Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY190083A
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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 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:09 Hello, I'm Shelly Quinn. I'm JD Quinn. 01:11 We are so glad that you're joining us 01:13 for 3ABN Today. 01:15 We want to take, just we always like to pause 01:18 and take a moment to thank you 01:20 for your love, and your prayers, 01:22 and your financial support of 3ABN, 01:24 the Mending Broken People Network. 01:26 And I would say that our guest today 01:30 has got that same spirit of... 01:32 Amen. Mending broken people. 01:35 Let me read a text actually, he chose this text for us, 01:39 it is rather what you would say is his theme text 01:43 for the ministry. 01:45 Isaiah 58:12, 01:50 and it says, 01:51 "Those from among you shall build the old waste places, 01:55 you shall raise up the foundations 01:58 of many generations, 02:00 and you shall be called the repairer of the breach, 02:04 the restorer of streets to dwell in." 02:08 Without further ado, 02:09 let us introduce our special guest, 02:12 Ostap Dzyndra, 02:14 and we are so glad that you are here. 02:17 You are the founder and president of Build 02:21 and Restore International, is that correct? 02:24 Yes. 02:26 But we're going to find out you're also, 02:28 I mean, he's a missionary, he's an evangelist, 02:31 he's a revivalist. 02:34 God's call is on your life. 02:36 And he's a builder of physical. 02:38 Amen. 02:41 So... Man's man. 02:42 Give us in a nutshell, 02:45 the mission of Build and Restore International. 02:51 Yes, the Lord laid upon my heart 02:53 the desire to go forward and to restore the waste places 02:57 to help those people that are in need 03:00 as we saw from the very first mission trip 03:03 that happened in 2006, 03:04 and so the desire is to not only talk 03:09 and share about faith 03:11 but actually put faith into action. 03:12 Okay, so you basically, you go out, 03:14 you do construction projects, and then you do seminars, 03:18 and training, and we're going to hear all about this. 03:23 It really is an amazing ministry, 03:26 and there's an amazing story behind the ministry. 03:30 But first, we've got one of my favorite people 03:33 who's going to be singing for us, honey. 03:36 And it's one of my favorite people too. 03:38 Sandra Entermann, and she's going to be singing 03:41 "That's The Day." 04:02 There are burdens 04:04 that I carry every day 04:09 Sometimes they make me want to cry 04:17 Hopeless feelings harbored deep inside my heart 04:24 And I find it hard to hold my head up high 04:33 But In the middle of the darkness 04:37 in my life 04:40 I find the strength to carry on 04:48 As I am holding to a promise Jesus made 04:55 And I know it won't be long till we'll be gone 05:04 In a while, we'll be gone 05:11 And we won't have to cry anymore 05:20 All our sorrows left behind 05:28 That's the day that I am waiting for 05:36 And that's the day that I am longing for 05:47 And if you feel 05:49 there is no meaning in your life 05:55 And it seems you've lost your way 06:03 Listen closely to the voice that's deep inside 06:10 And remember what the Savior has to say 06:19 In a while, we'll be gone 06:26 And we won't have to cry anymore 06:35 All our sorrows left behind 06:43 That's the day that I am waiting for 06:51 And that's the day that I am longing for 06:56 Oh... 07:10 When Jesus comes to take me home 07:22 Oh, we want to thank Sandra and her friend, 07:24 you know, she is such a woman of God, 07:28 and I just love the gift that God has given her. 07:32 And that Sandra never performs, 07:34 she's always giving the glory to God. 07:37 I love it. All right. 07:39 Well, if you're joining us just a moment late, today, 07:42 our special guest is Ostap Dzyndra, 07:47 and you are the president 07:48 and founder of Build and Restore International. 07:54 We may call it BRI 07:56 but we don't want anybody to get confused, 07:58 this is not The Biblical Research Institute. 08:02 But, Ostap, 08:03 let's kind of go back to the beginning. 08:08 Your name, first of all, what does Ostap mean? 08:12 Well, I learned just recently what the meaning was as, 08:17 you know, I was in South Africa 08:18 helping with the church building project, 08:21 there was a lady there that was coming 08:22 and just peeking at the corner of the property 08:25 to see what was this building project all about, 08:27 and she happened to be pregnant at that time 08:30 with her firstborn son. 08:33 Well, as we return home 08:35 and received a quick message, 08:39 "Hey, what does your name mean?" 08:41 "Oh, I'm not sure." 08:43 Well, they went and did the research, 08:46 found out on Google and sent me a screenshot 08:49 and said, "Look, this is what it means." 08:52 Well, the meaning was steadfast in the faith, and I was like, 08:55 "Wow, I don't think my parents even know that." 08:58 Well, lo and behold, she later told us that the reason 09:02 why she was asking is because she decided 09:04 to name her son after me 09:05 after seeing the transformation that happened in her village... 09:08 Ooh! Hallelujah! With the new church building. 09:10 Okay. 09:11 So this is an old Ukrainian name 09:14 and your mother had read 09:15 a poet by and like that name. 09:18 Tell us about... 09:21 You grew up in the Ukraine till you were nine 09:24 but when communism fell, 09:26 can you pick the story up from there? 09:29 We moved and immigrated as refugees 09:31 with my father back in 1992. 09:35 We have scraped up just enough money 09:36 to buy two plane tickets. 09:38 And then the following year, my mom and my sister joined us 09:42 and we settled in Sacramento, California. 09:45 And just, you know ,growing up and going to church 09:49 and visiting the different congregations, 09:52 we couldn't really find the spot for us 09:55 because there wasn't 09:56 a Ukrainian church there at that time. 09:57 So were you Seventh-day 09:59 Adventist Christians when you came? 10:00 Yes. Okay, okay. 10:02 Yes. 10:03 And so we settled in a small little group 10:05 in the chapel of the central church 10:08 in Sacramento. 10:10 And the following year, Pastor Doug came there. 10:13 And in 2006, 10:17 it was the first time that we got a chance 10:20 to get an opportunity with my sister to go to Mexico 10:23 for a mission project. 10:24 Okay, now this would be your first missionary trip. 10:26 How old were you? 10:28 I was about 18 going, and 19 at that time. 10:30 All right. So you've been a churchgoer all this time, 10:35 did you feel like you had a close relationship 10:37 with the Lord? 10:39 I think mainly I was going through 10:40 the motions of church... Okay. 10:41 And the attendance of church but the relational aspect 10:44 I think wasn't there yet. 10:46 All right. 10:47 But as I always say, if you want your children 10:51 to develop a relationship with Jesus, 10:54 send them on a mission trip, and you're proof of that. 10:57 Tell us what happened in Mexico? 10:59 So Pastor Steve Alred was our youth pastor. 11:02 He packed up the van, packed up the kids and said 11:05 "Let's go down to Mexico." 11:07 So we came across a very poor community. 11:11 And as we were traveling, 11:13 the pastor of that local community said, 11:15 "We have to go visit this region. 11:17 We have to go see what's happening there." 11:20 Now just a few minutes ago, we were at the gas station, 11:24 we probably spend $20 on popcorn and chips and gum, 11:29 and so most of that ended up on the floor of the van, 11:32 and as we pulled up to the community, 11:35 we saw a Blue Bird bus 11:38 abandoned on the side of the road 11:39 with curtains in the middle 11:41 dividing it into three sections. 11:43 And there inside of that bus were three families, 11:46 that was their livelihood. 11:49 And when we saw that picture, it was just incredible to see 11:54 a mother that had come out of the van, their bus, 11:59 she was crying, her son was ill, high fever. 12:05 And so as we converse, 12:06 she said that he was probably going to die soon, 12:10 and he was 13 years old. 12:13 And I said, "How could that be, he's only 13? 12:14 He can't die at that age. 12:16 That's not normal." 12:18 We later learned that she needed to buy medicine 12:20 for the boy, she didn't have the money. 12:24 Well, we said, "how much is the medicine?" 12:26 Oh, she said, "It's 10 pesos." 12:28 It's about a dollar. A dollar. 12:32 We said, "Oh, surely, we can come up with a dollar, 12:34 we just burned up 20 bucks on junk food." 12:38 And that to me was a wakeup call at that time. 12:41 Yeah. 12:42 So you all did dig deep into your pockets, 12:44 came up with about $40, 12:46 your pastor went in and bought medicine, supplies, food, 12:51 but that was a reality check for you, was it not? 12:57 Yeah. 12:58 That was like one of those opening moments to like, 13:01 "Wait a second, what did just happen? 13:04 Did we just experience this?" 13:06 This was our first act of service, 13:08 our first act of helping this poor family. 13:11 And we later learned that her husband had passed away 13:14 from an illness as well, and so now she's a widow, 13:17 a single mother of three kids, and her oldest boy is dying. 13:21 But he did make it, right? 13:22 He did make it. Praise the Lord. 13:24 I mean, that's a fantastic spiritual lesson right there 13:27 because we're fortunate enough here in the states to be fat 13:32 and in need of nothing. 13:34 And we do just drop popcorn all over the floor 13:37 and there's people on the other side over here, 13:40 maybe just across the border 13:41 that could make all the difference in the world. 13:44 Yes. 13:45 So you found though that at 18 years old, 13:48 you learned that service drew you closer 13:53 to the Lord, right? 13:55 So now kind of fast forward, from 2006, 13:58 give us the timeline till today. 14:02 So I continued to get involved in church service, 14:05 I continued to help. 14:07 The Lord provided opportunities to work with the youth. 14:11 Later, the church asked me to be the church secretary 14:13 and help with some of those needs, 14:15 and I continued to serve in that capacity. 14:18 And I still felt there was an element that was missing 14:21 like I had been going to church, 14:24 I participated in Sabbath school, 14:25 I was working with the youth, helping with the pathfinders, 14:29 continuing to do mission trips, 14:32 one or two a year with different groups. 14:35 Some that you organized. 14:37 Some that we had put together with my sister 14:39 and help of others 14:41 but there was still something missing. 14:42 And so I finished college, went on to grad school, 14:46 and as I was studying, 14:47 I was working for water utility. 14:50 And I was praying a prayer that's very simple 14:52 but it was... 14:54 And you were an engineering student? 14:57 I had been enrolled as an engineering student 14:59 and later transferred to business. 15:03 And I've been studying business management, 15:06 and then for the grad school, we did business administration. 15:09 Okay. I did wrap that up. 15:10 And so as I was studying, as I was working, 15:14 there's a prayer that was really 15:16 near and dear to my heart. 15:18 And I just was hoping for God to give me 15:22 some kind of a glimpse, like some kind of an answer, 15:25 and the prayer was "Lord, 15:26 change the desires of my heart." 15:27 Amen. Amen. 15:29 And in 2015, 15:32 I continued to pray that prayer 15:34 and the Lord really spoke to me. 15:37 I was on my way home from work, I was driving, 15:40 I was at a red light 15:42 just talking to the Lord saying, 15:43 "Lord, what's next?" 15:45 I got to see something has to change. 15:47 You know, something needs to give 15:48 I'm not really in a position I want to be 15:51 and I want to be closer to You. 15:53 So let me interrupt, you are successful, 15:58 you're in a successful career 16:01 but there was an emptiness inside of you, 16:03 and you're praying this, okay. 16:06 And as I'm praying there at that stoplight, 16:09 just talking to the Lord in this prayer, 16:11 I'm saying, "Lord, 16:12 where would you have me to go? What would you have me to do? 16:15 How can I connect with you?" 16:18 And the Lord impressed upon my mind 16:20 and the thoughts that came to me 16:22 that I really believe was from the Lord, 16:24 He said to me, 16:25 "You're not spending enough time with me." 16:28 Oh yeah. 16:30 But how can that be Lord, I go to church, 16:32 I attend Sabbath School, I'm helping with the youth, 16:35 I work for basically for the church 16:37 as a volunteer on the committee 16:38 and help with all the secretarial needs 16:41 of the church. 16:42 Truly, I'm involved in church. 16:44 But those are really the motions that were part of, 16:48 you know, serving the Lord, and really, 16:50 I don't think my heart was fully into it. 16:52 And so I really wasn't asking the Lord 16:55 to kind of break down all of the busyness, 16:59 which was good in a way 17:00 but really wasn't allowing for the Lord to speak to me 17:03 in a personal direct way... 17:04 Amen. 17:06 To then understand my calling and my mission 17:09 because I was doing all those things for the church 17:12 but I never asked God 17:13 if that's what He wanted me to do for the church. 17:15 Oh yeah. 17:16 Big lesson right there. 17:18 Amen. Amen. Yes. 17:20 So in here, did you quit your job or what? 17:24 How did you end up 17:27 founding the Build 17:29 and Restore International Ministry? 17:34 So as I'm praying, as I'm searching, 17:37 the Lord began a process of purging in my life. 17:39 There was a lot of things that I was involved in, 17:43 I really liked and enjoyed motorcycles, 17:45 that was a big part of my life, and I like going fast. 17:48 And so I had accumulated so many things around me 17:53 that were occupying my time 17:55 that the thought had come to me from the Lord, 17:59 "Don't you know that you're not spending 18:00 enough time with me" really registered well 18:03 because I was so busy with everything else. 18:06 We could go to the racetrack on Sunday 18:08 and spend all our day there. 18:10 And so God is talking about that intimate 18:12 one-on-one connection 18:14 is where you were failing in where we all... 18:17 I had a similar experience, tell you about it later but. 18:21 So He's taking you through this purging process. 18:25 You ended up in Georgia on some kind of a trip or... 18:29 So as I'm praying, the Lord impresses me to quit my job 18:34 and we do that in 2015. 18:36 Wow. 18:37 I quit my job, and I go to Amazing Facts 18:40 College of Evangelism. 18:41 Great program. 18:43 I learned every single thing 18:44 that I need to know about evangelism 18:46 and exactly how I need to do that, 18:47 how to witness, how to share my testimony, 18:50 how to have your own testimony and what that means 18:53 to the people that you come across 18:55 and how you share that. 18:56 Amen. 18:57 From there, we get an assignment 18:59 to go to Thailand to preach, 19:01 and I'm scared because I've never done 19:04 a full on series of preaching in Thailand, foreign country, 19:07 different language, translation, all those things, 19:09 but the Lord blessed, brought us back 19:12 and I got another call to go over to Alabama. 19:15 Alabama. 19:17 Clanton, Alabama. 19:18 So I meet my host family Bob and Donna Earnest, 19:20 I stay with them. 19:22 They cook beautiful vegetarian vegan meals. 19:24 That was my first encounter with like, wholesome, 19:28 you know, quality made vegetarian vegan food, 19:31 and I was like, "Wow, this is incredible." 19:34 And so we work there at the church. 19:36 We do an evangelistic program with Wyatt Allen 19:39 and his ministry and, you know, the people are revived. 19:43 We're going house to house doing Bible studies, 19:46 we're visiting out in the streets, 19:47 we're doing community outreach in front of Walmart 19:50 inviting people to a health seminar to, 19:53 you know, the church program, the seminar in the evenings, 19:55 and it was just incredible to see all that. 19:59 But there, the Lord used Bob and Donna Earnest 20:03 to reach me and to say, 20:05 "Look, we believe you need to start your own ministry, 20:08 God will show you." 20:10 And I was like, "No way, I can't do that. 20:12 I have no idea what a ministry is or how to start one 20:15 or how to run one." 20:17 And Bob says to me, he says, "Listen, 20:20 just study Isaiah 58 20:21 and God will show you the rest." 20:24 And so I did. 20:25 Wow! All right. 20:27 So what I'd like to do, just we're going to, 20:32 I love this story, 20:33 but Ostap has brought 20:36 a little two-minute video with him to show you. 20:40 So let's share that right now so that you can kind of get 20:45 kind of an overview of what Build 20:48 and Restore International is all about. 20:54 Now more than ever, our world is full of hungry, 20:57 hopeless, and hurting people. 21:00 We can see an increasing need for restoration 21:03 in the lives of every family. 21:05 Many people are looking for truth. 21:08 We have the opportunity to go and to reach them. 21:11 We have the privilege of sharing the hope 21:13 that we have in Jesus. 21:16 Build and Restore International 21:17 is a nonprofit supporting ministry 21:19 of the Seventh-Day Adventist church 21:21 that was established to seek the lost, restore the broken, 21:24 care for the needy, the poor, 21:26 and to train up the next generation. 21:29 The mission is to lead people closer to Jesus Christ 21:31 and His saving truths by providing hands on training, 21:34 discipleship, meaningful acts of service, mentoring, 21:37 teaching, and leadership training. 21:40 The ministry seeks to partner with ordinary people 21:42 who love the Lord and want to make a difference 21:44 to reach others for His kingdom. 21:46 People who want to be the light of the world 21:48 by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ 21:50 as it's written in Isaiah 58:12, 21:53 "And they that shall be of thee 21:55 shall build the old waste places, 21:57 thou shalt raise up the foundations 21:59 of many generations, 22:01 and thou shalt be called the repairer of the breach, 22:03 the restorer of paths to dwell in." 22:05 Build and Restore desires to engage both young and old 22:08 in mission projects, acts of kindness, 22:10 health education, lifestyle counseling, 22:12 community building projects, and evangelism. 22:14 Volunteers are involved in building 22:16 and restoring schools, 22:18 orphanages, churches, lifestyle centers, 22:21 retreat centers, residences and more. 22:24 The ministry also provides training resources 22:26 to conduct public and personal evangelism. 22:29 The vision is to equip others in sharing the gospel of Jesus 22:32 and to establish a cycle of evangelism around the world 22:35 to provide a place of worship and Christian education 22:38 for children and adults in every community. 22:40 From Sacramento to South Africa, Asia, 22:43 South America, Central America and beyond, 22:46 build and Restore facilitates 22:48 life changing mission experiences. 22:51 Your support and donations fuel the mission 22:53 to build and restore the old waste places 22:55 and to give hope to the sick, helpless, poor and needy, 22:58 improving the quality of their lives 23:01 as people overcome addictions, 23:03 restore broken families, 23:04 and recover their overall physical health, 23:07 sharing faith through action. 23:11 Join an upcoming project to experience 23:13 the transformative power of God. 23:24 So you just didn't think 23:25 you knew how to start a ministry 23:27 but God has led every step of the way. 23:29 This is an exciting ministry. 23:31 I was on your web page 23:34 preparing for our interview today. 23:37 I am proud of you. 23:39 Yes, I mean, I was proud myself, thank you. 23:43 Ministry of Healing, page 143, 23:46 and this was important to you, 23:49 and it says, "Christ method alone will give true success 23:53 in reaching the people." 23:55 Christ method alone. 23:57 "The Savior mingled with men as one who desired their good. 24:00 He showed His sympathy for them, 24:03 ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. 24:06 And then He bade them, 'Follow me.' 24:09 "Amen. 24:10 And I think as we get more into this, 24:12 that we can see this as a model that you're following, 24:17 and not only for you, for each one of us, 24:19 you know, to hear His voice, "Follow me." 24:22 Amen. Amen. 24:24 Ostap, tell us about some of the projects 24:25 that you have done. 24:27 You founded this ministry in 2016. 24:30 What have you been doing since? 24:32 We've had the opportunity 24:33 to travel to different countries 24:35 and also do projects right here at home 24:38 because it's really hard to share the gospel 24:40 with someone when they don't have 24:41 a roof over their head, 24:43 when, you know, their house is decapitated, 24:45 when a storm had gone through and now they have, you know, 24:49 two inches of water in their living room 24:51 and they don't have a clean safe bed to sleep in. 24:53 And so we've been really impressed to go out 24:57 and help in areas of need 25:00 with church buildings, with school buildings, 25:02 restoration projects that are in need as well, 25:06 disaster relief and recovery like with Puerto Rico. 25:09 We've traveled there to help families 25:12 where their house was just swept away by the storm. 25:15 The winds came down and knocked everything over. 25:18 And so in the restoration of the different communities, 25:22 we then have the opportunity, 25:24 like Christ to mingle with the people... 25:26 Yes. 25:27 And they want to know more, 25:29 and they want to know about our church, 25:30 they want to know more about the God that we serve 25:31 because we are helping an immediate need 25:33 that they have 25:35 so that when they have a new place to live, 25:38 they're reminded 25:39 that their friends from the Adventist church 25:41 came and helped them build a house that now is safe. 25:46 It's new, and it's clean for them to live 25:49 and to enjoy life. 25:50 And they are invited for, you know, community events, 25:53 they're invited for health seminar, 25:55 for evangelistic program. 25:57 And then, they cannot help but to share with everyone else 26:01 how good the Lord's been to them. 26:02 Amen. So you had a big project in Africa. 26:07 You mentioned the sweet lady who has named her son, 26:11 her firstborn son, after you. 26:14 Tell us the experience that you had in Africa 26:17 'cause I don't think they've ever seen a whirlwind 26:20 like Build and Restore International come through. 26:25 Yeah. So we came together with our team 26:28 and found a property where a lady 26:31 of one of our churches said, "Look, 26:34 I'm going to divide this property into two pieces. 26:37 You can have the left side, 26:39 I'm going to live on the right side." 26:41 So this parcel is available. 26:43 You guys can start and dig the foundation 26:46 and put the church up right here in this area. 26:49 So the local elder went to the chief of the town, 26:52 and they shook hands and said, "We're building a church." 26:54 And he said, "Go for it." 26:57 And that was our permitting. 27:00 That's great. 27:01 Once the permitting happened, we went to the store, 27:03 and I met a gentleman 27:05 that really began to ask a lot of questions like, 27:09 "Why are you here? What are you doing? 27:11 What is this building that you're doing?" 27:13 And so he was so impressed with the youth 27:16 that have come have traveled 27:18 from the United States to Africa to help 27:21 that he took time out of his day to come in 27:23 and to actually watch 27:25 and see how the building process happened. 27:27 And by God's grace, in 36 working days, 27:30 the church was built. 27:31 Yeah, we've got a couple of pictures 27:33 and the thing that amazes me is that when you said watch, 27:38 when you go over to some of these countries, 27:40 notice who's doing the work and who's standing around. 27:45 So the men are used to letting the women 27:48 dig the footings as they stand back. 27:50 How did you handle that situation 27:52 'cause you and your team are out there working? 27:54 Did you encourage the men to join you? 27:58 Yes, it was a process. 28:03 To me it was very awkward to stand 28:05 and watch an elderly lady that's much older than me 28:09 bent over with an axe, pickaxe 28:12 going at the foundation footing 28:14 when everybody else is just observing, 28:16 and so we began to round up the men and say, 28:19 "Listen, you can pick up a tool and help as well." 28:21 Amen. 28:22 And so it was a mindset change for them 28:26 because they're not used to that. 28:28 Even the pastor told me, "Well, I can't work 28:31 because the people walking by will see me working. 28:33 And as a pastor, 28:35 I'm not supposed to do manual labor." 28:37 And I said, "Oh, no, that's silly, 28:39 you can do manual labor." 28:40 It's good for you. It's good for your bones. 28:43 And a building, we've got another picture 28:47 of the completed church I believe, 28:48 so as this church, well, here you're going up. 28:52 This is a big church 28:54 and now we'll see the completed building. 28:56 This is the most beautiful church 28:59 or building probably in that whole community, 29:02 36 days, your team with some workers, 29:07 local workers finished this. 29:09 How long would it normally take them 29:11 to build a structure like that? 29:13 Usually it takes them about two years. 29:16 So see, I mean, there is I've noticed this 29:19 when I've traveled overseas, 29:20 even before I was in ministry just in the corporate world, 29:25 when I would be in Europe, 29:27 and you'd go to certain areas where it's like, 29:30 they're lucky to put in two to three 29:32 solid business working hours a day, 29:35 drove me nuts 'cause we are more used 29:38 to being productive and getting things done. 29:42 So when you're there, 29:45 you're not only doing physical construction 29:50 but you are training leaders, you're doing seminars, 29:54 you're reaching out to the people, 29:56 tell us about that. 29:57 Yes, we had an opportunity to work with three churches 30:00 in the area, and the desire was, 30:03 let's build a model for them to follow. 30:06 Let's give them enough tools to be sustainable 30:10 and to teach not only themselves 30:12 but their children and their community, 30:14 and so health presentations were very critical 30:16 because there's a lot of different issues 30:18 going on there with health, 30:20 and so we said we have to teach them about health. 30:23 Now it's one thing to tell somebody else 30:27 that you know how to do evangelism 30:28 but it's a different one when you go and teach them 30:30 how to do evangelism. 30:32 Yeah. 30:33 So that when you leave, 30:35 the work doesn't stop, the work continues. 30:37 And so we did training for all of the ladies, 30:39 and all of church members that would come out, 30:42 and different churches had different amounts, 30:43 30 people, 50 people coming out every evening, 30:47 and we would go through the simple principles 30:49 that we learned over Amazing Facts, 30:51 and we would share those same principles with the community, 30:54 and we will provide seminar notes, 30:57 we will provide PowerPoint presentations, 30:59 we left a laptop computer there and a projector... 31:01 Praise God. 31:03 So that there's no excuse that when we're gone 31:06 that you're not doing that seminar again 31:08 the following month, and the month after 31:10 until everybody is educated 31:12 and has the opportunity to now be empowered 31:16 to go and share their faith. 31:18 Praise the Lord. 31:19 You know, you've mentioned this two or three times 31:22 team, team, team. 31:25 So obviously, you're very team-oriented. 31:27 You keep using us of which I really appreciate. 31:32 What and who make up a team? 31:35 I mean, do you have one team 31:37 that goes with you all the time? 31:39 Do you have a group of volunteers? 31:41 Who is a team? who is this team that you're talking about? 31:45 Yes, every single group that goes out, 31:48 every single mission has its own team that we try to build 31:52 and they're ordinary people who love the Lord 31:54 and want to share their faith and they come with us 31:58 not knowing exactly all the components 32:01 of the mission trip 32:02 but knowing that they are going to go 32:04 and going to be flexible 32:05 to learn, to grow together, and to serve 32:08 and the beautiful thing that we want to see happen 32:11 is the older generation being able to witness 32:16 and mentor the younger generation 32:17 so we can pass on to the next generation. 32:21 So what you're saying, these are volunteers 32:23 and I want to go ahead, 32:25 and we're going to put 32:27 his website address up, 32:31 it is Build And Restore.org 32:37 because you can go... I have not seen the website yet 32:40 but you said it was a beautiful website. 32:42 - Yes, beautiful. - And you can go online. 32:46 And if you are an ordinary person 32:49 who wants to have an extraordinary experience 32:51 in the Lord, 32:53 you can go online and sign up to be a volunteer 32:56 and go on one of these projects, 32:58 and I promise you, 33:00 I mean, I can just almost guarantee you, 33:02 your life will be changed. 33:04 What caught my attention was go back to 2006, 33:08 10 years earlier at least, okay, 33:12 and you were ready for an exciting trip, 33:16 you didn't know where you were going, 33:17 you were just going to Mexico 33:18 and we're going to do something different. 33:21 And you had a few dollars in your pocket 33:24 and you're just frivolously spending it 33:25 because that's our way, 33:28 and then you get down and you have a major, 33:32 a major experience in your life 33:34 that was one of the premier 33:38 building blocks that you built your life on. 33:41 Here, now we're 10 years, 15 years later, 33:45 and you're still bringing now leading, 33:48 you're driving the bus 33:52 over here and bringing youth 33:55 that wanting their first experience. 33:58 So this is a major building block in their life. 34:02 They're getting to see the way that maybe some other people 34:05 that are just not as fortunate as we are. 34:07 - Yes. - Praise the Lord. 34:08 And I think that one thing that I picked up earlier 34:13 is your faith, 34:16 and as you started off, the Lord was speaking to you 34:19 and says, "Hey, I do have a plan for you." 34:23 Yes. 34:25 And you were listening. 34:26 And it takes a lot of faith to quit your job 34:29 that you got, 34:30 you know, I mean, you went through graduate school, 34:33 to just say, "Okay, Lord, here I am. 34:35 Send me. I'm answering that call." 34:37 That does take faith. 34:39 You're a single man. 34:41 Ladies, he's a single man. 34:43 If you are a mission-minded 34:46 Christian woman, 34:50 just putting that up there, but 34:54 you are experiencing joy 35:00 that you never knew before. 35:01 - Yes. - Yeah, Praise the Lord. 35:03 So tell us about Mexico. 35:06 You know, we head down to Mexico. 35:09 We're building different churches, 35:11 we're helping with different orphanages, 35:13 and it was a time really where you have 35:16 this sense of accomplishment, 35:18 you have this sense of, you know, "Lord, fill my cup" 35:22 and our cups were very full. 35:24 We saw different families coming and joining us 35:28 for the seminars, we had, 35:30 you know, a woman's group 35:31 that was meeting, asking questions, 35:33 "Well, how do you cook? How do you shop?" 35:35 We actually put together a shopping list and we... 35:37 What year was this that you went into Mexico? 35:40 We went in 2009, and also 2015. 35:44 And I think we've got some pictures 35:46 that you can maybe walk us through too. 35:47 Yes, and this happened in 2017, 35:49 and we went back again 2018 as well. 35:54 So we went two years to Mexico helping to build up this church 35:58 that was really trying their best 36:01 to build this church and just ran out of funds 36:03 and ran out of energy, 36:05 and so here you will see, you know, 36:07 the bathrooms being built, a pastor's room was being built 36:11 in the background there. 36:13 And this was a church of faith 'cause they had this shell up 36:16 and right before they ran up, 36:18 and they're actually having meetings 36:20 just within the walls of that shell. 36:23 So you all went down there, finished off the church, 36:27 but then we're able to start training them 36:29 how to be more successful in evangelism and revival. 36:34 Yes, so we follow that same model as we did in Africa, 36:37 where we said, okay, we've got to go in, 36:39 help them with their physical need, 36:41 which was the immediate building of their church, 36:44 but we also realize that they're holding seminars, 36:47 they're asking their guests 36:49 to bring a chair to church for a seminar 36:52 because there was just a floor there, 36:54 there's no furnishings. 36:56 And so, we're there. 36:58 We bring our laptop, our projector, 37:00 we put up just a regular cloth on the wall, 37:03 just enough to see the projection, 37:06 and we're sharing the Bible truth with them. 37:08 We're sharing the gospel and everybody's so excited, 37:12 people who are riding the bus, riding bicycles, 37:14 some came on horseback, 37:16 they're all excited about the seminar 37:19 and the church was just thriving. 37:21 And so communities like this just need a little support 37:25 from those that are here that are much more well to do. 37:29 And now they've got a church with over 80 people, 37:32 they've got beautiful services, the building has been finished, 37:37 chairs have been purchased, 37:38 you know, people have a safe, warm, comfortable place 37:40 to come and fellowship and worship 37:43 and now they're saying, Listen, we have to build a school. 37:47 Praise the Lord. 37:48 We need a school for the little ones, 37:50 and in that community, there are no schools available 37:54 for those that are Christian. 37:56 And so we want to go back in the future 37:59 and with the help of our supporters 38:01 and sponsors build another building on that same property, 38:04 that's going to be an Adventist school. 38:06 And I know, 38:08 you know, and may be you know somewhere at home, 38:11 maybe you know a church 38:13 that or a school that needs some help, 38:16 you can email them at 38:20 info@BuildAndRestore.org 38:25 info@BuildAndRestore.org, 38:30 and you can also go on their website, 38:32 BuildAndRestore.org, 38:34 and I'm sure you have the list of projects. 38:37 But you mentioned school, 38:38 and you told us earlier about a school in the states 38:42 that was getting ready to close down, 38:44 tell us that story about the wall that ceilings 38:47 that came in on that school. 38:50 So we found ourselves asking, "Lord, where do we go next? 38:54 How do we help 38:56 the immediate needs here at home?" 38:58 because it's always important 38:59 to take care of things at home as well. 39:02 And so we found the school down in Los Angeles 39:05 that was really in need of repairs, 39:07 And this was an Adventist Christian school, okay. 39:10 An Adventist academy and their dormitories, 39:15 you know, their facilities, their classrooms, 39:19 their chapel was really in need of repairs. 39:23 It hasn't been repaired in a long time 39:24 and because of that, 39:26 one of the storms 39:28 had completely gone through the roof 39:31 and soaked up the ceiling so much 39:34 that everything just collapsed one day. 39:37 And so they had just locked up the buildings, 39:38 and so we can't use them because they're damaged. 39:42 Well, the school didn't have any finances to repair, 39:44 and we came in and said, 39:47 "Well, we sure probably can figure this out." 39:50 So we went around, looked for sponsors, 39:53 looked for materials that were donated. 39:55 We found contractors and builders in the area 39:58 that said, "Listen, we have some carpet 40:02 that's been left over from a project, 40:05 you can use that there. 40:06 We have some tile, you can take that there 40:07 and use that there, We have some paint, 40:09 why don't you use it there at the school?" 40:11 and so using the resources we already have 40:15 that are available asking others around us to pitch in, 40:19 we brought all the material that we didn't have to buy. 40:22 Amen. And put ourselves to work. 40:25 In one week, the school was remodeled. 40:29 Glory to God. That's amazing. 40:31 And, you know, it didn't just help us feel accomplished 40:37 but what it did for that community 40:39 when the parents came the following Sunday 40:41 for the rededication of the chapel 40:43 for prayer on the school, there was tears in their eyes. 40:48 Amen. 40:49 So we can't believe that our children 40:51 now have a safe and clean school 40:54 to come and study, 40:55 and many of those children that come from the community 40:58 will hear about Jesus for the very first time 41:01 in their classroom. 41:02 Praise the Lord. So... 41:03 But is it a... Let me ask one quick question. 41:07 Instead of closing this school as they had thought 41:09 they were going have, is this school now thriving? 41:13 Yes, they've got a new principal, 41:14 they've got new staff, 41:16 the enrollment just about doubled since last time. 41:18 Praise the Lord. 41:19 And they're up and running. 41:21 Others have noticed the mission and vision of the school 41:24 have come in, have redone their parking lot 41:27 and have fixed other roofing needs that they had, 41:30 and so now they're up and running, and it's exciting. 41:32 Amen. 41:34 So what I was going to ask was, 41:37 many times, there's a lot of resources available, 41:40 you just need someone to organize. 41:42 Yes. 41:43 And now if somebody wanted to be a team member, 41:46 what do they do? 41:47 I mean, how do they... Do they call? 41:50 Do they just say, "Hey, here I am." 41:53 And then what's all that's involved? 41:56 Do they need any expertise? 41:59 Yes, we have a fairly simple process 42:02 where we ask folks to email us a project requests 42:06 so that we can better understand 42:08 what the needs are with some pictures 42:09 and explanations and, you know, scope of work and... 42:12 So they do email 42:14 at info@BuildAndRepair.org. 42:18 Yes, info@BuildAndRestore.org. 42:21 Build and Restore, I'm sorry, dot org. 42:24 And we'll get that in our mailbox, 42:27 and we'll go through and see how we can connect volunteers 42:30 to help with that need. 42:32 Now there are others that say, "Well, we've got a need, 42:35 we've got the material, but we just don't know 42:37 how to do the work" 42:39 or "We have nobody to coordinate the work." 42:41 And so that's another, 42:43 you know, aspect of our ministry. 42:44 We can bring a few people 42:46 that will just manage and coordinate the needed work 42:50 and that saves the local church a lot of time 42:52 and resources and funding 42:54 where they can just have a project finished real quick. 42:56 All right, but to your question, 42:57 do I think what JD was asking 42:59 is let's say you had mentioned earlier, 43:01 you don't have to have special talents. 43:04 I mean, you've got a number, 43:07 a variety of different types of projects. 43:10 Let's say, I'm an ordinary Christian mother 43:13 sitting at home, 43:15 and I've got a couple of teenagers that I'm thinking, 43:18 "Boy, I'd like for them to go on something like this." 43:20 Just go to your website, BuildAndRestore.org, 43:25 and there's something there that we can, like, 43:29 do you have a list of projects, 43:30 and then they can just put their information in 43:33 to become a volunteer to go? 43:36 Yes, when you visit our website at BuildAndRestore.org, 43:39 there is an opportunity there to click on Projects, 43:43 and then on Upcoming Projects. 43:45 Wonderful. 43:46 And then you'll see a list of upcoming projects 43:48 that we have scheduled, 43:50 but that doesn't mean 43:51 that if one of those projects doesn't fit 43:53 that you have to stop there, 43:55 you just have to send us an email and say, "Look, 43:57 I've got three kids, 43:59 I've got two more friends with me that will go, 44:02 and I've got my in-laws that want to go 44:04 and church members," 44:05 then we'll put up together a project just for your group. 44:08 Oh glory to God. 44:09 And we will find something that we can do together and go 44:12 and serve and minister together. 44:14 We don't have to go very far, 44:15 we can do a local community project, 44:18 we can go help in the immediate needs of the community, 44:21 we can go next state, we can go to next city, 44:24 and help their with the needs that they have and just, 44:27 you know, help ourselves understand 44:29 that physical evangelism, 44:31 working with our hands and our feet 44:34 can be a resource that God can use to work 44:37 and impact a life 44:38 not just those that are helping and volunteering 44:41 but those that we are going to serve. 44:43 And I know you had mentioned earlier 44:45 that you've got a whole lot of project requests coming in, 44:50 but right now, you just opened the floodgates 44:55 when you said that you could actually, 44:58 you know, maybe a group of you at your church are saying, 45:01 "We'd love to do something like this in our community" 45:04 or maybe there's been a disaster, 45:05 a tornado or a flood or something in your area, 45:10 fire, and you would like to do something as a church group, 45:16 you can call Build and Restore 45:19 or go on their website BuildAndRestore.org, 45:22 and then they can help coordinate a project for you. 45:27 That's exciting. 45:30 But now you also, Ostap, 45:35 as JD said, you are a man of faith, 45:38 you are a man of the word, you are a trained evangelist, 45:42 you are available to speak at churches 45:45 either about a project 45:47 or the benefits of Christian service 45:52 of meeting physical needs 45:55 before you meet the spiritual and emotional needs, 45:58 just meeting the physical needs of others 46:00 but you also go out and do a week of prayer 46:05 or an evangelistic series or revival series. 46:09 So how does one 46:11 get you as a speaker? 46:16 Same thing, on our website at BuildAndRestore.org, 46:19 we have a request form 46:21 and folks can come in and register 46:23 and say, "We have a desire for this time of the year 46:27 or this type of seminar." 46:29 We can do a revival seminar over the weekend 46:31 or we can do a prayer week seminar. 46:34 And we do... So it's not always you that's the speaker, 46:37 you've got other speakers that go out? 46:39 We can resource other folks and come in. 46:42 I can always come in and speak for that time, 46:45 and then we can see how can we make your church 46:50 a community church 46:51 that the community will understand 46:53 that this church and my town 46:56 is able to not only meet the spiritual needs 46:59 but also the physical needs. 47:01 Amen. 47:02 That if there is somebody that has a need at their home 47:04 or other property, and they're struggling, 47:07 and that results in different medical needs, often times, 47:10 those folks that visit the hospital the most 47:13 have something going on inside of their home 47:15 that's causing them all this illness and sickness, 47:18 whether it's mold or water, 47:19 or issues within their house that can be repaired and fixed, 47:24 and that doesn't only impact them 47:26 but impacts their whole family. 47:27 Amen. 47:28 And they will speak highly of the community church 47:31 that came and helped them with their basic needs 47:33 that then they can now be easily reached 47:36 with a bridge event like a cooking class, 47:39 or seminar, or dinner with a doctor, 47:42 or financial seminar, or depression recovery program, 47:45 or addiction recovery program. 47:47 Those can be then, you know, simple bridge events 47:51 that can bring someone closer to the Lord. 47:53 What a beautiful ministry you have. 47:55 And I mean, that's the secret 47:58 instead of just doing evangelism series 48:00 is to go out and teach churches 48:03 how to become service centers. 48:05 Sounds to me like there's a... 48:08 This is a large restaurant, and there's a large menu 48:12 that you can sit, and you have lots of choices 48:15 because of the experience that you've had and every time 48:18 you put together a team and you do a project, 48:20 you're learning more people 48:22 that they're gaining experience. 48:24 What if I'm a busy, busy man, and I don't have time myself, 48:29 is there a way that I perhaps can sponsor a project? 48:33 Yes, we also have that opportunity for folks 48:36 to log on to our website or call our phone number 48:38 and they can see the different needs 48:41 that we have and they can help us 48:43 whether it's a school project in Peru 48:44 that we're trying to finish, 48:46 whether it's a building project in Mexico 48:48 that we're getting ready to start November, 48:50 building a new church there, 48:53 the needs always continue to come, 48:56 and yeah, we encourage those 48:58 that are able to give to join us. 49:00 And Build and Restore dot... 49:02 Or Build and Restore International 49:04 is a 501c3 ministry 49:07 so they are a nonprofit ministry. 49:09 You've also just joined OCI. 49:12 A lot of times people join Outpost International 49:16 because they haven't got the nonprofit status 49:20 in that way 49:22 the donations can come into OCI and be distributed, 49:27 but you actually are already a nonprofit. 49:31 So if somebody goes to your website, 49:34 BuildAndRestore.org, 49:36 they can, I'm sure, donate right there, 49:38 get your donate button nice and visible, I hope. 49:41 Yes. 49:43 We have the opportunity for those that are able 49:46 they can make a small monthly reoccurring donation 49:49 that doesn't hit the pocketbook real hard, 49:51 but over time will accumulate into a larger amount. 49:54 Amen. 49:55 There's opportunities also that we do collection 49:57 of different assets. 49:59 So maybe somebody has some construction tools 50:02 that they're not using anymore. 50:04 They can donate that to the ministry. 50:06 Receive a tax deduction, 50:08 and watch those tools build the next church. 50:10 Praise the Lord. Amen. 50:12 Let me ask you, are your parents still alive? 50:17 Yes. They are. 50:18 They must be so proud of you. 50:20 Do they also still live in the Sacramento area? 50:23 Yes, they do, and they help out with the ministry 50:25 as much as they can from time to time 50:27 and my mom helps with some of the background, 50:29 some of the logistics and paperwork 50:31 and accounting and... 50:33 my dad's gone with me to different projects 50:35 to help build as well. 50:37 Think your mother and your sister 50:38 work at Amazing Facts? 50:39 They do, yes. 50:41 Oh, that's precious. 50:42 Well, it's family affair, 50:43 and it sounds like your whole family 50:45 walks by faith. 50:47 We're very proud of you, Ostap, for answering the call 50:52 to not only follow the Lord and serve Him 50:57 but answering the call to spend more time 50:59 with Him one on one. 51:01 Yes. Yeah, amen. 51:02 Well, what we're going to do now 51:04 I think it's about time for our newsbreak. 51:06 So we're going to our newsbreak, 51:09 and we want to encourage you to stay tuned 51:12 'cause we're going to put Ostap on the hot seat 51:16 just a second and let him give you 51:20 a motivational message to get you out of your chair. |
Revised 2019-11-14