Participants: John Lomacang (Host), Brenda Walsh, Sunidahar Solomon, Jim Rennie
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY016067A
|
00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:29 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people. 01:06 Hello, friends, and welcome to 3ABN today. 01:09 My name is John Lomacang. 01:10 If you've been a part of our 3ABN family, 01:12 you already know that, 01:14 but if you're tuning in for the first time, 01:15 remember this channel. 01:17 This is the channel that's getting people ready 01:20 for the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, 01:23 and we are convinced 01:24 that the Lord has something for you to learn 01:27 and to be informed about on this program, 01:29 so don't change the channel. 01:33 We have three very exciting guests 01:35 that are part of this program today. 01:37 And you know, when we talk about missions, 01:38 we often think of overseas and around the world, 01:41 but you'll discover 01:42 that not only our missions are performed around the world 01:45 but they're also able to be performed 01:47 maybe right where you live. 01:49 And so stay tuned for this program, 01:52 and it's going to be an exciting one. 01:54 Also thank you for your prayers 01:55 and your financial support of this network 01:57 as we continue going and growing, 01:59 getting ready for the coming of our Lord and Savior. 02:02 Now in just a moment, 02:04 I'll tell you who our guests are, 02:05 but right now one of the things that we take very seriously 02:09 and we also enjoy is music. 02:12 And a very good friend of mine 02:13 is going to bless your heart right now, 02:15 Stefanie Dawn with a wonderful song, 02:17 "Touch Your People Once Again". 02:35 We need wisdom we need power 02:40 And true love for each other 02:43 We have had so many big but empty words 02:50 So we come before Your face 02:55 Asking for Your grace 02:58 Bring Your people to a state of kingdom life 03:05 Restore Your church again 03:12 Touch Your people once again 03:19 With Your precious holy hand, we pray 03:26 Let Your kingdom shine upon this earth 03:32 Through a living glorious church 03:39 Not for temporary deeds 03:45 But to restore authority and power 03:52 Let a mighty rushing wind 03:56 Blow in 04:02 Touch your people once again 04:17 Lord You see Your tired servants 04:22 And Your broken wounded soldiers 04:26 Oh how much 04:28 We need Your precious healing hand 04:33 We need the power of the cross 04:38 As the only source for us 04:41 When we stand up facing final battle cry 04:48 Restore your church again 04:55 Touch Your people once again 05:02 With Your precious holy hand, we pray 05:09 Let Your kingdom shine upon this earth 05:15 Through a living glorious church 05:22 Not for temporary deeds 05:28 But to restore authority and power 05:35 Let a mighty rushing wind 05:39 Blow in 05:45 Touch your people once again 05:51 Let a mighty rushing wind 05:56 Blow in 06:01 Touch your people once again. 06:20 Thank you Stefanie and John Lomacang. 06:24 That was a pleasant surprise, 06:26 they didn't tell me ahead of time, 06:27 but I enjoyed the message in that song, 06:30 because today our program is about touching people, 06:33 making a difference in their lives. 06:35 So let us not hold the suspense any longer 06:38 and meet our guests for today. 06:40 To my right is a person 06:41 who's been a part of the 3ABN family 06:43 longer than I have 06:45 and so I must give for the props 06:46 that she deserves, Brenda Walsh, 06:47 good to have you here, Brenda. 06:49 Hi, John, it's nice to be here. 06:50 Yes, you have an illustrious history with 3ABN, 06:53 kind of maybe somebody is viewing for the first time, 06:55 so they may not know exactly what I'm talking about, 06:57 so kind of give us an overview of what you do 07:00 and what position you're in here at 3ABN. 07:01 I could do that, 07:02 but I think it would be better if you did. 07:04 Well, I've actually been here quite a long time. 07:07 My family grow up with all the Shelton's down here. 07:09 My dad grew up here in West Frankfort 07:11 and not long after 3ABN was launched 07:14 by Danny Shelton. 07:16 He asked my dad to come and do a series called, 07:19 "Walking with the Master" 07:20 and my sisters and I sang on every one of those programs. 07:23 So that was 28 years ago, 07:24 so we've been coming here quite a few years 07:27 and then about probably about 26 years ago 07:30 we started doing cooking programs. 07:32 Oh, people love the cooking programs. 07:34 With my sisters, so we started doing cooking, 07:36 just to help people learn how to eat healthy 07:39 and a lot of people think to eat healthy 07:41 can't taste that great, but we want to show them 07:44 that it can be delicious and good for you too. 07:45 That's true. 07:47 And then 16 years ago, 07:48 I was asked to produce a children's program 07:51 called "Kids' Time," 07:53 so we're going on 16 years on the air, 07:55 and everyday, 07:57 and it airs in every country around the world, 07:59 so it's been a pretty long career here at 3ABN. 08:04 Couple of years after we started Kids' Time, 08:06 I started another program called, "Kids' Time Praise." 08:09 And it's a half hour program with just music for kids. 08:12 And it's interesting Kids' Time is watched by the young 08:16 and older like, I mean... 08:18 God's kids come in all ages, 08:19 and so I have just as many adults 08:21 that watch Kids' Time as I do to kids. 08:24 And it's interesting pastor that on Kids' Time Praise, 08:29 I probably have 70 percent adults 08:32 and 30 percent kids. 08:33 You know, what's amazing about that, 08:35 when we travel 08:36 and I get an opportunity to travel my wife and I, 08:38 people say tell Brenda we enjoy Kids' Time, 08:41 and I say, "Well, do you have children?" 08:42 They say, "No, I just love watching Kids' Time." 08:45 So you are right, 08:46 there are people that are of all age groups 08:48 enjoying Kids' Time. 08:49 And I remember when I went to, I think was Bermuda, 08:52 and I heard Brenda was here 08:54 and the children just enjoy themselves, 08:55 so thank you. 08:57 And you know, what's wonderful, about that? 08:58 People may not know that, 08:59 but you're not paid to do any of this, 09:01 it's a ministry, and God has blessed 09:02 and provided for all those programs, 09:05 I'd say hundreds by now. 09:06 Oh, my yes. 09:08 Oh, yes, yeah, probably thousands of programs, 09:10 you know, by now. 09:11 It's amazing what God has done and a privilege. 09:15 It's a... 09:17 When I think about all the letters 09:18 that I get from all over the world, 09:20 it's mind-boggling, there is never a day 09:23 I don't hear from somebody 09:24 that's giving their heart to Jesus 09:26 because of the Kids' Time ministry. 09:27 And your sisters? And my sisters as well through. 09:30 My sisters Linda and Cinda are on Tiny Tots for Jesus 09:35 which is for the littler ones. 09:37 And so it's interesting, you know, 09:40 mom and dad raised five kids, 09:41 all five of us are in full time ministry. 09:44 And both my brothers are in ministry together 09:46 in Michigan, 09:48 and my sisters and I here at 3ABN, 09:49 so isn't it interesting how God is just, 09:52 you know, has really blessed us 09:53 to be able to work together as siblings. 09:55 And on this program we're gonna find out 09:56 how you expanded your territory. 09:58 We'll talk about that in just a moment, 10:00 but to your right Sunidhar Solomon, 10:02 good to have you here. 10:04 Thank you. Thank you, John. 10:05 And tell our audience, 10:06 our viewing and our listening audience 10:08 so where you're from and what you do right now? 10:10 Okay, I'm from India. I work for Asian Aid in India. 10:14 The Asian Aid office is situated 10:17 in the southern part of the country in Bangalore. 10:21 I've been working for Asian Aid for the past two years, 10:24 catering to the needs of the children out there. 10:27 There are many children who need help 10:32 and this help is provided by Asian Aid, 10:36 so we're a partnering NGO for Asian Aid USA, 10:39 and Australia, and India. 10:43 I work there as a assistant director, 10:47 taken up the programs recently 10:50 and we work in about 100 schools, 10:56 four orphanages and two special schools. 11:00 So that's a whole lot of work 11:01 which Asian Aid is doing in India at present. 11:04 Wow! Well, good to have you here. 11:05 It's your first time 11:07 so if I had a bell, I would ring it, 11:08 good to have you here, Sunidhar. 11:09 Thank you. 11:11 And to your right is a good friend of mine 11:12 Jim Rennie, the CEO of Asian Aid. 11:14 Good to have you here, Jim. Thanks, John. 11:16 We've had a chance to gallop 11:18 around the global little bit together 11:19 and you took me to India where I enjoyed myself, 11:22 and I even got sick, 11:23 so I'm thoroughly broken into the Indian culture, 11:26 but tell our audience, maybe somebody who is watching 11:28 or listening don't know who you are. 11:30 Give us a little more of your background. 11:31 Where are you from actually? 11:33 Well, I'm originally from New Zealand 11:35 and I've been living in the States 11:37 for just on seven years. 11:39 I've been the CEO of Asian Aid USA 11:42 for about six and half years. 11:45 And Asian Aid USA is a supportive ministry 11:48 of the Adventist church. 11:50 And their key activity is child's sponsorship 11:53 where we take children based on need 11:56 and put them in an Adventist mission school. 11:58 And right now Asian Aid USA 12:01 has about three and a half thousand children 12:04 in schools, blind school, deaf school and orphanages. 12:08 We fully found an orphanage, a large orphanage in India 12:12 which Brenda visited, a slum school, 12:15 and that's our key activity. 12:17 And in recent times 12:18 we've started operation Child Rescue 12:21 which is involved in the rescue of children. 12:24 Wow, well good to have you here and you know, 12:25 what's nice about this program is I've been to India. 12:29 I would have love to have seen more of it, 12:31 but I had to get sick and ended up staying up, 12:34 yeah, I was roughing it in a nice hotel 12:37 for couple of extra days 12:39 as I was trying to get my health back, 12:40 but you had a chance to go to India 12:42 and just dive into this program, 12:44 tell us about your experience going to India? 12:46 Well, Jim Rennie has been asking me to come to India 12:50 for quite a few years now, right Jim. 12:52 And we wanted to do something for the children, 12:55 and when I became general manger 12:57 of our 3ABN Kids Network, 12:59 I'm now not only responsible for Kids' Time 13:02 and Kids' Time Praise, 13:03 but now all programming 24/7 for children. 13:07 And so I'm looking for new programming 13:09 and when the opportunity came for me 13:11 to be able to go to India this time, 13:16 I'm thinking of programming for our children. 13:19 So many of our children today, John, are just, 13:23 you know, growing up so self-centered, 13:25 everything is about self and we... 13:27 I think they need programs to help them, you know, 13:30 look at them and see the need around the world, 13:32 and that we need to teach our children 13:34 to think of others, to have servants' hearts. 13:36 And they need to see that need 13:39 and when it worked out for me be able to go, 13:42 we're gonna actually have a program that's going to, 13:46 gonna feature each one of these places 13:49 that we're gonna talk about today, 13:50 the three schools that I visited. 13:52 I went to the slum school and well, Suni, 13:56 who he loves me to call him Suni now see. 13:59 So we'll let now Suni and Jim tell us 14:01 about how's slum school got its name 14:03 because at first I was like, wow, 14:05 do we want to call it the slum school. 14:07 And so that would be interesting to hear their, 14:10 why we call it the slum school. 14:12 And so then we went to the blind school 14:13 and also went to the Sunrise Home, 14:18 the orphanage and amazing stories, 14:21 just heartbreaking, inspiring, 14:23 faith building stories from the interviews 14:25 that we did with the children. 14:28 You would just be amazed 14:29 and these programs have not aired yet, 14:31 so these are coming up, so... 14:32 Okay. 14:34 I'm really excited that they're in editing process now, 14:37 and helpfully very soon we'll have them on the air, 14:39 and we'll advertise and let people know 14:41 when they're on the air, 14:42 but this is my first trip to India 14:44 and I was, I've traveled all over the world, 14:46 I've been all over African and Asia, 14:49 in Europe and South America everywhere, 14:51 but I never been to India. 14:53 And so I was... 14:55 A country of many... 14:58 Oh, it's. Is that an understatement? 14:59 Oh, definitely and there were some things that I, you know, 15:03 were so new and foreign to me 15:04 and I thought we have a roll that I would like to, 15:07 a video roll I'd like to show just my first impressions 15:10 so the kind of just the differences 15:12 and the uniqueness of India. 15:14 If we could just take a look, we've got, 15:16 we had elephant rides, 15:18 in fact we had early morning safaris with Darium, 15:21 with Debbie Thompson Kippel 15:23 and my assistant Melissa Hoffman is on the back, 15:26 and we went on this early morning, 15:28 you know, elephant safari. 15:30 And we saw so many awesome things to be, 15:33 just a few feet from a rhino for one thing. 15:35 And then just to show the difference in the culture. 15:38 Here's the farming and living conditions. 15:41 This is one of the houses 15:42 they let us actually come in and tour. 15:44 And if you'll see right down here, their floor, 15:46 you can see through it and that's how they walk, 15:48 that's they live in that. 15:50 There's Debbie taking pictures of the elephants 15:53 tied just outside the home. 15:56 And there's a lot bicycles everywhere. 15:59 there is tea gardens 16:01 and that was just a really amazing just... 16:04 you would never see things like that in America. 16:06 That's true, I mean India is a... 16:08 The culture is so diverse, I mean and the many dialects. 16:12 I want to kind of bring Suni in here. 16:14 You said Suni, so could I say that. 16:15 Yes, sure. 16:17 Sunidhar, I can actually say Sunidhar, 16:18 but I'll leave the Suni affectionate to Brenda, 16:21 but you know, the culture is so diverse, 16:23 just give us an idea of the area in which you work 16:27 and how many different languages 16:29 or dialects you have to handle on a weekly basis? 16:32 For me, the work of Asian Aid is maybe 75 percent of the work 16:37 is in the southern states, so but still we need to look 16:42 into four different major languages 16:45 which are present in the southern countries, 16:48 southern states of the country and when we go to remote places 16:53 or sometimes when we go to speak 16:55 to the parents of the children, 16:57 that's when we need to speak 16:58 that particular regional language. 17:01 I may not be familiar with the languages 17:03 but we have our field staff, we have about eight field staff 17:07 who go around visiting the children, 17:09 verifying their condition, 17:13 living condition and reporting it to the office. 17:16 This reports in turn we send it 17:17 to the Asian Aid office in the US. 17:21 So when the field officers... 17:24 When we get a new application, 17:26 the field officers, they go to the particular house, 17:29 verify what is written in the application 17:32 and only then we add them on to the sponsorship list 17:37 which we have, the database which we have on. 17:40 So when we taken the... 17:45 or recruit the field officers, we usually look at 17:48 which languages they are knowing 17:51 and related to the regions which they cover, 17:56 we've taken the field officers. 17:57 Wow, that's interesting because, you know, 17:59 you don't deal with just one language. 18:00 We think of the United States, 18:01 and although we have different sounding languages, 18:03 I mean for example I could tell if somebody's from New York 18:05 or from Mississippi. 18:07 I mean it's obvious so from Florida, 18:08 from Texas so from California where they speak... 18:10 In the south. 18:11 Or the south, really south, 18:13 very north like called block a park, 18:15 but in India, I mean we're talking hundreds of dialects. 18:18 And so when you say I want to speak Indian 18:20 that doesn't really mean anything, 18:23 because there are so many languages there. 18:24 The most common language is Hindi, 18:26 but in the southern states 18:28 Hindi is spoken much lesser than the northern part. 18:32 So in south we speak in the state Andhra 18:38 we speak in Telugu, in Karnataka 18:40 that is of the Bangalore area, it's Kannada, 18:44 Kerala where we don't have many of the students, 18:47 it's Malayalam, but again in Tamil Nadu 18:50 we have quite a lot of the students out there, 18:53 that's Tamil again. 18:54 So we need to be knowing 18:57 at least a bit of these four languages. 19:00 Now I heard of one called Urdu is that said one? 19:02 Yeah, Urdu is the language 19:06 spoken in the north 19:10 and some places in the south as well. 19:12 I knew that words stuck in my head somewhere 19:14 but now you brought up something Brenda, 19:16 that I want Jim to tell us about, 19:17 how did they get to call the slum school 19:21 the slum school. 19:22 It's interesting because I was there, 19:24 Brenda was there, 19:25 and it's a unique place you just cannot walk into that. 19:27 You got to have almost, 19:29 they got to allow you to come in. 19:30 Tell us about the slum school really briefly there? 19:32 Well, the slum school is called the slum school 19:34 because that's where it's located 19:36 in the middle of the slum. 19:38 It's the boys had slum school 19:40 and it was started originally by another ministry, 19:43 and on my first trip to India they said they were closing it. 19:46 And you know, I just look the kids in their face and said 19:49 we can't do this, so we reinstated 19:52 and now it's bursting up the seams. 19:54 In fact the lady who operates the slum school 19:58 has got such a heart, she can't turn children away, 20:02 and right now she's got 130 children 20:05 jammed in a building 20:06 that's probably only suitable for 80. 20:08 About 50 percent of these children 20:11 would not be at school 20:13 if it wasn't for that school where it's located. 20:17 The parents are from very poor backgrounds. 20:20 A lot of them are from children of sex workers, 20:23 a lot of children of them are children of ardent criminals, 20:27 but when we go there, 20:28 we don't get hassled or touched. 20:31 I said to Brenda, did anyone beg you for money. 20:34 Then you imagine walking through that community 20:37 where it speaks what we do. 20:39 I've had the head 20:40 of the criminal squad in that area, 20:44 real mean looking guy come up to me 20:47 and shake my hand, 20:49 and says thank you for looking after our children. 20:53 So we found that 100 percent that we're proud of it, 20:58 but there's so much work to be done in that slum. 21:00 This is just one slum, 21:02 I wish we could have a school everywhere like that 21:05 but, so that's why it's called the slum school, 21:07 it's a church school, the church employees 21:11 that we've founded and then when the children get to, 21:14 I'm not sure which grade, 21:15 they then give up the road to a larger Adventist school. 21:18 Wow, what was your impression, Brenda, 21:20 when you went there for the first time, 21:21 because I know, I remember I'm kind of, 21:23 I'm taking in the sides and the sounds 21:25 and the smell of the area. 21:27 It all comes at you just like say here we are. 21:31 Well, I think there's not, you know, 21:32 picture says the thousand words. 21:34 I think, I have a video roll of just general things of 21:40 that are so different of India, 21:41 and especially the streets of India 21:43 like what we're seeing here. 21:46 Just this is something 21:48 that I would never see in the States, 21:49 I haven't seen anywhere like it. 21:51 This is grain that they put on the road 21:52 and they want the vehicles actually to run over 21:54 because that's how they thrash their grain. 21:56 And everywhere there is cows on the road. 21:58 I mean you might be waiting a long time 22:00 just for a cow to pass, 22:02 and there is a mixture of high tech and then, 22:05 you know, things that you know, aren't so high tech. 22:08 You were talking about the railway system, Jim, 22:10 you said... 22:12 India has the largest railways system in the world. 22:14 Wow. It's a key method of travel. 22:19 And sometimes those trains 22:20 are occupied internally and externally. 22:22 There you are in your... 22:23 Bruce and Jackie thoroughly given me a rickshaw ride, 22:28 but I would like now to show the clip we have 22:31 of the slum school 22:33 and so that you kind of see about an... 22:36 This is, this just shows the, 22:38 just on right you know driving there, 22:41 just the poverty that is everywhere 22:43 and how hard these precious people have to work 22:45 just to survive. 22:48 It's amazing, you know, sifting the grain, 22:52 and little girl I think eating sugarcane, is that? 22:57 Okay, here it is. 22:58 And here is on your way into the slum school. 23:00 Tell us what we're seeing? Okay. 23:04 I had a privilege of going into the slum school 23:09 couple of years back. 23:11 Usually into the slums no one is welcomed, 23:13 and being a part of Asian Aid, I was okay, 23:17 and walking into this place. 23:21 I was assigned a job to take Brenda 23:23 along into all these places so I was there with the group. 23:28 All of us were welcomed into the community out there. 23:31 Look at that. 23:32 There were little children in the school... 23:34 This is actually walking up to that second level. 23:37 Yeah, walking up to that, 23:39 you look at the place the first time 23:42 may be you would be scared climbing up the stairs 23:44 because the staircase is utterly very steep 23:48 and we go up there, there are little children, 23:53 okay, little children out there 23:56 wouldn't have got the privilege of studying 23:58 if not for the Asian Aid team would supported them. 24:02 The principal of the school picked children 24:05 from the slum nearby 24:07 and just put them in the school. 24:09 They are educated there till the fifth grade 24:12 and after that they move on to the main school 24:15 which is maybe 10 to 15 miles from there. 24:19 Wow. 24:23 We have about 100, 24:25 more than 100 students in the slum school, 24:27 it's a three storied building 24:30 and the children enjoy studying there. 24:33 If you notice when they were, when I was walking in, 24:36 I was taking their picture, and they were so excited, 24:40 they started coming out of their houses, 24:42 even adults because all of them wanted their picture taking, 24:44 and then I would show them the picture on my phone. 24:47 I showed the screen and they would get so excited, 24:50 they were just, they're just loving it and like Jim said 24:53 not one person there asked me for coins 24:56 or for money or anything. 24:58 They were just so welcoming and so excited 25:01 that we were coming. 25:02 That it was beautiful thing to behold 25:05 and I had so much fun singing with the kids 25:07 and I told them the story, 25:08 and I was able to give them things 25:11 that they would be able to have in their school. 25:13 I brought over our whole set of Kids' Time DVDs 25:16 and we brought over all of our music projects, 25:20 Jimmy Rhodes and I did a music project together of tracks 25:23 and songs and the Kids' Time singers singing them. 25:25 Gave everything to that, 25:27 to each one of the schools actually that we went to, 25:29 so they could have this, you know, the benefit. 25:33 Yeah, the average home in that area 25:36 is 40 to 50 square feet. 25:39 So a family, a team of four, team of five room 25:43 and, you know, family of four to six would live in that area 25:47 and as I said, many of the parents 25:50 are professional beggars, thieves, 25:54 vagabonds, prostitution, that's huge, 25:58 but the children, they love their children 26:01 despite the background those people love their children, 26:05 and so for their children 26:07 to be able to get any education. 26:09 There's a lady who just lives along a street 26:12 and her daughter is now the first girl 26:15 from that slum to graduate from college. 26:18 Wow. 26:19 And it was such a big thing for that community 26:22 to have a girl that had made it all the way to college. 26:25 So it's hard for us to understand 26:29 where they actually come from each day. 26:31 You know what's amazing about Asian Aid 26:33 and just seeing the lives, somebody, 26:35 well, my wife and I, Angie and I said, 26:38 "Just adopting one child 26:40 and now it's getting more difficult to do that, 26:42 so we're going across the border, 26:45 across the lines into places 26:47 that are not seen here in America 26:48 but just changing one life." 26:51 Changes a generation, so it may look like, you know, 26:53 sometimes you look at these programs and you say, 26:55 well how many millions of people 26:57 are there in India? 26:58 How many millions of orphans? 26:59 How many people are orphaned everyday? 27:01 How many people are without moms and dads? 27:02 When you go from the slums school 27:05 to the blind school, 27:06 to the different challenges that some families have, 27:10 you begin to see, 27:11 it's really worth planting seeds 27:13 in the lives of these children and... 27:15 And, now tell us about the program 27:17 'cause you went there? 27:18 Well, I just wondered just expound if I could just... 27:20 when you're saying now 27:22 everybody it's getting harder and harder 27:23 to physically adopt a child 27:25 and bring him back to United States 27:27 but this is the beauty of Asian Aid, John, 27:29 that really touches my heart 27:31 because every one can adopt a child. 27:33 You may not physically have them in your home. 27:35 But every single person can adopt a child 27:38 and make a difference in that child's life. 27:40 And that's one thing 27:41 that really made my heart embrace Asia Aid 27:44 because that money that comes in there, 27:46 I have been there, I have with my own eyes 27:49 seen the results of people that have, you know, 27:53 been really God's touched their hearts 27:55 to support a child through Asian Aid. 27:57 And I, you know, you can and when you adopt a child, 28:00 you can have pictures of that child 28:01 and you can see the growth and I've met many children 28:06 that would wanted to show me 28:08 the pictures of their mom and dad, you know, 28:11 from America. 28:12 And they would show me the pictures of them 28:14 and there were just tears in their eyes 28:16 and hold that pictures because they were, 28:18 you know, it means so much to them 28:20 'cause they knew the sacrifice that people at overseas 28:23 that didn't even know them would do to, 28:26 you know, pay to keep them in school 28:27 and to give them clothes and to make it, 28:30 them have a better life. 28:31 They don't take it for granted, they appreciate it so much. 28:35 Jim, I was really touched with every single child 28:38 that I came in contact with 28:39 that everyone appreciated their mom and dad from America. 28:43 Now just, okay Suni. 28:45 Yeah, like what Brenda said, 28:47 it's not physically adopting a child, 28:48 but through Asian Aid 28:50 we're building a link between the child 28:52 and the sponsor here in the States. 28:56 Through the correspondence 28:57 which sent across from the child 29:00 to the sponsor here, some gifts or some letters 29:05 which are sent from the sponsor to the child, 29:07 That comes through the office in India 29:09 and then we distribute the letters, 29:12 the thank you letters, 29:13 the correspondence and gifts which we get. 29:16 You know what is also is amazing about Asian Aid is, 29:18 sometimes and I've seen this in the past 29:19 in another ministries and I won't name names, 29:21 but sometimes you get a picture of a fictitious child. 29:25 And that same picture is passed on to people 29:27 at many different places but in Asian Aid, 29:29 you're actually getting the picture of the child 29:31 that your funds are going towards, 29:33 and then we see the pictures, I remember meeting Jim, 29:36 and looking at some of these faces 29:37 and when we went over there, it overwhelmed us 29:40 when we actually met the child 29:43 that was connected to the picture. 29:45 And I tell you Asian Aid is phenomenal ministry. 29:48 How many years had Asian Aid been around 29:51 'cause we talk about others 29:52 that are connected like Helen Eager? 29:54 How many years has Asia Aid been? 29:55 Well, Asian Aid started 50 years ago. 29:57 This is the 50th year. 29:59 It started in Australia 30:01 and we started off with Helen Eager 30:04 and another lady shipping clothes to Vietnam, 30:07 and then they sponsored some children 30:09 and then they went to India, so it's now 50 years, 30:14 and between the two Asian Aids 30:16 with the same name operates separately 30:19 but we both work through, 30:21 so now as off between the two of us, 30:23 we have over eight and a half thousand children. 30:26 Wow. 30:27 So we had a special function to mark Helen Eager's age, 30:32 her retirement, not her age, I'm sorry. 30:35 And I estimated that in the period 30:40 that Helen established and pushed Asian Aid 30:43 that over 50,000 children had an Adventist education, 30:48 and that over $80 million 30:51 had been put into mission schools. 30:53 And that goes a long way in India. 30:55 I mean $80 million made just dent, 30:57 some of the work in America but in Asia... 30:59 I met some of the kids, 31:01 they had pictures where their mom and dad 31:03 from America actually, you know, 31:05 came and visited them and at the orphanage and just, 31:10 you would just imagine the joy on their face. 31:12 It was so, there's... 31:14 I just would encourage everyone to sponsor a child. 31:18 How much Jim would it cost 31:19 to sponsor a child for Asian Aid? 31:22 Well you can sponsor a day student which is $28 a month, 31:27 a boarder which is $38 a month or a special child 31:32 which is blind or deaf, or an orphan is $48 a month. 31:37 That's it? 31:38 So for $48 a month, 31:39 people waste more money than that 31:41 in fast food restaurants. 31:42 You know, if you can just think, you know, 31:44 for $48 a month, 31:45 what that could do to change a life, 31:48 that just blows me away, 31:50 and I've been talking with Jim about having a regular program, 31:54 a half hour program on our Kids Network for Asian Aid. 31:57 And just featuring some of these children, 32:00 and encouraging boys and girls to sponsor a child 32:05 and make them a brother and a sister, you know, 32:07 it would just... 32:08 I think it'd be an amazing ministry 32:10 just to encourage, 32:11 you know, boys and girls here to sponsor a child. 32:14 We have another video roll, moving on to the blind school 32:19 because I don't want to run out of time here 32:20 and there's so much to cover 32:22 but we have our video roll here, 32:24 I'd like to just show 32:25 when we first arrived at the blind school, 32:28 and this was started by Asian Aid as well. 32:33 And this is a aerial shot, 32:35 I actually climbed up on to the top of water tower, 32:38 and this is a traditional Indian greeting 32:42 when I, they lined at the entrance 32:44 and they put fresh petals, 32:46 you know flower petals on your head. 32:48 I didn't quite know what to think about that at first, 32:50 you know, I was like all right but you can see... 32:53 It's like continuous wedding. 32:54 Yes, and there's Joe Baker, he was with us on the shoot. 32:58 This is when they were singing for their morning worship 33:02 and just here, this is how Braille, 33:06 you know, help learning to read 33:07 and then this is how they do their math. 33:09 I thought it was cute how this boy was counting on his fingers 33:11 and then using his board. 33:14 And... Look at that. 33:15 There's an albino girl, 33:18 the disease probably also affected her sight. 33:22 So... 33:24 And this little boy? 33:25 And this little boy is Neelakantam. 33:27 And I want to tell you a little bit about him. 33:30 He has sight in one eye and so I want to share, 33:33 and this is Peter, 33:34 I'm gonna tell you a little story 33:36 about Peter as well. 33:37 We did an interview with Peter, 33:38 you gonna want to see the full interview 33:40 when we air the program. 33:41 It's just amazing, 33:44 just heartfelt testimonies from these kids. 33:48 This is in their kitchen preparing food 33:50 and you know washing the grain. 33:53 And these are the kids, you know, 33:55 this is how they make it into the dinning hall. 33:57 When they travel anywhere, they hold on to each other. 34:00 This is how they eat with their fingers 34:01 and this is not just how they do at the blind school, 34:04 in this area, they all do that. 34:07 And then I want to show you how big the pots they cook. 34:09 This is their rice pot that they cook in, 34:11 and I want to share it with you 34:13 how big their rice pot is, look at that, 34:15 I get into this rice pot and this lady want to join me, 34:19 I said, "Sure, come on in." 34:20 And she joined me 34:22 and we could have fit by two more people in there. 34:23 This is a huge... 34:24 That's an American-Indian dish. 34:26 Then I got out there and played cricket. 34:28 I can't believe you're playing sports. 34:29 I know I'm not into sports at all. 34:30 We kind of guess, it's called baseball out here. 34:32 Can I just explain how they play with the ball? 34:35 Yes. 34:36 Most of them are blind or partially blind, 34:38 the ball has a rattle in it 34:40 and they can pick up on the rattle 34:43 but they seem to have a sixth sense 34:45 for playing with the ball. 34:47 And our last roll was worship evening, worship? 34:49 That was evening worship in that last scene 34:51 where every evening they have worship 34:53 in their dormitories and that was... 34:56 that was such a special event. 34:57 But Jim, you're right, you wonder, 35:00 I wondered how could, you know, 35:01 when you're blind how could you play ball? 35:03 But there's bells and sound inside the ball 35:07 and they listen for that, and there's, you know, 35:09 quite a few that compete in... 35:13 In the national level. In the national level. 35:15 In fact, the couple of years back, 35:16 we had a student who played for the... 35:19 at the national level 35:20 and he was a champion out there. 35:22 And he was not able to see? He was not able to see. 35:24 Unbelievable, that's amazing. 35:29 I wouldn't know the name well 35:31 because that was even before I joined, 35:33 but I've heard about this boy, he is a champ... 35:35 I met him. Okay, yeah, great. 35:36 Yes, I met him and he was sharing with me 35:39 about his championship, 35:40 but I want to tell you about Peter, 35:41 the one that I was telling you about, 35:43 we're gonna tell you about Peter. 35:44 Yes. 35:46 We did a, you're gonna watch the full interview 35:47 but I tell you, when Peter got through not anyone of us, 35:50 you know, had a dry eye. 35:52 Even our camera crew, 35:53 we were tears rolling down our cheeks. 35:55 This was such a precious thing, 35:56 but I asked him before the interview began, we said, 36:00 would you comfortable if I asked you 36:01 how you became blind? 36:03 He goes, oh, yes Miss Brenda, yes. 36:04 So we started the interview and I introduced to Miss Peter 36:08 and I said Peter, 36:10 can you tell the boys and girls how you became blind? 36:13 And you can, you know see very, 36:15 when you look at him that you know he has no sight, 36:17 and look at that, it's disfigured. 36:20 And he's told me about when he had been on the street 36:25 playing the game with his friends 36:26 and he said there's a game 36:28 when you take a big stick and hit a little stick 36:30 and you see how far you can hit the little stick. 36:33 And the stick that they were playing 36:35 and a stick that was hit accidentally 36:38 went right in his eye. 36:39 And his friends took him home to his mother 36:42 and he said I need to go to doctor, 36:45 he said I'm screaming in pain and I need a doctor 36:47 and his mother said, "No" he said, in India, 36:49 if you don't have a doctor, you don't get care. 36:52 So the mother just pulled the stick right out of his eye. 36:56 And he said it hurt and he said I cried and I cried 37:01 and it hurt so bad and he said it got infected 37:04 and he lost his sight 37:06 and the other eye became blind as well. 37:09 Wow. I felt that. 37:11 Yes, oh just, and I mean, we're just crying 37:14 but as I talked to him and I just told them, 37:17 I said, "Peter, I'm so sorry that, 37:18 you know you became blind and you lost..." 37:21 Miss Brenda, I'm not sorry. I said excuse me? 37:24 And he said, if had not had, you know, become blind, 37:29 I would not have lost my sight. 37:30 Like and he said I would not have had an opportunity here 37:33 to come to the blind school and learn about Jesus. 37:37 He said, "So it is very big blessing to me 37:39 that I have no sight." 37:40 He said, "Because now I know my best friend Jesus." 37:44 And then he paused. 37:46 And his tear... 37:48 we want a close up shot of him just happened to be, 37:51 and tears just rolled up in his eyes 37:53 and you could just see these tears 37:54 just start to roll on his cheeks. 37:57 And he said, "I am so excited to go to heaven 38:01 'cause the first face I will see is my Jesus." 38:04 I could see why it was such an emotional moment. 38:06 Yes. 38:08 Because you know, you're thinking 38:09 we complained about the smallest things 38:10 here in America 38:12 but in his blindness, he found Jesus. 38:14 He found Jesus. Wow. 38:16 And he was praising Jesus for that. 38:17 He wasn't complaining, he wasn't mere angry, 38:20 he wasn't mad because he was blind. 38:22 He was thanking Jesus for taking his eyesight 38:25 so he had an opportunity to know his Lord and Savior. 38:27 You know in the Bible, there's an example Jesus uses, 38:30 He spoke to the Jews that rejected Him. 38:32 He said, if you, since you said, 38:33 you can see while your sin remains, 38:35 but if you were blind, you will understand, 38:37 but since you say you can see, you sin remains, Suni, 38:40 I saw you wanted to come in there but... 38:44 The boy who met with an accident 38:46 and we was not taken to the hospital. 38:48 In many cases this happens 38:49 because the parent wouldn't be affording 38:51 to take the child to the hospital. 38:53 The parent would try to do anything at home 38:58 rather than taking the child to the hospital. 39:00 So that might be a case 39:02 where the mother couldn't take the... 39:04 No money, no money. 39:05 Take the child to the hospital 39:06 and just had to pull the stick out of the eye. 39:09 That's right. 39:10 I also wanted to share with you, 39:12 you saw it, I told you about Neelakantam, 39:15 I said I'm gonna tell you about him. 39:17 And if you notice, 39:18 he has one eye that is wide open 39:20 and the other one is closed and looks a little disfigured. 39:24 He has sight in that one eye. 39:26 And we saw him walking and helping others, 39:29 you know, down the path and he is because he has sight, 39:32 you know, he helps his fellow brothers. 39:35 And he... 39:37 when I was interviewing him, 39:39 was sharing with his story of how he became blind. 39:41 Now I can't give everything we just don't have time 39:43 to tell it anyway. 39:44 But if he had a glass eye, 39:47 no one would ever know he was blind. 39:48 So esthetically they were never blind. 39:50 So he would not. 39:51 And I asked him on, you know, I said, 39:53 Neelakantam and I asked him how I did learn 39:55 how to pronounce his name because I said is it okay 39:57 if I just call you Neela? 39:58 And he goes "No ma'am, my name Neelakantam." 40:01 I said okay. 40:02 Give me my full name, my recognition. 40:04 So and I asked him I said, Neelakantam, 40:07 if you had a glass eye, I said your face would look 40:11 as perfectly normal as anybody else's is? 40:14 He said, "Yes, ma'am." 40:15 I said, "Would you want a glass eye?" 40:17 And he said, "Oh, very much but I do not dream of this." 40:21 And I said, "Why not?" 40:23 He said, "It is too much money." 40:25 He said, "It will never happen." 40:28 He said so I... 40:29 and I just thought John, 40:31 there are so many people out there 40:32 that you know maybe have the means 40:35 and I wanted just, you know, 40:38 ask each one of these viewers today, 40:40 if there's anyone that their heart 40:42 has a heart for this child, 40:45 then you will be willing to donate the funds 40:47 to get Neelakantam a glass eye. 40:49 We will make sure, Suni that you get that funds 40:51 and you know who Neelakantam is? 40:54 And we'll make sure he gets that glass eye. 40:57 And so I'm hoping and praying 40:59 and someone's heart would be touched to do that. 41:03 We need to move on to the orphanage if could. 41:05 Yeah. Let's do the orphanage. 41:06 And so let's take a look at now 41:08 at the Sunrise Home and 'cause this... 41:10 I remember that one. Oh, yeah. Oh, you've been here too? 41:13 So this is the entrance of the Sunrise Home, 41:14 and again we have the traditional greeting 41:16 and all the kids lined up to greet me 41:20 and they have all fresh flowers and all... 41:21 And these children could see? These children could see. 41:24 These have no mother or father but they can see 41:27 and they're singing songs they prepared just for me, 41:30 they were so excited and I had a chance to play with them 41:35 and go on the merry-go-round and play games with them. 41:38 We went walk to school together. 41:40 I even rode the bus with them 41:42 and we sang the songs the whole way. 41:45 Literally the entire trip we're singing songs on the bus. 41:49 Had just an awesome time with these kids, 41:51 I fell in love with them. 41:53 This one I first went to India, 41:56 they took me to the what was then the Sunrise Home 41:59 and it was just a basic building 42:01 and there were 40 boys in one room 42:04 sleeping on the floor pad up against each other, 42:08 and 32 girls on the other room and it had a dramatic impact 42:13 and we were really blessed, 42:15 we were able to acquire some land out in the country 42:19 and with the support of donors of Asian Aid 42:23 restructured five years ago. 42:27 And now that home, 42:29 we're hoping to get it up to 200 children. 42:33 What I just like to say about the blind school 42:36 and the orphanage, 42:37 these blind kids would still be in their villages 42:41 not getting any education 42:43 because they're not accepted at a normal government school. 42:46 So once again, over 50 percent of those children 42:50 even if they're partially blind would not be at school 42:54 if it wasn't for the blind school, 42:56 The Asian Aid blind school. 42:57 And likewise the orphans, 42:59 now some of them do have parents 43:02 but there are parents 43:03 that just simply can't look after a child. 43:07 And there was actually when Brenda was sitting 43:10 on the round about, 43:11 that little girl was found on a railway station 43:14 with her brother. 43:15 And the government people brought them to us. 43:18 So it's just I love Sunrise, it's my weak spot. 43:23 And we've just got a huge opportunity 43:26 with that home. 43:28 Can you introduce the mama and papa for Sunrise? 43:32 The key secret to Sunrise is success 43:37 if I can use the word success is Lalitha and Verma, 43:42 a husband and wife team would bring those children up. 43:45 You know how tough it is bringing up three children? 43:48 Can you imagine bringing up a 160 children? 43:51 I can't... 43:52 All from trouble backgrounds, all who have their problems. 43:56 And Verma and Lalitha are godly dedicated people. 44:00 Amen. 44:02 Right, they give more each day, far more than you and I do. 44:05 And they face some huge challenges, 44:09 it's not all rosy. 44:11 The challenges and the problem that those kids bring is huge 44:16 and they've given their life and Lalitha is tireless. 44:19 They all call her mummy, they all love her. 44:22 Now, yes, they've got the staff, 44:24 but I just want to pay tribute to that couple. 44:28 I joined you... 44:30 with that, I have actually visited many orphanages 44:33 and in the last 16 years 44:35 where I've been full time ministry for children 44:37 and I have never been to an orphanage 44:40 where it didn't feel like an orphanage. 44:43 It felt like a home with 44:44 and they call them mommy and daddy 44:46 and that is their mommy and daddy 44:48 and they love them 44:49 and they run to them and they... 44:50 Not just when the cameras are on. 44:53 When the cameras are gone and put away, 44:54 they all run and they'll hug them 44:56 and they'll crawl and they love, 44:59 there is so much love in that home, 45:01 that I really don't even want to call it an orphanage 45:04 because it's a home, 45:05 and I love that that you called a Sunrise Home, 45:08 Oh, my, I just, I've never felt so much love 45:11 and so much like the family as I did in this home. 45:14 I couldn't agree more, they really are mommy and daddy 45:18 to these kids. 45:19 And, you know, we had the opportunity 45:20 of meeting of them 45:22 and truly the children gravitate toward them 45:24 because they build a relationship 45:26 with these children. 45:27 And what I want to do and, Suni, 45:29 I want to give you opportunity to share on this note, 45:31 but then let's talk 45:32 about some of the needs that Asian Aid has 45:34 because what's happening now would not continue to happen 45:38 except the continued support 45:40 is funneled to the Asian Aid project. 45:41 Suni? 45:43 What Asian Aid would... 45:46 or the children out there would need is... 45:48 First of all, I would like to say, 45:50 it's not only educational help which they're getting, 45:53 they're getting all round development. 45:55 It's a, education wise, the social living out there 45:59 and on top of all, they get religious atmosphere 46:02 which is built in that home. 46:05 And what we're looking at us more of this development 46:09 to be occurring in the home 46:10 so that the children would be educated well 46:14 and they draw more closer to God. 46:19 We always also are looking towards 46:21 some infrastructure development in these areas, 46:26 like the children from the homes 46:30 can go to nearby school, an Adventist school 46:35 which is not well built properly. 46:38 Earlier they were, 46:39 the children still on the floor and study. 46:43 There's need for some benches, 46:45 chairs and benches for the children to sit. 46:48 We need some training to be done for the teachers 46:54 so that the level of the standard 46:55 of education out there would be better. 46:58 So there's a personnel to come 47:00 'cause they're people that I remember understanding. 47:02 You don't necessarily have to be employed by Asian Aid, 47:05 but you can come and volunteer to be in a position 47:07 to help train somebody, ain't that correct, Jim? 47:09 Yes. Okay. 47:11 Obviously our biggest need is sponsorship. 47:14 At the end of the day, we're not short of children 47:17 and there are many children we turned away. 47:19 So right now in our un-sponsored pool, 47:23 we would probably have 600 or 700 children. 47:26 Wow. 47:27 Our biggest need is sponsorship but if you go to our website, 47:30 you can see the other ways in which you can help. 47:33 If you don't want to sponsor a child, 47:35 you can contribute to the un-sponsored child fund 47:39 with the one orphan in Asian. 47:42 So there are many ways that you can support. 47:45 I'm glad to hear Suni talk about the chairs 47:47 because I spoke for their church service on Sabbath 47:50 and nobody had a chair, except for the, you know, 47:52 I felt bad being in a chair. 47:53 They had a chair up in front for me, 47:55 and you know, they were all on the floor. 47:57 All sitting on the floor and that can be a, you know, 48:01 not a comfortable place to be. 48:02 It's a concrete floor. 48:03 And I thought, oh, how I wish these children 48:06 had a place to sit. 48:07 You know, I think it'd be amazing 48:09 if some people in America would just go visit, 48:10 I remember being there, 48:12 and Jim showed me in one of the homes 48:14 where the boys had their beds to sleep on 48:17 which really was a mat over a folded up blanket, 48:22 and I thought is that where you sleep 48:25 'cause every night they... 48:26 And they get used to this kind of thing 48:28 but what can make a difference is, 48:29 as people sponsor, 48:30 instead of specifying what we need a desk 48:32 or chair or blackboard, when you send the funds, 48:36 Asian Aid is very good at looking at the needs 48:39 and allocating those funds to cover those needs. 48:41 And I can tell you that these kids, 48:43 they appreciate everything you do for them. 48:46 I have bought a lot of Indian dress, 48:48 lot of Punjabis, 48:50 an Indian dress when I was there 48:51 and I gave them away and when I left, 48:52 I gave everyone of them away. 48:54 Do you know when I would hand... 48:56 one girl I handed one of my outfits to, 48:59 she literally just threw her arms around me 49:01 and started sobbing. 49:02 She was just so grateful. 49:04 It would just really touch your heart 49:06 if you could see how... 49:08 They don't expect anything 49:09 and they're so grateful for every little thing 49:12 that you do for them. 49:13 We gonna get the address in the moment 49:15 to let people know how they can sponsor Asian Aid. 49:17 Mater of fact, let me go ahead 49:18 and give you the address right now 49:20 because you've heard just a tip of the iceberg 49:22 as to what Asian Aid does, 49:24 and how many lives are transformed. 49:25 I know mine was. 49:27 I saw the needs there in Asia 49:29 and particularly among the places 49:31 that we visited and I thought Lord, 49:32 in America, we are doubly blessed 49:34 and wherever you're watching this program from 49:36 I can imagine, if you're not where we showed today, 49:39 surely you know what blessings are all about. 49:41 Here's the information that you need 49:43 to be a part of this great ministry. 49:47 Asian Aid provides education 49:49 and vocational training to children 49:51 and young adults through sponsorship programs 49:53 in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, India, Nepal and Bangladesh. 49:57 If you like to support Asian Aid 49:59 or if you like to support a child through Asian Aid, 50:02 you can do so in a variety of ways. 50:04 You can write to them at PO Box 2258, Collegedale, 50:08 Tennessee 37315. 50:10 That's PO Box 2258, Collegedale, Tennessee 37315. 50:16 You can call them at 866-569-7933. 50:20 That's 866-569-7933. 50:24 You can also visit them online at AsianAid.org, 50:28 that's AsianAid.org. 50:32 Well as you know transforming lives 50:34 is something that this ministry is all about. 50:36 Remember, "Mending Broken People." 50:38 That's the word that Danny has used 50:41 ever since 3ABN has been around, 50:43 and Asian Aid is the part of that family 50:45 of mending broken people in India. 50:47 We also talked about other places in Asia, not just India. 50:49 What are some of the other countries? 50:51 Asian Aid, we currently operate in five country, 50:54 India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka 50:57 and recently we entered Myanmar. 51:00 Wow, wow. And you've been to India? 51:02 I have been to India and I'm gonna go back. 51:05 As I said, Jim and I are planning on a program, 51:07 I'd like to see a half hour program 51:09 and maybe do a 13, you know program pilot for it. 51:13 Maybe we can go together? I would love that. 51:15 I absolutely would love that. 51:16 And I also want to encourage our viewers, 51:17 if you would like to help sponsor this program, 51:19 we need a sponsor 51:20 so that we can bring you more programs like this 51:24 and please contact me. 51:25 Just BrendaWalsh.com. 51:27 My contact information is there on my website. 51:29 And I would love to hear from them. 51:32 Wow, well you know our program is not done yet. 51:34 We're gonna take a short newsbreak 51:35 and come back on the other side of the news break 51:38 with some capstone information, so don't go away, 51:41 we'll be right back in just a few moments. |
Revised 2016-09-19