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Hello, everyone, and welcome to another episode of Solid Start.
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It's a podcast designed to get your week off to a solid start by focusing on life from God's perspective.
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I'm Greg Reed, life coach with Merrill Bros up in Cochwood, Indiana, joined by the wonderful and amazing Brian Hertzog.
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Brian, welcome.
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Thanks for being wonderful and amazing both.
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Well, I try.
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Many aspire, few attain.
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That's right.
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So you're still alive, but you had a really busy week last week.
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Talk a little bit about employee appreciation.
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Yeah.
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So uh every year we do an employee appreciation week, uh, in uh which is amazing.
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Uh a lot of companies don't even think about anything.
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No, no.
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Um so we had uh activities every day for the Indiana folks, and I think in uh Florida they had a really big day on when last Wednesday uh heard that it went really well.
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Yeah.
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Um so we uh we just pour a lot into uh our employees because we don't exist without that.
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So that's our mission, isn't it?
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Our employees really is our people.
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Yeah so uh just appreciate you all um for sure.
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Yes, you're listening to this.
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We love you.
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Yeah, thanks for everybody that's making such a difference, and we don't want you to just think we appreciate you one week out of the year, no, but that's just an extension of what uh what we believe about the people that work here all the time.
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That's right.
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Yeah.
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We did have an opportunity this morning, Brian, to um talk a little bit more about Jamaica.
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I know you've been there.
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Say a word about what we do every year and why we go.
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Yeah, every year we we take a team uh to build houses and also um we go to schools and we go to uh nursing homes um to visit with folks, and it's just an amazing opportunity that Merrill Brothers gives to our employees.
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And so it is a life-changing experience, and I know we've talked about it on this podcast before, but that's uh coming up.
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The team that we have going is probably the largest team ever.
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Um, I've been around the last five years and we've never had this many go before.
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We have a waiting list this year.
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Yeah, yeah.
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And the house can hold like 50 to 60 people.
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So it's a massive team that is going, and I'm just I can't wait to see how God's gonna use everyone.
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And change the lives of our people, not just the people that get a house.
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We saw a video this morning of of what we would uh what they call a house, and we would say that's a small storage facility, right?
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I mean, that would go like in somebody's backyard, yep, and they say, Maybe I could put a couple mowers in there and some bicycles, but that but that's where they live.
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And it just it was so humbling just to be reminded.
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I mean, I remember being in India.
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I remember being in in Honduras and Haiti and the places where people live, we hardly would even put animals in there.
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And so it's just a very different world that I get to live in, and I'm just so thankful and grateful for what I what I get to experience, but I know that most of the world doesn't live like me.
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Uh you know, thinking about uh our team that's going to Jamaica, I remember as a pastor always being kind of disturbed about the fact that we would make kind of missionaries the heroes.
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Like if they would go to another country, they were the hero.
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And that there's there's a lot of sacrifice about going to another part of the world.
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But I always, as a pastor, felt like it was important to say to my people, because the you know, maybe a handful would go to another country, and then we had hundreds that were staying in Kokomo or surrounding areas right where they lived.
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And so I just feel like we need to always be reminded that all of us are on mission.
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You're on mission, I'm on mission, uh, whether we go to Jamaica or not, that's a wonderful experience.
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But the other 51 weeks of the year, we're still on mission, not just the week that we're gone.
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And so I wanted to read through what I think is a great missionary passage as we think about the things that are going to be packed and all the essentials for the trip in order to go to Jamaica.
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Uh, Jesus talks about some essentials for the trip that he was sending out, 72 that he'd appointed.
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And we're probably about, Brian, I think almost two years into the mission.
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So this is not like day one.
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These are people that have been with Jesus for a couple of years, and now he's saying, I want you to begin to experience what it's like.
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Because they were watching him do the ministry for so long.
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Now it's like, okay, guys, it's your turn to be involved.
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So it's a reminder of what God calls us to do, whether we serve in another location or we continue to serve where we live, where we learn, where we work, and where we play.
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So let's uh let's get started.
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I'll probably interrupt you along the way and point out some of the essentials for the journey as we think about living life on mission.
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This comes from Luke chapter 10, first verse.
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After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was going to go.
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He told them, The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
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Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.
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So there's our first uh essential for the journey is prayer.
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It it all begins with prayer.
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He says, Ask the Lord of the harvest.
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That was the very first thing he said.
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You're going to you're gonna need divine intervention, you're gonna need divine help.
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And so as we think about the people that live around us uh who need to hear this incredible message about the fact that there is eternal life available in Christ, it begins by praying.
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Because I, as you and I both have talked about before, we can't change anybody.
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Uh, I can barely change myself, but the Holy Spirit uh is the change agent, so we desperately need his help.
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And I love this verse says, Go, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
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Wow.
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Do not take a purse or a bag or sandals, and do not greet anyone on the road.
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When you enter a house, first say, peace to this house.
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If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them.
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If not, it will return to you.
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Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages.
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Let's stop there just for a minute.
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And so there's that idea of eating and being able to have relationships with people.
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Go ahead and read the rest of that verse, and that kind of connects it together.
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Do not move around from house to house.
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Yeah.
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I think that's critical because that when if you're moving around all the time, you don't get to build relationships.
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And so I think this one was like, hey, when you get there, stay, build relationships, eat together, tell stories, listen.
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And so those are really, you know, critical factors and essentials, this whole idea of beginning with prayer, and then there's this listening piece, because not very many people have anyone who will listen to them.
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I mean, we have a lot of people talking about not so many people listening.
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And then this whole thing of eating, I mentioned uh earlier today that I probably every day of the week I am trying to find someone to have a meal with, like today.
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And so it just gives me an opportunity to be able to have some a little bit of uninterrupted time that uh I get to hear somebody's story.
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And it's amazing what you find out when you ask people to tell you their story.
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Yeah.
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Um so I've been I've been all over the world too.
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And yes, when I was in Congo, here's a story for you.
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Okay.
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Yeah.
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You're at this uh uh couple's house, and they were gonna give provide dinner, and you know, you eat whatever they put before you.
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That's what it says here, doesn't it?
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It says uh uh eating whatever they give you, whatever that is, Brian.
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So they they said, hey, today we're gonna prepare caterpillar uh casserole for you.
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Yes.
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And so one of my favorites.
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One of my favorites.
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And so it was literally cats caterpillars smashed into this casserole and they put it on your plate, and you're like, Thank you very much.
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Oh my, it wasn't bad.
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It literally it's the protein source in Africa.
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I mean, they just don't have cattle and things like we have here.
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So caterpillar, casserole, yeah.
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You just say thank you, Lord.
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You know, the cattle that I did see, like in uh in particular in India and in Kenya, it was uh, I mean, they're like emaciated.
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They're like all you see is really bones.
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So there's there can't be a lot of great meat, but caterpillar, wow.
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Okay.
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I've had a lot of other things too.
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I'm sure you have a lot of times you just take it by you like really yeah, uh, I need your help on this one.
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Uh just keep me safe and healthy.
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And he has like he it's been great though.
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Yes, wonderful times though, eating with those folks, the fellowship that we had, just sitting around eating whatever it was I was on you know that they provided.
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It was it was incredible.
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Like those are the moments that I remember most from a lot of these trips that I've been on, or are the mealtimes with these folks.
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And isn't uh it's not a um a wonder to think that God gave us 10,000 taste buds for a reason.
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I mean, that just it's because I think he wants us to enjoy food, and a part of that is because of the relationships that it builds.
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Our family, we do family since COVID.
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We started doing family dinners uh with our adult kids and grandkids that live in the town where we live.
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And we've been doing it now for six years, and that's one of the things that everybody looks forward to is hey, what do you bring for the family dinner?
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What are we gonna do for family dinner?
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And so it's just a great opportunity, like last night, just to sit around outside where it's it was starting to get cool, and uh then basketball breaks out or a football game or frisbee or uh the boys go on a you know bike ride, but it's just it's so enjoyable that around this thing of food, we find out about each other and we find out what's going on in each other's lives.
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So I just think it's it's an incredible evangelistic strategy for those of us that that are uh working here in the States, in particular wherever it is that you work or live or play, is this idea of man, just make sure that you get to spend some amount of time every week having a meal with someone uh in your family and in addition to your family.
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And I would say don't rush it.
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Yes, right.
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In Ukraine, when we would eat in Ukraine, they would take us to lunch and it would be like three hours.
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Well, is it really we would sit down and and that's just the way it is there.
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When they would bring out when your food was ready, they brought out to you, so you would eat before everyone, you know, like and they would just continue to bring out the food.
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And we would be there three hours just talking and having a great time.
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And then when we were done, we're like, we're gonna go eat dinner because it's almost dinner time.
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Yeah.
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But um I those were some of the most precious moments.
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You remember those, don't you?
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With with those folks trying to understand them, and a lot of them uh didn't speak English, and and so we would have translators, and then the ones that did speak English, it was just an incredible time to just fellowship with them.
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For the we there was nothing to do but just sit and fellowship and listen and talk and get to know one another.
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And the food was just kind of the side.
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Yes, it is, yeah.
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Yeah, it was incredible moments.
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I loved them.
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Yeah, that's great.
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Well, that's uh that's just a great reminder that this whole thing of eating, it's way more than just food, isn't it?
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Yeah.
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So in verse eight it says, When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you, heal the sick who are there, and tell them the kingdom of God has come near to you.
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Yeah, so there's the the serving part as in terms of heal the sick.
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Uh it may be uh in the case of Jamaica, we're going to be helping them to have a place to live that keeps them safe.
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So we're serving them in that way.
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And being in schools and being in neighborhoods uh is going to make a make such a difference.
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And then the the last essential for the journey is that this incredible good news that the kingdom of God is here.
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The kingdom of God is right here.
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When Jesus stepped onto this planet, he he welcomed in the kingdom and invited people to be citizens of his kingdom.
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So if you've never made that decision yet, if you say, I uh I feel like I'm kind of on the outside, we pray that today's your day or this week.
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Um don't don't delay uh saying yes to being a part of God's kingdom.
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It is an eternal kingdom and that uh you know I did a uh uh funeral last uh just a few days ago, and uh the lady who died, she was ninety-five, and she never met her father.
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She her father died while she was still in her mother's womb before she was born.
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And so one of the things that the family said with tears is at last she'll get to see her dad again.
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So just that that hope that this kingdom is is a kingdom that's never going to end.
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And those people that maybe suffer tragedy or sad stories, like there can be this great reunion once again, and perfect bodies in a perfect place.
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And until then, we get to serve the king and we get to live in obedience to him.
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So what an incredible reminder that this mission is for all of us now.
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So you may not be on a team going to Jamaica or any other country, but you get to live as a missionary right where you are, and that every day you wake up with this reality.
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Hey, I'm on mission today.
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God, how do you want to use me to help people to be able to take a next step toward Jesus?
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And tell them that the kingdom of God is here.
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It's here, it's here.
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We don't have to, there's no there's no waiting.
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Jesus has has already issued the invitation.
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Uh come to me, all you who are weak and heavy laden, and I'll give you rest.
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So I'm uh I'm excited about uh this massive team that's going to be going, and I'm excited about the massive team, even a larger team that's staying, so that we get to live on mission while we pray for those who are going to be going somewhere else temporarily to live on mission.
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Brian, I'm excited to be able to pray for those that are listening to the podcast in particular, and just the whole idea of living on mission.
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So I think I'll have you to do that.
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And this is also Truck Driver Appreciation Week.
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That's right.
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And we do appreciate our drive.
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Without them, life kind of comes to a halt in in many industries and in many ways.
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That's that's how we get all the food and everything that we uh consume.
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A lot of it has to get here on a truck somehow.
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That's right.
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So I'll have you uh pray for them, and then I want to pray for our events team.
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I think we have about 30 people that are all over the country, and they leave behind families for a while until they get back.
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And then we also have a division down in Houston that's doing a great job in a really big city, so I want to pray for them as well.
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So let's uh let's pray.
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I want to pray specifically this morning for the team that is heading to Jamaica.
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I pray, God, that you would help them in the preparation, uh, getting all their paperwork and documents and all those things, and uh for Gene and Ted, who take care of a lot of the logistical things of flights and uh it's just a massive undertaking.
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Um, but we're so blessed that we have this opportunity, God, that you have blessed our company um with this opportunity and with the connections that we have with CSI Ministries in Jamaica.
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Uh God, I'm just we just put it in your hands.
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Uh we we know you're gonna take care of all the little things just like you always do, because you have a uh something something amazing in store for the folks that are going and the folks that are already uh those living in Jamaica.
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And so we're just praying, God, that you watch over um just the preparation and and then as we head to Jamaica, God, that we can just see your work being done in all things.
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And so thank you for that.
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I pray for those who are not going on to Jamaica, God.
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We there are certain there are uh a lot of us here that are staying home.
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Um, but we are called to serve just as those that are going.
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And so we can serve our families, we can serve someone sitting right next to us, uh, so we can serve every single day, God, because you have called us.
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You have you said go and serve the people around you and tell them about the good news that the kingdom of God is here.
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We just have to put our faith and our trust in you and carry, pick up our cross and carry it every single day.
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And so I'm praying for those that um are struggling right now with with that, the one those of us who are not sure how to take that next step, God.
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I'm just praying, God, that you give them the strength and the courage to step forward and say, I accept you, Christ.
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I'm tired of living this life of uncertainty.
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I'm tired of just the daily struggle.
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Um, and I need you.
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I need you in my life because the kingdom of God is right here, right here among us.
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Father, I want to pray for our truck drivers as we appreciate them this week.
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Uh, we don't exist without our drivers.
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And so they uh travel many, many miles a day, and throughout the week it's crazy how many trips that they take.
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And so we're just praying for protection over them.
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God pray that they would uh just be safe on the roads and we're just so thankful for what they do, be with their families at home while they're away for those hours.
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And God, we just love our drivers and we're thankful for each one of them.
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Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we are so thankful for the skill of the men and that we're sending out on these events teams that uh are making uh projects happen all over the country.
00:18:53.039 --> 00:19:01.440
Uh at least thirty of them uh today are out and um doing what you've called them to do, and they leave behind families, many of them.
00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:12.960
And so just pray for those families, for the for the wives, for the partners, for the kids that are left behind temporarily uh while their uh uh mates are gone somewhere else serving this company.
00:19:13.119 --> 00:19:16.079
And so we thank you, pray that today will be a good day for them.
00:19:16.160 --> 00:19:28.079
This will be a great week, uh, that you'll give them plenty of time to be able to communicate with their family, to to be able to get back home so that they can uh spend time with people that they love and care about.
00:19:28.240 --> 00:19:34.240
And thank you for uh all their effort and their willingness to be on the road for this company.
00:19:34.319 --> 00:19:42.960
And we're grateful for our division down in Houston, for the three men that are a part of that operation that are working so skillfully there.
00:19:43.119 --> 00:19:50.480
We're grateful for them and pray you will bless them and their families a lot in that really large city and for all that we're doing there.
00:19:50.640 --> 00:20:11.119
So we're we're just grateful that you give us the privilege of being a part of an amazing company, and thank you for uh this past week of uh appreciating those that have said yes to working here, and we look forward to the future and all those who will one day say yes, and we just give you thanks in Jesus' name.
00:20:11.200 --> 00:20:11.599
We pray.
00:20:11.759 --> 00:20:12.240
Amen.
00:20:12.400 --> 00:20:12.720
Amen.
00:20:12.880 --> 00:20:13.200
Amen.
00:20:13.759 --> 00:20:18.720
Well, let us know how we can uh pray for you and Brian, what's the way for them to do that?
00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:21.200
We're getting more and more uh prayer requests.
00:20:21.279 --> 00:20:24.319
So, how does that happen if somebody wants to contact us?
00:20:24.559 --> 00:20:30.960
Go to Merrillbros.com, click on the prayer tab at the top of the page and fill out that inquiry form, and uh we will get with you.
00:20:31.200 --> 00:20:31.759
Yes, great.
00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:33.200
Or pray for you, whatever you want to do.
00:20:33.440 --> 00:20:36.319
Right, however, we can join you and we did it this morning, right?
00:20:36.640 --> 00:20:37.680
Yeah, that's right, we sure did.
00:20:37.920 --> 00:20:38.720
At our care team.
00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:47.440
We prayed for someone this morning who wrote in, just happened to find our page, and saw that prayer tab, and she clicked on the prayer tab and said, I need prayer.
00:20:47.519 --> 00:20:47.920
Yeah, yeah.
00:20:48.400 --> 00:20:48.880
It was awesome.
00:20:49.039 --> 00:20:50.640
Yes, it was great, yes.
00:20:50.880 --> 00:20:54.079
Well, thanks for joining us for another episode of Solid Start.
00:20:54.240 --> 00:20:58.559
Keep growing, keep encouraging others, and keep making a difference.
00:00:03.520 --> 00:00:07.280
Hello, everyone, and welcome to another episode of Solid Start.
00:00:07.519 --> 00:00:13.359
It's a podcast designed to get your week off to a solid start by focusing on life from God's perspective.
00:00:13.519 --> 00:00:20.320
I'm Greg Reed, life coach with Merrill Bros up in Cochwood, Indiana, joined by the wonderful and amazing Brian Hertzog.
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Brian, welcome.
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Thanks for being wonderful and amazing both.
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Well, I try.
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Many aspire, few attain.
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That's right.
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So you're still alive, but you had a really busy week last week.
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Talk a little bit about employee appreciation.
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Yeah.
00:00:36.240 --> 00:00:42.560
So uh every year we do an employee appreciation week, uh, in uh which is amazing.
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Uh a lot of companies don't even think about anything.
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No, no.
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Um so we had uh activities every day for the Indiana folks, and I think in uh Florida they had a really big day on when last Wednesday uh heard that it went really well.
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Yeah.
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Um so we uh we just pour a lot into uh our employees because we don't exist without that.
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So that's our mission, isn't it?
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Our employees really is our people.
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Yeah so uh just appreciate you all um for sure.
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Yes, you're listening to this.
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We love you.
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Yeah, thanks for everybody that's making such a difference, and we don't want you to just think we appreciate you one week out of the year, no, but that's just an extension of what uh what we believe about the people that work here all the time.
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That's right.
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Yeah.
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We did have an opportunity this morning, Brian, to um talk a little bit more about Jamaica.
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I know you've been there.
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Say a word about what we do every year and why we go.
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Yeah, every year we we take a team uh to build houses and also um we go to schools and we go to uh nursing homes um to visit with folks, and it's just an amazing opportunity that Merrill Brothers gives to our employees.
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And so it is a life-changing experience, and I know we've talked about it on this podcast before, but that's uh coming up.
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The team that we have going is probably the largest team ever.
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Um, I've been around the last five years and we've never had this many go before.
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We have a waiting list this year.
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Yeah, yeah.
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And the house can hold like 50 to 60 people.
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So it's a massive team that is going, and I'm just I can't wait to see how God's gonna use everyone.
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And change the lives of our people, not just the people that get a house.
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We saw a video this morning of of what we would uh what they call a house, and we would say that's a small storage facility, right?
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I mean, that would go like in somebody's backyard, yep, and they say, Maybe I could put a couple mowers in there and some bicycles, but that but that's where they live.
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And it just it was so humbling just to be reminded.
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I mean, I remember being in India.
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I remember being in in Honduras and Haiti and the places where people live, we hardly would even put animals in there.
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And so it's just a very different world that I get to live in, and I'm just so thankful and grateful for what I what I get to experience, but I know that most of the world doesn't live like me.
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Uh you know, thinking about uh our team that's going to Jamaica, I remember as a pastor always being kind of disturbed about the fact that we would make kind of missionaries the heroes.
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Like if they would go to another country, they were the hero.
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And that there's there's a lot of sacrifice about going to another part of the world.
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But I always, as a pastor, felt like it was important to say to my people, because the you know, maybe a handful would go to another country, and then we had hundreds that were staying in Kokomo or surrounding areas right where they lived.
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And so I just feel like we need to always be reminded that all of us are on mission.
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You're on mission, I'm on mission, uh, whether we go to Jamaica or not, that's a wonderful experience.
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But the other 51 weeks of the year, we're still on mission, not just the week that we're gone.
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And so I wanted to read through what I think is a great missionary passage as we think about the things that are going to be packed and all the essentials for the trip in order to go to Jamaica.
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Uh, Jesus talks about some essentials for the trip that he was sending out, 72 that he'd appointed.
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And we're probably about, Brian, I think almost two years into the mission.
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So this is not like day one.
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These are people that have been with Jesus for a couple of years, and now he's saying, I want you to begin to experience what it's like.
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Because they were watching him do the ministry for so long.
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Now it's like, okay, guys, it's your turn to be involved.
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So it's a reminder of what God calls us to do, whether we serve in another location or we continue to serve where we live, where we learn, where we work, and where we play.
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So let's uh let's get started.
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I'll probably interrupt you along the way and point out some of the essentials for the journey as we think about living life on mission.
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This comes from Luke chapter 10, first verse.
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After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was going to go.
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He told them, The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
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Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.
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So there's our first uh essential for the journey is prayer.
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It it all begins with prayer.
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He says, Ask the Lord of the harvest.
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That was the very first thing he said.
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You're going to you're gonna need divine intervention, you're gonna need divine help.
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And so as we think about the people that live around us uh who need to hear this incredible message about the fact that there is eternal life available in Christ, it begins by praying.
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Because I, as you and I both have talked about before, we can't change anybody.
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Uh, I can barely change myself, but the Holy Spirit uh is the change agent, so we desperately need his help.
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And I love this verse says, Go, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
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Wow.
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Do not take a purse or a bag or sandals, and do not greet anyone on the road.
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When you enter a house, first say, peace to this house.
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If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them.
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If not, it will return to you.
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Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages.
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Let's stop there just for a minute.
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And so there's that idea of eating and being able to have relationships with people.
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Go ahead and read the rest of that verse, and that kind of connects it together.
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Do not move around from house to house.
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Yeah.
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I think that's critical because that when if you're moving around all the time, you don't get to build relationships.
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And so I think this one was like, hey, when you get there, stay, build relationships, eat together, tell stories, listen.
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And so those are really, you know, critical factors and essentials, this whole idea of beginning with prayer, and then there's this listening piece, because not very many people have anyone who will listen to them.
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I mean, we have a lot of people talking about not so many people listening.
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And then this whole thing of eating, I mentioned uh earlier today that I probably every day of the week I am trying to find someone to have a meal with, like today.
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And so it just gives me an opportunity to be able to have some a little bit of uninterrupted time that uh I get to hear somebody's story.
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And it's amazing what you find out when you ask people to tell you their story.
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Yeah.
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Um so I've been I've been all over the world too.
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And yes, when I was in Congo, here's a story for you.
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Okay.
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Yeah.
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You're at this uh uh couple's house, and they were gonna give provide dinner, and you know, you eat whatever they put before you.
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That's what it says here, doesn't it?
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It says uh uh eating whatever they give you, whatever that is, Brian.
00:08:08.720 --> 00:08:14.079
So they they said, hey, today we're gonna prepare caterpillar uh casserole for you.
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Yes.
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And so one of my favorites.
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One of my favorites.
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And so it was literally cats caterpillars smashed into this casserole and they put it on your plate, and you're like, Thank you very much.
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Oh my, it wasn't bad.
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It literally it's the protein source in Africa.
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I mean, they just don't have cattle and things like we have here.
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So caterpillar, casserole, yeah.
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You just say thank you, Lord.
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You know, the cattle that I did see, like in uh in particular in India and in Kenya, it was uh, I mean, they're like emaciated.
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They're like all you see is really bones.
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So there's there can't be a lot of great meat, but caterpillar, wow.
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Okay.
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I've had a lot of other things too.
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I'm sure you have a lot of times you just take it by you like really yeah, uh, I need your help on this one.
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Uh just keep me safe and healthy.
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And he has like he it's been great though.
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Yes, wonderful times though, eating with those folks, the fellowship that we had, just sitting around eating whatever it was I was on you know that they provided.
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It was it was incredible.
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Like those are the moments that I remember most from a lot of these trips that I've been on, or are the mealtimes with these folks.
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And isn't uh it's not a um a wonder to think that God gave us 10,000 taste buds for a reason.
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I mean, that just it's because I think he wants us to enjoy food, and a part of that is because of the relationships that it builds.
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Our family, we do family since COVID.
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We started doing family dinners uh with our adult kids and grandkids that live in the town where we live.
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And we've been doing it now for six years, and that's one of the things that everybody looks forward to is hey, what do you bring for the family dinner?
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What are we gonna do for family dinner?
00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:22.399
And so it's just a great opportunity, like last night, just to sit around outside where it's it was starting to get cool, and uh then basketball breaks out or a football game or frisbee or uh the boys go on a you know bike ride, but it's just it's so enjoyable that around this thing of food, we find out about each other and we find out what's going on in each other's lives.
00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:46.320
So I just think it's it's an incredible evangelistic strategy for those of us that that are uh working here in the States, in particular wherever it is that you work or live or play, is this idea of man, just make sure that you get to spend some amount of time every week having a meal with someone uh in your family and in addition to your family.
00:10:46.639 --> 00:10:47.759
And I would say don't rush it.
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Yes, right.
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In Ukraine, when we would eat in Ukraine, they would take us to lunch and it would be like three hours.
00:10:54.799 --> 00:10:59.200
Well, is it really we would sit down and and that's just the way it is there.
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When they would bring out when your food was ready, they brought out to you, so you would eat before everyone, you know, like and they would just continue to bring out the food.
00:11:07.919 --> 00:11:10.879
And we would be there three hours just talking and having a great time.
00:11:11.440 --> 00:11:16.399
And then when we were done, we're like, we're gonna go eat dinner because it's almost dinner time.
00:11:16.559 --> 00:11:16.720
Yeah.
00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:20.080
But um I those were some of the most precious moments.
00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:21.360
You remember those, don't you?
00:11:21.679 --> 00:11:36.639
With with those folks trying to understand them, and a lot of them uh didn't speak English, and and so we would have translators, and then the ones that did speak English, it was just an incredible time to just fellowship with them.
00:11:36.879 --> 00:11:42.799
For the we there was nothing to do but just sit and fellowship and listen and talk and get to know one another.
00:11:43.039 --> 00:11:44.559
And the food was just kind of the side.
00:11:44.960 --> 00:11:45.840
Yes, it is, yeah.
00:11:45.919 --> 00:11:47.600
Yeah, it was incredible moments.
00:11:47.679 --> 00:11:48.159
I loved them.
00:11:48.399 --> 00:11:49.360
Yeah, that's great.
00:11:49.519 --> 00:11:55.120
Well, that's uh that's just a great reminder that this whole thing of eating, it's way more than just food, isn't it?
00:11:55.360 --> 00:11:55.679
Yeah.
00:11:56.480 --> 00:12:07.360
So in verse eight it says, When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you, heal the sick who are there, and tell them the kingdom of God has come near to you.
00:12:07.679 --> 00:12:13.279
Yeah, so there's the the serving part as in terms of heal the sick.
00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:22.320
Uh it may be uh in the case of Jamaica, we're going to be helping them to have a place to live that keeps them safe.
00:12:22.559 --> 00:12:24.559
So we're serving them in that way.
00:12:24.639 --> 00:12:30.000
And being in schools and being in neighborhoods uh is going to make a make such a difference.
00:12:30.159 --> 00:12:38.000
And then the the last essential for the journey is that this incredible good news that the kingdom of God is here.
00:12:38.159 --> 00:12:40.000
The kingdom of God is right here.
00:12:40.320 --> 00:12:49.440
When Jesus stepped onto this planet, he he welcomed in the kingdom and invited people to be citizens of his kingdom.
00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:57.600
So if you've never made that decision yet, if you say, I uh I feel like I'm kind of on the outside, we pray that today's your day or this week.
00:12:57.759 --> 00:13:03.200
Um don't don't delay uh saying yes to being a part of God's kingdom.
00:13:03.360 --> 00:13:18.080
It is an eternal kingdom and that uh you know I did a uh uh funeral last uh just a few days ago, and uh the lady who died, she was ninety-five, and she never met her father.
00:13:18.399 --> 00:13:24.399
She her father died while she was still in her mother's womb before she was born.
00:13:24.639 --> 00:13:31.200
And so one of the things that the family said with tears is at last she'll get to see her dad again.
00:13:31.679 --> 00:13:36.720
So just that that hope that this kingdom is is a kingdom that's never going to end.
00:13:36.799 --> 00:13:47.600
And those people that maybe suffer tragedy or sad stories, like there can be this great reunion once again, and perfect bodies in a perfect place.
00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:53.120
And until then, we get to serve the king and we get to live in obedience to him.
00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:59.039
So what an incredible reminder that this mission is for all of us now.
00:13:59.200 --> 00:14:11.600
So you may not be on a team going to Jamaica or any other country, but you get to live as a missionary right where you are, and that every day you wake up with this reality.
00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:13.279
Hey, I'm on mission today.
00:14:13.519 --> 00:14:19.039
God, how do you want to use me to help people to be able to take a next step toward Jesus?
00:14:19.360 --> 00:14:22.399
And tell them that the kingdom of God is here.
00:14:22.799 --> 00:14:24.240
It's here, it's here.
00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:26.879
We don't have to, there's no there's no waiting.
00:14:27.120 --> 00:14:30.240
Jesus has has already issued the invitation.
00:14:30.559 --> 00:14:34.960
Uh come to me, all you who are weak and heavy laden, and I'll give you rest.
00:14:35.360 --> 00:14:53.360
So I'm uh I'm excited about uh this massive team that's going to be going, and I'm excited about the massive team, even a larger team that's staying, so that we get to live on mission while we pray for those who are going to be going somewhere else temporarily to live on mission.
00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:08.000
Brian, I'm excited to be able to pray for those that are listening to the podcast in particular, and just the whole idea of living on mission.
00:15:08.080 --> 00:15:09.759
So I think I'll have you to do that.
00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:12.960
And this is also Truck Driver Appreciation Week.
00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:13.600
That's right.
00:15:13.759 --> 00:15:15.200
And we do appreciate our drive.
00:15:15.440 --> 00:15:20.240
Without them, life kind of comes to a halt in in many industries and in many ways.
00:15:20.320 --> 00:15:24.799
That's that's how we get all the food and everything that we uh consume.
00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:27.679
A lot of it has to get here on a truck somehow.
00:15:27.919 --> 00:15:28.159
That's right.
00:15:28.399 --> 00:15:31.919
So I'll have you uh pray for them, and then I want to pray for our events team.
00:15:32.080 --> 00:15:40.240
I think we have about 30 people that are all over the country, and they leave behind families for a while until they get back.
00:15:40.399 --> 00:15:47.279
And then we also have a division down in Houston that's doing a great job in a really big city, so I want to pray for them as well.
00:15:47.519 --> 00:15:49.360
So let's uh let's pray.
00:15:50.799 --> 00:15:56.240
I want to pray specifically this morning for the team that is heading to Jamaica.
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I pray, God, that you would help them in the preparation, uh, getting all their paperwork and documents and all those things, and uh for Gene and Ted, who take care of a lot of the logistical things of flights and uh it's just a massive undertaking.
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Um, but we're so blessed that we have this opportunity, God, that you have blessed our company um with this opportunity and with the connections that we have with CSI Ministries in Jamaica.
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Uh God, I'm just we just put it in your hands.
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Uh we we know you're gonna take care of all the little things just like you always do, because you have a uh something something amazing in store for the folks that are going and the folks that are already uh those living in Jamaica.
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And so we're just praying, God, that you watch over um just the preparation and and then as we head to Jamaica, God, that we can just see your work being done in all things.
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And so thank you for that.
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I pray for those who are not going on to Jamaica, God.
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We there are certain there are uh a lot of us here that are staying home.
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Um, but we are called to serve just as those that are going.
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And so we can serve our families, we can serve someone sitting right next to us, uh, so we can serve every single day, God, because you have called us.
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You have you said go and serve the people around you and tell them about the good news that the kingdom of God is here.
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We just have to put our faith and our trust in you and carry, pick up our cross and carry it every single day.
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And so I'm praying for those that um are struggling right now with with that, the one those of us who are not sure how to take that next step, God.
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I'm just praying, God, that you give them the strength and the courage to step forward and say, I accept you, Christ.
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I'm tired of living this life of uncertainty.
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I'm tired of just the daily struggle.
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Um, and I need you.
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I need you in my life because the kingdom of God is right here, right here among us.
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Father, I want to pray for our truck drivers as we appreciate them this week.
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Uh, we don't exist without our drivers.
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And so they uh travel many, many miles a day, and throughout the week it's crazy how many trips that they take.
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And so we're just praying for protection over them.
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God pray that they would uh just be safe on the roads and we're just so thankful for what they do, be with their families at home while they're away for those hours.
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And God, we just love our drivers and we're thankful for each one of them.
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Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we are so thankful for the skill of the men and that we're sending out on these events teams that uh are making uh projects happen all over the country.
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Uh at least thirty of them uh today are out and um doing what you've called them to do, and they leave behind families, many of them.
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And so just pray for those families, for the for the wives, for the partners, for the kids that are left behind temporarily uh while their uh uh mates are gone somewhere else serving this company.
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And so we thank you, pray that today will be a good day for them.
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This will be a great week, uh, that you'll give them plenty of time to be able to communicate with their family, to to be able to get back home so that they can uh spend time with people that they love and care about.
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And thank you for uh all their effort and their willingness to be on the road for this company.
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And we're grateful for our division down in Houston, for the three men that are a part of that operation that are working so skillfully there.
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We're grateful for them and pray you will bless them and their families a lot in that really large city and for all that we're doing there.
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So we're we're just grateful that you give us the privilege of being a part of an amazing company, and thank you for uh this past week of uh appreciating those that have said yes to working here, and we look forward to the future and all those who will one day say yes, and we just give you thanks in Jesus' name.
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We pray.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Well, let us know how we can uh pray for you and Brian, what's the way for them to do that?
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We're getting more and more uh prayer requests.
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So, how does that happen if somebody wants to contact us?
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Go to Merrillbros.com, click on the prayer tab at the top of the page and fill out that inquiry form, and uh we will get with you.
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Yes, great.
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Or pray for you, whatever you want to do.
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Right, however, we can join you and we did it this morning, right?
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Yeah, that's right, we sure did.
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At our care team.
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We prayed for someone this morning who wrote in, just happened to find our page, and saw that prayer tab, and she clicked on the prayer tab and said, I need prayer.
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Yeah, yeah.
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It was awesome.
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Yes, it was great, yes.
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Well, thanks for joining us for another episode of Solid Start.
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Keep growing, keep encouraging others, and keep making a difference.
