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 where you
meet 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 Aaron Chancy,
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come join us on The New Journey.
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I like to welcome you
back to The New Journey.
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On today's broadcast,
we have Rocky Mertens.
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Rocky, we like to thank
you for being on the program.
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Thank you, it's a
blessing being here.
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Just a general
information, Rocky,
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can you give us your
age, and where you're from?
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I'm 36 years old,
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and I'm from
West County, Alabama.
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Okay.
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What was it like growing
up in your home at young age?
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It was pretty rough. Okay.
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I had--
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by the time I was
in, I mean, Junior High
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I had five different step-dad's
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and a couple of
them were very abusive.
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Me and my older
brother, we took a lot of hard,
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knockdown, I
guess you could say.
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Okay.
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There was a time
when I was 12 years old,
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sitting at the bar with
my-- one of my step-dad's,
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eating breakfast
and just being quite
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like I usually am and sometimes
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I have an
intimidating look on my face.
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Some people say I look like
I got a problem or something.
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And apparently
that's how he took it,
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and he just slapped me
down, off the bar on the floor
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and jumped on top of
me and fisting to start--
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he had his fist drew back on me.
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And my older brother,
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he's almost five
years older than me.
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He just so happened, well,
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it wouldn't just so
happened, I believe God--
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Intervened. Intervened.
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And my brother came in
and just and freaked out
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and grabbed him and
put him in a chock hold
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and he said, I
kind of blacked out,
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I don't remember nothing
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but he says while
he was choking him out
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I started hitting him.
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But after that he got up,
he woke up, he got up and left,
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and we never had
any more problems
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out of him after that.
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It's like a reality check.
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Now you mentioned that you
had five different step-dad's.
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What was it like
seeing a different--
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a different father
figure in the house,
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periodically having
five different step-dad's?
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It was kind of
shocking as a young child
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because the first one I had,
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my mom and my dad
split when I was two
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and my dad worked at
this chartered plane.
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Mobile home plane that
had uniforms they wore,
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and one day this other
man stepped up to the door
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in a uniform like my
dad's but he wasn't my dad,
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and he came in
and kissed my mom,
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and just took up the role of--
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And it was
really-- A real shock.
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Real shock. Yeah. Definitely.
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Wow.
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So growing up in your household,
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five different
step-dads, what was the--
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what was the religious
background in the house
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or was there any
religious background?
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No, there was no.
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Alcohol. Okay.
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So it was a lot
of alcohol drinking
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and different things
like that going in the house.
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What were some of
the negative influences
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surrounding you in your
house, outside your house,
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different things like that?
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Oh, it was
basically the step-dads.
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I had another step-dad
that he was so rough on us,
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he took my brother
one time up by the throat
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and stuck him
in a burning barrel
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while it was burning.
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And I'm just, you know,
I'm like eight years old
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and I'm just
standing there just amazed,
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didn't know what to
do, freaked out, you know.
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We had some
pretty, had some crucial
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or should I say,
painful punishments.
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I remember
standing in the gravel
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on my knees when I was a kid,
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holding books out
like this for something.
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I don't remember what it
was, the littlest things.
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If we didn't say
yes ma'am or yes sir
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we were in bad trouble.
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And he stood behind
me with a belt, you know,
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like it was a whip or something,
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just beating me,
let him booze down.
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So that kind of gave up,
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gave a lot of
resentment within you
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for each of the
different step-dads, correct?
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Well, I can't really
pinpoint what it done
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but I've taken some classes
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and what
psychologists teaching it,
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they say that it
definitely has effect
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on your mind growing up.
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And it has effect on
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your attitude
and your character,
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when you get
older the things you do.
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Yeah, yeah, the different
things shape your life,
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shape what you do
later on in life, definitely.
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Now looking back at
the negative influences,
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flip the script, what were
some of the positive influences
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in your life, if there were any?
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My older brother. Okay.
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And my grandma.
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My grandma took
me to charge a lot.
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She was--
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she was probably one
of the most mighty man
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or women of God I've
ever seen in my life.
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Okay.
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You know, she prayed at
9:00, 12:00 and 3:00 every day,
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no matter what she was doing.
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Three times a
day. No matter what.
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She was dedicated to it. Okay.
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And my brother,
he was there form,
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my older brother,
I got three brothers,
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but my older brother,
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he's my only
full-blooded brother
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and he's been
there my whole life.
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And he was always a
role model because, I mean,
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he taught me how to
fight, he taught me, you know,
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how to, just taught
me about life like sports
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and taught me about things
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that young teenagers
need to know growing up.
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Yeah. Definitely, definitely.
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So your brother was kind of
like a father figure to you,
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a positive father figure to you.
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Now you mentioned that
one of your family members
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used to take you to church.
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What was the type of church
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that your
grandmother used to take you to?
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Pentecostal.
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A Pentecostal church? Okay.
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How was it growing up
going to a Pentecostal church?
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It was kind of
breathtaking, I guess,
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everybody jump
around, speak in tongues,
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and getting so excited.
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Okay, okay.
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Seem like they
really, they seem like
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they really has
something going on in there.
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Yeah, okay.
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Now you mentioned that
there was a lot of alcohol,
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alcoholism going on
in the household when,
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at a younger age.
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At what age did you begin
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to use
narcotics, drinking drugs,
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different things of that nature?
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Twelve years old.
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Okay, at 12 years old.
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And what did you what did
you begin with at 12 years old?
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And talk about the
feeling of that you got from it
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and why did you, why
did you begin doing it?
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Was it influences around you,
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was it just
because it was there?
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Shed some light upon that.
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Yeah, I started smoking
weed and drinking alcohol at 12.
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That was the
easy things to get to
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because, I mean,
weeds pretty common.
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A lot of people
smoke the joint thing,
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we don't do anything
like it but started out,
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getting out of my
buddy's parents rooms,
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the stuff I get
when they go on to work.
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And it just
seemed like, I guess,
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one thing that I always
tried to blame it on was
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because my dad always smoked pot
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and had long
hair and I just think,
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I just thought that was cool.
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And, but really what
drove me to getting high was
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having the ability
to control my emotions
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on my own,
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kind of made me feel
like I had more than an extra,
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you know, more than
a human power about me,
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something super human
or something like that,
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I guess, I don't know.
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Okay.
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Other than the marijuana,
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what were some
of the other drugs
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you eventually
got involved with?
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Later on I started
using meth real heavy.
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Okay.
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Now talk a
little bit about meth.
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I've never used meth
before, my drugs of choice were
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like cocaine,
alcohol, use a little heroin,
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marijuana,
ecstasy, prescription pills,
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used to smoke a pack a day
but I'd never done meth before.
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Talk about that,
the feeling of meth,
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and you know,
what's the difference
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that you noticed
between that and say, marijuana?
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Meth gives you, it
sharpens your mind,
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keeps you from getting fatigue.
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Okay.
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You can go for
days and you just,
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you can think so much clearer,
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you can figure
stuff out that you don't,
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you've never
even deal with before.
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Working on stuff is
amazing to the point
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that you actually find
stuff to work on just to
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because it let
you amaze yourself
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and how your mind
will figure the stuff out.
00:08:27.64\00:08:30.07
All right, so you've giving
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some of the
positive effects of the drug,
00:08:31.47\00:08:32.91
what are some of the
negative effects of the drug?
00:08:32.94\00:08:36.08
Negative is you
spend all your money on it,
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you'll lose you know,
your financial lifestyle
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will go down the drain,
lose everything you have
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and you
eventually lose you family.
00:08:45.39\00:08:48.39
And I was so hooked on it
that's when I started cocaine
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because I didn't have
the finances to buy it,
00:08:51.63\00:08:55.00
so I could buy the materials,
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it's a lot cheaper
to make all I wanted.
00:08:57.20\00:08:59.17
Okay.
00:08:59.20\00:09:00.54
And then it get, it
gets even worse though that.
00:09:00.57\00:09:04.01
I eventually
went to using so heavy
00:09:04.04\00:09:07.91
that I started
overdosed on it one time
00:09:07.94\00:09:11.31
when I was mixing
it with other stuff.
00:09:11.35\00:09:13.42
Because, I got heavy and
using, doing ecstasy and pill,
00:09:13.45\00:09:18.22
I would have to take downers
00:09:18.25\00:09:19.59
like Valium and
Xanax, and Klonopin
00:09:19.62\00:09:21.59
just to calm
down and go to sleep,
00:09:21.62\00:09:23.32
slow my heart rate down.
00:09:23.36\00:09:25.66
And it was pretty bad.
00:09:25.69\00:09:27.53
I was even shooting it up
and I was so ashamed of it,
00:09:27.56\00:09:31.07
I would do it little high
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where I can put a
shirt and cover them.
00:09:32.47\00:09:34.57
You know, my
family's ever, you know,
00:09:34.60\00:09:36.24
my family don't
do stuff like that.
00:09:36.27\00:09:38.21
They're all pretty
respectable people.
00:09:38.24\00:09:40.11
Okay.
00:09:40.14\00:09:41.48
So it will
drive you to the point
00:09:41.51\00:09:43.85
where you do something
00:09:43.88\00:09:45.75
that you're not
even comfortable doing
00:09:45.78\00:09:47.65
but you do it anyway.
00:09:47.68\00:09:49.25
But, yeah, I
overdosed three times.
00:09:49.28\00:09:52.15
Talk a little bit about those
experiences with overdosing.
00:09:52.19\00:09:56.22
It was horrible.
00:09:56.26\00:09:57.59
One time I fought
00:09:57.63\00:09:58.96
the whole Hammond
Louisiana Police Department,
00:09:58.99\00:10:00.90
didn't even, don't
even really remember it.
00:10:00.93\00:10:03.57
And I woke up the next
morning in the hospital,
00:10:03.60\00:10:05.87
looking up at the lights
and didn't know where I was at,
00:10:05.90\00:10:08.44
and they were running
a catheter rope in me.
00:10:08.47\00:10:10.71
And that was a scary bad feeling
00:10:10.74\00:10:13.64
because there was a sheet up,
00:10:13.68\00:10:15.31
I didn't know what
was going on, I just,
00:10:15.34\00:10:16.98
just scared the life out of
me, what life I had left in me.
00:10:17.01\00:10:21.35
They told me I was
very fortunate to make it,
00:10:21.38\00:10:25.65
so that I would probably
suffer long term effects,
00:10:25.69\00:10:28.42
damage from it.
00:10:28.46\00:10:29.79
Yeah, definitely.
00:10:29.82\00:10:31.16
You know it's interesting
often that drugs are glorified,
00:10:31.19\00:10:35.36
you know, so often
people talk so highly of them.
00:10:35.40\00:10:37.73
But that downside,
that negative side,
00:10:37.77\00:10:40.64
a lot of people don't say that.
00:10:40.67\00:10:42.00
Yeah, they say, well,
you know, this is good,
00:10:42.04\00:10:44.01
it gave me that super high,
00:10:44.04\00:10:45.37
it gave me
this, it gave me that.
00:10:45.41\00:10:46.74
But in the flip side,
just like with alcohol,
00:10:46.78\00:10:48.71
you know, yeah, you
drink, you have fun, you got it,
00:10:48.74\00:10:50.91
and it almost seems like
it makes everything more fun.
00:10:50.95\00:10:53.98
But then what if
you drink too much,
00:10:54.02\00:10:55.35
you get a hangover, you know.
00:10:55.38\00:10:56.72
And its sometimes
it's kind of like we laugh
00:10:56.75\00:10:58.25
and we joke about a hangover
and different things like that.
00:10:58.29\00:11:00.59
But at the same time
00:11:00.62\00:11:01.99
when you have fun
with some of these drugs,
00:11:02.02\00:11:04.06
the negative side
is like you stated,
00:11:04.09\00:11:06.16
loss of money, loss of family.
00:11:06.19\00:11:08.70
And it's interesting that you--
00:11:08.73\00:11:10.23
in a lot of
hip-hop records and things
00:11:10.27\00:11:12.47
where the drugs and
things like that are glorified.
00:11:12.50\00:11:15.40
You know here, the
real about you know, yeah,
00:11:15.44\00:11:17.67
I've spent all
my money on my drugs
00:11:17.71\00:11:19.11
now I'm broke, you know,
now I don't have anything.
00:11:19.14\00:11:21.94
I smoke so much that
00:11:21.98\00:11:23.31
now I don't even
have a family, you know.
00:11:23.35\00:11:25.08
And that's the reality
where it seems like it's fun
00:11:25.11\00:11:28.85
but the reality is
you're losing family,
00:11:28.88\00:11:31.12
you're losing
friends, real friends at that.
00:11:31.15\00:11:34.06
And so it's a
lot of negative side
00:11:34.09\00:11:36.42
that needs to be
talked on as well.
00:11:36.46\00:11:39.06
Now after that you
eventually went to prison
00:11:39.09\00:11:42.33
for a couple of years.
00:11:42.36\00:11:43.90
Talk about the prison
life, what it was like,
00:11:43.93\00:11:47.24
as well as what your charge
was that sent you to prison.
00:11:47.27\00:11:50.71
Prison life is no joke.
00:11:50.74\00:11:53.38
Definitely.
00:11:53.41\00:11:54.74
You know I've seen a lot
of people getting killed,
00:11:54.78\00:11:57.98
raped over stupid stuffs.
00:11:58.01\00:12:00.22
I was in there have five weeks
and seen two guys get into it,
00:12:00.25\00:12:03.95
one hold the other
guy for two egg sandwiches
00:12:03.99\00:12:06.22
out of the chow hall.
00:12:06.25\00:12:07.89
And they were
both about to get out
00:12:07.92\00:12:09.46
but I guess they had
been institutionalized
00:12:09.49\00:12:12.43
and been in there so long
and had to learn lifestyle
00:12:12.46\00:12:15.26
of killed be kill, you
know, protect yourself,
00:12:15.30\00:12:18.60
you know, get your own.
00:12:18.63\00:12:20.94
And the one guy just told him,
00:12:20.97\00:12:22.87
I ain't going to
fight you, man, I am okay.
00:12:22.90\00:12:24.34
And the other guy
closed him in the room
00:12:24.37\00:12:27.18
and that's exactly what he got.
00:12:27.21\00:12:29.31
And they had knives in there,
00:12:29.34\00:12:30.68
and they were like Rambo knives.
00:12:30.71\00:12:32.81
You know, they
call them bone crusher.
00:12:32.85\00:12:34.58
When it hit you,
it's going through bone
00:12:34.62\00:12:36.12
and always come out of back side
00:12:36.15\00:12:38.25
and it was brutal
and so horrible site
00:12:38.29\00:12:41.19
to watch somebody be stabbed
00:12:41.22\00:12:42.96
and watch them
terribly bleed to death.
00:12:42.99\00:12:45.49
Reaching for like, he was
reaching for air, I guess,
00:12:45.53\00:12:50.67
trying to reaching for
a life, trying to hold on.
00:12:50.70\00:12:53.03
Yeah. Wow. Wow.
00:12:53.07\00:12:55.00
After seeing those things,
how did that make you feel,
00:12:55.04\00:12:57.57
seeing the rapes in prison,
seeing the murders in prison?
00:12:57.61\00:13:01.01
How did that make you feel?
00:13:01.04\00:13:02.38
And matter of
fact, also with that,
00:13:02.41\00:13:04.11
how long were you in prison
00:13:04.15\00:13:06.05
as well as what was the
charge that sends you to prison?
00:13:06.08\00:13:09.78
I was only, I was
in prison for two years
00:13:09.82\00:13:11.95
which was long time for me
00:13:11.99\00:13:13.56
but for a lot of guys
it's been 20, 30 years,
00:13:13.59\00:13:15.79
that's nothing
but it was log enough
00:13:15.82\00:13:18.06
to see the flip side of it,
00:13:18.09\00:13:20.50
you know, see a
lot of bad stuff.
00:13:20.53\00:13:23.16
Definitely.
00:13:23.20\00:13:24.53
How long, how long,
00:13:28.10\00:13:29.44
what did you end up
going to prison for?
00:13:29.47\00:13:32.01
I went for meth. For meth? Okay.
00:13:32.04\00:13:34.01
So that even adds more
to the negative side of it
00:13:34.04\00:13:36.85
where you know, when we
talked about the joys of it,
00:13:36.88\00:13:40.12
but then this is the
thing that led you to prison.
00:13:40.15\00:13:42.68
It was the drugs
that led you to prison,
00:13:42.72\00:13:44.85
which is another thing
that is horrible negative
00:13:44.89\00:13:47.82
because, sometimes also
prison life is glorified.
00:13:47.86\00:13:50.46
We see it on TV, we see
it in movies, we see it--
00:13:50.49\00:13:52.59
I remember,
certain hip-hop songs
00:13:52.63\00:13:54.33
that specifically
glorified it, you know,
00:13:54.36\00:13:56.46
pretty much like you go
in, you see all your friends,
00:13:56.50\00:13:58.40
you having fun then you get out,
00:13:58.43\00:13:59.77
you come out a real man
00:13:59.80\00:14:01.14
because this didn't
happen or that didn't happen.
00:14:01.17\00:14:02.74
But the reality
is of prison life
00:14:02.77\00:14:04.61
is just like
what you just said it.
00:14:04.64\00:14:06.04
Some people get killed in there,
00:14:06.07\00:14:07.41
some people get raped in there,
some people don't make it out.
00:14:07.44\00:14:10.15
I remember myself
when I was in there,
00:14:10.18\00:14:12.31
like, you stated that
two years was enough for you.
00:14:12.35\00:14:14.68
And which same for
me, it was enough for me.
00:14:14.72\00:14:17.15
And I would have
people that have been there
00:14:17.19\00:14:18.95
10, 20, 30 years say,
00:14:18.99\00:14:20.56
two years, that ain't
nothing, you know like--
00:14:20.59\00:14:23.12
Number one, I'm
not built for cage.
00:14:23.16\00:14:25.99
I'm not an animal
00:14:26.03\00:14:27.36
where I feel like I
should be in a cage.
00:14:27.40\00:14:30.13
And for me to be
there for 10, 30, 40 years,
00:14:30.17\00:14:33.27
it doesn't take
me long to realize
00:14:33.30\00:14:35.20
that I don't want
to be here, you know.
00:14:35.24\00:14:36.84
So I don't need to go through,
00:14:36.87\00:14:38.21
I don't need to be there
40 years to realize that.
00:14:38.24\00:14:40.18
And a lot of people will
say, well, what is two years?
00:14:40.21\00:14:41.98
You know, two years is nothing.
00:14:42.01\00:14:43.91
So you went,
00:14:43.95\00:14:45.28
how many different
prisons where you transfer to
00:14:45.31\00:14:46.95
and what were some
of the different prisons
00:14:46.98\00:14:48.38
that you were at?
00:14:48.42\00:14:49.75
I went to five different,
I went from Kilby to Bill,
00:14:49.78\00:14:53.22
they called it Bloody
Bill which was the worst part,
00:14:53.25\00:14:55.82
the deadliest one I was at.
00:14:55.86\00:14:57.56
Okay, now, you
say a Bloody Bill,
00:14:57.59\00:14:58.96
I got to stop it right there.
00:14:58.99\00:15:00.46
Why did they
call it Bloody Bill?
00:15:00.50\00:15:02.16
Well, I think this
pretty self-explanatory.
00:15:02.20\00:15:05.37
Blood shed every day there.
00:15:05.40\00:15:07.20
Well, so going
through all of that,
00:15:07.24\00:15:09.17
how did you manage to
make it out of there alive?
00:15:09.20\00:15:12.34
By the grace of God. Amen, amen.
00:15:12.37\00:15:15.08
When I first got
there, there were many knives,
00:15:15.11\00:15:17.31
and I just stuck my
head undercover and prayed.
00:15:17.35\00:15:20.25
And that's how I
finally fell a sleep
00:15:20.28\00:15:22.22
just talking to God,
"Please, God help me get--
00:15:22.25\00:15:25.02
if I make it out this
cell I'll never do this again."
00:15:25.05\00:15:27.49
Definitely.
00:15:27.52\00:15:28.86
Think we've all said
that prayer once in our life.
00:15:28.89\00:15:31.63
Most of us has
said it a lot of time.
00:15:31.66\00:15:33.90
Now you
eventually came to a point
00:15:33.93\00:15:36.46
where you realized you know,
00:15:36.50\00:15:38.07
it's time to make a
change in your life.
00:15:38.10\00:15:39.77
What was it that
brought you to that point
00:15:39.80\00:15:41.77
after years of
drinking, after years of drug,
00:15:41.80\00:15:44.54
using meth, using ecstasy,
all these various things,
00:15:44.57\00:15:47.68
since you were young,
00:15:47.71\00:15:49.04
since you were
even before teenager?
00:15:49.08\00:15:50.88
What was it that brought
you to that breaking point,
00:15:50.91\00:15:53.42
that rock bottom
or whatever it was
00:15:53.45\00:15:55.32
that made you decide
00:15:55.35\00:15:56.69
I need to start making a change,
00:15:56.72\00:15:58.05
start taking
steps towards Jesus?
00:15:58.09\00:16:00.26
Its the prison, been taken
away from my family, my kids,
00:16:00.29\00:16:06.03
because before I
went to prison my kids,
00:16:06.06\00:16:08.83
me and my baby's
mother, we split up.
00:16:08.86\00:16:11.67
She lost a case to DHR for drugs
00:16:11.70\00:16:14.57
and I had a chance to get on
00:16:14.60\00:16:16.10
but I was so strong out on drugs
00:16:16.14\00:16:17.71
I couldn't straighten up.
00:16:17.74\00:16:19.07
Okay.
00:16:19.11\00:16:20.44
When I went to prison and got,
and cleaned up just reality set
00:16:20.48\00:16:24.18
and I realized that, I
realize what a wreck I was,
00:16:24.21\00:16:27.58
and that's when I
gave myself to God.
00:16:27.62\00:16:30.29
I just decided it if I
keep doing the same thing
00:16:30.32\00:16:33.52
I'm going to keep
getting same results.
00:16:33.56\00:16:35.22
Yeah, definitely, definitely.
00:16:35.26\00:16:37.03
So I decided it
was time for a change,
00:16:37.06\00:16:38.79
a real life change.
00:16:38.83\00:16:41.60
Now you eventually learned
00:16:41.63\00:16:43.20
about the
Seventh-day Adventist Church,
00:16:43.23\00:16:44.87
well, you learned
about the Sabbath first.
00:16:44.90\00:16:47.07
And coming from a
Pentecostal background,
00:16:47.10\00:16:49.84
how did you learn
about the Sabbath?
00:16:49.87\00:16:51.71
What began that
search for the truth
00:16:51.74\00:16:54.01
in the Word of God for you?
00:16:54.04\00:16:56.38
Different denominations
coming into the prisons
00:16:56.41\00:16:59.11
because I was
dedicated to the church
00:16:59.15\00:17:00.72
every time doors
open, I was in a--
00:17:00.75\00:17:03.12
So you were sincere
about want to make a change?
00:17:03.15\00:17:04.82
Yeah. Definitely.
00:17:04.85\00:17:06.19
I read my Bible
00:17:06.22\00:17:08.22
for the first
year I was in prison.
00:17:08.26\00:17:11.73
The whole time I was awake,
00:17:11.76\00:17:13.53
I was reading
my Bible on my bed.
00:17:13.56\00:17:16.13
You know, we didn't have
to, it was a no-working camp.
00:17:16.16\00:17:20.07
It was mostly, it was a
camp for people who were--
00:17:20.10\00:17:23.44
who came from Max camps
and didn't want to do anything
00:17:23.47\00:17:27.84
or just serve,
had life sentences,
00:17:27.88\00:17:29.41
not getting out.
00:17:29.44\00:17:30.78
Okay, yeah they
don't want to work,
00:17:30.81\00:17:32.15
don't want to do--
00:17:32.18\00:17:33.52
and you really
can't make person a life,
00:17:33.55\00:17:34.88
you really can't
make him even do anything.
00:17:34.92\00:17:36.25
They know they're going
to be here all the time,
00:17:36.28\00:17:37.62
there's no hope of getting out.
00:17:37.65\00:17:38.99
Can't do nothing with
them. Yeah, definitely.
00:17:39.02\00:17:40.36
And so it was a holding
tank for the worst of the worst,
00:17:40.39\00:17:43.53
level four camps.
00:17:43.56\00:17:45.76
And that's why they got,
got it's name Bloody Bill.
00:17:45.79\00:17:48.16
Okay. Now for those that don't--
00:17:48.20\00:17:49.70
I understand the
different levels of prison.
00:17:49.73\00:17:51.57
When you stated a level four,
I understand what a level four,
00:17:51.60\00:17:54.30
because you have level
four, level five, level one,
00:17:54.34\00:17:55.87
level two, level three,
you have max, super max.
00:17:55.90\00:17:58.61
But talk about the difference
00:17:58.64\00:18:00.21
between the
different levels of prisons
00:18:00.24\00:18:01.84
for the viewers out there
that have never been to prison,
00:18:01.88\00:18:04.15
don't
understand what that means,
00:18:04.18\00:18:06.45
talk about that a little bit.
00:18:06.48\00:18:07.82
Level four is confinement,
you can get outside the fence.
00:18:07.85\00:18:14.12
Whereas one, two, and
three you know, you can get out
00:18:14.16\00:18:18.26
and work in the
community or work a job.
00:18:18.29\00:18:20.93
But level four, if you
work you, they'll take you out,
00:18:20.96\00:18:24.47
you'll be on shackles and
you'll be under a shotgun.
00:18:24.50\00:18:28.40
Well, I don't know,
00:18:28.44\00:18:29.77
I don't think they
do the shackles anymore,
00:18:29.80\00:18:31.14
but you're going
to be under shotgun.
00:18:31.17\00:18:33.21
You're not going to
get far out of their site,
00:18:33.24\00:18:35.31
you're not
going to be in public.
00:18:35.34\00:18:36.68
Yeah, okay.
00:18:36.71\00:18:38.58
But it's a, you
know, Max Campus.
00:18:38.61\00:18:42.38
I've never been to
Max camp but this, they,
00:18:42.42\00:18:45.32
I think they're
locked down 24/7.
00:18:45.35\00:18:47.26
Okay. Okay.
00:18:47.29\00:18:49.82
Now you were at a level four.
00:18:49.86\00:18:53.60
What was it like at a level four
00:18:53.63\00:18:55.43
being that you
came with a drug charge,
00:18:55.46\00:18:57.23
where I was at a
level two facility.
00:18:57.27\00:18:59.80
I was there were
people 15, 20 years,
00:18:59.83\00:19:01.67
they were people that
have hopes to get out.
00:19:01.70\00:19:03.27
Level four, you were there
were people that have life,
00:19:03.30\00:19:06.11
you're there with you know,
a lot of violent offenders,
00:19:06.14\00:19:08.34
different things like that.
00:19:08.38\00:19:09.71
Had you ever
been to a level one,
00:19:09.74\00:19:11.08
level two, level three
00:19:11.11\00:19:12.45
or were they all
pretty much level fours?
00:19:12.48\00:19:14.62
First one I went
to was level four.
00:19:14.65\00:19:16.12
Okay.
00:19:16.15\00:19:17.49
Now why did they end up,
basically with a drug charge,
00:19:17.52\00:19:19.35
why did they send you
straight to a level four
00:19:19.39\00:19:21.49
versus a level two?
00:19:21.52\00:19:23.39
Because I had a pending charge.
00:19:23.43\00:19:26.90
When I went to the
County jail right off the bed,
00:19:26.93\00:19:28.83
I had a pending
charge and I wanted to--
00:19:28.86\00:19:31.53
I heard, like you
said, people say prison,
00:19:31.57\00:19:33.67
they make prison ought to be,
00:19:33.70\00:19:35.37
is supposed to be
better than the County,
00:19:35.40\00:19:37.34
you know, you can
move, you can smoke.
00:19:37.37\00:19:39.71
So I booked in the County
00:19:39.74\00:19:41.61
and threaten to
tear the new jail
00:19:41.64\00:19:42.98
apart in prison
so they send me home.
00:19:43.01\00:19:46.15
And I got what
I asked for. Yeah.
00:19:46.18\00:19:48.15
I wind up going to the worst
level four prison in the State
00:19:48.18\00:19:52.49
and with a pending charge,
00:19:52.52\00:19:54.32
so I couldn't even go
outside the fence to work.
00:19:54.36\00:19:56.36
Yeah, yeah. Wow.
00:19:56.39\00:19:57.73
Not even under a shotgun.
00:19:57.76\00:19:59.19
I was stuck. Wow.
00:19:59.23\00:20:00.83
So you eventually, you
learned about the Sabbath.
00:20:00.86\00:20:02.86
How did you--
00:20:02.90\00:20:04.23
how did you
learn about the Sabbath
00:20:04.27\00:20:05.60
because you stated
that you were going to--
00:20:05.63\00:20:07.17
every time a little
church doors would open,
00:20:07.20\00:20:09.10
you would go to
the worships and stuff.
00:20:09.14\00:20:11.24
But how did you specifically
learn about the Sabbath?
00:20:11.27\00:20:14.44
Well, that's a
good story, I tell you.
00:20:14.48\00:20:17.21
I started, I noticed
that different denominations
00:20:17.25\00:20:19.85
had different, little
bit different beliefs,
00:20:19.88\00:20:21.65
they could take
the same scripture
00:20:21.68\00:20:23.02
and makes something a
different meaning out of it
00:20:23.05\00:20:25.99
than what the last guy did.
00:20:26.02\00:20:27.36
They both saying the same--
00:20:27.39\00:20:28.72
and they both
sounded, you know, truthful.
00:20:28.76\00:20:31.29
But they both had the truth,
00:20:31.33\00:20:32.66
so I started praying for God
to show me the truth right then
00:20:32.69\00:20:36.87
because I say, God, you
know, I'm serious about You,
00:20:36.90\00:20:40.34
serving You, and I want to know
00:20:40.37\00:20:42.40
the Bible says the
truth will make you free
00:20:42.44\00:20:44.61
and that you have to have a love
00:20:44.64\00:20:46.61
for the truth
and for Jesus Christ.
00:20:46.64\00:20:48.54
And so I wanted
to know, so I guess,
00:20:48.58\00:20:51.91
because of my
love for Jesus Christ,
00:20:51.95\00:20:53.28
it goes hand in hand.
00:20:53.31\00:20:54.65
And I had a lot to know
what was real and truth,
00:20:54.68\00:20:56.99
who had truth.
00:20:57.02\00:20:58.62
And so after I
started praying like it,
00:20:58.65\00:21:01.99
they moved me into a
one year ministry program
00:21:02.02\00:21:04.53
in Bill where they put me
00:21:04.56\00:21:06.80
beside a guy
named Chauncey Gibson,
00:21:06.83\00:21:09.83
who had been Adventist
his whole life, you know.
00:21:09.86\00:21:13.34
He had been to college,
two years learning Greek
00:21:13.37\00:21:17.94
and all that in college.
00:21:17.97\00:21:19.97
And he taught me a lot.
00:21:20.01\00:21:21.68
At first we bumped our
heads because I never heard of
00:21:21.71\00:21:24.81
Seventh-day
Adventists or Sabbath day,
00:21:24.85\00:21:27.42
didn't think that was necessary.
00:21:27.45\00:21:29.52
My grandma would've been
there and I thought she was like
00:21:29.55\00:21:33.56
one of my positive
role models growing up
00:21:33.59\00:21:35.29
and I knew she was sincere
00:21:35.32\00:21:37.66
as any Christian I've ever seen.
00:21:37.69\00:21:39.89
She had to have the
truth, so you know, I thought--
00:21:39.93\00:21:43.10
So you all kind of bump
heads over whether or not
00:21:43.13\00:21:46.07
the Seventh-day
Sabbath was the truth
00:21:46.10\00:21:47.84
or other truth
that he was showing you,
00:21:47.87\00:21:50.51
whether those were truth
or whether they were not?
00:21:50.54\00:21:52.64
Oh, yeah, we bumped to
that and I thought I was going--
00:21:52.67\00:21:56.04
you know, when he--
00:21:56.08\00:21:57.85
we had debates
about certain things,
00:21:57.88\00:21:59.91
I would kind of give
of snickering you know,
00:21:59.95\00:22:03.08
lay off like, yeah,
00:22:03.12\00:22:04.55
you just think you
got the truth, man.
00:22:04.59\00:22:06.35
Yeah, okay.
00:22:06.39\00:22:08.29
He went on to--
00:22:08.32\00:22:09.66
he finally started convinced me,
00:22:09.69\00:22:11.03
I couldn't really--
00:22:11.06\00:22:12.79
he had so much
surety in the word
00:22:12.83\00:22:15.50
and you know,
was so knowledgeable
00:22:15.53\00:22:17.83
and fluent with the word.
00:22:17.87\00:22:20.00
It wasn't a debate for real,
00:22:20.04\00:22:22.64
I eventually started
just following his lead.
00:22:22.67\00:22:24.74
And I learned a
lot from this guy
00:22:24.77\00:22:26.94
because I
couldn't argue with word.
00:22:26.98\00:22:29.54
And I realized after you know,
00:22:29.58\00:22:32.61
probably a week
studying with him,
00:22:32.65\00:22:33.98
I started realizing that
this was my prayer answered.
00:22:34.02\00:22:37.25
I asked for God to show
me the truth, and he put--
00:22:37.29\00:22:39.62
Brought it to you.
00:22:39.65\00:22:40.99
Put an angel, I
think, right in my path.
00:22:41.02\00:22:43.63
Amen, amen.
00:22:43.66\00:22:45.33
So eventually, you
got sent to another prison
00:22:45.36\00:22:48.60
and you started to UPMI,
00:22:48.63\00:22:51.13
United Prison
Ministries International
00:22:51.17\00:22:52.87
was coming to the prison.
00:22:52.90\00:22:54.24
Talk about that
experience. Yeah.
00:22:54.27\00:22:55.60
Well, at Bill, we
didn't have any Saturday,
00:22:55.64\00:22:58.74
any Sabbath services,
00:22:58.77\00:23:00.11
we had a lot of
services through the week
00:23:00.14\00:23:01.61
and Sunday was big time
service call, a church call,
00:23:01.64\00:23:05.61
Church of Highlands
from Birmingham, Alabama
00:23:05.65\00:23:07.65
would come out.
00:23:07.68\00:23:09.02
And they were good, they
had some really good services
00:23:09.05\00:23:10.99
but, you know,
very entertaining,
00:23:11.02\00:23:13.46
beautiful music, we would--
00:23:13.49\00:23:16.09
They came in and
installed a big screen,
00:23:16.12\00:23:18.43
a projector system in
our chapel and we used to--
00:23:18.46\00:23:21.40
and it would feel that chapel--
00:23:21.43\00:23:23.63
because they had some
beautiful contemporary music.
00:23:23.67\00:23:26.67
And we would,
00:23:26.70\00:23:28.04
the whole
congregation be singing to them.
00:23:28.07\00:23:30.17
We just have a good time.
00:23:30.21\00:23:31.54
But I started praying
for some Sabbath services
00:23:31.57\00:23:35.94
because, you know, I was,
00:23:35.98\00:23:37.31
I wanted to honor the
Sabbath day and keep it holy.
00:23:37.35\00:23:40.08
That's the day I
started desiring to worship on.
00:23:40.12\00:23:44.05
Amen.
00:23:44.09\00:23:45.42
And I would pray, I prayed hard
for God to bring it in there,
00:23:45.45\00:23:48.72
and but He answered my prayer
but not the way I wanted to.
00:23:48.76\00:23:52.66
Sometimes you get
things you get them
00:23:52.69\00:23:55.03
but not how you plan on that.
00:23:55.06\00:23:56.40
Yeah, definitely, definitely.
00:23:56.43\00:23:57.77
They wind up shipping me
to another prison, Draper,
00:23:57.80\00:24:00.74
which was another
rough thugy prison.
00:24:00.77\00:24:03.44
And but right off the bed I
looked at the church services
00:24:03.47\00:24:07.34
and saying, and on Saturday
00:24:07.38\00:24:08.98
they had a group
called UPMI coming in.
00:24:09.01\00:24:11.85
So you got the exact
prayer you were praying for?
00:24:11.88\00:24:14.25
Yeah. Amen.
00:24:14.28\00:24:15.62
These guys were
Seventh-day Adventist,
00:24:15.65\00:24:16.99
I knew when I see them come
in, I'll sit in there waiting.
00:24:17.02\00:24:19.99
And I think you actually
interviewed Steve Redford,
00:24:20.02\00:24:24.09
and--
00:24:24.13\00:24:25.73
And Tony Hall. Tony Hall.
00:24:25.76\00:24:27.10
Yes, sir. Yeah.
00:24:27.13\00:24:28.46
And the first one
I spoke to was Steve.
00:24:28.50\00:24:30.20
When I seen him
coming and I could just tell,
00:24:30.23\00:24:31.97
they just had this different
glow about them, smiling.
00:24:32.00\00:24:35.07
And, you know, I said,
00:24:35.10\00:24:36.54
"You must be
Seventh-day Adventist?"
00:24:36.57\00:24:38.01
And he smiled real
big, he said, "Yes, we are."
00:24:38.04\00:24:41.24
He said, But we don't
like to use that Seventh word
00:24:41.28\00:24:43.85
because it
pushes a lot of people,
00:24:43.88\00:24:45.58
you know, a lot of
people don't think,
00:24:45.61\00:24:47.18
don't like to
honor the seventh day,
00:24:47.22\00:24:49.32
that pushes them out the door.
00:24:49.35\00:24:51.05
So we call our self UPMI,
00:24:51.09\00:24:53.32
United Prison
Ministries International.
00:24:53.36\00:24:55.79
Definitely. Okay.
00:24:55.82\00:24:57.16
That inspired me a lot,
00:24:57.19\00:24:58.53
they go to over 5,000
prisons across the world.
00:24:58.56\00:25:01.96
They even go to Russia and
you know, play in countries
00:25:02.00\00:25:04.53
where we're not
welcome at as Americans.
00:25:04.57\00:25:07.27
They have to be escorted to the,
00:25:07.30\00:25:09.34
and it takes someone who
has a love for saving souls
00:25:09.37\00:25:12.77
to go somewhere like that.
00:25:12.81\00:25:14.18
Yeah, definitely, definitely.
00:25:14.21\00:25:16.08
But these guys inspired me,
00:25:16.11\00:25:17.65
and I was blessed
to have seen Tony Hall
00:25:17.68\00:25:20.02
at the Oak Wood Church
while back at the Cong--
00:25:20.05\00:25:23.55
what do you-- At camp meeting.
00:25:23.59\00:25:24.92
At the camp
meeting, yeah. Defiantly.
00:25:24.95\00:25:26.42
And that was a true
blessing, prayer answered.
00:25:26.45\00:25:30.96
Now when you got out of prison,
00:25:30.99\00:25:32.33
where you were a
little bit afraid
00:25:32.36\00:25:33.70
that you had
experienced jailhouse religion
00:25:33.73\00:25:36.13
or were you
pretty much sold on this,
00:25:36.16\00:25:38.77
this is what I'm
doing no faking it,
00:25:38.80\00:25:40.54
this is what I'm going to do?
00:25:40.57\00:25:42.44
I knew I had the
truth, I wasn't--
00:25:42.47\00:25:45.31
I don't have any doubts about it
00:25:45.34\00:25:46.81
but a lot of people did
because it happened so much.
00:25:46.84\00:25:49.74
Yeah.
00:25:49.78\00:25:51.11
There were
sedative right of people
00:25:51.15\00:25:52.48
who come out of
prison with religion
00:25:52.51\00:25:55.38
and just go right back
to what they were doing,
00:25:55.42\00:25:57.35
it's a very high rate.
00:25:57.39\00:26:00.12
Most people don't,
most people don't sustain,
00:26:00.16\00:26:02.86
they don't keep their faith.
00:26:02.89\00:26:04.23
Yeah, definitely.
00:26:04.26\00:26:05.59
And I believe that
goes with the truth.
00:26:05.63\00:26:07.40
The truth will make you free,
00:26:07.43\00:26:09.80
the truth is
what sanctifies you,
00:26:09.83\00:26:11.60
the Word of God.
00:26:11.63\00:26:12.97
Yeah, definitely.
00:26:13.00\00:26:14.34
Jesus emphasize how
important sound doctrine is.
00:26:14.37\00:26:17.91
So if you believe in something
that has one, you know,
00:26:17.94\00:26:21.04
is not true, it has a
little bit of error in it,
00:26:21.08\00:26:23.91
it's like having--
00:26:23.95\00:26:25.71
How did he say,
"One batch of leave
00:26:25.75\00:26:30.49
will ruin the whole--"
00:26:30.52\00:26:31.85
Yeah, ruin the whole lawn, yeah.
00:26:31.89\00:26:34.59
And I believe, I believe that's
what he was talking about.
00:26:34.62\00:26:38.86
And I knew I had the
true and God had made me free
00:26:38.89\00:26:42.16
so a lot of people,
even like, you know,
00:26:42.20\00:26:45.33
I'm being supervised on parole
00:26:45.37\00:26:47.17
and probation, CREO
now, with specialist
00:26:47.20\00:26:49.57
and they keep
monitor on me to make sure.
00:26:49.60\00:26:52.37
And my
specialist, she's a Christian.
00:26:52.41\00:26:54.71
And I've been sharing
my testimony with her.
00:26:54.74\00:26:57.55
You know, she
asked the same thing,
00:26:57.58\00:26:59.75
she said, "I have
to keep up with you
00:26:59.78\00:27:01.22
for at least six months
00:27:01.25\00:27:03.25
because the sedative
right is six months."
00:27:03.28\00:27:05.95
Most people will
go back to prison,
00:27:05.99\00:27:07.39
85 percent go back to the prison
00:27:07.42\00:27:09.69
for the same
thing that they get out
00:27:09.72\00:27:11.43
for within six months.
00:27:11.46\00:27:13.19
She said, "I have to make sure
00:27:13.23\00:27:14.56
you don't have
jailhouse religion
00:27:14.60\00:27:15.93
and that you're
going to do right.
00:27:15.96\00:27:17.30
I have to keep eye on
you for at least six months."
00:27:17.33\00:27:20.34
I supposed to be
on it for a year,
00:27:20.37\00:27:22.57
but they don't let me go
00:27:22.60\00:27:23.94
as long as I make
it past the six months
00:27:23.97\00:27:25.51
because they are so--
00:27:25.54\00:27:26.88
what's the word I'm looking
for, inspired by testimony--
00:27:30.95\00:27:34.58
Yeah, by your story.
00:27:34.62\00:27:35.95
That they
believe, they believe me
00:27:35.98\00:27:37.99
but they still
have to do their job
00:27:38.02\00:27:39.35
and you know,
keep monitoring on me,
00:27:39.39\00:27:41.32
and make sure that I don't
go back to prison for my six--
00:27:41.36\00:27:45.33
or have jailhouse religion.
00:27:45.36\00:27:46.90
Yeah, definitely, definitely.
00:27:46.93\00:27:48.40
Well, Rocky, we'd
like to thank you,
00:27:48.43\00:27:49.80
for being on the program,
00:27:49.83\00:27:51.17
very great story, a
very great testimony.
00:27:51.20\00:27:53.64
We just want to thank
you so much for being on.
00:27:53.67\00:27:56.00
Viewers, tune in next time
00:27:56.04\00:27:57.74
for another exciting
program of The New Journey.
00:27:57.77\00:28:00.08