Have you wanted
to change your diet,
00:00:01.86\00:00:03.53
but all the health food
you've tasted was disgusting?
00:00:03.57\00:00:06.53
Stay tune to meet a
woman who can change your mind.
00:00:06.57\00:00:09.34
My name is Jason Bradley
00:00:09.37\00:00:10.71
and you're
watching Urban Report.
00:00:10.74\00:00:13.38
Hello and
welcome to Urban Report.
00:00:36.67\00:00:38.53
My guest today
is Nicole Braxton,
00:00:38.57\00:00:40.47
one of the best
vegan chefs anywhere.
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Welcome to Urban Report, Nicole.
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Thank you,
Jason. Happy to be here.
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Well, we're happy to have you.
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I was so surprised
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when I tasted
some of your recipes,
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some of your
Creative Cooking creations.
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Thank you.
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I wanna find out a little
bit about your background.
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So were you
raised in the church,
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were you raised Adventist?
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Tell us about that. Yes.
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So growing up, I really...
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I began to have a
relationship with God
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when I was in high school.
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I got to the point
when I was younger,
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my parents started to say,
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"Okay, we need to
start going to church."
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So we started going to
a local Methodist Church.
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And, but I was in,
you know, a teenage years,
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I was a little bit rebellious.
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So I found every
reason not to go to church.
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I was always sick.
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So... Okay. Okay.
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But as time went on,
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I developed a
relationship with Jesus
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and I went through
different periods of my life.
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It was a point where my
dad was really, really sick.
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And I got to the
point where he was...
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The doctors said,
"We're preparing us,
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get ready for his
passing, essentially."
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He's in the hospital
for about over a year.
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He had different
things with his pancreas
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and he had
about seven surgeries,
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he had a drug-induced
coma, there was a lot going on.
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And only at that time,
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that's when I realized that
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there is the only thing
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that could save me is
my relationship with Jesus.
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At first, I was so, you
know, at the point like, why me?
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Why would this happen to me?
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And then I
started leaning upon God.
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It's amazing how,
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you know, tragedy can
bring us closer to God.
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Yeah, that was something
that guided me near to Him.
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And in this journey, I
started to read the Bible.
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I went and found this
really old Bible in our house,
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that had dust on
top and I dusted it off
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and it was the King
James Version of the Bible.
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So there's a lot of thous
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and all these different things
that I could barely pronounce.
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But I was excited to read it
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because I knew
that it was God's Word
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and He kept guiding me to it.
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So I'd wake up in the mornings
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and there was a room beside mine
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that was really empty,
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so I would just go in
there and read the Bible,
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look outside and the sunlight
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and I started to have
this relationship with God
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and inspired me
to be a nature more.
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So essentially, this whole
experience allowed me to see
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God as my friend
and my personal Savior
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and not so much as
this foreign entity
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that I had no contact with.
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I realized that He directly
cared about my circumstance
00:03:25.37\00:03:29.20
and He was there for me
when I needed Him the most.
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And from that, it inspired
me to start reading the Bible,
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as I said, and
also it encouraged me
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to share that love
with other people around me.
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I didn't
necessarily share Bible verses,
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but my perspective and
my outlook towards people
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and the way that I treated
them was a lot different.
00:03:49.19\00:03:52.19
Once I started to develop
that relationship with Jesus
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and it took me
on a different path.
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And later after I
graduated high school,
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I went to college.
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I went to amazing
university, I really liked.
00:04:01.90\00:04:05.91
And during my time,
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I went to a
university though that...
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When I was with my friends,
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I was in different environments
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and I started to
adapt to the environments
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and I allowed them to change,
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you know, not the
environment itself,
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but it was just like all
the different circumstances,
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my desires and
taste started to change,
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and in that...
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So you kind of use from
what I hear you're saying.
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Correct me if I'm
wrong. Yeah. Yeah.
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You started to
confirm to your environment.
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You know, the Bible also says,
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"By beholding,
we become changed."
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Exactly.
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And so you are
hanging with the certain crowd
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that was,
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that by beholding the
things that they were doing,
00:04:43.85\00:04:46.88
they had an influence over you.
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And it was essentially
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majority of my
friends were amazing.
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I have really great friends
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and it was just
that I started to...
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I was in a box when
I was in high school
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and then I went like out.
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And in doing so, I
forgot and neglected
00:05:02.66\00:05:06.17
my relationship with Jesus
00:05:06.20\00:05:07.60
because I just was
interested in having fun
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and not developing and
continuously seeking God
00:05:11.84\00:05:15.04
throughout my experiences.
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So it was completely me.
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I love all the
people that I met.
00:05:17.81\00:05:19.15
It was just, I started
to focus on other things
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as opposed to my
relationship with Jesus.
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And so I'm very thankful though,
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because one day
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I met two
awesome girls in school
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and they came to
me and they said,
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"Okay, Nicole,
let's go to Hong Kong."
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And I looked at them
like, "Hong Kong, Asia?"
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I thought I was
gonna go to France first.
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I don't even know how to
speak anything in mandarin.
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I don't even know
if I would survive,
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I don't even know.
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So, you know, I prayed about it
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and then I started
hearing different things,
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so at the time I
studied business in school.
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So they had an exchange program,
00:06:01.29\00:06:03.29
so we could
learn different things.
00:06:03.32\00:06:05.69
And when I
started to doing research,
00:06:05.73\00:06:08.23
I liked what they were
doing with their economies.
00:06:08.26\00:06:10.70
I said, "Okay, I
can learn something."
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I started to see it.
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And then our teacher said,
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you have a great
conversion rate there.
00:06:15.14\00:06:16.47
So I said, "Oh, we
have more money there?"
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So I said,
"Okay, I will go there.
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I can be able to
survive more and have fun."
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So these are
starting to look up.
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So I said, "Okay."
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When I was in school,
so I started to realize,
00:06:27.68\00:06:30.39
"Okay, I want to
start getting back
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to my relationship with Jesus."
00:06:32.35\00:06:34.32
So I had some moments.
00:06:34.36\00:06:36.19
There was a day I
went to a revival.
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Okay. In my university.
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And that's when I was like,
okay, "God I wanna come back."
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So it's been
this back and forth.
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This tug of war with, you know,
my relationship with Jesus.
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Okay, all right I'm coming back.
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So I started to,
you know, read my Bible.
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I was working in a
Rec Center at the time.
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And one day I was
sitting at the Rec Center,
00:06:57.35\00:06:59.31
someone came in and I...
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In between when
people were coming,
00:07:00.72\00:07:02.05
I was reading my Bible.
00:07:02.08\00:07:03.42
So someone came and they
said, "So you read the Bible?"
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And I say, yeah, I do.
00:07:07.29\00:07:09.02
They said so what
do you think about it?
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And just started
asking me different questions.
00:07:11.53\00:07:13.09
So I was like, oh,
this is the first person
00:07:13.13\00:07:14.80
that's really
interested in what I'm reading.
00:07:14.83\00:07:17.33
And there was a
teacher there and he said
00:07:17.37\00:07:20.40
"Well, I'm
starting a Bible study group
00:07:20.44\00:07:22.80
and what we're gonna do is...
00:07:22.84\00:07:24.17
It's gonna be about religion,
00:07:24.21\00:07:25.54
where we gonna
focus on Christianity,
00:07:25.57\00:07:28.48
we'll focus on other things
00:07:28.51\00:07:29.84
but our premise is Christianity.
00:07:29.88\00:07:32.38
So it's to open the
dialogue about faith.
00:07:32.41\00:07:36.02
And I said okay, so
I started going there.
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And when I went,
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it was around the same
time that the two new girls
00:07:41.12\00:07:43.83
that I met asked
me to go to Hong Kong.
00:07:43.86\00:07:45.59
So I'm telling like, yeah,
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I'm going to Hong
Kong, it's gonna be awesome.
00:07:47.73\00:07:51.20
And then I realized reality hit,
00:07:51.23\00:07:55.10
when it came to it.
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You know, as we
were getting up there,
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I was like,
wow, this is actually
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really expensive to get there,
00:07:59.24\00:08:00.58
maybe I have a
conversion rate now.
00:08:00.61\00:08:02.38
But getting there
is really expensive.
00:08:02.41\00:08:03.81
So I starting to get worried.
00:08:03.85\00:08:05.58
But at that time I already
locked in my plane ticket
00:08:05.61\00:08:08.08
because I thought, it's
like, oh, it's fine, you know.
00:08:08.12\00:08:10.29
So this program
essentially allows you
00:08:10.32\00:08:11.65
to lock in your rate.
00:08:11.69\00:08:13.15
You know, when it comes to
plane tickets, they fluctuate.
00:08:13.19\00:08:15.56
And so the Bible
study teacher kept coming,
00:08:15.59\00:08:19.33
"Nicole, how's it going?
00:08:19.36\00:08:20.70
How's it going?
How's the going?"
00:08:20.73\00:08:22.36
And I told him, you
know, everything is going well.
00:08:22.40\00:08:25.33
He said, "How's the trip?"
00:08:25.37\00:08:26.70
And I said, you
know, I'm not really sure
00:08:26.74\00:08:29.00
and I need to
figure out some things.
00:08:29.04\00:08:32.24
And then I said, it's really...
00:08:32.27\00:08:33.61
I just have to
figure out how to get there.
00:08:33.64\00:08:35.51
So I continuously
prayed and one day
00:08:35.54\00:08:37.78
he came to the Rec
Center and he said,
00:08:37.81\00:08:39.35
"Nicole, what does this
numbers look like to you?"
00:08:39.38\00:08:42.92
So he wrote on a piece of paper.
00:08:42.95\00:08:44.29
He just showed me some numbers.
00:08:44.32\00:08:45.85
And it was the same
amount as my plane ticket
00:08:45.89\00:08:49.32
and I had already
locked my plane ticket
00:08:49.36\00:08:51.49
and at that time
00:08:51.53\00:08:53.46
the plane tickets
were skyrocketed and he...
00:08:53.50\00:08:56.26
It was like the same amount.
00:08:56.30\00:08:58.17
And I said that's what the
same amount of my plane ticket.
00:08:58.20\00:09:00.17
And he said "Oh, okay" and
then he went to go workout,
00:09:00.20\00:09:03.77
then when he was about to leave,
00:09:03.81\00:09:05.14
he slid an
envelop and then he ran.
00:09:05.17\00:09:07.71
And I said, what?
00:09:07.74\00:09:09.68
Did you... Wait a minute. Yeah.
00:09:09.71\00:09:11.05
Did you tell him
though the amount that...
00:09:11.08\00:09:13.88
No, I never told him. Wow.
00:09:13.92\00:09:15.88
He said "I've
been praying for you
00:09:15.92\00:09:18.15
and God showed
me these numbers."
00:09:18.19\00:09:20.49
Whoa!
00:09:20.52\00:09:21.86
So then I went there
and I opened it and I said,
00:09:21.89\00:09:24.96
but wait, wait, wait...
00:09:24.99\00:09:26.33
You know, like, wait
where you're going? He ran.
00:09:26.36\00:09:28.23
I opened it and
it was the amount
00:09:28.26\00:09:29.96
I needed to get to China.
00:09:30.00\00:09:32.27
So I went there,
00:09:32.30\00:09:34.07
the whole thing
was God ordained.
00:09:34.10\00:09:35.87
When I was there I started to...
00:09:35.90\00:09:38.87
I got to a point that I
wanted to get back to God
00:09:38.91\00:09:41.78
more and more.
00:09:41.81\00:09:43.14
It's just like...
00:09:43.18\00:09:44.51
In this relationship
God is just amazing.
00:09:44.55\00:09:46.11
It's a daily, daily journey
to allow Him back in your life,
00:09:46.15\00:09:50.99
back in your life, you know.
00:09:51.02\00:09:52.35
So the whole experience was
really working on your heart
00:09:52.39\00:09:54.82
it sounds like.
00:09:54.86\00:09:56.19
And it's amazing to see the fact
00:09:56.22\00:09:57.56
that God can reach
you wherever you are.
00:09:57.59\00:09:59.49
You know, it doesn't
matter if you are in America,
00:09:59.53\00:10:02.00
if you are in Hong
Kong, if you are in India,
00:10:02.03\00:10:03.77
if you are in...
00:10:03.80\00:10:05.13
Wherever you
are, God can reach you
00:10:05.17\00:10:06.50
and He's longing to have
that relationship with you.
00:10:06.53\00:10:09.10
That's the truth.
00:10:09.14\00:10:10.47
And so it's amazing
to me how He just...
00:10:10.51\00:10:16.71
He really kind of, like
guided your path in the sense
00:10:16.75\00:10:20.88
that He provided
you with the funds
00:10:20.92\00:10:23.95
that you needed to even make it
over there in the first place.
00:10:23.99\00:10:27.46
So tell us more about
what happened in Hong Kong
00:10:27.49\00:10:30.09
and then I want to transition
into Creative Cooking.
00:10:30.13\00:10:33.23
Absolutely. And touch on that.
00:10:33.26\00:10:36.87
So when I was
there, I started to...
00:10:36.90\00:10:39.60
I had a great time and
then I got to the point
00:10:39.63\00:10:41.80
where I asked God, I
would like a church family.
00:10:41.84\00:10:44.47
I had this
point when I was like,
00:10:44.51\00:10:45.94
God I'm empty without You,
00:10:45.97\00:10:48.18
I need more and
more, and more of You
00:10:48.21\00:10:50.15
because He's so amazing.
00:10:50.18\00:10:51.78
And when I
prayed, I also asked my...
00:10:51.81\00:10:56.12
I follow that
prayer with an action
00:10:56.15\00:10:58.12
and I went and
asked my classmate.
00:10:58.15\00:11:00.96
Do you know any
local churches near by?
00:11:00.99\00:11:02.66
Because I prayed
for a church family,
00:11:02.69\00:11:04.43
that's one of the
things that I prayed for.
00:11:04.46\00:11:06.29
And she invited
me to her church.
00:11:06.33\00:11:08.13
Her church met on Saturdays.
00:11:08.16\00:11:10.27
So I went there with
her and we journeyed.
00:11:10.30\00:11:13.80
It was about an hour out.
00:11:13.84\00:11:15.57
So basically...
00:11:15.60\00:11:17.17
Since it was on Saturday,
00:11:17.21\00:11:18.54
I woke up first
thing in the morning
00:11:18.57\00:11:20.48
and then I didn't
come to the evening
00:11:20.51\00:11:22.01
because they had
all these festivities
00:11:22.04\00:11:24.55
and essentially
I started observing
00:11:24.58\00:11:26.78
this day of rest that...
00:11:26.82\00:11:28.45
So you started observing
the Sabbath in Hong Kong.
00:11:28.48\00:11:30.79
Yes, in Hong Kong. Whoa!
00:11:30.82\00:11:33.92
Yes, and it was really amazing
00:11:33.96\00:11:36.09
because I really like the value
00:11:36.12\00:11:39.16
of taking a day out of
the week to spend with God,
00:11:39.19\00:11:42.06
specifically the seven day,
00:11:42.10\00:11:43.87
that was really
something that changed my life.
00:11:43.90\00:11:48.14
And I was later introduced
from one of my classmates,
00:11:48.17\00:11:51.47
she's amazing girl,
her name is Krishna.
00:11:51.51\00:11:53.61
When I talked with her more,
00:11:53.64\00:11:55.64
she later introduced
me to her friend, Daniel.
00:11:55.68\00:11:59.15
He was a Seventh-day
Adventist youth pastor.
00:11:59.18\00:12:03.39
So he messaged me on Facebook
00:12:03.42\00:12:06.52
and then we started
skyping, we did Bible studies.
00:12:06.55\00:12:10.33
And when I was in
thesis for an internship,
00:12:10.36\00:12:16.03
he gave me a Bible.
00:12:16.06\00:12:17.97
I was in a Kia dealership.
00:12:18.00\00:12:19.37
This is what inspired me
00:12:19.40\00:12:20.74
to get into the Adventist space.
00:12:20.77\00:12:22.50
So I was there.
00:12:22.54\00:12:23.87
So the church I
went to on Saturdays
00:12:23.91\00:12:25.27
was Pentecostal originally.
00:12:25.31\00:12:27.18
And then I went to
the Kia dealership,
00:12:27.21\00:12:29.71
I had the Bible
with me and it had uh...
00:12:29.74\00:12:34.48
E.G. White notes and
different things like that.
00:12:34.52\00:12:36.89
So I was holding my Bible
00:12:36.92\00:12:38.69
and someone at
the dealership said,
00:12:38.72\00:12:40.06
"Hey, miss, can you come here?"
00:12:40.09\00:12:41.42
So the
technician asked me to come.
00:12:41.46\00:12:42.92
And he called
me across the room,
00:12:42.96\00:12:44.29
I was like "What does he what?"
00:12:44.33\00:12:45.66
So I basically
went there and he said,
00:12:45.69\00:12:47.30
"Miss, do you know why
people go to church on Sunday
00:12:47.33\00:12:51.03
and not Saturday?"
00:12:51.07\00:12:52.80
He said, "Is it
because the calendar change,
00:12:52.83\00:12:56.07
is it because the
days, the months?"
00:12:56.10\00:12:57.81
He starts to ask me all
these specific questions
00:12:57.84\00:13:00.11
and I said I didn't know.
00:13:00.14\00:13:01.48
So I went back to my friend,
00:13:01.51\00:13:02.88
we studied and God
completely opened my eyes
00:13:02.91\00:13:05.41
and that's when
inspired me to study more
00:13:05.45\00:13:07.68
in the Adventist Church.
00:13:07.72\00:13:09.05
So wait a minute.
Let's rewind a little bit.
00:13:09.08\00:13:12.45
So you went to a Kia dealership.
00:13:12.49\00:13:13.82
You talked to
the technician. Yeah.
00:13:13.86\00:13:16.16
And he was asking you,
why people went to church...
00:13:16.19\00:13:20.60
Did you mean like on
Saturday as opposed to Sunday?
00:13:20.63\00:13:23.26
Yes. Okay, okay.
00:13:23.30\00:13:25.13
So he was asking me,
00:13:25.17\00:13:26.50
"Are people going to church
on Sunday and not Saturday
00:13:26.53\00:13:28.90
because the calendar change?
00:13:28.94\00:13:31.07
Was there some type of
change that he didn't know,
00:13:31.11\00:13:33.38
that we don't know?"
00:13:33.41\00:13:34.74
And all these questions,
00:13:34.78\00:13:36.11
the question of why
is what inspired me.
00:13:36.14\00:13:38.78
So when I have gone
on this journey of faith,
00:13:38.81\00:13:41.38
and I'm still in
this journey of faith.
00:13:41.42\00:13:43.28
The key thing that has
kept me engaged is why.
00:13:43.32\00:13:46.86
Answering that
question, "Why do we do this?
00:13:46.89\00:13:49.82
Why do we go to church
on Sunday and not Saturday?"
00:13:49.86\00:13:53.03
So by getting the
answers through the word,
00:13:53.06\00:13:55.53
that's what inspired me to study
00:13:55.56\00:13:56.90
in the Adventist Church.
00:13:56.93\00:13:58.27
Now how did you get
into health and cooking
00:13:58.30\00:14:01.94
and how did you
make that transition
00:14:01.97\00:14:03.34
because on Creative Cooking,
00:14:03.37\00:14:05.57
you made some delicious recipes.
00:14:05.61\00:14:09.34
I had no idea that vegan
food could taste that good.
00:14:09.38\00:14:13.52
Praise the Lord. Thank you.
00:14:13.55\00:14:14.88
So how did you
make that transition
00:14:14.92\00:14:16.65
into that vegan lifestyle?
00:14:16.69\00:14:18.65
So that very same
day that God open my eyes
00:14:18.69\00:14:21.09
about the
seventh day, the Sabbath,
00:14:21.12\00:14:24.13
I prayed and I asked Him,
00:14:24.16\00:14:25.49
"God, how can I share
Your truth with Your people?"
00:14:25.53\00:14:27.96
This is something
everyone needs to know.
00:14:28.00\00:14:30.13
Like this is amazing.
00:14:30.17\00:14:31.67
And on that night,
00:14:31.70\00:14:33.17
He answered me and
He showed me a vision.
00:14:33.20\00:14:36.37
And in that vision,
food was a part of it.
00:14:36.40\00:14:39.37
So then I prayed a lot.
00:14:39.41\00:14:41.04
I went to...
00:14:41.08\00:14:42.41
I went back to my university,
00:14:42.44\00:14:43.78
they had a
program called charting,
00:14:43.81\00:14:45.15
so I thought okay, this is it,
00:14:45.18\00:14:46.61
this is where I'm
gonna share God's message.
00:14:46.65\00:14:48.45
So I was sharing everyone
around the world in seven days
00:14:48.48\00:14:52.32
after the seventh-day Sabbath.
00:14:52.35\00:14:54.16
And I was sharing and having
00:14:54.19\00:14:56.39
these amazing
conversations with people.
00:14:56.42\00:14:58.56
And that night of the
event, I didn't get investment,
00:14:58.59\00:15:03.40
but a lot of other people
started talking afterwards.
00:15:03.43\00:15:05.97
And then I started realizing
00:15:06.00\00:15:07.34
if I want to stay
with these principles,
00:15:07.37\00:15:09.34
I can't compromise.
00:15:09.37\00:15:10.71
So I decided,
let's take a step back
00:15:10.74\00:15:12.87
and let the Lord lead.
00:15:12.91\00:15:14.34
And when I did that,
one of my friends was,
00:15:14.38\00:15:17.58
that went to my church.
00:15:17.61\00:15:19.28
He said, there's an event
called ASI, you need to go.
00:15:19.31\00:15:23.15
So I said okay.
00:15:23.18\00:15:24.52
So I wrote down everything
that I need and I said,
00:15:24.55\00:15:27.72
okay, Lord, there's only...
00:15:27.76\00:15:29.32
The only way that
this is even possible...
00:15:29.36\00:15:31.06
I said, okay, I
need to meet this person,
00:15:31.09\00:15:32.83
we need to talk about this.
00:15:32.86\00:15:34.20
I had a really detailed agenda
00:15:34.23\00:15:36.26
with people that I
have not even met yet.
00:15:36.30\00:15:38.20
So...
00:15:38.23\00:15:39.67
But then I realized,
okay, there's so many people.
00:15:39.70\00:15:42.14
Lord, if it is Your will,
00:15:42.17\00:15:43.51
I pray that You open
doors that are meant to be open,
00:15:43.54\00:15:45.71
close doors that
are meant to be closed.
00:15:45.74\00:15:47.81
And I went there
and the first session
00:15:47.84\00:15:51.01
that I went into
00:15:51.05\00:15:52.38
was with Don
Mackintosh and Dave Fiedler.
00:15:52.41\00:15:55.08
Okay.
00:15:55.12\00:15:56.45
And I went up
to them and I said,
00:15:56.48\00:15:57.85
I really want to start
a wellness organization,
00:15:57.89\00:16:02.56
I'm interested in restaurants
and all this different things
00:16:02.59\00:16:05.06
and we started
engaging in conversations
00:16:05.09\00:16:07.60
and from that I was introduced
to Chef Miguel Larcher.
00:16:07.63\00:16:12.00
Okay. They said, okay.
00:16:12.03\00:16:13.37
You know, Chef Miguel,
they said chef is awesome,
00:16:13.40\00:16:16.34
he really likes training
00:16:16.37\00:16:17.71
and you need to
reach out to him.
00:16:17.74\00:16:19.07
So he was in
Wichita, Kansas at that time.
00:16:19.11\00:16:22.54
So I went and we talked
back and forth for about a year
00:16:22.58\00:16:26.75
and then I went, flew down
00:16:26.78\00:16:28.12
and train with him in
his restaurant and then...
00:16:28.15\00:16:31.12
So you trained
under a vegan chef.
00:16:31.15\00:16:32.95
Okay. I did. I did.
00:16:32.99\00:16:34.59
So I trained under a vegan chef
00:16:34.62\00:16:36.09
and he taught me essentially
the great principles and skills
00:16:36.12\00:16:40.30
when it comes to
culinary cuisine.
00:16:40.33\00:16:42.20
Wow! Presentation,
the different seasonings.
00:16:42.23\00:16:46.33
Seasoning, yes.
00:16:46.37\00:16:47.70
See, I love food
like everybody that,
00:16:47.74\00:16:51.31
everybody and
anybody that knows me
00:16:51.34\00:16:53.44
knows that I'm
a foodie at heart.
00:16:53.48\00:16:56.91
So to be able to
taste these recipes
00:16:56.95\00:17:00.72
and try the cuisine,
00:17:00.75\00:17:03.22
the vegan dishes that you made,
00:17:03.25\00:17:08.92
blew my mind.
00:17:08.96\00:17:10.29
And with Creative Cooking
00:17:10.33\00:17:12.79
what can our viewers
expect from this season?
00:17:12.83\00:17:17.03
Well, Creative
Cooking was a blast.
00:17:17.07\00:17:19.43
What they can expect
is delicious, nutritious,
00:17:19.47\00:17:23.44
and exciting cuisines,
it's really innovative.
00:17:23.47\00:17:26.47
In the sense
it's taking, you know,
00:17:26.51\00:17:28.18
common dishes where used to
00:17:28.21\00:17:29.71
when it comes to
say stir fried rice
00:17:29.74\00:17:31.58
and putting a twist to it.
00:17:31.61\00:17:33.28
I really like with
all the different recipes
00:17:33.31\00:17:36.05
to allow everyone
00:17:36.08\00:17:37.69
to be inspired
and customize them
00:17:37.72\00:17:40.76
to meet their own taste buds.
00:17:40.79\00:17:42.89
I think it will be
a unique experience
00:17:42.92\00:17:45.63
and since that
people can travel the world
00:17:45.66\00:17:48.10
one bite at a time.
00:17:48.13\00:17:49.73
I love that. I love that.
00:17:49.76\00:17:51.87
Guess what? Yes.
00:17:51.90\00:17:53.34
We actually have a clip
00:17:53.37\00:17:55.27
from the program
Creative Cooking.
00:17:55.30\00:17:56.94
Nice, okay.
00:17:56.97\00:17:58.61
Let's take a look at
that. All right. Okay.
00:17:58.64\00:18:01.61
Now, we're going to put
00:18:01.64\00:18:04.15
the vegan ricotta
and spinach in there.
00:18:04.18\00:18:07.35
And we'll spread it out.
00:18:14.26\00:18:17.29
Okay.
00:18:17.33\00:18:18.66
It's really beautiful
and colorful with the red,
00:18:18.69\00:18:22.26
white and green.
00:18:22.30\00:18:23.77
Wow! That looks amazing.
00:18:55.36\00:18:57.97
So this was actually
your first cooking program
00:18:58.00\00:19:02.94
that you've done on TV.
00:19:02.97\00:19:04.77
What was your
experience like? Yes.
00:19:04.81\00:19:07.08
It was amazing to see
all the different things
00:19:07.11\00:19:10.08
that go into
putting a TV program.
00:19:10.11\00:19:12.45
You know, from
00:19:12.48\00:19:13.95
all the different scene changes,
00:19:13.98\00:19:16.22
preparing the food.
00:19:16.25\00:19:18.05
It was really
unique when we learned
00:19:18.09\00:19:20.56
how you prep
essentially for two days.
00:19:20.59\00:19:23.19
So it was a lot of
work, but it was fun.
00:19:23.22\00:19:25.46
Because it was nice to
share our gifts and talents
00:19:25.49\00:19:28.80
for greater purpose
00:19:28.83\00:19:30.17
and love interacting
with all the crew here
00:19:30.20\00:19:33.03
and just having them try food,
00:19:33.07\00:19:34.50
it was a really
awesome experience.
00:19:34.54\00:19:36.30
Praise the Lord.
00:19:36.34\00:19:37.67
And there's a
blessing that you had,
00:19:37.71\00:19:39.04
people that supported
you through the process.
00:19:39.07\00:19:41.98
Who did you bring
with you to help you?
00:19:42.01\00:19:45.08
Well, I brought
my lovely mother,
00:19:45.11\00:19:47.05
she is so sweet
00:19:47.08\00:19:48.68
and I also brought
a good friend of mine,
00:19:48.72\00:19:50.85
Alex Porter,
00:19:50.89\00:19:52.22
so he came and helped
00:19:52.25\00:19:53.59
and they were
definitely the power team,
00:19:53.62\00:19:55.39
I couldn't have
done without them.
00:19:55.42\00:19:56.76
Yes, both of them are very kind
00:19:56.79\00:19:59.09
and definitely have
a heart for service.
00:19:59.13\00:20:01.76
Yes.
00:20:01.80\00:20:03.13
What are you doing
now with around the world
00:20:03.16\00:20:05.43
in seven days and ROCK?
00:20:05.47\00:20:08.87
Tell us about that.
00:20:08.90\00:20:10.24
You have a non-profit
00:20:10.27\00:20:11.91
and then you have an
organization as well,
00:20:11.94\00:20:15.71
a library.
00:20:15.74\00:20:17.08
So with around the
world in seven days,
00:20:17.11\00:20:18.88
our main focus is
sharing a message of health
00:20:18.91\00:20:21.45
and restoration
to the community.
00:20:21.48\00:20:24.42
We do this with our
different health workshops.
00:20:24.45\00:20:27.56
For example, we have facilitated
00:20:27.59\00:20:29.39
some diabetes clinics
and with our non-profit,
00:20:29.42\00:20:32.89
we're doing more support groups
00:20:32.93\00:20:34.96
to help the
community share information
00:20:35.00\00:20:38.00
and also provide a place
00:20:38.03\00:20:39.67
where people can get
that support and guidance.
00:20:39.70\00:20:42.94
And also for
example, share information.
00:20:42.97\00:20:46.84
So in a lot of
our groups we found,
00:20:46.88\00:20:50.05
people who are
struggling with same thing.
00:20:50.08\00:20:52.51
And so it's, enable them
00:20:52.55\00:20:54.18
to have accountability partners,
00:20:54.22\00:20:55.92
we also pray over goals.
00:20:55.95\00:20:57.99
So when it comes
to our major focus
00:20:58.02\00:21:00.82
on what we are doing,
00:21:00.86\00:21:02.19
we are doing health workshops,
we are doing cooking classes,
00:21:02.22\00:21:06.39
and we are also
doing pop-up restaurants.
00:21:06.43\00:21:09.20
So around the
world in seven days,
00:21:09.23\00:21:11.17
we also focus on
pop-up restaurants.
00:21:11.20\00:21:13.13
What is a pop-up restaurant
00:21:13.17\00:21:14.50
for our viewers that don't know?
00:21:14.54\00:21:16.04
A pop-up restaurant
00:21:16.07\00:21:17.47
is a unique idea that I created.
00:21:17.51\00:21:19.44
Oh. Actually I'm just kidding.
00:21:19.47\00:21:20.81
It was not created by me. Okay.
00:21:20.84\00:21:23.95
I was gonna
say, well, excuse me.
00:21:23.98\00:21:25.31
Really? Yeah. All right.
00:21:25.35\00:21:26.88
Well, it's
become more popular now.
00:21:26.92\00:21:29.78
So essentially what we
do is we go into a space,
00:21:29.82\00:21:33.36
we have our different meals,
00:21:33.39\00:21:36.12
people come and
where they're temporarily
00:21:36.16\00:21:38.89
in different spaces.
00:21:38.93\00:21:40.30
So what it helps us to do
00:21:40.33\00:21:41.76
is share
delicious plant based food
00:21:41.80\00:21:44.63
and beyond that,
00:21:44.67\00:21:46.00
we also like to
share health information
00:21:46.03\00:21:48.07
and it's a full experience
for those that attend.
00:21:48.10\00:21:51.04
It's a unique
experience essentially,
00:21:51.07\00:21:53.24
all these different Pop-ups
that we share with a community.
00:21:53.27\00:21:56.85
It helps us to build
community around something
00:21:56.88\00:22:00.45
that we both
commonly are interested in,
00:22:00.48\00:22:02.55
which is health and good food.
00:22:02.58\00:22:04.95
So for example, you know,
00:22:04.99\00:22:06.42
when someone tells you
okay, Jason, this food is good,
00:22:06.45\00:22:09.72
that's just,
that's just words, right?
00:22:09.76\00:22:11.96
But its one thing,
00:22:11.99\00:22:13.90
when you go to an event
and the food actually is good.
00:22:13.93\00:22:17.07
So for example, if someone says,
00:22:17.10\00:22:18.63
let's have some
healthy plant based food,
00:22:18.67\00:22:20.44
what would be
your first reaction?
00:22:20.47\00:22:23.64
I would be like, I don't know
00:22:23.67\00:22:25.91
if that's gonna
be delicious or not.
00:22:25.94\00:22:28.24
But after being, well,
seeing Creative Cooking
00:22:28.28\00:22:31.15
and experiencing that flavor...
00:22:31.18\00:22:33.31
Yeah, praise the Lord.
00:22:33.35\00:22:34.68
I'll be like, okay, well, I
give it a word, I'll try it.
00:22:34.72\00:22:38.72
One think that I do wanna...
00:22:38.75\00:22:40.19
I wanna throw in there,
00:22:40.22\00:22:41.56
though as I see a
spiritual application there.
00:22:41.59\00:22:43.16
Yeah.
00:22:43.19\00:22:44.53
If somebody tells you like,
that something tastes good.
00:22:44.56\00:22:47.93
Right.
00:22:47.96\00:22:49.30
You know, it reminds
me of the verse that says,
00:22:49.33\00:22:50.73
"Oh, taste and see
that the Lord is good."
00:22:50.77\00:22:53.23
You can't taste and
see that the Lord is good
00:22:53.27\00:22:55.84
until you develop
00:22:55.87\00:22:57.21
your own personal
relationship with Him.
00:22:57.24\00:22:59.37
Same way you can't taste
00:22:59.41\00:23:01.04
that this plant
based food is delicious,
00:23:01.08\00:23:04.95
unless you
taste it for yourself.
00:23:04.98\00:23:06.75
Yes, and with food
it's a stepping stone.
00:23:06.78\00:23:10.62
So when it comes to health,
00:23:10.65\00:23:12.59
we're really focused
00:23:12.62\00:23:13.96
on the health of our
mind, body, and spirit.
00:23:13.99\00:23:15.96
And one of the
components that we focus on
00:23:15.99\00:23:17.86
when we're doing food
is definitely the body,
00:23:17.89\00:23:20.70
but it's a stepping
stone to bigger things.
00:23:20.73\00:23:22.63
So for example, by
taking care of our body,
00:23:22.66\00:23:24.83
our temple that we were given,
00:23:24.87\00:23:26.94
we are able to honor God
00:23:26.97\00:23:28.40
if we're eating healthy
and making certain choices.
00:23:28.44\00:23:31.21
But we also like to give those
00:23:31.24\00:23:33.07
that attend our
events, resources,
00:23:33.11\00:23:35.84
whether it will be spiritual,
whether it will be physical.
00:23:35.88\00:23:38.81
You know, we like to be
a gateway to other things.
00:23:38.85\00:23:43.02
So for example,
00:23:43.05\00:23:44.39
we're just like
the common ground
00:23:44.42\00:23:45.82
that people can
come and just talk
00:23:45.85\00:23:48.29
and learn and share
00:23:48.32\00:23:49.66
and then build relationships
with each other, yeah.
00:23:49.69\00:23:52.66
And what I love about that is
00:23:52.69\00:23:54.33
that you incorporate
God into all of that.
00:23:54.36\00:23:56.36
Yes, absolutely.
00:23:56.40\00:23:58.27
So what is ROCK stand for?
00:23:58.30\00:24:01.07
ROCK stands for
Restore Our Community Krew.
00:24:01.10\00:24:04.21
Essentially, we're focused
on sharing a message of wellness
00:24:04.24\00:24:08.38
and right now we're also working
00:24:08.41\00:24:10.21
with different
healthcare professionals
00:24:10.25\00:24:12.38
in the Detroit area
00:24:12.41\00:24:13.95
to build more
resources for the community
00:24:13.98\00:24:16.58
and really engage them
on this message of health.
00:24:16.62\00:24:19.42
And we also are
interested in getting intone
00:24:19.45\00:24:21.59
with different Bible workers
00:24:21.62\00:24:23.63
and our goal is really to share
00:24:23.66\00:24:26.03
the message of
mind, body, and spirit.
00:24:26.06\00:24:28.13
And the differentiate
if I can say that...
00:24:28.16\00:24:33.10
Yes, yes, yes.
00:24:33.13\00:24:34.47
The differentiate between
around the world in seven days
00:24:34.50\00:24:36.74
and the
non-profit is that, we're...
00:24:36.77\00:24:39.34
With around the
world in seven days,
00:24:39.37\00:24:40.74
you know, food has
been a key component,
00:24:40.78\00:24:42.91
if not the
highlight and with ROCK,
00:24:42.94\00:24:44.98
we're really focused
more so on total wellness.
00:24:45.01\00:24:49.38
And we like to do that
00:24:49.42\00:24:50.95
predominantly
through wellness workshops.
00:24:50.99\00:24:52.79
Nice. So you're like
a wellness consultant.
00:24:52.82\00:24:55.52
Yes. That's, that's excellent.
00:24:55.56\00:24:57.39
Now, if people want
to go to your website.
00:24:57.43\00:25:00.80
What is your website?
00:25:00.83\00:25:02.16
They can find us at
aroundtheworldin7days.com.
00:25:02.20\00:25:06.70
And again that's
aroundtheworldin7days.com.
00:25:06.74\00:25:10.27
The number
seven. The number seven.
00:25:10.31\00:25:12.14
Yes, the number seven. Okay.
00:25:12.17\00:25:13.51
And we've put that
upon the screen as well.
00:25:13.54\00:25:16.54
So what's next for you?
00:25:16.58\00:25:19.75
So for me,
00:25:19.78\00:25:21.12
I'm really excited
for the different events
00:25:21.15\00:25:23.99
we have coming up.
00:25:24.02\00:25:25.42
We really like to be
the wedge to the Gospel
00:25:25.45\00:25:29.16
when it comes to
different churches.
00:25:29.19\00:25:30.63
So we like to do
different cooking classes.
00:25:30.66\00:25:33.26
We're also working
towards building towards a brick
00:25:33.29\00:25:35.86
and mortar for
the wellness aspects.
00:25:35.90\00:25:38.77
So right now, we're
just in the planning phase
00:25:38.80\00:25:40.80
and I'm really excited to
share what God has given me.
00:25:40.84\00:25:45.17
Amen. Amen.
00:25:45.21\00:25:48.14
We were so impressed
00:25:48.18\00:25:50.98
with how Creative Cooking
00:25:51.01\00:25:55.12
went in this season
00:25:55.15\00:25:56.85
and how well
the food turned out.
00:25:56.89\00:25:58.79
I can't say that enough.
00:25:58.82\00:26:00.16
I know people are probably like,
00:26:00.19\00:26:01.52
well, you keep saying
the food was delicious.
00:26:01.56\00:26:03.12
You keep saying
that it was so great.
00:26:03.16\00:26:05.99
Well, you got to
taste and see for yourself.
00:26:06.03\00:26:08.96
You got to find out.
00:26:09.00\00:26:10.57
You have to visit our
website d2dnetwork.tv.
00:26:10.60\00:26:15.27
Click on resources
and look at the recipes.
00:26:15.30\00:26:19.87
Get in your kitchen,
00:26:19.91\00:26:21.54
prepare those meals
00:26:21.58\00:26:23.41
and you will know
exactly what I'm talking about,
00:26:23.45\00:26:26.01
how delicious
that food really was.
00:26:26.05\00:26:28.52
Thank you.
00:26:28.55\00:26:29.88
So we were so
impressed with all of that,
00:26:29.92\00:26:32.35
that we are very interested
00:26:32.39\00:26:35.59
in giving your
own cooking program.
00:26:35.62\00:26:38.59
So amazing.
00:26:38.63\00:26:39.96
You wanna take
it beyond a season.
00:26:40.00\00:26:42.20
Its not gonna be
Creative Cooking,
00:26:42.23\00:26:44.33
it's gonna be something else.
00:26:44.37\00:26:46.74
But I know that I'm
looking forward to that
00:26:46.77\00:26:49.40
and I know that our viewers
00:26:49.44\00:26:51.37
will be able to look
forward to that as well,
00:26:51.41\00:26:53.88
especially after they
watch Creative Cooking.
00:26:53.91\00:26:56.54
It's a huge blessing.
00:26:56.58\00:26:57.98
I mean, hearing
that I'm super excited.
00:26:58.01\00:27:00.88
I can't wait
what the future holds.
00:27:00.92\00:27:02.75
I'm super excited
that God has connected us
00:27:02.78\00:27:05.82
and that the show is
something that can be powerful.
00:27:05.85\00:27:11.03
It can be something
that can touch lives
00:27:11.06\00:27:12.69
and I'm really excited
00:27:12.73\00:27:14.06
to what the
future holds in regards
00:27:14.10\00:27:15.70
to the cooking program.
00:27:15.73\00:27:17.43
So... Yes.
00:27:17.47\00:27:18.80
Well, praise the Lord.
00:27:18.83\00:27:20.17
You know, God
puts people in places
00:27:20.20\00:27:22.20
and bring people together
for His honor and glory.
00:27:22.24\00:27:27.31
I'm so impressed
with you as a person.
00:27:27.34\00:27:31.71
I can see that
you are very genuine.
00:27:31.75\00:27:33.52
I can see that you
are very spiritual,
00:27:33.55\00:27:37.59
very talented, brilliant.
00:27:37.62\00:27:40.39
That's very nice of you.
00:27:40.42\00:27:41.76
And all of those things,
00:27:41.79\00:27:43.12
you can write me a check later.
00:27:43.16\00:27:44.73
I didn't pay him, say that.
00:27:44.76\00:27:47.20
And so we are so
happy to have you here.
00:27:47.23\00:27:50.40
Thank you so
much for joining us.
00:27:50.43\00:27:51.77
Thank you. And
thank you for joining us.
00:27:51.80\00:27:53.80
Join us next
time and remember it
00:27:53.84\00:27:55.24
just wouldn't be
the same without you.
00:27:55.27\00:27:57.54