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All The Way Home From Jeff Woodke Surviving In The Hands Of Al Quida For 7 Years · Arroe Collins Like It's Live

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  Speaker 1: I don't know how you run your streaming platforms when
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  Speaker 1: you're trying to watch TV. Right here is the Disney Channel.
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  Speaker 1: Over here is Hulu. There's Netflix. There's got to be
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  Speaker 1: something on. It's almost Halloween. What are we going to do?
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  Speaker 1: Is there something over here I can check into? Why
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  Speaker 1: can't we just do it all in one place? Like Arrow.net, A-R-R-O-E.net.
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  Speaker 1: One place, 21 different podcasts to choose from. From My
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  Speaker 1: Day of Play to The Choice, The Daily Mess, Foodie
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  Speaker 1: Paradise if you love your cooking. How about Vocal Defrag
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  Speaker 1: and even YA Authors? Arrow.net, A-R-R-O-E.net. 21 different choices in
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  Speaker 1: one place. Enjoy your exploration. Good morning, Jeff. How are
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  Speaker 1: you doing today?
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  Speaker 2: I'm doing fairly well. How's North Carolina?
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  Speaker 1: Oh, it's a beautiful state right now. We're in the
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  Speaker 1: transition of seasons going from summer to fall. And this
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  Speaker 1: is the time of year that I try to get
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  Speaker 1: people to understand that it's okay to let go of
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  Speaker 1: things because the trees do it every single year.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a great place. I really liked it out
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  Speaker 2: there when I was there.
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  Speaker 1: You have a story here that somewhere along the line,
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  Speaker 1: you had to remind yourself that this was not a
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  Speaker 1: movie that you were watching. This was reality and it
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  Speaker 1: starred you. How is it that you were able to
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  Speaker 1: step into this and make it what you did where
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  Speaker 1: most people would have done everything to get out?
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  Speaker 2: Um. get out of captivity.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly. Well, yeah, yeah. I mean, I tried, I mean, mentally, physically, spiritually.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, it's like, you know, one of the things
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  Speaker 1: that they train us to do in, in martial arts
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  Speaker 1: is to put ourselves in a position that we can control. And,
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  Speaker 1: and I love studying things like what you've gone through Jeff,
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  Speaker 1: because I think that it teaches the world that it's,
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  Speaker 1: it's not what you think. And this is not Rambo. You're,
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  Speaker 1: you're going to live a life that Jeff did. And
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  Speaker 1: Jeff is going to teach you how to do it.
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  Speaker 2: Well, thank you. That's what I would hope that people
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  Speaker 2: would get from the book is how to get through
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  Speaker 2: difficult circumstances because obviously not everyone has to go through
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  Speaker 2: something so extreme, but that doesn't mean that there isn't
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  Speaker 2: suffering and difficulty and trauma that is in their lives.
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  Speaker 1: Well, I'll tell you where I was drawn in so
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  Speaker 1: closely though, Jeff, is that, you know, chained, isolated. I mean,
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  Speaker 1: right away and you're writing, I'm going, oh my God,
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  Speaker 1: we're living the days of a modern day Paul or
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  Speaker 1: a Peter who was, they were trapped in these prisons
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  Speaker 1: and it's like, and you've come out with this word
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  Speaker 1: that is just so, you know, it gives us that
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  Speaker 1: opportunity for hope and to believe in things when things
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  Speaker 1: aren't going our way.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's it. I would, Hope is something that comes
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  Speaker 2: and goes, you know, as a captive. But what I
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  Speaker 2: found was that love abided and it got me through
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  Speaker 2: the worst of the worst and out the other side.
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  Speaker 2: And it has helped me heal. In the last three
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  Speaker 2: years since I've been recovered, yeah.
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  Speaker 1: So then Julia Cameron from The Artist's Way does speak
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  Speaker 1: a truth when she says that if we can get
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  Speaker 1: in there and clean out the closet, it opens up
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  Speaker 1: the mind, body, and soul to do that healing then.
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  Speaker 1: Was that your process? Did it help you heal to
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  Speaker 1: put it on paper?
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  Speaker 2: I don't know that it was a healing process to
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  Speaker 2: write it down. It was an enjoyable process, and it
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  Speaker 2: was a story that I wanted to tell. Yeah. I
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  Speaker 2: guess it was part of it, but it wasn't the
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  Speaker 2: healing process, not at all. Yeah, the healing process was
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  Speaker 2: just therapy and talk and family and, yeah, and faith.
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  Speaker 1: Speaking of that faith right there, you can feel that
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  Speaker 1: on the book cover. And I was going to ask
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  Speaker 1: you about that because as the viewer, the one that
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  Speaker 1: would physically held onto that book in a way that
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  Speaker 1: it's like, I see all of that yellow. And am
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  Speaker 1: I wrong in thinking the book, just as the cover
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  Speaker 1: itself says, I am the path. What do you feel?
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  Speaker 1: It's almost like the book is speaking words too. And
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  Speaker 1: it allows us to come in as readers because that
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  Speaker 1: front page with that yellow says, I am the path.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, we worked hard on that cover, and we put
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  Speaker 2: a lot of thought and effort into it, and you're
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  Speaker 2: picking up on that. HarperCollins did a great job with that.
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  Speaker 2: All the Way Home is a journey, and I invite
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  Speaker 2: you to walk it with me. And like I say,
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  Speaker 2: you'll come out the other side with renewed hope and
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  Speaker 2: with a greater trust in the power of love and
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  Speaker 2: faith in your life. Not just for believers. That's for anybody. Absolutely.
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  Speaker 2: That's for anybody.
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  Speaker 1: Well, I'm totally with you on that because my pastor,
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  Speaker 1: Stephen Furtick from Elevation Church says, you don't have to
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  Speaker 1: say anything. Just wear it. Just wear it. They'll figure
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  Speaker 1: it out. And that's what I feel from you, Jeff,
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  Speaker 1: is you're just wearing it. That you're allowing us to
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  Speaker 1: feel this energy that you've got, that you were able
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  Speaker 1: to feel the intensity of that mountain, but you came
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  Speaker 1: down and said, look, I've got lessons that I was given.
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  Speaker 1: Let's talk about this.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. I think that there are things that the
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  Speaker 2: church needs to hear at this point because we all
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  Speaker 2: can get sidetracked in our lives and forget about what
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  Speaker 2: the bedrock of our faith is really all about. And
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  Speaker 2: I think this is a good call. for people to
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  Speaker 2: be able to come all the way home, just like
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  Speaker 2: I did.
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  Speaker 1: I was going to ask you, because that word calling
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  Speaker 1: or a call is huge in my heart, Guy, and
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  Speaker 1: that's what guides me in so many different directions. When
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  Speaker 1: you feel that calling to become a humanitarian, or you
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  Speaker 1: are basically putting yourself into a position, and it's such
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  Speaker 1: a word that a lot of people I don't think
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  Speaker 1: understand these days, missionary. I don't think they understand what
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  Speaker 1: it is that you are truly, truly doing. It's more
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  Speaker 1: than just going over there with a book in your hands.
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  Speaker 1: You're living their lifestyle.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, we had no intention of ever going to just preach.
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  Speaker 2: We wanted to share the gospel with two hands, the
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  Speaker 2: two hands of the gospel, with words and with deeds
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  Speaker 2: of love and compassion and helping people to realize the
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  Speaker 2: potential that they have. So that was our approach. And
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  Speaker 2: we definitely were as close to the people and lived
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  Speaker 2: culturally as possible. similar lives.
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  Speaker 1: Please don't move. We'll be right back with Jeff Woodkey
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  Speaker 1: coming up next. The name of the book? All the
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  Speaker 1: Way Home. We are back with Jeff Woodkey. Now, I
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  Speaker 1: know a lot of preacher people. I've sat down with
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  Speaker 1: many of them that would look at you probably and go,
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  Speaker 1: so tell us what it was like to sit with
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  Speaker 1: the devil inside that cell for seven years. I mean,
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  Speaker 1: you had thought about that somewhere along the line.
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  Speaker 2: I am No cell. I was outside the whole time.
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  Speaker 2: I was never in a building. Not once. Not even
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  Speaker 2: in the rain. And it does rain a lot in
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  Speaker 2: the rainy season. But yeah, people are people. There are
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  Speaker 2: people that are sinful or that want to do bad
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  Speaker 2: things or hateful things all over the world. And yeah,
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  Speaker 2: there are They might not use the same methods. They
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  Speaker 2: might not say the same things. But they're here, too,
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  Speaker 2: doing things that are harmful and hurtful and selfish. So
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  Speaker 2: you're not going to escape that. And we have to
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  Speaker 2: look at people as children of, you know, creations of God.
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  Speaker 2: They're beloved. They're made in God's image. And even if
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  Speaker 2: they're your enemies, then that changes your perspectives.
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  Speaker 1: You talk about being outside. Now, right away, you take
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  Speaker 1: me right to Elijah. And Elijah is saying that he
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  Speaker 1: felt the rain was coming. It took three years. But
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  Speaker 1: the fact of the matter is you were still outside.
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  Speaker 1: Did you think of Elijah or anything of the stories
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  Speaker 1: while you were out there?
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  Speaker 2: I thought about a lot of the stories. I didn't
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  Speaker 2: have a Bible or anything to read. So you're going
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  Speaker 2: off what you can remember and anything you might have memorized. But,
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  Speaker 2: of course, yeah, you go through all those stories and
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  Speaker 2: you think about all kinds of different texts and you
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  Speaker 2: dissect them and you tear things apart. And, yeah, so
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  Speaker 2: my faith, you know, sometimes I say I lost my
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  Speaker 2: religion and I gained my faith because I started to
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  Speaker 2: find what the real bedrocks of faith are, faith, hope,
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  Speaker 2: and love.
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  Speaker 1: You've got some words here, some paragraphs here that they
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  Speaker 1: need to be in offices across the planet. Because, I mean,
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  Speaker 1: things like choice gone, blood sung, dust blows, fear grows,
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  Speaker 1: I fade. Man, we can all get an interpretation. But
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  Speaker 1: the main thing there is, is that there's also motivation
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  Speaker 1: in that. Because as you faded, didn't you grow into
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  Speaker 1: a new shape and have more light from you? Yeah, definitely.
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  Speaker 2: Definitely. That's what remains at the end of it. When
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  Speaker 2: everything else is gone, you're going to find out, or
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  Speaker 2: at least I found out, and I believe other people will,
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  Speaker 2: that love remains because love abides. Hope will leave you.
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  Speaker 2: Faith might dwindle, but love abides. And that light will
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  Speaker 2: shine brighter and brighter. The rest of you dims.
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  Speaker 1: I want to talk a little bit more about being
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  Speaker 1: outside again, only because I live in a forest. I
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  Speaker 1: trust my trees, the rocks, and everything that's here. And
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  Speaker 1: with you being outside the way that you were, did
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  Speaker 1: you learn how to listen to the atmosphere in the
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  Speaker 1: way that the wind has its own voice versus the
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  Speaker 1: heat versus the rain you spoke of? Did you become
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  Speaker 1: a better listener of all living things around you?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I suppose I... did, sure. I mean, I was
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  Speaker 2: basically just a part of the environment under my tree
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  Speaker 2: or at night I slept out. So yeah, the universe
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  Speaker 2: becomes much more something you're aware of. Just the way
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  Speaker 2: to tell time, looking at the clouds and learning how
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  Speaker 2: to understand them The trees, the animals, and the stars
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  Speaker 2: at night, and the planets, all of those things become
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  Speaker 2: much more a part of your being in your daily life.
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  Speaker 1: First of all, I'm so glad that you're sharing your
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  Speaker 1: story with us, Jeff. God has blessed you well. You're
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  Speaker 1: going to reach people like you would not believe from
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  Speaker 1: this moment forward, sir.
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  Speaker 2: All right. So, yeah, please pick up the book, All
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  Speaker 2: the Way Home. It's available everywhere, and you can read
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  Speaker 2: me on Substack as well.
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  Speaker 1: You'd be brilliant today, sir.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks very much.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you.