Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY190062A
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00:02 I want to spend my life
00:08 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:19 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 01:09 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn. 01:11 I'm JD Quinn. 01:12 And we are so glad that you are joining us today. 01:15 Amen. 01:16 We have two precious souls with us today. 01:18 Women who walk by faith 01:20 and, boy, are dedicated and sold out to the Lord. 01:24 We want to thank you 01:26 for your prayers, and your love, 01:27 and your financial support of 3ABN. 01:30 And, you know, I was telling someone earlier, 01:32 there are times when 3ABN is wondering, 01:36 has wondered how we're gonna meet our bills, 01:40 but I believe that one of the reasons that 3ABN 01:43 has had God's blessing on it for so long 01:46 is because we're always showcasing other ministries. 01:50 Amen. 01:51 And we just trust God. 01:53 So we want to thank you for your support of 3ABN 01:58 and the ministries that we showcase. 02:00 Before we introduce our guest, 02:03 let me share a scripture with you. 02:05 This is from Matthew 25:35, 02:08 and Jesus is talking and He's told a story 02:13 and He's talking about the king returning 02:16 and at His right hand, He'll say," 02:18 Come you blessed of My Father 02:21 and inherit the kingdom that He has founded." 02:26 And then he says in verse 35, 02:29 "For I was hungry and you gave Me food, 02:32 I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, 02:35 I was a stranger and you took Me in." 02:39 And they're saying, "When Lord? 02:42 When did these things happen?" 02:44 And he said, 02:45 "Whatever you've done to the least of these, 02:47 you've done to Me." 02:49 So let me introduce our special guest. 02:52 First, we have Jasmin Jacob 02:55 and Jasmin is the president of REACH International. 03:00 What does REACH stand for, Jasmin? 03:03 REACH stands for 03:04 Render Effective Aid to Children. 03:08 Render Effective Aid To Children. 03:11 We're gonna hear your story and it's so exciting, 03:14 and then we have Lois Prest with us. 03:17 And, Lois, you are a volunteer actually, 03:21 as president, you are a volunteer 03:23 for REACH International, Jasmin, 03:25 but, Lois, you are a volunteer 03:28 and the director of the Tanzania Project? 03:30 Correct? Yes, that's correct. 03:32 Well, we want to thank you. 03:34 We can't wait to hear their personal stories 03:38 and how God is using them in such magnificent way. 03:43 But first, Honey, everybody likes music. 03:46 Amen. 03:47 And we're blessed with Paulo Torres. 03:50 He's going to be playing on his violin, 03:53 "The love of God." 03:54 Amen. 09:09 That was incredible. 09:10 Amen. 09:12 Well, you talk about talent. Thank you, Jesus. 09:14 And that he uses it for the Lord. 09:16 Thank you, Jesus. 09:18 Well, if you're joining us just a moment late, 09:20 our special guests are Jasmin Jacob and Lois Prest 09:24 and they are with REACH International. 09:26 But before we get into the amazing work 09:31 that you ladies have volunteered 09:33 and, Jasmin, you've given your life 09:35 to this as a volunteer really, 09:38 a better portion of your life, 09:40 tell me about growing up. 09:43 Tell us did you grow up in a Christian home? 09:46 I grew up in Sri Lanka. 09:48 My father was one of the early pastors 09:52 because at that time the church just started there. 09:56 But he died in a traffic accident 10:00 when I was four, so I don't remember him. 10:03 We had four children. 10:04 The youngest was born the day he died. 10:07 And so mother had four children to raise. 10:09 Bless your mama's heart. 10:11 So, did your mother ever remarried? 10:13 No, she never remarried. 10:14 She took care of us. 10:16 She sent us to the Adventist school. 10:19 The church and my mother raised us. 10:22 How precious. 10:24 But now, she had to be a woman of great faith 10:27 because you didn't have money, did you? 10:30 No. 10:31 She was a woman of faith 10:32 and we had to exercise our faith 10:35 even as children. 10:37 Because now we know 10:38 because of the emotional trauma, 10:41 she used to get chest pains. 10:43 And we thought she had heart problems. 10:45 And when she get chest pains, all of us would pray. 10:48 We don't know what else to do for her. 10:51 We prayed and she would tell us to boil some garlic. 10:55 We could do that. Yeah. 10:57 And give her the water and she'll get well. 11:00 Now you also told me though 11:02 that if you needed a pair of shoes 11:04 or whatever you need it, you prayed for. 11:06 I prayed for the pair of shoes one time with four buckles. 11:12 Because my friend who's from America, 11:14 missionary's child and I were very close friends. 11:18 She had a pair of shoes with four buckles. 11:21 I prayed for one. 11:22 I not only got the pair of shoes, 11:28 I got a dress to match. 11:29 Oh, praise the Lord. 11:30 So you've learned to walk by faith early on. 11:34 How about you Lois? 11:35 Did you grow up in a Christian home? 11:37 Yes, both my parents and my grandparents. 11:41 Yes, both are Christian homes, morning and evening worships. 11:45 Praise the Lord. 11:46 So you grew up 11:48 in a Seventh-day Adventist Christian home, right? 11:49 Oh, yes, absolutely. 11:50 Yeah, and when did it become real for you? 11:52 Now with someone like Jasmin, 11:56 when you have to pray for a pair of shoes, 11:59 God becomes real in a hurry. 12:01 When did it become real for you, Lois? 12:06 Well, when I left home, 12:08 I had the opportunity to go my own way 12:12 and that's what I did for a number of years. 12:15 And so it was quite a long time 12:17 before I finally knew 12:19 that there was only one place I should be. 12:21 Amen. Amen. 12:23 But since you've come back now, what was your career? 12:29 I'm a family nurse practitioner. 12:31 Okay. 12:32 I worked at the hospital in Atlanta for 23.5 years 12:37 before I retired. 12:38 Okay. Amen. 12:39 Now, we want to set all that up 12:42 because now you are a full time volunteer in Tanzania. 12:47 But let's go back to what is REACH international? 12:51 Render Effective Aid to Children. 12:55 This is your baby, as you call it. 12:58 God put it on your heart to birth this ministry. 13:03 Tell us how REACH began? 13:07 First of all, I have to say, 13:08 I grew up as an Adventist in our schools. 13:12 And you know, every Friday, 13:13 you get up and consecrate your life 13:15 in service to God. 13:17 When we graduated, 13:19 we came to America for further education. 13:24 And I was a teacher. 13:26 And I tried to find work in the church, 13:27 I thought, oh, I'll have a job in the church. 13:30 They said no, we have too many teachers, 13:32 we have no job for you. 13:34 You have to find a job outside. 13:36 And that broke my heart 13:38 because I said that I've dedicated my life 13:40 to service to God. 13:41 And now I have to go and work in the public sector 13:45 and I was very unhappy. 13:47 Yeah. 13:48 And I said, "How can we help 13:50 the work of God in India and Sri Lanka?" 13:53 My husband is from India. 13:55 So we took the summer vacation 13:58 and packed lots of material and went 14:00 and did workshops in India. 14:03 And we traveled all the way from the north, 14:05 all the way down to south and to Sri Lanka. 14:07 We did nine workshops and at that time, 14:09 we saw all these hungry children 14:12 in the bus stations and train stations 14:14 begging for food. 14:16 And we said, 14:17 "What is our responsibility for them, 14:19 if not for the grace of God, 14:21 we could be on the streets like that." 14:23 And some of them are born on the street. 14:25 Yeah. 14:26 They live on the streets and they die on the streets. 14:28 Yeah, yeah. 14:29 Same thing in the refugee camps 14:30 where we are sponsoring some children 14:33 in the Burma Thai border there. 14:35 Those kids for 30-40 years are in these refugee camps. 14:39 So when we saw all of that, 14:42 we said, "How can, what is our responsibility 14:45 to God and to men?" 14:47 And in one place, we saw some kids 14:49 that were sponsored 14:50 that were going to school by some CCF, 14:54 I think it is called Christian Children's Fund. 14:57 And we said, "Why can't we do something like that?" 15:00 So when we came home, 15:02 we called some missionaries who had known, 15:05 who had been in India, who know the poverty, 15:08 and we started REACH in 1973. 15:12 1973? 15:13 This is our 46th year of operating. 15:15 My goodness. 15:16 Forty six years as a volunteer. 15:19 I want to just, 15:20 I'm going to repeat this several times. 15:23 Because anyone in administration 15:25 with REACH international volunteers their time, 15:30 and I think that's amazing that as the president, 15:34 I mean, you said that God has always met your needs. 15:40 Yeah. 15:41 But you've had to walk by faith 15:42 in your personal life as well as the ministry. 15:44 Yeah. 15:46 Because you've been working full time 15:47 for 46 years with something 15:49 for which you were not paid or compensated. 15:51 Yeah. 15:52 Except, well, I can... 15:54 God. Amen. Amen. 15:55 Not the moolah but from above. 15:58 He's a great provider. 15:59 So tell us about 16:02 what's happened in these 46 years. 16:04 How many countries are you, how many children? 16:06 We have worked in more than 30 countries. 16:09 Right now we are working in 21. 16:12 The reason is like Romania, we worked there for many years. 16:16 We were in Rwanda, when the massacre happened. 16:19 We started there in '47. 16:21 But as these countries change, then we have to change too. 16:25 Romania, we are not doing anymore, 16:27 because Romania is now not good anymore. 16:31 Okay. 16:33 Rwanda, they don't want orphanages. 16:35 So we are not there now. 16:36 But in the past, 16:38 we have worked in more than 30 countries. 16:40 And so you're in 21 countries? 16:41 Twenty one now at this point. 16:43 And how many children? Nearly 20,000. 16:46 This is absolutely amazing. 16:48 REACH has five branch offices, I can't take all the credit. 16:52 Italian branch is very big. 16:54 Okay. 16:56 But currently, 16:57 you are feeding a response for 20,000 children? 17:01 Yes, around the world, in these 21 countries. 17:05 That's amazing. 17:06 But it's not just that, a feeding program. 17:09 No. You're educating them. 17:11 Education is salvation for the children. 17:14 We feel if we take a poor child, 17:16 give him an education, 17:18 he can feed himself and feed his family 17:21 and then we teach him 17:22 that God is their father in heaven. 17:24 Yeah. 17:25 And so they have eternity too. Amen. 17:27 And how many children have been through REACH 17:29 over the last 46 years? 17:30 More than 2 million, I would say. 17:32 Praise the Lord, that's just amazing. 17:34 So obviously, 17:35 much fruit has been produced from these children 17:38 that have been fed and educated. 17:40 Yeah, wherever we go, we meet former REACH students. 17:44 My Facebook is full of them. 17:47 And some of them have done extremely well. 17:50 Tell us about some of your students? 17:51 There's one who's a doctor in London, 17:54 he's from Romania. 17:56 And he called me when I was in the hospital. 17:59 And he was advising me how to take my medicine. 18:02 How precious. 18:04 Yeah, there are lawyers, judges, teachers, pastors, 18:07 secretaries, you name it, 18:09 they're all over and some of them 18:11 are working for REACH in our own schools. 18:14 Yeah. Praise the Lord. 18:16 Praise the Lord. 18:17 Lois. 18:19 How did you get involved with REACH? 18:22 Well, I had a cousin, who had been in Brazil, 18:29 and she wanted to do something 18:30 for those in Brazil and she connected 18:34 with a Brazilian woman and her husband. 18:37 And they knew Jasmin and after the trip to Brazil, 18:42 they started doing more trips, but this time for REACH. 18:47 And I went on two trips to Tanzania, 18:51 back in 2011, March, and again in December of 2012. 18:58 And those worked for REACH in Tanzania. 19:01 And then in 2016, after I retired, 19:07 I'm looking for what I want to do for my next career. 19:10 Amen. 19:12 And I said to the husband, Rob, 19:15 what do you know about this country? 19:17 And he says, "Well, I don't know anything 19:18 about that country. 19:20 But I know that Tanzania needs somebody." 19:23 I said, "Okay, I'll go to Tanzania then." 19:27 Praise the Lord. 19:28 So we ran the phone a few days later, 19:30 and arrangements were made 19:32 and within six weeks, I was in Tanzania. 19:35 That was in 2016. 19:37 And you work full time as a volunteer. 19:39 Tell us about the village 19:42 that you all have built in Tanzania. 19:46 It's called REACH, Village of Hope. 19:48 It's the name of the orphanage. 19:51 And then there's the Hope pre and primary school, 19:55 Adventist school which is the elementary school 19:58 that the orphans attend. 20:00 We also take some of the children 20:02 from outside the orphanage to the school. 20:05 So we have about 200 children in the school. 20:08 And there's 138 in the orphanage right now. 20:11 And that's when we talk about a village now. 20:14 You know, we want to give a shout out 20:16 to the one day church project 20:19 because I know Garwin McNeilus has supported your ministry 20:23 with a great gusto if you will. 20:26 So you have eight homes. Is that for children? 20:29 There's 12 children homes. 20:31 Twelve children's home and administrative building. 20:34 And we have nine classrooms 20:36 and an administration building 20:38 that was initially used as a chapel. 20:40 And the dining hall and... 20:42 Oh, yes, of course, 20:43 the dining hall and the guest house. 20:44 Oh, yes. 20:46 And watchmen's house, many buildings. 20:47 And there's a mill 20:48 and there's other buildings, yes. 20:50 Okay, and when we're talking about this village, 20:52 how many children are living there right now? 20:54 One hundred and thirty eight. 20:56 A hundred and thirty eight kids in this little village? 20:59 And so you're feeding them, you're educating them and, 21:02 well, you're caring for them in every way. 21:05 And I'm sure as a nurse practitioner, 21:07 that background, that experience 21:10 has come in quite handy there. 21:12 Definitely. 21:13 Yeah. 21:15 So when you are, what is your water source? 21:19 Tell us about Tanzania a little bit? 21:22 The orphanage is located on the edge of Lake Victoria, 21:27 which is the second largest lake in the world, 21:29 second to Lake Superior. 21:31 And so there is water. 21:34 But it isn't clean water to drink. 21:38 So we have dug hand dug wells before I arrived 21:42 and solar pumps were put in 21:44 by the Hagen's before I arrived. 21:47 And those are the source of drinking water 21:50 and shower water, household water 21:52 for the teacher's houses 21:54 as well as for the children and for me, 21:57 and that provides the drinking water. 22:00 We do have a need for irrigation system and... 22:06 And probably you'd like some deeper wells too. 22:10 Yes, we could certainly use a borewell. 22:13 It would be thrilled to death if we could get a borewell. 22:15 Amen. 22:17 We have promises to the community 22:19 to give them a community well 22:21 for clean drinking water for the community, 22:24 which we don't yet have funds to provide for them. 22:27 But it's promised 22:29 and someday we hope we can fulfill our promise. 22:31 Amen. 22:32 Now the Hagen's, is that a family? 22:34 That is Burl and Daryl Hagen. 22:37 They were there for since the very beginning, 22:39 almost the very beginning, 22:41 2010, and they were there during all of that, 22:46 and when all the children were admitted, 22:48 when all the buildings were built. 22:50 They designed some of the swing sets 22:54 and some of those kinds of things 22:56 and did a lot of work there. 22:58 Wonderful. 22:59 So what is your youngest child in Tanzania at your village? 23:03 The youngest one right now is three years old. 23:06 We took him when he was two. 23:09 And it's been just. 23:10 He was abandoned? 23:12 Oh, yes, he was totally abandoned. 23:14 It's just been spectacular to see him blossom 23:17 from an apathetic, malnourished child 23:22 into one that's happy 23:24 and one that loves to be with the other children 23:26 and wants to ride a bicycle 'cause they do. 23:28 And doesn't want his mom out of his sight, 23:31 his house mother, you know, 23:33 will cry if she leaves him, 23:34 so and just loves to play 23:36 with all the other boys and girls. 23:39 So, Jasmin, these children 23:42 are orphaned or abandoned or destitute 23:46 and you know, there are many families 23:49 in all these countries, 23:50 these 21 countries are underdeveloped. 23:53 And there are many families 23:54 that can't even afford to feed their children. 23:56 Yes. 23:57 So you end up with some of those children. 23:58 And if they didn't come there, 24:00 they'd be getting sold into sex slavery. 24:01 Yeah. 24:03 So what is your greatest need right now? 24:09 Our greatest need is sponsors. 24:11 We have so many kids without sponsors, 24:13 like this week, 24:15 I'm getting 30 children from Malawi. 24:17 Malawi is one of the poorest countries in Africa. 24:20 They have no education. 24:22 They don't value education, I'd say. 24:24 And there's, 24:27 lots of them are starving because of... 24:31 Like one grandmother was taking care of 15 children 24:34 because he had three children. 24:35 All three died of AIDS and their spouses, 24:38 and left all the kids for her to take care of 24:41 and she's telling me these kids don't listen to me, 24:43 the 16 year old got pregnant. 24:45 So now she has 16 kids to take care of. 24:49 So children like that without proper nourishment 24:53 or direction in life. 24:54 Yeah. 24:56 And so we were feeding them. 24:57 We've had a feeding program there 24:59 for a number of years, 25:00 but I felt feeding program is not doing 25:02 what we want to do. 25:03 We say education is salvation. 25:06 So we are doing a school, 25:09 the school is going to start in September. 25:11 Praise God. 25:13 And so they are sending us 25:14 30 children first to begin with, 25:17 to find sponsors for so we can pay the teachers. 25:20 So when you have, when someone sponsors a child, 25:24 what is the cost to sponsor a child 25:27 on a monthly basis? 25:28 It costs $30 a month to sponsor a child. 25:31 Thirty dollars a month, and how many? 25:34 It takes care of their food, their education, their clothes, 25:38 their uniform, housing if they need it, 25:42 medical help for those who are in need. 25:44 Praise God, that's amazing. 25:45 Everything. 25:47 And every penny of that is going there. 25:49 Because once again, 25:51 we just want to emphasize 25:53 that there are no administrative salaries. 25:55 All of, all that is given goes directly to them. 25:59 Because every dollar we spend here 26:01 is food from a child's mouth. 26:03 Yeah, that's right. 26:04 If anybody gives us a donation, 26:06 100% of that donation goes to the cost they give it for. 26:11 Sponsorship, I think 10% goes for administrative expenses, 26:14 like mailing and those printing and those kinds of things. 26:19 But 100% of donations goes to the cause. 26:22 Praise the Lord. That's amazing. 26:25 You are 46 years into this ministry. 26:30 Do you mind if we talk about your age? 26:33 Not at all, praise God. 26:35 How old are you, Jasmin? 26:36 I am 84. 26:38 Eighty four. 26:41 We cannot, we want some of it, 26:43 whatever she's eating and drinking, 26:45 we want some of it. 26:47 I think that's good genes. 26:49 But because you are 84, 26:53 it is time that you're handing the reigns 26:56 over to someone else. 26:57 Because I don't want to die and leave the foundation 27:00 floundering without the founder. 27:02 Yeah. 27:04 So while I'm still alive, 27:05 I want to make sure that it is going, 27:07 getting a good start and going well. 27:11 So, we were looking for somebody 27:15 and we ended up with our kids taking over. 27:19 There's nobody else, it's not a job. 27:21 We can't hire somebody as a job. 27:23 It's not a job. 27:24 It has to be a commitment. Yeah. 27:26 And my daughter and son-in-law, 27:28 they have no children of their own. 27:30 So they have taken REACH. 27:33 And since 2015, 27:35 we moved it from Berrien Springs to Maryland. 27:38 Okay, but when you moved it to Maryland, 27:40 why did you have to make that move? 27:42 Because if we want to 27:46 have Cheryl and Gursen take care of it, 27:49 it had to go there because they are volunteers, 27:51 they are not getting paid. 27:53 And she's a musician. She plays the harp. 27:55 And so she has jobs there. 27:58 Berrien Springs is a village 27:59 and they won't be anybody needing harp play 28:02 for a wedding or for the party of, 28:04 but this is a place that's established, 28:08 she plays for funeral home. 28:10 She plays. She's busy every day. 28:12 So she has work. 28:14 So we had to move REACH to DC 28:18 instead of them coming to do here. 28:21 So is this kind of an interim 28:22 for your daughter and son-in-law 28:25 or are they as passionate about this as you? 28:29 They are, they grew up with it. 28:30 Cheryl feels it's her responsibility. 28:33 And... 28:34 But because they have to work full time. 28:36 Yeah, they don't have the time. 28:38 Are you looking for other administrative help 28:39 to help them? 28:41 Yes, we need help, they need help. 28:42 Okay, so. 28:43 I am doing everything I can from a distance. 28:45 But there's lots of things that can be done from a distance. 28:49 Like, we can use writers to write for the REACH report. 28:53 We need very badly somebody to do video clips. 28:57 We have lots of video for all these years. 28:59 Yeah. 29:01 And we need somebody to put short programs together 29:03 like three minute, four minute programs. 29:06 So we can use it for promotion. 29:08 Promotion has gone down a little bit 29:11 since I gave it over at least. 29:14 Well, and I'm mean 29:16 you were doing this in a full time job there, 29:18 working full time in doing this. 29:20 Yeah, they have been working full time 29:21 and they are young and their ideas are different. 29:26 They are catering to a different audience, I'd say. 29:31 Okay. 29:32 The people I was working with were old people. 29:37 And they have been sponsors for 30-40 years, some of them. 29:40 Yeah. 29:41 And that group is dying off. 29:44 And so nowadays, 29:45 it's more the young people that are sponsoring. 29:48 And so their needs are different. 29:49 Yes. 29:51 So I have to accept that change. 29:52 I am praying God to give me the grace. 29:55 Amen. 29:57 And God will continue the good work. 29:58 Yes, it is His work, without Him we can't do it. 30:01 Amen. Every step of the day. 30:02 You started off as praying child. 30:04 Yes. Now as a praying adult. 30:05 Yeah. You continue to go forward. 30:07 And REACH only goes forward by prayer. 30:10 Many times I have to stop and ask God, 30:12 I need to see that Your hand is here 30:15 in this work, show me. 30:17 Amen. 30:18 And it comes, He comes through. Amen. 30:19 Then I get strength 30:21 and I go for another few months. 30:22 Amen. 30:24 And I guess you're just as energized 30:26 in your own way running the Tanzania facility. 30:29 Is that right? 30:30 I have a vision for what I would like 30:32 to see happen in Tanzania. 30:35 And my vision is that 30:38 these young men and young women are trained there 30:42 to become workers in God's cause. 30:45 Amen. 30:46 With such an army, sorry, 30:48 youth rightly trained might furnish. 30:50 Amen. 30:52 From Education page 271, 30:54 "How soon the message of a crucified, 30:58 risen and soon coming savior 30:59 would be spread to all the world." 31:01 And I believe that our goal there in Tanzania 31:05 is to train them today. 31:08 Not tomorrow, but today. 31:10 So we are teaching these teenage boys and girls 31:13 to teach Sabbath school classes for the little ones. 31:16 Praise God. 31:17 And we are having classes and teaching them how to sew 31:21 and teaching them carpentry. 31:23 They now are doing all of the sewing 31:25 of their own school uniforms. 31:27 They're sewing for the watchman's uniforms, 31:30 for the house mother's uniforms. 31:32 Praise the Lord. 31:33 And... And the bricks. 31:35 Yes, they're learning to do some other skills too. 31:39 Yes. Amen. 31:40 And they love it. 31:42 They love it. Yes. 31:43 So do you grow your own food? 31:45 I mean, are y'all at that picker place? 31:47 Yeah, we have more than 60 acres 31:49 of land in Tanzania. 31:51 And we want to grow as much of the food as we can. 31:53 Amen. 31:55 Yes, one of the rainwater tank was to collect rainwater 31:58 to use for the school garden 32:00 and then we put a very inadequate 32:03 but better than nothing line 32:06 from the lake with a diesel pump 32:08 to pump lake water to the rice fields 32:11 and then also to the rain water tank 32:14 when there is no rain. 32:15 So that also can be used for rice 32:17 and for the school garden. 32:19 But now that water is not portable, 32:20 it's not dirty, so it's fine for the garden. 32:23 It's for the plants. 32:24 Okay, but you have a separate system. 32:26 Oh yes, we have the dug, hand dug wells 32:28 with the solar powered pumps that are for the water 32:32 that they use for drinking, and for showering, 32:34 and cooking, and household use. 32:36 You know, I'm thinking that there's somebody 32:40 that's watching right now and you're a well digger, 32:46 and you could volunteer your time 32:49 to go over there and do a borewell for them. 32:53 And it's not just in Tanzania, 32:55 you need wells in Kenya, don't you? 32:56 Yeah, we need wells in Kenya. 32:58 We have Samburu people. 33:00 We are working in the desert that need, 33:03 we need wells for them. 33:04 We have a couple of schools for the Samburu and the Turkana 33:09 and they are living in the desert without water. 33:12 You know, it's amazing to me 33:14 'cause you're just bringing into reality 33:15 that we're so narrow-minded... 33:19 Yes, we are. 33:20 That we see in our own backyard. 33:22 You're sitting here just naming tribe 33:25 or culture or whatever, 33:26 just right and left. 33:28 And the reality is, is that 33:30 there are starving people all over this earth. 33:33 Children. Children. 33:34 That's the hardest thing to see... 33:36 Amen. 33:37 For no fault of their own. Amen. 33:39 And, boy, it just amazes me, 33:41 20,000 children under REACH 33:45 are being fed, educated, learning who Jesus is, 33:50 have a roof over their head and now we, 33:55 I mean 2 million people I mean 2 million 33:59 blessed babies have now grown into adulthood that now are, 34:05 it'd be nice if they knew how to give back 34:07 and that may be part of it. 34:09 There are some people who are giving back, 34:11 some of our children come back and be teachers for us. 34:14 Amen. And work in our schools. 34:17 There is a young man that is going to Andrews, 34:21 his father was one of our first children in India, 34:24 he came to visit the son. 34:26 He works in Singapore, someplace. 34:28 And he saw the sign, REACH sign and he said, 34:30 "Oh, I want to see these people." 34:32 And we were working in the garden. 34:34 And the boy brought him to see us... 34:36 Oh, praise the Lord. 34:37 And four children from his family 34:39 got an education because of REACH. 34:42 And I know one of your children 34:43 has grown up and adopted eight children 34:46 because you say 34:48 you introduced life to them through the Lord. 34:52 And now they've adopted children. 34:53 Yeah. That's so amazing. 34:55 I think, was there ever in 46 years, 35:00 working full time for nothing? 35:03 And I know it was the passion of your heart, 35:05 but was there ever a time 35:06 that you felt like your family was needing something 35:10 and you wanted to give up? 35:12 Never. Never, praise God. 35:13 Because we have so much compared to those children. 35:16 Amen. 35:18 So I could never feel that way. 35:20 I always thank God for all His blessings to us, 35:23 for giving us the privilege 35:25 of living in this blessed country. 35:27 Amen. 35:28 And this is the least I can do to serve Him 35:31 and His poor children. 35:33 So basically for $1 a day, 35:36 they could sponsor someone to feed them three times a day. 35:40 Yeah. 35:41 I mean, that's just... 35:43 We will sponsor. 35:45 Thank you very much. Yes. 35:47 I mean, how could we not with what you're doing. 35:50 We'll talk about how many we'll sponsor. 35:52 So if you are, you know, 35:57 there's so many projects that we could talk about. 36:00 But the most important thing that we want to get across, 36:04 is that REACH not only need sponsors, 36:07 because you, 36:08 it's not just these 30 children in Malawi. 36:10 Oh. 36:12 we have lots in the files that need sponsors. 36:15 You've got children that, 36:17 so if somebody doesn't have a sponsor, 36:19 you kick them out? 36:20 No, no, we have to keep them and feed them 36:23 and pray that we find a sponsor. 36:25 And if somebody gives us donations, 36:27 all of that money goes to feed the kids 36:29 who are not sponsored. 36:30 Okay, okay. 36:32 So we sponsor, we bring them into the school first 36:35 and then we look for the sponsors. 36:36 Oh, praise the Lord. 36:38 Because you can't leave a hungry child, and say, 36:40 I'll come back in two weeks, when I have a sponsor, 36:42 and pick you up, you can't do that. 36:45 So immediately, 36:46 we take the children that are in need. 36:49 I think there's about 19 children in Tanzania 36:51 without sponsors, 36:53 I checked with the office today. 36:55 So Tanzania, you need another 30... 36:58 How many 19 children? 36:59 Nineteen or 20 to, somewhere between that. 37:01 Nineteen to 20 children that need sponsors. 37:02 So, you know, as you said, we've got so much. 37:08 A dollar a day, I mean, 37:10 some people spend more money on that 37:12 just going and buying a bottle of water 37:14 that their designer water, or coffee, or tea, 37:20 or whatever it is, 37:21 you could keep a child off the streets, 37:25 in being fed, being educated, 37:28 you could change child's life by helping to sponsor, 37:31 but also we want to make the appeal that 37:36 because the administration is unpaid, 37:41 they don't take a penny of the money. 37:43 You're looking for someone 37:45 that perhaps is a retired couple 37:47 that could help your daughter and son-in-law. 37:50 Yes. 37:51 Because they work full time and you need somebody for that, 37:54 you're also looking for maybe a videographer, 37:57 somebody that, an editor come in 38:00 and work with your clips, 38:01 maybe you've got a writing ability, 38:04 and you're looking for someone to be the editor 38:08 of your REACH magazine. 38:09 Yeah. 38:11 There's just, are you looking for people 38:13 to come volunteer at any of your homes? 38:14 Yes, we need volunteers in most of our projects, 38:18 but there are little some difficulties now than before. 38:22 She's a volunteer, 38:24 she pays for her own visas and everything else. 38:26 It's very expensive, 38:28 visas are getting very expensive. 38:30 We ran a project in Honduras, mostly by volunteers. 38:34 But Honduras is getting to be a little bit dangerous. 38:38 And people are afraid to go 38:39 although we have had no problems at all. 38:42 We need volunteers there, 38:43 we need people who can do farming. 38:46 Because we have land, we need to grow food. 38:49 We need to educate the children to learn how to do that. 38:53 So needs are great all over the place. 38:55 Amen. 38:56 Indeed we can use volunteers in many countries, 38:59 but visas are a problem. 39:01 Now where do you get your teachers? 39:03 Teachers, 39:05 our schools are connected to the conference. 39:07 Okay. 39:09 In most of the countries, 39:10 and the conference provides the teachers. 39:13 Praise God. So you... 39:15 We work, 39:16 because we need supervision for those schools. 39:18 Yes, amen. 39:19 And we need to meet the standards 39:21 of those countries. 39:22 And it's much easier for the conference to do that. 39:24 Amen. 39:25 So they help us, we work hand in hand. 39:27 Amen. 39:29 So in a typical school say like in your school, Lois, 39:32 I mean, it's just grade one through 12, 39:35 or just grade one through eight or how does this work? 39:38 We have nursery through standard six 39:40 and we'll add standard seven in January. 39:43 Then we will have to provide for 1, 2, 3 and 4 39:46 to comply for secondary school as required by the law. 39:50 Okay. 39:51 So the Mara Conference is assigns teachers to us, 39:57 and we pay their salaries from REACH moneys. 40:00 Yes. 40:02 And the school is registered to the government 40:07 in Mara Conference's name 40:08 because we don't have legal standing. 40:10 Amen. Okay. 40:11 And the orphanage is also licensed 40:14 through Mara Conference with the government 40:17 because we don't have legal standing. 40:19 Yes. 40:20 But then, you know, that gives people, I mean... 40:24 There's nothing wrong with that, 40:25 because, you know, things are being done properly 40:29 and you have a church there and it's what language? 40:35 There's a Swahili church. It's a Swahili church. 40:38 But now you're wanting to build 40:40 or they're asking you to build an English church 40:43 because you're teaching English, right? 40:44 And teaching in English. 40:45 Yeah, amen. 40:47 So they could use some more one day churches. 40:50 You can need. 40:51 There's just a bucket list, isn't there? 40:53 Yeah, yeah. 40:55 Let me ask you this. 40:57 We kind of skipped the part 40:59 about this wonderful man in your life 41:02 who you married because to me, 41:06 it's such a precious story. 41:08 Your husband was reared, you're from Sri Lanka, 41:13 he's from India but he was born. 41:16 And I shouldn't say reared he was born on the streets, 41:19 lived on the streets. 41:21 How did he meet the Lord? 41:24 When he finished high school, he saw a tent. 41:29 And he went there. 41:31 And he saw people that he knew going in nicely dressed. 41:35 But he didn't want to go because he was in rags. 41:38 He didn't feel he belonged with that group. 41:41 So he stood out, hang around outside. 41:43 His teacher went in and asked him to come. 41:45 And he said, "No, my clothes are not good. 41:47 I can't come." 41:49 He says, "If you attend so many meetings, 41:50 you'll get an English Bible." 41:52 He wanted that Bible, 41:53 but he didn't know how to go in his condition. 41:57 So he says he almost heard the voice telling him 42:00 when it gets dark you can go in. 42:03 So he waited and soon it became dark, 42:05 and they turn the lights off 42:07 because they were showing slides. 42:09 So he went in and sat at the back. 42:11 And he thought that Pastor Crews, 42:14 Joe Crews was speaking directly to him and him only. 42:18 He attended all those meetings. 42:19 And that's how he got baptized. 42:21 And Joe Crews sent him to college. 42:23 And then Joe Crews sponsored him 42:25 to go to Spicer University. 42:27 Spicer for the first year 42:29 and after that he sold books, canvas. 42:31 Praise God, and He studied theology, 42:34 he was a pastor, and you know, 42:37 because, you know, 42:39 it's easy to say you had two children, 42:41 and you had needs as a family. 42:44 But your husband totally supported her 42:48 in these 46 years of her working 42:50 as a full time volunteer for REACH International 42:53 because he knew the difference 42:56 you were making in children's lives. 42:58 I mean, he lived it. 43:00 He lived it so he knows how important it is. 43:03 So he's the brains, I am the brawn. 43:08 I love that. 43:09 He's the brains and you're the brawn? 43:11 Well, I think it's very wise, you don't look your age, 43:15 you don't seem to walk or talk your age. 43:21 But I think it's very wise 43:22 that you were making these moves now to 43:25 so that if anything does happen, 43:28 you will have an uninterrupted continuation. 43:32 Because what will you do with all these kids? 43:35 You can't close the door and to go home, 43:37 they have no place to go. 43:39 Yeah. 43:40 So we have to think 43:42 of the long term needs of these kids. 43:44 Absolutely. 43:45 We try to keep two years operation money saved 43:50 in case something happened. 43:52 At least we have two years too. 43:54 I hope that day never comes. 43:55 Oh, I pray not either. 43:58 Lois, how has it changed you 44:00 in the last three and a half years, 44:02 being involved in this? 44:04 Oh, wow. 44:06 It's like, I had been prepared for it all my life, 44:11 but I'm not prepared for it when it happens. 44:15 And it's been an education in and of itself, 44:18 and a tremendous experience. 44:20 Absolutely tremendous experience. 44:22 Have you found that your faith has been stretched? 44:26 Stretched, and stretched, and stretched. 44:31 I think it's wonderful what you're doing. 44:32 Yeah. 44:33 It's definitely been a challenge. 44:36 Challenges aren't always what you anticipate, 44:38 but they're what you need. 44:40 Amen. Amen. 44:41 Because I think God uses the challenges to grow us. 44:45 What would be a typical day? 44:48 Well, a typical day would be a school day 44:50 since the children go to school. 44:51 They get up in the morning, they have Uji for breakfast. 44:55 What? 44:56 Uji, It's a porridge and it's millet porridge. 44:59 Okay. 45:01 And they go to school, 45:03 they have their worships at school, 45:05 they have their classes and at noon, 45:07 they're right close, 45:08 so they go back to the orphanage 45:10 for their lunch. 45:11 Okay. 45:12 And they might have Ugali and beans, 45:14 or rice and beans or something else. 45:16 But they have their lunch. 45:19 And then after lunch, 45:20 they go back to school for classes, 45:22 like children do. 45:24 And then there's a time that they have scheduled for, 45:27 like soccer and fun time 45:29 and swinging time, and all of that. 45:31 And then there's a time scheduled for them 45:32 to learn to work in the garden 45:34 and help carry some of the responsibilities. 45:37 They also help with the laundry. 45:39 And as I mentioned, with the sewing, 45:41 and with other needs with crops. 45:43 So, they're learning how to work 45:46 at the same time that they're being educated. 45:48 Yes. Okay. 45:50 And they certainly appreciate it. 45:53 Well, I think that the majority of them 45:55 understand well enough to appreciate it. 45:58 Yes. 46:00 I think that, you know, children are children, 46:02 and they like to play all the time. 46:04 But I think... 46:07 You're saying that not all children appreciate 46:09 learning how to work. 46:11 But I think that they also have enough understanding 46:16 to know that what they're learning 46:18 is valuable and fun. 46:21 And I love that part 46:23 that they enjoy doing, what they're doing. 46:25 Oh, yes. 46:27 And, you know, 46:28 even learning to plant crops could be exciting 46:30 if you have a Python visit that day. 46:34 I am not coming to volunteer. 46:38 But that's real life for that area. 46:40 That's real life for that area. 46:41 Exactly. 46:42 Are there animals and everything 46:44 in that part of the country? 46:46 They're not huge herds, like in the Serengeti. 46:50 But there are some stray animals 46:51 and there certainly are snakes 46:54 and those kinds of things, we have had. 46:56 They're leopards, 46:58 but they're smaller species than in the Serengeti. 47:00 They're small leopards. 47:01 We've killed several of them on the property. 47:03 They're wild animals, you don't want them 47:05 around an orphanage and little children. 47:08 Monkeys, lots of them. 47:09 We have lots and lots of monkeys, 47:11 they love our mangoes 47:12 and so they want to eat mangoes. 47:15 We are very close to the Serengeti. 47:17 So people come and work for us. 47:20 And then they take a couple of days 47:22 where we see the animals. 47:24 So you've got 21 countries, 47:27 over 20,000 children 47:29 and close to 2 million 47:31 have already been through this. 47:35 What would happen to these children, 47:38 if something happened to REACH that you couldn't continue? 47:42 They will have to go back 47:43 to where they came from which is the streets. 47:47 And I hope that never happens. Yeah. 47:50 I'm sure God will take care of them. 47:52 Amen. Amen, because... 47:53 And take care of REACH 47:55 so that we can take care of them. 47:56 Amen. 47:57 I don't expect that, 46 years He's been faithful. 48:01 Amen. 48:03 So, I don't expect that to happen. 48:05 But you have these children 48:07 possibly without REACH would have no life whatsoever. 48:12 It would be one of begging or stealing or sex trafficking. 48:15 Any of the kids saved, 48:16 not for REACH, where would I be? 48:19 Yeah. 48:21 Many of the ones who have finished graduated, 48:23 we are trying to get one of our young people 48:25 to come and help her. 48:27 Yes. 48:29 And we are trying to train him 48:31 so that he can do some of the traveling 48:33 because Cheryl doesn't have the time 48:36 to go visit the projects. 48:37 But he grew up with us 48:39 from the time he was six years old, 48:40 his father was beheaded in the village, 48:43 mother had two kids, 48:45 left the old one with us took the young one, 48:47 and went to her family. 48:49 And this is the boy that grew up with us 48:50 and who's the running one of our schools. 48:53 Praise God. 48:55 And we feel that we need to educate him more 48:58 about all of REACH not just REACH India, 49:01 so that he can help us with the work. 49:04 You know, it's really rare that you find a ministry 49:07 where the administration is not paid at all. 49:10 And we just want to encourage you, 49:12 I just truly believe that as the Lord 49:15 is moving on our hearts 49:17 to realize for dollar a day you can support child 49:20 to give them food, housing and education, 49:24 not just for a book learning, 49:29 but the book, a Christian education as well. 49:34 And they're learning skills 49:35 that they can have a marketable skills, 49:38 it will put it that way. 49:40 And they're also looking for if you are a well digger, 49:45 maybe you could help bore a well 49:46 there in Tanzania or... 49:50 I think you also would like to set up an irrigation system. 49:52 Oh, we need a decent irrigation system. 49:55 This is just a temporary to just get us by 50:00 until we can do something proper. 50:03 And I know that we serve the God 50:06 and I know that He hears our prayers, 50:10 or, you know, and I know that 50:11 He intercedes in our behalf. 50:13 And we can use the volunteer with the farm 50:16 to help you with that. 50:17 Yes, of course. 50:18 Get volunteers with a farm or somebody 50:20 if you are perhaps a writer, 50:22 you could volunteer some hours 50:24 each week or month to help with that 50:27 or an editor, videographer, they need a lot of things. 50:32 So we want to tell you 50:33 because I know, 50:35 just like our sure heart is touched 50:37 by this precious ministry. 50:39 It's a 501C3 nonprofit organization 50:43 that's been running for 46 years, 50:45 and now in 21 countries now. 50:48 If the Holy Spirit is impressing upon your heart 50:52 to volunteer or to sponsor a child, 50:56 here's how you can get in touch with them. 51:02 If you feel impressed 51:03 to support a child or the volunteers 51:05 of Rendering Effective Aid for Children or REACH, 51:09 you can do so by contacting them 51:10 at REACH International, 51:13 PO Box 187, Spencerville, Maryland 20868. 51:18 That's REACH International PO Box 187, 51:23 Spencerville, Maryland 20868. 51:26 You can call them at 301-879-4939. 51:32 Email them at info@reach.com 51:36 or find them online at reach.org. |
Revised 2019-09-12