(upbeat music)

- Well, welcome to the showand thanks for joining us.

Today, we're going to Colombia,

where migrants are beingused as drug mules.

Record amounts of cocaineare being pumped into the US

on the backs of immigrantsflooding towards the border.

- That's right, and ahighway of human trafficking

is winding through Columbia'streacherous Darien Gap.

So who's getting rich off of this?

Well, Chuck Holton wentto Colombia to find out.

- [Chuck] Every day, boats arrive here

in the tiny Colombianborder town of Capurgana.

But these aren't tourists.

They're migrants fromall across the globe.

- Most of them are from Africa, Pakistan,

India, and Haiti, and some Cubans.

It's a humanitarian crisis.

- [Chuck] What should be anout-of-the-way fishing village

has become the last off-rampon a human trafficking highway

that plunges right throughthe forbidding Darien Gap.

These migrants aren'tcustomers, they're products.

And their desire to make itto the US means big profits

for the smugglers whosend them into the jungle.

- You know, I don't like totalk too loudly around here,

but basically, that's what they do.

They pay the young kidshere to be the mules

and they take them over themountains or to the San Blas.

- [Chuck] But there'sanother commodity here

that's even more profitablethese days: cocaine.

This country has alwaysbeen the number one exporter

of this illicit drug, butthe amount being grown

in Colombia today isnear an all-time high.

- With President Uribe, we gotas small as 40,000 hectares.

With President Santos,who sold to the world

that he was the peacemaker,

we're getting to 300,000 hectares.

- [Chuck] Eradication effortshaven't been as effective

in recent years due toconcerns about the health risks

of spraying coca fields from the air,

so Colombia's had to resort to methods

which are less effectiveand much more dangerous.

- We have 16 soldiers, policemen,

and eradicators killed by mines

because the guerrilla putmines everywhere around.

- So I wanted to trackthis group of migrants

we watched go into the DarienGap on the Colombian side

when they came out the other end.

So I took a quick flight to Panama

and now I'm driving down tothe Darien Gap on this side

to try to meet them.

And I think I figured outhow these drug runners

are taking advantageof the flow of migrants

to move their product north.

What they do is get local Colombian guys

to put on backpacks full of cocaine

and then they salt themin among the migrants.

That's because the migrants

are getting preferential treatment

from immigration officials at the border.

You see, the border's actually closed,

but Colombian immigrationofficials told me

they're being instructedto look the other way

when the migrants comethrough, and so in that way,

these guys can get their drugs north

without being stopped at the border.

I made it to the camp wherethe migrants were being kept,

but wasn't allowed to enterbecause of COVID restrictions.

I did manage to get through on the phone

to a 16-year-old Haitianmigrant named Madeisy.

(Madeisy speaking Spanish)

- [Interpreter] Many people died.

One woman drowned, and twoother men lost their wives.

Many people died.

- [Chuck] In all, 12 of the70 or so migrants we witnessed

at the start of theirjourney did not survive,

including this 10-month-oldbaby who succumbed to dysentery.

In addition, Madeisytold us the entire group

was robbed at gunpoint,and at least a dozen women

were raped by cartel members.

Despite all this, thosemigrants keep coming

and the flow of drugs is keeping pace.

Gordon.

- Well, Chuck, how much are the migrants

paying the smugglers toget through the Darien Gap?

- You know, that's a really good question

because it kind of depends,and the more they pay,

the less likely they are to get robbed.

The real answer is thatsome of them are paying

with their lives, and manyof them are being raped,

and almost everyone whogoes through the jungle

is being robbed.

But as far as I can tell, to make it from,

and we're talking about awhole chain of smugglers

going all the way up from Ecuador

all the way to the United States.

Right now, it's costingbetween 3,500 and $35,000,

depending on howcomfortable they want to be.

- Those are incredible numbers.

How can they afford this?

- Well, most of those peopleare gathering up money

from their families,their extended families,

and the idea is that it's chain migration.

If we can get one member of our family

into the United States,then they will eventually

be able to work and send money back

and pull all of us backup there to the US.

And the ones who can't do that

will actually take outloans from the cartels

and then end up being indentured servants.

Their families are beingthreatened by the cartels

until they pay back some multiple

of the amount of money that they borrowed,

and in that way, it becomesmuch more expensive.

- All right, well, why are the authorities

looking the other way?

I mean, this is a humanitarian crisis.

Drugs are being smuggled,human trafficking.

Why are they looking the other way?

- Well, that's the trick.

These migrants are beinggiven special treatment.

We were told specifically

by the migration officials in Colombia

that when the migrants show up,

they are told to go somewhere else

and just look the other wayuntil the migrants pass through.

And so the drug runners know this

and they're taking local young men,

putting backpacks ontheir backs full of drugs,

and salting them in among the migrants

to walk those drugs north andtake advantage of the fact

that the migration officialsaren't gonna stop them.

- Okay, well, who's profiting?

Who's making the mostamount of money here?

- Everybody along the way is making money.

Every one of these little villages,

all of these guys thatare carrying the drugs,

every young man in thevillage that I was in

had a brand new motorcycle.

But in reality, it's the countries

that these people come fromthat end up profiting the most,

and that's in the form of remittances.

Once they get into the United States,

they typically startsending money back home

to whatever country they came from.

And last year, the numbers were way down

and they still spentmore than $500 billion

out of the United States backto their countries of origin.

That's money that gets sentto help more people come

and to build big homesin Guatemala and Honduras

and places like that.

But I think the bigger question is:

Who's not profiting from this?

And that's the American people.

- Well, what's the solution then?

What would you recommendeither the administration

or Congress do?

We've been asking for changesin the immigration laws

for years and no progress.

What's the solution?

- Well, you know, the Trump administration

had done a pretty good jobof pressuring countries

like Guatemala and Honduras and Mexico

into stopping the flow.

And up until Inauguration Day,

they had done a really good job of that.

Taking away the incentive

for these countries tosend their people north

and for the people to comenorth is the biggest solution.

One of the ways that we cando that in a positive way

is to encourage people to doremote work from Latin America.

So a guy who can work at a call center

for Dell Computer, forexample, here in Panama

can make a really goodliving here in Panama

without coming to the United States.

And so maybe we ought tolook into doing more of that,

and that helps the companies in the US

to hire good workers in Latin America

without them having to travel.

- All right, well Chuck,thanks for the insight.

Thanks for joining us.

You can get the lateston this story and more

by downloading the CBN NewsChannel app, so do it today.

Ashley.

- Well, coming up, this star

of the popular TV series "Vampire Diaries"

and "The Originals" hit rock bottom

in a dusty field of Iraq.

So what saved him, and howis he using his platform now

to spread the gospel?

We'll find out right after this.

(upbeat music)

As the star of the hit TVseries "Vampire Diaries,"

Nathaniel Buzolic had it all.

He had fame and fortune,

yet he was still searchingfor something more.

I had the privilege ofsitting down with Nate

to find out more about his career

and how he finally foundwhat he was looking for

in the desert of Iraq.

Take a look.

(upbeat music)

First things first, whois Nathaniel Buzolic,

or Nate Buzz if youfollow him on Instagram?

- I guess the easiest wayto describe myself would be

a Christian Australian actor.

That's how I kind of thinkis probably the best way.

I wasn't always a Christian, obviously.

I became a Christian actually

when I first started workingon "The Vampire Diaries,"

which is probably the showthat gave me the most attention

on a social media platform,

"Vampire Diaries" and "The Originals."

It was obviously a really, really big,

sort of teen show in the US

- Yeah.- and that expanded

throughout the, you know,in the entire world.

I grew up in Australia.

I moved to the States when I was 24

to try and make it as an actor,

which was kind of like a childhood dream,

but very unrealistic.

My mum is a first-generation Australian.

She was a refugee born in Egypt.

When I went to Atlanta

and started working on "Vampire Diaries"

is when I got exposed tothe idea of the gospel

and Jesus.- Yeah.

Made me ask the question:What's my life really all about?

And, you know, in a very Ecclesiastes way,

it kind of made me lookat my career as an actor

and everything that I was chasing

and it kind of made it feela bit meaningless and empty.

So there had to be something more,

and that's when I sort ofdecided to become a Christian.

That was at 27.

- [Ashley] Okay.

- I don't think I worked out Christianity

on any level until I was about 33,

so six years of reallyjust going, "What is this?"

- Sometimes it takes a little bit of time.

I mean, the same in my life.

You know, I grew up very much a Christian

in a Christian home, but I can't say

that I was necessarilywalking with the Lord

or really finding out who Jesus was, is,

and still is forevermore.

What was that moment for you?

- Yeah, I can tell youexactly where it was.

It was on a dusty field in Iraq.

- [Ashley] Wow.

- Yeah, I was at rock bottom.

- Oh my gosh.

- I had been dating aFrench girl for 3 1/2 years.

I found out that this girl

had been basically cheatingon me our entire relationship

with many, many people,- Oh, wow.

- and it just like, you know, I mean...

For me, I'm a very loyal boyfriend

and love is very important to me

so I was shattered.- Yeah.

Yeah.- I was just

absolutely shattered, heartbroken.

And I think when...

You know, love, when it'sfalse and it's the betrayal

- Yeah.- and it's the opposite

of God's love and it's theworldly love that just can be

taken away so quickly,- Yeah.

- it rips inside of you something so deep.

I went to a very dark place.

So I ended up being miserable, depressed.

I wanted my life to kind of end.

I wasn't like, I wouldn'tsay I would be suicidal

to do it to myself, but Iwould be more than happy,

and I was like, "God, I'mon an airplane right now.

Bring it down."

Or, you know, "Hey, like,if I get hit by a bus

and it's all over," like, "Ijust want the pain to go away.

I want to be numbed, just,like, I don't feel anymore."

I woke up one morning

and a lot of stuff was happening in Aleppo

and it was like sort ofthe civil war in Syria

and it was just breaking my heart.

And here I am feeling sorry for myself

in my apartment in Los Angeles.

So I reached out to a non-profitcalled Preemptive Love

run by Jeremy Courtney,

- Yeah.- and I said, "Hey,

can I come out?

I want to help the organization.

I want to just support you guys,"

and he was, "Yeah, absolutely."

It's obviously adangerous time. It's 2016.

ISIS is getting pushed back into Mosul,

and like, "No, I'mfine. I'm totally good."

So Warner Brothers didn't know about it.

The producers of my showdidn't know about it.

Asked them if I could have 11days off for personal reasons.

Didn't tell my mum.

So I flew from Atlanta-- Oh, my goodness.

- Yeah, I flew from Atlantato Iraq, landed in Iraq,

and Jeremy picks me up at the airport

at like three in the morning.

And a couple of days later,I was in a refugee camp

and I was sitting bymyself on a dusty field

after spending a whole day with these kids

and hearing their storiesand the heartbreak.

And I felt like God waschallenging me in a sense.

He said, "If you're thatwilling to give up your life

because you don't care anymore,

you don't care about the result,

you don't care what people think,

you don't care if you win,

you don't care if you lose,

you don't care if younever fall in love again,

give it all up to me.

What's the difference?"- Wow.

- And it hit me.

It really, really hitme 'cause He was right.

It was like, what's the difference?

If I don't care anymorewhat the world thinks

- Yeah.- and I don't care

if I win or lose, thenwhat's the difference

between giving up my life toHim and just giving up my life

to, like, "Hey, just take it.

I don't really care about it."

- [Ashley] Yeah.

- "There's no value to me anymore."

- [Ashley] Yeah.

- And that's when I changed.

That's when I was like, "Oh, wow,

this is 100% complete surrender."

So I just, from that moment, I came back

and I was just like, "Iwant to just love God."

- Well, let's talk aboutyour career a little bit.

- Yeah.- So you said that you really,

like that moment when youdecided to come back to the Lord,

you were actually alreadyon "The Originals"?

- I was on "The Originals," yeah.

- Okay, so, I mean whatwas that like for you?

I feel like there might be some people,

and I'm sure, I don't know ifpeople have asked you this,

but like, "Well, if you'rea Christian, why are you

on a kind of demonic show?- Yeah, 100%.

100%.- What was your

response to that?

And were you comfortable doing that,

like, did God give you the okay?

Talk a little bit about that?

- Yeah, well, first of all,

I wasn't a Christian when I started,

- Yeah.- so it wasn't

sort of a thought process

where I was like, "Hmm, vampire show."

- Yeah.

- I guess what's interestingabout that is, you know,

I can see, I can absolutelysee people's argument,

like, oh, hey, you're a Christian

and you work on a showthat sort of, you know,

talks about vampires and witchcraft

- Yeah.- and all that sort of stuff.

It's very different whenyou're working on set.

- Yeah.- I think the thing

that I would sort of take from that

is, like, look how God can usewhat the world tries to push,

you know, with demonicthings and witchcraft.

What I found amazing

is sometimes we just look at the surface.

- [Ashley] Yeah.

- But people will watch thatshow all over the world.

And I have access to so many young people

from so many different faith groups

- Yep.- from so many different

countries, from so manydifferent circumstances.

They go, "Ah, I loved Kol as a character.

I'm gonna go look him up on social media."

So they'll jump on my social media

and be like, "Oh, Christian.

Oh, well, I'll follow him."

- Yeah.- And then they start

being exposed to the gospel.

- Amen.- So although I don't think

God necessarily, like, goes, "Hey,

I'm all for vampire shows,"

He goes, "I'm gonna use it."

- Absolutely.- "I'm gonna use it

for my glory."

- I'm glad that you didbring up your following

'cause that's one of the thingsthat I wanted to talk about.

I mean, you have 2.4 millionfollowers on Instagram.

Like, first of all, howdo you feel about that?

- I don't even think about it.

You know, it's one of thosethings where I don't know.

It's like, I do notice- Yeah.

- how people treat you differently

when they think you're like,

you know, in Sydney, I'lljust be goin' about my life

and someone will find out- Yeah.

- how many followers I have

and you can see thechange in their behavior.

- Yeah.- You can see how the world

values it.

Here's an example.

You know, Jesus feeds 5,000 people,

or actually probably moreclosely to 20,000 people.

It was 5,000 men.

- Wow.

- Not a single one was converted.

Not a single story of conversionhappens in the crowds.

- Wow.- I don't know

what people are, how people are responding

to what I share on my social media

on a daily basis in the masses.

- Yeah.- I just know

that, when it becomes aone-on-one conversation,

everything changes,

You know, I've got one young girl

from the Middle East whoI've been in contact with

and helping her workthrough the Bible for years.

- Wow.- She was the first girl

that converted to Christianity

from sort of followingme and engaging with me.

And I've been...

Like, it's a relationship.

- Yeah.- You know?

I always think, when I wason that dusty field in Iraq

and God said, "I am pulling you out.

I am dragging you out of your darkness."

- Yeah.- And I can look at it

and go, "Oh, God saved me."

But when God was pulling me out,

He was thinking of every single person

that He had in mind that I was gonna come

into contact with- Yeah.

That's right.- the last five years,

and said, "I'm coming for you.

And I've a bit of a messy situation

in Nathaniel Buzolic,but I'm working on him,

I'm working on his heart,

and he's gonna step into your life

and he's gonna tell youabout my good news."

- Yeah- So, for the people

listening today, who doesGod care about that you know

that He has to fix youfirst so He can get to them?

Because He wants to use His people.

- Absolutely.- And that's what I think

encourages me most.

- Nate, thank you.- Yeah.

- Seriously, thank you so muchfor chatting with me today.

Again, like, you'rejust, you're such a light

and I'm so thankful foryou and what you're doing

for Christ and for His kingdom.

And I just pray blessing upon everything

that your hand touches.

So thank you so much

- Yeah- for being with us today.

- Blessings to you all.

(upbeat music)

- Well, if you want moreof that conversation

with Nathaniel Buzolic, all you have to do

is go to "700 ClubInteractive's" YouTube page

for the extended cut.

I highly recommend it.

I so enjoyed talking to Nate.

He gives such awesome advice.

And it's really just all about intimacy

with your Heavenly Father.

That's what it's all about.

Gordon.- Okay.

If you want to see moreof "Why Do You Believe?"

there are two more interviewsup on the "Interactive" page

and we're gonna becreating a special section

just for these wonderfultestimony interviews.

Why do you believe?

And let's find out from someChristians in unlikely places,

whether it's "Vampire Diaries"

or other places in our culture today,

and how God is using themright where they are.

Well coming up, her ability to taste

and smell were completely gone

and doctors couldn't find the problem.

Find out how this woman washealed while watching TV online.

Well, all that is when we come back.

(inspirational music)

Well, Bobbi's after my own heart

because cooking is her passion,

and her family and friendsall reap the benefits.

But a couple of years ago,

Bobbi lost her sense of smell and taste

along with the pleasure ofpreparing and enjoying food.

- [Bobbi] I love to cook.

I love to prepare foodfor friends and family.

The frustrating part for mewas that I was preparing it

and I couldn't taste it,but they were all loving it.

- [Narrator] Bobbi Frascabegan to lose her sense

of taste and smell in early 2016.

By March of 2018, bothwere completely gone.

- [Bobbi] It was very frustratingto live day in and day out

without being able to taste.

- [Narrator] Bobbi went to an ENT doctor,

but he couldn't find thecause of her problems

so he put her on a nasal steroid.

It worked, but had severe side effects.

- [Bobbi] But I startedto notice a pattern.

If I took the nasal spray as directed,

by 2:00 in the afternoon,I was falling asleep

at my desk sitting up.

- [Narrator] She stopped using the spray

and her doctor suggested surgeryto open her nasal passages.

Bobbi wasn't comfortable with that

so she took her problem to God.

- I was praying to the Lord

and I was asking Him tojust take this from me.

I was asking the Lord that,if it wasn't His will,

to not let this surgicalprocedure be done.

- [Narrator] Bobbi is adevoted "700 Club" viewer

and tries to watch it every night online.

- One of my favoritesegments on "The 700 Club"

is the word of knowledgeand the parts of the show

when you see these peoplethat have had these healings.

- [Narrator] On June 1st,

Bobbi would be one of those people.

- Someone else, you havea very odd scenario,

like you've, for some reason,

you've lost all of your ability to taste,

like your taste buds havejust been turned off.

Well, God's changing that for you.

You're gonna be ableto enjoy eating again.

Just receive that gift todayas that process begins.

- I started screaming,"This is me, this is me!"

And all of a sudden, myleft ear started to ring

and I felt like oxygen wasgoing through my nostrils.

And I jumped out of bed and I'm screaming

to my husband, "This is me, this is me!

God just healed me!

God just healed me!"

And I was excited.

I was very excited.

- [Narrator] The next day,Bobbi called everyone she knew

to let them know about her healing.

- I really do want people toknow that God cares about us,

whether it's life-threatening or not.

He even cares to heal the littlest things

that are just an annoyance.

- [Narrator] Since then, Bobbihas had no further issues

with taste or smell, and she praises God

for the flavor He's added to her life.

- Didn't have anything really serious,

but I had something and He cared.

He cared that much toheal me of my taste buds.

(uplifting music)

- Well, for God, it's really serious.

Why did He give us taste buds?

Why did He allow us toenjoy so much of life?

And when you're robbed ofyour enjoyment of life,

then He grieves for that.

He cares about every hair on your head.

He numbers them all.

That's what the Bible says.

He cares about, you know,the sparrows that are flying.

He cares.

He wants to be your God.

He wants to be your all in all.

He wants to be your answer to prayer.

Don't think that you're bothering Him

by your prayer requests.

And also don't think thatthere's something you have to do.

A lot of people get wrapped up in that,

that, you know, am I good enough

for God to pay attention to me,

have I done enough, haveI read the Bible enough,

do I pray right.

You know, all of these thingsstart going through your head,

and it's all works oriented.

No.

You come to God believing.

And what are you believing in?

You're believing in whatJesus has already done.

And when you have that faith,

it's already been accomplished.

The words of Jesus will ring true for you.

You find this in Mark 11.

It's one of the keys to a miracle.

When you stand praying,

believe that you have alreadyreceived and you will have it.

For Bobbi, she startedpraying, she started asking,

and then she was watching,she heard a word of knowledge,

and she started saying, "That's for me,

that's for me, that's for me."

Then the miracle came.

That same process will work for you.

All you have to do isfollow the same steps.

Now we've got some other praise reports.

Here's a view on Instagram:

"On January 1, 2020, I had a heart attack.

I called on the Lord in prayer

for miracle healing thatJesus provided on the cross."

That's the key, it's already been done.

"I am truly honored and thankful

that God answered my prayerfor supernatural healing."

- Amen, well, this isPriscilla on YouTube,

and she says, "I started drinking

and doing drugs at the age of 18.

I was tormented by depression, anxiety,

paranoia, and physical violence.

God has healed my heartand shown His mercy.

I'm now 24 years old,alive for His glory."

Amen.

- Well, Ashley and I aregonna pray for you right now.

And here's a wonderful verse:

"When two or more agree touching anything,

it shall be done by my Father in heaven."

These are the words ofJesus, so let's rely on them.

We'll be the two or more.

You be the one touching.

We'll come into agreementand God will do the rest.

Let's pray.

Lord, we lift up the audience to you

and anyone who is reaching out,

laying a hand on that area ofthe body that needs healing.

We come into agreement withthem and we speak health

to every cell in their body, every organ,

every minute detail.

We speak healing and restoration now.

By the stripes of Jesus Christ,

we are healed, we were healed.

Our sins were taken away.

Our infirmities, our diseases,

our pains were all taken away.

We believe it now.

We receive it now in Jesus' name.

There's a woman named Angela.

You're laying your righthand over your heart.

You have angina, you have heart pain,

and that heart pain just left you.

Everything concerning yourheart has been healed.

All of the blood will flow naturally

and fully to your heart muscle.

No more pain, no more fear.

In Jesus' name, be healedand be every bit whole.

- Yeah, there's somebody watching, Nancy.

God knows every hair on your head,

and the interesting thing

is that you are struggling with alopecia

and you have a lot of hair loss.

The Lord is restoringthat to you right now.

You will have a healthy head of hair.

You will not have to struggle with that.

Receive this healing inthe mighty name of Jesus.

- Amen and amen.

If you've been touched byGod, share your good report.

Let us know, 1-800-700-7000.

Here's a scripture word for you:

"Seek the Lord and His strength;

seek His presence continually!"

God bless you. We'll see you tomorrow.

(inspirational music)