I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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I want to spend my life
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Removing pain
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Lord, let my word
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Heal a heart that hurts
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I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn,
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and we welcome you
once again to 3ABN Today,
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The Mending
Broken People Network.
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And we just want to
take this opportunity
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to thank you so
much for your prayers
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and your love and
your financial support.
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And I'm very excited
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because we have a
very special guest today.
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And this is going to be
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an inspiring and
challenging interview.
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Before I introduce
him and what we're doing,
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let me read you a scripture.
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This is something...
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It's a story you know
but you may not know...
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You'll recognize the story,
you may not remember the name,
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and that is Mephibosheth.
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And Mephibosheth was
the grandson of Saul,
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he was the son of Jonathan
whom David loved so much.
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Mephi...
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I can't even say his name.
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Mephibosheth was made lame
when he was five years old.
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His nurse was
fleeing from the Philistines,
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carrying him, she
fell, he was crippled,
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and he had a life that
was just filled with disasters
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and
disappointments and anxieties.
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But when King David,
after he took over after Saul,
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got all of his affairs settled.
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He began looking to see
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if there were any
of Saul's relatives
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who were still left
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because he wanted to do
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something good
for the house of Saul
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just because of his great
brotherly love for Jonathan.
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And he sends them out
and they find Mephibosheth.
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And listen to what 2 Samuel 11,
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excuse me, 2 Samuel 9:11 says,
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"Then Ziba said to the king,'
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According to all
that my lord, the king,
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has commanded his servant,
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so your servant will do.'"
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King David had commanded him
to take care of Mephibosheth.
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"As for
Mephibosheth,' said the king,
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'he shall eat at my table
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like one of the king's sons.'"
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David reached out
to become passionate,
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to show love for
someone who had special needs,
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and that's what we're
going to be talking about today.
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Let me introduce our
special guest, Dr. Larry Evans,
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who is the Assistant
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to the General
Conference President
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for Special Needs Ministries.
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And, Doctor, I don't know
whether I should call you Larry
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or I don't know if I
should call you doctor
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or if I should call you
pastor, what should I call you?
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I'm used to Larry.
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Larry, it will be
that. Okay. Great.
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We're so excited
that you're here.
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Great. Yeah.
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And we're excited
about this ministry.
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We're going to, first,
have a song and come back.
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And Larry's very passionate
about what he's doing,
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but we'll get to
know a little bit
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about his personal life
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and then how God has translated
all of that love and concern
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into a special ministry.
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First, though we know
how much you love music
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and we have a precious
soul with us, Pam Lister.
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She will sing "Written in Red."
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In letters of crimson,
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God wrote His love
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On the hillside
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So long, long ago
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For you and for me
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Jesus died
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And love's greatest story
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Was told
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I love you
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That's what
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Calvary said
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I love you
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Written in red
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Down through the ages
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God wrote His love
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With the same hands
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That suffered and bled
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Giving all
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That He had to give
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A message
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So easily read
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I love you
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That's what
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Calvary said
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I love you
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Oh, precious
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Is the flow
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That makes me
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White as snow
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No other
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Fount I know
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Nothing but the blood
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The blood of Jesus
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I love you
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That's what
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Calvary said
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I love you
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Written
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In red
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I love that song, and we
thank Pam Lister for doing that.
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You know, Romans 5:8, Paul said
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that God demonstrated
His own love in this way
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is that He sent
His Son to die for us
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while we were yet sinners.
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So certainly, the
event of Calvary was just
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God saying to us, I love you.
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Well, if you're
joining us just a moment later,
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our special guest
today is Dr. Larry Evans.
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And he is an Assistant
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to the General
Conference President
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of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church
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for Special Needs Ministries.
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And, Larry, before we
get rocking and rolling here
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about this exciting ministry,
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we'd like to get to
know you a little bit better.
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Could you tell us,
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did you grow up in an
Adventist Christian home?
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What were your
formative years like?
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Well, that's an
interesting story.
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I grew up with a
mother who was a very devoted
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Seventh-day Adventist,
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who deeply loved the Lord.
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My father was a good person,
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but my father did
not always appreciate
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the Christian lifestyle,
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the Christian
message that we had.
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But you know, we
grew up with that.
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Most of my early
years were in public school.
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During those years,
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my mother would
take us to church
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some of the
time and we would go.
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And I was very influenced
by the Christian example
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of the people that I
saw in my Sabbath school.
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That was really good.
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Growing up was a
very interesting time
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because my
father progressively...
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I did not understand at
first but he progressively grew
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into more of a mental illness
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that really set
the stage for much of
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what was to take place at home.
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I saw verbal abuse,
some physical abuse.
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I was distraught.
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It got so bad at one
point that I ran away from home
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for a few days only to come back
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to face the
challenges that were there.
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But I didn't
understand all the implications
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of what a mental illness was.
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I just knew I was living
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with something that wasn't good.
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I remember, later in college,
going to speak to a professor
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who explained to me
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that the problem my dad had
would probably just get worse.
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I said, "What?"
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He said, "Yeah, it'll get worse,
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knowing the way this
kind of problem left."
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At that time, I
think he was diagnosed
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with schizophrenia, but...
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And the paranoia that
kind of went along with it.
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So he was fearful
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and yet he would
hear these voices.
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I remember him telling me,
"Do you hear those voices?"
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Of course, I did
not hear those voices.
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But all of that created
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a sense of
uncertainty and some fear.
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I don't know how my mother
lived with it at the time.
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But I have since
grown to understand
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that it was an illness
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and sometimes the
stigma of mental illness
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can create a problem
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so that we can't
really understand the person,
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we just see the symptoms
of what's being exhibited.
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And... And we feel so helpless.
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Oh, we feel helpless. Yeah.
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That's what happened.
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And then there's a
sense of embarrassment too
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because some of that is
acted out in a public way.
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Oh, I resonate with it so much
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because my
mother was diagnosed...
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I think it was more difficult
before she was diagnosed,
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but my mother was diagnosed
with bipolar when I was 16.
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And then once she
went on medication,
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life was
beginning to become normal
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except that she went
through cycles every 18 months
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which she went off at.
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So I do understand.
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I mean there were times
that things were so bad that...
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I remember, once I shook my fist
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in the face of the Lord
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because He didn't heal
her and I was mad at God.
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So I know what
you're talking about.
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Well, I don't
normally admit this
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but I remember
carrying a knife once
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that if I saw my father
one more time hurt my mother,
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then I was going to
take action into my hand.
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Fortunately, I didn't do that.
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But now that I can look
back at things from a distance,
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I understand who he was
and what he was going through.
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I had a brother who also
went through a similar thing.
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And during the last
several months of his life,
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he was very
consistent with his medicine,
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and he was a brother
like I never knew before.
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Very kind, very gentle,
a very wholesome brother.
00:14:01.90\00:14:05.74
I made a special trip,
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and actually I even
moved to be closer to him.
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Praise God.
00:14:09.98\00:14:11.31
And he gave his
heart to the Lord again.
00:14:11.35\00:14:15.08
And we had many
moments of prayer every time
00:14:15.12\00:14:16.99
he would see me.
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He said, "Larry, would
you please pray for me?"
00:14:18.39\00:14:20.46
Those are very
cherished moments for me.
00:14:20.49\00:14:22.22
Amen.
00:14:22.26\00:14:23.63
But they
weren't always that way.
00:14:23.66\00:14:26.06
And so I'm very sympathetic
00:14:26.09\00:14:29.43
or very understanding
for those individuals
00:14:29.46\00:14:31.73
who go through these
very traumatic things.
00:14:31.77\00:14:34.07
It's interesting, you said 16,
00:14:34.14\00:14:35.57
for me, it was
around 16-17 when things
00:14:35.60\00:14:38.31
really kind of
peaked a little bit for us.
00:14:38.34\00:14:40.98
It's a very
difficult time in your life.
00:14:41.01\00:14:42.84
But how did God
get a hold of you
00:14:42.88\00:14:47.22
because you went to school,
00:14:47.25\00:14:49.18
you got your doctorate
in divinity of our ministry.
00:14:49.22\00:14:54.52
So how did God get you?
00:14:54.56\00:14:57.23
When did it become real,
00:14:57.26\00:14:58.66
that connection
with you and God?
00:14:58.69\00:15:00.60
Well, it was rather...
00:15:00.63\00:15:01.96
That's a long story actually.
00:15:02.00\00:15:03.67
But different girls that I dated
00:15:03.70\00:15:07.47
introduced me in a new way.
00:15:07.54\00:15:11.11
They saw eventually
some of the underlining
00:15:11.14\00:15:13.88
that I was doing in some books
00:15:13.91\00:15:16.21
after I had kind of
given my life to God,
00:15:16.24\00:15:19.15
they saw what I had underlined.
00:15:19.18\00:15:20.72
And one particular
girl that I was dating said,
00:15:20.75\00:15:24.59
"Well, have you ever
thought of being a pastor?"
00:15:24.62\00:15:26.86
But what she didn't know
00:15:26.89\00:15:28.22
was that I once
shook my fist at God
00:15:28.26\00:15:29.79
and said, after I
was flunking Bible class,
00:15:29.82\00:15:32.69
I said, "The last
thing I'll ever be
00:15:32.73\00:15:34.66
is a preacher or a teacher."
00:15:34.70\00:15:36.36
I had no idea how
prophetic those words were
00:15:36.40\00:15:39.43
because it is
the love of my life.
00:15:39.47\00:15:42.74
And I look back
at some of the things
00:15:42.77\00:15:44.57
I went through
early on in my home,
00:15:44.61\00:15:47.58
not realizing at that moment,
00:15:47.61\00:15:49.38
of course, what a
benefit it would be to me
00:15:49.41\00:15:52.38
later on with what I do today
00:15:52.41\00:15:54.85
because it opens my
door for understanding.
00:15:54.88\00:15:58.32
But it's not
only mental illness,
00:15:58.35\00:15:59.69
there's a whole
range of special needs
00:15:59.72\00:16:02.19
that is so critical
for us to understand
00:16:02.22\00:16:05.93
and to have some kind of empathy
00:16:05.96\00:16:08.06
for what the people go through,
00:16:08.10\00:16:09.93
but not only the
people themselves,
00:16:09.96\00:16:12.40
but the
caregivers of those people.
00:16:12.43\00:16:14.34
Absolutely. Okay.
00:16:14.37\00:16:15.70
So let me just kind of
divert back just a second.
00:16:15.74\00:16:19.74
You had conference experience,
you had GC experience,
00:16:19.77\00:16:24.75
you were
getting ready to retire,
00:16:24.78\00:16:27.15
and the very program
that you have framed here
00:16:27.22\00:16:32.05
is the only reason
you haven't retired.
00:16:32.09\00:16:34.49
So tell us how this program...
00:16:34.52\00:16:37.66
You know, the
mission of our church
00:16:37.69\00:16:40.60
is to reach the unreached.
00:16:40.63\00:16:43.13
And there is a
huge people group,
00:16:43.16\00:16:46.84
a number of people
groups that have been unreached.
00:16:46.87\00:16:50.04
And you don't call this
a ministry of disability,
00:16:50.11\00:16:55.84
but a ministry of possibility.
00:16:55.88\00:16:58.51
Tell us how the Special
Needs Ministries was framed
00:16:58.55\00:17:03.39
and what you're doing.
00:17:03.42\00:17:04.75
Well, this idea of
Special Needs Ministries came
00:17:04.79\00:17:08.89
when I was basically
retiring at a previous
00:17:08.92\00:17:12.36
what we call a
General Conference Session.
00:17:12.39\00:17:14.70
And I had seen our
President Elder Wilson,
00:17:14.73\00:17:18.37
and he asked me
how things were going.
00:17:18.40\00:17:20.87
At that moment, I
had some challenges
00:17:20.94\00:17:24.24
but I refused to talk about them
00:17:24.31\00:17:26.04
and I said, "Well,
they're just doing just fine.
00:17:26.07\00:17:27.84
But by the way..."
00:17:27.88\00:17:29.98
'Cause at that time,
00:17:30.05\00:17:31.38
I had been
working with the deaf work
00:17:31.41\00:17:32.75
and God had really blessed that.
00:17:32.78\00:17:34.75
I said, "But
there are other groups
00:17:34.78\00:17:36.28
that we need to be addressing."
00:17:36.32\00:17:38.92
And I said, "I do
have a suggested strategy
00:17:38.95\00:17:41.59
that you might want to try.
00:17:41.62\00:17:43.29
He said, "Well, send it to me.
00:17:43.32\00:17:44.66
Let's talk about it."
00:17:44.69\00:17:46.03
So I sent it to him
00:17:46.06\00:17:47.40
and I went to his
office to talk to him about it
00:17:47.43\00:17:49.43
thinking I was leaving,
00:17:49.46\00:17:50.80
and he said, "Well, now, Larry,
I would like you to do this."
00:17:50.87\00:17:53.74
And so that's what I'm doing.
00:17:53.77\00:17:55.27
I've extended my time of service
00:17:55.30\00:17:58.74
until we can get
this ministry established.
00:17:58.77\00:18:01.38
But now Special
Needs Ministries,
00:18:01.41\00:18:04.75
which I prefer to
call Possibilities.
00:18:04.78\00:18:07.32
There's nothing wrong
with the word disability,
00:18:07.35\00:18:09.08
and for those who wish to
call it Disability Ministries,
00:18:09.12\00:18:11.45
that's fine, I understand it.
00:18:11.49\00:18:13.15
But for the purpose of
the work that we're doing,
00:18:13.19\00:18:16.66
I say Possibility Ministries,
00:18:16.73\00:18:18.96
who wants to be known
for what they cannot do.
00:18:18.99\00:18:23.57
Amen.
00:18:23.60\00:18:24.93
So I want to emphasize
what their possibilities are.
00:18:24.97\00:18:27.34
Absolutely.
00:18:27.37\00:18:28.70
So we look at
people through the eyes
00:18:28.74\00:18:30.71
of what are the possibilities.
00:18:30.74\00:18:32.71
Then maybe, sometimes,
00:18:32.74\00:18:34.08
when we had to deal
with some right issues,
00:18:34.11\00:18:35.78
we had to correct
some political problems
00:18:35.81\00:18:38.38
that there may be in our society
00:18:38.41\00:18:40.12
or whatever, I don't deny that,
00:18:40.15\00:18:41.82
sometimes, we
have to address that.
00:18:41.85\00:18:44.09
And the word disability
00:18:44.12\00:18:45.65
is certainly an inappropriate
word at times for them,
00:18:45.69\00:18:48.72
but we want to move beyond that.
00:18:48.76\00:18:50.73
So on behalf of
the world church,
00:18:50.76\00:18:53.06
I am giving the
emphasis of saying,
00:18:53.09\00:18:57.07
let's look at what that
person might be able to do.
00:18:57.10\00:19:00.67
If they were on their medicine,
00:19:00.74\00:19:02.30
if they had the right
kind of physical facilities
00:19:02.34\00:19:05.84
in the church or
home, what can they do?
00:19:05.87\00:19:07.78
Okay, talk about
the seven people groups
00:19:07.81\00:19:10.65
that make up what we
call Special Needs Ministries?
00:19:10.68\00:19:14.22
Well, this kind of grew...
00:19:14.25\00:19:16.35
It started off
with just the deaf
00:19:16.38\00:19:18.49
and then the next
obvious one is the blind.
00:19:18.52\00:19:21.32
How many deaf people
are there in the world?
00:19:21.36\00:19:23.73
In the world... That's hard.
00:19:23.76\00:19:25.09
If you were to say the
deaf and hard of hearing,
00:19:25.13\00:19:29.26
seriously hard of
hearing, there would be,
00:19:29.30\00:19:31.70
what the World
Health Organization calls,
00:19:31.73\00:19:33.64
360 million people.
00:19:33.67\00:19:35.24
Oh, my...
00:19:35.27\00:19:36.60
Of the actual deaf,
00:19:36.64\00:19:38.21
and I spell deaf in
this regard with a capital D
00:19:38.24\00:19:41.18
because we're talking
about deaf as a cultural group.
00:19:41.21\00:19:45.61
There is a difference between
the deaf as a cultural group
00:19:45.65\00:19:49.45
and people like me who are
losing their hearing with time.
00:19:49.48\00:19:54.16
They are a culture.
00:19:54.19\00:19:56.29
They are a
small linguistic group
00:19:56.32\00:20:00.70
because they have
their own language.
00:20:00.73\00:20:02.90
The deaf of this group
do not consider themselves
00:20:02.93\00:20:06.13
as having a disability.
00:20:06.17\00:20:08.10
They resent actually
being grouped with others
00:20:08.14\00:20:12.57
who have some kind
of physical disability
00:20:12.61\00:20:15.44
because their identity is
not in some kind of impairment
00:20:15.48\00:20:21.22
but rather the kind of culture
that they have established.
00:20:21.25\00:20:25.65
So as I travel around the world,
00:20:25.69\00:20:27.56
it's the same.
00:20:27.59\00:20:28.92
In fact, I have...
00:20:28.96\00:20:30.29
more than in one occasion,
I said, "How many of you,
00:20:30.33\00:20:32.36
if I had a magic wand
and I could wave it over you,
00:20:32.39\00:20:35.43
how many of you
would like to be hearing?"
00:20:35.46\00:20:39.13
Less than 50%.
00:20:39.17\00:20:40.64
That's interesting.
00:20:40.67\00:20:42.00
Yeah. Because why?
00:20:42.04\00:20:43.37
'Cause they would be
giving up their community.
00:20:43.41\00:20:44.97
They don't want to
give up that community.
00:20:45.01\00:20:46.88
And that has forced me to
see the deaf in a different way.
00:20:46.91\00:20:51.38
Is that a large
community of people or...
00:20:51.41\00:20:53.95
Well, the deaf themselves
00:20:54.02\00:20:55.35
probably if we
were to is between...
00:20:55.38\00:20:58.89
It's over 100
million in the world.
00:20:58.92\00:21:01.29
And what
percentage are Christians?
00:21:01.32\00:21:04.26
Out of the actual
deaf community, only 2%.
00:21:04.33\00:21:10.17
Oh, that's amazing.
00:21:10.20\00:21:12.27
So this becomes a real concern.
00:21:12.30\00:21:14.27
Surely.
00:21:14.30\00:21:15.64
But as we began
talking about these,
00:21:15.67\00:21:17.14
thinking about all
these different ministries,
00:21:17.21\00:21:20.18
I thought of a
statement that the...
00:21:20.21\00:21:22.38
Before we continue
'cause we've got the deaf...
00:21:22.41\00:21:25.48
You had seven people groups...
00:21:25.51\00:21:27.05
We got seven
groups, I'm gonna name here.
00:21:27.12\00:21:29.78
And that came about
00:21:29.82\00:21:31.19
because I read a
statement by a writer,
00:21:31.22\00:21:34.32
by the name of Ellen White,
00:21:34.36\00:21:37.26
one of the founders of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church,
00:21:37.33\00:21:39.73
and she made this statement,
00:21:39.76\00:21:41.93
"I saw that it is in
the providence of God
00:21:41.96\00:21:45.00
that widows and orphans,"
00:21:45.03\00:21:47.04
there's two groups,
"the blind and the deaf,"
00:21:47.07\00:21:49.90
there's four, "the
lame and persons afflicted
00:21:49.94\00:21:54.08
in a variety of
ways have been placed
00:21:54.11\00:21:56.75
in close Christian
relationship to His church."
00:21:56.78\00:21:59.85
And then she makes a
statement that bothered me.
00:21:59.88\00:22:03.72
"It is to prove his people
00:22:03.79\00:22:06.35
and develop
their true character."
00:22:06.39\00:22:09.32
All of a sudden, I am
no longer the teacher,
00:22:09.36\00:22:12.63
I am the learner
from these people.
00:22:12.66\00:22:15.20
Amen.
00:22:15.23\00:22:16.56
This is a whole
different paradigm,
00:22:16.60\00:22:17.93
a whole
different way of thinking
00:22:17.97\00:22:19.30
because there is a
condescending tendency
00:22:19.33\00:22:22.97
for those of us who
don't have a visible impairment
00:22:23.00\00:22:26.78
to think that we will
help these poor people.
00:22:26.81\00:22:30.45
When in reality, we
need to be the learners.
00:22:30.48\00:22:34.92
They have something to teach us.
00:22:34.95\00:22:36.89
So in brief, to
answer your question,
00:22:36.92\00:22:38.72
the seven areas that my ministry
00:22:38.75\00:22:40.96
or the General
Conference Ministry,
00:22:40.99\00:22:43.19
what we call, Special Needs,
00:22:43.22\00:22:44.56
that whole umbrella
covers the deaf, the blind,
00:22:44.59\00:22:48.43
those who are
physically disabled,
00:22:48.46\00:22:51.73
those who have a
mental impairment,
00:22:51.77\00:22:54.64
and that would
include all the way from,
00:22:54.67\00:22:56.71
like I mentioned earlier,
schizophrenia, bipolar, autism,
00:22:56.74\00:23:01.01
that whole range of
challenges that are there,
00:23:01.04\00:23:05.88
depression, of course,
00:23:05.91\00:23:07.25
is the biggest one that
we face around the world.
00:23:07.32\00:23:10.29
It's the most common everywhere.
00:23:10.32\00:23:12.02
It's very serious.
00:23:12.05\00:23:13.39
It can wreak havoc on families
and individuals of course
00:23:13.46\00:23:19.26
to some very serious
angst including suicide,
00:23:19.29\00:23:22.13
and we have to
address those issues today.
00:23:22.16\00:23:25.43
But in addition to
those are widows, I mean...
00:23:25.47\00:23:28.64
Well, widows and widowers,
00:23:28.67\00:23:31.81
what happens when a
person loses a spouse?
00:23:31.84\00:23:35.04
It's tragic. Yes.
00:23:35.08\00:23:36.95
Oftentimes, their
identity is made up as a couple.
00:23:36.98\00:23:40.55
They are no longer a couple.
00:23:40.62\00:23:42.25
Where do they find collegiality?
00:23:42.28\00:23:45.79
Where do they
find their identity
00:23:48.29\00:23:50.26
that they once lost as a couple?
00:23:50.33\00:23:52.76
So we're concerned about that.
00:23:52.79\00:23:55.20
And then we're also
concerned about orphans
00:23:55.23\00:23:57.60
and vulnerable children.
00:23:57.63\00:24:00.17
Orphans, children by themselves,
00:24:00.24\00:24:04.21
children with just one parent,
we look at the whole realm.
00:24:04.24\00:24:10.65
But that's not enough
because of my own experience,
00:24:10.68\00:24:14.15
my own growing up experience,
00:24:14.22\00:24:15.98
I said, "We need to
add another group here,
00:24:16.02\00:24:18.62
and that is caregivers."
00:24:18.65\00:24:20.56
Amen.
00:24:20.59\00:24:21.92
Those people who
are taking care of those
00:24:21.96\00:24:24.26
who have some kind of impairment
00:24:24.33\00:24:26.19
or some kind of disability,
00:24:26.23\00:24:28.40
how do we support them?
00:24:28.43\00:24:30.70
I have a son who
is a hospice nurse.
00:24:30.77\00:24:33.34
He can tell you
stories about individuals
00:24:33.37\00:24:37.61
who are trying to take
care of their loved ones
00:24:37.64\00:24:40.61
who are dying, for example.
00:24:40.68\00:24:43.14
How do we help them?
00:24:43.18\00:24:44.58
How do we give them
support through this?
00:24:44.61\00:24:47.02
Well, I'm certainly not
trained in all seven areas.
00:24:47.05\00:24:52.25
So what I've done is I've taken
00:24:52.29\00:24:54.29
each of those
seven areas and built,
00:24:54.32\00:24:56.36
what we call, a task force
group made up of specialists,
00:24:56.39\00:24:59.29
people who have
gone through this,
00:24:59.33\00:25:01.13
people who have trained
in that particular area.
00:25:01.16\00:25:05.90
How have you kept
this ministry under wraps?
00:25:05.93\00:25:08.10
I haven't heard about...
00:25:08.14\00:25:09.47
I knew about the deaf ministry.
00:25:09.50\00:25:10.84
Well, this is interesting,
00:25:10.91\00:25:12.24
that the president of
Loma Linda University,
00:25:12.27\00:25:13.98
Dr. Hart heard about
what we were doing at,
00:25:14.01\00:25:16.95
what we call,
our Annual Council.
00:25:16.98\00:25:18.68
He said, "Larry,
I'd like you to come."
00:25:18.71\00:25:20.62
And I went to Loma
Linda, and I met with the deans
00:25:20.65\00:25:23.59
of each of the schools
of medicine that they have,
00:25:23.62\00:25:27.56
the different categories.
00:25:27.59\00:25:29.42
And then I met
with them as a group.
00:25:29.46\00:25:31.79
No one in that group
had heard about this either.
00:25:31.83\00:25:34.70
Once they heard about it,
00:25:34.73\00:25:36.06
they became very
supportive and very excited.
00:25:36.10\00:25:38.70
Amen.
00:25:38.73\00:25:40.07
But right now
something very exciting...
00:25:40.14\00:25:42.40
I do get excited.
00:25:42.44\00:25:44.87
Get excited.
00:25:44.91\00:25:46.24
Because this is not a program,
00:25:46.27\00:25:47.98
I don't want this to
ever become a program.
00:25:48.01\00:25:51.25
I want this to be a
spontaneous grassroots movement.
00:25:51.28\00:25:55.12
But who's going to
carry that through?
00:25:55.15\00:25:57.09
I mean I am going to
retire one of these days,
00:25:57.12\00:25:58.92
I do need to spend some
time with my grandchildren,
00:25:58.95\00:26:01.59
and my dear wife, and my sons,
and my other family members,
00:26:01.62\00:26:05.43
I do want to do that.
00:26:05.46\00:26:06.93
But I can't leave this ministry
00:26:07.00\00:26:08.96
until there is a
foundation put in place.
00:26:09.00\00:26:12.00
So I ask myself, "How
can we get this started?"
00:26:12.03\00:26:15.27
For eight years,
00:26:15.30\00:26:16.64
I was the Undersecretary
of the World Church.
00:26:16.71\00:26:18.54
That meant I had
to know the policies,
00:26:18.57\00:26:20.88
that meant I had to understand
how the program was working,
00:26:20.91\00:26:23.85
how the
organization was working,
00:26:23.88\00:26:25.55
and all of those
intricate things.
00:26:25.58\00:26:29.82
But why in the world
was I put in that position?
00:26:29.85\00:26:32.52
Well, I have to say, though,
00:26:32.55\00:26:33.96
at least a major
reason is so that this work
00:26:33.99\00:26:37.43
that I'm doing now
could have a running start.
00:26:37.46\00:26:40.20
Amen.
00:26:40.23\00:26:41.56
And so right now
00:26:41.60\00:26:42.93
in all 13 divisions
of the World Church,
00:26:42.96\00:26:45.57
we have a representative
that works in that field
00:26:45.60\00:26:49.00
and there he
works with the unions
00:26:49.04\00:26:51.41
and the conferences
and the local churches.
00:26:51.44\00:26:53.81
So we now have, in place,
00:26:53.88\00:26:55.51
a very fine tuned
organization so that it can go,
00:26:55.54\00:27:00.82
and it is going very
well in most divisions.
00:27:00.85\00:27:04.12
And every division has
some form of this work going,
00:27:04.19\00:27:08.49
maybe not in all seven
areas but they are beginning.
00:27:08.52\00:27:13.33
I mean it takes a
while to get this going.
00:27:13.40\00:27:16.67
And so I do nothing but this.
00:27:16.70\00:27:18.67
Many of these people on these
other divisions are doing this,
00:27:18.70\00:27:22.00
plus there are
other responsibilities,
00:27:22.04\00:27:24.84
but it is going there,
there is a representation.
00:27:24.87\00:27:27.61
So my responsibility
is to get this going
00:27:27.64\00:27:30.68
where organization is one thing,
00:27:30.75\00:27:32.58
but how do you create a cause?
00:27:32.61\00:27:34.85
How do you get a cause going
00:27:34.88\00:27:36.32
so that people
who are carrying it
00:27:36.35\00:27:39.22
and saying, "It's time we speak
for these marginalized people?"
00:27:39.25\00:27:43.63
1.1 billion in the world
have a serious disability
00:27:43.66\00:27:48.76
or over 10% of
the world population.
00:27:48.80\00:27:52.50
We're all going to be
there if we live long enough.
00:27:52.53\00:27:55.60
So how do we put in place
00:27:55.64\00:27:57.87
something that
will carry its weight?
00:27:57.91\00:28:00.38
Well, I like to refer
to it as the Canadians do,
00:28:00.41\00:28:04.15
a ministry of compassion.
00:28:04.18\00:28:05.95
Amen.
00:28:05.98\00:28:07.32
See, we're not stuck on a name,
but we are stuck on a ministry.
00:28:07.35\00:28:11.55
And so what I'm doing now...
00:28:11.59\00:28:12.92
I just came from visiting
00:28:12.95\00:28:14.89
four colleges,
universities in India.
00:28:14.92\00:28:17.76
I'm on my way soon to
visit our university in Italy.
00:28:17.79\00:28:23.90
From there, I'll
go to England, the UK.
00:28:23.97\00:28:26.84
Next year, we're talking
about a major university,
00:28:26.87\00:28:31.17
Babcock University.
00:28:31.21\00:28:34.28
And the idea is young adults
will understand this need.
00:28:34.31\00:28:40.32
Speak up for those
people who cannot speak.
00:28:40.35\00:28:43.79
And that is one of the
biggest challenges we face.
00:28:43.82\00:28:46.76
And so I'm thinking
that we need to carry out
00:28:46.79\00:28:51.09
what the Bible says.
00:28:51.13\00:28:52.46
It says in Proverbs 31:8,
00:28:52.49\00:28:55.30
"Speak up for those who
cannot speak for themselves,
00:28:55.33\00:28:59.50
for the rights
of the destitute."
00:28:59.53\00:29:02.90
And you're right that the
young people of our church
00:29:02.94\00:29:05.51
because I think
the secular world...
00:29:05.54\00:29:08.78
Actually I mean these...
00:29:08.81\00:29:10.15
A lot of these issues
have almost become politicized,
00:29:10.18\00:29:12.98
but it seems like
the world in general
00:29:13.01\00:29:16.52
is more aware of
these special needs.
00:29:16.55\00:29:21.39
Unfortunately, in
many cases, the church...
00:29:21.42\00:29:26.23
And I'm speaking of the
body of Christ around the world,
00:29:26.26\00:29:28.76
no special denomination,
00:29:28.80\00:29:30.80
but the church at
large has pretty much
00:29:30.87\00:29:35.97
put these people on a
shelf in many instances.
00:29:36.00\00:29:39.14
Well, that is
true in many instances,
00:29:39.17\00:29:42.54
and part of it has to do,
00:29:42.58\00:29:43.95
if I may just be
specific for a moment,
00:29:43.98\00:29:46.72
part of it has to do
00:29:46.75\00:29:48.08
with a misunderstanding
of prepositions.
00:29:48.12\00:29:50.89
Let me explain.
00:29:50.92\00:29:52.82
The lowest form of service
00:29:52.85\00:29:55.29
or ministry that we can
do for anyone is to you.
00:29:55.32\00:29:58.83
"I would do this to you."
00:29:58.86\00:30:01.06
So it becomes very impersonal
and it's very condescending.
00:30:01.10\00:30:04.43
"It is something I do to you."
00:30:04.47\00:30:06.53
And no one likes that.
00:30:06.57\00:30:09.27
If you're going
to try to help me,
00:30:09.30\00:30:11.47
don't do to me.
00:30:11.51\00:30:13.61
The next preposition,
00:30:13.68\00:30:15.58
that is a little
bit better than that is
00:30:15.61\00:30:18.01
"I will do something for you."
00:30:18.05\00:30:20.02
"Oh, that's nice.
00:30:20.05\00:30:21.45
I'm glad you will
do something for me."
00:30:21.48\00:30:25.89
But if we really
want to do something
00:30:25.92\00:30:28.52
that's going to
make a difference,
00:30:28.56\00:30:30.43
we would do it with them.
00:30:30.46\00:30:32.49
That is good.
00:30:32.53\00:30:33.90
"I will do this with you."
00:30:33.93\00:30:35.33
"I need you to help me do
something for someone else."
00:30:35.36\00:30:40.34
Amen.
00:30:40.37\00:30:41.70
So it's a whole
different way of thinking.
00:30:41.74\00:30:43.91
So I need to recognize
00:30:43.94\00:30:45.71
that I need to include
these people in this ministry.
00:30:45.74\00:30:49.31
They come and they
become part of my ministry
00:30:49.34\00:30:54.12
and I am part of their ministry.
00:30:54.15\00:30:56.18
Amen.
00:30:56.22\00:30:57.59
I think of Camellia,
00:30:57.62\00:30:58.95
for example, a lady that I met
00:30:58.99\00:31:00.99
in a Special Needs
camp meeting in Romania.
00:31:01.02\00:31:04.86
Now, Camellia is blind.
00:31:04.89\00:31:10.00
Now I had talked about the blind
00:31:10.07\00:31:12.93
and I've done a lot
of talking about blind,
00:31:12.97\00:31:14.94
but I had never really spent
00:31:14.97\00:31:16.30
a whole lot of time
with a blind person.
00:31:16.34\00:31:18.64
So one day we were
out at a retreat setting,
00:31:18.67\00:31:23.28
and I went to her and I
said, "Could we go for a walk?"
00:31:23.35\00:31:26.82
Now I had read all the things
00:31:26.85\00:31:28.22
that you're
supposed to do to help,
00:31:28.25\00:31:29.58
and we do seminars about...
00:31:29.62\00:31:31.19
But I said...
00:31:31.22\00:31:32.55
So I put her hand on my
arm and we went for a walk.
00:31:32.59\00:31:35.89
And she said,
"You know, I notice
00:31:35.92\00:31:37.53
there is something around here.
00:31:37.56\00:31:39.26
What is this around here?"
00:31:39.29\00:31:41.23
And she said...
00:31:41.26\00:31:42.60
And I said, "There are
some very large mountains."
00:31:42.63\00:31:45.77
She could sense the mountains.
00:31:45.80\00:31:47.64
Yes.
00:31:47.67\00:31:49.24
And I took her hand
00:31:49.27\00:31:50.91
and I put it way up to
the top of the mountain,
00:31:50.94\00:31:53.68
and I told her
how far away that was.
00:31:53.71\00:31:56.61
She said, "Wow!
That's a big one."
00:31:56.64\00:31:58.55
I said, "It is."
00:31:58.58\00:32:00.02
She says, "Well, what
color is the sky, and I laughed.
00:32:00.05\00:32:03.82
I said, "You're blind,
00:32:03.89\00:32:05.22
what would you know
about color of the sky?"
00:32:05.25\00:32:07.46
She says, "Tell it to
me in tones of sound."
00:32:07.49\00:32:11.89
I said, "What do you mean?"
00:32:11.93\00:32:13.26
She says, "With treble
would be a light color.
00:32:13.29\00:32:17.83
If it's base, it would
be more of a dark color."
00:32:17.87\00:32:22.37
And so I began to
describe the colors of the sky
00:32:22.40\00:32:28.14
by the sounds that
we could both hear.
00:32:28.18\00:32:31.15
How interesting.
00:32:31.18\00:32:32.51
I began thinking about that.
00:32:32.55\00:32:34.02
And then she says,
"Take me over to a tree,
00:32:34.05\00:32:36.89
I want to see
what it smells like."
00:32:36.92\00:32:39.05
Well, I don't know how
many trees I've walked by
00:32:39.09\00:32:40.86
but I never thought
to stop and smell a tree,
00:32:40.89\00:32:43.83
I will smell
flowers, but a tree?
00:32:43.86\00:32:45.79
And so I took her over there
00:32:45.83\00:32:47.20
and she reached up
and grabbed hold of...
00:32:47.23\00:32:49.06
and broke some
needles and began to smell.
00:32:49.10\00:32:51.70
She said, "This one
doesn't have much smell."
00:32:51.73\00:32:53.74
She's obviously
smelled these before.
00:32:53.77\00:32:55.67
I took her to a different tree.
00:32:55.70\00:32:57.41
"Oh!
00:32:57.44\00:32:58.81
Smell this. Doesn't
this smell different?"
00:32:58.84\00:33:01.74
And then what was taking place
is what Stephen Covey says,
00:33:01.78\00:33:05.68
"Seek first to understand,
then to be understood."
00:33:05.71\00:33:11.42
Yes.
00:33:11.45\00:33:12.79
Before I could expect her
to understand what I'm about,
00:33:12.82\00:33:16.86
I needed to
first understand her.
00:33:16.93\00:33:19.29
That's precious.
00:33:19.33\00:33:21.83
Later on, when we got back
to where the main hotel was
00:33:21.86\00:33:27.70
where we were staying,
00:33:27.74\00:33:29.57
she came to me and she said,
00:33:29.60\00:33:30.97
"Larry, I would like to
be part of your ministry.
00:33:31.01\00:33:35.91
What can I do?"
00:33:35.94\00:33:37.91
I said, "What do you mean?"
00:33:37.95\00:33:39.28
No, no, no, she wasn't
being asked to be treated,
00:33:39.31\00:33:44.32
she was being asked to
be involved, to be included.
00:33:44.35\00:33:48.62
To be useful, to have a purpose.
00:33:48.66\00:33:50.03
So inclusion is a big,
big word in my ministry.
00:33:50.06\00:33:53.26
How do we include these people,
00:33:53.29\00:33:56.13
not just do
something to them or for them,
00:33:56.16\00:34:00.54
but rather how can
we do it with them?
00:34:00.57\00:34:03.91
She was
Romanian and I asked her,
00:34:03.94\00:34:08.41
"You speak very good English
and you speak Romanian too,
00:34:08.44\00:34:14.32
would it be possible for you
00:34:14.35\00:34:16.52
to translate
something in English,
00:34:16.55\00:34:19.69
that's written in English,
00:34:19.72\00:34:21.12
into Romanian to help the deaf?"
00:34:21.16\00:34:25.23
She said, "I
would love to do that."
00:34:25.26\00:34:27.10
Praise God.
00:34:27.13\00:34:28.46
And I gave her this
manuscript in English
00:34:28.50\00:34:31.50
and she translated it,
00:34:31.53\00:34:33.17
and it will soon be in
Romanian to help the deaf.
00:34:33.20\00:34:36.84
So here we have a blind person
helping a deaf group of people.
00:34:36.91\00:34:43.55
And she's growing,
00:34:43.58\00:34:45.95
I mean she's spreading the word,
00:34:45.98\00:34:47.98
she's personally growing,
00:34:48.02\00:34:50.19
and she's certainly
taught you something.
00:34:50.22\00:34:52.05
So tell us this
strategy of your ministry.
00:34:52.09\00:34:55.39
You have three A's.
00:34:55.42\00:34:57.13
Well, yes, we
want to make it simple.
00:34:57.16\00:34:59.93
How do we make a ministry
00:35:00.00\00:35:03.37
so that it can be
involved at the local church,
00:35:03.40\00:35:06.77
the local conference,
or wherever it may be?
00:35:06.84\00:35:11.21
I was in a meeting
00:35:11.24\00:35:12.71
and I was being
asked to share a strategy
00:35:12.74\00:35:15.08
and I said, "Lord, please,
00:35:15.11\00:35:17.05
I need to come
up with something."
00:35:17.08\00:35:19.01
And so we came up
with, what we call,
00:35:19.05\00:35:21.62
a three A strategy.
00:35:21.65\00:35:23.18
Simply put is this,
then I'll explain it.
00:35:23.22\00:35:26.52
We need to create
a sense of awareness.
00:35:26.55\00:35:29.06
Okay.
00:35:29.09\00:35:30.63
What are the needs?
00:35:30.66\00:35:32.19
What's there?
00:35:32.23\00:35:33.90
The second part is somewhat
00:35:33.93\00:35:35.96
similar to what I just shared
was we need to be accepting.
00:35:36.00\00:35:40.74
So awareness, accepting.
00:35:40.77\00:35:44.34
How do we learn to be
accepting of these people
00:35:44.37\00:35:48.54
and we being acceptable to them?
00:35:48.58\00:35:51.68
It's a two-way street.
00:35:51.71\00:35:53.62
And then the third A is action.
00:35:53.65\00:35:56.89
What kind of action
plan do we need to develop
00:35:56.92\00:36:02.26
by which we can
create a wider net,
00:36:02.29\00:36:05.89
a wider sense of inclusion?
00:36:05.93\00:36:08.63
So if a person
has a mental illness,
00:36:08.66\00:36:11.87
someone who is autistic,
00:36:11.90\00:36:14.57
for example, how
do we involve them?
00:36:14.60\00:36:19.21
They have, by nature,
00:36:19.24\00:36:21.18
a strange way of
relating in relationships,
00:36:21.21\00:36:26.92
but they have a
very deep concern,
00:36:26.95\00:36:30.59
they care very deeply,
they just have a very hard time
00:36:30.62\00:36:34.16
expressing it in
societal acceptable ways.
00:36:34.19\00:36:40.30
They feel rejected.
00:36:40.33\00:36:41.83
They know they're different
but they feel it deep inside.
00:36:41.86\00:36:45.97
My grandson has
deep feelings inside.
00:36:46.00\00:36:49.94
And so what I have
discovered, just real briefly,
00:36:50.01\00:36:54.51
in the area of acceptance
from a biblical perspective
00:36:54.54\00:36:57.25
because this
ministry has to be built
00:36:57.28\00:37:00.05
on a biblical foundation.
00:37:00.12\00:37:02.62
I think of the time
00:37:02.65\00:37:03.99
when Jesus was
walking to Jericho
00:37:04.02\00:37:06.25
and He found a blind man
00:37:06.29\00:37:07.66
sitting by the roadside begging.
00:37:07.69\00:37:10.83
The disciples told him
to be quiet, "Be quiet.
00:37:10.86\00:37:14.00
You're bothering the Master.
00:37:14.03\00:37:15.80
He's got other
big things to do."
00:37:15.83\00:37:19.43
Jesus turned to the
man and He accepted him.
00:37:19.47\00:37:25.11
I got ahead of myself,
00:37:25.14\00:37:26.47
the awareness
one is the first one.
00:37:26.51\00:37:28.21
And Jesus told the
disciples, "Look out there,
00:37:28.24\00:37:31.05
the fields are
white with harvest."
00:37:31.08\00:37:32.81
Yes.
00:37:32.85\00:37:34.98
I've got so
many stories to tell.
00:37:35.02\00:37:37.39
We just don't realize it.
00:37:37.42\00:37:39.42
I just came from
Rwanda and Kenya.
00:37:39.45\00:37:41.62
Rwanda, they were
walking on crutches
00:37:41.66\00:37:44.46
after they were recognized,
00:37:44.49\00:37:46.83
walking with crutches
into the water to be baptized.
00:37:46.90\00:37:49.90
Praise God.
00:37:49.93\00:37:51.27
Other people would be
carrying into the water.
00:37:51.30\00:37:53.44
And I'm standing up
there watching this take place
00:37:53.47\00:37:56.91
and I'm thinking to myself,
00:37:56.94\00:37:58.44
"God, these people
have been here all along,
00:37:58.47\00:38:01.81
we just haven't seen them."
00:38:01.84\00:38:03.21
Amen.
00:38:03.24\00:38:04.58
The harvest has been white,
we just haven't seen them.
00:38:04.61\00:38:08.22
And tears filled my eyes
00:38:08.25\00:38:10.32
because these people
were ready all along,
00:38:10.39\00:38:13.96
we were the slow
ones, they were ready.
00:38:13.99\00:38:16.56
And these are the people
that Christ was reaching out
00:38:16.59\00:38:19.53
throughout His ministry.
00:38:19.56\00:38:20.90
There is no way, Shelley,
00:38:20.93\00:38:22.26
that Jesus will come
00:38:22.30\00:38:23.67
until these
people have a chance.
00:38:23.70\00:38:25.03
Amen.
00:38:25.07\00:38:26.40
And so then after that
comes this idea of acceptance
00:38:26.43\00:38:29.27
and this story
that I was beginning
00:38:29.30\00:38:30.74
to tell about this man
who was blind and by Jericho.
00:38:30.81\00:38:34.94
And Jesus said, "This man,
00:38:34.98\00:38:40.72
let me listen to him."
00:38:40.75\00:38:43.32
And He did.
00:38:43.39\00:38:45.45
After He did that
and He healed the man.
00:38:45.49\00:38:49.82
The Bible says in Luke 18:43,
00:38:49.86\00:38:53.19
"The people saw it
and they praised God."
00:38:53.23\00:38:56.77
You see, when we
take care of those
00:38:56.80\00:38:59.97
whom the world calls "disabled"
00:39:00.04\00:39:02.47
but whom we see
having great possibilities,
00:39:02.50\00:39:06.07
the people praise God, not us,
00:39:06.11\00:39:08.54
not Larry Evans, not
the General Conference,
00:39:08.58\00:39:10.85
not the
Seventh-day Adventist Church,
00:39:10.88\00:39:12.61
they praise God
00:39:12.65\00:39:14.02
because these people
have not been neglected.
00:39:14.05\00:39:17.29
And that shines
00:39:17.32\00:39:18.65
a whole new light on
this ministry, doesn't it?
00:39:18.69\00:39:20.36
It does.
00:39:20.39\00:39:21.72
When you think of possibilities,
00:39:21.76\00:39:23.53
you don't think of
what's holding them back,
00:39:23.56\00:39:26.33
you think of what
they can go forward
00:39:26.36\00:39:28.03
and become and do for God.
00:39:28.06\00:39:30.37
And in the
process, God gets the glory,
00:39:30.40\00:39:33.84
God gets the credit.
00:39:33.87\00:39:35.20
Amen. It changes.
00:39:35.24\00:39:36.71
I can't tell you, Shelley,
00:39:36.81\00:39:38.14
how much this
ministry is changing me.
00:39:38.17\00:39:40.11
You know, I want to get
to that one but I'm just...
00:39:40.18\00:39:44.15
I mentioned this on 3ABN before,
00:39:44.18\00:39:47.35
I'm so excited
though to hear you say about
00:39:47.42\00:39:51.69
trying to reach the young people
00:39:51.72\00:39:53.56
to become involved in this.
00:39:53.59\00:39:55.52
When we had picked
somebody up who was come...
00:39:55.56\00:39:58.59
We had been at GYC,
00:39:58.63\00:40:00.10
and we were giving somebody
a ride back from the airport.
00:40:00.13\00:40:03.60
And I was just so
enthused after GYC,
00:40:03.67\00:40:06.67
and I turned around,
00:40:06.74\00:40:08.07
she's in the
backseat and I said,
00:40:08.10\00:40:10.01
"How do we keep the young
people involved in the church?"
00:40:10.04\00:40:13.48
She didn't blink,
00:40:13.51\00:40:14.84
she didn't take a
breath, she just said...
00:40:14.88\00:40:17.88
I said, "How do we keep
them from leaving the church?"
00:40:17.91\00:40:20.42
And she said, "Get us involved."
00:40:20.45\00:40:23.62
See, what you just said...
00:40:23.69\00:40:27.06
When we bring people in,
these unreached people groups,
00:40:27.09\00:40:31.86
giving the blind woman
the opportunity to minister,
00:40:31.89\00:40:35.93
getting people involved
00:40:35.96\00:40:38.67
is what does develop
their character for Christ.
00:40:38.70\00:40:42.00
This is why...
00:40:42.04\00:40:43.41
Your quote earlier,
00:40:43.44\00:40:44.77
that this is how
we develop character
00:40:44.81\00:40:47.78
is when we're
ministering to others,
00:40:47.81\00:40:49.71
but we've got to give
them that opportunity.
00:40:49.74\00:40:52.18
And it's exciting to me
00:40:52.21\00:40:54.22
that you're
seeing the possibility
00:40:54.25\00:40:56.25
of what all these people can do,
00:40:56.28\00:40:58.09
but it's also
exciting that you are kind of
00:40:58.12\00:41:00.99
got your sights
on the young people
00:41:01.02\00:41:04.69
to get them involved in doing.
00:41:04.73\00:41:07.30
Well, we haven't
actually hold seminars, Shelley,
00:41:07.33\00:41:09.76
we're talking about how
people can get involved.
00:41:09.80\00:41:11.47
But you'd mention young people,
00:41:11.50\00:41:13.10
for example, they are
some of the fastest ones
00:41:13.13\00:41:15.84
to learn how to
do sign language.
00:41:15.87\00:41:17.51
Amen.
00:41:17.54\00:41:18.87
So we have...
00:41:18.91\00:41:20.48
Unless people know
how to communicate,
00:41:20.51\00:41:23.18
it's going to be very difficult.
00:41:23.21\00:41:24.85
But simple conversational
signing is possible.
00:41:24.88\00:41:29.88
They can even go on
the Internet and find that.
00:41:29.92\00:41:32.92
And I have discovered,
00:41:32.95\00:41:34.29
even though I
don't sign very fluently,
00:41:34.32\00:41:35.72
I know the
alphabet and a few signs,
00:41:35.76\00:41:38.43
when I meet with a
group of deaf young people
00:41:38.46\00:41:41.83
and they know that I
know how to sign my name,
00:41:41.86\00:41:43.77
for example...
00:41:43.80\00:41:45.13
I have my own sign for my name
that the deaf have given to me.
00:41:45.17\00:41:50.34
And when we
begin to communicate,
00:41:50.41\00:41:52.04
there is a
spontaneity of spark and joy
00:41:52.07\00:41:56.58
because there is someone trying,
00:41:56.61\00:41:58.21
even if you can't do it.
00:41:58.25\00:41:59.88
And if they find a blind person,
00:41:59.91\00:42:01.58
for example, take
him for a walk and say,
00:42:01.62\00:42:05.72
"What can I do for you?"
00:42:05.75\00:42:09.02
Another illustration
from the same person,
00:42:09.06\00:42:10.83
walked out of a
Special Needs camp meeting,
00:42:10.86\00:42:12.83
she says, "What can I do?"
00:42:12.86\00:42:14.20
She did this on her own.
00:42:14.23\00:42:15.60
And she ran into...
00:42:15.63\00:42:16.97
I don't know if she
actually ran into him,
00:42:17.00\00:42:18.73
but she found a
person in a wheelchair.
00:42:18.77\00:42:21.70
Now a person who was
disabled could not walk
00:42:21.74\00:42:24.94
and she said to him,
"Could I take you for a walk?"
00:42:24.97\00:42:28.84
Oh, glory to God.
00:42:28.88\00:42:30.35
So here is this blind person
00:42:30.38\00:42:31.95
who cannot see
where they're going,
00:42:31.98\00:42:34.05
but she's pushing the wheelchair
00:42:34.12\00:42:35.85
and he guides it.
00:42:35.88\00:42:37.92
Now they're both benefiting
00:42:37.95\00:42:39.65
from the ministry of each other.
00:42:39.69\00:42:41.02
Amen. Amen.
00:42:41.06\00:42:42.39
So it's that kind of thing.
00:42:42.42\00:42:43.93
Tell us real quickly
00:42:43.96\00:42:45.29
cause, boy, we're
getting down here to the time.
00:42:45.33\00:42:47.00
Oh, yeah. Tell us about...
00:42:47.03\00:42:49.33
You shared a
story in the green room,
00:42:49.36\00:42:51.53
about the deaf boy
who went to church.
00:42:51.57\00:42:54.97
Tell that story?
00:42:55.00\00:42:56.81
This story is one that
is very sobering to me.
00:42:56.84\00:43:02.04
And it happened early on.
00:43:02.08\00:43:04.28
I'm convinced
that it is something
00:43:04.31\00:43:06.08
that God
brought into my pathway.
00:43:06.11\00:43:10.59
I was traveling
into South Africa
00:43:10.62\00:43:13.76
and in a small
country landlocked
00:43:13.79\00:43:15.99
country called Lesotho.
00:43:16.02\00:43:17.99
And I phoned ahead and said,
00:43:18.03\00:43:20.00
"Listen, if it
would be possible,
00:43:20.03\00:43:22.83
could I visit some deaf
while we're down there?"
00:43:22.86\00:43:25.97
At that time, I was
responsible for the deaf.
00:43:26.00\00:43:28.17
I had another job as well,
00:43:28.20\00:43:30.31
but I was responsible for
the deaf around the world.
00:43:30.34\00:43:33.58
And they said, "Well,
we'll see what we can find."
00:43:33.61\00:43:36.24
Well, they
discovered that we had
00:43:36.28\00:43:37.65
no Seventh-day
Adventist deaf there.
00:43:37.68\00:43:40.22
And so they made
arrangements for me
00:43:40.25\00:43:46.05
to go to a vocational school.
00:43:46.09\00:43:48.12
This was a government
school, not a Christian school.
00:43:48.16\00:43:51.56
And while I was there, I walked
in there, just walked around,
00:43:51.59\00:43:56.80
I just wanted to see
the layout of the place.
00:43:56.87\00:43:59.27
And then I
said, "While I'm here,
00:43:59.30\00:44:01.37
I'll go talk to
the administrator."
00:44:01.40\00:44:02.74
I walked in, a woman,
00:44:02.77\00:44:04.91
a young lady as an administrator
00:44:04.94\00:44:06.98
there in a
wheelchair, very fitting.
00:44:07.01\00:44:09.44
And we talked, had
a nice conversation,
00:44:09.48\00:44:12.31
then she said,
"You know, we better go
00:44:12.35\00:44:13.92
because they're expecting
you to come and visit...
00:44:13.95\00:44:16.42
talk to them."
00:44:16.45\00:44:17.79
I said, "I wasn't
planning on talking.
00:44:17.82\00:44:19.15
I was just...
00:44:19.19\00:44:20.56
I wasn't expecting that."
00:44:20.59\00:44:22.96
And so I went there.
It wasn't a large school.
00:44:22.99\00:44:27.60
Maybe there were only 40 or so.
00:44:27.63\00:44:29.60
And as I began talking...
00:44:29.63\00:44:34.07
I tried to introduce
myself, I said, "Hello. Hello."
00:44:34.14\00:44:37.64
And everything just garbled.
00:44:37.67\00:44:39.44
I was trying to avoid anything
00:44:39.47\00:44:41.18
with a Christian
influence because...
00:44:41.21\00:44:42.98
Because you're used
to the United States.
00:44:43.01\00:44:44.71
I'm used to United States,
00:44:44.75\00:44:46.08
it was a
government place and all this.
00:44:46.11\00:44:47.78
And finally, I just
gave up, I said, "Hello.
00:44:47.82\00:44:50.69
My name is Larry Evans.
00:44:50.72\00:44:52.25
I've come here to tell
you that even if you're blind,
00:44:52.29\00:44:55.96
even if you can't see, you
can't talk, you can't hear,
00:44:55.99\00:44:59.73
you can't walk, you
can't do those things,
00:44:59.76\00:45:02.36
I still believe,
00:45:02.40\00:45:03.77
and I've come here to tell you
00:45:03.80\00:45:05.47
that you are still
created in the image of God."
00:45:05.50\00:45:09.44
There was just silence,
00:45:09.47\00:45:11.34
just an absolute
silence over the group.
00:45:11.37\00:45:13.78
And they looked stunned.
00:45:13.81\00:45:16.01
I wasn't sure
why at that moment.
00:45:16.04\00:45:17.95
Of course, you're
using an interpreter.
00:45:17.98\00:45:20.65
Some of them were deaf
and some of them weren't.
00:45:20.72\00:45:23.02
So it was a mixed group,
but, yeah, there were a number.
00:45:23.05\00:45:27.66
And at this time, a
young boy raised his hand.
00:45:27.69\00:45:32.49
He was deaf, and he spoke
to me through his interpreter.
00:45:32.53\00:45:36.50
He says,
"You'll be happy to know
00:45:36.53\00:45:39.17
that I went to
church this last Sunday
00:45:39.20\00:45:41.74
for the first time in my life."
00:45:41.77\00:45:43.61
I said, "Wow! That's exciting."
00:45:43.64\00:45:46.88
And I said,
"Well, how did it go?"
00:45:46.91\00:45:50.38
And he then kind of looked down,
00:45:50.45\00:45:52.15
he said, "Well, they told me
00:45:52.18\00:45:53.92
they didn't have
anything for me."
00:45:53.95\00:45:56.69
I said, "What? Just a minute.
00:45:56.72\00:45:58.62
You went to
church this last Sunday
00:45:58.65\00:46:01.09
for the first time
00:46:01.12\00:46:02.46
and you were told that
00:46:02.49\00:46:03.83
they didn't have
anything for you.
00:46:03.86\00:46:05.19
You went to learn about Jesus
00:46:05.23\00:46:06.90
and they said they
didn't have anything for you."
00:46:06.93\00:46:12.57
And I can't tell you how
much that troubled me later on.
00:46:12.60\00:46:14.97
But soon afterwards, a
young girl who could speak
00:46:15.00\00:46:19.07
and could hear, I don't
know what her "disability" was,
00:46:19.11\00:46:22.78
but she said, "We
want to thank you,"
00:46:22.81\00:46:24.78
and she couldn't
even finish saying
00:46:24.81\00:46:26.58
how much she
appreciated me coming there.
00:46:26.61\00:46:29.82
But it was the message that
we had that was so important
00:46:29.85\00:46:33.46
that she wanted to hear.
00:46:33.49\00:46:35.42
And she then said...
00:46:35.46\00:46:38.29
She couldn't even finish.
00:46:38.33\00:46:41.03
And on the way out,
00:46:41.06\00:46:42.70
I talked with the administrator.
00:46:42.73\00:46:44.37
And she said, "You
know, before you came,
00:46:44.40\00:46:46.03
we decided we probably
wouldn't let anyone else come."
00:46:46.07\00:46:51.61
And I said, "So you
almost didn't let me come?"
00:46:51.64\00:46:54.88
And she said, "That's right."
00:46:54.91\00:46:56.61
I said, "I hope I
didn't say anything wrong."
00:46:56.64\00:46:58.21
"No, no, no,
don't worry about that.
00:46:58.25\00:47:00.75
But the last religious
group that was here came
00:47:00.82\00:47:04.19
because they believe that
anyone who had a disability,"
00:47:04.22\00:47:07.26
any of those seven that
I named in our ministry,
00:47:07.29\00:47:11.16
"if they had a disability,
00:47:11.19\00:47:13.60
then they believe
that you had a demon."
00:47:13.63\00:47:16.30
Oh, that's so horrible.
00:47:16.33\00:47:17.67
And so they came to...
00:47:17.70\00:47:19.03
They went to cast the demon out.
00:47:19.07\00:47:20.84
I went because of my
understanding of creation.
00:47:20.87\00:47:24.41
I went to tell them
00:47:24.44\00:47:25.77
that they were
created in the image of Lord
00:47:25.81\00:47:28.01
even though if
they couldn't hear.
00:47:28.04\00:47:29.38
Glory to God. Amen and amen.
00:47:29.41\00:47:31.11
Ah, our time has
just gone away so quickly.
00:47:31.15\00:47:35.08
Okay.
00:47:35.12\00:47:36.45
There is awareness,
00:47:36.48\00:47:37.89
there is acceptance, and action.
00:47:37.92\00:47:40.86
Tell us how.
00:47:40.89\00:47:42.22
Are you creating materials?
00:47:42.26\00:47:43.63
I mean there are
personal ministries,
00:47:43.66\00:47:45.86
directors at churches,
00:47:45.89\00:47:47.50
there are people
who are watching this,
00:47:47.53\00:47:50.07
pastors, maybe
Conference presidents,
00:47:50.10\00:47:53.23
people who are at
home that have been saying,
00:47:53.27\00:47:55.54
"I want a ministry, Lord.
00:47:55.57\00:47:58.07
How can You use me?"
00:47:58.11\00:48:00.08
How can people become involved?
00:48:00.11\00:48:01.88
Well, this is very important.
00:48:01.91\00:48:03.24
And, of course, like
I said at the beginning,
00:48:03.28\00:48:05.35
at every division
level, we have a person
00:48:05.38\00:48:08.48
who is responsible
for that whole division,
00:48:08.52\00:48:11.72
multiple countries.
00:48:11.75\00:48:13.19
I travel all the
time far too much,
00:48:13.22\00:48:16.16
traveling to
different countries,
00:48:16.19\00:48:17.66
different divisions,
speaking, doing seminars.
00:48:17.69\00:48:20.93
I now have a
part-time associate,
00:48:20.96\00:48:24.20
I get him for 30 days a year.
00:48:24.27\00:48:27.14
I'm hoping to
change that full time.
00:48:27.17\00:48:29.24
But right now, I get 30 days
a year from Pastor Jeff Jordan.
00:48:29.27\00:48:33.71
When I was a
Conference President,
00:48:33.78\00:48:35.11
he was one of my pastors.
00:48:35.14\00:48:36.75
Jeff is a deaf person.
00:48:36.78\00:48:40.42
He's the only Adventist
deaf pastor in the world church
00:48:40.45\00:48:43.59
with a Master of Divinity.
00:48:43.62\00:48:44.95
Imagine
studying Greek and Hebrew
00:48:44.99\00:48:48.59
and not being able to hear.
00:48:48.62\00:48:49.96
That's amazing.
00:48:50.03\00:48:51.36
His wife is his interpreter.
00:48:51.39\00:48:52.73
Wow!
00:48:52.76\00:48:54.10
So he works with me
a lot with the deaf,
00:48:54.13\00:48:55.56
but we've got a whole range
of individuals who can help.
00:48:55.60\00:48:59.87
They can write to me
00:48:59.90\00:49:01.54
at my General Conference office.
00:49:01.57\00:49:04.01
And we'll put
all that information
00:49:04.04\00:49:06.21
up in here in a minute.
00:49:06.24\00:49:07.71
Okay. But do you have...
00:49:07.74\00:49:09.81
Are you
developing training tools?
00:49:09.84\00:49:13.45
Are there any training seminars?
00:49:13.52\00:49:14.85
We have ministries.
00:49:14.88\00:49:18.22
This is still a new ministry
but we do have materials
00:49:18.25\00:49:21.22
that we can send that
would give some acquaintance,
00:49:21.26\00:49:24.16
especially in the
area of deaf ministry,
00:49:24.23\00:49:26.03
we have some of that.
00:49:26.06\00:49:27.60
We're developing
Special Needs Ministries, yes.
00:49:27.63\00:49:30.87
But large, a lot of it has
to do with creating awareness
00:49:30.90\00:49:35.47
and then developing
action plans from that.
00:49:35.50\00:49:38.81
The most important thing
is people can befriend people,
00:49:38.84\00:49:42.61
let them know
that they have a sense.
00:49:42.64\00:49:44.25
See, inclusion
by itself could mean
00:49:44.28\00:49:46.58
just having somebody on a list,
00:49:46.61\00:49:48.88
but we want them to
have a sense of belonging.
00:49:48.92\00:49:51.75
So inclusions got to be
more than my name on a list,
00:49:51.79\00:49:56.52
but they will be included.
00:49:56.56\00:49:58.39
We want their feet
00:49:58.43\00:49:59.76
under the table of the
planning of the church.
00:49:59.79\00:50:02.63
We want them in our pathways.
00:50:02.66\00:50:04.67
We want them in our pathways,
we want them on our planning,
00:50:04.70\00:50:07.27
we want them in
our church offices,
00:50:07.34\00:50:08.97
we want them to be active,
00:50:09.00\00:50:10.81
we need to give
them an opportunity.
00:50:10.84\00:50:12.21
Don't we have Pathfinders Club?
00:50:12.24\00:50:13.98
Oh, you got to hear
about this one, real quick.
00:50:14.01\00:50:15.98
In South Africa, I
was just there speaking...
00:50:16.01\00:50:18.91
doing a devotional...
00:50:18.95\00:50:20.32
We have one
Adventist there who fills...
00:50:20.35\00:50:24.59
She is an
interpreter for the deaf
00:50:24.62\00:50:26.39
and she knew that
there were many deaf there
00:50:26.42\00:50:28.86
in that particular government
school as well as some blind
00:50:28.89\00:50:32.06
and other kinds of disabilities,
00:50:32.09\00:50:34.03
so she volunteered her time.
00:50:34.10\00:50:36.40
She's a nurse by training,
00:50:36.43\00:50:37.77
but she went
there just to volunteer
00:50:37.80\00:50:39.40
her time to help
with the teachers.
00:50:39.43\00:50:43.00
And so I ended up going there
00:50:43.04\00:50:45.04
as a devotional
speaker for the students,
00:50:45.07\00:50:48.44
and it was really great
00:50:48.48\00:50:49.81
to be able to speak
with students again.
00:50:49.84\00:50:52.01
Well, I learned,
about the time I left,
00:50:52.05\00:50:57.32
that they had
established a Pathfinder Club,
00:50:57.39\00:51:00.16
100% of all the
pathfinders in that club...
00:51:00.19\00:51:03.93
That's kind of
like boy scouts...
00:51:03.96\00:51:05.66
Yeah, that's right.
00:51:05.69\00:51:07.03
That's like boy
scouts, girl scouts,
00:51:07.10\00:51:08.50
100% of those were
not from our church.
00:51:08.53\00:51:11.50
Whoa! They're
all non-Adventists?
00:51:11.53\00:51:13.54
None of them were members
00:51:13.57\00:51:15.07
of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
00:51:15.10\00:51:16.71
Led through all the
learning mechanisms involved
00:51:16.74\00:51:20.41
and learning how
to be a good citizen,
00:51:20.48\00:51:22.08
a good Christian from
an Adventists perspective
00:51:22.11\00:51:27.12
but they were welcomed
regardless of their faith.
00:51:27.15\00:51:29.88
Tell us what your motto is?
00:51:29.92\00:51:33.25
Well, behind this whole theme
00:51:33.29\00:51:36.83
is the idea, all are gifted,
00:51:36.86\00:51:41.30
all are needed,
all are treasured.
00:51:41.33\00:51:44.77
If I believe
that you have a gift,
00:51:44.80\00:51:47.27
that means I would
work to expose that gift,
00:51:47.34\00:51:51.11
to help it grow and blossom.
00:51:51.14\00:51:53.98
That's this ministry.
00:51:54.01\00:51:55.34
That's why it's a
possibility ministry.
00:51:55.38\00:51:57.45
And we are all needed.
00:51:57.48\00:51:59.05
Not only do you
need me, but I need you.
00:51:59.08\00:52:03.32
And then we want everyone
to know that they are loved.
00:52:03.39\00:52:06.19
Instead of using
the old cliche loved,
00:52:06.22\00:52:07.99
we can use the word treasured.
00:52:08.02\00:52:09.69
It is something
that we will not let go.
00:52:09.72\00:52:11.99
Praise God.
00:52:12.03\00:52:13.40
I like that because sometimes,
I think people can use the word
00:52:13.43\00:52:15.96
love too easily,
00:52:16.00\00:52:17.37
but if somebody
is been treasured.
00:52:17.40\00:52:18.73
That's why we
used a different one.
00:52:18.77\00:52:20.10
Amen.
00:52:20.14\00:52:21.47
We are going to
take just a moment
00:52:21.50\00:52:24.01
to put your
address on the screen.
00:52:24.04\00:52:27.84
And this is something...
00:52:27.88\00:52:29.78
Please get involved.
00:52:29.81\00:52:32.35
There is
somebody at your church,
00:52:32.38\00:52:34.65
many people at your church
00:52:34.68\00:52:36.25
who can get involved
and reach the unreached.
00:52:36.28\00:52:39.85
Here's how you can get
in touch with Dr. Larry.
00:52:39.89\00:52:44.86
The General Conference
Special Needs Ministries
00:52:44.89\00:52:47.73
encompasses ministry for
and with the deaf, the blind,
00:52:47.76\00:52:51.93
those with
physical, mental health,
00:52:51.97\00:52:53.87
and emotional
wellness challenges,
00:52:53.94\00:52:55.80
as well as orphans.
00:52:55.84\00:52:57.41
Their ministry is
built around the concept
00:52:57.44\00:52:59.54
that all are gifted,
needed, and treasured.
00:52:59.57\00:53:02.71
If you would like to invite
Dr. Larry Evans to your church,
00:53:02.74\00:53:06.15
please call, area
code, 301-680-6628.
00:53:06.18\00:53:11.92
You may also email him
00:53:11.95\00:53:13.39
at
SpecialNeeds@GC.Adventist.org.
00:53:13.46\00:53:18.26
Or write to
Special Needs Ministries,
00:53:18.29\00:53:20.53
12501, Old Columbia Pike,
00:53:20.60\00:53:23.70
Silver Spring, Maryland 20904.
00:53:23.77\00:53:27.44