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December 8, 2018 5:00 pm
This week Stu invites Don and Margie Cook of "Hands on Houses" into the studio to talk about their incredible ministry in India.
Have you hugged a widow today. What a question about this.
Have you built home for a widow I'm here in the studio some awesome jester back and they are South African migrants into America and into India and they have been building homes for widows in a ministry called hands-on houses.
Don and Margie Cook is so good to see you guys so good to have you back in North Carolina as he doesn't like think of you guys all we always only come by just trying to assure the good news of Christ hands-on houses is an amazing ministry we've interviewed you before, tell our listeners a little bit about this ministry that will give him a bit into how you got into it to write again.
Margie on my gallon that does the talking valves that we felt God leading us to guys ended Nati 12 years ago now and then to start building houses for widows and the disabled house in southeast India in the villages in Southeast India so we packed up. We'd lived in Hawaii for 10 years being missions wake they we packed app took two suitcases, each done and I went with five young people, when asked son from his university in British Columbia and four of his buddies and we went. We didn't know where we would stay.
We knew who we would work with that and we were gonna build houses and God and his faithfulness as provided and laid us and we now have been the 11 1/2 he is and we have booked 211 homes. Okay, so you've been in India now for 11 1/2 years. We have you built how many homes 211 okay well so that is Margie Cook and that is your hubby dogmatic daughter to everyone. We got our TV audience year, we've got our Instagram. We got some folks joining there's young been closer. And this is a real, this is a real sizzling run high rated program because on this program is given to the radio to go nuts. Why because you're talking about only goes for widows and it is that is raising more glamour so that more space.
Did I have a job.
Nine and done 72 instead of retiring. This is what we doing okay in a gentle, loving Christian way talk you about that you are you are of of retirement age so like you are the building homes, widows and places of third country problem is that I feel a bit guilty that we are actually having a lot of fun. This is likely on the wildest roller coaster. You can manage and and I really do wonder whether we should be enjoying ourselves as much as we are. It's definitely keeping us busy. It's keeping our prayer life really going well because I drive on the rise in India most days and that that really if you not prayed up and praised up in that situation you're in a dangerous place that it's been it's it's really cannot imagine what it be like not doing it is involved in building houses for windows with Windows. What does that entail what we work with the local pasta and I desire actually is is to see people get mansions in heaven and that the house is really a way of getting to them so we we want to build houses. I been trying to work on building houses quickly, but we realized we actually need to build them slowly so that people can get an opportunity to reach out to the widows who rebuilding the houses for Sarah. Our long-term objective is to build houses in heaven and this is just the platform that we have to reach out to people in need. Yeah. And this is sad tell tell tell her all of our listeners and viewers the plight of the window in India me then cast as a species is quite it's quite evil really fidgeted with for lack of a better word, yeah, we're amazed it just come many widows they are, how many young widows they are and how many of their husbands have committed suicide. That's one thing that we see a lot of but that the window has traditionally been treated as a nonperson, about 300 years ago they stood face to been the widows been the widows live with her husband's body. She wasn't entitled to live off to that and and we okay we are yes and we found that that the locals feel that there's a curse on them. And so when when when when the widows husband dies that they take all their possessions away. They break up marriage bracelets. They degrade them as second rate citizens. Yeah, yeah. So they have a hard time while initially ministry his hands on houses building houses of hope for widows in those in great need in the villages of South India since 2007 I see the website fear which is hands on houses.org and I sell that right Mark Morey needed so what about that how could.
How could a culture entire culture turn their back on a group of people that this is what my Bible says I'm in James one verse 21 read at Margie way for everyone to have it memorized. Probably I didn't have my glasses.
I hear you loud God of the father is this, to visit the orphans and widows in their trouble, to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
So right there.
There is a call all throughout Scripture. You have this call, the widow, the orphan, to reach out to love them to esteem them to value them and yet in India that's the all the opposites happen is that right yes the opposite does happen to Linda's cost and then they have no respect they not cooked often and they very seldom and get remarried in the Hindu culture that event didn't remarry. If you would even if you 23 years of age. That's it for the race to go that So what is it something it's broken you something happening you in your heart to cause you to leave the lifestyle you you in South Africa. You got you got kids you got your healthy kids and grandkids real quick but for children three married and six grandchildren blouse or something snapped inside of you to just say working to forestall this retirement thing. You might even put it off to heaven from this from the writ the rate you're going to go over and delete all that into go to India to build houses for widows. What was it that broke your heart to to send you on this mission. I think it was more that we at one stage said we wanted and not miss what the Lord had in mind for us and I think the Lord heard us even though we probably didn't know what he was what we were talking about and really what what happened was as though there were a series of doors that open that we walk through and it was it was the Lord's idea and I didn't really like the idea very much. I wasn't that keen on going to India bit sometimes when you realize that's what the Lords got in mind. It's a good idea to do it while you and you don't you hundred 11 these things tell some of the miracle stories to give us an example of sockets happen through this thing through a home that you built for widows and what God is done we built to him recently and for a 23 with three tiny children and she had become a widow when she was an pregnant with the third child living with another family and his various motivating thinking that life was ending three ipos that we got introduced today and we filter him.
She could not believe it that the three children would not have safe, secure to grow up in, they would be able to go to school. Have a safe place to do the Heimlich probably get good jobs which none if that before had been anything that she could have four sets prototype into so what about what you say to all those kids you know in college maybe kids and frat house is looking for a public service project. How can they get involved in what you're doing, what we would too risky.
Maybe they should display is not yet get hold of us that because what we find that people get laid to come and help us in and if the Lord speaking to somebody where we're happy to to to facilitate that. And so we've had a lot of people come to visit us and every one of them as being profoundly affected by that time there and so I would say send us an email about email addresses on the website and let's talk okay darling Margie Cook. What a blessing hands on houses is the ministry and on our true talk we can program Instagram also this is a really cool thing. Towards the end of 2018. Hansen house would've been at work in India for 11 years will complete over 200 houses for disabled widows, disabled and marginalized people.
Thank you guys what your final challenge to the American church out there in terms of waking up and getting into the Lord's work and being on mission.
What you say, do not be fearful day ahead when God called us God is faithful and he always provides. Thank you so much. Cannot you talk we can remake this podcast available friends get involve your kids involved on a missions trip gonna challenge yesterday by missionary priest at my church, and he said this, I should had you guys come to this to. He said what he said was fascinating.
He said he said asking other Christian, comfortable, cozy Christian American ask him what countries are you praying for your children to Gobi missionaries and say I'll tell you what years all taken on the crickets and indicting myself and that is my thinking that way when they cannot get them in a good school is a good career in good money, etc. and yet hey, who's living out the great commission who's reaching people for Jesus as you said he was not with me is against me.
He does not gather with me scatters no artists down exactly as I got back old line were coming up. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram Facebook were all there to talk week is coming up and we got our Instagram audiences with us you guys hang on. This is about to get real intense fear welcome everyone. I've got John and Margie Cook hello cooks one I treasure here and there with an agenda called hands-on houses ministry which basically building houses of hope for widows and those in great need in the villages of South India since 2007. Now, yet you don't have an Indian accent tell us where you're from your country of origin is in so for anyone out there.
We were born and raised in Cape Town in South Africa okay Africa clear African yeti Africans were to go after Africa we went to Hawaii for 10 years in which with missions open. Now that's America that you usually are African-American.
We know that after that, would you into okay so that your African-American India India.
Each of the Cherokee. No okay wow okay you went over there and tell everyone a summary of hands-on houses. How would you summarize it. Margie effectively for those that are doing this year, but it's a ministry to maybe two widows and disabled people. We build that cost houses out in the villages of Southeast India who widows the disabled and the very plat they live in shacks. Some of them live in Proceeds they tend to have houses which we take for granted in this country and in most of the waste and say we build in these tiny little houses and through that we demonstrate the love of Jesus. Well okay Donna you added anything that yet we give the houses to them free of charge because the people we help them just don't have anything, you know they really some of them don't even have food to feed the work is when when the building is a set it's a gift, and we make.
We let them know that this is from Jesus. This is that this is a gift from Jesus because Jesus loves them and we love them and we use that opportunity to reach out to these cities, people who are in desperate need and many of them have started attending the local churches just to find out why we doing that well yet so this is that this is their system, their religious system has effectively shut them out nearly as good as yes widows and now I know this is what's fasting William Carey who hopefully younger folks needle Google him and read about him often missionary you had India with the gospel is one of the missionary sharing the love of Jesus with any of that and usually mysteries its help stopped running the literary essay and they would do this would open her husband died, it would go in, they would build a big burial fire like a giant fire like a bonfire and a stick a husband on the air to burn his dead body, but who also data that little of the burning thing was original yeah the wife.
The wife would do that and and I read about William Carey's experience.
We try to stop it, and they physically just try to beat him up for getting involved. He did get it out load. He and another another Indian leader got it out loud. After a while, but still today the widows are treated as they are under a curse that they don't really like them to be around, and they tolerate them, but they don't have any sense of needing to take care of them. So it's and I think that, and it's the fact that we are helping widows speaks a lot to the community as well. People wanting to know why we doing this you just imagine that your little fella your your your a little girl in a home.
Your dad dies your mom's no widow in her having a funeral for your dad and they're going up there burn his body like to do cinnamon open cremations and and they take your mom and they they strapped her to that fire is literally what they were doing hundred years in India right now so yeah and in so that's not what I tell to not do that now think God was that tells you is the very low view of the widow of the widows, the lowest rung of the last of the societal ladder India into the station.
Still that way in this in a in a society that is pretty much scripted by defined by the caste system warranted a certain level. You'll never get out your stuck lot of poverty and abject poverty. So here this South African through American to India couple went over there and y'all are doing.
What about that what we do here at home because it is the first basic necessity right you. It is in that process you share in the love of Jesus, Riley, and in fact when it's one of the widows said all she could see was this big mountain in front of it. I didn't have a home and now that she hasn't had time in which he said I can get on with what God has allowed me to do as well, so back to what Jesus said in Luke chapter 11 where he said he that is not for me is against me and he does not gather with me is scattering effectively. Here's the deal. The enemy wants to get us a neutral ground right now.
He doesn't want us to be actively pursuing souls for Christ building homes to water projects do things that are going to reach us Christ down enemy does what he wants is a neutral ground okay translation wishes to be a good healthy little person you know in America and live the dream make a lot of coin retire and be successful as opposed to live your life for Jesus, as opposed to as a parent when I ever send my kids on a short-term or long-term missions trip like Sidney was on her show who is in eastern Asia and University is less than 1% Christian, one for less than 1% Christian. This university she's there teaching and leading people to kiss to Christ Jesus graduate with an amazing degree. She had her career set all kind of job offers what you challenge the next generation out there to really live their life out for Jesus to really gather to go pursue soul – someone hate you know Jesus as your Savior and not try to pop your head with my Bible only money that you want to tell you about what he did release for gave you my sin built me a home in heaven in your building homes on earth in India for these widows who have no home and their kids in the downtrodden in India to show them about the home having what you challenge the next generation will my thing is there's nothing more exciting than seeing God do something that was impossible, and you need to set up put yourself out there to do to to be in a position where you need the medical and when God does America.
Let's it just is so addictive and I want to stop the tsunami and I want to see more and more and more of it is that it's really is we doing ourselves a great disfavor by not getting out there and ask and ask and seeing God do the do the amazing things and know that we doing what he wants us to do so.
Ministry is hands on houses and that the two folks believe the founders this ministry for 11 years ago. Over 200 homes for widows and it is an awesome ministry take over doing this and for coming on the show today. Margie and Don Cook.
Margie, her final challenger went out there is the wrap of the show, especially the young folks was another what you challenge them about living it out for Jesus. When you get out there do his will continue.
I have been the first biggest foreign person ever to be in villages up in the mountains of India and if I hadn't it been that the opportunity wouldn't appendectomy say get out there and see what God has for you. Okay awesome thank you guys so much for coming on to talk with you and Instagram were video this thing for experience truth or TV segment and also put this podcast on twitter and please share this everyone with her when you go this is just so neat that I don't ever ask any young people they were going to go to college Alaska? Is it was God leaving you after high scattering churches in Cambodia to build homes in India deserve the underground church in China that the tenant may go to an atheist communist University somewhere in Europe and let your light shine like our friend Breanna is doing is over there teaching and leading kids to Christ and in the most atheistic city in Europe. So thank you guys so much for being on to talk weekend