FamilyLife Today®

Sherri Lynn: I remember walking out of that room and starting to walk down a walkway. I did a video with my nieces and I said, "I can’t remember what I used to complain about in America."

Any fear or anxiety that I had seemed ridiculous. Just in that moment, I thought, "This is a place where Jesus is tangible. I can see him."

Dave Wilson: Welcome to FamilyLife Today, where we want to help you pursue the relationships that matter most. I’m Dave Wilson.

Ann Wilson: And I’m Ann Wilson. You can find us at familylifetoday.com. This is FamilyLife Today.

Dave Wilson: You know, as I think back as a dad, one of the best things that we did was take our boys on mission trips.

Ann Wilson: I agree. I feel like it was life-changing for us and it was also life-changing for them because it gave them a global perspective of what God was doing.

Dave Wilson: Yeah, that was our hope. We have to get our kids and ourselves to see the world. When you come back, I’m not kidding, I remember going to the bush in Africa. It was scary, very scary in Kenya. Then I remember coming home and sitting in my master bedroom and looking over at my master bath and going, "I used to complain that the master bath that is a few feet from my bed is not big enough." This was after I spent the week with people in a hut whose kitchen, bathroom, and everything is within three feet.

Ann Wilson: I remember when we took another son to South Africa. Remember when we took him to South Africa and then we were in this mountain chalet, this little chalet with these animals on this prairie? We’re standing on this balcony and our 11-year-old says, "We don’t have TV this week? What are we going to do without video games?" It ended up being the best week of his life.

Dave Wilson: The reason we brought that up was we’ve got Brant Hanson and Sherri Lynn in the studio with us. We want to talk about a mission trip that you guys had an experience on. Welcome back to FamilyLife Today.

Brant Hanson: Thank you.

Dave Wilson: I don't know all the details of your trip, but you guys host a radio show that's syndicated all around the country called The Brant Hanson Show.

Ann Wilson: Which is really The Sherri Lynn Show.

Sherri Lynn: She is the producer.

Dave Wilson: And then you do a podcast together called The Brant & Sherri Oddcast.

Brant Hanson: Yes, Oddcast.

Ann Wilson: It is great. We’ve loved listening to it.

Brant Hanson: Thank you.

Dave Wilson: One of the things we haven’t talked about even this week with Brant and Sherri was CURE International. That’s a big part of your heart.

Brant Hanson: It is. What happened was I was emceeing a concert, and I’m the worst emcee of all time.

Sherri Lynn: No, I am. I am so bad. I bet you’re way better than I am.

Brant Hanson: Do you have a moment to tell a story to show her just how horrible you are? I’ll tell you the worst one. This was my fault. I was emceeing for a TobyMac show in Miami. This was big time. It was an outside amphitheater. There were thousands of people on the grass. You know how it is. There’s a lot of energy going on, but there are also parking lots behind the bandshell.

I get up there to introduce him to everybody. I say, "Okay everybody, please give a big Miami welcome to TobyMac!" The crowd goes wild. He did not come out. I was backstage and I asked, "What’s going on?" They said there was a miscommunication. They were on these radios saying, "Okay, Toby. He’s getting another donut. Okay, he’s going. Go ahead."

So I go back out a second time. I feel sheepish. I say, "Hey, I don’t know what happened, but let’s do it up real this time. Here he is, TobyMac!" He did not come out again. It wasn’t his fault, but I was sheepish again going back backstage. They sent me out a third time. I said, "I’m really sorry." The crowd was not responding at this point. I said, "Give it up for TobyMac!" He did not come out again.

What the crowd saw was me walk off that stage, grab my keys, walk into the parking lot, and drive off. They could see it all because the parking lots are right there. I said, "I’m not doing this again."

Dave Wilson: Does this have something to do with CURE International?

Brant Hanson: Yes. I was emceeing another show and they asked if I could say something about CURE International. I asked what it was. They wanted me to give an announcement off the stage. They said, "You know how kids can be born with disabilities or they have something happen to them? In this country, it’s just taken care of. Well, there are millions of kids that have correctable disabilities around the world. So we just decided we’re going to heal them in the name of Jesus and tell them and their families about Jesus. So we started these hospitals."

It was an orthopedic surgeon that started it. I was surprised I had never heard about it before. They said they were kind of busy and didn't have a big PR department because they were doctors doing surgeries. I asked if I could visit. They were planning to build a hospital in the Holy Land, but that didn't happen. They asked if I would come to the hospital in Afghanistan. My wife and I had to sort through that, but eventually, I did. I went back three times to this hospital.

It’s remarkable. What CURE does is orthopedic surgery so kids can walk. They might be 15 years old and have never walked. Now they can, thanks to Jesus. They get up and walk. They’re told they’re cursed, and that’s why they have a disability. The mom is always blamed. This is worldwide. Mom is blamed. They say, "You must have done something immoral and that’s why your daughter can’t walk."

Sherri Lynn: And then family members won’t even want to marry into that family because of the curse.

Brant Hanson: Usually, the dad walks off. He says, "I didn’t do this. You’re cursed. This kid’s cursed. I’m not going to be saddled with this." The child thinks they’re a curse. Well, they walk through the door at CURE and people have been running away screaming because they don't want to get the curse on them.

When they walk through the door at CURE, the staff is instructed to run towards them. They grab that baby and say, "What a beautiful girl." They’ve never heard that before. We do these surgeries for free. They can’t believe that. They will come from hundreds of miles around. People don’t talk about it, but I was so drawn to it because that sounds like Jesus to me.

At just one CURE hospital in Ethiopia, we have a waiting list of 5,000 families with kids with disabilities just waiting to get surgery. It’s just a matter of funding it. So what I try to do is use my radio platform and my books to tell people about CURE. We’ve seen some surgeons come on board who’ve learned about it from the show, or people that are going to be nurses. I’ve been to a lot of the hospitals now, but Sherri just took her first trip to Niger.

Sherri Lynn: It is a very tough West African nation to be in for your first foray. It’s 99% Muslim and we’re there healing their kids in the name of Jesus and telling people about the gospel. They let us do it because we’re healing their kids.

Dave Wilson: Brant, is it dangerous for you guys to travel into these places?

Brant Hanson: It can be. Afghanistan was. The guy I stayed with, Dr. Jerry Umanos from Chicago, was hilarious. You would have loved this guy. After I’d left one year, he was shot and killed in the parking lot at CURE by one of the guys who was supposed to be doing security. He killed another doctor too. So it is dangerous.

Sherri Lynn: Brant was telling me I should go. I was always fearful of international travel. In our job, people will say, "Come see this mission." One time someone said that to us about Peru. I told them I didn't have a passport. That became my thing. That was my excuse. I just didn't have a passport. Well, for this trip, Brant told me I had to go because it's life-changing.

The fear and the anxiety were overwhelming. If you travel like Dave and Ann have, you might not understand. Brant was so sweet towards me because he said he didn't quite get what I was going through, but he told me to just keep taking each step. The fear was debilitating to me, but I was determined to do it. We had raised money for CURE for so long.

Brant Hanson: I wanted her to see it. It’s an embassy of the kingdom of God. I can’t describe it enough. I know her passion for the kingdom of God, but actually seeing this place of healing and joy where people who feel cursed are told they’re not cursed is powerful. We tell them, "God loves you. He draws close to the brokenhearted. He knows your tears, mom. He sees your daughter, and now she’s going to dance." I wanted Sherri to see that. This is the best expression of Jesus I’ve ever seen in my life.

Ann Wilson: Sherri, what were you afraid of?

Sherri Lynn: I don’t know. It was the unknown. I didn’t know what to expect and it continued to overtake me. But when I got there and I felt the joy of that place and saw the kids dancing, it was incredible. There’s a story we told about three sisters who had brittle bone disease. They were constantly breaking their bones and couldn’t walk. We had told that story for so long. We had made a video about it. I had talked about it on the radio, not really putting it together that it was this hospital.

So one day I’m in the ward and we’re praying for the kids who are going to get surgery. They said on the other side is where rehab happens. As I walk around the corner, I see one of the sisters walking towards me. They couldn’t walk before. I asked if that was one of the sisters, and they said yes. Then the other one came around walking.

To me, it was such a Jesus biblical moment. We had talked about these sisters and about healing. That’s what that trip meant to me. I believe so much in the mission, but when I felt it and saw these little girls, I just felt like I was crying all the time. And I’m not a crier. It was tears of joy. It was tears of, "God, I can’t believe you let me intersect with this. These lives are changed. Healing is forever. They’re learning about Jesus too." It’s everything I talk about, but I saw it and it’s real. It’s tangible.

Brant Hanson: We use a phrase to describe it. It’s an advanced trailer of heaven. That’s what healing is. When Jesus is doing his miracles, he’s not doing random stuff. 70% of them are healing. He’s showing us the kingdom is here, where the lame will leap like deer, the deaf will hear, and eyes will be opened. This is an advanced look.

That’s what healing is showing us. We get to see a glimpse of it. I think when we see the kingdom of God in action, even people who aren't believers have a reaction of goosebumps or crying. You recognize something is deeply right. You’re nostalgic for heaven even though you haven’t been there yet, but you recognize that’s home.

It happens every day. CURE did something like 20,000 surgeries last year. I’ve cried too. Just being in the operating room is powerful. You stand there and they pray over the kids. You’ve got a child who’s been nothing but mocked. They might be eight years old or 18. They are lying on the table asleep and their life is about to be changed. They’re going to finally have their legs straightened.

The surgeons pray over them with the techs. They’re all praying for this child. And then they go about their medical business of healing. Oftentimes they’ll listen to worship music in there. I was in there for one neurosurgery on a baby in Uganda. The surgeon was singing along with worship music as he was finishing up brain surgery. That’s the best worship service I’ve ever been to.

If people associated the church with that, they’d have a pretty good idea of what Jesus is like. It would be pretty tough to walk away from that. So when people are writing their manifestos about why they’re leaving the faith, I think they should come to CURE and see that.

Ann Wilson: We had one of our sons go to Egypt with a ministry over there. The same thing was happening where he met this family. They would have a party for the disabled. He was sharing about a mom talking about it. The dad left and they had a son that had Downs and they kept him in the backyard with a leash on his neck like a dog. He was chained in his backyard.

The mom was ostracized. No one came to talk to them because they were cursed. She heard about the party, but she didn’t know it was Christian. She just thought, "They want to have a party for my child?" She’s all alone. So she takes her son and the staff runs to them. They laugh. They say, "This is your son? What a joy and a delight to meet him. It’s such a privilege to get to meet you."

The mom was wondering where she was. They put hands on him and pray and delight in him. They help meet needs. Our son came back asking what just happened.

Brant Hanson: He saw the kingdom in action. The first are last and the last are first. These people become VIPs. You also find out that people will come from 1,000 miles away. They will spend their life savings on a one-way bus ticket to get their kid to that hospital. That’s just like how they got to Jesus. They would come from everywhere. They’d open a hole in the ceiling. He honored that desperation.

To me, healing is not just another thing. Jesus sent out his disciples to heal the sick and proclaim the kingdom. The idea to me is really encouraging at CURE as a believer because it’s not just the surgeries. It’s intentionally telling them and their families about the kingdom of God and explaining the gospel to the kids and the parents.

Everybody who comes through CURE’s doors gets to hear about a God who loves them. They get to hear about Jesus and get healed. They don’t have to become Christians, but something like 20,000 did last year in the CURE hospitals. They’re told by faith healers in their communities that they did something wrong and their ancestors are upset. Then they have to give them all their money and it doesn’t work. Then they come to these strange Jesus people and they’re loved like never before. It’s not their fault. It costs zero and now look, your boy can run.

There’s nothing else like that. There was one boy, 15 years old, who was running on all fours. They called him "the baboon" in his own family because of his bone issue. He had someone find him on a mobile clinic from CURE in a remote village. They brought him in with a distant relative. He could not understand why people were talking to him. People were joyful and happy and smiling at him. He didn’t know how to relate to that. Well, he’s now upright and I saw the video not that long ago. He’s on the therapy bars and he’s standing up and beaming. Not only do we heal him, but we tell him his name is Adam. He's not "the baboon." God knows who he is.

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Sherri, you’ve got some nieces that you’re really close to. Did that make you want to allow those people that you love in your family to even see these kinds of things?

Sherri Lynn: I did. I made videos for them every day and I sent them back to them. They would watch them and then they would respond. And then I would do another video. I just went around. They had this beautiful mural of animals painted for the playground, but all the animals have a disability. Like the little giraffe has a crutch. I wanted them to see this. I wanted them to understand it.

So I did do videos for them. It’s so funny because someone at CURE was doing a story and was asking me about what I went through. They asked if I had any pictures of me with the kids. I have so many pictures and so many videos, but none of me. The lady said I was so caught up in it. And I was. I was caught up with everything I was seeing and all the kids. I just have pictures of kids and kids dancing. At one point, there was a little party. Some of them hadn’t had their surgery yet, so they’re in their wheelchair dancing. It was such a joyful party.

I remember walking out of that room and starting to walk down a walkway. I did a video with my nieces and I said, "I can’t remember what I used to complain about in America. I don’t know what I was complaining about." Whatever that was, those kids and the reason why that joy is there is because this place has given them a place of beauty that looks like Jesus. It was breathtaking. Any fear or anxiety that I had seemed ridiculous just in that moment. I thought, "This is a place where Jesus is tangible. I can see him."

Dave Wilson: When they get healed, is there community after? Are the moms coming together? What happens after?

Brant Hanson: CURE tries to do an outreach with local churches in the communities they’re in. Sometimes it’s really far away, but they still have developed networks for that. Each hospital has pastoral staff for that purpose so that they get integrated. They also get sent home with materials about Jesus, coloring books for the kids, and Bibles to continue that relationship.

The impact is incredible. There’ve been situations where somebody comes back into a village where people had said their kid was cursed. The kid comes walking back in and people ask who did this. Well, they say this Jesus loves them. They tell them there’s a God who loves them. We’ve had entire villages get baptized as a result because their thing didn’t work, but then they found healing through this.

To me, it’s the sweetest thing. I can even understand scripture better now. When they brought that blind guy to Jesus, they asked if it was his fault or his parents'. That’s still going on. It’s like somebody did something wrong and that’s why this happened. His response was that this happened so that God could be glorified. At these hospitals, being able to be involved with it, I get to be a part of glorifying God by taking these kids that couldn’t walk and now can run and dance and play. That’s pretty cool.

Dave Wilson: Is there something our listeners could do?

Brant Hanson: If you’re a brain surgeon, please apply. But at cure.org, you can actually see the kids that are in the hospital and see their backs. You’re going to be blown away. You can give to cover a surgery or you can give on a monthly basis. It’s just a matter of funding.

I’m happy to tell people that. When people ask where God is when tragedy happens, I have an answer. Follow me to one of these hospitals and I’ll show you where he is. I will show you because these are people that are rejected by their own families and communities. They are finding new life and hope and joy. The people don’t want to leave.

I would say to a mom or a dad, take your son or take your daughter who’s a teenager and change their perspective on all of life to one of these. Have the trip Sherri just had.

Dave Wilson: Man, loved having Brant and Sherri on today. Again, Brant’s book is called The Truth About Us: The Very Good News About How Very Bad We Are.

Ann Wilson: You can get your copy by clicking the link in the show notes at familylifetoday.com.

Dave Wilson: We meet a ton of couples who say FamilyLife helped them when they needed it the most. That’s what being a FamilyLife partner is all about, helping others find that same encouragement and tools that you found right here.

Ann Wilson: And we’d love for you to join us. So click the donate button at familylifetoday.com and become a partner today.

Dave Wilson: FamilyLife Today is a donor-supported production of FamilyLife, a Cru ministry, celebrating 50 years of helping you pursue the relationships that matter most.