Special Feature

Mending Broken People Documentary

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

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Series Code: SF

Program Code: SF00020A


00:24 It is hard to find on a map.
00:26 There are no large cities just a few small towns
00:29 that dot the area. It's a place known for its
00:32 simple life and traditional values.
00:35 Farming and coal mining make up its industry.
00:39 Some say Southern Illinois one of the most
00:41 unlikely places to touch the world.
00:44 Yet, in one of those small towns, a man's heart was
00:48 changed and filled with a vision to reach the world.
00:52 That man shared the vision with others,
00:54 who caught the vision. This is a story about a
00:58 miracle. God using the most unlikely in the most
01:03 unlikely time and place to send a message that now
01:06 touches the globe. " This is God taking the
01:09 foolish things of this world to shame the wise
01:12 and taking the weak things to shame the strong.
01:15 This is the story of 3ABN." A voice that was really
01:20 speaking to me was not an audible voice but an
01:22 impression, was saying I want you to build a
01:25 television station that will reach the world with
01:28 an undiluted Three Angels Messages,
01:29 one that would counteract the counterfeit,
01:33 and well that wasn't me you see because I've
01:35 never been a what's you call a dreamer or
01:37 someone who tries to set goals that aren't
01:41 you know that maybe are way beyond my reach.
01:44 I've never heard of Seventh-day Adventist
01:46 in the majority of Christianity as I knew it,
01:50 had never heard of Seventh-day Adventist.
01:53 It was probably one of the best kept secrets
01:56 in Christianity. I found out about,
01:59 the Adventist movement and the truth of the
02:01 Sabbath through Danny Shelton.
02:03 We met someone that he had that same faith and
02:07 belief in God that God really was the God of
02:10 miracles, the same yesterday, today and forever.
02:13 It has to be an, a big impact, when you see
02:16 these things taking place and you are saying this
02:19 can't be anything else but from God.
02:23 God was willing to take people in our family and
02:27 use us for something of this magnitude that he
02:31 was going to use to teach the world about Jesus.
02:34 The Lord did the work, we were just tools and
02:37 he allowed us to have a part, a piece of it,
02:41 he could have done it with other people,
02:44 he could have done it himself.
02:47 Still get goosebumps. As I think back, as I see
02:52 God's hand working mightily and what he has
02:54 done today it's just like so far over my head.
02:57 My dad built houses and he sang, but he didn't do TV.
03:02 Imagine being 13 years old and telling your friends.
03:05 My dad said God told them to built a television
03:08 station that would reach the world and it happened.
03:29 Danny Shelton was one of five children born into
03:31 a low income job challenged community in
03:34 Southern Illinois. In the early years, his parents
03:38 Tommy and Goldie Shelton would known to
03:40 be accomplished country singers and musicians.
03:43 Music and eventually their faith in God became
03:46 the foundation for the Shelton family.
03:48 One specific miracle made a lasting change in
03:51 the Shelton household, when Goldie was
03:54 stricken with polio. When I managed to get
03:56 down on my knees by the side of the bed,
03:59 and I confessed my sins and I said Lord I have
04:02 known all along better than to do this.
04:05 I've been studying this message for two years
04:07 and I've been fighting it, I saw it long before
04:09 that but I wouldn't accept it, and I said Lord if you
04:12 see fit to heal me, I'll accept what I believe
04:14 to be right, and I will serve you the longest day
04:17 I live. And I'll turn these children over to you
04:20 and I will raise my family in the way that you
04:23 would have me to go and I was healed within 20
04:26 minutes and my husband was sitting there on the
04:28 bed and he saw my fingers straightened out
04:30 and he saw the color come back into my
04:32 cheeks, and he said well honey just as soon as
04:35 I can make enough money to make a down
04:36 payment on a truck, he said I'll get rid of this
04:39 night club and I'll never go back to the night clubs
04:41 anymore because he saw this healing,
04:43 he saw what God could do.
04:45 My mother became a Seventh-day Adventist
04:47 Christian when I was, the year I was born, 1951.
04:50 So, I grow up in a home that was very religious,
04:54 we did certain things at certain times and there
04:56 are certain things that we didn't do anytime.
04:59 There are certain ways we dressed, certain words
05:02 that we didn't say, certain things we could
05:04 say and so as growing up we went to church just
05:08 about every time the doors were opened.
05:10 And we had two wonderful christian parents, and
05:15 there was a lot of music. My dad by the time
05:18 I was born my dad was disabled. And his whole
05:22 life was music and that was the one thing that he
05:24 could do that wouldn't cause him pain or
05:26 hardship on his health and so we had a little music
05:30 room on the back of our house and he had reel to
05:33 reel Sony tape recorders and little Mickey Mouse
05:36 microphones I'd like to call them and so we had
05:39 an old up right piano. We used to do a lot of
05:43 music and singing and he would record it and
05:47 church was, he is not like some people are with
05:50 their children now, church was not an option,
05:52 it was not optional, we just knew that every
05:54 Sabbath morning we were up and ready to go unless
05:57 we were deadly sick. And my Mom and Dad
05:59 did a lot of music at church and my mom was
06:02 the church pianist for actually 50 something
06:05 years. And so, we had really a wonderful
06:09 childhood even though we didn't have much,
06:13 it was full of love and it was full of God.
06:16 As children my brother Tommy could play,
06:18 we always said he could play the keys off the
06:20 piano because our old piano was so bad it didn't
06:22 have the keys, the ivory part almost of him and
06:25 of course, they were that way when we got that
06:26 I'm sure but we say boy he can play that, the ivory
06:29 right off the piano, but Tommy would play the
06:32 piano, my dad played guitar, Kenny played
06:34 guitar, my brother Ronnie played bass,
06:36 Tammy didn't come along till eight years, she was
06:38 younger than me but she could sing and so we did
06:40 stuff growing up is a family, Friday nights
06:43 gathered around the piano, sing songs to the Lord,
06:46 I'll always remember and cherish those
06:48 times as a family. I always see Danny as,
06:51 I can remember him so far back in our, in the
06:54 childhood that he loved, he loved the Lord and he
06:58 loved music, seemed like more than anything he
07:00 loved and I could remember him getting
07:02 the guitar and when he couldn't even get his hand
07:06 up over the top of it and he had tried to make the
07:09 chords and sometime I'd walk by and his little eyes
07:13 would be, be closed and he'd be singing praises to
07:16 the Lord. And at that time I didn't quite get it you
07:19 know little older brother and so on so forth there
07:21 was times I'd walk by him and he's got his eyes
07:24 closed and he's singing a song and I kind of lightly
07:27 tap him on the head just a little bit and I say Danny
07:29 come out of it. I'm glad he didn't, you know as an
07:33 older brother like Danny come on, but as far as
07:36 back as I can remember he always loved Jesus and
07:38 he always loved to sing for Jesus and that never
07:41 changed all the times growing up through
07:43 school through high school and so o, so forth
07:45 and his great love was to serve Jesus and to do lot,
07:49 lot of music. So, I remember those
07:51 things well with him. As long as I can
07:54 remember he's always been optimistic.
07:58 He never was bad tempered as a kid growing up.
08:03 He would argue from now till doomsday with
08:06 our mother about something but he would
08:08 never lose his temper, he would never be smart
08:11 mouth or anything like that. He was always
08:15 whistling, he was always singing and when we
08:17 would walk to school and back, he always had this
08:21 up being optimistic attitude.
08:24 Danny's father Tommy Shelton senior was
08:27 disabled by a heart attack and then cancer,
08:29 even after a miraculous healing from cancer the
08:32 set backs took a financial toll on the family.
08:35 Danny like his other siblings, learned to work
08:37 hard providing for the family.
08:39 Graduating high school, unable to go to college,
08:43 Danny took a trade. We had an uncle from
08:46 California come to a visit with a friend of his and
08:50 his friend said man I'd like you to built me
08:52 a house I'm gonna retire back in Southern Illinois,
08:55 originally from Southern Illinois, I like you to built
08:57 me a house. So, I talked to Kenny let's do it.
08:59 Well, Kenny was making good money as a coal
09:01 miner and I wasn't making that much money.
09:04 So he had more to lose than me, but eventually
09:08 we talked to this guy we said you know what,
09:09 I think we can build a house so we right out
09:11 here just within a mile of where we're sitting at
09:15 3ABN studios today. We built a first house ever
09:18 someone else I think I was 20 Kenny was maybe
09:21 24 years old. We dug the footings by hand,
09:24 we didn't have backhoe, we used the shovel.
09:26 Dug the footings, poured the concrete ourselves,
09:29 laid the blocks for us by ourselves and we didn't
09:32 think about hiring very much out at all, I think
09:34 we did heat and conditioning and
09:35 carpeting. My brother Ronnie is a electrician,
09:38 self learned electrician, he did the wiring for us
09:41 so then Ronnie started working with us and three
09:43 of us started working in construction.
09:45 We never ran out of work from that point on,
09:48 the time we got that house done somebody
09:50 else wanted one built, they wanted new room
09:52 here, they wanted something. So we learned as we
09:55 went, and so I'm glad for the patience that the
09:58 people had and frankly today if I were building
10:01 a new house and some young guys 20 and 24
10:04 years old wanted me to sign a contract with them,
10:06 I would really doubt they could do the job and do
10:08 the work because where did they
10:10 get this experience. Humble beginnings in
10:12 a small town, a hard work ethic, a positive outlook
10:17 and his growing faith in God prepared
10:19 Danny for what was to come.
10:27 You know God can take every experience in your
10:29 life, negative you know as well as positive,
10:34 and turn it around and use it for good.
10:37 My favorite Bible verse is "For I know the plans
10:40 I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper
10:42 you and not to harm you, plans to give
10:44 you hope and a future."
10:52 A friend of his was saying that they were
10:53 gonna try to get a quartet together, and wanted
10:55 to know if he wanted to be a part of it and he did,
10:58 the man said. I want you to hear this woman,
11:01 there's this woman that you really got to hear,
11:02 she's really got a good voice, my dad's like.
11:05 I don't want to sing with a woman, I want to sing in
11:08 a male quartet, he said oh come on you got to hear
11:11 Well, he said they went to the church, she gotten
11:14 there earlier and he heard her and she was
11:16 singing and playing piano when he got there.
11:18 That voice joined more than just a group of
11:20 singing Shelton Brothers. Kay became Danny's wife
11:24 and the mother of a baby girl named Melody.
11:26 Melody wasn't the only child Kay brought two
11:29 other daughters to the new family. Now, Danny
11:32 had a singing family to take on the road.
11:35 Well, it was my mom and dad and I would sing.
11:38 My sister Ronda would play the bass guitar
11:41 and my sister Lisa would play the piano and she
11:43 would occasionally sing too. You know we're
11:46 traveling around a lot and we just got to spend a
11:49 lot of extra time together 'cause we were driving
11:51 everywhere and, it was a really
11:54 good time, we were close.
11:58 In June of 1982 we had traveled to Berrien
12:00 Springs, Michigan to sing in churches in that
12:04 Michigan area where we had made friends.
12:06 Driven 7000 miles was home a few hours until
12:10 my wife said I need to go in little poodle had been
12:13 staying at a place, somebody keeping it,
12:16 I need to go get our little poodle in town.
12:18 So, Melody you come and go with me and so
12:22 she drove, she was gone I went out of, I remember
12:24 I have a little shed out there and that little cart
12:26 board shop and so I went out to that and she had
12:30 gone two, three minutes and I heard this car horn
12:33 just solid and finally it started getting on my
12:35 nerves, I wonder what did somebody know this car
12:38 horn is just stuck, so I go back out and I'm kind
12:41 of looking down the road and this car pulls in my
12:43 drive way extremely fast and a neighbor from
12:46 down the road jumps out Judy Steinmetz jumps out
12:49 and says Danny come quickly your wife and
12:51 Melody has been in an automobile accident
12:53 and so I jumped in her car and we raced down and
12:57 ambulance wasn't there yet. And we were going to get
12:59 the dog, we got about three blocks or so from
13:02 the house and this car just slammed into the side
13:06 of us and I remember spinning around
13:09 and getting thrown all the way to the back of the
13:12 van and back out the front and through the
13:14 windshield and I landed on my arm it was broken,
13:18 I didn't realize it at the time, it didn't hurt until
13:21 later. I remember looking for my mom and
13:24 I couldn't find her. I said oh is Melody and
13:27 Kay okay, she said well Melody, she's gonna to be
13:33 okay she has a broken arm and I but she is,
13:37 I don't know where your wife is and I said you
13:39 don't know where she is she said I don't see her
13:41 oh we can't find her, and it was a flat area open
13:45 field she couldn't have been gone so as soon as
13:47 we got to the corner, I called her name didn't
13:50 see any answer I looked under the van and when
13:52 I looked under the van she was in the ditch face
13:54 down the wheels wasn't on her she was just laying
13:57 in the ditch face down. So, I reached on there and
14:00 I called her name she didn't answer, I remember
14:02 that I reached out and I touched her and instantly
14:05 I knew she was dead. That was my worst fear.
14:11 The thing that, you know that had been in the back
14:13 of my mind before, maybe a year before or
14:16 so, someone had been telling about how their
14:17 mother died, in a Tornado, when they were
14:21 11 and I hope that never happens, but you know
14:26 my mom was my best friend, we were
14:28 absolutely and I've never been that close to anyone.
14:32 I said your mom didn't do so well oh well, was she
14:36 okay, so finally I said honey she is really not,
14:39 oh what do you mean by that? So finally I said
14:42 well honey the worst thing you can think of,
14:44 what's the worst thing you could think of that
14:46 could happen, I don't know and when was she
14:48 was lying on the table and nurses were coming in,
14:51 who's working on her and the doctor was here,
14:53 so I said what's the worst thing you can think of
14:55 honey I could not say those words, not only for
14:58 her but maybe for myself to really cope with the
15:01 fact your wife's dead and so I said, I said honey
15:05 was the worst I don't know daddy so finally
15:08 I said well honey you mommy didn't make it.
15:10 She said what do you mean? I said well your
15:13 mom is dead and she said oh and she just looked
15:17 away didn't say anything and it was the hardest
15:20 thing I've ever had to say in my life that afternoon
15:23 we went home and she was taken up to Parker-
15:27 Reedy Funeral Home, here in West Frankfort
15:28 and so Melody and I were home and people started
15:31 coming, bringing food and just saying you know
15:34 we want a happier lady call me and it's Christian
15:38 of another denomination really nice lady and she
15:40 said I'm a friend of the family and she said
15:42 I would just want to tell you something may be to
15:44 help you out, I'm so sorry about your wife's death
15:46 but I want you to know at the moment of your
15:49 wife's accident, look at it like this God just needed
15:52 another beautiful angel voice for the angel choir
15:56 and I just was taken, so taken back by that and
15:59 I said there are not wanted to be unkind
16:01 I mean I've just lost you know a mother and a wife
16:04 and I said, what did you just say and she said well
16:09 you know just think about it, God needed another
16:11 beautiful angel voice for the angel choir,
16:13 so he took your wife and I said to her you know
16:15 what, to tell you the truth I appreciate your thoughts
16:18 I said who, where did you, in the Bible where
16:20 did you read that and she said well my daddy
16:23 always told me that you know she said I'm just
16:25 trying to make you feel better and I just found
16:27 myself saying, well, I appreciate you saying
16:30 that, that I don't serve a God, who gets bored with
16:34 his angels choir and he looks down and he
16:36 willing to take a wife and a mother. John 10:10 says
16:39 the Thief, Satan comes, but for to steal kill and to
16:43 destroy Jesus says I've come to give you life and
16:46 give it more abundantly and I said I'm not offended
16:49 by that I'm just taken back by that, I want you
16:52 to know that this has nothing to do with God,
16:55 this has to do with the Devil, he's angry at what
16:58 we're doing and he's out to steal and kill, not just
17:01 her, all of us, our souls. Well, from that moment
17:07 on I knew there was a call in my life that was more
17:10 than just singing, because I didn't feel like even
17:13 saying that to this woman and yet I was trying to be
17:17 you know tactful and not be because she met so
17:20 well, but I said you know what kind of world do we
17:23 live in and what are we as Christians that believe
17:26 that we serve that kind of God who cares so little
17:28 about this little girl for 11 years mom is her favorite
17:32 word, I mean dad was number two, everything
17:35 was mom this mom that, God's gonna do that now
17:38 we need to get our priorities straight and we
17:39 sat there all night I laid with her and she was
17:43 I mean miserable and I just laid down beside her
17:46 I said honey you know let's go through these
17:48 Bible scriptures. I wanted her to know that the devil
17:53 is out to steal, kill and destroy, that's why she
17:55 was willing to sing for her mother's funeral and
17:59 I am so thankful that she did because her
18:02 relationship with God changed my life, that
18:05 day I said Lord I want the relationship with you that
18:10 my 11-year-old daughter has, the Lord gave me a
18:13 Godly sorrow and from that point on it's been a
18:17 relationship and guess what it grows and it
18:20 grows and it grows and the more
18:22 I learn about God, the more I love it.
18:26 I sang if heaven ever was promised to me and
18:28 live for Jesus. As far as it having an effect on
18:32 my dad's life, I had no idea I did know.
18:36 You know I was a child, I didn't know two years
18:40 later when he was speaking up for it somewhere.
18:43 It's just amazing Danny, Danny just did everything
18:47 anything and everything that he could to be the
18:51 father and the husband that any daughter or any
18:56 wife would want Danny was a good
18:58 husband and a good father. I remember the tragedy
19:01 of it and I had only known Kay as she came
19:05 to our church to sing and, and she was seemed a bit
19:09 shy, but she was a very sweet lady and it was
19:13 such a tragedy to you know find that Danny
19:17 had lost his, his wife and Melody her mother that
19:21 was heart reaching. Melody was so very
19:23 young, but something I recall from those years
19:26 he just seemed so committed to Melody to
19:29 see that she had all the loving nurturing that she
19:33 needed even if it was just coming from her father.
19:40 And just before the beginning of 3ABN
19:42 there was a spiritual revival going on in his
19:47 life as well as in mine and I think Danny was
19:50 seeking for this and I was seeking for this.
19:54 And as, as we began to commit our life to Jesus
19:56 Christ. And I know my prayer and I believe that
19:59 as well his was I finally get one day said Lord
20:03 I've got to hold your hand and I'm not gonna let you
20:05 go until you bless me. And well I wanna have a
20:08 part and his prayer was to in finishing the work,
20:11 don't care how small it is, how long it would,
20:13 I just wanna have a part in finishing the work.
20:16 And I believe God honored that all the way around.
20:24 That's what I'm saying through all of these years
20:26 since my wife is killed in automobile accident,
20:29 what I love about God is that he takes the ugly
20:32 situations of sin, death, disease and sickness
20:36 and being a creator he does what he knows how
20:39 to do best. He creates beautiful things around
20:42 these ugly things, but we have to have a mind set
20:45 to trust him enough to watch that happened.
20:49 We've began to sing, week after week and that
20:51 little girl stood up casting around singing.
20:54 We started getting calls from other TV stations
20:57 and so well we heard about this one of the TV
21:00 programs talked about my wife died and I know that
21:03 this wasn't what the people saw theologically
21:05 but the interviewer was pressing me.
21:07 Well, you go forward, why do you go forward
21:09 and how do you feel about you know,
21:12 your wife's in Heaven, can she see all this.
21:14 So, finally I said to him you know I won't be just
21:16 as honest live TV program, honest I can be,
21:19 my wife is not in Heaven and he just, my wife
21:21 not in Heaven you know I guess he was
21:24 thinking the opposite as I was getting ready to
21:25 tell I said my wife has sleep in Jesus, she is
21:28 resting till the second coming of the Lord and
21:31 Savior. And so we begin to talk about you know
21:34 what happens, what happens to you when you die?
21:37 And I didn't even realize that I had known because
21:40 I was growing up I was taught a lot of scripture.
21:43 But I just had my religion had, I hadn't seen a
21:47 purpose to really use it all that much.
21:49 But suddenly now I saw this is an opportunity,
21:52 so I told him, you know what and I have also
21:55 getting defected, you know this didn't,
21:57 God didn't take my wife. This was the devil right
22:00 after the program. Right after our interview
22:02 one of the phone caller has said hey a guy wants
22:04 to talk to you. Guy, I answer to phone I just
22:07 heard your testimony on this channel, oh yes
22:11 he said do you know what when I was 9,
22:13 I'm 64-years-old when I was 9 my mother died
22:17 and I was without a mother my whole life,
22:19 I would go to school every time no mother take
22:21 me to school, no mother to cook for me.
22:23 No mother to be there when friends come over,
22:26 any functions we had at Church, no mother and
22:28 everybody said oh! God took your mother to
22:30 Heaven. He said do you know what? I began to
22:32 hate God, I want nothing to do with God, how can
22:35 God care so little about me that he would take
22:38 my mother to Heaven? And he said all of these
22:40 years I have never been a Christian, no desire to be
22:43 want tonight I was flipping channels and just
22:46 heard you mentioning a thought I wanna hear
22:48 what he is gonna say and he said I've never heard
22:51 present at the way you did. Is it too late for me
22:54 would God accept me, my, my, my salvation
22:57 tonight would he save me, is it too late.
23:00 I said of course he would, led him in sinner's prayer
23:02 that to me was like I'm so unfacetious to say look
23:07 at the power of television went on and spoke.
23:10 I don't know this man, will never meet him on
23:12 this earth probably if it did, we would know each
23:15 other probably I wouldn't know him if I saw him.
23:17 And yet right now he, I led him in a sinners
23:20 prayer, he gave his life to Jesus?
23:22 We are Seventh-day Adventist in the media,
23:24 shouldn't we be the heads and not the tails.
23:26 So, I began to think about it every time, I went on
23:29 Christian programming you know I wish people
23:32 come up. All these singers and all these
23:34 you know preachers and people, they had the
23:36 green rooms back and they have food out and so
23:38 in between when you're not on, somebody else
23:41 and they would say hey brother who are you?
23:43 What's your name? Where are you from?
23:44 I'm Danny Shelton from Southern Illinois, oh!
23:46 good, good to have you here, hey what's name
23:48 your Church? You know, what's Church you go to?
23:51 I at here and the entire where, the Church of the
23:52 Dove, I'm this denomination,
23:54 and I'm that. Brother what Church you go to
23:57 a Seventh-day Adventist, oh! Seventh-day
24:01 Adventist well I've got a brother that's a Mormon,
24:04 I said no I'm not an Mormon, I'm a Seventh
24:05 day Adventist. So, I would go home and
24:07 I would lay in bed at night and I said Lord
24:09 where are we? Why doesn't the Church catch
24:11 the vision? Why doesn't this leadership?
24:13 And I began to get negative on it, you know
24:16 we are to be out there and one night I made the
24:19 mistake if you wanna call of that, if you don't
24:22 wanna do some for God don't be questioning him
24:24 and tell anyone, everybody else should
24:25 do because he may put that right back on you.
24:28 And so, I was laying there and couldn't hardly
24:31 sleep it's 2 in the morning I had just heard some
24:33 things on a Christian television I knew it was
24:35 not true. And I knew they weren't true and I said
24:38 Oh! Lord, how is this truth, the further we go
24:43 that behind we get, the old saying says.
24:45 Lord, that's what happening to us, how do
24:47 we get this truth out to the world? When will this
24:50 Church wake up and I heard this voice in my
24:53 ears say I want you to build a television station
24:58 that will reach the world with an undiluted three
25:00 Angels messages. One that would counteract
25:02 the counterfeit, I sat straight up and I said
25:07 I can't even believe I knew it wasn't me
25:10 because I didn't even know what it meant,
25:12 I had never heard the term undiluted three
25:15 Angels messages, to tell you the truth I'm ashamed
25:18 that I didn't even know a lot about this three
25:20 Angels messages the whole message.
25:22 oh! I could argue with people about the Sabbath
25:24 and the state of the dead you know what you eat
25:26 and all these kind of things but I did not have
25:29 the entire picture of what present truth really was.
25:32 I thought I did, found out I didn't and I said isn't
25:34 that amazing, God is saying to me, reach
25:37 the world with an undiluted Three Angels
25:39 Messages, one that would counteract the counterfeit,
25:41 never heard those terms, never used those terms.
25:44 So, I said this is either if there Lord or this is the
25:48 devil, I knew that this was God, I knew it was God
25:51 because I had seen it and I had been praying
25:53 about it. Lord where are we in the media.
25:56 So, I didn't want to do I had met a friend Jim and
25:58 Ann Greer down in Louisiana, and so I didn't
26:02 know why, but 2 in the morning I wanted
26:04 somebody to talk to and I said they'll understand,
26:07 they'll listen, so I called and told them the Lord's
26:10 impressed me to build a television station that will
26:12 reach the world and she had kept talking Three
26:14 Angels Messages, I talked Sabbath stated of that,
26:17 Three Angels Message present truth to give to
26:19 the world. I'd listen but I hadn't, hadn't really put
26:22 all my efforts into that. When I told her what she
26:25 says so shocked me she said oh! That's wonderful,
26:28 that says the Lord I tell you what, Jim's in school,
26:31 so he won't be able to work, but I get, I'm taking
26:35 classes I'll be out so tomorrow night it's a 12
26:37 hour drive. I think from Shreveport, tomorrow
26:40 night I'll be there, I'll drive all night and we'll
26:43 come up and start building the station.
26:45 Well, I remember is the very next morning or
26:48 might have been that evening he come down to
26:49 my house knock on the door he's excited, he said
26:54 Kenny the Lord has impressed we're to build,
26:56 build a TV station that would reach the world
27:00 and when that was said. Something inside of my
27:04 heart said that's exactly right that's it, that's it.
27:09 And he says you know we wanna work together
27:11 with you all that from just matter of
27:13 hours and I said yes. Well, with me as well as
27:17 him, it made some changes, I had
27:20 construction business for 18 years, my own
27:23 business, that's all I ever did but when he said
27:26 that I was as well he what it rate to give up.
27:29 All of those things it just didn't matter this was
27:33 something that as soon as he mentioned it my heart
27:35 said this is it. This is what it's all about, what we've
27:39 been praying for, to be able to reach the world,
27:41 to be able to work for Jesus and so I guess I was
27:44 probably excited and he was back, I could hardly
27:46 stand out this is it. And then the thought was
27:49 happened, but where do you begin. What do you
27:52 do, you know we know nothing about,
27:55 we don't have any money. Well, when you fellows
27:57 told me that vision that you had, I thought oh!
28:01 How big, how big, how big and then I thought but
28:03 we have a big God. My mother was very excited
28:07 when Danny first talked her about this.
28:10 I think when she told me I think probably my first
28:13 question was why would he pick him?
28:17 Why would he pick you know, when him and
28:19 Kenny were going to do it together, why them
28:22 I mean they don't know anything about TV,
28:24 they don't know anything about media and you know
28:28 it just sounded like something that was really
28:31 far fetched and just kind of a dream that you know
28:37 could this possibly ever really happen I just,
28:41 I couldn't imagine and even if I did, even when
28:43 I when the building was starting to get erected and
28:46 that kind of thing. And I could visualize it
28:49 little bit, I still visualized as a little, a little local
28:53 thing you know like our, our local stations here,
28:57 television stations. No, inkling in a million
29:02 years that this would be a worldwide ministry,
29:05 I mean just nothing like that would enter had
29:08 entered my mind. Filled only with the
29:11 words, build a television station to reach the world
29:15 and his commitment to go forward if God supplied
29:18 every need. Danny Shelton's faith in God
29:21 would be launched to new heights God's profession
29:24 would began in the most unlikely place a
29:27 Charismatic Church down the road.
29:33 I actually met Danny in just a few months after
29:36 we got up here, he was building a building for
29:40 friend of ours in Main street and we had moved
29:42 out of a base, or we started searching a
29:44 basement and move to store front building on
29:46 Main street and he had ministered for us here
29:50 came and sang for us he and Melody and Kay,
29:54 and Kay this has been before Kay had been lost
29:57 her life in an accident. And get to know him
30:01 there and he is a precious brother we matter of fact
30:04 we used to stand around on the Main street and
30:06 sing Danny and Kenny and I they put up with me
30:09 trying to sing and. Danny build Children Church
30:12 tables for us and as every move we made actually
30:16 Danny was instrumental in doing carpentry work
30:18 for us in different things and I knew him, he is a
30:20 carpenter first and foremost as a brother-in
30:23 the-law he just really precious to and he did a
30:26 lot of work for us matter of fact. Yes, this is going
30:28 to some kind of nice we would hire him to do a
30:31 little bit of dry wall work for us. And we'd watch
30:34 him do it, and then we'd try it and do the rest of it
30:36 ourselves. He'd let us do that though, he would
30:41 actually he would teach us how to do something
30:43 and then let us you know finish it
30:45 up do the rest of it. He very gracious in doing
30:47 that, because he knew we were a fledging Church
30:50 on a limited budget and everything but
30:52 he very, very precious really.
31:01 The only thing I could think of, Hal and Mollie
31:03 Steenson charismatic pastors both of them,
31:06 they had a fast growing Church, one of the fastest
31:08 growing biggest Churches in the area. I used to go
31:10 out and sing for them with them and help
31:13 brother Hal build when he had on to this Church or
31:16 whatever. I used to do a lot of that with them,
31:19 I said well they've got a little studio, we've sang,
31:21 I guess if I am gonna get in television I better see
31:24 what television's like you know go out and let just
31:27 time I've never thought about what does
31:28 equipment cost, how do you run it, what are you do?
31:31 But Anne came she is ready to go to work,
31:33 so she comes out and I said well what do
31:36 we're gonna do. Let's go visit Hal and Mollie.
31:38 I believe that Danny did call me and ask if he
31:40 could come by, had some lady with him that had
31:43 come up from the South, I believe Louisiana,
31:45 to pray with him about this he had a dream and a
31:48 vision I believe it really it was a night vision.
31:52 And I said sure, I was busy as in our studio at
31:54 the Church, it was a fledgling Church like two
31:56 years old and had all this television equipment
31:58 that God had provided for us and so he came out
32:02 and came in the studio and I was sitting there
32:04 and he said. Well, I want to talk with you,
32:08 you know about that in all this TV equipment to
32:11 getting all and everything and I said okay what is it.
32:13 He said, I had this dream and.
32:15 I, I tell him, pastor Hal the Lord has impressed
32:18 me to build a television station to reach the world
32:21 with an undiluted Three Angels Message as one
32:23 that would counteract the counterfeit. I don't even
32:25 know what all of it means, but I know it's God.
32:28 Well, I don't know what the three Angels message
32:29 was, I never heard it before and he didn't know
32:32 what the counteract the counterfeit, was he
32:36 talking about me was I counterfeit, I didn't even
32:38 hear that. But what I did hear was reach the world,
32:43 when I said heard him say world it went off like fire
32:48 works went of in me. He'd just asked me
32:50 question, I don't know Hal, I really don't pastor
32:53 I just, I just know I'm supposed to, we got to
32:57 do something this lady drove up from Louisiana,
33:00 let us look at your equipment. So we went,
33:01 looked at Hal, I think they had something like
33:03 a $100,000 worth of retail equipment, that's a
33:06 tremendous amount of money, it's a lot of money
33:09 now it was tremendous amount of money back there.
33:13 About three weeks or two weeks before that a guy
33:15 had come from Indiana a pastor had heard that
33:18 I was gonna selling our television equipment.
33:22 And the reason why it was because God did not
33:25 call me to start a television ministry and
33:28 we had, had I guess I can say this Paul Crouch from
33:33 TV and he had called us and we would know we
33:35 are going to buy a local television station he
33:38 would purchase it for us and we could start a
33:40 organization and be over the television station and
33:44 I told my prayer about it but he didn't think so God
33:46 didn't called me to start television station.
33:49 And that's just the truth of it and God told me no,
33:53 as matter of fact I was getting too involved with it.
33:56 He would come over to buy it and I told him no
33:58 I don't think, I'm gonna sell it to you matter of
34:01 fact God might we won't me to give it away.
34:04 So, he is the guy from Indiana smile with big
34:06 like I'm want this television equipment,
34:07 but God didn't tell me to give it to him.
34:10 And so when Danny came by and told me said
34:12 well you've got all this equipment, I don't have
34:15 anything and I said well who knows Danny and
34:19 leave what I told you but God might not have
34:21 us to give it to you. And the way he said it
34:24 was this, the Lord impressed me that there
34:26 will be a time and a place and person.
34:29 And I'm getting a terrible feeling this is a time
34:31 and the place and you might be that person.
34:34 And I thought that he just say what, it sound a like
34:36 he said am I give you all this equipment so I can't
34:40 believe it so we left there shocked, just lady and me
34:42 we were shocked. So, I went on that night,
34:46 went to bed couldn't sleep. So, is that night I think
34:49 about 11O'clock I don't decide go into bed and
34:53 whatever the phone ringing and Danny said
34:54 you're the reason why I can't sleep.
34:58 What you are talking about?
35:00 Brother Hal, yes, you know I know it's
35:03 emergency is a pastor, yes brother Danny I said
35:05 Brother Hal, because of you, today I couldn't
35:07 sleep I said what you said that I couldn't sleep
35:10 what's that? I said well when you said that the
35:12 Lord impressed you not to sell the equipment but,
35:15 he impressed you there will be a time and a place
35:16 and a person and you suppose to give this
35:18 where as, so I can't rest then I told my brother
35:20 about it I said I don't know I guess I'll just call
35:24 you every hour on the hour if I can't sleep you're
35:26 not gonna sleep after doing this to me.
35:29 And he said, he said brother relax the Lord's
35:33 impressed me over the course of the evening,
35:35 he said do you know our ministry is a local
35:38 ministry that the Lord impressed me that
35:41 we're to support you and gave you this equipment
35:44 as you're gonna reach the world. Said it so
35:46 calm and I said you're gonna give the
35:48 equipment. And he said yes I said can you do
35:49 that? He said well why can't I and I said
35:53 and my Church is same called the Church Board
35:55 and well wouldn't your Church Board let your
35:57 Pastor give away I said $100,000 worth of,
36:01 in my Church I said the particular Church I go to,
36:04 if he gave away a cassette player he better have
36:06 some answers for everybody.
36:08 I told him brother go to sleep, I have already
36:10 talked to the Board, my Board consisted of the
36:13 Mollie and my associate pastor who was the
36:15 president, vice president secretary treasurer.
36:17 And we've talked about it we're gonna give
36:19 you this equipment. You know, he felt, he
36:21 impressed of the Lord that we needed to make
36:23 this commitment of the equipment to Danny
36:25 and so it was just like this is the direction the Lord
36:28 is leading with him, who wants to against God.
36:31 As I'd go Church and just tell them and people
36:33 didn't believe me I would say look into miracles
36:36 God impressed as Charismatic really well,
36:38 do you have the equipment in the hand,
36:39 no but he says as soon as we wanted. It's not him
36:42 holding it up, it's us, why I would I take it put it in a
36:44 barn or put it in shed, soon as we get our
36:47 building up, so I finally called Mr. Brother Hal
36:50 I know I hate to do this but could you guys get
36:52 your Church Board to sign an official after they
36:55 would saying that you have donated this to our
36:58 new young ministry 3ABN, yes certainly
37:00 he said and they did. That encouraged him,
37:04 that spurred him forward and gave him an impetus
37:08 to move forward, that was another one of those
37:10 faith builders just to know that equipment was
37:13 committed to him, although he never needed
37:16 that equipment. Well, let see at the time it was,
37:18 it was and I didn't know a lot about television,
37:21 it was good equipment this was back TV
37:23 equipment when he went on the air that wouldn't
37:26 have worked to gone to satellite. But it was
37:29 a spark that got the fire going.
37:32 We ended up with equipment, the miracle
37:35 that says you know what if the Charismatic
37:37 Pastor will donate that much to us.
37:41 God is surely behind this. Hal and Mollie Steenson
37:44 Church was named Praise World Outreach, because
37:47 Hal had a dream, a dream that's Southern Illinois
37:50 was somehow the hub of the wagon wheel.
37:53 With spoke reaching the entire world for Christ,
37:56 that dream would become a reality but at that time
37:59 the question was how can you reach the world?
38:05 Yeah, I was working at the television stations,
38:09 one I'm that I made or help to construct and as
38:15 time went on I was sold into the ministry and the
38:17 ministry started to grow and I had a suspicion that
38:24 they were going to want to expand out the
38:29 operation into other cities. And if that was going to
38:32 happened they would need a way to deliver
38:35 ministry programming to those cities and satellite
38:39 would be the way that it would be done so
38:41 I was doing research into programming delivery
38:44 through the satellites and had develops reasonable
38:51 amount of knowledge that I pretty well knew how
38:54 that, how that might be accomplished.
39:02 After I talked to Pastor Hal and sister Mollie,
39:06 and they made a commitment to donate television
39:09 equipment to us. I was so excited about it,
39:11 I told my brothers about it. And then Danny's
39:13 mind is working right now, where do we start,
39:15 where to begin? And so go right down.
39:18 Find out somebody that can give us some
39:19 directions then he met to Clarence Larson as soon
39:20 as he talked him he comeback and called me
39:22 said I've met the most wonderful man and
39:24 I mean his got information, he is
39:26 somebody that can really help, I said praise God
39:29 Danny because you and I.
39:30 We don't know anything about it.
39:32 So, the next day I said why don't we go down
39:34 we'll eat, I buy it, you didn't how much I buy
39:37 you lunch in Marion, if you go with me I want
39:40 you to see this TV station, I had sang on it, local TV
39:43 station at Marion, Illinois and there was a really
39:46 nice guy there I mean just always
39:48 smile Clarence Larson. I was working on a VCR
39:51 machine and Danny showed up and
39:56 want me to tour the facility and he brought
40:00 two other brothers with him I think.
40:01 So, we started looking at it and he indicated that
40:07 he was going to want to deliver a message
40:09 to the world and how would go about that.
40:13 That question caught me off guard coming from
40:16 Danny carpenter. So, he showed us all this equipment
40:19 it was Greek, I had no idea, what any of it was for,
40:23 how it worked. I would always just look straight into the
40:25 camera when I was singing or talking didn't ever
40:29 spent little time thinking what it look like from the
40:32 other perspective. So, as I was talking to Clarence,
40:35 he said he said hey I need to, I need to talk
40:38 to you he said I fell like in. So, we went in an area
40:41 where they were building part of new offices I remember
40:44 there is an open insulation in there.
40:46 So, I explain to him that he could use satellite to do
40:51 that it would be only way that I know of that he could
40:53 do that in a timely manner I was using words
40:56 in terms and I am sure that he hadn't heard before.
40:59 I saw the smile so didn't know is that a laugh because
41:02 I had seem some of those already, is that the belly,
41:05 you know belly laugh is that what is that?
41:07 And he smiled then he said wow that's really
41:09 interesting he said I want to tell you some thing
41:11 I have been doing the study and he said about it uplink
41:15 and I said what's that he said well on uplink station
41:17 is a station that we were shoots signals to satellite
41:19 that then can be rebroadcast to different parts
41:22 to the world then he said I think there is an area
41:25 that in Southern Illinois appear that will work he said
41:29 I said really and he said yeah think there is he said
41:32 I just feel impressed to talk to you about it and again
41:36 he said I know that you are carpenter and singers
41:38 and I don't what's your background isn't any of this
41:42 but some how I think I am supposed to tell you about
41:45 this and I said man I love to meet with you where
41:47 to do you live? Whenever we were three looking
41:49 in three talking and then they left I really kind
41:53 of thought that there will be a possibility that I
41:55 wouldn't hear anymore about it because he saw
42:00 a lot of stuff that he was don't have to deal with
42:05 and not being as familiar with it I am sure that it was
42:09 threatening back little bit. I felt very uncomfortable
42:14 telling him and I've wondered why I was telling him
42:16 that I wend ahead and I was prompted to do it
42:20 and I went ahead and did that I didn't think that much
42:23 about it after I did, except I felt uncomfortable
42:26 and then when ever he started talking about well
42:31 what is an uplinks station, then I thought oh
42:34 boy I've really blown this. You missed it. Yeah.
42:37 I kept thinking well as time goes on and he look
42:40 into this further and further he just might go away
42:43 and I'd be great I shared time with Danny,
42:46 I shared time with some other people and that
42:48 would probably be what would come of it but
42:50 I did see the determination in Danny I am glad
42:55 that he choose to come in talk with me about it
42:58 because that led to my healing and it led to one
43:02 of the best projects that I had not pretended to do.
43:07 God prepaid Clarence Larson for the right moment
43:11 a Baptist engineer working for Christian television
43:14 station confirming what seemed to be impossible
43:17 to reach the world, Danny Shelton needed land near
43:21 the small town of Thompsonville, Illinois.
43:23 By faith he began looking for land but God had a bigger
43:27 plan using an elderly woman who attended a local
43:32 Christian Church in the area.
43:36 I wanted to do something for the Lord as I would
43:41 hear on TV and hear on radio religious programs
43:49 and I would long to do something myself for the Lord
43:52 then I've seem to have any talents.
44:02 Fonda Summers, 77 years old hardly knew her my
44:05 mother met her once came to a prayer meeting,
44:07 'cause a literature evangelist had gone to her door,
44:09 the week before and 12 people I said at West
44:13 Frankfort Church. Lord's impressed to me build
44:15 a television station to reach the world they all knew me.
44:18 So, they knew there is no way that could happen.
44:20 I heard you make your announcement what you was
44:23 wanting to do I wanted to do it so bad and the Lord
44:29 when I got home that I couldn't get the idea out
44:32 of my mind and the Lord kept saying,
44:34 I have talked to the Lord and I've said I want to do
44:39 it but here I haven't got anything and the Lord said
44:42 what is this in your hands? It come to me well I said
44:46 that they only made it 2 acres of land and it wasn't
44:52 this land didn't have any crop on it and
44:55 the sprouts are starting to grow back.
44:58 this little lady went home called my mother on Friday
45:01 night and said you know I was listening to what your
45:04 boy said Kenny and me with there my brother,
45:07 that they needed property to build the TV,
45:10 I said we are looking for property she said I got
45:13 some property and I would like to give you all of it
45:16 out from me, she said I got 2 acres in the back I
45:18 could probably give you and so she said just tell the
45:21 boys if they need this 2 acres I will give it to them.
45:24 So, my mother called me she said would you believe
45:26 it this lady we don't even know Fonda Summers
45:29 is willing to give 2 acres and so me now knowing
45:32 everything about television already because
45:34 I am in the business I said well mom it doesn't work
45:36 that way I talk to Clarence Larson an engineer
45:39 he says there is only certain spots that you can put
45:42 in I said I found out the word uplink to know
45:45 what that was shooting up to satellite and I said
45:48 Clarence says there is only certain places that you
45:50 can put uplink there are so many interferences
45:53 I won't get into the technical part because
45:55 I don't know all about it and I know you won't
45:57 understand it but it's not likely that it would
45:59 work but you know if it work sure we'll be happy.
46:02 So, I asked where did she live, if we go to Benton,
46:06 Illinois and go out about 7 miles and then go back
46:09 about a mile to the north that about were the area is.
46:12 So, I called Clarence Larson and I said Clarence,
46:15 a lady's donated some property and she says she
46:19 is impressed to give this property to us and he said
46:22 well it won't really work there is only he said
46:25 I have been studying you know the area looking up
46:28 microwave, microwaves signals and he said you
46:30 would have to have a place from the best I can
46:32 tell out by Thompsonville. Well, Thompsonville is 6,
46:35 7 miles you know east of Benton and out so I
46:40 said what he goes well yeah out you know out by
46:43 Thompsonville I just said the lady lives out of
46:45 Thompsonville, you're kidding he said.
46:46 I heard about that from Danny that Ms. Summers
46:50 gave the land and I had already heard the significance
46:54 as to why Danny was looking at that land
46:57 and Danny had made the connection I had.
47:01 So, he said well listen I know a company in Western
47:04 Virginia that will comsearch and for $6000 they
47:09 can do a study, I said $6000, Clarence I don't have
47:12 $600 I don't have $6 for that well but you got to know
47:15 for sure you can't just build a TV station.
47:18 So by faith we called comsearch, I don't have time
47:22 to go through all the miracles but God provided
47:24 that $6000 which is a huge amount of money the
47:27 little 2 acres that Fonda Summers donated,
47:30 dedicated to us, gave to us she said I saw I had
47:34 a dream and in this dream years ago we were gonna
47:37 sell the property she said and in this dream
47:40 I saw the most beautiful fatted cattle coming from
47:43 all directions it had a fences around it,
47:45 the south end my husband had opened the gate
47:47 and all this beautiful fatted cattle began to fill in
47:50 this little 2 acres and she said I knew then that God
47:54 some how would want this property be used for his
47:58 honor and glory and she said now I look this the potential
48:02 of the city station bringing in souls that from the
48:05 word of God, she says that from, from, from God's word
48:08 and because it could be preached from this little
48:11 spot. So, I believe the Lord wants to me to
48:13 donate it comsearch came did the testing.
48:16 They were not really pleased that we picked the site
48:20 they said that's what they do, they would do a
48:23 complete search and tell you where you could put
48:25 this satellite. Danny came to him and said I know the
48:29 certain the location I want you to do the test
48:33 to see that is okay forward to be there.
48:36 Danny didn't go away he come back and he had
48:38 question about this and question about that and
48:42 pretty quick he was, he was pretty well had
48:45 a good idea that, that it was possible to do it.
48:51 There were tremendous amount of potential
48:54 interferences, not one interferences in this little
48:58 2 acres we had scientific land to come from
49:00 Atlanta Georgia they came out and did test with
49:03 moon and everything else at night and it was so
49:06 particular that we can only put the dish even
49:09 on one corner of the 2 acres to not have
49:12 any interferences as you can do up it,
49:14 but build shields and getting into a lot of expense,
49:16 but we didn't need anything and they were around
49:19 22 satellites I think in space at the time,
49:22 he says you can shoot at any of these satellites
49:24 you want to, I mean incredible,
49:26 miracle after miracle. I got selfish and I felt like
49:30 I should have offered a piece right out on the road
49:33 because the building should sit out publicly but
49:38 I thought well my children might not want me to do
49:42 it there and because if they wanted it,
49:45 or when I was gone, they would want to use that
49:49 part of the land. So I said you'd have to have
49:52 it back in the back and as it turned out you did
49:56 bought the land and that was the only spot any
50:02 place that you could have used but I gave it to
50:06 the Lord for his work. Alright.
50:08 No matter what name they worked under
50:11 I gave it to God. Amen. And of course it had to be done
50:18 in earthen vessels somebody who he used
50:23 as his stewards and I knew he would bless us,
50:27 and I couldn't see any difference in your faith you
50:32 believed in God's word and I did and it is for God and for
50:38 his work and still yet I don't know what will come
50:44 I still ask the Lord that he will work and watch and
50:48 what he one said will be said and those he wants
50:52 to reach will be reached. Well, I think lot of
50:55 times it's a city on the hill to me as I look up
50:59 here it's a little hill and at night my bedroom window
51:03 and I look there and I say Lord there is the city
51:06 on the hill. God supplies, he supplied
51:17 when it was needed, never was it in the bank never
51:20 was it there to say okay we can do this because
51:23 we have it every step whether we say small or
51:27 whatever it might be was we had to do in faith.
51:30 First and then God supplied the finances for it.
51:42 Once we have the property from Fonda Summers,
51:45 once comsearch says yes you can build an uplink
51:48 station we need a drive way, we don't,
51:51 we really don't have money for drive way.
51:54 This property was donated there is some little hills
51:56 some sort of couple of acres there were but
51:58 to get the road back there and to try to get the
52:00 property leveled off and him and I was like you
52:02 knows it's too much for a shovel, but God did
52:05 say do it you know we're gonna have to level
52:06 it off to build a building and we just hadn't been
52:09 working for a man which is rare nowadays he
52:12 had a what we call it bulldozer,
52:14 a little cat one that moves in six ways,
52:16 the blade moves and all and I was doing some,
52:18 we are doing some work for him and I just mentioned
52:21 it, I said you know we got some property I need to,
52:23 he said just why don't you take, take this little
52:26 bulldozer of mine and just keep track of the hours
52:30 and just pay whatever you think it's worth and so I said
52:35 brother is wonderful and so he even loaded it up
52:38 brought it to Thompsonville, put it on the property
52:41 where the first building's at and the dish unloaded it,
52:44 but he decided he wasn't gonna run it,
52:46 I'd have to run it and so I was so excited about
52:49 how wonderful it is, but he look at me and he said
52:50 you have to buy the fuel. And Danny and I looked
52:54 back to each other, that's a little tough
52:56 right now too. And we didn't have money
52:58 for diesel we were buying 5 gallons can at a time
53:02 and people would come out from our little church
53:04 and definitely say we heard you're doing this building
53:07 well that's great well here let me give you $20
53:09 and you know let me give you $5 and they didn't
53:12 ask for receipts, they said hey we see what you're
53:15 doing, here it is I mean we were just starting
53:17 to put this whole network together and getting
53:20 a board and getting you know our bylaws
53:22 and trying to make it all legal and get a corporation
53:24 going so this was all you know wow people are
53:27 just willing to help so literally $5 here,
53:30 $10 here, $20 there. So, by faith we said
53:33 I'll tell you what we do, we buy 5 gallons of the fuel
53:36 and so we bought 5 gallons of fuel and I have
53:39 put in the back the truck and I went out there
53:40 and you know if you carry a load on side it's a little
53:43 unbalancing he'd tell you the same thing and after
53:46 a few days of that we just poured 5 gallons in about
53:49 time it ran we stopped and prayed that we get
53:52 another enough to another 5 gallon finally
53:54 said let's by a faith let's buy two 5 gallons cans
53:57 'cause if I carry them Dan, you can carry how
53:59 you want, but if carry them I fell better carry
54:01 one each hand I balance it better. So, by faith we
54:04 start out 5 gallons and then went to 10 gallons
54:07 and then we can fill the thing up.
54:08 I called raw Sprague rock company,
54:11 and little out here in Thompsonville they sell rock
54:15 and they, it's 1400 feet off the main road I think
54:19 it was and so they say well it cost about $6000,
54:22 but God had provided at that point commitments
54:25 from people, provided property and I just knew that
54:29 it was of God. So, I said we got to step out in faith,
54:31 so I told that company can you bring it like a week
54:35 from whatever it was, it was Tuesday,
54:38 can you bring it about a week. Yeah that's one,
54:40 you know we had to space it to their schedule yeah
54:43 we can do it about a week. So I told my brother,
54:45 now I just ordered $6000 wroth of rock we don't have
54:48 any money, we go home and we pray for it
54:50 and two three days go by we go to the mail box because
54:53 I am already going to churches telling people what
54:55 we're doing, this is like Monday before they're coming
54:58 Tuesday maybe it's Sunday or Monday,
55:00 go to post office West Frankfort, open up PO box,
55:02 we open it up there is only two letters it doesn't
55:05 look good, we're getting a little nervous.
55:07 We got $6000 of rock, open the first letter
55:10 a lady says I read about your story,
55:12 someone wrote a story and put in one of our Church
55:15 papers up in Michigan, just out of Chicago in the
55:21 edge of Michigan. I was so impressed with the story
55:24 the Lord impressed me send you $2000,
55:26 we have never had a $2000 donation I mean that
55:29 was just huge. So I opened up the second letter
55:32 it was from Dale and Ruth Hall, I believe from I
55:38 had been out in San Diego, California.
55:41 And they said they had a little note and I had spoke
55:43 at the Church, I didn't know the folk but this letter
55:47 came and said to Lord impressed us of the urgency
55:49 in which you need these $4000, so two letters
55:53 $6000 huge for us, absolutely huge we get the
55:57 rock in. Now we need to dig a footing we know
56:00 that our shell of building gonna cost you know
56:02 25000 if we put roof on it do everything we need
56:06 we are gonna be looking at $50,000 just,
56:08 we were done it like person says why did you know,
56:13 you didn't have it all out, you didn't have your
56:14 prospective sort to speak all that and I said
56:17 we did it like you somebody said how to eat an elephant,
56:21 one bite at a time. Danny and I we never failed
56:23 to get down on our knees, I can't tell you how
56:25 many times, dozens I could say hundreds,
56:29 I don't think it's an exaggeration at all,
56:30 for every aspect of that work we would get down
56:34 on our knees and say God this is your project,
56:36 we have nothing, we have nothing which to offer
56:38 except for ourselves, we promise to show up
56:40 and work for you and as we do this you promised
56:43 to supply all of our needs and we're gonna claim
56:45 that promise. And God was always faithful,
56:48 every time he was faithful, after we were ready,
56:51 after there is nothing else we could do,
56:54 he would supply and take care of that need
56:56 and then we'd go on to the next step that happened
56:58 through the whole project but God was may be
57:02 testing the faith, increasing the faith,
57:04 because there were larger thing ahead,
57:07 no longer was it 5 gallons of fuel but it become
57:11 you know 20,000 become 50,000, a 100,000,
57:15 300,000 you know these kind of things.
57:18 And so God was leading his children.
57:22 That's what we are, we are his children,
57:23 a step at a time to enable us to be ready for that so.
57:27 He is an awesome God by the way.
57:29 You're watching mending broken people,
57:33 the 3ABN miracle story. Stay with us for an hour 2
57:37 of this 3 hour documentary coming up on 3ABN.


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Revised 2014-12-17