Making Not Just a Living, But a Difference

Welcome to lantern risk. A ministry program dedicated to bringing light into the darkness of human trafficking. It's time to light the way to freedom. This is lantern rest.

We tell the stories we talk about rest and we empower you to do something about it was once said, let it not be said I was silent when they need while we are just continuing with this for me, this absolute tree to really get to meet the team and for the family behind the team along the team alongside the team that works so we had in Iran last week.

This week we have Alan and his wife Tammy. You may remember from her previous episode. They met over plate of spaghetti and and she didn't say he was a meatball but I'm just saying I see fit. So you get a chance to talk at night episode but you know what you think back to how God originally put this on your heart how he was calling you along these lines, you know how I will what ways would you say he trained you individually for what he what it is that he was gonna do for such a time. I would say that in the training started back in the Marine Corps, even though I didn't know was the path I was on the color put me on the training and skill sets the receive there I was able to then take into life after the military, which lined up taking into corrections and corrections. It was early in the 80s or late 80s, mid 80s, there were some incidents that happened in the state that I was in the forest corrections as a whole to take care of itself. They relied previously to that on outside entities, and to solve problems and as a result of an incident. They decide they want to solve their own problem size blessed I guess is the word to be a part of building up the tactical teams within that state. So I was on the ground floor that and again I'm sure is part of God's plan that I really wasn't pretty to I just gone the flow, so build up the teams the tactical teams within the department corrections throughout my career and I was blessed with being part of a hostage rescue team that was needed. So we developed those plans to train our people in hostage rescue the unique environment. It wasn't like I was used to the military corrections was then dealt with a lot of hard structures and that so the normal hostage rescue tactics didn't work inside those environments as well as they did. Out in the civilian once we actually did some really specialized training with some former special ops guys feel guys Rangers without the plans of those but the whole time he I guess love is training me to do a job that I've never saw coming, which is currently this with the assistant plan rescue, rinse and something last episode fascinated me. She said the Marine Corps for help foster her faith which you know for whatever reason I don't have that picture automatically of of the military, but that's a beautiful thing in an Indiana morning. Did you to experience after the Marine Corps actually think that's where I was saved really had a guy thickening the mountain's name was Leroy Brown is a bad actually. He was actually one of the guys you would see on the street and he would go to the other side of the street at Hispania lately) said he was led me to Lord and I was saved but I wasn't necessarily it was all selfish reasons. I don't know if to be honest, it was wasn't the love of Christ. It was for the fact that he was in a take me from the life I had to a eternal heavenly life. So with all selfish is really I was saved and nothing else experience that that's how you came to me and not because of that I knew I was saved and I was good to go and I would kinda plug Jesus when I needed them not knowing that I needed them all the time I was camping my pocket, I kinda said which was completely wrong and through the years of my life. It showed me that now he's not there for the mummies there for your life in a beautiful sentiment that that's her interest as his wife Tammy Knight, you know. Can you relate your conversion experience was. Did you have a similar thing where you felt like that was a selfish and since I was listing to them as I all you had a completely selfish, I was in it for me. I mean… Be honest now being born and raised in church. I've often thought that is such a cool testimony anybody they can have this really cool testimony of this great conversion experience and I can say that this was how I was saved in turn from this terrible to this good writing really hard because I was born and raised in church and used it. Think about how great a testimony he had and I used to think like that, but the older I've gotten and more that I've grown in my faith. I realize that my testimony is is just as important to be able to say and be thankful that my parents and my grandparents were wonderful Christians and raised me to love Christ now doesn't mean I didn't screw up and do things wrong so I would have to say may be a mini conversion from the time that you when you raised that way and then I went off on my own and got married young and then my little rebellion set in and I guess it's like you know I don't want to be married anymore and when I do it my way and when I did that and and was divorce from my first husband. That was kind of like my little mini conversion is like okay things started happening and had that conviction going on and I finally said okay I'm listening I'm listening and I'm gonna turn back to you. Thank you for still being here and waiting for me to determine back to you and never realizing that I was can have anything more than just his salvation and and have a relationship with him that he would actually make my life so much better by bringing Alan into my life later on. I think that's a critical what you just described and I think of how many beautiful wonderful Christians I know that along those lines, I don't know exactly when it happened but I know that all of a sudden I started to hear him and all of a sudden it started to really change the way that I was living my life and and and I love and Pilgrim's progress and remember how Christian had his testimony kept it in his bosom writing you dropped at one time when hit with difficulty in and in the beautiful thing from my perspective was that he looked at that for comfort like this is how I know that I meant to be accepted at the celestial city is like I this is I know you are in this part of my life right here and right there. This is where you impacted my life and I know where I'm headed and as a result of that right. Alan, he headed you off from when I think about that specialty training that that he was giving you for hostage. Like how perfect could it be that you're gonna need that those tactics yeah the experiences in the training and all that you during the time I was doing that teaching that living that I didn't really look at it as a future involvement in my life you know is just a means to an end. He knows this to do.

We need to be done in a situation that was currently being built up time. It was a scout complete. I think that in a minute you might I find it fascinating like if you work in the Department of Corrections you got all these prisoners who all are innocent. If you talk to him. I never met one so that you know eight at right. So hostage situation inside of a prison you know I'm I'm assuming is is usually to be a guard or somebody that is been captured by these people that are not gonna respond well to artwork. Describe informant that can vary in meaning across the image. Think of it amazes as hostages to their there's a lot of situations I get into but we the public usually hears about his is the inmate that takes the officer the nurse of the staff member hostage within a facility. More often than not, the situations are quelled pretty quickly with resources at the facilities. However, there are those times and now. That's why it was found that the hostage rescue tactical team living corrections was needed.

Just because the outside entities that do that don't have the experience of working insiders facilities and able to negotiate near the heart and structured steel doors, the gates, the sliders all those barriers that are not normally in the civilian world, so we trained specifically to be able to breach in penetrate those areas to access his people but the real nuts and bolts of it is mostly guys that do this, and corrections. They do it for the individual because they're all we all work as corrections officers is not a full-time job usually so you are that one in the block with 200 convicted felons. You know what it could possibly be like to be that hostage and not have the hope that somebody out there can come get you. So the heart of all the guys is really the respect that they know it could be them, and they want to know that somebody was trained and capable of coming to get them out a century of seeing this and I'm the heart of God that in the whole idea of Jesus was coming to rescue us. We are held hostage by cute and in a horrible way that I don't think we ever even really understand now that you're out there doing that kind of rescue.

Obviously, Jesus is coming after these young girls were he's coming after a man it's been trapped.

If you ever put that picture taken. Yeah, kinda the mindset for me in doing this was as my former job. The hostage rescue part, the incidence were resolved in the person is rescued out of the situation by whatever means weather is neutralizing a threat or or maybe was not a lethal engagement, but they were taken out of the situation in their safe so my job is done. Going into this type of operation and I've said to the other team members and I want to do this and give somebody hope taken out of the situation and know that there not can be put back in that situation. But as I reflect on that, you know, I think you know how many times do we get rescue alignment done in or do we have to go back and it's not that I look at you know what coming time, says the Lord rescued me over my life so brilliant in my case so many times exactly the same thing here we are again and we had this discussion before arriving exactly 17 of the mindset of you not only do this in less human than they go back into it again. The slave or whatever it may be in have to do to get in reality, like I said you know how many times have we been rescued from the same problems we get ourselves into.

So it was kinda selfish of me to think that was a one and done deal.

I go in and rescue this girl, this boy, this man or whatever and then I'll never be back into that positioning impotent.

The truth is they could technically fall back into that because the support systems in the areas we go there if there are support systems are very fragile or or nonexistence of the potential for the individuals going back into that type of environment. It it's there so allow only got a break, we've barely heard from Tammy on her vision of what what all is going on with that. But oh my word you see what God is doing now in semi-different ways and oasis training. People are pretty stringy you up to here is your listing today saying you can be asked. Where would you have been asking for any length we can find out more faith-based organization that conducts international rescue operations for people suffering from human trafficking lantern specializes in sending former US special operations law-enforcement and intelligence personnel department with host nations and assist them in reading specialized units combat ongoing security, genocide, terrorism and human track is a nonprofit charity. They offer services free of charge. Human trafficking is thrown into the second largest activity in the world reaching an estimated $50 billion in annual activity lantern rescue was developed rapidly to combat trafficking and operates through a train international network in order to rescue women and children, sex and labor slavery and facilitate holistic gearing up for operations right now and you can go to a large see how you can support a welcome back to the rescue.

We are so blessed to have the whole team in the studio with a few members chose to come and get a foundation is also the heart and any think about how God is been planning the seed during a whole lifetime and it is his heart to rescue me that he's all about rescue and is really cool to me that to see that there's so much family. It's just critical to all of us in and you know if you guys are like me, but if your wife is not happy with what where were at right now my life just doesn't feel right.

Amada kilter like I'm not don't you know I couldn't feel like I myself in less I know that she's good with what I'm doing and where I am in those kind of things so Tammy your perspective on you know Alan get involved in this is a little different as I just heard that you thought that that were never going back here again right our entire marriage was built on Christ number one. I spent our entire married life with him being away being part of the hostage rescue team is not just something that they train once for an and you're good to go. There was monthly training and sometimes there's.

It was a week sometimes it was three days, so he was gone a lot during his time in corrections that was something that really kind of as I think about it prepared me for him being gone after the fact. And I think is, as Jamie was talking about with Mark. She had been kinda used to him being gone and I think when we hear from from the main NTC she's been accustomed to him being gone and I think God puts us in the situations we've experienced her husband's are spouses being gone and then we get to a point where it's like okay he's gone a lot in training so the training part was always training training training and got to the point where I really just wish that he had had an opportunity to go out and use his training on sometimes you get called to an event and then it would went back through and I get so disappointed because I was sacrificing a lot of my time and the time of our family for him to be trained to do something and then he never really got to use it and it was just really frustrating. While he was in this go on for like 70 years it seemed like so it was a little disappointing.

I say when he got out and he retired and he said I want to do anything like that anymore, put the guns down on training anymore. I'm not doing anything. I just don't want to do anything I want to be in charge and supervise. I don't have to do any that now that I'm retired and then along comes an invitation to go to an informational meeting on human trafficking and then is like okay well yeah I'll go and he thinks about a little bit more and then as he's really struggling with whether to get involved.

He and I would have a lot of conversations about it and I think he can tell you more about something that I said that I didn't realize I was saying that kinda clicked with him and made him be okay with that. Then yeah the experience with my wife is unique relationship in our marriage and the fact we we we have a Tennessee joke and make fun of things a lot. The love languages I motel Gary Chapman is the sixth one which is to poke at each other.

Yes, she pokes me more than I poker I think anyway so what happened is I actually have my hot tub per time I go out in the hot tub in the mornings and that's one of places I connect with God that some in the hot tub. This is after retirement and I think Tammy mentioned one of the lessons that you really want to do missions work well in my mind missions work was going to help published people build schools and churches, dig wells, something that was tangible that you could see the fruits of your labor so that that was where my mindset was, and not try to get God to see it my way and during one of my hot tub moments with God is like, you know, didn't you hear your wife last night when she said that I gave you all the skills and talents, not just to make a living, but to make a difference and that's when it hit me was like I really want to down this road that can ignore the fact that she's inspired me to to continue on and share what God has given me. I hope everybody had a pencil and I can write that down and select quote where did you get so God gave you all the skills and abilities and talents to make a living or to make a difference to object. You heard that some were just came to a God thing. I mean that's just absolutely amazing. Because you know that is that speaks to all our lives you know and is to make a difference and and and walk with him and what that looks like. So the question I was on everybody's mind that we have and ask is you make spaghetti form well you guys want spaghetti and he'll usually end up being makes it says there is anyway I know I know from the previous show you guys met at the spaghetti dinner and you didn't like spaghetti. So I wanted if you'd ever adopted the taste for it for now.

Really. And you know thing was when I saw him he was probably 50 pounds lighter. So still muscles 50 pounds lighter and my first impression is all that yeah guide eats wheat germ and enjoy them good foods of the world, but I come to find out later that he works out so that he can eat whatever he wants. So now we understand from the team carrot cake is like an extremely important Alan, can you share so I can share the I like to eat and I like to go work out and drink coffee doesn't like the three staples of my life. And so when you're not to have you and I do enjoy that too. But when we are in other areas of the world doing the operations you don't always have those luxuries. It always have a coffee pot or you don't always have the food that you would like your ordinary become accustomed to doing all those things. So we're driving around in this country and there's a sign in the picture. This on the sign is this carrot cake how much so that something that taste normal and not so. And then of course we go in and they had to sign out front so you would think they did not and it's a little disheartened in this is a running joke in our family that I have one emotion and that's hunger and I was told that that is not really emotion but don't believe that it is so my hunger emotion was spurred right on the onset in this operation of this carrot cake and so I was like for five days into it. If I'm not mistaken we finally had a place that had carrot cakes we we did try every day so defined and so they look out for me when I'm there, but there is, as I didn't get to know you guys since a couple and I hope the listeners feel the same way with a beautiful relationship and that your heart was for your husband to be able to use this training like he came to the party but often the party was over by the time he got there and you're excited about the time that he would actually like be able to be on the stage and is like the kid that plans I can string every scout playing the game, so you've been sitting on the bench for a long time. What it feel like when he realized all mind on my husband. There were eight women there. Whatever lies can you take us back to that moment.

I remember getting the text. The next the night before saying or going in and then the next morning reading that you know they were able to.

They did however many raids and they were able to save whatever the number was six or eight and it was just it was almost euphoric to think.

Finally, after years of training in the end God opened up this door and gave him the ability to go when indeed acid was. I like to say pride.

There's a lot of pride knowing that he could be a part of that but yet humble, and also knowing that God use just a little – from little old know where you just can I give you a better word, probably like better its glory glory writing is like your husband reflects Jesus is and so when you see that you're actually seeing Christ to eat that you actually seeing it out him come in and do what he is pleased that working on all these years, which actually is amazingly in so many different lives in South Mrs. a fantastic like oh my goodness, look how cool God is and and EA know you may say all things work together for good. Well isn't it interesting that he's allowed evil to do what it could so that he could show off and it is not a bad work if you prod Jesus. He drank when understand you. You can't photo bombing and I got to be that we gotta let them be the hero of the show right in and if you do that man is a beautiful thing and so was there a sense that you know that your wife was the whole time thinking that that you needed to get a chance to really use your stuff to a degree as she she would be disappointed. I guess if one of the operations I go back.

My career didn't go to fruition and allow the operations. We did discuss worst specially trained didn't revolve in a circle necessarily around hostage rescue. It involved other things you harvest transports and those heavy things you high-profile inmates going to court appearances and stuff. So what I like to say that was what a lot of times people think of is they think they look these TV shows or movies or whatever and I see that action part where you they save the hostages they rescue the damsel in distress work with the don't see in real life is all that goes into that prior to that moment in others years of training, discipline, logistics and and so that little 30 seconds of adrenaline rescue reward. That's all it is, 30 seconds, but the there is years of preparation prior to that.

You just have to be willing to go through those years of preparation to do that work that that reflects back the glory of God when it comes to fruition. So there has had a deep, but I want to get into the other things is that we we're pretty competitive family by nature so you talk about you know the my wife Hutchinson talked about. She was on the sea that moment which she is gonna be mad at me for is if I get to heaven before her and she said she would be very bad if I dated there before this running competition on which ones getting it there first and chilis increases my life insurance. For some reason I paid it at all. Things to verify that, but Alan there is a deeply spiritual part that that Mark whenever I have some time to hear his heart for you guys that that he really feels like that that's one of the gifts that you bring to the team and and and so can you a note out of humility. That's not so easy to talk about but can you take us back to a moment where like wow God you gave me this spiritually for this moment I would have to say that you now God doesn't always send the equipped he equips who he sends and even though we are equipped with a lot of skills and talents and narrow specialties. Those moments that come up where he wants to communicate his pleasure in us. That's when it comes through and it's not just me. It's everybody in the team may have a word of encouragement or appraised to give out prior to an operation you now in this region ready to go. And one of us hasn't prayed prior to that operation taking place. You know somebody always steps up in society, we really do take a moment and seek the Lord and asked for his guidance and discernment, guidance and direction protection so I can't say that's just me.

It's to see that's random that's marked with their there's always something that God is using during those moments. I can't take that credit but actually might be using here right now listening that your thinking how can I engage in this, and I hate the shows I wrote about so much fun to to get to know these folks, but as we get to know we get to Lena without responsibility. We normally need to be praying for Tammy.

We need to be praying for Alan and the rest of the team got a lantern rescue.org see how you might help them out financially can obviously see our lotteries so see what might have for you, along with most of all my personal self listen to blisters or three thank you for