Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY190023A
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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 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:09 - Hello and welcome to 3ABN Today. We are so 01:12 glad that you're joining us! - Amen. - We're going 01:15 to have fun on this program. - This is a great program. 01:17 - And we want to take this opportunity to thank 01:19 you so much for your prayers and your financial 01:22 support of 3ABN, because what you do makes an 01:26 eternal difference. I'm Shelley Quinn. - I'm JD 01:29 Quinn. - And honey, where do you work? - I work in the 01:32 pastoral department. We receive calls daily from 01:35 all around the world, people looking for the 01:36 closest Seventh-day Adventist Church. 01:38 There's a movement going on that the Lord is working. 01:44 - Amen. - And what a wonderful place to be 01:46 involved. And boy, talking about wonderful places to 01:49 be involved is who we're going to be introducing 01:51 in a few minutes. - That's exactly right. Before I 01:54 introduce our guests, just wanted to share 01:55 Proverbs 22 verse 6 with you. The Bible says, "Train 01:59 up a child in the way he should go; and when he's 02:03 old, he will not depart from it." I'm a huge 02:07 advocate of Christian education, and we know 02:10 that you went through Christian education. 02:14 - I most certainly did. - And you know, it's 02:16 true! You came- I mean, you may have had a little 02:18 break in there, but he came back because of 02:21 his training. - Amen. - And the institution 02:23 we're going to be talking about today is Weimar 02:26 Academy, and I guarantee you: this is an amazing 02:31 academy for children, because not only do 02:35 they have the highest in academic programs, 02:38 but they've got community involvement programs, 02:42 mission trips, the spiritual aspects and training that 02:48 goes on is amazing, and we see kids all the time 02:51 who go there and come away changed. So let's 02:54 introduce you to our special guests! We 02:57 have some wonderful ones here. Kirk Krueger, you 02:59 are the principal for Weimar Academy! For 03:03 how long? - For two years... - Two years; alright! - ...I'm 03:06 the principal at the academy; thoroughly 03:08 enjoyed it. - I know! - I want to say, though, 03:10 coming in yesterday from California back into this 03:14 old stomping ground- just so many memories 03:16 driving back here onto 3ABN campus. Marianne 03:20 and I were involved here a lot over the...about 15 03:23 years, and it was just a lot of memories. - Well, 03:26 you are the son-in-law of Jim and Camille Gilley, 03:29 so you are up here quite a bit, and we got to watch 03:32 your little ones grow up. We're gonna introduce 03:34 one of them in just a moment, but we're so 03:37 glad you're here today, Kirk. - Thank you so much. 03:39 - And then we have Justin Nedley! And Justin, I'm 03:42 sure that many people will recognize that last 03:45 last. You are the youngest of four sons of Dr. Neil 03:49 Nedley! - Yes, I am, yeah. - And what does 03:52 your dad do at Weimar Institute? - He is the 03:56 president there at Weimar Institute, and he also runs 03:58 some health...depression recovery programs there. 04:01 - Amen, amen. So, what grade are you in this 04:05 year? - I'm a junior in the academy currently. 04:08 - Okay. Well, we're really glad to have you here, 04:10 and I'm sure you must play a musical instrument. Your 04:14 whole family's musically talented. - Yes, I play 04:16 the piano. - Good. Good, good. Now, the next young 04:20 lady we're going to introduce is Kirk's daughter, and we 04:23 knew her- I guess last time we saw you, Venice, 04:26 you were probably 12 years old. She's all grown up! And 04:30 beautiful. - Beautiful young lady. - Venice 04:32 Krueger, so glad that you're back today! 04:35 - Glad to be here! - Yeah, wished you could've brought 04:37 little Carrie with you, as well. - She really 04:39 wanted to come, but... - But we're glad that 04:42 you're here. We're going to get your story in just 04:44 a minute. And then, Sunika! Sunika Tarusenga-Jojo. 04:51 Is that correct? - Yes, you nailed it. [laughter] 04:54 - You had to be a smart little girl just to know 04:55 how to spell that name. Where are you from 04:59 originally, Sunika? - I grew up in Texas, but 05:02 now, we live in California. - Oh! I grew up in California 05:04 and then married an Texan. [laughter] So, we just kind 05:09 of... - Once a Texan, always a Texan. - Yeah, 05:11 that's true, that's true. Well, before we get into 05:14 the exciting things that are happening at Weimar, 05:18 honey, you've got some music you wanted to 05:20 introduce. - Yes. And just one of my... Jaime 05:22 Jorge. Jaime Jorge just... I love the way he plays 05:26 the violin. "Face to Face." 08:23 - I love listening to... - Jaime. - Jaime. Just 08:27 love it. Kirk, share 08:29 what's going on at Weimar. - Well, let me give you just 08:32 a little bit of information about Weimar. The institute 08:35 is on approximately 500 acres there in the Sierra 08:39 Nevada mountains. We're about 15 miles below 08:42 the snow line, so this year, I think we got 08:44 almost 48 feet of snow up in the mountains. 08:46 And so, it's really neat to be in the mountains. 08:49 But what just happened here recently at the 08:51 institute (that's been in the works for several 08:53 years) is, February of 2019, Weimar received 08:58 accreditation. And what's the thing that's really 09:00 amazing is they backdated it to January of 2018. - So 09:06 this is for the college, right? - This is just for 09:08 the college, and that has been in the works 09:09 for a number of years, and they finally received 09:12 it. The people that came out and did the accreditation were 09:14 really impressed. They said, "What you have 09:16 here is amazing." One thing I noticed that they 09:19 mentioned is that the institute we are at, 09:22 many people don't even know the mission of the 09:24 institute where I'm a member of-but your 09:28 kids not only know the mission but believe the 09:30 mission. The mission of Weimar Institute is to 09:33 heal a hurting world, kind of like 3ABN: 09:36 "Mending broken people." - Amen! - That is what 09:38 the mission of us as Christians should be- 09:41 to help those people. - So, what- tell us 09:43 some of the curriculums for Weimar Institute. 09:47 - So, they have an accredited nursing program. It's a two-year 09:51 associate nursing program that will, this fall, be 09:55 starting the bachelors of nursing; has education, 09:58 has theology, has pre-med, pre-dental... There's also 10:04 one that has psychology that is starting up; this 10:08 Fall or is in the process of that. So, there's a 10:11 number of great programs there that can take place. 10:15 And also, there's a six-month health program where people 10:18 can come and take health education to go out and 10:21 work in their communities with health. - Praise God! 10:24 Well, there's always something exciting 10:26 going on at Weimar. But Justin, tell us a little bit- 10:29 and you all just jump in-tell us about the 10:33 typical day at Weimar Academy. - So, school 10:36 starts at 8 o'clock in the morning at Weimar 10:39 Academy, and we start out with worship. And 10:43 every single morning, we have song service 10:44 and then morning worship where the different students 10:46 get to share their testimonies and worship thoughts that 10:49 they have come up with every morning during 10:52 morning worship. And then, we go out to our classes 10:54 for the morning; and then at 1 o'clock, we go to lunch. 10:58 Then after lunch, we have a work education 11:00 program. There's also some vocational programs, 11:04 and I'm involved in one of those. I'm in the flooring 11:07 vocational class, and it's really awesome, 11:10 because Mr. Krueger, here, he's been able to teach me 11:13 how to do flooring, how to make a living and stuff, 11:16 and a way to get through college, and maybe this 11:19 might even be my career one day. We'll find out. 11:21 [laughter] - Well, I know Kirk's done well at it, and 11:24 it's a well-paying job, particularly in California, 11:28 right? So, Venice, your momma is the librarian, 11:33 your daddy is the principal; do they really kind of make 11:39 sure you're towing the line 'cause you represent 11:41 the family? - Well, I try to do my best, but 11:47 I'd say that it's just amazing being at Weimar. 11:50 There's a lot of good influences, and it's just 11:54 an amazing place to be. [Amen!] - And Sunika, 11:59 you also have a brother who is going to Weimar, 12:02 right? - Yes. - Where's home in California? - Closer 12:07 to Sacramento, so Rancho Cordova. - Okay. Well, we're 12:10 glad- I want you all to tell me, because I know 12:14 that Don Macintosh has been here before, and I 12:16 get so excited when you talk about the total 12:22 community involvement, TCI. Jump in and tell me: 12:28 I know you do stuff on a weekly basis, I believe, 12:31 isn't it? Tell us about- somebody-tell me about 12:34 TCI. - So, TCI takes place every Wednesday, 12:39 so we spend the whole morning going out and 12:41 just serving the community. My TCI group actually goes 12:45 canvassing, so we go door-to-door and distribute 12:48 literature to people there. - And you do projects that 12:51 are very helpful to people. I mean, yard projects, and... 12:55 What's been your favorite TCI experience, Venice? 13:02 - Probably...I like to clean up different 13:05 people's yards and stuff like that, or going to the 13:08 nursing homes and singing to the elderly people is 13:10 really nice. - And it's had an amazing impact. 13:14 The church is growing because of this?. 13:17 Tell us about TCI. - Well, one thing that's really 13:19 interesting- so, one of the groups that... I just live 13:22 off-campus of Weimar, and so we can walk to the 13:24 neighborhood that we work in with my family group. 13:27 There's about seven in my family group. And so, 13:30 we met this couple that just moved into our neighborhood, 13:32 Pat and Renée, and we started helping them clean 13:35 up their yard and got to be really close friends 13:38 with them. They just called me here- I think it was 13:41 approximately about a month ago, and they 13:43 said, "You know what, we were in one of- the medical 13:48 clinic on campus asked us to go to some cooking 13:52 classes." And he said, "We've just become 13:53 vegan." So, it's just amazing the transforming 13:57 of people's lives by just befriending them and 13:59 sharing them the health message. They're open, 14:01 and they've come to a number of functions on 14:03 campus. And then, this past Sabbath, we had a 14:08 couple that was baptized from the total community 14:11 involvement. - Amen. - And the testimonies 14:13 are- just exciting to hear their testimonies. 14:15 - We've had some video clips before that Don has 14:20 brought with him, and it is exciting. But, now, 14:23 it is my understanding: it's not just the student 14:26 body, but the teachers and professors-everybody 14:30 gets involved in this; is that right? So tell us 14:34 about what your favorite experience has been. - So, 14:37 one TCI, I went with Mr. Krueger here; we went 14:40 to a house there, and we had to build a shed 14:42 for this elderly lady that was wanting to 14:46 move some of her stuff from her garage to a 14:49 shed. And so, we went there and we spent the 14:51 whole morning putting together the shed. We 14:53 ran into some issues, but when we were done, it was 14:56 just amazing. She was so grateful, and it just 14:58 really made an impact on me to realize how 15:01 such a small thing for us, just building a shed, 15:03 can have such a big, huge impact on someone in the 15:06 community. - Well, I know that this is why you've got 15:10 such a great reputation. - One thing that really 15:13 caught my mind that- and that is, y'all do 15:17 so many mission trips a year. - We do. - I 15:20 mean, what's involved there? I mean, wow! 15:22 Here, you go to school; here, you go to build 15:24 things; here, you get to assist people; here, 15:26 you get to daily start the day off with prayer, 15:33 and then you're also getting to go on mission 15:35 trips. And not only, I guess, of your choice, 15:39 but...how does this all work? And how many 15:41 do you go on a year? - So, we take two weeks 15:44 every year, or a little over two weeks, and 15:46 the whole school mobilizes and goes on a mission trip. 15:49 Usually, we do four; this year, we did three. But 15:51 everybody in the school gets to pick where they 15:54 would like to go. And usually, they get their 15:56 first or second pick on where they go. This year, 16:00 we went to Kenya, to Cuba, and then into Arizona and 16:04 New Mexico. - Mm. Tell us about the Kenya trip, 16:07 guys. - So, on the Kenya trip, we went to a school 16:11 in Kenya, and we had to- we went with Maranatha 16:15 and we built a cafeteria for the school there. And 16:18 I mean, when we got there, we saw... Maranatha had 16:21 been there a lot, so a lot of the classrooms 16:23 had been built there by Maranatha. There's over 16:26 600 students there at the school. We noticed 16:30 that there was no cafeteria there; they were eating out, 16:32 just in their classrooms, some of them, some outside... 16:35 And there was not really a kitchen for the cooks 16:37 to cook at all, so they were just cooking over 16:39 an open fire. When we went there, we built a 16:43 cafeteria, and it was really awesome. The 16:46 last day we were there, we were able to go in 16:48 with the kids as they had their first meal 16:49 in that cafeteria. You could just see how happy 16:52 they were and how excited they were to have a place 16:55 to eat now. It was just a really life-changing 16:58 experience. - Before we get the rest, 'cause I 17:00 know you went, as well, Venice-but before we 17:02 get your testimony, let's look at the video of what 17:06 happened in Kenya. - Wow. 17:10 [children singing Kenyan music] 17:19 [inspirational piano music] 17:31 - So, Weimar Academy is here 17:33 Seventh-day Adventist school for about 10 days. 17:36 We are currently working on the cafeteria. So our 17:39 first day, we're running a lot about putting blocks 17:41 in, and making mistakes and taking it out, putting 17:43 them back, but our energy's good and I hope it stays 17:46 like this for the next 10 days, and I'm sure 17:48 we will get better with time. - Something special about 17:51 this mission trip is that I was able to come here 17:53 a few years ago and build a classroom at this exact 17:55 location. It's been a huge blessing being 17:58 able to come back and see how the school has 17:59 grown and build them a much-needed cafeteria. 18:02 - Here in beautiful Kenya as we're just completing 18:05 a mission trip, we have had expert faculty with 18:11 Christlike compassion, teamed up with receptive 18:14 students, also with Christlike compassion 18:17 that has performed hundreds of thousands of dollars of 18:21 medical care, free of charge to Kenya citizens, 18:26 saving lives, even diagnosing undiagnosed tuberculosis and 18:30 undiagnosed cancer, and having individuals wracked 18:34 with pain that are leaving now without pain: multiple 18:38 medical procedures, dental procedures... And this really 18:44 happens as a result of Weimar Institute's vision 18:48 of healing a hurting world. 19:12 - What I understand, Justin, is that you did more than 19:15 just build a cafeteria. - Yeah, that is correct. 19:18 So, while we were there, we also did three days of 19:20 medical and dental clinics, and we offered over 200 19:23 thousand dollars of care for free to the citizens of 19:26 Kenya there. - Wow. - And while I was there, I got to 19:29 help one of the dentists, Dr. Fischer, and I got to 19:32 pull about...I think it was four teeth while 19:35 I was there, so I got to learn some of the things 19:38 of dental care. I- really actually helped me consider 19:42 that is their career path, potentially, for me. 19:44 And it's really awesome how, you know, a lot of 19:46 people won't get that opportunity to work in 19:48 dental and work and pull teeth and stuff, especially 19:51 since we're out here in the States. But on the 19:52 mission trips, we're able to do that, and I can help 19:54 people as well as learn about dentistry and see 19:58 if maybe that's something I want to do in the future. 20:00 - Amen! - You not only pull the teeth; you had 20:02 one that broke off, and you had to take and dig 20:05 the roots out. - Ooh! - So, I guess it's simple pulling 20:08 of teeth. - Well, you know, something that I always 20:13 say-and I'm sure people get tired of me saying 20:15 this-but I just want to repeat it because maybe 20:18 somebody hasn't heard it: if you want to ensure that 20:23 your child gets involved, and in a personal way... 20:27 I mean, has that intimate relationship with the Lord, 20:30 send them on a mission trip. I've seen kids who've 20:33 totally turned around because- you know, we 20:36 are, dare I say, spoiled. We're very spoiled in the 20:42 United States, and we have everything we want 20:44 at our fingertips. And not everybody has all 20:47 the same advantages, but even if you're the poorest 20:51 of the poor here, when you go to places like 20:54 Africa or other places, you see joy in people 21:00 in a simple life but you begin to appreciate what 21:05 you've got. Tell us about your experience, Venice, 21:08 in Kenya. - Well, I had an interesting experience. 21:13 I was escorting different patients to the pharmacy 21:18 during the clinics we were having. And there 21:22 was one time that I went- Dr. Anthony told me 21:24 to come into his office- and he told me- he showed 21:28 me- he introduced me to this lady, and he said 21:30 that she needed to go to the lab and that she 21:34 might have tuberculosis... and it hit me really hard. 21:38 I escorted her to the lab, and she got her 21:40 lab work done so that she could get treated properly. 21:43 But it really hit me later how much that probably 21:47 affected her life so that she could get the proper 21:50 treatment. - Amen...amen. So, that's something that... 21:55 How long were you in Kenya? - ...Two weeks? - Two weeks, 21:59 so... And as I understand it, you offer several different 22:04 locations, and then the kids gets to choose during 22:09 that two-week period whether they're gonna go to Kenya, 22:12 Cuba, or- where else did you go this year? - Arizona 22:14 and New Mexico. - In Arizona and New Mexico; 22:17 okay. Now, Sunika, you were not on the Kenya 22:23 trip. Where did you go? - No, I had the privilege 22:25 of going to Cuba along with 14 other students 22:27 and staff. So, we spent the mornings and door- 22:31 to-door visitations with the people there, praying 22:33 for them and just interacting with them. And then in the 22:36 afternoons, we had an evangelistic meeting for 22:40 the adults and one for the kids, as well. - So 22:42 did you actually do some of the preaching and the 22:44 teaching? - Yes, yes. - How exciting! - It was 22:48 a huge blessing. - Yeah! That's- I think we brought 22:51 a little video clip, or you brought a little 22:53 video clip; we'll look at that now. 22:56 - "He who has the Son has life, and he who 22:59 does not have the Son does not have life." 23:02 We had the opportunity to share the hope that 23:05 is found in Jesus Christ with the people of Cuba. 23:08 Along with eight other students and five staff 23:11 from Weimar Academy, I had the opportunity to 23:13 take part in one of three evangelistic campaigns that 23:16 held in Pinar del Río province in Western Cuba. 23:20 - I had hated the idea of preaching. But when we 23:22 got there, we visited people and got to know 23:26 them better; it was a very warm and friendly 23:28 environment. When you came down to actually 23:31 give presentations, it wasn't that bad, after 23:34 all. - While we were there, there was this 23:37 one officer who wanted us to be deported, because 23:39 we talked about the Bible- Christianity. But there was 23:42 this other officer who said, "No! No, no- stop! 23:45 These people, they're doing good in this town. 23:47 There are so many bad things going on? 23:50 and these people are talking about God. 23:53 They're talking about how to change our 23:56 life with the Bible. Let them stay. They're doing 23:59 a good work." That really touched me, and it makes 24:03 me remember that even in a closed-off country as Cuba, 24:07 there're still people that are receptive; they just 24:09 have open hearts and willing hearts, and that's 24:13 all that Christ needs. [cello music] 24:23 - You know what I love about Cuba? It is SO 24:25 colorful! Tell us about the people and just the fruit 24:30 of the mission. - Well, the people there were 24:32 really wonderful. They're all very welcoming and 24:34 warm; and by the grace of God, we were actually 24:37 able to have 11 baptisms on our last day there, 24:41 and there are 24 people that are in Cuba that are 24:44 continuing to study the Bible with some of the 24:46 Bible workers there. We're actually able to go into 24:49 these untouched cities that had never had any 24:52 meetings before and reach the people there. - So these 24:55 had been unentered, kind of dark cities and we'd 24:58 never been there before. How exciting. How many 25:01 mission trips have you been on, Sunika? - This 25:04 is actually my third. - Your third. And where 25:07 have you been before this? - I went to Arizona with the 25:12 academy my freshman year, then I went to Belize last 25:14 year-2018-and then this year, Cuba. - Okay. And 25:19 what has- how has that impacted your life personally? 25:23 Do you find that on a mission trip, you recognize 25:28 your dependence upon the Lord? - Yeah, for sure; for 25:31 sure. It changes the way you see things. And for me, 25:34 going to Cuba was actually my first time doing something 25:37 with public speaking, so I know I didn't feel okay, 25:42 adequate, or prepared, so it changed the way I saw 25:45 things and I really had to rely on God. - Amen! 25:48 - So did you know that you were going to speak before 25:49 you went over there, or they chose you once you 25:52 got over there, or...? - We found out before; 25:54 we find out prior. [laughter] - Okay,? 25:58 [laughter] - The secret is this-and with all of 26:01 my heart, I mean this- is I hope you always 26:04 have that attitude, 'cause any time you get to thinking 26:07 that, "Oh, I'm adequate; oh, I'm a good speaker," 26:12 then you quit relying on the Lord, and you might 26:15 give a good message but there's no anointing, 26:17 you know? That's... That is so important, because 26:22 that's God's whole plan of salvation is that we 26:25 learn to depend upon Him totally. That's what grace 26:28 is all about. During the video, you mentioned 26:33 something about Vacation Bible School in Kenya. Tell 26:36 us about that. - Okay! Well, during the whole 26:40 time we were doing construction, there were these two little boys 26:42 that would be on the other side of the fence, and they'd 26:46 be watching us. Towards the beginning of the VBS, 26:52 they came in and they would just watch, but 26:55 they wouldn't do anything. They wouldn't interact with 26:57 the songs or the crafts or anything; they just 27:00 wanted to watch. And then, the last day... - How old 27:03 were they, do you think? - Probably 8...12. - Okay. 27:08 - Somewhere in there. And they came in, and 27:12 they actually started to interact with the song 27:14 service, and they started doing the crafts and started 27:17 taking part, so... It was really neat to see. - Amen. 27:20 So, what was your biggest impact as far as spiritually 27:24 in going on the Kenya trip? - It was really 27:29 neat to see how simply they live and how content 27:34 they are with what they have, and it was also... 27:37 It was really neat to see how much of an impact I 27:40 can make on them, because, I mean, if I were just doing 27:45 some VBS in the States, they necessar- they 27:48 wouldn't really remember me or anything. But me 27:51 going over there and helping them made a big impact. There 27:54 was one girl that... I just talked with her 27:58 for a little bit; but towards the end, she started tearing 28:01 up, and she was like, "Don't forget me!" 28:04 And I'm like, "I won't!" It was really neat to 28:06 see how much I had impacted her even though I didn't feel 28:10 like I had done very much. - Yeah. Yeah. It's precious, 28:14 the people- they're so appreciative, aren't they? 28:17 You know, when you go somewhere, and especially 28:21 if it's an undeveloped area, they're just so 28:25 appreciative. So, for you, Justin, what was 28:29 the biggest impact of you going to Kenya? 28:33 - Like Venice said, it was so amazing to see 28:35 how the people who lived in such poverty could still 28:38 be happy and were still able to find joy in the 28:42 super small things. And in the States, you know, 28:44 we would feel like we'd be miserable. But just- 28:47 it was extremely eye-opening to see how content they were 28:50 there and how happy they were there. And also, just doing the 28:53 medical clinics and the dental clinics, just how- just a small 28:56 thing that in the States, we take for granted, you 28:58 know, having good dental care, good medical care, 29:01 how there, it's just life-changing for them 29:03 to have a tooth pulled or to have some medicine 29:07 given to them to help with disease and stuff, 29:09 where, here in the States, we just take it for granted; 29:12 but I think it really helped me realize how thankful I 29:15 need to be for the medical care that I have access to 29:21 here in the States. - Amen. I remember my first mission 29:23 trip; that's how I felt. We were preaching in 29:26 Mexico, and we went to a dump area. And what 29:32 city was that? - I think it was Monterrey. - Monterrey! 29:35 Monterrey, Mexico. We went to- I'd preached 29:38 in several churches, and the people were very 29:42 responsive. But then, the city looked like Los 29:45 Angeles! I mean, I was surprised; the city seemed 29:48 pretty modern. And then, we went out to minister 29:51 at the dump, and there was a whole community- 29:55 probably 60,000 people who lived in cardboard 29:59 lean-to's. They were so happy and content and visiting 30:05 out in the streets, and the kids were playing; 30:08 there weren't any locks on the doors-and they 30:11 were very excited to hear the Word of God. - It was 30:13 just amazing, because some of the sponsors 30:18 said, "You need to take some bags of candy, 'cause 30:21 the kids will love it." We took some bags of 30:22 can- they'd never seen candy before! - Oh, wow. 30:26 - Never seen candy before, and we just give 'em- 30:28 they didn't know what to do with it. Absolutely amazing! 30:31 Now, you talk about feeling about this size, because 30:35 here, you just chomp all the time. [laughter] - You're 30:39 telling on yourself. - I mean, something so immature, just 30:42 so small. Yeah. One thing that caught my attention 30:47 when you were speaking- and I think this is something 30:49 that we all need to be cognizant of-is that 30:52 divine appointments are going on all the time. Lots 30:56 of times, we just think it's an ordinary event 30:58 or an ordinary day or something insignificant, 31:01 but it's a divine appointment. So, we as being representative 31:05 for the kingdom-and this is basically what Weimar 31:08 Academy...this is a start; this is a training ground- 31:13 but if we just have that reality that maybe this is 31:17 God's orchestra. And so, we need to be alerted 31:21 all the time. Doing those things that are Christlike. 31:25 - This is a story from when we were there in Kenya: 31:28 on our first Sabbath, we got to a Maasai village. 31:30 We got to go to a one-day church that Maranatha had 31:34 built there a couple years before. When Maranatha 31:38 builds a one-day church, they generally just put 31:40 up a roof. And if the church wants to, they 31:43 can build the sides to the church. After 31:47 we left there at the church, the leader of our group found 31:50 out that, actually, how they built the sides to 31:52 the churches for over a year, every single family 31:55 that went to that church would miss one meal a 31:58 week, and the money from that meal went to pay for 32:02 the blocks to build the sides of the church. 32:04 - Wow. - And it was just so amazing to realize 32:07 that the church was their life. They sacrificed so 32:11 much to build and complete the church there. It just 32:15 really, really, really impacted me in such 32:17 an amazing way. - And it still had a dirt floor. 32:19 - Yeah, it still had a dirt floor, and they're still 32:21 working on improving it more and more by missing 32:24 out on one meal a week, where, here in the States, 32:27 we just don't really ever have to experience that, 32:29 and we're so blessed. - Amen! - And what a 32:31 testimony that is. - Yeah. - This reminds you of a 32:34 story, doesn't it? - Yeah; two things. One thing was 32:37 about this church that Maranatha tries to do is 32:39 they try to put a well in each of these churches 32:41 they build, and this church had a well. And one of the 32:44 biggest problems they have in Kenya with health 32:47 is the lack of good, clean water. You'll see people 32:50 getting water out of dirty creeks and they're carrying 32:53 it on buckets on their heads, and this is water 32:55 that they're drinking. You wouldn't even want 32:57 to wash your clothes in it, but yet this is what they're 32:59 using for drinking water. - Bless their hearts. - But 33:02 there is a miracle story that happened in Cuba- 33:05 and you mentioned divine appointments-and it 33:07 shows you how God is involved in everything. 33:11 And in one of the cities in Cuba, there was a 33:14 group that was there, and a man came by their house 33:19 and said, "You need to leave tomorrow." He 33:21 said, "You're violating our laws; what you're 33:23 doing is illegal. You can't be holding meetings here; 33:25 you need to come to the police station tomorrow," 33:28 which would've been Sabbath. "You need to come individually, 33:30 and we'll interrogate each one of you individually." 33:33 - So this was not just the hosts of the people 33:36 who owned the home, but the people who were there 33:38 ministering. - For our group that was there, 33:41 which was two staff and three students. "Come to 33:45 the police station tomorrow. You must come. I'm going to 33:48 call the central government, and they're going to have 33:49 you leave. You will leave tomorrow." So, they called 33:53 the leaders there in Cuba, and one of the leaders 33:55 called a gentleman and said, "You need to go 33:57 down there and take care of this problem tomorrow." 33:59 And he said, "I can't go; I don't have a car. My 34:01 car's broken." He said, "Rent a car. I'll pay for 34:04 it; you must go. You must not delegate this 34:06 to anybody else. You have to take care of it." 34:09 So this man rented a car, went there the next morning, 34:13 and as he walked up to this government building, 34:15 another official walked up, walked in beside him, and 34:18 he looked at this pastor and he said, "I know you!" 34:22 And the pastor said, "I don't think I know 34:24 you." He says, "Oh, no- I know you." He says, 34:27 "Well, how do you know me?" He said, "Well, 34:28 many years ago in this one city, we had come to 34:32 this house for a vacation, and all the rooms were 34:34 rented except for one. That one was not rented 34:37 because I had rented it from my family and my 34:38 15-year-old daughter's birthday. And while we 34:42 were in that house, you preached meetings, and 34:44 the meetings were on relationships, on marriage, 34:47 and all of these meetings I listened to..." And he 34:51 said, "It changed my life. And because of those 34:54 meetings," he said, "I have practiced everything." 34:56 - Praise God. - And he said, "You know what? 34:58 If this is your people that are here that I'm 35:01 coming down to check on," he said, "there'll be no 35:04 problem here today." He said, "I will call back the 35:06 central government and I will tell them there is no 35:09 issue here." And he said, "These people, if they're 35:12 you're people," he said, "you always pick the worst 35:15 in our communities and you change our people 35:18 that are thieves and people that are bad into good people." 35:21 - Oh, wow... - He said, "What you have to do, 35:23 going forward, is not only preach, but preach 35:26 as bold as you've ever preached before, so you 35:29 can change lives in this town." He said, "I came 35:32 here, but I came here as your protector." - Praise 35:35 the Lord! - "From thereforth," he said, "there'll be no issues 35:36 in this town." So, it shows you how God 35:39 and divine appointments God gives. He also said, 35:42 "When I walked up this morning, when I walked 35:44 in beside you, I felt a peace like I'd never 35:46 felt before. And then when I saw your face, 35:48 I knew why I had that peace, because you were 35:51 this man that had changed my life." - Praise God. 35:54 - So, it was just- well, I told her that story. 35:56 I was like, that is a God thing, because 35:58 there's no way that could've been orchestrated to walk 36:01 up at the exact time, and the exact people. I mean, 36:04 you could not even recreate it. It's just a miracle. 36:08 - Absolutely. We hear these stories, especially 36:10 from people who are going on mission trips. We hear 36:14 so many miracle stories. God is still in the miracle- 36:18 working business. But you know, you're talking 36:21 about how the things, the mission trips, and 36:25 the ministry you're doing, how God uses your efforts 36:30 to change lives, but I'm sitting here thinking about 36:32 the lives that are changed just by gaining this experience. 36:38 This is amazing to me, you know? If I had a 36:42 child- and unfortunately, we were not able. I wanted 36:45 6! JD thought I was crazy, but... [laughter] But! 36:49 If I had a child, the two most important 36:53 things, I think, that you can teach a child: 36:55 #1, I would teach them to the love of the Lord and 37:00 how to have a personal relationship with the Lord. 37:03 But the second thing is, teach them a good work 37:08 ethic, because you can be brilliant and fail at 37:12 life if you don't have a good work ethic. Your 37:15 daddy... - Yeah. My dad, he certainly taught us a 37:19 good work ethic. There are three of us kids, and 37:21 all three are very productive people, because we learned 37:24 early how to work and that that was just part of life. 37:29 I remember, my goodness, he'd make us go out there 37:32 and dig holes and just cover the holes back 37:34 up! [laughter] Now, you make some sense out of 37:36 that! But today... You know, none of us are 37:39 lazy, and we kind of look for things to do. 37:43 - You know, I think that's so important-having a 37:45 good work ethic. In fact, my girls, when they were 37:47 at Weimar, they were out working one day on the 37:50 grounds. And one of the men said, "Your daughters know how 37:53 to work!" And you know what? That makes you so 37:54 proud when your kids know how to work. And they came 37:57 home and I said, "Somebody said you know how to work." 37:59 And they said, "Dad, we don't work that hard." 38:01 So, the fact that they know how to work is a 38:03 blessing-just an amazing blessing just to know how 38:06 to work. You're absolutely right. - And as we're 38:07 listening here, not only are you learning bookwork, 38:11 but you're learning how to sweat, also. Perspire, 38:14 perhaps, is a better word. But in our days, it was... 38:20 But anyway, I think it's so important that you do 38:23 have a vocational program available. Now, how does 38:28 that work? You get up at 8 o'clock- you start 38:31 your classes at 8 o'clock... Is that right? - Yes. We 38:34 start our classes at 8, and we have our morning 38:36 worship, and then we go till 1 in our classes. And 38:39 then, we have vocational classes in the afternoon 38:42 if you signed up for that in the beginning of the year. 38:44 But everyone has a work education program; just 38:47 some of them are focused on more like one task. Like 38:49 for me, it's just flooring, so I'm not doing more 38:52 things in just flooring; I'm just doing flooring 38:54 so I can learn that trade for later on in life. - Amen. 38:57 - And everyone has a work program, so at Weimar, the 39:01 students all learn how to work and how to work hard 39:04 and get a good work ethic. - Amen. So in other words, 39:07 you're good to go to school, you get to work, 39:09 you get to go on mission trips, you get to be involved 39:12 with the neighborhood... - Yes. - What's the downside? 39:17 - I haven't found one yet. - You probably sleep good 39:20 at night, because you're tired. - Yeah. I haven't 39:23 found a downside yet. - Amen! - Well, you know, you're getting 39:27 a spiritual education, the academic education, and 39:31 then you're getting that good work ethic and learning 39:33 how to minister. But now, I don't think we've talked 39:36 about your choir tours yet. Tell us-somebody 39:39 jump in and tell me about that. - Well... [laughter] 39:44 Choir tour, we do it every year. Usually around 39:47 Christmas time, we'll plan to have a nice concert, 39:51 Christmas concert, and we'll go... Last this year 39:56 of 2018, we went down to SoCal, and we toured 40:03 all of the different churches down there. It was really 40:05 a blessing to sing to them. I love choir tours; I like to 40:09 sing, so it's just a blessing to bless others with our 40:13 singing. - Amen! There's a lot going on. You said... 40:17 - There IS a lot going on. - You said that the motto 40:21 for the academy was proving God right. Explain your motto. 40:27 - Well, I think that, kind of, the story is by when 40:31 we enter into a relationship with Christ, we see by following 40:35 what he's asked us to do that there are those divine 40:38 appointments as He leads our life. It's proving God 40:42 right, but it's basically- it's just experiencing what 40:45 God has in store for you... you know? I mean, when we 40:50 choose, like I mentioned, you know, when we have 40:53 a trial in our life, it's saying, "Lord, I'm going 40:56 to prove You through this trial. You said you want the 40:59 best good for me. I want to see what you have in 41:02 store for me to learn through this trial. So 41:04 even the trials can be such a great blessing. 41:07 Some of the biggest trials in my life have seen God, 41:10 and I'm saying, "God, I can trust You. I can trust 41:13 You through the trials." And that's what proving 41:15 God right's all about is experiencing that 41:18 He's good and that He has your best interest 41:20 at heart, even when it doesn't seem that way. 41:22 - He always has your eternal benefit in mind, 41:25 too. That's the most important thing. And 41:27 you know, that's something good, because I think you 41:30 are, as proving God right being the motto, it's so 41:35 important that you learn to experience what Kirk 41:39 was just saying is that- 'cause you know, you 41:41 see sometimes people whose faith you think is okay until 41:46 they have a major trial in their life, and then 41:50 they're like Chicken Little. "Oh, the sky 41:51 is falling; the sky is falling!" And you know, 41:55 this is when you got to- when trials come your 41:57 way, I know that God sees potential in us; 42:01 He allows us to go through trials. He doesn't stop them 42:04 all, because He kind of polishes the potential 42:07 in us, and we learn faith and trust and we grow! 42:12 But always remember Isaiah 26:3 that says-and God 42:18 says-that those who keep their eyes focused on Him, 42:23 trusting in Him, He will give perfect peace, even 42:27 in the midst of the trial! But now, you've got... 42:31 I don't know if you have a media department, but 42:34 I know that you guys are posting on YouTube. Tell 42:37 us about your YouTube channel. - Yeah, so 42:39 earlier in the year, we went on a men's and 42:41 women's retreat. And so the men, we went on a 42:45 rafting trip, and so we got to go down one of the rivers 42:48 there near Weimar and we... I think it was a 42:51 Class III rapids, and we went down there. It 42:54 was really fun. We got to... - Oh, call me next 42:56 time. I can't talk him into it. [laughter] 42:59 - We have some... We're in a beautiful area of 43:01 California. We have three rivers... Well, three 43:04 branches of the American River: the north, the 43:07 middle, and the south fork of the American 43:09 River. And the world-class rivers that are within 43:11 starting 15 minutes from Weimar Academy. - Wow. 43:15 - And so we have five rafts- six rafts at the academy? 43:18 we took the men and their fathers on a... 43:20 It was a great trip. - Yeah, it was a great bonding 43:23 experience; you know, we had to learn how 43:24 to work together, to maneuver the raft down 43:27 the rapids so you don't hit a rock or get stuck 43:30 in the middle of the river. [laughter] - Mention about 43:33 your GoPro. - Oh, yeah. So... - And how you found 43:36 it. That was a miracle in itself, to me. - Yeah. 43:39 So, when we were going down this river- no, the... 43:43 Yeah, so I was- not a GoPro, it's a drone. So, 43:46 I was filming the men's retreat with my drone, 43:49 and I was flying it, and I guess there was some 43:52 malfunction in the controls and it ended up going and 43:55 crashing into a tree on the side of the river. 43:57 We're going down this road and we can't just 43:59 stop and get it, because it wasn't... - Can't put 44:02 the breaks on! - Yeah, exactly. [laughter] The 44:04 water takes you where it wants to go. So, the 44:08 next day, I'm like, "Man, I probably won't be able 44:10 to find this drone." But the next day, a group 44:13 of guys and myself, we went out and... - Well, 44:16 Gary said, "I know the tree where it was in!" 44:18 - Yeah. So thankfully, one of the guides of one 44:21 of the boats there saw the drone crash, and 44:23 he knew exactly where it was. He's done this 44:24 river thousands of times, so he thought he knew 44:27 exactly where it was, but I was still kind of skeptical. 44:29 We went out there, and we prayed before we went and 44:32 tried to look for the drone. And we immediately- the 44:34 first tree we looked at, the drone was just right 44:36 there, and we were able to get it. It was just a 44:39 miracle. - That IS a miracle! [laughter] 44:41 - Yeah, I thought so, too. They said, "Can we go?" 44:43 and I'm like, I'm thinking, "You're wasting your time." 44:47 There's lots of trees, and these trees are bigger 44:49 trees, like maybe 80 ft tall, and there's lots of 44:52 trees; it's not like, just two or three trees; it's 44:54 lined with trees. - Yeah, so with the video: there's 44:58 a video about our motto and proving God right, and that's 45:01 on our YouTube channel. It's Weimar Academy. 45:04 If you search on Weimar Academy, "Proving God 45:07 right," the video is about what Weimar is 45:11 about, you know?-about proving God right, how we 45:13 can trust God through the trials and everything and 45:15 about the whole experience at Weimar Academy. - Okay, 45:18 so if we go to YouTube, then we search Weimar 45:22 Academy, do we need to put in "proving God right," 45:24 as well, or just...Weimar Academy? - You can put 45:27 Weimar Academy, and it should be the first video 45:28 to pop up there-under Weimar Academy. - Okay, 45:31 and that's W-E-I-M-A-R- Weimar Academy. - Yes. 45:35 - Where did the name come from? - Came back from 45:39 a group that was Weimar Indians- what is it? 45:41 - Yeah, there were some Indians there that went 45:43 by the name Weimar, and so when the Adventists 45:46 bought the property there, they wanted to keep the name 45:48 of the Native Americans and stuff. So, that's how 45:52 the name Weimar was established. It's not 45:54 named after Weimar, Germany; it's American Weimar there 45:59 in California. - While the guys were doing 46:02 this trip, we had set this up after the week 46:04 of prayer the following weekend at the fall 46:06 week of prayer of 2018. You might ask these young 46:08 ladies what they thought, 'cause we had them go on 46:10 a women's retreat. - And what did y'all do? - Well, 46:14 we had Amanda Anguish (she is a psychologist). 46:19 She came and talked to us about, kind of like, 46:21 relationships and how we should focus on a relationship 46:25 with God right now in our lives. We also had 46:30 a fun thing that we did; we had a tea party! So, 46:34 it was like the girl thing, and the guys went rafting. 46:37 So, it was fun! - That sounds just exactly the 46:42 difference between boys and girls, doesn't it? 46:44 [laughter] - We had a lot of girls that wanted 46:46 to take rafting. [laughter] - That's so wonderful. 46:51 - One thing that's caught my attention and that I 46:54 know here at 3ABN we appreciate so much is 46:57 that we start every day off with prayer. Prayer 46:59 is so important to our lives here at 3ABN, and 47:05 the first thing that you said- "This is the way we start 47:07 our day off; we start our day off with praying"- 47:10 and then, we slip in. Now, we've lost our 47:14 drone! First thing you do is you pray. I know 47:17 that there's many parents out there, that they would love 47:21 to hear that this is a praying school-to hear 47:25 the motto. Do you have a housing there, or is 47:31 this mostly for local- the high school... - It's 47:36 a boarding and a day school. So, we had 77 47:39 students, and I think it's split down the middle; 47:43 about half is boarding and about half is village. We 47:47 can accommodate, probably, I guess 45 students in the 47:50 dorms, and the rest is a lot of people in the 47:53 area, 'cause California- there's a lot of Adventists 47:55 in the area, so there are a lot of people who do 47:56 commute. - Okay, and I want to get one thing in. Our 47:59 time is beginning to run down. I know that when 48:02 you do these choir tours and things, you've got 48:06 a nice bus that you use! Relatively, a new bus- 48:12 newer than many places', and this would be a bus 48:15 that would be good anywhere in the United States except 48:19 California, because California's got some 48:22 very, very tight regulations. So, you're going to be forced 48:28 to sell this bus and purchase a new one in the next year 48:32 or so. - Yes, ours is a diesel bus, and it's a 48:35 Coach, but it will not comply with California 48:38 regulations in the next two years. So, we need 48:41 to sell that one to another state and purchase one 48:43 that will abide by California regulations. - Okay. And so, 48:47 there's going to be some kind of a fundraising effort 48:50 for that, I'm assuming, 'cause what is that- 48:53 about another 60,000 chunk of change? - It's 48:56 about $60,000, depending on, also, what we could 48:59 sell our old bus for. - Sure. - But that's probably about 49:03 a fair number. - Okay. Well, I know that we 49:06 want to give the opportunity. if you want to get in touch 49:11 with Weimar Institute, you can call them or 49:15 email them or, you know, maybe the Lord is impressing 49:19 you that "This is where I'd like to send my child," 49:23 or maybe YOU are a youth who's watching and saying, 49:26 "Hey, I wanna go to school here," because it is such 49:29 a great place. Or, perhaps the Lord is impressing you 49:33 that maybe that you'd like to make a donation to 49:37 this bus fund, here's how you can get in touch with 49:40 them. - If you would like to find out more about 49:44 Weimar Academy, their evangelistic emphasis, 49:47 excellent academics, health education, and 49:50 practical training, just visit their website: 49:53 WeimarAcademy.org. You'll find all sorts of 49:56 information, including blogs from their mission trips, 49:59 how to apply for school, and many ways to support 50:02 them. That website, again, is WeimarAcademy.org. 50:07 You may also call them at area code (530) 422-7947, 50:13 or write to them at Weimar Academy, Post Office Box 50:16 486, Weimar, California 95736. |
Revised 2019-07-01