The 700 Club - August 19, 2011

He would, like, take my stuff. I just felt terrible. Learn how to protect your children from bullies. Bullies don't like it when they are confronted. And how to teach your kids to fight back. The sooner we learn how to be courageous and do the right thing, the bigger our lives are going to become later in life. That's not me. That's Mother Teresa. Well, welcome to The 700 Club. Concerns about the economy are taking center stage again as experts warn that the United States and the rest of the world might slip back into a recession. And as Efrem Graham reports, the lack of jobs is still the top priority for millions of Americans. Four hundred eight thousand people applied for unemployment benefits last week. That’s up 9,000 from the week before and just one more sign of weakness in the economy. You’ve got a child. You’ve got kids. You’ve got bills. You've got to stay somewhere. He’s one of the 4,000 job hunters who waited hours in the Atlanta heat Thursday hoping to score one of only 2,000 job openings at this job fair. No callbacks? Not one. Home sales also fell in July for the third time in four months, even as mortgage rates hit their lowest levels since the 1950s. U.S. manufacturing is also said to be contracting, adding fuel to the growing talk of a double-dip recession. But a recent Rasmussen poll found many Americans feel like the recession never ended. The psyche of the American investor has been damaged. No question about it. And Europe is still facing its debt crisis, along with slower economic growth in Asia. We don't think we're out of the woods or even close to being out of the woods, and, quite honestly, we think that the problems are going to continue to unfold over the next 18 to 24 months. One bright spot in the bleak economic outlook is oil. Prices continue to drop, which leads to lower gas prices, something everyone can benefit from. But for now, the weak economy and the possibility of another recession is dominating the news and is certain to be high on the agenda when the president and Congress come back to Washington in a few weeks. Efrem Graham, CBN News. That is quite a closing line, “when they come back to work in a few weeks.” Boy, it would be great if they were at work right now trying to fix the many problems that we have. And one of the big ones is how can we get our federal budget in line? There is a doomsday option within what they passed that would call for drastic cuts in the military if they can't come to some kind of solution. And given the wide gulf between the two parties on the very important issues facing us, I think it would be much better if they were hard at work. Lee Webb has the rest our top stories from the CBN Newsroom. Lee. Gordon, Christine O'Donnell didn't win her race for the U.S. Senate in Delaware last year. She was the Republican candidate most covered by the media, and she returns to the spotlight with a release of a book about her experiences. She told our Jennifer Wishon that watching a story on The 700 Club was a turning point for her. Christine, I want to start with the commercial viewed around the world. Christine O’Donnell: I'm not a witch. I'm nothing you've heard. Tell me what you thought when you saw the final product of that commercial. When I saw the first line, before the script was even written, I said, “I can't do that. I can't even read that. This is the wrong direction.” But what did I do? I ignored my gut, and I listened to the experts. There is a lesson there; and, as we go forward into the 2012 elections, I'm hoping that the everyday Americans who are finding themselves involved in the political process for the first time will learn from my mistakes. O'Donnell calls the witchcraft debacle the lowest moment of her campaign. It grew from a decade-old interview, became baggage that led to that ad, and helped drown her dreams of serving in the Senate. (Interviewing): The name of the book is Troublemaker. Are you a troublemaker? And if you are, is that something that you, is that a label that you wear proudly? I sure hope I'm a troublemaker. I chose to title my book that, because I want to inspire more troublemakers to go out there and upset the status quo, but to do it in the right spirit. After the election, O'Donnell says she grew angry and bitter. But her attitude changed one day while watching a story on The 700 Club. It was about an African American pastor reaching out to a former KKK leader. And it just struck me, “Wow! If this pastor could find the love of God and the grace of forgiveness to forgive the very evil things that the KKK has done to him, I can certainly get over some gossip.” What's next for Christine O'Donnell? Everyone keeps saying, “Are you going run again?” No. As I say in the book, the times I’ve run before, I've usually been like, “No, I'm not going to run,” and then your heart starts to change. You pray about it and you realize, “Oops, maybe God has something else for me.” Jennifer Wishon, CBN News. O’Donnell also made news earlier this week with her interview with CNN’s Pierce Morgan. You can see her side of that story by going to Jennifer Wishon’s blog. It’s called “The Beltway Buzz” on CBNNews.com. A Dutchman is building a replica of Noah’s Ark, and it matches the dimensions of the vessel found in the Bible. Chris Mitchell went to Holland to see it for himself. Drive about an hour south of Amsterdam, and you can see the ark. The big idea started with a dream in 1992. That night I dreamed that a part of Holland was flooded. So the next day, when I wake up, I said to my wife, “I’ve going to build the ark of Noah.” That was the first beginning. Despite objections from his wife and others, Johan Huibers first built this replica, one-tenth the size of Noah’s original ark. Six hundred thousand visitors came to see that one, but Huibers had a bigger dream, the same dimensions as Noah did: 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. (Dordrecht, Holland): As you can see, it’s huge. Some believe the ark was the largest wooden structure ever to roam the seas. That makes it the length of one and a half football fields and the size of a five-story building. But how do you build an ark? I didn't make plans. I had no drawings. I had nothing. I had the will to build a boat and ask God every day, “Give me the idea how to build, how to do it.” And God gave me day by day, so it was fairly easy. The ark carries replicas of the animals that would have been on the ark. But is the story about Noah real? Huibers says there are more than 200 stories of a flood in ancient history. It’s the same story. There was somebody who took all the animals inside a boat, and he survived. But why did this modern-day Noah want to build the ark in the first place? To tell the people about God. Who is God? I will that people start to read the Bible again. When you open the Bible, God will be there, and He'll give you all the answers. Huibers believes the ark is a sign of the days we're living in, just like in the days of Noah. They’re terrible, like the same situation at the time of Noah. Nobody cares about God. Nobody cares about each other. They kill each other for nothing. Yep. Unbelievable. Just like Noah, people criticized Huibers. It was a very hard time. Everybody is asking, “Why? This is not necessary. And you don't have permission to build the ark of Noah.” But Huibers and his team persevered. They expect to finish the ark by the end of the year and hope to take it to the 2012 London Olympics. Chris Mitchell, CBN News, Dordrecht, Holland. Gordon, that’s one impressive project. I can't help but think that some of the neighbors are a little bit nervous, though, right? Well, it’s one of the largest wooden ships ever built. And when you start thinking how ambitious he is, he wants to take it to London. That means he's going to sail it. That would be—talk about a cruise ship! Would you sign up for a cruise on the ark? No. But I’d go through it on the other end, once it docks. You want a little safety. Pretty impressive, actually. It is a pretty remarkable thing to draw people back to the original story. And I like the line "as in the days of Noah," and when you start realizing that some things do happen based on Jesus saying, “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be when I return.” Yes. Quite a project. Well, coming up, the scandal that’s shaking the mission field. The very people who reading us our Bible stories, just minutes later after the generator went out were molesting us. Hear why these victims have finally ended their silence, when we return. 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And I’ve been a satisfied Swiss America customer for over 15 years. They are as good as gold. Call or log on right now. From wars and rumors of wars, to nation rising against nation. All of that is changing right now. There will be famines and earthquakes, and that's only the beginning of the end. Possibly sooner than most of us realize. Learn more about the signs of the times. Couldn't that also come true in our lifetime, also? Next week on The 700 Club. American missionaries have spread the Gospel around the world, and now there have been some reports made that are incredibly troubling. Children of some of these missionaries are saying that they were abused while they were in the field in various mission schools, dormitories, boarding schools. And these children represent more than 20 different dominations. Those reports are now being investigated. Heather Sells has more. MISSIONARY KID ABUSE Kari Mikitson was a just a little girl in the mid-80s when the missionaries assigned to protect her began to abuse her. From roughly six to eight years old my dorm father sexually abused me. The physical abuse was most of the teachers there and dorm parents. In the 1960s, Wess Stafford also suffered at his school, seen here in this documentary, where staff would beat students daily for minor infractions. Silly little things like a wrinkle in your bedspread when you’re six years old was good enough for a beating. Sexual abuse was common as well. The very people who were reading us our Bible stories, just minutes later after the generator went out, were molesting us. Susannah Baker's abuse took place in the ‘60s and ‘70s while she was living with her family on a missionary compound in Bangladesh. She says her attacker was her neighbor and doctor on the compound. Her abuser reportedly told a mission investigator later on of his sexual abuse of another teenage girl here. He is currently the focus of a wide-ranging investigation by the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism. He's a very intelligent and sly man. He knew how to hide what he was doing. Mikitson, Stafford, and Baker followed a common pattern among abuse survivors, keeping their nightmare quiet until years later. The reason: for Mikitson and Stafford, their abusers leveraged their loyalty to God and their parents. We were told as children never to tell our parents anything negative about the school, or we would be hindering God's work on the field. Here were the words: “There will be Africans in Hell because of you if you tell.” No one knows exactly how prevalent the abuse problem is on the international mission field. But what many believe is this: conditions overseas are often ripe for it. Abusers can flourish, because missionaries are isolated. Also, missionaries tend to be trusting, and historically, abusers have not faced any legal charges. Former prosecutor Boz Tchvidjian now investigates abuse overseas as part of the nonprofit group G.R.A.C.E. He led the investigation for New Tribes Mission and is currently investigating for the ABWE. You have a tremendous, unchecked environment, where abuse can go on, and at the very worst an offender will get sent home. Mikitson, Stafford, and Baker eventually reported the abuse to their mission agencies, and all met with great resistance. Stafford, who had risen to chief Executive of Compassion International finally met face-to-face with leaders at the Christian and Missionary Alliance, his former mission. And I said, “I'm one of your kids, so don't deny this. It did happen. And don't blame the victims.” This is the headquarters here of the Christian Missionary Alliance, which in 1996 became the first Protestant mission organization to investigate and acknowledge widespread abuse at one of its missionary boarding schools. Today, that investigation is considered a catalyst in prompting other mission organizations to launch their own investigations. In 2009, the United Methodist Church issued its report followed by the Presbyterian Church USA and New Tribes Mission. Investigations still underway include the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism and a second one for New Tribes. In each case, it's taken years for survivors to convince their missions a problem existed. And if we had to do it over again, certainly we would want to do it differently in that regard, that we would want to take the stories very seriously right from the start. What’s empowering victims today: the pulpit provided by the Internet. Both Mikitson and Baker say their survivor blogs exploded overnight. It went from hundreds of people reading it daily to thousands. They come together now. Instead of one voice, it's dozens or sometimes hundreds, tragically. But this platform can devastate victims all over again as they face hostility for speaking out. Trauma therapist Beth Parker says the best response is to affirm a survivor when they tell their story. Whenever outside sources don't believe, it adds to the view that, “Maybe I'm wrong, and the world is right.” So the biggest desires for victims are validation and an “I'm sorry.” It’s not about money. Abuse victims do not come forward to find a cash cow. It's never about money. It is, says Tchvidjian, about repentance from not only the abusers, but those who oversaw them, and that can help both survivors and mission agencies move forward. You should want to know all the details of where you failed, not only so you can repent, but also so you never repeat the same mistakes. Today mission attitudes are changing, and many organizations have created new child protection policies, explained in videos like this produced by The Alliance. The policies now, which are very clear, are absolute zero tolerance for the abuse and mistreatment of children. Also, 40 mission agencies and Christian organizations have created a child safety network that's developed best practice standards. The ABWE now says its former doctor under investigation is a pedophile and publicly regrets that it did not report him years ago to the law or any state medical boards. In March it finally reported him to the Michigan Bureau of Health Professions. The question for mission organizations today: how will they go forward? How much will they encourage the reporting of abuse? And how aggressively will they work to protect children from known missionary offenders? Had this happened on American soil, had we not been silenced so long, there's a bunch of them who would have wound up in prison. How many are out there right now as we speak during this interview who are abusing children? This is a 911 for the Christian world, and how we respond to this has eternal implications. Heather Sells, CBN News. This is a 911 for the Christian world. If you want more information on this, if you're a survivor, we have some resources available to you. There is an MK, missionary kit, MK Safety Net. All you have to do is log on to CBN.com. And on the CBN News website, we have links for you to that, to these other blogs of other survivors, and how you can get help, and how you can report what happened to you. There are also links for that organization called G.R.A.C.E. So if you're involved in mission work, mission agencies want to have some “best” practices. What's the best way to investigate? What's the best way to adopt policies, how to help the kids who are in need. We want to get these resources out. This is just an unbelievable story. And we can' can't be late any longer in responding to it and dealing with a very serious problem. Heather Sells, who was the reporter on that story, said that in the research she did that she found a statistic that said that most people, if you were taking a general look at it, come to Christ before they're 18 years of age. It’s hard to imagine how this could so skew a young child's perspective of life and who God is and who they are. So you wonder how many of these people survived and moved forward and have done well in their lives. It is just such a terrible, terrible situation for a young child to be in. When you look at the lives of most missionary kids, and being separated from your parents and put into a boarding school at the age of five or six or seven, just because your parents are trying to keep you from the dangers, the very real dangers of contracting some tropical disease in the field, and then to find out, well, what they did is actually put you in harm's way. You look at these stories, and it's one of those just incredible ones. One more thing, there’s also a child and safety protection network that has been created. And, again, all you have to do is go to CBN.com, and we'll link you into it. Terry. Well, the start of the school year is just around the corner, but many kids are dreading the return to the halls, and it is not just because summer is over. He would take my stuff and pull my chair out from under me when I was getting ready to sit down. I just felt terrible. And I really wanted her to stop. We'll show you how you can stop kids from being bullied after this. 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Cancer Treatment Centers of America. It is such a different place, because they give you hope. I would strongly urge you to call them and get a second opinion. Please call today. Well, here is a fact: more than 70 percent of kids say bullying is a problem at their school. And 90 percent of students in fourth through eighth grade say that they've been a victim. Recently we had author Paul Coughlin speak with some of these students to hear their stories and tell them how they could fight back. He would take my stuff and pull my chair out from under me when I was getting ready to sit down, and I would fall down and stuff. It was, like, pretty much my worst year every. I just felt terrible, and I really wanted her to stop. School bullies, they wreak havoc on and off campus, and their effect can leave us scarred. But what can your kids really do about bullies? We turned to our expert, Paul Coughlin, author of Raising Bully Proof Kids. He took us back to school to find answers. We all get picked on every once in a while in life, and it’s unfair, but that tends to be life. We’re here to talk about people who do it over and over and over, because studies show that that is where the misery is. That's where the pain is. I was bullied at school. And I was bullied at home, as well, by family members. So I know what it is like. I know what it is like to feel awful. This school is using the curriculum that Paul designed to teach students how to understand bullies. They’re insecure about themselves. They just like to make people feel bad and make themselves look like they have a lot of power. To shrink that person down and to boost that one person, the bully, up. It’s really arrogance and pride in a very young body. And what such people need is humility. That's why it is very important for bullies to apologize to their targets and mean it. And if they don't mean it, you shouldn't accept the apology. If you accept a non-real apology, it often gives the bully more power. These kids can even identify their classmates who are prime targets for bullies. They just kind of stand in the back and just try to avoid other people. Yes, that's what we call “non-assertive body language.” When he’s at lunch, kind of hunched over food, eating fast, like, “Okay, let's just hurry up and get out of here.” You can invite that person to come over and eat with you. And I know what that means. I know what I’m saying, that when you invite someone over who is not all that popular sometimes, it can bring your popularity down. Do we really want to be popular with people who think it’s okay to harm other people? That’s really what we’re worried about sometimes, isn’t it? While you can't change a bully, Paul says the best thing to do is grab some courage and grab a friend to help. It is really hard to be courageous by yourself. And so when you have someone else standing by your side, bullies don't like it when they are confronted. Me and him are telling him to stop, because we heard he didn't want to come to school anymore. And we got like a couple of people to stop. Keep doing it. Defend that guy, and grab some other people, too. The sooner we learn how to be courageous and do the right thing, the bigger our lives are going to become later in life. That's not me. That’s Mother Teresa. Well, Paul Coughlin joins us now. He is the author of the book Raising Bully Proof Kids. Paul, welcome back to The 700 Club. It is great to be with you. Thank you very much. When we think about bullying, most of us think of some great big kids sort of beating up on a little kid. But the truth is, most bullying that goes on is not physical, right? That's right. About 80 percent is verbal, not physical, . . . . and what we need to do with our kids is to train them how to respond to a verbal bullying. Sometimes the best thing to do is to do nothing at all. Ignore it and walk away. But sometimes we need to show an appropriate use of verbal force, and power and strength with words like “whatever,” if that's what you say, words that are dismissive, but they don't escalate the issue. Yes. Is there an age bracket where this tends to happen more than any other? It does. Bullying tends to spike between grades four through nine. And then after nine, it doesn't necessarily go away, but it does tend to diminish slightly. So those middle school years are tremendously tough for our kids. And if you can survive them. I’ve often heard kids say what one of the young women in that piece said: it was the worst year of my life. But then they survived it, and they wound up having good friends and a good life once they moved into the next “phase of maturity,” I guess. There is hope on the other side for many, many kids. But usually they got help from someone. There was some form of intervention, either on behalf of a teacher, fellow students. Their parents kind of coached them through it. One study showed that seven out of 10 targets of serial bullying had difficulty forming adult relationships, particularly difficulty with anger management, and especially resentment. Do parents play a big role in a child being able to overcome all of this? Absolutely. We have three teenagers. One of them was bullied when he was younger, and we had to coach him through it. The number-one character trait that makes a kid a target of bullying is that they're non-assertive, so they don’t appear confident or strong. Which would also make it hard for them to kind of stand up and grab the bull by the horns. Absolutely. So they have to fake it until they make it. And so that’s what we do with the protectors. We train kids how to appear strong. I was working with one kid named Bobby at a Christian summer camp, and I showed him how to walk more assertively. And he said, “This feels weird.” And I said, “Yes, it is weird, but you’ll get used to it. You have to fake it until you make it.” Yes. How do parents know? A lot of times kids are victimized like this, and they feel diminished enough by it that they don't say anything to anybody about it. So how does a parent know if their child is experiencing this? You’re right. They're full of false shame and false guilt. Yes. There are telltale signs, where they used to enjoy school, and they hate it now. They used to love to go to school. They don't want to go anymore. Torn clothing. Sudden outbursts of anger where it didn't exist before. Sometimes they'll bully their own siblings when they didn’t do that before either. A drop in test scores. A general hatred and angst toward life. I think that kids are so vulnerable in the age bracket that you talked about, specifically, that we’re all trying at that point just to figure out who we are and what life is about. This can be really damaging to kids. Tremendously damaging. We tend to think that—well, we'll say things like, “That which doesn't kill us makes us stronger.” We think we’re quoting the Bible. That’s Friedrich Nietzsche. But it might kill us. Yes, it might. You know what it is. It’s abuse. It’s a unique form of abuse. Bullying is the superior use of power to intentionally harm another person over a period of time. Statistically, it doesn't make us stronger. It can crack us, very much like the piece earlier about the abuse of missionary kids. One of the things I love that you write about is the significant place and part that bystanders can play in all of this, because most kids are bullied publicly to build up the bullier. So talk about the role of the bystander and what others can do. The bystander has the most potential power in what we call “the theater of bullying.” There are four characters: the bully, the target, authority. But then there is the bystander. Studies show that if one kid, and they don't have to be popular, they don’t even have to be big—in fact, you just showed one. Her name was Melody from that school that I was at in Tennessee. They don't even have to be big. If they just use assertive, but non-violent words, “Leave him alone. Leave her alone. That's wrong,” that incident of bullying can end 58 percent of the time within six to eight seconds. What is missing among bystanders—they know bullying is wrong. They feel that it is wrong. We just fail to act as if it’s wrong. And courage is the source or the nature of where action comes from. So what we do with the protectors is we train bystanders to be more courageous. And then they become courageous alongside-standers of targets of serial bullying. We have just a couple of seconds left here, but can you quickly give me the five things that you talk about kids can do to protect themselves from bullying? Well, first of all, they need to fake it until they make it. They need to appear to be stronger and more confident. They need to avoid what we call “bullying hot spots.” They also need to report what’s happening to them. For some reason, they think they're tattling. They're not; they’re reporting a big problem. To somebody who has the authority to do something about it, right? Absolutely. Yes. And then they need to learn to stand up for themselves, but especially also stand up for other people who are being bullied. There are all kinds of wonderful pieces of information in this book. And if you know somebody who is being bullied, or you have seen somebody bully somebody else, you need to get a hold of this book and do something about it. He's answered many questions today on the program about bullying. On our website, there’s also a source for you. You can find his responses by logging onto CBN.com. If you’d like more information on how to combat bullying, check out this book. It's called Raising Bully Proof Kids. Boy, we see so much about kids fighting publicly. It’s going on YouTube, people being put down on Facebook. Get a hold of this. It's available in stores nationwide, and it can make a difference. Thank you so much. It’s great to have you with us again. Thank you. Gordon. Well, still ahead, a woman who was a prisoner of her own body for 35 years. A typical day for me was on the couch, at home, with a trash can beside my bed, because I couldn't make it to the bathroom. Hear how she was healed from an in incurable disease, later on today's 700 Club. This is the information retailers don't want you to know, especially now. They don't want you to learn just how much money you've been giving away to retail markups on items you purchase for your home, all because you don't know how to buy like the insiders do at DirectBuy Club, the home improvement and furnishings club with direct insider prices. When you go to DirectBuy, you know that things are going to be a lot less than retail, and you don't have to worry about sales. It's just one price, and it's a low price, too. I would shop around and investigate; and without a shadow of a doubt, DirectBuy would have the lowest price. Members buy top-quality name brand merchandise from hundreds and hundreds of trusted manufacturers. So call the number on your screen now, and we'll rush you your free visitors pass to your local DirectBuy Club and your certificate for a free 30-day membership. This is a limited offer, so call now. Welcome back to The 700 Club. An Illinois state judge has ruled against Catholic charities in a case involving same-sex couples and adoptions. The state of Illinois stopped contracting with the agency after it refused to work with gays and lesbians for adoptions and foster care. Circuit Court Judge John Schmidt agreed with the state. He said no one, including Catholic Charities, has a legal right to contract with the state of Illinois. But the judge didn't address the more sensitive issue of whether a state contractor that refuses to serve gays and lesbians is violating Illinois’ new civil unions law. An Operation Blessing farming project is helping to help feed Haitian children. OB has teamed with Partners in Health to build two ponds on the property of a children’s home. About 25,000 tilapia will be raised in each pond. The fish can then be harvested to feed thousands of people. It will be a source of protein for the children at the home, as well as nearby hospitals, churches, schools, and other orphanages. The project also creates more jobs for Haitians. People will need to clean those ponds and prepare the fish for market. And you can find out more about Operation Blessing by going to its website at OB.org. Gordon and Terry will be back with more of The 700 Club after this. 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The disease myasthenia gravis is rare. As little as two new cases are diagnosed per year for every million people. It is a disease that affects both men and women of every ethnic group, and it is one that crippled Peggy for 35 years. Peggy Kirchhoff is not your typical grandmother. She rides four wheelers, manages a ranch, and takes care of four generations. But for 35 years, she was prisoner to a debilitating disease called “myasthenia gravis.” It’s an autoimmune disease in which your body attacks itself. The immune system loses control, chooses a target that unfortunately is not an invading germ, but is, in fact, the connection between your nerves and your muscles. I had one of the worst cases known. A typical day for me was on the couch at home with my phone next to me, piles of books, a trash can beside my bed that was my potty, because I couldn’t make it to the bathroom. As a young woman, Peggy was outgoing and athletic. She was also a Christian, and devoted to her sweetheart, Ed. They married at 18, and soon conceived their first child. During the pregnancy, Peggy noticed that something wasn’t right. I didn’t know what was wrong with me then. I just couldn’t seem to get up out of the chair. As time went on, more and more symptoms, dropping things, double vision, weakness. She gave birth to Jennifer, and four years later, Craig was born. Gradually Peggy’s condition got worse, and her doctors couldn’t figure it out. Because my mouth was so weak, and I would have to hold it together like this to talk. After ten years, she was finally diagnosed with myasthenia gravis. At the time, little was known about the disease, and no cure had been found. So Peggy was put on steroids to help strengthen her. The Kirchhoffs were encouraged to finally know what was wrong. They had indicated that they had treatments that could mitigate, control the disease. It would be very limited, but it would allow her to reasonably function. During a prayer time, Peggy says she heard God speak to her. And I heard these words and it said, “Take hold of My words.” Peggy committed to learning and meditating on Scripture. I had to just keep holding onto the Word for my life. The Word rescued me. It became life to me. The words came alive. But the years went on, and she didn’t get better, only worse. Peggy tried her best to keep her faith in God, but sometimes it was just too hard. One day I asked God, “What have I done to deserve this? Why me? Why did this happen? Did I sin?” But Peggy was determined to put her hope in God. I had to continue to stay into the Word of God, to continue to believe that Jesus would rescue me. They eventually found a specialist in Houston, Texas. He urged Peggy to undergo an invasive surgery, followed by an arduous plasma exchange procedure. Plasma exchange is a peculiar technique in which essentially you draw blood out of one arm, put it through a machine that is essentially a very fancy washing machine. It takes out the plasma fraction of the blood, leaves the blood itself, and then you give the blood back in a different IV in the other arm. In desperation, Peggy agreed to the treatments. But neither the surgery nor the plasma exchange put her into remission. As time passed, she became a grandmother. Then she met Dr. Blum. In 15 years of practice, I’ve seen many cases of myasthenia gravis. Peggy’s was one of the worst, if not the worst that I’ve seen in that entire time. Most patients that have it any worse than that go ahead and die. Dr. Blum ordered another plasma exchange, and Peggy bravely endured the procedure once again. I never wanted to surrender to death. I could not leave my husband and my children. I had to fight. Slowly, Peggy saw changes. I didn’t just have one moment that says, “Okay, I’m well.” It was just very gradual. I just started getting strength and not feeling so bad. My son and his wife and three little girls came to live with us. And they were very active, and I started being able to keep up with them. Thirty-five years after the initial symptoms appeared, Dr. Blum declared Peggy in remission. Peggy was certainly in very bad shape. I didn’t think that she was going to recover. And she definitely did, and that is a very rare occurrence. Medically, Peggy is in remission. But she believes that God has totally healed her. I’ve had many times that I thought, “This is great, but it might hit me again. Or I might be sick again.” But I’ve had to hold to that one scripture that says, “Affliction shall not come the second time.” And as I put that word in me that told me about the cross, the faith started growing in me to change my physical body. Now nothing holds Peggy back from living her life fully. I can ride four-wheelers, and I can drive the tractor. My favorite thing is to walk with my husband along the creek. My life does reflect God’s faithfulness. Just don’t give up. As long as there’s breath, as long as there’s life, choose life. What an incredible story. As long as there's life, as long as there is breath, there is hope. Choose life. Choose life. Now, imagine having something for 35 years that is so debilitating you can't even get off the couch. And yet you have the will to choose life, to say, “I’m not going to give into death.” And I love her honesty. She was pouring out her complaint before the Lord. “Did I do something? Was there some sin? Why do I have this? Why do I deserve this?” Well, the answer is none of God's kids deserve the diseases. It was never His intention. That wasn't part of the plan. See, God's dream for us was the Garden of Eden. That was His dream. And He still has that dream. That's why He sent Jesus, so that we could be with Him for all eternity. And in addition to saying, “I’ll forgive everything you've done wrong,” He says, “I’ll heal all your diseases, all of them.” Now, Peggy had 35 years of holding on to a promise, and the promise that she could be healed. Did it happen in an instant? No. It happened gradually, over time. She says so clearly, “The more I read the Word, the more faith I had, and the more strength. And it was a gradual thing that happened to me. Gradually, I got better.” Now, what about you? What about you? One of the things that happens when you have chronic illness is you start looking at the symptom and looking at how debilitating it is, and then start owning it and start saying, “This is my cancer. This is my infirmity.” You own it. Well, Peggy never owned it. She said, “This isn't God's will for me. I know that. I read His Word, and this isn't God's will for me.” Now, get that firmly fixed. And instead of looking at the symptom, look to Jesus. He is the author and the finisher of your faith. He who has begun a good work in you is faithful to complete it. And all you have to do is look to Him and say, “All right, the symptoms are there.” I'm not asking you to lie about it. But I’m asking you to look to Jesus. And when you start understanding His nature, how much He loves you, and how much He wants to heal you, then you get it. Now, we're going to pray. One of the things that Peggy was doing more, she was reading the Bible, but she was also praying. And the prayer of faith raised her up. That can happen to you. Now with some, it happens instantly. With others, it happens gradually. Now, I don't know why. I've got a lot of questions. Maybe one day I’ll get those answered. But right now, instead of having the question, instead of wondering, just look to Jesus and let Him. In His presence, all of the questions become meaningless, because you understand and you know how much He wants to heal. Now, in an act of faith, lay your hand on that area of the body that needs healing. If it is throughout your body, like it was with Peggy, lay your hand on top of your head. And let's just believe. If there are people around you, ask them to come pray for you. And we're going to believe. The Bible says, “If two or more pray, touching anything, then it will happen.” All we have to do is believe. Nothing is impossible. Just believe. Just trust. And let's see what happens. “Lord, we just lift the needs of the audience to you right now. And we come to you. We don't come humbly, because your word says we can come boldly. And so we come boldly, and we ask boldly for those with chronic conditions. And we say be healed now, in Jesus' name. We come to the throne of grace, the throne of mercy, the throne of healing, and we look to you, Jesus. We see what you did. We see you on the cross. We see your stripes. We see your love poured out in your blood. And we receive that now. And we say from the top of your head to the soles of your feet, be healed and be made whole.” There is someone with a brain injury that has left damage. And it's primarily on the right side. I don't know if it was from an accident or from a stroke. But you've got paralysis in your right side. And you're being healed right now, in Jesus' name. What you couldn't do before, do it now. Start moving your right arm. It's going to be unusual for you, and you're just going to start having some tingling sensations in your right leg, in your right arm. And you haven't felt anything there. God's just healing it now, in Jesus' name. There is someone else; you have a very odd condition. I don't know what it is called, but it has something to do with your bones. And they actually deteriorate. You're a younger person, but your fear is that your face is going to be deformed. God is healing that condition for you right now. Just put your hand, as Gordon said, on the top of your head, and with the other one, lift your hand up and receive that healing from the Lord as He totally regenerates your body now. There’s someone with detached retinas, and you're looking at losing your eyesight. And God is able to reattach them right now in Jesus' name. Be healed. You just felt something go through your eyes, and you're being healed now. Go test your vision, and see that it has been restored. You've been made whole now, in Jesus' name. Someone else with cancer of the esophagus. God is healing that for you. There are many people who have a viral infection that was—and you've had a variety of diagnoses from chronic fatigue to, they were looking at other kinds of infections to explain what is going on with you. God is giving you new energy and new life. He is breathing life into you again. Just receive it now, in Jesus' name, in Jesus' name. There is someone, your hip, your pelvic girdle that you sit on, that everything rests on, is out of order. It’s out of alignment. God is straightening that for you. You've actually had that problem for a number of years, but it is just going to straighten out for you. Yes, all of the pain that was in that right hipbone just left you. And you're going, “Wow, how did that happen?” And what you couldn't do before, get up and start walking around on it, and realize you’re totally and completely healed. Lord, we thank you. We thank you for coming. We thank you for giving your life. We thank you for what you've done and what you are doing today, for you are the same yesterday, today, and forever. We thank you for it. Thank you. In Jesus' name. Amen. If you've been healed, we want to hear about it. So call us: 1-800-759-0700. And if you need somebody to agree with you in prayer, if you're suffering with a chronic condition and you just want somebody to be a prayer partner with you, stand with you in prayer, we're here for you 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All you have to do is call us: 1-800-759-0700. We'll be back with more of The 700 Club, right after this. Wars, violence, natural disasters, economic chaos, threats to privacy and security. Were these events foretold centuries ago? What ancient prophetic writings say is coming next? Pat Robertson teaches on the signs of the times, “When will it all end?” If you have diabetes and love food, pay attention to this free offer. Hi, I’m Nicole Johnson. I’ve had diabetes for years, and I love food. To me there’s nothing tastier than rich chocolate cake, except maybe crispy oven fried chicken or cheesy potato skins. Get these recipes and many more free in these amazing diabetes cookbooks. If you have diabetes and are on Medicare, you qualify for these five, free cookbooks. call 1-800-951-8092. Enjoy dozens of yummy recipes for deserts, main dishes, snacks, and more. Plus get this free guide to planning delicious diabetes friendly meals. So call now and get cooking. For your five, free cookbooks and free meal planning guide, call 1-800-951-8092. That’s 1-800-951-8092. For many young boys, life is about school, sports, and video games. But until recently, that wasn't the case for a Cambodian boy named Siv Leng. He spent most of his time trying to find his next meal. For fun, 12-year-old Siv Leng enjoys picking putria, a sweet Cambodian fruit, with his friends. But just a few years ago, finding fruit meant survival for this young boy. When his parents died, Siv Leng and his brother went to live with an aunt. But without a steady income, sometimes the only food the boys had to eat was fruit they could find for themselves. My uncle didn’t take care of us. I was hungry all the time. When Siv Leng looked at the other children in their Cambodian village, he couldn’t help but long for a better life. They had food to eat, and they went to school. I wanted those things so badly. Then Siv Leng’s aunt heard about a church which had set up a children’s home supported by CBN’s Orphan’s Promise. They were happy to take in Siv Leng and his brothers. There, Siv Leng remembers having his first full meal ever. The food was delicious, and everyone was very friendly. Since my first night here, I’ve been sleeping well. Siv Leng and his brother now eat three meals a day, thanks to CBN’s support. But Orphan’s Promise did something else for the children. We built them a school, the only Christian school on the entire island off of Cambodia’s coast. Today, Siv Leng and 200 other children are learning to read and write, and Siv Leng’s favorite book is the Bible. Since coming to the home, he’s even prayed to receive Jesus as his Savior. I am very happy here. I have hope and love. I thank Jesus for bringing me to this home. His first full meal. Can you imagine that? His first full meal. And a child who would love to have the opportunity to go to school. All around the world there are children like this, children who have no voice. Once their parents die, they just kind of get lost in the whole scheme of things. And then you come into the midst of their need, and you provide an opportunity. You provide hope. You provide a future. Not just a future here, but you provide eternity, truly, for these kids as you share with them the love of Christ. How do you do that? You join the 700 Club. CBN has a program called “Orphan’s Promise” that is reaching out to children around the world, and you are touching their lives in incredible ways. It's not something I’m just telling you I’ve heard about. I've been there. I’ve seen it. Kids like Siv Leng are coming to the knowledge of Jesus, understanding the promise that lives within them, and having a whole new way of life. Join the 700 Club. It’s 65 cents a day, 20 dollars a month. You really can make a difference. We invite you to join with the rest of us. We're out to change the world. When you join with us, we want to send you Life Beyond the Grave. You’re going to be touched by this. This is real life accounts from people who have had death experiences, and have experienced either Heaven or Hell and have come back to share what it is that they’ve gone through. So you want to get a hold of this for yourself, for your family, for your friends. Call that number on your screen: 1-800-759-0700. Just say, “I want to join the 700 Club.” We welcome you. Well, how about questions today? And if you want to give a designated gift, if you have a heart for orphans and want to give a designated gift to Orphan’s Promise, when you call that number, 1-800-759-0700, just say, “I want to help Orphan’s Promise. I want to be a blessing to the orphans of the world.” Orphan’s Promise is now in over 50 nations around the world, helping thousands of orphans. And if you want to be a part of that, you can either go to CBN.com, there’s a way on the website to just click on the Orphan’s Promise button, and your gift is designated that way. Or when you call, you can say, “I want to give to Orphan’s Promise,” or you can just write it on the memo line of a check to say “Orphan’s Promise.” And your gift will be designated to help that wonderful work with orphans around the world. I think we’ve got a little time for some questions. We do. Well, we were talking about bullying today, so I think Kelly’s question is a good one. This person says, “I have a supervisor that bullies the staff with threats and yells at us, even when he is wrong. And honestly, he does it for no good reason. Many of us have complained to his superior, but to no avail. What should I do?” Boy, this is one of those where I can give you sort of the Christian spiritual answer, and I can give you a practical answer. The Christian spiritual answer is he is doing this because he wounded, and he is hurt, and you can pray for him. And you can find a way to heal that hurt. The sort of worldly answer is I know it is a tough job market, but life is short. Nobody should have to go through a job that has that kind of abuse, and you can start looking, and you can pray to get a new job. Well, we leave you with these words from Joshua . . . . . . . . “Be strong and of good courage, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” It’s incredible to see what God’s faithfulness and your partnership has accomplished through CBN over the past five decades. What began as just a tiny signal that reached to the corner . . . . . . . . has grown into a broadcasting giant, reaching over 100 countries and more than 60 languages. That’s why we’re having a very special, 50 years of broadcasting celebration here in Virginia Beach, the weekend of October 1st, and we want you to be a part of it. The all-day festival includes live entertainment from Mercy Me, Diamond Rio, and the Annie Moses Band. There will be hot air balloon rides, a petting zoo, Irish dancers, an antique car show, hay rides and a whole lot more. You can go to CBN.com today to find out more about the event and register to be part of this once in a lifetime jubilee. We look forward to having you here with us . . . . . . . . as we praise the Lord for all he’s done. God bless you.