Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY190009A
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00:02 I want to spend my life
00:08 Mending broken people 00:13 I want to spend my life 00:19 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:35 I want to spend my life 00:41 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:52 Mending broken people 01:12 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Today. 01:14 We are so glad that you are joining us. 01:17 And I am just so fascinated 01:18 by the four wonderful Christians 01:20 who are here with us today, 01:22 who are reaching out in such a special way 01:26 and doing special things for the glory of God. 01:30 Let me introduce you to our special guests. 01:34 We have with us, Joe Allison. 01:38 And, Joe, you are the superintendent of education 01:41 for the Iowa-Missouri Conference 01:44 of Seventh-day Adventist Church. 01:46 That's correct. Right? 01:47 Yes, that's correct. 01:48 That's a mouthful. Yes, it is. 01:50 Thank you for being here. Thank you. 01:51 And we have Julie Olson. 01:53 And, Julie, you are a principal and also a teacher 01:58 for the Andrews Christian Academy. 02:01 Yeah. Right? 02:03 Yeah. Karma. 02:04 And Karma Roberts. 02:06 I'll get my tongue untangled here in a second. 02:08 You are the principal and teacher 02:12 for the Des Moines Seventh-day Adventist School. 02:15 Yes. 02:17 And then we have with us Leah Ishimwa. 02:23 Ishimwe. Ishimwa. 02:24 Ishimwe. 02:26 Ishimwe? Yeah. 02:27 We got it. 02:28 Okay. 02:30 And, Leah, 02:31 you are a former student of these schools, 02:33 but now you're a junior in high school, right? 02:35 Yeah. 02:36 Well, we're so glad that you have joined us. 02:38 And we're going to hear their story 02:40 and what they're doing for God in just a minute. 02:42 But I wanted to read you a couple of scriptures 02:46 from Deuteronomy. 02:47 Did you know that God loves the aliens? 02:51 He loves the fugitives in the country, 02:53 the strangers in our midst. 02:55 And, in fact, 02:56 in Deuteronomy 10:19, 03:01 this is God speaking. 03:02 He says, "Therefore, love the stranger, 03:06 for you were strangers in the land of Egypt." 03:11 Now let's flip over to Deuteronomy 31. 03:14 And I had something there to mark it, but I moved it. 03:18 So Deuteronomy 31:12. 03:23 It says, "Gather the people together, 03:25 men and women and little ones, 03:27 and the stranger who is within your gates, 03:31 that they may hear and that they may learn 03:34 to fear the Lord your God 03:36 and carefully observe all the words of this law." 03:40 God loves the alien. 03:43 And we are going to talk about 03:46 what the Iowa-Missouri Conference is doing. 03:50 To reach out to fugitives to educate, 03:55 give Christian education to fugitives, 03:58 and we're gonna talk about 03:59 how it's impacting their church. 04:02 But before we do, 04:03 we have such a lovely group of young ladies with us, 04:06 they're called "Message of Mercy" 04:09 is the title of their singing group. 04:11 And they are going to sing "Where You Belong." 04:40 Leave your worry lose the shame 04:43 Leave your doubt and all the blame 04:47 It's time to sing a different song 04:53 Conviction like a burning flame 04:57 Heaven's calling out your name 05:00 Come to the place where you belong 05:05 Come to the place 05:09 Where you belong 05:12 Where the weak become strong 05:18 And weary eyes can see 05:21 There is grace for every need 05:27 Jesus has waited 05:30 So long 05:35 Come to the place where you belong 05:52 God is love and He is light 05:55 He is your shelter in the night 05:58 And He has been there all along 06:05 He knows your heart He feels the pain 06:09 Let His love flow through your veins 06:12 Come to the place where you belong 06:17 Come to the place 06:21 Where you belong 06:24 Where the weak become strong 06:30 And weary eyes can see 06:33 And there is grace for every need 06:39 Jesus has waited 06:42 So long 06:47 Come to the place where you belong 06:53 And leave your history behind 06:57 There's a better life to find 07:01 Pray until your fear is gone 07:07 It doesn't matter where you've been 07:11 It doesn't matter what you've done 07:14 Come to the place where you belong 07:21 Your love reminds 07:24 The more of the devil's lies 07:27 This world will only betray you 07:34 And don't hesitate 07:38 Don't you walk away 07:41 From the God who lives to save you 08:02 Come to the place 08:05 Where you belong 08:09 Where the weak become strong 08:15 And weary eyes can see 08:18 There is grace for every need 08:24 Jesus has waited 08:26 So long 08:31 Come to the place where you belong 08:38 Come to the place 08:41 where you belong 09:05 Now we want to thank Message of Mercy. 09:07 They've come all the way up 09:08 from Collegedale, Tennessee to record. 09:11 And I think it would be just fun 09:13 to have five friends getting together to do this 09:16 for the glory of the Lord. 09:18 If you're joining us just a little late, 09:20 we welcome you 09:21 and thank you for your prayers 09:22 and financial support of 3ABN. 09:24 And we're gonna go back through 09:26 and kind of talk to each one of our guests 09:28 before we jump 09:29 into what the Iowa-Missouri Conference is doing. 09:34 It's a program that is changing lives. 09:37 It's changing lives outside the church, 09:40 inside the church. 09:42 It's amazing. So, Joe, let's begin with you. 09:45 Tell us a little... 09:47 Just give us the Reader's Digest version. 09:49 Did you grow up in a Christian home? 09:52 When did it become real for you 09:53 a personal relationship with the Lord? 09:55 Sure. 09:56 I was born in an Adventist Christian home. 10:00 But really didn't... 10:02 Basically, through the influence 10:04 of my grandparents and the churches 10:05 that I attended in high school 10:07 began to make things more personal for me. 10:10 And that process was finished off 10:12 when I went to Union college 10:13 and participated in programs in there, so... 10:17 So as superintendent of education 10:20 for the Iowa-Missouri Conference, 10:21 how long have you been in education? 10:23 This is my 40th year and... 10:25 Wonderful. 10:26 I've been in the Iowa-Missouri Conference since 2009. 10:28 Okay. But it's an exciting job. 10:31 Travel a lot of miles. 10:33 We have 4 schools in Iowa and 10 in Missouri. 10:36 So I put a lot of miles on. 10:37 I'll bet you do. 10:39 Well, we thank you for your service 10:40 for the glory of God. 10:42 Now, Julie, 10:43 you are a principal and a teacher, 10:46 tell us a little bit about how you grew up. 10:49 Well, I grew up in Adventist home, 10:51 Adventist Christian home, 10:53 and I just always remember loving Jesus in my heart 10:57 from a little girl on. 10:58 Praise God. 11:00 But it probably became really more real to me 11:01 when I was in high school 11:02 and just studying the scriptures 11:04 more for myself. 11:07 So you were one of those who was just kind of brought up 11:10 on the straight and narrow and always stayed that way? 11:14 There were a few little twists and turns along the way. 11:16 Okay, thank you for being honest. 11:18 But I wasn't too rebellious. 11:19 Okay, thank you so much. 11:21 And, Karma, how about you? 11:23 I grew up in a Christian home. 11:26 We went to Sunday school, church. 11:30 It wasn't until I was... 11:32 Well, summer camp helped me really 11:33 develop my relationship with Jesus. 11:36 But I didn't learn about the Adventist Church 11:38 until after I was married. 11:40 And my husband said, 11:41 "We're going to go to Adventist church." 11:43 So I said, "Okay, no problem, 11:44 as long as they teach about Jesus, I'm happy." 11:47 And it was probably five, six years later 11:49 before I joined the church. 11:50 And now you are serving as a principal and teacher 11:54 and you came from... 11:55 How many years in New York? 11:57 In New York, we lived there 30 years. 11:59 Thirty years. 12:00 And how long have you been with Iowa-Missouri now? 12:03 About eight, nine years. 12:04 Okay, well, we're adding all of this up 12:06 and trying to figure out how old you are. 12:07 How old I am. 12:09 Just kidding. 12:10 And, Leah, boy, 12:12 you've got the story, young lady, 12:13 where were you born? 12:14 I was born in Zambia. 12:16 And my parents were born in Rwanda. 12:20 And I have an older brother who's born in Tanzania. 12:23 Okay, were you born in a refugee camp? 12:25 I was. 12:27 How old were you when your parents came here? 12:30 I was two and a half. 12:32 Two and a half years old. Yeah. 12:34 Explain why you were in a refugee camp. 12:37 So in 1994, the Rwandan genocide happened. 12:42 And my mom was almost, she had three more months 12:47 until my brother was about to be born. 12:49 And it started then. 12:50 And so after the genocide finished, 12:54 I think it was in April, 12:56 they went to Tanzania, 12:59 and that's where my brother was born. 13:01 And that's where the first refugee camp was. 13:05 And then after that, they moved to Zambia. 13:07 And that's where my sister was born 13:08 in that refugee camp in Zambia. 13:10 And then I was born in that refugee camp as well. 13:13 And then a year later, 13:15 they went to live in the city. 13:18 And that's where they started signing up 13:20 to come to the US. 13:22 Wow, that's amazing. Yeah. 13:23 She gave birth to three babies in a refugee camp? 13:26 Yeah. 13:28 I cannot even fathom that. 13:30 But your mom 13:32 went to Christian school, right? 13:33 Yeah. 13:35 Well, she was a Seventh-day Adventist. 13:36 She did. Yeah, she was. 13:37 And so she was so determined. Very. 13:41 That you all would go to school. 13:43 Tell us how you ended up meeting this group. 13:46 So when we moved to the US, 13:48 they placed us in Denver, Colorado. 13:50 Okay. 13:51 And that's where we lived for a while. 13:53 My mom, especially, she tried to find 13:56 a Seventh-day Adventist Christian school. 14:00 And it was really, really expensive there. 14:03 So they decided to try to find somewhere else, 14:06 to find them a school that was affordable, 14:08 yet had values 14:09 that they wanted their kids to be taught. 14:11 And so they had some friends 14:14 who would come to the US earlier, 14:15 also refugees. 14:17 And they told us about a school in Cedar Rapids. 14:20 That was Seventh-day Adventist Christians, 14:23 and it was affordable 14:25 because the church helped a lot with the cost. 14:28 And so that's when we moved up here. 14:31 And I started in second grade. 14:33 Praise God that you've had 14:35 a determined Christian mother 14:37 who was going to grew you up in the way you should go. 14:40 Now would you please, Joe, 14:43 just tell us a little bit about this program? 14:46 And we are so appreciative of Dean Coridan, 14:49 who is the conference president 14:52 of the Iowa-Missouri Conference. 14:54 Tell us a little how the program began. 14:56 What was the vision and how is it going? 14:59 Well, in 2013, Dean came to us and said, 15:01 "You know, we're living out Mark 16:15 in reverse." 15:07 And we asked him what he meant. 15:08 He says, "Well, that's the verse 15:10 that tells us that we should go to all the world 15:11 and share the good news with the people." 15:14 We said, "The people are coming to us, 15:16 and we need to do something about it." 15:17 And what did he mean by that, the people? 15:19 Well, the refugees 15:21 that have either left their country 15:22 because of war, persecution, or famine, 15:26 who had refugee status 15:28 to the United States government. 15:30 And so he came up with the idea that we should raise funds. 15:34 Challenged people to give $10 a month, 15:37 hoping to get 1,000 people to give, 15:39 which would translate to $120,000 a year 15:42 that we could use to assist families 15:45 but also to provide scholarships 15:47 for the students 15:49 to attend elementary school. 15:51 And that was students, 15:52 whether they were Adventist or non-Adventist. 15:54 It didn't matter. 15:56 We felt we needed to impact the communities like that. 15:58 And what a beautiful vision you have. 15:59 The thing I like about this ministry, 16:01 and we have interviewed on this topic before, 16:05 but the thing I love about this ministry 16:08 is that you're reaching out to people 16:10 who sometimes have to learn English, 16:13 they are in a strange place, 16:16 they've been plucked up and deposited somewhere, 16:18 they don't know the culture. 16:20 You're reaching out, 16:21 and not only giving them the love 16:24 but you're giving them physical support 16:25 that they need. 16:27 But should the Lord take... 16:29 This ministry will 16:31 absolutely affect generation upon generation. 16:35 Great impact. 16:36 The interesting thing too is the fact 16:38 that we have refugees coming from countries 16:40 that we cannot go into legally... 16:42 Amen. 16:44 With the gospel, but we give it to them here, 16:47 and there are cell phones everywhere 16:48 so people back home are hearing about the great news of Jesus. 16:51 And so we're actually impacting the entire world 16:54 but not leaving the United States 16:56 through these refugee programs. 16:58 And how is it impacting your church? 16:59 I mean, you've got these people involved... 17:02 Well, let me jump to Julie real quick. 17:03 Tell us a little bit about what your church does. 17:07 I know that you had many programs going. 17:11 Yeah, our church... 17:12 When the first refugees came, it was probably about... 17:15 The first refugee family was about 20 years ago. 17:17 And when they came, 17:19 our church just really embraced them, 17:20 and they came in the winter time. 17:23 We got warm clothes for them, 17:25 food, and just introducing them to our culture 17:29 and helping them 17:31 along with what their needs were. 17:33 After that, 17:34 many more refugee families started coming, 17:37 and our church chose to embrace them, 17:39 and it's a huge ministry that we can do for them. 17:43 And like Joe said, 17:44 you know, we sent missionaries out, 17:47 but here they're coming to us, and we can't turn them away. 17:51 That's our evangelism right there. 17:55 And school, I love it because it's evangelism, 17:58 180 days a year. 18:00 Amen. And you can't beat that. 18:02 Yeah. 18:03 At your primary school or elementary school, 18:06 what percentage are refugees now? 18:09 We have 68% of our students are refugees. 18:12 Wow. 18:14 But I'll also add 26% are Haitian immigrants. 18:18 And, you know, our whole 100%, 18:22 it's immigrants, refugees, and single moms. 18:26 And they're all seeking Christian education. 18:29 And they couldn't afford it on their own. 18:30 They can't afford it. 18:32 No. 18:33 But now you... 18:35 I'm so fascinated, 18:36 I want to get to your food hour. 18:37 You have many different types of programs 18:40 that you're doing to help 18:41 meet their individual physical needs, 18:45 nutritional needs. 18:47 Tell us about it. Yeah. 18:48 We were finding, and we learn as we go, 18:50 we keep learning more needs that need to be met. 18:54 But nutritional needs for the children 18:57 at school was something 18:59 that we noticed that needed to improve. 19:02 And so we decided to plant our school garden. 19:06 And so they plant the garden with the children 19:08 and their families love that because in their home countries 19:11 they garden a lot. 19:12 So they like their children learning that process 19:14 how to grow food. 19:15 So it's a lot of fun gardening with the children 19:17 and we harvested in the fall. 19:19 And then, we had a family come to us 19:22 to the Collins family with a tower garden idea 19:26 so we can continue having healthy food 19:28 through the winter. 19:30 So we grow greens, lettuce, kale, spinach 19:33 in our tower garden, 19:34 and the kids can have salads a couple times a week 19:37 along with their meals. 19:39 And I tell you, when the kids grow it, 19:41 they eat it, they love it. 19:42 Nobody turns down salad. 19:44 I've never heard of the tower garden before. 19:47 So that's actually a place 19:48 you're growing it in that tower and it just starts coming... 19:50 Yes, water and nutrients. 19:52 That's amazing. 19:53 We pick out of that tower garden 19:55 every week, 19:56 big bowls of salad. 19:58 Wonderful. 19:59 And so the kids are getting actively involved, 20:02 they're learning nutrition, 20:03 they're learning the health message. 20:05 But then you also have social events 20:09 where the families come together. 20:11 Yeah. 20:14 We want to bring the cultures together 20:16 and become a community. 20:18 And so we have a lot of social events 20:20 for our school and church together. 20:22 We have barn parties at the beginning of the year 20:24 where everybody is invited, 20:26 even people from their community. 20:28 We've had the Reformation festival, 20:31 we have international festivals 20:32 so all the different cultures can bring their foods. 20:37 And so we try to do soup suppers, 20:39 movie nights, game nights, 20:41 things that we can interact together with them. 20:43 And then the church members are very actively involved 20:45 living with the parents 20:47 because you have what they call ESL classes, 20:49 which is English as a Second Language. 20:52 So your church members are actually teaching English? 20:54 Correct. 20:56 You know, that was another thing we noticed, 20:57 that was a huge need it was to get ESL, 20:59 so they could get citizenship. 21:01 And so the church is offering ESL classes 21:04 and a lot of our members are involved in teaching that. 21:07 Other members are involved in helping them 21:10 to get ready for their citizenship test. 21:12 And they transfer them to Des Moines 21:15 to get their test completed. 21:18 And the church has just come... 21:20 The church people in many different ways 21:22 have just come around to support. 21:24 Even for the school, we have church members, 21:26 transportation was a problem for these families, 21:29 and so we purchased a van 21:31 and church members drive the van 21:33 to go pick up students 21:34 who couldn't get there otherwise. 21:35 You know, what I love about this is 21:37 it becomes church wide ministry, 21:39 doesn't it? It does. 21:40 And then how is the church growing? 21:43 You know, 21:44 the refugee population is growing a lot. 21:46 And so our church, 21:49 it probably doubled in size with the refugee families. 21:51 Praise God. 21:53 And it's brought us together as a community 21:55 to work towards some common goals. 21:58 Ladies at the church are making hot lunches 22:00 for the children too 22:02 so they can have hot food during the day. 22:04 And I've just seen the community 22:07 come together. 22:08 And isn't that exciting? 22:10 'Cause when you start ministering together, 22:12 it creates that bond even among people who, 22:16 you know, you may have been going to church 22:17 with somebody for 20 years, 22:20 but you actually start ministering together 22:23 and it just strengthens that bond, doesn't it? 22:27 Yes. That's amazing. 22:28 So, Karma, tell us about what's going on 22:31 at your church and your school. 22:33 My school was one of the first schools 22:37 to get involved in the program 22:38 because we have a lot of refugees 22:40 coming to the Des Moines. 22:42 So we started out with about 11. 22:45 And this year, about 7 years later, 22:48 we have 27 refugees that are attending our school. 22:52 They're basically from Sudan and Burma. 22:56 Okay. Majority of them. 22:57 In fact, they're over half of our population 23:00 of the school now. 23:02 Yes. 23:03 We've done many things to help them. 23:05 We have a community service person 23:07 that really helps them 23:09 when they first come to get adjusted 23:11 to cold weather and snow weather, 23:15 all of that in Iowa so we have that, 23:18 and the church has also come forward and help 23:22 because we have a worthy student fund, 23:25 which many members contribute to. 23:28 Many of our members have become sponsors. 23:30 When the students cannot make the tuition payment, 23:33 we have sponsors that help them. 23:36 So the church has really stepped up 23:37 and helped our refugees in our work. 23:42 And what kind of impact 23:43 do you think this has had on your church? 23:45 You think it makes the church 23:48 as a whole more loving group? 23:52 I think it has helped our church 23:54 become more loving, 23:55 and it's also helped... 23:57 We have two different groups in our church now. 24:01 We have the Korean speaking refugees, 24:04 they have started out with 2, 3 families 24:07 and now there are over 135 members. 24:11 And they have decided to have their own church. 24:14 So they use our church building in the afternoon 24:17 and have church service. 24:18 Wonderful. 24:20 We also have Mizo group, which is smaller, 24:22 but they needed a place to worship too. 24:25 A lot of them come not knowing English. 24:27 So the children will come to our Sabbath schools. 24:30 But then for church, 24:32 they have their own church service 24:33 downstairs in our building. 24:36 So our population of our church 24:37 has actually grown tremendously through this. 24:40 Amen. 24:41 And I love what you said then that this is... 24:43 One of you said that this is a place 24:46 where we often cannot get missionaries 24:50 into some of these countries, 24:52 but the Lord's bringing them to us here. 24:55 Let me just ask Leah for a second. 24:58 When you moved from, I mean, to Colorado 25:02 that must have been a shock to your family? 25:04 For sure. 25:05 Weather-wise. Yes. 25:07 Just acclimating to that. Yeah. 25:09 What was your experience when you... 25:13 Whose school did you go to? 25:16 Mrs. Olson. 25:17 Okay. 25:18 What was your experience 25:20 when you first came into the school, 25:24 the Seventh-day Adventist Christian Academy? 25:26 Well, we came from, you know, Denver, 25:28 which is like a pretty big city. 25:29 And it was like... 25:30 It had big public schools, 25:32 and then going to a smaller 25:35 Adventist Christian school, it was like... 25:37 A lot was different. 25:38 You know, but what we noticed was like, 25:41 for us, it wasn't, well, me and my sister, 25:43 it wasn't like going to school, 25:45 you know, it was like going to our second home, 25:47 you know, it was somewhere that was fun, 25:49 somewhere that they fed us, somewhere that we played, 25:51 and then did some school work. 25:53 We didn't even realize it was like school 25:55 'cause it was such a place where like 25:57 the atmosphere was so amazing, 25:59 and Mrs. Olson was like our mother 26:00 and all the students were like our siblings. 26:03 It was like a big family. Right. 26:04 And so that's how we felt. 26:06 It was like... 26:07 Praise God. Yeah. 26:09 Now, as a junior, do you... 26:12 I mean, it's hard 26:13 when you're 16 years old to figure out 26:15 what God really is calling you to do. 26:17 Right. 26:18 But do you see yourself working with the refugees 26:20 in the future? 26:21 For sure, for sure. 26:23 I mean, when I see how much my family was helped, 26:25 and I can see more refugees coming even today, 26:29 it makes me feel for them. 26:30 You know, when I see those young kids coming 26:32 and they feel nervous 26:33 because not a lot of people understand what they're saying 26:36 and things that makes me want to help them 26:37 like I was helped, you know? 26:38 Amen. 26:40 And give them the opportunity that I was given... 26:41 Amen. 26:43 From the school. 26:44 You know, they gave us a lot of opportunities 26:45 to learn and a lot of opportunities 26:47 to get better at certain skills like public speaking. 26:51 And for students who were like really shy, 26:53 it was better to have like 26:54 that smaller classroom, you know, 26:57 and going to school with like eighth graders 27:00 when you're in second grade 27:01 helps you kind of like mature a little bit faster 27:04 and having, you know, 27:05 older kids helps you feel like 27:07 you have someone to protect you and things like that. 27:10 All right, so, you know, 27:11 I don't think you could have said anything 27:13 better than you felt, 27:14 not like you're going to school but to your second family. 27:17 Right. 27:18 What a commendation. 27:19 So in the Iowa-Missouri Conference 27:24 not only this is a wonderful evangelistic tool, 27:27 how's it affecting the churches where people are participating? 27:33 I think it helps them be a part of Matthew 25:40 27:38 where we're at the judgment and the sheep saying, 27:40 "When do we do these things to you or for you?" 27:43 And Jesus said, 27:44 "When you do one of this to the least of my brethren." 27:45 Amen. 27:47 But what we also found is that when people are in ministry, 27:50 they don't bicker and fight as much. 27:52 Absolutely. 27:53 They're focused, 27:54 and the interesting thing is as we put money toward this, 27:59 churches aren't being impacted but blessed. 28:01 You know, you think, okay, 28:03 you're drawing money out of our church as a whole, 28:05 no, it's not happening. 28:06 In fact, 28:08 we're doing better financially in some of those churches. 28:10 Praise God. 28:11 But one of the things I want to go back to 28:12 is what Karma said is with the Mizos 28:15 that the children attend the Sabbath schools... 28:17 Now, the Mizos are from where? 28:19 Mizos are... 28:20 Karma, you should tell them. 28:22 They're from Burma. From Burma. 28:23 Well, Mizos are Burmese individuals 28:27 who have moved to India. 28:28 Okay. 28:30 And so they have a different culture of somewhat. 28:32 Okay. 28:35 So anyway, 28:36 they bring their children to Sabbath school, 28:38 but the mother stayed to hear English 28:40 and to learn English. 28:42 And so it's a byproduct 28:45 of what's going on with their children, 28:46 they're staying by too so they can learn more English 28:48 from the Sabbath school teachers. 28:50 That's wonderful. 28:51 So what about... Tell us about... 28:56 You had a wonderful story 28:58 that you mentioned in the green room about the Iraqi father. 29:02 Tell us a little bit about that. 29:03 Yes, in one of our schools, we had Iraqi family, 29:07 there was an event at a park. 29:09 And there was a chance meeting 29:10 between the pastor of that church and an Iraqi father, 29:13 refugee father, who is Yazidi. 29:16 The Yazidis are not Muslims and they're not Christian, 29:20 they're a mixture, 29:21 but they're also looked down upon in Iraqi culture. 29:25 In fact, they were purposely targeted by ISIS. 29:28 And this family actually had a daughter 29:30 who was being chased by ISIS. 29:32 She is a high school individual, 29:34 she actually was able to escape, 29:36 but they met, 29:38 and the father is very concerned about his children 29:40 and the kind of treatment 29:41 they would receive in public school 29:43 where other Iraqis were who were Muslim. 29:46 And the pastor said, "Well, send them to our school." 29:48 So they sent all the five school age children, 29:51 they sent to our school. 29:53 And through our refugee funds, 29:55 we were able to provide them the scholarships, 29:57 and then the church stepped up and filled the gap. 30:01 And so they were able to go 30:02 with little financial impact on the family. 30:05 Praise God. And that's our goal. 30:08 But this is not just to provide education 30:11 for Seventh-day Adventist Christians 30:14 but any child, 30:15 any family who wants to send their child 30:17 to one of our schools, which is safe. 30:19 A lot of times, what happens is 30:21 these kids are abused sometimes because of their language, 30:26 they get into gangs because they look at that 30:28 as a way to be accepted, some of them. 30:30 And so the parents kind of lose them a little bit. 30:33 And so they want their kids in a safe place 30:36 where they know that they're going to be 30:39 nurtured and loved, just like Leah talked about. 30:42 Amen, amen. 30:43 That's a very important part of our school 30:45 is that the students feel safe. 30:47 They really feel like they're loved 30:49 and the parents see it 30:50 and they want their children there. 30:52 Amen. They would do anything. 30:54 They sacrifice to make sure their children 30:56 stay in the school. 30:58 Amen. 30:59 And they're getting a Christian education, 31:01 I mean, they're being taught about the Lord 31:04 as they go along. 31:05 Julie, how has this impacted you personally 31:11 in your walk with the Lord 31:12 and being involved reaching out to these people? 31:18 It has... 31:21 It's okay. 31:25 I have grown from... 31:28 I have really grown from ministering to these children. 31:31 And they have taught me a lot, you know, to reach out, 31:34 and to meet their needs, and they're children of God. 31:39 You know, as a mom, 31:43 I was always committed to raising my children 31:47 in the Lord, 31:48 you know, what Proverbs said. 31:50 And then I have these moms, 31:51 like Leah's mom come to me and says, 31:53 "I want to raise my child in the Lord, 31:56 you know, and can you help us?" 31:58 And, you know, 32:00 that all parents want the best for their children. 32:04 And to be able to provide that, 32:06 you know, you can't turn a family away 32:09 who wants their child trained in the Lord, 32:11 you know? 32:13 And you do everything you can to make that happen. 32:15 But also the parents are so trusting. 32:18 They said, "You are their parent during their day. 32:21 And you take on that role much more personal." 32:25 But they are very adamant 32:27 that you are their parent during the day. 32:28 They want us to provide the structure, 32:30 provide discipline, 32:32 and they're very trusting that we will do that for them. 32:35 And so it's an honor to be part of that family 32:39 that we are. 32:40 You know, it's interesting as we minister. 32:43 And I always tell people if they're having trouble 32:46 with a youth at home, take him on a missionary trip. 32:51 And once they begin to see how other people... 32:56 How much more privileged they are than other people, 32:58 and they see the underprivileged, 33:00 it usually helps them to get out of the selfishness. 33:04 When you said that the churches don't bicker 33:07 when they're involved in this and they quit arguing, 33:09 it's because when you are not focused on self, 33:14 you know, the bickering and the arguing 33:16 is just a byproduct of self. 33:18 But when you start really 33:21 investing in someone else's life 33:23 and someone particularly who... 33:26 Can you imagine for one second 33:28 if suddenly you were plucked up from your nice comfortable home 33:33 and deposited in Iraq or in Rwanda 33:38 where you knew no language, didn't understand the culture, 33:44 can you imagine how? 33:46 I mean, that would be beyond disconcerting. 33:49 It would be how do we even go about surviving this? 33:54 But when people start ministering in a church, 33:59 I think that we just open our heart up 34:02 to the Lord and let Him pour His love into us 34:05 by the power of the Holy Spirit, 34:07 then you're reaching out, 34:08 it has to make in personal impact 34:10 when God's love is flowing through you. 34:13 So, Leah, 34:17 was your brother's still young enough 34:19 when you moved here to participate in the school 34:21 or was he beyond that? 34:22 He was beyond that. 34:24 Okay. Yeah. 34:25 Well, this program must have had a really 34:26 great impact on your family. 34:29 So I feel like when you are raised by two parents 34:33 who are war survivors, 34:34 you kind of grow up differently. 34:36 You see the world much more differently 34:38 than some other kids. 34:41 And, you know, 34:42 there's a lot of stories that my mom would tell us 34:44 about things that happened to her 34:46 and things that were just so beyond us 34:48 that it was so hard to believe. 34:50 But there's this one time 34:52 when she was seven months pregnant 34:54 with my oldest brother who's 24 right now, 34:59 she and my dad separated 35:01 through all like the chaos of running 35:03 and trying to find shelter. 35:05 And so she was alone. 35:07 And so she went into this church 35:09 because people were having service. 35:11 And she felt like it would be the safest place 35:13 at the time because it was a bigger group 35:15 and she could protect herself more. 35:17 And they actually came and bombed that church. 35:20 Oh, my! 35:21 And just like the roof 35:23 and like people were falling down 35:25 and there was bodies all around her 35:27 and pools of blood and things were just 35:29 so horrific and traumatizing for her. 35:31 And they were outside, 35:34 you know, the soldiers were outside saying, 35:35 "If you don't come out right now, 35:37 we're gonna come back and like just 35:39 re-bomb the place again 35:40 to make sure that everyone's gone. 35:42 So if you want to come out, come out now," you know? 35:45 And so her and four other people came out, 35:48 those four other people, you know, 35:49 they were just like, terrified. 35:51 And so they came out 35:52 and the soldiers put them in separate places, 35:56 and were like, "What's your name? 35:58 Where are you from? What side are you on?" 36:00 You know, and she was so terrified. 36:02 And she could hear the people around her like being shot, 36:07 you know, other people. 36:08 I can't imagine. 36:09 It was like crazy. Yeah. 36:11 And during the time that she heard, 36:13 when they were like moving from person to person, 36:15 she said a quick prayer and said that, 36:19 "You know, God, if You take me out of this, 36:21 you know, I will devote my life and devote my children to You 36:25 and to your church and everything like that." 36:28 And so when they got to her, someone recognized her. 36:32 And he said, 36:33 "Let me take this woman home, she's pregnant, 36:37 I will pay you anything that you need." 36:39 And, you know, they were like really corrupt. 36:40 So money was power at that time. 36:42 So regardless of what side you're on, 36:44 as long as you had money, 36:46 you could pretty much do whatever you want. 36:47 And so he paid them and he took her 36:50 and he took her to the closest hospital, 36:52 and he actually told her that he recognized her 36:55 from her Seventh-day Adventist Church 36:58 back home in Rwanda. 36:59 Wow. 37:00 And it was just amazing to her 37:03 because it was just like what are the chances of someone 37:05 who knew me back home being... 37:07 Absolutely. Being there. 37:08 And so stories like that just they give me more of a purpose. 37:13 You know, if my mom who survived way before 37:15 she knew I was gonna be born, you know, 37:17 there must be something that I'm here for. 37:20 There must be a reason that I'm here in Iowa, 37:23 there must be a reason 37:24 why I was able to go to a Christian school 37:27 and raised in a very strong home, 37:29 who had their values checked 37:31 and were really strong in their beliefs. 37:33 Amen. What a beautiful story. 37:35 You are a very composed for 16 years old, 37:40 in particular, 37:41 you are obviously very intelligent. 37:43 Thank you. 37:44 You are a very composed person. Thank you. 37:45 Have great composure. 37:47 But what a story and don't ever forget 37:51 that God does have a plan for your life, 37:53 and He's gonna... 37:54 He never reveals it all at once, does He? 37:57 Just is the little by little, but that's precious. 38:00 Karma, I don't think I've asked you, 38:02 being involved in helping these people in this way, 38:06 how has it impacted you personally and your family? 38:10 Well, same with what Julie was saying. 38:12 It's just you have a personal relationship 38:14 with all of the students. 38:16 And it really impacts your life tremendously. 38:19 But I think one of the things 38:21 that I really want to tell everybody is that 38:23 I was volunteering at the school 38:25 before I became the principal teacher. 38:27 And I was working with one of the girls, 38:31 she was a refugee 38:32 and her speaking English was okay 38:36 but her reading was terrible. 38:39 She was probably in fourth grade at the time, 38:41 and she was probably reading about a second grade level. 38:44 And I know she struggled 38:46 every time I asked her to read with me, 38:48 and she didn't understand words. 38:51 But we just kept working with her, 38:53 working with her family, working with all of them. 38:55 We had the ESL just like Julie did. 38:58 That's English as Second Language. 39:00 Yes. Sorry. 39:02 And it's just... 39:04 Today, she is a senior at our academy. 39:08 And she is on the honor roll. Praise God. 39:12 So it tells you that there is hope. 39:14 And there is encouragement 39:15 if you just provide it for these children. 39:18 They're willing to learn there, they want to learn. 39:21 English is a struggle, but they all want it, 39:24 and they want to prosper. 39:26 Amen. 39:27 But beyond your humanitarian impact, 39:32 did this draw you closer to the Lord 39:34 when you're trying to minister to people 39:37 of a different culture? 39:39 Well, I worked in New York, 39:41 and I taught at basically at black school. 39:44 So I was used to that. It doesn't bother me. 39:49 Where, I'm in an interracial marriage. 39:51 So it doesn't bother me what country you're from, 39:57 what color your skin is, I can work with anybody. 40:00 But coming to the school, which was in Des Moines, 40:03 we didn't have that many races in the school. 40:06 But now you're bringing the refugees 40:08 and now we have other races. 40:11 And they have all learned 40:13 how to adapt each other's culture. 40:16 We've had parents that come in and bring in food 40:19 from their culture 40:20 and all the students look at it like, "What's that?" 40:22 I said, "Try it, find out what it is, 40:25 and see if you like it." 40:28 And so the students have actually learned 40:30 how to adapt to each other's culture. 40:31 They've learned how to embrace it. 40:33 We have all kinds of days that we celebrate 40:36 so they can get used to each other's culture and learn. 40:39 And it's brought me closer, 40:41 my faith has become stronger. 40:43 Amen 40:44 Because when you become principal of a school, 40:47 you're worried about the finances, 40:49 you're worried about 40:50 how are we gonna make the bottom line. 40:52 And every time when we're at a point 40:55 where I don't know how we're gonna make it, 40:56 I said, "Lord, You brought me to it, 40:59 You'll bring me through it." 41:00 So I just say, "Lord, 41:03 I have four children that can't come to school. 41:06 But through You, they're going to come." 41:08 Praise God. 41:09 So they come, 41:11 and somehow we make it. 41:12 I don't know how, 41:13 I just praise the Lord that we do every time. 41:16 And I rely on that faith, that hope, that trust in God. 41:21 And we know things are going to work out. 41:23 Amen. 41:24 I know that you ladies have... 41:28 Your church was involved in 41:30 some kind of program 20 years ago. 41:32 But you mentioned to me, Joe, 41:35 that people from the churches are coming to you saying, 41:40 "We're so..." 41:41 These are members of the churches 41:43 who are receiving these refugees 41:44 and supporting the refugees. 41:46 They're seeing the difference in their children, 41:49 they're having the cultural interaction, aren't they? 41:53 Yes, I've had some parents talk about the fact in their school, 41:56 it's gone primary from just having all Caucasians 41:59 to a very mixed student population. 42:04 And they feel it's very helpful for their kids 42:06 to see and to experience these other cultures 42:09 and interact with them, as Karma said, 42:12 to experience the food 42:14 and know about some of their traditions, 42:16 and they feel it's really become an asset of the school 42:21 to teach their children about acceptance 42:24 because sometimes we, especially as Americans, 42:28 we think that we're kind of the best or whatever. 42:32 But with the interaction with the refugees 42:35 and as you pointed out, plucked out of the country 42:37 and put in a place that's extremely foreign to them... 42:41 Yes. 42:42 To see the blending, 42:45 the working together with the kids 42:48 and how they really add a wonderful dynamics 42:52 to the overall school population. 42:55 And, you know, when you think about it, 42:57 when we feel like 42:59 when we take pride in our culture and pride... 43:02 To say you're proud of your child is one thing, 43:05 but the kind of pride where you feel like 43:07 you're better than somebody else, 43:10 you know, the prejudice kind of pride, 43:13 I mean, that's what it is, it is pride, and it's sin. 43:15 So that's something that 43:18 I think sometimes people don't even recognize 43:20 it's in their hearts till they find themselves 43:22 in a situation. 43:24 I do know when I go on trips where I may be ministering 43:29 and somebody's having to translate, and I'm just, 43:33 you know, trying to find my way around, 43:36 I find that 43:37 I am much more dependent upon the Lord. 43:39 I'm sure your mom has told you many stories of how dependent 43:45 she was upon God. 43:47 And that's what He really wants us 43:48 all is to recognize that 43:50 we're totally dependent upon Him. 43:52 So how many schools total and what's the future? 43:58 Why aren't more conferences doing this? 44:03 I probably... 44:05 Maybe lack the vision that our president lacks 44:07 and the willingness of the folks in the conference 44:11 to step forward either by helping with teaching 44:14 ESL classes, English second language classes 44:16 or providing transportation or funding. 44:20 Folks in Iowa-Missouri have done a wonderful job. 44:24 Sometimes people are just unaware 44:26 of the opportunities in their area. 44:29 And you can glean that information 44:31 by going to perhaps a county office 44:34 or something and asking for a demographic report. 44:38 We did that in Iowa-Missouri, 44:40 every pastor got a demographic report of their counties 44:42 in which their churches lied and it was interesting 44:45 to find that these various pockets of refugees 44:47 that no one in the church knew about 44:50 and we're able to begin to minister to them. 44:53 The part of it is just going out 44:54 and seeking and finding them. 44:56 We have... 44:58 And we don't have to wait for the conference office to wait, 44:59 you can do it as a church, yours was 20 years before. 45:03 As far as in our conference right now, we have refugees... 45:07 We're hoping to providing scholarships to refugees 45:11 in four different schools, Karma and Julie's schools, 45:15 but we also have a school in Columbia, Missouri 45:18 and St. Louis, Missouri 45:19 that have refugees in smaller populations in what they have. 45:22 But we offer to any of our schools 45:24 if there are refugee students in your community 45:28 that want to come to school, no matter what the faith, 45:30 the Adventist Christians or not, 45:32 we would provide scholarships for them. 45:35 But then how do you... 45:37 I mean, 45:39 are you looking for more churches to participate? 45:41 Do you need people to help you financially witness? 45:46 If there is somebody in a church 45:48 that's watching and said, "Well, I don't know 45:49 if my conference will do it, 45:51 but maybe I can talk our church into doing this." 45:54 Can you give them tips? 45:56 Well, we always could use more funds. 45:58 Currently, we have 54 refugee students in our various schools 46:02 that are receiving $1,500 scholarships. 46:07 And by doing that we're able to stretch our money out 46:09 and else and still help some churches. 46:12 But, you know, if they wanted to help in any way financially, 46:16 you know, they could contact to the conference office, 46:18 but the other is praying for us. 46:20 That's a very important thing as we deal with these... 46:24 Our serve, I should not say deal 46:26 but serve these refugee families and the students 46:29 that we would do what's best for them. 46:33 Sometimes it's as simple as finding refugee family 46:36 and showing them how to turn on the furnace. 46:38 Yeah. 46:40 They don't know how to use the washing machine, 46:42 simple things, 46:44 how to go to the grocery store. 46:45 They're coming from countries that 46:46 grocery store is not a concept or a refugee camp that, 46:50 you know, grocery store is just not something you can do it. 46:53 Some of these simple things providing transportation 46:55 to doctor's appointments and things like that 46:57 and something that doesn't take a lot of time, 47:00 but it would have a great impact on these people 47:02 in their lives. 47:05 What Dean is shared with us in a nice... 47:07 I've read this in other reports. 47:09 What is greatest... That's Dean Coridan. 47:11 Dean Coridan. 47:13 The greatest lack is friendship. 47:16 They are so lonely, their family may not be there, 47:19 and people that may not know there 47:21 and just to be friendly to them is important. 47:26 And so there's lots of things can be done 47:28 and some costs very little to do as far as time or money. 47:32 Yeah, it's just something 47:34 that we want to encourage everyone. 47:36 And it's money so well invested 47:40 because our refugee families, 47:43 they have a heart for evangelism, 47:45 much greater than I've seen in America. 47:48 And so when we can train up the children 47:51 in the Lord and teach biblical truth to them, 47:54 they are out evangelizing. 47:56 And it's just money well spent 'cause we're training leaders. 48:02 Leah has become such a leader in our school 48:05 and in our community. 48:06 And other refugee students have just stepped up to leadership. 48:10 And her parents, all they've been through, 48:12 now they're leaders, her dad is an elder, 48:14 her mom is a school board member, 48:15 and they're giving back to our community. 48:18 Praise God. 48:20 Well, I know that's very exciting. 48:21 And we want to give you the opportunity. 48:23 And if they go to your website, 48:27 there's some other resources to see 48:29 how maybe your church could become involved in this 48:32 or you can call Joe and ask. 48:36 But if the Holy Spirit is impressing you 48:39 to perhaps try to start something like this 48:43 in your own area, in your church, 48:46 or if you are willing, 48:48 I'm sure the Holy Spirit is impressing many people 48:51 to pray and support them 48:53 or perhaps even to donate something toward this cause. 48:57 Here's how you can get in touch with them. 49:02 If you would like to support 49:03 the efforts of the Iowa-Missouri 49:05 Conference of Seventh-day Adventist in providing 49:08 Christian education for children of immigrants 49:11 and refugee families, 49:13 please visit their website Imsda.org, |
Revised 2019-04-08