Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY220033A
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00:04 ♪ I want to spend my life mending broken people ♪ 00:15 ♪ I want the spend my life removing pain ♪ 00:26 ♪ Lord let my words heal a heart that hurts ♪ 00:36 ♪ I want to spend my life mending broken people ♪ 00:56 ♪ ♪ 01:05 Hello friends, Welcome to 3ABN Today. My name is Ryan Day and 01:10 it's always a blessing to have a 3ABN family joining us, tuning 01:13 in at this time. This is our 3ABN Today program and we have 01:17 all kinds of different 3ABN Today programs. Sometimes we 01:20 might do a Bible study. Sometimes it might be an 01:23 interview like what we're going to do today. Sometimes it might 01:27 even be a music program. But this is an opportunity for us to 01:30 take the time to highlight what God is doing in the mission 01:34 field and that's exactly what we're going to be doing today 01:36 and I'm not going to spend much time giving this introduction, 01:40 you know talking in this introduction because we want to 01:42 get right into the meat of what we're here today for. We have 01:46 Child Impact International with us in the house today. How's it 01:49 going, my friends? 01:51 Fantastic. We're glad to be here 01:53 Amen, amen. It's going to be a wonderful time. We're going to 01:55 be talking about missions. We're going to be talking about 01:56 evangelism. We're going to be hearing stories of rescue. Just 02:01 being able to talk with these wonderful people you know 02:04 preparing for this program has just been such a blessing and I 02:06 know that you are going to be blessed as well. And so get your 02:10 friends, your family, everyone, enemies, everyone gathered 02:13 around at this time because you're going to want to hear 02:15 what's going to be presented today and how God is using Child 02:19 Impact International to change lives. And you know what, 02:23 there's no doubt in my mind there's someone watching today 02:25 that's going to want to be a part of this, that's going to be 02:29 inspire to want to help and to join in this effort in some way, 02:32 form or fashion. So before I go any further I just want to go 02:35 ahead and introduce you guys. I'm going to start here and just 02:37 kind of go around so we're kind of set in an awkward sense. In 02:42 this case we have Miss Donna Wiley (Willey, Donna Willey) 02:48 (Right) Oh, you said that to me earlier, Donna Willey. And Donna 02:51 what do you do for Child Impact International? 02:53 Will actually I'm one of the board members and I'm a new 02:57 board member, but boy I love it. It just opens your eyes to give 03:03 you more of a world vision of what's going on instead of just 03:06 right here in North America. I absolutely love it. 03:09 Amen, praise the Lord, Praise the Lord. It's a good blessing 03:12 to have you here with us. (Thank you). And Tom, Tom Evans. 03:14 You are...what do you do for Child Impact International? 03:17 Well I'm leader of the team as of less than a year ago now and 03:21 so I'm the CEO which means really I'm casting a vision, 03:27 looking at new projects, where do we go next, what are the 03:30 needs that we respond to? (Gotcha) And so it's really 03:34 something that aligns with my passion in a big way. 03:38 Amen, amen, it's great to have you here brother. And right down 03:40 at the end of the table, we have Miss Melissa Moore. Melissa tell 03:43 us what you do for Child Impact International? 03:46 I'm the marketing manager which is a really fun job because I 03:49 get to tell the stories of what's happening in the field, 03:53 the lives that are changed and transformed from this ministry. 03:56 Amen, awesome and we're going to hear a little bit more about 03:59 that in a moment. And last but not least we have 04:01 Jason Churchwell. Jason what do you do for Child Impact 04:05 International? 04:07 Sure, thank you. No, I just joined Child Impact about three 04:09 weeks ago now. I'm really excited to be part of this team. 04:12 And I'm the field director so I oversee all of our projects out 04:16 in the field and we're excited and looking forward to 04:21 continuing to help these children in need around the 04:23 world. 04:24 Amen, amen. So on that note Tom I'm going to come to you. There 04:27 may be someone watching right now that this is the first time 04:29 they've ever heard of Child Impact International 04:31 I know we've had you guys on in the past for a few programs but 04:36 being that you're...You're kind of the new guy as well in this 04:39 new position as the leader of this ministry. Tell us a little 04:41 bit about you know what is Child Impact International, what do 04:45 you guys do and a little bit of the history of how that started. 04:47 So the history goes back several decades to Asian Aid that 04:51 started in Australia. And the idea was to begin a branch of 04:56 Asian Aid in the United States. So it was Asian Aid, USA. Well 05:00 the name itself kind of attaches geographically to a certain area 05:04 and so a number of years ago it was determined that there was a 05:08 desire to expand more broadly globally. (Right) And so the 05:11 name Child Impact International was selected. I absolutely love 05:15 the name because it really at the center of what we do it's 05:18 all about children. (Right) And so we have become more global 05:21 in our presence. We're currently in 12 countries and we are 05:26 planning to open other countries as the resources and 05:29 opportunities arise. 05:30 Wow, praise the Lord, praise the Lord. And I know we're going to 05:32 see a lot today. They've brought a lot of video clips and some 05:36 photos and I know you guys are going to explain to us even more 05:40 in-depth as to what you guys do and what you have currently 05:43 going on right now. But I understand you guys kind of have 05:46 a...I saw a little bit of this video, a really nice, impactful 05:49 video that you want to share with us at this time. So set it 05:52 up for us. 05:53 Sure yeah. This video is from Tanzania one of our partners 05:56 called Falco's Children's Home. I believe that couple that runs 05:59 this particular orphanage has interviewed here. (Yes) And it's 06:03 just been a tremendous partner for us because they're involved 06:07 in rescue situations. And that is part of what we do as Child 06:10 Impact. We do child sponsorship. We're also involved in 06:14 rescue situations, 06:15 human trafficking scenarios that we can be involved in 06:21 intervening. So this particular story is interesting because 06:25 this location is very near to a safari park and of course the 06:31 tourists come into the safari park and at high season tourists 06:35 are also looking for something else when they come in. About 06:37 nine months later babies start showing up in toilets, abandoned 06:41 along the roadside and the story of this particular young man 06:44 Miracle Moses he's called, is one of the most remarkable. 06:47 Yes, I had the privilege of interviewing Jerry and Valerie 06:51 Baccus from Falco's Children Africa and so they're going to 06:55 be in this next video we're going to show. I just want to 06:57 give you this disclaimer. These are...this video is addressing 07:01 real-life situations, real things and so if you have any 07:04 sensitive young ears in the room you might want to just take a 07:09 moment to address that but also be blessed by the video that 07:13 we're going to show at this moment. 07:14 ♪ ♪ Ominous music. 07:42 On October the 17th of 2013 07:45 I was given a call that social welfare 07:47 was going to give us a newborn baby that had been found in a 07:51 graveyard. Moses was buried right after birth. He was placed 07:58 in a gunny sack and placed in a graveyard in a shallow grave. 08:02 He was there for about 12 hours, the estimated time. 08:05 A shepherd was walking through the graveyard where he was 08:09 buried and heard the wails coming from the ground. 08:13 but he couldn't find exactly where it was. 08:16 A lady came to help him, and the soon found it was under 08:20 the ground. When they dug him up they found him in a gunny sack 08:24 a plastic bag wrapped around him He'd been there long enough 08:29 where the sun was beginning to melt the plastic bag to his face 08:32 so the plastic bag and he had the umbilical cord and the 08:37 placenta was still on him. He was about 12 hours old. Took him 08:41 to the hospital and they cared for him, took all the sand out 08:46 of his eyes, nose. I mean, he- any longer he would not have 08:50 survived. Because he came from the ground, his name was called 08:56 Moses because he was drawn up, out of the ground. But Miracle 09:00 Moses is his name. Moses is one of many children, that's been 09:06 rescued. There's more orphans in the country of Tanzania than 09:11 the population of Houston, Texas proper by itself. There's 09:15 approximately two and a half million orphans in the country 09:18 of Tanzania. We found children given to us that had burns all 09:22 over them because they were abandoned to a stranger and the 09:27 stranger didn't want them so he threw boiling water on them. We 09:30 have children that were thrown in toilets. We have three girls 09:33 that were in the process of being sold to either be a wife 09:36 or a prostitute. And so we have many, many stories. It's hard 09:41 for many, some of them you can't understand what it's like. 09:45 We never stop crying for these children. We never...Because 09:50 someone is praying and fasting to have a baby their infertility 09:55 They are praying, and it's happened to me. I'm a good 09:58 example. I have 15 years praying for a child, even one, I have 10:02 never got it and someone is throwing them out, so... 10:07 (Children laughing and shouting) 10:27 Falco's Children Village is really an orphanage for children 10:30 that have been abused, abandoned neglected. We're in this 10:34 particular area because I wanted to go where the greatest need is 10:38 And we were told the greatest need was in the Karatu area 10:42 because it has the highest percentage of abandoned children 10:44 and we've been designated as the number one orphanage in the 10:48 country of Tanzania and the reason why is because we have 10:51 family settings. We have eight homes here and we have "Mamas" 10:54 in each one of the homes to take care of the children, just like 10:56 their own children. 10:58 We need mama here because these children will know that it is 11:03 their mother. Make sure they are fed up, make sure they went to 11:07 school, make sure they bathe. they play, to make sure their 11:13 health is doing good. We are here to try to rescue as many as 11:20 many as God allows us to, to feed them, to clothe them, to 11:24 educate them, to give them a chance, to give them hope. If 11:28 you have hope, you have enough and we want to give them the 11:31 hope of God, the hope of Christ, His love that transcends every 11:36 border, every child, 11:37 no matter how small, no matter how large. We bring this hope. 11:42 We bring this hope, not just us but for everybody who are 11:46 crusaders with us for God's cause like Child Impact to bring 11:50 hope to each child, to be a family of hope, Chris's hope to 11:55 all these children. 11:58 I'm from Kilimanjaro, and I'm a student here. I've been growing 12:00 here since I was young. I love education, the health of the 12:05 children, everything, the care they give us perfect care. Even 12:10 if other children from outside get it it's somehow different, 12:16 it feels like home. 12:17 Our number one goal is for every single one of our children to 12:21 become independent. Be a great example for the Lord and to take 12:26 care of themselves when they leave this village. We don't 12:28 want them to leave the village until we know they're 12:30 independent and they can take care of themselves. 12:35 Monica took the national exam and has been the number one 12:38 student in all of Tanzania three years in a row? 12:42 If they don't receive the love from us, how can they receive 12:46 Jesus' love? How do they know Jesus loves them if they don't 12:51 understand how much we love them because we truly do. 12:54 Miracle Moses buried alive, upon childbirth, is now eight 13:03 years old, and is a bright young boy. 13:08 ♪ ♪ 13:10 The Backus family adopted Moses and eight more children. 13:16 A member of parliament stated on public television that 13:19 Falco's Children Village is the top orphanage in Tanzania. 13:23 Child Impact is supporting Falco's Children Village with 13:28 nutritious meals and hope for over 90 vulnerable children. 13:34 ♪ ♪ 13:38 Huh, wow! That's heart-gripping. So tell us, sorry, wow just 13:48 watching that video there. It really opens your eyes to the 13:51 reality of what's happening in the world around us. Sometimes 13:53 here in the United States, we're so privileged to be able to have 13:58 the living conditions and the things that we have but when you 14:00 go out and see beyond this, just the you know that people are 14:04 going through real things and that God is raising up 14:08 ministries like Child Impact International, you know, Falco's 14:12 Children Africa to make a difference in these children's 14:14 lives and so Tom take us a little bit back there. Describe 14:18 a little bit more what we just saw in that video and how Child 14:21 Impact International is involved in that work. 14:24 I had the privilege to meet Miracle Moses, bright young boy. 14:28 It was an amazing experience. Part of what I wanted to capture 14:32 in our video, there was the laughter, the joy, that's 14:36 present. You think about these children. They've had a very 14:38 rough start in life and yet when you go there you don't sense 14:43 that. We stayed right in one of those eight homes and we heard 14:47 laughter and joy all the time. And the safety, the love, the 14:52 atmosphere creates a place of healing for these children. 14:55 So it's just powerful to see. One of the things that inspired 14:57 me the most is that Jerry actually has adopted seven 15:02 children himself and three of those are babies that were just 15:06 and he's in his 70s now. So you look at that and say wow. 15:10 They're all in. The lady that talked to the manager there, 15:13 she's adopted three children herself and so those that are 15:16 running this particular home personally just really own this 15:21 ministry as well. I was able to baptize 11 people while we were 15:24 there. They were already prepared. One of them was the 15:27 security guard. So he was a big guy to get under the water but 15:30 it was exciting and then about 10 teenagers. I think they were 15:34 all teenagers that were also baptized. 15:36 Wow! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord. And little Miracle Moses 15:40 there, wow! I mean that's a powerful story. I think we have 15:44 even a couple of photos of Moses I think we have a couple of 15:48 photos of Moses there. Could we bring it up. There he is! Wow! 15:52 It really is. That name fits. Miracle Moses. That little man's 15:55 been through a lot. And to see that God has used this ministry 15:58 to help impact this young man's life in a powerful way. That's 16:04 amazing. So tell us Tom about how you know your personal 16:08 live aligns with the mission of Child Impact International. 16:12 Yeah, when this opportunity came along to consider for our family 16:17 the more we reflected on it the more that we realized that this 16:21 is how we've wanted and strive to live in our own lives in 16:25 terms of what we've modeled. We have just been in the process... 16:28 we've hosted some children through a program that works 16:33 with orphan children to come to the United States for summer or 16:36 Christmas. Project 143 it's called. I know some of you may... 16:39 It's not an Adventist organization but tremendous 16:42 ministry. And so we hosted two boys from an orphanage in Latvia 16:46 and we've known them since they were five and six and they're 16:50 now 13 and 14 and they're part of our family and I've said many 16:55 times that our family functions even better with them as part 16:58 of us. And I think sometimes we get so focused on ourselves and 17:02 them being part of our family we had to focus outside of 17:06 ourselves and think about their needs and what their journey's 17:08 been and how to respond to that. So this is really what Child 17:13 Impact is all about, is giving kids a chance and that's what 17:16 my wife and I want to be about in the way, we live our lives. 17:18 Well, praise the Lord. I think we even have a photo of you and 17:22 your boys here, if we can pull that up. 17:24 Yeah, I got the lineup there. My wife I think must have been 17:27 taking the picture. And I've got my Child Impact shirt on. In 17:31 fact, my boys like to help out with Child Impact. So... 17:33 Praise the Lord, praise the Lord All right. So Donna I'm coming 17:36 to you now. So how in the world did you become a part of this 17:40 incredible ministry? 17:42 You know it's so interesting because we too have four adopted 17:46 children and when it comes to adoption, it's just so powerful. 17:51 It's something that's hard to describe. It takes all of about 17:58 three or four seconds to bond forever and I know Tom that's 18:01 how it was for you too. It's just...bringing these children 18:04 in and you think you're doing something for them, but they're 18:07 actually doing something for you (Oh for Sure) You know, 18:11 and so my heart 18:12 and my passion has been with how can I make a difference in the 18:15 life of a child. But um then the other thing that just really 18:20 made a difference for my, Ryan, is just um, actually it's found 18:23 over here in Acts and you probably know the story you know 18:28 It's a young man by the name of Jason and they're bringing him 18:31 down and then he says, You know those guys turned the world 18:34 upside down. And I'm like what? You know they turned the world 18:39 upside down and they did it without a bike or a car or a 18:44 plane or the internet. (Right) And they turned the world upside 18:47 down and why would we want to do any less? And even though we may 18:51 not be able to rescue every child, the children that we do 18:55 rescue it will make all the world difference for them. And 18:59 so that's what really drew me in and I realized in order to turn 19:04 the world upside down you have to use your influence because 19:07 God puts all of us in a circle and within that circle, you know 19:11 there's people we can influence and so we just real...My 19:15 husband and I just really felt impressed that we need to be 19:19 using our circle of influence for the glory of God and to 19:23 rescue more children. 19:25 So you did something in your office I think... 19:27 We did, We did. (You're coming to that right?) I hope so. 19:29 It was so creative and it was so beautiful what you've done. 19:32 Well you know we just wanted to get the message to our patients 19:36 and so you know according to the pictures you can see where we 19:40 took canvases, canvas prints of the children that we have an 19:45 opportunity to rescue and be a part of, and we put those on the 19:49 waiting room wall, on the walls in our waiting room, in the 19:52 treatment rooms and you know we see about 30 to 40 patients a 19:56 day. 19:58 You have some pictures (of the office). We'll pull those up now 20:03 And so you know you can see on these pictures, you can see them 20:07 in the waiting room where all patients pass but also in some 20:12 of the treatment rooms. There has to be a promotion right 20:16 where they run their credit card you now when they check out at 20:18 the end of the day. Right there. (That's powerful) And so yeah it 20:24 has been really amazing and just I think all of us, all of 20:29 us can use our circle of influence and that's where my 20:34 husband and I find our greatest joy and to make it with a child 20:39 (Wow) And I'm sure, Ryan, Melissa would be happy to 20:43 provide any other professionals that would like to put something 20:45 in their waiting room or their office, whatever they need. 20:48 Absolutely, absolutely. 20:51 Absolutely that's awesome. 20:52 But you know I think people are asking and looking for ways that 20:56 they can make a difference and especially if you're in the 20:59 medical world or the dental world or any sort of health care 21:03 profession you have patients coming to you, they're trusting 21:06 you or they wouldn't be there. They come trusting you and 21:10 they're going to hear your voice So when they see like a banner 21:13 of you being an ambassador or a sponsor for Child Impact 21:18 International they want to know more about it and that's our 21:23 opportunity to speak a word that will rescue a child and bring 21:28 joy to all heaven. I'm just thrilled to be a part of this. 21:32 Absolutely, absolutely to just hear you guys talk about it I 21:36 can sense your love for this and the passion and that's what it 21:41 takes, that's what the Gospel's all about. When we have the Holy 21:45 Spirit in us and the Holy Spirit's working through us, the 21:47 Bible says in Acts chapter 1 verse 8 that the Holy Spirit 21:49 will give us power to be a witness and that means 21:52 sometimes being a witness means to step outside of the box 21:55 outside of your comfort zone and to do something like what you 21:58 guys are doing. I mean you're in other countries and you're 22:00 making impacts in these kids lives that otherwise would have 22:04 probably ended up, many of them, probably dead. And it's just 22:08 powerful to see what you guys are doing. And you mentioned Tom 22:10 that you guys are in several countries, I think you said 12. 22:13 Twelve different countries. I know the Lord has led you 22:15 recently to do a powerful work over in Europe and you guys are 22:19 in Germany and you know the Ukraine border and whatnot. 22:21 So talk about what's going on there. 22:24 Sure and Ryan you mentioned Acts 1:8, one of my favorites. Church 22:27 planting I've been involved with for a lot of years. And Acts 1:8 22:30 says that we need to be witnesses in Jerusalem, that's 22:32 where we live, in Judea, that's culturally similar and nearby 22:36 and Samaria 22:37 culturally different but nearby but to the ends of the world. 22:40 And I think every human being that's a follower of Jesus has 22:43 a mission in all four of those areas. And so our mission really 22:47 is to the ends of the world and we did travel recently to the 22:51 Ukraine border. We have partners that we established in Austria 22:55 and Germany. Why? Romania, Poland they're just overwhelmed 23:02 with the refugee crisis there and so we want it to be a little 23:06 farther away where there was a capacity to receive the 23:09 vulnerable women and children that were coming across the 23:11 border. So we established something called Project Safe 23:14 Passage and that was basically to transport women and children 23:17 that come across the border, we transport them and our partners 23:21 identify homes where they can stay. So we have close to 700 23:25 women and children now that have found homes to stay in. There's 23:29 no time limit for how long they can stay, however long they need 23:32 to and they're just in a very safe place. But I want to share 23:37 a story about one of those because it's the most exciting 23:39 one to me is about a mattress factory. I think we have some 23:42 photos (all right) but I remember talking to the CEO of 23:46 the mattress factory and it's an impressive facility, it's 23:48 incredible, it's in Austria. And he said We knew that we needed 23:52 to respond and quickly. So they basically took their showroom 23:57 and put brand new mattresses in their showroom and that became 24:00 a receiving location for the women and children as they come 24:03 in. Then they're able to move from there out to the homes. 24:06 But I just thought it was amazing that they immediately 24:09 pivoted saying we want to be involved in helping in some way. 24:11 And it's just been very impressive to see their response 24:14 Here's one of the pictures here. 24:16 Yeah, 41 mattresses there and in a couple other rooms as well. 24:19 They have a kitchen and bathroom facility. They bring in 24:21 food and supply food and it's just...they have clothing there. 24:25 It's just a holistic response. 24:26 That's amazing, wow. 24:28 You know Tom what I love about this story is that it's truly... 24:33 people starting with where they are, with what they have, doing 24:36 what they can. And I think that's how God really calls us. 24:39 Who would have thought of a mattress factory, right? 24:41 Yeah. You know that's amazing. I can 24:43 imagine that some of these people stay there for awhile 24:46 until you know another home or another opportunity opens up. 24:49 Yeah and I think Jason was just involved, I think he's involved 24:52 in getting the buses packed to take supplies. And this mattress 24:55 company did something pretty special. 24:57 Yeah, so they donated enough mattresses for 150 kids who are 25:02 staying at an Adventist camp just over the border. And so we 25:07 packed the bus full of the mattresses. We got sheets and 25:11 we got food, vegetables, vitamins all kinds of amazing 25:14 things headed over. And so they're doing things not only 25:16 locally where they are but then sending mattresses further out 25:20 to where they're most needed. 25:22 Wow, that's amazing, that's amazing. So as field director 25:25 let's talk a little bit about Jason. Let's talk about how this 25:29 Child Impact International helped partners you know become 25:34 more self-sustainable you know in their efforts. 25:37 Sure. And that's a big focus that we have a Child Impact 25:40 to really help projects so they're not just dependent on 25:43 donations come from us here in the U.S. How can we help them 25:46 generate income for their projects in the countries where 25:49 they operate. And so, a couple examples I'd like to share and 25:54 one is from Falco's, the video that we watched at the beginning 25:57 of the program. So we worked with Jerry to identify some 26:00 different industries that we could start there and one that 26:03 he came to us with he said, Hey I'd like to buy some bulls, some 26:08 cows. We've got a lot of land here. We can buy them when 26:10 they're really young, raise them on our property and then we can 26:14 sell them as they get older, bigger, in the local market. 26:17 And so we were able to do that so we funded 100 bulls for them 26:21 to purchase that they're care taking and that's able to fund 26:25 their operational costs there at the orphanage (for one month) 26:29 yeah for an entire month to provide you know wages for their 26:33 staff, food for the kids and things like that. 26:35 So it's not like you're inviting people to become partners and go 26:38 figure it out yourself. I mean you guys are helping them to 26:40 learn how to become self sustainable in that effort. 26:42 Exactly. So we walk right along side with them. Help them 26:45 identify industries. Another really cool one that we were 26:49 just on the phone with about this week a project in India 26:52 where we operate a safe house. We partner with a lady there. 26:56 Her name is Anita and she operates a safe house where we 27:00 work with the Indian government to rescue girls from brothels 27:03 who are trafficked, kids from begging rings and they come here 27:07 to the safe house and then we need some industries to be able 27:11 to teach them so that they don't go back to the streets after 27:14 they leave. So we've identified two that we're operating right 27:19 now, one is a soap making business and so we teach the 27:22 women there how to make organic soaps with essential oils and 27:26 then they're able to go out. We teach them how to market their 27:29 product to sell them there locally. And then the second one 27:32 is we've actually converted a garage at the safe house into a 27:37 commercial bakery. And so they've taught the girls how to 27:39 bake healthy foods, healthy breads and then they go out and 27:42 they sell those on the streets there in India. So really some 27:45 neat projects that are coming out of our projects around the 27:49 world. 27:51 Wow, that's amazing, that's amazing. You know you just 27:54 mentioned something brings my attention. I'm going to come to 27:57 you now Melissa if that's okay. He mentioned rescuing these 28:02 children from brothels and whatnot. I understand you guys 28:06 have a powerful rescue mission that you guys participate in and 28:11 I'm going to come back in just a few moments to talk about how 28:14 you can tell us a little bit about how these children are 28:16 put on a path of healing. Because we've been talking about 28:19 kids that are coming from orphans, they've been abused or 28:22 they're coming out these horrible situations, you know, 28:25 human trafficking situations. But talk about this rescue 28:29 program that you guys have because this is powerful. 28:32 Yes so Operation Child Rescue is our program that seeks to 28:37 eradicate child exploitation. Human trafficking is a big part 28:41 of that. Most experts are estimating that there are 40 28:44 million people that are trapped in trafficking right now. Even 28:49 more discouraging the United Nations says that only one out 28:52 of a hundred is ever rescued and we want to be a part of that 28:55 solution. We are empowering front lines organizations to do 28:59 powerful work in that area. I think maybe even better than me 29:03 explaining to you the project I'd love to share this video. 29:06 It really kind of captures what we're doing to mitigate human 29:10 trafficking globally. 29:11 All right, so let's go to that video right now. 29:13 Chirundu, Zambia 29:22 Girls as young as 12 find themselves caught in 29:24 prostitution as a way to provide for their families. 29:29 I used to go at school in the morning, then knock off at 12 29:32 then go for prep from 2 PM to 4 PM. Then at 5 I go and sell. 29:40 Yeah after 5 to 7, we go out at night. They've got no choice. 29:47 They can't be watching their kid sisters and brothers starving. 29:51 They have to go there. They've got no choice to say, If I say 29:55 at home, my kid sister won't eat anything. 29:59 Chirundu is a small town that borders Zimbabwe, about one hour 30:03 from Riverside. And one characteristic that makes this 30:05 town unique is the amount of traffic with large truckers 30:10 that drive-through for import and export. As we began to 30:17 explore this area we recognized a very vulnerable population in 30:21 these communities. The vulnerable group that we 30:24 discovered was teenage girls. Often, the responsibility and 30:28 the burden to take care of their elderly grandparents or their 30:31 younger siblings rests upon these ladies at a very young age 30:34 Because basic needs are barely met education is not a priority 30:42 and these girls have some very difficult decisions to make. 30:45 I'm not feeling so good to watch my young siblings not to eat 30:51 because of not having enough money, you know? So I'm like, 30:56 can I be a sacrifice? Something like that. 30:59 Now you have trucks coming in and out of the town. And you 31:06 know how sometimes these truck drivers, in the process of 31:09 trying to relax, they approach girls, you know, to do certain 31:14 things for them, and that girl will say like, okay, fine. Let 31:18 me give in because I feel like they're going to give me what 31:20 I'm looking for. The moment I get what I'm looking for, I'll 31:23 be able to help out at home. 31:27 They go sell to the truck drivers Later on, they go into their 31:31 trucks, do something else. They give them money, they survive. 31:34 Some of the girls that are taken are not even that age. Some of 31:40 them are 12, 13, 14. 31:45 By providing an education for these girls, we hope to 31:48 intersect before they get to that high-risk age and be able 31:51 to provide them a different hope and a different future. 31:57 I look at education to be a very important tool because it 32:02 makes a lot of people be aware of certain things. You know how 32:06 being educated, or rather just having an exposure of education 32:10 just alerts your mind. You know, like, you just become alert of 32:15 some things and because you know that you're acquiring a certain 32:19 skill, it exposes you to a lot of things. Imagine how you have 32:24 an education and you've probably come across of different things 32:30 the dangers of giving yourself to you know big men and 32:35 everything like trust me you wouldn't really fall for it 32:37 because you've already had an exposure, you've learned about 32:41 such things. Someone has taught you the dangers of such things. 32:44 So really, an education in this case can really be helpful. 32:49 It's really helpful to say... it's really helpful to young 32:52 women, young girls especially. 32:55 Education is important 'cause look at me. It has helped me to 32:59 become strong. Through that, I learned because I put food on 33:03 my table. I paid fees through the bottles that I used to sell- 33:08 the water. So if any of these girls would do that because 33:13 they've been given an opportunity. What I would say to 33:17 them is that they can just use it wisely because it only comes 33:20 once. So imagine how a girl child gets an education, they go 33:24 back to their community and be an example to other children 33:29 out there, be an example to their young ones. They become 33:32 leaders. You know, they try by all means, you know, to make 33:36 those young ones not to go back to the truck driver situation. 33:41 Our dreams for these girls is to be able to see their goals and 33:45 dreams being fulfilled. Whether it's to be a faithful mother 33:47 taking care of their own children someday or to become a 33:50 doctor. We want to give them that opportunity. 33:55 ♪ ♪ 34:00 We are so thankful to be able to partner with Child Impact so 34:03 that children and communities all around us can have lives 34:07 that are mentally, physically and spiritually fulfilling. This 34:10 is our passion and this is what drives our mission. 34:14 It's no longer putting food on their tables and survival. 34:19 They're becoming more strong women. Now they can focus on 34:24 achieving their dreams. 34:25 ♪ ♪ 34:43 Mmm. Wow. Chuckles. So Operation Child Rescue, just kind of give 34:49 us a summary of what we just saw in that video there and how 34:52 Child Impact International is involved in this work. 34:56 Yeah, I mean the work that we're doing, this is why I joined the 35:00 team at Child Impact. I watched this video in our office and I 35:03 wept. I have four brothers and four sisters and I'm thinking if 35:08 I was at Chirundu, like that could have been me and anyway 35:12 Well absolutely. It's, I mean, it's hard. I'm watching these 35:17 videos and I'm seeing these photos and I mean on one hand 35:20 you're praising God because of what you guys are doing. You're 35:23 making such a great impact in the lives of these kids. But I 35:25 think about, you know, all of those kids that are not as 35:28 fortunate. You know, we live in a world unfortunately has the 35:33 realities that we have to face of death and pain and sorrow and 35:37 all that these children are having to go through but yet 35:39 it's just another sign that Jesus is coming soon and He's 35:42 going to come back and make all things new. And you know Melissa 35:47 I just wanted to come back to you just for a moment here. You 35:50 know, you see these children, whether it's them coming out of 35:54 abuse or you know the orphans or the dealing with situations like 35:56 this right here, you know, how do you bring about healing in 36:01 life of a child who's gone through this, you know. So talk 36:05 a little bit about that. 36:06 Yeah. I think we're really grateful to partner with 36:07 organizations that believe in caring for these children 36:10 holistically. It's not enough to just take them out of those 36:14 situations and just give them safe housing like that's very 36:17 important. That's the first step But they really care about these 36:21 kids, they love these kids. I mean, you heard Jerry say it. 36:23 They love these kids and they're going to show that love every 36:26 day. So it's really providing that safe place where people can 36:30 begin to build trust again. Those are the first building 36:34 blocks into the healing process. 36:36 Amen, amen. And Donna I know that you, you have seen first 36:41 hand the powerful spiritual impact that Child Impact has had 36:45 on these children's lives. Maybe you can tell us a little bit 36:47 about how is Child Impact International making a dynamic 36:52 impact spiritually on these individuals, these children that 36:55 are coming into the program that are being rescued. They're 36:58 you know brought in under this program? 37:01 Well you know we are all very familiar with the evil voices 37:06 that go on that move into evil situations. And yes Melissa it 37:14 is important for us to take those first steps and make sure 37:17 that they have food and water and shelter and they're safe. 37:22 Above and beyond that what's really important to us is we're 37:26 looking at the eternal effect for each child. And that means 37:30 somewhere, someone has to help change their identity from what 37:37 they think they are born for to be a sacrifice so they can take 37:41 food home to their family. That's not what they were born 37:44 for. They were born and created, created by God to have the image 37:51 of Him. And so what we're really into is taking care of the 37:56 physical needs but going the extra mile and really helping 38:01 them find their newest, their truest, their best identity. 38:06 And it's only at that moment I think that we can say yes this 38:12 isn't just a humanitarian effort which is very important. This is 38:17 this is an effort that's really counting for eternity for each 38:21 child that we have the opportunity to rescue and I just 38:27 love it, Tom, when you talk to us about the baby drop off and 38:31 what that means that's... 38:36 Yeah we encountered something I never heard of before, a baby 38:39 drop. This is Tanzania and the program that we're partnershiped 38:45 is called Cradle of Love. And the founder of that organization 38:49 happens to be living now in Chattanooga area near where 38:55 we're at and I met her at church before I went to Africa and saw 38:59 the projects there and discovered that two of her 39:03 daughters who go to school with my boys, one was adopted right 39:07 before she would have gone into the baby drop program and the 39:11 other one lived the first three years of her life in that 39:14 program. And so basically for three years they look after 39:19 children as they identify homes that can take them permanently. 39:22 But they keep them for three years because they want to make 39:25 sure they have proper nutrition. So we're exploring the 39:29 possibility of opening up another baby drop perhaps near 39:32 where Falco's is at. We've discussed that but it's 39:36 incredible to think that a whole life can be changed by 39:42 intervention in this way. Yeah, you know my boys go to school. 39:45 They're friends with these girls that would have been part and 39:48 one that was part of that program. 39:50 Well I'm sure the name kind of says it all but as I'm hearing 39:52 you say baby drop I'm guessing these are legitimate infants or 39:56 young children that is it the parents, or the family, or the 40:00 government or someone who that's... 40:03 The mother gives birth. They have something where they put 40:05 the baby in this depository and they slide the baby across and 40:09 it's monitored 24 hours a day and somebody on the other side 40:12 receives the baby and takes care of them. No questions asked. 40:15 And then somewhere down the line in the process, they're brought 40:18 to you guys. 40:19 To the part where we work on...Yeah in Tanzania. 40:22 Wow, that's amazing man. Praise God for that. Uh Jason as field 40:32 director, I mean you guys are doing so much already but I mean 40:34 I'm sure the Lord has so much more that He wants you guys to 40:37 do that He's going to be opening doors. So what are some of the 40:39 what are some more opportunities that you guys are looking to 40:43 address here in the next, in the near future? 40:46 Sure. You know we're really excited about this project that 40:48 we're talking about, Operation Child Rescue. So last year we 40:51 were in one country, we were in India and in the last year we're 40:55 now in seven countries and looking to continue to expand 40:58 our reach in 40:59 that area of human trafficking, orphan rescue, baby rescue. 41:04 So really continuing to go with that program. And then another 41:06 really exciting thing that we're working on right now is we're 41:09 opening up child sponsorship in the Philippines. So we hope to 41:14 have that open by the end of this year and so right now we're 41:16 working with the church and we have partners on the ground 41:19 there and soon we'll be rolling that program out to help kids 41:26 who otherwise would not have the opportunity to attend an 41:28 Adventist school in poor communities. We'll be getting 41:31 the sponsors here in the U.S. and able to provide the 41:35 opportunity for them to attend Adventist schools in the 41:38 Philippines. So we're really excited about rolling that out. 41:40 That's amazing. And we may talk about this maybe a little bit 41:43 more during the next few minutes but you know maybe just talk a 41:46 little bit about how does someone become involved in a 41:48 sponsorship situation where they can...maybe there's someone 41:51 watching right now that says I want to sponsor. How does that 41:53 work? 41:54 Sure. So what we do is we have partners on the ground in each 41:59 country at schools that we've identified and so we'll send 42:01 someone there and they'll conduct interviews in the 42:05 community to find kids who are truly needy, who would not have 42:08 any other way to attend an Adventist school. And then we 42:10 will take a picture of them, we'll get some background 42:13 information on them, their family, some fun facts about 42:17 them, you know, what do they want to be when they grow up? 42:19 What are their favorite sports or activities to do and then 42:23 we'll build a profile around that student and put them on our 42:26 website. And so someone can go to our website, Child Impact, 42:29 and they can select a child that they'd like to sponsor and they 42:33 [ChildImpact.org] can follow that child throughout their 42:36 whole academic career. And so we try to put children in the 42:39 program who are younger so we can sponsor them all the way 42:42 through high school. We have some opportunities even to 42:45 sponsor them going to nursing school and college. And it's 42:49 really fun because you get to stay in touch with that child. 42:52 You can write them letters, they'll write you letters back 42:54 you can send pictures of your family to them. They'll send 42:58 pictures that they've drawn. We update their profile every year 43:01 with new pictures so you can see really the growth of the 43:04 child and so it's a really neat program and I'd encourage 43:07 everyone to get involved. My wife and I have sponsored a 43:10 child at the orphanage in India for about five years now. And so 43:15 we really enjoy getting the letters and the pictures from 43:17 him every year. [ChildImpact.org] 43:18 And Ryan I would say one of the things I love about our team at 43:21 Child Impact is we're all in. You know Jason just shared he's 43:25 been a sponsor even before he joined the team. I came on board 43:28 and began sponsoring. One of the ladies on the team as I was 43:32 interviewing she opened up the computer and said these are my 43:36 kids. And so I just love that you know we're a part of it but 43:39 we know this is the real deal and we want to also be involved. 43:42 You know Ryan also I've come to realize that people don't know 43:47 what they don't know. And when people understand that there is 43:52 a need...I have quite a few non Adventist friends and just 43:56 sharing with them we picked up nine sponsors several months ago 44:01 as I was just sharing with them the need. And when people 44:05 realize the need they want to do something about it. And I 44:09 believe that is God and the Holy Spirit working on hearts to just 44:14 rescue those who don't have a voice, those who are truly 44:20 suffering and that's what I love about Child Impact. 44:25 And I just want to add, you know we heard it in the video but she 44:30 said, you know investing in this one girl, she's going to go back 44:33 home and transform her local community and prevent other kids 44:37 So investing in one child has a much bigger impact than even 44:40 that one child. So, just want to encourage everyone to be a part 44:45 of this... 44:46 Yeah, absolutely. That's powerful, powerful what you guys 44:47 are doing. I know this is kind of your first time under the 44:51 umbrella of Child Impact International, coming here on 44:54 the set and doing this interview but I know that Child Impact 44:58 International/3ABN has a history Maybe talk a little bit about 45:02 you know what you're aware of as far as 3ABN and Child Impact 45:05 history there, how they've worked together. 45:08 Sure, I think 3ABN helps to tell the story and has been doing 45:14 that for some time. Every weekend we have two programs 45:17 that's a repeat, Friday evening and Saturday afternoon and it's 45:21 just an opportunity for us to share from the different 45:24 projects we're involved in. For example we've had so far this 45:29 year, so we're four months into the year at the time of this 45:32 recording, we've had 285 children sponsored. I would love 45:37 to see us get to the point where we're sponsoring a thousand 45:39 new children in our program every single year and that's a 45:43 goal that we have. We'd love to do even more than that but 45:46 that's an initial step that we want to see happen. But 45:49 certainly the viewers of 3ABN and the platform that we've had 45:54 here have enabled us to grow and to expand our influence and 45:58 impact globally. So that's been a real blessing. By the way, I 46:02 want to share...I found out that we have many sponsors who have 46:07 like 10 children. You know when my wife and I got married, 46:09 before we got married she told me she wanted to have 10 kids. 46:13 And I didn't believe her. But if that's been someone's dream, you 46:17 know, if that's your dream and you're watching today we'd 46:21 invite you to expand your family so you don't have to stop at one 46:23 you can have 10. 46:25 That's right, that's right, amen amen. You know I'd love as we're 46:28 doing this interview and as you're telling me the stories 46:31 and seeing the videos you know my mind's going back to Matthew 46:34 25. You know Jesus is right there in His last week, I mean 46:39 he's literally like a week out from being crucified and He's 46:41 giving that famous Olivet discourse but then he goes on 46:43 to talk about you know how many will say to me in that day you 46:48 know, Lord how did we feed you? How did we clothe you? How did 46:53 we visit you. You know Jesus was talking about when you feed 46:55 someone, when you take care of them and you're there for them, 46:58 you're there for me, you're doing this to me. And so that's 47:01 exactly what I see is happening here. You know, we're not 47:03 just ministering just to children but you're doing it to 47:06 the Lord. When you provide those funds, when you provide your 47:10 resources, when you're praying, when you're supporting 47:12 ministries like Child Impact International, my friends we're 47:16 not only changing lives but we're also impacting for 47:18 eternity and you're doing it to God. He takes record of that. He 47:23 knows when you've done this. When you've given that person 47:25 a drink, when you've fed them food, when you've put clothes on 47:28 their back, when you've provided shelter for them and in this 47:32 case when you've pulled them out of that horrible situation, 47:34 you've done that to me as if we're doing that for the Lord. 47:37 And it's just, it's powerful. And so I just have to ask just 47:41 kind of in summary here, Tom, there may be someone watching 47:43 right now who says hey you know I want to help, I want to get 47:47 involved in what Child Impact International is doing, maybe 47:50 just kind of give us a summary, an overview, really quickly, 47:53 if there might be somebody that's tuned right at this 47:55 moment and they're interested in helping. So how can our 47:59 viewers or anyone for that matter get involved in what 48:02 Child Impact International is doing? 48:04 One of the commitments that we've made is that we want to 48:09 own July 30. (Okay) Why July 30? July 30 is the world day against 48:14 human trafficking. It's recognized globally, it comes up 48:17 every single year. Every year has a July 30. This year it 48:21 happens to fall on a Saturday for 2022, but it's going to 48:27 repeat again the next year. And what we want to do is raise the 48:31 attention to this tremendous crisis that is global in nature 48:36 and unfortunately the United States funds a lot of it (Right) 48:40 And as Melissa was sharing it's hard to even counteract it. You 48:44 know one in one hundred never gets out that gets in (Wow) So 48:47 we want to work preventatively but as I think about what 48:50 viewers can do to support, if you enjoyed the videos that you 48:54 saw during this program, we're going to provide videos of that 48:57 quality and we would like to provide churches with an option: 48:59 An eight-minute video that takes place of the children's story 49:04 for that particular day because you're helping kids or a 49:08 23-minute video that replaces the sermon. So this is on July 49:12 30 and in following obviously years the closest date 49:15 to July 30 would 49:16 be the time to do that. But we also provide a magazine that 49:21 will provide the latest statistics on human trafficking 49:24 and share the stories of some of the projects that we're 49:27 involved in. But I would love if viewers that are watching are 49:31 involved at the church where they could use their influence 49:33 like Donna was sharing and say look I think we should show this 49:37 video. Maybe it's the eight minute video that makes it the 49:39 first time around but the next year we want to do the 23 minute 49:42 we want to do the full version. So that's a very practical way 49:45 that individuals can help. Also of course with sponsorship we 49:48 have about 400-500 children at any time that are waiting for 49:52 sponsors. So that's very simple to go to our website and just 49:56 sign up for sponsoring a child. And so, like I said, my wife and 49:59 I have a couple children we're sponsoring but we know people, 50:02 I think the biggest family is 33 children that somebody sponsored 50:05 [ChildImpact.org] So if somebody wants to break the record now's 50:08 your chance. But we do have like I said 400-500 that are waiting 50:12 and that enables us to bring new children into the program 50:16 as we move forward. 50:19 Amen, praise the Lord, praise the Lord. Jason, you got any 50:22 final thoughts before we go to our break? We got a break in 50:24 just a moment. We got about a minute and 20. You got anything 50:26 on your heart, you want to share brother? 50:28 You know I'm just so excited about the direction that we're 50:30 moving in in this work of preventing and helping those who 50:35 are caught up in trafficking, in vulnerable situations and so 50:39 I can't wait to see how the Lord continues to lead us in that 50:44 field. Donna, I think you had something you wanted to add 50:47 as well. 50:48 I do. I have something that's really, really critical right 50:52 now for us is we are striving to build a dormitory that would 50:57 house a hundred girls and this is an opportunity that we're 51:03 really calling upon people, anyone within the hearing 51:07 distance of this plea, we're raising $200,000 and in some 51:13 circles that may be a lot and in other circles it's a very small 51:16 amount and I just believe that the people of God, the people of 51:20 God who are longing to make a difference in this world are 51:24 those who stand up and say yes I can give here, I can give here 51:27 I can do something even if it doesn't mean getting on a plane 51:30 and flying to a different country, I can do something in 51:33 this country. And so $200,000 is our goal and hey, Ryan, if we 51:40 can possibly bring that together in the next couple of months 51:43 we could start building that dorm and be ready when the new 51:47 school year begins. And so it's urgent. 51:50 Amen, amen, all right. You've heard it. It's urgent my friends 51:54 know you're probably excited I know I'm excited. We're going 51:57 put up on the screen right now at this moment how you can get 51:59 in contact with Child Impact International, how you can 52:03 support and this is how you can do it. 52:04 If you would like to contact or know more about Child Impact 52:09 International you can do so in the following ways: You can 52:13 write to them at P.O. Box 763, Ooltewah, TN. You can call them 52:18 at (423)910-0667. You can visit their website at ChildImpact.org 52:35 You can also send them an email at help@ChildImpact.org 52:45 ♪ ♪ |
Revised 2022-09-07