1
00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:09,000
Speaker 1: Hello, friends, Welcome to Story Behind Podcast. This is the

2
00:00:09,039 --> 00:00:12,200
Speaker 1: show for people who love hearing a good story and

3
00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:15,720
Speaker 1: who believe the world could use more positivity. We're the

4
00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:18,919
Speaker 1: team behind God Updates and God to and we hope

5
00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:25,800
Speaker 1: these weekly short stories will brighten your day.

6
00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:30,840
Speaker 2: Welcome back, friends, loyal listeners, and those who just want

7
00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:33,960
Speaker 2: to be encouraged. To anyone who may be new to

8
00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:40,360
Speaker 2: the Story Behind podcast. Inspiring stories, positive headlines from Godupdates

9
00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:44,160
Speaker 2: dot com. You can find us at GodTube dot com,

10
00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:47,280
Speaker 2: where you can watch without worry. We are in the

11
00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:50,560
Speaker 2: blog section there, and that's where our team scours the

12
00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:54,480
Speaker 2: web each week to find encouraging stories that may be

13
00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:58,240
Speaker 2: behind some of the rotten news that we get, or

14
00:00:58,360 --> 00:01:00,640
Speaker 2: just the stuff that's not as positive as we'd like,

15
00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:02,880
Speaker 2: the stuff that's still going on out there in the

16
00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:06,759
Speaker 2: world where miracles do happen and people are actually getting along,

17
00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:09,080
Speaker 2: but that we don't always get to see. We've got

18
00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:11,640
Speaker 2: two new great stories for you today, and I'll be

19
00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:21,760
Speaker 2: back with those in just a second. All right, my

20
00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:25,120
Speaker 2: name is Sean McAvoy, I'm your host, and this story

21
00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:27,160
Speaker 2: is written by Heather Wriggleman.

22
00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:28,800
Speaker 3: This is the tale of a young.

23
00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:31,840
Speaker 2: Man who believe it or not, got to ring the

24
00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:35,520
Speaker 2: cancer free bell and graduate high school all on the

25
00:01:35,560 --> 00:01:39,560
Speaker 2: same day. Young man rings the cancer free bell and

26
00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:43,840
Speaker 2: graduates from high school, all on the same day. As

27
00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:47,400
Speaker 2: a mom of three, graduation stories always get me. It

28
00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:51,520
Speaker 2: could be because I've sat through band concerts, swim meets,

29
00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:55,560
Speaker 2: school blazze and all those ordinary moments that become sacred

30
00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:59,280
Speaker 2: when you realize how quickly they pass. We spend years

31
00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:03,880
Speaker 2: cheering from the sidelines, hacking lunches, helping with homework, and

32
00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:06,040
Speaker 2: praying over our kids while they're asleep.

33
00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:08,200
Speaker 3: Then one day they're.

34
00:02:08,040 --> 00:02:11,320
Speaker 2: Walking across a stage and we're wondering how.

35
00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:12,800
Speaker 3: The years disappeared so quickly.

36
00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:17,480
Speaker 2: But for one Arizona family, graduation day wasn't just about

37
00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:21,280
Speaker 2: a diploma. It was about a miracle. When seventeen year

38
00:02:21,360 --> 00:02:25,320
Speaker 2: old Omar Mendoza started his day at Phoenix Children's Hospital,

39
00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:28,080
Speaker 2: where he rang the bell that signaled the end of

40
00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:32,440
Speaker 2: his cancer treatment. Just five hours later, Omar walked across

41
00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:35,800
Speaker 2: the stage at Trevor G. Brown High School and received

42
00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:39,680
Speaker 2: his diploma. I can't help but think about his mom

43
00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:44,840
Speaker 2: in those moments. Months earlier, Brenda Verdugo was hearing words

44
00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:47,839
Speaker 2: no parent ever wants to hear. They told us he

45
00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:50,639
Speaker 2: had two more tumors and they were going to put

46
00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:53,639
Speaker 2: him on chemo. I didn't know what was going to happen,

47
00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:57,760
Speaker 2: she said. Cancer stole so much from Omar's high school years.

48
00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:01,040
Speaker 2: While his classmates were making men memories, a prom and

49
00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:04,160
Speaker 2: enjoying all the milestones that come with being a teenager,

50
00:03:04,639 --> 00:03:07,680
Speaker 2: Omar was finding in battle most adults would struggle to face.

51
00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:09,920
Speaker 3: Still, he refused to quit.

52
00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:13,640
Speaker 2: I wish I could experience pra and all that, but

53
00:03:13,760 --> 00:03:16,120
Speaker 2: I didn't have time besides the chemo.

54
00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:18,600
Speaker 3: Basically, Omar said, no.

55
00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:21,399
Speaker 2: Matter how many times I lay down and still got

56
00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:24,920
Speaker 2: tired from the chemo, I still got up and still.

57
00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:27,760
Speaker 3: Did my work. Even if it's hard, I still did it.

58
00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:30,280
Speaker 3: Those words hit me right.

59
00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:33,600
Speaker 2: In the heart. Even if it's hard, I still did it.

60
00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:39,800
Speaker 2: That sounds like courage. That sounds like resilience. That sounds

61
00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:42,800
Speaker 2: like the kind of determination that carries someone through the

62
00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:47,680
Speaker 2: darkest valleys. His father, Horatio Mendoza, said, he showed me

63
00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:50,520
Speaker 2: not to give up in life, even though you have

64
00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:54,160
Speaker 2: your bad days. And then came the moment that unraveled

65
00:03:54,200 --> 00:03:58,160
Speaker 2: me as a mom writes Heather. One time he told me, Mom,

66
00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:01,320
Speaker 2: I'm going to graduate, going to give up, I'm going

67
00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:05,800
Speaker 2: to graduate. Brenda said he did the same time that

68
00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:09,320
Speaker 2: he rang the bell, he graduated. If I, oh my god,

69
00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:12,360
Speaker 2: you did it, baby, I can almost hear the tears

70
00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:16,800
Speaker 2: in her voice. Today, Omar is cancer free and looking

71
00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:21,240
Speaker 2: toward college, where he hopes to study automotive technology. He

72
00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:24,880
Speaker 2: also wants to aspire others after watching him fight for

73
00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:28,760
Speaker 2: both his health and his education, I think he's already

74
00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:32,320
Speaker 2: doing exactly that. As it says in Psalm thirty one

75
00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:35,160
Speaker 2: twenty four, be strong and take heart.

76
00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:37,960
Speaker 3: All you who hope in the Lord.

77
00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:41,520
Speaker 2: I'll be back with you in just another second, after

78
00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:45,800
Speaker 2: your eyes dry. Tell you another wonderful story about another

79
00:04:45,839 --> 00:04:48,560
Speaker 2: young man, this one just to tad younger.

80
00:04:49,040 --> 00:05:03,719
Speaker 3: We'll be right back. Welcome back.

81
00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:07,320
Speaker 2: We are moving on from that story of a seventeen

82
00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:10,239
Speaker 2: year old young man to one who is only four,

83
00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:13,840
Speaker 2: but who lost his precious Teddy Bear. This one has

84
00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:17,000
Speaker 2: a happy ending, of course, as most of our stories will.

85
00:05:17,640 --> 00:05:20,800
Speaker 2: This is written by Mikhaela Gordonai and the story is

86
00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:25,279
Speaker 2: titled Lost Teddy Bear goes on an airport adventure before

87
00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:29,200
Speaker 2: returning home. To four year old boy. A little bear

88
00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:33,000
Speaker 2: named Bobby had quite the airport adventure when his owner,

89
00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:37,160
Speaker 2: four year old Patrick, accidentally left him at the DFW

90
00:05:37,200 --> 00:05:39,719
Speaker 2: airport before embarking on a family vacation.

91
00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:42,680
Speaker 3: The lost teddy bear at the airport.

92
00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:46,799
Speaker 2: It's like a Paddington or Corduroy story come to life.

93
00:05:46,839 --> 00:05:49,520
Speaker 2: With his worn out for its obvious that Bobby is

94
00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:53,800
Speaker 2: a very love toy, so the airline took special care

95
00:05:53,839 --> 00:05:57,719
Speaker 2: of him. Once they realized Bobby was lost, Patrick's parents

96
00:05:57,760 --> 00:06:01,040
Speaker 2: filled out lost and Found form, hoping someone would find him.

97
00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:04,760
Speaker 2: Once an employee did locate him, they said, the family

98
00:06:04,839 --> 00:06:09,360
Speaker 2: photo updates of Bobby on the plane, riding a transport car,

99
00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:14,160
Speaker 2: and even working as a Groud movement controller. American Airlines

100
00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:18,279
Speaker 2: shared a video of Bobby's adventures with the caption anyone

101
00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:21,640
Speaker 2: else crying or just us, thank you Bobby for helping

102
00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:22,920
Speaker 2: us out around the airport.

103
00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:25,560
Speaker 3: We will miss you, but we know you are in

104
00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:26,240
Speaker 3: good hands.

105
00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:30,000
Speaker 2: When the family got back from their vacation, they were

106
00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:34,480
Speaker 2: greeted by American Airlines, which immediately gave Bobby to an

107
00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:39,920
Speaker 2: excited Patrick. They also gave the family a souvenir passport photobook.

108
00:06:40,160 --> 00:06:42,640
Speaker 2: Which made Patrick and his brother giggle as they flipped

109
00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:45,719
Speaker 2: through the pictures. It had all these amazing pictures of

110
00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:47,000
Speaker 2: what Bobby had been doing.

111
00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:50,839
Speaker 3: The father, Joe Webb said, and we were.

112
00:06:50,680 --> 00:06:53,640
Speaker 2: Just so thankful that someone was taking care of him,

113
00:06:53,680 --> 00:06:56,880
Speaker 2: Just so thankful. I didn't think someone would throw him away,

114
00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:00,279
Speaker 2: but to have y'all treat him as lovingly as you did,

115
00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:04,880
Speaker 2: just amazing. Patrick's mother, Hollis Web said, wonderful that the

116
00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:06,240
Speaker 2: airline would do all this.

117
00:07:06,279 --> 00:07:08,120
Speaker 3: For a little boy and his family.

118
00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:11,680
Speaker 2: It's so very touching and it meant a lot to

119
00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:15,520
Speaker 2: the Web family. Bobby and Patrick will both sleep well

120
00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:17,920
Speaker 2: now that they've been reunited.

121
00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:20,360
Speaker 3: As it says in Matthew.

122
00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:24,520
Speaker 2: Twenty five forty, the King will reply, truly, I tell you,

123
00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:27,040
Speaker 2: whatever you did for one of the least of these

124
00:07:27,080 --> 00:07:28,080
Speaker 2: brothers and sisters of.

125
00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:29,600
Speaker 3: Mine, you did for me.

126
00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:32,640
Speaker 2: And this is a great opportunity to tell you that

127
00:07:32,760 --> 00:07:35,200
Speaker 2: every one of these stories we find a God updates

128
00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:38,080
Speaker 2: originates from a video that we found on the web,

129
00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:40,000
Speaker 2: And in this case, you've just got to see this

130
00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:42,600
Speaker 2: one that's on the page here that has some of

131
00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:43,880
Speaker 2: the shots of Bobby.

132
00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:45,480
Speaker 3: The one I'm looking at right now.

133
00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:47,400
Speaker 2: Is the one with him buckled into his seat belt

134
00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:51,920
Speaker 2: safely riding on American Airlines airplane. And so you can

135
00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:56,560
Speaker 2: find these and go behind the story behind. Add GodTube

136
00:07:56,600 --> 00:07:59,400
Speaker 2: dot com in our blog section, and that's where we

137
00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:03,520
Speaker 2: archive all of these got updates, stories and so much

138
00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:07,040
Speaker 2: more that we'll be encouraging to you and anyone you

139
00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:10,240
Speaker 2: share them with as you go through this week, remember

140
00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:14,520
Speaker 2: to like and subscribe and pass on these uplifting stories

141
00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:17,080
Speaker 2: to those in your world this week and now I'll

142
00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:18,920
Speaker 2: be back in a couple of days with a couple

143
00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:21,640
Speaker 2: more that will make you just feel special inside.

144
00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:22,560
Speaker 3: Thanks for listening.

145
00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:32,320
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for listening to story Behind podcast.

146
00:08:32,800 --> 00:08:35,120
Speaker 1: We're really glad you joined us for this week's story.

147
00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:38,320
Speaker 1: To see photos and videos that may have been referenced

148
00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:41,160
Speaker 1: in this episode, check out the links and the show notes.

149
00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:44,680
Speaker 1: And if you enjoyed what you heard today, subscribe to

150
00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:48,280
Speaker 1: our podcast and please tell a friend about us. We'd

151
00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:50,320
Speaker 1: also love it if you'd rate us and leave us

152
00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:53,280
Speaker 1: a review. It really does help more people find us.

153
00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:56,559
Speaker 1: Story Behind is a Salem Web Network production.

154
00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:06,640
Speaker 4: Hey friends, it's Kelly from Life Audio. We just launched

155
00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:10,280
Speaker 4: something new. It's called the Good Word. Our free weekly

156
00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:13,240
Speaker 4: newsletter built for people who want to go a little

157
00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:19,199
Speaker 4: deeper in their faith. Thank devotionals, guided prayers, curted podcasts, recommendations,

158
00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:22,439
Speaker 4: and a little community all in one place. No ads,

159
00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:25,320
Speaker 4: just good content. This one means a lot to us.

160
00:09:25,559 --> 00:09:28,319
Speaker 4: We built the Good Word based on the audience survey

161
00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:30,920
Speaker 4: so many of you filled out a few months back.

162
00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:33,560
Speaker 4: You told us what you wanted, and we listened. So

163
00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:36,640
Speaker 4: thank you truly for helping us shape this. Head to

164
00:09:36,679 --> 00:09:39,320
Speaker 4: the link in the show notes and join our community today.

165
00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:40,840
Speaker 4: We'd love to have you