I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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I want to spend my life
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Removing pain
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Lord, let my words
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Heal a heart that hurts
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I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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All right.
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Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn.
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JD Quinn. Yes.
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And aren't we
glad, we know who we are.
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We just want to thank you
so much for joining us today.
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And I'm gonna tell you,
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there is no better
sermon in the world
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than a personal testimony.
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And when you see
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the testimony of the
couple we have with us today,
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when you hear this testimony,
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it is going to amaze
you at how powerful God is,
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how loving God is,
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how patient God is.
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And that's what today,
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this is all about
a personal testimony,
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and this is
gonna lift your spirits
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like you can't believe.
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I've heard part of it,
you're coming out here cold.
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You haven't
heard their story yet.
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But I'm so excited because...
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You will be.
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I mean, there's already
tears that are whirling up,
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so that means that
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the Holy Spirit
indeed is present.
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Amen, amen.
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Well, let me go
ahead and introduce
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our special guests.
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And we have Christopher
and Cecilia Mitchell,
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but we're gonna call
you Chris and Ceci, right?
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That's fine, yeah.
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Thank you so much for being here
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and just hearing the
few minutes of your story
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that I've heard,
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the scripture
that came to my mind
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to best fit this
program is Ecclesiastes 3:11.
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Let me read that to you.
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Ecclesiastes 3:11,
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and Solomon is writing
about God, and he said,
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"He has made
everything beautiful
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in its time.
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Also He has put
eternity in their hearts."
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God has put eternity in
every one of our hearts.
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And then he goes on to say,
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"Except that no one
can find out the work
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that God does from
beginning to end, "
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We're gonna spend
eternity understanding the Lord.
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But no doubt, God put
eternity in your hearts
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and it took nearly an eternity
for you to correct but no.
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It is so exciting to me.
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So we can't wait to hear that,
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but we know how much
you love music at home.
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And today, we have
one of my dear friends,
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Sandra Entermann.
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I think that she's...
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I just love her voice and she...
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That little Australian accent,
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but I love the way
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her vibrato rolls in at the end.
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She's such a precious Christian,
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young lady.
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And she's going to
be joined by Aleta King,
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who is one of her friends,
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and Kristie Sipec
will be at the piano,
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and they're going to sing
"Replace it with Your love."
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Where there's hate
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Give me love
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And where there's pride
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Make me be humble
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And where there's
pain don't let me feel
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Resentment deep inside
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I want You to make it right
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So replace it with
Your love in my heart
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Replace it with
Your love in my heart
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Just take out all the
hatred and cleanse every part
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And replace it with
Your love in my heart
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When I'm tired
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Lift me up
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And when I'm weak, Lord
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Don't let me falter
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But if I fall
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Don't let me harbor bitterness
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Inside
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I want You to take it out
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So replace it with
Your love In my heart
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Replace it with
Your love In my heart
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Just take out all the
hatred and cleanse every part
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And replace it with
Your love In my heart
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'Cause, Lord, I am just a girl
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Who wants to be like You
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Living in Your perfect love
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In everything I do
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So now I'm yielding
I'm yielding all to You
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To take out every wrong I feel
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Inside
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And replace it with Your love
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In my heart
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Replace it with
Your love in my heart
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Just take out all the
hatred and cleanse every part
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And replace it with
Your love in my heart
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In my heart
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And replace it
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With Your love in my
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Heart
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Sandra
certainly is easy to love.
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Yeah, she is.
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And what a beautiful song.
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We thank you so much
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to Sandra Entermann and friends.
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Well, if you're joining us
just a little late, right now,
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we have a very
special couple with us.
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And today is gonna be
their personal testimony.
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And we have with
us Chris and Ceci,
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it's actually
Christopher and Cecilia
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but we're gonna say
Chris and Ceci Mitchell.
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And you're from Hayden, Alabama.
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Chris, start with the story
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of a letter that you
found, what, ten years ago,
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that was written to you
when you were three months old.
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My mother and father,
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they went to Brewster
Baptist Church in Birmingham
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before they got into divorce.
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And the pastor of the
church actually wrote a letter
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when I was three months old.
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He was telling
me that he was there
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the day I was
born in the hospital,
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and he waited
all day with my dad.
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He let me know I
had two other brothers
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and that my family loved me.
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And he said,
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"I see you going on a
great adventurous life.
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And all the way
through it, just be Chris."
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And he said, "Someday,
you'll come to know the Lord,
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and maybe be a
gigantic Christian
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for a gigantic God."
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Wow!
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In this letter, I mean,
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you know, I've always
taken girlfriends to my moms,
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and we've looked
into photo albums,
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and I never saw this letter.
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And it was after...
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Somewhere around
2005, and we were up there,
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and we were going
through the photo album,
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and I see this envelope,
and it has my name on it,
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and I opened it up,
and it's this letter.
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And I asked my mom, she said,
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"Yes, it's always
been in the photo album."
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Praise God. And
I've never seen it.
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So you grew up in this
wonderful Christian home?
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No.
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Tell us your story?
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Okay.
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My real mom and dad,
00:10:00.43\00:10:02.26
they divorced when
I was around seven.
00:10:02.30\00:10:05.93
My mom and I and my
oldest brother moved to
00:10:05.97\00:10:09.87
actually the
Everglades, Florida,
00:10:09.90\00:10:12.37
and that's where
she met my step-dad,
00:10:12.41\00:10:17.45
and it was kind of
the same situation.
00:10:17.48\00:10:21.02
My real dad was a woman chaser,
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and an alcoholic
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but he went to
work every single day,
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never missed a day.
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Now my new step-dad,
00:10:30.36\00:10:32.69
he was some kind
of like an alcoholic,
00:10:32.73\00:10:35.56
but he still worked, and
there was always conflict.
00:10:35.60\00:10:39.90
There was times
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when my dad
wouldn't come home from work
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on a Friday night,
00:10:43.61\00:10:44.94
he would be
going out to the bars.
00:10:44.97\00:10:47.21
And one funny story was
that, him and his brother-in-law
00:10:47.28\00:10:51.78
went out to a bar,
00:10:51.81\00:10:53.15
and his own
son-in-law ran him over
00:10:53.18\00:10:56.02
with his own
truck and broke his leg.
00:10:56.05\00:11:00.26
But my mom
00:11:00.29\00:11:03.73
and my step-dad,
they bickered a lot.
00:11:03.76\00:11:06.29
And my mom was...
00:11:06.33\00:11:10.87
I don't know if she was a
manic depressive or just...
00:11:10.90\00:11:13.84
She's depressed a lot,
00:11:13.87\00:11:16.20
so we lived two
miles out in the Everglades
00:11:16.24\00:11:19.84
down the Sherlock Road.
00:11:19.87\00:11:21.98
And on each side was either
a canal or the everglades.
00:11:22.01\00:11:26.35
So at, I guess
around eight years old,
00:11:26.38\00:11:29.35
I would have to walk two
miles down this dirt road
00:11:29.38\00:11:33.66
and hear all the alligators
and the wild cats and stuff.
00:11:33.69\00:11:37.96
And snakes. And snakes.
00:11:37.99\00:11:39.86
And I'd have to get myself up,
00:11:39.89\00:11:41.63
make my breakfast,
take care of myself.
00:11:41.66\00:11:44.50
And so I just
kind of grew up quick.
00:11:44.53\00:11:47.97
I played with
alligators, I called alligators.
00:11:48.00\00:11:51.77
This place that we lived
in was actually a fish camp,
00:11:51.81\00:11:54.71
and people would come out,
00:11:54.74\00:11:56.08
rent boats, and they go fishing.
00:11:56.11\00:11:58.31
Well, at eight years old,
00:11:58.35\00:11:59.85
I would put the gas tanks
00:11:59.88\00:12:01.72
in the little motors
on the back of the boats
00:12:01.75\00:12:05.05
and then put the
lock preservers in there.
00:12:05.09\00:12:06.99
Then that people would go out.
00:12:07.06\00:12:08.76
And when they come back,
I would clean all that out,
00:12:08.79\00:12:11.39
you know their cans
and the fishing stuff.
00:12:11.43\00:12:15.43
I think it was like
six or seven miles past
00:12:15.46\00:12:18.50
where the fish
camp was on this dock.
00:12:18.53\00:12:20.44
And this dock is
about a hundred foot wide,
00:12:20.47\00:12:22.64
and you got glades
and swamp on each side.
00:12:22.67\00:12:25.67
They had dynamite sheds,
00:12:25.71\00:12:27.18
where they stored dynamite
for the construction in,
00:12:27.21\00:12:30.65
you know, Miami and
those areas out there.
00:12:30.68\00:12:33.45
Well, the truck drivers
would come in on Saturday
00:12:33.52\00:12:36.22
and they would pay me,
00:12:36.25\00:12:37.75
and I would go out
there, and I would help them
00:12:37.79\00:12:39.62
unload these 80
pound boxes of dynamite.
00:12:39.65\00:12:42.39
At eight years old,
00:12:42.42\00:12:43.76
I was unloading
this dynamite boxes
00:12:43.83\00:12:46.16
out of these trucks,
00:12:46.19\00:12:47.53
and let them go
down this little shoots
00:12:47.60\00:12:48.93
and he would stack them up.
00:12:48.96\00:12:51.50
At eight, I got to
ride on a bombardier,
00:12:51.53\00:12:54.14
which is like this
tank but has a water cannon.
00:12:54.17\00:12:57.41
And when the Everglades
dried up in the summer time,
00:12:57.44\00:13:01.91
there was just wildfires.
00:13:01.94\00:13:03.75
Well, after they were contained
a little bit, so there I was,
00:13:03.78\00:13:06.85
eight years old,
getting ride on this bombardier,
00:13:06.92\00:13:08.95
shooting this water cannon.
00:13:08.98\00:13:11.19
So I grew up quick, I
had a lot of experiences.
00:13:11.22\00:13:14.89
My parents moved from there,
00:13:14.92\00:13:16.26
we moved to Miami
and Hollywood, Florida,
00:13:16.29\00:13:18.99
Okeechobee, we
moved around a lot,
00:13:19.03\00:13:21.13
he was in construction.
00:13:21.16\00:13:24.10
I guess it was 12 years old,
00:13:24.17\00:13:27.07
we were living in
Hollywood, Florida,
00:13:27.14\00:13:30.24
that's when I
started with the drugs.
00:13:30.31\00:13:33.01
Oh my.
00:13:33.04\00:13:34.38
And I know a lot of...
00:13:34.41\00:13:35.74
You all hear lot of
the school shootings
00:13:35.78\00:13:37.25
and stuff now?
00:13:37.28\00:13:39.85
But let's say, back then,
00:13:39.88\00:13:42.25
I'm almost 50 now
00:13:42.28\00:13:43.62
so that's been
quite a while back.
00:13:43.69\00:13:46.86
The school that I went to,
00:13:46.89\00:13:48.69
it had
eight-foot chain-link fence
00:13:48.72\00:13:50.83
with three rows of
barbwire on top of it.
00:13:50.86\00:13:53.33
And back then, the
kids were still coming
00:13:53.40\00:13:56.46
or bringing guns
and knives to school.
00:13:56.50\00:13:59.03
So I'm familiar with all these.
00:13:59.07\00:14:02.57
So like I said,
I had to be tough,
00:14:02.60\00:14:04.64
I had to grow up and...
00:14:04.67\00:14:07.48
When you say you
started into drugs,
00:14:07.51\00:14:09.38
what did you do?
00:14:09.41\00:14:10.75
At 12 years old, I
started smoking pot.
00:14:10.78\00:14:13.42
There was a young boy
that sit next to me in class,
00:14:13.45\00:14:16.45
and we would actually...
00:14:16.48\00:14:17.82
We had the older desk
that you would flip up,
00:14:17.85\00:14:20.79
and we'd flip them up,
00:14:20.86\00:14:22.19
and we just slide them together,
00:14:22.22\00:14:23.56
and I would actually
buy marijuana from him,
00:14:23.59\00:14:26.06
and then skip
school at 13 years old,
00:14:26.09\00:14:28.96
12 years old
and do these things.
00:14:29.00\00:14:32.27
Now how old were
you when you left home?
00:14:32.30\00:14:34.44
I was 16 when I left home.
00:14:34.47\00:14:36.24
And?
00:14:36.27\00:14:37.61
I finished the 10th grade,
00:14:37.64\00:14:40.98
and I had moved out
to go to Talladega...
00:14:41.01\00:14:43.88
My parents had moved
up to Alabama this time,
00:14:43.95\00:14:47.42
moved to
Talladega to do some work
00:14:47.45\00:14:50.42
during the summertime.
00:14:50.49\00:14:52.32
And realized, "Hey, I'm
16, I'm making this money."
00:14:52.35\00:14:58.49
I actually
rented my own trailer,
00:14:58.53\00:15:00.40
had a roommate.
00:15:00.43\00:15:03.10
And experienced at being
able to take care of myself,
00:15:03.13\00:15:06.63
so I was like, "Well, hey.
00:15:06.67\00:15:08.34
I'm not gonna go back home.
00:15:08.37\00:15:10.04
I'm gonna quit school,
and I'm gonna stay here."
00:15:10.11\00:15:13.27
Of course, I told my
mom, I called my mom up,
00:15:13.31\00:15:15.21
and she's like, "Oh, no,
your daddy will have to...
00:15:15.24\00:15:18.21
He'll come down
and drag you home."
00:15:18.25\00:15:19.68
I said, "Well, he's
gonna have to come and drag me
00:15:19.71\00:15:21.48
'cause I'm through with school,
00:15:21.52\00:15:23.52
you know, I'm
working and making money."
00:15:23.59\00:15:26.19
So actually it was 16.
00:15:26.22\00:15:27.89
Okay, but by the
time you were 18,
00:15:27.92\00:15:31.56
I mean, you had your own
place, you had your vehicle,
00:15:31.59\00:15:35.80
you had all these
things going for you.
00:15:35.83\00:15:38.07
But by the time you were 18,
00:15:38.10\00:15:40.64
the drugs started increasing,
it was beyond marijuana,
00:15:40.67\00:15:43.94
tell us about that?
00:15:44.01\00:15:45.34
Yes, I've worked
at a plumbing company
00:15:45.37\00:15:48.61
and remodel with my brother,
00:15:48.64\00:15:50.45
so I have made a
lot of money at 18.
00:15:50.48\00:15:53.08
I had an apartment,
two vehicles, all my,
00:15:53.11\00:15:56.42
you know,
furniture that I needed.
00:15:56.45\00:15:58.72
At that time, I was
just doing a lot of drinking
00:15:58.75\00:16:01.26
and snorting cocaine.
00:16:01.29\00:16:04.86
And I had a friend
that was my supplier,
00:16:04.89\00:16:07.96
he introduced me into crack.
00:16:08.00\00:16:09.83
Oh, mercy.
00:16:09.86\00:16:11.93
So that started it.
00:16:11.97\00:16:15.87
I had smoked so
much that one night that,
00:16:15.90\00:16:18.67
I thought my
heart was gonna explode,
00:16:18.71\00:16:21.91
but that didn't scare me enough.
00:16:21.94\00:16:25.05
And eventually, I got
so hooked on the crack
00:16:25.08\00:16:27.85
and the coke that I
would stay up all night,
00:16:27.88\00:16:31.12
and I would take some
pills to help me sleep.
00:16:31.15\00:16:33.96
Well, then the pills
would keep me from waking up.
00:16:33.99\00:16:37.79
So then I got
addicted to the pills too.
00:16:37.83\00:16:41.33
So like everyone
knows what Xanax's are,
00:16:41.36\00:16:44.87
and I was eating
00:16:44.90\00:16:46.23
seven to ten
Xanax's at one time.
00:16:46.27\00:16:47.64
Oh my goodness.
00:16:47.67\00:16:49.00
Plus a case of beer.
00:16:49.04\00:16:50.37
So how did that
affect your life?
00:16:50.41\00:16:52.54
I eventually lost my job.
00:16:52.57\00:16:55.98
My brother didn't want
to work with me anymore
00:16:56.01\00:16:58.55
'cause I was a drug addict.
00:16:58.58\00:17:00.42
I ended up losing my apartment,
sold all of my furniture,
00:17:00.45\00:17:03.62
everything I had
and slept in my car.
00:17:03.69\00:17:07.09
I don't know, it's probably
00:17:07.16\00:17:09.19
a month or so and
realized that I had a problem.
00:17:09.22\00:17:13.40
And what really set me off
was, I was at a friend's house,
00:17:13.43\00:17:18.67
and he liked to run cocaine
through a needle in his arm.
00:17:18.70\00:17:23.51
And he went to the bathroom,
00:17:23.54\00:17:26.11
run his needle, come
back, sat down on his chair,
00:17:26.14\00:17:28.91
and we're sitting there talking.
00:17:28.94\00:17:31.05
And he was watching TV,
and I looked back over at him,
00:17:31.08\00:17:36.25
and he wasn't breathing,
he was already turning purple,
00:17:36.28\00:17:40.16
his tongue was hanging out.
00:17:40.19\00:17:41.82
So when you're in
this kind of situation,
00:17:41.86\00:17:43.76
the only thing
you can think about
00:17:43.83\00:17:48.46
is that they'll blame you.
00:17:48.50\00:17:51.70
So I do know a
little bit about CPR.
00:17:51.73\00:17:56.44
I like studying,
00:17:56.47\00:17:57.81
I like learning a lot of things.
00:17:57.84\00:17:59.57
So I performed CPR on
him, he came back to life,
00:17:59.61\00:18:03.45
and the first
words out of his mouth
00:18:03.48\00:18:04.98
was where's my stuff?
00:18:05.01\00:18:06.35
I'm like, "Dude, you just died."
00:18:06.38\00:18:09.62
So I knew I needed
to get away from there.
00:18:09.65\00:18:12.19
So I called my mom
up and said, "Mom, look.
00:18:12.22\00:18:14.52
I'm strung now, I need
help, I need to come home,
00:18:14.56\00:18:17.53
and I need to get off drugs."
00:18:17.56\00:18:19.29
Okay.
00:18:19.33\00:18:20.70
So how many
years did you do drugs?
00:18:20.73\00:18:23.23
And at what point...
00:18:23.26\00:18:24.67
How many years have
you all been together?
00:18:24.70\00:18:26.30
Twenty three.
Twenty three years.
00:18:26.33\00:18:30.21
How many years did you do drugs?
00:18:30.24\00:18:32.51
And then I want to
talk about how you all met.
00:18:32.54\00:18:35.81
But tell us a little bit
about that seedy side of life
00:18:35.84\00:18:39.15
'cause when he said
00:18:39.18\00:18:40.52
you would lead
an adventurous life,
00:18:40.55\00:18:42.88
you clicked off a
number of things for me
00:18:42.92\00:18:45.75
in the green room that you did.
00:18:45.79\00:18:47.16
What would you
like to hear first?
00:18:47.19\00:18:48.52
Yeah, you just go through,
00:18:48.56\00:18:49.92
just kind of click
them off for us right now.
00:18:49.96\00:18:51.96
Of course, in Miami,
Florida, at 12 or 13,
00:18:51.99\00:18:57.10
I started break dancing.
00:18:57.17\00:18:59.53
I know you're all
familiar with break dancing.
00:18:59.57\00:19:02.30
So we went from break
dancing till when I was 18, 19,
00:19:02.34\00:19:07.81
I could get into bars.
00:19:07.84\00:19:09.18
So I started club
dancing and knew that...
00:19:09.21\00:19:13.28
That picked up women.
00:19:13.31\00:19:15.55
So I went from club dancing
00:19:15.58\00:19:17.09
at that time as
when I got into...
00:19:17.12\00:19:18.52
I'm gonna have
to ask this question
00:19:18.55\00:19:20.36
'cause I'm a little bit naive.
00:19:20.39\00:19:22.96
Is club dancing stripping?
00:19:22.99\00:19:25.03
No, club dancing is
just where they go out
00:19:25.06\00:19:27.66
and they bump and grind.
00:19:27.70\00:19:29.80
It's a
provocative. Provocative dance.
00:19:29.83\00:19:31.90
Okay, provocative dancing.
00:19:31.93\00:19:33.84
And at that time, you
know, I was a big guy,
00:19:33.87\00:19:37.71
I worked out a lot.
00:19:37.74\00:19:39.81
Of course, this
previous accident,
00:19:39.84\00:19:41.78
I almost lost 30
pounds from the wreck.
00:19:41.81\00:19:45.58
But from break
dancing to club dancing
00:19:45.61\00:19:49.78
to doing hard bodies contest
00:19:49.82\00:19:52.15
which you would actually
basically strip in a club
00:19:52.19\00:19:57.23
just to show the
muscles and everything.
00:19:57.26\00:19:59.63
And I was
approached and they're like,
00:19:59.66\00:20:01.26
"Hey, would you like to
do a bachelorette party?"
00:20:01.30\00:20:03.97
So I was like, "Oh,
stripping bunch of...
00:20:04.00\00:20:06.10
in front of bunch of women."
00:20:06.13\00:20:07.64
Yes, I'll do that.
00:20:07.67\00:20:09.64
And we're not...
00:20:09.67\00:20:11.01
You know, I want
to be careful here
00:20:11.04\00:20:12.91
'cause we don't want to
spend too much time on this,
00:20:12.94\00:20:15.48
but we just want you to know
00:20:15.51\00:20:19.01
that, sometimes when we
see somebody and we think,
00:20:19.05\00:20:24.72
"Oh, they've had
problems in the past, "
00:20:24.75\00:20:28.06
sometimes we don't
realize how far down you can go,
00:20:28.09\00:20:31.46
and how seedy life can be?
00:20:31.49\00:20:33.53
We live in a bubble.
00:20:33.60\00:20:35.13
Don't we as Christians?
00:20:35.16\00:20:36.50
Yes, we do.
00:20:36.53\00:20:38.20
And it becomes your norm.
00:20:38.23\00:20:39.77
Yeah, so we're not
trying to give Satan any glory
00:20:39.80\00:20:45.17
because I know
where you're at today
00:20:45.21\00:20:48.01
and what you told me
about where you're at.
00:20:48.04\00:20:50.55
But life for you, you
went through all these things,
00:20:50.58\00:20:55.12
and it was just this
downward spiral, wasn't it?
00:20:55.15\00:20:59.69
Violence, rage.
00:20:59.72\00:21:03.63
Basically, could have
had attempted murder charge
00:21:03.66\00:21:06.53
and hate crime against
me but I lay off and ran,
00:21:06.56\00:21:09.66
I didn't get caught.
00:21:09.70\00:21:11.03
I'll tell you what,
00:21:11.07\00:21:12.40
God's had His hand on
you through all of this.
00:21:12.43\00:21:13.84
Yes, through
all my life. He has.
00:21:13.87\00:21:16.34
So now, you quit
drugs before you met Ceci.
00:21:16.37\00:21:21.51
Yeah, I was drinking
and smoking a little pot.
00:21:21.54\00:21:24.15
So, Ceci, tell us
about how the two of you met.
00:21:24.18\00:21:28.92
And give us a
little background on you,
00:21:28.95\00:21:30.82
did you grow up
in Christian home?
00:21:30.89\00:21:32.82
No, I did not.
00:21:32.85\00:21:34.79
My mom was raised Catholic.
00:21:34.82\00:21:36.66
Went to the Catholic school,
00:21:36.73\00:21:38.26
her father was
very devout Catholic.
00:21:38.29\00:21:41.96
I went to a Catholic church
as a young child with her.
00:21:42.00\00:21:45.40
And then she stopped,
00:21:45.43\00:21:47.04
so then, you know,
I didn't go no more,
00:21:47.07\00:21:48.74
and then that was it.
00:21:48.77\00:21:50.41
There was no more church,
00:21:50.44\00:21:52.64
and I never knew
who God was at all.
00:21:52.67\00:21:58.41
I knew a little bit about Jesus,
00:21:58.45\00:22:00.65
but not a whole lot,
00:22:00.72\00:22:02.52
didn't know that any
other denomination existed.
00:22:02.55\00:22:04.82
Okay.
00:22:04.85\00:22:06.19
All I knew was, I was Catholic.
00:22:06.22\00:22:07.76
And I guess, I was
about 20 years old,
00:22:07.79\00:22:12.79
and my mom started attending
a Seventh-day Adventist Church,
00:22:12.83\00:22:16.77
and which I thought was odd,
00:22:16.80\00:22:18.87
'cause she went to
church on a Saturday.
00:22:18.90\00:22:21.37
I was always
accustomed to Sunday.
00:22:21.40\00:22:23.24
And I thought, "Well,
you know, that's her thing.
00:22:23.27\00:22:26.27
You know, I'm fine with it."
00:22:26.31\00:22:27.64
And she would talk
to me and invite me.
00:22:27.68\00:22:29.74
And I just wasn't interested.
00:22:29.78\00:22:32.68
I didn't wanna know about God,
00:22:32.71\00:22:34.15
I was perfectly
happy with my life
00:22:34.22\00:22:36.22
the way that it was, I thought.
00:22:36.25\00:22:39.32
And I had my
first son when I was 21,
00:22:39.35\00:22:44.03
and I had my
second son when I was 23,
00:22:44.06\00:22:47.76
and I was a single mom.
00:22:47.80\00:22:50.17
And you were a single mom
with the same father for both.
00:22:50.20\00:22:52.57
Yes, both of my
boys had the same father,
00:22:52.60\00:22:55.14
but we did not marry
00:22:55.17\00:22:56.50
until after both
of them was born.
00:22:56.54\00:22:58.77
And the only
reason why I married him
00:22:58.81\00:23:00.51
is 'cause I
needed a place to stay.
00:23:00.58\00:23:02.31
Okay.
00:23:02.34\00:23:03.68
My family had left Florida,
00:23:03.75\00:23:05.21
and I was the
only one down there.
00:23:05.25\00:23:06.95
I had no one else.
00:23:07.02\00:23:08.62
And this one lady
00:23:08.65\00:23:09.98
wouldn't let us
live there together
00:23:10.02\00:23:12.15
unless we were married.
00:23:12.19\00:23:14.16
Didn't want to marry him
00:23:14.19\00:23:15.52
but I needed a
place for my boys.
00:23:15.56\00:23:17.43
So we got married.
00:23:17.46\00:23:18.79
That lasted about a month.
00:23:18.83\00:23:20.70
And I said,
"That's it, I'm leaving."
00:23:20.73\00:23:23.47
So I packed up, moved to Alabama
00:23:23.50\00:23:26.17
because this is where my
dad's side of the family is.
00:23:26.20\00:23:28.80
And I was working at
Cracker Barrel in Gardendale.
00:23:28.84\00:23:32.24
And he would come in for dinner
00:23:32.27\00:23:34.11
because I was
working the night shift,
00:23:34.18\00:23:36.14
and he was very attractive to me
00:23:36.18\00:23:39.08
but I couldn't wait on
him because I was nervous.
00:23:39.11\00:23:41.72
And you were still Mr. Muscle
00:23:41.75\00:23:43.49
'cause you
recently had an accident
00:23:43.52\00:23:45.99
that's caused you to
lose quite a bit of a weight.
00:23:46.02\00:23:49.62
So you didn't
want to wait on him
00:23:49.66\00:23:51.93
because you were attracted.
00:23:51.96\00:23:54.20
He intimidated me, yes, I
was very attracted to him.
00:23:54.23\00:23:56.26
And I just
could not wait on him.
00:23:56.30\00:23:57.63
Now tell us, I mean,
00:23:57.67\00:23:59.00
he's this six
foot five muscular guy
00:23:59.03\00:24:00.84
with long hair.
00:24:00.87\00:24:03.64
And when I first
saw him in the tattoos
00:24:03.71\00:24:06.31
and I was attracted to him.
00:24:06.34\00:24:08.08
I was living in the
world for the world.
00:24:08.11\00:24:10.25
He was worldly,
it was attracting.
00:24:10.28\00:24:13.31
And when I saw him
at the hostess stand,
00:24:13.35\00:24:16.99
my first thought was,
00:24:17.02\00:24:18.72
"That's the man
I'm gonna marry."
00:24:18.75\00:24:21.79
Didn't meet him,
couldn't meet him,
00:24:21.82\00:24:23.16
'cause I was nervous.
00:24:23.19\00:24:24.66
Coworker of mine
lived in front of him.
00:24:24.69\00:24:28.23
And she was wanting
to introduce me to him,
00:24:28.26\00:24:31.60
but she didn't
think he was my type.
00:24:31.63\00:24:34.57
She thought, I went
more with the preppy look,
00:24:34.60\00:24:38.84
and I was like,
"No, not at all."
00:24:38.87\00:24:41.48
This is the one.
00:24:41.51\00:24:42.84
Yes, the bad boy image
was what I was all about.
00:24:42.88\00:24:45.68
And you got it. I did.
00:24:45.71\00:24:47.22
You were looking for
a bad boy and you got.
00:24:47.25\00:24:49.52
Yeah, I did.
00:24:49.55\00:24:50.89
What was your
heart like at the moment?
00:24:50.92\00:24:53.05
I mean, when you saw her,
you were very attracted to her.
00:24:53.09\00:24:56.76
But was there any real emotion
00:24:56.83\00:25:02.63
or was it more of a
physical attraction?
00:25:02.66\00:25:05.87
Physical.
00:25:05.90\00:25:07.24
Just physical.
00:25:07.27\00:25:08.60
Okay.
00:25:08.64\00:25:10.01
I wasn't
looking for relationship
00:25:10.04\00:25:11.37
or anything like that.
00:25:11.41\00:25:12.74
All right.
00:25:12.77\00:25:14.11
And at that time,
I really didn't have
00:25:14.14\00:25:17.45
any feelings or compassion
00:25:17.48\00:25:20.82
other than what the
desires of my flesh,
00:25:20.85\00:25:25.22
that was it.
00:25:25.25\00:25:26.59
So you were
completely self-absorbed
00:25:26.62\00:25:28.56
is what you're saying?
00:25:28.59\00:25:29.92
All right. All right.
00:25:29.96\00:25:31.36
So you meet her, you
are moving in together,
00:25:31.39\00:25:35.23
kind of give us
a little history?
00:25:35.26\00:25:39.13
As we were friends
and she would come over,
00:25:39.17\00:25:44.01
she would cook some
nights and I was like,
00:25:44.04\00:25:46.54
"Wow, this woman
can cook really good."
00:25:46.57\00:25:49.51
And then sometimes, you
know, I gave her key to my house
00:25:49.54\00:25:52.28
so I would come home
and it would be clean.
00:25:52.31\00:25:55.55
And I was like, "Wow, you
know, this is pretty good."
00:25:55.58\00:25:58.75
But a lot of times when I
would call her, she'd be crying,
00:25:58.79\00:26:02.09
you know, she missed her kids.
00:26:02.12\00:26:03.46
Her kids were still living
with her mother in Florida.
00:26:03.53\00:26:06.59
So my thing is, "We could
kill two birds with one stone.
00:26:06.63\00:26:11.40
I could give her a place to stay
00:26:11.43\00:26:13.00
so she could have her kids.
00:26:13.03\00:26:14.57
Because her dad
didn't want her kids up here
00:26:14.60\00:26:16.91
because that's
where she was living with.
00:26:16.94\00:26:19.21
And I could have someone
there to cook and clean for me."
00:26:19.24\00:26:24.71
So I said, "Hey,
why don't we do this.
00:26:24.75\00:26:27.62
I'll move you in,
and well, we'll go down
00:26:27.65\00:26:31.09
and pick your kids up."
00:26:31.12\00:26:32.45
And we did, drove
down to West Palm Beach.
00:26:32.49\00:26:35.42
I mean, straight down,
never stopped, just to get gas,
00:26:35.46\00:26:39.09
picked up the boys,
and drove straight back.
00:26:39.13\00:26:41.63
Now how old were the boys, Ceci?
00:26:41.66\00:26:43.03
Three and five.
00:26:43.06\00:26:44.40
They were three and five.
00:26:44.43\00:26:46.10
So you told me earlier
before we came out on this set,
00:26:46.13\00:26:52.17
you never wanted children.
00:26:52.21\00:26:55.34
And if you were...
00:26:55.38\00:26:56.75
It's all about
self. It's all about self.
00:26:56.78\00:26:58.11
So now all of a sudden,
00:26:58.15\00:26:59.51
you've got this
beautiful young woman
00:26:59.55\00:27:02.25
who's a great cook
and good housekeeper.
00:27:02.28\00:27:06.69
But she's got a three-year-old,
and a five-year-old,
00:27:06.76\00:27:08.99
and you're living
with this, how did that go?
00:27:09.02\00:27:11.03
Not very good.
00:27:11.06\00:27:12.39
It may have lasted two months.
00:27:12.43\00:27:14.83
And I was like, "Oh,
I can't handle this."
00:27:14.86\00:27:18.07
And I actually wrote
her 'Dear John' letter,
00:27:18.10\00:27:21.24
and while she was at
work, and got all my stuff out.
00:27:21.27\00:27:24.87
And left her to
defend for herself,
00:27:24.91\00:27:27.11
working at
Cracker Barrel to try to,
00:27:27.18\00:27:30.55
you know, raise the
boys, and pay all the bills.
00:27:30.58\00:27:34.68
And I guess the
Lord, at that time,
00:27:34.72\00:27:40.66
like I was saying earlier,
00:27:40.69\00:27:42.02
He was just starting to
peel a layer like an onion.
00:27:42.06\00:27:46.36
Onion has a lot of layers.
00:27:46.39\00:27:48.00
So He was just peeling
the layer off my heart,
00:27:48.03\00:27:50.67
softening my heart, preparing me
00:27:50.70\00:27:52.90
for what He was going to do.
00:27:52.93\00:27:54.44
And how long did
you stay separated?
00:27:54.47\00:27:58.27
It probably wouldn't even
a month and I would feel bad.
00:27:58.31\00:28:01.48
I was like, "How
can I do this, you know?
00:28:01.51\00:28:04.65
I'm the one to put
her in this situation.
00:28:04.68\00:28:06.55
At least before,
they were with her mother
00:28:06.58\00:28:09.25
or their grandmother.
00:28:09.28\00:28:10.79
And they were
taking care of, you know."
00:28:10.82\00:28:12.62
And so I felt responsible.
00:28:12.65\00:28:15.29
So there was a
little empathy in you.
00:28:15.32\00:28:17.83
Oh, yeah. Good.
00:28:17.86\00:28:19.19
The Lord was working fast in me.
00:28:19.23\00:28:20.60
Okay.
00:28:20.63\00:28:21.96
And so for four years,
I mean, it was off and on.
00:28:22.00\00:28:25.63
I would move in, I
couldn't handle it.
00:28:25.67\00:28:28.74
And then when I was
away, I'd feel miserable.
00:28:28.77\00:28:32.21
So when you say off and
on, you were living together,
00:28:32.24\00:28:35.08
then you were separated,
living together, separated.
00:28:35.11\00:28:38.01
And were you
faithful during that time?
00:28:38.05\00:28:40.85
Oh, no.
00:28:40.92\00:28:42.28
And you, were
you married yet? No.
00:28:42.32\00:28:45.42
You weren't married.
We dated for four years.
00:28:45.45\00:28:47.86
And I was
wanting to get married,
00:28:47.89\00:28:50.43
you know, had the boys,
00:28:50.46\00:28:51.79
so I was wanting a
husband and a father figure.
00:28:51.83\00:28:55.23
And I wanted to be married,
I didn't want to be single.
00:28:55.26\00:28:59.03
So after the four
years, I finally told him.
00:28:59.07\00:29:02.04
I said, "This is it.
00:29:02.07\00:29:04.01
We're either
going to get married,
00:29:04.04\00:29:05.37
or leave me alone
00:29:05.41\00:29:06.78
so I can go on with my
life and find somebody."
00:29:06.81\00:29:10.35
So we got married.
00:29:10.38\00:29:12.35
But that didn't change anything.
00:29:12.38\00:29:15.08
So you still had this
pattern of living together,
00:29:15.12\00:29:18.42
being separated,
and being unfaithful.
00:29:18.45\00:29:22.86
Yeah.
00:29:22.89\00:29:24.23
Wow.
00:29:24.26\00:29:26.29
We had gotten married,
00:29:26.33\00:29:27.76
and the boys was
wanting to go to church,
00:29:27.80\00:29:31.17
and I had many problems.
00:29:31.20\00:29:34.17
I still had the
pornography addiction.
00:29:34.24\00:29:37.81
Matter of fact, the day...
00:29:37.84\00:29:39.17
Well, I'll back up.
00:29:39.21\00:29:40.98
So when you married
him, he was not doing drugs
00:29:41.01\00:29:43.88
but he was into pornography.
00:29:43.95\00:29:45.55
Yes. Yes.
00:29:45.58\00:29:47.02
This was so bad that
I had these bookshelves,
00:29:47.05\00:29:50.89
and I probably
had somewhere around
00:29:50.92\00:29:54.52
2,000 magazines.
00:29:54.56\00:29:56.42
Wow.
00:29:56.46\00:29:57.79
And the magazines
range from $7 to $10 a piece,
00:29:57.83\00:30:01.23
and I had them all stacked up,
00:30:01.26\00:30:02.63
like you would
have on a bookshelf,
00:30:02.66\00:30:04.80
and yeah, I had
a real bad problem.
00:30:04.83\00:30:08.14
And that was my thing.
00:30:08.17\00:30:09.54
That was my god.
00:30:09.57\00:30:12.07
There was nothing
more important than women.
00:30:12.11\00:30:14.44
Did you have any friends?
00:30:14.48\00:30:16.24
Or was this
basically just something
00:30:16.28\00:30:17.88
that you
harbored within yourself?
00:30:17.91\00:30:20.42
I had a few friends that,
00:30:20.45\00:30:21.98
you know, a few
friends that I worked out with
00:30:22.02\00:30:24.35
and stuff like that.
00:30:24.39\00:30:25.72
But I was always a loner.
00:30:25.75\00:30:28.46
What little friends I
had when we go out to a club,
00:30:28.49\00:30:31.56
you know, they
would get in some trouble,
00:30:31.59\00:30:33.26
and they needed back up,
00:30:33.29\00:30:34.63
"Hey, let's get
big Chris," you know.
00:30:34.66\00:30:36.46
So I really never
had any real friends.
00:30:36.50\00:30:40.94
So there's same pattern
every three to six months,
00:30:40.97\00:30:43.71
he's out the door, did
you know he was unfaithful
00:30:43.74\00:30:47.94
when you and he were separated?
00:30:47.98\00:30:49.68
But you kept
letting him come back home.
00:30:49.71\00:30:53.82
So how did God reach down
00:30:53.85\00:30:58.02
into this boiling
cauldron of dysfunction?
00:30:58.05\00:31:03.93
How did he first
get your attention?
00:31:03.96\00:31:05.93
I guess, He just let me,
00:31:09.03\00:31:11.10
just over the
period of years of,
00:31:11.13\00:31:13.57
you know, putting
her through all that,
00:31:13.64\00:31:15.17
He just kept
peeling the layers off.
00:31:15.20\00:31:19.11
And I finally realized that,
00:31:19.14\00:31:22.34
you know, we
got to do something.
00:31:22.38\00:31:23.98
I mean, I can't
keep living this way,
00:31:24.05\00:31:26.65
and I can't live in that way.
00:31:26.72\00:31:28.28
Something's got to give.
00:31:28.32\00:31:30.22
And then, of course, the boys,
00:31:30.29\00:31:32.32
you know, they are
wanting me to go to church.
00:31:32.35\00:31:34.39
And I told you earlier...
00:31:34.42\00:31:35.76
So who was
taking them to church?
00:31:35.79\00:31:37.26
My mother. Your mother.
00:31:37.33\00:31:38.66
Yes, they would go...
00:31:38.69\00:31:40.03
She had moved up from Florida.
00:31:40.06\00:31:41.40
Yeah, she moved up from Florida.
00:31:41.43\00:31:42.76
Was she still
Catholic at this time?
00:31:42.80\00:31:44.13
No, she was already
Seventh-day Adventist.
00:31:44.17\00:31:45.60
She was the Seventh-day
Adventist Christian, okay.
00:31:45.63\00:31:48.24
Yes, she was.
00:31:48.27\00:31:49.60
And she was living
with my oldest brother
00:31:49.64\00:31:51.27
in Center Point.
00:31:51.31\00:31:52.64
So she would pick
them up for the weekend,
00:31:52.67\00:31:55.21
and they would go
to church with her.
00:31:55.24\00:31:56.98
And then when
they would come home,
00:31:57.05\00:31:58.95
they would start asking,
00:31:58.98\00:32:00.32
"When would you all
gonna start going to church?"
00:32:00.35\00:32:01.98
Yes, okay, okay.
00:32:02.02\00:32:04.19
And it started
working on me first.
00:32:04.22\00:32:06.76
I really think the Holy Spirit
started dealing with me first
00:32:06.79\00:32:12.03
because then it got me thinking,
00:32:12.06\00:32:14.50
"If my children are coming home
00:32:14.53\00:32:16.13
and asking me,
00:32:16.16\00:32:18.00
"When are you all
gonna go to church",
00:32:18.03\00:32:20.24
there's
something not right here."
00:32:20.27\00:32:22.84
So I started telling
Chris that I wanted to start
00:32:22.87\00:32:26.17
going to church,
00:32:26.21\00:32:27.74
because I wanted
to go as a family.
00:32:27.78\00:32:29.31
I didn't feel like my children
needed to go with my mother,
00:32:29.34\00:32:32.65
they needed to go with me.
00:32:32.68\00:32:34.38
I'm their mother.
So he was Baptist.
00:32:34.42\00:32:38.95
So we attended
this one Baptist Church,
00:32:38.99\00:32:42.02
and we weren't married.
00:32:42.06\00:32:44.23
And I couldn't sit in there
00:32:44.26\00:32:46.80
because I had such
heavy conviction on me
00:32:46.83\00:32:49.70
for living in sin.
00:32:49.73\00:32:52.03
And I felt like
everybody in church knew,
00:32:52.07\00:32:55.10
even though they
didn't, and I couldn't go back.
00:32:55.14\00:32:59.27
So God was
really dealing with me,
00:32:59.31\00:33:02.21
and I was trying to ignore
Him and trying to push Him away.
00:33:02.24\00:33:06.38
But it kept getting
stronger through the boys.
00:33:06.41\00:33:09.68
You're trying to
push the Lord away?
00:33:09.72\00:33:11.05
Yes, I was
trying to push God away.
00:33:11.09\00:33:13.56
And then we finally went.
00:33:13.59\00:33:16.62
So tell us about this evangelist
00:33:16.66\00:33:18.79
that you happened to
hire for your work crew?
00:33:18.83\00:33:23.37
God works in mysterious ways.
00:33:23.40\00:33:25.57
This is a great story.
00:33:25.60\00:33:26.94
So I had my own
painting business.
00:33:26.97\00:33:29.10
And I hired an
evangelist preacher.
00:33:29.14\00:33:32.04
And, you know,
he travelled a lot.
00:33:32.07\00:33:34.31
So when he was in
town, he'd like to paint.
00:33:34.34\00:33:37.18
So I hired him.
00:33:37.25\00:33:38.58
And, of course, he's always,
00:33:38.61\00:33:39.95
"Hey, why don't
you come to church?
00:33:39.98\00:33:41.32
Why don't you come to church."
00:33:41.35\00:33:42.88
And finally, I just
got tired of everybody
00:33:42.92\00:33:45.62
asking me to church.
00:33:45.65\00:33:46.99
And I said, "Okay, I'll go."
00:33:47.06\00:33:49.22
And you know, our boys
are wanting us to go too.
00:33:49.26\00:33:52.29
Now what denomination was he?
00:33:52.33\00:33:54.10
He was a Church of God. Okay.
00:33:54.13\00:33:57.17
So Pentecostal? Yes.
00:33:57.20\00:34:00.14
So we went.
00:34:00.17\00:34:01.54
And I don't think it
was the first time we went.
00:34:01.57\00:34:04.77
No, it wasn't.
00:34:04.81\00:34:06.14
The first time we went, it
was like, "Okay, this is okay,
00:34:06.17\00:34:09.14
you know, not bad."
00:34:09.18\00:34:11.18
The second time, the
pastor started preaching,
00:34:11.21\00:34:16.48
and he would even a
quarter way through his sermon,
00:34:16.52\00:34:19.85
and it's hard to explain,
00:34:19.89\00:34:23.22
but it felt like God
reached down in my heart,
00:34:23.26\00:34:27.10
and He pulled
that stony heart out
00:34:27.13\00:34:30.07
and replaced it
with a heart of flesh.
00:34:30.10\00:34:33.74
And like I told you
earlier, no conscience,
00:34:33.77\00:34:38.84
you know, nothing
ever bothered me, no fears.
00:34:38.87\00:34:43.14
It seemed like that day,
God let me feel every pain
00:34:43.18\00:34:47.88
and suffering
that I caused people.
00:34:47.92\00:34:50.39
All the women that...
00:34:50.42\00:34:53.12
Not physically
abused, but mentally abused.
00:34:53.15\00:34:55.96
Emotionally? Emotionally.
00:34:55.99\00:34:57.96
All the men that I beat.
00:34:57.99\00:35:02.33
There was one
instance in Orlando, Florida
00:35:02.36\00:35:05.87
with three of us
guys went into a house
00:35:05.90\00:35:10.24
and we beat a man so bad.
00:35:10.31\00:35:12.57
We knocked him unconscious,
and we continue to kick him,
00:35:12.61\00:35:16.58
and his body flopped
around like a rag doll.
00:35:16.61\00:35:18.38
Oh, mercy.
00:35:18.41\00:35:20.25
I was a very violent
man, I had a bad temper.
00:35:20.32\00:35:24.35
So that day, God
let me feel everything
00:35:24.39\00:35:29.62
that I've ever done to anybody.
00:35:29.66\00:35:31.76
He let me feel it,
so that I would know.
00:35:31.79\00:35:35.00
And I started crying,
and I couldn't stop crying.
00:35:35.03\00:35:38.23
I cried for three days.
00:35:38.27\00:35:41.47
Every time, I would just
turn around and think about,
00:35:41.50\00:35:43.61
what I'd done.
00:35:43.64\00:35:44.97
So there was true remorse. Yes.
00:35:45.01\00:35:47.48
Praise God!
First time in my life.
00:35:47.51\00:35:49.48
Praise God!
00:35:49.51\00:35:51.48
And it's a feeling that
I can't explain, a relief,
00:35:51.51\00:35:56.18
it's like winding a
spring up or something.
00:35:56.22\00:35:59.19
And all of a sudden,
all that tension is gone.
00:35:59.22\00:36:01.72
Yeah. Go ahead.
00:36:01.76\00:36:03.83
Well and released? Yes.
00:36:03.86\00:36:06.03
You know, relieved and released.
00:36:06.06\00:36:08.33
You know, I'm seeing that
00:36:08.36\00:36:10.37
the clock is
beginning to wind down,
00:36:10.40\00:36:12.60
so I want to kind
of fast forward here.
00:36:12.63\00:36:15.74
God really touched
your heart and restored that
00:36:15.77\00:36:22.51
or gave you
00:36:22.54\00:36:24.25
the emotional
aspect of your life
00:36:24.28\00:36:26.38
that you've been missing.
00:36:26.41\00:36:28.38
And you all
begin going to church,
00:36:28.42\00:36:30.89
but not anything
is really changing.
00:36:30.92\00:36:33.49
You didn't really have
a relationship with him.
00:36:33.56\00:36:37.16
Tell us what the turning
point was when you finally...
00:36:37.23\00:36:41.33
That last year...
00:36:41.36\00:36:42.70
You went to
church for many years
00:36:42.73\00:36:44.33
but then you quit
going to church for a year.
00:36:44.37\00:36:46.43
Tell us about that.
00:36:46.47\00:36:47.80
A year before Chris really,
00:36:47.84\00:36:50.01
or both of us really
gave ourselves to Christ
00:36:50.04\00:36:53.51
and started to know Him
and have a relationship.
00:36:53.58\00:36:56.85
It got really bad
between the two of us.
00:36:56.88\00:37:00.22
And I really felt like
I was living with Satan.
00:37:00.25\00:37:03.89
That's how bad he had gotten.
00:37:03.92\00:37:06.86
And I was home alone one day,
00:37:06.89\00:37:09.66
and I really felt
like God was telling me,
00:37:09.69\00:37:12.49
"This is the last
time, I'm calling you.
00:37:12.53\00:37:15.20
I'm not gonna call you no more."
00:37:15.23\00:37:17.27
Calling you where?
00:37:17.30\00:37:19.07
He was dealing with
me about the Sabbath
00:37:19.10\00:37:21.20
for many years prior.
00:37:21.24\00:37:22.94
And I kept pushing
Him away and ignoring Him.
00:37:22.97\00:37:25.91
And I wouldn't make any changes.
00:37:25.94\00:37:28.18
I wanted to do
what he wanted to do,
00:37:28.21\00:37:31.68
not what God wanted me to do.
00:37:31.71\00:37:34.42
And I really
felt that in my heart
00:37:34.45\00:37:37.12
that God was saying,
"I'm not calling you no more."
00:37:37.19\00:37:40.96
Just start
keeping the Sabbath...
00:37:40.99\00:37:42.32
So you're not even
been in church for a year,
00:37:42.36\00:37:43.73
and now He is calling you.
00:37:43.76\00:37:45.09
And I was like, "Okay."
00:37:45.13\00:37:46.83
That got my attention.
00:37:46.90\00:37:48.73
And I said, "Okay,
Lord, you've got my attention.
00:37:48.76\00:37:51.73
I'm gonna start
keeping the Sabbath.
00:37:51.77\00:37:54.14
If this is what
You want me to do
00:37:54.17\00:37:55.67
and this is the
right thing to do,
00:37:55.70\00:37:57.34
this is what I'm
gonna start doing
00:37:57.41\00:37:59.01
whether I've to do this alone."
00:37:59.04\00:38:01.91
I released
Chris into God's hands
00:38:01.94\00:38:07.15
because it wasn't my husband.
00:38:07.22\00:38:09.65
Yeah.
00:38:09.68\00:38:13.02
He was someone
you were married to,
00:38:13.05\00:38:14.59
he just wasn't being a husband.
00:38:14.62\00:38:16.59
Yes, yes.
00:38:16.62\00:38:17.96
And I asked God
for a new husband,
00:38:17.99\00:38:20.83
and I really thought that
we were gonna get divorced.
00:38:20.90\00:38:25.10
And then, God was
gonna send me someone
00:38:25.13\00:38:28.40
that was very godly and
loving affectionate man.
00:38:28.44\00:38:32.57
Little did I know, he
did send me a new man,
00:38:32.61\00:38:37.85
but it was in the same body.
00:38:37.88\00:38:40.22
Yeah.
00:38:40.25\00:38:42.62
When you were praying to God,
you were very specific about
00:38:42.65\00:38:46.25
what you wanted in
a man, in a husband?
00:38:46.29\00:38:47.69
Yes, I was. Yes.
00:38:47.72\00:38:49.76
The first and most
important thing to me
00:38:49.79\00:38:52.46
was that he had
to be a man of God.
00:38:52.49\00:38:54.96
And God had to come first
in his life, no matter what.
00:38:55.00\00:38:59.70
And I needed to
come second, not last.
00:38:59.73\00:39:03.81
You know, some people are
intimidated by that thought
00:39:03.84\00:39:07.58
that their spouse
would love the Lord more.
00:39:07.61\00:39:10.05
Yes, they are.
00:39:10.08\00:39:11.41
But we always tell
people, if you look like,
00:39:11.45\00:39:13.65
this is the
husband and the wife,
00:39:13.72\00:39:15.05
you get married
and you're bound.
00:39:15.08\00:39:16.82
But if Jesus is up
here or God's up there,
00:39:16.89\00:39:19.22
the closer you get to
the Lord, what's happening?
00:39:19.25\00:39:22.66
The closer you
become with your spouse.
00:39:22.69\00:39:24.36
Yeah, yeah.
00:39:24.39\00:39:26.06
But he comes home
00:39:26.09\00:39:28.00
and you pretty
much tell him off.
00:39:28.03\00:39:29.53
Yeah, I had had my fulfillment.
00:39:29.56\00:39:31.07
For 17 years, I went through
this with him, the leaving,
00:39:31.10\00:39:35.07
the coming home, the cheating,
the pornography off and on,
00:39:35.10\00:39:40.38
and I couldn't take it no more.
00:39:40.41\00:39:42.08
And I had done my research,
00:39:42.11\00:39:44.15
I was going to
move back to Florida.
00:39:44.18\00:39:45.51
I knew exactly how
much money I needed.
00:39:45.55\00:39:47.72
And when he came home, I
told him, one Friday came,
00:39:47.75\00:39:50.12
"I wanted this amount
of money 'cause I'm going.
00:39:50.19\00:39:51.89
I can't do this no more.
00:39:51.92\00:39:53.69
I'm mentally worn
out and exhausted,
00:39:53.76\00:39:57.06
and I can't do this.
00:39:57.13\00:39:58.83
You know, you don't
love me and I know this.
00:39:58.86\00:40:02.03
And I want to be loved."
00:40:02.06\00:40:04.37
I gave her a
lot of mental abuse.
00:40:04.40\00:40:07.90
Yes, it was all mental.
00:40:07.94\00:40:09.60
Because I would tell
her, you know, it was honest.
00:40:09.64\00:40:11.94
You know, "The only
reason why I married you
00:40:11.97\00:40:13.68
is because I felt sorry for you.
00:40:13.71\00:40:17.15
Yeah, and that
was reason why I did."
00:40:17.18\00:40:20.45
And this is the changing point
in my relationship with her.
00:40:20.52\00:40:26.02
Almost two years ago, I
was driving down the road
00:40:26.05\00:40:29.76
in my work van,
00:40:29.79\00:40:31.49
and I
approached an intersection.
00:40:31.53\00:40:34.66
I don't have to stop,
I'm on the main highway.
00:40:34.70\00:40:37.57
And I see the
vehicle sitting on the road
00:40:37.60\00:40:41.67
waiting for me to come by.
00:40:41.70\00:40:43.51
And I get probably 20
feet from the vehicle,
00:40:43.54\00:40:49.44
and they decided to pulling out,
00:40:49.48\00:40:50.88
and me running about
50, 55 miles an hour.
00:40:50.95\00:40:53.35
I've had the
very same experience.
00:40:53.42\00:40:55.18
Hit me right
behind the gas tank,
00:40:55.22\00:40:57.29
did the pit
maneuver, spun me around,
00:40:57.32\00:41:00.76
and I went across on
the other side of the road,
00:41:00.79\00:41:03.19
and I went off a ravine.
00:41:03.22\00:41:04.89
And the van
somersaulted three times.
00:41:04.93\00:41:08.46
The first time, it
landed, it landed on the cab
00:41:08.50\00:41:12.33
above my head,
00:41:12.37\00:41:13.77
8000 pounds came
down on top of my head.
00:41:13.84\00:41:17.61
You've got a nice scar.
00:41:17.64\00:41:18.97
Busted my head to my skull.
00:41:19.01\00:41:22.34
After, you
know, my teeth forward
00:41:22.38\00:41:25.05
was compression
fractured, almost splintering.
00:41:25.08\00:41:30.19
Got back from the hospital,
lost hearing in this ear
00:41:30.22\00:41:33.05
for over a month and
a half, couldn't sleep.
00:41:33.09\00:41:36.39
I've always been
the type of person,
00:41:36.42\00:41:38.16
as soon as I lay
my head down at night,
00:41:38.19\00:41:39.76
I'm out till the alarm goes off.
00:41:39.79\00:41:42.56
I couldn't sleep
for over a month.
00:41:42.60\00:41:44.67
I mean, I may nod off
00:41:44.70\00:41:46.74
during the day
for a few minutes,
00:41:46.77\00:41:48.84
and I was awake.
00:41:48.87\00:41:50.94
But I stayed up and I
studied and I watched seminars
00:41:50.97\00:41:54.91
for that month and
it made me realized...
00:41:54.94\00:41:56.31
You studied what?
00:41:56.34\00:41:57.95
The Bible. You
studied the Bible!
00:41:57.98\00:42:01.02
And that would
draw me closer to Him,
00:42:01.05\00:42:05.45
which drew me closer to her.
00:42:05.49\00:42:07.26
Amen!
00:42:07.39\00:42:08.72
So that made my relationship
with her and the Lord, just...
00:42:08.76\00:42:14.86
There's not any words for it.
00:42:14.90\00:42:16.46
So you go through the accident
00:42:16.50\00:42:18.47
then there just
happened to be a Bible there.
00:42:18.50\00:42:20.57
And then you were drawn
00:42:20.64\00:42:21.97
to the Bible to the Word of God?
00:42:22.00\00:42:23.71
No, I actually
had been studying.
00:42:23.74\00:42:25.71
Okay, you had before? Yes.
00:42:25.74\00:42:27.94
This is right before...
00:42:27.98\00:42:29.31
Now you just
have the time? Yeah.
00:42:29.34\00:42:30.68
Yeah, now I had a lot of
time because I couldn't sleep.
00:42:30.71\00:42:33.15
So that changed my relationship
00:42:33.18\00:42:35.62
because I had to realize that,
00:42:35.65\00:42:39.19
"Hey, I could have been
going at any time and left her
00:42:39.22\00:42:42.79
with all those
bills in the company."
00:42:42.82\00:42:44.33
Chris, hand me
one of your folders
00:42:44.36\00:42:45.69
'cause I just...
00:42:45.73\00:42:47.10
We don't have time.
00:42:47.13\00:42:48.60
I want to get into the
God part of all of this,
00:42:48.63\00:42:51.03
what God has done in your life.
00:42:51.07\00:42:52.87
But I just want to show you
at home, when he says study,
00:42:52.90\00:42:56.81
he doesn't have a
laptop or a Bible software.
00:42:56.84\00:43:02.31
But what he does have
is a Strongest Concordance,
00:43:02.34\00:43:05.05
and he goes through in
topically like Judgment Day,
00:43:05.08\00:43:08.52
the Second Coming of Christ,
00:43:08.55\00:43:11.12
Are the
Commandment still binding,
00:43:11.15\00:43:13.29
the Mark of the Beast.
00:43:13.36\00:43:14.82
He looks up
every scripture on it,
00:43:14.86\00:43:17.69
writes out these scriptures.
00:43:17.73\00:43:19.93
And now tell us,
00:43:20.00\00:43:22.30
when did you start going
00:43:22.33\00:43:25.03
to the
Seventh-day Adventist Church?
00:43:25.07\00:43:26.77
Because you are
now a baptized member,
00:43:26.84\00:43:29.67
you're a
Seventh-day Adventist Christian.
00:43:29.70\00:43:33.17
And tell us about
how God got you to that
00:43:33.21\00:43:36.78
and what He's
doing in your life now?
00:43:36.85\00:43:39.71
After I had done all the study
and found the true Word of God,
00:43:39.75\00:43:45.12
I got the Amazing Facts
brochures from her mother
00:43:45.15\00:43:49.26
because she went
00:43:49.29\00:43:50.63
to the
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
00:43:50.66\00:43:52.26
And I looked up,
compared the difference,
00:43:52.29\00:43:54.50
I was like, "Wow!
00:43:54.53\00:43:55.86
This church preaches
what comes from the Bible."
00:43:55.90\00:43:58.63
Well, give me a high five here
00:43:58.67\00:44:00.04
because that's
exactly the experience.
00:44:00.07\00:44:02.04
God took me through it
first before I knew what this...
00:44:02.07\00:44:05.87
It's what the Adventist taught.
00:44:05.91\00:44:08.31
And then you're really convinced
00:44:08.34\00:44:10.15
'cause you've been
in the Word for yourself
00:44:10.18\00:44:11.88
and you go on, "Wow!
00:44:11.91\00:44:13.42
This church teaches all
these wonderful Bible truths."
00:44:13.45\00:44:17.82
And I got mad at
the other churches,
00:44:17.85\00:44:19.95
you know, 'cause they were like,
00:44:19.99\00:44:21.32
you know, it was wrong.
00:44:21.36\00:44:23.16
But once I've figured the truth,
00:44:23.19\00:44:24.96
I compared it with
00:44:24.99\00:44:26.33
what the Seventh-day
Adventists were teaching,
00:44:26.36\00:44:28.10
and I'm like,
00:44:28.13\00:44:29.46
"Well, they're
teaching from the Word of God."
00:44:29.50\00:44:30.90
Amen.
00:44:30.97\00:44:32.30
I mean, I spent four years,
00:44:32.33\00:44:36.04
seven days a week
anywhere from an hour
00:44:36.07\00:44:38.77
to three hours a
day studying the Bible,
00:44:38.81\00:44:41.98
the history of the
church and all this.
00:44:42.01\00:44:44.05
Glory to God!
00:44:44.08\00:44:45.61
And every time I
could get a chance,
00:44:45.65\00:44:48.05
I'll study to know the truth.
00:44:48.08\00:44:49.82
Okay.
00:44:49.85\00:44:51.19
What year were you all baptized?
00:44:51.22\00:44:53.79
It was 2007, I think.
00:44:53.86\00:44:55.56
Well, in 2007
00:44:55.59\00:44:58.23
into the
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
00:44:58.26\00:45:01.06
And what's God
doing with you now?
00:45:01.10\00:45:04.10
Wow!
00:45:04.17\00:45:05.87
I've been an ordained minister.
00:45:05.90\00:45:09.40
I give Bible Studies
whether on my job site,
00:45:09.44\00:45:12.07
at people's homes.
00:45:12.11\00:45:15.38
So what is your
business right now?
00:45:15.41\00:45:17.55
I'm in the
construction, I trim houses
00:45:17.58\00:45:20.55
and build custom
cabinets and so forth.
00:45:20.62\00:45:23.82
And I'm...
00:45:23.89\00:45:25.55
I actually just started
in November this business,
00:45:25.59\00:45:30.16
and started from scratch.
00:45:30.23\00:45:32.56
I have two employees.
00:45:32.59\00:45:33.93
One was my nephew,
00:45:34.00\00:45:35.33
and the young man that
we brought into our home.
00:45:35.36\00:45:38.77
He got off pills,
give his life to Christ.
00:45:38.80\00:45:43.71
So when he came to your
home, he and his wife...
00:45:43.74\00:45:47.68
They weren't married
00:45:47.71\00:45:49.04
and actually we
brought her in first.
00:45:49.08\00:45:50.45
We put them in different rooms.
00:45:50.48\00:45:51.81
Yeah, I brought her in first.
00:45:51.85\00:45:54.12
Where they both on
the pills? Yes, they were.
00:45:54.15\00:45:56.55
And also they were drug addicts
when they first came to you.
00:45:56.58\00:45:58.72
Yes, and she was wanting
to get clean and so was he.
00:45:58.75\00:46:02.42
And she called me one
day, and she was like,
00:46:02.46\00:46:06.03
"Is there any way I
could come and stay with you
00:46:06.06\00:46:07.83
so I could get clean?"
00:46:07.86\00:46:09.20
Wow. So I said, "Yes.
00:46:09.23\00:46:11.20
You're more than welcome to."
00:46:11.23\00:46:12.80
So we brought her in
00:46:12.83\00:46:14.24
and then the
situation that her boyfriend,
00:46:14.27\00:46:16.64
which is now her
husband, was in was not good.
00:46:16.71\00:46:20.08
Because he was
trying to get clean.
00:46:20.11\00:46:22.08
So I talked to Chris,
and I really felt like,
00:46:22.11\00:46:26.21
"This is what we needed to do."
00:46:26.25\00:46:28.15
And I sat him down,
and I explained to him
00:46:28.18\00:46:30.12
because you're not married,
00:46:30.19\00:46:31.52
I cannot allow you
all to sleep together
00:46:31.55\00:46:34.06
or sleep in the same room.
00:46:34.09\00:46:36.49
So the way that my house is,
00:46:36.52\00:46:38.56
her bedroom was
up there by ours,
00:46:38.59\00:46:40.96
and he was all the way at
the other end of the house,
00:46:41.00\00:46:43.30
another room.
00:46:43.37\00:46:45.30
So they got off the drugs,
00:46:45.33\00:46:48.77
and Chris married them.
00:46:48.80\00:46:51.37
And we started having
Bible studies with them,
00:46:51.41\00:46:53.48
and they started
coming to church with us,
00:46:53.51\00:46:56.41
and they wanted to get baptized.
00:46:56.44\00:46:58.78
So they asked
Chris to baptize them.
00:46:58.81\00:47:01.92
Praise God!
00:47:01.95\00:47:03.42
So you are...
00:47:03.49\00:47:04.92
Actually, the way we even got
to know about your testimony,
00:47:04.95\00:47:10.83
Chris and Ceci,
00:47:10.86\00:47:12.19
is that they had
spoken at the Decatur,
00:47:12.23\00:47:15.33
Alabama Church
where Mollie Steenson,
00:47:15.36\00:47:18.53
my dear, dear friend
attends, and she said,
00:47:18.57\00:47:21.40
"You guys got
to have them here."
00:47:21.44\00:47:23.44
Because God is doing...
00:47:23.51\00:47:27.88
He has done
00:47:27.91\00:47:29.24
such an incredible
transformation in you.
00:47:29.28\00:47:33.52
And you know,
00:47:33.55\00:47:37.99
when we were
reading Ecclesiastes 3:11
00:47:38.02\00:47:41.06
that God has put
eternity in our hearts,
00:47:41.09\00:47:44.13
there's like a
God-shaped hole in our heart.
00:47:44.16\00:47:47.30
You tried to stuff it
with drugs, pills, and alcohol,
00:47:47.33\00:47:52.23
and illicit sex, and
all kinds of "adventures",
00:47:52.27\00:47:58.94
and it was never
satisfying to you.
00:47:58.97\00:48:02.31
Now that you know the Lord,
00:48:02.34\00:48:05.08
how would you
compare your life now
00:48:05.11\00:48:07.42
to what you were living before?
00:48:07.45\00:48:09.75
Really, there's no comparison.
00:48:09.78\00:48:12.42
My life now...
00:48:12.45\00:48:14.09
You know, even though
we still have struggles,
00:48:14.16\00:48:17.43
I'm always happy, I'm joyful
no matter of the struggles,
00:48:17.46\00:48:21.70
I still keep the joy
of the Lord in my heart.
00:48:21.73\00:48:25.00
Amen.
00:48:25.03\00:48:26.37
One thing that you said
that caught my attention,
00:48:26.40\00:48:28.17
you said you've
always liked to learn.
00:48:28.20\00:48:31.14
And I think there's a certain...
00:48:31.17\00:48:32.84
The way our DNA is put together.
00:48:32.87\00:48:36.11
You give a person enough time
00:48:36.14\00:48:38.65
that likes to learn,
truth becomes important.
00:48:38.68\00:48:43.62
And with you, it's
just a matter of time,
00:48:43.69\00:48:47.16
this was going to
happen some way or the other.
00:48:47.19\00:48:49.59
It depends about what we choose
00:48:49.62\00:48:51.49
and how we choose
to cooperate with that.
00:48:51.53\00:48:54.43
And apparently,
00:48:54.46\00:48:55.80
the circumstances that
you were allowed to be in,
00:48:55.83\00:49:00.04
the walls at a certain place
00:49:00.07\00:49:01.74
and then the ability to
get over the walls took place.
00:49:01.77\00:49:05.24
And then this is a
true transformation.
00:49:05.27\00:49:08.14
And if you'd be around
both of you for a few minutes,
00:49:08.18\00:49:11.78
there is joy in your
heart, which is special.
00:49:11.81\00:49:16.82
There's a lot of
people that could be happy.
00:49:16.89\00:49:19.39
That's right. But
to have joy is special.
00:49:19.42\00:49:21.42
Yeah.
00:49:21.46\00:49:22.79
But I want to just ask
one very difficult question.
00:49:22.82\00:49:28.03
God has done
such an amazing work
00:49:28.06\00:49:30.90
in both of your lives.
00:49:30.97\00:49:33.27
But there were two
little boys in your life
00:49:33.34\00:49:38.07
that grew up with
you being there and gone,
00:49:38.11\00:49:42.31
being there and gone,
this repetitive pattern.
00:49:42.34\00:49:47.68
What is your relationship
like with your stepsons?
00:49:47.72\00:49:50.99
Okay.
00:49:51.02\00:49:52.35
My oldest, Michael,
00:49:52.39\00:49:54.16
27, he's been working with me
00:49:54.19\00:49:57.33
since I was 16.
00:49:57.36\00:49:58.69
He was 16. Or he was 16.
00:49:58.73\00:50:01.00
I've taught him how to lay tile,
00:50:01.03\00:50:02.63
plum, wiring,
frame, trim, paint.
00:50:02.66\00:50:07.77
So he's very knowledgeable.
00:50:07.80\00:50:10.31
Matter of fact, he just left me
00:50:10.34\00:50:12.07
and started his own
business in Tennessee.
00:50:12.11\00:50:16.18
Our relationship is very well.
00:50:16.21\00:50:19.48
Him and Seth are two
different young men, you know.
00:50:19.51\00:50:23.39
Okay, you said the older of
the two, you guys are close.
00:50:23.42\00:50:26.62
Yes.
00:50:26.65\00:50:27.99
And he obviously
has seen this change.
00:50:28.02\00:50:30.13
Oh, yeah.
00:50:30.16\00:50:31.49
The younger son,
who's more of a momma's boy,
00:50:31.53\00:50:36.03
he's kind of put up a wall
00:50:36.06\00:50:38.57
that still needs
to come down, right?
00:50:38.60\00:50:41.00
Yeah.
00:50:41.04\00:50:42.37
When I had the accident,
00:50:42.40\00:50:43.74
he was the first
one to get there.
00:50:43.81\00:50:45.44
So I know he loves me. But
he's stand offish, you know.
00:50:45.47\00:50:51.98
In some people, it's hard...
00:50:52.01\00:50:55.35
He's trying to find
that basis for trust.
00:50:55.38\00:50:57.75
Yeah, it takes time.
00:50:57.79\00:50:59.12
Yeah, it's gonna
take some consistency.
00:50:59.15\00:51:01.49
You know, you've
heard this story probably.
00:51:01.52\00:51:05.26
If you come home and
kick the dog every night
00:51:05.29\00:51:09.50
that you walk in the door,
the dog knows what to expect.
00:51:09.53\00:51:13.37
If you come home in
one night, you love it
00:51:13.44\00:51:16.37
and one night, you kick it,
00:51:16.40\00:51:18.44
then the dog
gets totally confused,
00:51:18.47\00:51:22.04
and that's what happens
with children is walls go up,
00:51:22.08\00:51:25.88
they're looking for...
00:51:25.91\00:51:27.25
Because trust is
built on consistency.
00:51:27.32\00:51:31.75
Yes.
00:51:31.79\00:51:33.12
A dog if you kick it every night
00:51:33.15\00:51:34.49
can trust you're gonna kick it,
or you're gonna be sweet to it.
00:51:34.52\00:51:37.89
So that's what's going on.
00:51:37.93\00:51:39.89
But I know that
God is going to heal.
00:51:39.93\00:51:42.80
You are available,
00:51:42.83\00:51:44.93
your pastor has asked
you to start preaching
00:51:44.97\00:51:47.84
in various places,
00:51:47.87\00:51:49.20
and you're also available
to give your testimony.
00:51:49.24\00:51:52.24
How can people
get in touch with you
00:51:52.27\00:51:55.21
if they would like you
to come to their church?
00:51:55.24\00:51:57.85
We're just hitting
the highlights of it here,
00:51:57.88\00:52:00.82
but how can they
get in touch with you?
00:52:00.85\00:52:02.45
They can get to me
through my email address
00:52:02.48\00:52:07.49
which is Mitchell7247@gmail.com.
00:52:07.56\00:52:13.19
And that's Mitchell,
00:52:13.23\00:52:14.70
M- I-T-C-H-E-L-L 7247@gmail.com.
00:52:14.73\00:52:22.54
Yes, ma'am. All right.
00:52:22.57\00:52:24.24
Well, we're going to
come back in just a moment
00:52:24.31\00:52:26.91
for a closing thought.
00:52:26.98\00:52:28.71
But right now,
00:52:28.74\00:52:30.08
we've got to go
to our news break.
00:52:30.15\00:52:32.01