As you're well aware,
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we're living in
unprecedented times.
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Join us now for
today's special program.
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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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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
another 3ABN Today program.
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We're so glad that
you joined us today.
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You know, we're glad that
you're part of the 3ABN family.
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Don't know where you're watching
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or listening from,
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but we're all part
of God's big family,
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but then you're a
part of 3ABNs family.
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And it's always a joy
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to spend this
little bit of time with you
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each and every day.
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And talking about family,
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we're going to be talking
with some of our 3ABN family
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as well here on the set today,
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but we just
want to say thank you
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for your prayers
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and financial support
for the ministry of 3ABN.
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And I know I mention this a lot,
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but we receive a lot of
correspondence here at 3ABN.
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Many of you that are watching
and listening right now,
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and thank you
for sending them in
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because they're so encouraging.
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There was someone here recently
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that was talking
about the baking bread
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and they're sending in the money
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from baking the
bread and selling it.
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They're sending
that to 3ABN was...
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Got another letter here
just recently opened it up
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in about a lady that
is finding truth via 3ABN.
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She says,
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"I'm not a baptized
Seventh-day Adventist member,
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but I hope to be soon."
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And is so excited about
the truth she is learning.
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And that's thanks to you.
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I mean, you're sending
in your financial support,
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but also your prayers
mean so very much to us.
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Absolutely. That's right.
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Thank you for being
part of the 3ABN family.
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What a gift that is to us here.
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And we're just so
grateful that we're family.
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Amen.
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We have part of the
family with us here today.
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You know, sometimes
when we do today programs,
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we feature testimonies.
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We feature ministries, we
feature missionary stories,
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but today's is
part of the 3ABN family.
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So, this is really
sit down, I could call it,
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meet the family.
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And I'm speaking of
Eric and Marilyn Durant.
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They are an integral
part of the ministry here.
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We love them.
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And we wanted you to
get to know some more
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of their story and
their amazing testimony.
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So we're just so glad
to have both of you here.
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Well, we wanted...
We wanted to be here.
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Yeah, we wanted
to thank you guys
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because we've
been here seven years.
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Wow.
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And I remember a pastor told
me a long time ago, he said,
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"Eric, you don't have to
be a fantastic evangelist.
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All you have to do
is tell your story."
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That's right.
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And so we've been
looking forward to this
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for a long time.
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Thank you for inviting us. Amen.
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You know, people cannot argue
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against your personal testimony.
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And that's the thing,
you know, you just share
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what God has done in your life.
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And God has brought
both of you here to 3ABN.
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And we have...
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Oh, when you include volunteers
and full-time employees,
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part-time employees, we
have what about, is it 100...
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Hundred and forty here.
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Hundred and forty or so,
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so there's a lot that
goes on behind the scenes
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here so at 3ABN.
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So what we're hoping
to do throughout the year,
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and I don't know.
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Yeah, time, even after that,
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to just introduce you
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to some of our
family here at 3ABN,
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'cause they're so
integral in making it happen.
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That's right.
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So we neglected to tell
you what they do at 3ABN.
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That's right.
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So, Eric, you are
3ABN broadcast engineer
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and computer programmer.
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So what does that mean?
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I know you work in our
engineering department,
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but what does that mean?
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Well, I like to
think that we spend time,
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not only mending broken people,
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but we mend broken equipment.
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Which is important to
mending broken people.
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Which is very, very important.
It's part of the ministry.
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I program on the side
for Moses on the MYSDA TV.
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Yes.
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Also a lot of our
automation systems
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here are run by computers.
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So I do a lot of programming
on our monitoring systems here.
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Moses, we just
developed the Enlist System.
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So I do
programming for that also.
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When things break,
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they usually come to my office
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and if they're
fixable, we fix them.
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If they're not, I
come to you, Greg,
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and we order new equipment.
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That's right. Yeah.
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Praise the Lord
for what you do though.
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Thank you so much
because you have such a heart
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for ministry,
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and I'm not gonna ask
you to get into full detail,
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but do you have
a full background
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in broadcast engineering?
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I have zero background
in broadcast engineering
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up until we came here.
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I know.
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And that's,
what's just so incredible
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because God just uses
us if we're available.
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So that's the key.
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Marilyn?
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And Marilyn is the
manager of our 3ABN Call Center.
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And both Eric and
Marilyn do an amazing job.
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They have a heart for God,
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a heart for people
and for this ministry.
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And, Marilyn, tell us
what some of your job entails.
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It's a big job. It is a big job.
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Basically it's we get
all the orders going out
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that viewers call
in and place orders.
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We ship out our mass mailing
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that we recently did.
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Like the COVID
book. The COVID book.
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Yes.
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And the three
angles' messages book.
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Three angels' message.
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And we have about 17
employees over there,
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but we do a big job.
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So we're very blessed to
have who we have over there.
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I enjoy it. Amen.
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It's a great department.
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I mean, all the
departments here at 3ABN
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are just a hub of activity,
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but the call
center has a special place
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in my heart too,
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because I got to
spend a little bit of time
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through my years here at 3ABN
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and what a great
group of people there.
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And you're doing a great job
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leading out there
at the call center.
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It's an integral
part of this ministry.
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It is. And I failed to mention.
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We also do a lot of,
some of our printing as well.
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True.
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That's right. It's good point.
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So if you were to call
3ABN and you were to say,
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okay, I want to order a DVD
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or I want
information about a program
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or I need some help.
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You would get the
wonderful ladies and gentlemen
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who work over
there at the call center.
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So we're excited
about today's program
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because we're going to
hear Eric and Marilyn's story.
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Amen.
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How God brought them to Himself
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and brought them together
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and brought them
to this ministry.
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But first, should
we go to some music?
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Oh, yeah. We love
music here at 3ABN.
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And we know that you do as well.
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And today we're
going to be blessed
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with a beautiful song
entitled, "Amazing Grace."
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It's going to be brought to us
by Paulo Torres and ET Everett.
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Let's go to that right now.
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Amen.
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Thank you so much,
Paulo Torres and ET Everett.
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What an incredible
song, amazing grace,
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and what great words
to that piece as well.
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God's amazing grace
toward each one of us.
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And we need to
be grateful of that
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every single day.
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Absolutely.
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If you're just joining
us, we are interviewing,
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hearing the story of
Eric and Marilyn Durant.
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They came, God brought
them to 3ABN seven years ago
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and we are so grateful.
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They have many gifts,
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but the thing I
love the most about them
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is their heart for God
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and their heart
for this ministry
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and for people.
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Eric, of course, works in
our engineering department as...
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I drew a blank,
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broadcast
engineer and computer...
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Broadcast engineer
and computer programmer.
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Computer programmer. Okay.
00:10:01.10\00:10:02.53
And Marilyn is our
call center manager.
00:10:02.56\00:10:04.63
So let's go back
to the beginning,
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I guess you
could say as it were.
00:10:07.27\00:10:08.60
Eric, and tell us,
00:10:08.64\00:10:09.97
did you grow up
in a Christian home
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and what was
life like growing up?
00:10:11.37\00:10:13.01
Well, let me
start off by saying,
00:10:13.04\00:10:14.64
I love sharing my testimony.
00:10:14.68\00:10:16.28
People that know me,
I'm always talking about,
00:10:16.31\00:10:18.65
things like that,
00:10:18.68\00:10:20.02
but it's also painful
00:10:20.05\00:10:21.52
because you have to
relive things in the past
00:10:21.55\00:10:24.79
that you may not enjoy reliving.
00:10:24.82\00:10:26.69
But I think part
of being a Christian
00:10:26.72\00:10:28.72
is sharing not
only the successes,
00:10:28.76\00:10:30.73
but the failures,
00:10:30.76\00:10:32.19
so that you can see
00:10:32.23\00:10:34.03
what God's done
for you in your life.
00:10:34.06\00:10:37.23
And I was raised in
a half Christian home.
00:10:37.27\00:10:41.90
My mother was
Christian. She was Baptist.
00:10:41.94\00:10:45.91
My father was,
00:10:45.94\00:10:47.28
they were both
actually born Catholic,
00:10:47.31\00:10:49.14
but my mother
practiced as a Baptist
00:10:49.18\00:10:50.75
and my father
really wasn't practicing.
00:10:50.78\00:10:53.38
And so it was, it was
sort of a divided home
00:10:53.42\00:10:56.35
and my father, he
wasn't around a lot.
00:10:56.38\00:10:58.42
He came and went,
00:10:58.45\00:10:59.79
and that
created a lot of issues,
00:10:59.82\00:11:02.12
a lot of anger
issues, especially in me.
00:11:02.16\00:11:04.89
And...
00:11:04.93\00:11:06.26
Where did you
grow up? What state?
00:11:06.29\00:11:07.93
New York City. Yeah.
00:11:07.96\00:11:09.86
New York City. Yeah.
00:11:09.90\00:11:11.97
And those anger issues,
00:11:12.00\00:11:13.67
they manifested themselves
in all kinds of different ways.
00:11:13.70\00:11:16.24
Very, very
rebellious, very, very,
00:11:16.27\00:11:19.51
it was me against the world.
00:11:19.54\00:11:21.64
And so I ended up
00:11:21.68\00:11:23.85
joining a gang in New York City.
00:11:23.88\00:11:27.05
How old were you?
00:11:27.08\00:11:28.42
I was 14, maybe 15. Yeah.
00:11:28.45\00:11:32.89
And I joined the gang.
00:11:32.92\00:11:34.26
One of the
reasons why, is because
00:11:34.29\00:11:35.62
I don't know how it is
now, but in New York City,
00:11:35.66\00:11:37.96
when you grow up
as a young black man
00:11:37.99\00:11:40.90
or it could be any race really,
00:11:40.93\00:11:43.90
being on your own is dangerous.
00:11:43.93\00:11:45.63
Because there's a
lot of things going on
00:11:45.67\00:11:47.84
and they kind of look
for the single person to rob
00:11:47.87\00:11:50.57
or to do things with.
00:11:50.61\00:11:51.94
So you almost joined the
gang out of, for protection.
00:11:51.97\00:11:56.04
So, I joined the gang.
00:11:56.08\00:11:58.01
Did your mother
know you joined the gang
00:11:58.05\00:11:59.91
or you kind of...
00:11:59.95\00:12:01.28
I suspect that she did. Yeah.
00:12:01.32\00:12:03.75
But I would sneak
out 12, 1 in the morning
00:12:03.79\00:12:07.39
and then I'd get
back at four or five
00:12:07.42\00:12:10.36
to be ready for school that day.
00:12:10.39\00:12:13.03
And I would be in
Queens and Brooklyn,
00:12:13.06\00:12:15.33
you know, with friends
doing all kinds of stuff.
00:12:15.36\00:12:18.63
I was always...
00:12:18.67\00:12:20.57
My mother gave me this Bible.
00:12:20.60\00:12:21.94
Oh, wow.
00:12:21.97\00:12:23.30
Oh, wow. I still have it.
00:12:23.34\00:12:24.67
How old were you
when she gave it to you?
00:12:24.71\00:12:26.04
I was probably 13 or 14
and she gave me this Bible.
00:12:26.07\00:12:30.51
So in the back of
my head, I always had,
00:12:30.55\00:12:33.11
I was always convicted
about things that I was doing.
00:12:33.15\00:12:37.39
And that kept me from
doing a lot of things.
00:12:37.42\00:12:39.15
Never did drugs,
never robbed people.
00:12:39.19\00:12:41.89
I never carried a weapon.
00:12:41.92\00:12:45.13
I never hurt
people in the sense that
00:12:45.16\00:12:48.06
the only people I
ever fought with were
00:12:48.10\00:12:50.03
when I was defending someone.
00:12:50.07\00:12:51.90
I always had a nobility thing.
00:12:51.93\00:12:53.87
I was defending my brothers,
my friends, you know, anyone.
00:12:53.90\00:12:58.57
Were you the oldest?
00:12:58.61\00:13:00.14
In out of three kids, I
was right in the middle.
00:13:00.18\00:13:02.78
Yeah, I have two sisters.
00:13:02.81\00:13:04.98
And I ended up being...
00:13:05.01\00:13:07.75
I was the scrapper in the gang.
00:13:07.78\00:13:09.35
I was the one that was
always getting into fights,
00:13:09.38\00:13:11.32
always wanting to
fight because I was young.
00:13:11.35\00:13:16.36
I was really strong for my age.
00:13:16.39\00:13:17.99
I was really fast
and I was really angry.
00:13:18.03\00:13:20.83
Yeah.
00:13:20.86\00:13:22.20
And that's a
strange combination.
00:13:22.23\00:13:24.27
I had a friend that
was a golden glove boxer.
00:13:24.30\00:13:27.34
And they tried to get me to
go to Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn.
00:13:27.37\00:13:32.91
And for those
that aren't familiar,
00:13:32.94\00:13:34.64
Gleason's Gym is the gym
that Mike Tyson trained in.
00:13:34.68\00:13:37.81
And at the time
that I was there,
00:13:37.85\00:13:40.55
there was a world
champion, Riddick Bowe,
00:13:40.58\00:13:42.25
he trained there.
00:13:42.28\00:13:43.62
And they wanted me to use
my anger in a positive fashion
00:13:43.65\00:13:47.36
if you can call it that
to use it in some direction.
00:13:47.39\00:13:51.13
And I didn't like it
00:13:51.16\00:13:52.49
because I just
didn't want to make a career
00:13:52.53\00:13:53.86
out of getting hit in the face.
00:13:53.90\00:13:55.96
Sure.
00:13:56.00\00:13:57.33
I mean, I was
smart enough to say that
00:13:57.37\00:13:59.37
boxers get
damaged over the long-term
00:13:59.40\00:14:01.37
and I just didn't want that.
00:14:01.40\00:14:02.74
Yeah.
00:14:02.77\00:14:04.11
So quick
question for in this case.
00:14:04.14\00:14:05.47
So you're in a
gang, you're early teens
00:14:05.51\00:14:06.84
and you're hanging out.
00:14:06.88\00:14:08.21
It sounds like all
throughout what the night
00:14:08.24\00:14:10.31
and you go to
school in the morning.
00:14:10.35\00:14:11.68
So how were your
grades? My grades were horrible.
00:14:11.71\00:14:13.62
That you were
pulling A-pluses then.
00:14:13.65\00:14:14.98
They were horrible
00:14:15.02\00:14:16.35
right up until a little
bit later in my testimony,
00:14:16.38\00:14:20.16
when I started
reading this Bible
00:14:20.19\00:14:22.32
that my mother gave me.
00:14:22.36\00:14:23.86
She wanted years,
she wanted me to read,
00:14:23.89\00:14:26.19
she was always
bringing me, bringing me books.
00:14:26.23\00:14:28.23
My mother's name was Ruth
00:14:28.26\00:14:29.96
and she was the
only one I trusted.
00:14:30.00\00:14:31.53
I didn't trust anyone else.
00:14:31.57\00:14:33.54
My grandparents
passed away earlier
00:14:33.57\00:14:36.34
and so everyone else I looked at
00:14:36.37\00:14:38.94
as being my enemy.
00:14:38.97\00:14:40.31
You know, even my
father, he was my enemy.
00:14:40.34\00:14:43.35
He'd say things
that would discourage me,
00:14:43.38\00:14:45.61
you know, I would
never amount to anything,
00:14:45.65\00:14:47.05
things like that.
00:14:47.08\00:14:48.52
And so we would just go at it.
00:14:48.55\00:14:51.35
And he wasn't the
best to my mother either.
00:14:51.39\00:14:53.29
So as a result I
was very, very angry
00:14:53.32\00:14:56.66
and I was also very,
very protective over women.
00:14:56.69\00:14:59.96
As strange as that might seem,
00:15:00.00\00:15:01.33
because when
women were in trouble,
00:15:01.36\00:15:03.40
no matter if I knew them or not,
00:15:03.43\00:15:04.77
I was always
coming to somebody's aid
00:15:04.80\00:15:06.53
in the middle of
fighting and things like that.
00:15:06.57\00:15:09.47
That was just who I was.
00:15:09.50\00:15:11.97
And, but my
mother through all of it,
00:15:12.01\00:15:13.88
I think she sensed
that I was in a gang
00:15:13.91\00:15:16.64
because they would
come over during the daytime
00:15:16.68\00:15:18.38
and look for me,
things like that.
00:15:18.41\00:15:20.05
I can never come out.
00:15:20.08\00:15:21.42
And she knew just by their dress
00:15:21.45\00:15:22.78
and what they
were driving and stuff
00:15:22.82\00:15:24.15
that they were trouble.
00:15:24.19\00:15:25.52
So she was always
trying to get me to read.
00:15:25.55\00:15:27.42
She was always
bringing me books.
00:15:27.46\00:15:29.09
Did you ever hear your
mother pray for you at all?
00:15:29.12\00:15:30.83
Did she ever pray
for you that you knew of?
00:15:30.86\00:15:33.73
I didn't really know
up until her funeral.
00:15:33.76\00:15:36.67
Oh, wow.
00:15:36.70\00:15:38.03
When everybody came up to me,
I mean, almost a dozen people,
00:15:38.07\00:15:42.40
'cause it was huge
funeral in two different.
00:15:42.44\00:15:46.07
One was in Virginia and
one funeral was in New York
00:15:46.11\00:15:48.14
and they came to me
and they were all saying,
00:15:48.18\00:15:49.51
Eric, you have no idea
00:15:49.54\00:15:50.88
how much your
mother prayed for you.
00:15:50.91\00:15:52.25
And then things
started to make sense,
00:15:52.28\00:15:53.68
things that happened in my past
00:15:53.72\00:15:55.05
that I should have gotten hurt
00:15:55.08\00:15:56.55
and you know,
00:15:56.58\00:15:57.92
almost magically
nothing happened,
00:15:57.95\00:15:59.62
you know?
00:15:59.65\00:16:00.99
Wow.
00:16:01.02\00:16:02.36
But I was, she was
sending me a lot of books
00:16:02.39\00:16:05.26
and I wouldn't read them
00:16:05.29\00:16:06.63
because I had
better things to do.
00:16:06.66\00:16:08.16
You know, I was young,
my friends were outside,
00:16:08.20\00:16:09.93
there were
parties, things like that.
00:16:09.96\00:16:12.17
But one day she
brought me a book.
00:16:12.20\00:16:14.14
It was called
"God Is My Co-Pilot."
00:16:14.17\00:16:17.77
And it was a book about a
World War II fighter pilot.
00:16:17.81\00:16:24.28
And I liked aviation
00:16:24.31\00:16:25.85
because my dad
would take us to air shows
00:16:25.88\00:16:28.45
in MacArthur air force...
00:16:28.48\00:16:32.49
I don't remember
the air force base,
00:16:32.52\00:16:33.86
but it's in New Jersey.
00:16:33.89\00:16:35.22
Okay.
00:16:35.26\00:16:36.59
And we'd see air shows there.
00:16:36.62\00:16:37.96
And I really impressed by
the pilots and the uniforms
00:16:37.99\00:16:39.33
and got them to
sign my pamphlet,
00:16:39.36\00:16:41.30
all their names
were in the pamphlet.
00:16:41.33\00:16:42.66
Nice. Under their faces.
00:16:42.70\00:16:44.13
They were your
heroes then? Yeah.
00:16:44.17\00:16:45.50
They were my
heroes. So I liked aviation.
00:16:45.53\00:16:47.44
Yeah.
00:16:47.47\00:16:48.80
And I also liked fighting.
00:16:48.84\00:16:50.17
I guess you just, you
like what you're good at?
00:16:50.21\00:16:52.07
And it was my way to vent.
00:16:52.11\00:16:53.74
So when I...
00:16:53.78\00:16:55.11
My mother gave me this
book about this fighter pilot,
00:16:55.14\00:16:57.25
I said, "Wow, okay."
00:16:57.28\00:16:59.08
Were you in high
school then still
00:16:59.11\00:17:00.45
when she gave you the book?
00:17:00.48\00:17:01.82
I was probably 16, 17.
00:17:01.85\00:17:05.99
Sixteen probably.
00:17:06.02\00:17:07.56
And I started reading that
00:17:07.59\00:17:09.86
and I was blown away
00:17:09.89\00:17:11.23
because when you read,
00:17:11.26\00:17:12.59
you go into this
entirely different world.
00:17:12.63\00:17:13.96
Right.
00:17:14.00\00:17:15.33
And after that, I read
like crazy hundreds of books.
00:17:15.36\00:17:19.37
My mother was buying
me shelves for my room,
00:17:19.40\00:17:21.47
the little plastic
snap together shelves.
00:17:21.50\00:17:22.84
Yeah.
00:17:22.87\00:17:24.21
Because I fill up
one shelf full of books,
00:17:24.24\00:17:25.57
like hundreds of books
and she'd buy another shelf.
00:17:25.61\00:17:27.94
She was motivating
me to keep reading.
00:17:27.98\00:17:29.31
Oh, yeah.
00:17:29.34\00:17:30.68
Because when I was reading,
00:17:30.71\00:17:32.05
I wasn't hanging
out on the street.
00:17:32.08\00:17:33.42
Of course.
00:17:33.45\00:17:34.78
And, you know, friends
would come over and say
00:17:34.82\00:17:36.18
"Where's Eric, can he come out?"
00:17:36.22\00:17:37.55
She'd say, "No,
he's not home. Go away."
00:17:37.59\00:17:39.05
Okay.
00:17:39.09\00:17:40.42
And I'd be up in my
room, reading books.
00:17:40.46\00:17:41.79
Right. Yeah.
00:17:41.82\00:17:43.16
And so for two or three years,
00:17:43.19\00:17:44.53
all I did was read
all kind of books and...
00:17:44.56\00:17:47.76
That would improve your grades.
00:17:47.80\00:17:49.13
Oh, my grades
started getting a lot better.
00:17:49.16\00:17:50.77
Oh, yeah. Yeah, a lot.
00:17:50.80\00:17:53.50
I actually became like
a B student at that point.
00:17:53.54\00:17:56.37
And then this book came up.
00:17:56.40\00:17:58.77
This Bible my mother
gave me that I hadn't read.
00:17:58.81\00:18:02.14
And now I'm into reading mode
00:18:02.18\00:18:04.05
and I opened up this book
00:18:04.08\00:18:05.75
and there's
this guy in the book,
00:18:05.78\00:18:08.38
His name was Jesus
from a youthful mindset.
00:18:08.42\00:18:11.72
And He says,
00:18:11.75\00:18:13.09
"He's God, and
He's come down to earth.
00:18:13.12\00:18:17.16
And He is abused.
00:18:17.19\00:18:18.76
He's spat upon,
00:18:18.79\00:18:20.70
He is eventually
put on the cross,
00:18:20.73\00:18:23.47
but through it
all, He was peaceful."
00:18:23.50\00:18:26.60
Peaceful.
00:18:26.63\00:18:27.97
And I said to myself,
00:18:28.00\00:18:29.34
"Wait a minute.
00:18:29.37\00:18:30.71
I'm angry at the whole world,
the whole world's against me
00:18:30.74\00:18:33.17
because of what they'd
done and everything else.
00:18:33.21\00:18:35.81
And here's God who is peaceful
00:18:35.84\00:18:39.68
when He has every
right to be angry.
00:18:39.71\00:18:42.02
So my mindset was,
00:18:42.05\00:18:43.39
if He's really God and
I'm doing something wrong,
00:18:43.42\00:18:46.59
my perspective is wrong.
00:18:46.62\00:18:47.96
Wow.
00:18:47.99\00:18:49.32
And I read things
like the beatitudes.
00:18:49.36\00:18:52.29
The meek will inherit the
earth and blessed are the meek.
00:18:52.33\00:18:55.43
And that just
made no sense to me
00:18:55.46\00:18:57.30
because where I grew up,
00:18:57.33\00:18:58.73
you take what you want
00:18:58.77\00:19:00.10
or else someone
else is gonna take it.
00:19:00.14\00:19:01.70
So you might as well take it.
00:19:01.74\00:19:03.54
And it was a lot different.
00:19:03.57\00:19:05.67
So that sort of
started to humble me over time.
00:19:05.71\00:19:09.34
That's an incredible realization
00:19:09.38\00:19:10.71
as a young person
00:19:10.75\00:19:12.08
to actually come
to that conclusion,
00:19:12.11\00:19:13.45
starting to read the Bible,
00:19:13.48\00:19:14.82
which for some people
would open it up and say,
00:19:14.85\00:19:16.18
"Oh wow, this is
too deep for me."
00:19:16.22\00:19:17.55
Were you going to
church with your mother at all
00:19:17.59\00:19:18.95
during this time?
00:19:18.99\00:19:20.32
We used to go to Baptist
Church in Valley Streams.
00:19:20.36\00:19:21.99
Sure.
00:19:22.02\00:19:23.36
But it would just go in
one ear and out the other.
00:19:23.39\00:19:24.73
Okay.
00:19:24.76\00:19:26.09
It was, I was
just there to be there.
00:19:26.13\00:19:27.46
So it was the first time
you had encountered Jesus,
00:19:27.50\00:19:29.23
you could say?
00:19:29.26\00:19:30.60
Or met Jesus or
experienced who He was
00:19:30.63\00:19:33.27
or principles of His kingdom?
00:19:33.30\00:19:34.80
Correct.
00:19:34.84\00:19:36.17
And it started to change me
00:19:36.20\00:19:37.54
in the sense that
00:19:37.57\00:19:38.91
a lot of the
things that I used to do,
00:19:38.94\00:19:40.94
they no longer
really appealed to me.
00:19:40.98\00:19:42.44
You know, the
parties and things like that.
00:19:42.48\00:19:44.35
Where you still in the gang?
00:19:44.38\00:19:45.85
No, no, because
I just fell away.
00:19:45.88\00:19:48.38
I didn't hang out
with them anymore.
00:19:48.42\00:19:49.75
I was literally,
00:19:49.78\00:19:51.12
it was school and
reading and sleeping and eating.
00:19:51.15\00:19:54.39
Wow. Yeah.
00:19:54.42\00:19:55.76
I didn't, I had very few friends
00:19:55.79\00:19:57.13
for that three-year period.
00:19:57.16\00:19:58.49
Wow.
00:19:58.53\00:19:59.86
My friends were my books.
00:19:59.89\00:20:01.23
Wow. Yeah.
00:20:01.26\00:20:02.60
So what happened next then?
00:20:02.63\00:20:03.97
So then you're
restarting to read the Bible.
00:20:04.00\00:20:05.53
You're starting to
realize who Jesus is.
00:20:05.57\00:20:07.30
And so tell us what the
next, what happened to you next?
00:20:07.34\00:20:10.04
So I graduated from college.
00:20:10.07\00:20:11.81
I mean, I
graduated from high school
00:20:11.84\00:20:14.31
and I ended up
going to a college
00:20:14.34\00:20:17.31
out on Long Island.
00:20:17.35\00:20:18.68
It was an aviation college.
00:20:18.71\00:20:21.38
And it was about
two hours from home.
00:20:21.42\00:20:23.65
And at the time I'm not thinking
00:20:23.69\00:20:25.55
I'm looking back now seeing
00:20:25.59\00:20:27.26
I'm following
this aviation thing.
00:20:27.29\00:20:28.62
But back then, it just
seemed, I liked aviation.
00:20:28.66\00:20:30.09
So I was going, I
decided to go to this school
00:20:30.13\00:20:32.96
and I was the only...
00:20:32.99\00:20:35.96
It was mostly a white
school and about 2000,
00:20:36.00\00:20:39.70
a little over 2000 students.
00:20:39.73\00:20:41.80
And I was one of three
00:20:41.84\00:20:43.51
African-Americans in the school.
00:20:43.54\00:20:45.41
Three? Yeah.
00:20:45.44\00:20:46.78
Wow. Out of 2000?
00:20:46.81\00:20:48.14
Yeah. Out of 2000.
00:20:48.18\00:20:49.51
So it was an interesting year.
00:20:49.54\00:20:51.38
So when my
sophomore year came up,
00:20:51.41\00:20:53.92
my dad gave me money.
00:20:53.95\00:20:55.28
to go back to college
00:20:55.32\00:21:01.16
and I loaded up the car
and I had stuff on the roof.
00:21:01.19\00:21:05.23
And, you know,
I'm waving bye to mom.
00:21:05.26\00:21:07.10
Sounds like a
college student experience.
00:21:07.13\00:21:08.46
Yeah.
00:21:08.50\00:21:09.83
And, but instead of
heading to the college,
00:21:09.86\00:21:13.84
I remember I reached
the Grand Central Parkway.
00:21:13.87\00:21:16.91
It runs the length
of Long Island sort of,
00:21:16.94\00:21:19.41
and instead of turning
east to go to the college,
00:21:19.44\00:21:21.58
I turned west.
00:21:21.61\00:21:22.94
I said,
00:21:22.98\00:21:24.31
"I'm never going
back to that school again.
00:21:24.35\00:21:25.68
I'm just gonna learn how
to fly and skip the school."
00:21:25.71\00:21:27.65
I was tired of
what was going on there.
00:21:27.68\00:21:31.15
A lot of things happen
00:21:31.19\00:21:32.52
that would be a
whole other discussion.
00:21:32.55\00:21:34.79
And so I ended up going
out to Southern California
00:21:34.82\00:21:38.56
and a little
small flight school.
00:21:38.59\00:21:41.16
I put the $14,000 on
the table and I said,
00:21:41.20\00:21:44.27
"Teach me how to fly."
00:21:44.30\00:21:45.90
And it was from zero hours
to commercial pilot's license.
00:21:45.93\00:21:49.60
Wow.
00:21:49.64\00:21:50.97
And after that,
00:21:51.01\00:21:52.34
I flew for three more years
00:21:52.37\00:21:53.71
for a 135 operation flying cargo
00:21:53.74\00:21:56.01
and people around the Southwest.
00:21:56.04\00:21:58.78
Okay.
00:21:58.81\00:22:00.15
The worst part was
flying chickens and animals.
00:22:00.18\00:22:03.39
That's just not fun.
00:22:03.42\00:22:05.25
You know, feathers
flying by in a cockpit
00:22:05.29\00:22:07.42
while you're trying to fly.
00:22:07.46\00:22:08.79
Never thought about that. Yeah.
00:22:08.82\00:22:10.43
It's not fun,
00:22:10.46\00:22:11.79
but we were, I
was building hours
00:22:11.83\00:22:13.66
and I wanted to
go into the air force
00:22:13.70\00:22:15.16
at that point.
00:22:15.20\00:22:16.53
I'm following my
God is a co-pilot,
00:22:16.56\00:22:17.90
that book.
00:22:17.93\00:22:19.27
I'm not thinking
about it at the time,
00:22:19.30\00:22:20.64
but I'm following this.
00:22:20.67\00:22:22.00
Can I ask, were
you still struggling
00:22:22.04\00:22:23.51
with anger in your life?
00:22:23.54\00:22:24.97
Was that still an
issue or were you,
00:22:25.01\00:22:27.71
after you encountered Jesus
00:22:27.74\00:22:29.24
when you were reading the Bible
00:22:29.28\00:22:30.61
and found out who He
was, did that resolve?
00:22:30.65\00:22:33.35
Yes, not as much
because when I was in college,
00:22:33.38\00:22:36.65
there was a lot of
things that happened
00:22:36.69\00:22:38.45
that had they
happened, pre-Jesus
00:22:38.49\00:22:42.92
things would
have gone really bad.
00:22:42.96\00:22:44.66
My mentality was,
I was pretty violent,
00:22:44.69\00:22:47.76
you know, it was fist first,
discussion later sort of thing.
00:22:47.80\00:22:52.63
So college, I went
through my first year there
00:22:52.67\00:22:55.30
with no problems because
00:22:55.34\00:22:57.51
the meek will inherit the earth.
00:22:57.54\00:22:58.87
God had gotten a hold of you.
00:22:58.91\00:23:00.24
God had gotten a
hold of me. Yeah.
00:23:00.28\00:23:01.94
So I went into the air force
00:23:01.98\00:23:04.78
flight test and
research and development.
00:23:04.81\00:23:08.78
And then I was challenged,
00:23:08.82\00:23:11.45
but I still
wanted to go and fight.
00:23:11.49\00:23:13.82
So I ended up cross-training
into another career field
00:23:13.86\00:23:18.53
that embedded me with the army.
00:23:18.56\00:23:21.26
We went off to the Middle East
00:23:21.30\00:23:23.20
and we got into
some stuff over there
00:23:23.23\00:23:26.13
and that changed
my mindset once again.
00:23:26.17\00:23:29.10
And I was... How
did it change it?
00:23:29.14\00:23:32.04
I came out of it alive.
00:23:32.07\00:23:34.28
I saw what ugliness is.
00:23:34.31\00:23:36.58
I mean, real ugliness,
beyond just fist fighting
00:23:36.61\00:23:39.51
and things like that.
00:23:39.55\00:23:42.82
I also came to
appreciate love a lot more,
00:23:42.85\00:23:45.35
you know, love amongst friends,
love amongst brotherhoods
00:23:45.39\00:23:48.26
and things like that.
00:23:48.29\00:23:49.82
But at the same time,
00:23:49.86\00:23:51.69
I was convicted that
00:23:51.73\00:23:53.70
because the meek
will inherit the earth
00:23:53.73\00:23:56.16
in this book that what
I was doing wasn't right.
00:23:56.20\00:23:58.53
So I really wanted to get out
of the military at that point.
00:23:58.57\00:24:02.34
And I ended up coming back home.
00:24:02.37\00:24:03.97
I was injured.
00:24:04.01\00:24:05.41
I ended up coming back home,
00:24:05.44\00:24:07.34
and Lyle Albrecht
was on television.
00:24:07.38\00:24:10.68
Oh-oh-oh.
00:24:10.71\00:24:12.05
I was in
Bossier City, Louisiana.
00:24:12.08\00:24:13.42
Okay.
00:24:13.45\00:24:14.78
And the signal didn't
come through very well.
00:24:14.82\00:24:16.99
It was all static.
00:24:17.02\00:24:18.35
You could see figures moving,
00:24:18.39\00:24:19.72
but I could hear what
they were talking about.
00:24:19.75\00:24:21.09
And Lyle Albrecht
has a unique voice.
00:24:21.12\00:24:22.86
Now was this on 3ABN?
00:24:22.89\00:24:24.23
This was on 3ABN. Okay.
00:24:24.26\00:24:25.59
Wow.
00:24:25.63\00:24:26.96
And this was probably
2000, 2000 maybe 2001,
00:24:27.00\00:24:31.80
somewhere around there.
00:24:31.83\00:24:33.17
And...
00:24:33.20\00:24:34.54
How did you find them?
00:24:34.57\00:24:35.90
Were you just
flipping a channel or?
00:24:35.94\00:24:37.27
I was just flipping
through the channel.
00:24:37.31\00:24:38.64
So, you just came across
3ABN? Yeah, I heard his voice.
00:24:38.67\00:24:40.01
I was like, "Wow. He
sounds kind of interesting.
00:24:40.04\00:24:41.38
He just has a way
of talking. He does.
00:24:41.41\00:24:42.98
And he started
talking about the Sabbath.
00:24:43.01\00:24:44.65
You couldn't really see
him because it was all static.
00:24:44.68\00:24:46.31
It was all static,
but I heard the message.
00:24:46.35\00:24:48.38
Wow.
00:24:48.42\00:24:49.75
And the Sabbath
was always a question
00:24:49.78\00:24:51.35
that I had, you know,
00:24:51.39\00:24:52.72
Jewish Sabbath,
Christian Sabbath.
00:24:52.75\00:24:54.09
Why are there two Sabbaths?
Doesn't make sense to me.
00:24:54.12\00:24:55.72
No one ever had a
good answer for it.
00:24:55.76\00:24:57.69
So he started talking about this
00:24:57.73\00:24:59.06
and he had good answers.
00:24:59.09\00:25:00.43
So, that just appealed to me.
00:25:00.46\00:25:01.80
So I kept watching
and then Kenneth Cox
00:25:01.83\00:25:03.23
and Doug Batchelor.
00:25:03.26\00:25:04.60
And that really drew
me in, then 9/11 happened.
00:25:04.63\00:25:07.24
Yeah.
00:25:07.27\00:25:08.60
And I said,
00:25:08.64\00:25:09.97
"Okay, they're getting
ready to ship us off again."
00:25:10.01\00:25:11.34
I had my orders,
00:25:11.37\00:25:12.71
we were going back
to the Middle East.
00:25:12.74\00:25:14.74
And I went to my pastor,
00:25:14.78\00:25:17.81
Pastor Cedric
Belcher in Shreveport.
00:25:17.85\00:25:21.18
And I said,
00:25:21.22\00:25:22.55
"I'm getting ready to
go back to the Middle East.
00:25:22.58\00:25:24.39
I don't know if
I'm coming back."
00:25:24.42\00:25:25.75
Were you going to Seventh-day
Adventist Church at this time?
00:25:25.79\00:25:27.32
I was going to
Seventh-day Adventist Church
00:25:27.36\00:25:28.69
for about a year.
00:25:28.72\00:25:30.06
Okay. So, you found the truth.
00:25:30.09\00:25:31.43
I found the truth simply
because of Lyle Albrecht.
00:25:31.46\00:25:33.06
Yeah. Amen. Okay.
00:25:33.09\00:25:34.43
And I said,
00:25:34.46\00:25:35.80
"I'm going to the Middle East.
Don't know if I'm coming back.
00:25:35.83\00:25:37.63
You need to baptize me."
00:25:37.67\00:25:39.27
So they had a special
baptism the next Sabbath.
00:25:39.30\00:25:42.90
And by a miracle,
00:25:42.94\00:25:45.41
I ended up being
released from the military
00:25:45.44\00:25:47.78
a couple of months later.
00:25:47.81\00:25:49.68
So I was out of the military
and I moved to Colorado.
00:25:49.71\00:25:53.18
So you didn't have to
go back to the Middle East?
00:25:53.21\00:25:54.78
I didn't have to go
back to the Middle East.
00:25:54.82\00:25:56.62
So that was a blessing. Wow.
00:25:56.65\00:25:59.05
A honorable discharge.
00:25:59.09\00:26:01.02
And I didn't
have to fight anymore.
00:26:01.06\00:26:02.69
And that was good.
00:26:02.72\00:26:04.19
So I went to Colorado Springs.
00:26:04.23\00:26:05.99
I moved to Colorado
'cause I got a job with Boeing
00:26:06.03\00:26:08.53
as an electrical engineer.
00:26:08.56\00:26:11.40
And I loved the mountains also.
00:26:11.43\00:26:13.27
Colorado is a great place
to experience the mountains,
00:26:13.30\00:26:15.47
that's for sure.
00:26:15.50\00:26:16.91
So it just seemed
like the right place to go.
00:26:16.94\00:26:19.01
And when I got there
00:26:19.04\00:26:20.74
I was a Christian
now, I was baptized.
00:26:20.78\00:26:23.08
Yep, Seventh-day Adventist.
00:26:23.11\00:26:24.45
So, I couldn't go on
the same dating scene
00:26:24.48\00:26:25.88
that I used to go on.
00:26:25.91\00:26:27.25
And so, I was
running into people
00:26:27.28\00:26:29.62
that I found really strange
00:26:29.65\00:26:31.09
that I didn't
find strange before.
00:26:31.12\00:26:33.52
And the one that
really made my decision
00:26:33.56\00:26:35.89
to pursue Marilyn was,
00:26:35.92\00:26:42.70
I went out on a
date with a young lady
00:26:42.73\00:26:44.83
and she brought a doll
00:26:44.87\00:26:46.30
and she said
she was a Christian,
00:26:46.33\00:26:47.67
but she brought a doll
and she put it on the table
00:26:47.70\00:26:50.17
and we're talking and
I'm like, what's this doll.
00:26:50.21\00:26:53.64
I bring that out
halfway through the night.
00:26:53.68\00:26:55.74
She said, "Oh, that's you."
00:26:55.78\00:26:57.31
What? Yeah.
00:26:57.35\00:26:59.78
She said,
00:26:59.81\00:27:01.15
"I use this to
bond with my dates
00:27:01.18\00:27:03.65
before the date.
00:27:03.69\00:27:05.55
That's strange.
00:27:05.59\00:27:06.92
And it turned out that
00:27:06.96\00:27:08.29
she was mixed
voodoo with Christianity,
00:27:08.32\00:27:11.66
really strange theology.
00:27:11.69\00:27:13.03
And I said, "Okay,
I'm done with this scene."
00:27:13.06\00:27:15.70
And I went to a dating service
and that's how I met Marilyn.
00:27:15.73\00:27:19.80
Into Marilyn.
00:27:19.83\00:27:21.20
Yeah. Wow.
00:27:21.24\00:27:22.84
That's an incredible,
00:27:22.87\00:27:24.21
I mean you think
about your journey.
00:27:24.24\00:27:25.57
Yeah.
00:27:25.61\00:27:26.94
I'm not sure what
your age at this point,
00:27:26.98\00:27:28.31
but I mean, God's taken you
from a young man is very angry,
00:27:28.34\00:27:29.78
finding your way through life
accomplishing what you wanted,
00:27:29.81\00:27:33.08
and that was to be a pilot.
00:27:33.11\00:27:34.98
And then how God
basically led you
00:27:35.02\00:27:36.79
to truth through
3ABN, Lyle Albrecht.
00:27:36.82\00:27:38.82
The signal wasn't
clear. That's right.
00:27:38.85\00:27:40.66
And you still found
truth, got baptized,
00:27:40.69\00:27:42.36
moved to Colorado and
Marilyn enters the picture.
00:27:42.39\00:27:44.76
So we want to find about
your background, Marilyn.
00:27:44.79\00:27:47.10
So where were
you born and raised?
00:27:47.13\00:27:49.26
I was born and
raised in Pueblo, Colorado.
00:27:49.30\00:27:52.10
Okay.
00:27:52.13\00:27:53.47
And similar to Eric,
00:27:53.50\00:27:56.77
my parents, my
mother was Christian,
00:27:56.81\00:27:59.74
but my dad was not.
00:27:59.77\00:28:02.18
He was in the picture,
00:28:02.21\00:28:03.55
but he wasn't
going to church with us.
00:28:03.58\00:28:05.85
We went to a Baptist
Church, and growing up,
00:28:05.88\00:28:10.69
I didn't have the anger issues.
00:28:10.72\00:28:12.35
I was very, I
think, naive and sheltered
00:28:12.39\00:28:17.06
'cause I remember
00:28:17.09\00:28:18.56
when I got older
00:28:18.59\00:28:20.83
and I was
graduating from high school,
00:28:20.86\00:28:22.60
my mother said,
00:28:22.63\00:28:23.97
"So what is your plans next?"
00:28:24.00\00:28:25.40
And I thought,
00:28:25.43\00:28:26.77
"What do you mean? I'm
staying here with you."
00:28:26.80\00:28:29.87
That's crazy.
00:28:29.90\00:28:31.24
She's like, "Oh no,
we're gonna put you in school."
00:28:31.27\00:28:34.28
And she ended up sending
me to a university in Texas,
00:28:34.31\00:28:39.21
Abilene Christian,
00:28:39.25\00:28:40.58
and that was Church of Christ.
00:28:40.62\00:28:42.02
And at the time I
didn't distinguish
00:28:42.05\00:28:45.55
the different denominations.
00:28:45.59\00:28:49.69
I just thought
everybody's Christian
00:28:49.72\00:28:51.69
and we love one
another, you know,
00:28:51.73\00:28:53.70
but going there,
00:28:53.73\00:28:56.20
me and my best friend went
00:28:56.23\00:28:58.03
and we encountered some things
00:28:58.07\00:29:00.10
that really hurt us spiritually.
00:29:00.14\00:29:04.64
And...
00:29:04.67\00:29:06.27
What were some of those things?
00:29:06.31\00:29:07.71
Well, I remember my friend,
00:29:07.74\00:29:09.84
her grandfather
was a Baptist preacher
00:29:09.88\00:29:13.55
and he had
passed away and they...
00:29:13.58\00:29:19.25
Some of our friends
00:29:19.29\00:29:20.92
that we were
hanging around with,
00:29:20.96\00:29:22.52
they had told us that,
00:29:22.56\00:29:23.99
you know, your
grandfather went to hell.
00:29:24.03\00:29:27.60
And we thought what? Yeah.
00:29:27.63\00:29:30.77
And it was because they said,
00:29:30.80\00:29:33.07
"Well, he wasn't
part of the church."
00:29:33.10\00:29:36.87
And I'm not too sure
00:29:36.91\00:29:38.24
all of the beliefs that
the Church of Christ believed,
00:29:38.27\00:29:40.08
but that hurt us.
00:29:40.11\00:29:41.51
And we had a lot of
questions and concerns.
00:29:41.54\00:29:46.38
But, yeah, I, growing up,
00:29:46.41\00:29:48.92
I loved the Lord and
I loved going to church,
00:29:48.95\00:29:52.55
and it could have been because
a lot of my friends were going.
00:29:52.59\00:29:57.06
But me and my, one
of my oldest sisters,
00:29:57.09\00:30:00.00
we always
maintain that relationship.
00:30:00.03\00:30:02.76
And...
00:30:02.80\00:30:04.47
So your family was
going to church a lot,
00:30:04.50\00:30:06.23
then you like went
every Sunday then...
00:30:06.27\00:30:07.60
Yes.
00:30:07.64\00:30:08.97
Kind of consistent,
00:30:09.00\00:30:10.34
you joined an
activity, church activity?
00:30:10.37\00:30:11.71
Yes. Very involved.
00:30:11.74\00:30:13.58
And it's been
with me ever since.
00:30:13.61\00:30:16.58
What did you take in college?
00:30:16.61\00:30:18.71
Well I started out
as an accounting major
00:30:18.75\00:30:22.32
and as soon as I
got to cost accounting,
00:30:22.35\00:30:26.45
I thought this is not for me.
00:30:26.49\00:30:30.06
Yeah, I know.
00:30:30.09\00:30:31.43
And then I went
into business management,
00:30:31.46\00:30:33.23
so, yeah.
00:30:33.26\00:30:35.73
I didn't finish
at Abilene Christian,
00:30:35.76\00:30:38.40
I ended up going back home,
00:30:38.43\00:30:39.87
which I should have
done in the first place,
00:30:39.90\00:30:41.90
but, you know, we
learn our lessons and...
00:30:41.94\00:30:47.21
The funny thing was that
Marilyn was the first one
00:30:47.24\00:30:51.08
that came up on the list
00:30:51.11\00:30:53.15
when I was looking for someone
to date through this service,
00:30:53.18\00:30:56.69
and Marilyn told me that
00:30:56.72\00:30:58.05
I was the first one
that came up on her list.
00:30:58.09\00:31:00.96
And her girlfriend
bought her the membership,
00:31:00.99\00:31:03.43
you could tell them the story.
00:31:03.46\00:31:04.79
Yeah.
00:31:04.83\00:31:06.16
My girlfriend,
she encouraged me.
00:31:06.19\00:31:07.66
Her husband was like,
"This is what you should do."
00:31:07.70\00:31:09.96
And at the time I
wasn't interested.
00:31:10.00\00:31:12.67
I was working and doing well
00:31:12.70\00:31:15.07
when it just seemed like
dating was not on the radar.
00:31:15.10\00:31:19.51
And at the time my stepfather,
my parents had got divorced.
00:31:19.54\00:31:24.41
And...
00:31:24.45\00:31:25.78
How old were you
when that happened?
00:31:25.81\00:31:27.15
I was very young.
00:31:27.18\00:31:28.52
I vaguely remember it happening.
00:31:28.55\00:31:31.19
Me and my brother,
we're the youngest of four.
00:31:31.22\00:31:34.16
Okay.
00:31:34.19\00:31:35.52
And it was very hurtful
00:31:35.56\00:31:38.33
because I remember me
and him waiting for my dad
00:31:38.36\00:31:41.86
to come and get us.
00:31:41.90\00:31:43.23
He would say, "I'm
gonna come pick you up."
00:31:43.26\00:31:45.73
And we'd sit there by the
door and he would never show.
00:31:45.77\00:31:48.90
Oh. That is painful.
00:31:48.94\00:31:50.27
Yeah.
00:31:50.31\00:31:51.64
And, you know, now
our relationship is better
00:31:51.67\00:31:53.04
with my dad,
00:31:53.07\00:31:54.41
but it took a long time.
00:31:54.44\00:31:56.28
So, yeah, but at the time
my stepfather had passed away
00:31:56.31\00:32:00.92
and every weekend I
was going to see my mom
00:32:00.95\00:32:03.85
and be with her because
I thought she needed me.
00:32:03.89\00:32:06.12
Right.
00:32:06.15\00:32:07.49
But my
girlfriend... Offer support.
00:32:07.52\00:32:08.86
Yeah. Yes.
00:32:08.89\00:32:10.23
They wanted me to
get on this dating site
00:32:10.26\00:32:11.79
and I thought,
00:32:11.83\00:32:13.16
"I'm not doing that."
00:32:13.19\00:32:14.53
And I would say,
00:32:14.56\00:32:15.90
"I'm going
home. I'm going home."
00:32:15.93\00:32:17.27
And then one
weekend, I dropped the ball.
00:32:17.30\00:32:18.93
I said, "Oh, I'll be here."
00:32:18.97\00:32:20.77
"Good. Come on over.
You're going to fill this out."
00:32:20.80\00:32:23.67
And I never
paid for the service.
00:32:23.71\00:32:26.07
I thought I'm gonna
satisfy their wishes or whatever
00:32:26.11\00:32:30.38
and I'll fill it
out, but that's it.
00:32:30.41\00:32:33.18
So I show up for a date
00:32:33.21\00:32:34.75
and the first
thing they make me do is
00:32:34.78\00:32:36.25
fix her sister's computer.
00:32:36.28\00:32:39.49
Yeah. We put him to work.
00:32:39.52\00:32:40.86
Yeah. They put me to work.
00:32:40.89\00:32:42.52
And they were so impressed
00:32:42.56\00:32:43.89
that I fixed her
sister's computer
00:32:43.93\00:32:45.26
that they couldn't fix.
00:32:45.29\00:32:46.63
She said, "Okay,
second date is in line."
00:32:46.66\00:32:48.96
So did your sister decide
the second date was in line
00:32:49.00\00:32:51.37
or you decided the
second date was in line?
00:32:51.40\00:32:52.73
No, I decided. Okay.
00:32:52.77\00:32:54.10
Yeah.
00:32:54.14\00:32:55.97
My family, I thought,
00:32:56.00\00:32:57.34
well, if I'm gonna
go on a date with him,
00:32:57.37\00:32:59.61
I said, "Will
you guys go with me?"
00:32:59.64\00:33:02.18
And they were like, "No,
we're not going with you."
00:33:02.21\00:33:03.81
You know, you never
know who you're gonna meet.
00:33:03.85\00:33:05.78
So I thought, okay.
00:33:05.81\00:33:08.52
How long did you
start communicating online
00:33:08.55\00:33:11.09
before you
physically met in person?
00:33:11.12\00:33:12.45
Yes. And it was a long
time that we communicated.
00:33:12.49\00:33:15.02
Eric actually had to say,
00:33:15.06\00:33:17.33
"Can I finally meet
you? You know, and so...
00:33:17.36\00:33:20.40
Did I send you poems?
00:33:20.43\00:33:22.06
Did I send poems
or anything like that?
00:33:22.10\00:33:23.60
No. Okay. I
should have sent poems.
00:33:23.63\00:33:25.77
It would have
been a lot quicker.
00:33:25.80\00:33:27.14
Yeah.
00:33:27.17\00:33:28.50
So you're both in Colorado.
How far apart were you?
00:33:28.54\00:33:30.97
We were about
an hour away. Yeah.
00:33:31.01\00:33:32.84
I was in Colorado
Springs and she was in Denver.
00:33:32.87\00:33:35.04
Denver. Yeah.
00:33:35.08\00:33:36.75
So you had found about
00:33:36.78\00:33:38.11
the Seventh-day Adventist truth,
00:33:38.15\00:33:39.48
what, by the time
you moved to Colorado?
00:33:39.51\00:33:40.85
A couple of years, a
year and a half, two years?
00:33:40.88\00:33:42.35
I got baptized in Louisiana.
00:33:42.38\00:33:44.85
So by the time
I got to Colorado,
00:33:44.89\00:33:46.22
I was Adventist.
00:33:46.25\00:33:47.59
And that's what
a time period of?
00:33:47.62\00:33:49.29
A year. A year maybe.
00:33:49.32\00:33:50.66
Yeah. Okay.
00:33:50.69\00:33:52.03
So, Marilyn, for you
then. So you're raised...
00:33:52.06\00:33:54.20
Baptist and I'm still
going to the Baptist Church.
00:33:54.23\00:33:56.36
Okay. Yeah, okay.
00:33:56.40\00:33:57.73
And when I met Eric,
00:33:57.77\00:33:59.43
he invited me to
go to church with him
00:33:59.47\00:34:01.70
and you actually
did buy me a gift.
00:34:01.74\00:34:04.67
It was a plaque and
it had a scripture on it.
00:34:04.71\00:34:07.58
So he did, that was his
first gift to me and so...
00:34:07.61\00:34:11.31
I think there was a
poem in there somewhere.
00:34:11.35\00:34:13.85
So, then he says,
go to church with me
00:34:13.88\00:34:15.22
and you're like, okay, sure.
00:34:15.25\00:34:16.58
That sounds good.
Let's do it on Sunday.
00:34:16.62\00:34:17.95
And I, but I had no
problem with going to church.
00:34:17.99\00:34:21.12
On Saturday.
00:34:21.16\00:34:22.49
No. Okay.
00:34:22.52\00:34:23.86
I always knew that I
wanted to honor God's day
00:34:23.89\00:34:29.10
and I didn't realize
that Sunday was not the day
00:34:29.13\00:34:33.70
until I started going
to the Adventist Church.
00:34:33.74\00:34:36.40
And I just, we just kept going
00:34:36.44\00:34:41.11
and till he
decided to take a job
00:34:41.14\00:34:44.81
in Washington State
00:34:44.85\00:34:46.88
and at the time
we weren't married,
00:34:46.92\00:34:48.72
so he left and moved.
00:34:48.75\00:34:51.55
Oh, wow. Yeah.
00:34:51.59\00:34:52.92
Did you decide to continue
relationship with distance?
00:34:52.95\00:34:55.82
We did. Okay.
00:34:55.86\00:34:57.19
But he was there only
three months and he said,
00:34:57.23\00:35:00.40
"Okay, we've
got to get married."
00:35:00.43\00:35:03.80
I missed her. Yeah.
00:35:03.83\00:35:05.17
Of course. I messed her.
00:35:05.20\00:35:07.10
Yeah, so I was with
the company with Boeing
00:35:07.14\00:35:10.24
and I didn't
realize it at the time,
00:35:10.27\00:35:12.37
but looking back, I realized
00:35:12.41\00:35:14.64
I read book,
Joseph in the Bible.
00:35:14.68\00:35:17.15
Yeah.
00:35:17.18\00:35:18.51
It seems like everything he did,
00:35:18.55\00:35:19.95
God blessed.
00:35:19.98\00:35:21.38
And so like, he touched
it and it turned to gold.
00:35:21.42\00:35:24.25
And I'm thinking all the while
I'm doing well because of me,
00:35:24.29\00:35:28.52
you know, everything I did,
00:35:28.56\00:35:29.89
I kept moving up
with the company.
00:35:29.92\00:35:31.26
Every job I applied for, I got.
00:35:31.29\00:35:34.40
I was moving up quick
and we would move around
00:35:34.43\00:35:36.73
because of that.
00:35:36.77\00:35:38.10
Each job was a move.
00:35:38.13\00:35:39.47
And I'm thinking it's about me.
00:35:39.50\00:35:41.14
And it wasn't, it was about God.
00:35:41.17\00:35:44.07
And I think what
God was doing was
00:35:44.11\00:35:45.67
He was restoring the
insecurity that I had
00:35:45.71\00:35:50.98
because so many
people had told me that
00:35:51.01\00:35:53.82
I would never
amount to anything.
00:35:53.85\00:35:55.25
He's giving me a
degree of success
00:35:55.28\00:35:57.69
to kind of balance that out
00:35:57.72\00:35:59.05
because he had plans
for me in the future.
00:35:59.09\00:36:02.02
So we moved around, we
moved from Washington State,
00:36:02.06\00:36:06.23
from Colorado to
Washington State,
00:36:06.26\00:36:07.66
we moved to Washington DC.
00:36:07.70\00:36:09.26
Then we ended up moving
back to Washington State,
00:36:09.30\00:36:12.53
and then things
started happening
00:36:12.57\00:36:16.10
that really changed the path.
00:36:16.14\00:36:18.47
So you got married in 2002? Six.
00:36:18.51\00:36:20.81
2006, okay. All right.
00:36:20.84\00:36:22.61
And how was your spiritual
journey then during this time?
00:36:22.64\00:36:24.08
You're moving.
00:36:24.11\00:36:25.45
We know Washington
DC or to Washington DC,
00:36:25.48\00:36:27.62
then back to Washington,
00:36:27.65\00:36:28.98
how was your spiritual
journey as a married couple?
00:36:29.02\00:36:30.35
We found a lot of new churches.
00:36:30.39\00:36:32.12
Each time we moved, we
would find another church
00:36:32.15\00:36:34.09
and then we'd end
up moving a year later
00:36:34.12\00:36:35.79
because I'd get
another job offer.
00:36:35.82\00:36:37.99
And honestly I was more
focused on career success
00:36:38.03\00:36:43.57
than on the Bible.
00:36:43.60\00:36:45.53
Okay.
00:36:45.57\00:36:46.90
So I was more than happy
to uproot my church family
00:36:46.94\00:36:49.70
and say, we're out
of here and to move on.
00:36:49.74\00:36:52.74
So we moved around quite a bit.
00:36:52.77\00:36:54.64
And, Marilyn, when did you join
00:36:54.68\00:36:56.01
the Seventh-day
Adventist Church?
00:36:56.04\00:36:57.38
2008.
00:36:57.41\00:36:58.75
And we were attending a
church in Washington State
00:36:58.78\00:37:02.65
in Lacey,
Washington and Lyle Albrecht.
00:37:02.68\00:37:05.92
He...
00:37:05.95\00:37:07.29
We just talked
about him. I know.
00:37:07.32\00:37:09.56
He was doing evangelistic series
00:37:09.59\00:37:12.16
in Washington.
00:37:12.19\00:37:13.53
And that's when
I made the decision
00:37:13.56\00:37:16.00
that I wanted to be a part
00:37:16.03\00:37:18.93
of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
00:37:18.97\00:37:20.77
And it was always, I
never wanted to force.
00:37:20.80\00:37:24.07
So I never to this day,
00:37:24.11\00:37:25.44
I never say you have to do this.
00:37:25.47\00:37:28.04
You have to go to church.
00:37:28.08\00:37:29.51
I always leave it
to the Holy Spirit.
00:37:29.54\00:37:31.21
So for years,
00:37:31.25\00:37:33.21
it wasn't that long
but for a little while,
00:37:33.25\00:37:34.58
yeah, two years, I
was praying, God, let her,
00:37:34.62\00:37:37.39
let her accept this message,
let her accept this message.
00:37:37.42\00:37:39.59
So when she raised her hand
00:37:39.62\00:37:41.59
and to be baptized in
Lacey, Washington, I was happy.
00:37:41.62\00:37:45.33
Oh yeah. Yeah.
00:37:45.36\00:37:46.80
That's so neat how God is.
00:37:46.83\00:37:48.16
You know, you think about
that, 'cause Lyle Albrecht,
00:37:48.20\00:37:49.53
you couldn't see him,
but you could hear his voice
00:37:49.56\00:37:50.90
when you first
stumbled across 3ABN.
00:37:50.93\00:37:52.27
Heard Lyle Albrecht
number of years later,
00:37:52.30\00:37:54.54
he's the one that
baptized you, Marilyn,
00:37:54.57\00:37:55.94
in Washington State.
00:37:55.97\00:37:57.31
That's right.
That's really neat.
00:37:57.34\00:37:58.67
I think that's God, you
know, it's like confirmation.
00:37:58.71\00:38:00.34
That's right.
We're on the right path.
00:38:00.38\00:38:01.71
That's right.
00:38:01.74\00:38:03.08
So tell us about your journey
and how you came to 3ABN?
00:38:03.11\00:38:05.95
So everything was going great.
00:38:05.98\00:38:08.25
It was actually going too great.
00:38:08.28\00:38:10.92
And I'm not
prideful about it anymore.
00:38:10.95\00:38:12.99
I'm kind of ashamed of
it to be honest with you.
00:38:13.02\00:38:15.16
But we had a huge house.
00:38:15.19\00:38:18.03
We had four
stories. We had cars.
00:38:18.06\00:38:20.73
Of course, there was three.
00:38:20.76\00:38:22.20
There was a garage level,
00:38:22.23\00:38:23.57
and then there was
a living room level.
00:38:23.60\00:38:25.30
Okay. It had lots of levels.
00:38:25.33\00:38:27.84
It was a big
house. This was big house.
00:38:27.87\00:38:29.94
We could see the water.
00:38:29.97\00:38:31.31
It was lots of cars,
lots of things like that.
00:38:31.34\00:38:35.61
But I was empty. Okay.
00:38:35.64\00:38:37.78
Something was wrong.
00:38:37.81\00:38:39.15
You still going
to church though?
00:38:39.18\00:38:40.52
We're still
going to church. Yeah.
00:38:40.55\00:38:41.88
But it's empty.
00:38:41.92\00:38:43.25
Yeah, because it was, it
was, it wasn't a commitment
00:38:43.28\00:38:47.02
the way it should have been.
00:38:47.06\00:38:48.39
It was because I was Adventist
and I liked the message,
00:38:48.42\00:38:51.86
but I didn't devote myself to it
00:38:51.89\00:38:53.66
to that degree yet.
00:38:53.70\00:38:55.03
It's a distraction.
00:38:55.06\00:38:56.40
The career world
is a distraction.
00:38:56.43\00:38:57.77
It really is.
00:38:57.80\00:38:59.13
And...
00:38:59.17\00:39:00.50
And money can be a distraction.
00:39:00.54\00:39:01.87
Yeah. And money
was a distraction.
00:39:01.90\00:39:03.24
We made lots of money
and there was a distraction.
00:39:03.27\00:39:06.17
And we were in Marysville
00:39:06.21\00:39:09.74
and Marilyn got the call
00:39:09.78\00:39:11.35
or she was trying to
reach her mother all night.
00:39:11.38\00:39:13.42
And she's like something's wrong
00:39:13.45\00:39:15.48
because she could
not reach her mother.
00:39:15.52\00:39:17.19
It turned out her
mother passed away.
00:39:17.22\00:39:18.65
Oh, wow.
00:39:18.69\00:39:20.02
Yeah. Suddenly then.
00:39:20.06\00:39:21.39
It was sudden.
00:39:21.42\00:39:22.76
She fell asleep
and did not wake up.
00:39:22.79\00:39:24.89
Did not wake up.
00:39:24.93\00:39:26.26
So, then we went out to Colorado
00:39:26.29\00:39:27.86
and we came back
00:39:27.90\00:39:29.53
and month and a half later,
my mother died unexpectedly.
00:39:29.56\00:39:33.50
Your mother suddenly died. Yes.
00:39:33.54\00:39:34.90
Yeah.
00:39:34.94\00:39:36.27
And then a week
later my father died.
00:39:36.30\00:39:38.07
A week. Yeah.
00:39:38.11\00:39:39.67
So, we're kind of
rocking and rolling right now.
00:39:39.71\00:39:42.74
And I'm like
"What is going on here?"
00:39:42.78\00:39:45.75
And the really
strange thing is that
00:39:45.78\00:39:48.58
we also had a lot
of spiritual events
00:39:48.62\00:39:50.62
that were going on
that were really strange,
00:39:50.65\00:39:53.29
like windows were breaking.
00:39:53.32\00:39:56.49
We tried to go to church
00:39:56.52\00:39:57.86
and our GPS refused
to let us go to church.
00:39:57.89\00:40:00.00
Yeah, it was
routing us back home.
00:40:00.03\00:40:02.30
But the address to
the church was in the GPS.
00:40:02.33\00:40:05.57
It was really crazy.
00:40:05.60\00:40:06.94
Spiritual
attack. Spiritual attack.
00:40:06.97\00:40:09.27
And my sister Denise
called from San Antonio.
00:40:09.30\00:40:11.84
She said,
00:40:11.87\00:40:13.21
"Eric, there is weird
things going on in my house."
00:40:13.24\00:40:16.28
She just came out of surgery.
She had problems in surgery.
00:40:16.31\00:40:18.68
She said the kids
came running down,
00:40:18.71\00:40:20.08
they said,
00:40:20.12\00:40:21.45
"Grandma's in the
room. Grandma's in the room."
00:40:21.48\00:40:23.35
And my mother passed away.
00:40:23.39\00:40:25.12
And a lot of other
things were going on...
00:40:25.15\00:40:26.92
We know that
grandma's sleeping in the grave.
00:40:26.96\00:40:28.29
Right. Right, yeah.
00:40:28.32\00:40:29.66
Wow.
00:40:29.69\00:40:31.03
So, there was a spiritual attack
00:40:31.06\00:40:32.39
here going on.
00:40:32.43\00:40:33.76
Absolutely. And I got sick.
00:40:33.80\00:40:35.13
I think I was
sick for almost a week
00:40:35.16\00:40:36.50
and I was in bed
for about four days
00:40:36.53\00:40:38.83
and that's, I
never get sick like that.
00:40:38.87\00:40:40.74
You know,
literally four days in bed,
00:40:40.77\00:40:42.94
fever, the whole thing.
00:40:42.97\00:40:45.04
So we were under
really serious attack.
00:40:45.07\00:40:47.51
And...
00:40:47.54\00:40:48.91
What year was this?
00:40:48.94\00:40:50.98
That was 2014.
00:40:51.01\00:40:53.92
Yeah. 2013.
00:40:53.95\00:40:56.42
13? 2013. Yeah.
00:40:56.45\00:40:57.85
Yeah because we
came here in '14.
00:40:57.89\00:40:59.62
And I'm praying
00:41:01.12\00:41:02.86
and I'm saying
what's going on here?
00:41:02.89\00:41:04.79
You know, all of these events.
00:41:04.83\00:41:06.16
Obviously some, there's
some spiritual battle going on.
00:41:06.19\00:41:09.40
And then I start
hearing these voices.
00:41:09.43\00:41:11.67
Yeah. And it's...
00:41:11.70\00:41:13.20
What did it say?
00:41:13.23\00:41:14.57
It wasn't audible voice,
00:41:14.60\00:41:15.94
but it was kind
of an impression.
00:41:15.97\00:41:18.07
And they kept saying it's time.
00:41:18.11\00:41:20.58
And I worked for
Boeing at the time.
00:41:20.61\00:41:22.91
I'm in Everett, Washington
00:41:22.94\00:41:24.68
and I'm sitting in
meetings and I just hear
00:41:24.71\00:41:27.02
"It's time."
00:41:27.05\00:41:28.38
And I'm like, this is
00:41:28.42\00:41:30.49
and it kept
happening all over the place.
00:41:30.52\00:41:32.15
Supermarket, I'm
hearing "It's time. It's time."
00:41:32.19\00:41:34.26
And after about a
week of hearing this,
00:41:34.29\00:41:36.39
I get kind of mad with God.
00:41:36.42\00:41:37.76
And I'm like,
it's time for what?
00:41:37.79\00:41:39.16
What do you...
00:41:39.19\00:41:40.53
This is kind of starting
to aggravate me a little bit.
00:41:40.56\00:41:43.33
And you told Marilyn that
00:41:43.37\00:41:44.70
you were
hearing this impression,
00:41:44.73\00:41:46.07
like, it's time.
00:41:46.10\00:41:47.44
So you don't know the
struggle that's in his...
00:41:47.47\00:41:48.80
I didn't know what was going on.
00:41:48.84\00:41:50.17
Yeah. Wow.
00:41:50.21\00:41:51.54
So, being the type of person
00:41:51.57\00:41:52.91
I am, I'm taking the initiative.
00:41:52.94\00:41:54.28
I said, "Okay,
babe, we're leaving.
00:41:54.31\00:41:55.64
God wants us to do something
other than what I'm doing."
00:41:55.68\00:41:57.98
So we make plans
to move to Texas.
00:41:58.01\00:42:02.58
Cinco Ranch, Texas.
00:42:02.62\00:42:04.29
We have the
neighborhood planned out.
00:42:04.32\00:42:05.65
Everything planned up.
00:42:05.69\00:42:07.02
Did you have a job? No.
00:42:07.06\00:42:08.39
No. Okay.
00:42:08.42\00:42:09.76
We were just...
00:42:09.79\00:42:11.13
I knew God wanted
us to do something.
00:42:11.16\00:42:12.49
And I said, "We just got to go."
00:42:12.53\00:42:13.96
It's just, doesn't
feel right here anymore.
00:42:14.00\00:42:17.00
So we have the plans,
00:42:17.03\00:42:20.50
the garage was
like 80% full of boxes
00:42:20.54\00:42:23.54
'cause we were
packed and ready to go.
00:42:23.57\00:42:25.77
And I prayed to God.
00:42:25.81\00:42:27.14
I said, "God, if
there's something
00:42:27.18\00:42:28.51
that You want us to do,
00:42:28.54\00:42:29.98
You better let us know
because we're headed to Texas.
00:42:30.01\00:42:33.18
And the next morning I
get an email from 3ABN.
00:42:33.21\00:42:36.22
Really? Yeah. Yeah.
00:42:36.25\00:42:38.65
Had you applied to 3ABN?
I applied a long time ago.
00:42:38.69\00:42:41.36
A long time ago. Yeah.
00:42:41.39\00:42:43.26
And I got this call.
00:42:43.29\00:42:46.33
The other interesting
thing is a week before that
00:42:46.36\00:42:48.56
the landlady Marilyn's
talking to the landlady saying,
00:42:48.60\00:42:53.54
"We're gonna cancel our lease.
00:42:53.57\00:42:55.27
We're leaving town."
00:42:55.30\00:42:56.64
Here's why, she's
telling her our testimony.
00:42:56.67\00:42:58.71
And there is a lot
of things I left out,
00:42:58.74\00:43:00.08
it was just bizarre.
00:43:00.11\00:43:01.54
And the landlady said,
00:43:01.58\00:43:02.91
and I'm getting
mail out of the box
00:43:02.94\00:43:05.11
next to the desk.
00:43:05.15\00:43:06.58
And the landlady says
after listening to Marilyn,
00:43:06.61\00:43:09.62
"Oh, you guys are getting ready
to do something for the Lord."
00:43:09.65\00:43:12.32
Wow. Oh, wow.
00:43:12.35\00:43:13.69
And I was like, "What?"
00:43:13.72\00:43:15.06
She said,
00:43:15.09\00:43:16.42
"Yeah, you guys, when I,
00:43:16.46\00:43:17.79
I've seen this happen
before you come under attack,
00:43:17.83\00:43:19.16
you guys getting ready to
do something for the Lord."
00:43:19.19\00:43:20.53
And I'm like, "Okay,
well we're headed to Texas."
00:43:20.56\00:43:23.53
Well, a week later, what
I just told you happened.
00:43:23.57\00:43:25.17
You get the email from 3ABN?
00:43:25.20\00:43:26.77
I get the email.
00:43:26.80\00:43:28.20
So I come out, we take
a look. Who was it from?
00:43:28.24\00:43:30.11
It was from Moses. Oh, yeah.
00:43:30.14\00:43:31.61
Yeah. We take a look.
00:43:31.64\00:43:33.44
And we're like,
"Okay, this is interesting."
00:43:33.48\00:43:36.54
Yeah. I know it. I know it.
00:43:36.58\00:43:38.25
There's a lot of corn.
00:43:38.28\00:43:39.98
And soybeans. And soybeans.
00:43:40.02\00:43:41.48
Were you familiar
with 3ABN much, Marilyn.
00:43:41.52\00:43:43.22
Were you,
'cause I know Eric was.
00:43:43.25\00:43:44.59
I watched on television. Okay.
00:43:44.62\00:43:46.45
But you know,
that's about it. Okay.
00:43:46.49\00:43:48.82
So, yeah, you'd never
been out here visited?
00:43:48.86\00:43:50.89
No. Right. Never.
00:43:50.93\00:43:52.26
Okay. Yeah.
00:43:52.29\00:43:53.63
So we were, we came, we
left here and we were like,
00:43:53.66\00:43:55.00
we're still headed for Texas.
00:43:55.03\00:43:56.36
Right. Okay.
00:43:56.40\00:43:57.73
And maybe a week or two passed
00:43:57.77\00:43:59.40
and it's not registering to
me what God's trying to tell me.
00:43:59.43\00:44:02.17
And one of the
things I said in my prayer,
00:44:02.20\00:44:03.94
I always
remember it was, I said,
00:44:03.97\00:44:06.11
"Lord, I'm kind of thick-headed,
00:44:06.14\00:44:07.71
you know, I'm a
little bit stubborn.
00:44:07.74\00:44:09.58
Whatever You want me to do,
00:44:09.61\00:44:10.95
You have to make
it crystal clear,
00:44:10.98\00:44:12.51
so it gets through."
00:44:12.55\00:44:14.48
So, I pray the second prayer.
00:44:14.52\00:44:16.05
And within the hour,
3ABN, you guys called again.
00:44:16.08\00:44:19.05
Oh, the second time.
00:44:19.09\00:44:20.42
The second time
right after prayer, right.
00:44:20.46\00:44:22.12
Was that Moses again?
Yeah. It was Moses again.
00:44:22.16\00:44:25.63
And it's still not registering.
We're still headed for Texas.
00:44:25.66\00:44:28.86
And I pray again a
couple of weeks later,
00:44:28.90\00:44:32.30
"Lord, we're headed for Texas.
00:44:32.33\00:44:33.67
You better let me
know what the plans are
00:44:33.70\00:44:35.74
'cause we're headed there."
00:44:35.77\00:44:37.11
I'm single-minded mindset
kind of this mission oriented.
00:44:37.14\00:44:40.01
And God's saying,
okay, let me think here.
00:44:40.04\00:44:41.58
See I've already told them.
00:44:41.61\00:44:42.94
God has sent an
email, another phone call.
00:44:42.98\00:44:44.65
Right. Yeah.
00:44:44.68\00:44:46.01
And right after I
prayed Moses called again.
00:44:46.05\00:44:49.15
Oh, wow. Third time.
00:44:49.18\00:44:50.52
Third time. Yeah.
00:44:50.55\00:44:51.89
And that's when it
got through, I was like,
00:44:51.92\00:44:53.25
"Oh, He wants to
go to 3ABN." Yeah.
00:44:53.29\00:44:56.52
And that's when we
canceled our plans,
00:44:56.56\00:44:59.66
Cinco Ranch, Texas,
00:44:59.69\00:45:01.33
and we came here.
00:45:01.36\00:45:02.86
And it's been, we've
been blessed ever since.
00:45:02.90\00:45:05.23
How'd you feel, Marilyn?
00:45:05.27\00:45:06.60
Were you on
board with the decision
00:45:06.63\00:45:07.97
or did you feel like
man, he thinks we should go,
00:45:08.00\00:45:09.67
but I'm not sure about it?
00:45:09.70\00:45:11.04
You know, how were you feeling?
00:45:11.07\00:45:12.97
I wasn't thrilled
for Southern Illinois,
00:45:13.01\00:45:16.75
but you know, I knew that
wherever he went, I was going.
00:45:16.78\00:45:21.48
And honestly, sometimes I
think we came here for him,
00:45:21.52\00:45:25.79
but I think he came here for me.
00:45:25.82\00:45:29.16
Oh, wow. Oh, that's deep.
00:45:29.19\00:45:31.03
Why do you say that?
00:45:31.06\00:45:33.06
Because I've learned so
much and I've grown so much.
00:45:33.09\00:45:36.23
My relationship with
Christ is so much better.
00:45:36.26\00:45:40.14
And so, yeah, I think.
00:45:40.17\00:45:43.30
I've loved for the
years that we were working,
00:45:43.34\00:45:47.81
that I was working.
00:45:47.84\00:45:49.18
Marilyn was at home
00:45:49.21\00:45:50.55
and she had a
couple jobs here and there.
00:45:50.58\00:45:52.68
And I love
seeing her as a manager
00:45:52.71\00:45:57.15
at the call center,
00:45:57.19\00:45:58.52
because it's given
her a self-confidence
00:45:58.55\00:46:00.59
and the pride and the
strength that I always look for.
00:46:00.62\00:46:04.53
And so in that sense,
00:46:04.56\00:46:06.83
working here was not
only a blessing for me.
00:46:06.86\00:46:09.53
This is a blessing
for Marilyn. Oh, yeah.
00:46:09.56\00:46:11.97
And so, I learnt the
lesson through my stubborn side,
00:46:12.00\00:46:17.37
that if you
step out in the faith
00:46:17.41\00:46:19.94
and you trust in God,
00:46:19.97\00:46:21.44
sometimes it's a scary thing.
00:46:21.48\00:46:23.61
But if you hold that faith,
00:46:23.65\00:46:24.98
He's gonna come through
and He's gonna bless you.
00:46:25.01\00:46:26.65
And we're living
that blessing right now.
00:46:26.68\00:46:28.45
We love it here. Amen.
00:46:28.48\00:46:30.62
So when you came in,
00:46:30.65\00:46:31.99
you didn't come
in for the manager,
00:46:32.02\00:46:33.36
what did you come in
as, and how did that happen?
00:46:33.39\00:46:34.72
No. I came in as the assistant.
00:46:34.76\00:46:36.62
At the time I wasn't
even thinking about working
00:46:36.66\00:46:39.59
and Mollie called and
said, "So what is your plans?"
00:46:39.63\00:46:43.06
I said,
00:46:43.10\00:46:44.43
"Well, nothing right now.
00:46:44.47\00:46:46.40
And I'm just waiting
for Eric to come home."
00:46:46.43\00:46:48.97
And she said,
00:46:49.00\00:46:50.34
"Well, I have a position
00:46:50.37\00:46:52.31
that I think you
would be great for
00:46:52.34\00:46:54.44
and come in and let's talk."
00:46:54.48\00:46:57.15
And as you know,
00:46:57.18\00:46:58.55
that's when Krista,
00:46:58.58\00:46:59.98
when you are changing positions.
00:47:00.02\00:47:01.52
I thought I was moving
to production at that point.
00:47:01.55\00:47:03.49
Yeah, that's right.
00:47:03.52\00:47:05.09
And so that's
how I came to 3ABN,
00:47:05.12\00:47:07.22
three months
after Eric was hired.
00:47:07.26\00:47:09.82
So...
00:47:09.86\00:47:11.19
So you were the
assistant call center manager?
00:47:11.23\00:47:12.56
I was the assistant.
00:47:12.59\00:47:13.93
Serving under
Jonathan's manager then.
00:47:13.96\00:47:15.36
Yeah.
00:47:15.40\00:47:16.73
And then I'm trying to
think how many years it was
00:47:16.77\00:47:18.30
before we made the transition.
00:47:18.33\00:47:19.90
And then you
stepped in as manager.
00:47:19.93\00:47:22.37
It was four years,
Jonathan served as the manager.
00:47:22.40\00:47:26.14
And then I
stepped in and I tell him,
00:47:26.17\00:47:28.98
"You didn't tell me
everything, Jonathan."
00:47:29.01\00:47:32.51
You're doing a great
job there. Thank you.
00:47:32.55\00:47:34.38
But he's still here and
we can ask him questions.
00:47:34.42\00:47:36.42
Yes. And he helps us out a
lot. I appreciate him so much.
00:47:36.45\00:47:40.46
It's funny because
during the journey,
00:47:40.49\00:47:43.53
when you're moving forward,
00:47:43.56\00:47:44.89
you don't see
where you're going.
00:47:44.93\00:47:46.49
But when you look
back, you see how God...
00:47:46.53\00:47:49.16
I use the word
interfere in a wonderful way.
00:47:49.20\00:47:51.97
How He interferes
over time to lead you
00:47:52.00\00:47:55.57
where you need to go
00:47:55.60\00:47:56.94
and keeps you from
going in the direction
00:47:56.97\00:47:58.54
that you don't need to go.
00:47:58.57\00:47:59.91
That's the interference part.
00:47:59.94\00:48:01.31
And there's this,
there's a number of times
00:48:01.34\00:48:03.14
where I should have died,
being quite honest with you.
00:48:03.18\00:48:06.92
I have a lot of
experiences with that
00:48:06.95\00:48:09.22
and I always
wondered why I stayed alive.
00:48:09.25\00:48:13.82
Why did God?
00:48:13.86\00:48:15.22
Why didn't I die like
other people die that I know?
00:48:15.26\00:48:18.43
And I realized, 'cause
I had a praying mother.
00:48:18.46\00:48:21.30
At the funeral, they said,
00:48:21.33\00:48:22.66
"Your mother prayed for
you, Eric, you have no idea."
00:48:22.70\00:48:25.10
And I said, "Okay. So
that's why that happened.
00:48:25.13\00:48:27.14
And that's why that happened.
00:48:27.17\00:48:28.50
And that's why I got
out of this experience
00:48:28.54\00:48:30.27
without a scratch, you know?"
00:48:30.31\00:48:32.47
And the only time I got hurt was
00:48:32.51\00:48:33.91
when it was to lead me away
00:48:33.94\00:48:35.84
from the military
towards something better,
00:48:35.88\00:48:40.28
which is mission work.
00:48:40.32\00:48:42.12
There we go.
00:48:42.15\00:48:43.49
Just a few minutes
before we go to a break.
00:48:43.52\00:48:44.85
I want to ask
this to both of you.
00:48:44.89\00:48:46.22
So, as far as if you, if
someone at home right now
00:48:46.25\00:48:49.49
is like in that
valley of decision,
00:48:49.52\00:48:50.86
trying to figure it out,
00:48:50.89\00:48:52.23
I don't know what
God has in store for me.
00:48:52.26\00:48:53.60
What would you
say to them, Eric?
00:48:53.63\00:48:54.96
And we'll go to your Marilyn,
what would you say to them?
00:48:55.00\00:48:56.60
Someone right now is
trying to figure out what to do.
00:48:56.63\00:48:59.63
Faith
00:48:59.67\00:49:01.44
is an incredible thing
00:49:01.47\00:49:06.68
because it not only teaches you,
00:49:06.71\00:49:10.75
it gifts you
00:49:10.78\00:49:12.78
in the sense that
00:49:12.81\00:49:15.02
the more faith you have,
00:49:15.05\00:49:16.38
the longer, the
greater your faith gets.
00:49:16.42\00:49:18.25
Because when He save
you through this instance
00:49:18.29\00:49:20.42
and that instance,
in another instance,
00:49:20.46\00:49:22.22
you're not worried about
the other thing coming up
00:49:22.26\00:49:23.93
because you're like,
00:49:23.96\00:49:25.29
God's got my back. I love that.
00:49:25.33\00:49:26.76
Yep.
00:49:26.80\00:49:28.13
At the same time, it blesses you
00:49:28.16\00:49:29.76
because it puts
you in the position
00:49:29.80\00:49:31.53
where you can bless others.
00:49:31.57\00:49:32.90
You can tell
people about your faith
00:49:32.93\00:49:34.27
and what it did for you.
00:49:34.30\00:49:35.64
So I would tell
anyone, have faith.
00:49:35.67\00:49:38.27
Amen.
00:49:38.31\00:49:39.64
Step out, trust the Lord.
00:49:39.67\00:49:41.44
It may not happen
in your timeframe,
00:49:41.48\00:49:44.28
but it's gonna happen
00:49:44.31\00:49:45.65
if you have
faith and you step out.
00:49:45.68\00:49:47.52
And if you're
honest with the Lord,
00:49:47.55\00:49:48.88
He's going to bless you.
00:49:48.92\00:49:50.25
And you're gonna
look back on it and say,
00:49:50.29\00:49:51.62
thank God I did that.
00:49:51.65\00:49:53.69
Amen.
00:49:53.72\00:49:55.06
What about you, Marilyn?
00:49:55.09\00:49:56.42
What would you
say to that person?
00:49:56.46\00:49:57.79
I would say trust in the Lord,
00:49:57.83\00:49:59.73
you know, any major decision
00:49:59.76\00:50:01.33
that you're making in your life,
00:50:01.36\00:50:06.23
consult with God first
00:50:06.27\00:50:08.30
and not go on your
own decision-makings.
00:50:08.34\00:50:12.17
Because sometimes
it's not what he wants
00:50:12.21\00:50:14.98
and just have faith in
where He's leading you.
00:50:15.01\00:50:19.35
Yeah. He will
never steer you wrong.
00:50:19.38\00:50:21.65
Amen. Amen.
00:50:21.68\00:50:24.09
One more question.
00:50:24.12\00:50:25.45
I know we're almost out of time.
00:50:25.49\00:50:26.82
This is putting you on the spot,
00:50:26.86\00:50:28.19
but what would be
some of the lessons
00:50:28.22\00:50:29.56
or a lesson that you've learned
while being here at 3ABN?
00:50:29.59\00:50:33.26
Does anything pop into your mind
00:50:33.29\00:50:34.63
that you've learned?
00:50:34.66\00:50:36.00
One lesson that I've
definitely learned is that
00:50:36.03\00:50:40.27
coming here, you
know, it is a ministry
00:50:40.30\00:50:43.20
and you give up a lot of things,
00:50:43.24\00:50:48.14
but God has
always taken care of us.
00:50:48.18\00:50:50.91
Even more so now than
when we had so much money
00:50:50.95\00:50:56.82
and the material things,
00:50:56.85\00:50:58.69
you know, God has protected us
00:50:58.72\00:51:00.52
and taken care of us.
00:51:00.56\00:51:01.89
So like I said, trust in God,
He's gonna take care of you.
00:51:01.92\00:51:04.83
Amen. Wow.
00:51:04.86\00:51:06.19
Amen. Yeah.
00:51:06.23\00:51:07.56
And you're not successful
if you don't have Jesus
00:51:07.60\00:51:09.86
and it doesn't
matter what you've done.
00:51:09.90\00:51:13.57
If you're not
taking the Lord with you,
00:51:13.60\00:51:15.07
you're gonna fail in the end.
00:51:15.10\00:51:16.50
And I know a lot of
people who aren't happy,
00:51:16.54\00:51:20.44
they have the material stuff,
00:51:20.48\00:51:22.08
but when I see their
lifestyle, they're not happy.
00:51:22.11\00:51:24.51
So trust in the
Lord, love the Lord.
00:51:24.55\00:51:27.22
Be faithful and cling to Him.
00:51:27.25\00:51:29.35
Don't cling to stuff.
00:51:29.38\00:51:30.72
Right. Yeah.
00:51:30.75\00:51:32.09
Amen. Wow.
00:51:32.12\00:51:33.46
I've been encouraged today.
00:51:33.49\00:51:35.12
There was a powerful testimony.
00:51:35.16\00:51:36.49
Thank you for being
willing to share with us.
00:51:36.52\00:51:38.26
I know for us,
00:51:38.29\00:51:39.63
when we hear how God has
led in someone else's life,
00:51:39.66\00:51:41.20
doesn't that encourage you?
00:51:41.23\00:51:42.56
Amen.
00:51:42.60\00:51:43.93
It encourages me
because you know,
00:51:43.97\00:51:45.30
God is not just
interested in them,
00:51:45.33\00:51:46.67
but He's interested in you too.
00:51:46.70\00:51:48.04
You know what you're
going on in your life
00:51:48.07\00:51:49.40
and about stepping out in faith.
00:51:49.44\00:51:50.77
I love that, you know, 'cause
we walk by faith, not by sight.
00:51:50.81\00:51:52.14
That's right. That's right.
00:51:52.17\00:51:53.51
Thank you both so much.
00:51:53.54\00:51:54.88
We're gonna have, we're
gonna go to a news break.
00:51:54.91\00:51:56.24
And when we come back,
we'll have a few moments
00:51:56.28\00:51:57.71
for our closing thought,
00:51:57.75\00:51:59.08
but my heart has been
blessed and encouraged.
00:51:59.11\00:52:01.25
We know and love
Marilyn, but, and Eric,
00:52:01.28\00:52:03.99
but I've learned things
that I never even knew before
00:52:04.02\00:52:07.09
about your testimony and
journey and walk with God.
00:52:07.12\00:52:10.53
Thank you for being
willing to be authentic
00:52:10.56\00:52:12.59
and transparent
00:52:12.63\00:52:13.96
and share what God has done,
00:52:14.00\00:52:16.23
where He's brought you from
00:52:16.26\00:52:17.90
and how He's
working in your life.
00:52:17.93\00:52:20.10
That's an amazing testimony.
00:52:20.14\00:52:21.47
And God wants to
do that in your life,
00:52:21.50\00:52:23.87
in my heart and
our lives as well.
00:52:23.91\00:52:26.24
So what a gift.
00:52:26.27\00:52:27.61
If we open ourselves up
to the Lord Jesus and say,
00:52:27.64\00:52:30.45
"I'm yours, please use me."
00:52:30.48\00:52:32.58
He will do that.
00:52:32.61\00:52:33.95
We're gonna go to a news
break. We'll be right back.
00:52:33.98\00:52:35.68