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[siren and gun shot sounds]
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>> Welcome to It Is Written
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Canada, thank you for
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joining us.
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In 1991, Jorge Torres and his
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family moved from war-torn
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El Salvador to what they
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presumed to be a safe and simple
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life in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
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[RENÉ] But as a first-generation
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immigrant living in poverty,
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Jorge quickly began to feel that
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what he had and who he was
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didn't seem to be enough.
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>> Battling against cultural
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differences and emotional abuse,
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he compensated by creating a
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criminal persona that earned him
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power, admiration, and respect.
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[RENÉ] Caught up in a lifestyle
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of drug dealing, he found
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himself addicted to the hustle
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and willing to risk everything,
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including the lives of his own
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family.
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>> But as the consequences of
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his actions escalated, so did
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his desire to change.
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Today our special guest is Jorge
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Torres who has agreed to share
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his story with us.
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>> Jorge, welcome to It Is
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Written Canada.
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>> Thank you for having me.
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>> Jorge, you, from your first
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breath, came into a world of
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chaos.
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You were in El Salvador during a
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time of civil war, you saw the
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sights and sounds of war.
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What was that like?
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>> So my mom says that when the
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war was occurring, we were on
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the-- she was on the floor
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waiting to give birth to me and
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she would hear gun shots and
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planes flying above and bombs in
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the distance and she was just
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praying that a bomb wouldn't
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fall on the house.
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And a bomb fell close by and
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immediately I came out.
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[MIKE] Wow!
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[RENÉ] And then your mom decided
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to immigrate to Canada, or to
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move the whole family to Canada.
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[JORGE] My mom really hoped that
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Canada would be the change that
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would change our lives and
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specific my father's life,
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right, that it'd be a new start
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for our family.
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And unfortunately, it wasn't.
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>> Why your father?
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[JORGE] My dad had bad habits
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that-- my dad was an alcoholic
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and he was very abusive and my
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mom figured that being in Canada
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would be a new start for him and
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for us as a family, but those
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habits just followed him into
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Canada and, you know, into our,
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continued on in our family.
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>> So you got into drug dealing
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at a very young age, about the
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age of 14.
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>> Yeah.
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[MIKE] Why do you think that
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happened?
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>> Well, I was, you know, I was
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influenced by seeing some of
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these younger people and
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specifically I had an older
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sister that had a boyfriend that
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kind of was living this
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lifestyle and at least for me as
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a kid, was a lot, right,
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it was a lot.
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And so he had communicated to me
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that this is what he was doing
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so early, at an early age, I
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said, "This is the way to get
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out of the ghetto, I'm just
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gonna also be a drug dealer."
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[RENÉ] Jorge, can you tell us
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about that Canada Day when you
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were 15 years old and you stole
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a vehicle for the second time?
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[JORGE] Yeah.
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I felt that my solution to being
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a better drug dealer and getting
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girls was to have my own vehicle
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and so the only solution there
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also was to steal vehicles.
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And so we had a fleet of stolen
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vehicles and I was driving a van
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in specific, and on Canada Day,
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I was going down a street called
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Henderson Highway and a friend
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of mine pulled up beside us.
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So we were kind of going back
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and forth like this and then her
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face went pale white and she
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goes, "There's a cop behind
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you!" and I said, "No!"
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and I looked behind me and the
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sirens were on.
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And so I had a decision to make.
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What do I do?
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I'm in a stolen vehicle, I'm by
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myself, do I stop, do I go?
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Right?
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And so I'd watch-- I'd played
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enough video games to
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understand, like, I might be
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able to get away here.
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And so immediately I turned
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left, I go through a parking
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lot, I enter into a residential
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area and I enter a residential
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area that came to almost a "T"
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dead end where the street ended
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here, but there was a row of
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houses here, there was a
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street here.
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And so I was driving about maybe
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60, 70 kilometres an hour going
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here and noticed I won't make
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the turn.
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And so what I did was I slowed
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down and to about 40 kilometres
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an hour, 30, and I jumped out of
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the car.
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And when I jumped out, the car
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went straight forward and
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smashed into a pole in front of
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a house and then I'm rolling
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onto the ground and a cop car
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pulls up, honestly, maybe less
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than a foot away from my head
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and I'm just laying there.
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And I remember just laying there
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and being like...
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But it was slow, but it
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sounds fast.
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I remember just laying there
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being like...
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"Let's go."
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And so I get up immediately and
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I'm, now I'm running.
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I enter into a back lane and I'm
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running as fast as I can and I
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know where I am, I say, "K, one
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left turn, two right turns and
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I'm at my house."
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And then I can't-- this is the
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only way can explain it and I
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explain it as the hand of God.
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As I'm running as fast as I can,
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I got at least 40, 50 feet on
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the police officer, and
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immediately just like, [claps]
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I just hit a wall.
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Like, not a real wall, but just,
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I just stopped and my knees
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buckled and I fell and all the
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breath I had in my lungs just
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left me and I fell to the ground
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and the cop, I hear him getting
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closer and closer and then it
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was over.
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That was the first time I got
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arrested, on Canada Day.
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>> And you ended up getting
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a record.
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[JORGE] Yes.
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>> That was the beginning?
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[JORGE] Yeah, that was the
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beginning of my downfall.
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>> You know, Jorge, Mike and I
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were reading your book and...
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we're reading it and I'm just
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like, what is it?
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Like, he just keeps on
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committing crimes, he keeps on
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getting arrested, he keeps on
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losing his license, like, you
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just keep on doing this all the
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time, like, when is he
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gonna stop?
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[JORGE] Every single time I
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wanted to change.
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Every time.
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After that arrest, after my next
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auto theft, after I was expelled
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from school, after the shooting,
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after robberies, I always wanted
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to stop.
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But-- and I would take the steps
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to stop, right, and then
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something would just pull me
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back in.
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It was just the battle that I
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was in, like, the good that I
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want to do I don't do, right?
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The bad I don't wanna do, I end
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up doing, right?
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And that was my life for like
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six, seven years.
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And each time things kept
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getting worse, right?
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And you ask yourself, when is it
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enough?
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>> You got to a stage where you
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were selling cocaine.
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[JORGE] Yeah.
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>> And then there was a
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undercover cop who caught you
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and you ended up in jail.
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And while you were in jail,
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it was just one bad thing after
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another, but then you started
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thinking about Miss Mary.
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Tell us about her.
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>> So Miss Mary was an old
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Mennonite woman whose ministry
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was to minister to the poor kids
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in her surrounding area and she
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would come to our projects and
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she chose our family as, like,
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the hub and the centre of this
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little ministry of hers.
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And once a week she would walk
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over, like, six kilometres, rain
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or shine, you know, freezing or
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warm, like, she's there.
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And she would teach us about
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Jesus.
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And one day, I remember being
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seven years old and she said,
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"Does anyone here wanna give
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their life to Jesus and be
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saved?" and I was-- "And be
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forgiven for their sins?"
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And I'm seven years old thinking
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about all the bad things
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I've done.
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[chuckles]
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And I said, "I do."
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And I gave my life to God there,
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you know?
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And now I'm in jail and I
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remember just wearing a green
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jumpsuit and I'm in my cell and
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I'm just like, "What-- what has
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happened in my life?"
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And a thought came, "Okay, like,
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do you remember this?"
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And I did.
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And I remember kneeling by my
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bed and I prayed this prayer, I
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said, "God, if You get me outta
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here, like, I'll change my life
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forever," and I said, "And I'll
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serve You."
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And I didn't even know what that
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meant at the time, you know?
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But I said it and...
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you know, and I remembered that
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in that moment.
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Yeah.
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>> So, Jorge, can you tell us
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how God answered that prayer
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and how you were able to get
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out of jail?
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>> Yeah, so getting out of jail
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was really tough because I had--
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there was a-- the government had
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a very strong case against me.
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In fact, the reason why my
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book's called "Danger To
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Society" 'cause the first time I
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went for bail, the judge said,
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"This kids not getting out, he's
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a danger to society," right?
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And so it was-- I didn't think
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I'd be getting out, but we put
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all our apples in the bag and
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hoped maybe this will work.
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And so when we got to court,
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everything was stacked against
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us, right?
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My lawyer was more nervous than
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I, they're the wrong judge,
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wrong Crown, our original ones
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were sick and they--
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We had the option, do we move
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forward or not, and we did.
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And...
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...you know, that day...
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I was escorted by a guard into
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the courthouse, into the court
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room, shackles on my feet,
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shackles on my hands, to be
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entered and my family there
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waiting, you know?
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What a scene for them, right?
00:10:24.82\00:10:26.49
And...
00:10:27.16\00:10:28.16
And the trial continues and my
00:10:29.12\00:10:30.76
sister has to go up for surety
00:10:30.76\00:10:32.56
for me and she...
00:10:32.56\00:10:35.23
She puts her life on the line so
00:10:36.40\00:10:38.77
that I can get out of jail and
00:10:38.77\00:10:41.27
the judge was able to see that,
00:10:41.27\00:10:43.41
you know, this was a selfless
00:10:43.41\00:10:44.57
act by somebody that believed in
00:10:44.57\00:10:46.94
me and I come from a loving
00:10:46.94\00:10:48.78
home, you know?
00:10:48.78\00:10:50.31
And it was no doing of my
00:10:50.31\00:10:52.45
lawyer, you know, it was just
00:10:52.45\00:10:54.15
doing of true love of my family
00:10:54.15\00:10:56.85
and, you know, my sister for
00:10:56.85\00:10:58.89
getting me out there.
00:10:58.89\00:11:00.29
>> You had a constant tit for
00:11:02.02\00:11:04.76
tat kind of a disagreement with
00:11:04.76\00:11:08.86
other fellow drug dealers and it
00:11:08.86\00:11:10.77
was back and forth kind of a
00:11:10.77\00:11:12.43
getting revenge and they came
00:11:13.23\00:11:16.47
after you in your mother's house
00:11:16.47\00:11:19.24
and that was a really dangerous
00:11:19.24\00:11:20.88
situation.
00:11:20.88\00:11:21.91
Tell us about what happened
00:11:22.34\00:11:23.24
there.
00:11:23.24\00:11:23.88
>> So when I got out of jail,
00:11:24.48\00:11:26.48
I was on house arrest.
00:11:26.48\00:11:27.75
Tried staying out the lifestyle.
00:11:30.75\00:11:32.32
And that was probably the
00:11:32.32\00:11:33.12
longest I stayed out of the
00:11:33.12\00:11:34.06
lifestyle, mind you, because I
00:11:34.06\00:11:35.09
was on house arrest and couldn't
00:11:35.09\00:11:36.56
go anywhere.
00:11:36.56\00:11:37.53
And then I went back into the
00:11:38.13\00:11:41.06
lifestyle, but with more money,
00:11:41.06\00:11:44.80
more problems, right, jealousy,
00:11:44.80\00:11:46.77
coveting, enemies, this
00:11:46.77\00:11:48.04
and that.
00:11:48.04\00:11:48.90
And we had a good friend group,
00:11:48.90\00:11:50.31
but the friend group just turned
00:11:50.31\00:11:51.31
on each other and that led to
00:11:51.31\00:11:53.48
one night, a guy, you know,
00:11:54.54\00:11:56.98
wanting to shoot me and running
00:11:56.98\00:11:59.05
up to my mother's home and
00:11:59.05\00:12:00.58
blowing out the windows with a
00:12:00.58\00:12:01.95
shot gun...
00:12:01.95\00:12:02.75
...while she was inside.
00:12:03.52\00:12:04.89
>> And that ended up getting
00:12:05.79\00:12:07.29
into the news papers, it was
00:12:07.29\00:12:09.62
reported and then your family
00:12:09.62\00:12:12.86
sat down with you and said,
00:12:12.86\00:12:14.10
"Okay, this is it, Jorge.
00:12:14.10\00:12:16.23
You gotta stop or
00:12:16.23\00:12:18.00
get outta here."
00:12:18.00\00:12:18.93
>> Yeah, 'cause, like, my
00:12:19.47\00:12:20.87
lifestyle hadn't touched my home
00:12:20.87\00:12:22.77
up til that point, right?
00:12:22.77\00:12:23.91
But now it touched home, right,
00:12:23.91\00:12:26.34
and my family had, like, an
00:12:26.34\00:12:28.18
intervention for me and said,
00:12:28.18\00:12:30.35
you know, "It's that time."
00:12:30.35\00:12:32.61
And I had a decision to make,
00:12:33.28\00:12:35.35
right, and I did choose my
00:12:35.35\00:12:37.35
family for two weeks.
00:12:37.35\00:12:40.02
And then I went back into it.
00:12:41.46\00:12:43.09
>> And I think that was where we
00:12:44.79\00:12:46.26
both kinda said, "Why?
00:12:46.26\00:12:47.93
[laughs] Why is he doing that,"
00:12:47.93\00:12:49.33
right?
00:12:49.33\00:12:49.93
[JORGE] And that's why it's a
00:12:50.03\00:12:50.70
story of bad decisions, right?
00:12:50.70\00:12:51.87
Like, it's constant.
00:12:51.87\00:12:53.47
You think it's enough and then
00:12:53.47\00:12:54.57
it's not.
00:12:54.57\00:12:55.34
You think it's enough and then
00:12:55.34\00:12:56.40
it's not.
00:12:56.40\00:12:56.97
[MIKE] Right.
00:12:56.97\00:12:57.84
Jorge, how did God intervene in
00:12:57.84\00:13:00.38
your life and get you out of
00:13:00.38\00:13:02.04
that lifestyle?
00:13:02.04\00:13:03.14
>> My father was gonna come back
00:13:03.51\00:13:05.15
into our lives.
00:13:05.15\00:13:06.15
He had left us young, when we
00:13:06.15\00:13:07.28
were, you know, a little bit
00:13:07.28\00:13:09.38
younger, and now he was coming
00:13:09.38\00:13:10.89
back into the scene, him and my
00:13:10.89\00:13:12.15
mom had decided to work
00:13:12.15\00:13:13.46
things out.
00:13:13.46\00:13:14.16
And he decides this one specific
00:13:14.56\00:13:18.39
Saturday, he's coming home, my
00:13:18.39\00:13:19.96
mom says, "Hey, your dad's
00:13:19.96\00:13:20.96
coming home," I said, "Okay.
00:13:20.96\00:13:22.56
Hey, you guys worked it out, I'm
00:13:22.56\00:13:23.80
gonna leave one day, this is
00:13:23.80\00:13:24.90
between y'all."
00:13:24.90\00:13:26.13
All my sisters were over that
00:13:26.13\00:13:27.64
day 'cause we'd get together.
00:13:27.64\00:13:29.77
And so in comes my dad.
00:13:30.14\00:13:32.31
It's been years since he's been
00:13:32.31\00:13:33.34
home, it's been years since he's
00:13:33.34\00:13:34.68
been allowed to come back home,
00:13:34.68\00:13:36.58
okay?
00:13:36.58\00:13:37.35
The guy comes in, swings open
00:13:37.35\00:13:39.25
the door, boom!
00:13:39.25\00:13:40.25
Smashes the wall.
00:13:40.25\00:13:41.42
The guy comes in with a case of
00:13:41.42\00:13:43.12
beer, mind you, it's like eleven
00:13:43.12\00:13:45.72
o'clock in the morning or so,
00:13:45.72\00:13:47.46
and he comes in with a case of
00:13:47.46\00:13:48.99
beer, completely wasted out of
00:13:48.99\00:13:50.93
his mind.
00:13:50.93\00:13:51.99
And I remember being like,
00:13:52.59\00:13:54.56
"Huh..."
00:13:54.56\00:13:55.66
'Cause for a second I thought,
00:13:55.66\00:13:57.17
"Maybe this is a good thing.
00:13:57.17\00:13:58.17
My father's coming back in my
00:13:58.17\00:13:59.17
life, I have no direction in my
00:13:59.17\00:14:01.10
life," and low and behold this
00:14:01.10\00:14:03.27
is how he comes in.
00:14:03.27\00:14:04.44
I remember shrinking, sitting in
00:14:05.71\00:14:08.64
my kitchen and he goes into the
00:14:08.64\00:14:11.98
living room, my sisters are just
00:14:11.98\00:14:13.45
giving it to him, like, "How
00:14:13.45\00:14:14.48
dare you come in like this!?"
00:14:14.48\00:14:16.08
You know?
00:14:16.08\00:14:16.75
I'm sitting there on the table
00:14:16.75\00:14:18.15
like, "What is going on?"
00:14:18.15\00:14:20.12
You know what I mean?
00:14:20.12\00:14:20.99
I actually thought I was trying
00:14:20.99\00:14:22.36
to change my life and now this,
00:14:22.36\00:14:24.26
this specific situation was just
00:14:24.26\00:14:26.53
kind of a weight that I can't
00:14:26.53\00:14:28.23
really explain to you, but it
00:14:28.23\00:14:29.93
was a big weight on me.
00:14:29.93\00:14:31.43
And I remember sitting in the
00:14:31.43\00:14:32.77
table listening to everything.
00:14:32.77\00:14:34.20
My sister, she goes on her knees
00:14:34.87\00:14:37.84
and she says to my dad, "We'll
00:14:37.84\00:14:39.71
forget this whole thing ever
00:14:39.71\00:14:40.71
happened.
00:14:40.71\00:14:41.78
Choose the liquor or your
00:14:41.78\00:14:43.61
family."
00:14:43.61\00:14:44.65
Quiet.
00:14:45.45\00:14:46.65
I'm in the kitchen waiting.
00:14:47.85\00:14:49.42
Everyone's waiting.
00:14:49.42\00:14:50.69
And he chooses the liquor.
00:14:51.55\00:14:53.09
My sister grabs the case of
00:14:53.66\00:14:55.02
beer, hucks it out the front
00:14:55.02\00:14:56.29
yard, and kicks him out.
00:14:56.29\00:14:58.63
I'm sitting in the kitchen like,
00:14:59.53\00:15:00.96
"What?"
00:15:00.96\00:15:01.93
You know?
00:15:02.50\00:15:03.50
And that was a moment that I say
00:15:05.30\00:15:08.30
that the Devil spoke to me and
00:15:08.30\00:15:10.71
it was, "Where were you last
00:15:10.71\00:15:12.21
happy?"
00:15:12.21\00:15:13.21
And I said, "I guess when I was
00:15:13.88\00:15:16.61
drug dealing."
00:15:16.61\00:15:17.71
Like, that was the only thing I
00:15:17.71\00:15:18.58
knew, right?
00:15:18.58\00:15:19.71
And in that moment, I decided,
00:15:20.98\00:15:23.72
like, I've-- I'm gonna go back
00:15:23.72\00:15:25.79
to that.
00:15:25.79\00:15:26.59
I pick up my phone and right in
00:15:27.16\00:15:29.22
that moment, my sister, the one
00:15:29.22\00:15:31.36
that had bailed me out of jail,
00:15:31.36\00:15:32.86
taps on my shoulder and says,
00:15:32.86\00:15:34.00
"Hey, Jorge, there's a pastor
00:15:34.00\00:15:37.37
speaking tonight at the school.
00:15:37.37\00:15:39.33
I'm gonna go, I think you should
00:15:39.33\00:15:40.70
go, too."
00:15:40.70\00:15:41.57
And I'm like, "Why would I go?"
00:15:41.57\00:15:44.44
[chuckles]
00:15:44.44\00:15:45.71
And she's like, "I'm just
00:15:45.71\00:15:46.64
telling you."
00:15:46.64\00:15:47.41
I sat there and in the middle of
00:15:48.34\00:15:51.95
in between calling my old
00:15:51.95\00:15:54.25
supplier and this new news,
00:15:54.25\00:15:57.59
I can only explain it now as the
00:15:58.69\00:16:00.06
Holy Spirit, this conviction
00:16:00.06\00:16:02.66
came upon me that before I do
00:16:02.66\00:16:05.26
anything, I should go to
00:16:05.26\00:16:07.40
this thing.
00:16:07.40\00:16:08.43
And the day would go-- the day
00:16:08.80\00:16:11.10
went on and my friends would
00:16:11.10\00:16:13.37
say, "Hey, what's up tonight?
00:16:13.37\00:16:15.14
You comin' out?" 'cause it was a
00:16:15.14\00:16:16.10
Saturday.
00:16:16.10\00:16:17.01
I said, "Yeah, yeah, I'm comin'
00:16:17.01\00:16:17.97
out, I just gotta go to this
00:16:17.97\00:16:19.07
thing first."
00:16:19.07\00:16:20.31
And they say, "Well, what
00:16:20.31\00:16:21.14
thing?"
00:16:21.14\00:16:21.74
I said, "Just this thing."
00:16:21.74\00:16:22.88
They say, "Well, can I come,
00:16:22.88\00:16:23.81
too?"
00:16:23.81\00:16:24.45
I said, "No, you can't come.
00:16:24.45\00:16:25.81
I'll call you after." [laughs]
00:16:25.81\00:16:27.85
And I'm just fully convicted to
00:16:28.28\00:16:30.29
go to this and so I go there and
00:16:30.29\00:16:32.95
it's at the church school here
00:16:32.95\00:16:34.62
in Winnipeg and pull up and I go
00:16:34.62\00:16:38.13
to the back and the preacher's
00:16:38.13\00:16:40.40
preaching, I can't really hear
00:16:40.40\00:16:42.10
what he's saying or care what
00:16:42.10\00:16:43.13
he's saying, but I look around,
00:16:43.13\00:16:44.53
it's a bunch of kids, it's like
00:16:44.53\00:16:45.53
a youth rally.
00:16:45.53\00:16:46.90
And I remember sitting in the
00:16:46.90\00:16:48.04
back like, "Why am I here?"
00:16:48.04\00:16:50.14
You know?
00:16:50.84\00:16:51.84
And then for a moment, I said,
00:16:52.44\00:16:54.61
"Okay, I came and now it's time
00:16:54.61\00:16:57.75
to go," you know?
00:16:57.75\00:16:59.35
But inside of me was also
00:16:59.91\00:17:03.12
something screaming that I need
00:17:03.12\00:17:05.02
help and I hope somebody talks
00:17:05.02\00:17:06.65
to me and asks me, like, am I
00:17:06.65\00:17:08.56
okay, you know?
00:17:08.56\00:17:10.09
And so I delayed my exit.
00:17:10.69\00:17:12.53
I went to the washroom, washed
00:17:12.53\00:17:14.73
my hands and came out.
00:17:14.73\00:17:16.56
And as I'm going to leave, the
00:17:17.03\00:17:19.47
pastor that was speaking says,
00:17:19.47\00:17:20.64
"I'd like to get a chance to
00:17:20.64\00:17:22.44
talk to you."
00:17:22.44\00:17:23.47
And I remember shaking his hand
00:17:24.14\00:17:25.64
being like, in my head, I said,
00:17:25.64\00:17:27.48
"Why do you wanna talk to me,
00:17:27.48\00:17:28.64
you don't even know me?"
00:17:28.64\00:17:29.68
But what came out of me was,
00:17:29.68\00:17:30.71
like, “When? Now?”
00:17:30.71\00:17:32.31
And he says, "Sure."
00:17:32.31\00:17:33.62
And we walked to my car and
00:17:34.05\00:17:37.39
talked there.
00:17:37.39\00:17:38.69
And I spilled out my entire
00:17:38.69\00:17:42.49
story to this man, including
00:17:42.49\00:17:44.86
what happened that morning.
00:17:44.86\00:17:46.16
Like, "Hey, this morning I was
00:17:46.16\00:17:47.23
gonna go back to this lifestyle
00:17:47.23\00:17:49.80
that now I'm here in the car
00:17:49.80\00:17:51.10
with you," and I'm just, you
00:17:51.10\00:17:52.60
know, weeping and being like, "I
00:17:52.60\00:17:53.84
don't know what's going on with
00:17:53.84\00:17:55.10
my life, I don't know what to do
00:17:55.10\00:17:56.60
with my life," right?
00:17:56.60\00:17:58.01
And then the pastor said
00:17:58.87\00:18:00.21
something that just changed my
00:18:00.21\00:18:02.11
life forever.
00:18:02.11\00:18:03.35
He says, "There's a different
00:18:03.85\00:18:06.35
way to live," and he says, "One
00:18:06.35\00:18:09.68
day, Jorge, you're gonna share
00:18:09.68\00:18:10.89
your story and change people's
00:18:10.89\00:18:11.85
lives, one day you're gonna work
00:18:11.85\00:18:13.15
for the Lord."
00:18:13.15\00:18:14.29
And I didn't know what that
00:18:14.92\00:18:16.99
meant, but I looked at him like,
00:18:16.99\00:18:20.26
"Okay..." [laughs]
00:18:20.26\00:18:22.40
And that was, that was the be--
00:18:22.40\00:18:25.20
that was the exodus of that
00:18:25.20\00:18:28.70
life, right?
00:18:28.70\00:18:29.87
[JULYA] My name is Julya, I am
00:18:31.84\00:18:33.38
Jorge's wife.
00:18:33.38\00:18:34.11
I've known Jorge for about seven
00:18:34.11\00:18:35.78
and a half years now and we've
00:18:35.78\00:18:37.55
been married for a year
00:18:37.55\00:18:38.48
and a half.
00:18:38.48\00:18:39.21
When I met Jorge, I met Jorge
00:18:39.85\00:18:41.52
after his, after his encounter
00:18:41.52\00:18:44.52
with God, after his life was
00:18:44.52\00:18:46.45
transformed.
00:18:46.45\00:18:47.49
First time meeting him, he was a
00:18:48.49\00:18:50.03
pastor, he was a chaplain in
00:18:50.03\00:18:51.76
school and I did not know about
00:18:51.76\00:18:55.60
his previous life at all, but he
00:18:55.60\00:18:57.73
was very open.
00:18:57.73\00:18:59.13
And it's because it is such a
00:18:59.73\00:19:02.30
great testimony that has
00:19:02.30\00:19:04.04
impacted so many people's lives
00:19:04.04\00:19:06.64
that if he didn't share that, a
00:19:06.64\00:19:10.05
lot of lives would have not been
00:19:10.05\00:19:11.55
transformed.
00:19:11.55\00:19:12.55
The first time I heard the
00:19:13.15\00:19:14.05
story, I just, I remember really
00:19:14.05\00:19:17.82
questioning whether I should
00:19:17.82\00:19:19.55
continue talking to this guy or
00:19:19.55\00:19:21.06
not because I couldn't believe
00:19:21.06\00:19:22.89
that a person could fully
00:19:22.89\00:19:25.09
transform.
00:19:25.09\00:19:26.39
But there's this guy that tells
00:19:26.39\00:19:28.76
me that four or five years ago
00:19:28.76\00:19:31.43
he has done all these crazy
00:19:31.43\00:19:33.17
things and he has zero desire to
00:19:33.17\00:19:35.04
do them again.
00:19:35.04\00:19:36.24
So I just couldn't really
00:19:36.24\00:19:37.87
believe that that is the reality
00:19:37.87\00:19:39.64
because it's an insane
00:19:39.64\00:19:43.65
transformation.
00:19:43.65\00:19:44.95
The Jorge that was there when he
00:19:46.58\00:19:48.92
was 18, 19, 17 up to, I guess,
00:19:48.92\00:19:51.79
21, that person is fully gone,
00:19:51.79\00:19:55.42
like, he does not exist no more.
00:19:55.42\00:19:57.56
After he has met God, God has
00:19:58.89\00:20:01.50
transformed his heart.
00:20:01.50\00:20:02.96
It's a new creation.
00:20:02.96\00:20:04.27
It's a different human being.
00:20:04.27\00:20:06.03
A human who has different life
00:20:06.03\00:20:07.74
goals, different perspectives,
00:20:07.74\00:20:09.74
different values in life.
00:20:09.74\00:20:11.41
It's so hard to explain, like,
00:20:13.41\00:20:14.58
when I read this story,
00:20:14.58\00:20:15.58
it just...
00:20:15.58\00:20:16.38
It's not Jorge that I know
00:20:17.65\00:20:19.08
today.
00:20:19.08\00:20:19.91
It's just not him.
00:20:19.91\00:20:21.35
>> Jorge, what the pastor said
00:20:23.95\00:20:25.59
to you that day, did it come
00:20:25.59\00:20:26.76
true?
00:20:26.76\00:20:27.76
[JORGE] Yeah, it turns out that
00:20:27.76\00:20:28.82
it did come true.
00:20:28.82\00:20:30.19
I...
00:20:30.19\00:20:31.19
I dropped out of business school
00:20:32.03\00:20:33.60
and I went on to study theology
00:20:33.60\00:20:36.13
and became a pastor.
00:20:36.13\00:20:37.80
I was a school chaplain and then
00:20:37.80\00:20:39.53
a youth pastor, then a senior
00:20:39.53\00:20:40.80
pastor, then I became a prison
00:20:40.80\00:20:42.34
chaplain.
00:20:42.34\00:20:43.37
And in that time I was also
00:20:43.37\00:20:45.41
speaking across Canada and wrote
00:20:45.41\00:20:48.08
my book and got to share my
00:20:48.08\00:20:49.58
story all across Canada.
00:20:49.58\00:20:51.31
And, you know, in jail, working
00:20:51.31\00:20:53.08
as a prison chaplain, I had many
00:20:53.08\00:20:54.52
great experiences in there, too,
00:20:54.52\00:20:56.08
and I actually got to witness to
00:20:56.08\00:20:57.45
some of my old street friends in
00:20:57.45\00:20:59.82
jail as a prison chaplain.
00:20:59.82\00:21:01.92
Yeah, so it was a complete, you
00:21:01.92\00:21:03.93
know, 180 and a complete, you
00:21:03.93\00:21:06.39
know, turn-around of...
00:21:06.39\00:21:07.40
And also seeing what would've
00:21:08.03\00:21:09.50
been me.
00:21:09.50\00:21:10.33
Right?
00:21:10.97\00:21:11.77
And just the miracle of God, you
00:21:11.77\00:21:14.57
know, in my life.
00:21:14.57\00:21:15.90
>> But not just in your life, in
00:21:18.11\00:21:20.14
your family's life, you know,
00:21:20.14\00:21:22.38
your sisters' lives and your
00:21:22.38\00:21:24.01
mother's life.
00:21:24.01\00:21:24.98
I mean, she must have...
00:21:24.98\00:21:26.25
What a relief that her prayers
00:21:27.15\00:21:29.38
were answered.
00:21:29.38\00:21:30.35
[JORGE] For sure.
00:21:30.35\00:21:31.02
>> And she just kept going, she
00:21:31.02\00:21:33.46
was a real prayer warrior.
00:21:33.46\00:21:35.19
[JORGE] For sure.
00:21:35.19\00:21:35.82
>> She never stopped praying for
00:21:35.89\00:21:37.43
you, you know?
00:21:37.43\00:21:38.96
[JORGE] And supporting me.
00:21:39.53\00:21:40.80
[RENÉ] Mm-hmm.
00:21:40.80\00:21:41.70
>> So your mom also kept kind of
00:21:42.10\00:21:44.60
prodding you, "Can you go and
00:21:44.60\00:21:46.70
visit Miss Mary?"
00:21:46.70\00:21:48.14
Now it's years later since you
00:21:48.14\00:21:49.70
saw her.
00:21:49.70\00:21:50.44
>> Yeah, Miss Mary ministered to
00:21:51.41\00:21:52.64
us until we moved out of the...
00:21:52.64\00:21:54.24
projects, then she would visit
00:21:55.41\00:21:56.64
us every now and then.
00:21:56.64\00:21:58.18
And years went by, I didn't see
00:21:58.65\00:22:00.98
her for many years and, you
00:22:00.98\00:22:03.45
know, life went on and Miss Mary
00:22:03.45\00:22:04.72
was old when she had ministered
00:22:04.72\00:22:05.99
to us and so she was even
00:22:05.99\00:22:07.16
older now.
00:22:07.16\00:22:08.39
And my mother would always tell
00:22:08.39\00:22:10.23
me, "You should go visit Miss
00:22:10.23\00:22:11.73
Mary because when I visit her,
00:22:11.73\00:22:14.10
she always talks about these
00:22:14.10\00:22:16.53
kids that are on her wall," and
00:22:16.53\00:22:18.23
she says, "She has pictures of
00:22:18.23\00:22:19.73
you guys on her wall."
00:22:19.73\00:22:21.37
And I said, "Miss Mary's old,
00:22:21.37\00:22:22.74
she has a hundred pictures of a
00:22:22.74\00:22:24.41
hundred people on her wall,"
00:22:24.41\00:22:25.87
right?
00:22:25.87\00:22:26.54
And my mom was like, "No, you
00:22:26.54\00:22:27.71
don't understand, like, it's
00:22:27.71\00:22:28.71
just you guys."
00:22:28.71\00:22:29.48
I'm like, "Just us?"
00:22:29.48\00:22:30.68
Nonetheless, I blew it off for
00:22:30.68\00:22:32.28
years, like I'm talking years,
00:22:32.28\00:22:34.58
right?
00:22:34.58\00:22:35.35
And so my summer, when I was
00:22:35.92\00:22:38.02
doing my practicum at a church
00:22:38.02\00:22:39.45
here in Winnipeg, it was
00:22:39.45\00:22:40.66
Mother's Day and I said to my
00:22:40.66\00:22:41.69
mom, "What do you wanna do
00:22:41.69\00:22:42.62
today?" you know, "Just one
00:22:42.62\00:22:43.79
thing."
00:22:43.79\00:22:44.46
And she said, "Let's go visit
00:22:44.46\00:22:45.29
Miss Mary."
00:22:45.29\00:22:46.46
And so we go, we go visit Miss
00:22:46.46\00:22:48.83
Mary and my mom knocks on the
00:22:48.83\00:22:50.50
door and Miss Mary's sleeping
00:22:50.50\00:22:51.90
and my mom wakes her up and
00:22:51.90\00:22:53.40
says, "Hey, Miss Mary!
00:22:53.40\00:22:54.74
I'm Jusilla and, "Hey, do you
00:22:54.74\00:22:56.67
remember me?" 'cause she got
00:22:56.67\00:22:57.91
dementia over all these years.
00:22:57.91\00:22:59.57
And she says, "Yeah, yeah yeah!"
00:23:00.28\00:23:01.98
and then she says, "This is my
00:23:01.98\00:23:03.61
son, Jorge," and then...
00:23:03.61\00:23:06.65
"Oh, okay, okay."
00:23:07.05\00:23:08.05
And then I say-- I see, I
00:23:08.05\00:23:10.22
looked, I turn to the left and I
00:23:10.22\00:23:11.55
see on the wall that the only
00:23:11.55\00:23:13.49
pictures on her wall are me and
00:23:13.49\00:23:15.22
my three sisters.
00:23:15.22\00:23:16.46
I say to Miss Mary, like, "Who
00:23:17.13\00:23:18.99
are these children?"
00:23:18.99\00:23:20.56
She says, "Oh, that's this
00:23:20.56\00:23:21.93
person, this person, this
00:23:21.93\00:23:22.93
person, that's Jorge," you know,
00:23:22.93\00:23:24.53
"He's like this, this."
00:23:24.53\00:23:25.27
And I say, "Miss Mary,
00:23:25.27\00:23:26.77
that's me!"
00:23:26.77\00:23:27.77
You know?
00:23:27.77\00:23:28.60
And she says, "What?!
00:23:28.60\00:23:29.90
What do you mean?"
00:23:29.90\00:23:30.67
And I said, "That's me!
00:23:30.67\00:23:31.81
I'm Jorge, I'm the boy
00:23:31.81\00:23:33.27
on the wall."
00:23:33.27\00:23:34.04
She says, "Sit down, sit down!"
00:23:34.04\00:23:34.94
like, "Tell me, tell me about
00:23:34.94\00:23:36.41
your life now," and I said,
00:23:36.41\00:23:37.91
"Miss Mary, my life has changed,
00:23:37.91\00:23:40.15
I'm studying to become a
00:23:40.15\00:23:41.52
pastor," and she says, "I can
00:23:41.52\00:23:44.85
die knowing that my prayer has
00:23:44.85\00:23:46.79
been answered."
00:23:46.79\00:23:48.12
And we just, like...
00:23:48.12\00:23:49.42
[gentle piano music playing]
00:23:49.42\00:23:51.63
Yeah.
00:23:51.63\00:23:52.69
¤¤
00:23:52.69\00:23:55.70
As I...
00:23:55.70\00:23:57.00
think about my life...
00:24:00.40\00:24:02.34
I'm a very blessed man,
00:24:03.87\00:24:05.81
you know?
00:24:05.81\00:24:06.81
I...
00:24:07.81\00:24:08.81
And God has protected me
00:24:12.88\00:24:14.82
from many things and...
00:24:17.02\00:24:19.75
if I don't give credit to her,
00:24:20.96\00:24:22.89
it wouldn't do it justice
00:24:23.69\00:24:25.69
because she ministered to me as
00:24:25.69\00:24:27.66
a child and taught me about God.
00:24:27.66\00:24:30.53
And in my darkest moments I was
00:24:31.67\00:24:33.07
always brought back to what she
00:24:33.07\00:24:34.54
taught me, you know?
00:24:34.54\00:24:36.20
And just knowing that...
00:24:36.57\00:24:38.54
even though I didn't see her in
00:24:39.91\00:24:41.31
I don't know, 15 years or
00:24:41.31\00:24:43.01
however long it was, she was
00:24:43.01\00:24:44.68
still praying for me, every
00:24:44.68\00:24:45.91
night, to a little boy,
00:24:45.91\00:24:47.55
you know?
00:24:47.55\00:24:48.62
And then there I was, able to
00:24:48.62\00:24:49.85
tell her, you know, "I'm
00:24:49.85\00:24:52.49
becoming a pastor and serving
00:24:52.49\00:24:53.86
the Lord," and she says, you
00:24:53.86\00:24:55.12
know, I remember she also said,
00:24:55.12\00:24:56.86
"I finally see the fruit of my
00:24:56.86\00:24:58.49
prayer, like, I can die knowing
00:24:58.49\00:25:00.70
that my prayer has been
00:25:00.70\00:25:01.63
answered," you know?
00:25:01.63\00:25:02.63
Like, what a thing to say to
00:25:02.63\00:25:04.90
somebody, right?
00:25:04.90\00:25:06.17
>> Yeah, that's very hopeful to
00:25:09.00\00:25:10.87
all the parents and to all the
00:25:10.87\00:25:13.41
grandparents that are continuing
00:25:13.41\00:25:16.34
to pray.
00:25:16.34\00:25:17.75
Because God promises in His word
00:25:17.75\00:25:20.25
that He will save our children
00:25:20.25\00:25:22.68
and He really answered Miss
00:25:22.68\00:25:25.02
Mary's prayer and fulfilled that
00:25:25.02\00:25:27.16
promise in your life.
00:25:27.16\00:25:29.16
>> Jorge, we've come to the end
00:25:31.06\00:25:32.89
of our time together, I wonder
00:25:32.89\00:25:33.90
if you could pray.
00:25:33.90\00:25:35.30
Pray for our viewers.
00:25:35.30\00:25:37.23
There may be someone who is
00:25:37.23\00:25:38.73
listening right now who's
00:25:38.73\00:25:40.37
saying, you know, "I've lost my
00:25:40.37\00:25:43.24
way and I need help."
00:25:43.24\00:25:45.61
And God's there for them,
00:25:45.61\00:25:48.38
just as He was there for you.
00:25:48.38\00:25:50.21
Could you do that for me?
00:25:51.45\00:25:52.45
>> Yeah.
00:25:52.45\00:25:53.35
[gentle piano music playing]
00:25:55.02\00:25:56.18
Heavenly Father, I wanna thank
00:25:56.18\00:25:57.42
You, God, that You never give up
00:25:57.42\00:25:59.59
on us.
00:25:59.59\00:26:00.66
And I thank You that although
00:26:01.26\00:26:04.83
things may seem that it's over,
00:26:04.83\00:26:06.73
it's not over.
00:26:06.73\00:26:08.13
And I wanna pray for anybody
00:26:08.13\00:26:09.46
that has found themselves in
00:26:09.46\00:26:10.97
situations like I was in my
00:26:10.97\00:26:12.67
life, where they can't get out,
00:26:12.67\00:26:14.47
they feel like there's no way
00:26:14.47\00:26:15.70
out, they feel they're alone and
00:26:15.70\00:26:18.21
have no other options.
00:26:18.21\00:26:19.57
I just pray, Father, that You
00:26:19.57\00:26:20.94
would speak to them and let them
00:26:20.94\00:26:22.54
know that there's a different
00:26:22.54\00:26:23.51
way to live.
00:26:23.51\00:26:24.51
I pray that You would lead them
00:26:25.15\00:26:27.25
to Jesus and the sacrifice, that
00:26:27.25\00:26:29.92
they're forgiven for the
00:26:29.92\00:26:30.95
lifestyle that they have lived,
00:26:30.95\00:26:32.59
that they come to You and
00:26:32.59\00:26:33.66
accept You.
00:26:33.66\00:26:34.66
I pray, Father, that we would
00:26:35.62\00:26:37.99
see miracles, that we would see
00:26:37.99\00:26:39.46
drug dealers change, prostitutes
00:26:39.46\00:26:41.23
change, addicts changed...
00:26:41.23\00:26:42.90
...relationships restored,
00:26:44.93\00:26:46.53
families restored.
00:26:46.53\00:26:47.97
In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
00:26:48.40\00:26:50.37
[MIKE & RENÉ] Amen.
00:26:50.37\00:26:51.61
>> Jorge, Mike and I could not
00:26:52.47\00:26:54.48
put your book down when we read
00:26:54.48\00:26:55.98
it and so is there a way that
00:26:55.98\00:26:58.98
others can get your book?
00:26:58.98\00:27:01.55
>> Yeah, it's available directly
00:27:01.55\00:27:02.85
on Amazon.
00:27:02.85\00:27:03.89
Danger To Society, Jorge Torres.
00:27:03.89\00:27:06.15
You can order directly on there.
00:27:06.15\00:27:07.89
It's also available on Kindle
00:27:07.89\00:27:09.42
and we also offer the book for
00:27:09.42\00:27:10.96
churches or prisons or schools.
00:27:10.96\00:27:13.03
>> Thank you so much.
00:27:13.86\00:27:15.10
And, Jorge, thank you once again
00:27:15.10\00:27:17.03
for joining us on It Is Written
00:27:17.03\00:27:18.90
Canada.
00:27:18.90\00:27:19.70
>> Thank you for having me.
00:27:19.70\00:27:21.00
>> Friends, freedom of choice is
00:27:23.47\00:27:25.87
one of the most precious gifts
00:27:25.87\00:27:28.08
God has entrusted to us.
00:27:28.08\00:27:30.38
Unfortunately, we often make
00:27:31.01\00:27:33.35
poor choices which may lead to
00:27:33.35\00:27:35.48
destructive habits that enslave
00:27:35.48\00:27:37.72
us, damage our health, and even
00:27:37.72\00:27:41.06
ruin our lives.
00:27:41.06\00:27:42.89
>> Friends, our free offer for
00:27:42.89\00:27:44.29
you is our special Steps To
00:27:44.29\00:27:46.09
Christ Recovery Edition.
00:27:46.09\00:27:48.00
This powerful book includes a
00:27:48.00\00:27:51.00
12-step recovery program,
00:27:51.00\00:27:52.93
empowering you to overcome
00:27:52.93\00:27:55.27
harmful habits and addictions.
00:27:55.27\00:27:57.04
Above all, you will come to know
00:27:57.04\00:27:59.41
Jesus Christ, the only One who
00:27:59.41\00:28:01.74
can heal and restore, strengthen
00:28:01.74\00:28:04.08
and encourage, as well as bring
00:28:04.08\00:28:06.72
true balance and meaning
00:28:06.72\00:28:08.62
to your life.
00:28:08.62\00:28:09.88
You, too, can experience the
00:28:12.25\00:28:13.79
fullness of life that is found
00:28:13.79\00:28:14.99
in the words of Jesus when He
00:28:14.99\00:28:16.46
said, "It is written, 'Man shall
00:28:16.46\00:28:19.06
not live by bread alone, but by
00:28:19.06\00:28:21.20
every word that proceeds out of
00:28:21.20\00:28:23.53
the mouth of God.'"
00:28:23.53\00:28:25.03
[inspirational music playing]
00:28:26.23\00:28:29.24
¤¤
00:28:29.24\00:28:55.40