested.
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We want that.
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It's gonna be
hard, but we want that.
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And this is the right attitude
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because this is
God's plan for us.
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This is God's life program.
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He took the children
of Israel out of Egypt,
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but he took them
through a series of tests
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so that they would
learn to trust him.
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And most people don't
wanna go through that.
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- Right.
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- They wanna have the salvation,
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they wanna be out of Egypt,
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but they don't
wanna learn real faith,
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real dependence on
God, because it's hard.
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- Right.
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- But those that want
that, God does amazing.
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I've seen this over and
over and over again in a lot
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of people's lives when they
choose that path, God steps out.
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And he does
amazing things for them.
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And they come out with strong
testimonies and strong faith.
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- Right, right. (laughing)
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- And so this was the
path that the Nortons were on.
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- [Natalie] Right.
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- And so during that time,
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when they were struggling
up in Chiang Mai, they decided,
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well, we'll just
go down to Sukhothai,
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which is about five, six
hours South of Chiang Mai.
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And we'll just
check out the city,
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see where we're gonna go.
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So they got Jonathan and
Hannah to drive them down there.
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And Jonathan just
happened to turn down a road
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that he'd been down before
'cause his parents had looked
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at moving to that
city the previous year.
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And turned down a road
where there's this house that,
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at that time, when he
took his parents there,
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had been under construction.
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They drive down that
road and that same house,
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the guy just had put
up a for rental sign.
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So the
construction had finished.
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He called the guy, guy came
out there, showed it to them
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and they rented it.
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- Wow, that same day.
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- That same day, you
know how long some people look
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for a rental.
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- Yeah.(laughs)
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That's a miracle.
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- Yeah.
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And then the owner was so
supportive of what they're
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doing. He bought them a kitchen
table, massive kitchen table,
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'cause he saw how
big their family was.
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- And he showed up one
day and said come help me.
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And they didn't know
where they were going,
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but they went to help him.
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And they went and got all
the table and all the chairs
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and everything. (laughing)
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- And then they're
like, this neighborhood,
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she's like, "Our front gate,
I feel like we should leave
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"our front gate open
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"because everybody
else's gate is closed.
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"Is it okay?"
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And he says,
"Yeah, as the Lord leads."
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So as they open their gate
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before long within
the next couple of days,
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everybody else's
gate was open too.
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And the kids started
playing in the neighborhood.
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Kids started playing together.
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They started making these
contacts and they started, well,
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of course they are
learning the language online.
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- Right, yeah.
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That's also a
miracle. - [John] Yeah.
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- Because before that,
it wasn't available online.
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- [John] Right. -
Without a larger fee.
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- [John] Right. -
But for the same price,
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the place was willing
to do online for them,
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for the sake of their son.
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- Right.
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So so they're sort of
going down to this place.
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They haven't gone
through a cultural training
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or language training.
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And so they're raw from
America in this new place.
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And what happens is the
neighbors see that they have
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need. " Oh, you
need to buy some food."
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" Yes, where do you buy food?"
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"Oh, I'll take you."
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And then the neighbor would
then take them to the store,
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introduce them
to the store owner
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and tell them what they needed.
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- Right and help them.
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People at the market
would take them and take them to
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wherever it was that
they needed whatever.
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And- - Yeah.
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So these connections
are starting to be formed
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because of their need.
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And then we remember Preaw.
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- [Natalie] Right. - Okay.
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The young lady that was adopted
by Josh and a lot about her.
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- [Natalie] Right. -
Then a little while later
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she found out she had siblings.
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- Right. -
[John] Younger siblings.
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- She's never known about them.
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- Yeah, like 10 years
younger. - [Natalie] Wow.
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- A boy and a
girl, Wind and Sky.
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They were in terrible condition,
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just terrible
condition in the slum.
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And the mum or the aunt
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or whoever was taking care
of them was like half paralyzed.
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And so they were just
fending for themselves
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in the slum environment.
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And Josh and Hannah
couldn't take any more kids
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'cause they were maxed out.
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- Right, they're only
allowed to have certain number-
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- [John] Right.
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- Before it's illegal.
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- And so they
called the Norton's.
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Can you take two kids?
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And I remember
(laughs) their response.
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If you're looking
for somebody to say,
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I have to pray about it.
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Let me think about it.
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You've got the
wrong people.(chuckles)
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- Yeah. -
[John] We'll take them.
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- We've already been praying.
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- [John] Right.
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That's what
Kasey's answer was, yeah.
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- Exactly, so
they took two kids.
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Before long, they took-
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- Three more. - Three more.
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(laughing)
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So now they're maxed out.
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- Right, so they have five
of their own children there,
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plus five children that
speak three other languages.
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(laughing)
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- And what's amazing about this.
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You know, we get messages
from people, our viewers saying,
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"What are you doing
about the flesh trade?"
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Because it's-
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- Huge problem.
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It's a huge problem in
Southeast Asia, Thailand,
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especially Bangkok.
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And I have a really good
friend that has done ministry
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in Thailand for
a very long time.
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And they used to
work with the flesh trade,
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with prostitutes.
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And he told me that
the best thing we can do
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is bring education to the kids
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before they get
sucked into that trade.
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- Save them
before it comes to them.
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- Yeah, because
once they get into that,
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it's really hard.
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And a lot of them
don't even wanna get out.
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And if you pull
them out, it's like,
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they just wanna go back in.
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Because it's easy money and
it just messes with their mind.
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And it's just a bad thing.
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- Self value and
all that self worth.
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- Exactly, and so to keep
them out of that flesh trade
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is really the
number one priority.
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And so that's
what's happening here
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is they're getting
those kids out of there
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before they get
sucked into that.
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- Right, that's awesome.
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- Yeah, very cool.
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So, very excited about that.
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But we have a video
that introduces us to
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who these kids are and who
this family is and everything.
00:10:01.36\00:10:03.90
- Okay, let's watch that now.
00:10:03.90\00:10:05.00
- Okay.
00:10:05.00\00:10:06.53
(upbeat music)
00:10:06.53\00:10:09.07
(children laughing)
00:10:09.07\00:10:10.31
- That's too full over there.
00:10:10.31\00:10:12.17
(indistinct)
00:10:12.17\00:10:14.58
- Robbie has had sort of
a passion and an interest
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in the mission
field for a long time
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because of this mission family.
00:10:20.85\00:10:22.48
And I did not.
00:10:22.48\00:10:23.95
- And we had John and
Natalie come to our church
00:10:23.95\00:10:27.46
and speak on what they do.
00:10:27.46\00:10:29.92
- And it was as a
result of those meetings
00:10:29.92\00:10:31.89
that we felt compelled to come.
00:10:31.89\00:10:35.33
And so that was a
whole process of praying,
00:10:35.33\00:10:37.40
making sure that
it was God leading.
00:10:37.40\00:10:39.17
And we felt pretty confident
that he was going to have us
00:10:39.17\00:10:44.14
here by September of 2019.
00:10:45.04\00:10:47.51
And all the
pieces fell into place.
00:10:47.51\00:10:49.44
We ended up in
Thailand on August 28th or 30th.
00:10:49.44\00:10:54.32
It was like one
day before September.
00:10:54.32\00:10:57.95
So His leading was
very clear and evident.
00:10:57.95\00:11:02.56
(upbeat music)
00:11:02.56\00:11:05.16
I remember at our
house in Virginia,
00:11:07.50\00:11:11.43
I would walk around the
house in the mornings praying.
00:11:11.43\00:11:16.44
And I take my Bible with
me and I'll stop occasionally
00:11:17.87\00:11:20.71
and read something.
00:11:20.71\00:11:21.54
And one of the verses,
00:11:21.54\00:11:23.08
I don't even know where
it is right now, but it said,
00:11:23.08\00:11:25.68
"Enlarge your tents
or expand your whatever."
00:11:25.68\00:11:30.69
And as we already felt like,
00:11:31.55\00:11:35.32
that's what we were
gonna come here to do.
00:11:35.32\00:11:37.23
And as I was reading that,
00:11:37.23\00:11:38.86
it really felt obvious
that God was saying children
00:11:38.86\00:11:42.90
are in your future.
00:11:42.90\00:11:44.40
And I really felt like he
was asking me to start praying
00:11:44.40\00:11:47.27
for those kids.
00:11:47.27\00:11:48.77
And so that as I was walking
around praying for the children
00:11:48.77\00:11:51.87
that we had at that time,
00:11:51.87\00:11:53.11
I also started
praying for the children that
00:11:54.41\00:11:57.21
He was going to give us.
00:11:57.21\00:11:58.55
(upbeat music)
00:11:59.78\00:12:02.42
- We moved into
this house in Sukhothai
00:12:02.42\00:12:06.12
a month after
getting to Thailand.
00:12:06.12\00:12:08.49
And then two
weeks after we got here,
00:12:08.49\00:12:10.93
Josh Bauder sent a message.
00:12:10.93\00:12:12.69
I think he was kind of joking.
00:12:12.69\00:12:13.83
And he just said,
00:12:13.83\00:12:15.26
let us know when you're
ready to take in some kids.
00:12:15.26\00:12:16.73
We just answered back,
well, we're ready anytime.
00:12:16.73\00:12:19.47
Also kind of joking.
00:12:19.47\00:12:20.84
And-
00:12:20.84\00:12:22.34
- They gave us a call and
asked us if we'd be willing
00:12:22.34\00:12:23.97
to take in Wind and Sky.
00:12:23.97\00:12:26.37
And we said, sure.
00:12:26.37\00:12:28.71
And so we got Win and Sky
from the slums of Bangkok.
00:12:28.71\00:12:33.68
- [Kasey] They were street kids.
00:12:33.68\00:12:34.92
You know, they, they
fought, they punched.
00:12:34.92\00:12:37.39
- And now it's just to
see the change that has come
00:12:37.39\00:12:41.39
upon Wind and Sky,
00:12:41.39\00:12:42.89
since they've come here has
been a blessing to see how God
00:12:42.89\00:12:46.19
can actually work.
00:12:46.19\00:12:47.86
(upbeat music)
00:12:47.86\00:12:50.40
We had made a promise to God.
00:12:52.60\00:12:53.87
We weren't actively
looking for children,
00:12:53.87\00:12:55.94
but if He sent them our way
00:12:55.94\00:12:57.21
that we weren't
going to tell anybody now.
00:12:57.21\00:13:00.11
- I guess it was almost nine
months after Wind and Sky came.
00:13:00.11\00:13:02.91
We got another
call from Josh saying
00:13:02.91\00:13:05.25
that there were more children.
00:13:05.25\00:13:06.85
Gao and Fasai came.
00:13:06.85\00:13:08.88
They're brother and sister,
00:13:08.88\00:13:10.25
who actually never
really lived together.
00:13:10.25\00:13:12.45
So they don't
really know each other
00:13:12.45\00:13:13.96
and they don't
speak the same language.
00:13:13.96\00:13:15.42
So they can't even communicate.
00:13:15.42\00:13:17.63
I think five days after
Gao and Fasai came, Jen came.
00:13:17.63\00:13:22.13
And they're from
totally different setting from
00:13:22.13\00:13:25.07
what we understand
than what Wind and Sky are.
00:13:25.07\00:13:27.37
And they have
adjusted much easier.
00:13:27.37\00:13:30.64
(upbeat music)
00:13:30.64\00:13:33.01
Because why, we
got this question.
00:13:33.01\00:13:35.88
- [Robert] It was a
little bit difficult
00:13:35.88\00:13:37.41
because we only get them
for a little bit in the morning
00:13:37.41\00:13:40.15
and then we take them to school.
00:13:40.15\00:13:41.68
And then when they
get back from school,
00:13:41.68\00:13:43.12
I only have them for a
little bit in the afternoon.
00:13:43.12\00:13:45.15
And then they're in bed.
00:13:45.15\00:13:46.76
- One of the
biggest concerns, honestly,
00:13:46.76\00:13:48.46
isn't even the teachings.
00:13:48.46\00:13:49.72
It's the stuff
that the other kids have
00:13:49.72\00:13:51.19
like on their cell
phones and are showing them.
00:13:51.19\00:13:53.29
And it's like, you're
trying to bring them home.
00:13:53.29\00:13:55.96
Then in this little bit of
time, show them lots of love,
00:13:55.96\00:13:59.27
but then also help them like
decompress and like put off all
00:13:59.27\00:14:04.24
of this stuff that
they've taken in during the day.
00:14:05.67\00:14:07.68
And with having this little
bit of language (chuckles)
00:14:07.68\00:14:11.71
to be able to do that with.
00:14:11.71\00:14:13.21
I think that's probably
honestly the hardest part
00:14:13.21\00:14:15.18
of having them.
00:14:15.18\00:14:16.42
It's just trying to
undo what's done every day.
00:14:16.42\00:14:18.49
(upbeat music)
00:14:18.49\00:14:21.06
I think
ultimately what we envision
00:14:25.16\00:14:28.40
and we feel like
God is leading toward,
00:14:28.40\00:14:30.70
especially with the number
of children that have come
00:14:30.70\00:14:32.67
in such a short period
of time is to establish.
00:14:32.67\00:14:36.00
- Something that's big
enough that we could develop
00:14:36.00\00:14:38.37
and put several
homes on the property
00:14:38.37\00:14:42.14
so that we wouldn't have
like a traditional orphanage
00:14:42.14\00:14:46.45
where there's one big
building with lots of kids.
00:14:46.45\00:14:48.18
We want to have kids that
have actual home environment.
00:14:48.18\00:14:52.85
- And also where we
can establish a school
00:14:52.85\00:14:56.76
so that we can give
them a practical education
00:14:56.76\00:14:59.83
that really
introduces them to discipleship.
00:14:59.83\00:15:03.06
We want to teach
them to wanna teach others
00:15:03.06\00:15:05.67
and not just
impart knowledge to them.
00:15:05.67\00:15:08.67
It will take a piece of property
and the funding to build.
00:15:08.67\00:15:13.68
And it'll take, I think
a teacher, a Thai teacher,
00:15:15.11\00:15:16.95
with a master's
degree and obviously help.
00:15:16.95\00:15:20.92
(upbeat music)
00:15:20.92\00:15:23.49
- If you ask them,
they don't wanna go home.
00:15:26.35\00:15:29.26
They miss their parents.
00:15:29.26\00:15:30.19
They talk about their parents,
00:15:30.19\00:15:32.03
but you ask if
they wanna go back.
00:15:32.03\00:15:34.00
They say," No."
00:15:34.00\00:15:34.83
They like it here.
00:15:34.83\00:15:36.26
So knowing that is
heartwarming that God
00:15:36.26\00:15:40.70
is actually working in
us to show them the love
00:15:40.70\00:15:43.20
of an actual family.
00:15:43.20\00:15:45.31
But the biggest prayer we
need is that they will accept
00:15:45.31\00:15:48.81
who Christ is by seeing
the example of Christ in us.
00:15:48.81\00:15:52.68
- I think that the thing
that we most need prayer for
00:15:52.68\00:15:55.45
is just to have a continued,
willingness to do hard things.
00:15:55.45\00:16:00.26
We need to somehow be
able to learn the language.
00:16:03.46\00:16:06.26
It's not optional for
us with what we're doing.
00:16:06.26\00:16:09.70
And I think just for these kids
to have their minds open and
00:16:09.70\00:16:13.84
for the Holy spirit
to be able to do the work
00:16:13.84\00:16:15.97
that we're
literally not able to do,
00:16:15.97\00:16:17.97
and maybe it's not even our job.
00:16:17.97\00:16:19.57
We want to be humble
enough to step out of the way
00:16:22.68\00:16:25.75
and allow the Holy Spirit
so that God gets all the glory.
00:16:25.75\00:16:29.62
(upbeat music)
00:16:29.62\00:16:32.19
- Isn't that amazing?
00:16:41.43\00:16:42.33
- Yes.
00:16:42.33\00:16:43.80
- Yeah, God's really
called them for child ministry.
00:16:43.80\00:16:46.63
- Right.
00:16:46.63\00:16:47.87
It's such a
miracle what God has done
00:16:47.87\00:16:49.34
in those children's lives to
bring them from where they were
00:16:49.34\00:16:52.87
and they didn't
go into the stories.
00:16:52.87\00:16:55.44
- Right.
00:16:55.44\00:16:56.91
But when the first two
came, when Wind and Sky came,
00:16:56.91\00:16:58.61
the little girl
would see demons.
00:16:58.61\00:17:01.42
And one time
Kasey came to the room
00:17:01.42\00:17:03.89
and she was there
screaming, don't let it hurt me.
00:17:03.89\00:17:06.65
And she was looking
at nothing in the corner,
00:17:06.65\00:17:10.23
but there was obviously
something she could see
00:17:10.23\00:17:12.19
that Kasey couldn't see.
00:17:12.19\00:17:13.80
And then Kasey ran to the
other room and asked her son
00:17:13.80\00:17:16.97
that was there to
pray and then ran back
00:17:16.97\00:17:19.30
and the little girl was
pushed up against the bed,
00:17:19.30\00:17:22.20
just flailing there,
00:17:22.20\00:17:23.71
trying to get away
and she couldn't get away.
00:17:23.71\00:17:26.21
And so she said in
the name of Jesus leave
00:17:26.21\00:17:29.11
and little girl hit
the floor and ran to her
00:17:29.11\00:17:32.01
and just sobbing in her arms
00:17:32.01\00:17:33.52
and just an amazing
story of how, you know,
00:17:33.52\00:17:37.12
she saw that there was major
spiritual warfare right there.
00:17:37.12\00:17:40.92
- Yes, yes.
00:17:40.92\00:17:42.09
And God had
prepared her for that.
00:17:42.09\00:17:43.46
- [Natalie] Right.
00:17:43.46\00:17:44.99
- But can you imagine
that little girl being harassed
00:17:44.99\00:17:47.60
by demons when there
was nobody to call Christ?
00:17:47.60\00:17:50.73
- [Natalie] To
help her. - Yeah, yeah.
00:17:50.73\00:17:52.13
Unprotected. -
[Natalie] Yeah, yeah.
00:17:52.13\00:17:53.67
That's just really
sobering how many others
00:17:53.67\00:17:55.94
are out there like that.
00:17:55.94\00:17:57.47
- Yeah, probably a lot more
than we would like to think.
00:17:57.47\00:18:00.44
- [ John] Right.
00:18:00.44\00:18:01.21
- Right. - Right.
00:18:01.21\00:18:02.14
But in, during that video,
00:18:02.14\00:18:03.38
you saw that they
were talking about a need
00:18:03.38\00:18:05.28
to set up their own school.
00:18:05.28\00:18:07.12
And to find their own property.
00:18:07.12\00:18:09.25
And to build
houses on that property.
00:18:09.25\00:18:12.12
- Right.
00:18:12.12\00:18:13.32
Since that video
was filmed (laughs),
00:18:13.32\00:18:15.36
they have found a
perfect piece of property.
00:18:16.96\00:18:19.93
- Right. - Yeah.
00:18:19.93\00:18:21.33
And we have a video for that.
00:18:21.33\00:18:22.96
- Okay, let's watch that now.
00:18:22.96\00:18:24.67
- Okay.
00:18:24.67\00:18:26.03
(upbeat music)
00:18:26.03\00:18:28.64
- We lived way out in the
country, on the mountains,
00:18:31.41\00:18:34.18
the Blue Ridge
Mountains in Virginia,
00:18:34.18\00:18:36.38
and we didn't have a large
property or anything like that,
00:18:36.38\00:18:39.78
but we lived in the country.
00:18:39.78\00:18:42.52
And we had plenty of
room for the kids to play.
00:18:42.52\00:18:45.99
(upbeat music)
00:18:45.99\00:18:48.56
- When we left Virginia
and ended up in Sukhothai.
00:18:50.93\00:18:55.46
And there was just so
much concrete everywhere.
00:18:55.46\00:18:58.37
There was the sense of loss,
especially for the children,
00:18:58.37\00:19:01.57
the loss of their ability to
grow up, surrounded in nature.
00:19:01.57\00:19:06.57
And so for the last year,
00:19:07.44\00:19:09.04
there's been a bit
of a grieving process,
00:19:09.04\00:19:10.68
I think for us and for the kids.
00:19:10.68\00:19:13.38
The Thai children
that we have don't know
00:19:13.38\00:19:15.28
what they're missing.
00:19:15.28\00:19:16.79
But as our family size has
increased and the need for,
00:19:16.79\00:19:21.32
especially,
outdoor space has grown.
00:19:22.46\00:19:25.19
- Kasey and I've been praying
and wanting to find a location
00:19:25.19\00:19:30.17
that's bigger
with more yard space,
00:19:32.23\00:19:35.57
not necessarily a bigger house,
00:19:35.57\00:19:37.21
just more yard space so that
the kids can go out and play.
00:19:37.21\00:19:40.88
Somewhere with trees so
that kids can play on the trees
00:19:40.88\00:19:44.75
and climb and just be kids.
00:19:44.75\00:19:47.82
- But we know the kids
need useful occupation.
00:19:47.82\00:19:50.39
They need to be able to
expend their energy outdoors and
00:19:50.39\00:19:55.39
just really learn
from the book of nature.
00:19:56.56\00:19:59.66
(screaming)
00:19:59.66\00:20:01.96
(upbeat music)
00:20:03.93\00:20:06.50
(upbeat music)
00:20:11.17\00:20:13.74
- Just this week, I
think just yesterday,
00:20:15.84\00:20:17.68
we came upon a
listing for this property here
00:20:17.68\00:20:22.12
and it's a 24, 25 Rai.
00:20:22.12\00:20:24.89
And it has multiple houses
and just building structures
00:20:24.89\00:20:29.89
that will meet very
specifically the needs
00:20:31.06\00:20:34.10
that we've been praying about.
00:20:34.10\00:20:35.60
And the land is just
amazing to be here with the kids
00:20:35.60\00:20:40.37
and to hear their excitement
and how excited they are
00:20:40.37\00:20:42.90
to tell the other kids
about this possibility.
00:20:42.90\00:20:45.64
(upbeat music)
00:20:45.64\00:20:48.81
- It is a beautiful place.
00:20:48.81\00:20:51.01
It's everything that
Kasey and I have talked about.
00:20:51.01\00:20:55.75
Has all the combinations that
we need and more, a lot more.
00:20:55.75\00:21:00.76
There's no nobody else around.
00:21:01.62\00:21:03.59
It's just rice fields
everywhere, as you can...
00:21:03.59\00:21:06.13
As far as you can see.
00:21:06.13\00:21:08.13
And driving into here
and a couple of back roads
00:21:08.13\00:21:11.63
and a dirt road to
get into the property.
00:21:11.63\00:21:14.94
And as soon as we found
the property and drove in,
00:21:14.94\00:21:18.77
it was like coming home.
00:21:18.77\00:21:22.21
There's flower
bushes, everywhere.
00:21:23.31\00:21:25.95
There's fruit trees, everywhere.
00:21:25.95\00:21:27.62
Plenty of places where
we could make a garden.
00:21:29.05\00:21:32.19
Plenty of water to
sustain everything, too.
00:21:32.19\00:21:37.09
- There's familiar sounds.
00:21:37.09\00:21:38.63
And it just has this
feel that this is what
00:21:38.63\00:21:43.13
we've been waiting for and
praying for for the last year.
00:21:43.13\00:21:46.10
And yeah, there's definitely
just the sense of peace
00:21:46.10\00:21:50.31
and this feeling
of home being here.
00:21:50.31\00:21:55.28
- It has three
different houses on it.
00:21:56.34\00:21:58.88
Plus other rooms already
developed for about the same
00:21:58.88\00:22:03.79
price as we would find for
a smaller chunk of just a rice
00:22:03.79\00:22:08.59
field, which is a blessing
because you can't find something
00:22:08.59\00:22:11.23
like this for the amount
of money they're asking for.
00:22:11.23\00:22:13.73
- So beyond just meeting
the needs of the children,
00:22:17.17\00:22:21.84
we've had sort of this dream,
00:22:21.84\00:22:24.24
this vision for creating a
place to be able to bring people
00:22:24.24\00:22:29.24
for discipleship training,
to allow new believers,
00:22:30.68\00:22:32.98
to come and live
among other believers,
00:22:32.98\00:22:34.92
to really disciple
them in Christian living.
00:22:34.92\00:22:38.92
And as a by-product of that,
00:22:38.92\00:22:41.19
we would love
to do camp meetings
00:22:41.19\00:22:43.02
where we're
bringing together, you know,
00:22:43.02\00:22:44.86
new and old
believers to be revitalized
00:22:44.86\00:22:49.00
in the Christian walk.
00:22:49.00\00:22:50.40
And this space
would be perfect for that.
00:22:50.40\00:22:54.74
There's lots of lodging,
there's lots of outdoor space,
00:22:54.74\00:22:57.91
there's outdoor bathrooms.
00:22:57.91\00:23:00.14
It just would meet every need
that we would have to utilize
00:23:00.14\00:23:03.58
this for that purpose as well.
00:23:03.58\00:23:05.55
(upbeat music)
00:23:05.55\00:23:08.12
Well, we are very
hopeful that this, you know,
00:23:10.39\00:23:13.79
God led us here
because this is the place
00:23:13.79\00:23:16.96
we wanna stay
surrender to His will.
00:23:16.96\00:23:19.53
We don't wanna
jump ahead of him.
00:23:19.53\00:23:21.40
And so we would
invite anybody who sees this
00:23:21.40\00:23:25.10
to join us in prayer,
00:23:25.10\00:23:26.57
that God will not only
lead through the process,
00:23:26.57\00:23:30.71
but make it very evident whether
this is the place or not.
00:23:30.71\00:23:34.41
- Isn't that exciting.
00:23:41.72\00:23:42.65
That is, it's a beautiful place.
00:23:42.65\00:23:45.15
Looks like- - Yeah.
00:23:45.15\00:23:46.59
It's already got the buildings,
they don't have to build.
00:23:46.59\00:23:48.49
- [Natalie] Right.
00:23:48.49\00:23:49.32
- It's already there.
00:23:49.32\00:23:50.26
And this is a lot cheaper
00:23:50.26\00:23:51.83
than the majority
of the properties.
00:23:51.83\00:23:53.93
I mean, it's like half to third,
00:23:53.93\00:23:55.66
the price of the normal
property of that stature,
00:23:55.66\00:23:59.63
of that nature in the area.
00:23:59.63\00:24:01.77
- Wow.
00:24:01.77\00:24:02.57
- Thankfully,
00:24:02.57\00:24:04.01
the owner here of this
property has given us terms.
00:24:04.01\00:24:07.28
- Right.
00:24:07.28\00:24:08.78
- So she's allowing us
to pay it off in two years.
00:24:08.78\00:24:10.98
- Right.
00:24:10.98\00:24:12.05
- And so- - That translates to?
00:24:12.05\00:24:14.52
How much do they
have to put down?
00:24:14.52\00:24:15.88
About 20,000 down and
then $7,500 every month
00:24:15.88\00:24:19.85
for the next two years.
00:24:19.85\00:24:21.02
- Wow.
00:24:21.02\00:24:22.26
- So that's a big
chunk, but with God,
00:24:22.26\00:24:24.73
all things are possible.
00:24:24.73\00:24:25.79
- Right, right.
00:24:25.79\00:24:27.03
- And altogether we
can each give a little bit.
00:24:27.03\00:24:31.17
- Right.
00:24:31.17\00:24:32.10
- And pray a lot.(laughing)
00:24:32.10\00:24:33.30
- Right, and God
will open the doors.
00:24:33.30\00:24:35.24
- Right.
00:24:35.24\00:24:36.47
- So Robbie and Kasey,
Kasey is quite a writer.
00:24:36.47\00:24:39.27
She's been sharing her spiritual
journey for a long time.
00:24:39.27\00:24:42.51
And especially since
they went to Thailand,
00:24:42.51\00:24:44.28
she's made a commitment
that she's gonna continue
00:24:44.28\00:24:46.68
to share it, whether it's
hard or whether it's easy,
00:24:46.68\00:24:49.85
she's gonna share
whatever happens in their lives
00:24:49.85\00:24:52.25
so that other
people can be encouraged
00:24:52.25\00:24:53.99
on the
spiritual journey as well.
00:24:53.99\00:24:55.52
- [John] Correct.
00:24:55.52\00:24:56.69
- And so there's a
couple of different ways
00:24:56.69\00:24:57.73
to find that information.
00:24:57.73\00:25:00.26
One is on Facebook,
00:25:00.26\00:25:01.46
there's a page
called "Walking Redeemed."
00:25:01.46\00:25:03.63
And then she has a blog
also called "Walking Redeemed."
00:25:03.63\00:25:06.63
And then their YouTube channel
00:25:06.63\00:25:08.07
is also "Walking
Redeemed Kasey Norton"
00:25:08.07\00:25:11.71
- [John] Okay. -
'Cause that's her name.
00:25:11.71\00:25:12.87
So you can go
there and see videos
00:25:12.87\00:25:15.04
that they've made recently.
00:25:15.04\00:25:16.78
They just started
doing this, not too long ago,
00:25:16.78\00:25:19.41
because they had
to get settled in
00:25:19.41\00:25:21.48
and everything like that first.
00:25:21.48\00:25:22.98
But now they're making
videos where she shares
00:25:22.98\00:25:25.45
some of these spiritual
journey type of thoughts
00:25:25.45\00:25:27.69
that she's having.
00:25:27.69\00:25:28.66
- Correct.
00:25:28.66\00:25:29.52
- [Natalie] So- - Yeah.
00:25:29.52\00:25:30.33
They're very inspiring.
00:25:30.33\00:25:31.26
- Yes, and challenging too.
00:25:31.26\00:25:32.86
Challenges the
way I think as well.
00:25:32.86\00:25:34.83
(laughing)
00:25:34.83\00:25:36.36
And we'll just show a brief
clip from one of those now.
00:25:36.36\00:25:39.87
- [John] Okay.
00:25:39.87\00:25:41.30
(clicking)
00:25:41.30\00:25:43.57
- [Kasey] When things
feel impossible or too weighty,
00:25:45.71\00:25:48.34
He shows up and slides
things right into place
00:25:48.34\00:25:51.51
in so many ways
for doing nothing here,
00:25:51.51\00:25:53.42
besides tending to that,
00:25:53.42\00:25:54.65
which He puts
before us each day.
00:25:54.65\00:25:56.92
Sometimes the effort's ugly
00:25:56.92\00:25:58.85
and other times
slightly more graceful.
00:25:58.85\00:26:01.19
But always the true impact
comes from His love and mercy
00:26:01.19\00:26:04.89
being so desperate to
want every last person
00:26:04.89\00:26:07.93
to know they are seen.
00:26:07.93\00:26:09.66
If we can
sometimes be those hands,
00:26:09.66\00:26:12.17
God uses to work a little love
into tired, worn down hearts.
00:26:12.17\00:26:16.10
Well, then we're
all the more grateful
00:26:16.10\00:26:18.17
to even have the opportunity.
00:26:18.17\00:26:19.91
- Well, it's neat to
have someone over there,
00:26:22.58\00:26:24.18
that's willing to write
down and put into words,
00:26:24.18\00:26:26.65
these challenging
insights that she's having.
00:26:26.65\00:26:29.48
- And somebody that has those
insights to then teach others.
00:26:29.48\00:26:32.85
- [Natalie]
Right. - In that country.
00:26:32.85\00:26:34.89
In that dark land that
less than 1% is Christian.
00:26:34.89\00:26:38.96
- [Natalie] Right.
00:26:38.96\00:26:40.16
- And so to bring
some of these concepts
00:26:40.16\00:26:41.63
that hit at the heart of
(chuckles) who our identity is
00:26:41.63\00:26:46.00
and who we are as
people and how we live life.
00:26:46.00\00:26:48.57
- Right.
00:26:48.57\00:26:50.04
- It's gonna be
wonderful to have that influence
00:26:50.04\00:26:51.27
in that country.
- [Natalie] Right.
00:26:51.27\00:26:52.44
And to train our
future Bible workers,
00:26:52.44\00:26:54.54
it's gonna be wonderful to
have that level of training.
00:26:55.98\00:26:58.91
- Right, they do
have a couple right now
00:26:58.91\00:27:01.28
that's joining them
to be Bible workers.
00:27:01.28\00:27:03.79
- That's the other
thing we forgot to mention.
00:27:03.79\00:27:05.55
- [Natalie] Right.
00:27:05.55\00:27:06.76
- They've also just
rented a place downtown,
00:27:06.76\00:27:09.49
three story building.
00:27:09.49\00:27:11.03
And this is going to
be their language school
00:27:11.03\00:27:15.06
and English language school.
00:27:15.06\00:27:16.70
They're
teaching the local Thais.
00:27:16.70\00:27:18.37
- [Natalie] Right. -
And the first church plant.
00:27:18.37\00:27:21.54
- Right.
00:27:21.54\00:27:22.37
- That is so cool.
00:27:22.37\00:27:23.87
- Yeah and to see what God
is going to do, it's just...
00:27:23.87\00:27:27.78
I can't wait. - [John] Right.
00:27:27.78\00:27:29.11
But I'm so thankful for
what he's doing already.
00:27:29.11\00:27:31.65
Such an encouragement to
continue to pray for them.
00:27:31.65\00:27:34.88
- God is truly leading.
00:27:34.88\00:27:36.18
- Right, He is.
00:27:36.18\00:27:37.95
And if you would please
pray for the Norton family
00:27:37.95\00:27:40.29
and these precious
children they have taken in.
00:27:40.29\00:27:43.49
If you would like to help this
work go forward in Thailand,
00:27:43.49\00:27:46.43
you can contact us at
Jesus for Asia, PO Box 1221,
00:27:46.43\00:27:51.20
Collegedale, Tennessee, 37315.
00:27:51.20\00:27:54.87
Call us at (423) 413-7321.
00:27:54.87\00:27:59.17
Or visit our
website at Jesus4asia.org.
00:27:59.17\00:28:02.84
May God richly bless you
until we see you next time
00:28:02.84\00:28:06.18
on Jesus for Asia Now.
00:28:06.18\00:28:07.75
(upbeat music)
00:28:07.75\00:28:10.35