WEBVTT 00:00:19.269 --> 00:00:22.690 Welcome to In the Seams, a podcast by Broken 00:00:22.690 --> 00:00:28.410 and Mended. And now your host, David Heflin. 00:00:33.329 --> 00:00:36.009 Well, I want to welcome you back to In the Seams. 00:00:36.329 --> 00:00:38.950 It has been a while since we recorded and there's 00:00:38.950 --> 00:00:41.450 several reasons for that. Some of them related 00:00:41.450 --> 00:00:43.630 to the ministry of Broken and Mended. Some of 00:00:43.630 --> 00:00:47.210 them related to our personal life. My wife and 00:00:47.210 --> 00:00:49.750 I were in Kenya and Tanzania. in July. I'm going 00:00:49.750 --> 00:00:52.009 to talk about that in a little bit. When we got 00:00:52.009 --> 00:00:55.409 back, we had a death in the family. And then 00:00:55.409 --> 00:00:57.590 we had to focus on making plans for some big 00:00:57.590 --> 00:00:59.649 events here for Broken and Mended coming up, 00:01:00.229 --> 00:01:03.929 our conference and our vision dinner. And particularly, 00:01:03.990 --> 00:01:06.170 I want to emphasize the conference here in a 00:01:06.170 --> 00:01:09.569 moment. In short, though, time has been a premium 00:01:09.569 --> 00:01:12.890 lately. And so that's why we have not been able 00:01:12.890 --> 00:01:16.250 to record. But there's another reason, and additionally, 00:01:16.370 --> 00:01:19.030 and I think more positively, we are planning 00:01:19.030 --> 00:01:22.849 to make changes to the podcast. I won't say a 00:01:22.849 --> 00:01:25.810 lot about that now. It still will be interviews 00:01:25.810 --> 00:01:28.549 in terms of our format most of the time, but 00:01:28.549 --> 00:01:31.730 we want to improve our production and promotion 00:01:31.730 --> 00:01:36.569 capabilities. And that being said, we can't really 00:01:36.569 --> 00:01:41.019 implement those changes until next year. I think 00:01:41.019 --> 00:01:42.859 for the end of this year there will still be 00:01:42.859 --> 00:01:46.340 several people we can interview under our kind 00:01:46.340 --> 00:01:50.159 of our original way of recording and promoting 00:01:50.159 --> 00:01:53.340 and producing these episodes. But look for some 00:01:53.340 --> 00:01:56.959 changes to come beginning, I'm hoping in January. 00:01:57.680 --> 00:01:59.599 Now if you're listening to the show because it 00:01:59.599 --> 00:02:01.659 is a source of encouragement as you navigate 00:02:01.659 --> 00:02:04.739 chronic illness or pain, the rest of what Broken 00:02:04.739 --> 00:02:07.000 and Mended is doing and what it offers may not 00:02:07.000 --> 00:02:11.009 be well known to you. And I realize that some 00:02:11.009 --> 00:02:14.069 wouldn't be interested in just a report on broken 00:02:14.069 --> 00:02:16.469 and mended. Maybe this is your only contact with 00:02:16.469 --> 00:02:19.650 us. And if so, that's okay. I'm still going to 00:02:19.650 --> 00:02:22.610 say something in this episode that I think will 00:02:22.610 --> 00:02:24.889 be spiritually encouraging to you. I just need 00:02:24.889 --> 00:02:27.069 you to bear with me a little bit because I do 00:02:27.069 --> 00:02:31.810 need to talk about a couple of things related 00:02:31.810 --> 00:02:35.590 to broken and mended. And so I don't intend that 00:02:35.590 --> 00:02:38.319 to necessarily be my primary focus. But I'm going 00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:41.840 to refer some to my time in Africa, recent time. 00:02:43.199 --> 00:02:46.520 And I also want to talk about something I learned 00:02:46.520 --> 00:02:49.360 from these Africans that I hope can encourage 00:02:49.360 --> 00:02:52.240 us all. I'm going to get back to that momentarily. 00:02:53.360 --> 00:02:55.400 But there are two big things related to broken 00:02:55.400 --> 00:02:58.479 amended and one related to me as kind of an extension 00:02:58.479 --> 00:03:01.479 of broken amended in a way. But the first is 00:03:01.479 --> 00:03:03.740 the conference. So two things I want to promote. 00:03:04.219 --> 00:03:06.819 The first is the conference. And it is now imminent. 00:03:06.939 --> 00:03:09.879 It is going to be on October 10th. And so you 00:03:09.879 --> 00:03:12.439 need to register now. And there will be a link 00:03:12.439 --> 00:03:15.919 for that in the show notes. And you can register 00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:18.219 for free. And then you will get the links on 00:03:18.219 --> 00:03:19.979 the day of the event. And you can participate 00:03:19.979 --> 00:03:22.060 live. That's what we hope you will do. But even 00:03:22.060 --> 00:03:29.300 if you can't, you can watch it later. And it's 00:03:29.300 --> 00:03:32.460 your convenience if you register. So you got 00:03:32.460 --> 00:03:35.219 to register to make that happen. So a little 00:03:35.219 --> 00:03:37.520 bit about some of our speakers. Some of these, 00:03:37.580 --> 00:03:39.419 actually two of these people that I'm about to 00:03:39.419 --> 00:03:41.879 mention have been, well actually three of these 00:03:41.879 --> 00:03:45.580 people have been on our podcast before. First 00:03:45.580 --> 00:03:48.919 is Dr. Nate Brooks, who is the author of Disrupted 00:03:48.919 --> 00:03:50.939 Journey, and he's going to speak at 10 a .m. 00:03:50.939 --> 00:03:52.939 All these times are central time because that's 00:03:52.939 --> 00:03:55.460 the time zone I'm in. Please make your adjustments 00:03:55.460 --> 00:03:58.210 accordingly. So we're going to have ... Nate 00:03:58.210 --> 00:04:01.069 Brooks at 10 a .m. on the 10th. And we're going 00:04:01.069 --> 00:04:03.189 to hear about his experience as a husband caring 00:04:03.189 --> 00:04:05.710 for his wife with serious chronic illness. And 00:04:05.710 --> 00:04:08.229 his session is titled, Are We Sure the Burden 00:04:08.229 --> 00:04:11.409 is Like Jesus? I think it's going to be a great 00:04:11.409 --> 00:04:13.750 session. And after that, there's going to be 00:04:13.750 --> 00:04:16.509 a special session for Broken and Mended with 00:04:16.509 --> 00:04:20.129 me as the executive director, and then also our 00:04:20.129 --> 00:04:23.670 president, Timothy Gunnels. But it's not going 00:04:23.670 --> 00:04:25.750 to be a session just to talk about Broken and 00:04:25.750 --> 00:04:29.170 Mended. It's going to be a session to talk about... 00:04:29.310 --> 00:04:31.949 something that means a lot to all of us that 00:04:31.949 --> 00:04:33.629 are dealing with chronic pain and chronic illness. 00:04:33.689 --> 00:04:36.189 We're going to talk about finding purpose in 00:04:36.189 --> 00:04:38.470 pain. In doing that we're going to be talking, 00:04:38.509 --> 00:04:40.790 this is the second thing I was wanting to promote, 00:04:40.949 --> 00:04:43.250 we'll be talking about my new book, Purpose in 00:04:43.250 --> 00:04:45.750 Pain, Rediscovering God's Purpose Through the 00:04:45.750 --> 00:04:49.490 Pain of Chronic Illness. And so I want to promote 00:04:49.490 --> 00:04:51.389 that here because I think it would be a great 00:04:51.389 --> 00:04:53.449 resource and a blessing to you if you get it. 00:04:53.790 --> 00:04:56.430 But we're also going to use that as kind of a 00:04:56.430 --> 00:04:59.800 template for our discussion on that day about 00:04:59.800 --> 00:05:02.240 how we can find purpose even in chronic pain. 00:05:03.660 --> 00:05:07.000 I could say more about how the book is structured 00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:10.819 and set up, but I think what you can do is ... 00:05:10.819 --> 00:05:12.879 Of course, I'll have a link, probably the Amazon 00:05:12.879 --> 00:05:15.560 link in our show notes. You can also just go 00:05:15.560 --> 00:05:18.939 look it up. If you just type in ... Purpose in 00:05:18.939 --> 00:05:21.860 Pain and My Name, David Heflin, it'll come up 00:05:21.860 --> 00:05:24.000 in multiple different places. But you can read 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:27.259 the book description from the back cover. I know 00:05:27.259 --> 00:05:30.399 you can see that on Amazon and probably other 00:05:30.399 --> 00:05:34.199 places as well. And that'll tell you more about 00:05:34.199 --> 00:05:36.620 the book. And I hope you will get it. I think, 00:05:36.699 --> 00:05:39.379 as I said, it can be a real blessing to you. 00:05:40.399 --> 00:05:42.240 And I think there's something in the book for 00:05:42.240 --> 00:05:44.399 everyone. For those in chronic pain, that's this 00:05:44.399 --> 00:05:48.060 most direct audience, but also from those who 00:05:48.060 --> 00:05:50.980 are caring for them. I've actually had multiple 00:05:50.980 --> 00:05:53.279 people who have read the book now from that position 00:05:53.279 --> 00:05:55.720 tell me that it helped them understand so much 00:05:55.720 --> 00:05:57.740 more what their loved one was going through. 00:05:57.980 --> 00:05:59.420 And of course, there were plenty of things that 00:05:59.420 --> 00:06:02.120 they could just relate to as well because chronic 00:06:02.120 --> 00:06:04.779 illness and chronic pain affect the whole family 00:06:04.779 --> 00:06:08.040 or friends or loved ones, people who are caring 00:06:08.040 --> 00:06:10.870 for us. And then there's also another group of 00:06:10.870 --> 00:06:12.910 people that this can be a blessing to, I really 00:06:12.910 --> 00:06:14.689 think, are ministers or people who especially 00:06:14.689 --> 00:06:17.589 who minister to people in chronic pain. It will 00:06:17.589 --> 00:06:20.629 help them understand more and actually be a tool 00:06:20.629 --> 00:06:23.310 for them as well to be able to minister to people 00:06:23.310 --> 00:06:26.810 in chronic pain. So check that out. But let me 00:06:26.810 --> 00:06:29.689 return to the conference schedule now. So as 00:06:29.689 --> 00:06:32.589 I mentioned, 10 o 'clock is Nate Brooks, 11 o 00:06:32.589 --> 00:06:34.750 'clock will be our special session. We will take 00:06:34.750 --> 00:06:37.430 a one -hour break at noon. And then when we come 00:06:37.430 --> 00:06:42.490 back, Sarah Walton, who's the author of several 00:06:42.490 --> 00:06:46.810 books ... I'm sorry, I think I wrote a time down 00:06:46.810 --> 00:06:49.389 wrong here, so I'm just not trusting my time 00:06:49.389 --> 00:06:55.009 as much. I have it here as she will speak at 00:06:55.009 --> 00:06:57.490 two, but now I'm thinking it might be one. So 00:06:57.490 --> 00:06:59.509 forgive me for that. The schedule will be posted 00:06:59.509 --> 00:07:01.269 in other places, and if you register, you'll 00:07:01.269 --> 00:07:03.389 get the schedule and all that. But Sarah Walton 00:07:03.389 --> 00:07:05.670 is the author of several books, including her 00:07:05.670 --> 00:07:08.709 latest book, Jesus Will Meet You There, and her 00:07:08.709 --> 00:07:10.910 session is called Hurting Sheep Are Redeemed 00:07:10.910 --> 00:07:14.110 in the Arms of the Good Shepherd. So afterwards 00:07:14.110 --> 00:07:17.379 then, Amber Ginter. who is an author and mental 00:07:17.379 --> 00:07:20.019 health advocate will have our last main session 00:07:20.019 --> 00:07:22.920 of the day at 3 p .m. I think I'm going to double 00:07:22.920 --> 00:07:25.379 check all these times and it's called fierce 00:07:25.379 --> 00:07:29.139 hope and what we pour ourselves into and Then 00:07:29.139 --> 00:07:33.139 all the speakers will be back for a closing Q 00:07:33.139 --> 00:07:35.759 &A. So it's going to be a great Conference reason 00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:37.779 why I know that is it was great last year and 00:07:37.779 --> 00:07:40.399 it was it was such an incredible blessing there 00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:44.279 were 275 people who registered and participated 00:07:44.279 --> 00:07:47.800 in some level and We want to encourage you to 00:07:47.800 --> 00:07:51.720 do the same and register today All right switching 00:07:51.720 --> 00:07:54.199 gears. I wanted to say some things of course 00:07:54.199 --> 00:07:58.079 about My trip to Africa. I think you will find 00:07:58.079 --> 00:08:00.600 interesting so this summer My wife and I travel 00:08:00.600 --> 00:08:03.339 to Kenya and Tanzania, so sometimes I'll say 00:08:03.339 --> 00:08:06.399 Africa. I realize Africa is a big, or Africans, 00:08:06.540 --> 00:08:10.339 I realize it's a big continent, but I'm really 00:08:10.339 --> 00:08:13.420 referring to our experience in East Africa, particularly 00:08:13.420 --> 00:08:15.959 in this case, Kenya and Tanzania. So we went 00:08:15.959 --> 00:08:18.379 there on behalf of Broken Amended to see how 00:08:18.379 --> 00:08:21.480 the support group leaders were doing and to observe 00:08:21.480 --> 00:08:24.860 the work overall. This was my first, my third 00:08:24.860 --> 00:08:29.529 trip to East Africa overall, and my second for 00:08:29.529 --> 00:08:31.930 Broken and Mended, the other one being in 2024. 00:08:32.610 --> 00:08:35.009 And it is amazing to see what God has done with 00:08:35.009 --> 00:08:38.250 an idea and a leader's guide and a reflection 00:08:38.250 --> 00:08:40.950 guide that were written in my office in Northwest 00:08:40.950 --> 00:08:44.289 Oklahoma in a completely different culture and 00:08:44.289 --> 00:08:47.899 context. Why does that work in a place like Kenya 00:08:47.899 --> 00:08:49.980 that is so different than ours? Well, there are 00:08:49.980 --> 00:08:51.279 a lot of reasons, and a lot of those reasons 00:08:51.279 --> 00:08:54.580 have to do with the Kenyans themselves, and also 00:08:54.580 --> 00:08:56.940 the other East Africans that are involved. And 00:08:56.940 --> 00:08:59.519 I want to say, obviously, it has to do with God 00:08:59.519 --> 00:09:01.779 does what God does. He does what He wants to 00:09:01.779 --> 00:09:04.259 do. And if He wants it to have an impact on a 00:09:04.259 --> 00:09:06.279 different culture and situation, then He can 00:09:06.279 --> 00:09:09.519 certainly make that happen, and He has done so. 00:09:11.840 --> 00:09:14.600 You know, another reason though is that we do, 00:09:14.659 --> 00:09:16.940 even though I wrote from a particular cultural 00:09:16.940 --> 00:09:19.879 context, there are some things that we have in 00:09:19.879 --> 00:09:22.120 common when we're talking about people with chronic 00:09:22.120 --> 00:09:26.799 pain, right? We are followers of Jesus. If indeed, 00:09:27.340 --> 00:09:29.000 in this case, most of the people that have been 00:09:29.000 --> 00:09:30.899 involved in broken and amended are Christians. 00:09:30.980 --> 00:09:34.139 Not everyone, but let's assume that the majority 00:09:34.139 --> 00:09:37.330 are. So we are followers of Jesus. we are living 00:09:37.330 --> 00:09:39.909 with daily pain. And so a lot of what I said 00:09:39.909 --> 00:09:42.190 may have to be adapted to a different culture, 00:09:42.769 --> 00:09:44.490 but the principles are the same and they're based 00:09:44.490 --> 00:09:47.450 on scriptural principles that are the same. We 00:09:47.450 --> 00:09:50.590 visited four locations across Kenya and we went 00:09:50.590 --> 00:09:53.590 into Arusha, Tanzania as well to help better 00:09:53.590 --> 00:09:56.129 equip our support group leaders and to hear from 00:09:56.129 --> 00:09:58.610 them. both their challenges and their praises, 00:09:58.809 --> 00:10:01.389 praises to God, not to us. And if you're listening 00:10:01.389 --> 00:10:04.429 from, you know, the US or Canada, or I would 00:10:04.429 --> 00:10:07.690 assume most places in Europe, you likely have 00:10:07.690 --> 00:10:10.649 access to meaningful healthcare. That doesn't 00:10:10.649 --> 00:10:13.490 mean it's always good or adequate. It does not 00:10:13.490 --> 00:10:16.009 mean that it doesn't cost a lot of money that 00:10:16.009 --> 00:10:20.610 we too often do not have. It doesn't mean that 00:10:22.779 --> 00:10:26.059 Sometimes it doesn't take away the illness. Otherwise, 00:10:26.179 --> 00:10:28.299 we wouldn't have broken and mended because it 00:10:28.299 --> 00:10:30.059 certainly didn't take mine. It didn't take my 00:10:30.059 --> 00:10:32.379 pain away. It certainly helped. But I shudder 00:10:32.379 --> 00:10:35.159 to think what my life would be like if I was 00:10:35.159 --> 00:10:38.279 a Kenyan living with my particular disease. You 00:10:38.279 --> 00:10:40.779 can look that up if you want to. I have two diseases, 00:10:40.879 --> 00:10:44.100 Crohn's and ankylosing spondylitis, and without 00:10:44.100 --> 00:10:46.519 treatment, they can both be devastating. So I'm 00:10:46.519 --> 00:10:50.220 not just talking about lifestyle and comparing 00:10:50.700 --> 00:10:54.159 our situation with the Kenyans and Tanzanians, 00:10:54.639 --> 00:10:58.440 but access to basic medical care. It is lacking 00:10:58.440 --> 00:11:02.379 for most who are suffering a great deal there. 00:11:02.980 --> 00:11:05.440 And that is not even mentioning expensive disease 00:11:05.440 --> 00:11:08.639 modifying drugs that we see on commercials all 00:11:08.639 --> 00:11:12.700 the time and many of us use Humira. And Skyrizy 00:11:12.700 --> 00:11:15.379 is the one I'm on, Remicade, all these other 00:11:15.379 --> 00:11:17.840 drugs that we know are so expensive, we have 00:11:17.840 --> 00:11:19.919 copay assistant programs to help us get them 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:22.940 in this country most of the time. I have also 00:11:22.940 --> 00:11:25.919 needed expensive surgery multiple times, but 00:11:25.919 --> 00:11:30.460 most meaningfully, I needed surgery to replace 00:11:30.460 --> 00:11:33.679 my right hip, and I will need another one to 00:11:33.679 --> 00:11:37.120 replace my left in the near future. So the overwhelming 00:11:37.120 --> 00:11:39.840 majority of people in this part of the world 00:11:39.980 --> 00:11:42.580 When I'm talking this I mean the part of the 00:11:42.580 --> 00:11:44.379 world we visited so I should probably say that 00:11:44.379 --> 00:11:48.500 part of the world in Africa That they could they 00:11:48.500 --> 00:11:51.580 cannot even get close to that level of care these 00:11:51.580 --> 00:11:54.659 expensive drugs the surgeries That give us our 00:11:54.659 --> 00:11:57.039 mobility back that at least help us control the 00:11:57.039 --> 00:12:00.000 progression of disease that helps us to maintain 00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:02.600 At least take the edge off maybe some of the 00:12:02.600 --> 00:12:05.220 pain that we experience in some case it can help 00:12:05.220 --> 00:12:09.039 with the pain You know quite a bit And so for 00:12:09.039 --> 00:12:11.220 them, if they have a disease like mine, they 00:12:11.220 --> 00:12:15.620 will simply lose mobility until they are crippled. 00:12:16.740 --> 00:12:20.179 And also, by the way, because becoming crippled 00:12:20.179 --> 00:12:22.370 through a disease like this, It comes with a 00:12:22.370 --> 00:12:26.190 whole lot of pain, and so it's kind of unimaginable. 00:12:26.710 --> 00:12:28.710 And I bring this up because many of the people 00:12:28.710 --> 00:12:31.110 we are working with in East Africa, and this 00:12:31.110 --> 00:12:32.590 is one of the things we had to talk about quite 00:12:32.590 --> 00:12:35.289 a bit when we went there, but they want us to 00:12:35.289 --> 00:12:37.889 not only provide spiritual support and encouragement 00:12:37.889 --> 00:12:40.490 through our support groups and our resources 00:12:40.490 --> 00:12:43.789 like that, but they want us to be a medical mission 00:12:43.789 --> 00:12:46.669 work as well. They want us to provide the drugs 00:12:46.669 --> 00:12:50.409 they need and perhaps even some kind of medical 00:12:50.409 --> 00:12:54.879 care itself. from medical professionals. And 00:12:54.879 --> 00:12:57.519 this is simply not possible for us. It just isn't 00:12:57.519 --> 00:12:59.960 our mission, and we would lose sight of our mission 00:12:59.960 --> 00:13:02.639 if we tried to pursue that. Now, we are open 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:05.159 to partnering with organizations whose mission 00:13:05.159 --> 00:13:07.399 is medical cares, but that are working in that 00:13:07.399 --> 00:13:10.870 part of the world. But even in that partnership, 00:13:11.169 --> 00:13:13.309 our goal would still be the spiritual and the 00:13:13.309 --> 00:13:16.289 communal part of that encouragement and helping 00:13:16.289 --> 00:13:18.169 people hold on to their hope in Jesus. Someone 00:13:18.169 --> 00:13:21.350 else would be providing the actual medical care 00:13:21.350 --> 00:13:26.330 that is needed and that many of these medical 00:13:26.330 --> 00:13:30.350 missions, ministries can provide. None of this 00:13:30.350 --> 00:13:33.450 is to say that just because they want or requested 00:13:33.450 --> 00:13:37.190 this kind of care or maybe to have the ability 00:13:37.190 --> 00:13:40.179 to help provide that care for others. Doesn't 00:13:40.179 --> 00:13:42.240 mean that they're not grateful for what Broken 00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:44.720 and Mended already does in their lives. They 00:13:44.720 --> 00:13:48.000 are, and many have told us that Broken and Mended 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:53.539 was a lifeline. Even churches have been planted 00:13:53.539 --> 00:13:55.659 through Broken and Mended. There are at least 00:13:55.659 --> 00:14:01.240 two that I know of in western Kenya. And I don't 00:14:01.240 --> 00:14:03.600 know all the things that God is doing, you know, 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:06.759 through that. So what I'm trying to say by underscoring 00:14:06.759 --> 00:14:09.139 that point, though, is that people have been 00:14:09.139 --> 00:14:11.059 brought to Christ who didn't know Christ because 00:14:11.059 --> 00:14:13.080 they're broken amended. And so even though I 00:14:13.080 --> 00:14:14.940 say it's a Christian ministry, it's primarily 00:14:14.940 --> 00:14:16.940 ministering to Christians, it has been used in 00:14:16.940 --> 00:14:20.519 other ways. It has been used to share the gospel 00:14:20.519 --> 00:14:23.580 with Muslims. And that has been something that 00:14:23.580 --> 00:14:26.299 has been going on for several years now. In fact, 00:14:26.360 --> 00:14:30.399 at our seminar in Tanzania, it was about 25 people 00:14:30.399 --> 00:14:32.960 or so I think that came, or maybe 20, I don't 00:14:32.960 --> 00:14:34.940 know. It was a small number, but you know, a 00:14:34.940 --> 00:14:38.120 couple dozen. And three people that attended 00:14:38.120 --> 00:14:42.360 there were Muslims. And I didn't know why they 00:14:42.360 --> 00:14:44.759 were there. I didn't understand the backstory. 00:14:46.360 --> 00:14:49.320 And I was surprised, to be honest with you, because 00:14:49.320 --> 00:14:52.080 what we were doing is explicitly Christian, and 00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:54.740 our materials are explicitly Christian, and yet 00:14:54.740 --> 00:14:57.720 here they were. So that just kind of leaves me 00:14:57.720 --> 00:15:01.059 wondering, Who knows what God may do through 00:15:01.059 --> 00:15:04.279 their exposure to broken and mended in the gospel 00:15:04.279 --> 00:15:09.379 that it is based based in and based on You know, 00:15:09.379 --> 00:15:14.840 I hate to say that Africans are tougher than 00:15:14.840 --> 00:15:19.539 Than us I mean us in the West and West if you 00:15:19.539 --> 00:15:21.240 kind of understand what I mean by that I'm talking 00:15:21.240 --> 00:15:28.519 mainly North America and the parts, most of Europe 00:15:28.519 --> 00:15:31.019 as well. Maybe some other places. Certainly there 00:15:31.019 --> 00:15:33.960 are other places that would also have quality 00:15:33.960 --> 00:15:38.220 medical care in places like Japan and so many 00:15:38.220 --> 00:15:43.460 other places that have that access. So us is 00:15:43.460 --> 00:15:46.299 kind of a broad category there. But I hesitate 00:15:46.299 --> 00:15:49.179 to say the Africans are tougher than us just 00:15:49.179 --> 00:15:51.379 because they have to live with more unaddressed 00:15:51.379 --> 00:15:56.620 pain and suffering than we do. But I know that 00:15:56.620 --> 00:16:00.139 many living in first world countries are in incredible 00:16:00.139 --> 00:16:05.000 pain, even with access to medical care. So let's 00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:07.259 just talk about averages though. On average, 00:16:07.320 --> 00:16:09.179 I think this is a fair statement. It is fair 00:16:09.179 --> 00:16:11.299 to say that people living with chronic illness 00:16:11.299 --> 00:16:15.659 and pain in Africa have to suffer to a greater 00:16:15.659 --> 00:16:20.419 degree than those of us living in western countries 00:16:20.419 --> 00:16:24.470 on average. And if I were to say they are tougher, 00:16:24.570 --> 00:16:26.870 I would say they are tougher because they have 00:16:26.870 --> 00:16:29.149 to be. They don't really have a choice. And you 00:16:29.149 --> 00:16:32.309 too probably have found unusual strength in your 00:16:32.309 --> 00:16:37.149 struggles. If you had known all that you would 00:16:37.149 --> 00:16:40.070 suffer before you got sick, you probably would 00:16:40.070 --> 00:16:42.509 have thought it was impossible to live through. 00:16:43.190 --> 00:16:46.990 But you have, and you keep living. You know, 00:16:46.990 --> 00:16:49.649 there's a paradoxical relationship in the Bible 00:16:49.649 --> 00:16:53.240 between strength and weakness. And on the one 00:16:53.240 --> 00:16:55.620 hand, people who boast about their own strength 00:16:55.620 --> 00:16:58.779 end up knowing nothing of the power of Christ 00:16:58.779 --> 00:17:01.279 at work through weakness. So as Paul says in 00:17:01.279 --> 00:17:05.240 2 Corinthians 12, 9, therefore I will most gladly 00:17:05.240 --> 00:17:09.819 boast all the more about my weaknesses so that 00:17:09.819 --> 00:17:13.569 Christ's power may reside in me. You can see 00:17:13.569 --> 00:17:17.329 what the corollary to that or the opposite statement 00:17:17.329 --> 00:17:19.730 would be that if we boast in our own strength, 00:17:19.950 --> 00:17:21.670 then the power of Christ is not going to reside 00:17:21.670 --> 00:17:25.069 in us. So the power of God was at work through 00:17:25.069 --> 00:17:29.750 the weakness of Jesus on the cross. It only makes 00:17:29.750 --> 00:17:32.670 sense then that as his followers, that God's 00:17:32.670 --> 00:17:36.309 power will be most at work through our weaknesses, 00:17:37.150 --> 00:17:40.829 physical or otherwise. And whether they tell 00:17:40.829 --> 00:17:45.190 you or not, People see you. They're watching 00:17:45.190 --> 00:17:48.910 you persevere in your faith despite incredible 00:17:48.910 --> 00:17:52.710 trials. And you may feel like you're a failure, 00:17:52.809 --> 00:17:55.329 your faith is not that great, or you just feel 00:17:55.329 --> 00:17:57.950 like you're not really persevering. And yet you 00:17:57.950 --> 00:18:01.549 are. And people notice it. And it is in that 00:18:01.549 --> 00:18:03.950 weakness that you are showing them the power 00:18:03.950 --> 00:18:08.970 of God that sustains you. Even on your, if you're 00:18:08.970 --> 00:18:13.279 bedbound or even We're all going to reach the 00:18:13.279 --> 00:18:15.900 point of going to the grave, of course. So even 00:18:15.900 --> 00:18:19.859 on your deathbed, you can still be a living testimony 00:18:19.859 --> 00:18:22.819 to the faithfulness of God at work in your weakness 00:18:22.819 --> 00:18:25.940 to see you persevere in holding onto your hope 00:18:25.940 --> 00:18:31.720 in the midst of great suffering. On the other 00:18:31.720 --> 00:18:37.920 hand, there are many appeals in Scripture to 00:18:37.920 --> 00:18:40.789 our own resolve and strength. or at least at 00:18:40.789 --> 00:18:42.930 face value, right? I mean, there is a refrain 00:18:42.930 --> 00:18:45.450 in the Old Testament that goes over and over 00:18:45.450 --> 00:18:48.809 again. Be strong and courageous and do not be 00:18:48.809 --> 00:18:51.869 afraid. You see it a lot in Joshua. You see other 00:18:51.869 --> 00:18:55.250 versions of it in other places. But it is important 00:18:55.250 --> 00:18:58.289 to point out that being strong and courageous 00:18:58.289 --> 00:19:01.819 doesn't mean toughing it out. or acting like 00:19:01.819 --> 00:19:05.140 fear is impossible for you. You're just above 00:19:05.140 --> 00:19:07.619 it all. We know that's not true. We know that's 00:19:07.619 --> 00:19:10.140 not what is meant. What it means is not being 00:19:10.140 --> 00:19:12.559 afraid because God is with you. In fact, some 00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:15.819 of those verses that say be strong and courageous 00:19:15.819 --> 00:19:18.960 and do not be afraid come with another line after 00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:21.619 that that says something to the effect, for I 00:19:21.619 --> 00:19:24.789 am with you wherever you go. Something to that 00:19:24.789 --> 00:19:28.109 extent. It isn't because Yahshua and His generation 00:19:28.109 --> 00:19:30.529 were so tough that they were strong and courageous. 00:19:30.930 --> 00:19:33.130 It was because God was with them that they could 00:19:33.130 --> 00:19:35.890 be strong and courageous. And strength and courage 00:19:35.890 --> 00:19:41.829 is appropriate when God is with us. And so that's 00:19:41.829 --> 00:19:44.750 where we draw that from. We take courage because 00:19:44.750 --> 00:19:49.339 God is with us in Christ. So in the Bible, calls 00:19:49.339 --> 00:19:51.960 on us to be strong or to persevere. And there's 00:19:51.960 --> 00:19:55.200 several places where it does that. The biblical 00:19:55.200 --> 00:19:58.579 writers are not imagining that we just need to 00:19:58.579 --> 00:20:02.559 tough it out. Or as the phrase goes, pull yourself 00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:07.380 up by your bootstraps. Sometimes there are no 00:20:07.380 --> 00:20:10.480 bootstraps to pull in life. We've got nothing 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:12.539 to get ourselves up with. And sometimes God is 00:20:12.539 --> 00:20:16.740 the only one who can sustain you. And that is 00:20:16.740 --> 00:20:21.150 what God's strength through weakness looks like. 00:20:22.670 --> 00:20:26.329 The West worships power through strength and 00:20:26.329 --> 00:20:29.589 money. It's obsessed with it. And it ignores 00:20:29.589 --> 00:20:32.250 and discards the weak. Sometimes even our churches 00:20:32.250 --> 00:20:35.650 can be like this in the West. I hope not, or 00:20:35.650 --> 00:20:37.630 at least not to the same degree as it is true 00:20:37.630 --> 00:20:40.309 in the world, but we can all become infatuated 00:20:40.309 --> 00:20:43.670 with strength and power and image. We know about 00:20:43.670 --> 00:20:46.650 these problems that we have and how empty they 00:20:46.650 --> 00:20:51.099 end up. the emptiness that comes with them. And 00:20:51.099 --> 00:20:53.400 we think we're going to achieve some great and 00:20:53.400 --> 00:20:58.079 lasting success. But it's all very, you know, 00:20:58.279 --> 00:21:01.420 Ecclesiastes calls it a vapor or smoke, you know, 00:21:01.440 --> 00:21:05.779 like a breath that just disappears in a moment 00:21:05.779 --> 00:21:09.880 of time. And that's what the West is so obsessed 00:21:09.880 --> 00:21:13.680 with. And my brothers and sisters in Africa, 00:21:14.349 --> 00:21:18.190 are a great reminder to me and I hope by extension 00:21:18.190 --> 00:21:22.609 today to you of how true strength comes through 00:21:22.609 --> 00:21:26.630 the weakness that leaves us holding on to God. 00:21:27.730 --> 00:21:32.029 So yes, be strong and courageous. Persevere and 00:21:32.029 --> 00:21:36.670 don't give up. But you find the strength by the 00:21:36.670 --> 00:21:40.450 presence of God in you through the Holy Spirit 00:21:40.450 --> 00:21:43.789 and through the sustaining hope of Jesus Christ. 00:21:44.160 --> 00:21:49.880 that one day we will be made whole forever. That 00:21:49.880 --> 00:21:52.839 is our hope. It's certainly what we believe in 00:21:52.839 --> 00:21:56.059 Broken Amended. And in this podcast, In the Seams, 00:21:56.160 --> 00:21:58.839 we're trying to promote that hope. Connecting 00:21:58.839 --> 00:22:04.220 others to Jesus in each other is what I was trying 00:22:04.220 --> 00:22:08.599 to say. And so I hope that this time has been 00:22:08.599 --> 00:22:12.349 some encouragement to you. And for any of my 00:22:12.349 --> 00:22:14.730 African brothers and sisters that are listening, 00:22:14.970 --> 00:22:17.069 thank you for your faith and your perseverance, 00:22:17.769 --> 00:22:20.230 and thank you for how you have taken this tool 00:22:20.230 --> 00:22:22.190 of broken and mended and have used it across 00:22:22.190 --> 00:22:25.309 all over East Africa to touch the lives of thousands 00:22:25.309 --> 00:22:27.710 of people. It's far beyond what I could ever 00:22:27.710 --> 00:22:30.569 imagine. And I know that you are the vessel, 00:22:30.710 --> 00:22:34.650 you are the instrument. God is the one who is 00:22:34.650 --> 00:22:37.210 making it happen, but you are His chosen vessel 00:22:37.210 --> 00:22:40.299 for that. Thank you for the encouragement you 00:22:40.299 --> 00:22:44.240 give the rest of us. And thank everyone for listening 00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:47.599 to this episode of In the Seams. The next time 00:22:47.599 --> 00:22:49.779 we come back, it will be with an interview and 00:22:49.779 --> 00:22:51.819 so it will probably be a little bit longer. This 00:22:51.819 --> 00:22:55.099 is a fairly short one by our standards. But I 00:22:55.099 --> 00:22:57.319 just wanted to check in with you so you kind 00:22:57.319 --> 00:22:59.539 of knew what the delays were about. I wanted 00:22:59.539 --> 00:23:01.359 you to know about our conference. I wanted another 00:23:01.359 --> 00:23:04.480 chance to promote my book, but I also just wanted 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:06.619 to share some encouragement of the things that 00:23:06.619 --> 00:23:10.119 I've learned. through my experiences in Africa, 00:23:10.720 --> 00:23:12.240 but more importantly I should say I learned them 00:23:12.240 --> 00:23:14.140 through scripture and seen them confirmed by 00:23:14.140 --> 00:23:18.059 my experiences in Africa. And I hope it helps 00:23:18.059 --> 00:23:20.220 you to continue to press on and to know that 00:23:20.220 --> 00:23:23.660 it matters, that there is purpose in it. So just 00:23:23.660 --> 00:23:27.589 hold on a little longer. And we will see you 00:23:27.589 --> 00:23:30.589 next time on In the Seams and pray that God is 00:23:30.589 --> 00:23:33.630 with you. I know that God is with you. Pray that 00:23:33.630 --> 00:23:36.589 you are experiencing His presence as you navigate 00:23:36.589 --> 00:23:38.150 pain and illness.