Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY017097A
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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, I'm Shelley Quinn. 01:09 And we welcome you once again to 3ABN Today. 01:12 We want to thank you so much for your love, 01:15 and your prayers, and your financial support 01:17 of this ministry because without you, 01:19 we couldn't do what we do. 01:21 And we have a really special program today 01:25 with seven guests on the set at the same time, 01:29 some beautiful people that I want you to meet. 01:31 But first, let me read a scripture to you 01:33 from 1 Corinthians 13. 01:36 That's the love chapter. 01:38 And I'll read what Paul said beginning with verse 4. 01:41 1 Corinthians 13:4. 01:44 "Love suffers long and is kind. 01:47 Love does not envy, it does not parade itself, 01:49 it's not puffed up, does not behave rudely, 01:52 does not seek its own. 01:55 It is not provoked. It thinks no evil. 01:58 Does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth. 02:03 Bears all things, believes all things, 02:06 hopes all things, endures all things. 02:10 Love never fails." 02:12 And we're going to talk today with some people 02:16 who have learned to show the love of God 02:20 and to direct people to Jesus just because of love. 02:26 Let me introduce our guest today. 02:29 First we have Kelli Czaykowsky. 02:31 Kelli, thank you so much for being here. 02:34 And Padday, can you give us big smile? 02:38 Yes. Hi, Padday. 02:40 Then we have Ngoga. 02:41 Ngoga, you are my man 02:43 because your favorite subject is math just like mine. 02:47 And then Marina Falls. 02:49 And next to her with a beautiful young, Man Kim. 02:52 Thank you for being here today. 02:54 And then Lwe, and we have Da Nay. 02:58 And we are so glad you all have come today. 03:01 We are going to talk about your ministry 03:06 and just tell us or give me a short version 03:08 'cause we want to go to some music. 03:10 We'll come back. Okay, sure. 03:11 But what is FREE INC? 03:14 Okay, so it stands for 03:16 Friends of Refugees providing Education and Empowerment. 03:19 We started it in 2010 03:23 when we heard about a group of young kids 03:26 that were begging to get private education 03:29 because the schools they were attending, 03:30 there was a lot of gangs and violence. 03:32 And that's how it all started in 2010 03:35 was here in the needs of a group of kids 03:38 wanting to get private safe environment 03:42 to study and to learn. 03:43 Okay, this is just exciting. I've just met these people. 03:47 But their ministry is so exciting. 03:50 And it will show you the power of love 03:54 that love never fails. 03:55 But first we've got one of our own 03:57 who's going to sing a song for us. 03:59 And that is Tammy Chance. 04:01 And she will be singing Because of who you are. 04:18 Since Jesus came and found me 04:21 And He put his arms around me 04:24 And all my binding fetters took away 04:30 Although I loved Him dearly 04:33 And trusted Him sincerely 04:36 I've never loved Him better than today 04:42 I've never loved Him better than today 04:48 I've never felt Him closer along a way 04:54 And oh how sweet the feeling 04:57 When in His presence kneeling 05:00 I've never loved Him better than today 05:09 Oh blessed friend supernal 05:12 My hope and joy eternal 05:15 Keep thou my soul 'til shadows flee away 05:21 Anoint me I would pray, Lord 05:24 Till ends this pilgrims way, Lord 05:27 I've never loved Him better than today 05:33 I've never loved Him better than today 05:39 I've never felt Him closer along a way 05:45 And oh how sweet the feeling 05:48 When in His presence kneeling 05:51 I've never loved Him better than today 05:57 I've never loved Him better 06:00 No, I've never loved Him better 06:02 No, I've never loved Him better than today 06:15 Thank you, Tammy. That was beautiful. 06:18 If you are joining us just a few minutes late, 06:21 our program today is about a ministry called FREE INC. 06:27 This is a 501 ministry. 06:30 And FREE is an acronym for 06:34 Friends of Refugees providing Education and Empowerment. 06:39 So we have with us 06:41 Kelli Czaykowsky and Marina Falls, 06:43 who are founder and co-founder of this ministry, 06:47 and then all these beautiful children, 06:49 thank you so much for coming here. 06:51 Tell us when... 06:53 Repeat for us how you started, why you started this ministry. 06:57 Okay, So Marina and I both set on a school board 07:01 in Georgia, Duluth Adventist Christian School 07:03 with, you know, our biological kids. 07:05 And we had heard, in 2010, 07:08 of a group of kids, refugee kids. 07:10 And ironically, to be honest, I didn't know 07:13 what refugee meant when I started this 501. 07:18 We heard about a group of kids that were begging, 07:20 the superintendent... 07:21 Let me just back up for just a second. 07:24 We are always accustomed to calling people 07:27 in the United States refugees, so where have they come from? 07:31 They were from refugee camps? From... 07:33 Okay, so a lot of the kids that... 07:38 well, the kids that we help are refugees 07:39 from all over the world, 07:41 United Nations chooses Clarkston in Georgia 07:45 as one of the places that the refugees come to. 07:49 It's actually the most, the first square mile 07:51 in America, Clarkston, Georgia is there's 07:54 thousands of refugees within a square mile. 07:56 There's 60 languages spoken there. 07:59 So it's definitely a mission field. 08:01 So they're brought here from United Nations 08:04 because Clarkston offers low housing, 08:08 affordable housing, public transportation. 08:11 So obviously, when refugees arrive to America 08:14 or wherever they go, they don't have anything 08:16 but what's in their bag, so there's no cars or anything. 08:19 So Clarkston has a public transportation 08:21 that runs right through the city. 08:24 And then also the climate as it's not too harsh, 08:26 not too cold, not too high, and that's why 08:29 United Nations had chosen Clarkston 08:31 as one of the places for refugees to come. 08:34 So in 2010, I had heard of a group of refugees 08:38 that were begging, the superintendent 08:40 who had gone to visit them for private education. 08:44 And I thought, you know, how can only... 08:49 Marina and I and Sharon, there's three of us 08:52 that our heart was really burdened 08:53 to help the kids, you know, help these people. 08:56 We went and we saw the conditions 08:57 that they were living in. 08:59 And the parents and the faith that they still had up there, 09:02 all the struggles that they've gone through 09:04 just to get here. 09:05 And we, I can only speak for myself 09:07 but I couldn't sleep for three nights. 09:10 I was just up. It really bothered me. 09:12 And I remember praying to God just saying if He opened, 09:16 you know, the doors, I would walk through them, 09:18 and that's been my prayer, you know, the hope ministry, 09:20 and He's opened them very well for us. 09:23 So we started off just providing education 09:27 for 12 in 2010. 09:29 Why were the parents asking for private education? 09:33 Because in Clarkston, there's so many different languages, 09:36 and the school system there is a second 09:38 from the bottom in Georgia. 09:40 And they're overwhelmed themselves 09:41 with, you know, the needs of all the kids, 09:46 a lot of our parents, they don't understand English 09:48 or speak it. 09:49 So it's hard for them to help them 09:51 with their kids' homework. 09:52 And the parents themselves are usually gone, 09:55 most of the day they drive hour and half 09:57 to go to the chicken factories. 09:59 So the kids are, you know, by themselves 10:02 trying to do their homework. 10:03 And they need a lot of one-on-one. 10:06 The public school unfortunately, 10:07 they're probably doing all they can 10:09 but they can't provide that. 10:10 There's a lot of gangs in the schools, a lot of drugs, 10:13 and child trafficking in the area. 10:15 So a lot of their parents, their prayer was that we, 10:19 you know, helped them with food and clothing, 10:20 but all they wanted was their kids 10:23 to be in a safe environment 10:24 to be able to study and to learn. 10:27 So that's where we started off with education 10:30 because that was prayers and the desires 10:33 and the burden that God placed on my heart. 10:36 Marina, you all have known each other for how long? 10:39 Kelli and I have known each other 10:41 probably 15 years, 15, 16 years. 10:44 Our sons have been in the same class basically 10:47 since kindergarten through high school. 10:50 And they're both now in college, 10:52 so it's been a long time. 10:54 And we first met each other at the school. 10:58 And then we served on the school board together 11:01 and then we just developed friendship 11:03 that's become like a sisterhood now. 11:05 We're sisters basically. 11:07 And we both work, you know, with the charity that we have. 11:12 You know, we have a burden for helping 11:15 the underprivileged, and Clarkston, 11:17 and the children. 11:18 So we work very closely together. 11:20 Amen. 11:22 And, you know, now we've got Padday, Ngoga, and Man Kim, 11:25 and Lwe, and Da Nay. 11:27 You all go to the Adventist school, huh? 11:30 All of you? Right. Yes, ma'am. 11:31 We're going to talk to each one of you 11:33 in just a minute. 11:34 But when you say that these people are just rescued 11:40 from refugee camps, they're brought into Clarkston, 11:45 and there's thousands of people in this one square mile 11:50 that have very diverse culture. 11:51 So there's a culture shock going on first. 11:55 When we talk about low cost of housing, 11:59 it's actually about $600 to $1,000 a month, 12:02 and they've only get the first two months free, 12:04 is that correct? 12:05 Yes, three months that they get free, 12:07 and then they're completely on their own after that. 12:09 So if they haven't found the job, 12:11 most of them work at chicken factory. 12:13 If they haven't found a job in the first three months, 12:16 what happens? 12:17 They just get kicked out of the house as you're hived. 12:22 And so, you know, 12:25 we don't go around town tenure by, 12:27 we help with the rent 'cause we do so much. 12:29 But if we do find people, for instance, 12:33 that's how I actually met Ngoga and his family. 12:35 The mom was shot in the revolution in her leg, 12:39 and so it's hard for her to work. 12:40 And the dad is not here. So that's how we met them. 12:43 As we didn't want them to end up on the street, 12:46 so we helped them with the rent, 12:47 and that's how we got a relationship with them. 12:49 And they're currently, all five of the boys 12:51 are in our school, right now. 12:53 So, you know, I always believe that 12:56 you don't go by black and white. 12:57 I mean, as a board we were like, 12:59 we don't, how we realm, you know, we don't do college, 13:02 but those things are both not accurate now. 13:05 I believe that you go with the burden 13:06 that God places on your heart. 13:08 And you don't worry about, I know a lot of people say that 13:12 they walk in faith and stuff, but, you know, 13:14 you can't worry about how you're going to pay for this 13:16 or, you know, at the end of the year 13:18 what you're going to have. 13:19 I really believe that what we're given 13:21 we just return it back to the refugees. 13:23 And God allows those doors open 13:25 because these people themselves are at home praying, 13:27 and we don't hear those prayers, only God does. 13:30 So when we feel a burden on our heart, 13:32 and we run into, you know, the people. 13:34 We've been over there for a while now, 13:36 so they have our numbers, 13:37 we'll get calls for them all the night for diapers. 13:39 We'll get people that need rides to the hospital 13:41 that don't drive. 13:43 You'll be surprised the needs that people have 13:46 is not only that they're hungry, 13:49 but they're also thirsty for love, and for yeah... 13:52 And I know that's been your motto 13:54 is just to love them and introduce them 13:56 to the love of God as well. 13:58 Because we love Him because He first loved us. 14:01 So, Ngoga, you're from the Congo? 14:06 No, from Rwanda. No. 14:08 Well, he is originally from the Congo 14:11 but because of the revolution in the Congo, they fled Congo, 14:14 and they ended up in the refugee camps 14:17 on the Rwanda border. 14:18 So they say they're from Rwanda, 14:20 but they're originally from Congo. 14:21 Okay, from Rwanda. 14:23 What do you like, Ngoga, 14:25 about going to the Adventist school? 14:28 They help people with something 14:32 when they need, or something to do, 14:34 they help them. 14:36 stop to help them what to do, 14:40 and after then we're gonna eat food. 14:44 And after they eat food, they let them play. 14:47 So you get a lot of help, and you get to eat, 14:51 and you get to... 14:52 You said what is your favorite subject? 14:55 Math. Math. 14:56 Let's give a high-five. Yes, me too. 15:00 So you're learning a lot. 15:03 Did his family speak English when they came? 15:06 They don't, they still... 15:07 Well, the mom does not speak English at all. 15:09 The children because of going to school 15:12 they're picking up the English. 15:13 Absolutely. Okay. 15:16 And I know Padday is Burmese? Yes. 15:21 She's Korean from, yeah, Burma. 15:23 Okay. Now you give many services. 15:28 You have, I think, we've got some pictures that... 15:31 let's run through these pictures 15:32 so that you get an overview, then we're going to come back 15:34 and speak to each one of these children. 15:37 But let's get a good overview of the ministry because... 15:41 How many of you here, first let me ask this question. 15:43 How many of you have seen a dentist recently? 15:46 Raise your hand if you've seen the dentist. 15:48 You went to the dentist? Yep, everyone of you. 15:51 So that's a service that you find dentist 15:55 who are willing to give their services free. 15:59 We do everything. We do our haircuts. 16:01 We make 50 lunches every single day. 16:04 We have 76 kids currently that we pick up on our own bus 16:07 and bring them to the school. 16:08 We provide rides home like if they want to do activities. 16:11 We do counseling for the moms and dads. 16:14 We do ESL classes. We do after school tutoring. 16:17 We take college volunteers to come to our apartment. 16:20 We actually have an apartment 16:21 right in the heart of Clarkston. 16:23 We do trash pick ups. 16:25 We go and pick up, 16:26 there's a lot of trash around our area 16:28 and it really makes the place like bad. 16:31 And so we'll get a bunch of high school volunteers 16:33 or just community service volunteers. 16:35 So we're starting sowing classes 16:38 so that some of the moms can sell some of their stuff 16:41 and make a little income. 16:42 And computer classes as well. 16:44 We help with Medicaid 16:46 and with food stamp applications. 16:47 We take people to the doctor. 16:49 So people think that we probably do too much 16:53 but I just feel like if God gives you the energy, 16:56 you know, to do it, then we do it all. 17:00 And if it weren't for you, what would these people do? 17:02 I mean, these services weren't offered, 17:04 like you said, you can't just say, 17:06 "Oh, well, we only help with food and clothing," 17:08 because if someone needs a ride to the doctor, 17:11 then we'll ride to the doctor. 17:13 So let's look at some of the pictures 17:15 that you brought with you. 17:17 And you can just explain them as we run through them. 17:19 Okay, sure. 17:20 So this guy, he had a fracture, and he had some sutures. 17:22 And do believe it or not, I actually do have a degree 17:24 in the medical field. 17:26 I'm a hand therapist. 17:27 So I don't do that now with the charity fulltime. 17:31 But he had a little infection going on, 17:33 so we were doing a little bit of cleaning 17:35 outside of our office of his wound. 17:37 Okay. And then now the next picture. 17:40 This was an article in one of the magazines 17:44 that just talking about the land of refugees 17:46 and how thankful they are 17:47 for all the help that we provide. 17:49 Amen. 17:51 This is our logo. 17:53 We're giving them empowerment there, 17:55 lifted them up. 17:56 That's a good logo. 17:58 Nia is actually one of our students 18:00 that's currently at Southern. 18:01 She has a 4.0. We started helping her. 18:04 She was in seventh grade, Man Kim's actually her sister. 18:08 And well, she did internship 18:10 at the dentist as one of our refugees. 18:11 She's helping clean the teeth. 18:13 Her dream and desire, and she will become a dentist 18:15 and go back to Myanmar and do missionary work. 18:18 Praise God. Smart young lady. 18:22 These are some of our kids from the Chen Adventist group 18:24 that go to our school, a group of the kids. 18:27 And Chen is one of the groups of... 18:30 Of Myanmar, from Burma, yes. Okay. 18:33 And this is Keeler Deming kindergarten. 18:35 Okay. 18:36 These are some of the kids at one of our 18:39 dentist appointments at Mustard Seed. 18:42 It's like 15 minutes from the school. 18:43 They get to the school, we load them up, 18:45 and we take them to the dentist to get their cleanings. 18:49 This is actually a summer, 18:52 every Sunday we take between 20... 18:55 And one time this past summer, we actually have 43 kids 18:58 show up, and thank God, they allowed them all to come. 18:59 We shoved them on the bus to a summer camp 19:02 where they get to stay a whole week 19:04 like a HUD at springs, 19:05 and just have a week of fun and outdoor activity, 19:09 you know, learning about God. 19:12 We have all kind of religions that go to that camp. 19:14 This is actually our office 19:16 that a group of precious Muslim college kids came in, 19:21 they told me not to come four days or the summer, 19:23 and the office was, it was just disgusting, 19:26 the carpet was stained and there was 19:29 roaches and rats and stuff. 19:30 And those kids came in for four days 19:32 and they painted everything, 19:33 they donated four laptops for our ESL classes 19:36 and after school tutoring. 19:37 And they redid our whole entire apartment for us. 19:41 It's a three-bedroom apartment that we have. 19:43 And this is some of the kids that did it. 19:45 I cried when I walked in, if you guys were to saw 19:46 the before picture, it was horrible. 19:49 And they spent all the night. 19:50 This is our bus that precious couple donated to us 19:54 so that we could, you know, bring the kids 19:57 because now we have 76 19:59 and they wouldn't fit on the other bus. 20:01 So this bus holds three per seat, 20:03 and we use every single seat. 20:05 Praise God. Yes. 20:07 And this is one of our outreach, 20:09 we go to the different... 20:11 there's 40 apartment buildings at house refugees in Clarkston. 20:14 So we go and we'll place, put a tarp down, 20:17 and we collect like donated used clothes, and furniture, 20:22 and we put it all on the outside, 20:25 and the refugees would just come 20:27 and take what they need. 20:28 Amen. 20:30 This is one of the average apartments 20:32 in Clarkston. 20:34 You see the back. 20:35 You know, even though they arrive in America, 20:38 they still want to keep their culture. 20:40 And so that's why you'll see a lot of the clothes lines, 20:42 and they'll cook outside and... 20:44 When you go to Clarkston, you totally forget that 20:46 you're in America. 20:47 These are some of our kids 20:50 that we were given some clothes to. 20:53 Yeah that's me. 20:56 Who is that cutie pie in your hands? 20:58 His sister lived with me for a while 21:00 and then they moved to Kansas. 21:02 Yeah. Yes. 21:04 And this is one of the outreaches we were doing, 21:07 we we're bringing the kids different hats, 21:09 you can see, and some gloves and stuff. 21:12 This is FLAG camp which is fun learning about God. 21:15 It's something else we do the first and third 21:18 Sabbath of the month. 21:19 It's like a one-day VBS where we bring around 50 kids, 21:22 we just sit outside, and we do crafts, 21:25 and we do a Bible story and a song, 21:27 and then they get a snack. 21:31 It's amazing how, you know, you began in 2010 21:35 and how the Lord has just blossomed this. 21:38 Yes. I just wanted to ask Da Nay. 21:41 Da Nay, you lived in a refugee camp. 21:45 Do you know what country that refugee camp was? 21:47 It was in between Thailand and Burma. 21:49 Between Thailand and Burma. 21:51 What do you remember about the refugee camp? 21:55 The water around there wasn't really clean, 21:58 so we had to walk miles to the river 22:00 and carry buckets of water back to our houses. 22:06 And they don't really give out as much blankets, 22:11 or shirts, or clothing as much as FREE. 22:16 Was it too cold there? 22:18 Yeah, it can get really cold. 22:21 And they gave about one or two blankets per family. 22:25 And how many are in your family? 22:28 Eight or nine. 22:30 So how many brothers and sisters do you have? 22:32 I have three brothers and three sisters. 22:34 So there are seven children and you've got your parents, 22:37 so you had one or two blankets 22:41 to ward off the winter weather 22:44 for your whole family then, huh? 22:46 How did you stay warm? 22:48 Just cuddle up close when you go to sleep? 22:49 Yeah. Okay. 22:51 Did you get enough food? 22:53 Well, when they pass out food, they gave you time 22:58 and like if you arrive late, they don't give us much 23:00 as when you arrive early. 23:03 And like sometimes you have to walk 23:05 really fast to go there. 23:06 Yeah. 23:07 But I bet you learned to leave early 23:09 so you can get some food, huh? 23:10 Yes, ma'am. 23:11 So you then moved to the United States. 23:16 What was it like for you when you got here? 23:19 It was really hard. We didn't know anyone. 23:22 And we didn't know how to speak English. 23:26 So it was really hard to communicate 23:27 with other people. 23:29 And yeah. 23:31 And a completely different culture. 23:34 And so did you feel... 23:36 did you think that you were better off 23:39 by being here or was it really scary 23:42 when you first came? 23:44 It was kind of scary when we first came 23:46 and like didn't know how to speak English 23:49 and communicate. 23:51 But then later, we learned how to speak English 23:54 and communicate with other people. 23:57 So you're 14 years old, 23:59 and you are a soccer player, huh? 24:01 Yes, ma'am. Yes. 24:03 And what is your favorite subject in School? 24:05 My favorite subject is science. 24:07 Science, okay. Good. 24:09 Well, so when you're thinking about these families 24:15 coming over, 24:18 what would they do if they only get a three-month, 24:20 I mean, if they get kicked out, what on earth do they do? 24:23 Yeah. 24:25 Well, you know, it's really hard 24:28 because unfortunately, we can't help, 24:31 you know, everyone. 24:32 And the ones that we can't help, 24:33 a lot of the boys do go to the gangs. 24:37 I don't know if you're aware, but 80% of refugees 24:38 are women and children because a lot of their fathers 24:41 have been killed in the wars. 24:42 So there's not lot of father, you know, 24:44 role models out there. 24:46 In Clarkston, where the refugees, 24:48 so you find a lot of the teenagers, 24:51 if they don't have the love and support 24:53 of charities like us, or churches, or just teachers, 24:57 they will find support, you know, that they want, 25:02 you know, with gangs unfortunately. 25:04 So what do they do is they... 25:06 there's a lot of, you know, robberies, 25:09 there's a lot of people stealing stuff. 25:11 And, you know, we try not to judge anyone at all. 25:16 We've helped people that's been in situations, 25:18 you know, with that all, 25:20 they've been arrested for stuff, you know, 25:21 older boys and they'll reach out to us. 25:24 And even for them, you know, we're there for them as well 25:28 because who am I to judge someone 25:30 if you put me in their situation, you know, 25:33 and everything that they've been through, 25:35 who's to say that I won't be doing the same thing. 25:36 It's just survival. Yeah. 25:39 Well, and I know that, you know, 25:41 the ones that are coming into the school 25:44 and being trained, at least they are learning, 25:49 they're seeing an expression of love from you all. 25:52 So this helps them avoid the gangs. 25:54 It's night and day... 25:57 with even the refugees out there, they'll tell us, 26:01 "You know, Miss Kelli, what a difference it is 26:03 between the kids that you're helping 26:05 and the kids that you're not." 26:07 And, you know, we have 76, 26:11 so we're kind of at our max. 26:12 But thank God, I'm going to meet this week 26:15 actually with another school that's going to be willing... 26:17 It's been a prayer of mine, to take, 26:19 they're going to start with 20 refugees at their school. 26:22 Praise God. So yeah, yeah. 26:24 So it's a blessing for us. 26:26 You are at that point that the Lord is expanding 26:28 the ministry beyond you. 26:30 Yes. Lwe, let me see your smile. 26:33 That's a good smile, Lwe. 26:37 Tell us about 26:40 when you started coming to school, now you grew up 26:43 in a Buddhist family, is that correct? 26:44 Yeah. Okay. 26:46 What do Buddhists believe? 26:48 Buddhists believe in like meditation stuff like peace. 26:54 And through meditation, there is peace and stuff. 26:57 But Buddhists have many gods, don't they? 26:59 Yeah. That they... Okay. Worship. 27:02 So when you started coming to this school, 27:06 you were introduced to Jesus. 27:09 What did you think about Jesus? 27:12 That He was very kind and loving. 27:14 That He's very peaceful and not like harming. 27:18 So you kind of fell in love with Jesus 27:20 and what's happened now? 27:22 Did you get baptized? 27:24 Yeah. Yeah. 27:25 Are you the first Adventist Christian 27:28 in your family? 27:29 Yeah. Yes. 27:31 And so what did your parents... 27:32 Now your parents left that choice up to you, 27:36 but they made you do something before you got baptized. 27:38 What did they do? They shaved your head and what? 27:45 Last summer, I had to follow a monk 27:48 and like learned the teaching stuff. 27:50 Okay, so you follow the monk and you were learning 27:53 the teachings of Buddhism. 27:55 But when you compared what Buddhism taught 27:58 and what Christianity teaches from the Bible, 28:01 you'd met the real God, huh? 28:03 And you decided. 28:05 Oh, we're so glad that, you know, 28:07 we're brothers and sisters, did you know that? 28:09 Yeah. 28:11 Even you can call me Auntie if you want 28:14 'cause I'm old enough to be your grandmother. 28:18 But we are brothers and sisters in Christ and that's wonderful. 28:21 So the children, you don't force religion? 28:25 Absolutely not. No. 28:28 Actually if you come and volunteer at my charity, 28:32 that's something that I let you know upfront is that 28:34 we don't force anything on the people 28:38 because if you truly love, and you want to help people, 28:40 and you're doing it for them, 28:42 you meet people at where they are, 28:44 and you provide what they need. 28:45 And then to me, it's God's responsibility 28:48 to put the burden on people's heart. 28:50 So if you really believe in what you're doing, 28:52 and you are really being inspired from, 28:55 you know, God, then you have to trust 28:57 that He will do all that, that's not your job. 29:00 Your job is to go and love 29:01 and to show them it's unconditional. 29:03 You know, how many times I've been asked like, 29:05 "You know, Miss Kelli, why do you help us, 29:06 why do you love us? 29:07 You know, why are you doing this for?" 29:09 And, you know, I tell them, it's our job. 29:11 I mean, Marina and I, you know, it's what we're supposed to do. 29:14 I mean... 29:15 It's a desire of your heart. Yes. 29:18 That's what He has given us to do. 29:19 But with Lwe, what's amazing about him 29:22 the day he got baptized, his brothers, 29:26 he has two younger brothers. 29:27 And they told me, "Miss Kelli, we want to get baptized. 29:30 We want to want to get baptized." 29:31 So, you know, we're currently doing 29:33 Bible studies with them. 29:35 So some people just see what we're doing 29:37 and they question, "Why are you providing 29:40 private education in a public school?" 29:43 But what people don't understand is that 29:44 when you educate a mind, you're educating the soul. 29:48 So you're not just providing, you know, breaking the cycle 29:51 where they have a chance at a future, you know, 29:53 financially and academically, but you're also giving them, 29:58 I mean, honestly like I'm sure God could open 30:01 other doors for Lwe later on, 30:03 but he probably wouldn't even know 30:05 what the Seventh-day Adventist was 30:07 if it wasn't for the education that we were providing. 30:10 So that's seeing the whole picture, 30:13 a lot of people, they just see the immediate, 30:15 you know, what may come, these kids get As and Bs, 30:19 but for me, that's not the goal at all, 30:22 I mean, that's just a piece of what we're offering. 30:24 Okay. 30:26 Well, now speaking of As, 30:27 Man Kim, your sister has a 4.0 average 30:32 and is in dental school. 30:33 Are you smart like your sister? 30:36 Yes. Yeah. 30:38 That's wonderful. 30:39 Modest too, I can see. 30:41 So when your family first came to the United States, 30:46 do you remember that, what it was like? 30:49 It was hard because none of my family 30:54 know how to speak English. 30:55 And we didn't have much food, or clothing, 30:58 and like educating, 31:00 and when we heard of FREE, 31:05 they helped us like, gave us education, 31:09 and food, and clothing, 31:12 and then they also helped us like, 31:17 you know, how to speak English. 31:20 Praise God. 31:21 Now do you have classes for the parents? 31:24 Learn how to speak English as well? 31:25 We do. Yes. 31:27 Well, that's wonderful. That's wonderful. 31:29 So when you have this group of people 31:35 that you're ministering to in this way, 31:38 what are the greatest challenges of the ministry? 31:43 To me, personally, the greatest challenge, 31:46 believe it or not, is trying to educate Americans 31:50 who want to come out and to help. 31:52 And then they question like, we make 50 lunches a day. 31:55 And, you know, sometimes they question you, 31:57 "Are you empowering or enabling these people 32:00 if you're making the lunches every day?" 32:02 And so, to me, it's a challenge to let people understand 32:07 that just because, you know, you survived the war, 32:10 and the jungles, and everything that you've gone through, 32:13 you know, you're in America. 32:15 Yes, they are in America now. 32:16 But the challenges are so real. 32:19 And you don't want the people 32:20 that have been through all this stuff, 32:22 and they're suppressed and everything 32:23 to go through depression, 32:25 and everything they're going through. 32:26 And yeah, they might have food with their food stamps 32:28 at the beginning of the month, 32:30 but at the end of the month, their cabinets are empty. 32:32 Like when we first started helping, we didn't do lunches. 32:35 And one of the little girl got off the bus, 32:37 and she was crying. 32:39 And I said, you know, "Why are you crying?" 32:41 And she said, "Because my stomach hurts 32:43 'cause I didn't eat breakfast." 32:46 I'm a mom of five biological kids. 32:48 And I was laughing, then I said, "Get up earlier, 32:50 and make yourself breakfast." 32:52 And she said, "No, Miss Kelly, 32:53 we don't have food in our house." 32:55 So to me, some of the biggest challenges 32:58 would be letting people really understand that, 33:02 yes, they're working, they're paying taxes, 33:05 they're doing everything that we're doing, 33:06 they're not living off the government, 33:07 but they do need a hand up still 33:09 because the income they're bring in 33:11 isn't enough to make it to the end of the month. 33:14 So if I'm going to make, you know, 50 lunches a day, 33:19 then, you know, people need to understand 33:21 there's a reason why we're doing that. 33:23 Amen. And most of them have very large families. 33:26 Yes. 33:28 Padday, how many brothers and sisters do you have? 33:30 I have two sisters. Two sisters. 33:33 How about you, Ngoga? 33:35 I have five brothers. 33:37 Five brothers. 33:38 And Man Kim? One brother and one sister. 33:40 One brother and one sister. You're the tiny family here. 33:43 Lwe? 33:45 Two brothers and three sisters. 33:47 Two brothers and three sisters, so six children. 33:49 Da Nay? 33:50 Three brothers and three sisters. 33:52 Three brothers, seven babies. 33:54 So it is very difficult for them to... 33:58 I mean, can you imagine in your wildest imagination 34:03 what if somebody were to pluck your family up right now 34:08 and take you to Myanmar 34:10 and just deposit you there, and say, 34:12 "Here, we'll give you a roof 34:14 over your head for three months. 34:17 But after that, you're on your own." 34:18 Can you imagine what it would be like 34:20 if you couldn't speak the language, 34:22 if you didn't understand the culture? 34:26 And, you know, I asked one of you, 34:28 I think it was Da Nay, 34:30 earlier, did you feel like you were better off 34:35 when you came to the United States? 34:36 Did you recognize this was what we call a leg up 34:39 that you were going to be the better position? 34:41 But they don't. 34:43 They're just as fearful 34:44 'cause it is totally strange surroundings. 34:47 So I praise God that He put it on your heart 34:51 to start this ministry to help these people 34:56 because you become their friends. 34:57 And I love the fact 34:59 that you're not forcing anything on them. 35:04 You are doing what Jesus did. 35:07 He came and He said, He came to show us the Father, 35:10 the love of the Father. 35:12 That's what you're doing is showing the love of God. 35:15 And then people want to know who this God is 35:20 that you serve that is so loving. 35:22 Yeah. Exactly. 35:23 And I believe that if you impose 35:25 your beliefs on other people, 35:27 they might just do it just to satisfy you. 35:29 And it's not going to be everlasting. 35:31 That just might be temporary, like a year or two, 35:33 and then they'll go back to, 35:34 you know, their old ways or what they believe in, 35:37 or their old addictions and stuff. 35:39 But if you allow God to work on their soul 35:42 and, you know, and put the burden on their heart, 35:44 and let them question 35:46 what it is Sabbath, and the different things, 35:48 then, you know, it will be their choice, 35:50 and they will believe in it, 35:51 and, you know, a lot longer, yeah. 35:54 All right, so you were a hand therapist before. 35:57 Yes. 35:58 And you're doing this fulltime now. 36:00 Yes. 36:01 What have you gained through this ministry? 36:03 I've gained so much. 36:06 It's amazing because, you know, people think that, 36:10 I'm sure Marina will agree with me, 36:11 that we're helping these people. 36:14 But what people don't realize 36:15 is that a lot of these refugees were Christians, 36:18 and that's why they were being executed 36:20 and forced out of their own country 36:22 is because they believed in God. 36:24 So when they look at me, 36:26 and I know they've witnessed so much stuff, 36:28 it's unbelievable, 36:31 the stories we hear will give you nightmares. 36:33 I mean honestly, 36:34 the people that are supposed to be protecting 36:35 you are the ones that are causing injury to you. 36:38 I mean, they would hold our pastor from Burma. 36:42 He's from the Korean group. 36:44 He would have to hold his grandbaby's mouth 36:46 underneath the bridge so the, 36:48 you know, the Burmese soldiers wouldn't hear the baby's cry 36:50 or, you know, they were forced to execute all the Christians. 36:53 So what I've gained from this is looking at these people 36:57 and seeing their smiles and their faith 36:59 that they've had to bring them to America, 37:03 it just motivates me and makes me see that, 37:07 you know, the struggles I have, 37:09 yeah, we all have struggles, you know, we're humans, 37:12 everyone has something to deal with. 37:13 But if we just believe and keep our faith, 37:16 and it's just amazing, 37:19 you know, the faith that they have, 37:20 it's instilled in me 37:22 so much more believe and determination to, 37:25 you know, show the love of God 37:27 because He's brought them here for a reason. 37:30 Yeah, I'm just a part of the plan. 37:32 You know, there's a reason that He has. 37:33 He is using you as His hands and His feet. 37:36 So, Marina, where did you come from originally? 37:38 I'm originally from Kenya. 37:40 From Kenya. Yes. 37:41 Now what have you gained 37:44 from being involved in this ministry? 37:48 For me, it's a soul satisfaction 37:52 in helping my brother and sister. 37:55 It's something that, you know, I think God places 37:58 in each and every one of us love for our fellow men. 38:01 And so it's just taking it a step further to see 38:04 how you can help your brother and sister 38:07 who are struggling, 38:08 you know, who don't understand, who need help. 38:10 So for me, it's satisfying that need 38:14 that I have within my soul 38:16 to connect with my brother and sister 38:19 to help them to get to the next level 38:23 so that they can help their family and future generations. 38:28 Because when we help a child, we're not just helping a child, 38:30 we're helping the generation that's coming from that child. 38:34 So that's one of the core things that keeps me going, 38:39 you know, and keeps me motivated 38:43 to keep doing this work. 38:44 Amen. Amen. Well, we see that with... 38:47 Man Kim, what is your sister's name 38:49 that's in the college? 38:51 Nean. 38:52 I'm sorry, I didn't hear you. 38:54 Nean. Nean. 38:55 And we see that she's going to get her degree in dentistry. 39:00 And her mission is to be a missionary dentist 39:04 going back to her home country. 39:05 So we see how this is passed on. 39:09 Da Nay, have you thought about what you'd like to do 39:13 when you grow up? 39:15 I would like to be an engineer. 39:17 An engineer? Yeah. 39:18 All right, so there's my science and math major too. 39:22 How about you, Lwe? 39:25 I don't know, like I'm still thinking. 39:29 Well, you're 13 years old, 39:30 you get to think for some time now. 39:33 And, Man Kim, have you thought about what you'd like to do? 39:37 I would like to be a pediatrician. 39:41 Wonderful. Wonderful. 39:43 And how about you, Ngoga? 39:50 Have you given it any thought? 39:52 No. 39:54 And you're how old? Eight years old? 39:55 No, 10. Ten years old. 39:57 You got to start thinking about... 39:59 No, you got lots of time to think about. 40:01 Tell us tomorrow what you want to be, okay? 40:03 Okay. 40:04 But you know what's going to happen. 40:06 You decide one day you want to do something 40:08 and then the next day you're thinking, 40:10 "Well, maybe I'd like to do this." 40:12 But some people do know very, very early. 40:15 Yeah, that's good. 40:16 So how many people work with you? 40:22 How many volunteers do you have? 40:24 So we have a board of five. 40:27 But we get random volunteers, 40:30 they'll call and they'll need like hours for school, 40:32 or we'll have someone that found us on the Internet, 40:36 you know, on our web page, and they'll call, 40:38 and they want to offer services like, 40:41 that's how our computer class is, 40:42 you know, about to get started. 40:44 A gentleman, he does that, 40:45 and he wants to help some people learn 40:47 like how to do computer classes, 40:48 so they can do applications and do their own online stuff. 40:52 So probably we have five main volunteers. 40:57 And then we might get between 15 and 20 41:01 throughout the month, 41:03 yeah. 41:04 And what are your plans for the future? 41:07 My plans are my vision, my desires, my dream. 41:11 I have a vision of having just a huge building 41:15 in Clarkston, right now, we're in a three, 41:17 you know, bedroom apartment, 41:19 where we can offer a lot more services. 41:22 And that way, we don't have to... 41:23 right now, we have to roll all the clothes 41:25 because we give about clothes every single day. 41:27 So we have to roll them all in the back 41:28 when we do tutoring and we do ESL classes. 41:31 So one day, I was like... What is ESL? 41:33 English, you know, speakers of other languages. 41:35 Yeah, the second language. 41:38 So offering them classes to learn English 41:41 because it's really hard as a parent 41:42 not to be able to communicate with your child's teacher 41:45 or to even make a doctor's appointment. 41:47 And that's where the empowerment comes in 41:50 because when you have to call someone, 41:51 let's say your son's sick 41:53 and you can't even call to make an appointment, 41:55 they call us. 41:57 And we're trying to empower the parents, 42:00 you know, we do the ESL classes. 42:02 Also, we would like to have like a box truck. 42:05 So right now, these are my goals of the future. 42:08 Right now, every time we go pick up, 42:10 we run a U-Haul, and it's crazy. 42:13 And, you know, just things like that that would allow us 42:17 to service more people 42:19 because the needs are there, 42:21 and our hearts are there, 42:23 it's just, you know, with the resources and stuff, 42:25 you just can't continue to do everything with, 42:29 tuition being our greatest thing. 42:32 Okay, so you are a 501(c)(3). 42:35 And which means 42:39 they are a non-profit organization. 42:43 I mean, what are you looking for? 42:45 Are you looking for volunteers? 42:47 What kind of things are you looking for? 42:49 Okay, sure. 42:50 Yes, so volunteers are always great 42:52 because the kids, 42:54 they don't get a lot of attention, 42:55 there's hundreds of kids, 42:57 and they, you know, just walk around a lot on their own. 43:00 So, you know, mentors for the kids, 43:03 is great to help with homework. 43:05 We have hours that you can come to our office. 43:08 And we'll have 15 to 20 to 30 kids 43:10 that need help with their homework 43:12 in the afternoons. 43:14 If someone knew of like a box truck that, 43:17 you know, they could give us, that would be great, 43:21 that we could pick up 'cause we go to the food bank, 43:23 maybe pick up food, 43:24 and then bring it out, we distribute it. 43:26 We pick up furniture, like let's say you're moving, 43:28 and you're going to get new furniture, 43:30 we have people sleep on the floor 43:31 even like, last night people slept on the floor, 43:33 they don't have furniture 'cause when you come 43:35 and you get some help, but you don't get furniture, 43:39 and stuff like that, or mattresses. 43:40 So we'll go and we'll pick up used mattresses and furniture. 43:43 And we bring them for the families, 43:45 probably 700 homes or apartments 43:47 are furnished from us 43:49 from, you know, the furniture that we pick up. 43:53 And, you know, also like a van, we have get 43:56 because we have the bus, 43:58 but obviously, you got to have a CDL license, 44:01 and so it's really hard, 44:02 our bus driver, actually, he's sick right now. 44:05 So it's really hard on us right now without him. 44:09 He's one of our main guys, you know. 44:11 So that's been really challenging for us. 44:13 And his sickness will be, 44:17 I mean, the prognosis is not good 44:20 for this H-4 situation. 44:22 So that's... So yeah. 44:26 And what else? Prayers for him. 44:28 Yeah, we have to pray for him. 44:29 So without him, it's really hard to pick up stuff 44:31 because what he would do is he would take the bus. 44:35 What else do we need for needs? 44:38 Yeah, we really love him, he's is the good guy. 44:39 I can tell. I can tell. 44:41 And it's hard when somebody is likeminded 44:44 and exhibits the same love. 44:49 You know, my thought is that as you're watching this... 44:53 One question first, is there still an influx of... 44:58 Are the refugees still coming? Yes. 45:00 Well, it's slowed down, but we still get... 45:01 It's slowed down because of the new administration rules 45:05 they had to shut it down completely. 45:07 But I think they're opening it up to half the number 45:11 that they used to, that used to come in every year. 45:14 So it's trickling in. 45:15 But yeah, they're still coming in. 45:17 You have any idea how many refugees are in that area? 45:20 There's thousands... 45:21 I know they get 2,000 every year in Clarkston, 45:23 new refugees. 45:25 That's amazing. Yeah. 45:26 And the mayor is really on board 45:29 with his subbed-in refugees, the mayor of Clarkston. 45:32 Amen. Amen. 45:33 Well, some of you who are watching my thought 45:36 is that particularly if you're in the Clarkston area 45:40 that you're thinking, 45:41 "Lord, there's something that I could do 45:44 just as the one who is coming in to give lessons 45:49 for the computer lessons." 45:51 Maybe you're thinking, "Hey, I could be an English tutor 45:54 for some of the parents 45:55 or I could be a mentor for some of the children, 45:58 help them with their homework." 46:00 Or maybe you've got a CDL license 46:03 and you could drive the bus. 46:06 We want to give you the opportunity 46:08 to get in touch with Marina and Kelli. 46:13 And this is FREE, 46:15 Friends of Refugee Education and Empowerment, 46:19 Providing Education and Empowerment. 46:21 Here's how you can get in touch with them. 46:24 FREE is dedicated to lifting up downtrodden refugees, 46:28 giving them hope and a future. 46:30 If you would like to help meet these families' desperate needs 46:34 for education, transportation to refugee-friendly schools, 46:38 and basic healthcare needs, 46:40 visit their website FreeRefugees.org. 46:43 That's FreeRefugees.org. 46:46 You may also call them at (404) 510-5354 46:52 or write to FREE, 46:54 2100 Riverside Parkway, 46:57 Suite 119 B, 186, 47:00 Lawrenceville, Georgia, 30043. 47:11 So I'm sure that they would love to hear from you 47:12 if you would like to volunteer, 47:14 or perhaps, you know of a box van 47:18 or maybe the Holy Spirit is just impressing you 47:21 to help fund this ministry. 47:23 Be sure to get in touch with them. 47:25 Well, right now we're going to have a second song 47:28 from Tammy Chance. 47:29 And to know Tammy is to love her. 47:33 And she's got a very special voice. 47:35 She's going to sing for us a kind of peppy tune, 47:38 "I've Never Loved Him Better." 47:53 Since Jesus came and found me 47:56 And He put His arms around me 47:59 And all my binding fetters took away 48:05 Although I've loved Him dearly 48:08 And trusted Him sincerely 48:11 I've never loved Him better than today 48:17 I've never loved Him better than today 48:23 I've never felt Him closer along the way 48:29 And O how sweet the feeling 48:32 When in His presence kneeling 48:35 I've never loved Him better than today 48:44 O blessed friend supernal 48:47 My hope and joy eternal 48:50 Keep now my soul 'til shadows flee away 48:56 Anoint me I would pray, Lord 48:59 Till end this pilgrim's way, Lord 49:02 I've never loved Him better than today 49:08 I've never loved Him better than today 49:14 I've never felt Him closer along a way 49:20 And O how sweet the feeling 49:23 When in His presence kneeling 49:26 I've never loved Him better than today 49:32 I've never loved Him better 49:35 No, I've never loved Him better 49:38 No, I've never loved Him better than today |
Revised 2018-01-25