Pt 2: Alissa Brinkman + "The Socials"

[00:00:03] Welcome to the Ask About My Faith Podcast, where our hope is to inspire everyday faith conversations.

[00:00:09] I'm Jess.

[00:00:10] And I'm Abbey. Welcome back to our conversation with Alissa Brinkman. In part one, we heard about

[00:00:16] her journey from childhood struggles to discovering peace through young adults' ministry and

[00:00:22] how her family's commitment to financial stewardship became a way for them to share their faith.

[00:00:27] Now, in part two, we dive into the heart of Alissa's mission of radical generosity. She

[00:00:34] opens up about how she's brought the love of God into her neighborhood, whether it's

[00:00:40] by taking local kids to church, praying for neighbors in need, or responding with grace

[00:00:46] when the unexpected happens, like when a close friend faints walking into church. She also

[00:00:52] shares how her deep connections to the Filipino community and a powerful prayer for a neighbor's

[00:00:58] healing continue to shape her understanding of service and love. Alissa's story is a testament

[00:01:05] to how living out your faith with boldness and compassion can truly impact those around

[00:01:12] you. Let's jump back in and hear more about the ways Alissa is building community through

[00:01:17] faith and radical generosity.

[00:01:22] Well, Alissa, in part one to round out our time, you shared about how you got to go on Dave

[00:01:29] Ramsey and do the debt-free scream with your whole family, share your story of how you got

[00:01:35] to that place, which is so, so cool. And God was at the center of it. And you have a story

[00:01:42] then that came after that based on what probably was one of those dreams that you'd had, that one of

[00:01:51] those things that God had put on your heart. And I can't wait for you to share that story

[00:01:56] because it's just so cool.

[00:01:58] So cool. That's so cool what God did with it. Yeah. So back about like maybe 10 years

[00:02:04] ago, I had shared, you know, he had put things on our hearts and we were just working hard and we

[00:02:10] had put these pictures up on our refrigerator. And one of the pictures we put up was just like

[00:02:14] this little like simple car. It was probably like a little Honda something. Just to remind us that

[00:02:20] the Lord really, at some point in time, wants to direct us to help somebody with a vehicle.

[00:02:26] It's kind of what that picture represented. And so we just, you know, throughout the years,

[00:02:30] we were like, all right, Lord, when the time is coming, when it's the person, like just show us.

[00:02:35] And so, um, fast forward, let's see, probably almost eight years. Um, we were at our church

[00:02:43] and it was kind of fun because recently my husband was kind of starting to talk about like,

[00:02:48] Hey, what do you think about this person? Let's pray about this. And then we would pray

[00:02:53] and the Lord would say, not this person. So that was a really actually good, good learning

[00:02:59] lesson for us. Uh, cause it's not always a yes, even though it's a good thing. Um, and that's okay.

[00:03:05] So we went through a few people and we just felt like the Lord was like, Nope, not yet.

[00:03:09] And one day we were picking up our kids from our kids pastor at church and we were super

[00:03:14] late picking them up, which was like kind of normal at the time. Um, we had four, four kids

[00:03:19] and they're all so young and we, you know, get stopped up and talking to people at church, but

[00:03:23] we went down there and it was cool. It was actually just the pastor and our kids. And so I was like,

[00:03:28] you know, I don't know that I've ever asked you about your family. Like, can you tell me about yourself?

[00:03:34] Kind of where he came from. Um, just an awesome family that he has. And it kind of came up that

[00:03:42] his car was in like a really bad place. Like it might've had even zip ties holding it together.

[00:03:48] I don't know. It was, it was pretty bad. Um, and he just like, kind of just mentioned it.

[00:03:53] And I was like, ah, so interesting. And we were walking out of the kids room and I kind of like

[00:03:59] tapped Jordan on the chest and I was like, we need to pray about this. Like, I feel really like excited

[00:04:04] about this. So we went home, we prayed over it for a few days and we both just felt like this was who

[00:04:09] the Lord was going to bless with the vehicle. And so of course, like I'm a little bit more like,

[00:04:15] let's go. Um, so I was like, let's just do it like tomorrow. Like, I'm so excited that we finally

[00:04:21] like found the person and my husband's like, Nope, we just, we got to wait. We got to make sure things

[00:04:26] are right. Like there's a lot of moving pieces here. Um, thank you Lord for giving me a type, a husband.

[00:04:34] Um, and so we, um, we just started praying over it and the Lord was like, yes, but not now.

[00:04:40] And then we would pray about again and he would say yes, but not now. So I would say probably nine

[00:04:45] months went by of like, yes, but not now. It was really hard. It's almost like you have a Christmas

[00:04:51] gift for someone and you have to just wait forever to give it to them. And it's like, ah, so we see

[00:04:57] him at church every Sunday. The best Christmas gift. We would see him at church on Sunday and I

[00:05:03] would just be like, oh man, you're about to be so blessed and you don't even know it. It was just

[00:05:07] like so exciting. Um, and so we were kind of intentional with the times we did talk to him.

[00:05:14] So Jordan would kind of be like, Hey, if you could have any vehicle, which one would you pick?

[00:05:20] And why, um, what are things that you like about your car now and things you don't like? And he just

[00:05:26] kind of started asking him questions and getting an idea of what his taste was and what was important

[00:05:32] to him and not at all. Was he catching on? We were so stealthy you guys in like the best way.

[00:05:40] Um, it was really sweet because one of his biggest things was, so he takes the kids fishing in the

[00:05:46] summertime as like a ministry. Um, and so he wanted to have a vehicle that he could pull his fishing

[00:05:52] boat with so he could like keep doing that. And I'm like, okay, so cool. Um, and so fast forward,

[00:06:01] it's November and this would have been November of last year. And it was like, all of a sudden one

[00:06:07] Sunday, the Lord was like, yes now. And it was like, Whoa, okay. We're doing it. Like literally

[00:06:14] that day we made a GoFundMe and we had prayed like, Lord, how much money do you want us to like

[00:06:21] raise for this car? And he put a number on our heart. And the next day, um, Jordan was in his office

[00:06:28] at work and this coworker came in and he was like, Hey, I don't know. I just, I wanted to tell

[00:06:34] you this, but my wife wants to get rid of her vehicle and the trade in value for it is like

[00:06:40] this exact amount that we had just like the Lord told us. And he's like, and I just like, don't,

[00:06:47] excuse me. He's like, and I just don't know what to do. Uh, what do you think, Jordan? And Jordan's

[00:06:52] like, um, sorry guys, let me get a drink of water. And so, um, anyways, so this vehicle, this, this

[00:07:01] guy's asking Jordan for his opinion and Jordan's like, hang on, what car do you have? Turns out

[00:07:07] it's the exact car that the pastor wants. It's a car that can pull his fishing boat. Um, it was a car

[00:07:14] with an amazing, like, you know, last forever, all that stuff. And, um, Jordan was like, Hey,

[00:07:22] I'm going to pray with my wife about something, but I want to talk to you. And so we're praying

[00:07:26] about it and we're like, all right, let's just ask this guy. Let's just tell him what was on our heart

[00:07:31] at the time. This guy had just kind of started his walk with the Lord. So he's kind of just newer to

[00:07:37] the faith. And we're like, you know, let's just, let's just share. So the next day Jordan shared with

[00:07:42] him, um, kind of what the Lord had put on our heart with it, with the pastor. And he was like,

[00:07:48] I've never done this before. And I don't know why I'm doing this, but you guys can just give us

[00:07:52] whatever you want for the car because we just like, want to be part of this. And we're like,

[00:07:57] what? No way. Wow. And I was like, I think that pastor is going to get this vehicle by Christmas.

[00:08:06] Like, this is really exciting. Um, and so the Lord just like really blessed everybody involved.

[00:08:12] And this awesome guy that wanted to just like pretty much give his vehicle away was just like

[00:08:17] so confused as to why he felt led to do it. But it was really cool to see how the Lord just like

[00:08:23] really strengthened his faith through it. And, um, oh, it was, it was amazing. And so we ended up

[00:08:30] getting this vehicle and we had enough money left over to get new tires. And we got him like just

[00:08:37] everything ready to go, like just how he wanted it. And so we, um, called his family and we were like,

[00:08:45] Hey, just so you know, well, let me say too, I want to back up because this is really, really important.

[00:08:51] Um, when we were raising money, when we made the GoFundMe page, sorry, I got excited about the car

[00:08:57] when we found it. Um, the really huge piece here is we felt like the Lord said, Hey, this is how much

[00:09:04] I want you to give, but I need my children to give the rest. And he said, I need to grow

[00:09:11] their muscles in giving and I need you to ask them to give. And I need you to ask them to pray about it.

[00:09:17] And so we just did that. We gave the money, the amount that we felt like the Lord told us to give.

[00:09:23] And we just started opening up and letting people know like, Hey, pray about this and just do what

[00:09:31] you feel obedient to do. And, uh, it was really cool. So actually 17 families gave to get this vehicle

[00:09:40] for our pastor. And, um, it was a pretty awesome story that one gal she gave and she didn't even

[00:09:49] know the pastor or anything, but she's like, I just want to give something. I want to be part of

[00:09:52] this. This just feels like really exciting. And so she gave us a little bit and she let us know the

[00:09:59] next week that her job that she'd been waiting for four months for a raise, she ended up getting a

[00:10:05] raise that week. And she was like, I want to do that again. That was so cool. And there was another

[00:10:12] story of a guy that had given, and he actually doesn't even live in the state, doesn't know

[00:10:17] the pastor. He was just like, I feel led to give to this. Um, he did it and his business completely

[00:10:24] exploded from being like nothing, um, in a month. And it was just like, so cool. There were so many fun

[00:10:31] testimonies, how God just really blessed his children. Like he said, he was going to do.

[00:10:37] And so we let, um, the pastor's family know what we were doing and they were so touched and they were

[00:10:43] so excited. We were like, Hey, can you guys come be part of this? And so we ended up being able to

[00:10:48] give it to him on Christmas and he had no idea. He was so shocked. We have an awesome video of it.

[00:10:57] Um, and he was so blessed. And what I think I loved most about it was when we gave him the car,

[00:11:06] he received it. And I feel like when in the Midwest, you know, you give people things,

[00:11:12] Oh no, you don't need to do that. Like that's too much. No, no, no. Um, I think that's so much more

[00:11:18] normal. And I just love that my kids got to witness, um, a servant of God just receive a

[00:11:26] blessing from his church and just with like such a joyful heart. And, um, man, it was like,

[00:11:33] yeah, the funnest thing ever. And I was like, let's do it again.

[00:11:37] That's so cool. I, it's amazing how many people, right. Basically you guys were obedient and you

[00:11:45] were just loving on people and encouraging people to be obedient as well. And so many people were

[00:11:51] touched so many people's faith increased and you know, your kids got to see this amazing example.

[00:11:57] I love that your, was it your husband's coworker whose vehicle it originally was like how they were

[00:12:03] just like, we've never experienced this before. And we don't, we don't understand why we're doing

[00:12:07] what we're doing, but we just feel like it's the right thing to do. Um, that's so fun. I feel like

[00:12:12] we can't downplay the importance of sharing our faith with other people who are already believers,

[00:12:20] whether they're strong believers or not, that matters too.

[00:12:23] Yeah, hugely, hugely. It's so fun. So fun to see people, um, just their excitement grow and their

[00:12:30] faith grow too. Like you said, even if they're baby Christians, however you'd want to label that,

[00:12:34] it's just so fun to be able to love each other in that way too.

[00:12:37] Now, um, sharing your faith with your neighbors is a big thing that you had mentioned in the first

[00:12:44] part of our conversation. And, um, you probably have a couple of stories from that. What is,

[00:12:50] what does that look like? How does that normally go down? Of course, you said some of the kids,

[00:12:56] um, come to church with you guys, but you, you have a normal sized vehicle and four kids is probably

[00:13:03] pretty full. Do families end up coming to church as well?

[00:13:07] Yeah. So it's kind of, um, kind of like put the hook out there and just kind of reel them in. I'm

[00:13:13] just kidding. Um, so my kids will go invite people, invite their friends. Um, and that's exactly what

[00:13:19] happens, Jess, is it's like, Hey, like we can take two kids, but we can't take all of your kids.

[00:13:25] Here's the address. If you want, you could just follow us. And so we've actually had this dad,

[00:13:30] um, across the street in the cul-de-sac, he will bring his other kids with and his pickup truck.

[00:13:36] He'll follow right behind us and bring them to church. And, um, we did this for, I don't know,

[00:13:42] maybe it was three years. We've done that. Um, just off and on when it works out for them to come.

[00:13:46] And, uh, one of the times he ended up coming into the building and signing up, um, as like a visitor.

[00:13:54] And we, you know, we're like, Oh my goodness, this is so cool. Like, I'm so glad that you're

[00:13:58] plugging in and he's like, you know, I'm feeling really lonely and I think I need a part of a

[00:14:04] church now. And I was like, well, look at that. I love it. Your kids are already like grounded here.

[00:14:10] They love it here. And that's huge. Now dad's coming. Yes. Wow. That's amazing. Yes. Have you,

[00:14:18] you've had a chance to like build relationship with him a little bit? For sure. Yeah. He's opened up a lot.

[00:14:23] He's, um, he's that military guy. So he can be a little bit, um, uh, he'd be hard, challenging to

[00:14:31] talk to sometimes. Um, my kids are kind of scared of him. He's super great though. He's, he's a good

[00:14:38] dad. And, um, you can tell that he's probably walked through some hard things, but, um, it's

[00:14:43] been great to be able to love on him. Um, and you know, when we feel led by the Holy spirit,

[00:14:49] we'll maybe just drop off a meal and just tell them like, we're so happy that they're our neighbors.

[00:14:54] And we just try to be obedient in that. Um, cause I think that really just builds on the whole being

[00:14:59] Jesus, right? It's not like beating you over the head with the Bible, right? That's sweet. We learned

[00:15:05] our lesson there. Um, we're just loving on people and we are accepting them. And, um, I just, it's the

[00:15:13] kids are like the way to get in the heart. I think for a lot of these parents, you know,

[00:15:18] get my kids involved. I like that secret. Nice. Do you find yourself bringing meals, uh, to your

[00:15:24] neighbors often and trying to start relationships or like conversations that way? We actually started

[00:15:29] doing that during COVID as just a way to stay connected with our neighbors, um, just to love

[00:15:34] on them. Um, you know, everyone kind of stopped doing what they were doing. I mean, everyone was a

[00:15:39] little lost and unsure and we just kind of felt like, um, we just wanted to be a presence in people's

[00:15:46] life and just know that we were there. Um, we always had a smile on our face when we went to

[00:15:50] go talk to them. Um, we just kind of wanted to dispel any, you know, there was just a lot of fear

[00:15:55] at that time. And, you know, you're like, do I talk to my neighbors? Am I, am I going to be okay?

[00:16:00] There's just a lot of stuff going around. So, um, it was really cool. I feel like it ended up making

[00:16:05] our entire street just very, um, open to each other. And we were able to just have conversations

[00:16:11] that we probably otherwise would have never had. And so, um, I would say since then, we still do

[00:16:17] the meal thing, not as often only because we're not in a pandemic, but, um, it's fun to be able to

[00:16:24] say, um, Hey Lord, like how can we love on these people in this season? Um, and that's just been a

[00:16:33] big piece of why we are where we are. We're in our neighborhood. We feel like the Lord's told us that

[00:16:39] this is our ministry and we just want to make sure our kids can witness what that looks like to be

[00:16:45] a ministry. Um, even though you're not overseas, right? You're not being called into the mission

[00:16:51] fields per se, like we sometimes think it should look like, um, but it's on our streets.

[00:16:56] Yes. That's so important. It's a great mission field. Um, okay. I know you have a story about a neighbor

[00:17:02] where it didn't go so well. Um, and I appreciate your vulnerability in that, but it has a great

[00:17:11] ending, but I'd love for you to tell the story of your, um, angry neighbor.

[00:17:16] Love to. Um, she, she is really so sweet. So, um, so it was kind of an interesting experience. So,

[00:17:26] um, the kids were actually gone. I think my mom must've had them or something. Cause I was in the

[00:17:32] shower and I just felt like all of a sudden the Holy spirit really pressed on my heart to start

[00:17:36] praying over this neighbor. I know so weird, right? Um, so I'm just like showering and praying for my

[00:17:43] neighbor. Um, I get out of the shower, I'm like halfway dressed and I hear this knock at my door

[00:17:49] and you know, like that's kind of like the worst thing ever, right? Like someone's like coming over

[00:17:55] unannounced and you're not dressed. Like, so I quickly like get my clothes on, I run out

[00:18:01] and have no idea what to expect. And it turns out it's the neighbor that I was just praying for

[00:18:06] is standing on my front door and she is very angry. And so, um, what was really cool is I just feel

[00:18:16] like the Lord prepared my heart for that moment. And so I was able to kind of receive her in a non,

[00:18:22] uh, guarded way, which is probably what she was expecting from me. Um, which is maybe what she

[00:18:28] wanted. I think she kind of needed to just kind of let some stuff out. Um, but she kind of just

[00:18:34] started unloading on me, like all the things that she just really doesn't appreciate about my family

[00:18:39] and you know, whatever. And I'm like, okay, I just asked the questions that I felt like the Holy

[00:18:45] spirit was prompting me to ask. Like, I'm sorry that that felt that way for you. Like, do you know

[00:18:50] when that started? And, you know, just, I think sometimes when people are angry, um, they just

[00:18:57] need to hear themselves talk because they're not going to always receive what you have to say.

[00:19:04] Um, whatever I was going to say in that moment wasn't going to be wrong. So I just asked her

[00:19:09] lots of questions. Um, and I think eventually she kind of lowered her guard a little bit, felt a little

[00:19:14] bit more safe. Um, and she actually just started crying, um, and opening up about how just some hard

[00:19:22] stuff that was going on with her family at the time. Um, and then she ended up apologizing to me

[00:19:28] for how she acted for everything that she said. Um, it was just really, it was cool. Cause I'm like,

[00:19:34] okay, God, this you're so good. Um, it was beautiful. And so I ended up just asking her like

[00:19:41] about her relationship with the Lord. And if she knows that Jesus loves her and that he's walked

[00:19:46] through hard things and he knows what that's like. Um, and so she ended up going home with, um,

[00:19:53] encouragement. And then she texted my husband and I, I don't know if it was a day or two days later

[00:19:59] that she's been reading in her Bible for the first time. And she wanted to know the times of

[00:20:04] our church services. What a unexpected ending. I think it speaks to, you know, the importance of

[00:20:11] us not being defensive. Yes. Again, I feel like this was a theme not that long ago with another

[00:20:16] guest that it's like, if we're defensive and, you know, getting upset at other people's being upset

[00:20:25] about us or other Christians, it's like, it just doesn't do any good. It only makes things worse.

[00:20:31] And here you were able to just care for her. Yeah. Listen, hear her. Yeah. And she was totally

[00:20:38] disarmed. Yeah. How cool. It was awesome. Now we can wave and smile at each other

[00:20:43] from across the street and genuinely mean it.

[00:20:51] Now, Alyssa, I don't know if you shared a plan that shared what, um, I don't know if you planned

[00:20:56] to share this story. So let me know if it's a no-go, but, um, I remember you sharing with me about

[00:21:02] a neighbor who, um, I think you'd been praying for them for a long time. They finally came to church

[00:21:07] and then there was like a situation where they had to leave and couldn't even like attend the

[00:21:13] service that they were intending to be at. And that kind of was the start of a whole other like,

[00:21:21] okay, now we pray again and hope they can come back. Right. I mean, what, I don't, I don't know

[00:21:25] what led up to that or any of it. If you're up for it, would you share that story?

[00:21:29] Sure. It's like one of my favorite stories. This is, um, so there was a couple that lived kitty

[00:21:35] corner to us. Um, they're, they're our age. Um, they were boyfriend and girlfriend. They had been

[00:21:39] together for a couple of years and we just kind of started inviting them over for bonfires. And, um,

[00:21:46] the lady was a teacher, like a first grade teacher. So she just got along really well with my

[00:21:51] kids. And we just kind of slowly started building a relationship with them. Um, their background

[00:21:57] with religion and Christianity and things like that was a little, um, interesting and colorful.

[00:22:03] So we were very careful to just, um, love on them. Um, we wanted to just be obedient with when,

[00:22:11] when, and if we felt led to share with them. Um, and so we just really felt like, Hey,

[00:22:18] we're going to just invite them to church. Like, this is what we feel led to do with these people.

[00:22:22] And so, Oh man, it was probably three. Uh, nope. It was four years where we were like, Hey,

[00:22:29] we would just love to have you guys. Like whenever you want to come, like we have a spot for you.

[00:22:35] And, um, eventually I, we must've warmed down. We became really close. We were really good friends

[00:22:41] and they came, they wanted to come. And so we were so excited. We were like, you know,

[00:22:47] we were just praying over this and we told kind of like our pastors to be praying over it. And it

[00:22:52] was just going to be this like really cool thing. And on the way to church, she texted me there on

[00:22:58] their way. And I'm like, it's happening. Like, this is so cool. Um, they get out of their car,

[00:23:03] they start walking into the service and she faints like full blown goes unconscious. Um,

[00:23:11] she was pregnant in the door. Like she was just under the pavilion to like,

[00:23:17] you know, walk under to go to the doors. Um, just totally like passed out. She was, I think

[00:23:23] maybe like 12 weeks pregnant at the time too. And so we had several nurses, um, at the church

[00:23:29] that attend our church that were able to come and kind of help out until the ambulance got there.

[00:23:34] Um, but it was a little chaotic of course, with just, um, not understanding what was happening.

[00:23:40] Um, but they got her into the ambulance, they took her away and I was like pretty disappointed.

[00:23:47] You know, I, obviously I was really sad that she was going through like this medical thing.

[00:23:51] She ended up being totally fine. Um, but I was kind of like, Oh man, Lord, like we prayed over this

[00:23:57] and we just felt like this was going to happen. And, um, I was talking to some of the nurses that,

[00:24:03] that were helping her during that moment, a couple of them. And they just kind of spoke to,

[00:24:09] um, one of them said, I've never experienced spiritual warfare before, um, to that extent,

[00:24:16] like in my life. And they just said that they were praying over her and, um, lo and behold.

[00:24:24] So she had kind of gotten into like some new agey stuff and different things that were just

[00:24:31] definitely like not of God. And, um, yeah, there was just like this really big attack on

[00:24:37] keeping her out of that church. And so we just felt like we're going to keep praying for it.

[00:24:42] We were praying for just redemption and that she wouldn't be too traumatized to just like come back.

[00:24:50] Um, again, you know, we did the meal thing. We just loved on them. And, um, she came back,

[00:24:56] they, they came back one time and the time they came back was actually when we had a guest speaker

[00:25:01] come who specialized in like the gospel, like pretty much just bringing like masses to, to Jesus. Right.

[00:25:09] And so they made it in the doors. I was like, great. Okay. We made it to our seats and, um,

[00:25:17] yeah, they ended up both giving their lives to Jesus for the first time.

[00:25:22] And we were like just celebrating and they ended up dedicating their baby at the church.

[00:25:28] And, um, yeah, it just totally changed their life.

[00:25:31] So cool. You're talking about them as though they don't live near you anymore. Do you happen

[00:25:36] to keep in touch or know any more of their journey after they moved away?

[00:25:39] They moved away only about a half an hour away, um, about a year ago. And so the husband actually

[00:25:45] works at the same company that Jordan works at. So we are able to stay in touch with them,

[00:25:49] which is awesome. They found a church and they're going to a church out, um, where they live now.

[00:25:54] I love that too, that just like loving on them, investing a lot of time, four years, you said,

[00:26:02] and, and it, and it changed their life. It changed their family, their kids. Like,

[00:26:07] wow, what a difference building relationship, bringing meals, having bonfires and inviting

[00:26:14] them to church. That's so, it's so beautiful. So encouraging and honestly, so simple.

[00:26:20] Yeah. So simple. Right. And it's just, just meeting people like where they're at and just

[00:26:25] loving on them. You know, I just love that. I think that just reflects Jesus's heart.

[00:26:30] There's so much joy to be found in that. Um, yeah.

[00:26:34] That's definitely a theme, right? That love, just loving people.

[00:26:38] Yeah. Um, and you actually have one more story I'd love for you to share. Um, and that is just

[00:26:43] with another neighbor who doesn't even speak the same language as you. I think that's a barrier

[00:26:48] that most of us would be like, well, too bad. I like, sorry. Like, I mean, I'll try God, but,

[00:26:54] but you loved on this person. Tell us about that.

[00:26:57] Yes. Okay. Our sweet neighbor, we call her mama because that's what she calls herself to my kids.

[00:27:03] So they're Filipino and, um, this sweet little grandma, she, oh man, she's probably in her

[00:27:11] seventies. She's does not speak any English at all. Um, I think she can maybe say like, hi,

[00:27:16] but that's like the extent of it. Um, so she is just the sweetest thing and she's so little

[00:27:22] and she's always outside just like working in the yard. She, and she just has the biggest smile

[00:27:26] on her face all the time. Um, but over the years, I mean, we've lived here for, um, like,

[00:27:33] oh man, I think coming on nine years and every day she has some kind of interaction with my kids.

[00:27:38] She just loves on them. Um, and it's funny cause they'll come home from like being with her.

[00:27:44] And I'm like, what did you guys do? Like, you don't even speak the same language. Like,

[00:27:49] what did that look like? And they're just like, mama just loves us so much. They just know that

[00:27:54] she loves them and she makes them food. She has a fire outside and she makes like fish and rice

[00:28:00] and they like eat it with their hands. And my kids just think that's amazing. Okay. And it's so cool

[00:28:06] that they could experience that, right? Like a different culture. Um, but there was a day where

[00:28:11] mama and we just, we love our mama. Um, the Filipino community is very tight knit. And so they have

[00:28:18] these gatherings like pretty frequently, um, of all these Filipino people in the area, they get

[00:28:24] together and they just have several hours of community together. Um, and it was, it was so

[00:28:31] funny cause several years ago we started getting invited to these Filipino gatherings and we were

[00:28:36] like, wow, like we definitely just don't fit in. If you were to be an outsider looking in and be

[00:28:43] like, wow, like the Brinkman family's here. Like what's going on? Like, this is just unique, right?

[00:28:48] They don't speak their language or anything. Um, but it's just, we felt like the Lord just wanted us

[00:28:54] to really prioritize, um, their way of connecting with us, which was inviting us in to their family stuff.

[00:29:03] And so, um, we just year after year, all the birthday parties, we would just go and they just

[00:29:10] thought it was the most special thing ever. They call us the socials. So fun. I don't know what that

[00:29:16] something in Filipino, the socials are here, the socials. Um, anyway, so we've just been able to

[00:29:23] really bridge with just our friendship and our love for each other in that way. Um, but one day

[00:29:29] mama got really sick and her, it was her leg actually. It was like super swollen. She couldn't

[00:29:37] walk. She was in a lot of pain. Um, and the kids came over and they're like, something's wrong with

[00:29:43] mama. And we're like, oh no, not mama. We love our mama. And so we, we, uh, went over next door and I

[00:29:49] found out that she just had, um, some pretty big medical stuff going on. Um, she didn't have any

[00:29:56] medical insurance, so she wasn't going to go to the doctor and she was really scared. And she was sitting

[00:30:02] on a chair in the front yard and I was like, you know, I just feel like I'm going to do what I can

[00:30:09] do, uh, with just the thing, the tools that I have and the knowledge that I have with this.

[00:30:14] So I asked her, well, I asked her not necessarily with words, but with my actions, like, Hey, can I

[00:30:20] help you? Um, and she just like, you know, gave me a smile and a thumbs up. And I ran over to my house.

[00:30:25] I grabbed all my supplies, everything that I thought could help her. I went over there and I was like,

[00:30:31] I'm just going to like rub this on your leg. I don't know how to explain this to you, but like,

[00:30:36] I think it's going to help your leg. And she just rolls her pants up and she lets me do my thing.

[00:30:41] And I was like, mama, can I just pray over you? And she was like, you know, she just smiles and

[00:30:48] nods pretty much whenever I talk. So I'm, I'm like, I'm going to take that as a yes.

[00:30:52] And so we're just praying over mama that mama would get healed. And it was just such a,

[00:30:59] such a cool thing. So she did recover after a few days. Um, and then mama came to church with us.

[00:31:06] We actually brought her with us and it was like the sweetest thing ever because during the worship

[00:31:13] service, like this woman does not speak any English. She may have never been in like a,

[00:31:18] like a American church before. And she's in the front row with her hands up and she's singing.

[00:31:25] And she's just like, just, it was the coolest thing ever. And I was like, all of this has happened

[00:31:31] and we have not been able to communicate with like language at all. And it was just such a cool,

[00:31:38] uh, testimony. Um, for my kids to just witness like, Hey, we actually don't have to always use

[00:31:46] our words to love people. We can just love them by showing up. We can love them by serving them.

[00:31:52] Um, and just loving them. So yeah, that's our story with our neighbor that does not speak English.

[00:31:59] So fun. So fun, man. Wow. I hate that we have to wrap up right now. Um, it's been so fun to hear

[00:32:07] your stories, but I know you also have, um, another, um, piece of encouragement to share with our

[00:32:13] listeners that I think is so, so good. And, um, what people need to hear. Would you share that with

[00:32:19] us to close out our time? Yeah. I would just say, um, to just encourage anybody. Um, I know for me,

[00:32:27] pretty much most of my life, I think I thought I had a really boring testimony and I didn't really

[00:32:33] think that people needed to hear anything, um, that God was doing in my life. Um, and that was just a lie.

[00:32:40] And I just, I feel like the Lord just like wants to encourage us to share our testimony because

[00:32:48] there's so much power in it. Just think about how no one can take your testimony from you.

[00:32:53] It's your testimony and it's what God does in your life. And there's just such a beautiful power

[00:32:58] in that. And I will just say Luke 21, 13 through 15 is an amazing Bible verse. I think that just

[00:33:06] reflects that. Um, it says, but this will be your opportunity to tell them about me. So don't worry

[00:33:11] in advance about how to answer the charges against you for, I will give you the right words and such

[00:33:16] wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply or refute you. And I just love that because

[00:33:22] it's like, he's going to prepare us. He's going to equip us. He's going to meet us and we just get

[00:33:27] to be obedient. And, um, I just, I love that. So I hope that encourages someone out there, um, to just

[00:33:34] get excited about sharing their testimony. Definitely. That encourages me. I know I need

[00:33:38] to hear that, uh, often that no, my, my story is, is good. It's one that I've been given for a reason

[00:33:46] and I can share it and I don't have to be afraid of any responses or questions.

[00:33:53] Thank you for listening to the Ask But My Faith podcast. We'd love your support in continuing to

[00:33:58] bring you encouraging and inspiring stories. Please subscribe, rate, interview wherever you're

[00:34:03] listening, and you can learn more about us and donate at askbutmyfaith.com. God bless you this

[00:34:09] week as you go out and share your faith.