Participants:
Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC202129S
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00:43 >> Welcome back to It Is
00:44 Written Canada. 00:46 Thank you for joining us here 00:47 on location in Peace River, 00:49 Alberta where Paul and Tammy 00:51 Hebert now live. 00:53 [RENÉ] Today we are joining 00:54 Paul and Tammy whose 00:56 three-year-old son, Kienan, 00:58 was kidnapped in September 01:00 of 2011. 01:02 Paul and Tammy, welcome to 01:04 It Is Written Canada. 01:06 [BOTH] Thank you. 01:08 [MIKE] I wanna talk to both of 01:09 you about your conversion 01:11 years before, how God was 01:12 preparing your hearts to be 01:14 able to deal with something 01:15 like this. 01:16 >> As a young child I grew up 01:18 in a faith where the Word was 01:21 taught to us, but as I 01:23 challenged the Word, it didn't 01:25 seem familiar, from what I was 01:28 taught and what I read in the 01:30 Bible were two different 01:31 things. 01:32 So I kind of walked away from 01:34 Christianity thinking, 01:36 "These guys aren't practising 01:37 what they're preaching." 01:39 And it wasn't 'til years later 01:41 that my children started 01:44 looking into the Word and they 01:46 were asking questions about 01:48 God and it kinda made me go 01:49 back to kind of revisiting 01:51 the Word. 01:52 And at that time I was in the 01:53 military in the Canadian Armed 01:55 Forces here and I didn't 01:58 really know how to answer my 02:00 children so I talked with a 02:01 padre, a chaplain of the 02:04 Canadian Armed Forces that we 02:05 had and he introduced us to 02:08 the church system on base, but 02:10 it was-- when you'd go one 02:11 Sunday it was one thing and it 02:13 was a Presbyterian one Sunday, 02:15 it was a Baptist another time 02:17 and so we... 02:20 I moved our kids over to a 02:22 more predominant church, it 02:23 was a Baptist church in 02:25 Edmonton where we started 02:26 getting into the Word. 02:29 So God was working in a few 02:30 different angles at that time 02:32 and a few different men in my 02:33 life as well. 02:34 And so another man in the 02:36 [unintelligible] business at 02:37 the time, when we were also 02:39 there, his name was Frank 02:41 Miklas and successful in that, 02:43 but I looked at Frank and I 02:45 said, "What was this look in 02:46 your eyes," like, he was 02:47 well-dressed, he was well-- he 02:49 carried himself well, but 02:50 there was this confidence 02:52 about Frank that was 02:53 attractive as a man. 02:55 And I asked him one day, I 02:56 said, "What is this look that 02:58 you have," you know, "Was it 02:59 money, was it the cars," and 03:02 he said, "No," he says, "it's 03:04 content," and I'm like, "OK," 03:07 you know, "Content in what?" 03:08 And he says, "In Jesus Christ," 03:10 and there was another seed 03:11 that had been planted. 03:13 I was a tough man, I was in 03:14 the world, I didn't need 03:16 anybody so I kinda shrugged 03:17 those off and it wasn't 'til 03:20 Tammy and I, as we were living 03:23 in the world and coming to the 03:25 Lord, you know, we were being 03:26 attacked several different 03:28 ways from Satan's army, you 03:32 know, because that's usually 03:33 what happens. 03:35 And so when we were separated, 03:36 we were separated to work on 03:38 ourselves and to develop who 03:40 we were 'cause we were-- you 03:42 know, in the world way, right, 03:43 and not... 03:45 And so I was in a pretty dark 03:46 place at that time, I fell to 03:48 alcohol, I was addicted to 03:50 pain medicine at that time, 03:53 and it was a time when my 03:55 family was upset with me, my 03:57 friends were upset with me 03:58 because I, you know, I took a 04:00 separation from my wife and it 04:01 wasn't because I didn't love 04:02 her, it was because I didn't 04:04 want to hate her. 04:05 It was probably the best 04:06 things that ever happened to 04:08 us because we were able to 04:09 build on our relationship with 04:10 God, learn who He was as a 04:11 couple in submitting to Him. 04:14 It wasn't 'til almost a year 04:16 later from our separation when 04:18 I decided to do this one last 04:20 time with God. 04:22 It was that or suicide, right? 04:24 It was, you know, what else do 04:27 you live for, you know, the 04:29 world didn't give me anything, 04:30 it took everything away. 04:31 God has put so many seeds 04:33 along those paths and I'm a 04:35 stubborn man so it took a long 04:36 time for Him to break through 04:38 and chisel through the rock to 04:39 get to the soft heart, right, 04:41 but best thing in the world 04:42 for me. 04:43 >> My conversion journey began 04:45 when my husband left me with 04:49 four small children and I had 04:51 to take a good look at myself 04:54 and see that it wasn't all 04:56 him, that I had issues that I 04:58 needed to deal with and I went 05:02 to a doctor and I was 05:04 diagnosed with OCD and 05:06 manic-depressive and it was 05:09 bad, I would have to clean 05:12 under my fridge, like, three 05:13 times a day and heaven forbid 05:15 anybody move anything 'cause I 05:16 would just, like, break down 05:18 in tears. 05:19 And that's part of the reason 05:21 why we had to separate so that 05:23 I could fix me and in that 05:26 process, I continued going to 05:29 church and grew in my faith 05:32 and was baptized while we were 05:33 separated. 05:34 Four years ago I was diagnosed 05:36 with breast cancer and ended 05:38 up getting both removed so 05:40 bilateral mastectomy. 05:42 When my hair fell out, I 05:44 figured, "OK, well, I lost all 05:46 "my beautiful long hair, I'm 05:48 "just gonna do something fun 05:50 and funky and..." 05:51 One side is "Blessed" with the 05:54 breast cancer butterfly and I 05:57 got "Believe" on the other 05:58 side with a phoenix for, like, 06:01 new birth because I'm this 06:03 whole new person than I 06:05 was before. 06:07 Stickin' with the pink hair 06:08 though, I don't know, it's 06:10 better than the Gray. 06:14 Yeah, but, every day there's a 06:16 new struggle, it's just every 06:17 day you have to recommit it to 06:20 God and don't worry about it. 06:22 >> So take us back to that 06:24 morning when you went to 06:26 Kienan's bedroom and he 06:28 wasn't there. 06:30 >> Well, it took a little bit 06:31 to realize he wasn't there 06:33 because it was a normal 06:35 morning. 06:36 The kids were-- the rest of 06:37 them were in jumping on our 06:38 bed, playing, and Kienan's 06:40 usually a late sleeper so it 06:41 wasn't a big deal that he 06:43 wasn't there until I got up to 06:45 go make his bed and his 06:47 blankets weren't there which I 06:50 thought was kind of odd and I 06:51 said, "Well, where's Kienan," 06:52 and they're like, "Well, he's 06:53 downstairs." 06:55 So I went down the stairs and 06:56 I see the two teenage kids at 06:58 their computers doing their 06:59 schoolwork and asked them, 07:01 like, "Where's Kienan?" 07:02 And they're, "Upstairs 07:05 sleeping, I haven't seen him." 07:07 And then my heart started to 07:09 race and checked the basement 07:12 and went through and was 07:13 flipping beds and opening 07:15 closets and drawers and all 07:17 those places where you'd think 07:18 a three-year-old would fit, I 07:20 was opening and tearing it out 07:21 and he wasn't there and then 07:23 run upstairs and Kienan's 07:25 not here. 07:26 And I know immediately, like, 07:28 Drew was out the door and he 07:30 was outside looking and went 07:32 upstairs and told Paul that 07:34 Kienan wasn't there and... 07:36 [PAUL] It was a big day for me, 07:37 I was getting ready for work. 07:39 There was a big sale that was 07:40 happening and I was preparing 07:42 myself mentally for this big 07:44 day so as I'm in the shower, 07:47 Tammy comes running over to-- 07:49 into the bathroom and she's 07:51 like, "Paul, Kienan's missing." 07:53 And I thought she was, you 07:55 know, just playing around, 07:57 joking and trying to, you 07:58 know, lighten the mood so I 08:00 wasn't so stressed for the day. 08:01 And I was like, "No," you know 08:02 "I don't need this right now, 08:04 "I need to think, concentrate 08:06 on work," and she's, "No, 08:07 seriously, Kienan's missing." 08:08 So I was like, "What?" 08:10 And she was like, "Yeah, I 08:11 "tore the house apart, I can't 08:12 find him anywhere." 08:13 So we started looking for 08:15 Kienan and then we started 08:16 phoning around and saying, 08:17 "Hey," you know, like, "we 08:18 need to shut the equipment 08:20 down," 'cause we're in the 08:21 middle of a development right 08:22 now, construction development 08:23 and we weren't sure if he was 08:24 sleep-walking or anything 08:25 'cause who would think, 08:27 honestly, that somebody could 08:28 just come and stole your son 08:29 out of his room, right? 08:30 So as we started phoning 08:34 people and looking for him, 08:36 more and more people started 08:38 showing up, you know, to help 08:40 and look for Kienan and next 08:41 thing you know we have about 08:43 2,400 people, this is like 9:00 08:44 in the morning and by noon 08:46 there's like, you know, 2000, 08:48 3000 people searching in this 08:51 small community, right, and 08:53 it's like, "Wow!" 08:54 So it was-- everything was 08:55 developing really fast. 08:57 And RCP had showed up and they 08:59 were bringing the dogs down, 09:01 the K-9 unit, and helicopters 09:03 and, you know, they had to 09:05 stop stop everybody to 09:07 organize a proper search, a 09:09 better plan for what was 09:11 happening and at that time it 09:13 was, you know, pushing closer 09:15 towards supper time and that's 09:17 when they pulled us in, Victim 09:18 Services had come along. 09:20 >> It became real when Victim 09:23 Services, when they showed up 09:25 and introduced themselves as 09:27 Victim Services. 09:29 I remember that moment. 09:31 It's like everything-- it's 09:33 like, "This just got real." 09:34 And I remember going across 09:36 the street and just sitting on 09:39 the step and just crying. 09:44 And then the kids came over to 09:46 me and then they would start 09:48 crying and then it's, "OK..." 09:51 That's when it's like, "OK, 09:52 "God, this is Yours because I 09:53 "can't do this on my own and I 09:55 "have to be strong for the kids 09:56 "I can't be crying 'cause they 09:58 still need me." 10:01 And that's what kept it 10:03 together is, like, from that 10:04 moment was whatever happens, 10:06 happens, but I have to be 10:09 strong for them. 10:14 >> They had told us that there 10:15 was a possibility that an 10:17 individual who had just been 10:19 released from jail weeks prior 10:21 to this might be part of this 10:23 program, but they couldn't for 10:25 sure give us that information. 10:27 So we prayed and we prayed for 10:30 the kidnapper was to return 10:32 'cause they've assumed now 10:33 Kienan was kidnapped and so we 10:36 prayed that, you know, if he 10:39 was kidnapped that God would 10:41 protect our son, protect 10:42 Kienan and that... 10:45 because Mr. Hopley at the time 10:48 was known as a molester, right, 10:52 and a pedophile so 10:54 we wanted to pray 10:55 with everybody that was in 10:56 there, the search and rescue 10:57 teams, we wanted to pray for 10:58 safety for them, for Kienan 11:00 safety, also for the gentleman 11:04 who had Kienan, wanted to pray 11:06 that he was impotent and that 11:09 he had compassion for Kienan, 11:12 that he fell in love with him 11:14 and just overall would take 11:16 care of Kienan while he had 11:18 him and to know that 11:19 eventually he would, you know, 11:21 find in his heart that what he 11:22 was doing was wrong. 11:24 And so we were pretty occupied 11:25 with everything that was going 11:27 on, at the same time we were 11:29 still trying to take care of 11:30 our family, people were asking 11:31 us questions, our child is 11:33 missing... 11:34 ...and we're still in 11:35 prayer, right, and we're 11:37 saying, "God..." you know. 11:39 And by the third day, the RCP 11:40 had asked if we could do 11:43 a plea on the network, on TV. 11:46 We're just gonna ask him to 11:48 bring him into somewhere open, 11:50 we don't really-- it didn't 11:52 matter to us if he got caught, 11:54 our whole purpose was that we 11:56 had Kienan back. 11:57 On the fourth day, on 11:59 September 11th, we were 12:01 looking outside and we see 12:03 these people kinda running 12:05 around our house, but it was 12:06 actually an RCP undercover 12:08 that was looking at the house. 12:10 And I'm like, "What are you 12:11 guys doing here?" 12:13 And he's like, "We just got a 12:14 "phone call stating that Kienan 12:15 was returned." 12:16 >> I didn't know who was out 12:17 there so I went and I woke up 12:19 our son-in-law, like, "Daniel, 12:20 Paul's-- somebody's outside 12:22 our house and Paul went out 12:23 there to check and he's not 12:24 back yet, can you go see 12:25 what's wrong?" 12:26 And then he was gone for, 12:28 like, maybe five minutes and 12:29 he comes back, just white as a 12:30 ghost, and he's like, 12:31 "He's back." 12:33 "What do you mean 'he's back?' 12:34 Who's back? What's happening?" 12:35 He's like, "Kienan's back." 12:37 >> But they weren't telling me 12:38 anything, they were just, that 12:39 he's here. 12:40 I'm like, "Is he dead? 12:41 "Is he alive? 12:42 What's going on?" 12:44 And I can see Kienan's 12:45 blankets folded on the floor 12:46 and I was like, "There's his 12:47 blankets." 12:48 And then they're like, "No, 12:49 he's alive, he's sleeping." 12:50 I was like, "What?!" 12:51 [TAMMY] I just remember 12:52 running over to the house and 12:53 my legs were like Jell-O and I 12:56 walk in the door and I see 12:58 Paul standing there holding 13:00 Kienan and, you know, the 13:02 Bible says, "Every knee will 13:03 bow," I know that feeling, 13:05 every knee will bow, because 13:06 my legs were not holding me 13:08 and I was on my knees, my face 13:11 was on the floor and I was 13:12 just like, "Thank You, Lord, 13:14 thank You, Lord," that's all I 13:15 could say, "Thank You, Lord." 13:17 And then I grabbed Kienan and 13:18 I didn't let go of him until 13:20 I'm sure we were at-- probably 13:22 at the hospital for a while 13:24 before-- 'cause they picked 13:26 him up in the ambulance and 13:28 took us to the hospital and 13:30 they did, like, the whole rape 13:32 kit on him and everything and, 13:36 yeah, it was something. 13:39 And I remember bringing him 13:41 home that day and we-- there 13:44 was-- unbelievable, there was, 13:46 like, people everywhere. 13:47 We went through Tim Horton's 13:49 for coffee and they're like, 13:51 they're climbing through the 13:53 drive-in-- out from the 13:55 drive-thru windows and hugging 13:57 us and, you know, we pull up 13:59 into Sparwood and the police 14:01 are, like, holding back tears, 14:04 just waving us through and it 14:06 was, like, so unreal. 14:09 >> So he was returned unharmed 14:11 [TAMMY] Unharmed, yeah. 14:12 >> ...and you had an 14:14 opportunity now to meet with 14:15 the kidnapper. 14:17 What was that conversation like? 14:19 >> I didn't know if I'd be 14:20 strong enough, you know, RCP 14:21 had phoned me and they say, 14:23 "Hey, Paul, we would like for 14:24 you to come down and help with 14:26 the interrogation with Mr. 14:28 Hopley and they said, "Do you 14:29 "think you think you can 14:30 handle that?" 14:32 I was like, "I think so," you 14:33 know, and then so they said, 14:34 "OK, we're gonna come pick 14:35 you up." 14:36 I looked at Tammy, I said, 14:37 "I don't know," I can feel my 14:38 heart literally pounding out 14:40 of my chest and I thought, "Oh 14:42 "man, Lord, I don't know if I'm 14:44 "gonna break down in my flesh 14:45 and wanna do the--" you know, 14:47 just get angry with him and it 14:50 was a real struggle, I 14:51 didn't-- I was afraid, I 14:52 didn't know where I would be 14:54 at at that stage. 14:56 I get to the police station 14:57 and I open the door, the 14:59 inspector opens the door and 15:01 as I'm coming in, I can feel 15:03 the calmness set over top of me 15:05 before I walked into the room. 15:07 And it's a small room, I don't 15:08 know, an 8-by-10 interrogation 15:10 room, it's a pretty small 15:12 little room and me and Mr. 15:13 Hopley now are sitting 15:15 face-to-face, about two feet 15:16 in front of each other. 15:18 We sat down and as he was 15:20 asking him questions, we were 15:21 wanting to know if he had done 15:24 anything with Kienan or why he 15:26 was doing this and so I was 15:27 able to ask, like, "Why would 15:29 you return him home?" 15:31 You know, when we put the plea 15:32 out, it was to bring him to a 15:34 gas station or to an open 15:36 place or a public place where 15:38 Kienan could be seen and then 15:39 brought home. 15:41 And he said, "Well, I didn't 15:42 "want him to be kidnapped so I 15:44 "brought him home, I brought 15:46 him where I knew he'd be safe." 15:47 He said, "I don't know, I fell 15:48 in love with him, you know, he 15:50 was this good kid and I 15:51 couldn't hurt him," and we 15:53 asked him, like, "Did you do 15:54 anything to him?" 15:56 And he's like, "No, it was 15:57 impotent." 15:58 And the detective that was 15:59 beside me, I could see he 16:00 was-- it was almost the 16:02 instant that he was there at 16:03 the prayer at the beginning 16:05 the first day and I think it 16:06 kinda hit him pretty hard in 16:08 the heart at that time and it 16:10 was like, "OK, God, You were 16:12 listening." 16:13 'Cause everything we were 16:14 talking about, he repeats back 16:16 in this interrogation. 16:18 And it was just, after that I 16:20 couldn't help but talk about 16:22 the Lord with him, you know, 16:23 and then they left us alone, 16:25 me and Mr. Hopley in the room 16:26 together. 16:28 And after we were done 16:29 discussing, as I was walking 16:31 out, everybody in the 16:32 detachment was, you know... 16:35 It was just a surreal moment, 16:38 it was an eye-opener. 16:39 I know God was very present in 16:41 that building. 16:42 I know some people that had 16:43 been changed because of that. 16:45 It's a terrible moment, but 16:46 there was miracles upon 16:48 miracles at that same time. 16:49 So how can you be upset when 16:51 you see such beauty? 16:52 >> Exactly. 16:55 So, Paul and Tammy, we are 16:57 joined by your son, Kienan, 16:58 and he's not the little 17:00 three-year-old he once was. 17:01 Kienan, take us back to that 17:03 time, do you remember anything 17:04 that happened? 17:05 >> Thank you. 17:06 Yes, I actually do. 17:09 When it was night time, I 17:10 remember waking up in my 17:13 kidnapper's arms, wrapped in 17:15 blankets so I asked him, 17:16 "Where are we going?" 17:18 So he answered, "To a walk." 17:21 So then I fell back asleep. 17:23 I woke up a while later at a 17:25 white car and I asked him, 17:26 "Where are we going now?" 17:28 He said that we're going for a 17:29 drive so I said, "OK," and I 17:31 fell back asleep. 17:33 A while later, I woke up in 17:35 this house and I saw a huge 17:36 hole on the wall. 17:38 I thought it was scary so I 17:39 asked him what that hole was. 17:41 He said that giant rats lived 17:42 in there and I believed him 17:43 so I didn't wanna go in there. 17:46 So he brought me back upstairs 17:48 and sat me on this big Teddy 17:50 bear and once he did, he gave 17:52 me a peanut-butter-jam 17:53 sandwich. 17:54 I didn't like 17:55 peanut-butter-jam so I decided 17:56 not to eat that. 17:58 And then he walked me over to 17:59 the bedroom and we fell asleep. 18:02 >> Mmm. 18:03 And you were pretty tired, it 18:04 was the middle of the night, 18:05 right? 18:06 >> Yes. 18:07 >> Did you think it was 18:08 someone else who was taking 18:09 you out of your bed? 18:10 >> Yes, I thought it was my mom. 18:11 [MIKE] Oh, you thought it was 18:12 your mom. 18:13 >> Yeah. 18:14 >> And so was there any harm? 18:16 I mean, you were with him for 18:17 four days. 18:18 >> I don't recall any harm 18:20 being done because I only 18:22 remember the first night and 18:24 from what I remember, no harm 18:25 was done. 18:26 >> Very thankful to God that, 18:28 and I know your parents were, 18:30 that you were brought home. 18:33 Now that was a faith-building 18:35 moment, obviously, your child 18:37 was returned and you just have 18:39 kept growing and growing over 18:41 the years and now you're very 18:43 active in the Peace River 18:45 community. 18:46 What are you doing in the 18:47 community? 18:48 [PAUL] When we left Sparwood, we 18:51 wanted to rebuild our family 18:53 again and just to start fresh 18:55 again and get things-- but for 18:58 about a year, year and a half, 19:00 we're kinda going, like, we 19:01 weren't doing anything. 19:03 And we're like, "Lord, why 19:04 would we go through all these 19:05 challenges and to do nothing 19:07 with it." 19:09 I've never been a biker, I was 19:11 never interested in biking, 19:14 but Tammy has, she was 19:15 always-- she grew up on dirt 19:17 bikes and everything and she's 19:18 always asked for a motorcycle. 19:20 And I don't know what came 19:22 over me...man, but [chuckles] 19:26 I was searching one day and I 19:28 see this motorcycle for sale 19:30 and it was a beautiful yellow 19:31 bike and I thought, "I'm gonna 19:33 get ahold of this lady." 19:34 And so I messaged her and I 19:35 said, "I see your bike is for 19:37 "sale, I don't really have the 19:39 "finances to buy this bike 19:41 "right now, but if I could do 19:42 "it in payments, that would be 19:44 "great, you know, my wife has 19:45 "gone through a real hard time 19:47 "in the last couple years, the 19:48 "last five, six years and I 19:50 "would like to buy her 19:51 "something special that she's 19:52 always wanted." 19:53 And she was right away, she's 19:54 like, "Absolutely," you know. 19:56 "How 'bout you come and get it 19:58 and you can bring it to her." 19:59 And so we went and picked it 20:01 up and she trusted us to pay 20:03 it whenever, but God put 20:04 enough money in our bank 20:06 account that we were able to 20:07 pay for it and 20:09 bought her a bike. 20:11 Then I felt kinda, "Well, 20:13 "if she's on a bike, I should 20:14 "probably get on a bike 20:15 with her." 20:17 So then I decided, I went and 20:18 bought myself this motorcycle 20:19 and I thought, "Oh, this is a 20:21 bad thought." 20:23 Get on it and I just fell in 20:25 love, I've never been off a 20:27 bike ever since. 20:29 And the reason I'm talking 20:30 about this story is it grows 20:31 into a ministry. 20:33 'Cause we were searching for 20:34 different types of outreaches 20:35 and we wanted something where 20:37 we can get to the hurt, to the 20:39 really hurt people because 20:40 people don't understand when 20:42 there's no hope, there's 20:44 Christ, you know, when 20:46 everything else has failed, 20:48 there's Christ. 20:49 And it was where I was in my 20:51 walk, it's where Tammy-- we 20:53 found Christ at the bottom of 20:55 the pit. 20:57 And that's where I wanted our 20:58 ministry, was... 21:04 for people who... 21:07 have nothing left. 21:11 And so searching for that 21:12 ministry wasn't very easy. 21:15 And I come across this website 21:17 called "Bikers for Christ" and 21:19 I was searching that and I was 21:21 looking at that and they were 21:23 like, "Set in a rescue shop in 21:24 their yards of hell." 21:27 And I'm thinking, "This is 21:28 "perfect, this is what I'm 21:30 looking for!" 21:31 And then I phone up one of the 21:32 elders for Bikers for Christ 21:34 on the website and it was Mike 21:36 Anthony and I phoned him up 21:37 and I said, "Hi, my name is 21:39 Paul Hebert," and he's like, 21:40 "Paul Hebert from Sparwood?" 21:42 And I'm like, "Yeah." 21:43 "Wow!" he says, "We've been 21:45 praying about you guys!" 21:46 And we just hit it off like 21:48 that and God just made us 21:50 brothers instantly, you know, 21:52 we're kingdom brothers, the 21:53 Holy Spirit connected and here 21:55 we are, right, we're just-- 21:56 And we knew this was something 21:58 I really wanted to get into so 22:00 I started learning the culture 22:01 and how to bring God into this 22:03 culture and it just opened up 22:05 so many more things. 22:08 And Pastor Nathan was doing a 22:09 sermon one day about loving 22:11 your neighbour and instead of 22:13 having a barbecue in your 22:15 backyard, you bring it to your 22:16 front yard and you invite your 22:18 neighbours to come out and you 22:19 barbecue together and you 22:20 fellowship and you share 22:21 Christ with them. 22:23 And we live out in the country 22:24 so it was like, "Well, my 22:25 "neighbour's 402 miles away, 22:27 it would be kinda hard," so we 22:29 decided to have a barbecue in 22:30 a park, in Riverfront Park 22:32 here. 22:33 And it started with 15 people 22:35 one Sunday, er, on a Thursday 22:37 night, the next it was 56, 60 22:40 people and then by the third 22:42 week, there was 200, 250 22:44 people. 22:45 And we had-- Domino's Pizza had 22:48 just said, "Hey, if you guys 22:49 "want pizza, we have unlimited 22:51 amounts, here's 30 pizzas." 22:54 And then we're like, "Wow!" 22:55 Yeah, and the women's shelter, 22:58 they were bringing chilis and 22:59 we were handing out hot dogs 23:01 and that was just how it 23:02 started, it was a-- our 23:04 ministry just started growing 23:05 and God started putting 23:06 leadership in there, started 23:08 putting mentors and 23:09 role-models I needed in my 23:11 life, financial supports, and 23:13 we, come Christmas time we 23:16 had, like, 500 people 23:17 coming out. 23:18 We have no budget, but God 23:19 just kept pouring and pouring 23:21 and He opened up His heavenly 23:23 account, right? 23:24 And we were building these 23:26 relationships with people and 23:27 we were like, "This is 23:29 awesome," you know, we're 23:31 meeting street people, we're 23:32 meeting people who are 23:34 having-- who don't know how to 23:35 build relationships, they have 23:37 nowhere to go so they started 23:38 coming to Picnic in the Park 23:39 to meet friends and people 23:41 were getting baptized, people 23:42 were finding their new 23:44 future-spouses there, people 23:46 were just building relationships 23:48 with new friends. 23:49 So it started becoming, "Come 23:51 "and meet a friend you haven't 23:53 met yet." 23:54 Coming onto our fifth year, 23:56 COVID come into play last 23:58 year, we started a charity 24:01 group now called "Servant's 24:02 Heart Initiative." 24:04 And now we, last year we have 24:07 a wonderful cooking team, they 24:09 fed over 10,000 meals last 24:11 year to kids, a nutrition 24:13 program for kids that were in 24:15 school, we would deliver meals 24:17 right to their homes. 24:19 We were able to help elderly 24:21 people, single parents, we 24:24 started Celebrate Recovery now 24:26 here also through our ministry 24:28 to help people with addictions, 24:30 with their sin-life in general. 24:32 We're looking at starting up a 24:34 treatment centre now. 24:35 We went from our family as a 24:37 ministry to over 140 24:39 volunteers, it's grown to a 24:42 few different communities now 24:45 and it just keeps growing and 24:46 it's like God is going, 24:48 "You wanted a ministry? 24:50 I've got you a ministry." 24:51 The community did so much for 24:53 us in Sparwood that there's 24:56 never a way you could repay 24:58 that, you know, we'll always 25:00 be thankful to the people 25:02 of Sparwood. 25:06 [NATHAN] Hi there, I'm Nathan 25:07 Friedt, I'm the lead pastor 25:09 here at First Baptist Church 25:10 in Peace River, Alberta. 25:12 When I think about Paul and 25:13 Tammy Hebert, one of the Bible 25:14 verses that comes to my mind 25:16 comes from the book of James, 25:17 chapter 1, it says... 25:34 The reason that I like this 25:36 verse for Paul and Tammy is 25:37 that they've had so many 25:38 different trials that they've 25:40 walked through in their life 25:41 and each one has actually 25:42 caused them to have a 25:44 stronger faith. 25:45 Seeing Paul and Tammy come 25:46 alongside the church's 25:48 ministries and not just 25:49 serving within our church, but 25:51 going out into the community 25:52 and making the Lord's name 25:54 great, it's an incredible 25:55 privilege to watch what God 25:57 has been doing in their life. 25:58 I am so excited for the next 26:00 steps in their journey and to 26:01 see how God is continuing to 26:03 be faithful to them. 26:08 >> Before we go, I wonder if 26:10 you could please pray for us, 26:12 Paul? 26:13 >> That'd be awesome. 26:14 Thank you. 26:16 Lord, we just wanna say thank 26:18 You for this time today, Lord, 26:20 as we get to share a story, 26:22 Lord, and it's not about us, 26:23 but it's about You, Lord. 26:26 That we can walk in our own 26:29 ways or we could walk with 26:31 You, Lord, in that way. 26:33 And, Lord, I just want to... 26:38 put a special blessing out 26:39 there for everybody who's 26:40 watching this program, Lord, 26:42 through It Is Written Canada 26:44 and, Lord, that they can 26:46 spread your gospel and Your 26:47 word and Your love and bring 26:50 hope to a nation that's 26:52 listening, Lord, that can make 26:54 an impact on people who may 26:56 feel that there's nothing left 26:58 in the world, that they hear a 27:00 testimony through this 27:02 program, Lord, that they go, 27:04 "There's God," and they have 27:06 this seeking for who You are, 27:08 Lord. 27:10 Lord, I just appreciate every 27:12 moment that we have that we 27:13 can serve in Your kingdom here 27:15 on earth at this time and, 27:17 Lord, in Your name we pray, 27:18 amen. 27:19 [MIKE & RENÉ] Amen. 27:21 >> Thank you so much for 27:22 joining us, Kienan and Paul 27:24 and Tammy. 27:25 >> Thank you. 27:27 Thank you guys for coming. 27:29 >> Friends, Paul and Tammy 27:31 discovered how to forgive 27:33 their son's kidnapper and yet 27:35 some struggle to forgive. 27:37 When emotions run too deep and 27:39 forgiveness feels like an 27:41 impossibility, what do you do? 27:45 >> Our free offer for you is 27:47 What To Do When You Can't 27:48 Forgive. 27:50 This little book will provide 27:52 practical answers that will 27:54 help you forgive when you feel 27:56 like you can't. 28:02 >> Friends, we want you to 28:03 experience the truth that is 28:05 found in the words of Jesus 28:07 when He said, "It is written, 28:10 "'Man shall not live by bread 28:12 "'alone, but by every word 28:14 "'that proceeds out of the 28:15 mouth of God.'" 28:17 ♪♪ |
Revised 2022-04-14