The following program
discusses sensitive issues.
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Parents are
cautioned that some material
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may be too candid
for younger children.
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Welcome to the New Journey,
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a program about real life people
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with real life testimonies
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doing real life
ministry for Jesus Christ.
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I'm your host,
Pastor Marquis Johns.
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Join us for the New Journey.
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As commandment keepers,
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our endeavor is to abide
by the letter of the law,
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keeping the fourth commandment,
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keeping the seventh commandment,
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keeping the tenth commandment.
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But the one thing that we forget
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is what made
Abraham the friend of God.
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It wasn't that he just
obeyed the commandments,
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he obeyed His voice
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and Christ never spoke
clearer than when He said,
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"Some of us are going to perish
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because of those
who are in prison
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and we didn't visit them."
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On today's show is a person
with just such a testimony
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having been in prison,
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looking for an
extension of the love of Christ
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of being unable to find it.
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Brother Carlos
Gomez, how are you?
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Just fine.
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You're doing all
right? Yeah, I'm fine.
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Good, good, good.
I'm glad to be here.
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I'm glad that you're here.
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So I anticipate
that this is going to be
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a very, very, good interview,
and the reason why is because
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I can already sense that
you have a similar personality
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like me, so
please don't hold back.
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Now here's what I'd like to
do is I'll like us to start off,
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just give us a little
bit about where you're from.
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Tell us where you're
from? Where you grew up?
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I was born in a city
called Armenia in Colombia,
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South America,
and I grew up in a...
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Grew up there, poor family.
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I decided to abort,
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because I was tired
of that kind of life
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and we moved back
here to United States.
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Oh, wow. I remember 1998.
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I know a lot about
what was going on in 1998.
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And so you said you moved
back to the United States.
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So you lived here before
moving to, you were born...
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No, I'm sorry, I
moved to the United States.
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Okay. So you moved to...
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How old were you
when that happened?
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I was 19 years old.
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Nineteen years, so you had...
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Still young. Yeah.
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Oh, yeah, definitely
I can... Don't you...
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No, no, no, I got you.
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So, you were living in Colombia
until you were 19 years of age.
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Right.
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Now already there's a
set of presuppositions
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that are just
swirling through my head
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about growing up in
Colombia of all places.
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And then for me
growing up in the early 80's
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where the drug
trafficking was just heavy,
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America was being flooded
with cocaine and marijuana,
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and things of the like,
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and the major contributor
to that was South America,
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and a little
country called Colombia.
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And so I would suspect
that growing up from a child
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or being born
and then growing up
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for 19 years in Colombia,
you've seen a few things?
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Well, you know, that's...
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I learned that when I was
here in the United States.
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You couldn't believe
me, when I was in Colombia
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I didn't see drugs there.
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Wow. I didn't see anything.
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Maybe my relationship
with people over there
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were different, I
was going to school,
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I always loved to go to
school, I love education.
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Even though we were
poor, my parents always
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encouraged on to education.
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But I never saw the drugs there,
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I never knew anything about
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drugs or cocaine
there in Colombia.
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Right.
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And I learned those things
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when I moved to
the United States.
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So you moved to
the United States at 19
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with no background, no
knowledge, if you will,
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no firsthand
knowledge of drugs as would we,
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those of us who are in America,
we believe the mythology,
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we believe the stereotypes,
everybody's the little kids
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and everybody's
carrying machine guns
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and have bells of coca
leaves trying to sell them
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but that wasn't your story.
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That's not true. Okay.
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And that's what
they're trying to say
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like whenever people ask
me, "Where are you from?"
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I said,
"Colombia" And they wrinkles,
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were like, "Wow.
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You know, you
Colombia, you're my friend."
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And they try, you know,
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they treat you
really, really nice.
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But that's not the
true there that, you know,
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my personal life that
it didn't happen that way.
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And it's a shame that, you know,
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we have a bad reputation
and, you know, all of us,
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we went through the situation.
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You know, my life it
was kind of different life,
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I mean, it was
a different people
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maybe there
were people around me
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that they were
involved in drugs because...
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But not you?
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In Colombia is, if
you are drug addict,
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I mean, you know,
you are now nobody.
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But then I learned
here in the United States,
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you can be a
lawyer, you can be a doctor,
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you can be anybody.
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Mercy, mercy, mercy.
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They do drugs and it's fine.
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Right.
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You still should
be the same person.
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Recreational use,
the way they call it.
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And it's just fine. Okay.
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But in Colombia, no,
if you were an drug addict
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and you don't.
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I mean, you don't
and that's basically.
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So, Carlos, you get here,
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you get to the United
States, 19 years of age.
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For all intents and purposes,
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this is a new
world, new society.
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Tell me about your introduction
into American society,
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where did you move to?
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We came to New York. Okay.
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And I stayed
there for a few months
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because we have family
here in the Maryland area.
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And I like this area
around here so I stayed here...
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In the Maryland area.
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Yeah, in the Maryland area.
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I moved here and I since that
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I have been here in Maryland
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and that's when I
start doing different things
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that came from my
country because I wanted like
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everybody came from
different countries I know...
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We came for different...
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We wanted to have
a better education,
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nice car, a nice house.
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So the interesting thing
is there was a stereotype
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that those people in
Colombia have of America.
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That everybody, you know,
go there, get the better job,
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get the better
car, get the house,
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get the two-car
garage but was that
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what you
experienced when you got here?
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So walk us
through 19 years of age,
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you come from
Colombia to New York,
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stayed for a couple of
months, moved to Maryland.
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So you walk the straight
line for the rest of your life
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from that point on?
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Right, you know, I saw my family
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but all my
family, my mother's family
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they live here
in the United States
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for a while so we see
pictures all the time.
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I say, "Oh, man, that
place looks like a heaven.
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It looks beautiful."
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You know, nice
cars and everything,
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even they
sometimes is not their car,
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they take the picture and
say, "This is my car, you know."
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And send it back
home and you say,
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"Wow, I wanted to
have one of those."
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Right, right. And that's how...
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You know, I was
so tired of that...
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My father was a alcoholic,
he was drinking all the time,
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he was hitting my
mother, and I don't want to be,
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you know, I was tired of that.
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So one time, one of my
aunts that came to visit us
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and she asked me,
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"Do you want to go
to the United States."
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And I said, "I would
love to get out of this."
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'Cause I don't
want to be, you know,
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my father is like this, I
don't want to live like this.
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And bingo, I
didn't crossed the border
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or anything like
that, I'm not whip back.
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That's a blessing from God.
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We came here, you know, legally,
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we came with the green card,
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I turn into a pink card
now but it was fine, okay?
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It was legal, you know,
because Colombia will do
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all their bad things out there.
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And finally we get, we were here
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and I moved to
Maryland and I started doing,
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I was young and I
wanted a lot of stuff.
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So, you know, it's like
when you walk, I play soccer...
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Do you play soccer? No, I don't.
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No? I'm sorry.
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You're missing something good.
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And, you know, walk
into sports authority
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and see a soccer shoes
that you never had in your life,
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I was like, "Whoa!
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Wow! I want this." Right.
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A nice soccer ball. Right.
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'Cause we would play
with just paper balls
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that we create
ourselves and now I can see
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all these beautiful
things here and I want it all.
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And this country can
give you so much good things
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and bad things, you know.
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So you come to the
States, you moved to Maryland,
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and you're enamored
with all of the good things
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that you see, and you set
out trying to get those things.
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So what did you do to try
and get the nice soccer shoes
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and soccer balls?
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Well, let's start go
all out, because, you know,
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coming to this country
and be in a different culture
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is like you are lack there,
you wanted to learn new culture
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and I start going out a lot.
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I started going to
discotheques a lot,
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that was my kind of
life that I started getting,
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I have nothing else.
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I play soccer in
Colombia for second division
00:09:16.02\00:09:18.35
that was, you know, I
wanted to be a soccer,
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professional soccer player.
00:09:20.72\00:09:22.66
But here I
started going a lot to,
00:09:22.69\00:09:24.49
I was playing but
soccer was not a big thing
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back in those years.
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I started going out a lot.
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Going to discotheques
and then meeting people
00:09:32.37\00:09:35.14
and that was part of my life.
00:09:35.17\00:09:36.91
Dancing and
drinking when, you know,
00:09:36.94\00:09:38.57
I hate when my
father was drinking
00:09:38.61\00:09:40.38
and I that was
starting being part of my life.
00:09:40.41\00:09:42.28
So my life started
changing drastically
00:09:42.31\00:09:44.05
because now I have a
car, now I can go out,
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I have money in the pocket,
00:09:47.02\00:09:48.48
my mother cannot
tell me what to do
00:09:48.52\00:09:50.45
because I'm working now,
00:09:50.49\00:09:52.09
I got money in my pocket
and I just took a car and go.
00:09:52.12\00:09:55.56
So you end up going out,
you meet some new people,
00:09:55.59\00:09:59.16
some new friends
00:09:59.19\00:10:00.53
and they begin to
introduce you to some things.
00:10:00.56\00:10:03.33
Tell us about your
introduction to things
00:10:03.37\00:10:05.67
that you never saw
growing up in Colombia
00:10:05.70\00:10:07.97
that you get
here to United States
00:10:08.00\00:10:09.80
and you become acquainted with?
00:10:09.84\00:10:11.17
I can see your eyes there,
yes, what do you want me to?
00:10:11.21\00:10:12.57
You know, I want it, I want it,
give it to me, give it to me.
00:10:12.61\00:10:14.98
And, yeah, that's when
I started meeting people
00:10:15.01\00:10:17.35
and I remember,
I recall one time
00:10:17.38\00:10:19.21
a guy asked me if I wanted to...
00:10:19.25\00:10:23.82
In Colombia, we would
call it something perico,
00:10:23.85\00:10:26.12
that's cocaine in Colombia.
00:10:26.15\00:10:27.92
But also it's a nice
little cup of coffee.
00:10:27.96\00:10:30.73
Really.
00:10:30.76\00:10:32.13
And, he asked me out 3
or 4 o'clock in the morning
00:10:32.16\00:10:35.86
if I want some perico.
00:10:35.90\00:10:37.50
And I said, "Okay,
yeah, that's fine."
00:10:37.53\00:10:39.23
But he was asking
me in the bathroom.
00:10:39.27\00:10:40.60
Right.
00:10:40.64\00:10:41.97
And that's where he
pulled these white bags
00:10:42.00\00:10:44.84
and stuff like that.
00:10:44.87\00:10:46.74
And I did it for the first time
and I started meeting people,
00:10:46.78\00:10:53.52
I'm going in personal
00:10:53.55\00:10:55.68
and I start
meeting a lot of people.
00:10:55.72\00:10:57.62
Everybody for me is my friend.
00:10:57.65\00:11:00.09
And they were
using in the wrong way.
00:11:00.12\00:11:02.12
Mercy.
00:11:02.16\00:11:03.49
And I start, you know, people
00:11:03.53\00:11:06.36
I was very
straight in my things,
00:11:06.39\00:11:09.06
so people just
start trusting unto me
00:11:09.10\00:11:11.17
and they started introducing
me to these business.
00:11:11.20\00:11:13.74
And they told me how to do it.
00:11:13.77\00:11:16.37
So the business. Let's be clear.
00:11:16.40\00:11:18.64
So you go from...
00:11:18.67\00:11:20.01
Your first introduction
to cocaine was as a user?
00:11:20.04\00:11:23.55
Just a taster.
00:11:23.58\00:11:24.91
Just a taster. Okay. Yeah.
00:11:24.95\00:11:26.28
So you had your
first taste of...
00:11:26.31\00:11:27.82
I was scared,
believe me. I believe.
00:11:27.85\00:11:30.59
And so you have your
first taste of cocaine,
00:11:30.62\00:11:32.45
and now you find that
you are being introduced
00:11:32.49\00:11:35.52
to cocaine as a commodity
00:11:35.56\00:11:37.56
to buy and to sell,
is that what I'm hearing?
00:11:37.59\00:11:39.56
Right.
00:11:39.59\00:11:40.93
Right, and so walk
us from that point,
00:11:40.96\00:11:42.33
when now it's no
longer a recreational,
00:11:42.36\00:11:45.47
I'm out with my
friends having a good time,
00:11:45.50\00:11:47.27
take a bump or two because I
know a little bit about that.
00:11:47.30\00:11:50.67
You know, you find
yourself in some situations.
00:11:50.71\00:11:53.17
I remember, and it was
just the wildest thing for me
00:11:53.21\00:11:56.64
the first time I
ever actually did cocaine.
00:11:56.68\00:11:58.71
I grew up with a mom and a dad
00:11:58.75\00:12:01.45
who have both
succumbed to crack addictions.
00:12:01.48\00:12:03.39
And so for me cocaine
was the absolute enemy
00:12:03.42\00:12:05.85
in the form, in
the rocked up form.
00:12:05.89\00:12:08.79
So one day I was out
at a club with a big,
00:12:08.82\00:12:12.53
a well-known at the
time, very big pop artist.
00:12:12.56\00:12:16.33
He was a member of a boy band
00:12:16.36\00:12:19.70
and it was the biggest boy
band in the country at the time.
00:12:19.73\00:12:23.30
And I had been introduced
to him by some other people
00:12:23.34\00:12:26.34
and he said to me, "If
I'm going to trust you,
00:12:26.37\00:12:28.84
you've got to get down."
00:12:28.88\00:12:30.88
And I'm thinking, "You know, no,
00:12:30.91\00:12:32.68
I don't really want
to but you know why not."
00:12:32.71\00:12:35.25
So we find ourselves
similar to you in the bathroom
00:12:35.28\00:12:38.02
passing under the
stall to one another,
00:12:38.05\00:12:41.26
and that was the first
time I'd ever done cocaine
00:12:41.29\00:12:44.09
and I just figured, "Wow.
00:12:44.13\00:12:45.46
I never thought I'd be here."
00:12:45.49\00:12:46.90
But because you get
in the wrong situation
00:12:46.93\00:12:49.46
at the wrong time
with the wrong people,
00:12:49.50\00:12:51.67
you find yourself doing things
you never thought you'd do.
00:12:51.70\00:12:55.34
And so it seems that that
was the situation for you.
00:12:55.37\00:12:57.51
You get
introduced recreationally
00:12:57.54\00:12:58.97
and now you've been
introduced to the business
00:12:59.01\00:13:01.84
or to the trafficking side.
00:13:01.88\00:13:03.31
Tell us a little bit about that?
00:13:03.35\00:13:06.28
I was seeing people
making some money of that
00:13:06.31\00:13:08.95
and I don't want
to be part of that
00:13:08.98\00:13:10.45
but because
they were my friends,
00:13:10.49\00:13:12.09
I was in the
group and I can see it.
00:13:12.12\00:13:13.86
This is what every, you
know, this was Fridays nights,
00:13:13.89\00:13:16.56
Saturdays night,
Mondays night, Wednesdays night,
00:13:16.59\00:13:19.86
Thursdays night,
every single day.
00:13:19.89\00:13:22.90
You know, I start
getting curious about it
00:13:22.93\00:13:26.03
and I say, "Well,
how you do these things?"
00:13:26.07\00:13:29.47
And then they start
telling me how to do it.
00:13:29.50\00:13:31.37
You know, we carried the drugs
with us into the discotheques.
00:13:31.41\00:13:36.34
Our bartenders,
they were our friends,
00:13:36.38\00:13:38.68
they were the ones who
were selling inside the drug,
00:13:38.71\00:13:41.05
inside the discotheque.
00:13:41.08\00:13:43.42
And I've become very popular
within the people really quick.
00:13:43.45\00:13:47.26
Especially with
the ladies. Absolutely.
00:13:47.29\00:13:48.89
I know my wife is
here in the audience
00:13:48.92\00:13:50.96
but she knows all these.
00:13:50.99\00:13:52.33
But she knows you have a
past? Yes, she knows that.
00:13:52.36\00:13:54.90
And if I have
time we can tell you
00:13:54.93\00:13:56.83
a little bit about that.
00:13:56.87\00:13:58.37
And we start
very quick, very fast,
00:13:58.40\00:14:03.20
I stuck it in the business
00:14:03.24\00:14:04.57
and I didn't
want to work anymore
00:14:04.61\00:14:07.68
'cause I was having
money and I get at them,
00:14:07.71\00:14:10.41
but the funny thing is the money
00:14:10.45\00:14:11.78
was going very fast too.
00:14:11.81\00:14:13.52
And we started
getting cocaine from New York
00:14:13.55\00:14:18.65
and we would bring
to here to this area
00:14:18.69\00:14:21.36
and we basically
distribute all that in this area
00:14:21.39\00:14:26.19
and I did that for
probably 13-14 years.
00:14:26.23\00:14:31.97
So for 13-14 years.
00:14:32.00\00:14:34.67
I got to paint this picture
because this is remarkable,
00:14:34.70\00:14:37.17
that you grow up for
19 years in Colombia,
00:14:37.21\00:14:40.04
you never see cocaine,
you never experienced cocaine,
00:14:40.08\00:14:43.78
no one around you
is touching cocaine
00:14:43.81\00:14:45.55
that you know of.
00:14:45.58\00:14:46.92
You get to the
States and within what?
00:14:46.95\00:14:49.58
A year, six months
maybe of your being here?
00:14:49.62\00:14:52.05
Probably two years.
00:14:52.09\00:14:53.42
Two years,
within two years time,
00:14:53.46\00:14:54.99
you now find
yourself in a business
00:14:55.02\00:14:58.69
that your primary
product is cocaine.
00:14:58.73\00:15:01.80
How ironic is that?
00:15:01.83\00:15:03.73
That is just
almost unbelievable.
00:15:03.77\00:15:05.60
I don't think we could
have written a better script.
00:15:05.63\00:15:07.64
And then you, what you do is
you begin trafficking cocaine
00:15:07.67\00:15:11.14
for the better part of a decade.
00:15:11.17\00:15:15.18
I just, I mean,
00:15:15.21\00:15:19.75
you sometimes hear
stories that are so remarkable
00:15:19.78\00:15:22.02
as to be almost unbelievable.
00:15:22.05\00:15:23.59
Unbelievable.
00:15:23.62\00:15:24.95
So tell me how did, where did,
00:15:24.99\00:15:28.39
when did you begin to see that
00:15:28.42\00:15:32.36
you needed to
disconnect yourself?
00:15:32.39\00:15:33.93
And I'm assuming
because I've learned that
00:15:33.96\00:15:36.56
there are only two things
that await a drug trafficker
00:15:36.60\00:15:39.77
and that's jail or death.
00:15:39.80\00:15:42.67
So obviously, you didn't die.
00:15:42.70\00:15:47.21
Yeah, I'm here.
00:15:47.24\00:15:49.18
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
00:15:49.21\00:15:50.55
So tell us, I mean, and again
it is a foregone conclusion,
00:15:50.58\00:15:54.32
there has to have
been some drug, I mean,
00:15:54.35\00:15:56.69
some jail time
attached to a 13 year run
00:15:56.72\00:15:59.82
in the cocaine industry.
00:15:59.85\00:16:01.19
Tell us what landed you in jail?
00:16:01.22\00:16:04.63
You know, you'd think
that when you're a drug dealer,
00:16:04.66\00:16:10.23
you are a smart person,
you know what are you doing,
00:16:10.27\00:16:13.40
and I thought I was
that kind of person.
00:16:13.44\00:16:15.10
You know, I was very careful.
00:16:15.14\00:16:16.50
I can smell undercover
police, and I was very careful.
00:16:16.54\00:16:22.28
But I got crazy, you
know, I was not selling,
00:16:22.31\00:16:25.95
I was just using it too.
00:16:25.98\00:16:27.92
I got in bad
relationship with ladies
00:16:27.95\00:16:31.49
and I was in mess
well after that, you know,
00:16:31.52\00:16:34.29
because that's no life,
there's no happiness there.
00:16:34.32\00:16:38.53
Right.
00:16:38.56\00:16:39.89
Is an empty life. Right.
00:16:39.93\00:16:41.26
And I was keep
doing that but I got,
00:16:41.30\00:16:43.50
my life was out of the control.
00:16:43.53\00:16:44.90
Okay.
00:16:44.93\00:16:46.27
And you don't think anymore. No.
00:16:46.30\00:16:47.94
And one undercover
police came to my life.
00:16:47.97\00:16:52.44
And I sold drugs to
him twice in Virginia.
00:16:52.47\00:16:58.38
If you're going to do
00:16:58.41\00:16:59.75
something wrong,
never do it in Virginia.
00:16:59.78\00:17:01.12
Do not do it in
Virginia. Zero tolerance.
00:17:01.15\00:17:02.85
Zero tolerance,
firsthand experience.
00:17:02.88\00:17:04.82
I learned down horribly.
00:17:04.85\00:17:07.86
And that's how they,
you know, they stop...
00:17:07.89\00:17:11.29
So, Carlos, real quick.
00:17:11.33\00:17:12.66
You said this
undercover came into your life.
00:17:12.69\00:17:15.66
Now, the way you
articulated that,
00:17:15.70\00:17:17.57
the way you worded that
is very interesting to me.
00:17:17.60\00:17:20.37
Was this someone that
started that made their way
00:17:20.40\00:17:23.37
into your inner circle, I mean,
00:17:23.41\00:17:25.01
how did this person
come into your life?
00:17:25.04\00:17:29.14
But some of my other friends
that they got in trouble,
00:17:29.18\00:17:31.51
they got caught by police
and kind, they were released.
00:17:31.55\00:17:34.52
So when somebody is
released, they say, "Okay, wow."
00:17:34.55\00:17:37.25
Be careful with
this guy, he's a snitch.
00:17:37.29\00:17:39.32
Right, right, right, right.
00:17:39.35\00:17:40.82
So they come to me and they say,
00:17:40.86\00:17:42.19
"Carlos, you are on the list."
00:17:42.22\00:17:43.56
I say, "How do you
know I'm on the list?"
00:17:43.59\00:17:45.39
They say, "Your
name is on the list."
00:17:45.43\00:17:46.83
They say, "Because, you know..."
00:17:46.86\00:17:48.20
And believe me I
was a very angry person.
00:17:48.23\00:17:51.67
I was not nice. Okay.
00:17:51.70\00:17:53.44
I can fight with anybody anytime
00:17:53.47\00:17:55.94
and I was very
mad about it and...
00:17:55.97\00:17:59.97
Your name was on the
list of known drug traffickers
00:18:00.01\00:18:02.28
or of snitches?
00:18:02.31\00:18:03.68
No, the drug trafficker. Okay.
00:18:03.71\00:18:05.11
They have a list of
group people that they knew
00:18:05.15\00:18:08.25
they were dealing drugs in
a big quantities in the area.
00:18:08.28\00:18:12.52
And my name was there
according to these guys.
00:18:12.55\00:18:16.39
When you say big quantities...
00:18:16.42\00:18:17.76
I'm sorry, I mean, because
for those viewing, I mean,
00:18:17.79\00:18:20.63
to them someone who's
never interacted with cocaine,
00:18:20.66\00:18:22.73
a big quantity
could be an ounce or two.
00:18:22.76\00:18:27.14
No, we have a
three keys, two, keys,
00:18:27.17\00:18:32.01
we would handle more than that.
00:18:32.04\00:18:34.14
That's one of the
things, when I was selling
00:18:34.18\00:18:35.71
to these undercover
police on one count,
00:18:35.74\00:18:40.05
he asked me, "Can
you give me more?"
00:18:40.08\00:18:41.92
And, you know,
sometimes we talk too much,
00:18:41.95\00:18:44.32
that get you in trouble.
00:18:44.35\00:18:45.69
And I say, "Yes, I can
get you whatever you want."
00:18:45.72\00:18:48.49
So he got me and, you
know, and the thing is that
00:18:48.52\00:18:51.89
this undercover
police was patrol group.
00:18:51.93\00:18:54.66
He was drinking with
us, he was coming now,
00:18:54.70\00:18:56.56
he was like a friend.
00:18:56.60\00:18:58.37
We took him to the apartment,
we took him to all the parties
00:18:58.40\00:19:02.57
that we have
after we were, you know,
00:19:02.60\00:19:05.21
when they close the
clubs, he was there,
00:19:05.24\00:19:07.08
he was doing drugs with us.
00:19:07.11\00:19:09.21
So I never thought
this guy was gonna do.
00:19:09.24\00:19:11.31
He was in the court police.
00:19:11.35\00:19:12.68
So bottom line is, he
was the undercover police.
00:19:12.71\00:19:15.35
You got caught.
00:19:15.38\00:19:19.55
How much time
did you do in jail?
00:19:19.59\00:19:21.92
Well, I traveled
back to Colombia.
00:19:21.96\00:19:24.53
Okay.
00:19:24.56\00:19:25.89
Because I had a bad
relationship with a lady
00:19:25.93\00:19:27.33
and I was really broke
down, it was really bad.
00:19:27.36\00:19:31.03
And I went to
Colombia to cool things down
00:19:31.07\00:19:33.03
and everything and come back.
00:19:33.07\00:19:35.20
For my surprise,
when I was coming back
00:19:35.24\00:19:36.57
after two months, I
got arrested in Miami.
00:19:36.60\00:19:41.31
But when I was working
in and showing my green card
00:19:41.34\00:19:44.15
and everything,
they brought two police.
00:19:44.18\00:19:46.95
One of the two
police and they say,
00:19:46.98\00:19:48.55
"You are arrested."
00:19:48.58\00:19:49.92
Because I was in their screen,
they were looking for me.
00:19:49.95\00:19:52.85
So they knew that
I left the country
00:19:52.89\00:19:56.39
and they already had
those two counts of drugs
00:19:56.42\00:19:59.89
that I sold to
the undercover police
00:19:59.93\00:20:01.76
that they were looking for me.
00:20:01.80\00:20:03.13
I mean, they
were trying to find me
00:20:03.16\00:20:05.10
or got me with more drugs.
00:20:05.13\00:20:06.47
Of course. Because now...
00:20:06.50\00:20:07.84
Because they were
trying to set me out for more.
00:20:07.87\00:20:09.64
The stereotype.
00:20:09.67\00:20:11.01
He's gone to Colombia,
00:20:11.04\00:20:12.37
he must be coming
back with more drugs.
00:20:12.41\00:20:13.84
Actually, at one
time I was so drunk,
00:20:13.88\00:20:16.01
I wasn't drugged so much
there that I said, thank God,
00:20:16.04\00:20:18.81
it was like that
because I had a meeting
00:20:18.85\00:20:22.42
with these undercover
police to bring more drugs
00:20:22.45\00:20:24.89
that were going to be two keys.
00:20:24.92\00:20:26.62
And believe me,
00:20:26.65\00:20:30.53
if I would have sold
these two keys of drugs
00:20:30.56\00:20:33.29
to this police guy, I
think I wouldn't be here.
00:20:33.33\00:20:36.73
Right, and so you again,
you get taken into custody.
00:20:36.77\00:20:39.70
How long are you in jail?
How long of the time you do?
00:20:39.73\00:20:43.44
They gave me a 25 year sentence.
00:20:43.47\00:20:45.67
Twenty-five years.
00:20:45.71\00:20:47.41
But thank God, I
did only three years.
00:20:47.44\00:20:49.31
So on 25 you get
three, now that is incredible.
00:20:49.34\00:20:52.55
In California you get
what's called a county lead,
00:20:52.58\00:20:56.35
which is you have to
do 70% of whatever time
00:20:56.38\00:20:58.75
you're hit with.
00:20:58.79\00:21:00.12
And so God was obviously
on your side in that 25 years,
00:21:00.16\00:21:03.53
you only got three.
00:21:03.56\00:21:04.89
The thing I say, we
have to explain is fair on,
00:21:04.93\00:21:07.66
if fair on same things
you had to do the whole year,
00:21:07.70\00:21:10.40
if you get sentence by
the fair on, you have to.
00:21:10.43\00:21:12.77
If you've got 10 years,
you got to do the whole thing.
00:21:12.80\00:21:14.37
Yeah, yeah, but
mine was in States.
00:21:14.40\00:21:17.34
So in the States
it's kind of different
00:21:17.37\00:21:18.84
'cause you just partial,
you do partial sentence,
00:21:18.87\00:21:22.61
you become...
00:21:22.64\00:21:24.55
The English that
I'm speaking right now,
00:21:24.58\00:21:26.55
I learned it
while I was in prison.
00:21:26.58\00:21:27.92
Mercy, mercy. So
now three years in jail?
00:21:27.95\00:21:31.32
Three years in
jail, now I want to know,
00:21:31.35\00:21:33.15
had you encountered
Christ before going to jail
00:21:33.19\00:21:35.89
or was it in jail that
you encountered Christ?
00:21:35.92\00:21:37.86
Tell me just real quick?
00:21:37.89\00:21:39.36
This is something that
going to impact a lot of people.
00:21:39.39\00:21:43.80
I was raised as a
Seventh-day Adventist.
00:21:43.83\00:21:45.27
Mercy.
00:21:45.30\00:21:47.14
Every Saturday
night, every Saturday
00:21:47.17\00:21:49.17
I was in the church.
00:21:49.20\00:21:51.61
Every Saturday.
00:21:51.64\00:21:52.97
Every Saturday in church,
00:21:53.01\00:21:54.34
and where were you
every Saturday night?
00:21:54.38\00:21:55.71
I was in the club
00:21:55.74\00:21:57.08
and I saw some
of the young guys,
00:21:57.11\00:21:59.78
they were going to
church and the club.
00:21:59.81\00:22:01.55
And I say, "What
are you doing here?
00:22:01.58\00:22:02.92
They say, "What
are you doing here?
00:22:02.95\00:22:04.29
Right, right, right.
00:22:04.32\00:22:06.49
We're not preaching, right?
00:22:06.52\00:22:08.42
We're not doing
evangelistic meetings here.
00:22:08.46\00:22:14.26
You know, I was new, I
wouldn't know about tithes,
00:22:14.30\00:22:16.23
I was not a part
of, but I was going
00:22:16.26\00:22:18.23
because it was a custom
on my family going to church
00:22:18.27\00:22:20.57
every Sunday but I had
no relationship with God.
00:22:20.60\00:22:23.27
I didn't know what God was,
I didn't know if God is real.
00:22:23.30\00:22:25.74
I didn't know, God
can help me in things.
00:22:25.77\00:22:28.08
I don't know God, I
really can trust Him
00:22:28.11\00:22:30.55
and I didn't
have that relationship
00:22:30.58\00:22:32.05
because I was on the other side.
00:22:32.08\00:22:36.45
That was my life.
I was going there...
00:22:36.48\00:22:39.75
So let me just
jumpstart you a little bit here,
00:22:39.79\00:22:42.69
in that grow up, grew up
your whole life in the church,
00:22:42.72\00:22:47.33
Saturday mornings
you're in the church
00:22:47.36\00:22:49.56
and Saturday
nights you're in the club,
00:22:49.60\00:22:51.40
you coming back
from Columbia, get not,
00:22:51.43\00:22:53.94
you get sent to prison 25
years is the maximum sentence
00:22:53.97\00:22:58.81
you're serving
three years already with
00:22:58.84\00:23:01.74
a cursory knowledge, if
you will of Jesus Christ.
00:23:01.78\00:23:04.45
And an extended church
family who should know about you
00:23:04.48\00:23:08.58
but for three years
did you ever get a visit?
00:23:08.62\00:23:11.45
I never get a visit
when I was in prison.
00:23:11.49\00:23:14.16
I never saw any
Seventh-day Adventist person
00:23:14.19\00:23:17.69
come to see me.
00:23:17.73\00:23:19.09
I request the
pastors to come and visit me,
00:23:19.13\00:23:20.86
they never visit me.
00:23:20.90\00:23:24.00
Besides my family, nobody
else, even then I requested
00:23:24.03\00:23:27.94
there were people
about this church,
00:23:27.97\00:23:30.01
there were Pentecostals,
00:23:30.04\00:23:31.37
there were from
different denominations.
00:23:31.41\00:23:33.54
But I was always asking myself,
00:23:33.58\00:23:35.21
why is Seventh-day Adventist
doesn't come to see me?
00:23:35.24\00:23:37.35
Why do you think they
didn't come to see you?
00:23:37.38\00:23:39.61
I think because
they are too busy
00:23:39.65\00:23:40.98
keeping the Sabbath.
00:23:41.02\00:23:43.69
Mercy, mercy, mercy.
00:23:43.72\00:23:45.82
So how did that...
00:23:45.85\00:23:48.46
And I want to know
and that is exactly
00:23:48.49\00:23:50.76
the hitting the head, the
nail, excuse me, on the head.
00:23:50.79\00:23:54.96
How did that make you feel?
00:23:55.00\00:23:58.47
Made me feel that
00:23:58.50\00:24:01.34
God has a plan for
everybody here in this.
00:24:01.37\00:24:04.17
And the reason that He called me
00:24:04.21\00:24:06.44
and the reason He
brought me to this church
00:24:06.47\00:24:10.65
is to make a difference.
00:24:10.68\00:24:12.01
Mercy.
00:24:12.05\00:24:13.38
And that's what
I've been doing it
00:24:13.42\00:24:14.75
in the past years.
00:24:14.78\00:24:16.12
When I was in prison, you know,
I knew that I was in trouble,
00:24:16.15\00:24:20.32
and I knew that the only person
who could help me was God.
00:24:20.36\00:24:24.16
The first night, I
was taken to shower
00:24:24.19\00:24:26.56
and I was dressing
myself with the clothes
00:24:26.59\00:24:28.90
that they give you there
00:24:28.93\00:24:30.47
because I have
pastors came to visit me.
00:24:30.50\00:24:32.90
I have many people
that wanted me to change
00:24:32.93\00:24:35.60
and I didn't change.
00:24:35.64\00:24:38.64
The only one I knew, I realized
00:24:38.67\00:24:40.81
the only one can
change me was Jesus Christ.
00:24:40.84\00:24:43.21
Mercy.
00:24:43.24\00:24:44.58
He started working in
my life while I was there
00:24:44.61\00:24:47.12
because I start
reading the Bible,
00:24:47.15\00:24:48.88
I start getting to the
Bible and I say, "I need you."
00:24:48.92\00:24:52.65
And I start going
to every single person
00:24:52.69\00:24:56.12
that were talking
about religion, I was there.
00:24:56.16\00:24:58.23
I was the first
one but, you know,
00:24:58.26\00:25:01.10
when I was released,
00:25:01.13\00:25:02.56
and none of them
I know were there.
00:25:02.60\00:25:04.90
When I was released,
immigration came to pick me up.
00:25:04.93\00:25:08.10
They wanted to send
me back to Colombia.
00:25:08.14\00:25:10.47
You know, that
was a whole new story
00:25:10.51\00:25:12.37
because when you
come to immigration,
00:25:12.41\00:25:15.11
you know, they are powerful,
you know, very powerful,
00:25:15.14\00:25:17.35
but back those days
they were different.
00:25:17.38\00:25:19.28
What I want to do now
is I wanna talk about,
00:25:19.31\00:25:21.25
so you get out, you
have the realization
00:25:21.28\00:25:23.25
that nobody from
the Adventist church
00:25:23.28\00:25:24.72
is going to visiting
you, and so when you get out,
00:25:24.75\00:25:27.99
and you get
yourself on your feet,
00:25:28.02\00:25:30.83
what are you now doing?
00:25:30.86\00:25:33.76
But before I answer that,
00:25:33.80\00:25:35.13
I want to tell
you something, Pastor.
00:25:35.16\00:25:37.47
It's very hard, very
difficult to be in a prison,
00:25:37.50\00:25:40.47
I was only for three
years and come out from prison
00:25:40.50\00:25:43.71
and be part of the
society is like a friend saw me
00:25:43.74\00:25:46.54
one night and say,
"Carlos, when do you get out?"
00:25:46.57\00:25:48.94
I was at shame.
00:25:48.98\00:25:51.65
I said, oh, everybody
knows I went to prison.
00:25:51.68\00:25:54.48
And it's not easy,
and I start doing drugs,
00:25:54.52\00:25:58.72
I start doing drugs more
and more because I was empty.
00:25:58.75\00:26:01.22
I was very empty.
00:26:01.26\00:26:03.29
I failed my
family, I failed myself,
00:26:03.32\00:26:06.19
I didn't know what to
do, I couldn't hold any job
00:26:06.23\00:26:09.53
and I start hiding in drugs.
00:26:09.56\00:26:11.17
I was not
selling now, I was using,
00:26:11.20\00:26:13.54
I was a drug addict.
00:26:13.57\00:26:15.74
I've given my
watch, I give everything,
00:26:15.77\00:26:18.27
I spent three four
days shooting drugs,
00:26:18.31\00:26:20.88
I wanted to kill myself.
00:26:20.91\00:26:22.24
One time I asked God and
say, "If I'm not worth it,
00:26:22.28\00:26:23.88
why you didn't
take my life away."
00:26:23.91\00:26:25.95
And I'm glad
that God didn't do it.
00:26:25.98\00:26:28.48
And one time my
mother invited me to,
00:26:28.52\00:26:30.79
that's why we never get,
00:26:30.82\00:26:32.15
we never have to get
tired inviting people to church.
00:26:32.19\00:26:35.72
My mother invited me to
an evangelistic meetings
00:26:35.76\00:26:38.49
and that was a little
guy I call him, "Little guy."
00:26:38.53\00:26:40.90
He was a
pastor, bigger than you,
00:26:40.93\00:26:42.76
taller than you.
00:26:42.80\00:26:44.13
That's not hard.
00:26:44.17\00:26:47.50
He was from Mexico and I said,
00:26:47.54\00:26:49.77
"This person is not
going to change me."
00:26:49.80\00:26:51.71
And I sit down
there but then that night,
00:26:51.74\00:26:54.14
the Holy Spirit
touched my heart.
00:26:54.18\00:26:56.34
I was crying, I was
there in my knees and I said,
00:26:56.38\00:26:59.45
"God, I went to prison.
00:26:59.48\00:27:01.02
I almost died.
00:27:01.05\00:27:02.55
What else is
going to happen to me?"
00:27:02.58\00:27:05.42
He came into my
heart and he changed me.
00:27:05.45\00:27:08.39
From that day and on,
00:27:08.42\00:27:10.19
I'm not the same person anymore.
00:27:10.23\00:27:11.99
I have never
touched drugs in my life.
00:27:12.03\00:27:14.20
I never went out
to a discotheques,
00:27:14.23\00:27:16.33
I never, you know.
00:27:16.36\00:27:18.43
I have been
married for 10 years.
00:27:18.47\00:27:20.04
Mercy, come on.
00:27:20.07\00:27:21.40
My wife is the one
who came to my life
00:27:21.44\00:27:23.10
is a gift for me.
00:27:23.14\00:27:24.54
Now I have a beautiful
son, he's six years old,
00:27:24.57\00:27:28.44
I have a reason to live
00:27:28.48\00:27:30.75
and to share the
older people there is hope.
00:27:30.78\00:27:33.31
That really God
works through you,
00:27:33.35\00:27:35.12
that God can change you.
00:27:35.15\00:27:37.39
I mean, I was, he's
like he started putting
00:27:37.42\00:27:39.69
the pieces together.
00:27:39.72\00:27:41.62
And, you know, when my
family used to tell me,
00:27:41.66\00:27:44.46
"You know, you're not
worth it for nothing."
00:27:44.49\00:27:46.03
Just real quick though because
we're running out of time.
00:27:46.06\00:27:51.63
And now you're
working as a lay pastor?
00:27:51.67\00:27:54.27
I am, yes.
00:27:54.30\00:27:55.80
In the Maryland area? Yes.
00:27:55.84\00:27:58.01
And preaching hope. Yes.
00:27:58.04\00:28:01.61
That's what's phenomenon,
00:28:01.64\00:28:04.68
that's what I
really wanted to get to
00:28:04.71\00:28:06.05
because there
are people out there
00:28:06.08\00:28:07.62
who are probably
thinking after jail,
00:28:07.65\00:28:10.35
there is nothing but drugs,
00:28:10.39\00:28:11.72
and they find
themselves turning to drugs
00:28:11.75\00:28:14.29
and they find themselves
turning to the old lifestyle.
00:28:14.32\00:28:16.79
And
unfortunately, very few of them
00:28:16.83\00:28:19.19
get to experience
what you have experienced.
00:28:19.23\00:28:21.50
But I believe that
someone who's watching now,
00:28:21.53\00:28:23.87
who has heard your story,
who has heard you talk about
00:28:23.90\00:28:26.23
the hope that you found
that turned you from dope
00:28:26.27\00:28:28.97
and turned you to Jesus
can glean from your story
00:28:29.00\00:28:33.64
that there is a
God who can reach you
00:28:33.68\00:28:35.58
when you're at your lowest point
00:28:35.61\00:28:36.95
and take you to places
that you never imagine.
00:28:36.98\00:28:39.85
And not only take you to
places you never imagined,
00:28:39.88\00:28:42.08
give you a nice
companion on the way,
00:28:42.12\00:28:44.52
and give you a
child, and give you love
00:28:44.55\00:28:47.19
and give you
mercy and compassion.
00:28:47.22\00:28:48.69
And I think that that's
what this show is about.
00:28:48.72\00:28:50.86
This show, Carlos,
and your life story
00:28:50.89\00:28:53.03
has taught us
about a New Journey.
00:28:53.06\00:28:55.26