(dynamic music)
- This week on Christian WorldNews, picking up the pieces
of broken lives and shattered homes,
see how the church is rising up
to help victims of Hurricane Florence.
Plus, as American Christians speak out
for imprisoned pastor Andrew Brunson,
Turkey's president continuesto hold him hostage,
all the while taking hiscountry down a radical path.
And you saw him survivea Japanese prison camp
in the hit movie,Unbroken, but there's more
to Louis Zamperini's story,and it will inspire your faith.
(dynamic music)
Hello, everyone, welcometo this week's edition
of Christian WorldNews, I'm George Thomas.
The Carolinas, while theywill be months recovering
from Hurricane Florence,the storm lingered
over North Carolina for two to three days
dropping more than 30 inchesof rain in some places.
Rising rivers caused massive flooding,
forcing thousands from their homes.
Many had to be rescuedby boat or helicopter.
More than 30 people died in the storm.
And the damage is estimated
in the 10s of billions of dollars.
Now, as you can expect,it begins the long process
of cleaning up and rebuilding lives.
Joining us now to talk more about this
is Anthony Lloyd, directorof US Disaster Relief
for CBN's Operation Blessing.
Tell us about the level ofdisaster you are seeing,
the level of devastation,compared to perhaps past storms.
- Well obviously I've seenimpacts down in Newbern,
and we've gotten reports fromour team down in Lumberton,
where they're re-flooding today.
So it's really impactingheavily in those areas.
And there's other areas, obviously,
in eastern North Carolina
that continue to get flooding,even into South Carolina.
So comparatively, of course,
it's certainly at a level thatmaybe even rivals Matthew,
which hit here two years ago.
And the good thing is we'rein close with our teams
in those two locations right now.
- Talk about the victims.
Tell us how they're doing in all of this.
- Well when we first encountered folks,
obviously they were really in need.
We were able to providecommodity drops in locations.
In both of those locations wewere able to minister to 'em,
give 'em some initial hygiene kits
and food and water and such,
but it was obvious they'dbeen hit pretty hard.
- What is Operation Blessingdoing to help the folks there?
- Well we're definitely working hard now
in both Newbern and Lumberton.
First, we've really, ourfirst thing we like to do
is set up hot meals.
We've got that going in both locations.
And that's primarily what'sgoing on in Lumberton,
because there's just areasthat are still flooding.
They're re-flooding,
and there's even search and rescue cases
that are kind of taking place now.
So we got hot meals goingon in both those locations.
We've started our volunteer operations.
And we continue toprovide commodity drops.
Those are getting timed,based upon the need
as it reveals itself tous in those two locations.
- Yeah, it's been overa week now, Anthony,
talk about the greatestneeds that folks are facing
and are dealing with.
- Well it's still just the basic needs.
Many individuals, certainly in Lumberton,
they can't get back.
They're still evacuated.
They can't get back to their house.
And so a lot of times the hygiene kits
are really what they'relooking forward to first,
and the food and the water obviously.
So Lumberton really needs theprayers of all of our viewers
because it's a continuedchallenge down there in Newbern.
We're getting access to houses,
and we're starting to getout into the community
to help clean out.
We cleaned out somebody's house yesterday,
an elderly couple, they justneeded their furniture out.
So we were really startingto able to have an impact
and minister to them withour sleeves rolled up.
- Yeah, absolutely.
Operation Blessing, you guys not just meet
the physical needs of folksin the middle of a disaster,
but you also give spiritualcomfort to victims.
Tell us about that.
- Well that's an important aspect,
because we can help lift their spirits
just by putting our armaround 'em, praying for them,
letting them know that God has people
to do things when bad things happen.
And so we, that's what motivates us,
is being able to lift the spirits,
to see somebody really respond to somebody
that actually cares for them.
So we focus on that.
And it's a blessing to us as well,
because many times these individuals,
they just feel like nobody'sbeen able to get to 'em.
And so all of us involved in it,
when you can put your armaround 'em, pray with 'em,
let 'em know God loves 'embecause we're there to help
it's a huge lift to 'em.
- Sure, folks who are watching here
in the United States and around the world,
what can they do to help you guys?
- Well we have a website,
www.ob.org that they can go to.
They certainly can continue to watch
all of the programming you provide.
You provide updates.
And they can pray for us.
And any support theyprovide, we use directly
to those that are impacted.
And it's just a wonderfulopportunity to do that.
- Yeah, just the last fewseconds here, how long, Anthony,
do you think this recoveryprocess will take?
- Well it's hard to say.
It always depends onthe impact of the storm,
but the reality is it's still,because of the flooding,
impacting, so it's gonna bemonths and months of work.
- Okay, Anthony Lloyd doing great work
on behalf of CBN's Operation Blessing.
To all of your team out there,we continue to pray for them.
And thanks for all you do for those folks
in North Carolina.
- Certainly.
Thank you.- Okay, thank you.
Okay, we're going from onedisaster in the United States
halfway around the worldin the Philippines,
a super typhoon struck the Philippines
killing 74 people.
At least 40 are still missing.
Thousands are homeless.
CBN Disaster Relief teams are there also.
They were among the firstto provide much-needed help
and comfort for the typhoon victims.
My colleague, LucilleTalusan, has the story.
(speaks in foreign language)
- [Lucille] Jackilou Basawil is grieving
over the death of her brother.
A landslide killed himafter Super Typhoon Mangkhut
struck their village.
- [Translator] This is so terrible.
My brother was asleep whenthe mountain suddenly caved in
destroying our house.
- Jackilou's brother andaunt are among the 74 killed
in the typhoon.
In a nearby village,rescuers search for survivors
and the bodies of those still missing.
In this very tragic time, CBNDisaster Relief team is here,
not only to give material help
to the grieving and suffering families,
but also hope, comfort, and God's love.
The villagers here are thankful.
CBN brought them rice,noodles, milk, and other items.
It was also a great opportunityto share the good news
of salvation to survivorsand pray for them.
- [Translator] My grandmothersaid she was so delighted,
that you had to travelvery far to visit us.
Thank you so much.
Our sadness was alleviatedwhen you prayed for us.
You reminded us that with God's help,
we shall overcome this trial.
- [Lucille] Lucille Talusan,CBN News, Benguet, Philippines.
- [George] Thank you, Lucille.
Coming up, the Americanpastor held prisoner in Turkey
and how that country'spresident is taking his nation
down a dark and very dangerous road.
(energetic music)
- God Almighty is a God of blessing.
He always wants to bless His people.
But how do you get that blessing,
and what principleswill unlock that secret?
- [Narrator] In Miraculous Blessings,
Pat Robertson shows youhow to open the floodgates
of God's awesome blessings in your life.
- In order to have a blessing,you've gotta be blessable.
- [Narrator] Discoverwhat the Bible has to say
about God's covenant ofblessing, the laws of blessing,
and what are the hindrancesto the blessings of God?
- The words of Jesus, they are as valid
as the law of gravity, andif we follow those laws,
we will be blessed.
- [Narrator] You'll seeamazing true stories
of everyday peoplewhose lives were rescued
and transformed by God'smiraculous blessings.
- But even the doctors acknowledge
that this had to be a miracle.
- [Narrator] Call1-800-700-7000, or visit CBN.COM
to become a CBN partner andget Miraculous Blessings today.
- Hello, I'm Terry Meeuwsen.
Did you know there are morethan 148 million orphans
in the world today?
148 million, but it was three little girls
that taught me aboutthe plight of orphans.
My husband and I spentnearly a month immersed
in the daily activitiesof a Ukrainian orphanage
as we waited to adopt three sisters.
I saw firsthand the utter loneliness,
the pain of rejection,
and the overwhelming desire to be loved.
That experience changed me forever.
And out of it grew aministry from my heart
called Orphan's Promise.
Today we're helping orphansand vulnerable children
in more than 50 countries worldwide.
Thousands of childrenare now in safe homes.
They're being educated, andthey're learning life skills.
I'm asking you to joining with me
and become family to these children.
Will you call the numberon your screen right now?
Because every child deservesa chance to be happy.
- And welcome back toChristian World News.
US religious leaders here in the US
are urging companies notto do business with Turkey
as long as Americanpastor, Andrew Brunson,
remains in prison.
Turkish and Americanbusiness leaders will meet
for an investment conference next week.
Turkish president is expected to attend,
but faith leaders say he cannot be trusted
so long as Brunson is in prison.
The US Commission on International Freedom
has written a letter to President Trump
expressing concern about the conference.
American evangelist, Franklin Graham,
told CBN News that Turkey isno longer a friend to America.
- First, I would ask everybodywho's watching right now,
the Christians, to prayfor Andrew Brunson.
He's been falsely accused.
And this is just a sham.
He needs to come home.
He hasn't done anything wrong.
But Turkey, we have toremember that this is a country
that is fast becoming aradical Islamic state.
- Pastor Brunson facesanother court hearing
on October 12th, and officials
are hopeful he'll bereleased at that time.
Some say Brunson's imprisonmentis just one more example
of Turkish President'sErdogan's growing antagonism
towards the West.
As my colleague Dale Hurd reports,
many believe he wants to revive the glory
of the Ottoman Empire to Turkey.
- The man who fashionshimself as the new sultan
of a revived OttomanEmpire has big dreams.
And one of them could wellbe to build an Islamic army
against the State of Israel.
A Turkish newspaper closely allied
with President Recep TayyipErdogan and his ruling party,
published an article in December
entitled A Call for Urgent Action.
The Middle East Media Research Institute
reports it's the brainchild
of one of Erdogan's closest advisors.
It looks like a blueprint foran Islamic military action
against Israel.
It calls on the 57 Muslim nations
of the Organization ofIslamic Cooperation, or OIC,
to launch a joint militaryoperation against Israel.
Such an army would be mammoth.
The OIC nations together make up
more than a billion and a half people.
The plan calls for stagingareas near Israel's border
from which an initialforce of 250,000 soldiers
would attack Israel.
But is it a real threat?
Former Turkish parliamentmember, Aykan Erdemir,
told us he's skeptical.
- I would say this piece has more to do
with domestic politicsthan with foreign policy.
Erdogan is a very complex politician,
and when it comes to Israel,he compartmentalizes.
On the one hand, Israel isoften at the top of his targets.
At the same time, Erdogan also manages
to continue bilateral relationsof trade and cooperation.
- [Dale] After the Trump administration's
official recognition of Jerusalemas the capital of Israel,
Erdogan turned up theanti-Israel rhetoric,
calling Israel a state ofoccupation and terrorism.
He's also turned on an oldNATO ally, the United States,
especially over US support for the Kurds,
warning the Americans couldget "the Ottoman slap."
- Erdogan continues tomake threats against US,
accusing US to be kind of the mastermind
of a global conspiracy
alongside Jews to undermine Turkey.
- [Dale] Turkey continues
to hold American missionarypastor, Andrew Brunson,
on charges he was a mastermind
in the 2016 coup attempt,
a claim the AmericanCenter for Law and Justice,
which is assisting Brunson,has branded ridiculous.
Erdemir agrees.
- We argue that Pastor Brunsonis basically a hostage,
and Erdogan uses him as a pawn.
- Erdogan's anti-US andanti-Israel campaigns have worked.
Most Turkish citizens now believe the US
is the number-one threat to Turkey,
just as an overwhelmingmajority are anti-Semitic
and anti-Israel.
Whether the plan for a Muslimarmy to move against Israel
is a serious threat or not,the fact there are voices
calling for such action is alarming.
The fact that it comes frompersons close to Erdogan,
even more alarming.
And those voices in the Islamic world
are not likely to go away.
Dale Hurd, CBN News.
(dynamic music)
- [George] Coming up, yousaw his physical strength
and courage in the movie, Unbroken.
Now see how faith savedLouis Zamperini's soul.
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(upbeat music)
At CBN.COM, we're takingwhat Jesus said seriously.
(upbeat music)
We're here to help you discover life.
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CBN.COM
(upbeat music)
- We had four jobs that didn't go right.
But we didn't waver in our faith.
- That's when God put on my heart
that we needed to do the well.
- [Man Voiceover] Within a couple of days,
we got an insurance refund check
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- And here we are, this yearit's just booming (laughing).
- You go out and help other people,
and you get rewarded for it.
- [Narrator] Get PatRobertson's latest teaching,
Miraculous Blessings.
- Welcome back to Christian World News.
Louis Zamperini enduredunspeakable horrors
as a prisoner of war in Japan.
That story is told inthe 2014 film, Unbroken,
which ends with his emotional homecoming.
Now comes the rest of his story.
A new film in theatersnow explores his struggle
to overcome that terrible experience
and the faith that finally saved him.
Efrem Graham has this first look
at Unbroken: Path to Redemption.
- If you're gonna train forLondon, you have to do it right.
Just go nice and easy,
see if you can make it all the way around.
- [Man] Do you think youcan run a 4:07 mile again?
- I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't.
I don't run to run, I run to win.
- [Efrem] Louis Zamperini'sreal life story--
- Cut, perfect, moving on.
Nice job, guys.
Thank you.- Is made for the movies.
He was an Olympic distance runner,
a World War II veteran,
and a surviving prisoner of war.
- You will never escape me.
Wherever you go, I will find you.
(powerful music)
- Are you sleeping well?
Are you having any nightsweats or nightmares?
- I just thought I'd beable to forget everything.
I wanna go home.
- There is no home.
- [Efrem] His storyreturns to the big screen
in Unbroken: Path to Redemption,
a long-awaited followup
to Angelina Jolie's 2014epic war drama, Unbroken.
- We have nighttime sky, right?
- [Efrem] Harold Cronk directs this film
alongside producer, MatthewBaer, who worked with Jolie
on the first film.
- The first film was a horrific,
tragic story of his fight for his life.
And this second film is hisstruggle to save his soul.
- There's nobody more inspirational
than Louis Zamperini,especially as portrayed
in the film with allof the terrible things
that he goes through.
- When I was a kid, I lived near Torrance.
- You're kidding me.
- You still have the scars
from when those runners spiked you?
- Well yeah, they got me pretty good.
- And that?
- The Jap did that one.
- [Efrem] This chapterintroduces audiences
to Louis' Cynthia.
- Hey, would you like to--- Yes (laughing).
What took you so long to ask?
- The war is over, but arewe seeing a war play out
on screen in this family's life?
- Oh, yes, we are.
Yeah, absolutely, I mean--- Yes, yes, yes.
- He physically left prison,but he's very much in prison
in his head, and it causes
a lot of struggle between the two of them.
- Yeah, yeah.
What's nice about this too
is that often times you'll see war movies,
and then they try and...
It's very important to showthe human element of war film,
so that people can relateto the experience that,
let's be honest, mostof us will never have,
or have never had.
What's nice about this movieis that it's a human experience
that we've all had in someform or some capacity.
- They said that we were at war,
but it didn't feel like war, not to me.
It wasn't until I wasstationed in San Diego.
One day this hospitalship comes steaming in.
They were carrying all these guys
missing legs and arms,they were all torn up.
Blind, burnt, that's whenthe war became real to me.
- Luke, how would youdescribe this chapter
of your dad's life andseeing it on the screen?
- This is the climax of thestory of my father's life.
All that he went through before
with the athletics and the Olympics
and the life raft and the prison camp,
the climax is when afterhim spiraling out of control
with post traumatic stress disorder
that he's able to come to faith
on that evening in October,1949 and changed his life.
It is the climactic partof his entire story.
- With vintage cars, likethis pretty red Ford,
the stage is set for the 1940s.
A young Lou Zamperiniand his wife, Cynthia,
are coming here to the tentyou see in the distance
to hear from a young evangelist
who has not quite made a name for himself
on the national scene.
- I do not believe that any man,
that any man can solvethe problems of life
without Jesus Christ.- Evangelist, Billy Graham,
whose grandson, Will,portrays him in the film.
- I believe that God isstill healing hearts.
I believe that God isstill transforming lives.
- I feel like if you closeyour eyes and don't look,
you really think you'relistening to Billy Graham.
- That's the way it waswhen we first met with him.
That was what Haroldand I spoke about, was
it sounds just like him.- We watched his screen--
We watched his screen test,and Matt couldn't believe
he sounds exactly like his grandfather.
- Yeah, it was just fantastic.
- But there's a lifeline.
Just reach out.
(dramatic music)
- I knew the story from Unbroken.
I knew the story frommy granddaddy's tales,
so I know the story pretty well.
And I've seen the movie,and every time I see it,
I've seen it aboutthree or four times now,
every time I see it, I'm crying.
- [Efrem] That camp meeting also began
a lasting relationship.
- They had a great friendship,lasted a whole lifetime,
two lifetimes, really.
We're grateful how God broughtthese two men together.
- [Efrem] Efrem Graham,CBN News, Los Angeles.
- [George] Terrific story, youcan see more of Efrem's visit
behind the scenes on the set of Unbroken:
Path to Redemption.
See it on his Studio 5program at CBNNews.com.
Folks, we'll be back right after this.
(energetic music)
(upbeat music)
- [Narrator] When you give,
smiles grow bigger.
When you care,
homes are happier.
When you comfort,
(triumphant music)
the hurt goes away.
(triumphant music)
When we all come together to love,
miracles happen.
- Hello, I'm Terry Meeuwsen.
Did you know there are morethan 148 million orphans
in the world today?
148 million, but it was three little girls
that taught me aboutthe plight of orphans.
My husband and I spentnearly a month immersed
in the daily activitiesof a Ukrainian orphanage
as we waited to adapt three sisters.
I saw firsthand the utter loneliness,
the pain of rejection,
and the overwhelming desire to be loved.
That experience changed me forever.
And out of it grew aministry from my heart
called Orphan's Promise.
Today, we're helping orphansand vulnerable children
in more than 50 countries worldwide.
Thousands of childrenare now in safe homes.
They're being educated,
and they're learning life skills.
I'm asking you to join with me
and become family to these children.
Will you call the numberon your screen right now?
Because every child deservesa chance to be happy.
- Hello, is this thing on?
Hey, kids, do you love games?
(kids cheering)And do you love
discovering things?
(loud explosion- Yeah!
- Well do you?- Yeah!
- [Narrator] Then you're gonna love this.
It's the new freeSuperbook Kid's Bible app.
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The new Superbook Kid's Bible app,
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- [Narrator] Come home tothe Southern Gospel station
from CBN Radio.
You'll enjoy a richSouthern blend of bluegrass,
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CBN Southern Gospel,available now at CBNradio.com.
- And welcome back toChristian World News.
A new school year brings thousandsof international students
to universities across the United States.
Fitting in can be difficult
as they adjust to a new language,
a new culture, and academic challenges.
But when locals roll out the welcome mat,
strangers become friends, andthe challenge becomes easier.
Emily Jones tells us more.
- More than 1,000 internationalstudents have enrolled
at Old Dominion University inNorfolk, Virginia this fall.
But across the UnitedStates, there are Chinese,
Indian, Saudi Arabian,and other nationalities,
more than a million intotal, who've enrolled
in international programs this year.
17 years ago, Doctor KurniaFoe was one of those students
arriving with his family from Indonesia.
Now he's giving otherinternationals a helping hand.
- We have internationalstudents and scholars
and their families that come
from different part of the world.
They pursue educationsand pursuing their future
in their career.
- [Emily] Foe foundedGlobal Student Friendship,
a campus ministry supportedby local churches.
Today, he has invitedover 100 arriving students
to a welcome lunch.
- They just arrived maybe couple days ago,
but with this sense of welcoming
and giving them a cup ofwater, a plate full of meal,
is something that we'll feel,
for them, this representssomething speak to their heart,
that these people care about me.
- [Emily] The friendships formed here lead
to family outings andmeals in American homes
during the school year.
It's something most foreignstudents don't experience.
- 88% of internationals are never invited
into an American home.
And actually even worse for immigrants,
they live here maybe 20 years,
and they don't haveAmerican friends either.
- [Emily] Anticipating the needsof these arriving students,
the Global Friendship teamalso provides welcome bags
full of household items, freerides to the grocery store,
and even furniture for empty apartments.
- When we came to Norfolk,we didn't had anything
in our apartment.
But from this organizationwe got a lot of furnitures,
like student desk, a dining table, couch.
- [Emily] Next semester, theministry will open the Globe,
a housing unit for 60international students
next to the ODU campus.
It's just one of many opportunities
to befriend internationals.
- Imagine being able to findsomeone from almost any country
that you're interested in and know
that God brought them here for a reason.
And so we Americans havethis amazing opportunity
to engage the world.
So just reach out andgive a little bit of time,
a little bit of money,a little bit of food,
and you have done whattakes missionaries overseas
years to accomplish.
It's so easy.
- [Emily] Emily Jones, CBN News.
- Thank you Emily.
Folks, there's a lot ofbad news around the world,
but for us here at CBNNews, it's an opportunity
to bring you stories likethis, inspiring stories
of folks who are doing ordinary things
and resulting in extraordinary blessings
for the kingdom of God.
So I hope you're encouraged
by all the stories webring you here every week.
Well folks, for all ofus here at CBN News,
thank you so much for joining us.
Until next week, goodbyeand God bless you.
