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The World and Everything In It
10.8.25 The Attorney General’s senate hearing, Nigeria’s blasphemy laws on trial, and serving kids with special needs
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- [00:06]
Lindsay Mast
Good morning. With multiple National Guard deployments, political fireworks fly on Capitol Hill.
- [00:12]
Pam Bondi
Our law enforcement officers aren't being paid. They're out there working to protect you. I wish you love Chicago as much as you hate President Trump.
- [00:19]
Nick Eicher
Hunter Baker standing by for Washington Wednesday. Also today, a world tour, special report on Nigeria and later, a respite for caregivers.
- [00:29]
Pam Bondi
So we're creating a culture of service, a culture of welcome, of friendship, of compassion.
- [00:36]
Nick Eicher
And commentator Ray Hacke reflects on a bold testimony of faith.
- [00:47]
Lindsay Mast
It's Wednesday, October 8th. This is the world and everything in it from listener supported World Radio. I'm Lindsay Mast.
- [00:54]
Nick Eicher
And I'm Nick Eicher. Good morning.
- [00:58]
Lindsay Mast
Time now for the news. Here's Kent Covington.
- [01:02]
Kent Covington
This week marks two years since the horrific October 7th attacks against Israel. Hamas terrorists murdered some 1200 people, wounded thousands and took about 250 hostages, some of whom have died in Hamas captivity. Last night in Tel Aviv, thousands gathered for a special ceremony to remember those killed and those still being held hostage. World's Travis Kercher reports now from Israel. The bereaved family's October 7th memorial ceremony kicked off late last night as the first day of Sukkot, a Jewish holy.
- [01:39]
Hunter Baker
Day, came to an end.
- [01:41]
Kent Covington
Those gathered in a Tel Aviv park heard performances from Israeli artists as well as words from family members of those killed in the October 7 attacks. Yonatan Chamres, who founded the event, said it was broadcast live on well over 100 media channels and to Jewish communities around the world.
- [01:58]
Various Interviewees/Reporters
And I'm here to say the state of Israel and the people of Israel will stay strong and we want our hostages back and we'll do whatever it takes in order to bring them home.
- [02:10]
Kent Covington
18 year old Shekhar Fafardi said she was there because she didn't want to.
- [02:14]
Ray Hacke
Forget what happened on that fateful day two years ago.
- [02:18]
Hunter Baker
It's a very important day for me. October 7th was very heartbreaking day. And since day we're hoping for all the hostages to come back and for this war to finally end and to have peace in the world.
- [02:35]
Kent Covington
Reporting for WORLD I'm Travis Kircher in Tel Aviv at the White House on Tuesday.
- [02:41]
Hunter Baker
Well, thank you very much, everybody. It's an honor to have the prime minister of Canada, Mark Carney.
- [02:47]
Kent Covington
President Trump said the two leaders were sent to talk trade, once again working to iron out differences between the US And Canada. But he also had plenty to say about peace talks in the Middle East.
- [02:57]
Hunter Baker
It's been raging for a long time and I think there's a possibility that we could have peace in the Middle East. It's something even beyond the Gaza situation. We want a release of the hostages immediately.
- [03:09]
Kent Covington
The president urged negotiators holding peace talks in Egypt to move quickly on a deal to end the war in Gaza. Talks so far this week have focused on the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners rather than the more complicated elements of the peace proposal. And on the topic of U.S. canada trade, Prime Minister Carney told reporters, there.
- [03:30]
Various Interviewees/Reporters
Are areas where we compete and it's in those areas where we have to come to an agreement that works. But there are more areas where we are stronger together and that's what we're focused on and we're going to get the right deal.
- [03:43]
Kent Covington
Trade talks are focused on several sticking points, including tariffs on trucks, steel and aluminum, disputes over softwood lumber and Canada's dairy protections. Washington is also pushing back on Canada's new digital services tax while both sides debate whether to tweak or replace the U S Mexico Canada trade agreement. The federal government shutdown is now in its second week, and GOP leaders are warning that if a deal is not reached soon, military members will miss their next payday. One week from today, Senate Majority Leader John Thune accused Democrats of caving to political pressure. I think there are a lot of Democrats who are being bludgeoned, bludgeoned by their political left. Democrats are holding firm on demanding health care policy add ons. Party leaders say they will not agree to pass temporary funding without that. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says millions of Americans could see their health care.
- [04:39]
Various Interviewees/Reporters
Costs rise because of the Republicans continued.
- [04:43]
Ray Hacke
Refusal to to extend the Affordable Care act tax credit.
- [04:47]
Kent Covington
But President Trump and GOP leaders say they are willing to negotiate on health care, but only if and when Democrats agree to reopen the government. The U.S. supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in a case testing the constitutionality of a Colorado ban on what the state calls conversion therapy. Therapist Kaylee Childs says the state law violates her free speech rights by barring her from helping young patients who want to affirm their biological sex. Her attorney, Jim Campbell, with Alliance Defending Freedom, told justices Colorado insists that its.
- [05:19]
Legal Experts/Commentators
Law is subject only to rational basis review, yet that would allow states to.
- [05:24]
Kent Covington
Silence all kinds of speech in the counseling room. The state law does allow counseling of children that affirms homosexuality or so called transgender interventions. Colorado Solicitor General Shannon Stevenson argued that the state can regulate licensed health care, but some justices questioned whether the law favors one viewpoint. Justice Elena Kagan that seems like viewpoint.
- [05:47]
Hunter Baker
Discrimination in the way we would normally.
- [05:49]
Kent Covington
Understand Viewpoint discrimination 23 states have enacted similar bans. Former special counsel Jack Smith is under fire after new reports that the FBI monitored phone metadata of multiple Republican senators during his January 6 investigation. The move, revealed in Documents on Earth this week, drew the ire of GOP lawmakers. Senator Eric Schmidt said the moment has come for criminal charges.
- [06:15]
Hunter Baker
Whether it's Comey, Clapper, Brennan, whoever else we know or don't know right now.
- [06:19]
Kent Covington
Is a part of this.
- [06:20]
Hunter Baker
I think indictments should be coming here.
- [06:22]
Kent Covington
We can't tolerate this. Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville claimed FBI agents tied to the probe were fired recently and he called for legal action against Smith. Meantime, internal reviews at the Department of Justice and FBI are reportedly underway and to how the surveillance was authorized and whether it crossed constitutional lines. I'm Kent Covington. And straight ahead, Hunter Baker joins us for Washington Wednesday. And later, a world tour special report on Nigeria. This is THE WORLD and everything in it.
- [07:16]
Lindsay Mast
It's Wednesday, the 8th of October. Glad to have you along for today's edition of THE WORLD and Everything in it. Good morning. I'm Lindsay Master.
- [07:23]
Nick Eicher
And I'm Nick Eicher. Time now for Washington Wednesday. Political scientist and world opinions contributor Hunter Baker joins us now. Hunter, good morning.
- [07:32]
Hunter Baker
Good morning.
- [07:33]
Nick Eicher
Well, Hunter, Attorney General Pam Bondi was back on Capitol Hill yesterday for a tense oversight hearing. And I think simply saying that understates the tension. The hearing was before the Senate Judiciary Committee, lawmakers on both sides pressing her over a string of controversies from dropped investigations to the Justice Department handling of internal discipline and data collection. Now the session again, as I say, often turned combative with Bondi declining to answer several questions and trading sharp words with the senators, I must say, giving often as good as she got. But Hunter, these hearings are supposed to be about oversight, about accountability. This one sounded more like a knockdown, drag out, political brawl. What did we learn, if anything, from her testimony yesterday?
- [08:25]
Hunter Baker
There are a few things. I mean, one is we're entering into a new mode in American politics where we have these hearings and there is less interest in developing useful information either for the Congress or for the listening public than there is making sure that you come out of the encounter unscathed or that you look as though you have won. And so this was very pugilistic. I think that the Democrats wanted to push this idea that the Department of Justice has previously been non political and sort of meritocratic. And they wanted to kind of indicate that Pam Bondi has just been a political instrument of Donald Trump. And of course, that's a little bit ironic Because Donald Trump views himself as. As the victim of tremendous politically oriented justice. So now we have essentially both sides accusing each other of this thing. The story that comes out of this most strongly for me is the push on Tom Homan, who is in charge of this massive deportation effort. And you have Democrats asking over and over again about this $50,000 that he is said to have received before the election. And Bondi just kind of pushed back over and over again, sort of refusing to engage that inquiry.
- [09:57]
Nick Eicher
Well, Hunter, it's interesting that you say that about how these hearings have kind of devolved. But here's what I noticed as I was listening to this hearing yesterday with a colleague. I think it was when California Senator Adam Schiff was sparring with the attorney general. And I made the observation that this is precisely why I think the AG has the confidence of the president. Because unlike other administrations, I mean, what you saw in the Senate was a lot of senators doing a lot of grandstanding. But here in the Trump administration, you're seeing the Cabinet secretaries really push back. Instead of what I would say is your typical Cabinet secretary, kind of does this rope a dope strategy and hopes to be saved by the bell. But the Trump people really push. They turn these tough hearings into opportunities to go on offense. And I imagine you notice the same thing.
- [10:53]
Hunter Baker
Yeah, I think that this is what he wants. He was tremendously frustrated with his original attorney general, who was Jeff Sessions. When the sort of the Russian probe opened up, Sessions immediately recused himself, and Trump was furious. Trump, you know, his AG is not there to kind of help him, to protect him from that seat in the Department of Justice. And Pam Bondi gives no indication of being the same sort who would recuse herself in some sort of a controversy. She's got the gloves in and she is fighting.
- [11:31]
Lindsay Mast
Well, Hunter, Republicans used their time to raise concerns about politicization of law enforcement during the Biden administration, especially this collection of lawmakers phone records by the special counsel's office. How significant is that issue?
- [11:46]
Hunter Baker
I'm interested in seeing what else we find out here. I mean, on the one hand, to imagine a government lawyer actually sort of tapping the phones or tracking calls to major senators. I mean, there are some big names on this list. Ron Johnson being one, Bill Haggerty being another, Lindsey Graham being another. The idea that one of them or all of them are somehow involved in some sort of a criminal conspiracy to capture the election wrongly, something like that. So we'll see what happens. The question is, did Jack Smith have any kind of a valid basis for doing this, or was this more of just a political form of targeting? We'll find out more, I think.
- [12:35]
Lindsay Mast
Well, before we leave the hearing room, I do want to listen to one exchange in particular because it does lead into what we want to talk about next. It was when Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois spoke, and this was really a moment. Have a listen.
- [12:48]
Hunter Baker
The American people don't know the rationale behind the deployment of National Guard troops in my state.
- [12:54]
Kent Covington
The word is, and I think it's.
- [12:55]
Hunter Baker
Been confirmed by the White House, they.
- [12:57]
Various Interviewees/Reporters
Are going to transfer Texas National Guard units to the state of Illinois.
- [13:02]
Hunter Baker
What's the rationale for that?
- [13:03]
Pam Bondi
Yeah, Chairman, as you shut down the government, you voted to shut down the government, and you're sitting here, our law enforcement officers aren't being paid. They're out there working to protect you. I wish you loved Chicago as much as you hate President Trump. And currently the National Guard are on the way to Chicago. If you're not going to protect your citizens, President Trump will.
- [13:24]
Lindsay Mast
That's the kind of thing, I think, that prompted Senator Schiff to say something about Pam Bondi's canned criticisms. Obviously, one person's preparation is another person's canned statement, but clearly she was ready for that one.
- [13:36]
Hunter Baker
Yeah. This goes back to what we've talked about before. On the law and order message, Trump calculates, as did Richard Nixon in the past, that law and order is a winning issue with the American people. And I think it is. I just want to remind everybody that when Richard Nixon ran for his second term on that law and order message, he won massively, one of the biggest election wins in American history. And so Trump is on kind of firm ground pushing this law and order message. That's the politics of it now. The legal issues are kind of a separate matter.
- [14:11]
Nick Eicher
Well, and let's get to that, Hunter. I think it's important, and we'll kind of ask you to put on your lawyer hat, and I guess they give those out in law school. But, Hunter, help us to understand the relationship between a federal deployment and, for example, the power of the state to call out the National Guard. I'd like to get a sense of what's at stake here, what the president's powers are, what the local officials powers are. So when the National Guard is sent into a city, who's in charge? The president, the governor, the local authorities.
- [14:45]
Hunter Baker
We need to keep in mind that what we're looking at with places like Chicago or Portland or Los Angeles or Memphis, this is different than a Washington, D.C. issue. When the president is Stepping in to help out in Washington, D.C. he is on awfully firm ground because Washington, D.C. is largely a sort of something associated with the federal government, where the seat of government is located. But with regard to the states, typically crime is something that belongs to the states and to the local governments. However, if we are talking about federal law, then the president can absolutely make sure that the federal law is enforced. So what kinds of things does that entail? Well, immigration is the big one right now, but we could be thinking about things like drug laws or bank robberies. That's a matter of federal law or kidnapping. You know, there are a number of different things that have a federal basis, and the federal government is free to operate when that happens. Now, we've had this controversy in Chicago where you had ICE agents actually being put in danger for their lives with local people surrounding them, attacking them. And find out more about what exactly has happened. I think Chicago's playing for time, but it seems as though for a while those ICE agents were left without any help and that maybe they had been ordered not to be helped, that, you know, that the police had been held back for a time. But whatever happens, police officers are not free from their obligation to protect. Those ICE agents are doing their job, sent there by the federal government, and if they are put in physical danger, the police have the obligation to protect them just like they would anybody else.
- [16:43]
Nick Eicher
Well, Hunter, I wonder if that's where the Insurrection act comes in. Is that what would govern something like this, or is this a routine deployment that's more political than it is legal? How do you analyze that?
- [16:56]
Hunter Baker
Well, the Insurrection act is designed to allow the federal government to come in to an area during times of great civil unrest. Now, typically, I think that a governor would be requesting that that help come in. But again, this gets down to that federal and state sort of a breakdown. And I think that probably the last time I can think of the Insurrection act being used is probably with regard to some of those civil rights sort of cases where maybe you have students who are supposed to be allowed into a school or a university and the local officials are resisting that. The Insurrection act would allow a president to send in the National Guard or someone like that to break that log jam and enforce the federal law.
- [17:46]
Lindsay Mast
Since we talked last, Hunter, the Democratic candidate for Virginia Attorney General, Jay Jones, took lots of heat. And I think you would see, say, justifiably, he sent a string of text messages a few years back to a former colleague in the state legislature. His rationale, only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy. Now, since then, Jones has apologized. Here's audio from WricTV.
- [18:12]
Ray Hacke
I want the people of Virginia to know that I am so deeply, deeply embarrassed and that I understand the gravity.
- [18:19]
Hunter Baker
Of what I said and I am so apologetic for it.
- [18:21]
Lindsay Mast
But Hunter, we've been talking for weeks about language and its impact, and I'm especially struck by that line, only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy. That's really something. So you tell me, are we pedaling backwards on the road to civil civic discourse at this point?
- [18:40]
Kim Henderson
Where are we?
- [18:41]
Hunter Baker
We're in a really bad place. We have Charlie Kirk murdered by a person who disagreed with him significantly about politics and saw that as a way to exterminate the hate that he saw within Charlie Kirk. And now we have this former Virginia assemblyman and now candidate for attorney general in the state openly fantasizing about killing a Virginia Republican, saying that if he had two bullets and standing next to him were Pol Pot and Adolf Hitler, he would reserve both bullets for that Virginia Republican. And adding to that, that he thought it would be fitting if that Virginia Republican's children died in their mother's arms. So, no, this is not good. We have reached some extremes of irrationality and hatred, and we just need to learn how to disagree about politics in a manner befitting of citizens. We are citizens. We are not children. We are not ruled the way subjects are ruled. And that means that we're responsible and that means that we inform ourselves and then we talk it out and then we vote and then we abide by the results of those elections. Right now, it feels like we're pretty far away from that.
- [20:00]
Nick Eicher
Hunter Baker is a political scientist and provost at North Greenville University. Hunter, thanks so much. Thanks for the visit.
- [20:08]
Hunter Baker
Thank you.
- [20:17]
Kent Covington
Additional support comes from Covenant College, where Christian faculty equip students for their callings through hard ideas, deep questions and meaningful work. Covenant. Edu World from Ambassadors Impact Network. Helping entrepreneurs who are looking for more than just funding discover a community of Christian faith led investors more@ambassadorsimpact.com and from Cedarville University. Equipping students for professional excellence and gospel. Impact Cedarville. Edu World.
- [20:57]
Lindsay Mast
Coming up next on THE WORLD and everything in it, a world Tour special report. Last month, Nigeria's Supreme Court granted an appeal to a minority Muslim facing the death penalty for blasphemy allegations.
- [21:10]
Nick Eicher
Legal advocates say the outcome of the case could potentially overturn blasphemy laws and mob violence in a country where persecution targeting Christians remains high. Here is World Africa. Reporter Onize Yahya Sharif Aminu, a musician.
- [21:27]
Onize Yahya
From the Sufi minority Muslim sect, recorded an audio message five years ago and shared it on WhatsApp. In the audio file, he praised an imam from his sect, but some devout Muslims accused him of elevating the leader over the Prophet Muhammad.
- [21:43]
Legal Experts/Commentators
A mob began to form after his message was circulated. His home was burned down. People immediately called for his arrest.
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Onize Yahya
Sean Nelson is the legal counsel for global religious freedom at the Alliance Defending Freedom International. Shortly after Sharif Aminu's arrest in 2020 in northern Kano State, a Sharia court in the state found him guilty of blasphemy and sentenced him to death by hanging. He appealed the ruling.
- [22:13]
Legal Experts/Commentators
A few months later, Yahya's conviction was overturned because you can't convict somebody of a capital offense for without a lawyer present during their trial. But he was ordered to go back to a retrial so he would face the exact same death penalty in 2022.
- [22:33]
Onize Yahya
Sharif Aminu appealed to the Supreme Court, which finally agreed to hear his case last month. But his state government is still backing the guilty verdict. Lamido Abba Sorondinki is the lawyer for the Kano state government.
- [22:48]
Hunter Baker
We will not condone it. Anybody that has uttered any word that touches the integrity of the Holy Prophet, we will punish him, he says.
- [22:57]
Onize Yahya
The state will punish anyone who touches the integrity of the Prophet, he vowed. Sharif Aminu will face a public execution if the court affirms the earlier ruling. Nelson says Sarandinki's comments highlight the urgency behind Sheri Faminu's case. States in Nigeria's Muslim majority North implement both constitutional and Sharia law. Unlike the majority Christian south, which does not follow Sharia law. Sharia law officially applies only to Muslims. But Christians can be tried for blasphemy under Nigeria's criminal law and non Muslims can face pressure to abide by mandates from Sharia morality police. Blasphemy allegations also trigger mob violence.
- [23:43]
Legal Experts/Commentators
That area of Nigeria is one of only seven places in the world that you can receive the death penalty for blasphemy. And the law actually mandates the death penalty for blasphemy against the Quran or any of its prophets.
- [23:58]
Onize Yahya
Nelson believes that Sharif Aminu's case could affect the fate of thousands of Christians also facing persecution in Nigeria. According to the Nigeria based nonprofit Inter Society, Islamists murdered more than 7,000 Christians in Nigeria during the first seven months of this year. That's an average of 30 Christians dying each day. Three years ago, a mob in northern Sokoto state beat and burned Christian student Deborah Samuel to death.
- [24:29]
Legal Experts/Commentators
She had just shared in her classroom chat that she thanked Jesus for helping her pass some exams after a student asked her why did she do so well and so other people within her class did not like that.
- [24:45]
Onize Yahya
Back in December, a high court in northern Bauchi state acquitted Christian nurse Rhodajatao of blasphemy allegations she had shared in a WhatsApp group a video that criticized Samuel's killing. In August, a mob stoned and burned a food vendor to death in north central Niger State. And last week, more than 5,000 Nigerians fled to bordering Cameroon after Boko Haram insurgents captured their town in northeast Bornou state. These cases are now drawing more international attention. Sam Brownback is the former US Ambassador at large for international religious freedom. He recently told Fox News that Nigeria's insurgency is growing.
- [25:30]
Legal Experts/Commentators
You've got more terrorist groups in the area, you've got more weaponry coming in.
- [25:34]
Various Interviewees/Reporters
You'Ve got more Christians being killed and it's spreading throughout the region. You could have a caliphate, an Islamic.
- [25:42]
Legal Experts/Commentators
Radical caliphate throughout the middle of Africa.
- [25:46]
Nick Eicher
That would have 500 million people if you don't get on top of this.
- [25:50]
Onize Yahya
Last month, Republican Senator Ted Cruz from Texas introduced a bill called the Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability act of 2025. It targets Nigerian officials who enable jihadist violence or or enforce blasphemy laws. Nelson believes the outcome of Sharifa Minou's case could also pressure officials to act both in Nigeria and elsewhere.
- [26:16]
Legal Experts/Commentators
There's a real chance that that could overturn all of the similar death penalty blasphemy laws within the north. And this would also be of world significance as well because again, only seven countries in the world have this kind of a law. But all of the other countries are specifically Islamic republics or Sharia based countries.
- [26:43]
Onize Yahya
That's this week's world Tour. I'm Onizi Adwa.
- [27:00]
Nick Eicher
Every day around 11 o' clock at the Shrimp Basket in Pensacola, Florida, the door would swing open and in walked a loyal customer for his usual a cup of gumbo cook Donnell Stallworth, as usual, more than happy to oblige. The audio from Wear TV News. They said they don't want no green onions on that, right? That's how we do it. That is how we do it. But one week the old man didn't show up. So Stallworth thought he'd better check in. He drove to the old man's house, knocked on the door and heard a faint call from inside. He found the man had fallen and was in pretty bad shape. Thankfully, he's recovering and Stallworth plans to check in more often and see how he doing. Put that smile back on his face and probably take him a thing of gumbo. Just what the doctor ordered. It's the world and everything in it.
- [28:00]
Lindsay Mast
Today is Wednesday, October 8th. Thank you for turning to World Radio to help start your day. Good morning, I'm Lindsay Mast.
- [28:07]
Nick Eicher
And I'm Nick Icker. Next up on the World and Everything in it, caring for caregivers. Raising a child with an intellectual disability can be all consuming. Caregivers often feel they don't have a moment to themselves.
- [28:21]
Lindsay Mast
But when someone sees that need and steps in to give a weary parent a night out, wow, is that a blessing. World's senior writer Kim Henderson has the story.
- [28:36]
Kim Henderson
Kemp Patterson has a 9 year old son named Evan.
- [28:39]
Various Interviewees/Reporters
He was diagnosed with autism. At 36 months, he's still non verbal. He's not potty trained. He's a great kid. He's a loving kid.
- [28:49]
Kim Henderson
Patterson is a single dad.
- [28:51]
Various Interviewees/Reporters
I get up with him and the morning I get him ready for school, get him on the bus and I go to work after school.
- [28:57]
Kim Henderson
A sitter keeps Evan until Patterson returns. Then the dad and son hit the backyard.
- [29:02]
Various Interviewees/Reporters
He loves to jump on a trampoline, likes to play in the pool or a sandbox. Then we have supper and it's bath time and a little bit of free time and then he goes to bed.
- [29:14]
Kim Henderson
Bedtime can be really hard. Evan has abnormal sleep patterns.
- [29:18]
Various Interviewees/Reporters
Some nights it takes him hours to go to sleep. Some nights he goes right to sleep. And then there are other nights he'll get up at 1, 2 o' clock in the morning and he's, he's ready.
- [29:31]
Onize Yahya
To go for the day.
- [29:32]
Kim Henderson
That can wear on a parent. But tonight Patterson is getting a break. He's dropping Evan off at a Parents Night out event. It's for families of those affected by intellectual disabilities, autism, down syndrome, traumatic brain injuries. And Evan can't wait.
- [29:51]
Various Interviewees/Reporters
I think he just loves being with all the kids. He has a buddy that stays with.
- [29:57]
Kim Henderson
Him the entire time, an assigned volunteer buddy just for him. And while Evan enjoys activities designed for individuals with intellectual disabilities, Patterson will be joining his sister for dinner.
- [30:10]
Various Interviewees/Reporters
I think we're going to go to the Sunset Bar and Grill out on the reservoir.
- [30:16]
Kim Henderson
For two and a half hours, volunteers at Pear Orchard Presbyterian Church open their gym to take care of anyone ages 1 to 70 with intellectual disabilities. And boy, are their caregivers grateful.
- [30:30]
Pam Bondi
They may go home and take a nap. They may go to the grocery store without having to deal with is my child gonna bolt this way and I need to go get frozen broccoli, you know, over here.
- [30:41]
Kim Henderson
Or that's Daphne Clark. She heads up the event.
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Pam Bondi
So this side is more games and puzzles and tossing things and bingo. Basketballs are over there. They'll come in, they'll get name tags if they have an allergy or something like that. You'll see it in red so that the buddy will know.
- [31:00]
Kim Henderson
And Clark says one of her biggest challenges in organizing Parents Night out is getting volunteers. They need lots of them.
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Pam Bondi
You can't invite your community to come if you don't have the support. So we're creating a culture of service, a culture of welcome, of friendship, of compassion, of seeing people. Just takes a while to build that.
- [31:25]
Kim Henderson
Tonight, volunteer have filled the bleachers. This 11 year old can't wait to be someone's assigned buddy.
- [31:31]
Various Interviewees/Reporters
Whatever he needs me to do, I'm.
- [31:33]
Hunter Baker
Gonna do for him and I'm not gonna leave him. And so if he wants to play a game, I'm gonna help him.
- [31:40]
Kim Henderson
Like if he wants to color a picture, I'm gonna help him color the picture. Volunteers have to be ready for anything. Kids with medical devices, kids who can't stay still, kids who can't talk. Nathaniel Quanze is a college student who has volunteered with this ministry for more than a decade.
- [31:57]
Various Interviewees/Reporters
I'm never happier than when I'm here.
- [31:59]
Nick Eicher
This is the happiest place for me.
- [32:01]
Kim Henderson
I asked him why he's chosen this way of serving.
- [32:04]
Nick Eicher
The story of a lot of families.
- [32:05]
Various Interviewees/Reporters
That are touched by disabilities is that they're rejected by the church and they get sent out from these churches because their kids are too noisy or things like that. And there's a lot of church hurt.
- [32:16]
Kim Henderson
That's why parents don't. Night out is open to the whole community. A long line has formed by the time participants sign in.
- [32:23]
Various Interviewees/Reporters
Hey, how you doing?
- [32:25]
Nick Eicher
My name J E R R Y.
- [32:28]
Kim Henderson
It's a happy reunion like scene. But Daphne Clark points out another challenge. It's not always easy for parents to leave their children.
- [32:40]
Pam Bondi
You're wondering, are they going to know how to care for my child? There's that, well, they know what to do. You know, wonder if my child has a seizure or something when they're. So we do have medical staff here to take care of all that.
- [32:51]
Kim Henderson
Kemp Patterson has no qualms about leaving Evan.
- [32:54]
Various Interviewees/Reporters
This program is just amazing. I can't believe what I walked into two years ago. I mean, this is phenomenal. You see all the people here.
- [33:02]
Kim Henderson
Patterson says he eventually became a member of this church partly because they have a special program for Evan on media Sunday mornings.
- [33:09]
Various Interviewees/Reporters
Before that, I couldn't really sit through a service with him.
- [33:13]
Kim Henderson
And that's what often happens with caregivers, according to Pear Orchard Presbyterian's pastor, Caleb Kanjalowski.
- [33:19]
Kent Covington
They realize like, oh, here's a church.
- [33:21]
Hunter Baker
That'S going to let me bring my.
- [33:22]
Various Interviewees/Reporters
Child to worship whether they're loud, whether they're disruptive.
- [33:26]
Kim Henderson
Evan Patterson was one of them. His father, Kemp, says activities like that make his role as a parent and caregiver easier. And now he's ready to get back to his routine with his son.
- [33:39]
Various Interviewees/Reporters
Having Evan has been one of the greatest joys of my life.
- [33:42]
Kim Henderson
Reporting for WORLD I'm Kim henderson in Ridgeland, Mississippi.
- [33:57]
Lindsay Mast
Today is Wednesday, October 8th. Good morning, this is the World and everything in it from listener supported World Radio. I'm Lindsay Mast.
- [34:05]
Nick Eicher
And I'm Nick Iker. Next up, a Major League baseball superstar is pitching his final innings as he's planning to hang up his cleats after the current playoff chase. Here is World's Ray Hacke.
- [34:19]
Ray Hacke
On September 18, la Dodgers fans were shocked when veteran pitcher Clayton Kershaw announced his retirement after 18 seasons with the ball club where he started.
- [34:29]
Various Interviewees/Reporters
So today I'm just going to keep it short and sweet. Yeah, I'm going to call it. I'm going to retire.
- [34:35]
Ray Hacke
The left hander then went out and pitched four and a third innings in his final regular season home game against the San Francisco Giants. And one of Major League Baseball's oldest rivalries.
- [34:46]
Various Interviewees/Reporters
What a moment here at Dodger Stadium tonight that was just kind of thrust onto everyone.
- [34:50]
Ray Hacke
Kershaw's final season is the Dodgers won the National League West Division title for the 12th time in 13 years. They're now competing in the playoffs. Kershaw will factor heavily into the Dodgers efforts to repeat as the World Series champion for the first time in team history.
- [35:07]
Onize Yahya
It's unbelievable.
- [35:07]
Various Interviewees/Reporters
And then what you said, where we came from this year, it's throughout his.
- [35:10]
Ray Hacke
Tenure in the major leagues, the Dodgers all time strikeout leader exuded humility, quietly dominating on the mound and letting his numbers and accolades testify to his greatness. Kershaw's career earned run average is 2.54, meaning he's been downright stingy when it comes to letting opponents score. He'll likely be one of the last pitchers to reach 200 wins and 3,000 strikeouts in his career. That's not to mention Kershaw's 11 All Star selections, three Cy Young awards, 2014 National League Most Valuable Player Award and two World Series rings.
- [35:53]
Various Interviewees/Reporters
When I think about Jesus. The first word that comes to mind is hope. He's my hope.
- [35:57]
Ray Hacke
Though Major League Baseball has never had a shortage of Christian Vol players, Clayton Kershaw stands out from the rest.
- [36:03]
Various Interviewees/Reporters
What anchors you, what gives you hope past this world for us, that's Jesus. Jesus is our eternal hope.
- [36:09]
Ray Hacke
In post game interviews, he did much more than thank God for his success on the field. He used the platform his success created to advance the gospel and take a stand for his faith when the situation called for it. He ended last month's retirement announcement press conference by quoting his favorite Bible verse.
- [36:25]
Various Interviewees/Reporters
So whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as you're working for the Lord, not for men. It's Colossians, and that's what I've tried to do. Just work at it. Just work at it and love it.
- [36:34]
Ray Hacke
Kershaw certainly did that. But it isn't the only thing that made him a shining example for other Christian ballplayers to follow. Sometimes it meant publicly pushing back against his employer. In 2023, the Dodgers honored the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. The Sisters are an LGBT group whose members dress like nuns and openly mock Christian values. The ball club honored them with a Community Hero award. Krishaw denounced the decision.
- [37:00]
Various Interviewees/Reporters
There is a little bit more of a culture war these days, and there's a lot more people with more opinions with social media about different things.
- [37:06]
Ray Hacke
At Kershaw's urging, the Dodgers hosted a Faith and Family Day later that season and earlier this year. At the Dodgers Pride Night in June, Kershaw scrawled Genesis 9, 12, 16 in white ink to the right of the rainbow colored version of the Dodgers LA logo on his cap. He did it to remind fans of what the rainbow truly stands for. Kershaw was truly, in the words of Jesus, as wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove. In the process, he avoided the backlash many Christian athletes experience when they refuse to celebrate what the Bible condemns.
- [37:41]
Various Interviewees/Reporters
For me, it's about the legacy you leave off the field. It's about how many people can I affect through the platform that he gave.
- [37:48]
Ray Hacke
Me off the field. Kershaw used his MLB earnings to support missions, work in Africa and transform at risk children and communities through his charity. Kershaw's Challenge Even in retirement, Kershaw is modeling Christian principles. His focus will be on being a more present father to his five kids.
- [38:06]
Various Interviewees/Reporters
I'm excited to not miss another game and watch all the baseball, volleyball, dance, soccer. I'm going to do that for a while for sure.
- [38:14]
Ray Hacke
For every ballplayer there comes a time to move on to his next chapter. Kershaw's time is now. And while there will never be another Kershaw, I pray there will be another Christian ballplayer in MLB who will follow his example in boldness and humility. I'm Ray Hacke.
- [38:36]
Lindsay Mast
Tomorrow, the US Military ramps up strikes on Venezuelan drug boats. Is war brewing? And some women are being coerced into abortions made easier now by mail order abortion drugs. That and more tomorrow. I'm Lindsay Mast.
- [38:51]
Nick Eicher
And I'm Nick Eicher. The world and everything in it comes to you from World Radio. World's mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates and inspires. The Bible says the Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high. He will fill Zion with justice and righteousness and he will be the stability of your times. Abundance of salvation, wisdom and knowledge. The fear of the Lord is Zion's treasure. The Book of Isaiah, chapter 33, verses 5 and 6. Go now in grace and peace.