July 1, 2025 • 64 mins
The transformative concept of being "a new creature in Christ" encapsulates the profound metamorphosis that occurs when one accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior. This episode delves into the remarkable journey of personal redemption, emphasizing the radical change that accompanies a genuine faith in Christ. Through the testimony of Jay Jay, we explore how a life once mired in adversity and turmoil can be rejuvenated and redirected towards purpose and hope. This discussion serves not only as a testament to individual transformation but as an encouragement to all believers that spiritual renewal is attainable. Ultimately, we invite our listeners to reflect on their own experiences and the continuous journey of becoming who God created them to be.
Takeaways:
- The transformation into a new creature in Christ signifies the profound change that occurs in a believer's life, where old habits and sins are replaced by a renewed spirit and purpose.
- In the journey of faith, we are reminded that God works in mysterious ways, often using our past struggles to shape our future and help others who may be in similar situations.
- Baptism serves as a public declaration of faith, symbolizing the believer's commitment to follow Christ and marking the beginning of a new life filled with hope and direction.
- The process of sanctification is ongoing, indicating that even after accepting Christ, believers continue to grow and mature in their faith, striving to embody Christ-like characteristics in their daily lives.
- Through sharing personal testimonies, we can encourage others, showing them that redemption is possible regardless of their past, and highlighting the hope found in a relationship with Jesus.
- God places significant individuals in our lives, such as mentors and friends, who can guide us through our spiritual journeys, demonstrating His provision and care during our times of need.
Links referenced in this episode:
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Foreign.
Welcome to the Abundant LifePodcast, bringing you encouragement
and challenging believers tospiritual change and growth by applying
biblical principles toeveryday life. And now your hosts,
Sasso Mendez and Ben Arellano.Welcome, everybody, to the Abundant
(00:21):
Life Podcast. This is episodenumber 68. I'm here with my good
friend and faithful servant inthe faith, Sasso Mendez.
What up, Ben? We have aspecial guest today, sir.
When you want to introduce him?
All right, we have JJ comingall the way from. I don't know, where'd
you come from, jj?
Down the street.
Down the street. Okay. Did youeven walk, though? Did you?
No, it's 14, 15 minute drive.
Oh, okay. Do you live on thisside of town or.
(00:42):
Yeah, 75th Ave. Oh, okay. 75thand Bell.
All right, cuz I seen you atthe fries on 67th. 67th. Thank you.
So you're close to that? Yeah,close to the mall.
Like three minutes from there.
All right, nice. You have anice view for the fireworks coming
up on the fourth.
Oh, yeah, that's right.
Yeah.
Sports complex.
Yeah, right there.
(01:03):
Yeah.
Okay. Well, we talk about foodduring this time. Is there a particular
food you like or your favoritetype of food or favorite food?
I eat everything. I lovesteak, but I also love ramen noodles.
I just. My daughter likes togo eat ramen, but it's like 20 bucks
(01:23):
when you go eat it because ithas pork belly. But I'm like, I don't
like to pay 20 bucks forsomething that you can buy it. 3,
4.99 or something like that.
Be like 10 cents a packet, bro.
I know.
Inflation, bro.
With the bugs in them. Yeah.For free.
I seen that video. That'spretty crazy.
With the microscope.
Do you think that's real?
No, no, no. And plus, you putboiling water.
(01:43):
That's what I was going tosay. Yeah.
Like some of the stuff we eat.
Yeah. You cook it anyways.
Yeah.
So do you eat it with an eggor do you just eat it? Just ramen
noodles.
So I can. I ate ramen noodlesfor 14 years every which way possible.
So I can make you some ramennoodles that you would just be just
flabbergasted by it. Like,how'd you make this? You know? Can
(02:05):
make you ramen noodles withsummer sausage, with beans, with
cheese, in a taman.
What that is, it's cuttingedge. Would you consider opening
your restaurant?
No.
Ramen Every which way.
JJ's ramen.
I'm trying to lose weight.
(02:26):
Well, you don't have to gethigh if your own supply, you know.
It happens.
Do you put an egg in there orno egg?
I have boiled eggs.
Yeah, yeah, this is the best.
Yeah, yeah. Put boiled egg inthere, some hot pepper flakes, some
cheese, some crunched uptortilla chips.
(02:48):
Like a wonton. Because I got abuddy that, you know, he's doing
some time and they have, like,Saturday nights is Chinese night,
and they make orange chickenout of orange packets from somewhere.
Yeah, I've seen them do itwith. They got a whole with mackerel
fish and Mackerel fish andKool Aid packs and. Yeah, they're
(03:12):
creative in there.
I was surprised he said, yeah,it's a pretty big deal that we have
on.
Yeah.
On Saturday nights. So. So youlike. So what, what's your favorite
food? Like you're on death row.
My favorite food. I like kingcrab legs, oysters.
(03:34):
It's your man of the sea steak.
I like steak too. Like turf.
Like, what's your favoritesteakhouse, would you say?
Favorite steakhouse? I thinkmy wife makes pretty good steak.
(03:56):
It's hard to do, but she'smaking on the grill or on the stove.
Yeah, like sear it. She searsit and cooks it in the oven.
Make it.
Yeah. But I think the beststeak I've had was probably at Gordon
Ramsay's restaurant in Vegas.It was a five wagu with a foie gras
(04:24):
on top. That was.
Sounds good.
Yeah, sounds pretty fancy. Ithought you're gonna say Texas roadhouse
or something delicious.
No, Texas roadhouse is good, though.
I'm hungry. It's four hoursaway, bro. You know, we could hit
that podcast.
You know, can we look up someflights here on. Catch a quick flight,
head back, get a waymo over.Yeah, I gotta bring my computer.
(04:46):
I'm working from home today.All right, well, you know, we. We
call us the Taco twins. Ben'smore of a street taco guy. I like
hard. You know, hard shell.That's. I grew up with hard shell
tacos.
Taco Bell, actually.
I grew up with Hardshell,believe it or not, too. But when
I got to Phoenix and I learnedabout street tacos because we don't
have those back home.
Where are you from?
New Mexico.
I was born in New Mexico.
Oh, really? Where at?
(05:06):
Hobbs.
Okay, cool. Silver City.
I don't know nothing about it.Which is. I was there for like three
months, and then they. Wemoved over here to Tucson.
Okay. Yeah, that's the crazypart, cuz. Tony was there, you know,
in Silver City, my hometown.
Mexico, too.
Where, Where. Where's that at?
It's a southwest Corner. So ifyou're. It's kind of off the beaten
path a little bit. So ifyou're going through, like, Lordsburg.
(05:27):
Okay, so I was over here inthis corner closest to Texas. You're
over here, closer to Arizona.
Exactly.
Okay.
Yeah. So. But yeah, I grew upwith hardshell tie. That's what my
mom made. So when I came here,I learned about street tacos, man.
I love street tacos, man.
Street tacos are al pastor.
It's my favorite.
It's pretty good.
Yes. It's got to be on thetrompo. It's got to have the pineapple
(05:48):
on top.
Do you like tripas?
I love tripas.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, me too.
I have to take him.
I said. I saw a smile come on his.
Face, like, oh, because we'regonna take him to Guadalajara.
Because I tell Alex about it,and she's like, can't do it. I'm
like, why not? She's like,it's count testing. I'm like, it's.
(06:09):
It's good. It's like it'scooked, you know?
Yeah. It's crunchy.
Especially if they crunch it.Yeah. Make it crunchy.
It's a delicacy.
It is.
I feel like the, you know, noshade on the. The lighter skin, the
less melanin people. But theydon't like three paws or menudo.
Like, it's.
It's chicharronas and ramen.
(06:30):
Oh, interesting. That's likepork baked pork belly, bro. But it's,
you know, a little crunchy.Pork belly.
Get the red pork rinds fromthe store.
The hot ones.
Get a summer sausage. Chop itup, dice it up, put it in your ramen.
Pretty legit.
Yeah. Yeah.
The. The pork rinds with thered powder on them.
(06:54):
What a trip.
Never thought of that one. Ilove those. Chichat one too. Those
are good. My wife loves them.
That you shout on.
Yeah. When we go on a roadtrip, that's. That's what we.
I got a Sam's big thing likethis at my desk, and it's like, this
much now. I think people havebeen dipping in there.
Yeah, it's probably Gustavo, bro.
He said it's disgusting. Iwon't eat that.
Yeah, but as soon as you walk away.
Yeah. He goes to Taco Bell.He's no prejudice about food.
(07:18):
The first time I went tofreedom, that last, you had brought
somebody, one of your coworkers with you.
That's Gustavo.
Oh, okay.
Kind of tall guy.
I can't remember.
He listens to the podcast Igot to keep. I gotta keep it pg.
So, yeah, that's Gustavo.He's. We've been doing the exchange
and he's stuck on lessonthree, so he can't get to that. Did
(07:40):
you. Have you redone theexchange or no. Okay. Just a four
week Bible study andprogressively, you know, get you
to make a decision aboutwhether you accept Christ or whether
you won't.
And just a little plug. Wewere actually on Pastor George's
podcast talking about theexchange a couple weeks ago. And
so check it out. I think it'sGospel Talks is the name of the podcast.
(08:01):
Is the exchange like somethingfrom Freedom that last.
No, there's a man named JeffMusgrave that puts. Puts the material
out. And Freedom at last is aman named Jim Berg. I think they're
two different circles. I don'tthink they're separate gangs. Christian
gangs. They roll differentsets, you know.
(08:24):
Yeah, George has a podcast, too.
He does the. The exchangepodcast. Gospel Talks. Gospel Talks.
And so he does. With the. Thetopic of the exchange. So people
that couldn't figure that lastthat want to do Bible study, we typically
will do it with them. Likethose two gentlemen that came on
(08:44):
Friday. Prime, like people forthe. Because people will mostly do
like, hey, I want to do Bible study.
The two people that came thatI was sitting next to, Cor, that
lives like one block away. Okay.
I don't know if I can say thename, but you know what I'm talking
about.
Yeah.
Just because they, like mostpeople will come and they'll be interested
(09:06):
in doing a Bible study, andthat's a good, you know, way to get
to know them and then a way tointroduce them into the gospel. And
some people, like the one ofthe guys that came on Friday said
he's never heard a Bible versein his life. He was like, I don't
know what you're talkingabout. Like, I've never seen a Bible
verse. Like, wow.
Yeah.
Living a block from the churchhis whole life, never heard about.
(09:26):
Wow. Yeah.
That's crazy.
Shame on us. Or shame on him.I don't know which one, but I was
kind of blown away by that.
I mean, it's a thing, you know?
Yeah. I mean, even in America,we have access to Bibles. It's not
common as we think.
How many do I have sitting onthe shelf right here? You know what
I mean?
I know.
Yeah.
I was telling JJ to get toyour house. You could just walk through
(09:47):
the church if you could, youknow, and you'd be right here.
Yeah.
Other side of the mountain Y.Yeah, Just bring your trekking poles
and you'd be. You'll be here.
Ben said he's still late for church.
I am.
I am.
You know, it's like we livelike literally two, three minutes
away.
And you're not as late as Iam, though. You know what I mean?
I was like nine, ten o' clock.I was there. Church.
I kind of wish Tony would showup early because, you know, Tony
would, like, clog up the row,you know what I'm saying? Because
(10:10):
I sit there and people kind ofstill look over me and stuff. But
Tony's sitting there, bro.
They.
They don't even want to messwith them.
No.
They're like, no, let's go tothe next road.
Yeah.
Careful, honey.
He makes a church, like, holdon to your purse. Half eclipse, you
know what I mean? When hestands up. You know what I mean?
£330.
I know, man.
It's a lot of.
It's all among the Jews, bro.I'm telling you.
I just remember when he satdown, he's like, dang, that chair's
(10:30):
strong.
Well, it's funny because I sawhim sitting. He was. He sat one in
this time. So he was sittingbetween you and someone else, right?
So like.
Yeah, Isaiah.
That was Isaiah. Well, that'sokay because Isaiah, like, takes
up half a seat. You know whatI mean?
It's £110.
Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, no bigdeal there.
His whole body's one cheek forTony, pretty much. You know what
(10:51):
I mean? It's pretty bad.Pretty bad, but yeah, well.
So how far does Tony live from here?
Tony lives on 23rd inGlendale. So not close, but not too
far, ladies.
He's single.
Just saying.
Yeah, he is single.
Just throwing that out there.
I'm not even going to say hispickup lines, but yeah. Oh, no.
And you should have seen whathe sent me today on. On YouTube.
(11:14):
Like, bro, come on.
Okay. The guy.
It was hot dogs. Yeah. Well,no. Yeah. Something different. Okay,
I'll show you later.
He's. He's out of boundssometimes with these.
Yeah. I'm like, bro. I waslike, that's funny. But, yeah, I
was wrong on so many levels,dude. Like, why you send that to
me, Dude?
He's. He's growing through thesanctification process.
Yes.
He's not there yet.
(11:34):
He's. We're all there, right?We're all. We're all being sanctified,
man.
So.
And just to transition into. Imean, I know you got something to
say. As far as before we getinto the content of the podcast,
but, you know, I was really.You came to freedom that last. I
really, I mean, I didn't knowyou per se and I mean, I seen you
around, but. And then you justkind of shared your testimony in
(11:55):
group. And I think Tony wasfairly new. He had just started coming
at that point and he wasn'tsaved. Right. And so, you know, that
night is. I kind of, you know,I could see like, I understood like
what he was saying. And somepeople you bring and they're just
like, you know, Bible versesis just foreign idea too.
Right.
And then Tony was kind ofhungry. He'd kind of been, yeah,
(12:16):
yeah, he's hungry. Yeah, hewas hungry for it. So he was kind
of set up for it. But that'swhy I said, man, we got to have JJ
on the podcast. And then yougot baptized and yeah, we had somebody
over last week and they'relike, yeah, that was a great testimony
that blessed me. I said, well,we're gonna have them on the podcast
next week. So you can list thepodcast and like, and subscribe if
you want to and grow the show.But go ahead, Ben. The.
(12:40):
Yeah, I would just say too,you know, JJ and I were talking too
about Tony and just thedifference we've seen in the past
year because he saw him atthat point when he first came and
then to see him now, you know,to where he's at after, even after
salvation. Like, I mean, it'sjust night and day and obviously
he's on the sanctification,you know, train, you know, but. But
(13:00):
yeah, but it's a night and daydifference, so it's really cool.
And I know we talk about Tonya lot, but it's just, it's really
neat to see God working in hislife. But yeah, no, I'll just a quick
intro here. You can Visit usat AbundantLife FM. We do have a
donation option and I justimplemented a recurring donation
option. So for those of youthat would like to donate on a recurring
(13:21):
basis, you can do that now.And you can also visit us at. What
is it? Facebook and Instagram.We got some cool content coming out.
We've been using this cool AItool to YouTube send out. Yeah, and
YouTube as well. Send outthese cool reels and, and shorts.
So definitely check us out andyou can get, you can get pretty much
(13:41):
like our, our podcast contentin little bite sized snippets. You
know, it's kind of more of a,a bait and switch. I want you to
actually listen to the wholeepisode, but you can. You can go
get an idea of what the. Whatthe podcast is about.
You're hungry, you loan cash,you go to Costco, you get little
appetizers, right? You just.And you go around again. That's exactly
your kids.
I love it. It's the Costco advertiser.
(14:02):
Yeah, exactly. A little bit.Get a little piece, and hopefully
you go and buy the product.Right? Exactly.
Exactly.
The whole. The whole processof it. So. And thank you, Kennaloo
Air, for your donation. And Cody.
Yes, absolutely. Thank you.
I appreciate it.
I do think. Thank you forthat. And, yeah, so let's. Let's
jump into some content here. Ithink Sasso's got a key verse for
(14:24):
today, and we'll jump in.
Judge, we just said thisverse. Second Corinthians 5, 17.
The Bible says, therefore, ifany man be in Christ, he is a new
creature. Old things arepassed away. Behold, all things are
become new. We say this everyFriday. Freedom at last. That's one
of our key verses. Becausereally, your baptism, right when
you came out of the water,it's, behold, all things come, come
(14:46):
to you. And it's not like a,you know, physically you've changed,
per se, but it's just showingthe world, like, hey, I have decided
that, as our shirts would say,to follow Jesus. So if you want to
just share, like, hey, how hasGod worked in your life since, I
guess, since birth, Right. Tobring you here to this chair?
Oh, yeah. You could just talkabout your childhood a little bit.
(15:06):
Like, how was it like growingup? And, you know, there's a lot
there.
I know my. My childhoodinvolved gangs, drugs. It's a rough,
rough childhood, I guess, forsome people. I got jumped into a
gang at seven or eight yearsold. You know, I was. Jump out my
(15:28):
window in the middle of thenight and go hang out with friends
and do drugs. And, you know, Ithink when I was 12 years old, I
ended up going to juvenile fora year and a half for assault on
(15:48):
my principal. Two stolen cars.Two or three stolen cars. And when
I was in juvenile at AdobeMountain, yeah, we'd go to church,
and we'd have these ministerscome over and talk to us.
(16:08):
And.
I had this couple, Ed and hiswife Tony, that took a liking to
me, and they would come see meevery. Every week. You know, they'd
give me stuff to read in theBible. I'd go to my cell and, you
(16:30):
know, for that week, I wouldjust dive into it. And the next week,
I'd go and see them at churchand we'd go over what I read and
that's how I started knowingGod. And.
Was that your firstintroduction to spiritual things
or had your parents ever takenyou to church prior to that?
(16:51):
No, never. We weren't a churchfamily. You know, they're Mexican.
So, you know, everything forMexican is, you know, God willing
and thank God and con el FAbor de Dios, you know, But I mean,
they, I don't know if they'veever stepped into a church, but everything
(17:13):
for them is, you know,somewhere along the lines of thank
God and God willing and pray,mijo, pray. Even though I've never
seen them do that. But. So,yeah, that was the first time. And
then when I got out, Ed hadwent and visited me at my house,
(17:37):
like the day that I got outand took me to the church and showed
me the people that he saidwere praying for me the whole time
that I was in there. And 21days later, I ended up back in jail
for stolen car and a highspeed chase. And I ended up going
(17:57):
back for another year and ahalf. And that's just been my life.
In and out of jail since I was11, 12 years old. And you know, when
I became an adult, 18 yearsold, I got out of juvenile with the,
(18:21):
with a warrant and started thewhole process again. Ended up going
to prison for 14 years. Had adrug habit in there. And I think
it was nine years into mysentence, I was just at an all time
(18:43):
low that I hadn't ever seenbefore. And I just remember praying,
just praying hard, you know,every night on my knees, just asking
God to help me, to save me,to, to give me the strength, just
give me the strength to just,you know, get sober in there. And
(19:10):
a couple weeks later we, Acouple weeks later I ended up in
the hospital for, for a numberof things. I had a valley fever,
pneumonia, endocarditis. Oneof my heart valves was infected.
And when I went to medical,they had, I was like, I got a fever,
(19:37):
just give me something toknock my fever down and put me back
in my cell. And it was shiftchange, so I had all the nurses from
day shift and all the nursesfrom night shift and I had the provider
there and they're like, dude,you got a heart infection probably
(19:58):
from doing drugs. And I waslike, oh, you, you're incompetent
and you don't know what you'retalking about. And only reason you're
working out of prison isbecause you couldn't cut it in, in
the hospital.
Yeah, let's help this guy.
Yeah. And I'm like, no, I'mnot going to the hospital. I'm like,
put me back myself. And I'mlike, you don't know what you're
(20:19):
talking about. And she's like,all right, you don't. You don't have
to go, but you're gonna go onsuicide watch. And I was like, suicide?
What are you talking about?And she's like, yeah. She's like,
I have the power to put you insuicide watch because you're not
taking care of yourself, andwe have to keep an eye on you. And
(20:40):
I was like, oh, man. I'm like,suicide watch. I'm like, that's like
72 hours. I'm like, withnothing in my cell, and it's gonna
be cold. I'm like, like, I goto the hospital, you know, Prove
her wrong and send me rightback. I'm like, all right, fine.
I'll go to the hospital, youknow? And I went to the hospital,
(21:00):
and they ran some tests, andthey came back, and they're like,
I don't know how you'rewalking, you know, they're like,
you got valley fever. You gotpneumonia. They're like, and you're.
You got a heart infection. AndI was like, all right, so what's
(21:20):
the next step? You know? Andthen they're like, oh, we're gonna
run some pretty heavyantibiotics through your body, and
if. If that works and gets youcleared up, they're like, we'll send
you back. I'm like, that'sgonna work. You know, it's like,
antibiotics, like, cureeverything. And I think, like, a
(21:44):
day or two later, they'relike, it's not doing anything. They're
like, we're gonna have to doheart surgery on you. And I was.
I was 32, and I was like,heart surgery? I'm like, man, nobody
even knows I'm here. I'm like,not a family member, not a friend,
not even my neighbor in theprison that I had just. I was just
(22:08):
at. You know, I was like,nobody knows what's going on. And
I was like, well, can I make aphone call? Like, just let somebody
know, you know, just in case Idie. Like, they know, like, what
happened. And they're like,yeah, sure. So they pushed my heart
surgery back one day because Iwanted to make a phone call, and
(22:30):
nobody answered. I couldn'tget a hold of anybody. And so the
next day, they came to do.Pulled me out for my heart surgery,
and again, I was like, no, no,no, no. Hold on. Let me make A phone
call, you know, and again,couldn't get anybody. And finally
the insurance people came in,and they're like, either you go in
(22:55):
for this surgery or, like. Oryou go back to prison. I'm like,
fine, I'll go back. I'm like,what's gonna happen if I go back?
They're like, you're gonna bedead in a day. Wow. So I was like,
all right, I'll do the heartsurgery. And I did it. And they fixed
me up. I came out with noextra parts or anything, and. And
(23:22):
I just remember laying in my.My bed at the hospital, like, recovery
or. Yeah, well, I had valleyfever and pneumonia, too, so if everything
would have been fine, I wouldhave been able to go back to the
infirmary in prison, like, aday or two later. But after their
(23:42):
surgery, my whole body swelledup, and they couldn't figure out
what it was. So they went, putme back down again, put a camera
down my throat, looked at myheart to see if they messed something
up. And they're like, your.Your heart's leaking still. It's
(24:03):
got, like, a little whole.They're like. But shouldn't be anything
to where your whole body'sswelling up. And they ended up taking,
like, three liters or, like aliter, then like, two more liters
of fluid out of my lungs fromthe pneumonia. And so I ended up
(24:26):
staying at the hospital for,like, three weeks. And. And they're
like, you're costing us a lotof money. And they're like, brass
tax. Yeah. They're like. I'mlike, all right, well, send me back,
you know, and. But I rememberlaying in the hospital and flicking
(24:48):
through channels. You know, Ihad two guards on me, and I'm eating
good food. You know, thathospital had, like, a chef that knew
what he was doing, and I justhad, like, a. A peaceful, like, calm
(25:09):
feeling just sweep over me,you know? And I just remember laying
in bed, and it just hit me. Iwas like, oh, I prayed for this.
You know, I. I prayed. I'vebeen praying hard, like. Like, I'm
finally sober. Hadn't beensober in years. And it was just like,
(25:35):
you're real. You know, it'sjust like. You know, a lot of times
you pray, and, you know, youdon't hear God talk back to you or,
you know, you're looking for asign, you know, that, like, just
let me know you're real. Letme know, like, you're listening.
(25:56):
And for me, he, like, spokeloudly. He's like, all right, you
know, like, I heard yourPrayer and I answered it. I wasn't
expecting heart surgery, youknow, but you know, they say God
works in mysterious ways. Andfor me I was like, dude, I'm like,
(26:18):
I prayed for this. I'm like,he answered my prayer, you know,
and I went back to prison andstill slipped back to my old ways
a little bit. But by that timethe transformation had already started.
And probably a couple yearslater I ended up walking away from
(26:45):
gangs and getting myself readyfor, for when I was getting out,
you know, mentally preparing.And I was just talking to my father
in law about this the otherday and like, I don't, I don't really
deal with addiction like a lotof people do. You know, a lot of
(27:09):
people, you know, they haveprograms or things that, that work
for them and you know, somepeople and whatever works for somebody,
you know, for their sobriety,you know, good for them. But I'm
not like a day to day kind ofperson tour. I'm like been sober
for like 1500 and some days.Like it's just not anything that
(27:33):
I ever think about, you know.And for me it's like I just feel
like God just cured me on, onthat level to where it's not something
that I struggle with, it's notsomething that I think about. Like
yeah, it was a big part of mylife, but it's just like he erased
(27:56):
it. Just took it all away.
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And I got out and I wasworking in behavioral health and
(28:44):
psych and detox.
And were you drawn to thatbecause of your past or.
No. I didn't even know whatpsych and detox was really. I didn't
know they had facilities likethat that help people. I got out,
I was working with a friend ofmine, he works in like hot rods,
(29:05):
like wiring cars and stuff.And, and my cousin was working at,
at one of these facilities andhe showed him the Check that he was
making. And it was duringCOVID So, yeah, I was making like,
(29:32):
I don't know, thousand dollarsevery couple weeks or something,
you know, and he was making alot more than me. And I was like,
how do I get into that? Youknow? And he's, I can get you in.
He's, I'll just, just apply.And I did. So that's what initially
drew me to that. But then onceI started working there, I was just
(29:55):
really good at it, you know, Iwas just really good at it. A lot
of it was being able to relateto, to these people, you know, and
the facility that we worked atworks a lot with the homeless community,
you know, and a lot of thehomeless community comes from, you
(30:17):
know, prison culture, badchildhood, like trauma. And so when
people would come in on drugs,you know, I was able to talk to them,
relate to them. Some of themwould come in wilding out. And, you
(30:39):
know, for a lot of staff, somestaff that don't know how to deal
with that kind of aggression,you know, it's pretty scary. But
for me, come. I'm like, bro,chill out. You know, I'm like. And
you know, some of them see meand they're like, come here. Like,
I'll talk to you, you know,so. So I think in some sort of way
(31:02):
it was like therapy for metoo, just to see people and what
people are going through andto see, you know, how God has blessed
me and, you know, where I'm atin life now and where I could be,
you know, I'm like, that couldbe me right there, you know, and
(31:23):
it's not. So I did that forfour and a half years. That's where
I met my wife Alex. Workedside by side for about four years.
And about a year ago, lastyear, met Ivan and Karen, my. Her
(31:50):
parents, and they invited meto church and it was something that
me and Alex were looking for.So, yeah, it was last Easter and
we've been going strong eversince. And it's just for me, it's,
you know, God's been with meand working with me even when I wasn't
(32:15):
working on myself. You know,it's just that he's just been showing
up in my life at, you know,key points and putting people in
my life that, you know, now Ihave a church family and never had
that before. And now I'm astay at home dad, you know, just
(32:37):
stay at home, take care, takecare of my son.
And. And then you hadmentioned the other night when you.
Freedom, the last right youhad made a testimony and you just
said, I'm thankful for myfamily, thankful for, you know, because
the way things are, becauseit's not, not been that way. In what
ways has it changed from. Orwould you look back at your life
(33:00):
and say like I can look backand say I couldn't imagine myself
where I'm at now. Like whathas God done in your life?
These just changed my wholeoutlook on, for one, I'm a lot more
patient, a lot more mature. Ijust, I'm just grateful. You know,
(33:36):
before I think I was a littleungrateful, you know, just bad kid,
you know, I had no respect fora lot of things. And you know, now,
you know, taking me from beingin a 7 by 11 cell, pretty much, you
(33:59):
know, know a, a bathroom towhere now I got a, I got a wife,
I got a family, got peoplethat care about me. And that's just
something that I don't want tolose. You know, I feel like I have
a good relationship with Godright now, that, that I don't want
(34:23):
to mess up either. You know, Idon't wanna, you know, mess anything
up with him or feel like I'm,you know, spitting in his face and
being, you know, disrespectfulfor, for anything. He's, he's been
so good to me. Yeah, I thinkI'm just able to see these things
(34:46):
now. I wasn't mature backthen, you know, and. Yeah.
Do you feel you came to Christwhen you were in the hospital? Like
that was a moment where youaccepted him?
I think so, yeah. I can't giveyou like an exact date, but I think
(35:06):
for me that's when I think hestarted working on me from when I
was, you know, 12 and youknow, the gospel came to me and in
bits and pieces, nieces alongthe way. And then I think for me
that was a key moment in my life.
And did you have a Bible? Didthey give you a Bible when you were
(35:27):
12 years old?
Yeah, I did. When I wasyounger in juvenile, I used to read
as an adult when I went toprison, I didn't read it for a long
time.
And so as you look back onyour life, I mean, what, what would
you say to somebody that were,that was you when you were a kid?
(35:53):
Like if you could talk toyourself, the, the, the, the new
creature, the mature JJ,talking back to that 8 year old when
you got jumped in, like, whatwould you say to that kid?
And you kind of will, right?Because you have, you, you have a
newborn. So that's what you'regoing to.
Right, Right.
(36:17):
Man, I don't know. I think Iwould just tell him, you know, you're
going to have some people thatcome into your life and, you know,
(36:38):
try to, you know, some peoplethat come into your life and want
good for you and, you know,share the good word with you and,
you know, just listen to thosepeople and just stick by those people,
you know, like, everything wasthere for me. You know, somebody
took an interest in me and,and, and. And try to mentor me at
(37:02):
an early age, and all I had todo was just behave and stick by them,
and I think my life would havebeen different, you know?
Do you still have contact withthem at all?
Oh, I tried to look them up. Icouldn't find them.
Well, if they're listening tothe podcast or somebody. Somebody
(37:22):
knows these people.
Yeah, that would be pretty cool.
Get them up.
Yeah.
And it's funny because we. Youcame on Friday and you're like, hey,
how do you know. You knowJoseph, right? And I'm like, it's
funny how you, you know, howsmall, as you said, the world is
and that. That's kind ofsomething Tony said, too. Like, the,
you know, that kind of worldis smaller than what you think. There's
(37:43):
not a whole lot. And peopleknow about other people and.
Yeah.
And the circles that you go, yeah.
Yeah, it's a small world outthere, you know, and. And, you know,
for a lot of people, that'sall they know. And if they just,
you know, just take one stepfurther this way, there's like a
(38:06):
whole new world, you know? ButI had a friend that just got out
the other day after 19 years.That was my buddy. You know, he's.
We literally partners in crimeback then, you know, but me and Alex,
(38:27):
we went and we, you know, tookhim out to eat and, you know, just
check up on him and just tellhim, like, just do good out here,
you know, like, meet whateverthey need you to do and, you know,
start. Start experiencingthings, you know, Bum. I went and
picked him up on thereservation and I drove him back
(38:52):
to our house, and he was like,where are we at? Like, Peoria, the
west side? He's like, man,bro. He's all, I've. I've never been
out here. He said, I've neverbeen out this far. He said, the only
place I've been is to the Resin, like, central Phoenix. And I'm
(39:15):
like, I'm like, we got to getyou some places, bro.
Yeah, there's.
There's better Places too, youknow, I'm like, we'll start by taking
you fishing or something, youknow, he's all like, I remember I.
I used to like fishing as akid. I'm like, we'll take you to
Showo or Woods Canyon orsomething, you know? Sounds good
right now. Cool up there.Yeah. I'm like, that's. That's what
(39:38):
somebody did for me when, youknow, when I got out and I started
working at. At that facilityis we have some friend that just
loves to go fishing all thetime. He always takes everybody.
So took me to show low, tookme skiing, and just for me, it was
(39:58):
like new experiences andmeeting new people, you know, And
I think if you just stay stuckin that area, eventually, like, it's
gonna consume you, you know,that's all.
You know, you're just tryingto love on them at this point, you
know, Just.
Yeah, just let them know,like, bro, that life's played out.
Like you're too old, you know,like, you go back now, you. You're
(40:21):
never gonna get out, you know?Yeah. So I think just that trying
to help somebody, you know, Igot help, so I think that's pretty
good.
I think that's the beauty of.To me, salvation and sanctification
is so you get out of hell,right? That's what some people get
(40:43):
saved for. But then you getthat relationship where he's there
with you every day. And youhad said, I think, you know, immature
Christians, they. We do,right, because we want things or
we want God's blessing. Andthen the more mature you get, you
do things because you don'twant to break the relationship, just
like your wife, right? Youdon't want to harm that what you
got because, you know, it'sgood. And, you know, whatever else
(41:06):
is out there is just a fool'sgold. It's not really. It's not real,
to be honest. Like drugs,right? It's there and it's. It vanishes
away. So do you have for. Forour listeners that are listening
to your story? And how wouldyou say God's working in your life,
like, today? Like, what is.What does that look like? Like, what
do you have? I don't know, amission or a goal or I want to reach
(41:29):
my friends, or I just, youknow, I'm trying to be the best Christian
and develop.
I think he's definitely, youknow, he's never gonna put you. Put
more on you than you canhandle, you know, and he took me
(41:50):
out of a bad place, a placewhere there's a lot of people that
are stuck in right now, youknow, and they. They don't know how
to move forward from that. AndI think he has a plan for me and
to reach some people, youknow, I just don't. Don't know how
(42:12):
yet, but. But I. I reach outto some people that, you know, I'm
like, if he could just dogood, you know, and I could help
somebody. And I think I'll bedoing my. My part, you know, One.
One big thing is when I gotout, I got pulled over by a gang
(42:34):
unit. And.
When you got out of prison?
Yeah, I got put over by thegang unit, and in Mesa, I was on
a. On a motorcycle, on alittle crotch rocket, and. And the
person that pulled me over,like, where are you coming from?
I'm like, the Res. And he'slike, okay, he caught another unit,
(42:57):
somebody else that wasfamiliar with the Res. And he said,
what's your name? And I waslike, jj. He says, erasmo. I'm like,
man, how do you know me? I'mlike, I've been. I've been gone for
14 years. I'm like, I'm not apart of anything. I'm like. Like,
I walked away from that life,you know? And he was just like, man,
(43:20):
he's. I can't believe I'mhearing you talk like this. He said,
you used to be crazy, dude.I'm like, yeah, man. I'm like, not
a part of that, you know? I'mlike, I'm just looking for the barbershop.
And. And he asked me to. IfI'd be willing to talk to his officers,
like, rookie officers thathave, like, an interest in gangs
(43:42):
or. Or just want to understandit better, and that I would be helping
them, because when they pullover, somebody that looks like me,
not everybody's doing badthings, you know? And turns out he's
a Christian, and he was therewhen I got baptized.
(44:04):
So he came to your baptism?
Yeah, he's my friend, and I'vedone talks with him at police academy.
We went and talked to at riskyouth at high schools, some human
trafficking programs. But it'sjust another example of, you know,
(44:29):
God putting these people in mylife like, that are Christians, that
it's just by chance that it'sjust that's the way it worked out.
You know, My friend thatpicked me up, he's always been a
believer and a brother inChrist and. And then, you know, a
(44:54):
cop, somebody that was on theother end of things, you know, he
was there. He's like, dude,he's like, I know your whole history,
like your stuff from this cityto that city. He's always there when
you got arrested and, and now,you know, we make dinner plans and
go see him and his wife and,you know, know he was there for.
(45:16):
When I told him I was gettingbaptized, he's like, he said, I wouldn't
miss that, you know, he said,I'll be, I'll be, I'll be there,
you know. Yeah, so.
So he's seeing the transformation.
Yeah.
From.
Yeah, yeah.
I'm Rebecca Mendez withLamplight Ministries, where I serve
the Lord by loving others.Through biblical counseling and workshops.
(45:39):
Every day we're reminded ofour fallen world, world through disappointment,
grief, fear, despair. We needa Savior. And in Jesus Christ, we
have that Savior. He came torescue us, offering his spirit to
guide us and his word tocomfort, correct and lead us. If
you're a follower of Christ,eager to grow in him, I'd be honored
(46:02):
to walk this journey with youthrough one on one biblical counseling.
Together we'll explore God'sword, find encouragement, and pursue
faithful obedience to ourSavior. Please Visit me at lamplightministries.com
to book your appointment today.
I mean, I think, you know, youkind of already said it. It's your
(46:25):
story, it's your experienceand everything that encapsulates
your past that you can sharewith other people and relate to people
and then bridge that gapbetween where they're at and Christ
like that. I think that's kindof where God has put you. I mean,
you're saying, like, you'retalking to cops, you're talking to
people in juvie, you know,maybe in, maybe in prison or, or,
(46:48):
you know, somebody on thestreets or even, even when you had,
you know, you were working at,at the behavioral health, you know,
you could relate to thesepeople. And I don't know how much,
you know, you can talk aboutChrist in that, you know, in that,
in that realm or whatever, butI think God's put you in a pretty
interesting position becauseyou have a platform because of, because
(47:10):
of where you've been and whatyou've done. And like you said, you're
not glorifying any of that,but you can, you can bridge that
gap because you can relate topeople. And I think that's powerful.
This story is powerful. Eventhis podcast is going to go out.
I mean, people are going tohear it and be able to share that
because people will relate. Ormaybe they know a family member,
you know, somebody's in, ingangs or in drugs or you Know, into.
(47:31):
Into some crazy stuff, andthey'll share the podcast, you know,
So, I mean, it's. It'spowerful, bro. Like, your story is
very powerful. God'stransformed your life. I mean, he's.
He's giving you new life, andhe's giving you an opportunity now
to. To share your story.
Yeah, I think a lot of people,too, that know me from back then,
and, like, my. My friend thatI went and picked up the other day,
(47:55):
we took him out to eat. Hejust kept telling my wife, he's like,
I don't know this dude righthere, you know, he's like. Like,
he wasn't like this before,you know, And I'm like, man, like,
you can do it, too, you know,Like. Like, just stop. You know,
(48:17):
like that life's, you know,behind you and. Or like Tony, you
know, like, when I seen himthe first time I had freedom, that
last. It just somebody thatyou could relate to that's, you know,
it's like, oh, that dude'slike me, you know, and he's talking
(48:37):
different stuff than what youwould think would come out of my
mouth, you know? Know, I justthink it would help.
Some people, and I think thatnight you shared your testimony,
too, and I thought that waspowerful, and he related to that,
and. And I think that's whatGod. God saves everybody. Some people,
you know, maybe Ivan didn't doall these crazy things, but God still
(48:58):
saved him from somethinghimself, right? And God gives us.
Gives everyone a story torelate to different people. And so
just a quick question. Why didhe pull you over? Why did the cop
pull you over?
They were doing a. A sting.They were doing an investigation
(49:19):
on the Hell's Angels, on themotorcycle gang. And here I am, full
of tattoos on a motorcycle,and I had pulled over into an empty
parking lot to Google andaddress the barbershop. So I'm on
a motorcycle, so I had it inmy waistband. So I got out and I,
(49:41):
you know, googled the address,and I'm like, oh, okay, I know where
it's at. There's only one carin the parking lot, but it was dusty
and dirty, and I didn't knowanybody was in it. It was an undercover
car. So when I started themotorcycle up to leave, I felt like
somebody walking up on me. AndI turned, and it was. It was a gang
unit. And I was like. Like, Iwas like this. I was like, oh. Like,
(50:05):
I. I was just looking for thebarbershop. I'm like. Even though
I wasn't doing anything wrong,it Was just old habits. Like, just
I was like, oh man, you know.And yeah, so he's a good friend of
mine now, my father in law,he's played a big role since he's
(50:29):
came into my life. Him andKaren, my mother in law, they've
just been very warm andwelcoming to me and have never made
me feel any kind of way. Youknow, sometimes, you know, I still
walk into some places and Iknow how I look and I know the looks
I get and try to smile atpeople. People like, you know, it's
(50:54):
okay, you know, like hedoesn't bite. Yeah. Just here to
get some groceries, you know.Yeah. So I think that's pretty cool.
And you know, the church eversince, you know, I don't think anybody
at church looks like me, youknow, so. And everybody, everybody's
(51:14):
just been very warm andwelcoming and just makes you feel
comfortable, you know. I thinkthat's pretty big too, is like. So
I told Alex, I'm like, oh, Ilike it here. You know, I feel comfortable.
Like I don't feel no pressureand anybody, you know, treats me
any different.
You know, I don't think Godwould have us to treat people because
(51:37):
he doesn't see you different.Right. He sees you as a born again
child of God. Right. Which weall are, whether we have a suit on
or whether you come in shortsand man judges. But God looks on
the heart. Yeah. As you know,he did, David. And I think of Romans
8:28, that all things worktogether for good to those that love
God. Right. So that, and thenthe Romans 8:29 talks that we might
(51:59):
be conformed to the image ofhis son, that he allows things in
our life to conform us andeven our sin of our past, he's able
to use those tools to shape usand to use it for his glory. And
just for you to look at youryounger self, right. You're 12 years
old and you're saying, one dayI'm going to be back here talking
to, you know, other peoplejust like me. You would like. No,
(52:22):
that's, that's never going tohappen. But how he is just awesome
at restoring life and usingyou in ways that you never would
have thought he would use you.
Yeah, yeah. I hadn't, I hadn'tmade, I had. Haven't made it to talk
to the kids at juvenile. Butthe opportunity did sort of present
(52:45):
itself through my, my friendCrossle, the, the detective. He's
like, hey, would you beinterested in talking to. Going up
to Adobe Mountain? And I'mlike, yeah, I'm like. It's like my
childhood right there, youknow, I'm like, I spent like, three
(53:07):
and a half years of my life inthere. I'm like, to go back and.
And to talk to these kids andtell them, like, just stop right
now, you know, and just showthem that, you know, what God has
done for me. And, I mean,crossload, too. You know, he's. He's
going to school right now. Hejust texted me earlier. Forgot what
(53:31):
he's going for. He's goingback to school for his Master of
Arts and religion with anemphasis on pastoral counseling,
so. So he's looking to dogood, too, you know, And. And just
(53:54):
if me and him could go talk topeople, you know, I think that's.
To see, you know, both sidesof. Of the coin, you know. You know,
law enforcement with, youknow, somebody with, you know, my
criminal background. I thinkthat for a lot of people, just, like,
(54:15):
how'd you guys end uptogether? You know?
God.
Exactly, exactly, exactly.
Just as he pulled you over,right? That's not a mistake that
God had you pull over, pullout your phone. God planned all that.
Yeah, that's crazy time. Yeah,we talk about that all the time.
We go out to eat, and he'sjust. He just tells me, you know,
(54:39):
he's like, I'm grateful for.For our friendship. You know, he
says, this is not normal. Youknow, this is not a normal thing.
And. And, yeah, you know, hesays, I just. Same thing. He said.
I always just think, like,what are the chances of all these
things that happen to. To lineup the way they did? It's just. God,
(55:08):
you know, you can't. There'sno other explanation for it. I remember
me and Alex, we wereoriginally planning on getting married
in Italy, and he was going togo and fly out and officiate the
wedding. Wow. And we wanted tosend him the wedding invitation,
(55:30):
but at this point, I only hadhis work phone. And I'm like. I'm
like, how do I ask him for hisaddress? I'm like. Or do I tell him,
like, just meet up and justdrop the card? I'm like, I don't
know if he wants me knowingwhere he lives, you know, and I'm
just gonna ask him and see.See what he says. And I'm like, hey,
(55:52):
Cross. So we have thisinvitation for you. You want us to
mail it to you or drop it offat the office? Or like, how do we
do this in. And he sent me hisaddress. And I was like, oh, you
know, I was like, we're friends.
Yeah, you're in, bro.
(56:12):
Alex. I'm like, I have hisaddress. I'm like, he gave me his
address. And, yeah, I think wewere both, like, just shocked. And
we're like, he let me knowwhere he lives, you know, and then
it's just another big moment.And then one day he says, hey, dude,
don't. Don't text that numberno more. He's like, this is my personal
(56:33):
number. I'm like, anothermilestone, you know?
Was that like, his work phone or.
Yeah, it was his work phone.And he went from working in the gang
unit and then to some sort of,like, peer support program for. For
cops. I don't know exactly thedetails of it, but, yeah, so gave
(56:54):
me his personal number, and Iwas just. Another milestone. Like,
when he was going to officiatethe wedding, though, he had to get,
you know, permission from hisboss because can't be, you know,
socializing with criminals,you know, and. And they're like,
yeah, they gave him the okayand they said, yeah, no, I think
(57:16):
this is. This is good. Youknow, it's something healthy. And.
Yeah, just pretty big.
What a mind blow, right. Tothink that the guy that would be
there for some of your arrestwould be the one that would marry
you.
Yeah.
And give you his personal photo.
We didn't make it to that. Weended up changing the whole plans,
(57:37):
but just the fact that he. Hewas willing to go and that he was
going to do it and, I mean,just drew us so much closer. That's
cool.
And he watched your baptism? Came.
Yeah, yeah, he came for that.Then we went out to eat after that,
and he. He gave me a Bible, soI thought that was pretty cool. Just
(58:00):
another thing, you know, thatI'm grateful for, and I just don't
want to mess up, you know, I'mlike. Like, these are good people
that I got in my life that Ididn't have before. You know, my
sister for the longest. I'lltext her in the morning. I'm like,
hey, good morning, sis. Howyou doing? She's like, are you okay?
Is everything okay? Whathappened? I'm like, nothing.
(58:24):
Say good morning.
Yeah, I'm like, I've been outfour years now. Like. And she's like,
oh, okay. So, good morning.
She is like, ptsd, high alert.
Yeah, she's a stress bull box anytime.
Just send her good morning.Send her a Bible verse. You know
what I mean?
If I'm texting you, we're.We're good.
(58:45):
Yeah. Yeah.
That's cool.
Do you do you.
You meet with Ivan Pretty fre.I know Ivan. You know, he's pretty.
Very, very knowledgeable withthe scriptures. And he's a good teacher,
too. I mean, I meet with himon Sunday night sometimes, and I
do.
He. He's. He. He's been a biginfluence in my life in the last
(59:10):
year. You know, meet up everyMonday, comes over for Bible study.
Yeah, he's father figure in mylife right now. You know, something
that I've never had, you know,somebody take that kind of interest
in me and just, like, reallycare for me, you know? Yeah.
(59:36):
Anything you want to. Anyfinal thoughts you want to share
about your life or aboutadvice or.
No.
Well, I mean, that's apowerful story, man. I mean, I think
you have a. Quite an amazingtestimony and, you know, we talk
about it all the time. Youknow, it's whether you have a past
(59:58):
like you do, or you have apast like, say, Pastor Shaw, where
he got saved when he was fouryears old. I mean, in either scenario,
before Christ, you're dead.You know what I mean? Before Christ,
you need a savior, and itdoesn't matter what your past is,
but I think your story is verypowerful in the fact that you can
relate to a lot of people inthe culture that's out there right
(01:00:21):
now, and you. It's somethingyou can share. I think God's got
some. Some big plans for you, bro.
Yeah. Yeah. Hopefully, youknow, hopefully I can get out there
and help some people and, youknow, bring them to Christ, and I
just. Maybe it's ahead, you know?
(01:00:41):
Well, and he's already usingyou, right? I mean, that's. I don't
want to walk past that either,where he's already.
Oh, yeah.
And he's orchestrated allthese things in your life, right
to this.
Yeah. I just think there's a.There's still a bigger plan out there
that I just haven't seen yet.You know, I'm just. Just. I'm taking
(01:01:02):
it all in as I go.
And that's what Proverbs 3, 5,and 6, right? We trust in the Lord
with all our heart and leannot to our own understanding. And
then he says, in all thy ways,acknowledge him, and he will direct
your path. And he doesn'tpromise to. To be a spotlight, but
he does promise to be a light.And if you're holding the flashlight,
I mean, I just did the GrandCanyon pitch black and. Right. You
can only see not too far infront of you, but he knows that whole
(01:01:25):
future, but he just guides thestep for today. The step for tomorrow,
the step for the day after.And it's just every day. And how
just. I mean, looking. If Iwere you looking back, I'd be blown
away by. I never would have thought.
I am. Yeah.
It's crazy. Yeah.
Alex has went and done. Whenshe's went with me to their police
(01:01:48):
academy, when I went to gotalk to officers, and she's went
with me to high school, towhere I talked to like four or five
classes, just back to back. Itwas a little redundant. But Crosser
(01:02:09):
was telling her, did you knowall this about him? Because, you
know, he puts my picture up ona. Like on a slide, a PowerPoint
or something. Yeah. And thenwe just go back and forth and he
tells Alex, like, you know,she's like. He tells me like, I know,
but I just can't picture himdoing any of this, you know, just
because it's. It's not meanymore, you know, that new creature.
(01:02:32):
Yeah. It's just a rare thing. Yeah.
Any final thoughts?
No. I really appreciate youcoming on and sharing your story
and your testimony. And thispodcast is to give. Encourage believers,
but also give people hope. Somaybe they have somebody that they
know in their life that theyquit praying for because they feel
(01:02:52):
like it's a hopeless situationand it's not right. As long as you
have air in your lungs, God isable to work even from a hospital
bed where you thought you wereokay, and a day later you would have
been dead. But God says, nope,that's not the end for you and prison
will not end for you either.And I even think my own, you know,
family that, you know, it'sjust funny how that's. It's full
(01:03:12):
circle. And I even shared withyou, like, hey, my older cousin that
you used to hang out with gotsaved and sent you his baptism and
that's. That was mind blowingwhen he came to Christ. And then
people probably feel the sameabout you. So just. Our God is awesome.
Amen. Well, thanks, everybody,for listening. If you do us a big
favor and, like, subscribe ifthis podcast episode's been a blessing
(01:03:36):
to you again, you can Visit usat AbundantLife FM and thank you
for listening and we'll seeyou in the next episode.
And if you know JJ from backin the day, 12 years old, hit us
up.
Say what's up. Thanks, guys.
We'll see you later.
Thank you for listening to theAbundant Life podcast. We pray you
(01:03:56):
were blessed by today'sepisode. Please visit us online at
AbundantLife FM. Until nexttime, May God bless you.
Foreign.
Welcome to the Abundant LifePodcast, bringing you encouragement
and challenging believers tospiritual change and growth by applying
biblical principles toeveryday life. And now your hosts,
Sasso Mendez and Ben Arellano.Welcome, everybody, to the Abundant
(00:21):
Life Podcast. This is episodenumber 68. I'm here with my good
friend and faithful servant inthe faith, Sasso Mendez.
What up, Ben? We have aspecial guest today, sir.
When you want to introduce him?
All right, we have JJ comingall the way from. I don't know, where'd
you come from, jj?
Down the street.
Down the street. Okay. Did youeven walk, though? Did you?
No, it's 14, 15 minute drive.
Oh, okay. Do you live on thisside of town or.
(00:42):
Yeah, 75th Ave. Oh, okay. 75thand Bell.
All right, cuz I seen you atthe fries on 67th. 67th. Thank you.
So you're close to that? Yeah,close to the mall.
Like three minutes from there.
All right, nice. You have anice view for the fireworks coming
up on the fourth.
Oh, yeah, that's right.
Yeah.
Sports complex.
Yeah, right there.
(01:03):
Yeah.
Okay. Well, we talk about foodduring this time. Is there a particular
food you like or your favoritetype of food or favorite food?
I eat everything. I lovesteak, but I also love ramen noodles.
I just. My daughter likes togo eat ramen, but it's like 20 bucks
(01:23):
when you go eat it because ithas pork belly. But I'm like, I don't
like to pay 20 bucks forsomething that you can buy it. 3,
4.99 or something like that.
Be like 10 cents a packet, bro.
I know.
Inflation, bro.
With the bugs in them. Yeah.For free.
I seen that video. That'spretty crazy.
With the microscope.
Do you think that's real?
No, no, no. And plus, you putboiling water.
(01:43):
That's what I was going tosay. Yeah.
Like some of the stuff we eat.
Yeah. You cook it anyways.
Yeah.
So do you eat it with an eggor do you just eat it? Just ramen
noodles.
So I can. I ate ramen noodlesfor 14 years every which way possible.
So I can make you some ramennoodles that you would just be just
flabbergasted by it. Like,how'd you make this? You know? Can
(02:05):
make you ramen noodles withsummer sausage, with beans, with
cheese, in a taman.
What that is, it's cuttingedge. Would you consider opening
your restaurant?
No.
Ramen Every which way.
JJ's ramen.
I'm trying to lose weight.
(02:26):
Well, you don't have to gethigh if your own supply, you know.
It happens.
Do you put an egg in there orno egg?
I have boiled eggs.
Yeah, yeah, this is the best.
Yeah, yeah. Put boiled egg inthere, some hot pepper flakes, some
cheese, some crunched uptortilla chips.
(02:48):
Like a wonton. Because I got abuddy that, you know, he's doing
some time and they have, like,Saturday nights is Chinese night,
and they make orange chickenout of orange packets from somewhere.
Yeah, I've seen them do itwith. They got a whole with mackerel
fish and Mackerel fish andKool Aid packs and. Yeah, they're
(03:12):
creative in there.
I was surprised he said, yeah,it's a pretty big deal that we have
on.
Yeah.
On Saturday nights. So. So youlike. So what, what's your favorite
food? Like you're on death row.
My favorite food. I like kingcrab legs, oysters.
(03:34):
It's your man of the sea steak.
I like steak too. Like turf.
Like, what's your favoritesteakhouse, would you say?
Favorite steakhouse? I thinkmy wife makes pretty good steak.
(03:56):
It's hard to do, but she'smaking on the grill or on the stove.
Yeah, like sear it. She searsit and cooks it in the oven.
Make it.
Yeah. But I think the beststeak I've had was probably at Gordon
Ramsay's restaurant in Vegas.It was a five wagu with a foie gras
(04:24):
on top. That was.
Sounds good.
Yeah, sounds pretty fancy. Ithought you're gonna say Texas roadhouse
or something delicious.
No, Texas roadhouse is good, though.
I'm hungry. It's four hoursaway, bro. You know, we could hit
that podcast.
You know, can we look up someflights here on. Catch a quick flight,
head back, get a waymo over.Yeah, I gotta bring my computer.
(04:46):
I'm working from home today.All right, well, you know, we. We
call us the Taco twins. Ben'smore of a street taco guy. I like
hard. You know, hard shell.That's. I grew up with hard shell
tacos.
Taco Bell, actually.
I grew up with Hardshell,believe it or not, too. But when
I got to Phoenix and I learnedabout street tacos because we don't
have those back home.
Where are you from?
New Mexico.
I was born in New Mexico.
Oh, really? Where at?
(05:06):
Hobbs.
Okay, cool. Silver City.
I don't know nothing about it.Which is. I was there for like three
months, and then they. Wemoved over here to Tucson.
Okay. Yeah, that's the crazypart, cuz. Tony was there, you know,
in Silver City, my hometown.
Mexico, too.
Where, Where. Where's that at?
It's a southwest Corner. So ifyou're. It's kind of off the beaten
path a little bit. So ifyou're going through, like, Lordsburg.
(05:27):
Okay, so I was over here inthis corner closest to Texas. You're
over here, closer to Arizona.
Exactly.
Okay.
Yeah. So. But yeah, I grew upwith hardshell tie. That's what my
mom made. So when I came here,I learned about street tacos, man.
I love street tacos, man.
Street tacos are al pastor.
It's my favorite.
It's pretty good.
Yes. It's got to be on thetrompo. It's got to have the pineapple
(05:48):
on top.
Do you like tripas?
I love tripas.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, me too.
I have to take him.
I said. I saw a smile come on his.
Face, like, oh, because we'regonna take him to Guadalajara.
Because I tell Alex about it,and she's like, can't do it. I'm
like, why not? She's like,it's count testing. I'm like, it's.
(06:09):
It's good. It's like it'scooked, you know?
Yeah. It's crunchy.
Especially if they crunch it.Yeah. Make it crunchy.
It's a delicacy.
It is.
I feel like the, you know, noshade on the. The lighter skin, the
less melanin people. But theydon't like three paws or menudo.
Like, it's.
It's chicharronas and ramen.
(06:30):
Oh, interesting. That's likepork baked pork belly, bro. But it's,
you know, a little crunchy.Pork belly.
Get the red pork rinds fromthe store.
The hot ones.
Get a summer sausage. Chop itup, dice it up, put it in your ramen.
Pretty legit.
Yeah. Yeah.
The. The pork rinds with thered powder on them.
(06:54):
What a trip.
Never thought of that one. Ilove those. Chichat one too. Those
are good. My wife loves them.
That you shout on.
Yeah. When we go on a roadtrip, that's. That's what we.
I got a Sam's big thing likethis at my desk, and it's like, this
much now. I think people havebeen dipping in there.
Yeah, it's probably Gustavo, bro.
He said it's disgusting. Iwon't eat that.
Yeah, but as soon as you walk away.
Yeah. He goes to Taco Bell.He's no prejudice about food.
(07:18):
The first time I went tofreedom, that last, you had brought
somebody, one of your coworkers with you.
That's Gustavo.
Oh, okay.
Kind of tall guy.
I can't remember.
He listens to the podcast Igot to keep. I gotta keep it pg.
So, yeah, that's Gustavo.He's. We've been doing the exchange
and he's stuck on lessonthree, so he can't get to that. Did
(07:40):
you. Have you redone theexchange or no. Okay. Just a four
week Bible study andprogressively, you know, get you
to make a decision aboutwhether you accept Christ or whether
you won't.
And just a little plug. Wewere actually on Pastor George's
podcast talking about theexchange a couple weeks ago. And
so check it out. I think it'sGospel Talks is the name of the podcast.
(08:01):
Is the exchange like somethingfrom Freedom that last.
No, there's a man named JeffMusgrave that puts. Puts the material
out. And Freedom at last is aman named Jim Berg. I think they're
two different circles. I don'tthink they're separate gangs. Christian
gangs. They roll differentsets, you know.
(08:24):
Yeah, George has a podcast, too.
He does the. The exchangepodcast. Gospel Talks. Gospel Talks.
And so he does. With the. Thetopic of the exchange. So people
that couldn't figure that lastthat want to do Bible study, we typically
will do it with them. Likethose two gentlemen that came on
(08:44):
Friday. Prime, like people forthe. Because people will mostly do
like, hey, I want to do Bible study.
The two people that came thatI was sitting next to, Cor, that
lives like one block away. Okay.
I don't know if I can say thename, but you know what I'm talking
about.
Yeah.
Just because they, like mostpeople will come and they'll be interested
(09:06):
in doing a Bible study, andthat's a good, you know, way to get
to know them and then a way tointroduce them into the gospel. And
some people, like the one ofthe guys that came on Friday said
he's never heard a Bible versein his life. He was like, I don't
know what you're talkingabout. Like, I've never seen a Bible
verse. Like, wow.
Yeah.
Living a block from the churchhis whole life, never heard about.
(09:26):
Wow. Yeah.
That's crazy.
Shame on us. Or shame on him.I don't know which one, but I was
kind of blown away by that.
I mean, it's a thing, you know?
Yeah. I mean, even in America,we have access to Bibles. It's not
common as we think.
How many do I have sitting onthe shelf right here? You know what
I mean?
I know.
Yeah.
I was telling JJ to get toyour house. You could just walk through
(09:47):
the church if you could, youknow, and you'd be right here.
Yeah.
Other side of the mountain Y.Yeah, Just bring your trekking poles
and you'd be. You'll be here.
Ben said he's still late for church.
I am.
I am.
You know, it's like we livelike literally two, three minutes
away.
And you're not as late as Iam, though. You know what I mean?
I was like nine, ten o' clock.I was there. Church.
I kind of wish Tony would showup early because, you know, Tony
would, like, clog up the row,you know what I'm saying? Because
(10:10):
I sit there and people kind ofstill look over me and stuff. But
Tony's sitting there, bro.
They.
They don't even want to messwith them.
No.
They're like, no, let's go tothe next road.
Yeah.
Careful, honey.
He makes a church, like, holdon to your purse. Half eclipse, you
know what I mean? When hestands up. You know what I mean?
£330.
I know, man.
It's a lot of.
It's all among the Jews, bro.I'm telling you.
I just remember when he satdown, he's like, dang, that chair's
(10:30):
strong.
Well, it's funny because I sawhim sitting. He was. He sat one in
this time. So he was sittingbetween you and someone else, right?
So like.
Yeah, Isaiah.
That was Isaiah. Well, that'sokay because Isaiah, like, takes
up half a seat. You know whatI mean?
It's £110.
Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, no bigdeal there.
His whole body's one cheek forTony, pretty much. You know what
(10:51):
I mean? It's pretty bad.Pretty bad, but yeah, well.
So how far does Tony live from here?
Tony lives on 23rd inGlendale. So not close, but not too
far, ladies.
He's single.
Just saying.
Yeah, he is single.
Just throwing that out there.
I'm not even going to say hispickup lines, but yeah. Oh, no.
And you should have seen whathe sent me today on. On YouTube.
(11:14):
Like, bro, come on.
Okay. The guy.
It was hot dogs. Yeah. Well,no. Yeah. Something different. Okay,
I'll show you later.
He's. He's out of boundssometimes with these.
Yeah. I'm like, bro. I waslike, that's funny. But, yeah, I
was wrong on so many levels,dude. Like, why you send that to
me, Dude?
He's. He's growing through thesanctification process.
Yes.
He's not there yet.
(11:34):
He's. We're all there, right?We're all. We're all being sanctified,
man.
So.
And just to transition into. Imean, I know you got something to
say. As far as before we getinto the content of the podcast,
but, you know, I was really.You came to freedom that last. I
really, I mean, I didn't knowyou per se and I mean, I seen you
around, but. And then you justkind of shared your testimony in
(11:55):
group. And I think Tony wasfairly new. He had just started coming
at that point and he wasn'tsaved. Right. And so, you know, that
night is. I kind of, you know,I could see like, I understood like
what he was saying. And somepeople you bring and they're just
like, you know, Bible versesis just foreign idea too.
Right.
And then Tony was kind ofhungry. He'd kind of been, yeah,
(12:16):
yeah, he's hungry. Yeah, hewas hungry for it. So he was kind
of set up for it. But that'swhy I said, man, we got to have JJ
on the podcast. And then yougot baptized and yeah, we had somebody
over last week and they'relike, yeah, that was a great testimony
that blessed me. I said, well,we're gonna have them on the podcast
next week. So you can list thepodcast and like, and subscribe if
you want to and grow the show.But go ahead, Ben. The.
(12:40):
Yeah, I would just say too,you know, JJ and I were talking too
about Tony and just thedifference we've seen in the past
year because he saw him atthat point when he first came and
then to see him now, you know,to where he's at after, even after
salvation. Like, I mean, it'sjust night and day and obviously
he's on the sanctification,you know, train, you know, but. But
(13:00):
yeah, but it's a night and daydifference, so it's really cool.
And I know we talk about Tonya lot, but it's just, it's really
neat to see God working in hislife. But yeah, no, I'll just a quick
intro here. You can Visit usat AbundantLife FM. We do have a
donation option and I justimplemented a recurring donation
option. So for those of youthat would like to donate on a recurring
(13:21):
basis, you can do that now.And you can also visit us at. What
is it? Facebook and Instagram.We got some cool content coming out.
We've been using this cool AItool to YouTube send out. Yeah, and
YouTube as well. Send outthese cool reels and, and shorts.
So definitely check us out andyou can get, you can get pretty much
(13:41):
like our, our podcast contentin little bite sized snippets. You
know, it's kind of more of a,a bait and switch. I want you to
actually listen to the wholeepisode, but you can. You can go
get an idea of what the. Whatthe podcast is about.
You're hungry, you loan cash,you go to Costco, you get little
appetizers, right? You just.And you go around again. That's exactly
your kids.
I love it. It's the Costco advertiser.
(14:02):
Yeah, exactly. A little bit.Get a little piece, and hopefully
you go and buy the product.Right? Exactly.
Exactly.
The whole. The whole processof it. So. And thank you, Kennaloo
Air, for your donation. And Cody.
Yes, absolutely. Thank you.
I appreciate it.
I do think. Thank you forthat. And, yeah, so let's. Let's
jump into some content here. Ithink Sasso's got a key verse for
(14:24):
today, and we'll jump in.
Judge, we just said thisverse. Second Corinthians 5, 17.
The Bible says, therefore, ifany man be in Christ, he is a new
creature. Old things arepassed away. Behold, all things are
become new. We say this everyFriday. Freedom at last. That's one
of our key verses. Becausereally, your baptism, right when
you came out of the water,it's, behold, all things come, come
(14:46):
to you. And it's not like a,you know, physically you've changed,
per se, but it's just showingthe world, like, hey, I have decided
that, as our shirts would say,to follow Jesus. So if you want to
just share, like, hey, how hasGod worked in your life since, I
guess, since birth, Right. Tobring you here to this chair?
Oh, yeah. You could just talkabout your childhood a little bit.
(15:06):
Like, how was it like growingup? And, you know, there's a lot
there.
I know my. My childhoodinvolved gangs, drugs. It's a rough,
rough childhood, I guess, forsome people. I got jumped into a
gang at seven or eight yearsold. You know, I was. Jump out my
(15:28):
window in the middle of thenight and go hang out with friends
and do drugs. And, you know, Ithink when I was 12 years old, I
ended up going to juvenile fora year and a half for assault on
(15:48):
my principal. Two stolen cars.Two or three stolen cars. And when
I was in juvenile at AdobeMountain, yeah, we'd go to church,
and we'd have these ministerscome over and talk to us.
(16:08):
And.
I had this couple, Ed and hiswife Tony, that took a liking to
me, and they would come see meevery. Every week. You know, they'd
give me stuff to read in theBible. I'd go to my cell and, you
(16:30):
know, for that week, I wouldjust dive into it. And the next week,
I'd go and see them at churchand we'd go over what I read and
that's how I started knowingGod. And.
Was that your firstintroduction to spiritual things
or had your parents ever takenyou to church prior to that?
(16:51):
No, never. We weren't a churchfamily. You know, they're Mexican.
So, you know, everything forMexican is, you know, God willing
and thank God and con el FAbor de Dios, you know, But I mean,
they, I don't know if they'veever stepped into a church, but everything
(17:13):
for them is, you know,somewhere along the lines of thank
God and God willing and pray,mijo, pray. Even though I've never
seen them do that. But. So,yeah, that was the first time. And
then when I got out, Ed hadwent and visited me at my house,
(17:37):
like the day that I got outand took me to the church and showed
me the people that he saidwere praying for me the whole time
that I was in there. And 21days later, I ended up back in jail
for stolen car and a highspeed chase. And I ended up going
(17:57):
back for another year and ahalf. And that's just been my life.
In and out of jail since I was11, 12 years old. And you know, when
I became an adult, 18 yearsold, I got out of juvenile with the,
(18:21):
with a warrant and started thewhole process again. Ended up going
to prison for 14 years. Had adrug habit in there. And I think
it was nine years into mysentence, I was just at an all time
(18:43):
low that I hadn't ever seenbefore. And I just remember praying,
just praying hard, you know,every night on my knees, just asking
God to help me, to save me,to, to give me the strength, just
give me the strength to just,you know, get sober in there. And
(19:10):
a couple weeks later we, Acouple weeks later I ended up in
the hospital for, for a numberof things. I had a valley fever,
pneumonia, endocarditis. Oneof my heart valves was infected.
And when I went to medical,they had, I was like, I got a fever,
(19:37):
just give me something toknock my fever down and put me back
in my cell. And it was shiftchange, so I had all the nurses from
day shift and all the nursesfrom night shift and I had the provider
there and they're like, dude,you got a heart infection probably
(19:58):
from doing drugs. And I waslike, oh, you, you're incompetent
and you don't know what you'retalking about. And only reason you're
working out of prison isbecause you couldn't cut it in, in
the hospital.
Yeah, let's help this guy.
Yeah. And I'm like, no, I'mnot going to the hospital. I'm like,
put me back myself. And I'mlike, you don't know what you're
(20:19):
talking about. And she's like,all right, you don't. You don't have
to go, but you're gonna go onsuicide watch. And I was like, suicide?
What are you talking about?And she's like, yeah. She's like,
I have the power to put you insuicide watch because you're not
taking care of yourself, andwe have to keep an eye on you. And
(20:40):
I was like, oh, man. I'm like,suicide watch. I'm like, that's like
72 hours. I'm like, withnothing in my cell, and it's gonna
be cold. I'm like, like, I goto the hospital, you know, Prove
her wrong and send me rightback. I'm like, all right, fine.
I'll go to the hospital, youknow? And I went to the hospital,
(21:00):
and they ran some tests, andthey came back, and they're like,
I don't know how you'rewalking, you know, they're like,
you got valley fever. You gotpneumonia. They're like, and you're.
You got a heart infection. AndI was like, all right, so what's
(21:20):
the next step? You know? Andthen they're like, oh, we're gonna
run some pretty heavyantibiotics through your body, and
if. If that works and gets youcleared up, they're like, we'll send
you back. I'm like, that'sgonna work. You know, it's like,
antibiotics, like, cureeverything. And I think, like, a
(21:44):
day or two later, they'relike, it's not doing anything. They're
like, we're gonna have to doheart surgery on you. And I was.
I was 32, and I was like,heart surgery? I'm like, man, nobody
even knows I'm here. I'm like,not a family member, not a friend,
not even my neighbor in theprison that I had just. I was just
(22:08):
at. You know, I was like,nobody knows what's going on. And
I was like, well, can I make aphone call? Like, just let somebody
know, you know, just in case Idie. Like, they know, like, what
happened. And they're like,yeah, sure. So they pushed my heart
surgery back one day because Iwanted to make a phone call, and
(22:30):
nobody answered. I couldn'tget a hold of anybody. And so the
next day, they came to do.Pulled me out for my heart surgery,
and again, I was like, no, no,no, no. Hold on. Let me make A phone
call, you know, and again,couldn't get anybody. And finally
the insurance people came in,and they're like, either you go in
(22:55):
for this surgery or, like. Oryou go back to prison. I'm like,
fine, I'll go back. I'm like,what's gonna happen if I go back?
They're like, you're gonna bedead in a day. Wow. So I was like,
all right, I'll do the heartsurgery. And I did it. And they fixed
me up. I came out with noextra parts or anything, and. And
(23:22):
I just remember laying in my.My bed at the hospital, like, recovery
or. Yeah, well, I had valleyfever and pneumonia, too, so if everything
would have been fine, I wouldhave been able to go back to the
infirmary in prison, like, aday or two later. But after their
(23:42):
surgery, my whole body swelledup, and they couldn't figure out
what it was. So they went, putme back down again, put a camera
down my throat, looked at myheart to see if they messed something
up. And they're like, your.Your heart's leaking still. It's
(24:03):
got, like, a little whole.They're like. But shouldn't be anything
to where your whole body'sswelling up. And they ended up taking,
like, three liters or, like aliter, then like, two more liters
of fluid out of my lungs fromthe pneumonia. And so I ended up
(24:26):
staying at the hospital for,like, three weeks. And. And they're
like, you're costing us a lotof money. And they're like, brass
tax. Yeah. They're like. I'mlike, all right, well, send me back,
you know, and. But I rememberlaying in the hospital and flicking
(24:48):
through channels. You know, Ihad two guards on me, and I'm eating
good food. You know, thathospital had, like, a chef that knew
what he was doing, and I justhad, like, a. A peaceful, like, calm
(25:09):
feeling just sweep over me,you know? And I just remember laying
in bed, and it just hit me. Iwas like, oh, I prayed for this.
You know, I. I prayed. I'vebeen praying hard, like. Like, I'm
finally sober. Hadn't beensober in years. And it was just like,
(25:35):
you're real. You know, it'sjust like. You know, a lot of times
you pray, and, you know, youdon't hear God talk back to you or,
you know, you're looking for asign, you know, that, like, just
let me know you're real. Letme know, like, you're listening.
(25:56):
And for me, he, like, spokeloudly. He's like, all right, you
know, like, I heard yourPrayer and I answered it. I wasn't
expecting heart surgery, youknow, but you know, they say God
works in mysterious ways. Andfor me I was like, dude, I'm like,
(26:18):
I prayed for this. I'm like,he answered my prayer, you know,
and I went back to prison andstill slipped back to my old ways
a little bit. But by that timethe transformation had already started.
And probably a couple yearslater I ended up walking away from
(26:45):
gangs and getting myself readyfor, for when I was getting out,
you know, mentally preparing.And I was just talking to my father
in law about this the otherday and like, I don't, I don't really
deal with addiction like a lotof people do. You know, a lot of
(27:09):
people, you know, they haveprograms or things that, that work
for them and you know, somepeople and whatever works for somebody,
you know, for their sobriety,you know, good for them. But I'm
not like a day to day kind ofperson tour. I'm like been sober
for like 1500 and some days.Like it's just not anything that
(27:33):
I ever think about, you know.And for me it's like I just feel
like God just cured me on, onthat level to where it's not something
that I struggle with, it's notsomething that I think about. Like
yeah, it was a big part of mylife, but it's just like he erased
(27:56):
it. Just took it all away.
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And I got out and I wasworking in behavioral health and
(28:44):
psych and detox.
And were you drawn to thatbecause of your past or.
No. I didn't even know whatpsych and detox was really. I didn't
know they had facilities likethat that help people. I got out,
I was working with a friend ofmine, he works in like hot rods,
(29:05):
like wiring cars and stuff.And, and my cousin was working at,
at one of these facilities andhe showed him the Check that he was
making. And it was duringCOVID So, yeah, I was making like,
(29:32):
I don't know, thousand dollarsevery couple weeks or something,
you know, and he was making alot more than me. And I was like,
how do I get into that? Youknow? And he's, I can get you in.
He's, I'll just, just apply.And I did. So that's what initially
drew me to that. But then onceI started working there, I was just
(29:55):
really good at it, you know, Iwas just really good at it. A lot
of it was being able to relateto, to these people, you know, and
the facility that we worked atworks a lot with the homeless community,
you know, and a lot of thehomeless community comes from, you
(30:17):
know, prison culture, badchildhood, like trauma. And so when
people would come in on drugs,you know, I was able to talk to them,
relate to them. Some of themwould come in wilding out. And, you
(30:39):
know, for a lot of staff, somestaff that don't know how to deal
with that kind of aggression,you know, it's pretty scary. But
for me, come. I'm like, bro,chill out. You know, I'm like. And
you know, some of them see meand they're like, come here. Like,
I'll talk to you, you know,so. So I think in some sort of way
(31:02):
it was like therapy for metoo, just to see people and what
people are going through andto see, you know, how God has blessed
me and, you know, where I'm atin life now and where I could be,
you know, I'm like, that couldbe me right there, you know, and
(31:23):
it's not. So I did that forfour and a half years. That's where
I met my wife Alex. Workedside by side for about four years.
And about a year ago, lastyear, met Ivan and Karen, my. Her
(31:50):
parents, and they invited meto church and it was something that
me and Alex were looking for.So, yeah, it was last Easter and
we've been going strong eversince. And it's just for me, it's,
you know, God's been with meand working with me even when I wasn't
(32:15):
working on myself. You know,it's just that he's just been showing
up in my life at, you know,key points and putting people in
my life that, you know, now Ihave a church family and never had
that before. And now I'm astay at home dad, you know, just
(32:37):
stay at home, take care, takecare of my son.
And. And then you hadmentioned the other night when you.
Freedom, the last right youhad made a testimony and you just
said, I'm thankful for myfamily, thankful for, you know, because
the way things are, becauseit's not, not been that way. In what
ways has it changed from. Orwould you look back at your life
(33:00):
and say like I can look backand say I couldn't imagine myself
where I'm at now. Like whathas God done in your life?
These just changed my wholeoutlook on, for one, I'm a lot more
patient, a lot more mature. Ijust, I'm just grateful. You know,
(33:36):
before I think I was a littleungrateful, you know, just bad kid,
you know, I had no respect fora lot of things. And you know, now,
you know, taking me from beingin a 7 by 11 cell, pretty much, you
(33:59):
know, know a, a bathroom towhere now I got a, I got a wife,
I got a family, got peoplethat care about me. And that's just
something that I don't want tolose. You know, I feel like I have
a good relationship with Godright now, that, that I don't want
(34:23):
to mess up either. You know, Idon't wanna, you know, mess anything
up with him or feel like I'm,you know, spitting in his face and
being, you know, disrespectfulfor, for anything. He's, he's been
so good to me. Yeah, I thinkI'm just able to see these things
(34:46):
now. I wasn't mature backthen, you know, and. Yeah.
Do you feel you came to Christwhen you were in the hospital? Like
that was a moment where youaccepted him?
I think so, yeah. I can't giveyou like an exact date, but I think
(35:06):
for me that's when I think hestarted working on me from when I
was, you know, 12 and youknow, the gospel came to me and in
bits and pieces, nieces alongthe way. And then I think for me
that was a key moment in my life.
And did you have a Bible? Didthey give you a Bible when you were
(35:27):
12 years old?
Yeah, I did. When I wasyounger in juvenile, I used to read
as an adult when I went toprison, I didn't read it for a long
time.
And so as you look back onyour life, I mean, what, what would
you say to somebody that were,that was you when you were a kid?
(35:53):
Like if you could talk toyourself, the, the, the, the new
creature, the mature JJ,talking back to that 8 year old when
you got jumped in, like, whatwould you say to that kid?
And you kind of will, right?Because you have, you, you have a
newborn. So that's what you'regoing to.
Right, Right.
(36:17):
Man, I don't know. I think Iwould just tell him, you know, you're
going to have some people thatcome into your life and, you know,
(36:38):
try to, you know, some peoplethat come into your life and want
good for you and, you know,share the good word with you and,
you know, just listen to thosepeople and just stick by those people,
you know, like, everything wasthere for me. You know, somebody
took an interest in me and,and, and. And try to mentor me at
(37:02):
an early age, and all I had todo was just behave and stick by them,
and I think my life would havebeen different, you know?
Do you still have contact withthem at all?
Oh, I tried to look them up. Icouldn't find them.
Well, if they're listening tothe podcast or somebody. Somebody
(37:22):
knows these people.
Yeah, that would be pretty cool.
Get them up.
Yeah.
And it's funny because we. Youcame on Friday and you're like, hey,
how do you know. You knowJoseph, right? And I'm like, it's
funny how you, you know, howsmall, as you said, the world is
and that. That's kind ofsomething Tony said, too. Like, the,
you know, that kind of worldis smaller than what you think. There's
(37:43):
not a whole lot. And peopleknow about other people and.
Yeah.
And the circles that you go, yeah.
Yeah, it's a small world outthere, you know, and. And, you know,
for a lot of people, that'sall they know. And if they just,
you know, just take one stepfurther this way, there's like a
(38:06):
whole new world, you know? ButI had a friend that just got out
the other day after 19 years.That was my buddy. You know, he's.
We literally partners in crimeback then, you know, but me and Alex,
(38:27):
we went and we, you know, tookhim out to eat and, you know, just
check up on him and just tellhim, like, just do good out here,
you know, like, meet whateverthey need you to do and, you know,
start. Start experiencingthings, you know, Bum. I went and
picked him up on thereservation and I drove him back
(38:52):
to our house, and he was like,where are we at? Like, Peoria, the
west side? He's like, man,bro. He's all, I've. I've never been
out here. He said, I've neverbeen out this far. He said, the only
place I've been is to the Resin, like, central Phoenix. And I'm
(39:15):
like, I'm like, we got to getyou some places, bro.
Yeah, there's.
There's better Places too, youknow, I'm like, we'll start by taking
you fishing or something, youknow, he's all like, I remember I.
I used to like fishing as akid. I'm like, we'll take you to
Showo or Woods Canyon orsomething, you know? Sounds good
right now. Cool up there.Yeah. I'm like, that's. That's what
(39:38):
somebody did for me when, youknow, when I got out and I started
working at. At that facilityis we have some friend that just
loves to go fishing all thetime. He always takes everybody.
So took me to show low, tookme skiing, and just for me, it was
(39:58):
like new experiences andmeeting new people, you know, And
I think if you just stay stuckin that area, eventually, like, it's
gonna consume you, you know,that's all.
You know, you're just tryingto love on them at this point, you
know, Just.
Yeah, just let them know,like, bro, that life's played out.
Like you're too old, you know,like, you go back now, you. You're
(40:21):
never gonna get out, you know?Yeah. So I think just that trying
to help somebody, you know, Igot help, so I think that's pretty
good.
I think that's the beauty of.To me, salvation and sanctification
is so you get out of hell,right? That's what some people get
(40:43):
saved for. But then you getthat relationship where he's there
with you every day. And youhad said, I think, you know, immature
Christians, they. We do,right, because we want things or
we want God's blessing. Andthen the more mature you get, you
do things because you don'twant to break the relationship, just
like your wife, right? Youdon't want to harm that what you
got because, you know, it'sgood. And, you know, whatever else
(41:06):
is out there is just a fool'sgold. It's not really. It's not real,
to be honest. Like drugs,right? It's there and it's. It vanishes
away. So do you have for. Forour listeners that are listening
to your story? And how wouldyou say God's working in your life,
like, today? Like, what is.What does that look like? Like, what
do you have? I don't know, amission or a goal or I want to reach
(41:29):
my friends, or I just, youknow, I'm trying to be the best Christian
and develop.
I think he's definitely, youknow, he's never gonna put you. Put
more on you than you canhandle, you know, and he took me
(41:50):
out of a bad place, a placewhere there's a lot of people that
are stuck in right now, youknow, and they. They don't know how
to move forward from that. AndI think he has a plan for me and
to reach some people, youknow, I just don't. Don't know how
(42:12):
yet, but. But I. I reach outto some people that, you know, I'm
like, if he could just dogood, you know, and I could help
somebody. And I think I'll bedoing my. My part, you know, One.
One big thing is when I gotout, I got pulled over by a gang
(42:34):
unit. And.
When you got out of prison?
Yeah, I got put over by thegang unit, and in Mesa, I was on
a. On a motorcycle, on alittle crotch rocket, and. And the
person that pulled me over,like, where are you coming from?
I'm like, the Res. And he'slike, okay, he caught another unit,
(42:57):
somebody else that wasfamiliar with the Res. And he said,
what's your name? And I waslike, jj. He says, erasmo. I'm like,
man, how do you know me? I'mlike, I've been. I've been gone for
14 years. I'm like, I'm not apart of anything. I'm like. Like,
I walked away from that life,you know? And he was just like, man,
(43:20):
he's. I can't believe I'mhearing you talk like this. He said,
you used to be crazy, dude.I'm like, yeah, man. I'm like, not
a part of that, you know? I'mlike, I'm just looking for the barbershop.
And. And he asked me to. IfI'd be willing to talk to his officers,
like, rookie officers thathave, like, an interest in gangs
(43:42):
or. Or just want to understandit better, and that I would be helping
them, because when they pullover, somebody that looks like me,
not everybody's doing badthings, you know? And turns out he's
a Christian, and he was therewhen I got baptized.
(44:04):
So he came to your baptism?
Yeah, he's my friend, and I'vedone talks with him at police academy.
We went and talked to at riskyouth at high schools, some human
trafficking programs. But it'sjust another example of, you know,
(44:29):
God putting these people in mylife like, that are Christians, that
it's just by chance that it'sjust that's the way it worked out.
You know, My friend thatpicked me up, he's always been a
believer and a brother inChrist and. And then, you know, a
(44:54):
cop, somebody that was on theother end of things, you know, he
was there. He's like, dude,he's like, I know your whole history,
like your stuff from this cityto that city. He's always there when
you got arrested and, and now,you know, we make dinner plans and
go see him and his wife and,you know, know he was there for.
(45:16):
When I told him I was gettingbaptized, he's like, he said, I wouldn't
miss that, you know, he said,I'll be, I'll be, I'll be there,
you know. Yeah, so.
So he's seeing the transformation.
Yeah.
From.
Yeah, yeah.
I'm Rebecca Mendez withLamplight Ministries, where I serve
the Lord by loving others.Through biblical counseling and workshops.
(45:39):
Every day we're reminded ofour fallen world, world through disappointment,
grief, fear, despair. We needa Savior. And in Jesus Christ, we
have that Savior. He came torescue us, offering his spirit to
guide us and his word tocomfort, correct and lead us. If
you're a follower of Christ,eager to grow in him, I'd be honored
(46:02):
to walk this journey with youthrough one on one biblical counseling.
Together we'll explore God'sword, find encouragement, and pursue
faithful obedience to ourSavior. Please Visit me at lamplightministries.com
to book your appointment today.
I mean, I think, you know, youkind of already said it. It's your
(46:25):
story, it's your experienceand everything that encapsulates
your past that you can sharewith other people and relate to people
and then bridge that gapbetween where they're at and Christ
like that. I think that's kindof where God has put you. I mean,
you're saying, like, you'retalking to cops, you're talking to
people in juvie, you know,maybe in, maybe in prison or, or,
(46:48):
you know, somebody on thestreets or even, even when you had,
you know, you were working at,at the behavioral health, you know,
you could relate to thesepeople. And I don't know how much,
you know, you can talk aboutChrist in that, you know, in that,
in that realm or whatever, butI think God's put you in a pretty
interesting position becauseyou have a platform because of, because
(47:10):
of where you've been and whatyou've done. And like you said, you're
not glorifying any of that,but you can, you can bridge that
gap because you can relate topeople. And I think that's powerful.
This story is powerful. Eventhis podcast is going to go out.
I mean, people are going tohear it and be able to share that
because people will relate. Ormaybe they know a family member,
you know, somebody's in, ingangs or in drugs or you Know, into.
(47:31):
Into some crazy stuff, andthey'll share the podcast, you know,
So, I mean, it's. It'spowerful, bro. Like, your story is
very powerful. God'stransformed your life. I mean, he's.
He's giving you new life, andhe's giving you an opportunity now
to. To share your story.
Yeah, I think a lot of people,too, that know me from back then,
and, like, my. My friend thatI went and picked up the other day,
(47:55):
we took him out to eat. Hejust kept telling my wife, he's like,
I don't know this dude righthere, you know, he's like. Like,
he wasn't like this before,you know, And I'm like, man, like,
you can do it, too, you know,Like. Like, just stop. You know,
(48:17):
like that life's, you know,behind you and. Or like Tony, you
know, like, when I seen himthe first time I had freedom, that
last. It just somebody thatyou could relate to that's, you know,
it's like, oh, that dude'slike me, you know, and he's talking
(48:37):
different stuff than what youwould think would come out of my
mouth, you know? Know, I justthink it would help.
Some people, and I think thatnight you shared your testimony,
too, and I thought that waspowerful, and he related to that,
and. And I think that's whatGod. God saves everybody. Some people,
you know, maybe Ivan didn't doall these crazy things, but God still
(48:58):
saved him from somethinghimself, right? And God gives us.
Gives everyone a story torelate to different people. And so
just a quick question. Why didhe pull you over? Why did the cop
pull you over?
They were doing a. A sting.They were doing an investigation
(49:19):
on the Hell's Angels, on themotorcycle gang. And here I am, full
of tattoos on a motorcycle,and I had pulled over into an empty
parking lot to Google andaddress the barbershop. So I'm on
a motorcycle, so I had it inmy waistband. So I got out and I,
(49:41):
you know, googled the address,and I'm like, oh, okay, I know where
it's at. There's only one carin the parking lot, but it was dusty
and dirty, and I didn't knowanybody was in it. It was an undercover
car. So when I started themotorcycle up to leave, I felt like
somebody walking up on me. AndI turned, and it was. It was a gang
unit. And I was like. Like, Iwas like this. I was like, oh. Like,
(50:05):
I. I was just looking for thebarbershop. I'm like. Even though
I wasn't doing anything wrong,it Was just old habits. Like, just
I was like, oh man, you know.And yeah, so he's a good friend of
mine now, my father in law,he's played a big role since he's
(50:29):
came into my life. Him andKaren, my mother in law, they've
just been very warm andwelcoming to me and have never made
me feel any kind of way. Youknow, sometimes, you know, I still
walk into some places and Iknow how I look and I know the looks
I get and try to smile atpeople. People like, you know, it's
(50:54):
okay, you know, like hedoesn't bite. Yeah. Just here to
get some groceries, you know.Yeah. So I think that's pretty cool.
And you know, the church eversince, you know, I don't think anybody
at church looks like me, youknow, so. And everybody, everybody's
(51:14):
just been very warm andwelcoming and just makes you feel
comfortable, you know. I thinkthat's pretty big too, is like. So
I told Alex, I'm like, oh, Ilike it here. You know, I feel comfortable.
Like I don't feel no pressureand anybody, you know, treats me
any different.
You know, I don't think Godwould have us to treat people because
(51:37):
he doesn't see you different.Right. He sees you as a born again
child of God. Right. Which weall are, whether we have a suit on
or whether you come in shortsand man judges. But God looks on
the heart. Yeah. As you know,he did, David. And I think of Romans
8:28, that all things worktogether for good to those that love
God. Right. So that, and thenthe Romans 8:29 talks that we might
(51:59):
be conformed to the image ofhis son, that he allows things in
our life to conform us andeven our sin of our past, he's able
to use those tools to shape usand to use it for his glory. And
just for you to look at youryounger self, right. You're 12 years
old and you're saying, one dayI'm going to be back here talking
to, you know, other peoplejust like me. You would like. No,
(52:22):
that's, that's never going tohappen. But how he is just awesome
at restoring life and usingyou in ways that you never would
have thought he would use you.
Yeah, yeah. I hadn't, I hadn'tmade, I had. Haven't made it to talk
to the kids at juvenile. Butthe opportunity did sort of present
(52:45):
itself through my, my friendCrossle, the, the detective. He's
like, hey, would you beinterested in talking to. Going up
to Adobe Mountain? And I'mlike, yeah, I'm like. It's like my
childhood right there, youknow, I'm like, I spent like, three
(53:07):
and a half years of my life inthere. I'm like, to go back and.
And to talk to these kids andtell them, like, just stop right
now, you know, and just showthem that, you know, what God has
done for me. And, I mean,crossload, too. You know, he's. He's
going to school right now. Hejust texted me earlier. Forgot what
(53:31):
he's going for. He's goingback to school for his Master of
Arts and religion with anemphasis on pastoral counseling,
so. So he's looking to dogood, too, you know, And. And just
(53:54):
if me and him could go talk topeople, you know, I think that's.
To see, you know, both sidesof. Of the coin, you know. You know,
law enforcement with, youknow, somebody with, you know, my
criminal background. I thinkthat for a lot of people, just, like,
(54:15):
how'd you guys end uptogether? You know?
God.
Exactly, exactly, exactly.
Just as he pulled you over,right? That's not a mistake that
God had you pull over, pullout your phone. God planned all that.
Yeah, that's crazy time. Yeah,we talk about that all the time.
We go out to eat, and he'sjust. He just tells me, you know,
(54:39):
he's like, I'm grateful for.For our friendship. You know, he
says, this is not normal. Youknow, this is not a normal thing.
And. And, yeah, you know, hesays, I just. Same thing. He said.
I always just think, like,what are the chances of all these
things that happen to. To lineup the way they did? It's just. God,
(55:08):
you know, you can't. There'sno other explanation for it. I remember
me and Alex, we wereoriginally planning on getting married
in Italy, and he was going togo and fly out and officiate the
wedding. Wow. And we wanted tosend him the wedding invitation,
(55:30):
but at this point, I only hadhis work phone. And I'm like. I'm
like, how do I ask him for hisaddress? I'm like. Or do I tell him,
like, just meet up and justdrop the card? I'm like, I don't
know if he wants me knowingwhere he lives, you know, and I'm
just gonna ask him and see.See what he says. And I'm like, hey,
(55:52):
Cross. So we have thisinvitation for you. You want us to
mail it to you or drop it offat the office? Or like, how do we
do this in. And he sent me hisaddress. And I was like, oh, you
know, I was like, we're friends.
Yeah, you're in, bro.
(56:12):
Alex. I'm like, I have hisaddress. I'm like, he gave me his
address. And, yeah, I think wewere both, like, just shocked. And
we're like, he let me knowwhere he lives, you know, and then
it's just another big moment.And then one day he says, hey, dude,
don't. Don't text that numberno more. He's like, this is my personal
(56:33):
number. I'm like, anothermilestone, you know?
Was that like, his work phone or.
Yeah, it was his work phone.And he went from working in the gang
unit and then to some sort of,like, peer support program for. For
cops. I don't know exactly thedetails of it, but, yeah, so gave
(56:54):
me his personal number, and Iwas just. Another milestone. Like,
when he was going to officiatethe wedding, though, he had to get,
you know, permission from hisboss because can't be, you know,
socializing with criminals,you know, and. And they're like,
yeah, they gave him the okayand they said, yeah, no, I think
(57:16):
this is. This is good. Youknow, it's something healthy. And.
Yeah, just pretty big.
What a mind blow, right. Tothink that the guy that would be
there for some of your arrestwould be the one that would marry
you.
Yeah.
And give you his personal photo.
We didn't make it to that. Weended up changing the whole plans,
(57:37):
but just the fact that he. Hewas willing to go and that he was
going to do it and, I mean,just drew us so much closer. That's
cool.
And he watched your baptism? Came.
Yeah, yeah, he came for that.Then we went out to eat after that,
and he. He gave me a Bible, soI thought that was pretty cool. Just
(58:00):
another thing, you know, thatI'm grateful for, and I just don't
want to mess up, you know, I'mlike. Like, these are good people
that I got in my life that Ididn't have before. You know, my
sister for the longest. I'lltext her in the morning. I'm like,
hey, good morning, sis. Howyou doing? She's like, are you okay?
Is everything okay? Whathappened? I'm like, nothing.
(58:24):
Say good morning.
Yeah, I'm like, I've been outfour years now. Like. And she's like,
oh, okay. So, good morning.
She is like, ptsd, high alert.
Yeah, she's a stress bull box anytime.
Just send her good morning.Send her a Bible verse. You know
what I mean?
If I'm texting you, we're.We're good.
(58:45):
Yeah. Yeah.
That's cool.
Do you do you.
You meet with Ivan Pretty fre.I know Ivan. You know, he's pretty.
Very, very knowledgeable withthe scriptures. And he's a good teacher,
too. I mean, I meet with himon Sunday night sometimes, and I
do.
He. He's. He. He's been a biginfluence in my life in the last
(59:10):
year. You know, meet up everyMonday, comes over for Bible study.
Yeah, he's father figure in mylife right now. You know, something
that I've never had, you know,somebody take that kind of interest
in me and just, like, reallycare for me, you know? Yeah.
(59:36):
Anything you want to. Anyfinal thoughts you want to share
about your life or aboutadvice or.
No.
Well, I mean, that's apowerful story, man. I mean, I think
you have a. Quite an amazingtestimony and, you know, we talk
about it all the time. Youknow, it's whether you have a past
(59:58):
like you do, or you have apast like, say, Pastor Shaw, where
he got saved when he was fouryears old. I mean, in either scenario,
before Christ, you're dead.You know what I mean? Before Christ,
you need a savior, and itdoesn't matter what your past is,
but I think your story is verypowerful in the fact that you can
relate to a lot of people inthe culture that's out there right
(01:00:21):
now, and you. It's somethingyou can share. I think God's got
some. Some big plans for you, bro.
Yeah. Yeah. Hopefully, youknow, hopefully I can get out there
and help some people and, youknow, bring them to Christ, and I
just. Maybe it's ahead, you know?
(01:00:41):
Well, and he's already usingyou, right? I mean, that's. I don't
want to walk past that either,where he's already.
Oh, yeah.
And he's orchestrated allthese things in your life, right
to this.
Yeah. I just think there's a.There's still a bigger plan out there
that I just haven't seen yet.You know, I'm just. Just. I'm taking
(01:01:02):
it all in as I go.
And that's what Proverbs 3, 5,and 6, right? We trust in the Lord
with all our heart and leannot to our own understanding. And
then he says, in all thy ways,acknowledge him, and he will direct
your path. And he doesn'tpromise to. To be a spotlight, but
he does promise to be a light.And if you're holding the flashlight,
I mean, I just did the GrandCanyon pitch black and. Right. You
can only see not too far infront of you, but he knows that whole
(01:01:25):
future, but he just guides thestep for today. The step for tomorrow,
the step for the day after.And it's just every day. And how
just. I mean, looking. If Iwere you looking back, I'd be blown
away by. I never would have thought.
I am. Yeah.
It's crazy. Yeah.
Alex has went and done. Whenshe's went with me to their police
(01:01:48):
academy, when I went to gotalk to officers, and she's went
with me to high school, towhere I talked to like four or five
classes, just back to back. Itwas a little redundant. But Crosser
(01:02:09):
was telling her, did you knowall this about him? Because, you
know, he puts my picture up ona. Like on a slide, a PowerPoint
or something. Yeah. And thenwe just go back and forth and he
tells Alex, like, you know,she's like. He tells me like, I know,
but I just can't picture himdoing any of this, you know, just
because it's. It's not meanymore, you know, that new creature.
(01:02:32):
Yeah. It's just a rare thing. Yeah.
Any final thoughts?
No. I really appreciate youcoming on and sharing your story
and your testimony. And thispodcast is to give. Encourage believers,
but also give people hope. Somaybe they have somebody that they
know in their life that theyquit praying for because they feel
(01:02:52):
like it's a hopeless situationand it's not right. As long as you
have air in your lungs, God isable to work even from a hospital
bed where you thought you wereokay, and a day later you would have
been dead. But God says, nope,that's not the end for you and prison
will not end for you either.And I even think my own, you know,
family that, you know, it'sjust funny how that's. It's full
(01:03:12):
circle. And I even shared withyou, like, hey, my older cousin that
you used to hang out with gotsaved and sent you his baptism and
that's. That was mind blowingwhen he came to Christ. And then
people probably feel the sameabout you. So just. Our God is awesome.
Amen. Well, thanks, everybody,for listening. If you do us a big
favor and, like, subscribe ifthis podcast episode's been a blessing
(01:03:36):
to you again, you can Visit usat AbundantLife FM and thank you
for listening and we'll seeyou in the next episode.
And if you know JJ from backin the day, 12 years old, hit us
up.
Say what's up. Thanks, guys.
We'll see you later.
Thank you for listening to theAbundant Life podcast. We pray you
(01:03:56):
were blessed by today'sepisode. Please visit us online at
AbundantLife FM. Until nexttime, May God bless you.
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