- [Announcer] The followingprogram is sponsored by CBN.

- [Gordon] Coming up.

- [Tamatha] He rode hisHarley that morning.

- [Gordon] 20 years after 9/11.

- [Tamatha] We always say,

"Love you, love you, see you soon."

- [Gordon] A widow remembers the day

that changed everything.

- I immediately called him, no answer.

- [Gordon] And finds thestrength to move forward.

- When she paused, something just left me.

I just knew he was already gone.

- On today's, "700 Club.

(gentle music)

(wind whooshing)

(dramatic music)

Welcome to, "The 700 Club."

The federal government wants to crack down

on the unvaccinated.

President Biden announced

sweeping new vaccine mandates yesterday.

They affect not only federal employees,

but also those workingin private business,

and school children.

- Well, the president's new mandates

quickly generated pushback,

with Republicans callingthem, "Unconstitutional,"

and some states considering legal action.

Caitlin Burke has the details.

(wind whooshing)

- The sweeping new mandatesare expected to affect

as many as 100 million Americans.

The new rules requiring vaccinations,

not only for federal employees,

and any contractors who workfor the federal government,

but also private businesses.

- The department of labor isdeveloping an emergency rule

to require all employerswith 100 or more employees,

that together employover 80 million workers,

to ensure their workforcesare fully vaccinated,

or show a negative testat least once a week.

- [Caitlin] The president

clearly expressing his frustration,

that one out of every four Americans

who is eligible to be vaccinated,

still hasn't gotten the shot.

- We've been patient, butour patience is wearing thin,

and the refusal has cost all of us.

- [Caitlin] Dr. Anthony Fauci

says Americans are stillgetting infected with the virus

at 10 times the rateneeded to end the pandemic.

And the U.S. is headed into the fall

with four times more patientsin hospitals than a year ago.

Now, Biden calling for an end

to what he calls pandemic politics.

- This is not aboutfreedom, or personal choice.

It's about protectingyourself, and those around you.

- [Caitlin] Some Republican lawmakers

and union chiefs immediately pushing back

against the new mandates,

calling the president'sactions, "Unconstitutional."

Some states are also alreadyconsidering legal action.

Kristi Noem, the governor ofSouth Dakota, tweeting quote,

"My legal team is standingby ready to file our lawsuit

the minute Joe Biden fileshis unconstitutional rule.

This gross example of federalintrusion will not stand."

And Arizona governor DougDucey tweeted out, quote,

"This is exactly kind ofbig government overreach

we have tried so hardto prevent in Arizona.

This will never stand up in court."

Just last December, thenPresident-elect Biden

said he would not demandthe vaccine be mandatory.

The White House now sayingthe president's position

has needed to change,along with the virus.

- So obviously, information, data evolves,

and the steps we need to take to address,

to get the virus under control,

to help people return tonormal, has to evolve as well.

- The president is also callingfor regular COVID testing

at all schools, the LosAngeles board of education

taking things one step further,

voting on Thursday to require all students

over the age of 12 to be vaccinated

if they want to attend in-person classes.

Caitlin Burke, "CBN News."

- Well, our, "CBN News,"medical reporter Lorie Johnson

is standing by here totell us more about this.

So Lorie, the first question I've got,

how in the world are thesemandates going to be enforced?

- Well, that's a great question, Gordon,

because anyone who'sdriven on an interstate

knows that if peopledon't want to obey a rule,

they won't, unless it's enforced.

And at this point it looks like OSHA

is going to be enforcing this.

And they say that they'regoing to be fining businesses

$14,000 per offense.

And so we'll see if that actually holds.

- Now, I've gotta ask, as anemployer of over 100 people,

is that 14,000, what is per offense mean?

Is that per employee who is unvaccinated?

How, how do they count offenses?

- That's what it sounds like.

And the details of this were not laid out

in the president's speech.

And so there are a lot of questions,

and a lot of employers, such as yourself,

are consulting their legalteams and getting legal advice,

because this is a huge legal issue

on so many different levels.

- Okay, well, who's gonnapay for the weekly tests,

within what I've seen in the news media,

that you either haveto mandate vaccination,

or require people to submit a weekly test,

that they're not positive.

So who's gonna pay for the test?

- Well, the presidentdid say that businesses

must pay for time off foremployees who get vaccinated,

and also pay for time off

if that vaccinated employeeis having some trouble,

doesn't feel very wellafter their vaccine.

Sometimes people need to takea day, or two, or three off

after the vaccination.

And so he made it clear that businesses

have to pay for that time off.

But it looks like if a personis opting out of the vaccines,

and is instead going togo the weekly test route,

that it is going to be up tothe employee to pay for that.

- Okay, well, let's talk about Regeneron.

The president is saying thatwill be made more available.

So what is Regeneron? What does it do?

- Regeneron is wonderful, andpeople who are regular viewers

of, "The 700 Club," knowwe talked about this

a couple of weeks ago.

Regeneron is a monoclonal antibody.

It is a treatment that is very effective,

and it's widely available insome places, like in Florida.

And we know that it reducesthe risk of hospitalization

among COVID positive patients by 70%.

So if you become positive,

if you become sick with COVID-19,

and you get this Regeneron,

or another monoclonal antibody treatment,

then within about one, two, or three days

of the onset of symptoms,

then your chance of being hospitalized

drastically decreases.

And so the president saidthat the availability

and the manufacturing of Regeneron

is going to be increasing.

He also said that part of this new effort

is going to be increasingthe manufacturing

and availability of those tests, Gordon.

- All right, last question.

we're hearing a lotabout the Delta variant.

There was a Lambda variant,

and now I'm hearing thatthere's a new one called, Mu.

And so I'm relearning the Greek alphabet.

- (laughing) Right.

- Tell us about Mu, should webe concerned about that one?

- Well, yes and no.

Right now, Mu has beenidentified in 49 states,

but still Gordon, the Delta variant

makes up 99% of all COVID-19 cases.

And it's absolutely ravagingour country right now.

We're averaging about 150,000 cases a day,

1,500 deaths per day.

And so health officialsreally have their hands full

with Delta right now,

although they are keeping an eye on Mu,

to see what it's going to do.

Right now, there aren't that many cases.

There are some earlyreports that in laboratory,

in Petri dishes, thatit is very contagious,

and could evade the vaccines.

But also we know this is true with Delta,

that Delta somewhat evades the vaccines,

and is extremely contagious.

So when people say that Mucould evade the vaccines,

they're not saying entirely,but possibly somewhat.

So health officials aredefinitely keeping an eye on Mu,

but much more concernedwith Delta at this point.

- All right, well Lorie, thanks.

In other news, President Bidenfaces another huge challenge,

getting U.S. allies out of Afghanistan.

Mark Martin has the storyfrom the CBN newsroom, Mark?

(wind whooshing)

- Thanks Gordon, Americansare being flown out of Kabul

in Afghanistan, but thousands of Afghans

who helped the U.S. are stillstranded in their homeland,

and their predicament posesa problem for the president,

who promised not to leaveAmerican allies behind.

It could be difficult for them to leave,

since it may not be possible

to get travel documents in Afghanistan,

and American diplomatsand troops are gone.

That's led to fears from U.S.lawmakers, veterans groups,

and other Americans thatthe U.S. might abandon

countless Afghan allies.

Afghanistan's new governmentsee its takeover of the country

as a victory for Islam.

And the Taliban says it'swilling to have relations

with most other countries,except one, Israel.

Middle East Bureau Chief Chris Mitchell

brings us that story.

(wind whooshing)

- [Chris] Israel won't commenton the Taliban statement

that it will considerties with everyone else,

but the Jewish state.

U.S. Secretary of StateAntony Blinken says

the U.S. would think aboutties with the Taliban.

- The Taliban says it seeksinternational legitimacy,

and international support,

and that will dependentirely on what it does,

not just on what it says.

- [Chris] Blinken says that Taliban

committed to fighting terrorism,

not allowing Afghanistanto be a terror launch site,

and upholding the basicrights of the Afghan people,

including women, girls, and minorities.

- They see America as a countrywhich they can blackmail,

because Americans do not get it.

Americans will cater tothe Taliban, unlike Israel.

- [Chris] The European Union says

it already broke their word

with the installationof a radical government.

Long time Middle East expert,Dr. Mordechai Kedar says

the group sees its victory

as reaching way beyond Afghanistan.

- What happened in Kabulon the 15th of August

will forever be rememberedin the Islamic world

as the victory of Islam over Christianity,

the victory of the jihad

over the war machine of the infidels.

It will be the victoryof Allah over Jesus.

- [Chris] That's the day Taliban forces

seized control ofAfghanistan's capital, Kabul.

Kedar says the perceived victory

has worldwide repercussions.

- And they actually willderive so much encouragement

from what happened in Kabul,

that for years it will fuel the jihad

against the West in general,against Israel in particular,

and the whole Islamicworld became so emboldened.

- [Chris] He says it bringsback memories of 9/11.

- [Mordechai] America was hitin the biggest terror attacks

which could ever happen.

- [Chris] That was 20 years ago,

when on 9/11, Al-Qaedaterrorists, based in Afghanistan,

killed 3,000 people in one day,

after hijacking commercial airliners,

and targeting the TwinTowers and the Pentagon.

A fourth plane missed its target,

but crashed, killing all on board.

- In America, going toAfghanistan defeated the Taliban

within two weeks, andgot rid of the Al-Qaeda.

And lo and behold, 20 years later,

the Taliban won, succeeded to defeat

the most powerful global superpower.

- [Chris] Kedar warrantsthat the Islamists

will continue to push forward

in their battle againstIsrael, the U.S., and Europe,

if America doesn't wake up.

Chris Mitchell, "CBN News," Jerusalem.

- So many stories tocover around the country,

and around the world, but Gordon,

we definitely cannot forget about

what's happening in Afghanistan.

Back to you.

- I don't think we'll ever forget

what's happening in Afghanistan,

because Afghanistan won't let us.

I've been saying for decadesnow, the 20 years of this war,

that we're in a war that'snot fought with bullets.

This is an ideology,

and we never took it on for what it was.

And throughout the Bush administration,

and then the Obama administration,

less so in the Trump, butTrump opened the door,

and started the negotiationswith the Taliban,

which now the Bidenadministration has finished.

But during all of that,

there was all this insistence

that Islam as a religion of peace,

not understanding at the core fundamental,

they're trying to outdo each other

in terms of who is moreadherent to Sharia,

who is the true Muslim.

And we're seeing that rightnow play out in Afghanistan.

We have ISIS-K versus the Taliban,

and ISIS-K is saying, "Well, the Taliban,

they're not true Muslims.

The really true Muslims are the ones

who want to give theirlives in the struggle,

and the jihad against the infidels.

And we're more than willing to do that."

21 years ago in Afghanistan,under the Taliban,

there were training camps put in place.

In those training camps, oneof them had a U.S. airliner,

and they learned how to breakin, and how to take over.

All of these things weredone in Afghanistan.

And then they exported from Saudi Arabia,

Saudi Arabian citizens, who came here,

and we literally trained themin how to fly an airplane.

All of that was done, andit's the most horrible attack

the world has ever seen,

the greatest terroristattack of all time, 9/11.

That anniversary is tomorrow.

The same group that put all that together

is now back in power in Afghanistan.

And they're absolutely saying,"This is a victory of Islam.

This is a victory over Christianity.

This is Allah against Jesus."

They're saying that,they're believing that.

And it's because we neverundertook the ideological battle.

A lot of that has to do with,I think, our leadership,

particularly in our foreign affairs.

Do we even believe the idealsthat were founded in America?

And I point again tothe Bush administration,

when they put Sharia lawinto the constitution

of both Iraq and Afghanistan,

there were essentially saying,

"You can't have freedom of conscience,

you can't have freedom of speech.

You can't have freedom of religion."

These are foundationalprinciples that our republic

and any free democracy has to have.

So if you're not goingto take on the ideology,

we've been fighting thewrong war for 20 years.

Now here we are, 20 years later,

and once again the same group

that made all of those terror attacks,

they're now in control again.

Can we anticipate there'll be more terror?

I think absolutely.

And I think we're already seeing it,

being an embolding act forHamas, Hezbollah, Iran.

We're seeing prisonersbreakout of prisons in Israel.

There's now yet another day of rage

being scheduled in Israel.

All of these things are consequences

of the pullout from Kabul,

the pullout from Afghanistan, Terry?

- Well, up next, "Let's roll."

Those words from Flight93 are forever burned

in America's conscience.

Now, 20 years later on the eve of 9/11,

we'll take you to the sitewhere that plane went down.

What unique bond have theresidents of Shanksville

formed with the familiesof the Flight 93 heroes?

You'll see for yourself, that's coming up.

Plus, another fateful flight on 9/11,

American Airlines 77.

Meet the widow of a military man killed

when that plane crashed into the Pentagon.

How did she overcome her anger and grief?

She's going to tell us herself.

And that's later on today's, "700 Club."

(inspirational music)

- Well images from September 11th, 2001

are forever burned into the memories

of every American who's old enough

to have been alive on that day.

For the community ofShanksville, Pennsylvania,

the memories are especially potent.

That's where Flight 93crashed into a remote field

just minutes before it couldhave struck Washington, D.C.

For the past 20 years,

the residents have formed a unique bond

with the families ofthe heroes of Flight 93.

Senior National AffairsCorrespondent Heather Sells

brings us their story.

- [Heather] Clara Hintonwas home alone that morning.

- I can remember, it was a gorgeous day.

- [Heather] She had followed the attack

on the World Trade CenterTowers, and the Pentagon.

Then at 10:03, she heardFlight 93 hit the ground,

just two miles away.

- My house rattled, it waslike a tree had fallen.

- [Heather] Her TV andphone lines went down.

Soon after a friend stoppedby with news of the crash.

- I just remember suchfear coming over me,

because things like thatdon't happen in Shanksville.

- [Heather] It's believed thatthe hijackers on Flight 93

planned to crash it into the White House,

or the U.S. Capitol.

Instead, under attack frompassengers on the plane,

they crashed it into this field

in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

A few minutes later,the plane would have hit

the town's only school.

20 minutes later, it wouldhave struck Washington.

Within hours, the towntransformed into a crisis center,

receiving state and federal investigators.

- Our community was justround the clock helping.

That fire hall was full of people,

with home baked pies,and great cooked meals,

and sandwiches were available constantly.

- [Heather] Chuck Wagner helpedwith the recovery effort,

and began meeting loved onesof the Flight 93 heroes,

as they visited the crash site.

- I just could feel a compassion.

Not my compassion, the Lord's compassion.

- [Heather] Communityleaders asked Hinton,

a grief counselor, and others,

to be available to the families.

- We talked, we cried, we reminisced.

We talked more, we sharedtissues, we shared coffee.

I brought several up to my home to rest.

- Today, many of those who live here

have formed an unexpected bond

with the families of Flight 93,

all of them shaped by unexpected tragedy.

- Some'll keep in touch with Facebook,

and others, we're just cordial.

But anniversary times feel like a reunion,

we can catch up and see how the grandkids

has grown so much.

- [Heather] Markers around Shanksville

bear witness to Flight93, from a welcome sign,

to the fire trucks, to atiny chapel on the outskirts

filled with mementos.

The National Park Service fast tracked

a memorial to the flight heroesat the original crash site,

opening it in 2011.

Today, its rolling landscapeand abundant meadows

offer comfort andopportunities for reflection

on how 40 people quickly banded together

in a plan that would cost their lives

to save our nation's Capitol.

- You see this naturalarea, and the wild flowers,

and the trees, this living landscape,

and it inspires hope in many ways.

- It's a place of healing.

Even families talk about that,

that for loved ones have to die,

but what perfect place could it be,

than in the arms of nature.

- [Heather] 20 Yearslater, this tiny hamlet

is beyond the raw emotionsof the early days.

Wagner has published two books

filled with photos of thetributes to Flight 93.

And Hinton collects memorabilia.

Some of their questions,however, will never be answered.

- I still don't make sense of it.

I cannot imagine in mymind that kind of hatred

that prompted an act like that.

Nor can I really grasp the heroism

of those aboard Flight 93.

- It's a different Americathan we had back 20 years ago.

It's painful in a lot of ways.

And back then, we weren'tRepublicans or Democrats,

we were Americans.

I miss that.

- [Heather] For Wagner and Hinton,

one of the hopes on this anniversary

is that a new generation willlearn about what happened

in the skies over Shanksville,and see the hand of God.

- It changes you, I feelcloser to God, I would say,

closer to God, and closer to humankind.

I know that when somethinghappens, we bind together.

We help each other, we'rethere for each other.

And I think tragedies oftenbring out the best in people.

And that's what I've decided to focus on.

- [Heather] Reporting in Shanksville,

Heather Sells, "CBN News."

- Oh, the tragedy definitelybrought out the best

in the heroes of that flight,

and we will all neverforget, "Let's roll."

What a courageous thing that they did,

and let us inspire us today,

as we look at terrorism around the world,

as we look at terrorist governments,

and terrorist states,

whether that's the Taliban in Afghanistan,

the current rulers inIran, Hamas, Hezbollah,

all of these terror networks.

Let us, "Let's roll,"let's not cave in to that.

Let's not bargain with that.

Let us realize what itis, it's evil, Terry?

- Mhm, well still ahead,his truck rolled twice,

ejecting him head firstthrough the windshield.

First responders saidhe would never survive

the Life Flight to the hospital.

So how did he defy the doctors,and make a full recovery?

You have to see it tobelieve it, that's coming up.

Plus,(wind whooshing)

angry that her husbandperished in the Pentagon,

this 9/11 widow turned her back on God.

So what happened five years later

that melted her angerand restored her faith?

You're about to find out.

(serene music)

Major Clifford Patterson left home

on the morning of September 11th, 2001,

and he never came back.

For days, his wife Tamatha,

held on hope that he was still alive.

Then she got a phone call,

and suddenly she knew herhusband was gone forever.

- I met him at a function,an army function,

and he just walked right upto me and started speaking.

- [Reporter] Tamatha Patterson

will always remember that day,

the day she met her husband, Clifford.

- Doesn't hurt my eyes, (laughing),

and within six months we were engaged.

Love at first sight? Yes, it was, it was.

- [Reporter] Another day years later

would also be etched in her mind.

The couple, both captains in the Army,

were now living in Northern Virginia,

and raising their two sons,

five-year-old Clifford III,and one-year-old Benjamin.

Saying their usual goodbyes,

they set off on their morning commute,

Tamatha to Fort Belvoir, Virginia,Clifford to the Pentagon.

- We always say, "Love you,love you, see you soon."

And I could see him walkingback into the garage

to ride his bike, he rodehis Harley that morning.

- [Reporter] Tamatha isn'tthe only one who remembers

sending off a loved one that day.

It was September 11th, 2001.

Tamatha was already at work

when the shocking images of 9/11

began flashing across TVscreens throughout her office.

Then another report came through,

American Airlines Flight 77had crashed into the Pentagon.

- I immediately call him, no answer.

I'm like, "Okay, this can't be happening."

So I called the Army'soperation center, nothing.

I'm thinking, "He's trying to call me,

or he's helping somebody."

- [Reporter] Hours stretchedinto days as rescue personnel

continued searching therubble for survivors.

Despite the odds, she stillheld on to the slightest hope,

praying for a miracle.

- Every day, I would takemy youngest to daycare,

and my oldest to school, and I come home,

and I sit in front of the TV.

I had the radio on, prayingthat I would either see him,

or somebody found him.

- [Reporter] Then, on September 26th,

two weeks after the attacks,the phone call finally came.

It was a casualty officerasking to come see Tamatha.

- I said, "Are you bringing a chaplain?"

And she paused.

And so when she paused,something just left me,

I just knew he was already gone.

So I had a hard cry.

- [Reporter] On October 13th, 2001,

Clifford was laid to rest inArlington National Cemetery.

It was just a few days

after the couple's eighthwedding anniversary.

- I felt like I was...

But I couldn't believe it was happening,

but it was happening, and...

And now, it's about my boys,now that their dad is gone,

it's about making sure that Istayed together for my boys.

- [Reporter] Although she did manage

to keep it together for her boys, Tamatha,

who'd been a Christian most of her life,

struggled to believe a loving God

could allow such a tragedy.

- I was just so angry at God,

'cause I've been praying so hard,

I'm like, "Okay, are younot listening to me?"

And I wouldn't be sitting in church,

like, "Why would you do that?

Why would you take him like that?

A good person, two boys that need him."

- [Reporter] Driven byher anger and grief,

Tamatha poured herself intoher sons, and her Army career,

eventually making colonel.

And while she stilltook her sons to church,

and encouraged them to follow Christ,

she was pushing him away.

- What do we do, what did I do to deserve

what I'm going through?

- [Reporter] It wasn'tuntil five years later,

that Tamatha began to let go of her anger,

and let God heal her heart and soul.

She was in Sunday school.

The lesson that morning

was about the biblical figure of Job.

- He lost everything, helost his whole family.

And then I thought about my family,

and that my boys couldbe without me and Cliff,

had I went there.

And then hit me, I'mlike, "What am I doing?

What have I been doing?Why are you so angry?"

It could have been both of you.

- [Reporter] That's becauseon the morning of the attacks,

Tamatha was supposed to pickup a document at the Pentagon.

When she got to work, itwas already on her desk,

so she never went.

- I was so remorseful, itwas, "Lord, I'm so sorry.

Even with me being angry, notdoing what I'm supposed to do,

you still kept me and my boys."

Then I started trying to do better.

I'm like, "What makes mebetter than anybody else?

What makes me better than Job?"

- [Reporter] As Tamatha opened her heart,

her mind, and her Bible,

she realized God's love was always there,

and always would be.

- First of all, he let meknow it's okay to be angry.

But at the end of the day,he doesn't make mistakes.

He doesn't make mistakes,

and everything that Ilost by losing Cliff,

if I remained faithful, andcontinued to trust in him,

then God can still have a bright future

for me and my family.

- [Reporter] Cliffordwas eventually promoted

posthumously to major.

Tamatha retired as a colonel,

and enjoys her role as a volunteer coach

for the Special Olympics.

Her boys are now young men,

both living their lives for Christ.

She taught them by exampleto run to God, not from him,

even when their world is falling apart.

- Just because you pray and you ask,

you may not get what you asked for,

but that doesn't meanGod doesn't love you.

He already knows what you're dealing with.

Continue to trust him no matter what.

- Grief is such a strongemotion, isn't it.

And you know, one of the things

that makes it so difficultfor us to deal with is

that often things happenthat cause us to grieve,

and there aren't any answersto the why behind it.

Not just with grief,

it's true with otherthings in life as well,

loss, deep loss, why God?

You know, we want it to make sense,

we wanna be able to wrapour brains around it,

and ease our hearts withan understanding of it all.

And sometimes there just isn't one.

You know, why are young people taken,

when some of us who've liveda long life continue to live?

Why do marriages fall apart,

when one partner is deeply committed

and doesn't want it to happen?

I mean, you could go down a laundry list,

why did what happened on 9/11 happen?

Why is there hatred in the world?

There are a million and one questions

that don't have simple answers,

and questions about situationsthat cost us something.

You know, that's when weget angry about things,

because we're trying to manage our grief,

we're trying to manage our loss,

and we feel totally out of control.

And where were you, God, inthe middle of all of that?

And yet, God's Word sayshe's always with us,

"I will never leave you or forsake you."

He says that he's there all the time,

that his peace is beyondanything we can understand,

and available to us.

But you know, just likewhen we come to Christ,

and we have to surrenderour will and our way,

at some point when we're grieving,

we have to surrender our anger.

We have to let go and say,"God, I don't understand why,

and I may never understand why,

but it doesn't change who you are."

And how do we know who he is?

You know we know becausehis Word tells us.

We know because he'sfaithful in all times.

This is why God puts us inrelationship with each other,

so that when you're goingthrough grief in your life,

I can come and stand alongside of you,

and remind you of who your Savior is,

remind you of the God who said

he'd never leave you or forsake you,

stand with you, weep with you.

We're meant to be inrelationship with each other,

even as we're meant to bein relationship with him.

There are some of you whoare grieving right now,

who have held on to bitterness,and resentment, and anger.

And God is saying to you, andhas always said to all of us,

"Give it to me, let me carry that for you.

It's too heavy for you."

And so today, I wannaencourage you to do that.

I know it's a hard thing to do.

Sometimes you have topry your fingers open,

to let go and give itto God, but do it today.

You weren't meant to carry that.

Ask him to restore unto youthe joy of your salvation,

and to renew a steadfastspirit within you.

God will do that for you.

We have a wonderful pamphletwe'd like to send you.

It's called, "Overcoming Grief."

And if you're struggling with that today,

and all of the things that area part of dealing with grief,

all you have to do to get your copy

is download a free copy at cbn.com.

Or you can request a copy,

we're happy to send it to you

by calling our toll freenumber, it's 1-800-700-7000.

Put Jesus back on the throne in your life,

and experience peace, Gordon?

- Still ahead, hit by a hurricane,

this couple had to live in ahouse without walls for a year.

So how did they keep warm,and who came to their rescue?

Stay tuned to find out.

(gentle music)

(dramatic music)

- And welcome back to, "The 700 Club."

The Justice Department has filed suit

against the Texas law thatmakes abortion illegal

after a heartbeat is detected,calling it unconstitutional.

Attorney General Merrick Garland says

there is precedent ina Supreme Court ruling

that says, "Regardless of whether

exceptions are made forparticular circumstances,

a state may not prohibit any woman

from making the ultimate decision

to terminate her pregnancybefore viability."

Texas Governor Greg Abbott's office

issued a statement saying,"Texas passed a law

that ensures that the life ofevery child with a heartbeat

will be spared the ravages of abortion.

We are confident that the courts

will uphold and protectthat right to life."

CBNs Operation Blessinghas been on the ground

in Louisiana this week,helping people there recover

from the devastatingimpact of hurricane Ida.

The death toll has risento 26 in the state,

and hundreds of thousands ofpeople remain without power.

Operation Blessing is workingwith churches in the region,

repairing homes, deliveringsupplies and meals,

and praying for those hit by the storm.

That's wonderful that they'reright there on the ground,

helping out those in need.

And you can find out moreabout Operation Blessing

by visiting ob.org.

Gordon and Terry will be back

with more of today's, "700Club," right after this.

(wind whooshing)(dramatic music)

- After hurricane Michaeldestroyed their home,

Herman and Marie lived in a gutted house.

They barely had any walls,

and their only source of heatwas a propane fish fryer.

They lived like this for a year,

until they receivedhelp from CBN partners.

- It was terrible.

The hurricane was blowing rain and water

almost 200 miles an hour.

The soffits on thesides was blown out too,

water was going down throughthe walls, into the floor.

- [Reporter] When hurricaneMichael flooded their home

in Mexico Beach, Florida,Herman and Marie Peterson

had to completely gut it.

Even with all that work to do,

Herman's main priorityis caring for Marie,

who has Parkinson's.

- I try to be strong for her.

It just makes Parkinsonworse, when she's got stress.

- With no insulation inNovember and December,

and it was 40 degrees out,we couldn't stay in here.

So he put a bed up in the pole barn.

He lit the propane fishfryer to keep me warm.

- [Reporter] For almost a year,

the couple lived in theirhouse with hardly any walls,

as they tried to restoretheir home on their own.

- How do you just aboutrebuild a house from scratch,

except for the slabs and the two by fours?

Last month, he wastrying to do some things.

It was so hot in here thathe had heat exhaustion,

and he sat over there on the chair,

just getting sick to his stomach.

We've done everythingthat we possibly can.

- [Reporter] When Operation Blessing

heard about the Petersons,we knew we needed to help.

A team of volunteers rebuilt their walls,

floors and ceilings.

- Feels like a burden lifted.

You hear Christ taughtin the New Testament,

"Come to me and I will lift your burden."

I know through him, all is possible,

and I know that y'all are sent by him.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Can't say thank you enough.

I know for myself, youcan't out give the Lord.

And when you give intoOperation Blessings,

it's just like giving to the Lord.

- Just can't thank you enough,

to be able to have a homewith floors and walls.

These blessings are morethan I could ever imagine,

or that I could ever dream of.

But thanks to OperationBlessings, and people like you,

I'm gonna have a home (crying)

- That thank you goes to you,

if you're a member of, "The 700 Club."

You're a part of helping thatwonderful couple have a home,

have walls, have a floor again.

Hurricane Michael wasall the way back in 2018.

They went for a while without that,

but we didn't give up on providing relief,

because we wanna be there for people.

We wanna be there for peoplein their time of need.

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

join in everything we'redoing around the world.

If you wanna see the gospelpreached around the world,

in 70 languages, join, "The 700 Club."

If you wanna see peoplehelped here at home,

with disaster relief, with food,

if you wanna see peoplehelped internationally

with medical care, cleanwater, join, "The 700 Club."

A portion of every gift

goes into the work of Operation Blessing.

You're a part of all of it when you join.

Now, if that's you, youwanna do it, give us a call,

1-800-700-7000, and when youcall, ask for Pledge Express,

that's electronic monthly giving,

the bank doing all the work.

And we send to you a monthlygift called, "Power for Life,"

monthly teaching CDs,so if you'd like those,

ask for Pledge Express when youcall, or just go to cbn.com,

there's a place on the givingpage where you join monthly,

and you'll automaticallysign up for Pledge Express.

And if you wanna help hurricane victims,

we're on the groundright now in Louisiana,

helping the victims of hurricane Ida.

And you can give to that, just designate

to say, "I want to giveto Operation Blessing,

the Disaster Relief Fund."

You can write us at CBN Center,

Virginia Beach, Virginia, 23463.

Just put OperationBlessing Disaster Relief

in the memo line.

Or you can call us, 1-800-700-7000,

say, "I wanna give to disaster relief,"

or go online to cbn.com.

There's a place on the giving page

where you can designate your gift.

Either way, do it rightnow, 1-800-700-7000, Terry?

- Up next, frostbite, a fractured spine,

and swelling of the brain,

this young man desperately needed surgery,

but his doctor said it would kill him.

So how did he survive?

See for yourself right after this.

(gentle music)

Well, this is the lastday of our special week

of 7 Days Ablaze,

and we've seen someamazing answers to prayer.

We've had the privilege ofpraying for your needs each day.

We want you to rememberyou can always call us

with your prayer requests,at our toll free number,

800-700-7000, or visitus at cbn.com/prayer.

Today, Gordon and Ashley Keyare gonna be praying for you

at noon Eastern, on cbn.com/prayer,

so be sure to join them for that, Gordon?

- And we're gonna be prayingfor you on this program

in just a few minutes, but first,

we want you to meet a walking miracle.

Wherever Nate goes in his small town,

well, people come out to see him.

They wanna see the young man who was dead,

and is now alive.

His doctors never expected him to survive,

because they ignored one critical factor,

the power of prayer.

- [Jim] And I could seethat there was somebody

laying in the bottom of the ditch,

and I assumed that he was probably dead

from the looks of it.

- [Reporter] In the earlyhours of March 4th, 2018,

21 year old Nathan Hedberg,

a baseball player at South Dakota State,

was driving home when helost control of his truck

on the icy roads.

Police determined his truck rolled twice,

before ejecting Nate headfirst through the windshield.

After Nate spent nearlyfive hours lying in a ditch,

a farmer, Jim Baumberger,found him and called 911.

- [Jim] She said, "Check,see if his breathing,"

and I could hear kind of a gurgling noise.

And I said, "Well, Ithink he's breathing."

- [Reporter] Nate had suffered frostbite,

a fractured spine, andswelling of his brain.

First responders didn'tbelieve he would survive

the 20 minute Life Flightto the nearest hospital.

Medical staff contacted Nate's parents.

(phone ringing)

- I was awakened by my cell phone ringing,

and it was the emergency room.

Before I even got up out ofbed, I went to God in prayer,

telling God, "You dowhat you choose to do,

and I will accept whatever you choose."

- I broke down on my knees and I wailed

like I've never wailed in my life.

- [Reporter] Terry andLorie flew from their home

in California, to thehospital in South Dakota.

Lorie, a nurse of 30years, told the surgeon

to be honest about Nate's chances.

- He said, "Uh, he's so unstable.

If we did surgery to relievethe pressure on his brain,"

he goes, "I'll kill him during surgery."

He's like, "There's nothingI can do for your son."

And he told us at that timethat he wasn't convinced

that Nate would make it through the night.

- And I just said, "God,I can't control it.

I don't know what to do.

Would you please heal my son?"

- I put my hand over the surgeon,

as he's giving us this hopeless scenario.

And I said, "But you'reforgetting one thing,"

and he's like, "What?"

And I said, "There's a God factor."

- [Reporter] Despite theprognosis as word got out,

the Hedbergs were inspiredby the prayers of people

from their hometown,and all over the world.

- The news of Nathan'saccident had gone viral.

And we had so many people praying for him.

And that was very amazing to me.

- [Reporter] While Natewas still in a coma,

his older brother, Justin,sang Christian songs to him,

and Nate's response was encouraging.

- A couple nurses walk into the room,

and they noticed on the chartsof his cranial pressures

and his brain was actually decreasing.

- And he would sing to Nathan,

and the pressure monitors would come down

to a much more acceptable level.

It was precious.

- [Reporter] After a few weeks,

Lorie believed God wantedher to convince the doctor

to take Nate off the ventilator.

The surgeon reluctantly agreed.

- I truly believed God would raise my son,

but the doctor didn't thinkhe had the mental capacity

to breathe on his own.

And when we extubated him,it's pretty traumatic.

And Nathan had the best cough.

He literally rose off the bed, coughing.

Nate actually became alert,and he said, "I love you."

- We were all believingfor Jesus to heal him.

And that was like amiracle right in itself,

because I know thedoctors didn't expect him

to go beyond the machine.

- [Reporter] After several more weeks,

Nate awoke from his coma.

- I immediately was shocked.

I was just like overwhelmedwith joy to see him moving,

to see him speaking, even ifit wasn't coherent sentences,

like it made sense, likelife was coming back to him.

- [Reporter] After months of rehab,

Nate made a full recovery,and returned to his hometown.

- Everybody from that small town

just came running to seethe kid that was dead

and is now alive.

- When I went back, I mean,when I was walking around town,

a lot of people just ranup to me and hugged me,

and was just crying,

and just thankful thattheir prayers were answered.

And I just was so thankful.

- [Reporter] After allthey've been through,

the Hedbergs can't help but praise God

for Nate's survival, healing,

and the prayers that wereanswered along the way.

- This miracle doesn't happen to everyone,

in the same circumstance, you know?

And I know that God hassaved me for something,

and I wanna live up towhat he wants from me.

- He was showing us, even in hindsight,

that he was in control,and that he was hearing

the fervent prayer of thosewho are walking with him.

- Everyday, I thank God forbringing our son back to life.

I rejoice every day.

- God is absolutely in control.

We can trust him with everything.

We can trust him with our heart.

Alls he wants his us to submit,

to submit and trust him,that he is a loving Father.

(gentle music)

- Love what Nate said,"He has preserved me

for such a time, he's brought me.

I went to live up towhat he wants for me."

It's one of the great Jewish prayers,

they pray it at Hanukkah,"That we thank you, Lord God.

I mean, Adonai, Elohim, for preserving us,

and bringing us to this time."

Think about that, thinkof the number of miracles

that have happened in yourlife, that you're now here,

that you now know him, thatyou now have the ability

that he has given you.

And with that ability,

even if it's just yourbreath and your voice,

will you use it for his glory?

We're gonna pray,

we've got the prayerneeds before us right now.

I'm gonna read some of them,

"That the Lord would healand renew my marriage,"

"For my hearing to be restored,

and the ringing in my ears to stop."

"To be healed of neuropathyin my hands and feet,"

and, "To be healed ofinclusion body myositis,"

a progressive muscle disease.

What do you have?

- Well, "That God wouldheal all the veterans

and active duty militarysuffering from PTSD,"

"That the Lord would straighten my spine,

and heal me of scoliosis."

"That the Lord would send

a Holy Ghost awakening to America,"

and then, "to be healed of POTS syndrome,"

it causes sudden blood pressure changes

and other debilitating symptoms.

- Let's pray, Lord, we liftall of these requests to you.

We lift all of the onesrepresented here today.

We lift everyone whois watching right now.

We lift them all to you,and we declare over them

that you are the answerto every human need.

We thank you that you have preserved us,

and you have brought us to this season.

We thank you for that.

Now enable us, Lord God, topreach your glorious gospel.

Enable us and be with us, and encourage us

in the midst of the year.

Lord, for anyone who is sufferingwith anxiety, with grief,

with worry, with depression,

Lord lift their spirits today,

be a source of renewal for them.

Let us find refreshing in your presence.

Terry, God's giving you?

- There's someone,you've had COVID already,

and you've recovered from it,

but what you haven't recovered

is your ability to smell ortaste, and it's been some time.

God is restoring that to you,

just begin to breathe deeply,

begin to enjoy the food that you eat.

You'll see that it's allchanged, in Jesus' name.

- There's someone, you havea mass in your right lung.

You've already seen the x-ray,there was a dark spot there.

God's healing that, andhe's setting you free

from all worry right now, in Jesus' name.

If you've been healed, let us know.

If you have prayer, let usknow as well, 1-800-700-7000.

"He sent his Word and healed them,

and delivered them fromtheir destruction."

(gentle music)