Participants: Pr. Marquis Johns (Host), Orlando Boyd
Series Code: TNJ
Program Code: TNJ000039
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00:01 The following program discusses sensitive issues.
00:03 Parents are cautioned that some material 00:05 may be too candid for younger children. 00:09 Welcome to The New Journey, 00:10 a program about real life people 00:13 with real life testimonies, 00:14 doing real life ministry for Jesus Christ. 00:17 I'm your host, Pastor Marquis Johns. 00:19 Join us on The New Journey. 00:55 Many of us have had a Jonah experience. 00:58 The experience where we know 01:00 that God wants us in a specific place, 01:02 but we run only to find ourselves 01:05 right back where God wanted us in the first place. 01:07 On our show today, we have just such a person, 01:10 Mr. Orlando Boyd who was called very early, ran, 01:13 and now finds himself in a most precarious situation, 01:17 needing to answer the call first placed on his life. 01:20 How are you doing, Orlando? All right. 01:21 How about you, sir? Good, good, good. 01:22 Now you and I've talked a little bit about your past 01:24 but that's not where I want to begin. 01:26 I kind of want to begin with you finding yourself 01:29 on a Christian college campus enrolled to study theology, 01:34 but then finding yourself 01:35 wanting to do something other than... 01:37 Tell us about that experience? 01:39 Well, first of all, 01:40 I found myself on the college of Oakwood, now university, 01:45 where my sister was being reenrolled. 01:48 We're starting new semester. 01:50 And my mother asked me if I want to go to school... 01:53 Now just real quick. 01:54 Was this your first time at Oakwood? 01:56 My first time. First time at Oakwood. 01:57 Okay, go ahead. 01:58 First time I ever step my foot in a campus. 02:00 And she asked me, 02:01 if I want to go to school there, 02:03 and I didn't mind, you know, 02:04 there's a lot of nice things to see at Oakwood. 02:06 I didn't mind the scenery, and weather was nice, 02:09 I figured why not. 02:10 And then I was out to high school. 02:13 I didn't really think I would end up down there, 02:15 but through prayer 02:17 and my mother's a God-fearing woman, 02:21 she prayed and the Lord heard her prayer, 02:23 I mean, as the enrollment process was going on, 02:25 I was helping young people 02:29 take their trunks and stuff into their rooms. 02:33 And she just kept coming back every time 02:36 I went to check on her, she would let me know, 02:38 "What would you think about this class 02:40 or what type of this or that or the other thing. 02:42 What do you want?" 02:43 Because I was 21 at the time. 02:45 I wouldn't have to stay in the freshman dorm, 02:47 I wouldn't have to stay in the upper classman dorm. 02:50 And the more she talked, 02:52 the more I started feeling 02:53 this sinking feeling in my stomach 02:55 like I might actually be here. 02:57 I had stuff still going on in DC there, 03:00 I wasn't that necessarily ready to let go off, 03:03 but long story short, I ended up at Oakwood. 03:08 So you're at Oakwood and you're studying what? 03:10 What are you gonna study? Theology. 03:12 My major was theology, minor was religion. 03:13 So you're at Oakwood 03:15 and this was not your intention, 03:17 but God moves kind of in a way 03:19 that you find yourself enrolled in theology classes 03:22 studying theology, studying religion. 03:25 Just tell me about 03:26 the first couple months on the campus. 03:28 Here you are now, 03:29 a place that you had no intention of being. 03:30 But feeling the strange tugging 03:32 from the Holy Spirit to be here, 03:34 and you're on campus now studying theology, 03:36 tell us about that? 03:37 That feeling was unreal. 03:39 It was so many spirit-filled individuals 03:43 that I've never been around, a group of people 03:44 who were so connected with Christ 03:47 at such a young age. 03:48 And I'm used to being around, you know, guys on the street, 03:51 who could care less about 03:52 church or the Lord or anything else, 03:54 but these people take a genuine interest in you, 03:58 who you're as a person. 03:59 You know, the Holy Spirit using them to talk to me, 04:02 letting me know that God has a plan for your life, 04:04 He's not finished with you yet. 04:06 So what did you feel that plan was? 04:07 At this moment, at this moment, what do you feel? 04:09 You're on Oakwood's campus, you're studying theology, 04:11 what did you feel at that moment 04:12 was God's plan for you life? 04:14 I wasn't really sure. 04:15 I wanted to feel like 04:17 I was being called to be a preacher, 04:19 but I didn't feel like 04:22 that's what I was being called to be. 04:23 You didn't feel like preacher material? 04:24 I didn't feel like preacher material. 04:26 I didn't see myself on a pulpit. 04:27 So you spent about a semester at Oakwood, right? 04:30 About a semester and a half. 04:31 And so you end up leaving and you're back in DC. 04:36 Now you had already told us that you had some friends 04:38 and some things that you were doing in DC 04:40 that you didn't want to let go off 04:41 so you're back in DC. 04:43 After knowing that God has a plan for your life, 04:45 having studied theology, and now you're back in DC, 04:48 tell us about that transition back 04:50 into a kind of in the old way of life 04:52 before you went to Oakwood? 04:54 It is interesting you asked that 04:55 because I found myself trying to find 04:59 and rekindle old friendships that have been laid to rest, 05:03 and the individuals really wanted nothing to do with me. 05:06 But, you know, I'm like, now I mean, this is me, 05:09 you know, I'm back. 05:11 Right, right, right, right. I'm not at school no more. 05:12 So wait a minute. 05:14 So your street friends are now kind of seeing 05:15 that there is something 05:16 just a little bit different about you 05:18 and they don't want anything to do with you. 05:19 Exactly. I had a similar experience. 05:22 I went through something 05:23 where I would go back to my old life, 05:26 you know, trying to... 05:27 I remember when I had stopped smoking, 05:28 stopped drinking 05:30 and I had become a Christian, a baptized Christian. 05:33 And I found myself in a very dark place 05:34 where I started looking for my old friends 05:36 to do some of the old things with me, 05:38 and they would say, 05:40 "Pastor Johns, what are you doing? 05:42 You can't do those things." 05:43 And I wasn't even like a pastor really at the time 05:45 but they would not allow me to digress, 05:48 if you will, to my old way of life. 05:50 And they held me in such high esteem 05:52 that they would be like, if I would say, 05:53 I want to smoke or something, they would be like, 05:55 "No, you can't do that. 05:56 No, I can't do that with you." 05:58 So you're at back in DC 05:59 and experiencing that to some degree 06:01 where people are saying, 06:02 "No, no, no, no, you can't be around us." 06:04 Not so much the individuals in DC, 06:07 but some of my closer friends, I just felt out of place. 06:12 I remember the night I got back up town 06:14 to Northwest from Oakwood, 06:16 you know, my brothers were... 06:18 I remember they were like just I'm not gonna... 06:20 They went to Yard, it was... 06:22 Everything was there... Whatever, yeah. 06:24 And, you know, I'm in a good mood, 06:26 I'm smiling and I look at myself in the mirror 06:29 and I just looked different, 06:30 you know, like the glow was there, 06:31 but my eyes were starting to squint, again, 06:34 my face was starting to ball back up. 06:36 And I remember distinctly hearing 06:38 the Holy Spirit telling me to hold on. 06:40 You know what I'm saying, 06:41 but like it was known I'm about to fall, 06:43 I'm about to be down for little bit, 06:44 you're going to get back up. 06:47 You got into a block 06:48 and it's like three different groups of people talking 06:50 and I'm standing, they're feeling like, 06:51 I'm completely by myself. 06:54 And I recall looking over the city skyline, 06:56 I can see like it was yesterday, 06:57 and it was like I saw a figure over top of the houses 07:01 were like a puppeteer's string. 07:03 My Lord. 07:04 And all the groups of people 07:06 were just having their various conversations, 07:07 all talking about nothing, frameless conversations. 07:08 I'm sitting there looking them like... 07:10 After coming from such spirit-filled people, 07:12 being around such spirit-filled people, 07:15 it was just like, "Why am I back here?" 07:17 So you're contrasting 07:19 the Holy Spirit-filled people with... 07:20 Right. Demonic. 07:21 The demonic spirit filled people. 07:24 And so what did you feel like you had to do to prove 07:26 that you were still the Orlando of old? 07:33 What did I feel like I had to do? 07:34 I mean, what did you end up doing? 07:35 Because if again, you're feeling like, 07:37 you know, you're feeling alone in a crowd, 07:40 and this is a crowd of people 07:41 who you say are demonic spirit-filled, 07:44 what are you doing now to be like, "Wait, it's," 07:46 'cause you said, "it's me, it's Orlando." 07:48 So do you find yourself having to prove 07:50 or what was the motivating factor behind you 07:53 starting to immerse yourself 07:54 back in that lifestyle that you had left? 07:58 To be honest with you, 08:01 I believe that the individuals 08:04 who I associated myself 08:05 with were just allowing me enough strength 08:07 to hang myself as much as I would hang myself. 08:11 And it's like 08:12 they were going to a lot of Go-Go's, 08:14 I wouldn't go. 08:15 You know, I'd be uptown 08:16 and it's like the Lord would be like, 08:18 "Okay, that's enough, leave." 08:19 I may drink, I may smoke, they'd be like leave. 08:21 I come back before to DC three times a day 08:23 coming from Waldorf, and he'd be like, 08:24 "Okay, hey, man, 08:26 we may about to go out to the club." 08:27 And I would be like, "No, I ain't going." 08:29 And every night without fail 08:30 something happened and I'm positive. 08:32 If the devil had his way, 08:34 I would've been the one to quote 08:35 that book then and there. 08:37 So okay, so I'm painting the picture here. 08:40 A young man finds himself 21 years of age, 08:42 he's on Oakwood's campus. 08:43 He's studying theology, 08:44 for whatever reason that doesn't work out. 08:46 He is back in DC hanging around old associates 08:49 and now you're back to the drinking, 08:51 you're back to the smoking, you're back to the clubbing, 08:54 you're hanging out with the wrong people. 08:55 Tell us about... 08:57 And how old are you at this time? 08:58 At this time, I'm 22. So you're 22. 09:00 Tell us about the years between the ages of like, 09:03 let's say, 22 and 25. 09:05 Tell us about that? What's going on? 09:07 I don't really remember the age 22. 09:09 I don't remember the year that was 09:11 when I came back from Oakwood, I was 21 about to be 22. 09:15 And I had fixed my mind to be back. 09:20 I really don't remember the year 2002, 2003, 09:23 I don't remember. 09:24 2004, I was starting to get myself back together and... 09:28 But I want to talk about 2002-2003 09:32 'cause there are some things that are still pending 09:34 that may be a part and parcel of that year, 09:37 as well as some things 09:38 that probably happened after 2004. 09:40 Well, I can say in 2003, I recall catching... 09:45 Well, I got one of my first adult charges, 09:51 which possession of total dangerous substance 09:54 not with the intent. 09:55 You know, alcohol related charges, 09:57 my life started spiraling down. 10:00 And I mean, it's like I wouldn't allow myself to go 10:04 but so far 10:05 because my mother raised me right, 10:07 she trained up her children in a way that they should go, 10:09 so they wouldn't depart in the end. 10:10 But during this middle period, 10:13 I was just looking for acceptance 10:17 to a certain extent, 10:19 but I knew where I was most accepted at, 10:22 I had turned my back to it. 10:23 And it crushed me, 10:25 you know, 'cause I felt like I was turning my back on God 10:27 and looking for friendship elsewhere with, 10:31 that's really... 10:33 I mean, there's no friends that you may be associated, 10:35 so people that you've dealings with 10:37 but I didn't have friends. 10:38 Yeah, I mean, there were charges, 10:40 in and out of jail, short stints in there, 10:42 maybe weekend, a week, 30 days, 15, 20 days, 10:46 became numb to it. 10:48 It was like just way of life, 10:49 I get up to the liquor store as soon as it open. 10:52 You know, I'm selling weed, so I got plenty weed to smoke. 10:55 You know, I'm selling... Back in a life basically. 11:00 And my friends accepted me back, you know. 11:03 Right, so from the ages about 23 to 2004, 11:08 you say you started getting your life together, 11:09 but you're not completely getting it together, 11:11 you're still catching charges, 11:12 you're still drinking, you're still smoking. 11:15 Tell us a little bit about what's going on in your mind 11:18 because there is this strong tug in you, 11:20 even throughout your experiences in the streets 11:23 and finding acceptance once again in the street, 11:25 you testified to the fact 11:27 that you could still feel the Holy Spirit talking to you, 11:28 and you could still see things, 11:30 you still have spiritual discernment 11:31 to some degree. 11:33 And so tell us about like this lifestyle, 11:35 what are you thinking as you're drinking, 11:36 as you're smoking, catching all kind of... 11:41 Possession, some DUIs... 11:44 Assaults. So tell us what's going on? 11:47 And my mind was never at rest. 11:50 And I prayed and asked the Lord to not give me any peace 11:53 until I made a decision of follow Him all the way, 11:56 that's what He did. 11:57 I mean, I toyed with the devil on his ground 12:01 and that's the most dangerous thing you could ever do 12:03 is think because you're okay, that you're going to be okay. 12:09 There's been so many situations 12:12 where I have been inebriated to the point of not knowing 12:15 how I got to my destination. 12:17 I may wake up 12:18 and I had the scars on my face to prove it, 12:20 and looking at myself like, "What happened?" 12:23 I'm calling my friends, what happened? 12:24 "Oh, you man, you was doing this 12:25 and doing that and the other thing, 12:27 you fought three or four people with stuff like that." 12:29 And I'm like, "Man, are you serious?" 12:31 Like but it was out of the alcohol, 12:32 it had to be the alcohol. 12:34 By the grace of God, I made it home, 12:35 but if alcohol was not a factor, 12:37 I know I wouldn't have been in this situation. 12:39 So you're now struggling with alcoholism? 12:43 Alcoholism. Okay. 12:45 So tell us a little bit about that struggle 12:51 and not just because one of the things 12:54 having a little bit of information on your story, 12:56 Orlando, is that I know that you're just recently, 12:59 have just recently fought a case 13:01 that is pending from sometime in the past. 13:05 So tell us, man, like, 13:06 you're struggling with alcoholism again, 13:09 I really want to highlight 13:10 and you and I have talked about it before. 13:12 Highlight the contrast and you knowing 13:13 where you're supposed to be and what you're doing. 13:17 In January 2011, 13:19 I feel like my life had gotten to a point 13:22 where if I didn't make my mind up, 13:25 I was going to lose my life. 13:26 So what did life look like in 2011? 13:28 2011, it kind of looked okay. 13:32 You see in my spiritual mind 13:34 I knew I was dying, I knew I was dying. 13:36 But, you know, in the selfish life, 13:39 I had a potential to succeed 13:41 and I had people they were willing to... 13:43 Succeed at what? 13:44 Succeed in anything in this world that I want to... 13:46 So succeed at drug, 13:48 you could have succeeded at drug dealing? 13:49 I could've been very successful with drug dealing. 13:50 Okay, succeed in what else, what else in this world... 13:52 I could've started a frivolous business of my own 13:55 if I chose to do something that would be upfront for drugs 13:57 if I chose to. 13:59 I knew people, I mean, it's conversations has started 14:01 coming up about different ways to open up strips here 14:05 and do this than the other thing and... 14:06 When you say strips, what do you mean? 14:08 Sections of the city where you sell drugs at, 14:11 you know, I mean we got younger people 14:14 coming on the scene, eager to... 14:17 And you see that they are easy to manipulate? 14:19 Ah, too easy. Yeah, yeah. 14:21 So tell us in 2011, you're spiraling out of control 14:24 or you've got to the point 14:25 where you kind of hit rock bottom. 14:27 Tell us a little bit about the longest stint 14:29 you spent in jail. 14:31 You and I were talking about another conversation 14:34 I was having with someone, where they felt like 14:37 having certain items taken from you 14:39 once you're in custody was to being treated bad. 14:41 Tell us about some of the times when you were in jail, 14:44 again, knowing while you're in jail, 14:46 you're going through whatever behavior, 14:47 you know, doing whatever you're doing, 14:49 you're going to jail and you said 14:50 you became numb to it, but you are... 14:54 See 'cause the struggle 14:55 that I'm looking to highlight in you, 14:57 Orlando, was the struggle between light and dark, 14:59 the struggle where you know better 15:00 but you're not doing better. 15:01 And so tell us about, you know, being in jail 15:04 and knowing that you shouldn't be here, 15:06 but you're here anyways. 15:08 Tell us about that? Many times, I was incarcerated. 15:11 I carried myself as a vilest on the street. 15:15 It was just time passing, 15:18 I mean, you got to act a certain way 15:21 where you're incarcerated 15:22 or you'll be taken advantage of. 15:24 And I found myself feeling like 15:26 I was about to lose my mind from time to time, 15:28 you know, you're sitting there in little 15:29 four by four, five by five cell, 15:32 nothing to read, 15:33 you know, 22 hours locked in, 15:36 2 hours out throughout the whole 24-hour a day, 15:38 initially starting out. 15:41 I was trying to maintain COs, Correctional officers thinking, 15:44 the day your parents tell you what to do, when to get up, 15:48 how to make your bed, when you're gonna eat, 15:51 and being a person that always bucked authority. 15:54 I had no problem in letting them know, 15:56 what they could do with their commands 15:58 or demands or whatever 15:59 I have felt about that, but I mean, 16:01 I got into my share of altercations 16:03 while incarcerated, you know, I paid the price, 16:05 spent time in solitary confinement 16:07 where I had an opportunity to really focus on 16:11 what God was trying to tell me about my life. 16:13 Not that I took heed right then and there 16:16 which is one thing I love about the Lord, 16:18 He is long suffering, you know what I'm saying. 16:20 He sees where we are, 16:22 He knows where he wants us to be, 16:23 and even though we keep making these ridiculous decisions, 16:26 He just keeps feeding these little bits 16:28 and pieces of information along the way. 16:29 So you find yourself in jail, and God is still, 16:32 God is long suffering, He's still working with you. 16:34 Young man, go to school, you're studying theology, 16:37 that doesn't work out for whatever reason, 16:38 you find yourself back in DC around old acquaintances, 16:41 finding yourself back in an old lifestyle 16:43 and old pattern of behavior. 16:45 Now you're going in and out of jail, 16:46 in and out of jail, 16:47 but throughout this whole process, 16:49 God is continually speaking to you 16:50 because He has a plan for your life. 16:52 2011, things begin to spiral out of control, 16:55 you found yourself at rock bottom. 16:57 Walk us from 2011 to about, let's say, 17:01 February of this year? 17:04 2011, January 1st at about 4:15 am, 17:08 I found myself sleep on the side of 495 17:11 and my fiancé(C) is in BMW, 17:13 had too much to drink, had drugs on me, 17:17 paraphernalia on me, had a gun in the trunk. 17:20 And I was rescued 17:24 by Maryland State troopers I say. 17:26 Wait, wait, you say rescued now. 17:29 I know what happened then, 17:30 so tell us, you say rescued now. 17:31 I mean, I believe once... Well, that night... 17:35 That night, you didn't see it as rescue. 17:36 No, I didn't see it as being rescued then. 17:38 No, no, because you resisted. I resisted a little bit. 17:39 Come on, talk about that? 17:41 You know, I was in such shock that it was happened, 17:45 I couldn't believe it's happening again. 17:46 You know, it is another DUI. 17:48 I mean, firstly, 17:50 driving behind the wheel again, you know me, 17:51 I could've been killed, I'm on 495. 17:54 But the officers, I guess... 17:58 I don't know if we call them and had a little man complex 18:00 where they wanted to be a little aggressive with me. 18:03 And, you know, they wanted me to take my clothes, 18:05 they wanted me to strip, and I guess, 18:07 they thought I was trying to hide some drugs... 18:08 Strip, strip on the street, on highway? 18:10 No, they had taken me to the police barracks. 18:12 But I want to talk about 'cause, okay, 18:14 so here's how I understand it, you help me clarify. 18:17 So you're on the side of the road asleep, inebriated? 18:21 Inebriated. 18:22 You're asleep and you're awakened by what? 18:26 By police officers tapping on the window. 18:27 Tapping on the window. 18:28 So he taps on the window, he says what to you? 18:31 He said, "Do you know you're on a highway?" 18:32 And you say? 18:34 I look around, I mean, I'm just looking at him. 18:36 I'm in a daze, 18:37 I can't recall my exact words to him, 18:39 but no, he wasn't lying, I was on the highway. 18:44 And so they ask you to, of course, step out of the car. 18:47 Right. Did you step out of the car? 18:48 I got out of the car. Okay. 18:50 And so now, walk us through the process? 18:51 And I'm looking around 18:53 'cause I'm trying to gather my thoughts, 18:54 I know I got a cup right here... 18:56 Is there still alcohol in the cup? 18:57 There's still alcohol in the cup. 18:59 So there's a smell of alcohol even in the car? 19:00 Yes, smell of alcohol in the car. 19:02 Okay, so now they get you out of the car, 19:03 what happens after that? 19:04 You want the whole picture? 19:06 Yeah, yeah, I want the whole picture. 19:07 I mean, I had half a jay I brought, 19:08 and my cigarette pack in my pocket 19:10 and he could smell it. 19:11 I had three different bundles of marijuana in my pocket. 19:15 He gets me out of the car, 19:16 walks me to the back of the car, 19:18 and asked me to do the horizontal gaze nystagmus, 19:21 whatever they call that type of test 19:22 that you look at the pen... 19:24 I failed everything miserably, I didn't... 19:25 Did you cooperate? 19:26 Did you say, "Yeah, I want to do this?" 19:28 No. No, I'm not doing this. 19:30 I mean, I did not take the breathalyzer test. 19:32 And I took a step forward and I know I'm drunk. 19:36 I told him myself, "Look, I'm drunk. 19:38 You want to lock me up, lock me up. 19:39 I mean, why are we standing out here doing all this for?" 19:42 You know, and so they started searching the car, 19:43 they searched a car, 19:44 they found a cigarette pack with marijuana in it. 19:47 I said, "Man, would you want to take me to jail, 19:48 take me to jail." 19:50 You know, I knew I was going to jail. 19:51 Right, right. So now so that's how that plays out. 19:53 So now you're in custody, you're at the police station, 19:56 now walk us through the whole strip, 19:58 we want to search you? 20:00 Well, at first, they threw me in a little room 20:02 in a no, no, no... 20:04 They put me in a... 20:05 I went to like three different barracks. 20:07 You know, in and out of consciousness 20:08 'cause I was, I was, it was New Year's Eve, 20:10 you know, what I mean, right new year in. 20:14 One of the officers came and told me to strip. 20:15 It was kind of cold in the cell. 20:17 I mean, I'm not stripping, they already searched me. 20:19 "Listen, man, I told you, 20:21 you need take your clothes off." 20:22 I said, "I'm not taking my clothes off." 20:23 So he called few of his boys about four or five of them, 20:27 couple of white guys, couple of black guys. 20:29 You know, few of them were standing 20:31 a little far-off looking like, 20:32 "Man, you know, we should mess with him." 20:34 Because that whole process when you were in jail, 20:36 the stripping process, having been through it, 20:39 it's not about really asserting their authority 20:42 'cause we're in custody, isn't that we could do? 20:44 It's more about humiliation 20:45 and some of the things they have you do, you know... 20:48 If I wouldn't have fought them, 20:50 they would have took my underwear. 20:51 If I wouldn't have resisted them. 20:53 So they got you down to your underwear, 20:54 and now you're fighting just to keep your underpants. 20:57 So tell us about that? I mean. 20:59 Believe it or not, our viewers have no view, 21:01 they don't understand that. 21:03 The people watching, they don't understand 21:04 being in custody, 21:05 already having all of your clothes off 21:07 and now having to fight just to keep on your underwear, 21:10 explain that, what is that like? 21:11 Two officers grabbed my arms, two officers grabbed my legs, 21:14 and the little dude that was doing all the talk, 21:15 he get to pulling my clothes off. 21:17 So I'm saying, 21:18 all types of disrespectful stuff to him 21:20 about his sexual preference 21:22 because apparently something is wrong with him. 21:23 We understand. 21:24 And he is still pulling my clothes. 21:27 And they didn't want to do anything with my clothes 21:30 'cause they just set them outside the cell, 21:31 they didn't take them to search them, 21:32 they just wanted me not to have them, 21:34 it was cold in there. 21:35 Right, right. That was a... Humiliation. 21:37 So we get down to my underwear 21:39 and I think I might have hit one of the officers 21:41 because I'm like, 21:42 "Man, you're not taking my underwear, man, 21:44 you're not tripping." 21:45 So I got myself away from him 21:47 and like I said they stepped back and looked at me. 21:48 I pulled my underwear and I looked at him, 21:50 I'm like, "Man, what?" 21:51 They were like, "Yeah." Did laugh and he left. 21:53 So I reached underneath the door bars, 21:54 and grabbed my clothes, and pulled my clothes back 21:56 and then put my clothes back on. 21:57 Nobody else came back in there, trying to take anything. 21:59 But they just want to see 22:00 how far that you're going to let them go. 22:01 Right, right. 22:03 If I had let them take my underwear, 22:04 I would have been sitting there naked, 22:06 you know what I'm saying, looking like Kunta Kinte 22:07 or some slave. 22:08 I mean, that's what they want. Right, right. 22:10 Okay, so now this is the process, 22:12 this is the situation, you find yourself in 2011. 22:15 Now and you're fighting these charges, 22:18 you're fighting all of these charges, 22:20 and tell us about that process 22:22 because what I really want to highlight here is 22:25 about you were charged in 2011 22:29 but you weren't sentenced until when? 22:33 2012. 2012. 22:35 So from 2011, 22:36 where you're already hitting the charges are there, 22:38 you're going back and forth of the court. 22:39 When this should be speeding you were caught 22:41 with the open container or with the alcohol, 22:45 you were caught with the marijuana, 22:46 you were caught with the different bundles 22:48 of marijuana in your pocket. 22:49 You're obviously inebriating, you're on the side of the road, 22:51 could've caused bodily harms to yourself and other people. 22:55 But you have not been convicted 22:56 even though the case is open close. 22:59 Why have you not been convicted, 23:01 even though this is a open shut... 23:03 This is not even something that a judge has to hear. 23:05 I mean, the judge could probably look at this and say, 23:07 "Okay, yeah, this man needs to go to jail, 23:09 and he needs to go as soon as possible 23:11 because he is a harm to himself and possibly to others." 23:14 You're driving on the freeway, the 495, you're drunk, 23:16 they find you on the side of the road, 23:18 you don't even know how you got there. 23:19 So this is an open shut case, but for some reason, 23:23 your sentence is deferred for almost a year? 23:26 There is some change, about a year and half. 23:28 So I want to say what is God trying to do 23:33 or what happens in this year that you can look back 23:35 and see the fingerprints of God in this situation. 23:38 God was waking me up. Waking you up. 23:40 He was waking me up and He constantly let me know 23:43 that not only would He never leave me or forsake me, 23:47 but He is going to save me from a far off. 23:51 I mean, I wrote down a couple of texts 23:53 when we left the Oakwood scene but throughout the year, 23:58 you know, I counted my blessings. 24:01 Some personal situations happened 24:03 in beginning of 2011, 24:06 that kind of pushed me mentally backwards 24:12 and I stopped going to church. 24:16 But through minister Ronnie Wanderhose, 24:20 you know, going and sitting in a council with him, 24:23 he introduced me to, verbally, one pastor Marquise Johns, 24:29 who I should go check out at Metropolitan church. 24:33 And I came here one Wednesday night, 24:34 you know, knowing prayer meeting 24:36 didn't start till 7:30, I got here by 6:30 24:39 and trying to open the door and it wasn't open. 24:41 So I left, you know, 24:43 with no real intention of coming back 24:45 because the door should've been open 24:47 when I came, but it wasn't. 24:49 So maybe a week or two went by, and constantly battling, 24:54 but I wasn't reading like that, 24:55 I felt like I couldn't pray, I couldn't pray. 24:58 Whenever I got on my knees to pray, 24:59 my mind was always bombarding with a bunch of nonsense. 25:02 I just thanked the Lord for that last night, 25:04 I prayed for about maybe 35-40 minutes 25:07 just talking to God, preparing myself immensely 25:10 for what I had to deal with on tomorrow, 25:12 but thanking Him for, 25:15 you know, allowing me the opportunity 25:16 to still be able to talk to him 25:18 because He could have been like, 25:19 "Man, you know what, 25:21 you want to keep playing with Me? 25:22 Man, I'm not a toy and just push me to the side." 25:25 But He didn't. 25:26 Long suffering. Long suffering, merciful. 25:28 So you finally get back to the church, 25:30 there is an evangelistic series, 25:32 an appeal is made for baptism. 25:34 Tell us about that day? 25:37 Well... 25:40 I actually, at first 25:44 answered the appeal during that service 25:48 before Pastor Benny Jean went to Africa, 25:51 I took my stand and you tried to baptize me that same day. 25:54 Oh, yeah. That's what I do. 25:56 But I wanted my mother and, you know, 25:57 couple of other family members to be present. 25:59 My intention was to be baptized but I wasn't just gonna jump, 26:02 I needed to make sure 26:03 that I was doing the right thing. 26:06 And as a result, you know, a couple of weeks later, 26:11 I was sitting in the overflow room 26:14 and struggling with myself, 26:17 you know, you said there was gonna be 26:19 a baptism that day. 26:20 You may be missing that, 26:21 you know, the Holy Spirit told you, 26:23 God told you that, 26:24 you know, five people 26:26 were gonna get baptized that day. 26:27 And I think a couple came up 26:32 and then three other people came up. 26:34 And I'm thinking to myself that those are those five people. 26:38 And you said, nah, 26:40 the Holy Spirit was telling me there's one more. 26:42 So where are you? In the overflow? 26:45 I looked at my fiancé(C) and I was like, 26:47 "Man, he is talking to me." 26:49 Mercy. 26:50 And she looked at me, I said, 26:51 "Man, I can't make, that ought to be a lie." 26:53 The Holy Spirit told me there was one more. 26:55 So, you know, I came on down. 26:57 So in February 2012, you were baptized? 27:01 February 11, 2012, I was re-baptized, 27:04 and can't say it's been smooth sailing... 27:07 Since then, but it's been a definite... 27:12 It's been a decision making process... 27:15 So I want to just 'cause we're gonna wrap up. 27:18 I want you take about 30 seconds, 27:19 look into this camera, this is your camera. 27:21 And I want you to speak to Orlando at 21, 27:25 who is about to leave Oakwood. 27:28 I want you to take the next 30 seconds 27:29 and speak to Orlando then? 27:34 If I could speak to myself then, 27:35 I would've told myself to stay at Oakwood. 27:38 But in the event that a young man 27:41 is at Oakwood and he leaves, 27:42 know that God, one, will never leave you, 27:45 two, will never forsake you. 27:47 You take the opportunities that you have as a young man 27:50 and get to build a relationship with the Lord. 27:53 The streets are gonna be there 27:55 but they are not going to be there forever. 27:57 God is eternal, what He has for you is eternal. 28:01 And though you may have struggled, 28:04 you've gone through trials and tribulations, 28:07 Jesus loves you, He is going to always love you, 28:10 and He's got a plan for you, 28:11 it's just up to you to get out of your way 28:13 and let the Holy Spirit do its job. 28:16 Amen. 28:17 Orlando is now involved at ministry at Metro. 28:20 Just the other day, 28:22 he just took joy in coming and cutting the lawn. 28:24 And I believe that you can run, you can even try to hide, 28:28 but eventually, God is going to find you 28:31 and when He finds you, if you trust Him, 28:33 He'll lead you on a new journey. 28:36 God bless you. |
Revised 2017-11-28