Do you want to learn
about an innovative program
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that grabs at your heartstrings?
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Well, stay tuned
to hear all about it.
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My name is Yvonne Lewis
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and you are
watching Urban Report.
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Hello and
welcome to Urban Report.
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My guests today are
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Lydia Muwanga and Peter Kibanyi,
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co-directors of 1HeartArt.
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Welcome to Urban
Report, Lydia and Peter.
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Thank you so much for having us.
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Oh, you are so
welcome. Thank you.
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To God be the
glory for being here.
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Amen. Amen.
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God is so good because He always
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just puts people
together and orchestrates things
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and it's such a blessing.
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I met you guys when
Jason, my assistant/son
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and I went up to Chicago
to meet with some folks there
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about getting
into the prison system
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and you were both there
and you made a presentation
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that so moved my heart
that I felt like the Lord
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would have us to bring
you here and tell our viewers
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just all about 1HeartArt.
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But before we
talk about 1HeartArt,
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let's let our viewers know a
little bit about both of you,
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Start with you, Lydia.
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Tell us a little bit
about your background.
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Yeah, so I am Ugandan-American,
so my family is from Uganda
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and I was born and
raised in Colorado.
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And I-- God has
given me a gift of art.
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From a very young
age, I started drawing.
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When I was 12, started
taking it more seriously
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but then I went on to
college, I studied engineering
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so that was on the other
side, but then I got a chance
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to study art in Florence,
Italy, which was awesome,
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'cause there was art everywhere
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and just got to take it all and,
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yeah, so I'm
passionate about art
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and I'm thankful
to be a part of this.
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That's awesome.
What about you, Peter?
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Thank you so much for that.
My name is Peter, as you said.
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I am born and raised in
Uganda. All my childhood years,
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I spent it in Uganda.
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We moved from Uganda
with my mom to Scotland,
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lived there for about two years
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and then we moved
to the United States,
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I've been in
the US for 13 years.
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I currently
hold a Masters degree
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in Molecular Genetics.
I'm a scientist by background,
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and I'm so
passionate about second chances,
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and also passionate
about the love that Christ
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has for all of us.
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Yes, yes, yes,
that's incredible.
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So you're both from Uganda,
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kind of, I mean,
you're Ugandan-American,
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but your
families are from Uganda.
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Did you guys know
each other in Uganda?
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Well, so I grew up
here and Peter's been
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my good friend
for about 11 years,
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so we got to meet
through family friends.
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That is great.
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So how-- tell us about
1HeartArt, what is that?
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1HeartArt,
that's an organization
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where our mission
is to come together
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as one community
and transform lives,
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especially, the
inmates and ex-offender artists
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and their families through art.
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So you want to transform
the lives of the inmates
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and ex-offenders through art?
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Why through art?
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Why do you think
that's important?
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Well, I think art is
so powerful, you know,
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when you create an artwork,
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it can be very therapeutic,
and it has the opportunity
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to actually allow people to
work through a lot of trauma
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'cause we know that hurt people,
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hurt other people.
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So I think a lot of people
in prison have gone through
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a lot of pain in their lives
and art is such a powerful tool
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to kind of process that
and help them heal from it.
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You know, we often look
at music as a powerful tool
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and we kind of neglect art.
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Growing up, I didn't
grow up around a lot of art
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so I never-- and in
my childhood, did not
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learn to appreciate it
until I became an adult
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and then I began
to love art myself
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and I would go to
people's homes and see art.
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And now in my home,
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I have pieces
from different friends
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because it means
something to have something
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from someone that
you know in your home,
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you know, an art piece.
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So you are an
artist, but are you, Peter,
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are you an artist, too?
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I am passionate about
art, I'm not an artist
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but it's meticulous how
God called me to the ministry
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and as Lydia was saying,
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we've been friends for 11 years.
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And God persuaded me.
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I had made ungodly
choices in my life.
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This was at a time when I was,
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I just finished
my Masters degree
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and just got
married with my wife
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and at that time,
I was in New York.
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God, through His love,
persuaded me through His word,
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leading me to the word
where convicting me of things
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I had done in the past.
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At some time, He was
leading me to Christ,
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knowing that Christ
did it all, paid it all,
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but I was so much
dwelling on the past
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and it actually caused
hurt, it caused pain to my body
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because I was still in unbelief,
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I was a Christian already
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but it's amazing how God kept
on persuading me in His word.
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And in fact, in
2013, I got really sick,
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I thought I was
going to lose my life
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and apparently, the
devil was fighting to see
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that I don't get to
know this goodness of Christ.
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And through His word,
God slowly persuaded me.
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I went to emergence
home-- emergence rooms for like
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every day for three
time, like three times.
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To the emergency room in
the hospital, three times?
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- Yes. Because-- - In a row?
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In a row.
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My body was really out
of control and I get there,
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the doctors say, "Peter,
there's nothing wrong with you,
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this is nothing
serious, what's wrong with you?"
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But in my body, I was
not feeling well at all
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and apparently God is a genius.
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He was connecting us
with my old friend to work
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in the ministry that He had
already shown out the vision
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and He was putting me together
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and in fact I was at
the time living in New York
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and I moved to
Chicago where she was
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and began working in a ministry
and it's meticulous what
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that Christ did.
He healed my body.
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Yes.
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I didn't have to
go to hospital again.
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I started believing the word
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He had been
showing me all along.
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And in fact He commanded
me through Romans 11:31,
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He told me, "Peter, still
even you are in your unbelief,
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I gave you mercy
that by your mercy
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others can also be served,
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can receive mercy
at the same time."
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And I really
believe that's why He put me
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in this ministry to see that
I carry that out with these,
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the artists who are in prison
and also who get out of prison.
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And at the same time, He
led me to the Desire of Ages,
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page 324 where it talks about,
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when a soul
surrenders to Christ,
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a new nature, one you
contradicts the new heart.
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And this is a
supernatural nature
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that no man can
achieve themselves
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but only through the
divine power of Christ.
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Yes, yes. So let's
unpack this a little bit.
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Sure. Let's go back a second.
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So you had two
things you mentioned.
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Yes, ma'am.
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Amongst other things
but there are two things
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that kind of caught my ear.
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One is that you
made some bad choices
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and the other one is that
you got really, really sick.
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Now in those bad choices,
is that what connected you
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to the prison population?
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Is that why you feel a
burden for the inmates,
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because of the bad
choices that you made?
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That's a great point.
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God, I reached a point
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where I didn't see life anymore.
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And through God's love
and how He persuaded me,
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and this was a
enemy fighting to see that
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I don't get to know the truth
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which is in Christ He
wants us to have life.
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- Yes. - Second chances.
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And that's what I realized.
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When I moved to
Chicago, it all changed.
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My outlook for life, I
saw that I can now live again
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because all the
pain had gone away.
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So this is the same thing,
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you know,
inmates can go through,
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they can be hopeless
in their prison cells
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and I really
believe Christ wants us
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to reach out to those people.
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And having gone through that,
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I know exactly what it can mean.
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Right, because now you
have a point of identification
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with them whereas
before, you might not have.
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Exactly.
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But because you went
through this situation yourself
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with the bad
choices and the illness,
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now you can relate to
those who feel hopeless
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or those who just don't know
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how their
circumstances can change.
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Yes. Exactly. Now
you can relate. Exactly.
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Isn't that amazing
that God does that?
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Yes, and I have a
similar testimony of seeing
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God's mercy in
my life, you know,
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I grew up in the
Church but I struggled
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with my faith in college.
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I went to engineering schools,
there's a lot of evolution
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and I just really struggled,
you know, believing God's word
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and just believing everything
that goes on in the Church
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and everything
and there was a point
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where I walked away from God.
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But God relentlessly pursued me
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and he brought me
back with open arms
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and I saw that His
blood, it covers all of my sins
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and I'm so thankful
to God for His mercy
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because it's so sweet
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and I want
everybody to experience that.
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So back in 2011,
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I actually met
somebody at a bus stop
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who bought art from an inmate
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and I really resonated
with that because I'm like,
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"Okay, I'm an
artist and it's amazing
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that these people
are doing such, you know,
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amazing things in
prison, of all places,"
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and then also,
I'm an ex-offender,
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you know, I've never
served time in prison,
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but God has given me a
second chance in my life.
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Amen. So you mean
you are an ex-offender
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in terms of sin or
you are an ex-offender
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in terms of bad choices?
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Yes, in terms of sin
and bad choices, definitely.
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Okay. Well, you know what?
We all have made bad choices.
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Right.
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We are all sinners
in need of a savior.
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Amen.
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And we all can, if
we really look at it,
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we can relate to those
who are feeling despondent
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because we've all,
we all have a testimony,
00:11:06.86\00:11:09.86
a story, a place where
we were that God brought us
00:11:09.89\00:11:13.67
from into a new place.
00:11:13.70\00:11:15.88
And so God is so amazing
because He doesn't leave us
00:11:15.91\00:11:21.13
there to just languish,
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He's brought you guys
together to do this program
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and one of the things
I want to say to you guys
00:11:27.93\00:11:30.79
too is that I notice,
00:11:30.82\00:11:33.17
I get mail from
inmates sometimes
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and the artwork is phenomenal.
00:11:35.68\00:11:39.57
I mean, we're talking
this phenomenal talent
00:11:39.60\00:11:42.58
that's locked away.
00:11:42.61\00:11:44.22
Now we know that
people have made mistakes,
00:11:44.25\00:11:48.19
we know that some of them are
in there for horrific choices,
00:11:48.22\00:11:52.02
we know that, but
Jesus came to save
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every one of them so
no choice is too horrific.
00:11:54.25\00:11:58.01
Amen. Exactly.
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And so I'm loving
what you guys are doing.
00:11:59.21\00:12:01.71
So explain
1HeartArt a little bit to us.
00:12:01.74\00:12:04.21
Not just-- we know you
want to transform lives.
00:12:04.24\00:12:08.21
What are the
mechanisms by which you do that?
00:12:08.24\00:12:11.25
Yeah, so it also
reflects in our logo.
00:12:11.28\00:12:15.43
Just to see-- everybody
can see the logo there,
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it's two hearts.
00:12:19.28\00:12:20.38
And we have a website,
00:12:20.41\00:12:21.44
we're going to put
that up on the screen, too.
00:12:21.47\00:12:23.07
Tell us your website again.
00:12:23.10\00:12:24.13
It's 1heartart.org and
the logo is two hearts,
00:12:24.16\00:12:28.96
so the red heart
symbolizes Christ's blood
00:12:28.99\00:12:31.28
that was shed for us and
then the two lines symbolize
00:12:31.31\00:12:35.14
the transformation that happens
00:12:35.17\00:12:36.66
after we allow
God's blood to cover us
00:12:36.69\00:12:40.27
and then the blue
heart symbolizes obedience
00:12:40.30\00:12:42.99
after we accept
Christ as our Savior.
00:12:43.02\00:12:45.28
So that's really like the
heart of the organization.
00:12:45.31\00:12:49.64
The heart of-- I love it.
00:12:49.67\00:12:51.01
And, you know, there's
three main things that we do.
00:12:51.04\00:12:55.26
There's-- we
have an art challenge,
00:12:55.29\00:12:57.40
so we invite the inmates to
submit their amazing artwork
00:12:57.43\00:13:00.39
to an art challenge--
00:13:00.42\00:13:01.51
- Okay, let's talk
about that. - Yes. So--
00:13:01.54\00:13:03.16
Okay, so how did that come
to deed, the art challenge?
00:13:03.19\00:13:05.77
What made you decide to do that?
00:13:05.80\00:13:07.28
Well, we went to a conference,
00:13:07.31\00:13:09.27
the American
Correctional Conference
00:13:09.30\00:13:11.32
back in January
and I met some people
00:13:11.35\00:13:13.29
who did a contest
around poetry and I was like,
00:13:13.32\00:13:16.06
"Wow, that's great."
00:13:16.09\00:13:17.59
And they got over a
thousand submissions,
00:13:17.62\00:13:19.05
so I thought this is a great way
00:13:19.08\00:13:21.20
to meet the artists that way.
00:13:21.23\00:13:22.99
So the current art challenge
is on the theme of hope,
00:13:23.02\00:13:27.23
so we're inviting
inmates to submit artwork
00:13:27.26\00:13:29.32
on the theme of hope
and they can submit it
00:13:29.35\00:13:32.22
through their
family, so the prize money
00:13:32.25\00:13:34.49
actually goes
back to the families.
00:13:34.52\00:13:36.83
Oh, so this is a
way-- oh, this is wonderful,
00:13:36.86\00:13:41.93
this gives the artist a
way to support his family.
00:13:41.96\00:13:46.47
Yes, because--
00:13:46.50\00:13:47.56
To do something to
bring something to them
00:13:47.59\00:13:50.03
other than the
shame and the condemnation
00:13:50.06\00:13:53.40
that sometimes they receive.
00:13:53.43\00:13:56.23
That's wonderful. Right.
00:13:56.26\00:13:58.86
So the art challenge--
how do you get the word
00:13:58.89\00:14:01.87
to the inmates that
this challenge is existing?
00:14:01.90\00:14:05.75
How do you get
that word to them?
00:14:05.78\00:14:06.86
Yeah, there is a
couple of different ways.
00:14:06.89\00:14:09.08
We go through wardens at prisons
00:14:09.11\00:14:11.87
and there is a lot of
wardens that support the arts,
00:14:11.90\00:14:14.56
which is a beautiful thing
00:14:14.59\00:14:16.42
and then also, different
channels like Instagram,
00:14:16.45\00:14:19.97
there are groups on
there of prison wives,
00:14:20.00\00:14:23.03
Prison-- loved
ones of prison inmates
00:14:23.06\00:14:25.62
and that's a great way
to reach people as well.
00:14:25.65\00:14:27.92
And we also have
partners like JPay
00:14:27.95\00:14:30.81
which is the gmail of
prisons and they've posted about
00:14:30.84\00:14:33.97
the art challenge
on their Facebook page
00:14:34.00\00:14:36.15
which has over 160,000 likes
00:14:36.18\00:14:38.87
so it reaches a
lot of people that way.
00:14:38.90\00:14:40.81
Praise the Lord.
That's wonderful.
00:14:40.84\00:14:43.94
What is your role
in the art challenge?
00:14:43.97\00:14:46.89
Do you have-- are you--
00:14:46.92\00:14:48.61
what are you
doing with that, Peter?
00:14:48.64\00:14:50.64
Well, the art challenge is
mainly, as she talked about,
00:14:50.67\00:14:54.90
but I'm all
concentrated on the Penpal side.
00:14:54.93\00:14:57.19
Okay. Let's talk about that.
00:14:57.22\00:14:58.86
So we have the art challenge,
this is one part of 1HeartArt
00:14:58.89\00:15:03.74
and then we have the Penpal.
00:15:03.77\00:15:05.96
Now the Penpal side
sounds a little bit scary,
00:15:05.99\00:15:09.45
Tell us-- let's talk about that.
00:15:09.48\00:15:12.95
Why is mine scary?
00:15:12.98\00:15:14.25
Well, only because,
you know, the first thing
00:15:17.07\00:15:20.51
that pops into mind is,
00:15:20.54\00:15:23.13
are inmates gonna
know where I live?
00:15:23.16\00:15:25.54
Right.
00:15:25.57\00:15:26.60
Would they be able to come--
00:15:26.63\00:15:27.83
not that anybody would
hurt anybody necessarily
00:15:27.86\00:15:31.56
but that's one
of the first things
00:15:31.59\00:15:33.04
that would come to my
mind if I were hearing Penpal.
00:15:33.07\00:15:36.56
So explain that, explain
that part of the program?
00:15:36.59\00:15:40.34
Sure.
00:15:40.37\00:15:41.62
This is, you know, we know that,
00:15:41.65\00:15:43.44
you know, inmates are
in secluded locations,
00:15:43.47\00:15:47.48
sometime in points
of no return, no hope
00:15:47.51\00:15:50.46
and this is where
we give a opportunity
00:15:50.49\00:15:52.43
to the viewer viewing
their artwork to write to them.
00:15:52.46\00:15:56.95
Words of encouragement,
00:15:56.98\00:15:58.61
words of hope
and at the same time,
00:15:58.64\00:16:02.62
you don't have to be
nervous because we have,
00:16:02.65\00:16:04.38
like, a "to do" "what
to do" and "not to do"
00:16:04.41\00:16:06.68
when you're writing
to them on their website
00:16:06.71\00:16:09.36
and at the same
time, we've been to like
00:16:09.39\00:16:11.27
six conferences so
far and we've gotten
00:16:11.30\00:16:14.37
150 letters written by
enthusiastic supporters
00:16:14.40\00:16:19.32
of these talented inmate
artists and ex-offenders,
00:16:19.35\00:16:22.56
so which is
really being going fast,
00:16:22.59\00:16:25.08
so God has been blessing.
00:16:25.11\00:16:26.76
And at the same time
we have a video we sent,
00:16:26.79\00:16:30.87
it's on the
website, it's by Bamji.
00:16:30.90\00:16:34.22
Bamji is one of
our inspiring pen pal.
00:16:34.25\00:16:38.55
He got a letter from
one of our inmate artist,
00:16:38.58\00:16:42.36
he had written
about how he found it hard
00:16:42.39\00:16:45.43
to forgive himself
from the past acts.
00:16:45.46\00:16:49.11
And when Bamji read it,
this was an opportunity for him
00:16:49.14\00:16:53.29
to reach out to
him and write a word
00:16:53.32\00:16:56.16
of encouragement straight
from the Bible telling him
00:16:56.19\00:16:59.56
how Christ still loves him
and he can forget his past.
00:16:59.59\00:17:03.29
And it's all in the
video on the website by Bamji.
00:17:03.32\00:17:07.81
So this is a program
00:17:07.84\00:17:09.28
where we are
giving an opportunity
00:17:09.31\00:17:12.03
just to write a note, it
doesn't have to be a letter,
00:17:12.06\00:17:14.78
just a note to these
inmates and ex-offenders
00:17:14.81\00:17:19.15
to give them
encouragement and hope and--
00:17:19.18\00:17:22.37
And so they write the letter
but it's through your website
00:17:22.40\00:17:26.21
so they remain
anonymous, correct?
00:17:26.24\00:17:28.96
So they remain
anonymous but yet the inmate
00:17:28.99\00:17:32.75
gets that word of encouragement?
00:17:32.78\00:17:34.62
Yes. So that's
kind of a win-win.
00:17:34.65\00:17:37.63
Because there
is no danger there,
00:17:37.66\00:17:40.06
there is no concern
there on the part of the person
00:17:40.09\00:17:42.96
that's writing, but
yet, the inmate can still
00:17:42.99\00:17:46.27
benefit from the feedback
00:17:46.30\00:17:48.46
and get just some kind
of word of support and hope.
00:17:48.49\00:17:52.86
So that's a beautiful thing.
00:17:52.89\00:17:54.11
And they can be
led to Jesus Christ.
00:17:54.14\00:17:56.06
That's the
ultimate goal. Exactly.
00:17:56.09\00:17:58.24
So how many people have
you thus far do you know of
00:17:58.27\00:18:03.37
'cause there might be people
00:18:03.40\00:18:05.29
that you don't even know about,
00:18:05.32\00:18:06.50
but how many people,
first of all, is your program
00:18:06.53\00:18:10.29
reaching that you know of?
00:18:10.32\00:18:11.84
We're reaching-- you
mean the inmate artists?
00:18:14.70\00:18:16.95
Yes.
00:18:16.98\00:18:18.12
We are right now
in prisons in Indiana,
00:18:18.15\00:18:22.87
we are in Illinois,
and as well as Florida,
00:18:22.90\00:18:26.81
and we are reaching
to different artists.
00:18:26.84\00:18:29.03
Right now we have a
list of around 15 artists.
00:18:29.06\00:18:32.55
But we know there's
10,000 inmate artists in the US.
00:18:32.58\00:18:36.12
Wow.
00:18:36.15\00:18:37.18
So as God leads,
we'll be able to tap
00:18:37.21\00:18:39.37
into all of those, reach them.
00:18:39.40\00:18:41.79
Yes. Yeah.
00:18:41.82\00:18:42.92
And another one of the
inmate artists that we met,
00:18:42.95\00:18:46.71
started writing
to him last year,
00:18:46.74\00:18:48.29
just getting to know him
00:18:48.32\00:18:49.86
and he got out
of prison in April,
00:18:49.89\00:18:51.93
and so we have another
program called ArtStarter
00:18:51.96\00:18:54.74
and that's where we
really help inmates transition
00:18:54.77\00:18:57.37
back into society.
00:18:57.40\00:18:59.05
So, you know, he got
out of prison in April
00:18:59.08\00:19:01.83
and it really put us in
that position to help him
00:19:01.86\00:19:04.25
with that transition
00:19:04.28\00:19:05.83
and he has totally
changed his life around,
00:19:05.86\00:19:07.98
like, he so inspires me,
he used to be super selfish,
00:19:08.01\00:19:11.90
that's how he described himself.
00:19:11.93\00:19:13.64
It's all about
attracting attention to himself
00:19:13.67\00:19:15.82
through his artwork
but now he is all about
00:19:15.85\00:19:17.95
giving himself back to
the world through his art
00:19:17.98\00:19:20.09
and it's really inspiring,
like, he is so focused,
00:19:20.12\00:19:23.66
he wants to go back to school
and support his two children
00:19:23.69\00:19:27.25
and get his
bachelor of fine arts.
00:19:27.28\00:19:30.19
So far we've
gotten over 400 supporters
00:19:30.22\00:19:33.09
who bought his
artwork and that helps him
00:19:33.12\00:19:35.26
reach his goals as well.
00:19:35.29\00:19:37.05
How beautiful is that.
00:19:37.09\00:19:39.08
Because we all know that
the recidivism rate is so high.
00:19:39.11\00:19:42.91
You know, people
come out of prison,
00:19:42.94\00:19:44.46
what are they gonna do?
00:19:44.49\00:19:45.75
How are they gonna
support themselves?
00:19:45.78\00:19:47.67
What are they--
because many times
00:19:47.70\00:19:49.82
they can't find a job,
things are closed to them,
00:19:49.85\00:19:52.41
so now they can use their gift
00:19:52.44\00:19:54.12
which they love doing,
00:19:54.15\00:19:56.37
use this gift to
support themselves
00:19:56.49\00:19:58.78
and their families
and not go back to prison.
00:19:58.81\00:20:01.95
Right, exactly.
00:20:01.98\00:20:03.01
I mean, that's tremendous.
It gives them an income.
00:20:03.04\00:20:05.62
Right, exactly.
00:20:05.65\00:20:06.68
And the statistics
are really shocking
00:20:06.71\00:20:08.70
as you just mentioned,
00:20:08.73\00:20:09.85
you know, out of
every three people
00:20:09.88\00:20:12.18
that come out of prison,
00:20:12.21\00:20:13.91
two of them go back to
prison within three years,
00:20:13.94\00:20:17.12
which is-- that's
crazy, you know, that's--
00:20:17.15\00:20:18.94
And their children go, too. Yes.
00:20:18.97\00:20:21.20
Their children end up--
It's a generational curse.
00:20:21.23\00:20:23.20
It's a generational curse.
00:20:23.23\00:20:24.84
The children end
up going into prison,
00:20:24.87\00:20:28.01
their fathers or
mothers have been there,
00:20:28.04\00:20:30.29
most-- usually, the fathers,
but now we have statistics
00:20:30.32\00:20:33.87
that show that women
are being arrested more now.
00:20:33.90\00:20:36.99
Right.
00:20:37.02\00:20:38.05
So this is really a
serious issue and many times
00:20:38.08\00:20:43.83
I know for me and I'm
sure for you guys, too,
00:20:43.86\00:20:46.25
at some point,
you say to yourself
00:20:46.28\00:20:48.06
what can I do, like,
what can I do to change things
00:20:48.09\00:20:51.94
and this is a wonderful
program because this can be used
00:20:51.97\00:20:57.01
to transform hearts
and that is wonderful.
00:20:57.04\00:21:01.51
So this is called
the ArtStarter part?
00:21:01.54\00:21:03.95
- Yes. - Of the program.
00:21:03.98\00:21:05.82
So once-- walk me
through the process,
00:21:05.85\00:21:10.26
walk us through the
process, so someone,
00:21:10.29\00:21:13.46
an inmate finds
out about 1HeartArt.
00:21:13.49\00:21:18.84
What happens? What
do they do from there?
00:21:18.87\00:21:21.17
Well, the art challenge is
00:21:21.20\00:21:22.40
really the first
point of contact.
00:21:22.43\00:21:24.30
Okay.
00:21:24.33\00:21:25.36
That's really where we
want to meet the artists
00:21:25.39\00:21:26.97
and get them
involved, see their art.
00:21:27.00\00:21:29.11
And we've gotten
letters from people
00:21:29.14\00:21:30.85
all over the
country sending us their art
00:21:30.88\00:21:33.85
which is awesome
and then from there,
00:21:33.88\00:21:36.11
that's where we
really want to connect them
00:21:36.14\00:21:37.60
with pen pals so
that we can develop
00:21:37.63\00:21:39.55
those relationships with them
00:21:39.58\00:21:41.39
and then, God
willing, lead them to Christ
00:21:41.42\00:21:44.03
through the Penpal program,
00:21:44.06\00:21:45.51
then after they
get out, then that's
00:21:45.54\00:21:47.21
when we help sell their art,
00:21:47.24\00:21:48.43
So they could support
themselves and their families.
00:21:48.46\00:21:50.11
That's great.
00:21:50.14\00:21:51.17
So when they are in the Penpal
program, are you sending them,
00:21:51.20\00:21:54.81
how are they
learning about Christ?
00:21:54.84\00:21:57.01
What are you doing?
00:21:57.04\00:21:58.53
It's a great question.
00:21:58.56\00:22:00.63
We're right now
the, one of our artists
00:22:00.66\00:22:02.45
who got out of prison
in April, when he got out,
00:22:02.48\00:22:09.11
we had a conversation
with him, he is right now,
00:22:09.14\00:22:11.63
he is a Buddhist at the moment.
00:22:11.66\00:22:13.95
He is a what? He is a Buddhist.
00:22:13.98\00:22:15.67
- A Buddhist. - Yes.
00:22:15.70\00:22:17.29
And we're thinking of
ways how we could have
00:22:17.32\00:22:19.99
a holistic measure of
him, this is three sections,
00:22:20.02\00:22:24.78
the body, the
mind, and the spirit
00:22:24.81\00:22:27.49
and I was able to
get a survey given to him
00:22:27.52\00:22:31.76
which is measurable.
00:22:31.79\00:22:33.09
So we are able to
see how he has scored
00:22:33.12\00:22:34.98
in those different sections
and this is, he came out,
00:22:35.01\00:22:40.09
his spirit side of the section
was the highest in the score,
00:22:40.12\00:22:43.97
so this gave us,
showed us an inclination
00:22:44.00\00:22:46.69
that he is
actually spiritually strong,
00:22:46.72\00:22:49.99
but he's yet a Buddhist.
00:22:50.02\00:22:52.01
But it's amazing
from the conversation
00:22:52.04\00:22:54.45
we've been having with him.
00:22:54.48\00:22:55.59
How God is pursuing
him through the spirit.
00:22:55.62\00:22:59.36
He reads the Bible, he
loves the teachings of Jesus
00:22:59.39\00:23:04.16
and we believe
as we continue on,
00:23:04.19\00:23:07.34
he will end up,
actually sent out
00:23:07.37\00:23:08.99
some Bible lessons to him
00:23:09.02\00:23:11.51
which I'm
waiting to get in return.
00:23:11.54\00:23:13.94
We believe that Christ is,
00:23:13.97\00:23:15.37
he ultimately will accept Christ
00:23:15.40\00:23:17.25
as if we continue, as
he leads and continue doing
00:23:17.28\00:23:20.24
what he directs to do.
00:23:20.27\00:23:23.54
And at the same
time from this survey,
00:23:23.57\00:23:26.12
one of his lowest score
was the body, the physical body
00:23:26.15\00:23:30.51
and he was
actually, he found out
00:23:30.54\00:23:32.47
he was slacking
off on certain things
00:23:32.50\00:23:33.92
like working out so he
was able to be motivated like,
00:23:33.95\00:23:36.84
"Oh, man, I need to
work on this now also."
00:23:36.87\00:23:38.60
So it's showing us how it,
00:23:38.63\00:23:43.61
it's shown right before our eyes
00:23:43.64\00:23:45.83
how the holistic
transformation is happening.
00:23:45.86\00:23:50.05
Yes. Specially
in this gentleman.
00:23:50.08\00:23:52.64
- Yes. - Yes.
00:23:52.67\00:23:54.36
You know, 'cause
well, I was never a Buddhist
00:23:54.39\00:23:58.02
but I studied eastern
medicine that kind of thing
00:23:58.05\00:24:01.03
and there is that whole
focus on the holistic person
00:24:01.06\00:24:06.23
but there is in our belief, too,
00:24:06.26\00:24:09.33
because we
believe that how important
00:24:09.36\00:24:11.12
the physical
aspect is, the emotional,
00:24:11.15\00:24:13.64
and the spiritual, so we are,
00:24:13.67\00:24:17.28
you know, we
are holistic beings.
00:24:17.31\00:24:18.49
Exactly.
00:24:18.52\00:24:19.55
We just have to help people
00:24:19.58\00:24:21.33
to channel it
properly into the right focus
00:24:21.36\00:24:25.54
and Jesus Christ is of
course at the helm of all that.
00:24:25.57\00:24:29.72
So it's not, it's different,
00:24:29.75\00:24:33.14
but yet, he can
maintain the idea
00:24:33.17\00:24:36.80
that we are holistic beings,
let's just say Jesus Christ
00:24:36.83\00:24:39.60
has to be at the
center of the whole thing.
00:24:39.63\00:24:42.58
And we totally agree
with that because our vision
00:24:42.61\00:24:46.79
is to see them
as whole individuals
00:24:46.82\00:24:49.48
and in every sense of the
word and we really look to Jesus
00:24:49.51\00:24:53.53
as our example
'cause often times,
00:24:53.56\00:24:55.84
we read that when
Jesus would heal people,
00:24:55.87\00:24:58.49
he would first
forgive their sins,
00:24:58.52\00:25:00.59
then all the
other types of healing
00:25:00.62\00:25:01.90
would follow after that.
00:25:01.93\00:25:03.33
So we believe that same
thing. Like our highest goal
00:25:03.36\00:25:06.66
is for them to
know Christ and then,
00:25:06.69\00:25:09.82
you know, all the other
aspects we want to help them
00:25:09.85\00:25:11.64
achieve health in
those ways as well.
00:25:11.67\00:25:14.37
This is such a
great ministry to support
00:25:14.40\00:25:17.46
because again, so
often people will think
00:25:17.49\00:25:20.17
what can I do to
make a difference,
00:25:20.20\00:25:23.37
how can I change a
life when I'm just,
00:25:23.40\00:25:27.70
I don't know
anything about prison,
00:25:27.73\00:25:29.22
I don't know anything about.
00:25:29.25\00:25:30.58
Well, now this is a
program that our viewers
00:25:30.61\00:25:33.24
can support and
say, you know what,
00:25:33.27\00:25:35.86
even though I don't go
into the prison myself,
00:25:35.89\00:25:39.29
I can support this program
that helps to change lives
00:25:39.32\00:25:43.26
through art and through
learning more about Christ.
00:25:43.29\00:25:48.58
This is, you
guys are trailblazers
00:25:48.61\00:25:53.21
in that you're
using their gifts,
00:25:53.24\00:25:56.43
That-- their God
given gifts to help them
00:25:56.46\00:25:59.31
to move toward God and
that is just a beautiful,
00:25:59.34\00:26:03.48
beautiful concept.
00:26:03.51\00:26:05.23
- Praise God. - Amen.
00:26:05.26\00:26:06.48
- Praise God. - Amen.
00:26:06.51\00:26:07.75
How long ago did
this come into being?
00:26:07.78\00:26:10.02
How did you
think of this concept?
00:26:10.05\00:26:12.28
Yeah, I mean, the
idea first came in 2011
00:26:12.31\00:26:15.78
but we've really
started working on it last year,
00:26:15.81\00:26:18.64
picking up, Peter
joined last year so.
00:26:18.67\00:26:20.86
End of November.
00:26:20.89\00:26:22.04
Okay, so we're
talking really new.
00:26:22.07\00:26:24.36
Yes.
00:26:24.39\00:26:25.56
And already, you're
seeing lives changed.
00:26:25.59\00:26:28.38
Yes, praise God.
00:26:28.41\00:26:29.54
What do you think
is the most profound
00:26:29.57\00:26:33.17
example of a life changed
00:26:33.20\00:26:35.27
that you can
think of in one minute
00:26:35.30\00:26:36.67
'cause we're almost done.
00:26:36.70\00:26:38.12
I can't believe our
time went this quickly.
00:26:38.15\00:26:41.59
Can you think of one
inmate whose life has been
00:26:41.62\00:26:45.31
profoundly
changed by your program?
00:26:45.34\00:26:48.92
Well, I could say
right now one of our inmate
00:26:48.95\00:26:52.12
who's got out of prison,
we've seen how Christ Himself
00:26:52.15\00:26:56.54
is pursuing him
and He is doing it
00:26:56.57\00:26:58.86
through this ministry to see
that he accepts Him ultimately
00:26:58.89\00:27:03.71
and the profound
change we want to see is him
00:27:03.74\00:27:07.54
accepting and passing on
the word of second chances
00:27:07.57\00:27:11.17
because of what
Christ has done in his life.
00:27:11.20\00:27:14.31
God has been so merciful to us,
He's given us a second chance
00:27:14.34\00:27:19.15
and so we can
extend that mercy to others
00:27:19.18\00:27:22.51
and help them to have
the second chance in life
00:27:22.54\00:27:26.15
because we can
reduce the recidivism rate,
00:27:26.18\00:27:29.67
we can allow them to have
some kind of dignity again,
00:27:29.70\00:27:33.82
because so often, the
dignity is just taken away,
00:27:33.85\00:27:36.93
and so-- now they can
support their families,
00:27:36.96\00:27:39.51
I mean, this can
really make a huge difference.
00:27:39.54\00:27:41.82
So I thank you
for being obedient
00:27:41.85\00:27:44.26
to what God has
called you to do.
00:27:44.29\00:27:46.70
And I thank you so
much for tuning in today.
00:27:46.73\00:27:50.49
Please support this
ministry and let them know
00:27:50.52\00:27:53.96
that you're with them.
00:27:53.99\00:27:55.83
Well, that's the end
of our program for today,
00:27:55.86\00:27:57.88
thanks so much for tuning in.
00:27:57.91\00:27:59.33
Join us next time,
'cause, you know what,
00:27:59.36\00:28:01.22
it just wouldn't be
the same without you.
00:28:01.25\00:28:03.46