Stay tuned to
meet four individuals
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that are sharing God's
love with men and women
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that are behind bars.
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My name is Jason Bradley,
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and you're
watching Urban Report.
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Hello and
welcome to Urban Report.
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My guests today
are Carolyn Bland,
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president of UPMI, Antonio Hall,
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director of programs
at UPMI, Gilbert Wilks,
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President of Wilts
Publications Incorporated,
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and Scott A. Tibbs II,
chief marketing officer.
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Welcome to Urban Report, guys.
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Thank you. Thank you.
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Thank you.
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You're welcome. It's
great to have you here.
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We are on the 3ABN Today set.
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So I know our
Dare to Dream viewers
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are probably like,
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"That does not look
like the Urban Report set."
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But I had the opportunity
to interview you guys
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on a 3ABN Today program.
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And now I want our
Dare to Dream viewers
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to hear the
wonderful story of UPMI
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and all of that as well.
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So Miss Carolyn,
let's start with you.
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Okay.
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Tell us a little bit about
how you got involved with UPMI.
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Okay, well, in 1980,
my husband and I went to,
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we're invited to go to a prison.
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I think a lot of
people have heard this story,
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but we were
invited to go to prison.
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And Richard offered to give them
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some Spirit of Prophecy books,
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not telling them
that's what they were.
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And the chaplain said, "Okay."
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So we, the next day,
took several thousand
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Spirit of Prophecy
books to the prison.
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And we put a card in there.
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Richard calls it a fish hook
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for enrolling
people in Bible studies.
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So there was
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a whole bunch of them came back.
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And then we
decided, you know what,
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well, the first of all, a
chaplain after he received,
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the chaplain said,
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"We want you to bring us
some more of those books here."
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And Richard said, "Wow!"
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So we went, and got
a whole bunch of them
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and brought some
more the next week.
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And then that
chaplain introduced us saying,
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"Well, these
people are gonna come
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and give Bible studies here."
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That we're gonna
have a day, every week.
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And we were surprised.
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So with that, Richard decided,
"We need to give them something
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that they will remember us by
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and not just be
a sunshine band."
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So we got together
with Brother Santini
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and we made up,
"What the Bible Says."
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We copied them from
Elder Ward's old lessons.
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Okay. And we gave those out.
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And that's how
they started growing.
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He made it clear
that they had to,
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for them to get a certificate,
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they had to
enroll three other people
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in the Bible class,
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and then they
would get a certificate.
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So that just took off.
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And before you knew,
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we had thousands
of Bible studies,
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and that's how I said
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that my children
were on the floor
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grading Bible studies.
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Wow!
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And so that's how we got
engrossed into prison ministry.
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And then it just
grew and grew and grew,
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after year after
year, and we've seen
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many, many souls changed.
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The men are so hungry for love,
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so hungry for your attention,
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that they'll listen to you
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when you tell
them about the Bible.
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And a lot of never even
picked the Bible up before
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or saw a Bible and
they appreciate us coming.
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And one of the books
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that we started
having table lessons with
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was "The Bible Answer."
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The big Bible Answers.
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And then Brother
Gilbert helped us print...
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No, we had that printer,
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but Brother Gilbert printed
the Steps to Christ for us.
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And we gave that out.
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And then we had to
get more Bible studies.
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And that's where
Brother Gilbert came in.
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And he's been
with us ever since.
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The lessons have
evolved to what they are today,
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beautiful, What the Bible Says.
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Nice.
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You know, we
actually have a graphic
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of What the Bible Says.
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And there it is, right there.
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That is a powerful study
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that actually has
basically questions,
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and then gives you the
verses to look up in the Bible.
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So it's what the Bible says,
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and what's the
answer to the question.
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Well, look in your Bible
under this specific verse,
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and you also have
it in Spanish as well.
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Yes, we printed in Spanish.
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Nice.
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And so what are some
of the other publications
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that you've
printed for them, Gilbert?
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He came to me over 30 years ago,
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and we met in a
parking lot in Birmingham.
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And we started helping
them update the Bible lessons
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like she said.
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And God just blessed us
in so many ways in that.
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And Richard came and said,
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"We need Steps to Christ better.
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And we developed
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the "Happiness" edition for them
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that had nature on it.
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And those were
printed by the millions
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from my publishing houses.
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And then Richard
wanted another book, oh,
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what was it for New
York City he wanted?
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Bought the Marked Bible.
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The Marked Bible.
By Charles Taylor.
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So he had us put
out a million of those
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in just two
weeks, right after 9/11.
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And we just done a lot for
him and we're doing it now.
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And Carolyn has
been so wonderful
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in leading this ministry
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and I'm so glad
to be able to help...
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I think you've done
over five or six printings
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of our Bible lessons for us.
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And those are
with 100,000 at a time.
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That's right. Wow!
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One hundred thousand at a time.
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Now I know that we
receive some of those
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and we took some to our
church, we handed some out,
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we put them out
for the staff as well.
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Excellent lessons.
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Excellent lessons. Yeah.
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A lot of churches
are finding out that,
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What the Bible Says is
so, not necessarily simple,
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but easy and attractive.
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And people really want to,
"Oh, let me see what this says."
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And then they
open the front cover.
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It has not lessons
but guides to like stress
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and what are some
of the others, Scott?
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Some of the topics that
are inside the Bible lesson
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are anger management,
we have stress management,
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we have finances, and
we also have addiction.
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But I think the
most important aspect
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of these lessons is
how they tie into the books
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that Gilbert has
published his Bibles,
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on how they are able to be
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used as lessons inside churches.
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So that the pastor
can be able to explain,
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"Hey, we're going to go
over stress management."
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You see all of the Bible
verses and texts in the lesson
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and it goes hand in hand
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with the Bible
that's in your hand.
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So that's I think is gonna be
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the most powerful
aspect of these lessons.
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So essentially, the lessons is,
point people back to the Bible.
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Yes, sir. Questions?
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Straightforward.
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There's questions in the lessons
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and then there's
verses for the answers
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that are found in the Bible.
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Yeah, that is powerful.
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How did you get
involved with UPMI, Scott?
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For me, it was
a gradual process,
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being involved with
the ministry so early.
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I had my mother, father,
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and my
grandparents being involved.
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So for me, it was
taking small steps.
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And I started helping with mail,
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started helping
with reading letters,
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grading lessons,
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and it graduated to
me going into prisons.
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And I saw that my little
self can impact someone's life.
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And that's when I think I jumped
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full into go into
this family ministry.
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So you saw how God was using you
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in those situations
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to have a positive
impact on the people
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that are incarcerated
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and people in
the community, huh?
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Yes, sir. Yes, yes.
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Now, the interesting
thing, Scott, is that, you know,
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while it was
the family ministry,
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you didn't have to stay in that.
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You could have gone
off and done anything else
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but you chose to
stay and grow in that.
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And you're very
passionate about that, correct?
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Yes, sir.
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And it's funny you say
that I actually got my degree
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in kinesiology.
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So my passion is
anatomy and physiology.
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But I saw that my
help was needed elsewhere.
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And I saw that my gifts
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can be also used
through this ministry.
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So my gift to the ministry
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is bringing in the
health aspect as well
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into this ministry and
going into the prisons.
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Nice.
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That's something
that we all need is,
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is good healthcare.
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Yes, sir. That's
right. That's right.
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And, Antonio,
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how did you end up joining UPMI?
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Well, I left New York City.
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I was a chaplain for
the state of New York
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in the family service division
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where the
chaplain inside the prisons
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will contact the
chaplains in the city,
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which I worked
out of the office.
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And give us information
about a certain inmate
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who had taken
advantage of everything
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that the prisons had offered.
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And we would
take this information
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and visit the families.
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And in visiting the families,
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we would
minister to their needs.
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We will have prayer with them,
assess some of their needs,
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you can do it by just
sitting there and listening.
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But ask them some of
the things that they needed
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some assistance with.
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Go back to my state office
and call agencies that I know
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and they would tell me,
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"Just send the
person down with my card,"
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and their needs will be met.
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I go back to the community
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to assess the
services and so forth.
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And they will
tell people that "Hey,
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when that preacher
come and pray for you,
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things happen, you know."
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So I did that for a while
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but I was inspired by
God to return to Alabama,
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Birmingham, Alabama.
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See I was
incarcerated in New York.
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I've been incarcerated
14 times in the States,
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picked up a Bible and
in my Rikers Island sale.
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I studied a Bible,
ended up in a rehab program,
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ended up in New York
Theological Seminary,
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and from there the chaplain,
and now back in Alabama.
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I was told about
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United Prison
Ministries International.
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And United Prison Ministries
International at that time
00:10:45.21\00:10:47.64
was not international.
00:10:47.68\00:10:49.01
Matter of fact,
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the whole
office was in a closet,
00:10:50.41\00:10:52.91
in a small church.
00:10:52.95\00:10:54.85
And everything that
United Prison Ministry had
00:10:54.88\00:10:58.55
could fit in a van.
00:10:58.59\00:11:01.06
And that we all get in a
van, we have all our books
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and we had our
typewriter, one typewriter,
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and we will do ministry.
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After several, after
about a year of that,
00:11:08.50\00:11:12.10
studying with the men
and women in the prison,
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I was baptized into the church
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and became an elder in
the church sometime later.
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And I've been involved
in United Prison Ministries
00:11:21.58\00:11:24.11
now for ever since that.
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What happened was I
ended up in several countries,
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ministering, we
would do programs.
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Interesting one
was one in Russia,
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where the inmates
were being released
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because they were
political inmates.
00:11:38.66\00:11:42.26
And there's a lots
of them being released,
00:11:42.30\00:11:45.53
and they had to be released
into some kind of community,
00:11:45.57\00:11:51.07
so that they can
transition back into society.
00:11:51.11\00:11:54.48
Some of them 17, 18 years
they've been incarcerated.
00:11:54.51\00:11:58.11
And we were part of that process
00:11:58.15\00:11:59.85
with several
ministries from the US
00:11:59.88\00:12:02.15
and other countries.
00:12:02.18\00:12:03.59
And I knew that
transitional ministries
00:12:03.62\00:12:06.79
was important even in the US,
00:12:06.86\00:12:10.33
because when
people are released,
00:12:10.36\00:12:11.69
the United Prison Ministries
became my support system.
00:12:11.73\00:12:14.60
And I knew that
the men and women
00:12:14.63\00:12:16.00
that we were ministering
to in the prison system
00:12:16.03\00:12:18.10
needed a support system.
00:12:18.13\00:12:19.83
So we talked about that.
00:12:19.87\00:12:21.24
But it took several years
for us to come to that point.
00:12:21.27\00:12:24.11
Matter of fact,
it was back in 2013,
00:12:24.17\00:12:26.84
that we really
looked at it hard.
00:12:26.88\00:12:28.94
And I was asked to
be the program director
00:12:28.98\00:12:31.51
back in 2013,
00:12:31.55\00:12:33.58
so that I can actually implement
00:12:33.62\00:12:36.02
that dream that
Richard and Carolyn
00:12:36.05\00:12:38.25
and I had
talked about for years.
00:12:38.29\00:12:40.36
So now that we've
started that, you know,
00:12:40.42\00:12:42.86
United Prison Ministries
has become my second breath.
00:12:42.89\00:12:45.73
I'm back now, not
only receiving support,
00:12:45.76\00:12:49.06
but I'm back
supporting with all my gifts,
00:12:49.10\00:12:51.77
my talents and my experiences.
00:12:51.80\00:12:54.20
So that United Prison Ministries
00:12:54.24\00:12:55.60
can develop a training center,
00:12:55.64\00:12:57.67
so we can train other ministries
00:12:57.71\00:12:59.37
and other people to work,
00:12:59.41\00:13:00.98
churches to work
with ex-offenders,
00:13:01.01\00:13:03.35
and work with their
families, because it's important
00:13:03.38\00:13:06.28
that we not only
minister to the ones
00:13:06.31\00:13:08.15
who are coming out
of the institution.
00:13:08.18\00:13:09.58
But remember, if
you've been locked up
00:13:09.62\00:13:11.02
and locked away from
your family for 25 years,
00:13:11.05\00:13:13.22
10 years, whatever,
00:13:13.25\00:13:14.69
there has to be
some kind of reconnect.
00:13:14.72\00:13:17.83
And what we do is we step in
there and work with the family
00:13:17.86\00:13:21.40
and work with the ex-offender,
and help them reunite.
00:13:21.43\00:13:24.90
Some of them will never reunite.
00:13:24.93\00:13:26.80
So we actually
create families for them,
00:13:26.84\00:13:28.80
the church become their family.
00:13:28.84\00:13:30.57
And we actually work,
00:13:30.61\00:13:31.94
opportunities
becoming their family so.
00:13:31.97\00:13:33.84
But the idea is every
person need to be reconnected
00:13:33.88\00:13:39.35
mentally, physically,
socially and spiritually.
00:13:39.38\00:13:42.42
So we try to
minister to the whole men.
00:13:42.45\00:13:44.62
So our program will
be sharing more and more,
00:13:44.65\00:13:46.62
but our program help in
that way to minister to,
00:13:46.65\00:13:51.29
or met the whole person.
00:13:51.33\00:13:53.46
And that was 1981
when he came with us.
00:13:53.50\00:13:58.03
Wow! 1981!
00:13:58.07\00:13:59.40
So that's 38 years.
00:13:59.43\00:14:02.80
Now that's a long time.
00:14:02.84\00:14:04.24
Richard and I are
getting up in age,
00:14:04.31\00:14:06.78
like Richard says,
00:14:06.81\00:14:08.14
now 11 years
he'll be 100 years old.
00:14:08.18\00:14:10.85
And he is tired and
he put in his resignation
00:14:10.88\00:14:15.62
and gave us a retirement letter.
00:14:15.65\00:14:19.95
And so that's when I took over.
00:14:19.99\00:14:22.22
And really I didn't take over
00:14:22.26\00:14:24.03
because I was already
doing everything anyway.
00:14:24.06\00:14:28.03
But anyway, we
are still a good team
00:14:28.06\00:14:32.90
and we're still
got things going.
00:14:32.93\00:14:35.34
And since my
daughter took over everything
00:14:35.37\00:14:37.97
has been run in the black.
00:14:38.01\00:14:39.34
You know, either you
have red or black in finances.
00:14:39.37\00:14:42.71
And she's really kept
00:14:42.74\00:14:44.11
everything's
running into the black.
00:14:44.15\00:14:46.05
And red in finance is
negative and black is positive.
00:14:46.08\00:14:50.55
That's right. That's right.
00:14:50.59\00:14:51.92
And through that, like I said,
we are self-supported ministry,
00:14:51.95\00:14:56.89
we don't receive
money from the conferences.
00:14:56.93\00:14:59.06
I want to be able
to say that again.
00:14:59.09\00:15:01.03
So you're a lay ministry?
00:15:01.06\00:15:02.73
Right. That's right.
00:15:02.76\00:15:05.07
Yeah.
00:15:05.10\00:15:06.43
You know, we've
had Brother Richard
00:15:06.47\00:15:08.64
on this program before.
00:15:08.67\00:15:10.91
I'll tell you what?
00:15:10.94\00:15:12.27
He travels or
travelled more than anybody.
00:15:12.31\00:15:16.61
I mean, "Where are
you, Brother Richard?"
00:15:16.64\00:15:19.08
"Well, I'm here in California."
00:15:19.11\00:15:21.55
"Where are you,
Brother Richard."
00:15:21.58\00:15:22.92
"Well, I'm in New York."
00:15:22.95\00:15:24.29
Yeah. "Where are you?"
00:15:24.32\00:15:25.65
I mean, he was
all over the place.
00:15:25.69\00:15:27.86
He was passionate.
00:15:27.89\00:15:29.22
And you guys are passionate
about this ministry as well.
00:15:29.26\00:15:32.69
And I like how it's continuing
to move forward as well.
00:15:32.73\00:15:37.70
What's your vision?
00:15:37.73\00:15:39.07
I see us meeting prisons,
there's ex-prisoners needs.
00:15:39.10\00:15:44.47
For instance, maybe
helping them with a place to go
00:15:44.51\00:15:50.45
with our industry
that we want to start.
00:15:50.51\00:15:53.15
We would have them
trained in a profession.
00:15:53.18\00:15:57.35
They would be able
to take the materials
00:15:57.39\00:16:00.19
that they are printing
and may have income from it.
00:16:00.22\00:16:04.56
I see a training center
00:16:04.59\00:16:06.63
for those that want
to do prison ministry.
00:16:06.66\00:16:10.70
And we'll give them
00:16:10.77\00:16:13.00
38 years of
experience that we've had.
00:16:13.03\00:16:16.20
Or we would just be
able to help the inmate
00:16:16.24\00:16:21.51
where many of them
are not being helped.
00:16:21.54\00:16:23.78
Yes, yes.
00:16:23.85\00:16:25.35
'Cause I mean, it's so important
00:16:25.38\00:16:27.72
that you have a
trade when you get out.
00:16:27.75\00:16:31.25
You got to have something to do.
00:16:31.29\00:16:32.62
You got to have a way
to provide for your family
00:16:32.65\00:16:34.39
and earn a living for yourself.
00:16:34.42\00:16:37.13
It's so important that you have
00:16:37.16\00:16:38.66
that spiritual anchor,
00:16:38.69\00:16:41.40
because you
know, Christ is the one
00:16:41.43\00:16:44.40
and the Holy Spirit is
the one that transforms lives.
00:16:44.43\00:16:48.87
So yeah,
00:16:48.90\00:16:50.27
what you guys are
doing is absolutely amazing.
00:16:50.31\00:16:53.54
Now, Gilbert has
a vision as well,
00:16:53.58\00:16:55.98
that ties into this.
00:16:56.01\00:16:57.35
Gilbert, what is that vision?
00:16:57.41\00:16:59.11
My vision is to see
them put out millions more
00:16:59.15\00:17:03.05
of what they've
already accomplished.
00:17:03.08\00:17:05.52
When we started it out, it
needed a lot of improvement.
00:17:05.55\00:17:10.49
So we improved and
made it more colorful.
00:17:10.56\00:17:12.69
Now we have one of
the most beautiful.
00:17:12.73\00:17:15.80
What the Bible
Says, it's ever come out
00:17:15.83\00:17:18.30
and thanks to
United Prison Ministries
00:17:18.33\00:17:21.57
we were just able to help them.
00:17:21.60\00:17:24.11
I'd like to see them
00:17:24.14\00:17:25.47
have a complete
printing facility there,
00:17:25.51\00:17:28.51
where they can
train people to print
00:17:28.54\00:17:30.28
and they can also print in
mass at a very economical price,
00:17:30.35\00:17:34.62
so we can reach as
many people as possible.
00:17:34.65\00:17:37.39
And the Bible, we need an
inventory of those Bibles,
00:17:37.42\00:17:40.39
so we can get them economical.
00:17:40.46\00:17:42.79
And that people are
going to treasure a $42 Bible
00:17:42.82\00:17:46.73
and learn to love it and read it
00:17:46.80\00:17:48.23
instead of a
throwaway $2 Bible or so.
00:17:48.26\00:17:50.73
So we want to see
that all happen quickly.
00:17:50.77\00:17:55.30
And remind them
they don't cost $42,
00:17:55.34\00:17:57.57
when we get it printed.
00:17:57.61\00:17:58.94
It's going to be, what?
00:17:58.97\00:18:00.84
That's right. Four dollars.
00:18:00.91\00:18:02.24
That's right. Wow!
00:18:02.28\00:18:03.61
They can print 30,000 at a time.
00:18:03.65\00:18:05.38
You can print a
$42 Bible for about $4.
00:18:05.41\00:18:08.22
Yeah. That's beautiful.
00:18:08.25\00:18:09.78
And we need to do that,
00:18:09.82\00:18:11.65
we need somebody to
sponsor the inventory
00:18:11.69\00:18:14.82
and make it happen.
00:18:14.86\00:18:16.19
Yeah. It's a very nice Bible.
00:18:16.22\00:18:18.49
Yes.
00:18:18.53\00:18:20.26
Antonio, what would you
say some of the challenges
00:18:20.33\00:18:23.37
might be with UPMI
00:18:23.40\00:18:26.03
that you have
operating on a daily basis?
00:18:26.07\00:18:29.57
Well, reentry ministry
is not something that we,
00:18:29.60\00:18:34.51
as an organization,
00:18:34.54\00:18:36.04
or church have
really been a part of.
00:18:36.08\00:18:40.52
Therefore, it needs to
be, we need the training.
00:18:40.55\00:18:45.79
We definitely need the training.
00:18:45.82\00:18:47.29
We need to be able to
set up this training center.
00:18:47.36\00:18:50.99
We have the information,
we have the experience,
00:18:51.03\00:18:53.60
but we don't have the
trained workers to do it.
00:18:53.63\00:18:56.50
So we can start
the training real soon
00:18:56.53\00:18:58.93
because we already have a
facility to do the training.
00:18:58.97\00:19:01.97
So all we have to do is
just start the training.
00:19:02.00\00:19:04.07
We've trained some,
and it's working fine
00:19:04.14\00:19:07.01
because we have a track
record now of eight years
00:19:07.04\00:19:10.18
where no one has
returned or violated,
00:19:10.21\00:19:13.75
you understand, the law.
00:19:13.78\00:19:15.78
And we have cut
down on recidivism
00:19:15.82\00:19:18.12
'cause recidivism
is a three year term.
00:19:18.15\00:19:20.59
What the government says
00:19:20.62\00:19:22.06
is when a person
stay out of prison
00:19:22.09\00:19:24.73
or stay out of jail
00:19:24.76\00:19:27.76
for three year
term at the prison,
00:19:27.83\00:19:29.93
then he has
moved to the success.
00:19:29.96\00:19:32.63
It is success.
00:19:32.67\00:19:34.04
We can go to
the parole board now
00:19:34.07\00:19:35.57
and just by showing up
where we are now so we are.
00:19:35.60\00:19:39.41
They said we
gonna give the person
00:19:39.44\00:19:40.88
whom we're representing
00:19:40.91\00:19:42.31
an opportunity or
chance and give them parole.
00:19:42.34\00:19:46.25
So we actually have
00:19:46.28\00:19:48.02
a good solid
foundation to work from.
00:19:48.05\00:19:50.52
So one of the challenges
00:19:50.59\00:19:51.92
is to get this
training center up and running.
00:19:51.95\00:19:55.02
The other challenge is
even though Brother Wilks
00:19:55.06\00:19:58.03
is ready to help us,
00:19:58.06\00:20:00.20
develop and build this so
that we can help the inmates
00:20:00.23\00:20:04.13
earn some money while
they're in the program
00:20:04.17\00:20:06.53
and be ready to move on
00:20:06.57\00:20:07.90
to their next
level of independence.
00:20:07.94\00:20:11.37
We need to have our own facility
00:20:11.41\00:20:13.64
and own industry to do that.
00:20:13.68\00:20:16.31
So we have a
challenge to raise the money
00:20:16.34\00:20:19.18
to buy this equipment.
00:20:19.21\00:20:20.88
We've gotten
some ballpark figures
00:20:20.92\00:20:23.39
on what it will cost.
00:20:23.45\00:20:24.82
Matter of fact, I was
surprised that it was so low,
00:20:24.85\00:20:27.56
you know, from Brother
Wilks' view and his experience.
00:20:27.62\00:20:31.96
But we do need to
raise money to do that.
00:20:31.99\00:20:35.16
And the other challenge,
00:20:35.20\00:20:36.53
I believe is that is
working in the church,
00:20:36.60\00:20:41.00
and having the church
sensitize to the work of God.
00:20:41.04\00:20:45.81
Jesus told us
that I was in prison,
00:20:45.84\00:20:49.38
and you ministered to me
00:20:49.41\00:20:50.78
and those whom we are
sharing the gospel with
00:20:50.81\00:20:53.55
and accepting the Word of God,
00:20:53.58\00:20:55.95
even though they
never knew God before.
00:20:55.98\00:20:58.02
Like me, when I was
locked up, I didn't know God.
00:20:58.05\00:21:01.69
Matter of fact, I thought
that if I touch the Bible,
00:21:01.72\00:21:05.19
I would implode.
00:21:05.23\00:21:06.56
I mean, you know, I
mean, television shows us
00:21:06.59\00:21:08.80
that werewolves
and vampires, you know,
00:21:08.83\00:21:12.00
just touching the Bible,
you would burst into flames.
00:21:12.03\00:21:14.70
I thought that
would happen to me.
00:21:14.74\00:21:16.77
But a Bible was
made available to me.
00:21:16.81\00:21:19.64
I opened the Bible.
00:21:19.67\00:21:21.38
And that was funny.
00:21:21.41\00:21:22.91
Well, that's been, you
understand back in 19s,
00:21:22.94\00:21:25.28
you see, I was 20 years
old when that took place.
00:21:25.31\00:21:28.15
Twenty years old,
00:21:28.18\00:21:29.52
and I've never put
down the Bible, since.
00:21:29.55\00:21:31.99
I've never backslid.
00:21:32.02\00:21:33.66
I've been in ministry
every since a year now.
00:21:33.72\00:21:37.09
And I've been
sharing the Word of God.
00:21:37.13\00:21:38.73
So I know the power
is in the Word of God.
00:21:38.76\00:21:42.00
And I know when we
accept the Holy Spirit,
00:21:42.03\00:21:44.67
we become new creatures.
00:21:44.70\00:21:46.57
But see, our
churches need to recognize
00:21:46.60\00:21:48.80
that when a man no matter
what he's done in the past,
00:21:48.84\00:21:51.64
or woman have done in the past,
00:21:51.67\00:21:53.41
when they accept the Word of God
00:21:53.44\00:21:55.18
and surrender
to the Holy Spirit,
00:21:55.21\00:21:57.08
they are new creatures.
00:21:57.11\00:21:58.45
They are born again.
00:21:58.48\00:21:59.85
They are like us.
There's no difference.
00:21:59.88\00:22:01.85
And Bible teach us
to love our neighbor,
00:22:01.88\00:22:04.89
or our brothers and
sisters as we do ourselves.
00:22:04.92\00:22:07.86
So that's gonna be a challenge
to actually, well, sensitize.
00:22:07.89\00:22:12.83
You understand our
church remembers too the work
00:22:12.86\00:22:16.03
that we do in prison ministry
because this is God's work.
00:22:16.06\00:22:19.70
And getting people
to accept Christ...
00:22:19.73\00:22:22.80
Yes, yes, absolutely.
00:22:22.84\00:22:26.74
So, when you go into prisons,
do you share your testimony?
00:22:26.78\00:22:31.51
Yes, I share my testimony.
00:22:31.55\00:22:33.42
My testimony has
been my foundation.
00:22:33.48\00:22:36.42
You know,
00:22:36.45\00:22:39.32
because when I was
out there in the world,
00:22:39.35\00:22:42.92
the first time I got locked up,
00:22:42.96\00:22:45.39
you couldn't
have told me anything.
00:22:45.43\00:22:47.73
The 5th time, on the 10th time,
00:22:47.76\00:22:49.40
even the 13th
time I was not ready.
00:22:49.43\00:22:52.50
I was not ready to receive.
00:22:52.53\00:22:54.24
But that 14th time, is
nothing magic about it.
00:22:54.27\00:22:58.07
It's just that at 14th
time, I was ready to accept
00:22:58.11\00:23:02.58
and I was ready to
surrender to the Word of God.
00:23:02.61\00:23:05.78
So my testimony in the prison
says to them, they have hope.
00:23:05.81\00:23:10.52
They have hope.
00:23:10.59\00:23:12.52
Our church has become
a prison friendly church.
00:23:12.55\00:23:16.73
I mean, not prison friendly,
00:23:16.76\00:23:18.09
but ex-offender
friendly church, you'll see.
00:23:18.13\00:23:19.46
Okay, okay.
00:23:19.49\00:23:21.06
We've ordained as deacons
and elders, ex-offenders.
00:23:21.10\00:23:27.80
Actually, I served as
first elder for many years
00:23:27.84\00:23:30.77
now almost 30 years.
00:23:30.81\00:23:32.34
And I'm an ex-offender.
00:23:32.37\00:23:34.14
So they can see that
the Bible, the Word of God,
00:23:34.18\00:23:37.61
and the Holy
Spirit do change lives.
00:23:37.65\00:23:40.32
So my testimony
says that I remember
00:23:40.38\00:23:42.22
when I first got
with Elder Bland,
00:23:42.25\00:23:46.05
and we would travel,
00:23:46.09\00:23:47.46
and I would be the preacher
or the speaker, you know.
00:23:47.52\00:23:51.03
And I would preach
on the same things.
00:23:51.06\00:23:52.69
I preach about David and
Paul and Peter and all that.
00:23:52.73\00:23:56.03
And at the end,
he was saying to me,
00:23:56.06\00:23:58.63
"People didn't
want to hear that.
00:23:58.67\00:24:00.07
They want to hear
what God has done for you."
00:24:00.14\00:24:02.00
He said, "Rest of
them can talk about Peter.
00:24:02.04\00:24:04.01
They got nothing
else to talk about."
00:24:04.04\00:24:06.88
But the bottom line is,
my experience has equipped me
00:24:06.91\00:24:11.38
with knowledge
to know that God is
00:24:11.41\00:24:15.05
and God is rewarder of
them that diligently seek Him.
00:24:15.08\00:24:18.75
And we see miracles
happening every day.
00:24:18.79\00:24:21.29
We just don't recognize them
00:24:21.32\00:24:22.99
because they come
sometime in stages.
00:24:23.02\00:24:25.99
You know, from
the day we were born,
00:24:26.03\00:24:27.60
God has been working
with us and working with us.
00:24:27.60\00:24:30.33
And there are little miracles
taking place all the time.
00:24:30.37\00:24:32.27
Yeah.
00:24:32.30\00:24:33.64
And you know,
what's interesting too, is,
00:24:33.70\00:24:35.24
you know, we each have a
part to play in ministry.
00:24:35.27\00:24:38.67
You may be able to reach people
00:24:38.71\00:24:40.14
that I may
never be able to reach
00:24:40.18\00:24:42.64
due to your experiences
00:24:42.68\00:24:45.08
and Christ using you and
God using you in that way.
00:24:45.11\00:24:50.45
The pastor that may
have never left the church,
00:24:50.49\00:24:54.46
he may be able to reach
people that I can't reach,
00:24:54.49\00:24:57.03
or that you can't reach
or whatever the case may be.
00:24:57.09\00:25:01.06
And so we each have a
role to play in ministry.
00:25:01.10\00:25:06.20
Now, Scott, you're a young man.
00:25:06.23\00:25:08.84
You're in ministry.
00:25:08.87\00:25:10.21
We're both young,
we'll receive that,
00:25:10.24\00:25:11.77
you guys are young too.
00:25:11.81\00:25:13.14
Oh, no. Thank you.
00:25:13.17\00:25:15.08
We'll put you in the group.
00:25:15.11\00:25:16.85
We want Elle and AG. Thank you.
00:25:16.88\00:25:18.81
You guys are young
too. We are all young here.
00:25:18.85\00:25:21.85
And so it's
great to see, you know,
00:25:21.88\00:25:25.42
you following in the
footsteps of the family,
00:25:25.45\00:25:30.26
but also going down the
path that God has placed
00:25:30.33\00:25:35.23
on the calling that He's
placed on your life as well.
00:25:35.26\00:25:38.43
What advice would you
have for that young person
00:25:38.47\00:25:40.80
that's at home
and is contemplating
00:25:40.84\00:25:43.81
getting involved in ministry?
00:25:43.87\00:25:46.37
For me, it would be
to not ignore yourself
00:25:46.41\00:25:51.58
and not ignore
your own passions.
00:25:51.61\00:25:53.92
Because I found that
anatomy and physiology
00:25:53.98\00:25:56.25
even though it
was not in God's work,
00:25:56.28\00:25:59.85
I was able to
apply it in God's work.
00:25:59.89\00:26:02.92
And I think that's where
00:26:02.96\00:26:04.29
I found my reason
to be in this ministry.
00:26:04.36\00:26:08.60
And so I think
for the young people
00:26:08.63\00:26:10.17
who need to get involved,
trust your deep instinct
00:26:10.20\00:26:15.07
and use what you are
and not what other people
00:26:15.10\00:26:18.04
are trying to make you be.
00:26:18.07\00:26:19.41
And just like what Antonio said
his story is why he's special.
00:26:19.44\00:26:23.14
So in other words,
trust in God's calling
00:26:23.18\00:26:26.45
that He's placed
on your life, correct?
00:26:26.48\00:26:27.95
Yes, sir.
00:26:27.98\00:26:29.32
And lean...
00:26:29.35\00:26:30.79
You know, I have a Bible says,
00:26:30.82\00:26:32.15
"Lean not on your
own understanding."
00:26:32.19\00:26:33.52
Yes, sir.
00:26:33.56\00:26:34.89
But in all your
ways, trust in Him.
00:26:34.92\00:26:37.93
I'm paraphrasing there.
00:26:37.96\00:26:40.03
But yes, yes, very powerful.
00:26:40.10\00:26:43.26
How can people get in
touch with you guys to help you,
00:26:43.33\00:26:46.80
Scott, if we have a
graphic we're going to put up
00:26:46.84\00:26:49.14
with your address and website,
00:26:49.17\00:26:51.64
how can people
get in touch with you?
00:26:51.67\00:26:54.58
You guys can contact us
00:26:54.61\00:26:55.94
at United Prison
Ministries International,
00:26:55.98\00:26:58.15
at PO Box 8,
Verbena, Alabama 36091,
00:26:58.18\00:27:03.08
and our phone
number is 2057554744.
00:27:03.12\00:27:08.19
And our website is UPMI.org.
00:27:08.22\00:27:10.96
All right.
00:27:10.99\00:27:12.33
Man, I can't believe
our time is just about up.
00:27:12.36\00:27:16.77
This went by so fast.
00:27:16.80\00:27:19.93
Do you have anything else
that you would like to say
00:27:19.97\00:27:22.10
in a few seconds, Miss Carolyn?
00:27:22.14\00:27:23.61
I'm just thankful
00:27:23.64\00:27:24.97
that we were able
to come on the show
00:27:25.01\00:27:26.41
and share about the inmates
00:27:26.44\00:27:28.68
and we're trusting that
those that are interested
00:27:28.71\00:27:31.48
will follow through
with their hearts desire,
00:27:31.51\00:27:34.52
and follow what the Holy Spirit
is putting on their hearts.
00:27:34.55\00:27:38.49
And if there's anyone
00:27:38.52\00:27:39.85
that would like
to help support us,
00:27:39.89\00:27:41.59
we really would appreciate it.
00:27:41.62\00:27:43.29
Amen. Amen.
00:27:43.32\00:27:45.19
Thank you guys for
coming on and sharing about UPMI
00:27:45.23\00:27:48.40
and I hope our listeners
and viewers are inspired.
00:27:48.43\00:27:51.17
Well, we've reached
the end of another program.
00:27:51.20\00:27:53.17
Thanks for tuning in.
00:27:53.20\00:27:54.54
Join us next time and remember,
00:27:54.57\00:27:55.90
this wouldn't be
the same without you.
00:27:55.94\00:27:57.71