Participants: Yvonne Lewis (Host), Jason Bradley (Host), Pablo Rios, Didi Gonzales, Iziar Ríos, Kenia Rios
Series Code: UBR
Program Code: UBR000227A
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00:01 Stay tuned to meet the family
00:02 that brings new meaning to the adage of the family 00:06 that plays together, stays together. 00:08 My name is Yvonne Lewis... 00:10 And I'm Jason Bradley, 00:11 and you are watching Urban Report. 00:37 Hello, and welcome to Urban Report. 00:40 I've got my son Jason Bradley here with me. 00:44 And we are in the studio that produces the Today program 00:50 because the Urban Report set 00:52 is too small for all of our guests. 00:55 We have a wonderful family with us, 00:57 we have the Rios family. 00:59 We have the dad, Pablo Rios, 01:03 we have Itziar and Kenai Rios, 01:07 and Didi, the mom. 01:09 And we are just so thankful to have you. 01:12 Welcome to Urban Report. 01:14 Thank you. Thank you. 01:15 Nice to be here. 01:17 You are the epitome 01:20 of what we... 01:24 We aim for with Dare to Dream, 01:27 and that is a family that has God at the center, 01:31 a family that's doing things for God, 01:34 and a family that reflects spirituality, 01:39 and actually showing people 01:41 how to live out the Christian life. 01:44 So I wanna find out more about you as a family 01:50 before we even get into what your ministry is. 01:53 So let's start with the dad, Pablo. 01:57 Pablo, what is your, as a father, 02:02 as a godly father, 02:04 what do you feel your job is as far as helping your boys 02:09 and your wife with your ministry? 02:15 I would say, 02:18 guide them towards the hands of Christ, 02:24 make sure they have their spiritual values very strong, 02:28 their dedication on what they do, and since... 02:33 Our ministry, it's towards helping others, 02:36 we have to be strong ourselves, 02:39 so we can give others part of our strength. 02:43 See, that's beautiful, 02:44 because your ministry is Limitless Sports Ministry. 02:50 And you've taken sports into ministry, 02:56 and you're using it 02:57 to help others to know about Jesus. 03:01 And the boys are the ones who are doing it. 03:05 Let's start with Kenai. 03:07 Kenai, how old are you? 03:08 Nine. 03:09 You're nine, and how long have you been playing table tennis? 03:12 Four and a half years. 03:14 Four and a half years. 03:16 Four and a half of your nine long years, 03:21 you've been playing... 03:22 And you play so well. 03:24 Thank you. 03:25 You and your brother are, I mean, I was just amazed. 03:30 In fact, I think we have a clip, 03:32 we're gonna to put up a clip in a minute 03:34 that shows just how both of you play. 03:37 Itziar, how old are you? 03:39 I'm 12. 03:40 You're 12. 03:42 And how long have you been playing? 03:43 Like the same, four and a half years. 03:45 So both of you started at the same time? 03:47 Yeah. 03:49 Well, now, Dad, what made you to decide, 03:52 because you're their coach, right, what made you... 03:55 How did you know to get them started in table tennis? 03:58 Well, I actually didn't know. 04:00 I played volleyball for the army for four years. 04:05 So volleyball was my main sport, 04:07 so I do know something about discipline, 04:09 and, you know, hard training, 04:11 but back then, I was just dedicated to sports, 04:14 just for me, for me to be good, for me to do it all. 04:17 But now that I'm much more mature 04:20 than what I was many years ago, 04:22 and my wife helped me very much in this part, 04:24 in growing spiritually. 04:26 And when I met Jesus, I know you can be good, 04:30 but when you have God in your life, 04:32 you'll be great. 04:33 So I brought a table that a friend of mine gave me 04:38 and we just started playing for a while. 04:40 And my kids caught up to it very, very quickly, 04:44 I was amazed 'cause table tennis is not, 04:47 it's not an easy sport to learn, 04:49 especially, 04:50 when you got to have eye, hand and eye coordination. 04:53 And next thing, you know, one thing led to another 04:56 and in three months, 04:58 Itziar came in second competing against, 05:02 or participating what I would say, 05:04 against great players that have been doing this for years, 05:07 so I realized that God had a purpose 05:12 in what we were doing. 05:15 Well, I'll tell you what, 05:17 they definitely took it to me on the table. 05:21 They beat me bad. 05:23 We have a clip of that actually, 05:25 we need to, we need to show a little bit, 05:28 just a little taste of it. 05:29 All right, just a hint. 05:30 Just a taste. 06:04 We just had to get that on tape, 06:06 you only had to record that. 06:09 Were you challenged? 06:11 I was definitely challenged. 06:13 Definitely challenged. 06:14 I don't think they were, but I was. 06:19 Didi, you have had some real interesting experiences 06:23 as the mom 06:25 and with the boys going into this whole arena. 06:29 Tell us a little bit about how they've been able to witness 06:34 to atheists and people who don't know God. 06:37 How has that been for them and for you? 06:41 They started when they were very little, 06:46 and it's like I think that God put that in their hearts, 06:51 even their hearts are so young, maybe two years, three years, 06:55 they start looking at people and son is saying, 06:58 "Mom, I'm gonna pray for them." 07:00 I said, "Are you sure?" "Yes." 07:02 And in that moment, they are so little, 07:04 you know, they started doing some words, 07:07 a little bit short and everything, 07:09 but everybody was so thankful 07:11 and people started crying and everything. 07:13 And then they were growing up 07:15 and they have that interest to help people 07:18 and talk about Jesus. 07:20 And everywhere, every part, at the store, 07:23 on the mall, wherever we go, 07:27 they, all the time are looking for people 07:31 to have that opportunity to talk about God. 07:34 And they used the ping-pong ball, 07:36 they used their uniforms, 07:37 no matter what's in the tournament, 07:40 or you go in the car, 07:42 they can put his window down and say, "God bless you." 07:46 You know, it's like... 07:47 They have that, it's like, God gave them a special purpose 07:53 and they're enjoying that and they recognize that, 07:57 so they are putting in God's hands and they said, 08:01 "Mom and Dad, all what we do, and all what we got, 08:06 and all our talents belong from God, 08:09 and everything is about Jesus." 08:12 Wow! 08:13 Look at that, they already know 08:16 where their gifts have come from. 08:18 You know where your gifts have come from, right? 08:21 So when you're playing, 08:23 do you feel like God has given you this special gift, Itziar? 08:27 Yeah. 08:28 Tell us about it. 08:29 Well, it's very important to us 08:31 because God has given us this talent 08:33 to show the word of God. 08:36 So you don't just have the talent 08:39 to show yourself off? 08:40 No. 08:42 You have the talent... 08:43 To show all of the word. 08:45 Oh, nice. 08:46 That's great that you know that at your age, 08:50 you know, you're ahead of your years. 08:53 So we have these ping-pong balls here, 08:56 tell us about these 08:57 'cause they all have writing on them, 09:00 what's the signifi... 09:01 I'm sorry, we have the table tennis balls. 09:05 I have corrected. Yeah. 09:08 They have instructed us well here. 09:11 Earlier, Danny and I did 09:13 the interview for the Today program, 09:15 he had to correct himself, he was saying, 09:17 "Ping-pong," and then he said, "No, table tennis." 09:19 So it's table tennis, right? 09:22 It's right. 09:24 Tell us about these balls, 09:25 every one of them has special writing on it, 09:28 what does that mean? 09:29 Well, it's important because we give them 09:32 to a family, person, a friend, 09:35 and that person can inspire other people, 09:38 like family or friends. 09:40 Oh, so you use these to witness as well. 09:45 Like what this one says, "When life gets hard, kneel." 09:50 That's nice. Right. 09:52 And so when you play, and you leave them with these, 09:55 with the table tennis balls, right? 09:57 They will know that day, they will remember that day. 10:00 Nice, nice. 10:01 Tell us about how you've been able to impact atheists 10:05 and people who don't know about God? 10:09 It's incredible how they do it. 10:11 Just I can tell you 10:13 that the Holy Spirit is our guide here. 10:17 They use their talents in a special way, 10:22 they have a mission. 10:25 They know they have a mission, they want to inspire the world, 10:29 and talk about Jesus, 10:31 about that everybody, every person in this world 10:35 have to recognize that there is a God. 10:37 This amazing God, 10:39 He's the God of the impossible things. 10:41 Look at our testimony, we are here today, 10:44 we don't have the resources to be here today, 10:48 this is how God works. 10:50 How did God bring you here today? 10:51 Tell us. 10:52 It's incredible, because Idalia gave me a call 10:58 and she said, "Well, I... 11:00 Somebody told me 11:02 about your sports ministry of your sons. 11:03 So I want to know 11:05 if you agree to come to 3ABN for an interview." 11:09 And for me, that was a big open door, 11:12 and I said, "Yes." It was an honor, like an honor. 11:13 It was like an honor, you're right, son. 11:16 And we said, "Oh, this is amazing. 11:18 Of course, yes." 11:19 But then, a couple of days later... 11:23 Excuse me, my English is not so well. 11:25 Oh, no, it's fine. 11:26 So I received another call from Idalia and she said, 11:29 "We was thinking that you can take one week off 11:34 to be here in 3ABN." 11:35 And I said, "So long to take an interview?" 11:38 And she said, "No, no, no, it's not about that. 11:41 Your sons do a lot of things in the sports ministry, 11:45 and this ministry that we want, 11:47 you can go to churches, to our schools..." 11:49 I said, "Oh, that's gonna be great, amazing, 11:51 of course, yes." 11:53 But two hours later, I was in the kitchen 11:57 and I like, "Oh, how are we gonna make it? 12:00 We have an old car." 12:02 We have only one car in our house 12:04 and it's, we can take the car only local not faraway. 12:09 "Oh, we have to rent a car, 12:11 we don't have the money to rent a car. 12:13 How are we gonna do this?" 12:14 So I tell my husband 12:16 and my husband was very emotional 12:18 but at the same time worried. 12:19 "We cannot make it. Did you say, yes?" 12:20 "Yes, I said, yes." 12:22 I was waiting to a miracle. 12:26 You know, and I wait like five or six days 12:29 but nothing happens 12:30 and people here, from the channel's like, 12:32 "Hey, is everything okay or it is..." 12:34 "Oh, yeah, everything is okay." 12:35 I'm like, "No, they're running, okay, 12:38 are we gonna make this?" 12:39 But then, I take the phone, 12:41 I say, "We have to call Idalia 12:44 and tell her it is okay 12:47 that we can postpone a little bit the interview, 12:50 maybe for September and October, 12:51 giving us a little bit opportunity to get the money." 12:55 But in that moment 12:56 when I take the phone to make the call, 12:58 I saw an email and when I opened the email, 13:00 was the promotion 13:02 that, I'm using to promote the event on Saturday, 13:07 that they're gonna give here, 13:09 so I'm saying, "It's too late, we cannot say, no, 13:12 how are we gonna make this?" 13:13 I'm very, very scared. 13:16 I said to my husband, "You know what? 13:20 God is gonna supply because if He open the store, 13:23 He gonna supply." 13:25 But I was terrified because that was Thursday 13:28 and we have to be here Sunday. 13:32 So we received a call from Dr. Paul Corner. 13:36 So wait, it was Thursday, 13:37 the Thursday before the Sunday, 13:40 you were supposed to come here? 13:41 Yes. Wow! 13:42 We was preparing everything 13:45 with the faith that that's gonna happen, 13:48 but terrified. 13:51 I mean, we received a phone call 13:53 from Dr. Paul Corner, 13:56 he's a member of our church, Fox Valley Church in Neenah, 14:00 and he say, "Hey, Pablo, did you rent already the car?" 14:03 And Pablo, "No, we're not renting the car yet, 14:07 but I'm on that." 14:08 "So you know what? 14:10 I got the car, I'm gonna pay for the car, 14:12 you're gonna have a car to travel to 3ABN interview." 14:17 So actually, he is one of our sponsors, 14:19 so I cannot believe that, in that moment, 14:23 we started screaming, jumping in the house, 14:25 "Yeah, we got the car, we're going to 3ABN interview." 14:28 But then we say, 14:30 "Now we don't have the money for the gas." 14:32 And we say "Well, our God is very smart, 14:38 if He gave us the car, so He's gonna give us the gas." 14:41 That's right. 14:42 But it's Saturday and nothing happens, 14:44 then we went to Saturday, in the morning, 14:46 in the church, 14:48 Dr. Paul Corner gave us a white envelope. 14:52 And it's incredible, 14:53 because nobody know about our situation, nobody. 14:58 Even my mom, my sister, 15:00 nobody, only us and God and that's enough. 15:03 That's right. 15:04 I understand that that is enough. 15:05 That's right. 15:07 And Paul Corner gave us this envelope, 15:09 some family in our church gave this, 15:12 but we don't know who it is, what family it is. 15:16 And that family was a specific and they said, 15:20 "Give this to Rios family to help them for the gas." 15:25 Wow! Is not that amazing? 15:27 You know, God is a God of details, 15:29 amazing and beautiful details. 15:31 That's right. 15:32 And there's a lot of person that come to our house 15:35 with little snacks, 15:36 travel bags for the kids with snacks 15:39 and everything. 15:40 The family that help us to write the ping-pong balls, 15:44 table tennis ball. 15:46 I had to correct. 15:49 Mom. 15:50 And it is incredible how God put everything what we need. 15:55 Yes. And that's why we are here. 15:57 Yes. 15:58 And at the same... 16:01 Everything in their sport, 16:04 you getting supplied everything, 16:07 everything. 16:08 God is a God of details and He takes care of us. 16:13 You know, when we step out in faith, 16:16 you know, you did everything you needed to do, 16:19 you didn't have a car, 16:21 but you did everything you needed to do to prepare, 16:25 and God honored your faith, and opened the door, 16:28 and sent you just what you needed. 16:30 Yes. God is incredible. 16:32 Not only is He the creator, but He's the sustainer. 16:34 Yes, yes. How often do you guys practice? 16:37 How many hours a day do you guys practice? 16:40 We practice three to four and five hours. 16:45 Wow! Three to five hours? Everyday, except Sabbath. 16:49 Well, we do it to Monday, sometimes to, 16:54 Monday to Thursday, 16:58 and maybe Monday to Wednesday. 17:05 Yeah. 17:06 So all through the week 17:08 and you homeschool them, correct? 17:10 Yeah. 17:11 So all through the week, you guys are playing. 17:13 We do class first and then we play. 17:16 Now, how do you witness to people about God? 17:21 How do you use your gifts and your talents, 17:25 how are you using that as a ministry? 17:28 What are you doing? 17:29 Well, we give our messages in the back 17:33 to show the athletes the word of God. 17:35 In the back of... 17:36 In our jackets, right here. 17:38 Oh, turn around. 17:39 Oh! Wow! 17:41 Turn all the way around. 17:42 Can you turn around toward the back? 17:43 Yeah, there you go. Walk by faith, not by sight. 17:47 The Lord is greater than the giants you face. 17:49 Love by faith not by sight. 17:50 The Lord is greater than the giants you face. 17:52 Yeah, nice. 17:54 So you have that on your jackets, so... 17:57 Every tournament, everything. 17:59 So when you're playing, you have your jackets on? 18:02 The shirts. 18:03 Your shirts, so people can see them? 18:05 Because the uniform have the message too. 18:09 Actually, they were telling me the last time 18:11 that they are thinking to put message in the shoes. 18:17 Yeah, because we know there's gonna come a day 18:20 that they want to stop us in the tournament, 18:23 because they're gonna say, 18:25 there are some players that feel uncomfortable 18:28 because you are talking about God, you know. 18:30 There are some people that don't believe in God. 18:33 We already have our answer. 18:36 Well, if they don't let us in shirts, 18:38 we do in our shoes then. 18:42 If they say, you cannot, 18:44 they cannot play with that message 18:46 on the back of the uniform, they say, "Why? 18:49 God is their sponsor, why not?" 18:52 You know, that player have this people, 18:55 they're like a sponsor. 18:56 Well, God is our sponsor, so they can have. 18:58 Nice. 18:59 And they have those messages, yeah. 19:01 Nice answer. That's a great answer. 19:03 Yeah. Yeah. 19:05 So what is it, when you guys go somewhere, 19:09 what kinds of challenges have you faced 19:12 because you are Seventh-day Adventists? 19:15 What has happened to you 19:16 because you're a Seventh-day Adventist? 19:19 We've been placed by the and... 19:23 On the... 19:27 Forgot. 19:28 That's okay. That's okay. 19:30 Has anybody said something to you like, 19:32 you can't play? 19:33 Yeah. 19:36 The federation The federation of table tennis. 19:39 What did they do? In Wisconsin. 19:42 What did they do? 19:44 She said, if they play on Sabbath, 19:46 they're not gonna do nothing in this sport. 19:49 And she said... 19:50 If you don't play on Sabbath day. 19:51 Yeah. 19:53 And she said, if I'm a lawyer 19:56 and I can convince them to play Saturday... 20:01 I didn't know nothing at this at first, 20:03 she come and when we were practicing, 20:07 she, like she's gonna talk, speechless. 20:11 Well, she was speechless. 20:14 Okay, so tell, Mom, finish telling us the story, 20:16 like what happened. 20:17 Yeah. 20:18 The thing is that they got a letter 20:20 in recent, then we were in Puerto Rico. 20:23 Who is they? 20:24 There are some people that have a good 20:26 and very big influence in table tennis sport. 20:30 Okay. 20:32 And we sent the video and they was very excited, 20:36 but the videos talk about they don't play Saturday, 20:39 the week, they keep holy the commandments. 20:41 But I thought she don't see that part 20:45 and when we get here, 20:47 she said, 20:48 they're gonna help them in everything, 20:51 but there is gonna come the state championships, 20:54 so I think that they was waiting for them 20:58 to represent their club. 21:00 But the state championship was on Saturday, 21:03 so when she come to us and she started talking, 21:06 we say, "Remember that they don't play Saturday." 21:09 She was very angry and she said that we are cruel like parents, 21:13 that how we can do something like that to our sons, 21:16 they are praying so hard, they are praying... 21:19 Even they don't have a tournament in a whole year. 21:22 And we said, "We give the freedom to them 21:25 four years and a half ago, 21:27 that they decided what they want to do. 21:32 And they take their rackets and they say, 21:33 'It is Saturday, we're not gonna play, 21:35 God is first.' 21:37 "And I said, "I don't know why you're so angry, 21:40 my son recognizes that this talent belong from God 21:44 and they want to use it to give the glory to Him. 21:47 What is the bad part of this?" 21:50 And she said, "I'm so sorry, I cannot help. 21:54 If they don't play Saturday, 21:55 they're never gonna made it 21:57 and never gonna be no one in this sport." 22:01 So, and then we started trying to, 22:04 you know, she can understand our point 22:07 and she said... 22:09 She was very angry and in a moment, 22:11 she gets to zero and she say, "Oh, no." 22:13 And say, 22:15 "That talent that you think that they have, 22:17 who you think gave it to them? 22:19 Was it the president of federation? 22:21 Was it the coach? No, it was God." 22:24 And she said... 22:25 I was like, a little bit nervous. 22:26 She is like, "No, of course, 22:29 I know that was God, 22:32 and that's why because they use 22:35 the sport to spread God's word, 22:37 that's why they have to play Saturday." 22:40 She is trying to get in there. Yeah. 22:42 She is like the serpent. Yeah. 22:44 That's what I feel at that moment. 22:46 I remembered Eve's moment and I said, "Jesus says, 22:51 'If you love Me, keep holy my commandments.' 22:54 " And she said, "I'm gonna ask for a special permission." 22:58 My husband said, "What is it about?" 23:00 And said, "I want you to let me to talk alone 23:03 with Itziar and Kenai. 23:05 Because like a lawyer, 23:06 I'm gonna convince them to play Saturday." 23:10 And my husband Pablo said, 23:11 "Well, why are you losing your time with us? 23:14 Go, run, run and talk to them, 23:17 whatever they decide, it's okay with us. 23:19 But let me tell you something, 23:21 maybe you're gonna be the number eight coach, 23:23 that later, you talk to them, 23:25 you're gonna come to us, you're gonna say, 23:27 the faith and the loyalty of your son 23:30 to God is not negotiable." 23:33 So we are waiting, 23:35 the Holy Spirit doesn't let her talk to them. 23:38 Actually, my son have the sub-champion 23:44 and she have to bring the trophy to them. 23:48 And I remember her words and I said, 23:50 "That's the Lord who we serve." 23:53 Very nice. That's right. That's right. 23:55 Speaking of championships, what do we have here? 23:59 What do we have? 24:00 Pablo, tell us about these medals. 24:04 They are, you know, thanks to God. 24:06 You know, I mean, 24:08 He gives us the wisdom, the energy, 24:10 everything, the patience. 24:12 Yes. 24:13 There's so many things involved. 24:15 The square medal we have there, 24:17 it's the first games of Puerto Rico. 24:19 They were held on a Friday morning. 24:24 We practiced the whole year 24:27 without seeing our participation 24:28 in the tournament. 24:30 And that day, 24:31 they decided to do it on a Friday, 24:34 and God said, "It's your time, 24:36 you know, to go and spread the gospel." 24:40 I was scared because 24:41 there was only one more day left. 24:44 And thanks to God, 24:46 we gave it the best we got and we hope, 24:50 when we put the Lord's name as high as we can, 24:53 and Kenai came in first place, 24:55 seven years and under, out of all Puerto Rico. 24:57 Yeah. 24:58 He was actually the smallest one. 25:00 And he was the smallest player. 25:01 And Itziar came in the top five in all Puerto Rico. 25:04 Wow! 25:05 Without competing the whole year. 25:08 Basically, competing the whole year. 25:09 Congratulations. What a blessing! 25:12 And what a testimony, what a testimony! 25:15 Actually, 25:17 we want to say thank you to our friend Jim, 25:21 because he gonna start to make 25:23 the first table tennis tournament 25:25 and the winter games, 25:27 and the category of that was Saturday 25:31 but they... 25:32 He moved the category of, "14 under" to Sunday, 25:37 because he want to give the opportunity to them. 25:40 So at the same time, 25:42 God put people, very, very special on the way. 25:45 And in that tournament, it was two months ago I think, 25:49 in the Winter Badger State Open. 25:53 Itziar get gold medal and Kenai got bronze. 25:58 The glory is to God. We need a couple tonight. 25:59 Look at that, gold and bronze. 26:02 Yeah. 26:04 We have some award winners sitting here. 26:05 That's it. That's it. You know what? 26:07 Their testimony reminds me of the story of Daniel. 26:10 Oh. 26:11 And how they stood for the Lord 26:14 and they refused to take on the diet 26:18 that they wanted to push on them. 26:19 Yes 26:20 And they ended up healthier and better looking 26:22 and everything than everybody else. 26:24 Oh, yes, Richard. 26:26 So how can people get in touch with you? 26:28 We're gonna put an address rolled up 26:30 in just a moment 26:31 so that people can get in touch with you here, 26:34 it is right here. 26:35 If you want the Ríos family to come 26:38 and do some exhibitions and bring the community out, 26:42 this is a great way to get the community 26:45 to come to your church, 26:47 you know, and have an exhibition, 26:49 the boys will do their thing, 26:52 and people can come from around and play, 26:56 and it's such a wonderful way to reach the community. 27:02 So do you have any, like, 30-second closing thought 27:07 that you want to share with our viewers? 27:09 Yes, we have a special gift, 27:14 doesn't matter what gift you got, 27:15 and it honors and it glorifies the Lord, 27:18 have any creative way to spread the gospel, 27:23 and you see how the Lord will open 27:25 so many doors as He wants to open for us. 27:27 Yes. 27:28 Thank you so much, thank you for being with us, 27:30 and thank you for your ministry, 27:32 and there's so much more we could say, 27:34 but our time is up. 27:35 Yes. 27:37 You know, the Bible says, 27:38 "To train up a child in the way 27:39 he should go and when he is old, 27:41 he will not depart from it." 27:43 This family is praying together and sharing the gospel 27:48 in a creative way. 27:49 Find something that you can do 27:51 with your family that's creative, 27:53 take the gifts that God has given you, 27:55 and use them to glorify Him. 27:57 Well, thank you so much for joining us. 28:00 Join us next time 28:01 'cause it just wouldn't be the same without you. |
Revised 2024-04-01