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 words
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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 and welcome to 3ABN Today.
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My name is John Lomacang.
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Thank you to our 3ABN
family for tuning in again.
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But if this is your first
time, remember this channel,
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we believe it's
an inspired channel.
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The Lord has
called us to do a work
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to get many people ready
for the coming of the Lord
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and to introduce Jesus
to everyone who tunes in,
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whether by
television or by radio.
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Thank you for taking the
time to sit with us today.
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And enjoy a program
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that is really
going to inspire you.
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It's called the
People of Peru Project.
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Many of us don't get a chance
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to travel outside
of the United States
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or whatever country
you may be viewing us from.
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But Peru is a beautiful country
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and the work that God
has called this gentleman
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and his crew
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to be involved in is
one that will inspire you.
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And missions is not something
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that just has to happen
outside of your neighborhood,
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outside of your country,
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it could happen
right where you live.
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So take the time to
enjoy the program today.
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But thank you for your prayers
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and your financial
support of this network
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as we continue
going and growing,
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getting ready for
the coming of the Lord.
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Before I introduce my guest,
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I'm going to
introduce you to a singer
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that has always inspired
me when I listen to him,
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Layke Jones and Tim Parton
is going to be playing the song
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"That Sounds like Home to Me."
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Sit back and be blessed.
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Somewhere just across
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the Jordan River
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There is a place
of everlasting joy
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and peace
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Where the stream of life
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is flowing there forever
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And the crown of life
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is waiting there for me
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That sounds like home to me
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Like where I want to be
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There'll be no tears
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to fill our eyes again
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The hills will
echo with the story
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As we sing of
his grace and glory
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Where the saints of God will be
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That sounds like home to me
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They say there's only joy
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inside that city
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A crystal river flowing
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by the tree of life
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No pain,
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no disappointments there
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will hurt us
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For Jesus Christ Himself,
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will be the light
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That sounds like home to me
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Right where I want to be
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There'll be no tears
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to fill our eyes again
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The hills will
echo with the story
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As we sing of
His grace and glory
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Where the saints of God will be
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That sounds like home to me
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The hills will
echo with the story
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As we sing of
His grace and glory
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Where the saints of God will be
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That sounds like home to me
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Thank you so much, Tim
Parton and Layke Jones.
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That music was
taken from the Praise
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Him network recorded on
the set before the program.
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We sure do
appreciate that ministry.
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And that song really
was an inspiring one,
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Sounds like Home to Me.
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And thank you for that.
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But right now let's meet
our guest today, Paul Opp.
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O- P-P. Yes.
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Like short for operations...
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Or opportunity. Or opportunity.
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I like that.
Good to have you back.
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It is good to be here.
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It's been some time since we've
sat down and talk together.
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It has.
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But, so much has been happening
in your life since then.
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And it's good to
see you here today.
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Good to be here.
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Our viewers and
listeners don't know
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that you rode
your motorcycle here.
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I did from Eastern Washington.
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That's wonderful. Yeah.
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I tell you, when you
get on that open road
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with the motorcycle,
it's an inspiring thing to do.
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Depending on the time of
the year and the weather,
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we won't talk
about that right now.
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But it's been 19 years
since you've been involved
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in the People of Peru Project.
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Yes.
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Tell us for those who are
listening for the first time
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or don't know who you are.
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Give us first an
overview of who you are,
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where you're from,
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and surely in a cap
what you do right now?
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Well, my wife and I live
in Walla Walla, Washington.
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Okay. Which is our home base.
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We were in Idaho and
other parts of Washington,
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kind of in the meantime,
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as we were
starting this organization.
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But, my daughter got invited
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to go on a school sponsored trip
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to the Amazon
jungles of Peru, Iquitos,
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Peru at the
headwaters of the Amazon,
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largest city on earth,
John, that you can't drive to.
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You gotta go and
buy a commercial airline
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or 4.5 days by riverboat.
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Is it in the high altitude?
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No, it's Amazon.
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It's about less than
1,000 feet above sea level,
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tropical rainforest
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and the largest
rainforest in the world,
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right in the middle of it.
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All those different birds
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and nice
anacondas, and all that.
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Big Anaconda.
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So I went there
as a tag along parent
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with my daughter,
who invited me to go.
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And I just saw so much poverty,
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I saw so many
children that were un-attended,
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I saw old people
that were just, you know,
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at the edge of hopelessness
with lack of resources
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that they
needed, even for health.
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That it really affected me
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and God took that opportunity
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to just compel
me to do something
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that was way out
of my comfort zone.
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And I started going
back, going back, going back
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and assisting
people the best I could
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until we finally formalized.
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And so the long story
short, 19 years later now,
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as we have a crisis center
for abandoned and abused girls.
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We have a medical dental program
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that has given free
medical and dental care
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to over 65,000
people in that city now.
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And we are in the early stages
of building a surgery center
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that will be state of the art
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and it'll provide
surgical opportunities
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for literally
thousands of people
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who would suffer
or die without it.
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So we're very, very excited.
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It's, you know,
it's a challenge.
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We have groups that have come
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over 5,000 volunteers
have come since March of 2000.
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Wow.
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And, you know,
they are the lifeblood.
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They are, you know, the
source of all the skills
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and the passion
and the expertise
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that we need to do
all of these things.
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Okay.
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And sometimes
they're faith based groups.
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So we're doing, you know,
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evangelism and
children's programming,
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vacation Bible
schools, that kind of thing,
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construction projects.
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Right.
00:10:00.20\00:10:01.53
And, of course, the
medical, and dental,
00:10:01.56\00:10:02.90
and the educational programs.
00:10:02.93\00:10:04.27
I just tell you
the very first child
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that ever helped in Peru
00:10:06.20\00:10:08.17
who was living in the
slum area outside of the city,
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19 years ago,
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13-year-old impoverished child
is now a child psychologist,
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and the executive
director of our organization.
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Wow! Wow!
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So the transformation of
life is an amazing thing.
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It's been amazing. You
said the largest city in...
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Rephrase that again?
00:10:26.76\00:10:28.09
The largest city on
earth that you can't drive to.
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Okay, wow. Yeah.
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So there are no roads in there
just like air strip or river.
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There are roads in the
city, but not to the city.
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But not to the city.
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That's right. Yeah.
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So that's an amazing place.
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I've heard of the Amazon.
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I've traveled quite a bit.
I've never been to the Amazon.
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What do you do when
you see that kind of,
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I would use a phrase, in
many cases, untouched beauty
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because those jungles are dense?
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Have you traverse
through any of it?
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I have.
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We had for about eight or
nine years a jungle facility
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that was 50 miles up
the Amazon, pretty remote.
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We use that as a base
of operations to minister
00:11:05.93\00:11:09.36
to about five villages
in the surrounding area.
00:11:09.40\00:11:12.60
And we had 500 acres of land
up there that was just amazing.
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And when we really
accomplished everything
00:11:17.77\00:11:20.48
that we wanted to and
kind of impacted that,
00:11:20.51\00:11:23.55
those communities, we
thought we better share the love
00:11:23.58\00:11:26.55
and so at that point,
00:11:26.58\00:11:27.92
we gave that land
back to the communities
00:11:27.95\00:11:30.49
and moved on to other
areas now where we minister.
00:11:30.52\00:11:34.16
But I'll tell you,
00:11:34.19\00:11:35.52
there were some amazing
things to be seen in the Amazon.
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I tell the
volunteers that came all time,
00:11:38.79\00:11:40.80
you know, when you get
here you're not in Disney World,
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you know, this is the real deal.
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And everything that
you could ever imagine
00:11:45.40\00:11:47.34
to be in the Amazon was there.
00:11:47.37\00:11:49.20
Have you ever been in
one of those long flat boats
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that just seemed like
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they just hover across the water
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in that Amazon River?
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Because I've seen
that, I mean, I'm amazed
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as you can tell by just
the thought of the Amazon.
00:12:01.12\00:12:04.55
Because we've used that
phrase, you know, some will say
00:12:04.59\00:12:07.06
that person is as tall
as a person on the Amazon
00:12:07.09\00:12:10.23
or the Amazon jungles
are very rich, or rainforest.
00:12:10.26\00:12:14.13
Some of the most
beautiful rainforest
00:12:14.20\00:12:15.53
in the world is in that region.
00:12:15.56\00:12:17.80
But talk about some
of the other aspects?
00:12:17.83\00:12:19.37
What would, the inspiration,
if I'm following you carefully,
00:12:19.40\00:12:22.30
came from you going there
00:12:22.34\00:12:23.71
when your
daughter invited you to go.
00:12:23.74\00:12:25.17
Did she go on a
mission trip or something?
00:12:25.21\00:12:26.54
She went on a
mission trip with the school.
00:12:26.57\00:12:30.38
Said, "Dad, come with me?"
00:12:30.45\00:12:31.78
Well, you know, I've got
a sermon series that I do.
00:12:31.81\00:12:34.78
It's called
"Where's the Miracle?"
00:12:34.82\00:12:36.35
And a lot of parents feel
like maybe the miracle was
00:12:36.38\00:12:39.95
when your teenage
daughter asked you
00:12:39.99\00:12:41.42
to go along on a mission trip.
00:12:41.46\00:12:43.02
Maybe that's it.
00:12:43.06\00:12:44.39
You know, a lot
of times at that age
00:12:44.43\00:12:45.76
young people are
wanting a little independence
00:12:45.79\00:12:47.20
from mom and dad,
and as we were talking
00:12:47.23\00:12:49.03
about the
excitement of the mission trip
00:12:49.06\00:12:51.70
and the cultural
experience that she would have
00:12:51.73\00:12:54.04
and this amazing
ministry opportunity
00:12:54.07\00:12:56.24
that she'd been given.
00:12:56.27\00:12:57.61
You know, at the end of
that conversation, she said,
00:12:57.64\00:12:59.24
"Hey, Dad, you
should go with me."
00:12:59.27\00:13:01.08
And so maybe that was the
miracle right there, John.
00:13:01.11\00:13:03.55
And when you landed
00:13:03.58\00:13:04.91
and just took the
breath of the surrounding,
00:13:04.95\00:13:08.88
a world is a
world within a world.
00:13:08.92\00:13:11.22
Oh, yeah.
00:13:11.25\00:13:12.59
Because when you go,
you know, up the Amazon
00:13:12.62\00:13:15.02
and you find cities.
00:13:15.06\00:13:17.33
At night, it's dark.
00:13:17.36\00:13:18.93
It is dark.
00:13:18.96\00:13:20.30
Okay.
00:13:20.33\00:13:21.76
I think that's the fun.
00:13:21.80\00:13:23.26
There is dark as dark can be.
00:13:23.30\00:13:24.63
That's right.
00:13:24.67\00:13:26.10
When the people, large,
when you talk about large,
00:13:26.13\00:13:29.04
what kind of city
it is, population wise?
00:13:29.07\00:13:31.47
Iquitos has three
quarters of million people.
00:13:31.51\00:13:33.61
Okay. So it's a large city.
00:13:33.68\00:13:35.11
Now, 19 years ago,
even when I got there,
00:13:35.14\00:13:37.81
there were a lot of amenities
that just weren't to be found.
00:13:37.85\00:13:40.82
We took a lot of things with us
00:13:40.85\00:13:42.82
as we traveled
those early years took us.
00:13:42.85\00:13:45.19
Over the years now,
00:13:45.22\00:13:46.86
there's more and more
and more of the things
00:13:46.89\00:13:49.59
that you kind of need,
00:13:49.62\00:13:50.96
we have to take
less along with us.
00:13:50.99\00:13:53.13
Now, we can purchase almost
anything we need in that city.
00:13:53.16\00:13:56.43
But everything that comes there,
00:13:56.46\00:13:58.13
all the vehicles,
all the heavy equipment,
00:13:58.17\00:14:00.17
every stick of
rebar, every bag of concrete
00:14:00.24\00:14:03.61
all comes in by
barge up the Amazon
00:14:03.64\00:14:07.28
or it can be
flown in commercially,
00:14:07.31\00:14:09.48
but everything is there
00:14:09.51\00:14:11.01
had to come in
by boat or by plane
00:14:11.05\00:14:12.65
because there are
no roads leading to it.
00:14:12.68\00:14:14.25
So, really good things
are a little more expensive,
00:14:14.32\00:14:18.25
the big shipping containers
00:14:18.29\00:14:19.62
that come from some
of the areas like China,
00:14:19.65\00:14:22.29
you know, those come
in, in large quantities.
00:14:22.32\00:14:25.79
But to get a name
brand computer, or appliance,
00:14:25.83\00:14:30.27
or something that, you
know, that you really want.
00:14:30.30\00:14:33.34
It's a lot more expensive
00:14:33.37\00:14:34.70
because it's been
shipped a long ways.
00:14:34.74\00:14:36.91
So the Amazon in
itself has wide areas
00:14:36.94\00:14:41.38
and narrow vein areas.
00:14:41.41\00:14:44.18
You would say the
city is located in an area
00:14:44.25\00:14:46.85
where it's large
enough for a ship to come.
00:14:46.92\00:14:49.78
The big commercial barges,
00:14:49.82\00:14:51.52
and you know,
00:14:51.55\00:14:53.02
the water can change
00:14:53.05\00:14:58.03
by 20 to 40 feet
depth every year and it does
00:14:58.06\00:15:03.47
because of the melting of
the glaciers off the Andes.
00:15:03.50\00:15:06.84
And so during the summertime,
which would be the December,
00:15:06.87\00:15:10.74
you know, opposite seasons
00:15:10.81\00:15:12.14
because we're
south of the equator.
00:15:12.17\00:15:13.51
When the glaciers start to melt,
00:15:13.54\00:15:15.71
the Amazon will
rise, sometimes 40 feet,
00:15:15.74\00:15:19.38
which creates some
very interesting scenarios
00:15:19.41\00:15:23.25
for some of the communities
00:15:23.28\00:15:24.92
that are down
closer to the water,
00:15:24.95\00:15:27.66
the impoverished
areas outside the city,
00:15:27.69\00:15:30.99
the homes are built on stilts,
00:15:31.03\00:15:33.70
the health
issues that are created
00:15:33.73\00:15:35.83
because of all of
this are just unbelievable.
00:15:35.86\00:15:38.77
And that's part of
what really gripped me
00:15:38.80\00:15:40.44
when I went
there the first time.
00:15:40.47\00:15:42.57
Communities where
there is no water system,
00:15:42.60\00:15:44.94
no sewage system of
any kind, open ditches
00:15:44.97\00:15:47.88
and then when that
water creeps in every year
00:15:47.91\00:15:50.25
for two or three months,
00:15:50.28\00:15:52.45
and starts to cover
all those sewage ditches
00:15:52.48\00:15:54.45
and it lifts all
that contamination up.
00:15:54.48\00:15:56.79
The children are still swimming
00:15:56.82\00:15:58.15
and the ladies were
still washing clothes
00:15:58.19\00:16:02.92
and using that water
for bathing and for...
00:16:02.96\00:16:07.20
Matter of fact, I was
just there three weeks ago.
00:16:07.23\00:16:08.80
I was going down
the river in a boat,
00:16:08.83\00:16:11.00
and I had to grab a
quick snapshot of a lady
00:16:11.03\00:16:13.77
brushing her
teeth in this water.
00:16:13.84\00:16:17.11
And it's, the
contamination is terrible.
00:16:17.14\00:16:19.54
And then when
that water goes away
00:16:19.57\00:16:20.91
at the end of that flood season,
00:16:20.98\00:16:22.31
and of course,
the mud turns to dust.
00:16:22.34\00:16:24.28
And the dust gets into the air.
00:16:24.31\00:16:27.22
And so then
instead of the digestive
00:16:27.25\00:16:29.62
and intestinal bacterial issues
00:16:29.65\00:16:31.89
that people are
having the rest of year,
00:16:31.92\00:16:33.25
then it becomes a lung
00:16:33.29\00:16:35.06
and respiratory
bacterial problem
00:16:35.09\00:16:37.23
because you get
that contaminated dust
00:16:37.26\00:16:38.96
that you're breathing.
00:16:38.99\00:16:40.33
So infant mortality is high.
00:16:40.40\00:16:42.26
The poverty is extreme.
00:16:42.30\00:16:44.80
And there are a lot
of medical challenges
00:16:44.83\00:16:47.67
to be had down in
those communities.
00:16:47.70\00:16:49.30
But we work there all the time.
00:16:49.34\00:16:51.47
What kind of team do you have?
00:16:51.51\00:16:53.58
I have 14 full time staff.
00:16:53.61\00:16:56.08
We have psychologists,
we have medical director.
00:16:56.11\00:17:00.32
Of course, a director
have a full time dentist.
00:17:00.35\00:17:02.25
You know, I
referenced a minute ago,
00:17:02.28\00:17:04.32
the young
woman, the little girl,
00:17:04.35\00:17:06.65
that very first child
that I helped in Peru.
00:17:06.69\00:17:10.03
She was 13 at the time,
00:17:10.06\00:17:11.39
help get her through school
and then ultimately put her
00:17:11.43\00:17:13.90
through the
university for psychology,
00:17:13.93\00:17:15.86
but her little brother
00:17:15.90\00:17:17.63
was seven years old at the time.
00:17:17.67\00:17:19.97
And we've put him
through dental school.
00:17:20.04\00:17:22.67
He's now a full-fledged dentist
00:17:22.70\00:17:24.51
and he's running
our dental program
00:17:24.54\00:17:26.47
and doing free dental
work for impoverished people
00:17:26.51\00:17:29.18
five days a week.
00:17:29.21\00:17:30.55
And it's just
been really gratifying.
00:17:30.58\00:17:32.88
Another scenario
where it's come full circle
00:17:32.91\00:17:35.52
was a little girl that
came to us at the age of 12
00:17:35.55\00:17:38.75
as an abandoned child,
00:17:38.79\00:17:40.66
and we put her
through elementary school
00:17:40.69\00:17:44.03
and high school and
then nursing school.
00:17:44.06\00:17:46.06
Ultimately, she
ended up marrying
00:17:46.09\00:17:48.36
one of our long term volunteers,
00:17:48.40\00:17:50.20
which is a beautiful story,
00:17:50.27\00:17:51.93
but the two of them now
00:17:51.97\00:17:53.67
are the
directors of POPPYS house,
00:17:53.74\00:17:56.27
which stands for People of
Peru Project Youth Service.
00:17:56.30\00:18:00.31
POPPYS house. Okay.
00:18:00.38\00:18:02.08
They're the directors
now of the very facility
00:18:02.11\00:18:03.95
that raised her.
00:18:03.98\00:18:05.31
So another
example of a young person
00:18:05.35\00:18:07.88
who came to us in dire need,
00:18:07.92\00:18:11.69
and is now, you know,
using all of her skills
00:18:11.72\00:18:15.09
and life experience
to impact other kids
00:18:15.12\00:18:17.13
who were in the same position
that she was in as a child.
00:18:17.16\00:18:20.33
People giving back to people,
changing lives in the community
00:18:20.40\00:18:25.50
that change
lives in the community.
00:18:25.53\00:18:28.14
It's a reciprocal blessing.
00:18:28.17\00:18:30.51
But now, when we
talk about the 14 staff,
00:18:30.54\00:18:33.58
let's talk about the
facility that you have
00:18:33.61\00:18:36.51
and how that came to be?
00:18:36.54\00:18:38.25
Well, our headquarter facility
00:18:38.28\00:18:41.52
is right at the edge of town.
00:18:41.55\00:18:44.35
Of course, towns
moving that way now,
00:18:44.39\00:18:46.42
it's not nearly
as rural as it was
00:18:46.45\00:18:48.62
when we bought
it 15, 16 years ago.
00:18:48.66\00:18:51.66
But at our headquarter
facility is the administrative,
00:18:51.69\00:18:54.63
you know, office
where we have all of the,
00:18:54.66\00:18:57.17
you know, things
that have to happen
00:18:57.20\00:18:58.53
to run a facility like that.
00:18:58.57\00:19:00.64
But we also have housing
there for about 60 volunteers.
00:19:00.67\00:19:04.87
So when these
volunteer groups come,
00:19:04.91\00:19:06.88
we can do everything in-house.
00:19:06.91\00:19:08.51
We have housing, we
have a commercial kitchen
00:19:08.54\00:19:11.58
and cooks that
know how to prepare food
00:19:11.61\00:19:14.75
for the
volunteer groups that come.
00:19:14.78\00:19:17.09
We have our own buses
and our own transportation.
00:19:17.12\00:19:19.55
We have, of course, staff
00:19:19.59\00:19:21.49
that have to
take care of all that,
00:19:21.52\00:19:23.43
including the grounds
people and the security people,
00:19:23.46\00:19:25.79
and, like I mentioned
before, the psychologists,
00:19:25.83\00:19:29.20
the social workers
00:19:29.23\00:19:30.57
that are dealing
with our children
00:19:30.60\00:19:32.13
that are out at the orphanage.
00:19:32.17\00:19:34.37
So it's a full staff
00:19:34.40\00:19:36.27
that you would
find in any organization
00:19:36.30\00:19:38.31
that's there to
run the organization.
00:19:38.34\00:19:40.28
The...
00:19:40.31\00:19:41.64
How many room
facility it would be?
00:19:41.68\00:19:43.58
Oh. Well, it's rooms for 60.
00:19:43.65\00:19:47.02
I mean, ultimately,
part of that is the dormitory
00:19:47.05\00:19:50.89
that we have for
our university students
00:19:50.92\00:19:52.92
that are on that campus.
00:19:52.95\00:19:54.29
So our older
students live on that campus
00:19:54.32\00:19:56.42
because it's
close to the university
00:19:56.46\00:19:58.26
and convenient.
00:19:58.29\00:19:59.63
They're in more
of an adult program,
00:19:59.66\00:20:01.00
little more freedom,
00:20:01.03\00:20:02.36
little more opportunity
to work, make some money.
00:20:02.40\00:20:04.07
So would campus then it
will be more than one building?
00:20:04.10\00:20:07.64
Oh, yes, yeah.
00:20:07.67\00:20:09.07
And then, we just,
a year ago purchased
00:20:09.10\00:20:12.31
a 12,000 square foot warehouse
00:20:12.34\00:20:15.94
that literally
borders our property.
00:20:15.98\00:20:18.75
So now it's part of our property
00:20:18.78\00:20:20.25
and that's what's
becoming our new surgery center.
00:20:20.32\00:20:23.28
Our girls' facility
00:20:23.32\00:20:24.65
is about 15, 20
minutes out of town
00:20:24.69\00:20:26.65
in a very quiet beautiful
small little community.
00:20:26.69\00:20:30.53
The girls that
live there go to school
00:20:30.56\00:20:32.46
in the local public school.
00:20:32.49\00:20:33.93
We have a full staff there,
00:20:34.00\00:20:35.33
of course, take
care of the kids,
00:20:35.36\00:20:36.70
the nannies, the directors,
00:20:36.73\00:20:38.60
the grounds
maintenance people, the cooks,
00:20:38.63\00:20:41.10
you know, everything
you need in girls' facility.
00:20:41.14\00:20:43.51
So we have the two
different campuses.
00:20:43.54\00:20:45.21
Now, we're
talking about the project
00:20:45.24\00:20:47.18
that the Lord birthed
in your heart 19 years ago.
00:20:47.21\00:20:51.21
How do you come to
a region and you say,
00:20:51.25\00:20:55.55
this is where I'm
going to focus my energies
00:20:55.58\00:20:58.39
for the rest of my life.
00:20:58.42\00:21:00.26
How do you get that?
00:21:00.29\00:21:01.89
You know, how
do you ignite that?
00:21:01.92\00:21:03.26
How does that flame
get lit in your life
00:21:03.29\00:21:05.33
outside of the Lord?
00:21:05.36\00:21:06.70
Well...
00:21:06.73\00:21:08.06
'Cause you gotta keep,
you gotta believe every day
00:21:08.10\00:21:09.96
that there's something
else that need to happen,
00:21:10.00\00:21:11.80
something else
that needs to be done,
00:21:11.83\00:21:13.57
somebody else's life
that needs to be touched,
00:21:13.64\00:21:15.30
another facility
that needs to go up.
00:21:15.34\00:21:17.77
I can tell you
that 20 years ago,
00:21:17.81\00:21:19.47
if somebody was said
for the next 19 years,
00:21:19.51\00:21:22.41
you'll be, you know,
00:21:22.44\00:21:23.78
living and working
in the Amazon jungle,
00:21:23.85\00:21:25.18
I would have thought
they were delusional.
00:21:25.21\00:21:27.32
I mean, would
have been nothing close
00:21:27.35\00:21:29.95
to my wildest imagination.
00:21:29.98\00:21:32.29
But I'll tell you what happened.
00:21:32.32\00:21:33.96
I'm very relational,
relationship oriented.
00:21:33.99\00:21:38.66
And the Lord knew
00:21:38.69\00:21:40.10
what it would take
to get my attention,
00:21:40.13\00:21:42.36
to get my heart
00:21:42.40\00:21:44.50
and I fell in love
with the people in that city
00:21:44.53\00:21:48.40
on that very first trip.
00:21:48.44\00:21:49.77
I met two men that
were both bilingual.
00:21:49.80\00:21:52.17
I didn't speak a word of
Spanish when I went there.
00:21:52.21\00:21:54.54
And I met these two
guys on that first trip
00:21:54.58\00:21:57.38
that were English speakers,
00:21:57.45\00:21:59.31
and ultimately before I
left on that first trip,
00:21:59.35\00:22:01.98
I met their families,
they showed me around.
00:22:02.02\00:22:05.22
I just had this heart connection
00:22:05.25\00:22:06.89
with these two families
00:22:06.96\00:22:08.29
and I had promised
them that I would come back.
00:22:08.32\00:22:10.99
The very first
girl that I helped
00:22:11.03\00:22:13.50
became friends with
my daughter on that trip.
00:22:13.53\00:22:15.80
And so I kind of
knew who she was.
00:22:15.83\00:22:17.60
It's an amazing miracle story
how I founded the next year
00:22:17.63\00:22:20.84
in a city of three
quarters of million people,
00:22:20.87\00:22:22.67
but that's a
whole another story.
00:22:22.70\00:22:24.31
But these two men
and their families
00:22:24.34\00:22:27.38
made me feel so welcome
and so befriended that I just,
00:22:27.41\00:22:32.78
you know, I
promised him I'd come back.
00:22:32.81\00:22:34.32
So the next year I
came back, I was by myself,
00:22:34.35\00:22:37.42
we found about 120 people
00:22:37.49\00:22:39.65
that needed
medical or dental care
00:22:39.69\00:22:42.46
and took them to
a private hospital
00:22:42.49\00:22:43.86
and just paid
for their surgeries,
00:22:43.93\00:22:45.76
their dental work, their
pharmaceuticals, things like.
00:22:45.79\00:22:48.03
So it was just a
straightforward helping thing.
00:22:48.06\00:22:51.17
And it was so
gratifying to see the impact
00:22:51.20\00:22:54.27
that it had on these
impoverished families.
00:22:54.30\00:22:55.94
And it was kind of a no-brainer.
00:22:55.97\00:22:57.94
I mean, anybody could do it.
00:22:57.97\00:22:59.77
Nobody fakes a gallbladder
surgery to get your money.
00:22:59.81\00:23:02.88
They either need
it or they don't.
00:23:02.91\00:23:04.91
And, so it was
very straightforward.
00:23:04.95\00:23:06.35
We ended up buying some food
00:23:06.38\00:23:07.72
for some
impoverished communities
00:23:07.75\00:23:09.08
and some parasite
medicine and just all,
00:23:09.12\00:23:10.79
the things started happening.
00:23:10.82\00:23:12.15
So I went back the next year,
00:23:12.19\00:23:13.76
and that next
year that I went back,
00:23:13.79\00:23:15.16
something really
incredible happened
00:23:15.19\00:23:16.73
and I had been
feeding street children
00:23:16.76\00:23:19.06
late at night in the
city, unattended kids.
00:23:19.09\00:23:22.56
And, you know, 12:00,
12:30, 1 o'clock in the morning,
00:23:22.60\00:23:25.73
these children
out on the street,
00:23:25.77\00:23:27.44
then feeding them in a
local all-night restaurant.
00:23:27.47\00:23:29.87
And when I was on
the way back to my hotel,
00:23:29.90\00:23:32.41
two little kids
came out of nowhere
00:23:32.44\00:23:34.78
and again, an amazing story.
00:23:34.81\00:23:36.78
But the long story short
is these two little girls,
00:23:36.85\00:23:39.91
their mother had
died when they were six
00:23:39.95\00:23:41.88
and eight years old.
00:23:41.92\00:23:43.69
They had been
living on the street
00:23:43.72\00:23:45.05
for two years unattended.
00:23:45.09\00:23:47.56
And they were
begging for money that night.
00:23:47.59\00:23:50.33
And again, fast
forward, I made a deal with them
00:23:50.36\00:23:55.40
that if they would
come back the next morning
00:23:55.43\00:23:57.07
I would buy them
some tennis shoes
00:23:57.10\00:23:58.60
because I really
wanted to find out
00:23:58.63\00:24:00.34
if the story that
they told us was true.
00:24:00.37\00:24:02.60
And they came
back the next morning.
00:24:02.64\00:24:04.01
It was true. We went
back to the community.
00:24:04.04\00:24:05.57
We talked to the people
00:24:05.61\00:24:06.98
that used to be their neighbors.
00:24:07.01\00:24:08.34
And yes, indeed they'd
been alone for two years.
00:24:08.38\00:24:09.71
Six and eight years old. Yeah.
00:24:09.74\00:24:11.18
I ended up buying
a house on that trip.
00:24:11.21\00:24:13.82
I moved to family into that home
00:24:13.85\00:24:15.25
to take care of them.
00:24:15.28\00:24:16.62
A year and a half later
when I got there full time
00:24:16.69\00:24:18.55
and I made many trips between.
00:24:18.59\00:24:20.06
But a year and a half later,
when I got there full time,
00:24:20.09\00:24:22.69
I started the adoption process.
00:24:22.72\00:24:24.33
And those are
my daughters today.
00:24:24.36\00:24:25.93
Wow.
00:24:25.96\00:24:27.30
Now they're adults.
They're living in the States.
00:24:27.33\00:24:29.30
They're married
and have children
00:24:29.33\00:24:30.67
but I raised them
for 10 years in Peru,
00:24:30.70\00:24:32.03
lived there for 10 years.
00:24:32.07\00:24:33.44
Wow, God bless you. Yeah, so.
00:24:33.47\00:24:34.80
Wow!
00:24:34.84\00:24:36.17
So that was
another relational hook.
00:24:36.20\00:24:37.54
That's amazing.
00:24:37.57\00:24:38.91
You know, first time,
there was some families
00:24:38.94\00:24:40.28
that I just felt
connected to the girl
00:24:40.31\00:24:43.24
that we helped in
the very beginning
00:24:43.28\00:24:45.18
that we started
on the school process
00:24:45.21\00:24:47.02
that was really neat
to see that connection.
00:24:47.05\00:24:49.32
And then these two little girls
that I found on the streets,
00:24:49.35\00:24:52.05
and I, you know, I
helped hundreds of kids.
00:24:52.09\00:24:55.29
Never one time did I ever feel
00:24:55.32\00:24:57.03
like any of those other children
00:24:57.06\00:24:58.39
would be my kids.
00:24:58.43\00:24:59.76
But there was something amazing
that happened that night,
00:24:59.79\00:25:03.40
as I was kneeling in
the middle of the plaza,
00:25:03.47\00:25:06.43
in the middle of the
night with a translator,
00:25:06.47\00:25:09.00
and these two little kids,
00:25:09.04\00:25:10.41
as they were
telling me the story,
00:25:10.44\00:25:12.07
and I've told lots of people,
I didn't hear any voices.
00:25:12.11\00:25:14.28
I didn't see any
lights in the sky.
00:25:14.31\00:25:16.28
But I knew that
I knew that I knew
00:25:16.31\00:25:18.91
that these were
gonna be my kids.
00:25:18.95\00:25:20.52
Wow. And so
that's what happened.
00:25:20.55\00:25:21.88
And then, when I got
down there full time,
00:25:21.92\00:25:24.82
got custody of the kids,
started the adoption process,
00:25:24.85\00:25:26.96
started building
the organization.
00:25:26.99\00:25:28.32
So it was relationships
00:25:28.36\00:25:30.03
that the Lord used
to move me forward.
00:25:30.06\00:25:32.53
What are some of the
programs that you offer?
00:25:32.56\00:25:34.76
I heard about the dental school,
00:25:34.80\00:25:37.00
heard about
campus and education.
00:25:37.07\00:25:39.63
What are the specific
programs that you offer in that,
00:25:39.67\00:25:42.50
in that community outreach?
00:25:42.54\00:25:43.91
Well,
00:25:43.94\00:25:45.54
we do a lot of health
education with communities,
00:25:45.57\00:25:47.81
you know, and
it's a little tricky
00:25:47.84\00:25:50.05
because people
are so impoverished,
00:25:50.08\00:25:52.01
you know, we could
go down there and say,
00:25:52.05\00:25:53.52
well, you need to eat this
kind of fruits and vegetables
00:25:53.55\00:25:56.15
and you need to, you
know, drink clean water
00:25:56.18\00:25:58.45
and you need to
do all these things.
00:25:58.49\00:26:00.29
And, honestly,
there are families
00:26:00.36\00:26:01.69
that sometimes have to choose
00:26:01.72\00:26:03.83
between
medicine for a sick child
00:26:03.86\00:26:06.36
and food for the
rest of the family.
00:26:06.39\00:26:08.70
Or if they were
to spend the money
00:26:08.73\00:26:10.60
buying clean water
00:26:10.67\00:26:13.00
for their family, then
they wouldn't have money
00:26:13.03\00:26:15.50
for any food to
go along with it.
00:26:15.54\00:26:17.71
And so, it's a little difficult,
00:26:17.74\00:26:19.91
but we can present some things
that are incredibly beneficial
00:26:19.94\00:26:23.28
to those
impoverished communities
00:26:23.35\00:26:24.81
that don't cost anything.
00:26:24.85\00:26:26.18
Okay.
00:26:26.21\00:26:27.55
And some of
those things would be,
00:26:27.62\00:26:28.95
for example, the
absence of alcohol,
00:26:28.98\00:26:30.32
you know, alcoholism is rampant
in impoverished communities,
00:26:30.35\00:26:34.46
and it's no different there
00:26:34.49\00:26:35.82
because they can
make that alcohol
00:26:35.86\00:26:38.46
out of the local sugarcane,
00:26:38.49\00:26:41.53
and of course, unfortunately,
00:26:41.56\00:26:44.70
somebody has
figured out worldwide
00:26:44.73\00:26:46.84
how to make beer inexpensive.
00:26:46.87\00:26:49.60
Wow.
00:26:49.64\00:26:50.97
And, so the, you
know, it's the same problem
00:26:51.01\00:26:53.71
you see in lots of impoverished
communities worldwide.
00:26:53.78\00:26:56.28
So when we go into
community like that,
00:26:56.31\00:26:58.11
so you know,
this particular thing,
00:26:58.15\00:27:00.65
for example, it's not
helping your finances,
00:27:00.72\00:27:03.25
it's not helping your health,
00:27:03.28\00:27:04.79
it's certainly not
helping your children.
00:27:04.82\00:27:07.66
And in our crisis
center for these abandoned
00:27:07.69\00:27:10.63
and abused children,
00:27:10.66\00:27:11.99
lots of them are there
directly or indirectly,
00:27:12.03\00:27:15.73
related to issues of alcohol
in their home, in their family,
00:27:15.76\00:27:19.37
or in their community.
00:27:19.40\00:27:20.74
So that's one thing
00:27:20.77\00:27:22.10
that doesn't cost
anything to eliminate.
00:27:22.14\00:27:23.81
And so we encourage,
00:27:23.84\00:27:25.51
you know, listen,
for a lot of reasons.
00:27:25.54\00:27:28.04
You know, here's
something you could do
00:27:28.08\00:27:29.41
to improve many
aspects of your life.
00:27:29.44\00:27:32.01
So there's health education,
00:27:32.05\00:27:34.12
we drill wells,
offer freshwater,
00:27:34.15\00:27:37.49
we build simple
homes for families
00:27:37.52\00:27:40.39
that just simply
have nowhere to live.
00:27:40.46\00:27:42.96
Now, what does
the home cost about?
00:27:42.99\00:27:44.49
Generally, if you're
talking about providing a home,
00:27:44.53\00:27:46.80
I know, we comparison to
where you live in America
00:27:46.83\00:27:50.37
that varies, but...
00:27:50.40\00:27:51.73
We can build a home for a family
00:27:51.77\00:27:53.20
that doesn't have one.
00:27:53.23\00:27:54.57
And again, we're talking
about this socioeconomic level
00:27:54.60\00:27:56.81
where people
literally have nothing
00:27:56.84\00:27:58.74
but a little shack to live in.
00:27:58.77\00:28:00.68
And, you know, we can
provide them something
00:28:00.71\00:28:02.81
that they are incredibly
grateful and proud to live in
00:28:02.84\00:28:06.48
for less than $3,000.
00:28:06.51\00:28:08.38
Wow. Yeah.
00:28:08.42\00:28:09.75
And what size
structure would that be?
00:28:09.78\00:28:11.12
Oh, something
that's maybe 30x50 feet,
00:28:11.15\00:28:15.02
wooden walls, metal roof,
00:28:15.06\00:28:18.43
you know, kind of a
pole barn construction
00:28:18.46\00:28:20.50
but you know, you get
your doors and windows,
00:28:20.53\00:28:23.13
and furniture and
little kitchen in there
00:28:23.16\00:28:25.70
and then people are very,
very happy when they go...
00:28:25.73\00:28:27.67
It's synonymous to the
life that's surrounding them.
00:28:27.70\00:28:29.24
Right and it's very, very
typical in that community.
00:28:29.27\00:28:33.38
So when they
move right in there,
00:28:33.41\00:28:35.28
they fit in and feel
good about where they are
00:28:35.31\00:28:37.71
and having a
safe and secure place
00:28:37.75\00:28:39.85
to raise their family.
00:28:39.88\00:28:41.28
So we'll do that.
00:28:41.32\00:28:42.65
Now, like I mentioned
for the faith based groups
00:28:42.68\00:28:44.45
that come, the
church groups that come,
00:28:44.49\00:28:45.85
they're doing
Vacation Bible schools,
00:28:45.89\00:28:48.02
you know, we're
building relationships
00:28:48.06\00:28:49.42
with people in the community.
00:28:49.46\00:28:51.43
And that's the beauty
of being there full time,
00:28:51.46\00:28:54.86
because the individual
groups come from schools,
00:28:54.90\00:28:58.00
from churches, from
medical communities,
00:28:58.03\00:29:00.77
family groups that
come together and say,
00:29:00.84\00:29:03.10
"Hey, Paul, you know,
if we came to the Peru
00:29:03.14\00:29:05.17
what could we do?"
00:29:05.21\00:29:06.78
And the beauty of it
is, I'm able to say to them,
00:29:06.81\00:29:08.64
"Well, what are
you equipped to do?
00:29:08.68\00:29:10.58
What are you passionate about?
00:29:10.65\00:29:11.98
What can you do?"
00:29:12.01\00:29:13.35
Because we have work
in all of these areas.
00:29:13.38\00:29:15.22
So you come and
tell me ahead of time
00:29:15.25\00:29:17.65
what you're
passionate about doing,
00:29:17.69\00:29:19.05
trust me, it's not busy work.
00:29:19.09\00:29:20.79
We're not
thinking, oh, look busy.
00:29:20.86\00:29:22.49
Here comes a group.
00:29:22.52\00:29:23.86
You know, we have real work
00:29:23.93\00:29:25.26
that needs to be
done construction
00:29:25.29\00:29:26.63
on our own facilities,
00:29:26.66\00:29:28.53
homes for impoverish families,
00:29:28.56\00:29:29.96
we do an emergency
food distribution program
00:29:30.00\00:29:32.63
that puts us into the homes
and to the lives of families
00:29:32.67\00:29:36.60
that have brought about
amazing change for them.
00:29:36.64\00:29:39.41
Sometimes we go to a poor family
00:29:39.44\00:29:42.11
that's been identified
that's really struggling,
00:29:42.14\00:29:44.31
and we get there with this,
00:29:44.35\00:29:46.55
kind of this food
distribution program,
00:29:46.58\00:29:48.08
we do it in a beautiful way
that doesn't feel embarrassing
00:29:48.12\00:29:52.45
and feel like
just blatant charity
00:29:52.49\00:29:55.02
and were we, we were able
to interact with those people
00:29:55.06\00:29:58.13
and it's so
gracious and so warm.
00:29:58.16\00:30:00.00
And we learn so much about them,
00:30:00.03\00:30:01.60
but a lot of times
we're identifying medical
00:30:01.63\00:30:04.40
or dental needs in that home,
00:30:04.43\00:30:05.77
we're identifying children
00:30:05.80\00:30:08.07
who need to be educated
00:30:08.10\00:30:11.71
that, you know, grandma's
left with these four kids,
00:30:11.74\00:30:15.24
dad never was, mom
took off and grandma says
00:30:15.28\00:30:20.72
"Hey, you know,
I've got these older kids
00:30:20.75\00:30:22.42
and I don't have
money to put them in school
00:30:22.45\00:30:24.19
so we're able to
help with education.
00:30:24.22\00:30:26.02
We sponsor about 100
children a year in school,
00:30:26.05\00:30:29.59
in addition to our residential
kids at the orphanage
00:30:29.62\00:30:32.33
and the children
on our other campus
00:30:32.36\00:30:35.06
as the young adults
that are in the university.
00:30:35.10\00:30:37.50
Now you have some
footage of the region,
00:30:37.57\00:30:39.97
a video that kind of shows us,
00:30:40.04\00:30:42.14
explain what
that video contains?
00:30:42.17\00:30:44.24
Well, we've got footage of
some of the impoverished areas,
00:30:44.31\00:30:48.51
we, you know, we've
got footage of people,
00:30:48.54\00:30:52.18
volunteer groups, for example,
the medical teams coming,
00:30:52.21\00:30:54.95
we do medical
campaigns in these poor areas,
00:30:54.98\00:30:57.79
so we go into their community,
00:30:57.82\00:30:59.49
we'll set up in a
church, or a school,
00:30:59.52\00:31:01.42
or a community center,
00:31:01.46\00:31:03.73
or sometimes a series of
houses down, a dirt road street,
00:31:03.76\00:31:08.23
you know, if there's no other,
00:31:08.26\00:31:09.60
you know, so
there'll be pediatrics here
00:31:09.63\00:31:11.50
and wound care here
00:31:11.53\00:31:13.17
and you know,
children's while pediatrics
00:31:13.20\00:31:15.90
and you know, so we just
set up in three or four houses
00:31:15.94\00:31:20.08
and hundreds of
people come for medical care
00:31:20.11\00:31:23.01
that they can't
get anywhere else.
00:31:23.04\00:31:25.25
Okay, so we'll
look at this video.
00:31:25.28\00:31:27.12
When we come back will
explain what we looked at,
00:31:27.15\00:31:29.05
just check this out
00:31:29.08\00:31:30.49
and you get a chance to
look at what happens here
00:31:30.52\00:31:33.22
in the People of Peru Project.
00:31:33.25\00:31:35.52
Iquitos is a city is
really a unique place.
00:31:48.07\00:31:51.77
It's the largest city on earth
00:31:51.81\00:31:53.88
that has no roads leading to it.
00:31:53.91\00:31:55.68
If you're coming to Iquitos,
you're getting here by boat,
00:31:55.71\00:31:59.31
or on an airplane.
00:31:59.35\00:32:00.72
There is no other
way to get to Iquitos.
00:32:00.75\00:32:03.99
Interestingly enough,
when you land in Lima,
00:32:04.02\00:32:07.06
the capital of Peru,
00:32:07.09\00:32:08.62
you're landing on the
longest arid coastline
00:32:08.66\00:32:12.23
in the entire world.
00:32:12.26\00:32:13.90
When you get in a
plane and fly to Iquitos,
00:32:13.93\00:32:16.53
you're passing over the top
00:32:16.56\00:32:18.30
of the longest
mountain range in the world,
00:32:18.33\00:32:20.87
the Andes Mountains.
00:32:20.94\00:32:22.27
When you land in Iquitos, Peru,
00:32:22.30\00:32:24.01
you're landing in the center
00:32:24.04\00:32:25.37
of the largest Amazon
rainforest in the entire world.
00:32:25.41\00:32:29.18
And then when
you're here in Iquitos
00:32:29.21\00:32:31.45
you're working in
the largest city on earth
00:32:31.48\00:32:34.02
that has no roads leading to it.
00:32:34.05\00:32:36.05
There are over 750,000 people,
00:32:36.08\00:32:38.35
three quarters
of a million people
00:32:38.39\00:32:39.72
that live here
00:32:39.75\00:32:41.09
in this kind of
isolated jungle city.
00:32:41.12\00:32:46.23
The last 18 years been
nothing short of amazing.
00:32:51.60\00:32:55.27
I've been struck
by the generosity
00:32:55.30\00:32:57.41
of the thousands of volunteers
00:32:57.44\00:32:59.41
that have come to do
what they do in medicine
00:32:59.44\00:33:02.61
and crisis intervention
and sacrificial giving
00:33:02.64\00:33:05.21
for emergency food distribution.
00:33:05.25\00:33:07.92
We've seen the lives
of young people impacted,
00:33:07.95\00:33:10.89
children that would
have never had an opportunity
00:33:10.92\00:33:12.59
for an education are now
practicing professionals.
00:33:12.62\00:33:17.16
Amazing.
00:33:17.23\00:33:20.30
The needs around us
are simply overwhelming,
00:33:20.33\00:33:23.67
and it would be easy to
get buried by these huge needs.
00:33:23.70\00:33:28.84
But we just focus
one life at a time.
00:33:28.87\00:33:32.64
And little by little,
00:33:32.67\00:33:34.01
we're starting
to see a difference
00:33:34.08\00:33:35.78
in the
communities where we work.
00:33:35.81\00:33:39.18
It's hard to
summarize, but I can tell you
00:33:39.21\00:33:41.72
that when God has a
plan for work to be done,
00:33:41.75\00:33:47.39
as long as we remind ourselves
00:33:47.46\00:33:49.02
that this isn't our
work and our responsibility
00:33:49.06\00:33:51.59
that we're simply
playing a role in the work
00:33:51.63\00:33:54.30
that He'd have us to do,
00:33:54.33\00:33:56.26
then it frees us to focus
on the day to day details,
00:33:56.30\00:34:00.37
and to be the
hands and feet of Christ
00:34:00.44\00:34:02.17
to love people the
way He wants us to love
00:34:02.20\00:34:04.31
and to come to
some sort of assistance
00:34:04.34\00:34:07.61
in the best way possible.
00:34:07.64\00:34:09.38
And we've seen some
amazing and dramatic changes
00:34:09.41\00:34:14.42
because we're here.
00:34:14.45\00:34:15.78
When I travel around the US,
00:34:19.62\00:34:20.96
and I encourage people to
engage in whatever passion
00:34:20.99\00:34:23.36
that God's put on your heart.
00:34:23.43\00:34:24.76
For those who decide
that it's foreign missions,
00:34:24.79\00:34:26.90
and specifically
those who want to come here,
00:34:26.93\00:34:31.03
they're frustrated sometimes
00:34:31.07\00:34:32.40
because a lot of
individuals say to me,
00:34:32.43\00:34:34.04
"Well, I'm not a doctor,
00:34:34.07\00:34:35.87
I'm not a gifted public speaker.
00:34:35.90\00:34:38.67
I'm not a musician.
00:34:38.71\00:34:40.08
I don't have some huge talent
that I can come down there
00:34:40.11\00:34:41.88
with, what can I possibly do?"
00:34:41.91\00:34:44.35
And so, let me
encourage you that,
00:34:44.38\00:34:47.45
yes, we need the
expertise of these professionals
00:34:47.52\00:34:50.52
that can provide services
00:34:50.59\00:34:51.92
that are not available to people
00:34:51.95\00:34:53.76
like the
medical and dental work.
00:34:53.79\00:34:55.99
But if you can love people,
00:34:56.02\00:34:58.56
if you can hold
babies that need comfort,
00:34:58.59\00:35:02.23
if you can play with children
00:35:02.26\00:35:04.10
who need to gain their
confidence in adults again,
00:35:04.17\00:35:08.84
then you have value here.
00:35:08.87\00:35:10.51
There's lots to do.
00:35:10.54\00:35:11.87
We have construction projects,
00:35:11.91\00:35:13.71
and building,
and repairing things,
00:35:13.78\00:35:16.44
from simple things to things
that require some expertise
00:35:16.48\00:35:19.65
like electrical, or
plumbing, or masonry.
00:35:19.68\00:35:22.25
But there's
something for everybody.
00:35:22.28\00:35:24.09
I just like to
take this opportunity
00:35:30.23\00:35:31.69
to thank those of you
00:35:31.73\00:35:33.06
who have made
this work possible.
00:35:33.09\00:35:36.20
There are different
categories of people
00:35:36.23\00:35:38.20
that have invested
in the work we do here.
00:35:38.23\00:35:41.90
There are those who come
and bring their expertise,
00:35:41.94\00:35:45.74
their passion.
00:35:45.77\00:35:47.58
They bring their hands,
and feet, and their hearts,
00:35:47.61\00:35:49.88
and the love
that they can pass on
00:35:49.91\00:35:52.18
to these
children that we work with
00:35:52.21\00:35:54.38
and to the people
in the communities,
00:35:54.42\00:35:56.48
and then there are
those who have been gifted
00:35:56.52\00:35:58.72
with their resources back home.
00:35:58.75\00:36:00.89
You've worked hard,
but also recognize that
00:36:00.96\00:36:04.83
because of their success,
00:36:04.86\00:36:06.26
they have an opportunity
to help support those of us
00:36:06.29\00:36:10.10
who are in the
trenches and to all of you
00:36:10.17\00:36:13.23
no matter which
part you've played,
00:36:13.27\00:36:15.44
I just want to say thank you.
00:36:15.47\00:36:16.91
Without your support back
home, without your expertise
00:36:16.94\00:36:21.14
and your passion
here on the ground,
00:36:21.18\00:36:24.48
this work would be impossible.
00:36:24.51\00:36:25.85
You know,
that's an amazing video
00:36:35.29\00:36:36.62
giving us an
overview of Iquitos?
00:36:36.66\00:36:39.93
Iquitos. Iquitos.
00:36:40.00\00:36:42.00
Peru. Peru.
00:36:42.03\00:36:43.87
What an amazing city?
00:36:43.90\00:36:45.57
And you look at
the different life,
00:36:45.60\00:36:47.64
the different...
00:36:47.67\00:36:49.00
I noticed some of those vehicles
00:36:49.04\00:36:50.41
that are going by reminds me
00:36:50.44\00:36:52.04
a little bit of the Philippines.
00:36:52.07\00:36:53.78
You know, those little...
00:36:53.81\00:36:55.71
We call it motorcars.
00:36:55.74\00:36:57.08
Yeah...
00:36:57.15\00:36:58.48
A motorcycle
combination rickshaw or thing.
00:36:58.51\00:37:01.42
But then you have
a lot of volunteers,
00:37:01.45\00:37:02.92
talk about the volunteers
00:37:02.95\00:37:04.29
that come to
that area to work in?
00:37:04.32\00:37:06.52
How they are able to do that
00:37:06.55\00:37:07.89
and what they
actually contribute?
00:37:07.92\00:37:09.82
We've had about 5,500 volunteers
00:37:09.86\00:37:13.40
since 2000.
00:37:13.43\00:37:16.00
And I'll tell you, John, I...
00:37:16.03\00:37:19.00
the volunteers,
like I mentioned before,
00:37:19.03\00:37:20.84
really are the
lifeblood of what we do,
00:37:20.87\00:37:22.64
because they have expertise
that I will never have.
00:37:22.67\00:37:26.88
You know, I'm not a doctor,
00:37:26.91\00:37:28.78
you know, so I
certainly can't do that,
00:37:28.81\00:37:30.55
I'm not a dentist,
00:37:30.58\00:37:31.91
even though I've
pulled a few teeth now.
00:37:31.95\00:37:33.82
And, but these people
come, you know, the builders,
00:37:33.85\00:37:37.82
the people that are gifted
with working with the children,
00:37:37.85\00:37:40.96
the...
00:37:40.99\00:37:42.32
with the children's programs,
00:37:42.36\00:37:43.73
we've had
therapists that have come
00:37:43.76\00:37:45.09
that have worked with our kids
00:37:45.13\00:37:46.93
that have been traumatized
00:37:47.00\00:37:48.33
through these
horrible circumstances
00:37:48.36\00:37:49.73
that brought them to
our facility to begin with.
00:37:49.76\00:37:52.47
So you know, these
people are just amazing,
00:37:52.50\00:37:54.74
the volunteers,
they come with passion
00:37:54.77\00:37:57.77
and enthusiasm, energy
00:37:57.81\00:38:00.38
and they make things happen
in a very short amount of time
00:38:00.41\00:38:03.85
that, you know, that we
simply couldn't do by ourselves.
00:38:03.88\00:38:06.65
And yes, it's true.
00:38:06.72\00:38:08.12
And I get asked this a
lot, you know, so you know,
00:38:08.15\00:38:10.92
if we sent you the
money, just the money
00:38:10.99\00:38:12.92
that we spent on airline tickets
00:38:12.95\00:38:14.62
to get a group
of 25 people there,
00:38:14.66\00:38:16.73
wouldn't that be
better people say?
00:38:16.76\00:38:18.66
I say, "Well, sure, I
could take that money,
00:38:18.69\00:38:21.23
and I could hire people
to do some of the work."
00:38:21.26\00:38:24.43
But first of all, they
wouldn't send the money.
00:38:24.47\00:38:27.44
Second of all,
there's that whole component
00:38:27.47\00:38:31.01
that money can't buy.
00:38:31.04\00:38:32.44
When we pull into a community
00:38:32.47\00:38:33.81
where we're doing
a children's program,
00:38:33.88\00:38:35.41
hundreds of kids
that second night
00:38:35.44\00:38:37.95
are waiting for the
bus, and they see us
00:38:37.98\00:38:40.82
and they come
running, running, running.
00:38:40.85\00:38:43.05
You know, when
we're there every night
00:38:43.08\00:38:44.79
and they stand outside that bus
00:38:44.82\00:38:46.39
and wait for certain
individuals to get off,
00:38:46.42\00:38:48.29
because that's
who they bonded with.
00:38:48.32\00:38:50.56
When we spend those moments
with people in the medical
00:38:50.63\00:38:54.03
and dental clinics,
00:38:54.10\00:38:55.43
sometimes even in
the medical clinics,
00:38:55.46\00:38:56.80
people come that have conditions
00:38:56.83\00:38:59.43
that are way beyond
anything that we can do.
00:38:59.47\00:39:01.97
They're so advanced,
that even in a modern facility
00:39:02.00\00:39:05.47
in Lima or in the
States, it would be too late.
00:39:05.51\00:39:07.58
Right.
00:39:07.61\00:39:08.94
But when our volunteers
can give that gentleness,
00:39:08.98\00:39:11.51
that love, that compassion,
00:39:11.55\00:39:13.42
when that
patient can leave there,
00:39:13.45\00:39:15.12
knowing that they've been heard,
00:39:15.15\00:39:17.49
that they've been validated,
00:39:17.52\00:39:19.19
that the suffering
that they have gone through,
00:39:19.22\00:39:21.16
you know, we
help a lot of people,
00:39:21.19\00:39:23.16
but even the
people we can't help,
00:39:23.19\00:39:24.56
when we can give them that love,
00:39:24.59\00:39:26.19
and that
compassion, that tenderness,
00:39:26.23\00:39:28.00
then we can provide hope
00:39:28.03\00:39:29.36
that goes beyond
that immediate affliction
00:39:29.40\00:39:32.90
that they're experiencing.
00:39:32.93\00:39:34.97
Money can't buy that. Right.
00:39:35.00\00:39:36.57
And we need the
hearts, and the hands,
00:39:36.60\00:39:40.08
and the love of the
volunteers that come,
00:39:40.11\00:39:42.54
and I've seen
it transform lives,
00:39:42.58\00:39:44.38
not just in the
people we're serving,
00:39:44.41\00:39:46.48
but in the
volunteers themselves.
00:39:46.51\00:39:47.98
I was gonna say that
because a lot of young people,
00:39:48.02\00:39:50.19
you know, there were
a lot of young people
00:39:50.22\00:39:51.72
featured in there
that you could tell
00:39:51.75\00:39:53.76
were not natives of that region.
00:39:53.79\00:39:55.69
And you could imagine
when they go back home,
00:39:55.72\00:39:57.96
they have a greater,
a deeper appreciation
00:39:57.99\00:40:00.10
of all the things
that they do have.
00:40:00.13\00:40:01.46
Yeah.
00:40:01.50\00:40:02.83
I remember somebody talking
to someone about their children
00:40:02.86\00:40:06.00
that they had sent on
mission trips every year
00:40:06.03\00:40:08.54
since they were 7 years old
00:40:08.57\00:40:11.01
and when they were 14 years old,
00:40:11.04\00:40:13.17
one year they sent them to
Disney World for the summer,
00:40:13.21\00:40:16.24
give them a break.
00:40:16.28\00:40:17.65
They said, "Those
children were bored."
00:40:17.68\00:40:19.01
They said,
"Mom, why are we here?
00:40:19.05\00:40:21.35
This is not where I want to be.
00:40:21.38\00:40:22.72
I want to be in
the mission field."
00:40:22.75\00:40:24.29
And in this particular mission,
00:40:24.32\00:40:25.65
it was in
Zimbabwe down in Africa.
00:40:25.69\00:40:27.39
They said they were just...
00:40:27.46\00:40:29.19
they said, "Mom,
we're wasting money here.
00:40:29.22\00:40:31.13
We're supposed
to be in Zimbabwe."
00:40:31.16\00:40:32.59
And they said never again
00:40:32.63\00:40:34.00
that they want to go
to an amusement park.
00:40:34.03\00:40:36.26
They wanted to get their hands
00:40:36.30\00:40:38.07
involved in taking their
energies in changing lives.
00:40:38.10\00:40:42.67
And there's
some amazing stories.
00:40:42.70\00:40:44.61
Share with us some of those
stories of transformed lives.
00:40:44.64\00:40:47.41
I know some of them,
maybe you can't share.
00:40:47.48\00:40:50.45
But give us some of
these victorious stories
00:40:50.48\00:40:53.08
that are connected
with these projects?
00:40:53.11\00:40:55.75
I love the whole
concept of connecting the dots.
00:40:55.78\00:40:58.95
You know, Elder
Dwayne McKee is the one
00:40:58.99\00:41:03.83
that was going to do
the series of meetings
00:41:03.86\00:41:05.96
in Iquitos back in 2000.
00:41:05.99\00:41:10.37
So he invited Upper
Columbia Academy to come.
00:41:10.40\00:41:13.00
Upper Columbia
Academy invited my daughter,
00:41:13.03\00:41:15.04
my daughter invited me.
00:41:15.07\00:41:16.94
I went.
00:41:17.01\00:41:18.34
This chain of events just
keeps going and going and going,
00:41:18.37\00:41:20.51
connecting the dots.
00:41:20.58\00:41:21.91
And I love these stories.
00:41:21.94\00:41:23.28
For example, we had
one of our jungle workers,
00:41:23.31\00:41:25.61
who was clearing brush
out of our jungle facility,
00:41:25.65\00:41:29.08
you know, doing things
00:41:29.12\00:41:30.49
that the
volunteers wouldn't be doing.
00:41:30.52\00:41:31.85
He was born and
raised in the jungle.
00:41:31.89\00:41:33.25
He knows that,
00:41:33.29\00:41:34.62
but he
inadvertently stuck his hand
00:41:34.66\00:41:37.06
in a brush pile and got bitten
by a really poisonous snake,
00:41:37.13\00:41:40.50
fer-de-lance snake,
00:41:40.53\00:41:41.86
kills more
people in South America
00:41:41.90\00:41:43.47
than any other snake
because they're so prevalent.
00:41:43.50\00:41:46.74
And, so, long story short,
00:41:46.77\00:41:49.37
they took him by dugout
canoe to the local village
00:41:49.40\00:41:52.64
where the, you know,
the doctor was a local man
00:41:52.67\00:41:56.88
that he just, you
know, born and raised there.
00:41:56.95\00:41:58.28
Kind of a medicine man.
00:41:58.31\00:41:59.65
He's a medicine man,
00:41:59.68\00:42:01.02
that was the
closest thing they could do.
00:42:01.05\00:42:02.38
And, while he was there,
he experienced, or he watched,
00:42:02.42\00:42:05.89
observed a young woman
00:42:05.92\00:42:07.72
who was being treated horribly
by a family that took her in.
00:42:07.76\00:42:12.16
And when he had opportunity,
and he was very, very sick.
00:42:12.19\00:42:15.36
I mean, he barely made
it through that procedure.
00:42:15.40\00:42:19.47
So in the weeks that he stayed
in that village to recover,
00:42:19.50\00:42:23.27
he watched this young woman,
00:42:23.30\00:42:26.34
and finally had
opportunity to talk to her
00:42:26.37\00:42:27.94
and got her story.
00:42:27.98\00:42:29.38
She had had some horrible things
00:42:29.41\00:42:30.95
that had happened to
her in another village
00:42:30.98\00:42:32.91
and she actually ran away.
00:42:32.95\00:42:34.32
So her parents had
no idea she'd been gone.
00:42:34.35\00:42:36.62
They had no idea where she went,
00:42:36.69\00:42:38.02
she escaped this
other bad situation,
00:42:38.05\00:42:40.26
came to another village
was being abused in that home,
00:42:40.29\00:42:44.13
and he was able to talk to her
00:42:44.16\00:42:45.63
when he finally
had some private time.
00:42:45.66\00:42:47.00
And he said, "Listen,"
he wrote down the name,
00:42:47.03\00:42:49.46
the address of our
organization in Iquitos,
00:42:49.50\00:42:52.67
you know, way up the
tributary then down the Amazon
00:42:52.70\00:42:56.20
and she'd never
been there before.
00:42:56.24\00:42:57.74
And he said, "I
work for an organization
00:42:57.77\00:42:59.34
that helps girls
in your situation.
00:42:59.37\00:43:01.21
You do not want to live
the rest your life like this,
00:43:01.24\00:43:03.04
trust me."
00:43:03.08\00:43:04.41
And she had a little baby
girl, and long story short,
00:43:04.45\00:43:08.65
she made a deal with a neighbor.
00:43:08.68\00:43:10.59
And when she had opportunity
escaped out of that situation
00:43:10.62\00:43:14.19
and the neighbor
took her by boat,
00:43:14.26\00:43:16.16
dropped her off in
Iquitos, took her whole day,
00:43:16.19\00:43:18.39
but she finally found us
on the other side of the city.
00:43:18.43\00:43:22.03
We took her to our facility.
00:43:22.06\00:43:23.77
And I was so excited.
00:43:23.80\00:43:25.90
You know, when
I heard her story,
00:43:25.93\00:43:27.27
I mean, it broke my heart,
00:43:27.34\00:43:28.67
but I was so excited to see
00:43:28.70\00:43:30.64
how she would
flourish in a new environment.
00:43:30.71\00:43:32.27
I got to tell you
this little anecdote.
00:43:32.31\00:43:34.58
She came on a Friday evening.
00:43:34.61\00:43:35.98
All of our staff
were pretty much gone
00:43:36.01\00:43:38.08
for the evening for the weekend.
00:43:38.11\00:43:39.65
So we took her out
to our girls' facility,
00:43:39.68\00:43:41.75
and I said, "Okay, on Monday,
they'll bring you back in,
00:43:41.78\00:43:44.35
we're gonna really, you
know, do this formally,"
00:43:44.39\00:43:46.15
but I just kept
thinking about her over Sabbath,
00:43:46.19\00:43:51.46
and by Sunday noon, I
couldn't stand it any longer.
00:43:51.49\00:43:53.60
So I went out there just
to see how she was doing,
00:43:53.63\00:43:55.86
how and her little girl.
00:43:55.90\00:43:57.27
And I thought, you
know, this will be interesting
00:43:57.30\00:43:58.63
because here's a girl
00:43:58.67\00:44:00.00
that was born
and raised in jungle,
00:44:00.04\00:44:01.37
didn't have electricity,
didn't have running water,
00:44:01.40\00:44:02.74
didn't have any indoor plumbing,
00:44:02.77\00:44:04.11
no amenities, jungle life.
00:44:04.14\00:44:06.44
That's it.
00:44:06.47\00:44:07.81
And I thought, I
wonder what it is
00:44:07.84\00:44:09.24
that will be so amazing to her.
00:44:09.28\00:44:10.75
This nice dining
room with these meals
00:44:10.78\00:44:12.71
that we will have provided,
00:44:12.75\00:44:14.12
the electricity,
the indoor plumbing,
00:44:14.15\00:44:15.88
the running water, the shower,
00:44:15.92\00:44:17.65
you know, I was just
excited to hear what she was...
00:44:17.69\00:44:19.02
Night and day difference.
Yeah, what she was gonna say?
00:44:19.05\00:44:20.76
You know, I
thought, this will be fun.
00:44:20.79\00:44:22.16
This will be one of
those stories, right?
00:44:22.19\00:44:24.53
So when I got
there, I asked her.
00:44:24.56\00:44:27.10
I said, "Well, you
know, what do you think?"
00:44:27.13\00:44:28.46
I mean, what's it like? What?
00:44:28.50\00:44:30.17
You know, what are
you feeling right now?
00:44:30.20\00:44:31.70
You know what she said to me?
00:44:31.73\00:44:33.13
She had been living in
that shaman witchdoctor's home.
00:44:33.17\00:44:36.81
Wow.
00:44:36.84\00:44:38.67
And being, you
know, abused there.
00:44:38.71\00:44:42.08
And her observation had
nothing to do with electricity,
00:44:42.11\00:44:45.71
running water, nice
bed or anything else.
00:44:45.75\00:44:48.95
She said to me,
"Here's what I've noticed."
00:44:48.98\00:44:52.15
And I thought,
"Okay, here we go."
00:44:52.19\00:44:53.86
And she said, "The
spirit is very different here
00:44:53.89\00:44:58.16
than the spirit in
the home I was living in."
00:44:58.19\00:45:01.70
What she recognized,
00:45:01.73\00:45:03.06
what came to the
forefront of her mind
00:45:03.10\00:45:05.30
was the difference
in who we worshiped.
00:45:05.33\00:45:09.34
I mean, that's
what it boils down to.
00:45:09.37\00:45:10.91
So she came to this
community, this fellowship of,
00:45:10.94\00:45:15.04
you know, our
little group there,
00:45:15.08\00:45:17.15
where we serve God, we
believe in Jesus Christ.
00:45:17.18\00:45:22.65
That's right.
00:45:22.68\00:45:24.02
We know the gospel
as we know the gospel.
00:45:24.09\00:45:26.76
And she sensed the spirit
00:45:26.79\00:45:29.29
and how different it
was there than in a home
00:45:29.32\00:45:31.76
where they're really
honoring the powers of darkness.
00:45:31.79\00:45:35.23
And that really is
something that stuck with me
00:45:35.26\00:45:36.87
as many, many years ago.
00:45:36.90\00:45:38.40
Well, you know, she came.
00:45:38.43\00:45:39.77
We educated her, she
finished her program with us.
00:45:39.80\00:45:43.17
Ultimately, she moved to Lima
00:45:43.20\00:45:44.91
because she had
some other family members
00:45:44.94\00:45:46.34
that had found their way
there and we reconnected them.
00:45:46.37\00:45:49.01
And a couple years later...
00:45:49.04\00:45:51.08
And we stayed in contact.
00:45:51.11\00:45:52.45
But a couple years later,
she contacted me and she said,
00:45:52.48\00:45:54.32
"Oh, Papa Paul," you know,
they all call me Papa Paul.
00:45:54.35\00:45:59.02
"I am sorry, I
have to ask you this,
00:45:59.05\00:46:00.49
but I'm just in a
bit of a bind right now
00:46:00.56\00:46:02.79
and I need to get
some money together
00:46:02.82\00:46:04.23
for registration for
school, and I'm just,
00:46:04.26\00:46:06.26
you know, I've never asked you
for anything before like that,
00:46:06.29\00:46:08.36
but I just need
some help right now."
00:46:08.40\00:46:10.60
And then she said, "I just
can't afford to get everything
00:46:10.67\00:46:13.77
I need for school."
00:46:13.84\00:46:15.17
And I wrote back to
her, I said, "But Giovanna,
00:46:15.20\00:46:18.47
you know, school's free,
what are you talking about?"
00:46:18.51\00:46:20.31
Right.
00:46:20.38\00:46:21.71
And she said, "Well,"
00:46:21.74\00:46:23.08
she sent me a picture of
her daughter who was now,
00:46:23.11\00:46:25.51
you know, eight
or nine years old,
00:46:25.55\00:46:27.85
from her school
uniform from last year.
00:46:27.88\00:46:30.69
And I zoomed in and I
looked here on the corner.
00:46:30.72\00:46:33.99
This girl had gone to Lima
00:46:34.06\00:46:36.22
and put her daughter
in an Adventist school...
00:46:36.26\00:46:38.59
Wow! Wow!
00:46:38.63\00:46:40.00
Which was expensive.
00:46:40.03\00:46:41.36
You know, it wasn't the
free public school system.
00:46:41.40\00:46:43.50
And I just thought
how amazing is that?
00:46:43.57\00:46:46.13
One of our
workers gets snake bit.
00:46:46.17\00:46:48.24
So he goes to another village.
00:46:48.27\00:46:50.44
You know, he meets this girl,
00:46:50.51\00:46:51.84
invites her to be a
part of our organization.
00:46:51.87\00:46:53.78
We educate her.
00:46:53.81\00:46:55.14
She moves away as a young adult,
00:46:55.18\00:46:57.25
independent with skills,
00:46:57.28\00:46:58.65
with the ability to
take care of herself,
00:46:58.68\00:47:01.15
and a couple years later,
00:47:01.18\00:47:02.52
we find out that
she's put her daughter
00:47:02.55\00:47:04.82
not just in a Christian school
but in an Adventist school.
00:47:04.85\00:47:07.26
And I think, man, you know,
it makes me rethink sometimes
00:47:07.29\00:47:10.46
the snake bit
moments in my life.
00:47:10.53\00:47:12.26
Right. The miracle of a tragedy.
00:47:12.29\00:47:14.63
Exactly.
00:47:14.66\00:47:16.00
Something directed of God,
00:47:16.03\00:47:17.37
allowed of the
Lord to save a life,
00:47:17.40\00:47:19.77
to save another life.
00:47:19.80\00:47:21.14
That's amazing.
00:47:21.17\00:47:22.50
That's just one story
out of many. I mean, we...
00:47:22.54\00:47:24.01
You know, every child
that comes to our facility
00:47:24.04\00:47:27.64
is a victim of something,
either extreme poverty,
00:47:27.68\00:47:30.95
or physical or sexual abuse.
00:47:30.98\00:47:33.52
You know, there's
been something tragic.
00:47:33.55\00:47:36.48
We get our children
from the court system.
00:47:36.52\00:47:38.55
Sometimes people in a
community bring us a child
00:47:38.59\00:47:41.39
that is completely unattended.
00:47:41.42\00:47:43.43
One of the more recent
girls that came to our facility
00:47:43.46\00:47:45.59
was an 11-year-old
girl, that's pregnant.
00:47:45.63\00:47:48.56
She's gonna have
a baby next month,
00:47:48.60\00:47:51.43
because of the tragic
circumstances in her community.
00:47:51.47\00:47:54.67
And, so then, they're
ostracized by the community.
00:47:54.70\00:47:57.31
There's pressure from the family
00:47:57.34\00:47:59.27
and the community leaders
00:47:59.31\00:48:00.68
if they're
connected to the person
00:48:00.71\00:48:02.04
that was the perpetrator
in that circumstance,
00:48:02.08\00:48:04.61
and it's not really
safe or comfortable for her
00:48:04.65\00:48:06.48
to live in that community.
00:48:06.51\00:48:07.85
More so, this
little 11-year-old child
00:48:07.88\00:48:09.55
now is gonna have a baby
through no fault of her own.
00:48:09.58\00:48:14.16
And, you know, praise
the Lord, we're there.
00:48:14.19\00:48:16.29
What are some of the ways
00:48:16.32\00:48:17.66
that people that are
listening to this program
00:48:17.69\00:48:19.03
can be participants,
00:48:19.06\00:48:20.63
can help maybe financially
or in involuntary capacity?
00:48:20.70\00:48:23.67
Well, you know, we've been
a donation based organization
00:48:23.70\00:48:26.30
since the very beginning.
00:48:26.33\00:48:27.67
And, so, of course, you know,
financial support is always,
00:48:27.70\00:48:31.54
always necessary.
00:48:31.57\00:48:33.17
We're launching the largest
project we've ever done now,
00:48:33.21\00:48:37.35
which is our surgery center
00:48:37.38\00:48:38.71
and it's gonna be a
full blown operational center
00:48:38.75\00:48:42.95
for two ORs,
00:48:42.98\00:48:45.25
cataracts, four prenatal care,
00:48:45.29\00:48:48.72
four dentistry,
three dental operatives.
00:48:48.76\00:48:50.96
I mean, it's gonna be a facility
00:48:50.99\00:48:52.96
that will really change
the health care opportunities
00:48:52.99\00:48:55.96
in that city for
impoverished people.
00:48:56.00\00:48:57.37
So this is a big, big project.
00:48:57.40\00:48:58.83
We're gonna need some special
financial assistance there.
00:48:58.87\00:49:02.60
But as I've
mentioned several times now,
00:49:02.64\00:49:05.21
volunteers are the
lifeblood of our organization.
00:49:05.24\00:49:07.48
And we love volunteer
groups, could be construction,
00:49:07.51\00:49:10.35
children's
programming, medical and dental,
00:49:10.38\00:49:13.11
emergency food distribution.
00:49:13.15\00:49:14.48
I mean, there's a lot of things,
00:49:14.52\00:49:15.95
or a
combination of those things.
00:49:15.98\00:49:17.75
So churches, schools,
family groups, medical groups,
00:49:17.79\00:49:22.19
we love volunteers.
00:49:22.22\00:49:23.63
And we make it easy
00:49:23.66\00:49:24.99
because we have
all the amenities.
00:49:25.03\00:49:26.36
You don't have to worry
about where you gonna live,
00:49:26.39\00:49:27.73
what you're gonna eat,
00:49:27.76\00:49:29.10
how you're
gonna get transported.
00:49:29.13\00:49:30.47
You don't have to worry
about the building materials
00:49:30.50\00:49:31.83
or the medicine
or anything else.
00:49:31.87\00:49:33.20
We have all of that covered.
00:49:33.23\00:49:34.57
We just need the people to
come and bring their passion,
00:49:34.60\00:49:37.61
their expertise.
00:49:37.64\00:49:38.97
And when you go to the
peopleofperu.org website,
00:49:39.01\00:49:41.48
we'll give you that
information in just a moment.
00:49:41.51\00:49:43.75
You'll be able to see
the different projects,
00:49:43.78\00:49:45.71
the mission, the groups,
the needs, the water problems,
00:49:45.75\00:49:49.58
and you'll discover
that there are many...
00:49:49.62\00:49:53.25
numerous ways you can volunteer.
00:49:53.29\00:49:55.49
Find out more about
how you can get there
00:49:55.52\00:49:58.09
and you may
even be just a person
00:49:58.13\00:50:00.13
that wants to teach English,
ESL, English Second Language,
00:50:00.20\00:50:04.17
or you may have
construction abilities,
00:50:04.20\00:50:06.37
or whatever the skill may be.
00:50:06.40\00:50:08.74
The People of Peru Project
00:50:08.77\00:50:10.51
will be
tremendously blessed by you.
00:50:10.54\00:50:12.74
And so here's the information
that you're going to need
00:50:12.77\00:50:15.28
to get in touch with them.
00:50:15.31\00:50:16.75
And we want to...
00:50:16.78\00:50:18.11
And when I think just
before I give the information,
00:50:18.15\00:50:20.22
is there anything else
00:50:20.25\00:50:21.58
that people
listening to this program
00:50:21.62\00:50:23.02
or watching this
program need to know
00:50:23.05\00:50:25.69
when it comes to participating
or supporting the program?
00:50:25.72\00:50:29.39
You know, John, we always need
the prayers of the faithful.
00:50:29.42\00:50:33.06
Okay.
00:50:33.09\00:50:34.43
You know, I can tell you that,
of course, like I mentioned,
00:50:34.46\00:50:37.60
the financial
support and the volunteers.
00:50:37.63\00:50:41.34
But we need the
prayers of the faithful,
00:50:41.37\00:50:43.27
you know, I've
never done this before.
00:50:43.30\00:50:44.64
Okay.
00:50:44.67\00:50:46.01
There are challenges
running an organization
00:50:46.04\00:50:47.81
here in the States.
00:50:47.84\00:50:49.18
But when you get
into another country,
00:50:49.21\00:50:50.58
where cultures are different,
politics are different,
00:50:50.65\00:50:53.45
procedures are different,
00:50:53.52\00:50:55.68
you know, we're
viewed as different
00:50:55.72\00:50:57.49
and we want to be sensitive
00:50:57.52\00:50:59.22
to the cultural needs around us.
00:50:59.25\00:51:01.29
We don't create programs
00:51:01.32\00:51:02.79
that create
dependence on ourselves.
00:51:02.82\00:51:04.33
We don't come in like the great,
00:51:04.36\00:51:07.13
you know, all
knowing saviors of the race,
00:51:07.20\00:51:10.07
you know, we want to
assimilate into that culture,
00:51:10.10\00:51:12.23
build
relationships, make friendships,
00:51:12.27\00:51:15.27
have the confidence
00:51:15.30\00:51:16.64
and the trust
of the local people
00:51:16.71\00:51:19.67
and just do the work
that God's given us to do,
00:51:19.71\00:51:22.01
touching lives one at a time.
00:51:22.04\00:51:23.78
You know, we invest
deeply in specific individuals,
00:51:23.85\00:51:28.45
specific families
and specific communities.
00:51:28.48\00:51:30.89
And I've often said, you
know, we've had enough money
00:51:30.92\00:51:33.76
come through the
organization over the years,
00:51:33.79\00:51:35.56
we could have
probably bought everybody
00:51:35.59\00:51:37.33
in the city a popsicle,
00:51:37.36\00:51:39.53
or bought every
family a chicken.
00:51:39.56\00:51:41.80
But at the end of the
day, what do you have,
00:51:41.83\00:51:43.57
you know, you've got
popsicle sticks and feathers.
00:51:43.60\00:51:46.23
And so what we really want
to do is equip young people...
00:51:46.27\00:51:49.14
And we've graduated now
dentists, nurses, doctors,
00:51:49.17\00:51:52.81
lawyers, mechanical engineers,
00:51:52.84\00:51:54.71
we've got people
out there working
00:51:54.74\00:51:56.18
that are young professionals now
00:51:56.21\00:51:57.95
because we've put
the wheels on the bus.
00:51:57.98\00:51:59.38
Okay.
00:51:59.41\00:52:00.75
So here is the information
that you're going to need
00:52:00.82\00:52:02.45
to get in touch with Paul Opp
00:52:02.48\00:52:04.79
for the People of Peru Project.
00:52:04.82\00:52:09.59
For some, it's too
late, but for others
00:52:09.62\00:52:13.13
you will be the
answer to their prayers.
00:52:13.16\00:52:16.23
You can be a life changer.
00:52:16.26\00:52:18.27
If you feel impressed
00:52:18.30\00:52:19.63
to support the People of
Peru Project and Ministry,
00:52:19.67\00:52:22.87
you can contact them
at People of Peru Project,
00:52:22.90\00:52:26.71
1703 Sunset Drive,
00:52:26.78\00:52:29.81
Walla Walla, Washington 99362.
00:52:29.84\00:52:33.72
Again, that's
People of Peru Project,
00:52:33.75\00:52:36.69
1703, Sunset Drive,
00:52:36.72\00:52:39.89
Walla Walla, Washington 99362.
00:52:39.92\00:52:43.53
Or you can find them online
00:52:43.56\00:52:45.69
at www.peopleofperu.org
00:52:45.73\00:52:50.67