Participants: Danny Shelton and Yvonne Lewis (Host), Tim Parton, Brad Walker, Greg and Jill Morikone, Rodney Laney
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY017095A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:11 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 00:39 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:50 Mending broken people 01:06 Hello, and welcome to another 3ABN today program. 01:09 Thank you for joining us. 01:10 This is gonna be a great day, Yvonne. 01:12 It is. You know, why? 01:13 We've already been having fun 01:14 and we've not even been on camera yet, right? 01:16 I know. I know. 01:17 And this is gonna be a great program. 01:19 Again, thank you for joining us. 01:21 Thank you for your love and prayers 01:22 and financial support of 3ABN, 01:25 so that we can continue to take 01:26 this great gospel of the kingdom 01:28 into all over the world. 01:29 And today, it's just, it's a thrill 01:32 for all of us here 01:33 and we'll introduce everybody here in a bit. 01:36 But to celebrate, we recently came back from Nizhny Novgorod, 01:40 Russia, where we celebrated 01:42 the 25th anniversary of 3ABN, Russia. 01:46 That's amazing. 01:47 First of all I can't imagine it's been 25 years 01:51 and it seems impossible. 01:53 Some of you know, older folk know what I'm talking about, 01:56 you look back 25 years. 01:58 But it's amazing what God has wrought in Russia, 02:01 the thousands and thousands of souls that have come to know 02:05 the Lord Jesus Christ through the ministry. 02:07 Julia Outkina and the rest of the 3ABN team there. 02:10 And so let's introduce. 02:12 Why don't we introduce our family today? 02:15 It's not guests, we're family. 02:16 Absolutely. All right. 02:17 But, you know, my brain always freezes when I do. 02:19 No, it won't with these folks. 02:21 You ever had that just brain freeze to... 02:23 Greg and Jill and Tim and... 02:24 Yeah, okay, okay, good. 02:25 Okay, so to your immediate right, 02:28 we have Greg Morikone, who is our Vice-President 02:32 and he's the Director of Programming Production. 02:35 Yeah, production, and you know we work with a wonderful team. 02:38 Yes. It's fantastic. 02:39 It really is and it's fun, we enjoy production. 02:41 And it's such a... 02:43 It's so great like, 02:45 Greg's office is right across from mine. 02:47 Well, and Jill and she's right next door 02:50 and so I get to kind of peek out 02:52 or yell out or whatever, it's great. 02:54 It's nice to know and it is need 02:56 because we're part of the family. 02:58 And, you know, people don't... I mean, they see it on set, 02:59 but we really do get along together. 03:01 Amen. 03:02 Yeah, we do, we do, for sure. 03:04 And then we have his lovely wife Jill, 03:07 who is the Corporate Secretary for 3ABN 03:10 and doing an amazing job as well. 03:12 Absolutely. 03:13 And I mean, they're, they are here like... 03:16 I came in... Round the clock almost. 03:18 This weekend, on Monday morning 03:19 and there were 50 beautiful letters written. 03:23 So when you read those letters, you know, they didn't... 03:26 I don't speak that well. 03:27 So, you know, that Jill actually wrote them 03:30 that 50 over the weekend and then taken Sabbath off. 03:33 I didn't give her much time for herself. 03:35 So you all gonna need to take a vacation 03:37 because you work too hard. 03:39 So I told them that before. 03:40 I said you work too hard. 03:42 Instead of taking 30 minutes for lunch, 03:44 I want you once in a while take 45 minutes." 03:46 Oh! 03:47 We have the best boss. 03:49 Isn't that wonderful? 03:50 I want to give you plenty of time to rest and... 03:52 Can we have that today? 03:54 Well, not today, but maybe in a month or two. 03:57 Not today, okay. 03:59 Maybe the beginning of the year, 04:00 hope you'll start that. 04:02 But that's once a week or once a month you get an extra. 04:04 So we want to make sure they're rested. 04:06 But then we have Brother Tim Parton. 04:09 And Tim, thank you for what you do for the cause of God 04:12 and General Manager of Praise Him, right? 04:15 Praise Him Channel. Yes. 04:17 Music, New Music Channel. Yes. 04:18 That's coming along, I think beautifully 04:22 and recording more and more programs. 04:24 You're trying to get a, 04:25 you know, get a bank full of them 04:27 so that we can come out with a blast. 04:29 Yes, yes. Right? 04:31 Yeah, absolutely. 04:33 And so I appreciate you. 04:35 And, of course, then we have Bradley Walker 04:38 and we have Rodney Laney. 04:39 Now, you two guys 04:41 are 99.9% always in the control rooms, right? 04:46 Directing, you know, editing, you're on the traveling 04:52 and behind the scenes. 04:53 But these guys have been here. 04:56 You joined us, about how old were you? 04:59 About what year, whichever you want to say, 05:01 did you all come to? 05:02 I started in '92. 05:04 '92? Wow! 05:05 Okay, and you can tell by his face, 05:07 he was a baby in '92. 05:09 So, and Bradley? 05:10 I started in '90. 05:12 '90? 05:13 So if you think about that, 05:14 all those years, that's amazing. 05:16 You were teenagers when you first came, right? 05:18 Both of you in here, and now they're main directors. 05:20 And without these two, 05:22 3ABN would not look what you see today. 05:24 That is correct. 05:25 They have, and I'm just gonna, 05:27 'cause, I don't know if I've told you guys recently 05:29 but I'm just gonna brag about you right now. 05:32 They have... 05:33 Well, remember not too much in my honoree. 05:35 Oh, my God. So keep it kind of... 05:37 Keep it on the professional level. 05:38 Okay, good. 05:39 So they are wonderful to work with 05:42 because they are both creative and competent. 05:46 So it's not just, you know, loose creativity 05:48 and they don't know what to do with it. 05:50 They know how to harness it by the grace of God 05:53 and then they have such an eye. 05:57 They have such high standards. 06:00 They don't just let things go. 06:01 I mean, I'm just so thankful 06:04 to have you guys here as directors 06:06 and to have worked with you. 06:08 And I need to say that publicly 06:09 because I don't know 06:10 if I've had the chance to do that 06:12 to acknowledge what you do publicly. 06:13 They do an outstanding job. 06:16 I mean, all kinds of, you know, opens and video 06:20 and then like when we did "Unclean Spirits, Unplugged," 06:25 I mean, they were just, they were just excellent. 06:28 So I really appreciate all of you guys. 06:30 Absolutely, so it's good to get you 06:32 in front of the camera once in a while. 06:34 And then you can see how we feel 06:36 when we're in front of the camera, 06:38 the camera is looking me. 06:39 And Brad's shaking his head like. 06:42 If I can confess, 06:44 we were planning for the program, you know. 06:45 And said, oh, we all went to Russia together 06:47 so we should do this program. 06:49 And so I asked Brad and said, "How would you do the program?" 06:52 And he's like, "You know, Jill, I just never do programming 06:54 and I don't get in front of the camera, 06:56 people have tried for years." 06:57 And then Greg, all of a sudden, he talks to him 07:00 and then all of a sudden Brad's on the programming. 07:02 And I thought, now, how did that just happened? 07:05 How did he do that? 07:08 Brad said, "Well, Jill asked me and Greg told me." 07:12 Okay, that made a difference. 07:15 We're not gonna get into Rodney's deal, 07:17 but we're glad that you're here. 07:19 And it makes sense that they come back 07:21 because when we very first went to Russia in '92, 07:25 in May of 1992, 07:27 and we taped with the Carter Report. 07:29 Elder John Carter had asked us to go to Russia. 07:32 And you guys were part 07:33 of the production team back then. 07:36 So I know you were around what, 20 years old, 07:39 somewhere in that area, give or take a year or two. 07:42 But they were there. 07:43 And I hadn't realized 07:45 'cause I'd been back like 20 times over the years. 07:47 But you hadn't really been back since we first started 07:51 and you saw the beginnings. 07:53 So we want to talk a little bit about 07:55 and we're going to hear in a few moments 07:57 about your feelings of what you see now 08:01 and about the production that's going on. 08:03 And you all had time 08:05 and I don't always have that time 08:06 when you were there. 08:07 But Greg and Jill and you guys, 08:09 you were able to spend time with their production people, 08:12 you and some of their managers 08:14 and you know, traveling to 08:15 and talking to different people to get the feel of 3ABN Russia. 08:20 But we wanna... I think we should start off. 08:22 Maybe we'll have some, a little video footage 08:25 and some pictures here and there. 08:27 But, talking about your impressions, 08:29 first of all you go to... 08:31 You've never been to Moscow, Tim? 08:33 Right. And Greg and Jill? 08:34 Never been. 08:36 And you guys have been, but it had been a long time. 08:38 What was your impression when you land, 08:40 of course, it's beautiful airport now, 08:42 when you went before it wasn't, 08:44 but a beautiful airport 08:45 and then you go to Red Square. 08:47 What does that do to you? 08:50 Well, personally, I mean, there was, 08:51 you know, so much history. 08:54 But I really wish that I had seen 08:57 what you guys had seen 25 years ago. 09:00 Just to be... 09:01 for the difference to see the comparison of what the way, 09:06 because it's very modern, very, you know, the conveniences. 09:10 There's McDonald's and Cinnabar 09:11 and, you know, things that we're used to here. 09:15 But when you go to Red Square there's nothing like it? 09:18 No. Absolutely. 09:19 Of course, the architecture and the... 09:23 It was cold. 09:24 I know that, but... 09:26 It was cold. But it was... 09:27 Yeah, it was just remarkable. 09:29 And you know, places... 09:32 I've been to a lot of places 09:35 and so places don't impress me as much as the people do. 09:38 And unfortunately I don't always get 09:40 a lot of time to spend with people. 09:42 But in this case being there and that's like when we went 09:44 to London and Honduras and to Russia, 09:49 getting to be with the people, that is just... 09:52 that is what, that's what endears me to where we go. 09:56 So thank you for the opportunities, 09:58 I'll have to say that. 09:59 Right. You guys do... to Red Square. 10:01 It was amazing actually to get... 10:02 Yeah, I mean, you know, Moscow is a very modern city. 10:05 You know, and again I don't have 10:06 the comparison of 25 years ago. 10:08 But when you're there in Red Square, 10:09 it's very rich with history. 10:12 And to think about the people that has suffered too, 10:14 you know, 'cause with that history 10:16 there's a lot of suffering, a lot of that too. 10:18 And so, you know, yeah, it was just phenomenal. 10:20 And then right past 10:21 the Saint Basil's Cathedral is the bridge. 10:24 And that was amazing to me, 10:26 where Julia's brother is unfortunately assassinated. 10:30 And yeah, yeah. 10:31 Boris Nemtsov. 10:33 Yeah, it was an amazing experience to be there 10:35 and then to travel of course by bus to Nizhny Novgorod, 10:38 it's amazing to see. 10:39 For Yvonne and, and I think I can speak for both of us 10:42 from our age group. 10:44 When I first went to Russia in 92, 10:49 I had seen all my life. 10:51 I grew up during the Cold War 10:54 and I remember seeing on television, 10:56 Red Square with hundreds of tanks 10:58 and with soldiers marching 11:00 as this could be a nuclear war any time 11:03 and like it's not a place you ever dream, 11:06 you would ever set foot in. 11:08 And then even in the '80s, and then all of a sudden 11:12 between '90, '91, everything happened. 11:15 And then three years later, 11:18 you know, it wasn't only two or three years before that 11:21 when Reagan was saying, Mr. Gorbachev, 11:24 you know, tear down, you know, basically for Germany 11:30 and for the Iron Curtain, we call it, 11:33 basically saying tear that down. 11:35 And then to actually see it happen 11:37 and to be over there, 11:38 so always every time I'm there, 11:41 I'm amazed and studying with Lenin 11:43 and we didn't get to Honor Lenin's tomb this time, 11:45 but I've been down there to see it. 11:47 So the history of Russia is incredible. 11:50 But to realize 73 years of communism, 11:53 where you couldn't speak the name of Jesus, 11:55 no Bibles were allowed and people would have to write 11:58 Bibles by hand and hide 12:00 and many people were sent to Siberia 12:02 and many were executed 12:04 because they just wanted to have a Bible 12:06 or were caught printing or reading a Bible 12:09 or even those things. 12:11 So for us to go today, 12:12 now let's go forward a little bit, 12:15 we get on a bus and we go about six hours or so, 12:19 you get out in front of the 3ABN center there. 12:23 Let me hear your impressions, Brad Rodney. 12:26 Well, that was the first time we've been to that facility. 12:29 So we hadn't actually seen it in person. 12:31 So everything we had seen was video. 12:34 And you couldn't... 12:36 I don't think there's any video or any pictures 12:38 that could give you the true scale 12:41 of what this place is. 12:42 You know, I was totally blown away by the size, first off 12:46 and then just, how they utilize every single bit of space 12:50 that's in there for the community, 12:52 for conference offices for, 12:54 you know, for the production center. 12:56 But, you know, there's not one little bit of space 12:59 that's not being used for something important, you know. 13:02 Yeah, few hundred square feet that's it all lies. 13:06 And it's just unbelievable the amount. 13:08 Like, we would get lost walking through there talking... 13:11 Oh, yeah. 13:12 We turn this way, they would turn that way. 13:14 Yeah. And you all didn't even go in. 13:15 There's a full basement under, near all that too. 13:18 You really get lost down there for sure. 13:21 We did get lost one time. 13:22 We, it was late one night after the service 13:26 and we had to go pack the cameras and the computer up 13:29 and our driver was waiting on this downstairs. 13:32 So me and Rodney ran up to the office to grab our computer 13:35 and we come back, we're like left, right, which way. 13:39 So we just kind of calling Jill and Greg. 13:41 You guys were in here somewhere. 13:43 We can't get out, yeah. 13:45 You can help us, help us, find a way out. 13:47 But, Tim, your first impression. 13:49 You see the center and it was all lit up, 13:52 we were there at night. 13:53 It was so, so, such a commercial looking place. 13:57 You know, there wasn't... 13:59 And so to see it is, it's amazing, 14:03 but then to hear how it all happened 14:05 and to hear the minimal equipment that they had 14:10 and the minimal manpower, 14:14 you know, it was just the vision. 14:18 You begin to see all of it come together 14:21 and then you're looking at this and you think, 14:24 "Oh, this had to be God." 14:26 And truly, you know, without even over spiritualizing it, 14:29 it truly had to be God, it's just amazing. 14:32 And, so later I will talk more about, 14:36 you know, the vision that you, that you had in that happening. 14:40 But, you know, I want a... 14:43 I'd like to build a tiny house and I can't even picture that. 14:48 And to see this massive structure, 14:52 three storey's and... 14:54 Six storey's in the back. 14:56 Yeah. It was, it was... 14:58 I was speechless, I really was. 15:00 And then, half the time I couldn't see it 15:01 'cause I had tears in my eyes. 15:03 So it was amazing. 15:05 Yvonne, you were there five years ago, 15:07 but even what you saw now? 15:09 Yeah. 15:11 Each time, the two times that I've been, 15:14 have been just such a spiritual experience for me. 15:18 Because you see the building and the building has just been, 15:24 they've just maximized everything. 15:26 And then the people, 15:29 even though we don't speak the same language, 15:32 we do, because we have the Lord. 15:35 And so that bridge is everything 15:38 and so their kindness and their warmth 15:40 and their generosity and their hospitality, 15:42 I mean, it just makes you feel like, wow. 15:45 These are our sisters and brothers 15:47 who, even though right here, 15:48 we don't speak the same language. 15:50 We are all under the same family. 15:53 And so it was just, it was beautiful. 15:56 And we had a meeting in one of the rooms 15:59 and we got to share. 16:01 And, I mean, even though poor Julia was translating, 16:05 you know, I mean, just every second, it was just... 16:09 to me it was just such a beautiful time in the Lord 16:12 and you could just sense 16:14 the presence of God in that room. 16:15 And so that, that facility 16:18 which is the largest Protestant facility 16:21 in the X-Soviet Union. 16:23 That's what I'm told. 16:25 That is... 16:27 It's just so amazing to me that God used you to do that. 16:32 And I'm so proud that you were obedient 16:35 and you followed what God told you to do. 16:37 And that is the proof, 16:39 that is the fruit that has been born as a result of that. 16:42 Well, there was a need after we went without a Carter 16:45 that baptized 2,532 people. 16:48 And so you had, 16:50 I think 27 ministers baptizing for hours 16:53 and then in the next week, they'd be more to get through 16:56 that many people in the cold Volga River. 16:58 Oh! 16:59 You know, it's amazing 'cause it was like May, 17:01 but it was cold there in May. 17:03 And yet these people went in that cold water 17:05 but come out smiling and praising the Lord. 17:07 So then when we met with the conference leaders, 17:10 they said, "We only have one church 17:12 in this huge city of three and a half million. 17:14 It only holds 200 people. 17:16 What are we gonna do? You have to help us." 17:18 So that's when we met 17:20 with the leadership and decided. 17:22 So I said, "Let's see, if we can find some property," 17:24 because for the first time in 70 some years, 17:27 because Julia Outkina's brother, 17:30 Boris Nemtsov was the Governor, he is very democratic young 17:34 33-year-old, 34-year-old governor, 17:36 said, "We're gonna open this up to foreign businesses." 17:39 Never that happened before. 17:40 So we actually could buy property. 17:43 So I said to him basal story, 17:46 I was the president and vice president, Alexander. 17:49 And I said, "Well, you guys, let's find something." 17:52 And we were there several days. 17:53 I said, "See if there's anything that's already built 17:55 or property or something we could purchase." 17:59 And so they came and got me and sometimes without, 18:02 if Julia wasn't there, we have a real hard time communicating, 18:05 but they wanted to show me the facility, 18:07 so we were driving. 18:08 And I hadn't realized that till this trip, 18:11 when Julie explained to me. 18:13 I thought they took me to the building, 18:14 but when we were driving along, there had been a lot of rain 18:17 and the car flooded because it literally, 18:19 the streets were overflowing and so it stopped 18:22 and we got out of the car and walked up. 18:24 And behind a lot of trees, there was some old building 18:28 that looked like, at that time, it's 20 some years ago 18:31 it had been started 18:33 but it had not been finished by a long shot, 18:35 but it was just covered by all its growth and brushes. 18:38 So we started looking around and looked in the basement 18:41 and I saw big holes, 18:42 they were pumping water out of there. 18:45 It must have had five, six feet of water in this basement 18:48 and yet, it was looked like 18:49 an abandoned bombed-out shelter. 18:52 And so that's the place we bought. 18:54 I thought they took me there to show me the place 18:56 and they told me, "No, our car stalled." 18:58 And so when we got out, we saw this place. 19:01 So we checked into that and that's what we bought. 19:04 And so I think $150,000... Phenomenal. 19:07 And we put a lot of money in it after that, 19:10 but at the time, the ruble was 7,000 rubles per dollar. 19:14 And what was it, when we were there? 19:16 58? 58. 19:17 So a lot of difference, our money went so much farther. 19:21 So thanks to our viewers and supporters of 3ABN. 19:23 Thank you for what you do for the cause of God 19:26 because without you, this couldn't have happened. 19:29 So when we go over there, it wasn't anything, 19:32 in other words we just took it one step at a time 19:35 and the Lord showed me 19:36 Julia Outkina was the person we could trust, 19:39 to put in charge, then I came home 19:41 and called John Cantor, my cousin's husband John, 19:44 I knew he was in the building business, construction. 19:48 Took some convincing, I told him. 19:50 He said, "Well, how long would you need me?" 19:52 I said, if you'd just go for three months, 19:54 that three months was four years, 19:56 so of his life, 19:57 but John passed away few years ago 20:01 and I was able to talk to him, literally, 20:03 maybe minutes or an hour before he died. 20:05 I was in Australia and he wasn't able to say much, 20:08 but his brother said, when I mentioned Russia, 20:11 he smiled, his eyes were shut. 20:13 And his wife Janice has said before and we all knew it, 20:17 he said, "This was why I was created. 20:18 This was... 20:20 In my life, 20:21 this is all the things I've done." 20:22 He was a school teacher, 20:24 church school teacher, a builder, 20:25 nothing Russia was what I was born to do 20:29 and I believe it. 20:30 So his touch is what you guys see, 20:33 all that build in second floor 20:35 'cause a lot of that was just two storey. 20:37 He built the third floors on it. 20:38 He did so much of the building in it. 20:40 He designed everything, working with local architects. 20:44 And so to see that facility, how it got done? 20:47 We just did it one bite at a time. 20:49 Viewers would send money 20:51 and we would send it every month 20:52 and somehow it all got paid for. 20:54 And it was only through you and the Lord. 20:56 So thank you so much for that. 20:59 I want to talk some about the people there. 21:03 And Tim, you want to talk some about that too. 21:06 You met the people. 21:07 I don't think any of us 21:09 were at some point were dry eyed 21:11 when we saw all the people and when we met them. 21:13 First of all when they greeted us, 21:15 tell us about, Tim, the greeting with them. 21:17 You're a musician. 21:19 Yeah, they did a traditional 21:21 Russian greeting with the salt and the bread. 21:23 And they had a little pit band over in the corner with those. 21:27 I don't even know 21:28 what the instruments they were playing 21:30 but they were, it was just they were in the costumes 21:33 and it was just... 21:36 The fact that they cared, you know, they... 21:39 It was a little dance, culture dance. 21:40 Yeah, the dance, right. 21:42 Everything was just... 21:44 It was just from the heart. 21:45 And I'm thinking, 21:47 you know, I had seen Julia 21:50 and I guess a couple of the other gentleman, 21:54 Alexi, at the camp meeting, they had been here. 21:58 And I was thinking, 21:59 "What did I do special to go out of my way 22:02 to make them feel welcome?" 22:03 Oh, wow. 22:05 And I don't remember doing anything. 22:07 I didn't even say howdy or anything like 22:10 you might say down in the South. 22:12 So my southern hospitality really got a lesson 22:15 when I went over there 22:16 just because, and everything that they did 22:18 from the night we... 22:19 You know, when we flew in, 22:21 we took the long bus ride from Moscow 22:23 and they were waiting there for us with crapes. 22:26 And, I mean, the big long table set out 22:29 and it was, it was late 22:30 and we probably all wanted to go to bed. 22:32 But the fact that 22:33 they had prepared a meal for us, 22:35 that was just over the top and that was their heart. 22:38 They were, you know... 22:39 And so I was just put to shame, really was. 22:42 You know, it's incredible. 22:44 To me, what really impressed me. 22:45 We've heard the stories for years. 22:47 You know, you've shared the stories 22:48 and it's incredible to see 22:50 what God is doing 22:51 and actually to see the miracles. 22:53 But the people, the people just, 22:56 from the moment 22:57 we came through customs at the airport there. 23:00 And Julia and the whole team were right there, 23:03 you know, just on the other side of customs. 23:05 And then she said, "Okay, welcome to Russia 23:07 and you each get someone assigned to you." 23:10 So we would never be without a translator, 23:12 we would never be without someone. 23:14 And then the whole the way through, 23:16 just their heart of service, their heart of... 23:20 Their spirit of sacrifice. 23:24 You mentioned Red Square a moment ago. 23:26 And when we were there in Red Square, 23:28 the architecture just of Red Square, 23:30 Saint Basil's Cathedral, 23:32 the Kremlin, you can kind of stand 23:34 and go 360, all the way around. 23:36 And one side is Saint Basil's 23:38 and the other side is a Kremlin, 23:40 the other side was some sort of shopping mall I think. 23:42 Yeah, it used to be a government building, 23:44 but now it's a big mall there. 23:45 And then on the other side, 23:47 I forget what that building once, 23:48 but, just the whole way around 23:49 and there was that little circular. 23:52 I'm not even sure, it had a low wall. 23:54 I don't know if you saw, 23:55 it was down toward the end by Saint Basil's Cathedral 23:57 and they said, 23:58 that's where people used to be killed, 24:00 the history of Red Square and the history that's there. 24:05 But you think about the communism 24:07 that they lived under 24:09 and the sacrifices for the Gospel. 24:11 And yet their heart and their spirit of love 24:16 and to reach out 24:17 and just that welcomed us and I was put to shame. 24:22 Absolutely. 24:24 You know, just, 24:25 and God calls us to sacrifice more 24:28 and God's calling me 24:29 to reach out and love people more. 24:31 You know, just reach out and give of yourself. 24:34 Yeah. Yeah. 24:36 Yeah, what's amazing to me was, 25 years later, 24:40 Elder Carter was back doing evangelistic series 24:43 and we'll do a program on that. 24:45 And the people came out, they'd love John Carter. 24:49 And when they, that we said, 24:52 "How many of you were here 25 years ago?" 24:54 Unbelievable. 24:55 I don't know, we'll say crowd shots, 24:57 but I'd say 80% of those people were baptized 25 years ago. 25:02 Some of those were teenagers. 25:04 In fact, that conference president 25:05 was 16, 17 years old, 25:07 who was baptized during those meetings. 25:09 I think it's a treasure, so other folks there. 25:12 But they were still there 25:14 because they found something real, 25:17 something solid, something that's kept them, 25:20 you know, connected to the Lord. 25:22 And so what Elder Carter has done 25:24 and it wouldn't be right to do this program 25:26 or I wouldn't want to forget to do it or to say, 25:29 "Thank you to the Carter Report," 25:30 John Carter, for what, your 40 some trips to Russia 25:34 holding literally dozens and dozens 25:38 of evangelistic series' 25:41 and none of them were small, he does nothing small. 25:43 Elder Carter goes in a big way, 25:46 everywhere and because of you 25:47 and your support and thank you for that. 25:50 But untold thousands, 25:52 and yeah, I believe hundreds of thousands of people 25:54 have come to know Jesus through the ministries. 25:57 And so working together with 3ABN 26:00 and Carter Report and you at home 26:02 is a win-win for everybody. 26:04 We want to talk a little bit about 26:06 the production, the work, 26:08 the crew there and I want to get Brad, 26:10 Rodney involved in that and you, Greg... 26:12 Sure. 26:13 Because we... 26:15 Were you surprised, Rodney, 26:16 when you saw the work they do there? 26:18 Oh, absolutely. 26:19 The amount of work that they do, 26:22 it's like, with the equipment that they have 26:26 and the amount of work that they do, 26:28 it's almost embarrassing. 26:30 It is. 26:31 It's almost embarrassing 26:33 what we accomplished compared to what they do 26:35 and what they have 26:37 and the way that they put their entire heart 26:41 into everything that they do. 26:42 It's not just... 26:43 Let's get a whole bunch of programs done, 26:45 so we can get them on the air 26:46 and just move on to the next one. 26:47 You know, everyone that they do, 26:49 they put a lot of heart into it. 26:51 You know, and it might not be, 26:54 let's say the most amazing thing 26:56 that you've ever seen. 26:57 But you get more of a message 26:59 because of the heart that's put into it 27:01 and all of the effort that goes into making these programs. 27:05 You know, they're not cookie cutter, 27:06 they're not just something simple. 27:09 I mean, everything is difficult and done well, done very well. 27:13 Brad, their creativity? It's amazing. 27:16 Yeah, they... 27:17 What I just can't get over... 27:20 When I saw the kids first, 27:22 there was there our translators. 27:23 What I really was impressed the most was, 27:27 one of the girls that was there 27:29 and she was going 27:30 to the Carter Report 25 years ago, 27:32 she was one-year-old. 27:34 Oh, yeah. Mom and dad got saved. 27:36 She has been raised her whole life now 27:38 in the church working full time. 27:40 Elena. Yeah. 27:41 And I think she's dating one of the guys 27:43 that's there now. 27:44 He wasn't even born a year, an year after that. 27:47 So it's amazing that these people, 27:50 you know, have been raised in church, 27:53 you know, where would they have been that way, 27:56 you know, if there was no Carter there. 27:58 But I couldn't get over 28:00 the amount of work that they're doing. 28:03 Just amazing. 28:04 Just they've got the same 3ABN, 28:08 go get them, I guess, as we have here. 28:11 Because the guys that work in production now, 28:14 they were carrying the bricks and they were helping 28:16 put the building together before production started. 28:20 And I think that building would have existed today, 28:25 even with the hammers 28:26 and, you know, all the carpentry equipment 28:30 that they had back then. 28:32 They were gonna build that building, 28:33 you know, but they didn't have the tools needed, 28:37 you know, at that earlier stage. 28:38 And I think that's the same, 28:40 that's in the production and the guys have now. 28:42 They're doing such an amazing job with, 28:45 really what we'd call, 28:47 you know, not the best equipment that's out there 28:50 but they can produce programming and stuff. 28:54 And I think God's in, 28:55 you know, he was in the building, 28:57 making the building happening. 28:58 He's definitely in charge of getting 29:01 these productions up and on the air. 29:03 Say for 10 or 15 years, that they... 29:07 Well, when we first got there and you guys remember this. 29:10 You go into any... 29:11 There wasn't really stores per se 29:13 or any shopping centers or even grocery stores. 29:16 There was just places you get potatoes here, 29:19 somebody sitting out on the street, 29:20 maybe some, you know, cabbage here 29:23 and it took a Russian woman several hours a day to go out 29:27 and try to gather up enough food. 29:29 But when you went to pay, 29:31 you remember what you paid when they counted your... 29:34 wasn't a computer, was it? 29:35 No. No. 29:37 An abacus. It's the abacus. 29:38 Abacus. 29:39 Which was used in Bible times and like I had no idea whether, 29:43 you know, this was right or wrong. 29:44 I just paid whatever they told me 29:46 'cause they were like flipping these beads back and forth. 29:49 Oh, we had this little $99 hand computers, 29:53 they were astounded by that, that's amazing. 29:56 So when we go there and see that they had nothing 30:00 and only recently the wifi, there were no cable stations, 30:05 very little equipment, production equipment. 30:08 No one had cameras or videos. 30:11 The Russian people, they didn't have Bibles. 30:14 So this is not like 30:16 we've been developing for the last 25 years 30:19 with all the tools. 30:21 For the last first 10 or 15 years, 30:23 they still had hardly no tools to work with, 30:26 except what we took them. 30:28 And so in just the last few years 30:30 under President Putin, 30:32 Russia is thriving actually right now. 30:35 So it's amazing, but again the people, Greg, 30:38 you and Jill got to spend some time 30:40 with some of the administrators and all. 30:42 Yeah, it was fantastic and it really goes back to, 30:44 they have... 30:45 they give even if they don't have a lot 30:47 and that is what touches my heart so much. 30:49 You know, even if it's just something, 30:51 maybe just small, 30:52 they still want to give it to you. 30:53 And with such... 30:55 I guess you could say love. 30:57 I'm seeing their faces are happy 30:59 and you know they're happy there. 31:02 When we went, Jill and I had the opportunity 31:03 to go through some of the production offices. 31:06 And again, it's amazing because they don't have a lot, 31:08 but yet we didn't hear any complaining. 31:10 You know, it's just a lot of joy 31:12 in what they were doing, 31:13 with what they had and it's a rebuke, 31:17 it is, you know. 31:18 Jill and I were talking. 31:19 You know, sometimes I can complain about this 31:21 or complain about that 31:22 and really, I have no need to complain whatsoever. 31:25 You know, and really, 31:27 just need to see what God is doing through them, 31:29 it's just phenomenal and they seem 31:31 so excited about it. 31:32 You know, it is need to because they're so resourceful. 31:36 And, you know, Rodney and Brad 31:37 and I were looking at some of the stuff 31:39 that they've built. 31:40 I didn't get a chance to go in the carpenter shop 31:42 and I think they have a little machine shop. 31:43 Oh, yeah. Yeah. 31:44 And I hear it's amazing, but they do so much. 31:46 I mean, their engineer, like the jib 31:47 which is the camera with the really long arm 31:51 and it has a camera on the end. 31:52 They built their jib, 31:53 I think, basically out of metal pieces 31:55 that they manufactured 31:56 and they bought a couple of pieces. 31:58 They have built the track too for the camera. 31:59 Didn't it going back and forth? 32:00 Well, the legs that go for the track, yeah. 32:02 And they also like 32:04 some of the lighting fixtures and things. 32:05 I mean, yeah, it's all built in their machine shop. 32:08 I mean, it's phenomenal. 32:09 We're looking at this like, "Whoa, this is nice." 32:11 You take some pictures, we'll bring back home. 32:14 And, yeah, it's just, I don't know, encouraging. 32:17 It was a dream come true to go to 3ABN Russian facility 32:22 and to see what God has done it. 32:24 Like everyone is saying, 32:27 pictures don't do justice 32:29 to what God has done there and it was need too. 32:31 We did some stuff 32:33 we probably weren't supposed too, 32:34 but we climbed up on the roof. 32:35 You did too Mr. Shelton. Any questions, say that. 32:37 I led the way. 32:38 You know, I'm still glad I didn't see that. 32:41 All the way through the sixth roof... 32:42 I was at the bad end, 32:44 once we climbed on to the outside. 32:45 That old rusty ladder 32:46 that was there when we first started. 32:48 Oh, rusty, it was rusty. 32:49 Oh yeah, that ladder was there. You there too? 32:54 Great. Were you around, Jill? 32:55 Look over there, in that corner there. 32:57 Tim did it too? Yeah. 32:59 Look up here. It was raining too. 33:01 Yeah, it was raining too. Yeah. 33:03 So there was footage of that 33:04 which you're probably seeing right now. 33:05 Well, their excuse 33:07 was they were videoing us going up. 33:09 We all ended up on top. That's a long way up. 33:12 I'd say less than two. 33:14 You said what 25 years ago or somewhere back then, 33:15 you on the very peak of that? 33:17 Yes. 33:18 Maybe I should just stop right there, 33:20 but I... 33:21 Well, we're laid on that very peak 33:22 which is the highest point of that building. 33:24 We would have tried it again, 33:26 except it was wet 33:27 and we had to get across that aluminum 33:29 that was on top that we could have slipped, 33:31 'cause it's several storey's down, 33:33 you wouldn't want to do that. 33:34 But there was still one point we didn't conquer. 33:36 So we liked to get all the way to the peak 33:39 and it's a long... 33:40 It's six storey's plus this, you know, top. 33:43 But it's just such an incredible facility. 33:46 But, you know, there's great facilities 33:48 all around the world. 33:49 If you go to Moscow, 33:50 there are facilities that will put us to shame 33:52 as far as our construct, 33:54 architecture and money and all of that. 33:58 But the difference is, is what's come out, 34:00 what comes out of this. 34:02 That's right. 34:03 From this center, 34:05 programs are being produced that go to satellite, 34:08 all across the X-Soviet Union. 34:11 And literally it can be seen anywhere around the world, 34:14 about something like 34:15 150 to 200 million Russians 34:18 can now watch programming in their own language. 34:22 And so because of that, their center there, 34:25 we've seen thousands of Baptisms... 34:27 Yes. Amen. 34:29 And literally, they will be some... 34:32 There used to, when I'd go over there, 34:33 they'd show me, 34:35 they would have over a thousand Bible studies 34:36 going at a time 34:37 and just a lot of volunteers giving those... 34:39 In that facility? 34:41 In the facility, they have thousands Bible studies, 34:43 they were people writing 34:45 and then trying to back and forth, 34:47 you know, through the mail and snail mail, 34:50 didn't have the internet. 34:51 And so trying to send Bibles, 34:54 trying to keep all of this up 34:56 and then there was no cable stations back then. 34:58 Now there are cable stations, all over these cable stations 35:01 are taking us re-broadcasting 3ABN. 35:05 The rewards, you guys know more than I do, 35:07 but they've got a number to tell us 35:08 about the awards they have. 35:11 Again, I don't want to say competition 35:13 with secular television, 35:15 but they go to these shows in Moscow 35:17 and they've done well, haven't they? 35:18 Yeah, very well. 35:20 Yeah, they had a whole wall of awards. 35:21 And I think... 35:23 I don't think it's necessarily competing with, 35:25 you know, the world. 35:27 But you have to give credence to what you're saying visually. 35:31 You know, and I think that... 35:34 I think for today's society, they're looking for, 35:38 you know, something that's exciting. 35:40 And that just kind of says, 35:42 "Oh, yeah, we're... 35:43 our quality is right there." 35:45 You know, with all the big named 35:47 companies out there, our quality is right there. 35:49 You know, we just have a different message so... 35:52 And there's a lot of people that I don't know. 35:54 I mean, I'm sure that 35:56 there's a way that they would have. 35:57 But, you know, a lot of people 35:59 that who just keep flipping right on past it, 36:01 had it not had the visual appeal 36:03 that it does or, you know, the sound quality. 36:06 If it was bad, 36:07 people aren't going to watch it, 36:09 you know, unless there's other circumstances. 36:12 But, you know, for the most part, 36:14 people are going to stop and watch something 36:16 that's not interesting, you know. 36:18 And that's how they get it on 36:19 so many cable stations being Christian, 36:22 because they're still not really popular 36:24 throughout the X-Soviet Union Christianity. 36:27 But they put them on 36:28 because their quality is so good 36:30 and they get such great responses. 36:33 The television stations, let Julia and the crew know, 36:38 we get tremendous responses. 36:39 Some of those, Julia has programmed 36:42 the "Face to Face" 36:43 was the most popular for a long time, 36:45 maybe it still is, 36:47 throughout all of Nizhny Novgorod, 36:48 most popular program, 36:50 where she just interviewed people, 36:51 talked about the Lord. 36:52 And I mean, the cable companies told. 36:55 Secular cable companies told her that, you know. 36:58 And so people literally, all across the X-Soviet Union. 37:01 And again, it's thanks to you for what you do. 37:04 Without you, none of this would have happened. 37:07 And as I said, the building is great 37:09 and that's wonderful but there are great buildings, 37:10 there's bigger buildings there, 37:12 but it's what's happening within the building. 37:15 They have a... 37:16 That conference has a second floor, 37:17 they're working with. 37:19 The seminary students come there, 37:22 so you have area and people live there. 37:25 That is like, I don't know, we couldn't... 37:27 we didn't go into all of them, 37:28 but there's dozens and dozens and dozens of apartments 37:31 where people stay with their families. 37:33 You can go out there and still see 37:34 and always clothes hanging 37:36 on the line and all kinds of stuff. 37:38 They have a bookstore there. They have a health food store. 37:42 They've got a school, with 100 and some odd students. 37:45 That was fun to visit the school, wasn't it? 37:48 Saying, Jesus loves me with my kids, that was fun. 37:50 Yeah. Yeah. 37:51 All of that in this one facility. 37:54 And so... 37:56 But the vision that they have, 37:58 once they accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, 38:01 they want to share that with those around them. 38:03 They didn't take the gospel for granted. 38:07 When people... 38:08 The Carter meetings were over, they never had a Bible. 38:11 When we handed them out, we have video of these folks, 38:15 literally grabbing the Bibles. 38:16 Some of them would lay prostate right on the ground, 38:21 some on the concrete, 38:22 some would just hold them to their chest, 38:24 others would go in the grass. 38:25 They didn't leave the Sports Center, 38:27 they were started reading right then, 38:29 tears would be flowing because all of their lives, 38:33 they nor their parents, 38:34 even their grandparents 38:36 had ever been able to own a Bible 38:38 and now they had their own in their own Russian language. 38:41 And so it's just Julia, all of you, the whole crew. 38:46 Thank you so much for what you do 38:49 for the cause of God. 38:50 We couldn't do it from here. 38:52 The other thing 38:53 that we need to acknowledge was, 38:54 when we got off the plane, Julia told us now. 38:59 "Don't worry about Angela, 39:00 she's just here on the side 39:02 and she's just going to be taking pictures 39:04 and don't worry about that." 39:06 And at the end of the trip, 39:09 to me this was one of the most touching things. 39:13 Angela gave us, all of us an individual, 39:17 a customized album. 39:19 Jill, you brought yours, tell them that. 39:21 I did, I brought mine, but... 39:23 It is beautiful. 39:24 They stayed up, I think five of them, 39:25 stayed up through the night, the night before we left. 39:29 Night, all night. Making this for each one of us. 39:33 It's an incredible photo album. 39:34 So what it is, this is customized. 39:36 And so this one has pictures of everyone, 39:39 but specifically has pictures of Greg and I, 39:41 and then you have pictures of you both. 39:44 And then Tim, yours has pictures of you 39:46 and Brad and Rodney and Reggie and Ladye 39:48 and Gene and Pat McClintock were there. 39:51 But just to think the labor of love, 39:53 to stay up all night in order to give us something. 39:58 This is one of the best gifts. 40:00 Me too. 40:02 Hands down, 40:03 I have ever received in my life, you know. 40:05 And I think the care or the dedication, 40:08 the passion for service for God 40:11 comes through in everything they do. 40:12 I was thinking when we went around 40:14 to the different offices and got to meet the workers 40:18 and share just a little bit with them. 40:21 And Olga, she's there in the call center 40:23 and she showed us. 40:25 Now these are the letters I sent out 40:26 and these are the people 40:28 who write and we're sending out, 40:30 you know, all this material. 40:32 You know, to spread the gospel. 40:34 They started, and this was exciting. 40:36 I know Julia has been behind this 40:38 with several other people. 40:39 They're doing... 40:41 You know, here at 3ABN we do Kids' Club Bible lessons 40:44 with Brenda Walsh in Kids Time. 40:46 And its Bible lessons specifically for children. 40:49 Well, they have taken them and translated them 40:52 and tweak them a bit to fit the Russian culture. 40:55 And they have 500 kids enrolled in that program right now 41:00 and that's just the last two months, 41:03 two, three months they began it. 41:05 So it's a brand new and they were showing us. 41:07 Oh, these are the puzzle pieces that they get. 41:09 Oh, this is the lessons that we send out. 41:11 And you think as we went from office to office, 41:14 each person just... 41:15 Now this is what I'm doing, I'm creating this opener. 41:18 I'm producing this program 41:19 and I'm bringing in these guests. 41:21 And just the passion for spreading the gospel, 41:25 you know, and the organization of the team. 41:27 But this gift, back to this, this gift was incredible. 41:31 It really was. 41:32 To me it was... 41:34 For me also it was one of the nicest presents 41:36 I'd ever received 41:37 because of the love that went into it. 41:40 You know, I mean, it just... 41:41 It was so personalized. Yeah. 41:43 And so it was just such an amazing blessing. 41:47 I've talked to a lot and they feel like 41:49 they're just returning while you say, 41:51 well, we didn't do too much for hospitality. 41:54 They tell us, we're returning 41:56 for what you Americans came over here 41:58 and the rest of the world as they gave, 42:00 what you did for us and to introducing us to Jesus. 42:04 Gene and Pat McClintock, they were never paid. 42:08 Yet, they have made, they've 20 some trips. 42:10 Gene has held, probably a dozen, 42:13 maybe more evangelistic series of his own, 42:16 would go over there because he works, 42:18 he was working there in the summer time, 42:20 he does insulation and all. 42:21 In the winter, 42:23 when it's brutally cold in Russia, 42:24 they would go in the winter and spend two or three months 42:27 holding evangelistic series, 42:29 getting to know people individually 42:32 and leading them to Jesus. 42:34 And this time Gene was there, they're still people, 42:37 he had to go visit some church, 42:38 he got to go visit some churches. 42:40 They actually raised the money through 3ABN new, 42:43 there's churches there, 42:45 now new churches or other churches, 42:47 even home churches that we, house, 42:49 that we built church in, 42:51 that, because of their work 42:53 and they cared enough about people. 42:55 But when I go there and I see people 42:57 like Alexander, Alexander. 42:59 She was, she was in the back. 43:01 When I went there, literally in 1992, 43:04 and then we purchased a facility, 43:06 a month or two later, I went back and there were, 43:10 they didn't have extension ladder, 43:11 so you're looking at tool... 43:13 Well, at the top of the studio 43:15 was a good two storey's high and more 43:18 and they were eight volunteers on top of the roof 43:22 and they made ladders 43:23 out of saplings and roped them together. 43:26 Oh, my goodness. 43:27 And I went up there and these ladders 43:29 would do this, 43:30 probably 25, 30 feet in the air and Alexander was one of those. 43:34 And Vera who is now passed along, 43:36 they were volunteering, 43:37 they were already Adventist 43:38 who were so happy that all these baptisms that... 43:42 Now there was going to be a facility 43:44 that would be their own for the church, 43:46 from the church that they could come to. 43:49 They were volunteering. 43:50 These women, they weren't young, 43:52 even then, were climbing up 43:55 and up their hand chiseling holes 43:57 'cause they needed some holes in a roof, 43:59 hand working day after day. 44:01 And when you see that dedication, 44:03 they literally, church members would line up. 44:05 I think we have video of that, 44:07 50, 60, 100 at a time and hand one brick at a time. 44:11 And yet, there's millions of bricks in there. 44:13 When I say millions, I'm not exaggerating 44:16 because each of the walls 44:17 that you see is not just a row here 44:19 and a row there, 44:20 sometimes there's two or three rows 44:21 in between all the way up. 44:23 So these walls are this thick. 44:25 And so there's literally millions of brick 44:28 and we didn't have the equipment to do it. 44:30 They start out, and would hand these bricks. 44:32 So they're working together, all of us, one brick at a time. 44:36 You hand it and we hand to them, 44:38 they hand us, we're doing it, 44:40 we, us together working together. 44:43 Not only the facility 44:44 but what the facility represents is that, 44:47 and I wish the Russia Christian Cultural Center there. 44:53 3ABN center could be an example to the rest of the world. 44:57 I wish we work together. 44:59 You got church, you got laity, you got the schools, 45:01 you got the, you know, the centers, 45:03 you got the conference, you got literally the studios. 45:05 Everybody working together 45:07 and believe it or not they get along. 45:09 Isn't that amazing? 45:10 Believe it or not they get along. 45:12 And, but that's God 45:14 because they see 45:16 and to the folk who didn't get to worship God, 45:20 now appreciate so much 45:22 that they have the freedom to do it. 45:24 They're going to make sure everybody 45:26 that they can contact in the world 45:29 has the opportunity to meet Jesus Christ 45:31 and accept Him as Lord and Savior of their life. 45:35 Now, the transition of time, 45:38 sometimes eight or nine hour's difference, 45:41 gets you so, we didn't get to sleep all night. 45:43 But my little room, they put... 45:45 When we started I said keep one room 45:47 so the Americans, when we come, Pat and Gene, John, and Janice, 45:51 whoever's there, they could stay in, 45:53 Elder Carter if we needed too, 45:55 but that's right next door the gymnasium. 45:57 So when it was late at night, I couldn't sleep, 46:00 I got to go over but... 46:02 She came over with a little bit, 46:04 with iPhone and took some video. 46:06 We got Gene up there, he was playing basketball, 46:09 even got her playing basket ball up there. 46:12 I didn't know she's that good. 46:14 I didn't know she's that good, 46:15 but I, she stayed in the women's... 46:16 No, that's being very kind. 46:18 You can try for the women's NBA team. 46:20 Oh! 46:22 No, I just said you could try out. 46:23 Oh, you know, what? That was a good... 46:26 That was a good choice of words. 46:27 But I'm trying to make a point that, 46:28 that we all were out there playing late at night. 46:32 And sometimes our timings off... 46:35 You know, Danny, 46:36 I don't want to miss this opportunity. 46:39 The... 46:40 As the viewers, as they're watching this, 46:42 you're hearing our excitement 46:43 and all of what we've captured while we were there. 46:46 But I think this is a huge opportunity for us 46:49 to understand that God gives these... 46:53 He gave you the vision. 46:56 And there was no way that you could have imagined 46:59 how huge it could have, this was going to turn out. 47:03 But the Bible says that, 47:05 "with men, these things are impossible 47:08 but with God, nothing is impossible." 47:09 That's right. 47:11 And so I think that as much as we've heard that there, 47:14 we are born with a God shaped hole 47:17 in our hearts where, 47:18 you know, only God will fill that. 47:19 I believe that God gives us a God shaped vision. 47:23 Each one of us have something, 47:26 you know, it doesn't have to be 47:28 as grand as Russian vision like this, 47:31 but it could be something that you can 47:33 even actually speak the language, you know. 47:35 But I believe that we need to pray 47:38 for that opportunity that God is, 47:42 just... I know my take away. 47:43 What I came home with was the fact that 47:46 I was guilty, 47:47 have been guilty the past few years 47:49 of letting my God be too small 47:53 and there's a great chorus that says, 47:57 "I have made you too small in my eyes, 47:58 so Lord forgive me. 48:00 Where I have believed in a lie 48:01 that you were unable to help me, 48:04 but now I see the error of my ways." 48:07 And then the chorus says, 48:09 "Be magnified, oh Lord, you are highly exalted." 48:12 So I want that to be my prayer, be magnified God. 48:15 And don't let me be afraid to step out in faith 48:19 because without faith it is impossible. 48:21 So, and so I just... 48:24 I want us to capture that element. 48:26 You know, it's not an... 48:28 It doesn't have a big picture of you 48:29 on the front of it, on the building, 48:31 you know, does it over there in Russia, 48:33 but it is truly because you followed God. 48:36 I mean, again I want to build a tiny house 48:40 with somebody that, you know, can speak English. 48:42 I can't imagine going over to some place that, 48:44 where I couldn't even speak the language. 48:46 And then as we're talking about the equipment 48:49 that they use to do the programming, 48:51 the tools that they used to build a building, 48:53 every odd was against you. 48:55 I mean, the odds were insurmountable, 48:58 but not with God. 49:00 And that's the God we serve. 49:01 He's the one who gives you that vision and it's... 49:05 He's able to do it. 49:06 He's just looking for somebody 49:08 who's willing to follow through with it. 49:09 So be encouraged and dream big 49:12 and don't let any anybody tell you 49:15 that it's impossible, 49:16 because with God nothing is impossible. 49:18 And if I could encourage folk, is, 49:21 because you don't have to see the end of the vision. 49:25 When you look at the end of the vision, 49:26 it will tell you don't do it. 49:28 If I could have, would have known 49:30 how much money it really was going to take 49:33 and how much time and how many years to do that, 49:36 I would have been discouraged. 49:38 But all I knew at the time, there was the building, 49:41 it opened up 150,000 and then as we said, 49:44 millions of brick, one at a time. 49:46 And so volunteers began to show up. 49:49 The Lord brought the right people 49:51 at the right time. 49:52 So I didn't really know where it was going, 49:54 but I knew that's what God said to do at that time 49:58 and same way with 3ABN in general. 50:00 If I hadn't known the responsibility 50:02 and all that would be involved, 50:04 I'm sure I would have been discouraged 50:05 and said that's impossible. 50:07 So when you have a vision... 50:08 Tim's talking about a vision, 50:10 you just take one step at a time, 50:11 the blessing of the Lord is on the go. 50:14 And so when he says, "Go, ye into all the world," 50:16 You don't have to jump around the whole world 50:18 or fly the whole world at once, 50:20 just take a step, just take a step 50:22 and He'll lead you, He'll guide you, 50:24 He'll let you know if that's what you're supposed to do. 50:26 He will send people in your life 50:29 that will do what you couldn't do. 50:31 God surrounded us with people 50:33 there in Russia 50:35 that could do what I couldn't do. 50:36 As soon as I met Julia, I knew I could trust her. 50:39 And 25 years later, I trust her with my life. 50:43 And speaking that, before we close 50:45 we got to say hello to Julia's mother. 50:47 Yes! Yes! 50:48 And so, I mean, this is Yvonne Itchka. 50:51 Is that how you say? 50:52 That's my new nickname, Yvonne Itchka. 50:54 Yvonne Itchka. 50:55 She was... She was so precious. 50:57 She was just, I just loved meeting her. 51:00 Oh, she was just precious. 51:02 When you meet Julia's mother, she's an M.D. wonderful woman. 51:05 You see where Julia and her son Boris, 51:08 you know, really got that drive to want to be successful, 51:13 to want to do the best they could do, 51:15 whatever they were doing put all their might into it. 51:19 And so, it's so neat, 51:21 we got to go meet her 51:22 and she came downstairs and talked to us 51:24 and we got to hug 51:25 and so she called her Yvonne Itchka, 51:27 which Julia says that's a great compliment. 51:29 That was so precious. And for her. 51:31 But... 51:32 Go ahead. 51:34 I just also think that the team there 51:37 with Julia and Alexi, 51:40 you know, they just really make such a huge difference, 51:44 because they work as a family like we do. 51:46 That's right. 51:48 And then with the viewers responding to the need... 51:52 I mean, we couldn't do it 51:53 if the viewers hadn't responded to the need. 51:55 So it's such a cooperative effort. 51:58 You know, and I was just thrilled to be there 52:00 and thankful for our Russian family. 52:03 Absolutely. 52:05 We're gonna have to take a short news break 52:06 and then we'll come back. 52:08 We'll have about a minute 52:09 or so, we'll let you be thinking about it, 52:11 anybody has a closing thought. 52:12 So we're gonna go on the news break, 52:14 we'll be back in just a moment. |
Revised 2017-11-26