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Now the devil's nightmare. Welcome back to another episode of It's Time to Man Up.
So life is filled with many challenges, as all of us are well aware, right? Whether it's needing a Replacement for a lung, being diagnosed with cancer, needing some maybe some major surgery. I know I suffered broken legs over the years in sports and many injuries from wrestling. My guest today has taken what is a proverbial problem, but he has come up with a solution for one of life's challenges, and that's kidney transplants. And with me today, Randy Simpkins.
Welcome back to The Man Up Show, Randy. Thank you, my friend. I'm so excited to be here.
Well, and I say welcome back because we've had you on the show before. We're going to tackle a couple issues today. One, certainly get you to update us, and/or for those who maybe didn't catch you the first time around, you know, the whole world of needing, you know, whether it's dialysis or somebody needing a kidney transplant, you have been specifically a part of that, but you also are in the process of getting ready to film a movie called End the Wait that is going to center around the need for that. And so let's take a few minutes and I guess just give folks, our listeners, the quick backstory on how you even. Wh why'd you get involved in in that whole world of of kidney replacement?
Well, about two and a half years ago, I'm a pastor. I've been a pastor for about 10 years. And about two and a half years ago, I found myself, and I've I've led this retreat called Walk to Emmaus. It's based on the scripture in Luke. About Jesus' resurrection story about walking to Emmaus and encountering Cleopas and the other disciple.
But that's what's based on it's a 72-hour event for men, women. There's a young adult version, and I've served as the clergy several times, 30-something, as a matter of fact, on that particular type of retreat. March of twenty two, I was doing that retreat, and I wasn't even supposed to be there. I was hiking the Appalachian Trail, but a series of events stopped that from happening, and I was able to serve on this retreat. And I overheard a lady uh in a desperate plea She didn't know I could hear her.
She didn't know I was in the room. But I overheard her say the words, We've got to pray we can find someone that's O positive that's willing to give up a body part. But how do you ask someone for a body part? I overheard that. I knew I was O positive, and I felt immediately the Holy Spirit telling me this is why I brought you here.
And to make a long story a little bit shorter, that opened the door to me being aware of this massive, massive need worldwide. One out of seven people have chronic kidney disease. In the United States alone, it's estimated 38 million people have chronic kidney disease and 9 out of 10 don't even know they have it. There are five hundred eighty thousand people in our country that are on dialysis. And there's 100,000 of those that are currently on the kidney transplant wait list.
And depending on the age and where they are, it's anywhere from, it could be up to a six to eight year wait. for a kidney, and many do not make it. Most do not last that long on or I'll say many don't last that long while they're on the transplant wait list. And so 13 people die every day waiting for a kidney. And I was blessed and it was truly a miracle to be a perfect match with this gentleman.
I met him a week before the surgery. It went fantastically. After seven days, I I went back to the gym.
Now, I got lightheaded doing calf raises, and I wasn't supposed to be going back to the gym, so I didn't do much. But within six weeks, Nikita, I couldn't have told you that anything had happened to me. They literally took the kidney out through my belly button, and the impact was, for me, so minimal that I couldn't believe that it was that easy. And as I shared that story with other people, I was asked to share with the men's groups at church, civic clubs, As I shared with them, and people became aware of how great the need was and how relatively easy the process is. Then um The response was overwhelming.
How can I do that? How can I donate a kidney? And we've had hundreds of people in the last two years that have stepped forward to start the process to be tested to see if, in fact, they are healthy enough to donate a kidney. And I'm I'm very excited to tell you that next week the fifth person will be receiving a kidney just by word of mouth.
So that's very exciting. That's five lives that are saved. And uh I got to thinking I believe there's 100,000 people in this country that would do what I did if they knew how great the need was and how relatively easy the process is. But how do you get the word out in a way that's inspirational? And then it hit me 25 years ago, my two-year-old son disappeared, and he was missing for eight hours.
There was a massive search. He was found and he was okay, but it totally transformed me from being a workaholic father to someone who understood what's important in life. And so I was able to get my priorities straight. Great. And several years later, some filmmakers came across that story, and so it ended up being a movie.
called The Way Home. It's still on it was released by Lionsgate in 2010. It's still on Amazon Prime and Tubi, and people still reach out to us on a very regular basis. Uh about Sharing that story. As a matter of fact, I got a text just this morning from a congressman that watched our movie this weekend, and it just talked about how impactful it was.
And so I thought, well, that movie can reach tens of millions of people and still 15 years later be making an impact. What if we shared our story about the kidney transplant? And how difficult dialysis is, and make everyone aware. through a movie and open up a nonprofit Create a national awareness campaign. Basically, the movie would be a two-hour commercial, although it's not like a documentary, it's truly the story of what happened to make people aware of.
How easy it is to be a live kidney donor. And I don't want to paint a picture that it's, you know, that there's not risk involved because there's any surgery. Right. But make people aware that there's people out there that need help, our brothers and sisters out there right now, and we can truly make a difference.
So a live kidney is a is a cure. And uh it it it Occasionally, there will be rejections, but for the most part, the percentages are very high that there will be an extra 20, 25 years of life given to someone. And my recipient, we're brothers for life now, and he's doing great. His name's Russell. And he's doing great.
But I reached out to Lance Dreeson. Lance is the writer and the director of The Way Home. I reached out to Dean Kane, and they are. ultimately involved with this project. To the point that last week we went to the White House.
The government has become invol interested in what we're doing because it turns out, I didn't know this, but the average Person on dialysis for the length of span they're on dialysis cost the federal taxpayer about a million dollars each. on Medicare.
So we've basically saved the federal taxpayer five million dollars already just by word of mouth, and the movie's not even filmed yet. And so it'll be releasing about a year from now. And we've reached out to some very well known names, which I can't mention right yet because they haven't officially signed on. But we're really excited to get exposure out to the whole world about this need and really make a difference in saving lives. And so, yeah, that's sort of a back story there on end of the weight.
Well, that's pretty amazing.
Now, now, but I mean, we can mention, I'm not going to get in trouble with mentioning Superman, though, am I? Oh, no, no, no. Because for those who maybe didn't make that connection, because you just kind of slid that in there, Dean Kane, part of the well, which Superman movie was he a part of? I should know that, but I don't.
Well, he was part of Lois and Clark, which was a T V series in the 80s, 90s. A lot of people know him from Ripley's, Believe It or Not.
Okay. He's on a lot of shows on CW right now, but fantastic guy. And he truly is a Christian, a patriot, and he's on our board of directors with our nonprofit, as well as co-producing the movie. Yeah, and I was hoping to actually get the chance to meet him last year when I met you. Same weekend I met you at the Rise Up Con there in Sevierville, Tennessee, and with Kevin Sorbo and many other Christian actors and directors and movie producers.
And a very unique, you know, a lot of cons, wrestling con, comic-cons, and whatnot. But this was really a Christian con and very unique, one of a kind out there. And they're doing that actually again this year at the end of June. And so anyway, and he was scheduled to be there, but through canceled flights, Superman, I thought he could just fly over. I mean, you know, you would think, right?
Hey, I got to tell people this quick story. The legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, have you ever heard this story, Randy? And maybe you have, but maybe some of our listeners haven't. And it's a true story from what I understand. Was on a plane and was refused.
refusing to put his seatbelt on. right he and and and he's like he's like hey don't you know who i am i mean you know he basically he's like he's like uh i I'm Muhammad Ali, man. The champ don't need a seatbelt, right? And the flight attendant kept kept saying, Sir, we're getting ready to take off. And then finally he goes, he goes, Superman don't need no seatbelt.
And to her credit, Pretty witty little flight attendant there. She says, Superman also didn't need an airplane. Put your seatbelt on, sir. Have you ever heard that story? I have not, but that's great.
I'm going to borrow that one. Take nothing new under the sun. Take it and use it. I've got quite a few laughs out of that, but can you imagine? She looks at the world champion boxer and goes, Yeah, he also didn't need an airplane, so put your seatbelt on, put it on now, right?
So, anyway, so well, that's exciting, man. You threw some, I mean, I was making some notes here, some real serious statistics out there. And again, as I open the show, talking about some of the challenges of life, and certainly kidney replacement is one of those challenges. And it's amazing, you know, that you yourself anyway had such a quick recovery, but there is a great need and can be an easy process. And I'm excited.
I'm excited to, you know, whatever other, you know, actors and others that get behind this and support the movie for our listeners out there, keep your eyes and ears open for end the wait. Um, Yeah. I know they're going to go into in pr in production here soon. And then you said sometime next year you're you're scheduled to release the movie, is that right? That's right, about this time next year.
And I do want to throw this out there if anyone listening. We have a lot of churches that are partnering with our nonprofit because we want to hear stories from other people. Even while we're making the movie, there's nothing except for somebody coming to know the Lord, there's nothing like somebody receiving a kidney and getting a new lease and getting a new life. And so we have a program called Banking on a Kidney where churches are partnering with us.
So if anyone is interested in their church being involved with us, Let me just direct you to our website, which is endthewaite. net. That's ENDTHEWAIT.net. And our email is on the bottom at info at endthewaight. And so reach out to us and say, and we will be more than happy to get with any business or church that would like to get more information on how to partner up with us.
Yeah, and part and what's that called? What's the program itself called? What do you call it? It's called Banking on a Kidney. Banking on a Kidney.
Okay. All right. I'll shoot you some information on it, Nikita. Oh, excellent. Banking.
I'm just making some notes here. Banking on a kidney and theweight.net. If you want to learn more about how you can play a role in or have even just a small part in, even if just from a financial contribution to help extend somebody's life, I know I wrote down potentially 20 to 25 years added to a person's life, life extension. You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com. Okay.
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God bless you for making a difference around the world. You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com. Well, and recently too on on a In a way, kind of a separate note. You know, you had mentioned the walk to Emmaus, which I'm familiar with that. And certainly over the years, I've encountered a lot of people who've been a part of those.
And you and I, when we first started talking about man camp, you're like, you know, you brought that up. And I said, well, I go, you know, I go, God's going to use every tool in His tool chest. And certainly, whether it's Walk to Emmaus or Man Camp or so many other wonderful opportunities for men and women to just kind of draw away or get away and spend some time with the Lord, you know, I had encouraged you. I'm like, I'm like, I think man camp could be a, you know, a little different experience for you. And, you know, we don't like to, we don't like to tell guys a whole lot or people a whole lot simply because we know it's a unique experience for each, each and every guy.
And so for that reason, we don't want to in any way build any kind of false hope or false expectation. We just want guys to come and experience it for themselves and then let them tell their own story. And so you came and you experienced it. And I know you said, you know, it was one of the, you know, certainly one of the highlights of your journey with the Lord. What were some of your takeaways, Randy, from Mancamp now having experienced it, not just heard about it?
Well, first, I'll say this, part of our In the Wait foundation, we see it as an opportunity for Christian action and for people to to come to know the Lord or experience the Lord through the act of giving and receiving. But a hundred thousand kidneys does not equal one soul. And and for us to uh for me to go to man camp, I went in with it with the idea of Preparation for this journey that I'm going on and needing. The first night I actually said, you know, what do you want out of this? I wanted rest.
and direction and clarity. And what I did not expect, and God started working on me immediately. is he said, boy, there's some things you need to work on with you. That's blocking some things. And so I received I received and I'm a pastor now, and I consider myself Someone who really seeks the Lord in my life, I do.
Um But that's I reached levels of spiritual clarity. that I don't think I've ever experienced before. And it was through You know. doing things that are a little bit more uncomfortable than normal life. And it creates a level of vulnerability That allows the Lord to really show us, reveal to us things.
that we need to to to give him control of. and us give up control of. Yeah. It it provided a path for me to do that.
Well, and and really a little, you know, what comes to mind as you're speaking is, you know, is being willing to, you know, get outside your comfort zone, getting outside the ordinary, right? What might be the ordinary routine of each and every day, you know, as we kind of get in these grooves and just another day, right? But to be able to carve a few of those days out and give them back to the Lord and put yourself in a setting where you can just kind of unplug, which is what we encourage guys to do. Look, look, just unplug for a handful of days. out of your whole life journey.
Just set aside, carve out these few days and let's just see what God does. And of course, so many amazing stories continue to come out of our camps and what guys experience. And so you were seeking the rest, right? And as well as other things. Yeah, and I received that.
It was exhaustively wonderful. Yeah, but I I receive spiritual rest. And the physical of the rest was there too, but it was also it also gave me so many new tools in my tool belt. To bring back that I have implemented in my church, in my family. Uh it was I I have had so many people This is not an exaggeration.
As a matter of fact, just this morning, one of the ladies of our church. uh told me she said your sermons Your countenance has been so different since you came back. And I have, I will now use. the Manup Intensives as well as Man Up Camp. for spiritual growth for the men in our church.
So for me to direct them that way. I'll still do that with Emmaus as well. But it has now become one of the extended ministries of my church. to have them to plug into or encourage them to plug into ManCamp. And I think I've got three or four that I know of off the top of my head that say, well, I'm doing this.
I'm doing I want to do this. And so I'm thankful that you that you and Lex answered that call, you're obedience. And I don't know if you know this or not, Nikita, but obedience equals blessing and disobedience equals pain. I've heard that somewhere before. I'm thinking of a man, Joshua Gillum, who mentioned that a few times, if not at camp, outside of camp.
Blessing follows obedience, and disobedience causes it brings about pain. I think I'd, I've been on the pain side of things, Randy. I think I'd rather opt on the blessing if I have a choice. I want to opt on the blessing side of things. And no, I appreciate that.
And what's critical, too, is I want our listeners to understand, you know, we've had men from every walk of life.
So Randy's a pastor, but I mean, we've had everywhere from multimillionaires to literally homeless men attend camp and who've been impacted in a variety of different ways. In fact, at your camp, Randy, I know I'm sure you remember, but we had an 18-year-old who ended up giving his life to Christ at the camp. And we had a 65-year-old who ended up. In fact, were you at lunch today? Like, did I find that out because you were talking to him at lunch?
Or.
Well And he's given me permission. I've shared his story with my congregation, but he and I and I don't want to give anything away, but we had the ability, we had we were given the choice to extend one particular exercise into the next day. And he and I both chose to do that. And I saw him on the mountaintop, and the Lord laid on my heart and look, we as no matter what our walk of life is, we took those hats off and we were just being fed. But on that mountain that next morning, that was Wednesday morning, God laid it on my heart just to reach out to him.
He had said something the night before that sort of brought up my radar, my preacher radar. Yeah. I said, Brother, is. Yeah. Do you have a personal Walk with the Lord, or have you just gone to church?
And we talked about that. I didn't say it just that way, but we talked about a few minutes. And he said, Yeah, I know, I know the Lord. I said, Great. I didn't mean to offend you.
And I went on and did my thing. He went on to a different place, did his thing. But then when we came back from that experience a couple hours later, if I remember it right, you asked him because he was acting a little jittery or something. And you asked him, you know, how it was. And he said, I found Jesus in the woods.
And he later came up to me and he said, Thank you for calling me out on that. And so, I mean, it nearly put me to my knees. Just to be a vessel through which God reaches out to someone is one of the most thrilling experiences in life.
Well, and of course, for you as a pastor, you know, you might get more of those opportunities than, say, the average person, you know, insurance agent or. you know, or car mechanic or someone.
However, the point being, No matter what your chosen profession, you know, being a stay-at-home mom, you know, raising babies, you know, and teaching them, training them up, raising them up in the way they should go so that when they're older, they will not depart. Every role in life is critical. And so, you know, take advantage of that. And Lord, as Randy said, put it on his heart to have that conversation with him. You know, God may put it on your heart to have a conversation with someone.
And so we just got a couple minutes left here, Randy.
So I appreciate you. You know, encouraging, of course, the you know, the men in your church. And we have a lot of women that listen to this show, the Man Up Show as well. And I'm always encouraging the women: hey, don't pressure that special someone in your life, but just encourage him. Hey, if you ever want to go to that camp, these guys are talking about, you have my blessing, right?
So, what would you say to all the ladies out there listening and/or anything else, you know, in our last couple moments here together to any guy listening right now and considering man camp? You know, I'd certainly encourage any men that are considering it. Um Absolutely put it to prayer. And you're absolutely right.
Sometimes we want the loved one in our life to go and do something like that. And it has to be a choice. That the that the the the male in this case would need to make on their own, but we absolutely have the ability to give that to encourage them, but also to give that over to the Lord in prayer. And specifically pray over that man. If a lady is wanting her husband, for instance, to go, lift him up in prayer and lay that at the foot of the cross because God can lay some conviction on a lot heavier than we can ourselves.
Yeah, and to feel the, if you want to say the pressure from the Holy Spirit is much more convincing sometimes than the pressure from a holy wife, right? Or a holy special someone in their life. And so if you want to learn more about this, if Randy's story today has inspired you and you're like, man, I want to learn more about that camp, just go to mancamp.info. That's mancamp.info, mancamp.info. Check it out.
You can message me right through the website with any questions you might have. We honor all military, law enforcement, first responders. Lead pastors like Randy. We have men whose lives have been impacted and have paid it forward. And so we do have scholarship funds available because we're not going to let money be a reason why you can't come and chase after the heart of God.
And so just check out that website. And we do one in the spring. And Randy came to the one in the spring. We do one in the fall. Our next one is in October.
And so check out those dates. And And last but not least, be sure to go to end the wait director. dot net and check out Randy's information there on how to be a part of perhaps in a sense rescuing someone from not only kidney failure but rescuing them from and or I'll say it a different way extending their life right Randy Yeah, yeah.
Well I know people who it has extended their life 40, 50 years.
So check that out. Randy Simpkins down in Carrollton Georgia. And Randy, what church are you pastoring down there in Carrollton? I'm the pastor of Old Camp Church here in Carrollton. And it's a wonderful, wonderful fellowship, wonderful people.
And I did want to say this real quick, info at inthewaite.net, I get CC'd on those emails.
So if anyone has questions about man camp, And would like to get my perspective on it. Feel free to email me there at info at in the weight.net about that as well. Excellent. And if you're ever traveling through Carrollton, Georgia, stop in and visit Randy's church. I know you'll be blessed.
Randy, thank you for being a part of the Man Up Show today. Thank you, sir. And for all you out there in listening, land, once again, thanks for tuning in. Go out today and be blessed and just live a God-filled day. Make a difference.
Be salt and light. Until next time. This podcast is made possible by the grace of God. and your faithful prayers, support, and generous gifts. May God bless you for your continual contributions.
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