1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,680 Good morning church. 2 00:00:06,680 --> 00:00:12,200 I wanted to bring a visual illustration of something that's a real challenge in the world 3 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:14,400 that we live in. 4 00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:19,200 And this chain has how many links to it do you think? 5 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:20,200 Approximately. 6 00:00:20,200 --> 00:00:21,200 75. 7 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:24,440 75, good guess. 8 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:27,760 I heard 100 and that is exactly right. 9 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:31,200 99 silver links and one that's different. 10 00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:35,800 This one link that's different represents that when individuals are trapped in human 11 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:41,440 trafficking only one out of 100 ever escape. 12 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:46,720 That's a very startling statistic and so I really wanted to raise our awareness of that 13 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:52,580 concept here today. 14 00:00:52,580 --> 00:00:58,640 Over the past month, millions, month and a half or so, millions of Americans have watched 15 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:04,640 a movie entitled Sound of Freedom. 16 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:10,960 It is likely if you've not seen that movie that you have neighbors, relatives, perhaps 17 00:01:10,960 --> 00:01:17,640 co-workers that have watched the movie and now have a heightened awareness of the evils 18 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:23,080 of modern day slavery which is called human trafficking. 19 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:28,920 This movie has done an excellent job as a true story to raise awareness of the issues 20 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:31,040 related to human trafficking. 21 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:37,060 I believe awareness is one thing, action is quite another. 22 00:01:37,060 --> 00:01:43,880 Perhaps the most powerful line in this movie is God's children are not for sale. 23 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:50,560 And I believe in order to make a tangible difference in this fight against human trafficking 24 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:56,600 we need to move from awareness to taking action. 25 00:01:56,600 --> 00:02:03,920 Awareness may alert you to see human trafficking let's say taking place. 26 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:09,680 There is a possibility, it's not a big one because it's an underground crime, that you 27 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:15,280 might see this actually taking place and now you'll call 911 because you're aware of it. 28 00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:21,480 But the reality is for most people awareness doesn't actually do anything to change the 29 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:25,280 fight against human trafficking and action is required and that's what I want to share 30 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:28,240 with you about today. 31 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:30,560 I want to begin with a quiz. 32 00:02:30,560 --> 00:02:35,960 I was a seminary professor for a number of years at Andrews University and one of the 33 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:41,760 things that's important to know how well your students are paying attention and the same 34 00:02:41,760 --> 00:02:46,560 could be said in church is to give a little bit of a quiz so that you are listening along 35 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:49,360 to see if you can find the answer to the quiz. 36 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:50,360 So here's the first question. 37 00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:57,160 In what country do children as young as 12 join the Civil War in order to have food to 38 00:02:57,160 --> 00:02:58,160 eat? 39 00:02:58,160 --> 00:02:59,360 Here are your options. 40 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:03,760 Is that in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Zambia or the Philippines? 41 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:08,160 Now we have projects in all those countries but one of those is the correct answer to 42 00:03:08,160 --> 00:03:10,160 that question. 43 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:11,160 Next question here. 44 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:15,880 What is the type of fast that God wants? 45 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:22,760 Is it a veggie juice fast, intermittent fasting to break the chains of the oppressed or fasting 46 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:24,960 from social media? 47 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:27,040 Next question here. 48 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:33,560 What is the main cause of the lack of food in developing countries? 49 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:38,460 Now this is the difference, this question is the difference between A students and B 50 00:03:38,460 --> 00:03:40,480 or C students, okay? 51 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:44,200 Do you know those kind of multiple choice questions where you're like all those answers 52 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:45,200 sound good? 53 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:47,080 Well this is one of those. 54 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:49,800 So what is the main cause for the lack of food in developing countries? 55 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:57,640 Is it conflict and war, poverty, poor agricultural practices or not enough rain? 56 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:01,320 So you have to listen carefully to get the correct answer to that one. 57 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:05,600 Final question, what is Child Impact's secret project? 58 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:07,880 Is it in North Korea or where is it? 59 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:14,960 North Korea, Iraq, Somalia or it cannot be recorded or published? 60 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:19,240 Now I believe you have a video here going of our worship service and I want to give 61 00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:24,760 you a special announcement right now and that is that when this time comes where I share 62 00:04:24,760 --> 00:04:29,120 what that project is, if we could just mute the video for a moment, I'll be able to share 63 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:30,120 it with you. 64 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:34,160 So just wait until you give me the thumbs up when that time comes. 65 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:41,960 Now what you can imagine, Jesus is in his local congregation, his local synagogue in 66 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:48,280 Nazareth and he's asked to give the scripture reading of the day. 67 00:04:48,280 --> 00:04:52,680 Jesus rolls through the scroll and of course we know in Hebrew you start on one side and 68 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:57,160 you go the opposite direction that we're accustomed to reading but he rolls through that scroll 69 00:04:57,160 --> 00:05:04,160 to what we call Isaiah chapter 61 and in the hearing of that audience, people who were 70 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:10,840 familiar with him, he reads out this verse, the spirit of the Lord is upon me because 71 00:05:10,840 --> 00:05:14,520 he has anointed me and I want you to read with me the bolded words, he has anointed 72 00:05:14,520 --> 00:05:23,560 me to proclaim good news to the poor, he has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and 73 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:29,280 recovering a sight to the blind and to set at liberty those who are oppressed to proclaim 74 00:05:29,280 --> 00:05:31,800 the year of the Lord's favor. 75 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:37,800 So Jesus is here in his local synagogue, he is known to them as the son of Mary and Joseph, 76 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:43,320 he's known to them as a carpenter and he reads out these words in their hearing from Isaiah 77 00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:51,200 61, 1 and proclaims this fulfillment is today happening in your hearing. 78 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:55,400 I am the fulfillment of the ancient words of this prophecy. 79 00:05:55,400 --> 00:06:02,920 Now we could say that these words that we just read out represent Jesus' mission statement. 80 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:10,800 He is proclaiming to that audience and for the whole world this is why I am here on planet 81 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:12,000 earth. 82 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:13,720 Why did Jesus come? 83 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:18,920 To proclaim good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, recovering a sight to 84 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:25,440 the blind and to set at liberty those who are oppressed. 85 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:34,720 Now I want to focus today on verses that immediately precede this passage but where we find a very 86 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:43,800 similar theme and these verses start in this way, here is the way that I want you to fast. 87 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:49,680 Now I would like to understand today how many of you like to go without food, enjoy that? 88 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:54,680 I notice you have a potluck here at this church, I think next week, it must be because you 89 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:57,840 enjoy getting together to have food. 90 00:06:57,840 --> 00:07:03,720 Now this summer during the month of July I went to a health retreat and the first couple 91 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:09,280 of days of this health retreat they gave us some very delicious food and then they removed 92 00:07:09,280 --> 00:07:16,320 it from us and I went for 90 hours without anything to eat. 93 00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:17,320 That was difficult. 94 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:21,280 Well then they gave us some nice food again for a couple of days and then we went another 95 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:24,520 90 hours without food. 96 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:32,320 I can tell you that fasting like this makes you really appreciate and enjoy having food 97 00:07:32,320 --> 00:07:37,920 but you know in society today there is a number of different ways that people can fast that 98 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:42,280 have nothing to do with going without food. 99 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:45,800 In fact if you do a bit of a search on the internet you can find some very creative ways 100 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:47,400 to fast. 101 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:54,240 Here is one, set strict limits for social media or remove it altogether so you can fast 102 00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:55,280 from social media. 103 00:07:55,280 --> 00:08:00,280 Next one here, give up hitting the snooze button. 104 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:03,960 I guess that is fasting from sleeping in. 105 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:10,040 Next one here, give up looking in the mirror to be more humble. 106 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:15,000 Now that one doesn't work for me because when I look in the mirror I become more humble 107 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:18,240 so I am not sure what that one is all about. 108 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:22,960 Another one here is give up video games. 109 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:27,240 A final one, go through your possessions and donate 25% of them and don't replace them 110 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:28,880 by buying other things. 111 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:33,080 So these are other ways to fast but it is very clear when it comes to the concept of 112 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:39,160 either going without food or doing without something else that fasting is connected with 113 00:08:39,160 --> 00:08:44,120 this idea of give up, give up, give up. 114 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:50,860 Giving up something is what fasting seems to be all about and yet when we come here 115 00:08:50,860 --> 00:08:58,900 to this passage in Isaiah 58 6 God introduces a completely different type of fasting that 116 00:08:58,900 --> 00:09:08,560 does not involve giving up and rather it involves getting up and taking action on behalf of 117 00:09:08,560 --> 00:09:10,420 the downtrodden. 118 00:09:10,420 --> 00:09:14,440 So let's take a look at the verse here and again if you would read with me those highlighted 119 00:09:14,440 --> 00:09:18,760 words. 120 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:22,280 Here is the way I want you to fast. 121 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:26,680 Set free those who are held by chains without any reason. 122 00:09:26,680 --> 00:09:30,280 Tie the ropes that hold people as slaves. 123 00:09:30,280 --> 00:09:33,480 Set free those who are crushed. 124 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:37,860 Break every evil chain. 125 00:09:37,860 --> 00:09:43,640 Notice the action words that we see here in this verse. 126 00:09:43,640 --> 00:09:47,720 The first action word is set free. 127 00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:54,480 That's how it is translated and it is from the Hebrew word p'thach which means to open. 128 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:58,480 Now if you have a dog that's in your backyard and your backyard is fenced and you open up 129 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:01,560 the gate you have set free your dog. 130 00:10:01,560 --> 00:10:07,760 Now that may not be something you want to do but this is the concept of setting free 131 00:10:07,760 --> 00:10:10,700 is to have something opened up. 132 00:10:10,700 --> 00:10:13,800 Something was enclosed and now it's open. 133 00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:20,160 There's another phrase here that is translated, another verb that is translated as set free 134 00:10:20,160 --> 00:10:28,080 but it actually comes from a different Hebrew word, a different Hebrew verb the word shalak 135 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:31,200 which means to sin. 136 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:39,960 Now if I want to send my son to do something but he is secured and he can't move from where 137 00:10:39,960 --> 00:10:40,960 he's at okay. 138 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:45,000 He's seatbelted in his car let's say and I say I want you to go get that and he can't 139 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:47,200 get the seatbelt off right. 140 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:52,240 No you can't send somebody who's secured and can't go anywhere so the concept is when 141 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:54,800 somebody is set free they're able to go. 142 00:10:54,800 --> 00:11:00,400 They're able to freely move about and so that's another important verb that's used here. 143 00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:04,160 Let's take a look at the next one, untie. 144 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:10,960 This is from the Hebrew verb nathar and this is a very powerful verb because it's actually 145 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:18,960 referencing God's actions and we read about this in Isaiah, sorry in Psalm 146 verse 7. 146 00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:25,040 He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. 147 00:11:25,040 --> 00:11:34,680 The Lord and this is where this word is used nathar, he unties or he sets prisoners free. 148 00:11:34,680 --> 00:11:40,680 And then we have one more final verb and that's this verb of break. 149 00:11:40,680 --> 00:11:43,780 So this word used here for break. 150 00:11:43,780 --> 00:11:49,640 Now this is a very interesting Hebrew word, it's the word nathak which means to pull or 151 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:56,800 to tear away and this word is actually used in Judges chapter 16 three different times 152 00:11:56,800 --> 00:12:02,200 to describe how Samson snapped the cords that were holding him. 153 00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:04,560 So why don't we go through these verbs? 154 00:12:04,560 --> 00:12:10,520 What is important about these verbs that we need to understand what's going on here? 155 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:15,560 Verse by definition imply action. 156 00:12:15,560 --> 00:12:21,860 God is asking us through these very powerful verbs, these descriptors, he's giving us a 157 00:12:21,860 --> 00:12:26,140 picture of what he expects us to do. 158 00:12:26,140 --> 00:12:31,640 But every verb also has an object or a subject of that action. 159 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:35,080 So who are we to respond in these ways to? 160 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:39,500 Who are we to set free to untie to break those evil chains for? 161 00:12:39,500 --> 00:12:41,300 Who are these individuals? 162 00:12:41,300 --> 00:12:45,740 Who might those verses be referring to today? 163 00:12:45,740 --> 00:12:54,680 To be held, those that are held by chains, those who are slaves, those who are crushed. 164 00:12:54,680 --> 00:12:56,420 Who does that refer to? 165 00:12:56,420 --> 00:13:03,040 Who are we to take these actions toward and untie and break and free? 166 00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:10,520 Human trafficking is often referred to as modern day slavery. 167 00:13:10,520 --> 00:13:17,120 It is an underground crime that must be brought to the light of day. 168 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:22,940 50 million people are victims of human trafficking globally. 169 00:13:22,940 --> 00:13:27,160 That is equivalent, I want you to think about this as you're driving along the highway, 170 00:13:27,160 --> 00:13:32,160 as you're driving past neighborhoods, as you're driving through downtown Atlanta, think about 171 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:33,480 this number. 172 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:37,480 50 million people are victims of human trafficking globally. 173 00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:45,360 That is equivalent to the population of Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida 174 00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:47,480 combined. 175 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:50,980 That's how many people are entrapped in modern day slavery today. 176 00:13:50,980 --> 00:13:57,520 That means today there are more slaves than at any time in human history. 177 00:13:57,520 --> 00:14:06,120 In fact, the price of a slave, the average price of a slave today is $90, which per capita 178 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:13,000 is cheaper than a slave has ever been at any time in human history. 179 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:14,400 Why don't we know about it? 180 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:19,960 It's an underground crime that we want to shine a light on and bring attention to. 181 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:26,160 The next statistic here is extremely troubling to me, and that is that victims of human trafficking 182 00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:31,560 only live an average of seven years after being taken against their will. 183 00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:37,200 It is basically a death sentence for them. 184 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:45,080 Human trafficking is a $150 billion business largely funded by illegal activities of individuals 185 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:49,360 located in the United States. 186 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:53,100 Now I want to touch on one thing in particular. 187 00:14:53,100 --> 00:14:57,480 This is a massive issue, and the question is how do we even begin to address it? 188 00:14:57,480 --> 00:15:03,040 This last statistic is one way that we can, one insight that helps us know how we can 189 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:04,040 respond. 190 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:06,080 How is human trafficking funded? 191 00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:10,360 Says here legal activities by individuals located in the United States. 192 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:17,140 One of the major fundings for human trafficking is pornography. 193 00:15:17,140 --> 00:15:24,000 Anytime a victim is under the age of 18 and is involved in the sex industry, it is considered 194 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:27,000 to be human trafficking. 195 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:31,600 And so I want to challenge you, because I know this happens in Christian churches, it 196 00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:33,600 happens in Adventist churches. 197 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:38,400 If you are involved in pornography, one way that you can fight human trafficking is to 198 00:15:38,400 --> 00:15:40,820 cut that out of your life. 199 00:15:40,820 --> 00:15:44,600 If you know people that are, you wouldn't need to challenge them to say, look, you are 200 00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:50,200 funding the exploitation of individuals and you are actually funding human trafficking 201 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:54,160 by being involved in that action. 202 00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:59,960 Child Impact has embraced the mandate of Isaiah 58 to break the chains of those that are enslaved 203 00:15:59,960 --> 00:16:01,840 by the evils of human trafficking. 204 00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:08,720 Our goal is to eradicate exploitation, setting vulnerable children free to have a bright 205 00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:13,440 future, a future that is filled with hope. 206 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:17,840 Hope has to be one of the most powerful words in the English language. 207 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:19,960 One of our partners in Africa said this to me. 208 00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:24,280 She said, when you have hope, you have enough. 209 00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:29,680 And so that is what we want to bring to these children that are being trafficked. 210 00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:36,460 Several years ago, Child Impact initiated a project called Operation Child Rescue. 211 00:16:36,460 --> 00:16:42,240 The first project started in India, a country where hidden brothels, begging rings, and 212 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:45,440 forced child labor in factories is commonplace. 213 00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:51,000 In collaboration with government officials, sites were staked out and rescue missions 214 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:52,000 were undertaken. 215 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:59,720 Literally, the doors of brothels were knocked down and victims were free. 216 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:06,560 I've been there to India and visited the Vizag Slum, where prostitution takes place 217 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:09,040 in broad daylight. 218 00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:16,120 Alternate methods to earn a living began to be taught there at a preschool that we operate 219 00:17:16,120 --> 00:17:22,240 right there in the slum, including tailoring, soap making, baking, many different ways to 220 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:27,920 help people get out of this particular industry there in this city. 221 00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:31,600 And I was able to meet ladies who now have a different career path. 222 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:37,960 And it was so rewarding to see the hope that they were able to find to no longer be trapped 223 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:42,040 as they were in the sex industry. 224 00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:46,200 When I arrived at Child Impact, I was very fascinated by this project called Operation 225 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:50,680 Child Rescue because I happened to be aware that the Seventh-day Adventist Church has 226 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:57,840 done virtually nothing to address this evil that's happening in society. 227 00:17:57,840 --> 00:18:01,840 And so we began to do some research to find, are there any projects globally where the 228 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:05,240 Adventist Church is involved in fighting human trafficking? 229 00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:06,720 How many do you think we found? 230 00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:12,760 Now Child Impact was involved in three projects, all in India, when I arrived, and that was 231 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:17,720 super exciting to see Child Impact taking a lead in this area. 232 00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:24,680 We found less than 10 projects all around the world, and no one organization other than 233 00:18:24,680 --> 00:18:27,700 Child Impact had more than one project. 234 00:18:27,700 --> 00:18:31,760 So we basically came to the conclusion that nobody in the Adventist Church is taking a 235 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:38,200 lead in this area, and that we need to step into this space and begin making a difference 236 00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:40,200 in the fight against human trafficking. 237 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:43,960 Now what's become super powerful is because we've been involved in education and we have 238 00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:48,760 schools all around the world, we actually have a place for those that are rescued to 239 00:18:48,760 --> 00:18:49,880 go. 240 00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:51,600 We actually can send them to school. 241 00:18:51,600 --> 00:18:55,800 So you look at this and you say, okay, we know organizations that sponsor kids to go 242 00:18:55,800 --> 00:18:59,120 to school, even Adventist ones, and that's true. 243 00:18:59,120 --> 00:19:02,360 You may be aware of outside the Adventist Church there are organizations that fight 244 00:19:02,360 --> 00:19:06,800 human trafficking, but where do you find an organization that puts those two together 245 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:12,840 and actually rescues girls, rescues young people, and has the ability to also send them to a 246 00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:15,440 mission school and find Jesus? 247 00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:17,240 So it's just powerful, that combination. 248 00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:22,360 But I want to share with you just a few of our rescue projects, very briefly by way of 249 00:19:22,360 --> 00:19:26,120 illustration, share three projects with you. 250 00:19:26,120 --> 00:19:32,920 Girls as young as 12 on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe are faced with what seems 251 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:37,200 to be an impossible situation. 252 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:43,420 Do they watch their siblings starve or do they sacrifice themselves to be exploited 253 00:19:43,420 --> 00:19:50,560 by truck drivers and be able to put food on the table for those that they love? 254 00:19:50,560 --> 00:19:56,800 All impact has began providing another option for these girls. 255 00:19:56,800 --> 00:20:01,040 By the way, the picture, all of these girls, except for my wife, who's in the middle there, 256 00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:06,400 have been involved in human trafficking. 257 00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:09,160 We decided that we wanted to take action immediately. 258 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:13,920 We have a school on the campus of Riverside Farm that we sponsor hundreds of children 259 00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:14,920 to attend. 260 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:20,840 But we said, what if we could rescue some of these girls and send them to the school 261 00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:21,840 that we're already supporting? 262 00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:26,960 In fact, we just helped finish building a high school there, and there was capacity 263 00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:29,260 for the school to take more students. 264 00:20:29,260 --> 00:20:34,800 And so we rented a dormitory off campus, and initially our thought was for 25 girls to 265 00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:40,040 be rescued, and the request came, can you take 35, and then can you take another one? 266 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:46,840 And so 36 girls have been able to attend school over this past year, and they've had to be 267 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:53,900 escorted onto campus by security guard and walk some distance to be able to go to school. 268 00:20:53,900 --> 00:20:59,560 But I was able to meet these young ladies, and it's absolutely powerful to see the change 269 00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:01,040 that has happened in their lives. 270 00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:03,520 None of them wanted this experience that they'd gone through. 271 00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:05,040 It was traumatizing to them. 272 00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:06,680 They didn't want this in their lives. 273 00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:11,880 In most cases, it was some kind of tragedy that caused this trafficking to begin taking 274 00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:12,880 place. 275 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:15,960 In one case, I met a man who pulled down his pants right in front of me because he wanted 276 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:20,960 me to see the scars of where a crocodile had attacked him while he was fishing. 277 00:21:20,960 --> 00:21:25,640 He had been walking two hours to fish to earn a living for the family, and one day a crocodile 278 00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:30,220 attacked him, and he barely escaped with his life, but he was no longer able to walk those 279 00:21:30,220 --> 00:21:34,400 two hours there and back to fish to help support his family. 280 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:37,720 And so his daughter ended up trafficking. 281 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:42,680 And I could share one story after another, a stroke of an older brother who had been 282 00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:50,200 driving trucks to help support the family, and now his younger sister ends up being trafficked. 283 00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:55,480 After I preached for church on the Sabbath that we were there, a group of young girls 284 00:21:55,480 --> 00:22:00,960 approached me, and this girl in the orange skirt right here, she came up to me and was 285 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:08,320 very nervous, but wanted to say something on behalf of the other girls. 286 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:15,560 Trembling she said, we want to thank Child Impact for changing our lives. 287 00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:18,080 And then she started to cry. 288 00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:21,800 She said, we've had a really tough life. 289 00:22:21,800 --> 00:22:27,000 I can tell you that moment, the joy that filled my heart to know that these girls were now 290 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:31,360 free, that they had been rescued. 291 00:22:31,360 --> 00:22:35,960 Last year we raised the funds to build a dormitory to house 100 girls. 292 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:39,520 It will be completed by the end of this year, and for the new school year, which starts 293 00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:44,840 in January, 100 rescue girls will be able to move into that dormitory. 294 00:22:44,840 --> 00:22:49,440 We are praising God for the opportunity involved in this project. 295 00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:56,240 In the Philippines, girls as young as 12 years old are offered for marriage by their parents, 296 00:22:56,240 --> 00:23:01,120 because the parents want the dowry that that girl brings. 297 00:23:01,120 --> 00:23:04,880 In fact, they want girls instead of boys so they can get the dowry. 298 00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:10,520 It might be a few goats or chickens or a cow, in some cases we've heard like a box of crackers 299 00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:14,520 or a bag of candy that they'll trade for their daughter. 300 00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:19,840 And so because they're trading, exchanging goods for their daughter, it is considered 301 00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:23,880 to be trafficking, because this is not something that that girl wants. 302 00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:29,000 Now can you imagine a 12 year old is not ready to be a wife? 303 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:32,000 Would you agree with that? 304 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:35,720 In fact, the country, the Philippines, has, even though it's a major problem there, they've 305 00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:40,480 actually made it illegal for girls to get married at under 18 years of age. 306 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:45,400 However, we're talking about mountainous villages that are not being monitored, and so it continues 307 00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:48,640 to be a major, major issue. 308 00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:55,280 Now a girl at 12 is not ready to be married, nor is she ready to have a baby. 309 00:23:55,280 --> 00:24:02,640 A young person at that age, having a baby, 12, 13, 14, 15 years of age, it puts their 310 00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:06,760 life at risk, and it also puts the life of the child at risk. 311 00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:16,280 And so we became aware of a case where a child bride lost her life during childbirth. 312 00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:21,480 The baby, because the father was superstitious of what had happened, and he felt like this 313 00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:26,640 child that was born, that survived that birth, was bad luck. 314 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:32,960 And so he left the baby beside the body of the mother, just for the elements to take 315 00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:37,520 their toll, and eventually that child would lose his life as well. 316 00:24:37,520 --> 00:24:42,040 Well I want to let you know that Child Impact became involved in helping to rescue that 317 00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:43,760 baby. 318 00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:49,200 And so one of the teachers there that is leading out in a school we support, she said, you 319 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:51,680 know what, I was an orphan. 320 00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:53,840 A missionary family took me into their home. 321 00:24:53,840 --> 00:24:58,200 I'm going to hike and find this baby and rescue this baby. 322 00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:00,080 Well I got to meet him. 323 00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:01,080 His name is Baby James. 324 00:25:01,080 --> 00:25:05,880 You can see now he's a toddler, just a gorgeous little guy. 325 00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:10,920 And not only do we help with this, but we're also supporting and sponsoring children to 326 00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:18,960 go to Adventist schools so that these girls will hold off getting married and have an 327 00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:20,400 opportunity to pursue their dreams. 328 00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:24,320 We have a number of these girls available, or a number of these children from these schools 329 00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:28,800 in the mountain villages available for sponsorship to Day After Church. 330 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:31,240 But I wanted to share a quick little video of Baby James. 331 00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:33,600 Hey, this is Baby James. 332 00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:34,600 Some of you remember him. 333 00:25:34,600 --> 00:25:38,480 He's a toddler now, and I want to say thank you to everyone who helped support his journey. 334 00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:43,560 He was abandoned as a baby, and he's now been adopted by Merlin, and it's just flourishing. 335 00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:45,760 It's so great to finally meet him. 336 00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:50,400 All right, just thought you'd like to meet Baby James. 337 00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:55,240 I want to share with you our secret project, so if we can pause our video. 338 00:25:55,240 --> 00:25:57,480 Or mute the audio either way. 339 00:25:57,480 --> 00:26:00,480 Does that work? 340 00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:03,000 Okay, so let's do this. 341 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:04,720 I will share this after the closing prayer. 342 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:08,080 I'll save enough time to share after closing prayer so you can hear about the project. 343 00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:09,280 Is that all right? 344 00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:14,760 We definitely don't want to share something and it goes out on Facebook. 345 00:26:14,760 --> 00:26:15,760 That's okay. 346 00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:16,760 We'll share it at the very end. 347 00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:17,880 Is that all right? 348 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:20,440 So it's interesting this passage we've been looking at. 349 00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:24,180 It describes the results for people who are involved. 350 00:26:24,180 --> 00:26:28,480 What happens for people who are involved in this kind of a rescue? 351 00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:34,760 Says this, the light of my blessing will shine on you like the rising sun. 352 00:26:34,760 --> 00:26:37,040 I will heal you quickly. 353 00:26:37,040 --> 00:26:38,400 I will march out ahead of you. 354 00:26:38,400 --> 00:26:41,560 My glory will follow behind you and guard you. 355 00:26:41,560 --> 00:26:42,880 Isn't that beautiful? 356 00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:48,360 That's the promise for those that are involved in taking action to help these individuals. 357 00:26:48,360 --> 00:26:50,880 I want to give you an opportunity today. 358 00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:53,120 You have a magazine here with you. 359 00:26:53,120 --> 00:26:58,320 And inside this magazine there's a white card, just a very simple card. 360 00:26:58,320 --> 00:27:01,480 And if you want to join the fight against human trafficking, I'd like you to fill this 361 00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:02,480 card out. 362 00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:03,720 All we need is your name and phone number on there. 363 00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:05,360 We'll give you a call. 364 00:27:05,360 --> 00:27:09,880 But you can choose on a monthly amount of how you'd like to support with these projects. 365 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:14,380 They're all under the umbrella, including the secret project of Operation Child Rescue. 366 00:27:14,380 --> 00:27:19,740 We now have 18 projects in 13 countries that are fighting human trafficking. 367 00:27:19,740 --> 00:27:24,280 So obviously we're growing this area a lot and we have new requests all the time. 368 00:27:24,280 --> 00:27:30,320 But it takes an army of small donors that say small amounts. 369 00:27:30,320 --> 00:27:31,320 And some can give more. 370 00:27:31,320 --> 00:27:35,720 The first two cards, one was turned in for $15 a month in that custom area. 371 00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:38,080 The next one was $500 a month. 372 00:27:38,080 --> 00:27:44,480 So the resources to do this are extensive, but we believe that many hands will make it 373 00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:45,540 possible. 374 00:27:45,540 --> 00:27:50,280 And I want to encourage you to fill this card out and just turn it in at the table at the 375 00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:52,380 back as you go. 376 00:27:52,380 --> 00:27:57,320 But I want to highlight another area, and that's Isaiah 58 verse 7. 377 00:27:57,320 --> 00:27:59,080 It continues like this. 378 00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:04,720 Share your food with hungry people, provide homeless people the place to stay, give naked 379 00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:10,840 people clothes to wear, provide for the needs of your own family. 380 00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:18,960 Nearly 22,000 children die every day due to living in poverty. 381 00:28:18,960 --> 00:28:22,440 When I talk about empathy, when I talk about connecting with something that's happening 382 00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:25,580 somewhere else, this is what I'm talking about. 383 00:28:25,580 --> 00:28:27,520 The needs are enormous. 384 00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:32,200 And just because we don't see something right in front of us doesn't make it irrelevant 385 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:38,680 for us in terms of Christians and how we're called to respond. 386 00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:41,400 Conflict is the biggest driver of hunger. 387 00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:48,280 With 70% of the world's hungry people living in areas affected, afflicted by war and violence. 388 00:28:48,280 --> 00:28:53,680 So the answer to that question, what is the main cause for hunger in developing countries, 389 00:28:53,680 --> 00:28:54,960 is conflict and war. 390 00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:57,220 That's the main cause. 391 00:28:57,220 --> 00:29:01,960 The core work of Child Impact and what we do is related to education. 392 00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:09,040 And through our sponsorship programs, thousands of children can go to school. 393 00:29:09,040 --> 00:29:13,520 We've been involved for the last 57 years in sponsorship. 394 00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:16,560 And it's significant to see the impact that it can have. 395 00:29:16,560 --> 00:29:19,120 It can change the world of a child. 396 00:29:19,120 --> 00:29:25,160 But we began to realize when I first arrived that many of these children are going to school 397 00:29:25,160 --> 00:29:27,120 without having had breakfast. 398 00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:29,880 So they're going to school hungry. 399 00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:36,640 And in fact, in Bangladesh we discovered that not only do they go to school without breakfast 400 00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:44,240 and they're not getting lunch at school, they might get dinner at home every other day. 401 00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:49,200 And so these kids are not having proper nutrition, which is essential in order to maximize the 402 00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:52,000 benefit of education. 403 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:56,000 And so we began to add a lunch program to our day students and of course our boarding 404 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:59,460 students have all three meals a day. 405 00:29:59,460 --> 00:30:08,840 And so last year Child Impact provided 2.4 million meals for hungry children. 406 00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:16,200 In Ethiopia, children as young as 12 are recruited into this army to the Civil War. 407 00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:21,600 Happened in Ethiopia because they know if they sign up for war that they will be given 408 00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:23,560 something to eat. 409 00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:27,280 And if you're starving and you don't know where to get food, this becomes a solution 410 00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:28,880 for them. 411 00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:35,360 Our partner there in Ethiopia was orphaned as a child during the famine in the early 412 00:30:35,360 --> 00:30:37,240 to mid 80s. 413 00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:41,440 And he was also disabled, became disabled as a child. 414 00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:47,760 Someone sponsored him to attend, to receive an education and he graduated from college 415 00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:50,320 with a degree and the government offered him a job. 416 00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:58,200 But he said no, I want to start an orphanage for orphan and disabled children. 417 00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:00,280 Those who had experience similar to him. 418 00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:06,040 So that school that we support now in Ethiopia has 600 students. 419 00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:12,000 And it's just a big project and a vision of this man who once himself was orphan and disabled 420 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:13,400 saying I want to help these kids. 421 00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:16,260 So those kids don't have to sign up for the Civil War. 422 00:31:16,260 --> 00:31:19,720 They can have food to eat and they are part of our sponsorship. 423 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:22,360 Many of them are part of our sponsorship program. 424 00:31:22,360 --> 00:31:24,160 I want to share a very brief video with you. 425 00:31:24,160 --> 00:31:26,600 It's just two and a half minutes long. 426 00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:32,780 But it gives a snapshot of the situation that we face in Bangladesh as we look and see how 427 00:31:32,780 --> 00:31:40,840 can we support these children. 428 00:31:40,840 --> 00:31:45,200 Simeon is a boy that my family has been sponsoring here in Bangladesh. 429 00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:50,720 And he traveled from where he lives to the big city in Dhaka to spend the day with me. 430 00:31:50,720 --> 00:31:52,720 And so we got to walk on the streets. 431 00:31:52,720 --> 00:31:55,080 We got to experience many things. 432 00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:56,760 For him it was the first time to do that. 433 00:31:56,760 --> 00:31:59,000 And we got to spoil him just a little bit. 434 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:04,040 We got a little bit of sugar cane juice for him to drink there on the street and bought 435 00:32:04,040 --> 00:32:05,720 him a special treat. 436 00:32:05,720 --> 00:32:08,840 And then I wanted to get him a soccer jersey for his favorite team. 437 00:32:08,840 --> 00:32:13,520 And of course, Argentina that just won the World Cup, his favorite player is Messi and 438 00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:18,120 so we were able to get him a shirt and able to kick a ball around a little bit, ride around 439 00:32:18,120 --> 00:32:19,120 in a rickshaw. 440 00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:22,600 And it was just an amazing experience. 441 00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:26,560 As I interacted with Simeon, I discovered that he has four siblings, but two of them 442 00:32:26,560 --> 00:32:31,340 tragically have passed away due to sickness. 443 00:32:31,340 --> 00:32:34,960 And then our sponsorship coordinator here in this country let me know that part of the 444 00:32:34,960 --> 00:32:41,320 funds that Child Impact sends to support these children provide some basic medical care. 445 00:32:41,320 --> 00:32:46,520 And in exceptional circumstances, they contact our office for additional help. 446 00:32:46,520 --> 00:32:48,320 So I wondered what would have happened? 447 00:32:48,320 --> 00:32:53,280 What would the difference have been in the outcome had Simeon's brothers been sponsored 448 00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:55,000 in one of our schools? 449 00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:59,920 I have not really thought about sponsorship being a life and death circumstance before, 450 00:32:59,920 --> 00:33:04,560 but as I reflected on this personal story with a child that I am sponsoring, that my 451 00:33:04,560 --> 00:33:10,700 family sponsored, and his journey, I had to recognize that sponsorship does mean life 452 00:33:10,700 --> 00:33:14,280 and death in many cases for these children. 453 00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:20,160 Back in the United States, I selected Simeon based on a photo and profile. 454 00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:24,680 This profile shared with me certain things about what grade he's in, what school he 455 00:33:24,680 --> 00:33:29,480 goes to, how old he is, and even a little bit about his family. 456 00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:34,560 But what a different experience to meet him firsthand, to be able to put my arm around 457 00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:43,680 his shoulder, to be able to go and experience things with him for the very first time. 458 00:33:43,680 --> 00:33:50,420 And I see that sponsorship is real, that real lives are impacted. 459 00:33:50,420 --> 00:33:55,940 It was such a joy to spend the day with Simeon and to bring this little piece of joy to his 460 00:33:55,940 --> 00:34:02,160 life and know that even though I'm half a world apart, that it can be making a difference 461 00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:13,640 in the life of a child in such a significant way. 462 00:34:13,640 --> 00:34:21,760 You know, the challenge can seem overwhelming, and yet we can change the world one child 463 00:34:21,760 --> 00:34:24,160 at a time. 464 00:34:24,160 --> 00:34:26,700 Our family's helping to change Simeon's life. 465 00:34:26,700 --> 00:34:28,920 He wants to be a pastor when he grows up. 466 00:34:28,920 --> 00:34:35,120 He has a Bible beside his bed that he reads on his own motivation. 467 00:34:35,120 --> 00:34:37,760 It's a privilege to be able to be part of that journey with him. 468 00:34:37,760 --> 00:34:44,240 And today, as you leave, we have a table set up with children that are available to be 469 00:34:44,240 --> 00:34:45,240 sponsored. 470 00:34:45,240 --> 00:34:49,320 Our family sponsors three children. 471 00:34:49,320 --> 00:34:54,240 And recently, someone who also was sponsoring three children approached me at an event that 472 00:34:54,240 --> 00:34:57,940 I was at, and he said, Tom, it's time to do more. 473 00:34:57,940 --> 00:35:01,400 So he came by our table, and he sponsored 17 more children. 474 00:35:01,400 --> 00:35:02,600 He now has 20 children. 475 00:35:02,600 --> 00:35:06,400 So if you've always dreamed to have a big family, now's your chance. 476 00:35:06,400 --> 00:35:10,160 As I mentioned, we've been involved in child sponsorship for 57 years. 477 00:35:10,160 --> 00:35:16,000 And there in Bangladesh, the director for our program in Bangladesh was orphaned and 478 00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:17,240 sponsored. 479 00:35:17,240 --> 00:35:22,480 And now he runs the sponsorship program for well over 1,200 children. 480 00:35:22,480 --> 00:35:26,280 The leader of one of our schools there, the principal, was sponsored as a child. 481 00:35:26,280 --> 00:35:31,200 And this is through Child Impact, previously known as Asian Aid, that sponsored these children 482 00:35:31,200 --> 00:35:33,080 through, and now they're leaders. 483 00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:34,080 So it's incredible. 484 00:35:34,080 --> 00:35:35,960 My mom is on social security. 485 00:35:35,960 --> 00:35:39,560 She's retired, and she sponsors four children. 486 00:35:39,560 --> 00:35:46,380 So at $1.06 a day for a day student, certainly we can do something to show empathy on the 487 00:35:46,380 --> 00:35:49,240 other side of the world to make a difference for these kids. 488 00:35:49,240 --> 00:35:54,840 I want to share briefly some of my own personal journey. 489 00:35:54,840 --> 00:36:00,320 In 2014, our family decided to host two boys from an orphanage in Latvia. 490 00:36:00,320 --> 00:36:03,840 Latvia is on the border of Russia. 491 00:36:03,840 --> 00:36:06,440 Probably most of you have never been there before. 492 00:36:06,440 --> 00:36:10,000 And we eventually adopted these two incredible boys. 493 00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:16,880 And many people tell us what an amazing opportunity that we have given them. 494 00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:23,000 And honestly, I have to say to you that we are the ones that feel blessed. 495 00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:26,880 We hosted these two boys in our home several different times, beginning when they were 496 00:36:26,880 --> 00:36:31,360 five years old and seven years old, through an organization called Project 143. 497 00:36:31,360 --> 00:36:35,520 If you'd like to know more about how you can host an orphan in your home, please talk with 498 00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:36,520 me afterwards. 499 00:36:36,520 --> 00:36:42,240 But they were not available for adoption until several years later. 500 00:36:42,240 --> 00:36:47,320 As we started the adoption process, we noticed that the younger of the two boys, as we're 501 00:36:47,320 --> 00:36:53,360 on video calls with him, that he was beginning to lose his hair. 502 00:36:53,360 --> 00:36:59,320 And I was alarmed by this and wondered if he had cancer or something like this. 503 00:36:59,320 --> 00:37:01,960 So I contacted the adoption agency. 504 00:37:01,960 --> 00:37:02,960 And they checked for us. 505 00:37:02,960 --> 00:37:07,720 And they came back and said, Tom and Mara, this is the sickest boy that's ever been part 506 00:37:07,720 --> 00:37:09,920 of our adoption program. 507 00:37:09,920 --> 00:37:12,120 He's battling leukemia right now. 508 00:37:12,120 --> 00:37:16,200 Well, we continued forward with the adoption. 509 00:37:16,200 --> 00:37:21,480 And by the time we went to pick the boys up, we were told that he was in remission. 510 00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:24,320 And that was about a little over two years ago now. 511 00:37:24,320 --> 00:37:29,160 Well, we brought the boys home and had several happy months there. 512 00:37:29,160 --> 00:37:35,640 This is Andres, the youngest of the two boys now, at this time, 13 years old. 513 00:37:35,640 --> 00:37:41,740 And his dream was always just to be part of a family. 514 00:37:41,740 --> 00:37:46,880 But then the leukemia relapsed. 515 00:37:46,880 --> 00:37:50,880 And we went through, here he is at College Dell Community Church, my home church, just 516 00:37:50,880 --> 00:37:52,940 greeting with me. 517 00:37:52,940 --> 00:37:57,000 And all those normal ways of living out life, his dream of being part of a family began 518 00:37:57,000 --> 00:38:01,000 to change as the leukemia relapsed. 519 00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:10,180 And we went through every medical intervention available to us, including a bone marrow transplant. 520 00:38:10,180 --> 00:38:14,720 My wife was just basically living in the hospital there with him. 521 00:38:14,720 --> 00:38:20,040 And this went on for months and months in Nashville and then back to Chattanooga. 522 00:38:20,040 --> 00:38:25,040 And Andres won the hearts of all who cared for him. 523 00:38:25,040 --> 00:38:31,160 Every nurse that came into the room, he would make a half heart with his hand. 524 00:38:31,160 --> 00:38:35,320 And he would anticipate that the nurse would finish the other half of the heart. 525 00:38:35,320 --> 00:38:38,960 And then he would take their hand and kiss their hand. 526 00:38:38,960 --> 00:38:42,800 That's the kind of boy that Andres was. 527 00:38:42,800 --> 00:38:50,160 But on April 13th of this year, Andres passed away. 528 00:38:50,160 --> 00:38:54,560 And our hearts have been broken. 529 00:38:54,560 --> 00:38:55,680 But I want to share this with you. 530 00:38:55,680 --> 00:39:04,080 We know for certain that this amazing 14-year-old boy got to know Jesus. 531 00:39:04,080 --> 00:39:05,280 He loved his pastors. 532 00:39:05,280 --> 00:39:06,360 He loved his church. 533 00:39:06,360 --> 00:39:08,880 He loved singing songs to Jesus. 534 00:39:08,880 --> 00:39:14,560 And when he grew up, he wanted to adopt. 535 00:39:14,560 --> 00:39:19,640 He could hardly wait for heaven where there would be no more leukemia. 536 00:39:19,640 --> 00:39:26,520 My wife would be continually reminding him, your job now is to rest. 537 00:39:26,520 --> 00:39:32,840 When you wake up, leukemia will be gone. 538 00:39:32,840 --> 00:39:39,960 And that's the hope that we all have as Christians, that hope for a new heaven and new earth. 539 00:39:39,960 --> 00:39:43,880 Today I'm not asking you to take the same step that our family did. 540 00:39:43,880 --> 00:39:48,500 Although, if you're interested in hosting and adopting, I'm certainly glad to talk with 541 00:39:48,500 --> 00:39:52,400 you about that. 542 00:39:52,400 --> 00:40:00,080 But what I would like to consider you, consider asking you to do, is to change the world for 543 00:40:00,080 --> 00:40:01,880 one or more children. 544 00:40:01,880 --> 00:40:06,920 You can do that through giving monthly to our rescue program, our rescue project. 545 00:40:06,920 --> 00:40:10,800 You can do that by sponsoring one of the children that we have at the table as you leave afterward 546 00:40:10,800 --> 00:40:12,360 here today. 547 00:40:12,360 --> 00:40:15,980 You can do that by praying for our projects. 548 00:40:15,980 --> 00:40:18,760 You can do that by sharing your influence. 549 00:40:18,760 --> 00:40:21,880 Perhaps you would hand our magazine to someone, or you take one of the sharing cards and you 550 00:40:21,880 --> 00:40:26,380 give it to someone, maybe you can't sponsor, but you know someone who can, and you invite 551 00:40:26,380 --> 00:40:27,640 them to do it. 552 00:40:27,640 --> 00:40:30,960 I believe that we are called to make a difference. 553 00:40:30,960 --> 00:40:33,200 Acts 1, 8 tells us this. 554 00:40:33,200 --> 00:40:36,600 This is a word for every disciple of Jesus. 555 00:40:36,600 --> 00:40:38,840 You are to be my witnesses in Jerusalem. 556 00:40:38,840 --> 00:40:39,840 Where's that? 557 00:40:39,840 --> 00:40:40,840 That's where we live, right? 558 00:40:40,840 --> 00:40:42,920 We're to be witnesses where we live. 559 00:40:42,920 --> 00:40:45,360 You're to be my witnesses in Judea. 560 00:40:45,360 --> 00:40:46,360 That's similar to us. 561 00:40:46,360 --> 00:40:49,000 It's culturally similar and it's nearby. 562 00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:51,560 You're to be my witnesses in Samaria. 563 00:40:51,560 --> 00:40:54,840 That's also close by, but it's culturally different. 564 00:40:54,840 --> 00:40:58,560 And you're to be my witnesses to the ends of the earth. 565 00:40:58,560 --> 00:41:02,040 Every disciple is called to be a witness to the ends of the earth. 566 00:41:02,040 --> 00:41:07,120 If you do not have a project that you're involved with as a disciple of Jesus to the ends of 567 00:41:07,120 --> 00:41:13,160 the earth, we would love to partner with you in doing that today. 568 00:41:13,160 --> 00:41:18,400 I want to encourage you to help Andres complete the other half of the heart. 569 00:41:18,400 --> 00:41:20,280 These kids, their hearts have been broken. 570 00:41:20,280 --> 00:41:26,260 They've been born into situations that they didn't ask for, but we can help complete their 571 00:41:26,260 --> 00:41:31,320 journey to have hope as they look toward the future. 572 00:41:31,320 --> 00:41:39,600 Dear Lord, we just want to praise you today that you undertook a rescue mission to planet 573 00:41:39,600 --> 00:41:40,600 earth. 574 00:41:40,600 --> 00:41:46,280 And because of that, we can be confident that we can spend eternity with you. 575 00:41:46,280 --> 00:41:53,080 Lord, I want to pray that our heart will beat with your heart to go on a rescue mission, 576 00:41:53,080 --> 00:42:00,680 to become part of the rescue party, to save those who are bound up, who are enslaved, 577 00:42:00,680 --> 00:42:02,200 who are crushed. 578 00:42:02,200 --> 00:42:06,040 Help us to break every evil chain. 579 00:42:06,040 --> 00:42:07,960 Give us the courage to do that. 580 00:42:07,960 --> 00:42:13,480 Help us to take action, not simply to be aware, but to actually do something to make a difference. 581 00:42:13,480 --> 00:42:23,800 In Jesus' name, Amen.