"Home of the Forgotten Souls" - A Journey Back to Prison

On April 26th, 2024 JC Almanza & I stepped foot back into East Moline Correctional Center here in Illinois. We met there back in 1999, twenty five years earlier as young men steeped deep into darkness with criminal mindsets. Listen to this podcast as I share all the events that lined up and led to us having this opportunity to go back and share our stories of redemption with the inmates there. You can clearly see God's hand each step of the way. I also share a couple of poems that I wrote way back in 1998-99,  while incarcerated.  Through them I express the darkness & demonic presence that I felt all around me back in those days. Take this journey with us back into prison: Into the "Home of the Forgotten Souls."

Transcript

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Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of wrong to strong Chicago. I'm your host. My name is Omar Calvillo and tonight is Sunday, April 28th, and, just wanted to sit down and just recap something that happened over this past weekend. But, uh, first and foremost, I want to thank the listeners and those that have been supporting those that continue to, to listen We've been getting some positive feedback, a lot of you guys have been reaching out, you know, either to me Even like to my wife You know that, uh, the people that have been listening, you know, people have been impacted. Continue to listen, continue to share. Uh, I do want to challenge you guys if you've been watching us on YouTube, make sure you like subscribe, share that channel, share some of the videos that we've been putting out there. And for all of you that listen, you know, on Spotify, Apple podcasts, and all these other, streaming platforms, please, you know, leave us a comment. I believe Spotify has the ability of like, what did you think about this episode, man? Write something in there. Make sure you rate. The podcast. Uh, but tonight, the reason I wanted to get on here, it's going to be a long story. So man, then let's get into this. So, a lot of those that have been listening for a while. You guys know why I started this podcast. It started, uh, with JC Almanza from, uh, wrong to strong. Uh, he got saved. I believe he said it was early November, November 6th, if I'm not mistaken of 2021. God grabbed a hold of this brother, met him in his house, met him in, uh, in his basement. And just touch this, his life, uh, the way he put it recently, he said, do you know how much a heart transplant costs? And he said it costs a million and a half dollars to get a actual heart transplant, well he said that that day he got a heart transplant for free. That's because the Lord came in and changed his heart, around that same time, we still hadn't reconnected because I had lost touch, uh, with this brother since like 2003 and in that timeframe. Uh, but, um, once I seen the video that he made that he said, man, you know, God, you know, had an experience with God, God changed my life. I'm no longer going to be making these type of videos that relate to, to gangs, to drugs, to all this lifestyle. Uh, but I'm going to use it, you know, to talk about what God's doing in my life. I reached out to him, I messaged him and we started, uh, just conversating. In September of 2022. He calls me on the phone and he says, Hey Omar, I was in prayer. And I believe that, that the Lord, I believe that God wants you to start a podcast. We're on the phone, we're talking, I told him, man, I don't know nothing about no podcast. And besides, you know, I have a problem. I have a stuttering problem, you know, uh, and I remember on the phone, he tells me, you know, that's exactly why you need to do this. People need to see what God could do through somebody who stutters. So obviously, you know, I, I listened to him, but in, in, inside man, I had my doubts, you know, is, is, you know, is, is God really speaking to him? Is God really placing that in his heart? So, you know, I prayed about it and then one scripture, uh, that I had been meditating on that the whole year, I believe is Hebrews 11, eight, where it says, uh, it was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave his home and go to a distant land that he would give him as an inheritance. And the Bible says that he went without knowing where he was going. And at that moment, when I'm meditating on that scripture, the part that stood out to me was he went without knowing where he was going. So the way I tied that in to him telling me that he was in prayer and he believed that God wanted me to start that podcast, just that part that he obeyed, first of all, he obeyed and he went without knowing where he was going. So I took that plunge. I started watching YouTube videos, how to start a podcast. What equipment do you need? So this went on almost for about three weeks. So finally one day I decided to order the equipment, so that's, that's how it started. It started with prayer. But you know, we're, we're, we're doing this. Um, December of just last year, which is December of, 2023. I'm at work. It's, uh, that Friday before our Christmas break. And, I'm not, you know, I'm sitting there, you know, it's lunchtime sitting by my desk and one of my coworkers comes by and you know, his name's, uh, Miguel Vega. Uh, he comes up to me. And he says, Hey, Omar, he, I just wanted to give you this. He hands me an envelope. And he's like, here, man, I just wanted to give you this. Uh, I've been wanting to give you this for a while. So I grabbed it, you know, I didn't, I didn't know what was in there. He told me here, he's like, I believe in what you're doing. I believe you're spreading a positive message, through, through the podcast. And I just wanted to give you this. He told me, uh, invest this in, into your podcasts and he walks away, you know, he went back to his, work area. So after he left, that's when I opened it up. So I opened up the envelope. I began to count. Was a bunch of twenties. This brother had given me 400. He gave me 400 right before Christmas. So I walked back over to buy his work area and man, I told him, Hey man, you know, Hey, are you sure you want to give me this? And he's like, yeah, man. He's like, I was actually going to give you more, but the ATM only allowed me to give you this much. I'm like, man, I wish he would've went to a different ATM, you know, but, uh, I told him, Hey man, thank you. Thank you for doing this, man. I'm going to invest this into the podcast. So shout out to Miguel, you know, a, thank you for that. So anyways, I went back to my desk immediately. Like when I got to my desk, I already had some equipment that I had been wanting to purchase. so I went to my, Amazon account and uh, Amazon, you got the cart, you know, things that you want to buy. So I already had some equipment on there that I wanted to buy, but I didn't have the money to purchase. One of those things that I wanted to buy was a Zoom recorder. I think it was a Zoom H6. It's a handheld recorder, basically, you could record podcasts like on the road. You could record a podcast anywhere you go, you know, it's handheld. so right away I'm talking about not even 15 minutes after he handed me that money. I went to my Amazon account and I bought the zoom recorder. I purchased, batteries. I purchased a case, to protect it and then I went back by his work area and I told him, Hey man, look at, this is what I bought. And I think I purchased, I don't know, like four or five items that I told him, you told me to invest that money. You gave me into the podcast and here, I just wanted to show you that's exactly where that money's going to go. So that was in December, I believe the following month. I did my first on the road podcast interview and I had the opportunity to interview Pastor Manny Mill from Koinonia House National Ministries. So anyways, I interviewed Pastor Manny Mill, first podcast on the road. I was able to do that because God placed it in my coworkers heart to, to sow that money, you know, so I did that. So I released that podcast interview. Pastor Manny Mill ends up sharing that, interview with a lot of people, so anyways, one of the persons that ends up hearing this podcast. Is, Sarah, and she's a, a counselor at East Moline Correctional Center. So why is that significant? Cause I was actually incarcerated in East Moline. Uh, had to be late, let's say 97, between 97 to 99. I think I did somewhere close to two years down there. Well, anyways, Sarah listens to the interview that I did with Pastor Manny Mill. She begins to listen to other interviews. And then she decides to reach out to Koinonia House National Ministries and ask them if they will place me in contact with her. But she gets in touch with me and she tells me, man, I've been listening to the podcast. I love what you're doing with it. I love the message you're spreading across. And then she asked me if I wanted to go into East Moline Correctional Center one day. And To talk to the inmates and right away. Of course, I didn't hesitate as crazy as this might sound. I have very fond memories of being there. I ended up, I was locked up from 97 to 2000 February 97 to February of 2000. Well, East Moline. You know, it was, uh, they used to call it sweet Moline back then. but anyways, I was there and she asked if I would go back, you know, asking if I wanted to go, you know, like share my testimony, share my story of how my life was and how God transformed it and where I'm at now. So yeah, I said, I replied. Yes, of course. Let me know when, you know, I send her my information to start getting the clearance process going, to be able to go in there. So then she responds back and she's like, you know what, is there any, is there anyone that you will want to bring with you? That you would want to come, you know, minister alongside you while you're in here. And right away, the first person that came to my mind was JC Almanza. Why did he come to my mind? Because I met this brother in East Moline back in 98, you know, had to be like late 98, early 99 around that time. So I reached out to JC and I told him, Hey man, I have this opportunity to go into East Moline. Would you like to join me? This brother didn't hesitate. He said, yes. And this brother's living out in Phoenix, Arizona. So anyways, I, I sent the information to Sarah. I said, Hey, I have this brother. He's interested in, in going there. We actually met in East Moline, which is like 25 years ago. So she starts submitting the information for him. And here's the crazy part. About maybe a month before uh, several had actually, uh, read an article about J. C. Almanza in this magazine called Victorious Living Magazine. Uh, and in that magazine, you know, it was J. C.'s story. So she read it back then and she's like, man, I would love to have this guy come and talk to the inmates there, you know, share his story, of redemption. But she looked at where he lived and like, Oh, this brother lives in Phoenix. You know, there's no way I'm going to be able to, to get ahold of him. I don't know nobody who knows him. So she, she dismissed that, that idea about having him come one day, to share his story. Well, anyways, she says she began the process of clearing this guy's, info, and it finally hit her like, wait a minute. This is the J. C. Almanza who I read about in Victorious Living Magazine, who I thought there'll never be no way I'll be able to connect with him. There is no way that I'll ever be able to have him here. And it's the same guy that I was telling her that I wanted to bring in. So, She finds out it's him. She sends me a message all excited like and she tells me the story, she had listened to the interview that I did with JC, you know on the podcast and she even listened to a Interview that I had done with JC's parole officer so she was just amazed how all these pieces were coming together Well, anyways That was about a month ago that we started the process this past Friday, which is two days ago. Me and JC had the opportunity to go back to East Moline together. After 25 years, this guy flew out here all the way from Phoenix on his own dime To go back in there and just to show you the love of the father. That's what this brother did, you know, so man, that that's God working in the life of somebody when you're willing, man, to, to pay, the travel costs to come out here just for a weekend and go minister to these inmates, you know, that just shows you just the heart that this brother has, uh, for individuals that were just like us. Yeah. So we drove out there and two and a half hour drive from Chicago, and we decided to, to, to, to document the trip. So there's, uh, there's going to be video. There's going to be maybe some audio that I'm going to share later on, you know, when I get the time to edit it. So we took the road trip, you know, just reflecting on what this moment meant for us. So we get there, we check in, security check in clearance, whatever, walk through the building. And then we hit the yard, man. Once we hit the yard, it just. You know, the memories, the reflection started coming back of, uh, what it was like to, to be there, uh, back then, you know, uh, so we're walking through the yard and, um, just looking around at the buildings, you know, where we used to be house that, uh, one of the buildings where I spent most of my time was already closed down. They had, uh, shut that building down, we're walking, we had the opportunity to stop by the handball court. Oh, me and JC has spent a lot of time. On the handball court, uh, being competitive, you know, we were joking around, uh, he, he was telling me that, uh, that I was a sore loser back then, that I hated to lose, you know, that I would get mad and that every time I would lose, I wanted to play again, you know, I wanted to, let's run it back, you know, he's like, man, I didn't like playing with you, man. You were a sore loser, you know, and, uh, one thing about JC, man, that guy has a, just a tremendous memory, man. I don't. And I think I've shared it on, on here before, uh, that one way that I cope, one of my coping mechanisms now that I look back was just to escape my reality and, the way I would do that back then, but just like daydreaming, we're, we're walking in the yard and, uh, they used to be benches right by the handball court, basketball court. And I remember sitting there, I would have my little radio, you know, a little, little boom box, you know, tape player. Playing, some rap, you know, gangster rap back then and just being out there and zoning out just, uh, escaping the reality of where the world was at. But we were talking about, man, how sweet it was back there. It's not like that no more. We were talking about just the things that were, that they were there. You had the ability in East Moline to, to dress in, like street clothes. Like, if you had family, friends, they could send you clothes in. Whatever jeans they had in the world, whatever t shirts, as long as they weren't like gang related, they could send them to you and you could be, people were walking around in there, like if they were out in the street, you know, the clothes, the attire, the gym shoes, but yeah, that's, that's what it was. You know? Um, so we there were walking, we go to the, to the chapel wizard, but we're going to meet with these inmates. We start off in prayer and they, they bring, bring in a group of guys. I didn't get an exact count. But I think that had to be like 25 guys there. We got there at 9. I started it off by, introducing myself and I shared the testimony of my past, how it was, how God stepped into my life, changed my life and where I'm at now. Then JC stepped up and shared his story about, how we had met there. 1998, 99. And, his life story, from a childhood through a Mexican prison, a federal prison, state prison, just the history, of violence, history of pain, trauma, all these hurts, all these losses, and how he eventually got grabbed ahold of that brother that one day. And, and then how we ended up there, how we ended up back in East Moline. Through divine connections, and it, it all starts with obedience, faith. I will say faith and obedience, you know, it was by faith that Abraham obeyed. And left home and went to a distant land that God would give him as an inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. When God calls you, he calls you to a life and a walk of faith. I didn't know it a year and a half ago. But this podcast was a step. Obedience and a step of faith. When I started it back then, I didn't know that this was going to open up a door of opportunity for me and JC to, to reunite. Go back to where we met, but go back with a message, a message of redemption, a message that the father has a love for these men. And that, he desires to save them. I believe that nobody is beyond, saving or nobody's too far gone where the, where the Lord can get ahold of them and just transform their lives. I believe that. I truly believe that. And like I was telling the men what man will fly across the country all the way from Phoenix, Arizona to come to Chicago and drive two and a half hours to show these men the love of the father. That's exactly what I told him. That we love because he first loved us. That's in the book of first John, the love that we wanted to show these men is the love that the father has shown us the mercy, the grace. There was a brother there that I hadn't seen, I believe since 2004, 2005. I believe this brother, got arrested in 2005 and I got the opportunity to see him again. And, we opened it up to questions and and the guys were, you know, they were really into it and they were asking us some good questions and, you know, we answered based on our experiences. But one thing that I, as I was there listening to the questions, scriptures kept coming to my mind. So I would try to answer them with life experience. But also give them a scripture that related to some of the questions, not all of them, one of the questions they asked, what was one of the hardest things for you when you got out? Like, what was one of the hardest things for you to deal with? And, um, I told him to work legit back when I got out in 2000, I got a job, I was making 9 an hour and I remember when I got the job, uh, one of the guys came, you know, from the neighborhood, Hey man, how much you're making? And I told him, you know, you know, I make a 9, you know, you got to realize I had just got out after three years. I don't want to go right back. And he's like, man, you ain't got to work that like here, you know, come with me. I'm going to hook you up. I'm going to put you on, I'm going to give you some stuff and, you know, help you get on your feet, help you to make some, some easy money, you know? So that was temptation because I was seeing the, here I am, you know, struggling, you know, I don't know if you guys know this, but nine bucks an hour is not much. You know, when you just got out, of course I had my family to support me and help me. So I had all that support, but I still, you know, as a man, you want to provide, you know, you want to provide for yourself and provide for others. So that was a big battle that I told him that I struggle with back then. So I want to read this because I believe a lot of people struggle with the fact that like this man is in Psalm 73 and this is a Psalm of ASAP. It says in verse one, it says, Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped. I had nearly lost my foothold, for I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. When you see the prosperity of the wicked, I told these men. You're like, why would I want to live, like, the legal way, when it's hard, when living by the book is hard to, to work back then, like I said, nine hours, I don't know where it's at now. 15 an hour or whatever it may be. Why would I struggle working legitimately when the wicked, which says ASAP says here, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked and that's, I believe as men, that's one of the biggest struggles when they get out, like to come out here and they're trying to get a job and they can't. Because the record comes up and a lot of companies, unfortunately, don't want to give these guys that second chance. They see the record, they see the conviction and that's it. So I could see that part of it. So that's what I told these men on like that, that was a real struggle. You know, like why, why do they prosper? You know, here I am trying to live legit and I'm struggling, you know, just like this man of God, this man of God said he struggled, but it's, it says here, you know, if you read the rest of the song, it's shares why the struggle it shares, what else he sees. And he's like, man, here I am living rightly, and he's talking about the wicked here in verse 11. It says, they say, how would God know? Does the most high know? Does the most high know anything? This is what the wicked are like, always free of care. They go on amassing wealth. And then he says this, surely in vain, I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been afflicted and every morning brings new punishment. If I had spoken out like that, I would have betrayed your children. But then it says this, it says, when I try to understand all this, it troubled me deeply till I entered the sanctuary of God. Then I understood their final destiny. Surely you placed them on slippery ground. You cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors? They are like a dream when one awakes. When you arise, oh Lord, you will despise them as fantasies. And that's what I told these men, that eventually, anybody doing the wrong thing, illegally, living that wicked life, they're gonna be placed on slippery ground. And unfortunately, I believe a lot of them could relate with that, because a lot of them took that path. You know, took that way of the easy wealth, trying to get the prosperity of the wicked. So that was just one of the questions that stood out. And one of the scriptures that I wanted to share, you know, as men, even if it's the struggle, the Bible says, do not despise small beginnings. I remember, just working my way up, making a little, dollar here, 50 cents there. Just living legit and especially after I got saved, I just continue to work and God brings blessing when you live the right way, when you walk in the paths of God, he begins to bring the blessing and prosperity and I wasn't serving God to seek those things, but he provided those things. Just the ability to connect with these men and talk, it was truly a blessing. It was surreal to, to see that we were back in this place. It's surreal to me that man, only God could have made this moment happen. And, it was a blessing. It was a blessing to minister side by side with, with JC. but I got a notebook and this notebook I had when I was in there, when I was in East Moline, um, but I wanted to read to you guys, some poems, some, uh, some of my writing that I wrote down when, when, when I was in there and the reason I wanted to share this, cause I want you to, to hear the darkness that I was in back then, you know, this is back in 98, 99 and, some of this stuff, I'm going to read it and I'm going to try to keep it, PG, I think that was cursing, you know, and some of this stuff that I wrote. There's a couple of poems that I want to read on the first, the first one, it's just so you could, see like my mentality at this time, the way I was thinking, the way I was feeling, and just, you know, just listen along. So it says here, Came in a boy, now I leave a man. Now ask yourself, is it a joy to see me again? You understand that my time is now. It's time to me to act a eff clown. Now on your face, I see a frown. Why is that? Because I was lost and now I'm found. Many believe that death had taken this soul into an eternal sleep to never awaken. They never knew I was just on vacation. They gave me seven. And send me off to this destination. I knew I had to take advantage. I turned my time into three years of knowledge. I met many people and I learned many things. I learned some good. And so more ways to commit some sins. Many people don't understand what goes on in my head. Neither do I. So that just makes me the walking dead. When I was little, I seen the devil. He kneeled next to my bed. Then he said, hello. I was scared. I ain't gonna lie. My only thought was that I'm going to die. My little brother seen him too. We looked at each other and said, what are we going to do? So simultaneously, we started screaming at this point, I knew I wasn't dreaming as quick as he came, he left somehow we had gotten through this threat. I didn't understand why he had appeared, but even since then, I felt his presence near. I didn't think much about it at the time, but many years later, this episode still crosses my mind. I believe in God and pray every night, but it seems something inside me is putting up a fight. I feel like I'm being held by a presence. Who doesn't wanna let me go? It's trying to drag me down a desert road. Why me and not the next man? I guess this is just a small part of a master plan. I feel hot even in the coldest of places. And in the mirror, I see strange faces in my dreams. I see nothing but terror, a terror that always seems to last forever. Even though I'm incarcerated in my dreams, I traveled to distant places. Sometimes they're good, but mostly they're bad. Sometimes they're happy. But when I wake up, I'm sad because I wake up in a place where I don't want to be. I made a mistake. So I know I chose my destiny. This place is supposed to make me better. But the only thing it did was get me madder what the future holds only the big man knows My past was this decided by what I chose So I guess I control my destiny. So next time around I will live more differently In your time, you got away with a lot of dirt. Now it's judgment day and you best believe you're going to get served. You scream, please make this all in for me and something like this. You must be a friend, so your opinion doesn't matter in a place so dark where about to start ripping your soul apart. You know, you messed up when you put your life in the hands of another. So now you're deep in this mess and no one can save you. Not even your mother. Many people have tried to make it. Many people said they passed the test, but they just faked it to witness something like this. You gotta be special. You just gotta be someone ready to let go. Of the joys and the happiness your life have brought. Of the toys and the paradise offered up above. Fire nothing survives. Only the host who is in the fire thrives. Things like this is all you see in the world of fire. From this place your soul expires. Screams of pain praying for rain to make it end. But it never will, cause prayers don't work in this place, my friend. I'm gonna try to end this, but my mind don't seem to wanna stop. I've come a long way, but still I haven't reached the top. To crawl out of the hole I dug myself. I will have to fight the evil hidden within myself. I rebuke all evil in the name of the Lord with the power of only His word. He will strike with fury like a golden sword and bring to an end this wicked, evil world. Is this really the end only time will tell? Until then we'll dwell in the depths of hell. In the world or in a cell, it's still the same evil spell. I've learned to accept reality in my time. I've learned to write stories which sometimes rhyme. So with these words, I express my thoughts. And with these words, you realize how much evil I've fought. Some I won, some I lost. I paid the price, but never knew how much it all costs. If I had the opportunity to start all over again, to accomplish the things I never could, and change the evil within me to good. So yeah, that's just, that's Part, I have more, more things that I've written like that. And some are just crazier. Some are just like darker, but I just wanted to share that with you. Just so you guys get a, like an understanding of the mindset back then. But this is one that I, that I wanted to share with you guys. This is one that I wrote. Um, so here's the thing, uh, I wanted to share to make sure you guys go and listen to JC's podcast is called, uh, breaking chains and building dreams, wrong to strong, you know? So go on there's on Spotify, Apple podcasts, or YouTube, make sure you follow it. So under he shared, uh, his point of view, his perspective of us being in East Moline. And he said that one day I disappeared on him and he said, man, you know, I disappeared one day, you know, Omar, you know, and he was just gone. Like, I don't know if he got released. I don't know where he went. Uh, but what had happened, I got caught getting a tattoo. Uh, so obviously that's something you can't do in there. So I got caught getting a tattoo and they threw me in the hole and, I was there, uh, I believe I was in there for a whole month, but even that, was a blessing because going back to what I shared earlier about East Moline being so sweet. Man, to be honest now, when I look back, it was like I was in a college campus, just like the free movement, able to walk around. You had the ability to, to go to the gym. If you wanted to, you had the ability to, be on the handball court. You could be on the basketball court. They even had a softball league. You know, they had teams that would compete against one another. I guess for being in prison, now that I look back, it was like, like a form of freedom, even while you're incarcerated, it was like, sweet, to put it simply, it wasn't like some of these other prisons when you're locked down, like 23 and one, when you, they only let you out for an hour long, you're here, like JC was saying, man, some of these guys had their gold chains, you know, walking around, nice shoes, nice clothes, like almost trying to outshine one another. Yeah. And, um, I was living this for like two years. I get caught getting a tattoo. They throw me in the hole and being in there, I realized that's when it hit me that I was in prison. I shared that in my, in my story and my testimony that, that I had held it together at this point, I believe I was locked up, let's say like a total of two and a half years and I had held it together. And what I mean by hold it together, I hadn't cried. I hadn't got emotional. My heart, my heart had hardened even more. It was like a survival mechanism to harden your heart, to not get emotional when my family would come visit me and they would leave. I've shared it before where I used to get these huge headaches every time they would leave. And I never realized why I would get these headaches and it's not until recently where God revealed to me, you were getting those headaches because you wanted to cry and you couldn't. So I was held, holding it in and just, uh, the emotions that I was feeling when my family would leave, like that hurt, it hurt to see him walk away, but I just couldn't cry. I couldn't bring myself to cry. So anyways, back to being in the home, I'm in my cell, you know, I'm in there two weeks and it finally hits me that I'm locked up. You know, they never let us out. We were in there like all day, I believe they let us shower. Like, I don't know, once a week or something like that. Well, I was in there, uh, two weeks and I finally broke down. Like it finally hit me like, man, Hey, I'm locked up. I was by myself, you know? And, uh, I wrote a poem that I want to share with you guys. While I was in there, it's called, uh, Forgotten Souls. I've been gone three years and time has turned my heart to stone. Ain't no love in a place where you are all alone. As you can tell, it's been a while since I've been home. This dark soul has a hold and won't let me go. But when I break free, you best believe there won't be no mystery. Of what I'm gonna do, I'm gonna act a fool and break all the rules. You know I gotta have my fun in the sun. Gonna try to stay away from them guns. Cause I'll be on parole and they still gotta hold and control of my effin soul. When will they let go? Only the big man knows. So I got to stay smart and stay on my toes because they, them silly, uh, bros won't hesitate to put me back in state clothes. Ain't no need to worry. I don't plan on coming back no more. They can close them doors forevermore, I'm staying in the world. In the world of love, life, and loyalty. Where when they greet you, they treat you like royalty. And please act right when you arrive, don't become another casualty. In the world where my family is at, this ain't no lie, this is a fact. Home is where the heart is at. To go back in time, I would sell my soul. To have control and choose the road that will help me grow, grow wise and grow old in the free world. Cause where I'm at ain't no place you want to be. This is the place where they place society's casualties. Casualties of war, casualties never told of this cold world. This is the home of the forgotten souls. So that's one that I wrote in there. And I believe this is significant. Now, like obviously you, you see the mindset back then, obviously it's not the mindset I have now, but forgotten souls. I believe God is sending us back in for these forgotten souls. A lot of these men, they've lost, you know, the, the, the family, the, like I said, the support system. And I believe right now what God is doing to wrong to strong, like a JC was saying. Yeah. We know where the compass is pointing to. The compass is pointing us to prison ministry. Um, through Koinonia House National Ministries, I've been able to go into Cook County, Division 11, I've been going in there since, last September. And that's been a blessing to be able to go minister to these inmates, ministering. To those forgotten souls, and to show them the love of Christ. Um, so yeah, I just wanted to share the mindset, the experience. I want to give a big thank you to Sarah for being obedient to what God placed in her heart. The counselor at East Moline, I know it was hard, you know, not everybody was for us being in there but. Hey, we thank God for him opening doors and God willing there'll be an opportunity to, to start a program there that that's our prayer. You know, keep it in prayer guys. Those of you that have been supporting, wrong to strong, our mission is to share these stories of redemption, share these stories of hope. We share our traumas, we share our past experiences, our pain, our mess up, our mistakes. Why do we share them? Not to glorify in that past lifestyle, but to give hope to those that are still in that lifestyle or hope to those that don't know how to get out of that lifestyle. That's all they known for 30, 40, 50 years of their life. And there is hope. Where does that hope come from? Psalm 121. I lift my eyes unto the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. Where does your help come from? Surrender. I was telling these men on Friday, we get taught to fight, to never give up, to never throw in the towel. I told them the one time I would tell you guys to give up, surrender is when it comes to the Lord. Stop fighting them. Stop trying to do it on your own will and your own understanding. Proverbs says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One brings understanding. So if you truly consider yourself wise, you cannot be wise in your own eyes. True wisdom comes when you have the fear of the Lord. Proverbs, I believe is 3, 4 through 6 is, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths. Put your trust in the Lord. Surrender to the Lord and let him lead you and guide you. Um, but I just wanted to recap. I know there's so much more that I could have shared. Maybe some things that I'm missing. But I wanted to share just this trip. This experience was truly a blessing. Like I said, I'm going to try to get some of those clips out from our road trip. Just a conversation that we were having back and forth. And please guys keep wrong too strong in prayer as a ministry, God is doing something. And as you could tell by the story that I shared, he's doing something with us. And I believe he's sending us back into the prisons. Pastor Manny Mills says that there's a nation behind bars. There's a nation that's incarcerated. So he's seeking the lost. There's a lot of sheep that are behind bars that the Lord wants to reach. But guess what? It's going to take men and women of God to go and share the message of hope. In Matthew, there's a scripture where it says, the people were saying, Lord, when, when did we see you hungry and feed you? When did we seen you in prison and visit you? and it says that the Lord will response, whatever you did for the least of these, you did as unto me. So whenever we go in and share the good news with these prisoners, you know, we were doing it as unto the Lord. So. I love you guys. Thank you for listening. Just trying to share my heart, share some of the experience, some of the things that, that I experienced during this trip. But, please continue to share these stories, share this podcast. If you're on watching on YouTube, make sure you like, and subscribe. Share it, on all your social media platforms, man. Get it out there. If any of you guys want to donate, to the podcast, you know, this podcast is just funded by me, you know, everything that you see here, uh, you know, me and my wife, out of our own money. Purchase the equipment, you know, lights, camera, everything, if you feel like a man, uh, I see what the Lord is doing through, through this ministry, through this podcast, I believe in what I see God's hand in this and man, I just want to sow, you know, a little seed when there's a link on, on the podcast, on the show notes, click on there, you know, you could, uh, donate via PayPal safe and secure. I never, do this, but you know, ministry takes money. Like I mentioned, JC flying out from Phoenix, Arizona, all the way to Chicago and back, guess what that takes money. He did that out of his own account. Like I said, if you want to partner up with us in that way. Man, we would appreciate it, but even if you guys could just pray, I believe I know, man, I'm the product of prayer. People were praying for me for eight years and probably more than that, for God to change my life. So if all you could do is pray, man, please continue to pray for us. And with that, you know, I'm gonna get ready to wrap up. Um, thank you guys for listening to another episode. Uh, Matthew 4 16 reads the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned. I'm your host Omar Calvillo. I am wrong to strong.