Have you wanted
to change your diet,
00:00:01.80\00:00:03.47
but all the health food
you've tasted was disgusting?
00:00:03.53\00:00:06.47
Stay tune to meet a
woman who can change your mind.
00:00:06.50\00:00:09.27
My name is Jason Bradley
00:00:09.30\00:00:10.67
and you're
watching Urban Report.
00:00:10.71\00:00:13.34
Hello and
welcome to Urban Report.
00:00:36.60\00:00:38.43
My guest today
is Nicole Braxton,
00:00:38.47\00:00:40.37
one of the best
vegan chefs anywhere.
00:00:40.40\00:00:43.20
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
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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.
00:03:49.12\00:03:52.13
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.
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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,
00:04:43.81\00:04:46.82
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
00:05:02.63\00:05:06.13
my relationship with Jesus
00:05:06.17\00:05:07.57
because I just was
interested in having fun
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and not developing and
continuously seeking God
00:05:11.81\00:05:15.01
throughout my experiences.
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So it was completely me.
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I love all the
people that I met.
00:05:17.78\00:05:19.11
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,
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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\00:06:08.20
I liked what they were
doing with their economies.
00:06:08.23\00:06:10.67
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?"
00:06:16.50\00:06:18.61
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,
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"Okay, I want to
start getting back
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to my relationship with Jesus."
00:06:32.32\00:06:34.29
So I had some moments.
00:06:34.32\00:06:36.16
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.
00:06:50.01\00:06:51.97
So I started to,
you know, read my Bible.
00:06:52.01\00:06:55.48
I was working in a
Rec Center at the time.
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And one day I was
sitting at the Rec Center,
00:06:57.31\00:06:59.25
someone came in and I...
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In between when
people were coming,
00:07:00.75\00:07:02.08
I was reading my Bible.
00:07:02.12\00:07:03.45
So someone came and they
said, "So you read the Bible?"
00:07:03.49\00:07:07.29
And I say, yeah, I do.
00:07:07.32\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\00:07:14.76
that's really
interested in what I'm reading.
00:07:14.83\00:07:17.30
And there was a
teacher there and he said
00:07:17.37\00:07:20.37
"Well, I'm
starting a Bible study group
00:07:20.44\00:07:22.77
and what we're gonna do is...
00:07:22.80\00:07:24.14
It's gonna be about religion,
00:07:24.21\00:07:25.54
where we gonna
focus on Christianity,
00:07:25.57\00:07:28.44
we'll focus on other things
00:07:28.48\00:07:29.81
but our premise is Christianity.
00:07:29.84\00:07:32.35
So it's to open the
dialogue about faith.
00:07:32.38\00:07:35.98
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
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that I met asked
me to go to Hong Kong.
00:07:43.86\00:07:45.56
So I'm telling like, yeah,
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I'm going to Hong
Kong, it's gonna be awesome.
00:07:47.66\00:07:51.13
And then I realized reality hit,
00:07:51.17\00:07:55.04
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,
00:07:59.17\00:08:00.61
maybe I have a
conversion rate now.
00:08:00.64\00:08:02.38
But getting there
is really expensive.
00:08:02.41\00:08:03.81
So I starting to get worried.
00:08:03.88\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\00:08:10.32
So this program
essentially allows you
00:08:10.35\00:08:11.69
to lock in your rate.
00:08:11.72\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\00:08:20.73
How's it going?
How's the going?"
00:08:20.76\00:08:22.33
And I told him, you
know, everything is going well.
00:08:22.36\00:08:25.30
He said, "How's the trip?"
00:08:25.33\00:08:26.67
And I said, you
know, I'm not really sure
00:08:26.74\00:08:28.97
and I need to
figure out some things.
00:08:29.00\00:08:32.21
And then I said, it's really...
00:08:32.24\00:08:33.58
I just have to
figure out how to get there.
00:08:33.61\00:08:35.48
So I continuously
prayed and one day
00:08:35.51\00:08:37.75
he came to the Rec
Center and he said,
00:08:37.78\00:08:39.31
"Nicole, what does this
numbers look like to you?"
00:08:39.35\00:08:42.88
So he wrote on a piece of paper.
00:08:42.92\00:08:44.29
He just showed me some numbers.
00:08:44.32\00:08:45.82
And it was the same
amount as my plane ticket
00:08:45.85\00:08:49.29
and I had already
locked my plane ticket
00:08:49.32\00:08:51.46
and at that time
00:08:51.49\00:08:53.43
the plane tickets
were skyrocketed and he...
00:08:53.50\00:08:56.20
It was like the same amount.
00:08:56.23\00:08:58.10
And I said that's what the
same amount of my plane ticket.
00:08:58.13\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,
00:09:03.84\00:09:05.17
he slid an
envelop and then he ran.
00:09:05.21\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.
00:09:13.95\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\00:09:28.20
I opened it and
it was the amount
00:09:28.23\00:09:29.93
I needed to get to China.
00:09:29.96\00:09:32.23
So I went there,
00:09:32.27\00:09:34.04
the whole thing
was God ordained.
00:09:34.07\00:09:35.84
When I was there I started to...
00:09:35.87\00:09:38.84
I got to a point that I
wanted to get back to God
00:09:38.87\00:09:41.74
more and more.
00:09:41.78\00:09:43.11
It's just like...
00:09:43.14\00:09:44.48
In this relationship
God is just amazing.
00:09:44.51\00:09:46.08
It's a daily, daily journey
to allow Him back in your life,
00:09:46.11\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\00:09:54.79
it sounds like.
00:09:54.82\00:09:56.16
And it's amazing to see the fact
00:09:56.19\00:09:57.53
that God can reach
you wherever you are.
00:09:57.56\00:09:59.46
You know, it doesn't
matter if you are in America,
00:09:59.49\00:10:01.93
if you are in Hong
Kong, if you are in India,
00:10:01.96\00:10:03.73
if you are in...
00:10:03.77\00:10:05.10
Wherever you
are, God can reach you
00:10:05.13\00:10:06.47
and He's longing to have
that relationship with you.
00:10:06.50\00:10:09.04
That's the truth.
00:10:09.07\00:10:10.41
And so it's amazing
to me how He just...
00:10:10.47\00:10:16.64
He really kind of, like
guided your path in the sense
00:10:16.71\00:10:20.82
that He provided
you with the funds
00:10:20.88\00:10:23.89
that you needed to even make it
over there in the first place.
00:10:23.95\00:10:27.42
So tell us more about
what happened in Hong Kong
00:10:27.46\00:10:30.03
and then I want to transition
into Creative Cooking.
00:10:30.09\00:10:33.16
Absolutely. And touch on that.
00:10:33.19\00:10:36.80
So when I was
there, I started to...
00:10:36.83\00:10:39.50
I had a great time and
then I got to the point
00:10:39.53\00:10:41.70
where I asked God, I
would like a church family.
00:10:41.74\00:10:44.37
I had this
point when I was like,
00:10:44.41\00:10:45.84
God I'm empty without You,
00:10:45.87\00:10:48.08
I need more and
more, and more of You
00:10:48.11\00:10:50.08
because He's so amazing.
00:10:50.11\00:10:51.68
And when I
prayed, I also asked my...
00:10:51.71\00:10:56.02
I follow that
prayer with an action
00:10:56.05\00:10:58.02
and I went and
asked my classmate.
00:10:58.05\00:11:00.96
Do you know any
local churches near by?
00:11:00.99\00:11:02.62
Because I prayed
for a church family,
00:11:02.66\00:11:04.39
that's one of the
things that I prayed for.
00:11:04.43\00:11:06.26
And she invited
me to her church.
00:11:06.29\00:11:08.06
Her church met on Saturdays.
00:11:08.10\00:11:10.23
So I went there with
her and we journeyed.
00:11:10.27\00:11:13.74
It was about an hour out.
00:11:13.80\00:11:15.50
So basically...
00:11:15.54\00:11:17.11
Since it was on Saturday,
00:11:17.17\00:11:18.51
I woke up first
thing in the morning
00:11:18.54\00:11:20.44
and then I didn't
come to the evening
00:11:20.48\00:11:21.94
because they had
all these festivities
00:11:21.98\00:11:24.48
and essentially
I started observing
00:11:24.51\00:11:26.72
this day of rest that...
00:11:26.78\00:11:28.38
So you started observing
the Sabbath in Hong Kong.
00:11:28.42\00:11:30.75
Yes, in Hong Kong. Whoa!
00:11:30.79\00:11:33.86
Yes, and it was really amazing
00:11:33.92\00:11:36.02
because I really like the value
00:11:36.06\00:11:39.09
of taking a day out of
the week to spend with God,
00:11:39.13\00:11:41.96
specifically the seven day,
00:11:42.00\00:11:43.80
that was really
something that changed my life.
00:11:43.83\00:11:48.04
And I was later introduced
from one of my classmates,
00:11:48.07\00:11:51.37
she's amazing girl,
her name is Krishna.
00:11:51.41\00:11:53.51
When I talked with her more,
00:11:53.54\00:11:55.54
she later introduced
me to her friend, Daniel.
00:11:55.58\00:11:59.05
He was a Seventh-day
Adventist youth pastor.
00:11:59.08\00:12:03.39
So he messaged me on Facebook
00:12:03.42\00:12:06.49
and then we started
skyping, we did Bible studies.
00:12:06.52\00:12:10.33
And when I was in
thesis for an internship,
00:12:10.36\00:12:15.96
he gave me a Bible.
00:12:16.00\00:12:17.90
I was in a Kia dealership.
00:12:17.93\00:12:19.30
This is what inspired me
00:12:19.33\00:12:20.70
to get into the Adventist space.
00:12:20.74\00:12:22.44
So I was there.
00:12:22.47\00:12:23.81
So the church I
went to on Saturdays
00:12:23.87\00:12:25.21
was Pentecostal originally.
00:12:25.24\00:12:27.14
And then I went to
the Kia dealership,
00:12:27.18\00:12:29.64
I had the Bible
with me and it had uh...
00:12:29.68\00:12:34.42
E.G. White notes and
different things like that.
00:12:34.45\00:12:36.85
So I was holding my Bible
00:12:36.89\00:12:38.62
and someone at
the dealership said,
00:12:38.65\00:12:40.02
"Hey, miss, can you come here?"
00:12:40.06\00:12:41.39
So the
technician asked me to come.
00:12:41.42\00:12:42.86
And he called
me across the room,
00:12:42.89\00:12:44.23
I was like "What does he what?"
00:12:44.29\00:12:45.63
So I basically
went there and he said,
00:12:45.66\00:12:47.23
"Miss, do you know why
people go to church on Sunday
00:12:47.30\00:12:50.93
and not Saturday?"
00:12:50.97\00:12:52.70
He said, "Is it
because the calendar change,
00:12:52.73\00:12:55.97
is it because the
days, the months?"
00:12:56.00\00:12:57.71
He starts to ask me all
these specific questions
00:12:57.74\00:13:00.08
and I said I didn't know.
00:13:00.11\00:13:01.44
So I went back to my friend,
00:13:01.48\00:13:02.84
we studied and God
completely opened my eyes
00:13:02.88\00:13:05.38
and that's when
inspired me to study more
00:13:05.41\00:13:07.65
in the Adventist Church.
00:13:07.68\00:13:09.02
So wait a minute.
Let's rewind a little bit.
00:13:09.05\00:13:12.42
So you went to a Kia dealership.
00:13:12.45\00:13:13.79
You talked to
the technician. Yeah.
00:13:13.86\00:13:16.12
And he was asking you,
why people went to church...
00:13:16.16\00:13:20.60
Did you mean like on
Saturday as opposed to Sunday?
00:13:20.63\00:13:23.20
Yes. Okay, okay.
00:13:23.23\00:13:25.07
So he was asking me,
00:13:25.10\00:13:26.43
"Are people going to church
on Sunday and not Saturday
00:13:26.47\00:13:28.84
because the calendar change?
00:13:28.87\00:13:31.01
Was there some type of
change that he didn't know,
00:13:31.04\00:13:33.34
that we don't know?"
00:13:33.38\00:13:34.71
And all these questions,
00:13:34.74\00:13:36.08
the question of why
is what inspired me.
00:13:36.11\00:13:38.71
So when I have gone
on this journey of faith,
00:13:38.75\00:13:41.32
and I'm still in
this journey of faith.
00:13:41.35\00:13:43.22
The key thing that has
kept me engaged is why.
00:13:43.25\00:13:46.82
Answering that
question, "Why do we do this?
00:13:46.86\00:13:49.76
Why do we go to church
on Sunday and not Saturday?"
00:13:49.79\00:13:52.96
So by getting the
answers through the word,
00:13:52.99\00:13:55.43
that's what inspired me to study
00:13:55.46\00:13:56.80
in the Adventist Church.
00:13:56.83\00:13:58.17
Now how did you get
into health and cooking
00:13:58.20\00:14:01.90
and how did you
make that transition
00:14:01.94\00:14:03.30
because on Creative Cooking,
00:14:03.34\00:14:05.54
you made some delicious recipes.
00:14:05.57\00:14:09.31
I had no idea that vegan
food could taste that good.
00:14:09.34\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\00:14:16.62
into that vegan lifestyle?
00:14:16.69\00:14:18.62
So that very same
day that God open my eyes
00:14:18.65\00:14:21.06
about the
seventh day, the Sabbath,
00:14:21.09\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\00:14:27.93
This is something
everyone needs to know.
00:14:27.96\00:14:30.07
Like this is amazing.
00:14:30.13\00:14:31.60
And on that night,
00:14:31.63\00:14:33.10
He answered me and
He showed me a vision.
00:14:33.13\00:14:36.30
And in that vision,
food was a part of it.
00:14:36.34\00:14:39.31
So then I prayed a lot.
00:14:39.34\00:14:40.98
I went to...
00:14:41.01\00:14:42.34
I went back to my university,
00:14:42.38\00:14:43.71
they had a
program called charting,
00:14:43.75\00:14:45.08
so I thought okay, this is it,
00:14:45.11\00:14:46.55
this is where I'm
gonna share God's message.
00:14:46.58\00:14:48.38
So I was sharing everyone
around the world in seven days
00:14:48.42\00:14:52.25
after the seventh-day Sabbath.
00:14:52.29\00:14:54.12
And I was sharing and having
00:14:54.16\00:14:56.32
these amazing
conversations with people.
00:14:56.36\00:14:58.49
And that night of the
event, I didn't get investment,
00:14:58.53\00:15:03.37
but a lot of other people
started talking afterwards.
00:15:03.40\00:15:05.93
And then I started realizing
00:15:05.97\00:15:07.34
if I want to stay
with these principles,
00:15:07.37\00:15:09.30
I can't compromise.
00:15:09.34\00:15:10.71
So I decided,
let's take a step back
00:15:10.74\00:15:12.84
and let the Lord lead.
00:15:12.87\00:15:14.31
And when I did that,
one of my friends was,
00:15:14.34\00:15:17.55
that went to my church.
00:15:17.58\00:15:19.25
He said, there's an event
called ASI, you need to go.
00:15:19.28\00:15:23.12
So I said okay.
00:15:23.15\00:15:24.49
So I wrote down everything
that I need and I said,
00:15:24.52\00:15:27.69
okay, Lord, there's only...
00:15:27.72\00:15:29.29
The only way that
this is even possible...
00:15:29.32\00:15:31.03
I said, okay, I
need to meet this person,
00:15:31.06\00:15:32.79
we need to talk about this.
00:15:32.83\00:15:34.20
I had a really detailed agenda
00:15:34.20\00:15:36.20
with people that I
have not even met yet.
00:15:36.23\00:15:38.13
So...
00:15:38.17\00:15:39.60
But then I realized,
okay, there's so many people.
00:15:39.63\00:15:42.07
Lord, if it is Your will,
00:15:42.10\00:15:43.47
I pray that You open
doors that are meant to be open,
00:15:43.51\00:15:45.64
close doors that
are meant to be closed.
00:15:45.67\00:15:47.74
And I went there
and the first session
00:15:47.78\00:15:50.95
that I went into
00:15:50.98\00:15:52.31
was with Don
Mackintosh and Dave Fiedler.
00:15:52.35\00:15:55.02
Okay.
00:15:55.05\00:15:56.38
And I went up
to them and I said,
00:15:56.42\00:15:57.79
I really want to start
a wellness organization,
00:15:57.82\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.
00:16:07.66\00:16:11.97
Okay. They said, okay.
00:16:12.00\00:16:13.34
You know, Chef Miguel,
they said chef is awesome,
00:16:13.37\00:16:16.30
he really likes training
00:16:16.34\00:16:17.67
and you need to
reach out to him.
00:16:17.71\00:16:19.04
So he was in
Wichita, Kansas at that time.
00:16:19.07\00:16:22.51
So I went and we talked
back and forth for about a year
00:16:22.54\00:16:26.72
and then I went, flew down
00:16:26.75\00:16:28.08
and train with him in
his restaurant and then...
00:16:28.12\00:16:31.09
So you trained
under a vegan chef.
00:16:31.12\00:16:32.92
Okay. I did. I did.
00:16:32.95\00:16:34.56
So I trained under a vegan chef
00:16:34.59\00:16:36.06
and he taught me essentially
the great principles and skills
00:16:36.09\00:16:40.30
when it comes to
culinary cuisine.
00:16:40.33\00:16:42.13
Wow! Presentation,
the different seasonings.
00:16:42.16\00:16:46.27
Seasoning, yes.
00:16:46.30\00:16:47.64
See, I love food
like everybody that,
00:16:47.67\00:16:51.24
everybody and
anybody that knows me
00:16:51.27\00:16:53.38
knows that I'm
a foodie at heart.
00:16:53.44\00:16:56.85
So to be able to
taste these recipes
00:16:56.91\00:17:00.75
and try the cuisine,
00:17:00.78\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
00:17:10.36\00:17:12.79
what can our viewers
expect from this season?
00:17:12.83\00:17:17.00
Well, Creative
Cooking was a blast.
00:17:17.07\00:17:19.40
What they can expect
is delicious, nutritious,
00:17:19.43\00:17:23.41
and exciting cuisines,
it's really innovative.
00:17:23.44\00:17:26.44
In the sense
it's taking, you know,
00:17:26.47\00:17:28.14
common dishes where used to
00:17:28.18\00:17:29.68
when it comes to
say stir fried rice
00:17:29.71\00:17:31.55
and putting a twist to it.
00:17:31.58\00:17:33.25
I really like with
all the different recipes
00:17:33.28\00:17:36.02
to allow everyone
00:17:36.05\00:17:37.65
to be inspired
and customize them
00:17:37.69\00:17:40.76
to meet their own taste buds.
00:17:40.79\00:17:42.86
I think it will be
a unique experience
00:17:42.89\00:17:45.59
and since that
people can travel the world
00:17:45.63\00:17:48.03
one bite at a time.
00:17:48.06\00:17:49.66
I love that. I love that.
00:17:49.70\00:17:51.80
Guess what? Yes.
00:17:51.83\00:17:53.30
We actually have a clip
00:17:53.34\00:17:55.20
from the program
Creative Cooking.
00:17:55.24\00:17:56.87
Nice, okay.
00:17:56.91\00:17:58.54
Let's take a look at
that. All right. Okay.
00:17:58.57\00:18:01.61
Now, we're going to put
00:18:01.64\00:18:04.18
the vegan ricotta
and spinach in there.
00:18:04.21\00:18:07.35
And we'll spread it out.
00:18:14.29\00:18:17.29
Okay.
00:18:17.36\00:18:18.69
It's really beautiful
and colorful with the red,
00:18:18.73\00:18:22.23
white and green.
00:18:22.26\00:18:23.77
Wow! That looks amazing.
00:18:55.30\00:18:57.90
So this was actually
your first cooking program
00:18:57.93\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\00:19:07.11
It was amazing to see
all the different things
00:19:07.14\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\00:19:20.59
how you prep
essentially for two days.
00:19:20.62\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\00:19:28.76
for greater purpose
00:19:28.80\00:19:30.17
and love interacting
with all the crew here
00:19:30.20\00:19:33.00
and just having them try food,
00:19:33.03\00:19:34.47
it was a really
awesome experience.
00:19:34.50\00:19:36.27
Praise the Lord.
00:19:36.30\00:19:37.64
And there's a
blessing that you had,
00:19:37.67\00:19:39.01
people that supported
you through the process.
00:19:39.04\00:19:41.94
Who did you bring
with you to help you?
00:19:41.98\00:19:45.05
Well, I brought
my lovely mother,
00:19:45.08\00:19:47.02
she is so sweet
00:19:47.05\00:19:48.65
and I also brought
a good friend of mine,
00:19:48.68\00:19:50.82
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\00:19:55.36
I couldn't have
done without them.
00:19:55.39\00:19:56.73
Yes, both of them are very kind
00:19:56.76\00:19:59.06
and definitely have
a heart for service.
00:19:59.09\00:20:01.70
Yes.
00:20:01.73\00:20:03.06
What are you doing
now with around the world
00:20:03.10\00:20:05.37
in seven days and ROCK?
00:20:05.40\00:20:08.80
Tell us about that.
00:20:08.84\00:20:10.17
You have a non-profit
00:20:10.21\00:20:11.84
and then you have an
organization as well,
00:20:11.87\00:20:15.64
a library.
00:20:15.68\00:20:17.01
So with around the
world in seven days,
00:20:17.05\00:20:18.81
our main focus is
sharing a message of health
00:20:18.85\00:20:21.38
and restoration
to the community.
00:20:21.42\00:20:24.35
We do this with our
different health workshops.
00:20:24.39\00:20:27.52
For example, we have facilitated
00:20:27.56\00:20:29.32
some diabetes clinics
and with our non-profit,
00:20:29.36\00:20:32.83
we're doing more support groups
00:20:32.86\00:20:34.86
to help the
community share information
00:20:34.93\00:20:37.90
and also provide a place
00:20:37.93\00:20:39.57
where people can get
that support and guidance.
00:20:39.60\00:20:42.84
And also for
example, share information.
00:20:42.87\00:20:46.74
So in a lot of
our groups we found,
00:20:46.81\00:20:49.98
people who are
struggling with same thing.
00:20:50.01\00:20:52.41
And so it's, enable them
00:20:52.45\00:20:54.08
to have accountability partners,
00:20:54.15\00:20:55.82
we also pray over goals.
00:20:55.85\00:20:57.89
So when it comes
to our major focus
00:20:57.92\00:21:00.79
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\00:21:06.36
and we are also
doing pop-up restaurants.
00:21:06.39\00:21:09.13
So around the
world in seven days,
00:21:09.16\00:21:11.10
we also focus on
pop-up restaurants.
00:21:11.13\00:21:13.07
What is a pop-up restaurant
00:21:13.10\00:21:14.44
for our viewers that don't know?
00:21:14.47\00:21:15.97
A pop-up restaurant
00:21:16.00\00:21:17.41
is a unique idea that I created.
00:21:17.47\00:21:19.37
Oh. Actually I'm just kidding.
00:21:19.41\00:21:20.74
It was not created by me. Okay.
00:21:20.78\00:21:23.91
I was gonna
say, well, excuse me.
00:21:23.95\00:21:25.28
Really? Yeah. All right.
00:21:25.31\00:21:26.82
Well, it's
become more popular now.
00:21:26.88\00:21:29.72
So essentially what we
do is we go into a space,
00:21:29.75\00:21:33.32
we have our different meals,
00:21:33.36\00:21:36.06
people come and
where they're temporarily
00:21:36.09\00:21:38.83
in different spaces.
00:21:38.86\00:21:40.26
So what it helps us to do
00:21:40.30\00:21:41.66
is share
delicious plant based food
00:21:41.70\00:21:44.53
and beyond that,
00:21:44.57\00:21:45.90
we also like to
share health information
00:21:45.93\00:21:47.97
and it's a full experience
for those that attend.
00:21:48.00\00:21:50.94
It's a unique
experience essentially,
00:21:50.97\00:21:53.14
all these different Pop-ups
that we share with a community.
00:21:53.17\00:21:56.78
It helps us to build
community around something
00:21:56.81\00:22:00.42
that we both
commonly are interested in,
00:22:00.45\00:22:02.52
which is health and good food.
00:22:02.55\00:22:04.92
So for example, you know,
00:22:04.95\00:22:06.39
when someone tells you
okay, Jason, this food is good,
00:22:06.42\00:22:09.69
that's just,
that's just words, right?
00:22:09.72\00:22:11.93
But its one thing,
00:22:11.96\00:22:13.90
when you go to an event
and the food actually is good.
00:22:13.93\00:22:17.03
So for example, if someone says,
00:22:17.07\00:22:18.57
let's have some
healthy plant based food,
00:22:18.60\00:22:20.40
what would be
your first reaction?
00:22:20.44\00:22:23.57
I would be like, I don't know
00:22:23.61\00:22:25.84
if that's gonna
be delicious or not.
00:22:25.87\00:22:28.18
But after being, well,
seeing Creative Cooking
00:22:28.21\00:22:31.08
and experiencing that flavor...
00:22:31.11\00:22:33.25
Yeah, praise the Lord.
00:22:33.28\00:22:34.62
I'll be like, okay, well, I
give it a word, I'll try it.
00:22:34.65\00:22:38.65
One think that I do wanna...
00:22:38.69\00:22:40.12
I wanna throw in there,
00:22:40.16\00:22:41.49
though as I see a
spiritual application there.
00:22:41.52\00:22:43.09
Yeah.
00:22:43.12\00:22:44.46
If somebody tells you like,
that something tastes good.
00:22:44.49\00:22:47.86
Right.
00:22:47.86\00:22:49.20
You know, it reminds
me of the verse that says,
00:22:49.23\00:22:50.63
"Oh, taste and see
that the Lord is good."
00:22:50.70\00:22:53.13
You can't taste and
see that the Lord is good
00:22:53.17\00:22:55.74
until you develop
00:22:55.77\00:22:57.14
your own personal
relationship with Him.
00:22:57.17\00:22:59.27
Same way you can't taste
00:22:59.31\00:23:01.01
that this plant
based food is delicious,
00:23:01.04\00:23:04.91
unless you
taste it for yourself.
00:23:04.95\00:23:06.72
Yes, and with food
it's a stepping stone.
00:23:06.75\00:23:10.59
So when it comes to health,
00:23:10.62\00:23:12.55
we're really focused
00:23:12.59\00:23:13.96
on the health of our
mind, body, and spirit.
00:23:13.99\00:23:15.92
And one of the
components that we focus on
00:23:15.96\00:23:17.83
when we're doing food
is definitely the body,
00:23:17.86\00:23:20.70
but it's a stepping
stone to bigger things.
00:23:20.73\00:23:22.56
So for example, by
taking care of our body,
00:23:22.60\00:23:24.77
our temple that we were given,
00:23:24.80\00:23:26.90
we are able to honor God
00:23:26.94\00:23:28.34
if we're eating healthy
and making certain choices.
00:23:28.37\00:23:31.14
But we also like to give those
00:23:31.17\00:23:33.01
that attend our
events, resources,
00:23:33.04\00:23:35.78
whether it will be spiritual,
whether it will be physical.
00:23:35.81\00:23:38.75
You know, we like to be
a gateway to other things.
00:23:38.78\00:23:42.95
So for example,
00:23:42.98\00:23:44.32
we're just like
the common ground
00:23:44.35\00:23:45.75
that people can
come and just talk
00:23:45.79\00:23:48.22
and learn and share
00:23:48.26\00:23:49.59
and then build relationships
with each other, yeah.
00:23:49.62\00:23:52.59
And what I love about that is
00:23:52.63\00:23:54.23
that you incorporate
God into all of that.
00:23:54.30\00:23:56.26
Yes, absolutely.
00:23:56.30\00:23:58.17
So what is ROCK stand for?
00:23:58.20\00:24:01.04
ROCK stands for
Restore Our Community Krew.
00:24:01.07\00:24:04.21
Essentially, we're focused
on sharing a message of wellness
00:24:04.24\00:24:08.34
and right now we're also working
00:24:08.38\00:24:10.18
with different
healthcare professionals
00:24:10.25\00:24:12.35
in the Detroit area
00:24:12.38\00:24:13.92
to build more
resources for the community
00:24:13.95\00:24:16.55
and really engage them
on this message of health.
00:24:16.58\00:24:19.39
And we also are
interested in getting intone
00:24:19.42\00:24:21.56
with different Bible workers
00:24:21.59\00:24:23.63
and our goal is really to share
00:24:23.66\00:24:25.99
the message of
mind, body, and spirit.
00:24:26.03\00:24:28.06
And the differentiate
if I can say that...
00:24:28.10\00:24:33.03
Yes, yes, yes.
00:24:33.07\00:24:34.40
The differentiate between
around the world in seven days
00:24:34.44\00:24:36.67
and the
non-profit is that, we're...
00:24:36.71\00:24:39.27
With around the
world in seven days,
00:24:39.31\00:24:40.68
you know, food has
been a key component,
00:24:40.74\00:24:42.84
if not the
highlight and with ROCK,
00:24:42.88\00:24:44.91
we're really focused
more so on total wellness.
00:24:44.95\00:24:49.32
And we like to do that
00:24:49.35\00:24:50.89
predominantly
through wellness workshops.
00:24:50.95\00:24:52.72
Nice. So you're like
a wellness consultant.
00:24:52.75\00:24:55.46
Yes. That's, that's excellent.
00:24:55.49\00:24:57.33
Now, if people want
to go to your website.
00:24:57.39\00:25:00.83
What is your website?
00:25:00.86\00:25:02.16
They can find us at
aroundtheworldin7days.com.
00:25:02.20\00:25:06.67
And again that's
aroundtheworldin7days.com.
00:25:06.74\00:25:10.24
The number
seven. The number seven.
00:25:10.31\00:25:12.11
Yes, the number seven. Okay.
00:25:12.14\00:25:13.48
And we've put that
upon the screen as well.
00:25:13.51\00:25:16.51
So what's next for you?
00:25:16.54\00:25:19.71
So for me,
00:25:19.75\00:25:21.08
I'm really excited
for the different events
00:25:21.12\00:25:23.99
we have coming up.
00:25:24.02\00:25:25.39
We really like to be
the wedge to the Gospel
00:25:25.42\00:25:29.12
when it comes to
different churches.
00:25:29.16\00:25:30.63
So we like to do
different cooking classes.
00:25:30.66\00:25:33.23
We're also working
towards building towards a brick
00:25:33.26\00:25:35.80
and mortar for
the wellness aspects.
00:25:35.83\00:25:38.70
So right now, we're
just in the planning phase
00:25:38.73\00:25:40.74
and I'm really excited to
share what God has given me.
00:25:40.80\00:25:45.11
Amen. Amen.
00:25:45.14\00:25:48.08
We were so impressed
00:25:48.11\00:25:50.91
with how Creative Cooking
00:25:50.95\00:25:55.05
went in this season
00:25:55.08\00:25:56.79
and how well
the food turned out.
00:25:56.85\00:25:58.72
I can't say that enough.
00:25:58.75\00:26:00.19
I know people are probably like,
00:26:00.22\00:26:01.56
well, you keep saying
the food was delicious.
00:26:01.59\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\00:26:08.93
You got to find out.
00:26:08.96\00:26:10.57
You have to visit our
website d2dnetwork.tv.
00:26:10.60\00:26:15.24
Click on resources
and look at the recipes.
00:26:15.27\00:26:19.84
Get in your kitchen,
00:26:19.87\00:26:21.51
prepare those meals
00:26:21.54\00:26:23.38
and you will know
exactly what I'm talking about,
00:26:23.45\00:26:25.98
how delicious
that food really was.
00:26:26.01\00:26:28.48
Thank you.
00:26:28.52\00:26:29.85
So we were so
impressed with all of that,
00:26:29.88\00:26:32.32
that we are very interested
00:26:32.35\00:26:35.56
in giving your
own cooking program.
00:26:35.59\00:26:38.56
So amazing.
00:26:38.59\00:26:39.93
You wanna take
it beyond a season.
00:26:40.00\00:26:42.13
Its not gonna be
Creative Cooking,
00:26:42.16\00:26:44.27
it's gonna be something else.
00:26:44.30\00:26:46.70
But I know that I'm
looking forward to that
00:26:46.74\00:26:49.34
and I know that our viewers
00:26:49.37\00:26:51.31
will be able to look
forward to that as well,
00:26:51.34\00:26:53.84
especially after they
watch Creative Cooking.
00:26:53.88\00:26:56.48
It's a huge blessing.
00:26:56.51\00:26:57.91
I mean, hearing
that I'm super excited.
00:26:57.95\00:27:00.88
I can't wait
what the future holds.
00:27:00.95\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\00:27:14.03
to what the
future holds in regards
00:27:14.10\00:27:15.66
to the cooking program.
00:27:15.70\00:27:17.40
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\00:27:22.17
and bring people together
for His honor and glory.
00:27:22.20\00:27:27.28
I'm so impressed
with you as a person.
00:27:27.31\00:27:31.68
I can see that
you are very genuine.
00:27:31.71\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\00:27:40.36
That's very nice of you.
00:27:40.39\00:27:41.72
And all of those things,
00:27:41.76\00:27:43.09
you can write me a check later.
00:27:43.12\00:27:44.69
I didn't pay him, say that.
00:27:44.73\00:27:47.20
And so we are so
happy to have you here.
00:27:47.23\00:27:50.33
Thank you so
much for joining us.
00:27:50.37\00:27:51.70
Thank you. And
thank you for joining us.
00:27:51.73\00:27:53.74
Join us next
time and remember it
00:27:53.80\00:27:55.17
just wouldn't be
the same without you.
00:27:55.20\00:27:57.47