Stay tuned to meet a couple
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that turned
tragedy into triumph.
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My name is Yvonne Lewis
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and you're
watching Urban Report.
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Hello and
welcome to Urban Report.
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My guests today are
Rod and Mary Cassidy,
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President and Vice
President respectively
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of Brianna's Wings
of Passion Foundation.
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Welcome to Urban
Report Rod and Mary.
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Thank you.
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Wow! I almost
don't know where to start
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because yours is a
story of such intensity
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and something that no
parent wants to deal with
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but before we get into
that part of your journey
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tell us a little
bit about yourselves,
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Mary, where were you
born, where are you from?
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Southern California,
I was there for well...
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for quite a long time
and went to school there
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but I came from a
real dysfunctional family,
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my father was an alcoholic,
he left when I was four,
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so my mom raised
eight of us on her own
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and that was a lot of
tragedy within the home too
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because there was just so much
oh... stress and you know...
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but having my dad there,
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he was very abusive to
all my brothers and sisters
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so, that was just a
really hard time for all of us
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him being an alcoholic
and being around like he was
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but there was always
violence in our family,
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my brothers grew
up in the same path
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incarcerated one after another,
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and just violence
constantly in our family
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yeah, so, it was
a hard upbringing.
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Yeah, yeah, and were you
a Christian as a child or...
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I was a
Catholic, we were Catholics
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but my mom was
raised in a Convent
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for a very small portion of time
after her father passed away
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so we weren't just "Catholics"
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we were Catholics, we
didn't just go to church,
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we were really
Catholics and so...
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but that's a whole 'nother
story how the Lord led me...
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led us, after my mom got cancer,
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she was supposed to
die within six months
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when she found out, she
lived seven years after that
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and we came into
the Adventist message,
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and it was just by
moving next door to a neighbor,
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so that's a whole
'nother story on that.
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Praise the Lord.
Yeah, so, thank God.
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Yes, yes, what about you, Rod?
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I also was raised
in Southern California,
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and the struggles we
had were not quite the same
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by 12 or 13, I
had a broken home,
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there was a lot
of fighting, arguing,
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my parents split up and so
there was increasing tension
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especially into my teen years,
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and at age 17, I went away
to my Uncle's in Walla Walla,
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spent the summer
there, he had a farm,
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and I'd spend time with him,
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and that's really where I began
to have spiritual awakening.
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My cousin had a big
influence on my life,
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and it helped me
get connected with God,
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so not as traumatic as my wife,
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but still there was stress
and dysfunction in the family.
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Hmmm... now how
did you two meet?
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We met in high
school at the academy
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when I was blessed to be
able to go through the System,
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School System, and we met,
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we were high school sweethearts
and so we were actually...
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once we got married, we
were married for ten years
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before we even
had our first child,
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we didn't want
any kids that was...
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we both agreed on that
coming from the brokenness...
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that we said, "We
don't want any kids"
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and we were still supporting
some of our own family members,
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so... but the
Lord had other plans
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so ten years later,
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we had our first
and only child, Brianna.
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Tell us about Brianna.
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Boy! there's so much to tell,
we raised her in the country,
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we had really sought the
Lord to direct us in raising her
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because, as I said,
we came from brokenness,
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and so, for us,
it was the country,
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we wanted to have
her just be able to...
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just to be in
the mountain areas,
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and also, I homeschooled her,
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but that really put a
stress on us financially
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because my husband
and I prayed about it
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and he said, "You know
what, if that's the case,
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I want you to stay home,
home school her and raise her"
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and so, that was... we
went into it with that.
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So you made a huge sacrifice
to just have one income
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to raise your daughter.
Hmmm... hmmm... correct.
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And for most of
her growing years,
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it was one income so we
had the financial stress
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that we were
continually dealing with.
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What was she like,
what's Brianna like?
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Well, she's a
lot like her mother
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strong willed,
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determined, she's a
naturally-born leader
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when she set her mind to
do something, she would do it
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but growing up
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as my wife alluded to,
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we come from
broken homes, all of us,
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and Brianna, I think
through the bloodline
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and through other relatives,
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she experienced feelings
of rejection and abandonment.
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Rejection and abandonment
from you or from school or...?
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No, from relatives. Okay.
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Because you get them together
with cousins and families
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and grandparents,
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she was real close to
her grandfather though
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which was a good thing,
but he passed away in 2009,
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and so another dose of,
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"Why has this
happened in my life?"
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So she struggled with
these things growing up,
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she was also a loner,
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because she had
excelled so early on,
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she loved to read books,
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that her age group
could not really relate to her
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and so she related a lot better
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with people two and
three times her age.
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Now she was
homeschooled, you said,
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did she have
friends at church or...?
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Oh yes, she was
very involved in church,
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she ran the
cameras at our church
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and so she got into Media,
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she was actually the
youngest that they allowed
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behind the camera, she
was just 12 when she started
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and so they saw though
that she was very mature,
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like my husband
said, so they went ahead
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and allowed her
to get started on it
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and that's what
started her love about Media,
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and editing and all of that,
so she really enjoyed that.
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Oh, so she had a love
for Media and editing.
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Oh yeah, yeah, yes, yes
and we didn't subject her to
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a lot of the devices
that the kids are now using,
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and actually just recently,
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she had told us how
thankful she was for that,
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because she said,
"I can actually think
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when I'm reading and my
mind isn't going all over
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because she's been so
un-inundated by electronics,
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so, even though
she was good at them,
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that wasn't
her... you know, so...
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We have some pictures
because we're talking about her
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and I'd like to put
some pictures up of her
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so that our audience can
see what she looked like.
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This is Briana
with her dog, Yuki,
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she named her Yuki because
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Brianna was learning
the Japanese language
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and so, it's "snow" in Japanese
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she rescued her from Tennessee,
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so this was a
picture she took with her.
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Awww... This is
her Senior picture
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her graduating Senior
picture from high school,
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yeah. This picture is
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when she went on her
first mission trip to Panama
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Ah... and
that's where the desire
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to be more involved...
become involved in missions
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really took hold,
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from here she went
on another mission trip,
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this is when she went to
Japan just two years ago,
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and there was a
whole story behind that
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she took that picture,
remember she was a photographer.
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Oh, so see, I didn't know that.
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So she took over
a thousand pictures
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including this one
in Japan. Beautiful.
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And this one, she
actually got First Place
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from a Photography Company,
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they gave her First
Place for that picture,
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the jellyfish, yes, so...
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This is the picture that
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has become precious to us
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that I think she also
took a couple of years ago.
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This was at the actual
airport that she worked at,
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she was also getting
her mechanics license,
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on top of being a pilot,
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so this was one of her favorite
planes because of the color.
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Look at how
well rounded she was.
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She just had a lot of interests,
she was a scuba diver,
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master scuba diver, a pilot,
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photographer,
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she was working on
her AMP at the airport
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and she played the violin.
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My! and how old was she?
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She was nineteen. Nineteen.
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Tell us about
2014, what happened?
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2014 was a very
difficult year for us
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for a number of reasons,
one, I could not find work
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I was applying for jobs
all over and for some reason
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I had interviews,
nothing was coming through,
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then finally by the fall time,
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October, my wife and I
were watching a 3abn Program
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on missions, and at
the end of the Program
00:10:00.70\00:10:04.37
they mentioned about
their need for a Bookkeeper,
00:10:04.40\00:10:06.87
and I'm an Accountant by
trade, so we got the idea
00:10:06.90\00:10:11.07
and we started
praying about that
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and I said, "Why don't
we contact some ministries
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and see if I can do some
bookkeeping remotely online"
00:10:16.58\00:10:19.71
Hmmm... hmmm...
00:10:19.78\00:10:21.32
so the next day, I put a
couple of letters together
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and sent them off
to two ministries,
00:10:23.42\00:10:25.05
well the day after that,
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I got a response from
one of them right away
00:10:27.69\00:10:29.72
and Pastor Bill wrote me
and he called me and he says,
00:10:29.76\00:10:33.09
"This is just what we need,
00:10:33.13\00:10:34.66
we've been
looking for a bookkeeper
00:10:34.70\00:10:37.23
somebody who can help get
our financial picture... "
00:10:37.27\00:10:39.80
And how long had you
been out of work at the time?
00:10:39.83\00:10:42.34
All year, about
nine to ten months.
00:10:42.37\00:10:44.44
Oh, a whole year! Wow!
00:10:44.47\00:10:46.14
So when this
happened, we thought
00:10:46.17\00:10:47.51
maybe this is what the
Lord has been waiting on
00:10:47.54\00:10:49.91
they said, we have a
Retreat coming up this weekend,
00:10:49.94\00:10:52.35
we'd love to have you,
00:10:52.38\00:10:53.72
come down and we can make
sure that this is the right fit,
00:10:53.75\00:10:57.69
I did and it was a tremendous
fit so they put me on a salary
00:10:57.72\00:11:01.86
so I was beginning to
receive at least a compensation
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that helped, wasn't fully,
but at least the rent was paid.
00:11:04.83\00:11:09.40
Excuse me one
second, so in the meantime,
00:11:09.46\00:11:12.43
because for
years, you had worked
00:11:12.47\00:11:15.34
and you, Mary, had
stayed home with Brianna,
00:11:15.40\00:11:18.97
so at this point,
neither of you was working
00:11:19.01\00:11:22.54
or were you working, Mary?
00:11:22.58\00:11:24.25
Actually, we had
a little savings,
00:11:24.28\00:11:27.32
we used that up
and I began to work
00:11:27.35\00:11:30.35
just like barely part time,
00:11:30.39\00:11:32.12
that's all I
could find in our area
00:11:32.15\00:11:34.39
and my husband
couldn't find anything.
00:11:34.42\00:11:37.29
So, it was really
hard, very difficult.
00:11:37.33\00:11:40.13
Yes, very stressful. Oh, yeah.
00:11:40.16\00:11:41.80
At the same time,
00:11:41.86\00:11:43.20
that I joined up
with the Ministry,
00:11:43.23\00:11:46.20
Brianna had started
working at a Department Store,
00:11:46.23\00:11:49.24
she knew the
financial difficulties
00:11:49.27\00:11:51.47
we were going
through and she thought
00:11:51.54\00:11:53.68
she wanted to finish up the
next rating in her aviation,
00:11:53.71\00:11:59.11
commercially, and she thought,
00:11:59.15\00:12:00.48
"If I have to get a job and
contribute that way, I'll do it"
00:12:00.52\00:12:03.39
and so she applied
and she got the position,
00:12:03.45\00:12:05.75
and excelled
very quickly in Kohls,
00:12:05.79\00:12:09.82
and that's another story too,
00:12:09.86\00:12:11.19
but this
happened at the same time
00:12:11.23\00:12:14.10
that I started working,
00:12:14.13\00:12:15.46
so we began to see a
game plan, here, formulate.
00:12:15.50\00:12:18.87
Then, a little
over a month later,
00:12:18.90\00:12:24.37
oh, God gave us a blessing,
00:12:24.41\00:12:26.91
additional blessing, I'll
let my wife share with you.
00:12:26.98\00:12:29.78
It was really
difficult, of course,
00:12:29.81\00:12:31.45
as he said, during that time,
00:12:31.48\00:12:33.01
some people have
savings and they think,
00:12:33.05\00:12:35.32
just having to tap into their
savings... that's difficult,
00:12:35.38\00:12:38.49
we didn't have a
safety net at all,
00:12:38.52\00:12:42.22
so, I had a friend that I was...
00:12:42.26\00:12:45.79
the Lord just really put it on
my heart that I was to help him
00:12:45.83\00:12:50.07
and I'm thinking,
00:12:50.10\00:12:51.43
"You must be
telling the wrong person,
00:12:51.47\00:12:53.57
because, there's
no money to help him,"
00:12:53.60\00:12:55.97
you know, the money
I had, I had just made,
00:12:56.00\00:12:58.34
was going to be to get propane
00:12:58.37\00:13:00.44
and I'm thinking,
"there is just no way"
00:13:00.48\00:13:03.45
and the Holy Spirit
would not let me go,
00:13:03.48\00:13:06.45
He kept on... so
I wrote him a check
00:13:06.48\00:13:08.95
I told my husband when I
got home and he was like...
00:13:08.98\00:13:12.22
"Well if that was the
Lord... we need to be obedient"
00:13:12.25\00:13:15.46
so he moved away,
our friend moved away,
00:13:15.49\00:13:18.99
and several months later,
00:13:19.03\00:13:22.43
after my husband got this
little stipend he was getting
00:13:22.46\00:13:25.90
and Brianna starts working on
top of working at the airport,
00:13:25.93\00:13:29.40
he calls me up one morning,
and this morning I was just...
00:13:29.44\00:13:32.87
I told the Lord, "I
cannot take it anymore,
00:13:32.91\00:13:35.14
either we're doing
something wrong... "
00:13:35.18\00:13:37.68
I was in that
mindset of Job's friends,
00:13:37.71\00:13:40.32
I'm doing something
wrong, and I thought,
00:13:40.35\00:13:42.58
"I just don't know what to
do, I cannot do this anymore"
00:13:42.65\00:13:45.25
that morning, he calls
me, and he says, "Mary"
00:13:45.29\00:13:48.86
and I said, "Yes,
how are you doing,
00:13:48.89\00:13:50.23
we've been praying for you"
00:13:50.26\00:13:51.59
and so he says, "You know what?"
00:13:51.63\00:13:53.16
he says, "Remember when
you helped me months ago"
00:13:53.19\00:13:55.50
I said, "Yeah" he says, "Well"
00:13:55.53\00:13:56.90
because he's a
veteran, "I got some back pay,"
00:13:56.93\00:13:59.50
so he says, "I want to give
you ten times what you gave me,"
00:13:59.53\00:14:03.71
and I was already in tears,
I was crying and I was like...
00:14:03.74\00:14:07.88
I was just pleading
to the Lord that morning,
00:14:07.91\00:14:10.35
and so I said,
"Are you serious?"
00:14:10.41\00:14:13.48
And he said, "Yes" so
I told him what happened,
00:14:13.52\00:14:16.05
I was just praying, and he says,
00:14:16.08\00:14:17.99
"So how's Brianna?" and I said,
00:14:18.02\00:14:19.85
"Well, she's a
little down, she's got a job
00:14:19.89\00:14:22.22
we're thankful for
that we prayed to the Lord,
00:14:22.26\00:14:24.56
the Lord got her a job but
00:14:24.59\00:14:26.06
she can't finish
her commercial license
00:14:26.09\00:14:28.63
because we can't
really help her right now"
00:14:28.66\00:14:30.83
he says, "How
much does she need?"
00:14:30.87\00:14:32.37
so I told him, he
says, "You know what,
00:14:32.43\00:14:34.50
I'm in the car right now,
talking to you on my Bluetooth
00:14:34.54\00:14:37.51
I'm heading to the Bank,
00:14:37.54\00:14:38.87
I'll put that money in
her account this morning"
00:14:38.91\00:14:41.11
and I said, "What?" and he said,
00:14:41.14\00:14:42.51
"I want to provide for
her, I want to sponsor somebody
00:14:42.54\00:14:46.48
who's in the Lord's work"
00:14:46.51\00:14:47.85
because Brianna wanted
to become a missionary pilot
00:14:47.88\00:14:50.29
so, I was just ecstatic,
00:14:50.32\00:14:53.99
so my husband was
away that weekend,
00:14:54.02\00:14:56.42
Brianna comes home from work,
00:14:56.49\00:14:57.96
and I wanted to tell her
on the phone but I didn't,
00:14:57.99\00:15:00.43
and I said, "Manuel called, and
00:15:00.46\00:15:03.26
he's coming for the
holidays" she was all excited,
00:15:03.33\00:15:05.53
and I said, "Guess
what?" she says, "What?"
00:15:05.57\00:15:07.97
I said, "He's
going to sponsor you"
00:15:08.00\00:15:10.04
she sat there and she
said, "He'd do that for me?"
00:15:10.07\00:15:13.51
I said, "He's
going to do it for you"
00:15:13.54\00:15:15.58
and so she got up from
00:15:15.61\00:15:17.65
the table and she
ran into the room,
00:15:17.71\00:15:19.28
waited a couple of
minutes, she comes back,
00:15:19.31\00:15:21.32
I said, "Where did you go?"
00:15:21.35\00:15:22.68
she said, "I had
to call two friends"
00:15:22.72\00:15:24.29
and she says, "One of them said,
00:15:24.32\00:15:26.55
'why don't those kinds
of things happen to me?'"
00:15:26.59\00:15:29.02
and she said, "You know what?
00:15:29.06\00:15:30.63
If you're doing what
the Lord wants you to do,
00:15:30.69\00:15:33.16
He'll provide" Hmmm...
00:15:33.19\00:15:35.13
So, she couldn't believe it,
00:15:35.16\00:15:38.37
she was like, "Mom, do
you know what this means?"
00:15:38.43\00:15:39.87
and I said,
"Yeah, it's exciting"
00:15:39.90\00:15:42.27
and she was, and I said,
00:15:42.30\00:15:44.37
"You know Brianna, the
Lord has a plan for you,
00:15:44.41\00:15:47.08
He loves you that much,
00:15:47.11\00:15:48.44
that's why He's
providing for you"
00:15:48.48\00:15:50.71
and so, it was just, it
was just that week, she was...
00:15:50.75\00:15:55.28
this was Monday,
she was just on-track
00:15:55.35\00:15:57.89
it was like the Lord said,
00:15:57.92\00:15:59.52
"Now I'm sealing what
I want you to do for me"
00:15:59.55\00:16:02.36
so for her, it was like,
00:16:02.39\00:16:03.73
"Okay, I'm doing what
I'm supposed to be doing"
00:16:03.76\00:16:05.96
Yeah, yeah.
00:16:05.99\00:16:07.33
Friday morning comes,
like any other morning,
00:16:07.36\00:16:09.86
it had that rained
that morning it was cloudy,
00:16:09.93\00:16:12.57
she was getting ready for work,
00:16:12.60\00:16:14.74
Mary made breakfast for her
00:16:14.77\00:16:16.60
and saw her out to the car,
00:16:16.64\00:16:18.41
and that's all... she
regularly would tell her,
00:16:18.44\00:16:23.75
"Brianna, be careful on your
way to work the roads are wet,"
00:16:23.78\00:16:27.75
Brianna looked at her and
said, "Mom, don't you trust me?"
00:16:27.78\00:16:31.72
and Mary looked back
and said, "Oh, I trust you,
00:16:31.75\00:16:35.26
it's those other
drivers out there
00:16:35.32\00:16:37.56
who are
reckless, I'm fearful of"
00:16:37.59\00:16:39.79
and then she said
something that was prophetic,
00:16:39.83\00:16:42.83
she said, "Mom,
you got to let me go"
00:16:42.86\00:16:47.14
we didn't
realize it, we would...
00:16:47.17\00:16:50.31
those were the last
words we'd ever heard from her.
00:16:50.34\00:16:52.67
She was to work to twelve,
but she got off an hour earlier,
00:16:52.71\00:16:58.08
typically when she'd work,
she would send a text to mom,
00:16:58.11\00:17:01.75
she didn't for some
reason that morning.
00:17:01.78\00:17:04.05
So she made it safely
to work? Hmmm... hmmm...
00:17:04.09\00:17:07.12
She worked and
then she got off early,
00:17:07.16\00:17:08.89
then at 1:30,
00:17:08.92\00:17:11.23
Mary was getting
kind of concerned
00:17:11.26\00:17:13.33
because she knew she
was supposed to be off work,
00:17:13.36\00:17:15.40
and she hadn't gotten a call,
00:17:15.43\00:17:17.70
at 1:30 she got a
call from the hospital,
00:17:17.73\00:17:20.60
the one call that parents fear,
and as a result, they said,
00:17:20.64\00:17:29.08
"Ms. Cassidy, is there
somewhere you can talk?"
00:17:29.11\00:17:31.91
she went into the
next room, she said,
00:17:31.95\00:17:33.98
they said... the
Social Worker said,
00:17:34.02\00:17:35.98
"Your daughter was in
a major car accident,"
00:17:36.02\00:17:39.05
of course, Mary
said, "Is she okay?"
00:17:39.09\00:17:41.72
and then those fateful words,
00:17:41.76\00:17:44.33
that should never
be said on the phone,
00:17:44.36\00:17:46.83
"She didn't make it"
00:17:46.90\00:17:48.23
my wife just... it's just like
a ton of bricks falling on her,
00:17:48.26\00:17:54.60
she said, "It's
got to be a mistake,
00:17:54.64\00:17:55.97
you need to call my
husband and talk to him"
00:17:56.00\00:17:57.37
she called me,
she gave me the number
00:17:57.41\00:17:59.44
to call the hospital,
00:17:59.47\00:18:00.81
I spoke to the Social Worker
and then the Highway Patrol
00:18:00.84\00:18:03.91
and told us what
happened, I got off the phone,
00:18:03.95\00:18:06.98
she was coming home to get me,
00:18:07.02\00:18:08.35
and I'm just
shaking, How can this be... "
00:18:08.38\00:18:10.82
You just saw her that
morning, you just saw her.
00:18:10.85\00:18:13.32
Rod: She was here and now
she was gone... Mary: Six hours.
00:18:13.36\00:18:16.56
When she got home,
I had to call somebody
00:18:16.59\00:18:18.36
to have prayer with
and I called Pastor Bill,
00:18:18.39\00:18:20.50
the first thing out
of his mouth he said,
00:18:20.53\00:18:22.70
"The Lord giveth,
the Lord taketh away,
00:18:22.73\00:18:24.87
blessed be the name of the Lord"
00:18:24.90\00:18:26.74
Although that didn't
seem that comforting then,
00:18:26.80\00:18:29.10
he had a great prayer with me,
00:18:29.14\00:18:30.61
he prayed two more
times that weekend,
00:18:30.64\00:18:32.04
we got in the car,
went down to the hospital,
00:18:32.07\00:18:35.34
and the Physician came in and
spent some time talking to us
00:18:35.38\00:18:39.21
the Highway Patrol saying,
00:18:39.25\00:18:41.68
they did everything
they could to save her.
00:18:41.72\00:18:44.15
Then we were taken
into the room where she was,
00:18:44.19\00:18:46.59
and we had called a number
of family members and friends
00:18:46.65\00:18:50.59
and one family, in particular,
came to the hospital,
00:18:50.63\00:18:54.46
and he told me,
00:18:54.50\00:18:55.83
while we were just
crying our hearts out,
00:18:55.86\00:18:58.80
he said, "We lost our
daughter seven months ago,
00:18:58.83\00:19:02.64
to the day, she was
twenty, DUl hit her,"
00:19:02.67\00:19:07.74
and so immediately we
had a bond with this family
00:19:07.78\00:19:11.55
in the church, and
we got home that night,
00:19:11.58\00:19:17.89
almost midnight, we
never walked into the house
00:19:17.95\00:19:20.96
when it was so cold, so dark,
00:19:20.99\00:19:23.19
her two little animals,
00:19:23.22\00:19:24.93
cat and dog, Brianna's met
us... the one on the picture,
00:19:24.96\00:19:27.66
and they knew
something was wrong,
00:19:27.70\00:19:29.93
we went into her
bedroom and just cried,
00:19:29.96\00:19:32.10
what do you do,
00:19:32.13\00:19:33.47
Mary wanted to be as close
to her as she possibly could,
00:19:33.50\00:19:36.47
finally...
through sheer exhaustion
00:19:36.50\00:19:40.08
must have been 1:30 or
2 o'clock I fell asleep,
00:19:40.14\00:19:42.71
it's tiring, it's
exhausting for me,
00:19:42.74\00:19:45.18
I fell asleep, maybe
an hour or two went by
00:19:45.21\00:19:48.18
we woke up with
this overwhelming grief,
00:19:48.22\00:19:51.29
and it just
grabbed me and I thought,
00:19:51.32\00:19:54.32
"I'm going to go insane,
this is only the first night,
00:19:54.36\00:19:56.59
how do you survive this?"
00:19:56.62\00:19:57.96
and the Holy Spirit
immediately gave me seven words,
00:19:57.99\00:20:01.83
John 11:25, "I am the
resurrection and the life,
00:20:01.86\00:20:05.70
I am the resurrection and
life" I just kept repeating it,
00:20:05.73\00:20:08.84
until that
peace came that night.
00:20:08.87\00:20:11.97
For two days, we were
torn, especially Mary,
00:20:12.01\00:20:16.71
nobody was with our daughter,
00:20:16.75\00:20:18.41
finally, Sunday night,
00:20:18.45\00:20:19.78
a lady reaches
out to us on Facebook,
00:20:19.81\00:20:23.02
she had been trying
to reach us for two days,
00:20:23.05\00:20:25.75
and we called her,
00:20:25.79\00:20:27.26
and I'll let Mary
tell you about that.
00:20:27.32\00:20:30.63
She was on with us, Kimberly,
00:20:30.66\00:20:32.26
she was on with us for
about... almost an hour,
00:20:32.29\00:20:35.10
and she said... actually,
that she was with Brianna,
00:20:35.13\00:20:39.03
that she had seen
the entire accident,
00:20:39.07\00:20:44.67
that he actually,
00:20:44.71\00:20:46.04
and prior to
seeing the accident,
00:20:46.07\00:20:49.11
she grew up in that
area, she had been to Costco
00:20:49.14\00:20:52.81
and had been
through three lines,
00:20:52.85\00:20:54.75
she said, "That
never happened to me"
00:20:54.78\00:20:56.28
Rod: Three lanes
Mary: she'd go to one,
00:20:56.32\00:20:57.69
okay, you have to
go to the next one,
00:20:57.72\00:20:59.05
she's like, "What's going on?"
00:20:59.09\00:21:00.82
but we know now, the
Lord was delaying her
00:21:00.86\00:21:04.46
to be at the
scene of the accident
00:21:04.49\00:21:07.16
the minute it happened
00:21:07.20\00:21:08.53
and she saw how
it all took place,
00:21:08.56\00:21:09.90
this guy was, for four
minutes, driving recklessly,
00:21:09.93\00:21:12.80
he almost hit them, he
almost hit another vehicle,
00:21:12.83\00:21:15.84
then he veered off
the road, eastbound lanes,
00:21:15.87\00:21:18.74
two lanes this way
and two lanes westbound,
00:21:18.77\00:21:21.34
he flew off the highway,
lost control of the vehicle
00:21:21.38\00:21:24.05
and there was a five
foot berm, he flew over that,
00:21:24.08\00:21:26.68
and Brianna was
coming around the corner,
00:21:26.72\00:21:29.15
and she didn't have a
chance, she didn't see him,
00:21:29.18\00:21:31.75
and he flew right into her car,
00:21:31.79\00:21:33.12
both vehicles...
00:21:33.15\00:21:34.49
the force of the
impact put them perpendicular
00:21:34.52\00:21:36.73
on the side of the
road, they saw it all
00:21:36.76\00:21:39.49
Kimberly and her
husband, and they rushed out,
00:21:39.53\00:21:41.56
quickly went
over to where she was
00:21:41.63\00:21:43.77
they couldn't get
in on the driver's side
00:21:43.80\00:21:46.17
so they went to
the passenger side,
00:21:46.20\00:21:47.60
he had to kick out the
window, it was cracked,
00:21:47.64\00:21:49.97
and she went, and she
couldn't open the door
00:21:50.01\00:21:52.84
so she went in and
while she was in the car,
00:21:52.87\00:21:55.64
leaning over through the door,
00:21:55.68\00:21:57.35
she was a Christian, and
had just come back to church
00:21:57.38\00:22:01.52
she was a mother of
five, and a Trauma Nurse,
00:22:01.55\00:22:04.72
now what's the
chance of that happening?
00:22:04.75\00:22:07.36
Come on now...
00:22:07.39\00:22:08.72
While she's in the
car, she hears a voice,
00:22:08.76\00:22:11.59
she's taking her vitals,
00:22:11.63\00:22:13.46
which was
dropping minute by minute
00:22:13.50\00:22:15.03
she hears a voice, she
hears a lot of commotion
00:22:15.06\00:22:16.97
people were
stopping along the side,
00:22:17.00\00:22:18.63
to pray and come over
00:22:18.67\00:22:20.27
she thought somebody
had gotten on the back seat,
00:22:20.30\00:22:21.74
she hears a voice, it said,
00:22:21.77\00:22:23.10
"Kimberly, calm down,
call my daughter by her name"
00:22:23.14\00:22:27.28
she realized it was the
voice of the Holy Spirit,
00:22:27.31\00:22:31.21
and there was an
envelope of peace in the car,
00:22:31.25\00:22:35.15
the rest of the
time she was in there,
00:22:35.18\00:22:37.42
she finds a wallet, she
didn't know what to call her
00:22:37.45\00:22:40.09
because she... Brianna
would go by "Brianna" but
00:22:40.16\00:22:44.73
many people call her "Brianna"
so she just called her "Brie"
00:22:44.76\00:22:47.13
which was her
nickname, and she sang to her,
00:22:47.16\00:22:50.23
but then the time
came, shortly thereafter,
00:22:50.27\00:22:53.34
she knew the signs
of the end of life,
00:22:53.37\00:22:55.84
Brianna took a
breath and it was over,
00:22:55.87\00:22:58.31
so she believed,
she didn't make it out.
00:22:58.34\00:23:00.78
And she did confirmed with
us that Brianna didn't suffer
00:23:00.81\00:23:03.85
because apparently
when the car hit her,
00:23:03.88\00:23:06.35
it knocked her unconscious,
so Brianna didn't suffer,
00:23:06.38\00:23:09.98
thank God for that. Praise God.
00:23:10.05\00:23:11.99
Yes, yes...
00:23:12.02\00:23:13.72
The next day her brother came up
00:23:13.76\00:23:15.42
from the ministry he
had just been involved in,
00:23:15.46\00:23:17.13
to minister to us,
and he said two things
00:23:17.16\00:23:21.46
that I'll never forget, he said,
00:23:21.53\00:23:24.87
"Satan's kingdom
needs to be damaged
00:23:24.90\00:23:27.34
for what he has
done to your daughter
00:23:27.37\00:23:29.74
you need to put this on video,
00:23:29.80\00:23:34.48
the Memorial Service
and put it on YouTube
00:23:34.54\00:23:37.98
for the world to
see," Hmmm... hmmm...
00:23:38.01\00:23:40.22
and he also said this,
00:23:40.25\00:23:41.82
he said, "There are
two lights in the world,
00:23:41.85\00:23:46.35
some... they burn slow and long,
00:23:46.39\00:23:48.82
and others... they
burn fast and bright,
00:23:48.86\00:23:50.43
your daughter was one
of those... the latter"
00:23:50.49\00:23:54.60
Hmmm... and from that time on
00:23:54.63\00:23:57.47
we started thinking
about maybe doing a website
00:23:57.50\00:23:59.70
to tell our story to the
world, and we have done that
00:23:59.73\00:24:03.24
we also have a
30-second video clip
00:24:03.27\00:24:06.71
that we did, maybe
we can show that now,
00:24:06.74\00:24:09.34
Yeah, let's show it and then
we'll put the website up as well
00:24:09.38\00:24:11.71
let's show that clip right now.
00:24:11.75\00:24:13.18
Hi, my name is Brianna,
every time I fly an airplane,
00:24:13.21\00:24:18.02
I experience freedom,
00:24:18.05\00:24:19.39
the stress of
the week, melts away
00:24:19.42\00:24:21.82
because I'm in a heavenly
burden-free environment,
00:24:21.86\00:24:25.23
I want to be able to
share a better type of freedom
00:24:25.26\00:24:28.56
with people from
different walks of life,
00:24:28.60\00:24:30.33
freedom and peace
00:24:30.37\00:24:32.00
that comes from leaving
the shackles of sin behind
00:24:32.03\00:24:34.57
that feeling that
can only be achieved
00:24:34.60\00:24:37.34
by being forgiven and
set free in Jesus Christ.
00:24:37.37\00:24:41.11
Thank you so much
00:24:41.14\00:24:42.54
for taking the
time to consider me.
00:24:42.58\00:24:44.21
She did this video
clip two weeks before her...
00:24:44.25\00:24:49.12
that tragic day
00:24:49.15\00:24:50.49
she was doing it for
Quiet Hour Ministries
00:24:50.52\00:24:54.06
as a sponsorship
for another Mission Trip
00:24:54.09\00:24:57.79
and later we ran
across the gentleman at ASI
00:24:57.83\00:25:01.50
and he... one of his assistants
00:25:01.53\00:25:04.30
put us in touch with
him and he said, "Oh... "
00:25:04.33\00:25:06.30
he's also a pilot and he
said, "She would have won that,
00:25:06.33\00:25:09.10
Mission Trip
sponsorship. " Wow...
00:25:09.14\00:25:12.47
There are so many
comments that I can make
00:25:12.54\00:25:16.14
but one of them is
that, what you've gone through
00:25:16.21\00:25:19.58
is what every...
00:25:19.61\00:25:20.95
every parent that's
watching this right now
00:25:20.98\00:25:23.72
can identify to an
extent with the idea of loss,
00:25:23.75\00:25:31.29
of losing your
child, it is unthinkable,
00:25:31.33\00:25:34.06
and to know, though,
that there is a resurrection
00:25:34.10\00:25:40.27
and that Jesus Christ said,
00:25:40.30\00:25:42.40
"I am the
resurrection and the life"
00:25:42.44\00:25:44.71
we don't have to worry
about this being, "good-bye"
00:25:44.74\00:25:48.14
this is just a
temporary... temporary absence,
00:25:48.18\00:25:53.01
we're going to put
her website up as well
00:25:53.05\00:25:55.58
so that people can go to
the website: briannacassidy. com
00:25:55.62\00:25:57.89
see the story, what...
00:25:57.92\00:26:00.42
what did you do... to deal...
00:26:00.46\00:26:05.59
and we only have like
a couple of minutes left,
00:26:05.63\00:26:07.53
what did you do to
deal with the suffering
00:26:07.56\00:26:10.60
that you went through
over this period of time?
00:26:10.63\00:26:13.60
For us it's been a...
00:26:13.64\00:26:15.74
just reaching out to
other people in our grief
00:26:15.77\00:26:19.41
that's been a big
blessing for us...
00:26:19.44\00:26:22.18
to be honest... to keep busy,
00:26:22.21\00:26:23.55
because Brianna
was our only child
00:26:23.58\00:26:25.25
so, setting up our Foundation
that we've set up for her
00:26:25.28\00:26:29.52
and that was a miracle
because we got our 501c3 Rating
00:26:29.55\00:26:33.69
in a week and a half, and
we were like... "Miracle!"
00:26:33.76\00:26:37.79
That's unheard of, isn't it?
00:26:37.83\00:26:39.19
Yeah, and that's what
we've been told by many, yup.
00:26:39.23\00:26:41.86
We have put our energies
00:26:41.90\00:26:43.60
toward the
website and the Foundation
00:26:43.63\00:26:45.60
because it's been...
for us... therapeutic,
00:26:45.63\00:26:49.04
and as a result, we
have found some healing,
00:26:49.07\00:26:52.47
we are presently sponsoring
two pilots in South America,
00:26:52.51\00:26:57.85
we also have
three Media Ministries
00:26:57.88\00:27:00.22
in all of these,
Brianna was, in some way,
00:27:00.25\00:27:03.42
either involved in or
she had some influence with
00:27:03.49\00:27:07.06
we're helping in
sponsoring UnScene Media...
00:27:07.09\00:27:10.23
Yvonne: Oh yes,
Ryan St. Hillaire.
00:27:10.26\00:27:12.79
Little Lights
Studios out in California,
00:27:12.83\00:27:15.90
and just recently,
we're helping a Program
00:27:15.96\00:27:18.73
that will be aired on
Brenda Walsh's Kids' Network
00:27:18.77\00:27:21.47
called "Kids in Mission"
that should be filmed next year
00:27:21.50\00:27:25.04
and so through
this we are promoting
00:27:25.07\00:27:28.74
what our daughter wanted to do,
00:27:28.78\00:27:30.78
helping get the gospel out there
00:27:30.85\00:27:32.81
while we still have time
00:27:32.85\00:27:34.18
and we know God has a plan
to reach more souls through it.
00:27:34.22\00:27:38.92
Yes, he does and God has
allowed you to take this tragedy
00:27:38.95\00:27:43.83
and turn it into
triumph. Absolutely.
00:27:43.86\00:27:47.40
And Brianna's
memory will be memorialized
00:27:47.43\00:27:50.73
through your efforts so
we praise the Lord for that.
00:27:50.77\00:27:54.04
Thank you so much
for being with us.
00:27:54.10\00:27:55.77
Thank you. Thank you so much
00:27:55.80\00:27:57.37
and thank you for joining us,
00:27:57.41\00:27:58.87
we've reached the
end of another Program,
00:27:58.94\00:28:01.31
can't believe the
time flew by so quickly,
00:28:01.34\00:28:03.58
join us next time
because you know what?
00:28:03.61\00:28:05.81
It just wouldn't be
the same, without you.
00:28:05.85\00:28:08.08