1 00:00:01,639 --> 00:00:03,800 Speaker 1: And I heard this one about making beds, and I 2 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:07,360 Speaker 1: thought to myself, you know, I just wonder what Pastor 3 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:12,160 Speaker 1: Andre would think of this particular podcast. So I bookmarked 4 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:14,080 Speaker 1: it and then I called As soon as I finished, 5 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:15,880 Speaker 1: I call him mom and said, Andre, come on over here. 6 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:17,320 Speaker 1: I want to play this podcast. 7 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:17,560 Speaker 2: Right. 8 00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:20,040 Speaker 1: So we sat there and we listened to that podcast. 9 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 1: And at the end of that podcast, Andre got a 10 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:26,080 Speaker 1: little emotional and I said, well, what's going on? And 11 00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:29,840 Speaker 1: he said, John, that's my story. That is my story. 12 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:32,519 Speaker 1: I didn't have a bend when I was growing up. 13 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:41,000 Speaker 2: Welcome to an army of normal folks. I'm Bill Courtney. 14 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:44,240 Speaker 2: I'm a normal guy. I'm a husband, I'm a father, 15 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:48,040 Speaker 2: I'm an entrepreneur, and I've been a football coach in 16 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:51,760 Speaker 2: Inner City Memphis. And the last part it unintentionally led 17 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 2: to an oscar for the film about our team. It's 18 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:59,640 Speaker 2: called Undefeated. Guys. I believe our country's problems will never 19 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:02,200 Speaker 2: be so by a bunch of fancy people in nice 20 00:01:02,200 --> 00:01:06,880 Speaker 2: suits using big words that nobody understands on CNN and Fox, 21 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:10,880 Speaker 2: but rather an army of normal folks, US just you 22 00:01:10,959 --> 00:01:15,400 Speaker 2: and me deciding Hey, I can help. That's what Reverend 23 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:20,400 Speaker 2: John Anderson and Andre Forges have done. After being an 24 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:25,920 Speaker 2: orphan himself in Haiti, Andre somehow built an incredible orphanage 25 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:30,160 Speaker 2: called Place of Hope in Haiti that today is home 26 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:33,760 Speaker 2: to forty five children who otherwise wouldn't have a home. 27 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:39,280 Speaker 2: And after John played for Andre our episode on Sleep 28 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:42,720 Speaker 2: and Heavenly Peace, which has built one hundred and forty 29 00:01:42,959 --> 00:01:47,400 Speaker 2: thousand beds for kids without them here, Andre felt called 30 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:50,800 Speaker 2: for the kids at his orphanage to build beds for 31 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:56,480 Speaker 2: Haitian kids without them. Orphans are doing this. Orphans building 32 00:01:56,520 --> 00:02:02,280 Speaker 2: beds for children with homes just so unbelievably awesome. And 33 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 2: I can't wait for you to meet Andre and John 34 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:10,000 Speaker 2: right after these brief messages from ours and oer sponsors. 35 00:02:21,639 --> 00:02:26,640 Speaker 2: Today is a cool day. We started the morning getting 36 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:27,639 Speaker 2: covered by. 37 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:34,320 Speaker 3: The local uh what is that was the CBS or CBS. 38 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:39,200 Speaker 3: CBS the CBS, the local CBS affiliate covered our story 39 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 3: and we got to spend some time this morning at 40 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:47,639 Speaker 3: the news station. And now we're getting spent time this 41 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:52,720 Speaker 3: afternoon to tell the story of Andre the Giant, which 42 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:57,360 Speaker 3: is interesting because I remember Andre Giant being this chro 43 00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:00,359 Speaker 3: magnon looking guy that was about six ft eleven to 44 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:05,000 Speaker 3: four hundred pounds that wrestled on WWE. But Andre, the 45 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:08,320 Speaker 3: giant in this case is a five foot nine Inchasian 46 00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:11,200 Speaker 3: who's never wrestled to day in his life other than 47 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:14,239 Speaker 3: with just wrestling through life. And Andrea, I can't wait 48 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 3: to tell your story. And his friend and mentor without 49 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:21,640 Speaker 3: whom I wouldn't even know who Andre is, which is 50 00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 3: John Anderson. So Andre and John, welcome, Thanks for being a. 51 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:28,960 Speaker 4: Memphis, Thanks for having us. 52 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:39,400 Speaker 2: So your story is unique to our podcast and beyond inspirational. 53 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:43,280 Speaker 2: And the reason it's unique is we're starting to do 54 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:47,600 Speaker 2: organic stories, stories that are born out of the podcast itself. 55 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:52,640 Speaker 2: But it's also unique and that you're the first guy 56 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:56,760 Speaker 2: that we've interviewed that has heard about one of our 57 00:03:56,840 --> 00:04:00,440 Speaker 2: stories and decided to do exactly what he heard in 58 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:03,560 Speaker 2: that story. You heard the blueprint through the story. You 59 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:07,600 Speaker 2: know the architect of the story, and it's Luke Michelson 60 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:12,240 Speaker 2: from Sleep and Heavenly Peace. And you are now going 61 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:14,640 Speaker 2: to take what you learned from his story and do 62 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:18,840 Speaker 2: it in your own community, which is exactly what the 63 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:21,200 Speaker 2: goal of an army of normal folks is. And you're 64 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:24,760 Speaker 2: the first story that we get to tell that has 65 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:29,520 Speaker 2: latched on to the goal. But how you're doing it 66 00:04:29,839 --> 00:04:31,880 Speaker 2: and who you're doing it for and who you're doing 67 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:35,360 Speaker 2: it with, which we reveal later in the show, is 68 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:40,239 Speaker 2: just beyond inspirational. I can't wait to tell that story. 69 00:04:40,279 --> 00:04:44,479 Speaker 2: But first, Andre, tell me about you. Where do you 70 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:48,200 Speaker 2: come from? How did you grow up? Tell me about 71 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:51,839 Speaker 2: Andre the little giant when he was just a kid 72 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:55,479 Speaker 2: running around? Where do you come from? And tell me 73 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:55,760 Speaker 2: all that. 74 00:04:56,520 --> 00:04:56,760 Speaker 1: Well. 75 00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:00,840 Speaker 4: I was born in Haiti. I was born in family 76 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:04,600 Speaker 4: of six and I was the fourth of the family. 77 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:10,359 Speaker 4: And my father when I was born, he has TB 78 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:15,359 Speaker 4: you know, which is a very sageous thing, so she 79 00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:18,800 Speaker 4: cannot take care of me, you know, and then she 80 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:23,240 Speaker 4: has to take me to the orphanage. But after a 81 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:26,720 Speaker 4: little while, I realized that, you know, to be with 82 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:29,599 Speaker 4: my family, that's the best thing, you know, instead of 83 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:32,479 Speaker 4: you know, the ofpheny. Because I have my mom and 84 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:37,799 Speaker 4: my dad and even he has TV. So I decide 85 00:05:37,839 --> 00:05:40,680 Speaker 4: to go and you know, stay and live with them. 86 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:45,279 Speaker 4: So God gave me a little gift. I remember when 87 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:48,640 Speaker 4: I was at the orphanage, I got a gift from 88 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:53,080 Speaker 4: my sponsor from here, and that gift. There was a 89 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:57,120 Speaker 4: little box and when I will painted, I saw some crayola. 90 00:05:57,760 --> 00:06:01,000 Speaker 4: We were like the little painting. So I used that 91 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:05,960 Speaker 4: kreola that's patent to do some little little trees and 92 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:09,320 Speaker 4: stuff like that, so I can sell them. Yes, I 93 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:11,680 Speaker 4: did sell them, and with that money I helped my 94 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:15,080 Speaker 4: mom with her medicine and you know, to get her fits. 95 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:17,720 Speaker 2: How old were you when you went to work. I 96 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:24,479 Speaker 2: was three years old. So was your family in poverty. 97 00:06:25,040 --> 00:06:30,160 Speaker 4: Well, not like and not William privity just to beg 98 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:34,760 Speaker 4: but they simply cannot, you know, taken care of of 99 00:06:34,839 --> 00:06:39,600 Speaker 4: us because then was really tough. And my dad has pneumonia, 100 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:43,440 Speaker 4: so he was sick too, so that's make it very 101 00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:46,880 Speaker 4: difficult for them to take care of the family. 102 00:06:47,320 --> 00:06:49,160 Speaker 2: Would your father able to work. 103 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:53,120 Speaker 4: Yes, he did, but at that time he wasn't work, 104 00:06:53,279 --> 00:06:59,360 Speaker 4: you know, he was fo years after that at the 105 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:04,560 Speaker 4: sugar f sometime he has spent like three days working, 106 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:05,440 Speaker 4: never come home. 107 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:07,560 Speaker 2: He stayed at the factory. 108 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:10,320 Speaker 4: Yeah, all the all night he's been working, you know, 109 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:13,280 Speaker 4: just to bring a little food on the table, just 110 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:16,000 Speaker 4: for two days meals. 111 00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:25,200 Speaker 2: What you know, people see on TV famine and poverty 112 00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:31,520 Speaker 2: and other countries oftentimes and places like Africa. And you know, 113 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:35,760 Speaker 2: I think because you see the images over and over 114 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:39,280 Speaker 2: again in magazines and on TV, we become a little 115 00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:47,640 Speaker 2: desensitized to areas that are wrought with poverty. And the 116 00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:50,840 Speaker 2: other thing is, you know, if you look at a map, 117 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:56,520 Speaker 2: Haiti and the Dominican Republic or next door to each other, 118 00:07:56,720 --> 00:08:00,080 Speaker 2: there's a line driven down, drawing down the middle of 119 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:06,320 Speaker 2: an island, and in the Dominican Republic it's largely a 120 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:10,760 Speaker 2: successful place, and then there's a line on the map 121 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:16,480 Speaker 2: on the exact same island with people who are generally 122 00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:24,000 Speaker 2: the same. But in Haiti it is abject poverty. Why 123 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:24,520 Speaker 2: is that? 124 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:29,240 Speaker 4: Well, I wish I can answer. That's Christian. You know, 125 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:38,360 Speaker 4: I'm gonna try my base. The country is very corrpt corrupt. 126 00:08:38,520 --> 00:08:42,199 Speaker 4: Yes you probably know that. So my wife told me 127 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:46,280 Speaker 4: please try to stay from cow of these things, you know, 128 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:49,120 Speaker 4: like a politic and things like that. But you know 129 00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:54,920 Speaker 4: that's yes, it's very corropt country. That's the reason that 130 00:08:55,240 --> 00:09:00,439 Speaker 4: Haiti is like that. And also people will use to 131 00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:04,480 Speaker 4: the garden, to the planting, you know, the mountain, so 132 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:08,640 Speaker 4: everybody are focushing, you know, to go to portter Press 133 00:09:08,679 --> 00:09:12,280 Speaker 4: to the city. You know, they lift the lands and 134 00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:16,960 Speaker 4: everything they used to rock, you know, to produce like corn, beans, 135 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:20,600 Speaker 4: you know, rice. So they just go to Porter Press. 136 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:23,120 Speaker 4: You know why they go to Potter Press. No, because 137 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:27,120 Speaker 4: they think that there's close to Miami. Everyone just focush, 138 00:09:27,640 --> 00:09:29,719 Speaker 4: you know, to come to the United States. 139 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:34,960 Speaker 2: Is other than people who run the government. Is there 140 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:38,400 Speaker 2: any money in Haiti for families, for normal families? Is 141 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:41,640 Speaker 2: there any way to for a family to pull themselves 142 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:43,360 Speaker 2: out of poverty? 143 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:47,680 Speaker 4: So the governed man, I'm sorry to say that. No. 144 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:52,120 Speaker 2: So the reality is when people hear that you had 145 00:09:52,160 --> 00:09:55,160 Speaker 2: a mother and a father that were ill but sent 146 00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:57,920 Speaker 2: their a three year old to an orphanage. It wasn't 147 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:01,560 Speaker 2: that they didn't love or care. They literally did not 148 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:02,440 Speaker 2: have the means. 149 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:05,520 Speaker 4: Yes, yes, exactly. 150 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:10,679 Speaker 2: That's terrible because it's so poverty stricken that it tears 151 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:15,600 Speaker 2: families up. Yes, So how long did you live in 152 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:16,319 Speaker 2: the orphanage? 153 00:10:16,720 --> 00:10:20,400 Speaker 4: I didn't stay for a few years. A few years, yes, 154 00:10:20,559 --> 00:10:21,160 Speaker 4: a few years. 155 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:27,839 Speaker 2: And at what age? Well, I can remember, you know, 156 00:10:28,559 --> 00:10:32,600 Speaker 2: I think some people I can remember. I think when 157 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:35,719 Speaker 2: I was five years old. Maybe, I'm sure I can 158 00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:38,760 Speaker 2: remember things from first grade when I was six. So 159 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:41,160 Speaker 2: if you stayed a few years you were six or seven, 160 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:48,719 Speaker 2: how how did it feel being an orphanage knowing your 161 00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:50,439 Speaker 2: family was not far away? 162 00:10:51,240 --> 00:10:54,920 Speaker 4: That was hard? That was really hard. I have a 163 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:59,560 Speaker 4: problem too, you know. When I was born, my leg 164 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:05,840 Speaker 4: was I have to wear a boistlet legs, so that 165 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:10,760 Speaker 4: makes it even very difficult for me. You know. The 166 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:13,600 Speaker 4: roast thing is, you know, when you see the other 167 00:11:13,679 --> 00:11:18,280 Speaker 4: kids play, you know, when they play like soccer or 168 00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:22,400 Speaker 4: hn't see it, you cannot you know, just watch him play. 169 00:11:22,440 --> 00:11:24,760 Speaker 4: And then as a boy, you cannot do that, you 170 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:28,520 Speaker 4: know because of my the facts I have in my legs. 171 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:32,400 Speaker 4: And the roast thing is when go to school, make 172 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:35,040 Speaker 4: it hard for me to sit in the bench because 173 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:40,960 Speaker 4: of the legs, you know. So and then I get bully. 174 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:45,640 Speaker 4: They used to call me an ex anx X. This 175 00:11:45,720 --> 00:11:50,160 Speaker 4: is the ex boy because the ex boy, you know. 176 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:53,520 Speaker 4: But you know I didn't get that and get me down, 177 00:11:54,080 --> 00:11:56,120 Speaker 4: you know, just keep going and do what I got 178 00:11:56,160 --> 00:11:58,640 Speaker 4: to do, you know, thank God, you know, and my 179 00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:02,800 Speaker 4: leg with or hell and I will be able to 180 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:06,080 Speaker 4: to walk normally and then try to get a job. 181 00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:10,040 Speaker 4: You know, as the age of like eight or ten, 182 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:12,840 Speaker 4: you know, I went to the missionary and tried to 183 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:16,679 Speaker 4: ask him for a job, you know, to clan the motorcycle, 184 00:12:16,880 --> 00:12:19,640 Speaker 4: you know, water the gardens and stuff like that. You 185 00:12:19,679 --> 00:12:21,080 Speaker 4: know that's for fifty cents. 186 00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:25,760 Speaker 2: You know, I think I've read that at some point. 187 00:12:25,880 --> 00:12:28,400 Speaker 2: I'd like to know what age you were. You hung 188 00:12:28,440 --> 00:12:32,640 Speaker 2: around a hotel hoping to see American business span or 189 00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:35,800 Speaker 2: business spend coming in where if maybe you carried their suitcase, 190 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:37,240 Speaker 2: they'd give you a cookie or something. 191 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:40,560 Speaker 4: Yeah, there was a there was a guess I was, Yeah, 192 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:43,440 Speaker 4: I was there, and then uh, there was a missionary 193 00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:46,560 Speaker 4: who came with a suitcase and now you know, and 194 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:50,840 Speaker 4: he gave you a cookies. His name is Johannes, your 195 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:56,120 Speaker 4: honest and Luis heard from Germany. They're still in Haiti. 196 00:12:56,800 --> 00:13:00,079 Speaker 4: And he took it, took an interest in you, yes, 197 00:13:00,640 --> 00:13:03,240 Speaker 4: and he helped me. They helped me a lot. They 198 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:08,280 Speaker 4: helped me with my school. He has a school, so 199 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:11,600 Speaker 4: he has school trade school. So with that little gift 200 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:13,600 Speaker 4: God give me, so he gave me a job in 201 00:13:13,640 --> 00:13:16,760 Speaker 4: that trade school to make that little picture, you know, 202 00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:22,880 Speaker 4: for them. So I with that money, I pay my 203 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:27,520 Speaker 4: school with that and how we I probably like ten 204 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:29,600 Speaker 4: ten years, eleven years. 205 00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:34,319 Speaker 2: Ten years old. Yes, so then you went home. 206 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:39,079 Speaker 4: Oh, yes, I went home. So at eleven years old, 207 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:43,200 Speaker 4: I got a job, you know, and clanic the car 208 00:13:43,880 --> 00:13:47,280 Speaker 4: for the missionary, you know, and the garden they have, 209 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:49,840 Speaker 4: you know, I have water the garden, and I have 210 00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:55,200 Speaker 4: to fertilize you know, the garden. So and then how 211 00:13:55,240 --> 00:13:57,280 Speaker 4: to do that is go and get the cow, you 212 00:13:57,320 --> 00:13:59,240 Speaker 4: know stuff, Yeah. 213 00:13:59,280 --> 00:13:59,880 Speaker 2: Fertilize it. 214 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:06,080 Speaker 4: Yeah. And sometimes you know, the fresh one, you cannot 215 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:08,760 Speaker 4: pick it up, so you have to burn it to 216 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:10,959 Speaker 4: make it drive, so you can put it in the bag. 217 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:13,320 Speaker 4: And you have to make it throw money, you know. 218 00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:17,800 Speaker 4: And then I had a little sister, and I'm the 219 00:14:17,800 --> 00:14:19,400 Speaker 4: one who pays school for her too. 220 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:23,360 Speaker 2: At that age, I read that when you first showed 221 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:28,040 Speaker 2: up at home, your father said I can't beat you, 222 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:33,480 Speaker 2: and you said, it's okay. If you eat, I eat. 223 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:37,440 Speaker 2: If you don't eat, I don't eat. Yes, that speaks 224 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:39,760 Speaker 2: to me to just how bad you want it to 225 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:40,840 Speaker 2: be at home. 226 00:14:41,360 --> 00:14:44,600 Speaker 4: Oh yes, home is home, sweet home. You know. No 227 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:47,600 Speaker 4: one wants to stay in the orphanage, you know. And 228 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:51,400 Speaker 4: then the experience I had in that orphanage at that time, 229 00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:54,920 Speaker 4: even the little kids I got food. I got good food. 230 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:58,240 Speaker 4: You know, that's the orphanage was running by mission and 231 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:04,560 Speaker 4: from Canada. Good you know what I miss. Never say 232 00:15:04,640 --> 00:15:07,360 Speaker 4: anybody say that I love you, you know, hold you and 233 00:15:07,400 --> 00:15:10,800 Speaker 4: your homy just like you in book comp you know, 234 00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:13,400 Speaker 4: and this go to strutch and go to school, and 235 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:16,000 Speaker 4: this hoop hoop, go to bed and this and that. 236 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:20,080 Speaker 4: But hot home is different, you know. 237 00:15:21,400 --> 00:15:24,640 Speaker 2: I think it's important for our listeners to understand that. 238 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:28,400 Speaker 2: Later on we will talk about what you're doing now, 239 00:15:29,240 --> 00:15:31,640 Speaker 2: and I think it's really important to understand where you 240 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:35,960 Speaker 2: come from, to give perspective on why you do what 241 00:15:36,040 --> 00:15:41,720 Speaker 2: you do and why you poured yourself into it. And 242 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:45,280 Speaker 2: now a few messages from our general sponsors. But first, 243 00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:48,800 Speaker 2: I hope you'll subscribe to the podcast so that you'll 244 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:52,120 Speaker 2: get the newest episodes in your library every week. And 245 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:56,200 Speaker 2: also consider signing up to join the Army at normal 246 00:15:56,280 --> 00:16:01,120 Speaker 2: folks dot us because together we can change country and 247 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:05,080 Speaker 2: you'll also receive weekly email updates about the Army. We'll 248 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:28,440 Speaker 2: be right back. So you met a woman and got married. 249 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:30,880 Speaker 4: I met a woman. I got Mary. 250 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:33,320 Speaker 1: You know, I want you to tell the whole story. 251 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:34,880 Speaker 1: I don't want you to tell the whole story. 252 00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:38,840 Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm going to tell this old story. You know. 253 00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:43,000 Speaker 4: I was in Porto Press, you know, school in Porto Press, 254 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:46,840 Speaker 4: and then I never have a girlfriend. Okay, So my 255 00:16:47,040 --> 00:16:49,440 Speaker 4: sister called me and tell me about you meet the 256 00:16:49,640 --> 00:16:51,720 Speaker 4: beautiful girls, you know, Haitian girl. 257 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:52,440 Speaker 2: How old are you? 258 00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:57,280 Speaker 4: Let's see, I was eighteen eighteen. Yeah, and then uh, 259 00:16:57,520 --> 00:17:00,920 Speaker 4: I said, no, I'm not interesting because I have a 260 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:03,640 Speaker 4: bigger vision, you know, because I want to see, I 261 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:06,199 Speaker 4: want to walk, I want to do something, you know, 262 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:11,000 Speaker 4: my life. So she keep persistent. So I took a 263 00:17:11,080 --> 00:17:13,879 Speaker 4: boss will be like three or four hours, you know, 264 00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:17,320 Speaker 4: to the Ki and my sister gave me a book. 265 00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:21,440 Speaker 4: This is a girl who came to take her mother 266 00:17:21,600 --> 00:17:25,240 Speaker 4: to the hospital. But they have to go through my house, 267 00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:29,520 Speaker 4: you know, because that was thirsty and Haiti a long 268 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:33,119 Speaker 4: time ago. If you need water, you're testy and you 269 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:35,640 Speaker 4: can't go any place, you know, and then you knock 270 00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:37,920 Speaker 4: on the door. They opened the door, and then you said, 271 00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:40,520 Speaker 4: can I have a glass of water? They will give 272 00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:44,639 Speaker 4: you water. They have a special glass for visitors. Okay, 273 00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:48,840 Speaker 4: So that the same thing happened to my sister. So 274 00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:51,200 Speaker 4: they stop in my house where my sister is and 275 00:17:51,359 --> 00:17:53,919 Speaker 4: to get some water. And then there was almost the 276 00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:57,080 Speaker 4: same age, you know, and they talk and stuff like that. 277 00:17:57,600 --> 00:18:00,840 Speaker 4: So my sister just loved that girl for me. So 278 00:18:00,960 --> 00:18:03,560 Speaker 4: one day my sister told me, you better go and 279 00:18:03,640 --> 00:18:07,439 Speaker 4: visit her, you know. So I said, okay, And I 280 00:18:07,520 --> 00:18:11,800 Speaker 4: wake up at five o'clock in the morning, five o'clock 281 00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:15,560 Speaker 4: in the morning, and I walk six hours. 282 00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:19,800 Speaker 2: You walked walk six hours hours and at the timely 283 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:21,919 Speaker 2: doorstops that you have to get a super water on 284 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:23,760 Speaker 2: the way. But that's a lot of water. 285 00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:26,320 Speaker 4: The only thing I had, you know, that's a piece 286 00:18:26,320 --> 00:18:29,480 Speaker 4: of sugar cane. You know, I got a piece of 287 00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:33,240 Speaker 4: sugar acain. I've been eating all the wind. So there 288 00:18:33,320 --> 00:18:35,680 Speaker 4: was no bridge. I have just crossed all the water 289 00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:39,200 Speaker 4: like that. But when I get to the village and 290 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:41,959 Speaker 4: I saw a boy, I asked a boy, you know, 291 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:44,800 Speaker 4: I'm looking for this girl and this and that. It's okay, 292 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:47,040 Speaker 4: I know where she lives. So she brings me to 293 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:49,720 Speaker 4: a house and I knock and there's a girl came 294 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:53,399 Speaker 4: and I said, I don't think that's not her, you 295 00:18:53,440 --> 00:18:59,960 Speaker 4: know the way my sister described that's. 296 00:18:58,680 --> 00:18:59,399 Speaker 2: What you know. 297 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:03,520 Speaker 4: And then he said I told her yeah, I'm looking 298 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:05,640 Speaker 4: for this and that. He said, oh, there's another one, 299 00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:09,880 Speaker 4: you know. And she lived way win the mountain. So 300 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:13,240 Speaker 4: that takes me thirty minutes. You go up a mountain, Yeah, 301 00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:15,679 Speaker 4: that takes me thirty minutes to go to the mountain. 302 00:19:16,359 --> 00:19:20,320 Speaker 4: So when I reached to her house, somebody punted her 303 00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:22,960 Speaker 4: house to me. So I walk and knocking the door, 304 00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:26,280 Speaker 4: and I expect that that girl going to open the door, 305 00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:30,639 Speaker 4: you know, so I can see her. And then the 306 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:36,480 Speaker 4: door is open and whoy. So that's her father, and 307 00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:39,159 Speaker 4: he said, how can I help you? You know, I 308 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:41,720 Speaker 4: cannot tell her I come to see your daughter. No, 309 00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:48,600 Speaker 4: not in eighty So I said, well, I just passed by, 310 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:51,399 Speaker 4: you know, I need a glass of water. So she 311 00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:54,159 Speaker 4: called someone to bring me the glasses of water. I 312 00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:57,119 Speaker 4: thought that was her, but that wasn't her. After I 313 00:19:57,200 --> 00:19:59,240 Speaker 4: drank the water and I said, can I have some more? 314 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:01,520 Speaker 4: They give me you I second cup. I drank it 315 00:20:02,080 --> 00:20:05,120 Speaker 4: and then I keep walking. I don't even know where 316 00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:08,960 Speaker 4: I'm going. I passed the house. But while I was 317 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:12,520 Speaker 4: in the mountain, I saw a girl coming from from 318 00:20:12,600 --> 00:20:15,440 Speaker 4: the hill with a bucket of water and her head 319 00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:19,560 Speaker 4: and I keep looking looking. I said, what that must 320 00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:22,560 Speaker 4: be her, you know. I mean, I'm telling you it's beautiful. 321 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:27,240 Speaker 4: So by the time she went home, and I just 322 00:20:27,359 --> 00:20:31,560 Speaker 4: wrung from the hill, you know, and I just grabbed 323 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:33,960 Speaker 4: that water from her head. You know, she didn't see me. 324 00:20:34,040 --> 00:20:36,240 Speaker 4: She would go like this, what's going on? You know? 325 00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:39,520 Speaker 4: So I help her with the water, and then my 326 00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:43,600 Speaker 4: heart is finning so hard, you know, not the first time. 327 00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:49,560 Speaker 4: So I tried to to grab like something of flowers, 328 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:51,879 Speaker 4: something like that, you know, get in my knees, you know, 329 00:20:52,000 --> 00:21:00,680 Speaker 4: grab like a dead flowers, you know. So I got 330 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:03,440 Speaker 4: in miamies and I told her my name is Andre. 331 00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:07,840 Speaker 4: Please will you marry me? And it just met her? Yeah, 332 00:21:08,119 --> 00:21:08,960 Speaker 4: will you marry me? 333 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:09,959 Speaker 1: He's not finished? 334 00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:12,280 Speaker 4: Will you marry me? So we can have a son 335 00:21:12,359 --> 00:21:13,000 Speaker 4: named Gino? 336 00:21:15,080 --> 00:21:19,040 Speaker 2: Just ask the first date, you know, and she look, 337 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:22,280 Speaker 2: can I ask you a question? Yes, you're telling me 338 00:21:24,400 --> 00:21:27,480 Speaker 2: that you walked up to a girl you'd never met. Yes, 339 00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:29,919 Speaker 2: you snatched a bucket of water off her head and 340 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:32,040 Speaker 2: gave her a dead flower and ask her to marry you. 341 00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:34,320 Speaker 4: I told he's not even the dead flower? Is this 342 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:36,240 Speaker 4: something like? I won't say? 343 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:38,960 Speaker 2: And you maybe a pastor. But if this all worked 344 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:40,200 Speaker 2: out you got game. 345 00:21:39,960 --> 00:21:48,919 Speaker 4: Bro so well. She looked at me. She said, are 346 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:53,720 Speaker 4: you you know like Bee's brother. I said yes, and 347 00:21:53,760 --> 00:21:56,280 Speaker 4: then she thinks that, you know, there's something is not 348 00:21:56,520 --> 00:21:57,240 Speaker 4: right with me. 349 00:21:57,560 --> 00:21:59,879 Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, I think most people think there's a 350 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:00,840 Speaker 2: thing not right with you. 351 00:22:01,040 --> 00:22:04,399 Speaker 4: Yeah. I just left. I said bye bye. You know, 352 00:22:05,040 --> 00:22:08,360 Speaker 4: I just left because you know, if I realized, man, 353 00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:12,680 Speaker 4: what I'm doing, what I did, So I backed six hour, 354 00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:17,679 Speaker 4: six hours back home because I can afford like fifty 355 00:22:17,760 --> 00:22:20,760 Speaker 4: cents to take a tap tap taptap is just transportation 356 00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:25,119 Speaker 4: and eighty So my sister was so excited see me coming. 357 00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:28,560 Speaker 4: They said, oh, that's going And I told her said, oh, 358 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:31,840 Speaker 4: that's not the way. You know. She was so desapparated 359 00:22:32,440 --> 00:22:35,119 Speaker 4: with me. So the very next day, you know, I 360 00:22:35,119 --> 00:22:37,000 Speaker 4: take a bus and go back to Power Points. I 361 00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:40,040 Speaker 4: haven't come back to the city for like a year, 362 00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:43,720 Speaker 4: so I decided to come back to the city one day. 363 00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:49,000 Speaker 4: I see that one there was a church and plane are. 364 00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:52,199 Speaker 4: You know, every year there was probably like three hundred 365 00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:55,920 Speaker 4: churches get together for three days, but that wasn't plane Are. 366 00:22:56,480 --> 00:23:01,440 Speaker 4: So while I see that one and I heard hand 367 00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:05,919 Speaker 4: said mister Force, And I look that's what's her, you know, 368 00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:10,359 Speaker 4: I said, oh, my heart was beating. Man, I'm trying 369 00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:14,680 Speaker 4: not to make the same mistake. Okay. So and she said, 370 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:17,159 Speaker 4: can I sit by you? Oh? Yes, yes, you know, 371 00:23:17,240 --> 00:23:18,760 Speaker 4: I got a book in my hand, and you know, 372 00:23:18,840 --> 00:23:20,960 Speaker 4: I tried to put the books so she can see. 373 00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:24,200 Speaker 4: He said, no, I'm fine, you know. So she's sit there. 374 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:29,359 Speaker 4: So I've been talking but nothing about love. Nothing, you know, 375 00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:35,399 Speaker 4: just thinks that's no value. But before she left to 376 00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:40,159 Speaker 4: go home, I opened the books. I put something in 377 00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:42,320 Speaker 4: the boox. I told her that I'm going to let 378 00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:46,639 Speaker 4: you use that book. That book was Waiting by African 379 00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:50,840 Speaker 4: pastor Andrew abdor. So she loved that book. And then 380 00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:54,280 Speaker 4: I gave it to her and while she's living, I 381 00:23:54,320 --> 00:23:57,520 Speaker 4: told her that, excuse me, there's a little, you know, 382 00:23:57,640 --> 00:24:01,359 Speaker 4: homework in that book, so please, you know, check it 383 00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:04,640 Speaker 4: out when you have time. So this is the homework. 384 00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:09,240 Speaker 4: The first page I put a J like short Tame, 385 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:13,080 Speaker 4: shot Tam and I love you. The first page I 386 00:24:13,119 --> 00:24:15,800 Speaker 4: put a J. And the second page there is a 387 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:19,440 Speaker 4: little appost, you know, and then I go the them. 388 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:23,679 Speaker 4: So I did I did that, you know, in the 389 00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:26,480 Speaker 4: end of the books, and each page. You know, sometimes 390 00:24:26,560 --> 00:24:29,919 Speaker 4: I flip like three pages, you know, and put a 391 00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:34,800 Speaker 4: little later on it. So after a few days, not 392 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:38,040 Speaker 4: only a few weeks, and she brings back the books, 393 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:40,320 Speaker 4: you know. She came, you know, to see the doctor 394 00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:42,840 Speaker 4: again with her mom, and she gave the books. I said, 395 00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:49,680 Speaker 4: do you realize what you find out? What they say? Yes, yes, 396 00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:51,640 Speaker 4: I said what you said, say, well, I have to pray. 397 00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:56,600 Speaker 4: I'm going to pray. Man, that's a lady take eight years, 398 00:24:57,200 --> 00:25:00,280 Speaker 4: eight years to pray about it. 399 00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:01,040 Speaker 2: Eight years. 400 00:25:01,240 --> 00:25:06,760 Speaker 4: Auntie is my friend. And every Saturday, every saturdayday, she 401 00:25:06,840 --> 00:25:11,600 Speaker 4: makes me walk like almost threeven hours to go and 402 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:15,360 Speaker 4: see her in the mountain for eight straight years. 403 00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:19,560 Speaker 2: I think had you not proposed the minute you saw 404 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:21,720 Speaker 2: it might have been three years. But I think I 405 00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:24,879 Speaker 2: think it was a five year tax for being so aggressive. 406 00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:29,800 Speaker 2: But she became your wife. 407 00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:35,959 Speaker 4: She became my wife. She said, okay, okay. 408 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:42,560 Speaker 2: So Andre, I think we can establish you grew up 409 00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:47,920 Speaker 2: very poor, You had to go to an orphanage. You 410 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:54,920 Speaker 2: experienced sadness and bullying and the loss of your family, 411 00:25:55,880 --> 00:26:01,399 Speaker 2: and somehow inside of you it built a strength of 412 00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:04,359 Speaker 2: a man who is willing to walk six miles every 413 00:26:04,359 --> 00:26:07,879 Speaker 2: week for eight years to found the love of his life, 414 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:14,600 Speaker 2: and you're trying to figure your way out what am 415 00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:15,479 Speaker 2: I doing next? 416 00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:21,960 Speaker 4: Well after we Okay, I just told you that when 417 00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:24,640 Speaker 4: God call you in the ministry, he gives you a package. 418 00:26:25,280 --> 00:26:28,879 Speaker 4: Listen to this, and I'm pretty sure that my wife 419 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:32,840 Speaker 4: was in the package. While I was visiting my wife. 420 00:26:33,119 --> 00:26:38,359 Speaker 4: My girlfriend he has two brothers, three brothers, but the 421 00:26:38,400 --> 00:26:42,080 Speaker 4: older one is in photoprints, so the two brothers live 422 00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:46,880 Speaker 4: with her. They hate me, man, I don't know why 423 00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:47,600 Speaker 4: they hate me. 424 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:50,880 Speaker 2: So you're dating their sister. That's why they hate him. 425 00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:54,240 Speaker 4: But that's not hate again, and that's his more than hate. 426 00:26:54,440 --> 00:26:57,320 Speaker 4: Every time when I come. When I go over there 427 00:26:57,480 --> 00:27:00,680 Speaker 4: and they said get out dog, get out a dog. 428 00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:03,320 Speaker 4: They don't talk to me, just directly. But there wasn't 429 00:27:03,359 --> 00:27:07,280 Speaker 4: no dog. That was me, you know. So they decide 430 00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:11,600 Speaker 4: to call bigger brother inpropriate because Bigger Brother is doing 431 00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:14,720 Speaker 4: you know, karagate, you know things like that, so you know, 432 00:27:14,800 --> 00:27:17,600 Speaker 4: to kick me out in the house. So one day 433 00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:22,440 Speaker 4: while I was coming on Saturday, my girlfriend just rung 434 00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:26,080 Speaker 4: and the gate. They told me, please please don't go today, 435 00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:29,200 Speaker 4: don't come today, you come another day. But she don't 436 00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:31,160 Speaker 4: want to tell me what's going on in the house. 437 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:34,600 Speaker 4: I said, why, you know, he said, please, don't, don't 438 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:37,199 Speaker 4: come another day. I said, yeah, but I have to 439 00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:39,520 Speaker 4: come and say hello to you, mama. He said, no, 440 00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:43,359 Speaker 4: you know, but I came anyway. Why I would sit down? 441 00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:46,240 Speaker 4: You know, I heard a lot of discussion in the 442 00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:48,640 Speaker 4: audio room. You know, I hate it. Mostly there's two 443 00:27:48,840 --> 00:27:52,320 Speaker 4: rooms in the house, not more than two rooms. So 444 00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:57,320 Speaker 4: I heard that my girlfriend was crying because her brother 445 00:27:57,400 --> 00:28:00,600 Speaker 4: has a big stick and his hand and come out 446 00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:03,320 Speaker 4: and come out and you know, in the living room 447 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:07,160 Speaker 4: to hit me. And when you look at me, and 448 00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:11,399 Speaker 4: he said andre I said, Bob, how are women in 449 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:12,520 Speaker 4: the orphanage together? 450 00:28:15,440 --> 00:28:18,040 Speaker 2: And he could no longer be average because you were friends. 451 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:21,119 Speaker 4: Yeah, he said, andre I said, Bob, you know the 452 00:28:21,400 --> 00:28:23,920 Speaker 4: you know the good thing is And he told her mother, 453 00:28:24,240 --> 00:28:26,800 Speaker 4: you remember when you come to see me at the orphanage, 454 00:28:26,840 --> 00:28:30,240 Speaker 4: because I used to look road to the orphanage. And 455 00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:34,679 Speaker 4: that person that you sleep that was his grandpa, Mama. 456 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:39,040 Speaker 4: And the bread that you you said, that guy always 457 00:28:39,080 --> 00:28:44,480 Speaker 4: give you that his father. I said, thank god, yeah, 458 00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:46,120 Speaker 4: so that that was in the package. 459 00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:49,680 Speaker 2: Okay, I would say that, you know, you're kind of 460 00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:52,920 Speaker 2: you're kind of in at that point. Yeah, the family 461 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:53,560 Speaker 2: loves you. 462 00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:57,400 Speaker 4: Yes, h m hmm. 463 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:17,880 Speaker 2: We'll be right back. John. There's this crazy story of 464 00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:21,200 Speaker 2: this guy from Haiti named Andre, who we've just learned 465 00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:28,680 Speaker 2: all about, and your introduction to him was nothing more 466 00:29:28,720 --> 00:29:33,480 Speaker 2: than really a miracle too. And for our listeners, the 467 00:29:33,520 --> 00:29:36,800 Speaker 2: whole reason I'm sitting here with Andrea and John is 468 00:29:36,840 --> 00:29:41,640 Speaker 2: because John heard an episode about Luke Nicholson from Sleeping 469 00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:46,720 Speaker 2: Heavenly Peace, and I beg all of you to send 470 00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:49,240 Speaker 2: me emails and tell me about stories. And John took 471 00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:51,960 Speaker 2: me up on it, and you sent me a very 472 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:56,320 Speaker 2: long email that after reading it, my eyes had teared up, 473 00:29:56,840 --> 00:29:59,680 Speaker 2: and I think I reached out to you immediately and 474 00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:03,320 Speaker 2: said I got to meet this guy. But in the letter, 475 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:08,239 Speaker 2: you open with how you met him. Yeah, tell us 476 00:30:08,240 --> 00:30:10,840 Speaker 2: a story of how you came to know Andre. 477 00:30:10,960 --> 00:30:14,520 Speaker 1: All right, Well, Andre was one of those people who 478 00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:17,760 Speaker 1: wanted to come to the United States. And Andrea expressed 479 00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:21,720 Speaker 1: to me that in Haiti, everybody thinks of the United States. 480 00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:24,800 Speaker 1: There's just money lying along the side of the road, 481 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:27,440 Speaker 1: and you could just scoop up the money if you 482 00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:29,280 Speaker 1: need something and get whatever it is. 483 00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:33,760 Speaker 4: That you need every trees of money growing. 484 00:30:35,640 --> 00:30:37,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, now that you've been here, you know that's not 485 00:30:37,880 --> 00:30:38,240 Speaker 2: the case. 486 00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:42,160 Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm telling you Andre. 487 00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:46,480 Speaker 1: Something that he hasn't said is that he and his wife, 488 00:30:46,520 --> 00:30:50,280 Speaker 1: Angie actually raised seven children before they started their own family, 489 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:54,520 Speaker 1: and there were seven orphans and this was the genesis 490 00:30:54,520 --> 00:30:57,400 Speaker 1: of the Place of Hope actually, but he came to 491 00:30:57,400 --> 00:30:59,840 Speaker 1: the United States so he could pick some of that 492 00:30:59,880 --> 00:31:02,400 Speaker 1: money off the trees and help feed the kids. 493 00:31:02,440 --> 00:31:03,680 Speaker 2: With these seven children, with. 494 00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:06,040 Speaker 1: The seven children and his wife. 495 00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:10,360 Speaker 4: Excuse me, there's seven children that I I raised that 496 00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:13,000 Speaker 4: was in that was in hate, Okay. When I came 497 00:31:13,040 --> 00:31:16,960 Speaker 4: to the United States, there was twenty yeah, twenty. 498 00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:19,640 Speaker 1: Okay, twenty in a billy and I'll tell you about 499 00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:22,200 Speaker 1: that in a second. But he comes to the United 500 00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:27,680 Speaker 1: States and he, uh, he was trying to raise money. 501 00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:30,640 Speaker 1: He got a phone call from someone who was watching 502 00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:34,240 Speaker 1: the kids, yeah, the house mother, and she she told 503 00:31:34,320 --> 00:31:36,880 Speaker 1: him the kids have only had coconut to eat for 504 00:31:36,920 --> 00:31:40,160 Speaker 1: the last three weeks. They have diarrhea, they're on the 505 00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:43,760 Speaker 1: verge of dehydration. We need to do something. So Andre 506 00:31:44,040 --> 00:31:47,480 Speaker 1: borrowed a car and started driving up the main road 507 00:31:47,480 --> 00:31:52,040 Speaker 1: in Naples. He went to one church there and he 508 00:31:52,320 --> 00:31:55,000 Speaker 1: pushes the doorbell if it was locked. There was a lockout, 509 00:31:55,160 --> 00:31:57,520 Speaker 1: and they said, how can we help you? He said, well, 510 00:31:58,080 --> 00:32:00,320 Speaker 1: I need to talk to somebody. I needed to to 511 00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:00,880 Speaker 1: the pastor. 512 00:32:01,320 --> 00:32:03,760 Speaker 4: Now I'm not tying it only one bug of fries 513 00:32:03,880 --> 00:32:06,920 Speaker 4: to send to Haiti and the kids. 514 00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:10,360 Speaker 1: And they said the pastor's not here. And then finally 515 00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:13,000 Speaker 1: somebody came out and said, you're gonna have to leave 516 00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:15,640 Speaker 1: the property. Who are going to call the police? Well, 517 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:16,760 Speaker 1: Andrea's here. 518 00:32:17,080 --> 00:32:21,120 Speaker 2: And the whole time John Andre simply asking He's trying 519 00:32:21,160 --> 00:32:23,760 Speaker 2: to tell the story of these kids at this hortage 520 00:32:23,840 --> 00:32:26,360 Speaker 2: in Haiti that need food, yes, yep, that are sick 521 00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:29,160 Speaker 2: because all they've eaten for three weeks or cot. 522 00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:30,960 Speaker 1: And all he wants really is a bag of rice, 523 00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:33,800 Speaker 1: so he could send back to Haiti a bag of rice. 524 00:32:34,760 --> 00:32:38,920 Speaker 1: That's all he wants. So after that experience, he decides, well, 525 00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:41,680 Speaker 1: I still have to find something. So he goes up 526 00:32:41,720 --> 00:32:44,280 Speaker 1: to the next church, which we were the next church. 527 00:32:44,440 --> 00:32:47,200 Speaker 1: I was pastoring of that church at that time in Naples, 528 00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:51,440 Speaker 1: and we remember that day a little bit differently since 529 00:32:51,440 --> 00:32:53,120 Speaker 1: you asked me, I'm going to tell you my story. 530 00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:55,640 Speaker 1: But I knocked on the door. I heard this knocking 531 00:32:55,720 --> 00:33:00,200 Speaker 1: at the door. It's just a light tapping, and I 532 00:33:00,280 --> 00:33:01,640 Speaker 1: look out and go out in the hall and there's 533 00:33:01,720 --> 00:33:03,320 Speaker 1: glass doors at the end of the hall and I 534 00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:07,080 Speaker 1: look down the hall and here's a man, a Haitian 535 00:33:07,120 --> 00:33:11,440 Speaker 1: man literally cap in hand and standing outside the door. 536 00:33:11,480 --> 00:33:13,239 Speaker 1: And I opened up the door and I say, how 537 00:33:13,240 --> 00:33:15,720 Speaker 1: can I help you? And he said, I'd like to 538 00:33:15,760 --> 00:33:18,160 Speaker 1: ask you about help for my orphanage. I said, well, 539 00:33:18,200 --> 00:33:20,200 Speaker 1: when you come in my office and let's sit down chat. 540 00:33:21,040 --> 00:33:24,920 Speaker 1: So we went and we sat down and Andre, since 541 00:33:25,520 --> 00:33:28,320 Speaker 1: the last church they threatened to call the police on him, 542 00:33:28,680 --> 00:33:30,000 Speaker 1: he left the car running. 543 00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:33,160 Speaker 4: In case the police came. 544 00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:39,480 Speaker 1: And when he sat down, when he sat down on 545 00:33:39,600 --> 00:33:41,960 Speaker 1: the chair in my office, he didn't sit all the 546 00:33:41,960 --> 00:33:44,239 Speaker 1: way back. He sat on the edge. So I make 547 00:33:44,280 --> 00:33:48,920 Speaker 1: it a quick but I said, well, Andre, take my hands. 548 00:33:48,960 --> 00:33:51,880 Speaker 1: Let's let's pray. And so we sat and we prayed together, 549 00:33:52,120 --> 00:33:56,080 Speaker 1: and then after our amen, I said, how can I 550 00:33:56,080 --> 00:33:58,040 Speaker 1: help you? And then he told me about how he 551 00:33:58,040 --> 00:34:02,000 Speaker 1: has twenty orphans in Haiti and they are on the 552 00:34:02,040 --> 00:34:04,120 Speaker 1: virgin dehydration and they need some help. 553 00:34:04,600 --> 00:34:08,120 Speaker 2: Clearly on a shoe string budget, if any budget at. 554 00:34:08,040 --> 00:34:11,680 Speaker 1: All, absolutely, and what he asked for. He said, we're 555 00:34:11,719 --> 00:34:14,520 Speaker 1: trying to raise eighteen dollars a month for each of 556 00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:17,919 Speaker 1: those kids. I said, well, half a bucks a month, 557 00:34:19,040 --> 00:34:22,960 Speaker 1: bop thousand a year. Well, and he knew I couldn't 558 00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:26,239 Speaker 1: cover the whole thing, but there was enough there for 559 00:34:26,280 --> 00:34:28,080 Speaker 1: me to go on, and so I said, well, how 560 00:34:28,080 --> 00:34:29,800 Speaker 1: can I get back in touch with you tomorrow? I 561 00:34:30,400 --> 00:34:32,360 Speaker 1: want to go and talk to my wife. So I 562 00:34:32,400 --> 00:34:34,680 Speaker 1: went home that night, talked to my wife, and then 563 00:34:34,760 --> 00:34:37,080 Speaker 1: called him the next day. My wife and I said, well, well, 564 00:34:37,600 --> 00:34:39,760 Speaker 1: we can take care of to those orphans, but we'll 565 00:34:40,080 --> 00:34:43,320 Speaker 1: pay the whole year now so that they could spread 566 00:34:43,320 --> 00:34:45,279 Speaker 1: it among all the kids that way. I had a 567 00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:47,920 Speaker 1: feeling that's what they're going to do anyway, so we 568 00:34:47,960 --> 00:34:49,640 Speaker 1: said okay, So we sent them I think it was 569 00:34:49,680 --> 00:34:52,600 Speaker 1: three hundred and eighty bucks or something like that, and 570 00:34:52,680 --> 00:34:57,280 Speaker 1: that began our relationship. He came to our church. I 571 00:34:57,320 --> 00:34:59,600 Speaker 1: introduced them to some people, Some people put money in 572 00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:02,560 Speaker 1: his hand, and eventually our missions committee picked it up, 573 00:35:02,680 --> 00:35:06,680 Speaker 1: and Andre had a growing concern. At that point it 574 00:35:06,719 --> 00:35:11,320 Speaker 1: was a there was some viability to it. In the meantime, 575 00:35:11,360 --> 00:35:13,399 Speaker 1: I had a small group that I was working with 576 00:35:13,640 --> 00:35:17,080 Speaker 1: and I told them about this this guy and this orphanage, 577 00:35:17,640 --> 00:35:20,279 Speaker 1: and they said, well, we ought to go over and 578 00:35:20,320 --> 00:35:23,239 Speaker 1: take a look at it. So two of them went over. 579 00:35:23,760 --> 00:35:26,239 Speaker 1: They flew over, I guess three because Mike went. Mike 580 00:35:26,280 --> 00:35:29,600 Speaker 1: Schaeffer went too. So three of them went across to 581 00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:32,319 Speaker 1: Haiti and looked at the place. Well, the place that 582 00:35:32,360 --> 00:35:35,440 Speaker 1: they had at the time it was the orphanage was 583 00:35:35,560 --> 00:35:42,080 Speaker 1: one room. It was just a singular kids one table, 584 00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:47,839 Speaker 1: one chair, one spoon, no plumbing, no electricity. It was 585 00:35:47,960 --> 00:35:50,400 Speaker 1: just a shelter and he had twenty kids. He was 586 00:35:50,440 --> 00:35:52,320 Speaker 1: operating out of it. And they looked at that and 587 00:35:52,360 --> 00:35:54,040 Speaker 1: they said, well, gosh, I don't know how this is 588 00:35:54,080 --> 00:35:56,719 Speaker 1: ever going to work out. Well, they all turned out 589 00:35:56,719 --> 00:36:00,480 Speaker 1: to be very good supporters of the project, and later 590 00:36:00,560 --> 00:36:02,600 Speaker 1: on we would Andre. 591 00:36:03,400 --> 00:36:05,120 Speaker 2: We began to dream. 592 00:36:04,840 --> 00:36:09,040 Speaker 1: Together, what's this, what's your vision of this, of this, 593 00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:12,239 Speaker 1: of this orphanae Andre and he would tell me what 594 00:36:12,280 --> 00:36:14,880 Speaker 1: the vision was, and we begin to sketch little drawings 595 00:36:14,920 --> 00:36:17,480 Speaker 1: out on a piece of paper. One of the things 596 00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:19,239 Speaker 1: he said that'll come into play a little bit later 597 00:36:19,320 --> 00:36:22,560 Speaker 1: on is I said, listen, because he wants to put 598 00:36:22,600 --> 00:36:25,600 Speaker 1: a church in. That was a principal criteria for him 599 00:36:25,719 --> 00:36:29,400 Speaker 1: was to put a church on the property. And I said, well, Andre, 600 00:36:29,520 --> 00:36:31,480 Speaker 1: if you put a church on that property, one day, 601 00:36:31,480 --> 00:36:33,000 Speaker 1: I'm going to come down, I'm going to preach in 602 00:36:33,040 --> 00:36:36,879 Speaker 1: that church, and you're going to translate for me. And 603 00:36:36,880 --> 00:36:41,719 Speaker 1: Andre said, okay. What we didn't find out until I 604 00:36:41,719 --> 00:36:43,760 Speaker 1: don't know, maybe it was ten or twelve years later. 605 00:36:44,480 --> 00:36:49,080 Speaker 1: I was sitting on the platform of that church and 606 00:36:49,120 --> 00:36:51,600 Speaker 1: he looked at me and he said, you know, this 607 00:36:51,680 --> 00:36:53,439 Speaker 1: is an answer to prayer. And I said, how you talking? 608 00:36:53,600 --> 00:36:54,080 Speaker 2: What do you mean? 609 00:36:54,160 --> 00:36:57,520 Speaker 1: And he said, well, ten or twelve or whatever period 610 00:36:57,560 --> 00:36:59,680 Speaker 1: time it was before we had sat down, we talked 611 00:36:59,680 --> 00:37:01,279 Speaker 1: and said that you're going to preach it. I was 612 00:37:01,280 --> 00:37:04,600 Speaker 1: going to translate today's day. Well, that was right before 613 00:37:04,600 --> 00:37:06,200 Speaker 1: I went up to the pulpit, and by that time 614 00:37:06,239 --> 00:37:09,560 Speaker 1: I had tears streaming on my cheeks from the memory 615 00:37:09,560 --> 00:37:12,279 Speaker 1: of us of doing that. But we dreamed together about 616 00:37:12,320 --> 00:37:14,360 Speaker 1: what that campus might look like someday. 617 00:37:14,800 --> 00:37:18,799 Speaker 2: How many years ago was this? 618 00:37:18,800 --> 00:37:23,560 Speaker 1: This must have been in about four four so plus. 619 00:37:23,320 --> 00:37:30,239 Speaker 2: Eighteen nineteen years ago, so eighteen nineteen years ago. There 620 00:37:30,320 --> 00:37:34,520 Speaker 2: was a quote Orphanage which was a one bedroom right, 621 00:37:34,840 --> 00:37:40,160 Speaker 2: no electricity, no water running place where twenty kids were 622 00:37:40,200 --> 00:37:45,759 Speaker 2: surviving for three weeks on coconut yep, and that was 623 00:37:45,960 --> 00:37:48,279 Speaker 2: better than what they'd come from. 624 00:37:48,320 --> 00:37:51,880 Speaker 1: Yes, And I don't think any of us could really 625 00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:56,000 Speaker 1: understand poverty until you've been down there and seen it. 626 00:37:56,920 --> 00:38:01,200 Speaker 1: We have poverty here, but their poverty is you haven't 627 00:38:01,200 --> 00:38:03,879 Speaker 1: eaten for a week. Andre told me a story about 628 00:38:03,880 --> 00:38:06,880 Speaker 1: how he saw a man eating mud because he needed 629 00:38:06,920 --> 00:38:15,120 Speaker 1: something in his stomach. The poverty down there is, it's stunning. 630 00:38:16,160 --> 00:38:18,600 Speaker 1: And Andre didn't he let out some of the parts 631 00:38:18,640 --> 00:38:25,280 Speaker 1: of his story too, but he came from serious poverty. 632 00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:28,920 Speaker 1: And so now when he hears somebody in America say, well, 633 00:38:28,960 --> 00:38:30,560 Speaker 1: I'm starving to dad, well. 634 00:38:31,360 --> 00:38:34,440 Speaker 4: You're just like my daughter. You know. She lived here 635 00:38:35,040 --> 00:38:39,160 Speaker 4: and sometimes said Dad, I'm hungry. You know, I'm starving 636 00:38:40,280 --> 00:38:43,840 Speaker 4: and I'm stopping. You know what's stopping, man, I'm hungry, Dad. 637 00:38:44,080 --> 00:38:48,120 Speaker 4: And then the free there's milk, it's peanut butter. You know, 638 00:38:48,280 --> 00:38:52,080 Speaker 4: there's bread, and you told me starving, you know. And 639 00:38:52,120 --> 00:38:56,080 Speaker 4: then sometime when I was a little kid, I go 640 00:38:56,160 --> 00:39:01,920 Speaker 4: to school. We've won orange for all day, it'll clock. 641 00:39:02,080 --> 00:39:06,040 Speaker 4: You have to be at school until four o'clock come home. 642 00:39:06,080 --> 00:39:08,600 Speaker 4: Sometimes when you come home there's nothing to put in 643 00:39:08,640 --> 00:39:12,160 Speaker 4: your stomach. You know, you go to bed stomach empty, 644 00:39:12,520 --> 00:39:17,000 Speaker 4: and you told me that you're starving. You know what 645 00:39:16,520 --> 00:39:17,960 Speaker 4: is what is starving mean? 646 00:39:18,640 --> 00:39:24,600 Speaker 2: So I think for a perspective, it's really important to 647 00:39:24,760 --> 00:39:30,400 Speaker 2: understand that money doesn't grow on trees in the United States. 648 00:39:30,480 --> 00:39:34,000 Speaker 2: But when a kid who we would say in the 649 00:39:34,120 --> 00:39:37,680 Speaker 2: US is in poverty, gets to go to school and 650 00:39:37,680 --> 00:39:44,239 Speaker 2: get free breakfast and free lunch, who almost assuredly can 651 00:39:44,320 --> 00:39:51,960 Speaker 2: find shelter and clothing and in education and transportation and 652 00:39:52,120 --> 00:39:59,200 Speaker 2: most likely have the basic sustenance provided for that. While 653 00:40:00,880 --> 00:40:04,439 Speaker 2: the American dream is not that, and I'm not discounting 654 00:40:05,200 --> 00:40:10,759 Speaker 2: that level of American poverty to a Haitian kid that's rich. Yeah, absolutely, 655 00:40:11,120 --> 00:40:16,440 Speaker 2: And we need to keep in perspective what real poverty 656 00:40:16,480 --> 00:40:18,759 Speaker 2: looks like in parts of our world. And Haiti is 657 00:40:19,800 --> 00:40:23,440 Speaker 2: three hundred and fifty miles off the Texas coast in 658 00:40:23,480 --> 00:40:27,600 Speaker 2: our hemisphere, just below Cuba. Just below Cuba. We're not 659 00:40:27,680 --> 00:40:32,120 Speaker 2: talking about some far away mythical place. We're talking about 660 00:40:32,160 --> 00:40:34,960 Speaker 2: people who share the Gulf of Mexico with. 661 00:40:35,040 --> 00:40:37,640 Speaker 1: Two hour plane ride. That's my two hour plane ride 662 00:40:37,640 --> 00:40:38,200 Speaker 1: from Miami. 663 00:40:38,520 --> 00:40:42,879 Speaker 2: Two hour plane ride from Miami, and we're talking about 664 00:40:42,920 --> 00:40:46,640 Speaker 2: children that literally are starving to death. And so a 665 00:40:46,680 --> 00:40:49,840 Speaker 2: guy like Andre steps up and says, Okay, I'm going 666 00:40:49,920 --> 00:40:51,920 Speaker 2: to take care of twenty of these kids in a 667 00:40:51,920 --> 00:40:52,720 Speaker 2: one room hut. 668 00:40:52,760 --> 00:40:56,160 Speaker 1: And that's as Andre said, and I think that that's appropriate. 669 00:40:56,239 --> 00:40:59,520 Speaker 1: Is that life is a package. And the fact that 670 00:40:59,560 --> 00:41:03,400 Speaker 1: Andre came from that poverty is what gave him the 671 00:41:03,520 --> 00:41:07,720 Speaker 1: vision and the mission to help kids who are in poverty. 672 00:41:07,800 --> 00:41:15,240 Speaker 2: But not only the poverty, the the orphanage yourself agreed 673 00:41:15,360 --> 00:41:18,719 Speaker 2: to love as he mentioned before. Yeah, it was interesting 674 00:41:18,960 --> 00:41:23,160 Speaker 2: when you said, Andre that you got mules and you 675 00:41:23,200 --> 00:41:24,880 Speaker 2: had a roof of your head, but you didn't have 676 00:41:24,920 --> 00:41:25,279 Speaker 2: the love. 677 00:41:26,560 --> 00:41:30,640 Speaker 4: It was in there. It was in there. That's the reason. 678 00:41:30,960 --> 00:41:34,880 Speaker 4: That's the reason I when we have the team from Memphis, 679 00:41:35,480 --> 00:41:38,359 Speaker 4: you know, they come to do hard work for us, 680 00:41:38,840 --> 00:41:43,800 Speaker 4: but there are always two or three holy kids. 681 00:41:44,200 --> 00:41:47,800 Speaker 2: Well, and see that's interesting because I'm from Memphis. Everybody 682 00:41:47,800 --> 00:41:52,080 Speaker 2: knows I'm a Memphis guy. But John, when you emailed me, 683 00:41:52,440 --> 00:41:57,160 Speaker 2: you emailed me from Naples in Florida, and you're talking 684 00:41:57,200 --> 00:41:59,520 Speaker 2: about a pastor I've never heard of from Haiti. Yeah, 685 00:41:59,680 --> 00:42:02,920 Speaker 2: and I had no idea that there was a Memphis connection. 686 00:42:03,080 --> 00:42:04,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, I didn't either. 687 00:42:04,280 --> 00:42:07,279 Speaker 2: I learned it recently. Well, there wasn't at that time, 688 00:42:07,400 --> 00:42:07,600 Speaker 2: was there. 689 00:42:07,960 --> 00:42:13,000 Speaker 1: Well, the Memphis connection came really after the current campus 690 00:42:13,520 --> 00:42:18,160 Speaker 1: had gotten mostly finished. Our church and churches in the 691 00:42:18,239 --> 00:42:22,200 Speaker 1: Naples area helped on the front end, putting together what 692 00:42:22,280 --> 00:42:26,359 Speaker 1: I'd called us the hardware and the Hope Pressprian Church 693 00:42:26,400 --> 00:42:32,319 Speaker 1: here in Memphis created really the software, which is the hardware. Okay, 694 00:42:32,360 --> 00:42:35,279 Speaker 1: the hardware is the is the physical plant when we 695 00:42:35,360 --> 00:42:40,719 Speaker 1: started building that campus. First of all, the story in Andre, 696 00:42:40,719 --> 00:42:43,759 Speaker 1: I should tell you the story on how he purchased 697 00:42:43,800 --> 00:42:47,000 Speaker 1: the property, so that because they were meeting in that 698 00:42:47,120 --> 00:42:49,719 Speaker 1: one room home, they went they moved to a second 699 00:42:50,880 --> 00:42:53,200 Speaker 1: a second home that had two rooms in it. So 700 00:42:53,280 --> 00:42:56,640 Speaker 1: it was really uptown, doubled inside inside, no plumbing, but 701 00:42:56,719 --> 00:42:59,040 Speaker 1: still had electricity that was pretty exacit. I had a 702 00:42:59,080 --> 00:43:03,600 Speaker 1: TV but it didn't work. So so Andre had found 703 00:43:03,640 --> 00:43:06,120 Speaker 1: a piece of property that he really liked, and I 704 00:43:06,160 --> 00:43:09,479 Speaker 1: thought that chance, and so Andrew went to work. 705 00:43:09,760 --> 00:43:14,640 Speaker 4: And how you found the property, this is a good question, Okay. 706 00:43:15,800 --> 00:43:18,839 Speaker 4: When I was rocking to see my wife, to see 707 00:43:18,840 --> 00:43:23,920 Speaker 4: my girlfriends. I always see the property. Okay, so time, 708 00:43:23,960 --> 00:43:26,839 Speaker 4: I said, man, if I have that property, I will 709 00:43:26,920 --> 00:43:31,200 Speaker 4: boy it and build an orphanage, shot school and clinic. 710 00:43:32,120 --> 00:43:32,360 Speaker 4: You know. 711 00:43:32,600 --> 00:43:34,160 Speaker 2: That was my dream. 712 00:43:34,200 --> 00:43:38,160 Speaker 4: That's my dream. But I never go actually to the 713 00:43:38,200 --> 00:43:42,080 Speaker 4: property because he is probably like fifty feet above the ocean. 714 00:43:42,320 --> 00:43:46,319 Speaker 2: Yeah, and you're walking six hours anyway to take hill. 715 00:43:46,400 --> 00:43:49,040 Speaker 4: Yeah, but you cannot go to somebody property like that. 716 00:43:49,080 --> 00:43:52,160 Speaker 4: They're going to question a you. Okay, But thank god. 717 00:43:52,200 --> 00:43:56,280 Speaker 4: One day I saw a lot of women and kid 718 00:43:56,520 --> 00:43:59,600 Speaker 4: would shot and you know, they have some book kit, 719 00:44:00,400 --> 00:44:03,600 Speaker 4: you know, and they was so happy and running in 720 00:44:03,640 --> 00:44:06,840 Speaker 4: the mountain. And I look on the ocean. The ocean 721 00:44:06,960 --> 00:44:09,080 Speaker 4: is right there, and I saw a lot of men 722 00:44:09,520 --> 00:44:13,120 Speaker 4: on the boat, you know, in the ocean. And I 723 00:44:13,280 --> 00:44:16,719 Speaker 4: told that little boy, what's going on over there? You 724 00:44:16,760 --> 00:44:18,640 Speaker 4: know it don't even take time to talk to me. 725 00:44:19,400 --> 00:44:21,759 Speaker 4: I really want to go up that matter. So I 726 00:44:22,320 --> 00:44:25,759 Speaker 4: get that opportunity to go to go there too. And 727 00:44:25,800 --> 00:44:28,440 Speaker 4: I was looking the property and said, man, that's going 728 00:44:28,480 --> 00:44:30,880 Speaker 4: to be a charging off and age things like that. 729 00:44:31,320 --> 00:44:34,360 Speaker 4: But I asked him what's going on? What's going on 730 00:44:34,400 --> 00:44:37,520 Speaker 4: in the ocean. You know, in the United States, I 731 00:44:37,560 --> 00:44:41,760 Speaker 4: live in Florida. Okay, and then when somebody saw a shock, 732 00:44:42,000 --> 00:44:44,759 Speaker 4: there's a shock the room for the life. But he 733 00:44:44,960 --> 00:44:47,280 Speaker 4: hated the shock won for his life. 734 00:44:49,160 --> 00:44:50,160 Speaker 2: That food right there. 735 00:44:50,280 --> 00:44:52,560 Speaker 4: So that's why the Roman was ready, you know, to 736 00:44:52,600 --> 00:44:55,359 Speaker 4: get some good meat from that shock. You know. 737 00:44:55,840 --> 00:44:58,760 Speaker 2: So's they garried. That's a big shot. 738 00:44:59,400 --> 00:45:02,560 Speaker 4: The shot wrong for his life, you know. But here 739 00:45:02,560 --> 00:45:04,640 Speaker 4: we want for the show. I'm not in Haiti. 740 00:45:06,360 --> 00:45:12,799 Speaker 1: Well, Andre went after that property, and uh, Andre, tell 741 00:45:12,880 --> 00:45:16,480 Speaker 1: him about how you you were working. Andrea was working. 742 00:45:16,560 --> 00:45:18,640 Speaker 4: I was working in a white house. Okay, I got 743 00:45:18,640 --> 00:45:21,160 Speaker 4: a job, you know, and I was working in a 744 00:45:21,200 --> 00:45:24,720 Speaker 4: way house Storge, yeah, said storage space. So people dumps 745 00:45:24,719 --> 00:45:27,800 Speaker 4: a lot of good stuff, you know, that's the things. 746 00:45:27,840 --> 00:45:31,279 Speaker 4: When I go to the dumpster, I said, man, that's 747 00:45:31,320 --> 00:45:33,839 Speaker 4: TV or Ray jul and stuff like that, clothes, things 748 00:45:33,880 --> 00:45:38,080 Speaker 4: I never see before. And they walk. So I went 749 00:45:38,120 --> 00:45:42,319 Speaker 4: to my boss. I told my boss, can I use us? 750 00:45:42,680 --> 00:45:46,520 Speaker 4: He said, oh yeah, that's trash, trash for you, not 751 00:45:46,640 --> 00:45:51,880 Speaker 4: for me. So and then I collecting those those stuff, 752 00:45:52,840 --> 00:45:56,840 Speaker 4: and then, uh, I collect so much I don't have 753 00:45:56,880 --> 00:45:58,960 Speaker 4: a press to put it. So I asked him if 754 00:45:59,000 --> 00:46:01,880 Speaker 4: he can give in like a five by five, you 755 00:46:01,880 --> 00:46:04,280 Speaker 4: know to put those things. So he talked to the owner. 756 00:46:04,320 --> 00:46:06,040 Speaker 4: The owner said, oh that's fine. So they give me 757 00:46:06,120 --> 00:46:08,920 Speaker 4: five by five. So I put all the thing stuff 758 00:46:08,920 --> 00:46:12,040 Speaker 4: in there. But there's some Haitian who came on the board. 759 00:46:12,120 --> 00:46:15,520 Speaker 4: They can't read, they cannot write, okay, So I want 760 00:46:15,560 --> 00:46:18,800 Speaker 4: to help them, so I went to the community center 761 00:46:19,320 --> 00:46:21,640 Speaker 4: to teach them how to read, you know, and things 762 00:46:21,680 --> 00:46:24,440 Speaker 4: like that. So they give me one hour. So I 763 00:46:24,520 --> 00:46:26,879 Speaker 4: told him that I had, you know, the tieving things 764 00:46:26,920 --> 00:46:29,400 Speaker 4: for sale. You know, it's not cost too much. So 765 00:46:29,440 --> 00:46:33,319 Speaker 4: they came to the Whitehouse, you know, starts selling them 766 00:46:33,440 --> 00:46:36,680 Speaker 4: like for a dollar, two dollars you know, and fifty 767 00:46:36,760 --> 00:46:41,160 Speaker 4: cents things like that. And then I got I got 768 00:46:41,200 --> 00:46:44,000 Speaker 4: the money, and when I was to go home, I said, 769 00:46:44,760 --> 00:46:48,040 Speaker 4: I rather leave the money right there, because you know, 770 00:46:48,080 --> 00:46:51,239 Speaker 4: there's an ice cream chalk come every afternoon, and I 771 00:46:51,280 --> 00:46:54,719 Speaker 4: have kids, so they will actually for money. So that's money. 772 00:46:54,760 --> 00:46:56,640 Speaker 4: I was raised for that land. Because my brother in 773 00:46:56,719 --> 00:46:58,799 Speaker 4: law called me about their land. I said, I'm going 774 00:46:58,840 --> 00:47:03,160 Speaker 4: to buy it. Everything that I sell, I put it 775 00:47:03,200 --> 00:47:06,160 Speaker 4: in the envelope and I asked my boss to live 776 00:47:06,160 --> 00:47:11,000 Speaker 4: it in his office. And my boss a little is 777 00:47:11,480 --> 00:47:16,520 Speaker 4: the chairman of the board. So what I did After 778 00:47:16,560 --> 00:47:19,439 Speaker 4: a few months, so I asked him, you know, let's 779 00:47:19,440 --> 00:47:23,080 Speaker 4: open it together. That's money, okay. So we opened it together. 780 00:47:23,400 --> 00:47:27,600 Speaker 4: Four thousand dollars wow, from the trash. So we went 781 00:47:27,680 --> 00:47:30,720 Speaker 4: to a wire transfer and and we wire the money. 782 00:47:31,160 --> 00:47:34,839 Speaker 4: So we make our first deposit and most of that 783 00:47:34,960 --> 00:47:38,440 Speaker 4: money coming from that dumpster. And then we get a 784 00:47:38,440 --> 00:47:41,960 Speaker 4: few from you know, passe giant friends, you know, stuff 785 00:47:42,000 --> 00:47:45,200 Speaker 4: like that. And then after I paid the lan, I 786 00:47:45,239 --> 00:47:47,480 Speaker 4: got the date and everything. You know, I'm good. So 787 00:47:47,520 --> 00:47:50,400 Speaker 4: I'm ready to start doing the building. So one day 788 00:47:50,400 --> 00:47:52,919 Speaker 4: I went to the dumpster, you know, thinking that I'm 789 00:47:52,960 --> 00:47:55,239 Speaker 4: going to get you know, some good stuff. You know 790 00:47:55,239 --> 00:47:59,320 Speaker 4: what I find? Did that? 791 00:48:00,360 --> 00:48:01,600 Speaker 1: You got a good price for that too. 792 00:48:02,680 --> 00:48:05,040 Speaker 4: It was a dead gut. So that's what I say. Okay, 793 00:48:05,080 --> 00:48:06,840 Speaker 4: that's you know, that's a awfu okay. 794 00:48:07,840 --> 00:48:10,640 Speaker 1: So he was able to purchase this piece of property 795 00:48:11,000 --> 00:48:14,920 Speaker 1: seven acres on the Caribbean Sea fronting the Caribbean Sea. 796 00:48:15,040 --> 00:48:18,520 Speaker 4: From my watch, for seventy dollars. 797 00:48:18,080 --> 00:48:22,440 Speaker 1: Seventy thousand dollars. But he raised that money from dumpster diving. 798 00:48:22,640 --> 00:48:25,080 Speaker 1: Seventy thousand dollars. Yes, I think this is important for 799 00:48:25,200 --> 00:48:30,799 Speaker 1: your Army to know, Bill, that that persistence, when you 800 00:48:30,840 --> 00:48:33,000 Speaker 1: have a vision, when you have a mission, and you 801 00:48:33,080 --> 00:48:35,319 Speaker 1: have that persistence, that'll pay off. 802 00:48:35,360 --> 00:48:38,120 Speaker 2: And this is a man who walked six hours every 803 00:48:38,200 --> 00:48:40,960 Speaker 2: Saturday for eight years to get a wife. That's right. 804 00:48:41,080 --> 00:48:44,000 Speaker 2: Dumpster diving on balance is just not that big a deal. 805 00:48:44,000 --> 00:48:53,600 Speaker 2: I don't know, we'll be right back. 806 00:49:04,560 --> 00:49:08,040 Speaker 1: We sent an engineer, civil engineer down. They surveyed the 807 00:49:08,040 --> 00:49:12,160 Speaker 1: property and they drew out a sketch of you know, 808 00:49:12,200 --> 00:49:14,959 Speaker 1: where this would go, where this would go. So we had, 809 00:49:15,800 --> 00:49:20,239 Speaker 1: according to Andre's vision, we put a dormitory on, a 810 00:49:20,320 --> 00:49:25,759 Speaker 1: vocational school, a clinic, and a church building and we 811 00:49:25,840 --> 00:49:27,040 Speaker 1: put that all on the property. 812 00:49:27,239 --> 00:49:31,600 Speaker 2: And so you met him eighteen to nineteen years. I'm 813 00:49:31,600 --> 00:49:34,920 Speaker 2: trying to get a timeline. Yeah, and how long after 814 00:49:34,960 --> 00:49:36,879 Speaker 2: that was able to buy the property? A couple three 815 00:49:36,920 --> 00:49:37,959 Speaker 2: years later? Is that right? 816 00:49:40,040 --> 00:49:42,000 Speaker 1: I would I would stretch it out a little bit more. 817 00:49:42,000 --> 00:49:43,640 Speaker 1: I'd probably say four or five years. 818 00:49:43,840 --> 00:49:49,160 Speaker 2: Okay, so around two thy ten plus remind us, Yeah, 819 00:49:49,200 --> 00:49:51,800 Speaker 2: and then he said, got to have a church, yeah, 820 00:49:52,160 --> 00:49:56,160 Speaker 2: got to have buildings for the kids. How long from 821 00:49:56,160 --> 00:49:59,000 Speaker 2: twenty ten did it take to get to a campus? 822 00:49:59,120 --> 00:50:03,200 Speaker 1: Here's where the rest the hardware comes in. So about 823 00:50:03,200 --> 00:50:08,040 Speaker 1: that time, a gentleman in Naples, his name is Dick 824 00:50:08,120 --> 00:50:11,280 Speaker 1: Stone Ceipher. We call him Stony. Stony was a direct 825 00:50:11,320 --> 00:50:15,480 Speaker 1: report to Jack Welch. He ran ge appliance. He went 826 00:50:15,520 --> 00:50:18,640 Speaker 1: to our church. He was a friend, and he said, 827 00:50:19,280 --> 00:50:21,960 Speaker 1: we need to make this work. So Stoney got involved. 828 00:50:21,960 --> 00:50:25,600 Speaker 1: When Stoney got involved, things began to happen, and we 829 00:50:25,719 --> 00:50:29,239 Speaker 1: built up a board. I say we, I shouldn't say we, 830 00:50:29,440 --> 00:50:31,840 Speaker 1: because truth of the matter is I was a pastor 831 00:50:31,880 --> 00:50:35,080 Speaker 1: of the church. Andre did most of this by himself. 832 00:50:35,719 --> 00:50:38,239 Speaker 1: I had some connections. What I do is I match 833 00:50:38,320 --> 00:50:43,280 Speaker 1: people with resources, and that's what I do. I developed people, 834 00:50:43,320 --> 00:50:48,000 Speaker 1: I develop relationships, and I put the two of them together. 835 00:50:48,239 --> 00:50:52,759 Speaker 1: And then they built this property. And I bet you 836 00:50:52,960 --> 00:50:56,279 Speaker 1: that property. They probably have had about a million and 837 00:50:56,320 --> 00:51:01,120 Speaker 1: a quarter plus or minus into that property to build 838 00:51:01,160 --> 00:51:05,440 Speaker 1: that campus. So now that there is a dormitory that'll 839 00:51:05,480 --> 00:51:10,040 Speaker 1: accommodate up to one hundred kids, indoor plumbing, electricity, wired 840 00:51:10,080 --> 00:51:10,759 Speaker 1: for electricity. 841 00:51:10,840 --> 00:51:14,520 Speaker 2: Indoor plumbing and electricity doesn't sound like that big a deal, 842 00:51:14,760 --> 00:51:17,759 Speaker 2: except the vast majority of people in Haiti don't have 843 00:51:17,800 --> 00:51:23,080 Speaker 2: indoor plumbing exactly exactly. It's the taj Hall exactly, and. 844 00:51:23,080 --> 00:51:26,840 Speaker 1: A vocational school that has a decked out carpentry shop. 845 00:51:27,440 --> 00:51:32,200 Speaker 1: There's a welding shop. There is a small engine mechanic 846 00:51:32,320 --> 00:51:37,520 Speaker 1: so they could fix motorbikes. And for the ladies, he 847 00:51:37,680 --> 00:51:41,399 Speaker 1: has a sewing class with and they have how many 848 00:51:41,440 --> 00:51:44,760 Speaker 1: you suppose twenty sewing machines? Would you say about twenty 849 00:51:44,760 --> 00:51:47,759 Speaker 1: sewing machines in there to teach them a trade? What 850 00:51:47,800 --> 00:51:50,920 Speaker 1: would you say that, Andre? What would you say? The 851 00:51:51,000 --> 00:51:53,040 Speaker 1: unemployment rate is in Haiti? 852 00:51:53,560 --> 00:51:58,600 Speaker 4: Well, on primate, I would say probably, you know, like, oh, 853 00:52:01,640 --> 00:52:02,480 Speaker 4: sixty percent. 854 00:52:02,960 --> 00:52:05,480 Speaker 2: How much? Yeah, sixty you say six. 855 00:52:05,680 --> 00:52:08,000 Speaker 1: I would have said seventy, but he says sixty, and 856 00:52:08,040 --> 00:52:09,000 Speaker 1: so we'd say so. 857 00:52:08,920 --> 00:52:11,400 Speaker 2: Now telling me three out of ten people for out 858 00:52:11,440 --> 00:52:12,680 Speaker 2: of ten people have a job. 859 00:52:13,640 --> 00:52:16,320 Speaker 1: Yeah, Now, some people will stand by the side of 860 00:52:16,320 --> 00:52:19,239 Speaker 1: the road and try to sell mangos. I wouldn't call 861 00:52:19,239 --> 00:52:21,600 Speaker 1: that a job. But if you're talking about a job 862 00:52:21,880 --> 00:52:24,960 Speaker 1: career type of job, I'd say that sixty percent is 863 00:52:25,280 --> 00:52:27,439 Speaker 1: probably conservative as far as ou employment goes. 864 00:52:27,960 --> 00:52:31,920 Speaker 2: So all right, So once this campus is the land's ball, 865 00:52:32,040 --> 00:52:38,000 Speaker 2: the campus is built to twenty fifteen, yes, I AB 866 00:52:38,000 --> 00:52:43,719 Speaker 2: would how about to say, okay, so and about two 867 00:52:43,760 --> 00:52:47,839 Speaker 2: thousand you have a dream. You go dumpster diving, you 868 00:52:47,880 --> 00:52:52,279 Speaker 2: save up money, you buy the land. Pastor John puts 869 00:52:52,320 --> 00:52:54,240 Speaker 2: you in touch with some people that help you build 870 00:52:54,239 --> 00:52:58,560 Speaker 2: it out, and in twenty fifteen you have a seven 871 00:52:58,600 --> 00:53:05,800 Speaker 2: acre orphanage with dorms, a church, a clinic for health 872 00:53:05,840 --> 00:53:10,359 Speaker 2: and medicine. You have places to teach applied skills so 873 00:53:10,400 --> 00:53:15,040 Speaker 2: that people can leave the orphanage and become gainfully employed 874 00:53:15,120 --> 00:53:19,600 Speaker 2: as masons or welders, or mechanics or seamstresses, which is 875 00:53:19,640 --> 00:53:23,000 Speaker 2: a big deal when sixty percent of the population is unemployed. 876 00:53:23,880 --> 00:53:26,319 Speaker 2: And you go from these twenty kids in a one 877 00:53:26,400 --> 00:53:29,280 Speaker 2: room house to how many kids in this orphanage. 878 00:53:28,840 --> 00:53:33,560 Speaker 4: Now where we have fifty forty five kids, we used 879 00:53:33,600 --> 00:53:36,759 Speaker 4: to have like sixty kids. You know, they're growing up 880 00:53:36,800 --> 00:53:39,560 Speaker 4: and some of them now going to university. 881 00:53:40,239 --> 00:53:42,480 Speaker 2: You know that some of them are going to college. 882 00:53:42,760 --> 00:53:46,520 Speaker 4: Oh yeah, yeah, as one of them is going to 883 00:53:46,600 --> 00:53:49,799 Speaker 4: graduate next month, you know in American University, one of 884 00:53:49,840 --> 00:53:51,560 Speaker 4: the bigger university in La Caries. 885 00:53:51,640 --> 00:53:53,000 Speaker 2: Are you bringing in new children? 886 00:53:53,080 --> 00:53:55,680 Speaker 4: You know children the time, yes, yes, but right now 887 00:53:55,719 --> 00:53:59,560 Speaker 4: because of the city constancies, you know, because of the 888 00:53:59,600 --> 00:54:05,719 Speaker 4: what the money was, you know, because yeah, it's very expensive. Well, 889 00:54:05,880 --> 00:54:06,799 Speaker 4: and the board. 890 00:54:08,600 --> 00:54:12,319 Speaker 1: Stoney he didn't really age out technically, but he got 891 00:54:12,320 --> 00:54:15,440 Speaker 1: to the place where it was too much, and so 892 00:54:16,160 --> 00:54:18,520 Speaker 1: he left the board and the board kind of fell 893 00:54:18,560 --> 00:54:23,120 Speaker 1: apart at that point. So they're in the reconstituting the board. 894 00:54:23,320 --> 00:54:26,360 Speaker 1: They're going into the next iteration of the board for 895 00:54:27,280 --> 00:54:30,720 Speaker 1: Place of Hope. Now, this is why the Hope Church 896 00:54:31,000 --> 00:54:34,360 Speaker 1: in Memphis has been such a tremendous help to them, 897 00:54:34,840 --> 00:54:38,560 Speaker 1: because now that the hardware is up, and Stony largely 898 00:54:38,600 --> 00:54:41,279 Speaker 1: responsible for that. Now that the hardware is up, then 899 00:54:41,320 --> 00:54:44,640 Speaker 1: the software comes in behind it. And when I say software, 900 00:54:44,760 --> 00:54:47,080 Speaker 1: I mean it's these are the people who care for 901 00:54:47,120 --> 00:54:51,080 Speaker 1: the children, who hold the children, who really take an 902 00:54:51,080 --> 00:54:54,400 Speaker 1: interest in the kids. I'm not saying that that didn't 903 00:54:54,440 --> 00:54:59,160 Speaker 1: happen under Stoney's direction, but this group has been extraordinary 904 00:54:59,160 --> 00:55:00,959 Speaker 1: in helping out that regard. 905 00:55:02,320 --> 00:55:05,680 Speaker 2: Which is the weird Memphis connection that I never knew existed. 906 00:55:05,920 --> 00:55:07,600 Speaker 2: And here's Hope Church in Memphis. 907 00:55:07,600 --> 00:55:11,360 Speaker 4: And then to tell you that that was the best team. 908 00:55:11,760 --> 00:55:15,440 Speaker 4: When they're going to Haiti, sixteen of them they walk, 909 00:55:16,640 --> 00:55:19,960 Speaker 4: you know, they haven't been in Haiti for four years now, 910 00:55:21,080 --> 00:55:25,839 Speaker 4: five years. And then I'm telling you because of them, 911 00:55:25,880 --> 00:55:28,400 Speaker 4: the way they teach the kids, you know, to do now. 912 00:55:28,520 --> 00:55:32,920 Speaker 4: The kids do their own dress uniform because there was 913 00:55:32,960 --> 00:55:35,640 Speaker 4: a lady and that team who want to teach them 914 00:55:36,080 --> 00:55:38,520 Speaker 4: how to make dress. So they make their dress and 915 00:55:38,560 --> 00:55:42,080 Speaker 4: the uniform and even the bed. They make their own 916 00:55:42,200 --> 00:55:45,399 Speaker 4: bed now because they teach the kid every time when 917 00:55:45,400 --> 00:55:47,880 Speaker 4: they go over there. They're not work by himself. They 918 00:55:47,880 --> 00:55:50,359 Speaker 4: took the kids with them, you know, to watch them 919 00:55:50,360 --> 00:55:52,600 Speaker 4: what's going on, which is. 920 00:55:52,520 --> 00:55:59,240 Speaker 2: An interesting segue. Yes, so, over the course of twenty years, 921 00:55:59,320 --> 00:56:02,280 Speaker 2: gone from a one bedroom house with twenty kids eating 922 00:56:03,680 --> 00:56:07,560 Speaker 2: so much a coconut that they're almost dead, and you're 923 00:56:07,560 --> 00:56:10,640 Speaker 2: looking for a bag of rice, and you end up 924 00:56:10,680 --> 00:56:15,560 Speaker 2: meeting the gentleman on your left who provides so much 925 00:56:15,600 --> 00:56:22,360 Speaker 2: more in terms of mentoring and friendship and introductions, where 926 00:56:22,400 --> 00:56:24,640 Speaker 2: your search for a bag of rice for twenty kids 927 00:56:24,719 --> 00:56:27,840 Speaker 2: is now turned into a second seven acre place caring 928 00:56:27,920 --> 00:56:31,719 Speaker 2: for forty five to sixty kids and what seems like 929 00:56:31,800 --> 00:56:35,759 Speaker 2: to be by Haitian standards, maybe the finest place a 930 00:56:35,800 --> 00:56:38,360 Speaker 2: kid could ever end up. And it's called a place 931 00:56:38,400 --> 00:56:44,760 Speaker 2: for Hope orphanage, and the kids make their own outfits, 932 00:56:44,800 --> 00:56:48,800 Speaker 2: They make their own uniforms, right, they make their own beds. 933 00:56:49,040 --> 00:56:51,640 Speaker 2: They because of the shop that's there, because of the 934 00:56:51,680 --> 00:56:55,400 Speaker 2: hardware that's been installed, and because of the software. Of 935 00:56:55,680 --> 00:56:58,240 Speaker 2: the love and the compassion and the teaching and the mentoring, 936 00:56:58,400 --> 00:57:03,440 Speaker 2: all of this is happening. And then John's listening to 937 00:57:03,520 --> 00:57:04,880 Speaker 2: a podcast one day. 938 00:57:04,840 --> 00:57:10,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, I heard Brian kill Me interview you. And then 939 00:57:11,160 --> 00:57:13,440 Speaker 1: after I listened to that podcast, I said to my wife, 940 00:57:13,560 --> 00:57:17,720 Speaker 1: you know what, why don't we just watch that Undefeated documentary. 941 00:57:17,760 --> 00:57:21,280 Speaker 1: So we watched that Undefeated documentary, very impressed with what 942 00:57:21,320 --> 00:57:25,840 Speaker 1: you did there, fantastic and then you mentioned something about 943 00:57:25,840 --> 00:57:28,520 Speaker 1: an army of normal folks on that and I said, well, 944 00:57:28,520 --> 00:57:30,000 Speaker 1: I'm going to just start listening to that, and I 945 00:57:30,000 --> 00:57:34,160 Speaker 1: started listening to your podcast. I think every pastor should 946 00:57:34,160 --> 00:57:37,360 Speaker 1: listen to your podcast because every pastor needs to find ways, 947 00:57:37,480 --> 00:57:41,000 Speaker 1: creative ways to get into the communities. And what I've 948 00:57:41,040 --> 00:57:44,000 Speaker 1: heard from your podcast is a myriad, well not quite 949 00:57:44,040 --> 00:57:46,760 Speaker 1: a myriad, but we're getting there, a myriad of ways 950 00:57:46,960 --> 00:57:50,720 Speaker 1: of reaching into the community by an army of normal folks, 951 00:57:50,760 --> 00:57:54,040 Speaker 1: which is what every church is. So I listened to 952 00:57:54,080 --> 00:57:58,040 Speaker 1: that podcast, and every church should be John, Yeah, what 953 00:57:58,080 --> 00:58:02,000 Speaker 1: every church should be yeah, okay, well, and every pastor shit, 954 00:58:02,400 --> 00:58:05,880 Speaker 1: and this is the thing you have so many You've 955 00:58:05,880 --> 00:58:09,280 Speaker 1: interviewed so many people with the creative ways of reaching 956 00:58:09,320 --> 00:58:12,360 Speaker 1: into it. And I looked for creative ways to get 957 00:58:12,360 --> 00:58:14,760 Speaker 1: into the community. And so when I was listening to this, 958 00:58:14,840 --> 00:58:17,280 Speaker 1: I heard this, and I heard this one about making beds, 959 00:58:17,280 --> 00:58:20,160 Speaker 1: and I thought to myself, you know, I just wonder 960 00:58:20,240 --> 00:58:25,120 Speaker 1: what Pastor Andre would think of this particular podcast. So 961 00:58:25,280 --> 00:58:27,680 Speaker 1: I bookmarked it and then I called As soon as 962 00:58:27,720 --> 00:58:29,600 Speaker 1: I finished, I called him, um and said, Andre, what 963 00:58:29,600 --> 00:58:31,600 Speaker 1: are you doing now? Well, nothing, and I said, come 964 00:58:31,640 --> 00:58:34,120 Speaker 1: on over here. I want to play this podcast. 965 00:58:34,200 --> 00:58:35,040 Speaker 2: Right. 966 00:58:35,120 --> 00:58:36,840 Speaker 1: So we sat there and we listened to that podcast, 967 00:58:36,840 --> 00:58:38,960 Speaker 1: and at the end of that podcast, Andre got a 968 00:58:39,000 --> 00:58:42,880 Speaker 1: little emotional and I said, well, what's going on And 969 00:58:42,920 --> 00:58:46,680 Speaker 1: he said, John, that's my story. That is my story. 970 00:58:47,120 --> 00:58:49,320 Speaker 1: I didn't have a bed when I was growing up. 971 00:58:49,720 --> 00:58:52,160 Speaker 1: And then when I came to the United States there 972 00:58:52,160 --> 00:58:56,400 Speaker 1: were seven children and me and Angie and we had 973 00:58:56,440 --> 00:59:00,960 Speaker 1: one bed, one bed for all of those, all those people. 974 00:59:01,680 --> 00:59:04,480 Speaker 1: And he said, that's my story. And so at that 975 00:59:04,720 --> 00:59:11,320 Speaker 1: time we decided that maybe maybe we're going to shift 976 00:59:11,320 --> 00:59:16,160 Speaker 1: our paradigm slightly. So that we're going to self consciously 977 00:59:16,240 --> 00:59:18,840 Speaker 1: now the place of Felpe has always tried to get 978 00:59:18,880 --> 00:59:23,840 Speaker 1: into their community, but never really self consciously, always accidentally, 979 00:59:23,880 --> 00:59:27,080 Speaker 1: but now maybe self consciously, we need to be reaching 980 00:59:27,080 --> 00:59:31,600 Speaker 1: into the community and instead of being purely a resource consumer, 981 00:59:32,200 --> 00:59:34,520 Speaker 1: we need to be resource distributors. 982 00:59:40,920 --> 00:59:53,760 Speaker 2: We'll be right back to remind our listeners. Some have 983 00:59:53,920 --> 00:59:56,880 Speaker 2: maybe have heard the UPSOD, others have not. I highly 984 00:59:56,920 --> 01:00:05,560 Speaker 2: suggest you go to Luke Mickellson's interview. His organization called 985 01:00:05,600 --> 01:00:08,439 Speaker 2: Sleep in Heavenly Peace. And this is a guy who 986 01:00:08,480 --> 01:00:10,520 Speaker 2: was sick of watching his kids sit around on the 987 01:00:10,520 --> 01:00:13,320 Speaker 2: couch eating bond bonds and playing video games. And one 988 01:00:14,240 --> 01:00:19,520 Speaker 2: Christmas and Thanksgiving holiday time went and got some wood 989 01:00:19,520 --> 01:00:21,960 Speaker 2: and made a couple of bunk beds in his garage. 990 01:00:22,480 --> 01:00:25,480 Speaker 2: And once he made the bunk bed, he didn't have 991 01:00:25,480 --> 01:00:27,480 Speaker 2: anything to do with it. His kids didn't need it. 992 01:00:27,520 --> 01:00:29,480 Speaker 2: But the kids got some exercise, they got to do 993 01:00:29,560 --> 01:00:32,360 Speaker 2: something together, and he put it on Facebook and like 994 01:00:32,720 --> 01:00:34,920 Speaker 2: twenty people said I want this bed, and he gave 995 01:00:34,960 --> 01:00:37,720 Speaker 2: it away to somebody in need, and he said, heck, 996 01:00:37,960 --> 01:00:40,600 Speaker 2: we're going to make another one. And by Christmas, I 997 01:00:40,640 --> 01:00:43,280 Speaker 2: think he and his children had made fifteen or twenty 998 01:00:43,280 --> 01:00:50,160 Speaker 2: beds and given them away. And through that simple random act, 999 01:00:51,120 --> 01:00:56,400 Speaker 2: he found out maybe even invented a term which is 1000 01:00:56,440 --> 01:01:01,080 Speaker 2: called child bedlessness in the United States, and found out 1001 01:01:01,080 --> 01:01:03,680 Speaker 2: that there's children all over the United States sleeping on 1002 01:01:03,760 --> 01:01:08,280 Speaker 2: clothes or on a rolled up piece of carpet or nothing. 1003 01:01:11,280 --> 01:01:13,200 Speaker 2: Early on, he gave a bed to a kid that 1004 01:01:13,240 --> 01:01:16,040 Speaker 2: would take off their clothes, sleep on the clothes, and 1005 01:01:16,200 --> 01:01:18,160 Speaker 2: put those very clothes on to go to school. So 1006 01:01:18,360 --> 01:01:23,320 Speaker 2: literally they were wearing their bed to school. And his 1007 01:01:23,480 --> 01:01:30,080 Speaker 2: eyes were opened to the fact that there's poverty to 1008 01:01:30,120 --> 01:01:33,560 Speaker 2: a level in our country where children have no beds, 1009 01:01:33,560 --> 01:01:35,439 Speaker 2: and when they don't have a bed, they don't sleep well. 1010 01:01:35,480 --> 01:01:37,480 Speaker 2: When they don't sleep well, they don't study well. And 1011 01:01:37,440 --> 01:01:40,200 Speaker 2: they don't study well, they're irritable. And when they're irritable, 1012 01:01:40,560 --> 01:01:42,959 Speaker 2: they don't do well in school, and then they have 1013 01:01:43,480 --> 01:01:47,640 Speaker 2: all kinds of behavioral issues, and the list goes on 1014 01:01:47,680 --> 01:01:50,720 Speaker 2: and on. And it's so simple that a child needs 1015 01:01:51,200 --> 01:01:54,120 Speaker 2: a bed, a good place sleep. And so he started 1016 01:01:54,120 --> 01:01:58,000 Speaker 2: sleeping heavenly peace. And since this has all happened, I 1017 01:01:58,080 --> 01:02:01,920 Speaker 2: think they've made and given a way over seven how 1018 01:02:01,960 --> 01:02:09,200 Speaker 2: many one hundreds, one hundred and forty thousand beds two 1019 01:02:09,200 --> 01:02:13,200 Speaker 2: bedless children in the United States. And so that's the 1020 01:02:13,280 --> 01:02:16,120 Speaker 2: podcast you listen to John that you shared with Andre, 1021 01:02:17,160 --> 01:02:21,440 Speaker 2: and then Andre got emotional because Andrea identified and the 1022 01:02:21,480 --> 01:02:26,600 Speaker 2: irony is Andrea. I just believe that the reason in 1023 01:02:26,720 --> 01:02:30,840 Speaker 2: twenty years you've gone from a plot of property that 1024 01:02:30,960 --> 01:02:33,840 Speaker 2: some children and women were excited about a dead shark 1025 01:02:33,960 --> 01:02:40,240 Speaker 2: on to now an orphanage taking care of forty five 1026 01:02:40,280 --> 01:02:43,720 Speaker 2: to sixty kids a year and providing them with skills 1027 01:02:43,760 --> 01:02:48,440 Speaker 2: and food, but most importantly love, which you said was 1028 01:02:48,560 --> 01:02:51,240 Speaker 2: missing from your experience that you want to provide your 1029 01:02:51,320 --> 01:02:56,640 Speaker 2: children from what I believe the success of that comes 1030 01:02:56,640 --> 01:02:59,960 Speaker 2: from your experience as a three to six year old. 1031 01:03:01,320 --> 01:03:06,000 Speaker 2: And now you hear this podcast that John shares with you, 1032 01:03:08,400 --> 01:03:11,160 Speaker 2: and John you just said you wanted to go from 1033 01:03:11,240 --> 01:03:17,800 Speaker 2: being a consumer to a provider. Andre, tell us now 1034 01:03:17,880 --> 01:03:20,360 Speaker 2: what your vision is for the kids and your orphanage 1035 01:03:20,360 --> 01:03:21,280 Speaker 2: with the guard to bets. 1036 01:03:22,200 --> 01:03:27,360 Speaker 4: Well, my vision is to go and through the bed 1037 01:03:27,760 --> 01:03:30,960 Speaker 4: make the kids through the beds I will. 1038 01:03:31,240 --> 01:03:35,480 Speaker 2: So let me just get this right. Orphans with no 1039 01:03:35,600 --> 01:03:38,800 Speaker 2: family and no home, or maybe family that can't care 1040 01:03:38,840 --> 01:03:41,600 Speaker 2: for him, but certainly no home, who are living in 1041 01:03:41,640 --> 01:03:47,320 Speaker 2: an orphanage are now going to use the campus that 1042 01:03:47,600 --> 01:03:52,720 Speaker 2: has been created that has a woodshot and now orphans 1043 01:03:53,440 --> 01:03:57,200 Speaker 2: are going to be making bets for Haitian children who 1044 01:03:57,240 --> 01:03:59,920 Speaker 2: don't live in the orphanage, yes, but don't have a bet. 1045 01:04:00,600 --> 01:04:03,760 Speaker 2: So now the orphans in the orphanage are going to 1046 01:04:03,800 --> 01:04:09,040 Speaker 2: serve their community by making beds and the shop that 1047 01:04:09,080 --> 01:04:10,480 Speaker 2: they learn how to do woodworking. 1048 01:04:10,680 --> 01:04:12,760 Speaker 4: Yes, that's what they're going to do. 1049 01:04:13,880 --> 01:04:18,240 Speaker 2: What's phenomenal about the story to me why I wanted 1050 01:04:18,280 --> 01:04:23,080 Speaker 2: to meet you so bad, and what is so redemptive 1051 01:04:23,920 --> 01:04:28,120 Speaker 2: and inspirational to me is this. When you think of 1052 01:04:28,160 --> 01:04:31,760 Speaker 2: an orphan when you think of kids living an orphanage, 1053 01:04:33,000 --> 01:04:37,120 Speaker 2: you think of serving them. You don't think of them 1054 01:04:37,280 --> 01:04:43,040 Speaker 2: serving others. And the phenomenal lesson is for the kids 1055 01:04:43,160 --> 01:04:48,680 Speaker 2: in the orphanage. By comparison and Haiti look at the 1056 01:04:48,680 --> 01:04:50,520 Speaker 2: blessings you have to be able to live in this 1057 01:04:50,640 --> 01:04:55,560 Speaker 2: magnificent place, and even though you've been orphaned, you too 1058 01:04:55,680 --> 01:05:01,440 Speaker 2: can serve. I don't know that there's a more valuable 1059 01:05:01,520 --> 01:05:03,800 Speaker 2: lesson a child could ever learn than what you're going 1060 01:05:03,840 --> 01:05:09,880 Speaker 2: to teach them through this exercise. And to the community 1061 01:05:09,920 --> 01:05:14,920 Speaker 2: at large, I mean it really has the potential to 1062 01:05:15,040 --> 01:05:20,120 Speaker 2: change the lives of some really unfortunate, poverty sticking children. 1063 01:05:23,080 --> 01:05:24,120 Speaker 2: How does that make you feel? 1064 01:05:25,800 --> 01:05:28,400 Speaker 4: You know, that's make me feel great, That's make me 1065 01:05:28,400 --> 01:05:31,920 Speaker 4: feel happy. You know, I'm all this trouble I went 1066 01:05:32,040 --> 01:05:35,240 Speaker 4: to God was preparing me for that. 1067 01:05:37,760 --> 01:05:44,040 Speaker 2: So John, the show is an army of normal folks. 1068 01:05:44,480 --> 01:05:47,840 Speaker 2: And what we always find out at the end of 1069 01:05:47,840 --> 01:05:50,840 Speaker 2: the show is that these normal folks are anything but normal. 1070 01:05:51,680 --> 01:05:54,320 Speaker 2: Thus the nickname I guess Andre the Giant for a 1071 01:05:54,360 --> 01:06:01,800 Speaker 2: five foot nine Haitian. You've seen this for the last 1072 01:06:01,800 --> 01:06:04,640 Speaker 2: twenty years. You've witnessed it all. You've been a part 1073 01:06:04,680 --> 01:06:08,600 Speaker 2: of it. You've been a party to it. You know 1074 01:06:08,680 --> 01:06:10,600 Speaker 2: what it is now and you know where it came from. 1075 01:06:10,640 --> 01:06:15,800 Speaker 2: And you've watched this man take his dream with absolutely 1076 01:06:15,800 --> 01:06:21,640 Speaker 2: no resources and dumpster dive and beg borrow and I 1077 01:06:21,680 --> 01:06:24,360 Speaker 2: won't say still, but beg borrow and knock on church 1078 01:06:24,400 --> 01:06:29,800 Speaker 2: windows to get it to where it is now. Where's 1079 01:06:29,840 --> 01:06:30,880 Speaker 2: what's next? 1080 01:06:32,680 --> 01:06:38,320 Speaker 1: Well, what's next is to reconstitute the board and then 1081 01:06:38,480 --> 01:06:42,200 Speaker 1: to ensure that these children that are coming through the 1082 01:06:42,240 --> 01:06:47,080 Speaker 1: Place of Hope learn how to return to the community 1083 01:06:47,600 --> 01:06:48,560 Speaker 1: what they've received. 1084 01:06:50,600 --> 01:06:53,400 Speaker 2: Well, making beds for children who don't have them is 1085 01:06:53,480 --> 01:06:54,360 Speaker 2: a good first step. 1086 01:06:54,400 --> 01:06:58,240 Speaker 1: It is a good first step. And in Haiti, my 1087 01:06:58,320 --> 01:07:02,880 Speaker 1: observation has been that there is a patronage culture, which 1088 01:07:02,960 --> 01:07:05,800 Speaker 1: is to say that many of the people in Haiti 1089 01:07:05,840 --> 01:07:09,440 Speaker 1: are waiting to be rescued, for someone to rescue them 1090 01:07:09,520 --> 01:07:14,600 Speaker 1: take them out of it. What is less prevalent is 1091 01:07:14,720 --> 01:07:19,800 Speaker 1: an entrepreneurial spirit, and so I think the next step 1092 01:07:20,040 --> 01:07:23,800 Speaker 1: for the folks in Haiti is to become food secure, 1093 01:07:26,160 --> 01:07:29,160 Speaker 1: self sufficient, so that they can grow their own. 1094 01:07:29,000 --> 01:07:32,600 Speaker 2: Food or produce their food, buildings. 1095 01:07:33,480 --> 01:07:36,120 Speaker 1: Get everything so that they can be self sustaining so 1096 01:07:36,160 --> 01:07:39,320 Speaker 1: that they don't have to depend on anybody. And to 1097 01:07:39,400 --> 01:07:42,680 Speaker 1: teach those kids that entrepreneurial spirit so that when they 1098 01:07:42,800 --> 01:07:46,680 Speaker 1: leave that place with a skill, they know then how 1099 01:07:46,720 --> 01:07:49,760 Speaker 1: to go and start a business of their own and 1100 01:07:50,080 --> 01:07:55,480 Speaker 1: sustain themselves. I think that's the next big step for them. 1101 01:07:55,920 --> 01:07:59,920 Speaker 2: Andre, you are an amazing human being with an amazing story, 1102 01:08:00,600 --> 01:08:08,920 Speaker 2: and this is an amazing happenstance that a pastor from 1103 01:08:08,960 --> 01:08:17,519 Speaker 2: Florida answered the door on a knock from Andre and 1104 01:08:17,640 --> 01:08:21,439 Speaker 2: what has all developed and then comes full circle to 1105 01:08:21,479 --> 01:08:25,760 Speaker 2: hear one of our podcasts that now is returning back 1106 01:08:25,800 --> 01:08:30,479 Speaker 2: to Haiti where kids are going to make kids Orphans 1107 01:08:30,640 --> 01:08:33,240 Speaker 2: in an orphanage are going to make beds for the 1108 01:08:33,320 --> 01:08:35,920 Speaker 2: kids in the community they don't have them, and one 1109 01:08:35,920 --> 01:08:39,200 Speaker 2: of the most poverty stricken places that I could imagine. 1110 01:08:40,240 --> 01:08:44,080 Speaker 2: And John and Andre, both of you could not be 1111 01:08:45,120 --> 01:08:50,160 Speaker 2: more emblematic of what we talk about when we talk 1112 01:08:50,439 --> 01:08:54,519 Speaker 2: about an army of normal folks that see places of 1113 01:08:54,640 --> 01:08:59,639 Speaker 2: need and don't fill them because they're a listers or 1114 01:09:00,160 --> 01:09:03,120 Speaker 2: trust fund babies, but just normal folks who see places 1115 01:09:03,120 --> 01:09:06,839 Speaker 2: of need and fill it and in doing so, change lives. 1116 01:09:07,080 --> 01:09:12,920 Speaker 2: And you both have done that, and your life has 1117 01:09:13,000 --> 01:09:19,720 Speaker 2: been doing that, Andre, and I'm so honored that we 1118 01:09:19,800 --> 01:09:23,920 Speaker 2: got to have this conversation. I'm humbled and inspired by 1119 01:09:24,560 --> 01:09:28,000 Speaker 2: both of your commitment and story to children who desperately 1120 01:09:28,040 --> 01:09:31,439 Speaker 2: need it. I just want to tell you how much 1121 01:09:31,439 --> 01:09:33,320 Speaker 2: I appreciate you coming to Memphis, ands you and your 1122 01:09:33,320 --> 01:09:33,920 Speaker 2: story with me. 1123 01:09:34,240 --> 01:09:36,400 Speaker 4: Thank you, thank you, thank you for having. 1124 01:09:36,240 --> 01:09:45,200 Speaker 2: Us, and thank you for joining us this week. A 1125 01:09:45,240 --> 01:09:48,200 Speaker 2: little update, our team at an Army of Normal Folks 1126 01:09:48,240 --> 01:09:51,160 Speaker 2: has decided to donate a thousand bucks to help the 1127 01:09:51,320 --> 01:09:55,479 Speaker 2: Orphanage with material costs for building four beds, which are 1128 01:09:55,479 --> 01:09:59,200 Speaker 2: more expensive in Haiti because getting the materials to Haiti 1129 01:09:59,280 --> 01:10:03,519 Speaker 2: is so expensive, and Reverend John's church has decided to 1130 01:10:03,560 --> 01:10:08,000 Speaker 2: match another one thousand dollars gift. If you be interested 1131 01:10:08,040 --> 01:10:12,840 Speaker 2: in empowering Haitian orphans to help bedless kids in their community, 1132 01:10:13,360 --> 01:10:17,680 Speaker 2: you can donate any amount to Place of Hope in 1133 01:10:17,920 --> 01:10:22,799 Speaker 2: Haiti dot org and write beds in the comment box. 1134 01:10:23,040 --> 01:10:26,599 Speaker 2: Or if you'd be interested in helping the orphanage in general, 1135 01:10:26,880 --> 01:10:29,679 Speaker 2: you can of course do that as well. And if 1136 01:10:29,720 --> 01:10:32,920 Speaker 2: Andre or John or other guests have inspired you in 1137 01:10:32,920 --> 01:10:37,400 Speaker 2: general or better yet, to take action, please, seriously, y'all 1138 01:10:37,479 --> 01:10:39,920 Speaker 2: let me know I want to hear about it. You 1139 01:10:39,920 --> 01:10:44,120 Speaker 2: can write me anytime at Bill at Normalfolks dot us 1140 01:10:44,120 --> 01:10:48,120 Speaker 2: and I will respond. If you enjoyed this incredible episode, 1141 01:10:48,600 --> 01:10:52,200 Speaker 2: which I cannot imagine how you could enjoy this episode, 1142 01:10:52,720 --> 01:10:56,400 Speaker 2: share it with friends and on social, subscribe to the podcast, 1143 01:10:56,520 --> 01:10:59,920 Speaker 2: rate and review it, Become a premium member at normal 1144 01:11:00,240 --> 01:11:02,800 Speaker 2: Folks dot us. All these things that will help us 1145 01:11:02,840 --> 01:11:08,120 Speaker 2: grow an army of normal folks. Remember, guys, the more people, 1146 01:11:08,560 --> 01:11:12,400 Speaker 2: the more impact. I'm Bill Courtney. I'll see you next week.