Participants:
Series Code: TDYL
Program Code: TDYL190038B
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00:10 Hello, and welcome back.
00:12 And once again, Happy Thanksgiving, 00:13 if you're just joining us. 00:15 Man, we've had a powerful first hour, 00:18 and to see what has happened there in Paradise 00:21 and it's a day of Thanksgiving. 00:23 And people may be saying, 00:24 "Why are you showing all this disaster 00:26 and all of these things, 00:28 you know the life in which we live, 00:29 I'd like to talk for just a moment." 00:31 People say, "Well, what's so great about it?" 00:33 You know, people lost their lives. 00:34 But here's the thing, we live in a sinful world. 00:37 Yes. 00:38 The blame is sin, death, disease and sickness 00:40 goes on Satan not on God. 00:41 That's right. 00:43 "The thief," John 10:10, says, "Come forth, 00:45 but to steal, kill and to destroy," 00:46 but Jesus says, 00:48 "I'm come to give you life and give it more abundantly." 00:50 That's why we need a savior. 00:52 That's why we need to get out of this sin sick world. 00:54 That's why 3ABN is committed to take 00:57 the three angels' messages to the world. 00:59 But on the other side of it, life on this earth is not about 01:02 how long we live, but it's who we know, 01:04 and are we prepared 01:06 and accept the free gift of salvation, 01:08 to make it to eternity? 01:10 While some terrible things happen, 01:12 where are Christians when these things happen? 01:15 And I'm very thankful to say, thank you, Greg, 01:17 and thank you for your vision for going out to Paradise. 01:20 Now 3ABN went very quickly. We heard about the disaster. 01:24 There's a hospital there, right? 01:25 That's correct. 01:26 Adventist hospital, the church, and we heard so. 01:29 We went out there right away and Greg came back and said, 01:32 "We got to do something to help." 01:33 And we said, "Whatever, Greg, it's yours, 01:36 you and the folks raise... 01:38 How much do we raise and how quickly? 01:39 Over $100,000. 01:41 Through you, through our viewers? 01:42 Oh, it's incredible. Over $100,000 you sent in. 01:45 Now, how long did that take, 01:46 did that take months to get it to them? 01:48 No, no, we cut the first check really quick, 01:50 several weeks after we started raising funds 01:53 and this is just what's incredible. 01:54 And I wanna extend a great big thank you 01:56 from the Paradise Seventh-Day Adventist Church and community. 01:58 When we came back a year later, just so grateful, 02:01 and that's what we're gonna hear about 02:03 in the second hour is how your money was used. 02:06 The Pastor Steve Hamilton is so excited, so blessed. 02:09 He said, "It's amazing, how God's people, 02:11 when they come together what they can do 02:13 and encourage them just in enormous ways." 02:15 It's just very positive, you know, 02:17 talking about tragedy, Thanksgiving time, 02:19 what is there to be grateful for. 02:21 And that's what we're hoping these roles are doing for you 02:24 because these people are trying to find 02:26 something in the ashes of their life. 02:28 And what impresses me is that 02:30 many of these people are still there. 02:32 They're going back because when your community 02:34 everything around you is just charred. 02:36 Like, why do I want to go back? 02:38 My neighborhood, there's nothing there, 02:39 but charred trees and burned out buildings 02:41 and, yeah, nothing left, but they're still going back. 02:44 And the community, this is what's exciting, 02:46 has been impacted 02:48 because of the Adventist Church there. 02:51 You have the Adventist Feather River Hospital. 02:53 You have the local elementary school. 02:55 You have the academy and, of course, the church, 02:57 and all of that burned, but the community 03:00 is still standing around the church 03:01 and the church is reaching out to the community. 03:04 And they're just so positive, so excited to see it. 03:05 So the beauty of it is to me, Greg, 03:08 is that the money the church that we sent to help, 03:12 the church didn't just go immediately 03:13 build a new big church. 03:15 Oh, they didn't. 03:16 And, you know what the General Conference 03:18 or wherever other Adventist sent. 03:19 What are some of the things 03:21 they did with that first $100,000? 03:22 So this is what's awesome. 03:23 So they had no power up there on the ridge, 03:25 they call it the ridge. 03:26 The whole community, not just...? 03:27 That's right. No power. Yeah, the whole community. 03:29 So they used some of the money to buy a big generator 03:32 to run the pump house. 03:33 Because on the church property, there's a fresh water well, 03:37 and there are not many on the ridge. 03:39 But one of the things you need is water to clean, to drink 03:42 because people are trying to get back into community. 03:43 That's a necessity. Oh, it's a necessity of life. 03:46 So they used some of the money to buy generator 03:48 to start pumping fresh water, 03:50 but then they realized the need, so they built a... 03:52 I'm calling it a water wall. All right. 03:54 So right next to the pump house, 03:55 and you'll see this is a large wall 03:57 with five spickets 03:58 and the community even when we were there, 04:00 they're still community members. 04:02 A year later come into that water wall, 04:03 filling up their buckets, 04:04 their containers with fresh water. 04:06 So that's how the church used some of the first money 04:08 that came in was to provide a need. 04:11 You know, what's amazing is that 3ABN presents 04:13 the message of the gospel, but it's the living water. 04:16 And yet here we can provide physical and spiritual water 04:22 to people who need it. 04:23 So that just came to me as you were talking 04:25 but praise the Lord. 04:26 They have a little sign that's actually right there 04:28 on their pump house because the community 04:29 is just coming and going. 04:30 And it actually says, 04:32 we're providing this fresh water for you, 04:33 but if you're interested in the "Living water," 04:35 and they give the church number for them to call. 04:37 So the community can reach out. 04:38 Yeah, it's fantastic. 04:40 So they're in the process of building back? 04:42 They are. And, yeah. 04:44 Yes, they are. 04:45 I'm blessed by the whole thing to see 04:48 because that's really 04:49 what we're Christians all about. 04:51 Sometimes we just wanna preach. 04:52 We just wanna, you know, 04:54 instead of given hungry John an apple, 04:55 we wanna tell him, Jesus loves him, 04:57 on that point let show him, let's give him the apple. 05:00 And then maybe he'll listen to us, 05:01 on this case for all of you that are willing to give in 05:05 to support give to the community 05:07 through the Adventist church, and now they're sharing 05:10 the donations that's coming in with the community 05:13 for the up building of the community. 05:15 And that's a big statement, we care. 05:17 We love you, we care. 05:18 Because they could take this money for themselves 05:20 and do whatever, but we knew they wouldn't. 05:23 And they wanna support the community. 05:25 So thank you, Paradise for the leadership there 05:27 and church there. 05:28 Oh, yeah, that's probably, incredible leadership there, 05:30 their community center burned as well. 05:32 So you know, those containers, the metal, big containers, 05:35 they have one of those set up in the church parking lot 05:37 though there's no building 05:38 and there's a sign that says Adventist Community Center. 05:41 You come to just a metal little container, 05:42 but that's what they're serving the community out of. 05:44 That's incredible. Oh, that's great. 05:46 You know, to me, that's what Thanksgiving is all about. 05:48 It's about not just sitting and resting on. 05:52 Okay, this is all the blessings that God has given to me, 05:54 it's about giving back. 05:56 Because we have been given, 05:58 we want to share with someone else. 05:59 Yeah. 06:00 And absolutely seeing that time 06:02 is short on this earth for all of us, 06:04 no matter if it was some lost their lives 06:06 in the fire, many have lost since 06:08 that we don't have tomorrow too that we can count on. 06:11 So just what are we gonna do today, but Christ, 06:13 He will last as the song says. 06:15 And so it's my hope and prayer that each of us today, 06:18 we're thankful for what God has given us. 06:20 And whether it's physical life, the spiritual, you know, 06:23 the opportunity being alive 06:24 in closing moments of earth's history. 06:26 Today God has called you to do something special 06:29 to reach out and touch somebody. 06:31 It takes people touching people as they say, 06:33 to make the world go around. 06:34 That's right. 06:36 So thank you for joining with 3ABN. 06:38 And, Greg, for your vision to go out there 06:41 and to put tremendous amounts of hours and hours... 06:43 I mean, weeks actually... 06:45 I have to say, thank you to the production team. 06:46 You know, they're out there shooting all that. 06:48 Yes, and editing it also a lot of work 06:50 but they do a great job. 06:51 Okay. 06:52 We're going back and what are we gonna see 06:54 quickly intro. 06:55 So we're gonna be talking with the community 06:56 and then we're gonna be talking to the pastor 06:58 and his wife and then seeing 06:59 what Maranatha is also doing on the church property 07:01 and then seeing the water well and all of that. 07:02 Great. Let's watch it. 07:04 I'm standing at the entrance 07:06 to the Paradise Seventh-Day Adventist Church 07:08 here in Paradise, California. 07:10 And I remember one year ago when 3ABN's crew, 07:15 there was Jorge Jaque, Brad Walker, 07:17 Tyler Walker, Dalton Swan and myself came here 07:20 to Paradise to follow the tragedy 07:24 that had taken place. 07:26 Hard to believe it's already been one year 07:28 that fateful day as that fire roared up 07:31 this canyon over this ridge. 07:33 I remembered, we landed in Sacramento, 07:35 and we're flying in. 07:36 And Sacramento is south of Paradise, California. 07:38 It was so smoky. 07:40 And as we traveled north in our vehicle, 07:43 it was unbelievable. 07:45 The air quality was so terrible. 07:46 We all had to have masks on inside the vehicle. 07:52 And as we arrived at 07:53 the Chico Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 07:54 as they were having a meeting there 07:56 just with all the people that has survived. 07:58 It was incredible. The emotions were so high. 08:01 A day later, were able to travel up here, 08:03 we're able to pass the checkpoint 08:05 and get here to Paradise. 08:07 It was so quiet. 08:10 There was nothing, we saw a deer. 08:12 We saw just a little bit of activity, 08:14 a hum of a few generators. 08:16 The smoke was heavy on the ridge. 08:18 There were smoldering trees, burned out cars 08:21 were all over the place, houses, 08:23 all kinds of buildings were just left 08:25 smoldering and in ruins. 08:36 We're here in the Paradise 08:38 Seventh-Day Adventist Church parking lot. 08:40 It was quiet that day as we arrived here, 08:43 and here we are a year later. 08:46 I don't know if you can hear it, 08:47 but I can hear some hammering. 08:49 I can hear a generator. I can hear some saws. 08:53 That means things are happening here. 08:54 We wanna give you a special report here today 08:56 because we know many of you 08:58 supported this incredible disaster. 09:01 You donated your funds that we send directly here 09:04 to the Paradise Seventh-Day Adventist Church. 09:06 And what we wanna do is just, we want to give a report 09:09 as to what's taking place here at the school, at the church, 09:13 but also what happened to the funds 09:15 that you so generously donated to 3ABN 09:18 that we then passed along to the Paradise 09:21 Seventh-Day Adventist Church. 09:26 Being with the 3ABN team this year, 09:30 I'm reminded sort of 09:34 the glossy eyed version of me 09:37 that the team encountered. 09:39 And I realized that God has brought us 09:42 through those pieces. 09:44 And that there are pieces of loss 09:46 that God has guided us through, 09:48 but being with the team this week has reminded me 09:51 of where I was a year ago, 09:54 when we were in the middle of the valley. 09:56 We were in the... 09:57 literally, in the thick of the smoke. 10:00 But we were in the dark place of the journey, 10:04 and God carrying us through that. 10:07 I was thinking the same thing. 10:09 Last time we were interviewing, 10:12 I was wearing the pair of pants 10:13 that I was wearing out of the fire 10:15 and someone given me a shirt in the parking lot. 10:18 And I think this year, I have several pairs of pants 10:21 and I have several shirts now 10:23 and God has blessed us so much in a year. 10:27 But I wanna just say to those of you 10:29 who may be in the dark times right now, don't give up. 10:34 I know it's hard. It's really, really hard. 10:38 I remember times where I couldn't get out of bed 10:42 because we just cried and cried and cried. 10:45 So much was lost. 10:49 But I wanna tell you, that you can make it through. 10:53 Don't, don't ever give up. 10:56 There are times where we wish so badly 10:58 that we could just snap and it would all go away, 11:01 it would all be good, 11:03 it would all change back to normal, 11:06 but we can't do that. 11:07 But God will give you the strength moment 11:11 by moment by moment. 11:14 And sometimes you don't think 11:16 you can even get through the week or the day, 11:18 but God will give you the strength, 11:20 He will send people into your life. 11:23 He will help you in ways that you won't expect, 11:27 but He will be there for you. 11:29 Please don't give up. 11:30 Keep trusting in God, keep believing, 11:33 keep praying to Him, 11:35 keep seeking after Him because He is faithful, 11:38 I promise you, He will take care of you. 11:41 Our message is to hold on. 11:44 And I'm so grateful that as Christians, 11:48 when we say, "Hold on, hang in there," 11:51 that it's not just a raw grit that we summon from ourselves, 11:56 but it's truly placing our hand in the hand of a God Almighty, 12:02 and letting Him hold on to us in that peace. 12:06 Sometimes we want God to calm our storms, 12:10 we want Him to just say, 12:12 "Peace be still and it's all calm." 12:14 But instead He gives us the strength to 12:17 go through those storms. 12:19 He helps us get through the hard times 12:21 rather than instantly changing our hard times 12:24 into good times. 12:26 You know, hold on, 12:27 and the other thing that we say is, 12:29 "Hang in there," and hang in there 12:31 has this dynamic of hanging in there 12:35 with your community. 12:36 And I'm so grateful 12:37 that God didn't place us on this planet alone, 12:39 but He created a church to be a community 12:42 that can hang on and hang in there 12:45 with each other. 12:46 And so I would say, find a fellowship of believers 12:50 that you can hang in and hold on 12:54 with as you go through your journey. 12:56 I'm greater for the broader collective church 12:59 3ABN's community of listeners and viewers 13:02 and there's a faith community that is tied together 13:05 through media that allows us to know that 13:08 we are not alone in those moments 13:10 where we feel alone, we are not alone. 13:12 That God has placed us in a community to be together 13:16 on this journey. 13:17 And we're grateful and during this time 13:19 of Thanksgiving, you know, 13:21 I think that rises in that peace for me to say, 13:26 I am so thankful. 13:28 God didn't place us on this planet alone. 13:31 But He's given us family and friends, 13:34 and a community with our church and school 13:37 and our greater collective body of Christ, 13:40 that we feel the embrace and the support. 13:42 We're grateful that holding on is not just grit that 13:47 we summon from ourselves, but holding on 13:50 is placing our hand in the hand of Jesus 13:53 and letting Him hold on to us. 13:56 I'm grateful for the comfort that brings. 14:03 I'm standing here with Joelle Chinnock. 14:06 And we were coming up the parking lot, 14:08 just a few minutes ago, we heard all this noise 14:10 in the background, the hammering and the saws 14:12 and the generators. 14:13 And you can see some of the activity 14:14 right behind us. 14:16 Joelle, what is taking place here at this Paradise 14:18 Seventh-Day Adventist Church parking lot? 14:20 We're in the process of building 200, 14:22 10 foot by 12 foot sheds to give out 14:25 to camp fire survivors. 14:27 Two hundred? Two hundred. 14:29 So these are all church members 14:31 that are back here that I can see? 14:32 We have been so blessed that 14:33 Maranatha Volunteers International 14:35 has partnered with us on this project 14:37 to come in and provide the labor 14:39 to make this project, this dream project 14:41 become a reality for us. 14:43 Wow, that's absolutely incredible. 14:44 And you and your family lived here 14:46 or live here in Paradise, 14:47 one year ago that fire roared through here? 14:50 Tell us about your home? 14:52 So, on November 8th, we evacuated like 14:56 the rest of Paradise did. 14:58 And for whatever reason God chose to spare our home. 15:02 We stood outside as a family 15:04 and prayed together before we left. 15:06 And lo and behold, three or four days later, 15:09 we got the word that our house had made it. 15:12 It's been a difficult journey. 15:14 We've not been back in our house, 15:15 except the last... 15:17 We've only been in the last seven weeks, 15:18 as we've had just significant challenges 15:21 with the damage that we did receive, 15:23 and then working through insurance, 15:25 the challenges there. 15:26 We're happy to be back now. 15:28 And we feel that we have a responsibility 15:31 to our community to help it rebuild 15:33 and help how we can because so many have helped us. 15:36 Amen. 15:37 So then right behind us 15:39 is where the Paradise 15:40 Seventh-Day Adventist Church stood, 15:42 and it's just... 15:44 There's nothing there yet. 15:46 You're a member of the church? Yes. 15:48 And you are in charge of what now here? 15:51 So this summer I became a humanitarian aid worker 15:54 with the Paradise Adventist Church 15:56 and just looking for ways that we can be relevant 15:58 and impact people in our community, 16:00 how can we help meet their needs. 16:02 We've done a variety of projects, 16:04 we've given out home kits, 16:05 which are a small collection of household goods 16:08 like plates and towels and spatulas. 16:12 Anything you need to kind of set up a new home, 16:15 when you first get into a place. 16:17 We've given out over 150 of those. 16:20 We do various other projects around town, 16:22 we help clean up yards 16:24 and we helped the Paradise Hope Center, 16:26 we help restock shelves, their distribution center. 16:29 And then now our focus has been 16:31 this for the last several months of trying 16:33 to get this project going. 16:35 You know, I think is incredible because the building's gone, 16:37 the church is gone. 16:38 The people are here. 16:40 And you're still making an impact in this community, 16:42 which is absolutely powerful. 16:44 Now I know because our crew was here a year ago. 16:46 And right down this front called the parking lot. 16:49 There was a community center there, 16:50 and it was burned when we were here, 16:52 it was still smoldering actually. 16:54 But we've got a couple of containers here. 16:56 And I see a sign on the front of this one. 16:58 Yeah. 17:00 These two, 40 foot shipping containers 17:02 on what we've been operating 17:03 out of as our Adventist Community Services Buildings. 17:06 Obviously, you can tell they're somewhat inadequate, 17:09 but we're doing the best we can to meet 17:10 the needs of our community. 17:12 That's obviously incredible. So in these little... 17:14 Well, they're not so little, 17:16 but in the store sheds you have what? 17:18 In the right hand storage shed, we have mostly clothes, 17:23 different sizes of clothes, different genders all laid out, 17:26 as well as the home kits that we give out. 17:29 And then the left hand one, we've kind of reserved 17:30 that for larger pieces of equipment, furniture, 17:35 and right now we're being able to use that 17:37 as a place to store materials for the job for the project, 17:40 nails, guns, you know, like nail guns and nails 17:44 and saw blades and all that kind of stuff 17:46 we need to build these sheds. 17:48 Yeah. 17:49 I think it's a powerful testament 17:50 to the church here. 17:52 You know, the resiliency of everyone to come together. 17:55 And what's incredible to me 17:56 is that there's been so much loss, 17:59 but yet to see everyone coming together, 18:00 it's just powerful and it's impacted us. 18:02 We didn't live here, but to come here 18:04 and to see everyone come together 18:06 is so encouraging. 18:07 Tell me, how does one even process this type of loss, 18:13 and if you want to say move on? 18:17 You know, I think the thing that I have found for me, 18:23 there has been an absolute need 18:29 to get involved and give back. 18:32 And I have found in my journey from a year, 18:36 if I can put the focus on others, 18:39 then my own pain gets healed in the process. 18:43 And so that's just I think 18:44 what we're called to do as Christians, 18:46 is we're called to help and serve others. 18:49 Christ set that example for us. 18:51 And we're just trying to set that example in our community. 18:54 This community is hurting so bad. 18:57 We still have people living in cars, in tents. 19:02 It's been a year. 19:04 We wanna help them, 19:05 we want to share the gospel with them 19:08 by loving on them. 19:09 If we can meet their needs like Christ did, 19:12 then they're receptive to the gospel. 19:15 So that is our passion right now. 19:17 Amen. 19:18 Here we are the Thanksgiving season. 19:21 What do you find to be thankful for what comes to mind for you? 19:27 I am thankful not for what the fire did, 19:31 but what the fire has helped us with. 19:33 It has helped build community, not only in our church, 19:38 but we're now working with the outside of the church, 19:43 we're able to work and collaborate in a way that 19:45 we never would be able to be relevant before. 19:48 But our church is becoming relevant in that platform. 19:52 And that is really exciting 19:54 to make a good name for our church. 19:56 The people are excited about wanting to be with us 19:59 is incredible. 20:00 Amen. 20:01 And just standing here is a good friend of yours. 20:03 I wanna invite, Melinda, 20:05 why don't you stand here next to Joelle? 20:07 Okay. 20:09 And you've been a member of the Paradise Church 20:11 for how many years? 20:12 About 25 years, older than I am. 20:17 That's excellent. I love it. 20:20 So you're a survivor of the Paradise fire. 20:23 Did it burn your home? 20:25 We thought it had. 20:28 But it actually burned all around 20:30 our house, burned all the trees, 20:31 all the land around us. 20:33 And I think it happened the next day Friday probably 20:35 because somebody was there putting water on the tractor 20:39 and the tractor didn't burn either. 20:41 So we are grateful and it's such a funny feeling 20:45 to have your house survive when everybody that you love 20:47 is lost everything, pictures, mementos, things from grandma. 20:53 It's just so heartbreaking. 20:55 So we filled our house with as many people 20:57 as we could 20:58 and people are still in trailers on our property 21:00 who haven't found a place to live yet. 21:03 So how are you involved with this project right now 21:05 that's going on 21:06 with the Adventist Community Center, 21:07 with Maranatha being here 21:09 and you all two work together closely. 21:11 Now, I've loved Joelle since she was little. 21:15 And today I was just up at the church school, 21:17 the high school kids came back to the church school today 21:20 for the first time on the anniversary, 21:23 and so some of us made lunch for them. 21:26 And so I was just across the street 21:28 cleaning that up. 21:29 And I thought to myself, God, 21:31 I don't really have a place where I'm doing anything yet. 21:34 Is there anything else you want me to do? 21:36 And the strong thought came, 21:38 I should go across the street and see Joelle. 21:42 She's always optimistic, Godmistive 21:45 and so I came across the street, 21:47 I said, "Joelle, what can I do to help?" 21:49 And she said, "Oh, this and this and this," 21:51 and now I've got a job. 21:53 So she's your assistant. She is now. 21:56 As of a few hours ago. Yes. 21:58 That's great. That's great. 21:59 You know, I love it. 22:01 I think the incredible thing about this project 22:03 is time and time again, God has sent 22:06 just the right people exactly when we needed them, 22:09 because He knows that this project 22:11 is bigger than any of us. 22:13 And we all need each other working together 22:15 on this project. 22:16 And I can tell you stories for hours 22:21 of how He has over and over again 22:23 shown His hand in this project 22:26 that this was His from the beginning. 22:29 And it gives you goosebumps. Amen. 22:33 You know, you mentioned something to me earlier, 22:35 Melinda, you said you shed more tears for kindness, 22:39 describe that? 22:42 One of my dear friends, the youth pastor's wife, 22:45 they lost everything and their kids lost everything 22:48 and they've been staying with us 22:49 part time and she's... 22:51 Marilyn looked at me and she said, You know, 22:53 I think, I've shed more tears over the kindness of strangers 22:58 than over any of the losses that we've suffered. 23:01 And now you have is God, 23:06 He's more than enough. 23:07 He's more than enough, 23:09 I think we're more in love with Him now 23:10 than we were before. 23:11 Satan is not going to get us down. 23:13 In fact, if we're irritating Satan 23:16 and things are going wrong on the project that means 23:18 we're on the right track. 23:19 Amen. Yeah. 23:20 Thank you to both of you, ladies. 23:22 Thank you for what you're doing, 23:23 for God and for representing Him 23:26 and for taking care of the community that's here 23:28 when you yourselves are also suffering 23:30 because as you mentioned, 23:32 maybe you didn't lose your home, 23:34 but you've lost your community, 23:35 the church building's gone, many of the things. 23:38 We all lost work at the hospital. 23:40 So many things via God is carrying you through, 23:42 so thank you for being willing to share. 23:45 And we need to talk I think is it to David, is that right? 23:47 He's the one that's in charge of the Maranatha, 23:49 and see what's going on with all this hammering 23:50 and banging and saws and all the great activities 23:53 going on behind us. 23:56 This is a huge project that's taking place. 23:58 You just came back from Africa last week. 24:00 Last Thursday, yeah. 24:02 I've returned on Thursday night and then Sunday morning 24:04 we came up here to start getting the logistics, 24:07 building jigs and fixtures and stuff ready for volunteers 24:09 to arrive on the fifth. 24:11 So what does the manager director mean? 24:13 What do you do? 24:14 I mean it sounds huge, you oversee all of this? 24:18 Normally, I don't run projects I run like two or three a year. 24:22 This one because we wanted to scale 24:24 and do so much at one time, I wanted to lead it 24:27 and had a bit of idea in mind how we could get this done. 24:32 But yeah, just it's all logistics 24:34 and toward sending the right people 24:36 and so far we've got a good crowd 24:37 of motivated volunteers 24:39 and sheds are coming out the backside. 24:41 So that's the goal. Amen. That's great. 24:44 Share with us some fun facts, 24:46 because there's a lot of people here, 24:48 there's a lot of lumber here, tell us some fun facts about 24:50 what's going on? 24:52 Well, we're in a disaster zone, as you know. 24:54 And so power has been a big issue, 24:55 we've had to run on generators. 24:57 We've had two smaller generators, 24:59 overloading circuit systems, 25:01 we had 10 or 12 chop saws set up here on our first day. 25:06 There's 13 semi loads of wood to be processed here. 25:09 And we cut a lot of it on that first day, 25:12 but there's much more to cut, 25:14 in prepositioning materials around the tents 25:17 and along the flow of production 25:18 so that we can just draw into the jigs material 25:22 as needed for each phase. 25:24 And so we have lots of volunteers. 25:26 I think we had 70 the first day, 25:28 we've got 50 here today, and, you know, 25:31 so it's a flow of people in and out. 25:34 But yeah, there's lots of noise, 25:35 we're good at making noise here. 25:37 And people have found their groove, you know, 25:40 they're getting into their teams 25:41 and learning the flow of things. 25:43 So from yesterday's first day of assembling sheds, 25:45 today is going much faster. 25:47 And we've got sheds being painted, roofs going on, 25:50 we have it set up so that there's cards 25:53 that we build the floor system into and all the layout 25:56 as it for any carpenters listening, 25:58 I mean it's, you know, instead of pulling layout, 26:00 we have slots in plywood that we just drop 26:03 joist into in rim joist, everything is, 26:05 you don't have to understand building 26:07 just this part fits in that zone 26:09 and then nail the thing the flooring down, 26:11 then that card rolls outside 26:13 and goes alongside the big tent. 26:15 And the walls come out of there and we stand the walls up. 26:17 And those walls were all created in jigs also. 26:20 So it's repeatable, consistent, and you can install 26:23 different people in different segments 26:25 to make teams up 26:26 and they don't have to be skilled. 26:28 Anybody with a pulse is qualified 26:30 and the heart of service. 26:32 So yeah, it's fun to see that and we've got the roof systems 26:35 set up in a jig. 26:37 And then after we frame that system with a facial 26:39 and the siding on the ends, we pull that out 26:41 with a strap in the middle of the forklift, 26:43 set it on the ground and then we roof it down low, 26:46 and then we put like a hat up on top of the shed, 26:49 and that we paint the gable end first 26:51 then we shingle it, with skylights in it. 26:53 Then we lift it up and set it down 26:54 on top of the shed. 26:57 And it's a finished deal with corners trim on 27:00 and then install a door. 27:02 So... 27:03 It's quite the assembly line, that's for sure. 27:04 So you're the one that's responsible for making 27:06 that assembly line come together? 27:08 Yeah, I had the idea for it. 27:11 But I had a couple of talented guys show up 27:13 with me on Sunday, and Monday, and Tuesday 27:16 to make it happen, you know. 27:18 So it was fun to put an idea into plan and play 27:22 and see how it worked. 27:24 And also, yeah, God's blessing and we're cranking sheds out. 27:27 And I guess the community is pretty excited 27:28 about what's going on here. 27:30 Yeah. 27:31 So I'm hearing you've been involved with Maranatha 27:33 for how many years? 27:34 Thirteen years this month. 27:35 I started in Mozambique in Africa. 27:38 And eight and a half years in Africa, 27:39 now I'm back in the States 27:41 for a little over four years, so... 27:43 So what does it do for you, David, to help other people? 27:46 Because obviously doing it 13 years 27:48 you've been on who knows 27:49 how many projects in those 13 years, 27:51 but what does it do for you personally, 27:53 to help others? 27:55 I think God hardwired us to serve 27:58 and so we find our greatest joy, 28:00 I believe in service. 28:01 And so being a part of service full time, 28:04 it brings a lot of joy, you know. 28:05 And so in Africa, building schools 28:07 and seeing these little kids get to, you know, 28:09 go to school have an opportunity of education, 28:11 we do water wells in Africa. 28:13 And seeing people who walked for hours 28:15 get water in 10 minutes from their house, 28:18 brings great joy to my heart, you know. 28:19 And so knowing the disaster and the pain 28:22 that people have gone through here, 28:24 this is just really exciting 28:26 to be a part of bringing some hope and some joy 28:29 into a very dark situation for them, you know. 28:32 So, and these are rodent proof sheds, 28:34 we're putting proper external doors sealed up 28:37 so rats aren't gonna move in with their stuff, you know, 28:39 so yeah, pressure treated, they can sit on the ground, 28:42 they're upon skids, so that they won't rot. 28:46 So we've got good quality going on here as well. 28:47 Good quality. We're building for Jesus. 28:49 So we wanna do a good job. Yeah. 28:52 And you know the miracle, when I came here six weeks ago, 28:55 seven weeks ago, when they asked us 28:56 to first start doing this. 28:59 They were talking a few sheds, and then they didn't know 29:01 how much they could do. 29:02 And I said, well, what's the real need? 29:03 You know, let's not think the based on 29:06 how many beans are in the pot, 29:07 but, you know, what the big need is? 29:09 And so they said, Well, I think we could probably 29:11 come up with 200 sheds that were needed. 29:13 I said, God owns all the cows on all the hills. 29:17 Let's just pray that He sell some cows. 29:19 I was in Africa, and I sent a message here 29:21 from Kenya. 29:22 I said, "Well, so how's the funding?" 29:24 He said, "We're fully funded." He said, "God sold the cows." 29:27 I said, "Praise the Lord, you know." 29:29 So it's pretty exciting. 29:30 Thank you, David, for organizing this event 29:33 here at Paradise for what you're doing, 29:34 you and your team, 29:36 and may the Lord bless you abundantly 29:37 and keep you safe. 29:39 Praise the Lord. Thank you very much. 29:44 On the property of the Paradise Seventh-Day Adventist Church 29:46 is a fresh water well. 29:48 This is the pump house. 29:49 And according to Pastor Steve Hamilton, 29:52 this is one of the only freshwater wells 29:54 that's open to the community. 29:56 And this is thanks to your donations to 3ABN 29:59 that we forwarded on 30:00 to the Paradise Seventh-Day Adventist Church. 30:02 They actually sent a generator up here 30:03 toward the very beginning 30:05 when there was no power in this area, 30:06 and they used a generator to run the pump 30:10 to provide fresh water for the community. 30:12 I like what this sign says here. 30:13 It says, welcome to our well. 30:15 We are glad to share this water with you. 30:18 And then at the bottom, 30:19 it says if you are seeking the living water, 30:21 and it gives the church's phone number. 30:23 I think that's just powerful, 30:24 I mean that's a powerful outreach 30:26 for this community that was going under 30:27 such tremendous loss and tragedy. 30:32 Also with the funds that you donated through 3ABN 30:36 for the Paradise Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 30:38 they built this, 30:39 I'm going to call it the water wall. 30:41 They have spickets for water, little drinking fountains here, 30:45 they have five of these. 30:47 And the community is welcome during specific hours to come 30:50 and fill up their buckets. 30:52 As you can see, there's someone here behind me 30:54 are filling up, getting some water 30:56 which is a real blessing for the people 30:57 here in this community. 30:59 Because again, a lot of people 31:00 don't have fresh water or power, 31:02 so this is used a lot. 31:03 We've seen a number of people come here 31:06 and use this wonderful wall of water. 31:09 We appreciate Pastor Steve Hamilton 31:11 and his entire leadership team 31:12 here at the Paradise Seventh-Day Adventist Church. 31:15 There's a lot that has to be done yet, 31:17 but God is blessing and things are going forward. 31:21 It's humbling. 31:22 It's humbling to know that 31:25 you could meet the community's need 31:27 at such a practical level. 31:31 We take water for granted. 31:33 It's something we do every day, we drink water, we take baths. 31:38 So to be able to give water to people is truly a blessing. 31:43 It's humbling to be able to realize that 31:46 we're helping at such a basic level. 31:49 It's so good to bring our kids there 31:52 because their hearts are uplifted by 31:55 being able to help other people receive water. 31:58 And there's a lot of cars that come through 32:00 that are still melted from a year ago, 32:02 they're driving the melted cars that went through the fire 32:06 and they're collecting water. 32:07 And they're so grateful, they're so thankful for water. 32:12 They give it to their neighbors, 32:13 they give it to people who need it 32:14 that can't even physically 32:16 get to the location of the water. 32:18 And so being able to help people 32:21 really helps us in many ways too. 32:23 That water station to me is graphic 32:26 of what it must have been like for Jesus 32:28 in His time of ministry in Galilee. 32:31 You know, we hear the stories of arid dry land 32:35 and sources of water, drinking water, 32:38 clear, cool, crystal, refreshing water 32:42 being something difficult to find. 32:45 And so that graphic illustration 32:49 of water being life, 32:52 and Jesus being able to sit 32:54 by one of those few locations in a territory and say, 32:59 "That's what I'm here to offer you is living water." 33:02 We see that in graphic living color 33:05 at that water station because it has been, 33:09 at times the only source of safe drinking water, 33:13 and then still is one of just a few. 33:16 We're talking two to three 33:18 other sources of drinking water in town. 33:21 And so it's graphic to sit there 33:24 and see people come 33:26 and get water and be grateful for it. 33:28 And to know that 33:30 that's the representation of Christ 33:31 in our lives to flow out into others, 33:34 and it seems like such a simple thing 33:38 to look at that water distribution station. 33:40 But as the 3ABN team has sat in the parking lot 33:45 as we have, you're able to see the community cycle through 33:49 and receive water from that 33:50 and to be able to interact with them 33:52 and say, "What's your story? 33:54 Where are you living? What's your condition?" 33:56 And what has happened is that has been, 33:58 as it was in Jesus' time, 34:00 the opening wedge of conversation, 34:02 "How are you? 34:04 How can we assist you?" 34:05 It's been the open door to assist more 34:08 in the other ways that the church and community 34:10 has been able to provide help. 34:12 The other piece of gratitude 34:15 that is distinct in my experience 34:17 as a pastor for 20 years, 34:19 is that because of this ordeal that we have watched 34:23 our community go through that we've been through 34:25 with our community, 34:27 is that there are passages of Scripture 34:30 that I read differently now than I did before, 34:34 pieces that are pointing it to my experience in journey, 34:38 that I think if I had not gone through those, 34:40 I would not understand Scripture in those ways. 34:43 You know, I love the story of the woman at the well, 34:46 and the offering of fresh water and Jesus responding by saying, 34:50 "I have even better water, living water to offer you." 34:54 And I intellectually in classes 34:58 and in my study settled 35:01 and rooted into that story as it being a beautiful story. 35:04 Then living through months where we had a water station 35:07 at our church that was 35:08 the only safe drinking water in town, 35:10 and powered by generator 35:12 because electricity wasn't available in the town yet, 35:15 and seeing people come to that place, 35:18 seeking water, 35:20 and thinking of the implications 35:22 of what Christ offers to me 35:24 as the only source of living water. 35:26 I'll never read the story of the woman at the well 35:28 the same after having been through this year. 35:31 And there are many passages 35:32 of Scripture that I read differently 35:34 because of the experience that we've gone through. 35:38 I'm so grateful for what God is able to do. 35:42 And bring beauty out of times of trial. 35:45 I'll never forget the graphic living color picture 35:50 of what I anticipate it must have been 35:52 like for Jesus to sit at that well, 35:54 and see people come through and say, 35:57 "You like that water? 35:59 I have living water to offer." 36:00 And that's been such a blessing 36:03 for the church to be able to, 36:04 in reality, say exactly the same thing. 36:07 You like that water. God offers living water. 36:10 Can we be there for you in this time of need? 36:16 A very emotional day here for the community, 36:19 some of the people here 36:20 that were residents here in Paradise, California 36:22 first time, and then to come back 36:24 up here on the ridge. 36:27 You can see a lot of emotion, a lot of tears. 36:30 The community here we're outside. 36:32 There's a lot of officials from the firefighter, 36:35 from law enforcement, from the government leaders 36:39 here, even Congressmen were here. 36:41 And really it's just a lot of faith. 36:44 You can see here with this community, 36:46 standing together to rebuild coming together, 36:49 and I think it's good. 36:51 A lot of times we tend to wanna shove our emotions aside 36:54 and not deal with them, 36:55 but here you can see people being people, 36:58 we all have feelings, we all hurt, we have pain. 37:02 And it's a blessing here because we've mentioned 37:03 we're from the Seventh-Day Adventist Church here 37:05 and a lot of people course 37:07 because of the Feather River Hospital, 37:09 the church, the academy that was here, 37:13 the Adventist Church is very strong here 37:14 in this community. 37:16 So it's neat to see everyone coming together here 37:18 and a very, very special time here. 37:20 And you're absolutely right about the Lord blessing, 37:23 not only me and my community. 37:25 We've been through 37:26 some extraordinarily difficult times 37:28 here in Butte County. 37:29 The campfire and then 37:31 if you're familiar with our region, 37:32 before that we had an incident with our Orville Dam spillway. 37:36 So there's been a lot of trauma visited upon this community. 37:41 But I'm really gratified to be here today, as you know, 37:46 you were here last year at this time, 37:48 it was dark with smoke embers 37:50 were falling down, everything is burning. 37:52 And now you can see tremendous progress, 37:54 things are getting cleaned up. 37:55 We've got a long, long road ahead, 37:57 but we're headed in the right direction. 38:00 You know, this is a tight knit community. 38:02 And as you can see, 38:03 when you talk to other people here, 38:05 they are resilient, they're committed. 38:08 They have a long path to go, as we all do, 38:11 that path will be filled with ups and downs, certainly. 38:15 But I think what makes this region 38:17 and this community special 38:19 is the quality of character of the people who live here. 38:33 You may feel that the storms in life 38:34 may totally swallow you up, that the light at the end 38:38 of the tunnel may never appear, 38:41 but there's always hope. 38:43 I'm here across the street 38:45 from the Paradise Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 38:47 on the school grounds, the elementary school, 38:49 which you saw last year burned to the ground, 38:52 the academy and the rest of the school 38:53 suffered major damage, 38:56 but there's hope because they're rebuilding the school. 38:59 This elementary school's gonna be rebuild, 39:00 they're remodeling and taking out 39:02 all of the smoke damage parts of the school. 39:05 This playground right now that you don't see any kids on, 39:08 there'll be kids spinning on this merry go round, 39:10 sliding down the slide, swinging in the swing sets. 39:14 You know, it's interesting here you can see a lot of death, 39:16 you can see a lot of charred trees. 39:18 But there's still a lot of green. 39:19 I saw some green blades of grass, 39:21 some little bushes, trying to grow over here. 39:25 You know, the Creator God, 39:26 the one that's bringing this new life 39:28 out of this just destruction that took place 39:31 here a year ago in nature, 39:33 the same God that's doing that 39:35 can do the same thing in your life today. 39:37 No matter what storm you're dealing with, 39:40 God is right there. 39:42 You know, He has you in His hands. 39:43 I think that's a powerful thing. 39:45 You think about the God of the universe. 39:46 I'm looking at these little stones here. 39:49 This earth you and I could be just like 39:51 a little pebble here, but God sees you, 39:53 He's got you in the palm of His hand. 39:55 And He's there to care for you, 39:57 no matter what you're going through today. 40:29 I think that one of... 40:30 If I were to sort of tactile 40:34 describe one of the most practical things 40:37 that has carried us this year is being intentional 40:42 about identifying the things we're thankful for. 40:47 Those things, the list of things 40:49 that we're grateful for and leaning into gratitude, 40:52 not necessarily because you feel it at times, 40:55 but because in doing so brings the feeling of gratitude. 40:59 Absolutely. 41:00 I've been working on that a lot in my life, 41:03 just having this attitude of gratitude. 41:06 So naturally, we want to think about 41:10 the hard things and we focus on the hard things 41:12 and because they're hard, but I've been intentionally 41:17 trying to be thankful for even the small things, 41:20 things like thank you for the gas 41:22 in my car this week, 41:24 thank you that we have a house now, 41:26 that's huge for us. 41:28 It feels like a mansion. 41:30 This time last year, we didn't have a house 41:32 and so having a house is a really big deal now. 41:35 And a year ago, I don't think 41:37 I would have been so grateful for a house. 41:39 I'm thankful for food. 41:41 People have fed us over and over and over again 41:45 when we didn't even have the presence of mind 41:48 to figure out how to cook. 41:50 I mean, all my recipes were destroyed. 41:52 I felt lost in the kitchen all over again, 41:55 but being able to cook this year, having food, 42:00 having my kids smile, it's so good for my heart 42:05 for our hearts to start counting the things 42:08 that we're grateful for and even being grateful 42:10 for the hard times. 42:12 Because it's been through the hard times 42:14 that we've seen so much kindness, 42:16 so much goodness, so much care, 42:19 so much love come our way, and through many of you. 42:23 Thank you so much for your kindness, 42:25 your generosity, your love, your support. 42:29 We have felt it over and over and over again. 42:32 We thank you. 42:33 So I'm a Northern California kid. 42:36 I grew up in Northern California, 42:38 wildfires have been part of my experience 42:42 as I've grown up, and then out of college, 42:44 I worked on a volunteer fire department 42:46 and with strike teams on wildfires. 42:49 And so that's something 42:52 that has been part of my experience, 42:54 I have to say that the Paradise fire 42:56 is beyond that in many ways. 43:00 As an example, I have watched over and over again 43:03 as people have approached members of our community, 43:05 us because our home burned down 43:08 over on the other side of town, 43:10 and they will say something like, 43:14 "Oh, I'm so sorry. 43:16 Our home burned down in 1991. 43:18 We know how you feel." That's heart. 43:23 And that's a gracious offering 43:25 and an empathetic moment that happens, 43:29 but I watch over and over and over again 43:31 as members of our community sort of react to that 43:39 without a better way of saying this 43:41 as actually you don't know what we're going through. 43:44 Because in Paradise, our home burned down, 43:48 but so did our job, and our place of employment. 43:52 Also, where we grocery shopped burn down, 43:56 where we took our pets to the veterinary burned down, 43:59 where we went to the doctor burned down, 44:01 where we went to the dentist burned down, 44:04 the emergency department and hospital 44:07 where we always went in time of need burned, 44:12 where our children went to school burned, 44:15 where we worshiped for church burned. 44:17 And then almost as if the fire continues to burn, 44:20 members of our community and close friends and family 44:23 have had to transition outside of the community. 44:26 I think the thing that is important for me 44:29 as a leader is to realize that potentially we have 44:32 a learning experience here that 44:37 because of the broad magnitude 44:39 and broad scale piece of what burned, 44:42 much of our story can be used as a learning experience 44:46 and how for God's people to respond 44:48 and help and assist in other areas that happen 44:52 to this can be helpful for us and God's people. 44:56 Also in the broad scale face of what happened 45:00 to the church community in Paradise 45:03 where the school was devastated by fire, 45:05 the church campus, in fact, completely burned down 45:09 with the community services campus, 45:11 the children's ministry, piece of the complex, 45:13 the church sanctuary, 45:15 all of the maintenance 45:17 and other subsidiary buildings of the campus. 45:19 In fact, the only thing standing 45:22 on the church campus is that pump house 45:24 that we were able to tap into and get back up with water. 45:27 The fact that the physical church 45:31 completely burned to the ground, 45:34 teaches us to be mindful 45:36 that the church is the people 45:38 that, in fact, the church didn't burn down. 45:40 The people are still here. 45:42 The church is still standing in the way that 45:45 God designed it to be, 45:47 to be the personhood of Jesus, helping and assisting 45:51 as the hands of Him in a time of need 45:54 is really an interesting piece to look at. 45:57 And I think maybe it wouldn't be so starkly clear 46:01 that God wants the church to be His people, 46:05 as it is for us in this community, 46:07 where the church physically burnt down, 46:10 but God's people are still standing 46:11 and serving the community. 46:14 Friends, thank you for being there with us, 46:18 it's our family with us as the community in Paradise. 46:22 Thank you for being there with us. 46:25 We would just ask that 46:26 you keep hanging in there with us. 46:29 We feel your support, we feel your prayers. 46:32 And we ask that you continue to hang in there with us 46:35 because the church is still standing in Paradise. 46:37 We're still hanging on. 46:39 We're still holding fast together 46:42 with our community and Jesus. 46:44 And so continue to hold on with us 46:46 and pray with us. 46:48 And pray with us now as we pray for you 46:50 as you continue to pray for us because ultimately, 46:53 prayer is the key in the hand of faith 46:56 that unlocks heaven storehouse. 46:59 And so Heavenly Father, 47:01 during this time of Thanksgiving, 47:03 we thank You. 47:05 We thank You that You are there. 47:08 We thank You that we can place our hand, 47:11 our weak, feeble, struggling at times hand 47:14 in Your hand of strength and know that not only 47:17 are we holding on to You, 47:19 but You are holding on to us. 47:22 And so I just pray that You would be with us, 47:24 each of us wherever we are on this Thanksgiving Day, 47:27 that You would be the one we turn to, 47:30 that You would be the one 47:31 who we know is the giver of all good gifts. 47:35 And so in times of trial help us remember that 47:37 they are not of You, 47:39 but You can guide us and carry us 47:40 through the valley and into the other side. 47:43 We lift up the community of Paradise, 47:46 and the communities that we represent, 47:49 that You would be with us in a time of need, 47:52 in a time of Thanksgiving, 47:54 and be with us in the bright future 47:56 that we look forward to with You and eternity. 47:59 We thank You in Jesus' name, amen. 48:02 Dear Jesus, thank You for being willing to be a God 48:07 who loves us and cares about us, 48:10 and looks after us. 48:13 And, Lord, there are times 48:16 in our lives that are very difficult, 48:19 and we have questions that we may be still 48:22 don't have answers to. 48:25 And there are things in our lives 48:26 that don't really make sense, 48:30 but right here and right now, in this moment, 48:33 we just wanna give You ourselves and say, 48:37 even though it doesn't all make sense, I trust You. 48:42 And I give myself to You and ask 48:46 that my life would be used by You. 48:50 I pray for each one who is listening, 48:53 I pray that You would be with them 48:55 that You would guide them, give them strength, 48:57 comfort them. 48:59 I pray for Paradise, You would rebuild us. 49:03 You would build us up in Your strength 49:06 and not ours because we are so weak 49:08 and we are so feeble. 49:10 We need You. 49:12 Thank You that You are willing to hold us up 49:15 and strengthen us moment by moment in Jesus' name, amen. 49:25 We hope that you've been inspired 49:26 as much as we have here by getting the stories 49:28 out of Paradise, California. 49:30 What's inspired us? 49:32 It's been the spirit of giving here 49:34 in this community, 49:35 from people that have lost so much, 49:37 they themselves are giving so much. 49:40 They may have a house that wasn't burned, 49:42 they're opening it up for people 49:44 to come in and stay. 49:45 They may have an empty lot now because their house burned, 49:48 but it has water and it has sewer 49:50 so they're letting people come and park their RV trailers 49:54 or motor homes on their lots, 49:56 or they're helping their neighbor 49:57 clean up their lot, cut down trees, move debris. 50:01 It's an incredible show of thankfulness, 50:05 not only to God, but also appreciation to God 50:08 and their local fellow human being, their neighbors. 50:11 I hope that inspires you in your own life, 50:13 no matter who's around you, 50:15 your sphere of influence, 50:17 that you will help other people. 50:19 So during this Thanksgiving season, 50:20 I encourage you to go out and help somebody else 50:24 and thank the Lord Jesus for what He has done for you. 50:46 I'm in His hands I'm in His hands 50:52 He will take care of me 50:55 According to His plans 50:58 His love for me 51:01 I can't understand 51:04 But it's so good to know 51:07 I'm in His hands 51:39 One thing I know for sure 51:42 I'm in His hands 51:46 One thing I know for sure 51:50 I'm in His hands 52:01 Amen. Praise the Lord. 52:03 Well, Pastor Hamilton that it looked like 52:06 God has sent him there just for the right time. 52:09 With love for the people, for the community and for God, 52:12 and outreach with people like Maranatha 52:15 and others coming in. 52:17 I mean, what an incredible, isn't it to be able to work 52:19 with fellow Christians 52:21 and many Seventh-day Adventist Christians to work together 52:24 to go out and to rebuild. 52:26 So that should be our responsibility 52:28 and our privilege, 52:30 not only rebuilding by the power 52:31 and anointing of the Holy Spirit, lives, 52:34 you know, spiritually, but physically when we can. 52:36 Yes. 52:37 That's why we build churches and schools and hospital, 52:39 work with groups and do around the world. 52:41 And so, Greg, 52:44 in your summation of all of this, 52:47 you've spent a lot of time and a lot of energy. 52:50 And what do you want to say to the folks? 52:52 What's inspiring to me far as Pastor Steve Hamilton, 52:55 you know, because he's there as the pastor 52:57 and of course everyone's coming to him, 52:58 you know, for help. 53:00 I mean, it's very emotional 53:01 for the people in that community. 53:02 They've lost everything. 53:04 As he mentioned, and his wife mentioned, 53:05 you didn't just lose your house, 53:06 you've lost your entire community, 53:08 your bank, your grocery store, 53:09 everything that's familiar to you, 53:11 your friends and neighbors. 53:13 Yeah, your employment, your employer, 53:15 your friends and neighbors, some of them had 53:16 to move away because there was no place to work. 53:18 So they're moving out of state. 53:19 So everything is just in turmoil. 53:21 But yet, you know, their faith is in Jesus Christ. 53:24 And that's what, hopefully you have seen through 53:26 all of these different interviews 53:27 and roles is that people are looking to God 53:29 for their source of strength, 53:30 no matter what storm they're going through. 53:32 And what's incredible to me too, is that... 53:37 It's amazing to me because they're in such devastation, 53:42 be out there helping other people. 53:44 Time and time again, that just was in my mind 53:46 just impressive to me that these people, 53:49 I wanna say these people, the people there 53:51 that lost everything are trying to reach out 53:53 and help others. 53:54 It's just incredible. Yeah, really is. Jill? 53:58 I think going off of what you just said, Greg, 54:00 that convicts my heart. 54:03 You know, it puts me to shame as it were 54:05 because so many times you get focused on 54:07 your own needs and your own things, 54:09 but to think when you're going through 54:11 such loss and such pain and such devastation 54:15 to still be thinking of other people, 54:18 that is the Spirit of Jesus. 54:20 So I'm so blessed by that. 54:21 Going back to the first hour, you know, Dr. McClarty, 54:24 she was there in her car, and there were people 54:27 that their car was on fire. 54:29 And she, you know, 54:31 she's inviting them into her car, 54:32 you know, everyone's there to try 54:33 and help each other, you know, these, 54:35 they have experienced is just is traumatic. 54:37 Yeah. 54:39 Very traumatic, be it for them to see, 54:40 to be grateful. 54:41 I liked what the pastor's wife, Delinda said, 54:43 is making a gratitude list. 54:46 There's always something that you can be thankful for. 54:49 And that's a great start because sometimes 54:50 it's like I don't have anything to be thankful for. 54:53 Well, yeah, you do. You're alive. 54:54 That's right. Absolutely. That's life. 54:55 What a precious gift from God. Yes, that's right. 54:58 And aren't we thankful that we have a risen Savior? 55:00 Yes. Absolutely. 55:02 As in the world today, I know that 55:03 He's living whatever man may say, 55:04 all right, you see His hand of mercy, 55:06 hear His voice cheer just the time I need Him. 55:09 He's always near. 55:11 So today, we have much to be thankful for. 55:14 And so remember that 55:15 when Jesus was hanging on the cross, 55:17 you were on His mind. 55:18 He could look down that stream of time and see each of us, 55:21 see if people they'd be willing to give their lives 55:23 unto death if necessary for the cause of God. 55:26 So you're not here by accident. You're not alone. 55:29 You have 3ABN family, but you have the Holy Spirit, 55:32 you have the Lord, and He has something special for you. 55:35 And I want to encourage each and every one of you today, 55:38 start out, making your list, what am I thankful for, 55:40 instead of saying, "No, always me, 55:42 if I didn't have any luck, I wouldn't have, 55:44 you know, bad luck. 55:45 I didn't have any luck at all," that old song that they sing. 55:48 No, you know, what? 55:50 Don't let the devil get to you today. 55:51 This is a high day. 55:52 It's a Thanksgiving time, but not just for today. 55:55 Great peace have they which love thy law 55:57 and nothing shall offend them. 55:59 So today Happy Thanksgiving to each and every one of you. 56:03 And we thank you for joining us 56:05 here at 3ABN, the year's not over. 56:07 And if the Holy Spirit's impressing, 56:09 and you wanna send a love gift to 3ABN 56:11 to continue to take this gospel to the world, 56:14 we sure would appreciate it. 56:15 And join, continue to join hands with you 56:17 to get the gospel to the world. 56:19 I wonder if it'd be appropriate, Yvonne, 56:21 if we could go out today in a prayer, 56:23 a Thanksgiving prayer, 56:25 maybe we could ask you would just join hands together. 56:27 And for those of you at home, pray with us 56:29 if you want to join with us. 56:32 And until we see you next time, may the Lord richly bless you 56:35 abundantly more than you could ever ask or think. 56:37 Let's pray. 56:39 Father, we just thank You so very much. 56:42 We are so grateful for You, 56:43 and we have so much to be thankful for. 56:46 For one of Your names Lord Jesus 56:48 is Emmanuel, God with us. 56:50 And so we know that You're with us. 56:53 You're with us through every storm, 56:54 through every fire, 56:56 through every catastrophe, You are with us. 56:58 So we thank You and we praise You. 57:00 And we ask that 57:02 You will continue to be with us, 57:03 guide us, direct us, Lord. 57:05 Thank You for all that You've done 57:07 and all that You did. 57:08 In Jesus' name, amen. 57:09 Amen. |
Revised 2019-12-12