As you're well aware, 00:00:01.56\00:00:02.90 we're living in unprecedented times. 00:00:02.93\00:00:05.63 Join us now for today's special program. 00:00:05.67\00:00:08.47 I want to spend my life 00:00:12.71\00:00:18.21 Mending broken people 00:00:18.25\00:00:23.35 I want to spend my life 00:00:23.39\00:00:29.32 Removing pain 00:00:29.36\00:00:34.20 Lord, let my words 00:00:34.23\00:00:39.70 Heal a heart that hurts 00:00:39.73\00:00:44.57 I want to spend my life 00:00:44.61\00:00:50.25 Mending broken people 00:00:50.28\00:00:55.38 I want to spend my life 00:00:55.42\00:01:00.92 Mending broken people 00:01:00.96\00:01:04.73 Hello, and welcome to 3ABN Today. 00:01:15.24\00:01:18.34 We want to thank each and every one of you 00:01:18.37\00:01:19.74 for joining us. 00:01:19.77\00:01:21.11 This is indeed 00:01:21.14\00:01:22.48 the Three Angels Broadcasting Network 00:01:22.51\00:01:24.05 where the three angels' messages 00:01:24.08\00:01:25.41 are going all around the world. 00:01:25.45\00:01:26.92 We believe in that everlasting gospel, 00:01:26.95\00:01:29.75 that plan of salvation and with each 00:01:29.78\00:01:31.85 and every program, it's our aim. 00:01:31.89\00:01:33.79 it's our goal to share 00:01:33.82\00:01:35.29 the good news of Jesus Christ 00:01:35.32\00:01:37.06 in every which way that we can 00:01:37.09\00:01:38.49 with each and every one of you, 00:01:38.53\00:01:40.30 wherever you are around the world. 00:01:40.33\00:01:41.66 So thank you for joining us today. 00:01:41.70\00:01:43.03 Thank you for your continual love, 00:01:43.06\00:01:45.03 prayers and support of 3ABN. 00:01:45.07\00:01:47.40 Because without you, we wouldn't be here today 00:01:47.44\00:01:49.34 to be able to share the good news of Jesus. 00:01:49.37\00:01:51.81 So praise the Lord. 00:01:51.84\00:01:53.44 Today we have a very, very special program 00:01:53.48\00:01:57.41 and it's, I'm excited about it 00:01:57.45\00:01:59.25 because we're going to be talking today about 00:01:59.28\00:02:01.18 a story of redemption. 00:02:01.22\00:02:04.25 We're going to be talking about 00:02:04.29\00:02:05.62 a story of transformation, a story of restoration. 00:02:05.65\00:02:09.59 And I have my good friend here, Brother Steve Sosa. 00:02:09.62\00:02:12.83 How are you, Brother? I'm good. 00:02:12.86\00:02:14.20 Thank you. Honor being here. 00:02:14.23\00:02:16.67 Amen. Praise the Lord. 00:02:16.70\00:02:18.03 Brother, we're thrilled to have you 00:02:18.07\00:02:19.60 and I know that Steve has a powerful, powerful story 00:02:19.63\00:02:23.64 that he's going to be sharing with us today 00:02:23.67\00:02:25.57 in the time that we have. 00:02:25.61\00:02:27.11 But before we get into his story, 00:02:27.14\00:02:30.41 we're going to have a very special song 00:02:30.45\00:02:31.95 from my good friend, Miss ET Everett, 00:02:31.98\00:02:34.38 and she's going to be playing a song entitled, 00:02:34.42\00:02:37.19 "Open the Eyes of My Heart." 00:02:37.22\00:02:39.82 Here she is. 00:02:39.85\00:02:41.19 Praise the Lord. 00:07:54.10\00:07:55.44 Thank you so much, ET, for that beautiful song, 00:07:55.47\00:07:57.91 such a blessing, 00:07:57.94\00:07:59.27 Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord. 00:07:59.31\00:08:01.28 And that's essentially what we're going to be 00:08:01.31\00:08:02.64 talking about today of how God opened the eyes 00:08:02.68\00:08:06.38 of my guest's heart, Steve Sosa. 00:08:06.41\00:08:09.25 It's a blessing to have you, Brother. 00:08:09.28\00:08:10.62 How are you? Good. Thank you. 00:08:10.65\00:08:11.99 It's an honor to be here again. Praise the Lord. 00:08:12.02\00:08:13.56 Praise the Lord. 00:08:13.59\00:08:14.92 So, Steve, tell us a little bit about yourself? 00:08:14.96\00:08:16.29 We're gonna get into your story in just a moment, 00:08:16.32\00:08:18.26 powerful story. 00:08:18.29\00:08:19.63 I had an opportunity to read about it. 00:08:19.66\00:08:21.56 But tell us a little bit about who you are, 00:08:21.60\00:08:23.37 where you're from, what you do today. 00:08:23.40\00:08:26.23 I'm from Salinas, California. 00:08:26.27\00:08:29.24 I was born in, I was raised in Castroville, 00:08:29.27\00:08:32.31 but I serve in the Salinas SDA church 00:08:32.34\00:08:38.88 as a head deacon, 00:08:38.91\00:08:40.78 and I also do the prayer ministry. 00:08:40.82\00:08:43.85 Right. 00:08:43.89\00:08:45.22 And you, they just recently made me 00:08:45.25\00:08:47.09 the youth director too. 00:08:47.12\00:08:48.89 Oh, nice. Yes. 00:08:48.92\00:08:50.26 So... Praise the Lord. 00:08:50.29\00:08:51.63 They're just coming out. Praise the Lord. 00:08:51.66\00:08:53.19 Yeah. Amen. 00:08:53.23\00:08:54.56 So it sounds like you're very church grounded. 00:08:54.60\00:08:56.23 I am. I'm there. 00:08:56.26\00:08:57.60 But you haven't always been that way which is kind of... 00:08:57.63\00:08:59.23 I was not. I was not. That's right. 00:08:59.27\00:09:02.17 I was the one walking away like, 00:09:02.20\00:09:04.24 oh, there's those church people, 00:09:04.27\00:09:05.61 you know, 00:09:05.64\00:09:06.98 that's where I was before, you know. 00:09:07.01\00:09:08.34 Praise the Lord. 00:09:08.38\00:09:09.71 But we're gonna get into the details of your story 00:09:09.74\00:09:11.08 because I just know that 00:09:11.11\00:09:12.45 this story is going to bless someone. 00:09:12.48\00:09:13.82 In fact, there may be 00:09:13.85\00:09:15.18 someone out watching this right now 00:09:15.22\00:09:16.55 wherever you are, and I believe this story 00:09:16.58\00:09:18.69 is going to speak to your heart or you know someone 00:09:18.72\00:09:20.96 who can relate to this man story. 00:09:20.99\00:09:23.12 Steve, tell us a little bit 00:09:23.16\00:09:24.69 about your background growing up as a kid, 00:09:24.73\00:09:28.36 as a youth, as a young man. 00:09:28.40\00:09:30.43 Were you a religious person? 00:09:30.47\00:09:32.43 Because there was a major turning point in your life 00:09:32.47\00:09:36.04 which we're going to talk about, 00:09:36.07\00:09:37.61 about an alcohol addiction, 00:09:37.64\00:09:38.97 a drug addiction that the Lord delivered you from. 00:09:39.01\00:09:41.98 But it hasn't always been like that. 00:09:42.01\00:09:43.35 What kind of, tell us a little bit about 00:09:43.38\00:09:44.91 who the Steve was before your kind of 00:09:44.95\00:09:48.68 downward slope into addiction. 00:09:48.72\00:09:51.49 Well, growing up in Castroville, 00:09:51.52\00:09:54.32 my mom is always working. 00:09:54.36\00:09:57.46 So, as I started getting older, 00:09:57.49\00:09:59.96 well, let's start off with this. 00:10:00.00\00:10:02.26 So I did go to church and stuff like that. 00:10:02.30\00:10:04.07 As a young kid, I went for about a year. 00:10:04.10\00:10:06.70 And that's how, if I can share that dream. 00:10:06.74\00:10:10.11 Sure. Yeah, go ahead. 00:10:10.14\00:10:11.47 The dream where I had that first dream 00:10:11.51\00:10:12.97 about Jesus coming down on a stairway 00:10:13.01\00:10:16.88 when I was five on a cloud, and He comes down 00:10:16.91\00:10:22.88 and we see Jesus coming down, 00:10:22.92\00:10:24.42 and there were just kids in the yard and we're, 00:10:24.45\00:10:27.59 I grabbed His hand, He comes down, 00:10:27.62\00:10:28.99 we're all jumping up and down. 00:10:29.02\00:10:30.36 Jesus is here. Jesus is here. 00:10:30.39\00:10:33.56 And I remember that like it was yesterday. 00:10:33.60\00:10:35.66 Right. 00:10:35.70\00:10:37.03 And that was when you were, what? 00:10:37.07\00:10:38.40 Five years old, right? At five years old. 00:10:38.43\00:10:39.77 Very vivid memory. Okay. Yeah. 00:10:39.80\00:10:41.80 And so anyways, growing up, my mother always worked. 00:10:41.84\00:10:44.77 There were eight of us. 00:10:44.81\00:10:47.14 Four of them were out on their own. 00:10:47.18\00:10:49.61 Then I have the four blood brothers, 00:10:49.64\00:10:51.91 twin brother, another brother and sister, 00:10:51.95\00:10:55.22 Joe, Ramona and Ted. 00:10:55.25\00:10:57.29 But we grew up together in that house. 00:10:57.32\00:11:00.46 But with some my sister's kids and stuff, 00:11:00.49\00:11:02.76 but like I said she always work. 00:11:02.79\00:11:05.73 My dad left me when we were two. 00:11:05.76\00:11:09.53 And so, as I grew up, I got older. 00:11:09.56\00:11:14.74 Looking for friends, you know, 00:11:14.77\00:11:16.10 looking for a dad figure, you know? 00:11:16.14\00:11:17.64 That's right. 00:11:17.67\00:11:19.74 So finding out that my friends are out on the street there, 00:11:19.77\00:11:22.64 you know what I mean? 00:11:22.68\00:11:24.01 And that's how the addiction got started, you know. 00:11:24.05\00:11:26.21 So that was a major influence. 00:11:26.25\00:11:27.58 So what age were you probably when this, 00:11:27.62\00:11:30.02 this negative influence came into your life 00:11:30.05\00:11:32.39 and begin to spark that addictive trait within you? 00:11:32.42\00:11:37.16 It was probably around 14. Okay. 00:11:37.19\00:11:38.93 So young, that's a young age. 00:11:38.96\00:11:40.30 I was smoking cigarettes. Okay. 00:11:40.33\00:11:42.46 People, you know, let's go smoke some weed. 00:11:42.50\00:11:45.07 All right, sure. And that's where it started. 00:11:45.10\00:11:48.17 And then the drinking started. 00:11:48.20\00:11:51.91 And then but I was working at a young age too. 00:11:51.94\00:11:53.98 I also quit school. 00:11:54.01\00:11:56.24 I know that Ellen G. White was, 00:11:56.28\00:11:59.05 she was at a young age and didn't go to school. 00:11:59.08\00:12:01.42 So I didn't get, I didn't get no education. 00:12:01.45\00:12:02.85 I'm not an educated man. 00:12:02.88\00:12:04.62 I quit to go to work because we were very poor. 00:12:04.65\00:12:07.89 You know, so and another dream I had, 00:12:07.92\00:12:10.99 another dream 00:12:11.03\00:12:12.36 but something else happened to me, 00:12:12.39\00:12:14.16 this part of testimony, so wanted to share with it. 00:12:14.20\00:12:16.63 Absolutely. 00:12:16.67\00:12:18.00 So when I was like 12, right, in this, I could look back 00:12:18.03\00:12:21.34 at how God was always there 00:12:21.37\00:12:23.37 when I thought God wasn't there. 00:12:23.41\00:12:24.94 You know, like I was invincible. 00:12:24.97\00:12:26.57 I'm invincible. 00:12:26.61\00:12:28.14 I can go through anything, 00:12:28.18\00:12:29.64 knowing that that's not the truth at all 00:12:29.68\00:12:31.68 when it was God, He was always there. 00:12:31.71\00:12:33.85 But anyway, so my sister was, I was at her house, 00:12:33.88\00:12:36.25 I'm riding down the bike, 00:12:36.28\00:12:37.62 the road there in the back fields 00:12:37.65\00:12:40.46 where they grow all the food and stuff, 00:12:40.49\00:12:42.99 you know, the plants and stuff. 00:12:43.02\00:12:45.53 But uh, so I'm riding along like this, 00:12:45.56\00:12:48.96 and I went to turn like this, 00:12:49.00\00:12:50.90 and car's coming around the corner 00:12:50.93\00:12:52.97 and it came at 55 miles an hour. 00:12:53.00\00:12:55.37 I looked at the car, 00:12:55.40\00:12:56.74 there was nothing I couldn't do. 00:12:56.77\00:12:58.11 And I'm telling you, 00:12:58.14\00:12:59.47 all I felt was something lift me up off the ground. 00:12:59.51\00:13:01.64 Wow. 00:13:01.68\00:13:03.01 And it, I hit, the bike got hit, 00:13:03.04\00:13:05.81 and I was back down to the ground. 00:13:05.85\00:13:08.42 And I remember getting up, 00:13:08.45\00:13:11.32 the guy got out of the car, the people in the field, 00:13:11.35\00:13:13.89 they witnessed this, and not a scratch on me. 00:13:13.92\00:13:18.69 And the guy just didn't know what to think. 00:13:18.73\00:13:21.96 The bike was bent in half. 00:13:22.00\00:13:24.43 And I got up and shook his hand and said, 00:13:24.47\00:13:28.27 thank you for slowing down. 00:13:28.30\00:13:31.34 And I just walked away. 00:13:31.37\00:13:33.07 And I carried my bike back. 00:13:33.11\00:13:34.44 But it's funny because my pants 00:13:34.48\00:13:36.04 were ripped up and stuff but not a scratch. 00:13:36.08\00:13:38.28 Wow. 00:13:38.31\00:13:39.65 So that's a clear indicator 00:13:39.68\00:13:41.18 that even before you can see the work of God in your life, 00:13:41.22\00:13:44.09 you could see that there was, there was a divine hand, 00:13:44.12\00:13:46.62 a divine presence there... 00:13:46.65\00:13:48.16 Yes, yes. 00:13:48.19\00:13:49.52 That was protecting you 00:13:49.56\00:13:50.89 and trying to somewhat get your attention. 00:13:50.93\00:13:52.26 Right. 00:13:52.29\00:13:53.63 Yes, He was always trying to get my attention 00:13:53.66\00:13:55.00 because I used to see little pamphlets here. 00:13:55.03\00:13:57.77 And wherever I went, like, why am I always seeing this. 00:13:57.80\00:14:01.04 And not knowing that 00:14:01.07\00:14:02.40 God was trying to get my attention the whole time. 00:14:02.44\00:14:04.87 And then I have another, 00:14:04.91\00:14:06.84 share another testimony about my mother. 00:14:06.88\00:14:09.38 When my mother was six months pregnant with me 00:14:09.41\00:14:12.35 and my twin brother, 00:14:12.38\00:14:13.78 my father was a very mean man, very awful. 00:14:13.82\00:14:18.65 He used to get drunk at night, go fight in the bars. 00:14:18.69\00:14:21.06 He was 6'5". 00:14:21.09\00:14:23.63 Anyway, so he literally, 00:14:23.66\00:14:26.70 I heard the story later on down the road about 00:14:26.73\00:14:30.53 what my father did to my mother. 00:14:30.57\00:14:32.93 So Satan was after us 00:14:32.97\00:14:34.30 using my dad trying to kill her at that time, 00:14:34.34\00:14:37.17 so he took her to the beach. 00:14:37.21\00:14:39.31 He made her dig her own grave 00:14:39.34\00:14:41.54 and was going to throw her in it 00:14:41.58\00:14:43.71 and bury her alive, 00:14:43.75\00:14:45.15 when we were six months pregnant 00:14:45.18\00:14:46.51 with my mother by a crazy thing, 00:14:46.55\00:14:51.69 these five other crazier guys 00:14:51.72\00:14:54.42 than my dad came to save my mother, 00:14:54.46\00:14:56.79 and how ironic is that is, you know. 00:14:56.83\00:14:59.19 And just by the grace of God those guys were there. 00:14:59.23\00:15:02.56 Praise the Lord. Yeah. 00:15:02.60\00:15:03.93 And so here you are today to tell the story. 00:15:03.97\00:15:05.30 I am. 00:15:05.33\00:15:06.67 So that's another indicator 00:15:06.70\00:15:08.04 that the Lord was working at that time. 00:15:08.07\00:15:09.40 Even in the beginning. 00:15:09.44\00:15:10.77 You know, I'm firm believer that God has a plan. 00:15:10.81\00:15:13.61 God works in mysterious and mighty ways. 00:15:13.64\00:15:16.11 And even in sometimes in our, in our sin, 00:15:16.14\00:15:19.51 even in our sinful life or in our past life 00:15:19.55\00:15:22.35 when we're not even engaged 00:15:22.38\00:15:24.25 in a relationship with the Lord, 00:15:24.29\00:15:25.62 we can see where the Lord is there. 00:15:25.65\00:15:27.79 And in certain events 00:15:27.82\00:15:30.06 and certain occurrences in our life, 00:15:30.09\00:15:31.79 where we can look back in hindsight and go, 00:15:31.83\00:15:33.19 you know what? 00:15:33.23\00:15:34.56 That was God, God was there to make sure that 00:15:34.60\00:15:37.30 because God has a plan, he has a plan 00:15:37.33\00:15:39.10 and he can see far beyond what we can see. 00:15:39.13\00:15:41.94 And that's evidently that's the story 00:15:41.97\00:15:44.07 that even though you had, 00:15:44.11\00:15:45.57 you come to a point in your life 00:15:45.61\00:15:46.94 where it seems like things kind of get out of control. 00:15:46.98\00:15:50.21 So lead us through that, lead us up to that 00:15:50.25\00:15:51.95 as to how you came about to this alcohol, 00:15:51.98\00:15:55.15 drug addiction, and basically the consequences 00:15:55.18\00:15:58.19 that occurred in your life because of that? 00:15:58.22\00:16:00.52 So, again, I was a... 00:16:00.56\00:16:03.22 We're going into where after that when I was 14, 00:16:03.26\00:16:05.79 I started hanging out with the kids on the street, 00:16:05.83\00:16:08.06 because I was looking for a father figure, 00:16:08.10\00:16:09.86 you know, where's my friend, you know? 00:16:09.90\00:16:12.03 So Satan will use that to his advantage, too. 00:16:12.07\00:16:15.20 That's right. You know. 00:16:15.24\00:16:16.77 So I thought, oh, 00:16:16.81\00:16:18.14 this is the way of life right here. 00:16:18.17\00:16:19.91 And that's what led to it. 00:16:19.94\00:16:21.28 Okay, I'm gonna follow this because I had no guidance. 00:16:21.31\00:16:24.08 My mother always worked. 00:16:24.11\00:16:25.68 And my brothers and sisters, there was a, you know, 00:16:25.71\00:16:29.68 growing up, it was, you know, 00:16:29.72\00:16:31.39 there was alcohol and addiction growing up in my house. 00:16:31.42\00:16:35.22 And so that's what I found is the street gangs out there, 00:16:35.26\00:16:39.09 the Norteņos and stuff like that, 00:16:39.13\00:16:41.50 I'm on the street gangs. 00:16:41.53\00:16:42.86 And so that was it. 00:16:42.90\00:16:44.60 So when I started working, I was a hard worker. 00:16:44.63\00:16:47.87 My mom taught me, she said, son, 00:16:47.90\00:16:49.74 these are the things you need to listen to. 00:16:49.77\00:16:51.81 Don't depend on nobody. 00:16:51.84\00:16:54.81 Work hard and trust in God, she said. 00:16:54.84\00:16:57.35 Okay, that was a good advice because that's what I did. 00:16:57.38\00:16:59.88 I always kept the job though. All right. 00:16:59.91\00:17:02.78 So, back to where I was, 00:17:02.82\00:17:06.09 uh, on the streets, you know, 00:17:06.12\00:17:09.69 that was it, you know, 00:17:09.72\00:17:11.36 they come to my house, you know, hey, Steve, 00:17:11.39\00:17:13.19 what's up, you know? 00:17:13.23\00:17:14.63 Let's go party, you know? 00:17:14.66\00:17:16.26 And okay, I thought this was a norm. 00:17:16.30\00:17:18.93 So every week... Just kind of a part of life. 00:17:18.97\00:17:20.44 These are my friends. This is what we do. 00:17:20.47\00:17:23.04 Let's go get some weed. Right. Yeah. 00:17:23.07\00:17:25.64 And then it wasn't till probably 00:17:25.67\00:17:28.74 I was like 21 00:17:28.78\00:17:30.41 when I first started some cocaine, 00:17:30.45\00:17:33.35 and that's where it really started 00:17:33.38\00:17:34.72 getting bad for my life. 00:17:34.75\00:17:36.25 You know, just a rollercoaster ride up 00:17:36.28\00:17:39.25 and down, up and down. 00:17:39.29\00:17:41.39 And, but during that time of the drinking 00:17:41.42\00:17:44.83 from that time there, I used to get so drunk. 00:17:44.86\00:17:47.76 Oh, my goodness, I get so drunk 00:17:47.80\00:17:49.53 and I'd be passed out somewhere. 00:17:49.56\00:17:52.93 The cops would pick me up, you know what I mean, 00:17:52.97\00:17:55.04 and, but the empty feeling I had after I drank. 00:17:55.07\00:17:58.24 Right. 00:17:58.27\00:17:59.61 You know what I mean, it was just like, 00:17:59.64\00:18:01.21 it was fun when I started, 00:18:01.24\00:18:03.28 but every night like, you know why, 00:18:03.31\00:18:05.65 why did I want to do this. 00:18:05.68\00:18:07.42 Again, but it's just an addiction, you know. 00:18:07.45\00:18:09.48 Addiction. 00:18:09.52\00:18:10.89 And so, going on back to where I was 21, 00:18:10.92\00:18:16.52 when I did that my nose started bleeding, 00:18:16.56\00:18:18.36 you know the first time I did it. 00:18:18.39\00:18:19.73 All right. 00:18:19.76\00:18:21.10 And the person is like looking at you're like what's wrong, 00:18:21.13\00:18:22.46 you know, and I guess 00:18:22.50\00:18:26.10 I should have took notice of it but I didn't. 00:18:26.13\00:18:28.67 Again, I had no education, I had no father figure. 00:18:28.70\00:18:32.34 My mom was always working. 00:18:32.37\00:18:34.21 And that's my brothers ended up in prison. 00:18:34.24\00:18:37.85 You know, some of my, couple of my brothers, 00:18:37.88\00:18:39.61 my sisters were doing their own thing, you know. 00:18:39.65\00:18:42.78 And again, we had a drug addiction family, 00:18:42.82\00:18:45.85 you know. 00:18:45.89\00:18:47.92 So, after that, after I turned 21, 00:18:47.96\00:18:53.66 I slowed down, you know, 00:18:53.70\00:18:55.56 I'd be working here 00:18:55.60\00:18:58.23 and then work, I'll be working. 00:18:58.27\00:19:02.87 And, but the roller coaster is up and down, 00:19:02.90\00:19:05.24 spending my money in bars. 00:19:05.27\00:19:07.18 When I turned 21, I had a time where, 00:19:07.21\00:19:10.15 when I first turned 21 to 00:19:10.18\00:19:12.95 and that's another time I went into the bar. 00:19:12.98\00:19:15.75 I wasn't looking for trouble, my sister took me there. 00:19:15.78\00:19:18.49 And I'm telling you, 00:19:18.52\00:19:19.85 God's been with me the whole time, 00:19:19.89\00:19:21.22 I should be, I should be dead. 00:19:21.26\00:19:24.39 I shouldn't be here, again, I'm invincible, 00:19:24.43\00:19:27.13 that's what I thought, but I'm not. 00:19:27.16\00:19:30.53 I went into the bar. 00:19:30.57\00:19:32.03 And three of those, no, 00:19:32.07\00:19:34.44 it's five Hells Angels started picking on me 00:19:34.47\00:19:37.64 and they just took me outside 00:19:37.67\00:19:39.14 and they whipped me all over the place. 00:19:39.17\00:19:42.08 But I only ended up with a bloody nose. 00:19:42.11\00:19:44.61 Wow. 00:19:44.65\00:19:45.98 And then those were some big guys. 00:19:46.01\00:19:47.35 Of course, of course. You know. 00:19:47.38\00:19:48.72 So, just to look at that back, 00:19:48.75\00:19:54.19 you know, why am I still here, you know. 00:19:54.22\00:19:56.12 But you know, 00:19:56.16\00:19:57.49 I had an empty feeling in me always, 00:19:57.53\00:19:58.96 you know, looking to find a wife, 00:19:58.99\00:20:01.20 you know what I mean, 00:20:01.23\00:20:02.96 and, because and to settle down 00:20:03.00\00:20:05.33 but I couldn't, it just didn't happen for me, 00:20:05.37\00:20:07.44 you know, until, 00:20:07.47\00:20:09.10 so I just kept going in life in the wrong direction, 00:20:09.14\00:20:14.11 spending my money on booze, 00:20:14.14\00:20:16.78 alcohol, drugs and then it got to the point 00:20:16.81\00:20:20.92 where that's what I was working for. 00:20:20.95\00:20:23.08 Wow. Literally... 00:20:23.12\00:20:25.72 That became your life, became what you were about. 00:20:25.75\00:20:27.39 Yes. 00:20:27.42\00:20:28.76 You were looking for the next fix, 00:20:28.79\00:20:30.13 you were looking for the next. 00:20:30.16\00:20:31.56 So tell us a little bit about that for a moment. 00:20:31.59\00:20:33.26 I know, we're gonna get into 00:20:33.29\00:20:34.86 other details of your story here but just tell us 00:20:34.90\00:20:36.83 a little bit about what that, what is that like. 00:20:36.87\00:20:38.93 There may be someone at home right now that, 00:20:38.97\00:20:40.60 that is watching this 00:20:40.64\00:20:41.97 that may be struggling from this 00:20:42.00\00:20:43.34 or someone who knows someone who struggles from this. 00:20:43.37\00:20:46.14 When you were in that, that mode, 00:20:46.17\00:20:48.91 that particular lifestyle, 00:20:48.94\00:20:50.71 what did it feel like from day to day? 00:20:50.75\00:20:53.11 You said that that became what it was about, 00:20:53.15\00:20:55.05 that's what you were working for. 00:20:55.08\00:20:56.69 What was that addiction like? 00:20:56.72\00:20:58.05 What did it feel like? 00:20:58.09\00:20:59.42 Well, how what was your experience with it? 00:20:59.45\00:21:00.79 Well, the feeling was empty. You know what I mean. 00:21:00.82\00:21:04.26 But it was like the rush of it, 00:21:04.29\00:21:07.10 you know what I mean, you get the rush of it. 00:21:07.13\00:21:08.66 It could have been crack cocaine. 00:21:08.70\00:21:10.93 It could have been methamphetamines, 00:21:10.97\00:21:12.40 but you just feel empowered, you know. 00:21:12.43\00:21:15.10 Or you know, but the feeling you got it, 00:21:15.14\00:21:19.14 it felt good at first. 00:21:19.17\00:21:21.31 But afterwards, you just felt empty. 00:21:21.34\00:21:24.55 It just like and but again, you feel empty. 00:21:24.58\00:21:29.38 Like why did I do this, you know, the hangovers. 00:21:29.42\00:21:32.32 Right. 00:21:32.35\00:21:34.62 But even through the negativity like to the hangovers, 00:21:34.66\00:21:37.23 the bad feelings, the emptiness. 00:21:37.26\00:21:39.63 You were so addicted to it 00:21:39.66\00:21:41.13 that somehow within I don't know, 00:21:41.16\00:21:43.77 hours, days, moments, you would... 00:21:43.80\00:21:45.50 The next day. The next day, right? 00:21:45.53\00:21:47.34 So you're right back at it again. 00:21:47.37\00:21:48.70 Okay. 00:21:48.74\00:21:50.07 And I tell myself sometimes, 00:21:50.11\00:21:51.44 I'm not going to do that, I'm not going to do that. 00:21:51.47\00:21:54.24 But I go right back 00:21:54.28\00:21:55.61 and do it because Satan had a trap on me. 00:21:55.64\00:21:57.01 He had me, I was in bondage with it. 00:21:57.05\00:21:59.98 I mean, and he'll bond anybody with it. 00:22:00.02\00:22:01.35 That's right. 00:22:01.38\00:22:02.72 Only thing was missing was Christ. 00:22:02.75\00:22:05.12 You know, but if I had to, you know, keep saying it, 00:22:05.15\00:22:08.62 but my life of doing it, it just like, 00:22:08.66\00:22:13.06 it was a struggle. 00:22:13.09\00:22:15.10 And then every time I, again every time I did it. 00:22:15.13\00:22:18.30 Why? Right. 00:22:18.33\00:22:19.67 And... 00:22:19.70\00:22:21.04 So there was, would you say that it felt, 00:22:21.07\00:22:22.74 maybe you felt like the Holy Spirit. 00:22:22.77\00:22:25.24 When you were asking that question, 00:22:25.27\00:22:26.61 why do you think the Holy Spirit 00:22:26.64\00:22:27.98 was working on you then? 00:22:28.01\00:22:29.34 Yes. But, yeah. 00:22:29.38\00:22:30.78 I'm trying to get you to question like, 00:22:30.81\00:22:32.35 is this what I want to do? 00:22:32.38\00:22:33.72 Right, right. 00:22:33.75\00:22:35.08 And again, you know, when I lost my mother 00:22:35.12\00:22:37.12 at an early age that just really set it out 00:22:37.15\00:22:39.39 because I was, I think I was 22 00:22:39.42\00:22:41.56 when she passed away, 00:22:41.59\00:22:43.29 and that just put me into a deeper state 00:22:43.32\00:22:46.59 because I was really close to my mother. 00:22:46.63\00:22:50.67 I remember I stayed at the graveyard out there 00:22:50.70\00:22:53.40 with the 12 pack of beer at her grave. 00:22:53.44\00:22:56.71 Wow. Yeah. 00:22:56.74\00:22:58.07 And so, I tried to overcome that but, 00:22:58.11\00:23:01.74 but the one thing I did do is 00:23:01.78\00:23:03.11 I was a working alcoholic, drug addict addicted. 00:23:03.14\00:23:07.22 I could always keep a job. 00:23:07.25\00:23:09.08 I mean, always, but it just tore me up, 00:23:09.12\00:23:11.55 tore me up even more and more. 00:23:11.59\00:23:13.15 Sure. 00:23:13.19\00:23:14.52 You know, and then getting, I got some DUIs. 00:23:14.56\00:23:17.89 I think I hit it, the first time 00:23:17.93\00:23:20.73 I got the DUI was the year after I got my license. 00:23:20.76\00:23:24.37 And I got a second one. 00:23:24.40\00:23:26.27 I lost my license for 13 years. 00:23:26.30\00:23:29.17 You know, I mean, I could have gotten back, 00:23:29.20\00:23:30.84 but I didn't want to go through the process and all that. 00:23:30.87\00:23:33.78 So it just got deeper... 00:23:33.81\00:23:35.68 Deeper and deeper. And deeper. 00:23:35.71\00:23:37.18 And that's just what the devil does. 00:23:37.21\00:23:38.55 He wants to sink us so deep 00:23:38.58\00:23:40.12 where we feel like we're at the bottom 00:23:40.15\00:23:41.48 of this Mount Everest, 00:23:41.52\00:23:42.88 and it's impossible to climb, right? 00:23:42.92\00:23:44.25 Yes. 00:23:44.29\00:23:45.62 And I'm sure that's how you felt from time to time. 00:23:45.65\00:23:46.99 I did. This is impossible. 00:23:47.02\00:23:48.36 This is the end. This is the story of my life. 00:23:48.39\00:23:49.89 If I'm going to just keep going down, down, down, down 00:23:49.92\00:23:52.23 until eventually I'm dead, right? 00:23:52.26\00:23:53.60 Yes. Okay. 00:23:53.63\00:23:54.96 So, then what from here, from this point on now, 00:23:55.00\00:23:56.73 I understand you eventually got a family or had a family, 00:23:56.77\00:24:00.30 kind of lead us into that. 00:24:00.34\00:24:01.67 You're 22, you've lost your mother, 00:24:01.70\00:24:04.47 you slid deeper into this oppressive lifestyle. 00:24:04.51\00:24:09.14 What happens next? 00:24:09.18\00:24:10.51 Well, it's going on with my family, 00:24:10.55\00:24:13.25 but uh, as I got to be 30, in my 30s, right? 00:24:13.28\00:24:16.72 Right. 00:24:16.75\00:24:18.09 And because I didn't meet my wife till I was 36, 00:24:18.12\00:24:20.36 but during the 30s, I was living in San Francisco. 00:24:20.39\00:24:23.93 Again, I was living a wildlife. 00:24:23.96\00:24:27.03 It was just about getting high, 00:24:27.06\00:24:29.03 and how drunk I can get 00:24:29.06\00:24:30.80 and again just depression into that part. 00:24:30.83\00:24:35.30 And then I, 00:24:35.34\00:24:37.94 eventually I did meet my wife in Castroville. 00:24:37.97\00:24:43.51 At that time, we were still, we were using, I was using, 00:24:43.55\00:24:48.52 and she was using, you know what I mean, 00:24:48.55\00:24:51.75 but anyways, at one point 00:24:51.79\00:24:54.86 how it all started changing as we went, 00:24:54.89\00:24:57.96 ended up moving to, me and her moved to Idaho. 00:24:57.99\00:25:01.30 Okay. 00:25:01.33\00:25:02.66 And I should have stayed there but that didn't happen. 00:25:02.70\00:25:04.73 But we were there for year and a half. 00:25:04.77\00:25:07.74 We had our first son, 00:25:07.77\00:25:09.10 when we came back to California. 00:25:09.14\00:25:12.01 Yeah, we were there for about a year and a half. 00:25:12.04\00:25:14.34 Came to California to start another job here 00:25:14.38\00:25:16.28 because work was a little slow in Idaho. 00:25:16.31\00:25:19.25 Got married to my wife there, at the time we got, 00:25:19.28\00:25:24.22 actually was a Mormon that married us. 00:25:24.25\00:25:26.02 Okay. 00:25:26.05\00:25:27.39 I learned a little bit about the Mormons at the time. 00:25:27.42\00:25:29.42 Yeah. So, you had a... 00:25:29.46\00:25:30.83 So would you say you had maybe a connection 00:25:30.86\00:25:34.00 with religion somehow through that, 00:25:34.03\00:25:35.96 through all of this? 00:25:36.00\00:25:37.33 You know what, let me go back to where, 00:25:37.37\00:25:39.00 I did, my uncle, I had another time 00:25:39.03\00:25:42.57 when I was 16, car fell on my head. 00:25:42.60\00:25:45.71 On your head? On my head. 00:25:45.74\00:25:47.74 And I was, I was saved from that too. 00:25:47.78\00:25:50.51 Wow, Brother. You know what I mean. 00:25:50.55\00:25:52.21 That's amazing. Yeah, they pulled me out. 00:25:52.25\00:25:54.38 And they took me to the hospital. 00:25:54.42\00:25:55.85 Nothing wasn't broken. 00:25:55.88\00:25:57.52 Just a minor concussion and that was it. 00:25:57.55\00:26:00.16 But my uncle started... 00:26:00.19\00:26:01.72 Not many people can say, 00:26:01.76\00:26:03.09 you know, a car fell on my head. 00:26:03.12\00:26:04.46 And, you know, God got me through it. 00:26:04.49\00:26:05.86 That's amazing. Yeah, I know. 00:26:05.89\00:26:07.23 That's amazing. 00:26:07.26\00:26:08.60 I've got many testimonies like that, so. 00:26:08.63\00:26:11.27 So he took me to church, you know, 00:26:11.30\00:26:14.17 for about six months, I went church with them. 00:26:14.20\00:26:16.54 I just didn't. 00:26:16.57\00:26:17.97 And I didn't understand it at the time. 00:26:18.01\00:26:19.61 You know, he was because he'd be singing 00:26:19.64\00:26:21.68 and praising God there and I was, I was into it. 00:26:21.71\00:26:24.91 But then the world would draw me right back out. 00:26:24.95\00:26:27.58 So the church he took you to, was it a... 00:26:27.62\00:26:29.42 Was it a... I think it was the Pentecostal. 00:26:29.45\00:26:30.79 Pentecostal Church. Okay. 00:26:30.82\00:26:32.15 I know I can relate to that. Yes. 00:26:32.19\00:26:33.52 But I did, I go, I went to this church, 00:26:33.56\00:26:34.89 that church during my life. 00:26:34.92\00:26:36.26 Right, okay. 00:26:36.29\00:26:37.63 Trying to find something, you know, to fill that void, 00:26:37.66\00:26:40.33 the emptiness inside me, but I can never find it, 00:26:40.36\00:26:44.13 you know, and thinking I could get it through people, 00:26:44.17\00:26:47.30 or this person or this drug 00:26:47.34\00:26:50.04 or but nothing could fill that void. 00:26:50.07\00:26:51.41 And that's powerful. That's a powerful point. 00:26:51.44\00:26:53.58 I don't mean to interrupt you. 00:26:53.61\00:26:54.94 You said getting, going to church 00:26:54.98\00:26:56.71 and getting it through people. 00:26:56.75\00:26:58.08 Many people have that experience. 00:26:58.11\00:27:00.55 I know that, I did for a long time 00:27:00.58\00:27:02.72 going to church and you, 00:27:02.75\00:27:04.09 you, desire the relationships and somehow someway, 00:27:04.12\00:27:06.42 you think that by creating relationships with people, 00:27:06.45\00:27:09.06 which is a great thing we should, 00:27:09.09\00:27:10.96 but our hope is not found in people, 00:27:10.99\00:27:13.50 our hope is found in Jesus, 00:27:13.53\00:27:14.86 which is what you eventually would learn, 00:27:14.90\00:27:16.23 but continue on your story. 00:27:16.26\00:27:17.60 I want to hear the rest of it. 00:27:17.63\00:27:18.97 Okay, so he, 00:27:19.00\00:27:20.67 anyway so he took me there to church 00:27:20.70\00:27:23.57 and I fell back out, 00:27:23.61\00:27:24.94 right back out to the world again. 00:27:24.97\00:27:26.68 And then that was it. 00:27:26.71\00:27:28.21 The climb of the ladder, you know, 00:27:28.24\00:27:31.11 or down the ladder, back deep down in the hole, 00:27:31.15\00:27:34.75 when I'm trying to climb like Jacob's Ladder and I also, 00:27:34.78\00:27:38.12 but anyway, so I mean, going back to my wife and kids, 00:27:38.15\00:27:40.69 so we got married, I was happy. 00:27:40.72\00:27:42.06 I was like, wow, I got it. I got a son, you know. 00:27:42.09\00:27:44.79 I was working hard. Working hard. 00:27:44.83\00:27:49.16 We rented a place right there in Monterey 00:27:49.20\00:27:51.63 and things were going great for a while there. 00:27:51.67\00:27:54.47 And then, and then all of a sudden, 00:27:54.50\00:27:57.64 after my second, no, 00:27:57.67\00:27:59.81 my first son in the drugstores seeped in again. 00:27:59.84\00:28:03.91 They, here they came, Satan came in. 00:28:03.95\00:28:06.68 And I don't want to say nothing about my wife 00:28:06.72\00:28:08.85 or anything but it was engaged through people 00:28:08.88\00:28:12.49 so I'll just say that. 00:28:12.52\00:28:13.86 Yeah, influences. 00:28:13.89\00:28:15.22 Yeah, influences that came back into our life. 00:28:15.26\00:28:17.13 And then, then things just started getting bad again. 00:28:17.16\00:28:21.30 We hung on for a while there, my, I think my son was five. 00:28:21.33\00:28:25.73 At the time, we moved into a different place, 00:28:25.77\00:28:28.30 but the drugs get worse and worse and worse. 00:28:28.34\00:28:31.21 And then I got to the point where I couldn't, 00:28:31.24\00:28:33.17 I wasn't paying my rent. 00:28:33.21\00:28:34.54 I was just using it for drugs. 00:28:34.58\00:28:37.31 And... Wow. 00:28:37.35\00:28:39.15 You know, and not thinking because 00:28:39.18\00:28:40.95 Satan is real, he will blind you 00:28:40.98\00:28:44.49 to what you're doing and thinking and thinking 00:28:44.52\00:28:46.89 that I was trying to do it myself. 00:28:46.92\00:28:49.52 I couldn't do it. 00:28:49.56\00:28:51.19 Just here we go again, down again. 00:28:51.23\00:28:53.43 And then, so eventually, I lost that place. 00:28:53.46\00:28:58.47 My wife ended up going to her dad's house. 00:28:58.50\00:29:02.24 And, so I said, 00:29:02.27\00:29:04.47 I got to put this back together. 00:29:04.51\00:29:07.18 I said, I've tried to work with her, 00:29:07.21\00:29:09.44 but she was, she's already fallen, 00:29:09.48\00:29:11.65 fallen away from me, you know what I mean. 00:29:11.68\00:29:13.52 I can't trust you no more and things like that. 00:29:13.55\00:29:16.42 And then, again, not to say nothing bad, 00:29:16.45\00:29:18.19 but there was a dispute between me and her. 00:29:18.22\00:29:20.52 She was, you know, there was another man involved. 00:29:20.56\00:29:24.93 And I found out about it. 00:29:24.96\00:29:27.43 But, and I had, when I found out about it, 00:29:27.46\00:29:31.77 I got angry and I slapped her. 00:29:31.80\00:29:34.20 And that's and I don't usually hit, 00:29:34.24\00:29:36.84 you know, woman, you know what I mean, 00:29:36.87\00:29:38.21 it was just out of anger in me. 00:29:38.24\00:29:40.78 And, but I did ask her to forgive me so. 00:29:40.81\00:29:44.08 After that, I ended up in jail. 00:29:44.11\00:29:46.72 The cops came to pick me up 00:29:46.75\00:29:48.08 and there was a fight with the cops. 00:29:48.12\00:29:49.85 I mean, I said, you ain't taking me nowhere. 00:29:49.88\00:29:51.95 I said, this is on. I was eating a bowl of cereal. 00:29:51.99\00:29:55.12 When I found out that next day 00:29:55.16\00:29:56.66 we were in the house talking this over, 00:29:56.69\00:29:59.23 her boyfriend or the guy called the police on me. 00:29:59.26\00:30:02.16 Oh, I see. And they came. 00:30:02.20\00:30:04.50 And we went fist fighting all the way out to the car. 00:30:04.53\00:30:09.40 And they finally got me in the car, they fought. 00:30:09.44\00:30:12.64 I ended up in jail. 00:30:12.67\00:30:15.58 They had and I ended up fighting 00:30:15.61\00:30:18.41 two more cops in the jail. 00:30:18.45\00:30:19.78 I slapped the drugs out of their hand they found on me. 00:30:19.81\00:30:22.92 And they were just furious at me 00:30:22.95\00:30:25.22 with just the anger in me, 00:30:25.25\00:30:26.86 because I had so much anger in me. 00:30:26.89\00:30:29.42 You did not want to be my friend. 00:30:29.46\00:30:31.33 I mean, I wasn't the guy to have a beer friend with. 00:30:31.36\00:30:33.33 Right. Because you weren't in control. 00:30:33.36\00:30:34.80 I was not. Different spirit. 00:30:34.83\00:30:36.36 That's right. It was a different spirit. 00:30:36.40\00:30:39.10 So they came in there and said, 00:30:39.13\00:30:41.00 well, you're going to be here a long time. 00:30:41.04\00:30:43.24 We've got eight felony charges on you. 00:30:43.27\00:30:46.11 You're going away for a long time, 00:30:46.14\00:30:47.98 you know, for fighting the cops and all that. 00:30:48.01\00:30:50.95 And I just looked at him. 00:30:50.98\00:30:52.31 And I said, I just said I don't care 00:30:52.35\00:30:54.75 what you say, like that. 00:30:54.78\00:30:56.95 I'm just like, I had no, 00:30:56.99\00:30:58.99 this is the other testimony that comes into this. 00:30:59.02\00:31:01.76 So for three months I was there praying. 00:31:01.79\00:31:04.63 I said, Lord, I don't know what happened. 00:31:04.66\00:31:07.53 I go, what's happening? 00:31:07.56\00:31:08.90 I'm praying for the three months. 00:31:08.93\00:31:11.17 So here comes the third month, right? 00:31:11.20\00:31:14.34 And I got the worst, the guys in the jail said 00:31:14.37\00:31:16.44 you got the worst public defender 00:31:16.47\00:31:18.57 as you're going away. 00:31:18.61\00:31:20.38 You might as well just say goodbye. 00:31:20.41\00:31:23.35 So I'm praying and praying and praying. 00:31:23.38\00:31:26.58 And then we go to court the last day, 00:31:26.61\00:31:29.22 the public defender come up to me, 00:31:29.25\00:31:31.32 he goes, you're out of here. 00:31:31.35\00:31:33.76 He goes, he goes, tell the people in the jail, 00:31:33.79\00:31:36.66 you are out of here. 00:31:36.69\00:31:39.19 And I said, "What?" 00:31:39.23\00:31:41.53 He goes, "Yeah, by a technicality 00:31:41.56\00:31:43.67 that something went wrong, 00:31:43.70\00:31:45.17 and all the charges have to be dropped." 00:31:45.20\00:31:48.10 Wow. And I know that was God. 00:31:48.14\00:31:52.84 Wait a second. This can't be happening. 00:31:52.87\00:31:55.94 And again, I'm looking at myself like, 00:31:55.98\00:31:58.08 you know, maybe I'm invincible. 00:31:58.11\00:31:59.55 You know, it's not God, it's me, you know. 00:31:59.58\00:32:01.95 Yeah. 00:32:01.98\00:32:03.32 So, you, so what I hear you saying is that that instill 00:32:03.35\00:32:06.62 within you even more this idea that I can't be touched? 00:32:06.65\00:32:09.36 Right. Right? 00:32:09.39\00:32:10.73 Yeah, that was me, you know. 00:32:10.76\00:32:12.09 But yet you didn't see that 00:32:12.13\00:32:13.46 it was actually the hand of God that was trying to get you. 00:32:13.50\00:32:15.66 Yeah, I was praying to Him 00:32:15.70\00:32:17.03 and asking Him but then the ego came back. 00:32:17.07\00:32:19.70 You know, the self. 00:32:19.73\00:32:21.07 Look at me. 00:32:21.10\00:32:22.44 You can't touch me and I was proud, 00:32:22.47\00:32:23.81 you know being so proud. 00:32:23.84\00:32:25.17 Right, right. So, going on, I got out. 00:32:25.21\00:32:29.74 I'm trying to work it out with her again. 00:32:29.78\00:32:32.65 Then she just wouldn't have it 00:32:32.68\00:32:34.52 because of the fear in her and with the, 00:32:34.55\00:32:38.39 her boyfriend had 00:32:38.42\00:32:39.75 and I tried everything for six years down that road, 00:32:39.79\00:32:42.29 I tried everything to put it back together. 00:32:42.32\00:32:44.13 I was praying to God. 00:32:44.16\00:32:45.59 I even started going to church at the Presbyterian Church. 00:32:45.63\00:32:49.90 Yeah. Just taking my kids there. 00:32:49.93\00:32:52.37 And one thing 00:32:52.40\00:32:53.74 I did tell my kids, I did tell them, 00:32:53.77\00:32:55.40 I used to tell my children growing up after that, 00:32:55.44\00:32:57.51 I used to say, "Who do you put first?" 00:32:57.54\00:33:00.01 They go, "You dad." 00:33:00.04\00:33:01.38 And I go, "No, you put God first." 00:33:01.41\00:33:03.08 I started recognizing who God was, 00:33:03.11\00:33:05.15 but telling my kids and teaching them 00:33:05.18\00:33:06.85 about God comes first, 00:33:06.88\00:33:08.32 you never put nobody else before them. 00:33:08.35\00:33:09.98 During that time 00:33:10.02\00:33:11.35 and then the struggle kept going off and on 00:33:11.39\00:33:13.42 about the drugs, 00:33:13.46\00:33:15.09 going through that time, still using. 00:33:15.12\00:33:19.86 I think after the six years, I got to the point 00:33:19.89\00:33:22.70 where I was living in Gilroy in a little, 00:33:22.73\00:33:27.24 little shed up my sister's, 00:33:27.27\00:33:30.51 and I think at that point, is where I picked up the Bible. 00:33:30.54\00:33:34.44 I was using, I was doing drugs. 00:33:34.48\00:33:37.11 Something told me to read the Bible 00:33:37.15\00:33:38.65 from Matthew to Revelations. 00:33:38.68\00:33:40.62 I didn't understand it. 00:33:40.65\00:33:42.22 But I was reading it every day, 00:33:42.25\00:33:43.65 all the way to Matthew to Revelations. 00:33:43.69\00:33:47.36 And then it just started going off 00:33:47.39\00:33:50.36 like that and then, okay, 00:33:50.39\00:33:52.69 you know, now what, you know? 00:33:52.73\00:33:54.06 Right. So, and then again, I think... 00:33:54.10\00:34:00.27 So, again, it just kept going on, 00:34:00.30\00:34:03.77 I ended up, you know, 00:34:03.81\00:34:05.27 working, I was working with the guys, 00:34:05.31\00:34:07.91 still using drugs, still using alcohol. 00:34:07.94\00:34:11.08 So you were using drugs, 00:34:11.11\00:34:12.61 using alcohol and then studying your Bible on the side? 00:34:12.65\00:34:15.82 Exactly. You know what I mean? 00:34:15.85\00:34:18.55 But the Lord was still reaching you 00:34:18.59\00:34:21.09 in the state that you were in which is, 00:34:21.12\00:34:22.46 that shows the grace of God there. 00:34:22.49\00:34:24.03 And I kept, I kept seeing these things, 00:34:24.06\00:34:25.83 you know what I mean. 00:34:25.86\00:34:27.20 Like, again, I'd be going places, 00:34:27.23\00:34:28.60 I'll see a scripture here, 00:34:28.63\00:34:30.07 something will come on TV about the Word of God or, 00:34:30.10\00:34:34.34 you know, and it was always hitting me 00:34:34.37\00:34:36.47 like why am I seeing this? 00:34:36.50\00:34:38.01 It reminds me of Pastor Ivor Myers' story, 00:34:38.04\00:34:39.84 he tells a story about how he and his friends, 00:34:39.87\00:34:41.61 they were learning the truth, 00:34:41.64\00:34:42.98 and they were all smoking weed and having Bible studies. 00:34:43.01\00:34:46.21 So that's similar to what was happening with you. 00:34:46.25\00:34:48.68 You didn't know any better, 00:34:48.72\00:34:50.05 but at least the Lord was trying to get your heart. 00:34:50.09\00:34:52.92 Yeah, and you know, and a lot of times 00:34:52.95\00:34:55.22 I would sit there and cry, you know about the drugs 00:34:55.26\00:34:58.33 and that's when it started hitting me. 00:34:58.36\00:34:59.73 I want to quit this stuff. 00:34:59.76\00:35:01.33 You know, Lord, 00:35:01.36\00:35:02.70 I don't want to do this no more, 00:35:02.73\00:35:04.90 you know, and it just kept going and going. 00:35:04.93\00:35:08.37 You know, the people I was hanging out with 00:35:08.40\00:35:10.57 and Satan will use again, 00:35:10.61\00:35:13.38 he uses people to encourage you to keep doing it. 00:35:13.41\00:35:16.28 And that's where I got to the point. 00:35:16.31\00:35:17.65 I know you couldn't see 00:35:17.68\00:35:19.01 the picture of me during that time. 00:35:19.05\00:35:21.05 My face, okay, Satan will blind you. 00:35:21.08\00:35:24.09 My face was all sucked up like this, 00:35:24.12\00:35:26.05 you know, like this, 00:35:26.09\00:35:27.42 I looked like I was 75 years old. 00:35:27.46\00:35:30.86 When I looked in the mirror, I looked fine, you know. 00:35:30.89\00:35:33.93 Because you were blinded of condition. 00:35:33.96\00:35:35.30 I was blinded. 00:35:35.33\00:35:36.67 And so, Satan will blind you like that. 00:35:36.70\00:35:38.13 I thought, man, 00:35:38.17\00:35:39.50 I'm the best looking guy out here, 00:35:39.53\00:35:41.14 you know, and that's what the drug does to you, you know. 00:35:41.17\00:35:44.37 And for anybody out there, you know, 00:35:44.41\00:35:46.47 wanting to know if Satan will blind you, 00:35:46.51\00:35:49.61 you know, you know. 00:35:49.64\00:35:50.98 So there, but there came a turning point. 00:35:51.01\00:35:53.52 So you, you're in, you're reading your Bible, 00:35:53.55\00:35:57.49 but yet you're still addicted to the alcohol, the drugs. 00:35:57.52\00:36:00.96 What was the turning point, there came a point in 00:36:00.99\00:36:02.86 which it seemed like the Lord 00:36:02.89\00:36:05.73 had that moment with you 00:36:05.76\00:36:07.10 and things begin to look upward. 00:36:07.13\00:36:09.36 So, let's transition in talking about 00:36:09.40\00:36:12.03 how God was able to grip your heart 00:36:12.07\00:36:14.04 and finally get your attention? 00:36:14.07\00:36:17.91 So, if we're going to go into the part 00:36:17.94\00:36:19.41 where Jesus delivered me, 00:36:19.44\00:36:22.74 but we'll start off like this. 00:36:22.78\00:36:27.78 Actually, it was on the testimony. 00:36:27.82\00:36:29.92 Sure. Yeah. 00:36:29.95\00:36:31.29 You know, again, 00:36:31.32\00:36:32.65 I was using with my, and, but... 00:36:32.69\00:36:36.69 There may be something 00:36:36.73\00:36:38.06 you want to tell leading up to this 00:36:38.09\00:36:39.43 or is something that happened prior 00:36:39.46\00:36:41.23 to this leading up to your turning point 00:36:41.26\00:36:43.16 that you want to share? 00:36:43.20\00:36:44.53 Oh, well, yeah, 'cause I kept praying 00:36:44.57\00:36:46.23 and again I kept praying 00:36:46.27\00:36:47.60 and one was the thing was, is I was being convicted 00:36:47.64\00:36:50.11 by the Holy Spirit, wanting to quit. 00:36:50.14\00:36:53.04 You know, I didn't know it at the time, 00:36:53.07\00:36:54.41 but I wanted to quit. 00:36:54.44\00:36:56.18 And people were telling me Steve, 00:36:56.21\00:36:59.15 the guys at work were telling me, 00:36:59.18\00:37:00.85 "Why don't you quit this, you know? 00:37:00.88\00:37:02.38 Quit doing what you're doing?" 00:37:02.42\00:37:04.39 Matter of fact, 00:37:04.42\00:37:05.75 it was a Monterey Peninsula Drywall 00:37:05.79\00:37:07.62 who I worked for. 00:37:07.66\00:37:08.99 Okay. 00:37:09.02\00:37:10.36 For 18 years, they seen 00:37:10.39\00:37:11.73 the whole transition of everything. 00:37:11.76\00:37:13.96 And they who, they are who they are today. 00:37:14.00\00:37:17.27 But they seen the whole transformation in me. 00:37:17.30\00:37:19.57 But they were always leading me and helping me along the way. 00:37:19.60\00:37:23.81 I don't know why they didn't fire me. 00:37:23.84\00:37:25.27 So that was another testimony by God. 00:37:25.31\00:37:27.24 Wow. 00:37:27.28\00:37:28.61 You know, so but they were really loving towards me. 00:37:28.64\00:37:31.11 Again, they are of the world but God uses. 00:37:31.15\00:37:35.18 Yeah, absolutely. 00:37:35.22\00:37:36.69 And, so anyways, again, they seen the transition in me. 00:37:36.72\00:37:43.32 And again, praying, so they were giving me advice, 00:37:43.36\00:37:48.56 I've had other people wanting to, 00:37:48.60\00:37:50.17 you know, go get your teeth fixed, you know. 00:37:50.20\00:37:53.64 You know, get off that stuff, you know. 00:37:53.67\00:37:55.90 And again, there was, you know, the Holy Spirit convicting me. 00:37:55.94\00:37:59.44 I wanted to get off, wanted to get off. 00:37:59.47\00:38:01.21 Then I got to the point 00:38:01.24\00:38:02.58 where I was calling the dealer, right? 00:38:02.61\00:38:05.51 And I was fighting with it. 00:38:05.55\00:38:08.32 Don't call her, don't call her, you know what I mean. 00:38:08.35\00:38:09.68 Oh, wow. 00:38:09.72\00:38:11.05 And I was praying and stuff 00:38:11.09\00:38:12.42 and asking God to give me the courage to overcome it. 00:38:12.45\00:38:15.09 You know, one day, 00:38:15.12\00:38:16.99 so I'll go to the one day where, 00:38:17.03\00:38:22.66 where I was calling the dealer, right? 00:38:22.70\00:38:24.03 Right. 00:38:24.07\00:38:25.40 So this is going to lead up into it. 00:38:25.43\00:38:28.30 So, I called for eight hours 00:38:28.34\00:38:31.61 just trying to get this girl to come over. 00:38:31.64\00:38:36.14 Oh, no, wait, wait, let me see. 00:38:36.18\00:38:37.88 Let's go back a little bit. Sure. 00:38:37.91\00:38:39.41 Okay, so when I found out about the, 00:38:39.45\00:38:43.15 when I was watching 3ABN on the TV, 00:38:43.18\00:38:45.52 because I was searching, 00:38:45.55\00:38:46.89 again I was searching for, I was watching. 00:38:46.92\00:38:49.92 So you're flipping through the channels 00:38:49.96\00:38:51.29 one day and find 3ABN. 00:38:51.33\00:38:52.66 Yeah. 00:38:52.69\00:38:54.03 And it was clicking because I've seen Joel Osteen, 00:38:54.06\00:38:55.70 all these other evangelists, but nothing clicked with me. 00:38:55.73\00:38:58.43 Right. Nothing was making sense. 00:38:58.47\00:38:59.83 Come on, I need something here. 00:38:59.87\00:39:02.24 You know but David Asscherick got on there. 00:39:02.27\00:39:04.04 Okay, 3ABN. 3ABN. 00:39:04.07\00:39:05.94 Pastor David Asscherick was preaching. 00:39:05.97\00:39:07.31 Yes. All right. Then what happened? 00:39:07.34\00:39:09.14 And so, he was talking about the Sabbath, 00:39:09.18\00:39:12.01 and I said, "What?" 00:39:12.05\00:39:13.85 He goes, "Yeah, the seventh day Sabbath's on Saturday." 00:39:13.88\00:39:16.65 I mean, wait, wait, I just, I said, "Wait a second. 00:39:16.69\00:39:19.39 What?" It clicked in me. 00:39:19.42\00:39:22.36 So I listened to it, you know, 00:39:22.39\00:39:23.73 I listened to the rest of the sermon 00:39:23.76\00:39:25.09 and he goes, but he said, 00:39:25.13\00:39:26.46 don't believe me, don't believe me, 00:39:26.49\00:39:29.73 read the Bible for yourself. 00:39:29.76\00:39:31.53 Again, and so I go, I go, 00:39:31.57\00:39:33.60 I gotta check this seventh day Sabbath out, you know. 00:39:33.64\00:39:37.34 So, I googled, I googled the Seventh-day, 00:39:37.37\00:39:41.18 Seventh-day Adventist Church in Salinas. 00:39:41.21\00:39:43.75 The one I'm at right now. Okay. 00:39:43.78\00:39:46.38 I started going there. 00:39:46.41\00:39:48.62 And I told my brother Ted and his wife, 00:39:48.65\00:39:51.42 I said, hey, "We got to go check this out. 00:39:51.45\00:39:53.59 Something about the Sabbath." Right. 00:39:53.62\00:39:55.76 Key word right there 00:39:55.79\00:39:57.23 because remember the Sabbath to keep it holy. 00:39:57.26\00:39:58.79 He says remember, 00:39:58.83\00:40:00.16 and it just blew my mind, it blew my mind. 00:40:00.20\00:40:03.20 Why wasn't I told this before. 00:40:03.23\00:40:05.50 So we started going for eight weeks, every week, 00:40:05.53\00:40:07.80 you know, every week for eight weeks. 00:40:07.84\00:40:10.07 And then and I was just like, 00:40:10.11\00:40:11.81 I couldn't believe what the sermons I was hearing, 00:40:11.84\00:40:14.01 like, wow, this is, 00:40:14.04\00:40:15.48 this is good stuff here, you know. 00:40:15.51\00:40:17.98 And again, the Holy Spirit was convicting me. 00:40:18.01\00:40:22.18 And at the eighth week, here comes Satan. 00:40:22.22\00:40:25.25 He came in to destroy us. Of course, of course. 00:40:25.29\00:40:27.96 So, me and my brother was sitting in the house. 00:40:27.99\00:40:31.73 His girlfriend and his mother were high on methamphetamines. 00:40:31.76\00:40:36.30 Me and my brother were clean at the time. 00:40:36.33\00:40:38.87 His daughter was there, 00:40:38.90\00:40:40.24 the mother comes in there and grabs the daughter, 00:40:40.27\00:40:42.24 my brother was on a felony probation, right? 00:40:42.27\00:40:44.84 So they came in there, there was a big scuffle. 00:40:44.87\00:40:48.24 Now the people that weren't high, 00:40:48.28\00:40:50.35 me and my brother at the time, 00:40:50.38\00:40:52.08 and the other ones that were all high, 00:40:52.11\00:40:54.22 they arrested me and him. 00:40:54.25\00:40:55.88 Oh, okay. 00:40:55.92\00:40:57.25 Said, well, you tried to attack them. 00:40:57.29\00:40:59.45 It was the other way around, 00:40:59.49\00:41:00.92 because there were more witnesses. 00:41:00.96\00:41:02.32 Satan knows how to... Of course. 00:41:02.36\00:41:04.16 Oh, so, they took him to jail, they took me, 00:41:04.19\00:41:07.40 but they had let me go 00:41:07.43\00:41:08.76 because I had no felony charges or nothing. 00:41:08.80\00:41:10.70 I wasn't on probation. And I made a statement. 00:41:10.73\00:41:13.07 He said, "Do you want to press charges against her?" 00:41:13.10\00:41:14.77 I said, "Yes, I want to fight this." 00:41:14.80\00:41:17.87 So, after that, I got that all taken care of. 00:41:17.91\00:41:22.21 And three months back into depression. 00:41:22.24\00:41:26.51 I went to my sister's house doing drugs. 00:41:26.55\00:41:29.48 I still had the job, right? 00:41:29.52\00:41:31.59 But I was just riding a bike because I lost everything. 00:41:31.62\00:41:35.72 You know, I had no license, 00:41:35.76\00:41:37.79 I had no car, few clothes in my bag. 00:41:37.83\00:41:40.83 But just right back 00:41:40.86\00:41:42.20 where I started from, and like, Lord, 00:41:42.23\00:41:44.67 what am I going to do? 00:41:44.70\00:41:46.03 You know, I don't want to do this no more. 00:41:46.07\00:41:47.84 And I kept crying out to the Lord, 00:41:47.87\00:41:49.20 crying out to the Lord. 00:41:49.24\00:41:50.57 And again, the conviction again was that 00:41:50.61\00:41:56.14 after the third, 00:41:56.18\00:41:57.81 the third month, that's the time 00:41:57.85\00:42:00.28 I was calling that dealer 00:42:00.32\00:42:01.72 and I used the methamphetamines for the last time. 00:42:01.75\00:42:07.56 I got her there finally after eight hours, 00:42:07.59\00:42:09.72 I used it, and I did it. 00:42:09.76\00:42:12.36 My head was spinning 100 miles an hour. 00:42:12.39\00:42:15.76 All this stuff was going, 00:42:15.80\00:42:17.13 you know, going through my head, 00:42:17.17\00:42:18.50 everything. 00:42:18.53\00:42:19.87 My life was depressed. 00:42:19.90\00:42:21.97 What am I going to do? 00:42:22.00\00:42:25.34 So, that morning I got up in the morning, 00:42:25.37\00:42:29.71 I got up on my hands and knees. 00:42:29.74\00:42:31.71 And I said, "Lord, I've got nothing left, Lord. 00:42:31.75\00:42:35.82 I go, You, please deliver me from this. 00:42:35.85\00:42:39.79 Deliver me, Lord, I have nothing." 00:42:39.82\00:42:42.92 You had to hit rock bottom at your knees. 00:42:42.96\00:42:46.59 Lord, this is it. I got nothing, Lord. 00:42:46.63\00:42:49.53 And then what happened? 00:42:49.56\00:42:51.23 A week later, I came in from work, 00:42:51.27\00:42:56.20 went to bed and I was laying down. 00:42:56.24\00:42:59.77 You know, I fell asleep, 00:42:59.81\00:43:01.51 hard to sleep and I was dreaming. 00:43:01.54\00:43:04.11 And in the dream, I opened my eyes. 00:43:04.15\00:43:07.52 I was in the middle of like a road. 00:43:07.55\00:43:10.09 And I have my hands over my knees like this, 00:43:10.12\00:43:13.09 depressed thinking about everything 00:43:13.12\00:43:14.52 that's going on in my life. 00:43:14.56\00:43:16.16 And I looked up, 00:43:16.19\00:43:17.53 and there was Jesus Christ in His glory. 00:43:17.56\00:43:21.83 And He comes up to me. 00:43:21.86\00:43:24.57 And He didn't say nothing at the time. 00:43:24.60\00:43:26.53 He just said, He puts his finger 00:43:26.57\00:43:27.94 and it goes like this. 00:43:27.97\00:43:29.57 And it opens up, and blood starts pouring out. 00:43:29.60\00:43:32.77 Your neck? 00:43:32.81\00:43:34.14 And then He looks at me again, 00:43:34.18\00:43:35.51 and He touches it again and it seals up. 00:43:35.54\00:43:37.68 And He looks at me and He goes, it's finished, you're clean. 00:43:37.71\00:43:41.12 Wow. 00:43:41.15\00:43:42.48 And I woke up, I was soaking wet 00:43:42.52\00:43:46.55 from head to toe, like what just happened. 00:43:46.59\00:43:50.76 And I know that He had, 00:43:50.79\00:43:52.93 at that time I was like, what happened, 00:43:52.96\00:43:55.16 with all the confusion and stuff. 00:43:55.20\00:43:57.57 That week, I got, I went back to the church. 00:43:57.60\00:44:02.04 And I know that was, He cleansed me up. 00:44:02.07\00:44:04.27 Absolutely. I had no urge for cigarettes. 00:44:04.31\00:44:06.78 Wow. 00:44:06.81\00:44:08.14 And I was a pack and a half a day 00:44:08.18\00:44:09.51 cigarette smoker. 00:44:09.54\00:44:10.88 I tried everything to quit on my own. 00:44:10.91\00:44:12.25 Wow. 00:44:12.28\00:44:13.62 He delivered me from the alcohol, 00:44:13.65\00:44:14.98 cigarettes and drugs. 00:44:15.02\00:44:16.35 No more cigarettes, no more drugs, 00:44:16.38\00:44:17.72 all in a moment? 00:44:17.75\00:44:19.09 All and out. So you woke up from that dream. 00:44:19.12\00:44:20.72 And you know for a fact that was from God, God was, 00:44:20.76\00:44:22.92 it was almost this like symbol 00:44:22.96\00:44:24.29 that God was telling you, this is it. 00:44:24.33\00:44:26.29 Yeah. I'm gonna deliver you. Right. 00:44:26.33\00:44:28.13 As long as you'll follow Me from this point forward, right? 00:44:28.16\00:44:29.80 Okay. Yes. 00:44:29.83\00:44:31.17 So now, so you've you went back to the church, you're clean? 00:44:31.20\00:44:35.07 Yeah. 00:44:35.10\00:44:36.44 And the first person 00:44:36.47\00:44:37.81 that came up to me was Liz Chacoan. 00:44:37.84\00:44:39.27 I met her, she said she had been praying to go 00:44:39.31\00:44:42.08 speak to people that were coming in the church. 00:44:42.11\00:44:44.51 And it just flourished after that. 00:44:44.55\00:44:47.22 They were doing youth Bible studies. 00:44:47.25\00:44:48.92 So she invited me to that. 00:44:48.95\00:44:50.95 I started going out GLOW tracking. 00:44:50.99\00:44:52.85 I was on fire for God. 00:44:52.89\00:44:55.32 I just started going out door-to-door 00:44:55.36\00:44:57.23 with the GLOW tracts, getting into the prayer group. 00:44:57.26\00:45:01.83 And then the Tucson family there 00:45:01.86\00:45:04.73 that do the worship service, 00:45:04.77\00:45:06.37 Edith, Tucson and Lennon Feldman, 00:45:06.40\00:45:09.50 they do the worship service, they got, 00:45:09.54\00:45:11.11 I got involved with the singing, 00:45:11.14\00:45:13.44 just everything. 00:45:13.48\00:45:14.91 And just flourished after that. It's amazing. 00:45:14.94\00:45:17.45 So you go from a life of drugs, alcohol addiction, smoking. 00:45:17.48\00:45:23.79 You lose your family, you end up homeless. 00:45:23.82\00:45:27.52 I understand you were homeless for a time, weren't you? 00:45:27.56\00:45:29.29 Yes. 00:45:29.32\00:45:30.66 So you lost your home, lost everything. 00:45:30.69\00:45:33.96 But God has a way of bringing us back. 00:45:34.00\00:45:37.40 He still find, we could still find grace 00:45:37.43\00:45:39.43 in those moments even when you hit rock bottom, 00:45:39.47\00:45:42.00 and there may be someone watching right now 00:45:42.04\00:45:43.81 that can relate to the story 00:45:43.84\00:45:45.31 that we've been telling or that Steve has been telling. 00:45:45.34\00:45:48.24 You may be at home right now and maybe thinking, oh, well, 00:45:48.28\00:45:50.31 that's Steve's story, but that's not my story. 00:45:50.35\00:45:52.38 Your story may not be the same, but you know what? 00:45:52.41\00:45:54.32 It's still the same God. 00:45:54.35\00:45:55.92 And somehow, some way the Lord knows, 00:45:55.95\00:45:59.15 He knows what you need, 00:45:59.19\00:46:00.99 He knows just the perfect timing, 00:46:01.02\00:46:02.66 He knows just what you need in order to bring you 00:46:02.69\00:46:05.79 out of that darkness 00:46:05.83\00:46:07.16 and into His marvelous light as the scripture says. 00:46:07.20\00:46:09.33 And so, you're now involved with the church. 00:46:09.36\00:46:12.33 And you become so involved with the church 00:46:12.37\00:46:14.40 that I understand 00:46:14.44\00:46:15.77 there's that the Salinas, is it Salinas? 00:46:15.80\00:46:17.74 Am I saying that right? Salinas. 00:46:17.77\00:46:19.11 Salinas Seventh-day Adventist Church, you now have, 00:46:19.14\00:46:22.68 is it like a homeless ministry to help people 00:46:22.71\00:46:25.25 who were in kind of a similar situation 00:46:25.28\00:46:27.38 that you were in before? 00:46:27.42\00:46:28.75 Yeah. 00:46:28.78\00:46:30.12 So I reached out to the homeless down, 00:46:30.15\00:46:31.49 I shared my testimony with them out there 00:46:31.52\00:46:32.85 and go pray with them. 00:46:32.89\00:46:34.22 And we do the ministry of passing out sandwiches 00:46:34.26\00:46:37.13 and lunches for the homeless to reach out to them 00:46:37.16\00:46:39.86 because that's what God impressed me to do. 00:46:39.89\00:46:42.53 Just to share that story. 00:46:42.56\00:46:43.93 I think we have some pictures here. 00:46:43.97\00:46:45.37 Yes. So check these out. So walk us through this. 00:46:45.40\00:46:47.37 What are we seeing here in these pictures? 00:46:47.40\00:46:49.44 This is the lunches right here we're making. 00:46:49.47\00:46:51.94 Awesome. Just getting them altogether. 00:46:51.97\00:46:54.88 Praise the Lord. 00:46:54.91\00:46:56.24 Okay, let's see the next picture there. 00:46:56.28\00:46:57.61 Okay. 00:46:57.65\00:46:59.51 This is part of the youth, 00:46:59.55\00:47:00.88 with youth group we get together 00:47:00.92\00:47:02.28 and part of the church family, we get come all together. 00:47:02.32\00:47:05.69 And there's even kids from the school too 00:47:05.72\00:47:07.62 that will come and help. 00:47:07.66\00:47:09.46 Praise the Lord. Yeah. 00:47:09.49\00:47:10.83 And we just, they just comes all together. 00:47:10.86\00:47:12.73 And we do all this in like 30 minutes. 00:47:12.76\00:47:15.33 Thirty minutes to put all this together 00:47:15.36\00:47:16.70 to feed the homeless? 00:47:16.73\00:47:18.07 We would probably do it in about 30 minutes 00:47:18.10\00:47:19.50 in about 350 sandwiches. 00:47:19.53\00:47:22.64 And we put GLOW tracts in the bags. 00:47:22.67\00:47:25.34 Glow tracts in the bags. 00:47:25.37\00:47:26.71 And so how, about how many people 00:47:26.74\00:47:28.08 do you serve 00:47:28.11\00:47:29.44 when you do this, about how many people do you, 00:47:29.48\00:47:32.35 do you minister to through this a week? 00:47:32.38\00:47:34.68 Is it a weekly or is it? 00:47:34.72\00:47:36.15 We do it about four times a year. 00:47:36.18\00:47:38.45 Four times a year? Okay. 00:47:38.49\00:47:39.82 Okay, so you have these events four times a year. 00:47:39.85\00:47:42.56 And so, what is this? What is this we're seeing? 00:47:42.59\00:47:44.43 This was the last one last year, 00:47:44.46\00:47:46.49 this was all the people that got involved. 00:47:46.53\00:47:48.90 There's some of the youth right there. 00:47:48.93\00:47:51.70 Because there's lot of the youth, 00:47:51.73\00:47:53.07 we don't want to take pictures of the homeless 00:47:53.10\00:47:54.44 because a lot of them don't want pictures of them. 00:47:54.47\00:47:55.80 I understand, I understand. And that's okay. 00:47:55.84\00:47:57.77 But these are the youth. 00:47:57.81\00:47:59.44 Just the youth from the church or? 00:47:59.47\00:48:00.81 Yeah. Okay. Youth from the church. 00:48:00.84\00:48:02.21 I did mentioned I'm the youth director. 00:48:02.24\00:48:03.68 That's right. That's right. Absolutely. 00:48:03.71\00:48:05.18 I'm getting it altogether. Praise the Lord. 00:48:05.21\00:48:07.18 And also, so when I, when I got offered these, 00:48:07.22\00:48:09.65 when everything just started coming to me, 00:48:09.68\00:48:11.52 they asked me. 00:48:11.55\00:48:13.19 I don't have an education, 00:48:13.22\00:48:14.92 I have a fifth grade less than a fifth grade education. 00:48:14.96\00:48:18.86 When they told me to do this, 00:48:18.89\00:48:20.23 I said, that still small voice said, 00:48:20.26\00:48:23.50 step forward, have faith. 00:48:23.53\00:48:25.73 I will lead you, 00:48:25.77\00:48:27.10 you're not leading this, I'm leading this. 00:48:27.14\00:48:28.74 That's powerful. 00:48:28.77\00:48:30.11 So it's amazing to see how God brings things around 00:48:30.14\00:48:33.27 because your journey started when you were a teenager. 00:48:33.31\00:48:36.95 You said you were 14 when you started? 00:48:36.98\00:48:38.31 Yeah. 00:48:38.35\00:48:39.68 And so now you have an opportunity to make 00:48:39.71\00:48:41.25 a positive impact in these young people's lives. 00:48:41.28\00:48:44.75 And I know they know your story and being able to lead them 00:48:44.79\00:48:48.06 and mentor them and guide them, 00:48:48.09\00:48:49.42 to do something as powerful as this is just amazing, 00:48:49.46\00:48:52.59 because now you can go out and impact people's lives. 00:48:52.63\00:48:54.86 You know, we're talking about the homeless, 00:48:54.90\00:48:56.23 and I think I was looking at 00:48:56.26\00:48:57.60 some statistics not too long ago 00:48:57.63\00:48:59.07 that many of these homeless people, you know, 00:48:59.10\00:49:01.57 you would think, you know, they're homeless, 00:49:01.60\00:49:02.94 they don't have anything but somehow someway, 00:49:02.97\00:49:04.31 they get into addictions. 00:49:04.34\00:49:05.67 Exactly. 00:49:05.71\00:49:07.04 And there, they, you know, they find the alcohol, 00:49:07.08\00:49:08.48 they find the drugs and because they have no hope, 00:49:08.51\00:49:11.05 they feel like there's no hope for them. 00:49:11.08\00:49:13.01 But you've been there, you've done that. 00:49:13.05\00:49:14.88 And now through this ministry, 00:49:14.92\00:49:16.38 through the Salinas Seventh-day Adventist Church and the youth, 00:49:16.42\00:49:18.92 you're able to make a positive impact 00:49:18.95\00:49:21.56 in people's lives? 00:49:21.59\00:49:22.92 Yes. That's powerful, Brother. 00:49:22.96\00:49:24.29 Yes, I can relate to them. That's right. 00:49:24.33\00:49:26.90 God always puts us in a place where we all need to be. 00:49:26.93\00:49:29.73 Absolutely. Absolutely. 00:49:29.76\00:49:31.20 Yeah, you know, I just, I feel, I just feel led, you know, 00:49:31.23\00:49:35.07 there, there may be someone watching right now 00:49:35.10\00:49:37.47 that can relate to Brother Steve's story. 00:49:37.51\00:49:40.08 And, you know, I personally just want to make an appeal. 00:49:40.11\00:49:42.44 And I'm going to give some time, 00:49:42.48\00:49:43.81 before we go to our role. 00:49:43.85\00:49:45.41 We're going to go to a role in just a moment 00:49:45.45\00:49:47.52 where you'll be able to help in some way to donate 00:49:47.55\00:49:51.55 or to give toward the effort that Brother Sosa 00:49:51.59\00:49:54.49 and the Salinas Church are doing to help the homeless 00:49:54.52\00:49:56.56 but you know, there may be someone watching 00:49:56.59\00:49:58.19 right now that says, you know what, 00:49:58.23\00:49:59.56 I've hit rock bottom and I have nowhere else to go, 00:49:59.59\00:50:02.56 I'm addicted to alcohol, I'm addicted to cigarettes, 00:50:02.60\00:50:05.07 I'm addicted to, you know, whatever drug it is 00:50:05.10\00:50:07.74 or whatever addiction you're dealing with. 00:50:07.77\00:50:09.70 This is the living proof. 00:50:09.74\00:50:11.27 You know, the, you know, 00:50:11.31\00:50:12.64 there's nothing more powerful than a personal testimony. 00:50:12.67\00:50:15.34 He is living proof that God can deliver 00:50:15.38\00:50:19.21 even the lowest of the lowest, if you've hit rock bottom, 00:50:19.25\00:50:21.72 and you've hit your lowest 00:50:21.75\00:50:23.08 and you think, I'm the greatest, 00:50:23.12\00:50:24.45 the greatest sinner 00:50:24.49\00:50:25.82 that has ever walked this earth. 00:50:25.85\00:50:27.19 Jesus still loves you. He's still there. 00:50:27.22\00:50:28.72 He's still working to reach your heart. 00:50:28.76\00:50:31.06 He has a plan for you. 00:50:31.09\00:50:32.43 And then, Brother Steve, 00:50:32.46\00:50:33.80 I praise God for what it is that 00:50:33.83\00:50:35.33 the God has done through you 00:50:35.36\00:50:36.70 and what He's doing through you, 00:50:36.73\00:50:38.30 through the church of Salinas there in California. 00:50:38.33\00:50:41.24 In fact, you know, we have about a minute 00:50:41.27\00:50:43.20 before we're going to go to the information 00:50:43.24\00:50:45.44 we're going to put up here 00:50:45.47\00:50:46.81 for those who might want to donate. 00:50:46.84\00:50:48.18 So tell us a little bit about that. 00:50:48.21\00:50:49.54 If they want to donate to the cause, what can they do? 00:50:49.58\00:50:53.65 You can send it to the Salinas Seventh-day Adventist Church. 00:50:53.68\00:50:55.35 Salinas Seventh-day Adventist Church. 00:50:55.38\00:50:57.55 And again, if they're donating to this cause, 00:50:57.59\00:51:00.46 and they're sending this donation 00:51:00.49\00:51:02.72 to the Salinas Seventh-day Adventist Church. 00:51:02.76\00:51:04.69 For those who may have had 00:51:04.73\00:51:06.06 just turned to this channel at this very moment, 00:51:06.09\00:51:08.03 what is it that they're going to donate to? 00:51:08.06\00:51:09.46 What are they, what is, 00:51:09.50\00:51:10.83 what is their money or their donation? 00:51:10.87\00:51:12.20 They donate towards the homeless 00:51:12.23\00:51:14.70 for the passing out the sandwiches 00:51:14.74\00:51:16.87 and other people that may need stuff, you know. 00:51:16.91\00:51:19.47 Amen. 00:51:19.51\00:51:20.84 Ministering to and helping those 00:51:20.88\00:51:22.38 that once were like you that are, you know, 00:51:22.41\00:51:24.88 you were once in this situation. 00:51:24.91\00:51:26.25 Powerful. 00:51:26.28\00:51:27.62 Well, my friends, hey, we're not quite through yet. 00:51:27.65\00:51:29.68 We're gonna have a little bit of a break, a news break. 00:51:29.72\00:51:31.79 But right now in 10 seconds 00:51:31.82\00:51:34.26 you're going to see a screen come up 00:51:34.29\00:51:36.22 and it's going to have the information 00:51:36.26\00:51:37.73 for Steve's ministry as well as 00:51:37.76\00:51:40.70 the Salinas Seventh-day Adventist Church. 00:51:40.73\00:51:43.13 Here is how you can donate. 00:51:43.16\00:51:47.54 For more information about 00:51:47.57\00:51:48.90 the Salinas Seventh-day Adventist Church 00:51:48.94\00:51:50.57 or to support their mission, please contact them at 00:51:50.61\00:51:53.51 831-424-7786. 00:51:53.54\00:51:57.91 That's 831-424-7786. 00:51:57.95\00:52:02.62 Their website is SalinasSDA.org. 00:52:02.65\00:52:06.05 That's SalinasSDA.org. 00:52:06.09\00:52:10.13 Their mailing address is 46 Villa Street, 00:52:10.16\00:52:13.03 Salinas, California 93901. 00:52:13.06\00:52:16.16 That's 46 Villa Street, Salinas, California 93901. 00:52:16.20\00:52:21.87