3ABN Today

From Trauma to Triumph

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: CA Murray (Host), Carot Dorve

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Series Code: TDY

Program Code: TDY017060A


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
00:51 Mending broken people
01:07 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Today.
01:10 My name is CA Murray, and allow me once again
01:13 to thank you for joining us today
01:15 and for sharing a little of your day with us
01:18 to thank you as always for your love, your prayers,
01:20 your support of Three Angels Broadcasting Network.
01:23 I'm very, very excited about our program today
01:27 and my guest.
01:29 There are times when a person is given
01:32 what would say a bad break in life
01:34 but through dedication,
01:36 through a positive spirit, through the love of Christ
01:39 and through dedicating your time and talents,
01:41 the Lord can take what is a challenge
01:44 and turn it into a triumph.
01:47 And that's what we're going to talk about today.
01:49 It is a personal testimony,
01:50 but what a personal testimony this is.
01:54 This is something really fabulous.
01:57 And I will admit too, I have on the other side
02:00 of these cards not a lot of information
02:02 because we didn't sit down and write out bullet points
02:05 to talk about.
02:06 We just began to talk.
02:07 And then, my guest unfolded for me
02:09 a really remarkable story that is still ongoing.
02:13 This is just a great, great story
02:16 that I think will warm your heart.
02:18 So may I encourage you to disabuse yourself
02:22 or whatever you're doing for the next 50 minutes or so
02:25 because we got a lot to talk to you about.
02:27 And you're going to meet someone
02:28 that I've come to like really a lot in just a few minutes
02:31 that we've talked before this program began,
02:33 and that is Carlot Dorve.
02:35 Carlot, good to meet you. Good to have you here, man.
02:37 Thank you. Good to be here too.
02:40 This, first of all, is a neat guy.
02:41 He's still a relatively young.
02:43 I'm not going to ask you how old.
02:44 I'd say somewhere between 20 and 30, I would suspect.
02:48 But a lot has happened in those years.
02:50 And God has taken you to and through a lot of stuff,
02:53 a lot of stuff.
02:54 Amen. Yeah.
02:56 You are a native, I can say, of Haiti?
02:57 Yes.
02:58 And where in Haiti were you born?
03:00 I was in born in Petit-Goave
03:01 which is the soft part of Haiti.
03:03 But I grew up in Port-au-Prince.
03:06 You left the island just before that big earthquake
03:09 that we...
03:12 That dominated the news so much so many years ago,
03:14 but you got out just what?
03:15 A week before, two weeks before?
03:17 A week actually. That was exactly one week.
03:19 I came on Tuesday in United States.
03:21 Tuesday, January 5, 2012,
03:24 and on Tuesday, January 12, 2010,
03:28 that was the earthquake.
03:29 So basically, exactly one week. Wow!
03:31 Praise the Lord that you got out
03:33 and you got out safe.
03:36 In the chair next to you is a trumpet.
03:39 And on the floor, in the front of that trumpet
03:42 is a flugelhorn.
03:44 Yes.
03:46 So you play them both?
03:47 Yes. Yes, yes.
03:48 Now let's deal with the elephant in the room
03:50 just now because we've got to work our way
03:51 through this burden of chance.
03:53 Carlot has one hour, and you would not think that
03:56 a person could be so proficient on these
03:59 two particular instruments not having two arms to play.
04:03 But he does play them,
04:05 and he plays them exceedingly well.
04:07 And we're going to talk about that.
04:09 But I want to go back, man, to your growing up days
04:14 and kind of walk through this whole experience.
04:18 Talk to me about your home growing up,
04:19 brothers and sisters.
04:21 Yes, I do have brothers and sisters.
04:24 I have five siblings.
04:25 I have three brothers and two sisters.
04:28 Wow.
04:30 But of course, growing up, I have a stepfather as well.
04:34 I had a stepfather.
04:36 Because growing up, my mother
04:39 and my father were not married.
04:45 But my mum...
04:47 My mother realized that my father has a wife.
04:51 So that led to this connection between those two.
04:55 And later on
04:59 during this Christmas vacation,
05:03 I keep asking my mother to take me to my grandmother,
05:06 to spend the vacation.
05:08 Because I think, at that point, probably kids,
05:10 love to spend vacation with their grandma
05:12 because grandma spoils kids.
05:15 But at this point, I need to stop you...
05:17 This was not an Adventist home just yet?
05:19 No, that was not an Adventist home yet.
05:20 Okay.
05:22 And at that point, when I get there,
05:25 and then that's how also I lost my arm because I fell
05:29 and I broke my arm...
05:30 Basically, it was my wrist.
05:33 At your grandma's? At grandma.
05:37 But my grandmother, at that point thought
05:39 if my mother knew that my mother will be stressed,
05:43 so she's trying to avoid all the stress on my mother
05:49 and decided to hide it from my mother
05:52 and then tried to see if my arm could be healed
05:55 without letting my mother know.
05:57 And she took me to a leaves doctor...
05:59 Leaves doctor, who will...
06:01 I mean, that thing in United States will
06:04 basically say it's an herbal doctor.
06:07 People who use leaves and natural medicine.
06:09 Now although some of them may have some connection
06:14 with may probably voodoo.
06:18 And after 14 days, when the leaves doctor
06:22 or herbal doctor put some stuff on my arm, after 14 days,
06:27 my uncle realized that my arm started to smell.
06:32 And they decided right away,
06:34 they have to take me to the emergency.
06:36 Now you were how old about this time?
06:38 I was four years and a half.
06:40 Do you remember any of this? Or this...
06:41 You're recalling this as it was told to you?
06:43 I remember some of the stuff because
06:45 I can remember before I fell...
06:51 My cousin was on a horse, and basically,
06:56 me and my cousin were playing horsey basically.
06:59 Playing horse and then use a stick,
07:01 that was probably a corn stick, and then run,
07:04 and then of course, we could not catch my cousin.
07:08 And there was a tree that looked like a horse.
07:12 And then basically we jump on it
07:13 and try to play horse.
07:15 And she said, "Let's go."
07:17 And I said, "What? Let's play more."
07:19 And there was a plantain tree
07:23 and I jumped on the plantain tree
07:25 and then she pulled my hand.
07:26 And of course, that planted tree is slippery.
07:28 And I fell and I broke my wrist.
07:30 So that's how you broke your wrist.
07:32 Yes. Okay. All right.
07:33 But after 14 days, things that they put in my arm
07:36 probably was a circulation issue
07:39 or maybe it's because things that they put in my arm
07:43 got infected.
07:44 I don't really know.
07:46 But what happened after 14 days,
07:48 they realized that my arm got gangrened, became darker,
07:54 and then started to smell.
07:55 So by the time, we got to the hospital,
07:59 the doctor said two things.
08:03 Of course, they called my mother,
08:05 and the doctor said two things,
08:08 "We have to amputate the arm or he will die."
08:11 So my mother at that point
08:13 was in a very difficult situation.
08:16 Whether she should decide for my life or for the society
08:23 because the society sees you in the different eyes.
08:26 Then your parents of course will.
08:29 So the idea of saving the arm was no longer issue.
08:32 Arm had to go?
08:33 Yes. Okay.
08:35 So her choice is to maim you
08:41 for the rest of your life
08:43 which is going to cause some rejection in the society
08:45 because they don't look at whole children
08:48 like they look at children who are challenged.
08:50 There's going to be some discrimination.
08:52 That's going to last a lifetime.
08:54 Or keep the arm and you die.
08:57 Which is a rough choice.
09:00 Of course, you always choose life,
09:01 and your mom chose...
09:02 Life. She chose life.
09:04 Okay, given the understanding that you're going
09:07 to be challenged for the rest of your life.
09:11 On the heels of that decision, as you got older,
09:15 was that prediction did that come to
09:17 as far as being sort of looked down on
09:20 because you didn't have two arms.
09:21 You weren't like everybody else,
09:22 was that kind of rough?
09:24 It was very rough.
09:25 In fact, the first thing that was pretty rough on me
09:28 that was the decision of my father
09:31 because of the reaction because my father told my mother,
09:37 "I did not have a child with one arm,
09:39 therefore, he is not my child.
09:40 This is your child."
09:42 And at that point, you can understand,
09:43 my mother tried to protect me and not letting me
09:46 know those things.
09:48 But she did some amazing things that I understood later on.
09:53 She never considered me as someone
09:55 with a physical disability.
09:57 Never.
09:58 In fact, when she leaves the house every day,
10:00 if she gives chores in the house,
10:02 she will ask me to do anything as she will ask
10:05 my older brother to do certain things.
10:07 For example, she might have said,
10:08 "Well, you do the bed, or you wash dishes."
10:12 She will make no difference.
10:13 She will just ask me to do something.
10:16 But never question how I am going to do it.
10:18 She let me figure it out.
10:20 And all those things make me feel confident
10:23 that I can accomplish things on my own.
10:27 On your own, yeah.
10:28 So your mom didn't coddle you in any sense
10:31 or leave you lot of time for self-pity.
10:34 She had you and nurtured you just like anybody else.
10:36 In fact, if neighbors try to complain,
10:38 she basically goes after them.
10:41 She goes after them, and then say,
10:43 "Well, this is my son.
10:45 I have to deal with him the way I want."
10:47 Yes.
10:49 So she had a lot of intestinal fortitude.
10:53 I mean, she is really a strong woman.
10:56 So your dad sort of disowned you?
10:59 Yes.
11:00 And left the family? Mm-hm.
11:02 So your mom remarried?
11:04 Well, that's a good question too
11:05 because my stepfather, as I mentioned
11:08 at the very beginning,
11:10 my father never get me with my mother.
11:12 Right.
11:14 However, they would still have communication.
11:18 And I was still young
11:19 but my mum trying to run away from my father
11:23 because she found out that my father has a wife.
11:26 Has a wife, married, yes.
11:27 And my mum was with my father and then that happened
11:31 because they were dating.
11:35 It was a little bit bad because my father
11:37 basically used my mum
11:40 and then my mum got pregnant with that one.
11:43 And so she felt like she has to stay
11:46 in that relationship after being used by my father,
11:50 and also a child came, then I came on in the scene.
11:56 And when she found out that my father has a wife,
12:01 she basically deserted herself from my father.
12:04 But since me and my older brother
12:06 were still connected with my father,
12:11 she will take us see my father
12:13 even when I was four, five, even three.
12:17 But the thing I've never seen
12:18 my father under the same roof with my mother,
12:21 not even one day.
12:23 Yup. I see.
12:25 So once he sort of out of the picture,
12:30 your stepfather comes in.
12:32 And then there are four children by him.
12:34 Right. Yes. Okay. So six in total.
12:36 Yes. Six in total.
12:39 How was your relationship with your stepdad?
12:43 It wasn't...
12:44 At first, it was good, at first, but later on,
12:48 it was not that good because of the way
12:50 he started acting with my mom.
12:52 And in fact, he started to cheat on my mom
12:57 and lead my mom to have some issues
12:58 with some other women.
13:00 And my mum, even actually when she was pregnant,
13:03 has even got to jail because she was fighting
13:05 with another woman that my father
13:08 had some involvement with.
13:10 And that was not really a good picture
13:12 because there was a lot of tension at that point.
13:16 And it was not that good for us but I usually stayed calm,
13:21 never get involve in those things,
13:23 but even later on, my older brother got involved
13:27 because my stepfather would try
13:28 to hit my mom one time.
13:31 And my older brother stepped in.
13:34 And so your stepfather is away.
13:35 How did, Carlot, how did Adventism
13:38 come into the picture?
13:41 In my life, especially that was...
13:43 When I was around six or seven years old
13:45 when my stepfather got married with my mother,
13:49 and we started going to Seventh-day Adventist Church,
13:53 but before that, my mom will make us memorize
13:56 Bible verses.
13:58 She was a single mom because she was the one
14:01 who tried to feed us every day therefore,
14:03 she has to go on the street and sell
14:06 so that she can take care of us.
14:08 But we rarely go to church on Sunday.
14:11 So with my stepfather came in, we go to church every Sabbath.
14:16 And we started to know a little bit
14:17 about devotion in the morning.
14:20 But because of difficulties of life,
14:23 I had to go live with my aunt. Oh, boy.
14:26 And I started living with my aunt,
14:27 I got confused at that point.
14:29 I was around 13.
14:31 And because I remember one day, I went to a Bible study
14:35 because I love God, I wanted to do what is right.
14:38 And that was Free Methodist Church.
14:43 And I remember in the Bible study, they say,
14:45 "Well, you don't have to keep the law
14:47 because Moses broke them."
14:49 That was a very hard situation for me.
14:52 And I was confused, and I started praying about it.
14:55 And later on, the same month, I believe and I felt convinced
15:01 to leave my aunt and then go downtown.
15:06 And there was like
15:08 an Evangelist Seventh-day Adventist Church, I heard it.
15:11 And I came in, and I felt so moved.
15:15 I said, "Man, this is my church."
15:18 From that point,
15:20 I tried to not miss any of those nights.
15:26 Now my aunt was not too happy with it.
15:29 Yes.
15:31 And after a few days, I told my aunt,
15:33 "I'm going to get baptized."
15:35 My aunt said, "Which church?"
15:38 I said, "Seventh-day Adventist Church."
15:40 She says, "That's not going to happen."
15:41 And I said, "Well, I understand, Aunt,
15:43 I want to get baptized."
15:46 So now before I get baptized, it was very difficult
15:49 because the Pastor refused me because I was 13.
15:52 Actually, at that point, later on, actually...
15:55 It is that after, later on, that was at 16.
15:58 Okay. I should make sure I explain.
15:59 I was 16 at that time, and I told my aunt
16:03 that I'm going to get baptized.
16:05 Now for most guys, 16 is old enough.
16:07 I was baptized younger than 16. Yes.
16:09 I've been baptized, I think, to a low of 9 or 10.
16:13 But they were pretty selfish children
16:15 and knew what they were getting into for the most part.
16:18 But 16, that's well I suppose.
16:20 When I say 16 and I want to get baptized, my aunt said,
16:23 "That's not going to happen."
16:25 And the Pastor and the people in the church
16:28 wanted to visit with my parents before they even choose me.
16:32 And they call everybody, and then
16:33 I remember they didn't call me.
16:35 I went back and I talked to the Pastor, I said, "Well,
16:38 I don't hear my name, and I sign up."
16:41 And they said, "Well, we have to talk to your parents first."
16:44 I said, "Well, you know what, let me tell you exactly
16:46 what it is.
16:47 I talked to my aunt about it because I'm with my aunt.
16:50 My mom is a Seventh-day Adventist,
16:52 but my aunt said no.
16:54 But please don't reject me
16:56 because I don't want to leave here
16:58 without getting baptized."
17:00 And the Pastors think about it, say, "Well,
17:03 we cannot refuse him."
17:04 All right. "So we have to let him in."
17:06 And after he baptized, he said, "I'm going to pray for you."
17:10 And from that point, when I got back home,
17:12 and I told my aunt,
17:15 "I have to let you know that I got baptized."
17:17 And now she started a new way to persecute me in a way.
17:22 She used to sell stuff in the street,
17:24 and she used to send me buy stuff for her.
17:27 And on the Sabbath morning, she told me,
17:29 "I want you to deliver this merchandise for me
17:31 at that place."
17:33 And I said, "I am sorry. I will not be able to do it.
17:37 And, you know, today is my church
17:39 and it's a Sabbath.
17:40 I will not be able to do it." She said, "What?
17:42 If you don't do it today, you leave the house."
17:44 I said, "Well, you don't have to even repeat it again.
17:46 I'm going to leave today.
17:48 You will not see me after the church."
17:49 Wow. So I left.
17:50 Wow. Wow.
17:52 I left. I went to my mum.
17:53 And my mum was happy as well.
17:55 "You know, you're never too much for me."
17:58 Wow.
17:59 All right, I want to move from that point
18:05 to when you began to pick up an interest
18:08 in musical instruments.
18:10 One would not think,
18:11 particularly this challenging an instrument
18:15 that would be something that you'd gravitate to.
18:16 When did that interest in music start?
18:19 That interest started when I was around seven.
18:23 I remember I was walking in the street,
18:25 that was a Flag Day, probably May 18th
18:28 because that's when we have the Flag Day in Haiti.
18:30 And in the street, I saw a lot of kids,
18:34 even young adults, playing in the band.
18:37 It's like a marching band. And I...
18:38 The first thing that came to mind I said, "Man,
18:41 I wish I could play like those people."
18:45 But the second thought that came was,
18:47 "It's impossible because your mom will not be able
18:49 to afford it."
18:51 So I keep it and I never said anything to my mother.
18:56 But I was in the school, they call St. Vincent's.
18:58 It's a school for people with children with disability.
19:03 But also in that school
19:07 when you get to a certain grades,
19:09 they start you with music.
19:11 And when I get to that grade, I was very excited.
19:13 And I said, "Man, that's going to be it.
19:15 This is it." And very excited.
19:18 So the idea that "I cannot do this"
19:19 was never entered your mind?
19:22 I eliminated that I could not do anything.
19:24 In fact, when someone tells me that I cannot do something
19:27 I start to question why.
19:29 They say that I cannot do certain things...
19:32 I mean, I believe also it's because of the way
19:34 my mum raised me.
19:36 Yes.
19:37 So to finish, at that point, when I get to the class
19:42 and they took everybody and then
19:44 I was left in the class.
19:46 And I start to ask the teacher, I said, "So why I'm not in?"
19:50 She said, "Oh, no. You have one arm.
19:51 You cannot play."
19:53 And I keep asking, and each time they tell that
19:57 I could not, that lead to me question why
20:01 and then find a way to prove them wrong.
20:04 So I asked them for over three years,
20:08 keep asking them.
20:09 And then one day because of my persistence,
20:11 and then someone heard me asking,
20:13 that was another teacher, he said, "Man, you know,
20:15 I think he can play the trumpet.
20:17 Let him try."
20:19 But they give me a trumpet.
20:20 Of course, that trumpet was not a good one
20:22 because it was the one that no one used.
20:25 But in my brain, I said, "Well, this is it.
20:28 You cannot leave that opportunity go.
20:31 You have to do your best to make sure that you make it."
20:36 So when they gave me the trumpet,
20:37 I showed them I could play.
20:39 I said, "Well, I'm going to use my thumb,
20:40 and my baby finger to play it,
20:42 and then use my middle fingers."
20:44 But it was still a challenge. Yes.
20:46 Because that fourth finger and that fifth,
20:49 they kind of connected to each.
20:51 When you move one, the other one tend to move.
20:53 They want to.
20:54 So what I did, I basically tried to stretch
20:57 these two everyday to make sure I have like a big wrench
21:02 to make them independent a little bit.
21:04 So when I get to that point, they let me try.
21:07 But I did have to make a commitment to myself.
21:09 I said, "Well, now this is a first step.
21:12 I better practice more than the other kids."
21:15 Sometimes I will hide myself to practice.
21:18 That's kind of funny because when you think about it,
21:21 I would hide myself.
21:23 I basically, watch every kid, if they practice one hour,
21:25 I will try to practice two.
21:27 Ah, I see.
21:28 Even if that required me to miss a meal,
21:31 I will try to practice two.
21:33 And I made a lot of progress very quick to the point
21:36 they even had me to help my fellow classmates.
21:41 I see.
21:43 So you caught up pretty fast. Oh, yeah.
21:47 And of the two instruments, did you have a favorite?
21:49 The flugelhorn or the trumpet?
21:51 Oh, the flugelhorn was not in the picture at all.
21:53 Okay, so just trumpet at that point.
21:54 It was trumpet.
21:58 But I got the flugelhorn,
21:59 actually just got flugelhorn recently.
22:02 And because when I got Penn State,
22:04 there are certain things that you have to play,
22:05 as a graduate assistant, you have to do certain things,
22:07 so I got in the picture.
22:09 The trumpet was the instrument that I started.
22:12 Now I've got to ask this because
22:14 given the earthquake which was 2010,
22:20 were you making plans to come to the States?
22:22 Did you realize that you needed some stateside training
22:24 to improve your craft, to improve
22:26 what you have selected to do?
22:27 There I believe this is a miracle.
22:29 I'm going to explain why.
22:32 At that point, January 2010, there was a program,
22:34 I knew about the program.
22:36 And I was in the school.
22:38 They did not want me to leave really.
22:40 But I was supposed to be in Scotland for the festival.
22:45 So my preparation...
22:47 I was supposed to prepare to go to that festival
22:49 for the school that I was at.
22:52 But in November, out of the blue,
22:55 and I received that call that said, "Well,
22:57 we're chosen to be in United States
23:00 in the cultural exchange."
23:02 I said, "Well, I'm going."
23:05 So when I got here, the earthquake happened.
23:09 And believe me or not, I do believe if I was in Haiti,
23:12 there was 90% chance,
23:13 if it was not by God's grace, I'll die.
23:16 Because the building that I know for sure at that time
23:19 that I will be is completely destroyed.
23:22 And a lot of people were killed,
23:23 people that I know died.
23:26 I need to ask you, were you in proficient in trumpet
23:30 before you came to the States or did you sort of
23:32 pick up your craft and improved your craft here?
23:35 Now when I was back home, I used to practice a lot.
23:38 The reason why I wanted to...
23:41 Because I know it was very difficult
23:42 people will look at the way you are, physical disability,
23:45 but I wanted to play in the level
23:47 that people will not see me as if someone
23:50 with a physical disability but for what I can do.
23:53 Therefore, that requirement to practice more.
23:55 So this is a funny story because I remember
24:01 some people used to compare at the end of the trumpet play
24:04 in that school.
24:06 And I felt so bad because I said, "Man,
24:07 if they start comparing me with someone else,
24:09 that's mean if there's an opportunity
24:11 that person will have it,"
24:13 because one thing I have to remember,
24:14 I was very poor.
24:16 I was very, very poor.
24:18 There's no way I can make it in the State.
24:20 And they won't...
24:22 If I apply for the visa, they will just deny me.
24:24 So where did you get your initial instruments from?
24:27 Well, this is a good question.
24:29 My initial instruments, what I did...
24:31 There's this professor, he was an American.
24:34 And I saved my pocket money, and then pay him
24:39 like every month, give him little by little,
24:42 little by little until I get my first instrument.
24:45 And after a time, I get my own instruments.
24:48 And I was able to own my own.
24:53 I did those things in two ways.
24:56 I used my pocket money to pay for my instrument.
24:58 I also used my pocket instrument
25:01 to just look our in the street to find
25:03 CDs and DVDs to learn and to watch other people play.
25:09 Excellent. So you came to the States.
25:13 Did you have relatives here in the States?
25:14 Or this is sort of a leap in the dark or leap of faith?
25:16 I didn't have anyone here.
25:18 Actually, when I came here, I came here in the winter.
25:20 Ooh! In Michigan
25:24 And in Michigan, double ooh.
25:27 And I didn't have a coat.
25:28 When I got here, it was January 5, 2010,
25:30 it was very cold without the coat.
25:32 Bless your heart.
25:33 And having no one, but, you know,
25:37 I had to believe God has a plan for me
25:38 at that point too because when I got here,
25:40 and I know the earthquake happened,
25:43 it was very hard for me to bear.
25:46 But yeah, God was so faithful to me, took me step by step.
25:52 Did you have an acceptance to school?
25:54 Or you, 'cause I'm trying to... To come from Haiti...
25:57 Uh-huh.
25:58 With not a lot of resources. Uh-huh.
26:00 On the way to Michigan, that takes major faith,
26:02 you know, even if you got some place to land
26:04 when you leap, still that's a major cultural-shift,
26:11 language-shift, weather-shift, you know,
26:16 there's no linkages that would say
26:19 a move from Haiti to Michigan would be a comfortable thing.
26:22 And that you were willing to do that.
26:24 Well, I wanted to do it because
26:26 it was a cultural exchange program
26:27 that I had to participate in for the four months.
26:31 So I came in January,
26:32 I was supposed to leave in May 4th,
26:33 I think, it was.
26:37 But because of the earthquake, things changed.
26:41 Amen.
26:42 Because the government allowed me to stay longer,
26:45 and then gave me an employment authorization card.
26:47 Although, at that point... Yeah.
26:50 I don't even have any of the benefits
26:53 as people will have because, you know,
26:54 consider someone has nothing...
26:56 How are you going to make it still.
26:58 Right.
26:59 Now are you done with high school
27:01 or you still in high school?
27:02 I was done with high school at that point.
27:04 Okay. So you're looking to get into college?
27:06 Yes. Yeah.
27:07 And that's also, at that point, I...
27:12 Someone heard me play in the church.
27:14 And this person was an alumni from Michigan State University.
27:18 And that lady said, "You are very talented,
27:21 why don't you go audition at Michigan State?"
27:24 In my brain, I said, "Well, how could that be?
27:26 I mean, I just got here. I don't even have anything.
27:29 How am I going to make it?"
27:30 In the following week, she called me, she said,
27:33 "I talked to the trumpet professor
27:35 and told him about you.
27:36 He is very interested to hear you play."
27:38 Ooh. Wow!
27:40 So they scheduled an appointment,
27:42 I go and play for him.
27:44 And after I play for him, and I remember
27:45 I play concerto like Arutiunian trumpet concerto.
27:50 And he said, "You did a pretty good job,
27:53 but I don't know your goal.
27:55 If you're interested, I think if you audition,
28:00 the faculty will definitely give you a full scholarship."
28:02 Wow.
28:04 And I said, "Why not?"
28:05 You get off the plane from Haiti with no prospects,
28:10 nothing sort of in your pocket,
28:12 and the Lord begins to look out for you.
28:14 Amen.
28:15 So obviously, you got into Michigan State?
28:17 Yes.
28:19 Yeah, and you majored in and took?
28:20 In music performance. Music performance, okay.
28:24 You finished the program?
28:26 Yes, I did. Uh-huh.
28:28 While you were there, while you were in school,
28:30 a number of things happened that allowed you to witness,
28:32 and I don't want the time to get away from us
28:34 before we tap on some of that stuff.
28:36 Because all along the line, it occurs to me,
28:39 in hearing your story that God was allowing you...
28:42 He was blessing you. Amen.
28:43 But He's also giving you opportunities
28:45 to witness and to spread your faith.
28:47 Talk to me about some of that stuff.
28:49 When I get to, accepted to Michigan State,
28:51 for me, it was a miracle.
28:52 And as that to think about those things,
28:55 and I said, "Why me?"
28:58 And in my eyes, I started seeing other students
29:01 who started quitting school because they cannot afford it
29:04 in the music program.
29:06 And I said, "Well, why me?"
29:08 God probably has a reason why he put me there,
29:11 and he blessed me so much in that school,
29:14 and I need to find out what it is.
29:16 And I remember asking Him one night in prayer, I said,
29:19 I asked God to show me what he was meant to do.
29:23 And then later on, I started to have that burden,
29:27 share your faith.
29:28 Share your faith, yeah.
29:30 And I said, "Well, that's a pretty good thing,
29:31 but, you know, I may need more training."
29:34 And I decided to go to Emmanuel Institute
29:38 for Evangelism.
29:40 And when the church heard that I wanted to do that,
29:43 the church, my church sponsored me to go.
29:46 And I said, "Well, I'm going to take advantage of this."
29:48 I went there, I was like very excited
29:51 with the Pastor Mark or the way he was teaching those things.
29:55 And then he basically injected passion,
29:59 it's that happy to have passion to share your faith.
30:02 Yes.
30:03 So when I got back, he said, "Well,
30:06 I need to find any occasion that I can find to witness."
30:10 So now I started thinking, "I have a full meal plan,
30:15 so I can go to the cafe any time."
30:17 So I would go to the cafeteria, and then sit,
30:20 and then listen to the conversation
30:22 of the other students.
30:23 And then sometimes, join the conversation
30:25 and then bring God into conversation.
30:29 And sometimes, there are some people
30:31 who are atheists, I bring prophecy.
30:34 And later on...
30:36 There is one guy who remember I had a conversation, I said,
30:39 "Man, have you ever asked yourself
30:41 why people believe the Bible?
30:43 And why the Bible is the Word of God?"
30:46 And I started sharing a little bit
30:49 and then this guy said, "Man, that's amazing."
30:51 I said, "Well, you know what, we can get together
30:53 and then study more about this, I mean, I can share with you."
30:56 And we...
30:57 I started a group Bible study at that point.
30:59 And that's also where I have some friends
31:02 who became an Adventists, and among that group,
31:05 one girl who used to be a jazz guitar.
31:11 And she used to play a lot of rock, metal,
31:14 heavy metal stuff.
31:15 Yeah.
31:17 And we started the Bible study, and later on,
31:20 she got baptized and became an Adventist.
31:21 Praise the Lord.
31:22 Actually, she just got married with one of our new pastors
31:24 in Michigan.
31:26 And at the same time, I said, "Man, Lord is blessing me.
31:32 Maybe there's another reason that I should probably
31:34 keep sharing more."
31:35 Now I want to recount because you came to school,
31:37 you came to States with nothing,
31:39 somebody picks up your...
31:41 Is it tuition? Is it a full ride?
31:45 Someone's paying for everything?
31:48 Someone's paying for my room and board.
31:50 Okay.
31:51 And when I auditioned
31:53 I have a full ride scholarship by the school.
31:55 Oh, okay.
31:56 The school decided to give me a full ride.
31:58 In fact, it's interesting
32:00 because I don't want to talk too much about...
32:03 too much detail, but these particular things
32:06 for me was amazing how God worked things out.
32:09 The university has done things for me they have never done
32:12 for any student in the entire history
32:14 of the university.
32:16 Allowed me to...
32:17 Without English, you know,
32:18 English is not my first language.
32:20 I started without even passing a TOEFL test.
32:24 And the school, the music, the college department
32:26 paid a semester of English for me
32:30 to have me at the university.
32:31 Wow!
32:32 That is a blessing of the Lord. That's a blessing.
32:34 It is a major blessing of the Lord.
32:35 Amen.
32:37 So all your potential financial worries
32:39 are pretty much being solved one by one by one?
32:42 By one. Tuition, room and board...
32:44 Room and board was by Wynton Marsalis.
32:47 That was by Wynton Marsalis.
32:48 Now tell me about the Wynton Marsalis thing.
32:49 That's a very famous name.
32:51 Anybody who knows jazz, anybody who knows trumpet playing,
32:54 knows Wynton Marsalis.
32:55 And Wynton Marsalis is paying now
32:57 for your education.
32:58 Yes. Walk us through that.
33:01 I had a few videos online, and one of the trumpet player
33:07 who was a good friend of Wynton Marsalis,
33:10 he heard that I was coming to New York,
33:11 he said, "Well, connect Carlot with me."
33:14 And I called him, the next day he said,
33:16 "Man, you know, I'm going to see
33:17 Wynton Marsalis tomorrow, would you like to join me?"
33:20 I said, "Sure."
33:21 And when I see Wynton Marsalis, and Wynton Marsalis told him,
33:25 "See, I just got new trumpet, that new trumpet.
33:27 Would you like to try to it?"
33:28 And he gave it to my friend, my friend said, "No.
33:30 Carlot, you try it."
33:32 And I took his trumpet, and I was trying it,
33:35 and Wynton Marsalis turned,
33:36 he said, "Man, I like this guy."
33:40 And then at that point, we connected a little bit.
33:43 He even promised me, he said, he promised to teach me,
33:47 but connect with him through email,
33:49 he is a very busy man.
33:51 That could not work.
33:53 But at that point too, since I was at his rehearsal,
33:56 I met a lot of other musicians.
33:57 Yes, yes, yes.
33:58 And the following year...
34:00 The same year, I was playing for the ITG which is
34:02 International Trumpet Guild Conference.
34:05 And I met I see one of his friends,
34:09 and then this friend, later on, texts me, said,
34:11 "Man, we're going to be in Michigan.
34:13 Make sure that you come backstage,
34:16 and then see us."
34:17 And when I came, and I didn't know why,
34:20 and at that point, I needed a support
34:22 for room and board.
34:24 Okay. Yeah.
34:25 And before that I pray, I say, "Lord,
34:27 I'm not going to worry about it.
34:29 I let it in your hand."
34:31 And when I got to backstage, and then Wynton Marsalis saw me
34:34 and said, "Man, I remember you, I saw you last year.
34:37 Make sure you play for me after the concert."
34:38 Wow!
34:40 And he had me have lunch with him.
34:42 And after the concert, he asked me to wait.
34:44 And after I wait for him and played for him,
34:48 he asked me a specific question, he said,
34:52 "If I would like to help you, how can I help you?"
34:55 And I start thinking, I said, "Well, what should I ask."
34:58 And I said, "Well, maybe with my...
35:01 Have lesson with you because I think
35:03 this is very important, you are a very famous guy.
35:04 You're a very good in the trumpet."
35:07 And I said, "Well, but again, you're in Manhattan,
35:09 and I'm in Michigan."
35:11 He said, "Yeah, that's true. Is there anything else?"
35:15 And then that clicks in my brain, I said,
35:17 "Maybe with my room and board."
35:19 He said "Oh, sure.
35:21 How much is it?" And I said, "I'm not sure.
35:23 I think it's probably around $10,000-13,000 a year."
35:26 He said, "Give me your address, I'll send you the check."
35:29 And he was so serious about it,
35:31 then I tried to write my address,
35:32 he said, "You know, I'm in a tour.
35:34 Take my cell phone number.
35:35 If you don't hear from me in four days, give me a call."
35:37 All right, so he was that impressed
35:39 after basically two meetings and hearing you play...
35:41 Yes. That he wanted to sponsor you.
35:43 Yeah, he wanted to sponsor me, and he made sure
35:45 he paid for that four years.
35:47 In fact, we always stay in touch
35:49 from time to time.
35:50 When I text him, he always say, "Make sure you keep me updated
35:53 from time to time."
35:55 And actually, recently I texted him
35:57 that was last week.
35:59 So he paid for your full undergrad?
36:01 Undergrad, room and board.
36:02 And then since I haven't a citizenship,
36:04 I feel like I need to give him a break
36:06 although he always wants to know what's going with me.
36:09 And I was talking to him because his mother
36:11 just passed away.
36:13 And I said,
36:16 "Well, I think I'm going to come to visit you sometime."
36:19 He said, "Well, just come whenever.
36:20 You're free, make sure you come."
36:22 Amen. Yeah.
36:23 So God really, and...
36:25 During this time, you never sacrificed your faith,
36:29 you witnessed for Christ wherever you could,
36:31 you didn't hide that you're Seventh-day Adventist,
36:33 you lifted up the energy, and then God blessed you
36:36 with this train of very wonderful things.
36:37 In fact, this is wonderful too because one thing I realized
36:41 while I was in Michigan State is God puts some issues
36:46 in front of you, for example, so that I could witness.
36:48 For example, challenge I should say,
36:52 the Sabbath issues come, and for me,
36:55 because I was supposed to play for the orchestra
36:57 at Michigan State.
36:59 And when I realized that performances,
37:00 some of the performances are going to be in Sabbath,
37:03 I told the conductors, "I'm not going to be able
37:05 to make this performance."
37:07 And he was shocked, they said, "What are you talking about?"
37:09 I said, "Yes, I will not be able to do that
37:11 because I'm a Seventh-day Adventist.
37:12 I keep the Sabbath."
37:14 He said, "Well, in this case, you cannot be here
37:15 in the orchestra."
37:16 I said, "Well, I understand this."
37:18 But I thought he was going to be...
37:20 It was done, but all the faculties
37:22 started talking to each other that I have a new faith.
37:26 Yes.
37:27 And then one of them come to me and said,
37:28 "Well, Carlot, I heard you have a new religion."
37:31 I said, "Well, I don't have a new religion.
37:33 I'm a Seventh-day Adventist.
37:34 Have you ever heard of Seventh-day Adventist?"
37:36 They say, "Oh, yeah.
37:38 I heard of Seventh-day Adventist.
37:39 Those are people who keep the Sabbath."
37:40 But he said, "I can challenge you that
37:42 you don't have to keep the Sabbath."
37:44 And I said, "Professor, that would be great because,
37:45 you know, I love the truth.
37:47 If you don't mind meeting with me that would be great."
37:50 He said, "Okay, let's meet.
37:51 Send me an email and we can meet about this."
37:53 And we met, and we talked about the Sabbath.
37:56 After that I said, "Professor, this is this paper,"
38:00 there is one pamphlet that has 100 facts
38:03 about the Sabbath.
38:05 And the root of Sunday worship and Sabbath, I gave it to him,
38:08 and I said, "Maybe after you read them,
38:10 we can have a second conversation."
38:12 He never got back with me, but I knew why.
38:14 Yeah, 'cause he read it. He read it.
38:17 He was convicted.
38:19 He was convicted. Sure he was.
38:20 But that same time, my trumpet professor
38:24 almost cried because he said,
38:25 "Man, I talked to all the trumpet players
38:27 that I know, they said there's no way
38:29 you're going to make it."
38:30 And he said, "Well, can I talk to your pastor?
38:34 Maybe you need an advisor." Yeah.
38:37 I said, "Well, Professor, that doesn't work that way.
38:39 It would be hard for me to know in my conscience
38:41 this is the truth and then deny it
38:44 just because I want to please myself,
38:45 and please this professor, or please this school."
38:49 And at that same time, I was supposed
38:51 to play in Carnegie Hall.
38:52 Oh, wow.
38:54 And they said, "Well, I know you cannot come
38:56 play in Sabbath on Saturday, but in about Carnegie Hall
39:01 is going to be on Saturday night,
39:03 but except you have to do a rehearsal on Saturday at 3."
39:06 And I said, "Well, that's going to be an issue.
39:09 I'm not going to be able to do that because of this."
39:12 And actually, one of the professors even said,
39:16 "You know, there was one guy,
39:17 he used to be the same religion as you, he did it.
39:20 Why can't you do it?"
39:21 I said, "Well, I understand, Professor,
39:23 but I believe in the Bible, I believe in what is truth.
39:26 This is what I believe in the Bible is true.
39:28 I believe the Sabbath.
39:29 There are things you should not be doing
39:30 in the Sabbath.
39:32 You cannot do any work."
39:33 And he said, "Man, I'm really sorry for that."
39:35 I said, "Well, don't be sorry for me, Professor,
39:37 I believe this is the right thing to do."
39:40 And he said, "Well, it's only one hour of your life.
39:44 What if...
39:46 You may never have an opportunity to be in that."
39:48 To do in the Carnegie Hall. Yeah. Carnegie Hall.
39:50 And I said, "Professor, I understand,
39:52 but think about this.
39:54 Do you know how long it took Adam and Eve
39:56 to sin to bring this world into this mess?"
40:00 And then he looked at me, he shook his head,
40:01 he said, "Well, I'm really sorry.
40:04 But there's nothing we can do.
40:05 I'm really sorry for you." Yeah.
40:07 And I said, "Professor, that's really fine."
40:09 It doesn't stop this way.
40:10 Actually, even in Penn State I had the same issue.
40:13 Now I want to stop you there and we'll kind of leave it
40:15 on the cliff if you ever got to play at Carnegie Hall or not
40:18 because we need to hear you play,
40:20 and we want to go some muse just now so that we can hear,
40:25 you know, this gift that God has given you.
40:27 I think the song is Tis So Sweet Medley.
40:30 Anything you want to say to set this up?
40:32 Well, this song, that's a song that
40:34 we basically just arranged for studio
40:36 because I just was in a studio to record a CD.
40:39 This is one of the CDs.
40:41 It's on the CD, so I wanted to play something on that.
40:45 So this is on the CD which will be coming out soon.
40:48 All right, Tis So Sweet Medley.
44:52 Well done, very well done.
44:54 And that was a flugelhorn. Yes.
44:56 Little mellower sound than a trumpet.
44:57 Amen. And beautifully done.
44:59 Now we got to hurry, man, because
45:00 our time is going to get away from us.
45:02 You got three testimonies.
45:03 I want you to start with
45:05 the third generation Baptist Pastor's son who is now...
45:09 Well, I don't want to get the first line.
45:10 Tell us about that and how that went.
45:12 We studied...
45:14 I met him on campus, and I asked him
45:15 for Bible study, although he kept rescheduling me,
45:18 but the first time that we studied,
45:19 he thought that I was a Bible scholar
45:21 because he never found someone with that truth.
45:24 Later on, he told me that he met people
45:26 who preached on the Book of Daniel
45:28 but never 2, never 7, never 11.
45:32 And later on, when he learned about the Sabbath,
45:36 he challenged his dad about the Sabbath.
45:38 And that led him to make decision
45:40 to become a Seventh-day Adventist
45:42 after probably four months.
45:44 We studied in April and in August,
45:46 he became a Seventh-day Adventist.
45:47 Wow.
45:49 And he went to Emmanuel tried to do Bible study on campus.
45:51 And now he's studying at Southern to be a minister.
45:55 I think he is a junior right now.
45:57 Ok. All right. Studying theology.
45:59 He left a full ride scholarship
46:01 as a jazz major at Michigan State.
46:02 Wow. A full free education? Full education.
46:06 Third generation Baptist Pastor,
46:08 now he's studying at Southern Adventists University
46:10 to be a Seventh-day Adventist Pastor.
46:12 So you didn't get to Carnegie Hall,
46:13 but you got one more in the kingdom.
46:15 Amen. Praise the Lord.
46:17 Now I know you got another Chinese student.
46:19 Okay, the Chinese student was a visiting scholar.
46:25 Yes. And I met her at a bus station.
46:28 I saw her with a Catechism in her hand.
46:31 And I said, "Oh, man, she's going to get trapped."
46:36 And I said, well, let me calm down
46:38 and talk to her.
46:39 And I said, "Wow, it seems like you love the Bible."
46:41 And she said, "No, no.
46:42 One of my friends tried to help me to become Catholic."
46:45 And I said, "Well, by the way..."
46:47 And I have a card that said free Bible study one on one
46:52 or through Skype or in group.
46:55 And so the most difficult question,
46:58 and I give it to her.
47:00 And after I give it to her, when she took her bus,
47:03 and I make that prayer, I said, "Lord,
47:04 if you want her to know the truth,
47:06 let her do call me."
47:08 And she emailed me the next day saying,
47:10 "That's pretty bold to say
47:12 and so the most difficult question."
47:14 And later on, I said, "Well, I believe that
47:17 the Bible had the answers."
47:18 And we have lunch, and we have the Bible study
47:20 after seven months, she became...
47:23 She was a dead atheist.
47:25 She struggled with it, but after seven months,
47:28 she decided to make the step, and crying with her
47:31 an amazing testimony and became an Adventist.
47:33 Now she is in China witnessing to other Chinese,
47:37 trying to help other Chinese to become
47:38 Seventh-day Adventist.
47:40 And of course, the third story is that the jazz musician
47:43 who ended up marrying a Seventh-day Adventist Pastor,
47:46 and that is really fabulous.
47:48 And I'm hurrying you along 'cause I want to get
47:49 to this song, and the next song is...
47:52 There is a Quiet Place. There is a Quiet Place.
47:55 This is a beautiful piece. There is a Quiet Place.


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Revised 2021-05-18