Routine car maintenance turns into a fight for survival after Sam Wallen's SUV falls on him.
Read Transcript
- [Gordon] Cars full of hungry kids.
- [Darla] We're makin' overa thousand bags every week.
- [Gordon] Before COVID,they had school lunches.
So who's feeding them now?
Plus...
- His ears were bleeding,his eyes were bleeding.
He was bleeding everywhere.
- [Gordon] Crushed under a truck.
- I remember thinkin' this isit, this is it, this is it.
- [Gordon] How did he survive?
- I was screamin' and prayin'at the top o' my lungs.
- All on today's "700 Club Interactive."
Well, welcome to the show.
With church buildings shutdown because of COVID-19,
ministries are breakingnew ground on the internet.
- That's right, more and moreChristians around the world
are gathering to pray and worship online,
and as Paul Strand reports, that could be
laying the groundworkfor a global revival.
- Don't freak out seeing allthese people jammed together.
This was before mandatedsocial distancing began.
These worshipers gathered here in Toronto
to pray for a globalrevival that would have
greater impact than all thathave come before, but how?
Revivals of the past haveoften been constrained
by limits that the next bigone may not have to suffer.
When revivals meetingin one location explode
into bigger and longer events,
they can often burn out the staff.
As we see in this pandemic,ministries meeting online
aren't confined to churchwalls, and as the name says,
the worldwide web means asingle revival could go global.
- And now we're in a whole different world
where, literally, millions of people
can watch this happening live online.
- [Paul] Daniel Kolenda's ministry has led
tens of millions to the Lord.
- You know, I rememberreading, as a kid, in the Bible
where it says that when Jesus returns
every eye will see Him.
I thought, how is that possible,
and now, it's a veryeasy thing to understand.
- [Paul] John Kilpatrick was at the center
of the Brownsville Revival.
- Today with the instant media,
there's no telling what God can do
in real time all around the world.
- [Paul] Even where powerful governments
censor the internet, the digital age
lets ministries work aroundauthoritarian regimes.
- Even the poorest people on the planet,
they're starting to get cell phones.
- [Paul] Computer chips allowamazing miniaturization,
like of the Bible.
- We used to have tosmuggle in paper Bibles.
Now we've got chips.
If you get caught, you can eat 'em,
and his word now can get toevery tongue, tribe and nation.
- [Paul] Another factor,unprecedented unity now forming
allows ministries big andsmall to all work together.
What the world's rarely seen is Christians
getting past their divisions and
denominational differencesto act in unity.
- There's a joining and a linking together
of different ministries,of different movements
and even denominations.
It's a God thing.
- I don't understand why the streams
were ever not together.
You know, we all have thesame focus, the same passion.
- [Paul] John Arnott sawdenominational lines fall
in the 1990's revival knownas the Toronto Blessing.
- People came and theydidn't care and nor did we
whether they were Pentecostal or Catholic
or Methodist or Baptist.
- [Paul] This will allow what Arnott
and Heidi Baker have both prophesied,
a revival that'll rush over the planet
like a global tsunami.
- It's really all of the streams,
all of the rivers of theradical lovers of God
from all over the planetjust coming, coming together,
and as we come together,
the wave just getsbigger and bigger and...
- The last great move of Godis going to be God moving,
where we're not justfollowing a new teaching
or doctrine or mission or...
We're really following the Lord.
- [Paul] In other words,Rick Joyner believes
it'll be led by God Himself
and centered on His Son, Jesus.
- And I think our heartsare gonna be caught up
and captured by Jesus.
All things are gonnabe summed up in Christ.
- [Paul] The presence of God will descend
in a mighty way.
- There's nothing in the world like it
when the presence of God comes in.
- [Paul] Kilpatrick believes it's what
all Mankind's been searching for
to fill their hearts and souls.
- But that presence, thatglory is what we're made for.
God genetically made us for the glory.
- Lila Terhune has ledintercessors for decades,
believing as the world grows darker,
great light and revivalwill arise to counter it.
- For the church, our assignment
is to push back the darkness
so that His presence could come
and the glory of theLord can cover the earth
as the waters cover the sea.
- [Paul] Kolenda believes this God revival
will be bigger and betterthan the world's ever seen.
- Nothing diminishes in God.
That's something about God's character.
He always outdoes Himself.
The latter is alwaysbetter than the former.
- [Paul] Paul Strand, CBNNews, Toronto, Canada.
- The latter is alwaysbetter than the former
and the latter rain that hasbeen promised for so long
and looked for for solong, can it be here now?
Here's the key to all revival,
and this is all revival,since the first one
at the Day of Pentecost.
They were all gathered in the upper room.
They came of one accord,but what were they doing?
What brought them into that one accord
was they committed to prayer.
Yesterday, we had theNational Day of Prayer
and my hope is, we beginrevival with prayer.
If you look at Charles Finney'sbook, this wonderful book,
"Revivals of Religion," he says that's
the absolute key to any revival.
It always starts with prayer,
with people who are burning in prayer
for God's manifest presence to be here,
not just in the church,but in your neighborhood,
in your city, in yourstate and in your nation.
We get the privilege ofpraying in unity for this.
So let's do this right now.
Let's just stop down and say, let's pray.
Lord God Almighty, come.
So Ashley, would you--
- Yeah.- Lead us.
- Absolutely, I'd behonored, so join with us.
Father God, we just cometo you in the name of Jesus
and we just ask and declare inHis mighty and precious name,
for revival to comeonto the nations, Lord,
not just the United States,but the entire globe.
King Jesus, you sit on the throne.
You haven't gone anywhere andyou're not gonna go anywhere,
and I pray and I ask in your name
for an outpouring of yourHoly Spirit among your people,
among the children of God,
among those who don't know you,
have never heard of you, Father,
I just pray for an outpouringof your Holy Spirit,
in Jesus' name, wedeclare and proclaim this.
In faith, we ask, and in faith we receive
an outpouring of your Spiritin Jesus' name, amen and amen.
- Amen.
- All right.
- Continue to pray.
Continue to let yourmorning hours be filled
with prayer and praise.
Go down to sleep tonight praying,
asking God, we need you now.
Let's bring revival to bear today.
- Amen, amen.
All right, well Grammy-award winning
Christian music duo, For King & Country,
reminds listeners that what it means
to be together withtheir new song and video.
Brothers Joel and Luke Smallbone
premiered the song fromNashville with their band,
all playing from their home studios
along with Tori Kelly andKirk Franklin in their homes,
and Kirk's choir members intheir own spaces as well.
- [Gordon] The video features over 2000.
Fans submitted messagesof personal struggle
and triumph during thisperiod of social distancing.
"Together" premiered on"Good Morning America"
and offers a very timely message of unity
as the world deals withthe COVID-19 pandemic.
Take a look.
♪ I will be by your side ♪
♪ By your side ♪
♪ 'Cause love is in the air tonight ♪
♪ Can you feel it ♪
♪ I'll help and see the light ♪
♪ Come on ♪
♪ Whenever ever ever ♪
♪ Just as long as we're together, say ♪
♪ If we fall, we will fall together ♪
♪ Haha, I got you, my brother ♪
♪ Together ♪
♪ I see you, my sister ♪
♪ And when we rise, wewill rise together ♪
♪ Together, help me stand ♪
♪ If we fall, we will fall together ♪
♪ Take my hand ♪
♪ Together ♪
♪ When we rise, we will rise together ♪
♪ We will rise together ♪
- We are all together, that's the key.
When we all come into one accord,
one mind and one purpose, and that is
to see the knowledge ofthe Lord cover the earth
as the waters cover the sea,
and that knowledge is experiential.
It's not, let's go readabout Him in a book.
It's let us experience Him.
Let that knowledge, that experience of God
cover the earth as thewaters cover the sea.
That's a great thing to pray.
Let's come together in that prayer.
- Yeah, yeah, definitely.
- Well, people all over are feeling
the effects of the Coronavirus
and the need for foodright now is enormous.
Many families who depend on school lunches
to help feed their children,
well, they're going without schools.
- Yeah, and with schoolsshut down due to COVID-19,
these kids need food, and thanks to
a drive-through distributionin Dallas, Texas,
families are getting thegroceries they need to survive.
- [Narrator] Operation Blessingpartners across the country
are stepping up to helpfamilies struggling to cope
with the constraints ofa worldwide pandemic.
Youth World in Dallas, Texas created
a special drive-through distribution,
specifically focused onhelping families with kids.
- Our families dependon the school lunches
if they were in school.
These kids are gonna need more
than just a breakfast and a lunch.
We thank God that Operation Blessing
has come along beside us to help fulfill
part of this big need.
- [Narrator] The food does morethan feed families in need.
These distributions givea boost of encouragement
during such stressful times.
- These families are just so encouraged
by Youth World being here and
all the Operation Blessing groceries.
What was so sweet, one of the moms
that drove through today,
she handed out the windowto me a bouquet of flowers.
It was just about her heart.
I just thought that was so amazing.
- It's helpful for notjust me and my family,
but everyone else around inthe community that needs it.
- The groceries are a blessing
because the grocery store is packed.
They're lackin' meat.
So these people over here, fine people
have brought us some foodand some comfort to the kids,
and make sure their bellies are full.
- We love the food.
- We couldn't do thiswithout Operation Blessing
because we're making overa thousand bags every week,
and now long are we gonna need to do this
before the kids can get back in school?
- [Narrator] Thanks to the support
of Operation Blessing donors,
ministries across thecountry are reaching out
to families struggling through the crisis.
- This takes donors, it takes partners.
It takes support to make this happen,
and it's not just about the grocery bags.
It's about these kids.
Every time that I see acar full o' kids come by
and receive these groceries,
it reminds me why we're doing this
and why we're asking big
and why you're so generously giving,
because you are keepin' 'em goin'
through this devastating time.
- Oh, I love seeing thosecute kids, that's awesome.
Well, let's talk about Operation Blessing.
So they have done a major pivot, how so?
- Well, what we heard was 40% increase
from our ministry partners
and there are literally thousands of them.
- Wow.
- There are 85 sort ofmajor regional centers,
three major warehouses that we have.
We've added now 11 refrigeratedtrucks to our fleet
to deal with this demand,
but when you start seeing,and this was, you know,
back in March, a 40% increase in demand...
- Wow.
- Here we are in May, thatincrease is still spiking.
- Yeah.
- That has not stopped, and it's because
millions of hard-workingAmericans are out of work,
and just trying to get intounemployment insurance,
trying to get the government checks,
trying to go through all of that.
They're finding they'vegot a whole lot more month
than they do money, and how can we step in
to say how do we help?
- Yeah.
- The eye opener for mewas to see back in March,
this line of cars whereover 1,400 cars lined up
for a food distribution wewere doing in Irving, Texas.
You just saw one from Dallas, Texas.
This is in Irving, and this is,
you hear from the people,they're outta work.
- Yeah.
- And their savings are being depleted.
How do we help?
So, let's step up.
- Yeah, so how can we do it, yeah.
- Let's step up, let's pivot.
Whatever we need to do tomeet that demand, let's do it.
Let's pedal to the metal, let's do it now.
- Exactly.
- People should not behungry in the United States.
- Absolutely, and I thinka lotta people forget,
you know, the kids that go to school,
oftentimes, I mean, it wasjust said, that's their meal.
They rely on the schooldistricts to feed their kids.
So if you guys wanna help,
I really encourage you tojoin Operation Blessing today.
Give us a call, 1-800-700-7000.
Just because you're quarantined,
just because you're sheltered in at place
doesn't mean you can make a global impact
or an impact even in your local community.
So join Operation Blessing today.
- We have two designated funds for it.
One is the one listed here,
Operation Blessing Disaster Relief.
You can get to that either on cbn.com
or on Operation Blessing'swebsite, O-B.O-R-G
or you can just call us, 1-800-700-7000.
We also have another designated fund
called Hunger Strike Force.
So either one, right now,
all of our disaster reliefis COVID-19 disaster relief.
Primary thing in that isproviding food to people.
We're also doing other things
to help medicalprofessionals have the mask
and equipment that they need,
but the bulk of it is foodrelief right here in America.
So call 1-800-700-7000.
- Yeah.
- Well, still to come, athree-and-a-half ton truck
slips off a jack and right on top
of the mechanic underneath.
- He was bleedin' everywhere.
The EMT kept tellin'me, "I know he's alive,
but this is not really survivable,
and I don't want youto get your hopes up."
- So how is he alive to tell his story?
Find out, plus, we aregoing to be praying for you
and your needs, stay with us.
(dramatic music)
- Sam Wallen was as good as dead.
He had been crushed underneath an SUV.
First responders said hisinjuries were not survivable.
So how is Sam alive today?
You're about to find out.
(dramatic music)
(woman crying)
- [Dispatch] This is 9-1-1,what's your emergency?
- [Woman] I need an ambulance!
- [Dispatch] What's going on?
- [Woman] A Suburban, aSuburban fell on my brother.
He is not in good shape.
Please hurry, please!
(dial tone humming)
- [Narrator] October1st, 2016, Amber Wallen
was talking to hersister-in-law in the driveway
when she heard a crash.
(vehicle smashing)
Amber sprinted to the garage
where she found her husband, Sam,
pinned under the SUVhe had been working on.
Her sister-in-law called 9-1-1.
Amber grabbed a floor jack,
trying to lift thethree-and-a-half ton vehicle
off of her husband.
- I started trying to jack it up
and I was screamin' andprayin' at the top o' my lungs.
I remember thinkin', this isit, this is it, this is it,
and I was like, Lord, this can't be it.
This cannot be it.
I'm not ready, I'm not done.
- [Narrator] Finally, Ambergot the vehicle high enough
to pull Sam, who wasunconscious, to safety.
- His ears were bleeding.
His eyes were bleeding.
His nose and his mouth was bleeding.
I mean, he was bleeding everywhere.
Lord, I just need him to come back
and I need breath back in his body,
and if you could just give him,
if you could just give himbreath so that he would have life
and just please, let him stay,
and let him know who we are.
My kids need him, I need him.
- [Woman] (crying) Are they almost here?
- [Dispatch] Okay.
- [Woman] I hear it comin', I hear it.
- [Narrator] Firemen andparamedics arrived on the scene
and rushed Sam and Amberto a nearby hospital.
- The EMT kept tellin'me, "I know he's alive,
but this is not really survivable.
We don't know what theextent of his injuries are,
and I don't want youto get your hopes up."
- [Narrator] In the ER, doctors determined
both of Sam's lungs were collapsed,
and he had a crushed sternumand seven broken ribs.
He had also lost his vision.
Sam was put under heavysedation and intubated.
- He was very serious,potentially fatal injury,
and procedures need to bedone quickly in those patients
in order to save their lives.
- [Narrator] With her husbandin critical condition,
Amber sent out a call for prayer.
- All I kept clingin' to was
God heard my prayer in thatdriveway, and He is here.
There was no backup plan.
There was no Plan B.
There was no anything else.
I needed God to do what I asked Him to do
and I had the faith that He would.
There was an immense sense of peace
that just came over us, as if God was just
taking care of everything.
- [Narrator] Nurse Athenaoffered to pray as well.
- I'm here, I'm still prayin' for you.
I may be going home.
If you would like forme to pray for you here,
I will do that, but I'm alwayskeepin' you in my prayers.
- [Narrator] Doctors ordered an MRI
to check for brainbleeds and heart damage.
Afterwards, Sam was taken to the ICU.
He was conscious and awareof what had happened.
He still couldn't see, butmore importantly to Amber...
- Once he knew who I was and he had
the cognitive ability to talk to me,
I knew, no matter what,we were gonna be okay.
- [Narrator] As for Sam...
- If I was gonna be blind,then I was gonna be blind.
After I had came back and I realized
that I was still alive,I honestly didn't have
the first thought of Imight die after that.
I heard from other people that,
oh, he might not make it or, in my mind,
I felt perfectly fine.
I was completely at peace.
- [Narrator] The MRIshowed that Sam's heart
and brain were undamaged.
For the next several days,Sam surprised the staff
as he continued to improve.
- We just have to waitand see how he heals
and we just have to, but their timeline,
Sam was exceeding theirtimeline at every milestone.
- [Narrator] By his thirdday in the hospital,
Sam had regained his vision,
and after just six days,he was off the ventilator
and able to go home.
His ribs and sternumwould take time to heal,
but as Amber would remind her husband,
the main thing was he was alive.
- We got a lot more than we prayed for
because I prayed, if Godwould just let me keep you,
it didn't matter whatkinda shape you were in,
and here you are, ableto walk around and work
and take care of us and still be here.
(soft music)
- [Narrator] Within weeks,Sam was back at work
and today, remains active and healthy.
His occasional aches andpains serve as a reminder
of what's important in life,
and just how far the Lord has brought him.
- There is no doubt in my mind that God
was there the whole time.
We had so many people prayin' for us
that we didn't even knowduring that whole time of us
of being in the hospital and healin' up
and the power of prayer is amazing.
- Prayer really does change things,
and if He can show up in our driveway,
He can show up in anybody's driveway.
For us, God showed us who He was.
- Woo!- Woo!
- God shows up in drivewaysbecause He's already there.
In Him, we live andmove and have our being.
He is only a prayer away.
If you have need, all youhave to do is reach up
and grab hold of His kingdom,
His dominion, His will, His presence
because He's all around us,
and that's the message,that Jesus came to give.
You read it in the first chapter of Mark.
The time is fulfilled,that means it's now.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
That means you can reach up and get it.
It's right there, and then Hesays, change your thinking.
It's a wonderful Greek wordmetanous, change your thinking
and believe the good news.
Now, there's a lot in that good news,
but number one, God's not mad at you.
God loves you, you are His child.
He is the one who breathed life into you.
He watches over you.
He numbers the hairs on your head.
In danger, He is a very present help.
All you have to do is cry out to Him,
believe that He's there,believe that He is helping,
and then, amazing things happen.
You get your miracle.
You can get it right in a driveway.
You can get it in an ER.
You can get it in a hospital bed.
You can get it right where you are.
Why, because the kingdomof God is at hand.
Let's declare that over you.
Let's pray over you right now,
and let's let God do all the rest.
Let's pray together.
Jesus, we lift everyone to You.
We come boldly to Your throne of grace.
We receive your message thathe kingdom of God is at hand,
that the time is fulfilled,
and so, Lord God Almighty,we reach up to Your kingdom.
We reach to Your will.
We see the kingdom of Heaven.
We see that, in Heaven,there's no on sick.
There's no one in danger.
There's no one poor,there's no one isolated.
There's no one lonely, butwe're all one with You.
You've asked us to praythat Your will would be done
on earth as it is in Heaven.
So, break forth, Lord God, in power.
Let Your kingdom come,let Your will be done
in these bodies and in these lives today.
Let Your presence bemanifest for them right now,
and speak Lord, for your servants hear.
Speak words of comfort andencouragement and healing,
in Jesus' name, we askthis, in Jesus' name now.
Ashley, God's given you something.
- Yeah, God sees somebody with alopecia,
and there's a balding on your head,
and God, you know, knowsevery hair on your head,
and He's healing you from that disease
right now, in Jesus' name.
You will have hair growth, in Jesus' name.
Just receive that, He loves you so much,
He's heard your prayers andyou are healed in Jesus' name.
- There's someone with a wine stain.
It's a birth mark and you'renot even asking for this,
but you don't want to go out.
You don't want people staring at you.
God is just able to restore skin.
He's able to do incredible things,
and so, in Jesus' name, behealed of that, and be restored.
Let it all be made new for you,
and let no more fear and rejection
ever cloud your thoughts again.
When people look at you, may they smile
and just receive youwith joy, in Jesus' name.
Let all that fear be offof you now and be restored.
Be restored in your mind.
Someone else, you've gotproblems in your right shoulder
and it hurts just tomove your arm forward.
God is healing that shoulder right now,
in Jesus' name we pray, amen and amen.
If you've been touchedby God, let us know.
Give us a good report.
Call us, 1-800-700-7000,and if you need prayer,
we're here for ya.
All you have to do is call us.
Here's a word from Deuteronomy.
"He is your praise, and He is your God,
who has done greatthings and awesome things
which your eyes have seen."