Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY190024A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:19 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:09 Hello, friends, welcome to 3ABN Today. 01:11 My name is John Lomacang, and I have my co-pilot with me. 01:14 I'm Angela Lomacang. 01:16 I'm glad that you've tuned in today, 01:17 and you're going to be blessed today. 01:19 Aren't they? 01:20 I think that's an understatement, honey. 01:22 Oh. 01:23 This program is going to take you 01:25 out of your office setting. 01:26 Yeah, it is. 01:27 If I could think about this program 01:29 in a very unique way, 01:30 I would say somebody might ask this couple, 01:32 "Well, where is your office? 01:33 Where do you go to work?" 01:35 And their response might be, 01:36 "Anywhere on the planet where I am called." 01:39 Yeah, and if you have a granddaughter, grandson, 01:44 a child, a daughter, watch this program. 01:47 That's right. 01:48 It is for them, if they are adventurous. 01:50 What do you think, honey? Oh, yeah. 01:52 I think adventurous will be the way it starts, 01:54 but you'll learn today in this program 01:56 that this couple is more than adventurous, 01:58 very well trained. 02:00 And the Lord has blessed them 02:01 not only in their academia to prepare for what they do 02:04 on a daily basis and a weekly basis 02:06 but also you have to have a passion 02:08 for what this couple does. 02:09 Yeah, it's ministry, isn't it? 02:11 It's ministry. 02:12 It's International Rescue and Relief. 02:15 And you'll meet them in just a moment. 02:17 But thank you for your prayers and support of this network 02:19 that keeps us going and growing, 02:21 getting ready for the coming of the Lord. 02:22 I think I'm going to let you introduce them. 02:24 Oh, wow. 02:25 I'm so excited. We have... 02:28 Well, we have Andrew and Kalie Saunders. 02:31 And they are from, well, Lincoln, Nebraska right now. 02:35 But Kalie is more than... 02:39 She's family to us. 02:41 Kalie, we used to go to our school, 02:44 and her mom was the principal of our school, Nancy O'Brien. 02:50 It must have been nice, huh, 02:51 having your mom as a principal, your teacher? 02:53 Depends on how you behave. 02:55 That's right. 02:57 And your dad, Joe O'Brien, 03:00 he's been in the pastoral department, 03:01 he said, "For 20 years..." 03:03 So many people call in and they speak to Joe 03:07 and he's prayed and spoken with many people. 03:11 So we're so happy to have you. 03:13 And of course, your husband, glad to have you here. 03:17 And you've been married... How long you been married now? 03:20 Almost seven years. 03:21 Wow. Wow. 03:23 Almost seven years already. 03:25 And tell us, Andrew, 03:26 a little bit about your background. 03:28 Yes, tell us. 03:29 We talked about Kalie growing up here. 03:30 We've been here now, wow, 16 years 03:32 and seen Kalie grow up 03:34 and are very proud of the road you've taken. 03:37 And the life partner that God sent 03:39 to be a part of your life. 03:41 But give us some of your background 03:42 'cause maybe our viewers and listeners 03:43 might say we know Kalie, 03:46 but we don't really know who Andrew is. 03:48 Yeah. 03:49 So I grew up in the mission field, 03:51 a different mission field than 3ABN. 03:52 But my parents were... 03:54 My dad was a surgeon in West Africa, 03:57 in the country of Nigeria. 03:58 And so I grew up there for 10 years in Nigeria. 04:04 And it's kind of given me a passion 04:06 to continue in mission and work internationally, so... 04:10 And kind of what does your dad do? 04:12 So he's a general surgeon. 04:13 He's back living in Africa, again, in Malawi, 04:16 different hospital but same mission, 04:18 he's trying to build local capacity 04:22 so that we don't have to send 04:24 foreign missionaries any more necessarily 04:26 but training up local people to take on the mantle 04:28 and minister to their own people. 04:30 Wow. 04:32 And, honey, while we've seen Kalie 04:33 grow up here, you know, 04:35 the question would be in my mind, 04:37 how did you both decide to choose what you do now 04:41 and kind of describe that to our viewers and listeners 04:44 how did you decide to choose 04:45 what you do now as a life dedication, 04:47 as a job, as a career? 04:49 I think it's hard to say, you know, 04:52 as a 17-year-old, 18-year-old, like graduating high school, 04:56 it's almost impossible to be able to say, 04:58 I know what I want to do with the rest of my life. 05:00 Like there's just very few people 05:02 that actually get that opportunity. 05:04 So I was one of those people 05:06 that I didn't know exactly where I wanted my life to go, 05:09 I just knew that I wanted to live a life of service, 05:12 where I could serve the people 05:14 that needed the most help, wherever that was. 05:16 And so personally, I was drawn to 05:19 the International Rescue and Relief Program 05:21 at Union College 05:23 because, on top of being an academic program, 05:26 a bachelor's of science degree, 05:28 it also had a lot of adventure to it. 05:32 Part of the program is learning survival 05:35 and swift water rescue and technical rope rescue 05:38 and search and rescue, and there's a semester abroad. 05:41 And I just thought, you know, 05:42 this is a great way to go into a life of service, 05:44 even if I'm not exactly sure 05:46 where I want to end up after it. 05:49 Wow. 05:50 And so when you talk about all these things, 05:51 where's your office? 05:54 Well, for the last three months, 05:56 our office was in Malawi. 05:59 Wow. 06:00 But it's arranged, 06:02 it's gone from several countries 06:04 to several states, just depends. 06:07 Where have you traveled 06:08 to do this mission, I should say? 06:12 Where have you traveled to as a couple? 06:16 As a couple, we've traveled... 06:19 We actually used to work for ADRA. 06:21 After we graduated 06:23 with the International Rescue and Relief bachelor's degree, 06:26 we went on to get our master's degree 06:29 in International Development Administration 06:31 with an emphasis in emergency management 06:33 from Andrews University. 06:36 And so once we had our masters there, 06:38 we actually were hired by ADRA. 06:40 And my husband and I 06:41 both worked for ADRA in Ukraine, 06:44 responding to the civil conflict there, 06:47 and then also worked for ADRA in Iraq 06:50 with the Syrian refugees 06:52 at the height of the crisis there. 06:53 Oh, my. 06:55 That must have been pretty dangerous 06:57 being out there in Iraq. 07:00 Yeah, so we were 40 kilometers or so from the frontlines, 07:06 you would say, where ISIS was fighting. 07:09 But where we were, we were well taken care of. 07:12 The ADRA staff were wonderful 07:14 and made sure that we were never in danger. 07:16 Wow. What were you doing there? 07:19 My husband, he can tell you about it. 07:21 He was working very hard. 07:24 Yeah, it was... 07:26 It was a big job. 07:27 Like, at the time, 07:29 there were several million people, 07:30 both Iraqi displaced from the war 07:31 and then Syrians coming in that were also displaced, 07:35 so both refugees and internally displaced people we call them. 07:39 And we were trying to do our part, 07:41 we had a partnership with 07:43 the International Department of Humanitarian Affairs 07:47 in Canada, 07:48 they were funding our project through ADRA. 07:50 And we were doing cash for rent to give people places to stay. 07:54 The camps were full. 07:55 There wasn't space for more people 07:57 to come into the camps. 07:58 So we were trying to find them housing 07:59 and trying to integrate them into the community, 08:01 provide psychosocial support, 08:04 vouchers so they could be able to afford hygiene items 08:08 like laundry soap and just personal hygiene items 08:12 and things like that. 08:13 So, it was a $1.4 million project, 08:16 and we're able to reach about 7,000 people, so... 08:18 Wow. 08:20 So while there is some adventure 08:21 and some tentative moments 08:23 where you wonder what's going to happen, 08:25 what could happen, 08:27 the heightened aspects of it are there 08:29 because of the field you're in or the theater that you're in. 08:32 But for the most part, you stay out of harm's way. 08:36 But obviously, anything is possible 08:39 in the world that we live in. 08:40 But I'm interested 08:42 because when you talk about International Relief and Rescue 08:46 and both of you teach this at Union College. 08:49 Talk about that a little bit because somebody might say, 08:51 "International Relief and Rescue, 08:54 what do you actually teach?" 08:55 Tell me some of the specifics of the program. 08:59 All right. 09:00 So it has a wide range of classes, 09:04 and it kind of tries to prepare you 09:05 for one of three different tracks. 09:07 We have three emphases. 09:09 You can go public safety, 09:10 which would be police, fire, EMS, 09:13 somewhere along those lines. 09:15 And then with one of those, 09:16 you'd spend three years at Union 09:18 with the fourth year either at police academy 09:19 or paramedic school or something like that. 09:22 And the first three years 09:23 are focused on getting your EMT license, 09:25 some advanced skills like airway and breathing skills. 09:30 We get wilderness medicine certifications. 09:34 All units in the US who do disaster response 09:37 use the incident command system. 09:39 So that way, if units come from anywhere 09:40 in the US to a disaster, 09:43 we can all know how each other work 09:44 and fit into that command structure. 09:46 So we teach that system so our people can fit right in. 09:50 We teach technical rescue. 09:52 So like Kalie said, 09:53 we have swift water, technical rope, 09:54 search and rescue, flood water management. 09:58 And then we also offer electives every year, 10:00 and it could be advanced rope skills 10:02 or ice rescue or confined space 10:04 or things like that that people can take beyond that 10:07 if they're interested in that field. 10:11 And then we also have tracks that do pre-professional. 10:14 So if you want to do pre-med, pre-dent, pre-PA, 10:16 something like that, 10:18 you can also do the IR major and take all these classes, 10:20 and it's a bit more fun 10:21 than just your standard biology major. 10:22 Yes, it is. 10:24 And then our third track, which we brought in 10:27 when we came to the program with our background 10:29 in ADRA was a global community development track 10:33 where students are a bit more prepared 10:35 to work internationally or with an NGO of some kind. 10:38 It's a bit more focused on grant writing, 10:40 the same rescue classes like everybody else takes 10:42 but with more of a focus 10:44 on less medical and more on NGO management 10:49 and things like that 10:51 so they could work for ADRA, World Vision, 10:53 or an NGO in the US as well. 10:55 Wow. 10:56 Nice. Now tell us about Malawi. 10:59 How did that come about, you going to Malawi? 11:02 I know your father is in Malawi. 11:05 Your parents are in Malawi. 11:06 Were you raised in Malawi? 11:08 So I grew up in Nigeria for 10 years. 11:10 I went to high school in Kenya. 11:11 So I lived a total of 12 years in Africa. 11:12 But my parents are living in Malawi now 11:15 after I, you know, left them, 11:17 they moved to a different country. 11:20 So that gave us a connection for a place to go. 11:23 But Kalie is the overseas coordinator 11:25 for the program, 11:26 so she can tell you more about planning. 11:28 Okay. Yeah. 11:29 So for the four-year bachelors of science degree 11:32 that International Rescue and Relief is, 11:35 there's two exciting parts. 11:37 So what Andrew was explaining about the rescue 11:40 and like the technical rescue and stuff like that is taught 11:43 immediately following their freshman year, 11:45 once they have their EMT certification, 11:48 then they jump right into all the rescue classes. 11:50 But we hold off a little bit on the mission service 11:53 until they can have a little bit more training 11:55 in cultural diversity and like the social dimensions 11:58 that are behind potential disasters 12:02 and just what it's like maybe to expose them more 12:06 to people of other cultures and that level of diversity. 12:10 So we give them lots of classes. 12:13 And then their final semester of college 12:15 is when we do an overseas semester. 12:18 So Andrew and I, we were students. 12:21 And when we were students, 12:22 we went for our CS semester to Nicaragua. 12:25 And the program had been going to Nicaragua 12:27 for about 10 years. 12:29 When we came back as professors, 12:31 we led two semesters down to Nicaragua. 12:36 And Nicaragua, you know, 12:37 we have really great connections, 12:40 really great people, 12:41 fantastic doctors that we work with, 12:44 fantastic firefighters that we work with, 12:46 like all of these amazing people. 12:48 However, their government is a little unstable right now. 12:55 And so they broke out into a little bit of... 12:57 not a civil war, 12:58 but there's a lot of unrest and rioting. 13:00 And so because of the safety factor, 13:02 we chose not to go back to Nicaragua this year, 13:05 which was really a hard decision 13:06 because we loved it so much. 13:09 But when we knew, okay, we can't go back to Nicaragua, 13:11 this is a very logistics heavy semester. 13:15 You can't just take, you know, 13:17 16-20 students to a country and show up, 13:20 like, there's a lot of preparation, 13:21 a lot of planning, a lot of ground 13:23 that has to be paved first. 13:25 So when we knew we couldn't go back to Nicaragua, 13:30 you know, we were all praying about it, 13:32 trying to decide 13:33 where's the best place for us to go. 13:35 And it turns out that Andrew's family, 13:38 his parents are working in Malawi, 13:42 and so they said, "Well, we can help." 13:45 So we went just for a scouting trip 13:48 for a week during the summer. 13:50 And during that week... that week trip, 13:53 we could take a whole hour just telling you 13:55 about all the miracles that happened 13:56 in that one week alone, 13:58 just that God made it very clear 14:01 beyond the shadow of a doubt 14:02 that this is where he wanted us to go, 14:04 that He opened the doors, we met all the right people. 14:06 Oh. Even on the airplane, huh? 14:08 Yes. 14:09 Even on the airplane coming home, 14:10 we sat next to the right people. 14:12 So it's very clear God wanted us to go there. 14:15 That's right. 14:16 So we went forward with that plan. 14:18 And for the whole fall semester, 14:20 like we were both teaching classes 14:21 in the fall semester. 14:22 But on top of that, 14:24 we were also in contact with everybody in Malawi 14:27 and trying to work out the logistics of transportation 14:30 and where we're going to stay. 14:32 We wrote up... Where we're going to work. 14:34 Yeah, we wrote up work agreements 14:35 with several different organizations. 14:38 So we worked with the Adventist health services, 14:41 we worked with... 14:42 Adventist University. 14:44 Yeah, the Adventist University there in Malawi. 14:46 We worked with the UNHCR, 14:49 which is the High Commissioner for Refugees from the UN. 14:53 There's a refugee camp there that we were able to work in. 14:55 Wow. A huge camp. 14:57 Yeah, a very large camp. 14:59 So we were able to make all of these connections 15:01 in the summer, 15:03 and then I spent that fall planning 15:04 exactly when and where we would be in each place. 15:07 And then we were able to actually make it happen. 15:10 And we spent our first semester abroad in Malawi, 15:14 just in this last year. 15:15 We? How many is we? 15:17 So, Andrew and myself were the only staff that went. 15:21 This year, we had 14 students. 15:24 It varies depending on the year, of course, 15:25 our first year, leading the group, 15:27 it was 20, 21. 15:30 Yep, so that was big. 15:32 The next year was 8, 15:33 and then this year, it was 14, so it varies. 15:35 Yeah. 15:36 Now when you think about all those 14 going, 15:38 do you tend to have more guys than girls 15:41 or it's pretty even? 15:44 It's been pretty even. 15:46 It's pretty even, 15:47 sometimes there'll be a little bit of variation. 15:49 But for the most part, 15:50 for even the summer program after their freshman year 15:53 and then again for the overseas semester, 15:56 it's pretty much split down the middle. 15:57 Yeah, plus or minus one or two. 16:00 And when you think about the things that you do, 16:01 I mean, International Relief and Rescue, 16:03 we've been talking about this in preparation for the program, 16:08 it's paramount to I'm going to really strip... 16:13 It's paramount to you are on the lines 16:16 to help others, 16:17 but you have such survival skills 16:20 'cause I asked, I said, "Well, when you train people, 16:23 do you send them out with a flashlight?" 16:25 No. 16:27 "Do they have any digital devices?" 16:29 No. Any tents? 16:30 Any tents? But there is a... 16:31 Tell me about that. 16:33 I mean, just kind of familiarize 16:34 our audience with that. 16:36 Because there's an emergency kit they have. 16:38 But when you're training these young people 16:40 to kind of walk us through that Colorado scenario, 16:43 I think that was very interesting 16:44 when you dive back into Malawi. 16:46 Okay, so, like, you know, I'll talk about that then? 16:50 So that's the part that I plan 16:51 is the Summer Intensive session. 16:54 And that's a lot of fun. 16:56 I love the international work, 16:57 and that's what I grew up doing, 16:59 and I'm passionate about that. 17:00 But I think the summer portion may be more fun. 17:04 So the first week of the five weeks 17:07 that we do out in Southwest Colorado, 17:09 in the four corners area, is survival. 17:12 We're at 8,000 feet. 17:14 It's a beautiful ranch 17:15 that we partner with another Adventist group 17:19 that has a summer camp out there, 17:20 and they have 1,400 acres that they let us use. 17:23 So it's a beautiful big piece of land. 17:27 And it gives us a lot of space to be able to use and train, 17:30 they've got cliffs, valleys, creeks, 17:33 we're able to spread across this land and use it 17:35 for different training purposes. 17:37 So on that first week of survival, 17:40 we spend the first three days training the students 17:42 'cause we don't just put them out and say, 17:44 "Hey, figure it out." 17:45 We train them first. Good. 17:48 Then we teach them how to build shelters, 17:50 what plants are safe to eat, how to purify water, 17:53 how to build snares, how to find direction, 17:56 north, south, east, west, all that stuff. 18:00 We teach them how to do it over three days, 18:03 and then the next three days are solo. 18:06 We have this huge long canyon 18:07 with a creek running down the middle 18:09 and we spread them out every half mile. 18:12 And they have their own space that they work. 18:14 And for three days, 18:15 they're out there by themselves. 18:17 They have a list of tasks that they have to accomplish. 18:19 But a lot of it we try to put a very spiritual focus on. 18:25 And that gives them time to journal, to pray, 18:27 we encourage them to take their Bibles with them. 18:29 And most of them have never actually sat 18:31 for that amount of time to think about who am I, 18:34 what am I doing in my life, what do I want to do, 18:38 to listen to God and like to pray 18:40 for that amount of times. 18:42 I mean, so they come out 18:43 of the other side of that three days 18:45 much more confident 'cause, going in, 18:47 a lot of them think they can't do it. 18:49 But they come out feeling strong. 18:50 If I can do that, I can do anything. 18:52 That's right. Wow. 18:53 And then they also feel much closer to God, 18:54 much more confident, 18:56 and they're able to take on the next four weeks 18:58 feeling good about themselves. 19:00 Yeah. 19:01 That's something I think I'd like to try out, 19:02 but I might need a little bit of preconditioning. 19:04 I don't know. 19:05 And you teach them how to eat, 19:07 how to survive on various plants? 19:09 Yeah, it's very limited. 19:10 So they know what plants are safe to eat. 19:11 We teach them all the rules about, you know, 19:13 such as have edges, brushes around, 19:14 and which one is safe to eat 19:16 and aggregated fruits and that kind of stuff, 19:19 what's good and safe. 19:22 And then for the actual solo, they're only allowed 19:25 to take a very minimal amount of stuff with them. 19:27 So they have a knife, 19:28 a metal match, a water purifier, 19:30 whatever they're wearing for a day hike, 19:31 a small backpack, and some fishing line, 19:36 Para cord, snare wire, a few other things like that. 19:38 But it's very limited, 19:40 no flashlight like you were saying. 19:41 No flashlight. No tent. 19:43 They get extra credit for several things. 19:45 Like if they don't use their sleeping bag 19:46 and they build a shelter that's warm enough 19:48 without having to use a sleeping bag, 19:50 they get extra credit for that. 19:54 We do have safety protocols built in as well. 19:56 So they have to mark a trail 19:57 from where we drop them off to where their shelter is 20:00 so we can find them in case of emergency. 20:02 We give them radios and whistles in a black bag 20:05 that's sealed so they can break into that 20:06 and radio for help if they needed anything. 20:08 Critical situations. 20:10 Yeah. 20:11 We check on them every morning and night. 20:13 So we have a mailbox from where we drop them off. 20:17 Mailbox, you know, 20:18 it's just a little Tupperware container 20:19 and it's waterproof 20:21 and we leave flashcards in there, 20:22 and they'll just tell us, you know, 20:25 "I didn't sleep well last night," 20:26 or "I'm doing okay," or they just give us 20:28 a little update about how they're doing. 20:29 And we check on that every morning and night 20:30 just to see how they're doing, 20:32 but no verbal contact unless something is happening 20:34 that we need to pull them out for some reason. 20:36 That is really good because what that does 20:38 is that rips us away from the convenience, 20:40 "I don't have a spoon, 20:41 could somebody give me something to eat?" 20:42 Wow! 20:44 You know, "Where's the cereal?" 20:45 I'm... "It's right around you. 20:47 It's in the forest." Everywhere. 20:48 It is really interesting. 20:49 It's off the grid kind of training. 20:51 So you develop a mindset 20:54 that you begin to see in nature 20:55 and in situations that may be traumatic 20:58 to the person living in the city. 21:00 You may see, "Wow! 21:01 There's so much out here 21:03 we have access to in comparison." 21:05 And that's amazing. 21:06 You want to try it out, honey? 21:07 I don't know. 21:09 Actually would be interesting. 21:10 Well, I don't know. 21:12 Let's get back to Malawi. That's right. 21:14 'Cause we have... 21:16 Tell us more about that. 21:17 The miracles, there are some things 21:19 that happened in Malawi that we brought... 21:21 you have some videos and pictures, 21:22 maybe I think what we should do 21:24 is go to, maybe, some of the videos 21:25 and then we'll come back and dive 21:27 into the specifics of Malawi. 21:28 Maybe you could lead us into what we see 21:30 or let us know what we see afterwards. 21:32 Oh, if I could just give you a brief of what they expect, 21:36 we went there, obviously, like I said, 21:38 it's a semester abroad. 21:40 It's very service-oriented. It's all about service. 21:43 The students know that they're going there 21:46 to not necessarily get much out of it for themselves. 21:51 It's academic, of course, but it's service-oriented. 21:55 And we had a very tight schedule planned. 22:01 We had everything, you know, organized out, 22:03 everything that was supposed to happen 22:05 because from like my perspective, 22:07 from Andrew's perspective, 22:09 we have to make sure that they meet certain requirements 22:11 because everything is for letter grade, 22:14 and they have to be able to accomplish those skills 22:16 in order to graduate, right? 22:18 Right. 22:19 However, while we were there, near the very end 22:22 'cause we were there from January until April, 22:25 so near the very end of March, 22:27 we had our regularly scheduled programming, 22:30 if you will, and that we were going to... 22:33 When the cyclone, cyclone Ida came through 22:36 and devastated parts of Mozambique 22:39 and the southern portion of Malawi, 22:42 so when that hit, 22:45 the students were aware of the situation 22:48 and they knew this is actually something 22:50 that we're trained to be able to help with. 22:53 They've gone through all of the swift water rescue, 22:55 the technical rope rescue, 22:56 the survival, the flood management classes. 22:59 They know what it's like. 23:01 They know what they need to do in order to be able to respond. 23:04 Plus, we'd been there for almost three months 23:06 at this point doing medical clinics. 23:10 The majority of our time was for medical clinics. 23:13 And so they're, you know, very used to the routine. 23:17 And when this happened, everyone is thinking, 23:19 "Hmm, is there may be a chance that we could go and help? 23:24 'Cause we're here, like, we're trained, we're capable, 23:27 and we're not even that far away, 23:29 we're in the same country that needs the help." 23:30 Yes. 23:32 So we knew it was a great opportunity. 23:35 We didn't want to go against what we had already planned, 23:40 but we also wanted to be open to the leading of God. 23:42 And so we stopped and we prayed, 23:45 and we said, "God, you know, we already have our plans. 23:50 We already have this academic program 23:52 that we need to complete. 23:53 However, if it's your will, 23:57 if this is what you want us to do, 23:58 if you want us to stop what we're doing now and go 24:00 and respond to this disaster, 24:03 we need you to answer our prayer, 24:05 we need a fleece." 24:07 So we put our fleece down and we said, 24:09 if it's your will that we go, 24:11 we ask that we will have an official invitation 24:14 by an official organization like the Malawian government 24:18 or another NGO that was responding, 24:21 they would reach out to us and contact us 24:24 and ask us to go with them. 24:26 And it had to be that day 24:27 'cause we only had a week worth of time 24:30 that we could actually go and help. 24:31 So I said, 24:32 "God, if this is your will, it'll happen today." 24:36 So we prayed about it all day, 24:37 we went about our normal business 24:40 what we had planned already for the day. 24:42 Which was actually another huge honor 24:45 and kind of a God thing was 24:47 we were working at the United Nations 24:48 High Commissioner for Refugees refugee camp in Malawi, 24:51 which had over 30,000 refugees in it, 24:54 and a huge need there as well. 24:55 Yes. 24:57 And so we went to the camp 24:58 and met all the right people there. 25:00 It was kind of a God thing that they were all there 25:01 at the same time. 25:03 Yeah, it's true 'cause this is a... 25:04 You know, we had already known 25:06 that it was a possibility that we would respond. 25:08 And we were there at the camp, and the... 25:12 What was his position? 25:14 Gideon? Gideon's position. 25:16 He was the director of health and response 25:18 for all refugees in the country. 25:20 Yeah. 25:21 And we had met him a couple days earlier 25:22 and gotten to know him some. 25:24 And he just happened to come back that day, 25:26 and we're like, "Oh, well, okay. 25:30 Do you know, like, is there a need? 25:33 Does the government need anybody to come and help?" 25:36 And he said, "Hm, I think yes." 25:39 It's like I happen to know 25:40 the deputy director for the response. 25:42 Oh, my. 25:44 Let me give you his phone number. 25:45 Oh, my. 25:46 So you already see the pieces coming together. 25:48 I do. Yeah. 25:49 But you still have to get the invitation? 25:50 Right, right, exactly. 25:52 So Andrew had contacted them and explained 25:54 like the credentials that we had 25:56 and the experience that we had 25:58 and that we were willing and able to help. 26:01 And like I said, we were praying the whole day. 26:03 Dr. Kingsley was in the camp too that day. 26:06 Okay. Yeah. 26:08 So we actually were there and, you know, 26:10 praying about this and what to do. 26:11 And like we said, 26:13 the director of health for refugees 26:14 was in the camp that day. 26:17 And they introduced us to the deputy director 26:19 for the response to the cyclone from Malawi. 26:22 But also we were working for the United Nations 26:24 at this point. 26:25 And we had signed a memorandum of understanding with them 26:28 that we'd work in the camp, you know, X amount of days. 26:31 And the head of office for UNHCR 26:34 was in the camp that day 26:36 meeting with this other individual 26:38 that gave us the phone number. 26:39 And we had them both there at the same time. 26:41 "Yes, there's a need. 26:43 I'll connect you with the right person." 26:44 And Dr. Kingsley, the director of UNHCR, 26:47 the country director said 26:48 "Yes, I realized there's a need, 26:51 you can leave your memorandum of understanding early 26:53 and go to the response." 26:55 So we released and allowed to go 26:56 and we were given the context on how to get there. 27:02 But still no invitation. 27:04 But still, right, you need that. 27:05 Yeah. 27:06 But, like, the steps were being laid, 27:08 and we went through the entire day, 27:11 still had heard nothing. 27:14 We were kind of starting to wonder, 27:16 "Maybe this isn't God's will." 27:17 You know, it was late at night. 27:19 We were getting ready for bed actually. 27:23 And I think we might have actually 27:24 even just like said goodnight 27:26 and we were already, like, just done for the day. 27:27 And we had actually just sat down 27:29 and Andrew looked at me and he's like, 27:31 "Well, maybe it's not God's will. 27:33 Maybe we're not supposed to respond." 27:35 And this was at like, 11:00, 11:30 at night. 27:39 And he just, you know, 27:40 picked his phone up to plug it in 27:42 and saw that there was an email 27:44 sitting there in his inbox at 11:30 at night 27:47 from the Malawian... 27:49 Deputy director of response. 27:51 Yeah, asking us to please come. 27:52 Look at that. 27:54 So when you see the response come through, 27:56 you know, God is obviously saying, 27:58 "This is what I want you to do." 27:59 And it changes your whole perspective. 28:02 So the Lord is now taking over 28:03 and we're gonna follow into His mission. 28:05 And you brought some pictures and some videos with you 28:08 to kind of walk us through that. 28:09 We'll go to the pictures first and you tell us what we see. 28:11 Sure. 28:13 So this here is a picture of our team. 28:15 You can see the blue T-shirts 28:18 with our IR logo over their shoulder. 28:21 The people in uniform 28:23 are actually the Malawi Defense Force 28:25 as well as the South African Defense Force. 28:28 South Africa actually came up with a helicopter and medics 28:31 to help provide medical relief for Malawi. 28:35 And supplies too, food, water, bedding. 28:38 This is us packing, 28:39 trying to get ready for the morning 28:41 because the roads, 28:44 everything was just completely flooded 28:45 and washed out. 28:47 And so the only way for us to access these clinics 28:50 was by helicopter. 28:52 So the South African military actually flew us in 28:57 via helicopter over the flooding. 28:59 We only had so many pounds we could take on with us. 29:04 So we know we're going to be seeing hundreds of patients, 29:07 but we only have X amount of medications 29:11 that we can actually take with us. 29:12 So we had to pack very strategically. 29:15 And this is us landing on our first mission 29:18 with the South African Defense Force. 29:20 You can see the people just waiting. 29:22 They heard the helicopter coming 29:24 from long ways off. 29:25 That's me there in the in the Rescue and Relief shirt. 29:28 And they heard us coming and they knew it was help. 29:32 And these are people that 29:33 actually the rainy season was happening. 29:37 Yeah, here you can see they're clapping. 29:39 Beautiful. They're happy to see you. 29:41 Yes. Oh. 29:44 They're glad that some help has come. 29:47 When you get to that kind of setting, 29:50 how do you just you just kick into gear. 29:53 I mean, tell me what do you do 29:54 when you just land and what happens next? 29:58 Well, thankfully, we had been doing 30:00 three months of medical clinics, 30:01 leading up to this point. 30:03 So the students that we took with us, 30:05 they were well trained, they knew exactly their roles, 30:08 they knew exactly what to do, 30:09 and they knew how to do it very well. 30:11 And so as soon as we would land, 30:13 we'd carry our gear off the aircraft, 30:16 and usually, we would meet with the village chief, 30:19 and they would direct us 30:20 to a building that we could use. 30:23 So there's no standard clinic building in each village. 30:28 So it's whatever they have to offer. 30:30 Sometimes it was one classroom from their school. 30:33 Sometimes it was a church. 30:35 Sometimes they did have a clinic facility, 30:37 but they had no clinicians or medications. 30:41 And so they would let us use the empty building. 30:43 It really would just depend. 30:45 And so as soon as we would land, 30:47 we'd carry our gear out and the students knew exactly. 30:52 Andrew had them writing up all of the FEMA documents, 30:56 basically, you can explain it 30:58 so the students knew their role each day. 31:01 Yeah. 31:02 So while Kalie was out 31:04 managing the clinics and everything, 31:06 I was the one staying back in the capital 31:09 or in the base of operations, working with the other players, 31:12 so the Malawi Defense Force commanders 31:14 and the South African Defense Force commanders 31:18 and planning for the next day and where we go the next day, 31:21 and like who would do what, and that kind of stuff, 31:23 and we would take, like we said, 31:25 we train all of our students 31:27 in the incident command structure 31:28 from the same system 31:29 that we use across the US with FEMA. 31:32 And we use all the same forms. 31:33 We had our emergency operation planner 31:37 for the whole response. 31:38 And then every day, we'd write a new incident action plan, 31:40 so what we were doing for that operational period. 31:43 And everybody had their work assignment 31:44 and knew exactly what their role was. 31:46 So as soon as we got on ground, 31:47 everybody knew exactly what they were supposed to do 31:50 and what was expected of them, so... 31:52 We were totally like self-sufficient, 31:55 basically, clinic. 31:57 So we had our own intake. 31:59 We had students working triage 32:00 where they would get everybody's vitals 32:01 and chief complaints. 32:03 We could determine who was the most sick. 32:06 And so if there was somebody that had a dire need, 32:10 we could get them to the front of the line 32:12 to see a doctor immediately. 32:13 This here, this picture is them in triage. 32:15 You can see the line forming behind them. 32:17 Long line. Yes. 32:19 So we had triage, 32:20 we had students working, seeing patients. 32:24 At this point, like I said, they had seen hundreds, 32:27 they'd seen thousands of patients 32:28 by the time we were done with the semester. 32:31 Here is our lab, actually. 32:32 We could test blood, we could test for malaria, 32:36 we could test, you know, urine 32:39 to see if they had infections or anything like that 32:42 so we would know better medications to prescribe. 32:46 Here's just more intake seeing patients. 32:51 So we had providers as well. 32:53 We did hire Malawian doctors to come with us 32:56 to oversee everything 'cause we're not doctors. 32:59 So we're just making sure 33:01 that the standard of care we were providing 33:03 was as high as possible. 33:04 The doctors signed off on everything we did. 33:07 And then of course, 33:08 they'd end with medications from our pharmacy. 33:11 This picture I'd like to stop on for one second. 33:14 This is an internally displaced camp. 33:17 You can see here this is... 33:18 These are people from many, many villages 33:21 that have lost everything. 33:23 Their homes have been washed away, 33:25 their crops have been ruined. 33:27 They've most likely lost all of their possessions 33:29 except for what they could carry. 33:31 And you can see, this was lunchtime, 33:34 so the women are just. 33:36 They have claimed stake 33:37 on this one section of concrete. 33:38 They're starting to cook lunch. 33:41 You can see behind them the many, many sheds. 33:44 Pavilions. 33:46 Pavilions, yeah, they're massive, 33:48 with hundreds of people in each. 33:50 And that's all they have to their name at this point. 33:53 In this camp, 33:55 they had 30 different camps across the country... 33:57 yeah, across the affected area 33:58 and that camp specifically was one of the bigger ones. 34:01 They had about 13,000 people in that camp. 34:04 That many? 34:05 What were the needs? 34:07 Everything. Everything? 34:08 Yeah. Food, water, bug nets. 34:10 I mean, 'cause imagine the floodwaters rising 34:12 and you can just take with you what you can carry, 34:16 you know, so they lost their clothes, 34:17 their schoolbooks, their... 34:19 You know, everything, they lost. 34:22 Yeah. Yeah. Terrible. 34:24 Some of the miracle stories that happen out of this 34:26 because I know that when you go on a mission for the Lord, 34:29 He's not just going to send you and say, 34:30 "Well, hey, handle it, you're trained." 34:33 The Lord often moves mountains 34:36 to make what we think is very, very difficult, 34:39 obvious that he's involved in the mix. 34:41 What are some of the things you experienced 34:43 when you're out on the service, 34:45 serving these individuals that, you know, 34:47 "Hey, this is a God thing. 34:48 He's working in here. 34:50 He's moving in our behalf." 34:53 I think in addition 34:55 to obviously Him calling us to go as we specifically asked, 35:01 We also had the issue of funding it, 35:03 because we had to be able to buy all of the medications 35:07 for our very own pharmacy. 35:08 We had to be able to buy food and water and things like that 35:12 for our staff just so that we can feed them 35:15 and make sure that they we're staying healthy as well. 35:18 Like here we said, we were totally self-contained. 35:20 We had our own physicians, we had our own team, 35:22 we had our own food, water, shelter, transportation, 35:26 as far as vehicles and everything. 35:28 So we had to be that self-contained unit 35:29 so that we weren't a burden 35:31 on anybody else in the response. 35:32 Because there's already short supply 35:34 we don't want to add to that. 35:35 Yeah, and at this point, 35:37 it was near the end of the semester, 35:38 our like, funds had been drained. 35:40 We had just enough to finish out 35:42 the last couple of weeks as planned 35:44 not to fund a huge response effort. 35:47 So the day after we got the call 35:49 at 11:30 at night saying, please come, 35:51 we told the students the next morning 35:53 and we said to them, like, 35:55 obviously, you know, "This is God's will, 35:56 He's asked us to go, He's called us to go, 35:59 and He's not gonna let us down now, 36:01 but we need you to pray for money. 36:04 We need you to pray for funds because we can't afford this. 36:07 So the students, they all started praying as well. 36:11 They went about their day as usual too 36:14 because there's very little we could do in preparation 36:16 without some money coming in. 36:18 But by early afternoon, 36:24 we went from absolutely no money for this response 36:27 to having $13,000 dispatched 36:30 in response in a matter of hours. 36:32 And mind you, 36:33 this is the middle of the day Malawi, 36:35 which is the middle of the night US 36:37 where all their friends and family are. 36:39 How did you raise the funds? 36:41 Sorry? How did you raise the funds? 36:43 It was generous friends and family of our students. 36:46 Oh, what a blessing! Look at that. 36:47 Then we put a call out as well to some of our previous donors. 36:51 So one that was very gracious 36:53 and worked with us in a previous response, 36:54 this is not the first response we've gone to, 36:56 we've also been to, you know, Haiti. 36:59 Ike, Sandy. 37:01 Harvey in Texas, you know, 37:02 we've gone to several in the past, so... 37:04 So not just overseas but also some in the country, 37:08 rescue situations, you mentioned Texas. 37:10 Yeah. 37:12 We led the team down to Texas a couple years ago as well. 37:15 That was a big response as well. 37:16 So we reached out to some of those same donors 37:18 who had helped us in the past. 37:20 Brother's Brother being one of them. 37:21 They're a great NGO that works overseas as well. 37:24 They gave us some funding. 37:26 We had some people from California, 37:27 the Napa Valley Association gave us some funding as well. 37:31 Different family members. 37:33 Yeah. 37:34 It was amazing to see the generosity 37:36 that came to us with that. 37:37 So literally within hours of our first miracle, 37:41 we had our second miracle 37:42 where we'd actually raised more money 37:44 than we even thought we would need. 37:46 We had estimated we would need about 10,000 37:48 and 13,000 had been pledged right off the bat. 37:52 So that was definitely just, 37:54 you know, we already knew that it was God's will 37:56 but if there was any doubt 37:57 in any of our minds, any of the students' minds 38:00 there was no way they could wonder anymore. 38:01 Now what would money provide? 38:03 What would that might be used for? 38:06 So it was for every single step of the operation. 38:09 So we hired vehicles, 38:11 as we needed to be able to transport ourselves 38:13 back down to the south. 38:15 It was what funded our pharmacy, 38:19 so we were able to purchase medications, 38:22 the lab equipment that we needed, 38:25 things like that. 38:26 Medications are expensive, 38:28 that's where the majority of the money went 38:29 was to the pharmacy. 38:30 Yes, they're very, very, very expensive. 38:32 But we were able to actually get discounts 38:34 even for that, which was another miracle 38:37 that God provided our money went further. 38:38 Having worked with the Adventist Health System 38:40 for the last few months, 38:42 we were actually basing out of the hospital 38:43 where my parents were working at the time, 38:45 or are still working, we were with them at the time. 38:48 And the business manager there said, 38:50 "Hey, you can use our pharmacy number 38:52 and buy the drugs at wholesale instead of retail." 38:55 Wow. 38:57 So that's saved us a huge amount of money, 38:58 we were able to make it go much farther. 39:00 Yup. 39:01 Now the reason I asked that question 39:02 is because first you have to get the invitation, 39:05 the Lord opened that door late in the midnight hour. 39:10 And then, "Okay, we got the invitation 39:11 but what are we gonna use?" 39:14 And that's where the funds came in. 39:16 We're glad to go now 39:17 but Lord, what are we gonna use to help this relief effort? 39:20 We know there's gonna be a lot of need food, clothing, water, 39:24 but then the supplies, the medicine, the triage, 39:26 that you're gonna carry on. 39:28 The reason I'm saying is because we... 39:30 Remember, we did a triage in the jungles of Zimbabwe. 39:32 With Maranatha, yeah. 39:35 Yeah, we went out there. 39:36 You almost had a chance to pull somebody's teeth. 39:37 Yeah, was supposed to pull someone's tooth, 39:40 then they said we got to go, I was so happy. 39:42 Said we got to go now and so I was... 39:44 They were showing me, 39:45 they said, we'd like you to pull a tooth 39:47 and, you know, the dental guy was there. 39:48 He was there, he already numbed and everything needed, 39:50 showed her how to do it. 39:51 And he was training on the spot. 39:53 He said, "Would you like to pull a tooth?" 39:54 "Okay." 39:58 I was rescued at the last minute. 39:59 Well, we need to go. 40:02 But the triage idea 40:03 in a situation like this in Africa, 40:05 you know, there's some very, very developed parts of Africa. 40:07 But then when you go into these underdeveloped areas... 40:10 Post disaster. 40:12 Post disaster, that's the other aspect of it. 40:14 It's not only, you know, homes that are built 40:16 out of some of the most basic elements 40:18 that are available, but then all of a sudden 40:20 a flood or a tornado, or in this case a cyclone, 40:23 which is a tornado in America, 40:24 comes through and just devastates, 40:26 water blows away everything a person has, 40:28 you're going into a very disadvantaged situation. 40:30 And then what about the chances 40:32 of getting malaria and all, that 40:33 that's also heightened, isn't it? 40:36 Typhoid, cholera, all of these things, 40:37 the chances of contracting it goes up. 40:40 Yeah, which for our team, 40:41 we were already taking malaria prophylaxis 40:43 and other and had vaccinations 40:44 to prevent most of these things, 40:46 but for the indigenous population, 40:49 a lot of them don't. 40:50 Yeah. 40:52 I like what you were just saying. 40:53 I think that's a very important concept. 40:54 Because floods in the US are absolutely devastating, 40:59 families lose everything and it's horrible. 41:02 But a flood in the US does not wipe away 41:04 our food supply for the next year. 41:05 No, so true. 41:07 And that's what these people are facing currently right now 41:09 is that these floods have washed away their crops. 41:12 And at this point, there's no chance for them 41:14 to be able to recover that food before the next season. 41:18 When you're a subsistence farmer, 41:19 and you have no other source of income 41:21 and you're living off of what you eat 41:23 and sell the extra for a little bit of money, 41:26 now you've lost your livelihood and your food. 41:28 That's right, because we saw a home, 41:31 I think it was in either Zimbabwe or Zambia, 41:33 that was pretty much a thatched hut. 41:35 You know, the kind of mud and straw and all. 41:38 And we saw a hole in the wall of it, and we said, 41:40 "What will it cost to fix that?" 41:42 And it really broke our hearts to see that, 41:44 "Well, if a really heavy rain came through, 41:47 we know that that house would just disintegrate. 41:50 But the Lord was able to reach out and touch. 41:52 So you're in that kind of a situation 41:54 when you go to places like Malawi, 41:56 how do you determine... 41:58 Excuse me, how do you determine 42:00 when your need, 42:02 when your services have supplied enough need 42:06 so that you could leave it now to the locals, 42:08 or to the government and you say, 42:10 "Okay, it's time for us to pull back or move out." 42:13 So we were doing, as I said, medical clinics, 42:15 but we were also basically an assessment team 42:18 on the ground for the government. 42:19 Okay. 42:21 So we were going to places getting out there 42:23 like, right away as soon as we could, 42:25 they were taking us there. 42:27 And these villages had, 42:28 some of them like we said, a thousands of people. 42:30 In our team, we didn't have enough capacity 42:34 within our team to be able to treat all thousands of them. 42:38 But what we could do then is 42:40 we could treat the most immediate needs, 42:43 then the sickest of the sick, we could treat them. 42:46 And then what I was doing every day was, 42:48 I was taking statistics 42:51 of all of the patients that we'd seen. 42:52 Sometimes hundreds of people I was tracking the statistics, 42:56 and then I would report those 42:57 to the government at the end of the day saying, 42:59 "This place, we have outbreaks of schistosomiasis," 43:03 or something like this. 43:04 "This place has the most malaria 43:06 we've seen so far." 43:07 And I could tell the government what we saw and then 43:10 they could at least have, have an estimate 43:12 of how dire the need was there 43:14 and then they could return later, 43:16 over and over again, as the weeks progressed. 43:18 Wow. 43:20 And be able to talk to people on ground and be like, 43:22 "What are your biggest needs here now? 43:25 Is it water? Is it food? 43:26 Is it shelter? Is it bug nets? 43:28 Is it..." 43:29 You know, "What is your biggest needs here? 43:30 And now what do we need to take back 43:32 to the response committee 43:34 and so they know what to be planning for 43:37 in the future. 43:38 So while we couldn't meet every single person's need, 43:40 we hope that we at least paved the way 43:41 for future response teams and the government 43:44 to be able to come back 43:46 and meet those needs better in the future. 43:48 Now you have needs, don't you feel your school? 43:52 Aren't their needs for Union College there? 43:55 You want to build whatever, 43:57 a technical rescue center you were talking about? 44:00 Tell us about that? 44:01 So, you know, 44:03 we strive for excellence in our program, 44:04 we really want to make it the best that we can. 44:06 And I think that this response is a prime example 44:09 of the quality of the education 44:11 that we've been able to provide. 44:13 The students were ready and willing. 44:15 And, you know, 44:16 one another miracle we didn't talk about 44:18 was how, when we showed up, 44:19 one of the South African colonels 44:21 wasn't really excited about us being there, 44:22 he wasn't sure of our capacity. 44:25 And by the end of it, 44:26 he sat us down for a lessons learned 44:28 for 30 minutes and asked us 44:30 what we were doing and why we worked so well 44:32 and he was impressed with us, 44:33 and what they could do better for the continued response. 44:35 Wow! 44:36 The South African military told us 44:37 that we were the most professional team 44:39 they'd worked with there. 44:40 Wow, praise God. 44:41 So that was, you know, 44:43 a great testament to our program 44:44 and we want to keep pushing to be better. 44:46 You never want to be stagnant. 44:47 You know, the industry keeps pushing forward 44:48 and we want to be part of that. 44:50 You know, and as an academic and educational facility 44:53 when we want to, you know, 44:54 spearhead some of the best techniques out there 44:56 and teach our students those things 44:58 to stay up on the best practices. 45:01 So the technical rescue center, 45:02 tell us about the need for that, 45:05 and what it will facilitate. 45:06 We talked about that little bit. 45:08 I was very impressed to look at the vision 45:11 that you had for that, 45:13 to know that it's not just something 45:14 that would help the school and the students, 45:16 but it has a larger capacity 45:18 to equip other individuals, talk about that? 45:20 Yeah. 45:22 So we're in the very, very beginning stages of it. 45:25 We've got some architectural drawings 45:27 that, you know, a local architectural firm 45:30 donate their time and effort for us. 45:32 Probably about $30,000 worth of effort 45:34 just for the drawings have been given to us, 45:36 donated to us already. 45:37 Wow! 45:39 And they're amazing drawings, places that we could, you know, 45:41 we could practice, confine space, 45:43 rescue, trench rescue, technical rope, 45:47 overturned vehicles, collapse structure, 45:49 grain bin silo rescues, 45:50 all this kind of stuff in this one building. 45:53 And there's nothing like it in the Midwest. 45:55 There's some things out in the... 45:56 on the east of west coast like Seattle, California, 45:59 New York, Texas has a couple of facilities, 46:01 but there's nothing in it 46:02 like that in the Midwest that trains 46:04 to the National Fire Protection Association standards. 46:07 Now which we do, we train to those standards. 46:09 And we like to be able to offer those training standards 46:14 and, you know, classes to the fire departments 46:17 and response teams in our area. 46:20 We just had some flooding in Nebraska 46:22 and we were able to respond to that, as well, 46:24 a different team than us, but also hire our students, 46:28 with the professors that were still in the US. 46:30 Wow! 46:31 And during the response and rescue efforts, 46:34 seven firefighters in our region almost died, 46:36 because they didn't have the proper training. 46:38 And we would like to change that 46:40 and be able to have a center at Union College 46:42 that would be a center of excellence 46:44 and be able to provide that kind of training. 46:46 So what happened is they encountered situations 46:48 that they didn't really actually get training for. 46:50 But this facility, 46:51 because you talked about some of the mock-ups I think, 46:53 I'm gonna use that phrase mock-ups like silo rescue, 46:57 some of the other things you just described. 46:59 If they actually face that crisis 47:01 and knew how to handle it in a mock-up of that set, 47:06 then they won't have to face it for the first time and say, 47:08 "Now what do we do?" Exactly. 47:09 And that's kind of what you're talking about. 47:11 Yeah. 47:12 So we teach this swift water rescue, 47:13 flood management, tech rope, confined space, 47:15 we do all that. 47:17 If we could train them 47:18 on how to do that properly and safely, 47:20 we could prevent, you know, 47:21 rescuer deaths and civilian deaths. 47:23 Because it's kind of like, 47:24 I'm in a situation where I can only travel 47:26 from one place to the next in a helicopter. 47:28 But then when we get there, they say, 47:30 "Okay, well, we're not landing, you have to parachute out." 47:32 And I say, "Well, I've never parachuted before." 47:35 "Well just put it on and just kind of pull the rope 47:36 and you see that thing goes red, 47:38 and just land and pull your feet up. 47:40 You should be okay." 47:42 That's kind of what you're talking about. 47:44 There are situations 47:45 where unfortunately people that are very well trained 47:47 in other areas are not trained 47:49 and they could really risk their lives. 47:50 Oh, yeah. 47:52 Not only theirs, but the other people 47:53 they're trying to take care of. 47:54 Yeah. 47:56 In the rescue world, 47:57 we say never try anything new unseen, 47:58 you need to practice it first 48:00 before you try in the real world. 48:03 And there's always a priority of rescuers too, like 48:07 you are the highest priority on a rescue scene. 48:10 Because if you go into a place that you're not trained 48:12 or capable to rescue in, 48:14 and you become another victim, 48:15 you've just made the situation worse. 48:17 Wow! 48:18 Which is what happened, these seven guys, 48:19 they went out to try and save someone, 48:21 didn't know what they were doing, 48:22 and then they got stuck 48:24 and the coast guard had to come and save them. 48:25 And they just ended up making the situation worse. 48:27 See? 48:29 And we want to train how to prevent that. 48:30 To know what you're doing, 48:32 to be capable and be able to make a difference. 48:34 What about vehicles? Do you need vehicles? 48:38 So as part of our arsenal, you know, goals to be better, 48:43 there's a few things that we'd like to have 48:44 for our program that would help us, you know, 48:47 more medical supplies for EMT courses, that's... 48:50 Medical is a big part of our program, 48:52 emergency medicine, as well as a couple of vehicles 48:56 like for our technical rescue side. 48:58 We'd like a big F-450 49:00 that we could put all our rescue equipment on 49:02 and be able to respond to scenes with that, 49:05 as well as an ambulance also for the medical training. 49:07 That's an SUV F-450. 49:09 Yeah. A big pickup truck. 49:11 Big pickup truck. That's right. 49:12 With all our gear on. 49:14 Other things that would be great 49:15 would be more tech rope gear, swift water gear, 49:18 flood management gear like dry suits 49:19 and things like that. 49:21 We actually have a full list. Wonderful. 49:22 We have a wish list for sure. 49:24 And you took a response cash also, 49:25 just touch on that real quickly? 49:27 Yeah, so all of that would go into our gear cash. 49:29 So it would help us with our training, 49:31 our ability to train the people around us 49:33 and our ability to respond. 49:34 Like we said, we've been on many responses 49:38 and it's a part of our real world experience 49:39 that our students are trained for it 49:41 and then get that experience in the real world 49:43 on an actual scene. 49:45 And that's why we want to make sure 49:46 that our listeners and our viewers 49:47 are going to be able to get the information that they need. 49:50 Because this, 49:51 we're just touching the tip of the iceberg. 49:54 I mean, we're looking at their world 49:56 as it were through it, 49:57 through the pinhole of television. 49:59 Yeah. 50:01 And you saw some pictures, some video, 50:03 and that's just a microcosm 50:05 of what they actually have been doing 50:07 and what they're gonna be exposed to 50:09 in the future. 50:10 What I like about Andrew and Kalie 50:12 is that they want to equip people, 50:14 they want to make the students 50:15 that are coming up in this program, 50:18 come into a very well furnished environment. 50:22 Because I think of the dollar value, 50:24 I think of it this way, 50:25 you know, the Bible uses it this way, 50:27 this is my illustration. 50:28 If the shepherd is... 50:29 If they could strike the shepherd, 50:32 the sheep will scatter. 50:33 And so they're in that shepherding role 50:36 in the sense of emergency, their dollar value is high, 50:39 they're so well trained. 50:41 You know, one of them get hurt, 50:43 not having the right supplies, 50:45 not having the right response cash, 50:47 then all of a sudden, 50:49 it puts hundreds or thousands of lives at risk. 50:51 You know, it's amazing when I think 50:52 about what you guys have done and what you're planning to do, 50:55 how important and imperative it is, 50:57 to have the right supplies to be able to accomplish that. 51:00 Not only for the students that are coming up, 51:03 but for the training of extra emergency individuals 51:06 outside in the Midwest, 51:07 I like that you focused on the Midwest, 51:10 where right now we don't really have that kind of facility. 51:12 And so if you'd like to get in touch 51:14 with Andrew and Kalie 51:16 either as a financial sponsor, 51:18 a person that's capable of providing that F-450, 51:24 that SUV for supply. 51:26 No, pickup truck. 51:27 I said what? It's an SUV pickup truck. 51:29 That's right, pickup truck. 51:30 Thank you, honey. 51:31 And I should know better, right? 51:33 I should know about trucks. Oh, yeah. 51:34 But the response cash, 51:37 building that technical research center, 51:41 here's the information that you're going to need 51:42 to be able to make that a reality. 51:44 You can contact them at this email 51:46 ucinfo@ucollege.edu. 51:51 That's U-C-I-N-F-O@ucollege.edu 51:55 or call (402) 486-2600. 52:01 Once again, (402) 486-2600. 52:07 And I know, honey, 52:08 if we ever take the challenge up, 52:11 maybe one day we'll just kind of, 52:12 maybe we'll go just to see what you do. 52:14 You're more than welcome. 52:16 It wouldn't hurt, 52:17 because I could tighten my muscles up here but... 52:19 It's a good rescue course. It's amazing. 52:22 When you look back on what you've done so far, 52:25 what can you say has been the most valuable lesson 52:27 you've drawn out of what you've done so far. 52:30 I'll start with you, Kalie. 52:31 Oh, no. 52:33 The most valuable? Yeah. 52:35 Most valuable lesson. 52:36 It didn't have to be the most valuable lesson 52:38 that you've drawn from, 52:40 because you're still learning, you're still growing. 52:42 I think from my time as a student, 52:45 'cause I started as a student 52:46 before going back as a professor. 52:48 From my time as a student, 52:49 I think just the experiences in my life 52:54 that forced me to rely on God, 52:57 it gave me confidence in my relationship with him. 53:00 But also there were a lot of instances 53:02 where God had me get myself out of my mess. 53:05 And so it grew me in my character, 53:08 and my confidence and my ability as a person 53:11 giving me the confidence then to go on and do a masters, 53:14 and to work with ADRA, and to go overseas 53:17 and eventually to come back and work as professor. 53:21 Right. 53:22 Andrew? 53:23 What about you? 53:26 I think every person has a different calling. 53:29 You know, originally, 53:31 I had a thought I was gonna be a medical doctor 53:34 and then found something else that had my passion. 53:37 You know, I think saving people physically 53:40 is what I feel called to do. 53:41 You know, there's... 53:43 saving people spiritually is what you guys do 53:44 on a daily basis. 53:46 And, and for us, I think, I like to follow 53:48 the other side of what Jesus did, 53:50 you know, where He fed the hungry 53:51 and, you know, took care of the sick 53:52 and clothed people. 53:54 And I think that's what my calling is, 53:58 to show that love physically for people, and this... 54:02 I think this program is the best way to do that. 54:03 It's a great way to train to actually meet people's needs 54:06 and try and share God's love in there, 54:08 as you as you build a relationship with them 54:10 and take care of them, show them you care. 54:12 You know, life lessons are so important to glean 54:14 from the work that you do. 54:15 Because as you go down the road many years from now, 54:18 in the same field, 54:20 you're gonna be able to write a memoir, 54:21 and talk about what we did 54:23 in different parts of the world. 54:24 And it's amazing to see that 54:27 these two lives are dedicated to making a difference 54:29 in everyone else's life. 54:31 It's amazing. 54:32 And we're gonna take a short news break 54:35 for some announcements. 54:37 And on the other side of the news break 54:38 we'll be back for a few closing thoughts. 54:41 Don't go away. |
Revised 2019-05-16