Have you ever wondered
what it's like to be homeless?
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Stay tuned to hear the testimony
of a man that was homeless
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and now... homeward bound...
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My name is Yvonne Lewis
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and you're
watching Urban Report...
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Hello and welcome
to Urban Report...
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Our guest today is no
stranger to us... here at 3ABN
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in fact, Danny Shelton
calls him his "earthly hero"
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he has a
powerful story to tell...
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so let's welcome
Ruben Carr to Urban Report
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Yeah... Ruben...
How're you doing Yvonne?
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Oh great... praise the
Lord how are you doing?
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I can't get any better...
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All right... all right...
well that's good to know...
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that's good to
know... you know Ruben,
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we kind of go back several years
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and I found out
about your story...
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when I first
started singing with 3ABN...
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you actually brought me
in... and we'll talk about that
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a little bit later but... I
want you to share your journey
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with the viewers...
because you have such a powerful
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testimony... tell us
about your journey...
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Well, Yvonne, you know
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as a lot of young
black American males
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I grew up in New York
City... from a broken home...
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and the pressure of
life, I felt, got to my mom...
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and she just saw it better
for her... just to leave...
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and at a young age... I
was seventeen at that time,
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and when I turned eighteen...
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we are supposed to be already
prepared for the world...
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but I was never prepared
for it the proper way...
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when I grew up...
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So how old were you
when your mother left?
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I was eighteen
years old when she left...
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but she was never there
even when I was there...
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if you know what I
mean... Yes... yes...
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physically she left
when I was eighteen...
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I was just out of High
School... and I found myself
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in a situation that
a lot of teens today...
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find themselves in... I
was born with dyslexia...
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I had myopia... so I was
already born with a handicap
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and it caused me not to be able
to read as well as others...
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and even today...
it's a struggle...
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but the Lord has blessed...
but to make a long story short
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I found myself living in the
streets of Yonkers, New York...
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Well now, wait one second, now,
so Ruben... your mom left...
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and you were eighteen...
did you have siblings...
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did you have grandparents...
what was your family situation?
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My family situation...
we were not close at all...
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in fact, I'll tell you a little
more about that later on...
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who I found... I
hadn't seen in over 25 years,
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we were not close...
I had three sisters...
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we were just from a broken home,
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my youngest sister
was living in Boston...
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my older sister was working...
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is still working
today at the same place...
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and the sister under me...
was going through the same thing
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but I was the only boy
in the family at the time...
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that I knew of...
and what happened was
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when she left... I was
not prepared for the world
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I wasn't able to
read at that time...
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Hmmm... and so,
it was hard for me
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to find a job... you always
feel bad about yourself...
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you don't feel
good enough, you know,
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you've been told all your life,
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"You're no good... and
you'll never amount to nothing"
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and so it became a
way of life for me...
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Oh... so when I
went out on the street
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oh, I'm sorry...
No, that's okay...
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I didn't mean to interrupt you
but I just want to kind of get
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a few things
straight... so, all your life...
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you'd been in school...
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but your teachers
just kept passing you on...
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from Grade to Grade... or
did you drop out of School?
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Well, they passed me
on from Grade to Grade
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at that time...
nobody knew a lot about
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my handicap...
like they do today...
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Hmmm... and
nobody could figure out
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what it was... but, you
know, they just pass you on...
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you know, just pass you along...
and eventually they gave
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me a High School Diploma,
and I was not prepared...
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for the world...
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Wow! that has got to have been
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so frustrating
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and so frightening
because your only anchor
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your mother... was gone...
was she a Christian at all...
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did she teach you
spiritual values at all?
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No, my mother and
father didn't get along
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because my father
was a casualty of Vietnam
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coming back home... and I think
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that's when all
the trouble started...
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my mother used to
tell me she hated me
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because I looked too
much like my father...
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and to hear that
from your own mother...
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and it just
destroyed me as a person...
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and I didn't have any
good value of myself...
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I had no
confidence in myself at all...
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and the strange
thing about it is...
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I'd never gotten
into any trouble...
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Wow! and that's the thing that
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that bothered me the
most... I was a good kid...
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Yeah, and you know, I'm
dwelling on this in part because
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there are so many
young boys like you
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who might have dyslexia
or some learning disability
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and not feeling loved at home,
and all of these things that
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that contribute
to low self esteem...
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and to
underachieving in School...
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so your dad... was
your father in the home...
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had he left also...
where was he during this time?
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Well, you know, back then,
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your father had
to leave the home
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in order for your
mother to get "welfare"
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to help with the family...
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they split the
family at that time...
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so my father...
he was a good guy,
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he just had a lot of
problems because of the war...
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and so, we grew apart...
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and the bad
memories that my father had
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with my mother... my
mother remembered them
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and I looked just like my father
so you can best believe that
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she'd remind me a lot of times
of the things that happened
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to him... with her...
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This is another
important point Ruben...
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because there are so
many single-parent households
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with the mothers
taking care of the children
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and the fathers absentiating
themselves from the home,
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and one of the
worst things you can do...
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is hold that child responsible
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for what the
absent parent has done
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or for any of the deficits
or deficiencies or whatever...
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and so many people
do it, and that's why
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I'm kind of dwelling on this,
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because I want the viewers
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that are going
through similar situations...
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to think about what
they're doing to their children
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and how it can really
negatively affect them...
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so, you're
eighteen... your mom leaves...
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your dad is not really there,
and you find yourself... what?
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I find myself living on the
streets of Yonkers, New York,
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sleeping in hallways...
one time I walked from Yonkers
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to White Plains Road
to get the subway train...
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I used to sleep on the trains,
I slept in buildings and parks
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you name it... and I
was all over the place,
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And how long did this go on?
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Well, it went
on for about a year
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and then one day I was
sleeping on Nepperhan Avenue...
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and a young man saw me
by the name of Robin Weber
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and he looked at me he said,
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"Man, why don't you
come upstairs and sit down
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and talk with me
for a little bit... "
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I thought that it
was kind of strange
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that somebody would
reach out to me like that...
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at that time... I'm
nineteen years old...
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then I went
upstairs and I sat down
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and I was sitting
in the living room...
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it was a Saturday afternoon...
and he was telling me
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we were watching
the football game
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and he was telling
me about his father...
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who can quote so many
scriptures from the Bible...
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from memory... Hmmm...
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and so, I wasn't
really paying attention...
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but then there was
a knock at the door...
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and a man knocked on
the door and he came in...
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and he knew
Robin... and he said,
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"Robin, you know,
we're having a Crusade...
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at the Mount Vernon
Seventh-day Adventist Church
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and we would like
for you to come...
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his name is Jerry Gimmel...
and I was sitting in the chair
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across from Robin... and
he looked at me and he said,
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"You know, you can come
too... " and I looked at him
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and I said, "I had
no way of getting there"
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and I kind of put my head
down, because I didn't want him
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to know the
situation I was in...
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but then he
looked at me and he said,
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"I'll come and I'll
pick you up and take you... "
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Wow! so wait... this
guy... knew that you were
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living on the
street or he just saw you
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kind of
wandering or sitting around
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and invited you, invited you up?
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I was sitting in the living
room when he knocked on the door
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he was coming for Robin...
but when he saw me there
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he didn't know me from Adam,
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I'd never seen him
before he'd never seen me...
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Wow! but he invited me to Church
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Wow, wow, so
your first response...
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when somebody
invited you to Church...
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your first emotional
response what was it?
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"I'm not good enough,
why are you asking me,
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who am I... I'm nobody... "
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Hmmm... hmmm... and he said,
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"I'll come and pick
you up and take you"
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So what happened from there?
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Well, I told Robin that I
didn't have any place to stay
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if he was coming the next night,
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so Robin allowed me to
stay in his house for that night
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and I had some spare clothes
I'd carry around in a bag,
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and he gave me some
money to wash my clothes
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I washed them... I used his iron
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and I was ready
to go to Church...
00:10:07.13\00:10:08.54
and he came that
night... picked me up
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and it was the Mount Vernon
Seventh-day Adventist Church
00:10:11.24\00:10:12.97
they were having a Crusade with
Pastor Smith... Doc Smith...
00:10:13.01\00:10:18.22
who is now deceased, he
passed away a few years ago
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Oh, he was my pastor in
Poughkeepsie... for a while...
00:10:21.44\00:10:24.57
Doc Smith...
wonderful, wonderful guy...
00:10:24.61\00:10:27.22
Yeah, I sat there... and I
sat there and I listened to it
00:10:27.26\00:10:32.48
he was preaching on the
three angels' messages...
00:10:32.52\00:10:34.73
and I sat there and I
listened and I left...
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Jerry didn't even
see me... and I left...
00:10:37.75\00:10:40.28
and I walked back from
Mount Vernon back to Yonkers
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and I slept in the
hallway that night...
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and I said, "Lord,
I'd like to go back... "
00:10:45.69\00:10:48.31
and I knocked on
Robin's door the next morning...
00:10:48.35\00:10:51.17
and I said,
00:10:51.21\00:10:52.45
"When Jerry comes, tell him
I'll meet him downstairs... "
00:10:52.49\00:10:54.69
I didn't even want
Robin to really know
00:10:54.73\00:10:56.49
that I was out on the street,
and so, I met him that night
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when he came back... I
had the same clothes on
00:11:01.51\00:11:03.64
I went back... and
it went on for about
00:11:03.67\00:11:07.70
four weeks... and I
was baptized in 1981
00:11:07.74\00:11:11.73
as a Seventh-day Adventist...
00:11:11.77\00:11:12.89
Wow! praise the Lord, so,
when you heard these messages
00:11:12.93\00:11:18.80
what did that do
for you... inside...
00:11:18.83\00:11:23.34
what did that do to you?
00:11:23.38\00:11:24.81
Well, I was so intent on
listening to the messages
00:11:24.84\00:11:28.96
they gave me a book
at the end of the Crusade
00:11:28.99\00:11:31.67
for coming every
night... "Desire of Ages"
00:11:31.70\00:11:34.35
and I took that book,
00:11:34.38\00:11:36.64
he didn't even know
that I couldn't read...
00:11:36.67\00:11:38.85
I was looking through it...
00:11:38.88\00:11:40.58
and I was
looking at the pictures
00:11:40.61\00:11:42.97
and I saw the man
on his knees saying,
00:11:43.00\00:11:46.95
"Lord, if thou
would... thou can make me whole"
00:11:46.98\00:11:49.50
and I just
looked at the pictures
00:11:49.53\00:11:51.79
I can see myself and
anybody who had problems
00:11:51.82\00:11:54.95
I saw myself...
00:11:54.98\00:11:56.41
but then, when I
looked up I saw Christ...
00:11:56.45\00:11:58.75
Wow! Ruben, you're getting
ready to make me cry in here...
00:11:58.78\00:12:03.12
that is such a beautiful
story and it's so powerful
00:12:03.16\00:12:07.41
because... it just
shows how God can take
00:12:07.44\00:12:11.32
our lives that are broken...
00:12:11.36\00:12:13.24
you know, broken...
00:12:13.28\00:12:15.14
and we can be just
in the pit of despair...
00:12:15.17\00:12:17.95
and He can show that
He can make us whole...
00:12:17.98\00:12:20.69
if we just reach out to him...
00:12:20.73\00:12:23.00
And not only that Yvonne,
as a Seventh-day Adventist,
00:12:23.03\00:12:26.12
I was still homeless...
00:12:26.16\00:12:27.23
for about
another 8 to 9 months...
00:12:27.26\00:12:29.89
So you didn't let
anybody know, Ruben,
00:12:29.92\00:12:32.48
that you needed a
place to stay or anything?
00:12:32.52\00:12:34.91
Well, there were a
lot of people who knew...
00:12:34.95\00:12:37.27
just at that time...
I really believe that
00:12:37.31\00:12:39.91
they didn't know how to
handle that type of situation...
00:12:39.94\00:12:42.51
Wow!
00:12:42.54\00:12:43.91
And eventually,
what happened was
00:12:43.94\00:12:45.09
I did found a place to
stay on the weekends...
00:12:45.12\00:12:47.72
these three families...
I love them so much...
00:12:47.76\00:12:50.33
the Bucks
family... the James family...
00:12:50.36\00:12:54.47
and the Foster family...
they would switch every weekend
00:12:54.51\00:12:57.31
to allow me to stay
there but during the week
00:12:57.35\00:12:58.99
I was out on my
own... and I remember,
00:12:59.02\00:13:01.37
one February night...
where I got really discouraged
00:13:01.41\00:13:04.69
and I said, "Lord, I
can't keep living like this... "
00:13:04.72\00:13:07.97
so I was in
Yonkers... and it was snowing...
00:13:08.00\00:13:11.31
I was sleeping inside the
building on Nepperhan Avenue
00:13:11.35\00:13:13.79
Security Guard caught
me... he put me out...
00:13:13.82\00:13:15.67
and I had to walk in the
snow, so I walked from Yonkers
00:13:15.71\00:13:19.11
to Huguenot
Street in New Rochelle...
00:13:19.14\00:13:21.58
and I went to sleep
behind a building...
00:13:21.62\00:13:23.99
and I fell asleep back there
and early that Friday morning...
00:13:24.02\00:13:28.47
a guy by the name
of Andrew Bonaparte,
00:13:28.53\00:13:30.87
Owner of a
Telecommunications Company
00:13:30.91\00:13:33.22
at the time in New Rochelle...
saw me sitting there...
00:13:33.26\00:13:35.44
and he looked at me and he said,
00:13:35.47\00:13:37.54
"You know, you're
here kind of early... "
00:13:37.58\00:13:39.31
and I didn't know
what he was talking about
00:13:39.34\00:13:41.54
so he told me to come
inside and he sat down
00:13:41.57\00:13:43.68
he started telling
me about an opportunity
00:13:43.71\00:13:45.78
to be a
Telecommunications Technician,
00:13:45.82\00:13:47.78
and I had no idea what
he was talking about...
00:13:47.82\00:13:50.83
Come on now... come
one now... this is awesome
00:13:50.87\00:13:53.61
so you're just...
you're just sitting in the
00:13:53.64\00:13:57.26
in a space... trying to
get warm Hmmm... hmmm...
00:13:57.30\00:13:59.37
and this man comes up to you
00:13:59.40\00:14:02.21
and thinks that
you're there for a job?
00:14:02.25\00:14:04.66
Yeah...
00:14:04.70\00:14:06.08
Wow! look at how God
works... he put you in that spot
00:14:06.11\00:14:10.66
at that time...
00:14:10.70\00:14:11.77
Right... and I went inside...
he started interviewing me...
00:14:11.80\00:14:16.41
I didn't know what
he was talking about
00:14:16.44\00:14:17.79
so I said, "Look,
I can't even read,
00:14:17.82\00:14:19.13
and I don't write that well"
00:14:19.17\00:14:21.48
so he filled the
application out for me...
00:14:21.52\00:14:23.96
he just looked
at me and he says,
00:14:24.00\00:14:25.22
"I don't know
why I'm doing this...
00:14:25.25\00:14:26.44
but something's
telling me to do this... "
00:14:26.47\00:14:27.79
he looked me in
the face, he told me,
00:14:27.82\00:14:30.06
"You think you can be
here Monday morning for work?"
00:14:30.10\00:14:32.25
Oh! and I said, "I guess"
00:14:32.29\00:14:35.21
and I walked out the building...
I walked back to Yonkers
00:14:35.25\00:14:39.53
I said to myself,
00:14:39.57\00:14:40.62
"I'm going to go to
my sister's house...
00:14:40.66\00:14:42.17
I'm going to ask
her for some money...
00:14:42.21\00:14:43.65
because I just got a job...
00:14:43.69\00:14:45.17
and I had to start on
Monday at 8 o'clock... "
00:14:45.21\00:14:48.37
I saw her
coming... it was a miracle...
00:14:48.40\00:14:51.46
I saw her coming
down South Broadway,
00:14:51.50\00:14:54.49
I was coming up
South Broadway, and I said,
00:14:54.52\00:14:57.13
"Sis, look, I got a job...
00:14:57.16\00:14:58.46
I just need some
money to get to work... "
00:14:58.49\00:15:00.18
she said, "I
don't have any money
00:15:00.22\00:15:01.86
but there's some mail
for you at my house... "
00:15:01.90\00:15:04.12
so I went to the house... and
there was a letter from the IRS
00:15:04.16\00:15:08.36
when I was in High School,
00:15:08.39\00:15:09.57
I used to work in
the Special Ed Department
00:15:09.60\00:15:11.25
delivering mail to class
rooms, and when I filled out
00:15:11.28\00:15:15.69
the Tax Exempt Form,
00:15:15.73\00:15:17.32
I put "one" instead of "zero"
00:15:17.36\00:15:20.10
because of not
knowing I just put anything...
00:15:20.14\00:15:23.22
and they were
taking taxes out of me...
00:15:23.25\00:15:25.04
and there was a check for
$250 I'm sorry... it was $450...
00:15:25.07\00:15:31.12
back taxes... they
were giving back to me
00:15:31.16\00:15:33.74
because I was a student
00:15:33.77\00:15:34.87
and I shouldn't have
been taking taxes out...
00:15:34.90\00:15:37.26
and they were
looking for me for two years
00:15:37.29\00:15:39.62
and they matched my
Social Security Number
00:15:39.66\00:15:41.84
with my sister... and
they sent the money there...
00:15:41.88\00:15:44.39
Wow! Ruben...
this is powerful...
00:15:44.43\00:15:49.26
So, I mean, you
know... when we think about God
00:15:49.29\00:15:53.83
and how He steps
in right on time...
00:15:53.87\00:15:56.27
what were the chances...
00:15:56.30\00:15:57.96
this is New York...
what were the chances...
00:15:57.99\00:16:00.17
the odds... so
to speak... of you
00:16:00.20\00:16:01.97
"running into your
sister" at that time...
00:16:02.01\00:16:04.87
on a busy
street... in New York...
00:16:04.91\00:16:07.58
and then... you have
money waiting for you
00:16:07.62\00:16:11.69
just what you need...
waiting for you... there...
00:16:11.73\00:16:15.39
I mean... God had
everything lined up for you...
00:16:15.43\00:16:19.05
He knew the plan
that He has for you...
00:16:19.09\00:16:23.32
And the funny thing, Yvonne,
I didn't mean to cut you off but
00:16:23.36\00:16:27.88
I didn't have any ID
to even cash the check...
00:16:27.92\00:16:30.09
so I went inside the
cash-checking place...
00:16:30.13\00:16:32.27
I wrote my name on
the back of the check
00:16:32.31\00:16:34.10
the lady asked me for ID, I
said that I didn't have any...
00:16:34.13\00:16:36.91
she said that she
couldn't cash the check
00:16:36.95\00:16:38.70
but there was a
guy that worked there
00:16:38.73\00:16:40.45
that I went to High
School with, and he said,
00:16:40.48\00:16:42.57
"Well, I know him,
you can cash it... "
00:16:42.60\00:16:43.86
and she cashed the check...
00:16:43.90\00:16:45.03
Wow! Ruben... this is so
deep, this is so powerful...
00:16:45.06\00:16:52.81
so you cashed that check...
00:16:52.84\00:16:54.51
you have a job...
00:16:54.55\00:16:56.29
and the man said
that he didn't even know
00:16:56.33\00:16:59.12
why he was doing
it... but he felt compelled
00:16:59.16\00:17:01.92
to do it... and so
he gave you that job
00:17:01.96\00:17:05.37
you got that money, and
you started working there
00:17:05.41\00:17:09.29
what happened after that?
00:17:09.32\00:17:10.92
I worked there for
about eight months...
00:17:10.95\00:17:13.32
and he was
teaching me everything...
00:17:13.36\00:17:15.65
that I knew... I
couldn't go to the School
00:17:15.68\00:17:18.19
because of my
reading disability...
00:17:18.23\00:17:20.30
Right... so I
would meet him after work
00:17:20.34\00:17:22.34
and he would actually hands-on
teach me telephone systems,
00:17:22.38\00:17:25.91
how they work...
how to program them...
00:17:25.95\00:17:28.35
and I moved up... of
the guys that went to
00:17:28.39\00:17:30.76
School and were certified...
I knew more than they did
00:17:30.80\00:17:33.15
in eight months...
and I was one of the
00:17:33.18\00:17:35.59
Senior Technicians
there, and then I went on
00:17:35.63\00:17:37.28
and moved on to another Company,
00:17:37.32\00:17:38.70
and then eventually, I
wound up in a big company...
00:17:38.74\00:17:41.66
and then eventually I
got laid off from there...
00:17:41.69\00:17:44.22
I started my own
business with Chase Bank...
00:17:44.26\00:17:46.76
installing their equipment
00:17:46.79\00:17:48.36
and then when
things kind of went sour...
00:17:48.40\00:17:50.94
I remember... I was
sitting in the living room
00:17:50.97\00:17:54.39
watching 3ABN for the first time
00:17:54.43\00:17:56.91
and I heard Danny say,
"What do you have in your hand?"
00:17:56.94\00:18:00.62
and I said that I
didn't have anything...
00:18:00.66\00:18:02.50
my wife was
sitting next to me, Lisa...
00:18:02.53\00:18:04.15
and I said,
"Lisa, this is something
00:18:04.18\00:18:05.51
that I would like to get into"
00:18:05.54\00:18:08.44
and I called 3ABN... I said,
00:18:08.47\00:18:11.30
"Look, I would like to
bring 3ABN to New York...
00:18:11.33\00:18:14.37
I would like to have a
TV Studio in New York... "
00:18:14.41\00:18:16.68
I thought they were
going to say I was crazy
00:18:16.71\00:18:18.60
like everybody else did...
and then when I hear them say,
00:18:18.63\00:18:21.59
"How can we help you
do that?" I was shocked...
00:18:21.63\00:18:24.97
Wow! and so that began
your history with 3ABN...
00:18:25.00\00:18:28.31
That was back in
2000... Wow! wow!
00:18:28.35\00:18:32.41
And I was just going from
00:18:32.44\00:18:35.01
from year to year
00:18:35.04\00:18:36.47
working really
hard and then I remember
00:18:36.51\00:18:38.38
we had a Program in New York
00:18:38.42\00:18:42.70
at the Ephesus Church
00:18:42.73\00:18:44.56
that was going to be the
first live broadcast in the
00:18:44.60\00:18:47.37
Northeastern
Conference Church in New York
00:18:47.41\00:18:49.92
and I was blown away
that they were coming...
00:18:49.96\00:18:52.44
and then I knew I
had to meet Danny...
00:18:52.48\00:18:54.01
and I heard a lot
about him, and when I saw him
00:18:54.05\00:18:57.56
I kind of shied away from him...
because I didn't think I was,
00:18:57.60\00:19:00.25
you know... I
still had a lot of that,
00:19:00.29\00:19:03.03
you know, doubt in my
mind, and I also had that
00:19:03.07\00:19:07.69
withdrawnness in me... Yeah...
00:19:07.73\00:19:09.48
and even he said it...
when I came out into the circle
00:19:09.52\00:19:11.33
"He looks like
he's a little withdrawn"
00:19:11.37\00:19:12.93
because I didn't think
that I was felt "good enough"
00:19:12.96\00:19:15.70
at that time... to be
around people like that...
00:19:15.73\00:19:19.58
Wow, wow, oh man... and
look what God has done...
00:19:19.62\00:19:24.33
we need to fast forward to
00:19:24.37\00:19:26.73
your current ministry now,
00:19:26.77\00:19:29.06
I need to just say one thing
though Ruben... and that is...
00:19:29.09\00:19:32.92
with all that you did...
you did a lot with 3ABN...
00:19:32.95\00:19:36.85
and one of the things
was... I'm so thankful
00:19:36.89\00:19:40.11
that I had a chance to
meet you, I don't even remember
00:19:40.14\00:19:43.10
what year it was... but
you brought me in to sing,
00:19:43.13\00:19:46.05
and that was such
a blessing for me...
00:19:46.09\00:19:49.27
because I was going through
some things myself at that time
00:19:49.31\00:19:52.40
so I thank you... I
want to thank you publicly
00:19:52.44\00:19:55.48
for you and Pastor C.A.
Murray for being instrumental
00:19:55.51\00:19:59.00
in bringing me in
to sing for 3ABN...
00:19:59.04\00:20:02.40
Well, I learned from
3ABN... and also learned from
00:20:02.44\00:20:07.28
C.A. Murray... that
when he tells you to do
00:20:07.32\00:20:08.77
something that
somebody can sing...
00:20:08.81\00:20:09.87
he said, "She can sing!" so...
00:20:09.91\00:20:12.73
he says that he's been dragging
me around for 26 years...
00:20:12.77\00:20:17.70
and it's probably true...
so, thank you so much for that,
00:20:17.74\00:20:22.72
now, what are you doing now,
00:20:22.75\00:20:23.88
let's talk about
what you're doing now...
00:20:23.91\00:20:25.30
Well, now I started a ministry,
"Time for the Loud Cry"
00:20:25.33\00:20:30.79
I was
watching... I go to Church...
00:20:30.83\00:20:33.15
and I don't hear the 3
Angels' messages anymore
00:20:33.18\00:20:35.40
so I wanted to start a
Program, that would bring back
00:20:35.43\00:20:38.99
the three angels' messages...
the 7 Pillars of our faith...
00:20:39.03\00:20:42.19
and the health message...
00:20:42.22\00:20:43.74
and so I started
this Call-in Program
00:20:43.77\00:20:46.57
and we started out
with just about 20 people...
00:20:46.60\00:20:49.88
and now we're up to about...
00:20:49.91\00:20:51.98
sometimes we are
up to about 250 people
00:20:52.02\00:20:54.28
that come on at one
time... You say, "Call-in"
00:20:54.32\00:20:57.58
is it radio, is it
internet, what is it?
00:20:57.61\00:21:01.36
It's a free Conference
Call... they call in...
00:21:01.39\00:21:04.58
and we're there
with our Speakers...
00:21:04.61\00:21:06.50
we have a bunch of speakers
from all over the Country
00:21:06.53\00:21:09.83
that come in periodically
to speak at certain time slots,
00:21:09.86\00:21:13.83
and we have a great time
and the line has grown so much
00:21:13.87\00:21:17.81
and on our website...
00:21:17.84\00:21:19.90
and I didn't realize
00:21:19.93\00:21:21.96
when my webmaster
called me and told me
00:21:21.99\00:21:23.89
you know, we haven't
even made this public...
00:21:23.92\00:21:26.21
and over 2,500 people that
hit your website in one month
00:21:26.24\00:21:29.63
Wow! wow... so the
word is getting out there...
00:21:29.67\00:21:33.75
that you have this ministry,
tell us a bit more about
00:21:33.79\00:21:38.16
the ministry itself...
if someone were to call in,
00:21:38.20\00:21:42.54
what would they
hear when they call in...
00:21:42.57\00:21:45.18
They would hear us
waiting for them...
00:21:45.22\00:21:47.64
I always give the
Welcome and I always ask
00:21:47.68\00:21:50.03
if there is anyone on
the line for the first time
00:21:50.07\00:21:52.04
can you give us your name
and where you're calling from...
00:21:52.08\00:21:54.01
and I get in there...
and I dialog with them...
00:21:54.05\00:21:56.68
and we talk for a little
while and, you know me...
00:21:56.72\00:21:59.21
I always tell
them jokes... Right...
00:21:59.24\00:22:01.38
to get them to relax... and we..
we get new callers all the time
00:22:01.42\00:22:06.20
and we just have a good time...
00:22:06.24\00:22:07.66
Okay, so, I may be a viewer now,
I'm watching this Program...
00:22:07.70\00:22:14.02
why would I call...
00:22:14.06\00:22:15.75
what benefit is it to me
to call why would I call?
00:22:15.78\00:22:19.04
If you're looking
for "Present Truth"
00:22:19.08\00:22:21.40
if you're looking for the truth
and nothing but the truth...
00:22:21.44\00:22:24.71
like, you know, our friend
at "Forerunner Chronicles" says,
00:22:24.75\00:22:27.99
"The Truth is the
Truth" Yeah, right...
00:22:28.03\00:22:29.63
Chris Hudson... that's right...
00:22:29.66\00:22:32.24
that's where the
truth is, we have music...
00:22:32.27\00:22:34.11
singing... right
after each speaker...
00:22:34.14\00:22:36.60
we sing... they sing a
song right after each speaker
00:22:36.63\00:22:39.58
and at the end we have prayer...
00:22:39.61\00:22:40.92
and I've noticed, Yvonne,
00:22:40.95\00:22:42.77
that even when
the Program is over,
00:22:42.81\00:22:44.36
that people don't want to leave
they just want to stay late
00:22:44.40\00:22:46.36
stay there and talk
and... and dialog and pray...
00:22:46.40\00:22:49.34
it's amazing to see what God
is doing with this ministry...
00:22:49.37\00:22:52.16
and I never thought that
it would happen like this
00:22:52.19\00:22:56.02
especially... a guy
like me... you know...
00:22:56.06\00:22:57.65
I mean, I came from nowhere...
and I just humbled myself
00:22:57.69\00:23:01.82
and asked the Lord
to continue to use me
00:23:01.86\00:23:03.76
and then to have the
relationship that I have
00:23:03.80\00:23:06.27
with 3ABN is the most
important thing to me...
00:23:06.31\00:23:09.15
That is so
wonderful... praise the Lord...
00:23:09.19\00:23:12.93
so, when they call
in... if you can think of
00:23:12.96\00:23:16.67
a situation where...
or a few situations where
00:23:16.70\00:23:20.48
people's lives
have been changed...
00:23:20.51\00:23:22.06
as a result of this
ministry, tell us about it...
00:23:22.09\00:23:25.61
Well, what I do... we
have a question and answer
00:23:25.65\00:23:29.14
period and anyone
who asks a question
00:23:29.18\00:23:30.94
I always write their number down
00:23:30.98\00:23:32.63
and I call them afterwards...
sometimes I'm up till
00:23:32.67\00:23:35.54
1 o'clock in the
morning... calling people
00:23:35.57\00:23:37.05
depending on where they live,
00:23:37.08\00:23:38.12
because they call from
all over the Country...
00:23:38.16\00:23:40.53
and I found so many
people who are hurting...
00:23:40.57\00:23:42.91
so many people
who feel all alone...
00:23:42.94\00:23:45.59
and I just sit
there and I talk with them
00:23:45.62\00:23:48.06
and some of them
adopt me as their son...
00:23:48.10\00:23:50.51
some of them adopt
me as their brother...
00:23:50.55\00:23:52.70
some even, you know, say,
00:23:52.73\00:23:54.80
"You're the type of
father-figure I always wanted"
00:23:54.84\00:23:57.43
because I know how they feel...
00:23:57.46\00:23:58.97
I've been there...
and I know what to say...
00:23:59.01\00:24:02.10
and the
encouragement that I give them
00:24:02.14\00:24:04.03
is the encouragement
that I've gotten...
00:24:04.06\00:24:05.92
to tell them, you know,
00:24:05.95\00:24:07.44
it makes no difference
what happens to you in life...
00:24:07.48\00:24:10.15
you have to trust
God... He's the one
00:24:10.18\00:24:13.11
that's going to give you
the strength to keep going...
00:24:13.15\00:24:15.38
and I'm telling
you... I'm a living testimony
00:24:15.41\00:24:17.83
of the power of
God and I'm telling you
00:24:17.86\00:24:19.79
that you can make it...
00:24:19.83\00:24:21.62
and now we have a dialog
00:24:21.65\00:24:23.38
when they call me...
sometimes we talk and laugh
00:24:23.41\00:24:26.12
and joke on the phone...
and they go and tell others
00:24:26.15\00:24:28.69
"Hey, you need to
come on this Program...
00:24:28.73\00:24:30.21
wow! it's a great
Program... " it's only because
00:24:30.25\00:24:33.13
we not only preach the
message but we get involved
00:24:33.16\00:24:35.58
with people's lives...
we let them to know that
00:24:35.61\00:24:38.00
we know, we
understand and we care...
00:24:38.03\00:24:39.77
Oh, that is so wonderful, Ruben,
because I'm listening to what
00:24:39.81\00:24:44.89
you're saying and thinking
about how your whole life...
00:24:44.92\00:24:48.43
has led you... all
of your experiences
00:24:48.46\00:24:51.28
have led you to this
place... and you could not
00:24:51.31\00:24:54.55
really effectively minister
to these people the way you do,
00:24:54.59\00:24:59.04
if you hadn't
been broken yourself...
00:24:59.07\00:25:01.37
if you hadn't been prepared...
by all of these life experiences
00:25:01.40\00:25:06.83
that you've had... you
wouldn't be able to minister
00:25:06.86\00:25:10.19
effectively to them...
but because you've been
00:25:10.23\00:25:12.41
in this situation... yourself...
because you've been broken
00:25:12.44\00:25:15.40
because you've
had low self-esteem
00:25:15.44\00:25:17.41
and had learning disabilities
and all of these things
00:25:17.45\00:25:21.55
that went against
you... broken home,
00:25:21.59\00:25:24.66
dysfunctional parenting...
00:25:24.69\00:25:25.97
all these things
that went against you...
00:25:26.00\00:25:28.00
this all... prepared
you... for where you are now...
00:25:28.04\00:25:32.69
how rewarding is it for you
to be doing what you're doing?
00:25:32.72\00:25:36.29
You know, there's a song
that I always used to hear,
00:25:36.32\00:25:40.43
"I'm Amazed... " Yes...
00:25:40.47\00:25:41.96
I truly am amazed to
see how God has led it...
00:25:41.99\00:25:45.07
and then to think that...
all it took was a phone call
00:25:45.11\00:25:48.36
and somebody from 3ABN
being so nice and so courteous
00:25:48.40\00:25:51.62
on the phone... and
if I would not have made
00:25:51.66\00:25:53.98
that call Yvonne...
would we be sitting here
00:25:54.01\00:25:56.30
right now? Hmmm...
00:25:56.33\00:25:57.64
If I had not made
that phone call...
00:25:57.68\00:26:00.01
would I be able
to be a testimony
00:26:00.04\00:26:01.91
for those who may be watching,
00:26:01.94\00:26:03.92
no matter how broken you are...
00:26:03.95\00:26:05.90
Yes... I mean I've been through
00:26:05.93\00:26:07.80
more than what I've told
you... and the fantastic thing
00:26:07.83\00:26:10.83
about it was... I found out
about what happened to my mother
00:26:10.87\00:26:14.21
when I spoke to my
aunt... she was abused...
00:26:14.25\00:26:16.99
and I didn't
understand back then...
00:26:17.03\00:26:19.16
but I
understand it now... Yes...
00:26:19.20\00:26:21.27
and so it's a ripple effect
that happens in people's lives
00:26:21.30\00:26:24.45
and we have to
recognize and understand
00:26:24.48\00:26:26.51
that there are people out there
00:26:26.55\00:26:28.17
who are hurting...
they may have an attitude...
00:26:28.21\00:26:30.08
they may be... not very nice...
00:26:30.12\00:26:31.91
but if you look past
that... I guarantee you,
00:26:31.94\00:26:34.27
you'll find someone
who has been used, abused,
00:26:34.30\00:26:36.60
or someone who's been hurt...
00:26:36.63\00:26:37.72
Yes, and how wonderful
that you can look at it...
00:26:37.76\00:26:42.03
and forgive your
mom behind all of this
00:26:42.07\00:26:44.82
because that's
really what it takes for you
00:26:44.85\00:26:47.56
to move on... Definitely...
00:26:47.60\00:26:48.84
Ruben, I can't
believe it our time is up...
00:26:48.88\00:26:51.84
I can't believe it...
00:26:51.87\00:26:53.98
this has been so wonderful...
00:26:54.02\00:26:55.48
To be continued...
00:26:55.52\00:26:56.97
Yeah... to be
continued... that's right,
00:26:57.00\00:26:58.46
we'll have to have you on again
00:26:58.50\00:26:59.92
and as your ministry
continues to develop...
00:26:59.95\00:27:02.90
I'd like for
you to come on again
00:27:02.94\00:27:04.31
and tell us just
what you're doing...
00:27:04.34\00:27:06.40
Oh, sure, I
would love to come on
00:27:06.44\00:27:08.47
and come see my
family down there...
00:27:08.50\00:27:10.50
I've never had so many
white families in my life...
00:27:10.53\00:27:14.32
Oh... well see... the
family of God is a rainbow,
00:27:14.35\00:27:18.16
that's the bottom
line... Yeah... yeah...
00:27:18.20\00:27:19.70
Well, thank you so
much and we'll look forward
00:27:19.73\00:27:22.11
to having you
again... Praise the Lord...
00:27:22.15\00:27:24.50
Praise the Lord...
00:27:24.53\00:27:25.60
Today you've heard the story
00:27:25.63\00:27:27.46
of a man that
had no earthly home
00:27:27.49\00:27:29.52
yet, he's become a man
with a heavenly home...
00:27:29.55\00:27:32.99
If you're struggling with a
seemingly hopeless situation...
00:27:33.03\00:27:36.64
remember Ruben's story...
God can turn your life around
00:27:36.68\00:27:40.35
in an instant... just
trust wholly in Him...
00:27:40.39\00:27:43.44
and watch how He
transforms your life...
00:27:43.48\00:27:46.47
every experience that Ruben had,
led him to where he is today,
00:27:46.50\00:27:51.94
and you know what... many
of us can say the same thing...
00:27:51.98\00:27:55.67
Well, we've come to the
close of another Program...
00:27:55.71\00:27:58.39
Thanks for tuning
in... tune in next time...
00:27:58.43\00:28:01.02
it just wouldn't be
the same without you...
00:28:01.05\00:28:03.61