Participants:
Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC201920S
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00:00 ♪♪ >> Krissy was a really good woman.
00:05 But I became aware that she was having an affair. That devastated me. 00:09 >> It kind of hit him hard, and he was looking for answers. Finally, he said, you know, 00:13 "Do you have a Bible?" >> I started looking back at our marriage, and I started looking 00:18 back at how I treated her. And I asked her for her forgiveness. 00:21 And the feeling of peace and joy came upon me that was so powerful. 00:26 >> I get a call from Vasil. He was frantic. He goes, "I can't get in touch 00:31 with -- with anyone at the house. I go, "Listen," I go, "I think 00:34 it's best you call 911. >> I showed up at the house, and they were putting tape around 00:40 the house, police were. >> We couldn't process what was happening, 00:44 and we were just in shock. >> There will never be another day like that. 00:49 I lost half -- more than half my family that day. >> I saw his pain, but I also 00:56 saw a glitter of light. And I knew that, "Okay, the Lord is here. 01:04 He's here with him." ♪♪ ♪♪ 01:22 >> It, uh, goes in your mouth like this. >> You just open this. 01:26 >> Oh! ♪♪ ♪♪ 01:42 [ Cheers and applause ] [ Indistinct shouting ] 01:47 ♪♪ ♪♪ 02:00 >> Met Vas two-thousand and -- I'm gonna say 2002, 2003. Great guy. 02:06 We were on a fairly large project. Vas would tell us how beautiful 02:10 his wife was. Amongst guys, we would -- we would have this kind of teasing 02:14 each other and jogging each other a bit. Anyways, so, Vas tells us his 02:19 wife is beautiful and she's a sweetheart and whatever. And we said, "Okay," you know, 02:23 "yeah, right, right, right." Anyways, Gino comes to me -- "Rob, come here. 02:26 You got to come see this." I go, "Oh, what is it?" He goes, "Vas' wife's here. 02:29 She's downstairs." He goes, "You got to see her." I said, "What, really?" 02:32 He goes, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Come." So, come down the stairs of this 02:36 project. As I'm walking down, I see this tall, dark-haired woman walking 02:41 around." And she goes, "Hi. I'm Krissy." And she has this accent. 02:45 And I shake her hand and Gino looks at me and he's got an ear-to-ear grin. 02:48 And Vas wasn't kidding. She was a very beautiful girl. [ Chuckles ] 02:52 And we're sitting there going, "How did you get her?" right out loud. 02:56 So, it was a fun time. And he's smiling ear to ear. Our kids were approximately the 03:02 same age, a year or so apart. And they hit it off, and my wife, Nadia, and his wife, 03:09 Krissy, hit it off. And we'd get together. And the kids were young. 03:14 They were very young still. So, at that stage, you know, their interaction was very 03:20 limited. We didn't live close to each other, but when we did get 03:23 together, they hung out and they got along fairly well, especially the girls. 03:26 Roy's hockey. He was in it all the time. So, I would call him and go, 03:30 "So, what are you up to?" He goes, "Oh, I'm --" He was either traveling 03:33 somewhere every weekend, all the time. It was like Thursday, Friday, 03:35 Saturday, Sunday, Monday he was involved with hockey, very dedicated. 03:40 And I used to say to him, "I don't know how you do it. I don't know how you do it." 03:42 Roy obviously was very good at it. And if he's good at it, 03:46 he had to like it. So -- And his dad supported him in every way. 03:50 >> Do you remember when the tragedy happened? >> Yeah, I do. 03:55 Yeah, I do. Um... Um... 04:04 [ Breathes deeply ] Sorry. 04:14 >> You show up at this event, and you can't get in. You can't get into the house. 04:19 It's cordoned off. And then, you know, you hear your son has passed away inside. 04:26 And then the first time that you get a chance to actually see them? 04:30 >> Hmm. So, that was the first time I felt the power of the Lord. 04:34 That was the first true prayer He answered for me. And the reason I say that is... 04:40 I was able to say goodbye to Vana, my youngest daughter, at the hospital when we were 04:45 all there. But I didn't see Roy that day. And 10 days passed from the day 04:50 of the tragedy to the day of the viewing. And I remember the day before 04:54 the viewing waking up and realizing that, "Tomorrow I'm gonna have to see my boy in a 04:58 casket." >> Mm. >> [ Exhales sharply ] It was -- 05:01 I was terrified. There's no other word to describe what I was feeling. 05:05 I literally was shaking in fear. I remember that whole day just shaking and praying, and the 05:10 only words that were coming out of my mouth -- "Jesus, give me strength. 05:14 Jesus, comfort my heart. Jesus, give me the courage to go," 'cause I did not want to go 05:18 to the viewing. I did not. I was convinced I was not gonna 05:22 show up the next day. And that whole day, I prayed those prayers. 05:25 That next day, I woke up, and I felt better. I knew I had to go through with 05:31 it. I was the father. It was just -- It was a fear 05:35 that I'd never experienced before. I remember getting to the -- 05:38 the funeral home. And Victoria and myself -- we had some alone time with all 05:42 three of them, which was very, very difficult. There was approximately 4,000 05:47 people that showed up to the -- the funeral home. The lineup to get to -- to get 05:53 to me, I heard, was two to three hours people waited in line. I stood up at the front of the 05:59 line, and I greeted everybody that came through that door. And that's where the miracle of 06:04 the prayers worked for me. That was the first time I felt His powers -- because that day 06:09 there was times where I felt like I was gonna fall down. And I just felt the Lord pick 06:13 me up. And I stood there for eight hours, and I greeted 4,000 06:17 people. And I remember that I was consoling everybody that was 06:21 coming through the door, and I'm telling them, "It's gonna be okay. 06:24 Just be strong." It was amazing, the power and the strength I felt on that day. 06:30 I really, truly felt the Lord that day, and that's the first time He answered my prayers. 06:33 And I knew He was real. It was amazing. It was amazing that day, 06:37 what He did for me. >> Well, the good thing is, it brought a lot of us back 06:47 together, the core group, because we all have our lives and we all have our different 06:52 children at different ages. And, I mean, we all live in the same area, but this brought us 06:57 all back together. And it was a village that held hands with Vas and Victoria in 07:03 the middle, and we all were a circle around them. And we all helped each other to 07:09 get through what we had to go through. So, the funeral planning -- 07:15 People are extremely generous and supportive. And my heart was filled with 07:22 love. There was no hate. It was just a community of 07:28 beautiful people helping in this time of tragedy, and I was overwhelmed with the love that 07:35 we felt. >> We were blessed again with a multitude of people, family 07:42 and friends, that -- My house was filled for months on end, two to three months. 07:47 >> Yeah. >> Wow. >> There was always a minimum of 07:50 5 to 10 people here, up to 30 to 40 people here that were here daily... 07:54 >> Yes. >> ...supporting us with everything from food and comfort 07:59 and love and things that needed to get done that I just didn't have the strength to take care 08:05 of. I couldn't do it on my own. And that was a very powerful 08:09 moment in my life that I felt my prayers were answered. >> After all the things came up 08:16 of what took place, everybody was coming to the house. And I didn't know if I should 08:22 come to the house. I said to my wife -- I said, "I don't want to interrupt." 08:26 She said, "No. Go. You got to go." So, we got here, and we saw Vas. 08:31 And...Vas was in a state of just -- like a zombie. He said the house was full, 08:41 rammed. And that's kind of why I was kind of unsure of whether I 08:45 should be there or not, because I figured there'd be so many people and didn't know, really, 08:49 what to do. So I came back on the weekend. They were all sitting here on a 08:54 table. I told Vas this. They pulled out the Bible. 09:01 And they opened it up and started reading. It just moved me. 09:07 And it -- And it -- And I said to him later on -- I don't know if he even recalls. 09:12 I said, "To me, that was a miracle." There was something I can't even 09:18 probably describe or know the words to describe. I felt a presence that I 09:25 couldn't explain and the love in the room. And until you actually 09:30 experience that... I don't think anybody would be able to comprehend it. 09:38 And that was the moment that changed -- that was a pinnacle moment that changed me right 09:44 there. >> So, where did anger come in? >> I can't really say that there 09:50 was that much anger in my heart. >> Mm-hmm. >> I was broken. 09:55 >> Mm-hmm. >> I was broken. I didn't think about anything 09:59 about him during that time. I was mourning. I was sad. I was really sad. 10:05 I was sad and broken, really. Those are the best way I could explain my feelings in those 10:10 first couple weeks. But I do remember a very good friend of mine, John -- he came 10:16 and visited me a few weeks after -- probably a couple weeks after the funeral. 10:21 And he would come visit me a couple times a week, and we would sit outside and just have 10:25 a good chat. And, you know, it just dawned upon me -- 'cause he was asking 10:30 me questions about him. And it dawned up on me that He didn't really come 10:39 into my mind. I just realized at that point that I had forgiven him already. 10:46 >> Well, this is one of the biggest changes I've noticed about Vas. 10:50 He wasn't a forgiving guy when I knew him. And when he told me, "Rob, I've 10:56 forgiven him and I've prayed for him" -- And I just was quiet. And there was a kind of envy, 11:07 you know, like, "That's incredible." And then he explained, "You have 11:12 to forgive. You do it for yourself, but you also -- Because this is what's 11:17 being asked of us." And as it says -- you know, they say -- as Jesus said, it's easy 11:23 to forgive your loved ones, but those who basically persecute you or wish you ill will -- 11:31 those are the ones you pray for, or who hurt you -- those are the ones you pray for. 11:36 It's almost like that separates the men from the boys. That's the challenge. 11:41 If you can get to that point, I guess you start receiving the Holy Spirit because that's what 11:45 you have to do to receive the Holy Spirit, you know? You have to forgive. 11:49 You have to repent. You have to have faith. And you won't receive the 11:53 Holy Spirit, from what I understand, unless you do these things. 11:58 And he's done it. And I said to him not too long ago -- I said, "I'm envious of 12:03 you," I said, "because where you are, I want to be." And he just says, "Robbie, 12:09 you'll get there. You're on the right path." >> The way I look at it is that 12:16 I think he forgave in order for himself to be able to go forward, to move on, and able to 12:27 have a relationship with his daughter, Victoria. From a young age, he has, like, 12:33 an addictive personality, where he can get into some bad stuff, like he did in his past. 12:41 And I was worried about that. And I was worried that he -- you know, like, "Is this gonna 12:45 trigger something where he might get into drugs or alcohol?" And thank God. 12:51 Like, the one thing that I did notice -- and that's why I said I noticed that light -- is that 12:57 he really clung to Scripture and -- >> From the beginning. 13:01 >> Right from the beginning. >> Yeah. >> And I don't think God was 13:05 ready to let him go. >> Not that there weren't temptations. 13:09 >> Absolutely. Oh, you saw -- >> Oh, yeah. 13:12 >> You saw the evil around you. You saw the temptations with certain people that would come 13:18 by that would try to... >> Lure him back to the other side. 13:22 >> ...lure him back into that side and disrupt things. >> Yeah. 13:26 >> I did talk to him, and I go, "Listen." I go, "Just remember," I go... 13:29 >> "The devil's not done with you yet." >> ..."The devil's not done 13:31 with you, you know, with us, yet." And I go, "So you got to stay 13:37 strong in your faith right now." >> I mean, this is the lesson of forgiveness. 13:42 It doesn't matter the person that you are forgiving. It doesn't matter where they are 13:46 in the world. They don't know if you are living in joy and happiness or 13:52 living in sorrow and sin and maybe turning to drugs and turning to alcohol. 13:57 They don't know the difference. So by you forgiving them doesn't help them. 14:03 What it does is it heals you when you can truly forgive somebody because that peace 14:07 comes to you. That healing comes to you, and that's -- that's the mag-- 14:10 that's the power of forgiveness. It's self-healing. And I realized that, and like I 14:15 made that promise to myself years before that, "No matter what happens to me in my life, I 14:19 will always forgive people, no matter how big or how small." >> So, that guy's sitting there 14:24 in jail, and he doesn't -- he doesn't know whether you're -- you're eaten up with 14:30 grief... >> Mm-hmm. >> ...or anger towards him. 14:33 >> Mm-hmm. >> ...or you've forgiven him. >> Mm-hmm. 14:36 >> But you know. >> I do know. >> Yeah. 14:38 >> Because I'm sitting here today and the Lord's given me strength and I have that peace 14:42 and that joy in my heart still, no matter what, because I know the Lord has my children. 14:46 I know the Lord has Krissy. So, what do you do? Do you move backwards? 14:49 Do you stay stuck in life? Or do you have to move forward in a positive way and still be a 14:54 positive role model for my beautiful daughter? And that's sort of the avenue I 14:59 took, and that could only happen with the Lord. >> So, some people think that 15:04 when you say you forgive someone, you're just saying, "Oh, that doesn't matter, 15:08 you know?" Well, it does matter, you know? It matters what that person did. 15:12 They hurt you. >> Mm-hmm. >> But despite the fact that 15:16 they hurt you, that they caused harm to you personally and to your daughter and to the many, 15:22 many people who loved your family, despite that, you're saying, "I'm gonna let it go. 15:28 I'm gonna let go of that resentment. I'm gonna let go of that anger. 15:32 And I'm gonna move forward." >> There's no ball and chain. And if you think of forgiving 15:38 somebody, no matter how small, how big, it's like you lag something around with you and 15:43 it's constantly there and it's always eating away from you." And every time that person that 15:48 you can't forgive's name gets mentioned or a thought comes into your mind, it's that dread. 15:53 It's that feeling. It's that just -- The best way I can call it is 15:57 just a weight and chain in you that you can't... >> Yeah. 16:00 >> ...move away from. And the second you forgive... >> Yeah. 16:03 >> ...it's just a peace that comes upon you. >> Yeah. 16:06 >> And it's a healing. And the one blessing -- like I said, in the end, he's given me 16:10 Victoria. And I got to stand up strong and show her through the Lord's 16:14 strength and no matter what life throws at you, you can get through it. 16:20 >> [ Sighs ] >> It's -- It's hard with Victoria because, you know, 16:27 I think the mothering part, you know, is what you're seeing now from Gina because it's -- 16:34 it's difficult knowing what she's lost. >> I promised Krissy -- Before I 16:40 said my final goodbye, I promised her that I would always be in Victoria's life. 16:47 And I promised her that I would take care of her daughter. [ Voice breaking ] And I 16:53 promised Roy that his sister was gonna be okay, and I promised Vana. 16:58 Vic is a very tough, young, intelligent, beautiful soul. But, again, she's a teenager. 17:07 And raising three teenagers, I know they have a very hard time expressing. 17:12 And I understand, and I'm patient. And -- And I'll -- I tell her 17:17 every day, "I got your back. You might push me aside. It's okay. I'll be in the back. 17:22 If you fall, I'll catch you." I always tell her that, just to know that she's not alone. 17:29 When she's ready, she'll -- she'll talk. >> How did God lead you to a 17:37 church family? >> So, in my journey, I went through many, many online 17:43 pastors, and at this point now I'm also reading the Word on my own. 17:46 And there was one evangelist on YouTube. His name is Mark Fox. 17:51 His channel's called Amazing Prophecies. The one thing that caught my eye 17:55 about him is where he always mentioned every time he spoke on his videos is that, "If it's in 18:00 the Bible, we'll teach it." That caught my eye, and that was really important. 18:04 "I like the church that this guy goes to," I was thinking in my head, "because they teach from 18:07 the Bible." And that's what I was worried about -- aligning myself with a 18:11 church that didn't teach the full Word, the full gospels, everything. 18:15 The other thing, where at the end of his videos he says, "If you need us to pray for you, 18:19 text me on my private cell and type the word 'pray.' If you need to find a church in 18:22 your area, do the same. Text me the word 'church.'" And I did that. 18:26 He reached out to me graciously and he spoke to me and I shared my testimony with him. 18:30 I shared, you know, what I was going through, and he helped guide me to a Seventh-Day 18:34 Adventist church in my area. And I didn't even know what, you know, a Seventh-Day 18:38 Adventist was at the time. I really didn't. And the one that's in my town 18:42 here of Pickering is called Agape Temple. It brought me there. 18:46 It brought me there, and I remember walking through the door one day. 18:49 I just checked online when the service started. And the Sabbath was very 18:53 important to me, as well. I thought that, you know, worshipping on the Sabbath -- 18:57 that was God's dates in the Ten Commandments, and it was important to me. 19:00 And I remember walking into the church, and, you know, they accepted me. 19:04 They saw just a stranger walk into the church, but they accepted me. 19:09 And I remember after the service -- this is -- this is -- you know, this is how God works 19:13 sometimes -- the first person that came and started talking to me was a fellow sister named 19:21 Pam. 19:24 >> On the 14th of March, 2018, I was called in to go to work, 19:28 Ajax-Pickering, in emerge. 19:32 I wasn't sure if I wanted to go to work because emerge can be very chaotic at times. 19:37 So at first I remove. I said I didn't want to go. And then my boss asked me if I 19:44 could come because, of course, emerge can be chaotic. The day was going very well. 19:50 It was a very slow day, until around 1:00. I said to my supervisor, "I 19:56 can't believe the day's so quiet." And she said, "Elaine, don't say 20:00 that 'cause you know the minute you say 'quiet,' it's gonna get -- it's gonna be a chaos." 20:06 At 1:15, we heard, "Code blue to emerge." We didn't know exactly what we 20:12 were dealing with. So, the patient comes in with the EMS team. 20:19 And they rush straight in. And shortly after, the cops came, and we found out that it 20:25 was a young girl who got stabbed. And she bled so much. 20:29 And Mom and the brother also got stabbed and passed away. Doctors came in, and everybody 20:37 was just chaotic. And she was almost like lifeless. 20:41 Some of the doctors -- they were not able to deal with this kind of a trauma, so we called 20:45 Sunnybrook, and the doctor came on the phone. While some of us went to the lab 20:50 to get blood, myself, I went to O.R. to get the instruments because it was so -- just an 20:55 emergency. We couldn't -- We didn't have time to take her to O.R. 20:58 The surgery was done right there in emerge. So, the doctor came, and he 21:03 said, "I can't do this." I said to him, "Look, yes, you can. 21:07 I'm gonna pray while you work." The doctor was on the phone from Sunnybrook, and he was telling 21:13 him to cauterize some the arteries to stop the bleeding. So, finally she was stabilized. 21:21 The ambulance came, and she was sent off to Sunnybrook. Vas was there, but I couldn't 21:26 remember his face 'cause we were running back and forth for a very long time. 21:32 When we finished there, I came to church that -- it was a Wednesday. 21:35 I came to church that afternoon. And then I testified of the incident that happened. 21:41 And we really prayed. We prayed for the family and friends. 21:47 And the next morning, I went to work, and one of my co-workers said, "Elaine, I have bad news 21:55 for you. And they said, "The kid died." I'm like, "What?! 22:00 We worked so hard on her!" I said, "God, how could you?" And so that was the situation. 22:08 It always pops in my mind from time to time. And then sometimes later in the 22:13 summer, it was my day to do Sabbath school. I came to church very early that 22:18 Sabbath morning, just around 8:30. And I saw a gentleman sitting 22:24 right over there. And I said, "Wow, somebody beat me." 22:29 My Sabbath school theme that morning was Paul's trip to Macedonia. 22:34 I noticed he was listening very keenly. And when Sabbath school 22:38 finishes, he said to me, "I was so blessed by your Sabbath school." 22:42 I'm like, "Truly?" He said, Yes." He said, "I am from Macedonia." 22:47 I'm like, "What?" He said, "Yes." So, I said, "Okay, we can talk 22:52 right after church." So, when church finishes, I went to him, and I said, "Did you 22:57 enjoy the service?" And he said, "Yes, I do." He said, "I know you." 23:05 I said, "Yeah? Me?" He said, "Yes." I said, "From where?" 23:09 He said, "Uh, from Pickering, Ajax-Pickering." I said, "Ajax-Pickering is a 23:15 big place. He said, "No. From the hospital." 23:20 He said, "Do you remember the 14th of March? The mother and the two children 23:25 that got stabbed. You tried to save my daughter's life." 23:30 I said, "The Pejcinovski?" He said, "Yes." And we just fell on each other's 23:35 shoulder and we embraced and we cried. I said, "How did you come here?" 23:40 And he said, "You know, I've been going through such a rough time, and I started to read my 23:47 Bible. And this led me to the Sabbath. And I went on the Internet, and 23:52 I realized this is the only church in this community." I said, "Vas, stay right here." 23:57 Pastor was standing over there talking to another gentlemen. I said, "Pastor Levy, you need 24:02 to come now." He said, "Hold on. Let me --" I said, "No, Pastor. Now. 24:05 I mean now." [ Laughs ] And Pastor came, and I introduced him to Vas. 24:10 And Pastor called his wife and we embraced and we talked. And I left Pastor there talking 24:16 to him. I took his phone number. And since then, we started 24:20 communicating, and the rest is history. Pastor and him became such good 24:25 friends, and I've been keeping in touch until he became a part of us. 24:33 Yes. >> Wow. >> Like Pam said, I was blown 24:36 away because I had heard the news. And we were praying for the 24:41 family. And to have the same individual who suffers such a tremendous 24:46 tragedy just stroll into our church -- that had to be divine. He, from the onset, told me 24:54 that, you know, "What do I need to do?" Like the Ethiopian eunuch, "What 24:58 do I need to do to be baptized?" >> Yes, yes. >> That's how he led our first 25:03 conversation. The conversation shifted to the tragedy itself. 25:09 We actually for a brief moment spoke about the perpetrator. And he looked me dead in my eyes 25:17 and said, "You know what? I've forgiven him." >> Mm. 25:21 >> I was so shocked. You know, we have seasoned believers who still struggle 25:27 with forgiveness. >> Mm-hmm. >> And to have this young man 25:32 who has lost so much just come to this place where he's willing to -- to let it go in the sense 25:41 that all the pain and the anger and the resentment and the hate associated with the act, to kind 25:48 of release that to God... >> Mm-hmm. >> ...and to see the peace 25:52 that's come over him -- it's made Vas a living testimony, a living witness 26:00 of just how powerful Christ is. >> We always talk about purpose, he and I. 26:06 But I don't think Vas is 100% clear on how much what's gone on through such a tragedy has 26:16 affected so many people and how it's affected even me in such a positive way manner. 26:24 A year ago this time, I was lost, and now I know exactly the direction I'm going in. 26:30 And I credit that all to Vas and Jesus for talking to him, for influencing me. 26:37 I credit it all to God for hearing my prayer. >> I'm just hopeful for their 26:44 future, and, you know, I pray for them, and I'm glad that he is strong spiritually right now. 26:52 And we're hopeful, you know? We're -- We're blessed, I think. And we have hope. 27:00 >> There was a time where I was -- I'm a very shy guy. And in the past, it seems like 27:05 when I'm talking about the Lord, that shyness sort of turns off and I'm ready to shout it at the 27:11 top of my lungs. But a lot of... >> Yeah, yeah. 27:15 >> ...amazing things have happened on my journey so far, and it's still so early in 27:19 journey that, you know, it's -- >> Yeah, yeah. >> How much more I could learn 27:23 and experience through our Lord, right? >> Thank you so much for sharing 27:26 with us. >> Thank you. >> And we're gonna close off 27:29 now, but I just -- I just thank you for opening up your home and opening up your heart and 27:33 sharing your message. And I trust that you, our viewers, will also be blessed. 27:38 Let's pray together. Father in Heaven, we read in Your Word that with God all 27:45 things are possible. >> Mm. >> And with man, this kind of 27:50 forgiveness is absolutely impossible. And You have brought healing to 27:55 Vas and to his family and his friends, and through him, You have been a channel of blessing. 28:01 And so I thank you, Lord, for hearing and for answering our prayers. 28:05 In Jesus' name, amen. >> Amen. >> Amen. 28:08 >> So, friends, I hope that you have been tremendously blessed, as I'm sure you have been, by 28:14 listening to Vas' story. And remember that Jesus said that, "It is written: 'Man shall 28:19 not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'" 28:27 >> So, this is one, um, that the boys had to win about a couple 28:33 weeks after Roy's passing. They said that they were gonna 28:37 go out and win the provincials for Roy, and they actually did 28:39 in overtime in the championship game. 28:41 And this was the medal that would have been Roy's. 28:44 And so this one always stands out a little bit. 28:48 They were all very, uh, great memories that we had. 28:53 [ Sniffles ] |
Revised 2020-02-12