Divine Encounters in Ukraine, Lisa Stringer’s Story

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Hey friends, welcome to the Her God Story podcast where you will always hear a good

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story to encourage and inspire you in your walk with God.

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I'm your host, Jodie Chirircosta, ministry leader at Somebody Cares America International, author

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and traveler on this journey with Jesus.

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If you haven't done so yet, make sure to like or follow this podcast on your favorite streaming

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platform so you don't miss any of our encouraging episodes.

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You probably know by now that I always ask my guests what woman of the Bible has inspired,

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encouraged, or taught her something.

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But what about you?

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I'd love to hear what woman of the Bible has helped you in your walk of faith.

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Email me at hergodstory at somebodycares.org and tell me why.

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I just might read it on a future episode to encourage others who are listening.

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Remember now, email me at hergodstory at somebodycares.org.

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The world around us seems like it is spinning out of control.

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Things at home and abroad can make you shake your head and wonder where it will all end.

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What are we to do?

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Psalm 46:10-11 in the New Living Translation says, be still and know that I am God.

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I will be honored by every nation.

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I will be honored throughout the world.

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The Lord of Heaven's armies is here among us.

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The God of Israel is our fortress.

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My guest today, Lisa Stringer, knows God as her fortress.

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This beautiful woman of God is a trusting travel companion and a dear friend.

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Lisa is the wife of Doug Stringer, president of Somebody Cares America International, and

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is editor of this podcast.

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She was also my very first guest.

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If you haven't heard her story in episode one, I'm sure you'll want to after our conversation

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today.

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At one time, Lisa successfully worked her way up in the secular radio and music industry,

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but she left that all behind.

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Now a minister in her own right, Lisa is a frequent speaker to women and youth groups

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across the country and globally.

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Lisa recently returned from ministering in the war-torn country of Ukraine, and I know

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you will be strengthened in your faith as you hear her story.

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Welcome Lisa.

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So good to be with you, Jodi.

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Lisa, you never shrink back from a God adventure, but Ukraine is in the middle of a very real

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war.

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When God received the invitation, did you have any hesitations?

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How did you know this was a God invitation?

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Very often you either get a firm yes, you get a firm no, and on occasion you get, I

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just don't know.

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As you know, with every invitation, it's not even about the firm yes or no or the in-between.

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It's about every time asking God, God is this you, making sure that it's not the flesh,

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that it truly is a move of God, because to move with God, yes, to move without Him, no.

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I'll never forget right where I was when Doug received the invitation, and I said,

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Doug, it's a yes.

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And he said, Lisa, they're in the middle of a war.

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We need to pray about it.

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I said, oh, I will be praying, trust me.

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I agree wholeheartedly.

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I can't explain why, but I have a burning sensation of peace, not a negative, it's

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a positive, in my spirit that this is a God-ordained trip.

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And he said, do you realize all that it would entail?

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I said, Doug, I can't even think about it.

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I can imagine all it would entail.

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I can't think about it because, well, he's always reminding us.

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One of the great men of God had quoted God's work done in God's way would never lack God's

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supply.

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And in this particular case, truth be told, to this day, we still haven't reached the

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fulfillment of the need to meet that expense.

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And I'm trusting that before the end of the year, a miracle is going to happen and that's

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going to be wiped out because we know that was a God-ordained trip.

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We did pray, we did have peace, and we moved forward.

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And boy, there are no regrets over every aspect of that trip.

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Starts with traveling.

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I mean, traveling to Ukraine now is not as easy as it used to be.

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I mean, it's a long way, but you had to kind of hopscotch your way over there.

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What about your journey and the divine appointments God had for you along the way?

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The journey was definitely challenging, as you said.

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It's not your typical get on a plane land, even if you have to take two or three legs

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and oftentimes have people meet you and take you to your destination.

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This was a combination of all of that.

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Plus there's language barriers because we did fly from the US to Germany, Germany to

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Poland and Poland then made our way into Ukraine as it borders there.

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There's the layovers, which can be exhausting.

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There's the time change, obviously, that can be exhausting.

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But once we landed in Poland, we were met by the grace of God.

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Doug had made arrangements with some of the people in Ukraine to have a pastor friend

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pick us up in Poland early in the morning.

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Like it was a 5 a.m. pickup call and we had just gotten there a few hours before and drive

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us for three and a half hours to another city in Poland called Helm.

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And that's where you could catch a train that would enter into the Ukraine.

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Interesting though, in that region, there are speed limits like in any other city.

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And so although they're mostly highways, they're two road highways, you could only go at times

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30 and 35 miles an hour.

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Can you imagine?

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And so we are just exhausted.

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We get to the city, the people are able to give us a quick little meal at a restaurant

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and we had some eggs.

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And I remember who takes eggs Benedict home with them.

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Right.

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So the plate came with two eggs Benedict and the ladies like pack them up.

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And I'm like, no, but these are eggs.

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You don't pack up eggs to go.

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It's almost like an over easy egg.

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And she said, oh, you're going to be on the train for about 15 hours, 14 to 15 hours, and

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there will be no food or any water.

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So you need to have this thought.

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Oh my goodness, here we go.

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And so the adventure had truly begun much as you said, and there's no complaining about

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it.

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It's just the reality of life.

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Things that many of us who are listening in places like the United States or maybe Canada

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or maybe Germany, we have access to so much right now.

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We're not limited, but in a country where there is war, you are limited.

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You're limited to resources, be it food, you're limited to means of travel.

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There is even martial law where the people are limited to leave their home at a certain

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hour.

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Hence us having to take a limited number of trains that operate so that when they arrive

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into train stations, you can either be picked up on time to get off of the streets or you

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end up sleeping at the train station on the floor.

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If you can't find one of the very limited seats, you know, that are there because you

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cannot leave the building or go onto the city streets.

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Once we got there, we boarded our train.

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I think that's when reality really set in, Jodi, because the rabbi were so nice to walk

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us on board the train where there is high security, by the way.

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You know, you see people with their weapons to protect themselves and protect against

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any harm that could come against the people.

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And they take us into this little room.

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It has basically four bench light with light cushion chairs, two on the bottom, two on

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top in the bunks, and one of our partners didn't come.

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So I was able to have a bottom bunk because I was scheduled to have a top bunk.

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I felt at that moment like I had traveled back into, gosh, 1970, 1965, 1970, and I was

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in Russia.

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And that's what it felt like traveling back in time.

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Once we started the journey, again, reality set in.

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I tried to eat as little as I could of that egg that they had given us, the water that

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they had given us to drink because I didn't want to have to go to the restroom, which

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was down the hall.

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And with a train, it's almost like trying to use the restroom while on a Disney ride.

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And so it was challenging.

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But at the same time, can I tell you beautiful, exciting?

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I chose to look at the cup half full and not half empty because I was going to love on

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people.

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And how dare I complain when these people, some of them have lost loved ones, have been

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separated from their family members because they're at war and the men are forcefully

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asked to go serve.

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It's not an option.

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They're lacking so much.

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And it was an honor to be on that train ride and dare I not complain about it.

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And God had a divine appointment for you right in your compartment, didn't he?

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He sure did.

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It was amazing.

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When we arrived before the rabbi ensured that we were settled, I believe one of them spoke

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some English, the other very limited.

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It was a rabbi and his wife.

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We prayed together.

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We held hands.

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So Doug and I and both of them held hands right outside of our cabin in that narrow

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hallway.

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And there was one young lady who it turns out she was in her early twenties, also been

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married I believe just a little over a year, going on two years.

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She witnessed our prayer and she spoke just a few words only in English.

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But we had the wherewithal to have Google Translate with us.

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So we had an app that would allow us to speak into it and translate it.

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And the interesting part there is that you have various languages spoken.

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So some people speak Polish, some people speak Ukrainian, some people speak Russian, and

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then you have a lot of people that speak Hebrew as well, you know, because of the Jewish populations

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that are spread out throughout that region.

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And with that in mind, she witnessed and as soon as we got settled into our cabin and

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settled in means find a way to put your luggage because by the way in that small cabin, you

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also have to fit your luggage in some way, form or fashion.

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So you're trying to find a way to just accommodate everything.

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You're sitting on these plastic benches thinking, oh my gosh, I have to take my focus off of

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the fact that I'm on this for the next 12 to 15 hours and there's no getting off.

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And you start trying to think positive.

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And Doug did what Doug does.

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Doug is a very giving person who will give.

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In fact, he has given the shoes off of his feet before when he left and somebody liked

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them and it was a young man and he wanted to sew into him.

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He was in Canada.

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He took off his shoes on a snowy day, gave them to him and walked back to the car without

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shoes and that's who he is and who he is was demonstrated on that day because he immediately

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he tried to speak to the young lady and he said, are you hungry?

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And it wasn't that he was trying to give away our egg that, you know, you think, okay, it

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could get spoiled.

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He really genuinely wanted to say, look, we have two eggs here.

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We can share one.

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You can have the other.

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And it was perfectly packed and never touched because it was never contaminated by anything

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else that we'd eaten on our plate.

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And he says, and I have a bottled water.

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Would you like it?

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Because the rabbi was kind enough to give us a couple of bottles of waters each or the

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train trip.

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And she was so grateful for that.

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And then he offered her at some point a somebody cares bear.

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And that is a beautiful story.

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If I could even fast forward through that story, because she sees the bear and she's

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like, oh my gosh, thank you.

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And I mean, genuinely was like a child just hugging this little teddy bear.

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And I think that was where the reality began to settle as I processed over the next few

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hours what these people must have gone through that a teddy bear would be so meaningful to

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an adult or to a young adult.

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It turns out once we arrived at the location, she came down, we welcomed her down.

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We told her you don't have to stay up there.

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You're welcome to come down and sit with us.

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And she did at some point.

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And we were using the Google Translate trying to understand each other.

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And she said, I was recently married and my husband cannot leave the country because of

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the law that all men must stay in to serve.

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And so he felt that I needed to be able to just get away from our country.

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So I came to Poland to visit a friend who I haven't seen since the war.

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And I only came for two days.

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She said, and I am a Christian also.

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And when she said that she had watery eyes or teary eyes.

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And she said, I saw you praying and I had been praying God, would you send me people

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that angels or people that would protect me or be like minded in my cabin?

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I, cause she was fearful of traveling by herself, traveling without her husband.

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You never know if you leave, if you're going to be able to come back, what's going to happen.

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I mean, these were all things she was sharing.

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And she said, when I saw you pray, I had a peace that settled in my spirit.

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And shortly after that, your husband gives me this teddy bear.

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She said, I clenched the teddy bear the entire trip.

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Oh my gosh.

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A 22 year old young lady clenching a teddy bear to me was mind boggling.

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Who would have thought that as somebody cares bear would have been so impactful.

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Who would have thought that when I was packing the bag, pondering, do I take it or do I not

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take it?

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That that teddy bear had a divine appointment that was going to be a symbol of peace for

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someone.

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People was going to peace and joy and was going to be truly a gift from God, not from

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us, but from God himself.

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She proceeded to tell us her story, proceeded to tell us that she was just grateful that

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God had provided.

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And the first thing that she said to me before all of this conversation had taken place.

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And I was able to share a little bit, she said, why are you here in the Ukraine?

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I said, we're here to love on your people.

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We're here to tell them how much the Lord loves them and how many people are praying

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for them and to encourage them.

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And she looked at me astounded and a tear began to stream down her face.

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And she said, aren't you scared?

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And when she said that, I smiled big.

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I said, no, because Jesus is sending me himself.

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I come with the message of love and peace and God's going to take care of you and your

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people just as he's taking care of me and my husband on this journey and the many more

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that he's going to continue to send your way to provide.

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And she just was emotional and we hugged each other.

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And I realized at that moment, God was in the midst of it all.

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And if for nothing else, that trip was already very worth it.

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Yeah.

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And you were asked to come and speak at several women's meetings in Kiev.

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Tell us about the group that you ministered to and that had gathered and how they touched

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your heart, because I know they did.

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Absolutely.

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Well, when the meeting started, for starters, they were believers, not just from the Ukraine,

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but from all over the region.

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So there were people that actually came in from Israel.

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There were people that had come in from throughout Europe.

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There were people from Northern Europe, from England, other parts of Ukraine, Germany,

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a lot of the people that had actually left to go find refuge somewhere else that had

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to leave Ukraine came back for this leadership gathering.

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So it was a time of encouragement, a time for them to gather and rest together, to pray

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together for each other's needs and to process what the Lord was saying their assignments

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were over the course of the next few months and the next year.

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There were also people from the military that were believers that were present.

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And it was absolutely unbelievably beautiful.

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The first day that we attended a service was the very next morning from when we had arrived

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and it was their Shabbat service.

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It was in the afternoon actually.

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And here in the U.S., we tend to go to a service that can be an hour to two hours long on the

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average.

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Their services are four to five hours long.

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So when I saw that on the itinerary, I didn't really understand it.

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I thought, what are we going to do for four to five hours?

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I'm just curious.

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It reminded me a lot of churches when I'd gone to Africa where you just worship.

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You worship for a good chunk of that time and you always walk away refreshed.

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Jodi, you and I have been there together and you walk away refreshed after four to five

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hours of worship and word.

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It's exactly what happened.

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We got there.

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It was a large church.

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It was beautiful with the presence of God.

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And when I tell you there could have been a thousand people there of all ages, people

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in wheelchairs, and they worship the Lord for over two hours in song and dance.

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It was absolutely unbelievably beautiful.

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And they came to get me about 25 minutes in and asked me to join them in dancing and praising

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the Lord.

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And I've learned that you never say no.

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I don't care what circumstance you have unless you're bound to a wheelchair.

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You get up and you join them.

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And so I said, God, let everything I do be unto you be pleasing.

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And so let me have a clean heart, a right spirit and a sharp sound mind to hear what

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you asked me to do.

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And so I got up and I began to dance to the point where I actually was sweating towards

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the end.

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And the joy that came over me was unbelievable.

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And to think that these people were people that had lost loved ones, that were separated

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from loved ones, that were struggling in every way.

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And they began to praise the Lord.

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I just had moments of just processing the time of the Exodus from Egypt into the promised

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land and over the Red Sea and everything those people must have thought of for those moments,

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but yet the joy.

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And you wonder how is it that you go from having the joy to losing the joy?

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You can't let those things that get in the way, those thoughts that the enemy wants to

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send your way, the flesh get in the way of you continuing to celebrate in that beautiful

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way.

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And so I went to the conference and to being able to sit with the women and speak and minister

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to them.

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Some of the things that I learned specifically was that in times of need, I think all of

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us have a warrior princess spirit in us.

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It's a matter of are you going to let that warrior princess shine?

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I heard from women that were probably in their 70s and 80s.

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I heard from some that were in their 50s and 60s.

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One woman began to give her testimony.

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And by the way, she was a pastor in the northern region of Ukraine on the border of Russia.

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And she said, I went to bed in Ukraine and I woke up in Russia.

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I did have audio translation in my ear and I was trying to understand everything as best

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I could.

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And they had very good translators for us.

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Basically, she said Russia had invaded that region.

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So it was what she knew as her home in Ukraine.

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But by the time she awoke to bombing and gunfire and destruction, the Russians had invaded

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that area and taken it.

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And it was now considered Russia.

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And she said, for two weeks, I was separated with zero communication from my family because

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my family were all away on assignment.

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Say they were at school or visiting friends or whatever the case may be.

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So her husband and her children were all gone and she was alone with no access.

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But her and I believe a mother that was somewhere near in that same community.

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And she said, I didn't know if my family had made it.

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I didn't know how far along they had invaded.

325
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I didn't know about my nation.

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I just knew that we were in sudden disaster and war.

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And I no longer had the right to call myself Ukrainian.

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You either decided to renounce that you were Ukrainian and become Russian and they came

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along and they gave you new passports.

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It was so quick or you would lose all benefits.

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No money, no help, no blankets, no anything.

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And she said in her particular case, she refused.

333
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And somehow she said, I began to pray and intercede.

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She cried a lot and she made her way to another home where she met other neighbors that she

335
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knew who also were in her situation.

336
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And she said, basically for two weeks we gathered what little we could and boiled water and

337
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made food and did what we could to survive.

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Eventually she was able to get reunited with her family.

339
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But stories like that were constant and it was heart wrenching.

340
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And I thought I was the last speaker to share and encourage them.

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And I thought, how on earth do I encourage is what I kept processing.

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God, what do I say to people who have been through so much?

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What could I possibly bring them?

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I need to sit at their feet and listen and learn and take back nuggets of your truth

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back with me to the United States and throughout the world and share their stories.

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But God, who is always faithful, who when you stick to preaching his word, when you

347
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stick to sharing the word of God, then the stories in the Bible, God will always use

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it to encourage those around us.

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So like you said, you were using an interpreter and most of your conversations, it was challenging

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to get to know everyone.

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But you did have an opportunity to talk to some of the women in a little more depth,

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share a few more stories of their lives and their situations and how God's meeting their

353
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needs in some, you know, in the midst of very real hardship.

354
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You know, I am going to start with one interesting circumstance that I was not aware that was

355
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taking place.

356
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It's something that most of us don't think about during war.

357
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When the women and children were allowed to leave and they became refugees in other nations,

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in Poland, in Germany, it was very humbling as I heard some of these women talk about

359
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it, how you go from having a good or a decent life to how do you end up becoming a refugee

360
00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:44,440
in another nation, not knowing their language and having to start from scratch, having been

361
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a person maybe even of some means, meaning middle class, you know, you're able to sustain

362
00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:53,240
yourself in every way, you're planning for your future, but now you're having to live

363
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off of, if you will, welfare or handouts.

364
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And so she said, that is an emotional process.

365
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And one pastor was sharing with us who the Lord had sent to Germany as a missionary and

366
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she loves Ukraine.

367
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She didn't want to leave Ukraine.

368
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She said, God, why are you sending me to Germany?

369
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I don't get it.

370
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Well, this was a good year and a half or two prior to all of this happening.

371
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Well, now it made perfect sense because she spoke their language and was able to minister

372
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to them and help them in this time of crisis.

373
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Well, one of the things that she said, we need to be praying about all of us as believers

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is that a lot of these women who don't have a relationship with the Lord, who don't know

375
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the Lord, who have gone as refugees to these countries with their children, some of them

376
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newborns, some of them having their babies in Germany now because they were pregnant

377
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and had to leave their nation, had to leave their spouses behind because they're forced

378
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to fight in the war or serve their country.

379
00:22:50,840 --> 00:22:58,680
They are lonely and they are now finding themselves meeting men in Germany or whatever nation

380
00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:03,800
they're in and wanting a divorce thinking, well, I'll never have a life back in Ukraine.

381
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They're still at war.

382
00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:07,440
I don't know if my husband will live or die.

383
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So I'll just divorce him and start a new life over here with this new guy I just met.

384
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And that's a serious crisis and that leaves an orphan generation possibly because what's

385
00:23:20,220 --> 00:23:24,420
not done through God and in God, there's no guarantee of success.

386
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Not saying it's going to not work.

387
00:23:25,960 --> 00:23:31,480
I'm just saying that with God and being in alignment with God, no matter what you go

388
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through, success in His eyes is there for you.

389
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And so that really broke my heart on many fronts and that's the enemy going in to lie

390
00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:44,200
and confuse them.

391
00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:47,480
Let me give you an incredibly positive story.

392
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I'm sitting there and one of the interpreters tells me, Lisa, did you hear about such and

393
00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:54,040
such?

394
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And I said, no.

395
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She said, would you like to meet her?

396
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And I said, yes.

397
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So there's this young lady and she ends up being diagnosed with terminal cancer.

398
00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:06,200
My understanding is that she had cancer throughout her entire body.

399
00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:09,820
She was riddled with it and she was very, very ill.

400
00:24:09,820 --> 00:24:15,480
She had gone into surgery to have, I believe some of it, a tumor, something of that nature

401
00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:16,480
removed.

402
00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:20,800
So she's in surgery and in the middle of surgery, she dies.

403
00:24:20,800 --> 00:24:24,400
And so they send her to the morgue and she's in there for a while.

404
00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:29,920
And the person who's in charge at the morgue notices that there's some movement in the

405
00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:31,200
body.

406
00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:36,840
And he thinks nothing of it because he said, oftentimes, even hours later, after someone

407
00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:42,600
has passed, there can be a contraction of a muscle or something.

408
00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:44,160
It's not uncommon.

409
00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:46,600
He looks at that and he's not bothered by it at all.

410
00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:50,240
He moves on and just keeps doing whatever he does in the morgue.

411
00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:53,240
And the next thing you know is he sees it again.

412
00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:58,160
But this time he sees an incredible movement and the way it's described is that she would

413
00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:03,720
have been, of course, lying flat on her back and that it's almost like she jolted up and

414
00:25:03,720 --> 00:25:05,400
took a deep breath.

415
00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:10,980
And her exact words that she gave me, which I happen to be familiar with because Doug

416
00:25:10,980 --> 00:25:13,360
had been teaching on the ruach of God.

417
00:25:13,360 --> 00:25:17,260
The ruach is a Hebrew word for the breath of God.

418
00:25:17,260 --> 00:25:24,080
She said the ruach and she took a deep breath and she blew out and she said, God himself

419
00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:32,200
breathed into me and she came back to life at that point in the morgue on the table.

420
00:25:32,200 --> 00:25:37,040
The man, the technician notices this is real.

421
00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:43,680
Bottom line is I stood before a living breathing soul who had been declared dead, sent to the

422
00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:46,440
morgue and had been there a long while.

423
00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:47,880
And she stood before me.

424
00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:51,840
And if I may continue to tell you a little bit more about that story, when she was released

425
00:25:51,840 --> 00:25:55,920
from the hospital, she said, and I want to use her words.

426
00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:57,480
I don't want to change them.

427
00:25:57,480 --> 00:26:02,760
She said there was plaster on my belly and I had gone, if I remember correctly, I think

428
00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:07,800
she may have gone to Shabbat service because her sister said, you need to leave the house.

429
00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:09,720
You need to come praise the Lord.

430
00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:11,480
And she said, how could I praise the Lord?

431
00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:12,480
Look at me.

432
00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:14,800
I've just came out of this surgery and look all I've been through.

433
00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:17,020
I need to stay home to recuperate.

434
00:26:17,020 --> 00:26:19,340
And her sister said, absolutely not.

435
00:26:19,340 --> 00:26:22,800
You need to go to Shabbat service and praise the Lord.

436
00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:24,360
And so she does.

437
00:26:24,360 --> 00:26:29,120
And then while at service doing what they do in a lot of these messianic services, if

438
00:26:29,120 --> 00:26:32,880
any of you all have been, they are just so joyful and full of life.

439
00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:36,800
And they have a spirit of gratitude as they dance these choreographed dances to these

440
00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:42,280
songs of the Psalms and songs that are sung directly from the book of Psalms.

441
00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:43,920
And her sister said, you come dance.

442
00:26:43,920 --> 00:26:46,040
And she says, how could I dance?

443
00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:47,040
I can't dance.

444
00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:49,320
I have all this plaster on my body.

445
00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:54,160
She ends up getting up and she said, well, God, you raised me from the dead and I'm going

446
00:26:54,160 --> 00:26:55,160
to get up and dance.

447
00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:58,880
And if all of my body parts fall out while I'm dancing, then so be it.

448
00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:00,420
I'm going to do it.

449
00:27:00,420 --> 00:27:01,880
And you're in charge.

450
00:27:01,880 --> 00:27:05,080
She said she got up and danced joyfully to the Lord.

451
00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:10,020
And when she made it home and she took off her clothes, she said the plaster just fell

452
00:27:10,020 --> 00:27:13,660
on the floor and she was perfect as though nothing had happened.

453
00:27:13,660 --> 00:27:14,660
She didn't take it off.

454
00:27:14,660 --> 00:27:17,280
It had just cracked off, like fallen off.

455
00:27:17,280 --> 00:27:21,080
I guess maybe as I'm talking to you now, maybe it was a cast of some sort.

456
00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:24,040
I don't know, but her word was plaster.

457
00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:30,360
And there she was sitting on the front row shining with the eyes of a woman that had

458
00:27:30,360 --> 00:27:31,820
been in the presence of God.

459
00:27:31,820 --> 00:27:36,240
And I asked her, did you see him while you were asleep, so to speak?

460
00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:37,960
Your body was asleep.

461
00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:39,960
She said, I never saw God.

462
00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:45,260
I never saw him, but his peace is all over me now and he is real.

463
00:27:45,260 --> 00:27:46,960
That is so, so powerful.

464
00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:50,280
I mean, God is doing that kind of thing.

465
00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:55,840
When we get desperate, when we are in desperate situations, you often hear in places that

466
00:27:55,840 --> 00:28:05,920
don't have the resources, the medical facilities, the prosperity that the West is used to.

467
00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:13,720
When there's a desperation for God, God answers in ways that are amazing, like this woman.

468
00:28:13,720 --> 00:28:18,160
It's that hunger to see his presence and he shows up.

469
00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:23,160
Jodi, I think one of the things that you and I together have even witnessed, because you

470
00:28:23,160 --> 00:28:27,680
and I have the honor and the pleasure of serving together through Somebody Cares on a lot of

471
00:28:27,680 --> 00:28:33,280
disaster relief missions, a commonality I would say in all of them is that in desperate

472
00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:39,000
times, God does amazing signs and wonders.

473
00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:45,080
I think it's the brokenness of our hearts, the willingness to say, there is no other

474
00:28:45,080 --> 00:28:46,800
way but you, Jesus.

475
00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:53,120
I've tried everything and you are the only thing I have left to hold on to.

476
00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:58,640
Unfortunately, too many people reach out to him only in those desperate times and that's

477
00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:02,240
where I come back, always convicted and changed.

478
00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:07,280
God, let me never be just one that wants to hold your hand when I'm desperate, but let

479
00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:12,360
me experience those signs and wonders when I'm not desperate, when I'm full of joy.

480
00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:14,800
Yes, Jodi, he is real.

481
00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:17,960
Yes, Jodi, he is making things happen.

482
00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:24,120
I can go on and on with stories of his goodness that I heard firsthand from these people,

483
00:29:24,120 --> 00:29:29,040
stories that you and I have experienced, limbs growing back and people that were blind that

484
00:29:29,040 --> 00:29:30,440
now see.

485
00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:31,440
I've questioned it.

486
00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:38,000
Could it be that we are so much dependent on man here and on what man can do versus

487
00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:39,800
what God can do?

488
00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:45,200
Moreover, I think one of the things I walk away with too is learning to be still and

489
00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:47,600
hear his voice.

490
00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:53,280
From the time that you get the assignment to the processing of what my mission is, what

491
00:29:53,280 --> 00:29:56,360
my goal is, you don't go to just go and say you went to Ukraine.

492
00:29:56,360 --> 00:29:58,120
Oh, I went and I survived.

493
00:29:58,120 --> 00:29:59,280
That's not the mission.

494
00:29:59,280 --> 00:30:04,120
The mission is, am I going to be this little light that shines and be a light set on a

495
00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:09,280
hill that others can see him, not me, that others can see Jesus, not the name of our

496
00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:10,480
ministry?

497
00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:12,840
It really is all about him.

498
00:30:12,840 --> 00:30:17,680
I know that our very presence expels darkness because it's not our presence.

499
00:30:17,680 --> 00:30:22,560
It's the Holy Spirit in us that does the work and shines if we allow him to.

500
00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:23,560
Amen.

501
00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:27,520
Well, Lisa, tell us a couple of ways that we can pray for our brothers and sisters who

502
00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:28,520
are Ukrainian.

503
00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:33,080
I mean, whether in Ukraine or dispersed from their homeland.

504
00:30:33,080 --> 00:30:37,760
One, I would say pray the peace of God over them.

505
00:30:37,760 --> 00:30:39,240
They are lonely.

506
00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:42,320
They are hurting in many ways.

507
00:30:42,320 --> 00:30:45,640
Ukrainian money doesn't have the value it once did.

508
00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:50,680
Cost of living is quite affordable for someone who goes over with an American dollar, but

509
00:30:50,680 --> 00:30:53,960
for them, there is a need for work.

510
00:30:53,960 --> 00:30:59,600
Many of these people, women especially and children, don't all have their dads because

511
00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:03,080
their dads or their brothers or their cousins are leaving.

512
00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:08,400
I would pray for God to move in that nation in supernatural ways.

513
00:31:08,400 --> 00:31:12,120
Of course, we're going to pray for peace and for the war to end, but we know that there's

514
00:31:12,120 --> 00:31:17,600
only an increase of wars and the rumors of wars, as scripture says, but we are called

515
00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:19,120
to pray for peace.

516
00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:25,560
Those young men who are 18 can no longer leave the country.

517
00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:31,080
Some people who have means and ability, who have a 16-year-old or 17-year-old, try to

518
00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:34,720
find a way to see if their child can get an education in some other place so that they're

519
00:31:34,720 --> 00:31:40,000
not left behind, but that's few and far between because most people are patriots and they

520
00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:43,920
want their children to serve and they want to fight for their nation.

521
00:31:43,920 --> 00:31:45,640
They don't want to be part of Russia.

522
00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:47,680
They want to be Ukrainian.

523
00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:53,240
In fact, when you go into businesses before, because most people did speak Russian, when

524
00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:58,400
you go in and you speak Russian to someone, it is the law that they must respond to you

525
00:31:58,400 --> 00:31:59,840
in Ukrainian.

526
00:31:59,840 --> 00:32:02,840
Pray for peace within the people groups there.

527
00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:09,000
I would also say that there would be a mighty move of God that would become more evident

528
00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:14,240
and that people would see that he is real and he is and the word is getting out.

529
00:32:14,240 --> 00:32:15,940
People are coming to know the Lord.

530
00:32:15,940 --> 00:32:17,120
They need provision.

531
00:32:17,120 --> 00:32:21,640
They need to see God's hand also in miraculous ways, which I think that's where he serves

532
00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:23,880
even through ministries like ours.

533
00:32:23,880 --> 00:32:28,400
You can say, well, we're small potatoes, as Doug says sometimes, but guess what?

534
00:32:28,400 --> 00:32:34,320
One small potato can feed a whole lot of people and one small potato planted well can multiply

535
00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:37,200
into more potatoes and God does things.

536
00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:41,920
One of the things we're trying to do, Jodi, is raise funds to be able to purchase more

537
00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:47,880
solar Bibles that have the Ukrainian and Russian languages for those that are trying to learn.

538
00:32:47,880 --> 00:32:50,560
And there's so much information in those.

539
00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:55,280
And they went like hotcakes, the ones that we were able to purchase because of the people

540
00:32:55,280 --> 00:32:59,720
and that donated towards this trip and allowed us to purchase some.

541
00:32:59,720 --> 00:33:01,080
It was a big demand.

542
00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:05,800
I would say continue to pray for finances so that ministries like ours can serve over

543
00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:09,160
there, getting them the resources they need.

544
00:33:09,160 --> 00:33:10,160
They want Bibles.

545
00:33:10,160 --> 00:33:11,200
They need food.

546
00:33:11,200 --> 00:33:13,920
Everything we do is in and through the church.

547
00:33:13,920 --> 00:33:20,320
That way people can receive God's tangible help through the church and also receive the

548
00:33:20,320 --> 00:33:23,800
gospel, which is the ultimate freedom that anyone could have.

549
00:33:23,800 --> 00:33:24,800
Amen.

550
00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:30,800
And if you want those who are listening to be a part of that, you can donate for efforts

551
00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:39,280
in Ukraine to get them audio Bibles, to get other provisions as we have resources at somebodycares.org.

552
00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:44,920
Go to the donate now button and just make sure you select Ukraine so we know that that's

553
00:33:44,920 --> 00:33:47,200
your intention of where you want it to go.

554
00:33:47,200 --> 00:33:51,040
So Lisa, when you got back from the U.S., you jumped right back into several ministry

555
00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:54,120
opportunities, one of which it's the holiday season.

556
00:33:54,120 --> 00:33:59,920
So it's coordinating holiday outreaches with Somebody Cares partners in the Houston area.

557
00:33:59,920 --> 00:34:00,920
Share just a little bit.

558
00:34:00,920 --> 00:34:04,540
I mean, there's a lot going on, but share just a little bit about how we're reaching

559
00:34:04,540 --> 00:34:08,020
out in partnership with churches and organizations this Christmas.

560
00:34:08,020 --> 00:34:11,120
This brings me incredible joy.

561
00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:18,920
I absolutely love the opportunity that Somebody Cares gives me and the many volunteers to

562
00:34:18,920 --> 00:34:22,840
serve people from all over our region.

563
00:34:22,840 --> 00:34:24,600
We are partnering with churches.

564
00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:29,300
Right now we have about 16 churches that we are working with and or ministries to serve

565
00:34:29,300 --> 00:34:36,160
homeless, to serve Holocaust survivors, to serve people that are widows or shut-ins or

566
00:34:36,160 --> 00:34:40,240
people that are in lower income assisted living facilities where they don't have means for

567
00:34:40,240 --> 00:34:43,200
much, where they don't even get their own room, their shared rooms.

568
00:34:43,200 --> 00:34:46,960
So we're able to reach all these people in incredible ways.

569
00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:48,520
We're working with refugees.

570
00:34:48,520 --> 00:34:53,760
We're working with schools that also care for lower income children, identifying families

571
00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:55,500
that have true needs.

572
00:34:55,500 --> 00:34:58,840
We actually were given a grant by a foundation in Houston.

573
00:34:58,840 --> 00:35:01,160
And here's the beauty about Somebody Cares.

574
00:35:01,160 --> 00:35:07,000
The grant was worth a certain amount of money as opposed to just saying we're going to just

575
00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:09,080
divvy this money up between all these churches.

576
00:35:09,080 --> 00:35:12,940
We went to people that were actually doing things in the community already.

577
00:35:12,940 --> 00:35:17,640
That was one of the requirements that they were already intending to serve their community.

578
00:35:17,640 --> 00:35:22,520
Once we found out what their needs were, we were able to come alongside them, use our

579
00:35:22,520 --> 00:35:27,920
own resources to get some of those needs met with the funds that were donated to us and

580
00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:30,800
multiply the money many times over.

581
00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:35,600
I was excited, for instance, last night that we were able to make a purchase for just under

582
00:35:35,600 --> 00:35:42,500
$700 of about value, fair market value of this merchandise is $20,000.

583
00:35:42,500 --> 00:35:48,540
For $700 that someone donated to us, we have, by the grace of God, have multiplied that

584
00:35:48,540 --> 00:35:55,800
into $20,000 worth of everything from makeup, curling irons, to undergarments, to clothes,

585
00:35:55,800 --> 00:35:56,800
everything brand new.

586
00:35:56,800 --> 00:35:59,120
And some of you may say, well, what are you worried about makeup?

587
00:35:59,120 --> 00:36:03,000
Well, for someone to go to work, for a single parent mom to go to work and have to choose

588
00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:07,920
whether I get to have eyeliner or something simple like lip gloss or lipstick because

589
00:36:07,920 --> 00:36:12,160
I have to buy my son shoes, what a beautiful thing to be able to say, not only are we going

590
00:36:12,160 --> 00:36:16,720
to give your son his shoes, but we're going to give you a beautiful care kit with all

591
00:36:16,720 --> 00:36:21,000
these toiletry items that you would have never been able to afford yourself because you chose

592
00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:24,000
to put gas in the car or to do something else.

593
00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:28,560
And so I can go on and on about stories of what we're doing.

594
00:36:28,560 --> 00:36:33,500
We have had a team of volunteers once the word got out that have come alongside us to

595
00:36:33,500 --> 00:36:36,240
help serve and sort through everything.

596
00:36:36,240 --> 00:36:42,860
And by His grace, I'm going to guess so far that we are probably close to being able to

597
00:36:42,860 --> 00:36:49,240
give out about $100,000 worth of goods in kind to all of these ministries.

598
00:36:49,240 --> 00:36:54,740
And we are very good about not just giving handouts, but truly finding people with sincere

599
00:36:54,740 --> 00:36:58,160
need that want to hand up, not a handout.

600
00:36:58,160 --> 00:37:00,040
People that are trying to do for themselves.

601
00:37:00,040 --> 00:37:04,800
So I think our listeners that have sown for those that just can sew in prayer.

602
00:37:04,800 --> 00:37:05,800
Thank you.

603
00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:08,400
Keep praying for those that can sew the widow's might.

604
00:37:08,400 --> 00:37:12,760
We promise you that the Lord is multiplying it in incredible ways.

605
00:37:12,760 --> 00:37:18,560
And I can't wait till January comes around and we get to share pictures and stories of

606
00:37:18,560 --> 00:37:24,320
smiles of people that have just had an incredible Christmas and an incredible experience with

607
00:37:24,320 --> 00:37:28,880
the Lord and some that have come to salvation because of these tangible gifts.

608
00:37:28,880 --> 00:37:29,880
Amen.

609
00:37:29,880 --> 00:37:35,640
Well, Lisa, as we close, is there a woman of the Bible whose story is relevant for this

610
00:37:35,640 --> 00:37:37,080
season that we're in?

611
00:37:37,080 --> 00:37:39,360
I love that you said that's relevant for this season that we're in.

612
00:37:39,360 --> 00:37:42,280
You had no idea who I was going to tell you about.

613
00:37:42,280 --> 00:37:47,040
But last night, as I was pondering, you know, knowing that you always ask this question

614
00:37:47,040 --> 00:37:51,280
beyond a shadow of a doubt, it's Mary, the mother of Jesus.

615
00:37:51,280 --> 00:37:54,160
That's who's relevant for me during this season.

616
00:37:54,160 --> 00:38:00,760
I get teary-eyed because I can't even imagine at that age being visited and asked, would

617
00:38:00,760 --> 00:38:04,040
you carry the Savior of the world?

618
00:38:04,040 --> 00:38:08,800
And just like prophecy said in Isaiah 7, 14, it says, it was foretold that a woman such

619
00:38:08,800 --> 00:38:14,320
as Mary would emerge one day to give birth to Israel's wished-for child, their Savior.

620
00:38:14,320 --> 00:38:18,880
And Scripture says, therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign, the virgin will conceive

621
00:38:18,880 --> 00:38:24,200
and give birth to a son, and we'll call him Emmanuel, God with us.

622
00:38:24,200 --> 00:38:29,560
What must it have been like to hold the Savior in your arms, to look at him in his eyes,

623
00:38:29,560 --> 00:38:30,680
to raise him?

624
00:38:30,680 --> 00:38:33,040
You know, I laugh when you think about disciplining him.

625
00:38:33,040 --> 00:38:34,640
I don't know what Jesus was like.

626
00:38:34,640 --> 00:38:36,800
He was perfect in every way.

627
00:38:36,800 --> 00:38:40,280
But obviously he stayed behind one time and didn't follow them home.

628
00:38:40,280 --> 00:38:41,840
I can't even fathom.

629
00:38:41,840 --> 00:38:46,700
She's the woman who right now I look to and I say, Mary, thank you for your obedience.

630
00:38:46,700 --> 00:38:48,780
Thank you for your love.

631
00:38:48,780 --> 00:38:50,760
Thank you for what you did.

632
00:38:50,760 --> 00:38:57,240
Thank you for being a hero, probably the most famous Mary of all time and by no means one

633
00:38:57,240 --> 00:39:03,040
that we should worship because the only one that can be worshiped is God himself, Jesus,

634
00:39:03,040 --> 00:39:09,000
our Lord and Savior, but one that I can admire and be grateful for and one that I could look

635
00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:13,080
to to say, God, help me to walk in obedience like she did.

636
00:39:13,080 --> 00:39:20,280
Even when I don't want to because my flesh kicks in, even when I doubt because I'm questioning,

637
00:39:20,280 --> 00:39:23,280
am I hearing your voice or am I hearing me?

638
00:39:23,280 --> 00:39:25,920
Help me to just be obedient like Mary was.

639
00:39:25,920 --> 00:39:27,280
And Mary, thank you.

640
00:39:27,280 --> 00:39:32,360
Just thank you for what you did and what an honor it must have been, you know, in the

641
00:39:32,360 --> 00:39:38,680
midst of the hardship and to watch your child be beaten to the point where the flesh is

642
00:39:38,680 --> 00:39:44,520
just ripped aside and to be there at his feet, I can't fathom even knowing that he is God

643
00:39:44,520 --> 00:39:45,800
to watch him go through that.

644
00:39:45,800 --> 00:39:48,280
I could not fathom.

645
00:39:48,280 --> 00:39:52,960
It hurts me when someone speaks bad about my child, let alone lay a hand on him.

646
00:39:52,960 --> 00:39:56,120
And I can't even imagine what emotionally she went through.

647
00:39:56,120 --> 00:39:58,520
But God who's threatened her and gave her away.

648
00:39:58,520 --> 00:40:01,240
Mary, thank you for what you did.

649
00:40:01,240 --> 00:40:04,440
But Jesus is the truth, the way and the life.

650
00:40:04,440 --> 00:40:05,440
Amen.

651
00:40:05,440 --> 00:40:10,200
Mary was incredibly faithful through some very, very difficult circumstances.

652
00:40:10,200 --> 00:40:15,760
And you know, Psalm 37 is an amazing chapter to read when you're feeling overwhelmed by

653
00:40:15,760 --> 00:40:17,440
all that's going on in the world.

654
00:40:17,440 --> 00:40:22,120
I wonder if Mary pondered Psalm 37 through some of the trials that she went through in

655
00:40:22,120 --> 00:40:23,520
life.

656
00:40:23,520 --> 00:40:27,400
I won't read the whole chapter now, but I encourage you to do so today.

657
00:40:27,400 --> 00:40:33,520
And again, whenever you need a reminder that God's got this and God's got you, the first

658
00:40:33,520 --> 00:40:38,480
nine verses in the New Living Translation read, "don't worry about the wicked or envy

659
00:40:38,480 --> 00:40:43,800
those who do wrong for like grass, they soon fade away like spring flowers.

660
00:40:43,800 --> 00:40:48,120
They soon wither trust in the Lord and do good.

661
00:40:48,120 --> 00:40:50,800
Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.

662
00:40:50,800 --> 00:40:54,480
Take delight in the Lord and he will give you your heart's desires.

663
00:40:54,480 --> 00:40:56,320
Commit everything you do to the Lord.

664
00:40:56,320 --> 00:40:58,860
Trust him and he will help you.

665
00:40:58,860 --> 00:41:04,160
He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn and the justice of your cause will shine

666
00:41:04,160 --> 00:41:05,940
like the noonday sun.

667
00:41:05,940 --> 00:41:10,060
Be still in the presence of the Lord and wait patiently for him to act.

668
00:41:10,060 --> 00:41:14,340
Don't worry about the evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.

669
00:41:14,340 --> 00:41:15,340
Stop being angry.

670
00:41:15,340 --> 00:41:16,340
Turn from your rage.

671
00:41:16,340 --> 00:41:17,340
Do not lose your temper.

672
00:41:17,340 --> 00:41:19,020
It only leads to harm.

673
00:41:19,020 --> 00:41:24,320
For the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land.

674
00:41:24,320 --> 00:41:29,280
And verse 39 and 40 ends the Psalm by saying, the Lord rescues the godly.

675
00:41:29,280 --> 00:41:32,120
He is their fortress in times of trouble.

676
00:41:32,120 --> 00:41:35,200
The Lord helps them, rescuing them from the wicked.

677
00:41:35,200 --> 00:41:38,640
He saves them and they find shelter in him."

678
00:41:38,640 --> 00:41:41,560
Lisa, would you take a moment and lead us in prayer?

679
00:41:41,560 --> 00:41:43,400
Lord, we just love you.

680
00:41:43,400 --> 00:41:49,120
We are without words for your amazing and abounding grace.

681
00:41:49,120 --> 00:41:53,120
God, I pray for every person that is listening right now.

682
00:41:53,120 --> 00:41:58,720
And we'll listen throughout time, God, that you would touch them in the very place of

683
00:41:58,720 --> 00:41:59,720
their need.

684
00:41:59,720 --> 00:42:05,280
There are no impossibilities for you and there is no limitation on time.

685
00:42:05,280 --> 00:42:07,840
God, I thank you that your word is true.

686
00:42:07,840 --> 00:42:12,360
I thank you that in this season, God, we can look to you, the author and finisher of our

687
00:42:12,360 --> 00:42:18,680
faith, father, that you would allow us to walk in truth, in righteousness, in justice.

688
00:42:18,680 --> 00:42:23,200
Father, I thank you for healings, salvations, liberations.

689
00:42:23,200 --> 00:42:27,560
Father, I thank you for more people that are being called out into the mission field and

690
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the mission field can be in their very own city.

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The mission field could be in their very own home.

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May we be attuned to your voice, to hear what you want us to hear, to move according to

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your perfect will.

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God, I speak blessings of abundance.

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Father, I speak healing.

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I speak emotional, physical.

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Father, God, natural in every way, social, economical healing in every way for everyone

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that hears.

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God, may your will be done in our lives.

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And God, just as it says in Psalm 107, one, Oh, give thanks to the Lord for he is good

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for his steadfast love endures forever.

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God, your love does endure forever and it could see us through every storm.

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God, I thank you for my brothers and sisters in Ukraine.

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I thank you, Father God, for my brothers and sisters in Israel and all over the world.

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God, there's people in many nations and many war torn nations.

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And Father, even in some of the nations that so many of us tend to look our head against

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and say, Oh, they're evil.

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God, you are there and your goal is that none should be lost, that none should perish.

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And you are meeting people.

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There are underground churches and people that believe all over the world.

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God, empower them, infuse them with your strength, with your provision in every way.

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God, I thank you and we bless you in this time and always in Jesus name.

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Amen.

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Amen.

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Hey, if God is speaking to you about joining us in supporting the work he's doing in Ukraine,

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remember, go to somebody cares.org, click on the donate button and just mention that

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this is for Ukraine.

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Thank you for tuning in.

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In our show notes at HerGodStory.org, you'll find scriptures and other information we talked

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about.

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You can also get a free six week devotional on women of the Bible to download or purchase

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a 12 week devotional that we'll send to you for just $12.

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In there is a pretty in depth look at the life of Mary.

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You might pick up that for the beginning of the year and learn something.

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And you'll know that all the proceeds go to our widow and orphan fund.

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We'd love to pray with you on our prayer and text line.

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Give us a call anytime at 855-459-CARE or email us at prayer@somebody cares.org.

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And now dear friends, I bless you from Psalm 20 verse one, may the Lord answer you when

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you are in distress.

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May the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

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Her God story is a ministry of somebody cares America and international to find out more

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about or support the ministry.

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Go to somebody cares.org.