3ABN Today

Panama City Mission Trip

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

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Series Code: TDY

Program Code: TDY190030A


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
00:24 Lord, let my words
00:30 Heal a heart that hurts
00:34 I want to spend my life
00:40 Mending broken people
00:46 I want to spend my life
00:51 Mending broken people
01:10 Hello, friends. Welcome to 3ABN Today.
01:12 My name is John Lomacang,
01:14 and I have my navigator with me today.
01:17 We're so happy to be here.
01:18 My name is Angela Lomacang,
01:20 and I welcome you also to this program.
01:21 That's right.
01:23 And we have an exciting program, honey.
01:24 Yes, I am so excited, and it's someone I have known,
01:27 actually we have known.
01:29 Okay.
01:30 We fellowshipped with them.
01:32 So we'll tell you a little bit more about them
01:34 in a few minutes.
01:35 And our program today is about...
01:37 It's about missions,
01:38 Uchee Pines Mission in Panama City, Florida.
01:42 That's right, and we're gonna also talk about Uchee Pines.
01:45 So if you've not heard about them before,
01:48 you need to find out what they have to offer
01:50 and why we are excited about the program.
01:53 But thank you for your prayers
01:54 and all your support whether it's by prayer or financial.
01:57 Yes.
01:58 Or whether you come here to volunteer,
02:00 we do appreciate all that you do for this network
02:03 on behalf of our president, Danny Shelton,
02:05 and his vision has continued to go for many years,
02:08 and Lord is blessing tremendously.
02:10 So we thank you for all that you do for the cause of Christ.
02:13 Now, honey, before we go into the program,
02:16 we have some music.
02:17 Tell us about who we have today.
02:19 Yes, we have a song by Martha Jhoana De Luna
02:24 and it's entitled "This is My Father's World."
05:00 Thank you so much for that wonderful song,
05:02 "This is My Father's World."
05:04 Oh, let's talk about harps, how they're so large.
05:05 Beautiful.
05:07 You have to have at least a van to carry one.
05:08 Yeah, keep your hands moving.
05:09 And it's a great ministry.
05:11 That's right. Yes.
05:13 And the wonderful thing, it's associated with heaven.
05:14 Oh, yeah.
05:16 Revelation talks about harps.
05:17 And David played a harp.
05:18 David played a harp.
05:20 And I think the song though,
05:21 "This is My Father's World," is a wonderful segue
05:24 to what our guest was involved in.
05:28 They're from Uchee Pines,
05:30 but they also had opportunity to be involved in mission
05:33 during a disastrous time in our "Father's world."
05:37 So let's go ahead and welcome our guests
05:39 and find out who they are today.
05:40 To my immediate right is Amy, Amy Pershin.
05:43 Good to have you here today.
05:44 Thank you. It's good to be here.
05:46 Yeah, it's good to have you back.
05:47 Yes.
05:48 And you have been here before my wife knows you.
05:51 I think you've...
05:52 Yeah, when we went to a matter of fact,...
05:55 she did a Crossroads program with me on radio.
05:56 That's what I was thinking of.
05:58 Gave her testimony, it was beautiful,
05:59 how she became an Adventist, a Christian.
06:02 And when we visited Uchee Pines,
06:05 we went to their home for dinner, for lunch,
06:09 and they have a beautiful daughter,
06:10 and we had a wonderful time.
06:12 Yes, it was a blessing.
06:13 So now that we know she's married,
06:15 I have to introduce her husband.
06:16 So, Andre, good to have you here.
06:17 Thank you.
06:19 It's my pleasure to be here,
06:21 first time in 3ABN.
06:22 And just enjoying this lovely atmosphere here,
06:27 and just look forward
06:29 to get to know more firsthand experience, yeah.
06:34 Now what do you do at Uchee Pines?
06:36 Well, I was involved in several ministries
06:39 or several departments there.
06:41 I worked for some time
06:42 at Country Life Store as a counselor,
06:44 and worked also as a personal assistant
06:48 of Dr. Agatha Thrash, in fact, for a year
06:51 before she stepped down.
06:52 It was a wonderful year of learning.
06:54 And also I went to couple of trainings,
06:57 and this was in Uchee Pines,
07:01 and also in Wildwood learning about natural health.
07:04 At the moment, I also work in a media department,
07:08 So I'm kind of combining some teaching of health classes
07:12 with work in the media department.
07:15 We had some training with OCI.
07:17 Okay.
07:18 The people, crew, came to us, they gave us some training.
07:21 And I am enjoying both.
07:23 It's sort of kind of versatility.
07:25 Yeah, Wildwood, Uchee Pines,
07:27 and Outpost Centers International also.
07:29 And where's your accent from?
07:31 Well, it's Russian and I tried to work on my accent reduction,
07:35 but I'm still...
07:36 No, no, it's beautiful.
07:38 You see, these muscles, once they're fixed,
07:39 it's up to 70,
07:42 It's really hard though...
07:44 Well, that's okay.
07:45 It's your identity. Exactly.
07:46 Praise the Lord for that. Amen.
07:48 My wife was English, is English.
07:50 You were born in England, but came to New York early.
07:54 I used to have a British accent long time ago.
07:57 But she used to be called belated...
07:59 now she's American, but good to have you here.
08:01 And to your right is Bo Burwell.
08:04 Elder Bo.
08:05 Elder Bo Burwell, good to have you here.
08:08 Thank you, sir.
08:09 Glad to be here.
08:10 And tell us, in a nutshell, what do you do
08:12 and your association with Uchee Pines?
08:14 Well, I'm the first elder of the church
08:16 at Panama City
08:18 where we recently had the...
08:21 I guess you could say the unfortunate
08:26 visit by Michael the hurricane.
08:29 And as we've talked before,
08:32 God does send His angels out everywhere
08:35 to help those in need.
08:36 And He sent these angels to Panama City to help us.
08:40 That's right.
08:41 And that's gonna be of the focal point
08:42 of our program today.
08:44 But for somebody who's watching
08:45 or listening to the program
08:47 'cause they're maybe in their car
08:48 driving and listening or at work somehow,
08:51 but tell us what is Uchee Pines.
08:53 Which one of you would like to start into that?
08:57 Uchee Pines is a health educator center
09:01 and also a health restorer
09:03 with God's divine intervention
09:07 lifestyle center.
09:09 So they take the guest every two and a half weeks
09:14 and treat them with the natural remedies,
09:17 heart disease, cancer, diabetes.
09:19 And then there's the medical missionary program
09:22 where the students come and learn
09:24 this modality of health and healing.
09:29 It's a wonderful place,
09:30 many miracles happened there.
09:33 We're also building a church.
09:35 Praise the Lord.
09:36 Maranatha came,
09:37 and so we are eager to see that completed.
09:41 And we were down at Uchee Pines,
09:43 we did some walking when we went there.
09:44 Yeah, we did. It was beautiful.
09:45 And we also have a radio affiliate there, 3ABN.
09:48 Yes, that's right.
09:50 Yeah, out there at Uchee Pines.
09:52 Yes, making a very wonderful impact.
09:54 Yes.
09:55 Praise the Lord.
09:57 And the former Dr. Agatha Thrash,
09:59 who was here and very much involved in 3ABN,
10:04 she was a staple at that ministry for many years.
10:06 Yes.
10:08 And she's now resting in Jesus.
10:09 Yes, yes.
10:10 Wow!
10:12 And so now this is an interesting program
10:14 because we know that we live in the...
10:18 Uchee Pines is located in the part of the nation
10:21 where any given time of the year,
10:25 some strange weather anomalies could occur.
10:27 Yes.
10:28 Let's talk about that.
10:30 One of those events
10:32 catapulted you all into a different mode
10:36 rather than having people come to you,
10:38 you went out to the community.
10:41 Let's talk about that because you have some pictures
10:43 and a wonderful video to show.
10:45 That kind of highlights
10:46 what the Lord allowed you to do.
10:48 Just dive into that story, and what happened?
10:50 Yes, so Hurricane Michael hit Panama City,
10:55 Florida on October 10, I believe.
10:58 And when we see this kind of thing happening,
11:03 there's the burden to go.
11:05 There's the burden to see the people,
11:07 to meet them,
11:09 to sympathize with them, to cry with them,
11:11 to pray with them, and so we organized a trip.
11:16 And we went there, about 10 of us.
11:18 In Uchee Pines, the people are very busy.
11:20 And so it's not easy for them to take the time off,
11:23 but they do.
11:24 And the leadership at Uchee Pines
11:26 is very generous to allow them to do that,
11:28 so we can go on a mission trip.
11:29 And there were about 10 of us, including some students.
11:31 So it was during the Christmas break,
11:33 so the students can go.
11:35 And we went, and we camped in someone's yard
11:37 because there's really nowhere to stay.
11:39 So many homes were damaged.
11:41 And even if there is a home
11:43 that didn't sustain as much damage,
11:46 it's filled with family members whose homes are ruined.
11:50 So we went there with chainsaws,
11:53 and our hands, ready to help, and some tools,
11:56 and we were able to help the people.
11:58 Pastor Jay Rosario,
11:59 which I know you're familiar with.
12:01 Yes.
12:02 We worked with him and his church down there.
12:03 And so he gave us a list of people
12:05 that we could call
12:06 and say, "We're here to help."
12:08 And that's what we did.
12:09 And we have a video to show that as well.
12:11 And it was a blessing.
12:13 Wow.
12:14 So that video as they're getting it ready,
12:17 when you think about the time of year that it occurred,
12:21 lot of people wouldn't think
12:23 that a hurricane would occur that late in the year.
12:26 But how far are you from the Gulf Coast?
12:29 How far is Uchee Pines from the Gulf Coast?
12:32 That area, we're about three and a half hours,
12:35 I would say about four hours 'cause you go
12:37 30 minutes further to Mexico Beach
12:40 where the eye of the storm hit,
12:41 which we also were able to tour and see the damage,
12:44 and it's just incredible.
12:47 You realize the times that we're in.
12:50 We really are close to the end
12:52 for that much destruction to happen.
12:53 Yeah.
12:55 And we were talking earlier about disaster
12:58 as we get closer to the end of time,
12:59 more and more disasters are happening today.
13:02 Yes.
13:03 Brother Bo, we were talking about that also,
13:06 and he's the first elder there.
13:08 It's apparent to me that,
13:13 as I was saying, God is in control.
13:15 Yes. That's right.
13:16 There was a reason why that storm came in
13:18 where it came in.
13:20 There's a reason why He sent certain angels to our area,
13:24 to help those folks.
13:27 Anyone who was in that storm was affected,
13:30 whether their house was destroyed or not,
13:33 they were affected mentally.
13:34 They needed counseling.
13:37 God takes us all down to the same level.
13:41 As I told the story earlier,
13:43 I saw people coming by our church, which...
13:47 There was a huge FEMA operation was set up there.
13:50 Several Adventist groups were in there.
13:53 We had people sleeping in the library,
13:56 all over the church.
13:57 We had the National Guard folks sleeping there.
14:01 Our church was turned into a center,
14:05 which it should be.
14:06 Yes. It should be.
14:08 Amen. Absolutely.
14:09 People should be coming to that church.
14:10 That's right.
14:12 And I was watching one day,
14:15 and I just saw a BMW drive through the line
14:19 to pick up food, water supplies.
14:23 And the BMW which is one of the better driving vehicles
14:28 on the road today,
14:30 and usually the people driving them
14:32 are very proud people.
14:35 It was followed by a bicycle.
14:38 But both of these people were at the same level.
14:41 They both needed bread and water.
14:42 That's right.
14:43 Wow.
14:45 People, all of us need bread and water
14:46 that comes from that church,
14:48 that bread of life and that water.
14:50 That's interesting.
14:52 That's a very good comparison. Yeah.
14:53 Because disaster doesn't really care
14:55 about your station in life,
14:56 it doesn't care how much you have,
14:57 what you don't have.
14:59 And so the person with a bicycle
15:00 or the person with a BMW,
15:02 that's a quite an amazing picture
15:06 because normally in normal circumstances,
15:09 those are the things that are often provided,
15:12 easily accessible.
15:13 But now when disaster comes,
15:15 the needs are the same
15:17 regardless of who the individual is.
15:19 About how many people did you guys have access
15:21 to when you were involved in the relief effort?
15:26 Yeah.
15:27 So what comes to the Panama City
15:30 when we arrived, we got at least,
15:33 from the pastoral people that potentially need help.
15:36 And so when I started calling them,
15:38 one of the first responders was a lady
15:40 that you will see on the video.
15:43 Elderly woman that was baptized about six months before,
15:48 was akin, and she said that, "My ramp is damaged,"
15:52 she can't go through stairs.
15:55 So she gets these ramps.
15:57 And a lot of trees on her property
15:59 and a lot of debris.
16:01 So we set it as a priority and we worked almost all day
16:06 cleaning just her territory.
16:08 And then there was another man, and there was another man,
16:12 and they all have a lot in common.
16:14 They were helpless pretty much
16:17 in facing the amount of damage
16:20 and just distraction that was.
16:23 And what's interesting,
16:24 actually, the city is offering help
16:25 but it's at a cost.
16:27 Like one of them said,
16:29 they were going to charge around $8,000
16:31 for cleaning the territory.
16:33 I mean, once the debris are taken
16:36 and lined up along the road,
16:38 then the city comes and takes it,
16:40 but it takes a lot of effort
16:42 to move those debris
16:44 from your yard to the roadside.
16:48 And that was our work along with the repairs.
16:52 So we came, you know, we fixed that ramp,
16:55 and we took the debris out.
17:00 I was fixing the roof of another gentleman,
17:03 preparing for covering with the metal sheeting,
17:06 and I'll have to put the plywood boards.
17:09 Yeah.
17:10 So I had to remove the old plywood boards
17:12 and put the new plywood boards
17:14 to be covered later
17:15 with a more sturdy covering,
17:18 which is not shingles, but...
17:20 The metal sheets
17:23 and it's amazing to see the transformation.
17:26 It seems like there will be very little shingles
17:28 left in that area
17:30 because people switch to maybe less appealing
17:34 but way more secure and safe, the metal roofs.
17:39 So yeah.
17:41 And what areas?
17:42 I noticed in Alabama, what areas were you in?
17:47 Yes, in Alabama, on March 8,
17:50 we had the deadliest tornado to come through Beauregard,
17:55 and President Trump came.
17:57 Twenty-three people were killed,
17:59 and I believe it was about six to eight people in one family.
18:02 And it happened also in Smiths Station,
18:05 and Opelika,
18:07 and that's only about 45 minutes away from us.
18:10 And so when we heard about that,
18:13 we said we have to go,
18:15 we have to somehow be able to help.
18:18 We want people to know that
18:20 we are willing to help them in this kind of way too.
18:24 A lot of the community, they don't really,
18:27 maybe not know what Uchee Pines is,
18:29 so this is a wonderful way to go and help them
18:31 and to let them know who we are.
18:33 So when we went
18:34 to the government-setup disaster relief site
18:36 at the Baptist Church in auditorium,
18:40 many different people came from all over to volunteer.
18:44 It was a large community,
18:46 people were taking the time off of their work
18:49 so they can come together.
18:50 And it was wonderful to be a part of that.
18:52 I had never experienced it.
18:54 You know, people of all walks of faith,
18:56 just willing to come together.
18:57 One woman who was volunteering said,
18:59 "It made me It restored my faith and humanity again."
19:01 Wow.
19:03 Because people are coming from Virginia, Colorado,
19:06 just dropping everything to come and help.
19:09 And so it's a wonderful way to mingle
19:11 'cause that's the method, Christ method alone.
19:13 We need to mingle with the people,
19:15 show them our love, our compassion.
19:16 That's right.
19:18 And so that's what we were able to do.
19:19 Wow.
19:20 Were you able to give out literature?
19:22 Yes, that's the beautiful thing.
19:24 We had a large donation of Great Controversy's,
19:27 and Desire of Ages, and Bibles.
19:29 And the man that donated said,
19:30 "I want you to give these out in sets.
19:33 Don't separate them."
19:34 And so the opportunity came
19:37 with the tornadoes that hit.
19:39 And so we brought these with us.
19:42 And that's what's so beautiful is
19:44 when something like this happens,
19:46 that people are so willing to receive the literature.
19:49 So we were able to give out
19:51 hundreds of copies, sets
19:54 to other volunteers,
19:56 to the victims, and to the police officers.
20:00 There's a picture that you'll see of me
20:02 with the police officers.
20:04 And one said, "Thank you for this.
20:07 This is exactly what we need at this time right now."
20:10 Yeah. Is that it?
20:12 Yes. Yes.
20:13 That's there in Smiths Station when we went to help.
20:16 Is that Alabama or...
20:17 Yes, that's Alabama.
20:18 Yes.
20:20 And... Beautiful.
20:21 And it's amazing.
20:23 You're giving it to a police officer.
20:24 Yes, I know.
20:25 I just...
20:27 There's a lot of times they'll say,
20:28 "Oh, we don't want that."
20:29 But, you know, when disaster comes,
20:31 it changes a lot of people's perspective
20:32 because it shows us...
20:34 I think Bo was alluding to that.
20:36 It shows us how frail we are, you know?
20:39 We have had people come to our church
20:42 just for literature.
20:45 They probably had needs of other things.
20:47 The community services continue to function
20:50 since the larger operations have moved out.
20:54 But we have had people
20:56 who have just come asking for literature,
20:58 for a Bible,
21:00 which is a heartwarming situation to have.
21:05 Yeah, and we currently are able
21:09 to rent our facility to a Presbyterian Church,
21:14 first Presbyterian at Panama City,
21:16 they meet down Sunday mornings.
21:19 And we have something going on in our church
21:21 seven days a week.
21:23 You don't invite people
21:25 to know more about God by locking the doors.
21:28 Yeah.
21:29 That's a very good thing. You keep them open.
21:30 But you also said in that church
21:32 what you told us before we went on the set,
21:35 you have Great Controversy's and...
21:38 Tell us about that.
21:39 We have a lot of reading material out there
21:41 that is available,
21:44 that are being taken and I'm sure read
21:47 because it's just a wonderful opportunity
21:52 to share with other folks who...
21:54 And I don't know much about
22:00 their particular theology,
22:04 but I'm sure that some of our literature
22:07 can certainly help them.
22:09 That's wonderful.
22:10 When you're in the building,
22:12 you can't help but have access to what's in the building.
22:13 Oh, yes, yes.
22:14 That's the reality of it.
22:16 And we had wonderful people, wonderful...
22:19 We've built a great relationship with them,
22:22 and it's just nice
22:25 because we can be a lighthouse in the eye of the storm,
22:29 so to speak.
22:31 We can offer...
22:32 Now you alluded to, a moment ago, a video.
22:33 I want to just go to that video right now
22:35 and look at some of the video.
22:37 Very interesting.
22:39 Listen to it and afterwards,
22:41 we'll comment a little bit more
22:42 about what you see on the video.
22:43 This is in Panama City, this video.
22:45 Panama City.
23:20 I would just like to thank Uchee Pines for...
23:23 I saw some television,
23:25 shows about the things that were done on 3ABN.
23:28 And that name just stuck,
23:29 and then when you guys showed up here,
23:31 and constantly continuously started working,
23:34 barely stop for lunch, don't ask for anything at all,
23:38 bring, you know, tools, and water, and everything.
23:41 It's shocking and then the progress
23:43 that you've made,
23:44 not just picking and cutting trees,
23:46 but actually raking leaves to picking everything up.
23:49 I'm just very thankful.
23:50 You could never hope
23:53 to have people come in and help you like this.
23:55 Everybody is working so hard.
23:57 And all have a smile on their face,
24:00 and that's a blessing in itself.
24:04 A lot of hard workers and skilled workers.
24:06 And I got to meet a lot of new people and it's a blessing.
24:11 And it's been a pleasure.
24:13 It's been a true pleasure.
24:24 Thank you so much. Yeah.
24:25 Wasn't that wonderful? Yes.
24:26 And look at the message in the background.
24:28 I'll be back.
24:29 And you know what? We're coming back.
24:30 We're going again, May 6th to the 12th,
24:32 another mission trip to Panama City.
24:34 What? Oh, you're going back.
24:35 Amen. That's wonderful.
24:38 It's amazing how walls come down.
24:40 We saw a lot of damaged homes, damaged businesses,
24:44 and as you pointed out, it doesn't really matter
24:45 who the person is
24:47 and what their station in life is,
24:48 hurricane just comes through indiscriminately
24:51 and leaves devastation in its path.
24:53 Noticed those homes along the coast?
24:55 That's where everyone wants to live, on the beach.
24:58 Beachfront property.
25:00 Yes.
25:01 And I remember,
25:03 there was a heading of one of the leading news websites
25:08 saying that Panama City is not damaged,
25:14 it's not just there anymore.
25:16 And really when we were driving along the road
25:18 that goes along the coast, the houses just...
25:23 Only see, just maybe poles and some foundation.
25:26 There's no houses there.
25:28 And it just gives an idea
25:30 of what a terrific push of the water
25:33 and wind was there.
25:36 And I mean it's even kind of scary to imagine,
25:41 and to go through something like that was very impressive.
25:45 Now, Brother Bo, where were you at the time
25:48 during this disaster?
25:50 I was at my home with my wife.
25:52 And we rode the storm at home.
25:54 And I'd like to comment on that along the beach part,
25:59 that's Mexico Beach,
26:01 which was just about destroyed.
26:03 If you saw, there were a few homes left standing.
26:05 Oh, yeah.
26:07 Ironically,
26:09 one of the members of our church
26:10 who was instrumental,
26:11 we were trying to plant a church
26:13 just east of that area.
26:17 And the storm has kind of put a damper on that temporarily,
26:23 not forever, but one of our members
26:26 lives in a place called Port St. Joe.
26:29 And some others live there in Mexico Beach.
26:32 And they were trying to establish a church.
26:35 We already had a building and a library,
26:38 and everything had been donated for it.
26:41 And that got put on hold
26:43 because the property got destroyed,
26:45 but there's a wall of water some 20 feet high
26:48 hit that area, and it destroyed.
26:51 He says, the...
26:55 The concrete slabs are left there.
26:59 I know what Andre was saying here a moment ago
27:03 that I couldn't help but grab that.
27:06 Somebody says, "Panama beach wasn't damaged,
27:09 it's just not here anymore."
27:11 And that's just...
27:12 I don't know.
27:14 You know, we live in a world
27:15 where disaster is just a part of the landscape.
27:17 Yeah, even here.
27:18 Here we are in the Midwest and, you know, sometimes,
27:21 people listen on the news.
27:22 They say it right now, you know,
27:23 "Tornado is going through the Midwest."
27:25 And that happens on a cycle.
27:26 Winter, spring, well, less in the winter.
27:29 Yeah, less in the winter.
27:30 But more like, whenever we hear a spring is coming,
27:32 we think, "Oh, hold our breath," right?
27:34 But what happens?
27:36 But, you know, here at 3ABN, I got to give the Lord,
27:39 and as Danny would say, that's a two-hander.
27:41 We've had camp meeting
27:43 with tornadoes on its way to Thompsonville,
27:45 and they would split, go around,
27:48 or they would go up and die out,
27:50 or they would die out before they got here.
27:52 Pastor Mark Finley, I heard number of years ago,
27:54 was preaching during camp meeting,
27:56 and he was on air,
27:59 right after his sermon was done,
28:00 they said,
28:01 "A tornado was on its way to Thompsonville,
28:04 and it split."
28:06 And they showed the satellite imagery of it.
28:09 It split, went around,
28:11 and reconnected, and kept going.
28:14 And so we have...35 years the ministry has been here.
28:17 And praise God,
28:19 He has protected it continuously.
28:20 God has protected it.
28:22 We've had 120-mile an hour winds go through here,
28:25 straight-line winds,
28:26 not a single satellite dish moved.
28:28 Amazing.
28:30 We've had people
28:31 whose homes were on a single wide,
28:33 they were on a single foundation.
28:35 I remember one of our producers,
28:38 years ago, he said,
28:39 he put his hand outside the window
28:40 and felt no wind at all.
28:43 So God really does have a purpose
28:46 when He has the angels of the Lord
28:48 encamped around about those that fear Him.
28:50 And I think you've made that suggestion.
28:52 Oh, yes.
28:53 I think it all happens for a reason.
28:55 And we should always look back that He is in control.
28:58 That's right.
28:59 Yes.
29:01 I can tell you that after that storm,
29:02 which was a violent, violent storm, that,
29:06 I mean, we watched trees in my yard,
29:09 they were close to 100 feet tall
29:11 just broke like matchsticks.
29:15 We watched huge oak trees uprooted
29:17 and moved out of their place.
29:21 And that evening, that afternoon,
29:23 after the storm had passed by,
29:25 the most beautiful sunshine came out.
29:28 And that night,
29:32 although I can sit in my living room
29:34 and look at the stars,
29:36 the most beautiful sky
29:37 because all the artificial lighting,
29:40 all the street lights,
29:41 everything that was taken away,
29:43 and it was pitch black dark,
29:45 and every star in the sky will show.
29:48 Just as after the flood, He put a rainbow in the sky,
29:54 He put stars in our sky that night.
29:56 He's always letting us know that He's there.
29:58 Yes.
30:00 Now am I hearing you correctly, did your roof get taken away?
30:03 I had a 20/20 section of my roof,
30:07 my back porch,
30:09 and living room,
30:12 and my chimney was ripped off.
30:14 That's not my home.
30:15 That's...
30:17 Just an example of what happened there.
30:18 That's an example of the tragedy,
30:21 but I mean, it was all over.
30:22 It was widespread.
30:24 It was everywhere.
30:25 There was not a house, I think, that was unscathed.
30:28 You see those blue tarps everywhere you go,
30:31 waiting to be fixed.
30:33 You're still seeing them
30:34 when we were just there recently,
30:36 you still see the blue tarps.
30:38 And this happened back in October.
30:39 It shows you how long it takes
30:41 because it's such a wide destruction,
30:43 wide amount.
30:45 And so these catastrophes are happening
30:48 so frequently now.
30:49 And so then the big ministries, the government comes in,
30:52 and they can help,
30:54 but then another catastrophe happens right after it,
30:57 and so they have to leave prematurely,
30:59 leaving that city.
31:00 "We still need help."
31:02 "Well, we can't, we have to go to this other catastrophe
31:03 that just happened."
31:05 So there's still so much work to be done in Panama City.
31:08 And it's going to be the same way
31:10 in with the areas close to us.
31:12 So much work.
31:13 So there's opportunity for mission
31:15 to continuously go there.
31:17 And the people are so happy.
31:18 They're so thankful.
31:20 Imagine if it happened to us.
31:21 Exactly.
31:22 You know, how thankful we would be
31:24 if someone came to help us.
31:25 A lady mentioned in the video,
31:27 she said, "I saw, I heard a little bit
31:28 about Uchee Pines on 3ABN."
31:30 That was good.
31:33 Praise good Lord. Yeah.
31:34 But now I see you here working tirelessly,
31:38 hardly taking a break for lunch,
31:40 not asking for anything,
31:42 and now I not only know about what I saw on 3ABN,
31:46 but I could see the blessing of people who are at...
31:50 The phrase that I've heard before
31:51 is disinterested benevolence.
31:53 Not looking for anything in return.
31:55 Yes, exactly.
31:56 That's so much of what ministry is all about.
31:58 We have a few more pictures,
31:59 I'd like to walk through some of those
32:00 and tell us what we're looking at here.
32:02 Yes, these are going to be mainly of our team
32:04 that went to the tornadoes that hit near Uchee Pines.
32:07 So we were able to join up with a group.
32:09 These are retired veterans that have joined a ministry
32:13 that does...
32:15 I don't know if you've heard of the term Christian Help Work
32:17 that Sister White talks about and that Kellogg did?
32:20 Well, it's a wonderful work.
32:23 And we want to copy this at Uchee Pines,
32:25 this modality.
32:27 And so these retired veterans do that.
32:29 So I know them, well, know the leader.
32:32 So we were able to join them.
32:33 That's at the gymnasium, at the Baptist Church.
32:35 And so we're about ready to head out and to help.
32:39 They gave us the job of surveying the damage.
32:42 And there's a...
32:44 Is there a picture of you?
32:45 I don't think there was, but we were able to walk around
32:49 and survey the damage,
32:50 and then meet the other volunteers
32:52 that were out there, and give the literature,
32:55 and also hear stories of survival.
32:59 We were able to knock on the...
33:00 Perfect access to the doors, right?
33:02 You know, with our literature,
33:04 and they were so willing to receive it,
33:07 so willing to receive our prayers.
33:08 They were shedding their tears as they were recalling
33:11 the horrific time
33:13 that they went through it with it.
33:15 They said we've never been through anything like this.
33:17 We don't want to go through it again.
33:20 Yeah.
33:21 You know, the unfortunate thing, honey,
33:22 we know this is that...
33:24 We live in a world where disasters of every kind,
33:28 earthquakes, floods, fires.
33:30 Here in the Midwest, sometimes, we get inundated with rain.
33:34 And it's getting worse,
33:35 it's getting more and more critical.
33:37 And you made a point a moment ago
33:39 that what happens
33:41 when these disasters are happening
33:42 on such a broad basis
33:44 that while I'm dealing with mine here,
33:46 and you're dealing with yours there,
33:47 and we really can't stop
33:49 because we're trying to help ourselves,
33:50 and you need help.
33:51 And we're living in that kind of climate.
33:53 And to have people that have the willingness
33:57 and the spirit to go out.
33:59 I want to ask Andre a question.
34:01 "Did you use the chainsaw when you went?
34:03 Or was that something
34:05 you've left it to the other guys?"
34:07 I'm gonna use it this time.
34:10 But I worked with chainsaw in Uchee Pines.
34:12 Okay.
34:14 So I have experience with it.
34:15 Even around my house...
34:16 Oh, okay.
34:18 Yeah, you have to.
34:19 Where we stay there, right,
34:20 we have trees falling periodically,
34:22 so I need to clear the trail or something like that.
34:26 So I look forward to that.
34:28 And as Amy mentioned,
34:31 you know, it takes, sometimes,
34:34 even no experience.
34:36 You don't have to have a lot of experience
34:37 to come and help people.
34:39 For example, when we came to help those tornado victims,
34:43 you know, I never did surveying
34:46 and estimation of the damage with pinpointing,
34:51 with latitude and longitude, and filling out the chart.
34:55 I know, if you have eyes, you know, you have hands,
34:59 and, you know, you can
35:00 just assess generally the situation,
35:03 there were with our work.
35:04 We've even had children that were useful that,
35:09 you know, we found for them something to do as well.
35:12 So even though...
35:15 Of course, if somebody has knowledge about,
35:17 you know, construction work, building work,
35:20 maybe even some special counseling work,
35:23 that's wonderful.
35:24 But even if you don't know anything
35:26 and you have just a willing heart,
35:28 it's all that is needed.
35:29 I like that.
35:31 And there is plenty of work for people who can just rake.
35:33 Yes.
35:35 And I noticed, even your daughter
35:36 was involved.
35:38 Yes, yes.
35:39 It was beautiful.
35:40 She's my sidekick wherever we go.
35:42 I won't do a mission unless she can go with me.
35:44 Wow, training her up.
35:46 Yes, it's a blessing.
35:48 So she was with us there
35:50 helping with the tornado victims and...
35:52 So you're carrying a branch.
35:53 Yes, yes.
35:55 And she enjoys it.
35:56 I wanted to mention
35:57 that I think it's 1 Corinthians 12:28,
35:59 where Apostle Paul has mentioned
36:01 some that sit in the churches, apostles,
36:03 there's teachers, and prophets, anyone.
36:06 Not everybody is apostle, not everybody is a teacher,
36:09 not everybody is a prophet.
36:11 You know, in a sense,
36:12 we're saying that we are prophets
36:14 because we are messengers of God,
36:15 but...
36:16 And then he mentions just a four-letter word...
36:21 Five-letter word, "Helps."
36:23 That's a gift with everybody's fitted.
36:25 We can all be a helping hand.
36:27 Right, if we have hands and feet, you know,
36:29 we're in a decent health, we can go
36:31 and exercise these gifts.
36:33 Yes.
36:34 So I believe that's where we all fit
36:35 in this ministry of helps.
36:37 Wouldn't it be nice if more people prayed
36:38 for the gift of help?
36:40 Yes.
36:41 You know, people are praying for the gift of tongues,
36:43 which is, you know, an immeasurable thing,
36:46 but pray for the gift help.
36:47 Help. Yes.
36:49 Everybody needs help. Yeah.
36:50 Just to be willing to go.
36:51 I'll tell you, John, we've seen such an outpouring
36:53 of that spirit
36:54 come into Panama City.
36:58 I couldn't tell you the number of academies
37:01 and other organizations from the Adventist Church
37:05 that have poured into our area.
37:07 People come in, they're sleeping on the ground,
37:09 in tents or whatever to help others.
37:12 And giving up themselves is just such a blessing.
37:15 But I think something else that we hit on a while ago
37:20 is the frequency
37:22 that these things are happening.
37:24 And this was alluded to in Matthew 24.
37:27 That's right.
37:29 You know, we know
37:30 that these things are going to happen.
37:31 So this right here can strengthen our faith
37:35 in the prophetic words of Matthew
37:39 and know that these things are happening
37:41 and know that they're going to be more frequent.
37:44 And that can tell us
37:46 also that our Lord is soon to come.
37:47 That's right. Amen.
37:51 Thank you for that really good insight.
37:52 Yes, it's true.
37:54 Because it's true, I mean, these are hard...
37:55 More intense,
37:57 the storms are more intense than ever before.
37:58 Well, they are.
38:00 It's like those birth pains it's mentioned in...
38:03 And we see those things happening more and more.
38:06 As was mentioned here a while ago,
38:07 you've mentioned a flood in one place,
38:09 well, you had a tornado somewhere.
38:12 Now we're going back into hurricane season again.
38:14 There's always a disaster somewhere, a fire.
38:18 And all these things are just happening.
38:20 I think we're seeing, God is pulling
38:22 those protecting hands away
38:25 because of sins of this earth are just,
38:27 they're just too great.
38:28 That's true.
38:30 We have a number of pictures,
38:31 we're gonna walk through some of those.
38:33 Yes.
38:34 Nine pictures or so remaining.
38:35 Tell us what this is here.
38:37 So there we are at the City Hall
38:38 in Smiths Station near Uchee Pines.
38:39 And that is the path of the tornado.
38:41 Two tornadoes went on the same path.
38:44 So these people experienced one tornado after the other,
38:48 not just one, but two.
38:50 Following the same trajectory.
38:51 Yes, exactly.
38:52 So you can imagine.
38:54 And there's Andre,
38:55 those are the books that we had.
38:56 And he was able to give them out
38:58 to the volunteers.
39:00 And this one is a very special story to my heart
39:03 because this was the last house
39:05 on one of the days that we went out.
39:06 And we had the children with us.
39:09 And this man was really concerned about the children.
39:11 And he got somewhat upset and gave a lecture
39:15 about having the children in such a dangerous area.
39:18 And so I had stayed back to talk to Red Cross workers
39:21 because, you know,
39:23 you're just mingling with the people,
39:24 and you're telling them about Uchee Pines.
39:25 So there was many good opportunities.
39:27 So when the children came running back,
39:29 "Oh, go talk to him, Mommy, he's upset."
39:31 I said, "Well, I have to give him books."
39:33 So I went up to the man, very haltingly, you know,
39:37 "Oh, Lord, please help him not to be upset at me."
39:39 And he had his sunglasses on.
39:41 And he's looking at me.
39:42 And I smiled and I said, "Hi.
39:44 You know, I didn't want to leave
39:46 without giving you a gift."
39:47 He said, "Do you remember me?"
39:50 I said, "No."
39:51 And he pulled up his glasses.
39:53 And he said, "Now do you remember me?"
39:55 I still couldn't place him.
39:57 And he said, "Last year,
39:59 when my mother's house was on fire,
40:01 you stopped to offer your help.
40:03 And Samantha was with me."
40:05 I said, "Yes!"
40:06 He says, "I was there."
40:07 I said, "I remember you now."
40:10 That was the day we were going to town,
40:12 and it had just went up in flames.
40:14 The fire engine was not even there yet.
40:16 We passed it.
40:17 I said, "Samantha, should we stop?"
40:19 "Mommy, Mommy, I don't think we should."
40:20 I said, "I feel like we should stop.
40:22 I feel we need to offer something."
40:25 So we did, and the mother was out of town,
40:27 but that man was there, her son, and I said,
40:30 "You know, I told him where we're from.
40:32 I always carry Uchee Pines brochures with me,
40:34 there's always the opportunity.
40:35 And I like to staple GLOW tracts to the back.
40:38 So you don't have to worry about dropping them,
40:40 you just hand a brochure, and the GLOW tract is there.
40:43 And I said,
40:44 "If there's something you think we can help you with,
40:47 please call us."
40:48 And so the mother did call us, and we were able to help her,
40:51 the church, Uchee Pines Church with a donation.
40:54 And she was very thankful.
40:56 And I was thinking
40:57 more would come out of it because like I said,
40:58 we're trying to copy the Christian Help Work,
41:01 which is meeting the people's needs
41:02 wherever they are.
41:04 So I thought maybe
41:05 we would be involved helping to clean up,
41:07 and...
41:08 But nothing ever really came out of it.
41:09 And I even questioned, Lord,
41:11 "I wonder, what was the purpose of that?"
41:14 I feel like really nothing came out of it
41:15 until that day.
41:17 And I met that men
41:18 and I said, "This is amazing."
41:20 Because I hadn't...
41:21 Oh, he called? Yes.
41:22 You have been there at different time of the...
41:24 Yeah. And now I see him again.
41:25 And I had not been able to give him any books,
41:27 just the GLOW tract.
41:29 Now we had the opportunity.
41:30 I prayed with him.
41:31 We had a great conversation, and I gave him the books.
41:33 And I see those books in his hand.
41:35 Yes, exactly.
41:36 And this was wonderful
41:38 because this is at the Baptist Church again.
41:40 And so you see our box of books there,
41:43 the cardboard, we set it down,
41:45 the woman on my left in the gray shirt,
41:49 they're from the church in Opelika,
41:50 the Adventist Church.
41:52 The woman on the right, she's a volunteer.
41:54 And when she saw the book, she picked it up.
41:57 She didn't know that I had brought it
41:58 and she said, "Who brought these books?"
41:59 And I was a little nervous because I wasn't sure.
42:02 And they all pointed at me.
42:03 She said, "We thought of water, we thought of food,
42:06 but nobody thought of this.
42:08 Do you have more?"
42:09 I said, "Yes."
42:10 And it was so wonderful.
42:12 As I'm seeing the volunteers were picking up the books,
42:15 holding them to their chest, walking to their car,
42:17 looking at me with a smile.
42:19 I was like, "Oh, praise the Lord."
42:20 I thank you for this. Yes.
42:21 Because when the food is gone...
42:23 Yeah, then the books are still there.
42:24 So it was wonderful.
42:26 Yes.
42:27 And this is a group of us on Sabbath
42:29 from the Uchee Pines Church, we were able to go...
42:33 This is at the City Hall in Smiths Station.
42:35 And, you know, we can't do the work
42:38 of clearing on Sabbath,
42:39 but they had a special assignment
42:41 we could do.
42:42 They gave us flyers
42:44 to go to the people
42:45 on the tornado path, door to door,
42:47 telling them about an upcoming FEMA meeting
42:50 where they could have their questions answered.
42:52 So again, access to the people.
42:53 This is when we got to hear miraculous stories of survival.
42:57 We got to hear them.
42:59 And we got to pray with them, and cry with them,
43:01 and give them the literature.
43:02 Do you remember any of those stories?
43:04 Yes, one, she's there.
43:06 I was praying with her.
43:07 That's a selfie of me and my partner.
43:10 That's one...
43:11 Actually, across the street from her,
43:13 the house had to be completely taken away.
43:15 It was 90...
43:18 No, a woman in her 100s
43:20 was in the house across the street
43:22 from her and survived.
43:23 Wow.
43:25 Yes, it's incredible, amazing.
43:27 But there's another woman.
43:29 It's the one right before the cross,
43:31 the wooden cross.
43:34 She was in a brick house,
43:36 and she said that the tornado went right over her,
43:39 and it felt like an agitator going like this.
43:41 And so there's...
43:47 The uncle lives on the property in a mobile home.
43:50 And that mobile home was completely demolished,
43:52 but he happened not to be there that day.
43:55 And so if he had been there,
43:57 I don't think he would have survived.
43:58 And so that was the first tornado
44:00 that went over her.
44:01 And when that did,
44:03 they ran to check on her mother
44:04 that lived in another mobile home.
44:06 And the tornado was so strong,
44:08 it completely licked up all the water out of her pool.
44:10 So we got to see...
44:11 it was completely empty.
44:13 And so they went running to the mother,
44:15 the mother was fine,
44:16 but then they got the notification
44:18 that another tornado was coming.
44:20 But the husband didn't know, he had already gone outside,
44:23 ran back to the house.
44:24 But right as he ran back into the house,
44:26 closed the door, that's when the second tornado came.
44:28 Yeah. So...
44:29 Is he okay?
44:31 Yes, that's what...
44:32 Everybody was fine.
44:33 She was crying as she's telling this.
44:35 The man next door to her, there's another picture of us
44:38 with a man in a mobile home.
44:41 This man right here.
44:42 Right next door to him, there was a mobile home
44:44 that was completely demolished and nobody was living there.
44:47 But he was hovering
44:49 over his mother in her 90s
44:51 to protect her thinking...
44:52 And they couldn't go to the closet
44:54 because the mother is handicapped.
44:56 And so he just was there, helpless, hovering over.
44:59 He's telling me and he has tears.
45:01 When we prayed with him,
45:03 I heard and saw the tears dripping from his eyes
45:06 onto his new porch.
45:07 It's the only thing he needed was a new porch.
45:09 Otherwise, he was protected.
45:10 And those two tornadoes went over his mobile home.
45:13 Wow.
45:14 Yeah.
45:16 Lord preserves.
45:17 Yes.
45:18 And was this the couple?
45:20 His mother was in 90s,
45:21 and there was another lady in her 100s.
45:22 In her 100s.
45:24 Wow, wow. Yes.
45:25 The house needs to be completely demolished,
45:27 but somehow the Lord was able to preserve her
45:30 in whatever was left in that house.
45:32 Have any of the people further asked,
45:35 "Well, what else can Uchee Pines do for me?"
45:39 And has it opened doors for some of these people
45:41 to even look into Uchee Pines?
45:43 It does because they're very happy
45:45 to learn what it's about.
45:47 They're very interested.
45:48 And many of them know about Country Life.
45:50 Oh, we've eaten there, we've gone there to shop,
45:52 we didn't know that it had a lifestyle center.
45:55 They're very interested to learn more
45:58 and to go on the website.
45:59 And we have a seminar once a year
46:01 so that they can come.
46:02 Oh, God. Yes.
46:04 I wanted to mention that when we were working in,
46:07 you know, assessing the damage
46:08 and working with other volunteers,
46:11 providentially,
46:12 I just ran into a man from that group,
46:15 who just the day before,
46:17 was at Country Life
46:19 Vegetarian Store and the Restaurant
46:22 that we operate in Columbus, Georgia,
46:25 which actually is part of Uchee Pines' operation,
46:28 who received health counseling there.
46:31 We have lifestyle counselors there
46:32 that give very nice, very good,
46:35 in fact, it's like a miniature hospital
46:37 where people have like a family practice,
46:40 you may say, because people come
46:41 with all kinds of diseases.
46:43 I worked there for six years and that's how I felt.
46:46 You know, you feel like a family doctor
46:47 because this is like our big family,
46:50 you know, extended family.
46:51 And he was there and he received his counseling.
46:55 And now we're working side by side,
46:57 and he is realizing
46:58 that we are from the same organization.
47:01 And so we had a wonderful talk with him.
47:03 I was able to reinforce certain things
47:05 that he had just heard.
47:07 And so amazing how God works.
47:09 Providentially, we come to help, like that man,
47:11 he came to help, but he got the help.
47:14 Wow. We were put on the same thing.
47:15 Coming to the witness of the man that
47:18 Amy spoke of earlier
47:21 that she had shown up at his house
47:23 the second time in a year,
47:25 the first time met in a fire to mother's house.
47:28 You think of the impression and I bet Uchee Pines,
47:32 that word will never leave...
47:35 The organization will never go out of his mind again.
47:36 That's right.
47:37 That's true.
47:39 And how many people has he told that story to?
47:41 Oh, and the Bible, when I gave him the Bible,
47:44 he said, "I just gave my Bible away yesterday
47:47 to a nine-year-old girl, she didn't have one."
47:49 And I said, "Well, I'll just give it to you."
47:50 "And now I'm getting it back.
47:52 This is amazing."
47:53 Look at that. Yeah.
47:54 That's a great opportunity to reach people
47:56 because they are more receptive during that time.
47:57 Exactly.
47:59 They need something and that comfort of mind,
48:01 I think, of just there's no televisions and stuff,
48:05 when the electric power's out and so forth,
48:08 to read the Bible, to read any literature
48:11 that we give out,
48:13 I think it has a more beneficial
48:15 than what we realize.
48:17 How many more people now
48:18 you know as a result of disaster
48:21 that you did not know before?
48:23 And I mean you don't count it, but we're just saying,
48:26 the Lord allows these moments
48:28 to rekindle a fire in other people
48:30 that otherwise would not have been.
48:31 Yes.
48:32 And the books in the homes,
48:34 you'll never know the impact of those seeds,
48:36 all those Bibles.
48:37 Even the mayor of Smith's Station received
48:39 the books when we went there.
48:40 Even the mayor?
48:41 So puts us in great contact with the city leaders.
48:44 So if you were ever able to go to those cities
48:47 that you went to help and said,
48:50 "Uchee Pines wants to do an outreach this weekend."
48:53 They would be more willing.
48:54 Can you imagine what kind of impact that would be?
48:56 And that's our goal.
48:58 That's what we're trying to do.
48:59 We're trying to do more of the Christian Help Work
49:02 because then it will cause them to want to come
49:05 if we are having a program, especially at our church.
49:07 Our church is not only going to be a church
49:09 but a community center.
49:10 Wow.
49:11 We have a large fellowship hall that we want to do programs,
49:15 but we have to lay the groundwork.
49:16 We have to show the people
49:18 we love them, we care about them,
49:19 and that we want to help them in whatever way they need it.
49:24 That will cause them to want to come.
49:26 Yeah.
49:27 And you've already started laying the groundwork.
49:29 Yeah, 3ABN Radio's there.
49:30 Yes.
49:32 Pastor Rosario has reached out
49:36 to all the small towns
49:39 that go around our church there.
49:42 He has invited the mayors, the police chief,
49:48 all the people who work
49:49 in emergency services staff to our church.
49:51 And we've had a recognition day for two of the cities now.
49:56 And he's building quite a friendship
50:00 in the neighborhood if you would.
50:02 And so I'm sure that through them,
50:05 they also know exactly where we are.
50:09 These people have all said they've never been treated
50:13 the way that we've treated them when they came to our church.
50:16 And we've got some good cooks there too as you can see.
50:21 One of the benefits.
50:23 I think there's...
50:25 We need to take every opportunity
50:29 that's available to us
50:32 to tell others about
50:34 what service do we have in our church,
50:36 to try to reach out to others.
50:39 As we spoke of earlier in Matthew,
50:43 he didn't tell us...
50:44 The first thing we were to do is to go.
50:46 Right.
50:48 We are to take that message
50:49 out there to the world whoever...
50:51 It starts right there at home too.
50:53 Amen.
50:55 And that's why, you know, those who are watching
50:56 and listening to the program,
50:58 they need to find out more about Uchee Pines
50:59 and how to get in touch with you
51:01 because this not only is Uchee Pines
51:04 taking on that ministry,
51:06 that new ministry of going out,
51:08 but also they had a lot to offer.
51:09 And our guests here today would like to let you know.
51:14 So here is the information that you need to get in touch
51:17 with Uchee Pines
51:19 and find out more about their missions,
51:20 their health programs, their lifestyle center,
51:23 and what their ministry can do,
51:25 and how it could impact your life.
51:30 If you would like to help the Uchee Pines
51:32 Seventh-day Adventist Church in their outreach to families
51:35 who have suffered through a disaster,
51:37 they'd love to hear from you.
51:39 Find out how you can take part in their efforts
51:41 by calling 877-824-3374.
51:45 You may also donate online through their website
51:48 UcheePinesAL. AdventistChurch.org.
51:53 If you would like to write to them,
51:54 their address is Uchee Pines, Seventh-day Adventist Church,
51:57 30 Uchee Pines Road, Lot 30, Seale, Alabama, 36875.


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Revised 2019-06-20