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Not an Orphan: Rediscovering Identity Through Adoption and Faith
19 Plays13 days ago
In this episode of Pause & Think, Jackie Darby sits down with Stephanie Fast to explore adoption, trauma, and the lifelong journey of healing. Together, they unpack powerful truths about parenting, faith, and identity—reminding us that healing is a process, not a quick fix.
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Transcript
Introduction to "Pause and Think"
00:00:02
Speaker
We all have a story, and at times we feel we're walking it out alone. Let's pause and think. Join us for honest conversations about adoption and parenting as we lament, encourage, give hope, and explore our true identity and worth in Christ.
Stephanie Vass's Adoption Story
00:00:23
Speaker
Welcome to another episode of Pause and Think. My name is Jackie Darby and I am your host today. We're missing Aisha, but I am back with our guest, Stephanie Vass. Welcome, Stephanie.
00:00:36
Speaker
What an honor to be back with you. Well, Stephanie, for those of you who don't know, is an international speaker, and she is the author of She Is Mine. And this is an amazing book that she wrote about her orphan journey, and it's a journey of survival. And her adoption. So I am so honored to have Stephanie here with us today. And i just want to let the viewers know that I heard you over 30 years ago on the Focus on the Family Moody Radio.
00:01:13
Speaker
And my mom originally heard you share. And my mom at times didn't know how to deal with me and all my emotions. But when she heard your story, she ordered the cassette, you know, that ages us, she ordered that cassette and sent it to me.
00:01:32
Speaker
And when I listened to you speak for the first time in my life, and I was in my 20s, I was married for the first time in my life, I felt like there was somebody in this world that truly understands me. and fast forward over three decades later, i got to meet you in person, and here we are doing a podcast.
Belief and Hope in Adoption: Stephanie's Insights
00:01:56
Speaker
So I am so honored that you are on our podcast and are sharing your story with us.
00:02:02
Speaker
It's such a delight. I love the way God connects people together. Yeah. Yes. so in the last episode that you shared on, you shared a lot about your journey, your story, um going from an abandoned orphan and up until your adoption and just some of the emotions that you dealt with. And so if you want to just briefly, if somebody is listening for the first time, if you want to just briefly recap your story for somebody who might be new. Okay.
00:02:39
Speaker
Well, as you can tell by looking at you and looking at me that we are international adoptees. I was adopted from Korea. at the age of nine, actually not really adopted till I was 12.
00:02:52
Speaker
I was taken out of the orphanage when I was nine, but it took my parents three years of living in Korea, doing the adoption process before they brought me to the States to be officially adopted. But before that, i had been a street child for, I don't know, two, three, maybe even longer years. And in those years, I went through every form of abuse that we don't want any of children to ever, ever go through. And yet I survived. I was found on a garbage heap, dying from cholera when I was about maybe seven or seven and a half, rescued by a Swedish nurse.
00:03:33
Speaker
brought arms She helped me to get healed, placed me in an orphanage. And in that orphanage, I was there for about two years. And again, miracle of miracles, a foreign couple that had come to Korea as missionaries, i had no children of their own.
00:03:51
Speaker
At that time in Korea, there were thousands upon thousands of children that, you know, just needed a home. And they wanted to adopt a little baby boy. I remember my dad telling me he had a dream of this little boy that think he wanted to adopt. And, you know, he was a baseball player. And so he had dreams of playing baseball with his son. And You know all the things that fathers and mothers dream of and they for their children. But God moved their hearts and they saw me and they adopted me and ah and brought me to the States three years later. I began my started my life here in the States and all the turbulent years that I had as a teenager.
00:04:34
Speaker
And yet I can say people always ask, what was the ingredient? I always used to ask my mom this question because my dad passed away when I was in my early 40s. So it was my mom and I that had longer periods of time together. And I asked my mom, Mom, I speak around the world. i speak to hundreds of thousands of people.
00:04:57
Speaker
And they always ask, what did your parents do right for you to be who you are to- today? And I always say, it's not what my parents did right.
00:05:09
Speaker
It's who they believed in. And I think that's a very important answer that adopted parents need.
The Role of Faith in Adoption
00:05:18
Speaker
Because all adopted parents, they want to make sure that they're doing everything right for their child.
00:05:24
Speaker
And every child comes into a family with different stories, with different emotional scarring that they need to overcome. And there's just so many resources out there now to help parents. But I have also talked to hundreds of parents where they've said, we've gone to every seminar. We've taken our children to every form of counseling and therapy. We've read every book that's out there and nothing seems to work.
00:05:54
Speaker
And they say, what are we doing wrong? And I say, you're not doing anything wrong except for this. You need to understand that you're not looking at all the help that's out there, but who are you looking at for your source of strength and guidance?
00:06:14
Speaker
And that's the that's the answer that my mom gave me. Stephanie, when we adopted you, there weren't a lot of books out. There wasn't a lot of resources. There really weren't that many conferences. And even when we thought of taking you to a therapist, a therapist really didn't know how to work with children that came from international trauma.
00:06:36
Speaker
So it was pretty much up to them as parents. And so what my mom and dad did is they were in agreement together. there were There was not a conflict between the two of them. And I think I see that sometimes with adopted parents as what mom wants and what dad wants are two different things.
00:06:55
Speaker
So you need to come together and say, what is it that we believe God told us when we adopted this little girl? What is it that you and I believed together when this little boy came into our family? So can we still stand on that word?
00:07:12
Speaker
So know that word that God told you when you first adopted your child. Secondly, I say be in agreement with each other. Do not in any way detour each other in your walk for your child.
00:07:28
Speaker
the Third, I always say is don't lose hope. Because once you least lose hope, you're giving room for the enemy to continue what he has already started in your child.
00:07:43
Speaker
Does that make sense? Don't lose hope. yes Remember why that child is in your family. And continuously believe in that, even if you don't see any signs of it.
00:07:57
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Continuously believe in that. Pray for yourselves. Pray for your child. And don't let the enemy have the upper ground with you and with your child.
Parental Belief and Child Identity: A Discussion
00:08:10
Speaker
Absolutely. And I am hearing so much wisdom, um so much wisdom in your answers, because I too get asked that question, you know, what, what, you know, if, if you could say something to your parents that, that they could change, ah what, what would those things be? And so I love how you just so clearly have brought that out. You know, it's not what you're doing right or wrong. It's who do you believe in? And when I think back of my childhood memories and how my parents sowed in the love of Christ, the word of God into my life, they were building a foundation. They were planting those seeds for the healer
00:09:02
Speaker
the ultimate healer to begin to come into my heart and my mind and lay that foundational work that only the Lord could bring to my mind and heart when I needed him
Challenges and Realities of Adoption
00:09:15
Speaker
most. And so it wasn't about, you know, well, I love how we're bringing out that back when our parents adopted us,
00:09:26
Speaker
there were There were no resources other than they just knew in their heart they were supposed to adopt. And my parents already had five kids, so it wasn't like they needed another child. yeah They just had this burning desire that they knew that they were supposed to adopt.
00:09:46
Speaker
And so they there weren't even books to read and you know, conferences to go to or psychological, you know, things, studies and all this stuff that that adoptive parents have today, thank the Lord.
00:10:02
Speaker
But I think whether you adopted back then with us or were you whether you're adopting now with all these resources, we still come with all our baggage.
00:10:13
Speaker
Yes. And who you believe in and coming together in that is so, so important. And so i know parents, like we were talking about, are looking for like the, not necessarily the quick fix, but just to be relieved. You know, they're in such pain, seeing their child in pain. They just want, they just want it to be better.
00:10:42
Speaker
And so... I know we've talked about, you know, this is an ongoing process process. Healing is a process. It is not a quick fix. And so what what do you have to say about, you know, the process of this?
00:11:00
Speaker
Well, this might be a little hard for adoptive parents to hear, but I want to say it because you and I have been asked this.
00:11:10
Speaker
The story is not about your comfort.
00:11:16
Speaker
It's about you being there for the child that God told you that he or she needed to sit at your table and be a part of your family.
00:11:28
Speaker
We all want comfort and we all have a fairy tale that we want. But more than likely, when you say yes to an adopted child or a child that comes from foster care, you're saying yes to being uncomfortable.
00:11:47
Speaker
And you need to receive that first. ah Only miracle miracles, a child might come into your home and say, woo, this is wonderful. And they don't show any signs of, you know, hurt or anger or rebellion, but you don't hear of that too often.
00:12:07
Speaker
Most of them come in with, this is my story. I've got these walls and I'm going to try to knock it out as much as I can. If you're in the way, you're going to get hurt too, right? So being the parent, you need to really ask yourself, am I willing to be in that pain?
00:12:28
Speaker
Or am I just trying to fix it because I want my family to be better
00:12:35
Speaker
Or do want Yeah, that's so good because... Yeah. Or do I want to... Because sometimes... Yeah. I'm sorry. Sometimes parents have these rose-colored glasses on.
00:12:47
Speaker
So I love how you're bringing that up. you know You need to ask yourself, am I willing to be in that pain? Because when we don't have those rose-colored glasses on, and that's a real question.
00:12:58
Speaker
okay is. Are we willing to sit at the table in that pain? In that pain. And I think secondly, and probably nowadays parents recognize it more because there is so much information out there.
00:13:11
Speaker
But to recognize that children, I mean, science has told us that the cognitive part of our brain, the neurons in our brain really don't even start connecting till we're in our middle
Healing and Relationship Over Religion
00:13:24
Speaker
20s, right? Like you were saying, you felt things as a teenager, but to voice it.
00:13:29
Speaker
You didn't know how to voice it. You just acted it out. Same thing for me. I knew what I felt, but I couldn't reason with myself that this was, you know, I couldn't sit down with a counselor, even maybe to tell them why I was feeling the way I was feeling. I was just feeling right. And so as parents to realize that that your children don't have the cognitive or the up The brains that have connected to say, I feel this way and I want express it.
00:14:02
Speaker
And I'm at a point where I can receive answers. So that's another thing that parents need to recognize is that we think, well, if we give them the answers, if we take them to therapy, of course, they're going to figure it out.
00:14:20
Speaker
They may hear the words, but their body, mind and spirit cannot connect until they're probably in their middle 20s. And I mean, I've seen that with my biological children and with my adopted children is that both of them really didn't.
00:14:39
Speaker
have their all senses so you know they were their I'll never forget my oldest son. He was in college, maybe he was about 22, and I still have that letter where he wrote me, and this is my biological son, wrote me and said, Mom, I'm just just now figuring out All the things that you've said to me in the years that I lived with you.
00:15:05
Speaker
I'm still, I'm just figuring out who I am and what's valuable to me. Thank you, mom. He's 22 years old. I had him from the time I carried him in my womb, you know. And so you think, couldn't he figure that out when he was 14, 15, 16? No.
00:15:22
Speaker
He had to rebel. He had to figure out his own story. And it really wasn't until his brain started connecting together where he said, oh, OK, what mom said, maybe there's some truth to that, you know. So I think as adopted parents, we need to give our children that space to figure out their own story.
00:15:46
Speaker
You can't write their story for them. They have to write their own story. And the only way they can write the true story is for you to convey just the love of God.
00:15:58
Speaker
Not doctrine. I think that's another thing that we as Christian parents, especially with adopted children, is that we believe that if we just tell them the doctrine of the Bible, if we just keep telling them, if you believe this, it'll happen. But in that, your child sees your frustration and your religion more than your love.
00:16:21
Speaker
I want to say that again. If they only see your religion and not that you're willing to walk in that relationship with them and their relationship that they're trying to figure out with their with their God, you'll lose them along
Church Support for Adoptive Families
00:16:38
Speaker
the way.
00:16:38
Speaker
And that's what happens a lot is that as parents, we feel like if we can just tell them the you know the what's and the how's of the Bible, of course they're going to believe. No, they're looking and watching you.
00:16:52
Speaker
And seeing the relationship that you have with the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. And the relationship that you have as a couple. And the relationship that you have in saying, I brought you and you're sitting at this table. And we want this relationship more than anything else.
00:17:10
Speaker
And if they can see that, some in their 20s or whenever they have that encounter with their Papa God, it will be that that will bring them.
00:17:20
Speaker
to that beginning of their healing and also acceptance of the beauty of adoption.
00:17:30
Speaker
So good. So good. I love it. I just love, I'm being reminded even today as a parent that it's relationship, not religion. Religion is the do's and don'ts and the legalism about it. And, you know, but the relationship is what, draws us together and we're walking together hand in hand, even though we don't get it. And even though we don't understand things, but I also love how you brought out that it's body, soul, and spirit. It's not just beating somebody over the head with a Bible and quoting all the scriptures.
00:18:08
Speaker
But there's literal um physical reasons why their neurons aren't connecting when they're little children or into their 20s. It starts happening and they start their perspective starts changing because physically they're changing. So that's so good. It's it's body, soul, and spirit. And all three have to be working together.
00:18:33
Speaker
for that healing process to happen. And, um, yeah, it's, it's a challenge. It's a challenge, uh, for us as parents, uh, because we're adopted children, but we're also parents now and we have our biological kids. So I'm seeing, I'll tell parents, I'm seeing stuff in my kids, you know, that maybe somebody would have, uh,
00:19:00
Speaker
kind of blamed on, oh, because she's adopted, this is happening. But I've seen some of the same stuff in our biological kids that I've struggled with because we're flesh and blood. And so again, there's a balance. And that's not to say that we as adopted kids don't come with our own baggage, our own trauma. We didn't start life off the same as a biological baby who was desired and wanted from when they were being formed in their mother's womb to the time they were birthed and little on.
00:19:41
Speaker
But, you know, there are things that we've walked through that brings a different level of trauma and emotional stuff to the table. And that's what is tricky.
00:19:55
Speaker
But in the first episode, and if you haven't listened, go back and listen to the first episode because we talk about that as well.
Adoptees Sharing Their Stories
00:20:03
Speaker
And so... Stephanie, I'd love for you to also speak into, because we're part of the church now, the big church. And so when we talk about the church, we're not blaming the church or you know saying something negative about the church. But how can we as the church or church other church leaders, church families, how can they be a part possibly of James 1.27, pure religion, and walk alongside of families like our families were who are um who have adopted children. How can we as the church be a part of that?
00:20:46
Speaker
I do think what adopted parents have now is you do have that universal church ah because the ah adoption world is bigger. And so there are communities that have pulled together their resources. And that in a lot of ways, that becomes their first church, right?
00:21:06
Speaker
Because their local church either don't have the resources or have the vision or even have the compassion to understand your story. So you may go to your pastor and say, this is what I'm going through with my child. And he has not, or the church or the leadership has not taken the time to say, hey, we're going to study this with you. You know, we're going to see what resources that are out there for us to know. so that we know how to help you. And that's how it should be. But more than likely, it's not. I think in larger churches, there are infrastructures within the church where, you know, there's ah groups for adoptive parents, groups for, you know, that. But most churches are not the mega churches that, you know, might have the resources. So most churches are churches of 250, 300 people with one pastor that's trying to do everything. And he can't really be there for you when you need it except that we pray that they can be empathetic with you. I think that's another thing is that we feel like when someone comes to us, we need to give them answers.
Stephanie's Upcoming Book
00:22:18
Speaker
We may not be able to give them answers, but we can be empathetic. We can sit with them. And we can hear their story. Because like for you, it's in the repeating of our story that more healing takes place.
00:22:35
Speaker
If I had kept my story deep inside and not had shared it first with my husband, then with my parents, because even though my parents adopted me in Korea and they knew parts of my story, they did not know my full story.
00:22:51
Speaker
It was not until my 20s that I began to share parts of my full story. but And the more I shared it, the more it made sense to me and brought healing to me. So I think adoptive parents need that platform where they can share their story.
00:23:11
Speaker
And instead of coming up with answers for them to say, I hear you. Let me sit with you. Tell me a little more. Because as they tell a little more, God tells them the answers.
00:23:26
Speaker
God speaks life to them. God speaks truth to them. And if when that happens and they can ask you a question and say, do you agree with this? And I say, yeah, isn't that amazing how God has spoken to you right now? You know, so that's how I deal with adopted parents when they ask for how can the local church help me? It's like, I think you're the one that needs to educate your pastor.
00:23:51
Speaker
You know, you're the one that needs to educate your congregation and ask for not the answers, But ask for support. Can they support you?
00:24:02
Speaker
And most people will say, yeah, they'll support you. We don't have the answers, but we can support you. We can sit with you and listen. Yeah. That's so good. And I know the church um has been a huge part in my healing process. um First of all, you were part of the church.
00:24:23
Speaker
You were brave enough to begin sharing your story. And I remember listening to your story for the first time, and you had talked about, I'm not comfortable being in front of people. I'm not comfortable feeling like I have broken English, even though you're very understandable and you speak perfect English. But the fact that you were self-conscious maybe about your accent, but the fact that you, as as a representative of the church,
00:24:58
Speaker
We're standing in front of people being very vulnerable and sharing your story was huge for me. And i remember sitting there in my tears, in my despair saying, Lord,
00:25:13
Speaker
i would I would hope that one day i could get to the place where I can share what you've done in my life. Because at that point, my perspective was I was still the victim.
The Power of Stories
00:25:26
Speaker
and I was still angry. I was still i i blamed everybody. i I didn't see myself as God seen me. But you represented the church. And I was in a very...
00:25:37
Speaker
healthy youth group with a loving youth pastor and his wife who also adopted, understood adoption. And they so lovingly welcomed me into their home, embraced me. And so, you know, i was raised in a Christian family, you you know as a 20 year old in my twenties, I wasn't still living at home, but the church, the church, um, I believe God orchestrated it, that he allowed me to hear you, even though I was living in Florida, um, hear your story, be embraced by the church. And so i know we love to encourage people, like you said,
00:26:24
Speaker
go ask for help. um ah Say you need help. You're not necessarily looking for answers, but you're looking for people who are empathetic, who will just allow you to sit at their table and walk with you through the process. And it's so important as as the church, we the church, to be that empathetic person to be the hands and feet of Jesus to families and to other fellow adoptees. And so what would you say um to an adult adoptee that might be listening if they're hesitant about um maybe seeking out the church and Not that we're seeking the church, but we're seeking the Lord. That's the ultimate. The relationship is we're seeking a relationship with the Lord. But what would you say, what words of encouragement would did you say to ah a listener who might not have been a part of the church?
00:27:23
Speaker
Right. Well, I would say, first, be not ashamed of your story. I think the first thing we as adult adoptees, because we've created a,
00:27:39
Speaker
um well, I almost want to use the word a false identity. You know, you see what you want to see, right? My hair's all put together. I got my makeup on. I married a great man. i have great children. But behind beyond all that, there's a lot of trauma,
00:27:59
Speaker
And my body remembers everything. And without taking that first step, you live in shame. So really to first tell your story, you need to say, okay, this is the biggest step for me. Because when I say this is my story, you're removing yourself from shame and stepping into faith.
00:28:23
Speaker
That's a huge step. People don't understand that cavern that you have to jump over. And oftentimes there's not a bridge. I mean, the bridge, of course, is the love of God.
00:28:36
Speaker
And you're holding on to that and just, you know, it's like a shaky bridge. But once you get to the other side with faith and you start sharing, you realize people don't hear the shame, but they hear the victory.
00:28:55
Speaker
And that was a huge thing for me. It's like, am I going to live in the shame of my story or by faith, am I going to say, okay, my story is worth sharing. I might get rejection.
00:29:07
Speaker
And let me tell you, i don't know about you, but I've gotten lots of hate mail. You know, because there are people that don't agree with what you say. And and I remember even at the beginning, you know I began to share my stories in the middle 80s, right? I think that's maybe around the time you might have heard my story.
00:29:26
Speaker
um I remember even well-known Bible teachers wrote me a letter and said, you shouldn't be sharing your story like that.
00:29:38
Speaker
And I'm thinking, why not? And now everybody shares their story, right? Actually, this lady that wrote me that letter, now she's sharing her childhood story, which 30 years later, I'm sort of saying, well, I remember that letter you wrote me. And so i I do think even in that Christianity has and the community of God has embraced that we all have a story and our all our stories are valuable and we need to hear each other's story. So there is more of an acceptance of it. But even in that, as adoptees, there's a lot of shame.
00:30:15
Speaker
And so once you start sharing it, you realize, yeah, but I thought people would think about me. They don't think that way about me. And more than more, they they are they are embracing your transparency and your vulnerability.
00:30:32
Speaker
Really, to be a true follower of Jesus, we have to continuously walk in our transparency and being vulnerable. because in that we allow the Holy Spirit to have the right.
00:30:50
Speaker
You know, the word of God says that we accept the Lord Jesus Christ into our life, but it is after the Holy Spirit comes within you that we find wisdom and knowledge and understanding and comfort and teaching. It's the Holy Spirit inside of us that teaches us in the way that we should go through the word of God. Of course, we can't have one without the other.
00:31:14
Speaker
but an But then once we sort of say, okay, I'm going to live in this transparency and I'm going to live in this vulnerability and I'm not going to listen to the lies of the enemy. And that's a really important thing. Because as soon as you do that, guess what?
00:31:30
Speaker
The lies just keep going. You know, the enemy, he knows all the tricks. So to recognize the lies, to say, these are lies, this is the truth. I'm going to walk in the truth. And the more we walk in it, the more healing that comes. So, I mean, the first thing I want to say to a listener is, have you taken that step of faith to say, Jesus, you are who you say you are?
00:31:58
Speaker
And I believe that you will do the things that you've told me you'll do. Second is, do I believe that I'm not an orphan and I'm not walking this journey alone?
00:32:10
Speaker
Because once we say yes to Jesus, we become a family with them. We become a family with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And the Bible also says where two or three are connected together, nothing can tear that apart.
00:32:26
Speaker
So I've realized that even if I get voices from the outside that says, why are you doing this? This is crazy. I have to tell you something a little bit. I'm writing my second book and we're sort of at the end of it.
00:32:40
Speaker
Three nights I've had panic attacks because really my second book is way more raw than my first book. Because my first book, I'm sharing the story of this little girl that went through hell right but second book is more my story today exposing my suicidal attempts exposing what i went through in my relationship with my husband because again when you get married as an adult day you bring that into your marriage uh exposing what i went through with my children
00:33:15
Speaker
That even in my pain, and even though I love my children with everything, my pain dictated how I parented sometimes. And i how I've had to go back to my children and apologize for the things that I did wrong. you know And then you know abuse that came to me from people that should have loved me.
00:33:39
Speaker
and how I had to go through that. What forgiveness looked like, what letting go looked like, what deliverance, you know, all that. So it's I'm throwing that out to the congregation or people now, and and the enemy is coming and saying, you don't want to do that. You know, people only see you a certain way, and you're telling them all the flaws that you had. But I have to. I have to walk in my vulnerability and my transparency because it's in our stories, and you know that through your own story, It's in through our stories that others get healed.
00:34:14
Speaker
That's right. And Stephanie, i I'm not sure. can we Can you tell the title of your upcoming book? Is that something you can share or not yet? can because I think it's going to be out there within a month or six weeks. I mean, for me to say that because I've been writing it for 10 years now and I wrote a manuscript, stuck it on the shelf. No, wrote another manuscript, stuck it on the shelf. I did it three times and now we're doing it for the fourth time. And I am using AI, which is helping a lot. And, you know, you can do that.
00:34:45
Speaker
And um and so literally we're ah we know that it's going to be out there at least within two to three months out there for the people.
00:34:56
Speaker
But it's it's a very vulnerable story. So vulnerable. So what's the title of your next book? oh Spirit of Mind.
00:35:06
Speaker
Spirit of Mine. yeah So Stephanie's first book is She of Mine and Spirit of Mine. And you can find Stephanie at stephaniefast.org. But I just want to end this episode by saying thank you so much, Stephanie, for your vulnerability.
00:35:27
Speaker
for being brave to walk in faith and do what you know that God was calling you to do and share your story no matter how comfortable you were. Because I can tell you that I was a life that my i believe with all my heart that my healing process was began when I heard your story for the first time. That was a pivotal part of my story and how the Holy Spirit started ministering to my heart. and not only did I hear you, I wrote you a letter right after i heard your story.
00:36:12
Speaker
And you wrote me back. You literally took time to write me back. And as you talked about, our first relationship should be with the Lord.
00:36:23
Speaker
But then once you accept Jesus into into your heart and you have relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, then that opens up relationship with one another, the body of Christ. And that's what happened. And even though we're not together often, we have a kindred spirit because of how God's used your story to minister so deeply in my life and allow myself and my co-author to write a book, Who's Am i about our identity and worth in Christ. And so i just want to say thank you for
00:36:59
Speaker
For Being Brave, I cannot wait to read your next book because all the things you talked about, I know, are going to minister to another layer of my life.
00:37:10
Speaker
And all the things that you had shared about your story, you know, from the missionary who found you, the missionary who I believe was the same missionary from Sweden who found me in the same garbage dump.
00:37:24
Speaker
That was the church. That was somebody in the church. So it's so important that the church is on board with missions in helping people fulfill what God's called you and I and others to do, because we just have no idea how many lives we're really touching for the glory of God. So thank you so much, Stephanie. And I hope all of you who are listening, or watching, we'll go out, look up Stephanie's book. She is mine. I can assure you it's an amazing God story and ah pre-order wherever the book's going to hurt. Your second book's going to come out and definitely look Stephanie up on stephaniefast.org. But thank you for joining us on Pause and Think and we look forward to seeing you again.
00:38:23
Speaker
Thanks for joining us for this episode of Pause and Think. For more resources and information, to whosami.org.