Making Changes

They were ready to help. Ready to serve. Ready to give whatever they had to give.

Their deep desire to help would push them through the waiting, the redirection, and the change of plans. And those years of surrendering to God’s plan, even when they didn’t know what it was, would give them the foundation and the conviction they needed when they finally got their yes.

In Part 2, we get into what that life actually looked like from the inside. Those early years in the Philippines. A pregnant wife navigating a foreign country alone. New language, new customs, new purpose. And why two people who, given the chance to do it all over again, would answer the same way they always have.

If you haven’t listened to Part 1 yet, press pause and listen to it now.

Episode Timestamps

01:48 Writing to the Secretary of Defense: How God Opened the Door 

02:46 “Don’t Limit Yourself. Let God Limit You.”

 04:26 Selling the Scuba Gear: The Exact Amount He Needed 

05:10 Popcorn for Dinner, Parking Lots, and None of It Mattered 

06:43 Hawaii Testing: 1982 and Not Yet 

08:32 Sell Everything. Quit the Job. We’re Going. 

09:39 The Burning Obsession That Wouldn’t Quit 

11:30 “It Was a Lot Harder Than I Thought”: Sandy on Jacksonville 

12:00 Midnight Shifts and “How Do I Love Him So Much?” 

18:14 The First Worship Service in the Philippines: A Temple Dedication 

18:44 “What About Me?”: Sandy on Always Picking Up Her Life 

19:49 “It’s More Than Just Supporting Him. That’s My Role.” 

20:50 “Sandy as Minister’s Wife Is One of the Greatest Blessings God Has Given Me”

22:15 Arriving in the Philippines: The Heat, the Traffic, and the Mall

25:15 “Will She Survive?”: What Bob Was Really Thinking on That Plane 

26:05 “Shame on Me for Underestimating Her Capacity to Adapt” 

27:15 Ramen on Rice, Walking to School, No Money for the Trike 

37:10 The Taxi: A Wife in Labor, a Husband Who Had to Stay

37:47 “What Was He to Do? There Was Nothing He Could Do.” 

38:03 “You Will Always Be Number Two”: What the Minister’s Wives Told Sandy 

40:36 “Give Yourself Completely. No Strings Attached.” 

41:57 God Is Not a Trickster: The Challenges That Were Really Preparation 

46:07 The Hardest Part: Learning to Minister in a Language That Wasn’t His 

47:54 Prayers Before Visiting the Brethren in Shanty Homes 

50:30 “I Don’t Know Where the Words Came From. They Just Came Out.” 

52:00 Sandy’s Family Prayers: Filtering Water Through T-Shirts 

54:10 Three Years in the Philippines: In a Nutshell 

55:14 Bible Studies With Water Up to Their Knees 

57:00 Ordination Day: Sandy Watching From the Wing 

59:05 “God Is Finally Saying Yes” 

01:05:56 45 Years in Ministry, Most of It in the Media 

01:06:48 From One Congregation in Africa to Countries Across the World 

01:08:35 The Gibson Les Paul Guitar and God Always Making a Way 

01:13:06 “Everybody Has Choices Every Single Day. Be Alert.” 

01:13:53 Sandy’s Advice to Young Ministers’ Wives 

01:21:36 “He Belongs to the Brethren. I Get Them at the End of the Day.” 

01:22:36 “I Want to Do It Again. All of It. We’ve Been Blessed.”

01:23:53 Bob’s Advice to Young Ministers: Answer Your Phone. Never Ghost Anybody. 

01:27:03 “It Was Like Outside of Yourself. But It Becomes Yourself.”

 01:27:41 “Could You Have Imagined Doing Anything Else?” 

01:30:26 What Do You Love Most About Each Other? 

Brother Bob and Sister Sandy Pellien didn’t just surrender once. They surrendered everything, repeatedly, across continents, across assignments, and they are still going.

From a car sinking underwater in Guam, to a taxi in the Philippines, to over 40 years of assignments across the world, their answers has always been the same. And it’s the answer we can all learn from.

Whatever God asks of us, whatever change is waiting, whatever the cost, whatever uncertainty it may bring us in the moment, we take a moment to smile and say, “okay God, let’s go.”

Thank you for joining us for this season of Making Changes. To listen to all of the episodes from this season, visit incmedia.org/making-changes, the INC Media app, or find us anywhere you listen to podcasts. Thank you for listening. And may your change uplift you.

Connect with the Making Changes Host on Instagram: @aliwgarciapablo Rate and review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Follow the show on Instagram. Visit our website: incmedia.org/making-changes

 

Mentioned in the episode:

Making Changes Season 4 https://incmedia.org/making-changes/

Connect with us:

Connect with the Making Changes Host 

Rate & Review: Spotify and Apple Podcasts

Follow the show: Instagram http://instagram.com/makingchangespodcast

Visit our website: incmedia.org/making-changes

 

Before serving together as a minister and minister’s wife in the Church Of Christ (Iglesia Ni Cristo) for over 40 years, Brother Bob and Sister Sandy were just high school sweethearts starting their life in the military while stationed in Guam.

They were just two young Americans living for the moment, and that was enough.

Then a car went off a bridge. And sank.

Trapped underwater, seatbelt jammed, Bob made a promise to God in the dark. What followed was a Bible study he never planned to attend, a truth he never expected to find, and a wife who went for him one night — and came back the next night for herself.

This is a story of two people who have never stopped choosing the life they surrendered to.

Episode Timestamps

00:00               I’m Not on That Side Anymore: The Moment That Started It All

01:21               Meet Brother Bob and Sister Sandy Pellien

02:12               First Day of High School, English Class, and a Pair of Boots

05:16               The Bonfire: Where It Became Official

06:39               A Proposal Written on a Letter From Boot Camp

11:24               Newlyweds and the Vietnam War

15:20               Beach Bums in Guam: Scuba Diving, Motorcycles, and Living for the Moment

17:21               The Night Dive That Changed Everything

18:57               The Car Goes Off the Bridge

20:33               Trapped Underwater: “I’m Not Done Yet”

20:55               The Promise He Made to God in the Dark

22:43               Brother John Kolp: The Man of Very Few Words

28:24               Sandy Hears About the Accident: “No Big Deal”

31:34               The First Bible Study at the Church Of Christ

33:19               Brother Bob Raises His Hand in the Middle of Bible Study

36:29               Sister Sandy Goes the Second Night — This Time for Herself

38:24               “I Wanted the Rest of the Story”

40:11               Before the Church and After the Church

43:04               “We Were Just Gratifying Ourselves”

44:14               What Freedom Actually Means

54:49               Sharing the Truth — and the Pushback About the Messenger

01:02:36          Baptism Day: Brother Bob

01:05:29          Baptism Day: Sister Sandy

01:11:12          Eight Hours to Jacksonville, Every Weekend

01:13:28          Cassette Tapes and Worship Service at Home

01:19:12          “I’m Not on That Side Anymore. I’m on Your Side Now, God.”

After hundreds of hours of driving up and down Florida. Sleeping in parking lots. Watching those early ministers run themselves into the ground trying to teach the words of God — Brother Bob’s determination was set. He was ready to help. Whatever that looked like.

And Sister Sandy was right there next to him…without hesitation, without negotiation, or questions. She was in.

They didn’t know what came next. They just knew they were done deciding for themselves.

The second half of their story is about what happens when two people hand everything over to God, completely… and in Brother Bob and Sister Sandy’s case, together. Trust me, I’ve known Brother Bob and Sister Sandy for decades and there’s so much I didn’t know about them until this conversation.

Listen to part two of this story when it drops wherever you listen and watch podcasts.

If Brother Bob and Sister Sandy’s story moved you today, share it with someone who needs to hear that the life God has planned for you is bigger than anything you could have chosen for yourself.

For more Making Changes podcasts, visit incmedia.org, the INC Media app, or find it anywhere you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening, and may your change uplift you.

Mentioned in the episode:

Making Changes Season 4 https://incmedia.org/making-changes/

That’s in the Bible http://incmedia.org/thats-in-the-bible

Connect with us:

Connect with the Making Changes Host http://instagram.com/aliwgarciapablo

Rate & Review: Spotify and Apple Podcasts

Follow the show: Instagram http://instagram.com/makingchangespodcast

Visit our website: incmedia.org/making-changes

Madison grew up in a home full of music, laughter, and faith. A mom who lit up every room. A dad who made her laugh. Parents who made sure she knew God from a very young age.

Madison was only 16 when her life completely changed. In the span of five months, both of her parents were gone. She was an only child. A pandemic was just beginning. And she had every reason to walk away from everything she had been taught to believe.

She didn’t.

This is the story of a young woman whose greatest loss became the very thing that proved what her parents had built in her. And how the faith she inherited became the faith she chooses to lean on every day.

Episode Timestamps

00:00                “I’m Still Here”: The Faith That Held

01:35                Meet Madison: Psychology Grad, Choir Leader, Future Teacher

03:08                The Parents Who Made Her Childhood

08:07                What Her Mom Always Told Her About God

09:41                The Call That Changed Everything

13:35                The Night Before Her Mom Passed — She Still Wanted to Perform

17:29                Life at 16: Rocks Tied to Her Everywhere She Went

20:06               “The Choir Was the Only Thing That Made Sense”

22:16               How Tragedy Deepened Her Faith 27:25 — Her Dad Was Already Sick

30:10                Five Months Later: Her Dad Never Came Home

36:23                What She Said to God After Losing Both Parents

38:06               “God Must See Something in Me That I Don’t Understand Yet”

38:33                The Toughest Part: Every Change at Once

43:03                How She Stayed Sane Through the Pandemic

46:29               Milestones: The Ones She’ll Never Share With Them

48:39                Her Birthday and Why She Hated It

49:20                Her Therapist’s Reframe: Living Because They Lived

51:09                When Grief Hits Now

52:09                If I Got Through That, Why Can’t I Get Through Anything Else?

52:59              Why She Majored in Psychology

53:56                Advice for Anyone in a Season of Grief

55:11                Where She Is in Her Healing

57:26               The Purpose to Her Pain

01:00:09           Advice to Young People: Give Your Parents a Chance

01:01:38           How She Lives Now: With Intention

01:03:11           “There Has Always Been Something God Left for Me”

01:04:05           Why Acceptance Changes Everything

01:05:35           “You Could Take Everything From Me. I Would Still Have My Faith.”

01:10:37           Her Dreams for the Future

01:11:29           What Kind of Mom She Hopes to Be

01:12:12           Why She Said Yes to This Podcast

01:14:05          Rapid Fire: Favorite Memories With Mom and Dad

01:16:00           Photos, Feelings, and Bittersweet

01:17:04           Change Is: An Opportunity to Grow

If you are in the middle of something right now and you don’t know what to say, just say what Madison said. God, I don’t know what to tell you. But you see me. I just need your help.

And even if you’re not going through anything right now, Madison’s story is a reminder for all of us to not take our loved ones for granted. To hold on tighter to the people God has placed in our lives…because we really never know what tomorrow brings.

For more Making Changes podcasts, visit incmedia.org, the INC Media app, or find it anywhere you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening, and may your change uplift you.

Mentioned in the episode:

Faith Speaks “Lessons My Parents Taught Me” https://incmedia.org/lessons-my-parents-taught-me/

Three Lessons I’ve Learned Through Trusting God https://incmedia.org/worried-about-the-future-trust-god-instead/

Connect with us:

Connect with the Making Changes Host http://instagram.com/aliwgarciapablo

Rate & Review: Spotify and Apple Podcasts

Follow the show: Instagram http://instagram.com/makingchangespodcast

Visit our website: incmedia.org/making-changes

James Johnson grew up Baptist, surrounded by noise, chaos, and a home full of fear. He knew from the time he was a boy that something wasn’t right, not at home, and not in any of the churches his family took him to. So he did what most people never do. He kept looking. Church after church. State after state.

Until God put the right person in the exact spot James happened to walk by. This is the story of a man whose chaotic childhood didn’t break him. But gave him the reason to search so deeply for God, for peace, and for a life with a deeper meaning. And how finding the truth didn’t just change his faith. It changed everything.

Episode Timestamps

00:00               Born Into Chaos: The Errand That Changed Everything

01:24               Faith Speaks Callback: One Chance Encounter on a Ship

02:42               Growing Up Baptist in the South: No Foundation, No Truth

04:19               Church After Church: Loud, Chaotic, and Nothing Like Home

06:17               College Dropout to Navy: Out of 347 Ships, God Chose This One

08:21               Was It a Coincidence? James Answers That Question

09:59               What Made Him Stop: A 12-Year-Old’s Hunger for Truth

11:07               First Time in the Church of Christ: “This Is Where I Belong”

12:17               Driving 1 Hour 20 Minutes to Church for a Year

13:24               Why I Didn’t Like Going to Church as a Child

15:22               Domestic Abuse, Noise, and the Childhood That Drove Him to Search

16:01               “I Was Really Searching for Peace. Spiritual Peace. Knowledge of God.”

16:39               Would You Have Searched If Your Childhood Was Peaceful?

18:33               What Suffering Does to a Person’s Search for God

20:03               Reconciling Not Liking Church But Desperately Wanting God

20:51               Catholicism, Cathedrals, and Why He Cut That Out Too

23:25               Critical Thinking: The Survival Skill His Abusive Father Gave Him

25:28               Internalizing Everything: Nodules, Hospitals, and Almost Kicked Out

26:44               “How Did You Not End Up a Broken Soul?”

27:35               Always Had Faith. Just Didn’t Have the Foundation Yet.

31:19               First Worship Service: No Idols, No Chaos, Just Order

31:48               There Is No Black Church. There Is No Filipino Church. It’s True or False.

34:00               Bible Studies Begin: The Questions He Finally Got Answered

37:06               The Hardest Doctrine to Accept: The Last Messenger

38:29               “Completeness”: The Moment Everything Finally Lined Up

40:47               “Come as You Are” Means Come Broken. That’s How I Came.

41:38               Baptism Day: Robes, Nerves, and What Happened the Moment He Came Up

43:00               After Baptism, Life Got Harder. Here’s How He Held On.

44:08               Gun to His Head. A Bombing He Missed by 15 Hours. A Hurricane at Sea.

46:29               Loneliness Is a Pandemic. James Johnson Is Never Alone.

47:02               Problems vs. Challenges: A Military Counselor’s Perspective

49:06               “Who Listens to You?” God. Always God First.

50:52               12-Year-Old James to James Today: What God Did in Between

54:08               Why James Lives to Serve

55:18               “What Happened to You Is Not Your Fault. Healing Is Your Responsibility.”

56:35               What Does God’s Purpose Feel Like When He Saves You That Many Times?

57:03               How the Church Changed James Johnson

57:57               Why Change Is the Only Way Forward

58:33               “Why Me?” to “Why Not Me?”

59:21               The Photo. The Tears. 1 in a Million.

01:02:18          James’s Message to Anyone Barely Holding On

01:03:26          Hold On to God. There Is Nothing Outside the Church Worth It.

01:05:40          You Turned Trauma Into a Life of Service

James spent the first part of his life searching. Surviving. Holding on to a belief that something real was out there even when nothing around him confirmed it.

And then he found it.

Not just peace. Not just answers. A life. One built on truth, on service, on a foundation that no amount of chaos could shake.

That is what God does for the people who find him. Truly find him.

I remember Brother Barry Thompson saying in his episode that if you truly want to serve God and you’re willing to do whatever it takes…He’ll guide you. He’ll lead you there.

And this was definitely true in James’ story. If James’s story moved you today, share it with someone who’s still in the middle of their search. This might be the reminder they need to not give up.

Mentioned in the episode:

Seeker: When I Finally Stopped Saying No https://incmedia.org/seeker-when-i-finally-stopped-saying-no/

Ask your questions https://incmedia.org/contact/

Connect with us:

Connect with the Making Changes Host http://instagram.com/aliwgarciapablo

Rate & Review: Spotify and Apple Podcasts

Follow the show: Instagram http://instagram.com/makingchangespodcast

Visit our website: incmedia.org/making-changes

Maria and her husband were doing everything right. God-fearing. Committed. Active in the church. And when their first daughter was born, life was exactly as planned.

Then, four months later, Savannah’s heart stopped.

What followed would test everything… their marriage, their faith, and everything they thought they understood about a God they had always trusted. And somewhere in the middle of the grief, Maria faced a choice: keep asking why… or start asking, “What do you want me to do now, God?”

This is the story of what she did with that loss. And how, even 18 years later, Savannah is still changing her family.

Episode Timestamps

00:00               She Lost the Gift: Why Savannah Is Still Changing Everything

01:42               Meet Maria: Three Teens, One Busy Household, and a Fourth Child Named Alex

03:42               18 Years Ago: A Perfect Pregnancy and a Life That Was Going as Planned

05:05               Day Two: When the Nurse Heard Something Different

06:25              Two Holes in Her Heart: The Diagnosis No One Expected

07:05               February to March: The Cold That Wasn’t Just a Cold

08:14               In the Choir Loft: The Night Everything Changed

10:23               “Your Daughter Had a Cardiac Arrest”: Still in Her Toga

11:17               Think Like a Nurse, Not a Mom: Maria’s Sister Steps In

13:25               The Prayer at SickKids: “If It’s Not Your Will, Help Me Learn”

14:44               “Your Daughter Is a Vegetable”: When the Doctors Finally Said It Plain

15:14               Letting God Take His Place: The Decision No Parent Wants to Make

17:34               Job’s Story, Holy Supper, and the Biggest Test of Her Faith

19:24               “I Want to Perform”: Choosing Duty Over Grief

21:12              The Last Thing She Would Do Was Let the Devil Win

22:13               What Kept the Marriage Together: Daily Prayer, Even When Tired

23:12               Get Your Ego Out, Maria: From “What Did I Do?” to “What Can I Do Now?”

25:56               The Purpose of Savannah’s Four Months

29:12               There Is Purpose to Pain: What She Would Say to Anyone at the Bottom

33:20               Keep Going: Going Back to Duty When You Just Want to Hide

37:11               “I Cannot Do This Without You”: Prayer as the Anchor

39:23               After Savannah: Trying Again and Holding Your Breath

44:40               My Three Kids Are My Promise to God

48:26               Church Activity Plus Ice Cream: Making Faith a Family Memory

50:40               Why Kids Leave: Questions That Never Got Answered

51:19               How Maria Stays One Step Ahead

53:41               You Can Be Successful and Still Have Nothing

55:19               I Want My Kids to Make It to Heaven to See Their Sister

57:52               My Daughter Said: “I Appreciate That You Stay and Listen”

1:00:06            Don’t Make God Your Babysitter

1:01:24            “Your Kids Only Have One Mom”

1:04:25            Care About Your Soul More Than Our Image

1:08:00            God Is Everywhere: Faith Isn’t Just for the Chapel

1:10:26            Two Different Parenting Styles, One United Front

1:12:11                        “Do You Still Believe?” The Question Maria Asks Out of the Blue

1:16:44            How Did Losing Savannah Change You?

1:18:01            Prayer, Space, and Coming Back Together: Advice for Couples After Loss

1:19:41            Rapid Fire: Food, Laughter, and the Questions She’s Not Ready For

1:21:07            Change Is: Growth, Humility, and Moving Forward

It’s never about the circumstance. It’s about our response.

And that’s exactly what we heard from Maria today. She didn’t choose the loss. She didn’t choose the test. But she chose what to do with it. And 18 years later, that choice is still showing up… in the way she prays with her kids, in the conversations she refuses to walk away from, in the way she fights for three children in honor of the one she couldn’t keep.

Savannah was here for four months. But her impact continues to be felt.

If Maria’s story moved you today, share it with a parent who needs to hear that the hardest seasons don’t have to break you. They can be the very thing that makes you fight harder for the people you love.

Mentioned in the episode:

Watch: Faith and Family: “What do you say to someone who lost a child” https://incmedia.org/what-do-you-say-to-someone-who-lost-a-child/

Read: Blog post: Devote Yourself in Prayer and See What Happens https://incmedia.org/devote-yourself-in-prayer-and-see-what-happens/

Connect with us:

Connect with the Making Changes Host http://instagram.com/aliwgarciapablo

Rate & Review: Spotify and Apple Podcasts

Follow the show: Instagram http://instagram.com/makingchangespodcast

Visit our website: incmedia.org/making-changes