Coming up, America's Got Talent finalist, Kechi Okwuchi
shares her journey through burn recovery
after surviving a tragic plane crash.
>> I remember the moment I looked into that mirror,
just kind of being taken aback, oh wow!
That's extremely different.
But I think what struck me the most in that moment
was that even though I physically did not look like Kechi,
there was still something very familiar
that was reflecting back to me;
like I just knew it was me
even though it didn't look like me.
♪
JAMES: Well, I will soon
be preaching 60 years,
and Betty and I next year
married 60 years so
we'll be talking about that.
But I've been coming
into your home
for 55 years
and I want you to know
it is a blessing.
James Robison, my wife Betty,
and we've been walking
around the world putting
God's arms around people
that are overlooked,
the least of these
most of the time,
and you have made it happen,
those of you
who watch this show.
But we have walked
all over Africa
for more than 30 years.
And we have a guest
who has just written a book
that's just been out
a few months now,
More Than My Scars.
Kechi was a finalist
in America's Got Talent
a few years ago.
Simon Cowell wrote the forward
to this book,
that in itself is a miracle.
Here's the thing.
She was in
a horrible plane crash
in Nigeria;
over 100 people were on board,
and two people lived.
She was 16.
Now she didn't know why
when all the others died,
why is she alive?
And how does she deal
with the questions in her mind
and how does she deal
with the scars
when she is burned,
second and third-degree burns
not on her face
but much of her body?
Kechi Okwuchi.
I'm going to ask her
to say it even better
than I did.
Kechi,
you are a beautiful person.
I know
there were times probably
you didn't feel that way.
But say your last name.
I didn't say it exactly right.
KECHI: You did good.
It was Okwuchi.
JAMES: Did I do okay on Kechi?
KECHI: You did very good.
Perfect!
JAMES: Okay.
You were just a teenager
and you were puzzled
why only two people lived.
Okay, tell me
how you dealt with that.
Tell me the challenges
that came
because you have written
a powerful story.
It's a healing story
for others which is why
Simon wrote the forward.
KECHI: Honestly,
it was definitely a journey
in and of itself
to not just go through
the healing process
of the accident physically
but to kind of try
to understand
the whys, hows, and where
I was supposed to go
from there, from something
so huge and life-changing.
And definitely, the most
important thing for me
was navigating my faith,
which at the time
was still very much a baby.
It was growing
and getting nurtured
by my family.
And then to find out
about four months
into my treatment
that everyone I knew
on that plane
was gone permanently,
and not just died,
but all other passengers
were gone
except one more person.
So essentially
two people survived
this ordeal.
That was shattering for me.
Because up until that point,
I assumed if I was alive
that everyone else was alive.
I felt like
it might not be as bad
if one person survives
because who survives
a plane crash
in the first place?
So when I realized
the gravity of this miracle,
really, of this tragedy,
I felt so depressed
because of all of the lives
that were lost
but also very confused
because at that point
I was learning
that this God is a good God.
He's great, he's amazing,
he's powerful, and so
I just couldn't understand
how he would just allow
60 kids to go --
in just one go.
I just couldn't
understand that.
And it was a struggle
for me to kind of shift
my perspective on God
because up until that point,
I want to say I had seen him
like this stern father figure,
and then
I was learning about him
to be a person
who answered prayers,
a being who answered prayers.
So it was almost transactional
really in how I saw him.
But then now I was being faced
with the fact
that it is not always --
you don't always get
the results you want
just because you believe
in him.
So that was a hard thing
to swallow for sure.
It was very difficult
to swallow that.
But my mom,
my family for real,
but like the whole family
but specifically my mom,
she was used
throughout this process
by the Holy Spirit
because of the things
that she said to me
that I will never forget
until today.
Those things define
that shift in perspective
that I have
when it comes to God.
JAMES: Share
a couple of those thoughts
that she shared with you.
KECHI: So the main thing
I struggled with
was understanding who God was
just point blank period.
Trying to understand
that he's not
a vending machine
where you ask for something
and then you get something
back from him immediately.
That's not
what that relationship
is supposed to be.
And I couldn't understand
how someone so good
could allow
something so horrible
to happen.
And I also didn't understand
how Christians were going
through difficult things
because I thought
the whole point
of being faithful
and being a believer
was that it shielded you
in this world.
And my mom told me
that being a Christian
doesn't mean that you'll cease
to experience negative
and difficult things;
that's not how it works.
You still live in this world
that is flawed.
You will experience hurt,
and bad things happen
to good and bad people.
Just as good things happen
to good and bad people,
and we don't understand why
that's just how
the world works.
But what being
a Christian does,
how it sets you part is that
when those bad things happen,
for example, a plane crash,
or maybe something
not as huge,
when they happen
they give you -- like
he gives you a place to go to
when those bad things happen.
So he's more like
a place of refuge,
he's a place of peace
and a place of comfort.
So he is who you turn to
when difficult things happen
in life.
So the difference there
would be a non-believer might
encounter difficult things
and feel hopeless,
like it is a dead end.
But being a believer
lets you know
that it's never hopeless.
As long as you
have breath in you,
it's not the end
when those bad things happen.
There is a place
where you can go
that will give you comfort
and love, and most times
reinvigorate you
to go back out there
and keep facing
those challenges.
So I think that was the most
important perspective change
for me in terms of faith.
I started to see God more as
a loving father
who wanted the best for us
even though the world
will not give us the best.
I think that
that was so important
for me to realize that because
it helped me understand
that he was a place
to also draw strength from.
I was trying to make sense
of this horrible thing
that happened
and I just could not.
I feel like he was the place
I went to for comfort
even though things
didn't make any sense.
And more importantly,
he gave me a purpose
in my survival
to use my life as a way
to kind of show
those who passed away
that I appreciate
the second chance
by living for them,
and not just going
through the motions now.
Now I had even more
of a desperate need
to live my life on behalf
of those who passed away,
especially my friends.
I think that was something
I could only have --
that's the thought process
I could only have accessed
after I saw God for who he was
which was a father who cares.
JAMES: You went
to the burn center
in Johannesburg
for quite a while,
and then I guess
back to your home.
But then you ended up
in the burn center
in Shriner's in Houston,
and now then Houston
is your home.
So the healing process
continued physically
and spiritually.
When people get the book,
which I'm praying they will,
More Than My Scars,
what do you want them
to hear?
And how did you get
into the music and so forth?
What is it that when you saw
what had happened,
for instance, the scars,
how did you handle this,
and then how did you get
into music?
KECHI: So when it comes
to the scars,
this was something
that I was very aware
I needed to decide on,
I guess, the importance
it's going to have in my life
before I left the hospital.
I had to decide for myself
what priorities to place
on my physical scars
and my appearance,
because if I got out
into the world
after leaving the hospital
without being prepared,
the world will decide for me
how to feel about myself,
how to feel about my scars,
and I couldn't
let that happen.
So I simply --
at the time
when I asked my mom
to show me my reflection,
said, "Give me a mirror,"
my intention
was to see myself, react
however I was going to react,
and if I needed
some kind of therapy,
to get going
as soon as possible
so that I could be okay.
Because at that point,
this is about four months in,
I knew I was bandaged
head to toe,
my head, everywhere
but I had not seen my face.
But I knew based on what
I'd seen that it would not
be what I'd expect.
So I was definitely
nervous about that.
I was nervous about
how it would change
my personality
and if it would affect
how I felt about myself.
A lot of the confidence
I felt up until that point
came from
my physical appearance.
At 16,
I was a very pretty teenager,
very aware of it
and God gave me
a lot of confidence.
So now that I knew
it might be different
I was worried about
how that would change me.
It was definitely
a very nerve-racking moment
for myself
and my mom and my dad.
So the next day
she brought the mirror
and she tried to prepare me
which just made me
more nervous
because she was like --
we're still doing surgery,
everything
is going to be okay.
So I was like cool, cool.
And then she showed me
my reflection.
And I remember the moment
I looked into that mirror
everything was very different
from how it is now.
Everything was very pink
and raw.
There was no skin on my face.
It was just very different
from the last time
I saw myself.
And I remember
just kind of being taken aback
like oh, wow!
That is extremely different.
But I think
what struck me the most
in that moment
was that even though
I physically did not look
like Kechi,
there was still something
very familiar that was
reflecting back to me.
So this person didn't look
like the Kechi that I knew
from memory but she still felt
the essence of it,
I just knew it was me,
even though
it didn't look like me.
It might have been
maybe in my eyes or something
in there
that just hadn't changed.
That was the moment
I realized that
if I can still feel like me
even if I don't look
like me anymore then
whatever makes me who I am
has to go much deeper
than what we can see
on the surface.
And I think that
that was probably
the second most important
realization I had
while in South Africa.
The fact that my scars
did not seem to change
the essence of who I was,
was what gave birth to
what has become my life mantra
which is that my scars
do not define me.
And that's what gave birth
to the name of the book
More Than My Scars
because it was clear
that this was only
a surface thing,
and the essence
of who we are as people
goes way beyond
what people can see.
That's why we say
"Don't judge a book
by its cover"
because you can look great
and be horrible
and vice versa.
So I think understanding that
was probably the most
important thing for me
in terms of identity
because then if couldn't --
if I can feel this way
about my scars
then no one can make me feel
any type of way about them.
Feeling that way
about my scars gave me
a lot of freedom as well
because I didn't have
to dress differently.
I didn't have to
behave in a different way
or stop having
the same sense of humor.
All those things
I liked about myself
didn't have to change
just because I look different
on the outside.
More importantly,
the support system around me,
my family reinforced
that feeling for me.
They didn't focus
on my appearance,
they just wanted me
to be better
and that validated
what I felt about my identity
being the least
important thing here.
That also gave me confidence
that I was approaching this
in the right way.
So after my faith grew,
I kind of learned that --
as I was learning about God
and learning about
how much he loved us,
I was able to kind of see
that he was probably
the best place
to place my identity in
because he will never change
how he sees us.
If he loves us, he loves us.
It doesn't have anything
to do with how we look.
From when we're children
down to when we're old.
It doesn't matter.
So that's probably
a very safe place to see --
it's probably safest
to see myself through his eyes
because then nothing
anyone in the world says,
including loved ones,
would matter
because his opinion
would never change about us.
So I think over time
I kind of developed
into seeing myself
the way he sees us,
and so that bolstered me
to go out into the world
and not be phased
by the things people say,
especially when it comes
to my scars.
It is not the way
to get at me.
But one good way to get at me
would be definitely,
I think my voice
because that is
a little more personal.
And sharing that
with the world,
aside from my family
was definitely something
that took a very long time.
JAMES: But it was music
that put you before the world
to show them a person
that obviously needed
a healing,
was experiencing a healing
that was deeper
than the scars,
more than my scars.
I would like for our viewers
to hear one of those songs
that you
and another friend wrote.
I want you to listen to it.
The name again?
KECHI: "Here I Am."
JAMES: And this is who we are.
Let him be who he is in us.
Listen, watch, be blessed.
♪ Ohhh ♪
♪ Beat up, broken, brought to my knees ♪
♪ Some say I'll never go far ♪
♪ I've lived with feelings that cover my heart ♪
♪ Along with all of these scars ♪
♪ Then I met you ♪
♪ My whole world changed ♪
♪ You turned me around ♪
♪ I've never been the same ♪
♪ I believe in myself ♪
♪ You are my strength ♪
♪ It's all because of you ♪
♪ You've shown me the light ♪
♪ And I ran down that path ♪
♪ Away from the darkness I knew ♪
♪ I wouldn't be where I am right now ♪
♪ So this one I sing for you ♪
♪ Standing ovation ♪
♪ Please take your bow ♪
♪ I'm forever thankful it's true ♪
♪ Then I met you ♪
♪ My whole world changed ♪
♪ You turned me around ♪
♪ I'll never be the same ♪
♪ I believe in myself ♪
♪ You are my strength ♪
♪ It's all because of you ♪
♪ You've shown me the light ♪
♪ And I ran down that path ♪
♪ Away from the darkness I knew ♪
♪ So many moments ♪
♪ I thought I might fall ♪
♪ But by faith, you helped me stand ♪
♪ Now here I am ♪
♪ Ohhh ♪
JAMES: Wow!
Thank you, God!
Thank you, Kechi.
I want you to get this book
because it is just full
of healing truths.
Simon,
I hope sometime I meet you.
You're a very gifted person.
And just watching you
encourage some people
that could be so overlooked,
maybe sometime
we could just chat.
Not on some kind
of television show,
I'd just love to talk to you.
Thank you for writing
the forward to this.
Kechi, we're going to
right now do something
our viewers want to do
very badly.
They actually want
to help rescue people,
Betty, who have been
trafficked sexually,
beginning most of them
as children.
Our viewers love
what we're doing so much
that they're giving right now
a $320,000 challenge gift
which means
if you would give it,
it's an average of $128
to rescue someone
and to begin to restore them.
It will be doubled
immediately.
You know, Betty,
I always ask for big gifts.
You don't need help
thinking small.
$1280, we can rescue ten
from trafficking,
but now it will be 20.
So whatever you can do.
I want you to listen
to Sheila Walsh
talking to a precious girl
who has been trapped
and enslaved.
Watch closely and prayerfully.
SHEILA: Who is your best friend?
SHEILA: Do you have anyone that you trust?
SHEILA: Many of the girls I've met on these trips
are young, defenseless teenagers
and they all have similar stories.
They wake up next to a much older, strange man
and they're held captive for weeks, months,
or even years.
Do you remember that first night?
Do you remember what that felt like?
SHEILA: You and I, as God's sons and daughters,
we've got to be the ones telling these girls,
"You have a purpose,
"you have a future,
"and you have a hope.
"There is a God who loves you
"and he is your friend.
"You are not worthless.
"You are not worth just $10
"anytime a man comes through the door.
"You are priceless."
If we don't rescue these girls right now
their abuse and misery will continue
night after night.
It is our responsibility
to protect these precious girls,
show them the love of God,
and help them heal.
JAMES: Dear God, please!
Set the men free
that are using the girls,
and then that are paying
for this horrible activity,
supporting it.
God set them free.
But God, help us right now
set these girls free;
in Jesus' name.
Betty, you and I have been
close to these girls,
sometimes boys
that are trafficked.
It is heartbreaking to realize
they have become slaves.
But love can set them free
and that is what I want all
of our viewers to understand.
BETTY: You know, James,
you and I have
two beautiful daughters.
We have beautiful
granddaughters
and we have beautiful
great-granddaughters.
I can't even imagine
what it would do to my heart,
and all of our family's hearts
if something happened to them
in this situation.
But let me tell you something.
These are our grand --
our children, our family
that I'm talking about
but these children
are God's daughters.
We need to take
the responsibility
to reach out to them
and help them
and put them into the safety
and care of people
that love them.
JAMES: You know, I'm just
really inspired by you
every time I talk to you
on television, you the viewer.
And I did mention
the $320,000 challenge gift
now has been given
for several years
by a group of people who said
this is so special to us
that we do this together.
And it is a group of them,
not a very big group,
but they put up
a tremendous challenge gift.
Now think about this,
because for some people
it is challenging for people
to make a gift.
Not many people
can drill a water well
but thank God
for those who can.
But $128 is the average
it takes to rescue a girl
or stop them
from getting trafficked and
we know how to head it off,
and also to go in
and set them free.
We know what to do
and how to do it.
But it takes an average
of $128.
With the matching gift,
you don't rescue just one
with $128, you rescue two.
But it also means
that $64 can rescue one.
It's doubled.
Thank you to those of you
who make the challenge gift.
But those of you who are
making the best gift you can,
knowing it is going
to immediately be doubled,
what an incredible incentive.
We have some gifts to send you
to bless you
but you're giving
the greatest gift,
you're giving freedom
and you're giving life
and love.
We rescue and we restore
all of these
that we're able to reach.
And I'm asking you please,
go get your bank card,
use it like a check.
Dial the phone number
or go online
and please make
this great life-giving gift.
This is liberation!
This is setting people free.
Thank you so much
for doing it.
Innocent children and young people
longing to be loved and cared for
are being abducted and sold
at the hands of violent predators,
forced into the evil industry
of human trafficking.
Through Mission: Rescue Life
you can reach out to warn children
who are at risk for sex trafficking,
rescue those already enslaved,
and restore young lives and give them a future.
With a generous $320,000 matching gift
now your gift of $128
to help reach, rescue, or restore one child
can be doubled to help two children.
Your $64 gift will be matched
to help save one child
from the horrors of human trafficking.
And a $32 mission rescue gift
will be doubled to $64.
With your gift today,
we'll send you I Hear His Whisper.
Each entry in this beautiful 365-day devotional
will encourage you with words of comfort, joy, and love
as you encounter God's heart
and hear his gentle voice.
With a gift of $128 or more,
you'll receive What Does Your Jesus Look Like?
This captivating book by sculptor, Scott Stearman
shares compelling stories and beautiful images
revealing how we can be the image of Christ
to a watching world.
Finally, please consider a gift of $1280
which will now help save 20 children.
And you may request our inspiring bronze sculpture,
"Let the Children Come."
Please call, write, or make your gift online.
JAMES: I am so anxious
to send you
these beautiful gifts.
I pray you'll make
a gift of $128 if you can.
I Hear His Whisper,
this is the man that wrote
The Passion Translation.
I'm telling you,
this is a blessing.
And the artist that put this,
What Does Your Jesus
Look Like,
what a blessing!
And to those of you
who will help us rescue
a precious life,
we will send you a life
that was saved,
and a life with scars
but a mighty God
has lifted Kechi
way above those scars
and those pains.
This will be liberating
to so many of you.
You help us help
these precious children,
these girls,
and set them free,
we'll send this to you
if you'd like to have it.
Kechi, we love you.
Father, bless Kechi
more than she ever imagined.
Thank you for her life.
Thank you for your beauty
in her; in Jesus' name.
Thanks for being
our guest today, Kechi.
Thanks for sharing
through the scars,
and God bless you.
KECHI: God bless you, too.
JAMES: Thank you.
Thank you so much for watching
and helping us.
We so appreciate it.
♪
Tomorrow! Caleb Freeman
suffered a severe traumatic brain injury
after a near-fatal car accident.
>> Your son as you know him
will never be the same again.
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