As you're well aware, 00:00:01.66\00:00:03.00 we're living in unprecedented times. 00:00:03.03\00:00:05.63 Join us now for today's special program. 00:00:05.67\00:00:07.77 I want to spend my life 00:00:12.67\00:00:18.31 Mending broken people 00:00:18.35\00:00:23.35 I want to spend my life 00:00:23.39\00:00:29.19 Removing pain 00:00:29.22\00:00:34.13 Lord, let my words 00:00:34.16\00:00:39.57 Heal a heart that hurts 00:00:39.60\00:00:44.51 I want to spend my life 00:00:44.54\00:00:50.25 Mending broken people 00:00:50.28\00:00:55.25 I want to spend my life 00:00:55.28\00:01:00.89 Mending broken people 00:01:00.92\00:01:03.56 Hello. Welcome to our Today. 00:01:15.20\00:01:17.77 We are going to connect kids with their Jesus, their Savior, 00:01:17.81\00:01:22.04 and I am so delighted to co-host with Shelley Quinn, 00:01:22.08\00:01:26.25 who is a God-fearing wonderful person 00:01:26.28\00:01:28.98 that loves Jesus, don't you? 00:01:29.02\00:01:30.52 Oh, I do and you also. 00:01:30.55\00:01:32.79 I guess I should call you Aunt Francine on this program. 00:01:32.82\00:01:36.42 Yes. 00:01:36.46\00:01:37.79 And we're so delighted that we have our guest today 00:01:37.83\00:01:40.46 and it's Rich Aguilera, 00:01:40.50\00:01:42.16 and he's also known as the mud guy. 00:01:42.20\00:01:45.13 And, I think you might be telling us 00:01:45.17\00:01:47.44 a little bit more about that? 00:01:47.47\00:01:49.34 Sounds like a plan. Rich. 00:01:49.37\00:01:50.71 I'll tell you what, 00:01:50.74\00:01:52.07 I know you had a difficult time getting here 00:01:52.11\00:01:53.94 because you had some car trouble, 00:01:53.98\00:01:56.31 but you look wide awake and I love your hat. 00:01:56.34\00:01:59.08 Everybody will recognize the hat because... 00:01:59.11\00:02:00.92 I'm ready for any adventure now. 00:02:00.95\00:02:02.88 3ABN Kids Network, you are the Bible treasure guy. 00:02:02.92\00:02:06.89 Yep. I just love it. 00:02:06.92\00:02:08.32 And you know what? 00:02:08.36\00:02:09.69 We actually have a third co-host, 00:02:09.72\00:02:13.93 Rich is our guest. 00:02:13.96\00:02:15.30 But we have a third co-host and she's sleeping on the job, 00:02:15.33\00:02:20.20 Ms. Ginger over here. 00:02:20.24\00:02:22.37 We're glad that Ginger is, 00:02:22.40\00:02:25.01 I think she is sound asleep. 00:02:25.04\00:02:26.57 Yeah, this is her nap time. Yeah. 00:02:26.61\00:02:29.24 And she likes resting, 00:02:29.28\00:02:30.61 but we are so delighted 00:02:30.65\00:02:31.98 that you took time to come over here 00:02:32.01\00:02:34.05 and telling us a little bit more 00:02:34.08\00:02:35.68 about what you are doing in your ministry 00:02:35.72\00:02:37.59 to share Jesus? 00:02:37.62\00:02:38.95 Absolutely, my pleasure to be here with you guys. 00:02:38.99\00:02:40.62 Well, before we begin, 00:02:40.66\00:02:42.29 we know that our audience loves music. 00:02:42.32\00:02:46.06 We know you love music, 00:02:46.09\00:02:48.00 and we have a song by one of my favorite people, 00:02:48.03\00:02:51.13 Stephanie Dawn. 00:02:51.17\00:02:52.60 I love her delivery 00:02:52.63\00:02:55.60 and she is going to sing where... 00:02:55.64\00:02:59.84 I'll go where You want me to go. 00:02:59.87\00:03:02.14 And there's a reason we chose this song. 00:03:02.18\00:03:04.78 You'll find out, stay with us. 00:03:04.81\00:03:06.55 It may not be on the mountain height 00:03:24.80\00:03:28.24 Or over the stormy sea 00:03:32.34\00:03:35.38 It may not be at the battle's front 00:03:40.02\00:03:43.82 My Lord will have need of me 00:03:47.82\00:03:52.56 But if by a still, small voice He calls 00:03:55.93\00:03:59.63 To paths I do not know 00:04:03.27\00:04:07.48 I'll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in Thine 00:04:11.01\00:04:15.35 I'll go where You want me to go 00:04:18.59\00:04:22.29 I'll go where You want me to go, dear Lord 00:04:26.70\00:04:30.83 O'er mountain or plain or sea 00:04:33.84\00:04:38.27 I'll say what you want me to say, dear Lord 00:04:41.41\00:04:45.18 I'll be what You want me to be 00:04:48.78\00:04:52.92 Perhaps today there are loving words 00:04:57.03\00:05:01.60 That Jesus would have me speak 00:05:04.63\00:05:07.40 There may be now, in the paths of sin 00:05:12.17\00:05:16.75 Some wand'rer whom I should seek 00:05:19.78\00:05:24.25 O Savior, if Thou wilt be my Guide 00:05:27.72\00:05:31.86 Tho dark and rugged the way 00:05:34.96\00:05:39.07 My voice shall echo the message sweet 00:05:42.54\00:05:46.84 I'll say what You want me to say. 00:05:49.84\00:05:53.42 I'll go where You want me to go, dear Lord 00:05:57.92\00:06:02.09 O'er mountain or plain or sea 00:06:04.96\00:06:09.20 I'll say what you want me to say, dear Lord 00:06:12.53\00:06:16.67 I'll be what You want me to be 00:06:20.14\00:06:23.88 There's surely somewhere a lowly place 00:06:39.16\00:06:42.66 In earth's harvest fields so wide 00:06:46.67\00:06:50.34 Where I may labor thru life's short day 00:06:53.78\00:06:57.41 For Jesus the Crucified 00:07:01.08\00:07:04.19 So, trusting my all unto Thy care 00:07:08.59\00:07:11.99 I know Thou lovest me 00:07:15.73\00:07:19.03 I'll do Thy will with a heart sincere 00:07:23.61\00:07:27.41 I'll be what You want me to be 00:07:31.21\00:07:34.28 I'll go where You want me to go, dear Lord 00:07:38.99\00:07:43.53 O'er mountain or plain or sea 00:07:46.16\00:07:49.63 I'll say what you want me to say, dear Lord 00:07:54.47\00:07:58.97 I'll be what You want me to be 00:08:04.05\00:08:07.92 Thank you, Stephanie Dawn. 00:08:29.60\00:08:30.94 I remember a time 00:08:30.97\00:08:32.47 when you might have been on some earlier programs 00:08:32.51\00:08:35.01 as a little child 00:08:35.04\00:08:36.38 and you know, Shelley did mention something 00:08:36.41\00:08:38.45 about how it, 00:08:38.48\00:08:40.98 how we all have a reason of where God wants us to be. 00:08:41.02\00:08:46.05 Where do you want to be today? 00:08:46.09\00:08:47.79 And I know that 00:08:47.82\00:08:49.16 sometimes we have plans laid out 00:08:49.19\00:08:50.53 and sometimes God shifts them around 00:08:50.56\00:08:52.53 and says, nope, 00:08:52.56\00:08:53.90 this is the path that I need you to take. 00:08:53.93\00:08:55.46 And I think Rich Aguilera, 00:08:55.50\00:08:57.13 you had something like that happened to you. 00:08:57.17\00:08:59.73 What did you study? 00:08:59.77\00:09:01.44 Well, I went to university to study architecture, 00:09:01.47\00:09:04.37 but, and it lasted for 15 years, 00:09:04.41\00:09:06.84 but it, you know, 00:09:06.88\00:09:08.21 I was kind of frustrated with it from the beginning. 00:09:08.24\00:09:09.61 I got into it because 00:09:09.64\00:09:11.41 I wanted to do something very creative 00:09:11.45\00:09:13.72 and I'm thinking architecture, 00:09:13.75\00:09:15.08 you know, I could design buildings 00:09:15.12\00:09:16.45 and create all these amazing structures. 00:09:16.48\00:09:18.75 And then I went into it and I found out that, 00:09:18.79\00:09:20.62 really architecture was the business 00:09:20.66\00:09:22.29 of building buildings. 00:09:22.32\00:09:24.43 And there was a lot of fighting with officials and inspectors 00:09:24.46\00:09:27.26 and banks and contractors. 00:09:27.30\00:09:28.80 And I was like, this is not. 00:09:28.83\00:09:30.20 Getting permits. 00:09:30.23\00:09:31.57 Yeah, getting permits. 00:09:31.60\00:09:32.93 So it's kind of funny 00:09:32.97\00:09:34.30 because then I ended up getting my creative thrills 00:09:34.34\00:09:36.50 at church, serving at church. 00:09:36.54\00:09:37.94 Wow! 00:09:37.97\00:09:39.31 At church? At church. 00:09:39.34\00:09:40.68 But I still, I did architecture for 15 years, 00:09:40.71\00:09:42.08 16 years, I think. 00:09:42.11\00:09:43.45 Wow! 00:09:43.48\00:09:44.81 So you were getting involved with children? 00:09:44.85\00:09:46.18 Yeah. I started off with the youth. 00:09:46.21\00:09:48.45 Were your kids already young at that age or what? 00:09:48.48\00:09:49.98 I didn't even have kids. 00:09:50.02\00:09:51.39 You didn't even have kids? No, no. 00:09:51.42\00:09:52.75 And you decided to do youth ministries 00:09:52.79\00:09:54.82 in your church? 00:09:54.86\00:09:56.19 Yes. And where was this at? 00:09:56.22\00:09:57.56 This is at Berrien Springs, Michigan. 00:09:57.59\00:09:58.93 Ah-aha. I know that place very well. 00:09:58.96\00:10:00.33 Yeah. 00:10:00.36\00:10:01.73 So I served kind of as a youth director 00:10:01.76\00:10:03.37 at our church for probably five or six years, 00:10:03.40\00:10:06.00 just got excited about working with youth kind of in 00:10:06.03\00:10:08.50 out of the box typesetting, 00:10:08.54\00:10:10.41 'cause we would do all sorts of really cool creative things 00:10:10.44\00:10:12.64 and, you know, Berrien Springs having so many youth, 00:10:12.67\00:10:15.34 it's interesting because our youth program 00:10:15.38\00:10:16.95 would actually get more attendance 00:10:16.98\00:10:18.88 than the main worship service on Sabbath morning. 00:10:18.91\00:10:21.12 Wow! 00:10:21.15\00:10:22.48 We really want to do 00:10:22.52\00:10:23.85 something special for the youth. 00:10:23.89\00:10:25.39 And then what happens is, 00:10:25.42\00:10:26.76 I started having nieces and nephews first 00:10:26.79\00:10:29.16 and we're like, 00:10:29.19\00:10:30.53 our shift kind of went towards children. 00:10:30.56\00:10:32.26 And then, of course, I had my own children 00:10:32.29\00:10:33.83 and then really it was just from there, 00:10:33.86\00:10:35.66 it was all children. 00:10:35.70\00:10:37.03 So tell us more about that? 00:10:37.07\00:10:39.07 Well, you know, 00:10:39.10\00:10:40.44 as I was looking for my creative thrills, 00:10:40.47\00:10:42.94 I always wanted to pour as much creative energy 00:10:42.97\00:10:44.81 into everything I did. 00:10:44.84\00:10:46.17 And one of the first things that happened was 00:10:46.21\00:10:49.18 I shifted from being the youth director 00:10:49.21\00:10:50.71 to helping out 00:10:50.75\00:10:52.08 with the children's ministry director. 00:10:52.11\00:10:53.72 First as a helper 00:10:53.75\00:10:55.08 and we would sit around at these tables 00:10:55.12\00:10:56.92 and we're like, what are we gonna do? 00:10:56.95\00:10:58.29 What exciting, awesome thing could we do? 00:10:58.32\00:10:59.72 'Cause we had been doing this youth ministry 00:10:59.75\00:11:03.06 and now we wanted to do something equally grand 00:11:03.09\00:11:05.76 and exciting for the kids 00:11:05.79\00:11:07.13 and we're thinking, okay, really needs to be exciting 00:11:07.16\00:11:09.90 and interesting and engaging. 00:11:09.93\00:11:12.40 So we started dreaming up ideas. 00:11:12.43\00:11:13.94 And the task 00:11:13.97\00:11:15.30 that we had been given for that office at church 00:11:15.34\00:11:18.84 was VBS. 00:11:18.87\00:11:20.54 And so, at first year or two, I think, 00:11:20.58\00:11:23.21 I mean, we just kinda went really overboard on our VBS 00:11:23.24\00:11:26.58 we just, huge sets and costumes and the whole thing. 00:11:26.61\00:11:30.39 And then I remember the first year 00:11:30.42\00:11:32.19 after we finished 00:11:32.22\00:11:33.56 and we had like 120 kids come out. 00:11:33.59\00:11:36.12 They had this amazing week 00:11:36.16\00:11:38.86 and then it finished 00:11:38.89\00:11:42.33 and we're like, see you next year. 00:11:42.36\00:11:45.07 Oh, that's great. That's awesome. 00:11:45.10\00:11:46.77 And we're like, wait a second, this doesn't sound right. 00:11:46.80\00:11:49.44 We didn't commit to that. Yeah. 00:11:49.47\00:11:50.81 I'm like, we just got these kids 00:11:50.84\00:11:52.27 super excited about Jesus. 00:11:52.31\00:11:53.64 We had this awesome encounter and engagement 00:11:53.68\00:11:55.71 for the whole week. 00:11:55.74\00:11:57.15 And then basically, 00:11:57.18\00:11:58.51 and we didn't tell the kids see you next year, 00:11:58.55\00:11:59.88 but we were telling ourselves, 00:11:59.91\00:12:01.75 we just did this amazing, 00:12:01.78\00:12:03.62 awesome encounter with Jesus and it ends then. 00:12:03.65\00:12:05.42 They want more. 00:12:05.45\00:12:06.86 Don't they want more? Can't we continue this? 00:12:06.89\00:12:09.06 So that's where the idea was born 00:12:09.09\00:12:10.63 of doing a children's church ministry. 00:12:10.66\00:12:13.86 And so we basically continued the theme of the VBS. 00:12:13.90\00:12:17.40 We kept our props 00:12:17.43\00:12:18.77 and our costumes and everything. 00:12:18.80\00:12:20.14 And we started doing 00:12:20.17\00:12:21.50 a Sabbath afternoon children's church every month. 00:12:21.54\00:12:23.41 Wow! How exciting. 00:12:23.44\00:12:24.77 And that's kind of how we really got kind of rolling 00:12:24.81\00:12:26.34 with expanding, kind of, our vision and view 00:12:26.37\00:12:28.78 of all the different ways 00:12:28.81\00:12:30.31 that you can really reach children, 00:12:30.35\00:12:31.68 but consistently. 00:12:31.71\00:12:33.05 Consistently. 00:12:33.08\00:12:34.42 'Cause doing it for a couple of days in the summer. 00:12:34.45\00:12:35.78 That was just not enough. 00:12:35.82\00:12:37.15 Wow! 00:12:37.19\00:12:38.52 I think you brought a real with you 00:12:38.55\00:12:39.89 about your children's church. 00:12:39.92\00:12:41.26 And I have to tell you, 00:12:41.29\00:12:42.62 I did children's church many years ago as well. 00:12:42.66\00:12:44.96 I've put together a whole children's church 00:12:44.99\00:12:46.80 and it's such an exciting idea to teach children, 00:12:46.83\00:12:53.44 not just, I mean, you're kind of teaching them 00:12:53.47\00:12:55.90 about church as well. 00:12:55.94\00:12:57.27 So let's look at that real right now. 00:12:57.31\00:12:59.41 That last one was you. That was me. 00:14:08.54\00:14:10.11 Wasn't it, Rich? 00:14:10.15\00:14:11.48 I was dressed up as a pharaoh. 00:14:11.51\00:14:12.85 How precious is that? 00:14:12.88\00:14:14.22 But I mean, the kids must love it. 00:14:14.25\00:14:15.58 How long, you went from VBS into children's church. 00:14:15.62\00:14:19.62 How long, what year was that? 00:14:19.65\00:14:22.26 Yeah, I'm trying to remember what year it was, 00:14:22.29\00:14:23.76 in the early 2000s 00:14:23.79\00:14:25.13 that we started doing the children's church. 00:14:25.16\00:14:26.49 And, of course, when the pandemic started, 00:14:26.53\00:14:29.10 we had to take a break. 00:14:29.13\00:14:30.47 You mean it's still going? It's still going. 00:14:30.50\00:14:32.43 Oh, praise the Lord, how much fun. 00:14:32.47\00:14:34.70 Now I know that you've also used puppets 00:14:34.74\00:14:39.24 in your children's ministry. 00:14:39.27\00:14:40.84 Now, there are a couple of people, 00:14:40.88\00:14:43.28 I've only met two 00:14:43.31\00:14:44.65 that didn't think puppets were right 00:14:44.68\00:14:46.01 and nobody else has said anything about it. 00:14:46.05\00:14:49.25 What's your experience been with puppets and children? 00:14:49.28\00:14:51.79 Puppets for us have been extremely powerful 00:14:51.82\00:14:54.42 and I'll use the word extremely 00:14:54.46\00:14:56.12 because we've seen it in action now 00:14:56.16\00:14:57.89 for almost 20 years. 00:14:57.93\00:14:59.26 We've had these two characters 00:14:59.29\00:15:00.63 that started off right at the beginning 00:15:00.66\00:15:02.00 with children's church called Dusty and Feather 00:15:02.03\00:15:04.37 and the kids, they adore them 00:15:04.40\00:15:06.97 because they almost grew up with these puppets. 00:15:07.00\00:15:08.54 But it was interesting because 00:15:08.57\00:15:10.31 my philosophy on puppets 00:15:10.34\00:15:11.67 has always been a little different 00:15:11.71\00:15:13.04 than maybe other people, 00:15:13.07\00:15:14.41 'cause for me, I wanted to choose puppet characters 00:15:14.44\00:15:17.05 that were a little strange 00:15:17.08\00:15:19.65 because when you're working with children, 00:15:19.68\00:15:21.28 you have to kind of think outside the box. 00:15:21.32\00:15:24.05 So I've always resisted having people puppets 00:15:24.09\00:15:27.66 'cause oftentimes when you see people do puppets, 00:15:27.69\00:15:30.43 it's two people talking to each other 00:15:30.46\00:15:32.29 and it's like normal. 00:15:32.33\00:15:34.16 So we created these characters 00:15:34.20\00:15:35.53 that are extra silly, extra goofy, 00:15:35.56\00:15:38.27 but they always bring a point home. 00:15:38.30\00:15:41.14 And for me, the puppets was basically 00:15:41.17\00:15:43.20 a way to connect with the kids 00:15:43.24\00:15:45.64 because we often just kind of talk at the kids 00:15:45.67\00:15:48.14 when we're doing children's ministries. 00:15:48.18\00:15:49.61 But the first thing that we have to establish 00:15:49.64\00:15:51.18 is a connection with them. 00:15:51.21\00:15:52.55 Yes. 00:15:52.58\00:15:53.92 So we have to figure out how can we connect with them? 00:15:53.95\00:15:55.28 And kids have grown up, 00:15:55.32\00:15:56.65 you know, whether it's watching Sesame Street or whatever, 00:15:56.69\00:15:58.02 they love puppets. 00:15:58.05\00:15:59.39 There's just something engaging about puppets. 00:15:59.42\00:16:00.76 Mr. Rogers. Exactly. 00:16:00.79\00:16:02.19 And if you can make them silly and funny 00:16:02.22\00:16:04.03 and, you know, crack jokes and whatever, 00:16:04.06\00:16:06.86 but they always come back to the center, 00:16:06.90\00:16:09.10 which is the point that you're trying to make, 00:16:09.13\00:16:10.70 the spiritual lesson. 00:16:10.73\00:16:12.07 We've found that the puppets were a great vehicle 00:16:12.10\00:16:15.14 for just getting an engagement moment 00:16:15.17\00:16:17.21 with the kids. 00:16:17.24\00:16:18.57 Once you got their attention, then you feed them the lesson. 00:16:18.61\00:16:21.08 And often they'll remember 00:16:21.11\00:16:23.31 what the puppet story was about for years. 00:16:23.35\00:16:25.78 I've had kids come up to me years later 00:16:25.81\00:16:27.35 and they're like telling me 00:16:27.38\00:16:28.72 one of their favorite Dusty and Feather moments. 00:16:28.75\00:16:30.09 Yeah. 00:16:30.12\00:16:31.45 So it is a powerful, 00:16:31.49\00:16:32.82 we've seen it to be a very powerful tool 00:16:32.85\00:16:34.19 for working with children. 00:16:34.22\00:16:35.56 Definitely. And I definitely see that. 00:16:35.59\00:16:37.39 So I believe something happened in 2008 00:16:37.43\00:16:41.86 that really shifted something that ties into our song. 00:16:41.90\00:16:44.53 Yeah. 00:16:44.57\00:16:45.90 Tell me a little bit about that? 00:16:45.93\00:16:47.27 Well, it's interesting. 00:16:47.30\00:16:48.64 I mean, I carried on my architecture career 00:16:48.67\00:16:50.01 because I figured that's what I prepared for. 00:16:50.04\00:16:51.41 So I have to keep doing this, 00:16:51.44\00:16:52.87 but I was getting my creative thrills 00:16:52.91\00:16:55.28 doing a children's church and the VBS 00:16:55.31\00:16:57.35 and different ministries. 00:16:57.38\00:16:59.55 And it's interesting because, 00:16:59.58\00:17:00.92 you know, by then, now 00:17:00.95\00:17:02.28 we've been doing children's church 00:17:02.32\00:17:03.65 for five, six years or something like that. 00:17:03.69\00:17:05.02 And a lot of people were starting to come up to me 00:17:05.05\00:17:06.42 and saying, hey, Rich, you know, wow, 00:17:06.45\00:17:07.79 these are just amazing things. 00:17:07.82\00:17:09.22 We don't see anyone anywhere else 00:17:09.26\00:17:10.66 doing these amazing programs for kids 00:17:10.69\00:17:12.89 and doing, you know, all this year-round, 00:17:12.93\00:17:15.30 you know, reaching children. 00:17:15.33\00:17:17.70 And they started kind of poking me spiritually. 00:17:17.73\00:17:19.97 They're like, do you think 00:17:20.00\00:17:21.34 maybe you've been kind of called to do this, 00:17:21.37\00:17:23.47 you know, ministry a little bit more full-time 00:17:23.51\00:17:26.44 or pour more of your energy to do this, 00:17:26.47\00:17:29.04 you know, all those kinds of nods and pushes. 00:17:29.08\00:17:32.35 So I finally kinda, 00:17:32.38\00:17:33.75 I think it was in 2006, I started praying. 00:17:33.78\00:17:35.48 I'm like, God, you know, 00:17:35.52\00:17:36.85 a lot of people just saying this all of a sudden, 00:17:36.89\00:17:38.45 if this is really something You want me to do, 00:17:38.49\00:17:40.16 you know, the deal that I made with God. 00:17:40.19\00:17:42.52 And I think I've mentioned it on the show before is 00:17:42.56\00:17:45.46 if You open the door, I'll walk through it. 00:17:45.49\00:17:48.36 And that's exactly what happened. 00:17:48.40\00:17:51.00 That's a whole long story all there, 00:17:51.03\00:17:53.17 but, God created an opportunity for me 00:17:53.20\00:17:55.60 to put my architecture career on the side 00:17:55.64\00:18:01.71 and start working full time in 2008, 00:18:01.74\00:18:05.01 doing this ministry work for children and the goal, 00:18:05.05\00:18:07.75 which is, you know, 00:18:07.78\00:18:09.12 our program today is about connecting kids with Jesus, 00:18:09.15\00:18:12.02 especially in today's world 00:18:12.05\00:18:13.39 where there's so much distractions, 00:18:13.42\00:18:14.82 so much noise, so much other things going on. 00:18:14.86\00:18:17.46 It only makes the job even harder, 00:18:17.49\00:18:18.86 which means we have to work extra harder 00:18:18.89\00:18:21.16 to be able to connect with them 00:18:21.20\00:18:22.53 and get creative and try new things 00:18:22.56\00:18:23.90 and experiment. 00:18:23.93\00:18:25.27 And so that's kinda what we've ended up 00:18:25.30\00:18:26.97 focusing on with our ministry. 00:18:27.00\00:18:28.60 And I love the title of your ministry. 00:18:28.64\00:18:32.17 It's One Mustard Seed. 00:18:32.21\00:18:35.64 And if you want to get in touch with Rich 00:18:35.68\00:18:38.55 or connect with his ministry, 00:18:38.58\00:18:40.38 you can go to OneMustardSeed.com. 00:18:40.42\00:18:45.49 How'd you come up with that name? 00:18:45.52\00:18:47.19 Well, It's interesting because, 00:18:47.22\00:18:50.13 the idea of starting a ministry 00:18:50.16\00:18:51.96 was basically a massive leap of faith 00:18:51.99\00:18:54.10 'cause it was leaving a stable architecture career 00:18:54.13\00:18:57.57 to start a ministry, serving God, 00:18:57.60\00:18:59.67 working with, for children, 00:18:59.70\00:19:01.57 without having any idea what you're doing 00:19:01.60\00:19:03.64 or where to go or where to start. 00:19:03.67\00:19:05.71 Or how you're gonna support your family? 00:19:05.74\00:19:07.21 Or how are you going to support your family, exactly. 00:19:07.24\00:19:08.58 That's a big one. Exactly. 00:19:08.61\00:19:10.11 And you know when we started the ministry, 00:19:10.15\00:19:11.48 I'm like, all right, it'd be great 00:19:11.51\00:19:12.85 if we can get a name that reflects 00:19:12.88\00:19:14.42 this massive leap of faith 00:19:14.45\00:19:15.78 that we're gonna take to serve God. 00:19:15.82\00:19:18.02 And so, you know, 00:19:18.05\00:19:19.39 I thought of the mustard seed story 00:19:19.42\00:19:21.02 in the Bible, 00:19:21.06\00:19:22.39 and I thought to really punctuate it, 00:19:22.42\00:19:24.29 it's one mustard seed. 00:19:24.33\00:19:25.69 You're going to get a massive tree, a mustard tree, 00:19:25.73\00:19:28.73 and you only need one of those tiny little seeds 00:19:28.76\00:19:31.00 to get that tree. 00:19:31.03\00:19:32.37 Just a little step of faith. 00:19:32.40\00:19:33.74 One mustard seed 00:19:33.77\00:19:35.10 is all you need to get this tree 00:19:35.14\00:19:36.60 and that's kinda working. 00:19:36.64\00:19:37.97 You've been planting seeds for the Lord for a long time. 00:19:38.01\00:19:40.94 Definitely. 00:19:40.98\00:19:42.48 So, tell us a little bit about your early ministry 00:19:42.51\00:19:46.35 when you got started? 00:19:46.38\00:19:47.72 What was that like? 00:19:47.75\00:19:49.08 Yeah, so, it's interesting because we kind of started off 00:19:49.12\00:19:53.12 by going to an ASI Convention. 00:19:53.15\00:19:56.26 The one that was in Tampa that year, I think it was 2008. 00:19:56.29\00:19:59.73 And, it's kind of neat because 00:19:59.76\00:20:01.93 while I was in the chow line that first day, 00:20:01.96\00:20:05.23 I went there and it's interesting 00:20:05.27\00:20:06.60 'cause I went to set up a booth there 00:20:06.63\00:20:08.10 having no idea what I was doing. 00:20:08.14\00:20:09.90 I didn't have a product, 00:20:09.94\00:20:11.27 I didn't have a resource 00:20:11.31\00:20:12.64 we just, we were launching our ministry blind, 00:20:12.67\00:20:15.94 but it's interesting because right in line 00:20:15.98\00:20:17.78 I had Randy Fishel 00:20:17.81\00:20:19.61 who used to be the editor of Guide magazine 00:20:19.65\00:20:22.08 standing right behind me in line. 00:20:22.12\00:20:23.45 And I don't know what the deal was, 00:20:23.49\00:20:24.82 but the lines took like 45 minutes 00:20:24.85\00:20:26.65 to get to the food. 00:20:26.69\00:20:28.12 And we spent the whole 45 minutes talking 00:20:28.16\00:20:29.96 and brainstorming and dreaming. 00:20:29.99\00:20:31.33 And I shared with him what I was doing. 00:20:31.36\00:20:32.86 And he shared with me, you know, what? 00:20:32.89\00:20:34.46 We're looking for a Guide magazine nature columnist. 00:20:34.50\00:20:38.10 We want you to be that person. 00:20:38.13\00:20:39.47 Oh, praise God. Wow. 00:20:39.50\00:20:40.84 Right there in line, we got our start. 00:20:40.87\00:20:42.84 I got my start writing a column for Guide magazine. 00:20:42.87\00:20:45.54 That was a divine appointment. 00:20:45.57\00:20:47.24 Yes. Definitely. 00:20:47.28\00:20:48.61 So that's kind of how we got started. 00:20:48.64\00:20:49.98 And then one thing, 00:20:50.01\00:20:51.35 and then we started doing more writing projects. 00:20:51.38\00:20:54.52 We started trying to do video type projects and events. 00:20:54.55\00:20:57.79 So it just kinda kept going God works in mysterious ways. 00:20:57.82\00:21:01.19 And He opens the doors 00:21:01.22\00:21:02.56 and our job is just to walk through them. 00:21:02.59\00:21:04.39 And what I noticed though also is that 00:21:04.43\00:21:06.86 it takes your whole family to support it. 00:21:06.90\00:21:08.96 Like for me, I know with Amanda, 00:21:09.00\00:21:11.80 she has to almost buy into it 00:21:11.83\00:21:13.30 and I'm sure your sons had to participate too 00:21:13.34\00:21:16.30 and just buy into it and be supportive. 00:21:16.34\00:21:17.71 Absolutely. 00:21:17.74\00:21:19.07 Having the full support of the family, 00:21:19.11\00:21:20.44 my wife and the boys, 00:21:20.48\00:21:21.91 you know, having us all be invested in 00:21:21.94\00:21:23.95 because going forward, 00:21:23.98\00:21:25.41 a lot of the things that we did was a team of four 00:21:25.45\00:21:28.52 to get it done, whether it was traveling 00:21:28.55\00:21:29.98 or, you know, the kids got involved 00:21:30.02\00:21:31.35 in children's church and they still are. 00:21:31.39\00:21:34.42 We taught them how to run the puppets. 00:21:34.46\00:21:36.02 So part of our goal with the children's church 00:21:36.06\00:21:38.53 was to put a lot of the kids to work. 00:21:38.56\00:21:40.66 And it was a really amazing ministry and still is 00:21:40.70\00:21:42.66 because we're serving 00:21:42.70\00:21:44.03 sometimes up to 150 children in the month, 00:21:44.07\00:21:47.57 but we employ, we call them our junior staff. 00:21:47.60\00:21:51.11 So we have maybe 25 00:21:51.14\00:21:52.57 of what I'd say is our juniors and early teens. 00:21:52.61\00:21:55.48 And then the actual children's church program 00:21:55.51\00:21:57.31 is run by about 40 or 50 high school students. 00:21:57.35\00:21:59.98 I know you've written a number of books, 00:22:00.02\00:22:01.88 but I just have to tell you or ask you, 00:22:01.92\00:22:04.35 have you ever written down 00:22:04.39\00:22:06.15 the kind of like the blueprint, Mr. Architect, 00:22:06.19\00:22:11.89 for how to do children's church? 00:22:11.93\00:22:13.90 Not really. 00:22:13.93\00:22:15.26 You need to 'cause this is an idea 00:22:15.30\00:22:18.43 that should go from church to church. 00:22:18.47\00:22:20.90 You're getting young people, the youth involved 00:22:20.94\00:22:24.44 that gives them a purpose. 00:22:24.47\00:22:26.54 You're training up little, I mean the little children. 00:22:26.57\00:22:29.94 You need to write a book for adults. 00:22:29.98\00:22:31.85 I know you've written five or six books. 00:22:31.88\00:22:33.58 Put it on the list. 00:22:33.62\00:22:36.12 We're getting closer though. 00:22:36.15\00:22:37.49 I see a lot of his planning going on for sure. 00:22:37.52\00:22:40.59 Yeah. 00:22:40.62\00:22:41.96 But yeah, those were amazing years for sure. 00:22:41.99\00:22:44.89 And I know that 00:22:44.93\00:22:46.49 you were planning something else 00:22:46.53\00:22:48.16 before the pandemic hit. 00:22:48.20\00:22:50.53 What was that? 00:22:50.57\00:22:51.90 What was something that you were dreaming up? 00:22:51.93\00:22:53.27 Because you're always coming up with new ideas. 00:22:53.30\00:22:54.64 Yeah. 00:22:54.67\00:22:56.00 I love, I enjoy seeing what you come up with next. 00:22:56.04\00:22:58.27 And it's always, of course, exciting working with you guys 00:22:58.31\00:23:01.08 because you guys are ready to try interesting things 00:23:01.11\00:23:03.21 and working with the kids. 00:23:03.24\00:23:04.58 And before the pandemic, 00:23:04.61\00:23:06.08 we were dreaming up about a show 00:23:06.11\00:23:07.88 that we were gonna work on together 00:23:07.92\00:23:09.32 right here at 3ABN. 00:23:09.35\00:23:10.69 And, again, trying to think outside the box, 00:23:10.72\00:23:12.79 what would be exciting, what would be unique? 00:23:12.82\00:23:15.02 And I came up with this idea that we were about to launch, 00:23:15.06\00:23:18.23 didn't have a name yet. 00:23:18.26\00:23:19.59 I don't think we even had a working title yet, 00:23:19.63\00:23:21.70 but the idea was to take a group of families, 00:23:21.73\00:23:25.03 eight, ten different families 00:23:25.07\00:23:26.80 on this week, long adventure 00:23:26.84\00:23:29.30 to some exotic international place. 00:23:29.34\00:23:32.31 And we had planned this first one to be in Costa Rica. 00:23:32.34\00:23:35.24 And we were gonna go there. 00:23:35.28\00:23:36.61 And basically with these families, 00:23:36.64\00:23:37.98 we're gonna spend a week there 00:23:38.01\00:23:39.35 and every day would be an adventure. 00:23:39.38\00:23:41.48 And we'd be zealous. 00:23:41.52\00:23:43.08 I was excited because I wanted to go too. 00:23:43.12\00:23:45.89 We were gonna be zip-lining and caving and, 00:23:45.92\00:23:48.66 you know, whitewater rafting. 00:23:48.69\00:23:50.03 Spelunking. And spelunking. 00:23:50.06\00:23:51.83 And, that would be kind of a little morning activity. 00:23:51.86\00:23:53.96 And then in the afternoon, 00:23:54.00\00:23:55.33 the families would have time 00:23:55.36\00:23:56.70 to just kind of be on their own and do some family stuff. 00:23:56.73\00:23:59.03 And then we would also work in the production 00:23:59.07\00:24:02.27 of a reality TV show 00:24:02.30\00:24:04.44 featuring these eight or ten families, 00:24:04.47\00:24:06.88 lightly scripted. 00:24:06.91\00:24:08.24 So the kids would say a line, 00:24:08.28\00:24:09.61 and then we tied all together with the B roll. 00:24:09.64\00:24:11.05 And it was just the kind of this exciting, 00:24:11.08\00:24:13.01 all outdoors, all surrounded by God's nature, 00:24:13.05\00:24:15.95 you know, kids and families, 00:24:15.98\00:24:17.32 parents all interacting together. 00:24:17.35\00:24:18.89 And, so we're, we still have that on the table 00:24:18.92\00:24:21.72 with Francine 00:24:21.76\00:24:23.09 and we're hoping to, you know, be able to get back on that. 00:24:23.12\00:24:25.89 I would like to see that happening 00:24:25.93\00:24:27.66 because that would be such a wonderful adventure 00:24:27.70\00:24:30.27 to have that come alive again and again, 00:24:30.30\00:24:32.70 not scripted having it, just a lot of fun for the kids. 00:24:32.73\00:24:36.24 Now, I think we have another roll in for that one, 00:24:36.27\00:24:38.14 don't we? 00:24:38.17\00:24:39.51 Not for that one, I don't think. 00:24:39.54\00:24:42.74 It would be something. 00:24:42.78\00:24:44.11 The dinosaur one? 00:24:44.15\00:24:45.48 Oh, the dinosaur one will be coming soon. 00:24:45.51\00:24:47.62 So tell us about that? 00:24:47.65\00:24:48.98 So that was more about 00:24:49.02\00:24:50.35 the events part of our ministry. 00:24:50.39\00:24:51.72 So after we had been doing the children's church 00:24:51.75\00:24:54.02 after I started writing for Guide magazine. 00:24:54.06\00:24:57.09 We were trying to figure out 00:24:57.13\00:24:58.46 how else can we connect with people, 00:24:58.49\00:25:00.50 especially with the kids. 00:25:00.53\00:25:02.36 By then, I had been doing a lot of TV and production work 00:25:02.40\00:25:05.87 and, okay, you can reach people across the world 00:25:05.90\00:25:09.10 by watching something, 00:25:09.14\00:25:11.01 but it occurred to me that 00:25:11.04\00:25:12.37 the next exciting way to connect with kids 00:25:12.41\00:25:15.74 would be to do it directly in person. 00:25:15.78\00:25:18.65 And I thought, okay, well, how do we do that? 00:25:18.68\00:25:20.52 'Cause we were doing that with children's church 00:25:20.55\00:25:22.12 just in our little community. 00:25:22.15\00:25:24.19 How do we take that out? 00:25:24.22\00:25:25.95 And so, that kind of ushered in a part of, 00:25:25.99\00:25:29.52 or a timeline of our ministry, 00:25:29.56\00:25:31.13 where we started doing events 00:25:31.16\00:25:33.16 and I started getting invitations 00:25:33.19\00:25:34.80 to speak at a lot of churches and come for a weekend. 00:25:34.83\00:25:37.10 And that kind of eventually 00:25:37.13\00:25:38.90 evolved into the idea of producing a touring event. 00:25:38.93\00:25:43.47 And that's where this dinosaur, program kinda came in. 00:25:43.51\00:25:47.74 I toured a dinosaur show, for four years 00:25:47.78\00:25:50.41 we did over 100 cities in four or five countries. 00:25:50.45\00:25:55.25 We were just cruising. 00:25:55.28\00:25:57.59 We were continuing to do that, 00:25:57.62\00:25:59.55 but I saw such an interesting opportunity 00:25:59.59\00:26:02.02 to reach kids with this topic 00:26:02.06\00:26:04.26 because a lot of people think, 00:26:04.29\00:26:05.63 dinosaurs, everyone loves dinosaurs. 00:26:05.66\00:26:07.76 But for me, this was really an opportunity 00:26:07.80\00:26:09.83 to touch on the creation topic. 00:26:09.86\00:26:12.67 Amen. Absolutely. 00:26:12.70\00:26:14.04 'Cause it automatically rolls into that 00:26:14.07\00:26:15.40 because dinosaurs almost represent this conflict 00:26:15.44\00:26:17.67 between the creation and evolution concepts. 00:26:17.71\00:26:21.11 So if we use dinosaurs as our hook 00:26:21.14\00:26:23.48 to get the kids excited, engaged, 00:26:23.51\00:26:25.25 and they come and then they get to learn 00:26:25.28\00:26:27.28 how these creatures fit into the biblical worldview. 00:26:27.32\00:26:30.39 And it turns out that, 00:26:30.42\00:26:31.75 you know, the hunch was right 00:26:31.79\00:26:33.12 and we did this 00:26:33.15\00:26:34.49 a hundred cities for four years. 00:26:34.52\00:26:35.86 And at the end of that, 00:26:35.89\00:26:37.23 I was thinking this really needs to be bigger. 00:26:37.26\00:26:40.26 This really could do a lot more. 00:26:40.30\00:26:42.50 We could really reach out into the community 00:26:42.53\00:26:44.57 instead of just kind of serving the members 00:26:44.60\00:26:46.87 and, you know, clubs and stuff like that. 00:26:46.90\00:26:49.44 This would be an exciting show for outreach, for evangelism, 00:26:49.47\00:26:52.71 you know, come out and learn what the Bible says, 00:26:52.74\00:26:55.21 you know, and just have fun 00:26:55.24\00:26:56.58 and be this big colorful program. 00:26:56.61\00:26:58.81 So that's where we came to this idea of launching 00:26:58.85\00:27:02.08 a new tour called Dinosaur Encounter. 00:27:02.12\00:27:05.19 And we were about to launch when the pandemic hit. 00:27:05.22\00:27:11.03 Rich, one thing I so admire about you, 00:27:11.06\00:27:12.83 and I have to say this, 00:27:12.86\00:27:14.23 is your commitment 00:27:14.26\00:27:15.93 to the creation story of the Bible. 00:27:15.96\00:27:18.93 Here in schools, we have kids who are being taught evolution, 00:27:18.97\00:27:24.57 and you on the other hand 00:27:24.61\00:27:26.78 are teaching them the truth about God's seven day week, 00:27:26.81\00:27:33.68 His six day creation and the Sabbath. 00:27:33.72\00:27:36.12 I so appreciate that. 00:27:36.15\00:27:37.49 And what we wanna do right now is 00:27:37.52\00:27:40.02 let's look at that short clip on the Dino project. 00:27:40.06\00:27:44.03 Join me, Rich Aguilera, 00:28:06.72\00:28:08.38 as we explore evidence from science, 00:28:08.42\00:28:10.65 nature history, and the Bible. 00:28:10.69\00:28:13.79 What happened to the dinosaurs? 00:28:13.82\00:28:15.76 When did they live? 00:28:15.79\00:28:17.19 Did they really evolve over millions of years? 00:28:17.23\00:28:20.20 What does the Bible say? 00:28:20.23\00:28:21.96 I'd like to invite you and your family 00:28:28.54\00:28:30.77 to join me for this Bible based Dinosaur Encounter. 00:28:30.81\00:28:34.41 As we ask questions and search for the truth. 00:28:34.44\00:28:38.18 Oh, and everyone gets 3D glasses. 00:28:38.21\00:28:41.48 I hope to see you soon. 00:28:41.52\00:28:42.85 I want to be there and wear those 3D glasses 00:28:46.35\00:28:49.59 because that just sounds exciting. 00:28:49.62\00:28:50.96 It does. 00:28:50.99\00:28:52.33 Even those dinosaurs jumping out at you 00:28:52.36\00:28:54.00 and, oh, I would, it will be just phenomenal just the end, 00:28:54.03\00:28:57.63 the kids are just so engaged and so excited. 00:28:57.67\00:28:59.67 What a fun way to kind of make the show 00:28:59.70\00:29:01.04 just jump out right into the audience for them. 00:29:01.07\00:29:03.00 Which leads me into something else 00:29:03.04\00:29:04.74 that I think you were hoping to tackle as well. 00:29:04.77\00:29:07.41 You've tackled that 00:29:07.44\00:29:09.41 brought in a new dimension for your ministry. 00:29:09.44\00:29:11.81 What is that? 00:29:11.85\00:29:13.55 Was that talking about film making possibly? 00:29:13.58\00:29:17.25 And really, how did you decide to get into that? 00:29:17.29\00:29:19.79 So several years ago, 00:29:19.82\00:29:21.16 when I was trying to think of new areas 00:29:21.19\00:29:23.12 to connect with kids, 00:29:23.16\00:29:25.39 I started thinking and praying 00:29:25.43\00:29:26.80 about the concept of filmmaking or movies. 00:29:26.83\00:29:30.27 And I started reflecting on, 00:29:30.30\00:29:31.93 you know, okay, first of all, 00:29:31.97\00:29:33.57 how did Jesus connect with people? 00:29:33.60\00:29:35.90 And I think it's fair to say that 00:29:35.94\00:29:37.81 one of His favorite teaching tools 00:29:37.84\00:29:39.77 was storytelling. 00:29:39.81\00:29:41.84 And when I thought of 00:29:41.88\00:29:43.21 what would be the equivalent of that concept 00:29:43.24\00:29:46.21 in today times 00:29:46.25\00:29:49.65 I concluded that, you know, movies are extremely popular. 00:29:49.68\00:29:54.26 I'm trying to remember the statistic, 00:29:54.29\00:29:55.62 but last time I checked, 00:29:55.66\00:29:56.99 it was like 3 billion tickets are sold 00:29:57.03\00:29:59.56 for people in North America alone 00:29:59.59\00:30:01.26 to go see movies every single year. 00:30:01.30\00:30:03.47 People are drawn to movies. They love the story concept. 00:30:03.50\00:30:06.80 And Jesus, you know, 00:30:06.84\00:30:08.17 used that idea of telling a story 00:30:08.20\00:30:09.80 to teach a point. 00:30:09.84\00:30:11.47 And I was reflecting and thinking, you know, 00:30:11.51\00:30:13.94 church doesn't do a whole lot of that kind of project. 00:30:13.98\00:30:16.64 Would it be possible for me 00:30:16.68\00:30:18.01 to kind of try to nudge the church in that direction 00:30:18.05\00:30:20.25 by tackling that kind of a project? 00:30:20.28\00:30:22.78 Fortunately, I got some support. 00:30:22.82\00:30:24.22 I worked with the North American division 00:30:24.25\00:30:25.59 stewardship department 00:30:25.62\00:30:26.96 and we started this project. 00:30:26.99\00:30:29.36 It was a small indie film, 00:30:29.39\00:30:31.39 but we wanted to at least come out and try something. 00:30:31.43\00:30:34.63 And we produced, I wrote and directed, 00:30:34.66\00:30:36.16 and produced a movie called The Mysterious Note, 00:30:36.20\00:30:38.60 which teaches kids stewardship principles 00:30:38.63\00:30:41.80 from the point of view of being faithful to God 00:30:41.84\00:30:44.71 in every single thing. 00:30:44.74\00:30:46.07 'Cause oftentimes 00:30:46.11\00:30:47.44 we think of stewardship as just, 00:30:47.48\00:30:48.81 you know, tithes and offerings, 00:30:48.84\00:30:50.18 but it's so much more 00:30:50.21\00:30:51.55 and we wanted the kids to understand 00:30:51.58\00:30:52.91 the stewardship principle is huge in everything you do, 00:30:52.95\00:30:55.52 trusting God, having faith in God 00:30:55.55\00:30:57.09 with your time, with your money, 00:30:57.12\00:30:58.45 with your talents, with your family, 00:30:58.49\00:30:59.82 with your resources, with everything, 00:30:59.85\00:31:01.66 it's a way of life. 00:31:01.69\00:31:03.02 It's not just this thing that you do once in a while. 00:31:03.06\00:31:05.39 And that was what the movie set out to do. 00:31:05.43\00:31:07.13 And it's been a really fun project. 00:31:07.16\00:31:10.00 It's been fun, kind of seeing it 00:31:10.03\00:31:11.37 over the last couple of years come out. 00:31:11.40\00:31:12.77 It's, I think closing in on 2 million views now, 00:31:12.80\00:31:16.77 which is exciting to see. 00:31:16.81\00:31:18.37 That's only the trackable ones? 00:31:18.41\00:31:19.94 Right, exactly. That's just the trackable one. 00:31:19.97\00:31:21.88 So it was a neat project 00:31:21.91\00:31:23.35 and always, thinking and wondering 00:31:23.38\00:31:26.25 if I'll be able to do another project like that, 00:31:26.28\00:31:28.68 it's been on my mind. 00:31:28.72\00:31:30.05 So just kind of waiting to right opportunity 00:31:30.09\00:31:32.05 to see if that happen. 00:31:32.09\00:31:33.42 So you already thinking about making something else. 00:31:33.46\00:31:34.79 Absolutely. I have a story idea. 00:31:34.82\00:31:36.83 He never stops thinking. 00:31:36.86\00:31:38.19 Yeah, he is always dreaming. It's a problem. 00:31:38.23\00:31:39.66 He is always dreaming something up. 00:31:39.69\00:31:41.06 Yeah, no. 00:31:41.10\00:31:42.43 So I have a story idea, you know, just... 00:31:42.46\00:31:44.43 We so appreciate what you do with 3ABN Kids Network 00:31:44.47\00:31:50.17 and your Bible Treasures program 00:31:50.21\00:31:52.21 is a lot of fun for adults as well as for the kids. 00:31:52.24\00:31:56.64 But I'm an author. 00:31:56.68\00:31:59.11 People always told me 00:31:59.15\00:32:00.48 I should write a book all my life 00:32:00.52\00:32:01.85 and I always said, 00:32:01.88\00:32:03.25 "I will never write a book 00:32:03.28\00:32:04.69 unless I write it for the Lord's glory." 00:32:04.72\00:32:07.72 And then, one day 00:32:07.76\00:32:10.13 God called me here to do a series. 00:32:10.16\00:32:12.19 And they said we want a book to go along with it. 00:32:12.23\00:32:14.30 And that's when I wrote my first book. 00:32:14.33\00:32:16.46 I know that 00:32:16.50\00:32:17.83 the first couple of books you wrote are called for, 00:32:17.87\00:32:22.97 one was with Guide magazine. 00:32:23.00\00:32:24.77 It's called Mud. 00:32:24.81\00:32:26.14 That's why they call you the Mud guy, right? 00:32:26.17\00:32:28.71 That's right, yep. 00:32:28.74\00:32:30.08 The Off-Road Discoveries, 00:32:30.11\00:32:32.25 and then Passport to Adventures. 00:32:32.28\00:32:35.78 Both of these books are available at Pacific Press. 00:32:35.82\00:32:40.89 Do you also have them on your? 00:32:40.92\00:32:42.26 I have them on my store. 00:32:42.29\00:32:43.63 So are, or you can go to OneMustardSeed.com 00:32:43.66\00:32:49.76 and these are terrific books. 00:32:49.80\00:32:51.20 That's why the kids all know you as the mud guy. 00:32:51.23\00:32:53.77 And the Passport one is in Spanish as well. 00:32:53.80\00:32:56.44 That's wonderful. 00:32:56.47\00:32:57.81 That's The Passport to Adventure? 00:32:57.84\00:32:59.97 Yep. There they are. Okay. 00:33:00.01\00:33:01.34 Tell, tell me, because I know that when, 00:33:01.38\00:33:04.55 when it was time to write, God just said, write, 00:33:04.58\00:33:08.18 how did you transition into writing? 00:33:08.22\00:33:10.82 Yeah, that was tricky. 00:33:10.85\00:33:12.19 So when we were doing the children's church 00:33:12.22\00:33:14.09 kind of time of our ministry, 00:33:14.12\00:33:16.32 that would require a considerable amount of writing 00:33:16.36\00:33:18.29 'cause when we first started, 00:33:18.33\00:33:20.53 we looked around for curriculum 00:33:20.56\00:33:21.90 to see if anything was available, 00:33:21.93\00:33:23.26 that we could just buy and produce. 00:33:23.30\00:33:26.23 There was nothing. 00:33:26.27\00:33:27.60 So we're like, okay, 00:33:27.64\00:33:28.97 I guess we're gonna have to just write this ourselves. 00:33:29.00\00:33:30.74 So I partnered with my brother-in-law 00:33:30.77\00:33:32.34 and who is also just super passionate 00:33:32.37\00:33:34.58 and creative and loves children. 00:33:34.61\00:33:37.18 And we just started writing these, 00:33:37.21\00:33:39.45 you know, I'm trying to remember 00:33:39.48\00:33:40.82 it was 16-page scripts, 00:33:40.85\00:33:42.85 every single time we'd produce these programs 00:33:42.88\00:33:44.89 word for word. 00:33:44.92\00:33:46.25 And so we just kind of developed 00:33:46.29\00:33:47.62 this passion for writing. 00:33:47.66\00:33:48.99 So, creative writing to me wasn't, 00:33:49.02\00:33:50.93 I didn't think of it as writing. 00:33:50.96\00:33:52.29 It was just a matter of getting ideas down 00:33:52.33\00:33:54.23 so that they could become real. 00:33:54.26\00:33:56.63 So that's kind of where it started. 00:33:56.67\00:33:58.00 And then when I was asked to write for Guide magazine 00:33:58.03\00:33:59.70 for their column every month, 00:33:59.73\00:34:01.50 that just kind of took it to the next step. 00:34:01.54\00:34:04.04 And then, for some reason, 00:34:04.07\00:34:05.47 I don't know where it came from, 00:34:05.51\00:34:06.84 I just suddenly loved to write. 00:34:06.88\00:34:08.91 But let me ask you, 00:34:08.94\00:34:11.28 have you always, I mean the mud guy or mud, 00:34:11.31\00:34:15.58 this is all about nature 00:34:15.62\00:34:17.32 and some of the coolest thoughts. 00:34:17.35\00:34:20.36 Has nature always just, 00:34:20.39\00:34:22.32 God's creation just always really spoken to you? 00:34:22.36\00:34:25.33 Absolutely. 00:34:25.36\00:34:27.00 I was that kid that never wanted to be inside. 00:34:27.03\00:34:29.20 Okay. 00:34:29.23\00:34:30.57 I was, if it's snowing, raining, lightning, thunder, 00:34:30.60\00:34:32.63 I just want to be outside. I wanna be on a tree. 00:34:32.67\00:34:34.77 I wanna be exploring, 00:34:34.80\00:34:36.17 you know, when I grew up, I, 00:34:36.20\00:34:37.61 you know, bought the hat. 00:34:37.64\00:34:38.97 It was in a character that I created. 00:34:39.01\00:34:40.38 This is just who I am, 00:34:40.41\00:34:41.74 you know, driving a jeep forever. 00:34:41.78\00:34:43.91 You know, I just wanted to be engaged 00:34:43.95\00:34:45.95 and connected with nature. 00:34:45.98\00:34:47.55 And, of course, as I grew older 00:34:47.58\00:34:48.92 and I realized that, 00:34:48.95\00:34:50.29 wow, this is a great way to connect with God 00:34:50.32\00:34:52.32 because nature is His artwork. 00:34:52.35\00:34:54.76 Amen. 00:34:54.79\00:34:56.12 It's His second book. 00:34:56.16\00:34:57.49 So I found it as a really close spiritual connection 00:34:57.53\00:35:00.13 being connected with nature. 00:35:00.16\00:35:01.56 So my goal with the writing for Guide 00:35:01.60\00:35:03.93 with the Passport to Adventure with the Mud book 00:35:03.97\00:35:06.47 is about connecting kids 00:35:06.50\00:35:08.07 with something from God that's literally tangible. 00:35:08.10\00:35:10.97 Now, Passport to Adventure 00:35:11.01\00:35:12.71 is a daily devotional for a year. 00:35:12.74\00:35:14.21 It is a daily devotional. 00:35:14.24\00:35:15.81 Is that a lot of, 00:35:15.84\00:35:18.65 a lot of nature in here as well? 00:35:18.68\00:35:20.52 Because the focus of the book is the travel adventures 00:35:20.55\00:35:23.79 that I've experienced. 00:35:23.82\00:35:25.15 So I've, as of this writing, I've been to 82 countries 00:35:25.19\00:35:28.62 which a lot of that travel was my fascination for 00:35:28.66\00:35:33.40 not just historical places and cities, 00:35:33.43\00:35:35.00 but a lot of the nature places that you can visit. 00:35:35.03\00:35:38.90 So a lot of the adventures 00:35:38.93\00:35:40.34 that I talk about in there are visits to very unique places, 00:35:40.37\00:35:44.14 formations, canyons, 00:35:44.17\00:35:46.57 you know, dinosaur digs, 00:35:46.61\00:35:48.31 so it's all kind of wrapped into their, 00:35:48.34\00:35:49.94 every day is a new adventure. 00:35:49.98\00:35:51.31 That's cool. 00:35:51.35\00:35:52.68 I liked some of them 00:35:52.71\00:35:54.05 because I could relate to some of them 00:35:54.08\00:35:55.42 near Switzerland and France. 00:35:55.45\00:35:56.79 And I was like, I like those. 00:35:56.82\00:35:58.15 It's funny too 00:35:58.19\00:35:59.52 because I get a lot of people that are like, 00:35:59.55\00:36:00.89 I was there and all that, 00:36:00.92\00:36:02.26 that story was really special to me 00:36:02.29\00:36:03.63 because we went there last year with my family. 00:36:03.66\00:36:04.99 So it's kinda cool 'cause it's, it's real things 00:36:05.03\00:36:06.36 and a lot of people connect. 00:36:06.39\00:36:07.73 Making connections. Yep. 00:36:07.76\00:36:09.10 Absolutely. 00:36:09.13\00:36:10.47 So I believe 00:36:10.50\00:36:11.83 recently you've done some other books, 00:36:11.87\00:36:14.27 publishing some other books. 00:36:14.30\00:36:15.64 Yes. Now that's pretty brave of you. 00:36:15.67\00:36:17.11 And I really liked this one. 00:36:17.14\00:36:19.67 As a teacher, I really value this one 00:36:19.71\00:36:22.28 because I had to spend some time 00:36:22.31\00:36:23.65 reading this one. 00:36:23.68\00:36:25.01 It says 21 tools to teach kids about Jesus. 00:36:25.05\00:36:28.15 And you can find this, 00:36:28.18\00:36:29.58 even at our call center here at 3ABN. 00:36:29.62\00:36:32.15 So you can even reach us here at 3ABN 00:36:32.19\00:36:34.49 by calling (618) 627-4651. 00:36:34.52\00:36:37.79 I'm still learning how to memorize that. 00:36:37.83\00:36:39.29 But this is a powerful book. 00:36:39.33\00:36:41.03 And he talks about some different things 00:36:41.06\00:36:43.90 about what, I don't know what stands out to you 00:36:43.93\00:36:47.20 of these 21 tools. 00:36:47.24\00:36:49.24 But the one that steps out to me 00:36:49.27\00:36:51.54 is memorable. 00:36:51.57\00:36:52.91 And you talk about how you with those dinosaurs, 00:36:52.94\00:36:55.84 for example, you make that come alive. 00:36:55.88\00:36:57.45 And I know in teaching for me, 00:36:57.48\00:37:00.28 it was always what can you do to impress the kids 00:37:00.32\00:37:02.98 that they are going to remember it 00:37:03.02\00:37:04.95 and tie that into that lesson. 00:37:04.99\00:37:06.76 So tell us a little bit more about this book? 00:37:06.79\00:37:08.29 Yeah, so as a creative person, 00:37:08.32\00:37:10.59 I discovered that creativity was an amazing tool 00:37:10.63\00:37:13.40 to connect with kids 00:37:13.43\00:37:14.76 because with creativity, you can make things memorable. 00:37:14.80\00:37:17.50 You can keep the kids guessing, 00:37:17.53\00:37:18.87 they don't know what's going to happen next. 00:37:18.90\00:37:20.24 And these are all basic concepts 00:37:20.27\00:37:21.60 of children's ministries 00:37:21.64\00:37:22.97 that can be used to help kids understand a lesson. 00:37:23.00\00:37:25.94 And to remember it, 00:37:25.97\00:37:27.31 cause if it's something that they just hear and forget, 00:37:27.34\00:37:29.01 then what's the point of that. 00:37:29.04\00:37:30.61 So, during our whole children's church 00:37:30.65\00:37:33.58 and the Guide magazine and the traveling, 00:37:33.62\00:37:35.28 and then all that, 00:37:35.32\00:37:36.65 I've been able to obviously learn a lot 00:37:36.69\00:37:38.05 about working with children. 00:37:38.09\00:37:39.99 And I finally kind of came to that point 00:37:40.02\00:37:41.66 where, you know, like, 00:37:41.69\00:37:43.02 it'd be great to share these ideas with a lot of, 00:37:43.06\00:37:46.19 'cause I keep running into teachers and parents 00:37:46.23\00:37:48.10 and leaders and children's ministries 00:37:48.13\00:37:49.73 and directors from conferences and unions. 00:37:49.76\00:37:52.07 And they're looking for inspiration 00:37:52.10\00:37:54.10 and looking for ideas or looking for energy, 00:37:54.14\00:37:56.91 you know, they're trying to produce some resources. 00:37:56.94\00:37:58.67 But at the end of the day, what I noticed is 00:37:58.71\00:38:00.68 that there is just an army of people 00:38:00.71\00:38:02.51 that had the passion and the drive. 00:38:02.54\00:38:05.75 They just didn't know what to do. 00:38:05.78\00:38:07.75 Or how to make it happen? Or to make it happen. 00:38:07.78\00:38:09.42 So that's kind of the need 00:38:09.45\00:38:10.79 I was trying to fill with that book 00:38:10.82\00:38:12.15 is just to create some inspiration. 00:38:12.19\00:38:13.52 And then these 21 tools 00:38:13.56\00:38:14.89 are just kind of ideas and how to do it. 00:38:14.92\00:38:17.23 And you mentioned on memorable, 00:38:17.26\00:38:18.69 so memorable is one of the tools. 00:38:18.73\00:38:20.76 And, of course, I, you know, 00:38:20.80\00:38:22.40 write on about how 00:38:22.43\00:38:24.13 and different ways that you can make programs 00:38:24.17\00:38:26.13 just be really sticky 00:38:26.17\00:38:27.90 and the way that they remember, 00:38:27.94\00:38:29.27 and I give illustrations of, 00:38:29.30\00:38:30.64 you know, things that we did 00:38:30.67\00:38:32.01 and kids are coming up to me five years later. 00:38:32.04\00:38:33.38 And they're like, 00:38:33.41\00:38:34.74 I remember when you did this thing 00:38:34.78\00:38:36.11 and it was awesome, like, I've never forgotten that. 00:38:36.14\00:38:39.31 It takes a commitment because when I make things memorable, 00:38:39.35\00:38:42.48 it takes time and extra effort to do it, 00:38:42.52\00:38:45.05 because it takes a lot more planning 00:38:45.09\00:38:46.89 and a lot more hours to do that. 00:38:46.92\00:38:48.42 So I really appreciate that 00:38:48.46\00:38:49.92 you are willing to make that sacrifice 00:38:49.96\00:38:51.59 and making it memorable. 00:38:51.63\00:38:52.96 And a lot of people think that you can just kind of wing it, 00:38:52.99\00:38:54.33 but really if you want it to be very memorable 00:38:54.36\00:38:56.33 and really high quality, 00:38:56.36\00:38:57.70 it has to be planned out and thought out very well. 00:38:57.73\00:39:00.57 So I believe you've written some other books 00:39:00.60\00:39:02.60 that we will also have 00:39:02.64\00:39:04.31 and they can find them at One Mustard Seed 00:39:04.34\00:39:06.17 or at our 3ABN. 00:39:06.21\00:39:07.81 And one of them is Fire Walkers. 00:39:07.84\00:39:09.48 Tell us about that one a little bit? 00:39:09.51\00:39:10.85 Yeah. 00:39:10.88\00:39:12.21 So Fire Walkers is a new series that we just started. 00:39:12.25\00:39:13.82 It's called Bible Time Adventures. 00:39:13.85\00:39:15.22 And, I've kind of penciled out 00:39:15.25\00:39:16.85 already about 20, 25 different stories 00:39:16.89\00:39:18.99 that I'd like to write. 00:39:19.02\00:39:20.36 And the basic concept of that 00:39:20.39\00:39:21.82 is to teach and tell a Bible story. 00:39:21.86\00:39:24.93 But the difference is 00:39:24.96\00:39:26.29 usually children hear a Bible story 00:39:26.33\00:39:28.46 from the perspective of the Bible 00:39:28.50\00:39:30.17 or from the adult telling the story. 00:39:30.20\00:39:32.77 The idea that I had here was to tell the Bible story 00:39:32.80\00:39:35.74 from the perspective of kids. 00:39:35.77\00:39:38.04 So what I've done is I've created. 00:39:38.07\00:39:39.97 Fictional kid characters that were there 00:39:40.01\00:39:44.11 at the Bible story, 00:39:44.15\00:39:45.75 and they saw the entire thing unfold. 00:39:45.78\00:39:47.78 That's wonderful. 00:39:47.82\00:39:49.15 So I have a couple of fictional characters 00:39:49.18\00:39:50.52 that are the main characters, 00:39:50.55\00:39:51.89 but they're, they're step-by-step 00:39:51.92\00:39:53.25 in this Bible story. 00:39:53.29\00:39:54.62 Of course, Fire Walkers is a story 00:39:54.66\00:39:55.99 of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 00:39:56.02\00:39:57.99 And so, the kids are basically siblings of Meshach. 00:39:58.03\00:40:02.70 And so they're drawn into this entire story 00:40:02.73\00:40:05.70 from the moment they're captured 00:40:05.73\00:40:07.07 in Israel, Judea 00:40:07.10\00:40:09.40 all the way till the fiery furnace. 00:40:09.44\00:40:12.11 I love it. 00:40:12.14\00:40:13.48 And so these kids are there seeing the whole thing. 00:40:13.51\00:40:14.88 And that was the idea is that just kind of 00:40:14.91\00:40:17.85 make the story a little bit more exciting 00:40:17.88\00:40:19.51 because it's, these kids are experiencing it. 00:40:19.55\00:40:21.55 And so that was the idea with that series. 00:40:21.58\00:40:23.62 I just finished writing the second book, 00:40:23.65\00:40:26.19 which is Fire from the Sky. 00:40:26.22\00:40:28.42 Fire from the Sky. 00:40:28.46\00:40:29.79 For the Bible Time Adventure series. 00:40:29.82\00:40:31.96 Yep. Wow! 00:40:31.99\00:40:34.40 And then there's another book. 00:40:34.43\00:40:35.76 I like this one 00:40:35.80\00:40:37.13 because it says Ridiculously Amazing Nature. 00:40:37.17\00:40:39.57 Okay. 00:40:39.60\00:40:40.94 I had a hard time saying that one, 00:40:40.97\00:40:42.30 but I like how it's lively, it's colorful 00:40:42.34\00:40:44.67 and there are little snippets about nature. 00:40:44.71\00:40:46.44 Amen. 00:40:46.47\00:40:47.81 And it's just wonderfully written. 00:40:47.84\00:40:49.18 So I really appreciate 00:40:49.21\00:40:50.55 what you've done with these books. 00:40:50.58\00:40:52.31 And you've done another ministry. 00:40:52.35\00:40:55.22 Well before you go into that, 00:40:55.25\00:40:56.58 let me make one comment 00:40:56.62\00:40:57.95 because I don't know about you, 00:40:57.99\00:40:59.52 but if you enjoy ministry 00:40:59.55\00:41:01.72 or have a passion for ministering to children, 00:41:01.76\00:41:03.93 that 21 tools for children, 00:41:03.96\00:41:07.40 we want to tell you once again, 00:41:07.43\00:41:09.56 that these books are available at 3ABN. 00:41:09.60\00:41:13.67 You can go on our online at 3abn.tv 00:41:13.70\00:41:18.87 or you can call us at (618) 627-4651, 00:41:18.91\00:41:24.11 or you can go straight to Rich 00:41:24.15\00:41:26.95 at OneMustardSeed.com 00:41:26.98\00:41:31.15 and you actually began a publishing company, 00:41:31.19\00:41:35.49 One Mustard Seed publishing to publish these books. 00:41:35.52\00:41:37.99 That's Right? Yep. 00:41:38.03\00:41:39.36 We figured if writing was going to be a new area, 00:41:39.39\00:41:43.77 it'd be great to just create an entity 00:41:43.80\00:41:45.53 that could do that. 00:41:45.57\00:41:46.90 A lot of times working with publishers, 00:41:46.94\00:41:48.27 there some limits. 00:41:48.30\00:41:49.67 And one of the goals that I've had 00:41:49.70\00:41:51.14 right from the beginning 00:41:51.17\00:41:52.51 when we started this was 00:41:52.54\00:41:53.88 to be able to reach international audiences. 00:41:53.91\00:41:56.75 So we've already actually started translating these books 00:41:56.78\00:41:59.01 into multiple languages, 00:41:59.05\00:42:00.38 21 tools is already out in Spanish as well. 00:42:00.42\00:42:02.88 Wow. 00:42:02.92\00:42:04.25 We recently translated it to Portuguese as well, 00:42:04.29\00:42:07.66 and those will be eBooks, at least for now to start, 00:42:07.69\00:42:11.79 Fire Walkers is already 00:42:11.83\00:42:13.19 also in three or four languages. 00:42:13.23\00:42:14.90 So, you know, being able to be the writer 00:42:14.93\00:42:17.07 and the publisher 00:42:17.10\00:42:18.43 allows you to have a different strategy 00:42:18.47\00:42:20.67 and a different reach, goal. 00:42:20.70\00:42:23.71 So we started One Mustard Seed publishing, 00:42:23.74\00:42:25.94 and that is our goal 00:42:25.97\00:42:27.64 to just keep producing these books 00:42:27.68\00:42:29.01 that give God honor and glory 00:42:29.04\00:42:30.85 and make it exciting for kids to be able to connect with God. 00:42:30.88\00:42:34.42 Praise the Lord. 00:42:34.45\00:42:35.78 And you did something else that is amazing. 00:42:35.82\00:42:38.55 And that was for, to reach our young children 00:42:38.59\00:42:41.02 that couldn't make it to church anymore, 00:42:41.06\00:42:42.72 especially the kindergarten group. 00:42:42.76\00:42:45.53 And I think you call it 00:42:45.56\00:42:46.90 kindergarten Sabbath school review. 00:42:46.93\00:42:48.60 Well, it's actually the primary Sabbath school class. 00:42:48.63\00:42:50.23 Primary. Sorry, okay. 00:42:50.27\00:42:51.70 And I was challenged to, 00:42:51.73\00:42:53.07 you know when the pandemic started 00:42:53.10\00:42:54.74 the realization that a lot of families and kids 00:42:54.77\00:42:56.71 were not able to go to church anymore 00:42:56.74\00:42:58.24 and how to deal and address that problem. 00:42:58.27\00:43:01.44 And it's interesting 'cause obviously a lot of ideas start 00:43:01.48\00:43:04.75 because there's a problem, there's a need 00:43:04.78\00:43:06.38 and how do you solve it? 00:43:06.41\00:43:07.75 And then comes the impression that God gives you is, 00:43:07.78\00:43:10.99 are you in a position to help solve that problem? 00:43:11.02\00:43:13.25 And that's kind of what we did 00:43:13.29\00:43:14.62 with this Sabbath School Review ministry 00:43:14.66\00:43:18.23 that branch that we started. 00:43:18.26\00:43:20.13 Officially, it's called Kid Sabbath School Review. 00:43:20.16\00:43:22.53 We do a weekly review 00:43:22.56\00:43:24.23 of the primary Sabbath school class 00:43:24.27\00:43:26.53 that kids can watch at home. 00:43:26.57\00:43:27.90 There's a website that goes with it 00:43:27.94\00:43:29.27 with all sorts of additional resources 00:43:29.30\00:43:31.24 that help kids just kind of dive into the lesson, 00:43:31.27\00:43:34.88 it's a subscription based idea. 00:43:34.91\00:43:38.75 So when we first started 00:43:38.78\00:43:41.42 right after the pandemic in that April, 00:43:41.45\00:43:44.72 we started by just producing these shows 00:43:44.75\00:43:46.45 and putting them on YouTube and on Facebook. 00:43:46.49\00:43:48.09 And we were just getting 00:43:48.12\00:43:49.49 literally sometimes tens of thousands of views 00:43:49.52\00:43:52.23 of these parents 00:43:52.26\00:43:53.60 that are just trying to figure out 00:43:53.63\00:43:54.96 how to continue to connect their kids to the Bible, 00:43:55.00\00:43:57.83 to the church, to the lesson, 00:43:57.87\00:43:59.73 but from home, which was a huge problem. 00:43:59.77\00:44:01.90 And although there are some churches out there 00:44:01.94\00:44:04.81 that are doing amazing things, producing resources, 00:44:04.84\00:44:07.31 the great majority of them 00:44:07.34\00:44:08.98 did not have the ability or resources 00:44:09.01\00:44:11.35 to be able to do something. 00:44:11.38\00:44:12.71 So we wanted to help those churches. 00:44:12.75\00:44:14.38 And we want to pause right now 00:44:14.42\00:44:16.22 'cause I think you brought a little reel on that. 00:44:16.25\00:44:17.59 I did. 00:44:17.62\00:44:18.95 And we want to show that reel because, 00:44:18.99\00:44:21.09 for those of you at home, we hear this quite often is, 00:44:21.12\00:44:24.03 you know, people are calling and say, 00:44:24.06\00:44:26.26 praise God for 3ABN Kids Network 00:44:26.29\00:44:29.53 because our kids can't go to church now, 00:44:29.56\00:44:32.67 our churches closed, 00:44:32.70\00:44:34.70 but I love this idea of the Sabbath School Review. 00:44:34.74\00:44:38.14 And let's take a look at that reel right now. 00:44:38.17\00:44:42.84 The weekly video 00:44:42.88\00:44:44.21 is the centerpiece for each week. 00:44:44.25\00:44:46.11 Every week, I love having several primary guests 00:44:46.15\00:44:48.72 on the show. 00:44:48.75\00:44:50.09 We start off with a brain teaser 00:44:50.12\00:44:51.99 and our artifact of the week and our Bible verse. 00:44:52.02\00:44:55.39 Next, we dive into the Bible story 00:44:55.42\00:44:57.26 for the lesson that week, 00:44:57.29\00:44:58.69 and I share a personal adventure story 00:44:58.73\00:45:00.86 about the theme. 00:45:00.90\00:45:02.23 One of the most popular parts of the show 00:45:02.26\00:45:04.40 is the Dusty and Feather show. 00:45:04.43\00:45:06.77 Even though they could be a little silly, 00:45:06.80\00:45:08.54 they help us learn about the lesson 00:45:08.57\00:45:10.44 with their knowledge of animals. 00:45:10.47\00:45:12.24 There's the KSSR news and announcements 00:45:12.27\00:45:14.91 and game show time. 00:45:14.94\00:45:16.28 I love to quiz the kids. 00:45:16.31\00:45:17.98 At the end, 00:45:18.01\00:45:19.35 we reveal the answer to the brain teaser 00:45:19.38\00:45:21.45 and we check out the mystery, WhatzIT for the week. 00:45:21.48\00:45:24.39 And I give out the mission project 00:45:24.42\00:45:26.55 to help kids live out 00:45:26.59\00:45:28.19 what they've learned in the lesson that week. 00:45:28.22\00:45:30.23 And it all ties back to our Facebook group page 00:45:30.26\00:45:33.56 where the entire community can interact. 00:45:33.60\00:45:36.23 I even mail out a mission project prize 00:45:36.26\00:45:38.87 every single week. 00:45:38.90\00:45:40.40 We close with more of your kids having prayer. 00:45:40.44\00:45:43.54 And the main part of my goal 00:45:43.57\00:45:45.14 is to have your kids participate 00:45:45.17\00:45:47.14 and take ownership in their spiritual journey. 00:45:47.18\00:45:49.94 After the video, 00:45:49.98\00:45:51.31 kids have fun repeating the lesson points 00:45:51.35\00:45:53.31 on the website. 00:45:53.35\00:45:54.72 Each week, we create brand new online games 00:45:54.75\00:45:58.15 that reinforce the Bible theme that week. 00:45:58.19\00:46:00.59 They can respond to the WhatzIT poll, 00:46:00.62\00:46:02.46 laugh in our funny corner, 00:46:02.49\00:46:04.06 watch the weekly grace link lesson cartoon 00:46:04.09\00:46:06.36 and more. 00:46:06.39\00:46:10.37 I really appreciate all that you're doing. 00:46:10.40\00:46:12.10 And you've been part of 3ABN for several years, 00:46:12.13\00:46:14.50 even before I came. 00:46:14.54\00:46:15.87 Isn't that right? That's right. 00:46:15.90\00:46:17.24 It's been a lot of fun working on various different projects. 00:46:17.27\00:46:20.14 And, of course, the one 00:46:20.18\00:46:21.84 that a lot of people are familiar with right now 00:46:21.88\00:46:24.05 is Bible Treasures, 00:46:24.08\00:46:25.61 which is a fun way to just kind of get kids 00:46:25.65\00:46:28.48 to think outside the box, get creative, get exciting. 00:46:28.52\00:46:31.09 You know, we have it set out on some archeological dig 00:46:31.12\00:46:34.09 and there's artifacts and Bible treasures 00:46:34.12\00:46:36.62 and Bible verses and stories. 00:46:36.66\00:46:39.06 So it's a lot of fun doing that 00:46:39.09\00:46:40.66 and we are hoping to continue to produce those. 00:46:40.70\00:46:44.40 So it's just put it on the list, right? 00:46:44.43\00:46:46.20 Yes. 00:46:46.23\00:46:47.57 We have that on our list for sure. 00:46:47.60\00:46:48.94 And, of course, it's been. 00:46:48.97\00:46:50.31 I know that you guys have been showing the Creation Case 00:46:50.34\00:46:51.74 for some time as well. 00:46:51.77\00:46:53.64 I know that I'll... 00:46:53.68\00:46:55.01 And explain what the Creation Case is? 00:46:55.04\00:46:56.44 So the Creation Case, it was a series 00:46:56.48\00:46:58.41 that I worked with the General Conference 00:46:58.45\00:46:59.91 to produce the children's ministries general conference 00:46:59.95\00:47:01.75 and it was these episodes to help kids and parents 00:47:01.78\00:47:06.09 be able to kind of wrestle 00:47:06.12\00:47:07.96 with the creation-evolution issue 00:47:07.99\00:47:10.06 because as always somebody claims something 00:47:10.09\00:47:13.50 and it seems like 00:47:13.53\00:47:14.86 there was always two different angles, 00:47:14.90\00:47:16.23 the secular view, and the biblical view. 00:47:16.26\00:47:18.70 But as far as I could tell, 00:47:18.73\00:47:20.44 the kids were really only hearing the secular view 00:47:20.47\00:47:23.17 at school and movies and television shows, books. 00:47:23.20\00:47:25.84 They were, it was a one-sided thing. 00:47:25.87\00:47:28.18 So I knew that 00:47:28.21\00:47:29.84 there needed to be some sort of balance there. 00:47:29.88\00:47:31.45 So we produced that, that series for that. 00:47:31.48\00:47:33.95 Wonderful. Yes. 00:47:33.98\00:47:35.32 And, of course, I've worked on, 00:47:35.35\00:47:36.69 I think you guys have shown Bible, 00:47:36.72\00:47:38.39 The Big Three. 00:47:38.42\00:47:39.75 Big Three, everyone's favorite. 00:47:39.79\00:47:41.12 And I was the, for a couple of years there, 00:47:41.16\00:47:42.92 The Nature Time guy on Kids Time. 00:47:42.96\00:47:45.79 So it's been a lot of fun, 00:47:45.83\00:47:47.16 a lot of great projects with you guys. 00:47:47.20\00:47:48.53 And aren't you too cooking up something 00:47:48.56\00:47:50.20 that kind of got postponed by the pandemic, 00:47:50.23\00:47:52.53 but aren't you cooking up a new idea? 00:47:52.57\00:47:53.90 Yep. 00:47:53.94\00:47:55.27 That was that the reality TV idea 00:47:55.30\00:47:56.64 that we hope to pick up again. 00:47:56.67\00:47:58.21 And if you're interested in signing up to be on that, 00:47:58.24\00:48:02.38 hopefully, a future project there in Costa Rica, 00:48:02.41\00:48:05.35 you can go to my website at OneMustardSeed 00:48:05.38\00:48:07.12 and there is a signup place. 00:48:07.15\00:48:08.48 And once we kinda get out the door 00:48:08.52\00:48:10.32 with the pandemic, 00:48:10.35\00:48:11.69 I will be reaching out again to the families 00:48:11.72\00:48:13.76 that have signed up to see 00:48:13.79\00:48:15.12 if they want to join us on that project. 00:48:15.16\00:48:17.63 You know, to me, it's so obvious 00:48:17.66\00:48:20.60 that God's got His hand on your life, 00:48:20.63\00:48:23.00 that He called you. 00:48:23.03\00:48:24.37 You have such a passion for this. 00:48:24.40\00:48:26.53 You studied architecture, 00:48:26.57\00:48:29.07 which is a lot of technical writing. 00:48:29.10\00:48:31.84 Let me tell you, that's the only reason 00:48:31.87\00:48:33.21 I didn't become an architect 00:48:33.24\00:48:34.64 because there's very little time 00:48:34.68\00:48:36.01 to be creative, 00:48:36.04\00:48:37.38 but God gave you that creative side. 00:48:37.41\00:48:39.51 He taught you the structure of things 00:48:39.55\00:48:41.95 because not only do you have creative ideas for this, 00:48:41.98\00:48:46.19 but you are building the infrastructure. 00:48:46.22\00:48:48.59 It's so amazing. 00:48:48.62\00:48:49.96 You're a very productive person. 00:48:49.99\00:48:52.03 Let me ask you, 00:48:52.06\00:48:53.63 how has God changed you 00:48:53.66\00:48:57.53 during these years of full-time ministry? 00:48:57.57\00:49:01.07 Talk about your walk of faith, how important it is, 00:49:01.10\00:49:04.27 and how He's clarified your vision? 00:49:04.31\00:49:06.21 Yeah. 00:49:06.24\00:49:07.58 You know, the One Mustard Seed title 00:49:07.61\00:49:09.44 really hit home, 00:49:09.48\00:49:10.81 especially early on 00:49:10.85\00:49:12.18 because there was a couple of years 00:49:12.21\00:49:13.88 right out the gate that it was scary. 00:49:13.92\00:49:16.25 I'm sure. 00:49:16.28\00:49:17.62 The leap of faith into this ministry was, 00:49:17.65\00:49:20.56 you know, we got to a couple of moments 00:49:20.59\00:49:22.06 where we felt like 00:49:22.09\00:49:23.43 we were financially at the edge of a cliff 00:49:23.46\00:49:25.49 and it's learning then training yourself 00:49:25.53\00:49:28.70 to say, God, this is You. 00:49:28.73\00:49:30.97 This is for You. 00:49:31.00\00:49:32.33 So if you need this to continue, 00:49:32.37\00:49:34.14 or if You need this to fail, whatever happens, 00:49:34.17\00:49:36.50 this is all in Your hands. 00:49:36.54\00:49:38.74 And, you know, we arrived to that cliff 00:49:38.77\00:49:41.21 and some scary stories that I can share, 00:49:41.24\00:49:42.98 but then God pulls us back 00:49:43.01\00:49:45.61 and then creates blessings and opportunities 00:49:45.65\00:49:47.68 and possibilities 00:49:47.72\00:49:50.15 that we never even dreamed of being able to do. 00:49:50.19\00:49:52.65 And it's kind of funny because 00:49:52.69\00:49:54.02 when the pandemic started a lot of people like, 00:49:54.06\00:49:55.39 oh, this is horrible. 00:49:55.42\00:49:57.23 But then you hear other people say, 00:49:57.26\00:49:59.03 this has been, 00:49:59.06\00:50:00.40 if it wasn't for the pandemic starting, 00:50:00.43\00:50:02.53 these other opportunities may not have come out. 00:50:02.56\00:50:06.17 And it's interesting how God works 00:50:06.20\00:50:07.54 because even when people think, 00:50:07.57\00:50:08.90 oh, you know, it's so bad and so horrible, 00:50:08.94\00:50:10.94 new, amazing opportunities to reach even farther develop. 00:50:10.97\00:50:14.94 And, you know, the kids Sabbath School Review 00:50:14.98\00:50:17.05 was kind of something like that 00:50:17.08\00:50:18.51 because we were able to reach way more 00:50:18.55\00:50:21.12 people than we were able to before, 00:50:21.15\00:50:24.05 because the children were stuck at home 00:50:24.09\00:50:26.35 or didn't have content or whatever. 00:50:26.39\00:50:27.99 So just amazing how God works and all along, 00:50:28.02\00:50:31.23 He's just continually done that 00:50:31.26\00:50:32.66 where you think this is gonna happen, 00:50:32.69\00:50:34.30 but then he turns you in this direction. 00:50:34.33\00:50:35.93 And he turns you in this direction 00:50:35.96\00:50:37.30 and that hope, 00:50:37.33\00:50:38.67 God opened the door. I'll walk through it. 00:50:38.70\00:50:40.30 That's been a daily walk. 00:50:40.34\00:50:43.34 And I believe that 00:50:43.37\00:50:44.71 we didn't show the Bible Treasures 00:50:44.74\00:50:47.34 for those of you that haven't seen it. 00:50:47.38\00:50:49.81 You can see this roll 00:50:49.84\00:50:51.41 and a little bit about Bible Treasures. 00:50:51.45\00:50:53.52 First things first, 00:50:53.55\00:50:54.88 let's get this question in our journal. 00:50:54.92\00:50:56.25 Good idea. That's a good idea. 00:50:56.28\00:50:57.62 A problem with pride. 00:51:01.06\00:51:04.59 Hmm. 00:51:04.63\00:51:05.96 Good question. Yeah. 00:51:05.99\00:51:07.90 You know what though? 00:51:07.93\00:51:09.26 I think I have an idea. What? 00:51:09.30\00:51:10.63 But we need an artifact. Oh, yeah. 00:51:10.67\00:51:12.10 Nori, can you get one for us? Yeah, what number? 00:51:12.13\00:51:13.47 I think it's 17D. 00:51:13.50\00:51:14.84 17D. Yeah. 00:51:14.87\00:51:16.24 I think that'll help us. 00:51:16.27\00:51:17.61 I love how we bring our little props along 00:51:17.64\00:51:18.97 and our little treasures along, 00:51:19.01\00:51:20.34 and they help us teach these lessons. 00:51:20.38\00:51:22.14 Found it. Awesome. 00:51:22.18\00:51:23.51 What's that? This is a building. 00:51:23.55\00:51:26.25 Wow. It's called the Burj Khalifa. 00:51:26.28\00:51:28.45 And it's located in a city called Dubai 00:51:28.48\00:51:31.19 in a country called the United Arab Emirates. 00:51:31.22\00:51:33.92 Oh, awesome. 00:51:33.96\00:51:35.29 Is it the tallest building in the world? 00:51:35.32\00:51:36.66 It is the tallest building in the world. 00:51:36.69\00:51:38.03 Yeah! 00:51:38.06\00:51:39.39 Hey, Sam, can you show us on the map where Dubai is? 00:51:39.43\00:51:40.76 Sure. Yeah, I wanna know. 00:51:40.80\00:51:42.13 It's right here. 00:51:42.16\00:51:43.50 There it is. Yep. 00:51:43.53\00:51:44.87 Boy, the kids love Bible Treasures. 00:51:44.90\00:51:47.54 And as I said, 00:51:47.57\00:51:49.00 I know just as many adults who love it as well. 00:51:49.04\00:51:51.84 We are so thankful 00:51:51.87\00:51:53.71 that you're part of our 3ABN Kids Network Ministries. 00:51:53.74\00:51:59.95 You know what we're gonna do. 00:51:59.98\00:52:01.32 We're gonna take a quick break, going to a 3ABN news break, 00:52:01.35\00:52:05.45 but we'll be right back with a closing thought. 00:52:05.49\00:52:07.62