3ABN Today

Personal Testimony

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Danny Shelton (Host), Yvonne Lewis (Host), C. A. & Irma Murray

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Series Code: TDY

Program Code: TDY016009A


00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people
00:12 I want to spend my life
00:18 Removing pain
00:23 Lord, let my words
00:29 Heal a heart that hurts
00:34 I want to spend my life
00:39 Mending broken people
00:45 I want to spend my life
00:50 Mending broken people.
01:06 Hello, and welcome to 3ABN Today.
01:08 Thank you for joining us today as you do each and every day.
01:11 I'm here with Dr Yvonne Lewis.
01:12 We've already been having fun before we went on air.
01:15 I know, I love it.
01:16 And we've been having fun
01:17 because we're here with friends, right?
01:19 We're here with people we love.
01:20 Brothers and sisters, and now we've just added you.
01:22 So we'll have fun together.
01:23 But we have some special guests today.
01:25 Do you know all these folk, Yvonne?
01:26 I do. Why don't you introduce them?
01:28 I am privileged to know Pastor C.A. Murray
01:31 and his lovely wife Irma Murray.
01:33 Okay.
01:35 They've been my friends for years and years.
01:37 You know many, many years, I don't know,
01:39 where you get to a point with women,
01:41 it's tough to know when to say,
01:42 well, how many years this or that,
01:44 they get little uptight, you ever noticed that C.A?
01:46 Very much so.
01:48 And so I won't ask Yvonne, but how many years
01:50 have you and Yvonne been known each other now?
01:53 Thirty plus. Thirty plus, thirty some years.
01:58 Yeah, we were children. A long time.
02:01 And we'll get into the story a little bit more here,
02:03 a little bit later on,
02:04 but today we have Irma and C.A. on for a reason.
02:07 Yvonne and I have been interviewing
02:09 a number of our 3ABN coworkers
02:12 to kind of get their behind the scene story.
02:15 As I say, let their hair down, that doesn't work with C.A.
02:18 And I don't have a lot of that down,
02:19 but that's just a phrase.
02:21 It doesn't, don't take it literal,
02:23 but we let our hair down and just, in fact maybe learn,
02:26 our goal is to learn something about C.A. and Irma.
02:30 Those of you watched him for years
02:32 that you didn't already know.
02:33 Now Irma of course is with Latino.
02:36 She works with Latino.
02:37 And C.A., he's worn a number of hats
02:40 since he's been here.
02:41 Right now as far as I know he is the boss,
02:42 what do you think?
02:44 Oh yeah. He's the boss.
02:45 We pretty well do what you say.
02:47 What are some of your--
02:48 Of course you're general manager of Proclaim.
02:50 But you've been over programming
02:52 for many years, you do lives,
02:54 you do all the remote stuff on road to GC sessions,
02:58 ASI as you produce some and oversee, all of that,
03:01 you preach, you sing, what else he do?
03:05 Have you written any books yet? He host, he host.
03:07 I've written four.
03:09 He's written four books already.
03:10 Four books, he hosts.
03:11 He hosts programs
03:13 and does he sweep the floor sometimes.
03:15 I haven't seen him do that. I've seen him do that.
03:18 He's not about doing that.
03:19 I've seen him do that in basketball
03:20 with some of the younger players,
03:22 he sweeps the floor when we go.
03:23 Sometimes I sweep with my face.
03:25 Oh, that kind of sweeping the floor.
03:27 Yeah, that kind of sweep for us,
03:28 that's a little bit different.
03:30 But, Irma, how long you've been working with the Latino?
03:34 Oh, 10 years now, going on 11, yes.
03:38 Not going to ask you if you like it,
03:39 because I see you're smiling.
03:41 You wouldn't be anywhere ten years
03:42 if you didn't enjoy, right?
03:44 I have enjoyed. And seen it.
03:45 I definitely, I've been blessed to.
03:48 You've seen a lot of growth in Latino, right?
03:51 Yes, absolutely.
03:52 She brings me contracts, I mean often.
03:54 I wish we were doing that in English.
03:56 In other parts of the world like we're doing Latino,
04:00 she brings these cable contracts C.A.
04:02 And I like I enjoy.
04:04 She'll say, "Can I come," I say, "Come in,
04:05 come in, come in, let's sign these things."
04:07 Because we've more people listening, watching 3ABN.
04:11 That's really what it's all about.
04:13 So today, it's kind of a fun program
04:15 but we're going to be interviewing our own folks,
04:18 brothers and sisters in the Lord.
04:19 We're going to try to find out some things about them
04:22 that maybe you don't already know
04:24 and that's always fun.
04:26 And I'm sure, it will be a good stuff,
04:27 because I'm sure there is nothing bad ever happen
04:29 to either one of you in your lives and everything,
04:31 and make no mistakes everything has been well.
04:35 Honking door forever. Yeah.
04:36 Okay, Give me some time to show off right now.
04:40 Well, when we think about that, we have some special music.
04:43 You know who is doing our special music?
04:44 I do, Jaime Jorge.
04:46 Incredible, isn't he? The gift God has given him.
04:49 Anointed, he really is and he's going to play
04:51 'Leaning on the Everlasting Arms'.
07:59 Amen. You mean Jorge. I cannot play like that.
08:01 Well, I can tell you why? Why?
08:03 You haven't spent 35 years
08:06 playing the violin probably, right?
08:08 Absolutely not.
08:09 And hour after hour, day after day,
08:12 month after month, year after year
08:13 and that's what you get.
08:15 That's true.
08:16 God gives us each talents, and gifts, and abilities.
08:19 In whatever we hone in on,
08:21 it seems like that's what he blesses
08:23 and so the more we do something
08:24 but now, Jaime can't sing like you either.
08:27 Well, praise the Lord.
08:28 And, you know, and I'm sure he hasn't sang nearly
08:31 as much as you have.
08:33 But all of us, you know,
08:34 some of us sing better than others.
08:37 And I put myself in the others, not the better than.
08:40 But you have spent many, many years in music.
08:45 And so God blesses that, doesn't He?
08:46 He does.
08:47 Even when you were in the world,
08:49 God still blessed your gift,
08:51 because you kept using your gift.
08:53 God is good.
08:54 And now you get back, come back to the Lord.
08:57 And there's nothing like it. It doesn't compare.
08:59 Okay. All right.
09:01 We want to talk about,
09:02 Let's start a little bit of things
09:03 that people may already know.
09:05 But C.A had something to do with your coming back
09:07 to joining the Adventist church,
09:10 tell us about it?
09:11 Well my grandmother was--
09:14 had been, she was retired when I went to her church,
09:17 but she had been the Bible instructor there
09:20 at the Ephesus Church,
09:22 and she said "We're getting a new pastor."
09:26 And I've been out of the church for about 12, 13years.
09:31 And, but I didn't consider--
09:32 I always consider myself still an Adventist,
09:35 I never--
09:36 I just wasn't going to church,
09:37 but I was delusional, but anyway.
09:39 So that was a little delusional.
09:41 But--
09:43 So I said, okay, let me just go and check it out.
09:47 And I went and Pastor C.A was the new pastor.
09:52 And from that Sabbath on, I was in church every Sabbath.
09:57 The Lord used him to bring me back to him.
09:59 And, so he became my spiritual mentor.
10:03 And I'm so grateful for his friendship
10:07 and his mentorship over the years and it's been--
10:09 I was pregnant with Jason
10:11 when and Jason will be 30 on his birthday.
10:15 Yeah so, I was praying with Jason
10:17 when I got baptized by Pastor Murray.
10:20 So that...
10:22 it shows and I even, and we'll get to that later
10:24 but I was even with Pastor Murray
10:27 the day he met Irma.
10:28 Oh, really. So we got to talk about that.
10:30 We can't go way back. We're gonna go there.
10:33 We're gonna learn a lot of stuff about C.A.
10:35 Yes.
10:36 One of the things that I want him to tell about
10:38 that he's probably never told on TV
10:40 or he might that I found out about him
10:43 and probably the audience doesn't know.
10:45 Well, C.A, he can sleep like...
10:47 he can go to sleep, we were on an airplane
10:49 and like Yvonne, they don't...
10:51 I mean you hardly get off the runway
10:52 and they can sleep.
10:54 And I mean they like to sleep,
10:56 but you don't sleep when you're ministering, right?
10:58 You don't set up front in the chair
11:01 get ready to preach and go to sleep.
11:03 But I think we've got a story.
11:05 C.A, you feel like confessing, tell us what happened
11:08 when you were supposed to be preaching
11:09 at what church, big church?
11:11 Holloway Church in London.
11:12 Oh, the Holloway Church. Tell us what happened there?
11:15 I flew over to do a short series
11:19 and I've learned since you don't fly on the day
11:22 you're going to preach.
11:23 So we took off and flew all night.
11:29 Got to London 11 o'clock or so in the morning.
11:31 And I didn't feel sleepy, so I'm up.
11:34 You know, when you're up and you're up and you're up
11:36 and somebody say take a nap, take a nap, take a nap.
11:38 Well, I'm fine.
11:39 Then you eat this big meal,
11:41 you know just before you go to church.
11:44 They take you to someone's house
11:45 and they load you down with food, heavy food.
11:47 Then at 7 o'clock it's time to preach.
11:49 So I'm sitting on the pulpit, and there's music,
11:53 and then a scripture then.
11:55 So I hear the music,
11:56 and then the person is introducing the speaker.
11:58 And I hear them introducing me,
12:01 but I'm leaving the building, you know, I'm heading out.
12:05 And you can hear him talking about you,
12:07 you know, but I couldn't reverse it.
12:08 You know, stomach full of food, it's warm, you know.
12:11 And I'm just sliding south. You're the keynote speaker.
12:13 Yeah, I'm the keynote speaker,
12:15 and he said, "All the way from United States."
12:17 And I was gone. I was gone.
12:20 Now I woke up and I did 35 minutes.
12:22 To this day I have no idea what I said.
12:24 You know, I don't know, but I couldn't reverse it,
12:26 it just caught me.
12:27 And there was nothing I could do to stop it.
12:29 You know, today they said, you know, you're on, you know.
12:33 Well, I got up and I preached, but it was--
12:34 I've known now.
12:36 On the day you're gonna minister,
12:37 don't fly across the ocean on that day,
12:40 give yourself one day, at least one day
12:41 to sort of let your body get adjusted.
12:43 The same thing happened to me in London.
12:46 Oh, praise the Lord, I feel so good.
12:49 I'm so happy. Yeah. In London, in the '90s.
12:52 And I think, I was at Brixton,
12:55 and I was the musical evangelist
12:58 for one pastor there.
13:01 Well, he was actually from the States.
13:03 And I flew in on that Sabbath.
13:06 And I got there and I was okay for a little bit
13:10 but that sitting.
13:11 When you're just sitting there and you've been.
13:14 And all the adrenalin now has just kind of calm down.
13:18 And I found myself like, just like really knocked out,
13:21 so that was, yeah, so never fly on the day of--
13:25 Yeah. It's a good lesson.
13:26 I'm going to talk to the white people
13:27 for just a moment.
13:29 Oh my goodness. I can't believe it.
13:31 Because when you go to back church,
13:33 I don't care if it's London,
13:34 I don't care if it's here in America.
13:36 White people, we get out at noon.
13:38 Usually the churches are noon.
13:39 Now, John, he takes you to 12:30, 1 o'clock, right?
13:42 So you get a white person going to a church
13:46 that don't even start till 1 o'clock,
13:48 they're gonna fall asleep.
13:50 They're either going to be hungry, fall asleep,
13:52 because they don't enjoy that setting
13:54 and praising the Lord and all of that.
13:56 But there's no excuse for you guys to fall asleep
13:59 because you're used to that.
14:00 You're used to long services,
14:02 and good music, and all of that.
14:03 Oh, my goodness.
14:05 And if you've gotten some sleep? Yeah.
14:06 Yeah, if you've gotten some sleep.
14:07 But if you haven't, it's not gonna--
14:10 When I was at Ephesus, if I preached...
14:12 Well, first of all getting out at 12
14:14 meant no sermon, because I didn't get up till 12.
14:17 Till 12, that's right.
14:18 But, if I preach a 15, 20, and even 30 minute sermon.
14:21 They will say, "Pastor, you're not feeling so good today,
14:23 you know, did you have a bad Sabbath?"
14:25 Because they're expecting a little more,
14:26 but that's just the different worship experiences.
14:28 It's a cultural thing
14:29 and people tend to stay in church,
14:33 in black churches a little bit longer.
14:34 Oh, it's wonderful over there. I get up.
14:37 When I do the black churches like London.
14:39 And I get up to preach.
14:40 And I'll say, "I'm going to tell you something
14:43 I never get to say at a white church,
14:45 "Good afternoon,"
14:47 because you never get up to preach after 12 o'clock
14:51 in a white church that I've been to.
14:53 But it might be 1 o'clock, but you know what,
14:55 nobody's in a hurry.
14:56 And I like that because we start thinking about
14:58 what's heaven going to be like.
15:00 We're going to get tired of it, we will say,
15:01 "Well, Jesus, you know, we have--
15:03 It's kind of been a long day, we're gonna go rest.
15:05 But these folk come to worship the Lord.
15:08 They come to have a good time. People get up and they sing.
15:12 Maybe throw somebody else in that they hadn't thought,
15:14 hey maybe brother so-and-so.
15:15 Let's sing an extra song, the preacher is on fire,
15:18 just keep going.
15:19 And people stay and people worship.
15:21 And I like it so I have to tell you,
15:23 I'm making confessions good for.
15:25 So I love going to the churches
15:27 where there the people are serious
15:28 about worshipping the Lord rather than to go
15:31 and let start exactly at 9 a.m. or whatever 9:30.
15:34 Now we started at 11 you've got.
15:36 I've had people say you have 32 minutes to preach,
15:39 31 I mean, why 32?
15:41 It's like, you know, sometimes like these flights
15:44 you can go halfway around the world
15:45 and they say 14 hours and 59 minutes.
15:48 Now why didn't they say 15,
15:49 'cause you know it's not going to be that
15:51 well, that's some way these churches.
15:53 I was in a big church
15:54 and they gave the person in front of me
15:57 that was speaking.
16:00 Just I don't know what he was telling,
16:01 a little mission story.
16:03 They gave him two minutes and thirty seconds
16:04 and put, put it on a clock on the pulpit,
16:07 so he could see it.
16:08 And I didn't know it, but I was standing in the back,
16:10 it's a huge church, everybody would know who it is.
16:13 And I was standing and ready to go in
16:15 and I saw this red light blinking.
16:17 And I said, oh, oh, that guy whoever it is,
16:19 there must be some emergency, I'm thinking there's fire,
16:22 there's something going on, this red lights blinking.
16:25 So I've got somebody and elder, I said,
16:27 "What's going on, there's a red light?"
16:29 He said, "Oh, two minutes and thirty seconds,
16:31 he went ten seconds over."
16:32 So we, they put a red light on it.
16:34 Oh, my self.
16:35 So now back to the services, well, I'm blessed
16:37 when I go to churches
16:39 and we can just have a good time in the Lord.
16:40 And go home when the service is over.
16:43 I was a preacher at a church on the jersey shore.
16:45 Predominately white church, still not exclusively.
16:47 And they invited me back so I figured that,
16:49 they like what we were doing and I would tell them,
16:51 when they got me up about 10 minutes to 12.
16:53 I said, "Now I want you to know the Lord answers prayer.
16:56 I want you to know that."
16:57 Because there may be some of you who are praying
17:00 to get out at 12 o'clock.
17:03 I need to tell you that on this Sabbath,
17:05 that prayer will not be answered.
17:08 God answered that prayer today,
17:10 so you give me a quarter to 12, I'll pray for 12 o'clock,
17:13 because the Lord is like, "No."
17:17 So we kind of took our time. All right.
17:19 But God is good.
17:20 So C.A has got lots of stories, some he probably won't tell,
17:23 but a lot of things has happened
17:24 when you're in ministry that long in the cities
17:28 and you have big churches.
17:29 But when you look back, you've got fond memories.
17:31 Oh, yeah. Of all that you did.
17:33 Now tell us a little, you and Yvonne,
17:35 do you know anything about C.A that you could tell
17:38 that maybe he hasn't told that people don't know.
17:41 We talk about he led you to the Lord, but did he--
17:44 Let me ask you about singing, did he sing back then,
17:47 did you ever hear him sing?
17:48 You know, not really.
17:49 I didn't really hear you sing until here,
17:52 until I came here.
17:53 So why? I sang occasionally.
17:55 But not much. Yeah. After sermons probably.
17:57 But she won't know that you weren't known to sing.
17:59 I sang after--
18:00 well, when after you preached, then, you know,
18:02 the congregation might move you, nice move,
18:04 you kind of get up and if you don't hit every note,
18:06 nobody cares, because they're feeling the spirit,
18:08 you know, that kind of thing, but I sang.
18:10 I didn't hear you sing a lot though.
18:11 I mean it wasn't like here where I say,
18:13 here you sing on a regular basis.
18:15 But there-- Not as much as here.
18:16 You know. Not as much as here.
18:18 Is there reason for that? Not really, none.
18:21 I had one or two songs that I sang--
18:23 You knew you could sing, you just didn't push it.
18:25 Yeah, we did a lot of singing at Oakwood, I sang in groups,
18:28 always sang in choirs, choirs and groups at Oakwood.
18:32 More group singing than solo stuff.
18:34 I didn't really do a lot of solo stuff till I got here.
18:37 Okay. And you sort of needled me.
18:39 Let's go back now. Okay. We're glad we did that.
18:42 Let's go back, find out where was C.A Murray born.
18:45 Where were you raised, what area?
18:47 Born in Buffalo, New York.
18:48 Joined the church at age--
18:50 I got baptized at age 10. Ten?
18:52 Tell you quick story.
18:53 We lived next door to some people, some kids.
18:55 We play with them six days a week.
18:57 On Saturday, we'd see everybody get dressed,
18:59 get in his car and disappear for the whole day.
19:01 And you know you're seven, eight, nine,
19:03 you just kind of file that,
19:05 we couldn't play with them on Saturday.
19:06 We couldn't come in the yard and play with them on Saturday.
19:08 So we moved to another part of town.
19:11 Moved right across the street
19:12 from, some people did the exact same weird activity.
19:14 On Saturday morning, everybody jumped in the car
19:16 and disappear, you know, just disappear.
19:18 So I asked the fellow,
19:20 the young boy who was of my age,
19:21 his sister was my sister's age.
19:23 "Where do you guys go,
19:25 when you disappear on Saturday?"
19:26 You know, and they say, "We go to Sabbath school."
19:27 Right, it meant nothing to me.
19:29 So we became friends, and one day
19:30 they take me to Sabbath school.
19:32 And so I went and it was fun,
19:35 we had a nice beautiful young teacher there,
19:37 her name was Susan Mildred Willis
19:38 then, became Mildred Gill.
19:41 And when you got your lesson right,
19:42 she would stroke your cheek
19:44 and say "Oh, that is so nice," you know.
19:46 And I saw this, just touching that,
19:47 you know, she would just like "Oh, you studied your lesson."
19:50 I say you're next, you come and getting a stroke, you know.
19:52 So I was waiting for a question and answer she says,
19:56 "Oh, very good you did a nice job."
19:58 And I say, "I like that." You know.
20:00 So I studied my lesson every week.
20:02 And, then one day, I just saw myself,
20:06 the pastor made a call,
20:07 so I'm myself walking to the front,
20:08 I think I was ten. I just turned ten.
20:10 And my mother said, "Well, we're not doing that,
20:12 we're AME.
20:14 But if you want to do that fine,
20:15 and we won't stop you.
20:17 So every Sabbath, I went to church with this family
20:18 across the street
20:20 and that's how we sort of got started.
20:22 Okay, so your parents obviously,
20:24 were they Christians, they weren't Adventist.
20:25 They were Christians, well, they were holiday Methodist.
20:28 You know.
20:30 Easter, Christmas, half day on Thanksgiving kind of thing,
20:34 live church, and my dad was kind of
20:36 old robots on Sunday morning.
20:37 You know that was enough for him.
20:39 But I baptized my mom, baptized my dad
20:43 one month before he had a heart attack and died.
20:46 And then my sister joined the church too.
20:47 So I kind of led that whole, you know, Exodus
20:51 into the Seventh-day Adventist church.
20:53 Wow.
20:54 What was it like being the only one in your family
20:58 that was Adventist?
21:01 They were supportive,
21:02 but they weren't going to make any changes for me.
21:04 My mother said if that's what you want to do,
21:06 we will support you.
21:07 My family were great football people,
21:09 so I'd come home in the fall.
21:10 My sister watching television in her bedroom with her own TV.
21:14 My dad watching television in the living room
21:16 and my mother watching another TV,
21:17 because they couldn't watch together.
21:19 Because my mother wanted it totally quiet.
21:21 And my sister screamed at the TV.
21:23 She was screaming, throw stuff at the television.
21:25 And my dad just couldn't take that
21:26 so I had to wade my way
21:28 past three television sets to go to my bedroom,
21:30 basically lock myself in on Sabbath kind of thing.
21:32 And I envy people who would have Sabbath dinner.
21:34 And you know come home
21:36 and have a whole Sabbath atmosphere,
21:37 because I didn't have that.
21:38 They didn't fight against me
21:40 but they didn't make any particular provisions for me.
21:42 You know, if you want to do this, we're fine.
21:44 What I didn't know
21:46 is that they were watching my behavior,
21:47 you know, over the years watching my behavior,
21:49 watching my behavior.
21:50 And I did a week of prayer.
21:52 And it was funny because I was in a ministry,
21:54 did a week of prayer.
21:56 And I wanted my mother to join the church.
21:59 And I knew she was ready to go. But she was resisting the Lord.
22:02 So I did an appeal for 35 minutes.
22:05 I said, "You're getting out of that chair tonight
22:08 and I feel bad for the rest of congregation, said,
22:09 she's getting up tonight after 35 minutes,
22:12 because she's crying and you know,
22:13 rocking and crying, and rocking and crying...
22:15 I know she's ready to go.
22:16 You know, I said, I'm gonna--
22:17 I took her to the cross.
22:19 I took her to hell, I did everything I could,
22:22 and finally she stood up.
22:23 I said, thank God.
22:24 Let stand up for a benediction. All right.
22:26 And when she joined the church, it was the greatest thing.
22:28 She loved up until she passed.
22:30 She loved being a Seventh-day Adventist,
22:32 she loved it.
22:33 But I knew she was ready.
22:35 But the Lord just had to kind of work on her,
22:37 so I apologized for the congregation,
22:39 35 minute appeal.
22:40 That's almost another sermon,
22:42 but I said she's joining the church tonight.
22:43 And she did.
22:44 That's exactly the kind of stuff we want to find out,
22:46 right?
22:47 That we don't know exactly. Now you went to college.
22:50 I heard you played a little hoop,
22:51 did you?
22:52 Went on the basketball scholarship,
22:54 and you know it's funny when you know to do right.
22:56 To him that knows to do it right
22:58 and do it right even his present abomination.
23:02 Broke my ankle, left ankle, same ankle,
23:04 same break two years in a row, both on Friday night.
23:07 Hard headed, you know, and the pastor told me,
23:08 said C.A, "You know better.
23:10 The Lord will let you break your ankle,
23:11 keep you from breaking your neck.
23:13 But the first time I broke it, I didn't know it.
23:15 I got to go back into the game and I fell over.
23:17 And I knew it was broken, the second I heard a snap,
23:19 I knew it was the same break, and the doctor said,
23:21 it's very unusual to get the same break
23:23 you know the x rays formally said,
23:25 that's almost the same break.
23:26 Very unusual because usually it heals,
23:28 you get little extra calcium there.
23:29 He said, that's the exact same break.
23:30 And I said, that was the Lord.
23:33 Next time it's going to be your neck.
23:34 So I got the message, I heard him.
23:36 And I transferred from my scholarship
23:38 to Oakwood and graduated from Oakwood College.
23:40 Okay. Yeah.
23:42 When did you decide you wanted to be a minister?
23:44 By the age of 11.
23:46 Really? Wow. Yeah.
23:47 I always knew,
23:49 we had a little birdie fall out of the nest.
23:50 And all of our friends,
23:52 we got together had a little funeral for him.
23:54 You know and I did the eulogy. Okay.
23:56 We got little piano, you know, we had a little drum.
23:58 And it was a little 12 key pianos,
24:01 and we all had, you know, we dug, we got a cigar box
24:04 and dug just a little grave for the little birdie
24:06 and we had this long up.
24:07 Got my Bible out and had little eulogy
24:09 for the little bird, you know, that kind of thing.
24:10 And from then on, it always occurred to me.
24:12 Yeah.
24:13 Yeah, that's kind of what I want to do.
24:15 It was the basketball thing gotten away
24:16 and free education.
24:18 You know, Satan can put all this kind of stuff
24:19 in front of you.
24:20 Sure. So we got kind of sidetracked.
24:23 But we got back on track and the Lord helped us out.
24:25 What do you think has been the biggest challenge
24:28 that you faced in ministry that you can share?
24:31 Oh, my soul. Please don't use my name.
24:36 Okay, so the second biggest challenge.
24:38 Yeah, the second bigggest challenge.
24:39 Second biggest.
24:42 I think the biggest challenge for any pastor
24:46 is not getting so caught up in doing the work of the Lord
24:50 that you forget about your relationship with the Lord.
24:52 It's very easy for anyone who is involved in ministry
24:56 to substitute doing God stuff, for doing God.
25:02 And you can get involved in the stuff of God,
25:04 the trappings, the accoutrements
25:06 and forget about your relationship.
25:07 And that has always been picking,
25:09 I've got to Ephesus, you got 2000 members.
25:11 You got two days
25:13 when you're just visiting sick people, you know.
25:14 Then you've got prayer meeting,
25:16 then you've got sermon for over, then you got Sabbath,
25:17 then you got all day Sunday in meetings.
25:19 And you can get so up
25:21 on that treadmill that you forget about,
25:22 you need some one on one time with you and the Lord.
25:24 And that's the challenge, and it's a challenge here too
25:27 because 3ABN can envelop you.
25:28 And you've got to take some time
25:30 for a personal development.
25:31 I think anybody who is in ministry
25:33 needs to separate the work of the Lord
25:35 from personal relationship with the Lord.
25:37 And if you don't have the relationship,
25:38 the work is actually going to suffer
25:40 because you're not in right relationship with the Lord.
25:42 It's good. You get out at Oakwood.
25:44 You're looking, you're ready for ministry, you graduated.
25:47 Where is your first church?
25:50 A couple of weeks at Stanford, Connecticut and then Bethel.
25:54 That's where I met Loamy. In Bethel, isn't it?
25:56 In Brooklyn, Bethel in Brooklyn New York.
25:59 Membership at that time was about 1200.
26:01 And met John Lomacang, Pastor John Nixon,
26:05 the Nixon family.
26:06 You were young then. That's a big church.
26:08 Yeah, it's a big church.
26:10 I was associate pastor, and then the senior pastor left
26:13 and they let me pastor it by myself for a long time
26:15 until the senior pastor came, but I was thirty,
26:18 no, no, I was 24.
26:20 Yeah. Yeah, yeah, 24.
26:22 And we had a basketball team and all these guys around,
26:24 Lomacang and all these guys.
26:26 And I kept them in church
26:27 because I realize although they all had night life.
26:29 You know these guys are out running on the streets.
26:31 Even Pastor John? Y'all please.
26:34 John used to put party favors.
26:36 The announcements for the new,
26:38 for the parties inside the church bulletins.
26:40 I just found out a couple of weeks ago.
26:42 Saturday night parties.
26:43 Yeah, he was to held Saturday night parties.
26:45 He'd stick them in the church bulletin,
26:46 so all...
26:47 And I knew those guys were doing stuff.
26:49 Well, my thing was, if I can keep them coming,
26:50 if I can keep them close to the Lord.
26:53 Maybe the Lord can grab a hold of them,
26:54 so we said if you don't show up in church in the morning,
26:57 you can't play on the basketball team
26:59 Saturday night.
27:00 And that was enough to get them in that building.
27:03 And then I gave, I made them deacons.
27:05 And I knew they weren't deacon material, you know.
27:08 But I needed them to be in the building.
27:10 And they were in the building,
27:11 and most of those guys are in ministry or teaching
27:15 or doing something for the Lord now
27:17 because I felt, they just had to be near the Lord.
27:20 One of the gifts that God has given you
27:22 is the ability to kind of assess where people are
27:27 and then meet them there.
27:29 And that, and to help to guide as you're just coming back
27:35 or if you're out in the world like, you're very,
27:38 God has given you that gift and it's a wonderful gift.
27:41 Praise the Lord. Really is.
27:42 God bless. Praise the Lord. Yeah.
27:44 He has numerous gifts
27:46 and he keeps developing them over the years.
27:49 So, you're pastor
27:51 and you're pastor for a number of years,
27:53 then Yvonne said something I caught on my ear
27:57 early in the program.
27:58 She said in fact,
27:59 "I was with C.A when he met Irma."
28:01 So I think now it may be the time,
28:03 then we can bring Irma in on this.
28:05 Good. May be you tell us that story.
28:07 Well we were in Kingston I think.
28:14 Ellenville.
28:15 Was it Ellenville, 'cause the Martells...
28:18 That's all New York. In New York.
28:19 For those of us--
28:21 I'm sorry, I'm sorry. We don't know.
28:22 Upstate New York. It's New York. It's New York.
28:24 About 100 miles north of New York City.
28:26 Yeah, 'cause they had the Kingston Church
28:28 and they had Ellenville Church.
28:30 It was a district. The Martells.
28:31 And so Pastor Martell, who is a dear friend of ours
28:37 and, so he invited Pastor C.A to come and speak.
28:42 And that was it.
28:44 And I don't even know how--
28:46 While I lived out that way anyway.
28:47 So I want to support you and them
28:50 and to hear you speak and everything.
28:52 And there was a lovely young lady there.
28:56 And I remember Pastor C.A
28:58 saying "Who is that?"
29:03 You know, it happened,
29:04 it was the first night of an evangelistic crusade.
29:07 So we were all there to kind of support.
29:09 And she doesn't admit this but we were all sitting there
29:12 and this little Honda comes flying by
29:14 with this cloud of dust, you know.
29:17 She's running a little late.
29:18 And I said, first I said, "Who is that?"
29:21 You know, there's cloud of dust,
29:22 you know, when she got out, I said, "Who is that?"
29:25 Kind of thing. In changed tone.
29:27 I've got a picture,
29:29 I think they've got the very first picture.
29:31 I had my long lens camera, and during prayer,
29:34 I shot that picture--
29:35 During prayer?
29:37 All the way across the street, I got to put the word.
29:38 This is true confession.
29:40 During prayer, I said, I train my camera over there
29:42 and I took that picture.
29:44 I said, "I don't know if I'm gonna see her again."
29:46 But good night,
29:48 and so I said let me take this picture during prayer.
29:50 And I've got that picture up, that picture is...
29:52 that was 1993.
29:53 And your kids listening, don't listen to that.
29:56 Yeah, don't listen to that part.
29:57 You didn't hear, don't look up now...
29:59 Just took a picture of her. Okay, so you got that.
30:02 So how, tell us about how--
30:04 What did you say, your perspective how did they?
30:07 Well, I think, it just began to blossom.
30:10 I think you asked a few questions about her
30:13 and found out about her from the Martells,
30:15 because the Martells knew Irma.
30:18 And they knew what a lovely person she was
30:20 and so they were encouraging, this I believe--
30:24 You didn't talk that first time
30:25 when you were taking her picture,
30:26 when you were stalking her.
30:28 That night we talked till midnight.
30:29 What happened was--
30:31 When he was stalking her-- When you were stalking her--
30:34 Now, you know, taking pictures of her--
30:37 May be that's a little stretch.
30:39 Yeah, that's a little stretch right there.
30:40 You know, a long telescope. Okay.
30:41 What had happen, Kevin had gone to AC,
30:44 and had gotten himself into a little trouble with AC.
30:46 And Kevin?
30:47 Kevin is her son
30:48 and who is now a pastor in Bakersfield Church
30:50 and worked here at 3ABN for quite a while.
30:53 And I happen to know the Dean Bruce Wells
30:57 of the other school who was a classmate of mine.
31:00 So she was trying to get some help for Kevin,
31:04 because she knew he was a good child.
31:06 But he had gotten himself in some hot water.
31:08 And we're trying to see if we could work it out,
31:10 and I knew some people, and she knew some people.
31:11 So in dealing with that, I was also getting information,
31:15 you know, about stuff.
31:16 And yeah...
31:20 Okay.
31:22 So that was kind of the first, the first night,
31:24 it went, the conversation went for a quite a long time.
31:25 Okay, now we get--
31:27 We talked for a while.
31:28 Now we get to switch over
31:30 and that's what we want to hear from Irma now.
31:31 Now you come flying in leaving dust everywhere.
31:35 Yes, like Kandy Oakley.
31:36 And now, when did you spot him,
31:37 when did he catch your eye.
31:39 And when did you take pictures of him
31:41 during prayer?
31:43 I did not. Oh you didn't.
31:44 Okay. No, that's a funny story.
31:47 He always says that I drove crazy, you know.
31:50 But credit to that, it was very dusty.
31:54 Oh, okay.
31:55 That because they had put rocks and gravel
31:58 and whatever.
32:00 So we have to--
32:01 She wasn't going 90, she was just going 70.
32:03 It was a tent meeting,
32:04 so there was a lot of dust there.
32:05 Yes, it was. All right.
32:07 The road to get to the back to the parking was not far away
32:11 but it's right there next to the tent.
32:14 And I was a little late. Late. A little.
32:21 The truth comes out, yes, indeed.
32:22 A little late.
32:24 Cloud of dust in a hotty high old silver.
32:27 Not because I wanted to be late,
32:30 but my friend stood me up.
32:32 She did remember, you do met...
32:33 Okay. Mona.
32:36 No, not Mona. Elena.
32:38 It was Elena, Elena Borsuk.
32:40 It's our first introduction on 3ABN
32:42 that she stood you up.
32:44 You are on a really bad road right now.
32:45 Sorry, sorry.
32:47 It's kind of one of those programs,
32:48 "This is your life."
32:51 She says, "I'll be right there."
32:53 and he said, "We'll go to support the pastor,
32:55 'cause pastor might tell which is our friend.
32:59 We were very good friends, and it was his first night.
33:04 So I was ready and waiting for her
33:07 and she never came.
33:08 And I sat watching TV, and I got up again and I--
33:12 so it's, you know, I have, my house is clean,
33:15 I'm ready to go.
33:17 I should go.
33:18 But because I wasn't comfortable
33:22 to just drive on myself.
33:24 I fought it, but the Lord insist on it,
33:28 'cause finally, you know, I felt like,
33:30 you know, I have to go.
33:31 And so I got in the car and I went,
33:34 and probably because I was driving a little fast
33:38 simply because of it.
33:39 Okay, well.
33:40 Cloud of dust, you would have thought about
33:42 and you erupted, there's so much there.
33:43 So when you, that cloud of dust settles down
33:45 and you're, Who was preaching that night?
33:47 Where you preaching C.A?
33:48 No, actually, Martell was preaching,
33:50 I came to support him.
33:51 Okay, I thought it was you. You were taking pictures.
33:53 I was taking pictures for the gleaner,
33:55 for the magazine.
33:56 So that kind of explains why he was taking pictures
33:59 during prayer that day.
34:00 That's a little better, 'cause you were there
34:02 taking pictures of the event.
34:03 For the union, for the event. It was all very official.
34:05 Sometimes you get people praying, we have taken--
34:08 okay.
34:09 Okay, all is forgiven, right? Praise the Lord.
34:11 Young people, you can listen again.
34:13 That sounds much better. Yeah, sounds good.
34:14 So when did he spotted you, but when did you spot him?
34:18 I didn't spot him because I was not interested.
34:21 Tell you the truth, I was not,
34:23 I was a very studious person of the Bible.
34:28 And I had, had a very bad marriage.
34:31 Okay.
34:33 So you weren't interested in anybody, it wasn't just him.
34:35 No, I have said to the Lord, I said "If I'm to marry again,
34:40 you have to bring that person right in front of me
34:42 that I really know that, that's the person."
34:45 Because I didn't want to make another bad mistake.
34:47 I said, "Lord, you know, I didn't choose right.
34:49 So I don't want to do it this time."
34:51 So I was not, I just want to really,
34:54 honestly hear the messages.
34:57 But then they introduced me to him
35:00 and at night, you know, after the meeting.
35:03 And it was a wonderful thing
35:06 that this pastor was so interested in to know
35:09 how my son was doing, and wanted to help it so...
35:14 Yeah, look at him.
35:15 Wish we had a camera shot on that.
35:17 He had a little ulterior motive may be, just a little bit.
35:20 Look, look little sheepish over there.
35:22 Okay. To me that was just amazing.
35:24 So that's when you guys talk for hours.
35:25 Yeah, yeah.
35:27 Yes, so we were talking and he offered to pray for,
35:30 you knowing to call me and pray for my son--
35:32 I'm going to need a phone number,
35:34 because I've got to minister to you.
35:39 I did know that my friends on the other end,
35:42 they were all giggling, and talking, and so.
35:45 Finally when, you know, it was over the conversation.
35:49 And I was going my way, and him his way, then,
35:53 you know, Pastor Martell.
35:57 He says, "Well, that's the long conversation."
36:00 So because Pastor Martell would always tell you,
36:04 said, boy, "she only says a lot to the man and she's gone."
36:09 We've been trying to get her to meet these guys
36:12 and she just so goes.
36:15 So he was amazed that I spent so much time,
36:18 but I said no way.
36:19 He wants to help me out with Kevin.
36:22 I'm very worried about Kevin.
36:24 And then you know what happened?
36:25 The next Sabbath, I came up and preached
36:28 because Martell was preaching each night,
36:29 he needed a little break.
36:31 I said, "I'll come and preach for you.
36:32 So I came back up and I preached from--
36:34 and Kevin, you brought Kevin.
36:35 And at my appeal Kevin took up,
36:37 stood up and gave a shout to the Lord.
36:38 Wow. Yeah.
36:40 So now I got to study the Bible with him, you know.
36:42 That's our piece,
36:44 give him harsh words, so somebody got to talk,
36:45 can't just leave him out there by himself.
36:47 So now, I've got to come back again and again
36:49 because we have to study the word of God.
36:50 That's right, sure. Yeah.
36:52 So you broke through that whole barrier through her son.
36:58 And Kevin and I got along very well, very quickly.
37:00 We became fast friends. That's true.
37:03 Yes. And then there's a picture.
37:06 Yeah.
37:09 All right, look at that smile on C.A's face, would you?
37:12 I know. I mean, that's a big smile C.A.
37:16 He was happy to be in your company.
37:18 You know what, I have to tell you the truth,
37:20 I still see that smile on his face with you,
37:22 all these years later.
37:23 Oh, thanks. Ask, how am I doing C.A?
37:26 You make a point, I love it.
37:28 That's true, and I see it on hers too
37:30 when he's preaching when he's upfront.
37:32 I watch the response and she's really into it.
37:35 So I said, okay, that gives me confidence in the speaker
37:38 when his wife is on edge and he's held her attention
37:41 and she's there, you know, excited about it so.
37:44 You know so.
37:46 Now how long did this deal go on,
37:47 I mean you can only study the guy so much,
37:50 you know and with him,
37:51 so what happened after that Irma.
37:53 Who made the first move, did he about marriage?
37:56 He kept calling and calling. And we would study and pray.
38:01 And then my friends on the other end,
38:03 "He likes you, he's really interested in you."
38:06 I says, "No, he's not." "Yes, he is."
38:09 So then finally I started thinking,
38:11 you know what, I think it is true,
38:13 that he is calling too often.
38:15 Right. Too often.
38:19 He was a good talker
38:21 so he never sounded like it was,
38:24 you know, trying to tell me things then.
38:27 He was not, you know, very engaging
38:32 and so we're talking,
38:33 so then finally when I realized, then I said,
38:37 "Wow," you know
38:38 and I realize that I really like his qualities and.
38:41 So I call, you know and Kevin, and Becky.
38:46 You know we got to talk. So we sat down and talk.
38:50 So I told them because I felt I said you know,
38:52 "If they don't like him,
38:54 I'm not even going to start anything,
38:57 because they're gonna be part of the family.
38:59 Your son and daughter. Yes.
39:01 Kevin and Becky, my son and my daughter.
39:04 And of course Kevin was, you know, sold out.
39:10 Oh, yeah.
39:11 And Becky, she says, "Well, I said I have to go,
39:14 I have to meet him very well," and I says,
39:16 so she came to church with us
39:18 and so then she was dressing me up
39:22 and you know making me look really good and.
39:26 So we went to church and she liked them.
39:29 She said, "I think that you have a very good man there.
39:33 Yes, I think that you should--
39:35 They have such a really good relationship,
39:38 like you can tell, when people get along
39:41 and they enjoy each other and you go guys really.
39:44 I think you compliment each other.
39:46 Yeah, I think we do. Yeah, we do.
39:48 I don't think he has too many things
39:50 that I can say that, that I don't like, you know.
39:54 There are some things that I'll say,
39:58 "Well, you know, you shouldn't do that or something,
40:00 but there is nothing to really that..."
40:02 She says little stronger than that,
40:03 she is Spanish.
40:05 She comes out a little stronger.
40:06 Why not tell, it's old stereotype.
40:09 Irma has this ability,
40:12 she's actually better than me on this,
40:14 Irma can get upset,
40:16 but she calms down faster than anybody I know.
40:19 Once she says it, she's done.
40:21 You know, I tend to stew, you know, a little bit.
40:24 But when we have disagreements,
40:27 she wants to deal with it right then,
40:29 right at that second.
40:30 And once she does it, she's ready like hugging,
40:32 she's like okay, now it's like--
40:33 I'm like, "Okay, give me a second."
40:36 Because I tend to stew on it.
40:38 But once she has her say, she's fine.
40:41 She doesn't hold grudges for long periods of time.
40:43 That's good.
40:45 Nothing to hold you getting all out.
40:46 Rush, she gets it, I said,
40:47 "I'll will die of a heart attack
40:49 as you'll be fine, because she's gonna say it.
40:50 Yeah. And she's through with it.
40:52 And she's not a person that just stew on things
40:53 and chew and chew and chew.
40:55 She doesn't. But yeah.
40:58 The same time I don't like to wait to fix things,
41:02 you know, a week later so.
41:03 I want to fix it right away, you know, know where I'm stand.
41:07 So he pops a question, tell us about that?
41:10 Oh--
41:12 Did he do it on the phone? No.
41:14 No, he--
41:16 We were at church, at my church at this time.
41:20 And you were going to baptize.
41:23 You were right, we were at Jamaican church,
41:24 and I was baptizing Zondra Lamar.
41:27 And I proposed her on the baptismal pool.
41:29 That's right. From the baptismal pool.
41:31 And he did, and I was so embarrassed
41:33 and I thought, is that a Christian thing to say.
41:37 Wait, wait. I've to hear how you did that?
41:39 He's the pastor.
41:40 How did you do that? He did.
41:42 I baptized this person, as I brought her up,
41:45 and then she was leaving the pool.
41:47 And I said, you know, I need to make one more addition
41:50 to the house of the Lord, today.
41:52 And I said, "Irma," and she said, you know.
41:55 And I said, you know,
41:57 "Will you marry me and join my pool?"
41:59 And Kevin went, "Yes!" He was like that.
42:02 And she kind of stood there for a few minutes.
42:04 And I don't know if you ever spoke.
42:06 I think she nodded, she's kind of like,
42:08 sat back down in a pew.
42:09 Said, this guy asked me in front of all these people,
42:11 what if I said no,
42:12 church full of people on Sabbath morning.
42:14 All right, he was banking on that.
42:15 Yeah. Yeah, very much so.
42:17 He was. I think he knew.
42:19 That was--
42:21 It was nice, but I was so nervous about it.
42:23 How about the people clapped? They did.
42:25 Yes, they did. They were all happy about that.
42:27 So that's how you learned, was in church.
42:30 In church.
42:31 Glad you're paying attention
42:32 and not asleep like he was in London.
42:35 Irma, will you marry me? No, yes.
42:38 Praise the Lord, No, I can't sleep that easy like he does.
42:42 Oh, my--
42:43 It is true that he can, just says, give me 15 minutes,
42:46 and he closes his eyes, and he's gone for 15 minutes.
42:50 Wow. I don't.
42:51 Did you grew up in a Christian home, Irms?
42:53 No, I grew up--
42:56 Well, part of my childhood was in the Catholic Church.
43:01 And, but we didn't like...
43:06 I don't remember being in the church
43:09 all the time like most Catholic.
43:11 My mother was the youngest of 14 children.
43:15 And they were absolutely Catholics.
43:18 They are Catholic that, they live in very small town.
43:23 There was a Catholic Church,
43:25 but there were no priests as preceding in there.
43:30 They... It is every...
43:32 so often, you know, they will come and have a mass
43:37 and so, then the whole town was just there in my family.
43:42 They, you know, they would always there
43:44 at the altar helping
43:46 and so they were very, very Catholic.
43:49 And, but my mother always had a different thinking.
43:55 She likes to learn, she likes to study,
43:57 she likes to learn things.
43:59 She didn't take things just because somebody told you.
44:03 And, so she always have this thing
44:07 that she didn't see everything being right in the church.
44:12 So as soon as she got married, and she moved from home
44:17 and went to live in David where, you know in city.
44:22 And she married,
44:24 she was on her own studying and soon enough,
44:28 Jehovah Witnesses came there soon.
44:31 So she started studying with them.
44:33 But she study the Bible by herself.
44:37 She learned about the Sabbath right away.
44:40 And she says, so next, she talk to the Jehovah Witnesses,
44:44 talk to me about these, explain to me.
44:47 Oh, no, he says we don't talk about that,
44:50 and that is...
44:52 I've been done with.
44:54 So my mother did not accept that, so she says no.
44:57 Says, "If you cannot sit and tell me
45:00 why we have gone from Sabbath to Sunday,
45:03 we cannot study anymore."
45:05 So she didn't like that.
45:07 So it went about eight years later,
45:11 that we moved to another town.
45:14 And then Adventist teacher was going.
45:17 Every day passed the house, go to the school,
45:21 you know to teach.
45:22 And so that's how we then came acquainted with the church,
45:27 then she find out, wow, there is a church.
45:29 So did you tell us where this was,
45:33 you were born and raised where?
45:34 So this was in Panama.
45:36 Panama? Yes.
45:37 Okay. The country of Panama.
45:39 Okay.
45:40 That's the little accent, right?
45:42 Yes, a little accent. Little, little.
45:45 Just a little accent going on there.
45:47 Now, let me ask you something.
45:49 Have you taught C.A to speak Spanish?
45:52 I have been.
45:53 And he is a very good student, I must say.
45:55 Okay.
45:56 Because you get to flew to Panama quite a bit.
45:57 Yes, he is.
45:59 And Lord willing when you retire,
46:00 you plan on retiring there, so you're gonna have to really,
46:03 really work on this language.
46:04 Yeah.
46:06 Speak something to Yvonne in Spanish,
46:07 see if she understands you.
46:18 He understands. Help me please.
46:21 Now moving on, yeah, okay.
46:26 So, Yvonne, how do you speak Spanish?
46:29 My dad, my dad was in...
46:33 He took Spanish in school?
46:34 No, he used to...
46:36 Well, I think he did that,
46:37 but he used to play softball with Puerto Rican team.
46:40 Okay.
46:41 And he would go to their church on Sabbath and he would...
46:44 My dad spoke fluent Spanish, he did really.
46:47 I hear she speaks good Spanish, is that true?
46:49 She does, she really does. Yes.
46:56 I told her I'll pay her later. Oh.
46:58 I can do pretty good one on one.
47:00 She does.
47:01 But in groups,
47:03 when and it comes a little fast for me.
47:05 And I can understand sermons about maybe 60 percent.
47:08 But it's not a tough language to learn
47:10 once you kind of set your mind to it, it's not.
47:11 It's not...
47:13 I notice you understand a lot,
47:14 I notice and you're pretty good.
47:16 Yeah.
47:17 Ask me anything
47:18 and I'll show you I understand it.
47:20 Ask me something like this.
47:21 Do you love somebody?
47:22 No, no, in Spanish.
47:24 Oh, you wanted it in Spanish.
47:25 Yeah, yeah.
47:26 Okay.
47:28 sí, sí...
47:31 You know, sí, I just fluent Spanish.
47:34 sí, everything is sí. Gracias.
47:39 You see, what is he asking? Yeah, sí.
47:42 He said no. No, no, no...
47:46 Oh, now, he's under age. He's asking you for some money.
47:48 He want a raise, I knew it, I knew it.
47:50 Okay.
47:51 Let's get off of this, I'm losing.
47:53 Okay, we'll get into something else.
47:55 Now go back about 12 years or so ago.
47:59 I'm asked to go to a camp meeting in New York City,
48:02 New York.
48:03 Big camp meeting,
48:05 I'm told it's going to be 6, 8, 10, 000 folk there.
48:07 And they asked Melody and me,
48:09 and Melody and I are going to sing.
48:11 Molly says to me.
48:13 Oh, by the way there is a preacher out there
48:14 who's gonna sing with you guys.
48:17 And I looked, and I said, "What?"
48:19 She said, "No, there's this preacher,
48:21 C.A Murray and he's going to sing with you guys."
48:24 I said, "No, he doesn't."
48:25 And she said, "Well, he said he's practiced this song."
48:28 I said, "Which one, was the song
48:29 that Melody had written, I know the plans."
48:33 And she said, "Well, why wouldn't you let him sing,
48:34 he might be good."
48:36 I said, "He might be bad."
48:37 And you know, we don't know.
48:38 But I said besides we got our things planned
48:40 and I said, you know, "If I don't know him,
48:42 but if I were going there and I said,
48:44 "hey I'm gonna preach half of your sermon."
48:45 He's going to say "No, no, no, I'm sorry.
48:47 You know we've got a plan." Right.
48:49 So she says, "Well, he said he wants to sing."
48:51 I said, "That's not gonna happen."
48:53 So we go out there
48:54 and we do some programming in the morning,
48:56 then he invites me to his house, right?
48:58 Irma you were there. Oh, yes.
49:00 And then...
49:01 they feed me, what are you gonna say
49:03 when somebody feeds you, right?
49:04 And it's a good cooking.
49:05 But then he said something about the song or I did.
49:08 And what I ask you to do?
49:09 You said, "Sing it." So you grab the CD.
49:12 So put this in your machine, let's sing it right now.
49:14 So we sang maybe just the first little bit.
49:18 And he said, "Okay, we'll do it."
49:19 So...
49:21 He knew it better than I did, that's why I agree,
49:23 he knew the song better than I do.
49:24 Melody and I only sing once in a while.
49:26 He knew every word.
49:27 He knew the third part exactly what we needed.
49:29 I said this works.
49:31 So I had apologized, I said, you know what...
49:33 Irma said, we'll sing it before and I thought.
49:35 You know, and I said this now...
49:37 that was one of the proudest days
49:38 of my life, I was so happy.
49:40 Ruben Kara, mutual friend who had built Danny up so high.
49:44 Ruben just loves you,
49:46 he just has great respect for you.
49:47 And I love him.
49:48 And I said to Ruben, "Nobody can be as good
49:50 as you're making this guy out there with you."
49:52 He said, "No, when you meet him,
49:53 you're gonna love him."
49:55 He is this, he is honest, he is kind, he's friendly,
49:56 he's nice... you know Ruben is just,
49:58 he just sold on you.
50:00 So I said okay, "Let me meet this dude and we'll see."
50:02 you know so he comes at our house.
50:04 He puts the CD in front of me,
50:06 so then we're singing but I just...
50:07 It was just it...
50:08 It was on that day that I said,
50:10 if the opportunity ever came to come to 3ABN,
50:12 I would accept it.
50:14 The Lord spoke to me that day.
50:15 So I knew, I knew I was going to end up in the peer.
50:18 That afternoon confirmed it for me.
50:20 And I liked him right off. Yeah.
50:21 And I have ever since just as.
50:24 It's one of those things, when you meet people
50:26 and you know right away that you're going to get along.
50:28 Yeah. You're connected.
50:29 Well, and you can kid each other about things,
50:31 you know, not tight, and you can just have fun.
50:34 And go out to eat together, you can go play basketball,
50:37 he plays basketball, we just do things together,
50:39 and we laugh, I mean literally.
50:41 We were out John and Angie, we got Kandy and Chris I mean,
50:45 whatever group 3ABN, we're out.
50:48 People at our tables probably
50:49 where we were eating all looking over like..
50:50 Yeah, what's the matter with them?
50:52 What's so funny, 'cause these folks,
50:54 I mean we take our whole when we're traveling.
50:56 Am I telling the truth?
50:58 Oh, yeah. It's very much so.
50:59 And people are looking over like, wow, what is going on,
51:00 what are we missing?
51:02 Because we're having fun in the Lord.
51:03 Yeah.
51:05 I never forget when we were in restaurant,
51:06 remember we were on the train.
51:08 Oh.
51:09 I realized just how loud...
51:10 How they made us to be quiet.
51:12 They made us quiet.
51:14 But thinking, not for talking, no laughing, yeah.
51:16 But now when you tell, you can't laugh,
51:17 everything is funny.
51:19 That's right.
51:20 Yeah, we felt like a bunch of kids,
51:22 traveling five hours on a train,
51:23 and they come and make us be quiet
51:25 'cause you're too loud, too loud.
51:26 We probably didn't reflect well on America that day,
51:30 'cause we're the only ones making noise and being loud.
51:33 I know, we were too loud.
51:35 You know ministry wise
51:36 and I know we're kind of running out of time.
51:38 This has been a the greatest 11 years
51:41 and change of our lives.
51:42 Praise the Lord.
51:44 Having served the Lord all of my years,
51:45 but Irma and I talk about this sometimes.
51:47 It's been just a real treat and a blast and a blessing.
51:51 First of all to know you and to know this ministry
51:54 and to see what God is doing.
51:55 And, then I always felt that Yvonne needed to be here,
51:57 I've told her that, I said that to you that,
51:59 for some reason my heart...
52:01 she needed to be here.
52:02 And of course when she came and she fit right in,
52:04 "Dare to Dream" became the product of that.
52:06 But we've had a really good time Becky,
52:07 our daughter has worked here.
52:09 Kevin has worked here.
52:10 Kevin is now in full time ministry pastoring.
52:12 Becky is out at Bakersfield also.
52:13 So this has been just the ice cream on the Sunday
52:19 or the cherry on the Sunday.
52:21 just working has been a blessing
52:22 and we truly love everybody here.
52:25 You came in at a critical time too for us and 3ABN
52:30 and you came in, he's solid.
52:32 He's easy going, he's not one as we talked earlier up.
52:37 He's got a solid level head.
52:39 So I can tell you there are many times, I go on him,
52:42 I say, "C.A, help me here, talk to me a little bit."
52:45 And he does, he will counsel with me,
52:47 Pastor Lomacang will do the same thing.
52:49 But the friendships that we have,
52:51 but what you guys have brought to this ministry
52:53 has been invaluable.
52:55 The work that you do, literally not only here,
52:58 but around the world facilitating
52:59 where 3ABN is going and where we should go,
53:02 and where maybe we can't go,
53:03 and making all of those decisions right here,
53:05 you know.
53:07 So we trust him.
53:08 Thank you so much for what you do.
53:10 Both of you, Irma for Latino
53:12 how invaluable that you are so God has brought us together.
53:16 And many others and I hope you're enjoying this
53:18 we're almost...
53:19 It's like a little series of coworkers of people
53:22 in a ministry for the Lord.
53:24 Yes.
53:25 You know, that have come here to find out.
53:27 Maybe some things that you didn't already know
53:29 plus have a little bit of fun.
53:31 We're gonna have to take a break.
53:33 We'll be back in just a moment.


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Revised 2021-09-28