May 22, 2024 • 35 mins
Welcome to Millan Foundation Conversations, where we talk all things community, philanthropy, and connect people together.
In our inaugural episode, we are joined by Sherry Nicholson, CEO and Founder of YAIPak Outreach, to discuss the powerful mission of the Millan Foundation and its deep connection with her team. Our gracious host for this episode is Reagan Prather, Leadership & Mental Performance Coach at Top Mental Game. Sherry shares her heartfelt journey from discovering an elderly homeless woman on the streets to establishing YAIPAk, a nonprofit dedicated to bringing hope, support, and resources to those in need.
Throughout this episode, you'll hear about the incredible relationships and bonds formed through YAIPak's outreach, as well as the various projects that have grown from addressing gaps in community resources. Learn about the impact of Be the Hope, Project Foster Hope, Project Patriot Hope, and Project Rebuild Hope, each designed to cater to different populations in need.
Sherry emphasizes the importance of respecting and valuing volunteers' time, cultivating genuine relationships, and creating an atmosphere of acceptance. She also shares her vision for the future, including expanding YAIPak to other states and establishing a ranch for children affected by severe trauma.
Join us as we dive into the awe-inspiring stories of transformation, miracles, and the unwavering commitment to loving God's people well. This episode is a testament to the power of Faith, Community, Outreach and Connection and the incredible impact that can be achieved when we come together for a greater cause.
Don't forget to visit MillanFamilyFoundation.org to stay up to date with everything going on at the Millan Foundation and to watch our podcast episodes on our YouTube channel. Thank you for listening to Millan Foundation Conversations, and until next time, Do The Next Kind Thing.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to Mian Foundation Conversations, where we talk all things community,
philanthropy, and connect people together. We hope you enjoy our show.
Welcome everyone to the inaugural Mian Foundation Conversations podcast,
where we endeavor to build connections
and foster mutually beneficial relationships within our community.
(00:23):
The discussions Questions in this space will focus on ways that we can work
together to make a positive impact on those around us, right?
Well, Sherry, I'm going to follow all the rules and stay really close here so
everyone can hear all the amazing things we have to say.
I don't have that much amazing. Sherry's going to be dropping lots of amazing info for us.
(00:46):
I think everybody today listening probably already knows the whole purpose of
the Mian foundation quite literally is to assist individuals like yourself and
organizations like YAPAC to help more people, right?
By removing obstacles that they are going to inevitably face and encounter along the way.
And most of our listeners probably also know that there's a pretty deep bond
(01:11):
between you and YAPAC and Leo and Lily.
But for those who maybe have been living under a rock for the last several years
or may not know much about the mission of YAPAC,
if you could just give us kind of the CliffsNotes version of who you are and
also how it is that you became so closely connected with the Mian's.
(01:34):
I'm Sherri Nicholson. I've been so blessed to be the founder.
And we came into existence because of an elderly woman that I found on the street
that was homeless that just wrecked my heart.
Incredible stories behind that whole encounter.
But long story short, it's what I found there in the streets that drove us to
become a nonprofit and to go to the hurting right where they are.
(01:58):
Really literally walking into their trauma and their darkness and those bad places of their life.
To see a life change, to bring hope, to bring support, to bring resources,
whatever it takes to see that person move forward and not have to live in that
trauma and that darkness. We want to be there for them.
(02:18):
It's what changed my life. Somebody loved me right where I was at.
And I want to be able to give that back because I know had that not been my encounter,
counter I wouldn't be here today and so in that journey of early on running
out of space and not knowing what to do and where to go and to store all these
purses I was packing initially.
(02:40):
I a friend of mine reached out and said hey I know a guy and he'd be willing
to show you some space maybe you could store a little bit and I met him walked
into his little space to me it was a giant space,
but it was downtown Clarksville in the basement of where we are today in the
press. It was in the basement.
(03:01):
And he said, if you can use this, you can help me out.
He does missions overseas and he had a little pallet of stuff and he was going
where it was hot weather, but he had coats and we kind of giggled.
And I said, I would love to help you, but I really can't afford this space.
He said, no, no, I want to help you. I believe in what you're doing.
And that started the journey and the relationship with Leo and Lily.
(03:23):
I never dreamed it would be where we are today, but Leo and Lily's generosity
and their heart is like anything that you typically meet in a couple.
They're extraordinary, and they absolutely mean the world to us.
That is so awesome. Wow. That's amazing.
That's big. So I guess then it's safe to say that accidents don't really happen, right?
(03:48):
And God's hand was recognizable in this from the very beginning.
Absolutely. A hundred percent.
Wow. Well, I, I, I may, I think I may have known you through LifePoint some
or through working with them with you, but I'm a member of LifePoint.
So I'm somewhat familiar with YAPAC and kind of what you guys do.
(04:10):
But I don't think I was truly really read in on all that you guys do.
And there's so many different populations that you really are intentional about trying to impact.
So if you would, I know this is probably hard to do because there is a lot to unpack.
But if you could give us maybe the CliffsNotes version of each one of those
(04:31):
that you call, you call them projects, right?
And I'm assuming, correct me if I'm wrong, it started with one and blew up because
of the need, right? It absolutely did.
Again, just miracles after miracles. We always say around YAPAC that we believe in miracles.
(04:52):
And YAPAC is an acronym. You are important people administering kindness.
When we started, what we were finding in the streets,
what we were finding in the woods, what we were finding in some of the facilities
that we were visiting, I chaplained for a year at one of the rescue missions.
(05:13):
And everything that we learned from the mission to the streets drove our projects that we developed.
We started out as a homeless outreach going into those places,
but it quickly began to grow when we realized...
The gaps in our community, the gaps with resources, whether it's private funded, federal funded.
(05:36):
And I wanted to know, how do we fill the gaps?
Because I too ended up homeless and I was turned away because they were at max
capacity at the women's shelter.
And I didn't have nowhere to go. I walked off the porch with no resources.
So that drove us to our projects that we have today, we have four pillars of
(05:57):
what we do for YAPAC Outreach.
The first pillar is our Be the Hub. Real quick.
And all of those, I was digging around on your website.
Your website's amazing and very user-friendly. So listeners should know all
of these projects are outlined, everything you can possibly want to know.
It's all there and very easy to give or get connected and involved.
(06:22):
So get on the website, YAIoutreach.org, right? Yes, yes. Okay, awesome.
Go ahead. So starting with Be the Hope is the first. I'm just excited.
I want everybody to know you've done a great job in so many different ways.
And that is just one way that I think you're, that people, there's no excuse.
It's easy to get. So go ahead. Thank you.
(06:42):
Yeah, so our first project, Be the Hope, It really encompasses what we do in being very mobile.
We're still very true to our roots of being a mobile outreach and going to where the people are.
We're not really open to the public because it takes so much work on the backside
of what we do and our other projects.
There's a lot of weight that we carry with those projects that happen inside the warehouse as well.
(07:06):
But we're doing back to school events. We're doing local missions,
we call them, to the foot of the Appalachian Mountains, different places like
that, but also just in our own community and county, Middle Tennessee.
Into Western Kentucky, it really has expanded.
And we do lots of back to school.
We have our Patriot Pantries where they are 24-7 filled with incredible food
(07:30):
that a family at any given point in time, we can fight food insecurities by
them having an opportunity to pick up something they need, even child-friendly.
So if a parent isn't cooking, a child can pick up something that they can eat.
Lots of stuff that we do in the way of being very mobile and taking it to the
community, as well as hosting on our own facility property, drive-thru events.
(07:52):
We're getting ready to do the summer fuel program for all the children to do
a drive-thru with their parents and pick up food, but just basic giveaways for
the changing of the seasons to make sure children have winter clothes when the
season changes or summer clothes when that changes.
Project Foster Hope, which is near and dear and exponentially growing.
That works with our children who are dealing with lots of trauma. They're dealing with,
(08:18):
horrific situations, but also we work on the other side of that,
that if a child is needing to be pulled from a home for whatever reason outside
of severe trauma, but if they don't have enough food or a bed or clothing or things,
we're helping meet that criteria so that families can keep their children.
So we're working on both sides of that trauma to keep the family together.
(08:41):
I don't think I was tracking that. That's really cool.
There's a lot that we can't publicize in the area of our work with children
just due to the nature of that trauma, but we're developing classes.
We're going to have classes we're going to be offering for foster families,
for the general population that's interested in just being more aware of situational awareness,
(09:04):
situational identification for child trafficking, things like that.
So it's very much expanded. It's the reason that we have school districts and
other states asking for us to come in and do some of these things.
Project Patriot Hope is the work that we do with our veterans in going out to the streets.
(09:24):
We were finding those children, but we were also finding our veterans who have
just kind of thrown their hand up over the red tape and bureaucracy of things.
And once we were able to get them reconnected and make sure that their dd214s
were filed and all the things that need to take place We still took care of
them in the encampments But we were able to walk with them through the process
(09:46):
and stay a friend with them until they finally got housing,
And once they got housing we're able to help set that up and there's so many
beautiful stories that come,
After that veteran has moved into his home or her home They're so proud of that
life change And they're so proud that they have a home and now because they've
been able to come and shop with this In their pantries filled and they can cook a meal.
(10:09):
They're reaching out to their family members inviting them over for a meal and
they're finding reconciliation and restoration at the dinner table.
And so we have continued that project, which has exponentially grown.
And we work with several key people in our community and in the Nashville area
with veterans, the Veterans Affair.
And then we have... Real quick, I think what you said there,
(10:31):
that really strikes me that the pride that these veterans are having.
I would assume that the pride that all of these groups of people have when you
enable them and empower them to do for themselves,
to get out of the, you know, everybody has hard times and falls on hard times sometime.
(10:56):
Time and for you what you're doing is
enabling these people to have pride in
themselves again maybe that they've lost which is so
incredible to me i think that's awesome really cool it's what someone did for
me and so we and that's part of seeing them move forward we don't want them
to stay in that mindset of being impoverished and this is my lot in life and
(11:21):
this is all that there There is.
And hope brings more than that.
Hope exposes more than that. And that's why we always say that we get to go
and be the hope. You're important.
We're just simply the people that get to administer kindness. And hence, YAPAC.
Yes. And so our last project is... Yes, Project Rebuild Hope. Yes. Yay.
(11:45):
Rebuild Hope is really expanding. It started as just natural disaster relief.
We are able to mobilize very quickly and get into small areas of communities
instead of running into the big cities where lots of resources will come to.
We found, because I grew up in one of those little towns, that when a natural
disaster hits, sometimes those little towns are the last one to get the resources.
(12:08):
And there's not a lot of tension that they get, but they have suffered the same
severe devastation as a big city. And so we can mobilize what we have now is
our grub squad. We have a mobile kitchen.
I love that, Grove Squad. We wanted to make it fun. We want people to smile.
And so we also have our mobile laundry unit called the Sud Squad.
(12:28):
Everybody gets a grin out of that.
We have a generator program. That's very strategic. But also we can run distribution
sites as well as develop volunteer base for doing muck out and cleanups and
things like that as well.
And because of our trailers and the different things that we mobilize into those
areas, We can work with first responders and the local government to be runners.
(12:51):
We can get supplies quickly from a distribution site into areas that need it,
whether it be a small church on the outer skirts or whatever that looks like.
And so we just want to be effective.
I remember, you know, my sister called me after Rita hit and she said,
Sherry, my whole neighborhood has nothing.
Nobody's come in yet. And this was right after Katrina. They hit back to back.
(13:13):
And Katrina still had all the attention.
She said, I've got babies without diapers. Moms are wrapping T-shirts around their little bottoms.
And I didn't even have YAPAC then, but I knew I needed to do something.
And we jumped into gear with my local church and we packed out as much as we could and took it down.
And when we unpacked, it looked like loaves and fishes.
(13:33):
It just kept coming. And that was kind of the seed for me to know that there's
a need there and how can we meet that need. So mobilization really is...
The key to everything that you're doing because you are going where the need
is. You're not just staying here in Clarksville.
(13:55):
It's, again, blown completely up much greater than that, right?
So what I'm really hearing here with all of this, these different projects, which are,
I just think so incredible that you saw a need to differentiate a bit because
while the need is the same, it is also very different for each of those groups, right?
(14:19):
And what I really heard was everybody needs to just leave all their excuses
at the house right now, because whatever your heart is, wherever your servant's heart lies,
you've got a place and probably a large need for volunteers all the time in
one of these different projects.
So as I was kind of going through thinking about what we would discuss,
(14:40):
how questions that I could ask you, I reached out to some good friends of mine
because I felt like, I mean, we should give the people what they want.
Let's ask them, what do they want to know about Sherry and YAPAC?
And so I did that. And some of these, you know, very well, but I have a few
questions for you that are from them. So I'd like to kind of dig in there.
(15:02):
So what is one of the most surprising things that's happened to you or or that
you have witnessed through your ministry with YAPAC?
Surprising. I like that word because I didn't want to be like,
what's the coolest thing you've done?
No, you've done a lot of cool things. What's surprised you the most in things that you've done?
(15:26):
Oh, that's a really tough question because I feel like I tell people all the
time, I get to live in awe of God because faith is so important to me in what we do.
One, it would be the amount of relationships that we build with those that have
become invisible to our society.
We have some homeless that are elderly that become a grandpa to some of my grandchildren.
(15:49):
And we have some that they cannot wait to call and tell us their life changes
and reports, or we've walked through their journey of health issues and cancer
and have seen victories.
So just how much they mean to you is like real family.
You grieve when When they grieve, you celebrate when they celebrate.
(16:10):
And the other side of that is the absolute miracles.
I know I mentioned miracles before, but we can just share story after story
of there being a need for YAPAC to meet the needs of someone.
And we've always said around YAPAC, we'll never out give God.
And the amount of people that he has raised up, knowingly or unknowingly,
(16:35):
to come and contribute have...
I don't know that they'll ever know the magnitude of the difference that they make.
Everything from a simple Band-Aid that was needed to a pair of wingtip shoes
for a gentleman to want to feel like a human and go to church and not feel like he was homeless.
The extraordinary miracles we see right when we need something is just mind-boggling
(17:00):
to me because we barely get it out of our mouth that we're talking as a team that we need something.
And do we put it out on Facebook? But do we keep asking because we don't me
personally, I don't want to bombard constantly asking, but we have to because
we're nonprofit and we're not government funded.
We're not no federal grants. We are strictly donation based.
(17:22):
That makes a huge difference in how you have to do everything that you want.
Absolutely. The way that you want it. Absolutely.
But it also doesn't open you up unless if you have really massive donors,
it doesn't open you up to that large monetary piece of those billions that are
sitting in federal funds.
So we've had to be very good stewards.
(17:43):
But with that, we can be talking as a team. We need something.
And it seems like it goes straight to the throne of heaven. And by the end of
the day, somebody's pulling up and says, hey, can you use this?
And we just are in awe that we were just talking about it.
We live every day surprised at the goodness of God.
(18:05):
So maybe surprising, rephrase my question, would not be the right word, but awe-inspiring.
And in that, as Christians, it's not surprising to us that He answers,
but it still is incredible.
And you do just sit there going, what in the world?
How did that happen? We just, you know, the timing is always perfect. Absolutely.
(18:27):
So that's awesome. Thank you for sharing that. So now this next one is kind
of a double, two pronged, I guess you could say, what is the easiest thing?
I think I already kind of know the answer to this because you may have already
answered it, but what is the easiest thing about what you do?
And I don't, not necessarily, you know, something that comes easy, right?
(18:49):
Because that's not really what I mean. What is the easiest thing about getting
up in the morning and knowing all of the need? It has to be burdensome.
It has to weigh on you or you wouldn't do this. Yeah.
So what is the easiest thing about doing this and running YAPAC and growing
it the way that you have? I'm getting to love his people.
(19:10):
Don't you start crying, okay? Because I'm a ball bag. All right.
There's a song I believe by Luke Woods called Heart After You and it's like
my theme song and it just is that at the end of the day will you find me loyal to you.
I want, as a believer, I one day when I stand before my Father,
(19:33):
we all say we want to hear well done, good and faithful servant.
We all say we want to hear that.
I want to hear, Sherry, thank you for loving my people well.
I want to know that despite the gross darkness that we see, the trauma that
we see, the entitlement, the attitudes,
all the things, good or bad, that at the end of the day, I have been loyal to
(19:58):
my Father and loving His people well.
Because if somebody had not loved me, I know without a doubt I would not be here today.
And it is the unconditional love of the Father that truly can change.
And even as humans, if we understand agape love, we can love unconditionally.
(20:22):
And it takes so much pressure off of us.
And it takes pressure off of the people that we're going to,
because it eliminates demands.
If I'm giving you something, give me something back. Right. Which is a lot of
these people, that's all they've known for maybe their lives,
or at least for a good significant portion. Absolutely.
Wow. Okay. And so I have to follow that up. And again, I think it may already
(20:43):
know the answer to this, but it was a question that people want to know.
What is the most difficult thing?
What is the most difficult thing about getting up every day and knowing what you've got ahead of you?
Making sure that I can be a good leader and communicate and inspire my team.
Sometimes it's challenging because you want to know that your core group and your volunteers,
(21:11):
and we run thousands of volunteers through the warehouse, that they're fulfilled
too and not lose sight of that mission as well.
My team and our volunteers are my first mission because they're the ones who
are walking through the door. Because without them, it doesn't happen. It doesn't. Yeah.
So that leads me, but I'm going to sneak something in here because you're just
(21:33):
like playing right into my trying to do here. It's amazing.
So again, providing for so many different populations, I think you were about
to go to here. So I want to get this out first.
It's not, it's no small undertaking. I mean, it's a big, it's a really big deal.
I know it requires a lot. And as a former small business owner myself,
(21:54):
I understand the value of a volunteer.
Right. So how do you cultivate as you or maybe from the beginning or maybe even now,
how do you cultivate leaders within your organization when I have a feeling that you are operating,
as you mentioned earlier, on very tight margins?
(22:17):
Okay. And you have to rely heavily on volunteers.
How do you cultivate those leaders and are there any specific things that you do?
Well, let's just let's go there first.
We respect their time. Their time is our gift. And so we have a great respect
for their time. We don't want to waste it.
(22:38):
So when people choose to come and volunteer, they want to walk in somewhere
that's organized and ready.
And so we value a warehouse that's organized and clean and projects that are ready to go.
Wow. Okay. So we have a- Value their time.
We have what we call our battle plans before they come.
And it's also about friendship. We celebrate the wins in front of them.
(23:03):
We share the stories so that they're hearing what their impact is doing.
So they have buy-in and catch the vision. and when there's buy-in and their
heart is geared towards something and we watch that because we have volunteers
that they're repeat volunteers and they'll visit all of our projects,
the four different pillars,
(23:23):
and all of a sudden they're plugged into that one project. That's their heart.
And once they're plugged into that, we begin to watch them and out of that relationship
and that friendship and see their dedication, we ask them, would they want more?
Are they voiced to us? Could I do more? Okay. So
(24:10):
hopefully it's cultivating an atmosphere of acceptance,
an atmosphere of truth.
I'm real big about we are not ashamed of our faith.
We don't beat people up with the gospel guns, but you are accepted and you are
loved and you are valued right where you are. Would you come and grow with us?
And again, respect.
(24:32):
You respect them. You respect their time. Absolutely. You build and cultivate
God-honoring, true, genuine relationship.
Absolutely. So respect relationship and then buy-in. Absolutely.
It equals buy-in. It does.
That's. They're part of something. That's leadership right there.
(24:53):
Everybody wants to. In a nutshell, right? Yeah.
That's just amazing. And so how, when you get these people in the right positions, then do you,
I think you already answered this you you said you
celebrate the you know how do you keep them motivated you said
you celebrate the all the wins and you
comfort each other in the losses I'm sure as well leadership is such a huge
(25:15):
it's such a big word it's a buzzword it's it's but it's so important and I also
think sometimes a lost art today we've lost that that connection because of
of all of these things, right?
But you don't have the, they don't, the people you're serving often probably,
haven't lost that connection and that connection is exactly what they're looking for, right?
(25:40):
So it just, I've got chills right now, but.
The follow on to that, as you build a team and you've got these great leaders,
right, is how do you ensure this continued volunteer force,
this force of motivated people to carry out the mission for you?
(26:00):
Because the leadership is important.
That team is huge, right? Yeah. But the worker beasts, they're just as important, right?
Yes. Because we got to keep them coming and motivated and fed all the time. Absolutely.
Probably figuratively and literally sometimes.
Absolutely. So how do you do that? We have lots of little things that we celebrate
(26:21):
when we have large groups, such as when we have large groups,
whether business, churches, or whoever, schools.
Bombas is one of our biggest supporters. Stop. They get a special treat when
they leave, and everybody loves a Bombas socks. Who doesn't, right?
Who doesn't? It's funny what we hear back, but it makes it fun.
We're like, oh, you get a pair of socks, and they're like, Bombas,
(26:43):
I've only heard about these.
Well, now they have the half. It just came across my feed of something,
the half calf or whatever.
My daughter's, of course, going to be excited about that. It's just funny. That's crazy.
Yeah. So we do a volunteer banquet every year just to honor our volunteers. And we make it super fun.
Lots of giveaways just to honor them. But also on a daily basis,
(27:06):
as far as our volunteers, we have what we call our volunteer free shelf.
A lot of times when a company sends a massive amount of excess and our volunteers
have been there, they get to go and pick fun stuff from the from the free shelf.
And so. Wow. OK. And then to getting to know our volunteers when there's a very. Absolutely.
When there's a very personal need, they've learned to trust us.
(27:29):
I just had an elderly woman who she's been serving so faithfully.
She lives on a fixed income all alone. Very simple life. No bills except her
rent. Thank you for watching.
And someone come in and bought her apartment complex and doubled her rent.
And she'll be homeless if she doesn't find a place now.
(27:51):
And she came to us and shared that story. And she said, I don't even know where
to begin to look based on my income.
And she said, I want to give back. And she said, I can pay my rent.
She said, I don't have car notes. But I was so thankful that she shared because
we gave her some resources and told her to please keep us updated.
We'll do everything we can to make sure she doesn't end up on the street and
(28:14):
walk through this journey with her.
Others, their husband lost a job because of cancer.
So many different stories. And we get to be right there with them and help meet
those intimate needs that otherwise they may not share with someone. Wow.
That's incredible. So you've got the leadership clearly.
And I mean, Sherry, really, you deserve a round of applause because your story
(28:40):
is amazing, but your commitment to God's people is really off the charts,
making me feel very, very inept here.
But it's also inspiring. Yeah.
I feel like you probably never thought YAPAC was going to be what it is today.
Not at all. And so I have to ask, what does the future look like?
(29:04):
Right? What do you see five years from now, 10 years from now,
in a perfect world? What would you have?
In five years, I would love to see a few more chapters. We've gotten some really
cool structure in place.
Now chapters meaning? We have a Texas warehouse.
Yes. Okay. So other locations. I mean, that's, again, chills.
(29:25):
That's just incredible.
So chapters meaning whole functioning YAPAC outreach organizations in other states.
Yes. All over. Yes, absolutely. And Texas is the first satellite,
I'll call it that, right? Maybe a satellite.
Yes. Of the original. We call it our Texas division.
We hope to have different state divisions. We've had some offers right now for Missouri.
(29:49):
And potentially, depending on how that goes, we could be talking about Alabama.
We are obviously praying about all of that. Ten years, I would love to see our ranch.
We have a vision for a ranch for children 11 and under that have severe trauma due to trafficking.
We've toured the nation and looked at homes.
There's a lot to the back history of that, but that is our goal in 10 years
(30:12):
is to have that ranch and have it fully functioning for these babies.
So did you have a personal, not to get too personal, but an experience?
You are definitely very, I feel, I could be wrong, very, you have a big heart
for the trafficked children.
And again, our church has a lot of that.
(30:36):
We are involved with, or they are as a church involved with that as well.
My husband's been kind of looking in what they're going to, the Nashville situation
that's going to be coming up, right? Super exciting stuff.
Why, what has, what has sparked or piqued your desire to, because that for me, it's just,
(30:57):
It's disturbing and heart-wrenching and all of the horror.
It's like all the evil rolled up into one ball there with that.
It's horrific that our society could take a child and look at it as a commodity,
a drug you can use one time, but they use children multiple times.
(31:19):
Part of my testimony is just growing up in utter dysfunction and being subjected to a lot of yuck.
And had it not been for the love of Jesus Christ and extraordinary mentors,
I could have lived with my excuses and my crutches and baggage and junk.
(31:40):
But I have been so set free and so healed and so made whole by the love of Jesus
and truly what his word says.
I understand when the apostle said, silver and gold I have none, but what I have I give.
I have experienced Jesus so deep in my life that has made me so whole emotionally, physically.
(32:05):
How could I not want to bring that hope to see a life that encountered some
of those things that I encountered made whole too?
Not have to live one of those babies, one of those young teens,
one of those young adults, they could be the next Daniel.
(32:25):
They could be the next Moses. They could be the next Deborah.
They could be the next David.
President who knows what could come out
of that i never dreamed that i
could be here and as a child you don't dream that
you want to live a life of being molested and abused and trafficked and and
(32:46):
rejected or you know you never dream you're going to grow up and get married
and get divorced and get married and get divorced because of utter rejection
and brokenness or abused you don't dream Those things, right?
You dream of going up and growing up and being something.
How do we restore those dreams in those child? I was given that opportunity to grow up.
(33:06):
Well, I was 24 when it my life transformed, but it transformed in a way that
I knew I didn't have to live like that no more. I could be a good mom. I could be a good wife.
I could maintain a job.
And now today, it is beyond my comprehension that I get to stand here and love
(33:28):
people and do this in a way that He provides.
How could I not share that with these babies that need this?
And so I want to do every breath I take. I want an opportunity to make a difference.
And is it hard? Yeah. Do I see and carry things?
(33:50):
Yes. But at the end of the day, have I loved your people well?
And I believe and prayerfully will get to hear, yes.
So I want to give it my all.
Well, you maybe didn't expect to be here, but you're here and you sure do have
a lot of people who believe in you.
(34:13):
Maybe you spent 24 years not being believed in, but that's over.
Yes. So before I start crying, being ridiculous, this for me was just incredibly enlightening.
I think that you answered a lot of questions that the community has for what
you do. How can they get involved?
(34:35):
And again, the excuses, there aren't any really, right?
There's no reason to not be somehow a part of the amazing, life-changing,
God-honoring work that you're doing.
And so thank you so much for being here today. I mean, this is my first time
(34:56):
too. But it was super fun.
And I'm so glad to get to know you and just have a conversation like this with you.
And I hope that we'll get to do it again. I personally, I think our time is
running, but I have a lot more questions. I don't need this anymore.
I've got a lot of things I want to ask you, but we'll leave it there.
And again, just good to be here for this first inaugural Pagdameon Foundation conversation.
(35:22):
Well, thank you. And thank Mian for the opportunity to share.
Very much. Yeah. Thank you so much. Yeah. Thanks.
Did you know you can also watch our podcast? Head over to our YouTube channel to check those out.
Visit our website to stay up to date with everything going on at MianFamilyFoundation.org.
Thank you for listening to Mian
(35:42):
Foundation Conversations. And until next time, do the next kind thing.
Welcome to Mian Foundation Conversations, where we talk all things community,
philanthropy, and connect people together. We hope you enjoy our show.
Welcome everyone to the inaugural Mian Foundation Conversations podcast,
where we endeavor to build connections
and foster mutually beneficial relationships within our community.
(00:23):
The discussions Questions in this space will focus on ways that we can work
together to make a positive impact on those around us, right?
Well, Sherry, I'm going to follow all the rules and stay really close here so
everyone can hear all the amazing things we have to say.
I don't have that much amazing. Sherry's going to be dropping lots of amazing info for us.
(00:46):
I think everybody today listening probably already knows the whole purpose of
the Mian foundation quite literally is to assist individuals like yourself and
organizations like YAPAC to help more people, right?
By removing obstacles that they are going to inevitably face and encounter along the way.
And most of our listeners probably also know that there's a pretty deep bond
(01:11):
between you and YAPAC and Leo and Lily.
But for those who maybe have been living under a rock for the last several years
or may not know much about the mission of YAPAC,
if you could just give us kind of the CliffsNotes version of who you are and
also how it is that you became so closely connected with the Mian's.
(01:34):
I'm Sherri Nicholson. I've been so blessed to be the founder.
And we came into existence because of an elderly woman that I found on the street
that was homeless that just wrecked my heart.
Incredible stories behind that whole encounter.
But long story short, it's what I found there in the streets that drove us to
become a nonprofit and to go to the hurting right where they are.
(01:58):
Really literally walking into their trauma and their darkness and those bad places of their life.
To see a life change, to bring hope, to bring support, to bring resources,
whatever it takes to see that person move forward and not have to live in that
trauma and that darkness. We want to be there for them.
(02:18):
It's what changed my life. Somebody loved me right where I was at.
And I want to be able to give that back because I know had that not been my encounter,
counter I wouldn't be here today and so in that journey of early on running
out of space and not knowing what to do and where to go and to store all these
purses I was packing initially.
(02:40):
I a friend of mine reached out and said hey I know a guy and he'd be willing
to show you some space maybe you could store a little bit and I met him walked
into his little space to me it was a giant space,
but it was downtown Clarksville in the basement of where we are today in the
press. It was in the basement.
(03:01):
And he said, if you can use this, you can help me out.
He does missions overseas and he had a little pallet of stuff and he was going
where it was hot weather, but he had coats and we kind of giggled.
And I said, I would love to help you, but I really can't afford this space.
He said, no, no, I want to help you. I believe in what you're doing.
And that started the journey and the relationship with Leo and Lily.
(03:23):
I never dreamed it would be where we are today, but Leo and Lily's generosity
and their heart is like anything that you typically meet in a couple.
They're extraordinary, and they absolutely mean the world to us.
That is so awesome. Wow. That's amazing.
That's big. So I guess then it's safe to say that accidents don't really happen, right?
(03:48):
And God's hand was recognizable in this from the very beginning.
Absolutely. A hundred percent.
Wow. Well, I, I, I may, I think I may have known you through LifePoint some
or through working with them with you, but I'm a member of LifePoint.
So I'm somewhat familiar with YAPAC and kind of what you guys do.
(04:10):
But I don't think I was truly really read in on all that you guys do.
And there's so many different populations that you really are intentional about trying to impact.
So if you would, I know this is probably hard to do because there is a lot to unpack.
But if you could give us maybe the CliffsNotes version of each one of those
(04:31):
that you call, you call them projects, right?
And I'm assuming, correct me if I'm wrong, it started with one and blew up because
of the need, right? It absolutely did.
Again, just miracles after miracles. We always say around YAPAC that we believe in miracles.
(04:52):
And YAPAC is an acronym. You are important people administering kindness.
When we started, what we were finding in the streets,
what we were finding in the woods, what we were finding in some of the facilities
that we were visiting, I chaplained for a year at one of the rescue missions.
(05:13):
And everything that we learned from the mission to the streets drove our projects that we developed.
We started out as a homeless outreach going into those places,
but it quickly began to grow when we realized...
The gaps in our community, the gaps with resources, whether it's private funded, federal funded.
(05:36):
And I wanted to know, how do we fill the gaps?
Because I too ended up homeless and I was turned away because they were at max
capacity at the women's shelter.
And I didn't have nowhere to go. I walked off the porch with no resources.
So that drove us to our projects that we have today, we have four pillars of
(05:57):
what we do for YAPAC Outreach.
The first pillar is our Be the Hub. Real quick.
And all of those, I was digging around on your website.
Your website's amazing and very user-friendly. So listeners should know all
of these projects are outlined, everything you can possibly want to know.
It's all there and very easy to give or get connected and involved.
(06:22):
So get on the website, YAIoutreach.org, right? Yes, yes. Okay, awesome.
Go ahead. So starting with Be the Hope is the first. I'm just excited.
I want everybody to know you've done a great job in so many different ways.
And that is just one way that I think you're, that people, there's no excuse.
It's easy to get. So go ahead. Thank you.
(06:42):
Yeah, so our first project, Be the Hope, It really encompasses what we do in being very mobile.
We're still very true to our roots of being a mobile outreach and going to where the people are.
We're not really open to the public because it takes so much work on the backside
of what we do and our other projects.
There's a lot of weight that we carry with those projects that happen inside the warehouse as well.
(07:06):
But we're doing back to school events. We're doing local missions,
we call them, to the foot of the Appalachian Mountains, different places like
that, but also just in our own community and county, Middle Tennessee.
Into Western Kentucky, it really has expanded.
And we do lots of back to school.
We have our Patriot Pantries where they are 24-7 filled with incredible food
(07:30):
that a family at any given point in time, we can fight food insecurities by
them having an opportunity to pick up something they need, even child-friendly.
So if a parent isn't cooking, a child can pick up something that they can eat.
Lots of stuff that we do in the way of being very mobile and taking it to the
community, as well as hosting on our own facility property, drive-thru events.
(07:52):
We're getting ready to do the summer fuel program for all the children to do
a drive-thru with their parents and pick up food, but just basic giveaways for
the changing of the seasons to make sure children have winter clothes when the
season changes or summer clothes when that changes.
Project Foster Hope, which is near and dear and exponentially growing.
That works with our children who are dealing with lots of trauma. They're dealing with,
(08:18):
horrific situations, but also we work on the other side of that,
that if a child is needing to be pulled from a home for whatever reason outside
of severe trauma, but if they don't have enough food or a bed or clothing or things,
we're helping meet that criteria so that families can keep their children.
So we're working on both sides of that trauma to keep the family together.
(08:41):
I don't think I was tracking that. That's really cool.
There's a lot that we can't publicize in the area of our work with children
just due to the nature of that trauma, but we're developing classes.
We're going to have classes we're going to be offering for foster families,
for the general population that's interested in just being more aware of situational awareness,
(09:04):
situational identification for child trafficking, things like that.
So it's very much expanded. It's the reason that we have school districts and
other states asking for us to come in and do some of these things.
Project Patriot Hope is the work that we do with our veterans in going out to the streets.
(09:24):
We were finding those children, but we were also finding our veterans who have
just kind of thrown their hand up over the red tape and bureaucracy of things.
And once we were able to get them reconnected and make sure that their dd214s
were filed and all the things that need to take place We still took care of
them in the encampments But we were able to walk with them through the process
(09:46):
and stay a friend with them until they finally got housing,
And once they got housing we're able to help set that up and there's so many
beautiful stories that come,
After that veteran has moved into his home or her home They're so proud of that
life change And they're so proud that they have a home and now because they've
been able to come and shop with this In their pantries filled and they can cook a meal.
(10:09):
They're reaching out to their family members inviting them over for a meal and
they're finding reconciliation and restoration at the dinner table.
And so we have continued that project, which has exponentially grown.
And we work with several key people in our community and in the Nashville area
with veterans, the Veterans Affair.
And then we have... Real quick, I think what you said there,
(10:31):
that really strikes me that the pride that these veterans are having.
I would assume that the pride that all of these groups of people have when you
enable them and empower them to do for themselves,
to get out of the, you know, everybody has hard times and falls on hard times sometime.
(10:56):
Time and for you what you're doing is
enabling these people to have pride in
themselves again maybe that they've lost which is so
incredible to me i think that's awesome really cool it's what someone did for
me and so we and that's part of seeing them move forward we don't want them
to stay in that mindset of being impoverished and this is my lot in life and
(11:21):
this is all that there There is.
And hope brings more than that.
Hope exposes more than that. And that's why we always say that we get to go
and be the hope. You're important.
We're just simply the people that get to administer kindness. And hence, YAPAC.
Yes. And so our last project is... Yes, Project Rebuild Hope. Yes. Yay.
(11:45):
Rebuild Hope is really expanding. It started as just natural disaster relief.
We are able to mobilize very quickly and get into small areas of communities
instead of running into the big cities where lots of resources will come to.
We found, because I grew up in one of those little towns, that when a natural
disaster hits, sometimes those little towns are the last one to get the resources.
(12:08):
And there's not a lot of tension that they get, but they have suffered the same
severe devastation as a big city. And so we can mobilize what we have now is
our grub squad. We have a mobile kitchen.
I love that, Grove Squad. We wanted to make it fun. We want people to smile.
And so we also have our mobile laundry unit called the Sud Squad.
(12:28):
Everybody gets a grin out of that.
We have a generator program. That's very strategic. But also we can run distribution
sites as well as develop volunteer base for doing muck out and cleanups and
things like that as well.
And because of our trailers and the different things that we mobilize into those
areas, We can work with first responders and the local government to be runners.
(12:51):
We can get supplies quickly from a distribution site into areas that need it,
whether it be a small church on the outer skirts or whatever that looks like.
And so we just want to be effective.
I remember, you know, my sister called me after Rita hit and she said,
Sherry, my whole neighborhood has nothing.
Nobody's come in yet. And this was right after Katrina. They hit back to back.
(13:13):
And Katrina still had all the attention.
She said, I've got babies without diapers. Moms are wrapping T-shirts around their little bottoms.
And I didn't even have YAPAC then, but I knew I needed to do something.
And we jumped into gear with my local church and we packed out as much as we could and took it down.
And when we unpacked, it looked like loaves and fishes.
(13:33):
It just kept coming. And that was kind of the seed for me to know that there's
a need there and how can we meet that need. So mobilization really is...
The key to everything that you're doing because you are going where the need
is. You're not just staying here in Clarksville.
(13:55):
It's, again, blown completely up much greater than that, right?
So what I'm really hearing here with all of this, these different projects, which are,
I just think so incredible that you saw a need to differentiate a bit because
while the need is the same, it is also very different for each of those groups, right?
(14:19):
And what I really heard was everybody needs to just leave all their excuses
at the house right now, because whatever your heart is, wherever your servant's heart lies,
you've got a place and probably a large need for volunteers all the time in
one of these different projects.
So as I was kind of going through thinking about what we would discuss,
(14:40):
how questions that I could ask you, I reached out to some good friends of mine
because I felt like, I mean, we should give the people what they want.
Let's ask them, what do they want to know about Sherry and YAPAC?
And so I did that. And some of these, you know, very well, but I have a few
questions for you that are from them. So I'd like to kind of dig in there.
(15:02):
So what is one of the most surprising things that's happened to you or or that
you have witnessed through your ministry with YAPAC?
Surprising. I like that word because I didn't want to be like,
what's the coolest thing you've done?
No, you've done a lot of cool things. What's surprised you the most in things that you've done?
(15:26):
Oh, that's a really tough question because I feel like I tell people all the
time, I get to live in awe of God because faith is so important to me in what we do.
One, it would be the amount of relationships that we build with those that have
become invisible to our society.
We have some homeless that are elderly that become a grandpa to some of my grandchildren.
(15:49):
And we have some that they cannot wait to call and tell us their life changes
and reports, or we've walked through their journey of health issues and cancer
and have seen victories.
So just how much they mean to you is like real family.
You grieve when When they grieve, you celebrate when they celebrate.
(16:10):
And the other side of that is the absolute miracles.
I know I mentioned miracles before, but we can just share story after story
of there being a need for YAPAC to meet the needs of someone.
And we've always said around YAPAC, we'll never out give God.
And the amount of people that he has raised up, knowingly or unknowingly,
(16:35):
to come and contribute have...
I don't know that they'll ever know the magnitude of the difference that they make.
Everything from a simple Band-Aid that was needed to a pair of wingtip shoes
for a gentleman to want to feel like a human and go to church and not feel like he was homeless.
The extraordinary miracles we see right when we need something is just mind-boggling
(17:00):
to me because we barely get it out of our mouth that we're talking as a team that we need something.
And do we put it out on Facebook? But do we keep asking because we don't me
personally, I don't want to bombard constantly asking, but we have to because
we're nonprofit and we're not government funded.
We're not no federal grants. We are strictly donation based.
(17:22):
That makes a huge difference in how you have to do everything that you want.
Absolutely. The way that you want it. Absolutely.
But it also doesn't open you up unless if you have really massive donors,
it doesn't open you up to that large monetary piece of those billions that are
sitting in federal funds.
So we've had to be very good stewards.
(17:43):
But with that, we can be talking as a team. We need something.
And it seems like it goes straight to the throne of heaven. And by the end of
the day, somebody's pulling up and says, hey, can you use this?
And we just are in awe that we were just talking about it.
We live every day surprised at the goodness of God.
(18:05):
So maybe surprising, rephrase my question, would not be the right word, but awe-inspiring.
And in that, as Christians, it's not surprising to us that He answers,
but it still is incredible.
And you do just sit there going, what in the world?
How did that happen? We just, you know, the timing is always perfect. Absolutely.
(18:27):
So that's awesome. Thank you for sharing that. So now this next one is kind
of a double, two pronged, I guess you could say, what is the easiest thing?
I think I already kind of know the answer to this because you may have already
answered it, but what is the easiest thing about what you do?
And I don't, not necessarily, you know, something that comes easy, right?
(18:49):
Because that's not really what I mean. What is the easiest thing about getting
up in the morning and knowing all of the need? It has to be burdensome.
It has to weigh on you or you wouldn't do this. Yeah.
So what is the easiest thing about doing this and running YAPAC and growing
it the way that you have? I'm getting to love his people.
(19:10):
Don't you start crying, okay? Because I'm a ball bag. All right.
There's a song I believe by Luke Woods called Heart After You and it's like
my theme song and it just is that at the end of the day will you find me loyal to you.
I want, as a believer, I one day when I stand before my Father,
(19:33):
we all say we want to hear well done, good and faithful servant.
We all say we want to hear that.
I want to hear, Sherry, thank you for loving my people well.
I want to know that despite the gross darkness that we see, the trauma that
we see, the entitlement, the attitudes,
all the things, good or bad, that at the end of the day, I have been loyal to
(19:58):
my Father and loving His people well.
Because if somebody had not loved me, I know without a doubt I would not be here today.
And it is the unconditional love of the Father that truly can change.
And even as humans, if we understand agape love, we can love unconditionally.
(20:22):
And it takes so much pressure off of us.
And it takes pressure off of the people that we're going to,
because it eliminates demands.
If I'm giving you something, give me something back. Right. Which is a lot of
these people, that's all they've known for maybe their lives,
or at least for a good significant portion. Absolutely.
Wow. Okay. And so I have to follow that up. And again, I think it may already
(20:43):
know the answer to this, but it was a question that people want to know.
What is the most difficult thing?
What is the most difficult thing about getting up every day and knowing what you've got ahead of you?
Making sure that I can be a good leader and communicate and inspire my team.
Sometimes it's challenging because you want to know that your core group and your volunteers,
(21:11):
and we run thousands of volunteers through the warehouse, that they're fulfilled
too and not lose sight of that mission as well.
My team and our volunteers are my first mission because they're the ones who
are walking through the door. Because without them, it doesn't happen. It doesn't. Yeah.
So that leads me, but I'm going to sneak something in here because you're just
(21:33):
like playing right into my trying to do here. It's amazing.
So again, providing for so many different populations, I think you were about
to go to here. So I want to get this out first.
It's not, it's no small undertaking. I mean, it's a big, it's a really big deal.
I know it requires a lot. And as a former small business owner myself,
(21:54):
I understand the value of a volunteer.
Right. So how do you cultivate as you or maybe from the beginning or maybe even now,
how do you cultivate leaders within your organization when I have a feeling that you are operating,
as you mentioned earlier, on very tight margins?
(22:17):
Okay. And you have to rely heavily on volunteers.
How do you cultivate those leaders and are there any specific things that you do?
Well, let's just let's go there first.
We respect their time. Their time is our gift. And so we have a great respect
for their time. We don't want to waste it.
(22:38):
So when people choose to come and volunteer, they want to walk in somewhere
that's organized and ready.
And so we value a warehouse that's organized and clean and projects that are ready to go.
Wow. Okay. So we have a- Value their time.
We have what we call our battle plans before they come.
And it's also about friendship. We celebrate the wins in front of them.
(23:03):
We share the stories so that they're hearing what their impact is doing.
So they have buy-in and catch the vision. and when there's buy-in and their
heart is geared towards something and we watch that because we have volunteers
that they're repeat volunteers and they'll visit all of our projects,
the four different pillars,
(23:23):
and all of a sudden they're plugged into that one project. That's their heart.
And once they're plugged into that, we begin to watch them and out of that relationship
and that friendship and see their dedication, we ask them, would they want more?
Are they voiced to us? Could I do more? Okay. So
(24:10):
hopefully it's cultivating an atmosphere of acceptance,
an atmosphere of truth.
I'm real big about we are not ashamed of our faith.
We don't beat people up with the gospel guns, but you are accepted and you are
loved and you are valued right where you are. Would you come and grow with us?
And again, respect.
(24:32):
You respect them. You respect their time. Absolutely. You build and cultivate
God-honoring, true, genuine relationship.
Absolutely. So respect relationship and then buy-in. Absolutely.
It equals buy-in. It does.
That's. They're part of something. That's leadership right there.
(24:53):
Everybody wants to. In a nutshell, right? Yeah.
That's just amazing. And so how, when you get these people in the right positions, then do you,
I think you already answered this you you said you
celebrate the you know how do you keep them motivated you said
you celebrate the all the wins and you
comfort each other in the losses I'm sure as well leadership is such a huge
(25:15):
it's such a big word it's a buzzword it's it's but it's so important and I also
think sometimes a lost art today we've lost that that connection because of
of all of these things, right?
But you don't have the, they don't, the people you're serving often probably,
haven't lost that connection and that connection is exactly what they're looking for, right?
(25:40):
So it just, I've got chills right now, but.
The follow on to that, as you build a team and you've got these great leaders,
right, is how do you ensure this continued volunteer force,
this force of motivated people to carry out the mission for you?
(26:00):
Because the leadership is important.
That team is huge, right? Yeah. But the worker beasts, they're just as important, right?
Yes. Because we got to keep them coming and motivated and fed all the time. Absolutely.
Probably figuratively and literally sometimes.
Absolutely. So how do you do that? We have lots of little things that we celebrate
(26:21):
when we have large groups, such as when we have large groups,
whether business, churches, or whoever, schools.
Bombas is one of our biggest supporters. Stop. They get a special treat when
they leave, and everybody loves a Bombas socks. Who doesn't, right?
Who doesn't? It's funny what we hear back, but it makes it fun.
We're like, oh, you get a pair of socks, and they're like, Bombas,
(26:43):
I've only heard about these.
Well, now they have the half. It just came across my feed of something,
the half calf or whatever.
My daughter's, of course, going to be excited about that. It's just funny. That's crazy.
Yeah. So we do a volunteer banquet every year just to honor our volunteers. And we make it super fun.
Lots of giveaways just to honor them. But also on a daily basis,
(27:06):
as far as our volunteers, we have what we call our volunteer free shelf.
A lot of times when a company sends a massive amount of excess and our volunteers
have been there, they get to go and pick fun stuff from the from the free shelf.
And so. Wow. OK. And then to getting to know our volunteers when there's a very. Absolutely.
When there's a very personal need, they've learned to trust us.
(27:29):
I just had an elderly woman who she's been serving so faithfully.
She lives on a fixed income all alone. Very simple life. No bills except her
rent. Thank you for watching.
And someone come in and bought her apartment complex and doubled her rent.
And she'll be homeless if she doesn't find a place now.
(27:51):
And she came to us and shared that story. And she said, I don't even know where
to begin to look based on my income.
And she said, I want to give back. And she said, I can pay my rent.
She said, I don't have car notes. But I was so thankful that she shared because
we gave her some resources and told her to please keep us updated.
We'll do everything we can to make sure she doesn't end up on the street and
(28:14):
walk through this journey with her.
Others, their husband lost a job because of cancer.
So many different stories. And we get to be right there with them and help meet
those intimate needs that otherwise they may not share with someone. Wow.
That's incredible. So you've got the leadership clearly.
And I mean, Sherry, really, you deserve a round of applause because your story
(28:40):
is amazing, but your commitment to God's people is really off the charts,
making me feel very, very inept here.
But it's also inspiring. Yeah.
I feel like you probably never thought YAPAC was going to be what it is today.
Not at all. And so I have to ask, what does the future look like?
(29:04):
Right? What do you see five years from now, 10 years from now,
in a perfect world? What would you have?
In five years, I would love to see a few more chapters. We've gotten some really
cool structure in place.
Now chapters meaning? We have a Texas warehouse.
Yes. Okay. So other locations. I mean, that's, again, chills.
(29:25):
That's just incredible.
So chapters meaning whole functioning YAPAC outreach organizations in other states.
Yes. All over. Yes, absolutely. And Texas is the first satellite,
I'll call it that, right? Maybe a satellite.
Yes. Of the original. We call it our Texas division.
We hope to have different state divisions. We've had some offers right now for Missouri.
(29:49):
And potentially, depending on how that goes, we could be talking about Alabama.
We are obviously praying about all of that. Ten years, I would love to see our ranch.
We have a vision for a ranch for children 11 and under that have severe trauma due to trafficking.
We've toured the nation and looked at homes.
There's a lot to the back history of that, but that is our goal in 10 years
(30:12):
is to have that ranch and have it fully functioning for these babies.
So did you have a personal, not to get too personal, but an experience?
You are definitely very, I feel, I could be wrong, very, you have a big heart
for the trafficked children.
And again, our church has a lot of that.
(30:36):
We are involved with, or they are as a church involved with that as well.
My husband's been kind of looking in what they're going to, the Nashville situation
that's going to be coming up, right? Super exciting stuff.
Why, what has, what has sparked or piqued your desire to, because that for me, it's just,
(30:57):
It's disturbing and heart-wrenching and all of the horror.
It's like all the evil rolled up into one ball there with that.
It's horrific that our society could take a child and look at it as a commodity,
a drug you can use one time, but they use children multiple times.
(31:19):
Part of my testimony is just growing up in utter dysfunction and being subjected to a lot of yuck.
And had it not been for the love of Jesus Christ and extraordinary mentors,
I could have lived with my excuses and my crutches and baggage and junk.
(31:40):
But I have been so set free and so healed and so made whole by the love of Jesus
and truly what his word says.
I understand when the apostle said, silver and gold I have none, but what I have I give.
I have experienced Jesus so deep in my life that has made me so whole emotionally, physically.
(32:05):
How could I not want to bring that hope to see a life that encountered some
of those things that I encountered made whole too?
Not have to live one of those babies, one of those young teens,
one of those young adults, they could be the next Daniel.
(32:25):
They could be the next Moses. They could be the next Deborah.
They could be the next David.
President who knows what could come out
of that i never dreamed that i
could be here and as a child you don't dream that
you want to live a life of being molested and abused and trafficked and and
(32:46):
rejected or you know you never dream you're going to grow up and get married
and get divorced and get married and get divorced because of utter rejection
and brokenness or abused you don't dream Those things, right?
You dream of going up and growing up and being something.
How do we restore those dreams in those child? I was given that opportunity to grow up.
(33:06):
Well, I was 24 when it my life transformed, but it transformed in a way that
I knew I didn't have to live like that no more. I could be a good mom. I could be a good wife.
I could maintain a job.
And now today, it is beyond my comprehension that I get to stand here and love
(33:28):
people and do this in a way that He provides.
How could I not share that with these babies that need this?
And so I want to do every breath I take. I want an opportunity to make a difference.
And is it hard? Yeah. Do I see and carry things?
(33:50):
Yes. But at the end of the day, have I loved your people well?
And I believe and prayerfully will get to hear, yes.
So I want to give it my all.
Well, you maybe didn't expect to be here, but you're here and you sure do have
a lot of people who believe in you.
(34:13):
Maybe you spent 24 years not being believed in, but that's over.
Yes. So before I start crying, being ridiculous, this for me was just incredibly enlightening.
I think that you answered a lot of questions that the community has for what
you do. How can they get involved?
(34:35):
And again, the excuses, there aren't any really, right?
There's no reason to not be somehow a part of the amazing, life-changing,
God-honoring work that you're doing.
And so thank you so much for being here today. I mean, this is my first time
(34:56):
too. But it was super fun.
And I'm so glad to get to know you and just have a conversation like this with you.
And I hope that we'll get to do it again. I personally, I think our time is
running, but I have a lot more questions. I don't need this anymore.
I've got a lot of things I want to ask you, but we'll leave it there.
And again, just good to be here for this first inaugural Pagdameon Foundation conversation.
(35:22):
Well, thank you. And thank Mian for the opportunity to share.
Very much. Yeah. Thank you so much. Yeah. Thanks.
Did you know you can also watch our podcast? Head over to our YouTube channel to check those out.
Visit our website to stay up to date with everything going on at MianFamilyFoundation.org.
Thank you for listening to Mian
(35:42):
Foundation Conversations. And until next time, do the next kind thing.
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