Stay tuned to meet a
couple who overcame adversity
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and was determined to do
God's will, no matter the cost.
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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 guest today are
Ian and Angela Vandervalk,
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and they are a huge part
of our 3ABN production team.
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Welcome to Urban
Report, Ian and Angela.
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Thank you, Jason.
Thank you for having us.
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Thanks for having us.
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Yeah, my pleasure.
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It's great to have you guys
here since you've been at 3ABN,
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I've had the
opportunity to get to know you
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a little bit better
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and also taste
some delicious food.
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That's right. Yeah.
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But while doing so,
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I got to hear your
powerful testimony.
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And I want to start
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with a little bit
of your background,
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your upbringing
with both of you.
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So how were you raised?
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Let's start with
you, Ian. You go.
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No, go ahead. All right.
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Well, I grew up in
an Irish Catholic home.
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Okay.
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You know, I went
to Catholic schools
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my whole life from pre-K
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all the way through high school.
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The family that I was in though,
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we weren't very spiritual.
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You know, we just
kind of went to church on
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what was deemed
the important days
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like Christmas and Easter
and things of that nature.
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But we never really sat down
as a family or read the Bible
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or anything like
that, it was just,
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you know, my mom
worked in the Catholic school
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so I went to
Catholic schools and...
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Got you.
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Yup. Got you.
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So you didn't have the
firm spiritual foundation?
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No, there was
really no foundation
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even in being raised
in the Catholic school,
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I didn't really, you
know, put forth the effort
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or time to really
learn about God or anything.
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Got you. And,
Angela, what about you?
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Well, I was raised in a
Seventh-day Adventist Home.
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Okay.
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My family went to
church, my grandparents,
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my aunts, uncles,
everybody went to church
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and I have a
good memory of that,
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but when I became a teenager
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just one day my
parents just stopped going.
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And so we left the
church, and I was at a church,
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probably until I was about 24.
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Okay, okay. Yeah.
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Now, when you two met,
were you in church then?
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Actually, no, neither of us
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were really in
church at the time,
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I definitely was not.
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I was through and
through 100% part of the world.
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I was not
involved in the church,
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didn't attend
church, didn't read my Bible,
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had zero relationship
with God at the time
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I was just kind of
looking for worldly pleasures
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and doing worldly things.
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So without a question
we were not in the church
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when we met.
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Yeah.
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So you're both kind of
in the same state though?
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Yes.
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Yeah, at the time, she,
and she was a single mom
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when we met too,
working two jobs and, you know.
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Going to school.
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Going to school,
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so she really didn't
set the time to go to church
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or wasn't even part
of that either then too.
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Got you. Yeah.
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Did you notice
something missing in your life?
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You know,
looking back on it now,
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I would say at
the time I didn't.
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But, you know, looking
back, yeah, there was a big part
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that was missing
in my life for sure.
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Did you feel like you
were trying to fill voids
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with other things?
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Oh, without
question, without question,
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I mean I was, you know,
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it was the party
scene, the nightlife,
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you know, I grew
up in South Florida
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near Fort Lauderdale, Miami,
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so that's kind of
what you do down there
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and especially if you don't have
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God in your heart,
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you're just living in the clubs
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and it's all about
drinking and drugs and partying.
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You know, that's
really all it's about
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and that's kind of
what I used to fill my life
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with, it's just, you
know all the outside things,
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you know, like I said
the drinking and the drugs
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and, you know,
women and clubbing
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and, you know
dancing all of that,
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that was pretty much what I did.
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Yeah, yeah, and you
found that it was empty.
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Absolutely.
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Yes. Absolutely.
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So what were you doing for work?
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What was your career?
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Well, at the time I was,
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I was a
bookkeeper for a company.
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Okay.
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So I worked in a
vault just counting money,
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but I had lost
that job at one point.
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The company I
worked for had shut down.
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And we have actually
just gotten married, maybe,
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I don't know, maybe
a year prior to that,
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and when the company shut down.
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I started looking for a
job and I couldn't find one
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and Angela then told
me that she's pregnant.
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I'm unemployed, so I
didn't know what to do.
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Things got real.
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Things got real, real quick.
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So what I did is,
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my father and my
grandfather were both,
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had served in the army.
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Okay.
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My father was a pharmacy tech
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and my grandfather was
actually a spy in World War II.
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Wow.
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So there was a legacy
there within my family
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about serving in the military,
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so I thought maybe
this is a good time
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to look into it.
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So both my wife and I went there
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and talk to a recruiter.
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And, you know, I
decided this is the best option
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so I enlisted in
the army for four years.
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Wow, wow.
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And I served a total of
almost 12 years in the army.
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Wow.
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Now I know that, you know
when you're in the military,
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no matter what branch you're in,
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there's a lot of travel involved
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and there's some challenges
that, you know, come up.
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What challenges
did you guys face
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in your relationship
when you joined the army?
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Oh, boy.
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Well, when I joined the army
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that's kind of when everything
started to fall apart.
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The time that, you know, I
had spent in basic training
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and being away from her.
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And then, AIT, which is
kind of like the schooling
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that you go to
for your specific job
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that you're going to
have within the army.
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So we spent, I don't know
maybe about six or seven months
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being apart from each other
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and I might have thought one day
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within that time, so
there was, it was hard
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and when I joined, I
don't know what happened
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but maybe it's
because I didn't have
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all that nightlife involved,
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I didn't have those
things that I could just,
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you know, fill my
life with in that void.
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So I became very depressed.
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Yeah. And it was, it was tough.
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So that time in the military
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I became basically an alcoholic.
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I drank all the time, it
was, you know, every day.
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I started making
extremely poor choices
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in my life and
the job that I had
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at the time in the military.
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I would have to
say about every day,
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I was watching people die.
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Wow.
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And it took a toll
on me because you know,
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you're working
eight to ten hours a day
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and you're witnessing,
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you know,
someone's life being taken.
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Yeah.
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And you know you
played a part in that.
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And then I would have to
come home and all of a sudden,
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flip a switch and
become a father and a husband,
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and I didn't
know how to do that.
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And on top of me being,
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you know,
dealing with depression
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and not really
sharing it with anybody
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just trying to control
those emotions on my own,
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I just, I started to fall apart.
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Yeah.
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And, you know,
with the drinking.
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You know it's hard for me to say
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but as a married couple I did,
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you know, some
of the worst things
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that I could do to my
wife and I committed adultery.
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And it wasn't just once, I
did it on multiple occasions.
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And, you know, it's
hard to forgive myself.
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I know the Lord does
forgive me for it absolutely,
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but I still, in some ways
I carry that weight with me,
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because of what I did,
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and the pain
that I caused my wife.
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You know, she was very
much a part of the church
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at that time.
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And she had rededicated
her life to the Lord.
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Yeah.
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So, I don't know if you
want to talk about that.
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Yeah, you know,
Angela, I want to know, like,
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what were your feelings
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while Ian was gone at the army?
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I was really sad.
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It was sad and then
before he joined the army,
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and before we got married,
I gave my life back to God.
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I was smoking, I was drinking,
and my cousin invited me
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to evangelistic meeting.
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And I went there smoking
and drinking and left there.
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You know I came as I was,
'cause everybody's always like,
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"Come as you are."
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So I did, I was smoking
about a pack and a half day
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and drinking on the weekends
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and I went and I
just gave my heart to God
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and stopped all that.
00:08:11.19\00:08:12.52
So when we got married,
00:08:12.55\00:08:14.36
praise God that I
gave my heart to God
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before we got married.
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And when we got married, I
was already in love with him,
00:08:18.56\00:08:20.70
so I was like,
00:08:20.73\00:08:22.26
God is not going
to come before you,
00:08:22.30\00:08:24.43
so I was like, God, God
comes first I meant to say,
00:08:24.47\00:08:27.64
and so I told him that upfront,
00:08:27.67\00:08:29.37
I was like,
"Before we get married,
00:08:29.40\00:08:30.74
I just want you
to know I love God
00:08:30.77\00:08:32.11
and you may not go to church
00:08:32.14\00:08:33.48
but God comes first in my life,"
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and he respected that
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and, but he went away
00:08:36.64\00:08:39.48
and he told me
what he was doing.
00:08:39.51\00:08:43.52
You know, it was
very hard for me.
00:08:43.55\00:08:45.85
And, you know,
my first thing is,
00:08:45.89\00:08:48.29
I'm not gonna be with
no man that cheats on me,
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there's no way,
you know, and I'm like,
00:08:50.23\00:08:52.33
"Forget this, I'm
leaving," but I was like,
00:08:52.36\00:08:54.93
"God, what is Your will?
00:08:54.96\00:08:56.30
What is Your will?
What do You want me to do?'
00:08:56.33\00:08:57.80
And my cousin,
00:08:57.83\00:08:59.63
she went through
this similar before I did
00:08:59.67\00:09:02.07
and then she's like,
just, I spoke to her.
00:09:02.10\00:09:04.21
She's like, "Just
read Psalms and Proverbs
00:09:04.24\00:09:06.34
and pray for your husband,
pray for your marriage."
00:09:06.37\00:09:08.54
She's like, "Fight for it."
00:09:08.58\00:09:09.98
So I did and I
prayed and every time,
00:09:10.01\00:09:12.98
you know, throughout
the years we'd be fine,
00:09:13.01\00:09:14.75
then it would happen
again and then he's drinking
00:09:14.78\00:09:16.79
and then it happens,
00:09:16.82\00:09:18.15
so I just kept
praying and kept praying
00:09:18.19\00:09:20.22
for God's will to be done
00:09:20.26\00:09:21.59
and I would fight
with God, I'd be like,
00:09:21.62\00:09:23.32
"Why do You want
me with this man?
00:09:23.36\00:09:24.83
I don't want to be with Him."
00:09:24.86\00:09:26.63
You know, I don't
want to be hurting anymore,
00:09:26.66\00:09:28.46
but God had a plan.
00:09:28.50\00:09:30.60
And now it's just
a wonderful marriage
00:09:30.63\00:09:34.60
and I'm just so
thankful and praise God
00:09:34.64\00:09:37.34
that I have this
wonderful husband now
00:09:37.37\00:09:39.67
that he just loves the Lord.
00:09:39.71\00:09:41.98
Yes. Amen. Yeah.
00:09:42.01\00:09:43.88
And, Ian, like when
Angela came to the Lord,
00:09:43.91\00:09:47.98
did you feel
like you were married
00:09:48.02\00:09:50.59
to a different person?
00:09:50.62\00:09:52.25
One hundred percent.
00:09:52.29\00:09:54.42
She completely changed
00:09:54.46\00:09:56.09
and we were not
at the same level
00:09:56.12\00:09:57.79
at that point.
00:09:57.83\00:09:59.16
She had accepted Lord,
00:09:59.19\00:10:00.53
the Lord and accepted
Him completely into her life.
00:10:00.56\00:10:03.67
So, you know, I
didn't really know
00:10:03.70\00:10:05.37
much about having
relationship with God
00:10:05.40\00:10:07.24
so I just kind of
told her, you know, yeah,
00:10:07.27\00:10:09.10
sure it's fine
with me, you know.
00:10:09.14\00:10:12.07
But I was still
drinking, I was still smoking,
00:10:12.11\00:10:15.34
I was still very
much a part of the world
00:10:15.38\00:10:16.71
and she was not
00:10:16.75\00:10:18.08
so we couldn't
really relate anymore.
00:10:18.11\00:10:19.85
There was a lot of
things that we just didn't,
00:10:19.88\00:10:22.08
we started losing in common.
00:10:22.12\00:10:23.95
And, you know, but we just,
00:10:23.99\00:10:26.32
we kept moving
forward as a couple
00:10:26.35\00:10:27.82
and, you know,
throughout all of the,
00:10:27.86\00:10:32.26
the adultery and the
drinking and the arguments
00:10:32.29\00:10:34.86
and the fighting, I mean,
00:10:34.90\00:10:36.23
it was constant
and it was cyclical,
00:10:36.26\00:10:38.03
you know, something would happen
00:10:38.07\00:10:39.97
and I would be good for a while,
00:10:40.00\00:10:42.14
but then because of the
hurt that I've caused her
00:10:42.17\00:10:43.97
and she didn't know
how to deal with it.
00:10:44.01\00:10:45.64
She started, you know,
and I don't blame her for it,
00:10:45.67\00:10:49.21
but, you know, berating me
00:10:49.24\00:10:50.58
and putting me down
and things like that,
00:10:50.61\00:10:52.08
so then I started
feeling even worse about myself
00:10:52.11\00:10:54.95
and it wasn't really her fault.
00:10:54.98\00:10:56.79
You know, it was
just, she didn't know
00:10:56.82\00:10:58.72
how to deal with the
emotions either at that time.
00:10:58.75\00:11:00.42
Yes.
00:11:00.46\00:11:01.79
And you know we
just kept moving forward
00:11:01.82\00:11:03.43
and kept moving forward,
00:11:03.46\00:11:04.79
but it hit a point
where in our marriage
00:11:04.83\00:11:06.16
and our relationship
00:11:06.19\00:11:07.53
where she
couldn't take it anymore.
00:11:07.56\00:11:08.90
And she was, she was 100% done
and I don't blame her for it.
00:11:08.93\00:11:13.00
So she left to go
to North Carolina,
00:11:13.03\00:11:17.31
remind you, we lived
in Georgia at the time
00:11:17.34\00:11:18.71
and she just kind of took
a little vacation kind of,
00:11:18.74\00:11:21.68
to get away from
me, and she had told me
00:11:21.71\00:11:23.61
that she wanted to divorce.
00:11:23.65\00:11:25.18
And this is when,
00:11:25.21\00:11:26.55
at the same time my
mother was sick with cancer.
00:11:26.58\00:11:29.38
And she had been dealing with it
00:11:29.42\00:11:30.75
and battling with
it for several years.
00:11:30.79\00:11:32.75
So I became, I
essentially lost it,
00:11:32.79\00:11:37.19
and I became suicidal.
00:11:37.23\00:11:39.19
I was on the
phone with my brother
00:11:39.23\00:11:41.93
and I was crying uncontrollably,
00:11:41.96\00:11:43.50
I couldn't...
00:11:43.53\00:11:44.87
All the emotions
that were flooding
00:11:44.90\00:11:46.23
through my head, all
I wanted to do is die,
00:11:46.27\00:11:48.64
because in my head I'm losing
00:11:48.67\00:11:50.01
the two most
important women in my life.
00:11:50.04\00:11:51.87
And the only thing
that actually saved me was,
00:11:51.91\00:11:55.24
was my son,
00:11:55.28\00:11:56.61
because my son was in
the home with me at that time
00:11:56.64\00:11:58.61
and I kept thinking in my head
00:11:58.65\00:12:00.45
that I don't want my son
to find me dead in the house.
00:12:00.48\00:12:05.09
You know, I don't
want him to have that image
00:12:05.12\00:12:07.16
for the rest of his life.
00:12:07.19\00:12:08.89
So as soon as she came home,
00:12:08.92\00:12:10.89
I went to my
leadership in the army
00:12:10.93\00:12:13.06
and I explained to
them what I had going on.
00:12:13.09\00:12:15.20
And they immediately took me
00:12:15.23\00:12:16.56
to the military
medical hospital,
00:12:16.60\00:12:19.07
and I was put on suicide watch
00:12:19.10\00:12:21.57
and had to go through counseling
00:12:21.60\00:12:22.94
for about four days.
00:12:22.97\00:12:24.67
During that time,
00:12:24.71\00:12:26.81
or after the four
days when I got released,
00:12:26.84\00:12:28.64
my brother had
called me and said,
00:12:28.68\00:12:30.01
"Hey, mom, is not doing well,
00:12:30.05\00:12:31.38
you need to come down
here and go to the hospital."
00:12:31.41\00:12:33.45
So I went down
there to visit her
00:12:33.48\00:12:34.82
and four days later she died.
00:12:34.85\00:12:36.18
Wow.
00:12:36.22\00:12:37.55
Now, this was the
moment where I think in some,
00:12:37.59\00:12:40.56
in anybody's life,
you're either gonna go left
00:12:40.59\00:12:42.72
or you're gonna go
right, just you know,
00:12:42.76\00:12:45.33
and it was four days earlier
where I was on suicide watch.
00:12:45.36\00:12:48.00
You know, I
wanted to end my life,
00:12:48.03\00:12:49.96
and now my mother's dead
00:12:50.00\00:12:51.33
and I didn't know how
to handle these emotions.
00:12:51.37\00:12:52.73
I had fear, anger, upset,
00:12:52.77\00:12:55.20
you know, but at the
same time I was happy
00:12:55.24\00:12:56.57
because my mom didn't have to go
00:12:56.60\00:12:57.94
through that pain anymore.
00:12:57.97\00:12:59.31
Yeah, she wasn't
suffering. No, she wasn't.
00:12:59.34\00:13:01.21
Um, so a few
more days had gone by
00:13:01.24\00:13:03.98
and I called up
my wife and I said,
00:13:04.01\00:13:05.65
"You know, listen,
00:13:05.68\00:13:07.02
you're never gonna
have to worry again."
00:13:07.05\00:13:08.58
And she didn't
believe me, she just goes,
00:13:08.62\00:13:10.09
"Yeah right, whatever."
00:13:10.12\00:13:11.45
And, you know,
and I didn't blame her
00:13:11.49\00:13:12.82
â  cause at this
point talk was cheap,
00:13:12.85\00:13:14.22
so I couldn't
just talk the talk,
00:13:14.26\00:13:15.92
I had to walk the walk.
00:13:15.96\00:13:18.36
And, you know, she's...
00:13:18.39\00:13:21.26
I can't thank her
enough and really for the Lord
00:13:21.30\00:13:23.60
because, you know, as
bad as she wanted to leave,
00:13:23.63\00:13:26.63
she listened to the
Lord and not her emotions
00:13:26.67\00:13:28.90
and not what she wanted.
00:13:28.94\00:13:30.34
You know, so she listened to God
00:13:30.37\00:13:31.84
and she never left
and she's stuck by my side
00:13:31.87\00:13:34.18
and this, that was
the moment where things
00:13:34.21\00:13:36.41
and the Lord really
started to work in my life.
00:13:36.44\00:13:38.05
Yeah.
00:13:38.08\00:13:39.41
He really started
to make some changes.
00:13:39.45\00:13:40.78
And I want to go into
that but I want to say that,
00:13:40.82\00:13:42.75
that is very powerful
00:13:42.78\00:13:44.35
that you had that
forgiveness in your heart,
00:13:44.39\00:13:46.99
you know, that's
clearly from the Lord
00:13:47.02\00:13:48.72
that God placed that forgiveness
00:13:48.76\00:13:50.93
in your heart and it's powerful
00:13:50.96\00:13:52.99
that you accepted that
and you extended that to Ian,
00:13:53.03\00:13:58.10
and you guys are
sitting here today
00:13:58.13\00:14:00.64
and, you know, like,
having the opportunity
00:14:00.67\00:14:04.04
to get to know you, I think
you guys are wonderful couple.
00:14:04.07\00:14:06.81
Thank you.
00:14:06.84\00:14:08.48
Like I'm thrilled
that you guys are out here.
00:14:08.51\00:14:11.51
Yeah. Praise God.
00:14:11.55\00:14:12.88
You know, you've
been through a lot.
00:14:12.91\00:14:15.65
You had come to the point
00:14:15.68\00:14:18.05
where you just
wanted to end it all.
00:14:18.09\00:14:20.06
I did.
00:14:20.09\00:14:21.42
But your son,
your son was there.
00:14:21.46\00:14:23.12
It's amazing how God uses
children to get to the parents
00:14:23.16\00:14:27.63
to reach the parents.
00:14:27.66\00:14:29.03
So as you're
taking this turn now,
00:14:29.06\00:14:31.13
you've received
that forgiveness,
00:14:31.17\00:14:33.60
and you've seen,
00:14:33.64\00:14:34.97
you know that
Christ like attitude
00:14:35.00\00:14:36.37
in your wife, in Angela.
00:14:36.40\00:14:37.74
That's right.
00:14:37.77\00:14:39.11
Now that you're taking
that turn, what happened?
00:14:39.14\00:14:42.41
Well, you know, so I
started attending church,
00:14:42.44\00:14:46.15
just a little
bit here and there,
00:14:46.18\00:14:48.05
but I was getting
more and more involved,
00:14:48.08\00:14:49.58
you know, in the past
when I would go to church
00:14:49.62\00:14:51.15
I was more of a seat warmer.
00:14:51.19\00:14:52.55
I just kind of went to make
my wife happy and that was it.
00:14:52.59\00:14:54.89
I had no intentions of
sitting there and learning.
00:14:54.92\00:14:57.09
If anything I was
looking at my watch
00:14:57.13\00:14:58.66
counting down the time
when we'll get out of there.
00:14:58.69\00:15:01.23
But, you know, so I
started attending church
00:15:01.26\00:15:03.57
more and more but I
was sincere this time.
00:15:03.60\00:15:05.70
And I had a friend of hers.
00:15:05.73\00:15:09.70
Her husband who I had never met.
00:15:09.74\00:15:11.51
And I won't go
into the whole story
00:15:11.54\00:15:13.01
but he basically
who I'd never met,
00:15:13.04\00:15:14.91
had known nothing
about, never talked to this man
00:15:14.94\00:15:17.35
and he did an act of kindness
towards me and my family
00:15:17.38\00:15:21.22
that nobody would really do.
00:15:21.25\00:15:23.75
But to make a long story
short, essentially my AC broke,
00:15:23.79\00:15:27.02
and he sent somebody out
there and paid for it to fix it.
00:15:27.06\00:15:29.39
Yeah.
00:15:29.42\00:15:30.76
And that's really
expensive sometimes.
00:15:30.79\00:15:32.13
Yes, it is. Yes.
00:15:32.16\00:15:34.30
He's never met Jason.
00:15:34.33\00:15:35.96
Never met the man. Yeah.
00:15:36.00\00:15:37.33
And he's one of
my best friends now.
00:15:37.37\00:15:38.97
Yeah. His name is Jason so...
00:15:39.00\00:15:41.24
Look he sounds
like a good guy to me.
00:15:41.27\00:15:42.84
He is a great
guy. He is a great guy.
00:15:42.87\00:15:44.21
That's right.
00:15:44.24\00:15:45.57
But it just kind
of made me wonder,
00:15:45.61\00:15:46.94
you know, maybe
there's something more
00:15:46.98\00:15:48.31
to Christ and
being a part of a church
00:15:48.34\00:15:49.84
and to having
relationship with God.
00:15:49.88\00:15:52.38
And so, Angela went to then,
00:15:52.41\00:15:54.72
I don't know how
much longer afterwards
00:15:54.75\00:15:56.22
but she went to an
evangelistic series.
00:15:56.25\00:15:58.65
His wife gave me, showed me.
00:15:58.69\00:16:00.26
That's right. Jennifer.
00:16:00.29\00:16:01.69
And it was Pastor Kenny Shelton.
00:16:01.72\00:16:03.96
Yeah. Wow!
00:16:03.99\00:16:05.33
Uncle Kenny.
00:16:05.36\00:16:06.70
Uh-huh. That's right.
00:16:06.73\00:16:08.06
So she went there and
came back and just said,
00:16:08.10\00:16:10.80
"Look, you know, hey, Ian,
00:16:10.83\00:16:12.40
you know, would you be
open to seeing this guy?
00:16:12.43\00:16:14.10
He's an amazing preacher."
00:16:14.14\00:16:15.47
And I said, "Sure, you
know, I'll go with you."
00:16:15.50\00:16:17.84
â  Cause, again, I
was starting to drift more
00:16:17.87\00:16:20.28
towards the Lord at this time.
00:16:20.31\00:16:21.64
I couldn't tell
but now looking back
00:16:21.68\00:16:23.38
I can see Him working.
00:16:23.41\00:16:24.85
And so I went to this series,
and it was just incredible.
00:16:24.88\00:16:29.42
The things that
Pastor Kenny was saying
00:16:29.45\00:16:31.59
and especially at the
end when he made an appeal.
00:16:31.62\00:16:34.02
I didn't take that lightly
00:16:34.06\00:16:35.39
and I had seen
appeals done before,
00:16:35.42\00:16:37.39
you know, you
see people stand up
00:16:37.43\00:16:39.26
and I just kind of took it as,
00:16:39.29\00:16:40.63
you know,
they're just doing that
00:16:40.66\00:16:42.00
because they have to stand up.
00:16:42.03\00:16:43.37
You know, but for me
I'm not going to do that
00:16:43.40\00:16:44.83
unless I truly mean it.
00:16:44.87\00:16:46.40
So, he made an appeal
00:16:46.43\00:16:47.84
and that first
night I couldn't do it.
00:16:47.87\00:16:49.90
I started
hearing voices in my head
00:16:49.94\00:16:51.51
telling me you
know, I'm not good enough.
00:16:51.54\00:16:53.44
You know, you're nobody.
00:16:53.48\00:16:54.81
Look at the pain
that you've caused
00:16:54.84\00:16:56.18
to your wife.
00:16:56.21\00:16:57.55
Look at the pain
you've caused to your family,
00:16:57.58\00:16:58.95
and to all those that you love,
00:16:58.98\00:17:00.58
you know, how
can God accept you,
00:17:00.62\00:17:02.02
He can't do that,
He can't love you.
00:17:02.05\00:17:04.39
So that first
night I never stood up.
00:17:04.42\00:17:06.35
So the devil was...
The devil was attacking.
00:17:06.39\00:17:08.76
Without question,
00:17:08.79\00:17:10.13
and I told her
the story afterwards
00:17:10.16\00:17:11.49
and the things that
I had been experiencing
00:17:11.53\00:17:12.89
while I was in that church
'cause when I wanted to stand,
00:17:12.93\00:17:15.90
I'll tell you my legs got heavy,
00:17:15.93\00:17:17.47
I felt a pressure on my chest.
00:17:17.50\00:17:19.63
You know the palms
started to sweat, it was,
00:17:19.67\00:17:21.50
you know, I was going
through a spiritual battle.
00:17:21.54\00:17:23.97
And so I asked
her later that night
00:17:24.01\00:17:26.47
after explaining
to her I just said,
00:17:26.51\00:17:27.88
"Hey, you know, can we go
again tomorrow and see him."
00:17:27.91\00:17:30.85
And she, she had plans
because she was actually,
00:17:30.88\00:17:33.58
what was it, adventures?
00:17:33.62\00:17:34.95
Yes.
00:17:34.98\00:17:36.32
Yeah, she was doing
adventures the following day
00:17:36.35\00:17:37.89
and she
canceled all of her plans
00:17:37.92\00:17:39.55
and she's like, I am taking
my husband back to see this,
00:17:39.59\00:17:43.29
you know, this
evangelistic series
00:17:43.32\00:17:44.86
and hear Pastor Kenny.
00:17:44.89\00:17:46.23
So I went again
00:17:46.26\00:17:47.60
and the same thing
started happening all over.
00:17:47.63\00:17:49.16
And, but that night I
decided to give my heart
00:17:49.20\00:17:52.77
to the Lord.
00:17:52.80\00:17:54.14
And I completely
surrendered at that moment,
00:17:54.17\00:17:58.07
and I was still
smoking at the time too.
00:17:58.11\00:18:00.88
So I had made
changes in my life,
00:18:00.91\00:18:03.08
I previously to that
I've stopped drinking.
00:18:03.11\00:18:06.72
But at that moment
I was still smoking,
00:18:06.75\00:18:08.88
and I quit.
00:18:08.92\00:18:10.85
You know, Praise God,
'cause it took a lot of prayer.
00:18:10.89\00:18:12.59
It was a miracle. Yes.
00:18:12.62\00:18:14.22
I think that's when she
knew, Okay, something's...
00:18:14.26\00:18:16.36
He's serious this time.
00:18:16.39\00:18:17.73
Yeah. Yeah.
00:18:17.76\00:18:19.09
'Cause I smoked
for about 20 years.
00:18:19.13\00:18:20.46
Wow.
00:18:20.50\00:18:21.83
And I just with the
help of the Lord, I quit.
00:18:21.86\00:18:23.47
You don't even look
like you're old enough
00:18:23.50\00:18:24.93
to smoke 20 years but...
00:18:24.97\00:18:26.53
That's right. Wow.
00:18:26.57\00:18:27.90
Well, thank you,
I appreciate that.
00:18:27.94\00:18:29.27
No problem. No problem.
00:18:29.30\00:18:30.64
So, Angela, how were you feeling
00:18:30.67\00:18:32.01
when he gave his
heart to the Lord?
00:18:32.04\00:18:34.08
That was
awesome, It was really...
00:18:34.11\00:18:36.44
I prayed for my
husband for 11 years.
00:18:36.48\00:18:38.98
And I really prayed
for him and prayed for him
00:18:39.01\00:18:42.18
to give his life to the Lord,
00:18:42.22\00:18:44.22
I will say the same
prayer over and over,
00:18:44.25\00:18:46.05
"God please help my
husband stop drinking,
00:18:46.09\00:18:48.16
please help my
husband stop smoking,
00:18:48.19\00:18:49.92
please help my husband
to give his life to You."
00:18:49.96\00:18:52.39
And that was my
prayer usually every night
00:18:52.43\00:18:55.93
for 11 years I prayed for him.
00:18:55.96\00:18:57.83
So when he
finally did, fully commit,
00:18:57.87\00:19:01.37
it was wonderful, but
the struggles you know
00:19:01.40\00:19:04.24
when you give
your heart to the Lord,
00:19:04.27\00:19:05.61
it doesn't stop there.
00:19:05.64\00:19:06.98
That's right.
00:19:07.01\00:19:08.34
That's just the beginning of it.
00:19:08.38\00:19:09.71
That's right. Yeah.
00:19:09.74\00:19:11.08
And it was for us.
00:19:11.11\00:19:12.45
Yeah, and I'm glad
that you brought that out,
00:19:12.48\00:19:13.82
but you know I
think something else
00:19:13.85\00:19:15.48
that's powerful
too is that you prayed
00:19:15.52\00:19:17.35
and you asked and
you kept on asking.
00:19:17.39\00:19:19.79
You're asked again and
you kept on asking like,
00:19:19.82\00:19:22.02
that's powerful.
00:19:22.06\00:19:23.39
It speaks through
the fervent prayer
00:19:23.43\00:19:24.76
and that persistence and prayer
00:19:24.79\00:19:26.19
and that's, that's key.
00:19:26.23\00:19:27.56
Yeah.
00:19:27.60\00:19:28.93
So what happened
'cause it's not smooth sailing
00:19:28.96\00:19:31.53
just because you
become a Christian,
00:19:31.57\00:19:32.90
things can get tough.
00:19:32.93\00:19:34.27
It gets worst. Absolutely.
00:19:34.30\00:19:36.87
Right after, you know,
00:19:36.91\00:19:38.24
dedicating my heart to the Lord,
00:19:38.27\00:19:40.11
I received orders from
the army to go to Texas,
00:19:40.14\00:19:43.28
and I had to be
there within 90 days.
00:19:43.31\00:19:45.45
And that's not
totally uncommon but for me
00:19:45.48\00:19:48.18
and what I had
experienced in the people
00:19:48.22\00:19:49.92
that I have
known, and the soldiers
00:19:49.95\00:19:51.29
I had known, I hadn't
seen that in a long time.
00:19:51.32\00:19:53.36
So...
00:19:53.39\00:19:54.72
And we owned a house.
00:19:54.76\00:19:56.09
Yeah, and we owned
the house at the time.
00:19:56.12\00:19:57.46
So we couldn't
just pick up and leave.
00:19:57.49\00:19:58.83
Wow.
00:19:58.86\00:20:00.20
Yeah, we had a lot
going on at that moment
00:20:00.23\00:20:01.56
so I was really struggling
with the decision I needed to,
00:20:01.60\00:20:03.33
you know, to make.
00:20:03.37\00:20:04.70
At this point I wanted to
do what the Lord wanted to do,
00:20:04.73\00:20:06.97
wanted me to do.
00:20:07.00\00:20:08.34
I did not want
to do my way at all
00:20:08.37\00:20:10.44
from that point forward,
00:20:10.47\00:20:11.91
so I kept praying
and praying and praying.
00:20:11.94\00:20:14.54
Every night and I was waking up
at 2, 3 o'clock in the morning
00:20:14.58\00:20:17.38
and just thinking
about what I should do
00:20:17.41\00:20:19.78
and what the Lord wants me to do
00:20:19.81\00:20:21.15
just sleepless
nights constantly.
00:20:21.18\00:20:22.78
And it got to the point
00:20:22.82\00:20:24.15
where, you know, I
wasn't hearing anything back.
00:20:24.19\00:20:27.36
And I thought
that maybe those voices
00:20:27.39\00:20:29.76
that I was hearing in my head,
00:20:29.79\00:20:31.69
you know, telling
me I'm not good enough
00:20:31.73\00:20:33.26
at that evangelistic series,
00:20:33.29\00:20:34.70
you know, telling me
that God doesn't love me
00:20:34.73\00:20:37.13
and the things that I've done,
00:20:37.17\00:20:38.50
you know, He can't accept me.
00:20:38.53\00:20:41.37
You know, it just, it
started to consume me.
00:20:41.40\00:20:44.11
And I became filled with anger,
and I started maybe again,
00:20:44.14\00:20:46.91
I actually began to curse
God and I even called up my wife
00:20:46.94\00:20:50.81
and I just said yeah,
00:20:50.85\00:20:52.68
and I just said,
you know, God hates me.
00:20:52.71\00:20:55.25
God doesn't love
me. He's not answering.
00:20:55.28\00:20:57.15
I thought this is,
you know once I become,
00:20:57.19\00:20:59.69
you know, a
servant of His, you know
00:20:59.72\00:21:01.59
and, and I
accept Him and allow Him
00:21:01.62\00:21:03.16
to come into my life,
00:21:03.19\00:21:04.53
He's supposed to guide me
00:21:04.56\00:21:05.89
and I'm not
getting any guidance.
00:21:05.93\00:21:08.33
So, when I was on
the phone with her,
00:21:08.36\00:21:10.83
that was where she
really drew the line,
00:21:10.87\00:21:12.63
she said, "You're
cursing God, I'm done with you.
00:21:12.67\00:21:16.44
You've put me through enough."
00:21:16.47\00:21:18.41
And I raced home from work
00:21:18.44\00:21:20.71
and you know
kept her on the phone.
00:21:20.74\00:21:22.71
And as soon as I came in
there she was in the bed,
00:21:22.74\00:21:25.55
sitting in the bed,
00:21:25.58\00:21:26.92
in our bedroom and just
started reading the Bible.
00:21:26.95\00:21:28.75
Crying.. Crying her eyes out...
00:21:28.78\00:21:30.12
Reading the Bible.
00:21:30.15\00:21:31.49
Yeah. Yeah.
00:21:31.52\00:21:32.85
But as I heard
her reading the Bible
00:21:32.89\00:21:34.22
I became fueled
even more with anger,
00:21:34.26\00:21:36.02
because I
didn't want to hear it.
00:21:36.06\00:21:37.39
Yeah.
00:21:37.43\00:21:38.76
And she kept telling
me just pray, just pray
00:21:38.79\00:21:40.16
and I said, "I
don't want to pray to God,
00:21:40.20\00:21:41.53
I don't, I can't pray to God,
00:21:41.56\00:21:42.90
He's left me, He
doesn't love me."
00:21:42.93\00:21:44.77
And when she would
stop reading the Bible
00:21:44.80\00:21:46.70
just everything
would just calm down.
00:21:46.74\00:21:49.00
And then she would
start reading it out loud
00:21:49.04\00:21:50.74
and then I would
get angry all over again
00:21:50.77\00:21:52.61
and when I looked at myself
in the mirror in our bathroom
00:21:52.64\00:21:55.04
which is right
next to our bedroom,
00:21:55.08\00:21:57.18
my eyes didn't look like
me, you know, I know it was me.
00:21:57.21\00:22:00.28
Yeah.
00:22:00.32\00:22:01.65
But it didn't look
like me, I was just so angry
00:22:01.68\00:22:03.72
and it seemed like there
was another person in me,
00:22:03.75\00:22:06.02
it was like
another spiritual attack
00:22:06.05\00:22:07.69
all over again.
00:22:07.72\00:22:09.59
But this was after my
baptism, so you would, why,
00:22:09.62\00:22:12.29
you know, you would
think why you're gonna go
00:22:12.33\00:22:13.66
through something like this.
00:22:13.70\00:22:15.20
And it really felt like Satan
was throwing an army after me,
00:22:15.23\00:22:19.17
and I couldn't
understand that either,
00:22:19.20\00:22:20.67
I was wondering
why am I so important
00:22:20.70\00:22:22.47
that Satan wants me so bad.
00:22:22.50\00:22:24.17
'Cause you're a child of God.
00:22:24.21\00:22:25.54
That's right.
00:22:25.57\00:22:26.91
And so needless to say
that night I slept alone.
00:22:26.94\00:22:32.21
Hope your couch was comfortable.
00:22:32.25\00:22:33.58
Well...
00:22:33.62\00:22:34.95
We had a spare
bed. We got a spare bed.
00:22:34.98\00:22:36.32
Second one wasn't too bad.
00:22:36.35\00:22:37.69
Yeah, that's right.
00:22:37.72\00:22:39.25
So, I was in the
bed and I was just,
00:22:39.29\00:22:42.79
you know, I couldn't
pray, but I got three words out,
00:22:42.82\00:22:45.46
and that was, "God, help me."
00:22:45.49\00:22:47.76
Wow.
00:22:47.80\00:22:49.13
And that's all I
really needed to say,
00:22:49.16\00:22:51.00
because that next day, I became,
00:22:51.03\00:22:52.67
I woke up and I felt calm,
00:22:52.70\00:22:54.57
and the day after that
I was even more at peace.
00:22:54.60\00:22:57.31
And I just became
fueled with this fire
00:22:57.34\00:23:00.28
and this passion for the Lord.
00:23:00.31\00:23:01.64
Yeah.
00:23:01.68\00:23:03.01
And I was, you
know, waking up early
00:23:03.04\00:23:04.75
having my own devotional,
00:23:04.78\00:23:06.11
sometimes at 4:30 in the morning
00:23:06.15\00:23:07.82
I'd wake up
00:23:07.85\00:23:09.18
and I would just start
reading and studying my Bible
00:23:09.22\00:23:11.15
to the point
where she's wandering,
00:23:11.19\00:23:12.95
you know, hey, I need your
help around the house, you know.
00:23:12.99\00:23:15.62
Yeah.
00:23:15.66\00:23:16.99
Can you do
something here, you know.
00:23:17.03\00:23:18.36
I love it.
00:23:18.39\00:23:19.73
But, you know, but I
began to find that balance
00:23:19.76\00:23:21.50
between family and the
Lord because, you know.
00:23:21.53\00:23:24.10
And it was just...
It was just incredible.
00:23:24.13\00:23:26.07
We would be places in,
00:23:26.10\00:23:28.20
you know, I'd just
tell her, you know.
00:23:28.24\00:23:29.67
I just wanna serve the Lord.
I just wanna serve the Lord.
00:23:29.70\00:23:31.37
He just kept saying that, I
don't know what I'm gonna do,
00:23:31.41\00:23:33.17
'cause he was
hired by a contractor.
00:23:33.21\00:23:35.01
Okay.
00:23:35.04\00:23:36.38
And... Well before that.
00:23:36.41\00:23:37.88
Oh, okay. Yeah.
00:23:37.91\00:23:39.25
Okay. Sorry, I don't mean to...
00:23:39.28\00:23:40.62
No, it's okay.
00:23:40.65\00:23:41.98
I had made the
decision to get out of the army,
00:23:42.02\00:23:43.79
which was very tough
00:23:43.82\00:23:45.15
because, you know,
you have medical insurance
00:23:45.19\00:23:48.36
that you don't have to pay for,
00:23:48.39\00:23:49.72
you know, and your
family would go to the hospital,
00:23:49.76\00:23:53.16
go in emergency
room and they're covered.
00:23:53.19\00:23:54.76
Yeah.
00:23:54.80\00:23:56.13
And that was huge
because I thought,
00:23:56.16\00:23:59.30
you know, if I get out the army,
00:23:59.33\00:24:00.77
how are we going to...
00:24:00.80\00:24:02.14
How am I, as a man of the home
gonna take care of my family.
00:24:02.17\00:24:04.24
Yes.
00:24:04.27\00:24:05.61
And we just kind of,
you know, I made a decision.
00:24:05.64\00:24:08.54
We were at church one
night, and I just saw my wife
00:24:08.58\00:24:12.28
and my kids with
our church family
00:24:12.31\00:24:14.65
and I just said, "This
is where we need to be,
00:24:14.68\00:24:16.79
this is where I'm
going to grow in Christ.
00:24:16.82\00:24:18.15
Wow.
00:24:18.19\00:24:19.52
So, we did it and
we decided to get out.
00:24:19.55\00:24:21.19
And that was it
00:24:21.22\00:24:22.72
and then we just
relied on the Lord
00:24:22.76\00:24:25.46
to take us the rest of the way.
00:24:25.49\00:24:27.36
So, I heard, Angela,
00:24:27.40\00:24:29.16
you're about to go into
some contract work real quick.
00:24:29.20\00:24:31.63
Yes.
00:24:31.67\00:24:33.00
Yeah, he got a
job as contractor,
00:24:33.03\00:24:34.37
but he didn't want to do that,
he wants to serve the Lord.
00:24:34.40\00:24:36.81
So...
00:24:36.84\00:24:38.17
'Cause I would
essentially been going back
00:24:38.21\00:24:39.57
to what I'd been doing before
which is taking lives again.
00:24:39.61\00:24:42.71
Yeah.
00:24:42.74\00:24:44.08
And I didn't wanna
do that, I didn't wanna,
00:24:44.11\00:24:45.45
but I left in the
Lord's hand, I said God,
00:24:45.48\00:24:47.85
you know, I'm hired, you
know, I haven't started yet
00:24:47.88\00:24:50.92
and they haven't given me
a start date, but I'm hired.
00:24:50.95\00:24:53.66
I love that you
went out with faith.
00:24:53.69\00:24:55.82
So how did you
end up coming to 3ABN?
00:24:55.86\00:24:59.03
Well, we had
sent our resumes up,
00:24:59.06\00:25:02.53
and we, when we sent it to Jill,
00:25:02.56\00:25:05.63
it was during the...
00:25:05.67\00:25:08.74
I think it was a
camp meeting at the time.
00:25:08.77\00:25:10.11
Okay.
00:25:10.14\00:25:11.47
But, you know, prior
to that, it was, I kept,
00:25:11.51\00:25:13.94
I didn't know
what to do anymore,
00:25:13.98\00:25:15.54
you know, I didn't have a
job but we had no income anymore
00:25:15.58\00:25:18.41
so I just as time
went on, I kept saying,
00:25:18.45\00:25:22.95
you know, I just, I don't know
I just didn't know what to do,
00:25:22.98\00:25:26.35
I was just so confused.
00:25:26.39\00:25:27.96
So, but I sent our
resumes out to Jill
00:25:27.99\00:25:31.43
because actually,
Pastor John Lomacang
00:25:31.46\00:25:33.70
who I reached out to
early on in my Christianity,
00:25:33.73\00:25:37.00
in my walk with God,
00:25:37.03\00:25:38.37
I'd sent him an
email and he responded back
00:25:38.40\00:25:40.47
and gave me some
very powerful words
00:25:40.50\00:25:42.24
of encouragement.
00:25:42.27\00:25:43.64
And, but he called me
up and just said that I,
00:25:43.67\00:25:47.28
you know,
talked to Jill Morikone
00:25:47.31\00:25:49.24
about your guy's story
00:25:49.28\00:25:50.61
and she went
through guy's resume
00:25:50.65\00:25:51.98
so I was blown
away when that happened.
00:25:52.01\00:25:54.05
Yeah, that was a miracle.
00:25:54.08\00:25:55.42
So, yeah,
absolutely, so you sent,
00:25:55.45\00:25:57.45
you sent the resume in,
00:25:57.49\00:25:59.99
and you didn't hear
from Jill for a little while.
00:26:00.02\00:26:02.66
Did you begin
to get discouraged?
00:26:02.69\00:26:05.59
Absolutely I did, and
it seemed, my friend Jason.
00:26:05.63\00:26:10.47
He worked for a
company and I said,
00:26:10.50\00:26:12.27
"You know, I need a job.
00:26:12.30\00:26:13.64
What do you got, I
can't wait any longer."
00:26:13.67\00:26:16.00
And as soon as I said that
is when I got the phone call
00:26:16.04\00:26:17.51
from Pastor John.
00:26:17.54\00:26:18.87
Wow.
00:26:18.91\00:26:20.24
And then, as more, you
know, then we had our interviews
00:26:20.28\00:26:22.51
and everything else but
then more time had passed.
00:26:22.54\00:26:24.68
You know, I think, I
don't know how long it was,
00:26:24.71\00:26:26.65
but it was over a month.
00:26:26.68\00:26:28.02
Then after that time
that passed the second time
00:26:28.05\00:26:30.79
did you get discouraged again?
00:26:30.82\00:26:32.15
Absolutely. Okay.
00:26:32.19\00:26:33.52
I did.
00:26:33.56\00:26:34.89
It happened all over
again as time passed,
00:26:34.92\00:26:36.62
I was trying, you
know, I couldn't understand
00:26:36.66\00:26:38.89
why everything
was taking so long
00:26:38.93\00:26:40.50
but it was God
working through me
00:26:40.53\00:26:42.00
because I can tell
you without question
00:26:42.03\00:26:43.73
He was teaching me
patience and about waiting.
00:26:43.77\00:26:46.43
In His timing.
00:26:46.47\00:26:47.80
His timing. Absolutely.
00:26:47.84\00:26:49.17
But then the phone
rang again, didn't it?
00:26:49.20\00:26:50.54
As soon as I was, I
was, in the wife with my car
00:26:50.57\00:26:52.44
and I said, I can't
wait any longer I need a job.
00:26:52.47\00:26:54.94
You're in the
car with your wife.
00:26:54.98\00:26:56.41
Yeah.
00:26:56.44\00:26:57.78
Got you, got you.
00:26:57.81\00:26:59.15
And second time, you
know, my phone went off
00:26:59.18\00:27:01.18
and it was an email
from Jill inviting us up here
00:27:01.22\00:27:03.28
for another interview.
00:27:03.32\00:27:04.65
What a blessing.
00:27:04.69\00:27:06.02
And God has provided
everything for us all our needs.
00:27:06.05\00:27:08.46
All of our
needs. All of our needs.
00:27:08.49\00:27:10.29
And you made a
point you said that
00:27:10.33\00:27:12.93
no matter what
they were going to pay
00:27:12.96\00:27:15.63
you are going to come.
00:27:15.66\00:27:17.00
Yeah, we made it, you
know, basically told God,
00:27:17.03\00:27:20.07
whatever it is,
whatever the pay,
00:27:20.10\00:27:21.44
we don't, we don't care.
00:27:21.47\00:27:22.80
We're gonna trust in You.
00:27:22.84\00:27:24.17
We're gonna trust in
You that You will provide
00:27:24.21\00:27:25.54
and that's what we did...
00:27:25.57\00:27:26.91
And He has.
00:27:26.94\00:27:28.28
And He did because right after
00:27:28.31\00:27:29.64
our interview, we saw that,
00:27:29.68\00:27:31.01
you know, with
me being a veteran
00:27:31.05\00:27:32.38
that I got Veterans Assistance
00:27:32.41\00:27:33.82
and I started
getting, getting paid so...
00:27:33.85\00:27:35.58
Yeah, that is huge, your
story is truly inspiring.
00:27:35.62\00:27:40.62
The lessons of
forgiveness that we've seen,
00:27:40.66\00:27:42.72
the perseverance,
God showing up on time,
00:27:42.76\00:27:45.99
and I just want
to say thank you,
00:27:46.03\00:27:47.43
I appreciate your
transparency and all of that.
00:27:47.46\00:27:48.80
Thank you.
00:27:48.83\00:27:50.17
And I want to
thank you for joining us.
00:27:50.20\00:27:51.80
Well, we've reached
the end of another program.
00:27:51.83\00:27:53.97
Thanks for tuning in.
00:27:54.00\00:27:55.34
Join us next time, God bless.
00:27:55.37\00:27:56.94