TEEN PATHWAYS
Wow! It is beautiful here. It's just so beautiful here.
Are you guys having fun?
Yeah.
I love to camp, I forget how much I like to be out here.
I was looking around and this is going to sound strange,
but I was looking around and I felt like, do you know, when
they talk about Scripturely, that even the trees witness
to us, that when you look at the water running, and today
I'm walking around have that sense, that really powerful sense
of God's presence and the witnessing of the environment,
and so I thought about a story, the Biblical story and I don't
know where it says, but the Biblical story about the
demoniac, the guy that was demonpossessed?
Do you know that story?
Do you know which one?
Yes, I will read it.
Great!
It's Mark 5, it's where it says, it says:
"They went across the lake to the region of Gerasenes,
When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came
from the tombs to meet Him. This man lived in the tombs
and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain,
for he had often been chained hand and foot, but tore the
chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong
enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the
hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his
knees in front of Him. He shouted at the top of his voice:
What do You want with me, Jesus, Son of the most high God,
swear to God that You won't torture me, for Jesus had said
to him: come out of this man, you evil spirit, then Jesus
asked him: what is your name? My name is legion, he replied,
for we are many. And he begged Jesus again and again, not to
send them out of the area. A large herd of pigs was feeding
on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus:
send us among the pigs, allow us to go into them.
He gave them permission and the evil spirits came out and went
into the pigs. The herd rushed down the steep bank
into the lake and were drowned. Those tending the pigs, ran off
and reported this in the town and the countryside.
And the people went out to see what had happened.
When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been
possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed
and in his right mind. They were afraid. Those who had seen it,
told the people what had happened to the demonpossessed
man, and told about the pigs, as well. Then the people began
to plead with Jesus to leave their region. As Jesus was
getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed,
begged to go with Him. Jesus did not let him, but said:
go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done
for you and how He has had mercy on you. So the man went away
and begged to tell in the Decapolis,
how much Jesus had done for him, and all the people were amazed."
What I thought about, when I thought about that story today,
here's this guy that is out of, he's like enchained in a cemetary
environment, he's out of control and he's cutting himself with
stones, I was excited, so I've seeen people that are
selfmutilating and so the story, you know I've seen people like
that, that is so out to launch, and then, I've been like that,
in fact, you know I've seen that, it's when I think about that
story, I thought about this guy and I thought about Jesus
coming up, everybody else ran, I mean all the disciples ran
and this guy's looking at Jesus and is saying, there is that
sense of knowing, the demons knew that He was God,
for God healed him, Jesus healed him, got him in his right
mind, set next to him and his right mind for the first time
in his life and then He said: ok, I've got to go now,
and the guy begged Him: please, please let me go with
You, and then He said: no, no, no, go tell them, go tell them
what I did, and I thought: what an unlikely witness!
What an unlikely witness that this guy that the whole town
was afraid of, is healed and sitting next to God and telling
people that there is hope. And then I, you're not going
to believe this next thing, then I thought about us.
You know, I just thought about us and we are such an incredible
unlikely witness. Does that make sense?
I certainly understand what you're saying because I felt
like God did that with me, you know, it was like, I was like
demoniac or something, but I wasn't possessed by satan.
Well, satan had a hold of me in life, but it wasn't, you know
that way, I wasn't cutting myself and stuff, but I was in
in the drugs and stuff, but He took me out of that and I was
like Lord, I want to go with You, I want to be in heaven
with You, but He's like: no, stay here in this earth and
witness to people, you know, show My love to other people
and just help them.
And you do witness, because I've seen you, I've seen you
witness to people and I think, I know your background,
it's hard for me sometimes, when I hear you talking to,
like... Can you tell them what happened at the academy,
when you're like sitting in front of all those youth?
Well, we had done a photoshoot for inside and there's a bunch
of little kids and when you're like 7/8, I mean everything is
is just like fun and games and it's very hard to get the
attention of that age group, but it seems like, I open the Bible
like all the kids just turned their heads: Wow! he's opening
a Bible! And I started reading and their eyes opened,
and they're like: Wow! I can do this, too, you know,
and they got really quiet and I read in raving, it's just cool,
to see these little kids just turn around and say wow!
And they sensed that, they sensed, because I know you,
so I'm thinking: here's this guy that I know not long ago was
in a programme for drug rehab, a programme for troubled youth,
and I know you were like selling drugs, all that kind of stuff
and now I see you in front of what was it? Fifty or hundred?
At least fifty, yeah,
So, all these little kids and they were looking at you like
Wow! Are you going to share the Bible with us?
And I wanted to cry, because I thought: what an unlikely
witness you are! You are an unlikely witness.
And I think that's an incredible thing.
I'm sure we've all witnessed in different ways, I mean, every
single one of us has a story, that we could tell.
Can we do that? You know, right now let's do that
and,... say the name, and watch your witness.
Where do you come from and what is your witness?
Can you?
Yeah, I can. My name is Karen and I feel like, the place
where I would be an unlikely witness, is, I'm just coming
from of having, I had leukemia, and was healed from that
and I'm now living my life for God and everything,
but I guess what is unlikely about it, is instead, you know
going through that and thinking about the possibility of dying,
and all this and through that I chose to hold on to God
and I chose to hold on to the hope and the promises that He
gave me, and so,...
So when you said that unlikely witness, because I met you
through your singing and always said like heard about the fact
that you and went through leukemia and lost all your hair
and all that kind of stuff and everything in me said:
have I ever faced anything that tragic or that intense
physically? And so you witnessed to me by that.
And again I was just like: wow! I mean that was a powerful
witness and I watch you a lot with people and you do witness
a lot. Just because of who you are.
Just really, of who you are, I mean I really enjoy being
around you and like spending time with you because
I saw how you spoke and saw the way you are, you're humble
and it's like, you laugh on me, I'm not as crazy, you know,
love, just makes me feel good inside, it makes me want to go
and reach out to people more and praise God's name more,
praise God and stuff like that.
Exactly. And an other thing. Can you share a little bit,
because I was so, I was talking to your mom a few weeks ago
and your mom was saying: oh, yeah, well, she went, she's just
got back from India, not long ago and I went: India?
Can you? I mean, and then you're going, it's like you guys, are
you going to hang out together and then she's going to Tibeth.
Yeah, I went to India, it's been about 2 years and just I felt
like, I did some training schools with the organization
I'm in "Youth for the mission." And I felt like God was telling
me to go to India and it was a hard choice to make,
because I felt like what my life was about, what I wanted
to do is singing and going to India, I mean I just thought
ther's going to be no singing in India and so I felt like God
asked me to lay down what I wanted to do and what I felt
like my hopes and my dreams were so I went and had an incredible
lifechanging experience, like it was hard, but I look back
on it and I said: I'd never take that time back.
What was it like? What did you do?
It was different than anything I've ever grown up with here
in America, like it was totally different, but what we did,
I was at a team of 3 girls and our focus was prayer,
and we'd have teams come in and we'd take them out into
different places in the Hymalayans and just do different
prayer, like we'd wake, everyday we'd wake up and we'd say:
ok, God, what do you have for us to do today?
And so much, I mean every time He would come, he'd bring like
a chapter in the Bible, like one time we spoke about going
to the 7 gates of the citiy and this city that we were
actually in, was a walled city, at one time it had 7 gates
and so we had specific instructions as to what we were
to do and I used to be a person if prayer was longer than
10 minutes, it was too long and
It might seem to you like sitting in the church and you're
kneeling and you want to pass it,
yeah that's how I was and God just told, He opened up
and it seemed like it was a whole new world,
of prayer and so ended up, I was supposed to be there for
2 years and I came, I went out to get my VISA and ended up
not being able to get back into the country, had to leave
all my stuff and everything that I had there, came back to
America and did some more schooling, got some more
schooling in prayer and now I'm getting ready to go to Tibeth
and it's going to be...
That's incredible!
Yeah, the focus again it's prayer and worship, we're going
to be doing a track around Mount Kailash and just hopefully
have the opportunity to reach out to the Buddhists
that we find on the track or in the towns where we're
staying.
Do you think, when you think about where you came from
and who you were, even spiritually, you're an unlikely
whitness?
Totally. I look at my life now and I think 4 years ago I would
have never said, even thought the word missionary.
I feel the same way, like a couple of years ago, not 4
years but like 2 years ago I didn't think what I'd be
doing, I didn't think that I would be sitting here,
talking to all these wonderful people and now I figured it out
I would be dead or something, I didn't figure out things
would get this good. It's really good to be here and hear other
people and what they've been through, you look at the person
and everybody's been through something, be it good or bad,
someone's always been through something and everybody
is so different, that it's just when you're around people
and you hear their stories and you say: wow! All these things
go on and I'm just waiting for the Lord to come and take
away all this pain. We'll all be here and we'll all be
together, one big family in heaven.
To take us home.
I don't think I would have had any kind of future at all,
if I wouldn't have met Cheri through a patch and because
Milton Cheryll came to Idaho,
Milton Cheryll is a speaker for focus on the family.
He talks about drugs.
And he came to Idaho to where did he come from?
He came from a Vancooverian university
and before he did his talk to all the different schools
and they all came there and we went into this room
and we were videotaping something for the President,
like for the conference, for helping teens
Oh, that's where we were. We were videotaping something
for the Volunteer summit, they call it: "Pound in
Philadelphia." And what an unlikely group we were!
That was amazing!
I was up there, talking and I said: how can I help myself
not go back to the life that I had before, which is, you know
gang involvment and drugs and stuff.
And he was: I think you know the answer to that,
and he's like: how many could you if you stay off drogs
and if you help others to stay off drugs, I'll give you a full
scholarship to any college you want to go to,
and so I was like: yeah, I'll do that.
When that happened, the entire room, we said: wait, wait, wait,
what did he say? And I watched you and it was the coolest
thing what you did, you have changed my life
what your response to him was: I never even thought I would
go to college. It's like that realization that you know what?
If I choose right now, I can change my life, because I have
this opportunity and I thought God could do something in
a second.
I never thought I was going to be able to go to college,
I thought that I'd either be in jail or dead, so,...
It seems like when he said that to you, like He totally just
set a key in your hand and like I just see this big door
and there's always opportunity,
and all this stuff on other side,
it's just totally waiting that is awesome.
Awesome!
That's the way God works. He opens doors like that
it's like, you know, you open one and there's many
and you just start with one.
Because you know, I think about, too, is that when you say
that, the first part when you said: Cheri, I met you.
And I'm thinking, I was a heroine addicted, lived on the streets
for 10 years, my parents were kids, what an unlikely witness
I am! I get so humbled when I God uses somebody, uses me
to make an affect on someone, because I know where I came
from, I know that He has to hold me so carefully sometimes,
and all that kind of thing and I fall in love so much more when
I think I can't believe that He uses, it's like, when I look at,
it's like, and I know the demoniac must have felt that
so you want me to go back and tell them what?
I don't think the're going even to listen to me.
You're propably wrong,
That's right, you're propably real. Ok, anyone else?
I'm Megan and have a background of drugs and gangs,
and you got me to go to this church, as just a week after
I got out of the gang, and you had me speak in front
all these people in carnagation and I told them about my
background and how Cheri has helped me a lot and then
afterwards while we were just sitting there, after it,
a lady,...
Wait, wait, wait! Because what happened, I think was really
cool, is that you got up and talked about, you know, coming
out of gangs and that hope about changing lives, your life,
and then when we were done, so I was saying goodbye
and I said: do you have anything left to say? Do you want to say
anything else to Megan? And Megan was kind of, I thought,
done and kind of quiet, and she said: yes, I do.
And she stepped up to the light and she looked out and she said:
please, don't think that this just happens to people out of
religious homes. I was from a religious home.
I was from a strong religious home, a home that loved me,
and I still got lost and I'm still out here,
and so, please, remember that. And so as she was talking,
it was so powerful, I got thrills, because I thought:
Megan, where did I come from? And then, tell, what this woman
did afterwards?
We were sitting there and this woman came up to me and
she had tears in her eyes, and she said that,
that what I talked about, was really powerful to her,
her son had just been put in jail for possession of crank,
and she said that what I said was really helpful, because
it's not just in non Christian homes that this happens,
it's in a Christian family that this can happen, too,
and she was...
She said and she was thankful, because you were coming back
and she saw her son hopefully coming back. And when I looked
at this woman, who is a doctor, that was saying: Megan, thank
you and I thought: uh!
Sometimes parents need to hear it from a teen's point of view,
because actually they really don't know what is going inside,
in the teens' mind, you know I mean, so many things go
through one teen's mind that it's just their parents can't
grasp the hold of everything and teens want to give
everything and when they hear from someone else, you know,
they can actually get the taste of: maybe this is what my kids
are thinking inside, maybe I can reach out to them this
way, and to know them this way,
Exactly.
I think that it's easy to understand as a parent
to your kid, you can kind of get the overview what they're
going through, because maybe you went through the same
thing as when you were a kid and stuff, but as the years go by,
and things change, and the way people think changes,
and so it's better to come from teen to parent to tell them
what's going on about their kids or whatever, you know,
because they are going to have an overview like, an idea about
they're not going to know, because things change so
rapidly,
and sometimes we like to pretend it's not happening.
It's not happening and I don't need to understand about drugs
or gangs, because I'm in a Christian home. And you're
saying: no, no, no, don't be silly that way!
Because you need to understand. Powerful witness. Powerful
witness.
I'm kind of unlikely whitness for kids who have divorced
parents, you know, you see, I mean, it's not like I call
I wanted to be, you know, I didn't want my parents to get
divorced so I could be a witness, but, you know,
it's just, I mean, just because your parents get divorced,
it doesn't mean that it's all your fault, it shouldn't be
your fault,
And you had to learn that.
Yeah.
First.
Because no matter what happens, your parents, you know, your
parents usually love you and just because they get divorced,
it doesn't mean that they don't love you, they're just having
problems in their marriages.
You know, Beth, the first time I heard you talk about that
and divorce, and you were talking to a group of us,
that I think most of us have parents who are divorced.
Like my parents had been divorced.
Half of the people in, I mean, even Adventists, half of the
population get divorced.
Exactly.
Or even more than that.
You know, what really touched me, that what you learned about
anger and feelings. Can you share that a little bit, what
you learned and how important it is, especially going
through divorce.
Well, you know, right when your parents get divorced,
I mean, I was feeling kind of angry, kind of sad, kind of
everything. I was like, it's kind of like you feel like it's
all your falt and you don't know what to do, you just
it's just all frustrating, it's really frustrating.
You know, I mean, your mind's all mixed up, you don't know
what you're thinking,
So what did you end up doing?
I just, you know, it's good to write things out, you know,
to sort out things, trying to get in touch with what you're
feeling, and another thing is to talk to your parents about it
And so when I heard you say that, I saw people look like
listening and saying: maybe I need to talk to somebody about
it and I thought what a witness, because I know that you wouldn't
have, I know that you wouldn't have wanted this, like you said,
I didn't choose divorce to be a witness. But you were such
a powerful witness to the group that you were talking to,
because you were so real with them. This is what I had
to learn.
It's really hard to have your parents divorced, because if
you're used to having them together.
Right, right.
I think that teens nowadays have to cope with a lot of those
things, I mean, I come from a divorced home, and stuff like
that, but I was so young that I didn't know what I was going
through then, but it hit me as I got older, you know,
it's like, I had those feelings when I was young,
but growing up it's like you, there's something missing in
your life and you just don't know what it is. And it's just
like you have to look for God, and all that to help you,
help you fill that void, that God is my father, I won't have
a father untill I get to heaven, and I had my mom and my mom
loves me daily and she says: I'm your mom and your dad,
you know, I'm not like that, it makes me laugh, because I
have a mom-dad, it just fits like that, but it is always a
feeling of guilt and stuff, when that first happens and
in divorced families, because it's like: oh, what did I do?
It's all my fault, and stuff like that and teens nowadays, they
go and do things to medicate themselves, they
think it's my fault, I'll get out of here and do something
else. And it's just that you've got to keep your head up
about everything and just think: this is happening for
a reason, everything happens for a reason.
Exactly. Anybody else, because you know I'm thinking of
Shanni, can you, do you want to share anything about the
unlikely witness? Because to me, I think you're an unlikely
witness. And I know that sometimes we're so close to
our stuff that even when we think of ourselves as a witness,
just is mind bothering. But you have affected me and so I was
just wondering if there's anything you want to share about.
I guess I'm an unlikely witness because like I was raised in a
family when I first started out, I guess as a little kid,
people at my house didn't really believe in God and, I mean
like my grandparents were really big 7th day Adventists and
and everytime I went to visit them, God was like always an
everyday thing, but my parents really didn't believe in God
so that I really was never, besides only my grandparents
which usually wasn't there long enough to end of going to
church, I really didn't understand what that was about,
you know, I thought, you know, that's them and they're weird,
because I've just never been exposed to that and then somehow
I found you guys and I found God and I'm still trying to find
well, that's all about for me, because I'm still not really
sure.
Ok, you know it's a lot to me that you witness that just
I'm not sure, I'm just at a place where I'm not sure yet,
and it makes me think, I have a favourite song,
favourite song and it's "Amazing Grace"
Does anybody know that? Because I love this.
Yeah, I know that song, too.
Do you know that?
Can you guys sing it?
Come over here and sing along with us.
Good. I love that song. And I think because of the unlikely
witness and the fact that it's amazing the grace that God
shows us, this song is special to me.
Amazing grace how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me,
I once was lost, but now I'm found
Was blind but now I see.
Wow!
That is so cool! And I think that when I think about us as
a group, and I think about the times that we get together
and talk to someone else about God, what an unlikely group!
What an unlikely group! Everybody comes from such
different places and everybody, you know, it's like even
throughout the United States we are from different states.
We are from different backgrounds, we have,
some of us from homeless shelters, I was from the
streets, Lenny from dealing drugs, Megan from gangs
and we're so from different places and yet this unlikely
group gets in front of someone and they hear God or see God
through our hope and through our testimonies
and through our, what we're doing in our lives.
That's amazing and I think only through the grace of God
and that's why "Amazing Grace" is my most favourite song.
And so I want to say goodbye and thank you
joining us on "Teen Pathways" and remember
that God uses unlikely witnessess. See you next time!