From Pastor's Wife to Movie Producer, Kathy Bernard's Story

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I love a good story, especially a God story that expands my understanding of his goodness

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and his ways.

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Thanks for joining in today.

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I'm Jodie Chiricosta, ministry leader at Somebody Cares International in America, author and

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traveler on this journey of faith.

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Jeremiah 29, 11 has always been a favorite of mine.

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The New Living translation version says, for I know the plans I have for you, says the

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Lord, they are plans for good and not for disaster to give you a future and a hope.

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My guest, Kathy Bernard, has experienced the plans of the Lord in her life and they have

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been quite interesting.

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The mother of six, Kathy's been married to her husband, Daniel, for almost 40 years.

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They've been pastors, missionaries, co-founded Somebody Cares Tampa Bay, which is a chapter

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of Somebody Cares America.

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They co-authored a book on marriage and co-produced a Christian film.

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That is a lot of different things.

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Well, Kathy, you sound like Superwoman.

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Welcome.

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Thank you.

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Oh, good to be with you.

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So Kathy, you came to Christ at a young age and decided pretty quickly that you wanted

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to be in full-time ministry.

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Tell us how you met Jesus and what your concept of ministry was at that young age.

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Well, I grew up in a Christian home.

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I was around church and Bible and Jesus and everything.

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Coming to the Lord at nine years old was not unusual.

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In fact, I still remember, I have a twin brother and we both accepted the Lord, got baptized

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at the same time.

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And so I accepted the Lord and started on my journey pretty early.

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As far as concept of ministry, I think my parents ministered in this church for 40 years.

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So I never knew anything else.

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We always went to the same church.

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We actually lived in the same house all my life.

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So everything was pretty much the same all the time in my life.

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Until I got out of high school.

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It's remarkable that as a pastor's kid, you didn't really go through a major rebellion

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that some do.

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I remember going to church camp and you know, we always have those around the fire testimony

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times and I would sit there going, man, I don't have the testimony because all these

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people are talking about how bad they were and how rebellious they were and how they

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hated their parents.

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And I'm sitting there going like, well, that's not how I feel.

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My parents are pretty good and I don't feel like doing that.

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So I, you know, really learning that you do have a testimony, even if you haven't gone

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through the bad, knowing that, hey, I could find the Lord, be centered and be my compass

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at the early age so that I didn't make all the bad mistakes.

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And that is such a testimony.

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I mean, I know I received Jesus when I was six.

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I went through a couple of rebellious things when I was a teenager.

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God protected me from so many things that just devastate young women and young men in

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their lives that, you know, we didn't have to experience, which is a test, amazing testimony

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unto itself and should be encouraging to anyone out there with kids, you know, that God can

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protect your kids from all the things that are going on in the world today, which seemed

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to be out of control sometimes.

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Yeah, yeah, you're right.

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You had a wonderful safe plan, but it wasn't really God's plan.

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Once you got out of high school and God started switching things around on you when you headed

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to college and graduate school, did that stretch you?

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What happened?

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I was offset to go to a Christian college in Atlanta.

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I was accepted.

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It was the summer before I was to go.

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And then I got a phone call from my uncle.

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He is a professor at a startup college in Florida.

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And he called me and said, County, why don't you consider coming to my college?

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And all of me was like, a new college?

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That means no campus, not a lot of people.

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You know, and the other one is like, it's all established.

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Lots of people, lots of guys, lots of programs.

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So I was like, no, I don't want to.

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That's a lot of change.

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And you know, I hadn't had much in my life.

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So I told him I pray about it.

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And so I know it was a God thing because God changed my mind.

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And I did go to that college, the startup college.

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God has a way of changing us even when we have our plans all set out.

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And even though that college was small, it was good for me because it grew me into a

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leader that stretched me because I couldn't hide in the crowd.

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You know, I had to be stretched and grow.

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So that was good.

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And that was the beginning of changing me.

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So then you went on for more school.

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And what were you studying?

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Were you studying to be a pastor?

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What were you studying?

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My degree, I had a general Bible degree and then I decided to go to Ohio and I studied

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a master's in Christian education and counseling.

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So I always wanted to when I was younger, I already had decided I want to be in ministry.

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My hope was someday I can marry a pastor and be in ministry like my parents.

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All the training and stuff was like, okay, of course it'd be nice if I have some Christian

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education and counseling, you know, so you have a little bit of everything to do ministry.

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So yeah.

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Yeah.

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So things were going along pretty well on that track.

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But then you met a dashing young man in graduate school who became your husband, Daniel.

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And you said Daniel was really a pioneer when you were a settler.

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So what was your courtship like and what was your dream together initially?

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Well, we met in one of our classes and he basically saw my picture on a wall.

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They were advertising graduate school and I was happened to be spotlighted and he goes,

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oh, she's from Florida and I'm from Florida.

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Maybe we can get together.

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So we got together.

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And you know, my first thing I'm just thinking, you know, here's, you know, God's bringing

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us together.

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It was a short portrait.

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Within a year, we had dated, engaged and married by the end of the year.

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But both of us were older.

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I was 24.

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He was 27.

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So it wasn't like we were fresh out of high school or anything like that.

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At first, I thought it was just going to be like he's going to be a pastor of this suburban

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church like my parents and everything was going to be like my parents.

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But I learned pretty quickly that his makeup is more like I want to start new things and

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challenges and, you know, go and like a pioneer adventure and all that.

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And of course, all I known is just being in the same place, doing the same thing.

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So that's why I said he was a pioneer.

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Yeah, you kind of expected stability and he liked to shake things up.

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So I mean, that was probably challenging, you know, as a young wife to have a husband

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who's always got new ideas coming at you and you're just trying to sort of settle into

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marriage and you were, you know, we had, I mean, most marriages have their highs and

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their lows.

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I remember one time I think we were having, having some doctoring discussions and stuff

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and he was really riding hard about it.

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And there was another analogy I came up with that he was being a rancher instead of a shepherd,

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you know, that he was trying to push, you know, like you push the cattle and you herd

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the cattle and it's not good for people to do that.

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And just kind of telling him, hey, you know, as a shepherd, you lovingly, you know, take

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time and patiently love that person and help that person, you know, whether you're having

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talks or issues or whatever it is, that's always stood out to him.

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He'll even say to this day, I remember that conversation that I needed to be a shepherd

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and not a rancher.

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I'm right after graduate school.

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You guys started pastoring a church.

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In fact, Dana was actually pastoring it before we got married.

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He was born in graduate school and he would drive the weekends over to Kentucky about

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40 minutes to a small country church.

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And then when we got married, we were only there a short amount of time before we actually

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moved to Texas to do ministry.

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Okay.

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And what did you do in Texas?

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We went to this church, this old church that had been through lots and lots of pastors.

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And we thought we would go and boy, we're just going to change the world and get this

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church on track.

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Did it work out that way?

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No, it didn't work out that way.

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Yeah, that was the start of more changes.

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We actually left the church and started another church that led to street work and more stuff.

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So yeah, it didn't turn out the way we thought.

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God had other plans.

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That's all I can say.

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What are some of the lessons the Lord taught you during that period of pastoring?

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Because you didn't stay pastors, but I'm sure some of the foundational principles that you

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needed later in life were established there.

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One of the things that was a hard lesson to learn is that I look back and I look at my

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parents and being in ministry, they protected me from a lot.

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Now I didn't know a lot of stuff.

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There was people in churches that now looking back that were maybe difficult situations

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and they didn't come home talking to us around the kids about all the issues of the church.

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And then when you're in ministry for yourself, you see all the issues.

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You see all the good, bad, and the ugly.

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And just learning that, especially having gone through that church split where we split

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off because the leadership wasn't going in the same direction.

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And just the hurt and the pain that you go through, that was hard because I never had

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been through that before.

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And learning that ministry, sometimes you have in your mind that ministry is just glorious.

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People will kind of put you on the pedestal.

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Oh, it's such a glorious thing.

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And sometimes it's really messy and ministry is hard.

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Yeah, I've worked in Christian ministry my whole career really.

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And I remember being at one ministry that I was working at and seeing stuff go on.

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Everyone there is Christians, everyone there is supposed to be emanating Christ and just

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garbage going on between people.

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And I just remember the Lord kind of this revelation coming to me.

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And I don't remember if it was through somebody speaking at chapel or what it was, but it

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was like, we are still in the transformation process.

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This is not heaven.

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And so we can't expect it to be like heaven.

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And part of that process is learning to forgive and learning to be humble when we mess up

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because particularly in a work or ministry situation where you're supposed to be the

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leader, when you mess up, it's really hard to be humble and go back and say, I'm sorry,

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I was wrong.

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But unless we do that, we're not allowing ourselves to be conformed into the image of

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Christ.

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He gave up heaven and came, humbled himself to be among us.

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Of course, he never sinned.

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He never had to say sorry.

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But that's what we have to do if we're going to make it.

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And really, that's the only way our heart can be healed from some of the hurts we go

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through too.

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So eventually you guys even left Texas and you packed up and you moved across the world

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to Nigeria.

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I remember when I was young, I used to think, God, I'll just go anywhere and do anything

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for you, but please don't send me to Africa.

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In my mind back then when I was little, it was like, the lions are going to come and

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drag you out of your hut and eat you and God anywhere but there.

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I know it's not the way there now and I've been to Africa and it's wonderful people

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there.

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But back when I was little, I was like anywhere but Africa, God.

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How did you first decide to go to Nigeria, which I mean today, that is not a safe place

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for Christians to be.

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We hear almost every day about attacks on Christians, particularly in the north of Nigeria.

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So how did you do that and what was that like for you as a mom and by this time you had

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small children?

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I mean, that was a huge change.

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It's interesting to look back and look at things because I know little by little, God

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was making changes in me because we went from a suburbia church and then we did street

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work.

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So little by little, he was helping me to make change or probably would have never said

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yes to Nigeria.

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How it happened is we were in Bryan College Station and a lot of the Texas A&M graduates

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came to our church and it was like a street work type of church.

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And one of them, his name was Goodluck and he asked Daniel to go on a mission trip.

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Dan said, hey, when I go, I'm just going to be seeking God.

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So he went and it was like two weeks and right before he was to come back, I remember standing

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at the kitchen sink and God talked to me and he said, when he comes back, he's going to

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tell you that you're going to go to Nigeria.

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So he came back and that's what he did.

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Oh my gosh.

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He kind of mirrored it a little bit because Goodluck got engaged over there while they

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were on the trip and so he was going to get married.

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And Dana comes back, oh, he wants me to be the best man and perform the ceremony.

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And then when he's in Nigeria and we're all going to go, you know, that was kind of how

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he couched into telling me.

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He was just like, this is going to be a short term thing, right?

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And you know, really, when we went, we didn't plan on being career missionaries.

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We thought we're going to go over and we'll establish the work.

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We'll work with the national people.

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We'll get them trained and then we'll leave the work to them.

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So that was always our plan.

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When we went, at first to me it was like an adventure.

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Just a back story.

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At this time, I had three kids and I was about three months pregnant with our boy.

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And then when we got there, I was like, it felt like I was on another planet.

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I never felt that way.

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You know, usually when you have change, there might be a change in your life, but there's

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other things in your life that stable.

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So you say, oh, I've changed jobs, but you're still living in the same house and you're

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still, but this is like totally a new place to live, a new environment, a new way of shopping.

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I mean, everything it was culturally, I mean, of course, people are basically the same,

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but they're in their style of interaction and they're what's acceptable in society.

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They're all different.

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Yeah.

242
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And I have to say it was the hardest.

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We were there often on six years.

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It was the hardest time that we went through because, and there was even time when we questioned,

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you know, God, did we really hear from you?

246
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Is this really what you want?

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Because we got kicked out of the country because our visas weren't properly done right.

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Two of my kids almost died.

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I got typhoid and almost died.

250
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Death rats.

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Daniel was pulled out of her house by gunpoint at one time.

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I mean, we could write a book on all the bad things that happened to us.

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And I remember one time, you know, God was showing us along the way.

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He was with us.

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And like when I was sick with typhoid and actually I had faith.

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So here's my newborn in the bed with me because I still had to nurse her while I'm sick with

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typhoid.

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I was just like, God, am I going to leave Ford Silverman behind?

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Am I going to die?

260
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It was awful.

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And I said, you know what?

262
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You're not going to die, but you're going to have to go through this.

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And like I got down to like a hundred pounds.

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I looked like I'd been in a concentration camp and I did.

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We did come home after I went through that to recover and stuff, but it was hard.

266
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History is not always easy.

267
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And I have to say that God does help you in those difficult times.

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He gives you everything to do the assignment.

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And I remember all the suffering we went through and years later, we trained up 12 guys and

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they became pastors.

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And the work is still continuing today.

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We have churches over there, schools and good came, but the overseer of the ministry came

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00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:19,600
to us years later because I had wondered for years, like, what was that all about?

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Were we effective?

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Did we do anything?

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And he said, you know, I remember when I saw you guys suffering and that always stayed

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in my mind.

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And when we finally decided to go to an unreached people group called the Edo people group over

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there, he went there.

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And of course he's not of that tribe.

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And at first they tied him up.

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They were going to kill him.

283
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And he had to suffer a whole lot before they would receive him into their group.

284
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And eventually did because we have churches there now.

285
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And so when I was going through all that, I just thought, man, if they could suffer like

286
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they did, I can suffer too.

287
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And that was encouragement that, okay, you know, the things we went through, it was worth

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it.

289
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And now you look back and you go all the schools and the churches that have been established

290
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because we went and we pushed through and we did the best we could in the midst of all

291
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the bad things that happened to us.

292
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You know, God still worked.

293
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Wow.

294
00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:26,560
So you had four kids over there and you gave birth over there.

295
00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:30,400
Uh huh, then I came down and had another baby and went back.

296
00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:31,400
Oh wow.

297
00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:36,440
Were you living in a city or were you out kind of in a rural area?

298
00:18:36,440 --> 00:18:37,440
We were living in the city.

299
00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:42,400
At one time we actually went to the north to try to minister to those people up there.

300
00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:46,080
We didn't stay very long up there because we were staying.

301
00:18:46,080 --> 00:18:50,840
They actually ran out of water and the electricity wasn't working.

302
00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:55,920
So it was like, y'all must have to leave because of the situation.

303
00:18:55,920 --> 00:18:57,880
It was an experience.

304
00:18:57,880 --> 00:18:58,880
Wow.

305
00:18:58,880 --> 00:19:00,440
But God brought fruit out of it.

306
00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:07,520
So I mean, yeah, it's one of those truths, I guess, that, you know, you plant and you

307
00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:12,640
may not see a harvest for a while, but God's faithful to do what he said he would do once

308
00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:15,280
he starts something, he's faithful to complete it.

309
00:19:15,280 --> 00:19:16,280
You came back.

310
00:19:16,280 --> 00:19:17,680
A lot of people think missionary.

311
00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:20,920
I mean, you know, that's kind of the end game of ministry.

312
00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:23,000
That's the pinnacle of Christian ministry.

313
00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:27,720
And I think of people like Amy Carmichael and Gladys Elward, they went to the mission field

314
00:19:27,720 --> 00:19:28,720
and they never left.

315
00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:33,160
But, you know, you came back to the states, you're back in the states now.

316
00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:34,600
So why did you leave Nigeria?

317
00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:40,200
We knew we weren't career missionaries, but also it got to the place that the first time

318
00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:42,520
we left is we got kicked out of the country.

319
00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:44,440
Then we went back again.

320
00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:46,520
And then, you know, there was death threats on us.

321
00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:48,120
It just didn't work out.

322
00:19:48,120 --> 00:19:53,640
Now, at that point, we were thinking, have we done enough to establish the work so we

323
00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:54,640
could continue?

324
00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:58,800
And fortunately enough, these guys, we poured into them.

325
00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:02,880
They actually lived in the back area of our house.

326
00:20:02,880 --> 00:20:05,920
So we were with them every single day.

327
00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:07,920
They did classes with us.

328
00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:12,120
Daniel, you know, they were with him all the time.

329
00:20:12,120 --> 00:20:16,000
So those guys stayed in the ministry.

330
00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:20,200
I think out of all of them, only one of them left and he actually went to another ministry

331
00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:21,760
and was a pastor.

332
00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:24,120
But all of them stayed with it.

333
00:20:24,120 --> 00:20:27,120
And then, of course, one of them ended up being our overseer.

334
00:20:27,120 --> 00:20:29,880
Unfortunately, last year he passed away.

335
00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:31,480
God did it in a short amount of time.

336
00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:32,480
That's all I can say.

337
00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:33,480
Amen.

338
00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:39,000
Because at that time, things were established enough that it could continue and it has continued.

339
00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:43,200
You know, God has always been concerned about the poor and the widows and the fatherless.

340
00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:48,080
And Somebody Cares has always provided opportunities for believers to get involved in that, which

341
00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:51,200
is why we created the Widows and Orphan Fund.

342
00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:55,800
Many pastors and ministry leaders in Muslim areas like Northern Nigeria risk their lives

343
00:20:55,800 --> 00:21:01,720
to share the gospel and some even lose their lives during ministry, leaving widows and

344
00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:03,960
sometimes children in desperate circumstances.

345
00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:08,540
So as a company of women together, we can do really a whole lot to help them.

346
00:21:08,540 --> 00:21:14,120
If you want to join us, go to hergodstory.org and click on Widows and Orphan Fund or Help

347
00:21:14,120 --> 00:21:15,120
Now.

348
00:21:15,120 --> 00:21:18,920
You'll find out more about it and you can join us in helping some of these widows who've

349
00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:25,080
been left behind or orphans who have special needs or need special nurture to achieve all

350
00:21:25,080 --> 00:21:27,760
that God has in store for them in the future.

351
00:21:27,760 --> 00:21:32,520
But Cathy, back in the States, God had a whole new adventure waiting for you.

352
00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:35,200
Was it hard for you and your children to transition back to the U.S.?

353
00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:37,600
Did you have kind of reverse culture shock?

354
00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:40,880
I think it's easier to come back to the States.

355
00:21:40,880 --> 00:21:42,680
They go into another country.

356
00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:48,800
I think the biggest thing for me that really kind of irritated me is we had children that

357
00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:50,920
would come to our door all the time.

358
00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:51,920
They weren't closed.

359
00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:52,920
They didn't.

360
00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:58,680
They were lucky if they could have a bowl of rice a day.

361
00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:04,000
And so when it came back and I would see kids that were complaining about, you know, they

362
00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:10,600
had to have a certain kind of cereal or they complained about it, things like that, that

363
00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:15,040
would just kind of irk me because I go, man, we are so blessed.

364
00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:21,080
And these children would be so thankful for just a bowl of something.

365
00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:23,200
So I think for me, that was the hardest.

366
00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:27,880
My kids, really, there wasn't that much of a transition or hard for them.

367
00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:33,040
I homeschooled them over there so they weren't like, you know, away from us.

368
00:22:33,040 --> 00:22:36,160
They were with us the whole time.

369
00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:42,000
But that was something that mentally I had to adjust to because we are so blessed in

370
00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:43,000
the U.S.

371
00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:49,720
We have so many things that we just take for granted, like running water and warm water

372
00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:57,120
and being able to go to the store and buy packaged meat and food and stuff and not,

373
00:22:57,120 --> 00:23:01,760
you know, worried about flies on your meat in the marketplace and stuff like that.

374
00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:07,320
Yeah, one of the things that we often say in our house when people are starting to complain

375
00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:10,880
about nothing, they'll say, well, that's really a first world problem.

376
00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:14,520
You know, it's really not going to affect your life too much.

377
00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:15,520
Get over it.

378
00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:20,040
We are so blessed in our country and we are so thankful for the Lord's blessing.

379
00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:26,880
And we need to remember that every day for the little things that much of the world does

380
00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:31,360
not enjoy what we have access to here.

381
00:23:31,360 --> 00:23:35,120
So it's hard to get our focus off of what's really important and start complaining about

382
00:23:35,120 --> 00:23:37,040
things that aren't really important.

383
00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:40,320
But when you got back to the States, that put something new on your heart.

384
00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:41,560
What were you doing when you got back?

385
00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:44,160
It was a whole new adventure starting something new.

386
00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:49,600
Yeah, when we got back, we were we came from Texas, came to Florida.

387
00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:51,520
Both our families live in Florida.

388
00:23:51,520 --> 00:23:57,760
So we took six weeks and we we just said, OK, we're going to just seek God and see what's

389
00:23:57,760 --> 00:23:58,760
next.

390
00:23:58,760 --> 00:24:02,440
And we knew that was it, that was the end of that story, the chapter.

391
00:24:02,440 --> 00:24:11,440
And so we were like, OK, God, do you want us to be back in like a suburban pastor for

392
00:24:11,440 --> 00:24:14,200
street work or what do you want from us?

393
00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:20,640
And we prayed for six weeks and at the day before we were to go back, we were like, God,

394
00:24:20,640 --> 00:24:23,560
I haven't said nothing, nothing.

395
00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:29,600
And Daniel went the last night we were here, he went to preach and he was preaching out

396
00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:30,600
of the Old Testament.

397
00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:37,320
And God told him to look up the meaning of the word which is in the Bible.

398
00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:38,320
What is it?

399
00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:39,320
What's the word?

400
00:24:39,320 --> 00:24:40,320
The man.

401
00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:41,320
And it's deliver.

402
00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:42,320
It means deliver.

403
00:24:42,320 --> 00:24:50,280
And he said, I want you to go back to Tampa Bay and I want you to unify the body of Christ.

404
00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:51,800
Now we didn't know what that meant.

405
00:24:51,800 --> 00:24:54,560
We didn't know how to do that.

406
00:24:54,560 --> 00:24:55,560
I mean, it's all new.

407
00:24:55,560 --> 00:24:56,560
So here we go.

408
00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:57,560
Pioneer work.

409
00:24:57,560 --> 00:25:00,560
Again, that's no easy task either.

410
00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:05,800
So our objective is we're going to OK, we're going to come back.

411
00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:11,640
We're going to empower and equip and unify the body of Christ to change life, whether

412
00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:14,880
it's here in Tampa Bay and beyond.

413
00:25:14,880 --> 00:25:19,520
And the first thing we did when we got here, because we didn't know anybody, is we went

414
00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:24,960
to the intercessors to see what the intercessors were saying about the area.

415
00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:28,280
And they were they were sent in the same thing.

416
00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:32,560
And so we thought, OK, we're on the wrong to something.

417
00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:36,040
Everybody said praying the same thing and believe the same thing.

418
00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:39,480
And then we just started calling ministries and pastors.

419
00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:45,200
I mean, back then it was the Yellow Pages, just calling and trying to make our way into

420
00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:46,200
the community.

421
00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:50,800
And of course, that's hard because most pastors and people are like, yeah, let's see who you

422
00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:51,800
are.

423
00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:52,800
You know, they want to check.

424
00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:53,800
Yeah, they want to check you out.

425
00:25:53,800 --> 00:25:57,200
Or is this a come and go kind of thing?

426
00:25:57,200 --> 00:26:01,760
And of course, now this year we're celebrating 25 years of being here.

427
00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:06,660
So we stayed.

428
00:26:06,660 --> 00:26:07,800
You got to settle a little bit.

429
00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:08,800
There we go.

430
00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:11,020
We settled a little bit.

431
00:26:11,020 --> 00:26:14,760
So in all that you've done, I mean, you've even had some challenges with Somebody Cares

432
00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:16,080
Tampa Bay over the 25 years.

433
00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:19,320
I mean, you had some triumphs and you've had some challenges.

434
00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:23,280
Just share a few stories from these last 25 years in the Tampa area.

435
00:26:23,280 --> 00:26:28,920
I'm from Tampa, so, you know, I always cheered you on for what you're doing there.

436
00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:33,200
And in various different times of ministry, I've been able to come alongside you guys.

437
00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:38,600
I remember the supper bowl event that we did together into the 90s.

438
00:26:38,600 --> 00:26:46,480
And we had like 30,000 people or more that came out for a huge evangelistic festival

439
00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:47,480
there.

440
00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:49,960
It was even one of the super bowl sanction events.

441
00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:50,960
That was amazing.

442
00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:52,680
That was an amazing thing.

443
00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:53,680
It was.

444
00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:58,480
You know, the thing is, you know, the scripture says that, you know, where there's unity,

445
00:26:58,480 --> 00:27:00,600
God commands a blessing.

446
00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:06,760
And we've seen as purchase and the body of Christ unifies itself.

447
00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:10,080
And it has given us favor in the community.

448
00:27:10,080 --> 00:27:15,160
And that was one of the situations in that regard where there was just so much favor.

449
00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:22,320
And as a result of that event, Daniel actually went to the mayor at that time.

450
00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:28,200
And that's how we got started with CareFast, which is an outreach to those homeowners, elderly

451
00:27:28,200 --> 00:27:32,920
people in need, that need painting and yard work and stuff like that.

452
00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:34,200
And that started that program.

453
00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:38,560
He said, yeah, we have a lot of needs in Tampa and Daniel does well.

454
00:27:38,560 --> 00:27:39,560
I don't know.

455
00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:43,360
I don't know how we're going to do it, but we're going to figure it out and we'll help

456
00:27:43,360 --> 00:27:44,360
meet those needs.

457
00:27:44,360 --> 00:27:47,040
And he was like, we didn't have a program.

458
00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:48,040
We didn't have anything.

459
00:27:48,040 --> 00:27:51,640
He's just promising him that we'd help.

460
00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:55,840
So as a result, that happened when we did Raise the Roof.

461
00:27:55,840 --> 00:28:00,760
It used to be an evangelistic concert at the TROC.

462
00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:04,360
And they asked us to come and do that.

463
00:28:04,360 --> 00:28:06,960
They called and that was after baseball games, right?

464
00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:07,960
Yeah.

465
00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:08,960
Yeah.

466
00:28:08,960 --> 00:28:13,640
And it ended up that God gave us favor with that as well, because later we said, well,

467
00:28:13,640 --> 00:28:15,120
how did you get our name?

468
00:28:15,120 --> 00:28:18,480
Because we're like, nobody's or young and little.

469
00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:23,920
Oh, you're just going through the phone book and we found you, which we know that was God.

470
00:28:23,920 --> 00:28:28,520
Those concerts got opened up that door when they did the Book of Hope.

471
00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:30,960
We were the pilot team.

472
00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:32,440
CBN did a big Book of Hope.

473
00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:34,080
Yes, that's the whole thing.

474
00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:40,120
And they came down and worked with us because they said, you already have these pastors

475
00:28:40,120 --> 00:28:43,280
in leadership that are working together.

476
00:28:43,280 --> 00:28:48,120
So we want to do that pilot for you guys since you're already established and doing it.

477
00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:52,160
And through that, millions of Gospels of John, were they Gospels of John?

478
00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:53,160
Yes.

479
00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:57,400
They were actually delivered to millions of homes throughout the Tampa Bay area, hung

480
00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:03,560
on doors with little notes, you know, we want to pray for you and numbers for churches that

481
00:29:03,560 --> 00:29:05,960
were in their area.

482
00:29:05,960 --> 00:29:12,840
And I mean, a lot of people contacted the churches and received Christ or got ministry

483
00:29:12,840 --> 00:29:13,840
through that.

484
00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:14,840
Yup.

485
00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:15,840
Yeah.

486
00:29:15,840 --> 00:29:19,560
You know, you know, T, when the church works together, God does amazing things.

487
00:29:19,560 --> 00:29:25,560
And you know, a side note from that, being back to how I was raised, that was another

488
00:29:25,560 --> 00:29:32,520
thing that I had to change, especially in this time that I was raised in a denomination

489
00:29:32,520 --> 00:29:38,200
that kind of stayed to themselves and didn't really interact with other denominations and

490
00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:39,200
groups.

491
00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:44,680
And so here I am with somebody cares and we're interacting with all these denominations and

492
00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:45,680
groups and stuff.

493
00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:52,440
So that was, that was a change for me too, is that, you know, there's other believers

494
00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:53,440
out there.

495
00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:55,440
And we all love Jesus, right?

496
00:29:55,440 --> 00:29:56,440
We all follow Jesus.

497
00:29:56,440 --> 00:30:03,400
You might have some distinctives, but we all believe in Jesus says that he died for us,

498
00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:09,840
resurrected, you know, the basics proves that we can work together with other people.

499
00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:13,600
So that was another change in mindset that I had.

500
00:30:13,600 --> 00:30:14,720
I had to change a little bit.

501
00:30:14,720 --> 00:30:19,240
So in all that you've done, what's been your biggest challenge and what did you learn from

502
00:30:19,240 --> 00:30:20,240
that experience?

503
00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:30,400
In 2013, our son Luke was an inner fatal car accident and he, um, almost died.

504
00:30:30,400 --> 00:30:36,320
They gave him no hope and they said, if he does live, he was gonna be a vegetable, that

505
00:30:36,320 --> 00:30:39,520
he wasn't going to need much life there.

506
00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:44,960
So getting that phone call that no parent wants, um, first the phone call was that our

507
00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:49,480
son was missing and we didn't know where he was.

508
00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:54,960
So for hours we were looking for him and of course everything goes in your mind of is

509
00:30:54,960 --> 00:30:55,960
he dead?

510
00:30:55,960 --> 00:30:56,960
Is he in jail?

511
00:30:56,960 --> 00:30:57,960
Is he been kidnapped?

512
00:30:57,960 --> 00:30:58,960
I mean, everything goes through your mind.

513
00:30:58,960 --> 00:30:59,960
He was a cross country at this point.

514
00:30:59,960 --> 00:31:04,960
He wasn't, he was in Los Angeles, speaking to have an after you career.

515
00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:05,960
We're fortunate.

516
00:31:05,960 --> 00:31:10,520
Well, the good news of it is that God did restore him.

517
00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:13,520
It's a miracle story of healing.

518
00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:22,600
Not only physical healing, but Luke was having a problem and struggling with his faith as

519
00:31:22,600 --> 00:31:23,600
well.

520
00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:28,800
And so even before he even woke up and we knew what physically was going to happen,

521
00:31:28,800 --> 00:31:35,640
I was just praying God, you know, heal him spiritually because he was struggling.

522
00:31:35,640 --> 00:31:39,680
And I go more than anything, I want him to be right with you, God.

523
00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:46,040
And through this whole process, not only did I heal him physically, but he healed him spiritually.

524
00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:48,000
So we have doubled the need.

525
00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:49,000
Yeah.

526
00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:56,240
So, I mean, you had to fly across country to California, find your son lying there.

527
00:31:56,240 --> 00:32:01,560
I mean, he was in his, what, early twenties at that point, lying there in the hospital.

528
00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:03,960
I mean, I just can't imagine.

529
00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:06,120
Yeah, it was hard.

530
00:32:06,120 --> 00:32:11,000
And you know, the thing is, you know, you think how are you going to react when you

531
00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:13,040
see your son like that?

532
00:32:13,040 --> 00:32:17,520
When I went in his room, I mean, it was awful, tubes everywhere and everything.

533
00:32:17,520 --> 00:32:19,480
But I had such a peace.

534
00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:22,360
I had such a peace.

535
00:32:22,360 --> 00:32:24,640
I knew God was there.

536
00:32:24,640 --> 00:32:30,240
And from the very beginning, Dana and I believe that this is not the end of Luke's life, that

537
00:32:30,240 --> 00:32:32,960
God had a plan for his life.

538
00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:37,120
And so we told people, don't pray, oh, this is whatever God will is.

539
00:32:37,120 --> 00:32:45,080
We said, we want you to pray specific, desperate prayers saying, you know, God heal him, go

540
00:32:45,080 --> 00:32:52,600
in spiritually and physically and not waver on that, no matter what the doctors say, because

541
00:32:52,600 --> 00:32:54,440
the doctors have not given us hope.

542
00:32:54,440 --> 00:32:56,440
So do we believe them?

543
00:32:56,440 --> 00:32:59,520
But to believe the report of the Lord.

544
00:32:59,520 --> 00:33:03,000
And you had people, I mean, all around the world praying for Luke.

545
00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:06,840
I mean, I remember getting the updates and praying with you all.

546
00:33:06,840 --> 00:33:12,880
And it was so helpful to have those specific prayer items so that everyone could pray in

547
00:33:12,880 --> 00:33:13,880
agreement.

548
00:33:13,880 --> 00:33:14,880
I know.

549
00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:17,400
I mean, I recently was diagnosed with breast cancer.

550
00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:22,000
You know, when I sent out my prayer list to the people who pray with me, I sent out specific

551
00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:23,400
things I wanted them to pray.

552
00:33:23,400 --> 00:33:26,280
And one by one, we're seeing those prayers answered.

553
00:33:26,280 --> 00:33:28,560
You know, I was diagnosed real early.

554
00:33:28,560 --> 00:33:30,640
So yeah, that was helpful.

555
00:33:30,640 --> 00:33:34,720
It's so helpful that we can all pray together and be on the same page.

556
00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:40,520
And that's how I started my blog because my daughter says, mom, you can't answer everybody's

557
00:33:40,520 --> 00:33:43,120
questions and that's too much for you.

558
00:33:43,120 --> 00:33:46,520
So why don't you blog what's happening?

559
00:33:46,520 --> 00:33:49,000
And it was kind of therapy for me.

560
00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:55,200
And what happened was it wasn't just a mere blog of the healing process and pray for this

561
00:33:55,200 --> 00:34:03,280
or that, but God showed us so many things along the way, like scriptures became alive.

562
00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:06,240
And so we wrote that I wrote about scriptures.

563
00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:10,880
I wrote about people who came, things that happen along the way.

564
00:34:10,880 --> 00:34:18,200
And what ended up happening, which I didn't plan on it, but we ended up making it into

565
00:34:18,200 --> 00:34:19,200
a book.

566
00:34:19,200 --> 00:34:25,320
And so now a lot of people who have struggled with people that are in the hospital or maybe

567
00:34:25,320 --> 00:34:28,160
they're going through, it's called a journey through the valley.

568
00:34:28,160 --> 00:34:32,080
So it's for anybody who's going through a valley, it might be the lawyers, finances

569
00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:33,200
or whatever.

570
00:34:33,200 --> 00:34:38,440
And I try to tweak it and make it so it relates to other people.

571
00:34:38,440 --> 00:34:48,240
But how we go through journeys, you know, dark valleys, through those valleys in that

572
00:34:48,240 --> 00:34:53,320
valley there with us, you know, he helps us and gives us everything we need because we're

573
00:34:53,320 --> 00:34:55,840
not always living on the mountain tops.

574
00:34:55,840 --> 00:35:03,160
I mean, that's nice and those good times happen, but the reality is we all have these valleys

575
00:35:03,160 --> 00:35:08,680
and to be able to know that God said he's never going to leave us or forsake us.

576
00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:16,280
In his healing process, the accident happened in March and by the 1st of May we had flown

577
00:35:16,280 --> 00:35:17,280
him home to Florida.

578
00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:18,280
Wow.

579
00:35:18,280 --> 00:35:23,480
Yeah, he had gone through enough rehab that he could fly home.

580
00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:25,400
And then I started answering those prayers right away.

581
00:35:25,400 --> 00:35:26,400
I know.

582
00:35:26,400 --> 00:35:31,160
I know because you know, you hear so many that the whole thing opened up a whole new

583
00:35:31,160 --> 00:35:36,800
field of traumatic injury, brain injury, people.

584
00:35:36,800 --> 00:35:41,440
And until that is led us into ministering to people who have gone through those same

585
00:35:41,440 --> 00:35:46,960
times so that we can give them hope and encouragement that they might not have the end result as

586
00:35:46,960 --> 00:35:49,720
we did, but to know that God is here.

587
00:35:49,720 --> 00:35:50,720
He's there with you.

588
00:35:50,720 --> 00:35:56,520
He's faithful and hope you do everything you need to get through that tough time.

589
00:35:56,520 --> 00:36:01,200
Luke, your son had a vision while he was in a coma.

590
00:36:01,200 --> 00:36:02,200
No, no.

591
00:36:02,200 --> 00:36:03,200
Oh no.

592
00:36:03,200 --> 00:36:04,200
Okay.

593
00:36:04,200 --> 00:36:06,200
He had come home and it was like in August.

594
00:36:06,200 --> 00:36:09,600
So he came home in May and August he had a dream.

595
00:36:09,600 --> 00:36:10,600
Okay.

596
00:36:10,600 --> 00:36:16,920
And if you're familiar with it, praying injury, they have memory loss, especially for memory

597
00:36:16,920 --> 00:36:17,920
loss.

598
00:36:17,920 --> 00:36:23,840
He remembers everything in the past, but about six months of his life in LA, he doesn't remember

599
00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:24,840
very much.

600
00:36:24,840 --> 00:36:32,320
So he was still dealing with remembering and putting sentences together and all that kind

601
00:36:32,320 --> 00:36:33,320
of stuff.

602
00:36:33,320 --> 00:36:39,360
But he woke up and said, I had a full colored dream and it's about, and he went into detail

603
00:36:39,360 --> 00:36:40,360
about everything.

604
00:36:40,360 --> 00:36:44,160
And so I'm like, Hey, that's good for rehab.

605
00:36:44,160 --> 00:36:45,160
Let's just write it down.

606
00:36:45,160 --> 00:36:49,480
It will help you with comprehension and writing and everything.

607
00:36:49,480 --> 00:36:52,680
And since you're remembering all this, just let's hurry and write it down.

608
00:36:52,680 --> 00:36:53,680
You forget it.

609
00:36:53,680 --> 00:36:54,680
Yeah.

610
00:36:54,680 --> 00:36:59,280
And then the next day, what was interesting, he went and shared his testimony the next

611
00:36:59,280 --> 00:37:04,160
day in a church and this guy comes up to him and goes, I really think that you should write

612
00:37:04,160 --> 00:37:07,400
a book or do a movie.

613
00:37:07,400 --> 00:37:11,920
And so of course Luke's like, well, I just started writing down this dream.

614
00:37:11,920 --> 00:37:17,000
So within like a month he had come up with a 90 page script.

615
00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:18,000
Wow.

616
00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:19,000
Luke's written.

617
00:37:19,000 --> 00:37:20,000
Yeah.

618
00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:21,000
It was 90 pages.

619
00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:25,200
And like in college, he was always struggling like 20 pages, 25 pages.

620
00:37:25,200 --> 00:37:28,200
You know, that's all I can do, mom.

621
00:37:28,200 --> 00:37:34,640
So that in itself for a brain injury person to do that, that's a miracle.

622
00:37:34,640 --> 00:37:35,640
Yeah.

623
00:37:35,640 --> 00:37:38,920
And, and then of course that became a book.

624
00:37:38,920 --> 00:37:44,840
And then someone read the script in the book and said, man, has me on it to make it into

625
00:37:44,840 --> 00:37:45,840
a movie.

626
00:37:45,840 --> 00:37:46,840
There we go.

627
00:37:46,840 --> 00:37:49,840
So you and Daniel became movie producers.

628
00:37:49,840 --> 00:37:56,000
That was like, that's a big, that's a big change from, you know, pioneering mission

629
00:37:56,000 --> 00:37:59,680
work in Nigeria to movie producing.

630
00:37:59,680 --> 00:38:01,720
I mean, tell us that story a little bit.

631
00:38:01,720 --> 00:38:04,600
Being in the movie industry is something else.

632
00:38:04,600 --> 00:38:08,120
I tell you it's a corrupt as can be.

633
00:38:08,120 --> 00:38:09,120
But you know what?

634
00:38:09,120 --> 00:38:14,720
Like I said before, God gives us everything we need to accomplish the assignment that

635
00:38:14,720 --> 00:38:16,840
he has for us.

636
00:38:16,840 --> 00:38:21,960
And so we had to learn a whole lot because we'd never done it before.

637
00:38:21,960 --> 00:38:26,640
And we just said, you know what, when we do this, cause it says it, it, the movies inspire

638
00:38:26,640 --> 00:38:30,840
by true events to happen to Luke, but the story of it is not real.

639
00:38:30,840 --> 00:38:31,840
Okay.

640
00:38:31,840 --> 00:38:34,840
And then the message of it is that we're all God's favorite.

641
00:38:34,840 --> 00:38:37,240
He loves us and desires a relationship with us.

642
00:38:37,240 --> 00:38:38,960
We call it the favorite.

643
00:38:38,960 --> 00:38:39,960
Okay.

644
00:38:39,960 --> 00:38:42,160
That's the movie is the favorite favorite.

645
00:38:42,160 --> 00:38:47,640
And we just thought, you know, cause we always kept in our mind, you want good to come out

646
00:38:47,640 --> 00:38:50,120
of this terrible thing that's happened to us.

647
00:38:50,120 --> 00:38:51,120
Yeah.

648
00:38:51,120 --> 00:38:58,200
And that was what we've said before a book, a dream, a movie, how can we help other people?

649
00:38:58,200 --> 00:39:01,960
How can we take our pain and make good come from it?

650
00:39:01,960 --> 00:39:06,600
And so this has been a way that we've done it, that we've been able to minister to people

651
00:39:06,600 --> 00:39:12,840
cause there's a lot of brain injury situations out in the world, people that slip and fall

652
00:39:12,840 --> 00:39:14,960
or have accidents or whatever.

653
00:39:14,960 --> 00:39:20,440
And so they can really relate to the story of it because in the movie there is an accident

654
00:39:20,440 --> 00:39:24,080
with brain trauma involved.

655
00:39:24,080 --> 00:39:31,440
And so we're able to tell our story and be able to have a ministry opportunity in it.

656
00:39:31,440 --> 00:39:36,480
And of course, in the whole thing, we said, whatever we do, we want to do this really

657
00:39:36,480 --> 00:39:40,640
quality because we don't want it to be a typical Christian movie.

658
00:39:40,640 --> 00:39:42,240
It's not even labeled Christian.

659
00:39:42,240 --> 00:39:45,120
We want the unsaved to see it.

660
00:39:45,120 --> 00:39:48,320
It's just inspired by two events.

661
00:39:48,320 --> 00:39:55,760
But our thing was, is that we want to bring, we want people to be saved through, through

662
00:39:55,760 --> 00:39:56,760
the thing.

663
00:39:56,760 --> 00:40:00,760
And so we want it to be quality and not them look at it and go, Ooh, that's a cheesy Christian

664
00:40:00,760 --> 00:40:02,400
movie.

665
00:40:02,400 --> 00:40:08,800
Sometimes we don't produce, well, you know, good quality stuff like we should.

666
00:40:08,800 --> 00:40:11,360
So that's, that wasn't our heart in that.

667
00:40:11,360 --> 00:40:16,000
And hopefully people who've seen it will say, yeah, that is a quality movie with a good

668
00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:17,000
message.

669
00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:19,400
But you had to see some miracles along the way to even produce it.

670
00:40:19,400 --> 00:40:25,960
I mean, you had to come up with a lot of money and you know, you actually had some Hollywood

671
00:40:25,960 --> 00:40:32,160
actors involved and you know, I mean, you had to find camera people.

672
00:40:32,160 --> 00:40:35,640
And I mean, when you've never done anything like that before, where do you even look?

673
00:40:35,640 --> 00:40:40,680
So I'm sure you had some little miracles along the way or big miracles along the way that

674
00:40:40,680 --> 00:40:41,680
yeah.

675
00:40:41,680 --> 00:40:42,680
Yep.

676
00:40:42,680 --> 00:40:49,720
God just put, he's put together John Snyder who plays Daniel as a father.

677
00:40:49,720 --> 00:40:53,680
He actually, when we contacted him, he was in between stuff.

678
00:40:53,680 --> 00:40:58,720
And so he had this little sliver of time that he could say yes.

679
00:40:58,720 --> 00:41:01,720
And he even said, listen, I'm working on writing stuff.

680
00:41:01,720 --> 00:41:04,440
So I'm just going to drive my RV down.

681
00:41:04,440 --> 00:41:09,560
I'm going to stay in my RV while I'm there and do it.

682
00:41:09,560 --> 00:41:14,000
And then the director actually lives here local.

683
00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:17,320
All our stuff was done local, the thoughts and everything.

684
00:41:17,320 --> 00:41:22,360
So God just provided theater with the different locations.

685
00:41:22,360 --> 00:41:24,080
They didn't charge money.

686
00:41:24,080 --> 00:41:30,700
The church, the whole body of Christ in the Tampa Bay area, they helped us in the production.

687
00:41:30,700 --> 00:41:34,480
We had to provide food every day for the crew.

688
00:41:34,480 --> 00:41:38,480
And so each church, we had churches that would come in and bring the food.

689
00:41:38,480 --> 00:41:40,680
They had to bring it on time.

690
00:41:40,680 --> 00:41:47,120
And afterwards the people were saying, this is the best food that we've ever had on a

691
00:41:47,120 --> 00:41:48,120
set.

692
00:41:48,120 --> 00:41:49,120
Wow.

693
00:41:49,120 --> 00:41:50,120
For them to be on time.

694
00:41:50,120 --> 00:41:54,120
Cause you know, you lose money if you're not on time with the food.

695
00:41:54,120 --> 00:41:56,800
Be on time to have the food and all that.

696
00:41:56,800 --> 00:41:58,800
I mean, that was just another thing.

697
00:41:58,800 --> 00:42:05,800
I just orchestrate all the volunteers, people on the set for the most part, not the main

698
00:42:05,800 --> 00:42:09,840
actors, but the volunteers for the big scenes and stuff.

699
00:42:09,840 --> 00:42:12,120
They all came dressed, ready to go.

700
00:42:12,120 --> 00:42:14,640
We had plenty that it wasn't in the budget at all.

701
00:42:14,640 --> 00:42:16,560
And they were concerned like, what are you going to do?

702
00:42:16,560 --> 00:42:19,280
You don't even have this in the budget to hire people.

703
00:42:19,280 --> 00:42:23,360
And we said, no, we're just going to get people from the Tampa Bay area.

704
00:42:23,360 --> 00:42:25,360
They're going to look at it.

705
00:42:25,360 --> 00:42:26,360
But what?

706
00:42:26,360 --> 00:42:30,720
Whatever we needed, it was always there provided.

707
00:42:30,720 --> 00:42:36,400
And it was a real witness to the group because a lot of the people weren't person on the

708
00:42:36,400 --> 00:42:42,000
crew and every day we had prayer and we would share something about the real story.

709
00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:47,840
And the last time we, we shot was at our church.

710
00:42:47,840 --> 00:42:52,800
And at the very end, Pastor Randy had everyone come forward and we prayed.

711
00:42:52,800 --> 00:42:57,440
But they were just blown away by the whole thing.

712
00:42:57,440 --> 00:42:59,440
And it was just a witness to them.

713
00:42:59,440 --> 00:43:04,760
And the Lord had just been preparing for 20 years or 15 years at that point, bringing

714
00:43:04,760 --> 00:43:06,480
the body of Christ together.

715
00:43:06,480 --> 00:43:09,520
Because he wanted to do an amazing thing that now carries on.

716
00:43:09,520 --> 00:43:11,240
So you distributed it.

717
00:43:11,240 --> 00:43:12,500
How can people see the movie?

718
00:43:12,500 --> 00:43:14,400
Because it's now for a little while now.

719
00:43:14,400 --> 00:43:15,400
Right.

720
00:43:15,400 --> 00:43:19,120
Some people have found it on demand or through their TV people.

721
00:43:19,120 --> 00:43:26,240
If people want to buy it, they can go through the somebody cares website, sgtv.org and purchase

722
00:43:26,240 --> 00:43:27,240
it from us.

723
00:43:27,240 --> 00:43:28,880
At one time it was in Walmart.

724
00:43:28,880 --> 00:43:31,840
I think it's still on Amazon as well.

725
00:43:31,840 --> 00:43:33,440
Or you can purchase it.

726
00:43:33,440 --> 00:43:36,880
But great gift, especially for Father's Day.

727
00:43:36,880 --> 00:43:41,400
It's a great gift because it deals with Father Son relationship.

728
00:43:41,400 --> 00:43:42,400
It's been good though.

729
00:43:42,400 --> 00:43:44,720
We're trying to get it to go international now.

730
00:43:44,720 --> 00:43:46,560
It is in Spanish.

731
00:43:46,560 --> 00:43:51,200
We have shown it some in Spanish in different locations.

732
00:43:51,200 --> 00:43:54,200
And it's been widely received.

733
00:43:54,200 --> 00:43:56,520
And some churches are even using it, right?

734
00:43:56,520 --> 00:43:58,520
To first like their movie nights or?

735
00:43:58,520 --> 00:43:59,520
Yeah.

736
00:43:59,520 --> 00:44:03,080
And we have a study guide that goes with it that people can actually, if they want as

737
00:44:03,080 --> 00:44:08,880
a family or a group, talk about the movie, kind of like you Bible studies do tapes with

738
00:44:08,880 --> 00:44:11,640
their, you know, that's how it works.

739
00:44:11,640 --> 00:44:16,720
So, and you talk about favoritism and how you can, you know, deal with favoritism in

740
00:44:16,720 --> 00:44:21,680
your family and look at what it says in scripture and that kind of stuff.

741
00:44:21,680 --> 00:44:25,800
So looking back over your very interesting life so far, it's far from over.

742
00:44:25,800 --> 00:44:28,160
So God's got some more adventures in your future.

743
00:44:28,160 --> 00:44:29,160
I would think.

744
00:44:29,160 --> 00:44:33,080
But what's, what's the most important lesson you've learned?

745
00:44:33,080 --> 00:44:36,560
You know, in my mind, I had a certain kind of ministry in mind.

746
00:44:36,560 --> 00:44:45,200
I wanted to do ministry my way and that God wants to do ministry through us, his way,

747
00:44:45,200 --> 00:44:53,080
even in our imperfect, stubborn rebellious ways, uses in spite of all that.

748
00:44:53,080 --> 00:44:56,600
And I think that that's what I learned because I had it.

749
00:44:56,600 --> 00:45:03,600
So what I thought I, it needed to look like, and it hasn't been like that at all, but I

750
00:45:03,600 --> 00:45:11,680
know that anything he asked us to do, he gives you everything you need to be able to do it.

751
00:45:11,680 --> 00:45:15,920
If God had said way back at the beginning of our ministry, Oh, you're going to be a

752
00:45:15,920 --> 00:45:18,640
missionary in Nigeria, I would have freaked out.

753
00:45:18,640 --> 00:45:28,400
And I was, yeah, there's no way, but little by little, he had me change in my mindset

754
00:45:28,400 --> 00:45:34,280
and how to do things and that when I got to that place, I was prepared for that.

755
00:45:34,280 --> 00:45:37,440
You know, that cares us to whatever.

756
00:45:37,440 --> 00:45:42,160
And like even, you know, what she said with the movie, you know, by being in the community

757
00:45:42,160 --> 00:45:46,880
and somebody cares and ministering to all these churches and people and stuff.

758
00:45:46,880 --> 00:45:53,880
Then when it got to the movie, you know, it was easy to go do a collaborative body of

759
00:45:53,880 --> 00:45:54,880
Christ.

760
00:45:54,880 --> 00:46:00,880
We need you for different things in the movie because we build those relationships, you

761
00:46:00,880 --> 00:46:06,120
know, just like the little boy with the fishes, you know, he offered it to God and God used

762
00:46:06,120 --> 00:46:11,160
it and multiplied it and did an extraordinary thing in that situation.

763
00:46:11,160 --> 00:46:15,720
I know I look back over my life and I see I've had, you know, a variety of different

764
00:46:15,720 --> 00:46:17,200
professions within my career.

765
00:46:17,200 --> 00:46:21,720
I've been a computer programmer and I've been an event planner and I've been this and that

766
00:46:21,720 --> 00:46:27,520
and the other thing, but all of them have come together to prepare me for whatever God

767
00:46:27,520 --> 00:46:29,080
has next for me.

768
00:46:29,080 --> 00:46:34,560
And I just bring along the things I've learned from the past professionally as well as, you

769
00:46:34,560 --> 00:46:38,900
know, what God teaches us spiritually for that next thing.

770
00:46:38,900 --> 00:46:44,240
So as we wrap up, I love to ask my guests if there's a woman in the Bible whose story

771
00:46:44,240 --> 00:46:49,960
has inspired or encouraged or taught you something and how her story relates to your story.

772
00:46:49,960 --> 00:46:52,560
One of them is Mary.

773
00:46:52,560 --> 00:46:53,560
I think about Mary.

774
00:46:53,560 --> 00:46:58,920
A lot of times we think of Mary and we go, oh, that was Jesus' mom.

775
00:46:58,920 --> 00:47:00,320
And you think that's it.

776
00:47:00,320 --> 00:47:06,280
I mean, you don't really go deeper into thinking about when she got pregnant, you know, I think

777
00:47:06,280 --> 00:47:12,760
she was just thinking, hey, I'm a young girl and I'm going to marry my Jewish husband and

778
00:47:12,760 --> 00:47:17,000
we're going to have children and we're just going to live our life out, you know, kind

779
00:47:17,000 --> 00:47:20,240
of like me, you know, have it all planned out.

780
00:47:20,240 --> 00:47:24,080
And then all of a sudden there's a big change in her life.

781
00:47:24,080 --> 00:47:27,120
Now she was willing to go through that change.

782
00:47:27,120 --> 00:47:34,000
She consented to that, to think about on the other side, you know, it wasn't easy.

783
00:47:34,000 --> 00:47:37,960
There's probably people talking about them and wanting to stone her.

784
00:47:37,960 --> 00:47:40,000
Yeah, all kinds of stuff.

785
00:47:40,000 --> 00:47:41,160
It wasn't easy.

786
00:47:41,160 --> 00:47:46,200
And then, you know, not only was she the mother of Jesus, you know, Jesus had other brothers

787
00:47:46,200 --> 00:47:47,200
and sisters.

788
00:47:47,200 --> 00:47:52,120
I mean, they had a big family, so she had to take care of all of them.

789
00:47:52,120 --> 00:47:57,680
And then knowing that, you know, what was going to take place with Jesus, she went through

790
00:47:57,680 --> 00:47:58,680
a lot of change.

791
00:47:58,680 --> 00:48:04,400
You know, I can identify with her, like I said, each step of the way and those changes

792
00:48:04,400 --> 00:48:10,840
God gave her everything she needed to be able to do that assignment and be the mother of

793
00:48:10,840 --> 00:48:11,840
the son of God.

794
00:48:11,840 --> 00:48:16,280
So that's one that stands out to me pretty clear.

795
00:48:16,280 --> 00:48:22,960
Well Isaiah 55, eight and nine says, my thoughts are nothing like your thoughts, says the Lord

796
00:48:22,960 --> 00:48:29,000
in my ways are far beyond anything you can imagine for just as the heavens are higher

797
00:48:29,000 --> 00:48:30,000
than the earth.

798
00:48:30,000 --> 00:48:35,360
So my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.

799
00:48:35,360 --> 00:48:41,400
And then in verses 12 and 13 further down, it says, you will live in joy and peace.

800
00:48:41,400 --> 00:48:45,440
The mountains and hills will burst into song and the trees of the field will clap their

801
00:48:45,440 --> 00:48:51,440
hands where once there were thorns, Cypress trees will grow where nettles grew.

802
00:48:51,440 --> 00:48:53,400
Myrtles were spread out.

803
00:48:53,400 --> 00:48:56,300
These events will bring great honor to the Lord's name.

804
00:48:56,300 --> 00:49:00,880
They will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.

805
00:49:00,880 --> 00:49:07,080
In many ways, Kathy has lived those verses as she is willing to change and embrace God's

806
00:49:07,080 --> 00:49:08,280
plan.

807
00:49:08,280 --> 00:49:13,520
He made things beautiful in his own way and did extraordinary things through an ordinary

808
00:49:13,520 --> 00:49:16,000
woman who just said yes.

809
00:49:16,000 --> 00:49:23,720
Show notes for today's podcast are on the hergodstory.org website and we'll have a link

810
00:49:23,720 --> 00:49:26,360
to Kathy's books and to the movie.

811
00:49:26,360 --> 00:49:30,740
We'll have the scriptures listed and you can also sign up for periodic emails and watch

812
00:49:30,740 --> 00:49:34,640
out for a free downloadable devotion that will be out soon.

813
00:49:34,640 --> 00:49:40,000
So please take a moment to follow the show, rate it on Apple or Spotify or whatever streaming

814
00:49:40,000 --> 00:49:41,520
platform you use.

815
00:49:41,520 --> 00:49:45,560
We'd love for wherever you listen and share the story, share the story with friends who

816
00:49:45,560 --> 00:49:46,840
might want to enjoy it too.

817
00:49:46,840 --> 00:49:48,620
And we'd be honored to pray with you.

818
00:49:48,620 --> 00:49:56,880
You can call or text the Somebody Cares 24-7 prayer line at 855-459-CARE or you can email

819
00:49:56,880 --> 00:49:59,840
us at prayer at somebodycares.org.

820
00:49:59,840 --> 00:50:04,560
Before we close, Kathy, would you pray for everyone who listens to your amazing God story?

821
00:50:04,560 --> 00:50:09,680
Lord, we just pray right now for anyone that's listening.

822
00:50:09,680 --> 00:50:16,160
Lord, sometimes we don't feel like we are adequate enough to be used by you.

823
00:50:16,160 --> 00:50:23,360
But Lord, you show in your scripture over and over that you take ordinary people, just

824
00:50:23,360 --> 00:50:26,160
simple people who are willing to be used by you.

825
00:50:26,160 --> 00:50:32,960
So I just ask that you would encourage someone today that maybe is feeling like they can't

826
00:50:32,960 --> 00:50:38,320
be used because they don't feel qualified or they don't feel good enough, whatever the

827
00:50:38,320 --> 00:50:39,320
reason is.

828
00:50:39,320 --> 00:50:45,280
That Lord, that you just want them to be willing so that they can't be used.

829
00:50:45,280 --> 00:50:52,600
And Lord, I ask too that you help us to change, to be willing to change.

830
00:50:52,600 --> 00:50:58,120
Change is hard and sometimes we have in our minds everything planned out.

831
00:50:58,120 --> 00:51:03,720
For women it's easy to try to plan everything out and try to control everything.

832
00:51:03,720 --> 00:51:10,520
And Lord, that is just where we need to allow you to be more Lord of our lives.

833
00:51:10,520 --> 00:51:12,640
Lord, you saved us.

834
00:51:12,640 --> 00:51:20,840
Lord, help us to allow you to be more in charge of leading and directing us and not to be

835
00:51:20,840 --> 00:51:24,840
fearful because you want to give us your best.

836
00:51:24,840 --> 00:51:32,640
And sometimes we settle with just good stuff, but we could have your best by allowing you

837
00:51:32,640 --> 00:51:35,080
to work in our lives.

838
00:51:35,080 --> 00:51:39,280
And help us not to be scared to know that whatever you called us to, that you're going

839
00:51:39,280 --> 00:51:40,280
to be there with us.

840
00:51:40,280 --> 00:51:46,480
You are going to give us wisdom and give us everything we need to accomplish the task

841
00:51:46,480 --> 00:51:47,480
that you have for us.

842
00:51:47,480 --> 00:51:55,080
And we just thank you Lord that you, the God of the universe would want to use us and we're

843
00:51:55,080 --> 00:51:59,200
just thankful for how you used us.

844
00:51:59,200 --> 00:52:05,040
Thank you Lord that you've used me and Jody in all different ways that we never thought

845
00:52:05,040 --> 00:52:06,040
possible.

846
00:52:06,040 --> 00:52:10,640
And Lord, I know that you want to use others for your glory.

847
00:52:10,640 --> 00:52:14,960
And so I thank you so much for your love and faithfulness.

848
00:52:14,960 --> 00:52:22,240
Just help us Lord where we struggle, make us strong and give us vision for something

849
00:52:22,240 --> 00:52:23,240
new in our lives.

850
00:52:23,240 --> 00:52:28,120
There's a change on the horizon and just help us be ready for that change.

851
00:52:28,120 --> 00:52:30,520
In Jesus name I pray, amen.

852
00:52:30,520 --> 00:52:31,960
Thank you for tuning in.

853
00:52:31,960 --> 00:52:36,840
And now dear friends, I leave you with a blessing from Psalm 90 verse 17.

854
00:52:36,840 --> 00:52:44,080
May the favor of the Lord our God rest on you, establishing the work of your hands.

855
00:52:44,080 --> 00:52:48,080
Your God Story is a ministry of Somebody Cares America and International.

856
00:52:48,080 --> 00:53:15,080
To find out more about or support the ministry, go to somebodycares.org.