- [Gordon] 18, unmarried.

- [Melissa] I was scared out of my mind.

- [Gordon] And pregnant.

- Do it, it's easiest for everyone.

- [Gordon] And she thoughtthere was only one way out.

- As I'm walking in, my heart's racing.

- [Gordon] Her decision.

- Doctor came in and washed his hands,

he didn't speak to me.

- [Gordon] And change of heart.

- I heard this voice say,"It's not too late, get up."

- [Gordon] At the very last second.

- [Melissa] I justsaid, "I can't do this."

- On today's 700 Club Interactive.

Well welcome to the show.

We often tell you storiesabout people come to Christ,

well today we're goingto show you the moment

a former NFL footballplayer heard the Gospel,

accepted Christ, got baptized in water,

and then received the Holy Spirit.

- Before you see this,

you might remember aDanish Evangelist we've had

on this show before, Torben Sondergaard.

Torben was invited to the homeof a Ikaika Alama-Francis.

Ikaika once played for the Detroit Lions,

the Miami Dolphins, andthe San Francisco 49ers.

In this video you'll see Torbenshare the Good News with him

and you'll see Ikaika's response.

What you're about to see is real.

Take a look.

- My name is Ikaika Alama-Francis

and I was labeled, my wholelife, as a sports guy.

Played sports my wholelife as a little kid

growing up in Hawaii, born and raised,

so I had chance to seea lot of sunshine days

and living under theumbrella a lot on the beach.

But life has taken me in somany turns through my sports

that I identified as just a sports person,

and I've had the blessing to play

professional sports at the highest level.

I played for the DetroitLions, Miami Dolphins,

and the San Francisco 49ers.

And now settled back here in Florida

I've had the chance to experience

really crazy and amazing things.

But there was somethingmissing in my life always,

I always felt there was something missing,

and I didn't know what it was.

And for myself, growing up,I believed in Jesus Christ,

I grew up in a Catholic church,

several things happened to me,

but I was always known as a sports guy,

just Ike, the sports guy.

In football, if you don't know,

it's a very aggressive sport,

you do a lot of damageto, not only your body,

but you hurt a lot ofother people along the way.

And we see the guys that are suffering,

you know what I mean, notonly football players,

but the wives, the children.

I mean I think they're really suffering

because the man has to really take control

of his conscience and what he's doing.

The crazy thing about it waseverybody glorified me saying,

"Hey, Ike, you're doing such a great job,

"I remember that hit you put on that guy.

"I remember all the damageyou were doing to that guy,"

and they praised me for it.

But it's so crazy, every time I'd go home

I'd still have this emptyfeeling in my heart.

No matter how many peopletold me they loved me,

I had this empty feeling inside of me.

And you get blinded by a lot of things,

you get blinded by money,you get blinded by fame,

you get blinded by, itwas almost fake love.

And the hardest thing forme was finding my identity

as a human being while playing sports,

and, like I said, I wasjust a football guy.

"Hey, May, you're the football player,"

and I didn't wanna be identified as that

because after my career wasover, I had a life to live,

and the hardest part that I had to learn

was finding who I was inthis world other than sports.

- You know, if you play chess, it's a game

it's like you move, and then it's my turn,

and then it's your turn, and it's my turn,

but I'm not allowed tosuddenly move three times,

I'm only allowed to move one time,

and wait for it become my turn again.

The same way with God, you have sinned,

you have done wrong, we all done wrong,

but you have sinned, andthe things you have done

have been a bad move that was not good.

God, He look down and He say,

"I love you, I want to save you,

"so I send My son, Jesus to die for you."

Which turn is it now?

It's your turn.

God is not just going tosave you automatically,

He have done everything He should do.

He send His son, Jesus, todie for you, for everyone.

But now it's our turn to move.

- When I would hurt more people

or I would do more great things,

they'd give me more money,

and at the time, right, you're like,

Man, money to me was success.

Everybody portrays it, money is success.

If you don't have money,you don't have success,

or if you're not rich, youdon't have all the nicest cars,

the biggest houses, you're not successful.

So I fell into the trap whereI gotta have the nicest car,

I gotta have the biggest house,

oh, I gotta hurt more peoplebecause the more people I hurt,

the more money they're gonna give me,

but guess what, the emptier I felt.

And money really changedme as a human being,

it changed me as a person,

and I hate to say I hate money now.

My wife always tells me,"Every time we have no money,

"you're the happiest person in the world,

"but every time you have money,something comes out of you,

"I don't know if it's ademon, or the Devil, or what."

But we have to understandthat money is a useful tool,

but it should be nothing that we praise.

- Jesus came here on Earthfor where we have all fallen,

he walks here around us without falling.

Where we fall in sexualsin, in lost, in lie,

in stealing, in worship inother gods, in having idols.

He didn't, he was theonly man without sin.

When he was around first,he just -- he got baptized.

When he came out of the water,

the Holy Spirit came over him as a dove,

and from that day on hewas walking around here

preaching the Gospel of Kingdom.

Healing the sick, casting out demons,

telling people what they need to do,

that you need to repent,and then be born again

out of water and Spirit,turn away from the sin,

follow him as his disciples.

I'm sorry for my sins.

- [Ikaika] I'm sorry for my sins.

- I'm sorry for what I've done.

- I'm sorry for what I've done.

- For those people I hurt.

- For those people I hurt.

- I repent.

- I repent.

- And I ask you.

- And I ask you.

- [Torben] Set me free.

- [Ikaika] Set me free.

(exhaling)

(dramatic music)

- God, I thank You for this family.

God we thank You forwhat You are doing, God.

Thank You for Your Holy Spirit, God.

(dramatic music)

- [Ikaika] I'm crying.

(laughing)

(dramatic music)

It got really white, I saw a light.

I felt everything coming into me.

- Mm, the Holy Spirit.

- Oh my God.

- Is in your life.

- Yes,

yes!

- Yes!

- Yes!

Yes, Jesus!

(dramatic music)

- The old Ike is going to beburied, he's going to die,

and you're going to riseup, and it's no longer you,

you will live for Christ, Christ in you,

and it's a new beginning.

- Amen.

- Are you ready?

- I'm ready.

- Are you ready to see your husband die

and a new man rise up?

So, on your own faith webaptize you to Jesus Christ,

bend down, die with Christ,rise up with Christ.

(speaking foreign language)

All the old thing is gone,something new has started,

sin is washed away, thewhole thing is gone,

it's broke, it's all whites out.

Hallelujah, Father.

(speaking foreign language)

- It's exciting, but there'sa process to everything.

For myself, football,my life was a process,

but now my new life is a process.

So every day, how do I get better.

I relate everything tosports, and my coaches say,

bang on the rock, it may be a big rock,

you may never break it, butkeep banging against that rock.

And I'm gonna take the same mentality

that I had with sports, andI'll put it to Jesus Christ.

I'm gonna keep banging on that rock,

I'm gonna keep fighting for him,

I'm gonna keep fighting,I'm gonna keep fighting,

no matter what come about,

I'm gonna keep fighting,keep fighting, keep fighting,

because my life is worth it.

And guess what, the other people's lives

that I hope I can save in the future,

I hope they can feel the same thing

that I felt in this moment and right now,

'cause I've never felt a level of comfort

like this before in my life,and it's an amazing feeling,

and the Holy Spirit, Ibelieve, is the only thing

that can really help anybody do that.

- Did you hear him, "I've never felt this

"level of comfort before in my life."

because he had an encounterwith the God of all comfort.

That's what the Holy Spirit,His very name, "The Comforter,"

and He comes to you to letyou know you're not alone,

not alone in the universe, He's there,

you were made to have arelationship with Him,

you were made to be in constant

fellowship with God Almighty.

He wants to be your all-in-all,He wants to be your Father,

He wants to be your savior,He wants to be your comforter.

You don't have to convince Him of that,

you don't have to argue with Him,

you don't have to bargain with Him,

the bargain has already been made,

He's already make His move.

How much more do you want God to do

than to send his onlybegotten son to die for you,

to say, I'll take your place.

I'll suffer all theconsequences of everything

you've ever done wrong, I'll take it all.

Why will I do that?

Because you're my child and I love you,

and I want to reverse everything

that you've ever done wrongso that you can be with me,

and you can have righteousness,peace, and joy again.

Now you saw the steps thatTorben took and what he said.

Right now, if you want to experience this,

if you want to have the same experience,

all you have to do is take the same steps.

Now with Torben, he led him in a prayer,

so I'm gonna lead you in a prayer.

What I want you to dois just pray with me,

if you want this, don't turn away,

but right now, if youwant this, let's do this,

and you can have the same experience.

The same God you just saw in action

is ready, willing and ableright now where you are

because in Him we live, andmove, and have our being.

If you do the same steps,you'll get the same result.

So let's pray together andlet's let God do all the rest.

Pray with me.

Jesus, that's right, call hisname, call it out loud, Jesus

I come to you and, Jesus,

I'm sorry for the things that I've done.

I repent of them, I turn away from them,

I don't want to do that anymore.

Forgive me for all thepeople that I've hurt,

all the things that I've taken,

all the things that I've done, forgive me.

And, Jesus, right now I forgive anyone

who has ever harmed me, I set them free,

they owe me nothing.

I forgive them.

And, Jesus, I open the door of my heart,

I ask that you would come in,

I ask that you would showme that you are my Savior,

that you would show me that I am forgiven,

that you would show methat I am born again

and I am made new.

Come into my heart, be with me,

and, Jesus, if you'll do this for me,

I want to follow youall the days of my life.

Hear my prayer, come into my heart,

for I ask it in Jesus' name.

Father, for those whoprayed, breathe on them now,

fill them with Your Holy Spirit,

let them know that theirprayer has been heard

and has been answered today.

Fill them with joy,righteousness, peace, Your love.

Let it cast out everythingthat holds them,

any bondage in their life,let it be broken right now,

in the name of Jesus, be set free.

Amen and amen.

If you prayed with me,

there's one more thing I want you to do,

I want you to let somebody know,

and the Bible says that ifyou'll believe in your heart

then confess with yourmouth, you shall be saved.

I've got something free for you,

it's called "A New Day"and it's a CD teaching

of what do you do now.

What do Christians believe,

how do you live the Christian life.

I encourage you to geta copy of the Bible,

start reading it every day.

I also encourage you togo through water baptism.

Find a church of believers,

get into fellowship with thatchurch, and ask that pastor,

please, I need to be baptized.

Do it, it's all part of being a Christian,

but it starts with thatphone call, make it now,

1-800-700-7000.

Terry.

- Well we'd like to thank our friends

at The Last Reformation Ministries

for sharing that powerful story with us.

Up next, a woman who was seconds away

from having an abortion.

- I heard this voice say,

"It's not too late, get up."

I know it's the Lord, 100%.

I just said, "I can't do this."

- Watch how this woman's choice for life

gives a childless couple a son,

and how that son grows up tobe a champion for the unborn.

(light music)

In 1993, Melissa Kholswas a scared 18-year-old

on the doctor's tableabout to have an abortion.

Susan Scotten was a womandesperate to adopt a baby.

Melissa's 11th-hour decisionto choose life for her baby

set off a chain of amazingevents with ongoing blessings.

- I got married, I marriedmy high school sweetheart,

and we easily got pregnantand were devastated

when our first child wasborn with a disability

and he lived 12 days.

- [Narrator] It wouldn't bethe last time Susan Scotten

would feel the sting of losinga child to a birth defect.

Her second son died at two and a half

on December 22nd, 1986, justthree days before Christmas.

- I had a hard time havingany faith, any hopes.

I couldn't have a healthychild, I was angry.

- You think pregnancy,baby, you think happy,

and I didn't, I didn't feel that way.

And then I felt guiltybecause I felt the way I felt.

- [Narrator] MelissaKhols was an unmarried,

poor and pregnant 18-year-old

who felt she only had two options.

- I was scared out of mymind and I was so conflicted

that I could keep him, it wasn't too late,

and the other, you know, doit, it's easiest for everyone.

As I'm walking in my heart's racing.

A doctor came in, and washed his hands,

put on his gloves, andhe didn't speak to me.

He didn't tell me what he was gonna do,

he didn't ask me how I was,

didn't explain anythingwith the procedure.

I think every negative emotionthat someone could feel.

- [Narrator] At the sametime, 800 miles away,

another woman was holding on to the hope

of adopting a newborn.

- I just prayed for a healthy child,

for the right thing to work out.

After the death of her secondson, Susan's husband left

and she swore she'dnever get pregnant again.

Now remarried, she and her husband, Jimmy,

had tried for two years to adopt.

- There were so many let-downs

and the process was difficult,

but I kept saying, "We can do this.

"God's helping us and wejust need to stick with it."

- [Narrator] Back in Indiana,a doctor was mere seconds

from aborting Melissa's baby.

- Right as his hands went in to touch me,

his glove hit my left leg,

I heard this voice say,

"It's not too late, get up."

I know it's the Lord, 100%.

I just said, "I can't do this."

The doctor gets up, rolls hiseyes, rips his gloves off,

and leaves the room, and left me.

- [Narrator] Having decidedto save her baby's life,

Melissa still faced uncertainty.

Then later, a social worker gave her

an alternative she hadn'tconsidered, adoption.

- I wanted him

and I think if he was with someone

that was more like me, thenhe would have been raised

more like how I would have raised him.

- [Narrator] After finding an agency,

Melissa received dozens ofletters from potential parents.

The one that grabbed her attentionwas from Susan and Jimmy.

- And then I just fell in love with Susan.

She starts telling me her story,

and she'd been througha lot of pain herself.

- [Narrator] But it wasa phone conversation

that sealed the deal.

- It was when I said, "How tobait your hook down there?"

- When we go fishing wejust a Cocahoe minnow

and you have to put the hookthrough the eye of the minnow,

I said, "And I always bait my own hook."

- And I just said,"Congratulations, you're a mom,"

because I knew, I knew at that point

she was gonna be the mom thatwas gonna take him fishing

and teach him the kind ofthings I would teach him.

(light music)

In December 1993, Melissa gavebirth to a healthy baby boy.

She was given the choice to hold her son

before she gave him up.

- I just knew that holdinghim would make it hard,

harder, to let go,

but I'm glad I did.

He didn't cry, he was just peaceful.

- [Narrator] Meanwhile inLouisiana, Jimmy got the call.

- I was excited and so muchwas going through my mind

I almost forgot to call Susan

and tell her that the baby was born.

- [Narrator] It was December 22nd, 1993,

seven years to the day thatSusan lost her second son.

- I get to the phone andhe's like, "It's a boy,"

and I'm like, "Okay, is itreal, is this really real?"

They named him DavidJames, after Susan's father

who had passed nine months earlier.

They held him for the firsttime on Christmas eve.

- I am crying, happy tearsare just flowing, flowing,

he's beautiful, he's justperfect, it's so joyful.

And we walk out the hospital,Jimmy and I together,

and it starts to snow,and I'm from Louisiana,

that is just like tearsfrom Heaven, just joy,

just the ultimate, ultimatejoy, it was like, wow.

- [Narrator] Melissa later married

and started her own family.

In the coming years not a day passed

that she didn't thinkabout the son she gave up.

- Deep down I knew I did the right thing,

I knew he was safe, and I knew that they

were giving him everything I couldn't.

- [Narrator] David grew upin a loving Christian home,

and yes, spent lots of timefishing with his mom and dad.

He always knew he wasadopted and in high school

joined a pro-life group.

At 18 he reached out to Melissaand the two agreed to meet.

By then a documentary teamhad picked up their story

and was there to film their reunion.

- My heart was racing so fast,

and I couldn't get outthe door fast enough.

I wanted to get out thereand hug him no matter what,

I just wanted to feel thathug, and feel that connection,

and it was a beautiful moment.

- [Narrator] There was somethinghe wanted Melissa to know.

- She made a brave decisionand a courageous decision

that wasn't easy.

That was the whole reasonthat we were coming there,

was to thank her and reaffirm to her

that her decision was the right decision.

- I felt a lot more freedin my spirit hearing that.

- [Narrator] Since then,David has finished law school

and he and Melissa havejoined in a common goal

through speaking engagementsand the documentary,

"I Lived On Parker Avenue,"

they work to inform women about adoption

and encourage them to choose life.

And knowing that for every 100 abortions

there are only two adoptionsfacilitated in this country,

we really had a unique opportunity

to share the adoption option,

and I think that was God's calling for us.

God played a role in all of this,

the chain of events is just too amazing

for me not to think that.

- God has had His handin this from the get-go

and He carried me through,He molded everything.

- Oh, God has a plan, Godhas such a beautiful plan.

I wanna say to any ofyou who find yourself

in the difficult circumstance of being

a single, pregnant mom right now,

you don't have to make thedecision to end that pregnancy,

there are lots of people whowill come alongside of you.

Is it painful to give a child

to another family for adoption?

Absolutely, but it's the ultimate love.

You can do this and you'll have no idea

all the repercussions, the ripple-effect,

of the right choice that you're making,

or the powerful life, the gift of life,

that you're giving to achild that can grow up

to make such a difference in the world.

We just wanna say, God's got a plan,

walk in it, trust Him, Heloves you, and life is a gift,

now pass it on to the child that's in you.

Well still ahead, a volcanoerupts in the Philippines

causing a single mom andher children to evacuate.

See how partners just like you

helped her make a fresh start, after this.

(light music)

- Well Joan is a singlemom who was struggling

to support herself and her two children.

When a volcano erupted near their village,

she and her children had to flee.

- [Narrator] Joan lives neara volcano in the Philippines.

She's a single mom who sold food

to provide for her two small children.

She never earned enough.

Some days she had to borrowpowdered milk by the scoop

to feed two-year-old Zoey.

- We count how many scoopsI take so I can replace them

when I save enough to buy my own back.

- [Narrator] It was especially difficult

when Curt outgrew his clothes.

- I was playing with myfriends when my shorts ripped

because they were too small.

I was so embarrassed that Iquickly sat on the ground.

- No matter how hard Iwork, I never make enough

to give them what they need.

I thank God that theyunderstand when I tell them,

"We don't have any money."

- [Narrator] Then the volcano erupted

and thick ash forced Joanand her family to evacuate.

They moved to a CBN-supported shelter

where Joan enrolled ina jobs training program.

We taught her how to cut and color hair,

and do manicures and pedicures.

When the government saidit was safe to return home,

CBN gave Joan everything sheneeded to start a new salon.

- I have so many clients who come in now

for hair and nail treatments.

Now I am earning more moneythan I have ever earned before.

I can buy milk and food, andget my kids what they need.

- I am so happy I have newclothes, they fit well.

- Thank you, CBN, I am so grateful

for this opportunity you have given to me.

- And "thank you" goes to you

if you're a member of the 700 Club.

If you're not a member, join with us,

join in everything we'redoing around the world.

How much is it to be a member?

Well it's just $20 a month,that breaks out to $.65 a day,

and you're joining withtens of thousands of people

that say, yes, I wanna make adifference in the world today.

If that's you, give usa call, 1-800-700-7000,

or go to CBN.com.

Here's a word from John 17,

"And this is the way to have eternal life.

"To know You, the onlytrue God, and Jesus Christ,

"the One You sent to earth."

God bless you, we'll see you again.