So, this is Alex, and Alex is the man. I'm gonna get emotional. I didn't expect that. So, so many of you know this story of how, when I was at my lowest point of my career, when my previous movie had failed, and I was, my wife and I were home alone, and praying and crying, and really, I didn't know what was next in my life. And God spoke to my wife very powerfully and clearly about the story of the feeding of the five thousand, and the phrase, I do impossible math. And that sustained us for that day, but we didn't really know what it meant, and we weren't sure what the future held. And that night, at three o'clock, four o'clock in the morning, when I was working on a memo to analyze everything that had gone wrong and everything that I had done wrong so that I wouldn't repeat the mistakes of my past that had led to that moment, a Facebook message pops up at four in the

morning and uh Alex and I have never met. This is actually the first time we've ever spoken in, you know, verbally. Um, he's at a, has had a, an airport in Chicago right now. Uh, he's about to leave in just a few moments. And uh, he just, he didn't say hi. He didn't say hello. He's, we're just Facebook friends. We've talked maybe once a year. All it said was remember your gosh. This is, I guess I'm really tired. Your job is not to feed the 5000. Your job is just provide the loaves and fish. And I remember I said, what are you doing up this late? He said, I'm in Romania on a different time zone. And I said, I just need to ask, why did you say that? Because he had no idea, of course, that all day long, that, that uh, story from the gospels had been what we'd been talking about. And I said, well, why did you tell me that? He goes, oh, that wasn't me. Uh, God just wanted me to

share that with you. So, I just wanted you to meet Alex, and Alex, I just want to ask you real quickly, can you tell your part of that story? What was it? Because I think this is really beneficial for all of us. Anytime that we feel a prompting to share something with someone, I mean, what you did literally changed my life, and it has, I think, is very largely responsible for launching this project because it allowed me to be open to something that was really crazy and that didn't make any sense, and I'm a different person because of that night, and I wouldn't have been able to do this project if I hadn't changed. So, can you just talk through briefly what caused you to send that text? Sure. Well, first off, Dallas, I appreciate everything you said about me, but I am just a vessel. I just did what God asked me to do, so I don't look at this as if I've done anything special. You're the one that's

done all the work and put in the elbow grease. And you know, you and I like the story is totally true the way you've told it. We've never is the first time we've actually talked in person or even on the phone, I think, right? And, uh, you know, I had followed. I used to work at Family Christian Stores. I was the movie buyer, so I was involved in all these different projects, and I ended up getting laid off right before they shut down. And I remember reading, uh, before the resurrection of Gavin Stone came out. I had sent you a Facebook message saying, Man, this trailer looks awesome. I can't wait for the movie to come out. Well, right after that, I get laid off. I'm in Romania. My uncle was sick, and, uh, it dawned on me like, Hey, that movie came out this weekend. I wonder how it did. So I get online, and I'm like, Oh, this is not good. And, of course, you know, knowing something about the movie business, I knew what you must have been

going through, and I'm kind of agonizing the whole time. I'm like, Man, this is terrible. And my mom and I are actually walking to the grocery store because that's what you do in a foreign country. And, uh, on the way back, God tells me to send you this message. And I'm like, Really, God? Like, I don't know this guy. You want me to just say that? Yep, that's what I want you to say. Really? That's what you want me to say? Yup, that's what I want you to say. I said, All right, so there you go. I sent it, and I'm thinking, Oh, well, I have no idea. Literally, you know, two seconds later, your message pops back. And, I mean, it was just incredible, uh, for me to just know that, Hey, this wasn't anything I did, but it was God working through me to impact the world, literally through this project, which I just hats off to you guys, Dallas, for the work that you guys have done with this. That phrase, um, you know, I'm sure it's

not the first time something like that has ever been uttered. Uh, that concept is not necessarily—it's not like Alex invented that concept. Uh, but uh, following that prompting to tell me that um has—has I think changed many people's lives because it changed my life and my story, and my life has been poured out through the chosen in a way that I never would have done otherwise. So um, Alex, why don't you share uh what you're doing now because I think you're someone who is a role model for myself and for many others and that you just—you serve God all over the world. Um, so talk real quickly about what you're doing in Ukraine. Yeah, and so uh, we—we went to Ukraine on a missions trip a couple years ago and uh, we started doing this English club back in April of last year with some of these teenagers that want to learn uh, English as a second language and uh, maybe two, three months into it, the—the lady that we stayed with um, uh, was so excited. She goes, Have you ever

seen the chosen. We've just finished watching the whole first season, and it is just amazing. I mean, it is just so incredible. And so to think that all the way on literally on the other side of the world, people have the same reaction when they see the life of Jesus. And the other thing that's cool is I do middle school and high school ministry at our church, Holland Central Wesleyan. And about three weeks ago, I preached. We were starting a new series on the life of Jesus, and I said, Hey, what better way to start the first lesson than to show the scene of Jesus calling Peter? And what was amazing is watching that scene and watching how you were so faithful to what scripture said. So brought it to life and so encouraged me because I'm like, Man, Peter and all these guys, they're just normal people. They're just normal flawed people just like the rest of us. And man, if God can use them, God can use any of us for anything.

and so, like you said, I encourage anybody watching this. You know, God's not going to necessarily call you to film the highest-ranked crowd-source media project in history, but he may call you to do some other small piece of something or some large piece. So, if God prompts you to do something, follow it because you never know where it's going to lead because his story is way bigger than our story ever could be. Yeah, well, Alex, thank you so much, and I know that those who are watching thank you as well because they've been the beneficiaries of your listening. And I think it's just so awesome that on the other side of the world, you've had a chance now to reap some of the benefits of that moment when you were in Romania. So, thank you, brother, and we will talk again soon. Thank you. All right, God bless you.

In one moment, this man changed Dallas’s life

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