Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY017086A
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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 01:07 Hello, and we welcome you once again to 3ABN Today. 01:11 We are so glad that you've tuned in, 01:13 and we have an interesting program for you. 01:15 I think you'll really enjoy this, 01:18 but I would be amiss 01:19 if I didn't take a moment to thank you 01:21 for your love, and your prayers, 01:23 and your financial support of this ministry. 01:26 Just want to particularly thank all of those of you 01:29 who are members of the GO Evangelistic Team. 01:34 Without your monthly support, we couldn't do what we do, 01:38 so thank you so much. 01:40 We are going to talk today about children. 01:45 In Matthew 19:14, let me set this up, 01:49 Jesus was there and speaking and the people began 01:54 bringing their little children before Him, 01:57 and His disciples started pushing the little kids away 02:01 because they thought, 02:02 "Hey, he's got more important things to do 02:04 than to deal with the children." 02:06 And here's what Jesus said in Matthew 19:14, 02:10 "But Jesus said let the little children come to me 02:14 and do not forbid them, 02:16 for of such is the kingdom of heaven. 02:19 And he laid his hands on them." 02:23 A child, enriching a child for Christ 02:27 is so important to get the training they need 02:32 when they're young to learn of Jesus 02:35 so that He can direct their paths 02:36 throughout their lives. 02:38 And we will talk today about children who are in great need, 02:42 not only are they in spiritual need as we all are, 02:47 but they're in great physical need. 02:48 So let me introduce our special guests to you, 02:51 my dear friend and brother in Christ, Jim Rennie. 02:54 Jim, we're so glad that you're here with us today. 02:57 Thanks, Shelley. It's great to be back at 3ABN. 03:00 And you've been here a number of times before. 03:02 Yes, you know. 03:03 But you don't have your sidekick Helen Eager with you. 03:06 No, no, Helen's in Nepal right now. 03:08 Okay. 03:10 Jim, you are the CEO of Child Impact International, 03:15 formerly known as Asian Aid. 03:17 Yes. 03:19 So we're going to talk about 03:21 Child Impact International today 03:23 and what they're doing, why they're doing it, 03:27 and how we can all participate in this. 03:29 But before we do, we've got special music. 03:32 And this is, when I say special, 03:35 I think, Neville Peter is one of the most special people 03:39 that I've ever met. 03:41 He is as you may or may not know he's blind, 03:45 and he actually had said 03:49 that he doesn't want to be healed of his blindness 03:52 because the first thing that he wants to see, 03:55 the first face he wants to see 03:58 when his sight is restored, it's Jesus. 04:01 So he's wanting to wait till the resurrection 04:04 and see Jesus coming to get us. 04:06 But Neville has a great talent, 04:09 not only on the piano, but he's an excellent singer. 04:12 And he writes almost all of his own music. 04:15 So here's a song by Neville Peter, 04:17 and it is called "Forget About Myself". 04:36 I forget about myself 04:42 When I worship you 04:45 When I worship you 04:50 I forget about myself 04:56 When I worship you 05:00 When I worship you 05:05 Not just only in your temple 05:12 But every second of the day 05:19 I forget about myself 05:25 When I worship you 05:31 Lord, I forget 05:35 About myself 05:39 When I honor you 05:42 When I honor you 05:47 I forget about myself 05:53 When I honor you 06:01 Lord, in humbleness 06:05 I'm coming 06:08 In obedience to your will 06:14 So I forget about myself 06:21 When I worship you 06:26 Lord, I'm coming 06:29 With more than just 06:34 A sacrifice of praise 06:42 I'm bringing a heart 06:45 That longs to know you 06:50 In all, all your wonderful ways 06:55 God, I wish 06:58 Lord, I wish that I could show you 07:04 Just how much that I adore you 07:11 So I forget about myself 07:17 Father, I forget about myself 07:24 Lord, I forget 07:27 About myself 07:36 When I worship you 07:43 There's no time to think about 07:45 Anything else 07:47 Lord, when I 07:51 Worship you 08:02 What a beautiful message in that song. 08:05 And that's the way all of his songs are, 08:07 they're just moving. 08:09 And they have, they resonate with me so much. 08:12 You know, I'm gonna say this, 08:14 I may get in trouble for saying it, 08:15 but I was thinking sometimes we feel 08:18 a bit depressed or oppressed, 08:21 and boy, it's easy to fall into a pity party. 08:26 Someone said that self-pity is straight 08:29 from the pits of hell. 08:31 And what a prescription is in that song 08:35 if you listen to those lyrics, 08:37 if, I just want to encourage you, 08:39 if you're feeling just beat up, oppressed, depressed, 08:43 worship the Lord because as you worship, 08:47 you will forget about yourself. 08:49 Okay, our special guest today is Jim Rennie 08:53 who is the CEO of Child Impact International. 08:56 Jim, it is just so good to have you back here again. 08:59 Thank you, privilege to be here. 09:01 Tell me, I don't think we spend much time 09:03 talking about who you are. 09:05 Let's back up before we get into 09:08 what Child Impact International is doing. 09:12 Tell us a little bit about Jim Rennie, 09:13 did you grow up in a Christian home? 09:16 Well, you can tell, I'm not from around here. 09:18 I'm a missionary from New Zealand. 09:20 A Kiwi. A Kiwi. 09:23 I was born in New Zealand. 09:24 I'm a New Zealand citizen. 09:26 And we were living on a farm 09:30 and at about the age of 12, 09:34 the grandfather of the guy who owned the farm 09:39 used to come out and, you know, help on the farm, 09:43 and he was a Seventh-day Adventist. 09:45 He was the father of Pastor Desmond Hills 09:50 who's well-known, was at the GC for a while. 09:53 And so he introduced my mother to the church 09:58 and that was the starting point. 10:00 So at about the age of 13, 10:02 I started to attend the Adventist school 10:06 in Christchurch in the South Island of New Zealand. 10:10 So what did you do after you went through school, 10:13 went to college, tell us a little of your background? 10:16 Well, when I left school, 10:18 I worked on a van for the health food company 10:23 in New Zealand. 10:24 They had van salesmen that went around selling 10:27 the breakfast cereals and health foods 10:30 of the Sanitarium Health Food Company. 10:33 So well, I was on a van assistant, 10:35 helping deliver the products. 10:39 Then I became, I got promoted to a van salesman. 10:43 And then I had a couple of jobs. 10:46 And then I eventually started my own marketing business 10:51 more by default 10:53 and that grew over 30 years 10:56 to one of the largest 10:58 promotional marketing companies in New Zealand. 11:01 And we had offices in Australia and Singapore. 11:05 And we used to do all the promotional aspects 11:09 of retailers, their promotions, their point-of-sale. 11:14 And so I was sort of a self-made marketer. 11:17 Okay, but how did God then, 11:20 at what point did He reached down 11:23 and tap you on the shoulder and say 11:26 "Hey, Jim, I want you to work in ministry again, 11:31 and in particular with orphan children." 11:34 Well, I think, it goes back before that. 11:38 I really loved the church. 11:40 And the first role I took was the New Zealand 11:43 marketing and sales manager for Sanitarium, 11:46 so Sanitarium's owned by the church. 11:49 And so for four and a half years, 11:51 I had a very senior role doing that. 11:54 And I enjoyed that 11:56 and enjoyed working for the church in that role. 12:00 Then I went back to working for myself. 12:05 And then with my second marriage, 12:08 I married a lovely American lady. 12:11 And the deal was that she was to come to New Zealand 12:14 and she did. 12:16 But somewhere the deal went a little astray. 12:18 It went south. 12:20 Well, it went north, and I ended up in America. 12:24 And initially I wasn't sure what I was going to do. 12:29 I actually did some work with Amazing Facts 12:32 and really loved that. 12:33 And then one day I was at ASI, my very first day at ASI, 12:38 and I was standing in the food line, 12:40 and someone approached me and said, 12:42 "Would you go on the board of Asian Aid?" 12:46 And I knew Asian Aid 12:47 from Australia where it started. 12:49 I knew Helen Eager, so I took the board role. 12:53 And then at the first board meeting, 12:57 they were having some challenges 12:59 with the organization, 13:00 so I took a six-month contract 13:03 to run Asian Aid and restructure it. 13:06 We moved up from Nebraska. 13:08 So I'm now just about 13:11 nine years into my six month contract. 13:13 There you go. 13:15 I knew nothing about Asian Aid. 13:17 I knew nothing about the mission field. 13:20 I'd had a lot to do with church schools. 13:22 And from the moment I stepped into the countries 13:28 where we operate, 13:29 I just fell in love with those kids. 13:33 Everyone should just go and see 13:36 what we see as a part of our work. 13:40 So let's talk about, how did Asian Aid actually get started? 13:47 Well, Asian Aid started in Australia 13:49 about 55 years ago. 13:52 There was a lady called Maisie Fook and she started. 13:56 She visited Hong Kong, 13:58 and she started sending 14:00 food parcels and clothing to Hong Kong. 14:04 And then she visited India. 14:07 And then at a later stage, 14:08 Helen Eager came on board to help her. 14:11 And so Asian Aid started. 14:14 Then they started a little in a house 14:17 in a country town called Wauchope in Australia. 14:20 And Helen's been to America many times, 14:25 many of our supporters and your viewers know, 14:28 and Asian Aid grew. 14:30 And at a certain point, 14:32 it grew to about 6,500 children 14:36 sponsored an Adventists mission schools. 14:39 And at some stage, 14:43 the CEO back then had a vision to grow Asian Aid. 14:47 So they established a chapter in the USA, 14:52 and it was based in Nebraska. 14:55 And so when I started, I took over the USA chapter. 15:01 And, you know, I'm sure many of you, 15:03 if you don't recognize her name, 15:05 you'd recognize her when you saw Helen Eager. 15:08 She is just a little pint-sized dynamo. 15:12 I guarantee you and the interesting thing 15:15 I had a dear friend who went with her to India. 15:17 And as you said, if you go and you see these children 15:21 who are in such great need, 15:23 your heart is opened 15:26 and just filled with the love of God for these children. 15:29 But my friend told me, she called me actually, 15:32 I think, we were skyping when she was in India. 15:35 And she said, "Helen is just like Mother Teresa or somebody 15:39 because all of the children. 15:41 I don't know how many years was Helen with Asia Aid. 15:44 Forty years. Forty years. 15:46 So all of these children know her as mama Helen, 15:51 but she said, everywhere they went, 15:54 the grown-ups were coming up to her 15:56 and still calling her mama. 15:59 And they just followed her around 16:00 because these are people who'd been through their schools 16:03 been educated, 16:04 and now are productive members of their towns and villages. 16:09 So Helen is just kind of a legend 16:13 in her own time if you will. 16:14 Yes. 16:16 Well, Helen's retired now, but she hasn't retired. 16:18 Right now her favorite spot at the moment, 16:22 not favorite but the spot where she's really involved 16:25 with is Nepal. 16:27 And right now she says, 16:28 she spends about half of her time in Nepal, 16:31 and half of her time back in Australia. 16:34 But she sort of retired from Asian Aid as such, 16:39 she's still supportive. 16:41 She visited with us at ASI last year. 16:44 And she's very excited about 16:46 what we're doing with Child Impact 16:48 and is very supportive of it. 16:50 Okay, so Asian Aid's been established for many years, 16:55 what made you decide to go through the name change. 16:59 And I think we have the two different logos 17:00 that we'd like to put up. 17:02 Yeah, let's put up the blue... 17:03 We had Asian Aid is the way you began, 17:07 but now it is Child Impact International. 17:11 Yeah. Why the name change? 17:13 Well, it obviously started as Asian Aid. 17:17 And on the screen, there you can see the previous logo 17:21 on the right and the new one on the left. 17:23 So we've changed our name 17:25 and that's about all that's changed as the name. 17:29 I guess, one of the key reasons was that most of our activity, 17:34 we have about Child Impact being the USA, 17:38 we now have over 3,500 children sponsored 17:42 in six countries 17:44 Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and now Myanmar. 17:50 And we've just taken our first small project 17:53 in Papua New Guinea. 17:56 Most of the people in America don't see India as Asia. 18:01 So when we said Asia, people within China, Japan, 18:05 the Philippines, 18:07 so the first key reason we started looking at it 18:09 about two or three years ago 18:12 that there was a bit of confusion 18:14 as to what Asia was. 18:15 And we don't operate in those countries. 18:19 The second thing is aid. 18:21 We're not an aid agency. 18:23 There are lots of aid agencies out there. 18:26 And they fulfill a role, but we're uniquely different. 18:29 And so we... 18:31 It really didn't say what we were. 18:36 So it was real tough, the strong heritage 18:39 in the name Asian Aid, this history. 18:42 And it was a big decision. 18:44 So there were other reasons as well. 18:50 The other key reason was that the name didn't reflect 18:53 what we do. 18:55 We impact on the lives 18:57 of thousands of children every day. 19:01 And so your brand has to reflect what you do, 19:05 and so Child Impact International sees it. 19:10 The other thing is 19:11 that it allows us to go outside Asia. 19:14 Now we're not ready to, 19:16 but already we're looking at other countries 19:19 where we've had a demand. 19:23 So they were the real key reasons 19:25 of why we made the change. 19:27 Now there are other sundry reasons. 19:31 Asian Aid Australia is going in a different direction to us, 19:36 so we wanted clear clarity on who we were in the field. 19:41 When you've got two different Asian Aids, 19:44 it gets a bit confusing in a 110 schools. 19:48 So we wanted to avoid the confusion. 19:51 So they were the main reasons. 19:54 Now, it's not easy to do because we have a jar at work. 20:00 And every time I say Asian Aid, 20:03 I have to put a dollar in the jar 20:05 because when you've been saying it all the time, 20:08 it's very easy. 20:09 And so far, I've got it right on your show. 20:14 And so the change has been made. 20:15 I heard you in their practicing, 20:18 Child Impact International, Child Impact International. 20:21 Yeah. 20:22 But we've also just invested, 20:25 a donor was very supportive of them. 20:27 We've invested in a new IT system 20:30 to manage our children. 20:32 And we really want to do things a lot better 20:36 because the key to sponsorship 20:38 is the link between the child and the donor. 20:41 So we're bringing some big changes now in our IT. 20:46 We just asked our donors to be patient with us 20:49 on the transition. 20:51 Now, but apart from that nothing changes, 20:54 we've still got the same policies, 20:57 the same activity, 20:59 the same board, 21:00 and we're still located in Collegedale, Tennessee. 21:05 We recently purchased, the Lord blessed us. 21:08 And we were able to get a house on a property, 21:12 so we've set up our office in Ooltewah, 21:16 near Collegedale, Ooltewah, Tennessee. 21:20 So nothing will change from the donors' end, 21:25 but we just think it's a bit of a bold move, 21:29 but it totally says what we do. 21:32 We impact on child's lives with education. 21:36 And we impact on child's lives from a spiritual point of view. 21:40 Amen. 21:42 Eighty-five percent of our children 21:44 are non-Adventists 21:46 to where we've put in an Adventist mission school. 21:49 Amen. 21:50 Now let's do talk about, 21:51 and first let me say, I like your new logo. 21:53 Yeah. 21:55 And it is a bold move to do a name change of a ministry. 21:58 I know that when 3ABN just changed our logo 22:02 that it took our viewers a little while 22:05 to, some of them to accept and appreciate the new logo, 22:09 but going through a name change is difficult. 22:12 So you're working in India, and Sri Lanka, and Nepal, 22:17 and these different places, what is the work that you do. 22:21 Some people may not have known about Asian Aid 22:25 which is now Child Impact International? 22:28 What is Child Impact International doing? 22:31 Well, we're a very unique ministry 22:34 in that we're a fully supportive ministry 22:37 of the Adventist Church, 22:38 and our core activity is child sponsorship. 22:43 So a person can sponsor a child and we take them based on need 22:48 and put them in an Adventist mission school. 22:51 So the child is either a day student 22:55 where they walk to the local school 22:57 or a boarder, 22:59 and depending on the level of sponsorship, 23:02 it supports their education. 23:04 If they're a boarding student, boarding at the school, 23:07 uniform and books. 23:09 So it normally considerably covers, 23:12 sometimes not all of their costs, 23:15 but at least 90% plus of their costs. 23:19 So it's, you're giving a child an education. 23:22 And you're introducing them to Jesus. 23:26 We have a small amount in Sri Lanka 23:29 at Lakpahana College. 23:31 In India, we have about 2,500 sponsored children 23:37 in about 80 schools, all Adventist schools. 23:41 Now when they graduate from high school, 23:44 they go to college. 23:46 So we do have students and non-Adventist universities 23:50 and tertiary students. 23:53 In Nepal, we've got about 60 students in a school 23:58 who are joining Scheer Adventist Hospital. 24:03 The other two countries that we are now 24:05 are Bangladesh and Myanmar. 24:08 Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries 24:12 in the world. 24:13 And I've visited Bangladesh twice now 24:17 and the need of Adventist mission schools 24:21 there is just overwhelming. 24:23 We only have 200 children at the moment, 24:26 but I could take a thousand children tomorrow. 24:29 Now, Jim, when you say that some are day students, 24:34 some are boarding students, 24:36 is the boarding or the boarding students is this like 24:39 and is there an orphanage, 24:41 I mean tell us about the housing arrangements? 24:44 Well, yes, a boarding student, the school has 24:48 a boys' dormitory and a girls' dormitory. 24:51 And so they eat, sleep in the dormitories 24:54 and go home for the holidays. 24:57 The second aspect of our work 25:00 is that we support for church run orphanages in India. 25:06 Okay. 25:07 And we also have two special need school. 25:10 We have the school for the blind 25:13 and the school for the deaf. 25:14 Now those six institutions are run by the church, 25:19 but funded by our sponsors, 25:22 and ourselves that support Australia and us. 25:31 Your supporters, and let me just say 25:34 that our work has been blessed by 3ABN. 25:37 3ABN and the Lord's blessing 25:41 has been the corner of our success and our growth. 25:45 And I can say that the unique opportunity 25:49 that 3ABN gives ministries like ours, 25:54 there are thousands of children in schools because of 3ABN. 25:58 And we as a ministry just want to say how grateful we are. 26:04 You know, I think that it amazes me 26:07 the faith that God gave Danny Shelton. 26:09 Yes. 26:10 And when you think about it, Danny has, you know, his one... 26:13 When God told him to build a network, 26:16 a television channel that would reach the world 26:18 with the undiluted truth of the three angels' messages. 26:22 The one thing that Danny said was, 26:24 "Okay, God, as long as I don't have to beg for money." 26:28 So we don't have beg a phones, 26:29 we don't have these praise a phones 26:31 that some people call, 26:32 but he had the faith to begin immediately 26:37 showcasing and highlighting other ministries, 26:40 and even asking people to donate to other ministries. 26:44 And God has honored that because Danny doesn't... 26:48 He knows that God has counted his resources, 26:51 and he's not been found wanting. 26:55 When you're talking about these orphanages, 26:59 what would happen to these children 27:01 if they weren't there? 27:03 Right. 27:04 Perhaps, while I'm talking, you may want to play 27:05 some of the bigger role of our activity. 27:07 Surely. 27:09 Well, these children just come from such diverse backgrounds, 27:14 I was just going to say that your supporters, 27:17 and there's Helen arriving at the Dave School. 27:23 Your viewers have been very supportive 27:26 of Sunrise Orphanage, 27:28 and this is Mrs. Lomacang visiting Sunrise. 27:32 And Sunrise now has in the country, 27:36 it's 160 children. 27:38 And the children come 27:40 from such horrific and dramatic backgrounds 27:45 that sometimes you can't comprehend it. 27:47 Like two years ago, four children were brought in, 27:52 a brother and a sister, 27:53 and two kids who'd been taken off the railway station. 27:57 They had been living on the railway station begging. 28:00 They are from where a mother might die 28:05 and the father can't cope. 28:07 So some of them are orphans, but they're not orphans, 28:10 but they have a parent, but that parent can't cope. 28:14 Or has just abandoned. 28:16 Or abandoned some. 28:17 I mean, I was very touched 28:23 when Sunrise used to be in its old building. 28:26 And they got up one morning 28:28 and here was a girl tied to the lamppost outside. 28:32 Oh, my... 28:33 Someone had tied her to the post. 28:35 Now we think how shocking, 28:37 but there may have been a grandparent, an aunty 28:40 that simply couldn't feed the girl, 28:42 they couldn't cope. 28:44 And they knew that putting out there would get her safety. 28:48 So the children come from a wide background. 28:53 Now both the government and us 28:57 are making increased efforts to ensure 29:01 that the children are not behind a wall, 29:04 all right, that they maintain contact with their tribe, 29:08 with their family. 29:09 And in fact, we have our building inspection going on 29:14 where we're going to actually create some rooms 29:17 so that the relatives can visit the child. 29:22 We have to improve that the relationship 29:26 between the child and their tribe, 29:28 or their village, and the family. 29:30 So they come from mix backgrounds. 29:35 Now the challenge I have to be honest with you. 29:38 Right now, we're struggling with finances 29:41 for our orphanages. 29:43 Unfortunately, the change of direction with Australia, 29:47 and some other major supporters has changed recently. 29:51 And there are four church orphanages in Australia, 29:57 sorry, in India. 29:59 They're just... 30:01 We're struggling to keep the children, you know, fed. 30:05 And so this Christmas, 30:08 we will be making a special appeal. 30:12 So the orphanages are struggling right now. 30:15 They're doing amazing job. 30:17 They're not perfect, 30:19 but they're doing an amazing work, 30:21 and so that's a special need. 30:25 So actually then Child Impact International 30:28 you are working directly 30:30 with the church with these orphanages. 30:32 You said, they are church run 30:34 so when people if you donate to this, 30:37 you're all, it's just, you're donating 30:39 to church mission really too. 30:42 I met a pastor, 30:44 I was speaking at Eden Valley. 30:47 And I met a pastor who was there, 30:50 who was one of your sponsored students in the past. 30:56 And he said that he had been on the street when he was, 31:00 I believe five years old. 31:04 They had a family of about eight children, 31:07 and the parents just simply said, 31:09 "We can't afford to feed all eight." 31:12 And they turned three of the children out. 31:14 He was five years old 31:16 and they turned him out on the street. 31:17 And he lived on the street 31:18 from five till he was nearly 12 years old, 31:22 and he passed by an Adventist school. 31:25 I mean, an Adventist church, and he heard the singing, 31:28 he was drawn to it. 31:29 And as he came to look into the window, 31:32 the pastor's wife saw him, 31:34 she came around and invited him in, 31:38 but she made him clean himself up 31:39 because he was quite filthy 31:41 from what we would call dumpster diving I'm gonna say. 31:44 And then he went into the church and heard, 31:48 and he said, she was such a nice woman. 31:50 Well, that pastor arranged 31:52 through your organization to get him. 31:56 I mean to get him as a sponsored student. 32:01 And then here he is, he was back on the streets, 32:05 and the pastor didn't know, he searched all over for him, 32:07 and found him and said, "Do you want to go to school?" 32:10 So this man finished the school as a sponsored student, 32:14 and then he went into college, and he became a pastor. 32:17 And he's doing a mighty work. 32:19 I mean, he's got a radio program 32:22 where he's speaking, 32:25 and this is on a charismatic network 32:29 where he's talking about the three angels' messages, 32:33 the Revelation, and he is actually 32:36 teaching pastors of other denominations. 32:41 So when you invest in sponsoring a child, 32:46 or in helping the orphanage, it is amazing how... 32:52 The impact that you're making 32:53 is not just on the life of that child, 32:56 but then they turn around, 32:57 and make an impact on the life of so many others. 33:01 So I know that JD and I, and I just have a confession. 33:08 It's good for the soul 33:09 but hard on the reputation, isn't it? 33:11 JD and I have sponsored a child for many, many years, 33:15 but recently through a credit card change, 33:18 we've let that sponsorship slip, 33:22 and I've got to do that. 33:23 Remind me when we finish this program, 33:26 I need you to just go and sign-up and sponsor again 33:29 because it's such a blessing. 33:31 Talk about the special relationship 33:33 between sponsor and child? 33:35 Well, I think it became obvious to me as time goes on 33:40 that it's bigger than just sponsoring a child. 33:43 Yes, you have a specific child that you sponsor, 33:48 and the money goes direct from you to us, 33:52 to our office in the country, and direct to the school. 33:56 And the school was paid on the basis 33:58 of that specific child being present. 34:04 And one of the other things about us as an organization 34:09 that over 90% of the funds that we send overseas, 34:13 we give back to the church through church schools. 34:17 So we are a very supportive ministry of the church. 34:25 You are getting over a nasty flue, weren't you? 34:28 Yeah. I'm sorry. 34:30 Ninety percent is an amazing amount. 34:33 So you are... 34:35 This is you then as sponsoring a child, 34:38 but you're paying the money to the church. 34:40 Yes. And then there's other benefits. 34:43 First of all, the family benefit. 34:45 You know, these families are poor, 34:47 the parents love their children, 34:49 but suddenly they're given hope 34:51 because their child so it has an impact on the family. 34:55 It has an impact on the village because the child goes back 34:59 with a higher esteem and does things in the village. 35:02 And also introduces the villagers to the Lord. 35:04 Yes, but then the critical thing is, 35:07 it introduces them to Jesus. 35:08 Amen. 35:10 And especially the ones in boarding schools. 35:14 You know, the work in these countries, 35:16 if you go and talk to the workers, 35:19 it's amazing how many have been sponsored children. 35:23 And right now in Myanmar, 35:25 the church is just so desperate for workers 35:28 that the ones coming through the school system 35:31 are critical to the future of the church 35:34 in these countries 35:35 on a far greater scale than here. 35:39 And so sponsorship is much bigger 35:43 than educating the child. 35:45 The child gets an education that I'd say 85% of them 35:50 that we take them by strong need 35:52 that they would struggle to get an education probably enough, 35:56 either not at all, 35:57 or in a very poor government school. 36:00 Now if they continue with their college and tertiary, 36:03 and so providing they meet certain criteria, 36:07 we will continue to sponsor them through university. 36:11 And I'm surprised that how many of them go on 36:13 to be nurses and doctors... 36:15 Oh, church leaders. 36:16 Many of them are going into being pastors 36:18 and church leaders, and they come back to. 36:23 You know, this is what impressed me, 36:24 I remember speaking with Helen that she said so many of them, 36:27 they go off some of them to England for school, 36:30 but most of them come back 36:32 to actually work in their villages afterwards. 36:35 So what, when we're talking about 36:38 introducing them to Jesus, 36:41 tell us about the religious practices over there, 36:44 and how likely would they even be 36:47 able to hear the name of Jesus in that environment? 36:51 Oh, well, they're going to a church school. 36:54 So the church school was an Adventist school. 36:58 So the level of spirituality and the amount they get 37:02 varies from school to school. 37:04 But what I'm referring to is without those schools, 37:08 what is the real predominant religion of India? 37:12 The chances of those children meeting Jesus 37:16 would be very low, very low 37:19 so the percentages are high of who would find Jesus. 37:25 Most of them are... 37:26 Most of the Indians are Hindu. 37:29 Hindu. Yes. 37:30 And they worship thousands of gods. 37:33 Correct. There're all different backgrounds and religions. 37:39 Now as I mentioned we have the blind school, 37:42 and the deaf school 37:43 which fulfill a very unique role. 37:46 And the blind school has about 160 children, 37:51 and the deaf school. 37:53 And once again, those children... 37:56 These children who attend these two special schools, 38:00 simply, most of them wouldn't have had an education. 38:03 You know, we hear countless stories of blind children 38:07 who are just left in the village 38:09 because their parents are embarrassed 38:12 and don't know what to do. 38:15 Deaf children are the same. 38:16 So those schools carry out a key role. 38:20 Amen. 38:22 The other interesting path 38:24 that we're now growing into 38:26 is a project we call "Operation Child Rescue". 38:32 We've all heard about trafficking. 38:33 Yes. 38:35 Trafficking is beyond comprehension, 38:37 even here in the States and all parts of the world, 38:41 children and girls are being trafficked. 38:43 And this is sex traffic? 38:46 Sex trafficking. 38:48 Now we were in India, 38:51 and we met a lady who does trafficking rescues, 38:56 lovely Christian lady. 38:59 She'd make lovely Adventist, and she's showing interest, 39:02 but she has a small team 39:04 that goes and rescues girls from brothels. 39:08 And we were just so touched with what we saw. 39:13 And so we have been supporting her. 39:15 And in fact, another ministry, 39:17 Voice of Prophecy had been working with us to build... 39:21 We have a rescue home. 39:23 So when these girls are grabbed from the brothels, 39:26 they're put in the rescue home. 39:28 And so we're very excited about that. 39:31 We can't do trafficking on a big stage, 39:34 but to know we're making a difference there is huge. 39:39 And, you know, I just want to point out 39:40 that these aren't people, these young girls, 39:44 and they're very, often very, very young. 39:47 It's not that they decided to run away from home 39:50 and go into prostitution, they've been snatched, or sold, 39:54 and they're forced into prostitution. 39:58 So it's very sad. 39:59 And quite often, the parents... 40:02 Someone comes to the village and says, 40:04 "Look, we'll educate your girl, or she works in our factory 40:08 and we'll give her an education." 40:10 And they pay the parents money, 40:12 and then they never see their daughter again. 40:14 Yeah. 40:16 We're also... 40:17 We operate a slum school in Vizag, India. 40:20 And so we're rescuing slum children. 40:24 This full parched operation child rescue is trafficking, 40:29 slum children, orphans which we have discussed. 40:32 And then we work 40:33 with an Adventist Baby Rescue Organization 40:37 in India 40:39 who look after abandoned babies. 40:42 So Operation Child Rescue is something we want to grow 40:48 because once again, it's child focused 40:51 and it's exciting, and it's a new area for us. 40:57 What I'm interested in knowing in your... 41:00 When you mentioned that you're putting in new IT services. 41:06 Are you talking about trying to connect? 41:08 I know the child, when you're a sponsor, 41:10 you'll get regular updates and letters from your children. 41:14 But are you trying to put them in touch on the Internet or...? 41:18 No, we have to be very careful. 41:20 We have to hide 41:23 the donor's name from the child. 41:25 We can't have the child giving 41:27 because we don't want people talking direct to children. 41:30 Yes. 41:32 We have to observe very strict child protection protocols. 41:36 Well, the first they speak to is management. 41:38 Okay. 41:40 When you've got 3,500 children, we have field officers 41:44 who have to go around the schools 41:46 checking them out there, checking the standards, 41:48 and just checking on the children. 41:51 So the field officer will have a foreign app, 41:54 and he'll update the information 41:56 so that we've got current information on the children. 42:01 Then there is... 42:02 everyone Gets what's called an APR, 42:05 and then your performance report. 42:07 So you get to know wards and all summary 42:11 of how your child's doing at school and also letters. 42:15 But instead of doing them by mile and post, 42:19 we'll upload them and donors 42:21 will be able to read them online. 42:23 So we're just trying to lower the costs, 42:26 but speed up the communication 42:29 between the donor and the child. 42:31 All right. 42:32 So let's talk about how... 42:34 because I'm sure, 42:35 if you can see the deplorable conditions 42:38 that these children live in. 42:40 It's so many of them are starving, 42:44 they're on the streets, they're being sold into sex, 42:48 through sex trafficking. 42:50 Tell us how you can become a donor? 42:53 And how sponsorship works? 42:55 Well, there's a number of ways, 42:58 at the end we'll show our website and phone number. 43:02 You can actually go online, 43:04 and have a look at and choose a child, 43:09 or you can give us a call, 43:11 and talk to us that you like a little girl, 43:15 where's the biggest need. 43:19 And so you can do that online or by phone. 43:23 There are some people that don't want to give 43:26 a regular amount each month, 43:28 or maybe they can't quite afford the boarders' $38, 43:33 and a day students' $25. 43:36 They may not be able to afford that, 43:39 so we have an unsponsored child fund 43:42 because we've always have roughly about 43:44 500 unsponsored children. 43:47 So you can make a donation or a contribution 43:51 to the unsponsored child fund. 43:53 Then once you've started that, 43:56 the monthly contribution 43:58 as I said goes direct to the school, 44:00 and hopefully you'll get letters from the child, 44:06 and you're able to communicate with your child also. 44:11 Our child has been a prolific writer 44:15 through the years. 44:17 When you think about this, the... 44:20 When you give, the benefits of giving 44:22 is that first you're educating a child, 44:25 you are breaking the poverty cycle in their life 44:29 because they have come from 44:31 generation upon generation of poverty. 44:34 Then as the child becomes educated 44:36 and healthier in the process actually, 44:40 then they go back to their village, 44:43 and they have a great contribution to their village. 44:46 And this is something that... 44:48 But at the same time, you're helping to support the church. 44:51 So you impact that child, but not just their life, 44:58 you impact their family's lives, 45:02 not just their parents, 45:04 but then when these children grow up, 45:06 since you've broken the poverty cycle, 45:10 they have a whole, I mean, it's just... 45:12 It's a wonderful organization. 45:15 And the other big differences to that, 45:17 it impacts on the church school. 45:20 If we pulled out of these countries, 45:22 there would be many schools that would close. 45:24 So it's key regular funding. 45:28 Our money goes there monthly to the schools 45:31 because these schools struggle to get paying students. 45:34 Amen. 45:36 So you're having a dramatic impact 45:38 on the funding for Adventist Mission Schools. 45:42 And if you don't want to sponsor a child, 45:44 as you said, you can put it into 45:45 the unsponsored child fund, or help with the slum project, 45:50 or the Child Operation Rescue Project, 45:53 or with the special needs project 45:55 for the blind and the deaf. 45:57 I think it is an amazing thing. 45:59 Now tell us what you're planning? 46:01 Well, first before we talk about the future, 46:04 you have a story you want to share about a child? 46:06 Yeah, well, I love going to the blind school. 46:10 The kids there are just so hungry to learn. 46:14 They have come from very basic backgrounds, 46:17 and they're just hungry to meet people, 46:21 they're hungry to learn. 46:23 And when I arrived 46:26 at the blind school year before last, 46:29 the principal said to me, 46:31 we were just out in the village, 46:33 and someone came and said, 46:35 "There's a girl locked in the house down the street." 46:39 So they went to the house, 46:41 and they discovered a girl had been locked downstairs, 46:45 and she'd been locked there for four years. 46:47 Oh, God. 46:48 She hadn't been out of that room for four years. 46:52 She couldn't talk, she was blind. 46:55 And I arrived at the blind school 46:58 the day after she arrived. 47:01 Now she was in shell, she wasn't talking to anyone, 47:05 she could hardly communicate. 47:08 She ate in a very... 47:11 They always eat with their hands, 47:12 but she was very acting roughly with her... 47:17 Everything she did, she had no coordination, 47:20 and tragically the parents didn't know what to do, 47:24 they were embarrassed so they locked her in the room. 47:27 Now here's the story, I came back one year later, 47:33 12 months later, 47:35 and here is the girl, she's learned basic rhyme, 47:39 she's running and playing with other children, 47:43 and it just broke my heart when she got up and saying, 47:47 Jesus loves me. 47:48 Oh, how precious. 47:49 It was just the most amazing change I have seen in my life. 47:54 Amen. 47:56 And there's another little boy, 47:57 we were doing filming once at the blind school. 48:00 And this is little boy called Sam, totally blind, 48:04 and he's always touching your hand, 48:08 just patting you, and feeling you, 48:11 and he can actually tell a person 48:14 from just touching their finger nails. 48:16 Great. 48:17 And he can touch my hand and say, 48:20 "Oh, Mr. Jim, Mr. Jim." 48:22 And so the impact on their lives 48:25 is just something we can't comprehend. 48:28 And that little girl's name is Wreela, 48:33 W-R-E-E-L-A 48:36 and we need to pray for her 48:38 because she's really having some challenges right now 48:42 in her family with acceptance and rejection, 48:47 but she just loves the Lord, 48:50 and it was amazing to see that change. 48:54 Let's just take a minute and pray right now. 48:56 And then we want to invite you to pray as well. 48:58 Heavenly Father, we come before You 48:59 in the name of Jesus. 49:01 And, Father, we thank You for Child Impact International. 49:04 We thank You, Father, for this blind school. 49:06 We thank You, that Wreela was rescued. 49:10 And, Lord, we thank You that Your hand is upon her. 49:13 And we ask in the name of Jesus, Father, 49:15 that You would make a level path for her feet, 49:18 that You would guide her along Your path of life 49:22 into the future and that, Father, 49:24 whatever challenges she is facing right now 49:28 through her family situation that, 49:30 Lord, You would intervene on her behalf. 49:34 And we thank You, Lord, 49:35 because we know You already have intervened, 49:39 and we thank You that she can... 49:42 We can just trust that You're guiding this child 49:45 by Your Holy Spirit, 49:47 that You are giving her spiritual vision. 49:50 And we thank You in Jesus' name, amen. 49:52 Amen. 49:53 I mean, I just hate sometimes 49:55 so I just want to make sure we pray, 49:56 when we say we're going to pray. 49:58 Yes. 49:59 But what we want to do is put up the information 50:02 how you can get in touch with Child Impact International 50:06 because I just believe that the Holy Spirit 50:09 is probably touching many hearts 50:11 to want to be a part of this. 50:14 Here's the information. 50:18 Child impact International 50:19 is committed to making a difference 50:21 for children and adults 50:22 living in poverty by providing education 50:26 and vocational training 50:27 to some of the most needy people in the world. 50:30 Visit their website, childimpact.org, 50:34 and discover how you can help 50:35 thousands of desperately poor, blind, 50:38 and deaf children. 50:40 Their website again is childimpact.org. 50:43 If you have questions, 50:45 please call them at 423-910-0667. 50:51 Your support makes all the difference. |
Revised 2017-12-24