Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY230001A
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00:04 I want to spend my life mending broken people.
00:14 I want to spend my life removing pain. 00:25 Lord, let my words heal a heart that hurts. 00:36 I want to spend my life mending broken people. 00:46 I want to spend my life mending broken people. 01:06 Hello, and welcome to another 3ABN Today program. 01:09 We're so glad that you've joined us today. 01:11 Thank you for being a part of our family. 01:13 You know, Jill and I always look forward to spending 01:15 this time with you. 01:16 And we want to say thank you for your prayers 01:18 and your financial support for the ministry, 01:21 God's ministry, 3ABN. 01:23 It's always so very humbling to think about 01:24 reaching the entire world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. 01:28 And of course, at 3ABN we stand on the Word of God. 01:31 This is not 3ABN's message, it's the Bible's; Jesus Christ. 01:36 So I'm excited about today's program. 01:37 We're going to meeting, I don't want to say, with old friends. 01:40 That just never sounds right. 01:42 I knew you were going to go there. 01:43 I just want to say, they are longtime friends. 01:45 And we might have met them when we were two or three. 01:47 You know, Babe, you do really good with this word thing. 01:49 I love that. Yeah, long-time friends. 01:52 Yes, but today is going to be a fun time. 01:54 It is indeed. 01:56 And we have dear friends with us here, 01:57 long-time friends; Claus and Theresa Nybo 02:01 Of course, Claus, you are the president of LifeStyle TV 02:05 there in Sweden. 02:06 And Theresa, you are Health Producer, 02:07 I think, is your official title there at LifeStyle TV. 02:11 ~ So much more, right. 02:13 You wear many hats. 02:15 But we were just reminiscing before the program. 02:17 I'm trying to think, you were in my sister's wedding. 02:19 My sister was in your wedding. 02:22 I got it right now. 02:23 How many years ago was that? 02:25 - Oh, the wedding, yeah... - It'll be 27 this year. 02:29 It's amazing. 02:30 - Time just goes by. - That's a long time. 02:33 ~ Y'all don't change - You don't either. 02:35 You don't either. 02:36 You are all involved, of course, in ministry 02:38 and Lifestyle Television. 02:40 Tell us just quickly what that is, and we'll go to some music. 02:42 But tell us what LifeStyle TV is all about. 02:45 Well, in a nutshell, I guess, the name says itself. 02:47 It's a TV station that focuses on lifestyle issues. 02:51 And when we talk lifestyle, we, of course, look at both 02:54 the physical, the mental, and the spiritual. 02:57 So we see all three dimensions as being something 03:00 that's really part of it. 03:01 And so that's LifeStyle TV. 03:03 And we'll share a lot more about some of the other new 03:06 aspects of the ministry as we come back after the music. 03:09 You might want to just mention, we're based in 03:11 Scandinavia in Sweden, 03:13 in Europe, so people can locate it. 03:17 We were there. We're going to talk about that. 03:18 We were for the grand opening, 03:21 you could say, with your building. 03:22 We'll talk about that. It was a few years ago. 03:24 But beautiful facility. 03:26 It's exciting to see what God is doing in and through 03:29 your ministry there; God's ministry. 03:31 But it's exciting to see what's happening. 03:33 So we want to talk about that and give you an update 03:35 on what's happening, and the miracle stories 03:38 of what God is doing there in Scandinavia. 03:41 But first, should we go to some music? 03:43 - Let's do it. - We have Tim Parton with us. 03:45 And he's going to be ministering a song, Unclouded Day. 06:10 Amen. Thank you so much, Tim, for that song, Unclouded Day. 06:15 Praise the Lord for the hope of eternity 06:17 that we have to look forward to. 06:20 If you're just joining us, we have Claus and Theresa Nybo 06:24 with us, of course, from LifeStyle TV there in Sweden. 06:29 So tell us, let's walk back a few years 06:33 to the origin of LifeStyle TV and the connection with 3ABN, 06:38 which we remember well. 06:39 Tell us about that. 06:41 Yeah, and this is so exciting. 06:42 You know, it's actually, we got an email the other day, 06:44 a little text from one of our former 06:47 students that had been there. 06:49 And she just said, "Happy anniversary." 06:51 And I just had to think a second. 06:54 Which anniversary? Ah yeah, of course. 06:56 And it was the 17 year anniversary 06:58 for when we started LifeStyle TV. 07:00 So that makes it just about 17 years, more than that, 07:03 that we left 3ABN here, after having had a year and a half of 07:07 just wonderful time here together making 07:09 a lot of good friends, and learning so much, 07:12 it just made our head all hurt. 07:15 ~ And that's your reason for coming to 3ABN 07:17 so many years ago, wasn't it? 07:19 Because you had that dream 07:20 to build a television station up there. 07:22 We at least had the dream to use media. 07:24 We didn't quite know what that meant at the time, 07:27 but being here for one year, God just started talking to us 07:31 in so many different places and giving us that vision 07:34 of going home and using media as a way to 07:38 reach out to people and share the gospel and share 07:43 other principles of health, and so forth, with people. 07:46 So we really appreciated the time we were here. 07:49 We got to know you guys. 07:51 Unfortunately, there's not so many people left. 07:53 There's so much elders and ministry turnover. 07:56 And so we realize there's not a lot of people 07:58 that we know anymore. 08:00 But it is always fun. 08:01 And in the hallways we get stopped by people. 08:03 They come out and they know us. 08:06 And I would just add that Jill was my piano teacher. 08:11 You know, that's true. I forgot about that. 08:12 That is a true statement. I remember that. 08:15 I can't say I've progressed much further than then. 08:17 But it was a good experience. 08:20 Another thing, you guys did some cooking programs together too. 08:24 I don't know if we did any together. 08:25 Yeah, you did some English shows, I remember. 08:28 Well, I know I did something here when I worked. 08:30 I did some in the Today studio, I remember that. 08:33 It's been a long time. 08:35 You know, 17 years, you kind of lose track. 08:37 ~ It blurs. - It blurs. 08:38 You lose track of all the things we did, but 08:40 I remember, Theresa, you worked in programming 08:42 learning how to put the segments together and how to schedule, 08:46 because you need that there in Sweden. 08:48 And Claus, you worked as a producer, I remember that. 08:51 ~ Right, on the road. 08:52 And so, I was traveling a lot and out with the truck 08:55 and went out and did pre-interviews. 08:57 We did the Upclose series back then. 08:59 So that was my series. 09:02 And I had the privilege of starting that, 09:04 and that was really fun. 09:05 I learned a lot through that. 09:07 And you also took some material to the first GYC 09:09 that 3ABN went to, which was in 2004. 09:12 ~ Yeah, well yeah, we went there and got to know a lot of people. 09:16 So a lot of the different conventions we went out 09:18 together with 3ABN and met people 09:20 and connected with people. 09:22 And a couple of years we did some joint exhibitions, 09:25 I remember, in the booth together as well. 09:27 And that was really nice. 09:28 So going to LifeStyle TV, why Sweden? 09:32 Well, I come from Scandinavia. I'm Danish. 09:36 But when we married, I married Theresa who is American, 09:39 we went and we lived in Sweden. 09:41 And we wanted to get out and find a place a little bit more 09:45 in the countryside. 09:46 And Denmark is more populated. 09:49 And so that means property prices 09:51 in the country are higher. 09:52 But in Sweden, we could find something we could afford. 09:54 So that's actually why we ended up there. 09:57 And so, then when we started with TV ministry, 10:00 the Lord said, "Well, use what you have." 10:02 So, we started right there with the farm and the place we had 10:06 and developed a studio, and so forth, from there. 10:10 So that was the beginning. 10:11 And then, as you mentioned already, about five years ago 10:15 we moved to another location further north. 10:18 Which was really, really beautiful. 10:20 We'd been praying for more space for a long time. 10:22 Because we were in a space that really 10:25 was meant for a living room. 10:26 And that's all we had for studios. 10:29 And then the Lord opened up the possibilities 10:32 of this beautiful place. 10:33 And I think we have a couple of pictures here as well 10:35 that shows us an amazing place that was built as a 10:39 retreat center out in nature, but also had a concert hall, 10:43 a studio inside of that. 10:47 And that... 10:48 ~ It's absolutely beautiful. 10:50 We mentioned we've been there. 10:52 And it's fantastic. 10:53 I mean, just the grounds, because you're in the country. 10:55 When we were there, there's a dirt road. 10:57 ~ Yep, that's the driveway. 10:59 ~ Yeah, so it's about a mile long driveway in through 11:02 the forest there as you come up. 11:04 And then the landscape kind of opens up there. 11:06 ~ There's a nice aerial shot. 11:08 ~ There you have it through the forest. 11:09 And then in front of it, when you see the summer view, 11:12 you kind of have a view of the lake down in front. 11:15 And it's just beautifully located there. 11:17 And so, this is amazing. 11:19 And one of the things we love is just the nature around it. 11:24 So as you look at the nature, we have a lot of forest, 11:26 there's the lakes you get out there. 11:29 And so, that means that there's a rich life 11:32 of animals around us. 11:33 I mean, what is it? 11:35 You often meet some when you're out in the morning with the dog. 11:37 Oh, I meet the moose. 11:40 Yeah, those are big animals. 11:42 They are. We usually keep at a distance. 11:44 ~ That's a great shot. 11:46 This one actually came right up on the lawn 11:48 right in front of the center and had a nice time there eating 11:51 the green buds and the leaves. 11:55 You know, so this facility, this is amazing. 11:57 I don't know if you want to spend a little bit of time 11:58 talking about it, because you're talking about a concert hall, 12:00 and stuff like that, but we just talked about it being 12:02 way out in the middle of nowhere. 12:03 You would think about having a facility like this downtown 12:06 in some city there. 12:08 But this is an interesting story how God actually 12:10 placed this directly for you guys. 12:13 And it is really unique. 12:14 The man that built it, H kan Hageg rd, who was 12:19 a renowned opera singer in Sweden. 12:23 ~ So famous, he was famous. - Yeah. 12:24 He had this vision that he wanted to do something 12:28 for other professional musicians that are often 12:31 on a trail traveling a lot, and concerts, and so forth. 12:34 And you get burned out, you get stressed. 12:37 And so he wanted to do a place where he could take care of them 12:39 where they could kind of get more new energy, 12:43 get some rest, and get creativity back. 12:45 Because one of the things that he was realizing was that 12:48 as you are stressed, your creativity goes down. 12:53 You just, like he put it, you end up recycling 12:56 old thoughts and ideas instead of thinking new. 13:00 And so, that was his whole idea of this place. 13:03 And so, it's developed for that. 13:04 So, today we are able to use it now in developing 13:07 for retreat center, which we will talk more about 13:10 a little bit later here as well. 13:12 But given this opportunity to be in nature, to find that 13:16 rest and inspiration to go anew. 13:20 To take it a little further, he built this about 30 years ago. 13:25 Long before LifeStyle TV was here, or anything else. 13:28 So he built it, but over the course of time 13:32 it had changed hands. 13:33 And when we were looking to build a studio, 13:38 we had planned to build in the south where we were. 13:41 And through the providence of God, we saw this place for sale. 13:45 Claus was looking on the internet and he saw it for sale. 13:48 And miracles never cease. 13:51 We were able to purchase it at a very, 13:54 very, very reasonable price and use it now for God's work. 13:59 ~ Amen. 14:01 ~ And so, it's amazing. 14:02 One of the things we like personally, to do, we love 14:04 the nature out there, you know. 14:05 We like hiking on the trails, we love getting into a canoe 14:09 and just canoeing down the lake. 14:11 And we have a very large lake there, so you can go canoeing 14:15 for hours just down this lake, you know. 14:17 Just take a canoe or a kayak out, take young people and 14:20 guest out, and meet with it. 14:22 Find an island there. There's small little islands. 14:25 You get like your own little island, 14:26 set up a little camp there, and then you sit by the 14:29 fireplace there in the evening, and you just... 14:31 I mean, that's just total relaxation. 14:33 There's nothing else around, you don't hear anything else, 14:37 you don't see anybody. 14:38 Just out there in nature on your own little island. 14:40 ~ That's your dog, right? ~ That's my dog, that's my baby. 14:45 So that's one of the things we love. 14:46 And one of the things we're doing now, we're then taking 14:48 guests with us out and giving them some of this experience. 14:51 I think God has given us nature. 14:53 And it is a wonderful tool for our own souls 14:58 and for others to take our minds back and away from 15:02 everything that's so artificial, so fake, to Him. 15:06 And that's the whole purpose. 15:09 Speaking of guests, let's talk about that for a moment. 15:11 You're turning this into a retreat center, you could say. 15:14 So talk to us about how that's happening and how the outreach 15:18 is for the center. 15:19 It's really just to use this to connect with people, 15:23 to give people an experience in nature. 15:26 And through that, to hope that people also might 15:30 get a connection with the Creator behind it. 15:34 And I remember we had our first guest, actually, 15:37 after we opened the retreat center... 15:39 Very first. 15:42 ...that came and had not been really out like this before, 15:47 I think, and just really enjoyed it. 15:49 And we had one evening there, it was a Friday evening 15:53 as the sun was setting, I talked to her and asked if 15:56 she'd ever been out canoeing. 15:58 And she said, "No, I have never been out, but would love to." 16:00 I said, "Well, why don't we go out canoeing tonight?" 16:02 And so we took her out there in a canoe right as the 16:05 sun is setting, and it was perfectly still weather. 16:08 And it was just so amazing. 16:10 And it just gave such opportunity to sit and talk 16:14 about nature, the God behind nature, and connect 16:18 on different levels with some of our guests. 16:22 And then what do you do when you're inside? 16:24 When you're sitting there relaxed, 16:26 people often open up a lot more. 16:30 One of the questions she came with one morning, 16:32 she had looked out on the lawn in front, 16:35 and she said, "I saw some wild animals out front." 16:39 ~ And we were like, "Oh, really, what did you see?" 16:43 And it came out, we found out, she had seen some deer. 16:46 The wild animals. 16:48 But I just... 16:49 ~Well, when you're not used to it. 16:51 ~ It's a big deal. 16:52 And people like that. 16:54 You know, they see animals they're not used to. 16:56 So we have deer, we have moose, we have foxes. 17:01 In the winter we can get a wolf in. 17:05 Occasionally there wonders a bear 17:08 that gets lost down through. 17:10 Not our property, but in the area. 17:12 And then what we do have around is... 17:14 What do you call the name of it? 17:16 - A lynx? - Lynx. 17:17 Bobcat. Yeah, bobcat. 17:19 - Lynx. - And they're very, very shy. 17:22 So you really have to be quite lucky to see them. 17:25 But beautiful animals. 17:27 And nothing to be afraid of because they run away from you 17:30 before you even get close. 17:31 But they're there and you can see the footprints of them. 17:34 And we have had... I've seen it once. 17:37 That's really unique when you get that opportunity. 17:39 So thinking about this, so you have LifeStyle TV. 17:42 And now you've got this retreat center. 17:45 So are you still doing the television part 17:47 and now the lifestyle? 17:49 ~ We're doing both. 17:50 So also to connect it together, we were looking at it 17:54 and saying, what do we call this retreat center? 17:56 And so we went through a lot of brainstorming together 17:59 and finally was like, okay, people are coming here to 18:01 stay to experience lifestyle. 18:04 Why not just simply call it, Lifestyle Stay. 18:07 So that's the name of the retreat center, Lifestyle Stay. 18:10 ~ To come and stay and experience lifestyle 18:14 for yourself out in nature, and with good food, 18:17 with rest, with all of these different elements. 18:19 And where we're located in Scandinavia, that is a, 18:23 well, it's known, it's a very secular area. 18:27 People are interested. 18:29 If you want to connect with people, you can connect with 18:31 people on a health basis, on nature. 18:35 These types of areas, people are open to talk. 18:40 And through that, you can bridge over to other deeper things. 18:45 I know, one of the guests I was able to, she noticed that 18:50 we had Christian books, and there was, you know, a cross 18:54 in a certain place. 18:55 You know, different... 18:57 - "Is this a Christian..." - And it causes questions. 18:59 "Is this a Christian facility? Who's behind this?" 19:02 And we got to really talking about things. 19:05 She herself was another Christian. 19:07 And it was just a real opportunity to... 19:10 - To witness. - Yeah, it was. 19:12 And each of the rooms, I think we have a picture as well, 19:16 from the front there where you see all of the rooms 19:19 face out towards the lakes. 19:21 So you have that view out to nature, kind of looking 19:25 from there down to the lake. 19:27 And so you get the sun coming in the window in the morning 19:30 and waking you up. 19:32 It gives really this atmosphere for people to relax. 19:35 We have so many people come and say, "Just the moment 19:38 I walk into here, I feel like just everything relaxes." 19:42 And that's wonderful. 19:43 And that's what people need today. 19:45 Because everybody is so stressed and everything goes so fast. 19:48 And so, that's part of what we're doing. 19:49 We're just starting to test a lot of this. 19:52 This summer we had, I think, our first health session. 19:55 Yeah, we had a health week, yeah. 19:57 We did it together with some other health 19:58 professionals in Sweden. 19:59 Steps For Life group is what they're called, 20:02 health professionals. 20:04 ~ So, like doctors came in? 20:06 We had a doctor, a physical therapist, 20:08 a nurse; a team that came in. 20:10 - And what we did was... ~ And you had the guests? 20:12 Yeah, we had a full house. 20:14 All filled up with guests. 20:16 And they came in and we fed them good vegetarian food. 20:22 We took them out on different exercise routines. 20:26 Took them out into the forest walking. 20:28 And just a lot of basic good health principles. 20:32 They got health lectures and personal counseling. 20:35 And all kinds of things like that. 20:36 But just really giving them a taste... 20:38 You see them out on one of the pictures here 20:40 exercising on the lawn in front. 20:42 We took them out there. 20:44 And so there you have the whole group of them. 20:46 About twenty people doing morning exercise together. 20:51 And then later Theresa takes them in the studio, 20:53 and they're sitting there and she does a food demonstration, 20:56 and then teaches them how to make themself 20:59 some of this plant-based food they were having. 21:01 So there's lectures like that. 21:03 And I think we have a picture of that too, 21:04 from them sitting there in the studio and listening 21:08 to a health lecture like that. 21:09 Theresa is a great cook. 21:11 ~ Just putting that plug in. ~ She is. 21:12 And has already gotten really known in the community. 21:15 It was funny, but the other day we were meeting with this 21:18 business group, fairly big group there. 21:22 And so we got seated together with another business leader 21:25 from a bigger business in the area. 21:27 And the first thing, he goes, 21:29 "Oh, this is Claus and Theresa from Hageg rden. 21:32 They have the best food in the world." 21:34 And I don't think he's actually been there to eat himself. 21:37 But that's the word in town, and he knew that. 21:41 And so he was introducing us to the rest, you know, on that. 21:44 So Theresa has a reputation for that. 21:47 So that is great. 21:48 You know, as I was thinking about this facility that 21:50 God gave to you, you look at the lifestyle aspect, 21:54 and you're like, "Oh wow! 21:55 So they must have spent a lot of money on 21:57 just adding all these new rooms to this place, 21:59 the kitchen demonstration area." 22:01 I know the answer to this question. 22:03 This is, to me, what is so amazing what God has done. 22:05 Because these rooms were already part of the facility. 22:09 The studio that was supposed to be the opera area, 22:11 correct me here if I'm wrong, but I think didn't the guy have 22:15 like tv truck hookups already in place so that... 22:18 ~ All of the garage was set up for the RV's, just 22:21 back right in and everything is connected. 22:23 ~ Commercial kitchen too, right? 22:24 ~ Oh yeah, beautiful kitchen. Beautiful. 22:27 - This is God-ordained. - Yes. 22:29 And I think what we're seeing happening is not like 22:31 you're, "Okay, this didn't..." 22:32 Like the television part. 22:33 You're just expanding on what God had originally 22:35 envisioned for LifeStyle. 22:36 And the thing that is so unique, for example, 22:38 this program we ran this summer, we work with a magazine 22:42 as well that's a health a lifestyle magazine 22:45 that we do four times a year. 22:47 And people can subscribe to it for free. 22:50 Sending it out to people, and it's used by many different 22:54 groups, churches, and others to pass out and give to people. 22:57 It's a sharing magazine. 22:59 But it's a part of it. 23:01 When we did this health thing, we advertised it in here. 23:05 ~ Like your health retreat. ~ The health retreat, exactly. 23:07 And so, almost all of the guests that were there, 23:09 they read about it in the magazine. 23:11 And so, these are people that have been 23:13 getting the magazine before. 23:15 So, we're finding that it's connecting together now 23:18 the different aspects of ministry. 23:19 So people that we have not met before, because they have 23:22 either been reading or watching on tv, 23:25 now they start coming. 23:26 And we get a personal face, we get personal connections, 23:29 and are able to continue to develop relationships 23:32 and so forth together. 23:34 And the other way as well. 23:35 We sign guests up that come to get the magazine. 23:39 And then that way they can stay connected with what we're doing. 23:42 And so, it's really coming together as part of a ministry 23:46 in a much larger way than we could ever have envisioned 23:49 for this to happen. 23:51 It's a multifaceted outreach, I'm sorry, Theresa, 23:53 because, you know, you have the television aspect. 23:56 And I know we'll talk about that, as far as the programming 23:58 you produce, and the app, and all of that. 24:00 You have the lifestyle aspect with the health and the retreat, 24:04 and the food and the magazine aspect. 24:07 So, what wonderful ways to connect with people, 24:10 meeting the needs of people, 24:12 and then reaching them where they are. 24:14 And it's a magazine that's quite liked 24:17 in the community as well. 24:18 You know, going back to another business meeting, 24:20 We have a very active business association in the area. 24:23 It's just simply local businesses that are getting 24:26 together and meeting and sharing experiences, 24:29 and so forth. 24:30 And at one of our meetings this year, one of the other 24:33 business leaders, he's like, "I got to show you something." 24:35 And he gets his briefcase, and out of his briefcase 24:38 he pulls out the magazine, and he's like, 24:40 "This is so good, I have it with me everywhere. 24:42 And I'm telling everybody about this amazing magazine." 24:46 In fact, I've been talking to the local newspaper. 24:49 And I've told them that they need to come 24:52 and do a feature article about what we're doing out there. 24:56 And sure enough, he has good contacts, and so one of the 25:00 editors there called up and said, "We'd like to come out 25:03 and do a report." 25:04 And so they did, and it ended up being 25:06 a double-page spread with a front page notice. 25:09 Very, very positive description about what was happening. 25:13 And quite unique, the journalist that came out, 25:19 she had herself the previous year been in Israel 25:24 and had stayed with a Jewish family. 25:27 And so, through that she had, of course, gotten an experience 25:31 with the Jewish Sabbath, and so forth. 25:33 And so, when she learned that we were Seventh-day Adventists, 25:36 she started asking a little bit about 25:37 the Sabbath and the connection. 25:39 So we were sharing some things. 25:41 And so, even in her article she was writing this, 25:43 but in a very positive light, and connecting with 25:46 what she had learned there in the past. 25:48 And just very neat to see, I think as a whole, the reception 25:52 we have gotten in the community that has been 25:55 so welcoming, so open to us coming in, 26:00 and just really some excellent contacts 26:03 that we're very blessed by. 26:04 And not just, we can see, you know, we've moved into 26:09 this location, we've moved into this area, 26:12 but it's almost as if God has been working behind the scenes. 26:17 Because, I mean, it's like this pops up, that, the newspaper. 26:21 I mean, we've been interviewed in the newspaper 26:23 several times, I think at least three, maybe more, 26:25 I'm not sure, about the place and what we're doing. 26:29 We have all these contacts. 26:31 None of them, there's no Adventist church in the area. 26:35 We have actually started a church plant in the area 26:37 because there was nothing there. 26:40 And so, it's all these contacts in this local community 26:45 that God has given us the privilege of interacting with. 26:49 He's prepared the soil definitely. 26:53 And the other thing, I mean, talking about some of the 26:56 things we do, we're working with these retreats 26:58 as we are starting out, but we have also used 27:01 the place more like a conference center. 27:04 Because it has been used like that before. 27:06 So there's some conference rooms. 27:08 And for many, it's a nice setting because it's not too big. 27:12 So often you go to a hotel and you get this room, 27:15 and somebody else is here, and somebody else is there. 27:17 And when you're sitting in the dining room, you have to 27:20 keep a little to yourself because there's so many. 27:22 Here, they book the whole place. 27:24 And so, companies like that. 27:26 So we've had several come in as well. 27:28 On that level, they like to come in. 27:31 So to be able to give people an introduction as well to health, 27:37 to plant-based food, we have a couple of pictures here 27:40 from, I think, the hotel with the bedrooms that are there. 27:44 Unique quaint old rooms that are individually designed 27:49 in every single room, so they're different. 27:50 It's not like your typical hotel where they're all just like, 27:53 you know, a production line. 27:54 ~ Some of the food. ~ And the different food. 27:56 Breakfast in the morning served. 27:58 Three-course dinners for people 28:01 All plant-based. 28:02 And people go away with, "Wow, we never knew 28:04 that plant-based food could be so good." 28:06 Is that apple juice there? 28:07 It's like an apple, not a cider, but an apple... 28:12 ~ Fruit juice. 28:13 Yeah, but it's a locally produced sparkling... 28:17 Sparkling fruit juice. 28:19 Like you, you know, you buy these sparkling Welches, 28:21 I don't know, here in America. 28:22 ~ But this is local. ~ Non-alcoholic. 28:24 - Yes. - So we use high-quality drinks. 28:26 It's non-alcoholic for sure. 28:27 But people are used to buying alcoholic drinks, 28:31 and paying quite well for it. 28:33 So they expect quality. 28:34 And so, we're finding other non-alcoholic alternatives, 28:38 but on the same quality level. 28:40 And we're able to serve and sell it for the 28:43 same price level as well. 28:44 So that's connecting with people as well and gives some 28:47 opportunity to talk about some of the things 28:49 like why we do non-alcoholic or why we do plant-based. 28:52 ~ So all of your programming and what's in print, 28:54 we're going to talk about the new app and stuff, 28:56 is all of it in Swedish? 28:57 Is that the language of your television program? 28:59 We do, we focus on Swedish. We're in Sweden. 29:02 But we also have a large variety of Norwegian programs. 29:06 We reach to all of Scandinavia. 29:08 There's something interesting with the languages, in that 29:10 with a good will and a little bit of experience 29:13 you can understand Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish, 29:18 all three. 29:20 Probably the hardest being Danish, 29:21 but the other two are fairly close. 29:24 And so, we produce in Swedish and Norwegian. 29:28 And then we do have sometimes things in English 29:31 if we have an English speaker, or something like that. 29:35 ~ Well I think it's just really great because, you know, 29:37 lifestyle television. 29:38 It's about lifestyle. 29:40 You're trying to build that bridge, as you mentioned 29:42 earlier, through health, through lifestyle. 29:43 Because like you said, very secular. 29:46 But at the same time, they are very interested in health. 29:49 So, I mean, what a great bridge. 29:50 And then you have the one, LifeStyle Stay. 29:53 That's the newest aspect as well. 29:55 ~ And then, of course, you have the magazine 29:56 with, LifeStyle View. 29:58 And so, it's connecting together in that brand, and everything. 30:01 You want to talk about the app? Should we go to the app? 30:03 We could talk about that because... 30:05 No, that's good. 30:07 Because what is unique, and I'm sure you're finding 30:09 some of the same things, that with technology developing, 30:13 you've always got to try and stay with it. 30:15 You may not always be ahead of it, but at least trying 30:18 to stay with it. 30:19 And so, when we went on satellite, when we started, 30:22 that was unique. 30:24 We were the only broadcaster within the Adventist church 30:28 that was on satellite in Europe at that time. 30:31 I think you were in from maybe the year... 30:34 ~ HOTBIRD. - On HOTBIRD. 30:35 But from within Europe there was none of them there 30:37 that was on satellite. 30:39 And so, that worked really well, because at that time, 2006-07 30:44 when we started, that was the height of the satellite. 30:47 As you know. 30:49 But then internet, what do you call it, fiber optics, 30:53 and all of this developed so much faster than, I think, 30:55 a lot of people had actually expected. 30:57 And so, in Scandinavia we see that we've got fiber connections 31:02 and internet connections out to any place in the boonies. 31:06 And so, that has made a big difference 31:08 in that, you don't need the satellite the same way, 31:11 more things transferred to the internet base. 31:14 And so, we were realizing that we needed to make some 31:17 changes if we were going to stay with and have connection 31:21 with people, then we have to get on another platform 31:25 than just being satellite-based. 31:26 Because there weren't enough people remaining there. 31:28 ~ The way people watch television changes. 31:30 ~ Yeah. ~ It does, and it changes fast. 31:33 And I know you're experiencing maybe the same things. 31:35 And so, we started developing and talking about an app. 31:40 So, we wanted something that can go on a smartphone, 31:43 can be on any smartphone that is out there. 31:46 And so, we ended up with a small app that's 31:50 called, again, LifeStyle TV that is developed for 31:55 the androids, the Apple platforms. 31:58 And what was unique and what we wanted to try and do 32:00 is, we wanted to combine. 32:02 So we didn't just have the typical video magazines. 32:06 But, say, what could we do so that we could combine 32:09 some of the other resources? 32:10 So, like the magazine. 32:12 And so right in the same app is a section that's 32:15 called, Magazine. 32:16 And so, there you can get digital versions 32:18 of all of the magazines, including back issues. 32:22 So people can go in and start reading 32:24 and have a wealth of information. 32:27 There's like a blog, is what we call it, section 32:30 where we have recipes and health tips. 32:33 There's hundreds of recipes in there now. 32:35 All plant-based in different languages that people 32:38 can search on and find. 32:40 So this was some of the different aspects. 32:43 We wanted to add books. 32:45 So we've been adding books, both on health and spiritual 32:48 subjects, as well as regular book text, 32:52 but also audio books. 32:54 And so, all of this combined. 32:56 ~ The audio books, we actually, we got to use them from 33:00 the English version here from, was it, ASI. 33:05 It was one of the ASI ministries. 33:07 Yep. 33:08 ~ I'm just now downloading the app on my phone. 33:10 I have it on mine right here. 33:12 ~ You're ahead. - I'm ahead. 33:13 Alright. Yes, I've got mine now too. 33:17 So that's very nice. 33:18 So it's in different languages. 33:19 So we have, it looks like, Swedish and some English, 33:22 ~ There's English there as well. ~ Some English, yes. 33:24 And there will be coming more. 33:26 ~ Very nice. ~ There's music. 33:27 I know we just confirmed with Greg a little while ago 33:30 that we could do some of 3ABN's programs here in the app. 33:33 We are so happy that we'll be adding some of that 33:35 to it as well. 33:37 We know that, going back, you used a lot of 3ABN programming 33:40 when you first launched on satellite 33:42 and launched LifeStyle TV. 33:43 And then, of course, you started creating your own content, 33:45 and then you used less. 33:47 But we are delighted to be able to be partnered 33:49 together in ministry and share that programming. 33:52 - So what a blessing. - We appreciate that. 33:53 It's a great-looking app. I love it. 33:55 Oh yeah, very nice. 33:56 That's now beginning to do a new reach out again 34:00 and connect with really a new group of people 34:03 that weren't satellite watchers before, 34:05 but connecting with ease. 34:06 With it, we have also done an app for, like, 34:10 the Apple TV and Android TV boxes. 34:13 Now you can get it on some of the smart TVs. 34:15 So really on a big screen and you can get the app there. 34:19 That would only have the video library, not the others. 34:21 But you have that for the big screen. 34:24 And this summer the ASI North America, 34:28 that was really unique. 34:29 Because they went in and said, "Hey, this is so great. 34:32 We want to help you." 34:33 And so, they awarded us part of an offering 34:36 that came from there. 34:37 I think about $50,000 to help promote now the app 34:41 on different social media, digital platforms 34:44 so that we can get out to new groups of people 34:46 and connect with people through the app. 34:48 ~ There's no point in producing and making a wonderful thing 34:51 if you can't get out there. 34:52 And that's going to be the next step there. 34:55 So tell us some of the stories. 34:57 I'm sure you have some amazing stories of what's 34:58 taking place. 35:00 ~ I want to, just as we're transferring, and maybe 35:02 that's a story that's worth it. 35:03 Because I am sure that we're going to find new stories 35:08 and hear new things of how God is going to use an app. 35:12 But just as we were in this transition, we got this 35:16 letter from one of our viewers that described how they 35:20 had gotten to find us on tv. 35:22 And it was just so unique 35:23 because we didn't know the story. 35:25 We have seen their name come in occasionally as they would 35:28 order different things and be in interaction with us, 35:30 but now they went back and told the story of 35:32 how they found it. 35:34 And they described how they had gone through 35:39 a very rough time in their life 35:42 where they had, I think they had experienced health issues, 35:47 health problems. 35:48 And because of the health problems and their pains, 35:51 they had been on sick leave so long they ended up losing 35:56 their business, financial trouble. 36:00 And as they were very low in both health and financially, 36:05 they had a homicide within the family. 36:08 And you're at that bottom where it's like, 36:10 how much lower can you get? 36:12 How much more can you take? 36:14 And they described how that there came this snowstorm. 36:20 And this snowstorm just came blowing in through. 36:23 And as you will know with the satellite dishes, 36:27 sometimes they're just like magnets, you know. 36:29 And that snow sits thick on the dish. 36:33 ~ And then you can't watch, you don't get the signal anymore. 36:35 No signal. And that's what they were saying. 36:37 "So we have this, and it blocks out the dish. 36:39 And there's no channels that are working. 36:41 And we're flipping through and we're not getting any signal." 36:43 Except all of a sudden they're getting LifeStyle TV. 36:47 And they didn't know the channel. 36:49 I don't know how physically God managed to do this, 36:52 because every other channel was blocked. 36:55 But the LifeStyle TV signal went through. 36:58 And so they sit there through this snowstorm and watching. 37:01 And watching long enough that they're finding that 37:04 there's some of these Bible programs that are just 37:06 ministering to their soul and that hurt that they have. 37:11 Not coming from a Christian background. 37:14 And as the snowstorm passes, they're finding themself 37:17 continually returning back to this channel. 37:20 And to me, this is just such an amazing picture of God. 37:27 Because here you have the God of the universe, 37:31 and He's looking down and He's seeing this couple 37:34 that are just hurting. 37:37 And He's like, "Okay, how can I reach these guys?" 37:40 And I can just imagine God, you know, it's like, 37:42 "Okay, we can do this. We can do that. 37:44 Now we're going to send a snowstorm." 37:45 You know, and He causes the snowstorm to block out 37:48 so that they can get a signal into their tv. 37:50 And right in their own home they're sitting and receiving 37:55 an understanding of God and His love and His comfort. 38:00 And so they describe how this started changing their life. 38:04 They started getting hope, they started getting healthier. 38:08 They started getting their health back. 38:10 And they're getting their business back up running. 38:13 And all of it contributing back to what God did that day 38:17 in that snowstorm. 38:18 That's just to me so amazing with that God we serve. 38:22 ~ That's inspiring, isn't it? 38:24 - God is alive and well. - God is alive and well. 38:26 Any other stories? This is encouraging. 38:28 Any other stories come to mind? 38:29 I know you guys are involved with youth too, and other... 38:31 ~ Yeah, let's see. 38:34 Well, some of the things in health. 38:35 Because, I mean, we did the health week this summer. 38:39 And there was a lady that came that Theresa has known 38:44 for a little while because she's come for some different things. 38:46 Martha. 38:48 And I think we have a picture there as well 38:49 from a magazine where we have Martha's story. 38:52 Which, actually, in this next magazine we're featuring 38:55 her story in the magazine. 38:57 Tell us that story there. 38:59 Well Martha, going back a few years, quite a few years, 39:03 she lived in the south of Sweden. 39:07 And she had a normal Swedish life. 39:12 Her husband was a pig farmer, among other things. 39:15 And she was a secretary, he had the farm. 39:20 And things were going well, until Martha's health began 39:23 to be a problem. 39:25 And she got an autoimmune disease, I believe it was, 39:30 where her joints, her hands, she got to where she couldn't 39:35 even pick up a piece of paper. 39:37 And that doesn't work when you're working as a secretary. 39:40 And so she was forced to quit her job. 39:43 It was so bad that her husband tells of one day 39:47 he went riding with her in the car. 39:50 And he saw that when she went to shift gears, 39:54 it was so painful. 39:55 He was afraid for her safety, her traffic safety 39:58 out in a car like that. 40:01 When they got to a parking garage where she had to 40:03 roll down the window, it was a manual window, 40:05 she could hardly do it. 40:07 He says that two days later there was a car with automatic 40:12 transmission and automatic windows for Martha. 40:15 ~ In the garage for his wife. ~ That's right. 40:18 But that didn't take away the problem. 40:20 She was really struggling. 40:21 And through a course of events, she got in contact with 40:24 the same group that we had at our place this summer. 40:27 The Steps For Life group, the health professionals. 40:32 And she went to a health retreat. 40:35 And she began to learn different health principles. 40:37 At the time, she was taking very strong pain medication, 40:41 but that wasn't taking away the pain. 40:44 But at the end of this short period of just with lifestyle, 40:49 she actually stopped taking her pain medication. 40:53 And she went home, and when her husband picked her up at 40:56 the train, he was like, "Oh, wow." 41:00 And she began to tell him. 41:01 And the pain was less and less, 41:05 and she was getting better and better. 41:07 Several months later they were going to have a reunion 41:10 of this health group. 41:12 But her husband got sick and ended up in the hospital. 41:16 But he was like, "No, you have to go. 41:18 You need to get more inspiration. 41:20 I've gotten a new wife. 41:21 I don't want to lose my new wife." 41:23 Because she had even been in a deep depression 41:26 before because of all the... 41:27 ~ The chronic illness. - Yeah. 41:29 ~ So such a radical change in her life, 41:30 he's saying, "I have a new wife now." 41:32 And this just kept going, it kept improving and improving. 41:36 After several years she was able to pick up knitting again. 41:39 She hadn't been able to do that. 41:41 Just her whole life changed. 41:42 She came this last summer 41:44 and she brought someone else with her. 41:46 Her husband was there too, they both were there. 41:48 She turned 80 this year. 41:50 She went on a several-mile hike up in the mountains with us. 41:54 Just as happy as could be, and fit. 41:57 You would never know that she had had such a... 42:00 ~ And this is what is the amazing thing. 42:02 That the message of the gospel, and the health message 42:07 as we find there as well, it heals the mind, 42:10 it heals the body, and it gives people a new purpose, 42:14 and a new sense, and a new life. 42:15 And it's so amazing. 42:17 And that's part of what we're working on. 42:18 Then through tv, through magazine, 42:21 and now this retreat center, to be able to give people, 42:23 and to connect like that, 42:24 and to give them an experience. 42:26 And I think the retreat center is unique from... 42:29 It's one thing to watch it or to read about it, 42:32 but when you can go to a place and experience it yourself, 42:35 and get out in nature. 42:37 For many people that haven't had that opportunity, 42:40 you get some total different experiences 42:42 and you take things a step further. 42:45 ~ What if someone is watching right now and they say, 42:47 "I want to go to this retreat center." 42:48 Or, "I'm interested in going." 42:50 How can they do that? 42:52 Well one of the good ways would be to go on the website 42:54 There's a website... 42:59 ~ I see that right there. 43:00 And so, that will be where you go, and there you can find 43:03 information about our general packages. 43:06 And this summer we'll be running some new special packages. 43:08 - Special health retreats. - With health retreats. 43:10 And health vacations. 43:12 And so that's an opportunity to go and experience it. 43:14 ~ Would I have to speak Swedish? 43:16 ~ No, no, you wouldn't have to. 43:18 No, no. I mean, all of the staff speak English. 43:21 And so there will be English staffing and opportunities. 43:24 You get to experience a lot. 43:27 It's based on coming to a place where you can relax, 43:30 you can get out in nature, get physically active. 43:33 Experience some of these things, eat good plant-based food. 43:37 And we have a picture here of a boat. 43:39 We take people out on excursions. 43:42 And here's one of the boats on a local lake here 43:44 where we are taking the guests out, and so forth. 43:47 So many different things that we're doing 43:49 to try and get people just out and experience this themself. 43:55 And so, these are just some of the things that we do. 43:58 You know, as we were transitioning to some of this, 44:00 it's unique again how... 44:02 You know, I think we're all familiar with 44:05 what happened these last couple of years. 44:07 You know, it's like the cut-out years 44:09 that nobody wants to talk about; the Corona years. 44:12 And before that, we had been wanting to get 44:16 some more rooms, some more space. 44:19 Because the retreat center there itself, as we saw the picture, 44:22 is fairly large, but there's only twelve hotel rooms. 44:26 And so, at times we need to have a larger capacity. 44:29 So we'd been looking at, there was a hostel down the road. 44:34 A little simpler accommodations. 44:36 ~ Kind of like an inn. Very nice. 44:38 But unique and quaint and very nicely arranged. 44:43 So we were looking at that. 44:46 It opened up the possibility where the owners wanted 44:50 to basically retire from it. 44:53 And it opened up that we were able to 44:55 take over and buy this place. 44:56 And it's just two miles down the road. 44:58 ~ Yeah, close. - Yeah. 44:59 And so, we took this over and we had all these plans 45:02 with these different things we were going to do. 45:04 And literally, the week when we get the keys 45:09 is the same week that all of the restrictions 45:11 around the world is being announced. 45:13 That corona shuts down the world. 45:15 And everything there, I mean, there were already bookings 45:18 when we took it over. 45:19 Everything was canceled. 45:21 And so, we're standing there with this hostile. 45:25 And we've seen the providence of God in being able to get it, 45:29 but all of a sudden it's like, did we miss something? 45:33 Was this really God's leading? 45:34 You know, should we really have... 45:36 And the owners, of course, they were really happy. 45:38 They said several times, "Oh, we're so happy that we sold it." 45:41 But they've been really nice. 45:43 We have very good relations. 45:44 They're still in the area and they've actually helped us 45:46 on many occasions with many practical things. 45:49 So we stood there for three months, and there was nothing. 45:52 And praying and asking God, "What do we do with this?" 45:55 And as part of another mishap around the Corona, 46:02 another larger factory in the area had closed down for a month 46:07 because of the restrictions, but when they were 46:09 starting things back up, something went wrong 46:11 and the whole place burned down. 46:13 But it was a very important factory for the local business. 46:19 It was. 46:21 And so they needed to get this built up really, really fast. 46:24 So they brought in builders, electricians 46:26 from around the country. 46:28 And so, they had about 30 electricians 46:30 that needed a place to stay. 46:31 So, they called up and said, "Could we rent the whole place?" 46:34 They stayed at your youth hostel. 46:36 ~ They wanted to rent it for a month or two 46:39 while they worked on this thing. 46:40 Well, that month or two dragged into 11 months. 46:44 And it was like, the Lord's providence that 46:47 here we thought we had this... 46:49 Because the income, it helps to support LifeStyle TV. 46:53 That keeps everything going. 46:55 And here, God had provided. 46:56 He knew what was coming. 46:58 He was not blind and, "Whoops, oh, corona." 47:00 No, that wasn't God at all. 47:02 - He knew and took care of it. ~ So He had a plan. 47:03 So it's neat to see how God works in so many different ways. 47:07 You know, it could be a snow storm, 47:09 it could be a donation, it could be causing guests to come. 47:13 And so, they signed up and were there for 11 months. 47:15 And good connections as well. 47:17 But it gave a financial base to help things run. 47:20 So God is good. 47:21 So in just the last few minutes here 47:23 tell us about media missionaries. 47:24 I know in the past you've had that. 47:26 Are you still doing it? 47:27 Television is still a big part. Media is what you do. 47:29 So what about media missionary? Still, doing that? 47:32 We still do it. 47:33 We had to do a little bit of a break because we couldn't get 47:35 visas during the corona crisis, 47:37 but that has been cleared now again. 47:39 So we run a program, like you say, called media missionaries. 47:43 And now it's a little bit expanded from the media aspect. 47:46 It can be young people that has a college education, 47:49 university degrees, anything within media 47:52 that say, "Hey, I would like to spend a year in mission. 47:54 I want to go out and maybe practice, 47:57 used what I've learned, 47:58 but in a different culture and a different setting." 48:00 Come be a part of the media part. 48:02 It could be somebody that has gone through 48:04 anything related to hospitality. 48:06 food service, housekeeping, working with guests, 48:10 activities for the guests in taking them out. 48:13 So it could be a lot of these different aspects as well 48:15 that young people may have an education in, 48:18 a practice in, and say, "Hey, I would like to help out in this." 48:22 So we take young people for typically 48:25 we do it a year at a time. 48:27 For the hospitality, we have opened up this summer 48:29 to actually take for 3 months. 48:31 So if there's young people that want to come for 3 months 48:33 and say, "Hey, I want to come and just help out," 48:36 with kitchen, with cooking, with working with guests, 48:39 for any of these practical things, 48:41 that will be an opportunity. 48:43 They would be out of school, they're here in the states, 48:44 they could come over there and be a missionary. 48:46 For that, you contact us and go onto the website. 48:48 It is called, mediamissionary.se 48:52 And there you will get the information of 48:55 what we're looking for, how you can contact us. 48:58 So that's the way. 48:59 And in general, if people want to know more, 49:01 it's, lifestyletv.se. 49:04 That would be the website for the ministry as a whole. 49:07 You can also get information about the apps and how 49:10 you can download those things. 49:11 So that's, yeah, we love young people. 49:15 It's great. 49:16 ~ Yeah, amen. Yeah, a lot going on. 49:18 It's a blessing to be involved in ministry, isn't it? 49:20 ~ That is true. 49:21 You know, as you're in ministry and you started out 49:25 17 years ago, right, you had no idea where you'd be 49:29 that many years later, right. 49:30 But just look how God has expanded and grown the ministry. 49:33 So you've got someone, let's say, right now at home 49:35 that's saying, "Wow, I feel impressed to start a ministry." 49:37 What would you say to them? 49:38 They may not have anything, and maybe like, "Well, 49:40 maybe I should wait a little bit longer. 49:42 I don't quite have the building, or facility, 49:43 or the money, or whatever." 49:44 What would you say to them about they feel impressed? 49:47 What do they need to do? 49:48 Well, you know, there's a Bible text, I believe, 49:50 in Ecclesiastes that talks about not watching the 49:53 wind or the sun, the weather, 49:55 you know, for the perfect condition. 49:56 Because so often that's what we do. 49:58 We want everything to line up and be perfect. 50:02 We've just learned that if God impresses you to do something, 50:06 step out and do it. 50:08 And yes, you may be in way over your head, 50:11 but God will be there. 50:14 And He will lead, He will guide. 50:15 I've seen it here at 3ABN. 50:17 We have seen it in our own ministry. 50:19 And it's just so amazing to see. 50:23 Yes, it blesses a lot of people, but what it does to your own 50:27 faith, your own experiences. 50:29 And no, they're not all glorious, 50:31 it's not all just miracles. 50:33 It's on your knees, it's in tears, and many other things. 50:37 And I'm sure you've had some tearful nights, you know, 50:39 where you sit and you cry. 50:41 You know, just work with God. 50:43 But those experiences of seeing God work is so powerful. 50:48 - They're so rich. Even the hard experiences. 50:52 They give you an experience with God that you would never get. 50:56 You know, I think God is a God of activity. 50:58 God is a God of work. 51:00 And when we enter into work with Him, 51:03 we're entering into fellowship with Him. 51:05 You know, the people you work with can be some of the 51:07 closest friends. 51:10 And that can be the same with God 51:11 as we work with Him. 51:13 We believe in the ministry of LifeStyle TV. 51:16 We believe in what God is doing in and through 51:19 Claus and Theresa, and their team there in Sweden. 51:22 So we want to give you an opportunity 51:24 to become involved in this incredible ministry. 51:27 Whether it's by your financial donations, 51:29 whether you want to go to the retreat center, 51:32 whether you want to be a media missionary 51:35 and become involved in ministry yourself, 51:38 here is how you can contact LifeStyle TV for yourself. |
Revised 2023-05-31