(inspiring music)
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- Hello and welcome
to "Jesus for Asia Now".
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I'm Natalie Wood
and today I'm back
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with Kasey Norton and Hannah,
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and we've got
more stories coming.
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So welcome back.
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- Thank you.
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- We're glad that we have time
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to get some more of the stories,
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because what we've
heard so far is good,
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but we know
there's a lot more coming.
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And I wanna start out by, again,
just for our viewers' sake,
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reiterating that you're
based in Sukhothai, Thailand,
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and the Lord took you there.
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We've done a couple of
interviews with you before.
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So if they'd like to
hear more of the stories,
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they can go back there.
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But another thing
that I wanna mention
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is that you have a blog
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and a Facebook page
where you share these stories,
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and a YouTube
channel now, right?
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- Yes. - Okay.
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Can you tell us how
they find those things?
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- The website is
walkingredeemed.com.
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The Facebook page
is Walking Redeemed
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and the YouTube
channel is Walking Redeemed.
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And I think for whatever reason,
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it says Kasey Norton after it.
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- Okay.
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So, but if they look
for Walking Redeemed,
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hopefully, they'll find you.
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- Yeah. - Okay.
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All right.
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So right before we
finished our last episode,
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we found out that your
best friend is a Buddhist monk.
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- Yeah.
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- So, and we also found out
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that you've moved to
a country property now
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and you're starting to
build a children's home.
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- Yeah.
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- How did you even
start looking for property?
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I mean, how did the
Lord direct on that?
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- Well, when we moved
into the house that we're in,
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it was plenty big enough
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for those of us
that went to Thailand.
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But as God brought
more and more children,
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we ended up with
six Thai children
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while we were
living in that house.
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And there's no
yard, it's just concrete.
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There was the
fields beside it, but-
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- It was hot. - Yeah, the field,
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there's no trees or anything
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so the kids would only
stay out there for so long
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and then they would
be back in the house.
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And so we also
know that the kids need
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the benefit of nature to
grow in and to learn to work.
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And so, we've
been praying all along
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whenever the kids started coming
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that God would open
the way for us to move
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to something more open.
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And so Jonathan and
Hannah, again, they've helped...
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God has used
them to help us find
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our first house
that we moved to.
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The Mission Post Office
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and the
children's home property.
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And Jonathan came across
this listing for this property
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and he was like, "This
is too good to be true."
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And they called the
lady and we went out,
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I think, the next
day and looked at it
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and it still felt impossible
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as we were walking
around there, but God is...
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- God is doing
it. - In the business
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of doing the impossible, so.
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- Wow.
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So are there stories with how
the next children came to you?
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'Cause I know we
heard about the first two.
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Are there stories
about the next ones
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or any one in
particular you wanna talk about?
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- Gal and Fasai were
just brother and sister,
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who had never
really lived together.
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They didn't know each other,
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they spoke two
different languages.
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And they were the next to come.
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And then like five
days after that, Jing.
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- [Hannah] Yeah, not even.
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- Yeah, probably not even
five days that we got Jing.
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So those three all
came in June of 2020.
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Gal adapted very easily.
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He's just a sweet natured child.
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He had been with
the pastor for a bit.
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Fasai, not so easily.
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And I think it
was very scary for her
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because everybody else was
speaking either Thai or English
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and she spoke Hmong.
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And so she already didn't
like the confinement of rules.
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But then on top of that the-
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- The language barrier. - Yeah.
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It was really difficult for her.
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And then it was in August of
2020 that we got another call
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and that was more COVID related,
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the six child that
we took because her mom
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just couldn't take
care of her anymore.
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And so yeah, we got Namwan,
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then we have
since gotten three more.
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So we have nine total,
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but the other three
came more like a month
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or a month and a
half ago in 2021.
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- Yeah, I heard
you had lots of notice
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about all three of those.
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- No, no, no.
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(chuckles) Yeah.
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- No? (chuckles) - No.
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We get called.
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I don't know how or why,
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because we're not
listed or licensed,
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but we get called
multiple times a week
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asking to take kids.
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And we're just not able to,
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we don't want to lose
the kids that we have.
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And so we've had to say,
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"We'll get back to you
as soon as we're able to."
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But with these three,
the situation was different.
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We had almost no notice
and it was just very obvious
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that the way that
it all came about,
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we couldn't say no.
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God has a plan for
why we're over limit.
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- Right.
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Right, so you're
working on this new property.
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Now, describe it for us.
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Tell us about it.
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- It's 24 rai, which I
think is nine and a half acres.
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- Okay.
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- It's got a pond in the middle
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and just amazing
because it had four houses
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on the property that needed
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just a little bit of
work to make them habitable.
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We use all four of them.
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And it had two partially built
structures across the pond.
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And they were...
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The one that was more built
was also in really poor shape
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and was just
kind of falling apart.
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But when we first got there,
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we didn't have
any vision for that.
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We were just like,
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"Oh, we'll do something
or we'll knock these down."
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But then as we stood
and looked, we were like,
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we see housing
for more children.
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And we see maybe a
school, a small school,
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and God just opened the
way for those things to happen.
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We now have the school is built
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along with the little chapel.
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And then right now, they
are finishing up the first floor
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of the... We're doing six
apartments in one dormitory.
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- Okay.
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- And they're finishing up
the first floor of those six.
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- Wow. Awesome. - Yeah.
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- So the
buildings that were there,
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you said they needed
a little bit of work.
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I remember seeing
a video of some water
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coming inside your house.
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- Oh, yeah.
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That was in our actual house.
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When they build these houses,
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they'll build like
the main part of it.
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And then if they go
to add something on,
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they just sort of-
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- Just push it in there.
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- Yeah, just tack it onto there.
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And so, it often isn't
sealed and that's the case.
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Our kitchen is an afterthought.
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And so, when it rains water
was just coming straight down
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into the kitchen. -
You had a waterfall.
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- Yeah. (laughs)
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And we were just like, "Ooh!"
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And it goes all through
the living room and not...
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I mean, not dramatically.
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So we didn't flood.
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- It's like a pond. - No, no.
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- But still
having a river in it.
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- Inconvenient.
- It was quite wet.
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- It had a
beautiful waterfall sound.
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- Yeah. (chuckles)
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- But they've stretched
tarps out over top of it.
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We tried many things
to get it to stop leaking.
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And without some kind
of cover, it still leaks.
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- So there's gonna
be a new roof needed.
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- There's gonna
need... The roof is sound.
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There's gonna need to
be something done to secure
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the one part of
the house to the other.
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But right now, it's rainy season
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and we have tarp
stretched across it
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and it's doing the job.
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- That's all you
can do in rainy season.
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- Yeah.
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Robbie just sent me a
picture and they've torn.
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They had to replace
them because the wind and...
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- Yeah, that's probably
gonna happen multiple times.
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But it's okay.
Just keep doing that.
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- You're right.
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- We don't want
the water in there.
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- [Kasey] Yeah.
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- Because that's another thing,
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it's rainy season and you
don't have air conditioning.
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So it's not gonna draw
out any of the moisture
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out of the air.
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- [Kasey] Right.
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- So clothes drying
and drying out the house
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when it does rain in-
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- It's nice though,
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to be able to
experience a little bit of what
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the Thai people experience
in the more traditional houses.
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There's some that are
more Western style but...
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So getting to move from
that Western style house,
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which God was so gracious
to allow us to go into first
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into more
traditional Thai housing,
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gives us, I think, a
little bit better insight
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into what the people live with.
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- So you're buying this
property from Thai people.
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So we talked in
the other episode about
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there being
spirit houses and things.
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Is there, was there a
spirit house on this property?
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- There were
multiple. - There were three.
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- Yeah. - Two or three.
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I can't remember.
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- And we were initially told
that we couldn't take them down
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until the property was paid for.
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And it's a two-year sort
of like a purchase agreement.
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And so, in my mind,
Robbie's mind, no big deal.
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There's not really any power
in these, God is more powerful.
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So we knew we didn't
want them, but we didn't...
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It wasn't a deal breaker.
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We weren't thinking
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"Okay, well, God isn't
leading us to this house."
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But shortly after moving
there we started to hear voices.
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It was at night, we
would hear something whispering
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beside your head or close by,
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and you'd look and
there would be nothing there.
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Or somebody walking outside,
like the shuffling of shoes
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or things dropping-
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- Like the one time, I
was asleep and I woke up
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and I heard somebody
like walking up on the porch
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and I looked out the window
and there was nothing there.
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And they came all the way up on
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and then they walked down.
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But there was-
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- Nobody there.
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So this was
happening to all of us,
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but we weren't talking about
it because we all felt like
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we were just
going crazy a little bit
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and we didn't
want to say anything.
00:10:01.83\00:10:03.90
But then we started
having electrical issues
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and things were
melting and smoking
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and an electrical cord had
charred in the girl's house.
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So the cord was charred
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but there was no burn mark.
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- We live in a wood house.
00:10:16.85\00:10:17.95
So like it would've been...
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- Wow.
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- And the one morning we got up
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and we were building a bathroom,
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to what is now the
office of our house.
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And inside the bathroom was...
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One of our pet rabbits
had been taken in there
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and part of the head was chewed.
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And it was just very bizarre.
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And I think it was
the same morning then,
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we took the kids to school
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and we had just the
American boys in the van
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and I turned around
and Quinn just looked like
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he was in pain.
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He looked like
he was about to cry.
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And I said, "What's wrong?"
00:10:55.98\00:10:57.55
And he said, "Everything hurts."
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And I told Robbie, "We need
to take him to the hospital."
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And instead of arguing,
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Robbie just went directly
to the hospital and went in.
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And it was during that
time while he was in there
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and I was outside
with the other kids
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that it really began to
occur to us what was going on.
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We messaged you guys.
00:11:19.77\00:11:21.81
And John said, "We
really need to be praying."
00:11:21.81\00:11:25.01
And we had several
other families in the U.S.
00:11:25.01\00:11:27.68
that started praying with us
00:11:27.68\00:11:29.05
and all of it
stopped other than Quinn.
00:11:29.05\00:11:33.66
He started at that point on,
00:11:33.66\00:11:36.39
a several month long
struggle for his health.
00:11:36.39\00:11:40.10
Previously, completely healthy.
00:11:40.10\00:11:42.20
We always had trouble
with his twin brother.
00:11:42.20\00:11:44.53
And now, he gets
sick and can't get better
00:11:44.53\00:11:47.60
and he was hospitalized.
00:11:47.60\00:11:49.04
But the best way
to go after a family,
00:11:50.24\00:11:51.81
I think, is attack their kids
00:11:51.81\00:11:53.64
because that's where
you're gonna discourage them.
00:11:53.64\00:11:56.75
Or make them give up
00:11:56.75\00:11:58.61
or make us
retreat back to America
00:11:58.61\00:12:00.58
because the healthcare
is better or whatever.
00:12:00.58\00:12:02.72
So it makes sense that
he is going after the kids
00:12:02.72\00:12:05.82
because that's the most
likely way to get us but...
00:12:05.82\00:12:10.39
- Right.
00:12:10.39\00:12:11.89
- But it just became evident
that for whatever reason,
00:12:11.89\00:12:16.03
there was
something on that property
00:12:17.23\00:12:19.27
that was giving
the enemy access.
00:12:19.27\00:12:21.20
And he was very
interested in utilizing
00:12:21.20\00:12:23.54
the access that he had.
00:12:23.54\00:12:25.21
- Right.
00:12:25.21\00:12:26.44
So then you had some
people come and visit
00:12:26.44\00:12:27.41
and they took those-
00:12:27.41\00:12:28.64
- Yeah, the Steck
family came to visit
00:12:28.64\00:12:30.31
and they didn't wait
for us to ask for permission
00:12:30.31\00:12:34.48
from the people, they just
took the spirit houses down.
00:12:34.48\00:12:37.69
And best decision. (chuckles)
00:12:37.69\00:12:40.16
- Yeah, yeah.
00:12:40.16\00:12:41.39
- Should have been
done at the outset.
00:12:41.39\00:12:42.66
We thought
there's no power in them.
00:12:42.66\00:12:44.63
It is what it is.
00:12:44.63\00:12:47.50
We'll deal with it
until we can get them out.
00:12:47.50\00:12:49.43
But yeah. - Right.
00:12:49.43\00:12:51.50
- God used them to
get them off the property.
00:12:51.50\00:12:54.14
- Wow.
00:12:54.14\00:12:55.34
You mentioned
earlier, your friend Ram,
00:12:55.34\00:12:57.37
your best friend,
the Buddhist monk.
00:12:57.37\00:13:00.08
And so I wanted to ask you,
00:13:00.08\00:13:01.91
I know that there have been
00:13:01.91\00:13:03.21
different
opportunities with him.
00:13:03.21\00:13:05.58
Can you share how
you first met him?
00:13:05.58\00:13:08.12
- Robbie was
introduced to him by a friend
00:13:08.12\00:13:10.32
in the village that
we moved into initially.
00:13:10.32\00:13:13.56
And Ram speaks English,
00:13:13.56\00:13:16.62
but wanted to
learn to speak it better.
00:13:16.62\00:13:18.73
And then he learned
that Robbie is half Mexican
00:13:18.73\00:13:21.46
and also speaks Spanish.
00:13:21.46\00:13:22.80
So he wanted
English and Spanish lessons.
00:13:22.80\00:13:25.37
And he started coming to our
house occasionally for those.
00:13:25.37\00:13:28.47
And then he
started coming occasionally
00:13:28.47\00:13:31.24
and they weren't
doing the classes anymore.
00:13:31.24\00:13:33.84
He was more teaching Robby Thai,
00:13:33.84\00:13:36.11
then Robbie was
teaching him English, so.
00:13:36.11\00:13:38.68
And then when we rented
the Mission Post Office,
00:13:38.68\00:13:42.25
the building it's pretty
much right across the street
00:13:42.25\00:13:45.35
from his temple where he lives.
00:13:45.35\00:13:47.22
And so he started just
coming in to visit there
00:13:47.22\00:13:50.09
and he would walk in his
orange robe and bare feet
00:13:50.09\00:13:53.50
and walk inside the office.
00:13:53.50\00:13:55.53
It's glass.
Front and glass back.
00:13:55.53\00:13:57.87
And just sit there.
00:13:57.87\00:13:59.33
And it'll be very interesting
when we get to heaven
00:13:59.33\00:14:04.31
to know the impact
that that had for the people
00:14:05.51\00:14:07.44
in that area to
see the monk sitting
00:14:07.44\00:14:11.01
in a very,
obviously, Christian building.
00:14:11.01\00:14:14.18
- Wow.
00:14:14.18\00:14:15.45
- Yeah, the walls
and the barriers that God
00:14:15.45\00:14:17.09
has used Ram to pull down.
00:14:17.09\00:14:19.69
I don't think we
understand at this point.
00:14:19.69\00:14:21.56
- Right. Right.
00:14:21.56\00:14:22.82
But in the light of heaven.
00:14:22.82\00:14:23.96
- Right.
00:14:23.96\00:14:24.79
- In heaven we'll know.
00:14:24.79\00:14:25.63
- Yeah.
00:14:25.63\00:14:26.90
So then, you got a
phone call after you moved out
00:14:26.90\00:14:30.27
to the new property.
00:14:30.27\00:14:32.77
You got a phone call from
someone that was in the village,
00:14:32.77\00:14:35.77
where the other
house was. - Right.
00:14:35.77\00:14:37.51
- Can you share about that?
00:14:37.51\00:14:38.97
- Yeah.
00:14:38.97\00:14:40.51
The gentlemen called one
Sabbath afternoon and he said,
00:14:40.51\00:14:44.41
"I regret to inform you
that our son Archie has died."
00:14:45.88\00:14:50.32
And Archie was five, he died.
00:14:50.32\00:14:53.25
He choked on a fish
ball while he was traveling
00:14:53.25\00:14:55.49
in the car with his dad.
00:14:55.49\00:14:56.79
His dad couldn't get it loose.
00:14:56.79\00:14:58.49
And he took him to the hospital.
00:14:58.49\00:15:00.06
They were able to get it
out and restart his heart.
00:15:00.06\00:15:03.93
But he ended up
dying the next morning.
00:15:03.93\00:15:07.04
And he just told me in
such a disconnected way,
00:15:07.04\00:15:11.17
with no emotion, just
very matter-of-factly.
00:15:11.17\00:15:14.98
And he invited us to the funeral
that night at the temple.
00:15:14.98\00:15:18.45
And so we asked
some other missionaries,
00:15:18.45\00:15:20.72
who'd been there longer,
00:15:20.72\00:15:21.95
for some advice on
going to a funeral.
00:15:21.95\00:15:25.92
We wanted to be careful, to
be respectful of their ceremony,
00:15:27.39\00:15:32.16
without entering
into Buddhist worship.
00:15:33.29\00:15:35.40
And so then we
also contacted Ram
00:15:35.40\00:15:38.10
and told him what had happened.
00:15:38.10\00:15:39.57
And he said,
00:15:39.57\00:15:40.80
"Well, come get
me. I'll go with you."
00:15:40.80\00:15:42.17
And he did.
00:15:42.17\00:15:43.61
And it was very helpful in
walking us through the evening.
00:15:43.61\00:15:47.94
He warned us when
there was something,
00:15:47.94\00:15:50.15
some type of worship
coming up to let us know,
00:15:50.15\00:15:53.08
you don't have to
participate in this.
00:15:53.08\00:15:55.45
And during that evening,
00:15:55.45\00:15:57.19
we were able to walk
outside for a few minutes
00:15:57.19\00:15:59.32
and I asked him, "What do you
believe happens when you die?"
00:15:59.32\00:16:04.33
And he said,
00:16:05.03\00:16:06.03
"Well, if you're good,
00:16:06.03\00:16:07.40
then you'll go to
paradise for a while.
00:16:07.40\00:16:12.03
And then you'll be
born back into the world
00:16:12.03\00:16:14.10
and you'll be
somebody of status."
00:16:14.10\00:16:16.87
It could be a wealthy person.
00:16:16.87\00:16:19.57
He said you could be born
back into the King's family.
00:16:19.57\00:16:22.68
But if you were bad,
00:16:22.68\00:16:24.88
then you would go into basically
a hell fire for a time.
00:16:24.88\00:16:29.88
And then you'd be born back
as somebody poor, lower class.
00:16:31.32\00:16:35.39
Or he said, even
something like a dog or a snake.
00:16:35.39\00:16:39.03
And that night for me,
00:16:39.03\00:16:44.00
I think, is really a
turning point in my experience
00:16:45.37\00:16:48.67
with these people,
understanding just the cruelty
00:16:48.67\00:16:53.68
with which the
enemy has gone after them.
00:16:54.88\00:16:56.44
Because so often we think that
00:16:56.44\00:16:59.18
another religion like Buddhism,
00:16:59.18\00:17:01.55
they just believe
differently and it's okay.
00:17:01.55\00:17:03.59
Why do we need to go in....
00:17:03.59\00:17:04.89
They're
generally peaceful people.
00:17:04.89\00:17:06.39
Why do we need to go in
and mess up what they believe?
00:17:06.39\00:17:10.26
And it has
nothing to do with that.
00:17:10.26\00:17:12.79
It is absolute deceit and
hopelessness that they live
00:17:12.79\00:17:17.77
with. And I went in and watched
my friends stare straight ahead
00:17:19.23\00:17:21.37
at the picture of her son.
00:17:22.60\00:17:24.57
And for her, there was
no hope, no shred of hope
00:17:24.57\00:17:28.31
that she would
ever see him again.
00:17:28.31\00:17:29.81
Or there was
anything more than that,
00:17:29.81\00:17:31.65
those brief five years.
00:17:31.65\00:17:33.28
And it just...
00:17:33.28\00:17:35.05
That night, I never...
00:17:35.05\00:17:38.49
Before that night had
experienced somebody's pain,
00:17:38.49\00:17:42.46
the way that I did then.
00:17:42.46\00:17:43.89
And I actually felt like I
could feel what she was feeling.
00:17:43.89\00:17:48.10
And I think
that God allowed that
00:17:48.10\00:17:53.10
to give me a little teeny
piece of the heart that he has
00:17:54.50\00:17:56.54
for these people
to help me understand
00:17:56.54\00:17:58.21
that it's far more
than doctrinal differences
00:17:58.21\00:18:00.78
or whatever he
wants to free these people
00:18:00.78\00:18:03.85
from this
deception and hopelessness
00:18:03.85\00:18:05.48
that they live with
every day of their lives.
00:18:05.48\00:18:07.72
- Wow. Wow.
00:18:07.72\00:18:09.88
And you also shared how...
00:18:09.88\00:18:12.42
When you were saying
goodnight to her or something.
00:18:12.42\00:18:15.32
- Yeah. - She...
00:18:15.32\00:18:16.79
- Yeah, I think you give a...
00:18:16.79\00:18:18.96
It's customary to give a
white envelope with a gift.
00:18:18.96\00:18:22.23
There's a specific
funeral gift that you give.
00:18:22.23\00:18:26.13
And I handed her the
envelope and she came over
00:18:26.13\00:18:28.74
and sat beside me and
I put my arm around her
00:18:28.74\00:18:30.94
and just kind of
squeezed her arm a little bit.
00:18:30.94\00:18:33.84
But when I went to leave,
00:18:33.84\00:18:35.58
I stood up and
she was still sitting
00:18:35.58\00:18:37.65
and she just looked up at me
00:18:37.65\00:18:39.81
with the most
desperate look in her eyes,
00:18:39.81\00:18:42.22
like she knew that I
knew what she needs to know.
00:18:42.22\00:18:45.85
And God, in that
moment, asked me to be silent.
00:18:45.85\00:18:50.19
Our natural inclination is
to want to share what we know
00:18:50.19\00:18:54.76
and to fix it.
00:18:54.76\00:18:55.86
And she wanted it to be fixed.
00:18:55.86\00:18:57.57
She wanted her pain to be eased.
00:18:57.57\00:19:00.10
And for whatever reason,
00:19:00.10\00:19:02.67
I knew, without a doubt,
that it wasn't the right time.
00:19:02.67\00:19:06.51
But the fact that I
saw that in her eyes,
00:19:08.24\00:19:11.51
I don't think I'll ever
forget the look, you know?
00:19:11.51\00:19:14.08
But at the same
time, it gives me hope.
00:19:14.08\00:19:17.49
I know the assurance
that God is gonna open up
00:19:17.49\00:19:20.79
the door at the right
time to share with her
00:19:20.79\00:19:23.16
what she needs to hear.
00:19:23.16\00:19:24.69
And I believe firmly
that it's gonna be at the time
00:19:24.69\00:19:27.13
when she's able to hear it
and accept it and embrace it
00:19:27.13\00:19:31.40
and have hope.
00:19:31.40\00:19:33.70
- Right.
00:19:33.70\00:19:34.64
- She has another daughter.
00:19:34.64\00:19:35.97
- He wasn't the only child.
00:19:35.97\00:19:37.17
- No.
00:19:37.17\00:19:38.24
- Wow.
00:19:38.24\00:19:39.81
So not long after this, you
had another experience with Ram.
00:19:39.81\00:19:43.78
- Right.
00:19:43.78\00:19:44.71
- And it was about his buffalo.
00:19:44.71\00:19:47.08
Can you explain,
tell us the story?
00:19:47.08\00:19:50.45
- Yeah.
00:19:50.45\00:19:51.69
He keeps his two water
buffalo on our property.
00:19:51.69\00:19:54.42
And he came over one
morning to put them out.
00:19:54.42\00:19:58.56
He put them into
a field beside ours,
00:19:58.56\00:20:01.43
a rice paddy beside ours,
to let them graze and play
00:20:01.43\00:20:05.10
in the water
hole on our property.
00:20:05.10\00:20:06.53
And they did that
for about an hour before
00:20:06.53\00:20:09.87
one of our
Bible workers noticed,
00:20:09.87\00:20:11.41
and she completely
panicked because she knew
00:20:11.41\00:20:13.38
that just the day
before they had gone out
00:20:13.38\00:20:15.01
and sprayed with something
that is very lethal to buffalo.
00:20:15.01\00:20:20.02
So she ran out and she told him.
00:20:20.88\00:20:22.38
And he was just
so full of dread.
00:20:22.38\00:20:24.52
Like he had just
killed his baby girls
00:20:24.52\00:20:26.86
and he pulled them in.
00:20:26.86\00:20:28.52
And we did everything
that any of us knew to do.
00:20:29.92\00:20:33.09
Charcoal in the
water, salt in the grass
00:20:34.56\00:20:37.23
to make them drink more water.
00:20:37.23\00:20:39.40
But Robbie walked
up to him and he said,
00:20:39.40\00:20:41.74
"Ram, we believe that our
God will protect your Buffalo
00:20:41.74\00:20:44.97
from this poison.
00:20:44.97\00:20:46.74
And we're gonna pray for him.
00:20:46.74\00:20:48.04
But we really need
to take these charms off
00:20:48.04\00:20:50.95
so that they
don't block the pray."
00:20:50.95\00:20:54.08
So God has full power.
00:20:54.08\00:20:55.88
And neither Robbie or I expected
00:20:55.88\00:20:58.29
that Ram was gonna agree to this
00:20:58.29\00:21:00.36
'cause the whole point
of putting the charms on
00:21:00.36\00:21:02.26
was to protect them.
00:21:02.26\00:21:03.66
But he immediately
said, "Take them off."
00:21:03.66\00:21:07.00
And so Robbie went to untie them
00:21:07.00\00:21:09.83
and it was taking a little bit
00:21:09.83\00:21:12.23
'cause they're on
there pretty good.
00:21:12.23\00:21:13.54
And Ram said,
00:21:13.54\00:21:14.80
"No, cut them
off. It'll be faster."
00:21:14.80\00:21:17.61
- Wow.
00:21:17.61\00:21:18.84
- Just the fact that
in that moment of crisis
00:21:18.84\00:21:21.44
when he was...
00:21:21.44\00:21:22.28
Because it sounds silly,
00:21:22.28\00:21:23.95
but it would be similar to
one of my children being sick
00:21:23.95\00:21:27.88
to the point of death.
00:21:27.88\00:21:29.65
For him, in that
moment, to have no faith
00:21:29.65\00:21:34.12
or trust in his own religion,
00:21:34.12\00:21:38.93
and the little
teeny shred of faith
00:21:38.93\00:21:41.13
that he had being
in the God of Creation.
00:21:41.13\00:21:44.00
And so, the charms came off
00:21:45.27\00:21:47.60
and we prayed for the
buffalo and took him home.
00:21:47.60\00:21:49.90
And he fully
expected because the vet said
00:21:49.90\00:21:51.67
they'd be dead within
six hours to two days.
00:21:51.67\00:21:54.38
So he expected that
by the next morning,
00:21:54.38\00:21:56.28
we would be
calling him and telling him
00:21:56.28\00:21:57.78
that they were either
really sick or they were dead.
00:21:57.78\00:22:00.35
But the next morning
they were completely fine.
00:22:01.75\00:22:03.89
They were not sick at all.
00:22:03.89\00:22:06.09
Definitely weren't dead.
00:22:06.09\00:22:07.32
And two weeks...
00:22:07.32\00:22:10.76
No, two days passed
00:22:10.76\00:22:12.83
and they were still fine.
00:22:12.83\00:22:14.73
But he had then
since talked to somebody,
00:22:14.73\00:22:16.73
who told him these
things can take time.
00:22:16.73\00:22:19.27
- Maybe two weeks. - Yeah.
00:22:19.27\00:22:20.77
So the waiting process
of reminding him every day,
00:22:20.77\00:22:24.47
we prayed for your
buffalo and got answered.
00:22:24.47\00:22:26.94
They're fine.
00:22:26.94\00:22:27.84
And he would say, "I hope so."
00:22:29.18\00:22:31.08
But it was
somewhere a little after,
00:22:31.08\00:22:32.71
maybe a week that he
finally started to realize,
00:22:32.71\00:22:35.52
"My buffalo aren't gonna die."
00:22:35.52\00:22:37.55
And it's interesting
because he hasn't ever said,
00:22:37.55\00:22:40.52
"Your God protected my buffalo."
00:22:40.52\00:22:43.06
But we genuinely believe
00:22:43.06\00:22:44.89
that he doesn't not
believe that either.
00:22:44.89\00:22:47.76
And that God is working in him.
00:22:47.76\00:22:52.23
The kids have heard him
multiple times out on the salo,
00:22:52.23\00:22:56.97
the covered
patio on our property,
00:22:56.97\00:22:58.94
listening to Christian music.
00:22:58.94\00:23:00.21
- Right even now,
00:23:00.21\00:23:01.44
when he was taking
care of the buffalo.
00:23:01.44\00:23:02.81
Listening to Christian music.
00:23:02.81\00:23:04.08
- Yeah, so God is
reaching the heart
00:23:04.08\00:23:07.12
of this orange clad monk.
00:23:07.12\00:23:10.72
- Wow.
00:23:11.69\00:23:12.82
Well, what a
privilege you've had
00:23:12.82\00:23:14.36
to see the little glimpses
into what the differences,
00:23:14.36\00:23:18.79
the spiritual
battle, and yet seeing God
00:23:18.79\00:23:22.23
win the little
battle after little battle,
00:23:22.23\00:23:24.47
to give you guys
opportunity to reach out.
00:23:25.77\00:23:28.04
- Yeah, that's been a gift.
00:23:28.04\00:23:29.64
- So we've been sharing
some of your stories here,
00:23:29.64\00:23:32.07
but I want to
let our viewers know
00:23:32.07\00:23:33.68
that you have written a book.
00:23:33.68\00:23:35.14
Can you tell us about this book?
00:23:35.14\00:23:37.38
- I don't have
the attention span
00:23:37.38\00:23:40.18
to just sit down
and write a book yet.
00:23:40.18\00:23:42.25
I have not ever
been able to do that,
00:23:42.25\00:23:45.29
but I did put together
some thoughts largely for myself
00:23:45.29\00:23:49.52
and our family to
be able to look back.
00:23:49.52\00:23:52.26
So much of our experience
depends on us being able
00:23:52.26\00:23:54.66
to remember the way
that God has led in the past.
00:23:54.66\00:23:57.50
And so, I really wanted to
have it chronicled to a degree.
00:23:57.50\00:24:02.47
And so I put together what's
basically a 31-day devotional.
00:24:03.91\00:24:08.24
So it's basically a
short entries of experiences
00:24:08.24\00:24:12.25
that we've had
while in Thailand.
00:24:12.25\00:24:14.02
- Okay.
00:24:14.02\00:24:15.22
So Hannah I know we
haven't really addressed
00:24:15.22\00:24:16.85
you directly very much,
00:24:16.85\00:24:18.35
but do you have anything
that you would like to share
00:24:18.35\00:24:20.86
about from your
time in Thailand so far?
00:24:20.86\00:24:23.29
- I think from my
experience in school,
00:24:24.63\00:24:28.16
'cause I went to
Thai school for...
00:24:28.16\00:24:30.73
I think last year.
00:24:30.73\00:24:31.90
And when I was in
there, I was a little...
00:24:31.90\00:24:36.30
I didn't know what
I was in there for.
00:24:36.30\00:24:37.61
I was like,
"Why am I in school?"
00:24:37.61\00:24:38.81
Because I couldn't
understand a lot of it.
00:24:38.81\00:24:41.18
And so I kind of
went in with the mindset
00:24:41.18\00:24:43.08
"Oh, I'm here to learn the
language, learn the culture."
00:24:43.08\00:24:46.61
And a lot a lot of my classmates
00:24:46.61\00:24:49.58
could speak a
little bit of English
00:24:49.58\00:24:52.15
and I was just
connecting with them,
00:24:52.15\00:24:55.82
trying to make
friendships and talk to people
00:24:55.82\00:24:59.39
and figure out
what they believe.
00:24:59.39\00:25:00.86
And I talked to a
few of my classmates
00:25:00.86\00:25:04.63
and some people outside
of my class, and I was like,
00:25:04.63\00:25:07.40
"What is something
that brings you joy in life?
00:25:07.40\00:25:10.81
Daily basis,
weekly, even monthly."
00:25:10.81\00:25:13.78
And both of the people I
asked, they said nothing.
00:25:13.78\00:25:17.41
And I said like,
"Nothing? Like at all?"
00:25:17.41\00:25:19.98
And they said,
00:25:19.98\00:25:20.82
"No, my day is the same.
00:25:20.82\00:25:22.08
I wake up, I do the
same thing. I go to school."
00:25:22.08\00:25:25.19
And I was like, "What
about doing your break?"
00:25:25.19\00:25:27.29
And they said, "I do
the same thing then too.
00:25:27.29\00:25:29.59
I go up and I study"
00:25:29.59\00:25:30.99
And I was like, "So, nothing?"
00:25:30.99\00:25:33.26
And they said, "No, nothing."
00:25:33.26\00:25:35.00
And I feel like
that was when I realized,
00:25:35.00\00:25:37.57
these people don't have...
00:25:37.57\00:25:39.30
They don't have
anything. - [Kasey] Purpose.
00:25:39.30\00:25:40.97
- Yeah, they don't have purpose.
00:25:40.97\00:25:42.54
They don't have purpose in life.
00:25:42.54\00:25:44.37
I don't know what that's like.
00:25:44.37\00:25:46.17
But that's so
weird and foreign to me
00:25:46.17\00:25:48.94
because I've grown up
with some sort of purpose.
00:25:48.94\00:25:53.31
And I just find it so sad,
00:25:54.58\00:25:56.99
living in life and
you don't expect anything
00:25:58.19\00:26:00.42
more than the life you're
in and that's all you have.
00:26:00.42\00:26:04.39
I, yeah... I don't know.
00:26:04.39\00:26:07.60
- Those
relationships that she built
00:26:07.60\00:26:08.90
while she was in school,
00:26:08.90\00:26:10.07
now that she's not
even in school anymore,
00:26:10.07\00:26:12.87
those
relationships are still there.
00:26:12.87\00:26:14.67
And so, it's-
00:26:14.67\00:26:15.87
- [Natalie] You
guys keep in touch?
00:26:15.87\00:26:17.04
- Yeah, we do.
Mostly through message.
00:26:17.04\00:26:18.44
Sometimes I'll
meet up with them.
00:26:18.44\00:26:21.08
- Wow. So did it help
you learn a little more Thai?
00:26:21.08\00:26:24.18
- Oh yeah, yeah.
00:26:24.18\00:26:25.35
My friends were
really super helpful.
00:26:25.35\00:26:27.55
They were also
like to make fun of me.
00:26:27.55\00:26:31.82
(laughing)
00:26:31.82\00:26:33.32
- [Natalie]
Because of your accent?
00:26:33.32\00:26:34.79
- Yes.
00:26:34.79\00:26:35.99
- But also their English,
00:26:35.99\00:26:37.53
it was fun because we
just got to share our languages
00:26:37.53\00:26:41.83
and they would ask me questions.
00:26:41.83\00:26:44.77
They'd be in the
middle of the class.
00:26:44.77\00:26:45.97
Maybe like, "Hannah,
what's this in English?"
00:26:45.97\00:26:48.17
And then the teacher
English teacher would look at me
00:26:48.17\00:26:50.31
and say, "No,
you can't tell them."
00:26:50.31\00:26:51.57
(laughing)
00:26:51.57\00:26:52.41
I was like, "Okay".
00:26:52.41\00:26:53.38
But yeah.
00:26:53.38\00:26:54.61
So it was a
really nice experience.
00:26:54.61\00:26:55.88
It was really cool.
00:26:55.88\00:26:56.85
- I'm sure there
were some hard times.
00:26:57.95\00:26:59.41
- Oh, yeah.
00:26:59.41\00:27:00.28
- But yeah. Wow.
00:27:00.28\00:27:01.38
Well, that's a neat opportunity.
00:27:01.38\00:27:03.59
And seeing,
00:27:03.59\00:27:04.95
and maybe
understanding more about them
00:27:04.95\00:27:09.82
and what their culture is
00:27:09.82\00:27:11.26
and what their religion
teaches them and all of that.
00:27:11.26\00:27:14.10
It gives you a
heart of love for them.
00:27:15.26\00:27:17.07
It's a heart of
understanding that they need.
00:27:17.07\00:27:20.34
They need the hope.
00:27:20.34\00:27:22.27
They need the
opportunity for joy,
00:27:22.27\00:27:25.71
the purpose that
comes from knowing God
00:27:25.71\00:27:28.24
and knowing that there's
eternity coming with him.
00:27:28.24\00:27:31.85
Wow.
00:27:31.85\00:27:33.35
Well, I just appreciate
so much you taking the time
00:27:33.35\00:27:34.62
to be here and share with us.
00:27:34.62\00:27:36.75
We'll just be praying for you.
00:27:36.75\00:27:37.95
And I would like to
invite our viewers also
00:27:37.95\00:27:40.06
to pray for the Norton family.
00:27:40.06\00:27:42.02
For the spiritual
battle and the warfare
00:27:42.02\00:27:44.36
that is so real in Thailand.
00:27:44.36\00:27:46.80
And if you would
like to sponsor them,
00:27:46.80\00:27:49.20
you can contact
us at Jesus for Asia.
00:27:49.20\00:27:51.83
PO box 1221.
00:27:51.83\00:27:53.64
Collegedale, Tennessee.
00:27:53.64\00:27:55.20
37315.
00:27:55.20\00:27:57.17
Call us at (423) 413-7321.
00:27:57.17\00:28:01.04
Or visit our
website at jesusforasia.org.
00:28:01.04\00:28:04.58
May God richly bless you
until we see you next time
00:28:04.58\00:28:07.12
on Jesus for Asia Now.
00:28:07.12\00:28:09.05
(closing music)
00:28:09.05\00:28:11.72