Welcome to "The New Journey,"
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the program where we
meet real life people,
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with real life testimonies,
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with real life
working ministries for Jesus.
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"Amazing Grace,
how sweet the sound,
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that saved a wretch like me.
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I once was lost
but now I'm found,
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was blind but now I see."
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John Newton
wrote this amazing song
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of "Amazing Grace"
over 200 years ago.
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And interestingly enough,
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the lyrics fit
perfectly with our guest today.
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Meet the man that was
sentenced to 99 years in prison,
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but is a free
man today, gain hope
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as you see how God
can transform a life,
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then place him in
pastoral ministry.
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This could be
your success story.
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I'm your host, Aaron Chancy.
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Come join us on
"The New Journey".
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We like to welcome the viewers
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back to this
"New Journey" program.
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Today our guest is
Pastor Donell Morgan.
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Welcome, Pastor Morgan.
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Thank you. All right, all right.
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Now we want to focus
on your amazing testimony
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of God's amazing saving grace.
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We want to focus on
four areas of your life,
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your early childhood, how
you got involved in crime,
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changing your life
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and your battle with
even learning how to read.
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And we want to
talk about your work
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as an ordained minister for God.
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But before we get into
those four aspects of your life,
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you have a book that's written.
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Now I want you
to talk a little bit
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about what prompted you,
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what motivated you to
want to write this book?
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Well, what prompted me
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and motivated me
to write this book,
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I used to go around
from church to church.
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Telling my testimonies. Okay.
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Telling my testimony.
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And the people had asked me
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to put my life
story in the book.
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But the main person
that had an influence over me
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was Elder C.
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Uh, Elder Dudley.
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He was the president of
South Central Conference.
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And he had asked me to
put my testimony in a book.
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And he would like to see it
before he actually passed away.
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And so my wife and
I, we have gotten busy
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to put the testimony in the book
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and the book was
finished in March
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and Elder Dudley had
passed away in April.
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Okay, okay.
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What's the name of your book?
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The name of it
is very interesting.
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Tell the viewers what that is.
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The name of the
book is "The Call."
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The sub-topic is "To
Hang Out with a Good God
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That Keeps Bad Company."
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You know, that is amazing
because we do serve a good God
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and he saves
bad company like us.
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We're not the
greatest company at times,
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we're a complaining
people, disgruntled people,
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but God wants to
hang out with us.
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That's right.
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That's amazing, that's amazing.
Powerful, very powerful book.
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We want to talk a little
bit about your early life now.
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Where were you born?
Where did you grow up at?
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I was born in New
Orleans, Louisiana.
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New Orleans, Louisiana.
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And raised in the Magnolia
and the Melpomene Project.
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Okay, okay.
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Now I know a little bit about
the Magnolia and the Melpomene.
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I know about New
Orleans in itself.
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I used to live in Baton Rouge.
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And you know, New Orleans is,
to me is like a different city
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than any other
city that I've been in.
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Uh, when I would go down there,
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I would hang
out in the projects,
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The Desire, The
Magnolia, The Calliope.
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I know about these projects,
I know about these areas.
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So I'm very familiar
with your upbringing.
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It was probably
difficult coming up, wasn't it?
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Definitely very
difficult coming up
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because my daddy left my mother
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when I was about
2 or 3 years old.
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And I can remember having
seven step fathers in the house.
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And...
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Was that hard to see
you have a step father
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in your life at one
point, for a little while,
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and then he's gone, then
another one comes and another?
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How was it dealing with that?
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Well, that was very
difficult to accept.
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Okay.
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Seven step fathers
coming into my life.
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And one of them, you
know, has beaten me severely.
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And I made up my mind
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that I was not going to be
beaten again by a step father.
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Okay, okay. I can understand.
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So that was a real hard
upbringing that you had.
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Did you grow up
in a Christian home?
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Was your mother a Christian?
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Uh, did you have a grandmother
that was a Christian?
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Talk a little bit about that.
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Uh, no. I did not grow
up in a Christian home.
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But I did grow up in a
home that my mother would pray,
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but I wouldn't call
it a Christian home.
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My grandmother,
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she was very, very fond of me.
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You see, she is, in
other words, I was her,
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I would guess I was her...
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Her baby. Her baby.
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Yeah, it actually...Okay, okay.
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I was her baby.
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And everything I needed,
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you know, she
supplied it for me.
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That's my grandmother.
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Okay, okay, amen.
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Tell us how you got involved
in the criminal lifestyle?
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What were some
underlying factors
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that led to you
getting involved in crime?
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Okay.
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One of my step fathers had
gotten upset with my mother.
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And he said to her that if
it's the last thing he does,
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he's going to get even with her.
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Wow. So he did.
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He went down to the Food
Stamp and Welfare Department
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and he told the people
there that he was living with us
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and buying food for us
and buying clothes for us,
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and the
department wanted to know
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if his clothes
were still in the house.
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And he said, "Yes."
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So upon investigation,
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they came and
found his clothes there
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and they cut my mother off
from welfare and food stamps.
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So I saw my
mother in the corner.
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She was crying and she was
praying and she was asking God,
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"How am I going to
take care of my children?"
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How are you gonna make it? Yeah.
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How are we gonna make it?
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And when I looked at
her and heard those words,
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I said to myself at
that particular time,
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"We are not going to starve."
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So I did not go back to school.
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You see, and back then, at
that time, if he was absent,
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they wouldn't
call the house and say,
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"Well, your child
wasn't in school today."
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So it's almost like
they didn't even care
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whether you came
to school or not.
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That is correct. Okay.
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So I went out to
the grocery stores
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and was asking people,
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"Can I help them
with their groceries
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because my mother was cut
off of welfare and food stamps?"
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And I was out there just
trying to make some money,
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earn some money to
help take care of my family.
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Okay. You see.
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And so they
would give me 25 cents,
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some a dollar, some 15 cents.
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But the money was not
coming in fast enough.
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So I went to the golf
clubs, beginning to carry,
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what we call caddy bags.
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By...
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and Caddy bags and so
by me being a young man
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I could not get a green ticket.
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I was only able to
get a yellow ticket.
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The yellow ticket paid $3.50,
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3 dollars and 50
cents for 18 holes,
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where the green
tickets paid like...
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$5 or $6 for 18 holes.
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So I was out
there for some time,
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way up from sun up to sun down
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and all I was able to bring home
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was sort of like $12.50, $15,
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and that was not enough.
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So I turned to selling drugs.
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Now, I turned to selling
drugs with a good intention.
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Yeah, the good intention, okay.
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The good intention was
that we needed some food.
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Okay, you know
what's rather interesting is
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that, you know, you
got into selling drugs
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with the purpose
of good intentions.
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You needed food. That's right.
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It wasn't as, you
know, "I want this fancy car,
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I want these fancy clothes,
I want the biggest house."
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It wasn't like that.
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It was a person that look,
"I see my family struggling,
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the caddy job's not working,
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different
things aren't working."
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So it was like you had
good intentions when you began?
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Good intentions when I began.
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Because I knew that once...
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after this six months was up
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where my mother was cut off
from welfare and food stamps
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that I would be
able to get out of it.
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And go on to something else.
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But instead...
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I began to use.
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Yeah, okay. The drugs.
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Now at this
point how old were you,
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at this point when you
began selling the drugs
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and you began using the drugs?
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I think I was
between 12 and 13 years old.
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You know the system,
most 12-13 year olds,
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they should be in
school, they should be learning.
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They shouldn't be having
to do anything like that,
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selling drugs, using drugs.
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But here you
are, a 12-13 years old
00:10:18.48\00:10:20.82
trying to support your family.
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My family.
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Okay, how many
people were in your family
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at that time in your household?
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That was five,
that was six of us.
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Okay.
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Okay, I had two...
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two brothers and three sisters.
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Were you the oldest?
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No, I was the
second to the oldest.
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Okay, so you felt that
you had to go out there
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and basically provide for
your family at that point.
00:10:42.87\00:10:45.44
At that point when I saw
my mother crying and saying.
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As it broke your heart.
00:10:50.81\00:10:52.21
"What am I going to do?"
00:10:52.25\00:10:55.55
Okay, because see, my
mother and I was very close.
00:10:55.58\00:11:02.12
And when one of my step dads,
is like I was saying earlier.
00:11:02.16\00:11:06.59
Yeah, seven step fathers.
00:11:06.63\00:11:07.96
That he was
abusing me by whipping me,
00:11:08.00\00:11:11.33
you know, I
looked over at my mother,
00:11:11.37\00:11:15.67
and I looked into her eyes
and when I looked into her eyes
00:11:15.70\00:11:22.38
I realised that...
00:11:22.41\00:11:26.05
she felt my pain.
00:11:26.08\00:11:29.72
And when I realised
that she felt my pain
00:11:29.75\00:11:34.46
as my step
father was beating me,
00:11:34.49\00:11:38.56
as long as I kept
my eyes on my mother
00:11:38.59\00:11:41.46
I did not feel the pain.
00:11:41.50\00:11:43.73
You see, so...
00:11:43.77\00:11:47.64
trying to get back
to the original question
00:11:47.67\00:11:50.74
that you had asked me
00:11:50.77\00:11:52.74
and I would like
for you to repeat it.
00:11:52.77\00:11:54.91
Okay, dealing with
the drugs, at what point,
00:11:54.94\00:11:57.85
at what age did you
began using the drugs
00:11:57.88\00:12:00.42
and what kind of drugs
were you on at that point?
00:12:00.45\00:12:03.45
Okay, like I was saying,
00:12:03.49\00:12:05.45
selling the drugs
and using the drugs,
00:12:05.49\00:12:07.59
it was between
the age of 12 and 13.
00:12:07.62\00:12:11.16
Okay, I first
started with sniffing glue.
00:12:11.19\00:12:15.33
That's where I first
started, with sniffing glue.
00:12:15.36\00:12:18.63
Are you talking
about like, Elmer's glue?
00:12:18.67\00:12:20.34
Elmer's glue. Wow.
00:12:20.37\00:12:21.70
You put it in the
bag and just sniff it.
00:12:21.74\00:12:24.21
And also, we would
put gasoline on a rag
00:12:24.24\00:12:28.68
and put it in a bag and then
00:12:28.71\00:12:30.75
we would begin
to sniff the glue.
00:12:30.78\00:12:34.28
But I was selling drugs,
00:12:34.32\00:12:38.19
I was selling mostly
marijuana and angel dust.
00:12:38.22\00:12:44.19
Okay, now, the money
was coming in pretty good
00:12:44.23\00:12:48.50
as I was selling the drugs.
00:12:48.53\00:12:50.00
But when I began to
use the drugs, okay,
00:12:50.03\00:12:55.44
then I had to have more money.
00:12:55.47\00:12:59.94
Yeah, yeah.
00:12:59.97\00:13:01.48
So I turned to home
robbery, robbing people.
00:13:01.51\00:13:07.62
You see, because I
was using the profit
00:13:07.65\00:13:10.89
that I was using
to give to my mother.
00:13:10.92\00:13:13.36
You know, it's interesting
00:13:13.39\00:13:14.72
that you started out
with good intentions.
00:13:14.76\00:13:17.06
You know, just six months,
00:13:17.09\00:13:18.43
I'm gonna sell these
drugs for six months.
00:13:18.46\00:13:20.43
But the devil wouldn't
let it only be six months.
00:13:20.46\00:13:22.56
He said "No, it's
gonna be some time."
00:13:22.60\00:13:24.70
And you know, that's
the thing because many times
00:13:24.73\00:13:26.43
when we go out
there in our lifestyle,
00:13:26.47\00:13:28.87
we think "Well, I just want
to try it for a little while.
00:13:28.90\00:13:30.81
Maybe a year, may be for two.
00:13:30.84\00:13:32.77
Next thing you
know, 10-15 years later,
00:13:32.81\00:13:35.18
you're still in that life.
00:13:35.21\00:13:36.75
I'm still in that
life. Still in that life.
00:13:36.78\00:13:38.85
So at 16 years old,
you were in incarcerated.
00:13:38.88\00:13:41.65
What was that charge
you were incarcerated for?
00:13:41.68\00:13:43.42
At 16 years old, I was
arrested for home robbery
00:13:43.45\00:13:49.89
and attempted murder.
00:13:49.92\00:13:52.33
And there was a blessing in that
00:13:52.36\00:13:54.36
where you eventually
went before the judge,
00:13:54.40\00:13:56.70
he sentenced you
to 99 years, right?
00:13:56.73\00:13:58.87
That's right.
00:13:58.90\00:14:00.24
Now, there's a
great blessing there
00:14:00.27\00:14:01.60
because you're
sitting here with me today
00:14:01.64\00:14:03.17
and you don't look
99 years old, right now.
00:14:03.20\00:14:05.04
That's correct.
00:14:05.07\00:14:06.41
So we got to find
out what that blessing is
00:14:06.44\00:14:08.41
but before I get to that,
you know most people say that
00:14:08.44\00:14:12.25
"There's a void
in my life somewhere.
00:14:12.28\00:14:14.15
There was a void. I
realised that there was a void."
00:14:14.18\00:14:16.48
Did you have that
same void in your life
00:14:16.52\00:14:18.59
we're trying to mask it
up with different things?
00:14:18.62\00:14:20.86
Oh, yes, definitely I
had a emptiness in my life.
00:14:20.89\00:14:27.20
And while I was out there,
00:14:27.23\00:14:30.90
I was trying to find something.
00:14:30.93\00:14:34.54
And I've
thought it was in drugs.
00:14:34.57\00:14:36.44
I thought it was in...
00:14:36.47\00:14:39.74
in womens.
00:14:39.77\00:14:41.11
I thought it was in liquor.
I thought it was in drugs.
00:14:41.14\00:14:45.38
I thought it was in all
of these type of things.
00:14:45.41\00:14:48.78
You know, but
when Jesus found me
00:14:48.82\00:14:52.22
out there on the streets,
00:14:52.25\00:14:54.09
I was high on
angel dust, marijuana,
00:14:54.12\00:14:58.83
and Old Grand-Dad 100 proof.
00:14:58.86\00:15:01.60
Old Grand-Dad.
00:15:01.63\00:15:02.96
I was high when Jesus found me.
00:15:03.00\00:15:05.97
Wow, you know that's interesting
00:15:06.00\00:15:07.34
because actually when
Jesus found me I was high, too.
00:15:07.37\00:15:10.24
I was on
cocaine. I was on ecstasy.
00:15:10.27\00:15:12.67
I was on
marijuana. I was on alcohol.
00:15:12.71\00:15:14.91
All at one time.
00:15:14.94\00:15:16.28
And it's interesting that
even through all of that mess,
00:15:16.31\00:15:19.85
that God can still find us
and then we can open our ears,
00:15:19.88\00:15:23.79
somehow, to listen
to what God has to say.
00:15:23.82\00:15:26.59
That's amazing,
amazing grace. Yeah.
00:15:26.62\00:15:28.66
Now, back to being
sentenced to 99 years,
00:15:28.69\00:15:31.19
what took place in that?
00:15:31.23\00:15:32.56
And what was the
blessing out of that?
00:15:32.59\00:15:33.93
Okay, being
sentenced to 99 years,
00:15:33.96\00:15:36.40
I went before to judge
00:15:38.57\00:15:40.60
and the judge has
sentenced me to 99 years.
00:15:40.64\00:15:44.97
Well, of course,
when I was young,
00:15:45.01\00:15:47.04
that didn't bother me.
00:15:47.08\00:15:48.48
I went back for my cell.
00:15:48.51\00:15:50.65
But it bothered my mother
00:15:50.68\00:15:53.28
and my
cigarette-puffing grandmother.
00:15:53.31\00:15:56.42
Cigarette-puffing grandmother.
00:15:56.45\00:15:57.79
Yeah.
00:15:57.82\00:15:59.42
Cigarette puffing
grandmother and they prayed.
00:15:59.45\00:16:03.56
Okay.
00:16:03.59\00:16:04.93
They prayed to God and ask God
00:16:04.96\00:16:09.26
to please a move
up on the judge heart,
00:16:09.30\00:16:14.74
to take those 99 years back.
00:16:14.77\00:16:18.27
And the next day, the
judge called me back to court.
00:16:18.31\00:16:23.65
My mother and
grandmother was there.
00:16:23.68\00:16:26.11
And he said that,
00:16:26.15\00:16:29.98
"I never gave a young man
00:16:30.02\00:16:35.12
that, a 99 years...
00:16:35.16\00:16:37.33
Yeah, that amount of time.
00:16:37.36\00:16:39.43
That amount of time" Okay.
00:16:39.46\00:16:41.16
He said, "But what
I'm going to do-- "
00:16:41.20\00:16:43.06
and then also he
said "A first timer."
00:16:43.10\00:16:46.13
I was young, I was first.
00:16:46.17\00:16:48.84
Now, it wasn't your
first time committing crime...
00:16:48.87\00:16:50.57
Oh, no, no. First
time getting caught.
00:16:50.61\00:16:51.94
First time getting
caught. Okay, okay.
00:16:51.97\00:16:54.74
And so he took
that 99 years back
00:16:54.78\00:16:59.41
and he gave me 2
years and a half.
00:16:59.45\00:17:02.48
Wow, that's an
incredible answer to prayer.
00:17:02.52\00:17:04.35
Incredible, then he called
me back the next day and said
00:17:04.39\00:17:09.56
"I never gave
anybody, 2 and half years
00:17:09.59\00:17:13.93
for home robbery
and attempted murder."
00:17:13.96\00:17:16.97
So what he did was,
he broke the time down,
00:17:17.00\00:17:22.20
he broke the choice
down, that's what they call it.
00:17:22.24\00:17:24.54
Broke it down to
attempted home robbery
00:17:24.57\00:17:29.54
and gave me 3
years in the Angola,
00:17:29.58\00:17:34.72
Louisiana State Prison.
00:17:34.75\00:17:36.25
Angola State Prison, now,
00:17:36.28\00:17:37.82
Angola I known
for being infamous,
00:17:37.85\00:17:40.66
especially, years ago
00:17:40.69\00:17:42.02
Angola was known for
being an infamous prison.
00:17:42.06\00:17:44.29
What was it like as a young man
00:17:44.33\00:17:46.26
being in this
maximum security prison?
00:17:46.29\00:17:48.20
Well, actually this it
what it was like for me.
00:17:48.23\00:17:51.17
I saw a lot of
people getting stabbed.
00:17:54.30\00:17:59.04
I saw a lot of
people that was killed
00:17:59.07\00:18:04.01
by mouth being
drowned in a toilet.
00:18:04.05\00:18:08.92
And it was a nightmare.
00:18:08.95\00:18:13.52
But I didn't know God at all.
00:18:13.56\00:18:18.09
And didn't want
nothing to do with God.
00:18:18.13\00:18:20.60
Yeah, okay.
00:18:20.63\00:18:21.96
So I start praying everyday
while I was in prison saying,
00:18:22.00\00:18:26.27
"Lord, thank you very
much for protecting me
00:18:26.30\00:18:31.57
and please protect me."
00:18:31.61\00:18:34.11
Now, this time you're praying.
00:18:34.14\00:18:35.78
You didn't even have
a relationship with God.
00:18:35.81\00:18:37.55
No relationship. Okay.
00:18:37.58\00:18:39.95
Actually I took the
word of God, the Bible,
00:18:39.98\00:18:42.65
and threw it on the
ground and stamped it.
00:18:42.68\00:18:44.72
Wow. Okay, no relationship.
00:18:44.75\00:18:47.19
And then, I was
praying everyday.
00:18:47.22\00:18:50.63
Because see,
some of the friends,
00:18:50.66\00:18:53.76
we call them fall partners,
00:18:53.80\00:18:55.33
some of them and I were friends,
00:18:55.36\00:18:57.90
had gotten killed.
00:18:57.93\00:19:00.14
And because I came with them,
00:19:00.17\00:19:02.80
I was just about in
danger as they were.
00:19:02.84\00:19:06.91
So as I was praying, God
had blessed me not to get hurt.
00:19:06.94\00:19:14.22
Amen. And not to get killed.
00:19:14.25\00:19:16.89
But when I was out
of prison, I went home,
00:19:16.92\00:19:24.16
kneeled down on
the floor, and I said
00:19:24.19\00:19:27.23
"God, thank you
for protecting me,
00:19:27.26\00:19:29.96
but now I don't
need you anymore."
00:19:30.00\00:19:33.17
You know that's amazing.
00:19:33.20\00:19:34.54
Back in the streets, I'm went.
00:19:34.57\00:19:35.90
You know, at times
00:19:35.94\00:19:37.27
when we're in
dangerous situations,
00:19:37.31\00:19:38.87
we want to call out to God,
"Lord, help me, Lord, save me."
00:19:38.91\00:19:41.74
And as soon as He
pulls us out of that mess,
00:19:41.78\00:19:44.65
we go right back to
the same exact thing.
00:19:44.68\00:19:46.51
Right back to the same.
00:19:46.55\00:19:47.88
You know, it
never fails at times.
00:19:47.92\00:19:49.88
Many people have
gone through that,
00:19:49.92\00:19:51.69
when they are in bad situations,
00:19:51.72\00:19:53.25
they call on the name of Jesus.
00:19:53.29\00:19:54.86
As soon as something changes,
they say, "You know what Lord?
00:19:54.89\00:19:58.13
I don't want
anything to do with you."
00:19:58.16\00:19:59.96
That's not cool.
00:20:00.00\00:20:01.33
That's not what
I'm interested in.
00:20:01.36\00:20:02.70
You know, you had another
incredible answer to prayer,
00:20:02.73\00:20:05.63
while you were in Angola,
00:20:05.67\00:20:07.17
which took you out of that
00:20:07.20\00:20:08.54
maximum security
prison to another prison.
00:20:08.57\00:20:10.74
Talk a little about that.
00:20:10.77\00:20:12.11
Yeah, again, my mother
00:20:12.14\00:20:13.74
and my
cigarette-puffing grandmother,
00:20:13.78\00:20:17.75
they got
together and they prayed.
00:20:17.78\00:20:19.98
Hello, Prayer
meeting. Hello, Prayer meeting.
00:20:20.02\00:20:22.35
You see, and they
knew about the Quincy,
00:20:22.38\00:20:28.69
the Quincy Alabama,
00:20:28.72\00:20:30.36
where first timers, you see,
00:20:30.39\00:20:34.10
can go there and it's not
as hard as it was in Angola.
00:20:34.13\00:20:41.50
So it's more like a minimum
or medium security prison.
00:20:41.54\00:20:43.67
Correct. Okay.
00:20:43.71\00:20:45.04
That's right. All right.
00:20:45.07\00:20:46.41
And so they began to
pray, and ask God that
00:20:46.44\00:20:50.78
if I can be moved from Angola,
00:20:50.81\00:20:55.52
Louisiana to the
Quincy, Louisiana.
00:20:55.55\00:20:59.19
And again, now,
I'm already in Angola,
00:20:59.22\00:21:02.36
already in a
Louisiana State Penitentiary,
00:21:02.39\00:21:05.59
and they prayed.
00:21:05.63\00:21:08.73
And when they
prayed, I get a letter,
00:21:08.76\00:21:13.84
stating that I'm
going to be transferred
00:21:13.87\00:21:16.71
from Louisiana
State Penitentiary
00:21:16.74\00:21:19.47
to the Quincy, Louisiana,
00:21:19.51\00:21:22.14
where I spent the rest
of my time in discharge.
00:21:22.18\00:21:25.51
Mm, another
incredible answer to prayer.
00:21:25.55\00:21:27.32
Incredible answer
to prayer. Amen, amen.
00:21:27.35\00:21:28.82
Now, you were
sentenced to 99 years,
00:21:28.85\00:21:30.95
then the judge
gave you 2 and a half,
00:21:30.99\00:21:32.42
then he brought you
back and gave you 3 years.
00:21:32.45\00:21:34.66
How much time did you end
up spending on that 3 years?
00:21:34.69\00:21:38.09
1 year, 11 months and 5 days.
00:21:38.13\00:21:40.63
Wow, you remember it to the day.
00:21:40.66\00:21:42.00
Yeah.
00:21:42.03\00:21:43.37
To the day, that's all
we have to do, is remember.
00:21:43.40\00:21:45.60
You know, I remember
when I was incarcerated,
00:21:45.63\00:21:48.00
everybody kind of makes
their own little calendar.
00:21:48.04\00:21:50.31
Day one, day two, day three,
00:21:50.34\00:21:52.44
and you just keep track on
00:21:52.47\00:21:53.81
how much time
you spend in prison.
00:21:53.84\00:21:55.31
So you got out, you
said, "You know what Lord,
00:21:55.34\00:21:57.55
I don't want
anything to do with you."
00:21:57.58\00:21:59.28
No more.
00:21:59.31\00:22:00.65
Now, let's transition over to,
00:22:00.68\00:22:02.78
you eventually
got off the drugs,
00:22:02.82\00:22:04.59
you had a struggle
getting off the drugs.
00:22:04.62\00:22:06.59
You got off those.
00:22:06.62\00:22:07.96
And you began to
start to find Jesus.
00:22:07.99\00:22:10.83
Talk about you battle to read,
00:22:10.86\00:22:12.63
and how you found Jesus
through learning to read.
00:22:12.66\00:22:15.20
That's very good.
00:22:15.23\00:22:16.56
I was high on angel
dust and angel dust,
00:22:16.60\00:22:22.70
marijuana and Old Grand-Dad.
00:22:23.24\00:22:27.08
And I was just
casually behind a store there
00:22:27.38\00:22:31.88
that's called Swagmans
which is not there anymore.
00:22:31.91\00:22:36.08
And as I was just
there, standing there, high,
00:22:36.12\00:22:39.75
you know,
meeting with my brother,
00:22:39.79\00:22:41.26
and other guys that
was around us hanging out.
00:22:41.29\00:22:45.26
There was a lady that
came out of grocery store
00:22:45.29\00:22:47.76
and she asked me, she
said, "Do you have a fare?"
00:22:47.80\00:22:51.30
I said, "No, Ma'am."
00:22:51.33\00:22:52.97
And she said,
"Can you take me home?"
00:22:53.00\00:22:55.17
I said, "Yes." Okay.
00:22:55.20\00:22:56.64
So as I was taking her home,
00:22:56.67\00:22:59.27
by the time I got
to the railroad track
00:22:59.31\00:23:02.68
where the Desire Project
was, I got out of the taxi cab
00:23:02.71\00:23:07.98
and begin to
preach Jesus to that lady.
00:23:08.02\00:23:10.69
Wow.
00:23:10.72\00:23:12.05
And then as I was preaching,
there I'm preaching Jesus.
00:23:12.09\00:23:14.32
And you don't even have
a relationship with Jesus.
00:23:14.36\00:23:15.69
No relationship,
don't want no relationship.
00:23:15.72\00:23:18.86
And you're preaching
Jesus. And preaching Jesus.
00:23:18.89\00:23:21.20
So after I got
through preaching Jesus,
00:23:21.23\00:23:23.97
I brought her home
and then I went back,
00:23:24.00\00:23:27.14
to chill out with my
brothers and the fellows
00:23:27.17\00:23:32.67
and another lady came up.
00:23:32.71\00:23:35.48
When she came out, she
asks me can I take her home,
00:23:35.51\00:23:39.11
and I say "Yes."
00:23:39.15\00:23:40.62
And as I was driving her home,
00:23:40.65\00:23:44.39
I stopped at the
same railroad track
00:23:44.42\00:23:47.92
and begin to
preach Jesus to her.
00:23:47.96\00:23:50.66
Okay, and after I got
them through preaching Jesus,
00:23:50.69\00:23:56.26
I brought her home.
00:23:56.30\00:23:59.77
Okay, so I began to
see this change in me.
00:23:59.80\00:24:04.61
Okay. Okay.
00:24:04.64\00:24:05.97
And I'm saying to
Jesus, I said, "Listen
00:24:06.01\00:24:10.45
how can I preach Jesus?
00:24:10.48\00:24:12.78
I cannot preach you." "I
don't even know Jesus, yet."
00:24:12.81\00:24:14.65
Yes, and then I
said, only when I'm high.
00:24:14.68\00:24:21.39
Because when the high
left off, I was afraid,
00:24:21.42\00:24:24.23
I thought something
was going to get me.
00:24:24.26\00:24:26.26
And I hurry up and run,
and get the drugs again.
00:24:26.29\00:24:30.30
Yeah, tying to get high, yeah.
00:24:30.33\00:24:31.67
And smoke, then, I start
preaching Jesus to everybody.
00:24:31.70\00:24:34.60
You see, and
then when it wore off,
00:24:34.64\00:24:37.54
again, I did the same thing.
00:24:37.57\00:24:39.97
And I said,
"Lord, why when I'm high
00:24:40.01\00:24:42.98
I can say
something about you?" Okay.
00:24:43.01\00:24:45.58
And at that time, he
took the Old Grand-Daddy away,
00:24:45.61\00:24:49.08
I couldn't find
none in New Orleans.
00:24:49.12\00:24:51.35
He took the
marijuana and angel dust away.
00:24:51.39\00:24:55.82
Folk was giving me
angel dust, I try to smoke,
00:24:55.86\00:24:58.76
and I wasn't getting high.
00:24:58.79\00:25:00.30
And I had the
cigarette in my mouth,
00:25:00.33\00:25:02.20
God said, "Throw
the cigarette away."
00:25:02.23\00:25:04.43
No, he told me, "Throw
the pack of cigarette away."
00:25:06.33\00:25:08.74
So I throw the packet away,
00:25:08.77\00:25:10.11
he said, "Throw
the cigarette away."
00:25:10.14\00:25:11.97
I said, "Can I
just smoke this one?"
00:25:12.01\00:25:14.18
He said, "No, throw it away."
00:25:14.21\00:25:16.04
"Throw it all of it."
"Throw it all, all away."
00:25:16.08\00:25:18.75
Okay, now, in your
book, you a us story
00:25:18.78\00:25:20.98
about you were
driving a cab one day
00:25:21.02\00:25:23.02
and a lady began to
read John 14 to you.
00:25:23.05\00:25:25.65
Yes. Tell about that.
00:25:25.69\00:25:27.02
Okay, yes.
00:25:27.06\00:25:28.39
When God began to
move in my life, okay,
00:25:28.42\00:25:32.53
I wanted to read, I
wanted to learn about God,
00:25:32.56\00:25:35.93
so I went and bought a $5 Bible.
00:25:35.96\00:25:38.80
And as I was driving the
cab, I was asking the people,
00:25:38.83\00:25:42.50
"What this word is?"
00:25:42.54\00:25:43.91
They say, "Let,"
the other one, "Not."
00:25:43.94\00:25:46.14
And we went all the way through
the book of John Chapter 14.
00:25:46.17\00:25:49.54
John Chapter 14. Wow.
00:25:49.58\00:25:51.18
Okay, by the time I
got to the end of that,
00:25:51.21\00:25:54.02
okay, I forgot everything
and I became frustrated.
00:25:54.05\00:25:59.85
And then, I got up
early that morning,
00:25:59.89\00:26:02.76
driving down for Red Street,
and I saw a big fat lady.
00:26:02.79\00:26:07.46
She was huge.
00:26:07.50\00:26:09.43
It took about 5
minutes to get in the cab.
00:26:09.46\00:26:12.97
I brought her home
00:26:13.00\00:26:15.00
and all of the
story is in the book.
00:26:15.04\00:26:18.24
Okay, okay. Is in the book.
00:26:18.27\00:26:19.67
So what I did was,
when I dropped her off,
00:26:19.71\00:26:23.35
she gave me the fare,
and I wrote the address down,
00:26:23.38\00:26:30.65
and when I drove to
the corner of Lafayette,
00:26:30.69\00:26:34.12
I look up there
and saw Lafayette,
00:26:34.16\00:26:37.19
and I wrote the...
00:26:37.23\00:26:39.06
Wrote the name of the street.
00:26:39.09\00:26:40.43
The name of the
street on my trip sheet
00:26:40.46\00:26:43.13
because I
couldn't read and write
00:26:43.16\00:26:44.73
but that's how I
was able to spell.
00:26:44.77\00:26:46.40
Yeah, you could
catch the letters, okay.
00:26:46.43\00:26:47.77
But anyway, when I opened
up the Saint John Chapter 14,
00:26:47.80\00:26:53.71
I began to read, "Let
not your heart be troubled,
00:26:53.74\00:26:56.64
you believe in God,
believe also in me."
00:26:56.68\00:26:59.45
You see, after I read
that whole chapter-- thing,
00:26:59.48\00:27:03.15
I turn around to go tell her,
you know, I want to thank her,
00:27:03.18\00:27:07.29
but there was no house there.
00:27:07.32\00:27:08.76
Wow, wow. Okay.
00:27:08.79\00:27:10.13
Nothing there? Nothing there.
00:27:10.16\00:27:11.49
I looked down at my trip sheet,
00:27:11.53\00:27:13.56
there was nothing
there on the trip sheet.
00:27:13.60\00:27:17.10
Wow, viewers I tell you this is
truly a story of amazing grace.
00:27:17.13\00:27:22.14
We don't have time to
get in into the full story.
00:27:22.17\00:27:25.61
Now, Pastor Morgan is
involved in pastoral ministry,
00:27:25.64\00:27:29.44
he has changed his life.
00:27:29.48\00:27:31.41
God has worked upon his life.
00:27:31.45\00:27:33.65
Pastor Morgan, I
want you to speak
00:27:33.68\00:27:35.32
into the camera
for about 10 minutes.
00:27:35.35\00:27:36.69
Talk to the viewers.
00:27:36.72\00:27:38.05
Give them some
words of encouragement
00:27:38.09\00:27:39.42
in about 10 seconds.
00:27:39.45\00:27:40.79
Well, I just like to
encourage you to let you know,
00:27:40.82\00:27:44.76
there is hope.
00:27:44.79\00:27:46.13
There is. And there
is hope for tomorrow.
00:27:46.16\00:27:49.63
Some time we may
feel like God is not there
00:27:49.66\00:27:52.73
but when I was at the
bottom of the Mississippi river,
00:27:52.77\00:27:56.37
I heard a voice that said,
"You are not going to drown."
00:27:56.40\00:28:03.11
And I said, "What shall I do?"
00:28:03.14\00:28:07.08
Then He said, "Take your
feet and put where your head,
00:28:07.12\00:28:11.92
and your head where your feet."
00:28:11.95\00:28:13.86
Amen, amen.
00:28:13.89\00:28:15.22
This is truly a
story of amazing grace.
00:28:15.26\00:28:17.99
We encourage you, to hear more.
00:28:18.03\00:28:19.89
Join us next time
on "The New Journey."
00:28:19.93\00:28:21.60