Welcome back.
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I'm Jill Morikone.
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talking with Child Impact
International, hearing what the
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Lord is doing in and through
this ministry, the amazing
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rescue stories, the stories
of hope and healing through
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Operation Child Rescue,
which is a part of Child Impact
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International. They
have 24 is that correct?
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24 projects in 14 different
countries seeking to rescue
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children from child trafficking.
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So if you're for whatever
reason, just joining us this
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hour, you can always jump
on YouTube later or 3 a .m.
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plus and you can watch the
first hour if you missed it.
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And if you are just joining us,
we have with us the CEO of Child
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Impact
International, Dr. Tom Evans.
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We have Jason Churchwell, who
is, I gotta look at your title
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here. I apologize.
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And then we have Nicole
Bertelli, who's the Director of
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Child Impact in Brazil.
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And we've been hearing the first
hour stories from Bangladesh,
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stories from
Brazil, stories from Zambia.
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And now we're going to hear
about Columbia, which was the
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project last year.
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Talk to us again
about that, Dr. Tom.
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How every year you pick a
project specifically there with
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July 30 and World Trafficking.
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probably almost from a year
ahead begin to dialogue about
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what should be our
project for next year.
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And so we happen to
select a project in Columbia.
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And so this was what we
raised funds for for July 30.
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And so we're very
close to that date now.
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So we're now
focused on our next project.
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But this project in Columbia
was fully funded and began
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operations a year ago.
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And in fact, God bless
with additional funding.
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Because there was a request for
a second project in Columbia.
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And we've seen amazing miracles
with that second project.
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We're so grateful that the
resources came in to start that
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project as well.
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So now we have two
major projects in Columbia.
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Amen.
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So talk to us about that.
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What are the projects?
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So, you know, Child Impact
started in Asia and then we
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expanded into Africa.
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We said we need to
be in South America.
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And so now we have Nicole with
us in Brazil and some incredible
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things happening in Columbia.
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So a friend of ours introduced
us to a missionary who's from
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Columbia and he was working in
what's called the green window.
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Many of our of us have
heard about this term, the 1040
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window, 10 degrees
latitude to 40 degrees latitude.
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And it's a large group of people
who are unreached with the
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gospel. But there's also
this new term called the green
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window. Now that
I'm not familiar with.
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It's 20 degrees north of the
equator and 20 degrees south of
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the equator.
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people around the world.
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And so these missionaries were
working in what they called the
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green window, trying to bring
the gospel to places that have
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not ever heard the name Jesus
and don't know anything about
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Christianity or
Seventh -day Adventism.
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And so they were working among
indigenous tribes in Columbia
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and wanted to do
something for the kids there.
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And they were introduced to
Child Impact because that's what
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we do. We try to
work with vulnerable kids.
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And so this ministry is
called Vida Sana de Redencion.
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And the director
there, his name is Michael.
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And Michael and I met.
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He speaks Spanish.
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I speak English.
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My wife was able
to translate for us.
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And we spent many hours
talking on the phone discussing
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different projects.
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Michael has a missionary
training program and they send
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missionaries out to unreached
and remote places along
different rivers in the
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Amazon.
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Columbia has some of the Amazon.
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Brazil has the Amazon in it.
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And these missionaries
were stationed in remote places,
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living among people, trying
to share the gospel with them.
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There was no
Adventist church in this area.
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You get there by plane that only
runs every two or three days of
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the week.
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And so it's very remote.
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And while they were there, they
started recognizing that many of
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the girls in these communities
were being sexually abused.
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So there's lots of
celebrations, lots of parties.
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In South America, it seems
like they have a holiday and a
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festival every week.
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I love the culture there.
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And sadly, though, there's a lot
of alcohol that comes with these
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parties.
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that.
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place with these kids.
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And so they started recognizing
that there's a need to get these
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kids to a safe place.
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And so as Tom said, we made this
our focus for July 30 last year,
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but we put it in two phases.
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The first phase, we
wanted to take kids out of those
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situations and get them to a
safe place, to this Adventist
campus where they could
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learn about Jesus,
where they could go to school.
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And we could continue working in
their community, but provide a
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safe place for these kids.
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And then phase two, which was
kind of our ultimate dream, is
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we wanted to buy land and build
a rescue center there in the
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jungle right next
to their communities.
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And we praise the Lord that
he provided the funds for all of
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these things to happen through
our July 30 appeals last year.
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And we're so excited to see
how those projects are coming to
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fruition now.
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Amen.
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Now you have a video.
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Let's do the video and
then we'll talk more about the
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project. A year ago, Child
Impact opened our first project
in South America in
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the beautiful
country of Colombia.
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We had a desire to start a
project here, rescuing
Indigenous girls who
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were being sexually abused.
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To get to this project, we took
a plane that only operates a few
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days a week, landed and rode
45 minutes in a small speedboat
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snaking down one of
the rivers of the Amazon.
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When we arrived, we were
warmly greeted by an Indigenous
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community and
everything seemed to be normal.
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The kids were happy and smiling,
but we soon learned that this
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was not the
reality for these children.
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They grow up in very
close knit, tight communities.
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And in these communities, they
celebrate a lot of festivals.
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And in those festivals,
there's a lot of alcohol.
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And since then, we've learned
that children from a very young
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age are forced to
drink with the adults.
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And then when they're drunk,
they're sexually abused by those
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in their community.
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It could be family members,
relatives, or just friends of
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the family.
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And these kids are in desperate
need of a safe place to grow up
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and be children.
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I remember those days vividly.
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And also the girls when they
are alone, when no one is there.
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If the family leaves the girls
alone in the house and someone
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or a boy comes, they close
the door and harm the girl.
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And so we took the children
with the parents to the police.
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We did everything legally.
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They signed over custody and
paperwork allowing us to take
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the children with us.
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And they rode for the first time
on an airplane to our partner's
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project, Vida Sana de Redencion,
in another part of Colombia.
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That was one year ago today
that we were able to take these
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children to a safe place.
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It was their first
time on an airplane.
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They had never traveled outside
of their community before.
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And I'm excited to share an
update with you on what's been
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happening in their
lives over the past year.
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The first time I came here,
I immediately liked Vida Sana
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because it helped me
with everything I needed.
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It provided me with the support
I was looking for and helped me
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with what I had
on my mind and more.
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I'm so happy to see the contrast
in these kids' lives one year
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later after they came with
us out of the jungles of the
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Amazon. Their faces are filled
with joy and happiness being
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here in a safe place.
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And it's so exciting and so
encouraging to see that by God's
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grace and with your
help, healing is possible.
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Amen.
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I love that concept.
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With your help and God's
grace, healing is possible.
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And you know, Joe, I'm watching
this video for the first time
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just as you.
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And you think, what's the
difference between me and her?
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It could have been me in her
place just because I was blessed
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enough, lucky enough to
be born in a different place.
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That wasn't me.
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But it could have
been just any of us.
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It seems to be so far apart from
our reality, but it's really
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not. Yeah.
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and then got custody basically
of the kids to be able to take
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them. Were the parents excited,
like, wow, my kid doesn't have
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to grow up in this environment?
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Or what's the
response of the parents?
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That's a great question.
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So we landed in this plane.
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We got in a little speedboat and
went 45 minutes down the river
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to this community.
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And that's when we met
the family of these kids.
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And so what happened is there
was a family with five children
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and their oldest daughter
was sexually abused in the
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community. The parents brought a
legal case against the
perpetrator who was
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abusing their daughter.
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who reported the
case to the police.
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So when we get there, we have
Bible workers working, they're
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getting to know
them, trusting them.
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It's a terrible situation.
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And so as a
parent, where do you go?
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Where do you go for help?
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Let me get this straight.
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Exactly.
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And so now the family has four
other children, and one of their
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daughters sees their son
being sexually abused in the
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community. And so now look what
happens last time, you know,
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that they brought
this to the police.
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They're afraid to report it.
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Exactly.
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and they asked us if we
could take them to a safe place.
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And so they
traveled back with us.
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We took the parents
to the police station.
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Because they're from an
indigenous tribe, they're
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protected in Columbia.
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When these tribes come out of
the jungle, when they want to be
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contacted, sadly, many of them,
their tribes, their numbers
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start declining very rapidly.
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They're introduced to different
diseases, a different way of
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life, and it's very
difficult for them to survive.
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And many of them, the tribes
have just been cut in half.
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And so they're
protected by the government.
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And so you can't take an
indigenous child away from the
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tribe without having a
legal guardian with you.
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So that could be an older
sister, it could be a parent, a
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relative. And so we went with
them, they signed over custody,
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and then the oldest sister came
with them, and we took them to
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our Adventist
Partners campus there.
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There's a lifestyle center,
there's a school, there's a
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missionary training program,
and now they're in a safe place.
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And you can see the joy on
their faces now, a year later.
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They'd never flown in an
airplane before, they were very
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nervous taking off and landing,
but it was so exciting to get
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them to a safe place with
the help of their parents.
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That's an incredible story, wow.
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Do we have a picture of them or
we don't have a picture of them?
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So we've chosen not to
show their face because of what
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they've gone through, but you
can see a couple glimpses of the
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kids who weren't abused, you
know, flying on the plane with
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them. So we've rescued now 10
kids, and we're just completing
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a dormitory, which was phase one
of our project last year, for 40
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kids. And so it's almost
finished, they're putting the
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beds in right now, and so soon
we'll have 40 kids on this
campus where they'll
00:12:13.73\00:12:17.87
receive psychological counseling
and training, they'll be able to
00:12:17.87\00:12:20.94
go to school, there's vocational
training happening, and so it's
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very exciting to see
what's happening there.
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Have they had any education or
are they starting like at first
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grade, no matter the age?
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That's a great question.
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They have had some education,
but they're very far behind.
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So when I was there, the boy
actually that I was telling you
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about, he turned 11 and he never
celebrated his birthday before,
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kind of like what we
were talking about earlier.
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In Brazil, yeah.
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And everyone pitched in, they
call it, they made a cow, in
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Spanish. They made a cow.
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Yeah, so they pass around a hat,
it's an expression, and everyone
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puts a little money in that.
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They bought him a bicycle, he
never had a bicycle before, they
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bought him a cake, they had
balloons, and so we had this
huge birthday party
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for him, it was his first
birthday that was ever
celebrated, so it was
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really special to be a part of.
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That's really special,
that's incredible, I love that.
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So the
dormitory's almost completed.
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So the dormitory's almost
completed, and now the next
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phase of that is we're looking
for land out in that jungle
00:13:17.56\00:13:20.83
community to build a rescue
center where we can take kids
and educate them right
00:13:20.83\00:13:23.90
there in their community.
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And the government is
actually helping us with that.
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So it's been very difficult to
find land, I'm glad you brought
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that up, Tom, it's very
expensive what little land is
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available because the
government's trying to protect
the rainforest there, and so if
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you can find land,
it's extremely expensive.
00:13:36.48\00:13:38.71
And so now we have a partner,
I'm gonna share a little bit
00:13:39.21\00:13:42.65
about that in just a minute, the
government is actually working
00:13:42.65\00:13:46.29
to help us secure land because
they love what we're doing so
much in a different part
00:13:46.29\00:13:50.16
of Colombia.
00:13:50.16\00:13:55.26
other project.
00:13:55.26\00:13:55.86
So because of God's blessing,
last year through our Operation
00:13:56.93\00:14:00.94
Child Rescue fundraising program
around July 30, we received
00:14:00.94\00:14:05.31
additional funds to start
a second project in Colombia.
00:14:05.31\00:14:07.74
And what's the second project?
00:14:08.04\00:14:09.41
So this one is a safe, it's
a total safe house and rescue
00:14:09.54\00:14:14.45
campus in a
different state of the Amazon.
00:14:14.45\00:14:15.75
So here we're working among
indigenous tribes that were the
00:14:16.52\00:14:19.69
last contacted in Colombia.
00:14:19.69\00:14:21.46
So they were first contacted
in the 1980s coming out of the
00:14:21.89\00:14:26.19
jungle. And they
didn't have fire?
00:14:26.66\00:14:27.66
So they never discovered fire,
they had no clothes, they would
00:14:28.03\00:14:32.77
eat raw meat like
raw monkeys, raw caimans.
00:14:32.77\00:14:35.44
Are you saying they've
had no contact with outside
00:14:36.07\00:14:38.57
civilizations since the 80s?
00:14:38.57\00:14:39.31
No.
00:14:39.51\00:14:39.54
Up until 1980.
00:14:39.94\00:14:40.98
Until 80, okay.
00:14:41.38\00:14:42.18
No fire, can you believe this?
00:14:43.45\00:14:44.61
I can't.
00:14:44.61\00:14:45.28
So they just come
out of the jungle.
00:14:45.48\00:14:46.82
And this is a traditionally
nomadic tribal group that lives
00:14:47.35\00:14:51.59
in the jungle.
00:14:51.59\00:14:54.66
can eat, they know
where to get water.
00:14:54.66\00:14:56.19
But now their homeland, the
jungles are being destroyed,
00:14:56.69\00:15:00.63
they're being
cleared for coca plantations.
00:15:00.63\00:15:02.33
So this is cocaine
that's known in this state.
00:15:02.53\00:15:06.03
And now most of it
is agricultural land.
00:15:06.57\00:15:09.27
It's pasture land for
cows, but not jungles anymore.
00:15:09.40\00:15:12.44
And so you really have a
people who I say are internally
00:15:12.44\00:15:16.24
displaced. So they're still
in their country, but it doesn't
00:15:16.31\00:15:20.78
look like what the life
that they know is anymore.
00:15:20.78\00:15:22.78
And so they're trying to figure
out how to live in a more urban
00:15:22.88\00:15:26.59
society when really they know
how to survive in the jungle.
00:15:26.59\00:15:29.86
And so what happens is
they resort to things like drug
00:15:30.39\00:15:35.56
abuse, selling drugs, alcohol
abuse, prostitution, just trying
00:15:35.56\00:15:40.77
to make money and survive.
00:15:40.77\00:15:41.74
And so it's very sad
what's happened there.
00:15:41.74\00:15:44.67
And so we have a partner that
we identified who's been working
00:15:45.57\00:15:49.78
among these people
for many, many years.
00:15:49.78\00:15:52.18
Her job was to develop
curriculum when these tribes
00:15:53.15\00:15:56.75
wanted to be contacted, how
to integrate them into society.
00:15:56.75\00:15:59.49
And she always had one, two,
three girls in her home because
00:15:59.95\00:16:04.33
she wanted to rescue as many
girls as she could, but had this
00:16:04.33\00:16:08.13
dream to rescue many
more in an official center.
00:16:08.13\00:16:10.27
And so we began working
with her and now we've started.
00:16:10.27\00:16:13.97
It is the only rescue center in
Colombia like this, and it has
00:16:14.04\00:16:18.91
attracted national attention all
the way up to the highest levels
00:16:18.91\00:16:23.24
of government.
00:16:23.24\00:16:27.12
trying to plan a visit there.
00:16:27.12\00:16:28.72
Last week, the president of
the Supreme Court visited our
00:16:28.98\00:16:32.79
project and gave his
full stamp of approval.
00:16:32.79\00:16:34.59
So that's the number
three leader in Colombia.
00:16:34.62\00:16:36.49
The president, vice president,
and the leader of the Supreme
00:16:36.49\00:16:40.43
Court. And they just
came to your project.
00:16:40.86\00:16:42.13
Exactly.
00:16:42.40\00:16:43.13
And so it's incredible
what's happening here.
00:16:43.43\00:16:46.03
We've got over 30
girls in the home right now.
00:16:46.43\00:16:48.84
Already?
00:16:48.84\00:16:49.24
Already.
00:16:49.50\00:16:50.04
Oh, I mean...
00:16:50.44\00:16:51.24
And they live there.
00:16:51.24\00:16:52.01
This is not just
like during the day.
00:16:52.01\00:16:52.04
This would be...
00:16:53.78\00:16:54.51
Exactly.
00:16:54.51\00:16:55.31
But we bring them with a
family member, with an aunt.
00:16:55.61\00:16:58.51
In some cases, the
laws have had to be changed.
00:16:59.81\00:17:02.15
In Colombia, this is it.
00:17:02.18\00:17:03.99
So this is the gate with
all the girls, and they've done
00:17:03.99\00:17:07.96
beautiful paintings.
00:17:07.96\00:17:13.09
which is weaving
dreams in the Amazon.
00:17:13.26\00:17:15.33
Aww.
00:17:15.73\00:17:18.77
I see the butterfly there.
00:17:18.80\00:17:19.97
How a caterpillar is like a worm
and no one pays attention to it.
00:17:20.07\00:17:23.44
That's right.
00:17:23.44\00:17:26.94
transformation that we
hope to see in their lives.
00:17:26.94\00:17:28.81
Amen.
00:17:29.31\00:17:34.45
dream and there was
an encounter in the bank.
00:17:34.45\00:17:37.89
Oh.
00:17:38.39\00:17:41.86
amazing.
00:17:41.86\00:17:42.22
Sure.
00:17:42.49\00:17:45.26
send funds.
00:17:45.26\00:17:45.96
You know, we're buying the land.
00:17:46.09\00:17:47.13
We're building
this rescue center.
00:17:47.30\00:17:48.80
And our project
manager, her name is Deli.
00:17:49.83\00:17:52.10
She's in line at the bank to
withdraw the funds that Child
00:17:52.10\00:17:54.84
Impact donors had sent there.
00:17:54.84\00:17:56.71
And she's talking to the teller.
00:17:57.71\00:17:59.84
And the lady says, Are
you Seventh -day Adventist?
00:18:00.24\00:18:01.88
You know, I heard about
this thing that you're doing.
00:18:01.98\00:18:03.24
She says, You know, yes, I am.
00:18:03.35\00:18:05.05
Well, behind her in
line is a young lady.
00:18:05.71\00:18:08.58
And the young lady waits till
Deli leaves the counter and taps
00:18:08.68\00:18:12.12
her on the shoulder.
00:18:12.12\00:18:14.62
Okay.
00:18:14.79\00:18:15.39
And she said, Yes, I did.
00:18:15.39\00:18:16.19
And she said, Well, I
have to tell you a story.
00:18:16.46\00:18:18.29
She said, A few weeks ago, I was
laying in bed and I had a dream.
00:18:18.89\00:18:22.93
Oh, wow.
00:18:23.20\00:18:27.67
area.
00:18:27.67\00:18:29.50
And I was dreaming.
00:18:29.90\00:18:30.87
And in my dream, God told me,
Find the Seventh-day Adventists.
00:18:31.14\00:18:34.98
They'll show you what's next
for your family in ministry.
00:18:35.14\00:18:38.41
She said, I woke up.
00:18:39.58\00:18:40.65
I didn't know any
Seventh-day Adventists.
00:18:40.85\00:18:42.28
I don't know anything
about Seventh -day Adventists.
00:18:42.48\00:18:44.42
I had no idea what this meant.
00:18:44.49\00:18:45.99
And I heard you tell the
teller that you are Seventh-day
00:18:46.12\00:18:49.79
Adventist. So what are
you doing in your ministry?
00:18:49.99\00:18:52.83
Exactly.
00:18:52.83\00:18:53.50
Wow.
00:18:53.93\00:18:57.33
girls, for indigenous girls
where they can come have a safe
00:18:57.33\00:18:59.73
place. She said,
Why don't you come out?
00:18:59.77\00:19:00.94
So she came with her
whole family out to the center.
00:19:01.24\00:19:03.94
She showed her
everything they were doing.
00:19:04.24\00:19:05.54
And they said, We've had a dream
to do something like this for
00:19:05.54\00:19:05.57
our ministry.
00:19:08.88\00:19:09.31
Really?
00:19:09.38\00:19:11.61
They said, We'll use
all of our influence.
00:19:12.61\00:19:14.48
We'll send our
workers here to be trained.
00:19:14.78\00:19:16.62
And we'll do everything we
can to support and help you make
00:19:16.62\00:19:20.12
this a success.
00:19:20.12\00:19:20.46
Wow.
00:19:20.96\00:19:21.42
That's incredible.
00:19:21.42\00:19:22.72
Look how God
orchestrates events.
00:19:23.22\00:19:25.29
And even before they met at
the bank, the dream occurred.
00:19:25.89\00:19:28.40
Right?
00:19:28.66\00:19:28.93
Exactly.
00:19:28.93\00:19:29.26
That's incredible.
00:19:29.43\00:19:30.80
It's amazing what's happening.
00:19:31.30\00:19:32.43
And so at first, Delis was
concerned about the rebels and,
00:19:32.77\00:19:36.60
you know, that's an area
that's not always that safe.
00:19:36.60\00:19:38.91
Right.
00:19:38.91\00:19:44.31
the work she was doing to
protect children, called all of
00:19:44.31\00:19:47.68
his comrades together.
00:19:47.68\00:19:51.62
are, then we need to stand with
this lady and help her in her
00:19:51.62\00:19:55.12
work. We need to
be her protectors.
00:19:55.12\00:19:57.16
Wow.
00:19:57.39\00:20:01.70
its difficulties.
00:20:01.70\00:20:02.40
Their lives
have been threatened.
00:20:02.96\00:20:04.20
There's been days where they've
gone into some of these meetings
00:20:04.73\00:20:07.17
and didn't know if they
were going to come out alive.
00:20:07.17\00:20:09.07
Oh, wow.
00:20:09.47\00:20:12.91
kids who are being
abused, and we want to help.
00:20:12.91\00:20:14.61
Right.
00:20:14.68\00:20:17.95
people and the locals, because
they see them as drug abusers,
00:20:17.95\00:20:21.65
as alcoholics, as prostitutes,
when really they've been forced
00:20:21.65\00:20:24.85
into this way of lifestyle,
just trying to survive.
00:20:24.85\00:20:28.56
I think we have another
picture of the property.
00:20:29.66\00:20:31.89
This is an aerial view?
00:20:33.50\00:20:34.46
This is an aerial
view of the entire campus.
00:20:34.46\00:20:36.87
And so, it's out in the jungle,
and we've made every effort to
00:20:37.17\00:20:41.70
keep their traditions
and culture as a part of the
00:20:41.70\00:20:45.41
curriculum there. I like that.
00:20:45.51\00:20:48.98
methods of weaving, so they know
how to make their handicrafts.
00:20:48.98\00:20:52.05
They know how to cook in
their traditional methods using
00:20:52.61\00:20:55.12
traditional recipes.
00:20:55.12\00:20:56.15
The girls don't speak Spanish.
00:20:57.22\00:20:58.65
They speak their own
dialect from their tribe.
00:20:58.95\00:21:02.26
And so, we have to have special
translators who can translate
00:21:02.42\00:21:05.16
between that and even Spanish.
00:21:05.16\00:21:06.80
Yes.
00:21:06.96\00:21:08.36
I know enough
Spanish to get in trouble.
00:21:08.50\00:21:09.96
So, it's being translated three
times for me while I'm there.
00:21:10.97\00:21:14.00
Wow, that's amazing.
00:21:14.37\00:21:15.50
And so, it's a
really special project.
00:21:15.50\00:21:17.07
What's the age group?
00:21:17.51\00:21:18.17
So, we wanted to focus on older
kids, but a lot of younger kids
00:21:18.77\00:21:23.58
have come as well.
00:21:23.58\00:21:24.51
And so, we've got kids five, six
years old, all the way up to 17,
00:21:24.85\00:21:28.75
18.
00:21:28.85\00:21:29.35
And so, we have 30 there.
00:21:29.95\00:21:32.82
We have space for even more
girls as funds come in, and we
00:21:33.05\00:21:37.39
can continue to support and
learn best practices for them.
00:21:37.39\00:21:40.53
But it's amazing to see the
miracles that have been taking
00:21:40.83\00:21:44.00
place there.
00:21:44.00\00:21:47.90
I do.
00:21:48.30\00:21:53.21
that's this particular project,
where there was an intervention
00:21:53.21\00:21:58.01
that caused
perpetrators to come to justice.
00:21:58.01\00:22:00.45
And so, I think we have a photo.
00:22:01.28\00:22:02.88
We have a photo of
some police officers.
00:22:02.92\00:22:04.95
So, this project is very
different, as Tom said, than our
00:22:06.62\00:22:10.39
other projects.
00:22:10.39\00:22:10.76
So, this is me.
00:22:10.83\00:22:14.46
So, this is the only project
that when I've landed and got
00:22:14.93\00:22:18.30
off the plane, I
had a police escort.
00:22:18.30\00:22:19.63
So, there were two
police vehicles full of these
00:22:20.27\00:22:24.81
incredible men and women
of the police department.
00:22:24.81\00:22:25.41
Because it's so dangerous.
00:22:25.41\00:22:26.07
Exactly.
00:22:26.47\00:22:26.78
They're there to meet us, to
take us around, to show us what
00:22:27.74\00:22:30.21
we wanted to.
00:22:30.21\00:22:34.65
Friday night here on 3ABN.
00:22:34.65\00:22:36.02
That's right.
00:22:36.05\00:22:39.52
And I said, can we go to their
community and see what their way
00:22:39.52\00:22:42.16
of life is like?
00:22:42.16\00:22:43.22
And they literally told me, you
would have to change the color
00:22:43.46\00:22:45.53
of your skin.
00:22:45.53\00:22:49.80
be able to take you.
00:22:49.80\00:22:50.60
There was a ceasefire.
00:22:51.07\00:22:52.10
You would be killed going in?
00:22:52.10\00:22:53.50
I don't know if I would have
been killed, but it wouldn't
00:22:53.54\00:22:55.20
have been good.
00:22:55.20\00:22:55.44
Okay.
00:22:55.50\00:22:57.24
You can't go.
00:22:57.31\00:22:58.01
And so, I trust them, and we
want to be safe when we're down
00:22:58.64\00:23:02.51
there. Right.
00:23:02.61\00:23:06.48
So, unfortunately, we didn't get
to go see their homes and, like,
00:23:06.58\00:23:10.15
their villages.
00:23:10.15\00:23:14.02
home.
00:23:14.02\00:23:18.89
Adventist.
00:23:18.89\00:23:19.36
Really?
00:23:19.53\00:23:23.30
our project leader.
00:23:23.40\00:23:27.64
started, we believe,
through divine intervention.
00:23:27.64\00:23:30.37
Look at the hand of God.
00:23:30.71\00:23:31.67
He's well-respected in all the
states of Columbia, very high-up
00:23:31.94\00:23:36.64
police official.
00:23:36.64\00:23:37.78
And because of the work and the
attention that this has brought
00:23:38.15\00:23:41.28
about in the community there,
his police department personally
00:23:41.28\00:23:45.95
took it upon themselves to help
stop the abuse and exploitation
00:23:45.95\00:23:49.82
of these children.
00:23:49.82\00:23:55.06
that state.
00:23:55.06\00:23:55.80
One hundred in that state?
00:23:56.53\00:23:57.70
Over one hundred.
00:23:57.77\00:23:58.97
It is incredible, the
work that they are doing there.
00:23:59.33\00:24:02.14
And we just applaud them for
their bravery and their courage
00:24:02.14\00:24:06.34
to take down this awful crime.
00:24:06.34\00:24:07.88
How did they even find them,
or is that a question that you
00:24:08.08\00:24:10.75
don't get involved in?
00:24:10.75\00:24:11.45
You know, I didn't
ask him that specifically.
00:24:11.98\00:24:14.08
I did ask, I said, How are these
girls getting in this situation?
00:24:14.52\00:24:17.49
Like, how can there be so many?
00:24:17.59\00:24:18.89
And he said, What happens is,
they grow up in a one-room home.
00:24:19.59\00:24:23.83
And so, you can imagine a
husband and a wife and kids in
00:24:24.39\00:24:29.83
one room. The kids are seeing
their parents, and so they
become sexualized from
00:24:30.33\00:24:34.14
a young age.
00:24:34.14\00:24:34.94
And then the parents will start
selling their children to earn
00:24:35.64\00:24:38.87
income, because they're used to
this very rural lifestyle, and
00:24:38.87\00:24:43.08
they know that
there's demand for it.
00:24:43.08\00:24:44.45
He said, they sell
them to Los Blancos.
00:24:44.71\00:24:46.61
And I was like, you
mean like Americans?
00:24:46.68\00:24:47.92
Like, that means, you
know, the white people?
00:24:48.38\00:24:49.75
He's like, no, more of like
local Colombians who will pay
00:24:50.22\00:24:54.46
for them. Non-Indigenous people?
00:24:54.66\00:24:56.56
Right, non-Indigenous.
00:24:56.69\00:25:01.03
are you talking about?
00:25:01.03\00:25:01.96
He said, I mean like
six or seven years old.
00:25:02.03\00:25:04.40
And I literally,
I was like, what?
00:25:06.03\00:25:08.37
Like, that can't be possible.
00:25:09.17\00:25:10.97
Yeah, so I have a five
and a seven -year-old girl.
00:25:11.01\00:25:13.21
And I couldn't believe him.
00:25:14.51\00:25:15.81
And he said, you know, the
other thing is, there's a lot of
00:25:16.28\00:25:19.05
cocaine plantations, and the
owners will get the kids
addicted to cocaine,
00:25:19.05\00:25:22.75
and then they'll force them to
work in the cocaine plantations,
00:25:22.78\00:25:26.39
you know, for more cocaine.
00:25:26.39\00:25:27.39
And so we have a longer video
on this project that we show on
00:25:28.42\00:25:33.96
3ABN. And in the beginning of
that video, there's a girl on a
00:25:34.10\00:25:37.40
table in the middle of town.
00:25:37.40\00:25:40.27
And she was literally yelling at
us in the car, offering to sell
00:25:40.64\00:25:43.47
herself to us for the equivalent
of about 50 cents U.S.
00:25:43.47\00:25:48.31
And so we saw it firsthand.
00:25:49.14\00:25:50.61
She was just a kid, like
out in the street at night.
00:25:50.85\00:25:53.28
She was one of
the indigenous girls.
00:25:53.28\00:25:55.35
And our team knows most of these
kids, they're working with them,
00:25:55.65\00:25:58.79
trying to help them
and get them to safety.
00:25:58.79\00:26:02.02
So it was a real problem.
00:26:03.06\00:26:04.33
We saw it
firsthand when we were there.
00:26:04.43\00:26:06.59
And we applaud, you know, what
the police department there is
00:26:06.59\00:26:10.00
doing. So how can a
parent sell their child?
00:26:13.60\00:26:16.30
What leads to that?
00:26:17.61\00:26:19.14
Like in the parent's
mind, what leads to that point?
00:26:19.57\00:26:22.24
Desperation, really.
00:26:22.24\00:26:23.61
We have to think that, is
this the story of some of their
00:26:25.91\00:26:29.15
mothers as well?
00:26:29.15\00:26:29.55
Is this a cycle that continues?
00:26:30.05\00:26:31.52
A cycle that needs to be broken?
00:26:31.99\00:26:33.32
And a lot of times, we don't
want to hear those taboo things.
00:26:33.89\00:26:37.23
We want to live in our
perfect little bubbles.
00:26:37.29\00:26:38.83
But it's because of awareness
that issues like this can be
00:26:39.36\00:26:42.50
dealt with. That's true.
00:26:42.86\00:26:43.60
You can't hide from it.
00:26:44.83\00:26:46.23
Yeah, no, that's a
great point, Nicole.
00:26:47.07\00:26:48.94
Oftentimes it
can be generational.
00:26:49.47\00:26:50.94
So one of the staff there was
taken by some of the guerrilla
00:26:50.94\00:26:55.61
forces and forced to work as a
sex slave for the guerrilla
forces there before
00:26:55.61\00:27:00.98
she was rescued
out of that situation.
00:27:00.98\00:27:02.38
And now she wanted a
better life for her daughter.
00:27:02.52\00:27:04.52
And so she's gotten
her into the rescue home.
00:27:04.62\00:27:06.72
So when we were there,
we flew back to Bogota.
00:27:07.42\00:27:10.13
We met with the police
chief, the colonel there, the
00:27:10.26\00:27:12.93
Seventh-day Adventist man,
who's really spearheaded this
00:27:12.93\00:27:15.73
campaign. And he wanted to
introduce us to the governor of
00:27:16.36\00:27:19.67
the state. And so we had this
divine appointment, I believe,
00:27:19.67\00:27:23.61
as soon as we landed.
00:27:23.61\00:27:25.84
We didn't know who he was.
00:27:25.94\00:27:27.01
But his name is also Jason.
00:27:27.31\00:27:28.61
My name is Jason.
00:27:29.08\00:27:29.88
His name is Jason.
00:27:29.94\00:27:30.75
And so there's
this saying in Spanish.
00:27:30.85\00:27:32.35
He said, we're tocayos,
which is like we're twins.
00:27:33.25\00:27:35.58
We have the same name.
00:27:35.65\00:27:36.48
So we hit it off immediately.
00:27:36.65\00:27:38.15
And he said, guys, I want
to tell you, I'm embarrassed.
00:27:38.75\00:27:41.32
I've lived my entire
life in the state of Guaviar.
00:27:41.49\00:27:43.53
And I had no idea
this was an issue.
00:27:43.79\00:27:45.76
But since it's come to my
attention, we are going to do
00:27:46.39\00:27:48.86
everything we can to
support you in this work.
00:27:48.86\00:27:51.13
So while I was there, his
wife came and volunteered.
00:27:51.73\00:27:54.34
She was bringing
supplies for the girls.
00:27:54.60\00:27:56.37
She was volunteering on site,
doing everything she can to
00:27:56.54\00:27:59.01
help. And he's doing everything
he can to help administratively.
00:27:59.11\00:28:02.31
So I don't know if you remember,
I mentioned that we were having
00:28:02.91\00:28:05.61
a difficult time
finding land in another state.
00:28:05.61\00:28:08.38
I do.
00:28:08.75\00:28:12.65
but we can't find land.
00:28:12.72\00:28:13.82
The governor
said, that's no problem.
00:28:14.32\00:28:15.86
He said, I know that the
governor of that state is called
00:28:16.02\00:28:18.69
Me Too Valpes.
00:28:18.69\00:28:19.26
He said, hang on just a second.
00:28:19.39\00:28:20.36
He pulled his cell phone
out, and he called him up.
00:28:20.73\00:28:22.56
He said, hey, I'm here with
my friends from Child Impact.
00:28:23.03\00:28:25.20
I mean, we just met
a couple minutes ago.
00:28:25.40\00:28:26.94
He said, they're doing
incredible work to rescue girls.
00:28:27.60\00:28:29.37
They're looking
for land in your state.
00:28:29.60\00:28:30.77
I need you to help them out.
00:28:30.81\00:28:31.91
Will that be possible?
00:28:32.11\00:28:32.87
And he had him on speaker phone.
00:28:33.17\00:28:34.24
And the guy says, of course.
00:28:34.31\00:28:36.14
I will do whatever I can.
00:28:36.51\00:28:37.78
We'll help them get land.
00:28:37.81\00:28:38.68
No problem.
00:28:38.78\00:28:39.28
Just have them come.
00:28:39.28\00:28:39.31
I'll meet them
myself personally.
00:28:40.15\00:28:41.42
I'll take them around, and
we'll make sure that happens.
00:28:41.45\00:28:43.42
The police chief said, I
know the police chief in Me Too.
00:28:44.19\00:28:47.29
I'll call him up and make sure
that you have all the safety and
00:28:47.29\00:28:50.03
protection and that
they know what's happening.
00:28:50.03\00:28:51.39
He called him up
right there on the spot.
00:28:51.49\00:28:52.83
He answered the phone.
00:28:52.86\00:28:53.60
Hello, Colonel.
00:28:54.00\00:28:54.66
He said, hey, I'm
here with my friends.
00:28:55.33\00:28:56.70
They want to do
a rescue project.
00:28:57.20\00:28:58.40
They're doing a
great work in my state.
00:28:58.53\00:28:59.73
I need you to help them.
00:28:59.87\00:29:00.67
Of course.
00:29:00.67\00:29:01.07
Yes, Colonel.
00:29:01.07\00:29:01.10
Anything that you need.
00:29:01.84\00:29:02.64
We're here to help them.
00:29:02.74\00:29:03.81
And so we can just see all these
doors that God is opening for us
00:29:04.27\00:29:07.51
with the connections that
we've been able to make there in
00:29:07.51\00:29:10.05
Columbia.
00:29:10.05\00:29:14.95
may be possible.
00:29:14.95\00:29:16.28
But to think that a whole
country in terms of child safety
00:29:16.28\00:29:21.69
protocols and taking a stand
to protect children, we had no
00:29:21.69\00:29:26.43
idea. This has just happened.
00:29:26.66\00:29:27.76
Really, this was
last year's project.
00:29:28.33\00:29:30.13
I remember it.
00:29:30.23\00:29:31.13
That's why I'm
just sitting here.
00:29:31.17\00:29:32.07
There was nothing to
this now at this point.
00:29:32.07\00:29:34.84
And God has just
done so many miracles.
00:29:35.70\00:29:37.61
There's one more story related
to this that has a supernatural
00:29:37.67\00:29:41.74
kind of the, you know, the
supernatural was unveiled to our
00:29:41.74\00:29:47.55
team there in a
very powerful way.
00:29:47.55\00:29:48.52
And so, again, I think
that story came to Jason.
00:29:48.82\00:29:50.95
I think we have a picture
here that we just want to show.
00:29:51.35\00:29:53.66
So Delice was a Bible worker
and she was working with the
00:29:55.12\00:29:59.23
government and she was Bible
working, church planting among
00:29:59.23\00:30:02.26
these unreached people groups.
00:30:02.26\00:30:02.90
So she knows them very well.
00:30:02.93\00:30:04.03
And here she is having Bible
studies with these girls who
00:30:04.27\00:30:07.97
have had no introduction
to Jesus in their life.
00:30:07.97\00:30:10.07
And one of the girls was the
daughter of one of the leaders
00:30:10.07\00:30:14.91
of the indigenous communities.
00:30:14.91\00:30:15.78
And she was showing
real leadership abilities,
00:30:16.14\00:30:19.41
capabilities. She's
very smart, very intelligent.
00:30:19.85\00:30:21.42
And she started showing very
high interest in the Bible and
00:30:21.72\00:30:24.92
spiritual things.
00:30:24.92\00:30:25.39
And one night she
was attacked by demons.
00:30:26.52\00:30:28.36
She became demon possessed.
00:30:28.52\00:30:29.76
And a lot of the girls saw what
was happening and became very
00:30:30.36\00:30:34.30
afraid. Was she like
writhing on the floor?
00:30:34.46\00:30:36.36
Exactly.
00:30:36.97\00:30:39.60
That's my question.
00:30:39.60\00:30:40.60
Yeah, exactly.
00:30:40.90\00:30:41.44
And they said her
whole attitude changed.
00:30:42.27\00:30:44.64
You know, everything changed.
00:30:44.81\00:30:45.81
Her voice changed.
00:30:45.97\00:30:46.78
If I remember, they
were telling me correctly.
00:30:46.94\00:30:48.51
They're sending us videos in
Spanish explaining everything.
00:30:48.91\00:30:51.35
So I'm getting it
translated for me.
00:30:51.78\00:30:53.55
I remember you were
overwhelmed by this story.
00:30:53.62\00:30:55.38
Yeah, they said
all the girls saw it.
00:30:55.38\00:30:57.35
They said it was very clear.
00:30:57.35\00:30:58.72
And so I said,
well, what did you do?
00:30:58.89\00:31:01.06
And they said, well, like David,
you know, when Saul became
00:31:01.19\00:31:04.59
possessed, we started
singing Christian songs.
00:31:04.59\00:31:07.23
We started
praying all around her.
00:31:07.23\00:31:10.70
And so a lot of the girls became
afraid when this happened, when
00:31:10.97\00:31:14.04
they saw what happened.
00:31:14.04\00:31:15.14
Of course.
00:31:15.14\00:31:21.21
over the center,
the rescue center.
00:31:21.21\00:31:23.41
They looked up and they
showed the girls two paths.
00:31:23.45\00:31:27.82
So I have a video with all seven
of them talking excitedly at the
00:31:27.98\00:31:30.82
same time explaining
what they were seeing.
00:31:30.82\00:31:32.29
And they said, the
angel showed us two paths.
00:31:32.99\00:31:34.96
One path was filled with light.
00:31:34.96\00:31:36.96
The angel's face was brilliant.
00:31:37.59\00:31:39.09
And it was a path
filled with light.
00:31:39.56\00:31:41.70
It was glorious, shining.
00:31:41.80\00:31:43.40
The other path was dark.
00:31:43.83\00:31:45.60
It was gloomy.
00:31:45.80\00:31:46.70
They took that to mean that
there were two paths that their
00:31:47.10\00:31:49.94
life could take.
00:31:49.94\00:31:50.61
They had a choice.
00:31:51.51\00:31:52.07
And they had a choice.
00:31:52.24\00:31:53.07
And these were little girls.
00:31:53.51\00:31:57.31
And so like Tom said, it
was like the curtain was kind of
00:31:57.88\00:32:02.45
removed. And these girls could
see that there's a spiritual
00:32:02.58\00:32:05.39
warfare going on
for these kids' lives.
00:32:05.39\00:32:07.39
And so, as we said, at Child
Impact, we want to make sure
00:32:08.56\00:32:11.69
that we're getting these kids to
a safe place, but they're also
00:32:11.69\00:32:14.73
getting an opportunity to learn
about Jesus, which will impact
00:32:14.73\00:32:18.00
their lives for eternity.
00:32:18.00\00:32:23.27
continually behold the
face of the Father in heaven.
00:32:23.27\00:32:26.68
You know, it's like there's a
direct connection between earth
00:32:27.34\00:32:31.71
and heaven, a super highway of
supernatural beings traveling at
00:32:31.71\00:32:35.35
supernatural speed on
super special missions for God.
00:32:35.35\00:32:38.55
And these little girls were
able to see a glimpse of that.
00:32:38.85\00:32:42.06
It's just
absolutely so beautiful.
00:32:42.16\00:32:43.43
You know, it's so precious
because we're involved in the
00:32:43.53\00:32:45.89
great controversy.
00:32:45.89\00:32:49.23
And yet, to recognize that the
Lord allowed those seven girls
00:32:49.56\00:32:53.90
to be able to see this
experience and to be able to see
00:32:53.90\00:32:58.17
the angels, to be able to see
the path that they could take,
make that choice, you
00:32:58.17\00:33:02.31
know, follow Jesus.
00:33:02.31\00:33:03.21
That's incredible.
00:33:03.24\00:33:04.25
What a blessing.
00:33:04.65\00:33:05.58
I know we have to go to
the new project for this year.
00:33:05.75\00:33:08.88
Before we do, just one question.
00:33:09.55\00:33:11.19
I wrote it down.
00:33:11.39\00:33:15.29
different areas.
00:33:15.29\00:33:20.03
with a partner.
00:33:20.03\00:33:20.70
So how do you
find your partners?
00:33:20.80\00:33:22.13
That's a great question.
00:33:22.53\00:33:23.33
A lot of prayer.
00:33:23.50\00:33:24.40
We believe that God divinely
leads us to people as he led us
00:33:25.07\00:33:28.44
to Nicole through a mutual
friend and someone who was
working with us there at
00:33:29.07\00:33:32.31
Child Impact.
00:33:32.31\00:33:38.71
started to grow around the world
where we're becoming known as an
00:33:38.71\00:33:42.48
organization leading the
fight against human trafficking.
00:33:42.48\00:33:45.12
And so for organizations and
ministries and individuals who
00:33:45.75\00:33:48.89
want to work with vulnerable and
exploited kids, because of the
00:33:48.89\00:33:52.93
number of projects we have now,
that network continues to grow.
00:33:52.93\00:33:56.26
And through that, a
network of referrals as well.
00:33:56.40\00:33:58.73
And so it's really
been a divine appointment.
00:33:58.73\00:34:01.60
Amen.
00:34:01.87\00:34:04.31
I know we had a viewer who
texted in a question and just
00:34:04.47\00:34:08.64
said they want to volunteer.
00:34:08.64\00:34:09.64
So can people
volunteer with Child Impact?
00:34:09.84\00:34:11.91
People can absolutely
volunteer with Child Impact.
00:34:12.55\00:34:14.95
I know that personally in Brazil
we have a few open positions at
00:34:15.12\00:34:18.45
the moment.
00:34:18.45\00:34:23.02
for volunteers to contact us,
and we can discuss that further.
00:34:23.02\00:34:26.46
Perfect.
00:34:26.93\00:34:28.13
Child Impact dot O-R-G.
00:34:28.13\00:34:31.03
And is there an area there they
could like send a message or an
00:34:31.30\00:34:34.34
email?
00:34:34.34\00:34:34.47
The email, help.
00:34:34.77\00:34:35.37
Help at Child Impact.
00:34:35.50\00:34:36.47
Perfect.
00:34:36.54\00:34:37.01
So email is help at
Child Impact dot O-R-G.
00:34:37.44\00:34:41.41
Help, H-E-L-P, at
Child Impact dot O-R-G.
00:34:41.54\00:34:45.35
Or you can call Child
Impact, 423 -910-0667.
00:34:45.41\00:34:52.05
That's 423-910-0667.
00:34:52.19\00:34:56.26
You can call that number if you
want to become involved, if you
00:34:56.49\00:34:59.46
want to volunteer or you want
to sponsor or help financially
00:34:59.46\00:35:03.47
support what the Lord is doing.
00:35:03.47\00:35:04.47
Dr. Tom, what is this
year's project for July 30th?
00:35:04.90\00:35:09.67
It is in Palawan.
00:35:09.87\00:35:11.01
Oh.
00:35:11.41\00:35:15.54
beautiful island in the world.
00:35:15.54\00:35:17.15
And so when I contacted our
partner, our videographer is
00:35:17.45\00:35:21.65
from the Philippines.
00:35:21.65\00:35:22.35
And when we talked about
Palawan, I was so excited to go
00:35:23.18\00:35:26.79
visit because I'd heard the
reputation of how beautiful it
00:35:26.79\00:35:28.89
is. And he said, Tom, that's
the other side of the island.
00:35:29.32\00:35:31.09
Now, the side of the island
our project is on is also very
00:35:31.79\00:35:35.43
beautiful, but I actually
didn't even have time, I didn't
00:35:35.43\00:35:38.00
schedule enough time to
even go see the beautiful part.
00:35:38.00\00:35:39.70
Okay.
00:35:39.70\00:35:39.73
But there in these remote
indigenous villages, some of the
00:35:41.04\00:35:46.91
restrictions like not having
child marriage, the Philippines
00:35:46.91\00:35:51.35
actually cares about that.
00:35:51.35\00:35:55.45
is such a big
problem in the Philippines.
00:35:55.45\00:35:57.45
In those highland areas,
none of that is enforced.
00:35:58.22\00:36:01.72
And so we have a trailer,
a short video of our project
00:36:02.56\00:36:08.76
there. And we actually are going
to be having a Vespers on July
00:36:09.03\00:36:14.87
27 on that Saturday evening
at five o'clock Eastern time.
00:36:14.87\00:36:16.97
And you can find out information
about that on Child Impact's
00:36:17.34\00:36:20.01
website.
00:36:20.01\00:36:21.64
It will be in the Collegedale
Community Church in Chattanooga,
00:36:21.68\00:36:23.91
but it will be broadcast
all over the world, really.
00:36:23.91\00:36:27.18
Okay.
00:36:27.18\00:36:32.62
share about the project.
00:36:32.62\00:36:33.82
But this is the, if you like the
trailer, then maybe you'll want
00:36:33.96\00:36:37.39
to see the rest of it.
00:36:37.39\00:36:38.06
Perfect.
00:36:38.09\00:36:38.69
So let's go and see that.
00:36:38.69\00:36:40.60
Palawan has been ranked the
number one island in the world.
00:36:44.10\00:36:47.64
Yet here on this magnificent
island, there's some inequities
00:36:47.94\00:36:51.71
that are taking place.
00:36:51.71\00:36:56.81
marriage and child brides.
00:36:56.81\00:36:58.38
There is a culture here in the
mountains where their parents
00:36:58.91\00:37:02.62
are the ones making
the decision for them.
00:37:02.62\00:37:04.52
We should already be
married at around 12 years old.
00:37:04.89\00:37:07.72
It's almost a forced marriage.
00:37:08.39\00:37:09.92
It's like they see and
think that this is all I am.
00:37:10.73\00:37:13.93
I lost hope of being
able to continue my studies.
00:37:14.30\00:37:17.33
There's like a sparkle
gone out of their eyes.
00:37:17.87\00:37:20.17
That happens all the time.
00:37:20.17\00:37:22.20
It's heartbreaking.
00:37:23.17\00:37:23.84
But to see these kids getting
their certificate that they're
00:37:24.81\00:37:29.41
proceeding to the next level and
for them to gain their dignity,
00:37:29.41\00:37:33.85
that is such a wonderful gift.
00:37:33.85\00:37:34.58
Wow, so what age are
the children married?
00:37:40.76\00:37:43.69
We have an experience with one
that we've heard about that's
00:37:44.56\00:37:47.93
nine years old.
00:37:47.93\00:37:48.30
So, but normally
probably about 12 or 13.
00:37:49.50\00:37:51.30
And they're forced?
00:37:51.40\00:37:52.23
Yeah, they don't
want to be married.
00:37:52.23\00:37:54.47
So I met, when I went to
these remote villages, this is
00:37:55.10\00:37:59.91
something you have to exercise
and work up to because it's
climbing up a mountain
00:37:59.91\00:38:03.95
for hours.
00:38:03.95\00:38:04.91
But those that live
there, they just go up and down.
00:38:05.85\00:38:08.05
I mean, no problem.
00:38:08.08\00:38:12.59
life.
00:38:12.59\00:38:13.29
Tragically, that was the same
helicopter that two or three
00:38:14.26\00:38:17.19
weeks later
crashed, that's been missing.
00:38:17.19\00:38:18.89
It was the same one?
00:38:19.09\00:38:19.86
Yeah, same one.
00:38:19.86\00:38:19.89
ridges.
00:38:25.27\00:38:25.87
And I remember it was, you know,
when you land, they're all there
00:38:26.60\00:38:31.24
to welcome you with these signs
and big smiles and looking so
00:38:31.24\00:38:35.68
nice. But the helicopter
just blows all that away.
00:38:36.11\00:38:38.98
And so they're
all running for cover.
00:38:39.21\00:38:40.82
They're there to welcome
you, but running for cover.
00:38:41.28\00:38:43.12
So when I got back to the
States, someone messaged me on
00:38:43.65\00:38:48.02
Facebook with a
video of the arrival.
00:38:48.02\00:38:49.72
And I got to see what it
was like from the other end.
00:38:49.72\00:38:51.99
And this girl is
asking me, do you remember me?
00:38:52.53\00:38:54.73
Well, I met
probably hundreds of kids.
00:38:55.16\00:38:57.00
And I said, I remember
meeting lots of people there.
00:38:57.40\00:39:00.27
And she said, are you coming
back to sponsor us so we can go
00:39:00.70\00:39:04.87
to school?
00:39:04.87\00:39:08.21
And so I took her
picture, screenshot of it.
00:39:08.91\00:39:12.61
I sent it to Jasper,
our partner over there.
00:39:12.75\00:39:14.88
And I said, once we get set up
with our sponsorship, I want to
00:39:15.08\00:39:19.05
sponsor, our family
wants to sponsor this girl.
00:39:19.25\00:39:20.96
He responded back to me
and said, Tom, I had to take a
00:39:22.26\00:39:25.49
second look at that picture
because that girl was married at
00:39:25.49\00:39:28.50
12 years old. So that began a
dialogue with this girl who's
now 15, who has a dream
00:39:29.50\00:39:35.14
to be a nurse, but her husband
and her parents will not allow
00:39:35.14\00:39:39.97
her to be.
00:39:39.97\00:39:40.34
We looked at that and said,
is there anything we can do?
00:39:41.38\00:39:44.45
And it's hard to know sometimes.
00:39:44.45\00:39:47.38
The situations are so complex
that almost it doesn't seem
00:39:47.78\00:39:51.55
sometimes like
there's solutions.
00:39:51.55\00:39:52.52
I met another girl.
00:39:53.42\00:39:54.46
I think we have a picture of her
holding a baby, if we can put
00:39:54.76\00:39:58.66
that up.
00:39:58.66\00:39:59.09
Oh, wow.
00:39:59.96\00:40:00.66
So this girl...
00:40:00.66\00:40:01.83
She looks so young.
00:40:01.83\00:40:02.56
Yeah, she's 15.
00:40:02.63\00:40:03.60
Nobody knew she was pregnant
until about a week before she
00:40:05.00\00:40:08.07
was due. And so by the time
they found out, she very shortly
00:40:09.24\00:40:14.08
after that had
significant complications.
00:40:14.08\00:40:15.54
They had to take her off
of the mountain to a hospital.
00:40:16.38\00:40:18.88
She barely survived childbirth.
00:40:18.95\00:40:20.55
And so this is the typical
journey, but she's still trying
00:40:21.35\00:40:25.79
to attend school, and while she
takes exams, the teachers will
00:40:25.79\00:40:29.86
hold the baby. So they're doing
everything they can to try to
keep her in school so
00:40:30.33\00:40:33.56
she can have a different future.
00:40:33.56\00:40:35.80
And she's one of the girls
that was shown at the graduation
00:40:35.83\00:40:38.43
there with tears in her eyes
in the very last scenes of that
00:40:38.43\00:40:41.07
trailer. So
that's exciting to see.
00:40:41.64\00:40:43.37
Probably one of the most
memorable experiences of one of
00:40:43.61\00:40:49.54
the tragedies of being a child
bride is the risk to the mom in
00:40:49.54\00:40:55.22
childbirth. Oh, absolutely.
00:40:55.22\00:40:56.32
Because their bodies are
not yet prepared to have babies.
00:40:56.35\00:40:58.45
And so we discovered a baby that
had been abandoned by the corpse
00:40:59.45\00:41:07.03
of their mother
who had passed away.
00:41:07.03\00:41:08.33
The father felt, because the
mother died during childbirth as
00:41:08.33\00:41:12.60
child bride, that
this baby was bad luck.
00:41:12.60\00:41:15.67
And so he just left the baby
in a hut with the corpse of the
00:41:15.90\00:41:19.07
mom. I mean, laying
there for over a day.
00:41:19.14\00:41:21.34
One of the teachers heard about
what had happened and made the
00:41:22.18\00:41:25.48
journey down from the
village where she is at.
00:41:25.48\00:41:28.45
And she herself had been an
orphan who had been raised by
00:41:29.08\00:41:31.99
missionaries.
00:41:31.99\00:41:32.79
And she wanted
to adopt this baby.
00:41:33.02\00:41:35.02
And so we were able
to help her finance that.
00:41:35.02\00:41:38.69
She didn't have the resources
to adopt the baby, but we helped
00:41:38.86\00:41:42.10
with that.
00:41:42.10\00:41:42.40
His name is Baby James.
00:41:42.90\00:41:44.23
I've been able to carry him
around, and I brought him some
00:41:44.37\00:41:48.00
toys from America.
00:41:48.00\00:41:48.54
But just an adorable kid, and
you think, wow, he has a chance.
00:41:49.40\00:41:52.81
But all of that situation was
because of this issue of child
00:41:53.07\00:41:57.35
brides.
00:41:57.35\00:41:58.15
But I think the most dramatic
story is one that, Jason, that
00:41:58.78\00:42:02.62
we got this week.
00:42:02.62\00:42:07.49
PAMAS, the Philippine Adventist
Medical Aviation Services.
00:42:07.49\00:42:10.76
They're doing a
fantastic work there.
00:42:11.33\00:42:12.63
They are.
00:42:12.63\00:42:17.77
Palawan.
00:42:17.77\00:42:18.53
And they sent us a message that
they've been on summer break.
00:42:19.00\00:42:21.47
And when many of us think about
summer break, we think about
00:42:21.87\00:42:24.64
going on vacation, going to
the beach, swimming in the pool.
00:42:24.64\00:42:27.54
Lots of fun activities.
00:42:27.68\00:42:28.94
Well, when they came back to
school and were having teacher
00:42:29.84\00:42:33.15
training, they discovered nine
of the children had not come
00:42:33.68\00:42:37.52
back because their parents were
trying to marry them off during
00:42:37.52\00:42:40.79
the summer break. Yeah, these
are all child brides, and they
00:42:40.96\00:42:44.09
all have babies. One thing that
really struck me as I was
hearing the story in the
00:42:45.56\00:42:48.03
office this week is that due
to Asian culture, there's a very
00:42:48.03\00:42:52.73
high regard for your elders.
00:42:52.73\00:42:53.77
Of course.
00:42:53.87\00:42:58.17
for help.
00:42:58.17\00:43:01.38
option for them, because
they must respect their elders.
00:43:01.38\00:43:03.48
That's true.
00:43:04.58\00:43:05.25
It's so
ingrained in the culture.
00:43:05.31\00:43:06.31
So one of the girls, it was her
senior year, she was about to
00:43:07.08\00:43:11.35
graduate from the literacy
school that they heard about
00:43:11.35\00:43:15.26
that was trying to be
married off by her dad.
00:43:15.26\00:43:17.79
And so this girl, sadly,
her mom was married at age nine.
00:43:18.39\00:43:23.77
She had her when she was 11.
00:43:24.20\00:43:26.17
The mom later developed a heart
disease and just passed away at
00:43:26.17\00:43:29.80
age 27.
00:43:29.80\00:43:30.41
But the mom's dying wish that
she told the leaders at Palmis
00:43:31.24\00:43:35.31
was to keep her daughter in
school so that she wouldn't be
00:43:35.31\00:43:38.25
married off as a child.
00:43:38.25\00:43:38.71
And now she's one of these nine
that didn't come back to school.
00:43:39.51\00:43:42.08
And so the teachers all prayed
together, and then they went out
00:43:42.72\00:43:45.92
to try to get this girl back.
00:43:45.92\00:43:47.22
And so they met with the
grandfather, or her father, I
00:43:47.62\00:43:51.16
can't remember which one, and
they said, you know, will you
00:43:51.16\00:43:55.36
please allow her to come back?
00:43:55.36\00:43:56.16
And he said, do you
want to get married?
00:43:56.23\00:43:57.83
He asked the girl.
00:43:57.97\00:43:58.90
And she said, no,
I don't want to be.
00:43:59.33\00:44:01.57
And so then they could tell
he was starting to get nervous
00:44:02.17\00:44:04.81
about the payment because
there's a dowry system that's
paid for these girls.
00:44:04.81\00:44:08.88
They said, well, what is it?
00:44:09.01\00:44:10.15
He said, it's $20.
00:44:10.15\00:44:10.18
And of course they paid the $20.
00:44:12.91\00:44:14.62
Yeah, it's nothing to us.
00:44:14.78\00:44:15.78
But to them it's a big deal.
00:44:16.28\00:44:17.49
So they paid the $20 and
they got her back in school.
00:44:17.95\00:44:20.62
But as Nicole said, they're
still out trying to get the
00:44:20.92\00:44:25.19
other girls back
into school right now.
00:44:25.19\00:44:26.86
So what's the vision for the
project for this July 30th date?
00:44:27.36\00:44:30.40
What do you want to
accomplish in the next year?
00:44:30.47\00:44:32.47
Sure.
00:44:32.73\00:44:34.50
We have six
additional ones, so 11 total.
00:44:34.67\00:44:36.81
Okay.
00:44:37.01\00:44:41.28
their schools as well.
00:44:41.28\00:44:42.28
So we're sponsoring 11 jungle
schools that go through to grade
00:44:42.51\00:44:46.75
10.
00:44:46.75\00:44:47.32
But we want to keep these
girls all the way to finish high
00:44:48.42\00:44:51.39
school. And so the vision is to
have a safe house where they can
00:44:51.42\00:44:55.96
continue with
grade 11 and grade 12.
00:44:55.96\00:44:57.53
Where they can live?
00:44:57.53\00:44:58.19
In the lowlands.
00:44:58.53\00:44:59.29
Okay.
00:44:59.56\00:45:03.60
So if we can get them into
that setting, and there are some
00:45:03.77\00:45:06.70
already who are living in the
homes of teachers, faculty there
00:45:06.70\00:45:11.51
that are connected with
Palmis at their headquarters.
00:45:11.51\00:45:14.38
But it's not enough.
00:45:15.14\00:45:16.31
And so we want to build
this safe house for girls.
00:45:16.58\00:45:20.12
Amen.
00:45:20.62\00:45:20.92
Absolutely.
00:45:21.48\00:45:21.68
So talk to us about July 27.
00:45:22.15\00:45:24.62
So July 27, 5 p.m.
00:45:25.55\00:45:27.46
Eastern.
00:45:27.72\00:45:28.36
That's it.
00:45:28.79\00:45:29.49
It will be
broadcast on our website.
00:45:29.66\00:45:31.36
All you have to do is
go to the website at 5 p.m.
00:45:32.16\00:45:34.36
Childimpact.org.
00:45:34.63\00:45:35.86
Go to that website 5 p.m.
00:45:36.70\00:45:39.33
July 27.
00:45:39.33\00:45:39.37
Childimpact.org.
00:45:41.14\00:45:41.90
And you can watch
the live presentation.
00:45:42.60\00:45:44.14
Can churches partner and tell
us how churches across North
00:45:44.71\00:45:49.51
America and around the
world can get involved?
00:45:49.51\00:45:51.05
Yes, so we will be
raising funds for the project.
00:45:51.75\00:45:55.18
I think we have the
breakdown of what that costs.
00:45:55.28\00:45:57.12
We've actually
secured 14 acres of land.
00:45:57.32\00:46:00.36
Okay.
00:46:00.36\00:46:03.02
It's absolutely beautiful.
00:46:03.22\00:46:04.49
Oh, that is beautiful.
00:46:05.93\00:46:10.63
food, right?
00:46:10.63\00:46:11.50
Right.
00:46:11.50\00:46:16.17
And so there's an easement that
was purchased so that travel can
00:46:17.04\00:46:21.18
be back and forth
between that location.
00:46:21.18\00:46:22.98
There's coconut trees.
00:46:24.21\00:46:25.25
There's mango trees.
00:46:25.75\00:46:27.02
And so this will
be a beautiful place.
00:46:27.32\00:46:29.02
We ultimately want to build out
a whole campus there for grades
00:46:29.32\00:46:32.82
11 and 12.
00:46:32.82\00:46:33.46
But we'll start
with a safe house.
00:46:33.92\00:46:36.02
But if there's an overflow
of offering that comes in and
00:46:36.16\00:46:39.63
donations, we can do even more.
00:46:39.63\00:46:41.06
So we do have a bigger vision.
00:46:41.16\00:46:43.03
You know, it'll be nice to
have a cafeteria and a boy's
00:46:43.16\00:46:46.67
dormitory. And because these
young girls will need to grow up
and meet nice young
00:46:47.04\00:46:50.51
men and get
married at the right age.
00:46:50.51\00:46:52.31
Right.
00:46:52.37\00:46:55.64
we need to be considering.
00:46:55.64\00:46:56.58
Education, marriage, and baby.
00:46:56.95\00:46:59.38
What order should they come in?
00:47:00.12\00:47:01.38
Yeah, absolutely.
00:47:01.48\00:47:02.68
And many of these cultures, you
know, you get it reversed and
00:47:02.82\00:47:05.72
life gets messed up, right?
00:47:05.72\00:47:06.82
So we want them to
finish their education.
00:47:07.16\00:47:08.86
Yes.
00:47:08.96\00:47:09.72
Then get married,
then have the baby.
00:47:09.79\00:47:11.19
And so everything we can do
to help that process, it's just
00:47:11.56\00:47:14.86
going to make their lives
so much more beautiful and less
00:47:14.86\00:47:17.70
filled with trauma.
00:47:17.70\00:47:18.03
So that's the goal.
00:47:18.53\00:47:19.83
I think there's another slide
that shows the budget for what
00:47:20.24\00:47:23.14
we're needing.
00:47:23.14\00:47:23.94
So the land, $75,000, and then
the safe house for $200,000.
00:47:24.37\00:47:28.28
So this is phase
one again for $275 ,000.
00:47:28.94\00:47:32.71
We want to get that up
and running as soon as we can.
00:47:32.81\00:47:35.52
We don't want another break to
happen where girls are proposed
00:47:35.88\00:47:39.75
to and don't come back to school
because that is not what they
00:47:40.46\00:47:43.69
want. They're
very clear about that.
00:47:43.86\00:47:45.13
They want to
pursue their education.
00:47:45.56\00:47:46.96
They feel
trapped by their culture.
00:47:47.03\00:47:48.43
We know of a case where a girl
was traded for seven pounds of
00:47:48.93\00:47:51.60
candy. I mean, a
can of coffee or a goat.
00:47:52.33\00:47:54.90
You mean to get married
for seven pounds of candy.
00:47:54.90\00:47:57.24
Yeah.
00:47:57.31\00:48:02.18
share what that's like.
00:48:02.18\00:48:03.31
And by the way, we should
mention that we do like to come
00:48:03.85\00:48:07.35
to churches to be
able to share what we do.
00:48:07.35\00:48:08.88
And we have several individuals
on our team who are available to
00:48:09.22\00:48:11.82
go and preach in local churches.
00:48:11.82\00:48:12.82
We come at our own cost.
00:48:12.99\00:48:14.02
But part of what we want
to do is to get the word out.
00:48:14.69\00:48:16.89
We preach a biblical sermon
because it is a worship service.
00:48:17.03\00:48:19.69
But we also want to share these
stories and give opportunity.
00:48:19.93\00:48:23.60
I think all of us want to be
involved in something that makes
00:48:24.20\00:48:27.00
a difference.
00:48:27.00\00:48:27.47
Yes.
00:48:28.00\00:48:31.27
to bring freedom to a
child, to deliver hope.
00:48:31.27\00:48:34.38
And it's such a
privilege to be part of that.
00:48:34.38\00:48:37.08
Amen.
00:48:37.48\00:48:37.71
Absolutely.
00:48:38.48\00:48:39.18
You know, Jill, in working
with these kids, it's such a
00:48:39.85\00:48:43.62
complicated issue.
00:48:43.62\00:48:44.15
As Nicole mentioned, there's
cultural issues around even
00:48:45.19\00:48:48.16
identifying who's going to be
married off, getting the girls
00:48:48.16\00:48:51.69
out of that situation to even
talk about what they're going
00:48:51.69\00:48:54.60
through in their life.
00:48:54.60\00:48:58.70
is fantastic.
00:48:58.70\00:48:59.70
But for them to finish, they
need to go through grade 12.
00:48:59.90\00:49:01.87
Yes.
00:49:01.87\00:49:05.41
through grade 10 and they've
brought them down into the
00:49:05.41\00:49:08.74
lowlands to
finish grades 11 and 12.
00:49:08.74\00:49:10.85
And I know we've
heard some stories.
00:49:11.21\00:49:12.41
Tom, do you want to share, like,
what do they experience when
00:49:12.51\00:49:14.45
they go down into the lowlands?
00:49:14.45\00:49:15.35
I mean, lots of prejudice.
00:49:15.42\00:49:16.58
I mean, it's thought that the
people from the highlands, that
00:49:16.99\00:49:19.69
they have no intelligence, that
they treat them basically like
00:49:19.69\00:49:22.56
they're animals.
00:49:22.56\00:49:23.53
That they stink, that they, you
know, they're just, it's, the
00:49:23.79\00:49:27.23
prejudice is
absolutely horrible.
00:49:27.23\00:49:28.50
And here they're educated.
00:49:28.70\00:49:29.80
I mean, they've had 10 grades in
school if they're coming down,
00:49:29.93\00:49:31.87
right?
00:49:32.07\00:49:32.30
Yeah.
00:49:32.37\00:49:36.00
top students in the school.
00:49:36.00\00:49:37.14
Wow.
00:49:37.37\00:49:37.91
And so it's like, yes.
00:49:38.21\00:49:39.44
All they needed
was an opportunity.
00:49:40.34\00:49:41.64
That's right.
00:49:41.78\00:49:42.64
That's super exciting.
00:49:42.81\00:49:44.28
And so that's really where
we identified like what's the
00:49:44.45\00:49:47.82
greatest need right now
where we can impact these girls.
00:49:47.82\00:49:50.15
And so there was two things.
00:49:50.92\00:49:52.55
One, another project that we're
really excited about is we're
00:49:52.69\00:49:55.52
opening a child impact
industrial school there for the
00:49:55.52\00:49:59.09
boys. So the question is,
what are you doing for the boys?
00:49:59.43\00:50:00.86
If we can keep the boys in
school, teach them a vocational
00:50:01.16\00:50:05.87
skill, so they'll learn welding,
they'll learn construction,
00:50:05.87\00:50:08.97
they're going to put a little
bakery in there, just different
manual trades to try
00:50:08.97\00:50:12.87
to keep the boys.
00:50:12.87\00:50:13.38
Small engine repair.
00:50:13.38\00:50:13.88
Small engine repair.
00:50:14.08\00:50:14.78
Support a family.
00:50:14.78\00:50:15.61
In school.
00:50:15.84\00:50:16.38
How to support a family.
00:50:16.54\00:50:17.55
And so hopefully they won't be
looking for a young girl to take
00:50:17.95\00:50:20.65
as a wife so soon.
00:50:20.65\00:50:21.68
But for the girls, we had to
get them out of that situation
00:50:21.98\00:50:26.45
because they have no voice.
00:50:26.45\00:50:27.52
They have no voice.
00:50:27.59\00:50:28.59
They have no freedom.
00:50:28.86\00:50:29.76
And once they're married off,
it's very difficult to get them
00:50:30.33\00:50:33.26
back. There's dowry's exchange,
there's cultural things.
00:50:33.43\00:50:35.83
And so we really identified this
dorm as the greatest need to get
00:50:36.23\00:50:39.73
these girls to a safe place
where they could finish their
00:50:39.73\00:50:42.54
education. Yeah.
00:50:43.00\00:50:43.44
Absolutely.
00:50:43.77\00:50:48.14
for this before July 27.
00:50:48.14\00:50:50.21
Because then we can go phase 2.
00:50:50.58\00:50:52.38
That would be amazing.
00:50:52.75\00:50:53.62
Absolutely.
00:50:54.12\00:50:56.28
That graphic with the QR code.
00:50:56.52\00:50:57.95
Because I love QR codes.
00:50:58.09\00:50:59.49
All you do is you pick up your
cell phone and you just take
00:50:59.55\00:51:03.29
that picture and immediately it
will take you to the place where
00:51:03.29\00:51:06.70
you can donate.
00:51:06.70\00:51:07.10
So I love that.
00:51:07.60\00:51:08.23
That's the beauty of technology.
00:51:08.23\00:51:09.86
I love to say Jill that the
mission is a full body work.
00:51:09.90\00:51:13.94
The mission is made by the knees
of those who pray for the feet
00:51:14.27\00:51:18.01
of those who go from
the hands of those who give.
00:51:18.01\00:51:20.74
So it's a very practical way
to be involved in the mission.
00:51:21.11\00:51:24.38
I like that.
00:51:24.38\00:51:25.05
By using your hands and giving.
00:51:25.08\00:51:26.11
I love that.
00:51:26.68\00:51:27.28
That's beautiful.
00:51:27.28\00:51:27.88
We're coming down to
the end of the program.
00:51:28.22\00:51:29.58
I can't believe just five
minutes left in this program.
00:51:29.72\00:51:31.82
How has working with
Child Impact impacted your life?
00:51:32.92\00:51:37.23
How has it changed your life?
00:51:37.63\00:51:39.16
Oh man.
00:51:40.33\00:51:40.86
In so many ways.
00:51:40.90\00:51:41.90
Being a father of young
girls myself and just seeing the
00:51:42.53\00:51:46.67
opportunities that we
give our girls every day.
00:51:46.67\00:51:49.04
We have some secret projects
in countries that we don't talk
00:51:50.34\00:51:54.38
about openly to protect
our workers in those countries.
00:51:54.38\00:51:57.08
one of them sent me a picture of
a girl that we rescued at one of
00:51:59.08\00:52:02.72
these projects.
00:52:02.72\00:52:03.65
And when I saw the picture
it looked just like my youngest
00:52:03.95\00:52:08.02
daughter who's five years old.
00:52:08.02\00:52:09.52
When you saw the two
pictures next to each other.
00:52:10.19\00:52:12.06
So when I speak I
show them side by side.
00:52:12.19\00:52:14.20
And I sent them actually
a picture of my daughter.
00:52:14.46\00:52:16.83
And they said oh my
word like who is this?
00:52:16.83\00:52:21.54
Like she looks
identical to this other girl.
00:52:21.57\00:52:24.04
And I feel like God spoke to
me and he said this isn't your
00:52:24.41\00:52:28.61
daughter you've never met
this girl but she's my daughter.
00:52:28.61\00:52:31.01
And that impacted me
tremendously that I feel like as
00:52:31.91\00:52:38.95
a dad I felt a little bit of
God's heart for his children.
00:52:38.95\00:52:40.89
When I saw this other girl who
I've never met but looks just
00:52:41.16\00:52:44.69
like my daughter who I
would give my life for.
00:52:44.69\00:52:46.80
And so it's just driven me
to try to help as many kids as I
00:52:47.83\00:52:52.60
possibly can and give them an
opportunity like my wife and I
00:52:52.60\00:52:55.57
are giving our kids.
00:52:55.57\00:52:58.81
incredible to me is
that that's the heart of God.
00:52:58.81\00:53:01.21
He wants his children to
be safe and yet he needs us.
00:53:01.64\00:53:07.55
The hands and feet of Jesus
to become involved whether it's
00:53:08.18\00:53:12.92
praying, whether it's
volunteering, whether it's
donating, whether it's
00:53:12.92\00:53:17.19
physically going and working to
rescue one after one after one.
00:53:17.43\00:53:23.20
We can be the
hands and feet of Jesus.
00:53:23.80\00:53:25.30
Dr. Tom, how's it impacted you?
00:53:25.93\00:53:27.47
I've had the privilege of
meeting the three children that
00:53:27.67\00:53:31.61
our family sponsors in person.
00:53:31.61\00:53:33.07
It is so impactful.
00:53:33.98\00:53:35.51
I remember when I arrived
in India this last time with my
00:53:35.71\00:53:40.75
wife and our partner said
your son is waiting to meet you.
00:53:40.75\00:53:42.92
I'm like my sons are back in
America and he met our sponsor
00:53:43.42\00:53:47.39
boy but that is how he sees us.
00:53:47.39\00:53:49.86
It's like this lifeline of
hope that he would not have had
00:53:50.43\00:53:53.09
otherwise.
00:53:53.09\00:53:53.50
His father had passed away, he
had a mom, his mom's a farmer,
00:53:54.50\00:53:57.73
she's doing her best but can't
there's no possibility for her
00:53:57.73\00:54:02.17
to provide for him to have an
opportunity to study, to have a
00:54:02.17\00:54:05.84
bright future. He's going into
IT, he's a brilliant kid and I
00:54:06.27\00:54:10.71
remember going to the room where
he stays and his two Bibles
there and asking him
00:54:10.71\00:54:15.35
what's your favorite book of the
Bible and he says the book of
00:54:15.35\00:54:18.39
Hebrews and I'm like yeah right.
00:54:18.39\00:54:19.79
So my wife said can you show
me the book of Hebrews and he
00:54:20.89\00:54:24.49
turned right there with
the biggest smile on his face.
00:54:24.49\00:54:25.99
Just this brilliant kid and
you're thinking about you know
00:54:26.59\00:54:30.43
there's two paths there.
00:54:30.43\00:54:31.27
There's this path because he has
a sponsor that gives him this
00:54:31.67\00:54:35.34
incredible future and so I think
probably I have felt more driven
00:54:35.34\00:54:41.18
in this role and more
fulfillment in this role that
00:54:41.18\00:54:45.71
I've ever felt in any other
position I've ever been in and
so I do lose a little bit
00:54:45.71\00:54:50.82
more sleep because you
always want to do more.
00:54:50.82\00:54:54.16
You see the need.
00:54:54.19\00:54:58.76
you can't do enough but
I'm probably taking too many
00:54:58.76\00:55:02.96
preaching appointments, probably
having too busy of a schedule
00:55:02.96\00:55:06.57
because I know lives are at
stake and my wife and I are in
lockstep with this.
00:55:06.57\00:55:09.47
We're both into this mission
together and so she's like don't
00:55:10.01\00:55:13.21
slow down.
00:55:13.21\00:55:13.78
There's more kids
that need to be saved.
00:55:14.14\00:55:15.74
I very much relate
to Tom's experience.
00:55:17.98\00:55:20.02
I've been in ministry for a
long time but I've never felt so
00:55:20.12\00:55:22.75
fulfilled.
00:55:22.75\00:55:23.22
Even though I haven't started
a family of my own I say that I
00:55:24.09\00:55:26.79
have 60 kids that I see every
day and I haven't seen them in
00:55:26.79\00:55:29.42
two weeks and I
miss them so much.
00:55:29.42\00:55:31.09
These kids are starting
to come to church with me.
00:55:31.63\00:55:33.80
Sometimes we're not even
supposed to be open on Fridays
00:55:34.00\00:55:36.30
but they show up and I'm like
sure just come on in and I'll
make you something to
00:55:36.30\00:55:38.20
eat but let's hang out a little
bit and it's transformative and
00:55:38.20\00:55:42.30
I see how it transforms my life.
00:55:42.30\00:55:43.37
I see my great need of God.
00:55:43.64\00:55:47.08
I'm like Lord I want to
impact these kids for you.
00:55:47.21\00:55:49.44
You need to
change my selfish heart.
00:55:49.78\00:55:51.38
You need to change those defects
of my heart so that I can serve
00:55:51.78\00:55:54.52
your children more and better.
00:55:54.52\00:55:55.75
So mission work we often think
about it as saving others but I
00:55:57.22\00:56:01.42
can see in a great way
how it saves me as well.
00:56:01.42\00:56:03.36
Amen that's beautiful.
00:56:03.83\00:56:04.93
I know for my husband Greg and I
we sponsor two kids in Ethiopia.
00:56:05.09\00:56:08.86
What a tremendous blessing we
just got new updated pictures a
00:56:09.43\00:56:13.74
little boy and girl and just to
see how they're growing and to
00:56:13.74\00:56:17.21
see what God is doing in their
lives and just to know you can
00:56:17.21\00:56:21.21
have a small opportunity
to make a big difference.
00:56:22.31\00:56:24.55
A world of difference.
00:56:24.55\00:56:25.21
In someone's life for eternity.
00:56:25.25\00:56:27.25
So what a tremendous privilege.
00:56:27.42\00:56:28.95
Jason, Dr. Tom and
Nicole thank you for being here.
00:56:30.49\00:56:33.99
Thank you for your leadership
and your vision and your
00:56:34.16\00:56:38.23
ministry with Child
Impact International.
00:56:38.23\00:56:40.16
We stand behind what God is
doing and through this ministry
00:56:40.53\00:56:44.63
so excited to hear the stories.
00:56:44.63\00:56:46.13
Thank you for sharing
with our viewers at home.
00:56:46.23\00:56:48.17
Thank you for being
part of the Thrabian family.
00:56:48.54\00:56:51.54
Thank you for standing with
the Ministry of Thrabian and the
00:56:51.57\00:56:54.68
Ministry of Child
Impact International.
00:56:54.68\00:56:56.78
We love you.
00:56:57.15\00:56:57.88
We will see you next time.
00:56:57.91\00:56:59.61