(inspiring music)
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(gentle music)
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- Glad you could join us here
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with an interview with
Pastor Johnson from India
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in one of our
programs for Laymen Ministries.
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Pastor Johnson just came from
the General Conference session
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and he had the opportunity
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to come to
Laymen Ministries here.
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It's been almost four, five
years since you've been here?
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- Yes, sir.
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- 'Cause COVID and all kinds
of stuff happened and such.
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Part one of our interview,
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we talked about the history
of Laymen Ministries in India
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and television
ministry and Bible workers
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and the things
that are happening there
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and what we were doing
during the COVID shutdown.
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On this particular episode,
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we want to talk about orphans.
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And Laymen Ministries
is not new to orphanages.
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Way back in the late 1990s,
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we were working
with helping orphanages
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in the country of Lithuania
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and the situation
there was just terrible.
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I mean right after
the collapse of communism,
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we went to some orphanages
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that were unheated
buildings in the winter time,
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and this is way up in Lithuania,
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north of Poland and Germany
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and kids didn't
have toothbrushes,
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sometimes they
didn't have running water.
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So Laymen Ministries did a
lot to help those situations.
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But then
Lithuania over the years
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finally became part
of the European Union.
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They ended up
getting a lot of support
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from Germany and
Austria and different countries.
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And it really got to the point
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where Laymen
Ministries didn't really need
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to help the
orphans there anymore.
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They had plenty of new buildings
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and funds
coming in to help them.
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And you and I have
been talking about orphans
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for quite awhile.
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And I think India is a place
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that there's a real need
for orphanages, don't you?
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- Yes.
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- And so what, how did it happen
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with Laymen Ministries
getting involved with orphanages
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in southeast India?
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- The concept how it developed,
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as from the beginning,
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when we met since 1996,
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the concept of our idea is
not only sharing the gospel,
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it is again the Jesus model.
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Jesus, he was conducting
a big evangelistic meeting.
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After the meeting,
he didn't just leave.
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He saw the
opportunity to provide the food.
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- Like when he
fed the 5,000 yeah.
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- 5,000.
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So in his whole life,
healing the sick, all that work.
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So like television, we
can preach, that is nice,
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but we have to do
the follow-up work.
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So we were
talking about all that one
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and whenever I come to the
studio, I see the magazine,
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how you did in Philippines
and how in the European,
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Lithuania, right?
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- Yeah, in Lithuania.
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- Lithuania and all that one.
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So then I was also thinking,
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we have a Bible workers,
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we have a television
program, we have follow work.
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When we visit to the homes,
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we door to door evangelism,
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on the road, we see some
children and no property.
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- [Jeff] Sleeping
under the bridges.
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I mean if you could
just see the situation
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that some of these orphaned
kids come from, it is terrible.
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- There is two children,
they are studying in our home.
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- In our boys home.
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By the way, that's what
we call the boys orphanage,
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we call it the boys home.
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- Boys home.
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In our home, there
were two children, brothers,
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father left the wife
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and I don't know
where the father is,
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still, they're not able to find.
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The mother became
mentally depressed
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and she will
not go to the house,
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because in
India, on the roadside,
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there will be a
garbage place to put all the-
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- It's like a garbage dump
along the side of the road.
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- Oh okay, okay,
we'll start there.
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So there were two boys,
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that story is kind of when you-
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- This is her two boys?
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- Two boys, two boys,
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and no father,
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alive but we
don't know where he is.
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The mother mentally depressed
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and always she will sleep
the roadside near the garbage.
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- Did she have a home at all?
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- She has a home but nobody's-
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- She won't go there?
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- No, she don't go.
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- So how were
these boys surviving
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if she's in this
kind of condition?
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- Always on the
road, one boy, one side,
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one boy, one side,
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covering the sari
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- With the cloth
like a woman would wear.
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- Woman wear.
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So they go to sleep.
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Whatever the food they
throw on the road, eat.
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- [Jeff] Oh, that's terrible.
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- Then, one officer,
one government officer
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saw these two boys.
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And when they came to
our home they were just like-
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- Did the officer try to
have them come to our boys home?
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- Yes because immediately-
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- That says
something, doesn't it,
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that he respects us?
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- Respect us
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because there are
government run orphanages,
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but he likes our
orphanage so he called Moses,
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the director of our
orphanage, he called,
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and here, there are
two boys on the road.
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Can you do something?
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So they came and with a team,
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Moses and a few
people came and took,
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and today for your information,
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whoever comes to our
campus, any lady officer,
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supposed a lady officer come,
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they come with a sari.
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- And for our viewers,
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a sari is like an
Indian lady's dress.
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It's like a tapestry
that they put over them,
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over their shoulder.
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- Over their shoulder.
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These two boys will run
and one will go to one side,
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one will go to
another side and take the sari
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and they will cover like that.
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And first, the
officer will get kind of
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what these boys are doing.
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But psychologically, these two
boys affected with the mother
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sleeping on the road
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and whoever comes, the
tuition teacher, evening,
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the music
teacher, the graph teacher,
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they will come to our campus,
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immediately, these boys will go.
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Even Ruby, my
wife, whenever she goes,
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immediately, they
will take the sari and.
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- So they're still doing this
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'cause of an
emotional attachment
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because of their
situation with their mom?
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This is after they came
to our orphanage and such?
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- After they came.
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And now they are,
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now they are almost,
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I think if I'm not wrong,
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one is nine years old
and when is eight years old
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and they are,
for your information,
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in the school, they
are in the first rank.
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In the sports, they are first,
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in education, they are first.
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- So they're doing really well.
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All the kids,
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the boys that
come to our boys home,
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get an Adventist education
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at a fairly large
Adventist school there
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and we had a little minivan
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and we were packing all these
boys into this little minivan,
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taking 'em to school every day,
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pick 'em up and bring
'em back to the orphanage.
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- You are right, you are right.
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And so for your information,
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the question you
asked, how the orphanage,
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because we were doing
television, we are doing
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evangelism, we are doing
lot of publishing things,
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but how come the concept came?
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The concept is from
the biblical concept.
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And we saw on the road,
because we are, even myself,
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go door to door
evangelism, not now,
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now also I'm going,
but now I'm only focusing
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my church (indistinct).
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- Yeah, you're doing
more administrative work.
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- Yes, so in those days, I
go every day, whole half a day
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so I know on the road.
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So I know the situation there
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so the concept
developed and we had a place,
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then I took you to the place.
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And first, "Johnson, do
you think it is possible?"
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I said, "It is it possible."
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"Okay, we will start."
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Then we had a future.
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- You know me,
I'm always cautious.
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- You are because you
are always very careful.
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- When we're
dealing with donors money,
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we want to be really careful.
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- Yeah because you don't,
you never say yes immediately.
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- So how did we come
across this building?
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We had a really nice building
there just sitting empty.
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- Yeah, it is real empty
and already there is a church
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and the building was empty
then I took you to the building.
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Then you saw it, this is good.
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Then you told, "Okay Johnson,
we'll start immediately."
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Then, we purchased some beds.
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- And we had somebody
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just give us this
land and this building.
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There was a doctor who had,
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he was actually a
Tamil doctor at one time
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and had a burden for
trying to do something there,
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built the building.
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He'd never, you told
me he never came to India
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and he just
wanted to do something
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in the area he came
from originally, right?
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- The place where we have
orphanage is his native place,
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but he came to US,
has very long back.
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Then after
purchasing the property,
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we want to build a church.
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So that time, we
were searching the donor.
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So then he-
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- He stepped up
to the plate, we say.
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- Please.
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Then, first time he came
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for the inauguration of that
building and he was so happy.
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- [Jeff] Oh, he
did come for that?
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- For the inauguration, he came.
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- And he finally, he
passed away, I remember,
00:10:02.73\00:10:05.60
but the orphanage is
actually in an honor to him
00:10:05.60\00:10:10.27
because he's the one that really
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paid for the church to be built
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and for the building
to be built and such.
00:10:15.74\00:10:18.01
And it had been
sitting for quite a while.
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So after we moved in there,
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remember the
inspectors came and such
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and we had to do
a lot of remodeling
00:10:23.82\00:10:25.22
and get everything
up to code but they,
00:10:25.22\00:10:29.52
the government
people, who were pretty hard
00:10:29.52\00:10:31.83
on people who run orphanages,
00:10:31.83\00:10:34.00
what were they
saying about ours?
00:10:34.00\00:10:35.13
They said, it's a
model or something like that?
00:10:35.13\00:10:38.13
- The local collector,
00:10:38.13\00:10:39.83
collector is kind of a head
in the whole entire district,
00:10:39.83\00:10:44.11
he invited Moses
and gave an award.
00:10:44.11\00:10:47.41
- Moses is our
director for the orphanage.
00:10:47.41\00:10:49.31
And he was an orphan himself
00:10:49.31\00:10:51.15
who ended up
getting an education
00:10:51.15\00:10:52.61
and business degree and such
00:10:52.61\00:10:53.85
and now he's the
director of our orphanage.
00:10:53.85\00:10:55.92
His wife's name is?
00:10:55.92\00:10:58.15
- Sonia.
00:10:58.15\00:10:58.99
- Sonia, yeah. - Sonia, Sonia.
00:10:58.99\00:11:01.12
So then the
government gave a award
00:11:01.12\00:11:03.93
and some money to the children.
00:11:03.93\00:11:06.23
- Wow, that's unheard of.
00:11:06.23\00:11:08.13
- Yeah, so in that whole area,
00:11:08.13\00:11:10.57
our orphanage, by God's grace,
00:11:10.57\00:11:13.64
we were some struggles
00:11:13.64\00:11:15.37
because we didn't have
enough facility in those days.
00:11:16.37\00:11:20.78
Then slowly, we were developed.
00:11:20.78\00:11:23.41
But today, by God's grace,
00:11:23.41\00:11:26.18
we have a facility
00:11:26.18\00:11:27.88
and we are providing good
education, Adventist education,
00:11:27.88\00:11:31.85
Adventist
lifestyle, Adventist food.
00:11:32.95\00:11:36.22
- And we're teaching
the kids responsibility.
00:11:36.22\00:11:38.59
- [Johnson] Responsibility.
00:11:38.59\00:11:39.43
- They have
chores they do and they,
00:11:39.43\00:11:42.13
they have animals they
take care of too, don't they?
00:11:42.13\00:11:44.63
Like goats and
chickens? - Yes, yes.
00:11:44.63\00:11:47.67
- And our orphanage is
out kind of in the country.
00:11:47.67\00:11:50.71
I just want to quickly
just share just a little story.
00:11:50.71\00:11:53.74
Before you and I ever
talked about orphanages,
00:11:53.74\00:11:56.08
and it was way
back in the mid-1990s
00:11:56.08\00:12:00.22
just when I first actually
started working with you,
00:12:00.22\00:12:02.82
I was with a gentleman
by the name of Bill Dull
00:12:02.82\00:12:05.39
and we were
traveling through India.
00:12:05.39\00:12:07.69
And Bill have given
his whole life to India
00:12:07.69\00:12:10.19
for 40 years I
think, something like that.
00:12:10.19\00:12:13.36
But we stopped
and saw an orphanage.
00:12:13.36\00:12:16.33
And I'll tell
you, I was just shocked
00:12:16.33\00:12:18.10
'cause we went in there
00:12:18.10\00:12:18.97
and these orphan children,
00:12:18.97\00:12:20.94
they were ages between
like eight and 14 years of age,
00:12:20.94\00:12:24.97
the guy was making them
be slave laborers for him
00:12:24.97\00:12:28.18
and he had a textile business
00:12:28.18\00:12:30.28
where he had
these big huge looms
00:12:30.28\00:12:31.85
and they were
making cotton tapestries
00:12:31.85\00:12:35.92
and things like that.
00:12:35.92\00:12:36.99
And they had a simple
bamboo bed on solid concrete
00:12:36.99\00:12:40.72
and they were
given some white rice
00:12:40.72\00:12:42.12
and maybe a piece of fish
00:12:42.12\00:12:43.36
and he was just
using them for slave labor
00:12:43.36\00:12:46.16
under the guise of an orphanage.
00:12:46.16\00:12:47.66
And I was really thankful
00:12:47.66\00:12:49.16
to see that the Indian
government finally stepped in
00:12:49.16\00:12:51.53
and started shutting
places like that down.
00:12:51.53\00:12:53.70
When I left that
place, I was angry.
00:12:53.70\00:12:55.94
I was like somebody needs
to do something with this guy
00:12:55.94\00:12:59.14
'cause he was like, you
could tell, abusive to the kids.
00:12:59.14\00:13:01.44
If they didn't
jump when he said jump,
00:13:01.44\00:13:03.65
he would hit 'em and stuff.
00:13:03.65\00:13:04.75
And what do you do?
00:13:04.75\00:13:05.85
You're a foreigner.
00:13:05.85\00:13:06.68
And so I always said,
00:13:06.68\00:13:07.85
if we ever have an orphanage,
we're gonna have a loving,
00:13:07.85\00:13:11.19
we're gonna create a
loving home environment.
00:13:11.19\00:13:13.15
And basically that's
what we've done, right?
00:13:13.15\00:13:15.09
- Yeah, yeah.
00:13:15.09\00:13:15.92
It is 100% because morning,
00:13:15.92\00:13:19.63
they will get up like
at 5:30, then worship.
00:13:19.63\00:13:23.03
Then they have to do
some work in the area,
00:13:23.03\00:13:26.03
in the campus, and
then they will get ready,
00:13:26.03\00:13:28.97
then they will have
a morning breakfast,
00:13:28.97\00:13:32.14
it is Ellen White principle,
00:13:32.14\00:13:35.14
it is not too much, but
it is very systematically.
00:13:35.14\00:13:39.55
Then, they have a van.
00:13:39.55\00:13:41.68
- A little minivan.
00:13:42.92\00:13:44.05
- [Johnson] Minivan.
00:13:44.05\00:13:45.19
- We had one student that
needed to come and you said,
00:13:45.19\00:13:47.32
"We can't fit
another student in the van."
00:13:47.32\00:13:49.49
- Yes, it is
because when we started,
00:13:49.49\00:13:51.86
we started with
six, seven small kids.
00:13:51.86\00:13:55.70
- That's always
been the principle,
00:13:55.70\00:13:56.83
how Laymen Ministries works.
00:13:56.83\00:13:58.13
We always start small
00:13:58.13\00:13:59.80
and then as God blesses,
00:13:59.80\00:14:01.07
we allow it to
be enabled to grow.
00:14:01.07\00:14:03.61
- And now, because almost
we have 26 now girls come,
00:14:05.01\00:14:09.58
it will be, so now
we, by God's grace,
00:14:09.58\00:14:13.35
we have purchased a bus.
00:14:13.35\00:14:16.32
- Yeah, it's a regular, big bus
00:14:16.32\00:14:17.99
'cause we're gonna talk
about the girls orphanage
00:14:18.95\00:14:21.16
in just a second 'cause that's
something that's kind of new.
00:14:21.16\00:14:23.89
But one of the things I was
kind of curious about is that
00:14:23.89\00:14:28.00
one time I, when
we came to India,
00:14:28.00\00:14:29.60
I went and I tried
to find out the stories
00:14:29.60\00:14:32.80
of where some of these
orphan children came from
00:14:32.80\00:14:35.14
because I wanted to validate
00:14:35.14\00:14:36.57
that these kids were
coming from needy situations.
00:14:38.17\00:14:40.84
And there was one young boy who,
00:14:40.84\00:14:44.05
this is just kind of
what happens in India,
00:14:44.05\00:14:45.88
that his father was a
professional coconut tree
00:14:45.88\00:14:49.68
climber. And remember he
climbed up in this one tree
00:14:49.68\00:14:51.59
and he fell out and
landed on the power lines
00:14:51.59\00:14:53.66
and he was
electrocuted and died.
00:14:53.66\00:14:55.32
- Yeah.
00:14:55.32\00:14:56.12
- Only for the
mother to come home
00:14:56.12\00:14:57.46
with her three children,
00:14:57.46\00:14:59.09
a daughter who
couldn't come to our school,
00:14:59.09\00:15:01.50
our orphanage 'cause
she was female at the time
00:15:01.50\00:15:04.53
and we only had a boys home,
00:15:04.53\00:15:05.37
and her two sons
00:15:05.37\00:15:06.67
got ran out of the
village by the villagers
00:15:06.67\00:15:08.74
so they could steal
all of her possessions
00:15:08.74\00:15:10.57
and her husband's possessions.
00:15:10.57\00:15:11.74
And she was, had, was on
the street with no place to go.
00:15:11.74\00:15:15.61
And she had two
boys in our orphanage?
00:15:15.61\00:15:18.95
- Yes. - Right,
but we didn't have
00:15:18.95\00:15:20.88
a girl's home at that time
00:15:20.88\00:15:21.78
so she had to
accommodate for the girl.
00:15:21.78\00:15:23.69
That's just kind of
the things that happened.
00:15:23.69\00:15:25.79
But you refer to those
orphan boys as semi-orphans.
00:15:25.79\00:15:29.89
Explain to our
viewers what a semi-orphan is.
00:15:29.89\00:15:33.16
- There are two things.
00:15:33.16\00:15:34.30
The semi-orphan, maybe the
father may be there or mother,
00:15:34.30\00:15:38.40
so maybe like we have a orphans-
00:15:40.54\00:15:43.97
- [Jeff] Mother
and father both dead.
00:15:44.91\00:15:46.31
- Both dead, then
semi-orphan, it's maybe one,
00:15:46.31\00:15:50.08
maybe mother alive or father.
00:15:50.08\00:15:51.91
- But they're not
capable of being able,
00:15:51.91\00:15:53.72
like this one
lady who is on the,
00:15:53.72\00:15:55.98
you were talking about on
the roadside by the garbage,
00:15:55.98\00:15:58.95
she wasn't capable
00:15:58.95\00:16:00.16
of taking care of her
boys. - She's capable of it now.
00:16:00.16\00:16:01.66
Even now she's there,
00:16:01.66\00:16:03.59
but she don't know
whether the son is alive,
00:16:03.59\00:16:06.80
she cannot come to
the home and no so it is.
00:16:06.80\00:16:11.50
- I know we needed,
00:16:11.50\00:16:12.43
because of the fact
that we had chickens
00:16:12.43\00:16:14.20
and we bought some
goats and we have kind of,
00:16:14.20\00:16:16.67
we feel like the
kids being involved
00:16:16.67\00:16:17.81
with agriculture and farming
is really healthy for 'em.
00:16:17.81\00:16:20.54
But we took in one lady
00:16:20.54\00:16:23.45
because we needed somebody
to help take care of animals
00:16:24.45\00:16:25.95
and she was already
experienced in doing this
00:16:25.95\00:16:28.42
and she had nowhere to
go and she had a young boy.
00:16:28.42\00:16:31.79
Do you remember the
story with this young boy
00:16:31.79\00:16:33.62
when Moses was talking
to him about his father,
00:16:33.62\00:16:37.73
what he said?
00:16:37.73\00:16:38.59
- Yes, the boy,
name is Tamil Silvan.
00:16:39.89\00:16:43.43
But the father, after the
first delivery of this boy,
00:16:44.77\00:16:49.44
the father left the
mother and got another marriage
00:16:51.24\00:16:55.64
and another marriage.
00:16:56.61\00:16:58.28
And as a result,
another marriage-
00:16:58.28\00:17:00.72
- So he just kind of abandoned
his wife and the children
00:17:00.72\00:17:03.15
and ran off with
another woman basically
00:17:03.15\00:17:04.85
is what you're saying.
00:17:04.85\00:17:06.15
- And also, the whole
family, they said, "You go."
00:17:06.15\00:17:09.79
- [Jeff] So how did
this affect that boy?
00:17:09.79\00:17:11.13
- Because this boy
was, because nobody's there,
00:17:11.13\00:17:14.63
because he cannot
go to see the grandma,
00:17:14.63\00:17:17.33
the village, his friends,
they were all throwing stones.
00:17:17.33\00:17:21.30
And so this boy-
00:17:22.24\00:17:23.47
- For us in the West,
it's hard to understand
00:17:23.47\00:17:25.77
some of the things
that go on in India.
00:17:25.77\00:17:27.41
- Yes.
00:17:27.41\00:17:28.78
And this boy,
00:17:28.78\00:17:30.18
this small boy,
00:17:31.98\00:17:32.81
now he's 13 years old.
00:17:33.85\00:17:35.18
When he came home,
he was 10 years old.
00:17:35.18\00:17:37.89
He decided, if I see my
dad, I will kill him and I will-
00:17:37.89\00:17:42.86
- I remember Moses was
shocked to hear a young boy say,
00:17:44.96\00:17:46.46
"I'm gonna kill my father."
00:17:46.46\00:17:48.20
"Why?"
00:17:48.20\00:17:49.03
"Because he abandoned us
00:17:49.03\00:17:50.00
and we're in this
situation because of him."
00:17:50.00\00:17:52.10
- Situation.
00:17:52.10\00:17:53.50
And because he's there
and his brother is there, two,
00:17:53.50\00:17:58.51
and mother standing on the
road, no house and nothing.
00:17:59.14\00:18:04.28
- [Jeff] He felt abandoned.
00:18:05.81\00:18:07.72
- Abandoned so he want to kill.
00:18:07.72\00:18:09.25
But that place, he, Moses
accidentally saw this family
00:18:10.65\00:18:15.66
and then Moses
also need one caretaker.
00:18:16.96\00:18:21.86
So she came and now
the son is very active.
00:18:21.86\00:18:25.10
You see the picture?
00:18:25.10\00:18:25.93
- [Jeff] 'Cause
his attitude changed.
00:18:25.93\00:18:27.20
- [Johnson] Yeah,
his attitude changed.
00:18:27.20\00:18:28.24
- [Jeff] What is he like now?
00:18:28.24\00:18:29.44
- Now he's very
attitude, his character change,
00:18:29.44\00:18:34.34
he's studying very nice.
00:18:34.34\00:18:36.24
And now if you ask him, he said,
00:18:36.24\00:18:38.71
"I want to be the pastor."
00:18:38.71\00:18:41.62
- [Jeff] Want to be what?
00:18:41.62\00:18:42.52
- I want to go to
(indistinct) Memorial.
00:18:42.52\00:18:44.05
- [Jeff] Oh and be a pastor?
00:18:44.05\00:18:45.12
- Pastor, yeah.
00:18:45.12\00:18:46.32
- And his bitterness
towards his father is gone now?
00:18:46.32\00:18:50.59
- [Johnson] Now gone.
00:18:50.59\00:18:51.99
- I remember when I
first came to that orphanage
00:18:51.99\00:18:54.46
and we just started,
00:18:54.46\00:18:55.43
the bathrooms were
outside way down at the end.
00:18:55.43\00:18:58.30
And when it got
to be rainy season,
00:18:58.30\00:19:01.70
the boys would have to get
up in the middle of the night
00:19:01.70\00:19:04.14
and go down there
and use the bathroom.
00:19:04.14\00:19:05.54
Cobras, cobra snakes
would go in those bathrooms.
00:19:05.54\00:19:09.41
And so we chiseled out
a place in the building
00:19:09.41\00:19:12.55
and we put indoor bathrooms in.
00:19:12.55\00:19:14.25
- Indoor bathrooms.
00:19:14.25\00:19:15.18
And now we have over
15 bathrooms in there.
00:19:15.18\00:19:18.45
- [Johnson] Wow, praise God.
00:19:18.45\00:19:19.29
- So and a good water tank.
00:19:19.29\00:19:21.06
- You know, one of the
things that really bothered me,
00:19:21.06\00:19:23.69
and people would
call our ministry and say,
00:19:23.69\00:19:25.93
"Jeff, why do you
just have a boys home?
00:19:25.93\00:19:28.13
How come you can't have girls?"
00:19:28.13\00:19:29.30
And I was saying,
00:19:29.30\00:19:30.77
"'Cause the government's
become really strict
00:19:30.77\00:19:32.03
about having boys and
girls mingled together
00:19:32.03\00:19:34.70
and having men nurturing
and taking care of the girls."
00:19:34.70\00:19:39.01
Because there'd been a lot of
abuse that's happened in India
00:19:39.01\00:19:42.08
and there's a lot of abuse
that's happened around the world
00:19:42.08\00:19:44.38
with orphans in general.
00:19:44.38\00:19:46.08
And so the girls have to be
in a complete separate facility,
00:19:46.08\00:19:49.78
separate cafeteria, you
know, separate courtyard,
00:19:49.78\00:19:53.22
separate everything,
00:19:53.22\00:19:54.26
separate common wall
that divides the property.
00:19:54.26\00:19:56.69
And so you and I talked about
this and we finally agreed,
00:19:56.69\00:19:59.96
let's go ahead and
build, but then COVID hit.
00:19:59.96\00:20:03.43
And what kind of
problems did we run into?
00:20:03.43\00:20:05.70
- So then COVID
came so we were not able,
00:20:05.70\00:20:09.64
the contractor-
00:20:09.64\00:20:10.74
- [Jeff] Couldn't get in there.
00:20:10.74\00:20:11.64
- Get in there.
00:20:11.64\00:20:12.84
And also the cement.
00:20:12.84\00:20:15.18
- [Jeff] The what?
00:20:15.18\00:20:16.28
- The cement.
00:20:16.28\00:20:17.28
- [Jeff] Oh, the cement.
00:20:17.28\00:20:18.11
- Cement and the
sand and the iron,
00:20:18.11\00:20:21.45
everything rate became double.
00:20:21.45\00:20:23.79
The quotation which
the contractor gave,
00:20:23.79\00:20:26.52
the quotation I
gave to you is different.
00:20:27.42\00:20:30.66
- Then what really happened.
00:20:31.59\00:20:32.53
- Happened, because
you are here, I am there.
00:20:32.53\00:20:35.70
The contractor is in one
place so it is very hard.
00:20:35.70\00:20:39.27
Then the building permission.
00:20:39.27\00:20:41.00
- Meanwhile, we were
having dirt hauled in.
00:20:42.64\00:20:46.31
And the reason we
were having dirt hauled in
00:20:46.31\00:20:47.84
is because this
place floods sometimes.
00:20:47.84\00:20:50.38
And so we had to build
everything up about three feet.
00:20:50.38\00:20:53.01
And so we were kind of
trying to do what we could do
00:20:53.01\00:20:55.15
to get a building, but
then finally what happened?
00:20:55.15\00:20:57.52
- Finally, rain came,
water, full water there,
00:20:57.52\00:21:01.42
the contractor not
able to do the work.
00:21:01.42\00:21:02.49
- [Jeff] Was it
'cause of the cyclone?
00:21:03.66\00:21:04.49
- Cyclone.
00:21:04.49\00:21:05.33
- [Jeff] Oh yeah, I remember,
00:21:05.33\00:21:06.26
the pictures I saw,
that were just flooded
00:21:06.26\00:21:09.06
and we had the
building just started.
00:21:09.06\00:21:10.73
- [Johnson] Yes and it is very.
00:21:10.73\00:21:13.70
- [Jeff] It's like
building a girls orphanage
00:21:13.70\00:21:15.77
in a swimming pool.
00:21:15.77\00:21:16.74
- Swimming.
00:21:16.74\00:21:18.21
And suppose tomorrow,
when you come and see,
00:21:18.21\00:21:20.84
"Oh, Johnson, you
did, what is this?"
00:21:20.84\00:21:23.38
So all these kind of a fear,
but above all, the divine hand,
00:21:23.38\00:21:28.38
like Ellen White says,
00:21:30.22\00:21:31.52
"Beyond all this scenery,
00:21:31.52\00:21:32.95
the heavenly hand is
working on the one way."
00:21:32.95\00:21:35.69
When the time came,
everything was very successfully
00:21:35.69\00:21:39.26
and we have
inaugurated the orphanage
00:21:39.26\00:21:43.67
in the month of April 19.
00:21:43.67\00:21:47.24
- [Jeff] Painted
and built and new desks
00:21:47.24\00:21:49.44
and I mean beds
and storage areas.
00:21:49.44\00:21:52.77
It's beautiful
facility that we built there.
00:21:52.77\00:21:55.04
- [Johnson] Yeah and the church.
00:21:55.04\00:21:56.18
- [Jeff] The only complaint
I had was it's too small.
00:21:56.18\00:21:57.55
We should have
built it a lot bigger
00:21:57.55\00:21:59.01
'cause I have a big vision
of helping orphans in India.
00:21:59.01\00:22:02.72
- Yeah, it is a
church, it came very nice
00:22:02.72\00:22:06.35
and then we fixed it
tiles for the whole building,
00:22:06.35\00:22:09.12
the computer
training center, everything.
00:22:09.12\00:22:12.06
- [Jeff] So what's
happened now with the girls?
00:22:12.06\00:22:13.66
Have we started
having girls come?
00:22:13.66\00:22:15.60
- The new school year
just started this week
00:22:15.60\00:22:19.23
because every June.
00:22:20.24\00:22:21.70
So the license, so
far we have for only boys.
00:22:21.70\00:22:26.71
So the license, the
government will give next month.
00:22:26.84\00:22:30.81
- [Jeff] Next month.
00:22:30.81\00:22:31.71
- So most probably,
we are already there
00:22:31.71\00:22:34.32
on the admission role.
00:22:34.32\00:22:36.08
- Have you started a
selection process for girls?
00:22:36.08\00:22:37.92
- [Johnson] Yeah, we
started the selection.
00:22:37.92\00:22:39.12
- Explain the selection process.
00:22:39.12\00:22:39.95
How does that work?
00:22:39.95\00:22:41.06
- They will
contact Moses or myself.
00:22:41.06\00:22:44.09
Then whoever contact me,
00:22:44.96\00:22:46.76
I will tell you, "Contact
Moses, here is a number."
00:22:46.76\00:22:51.10
Then Moses will ask
them the information,
00:22:51.10\00:22:55.54
where they are, if there
is any problem, what is that,
00:22:55.54\00:22:59.27
and all that,
the family history,
00:22:59.27\00:23:02.04
like a history, whole
history they will ask.
00:23:02.04\00:23:05.55
Then, Moses will study.
00:23:05.55\00:23:07.15
Then, if it is very
near, Moses will go.
00:23:07.15\00:23:09.78
- See, you're
really what you're doing
00:23:11.05\00:23:11.99
is you're going
through an elimination process
00:23:11.99\00:23:13.92
to find the most needy and
worthy young girls to come.
00:23:13.92\00:23:18.86
- What we are
doing is right now,
00:23:18.86\00:23:21.10
mostly from four years old
to 13 years, we have taken,
00:23:21.10\00:23:26.10
so first we thought,
00:23:26.70\00:23:28.17
when we decided to
start the orphanage,
00:23:28.17\00:23:30.67
we'll take only the children,
00:23:30.67\00:23:32.61
kind of a four
years, five years.
00:23:32.61\00:23:35.68
- [Jeff] Just
the small children?
00:23:35.68\00:23:37.21
- Small children,
but as the day goes,
00:23:37.21\00:23:38.11
like when government
obviously recently came,
00:23:38.11\00:23:41.55
there is a young man he's
almost like a 17 years old.
00:23:41.55\00:23:44.92
And Moses, he told Moses,
00:23:44.92\00:23:46.99
Moses, no father, no mother,
00:23:48.49\00:23:51.23
he so far four
orphanage, he was there.
00:23:51.23\00:23:56.13
But in the four orphanage,
he was not able to survive.
00:23:56.13\00:24:00.17
- Not able to what?
00:24:00.17\00:24:00.97
- [Johnson] Not
able to stay there.
00:24:00.97\00:24:02.57
- Why?
00:24:02.57\00:24:03.37
- Because he's
kind of a rough guy.
00:24:03.37\00:24:06.37
- [Jeff] And so
did we take him in?
00:24:07.44\00:24:09.14
- So Moses, the
officer said, "Moses, please."
00:24:09.14\00:24:13.75
But Moses said, "No
sir, here are children,
00:24:13.75\00:24:16.62
this guy look very tough."
00:24:16.62\00:24:19.02
- [Jeff] Put him in with
all these young children.
00:24:20.09\00:24:21.42
- All the young children.
00:24:21.42\00:24:22.36
Then the next day, the
government officer came.
00:24:22.36\00:24:24.59
Then he, Moses asked me,
00:24:25.83\00:24:29.26
I said, "I don't know
because you are handling.
00:24:29.26\00:24:32.20
If there is
evangelism I can help!
00:24:32.20\00:24:34.54
This is, I cannot help."
00:24:34.54\00:24:36.54
- You're not an
orphanage director.
00:24:36.54\00:24:37.74
- Not the orphanage.
00:24:37.74\00:24:38.97
So you pray on
that, I will also pray.
00:24:38.97\00:24:42.14
Then, the government, two,
three officers came together.
00:24:42.14\00:24:46.11
They came,
"Moses, you have to help,
00:24:47.65\00:24:48.88
otherwise this
guy have no place."
00:24:48.88\00:24:51.29
Then, Moses give the place.
00:24:52.55\00:24:54.82
For your information,
00:24:55.69\00:24:57.23
now he is very active,
00:24:57.23\00:24:59.29
he's attending worship,
00:24:59.29\00:25:01.33
he's attending church.
00:25:01.33\00:25:02.40
- This young 17 year old boy,
00:25:02.40\00:25:03.73
rough boy is going to church?
00:25:03.73\00:25:05.00
- [Johnson] Yeah.
00:25:05.00\00:25:06.43
- And he's doing
this 'cause he wants to?
00:25:06.43\00:25:07.27
- Yeah, he's doing okay now.
00:25:07.27\00:25:08.84
- Have you met him?
00:25:08.84\00:25:09.74
- Yes, I met him
two, three times.
00:25:09.74\00:25:11.57
- And his attitude is different?
00:25:11.57\00:25:13.01
- Different.
00:25:13.01\00:25:13.94
First time, I saw
him, then I asked Moses,
00:25:13.94\00:25:16.28
"What is this?
00:25:16.28\00:25:17.78
This guy will, I
think he will spoil others."
00:25:17.78\00:25:20.58
- [Jeff] Too rough.
00:25:20.58\00:25:21.42
- Too rough.
00:25:21.42\00:25:22.25
Then pastor, he
said, "Yes, pastor."
00:25:22.25\00:25:24.35
Then, second time,
that guy came near to me.
00:25:24.35\00:25:27.49
"Hello pastor.", he asked.
00:25:27.49\00:25:30.59
And then, "Okay, you are okay?"
00:25:30.59\00:25:32.89
Then I called
him, I gave a counsel,
00:25:32.89\00:25:35.43
"Toby, brother, you
have to be very careful
00:25:35.43\00:25:40.17
and everyone is
watching, be a good boy."
00:25:40.17\00:25:43.64
Then when I went
for inauguration,
00:25:43.64\00:25:46.31
he came, "Pastor, good morning.
00:25:46.31\00:25:48.91
Do you need any help?
00:25:49.84\00:25:51.41
I can do help."
00:25:51.41\00:25:52.61
So the attitude changing.
00:25:52.61\00:25:53.92
Rhe first day, he was
just standing like that.
00:25:53.92\00:25:56.62
The second time,
he came very close.
00:25:56.62\00:25:59.09
Now, "Pastor, do
you need any help?"
00:25:59.09\00:26:00.96
So the attitude is changing
because in our orphanage,
00:26:00.96\00:26:05.73
the food style is, the food is-
00:26:05.73\00:26:09.36
- Is more
hygienic and more plain.
00:26:09.36\00:26:10.83
- More plain.
00:26:10.83\00:26:12.33
The second, full of activities.
00:26:12.33\00:26:15.84
- Keeping him busy.
00:26:15.84\00:26:16.81
- Music class, computer class.
00:26:16.81\00:26:18.97
- And you know,
there's something else, too.
00:26:18.97\00:26:20.61
And Moses and his wife, Sonia,
00:26:20.61\00:26:23.04
they wanted to have it
00:26:23.04\00:26:24.71
be like a boy's home
and a girl's home literally,
00:26:24.71\00:26:28.58
to be like a mother
and father to these kids.
00:26:28.58\00:26:30.92
And due to the
fact that Moses himself
00:26:30.92\00:26:33.09
was raised as an orphan,
00:26:33.09\00:26:34.72
he can go to these
children and identify with them
00:26:34.72\00:26:37.23
and he's such a loving guy.
00:26:37.23\00:26:39.49
He's a really
conservative Christian fellow
00:26:39.49\00:26:41.73
who is not
harsh and judgemental,
00:26:41.73\00:26:44.30
he's just really loving guy.
00:26:44.30\00:26:46.10
I mean, I think
that's a key to the success
00:26:46.10\00:26:49.50
of a lot of things
that have happened there.
00:26:49.50\00:26:51.14
- Yes, you are right, I agree.
00:26:51.14\00:26:53.38
- So what would be the date
00:26:53.38\00:26:54.41
that we'll
actually start having girls
00:26:54.41\00:26:56.14
stay in our new facility?
00:26:56.14\00:26:58.71
- From August 15th.
00:26:58.71\00:27:01.38
- [Jeff] This coming up August?
00:27:01.38\00:27:02.52
- August is an Independence Day
00:27:02.52\00:27:04.42
so we will start after that.
00:27:04.42\00:27:06.52
- Anyhow, that's
all the time we have.
00:27:06.52\00:27:08.79
We thank you for watching this
episode of Laymen Ministries.
00:27:08.79\00:27:11.19
I would encourage
you to go to our website
00:27:11.19\00:27:14.00
at www.lmn.org.
00:27:14.00\00:27:18.47
And on that website, you
can subscribe to our magazines,
00:27:18.47\00:27:21.57
the Laymen Ministries Journals,
00:27:21.57\00:27:23.24
lot of mission stories,
00:27:23.24\00:27:24.41
there's always a lead article
00:27:24.41\00:27:26.04
that's designed for lay people,
00:27:26.04\00:27:27.81
like this
magazine here is called,
00:27:27.81\00:27:30.55
"Lost Days of the
Rapture and the Jesuits",
00:27:30.55\00:27:32.88
very interesting article,
00:27:32.88\00:27:34.35
"The New Normal from a
Christian Perspective",
00:27:34.35\00:27:37.02
"Follow the Science",
00:27:37.02\00:27:38.35
this is about the
world's largest waterfall.
00:27:38.35\00:27:41.22
These articles, the lead
articles for these magazines
00:27:41.22\00:27:43.69
are found on our website
00:27:43.69\00:27:44.69
and you can
download 'em as a PDF file
00:27:44.69\00:27:46.49
or you can just get
on our mailing list.
00:27:46.49\00:27:47.96
These magazines
are free of charge
00:27:47.96\00:27:50.40
and you can go to our
website again at lmn.org.
00:27:50.40\00:27:55.34
Pastor Johnson, as always,
00:27:55.34\00:27:56.64
it's really wonderful to
have you visiting us here
00:27:56.64\00:27:58.67
in cold Northern Idaho.
00:27:58.67\00:28:01.01
- Thank you, sir.
00:28:01.01\00:28:02.08
- I'm looking forward to
next fall coming to India,
00:28:02.08\00:28:05.01
actually, probably
gonna be early spring 2023
00:28:05.01\00:28:08.92
that we'll be coming and
start shooting videos again.
00:28:08.92\00:28:11.89
So now thank you for
watching and god bless.
00:28:11.89\00:28:14.79
(inspiring music)
00:28:14.79\00:28:17.63