"For I Know The Plans I Have For You" - Jacob Ekelman's Journey from From Darkness to Deacons

In this podcast episode Jacob Ekelman from Phoenix, Arizona, shares his remarkable journey from a life of addiction and rebellion to redemption through faith. Raised in a Mormon household, Jacob's struggles led him to getting locked up, to a rehab center, playing bass in a various rock bands, then a HIV diagnosis triggered a profound spiritual awakening. Right when it seemed that everything in his life was falling apart, it was actually coming together. He is now a devoted servant of Yeshua and the president of the Christian motorcycle club, Deacons MC, which focuses on spreading the gospel and community service. Jacob and Omar also discuss their shared mission in ministry and the importance of trusting God's plans. The conversation concludes with a heartfelt prayer and Jacob offering his contact information for those seeking connection. The episode is a testament to the transformative power of faith, encouraging viewers to never give up on themselves or God.

https://www.facebook.com/jacob.ekelman

https://www.facebook.com/groups/800280470922959

Transcript

0:15

From the city of Chicago, a city most recently known for its crime and violence. On this podcast, we will be sharing stories of redemption from individuals raised in the tough streets of Chicago and from around the country. Some of them were gang members, drug dealers, incarcerated victims, and perpetrators of violence. Listen to my guests as they share their experiences, struggles, trauma, but also the strength, Hope, faith and perseverance. These have developed in them to keep pushing and moving forward in life. Tune in to hear how their lives have gone from darkness to light and from wrong to strong.

Omar: 0:57

Hello everyone. And welcome to another episode of wrong to strong Chicago. I'm your host. My name's Omar Calvillo. Uh, and tonight I have my guests. He's joining us all the way from Phoenix, Arizona. His name is Jacob. Ekelman. Uh, I got introduced to this, uh, brother through a JC who's out there himself in Phoenix. Uh, and he told me, man, you, you gotta have a conversation with this brother. He's got an awesome testimony and they're doing a great work out there in Arizona for the Lord. So I want, I want to share like a brief bio, a little introduction of my brother. Uh, so he's a part of a Deacons MC, which is a motorcycle club out there. Uh, he's a Holy Spirit filled servant of Yeshua. He's a shepherd of Deacons MC out there and he's driven by love himself, which is Yeshua. And I also want to share a little bit about his, uh, a club that says they're, they're a Christian motorcycle club, uh, devoted to spreading the gospel, loving on others and helping people find the love and truth of Christ Jesus. They just use their motorcycles to get around their focus on the Bible, family and community and, and their mission statements as deacons as first Timothy three. Eight through 13. And that is who they are. And, uh, welcome to the podcast, brother.

Jake: 2:11

Thank you,

Omar: 2:11

brother.

Jake: 2:12

Thank you very much. Uh, my honor to be here

Omar: 2:13

for

Jake: 2:13

sure.

Omar: 2:14

Thank you for being on here, you know, and I want to read the scriptures that, that, that tie into, to, uh, what's basically your, uh, a statement, right? Um, mission statement. So it was a first Timothy three, eight, and it says, uh, in the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, not pursuing dishonest gain, they must keep hold of deep truths of the faith. With a clear conscience, they must first be tested, and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers, but temperate and trustworthy in everything. A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well. Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus. Yeah, I think that's a great way to start. You know, sharing, sharing the word of God can't go wrong with that.

Jake: 3:11

Yeah. So it's good to start with the sword.

Omar: 3:13

Amen. Amen, brother. So yeah, man, let's get into your story. Like I said, thanks for being on here. Uh, and we usually, we usually start at the beginning, you know, eventually we're going to get into how you got into doing this, you know, uh, sharing the good news of the gospel, but, but let's go back all the way to the beginning. Uh, you could tell us, you know, what part of the country you grew up, maybe The name of the city and if you could describe, you know, how, how were those, early years for you as you were growing up?

Jake: 3:38

Sure.

Omar: 3:39

Um,

Jake: 3:39

so I was born in Long Island, New York, um, in 1975, um, to a Mormon couple. And so I was raised Mormon for a lot of my life. Uh, my mom and dad, Susan and Dennis, You know, they did their best to raise me, you know, with the examples of parents that they had. They did a pretty good job. My dad was a little bit more rough around the edges than my mom, just because he didn't really have, you know, just the best example in his parents, as far as my mom did. So, um, I grew up there going to the Mormon church, just a normal kid, was getting in trouble a lot. Um, so I was diagnosed with A. D. D. Um, and A. D. H. D. At a young age. I was a hard kid to raise. Um, I've got my kids now. They're in their mid twenties. So I was a hard kid, uh, for sure. Um, so I got in a lot of trouble and we ended up moving from New York. At the age of eight, I moved out here to Arizona. Um, I just remember thinking of what Arizona was going to look like, you know, I pictured like sand dunes and like blowing tumbleweeds and we're going to live in this little wood shack. Um, let's just say it didn't look like that at all. It was, uh, it was a booming city and, and, uh, you know, I, I kind of dug right in, um, made some friends, you know, at a young age that I probably shouldn't have, um, Introduced me to things like, you know, porn and, and, and, and just smoking cigarettes and stuff at a very young age, like 11 years old, I was kind of dabbling in stuff that I shouldn't have been. Um, and then, you know, that went on for years, hanging out with those friends, still going to church. Um, you know, even though I was raised in Mormonism, it's still, they'd introduced me to a Messiah called Jesus Christ. And so, you know, seeds were planted at a young age. Um, I fell away from the church. I'd say, you know, normal age, 13, 14, want to start hanging out with my friends, you know, figuring out who I was as a man. Um, and again, started, kept smoking cigarettes, hanging out with the stoners. Um, I didn't start smoking weed till I think I was about 16. Um, so maybe I, on a scale of a lot of other people's stories, I probably started a little bit later as far as dabbling in that kind of stuff. Um, And you know, that went on and within a year meth came.

Omar: 6:01

So I started,

Jake: 6:02

yeah, it was brought into my life. So my brother, uh, Jared, my younger brother, he would take growth hormone shots as a kid. So where there was always these boxes of needles. And so as I, you know, got into meth, I became the popular method because I had fresh needles. So I was bringing them, started shooting up at like the age of 17. Um, that went on for a few years, messing around. I actually got busted. Arrested in a park with some of my friends late at night, uh, with needles. And so that's how my, my, my parents found out I was doing that stuff is my dad had to come down to jail and pick me up.

Omar: 6:36

Oh, no, no. Before that, did they have any idea like the things you were doing? It wasn't until that, that moment?

Jake: 6:42

No, they knew I was, I mean, okay. So, you know, rewind a little bit when I, When I got into smoking cigarettes, it used to sneak up to those vending machines and put the 2 in that they were back then and back in the eighties. Yeah. Yeah. That's the, that's what we had. Um, and so I did that for a while and then I actually got arrested for stealing cigarettes from target. And that's how my mom found out that I was smoking cigarettes. And so she, you know, Started buying me cigarettes so I wouldn't steal them, which I mean, I get it. Um, but, you know, I, I was addicted to cigarettes my whole life. Um, I quit in 2010. Praise God. So, um, but my whole life it was, you know, its claws were in me. The, the spirit of addiction. Um, it's the same spirit. Like a lot of people don't get that, you know, there's no spirit of meth. Or spirit of cigarettes. It's the spirit of addiction. So it's the same demon grabbed on at a very young age, uh, with me. And then I think looking back now, I know it chased me into my older years, you know, with weed and alcohol and, um, sex and drugs and all that different things. I know it got rooted in, it got let in, in a very young age. Um, Can I ask

Omar: 7:54

you something? I know you mentioned like the, you know, like spirit clinging onto you. No, I know that you grew up in a Mormon home. Like, uh, as far as like your family, like parents, did they grow up in church themselves or they, did they come to faith at a later age? I mean, meaning. Or mom and dad, like always the straight and narrow or did they also have the wild side, like, so

Jake: 8:16

my dad was raised Jewish. Um, hence, you know, my bloodline, I, I, I love the Jewish faith. I love, uh, I'm, I'm, I'm a follower of Messiah Yeshua. I follow Jesus. I also love his religion. I love learning as much about what he loved and what he honored at the time. So, um, my dad was raised Jewish, um, partier. You know, drugs, hippie. Uh, my mom was raised Mormon. She was the only black sheep out of her family, out of the eight kids, she started hanging out with the hippies and smoking pot and going to the, you know, the festivals with the bullets around their neck and, you know, all that stuff that I missed, but, um, but yeah, that was my mom. So dad always kind of dabbled around and stuff and she fell away from the church. Actually, until they had me, um, and then my dad was converted to Mormonism. They started going to church because, you know, just like me, it's the only God they knew. I mean, it's what their parents fed them. So it's what made sense. And they tried their best to raise us into the Lord. I mean, we were hard kids. At least I was. Um, but yeah. Yeah. So, and then that continued through my life until, you know, you hit teenage years. There's just so much you can do. So they, they, they stopped forcing me to go to church. Um, and I chose the path of least resistance, which was partying and hanging out with my friends and stuff like that.

Omar: 9:39

Yeah. Okay. So, so you're back at the point you said, man, you had the needle. So man, you were like the popular guy there. So, okay. So you end up getting caught at the park. So what, what, uh,

Jake: 9:50

there's one more detail I want to, I want to add before I get to the, I apologize. So as I hit junior high, I became the fat kid. I became overweight. I was really, I didn't have many friends. I didn't have, you know, I was the guy that never got invited to the dance. I would go and just stand there and hang out with the guys and then they would be dancing with girls and I was that dude. So, you know, at a young age, I really. Had this spirit of rejection on me this just always wanting to be accepted and always always wanting to like just be wanted and And you know like appreciated. Um, and even my parents gave me away to the mormon bishop for a couple weeks Um, just at which again left me feeling kind of not wanted I mean, I know they love me and I know that they loved me then but as a kid trying to digest all that Um, you know, it left me with this sense of a lack of worth You which, which looking back now, it led me into a lot of clicks and a lot of, um, you know, lifestyles that maybe weren't the smartest and just seeking acceptance and seeking worth. I was hanging out with the wrong people at a young age. Um, so yeah, looking back when you unpack things, you can see kind of where that domino and how it got knocked over, which led me in this kind of a rogue, um, lifestyle. Um, but so anyway. I get busted and I went to jail for the night and my mom, you know, I'm actually, my dad came and picked me up, took me home. Then they got me, uh, they checked me into a rehab, um, in Mesa, Arizona called TLC, and it was like a halfway house, you know, it wasn't like some fancy, uh, rehab center. There was, you know, I'm, I'm this. 17 year old, 18 year old kid. And, and there's like 50 old men in there that are like beating people with chains, you know what I mean? To get money, to get more crack. And I'm this kid who's doing a little bit of meth and, and, you know, partied on some acid and stuff like that. So it was a awakening for me. I saw at a young age what I didn't want to be like, I couldn't believe some of the stories I was hearing, you know, sitting with these guys, um, You know, and hearing, you know, there's in AA and stuff, there's open share. So hearing these guys share things they've been through, you know, it made me realize, you know, I, I didn't, this is what I'm looking forward to if I don't like figure this out. Um, so anyway, I got out of that. I was in there for 90 days. Um, and you know, I, I quit and cleaned up, started, started going back to the Mormon church for a little bit. Um, and you know, that kind of, didn't last too long. Um, I ended up having a really bad trip on acid. Um, and it was about a year process, actually years and years and years, but the hard part was about a year. Um, I wasn't been able to sleep at night, night terrors. I kept having flashbacks, stuff you hear about, um, and all

Omar: 12:51

that from one, from one NASA trip from a bad asset. No, I've, I've

Jake: 12:54

done acid like Tons of times, like large amounts at times. There was just this one time and I took, you know, a couple of hits of acid and lost my mind completely. It, it was, I was scared. I was never going to get my mind back. So my mom hit me into a couple of good. I'm sorry.

Omar: 13:11

No, no, no, no. I said no, no, no way. Like, uh, it was like that bad where.

Jake: 13:16

It was horrible. I, I started, you know, entertaining thought processes that were insane. Like, like that, you know, everyone's like, there was a moment. I thought people were aliens. I thought this was all fake. Um, and this lasted a while, like it was, and it was palatable. It was genuine. Like I really, this trip was, I don't know, it was nothing like I ever experienced. It showed me how fragile our mind is if we don't take care of it. So that took. And that's when I started getting plugged back into Mormonism because it's like the only God that I knew, you know, I just needed healing. I knew that I'd, I'd, I'd screwed up. So I started going to church. I started preparing to go on a Mormon mission, actually. Um, that's where they go away for 2 years and go preach the gospel at a young age. Um, so anyway. I get out of that rehab center. This is, you know, during this time. Um, and I fell back into, I met this guy, really cool cat. We were at like a Mormon dance. We became friends. I started drinking a little bit on the weekends. You know, we were the. The Jack Mormons, they call it. And so we'd have a couple of beers and that led, at least for me, back into weed, um, and stuff like that. And that went on for a few years. I was waiting tables, um, and then I met, um, well, I was selling cars actually after that. And then I met my, my oldest daughter's mom. She came in and bought a car. Uh, we ended up getting together and, uh, ended up getting her pregnant. And while she was about six months, we split up quick about six months. Um, I got, I had another woman pregnant, um, Jema, who was a good friend of mine for a bit, but we ended up started dating. And, uh, so I had two women pregnant at the same time. Yeah. Just being transparent. That's what, yeah, yeah. So, um, so Hannah was born my young, my oldest, um, on July in 99. And then I had my son born at the beginning of 2000. Um, so me and Jema got married. And, uh, you know, try to put a family together. She was pregnant again with my daughter, Soraya, um, in, in 2001. So between 99 and 2001, I became the father of three kids and, um, Just started working, I picked up a career cleaning carpets, um, and I still do that. I own a carpet cleaning company. And my son actually works for me now, but I tried to figure out how to be this dad. You know what I mean? And, you know, I would work all week, sometimes night and day. And I would get home and just want to spend some time with my wife. And all she wanted to do was go out dancing with the girls, you know, it's the weekend dad's home, my break. And I get it now, you know, she needed a break too. Um, she was at home all week, raising kids at a young age. So, you know, again, it left this feeling of worthlessness, you know, just like I'm working so hard and my own wife doesn't want to hang out with me. And, you know, I know that's necessarily not a hundred percent true, but that's just how it left made me feel. So anyway, I got, I asked my mom, you know, a few years back, I actually, the age of, uh, just almost 17 on my 17th birthday, I asked her for, uh, a bass guitar. Cause you know, I saw Metallica and I'm like, that's cool. I want to be cool. I mean, I guess my whole life, I just wanted to be one of the cool kids. You know what I mean? I was always the dork. So I got a bass guitar, started practicing, got into a band at the age of 19. Uh, kind of jumped a little bit back and forth. I apologize. It was a punk rock band. Um, I was Mormon, not, not partying or anything like that. Um, and that was the first taste of, um, acceptance that I'd ever had in my life. I'm bass player for this punk rock band and we would go play shows and people would want to talk to us and, and all that stuff. And, you know, I realized at a young age, I'm like, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I want to, I want to, I'm going to be famous. I want to play music and I'm going to, I'm going to be famous or bust. That was my life. That was all my arrows are shot in that direction. Then my kids came. And so I set all that down for a bit. And I started raising my kids, but then an offer came to me, um, of a band. I kind of, um, you know, I heard a few times they were a local band and they, it was a metal band and then they asked me to play bass. So I started playing bass with them and meth was reintroduced to mine and Jamie's relationship through my drummer sister. And so Jamie got hooked really bad. And she was, I was more of a weekend warrior cause I was just working during the whole week. And so on the weekends, maybe I'd get high, you know, at nights and stuff like that. But she got full blown, like for years, like bad, like homeless. So anyway, we, we did our best to make the marriage work for about, I think about four years. And we have ended up getting a divorce. Um, I, I was actually in my infidelity, um, and our mutual drug addictions, you know, led us to get a divorce. So she, uh, put a restraining order on me and I couldn't see my kids for, you know, about half a year, which was just, I love my kids, you know, uh, very much. It was hard, but, um, so I kept partying, kept doing math and hanging out with, you know, still it's a weekend warrior, but I was doing it. You know, full time. Um, and she got really bad. Um, and through the courts, they blessed me with full custody of Noah and Soraya, my two youngest. And, you know, I don't even, I couldn't believe the courts thought I was the better option to raise them. So, um, I cleaned up. I got off meth and I started raising my kids and just really working hard and she just continued to get worse and worse and worse. Um, and that went on for a while. Um, so I'm just working. I actually at a point moved back in with my parents so I could get back on my feet and and get my own apartment with Noah and Soraya. So it was me and Noah and Soraya at my parents house. I'm sleeping out in the garage. It's You know, you can see the, your breath in the air. I'm just, my kids are in on the couch. So, um, so I can have my own area. I slept out in this little, my niece, my niece's playroom in the garage. So it was just, my mom turned the garage into like a little princess wonderland. So I'm sleeping in this pink room

Omar: 19:27

on

Jake: 19:31

the ground, but that went on about six months, seven months. And I saved up enough money to get an apartment and have some money still cleaning carpets. Um, yeah. This went on for a while. I met a new woman, um, online and, uh, actually I think it was MySpace or something. I don't know. It was my space. Yeah. Remember? And, uh, and she was cool. She was responsible. Um, and you know, I, I'll be honest. I was searching for a family, uh, for me and my kids. My, my, my ex was into somebody else, you know, and I chased my family for. a while, probably three to four years. I just chased her. I wanted, I didn't know anything else. My mom and dad were married, you know, most of my life, almost my whole life. So, um, and so that's all I knew. I didn't know mom's house, dad's house that doesn't, didn't, didn't compete. So I was really going for like, we need to be back together. And finally I gave up on that. I met this woman, we got married. Um, and. It was at this time, uh, you know, and she was drinking and she actually worked at a strip club and, and it just wasn't the best, um, you know, environment, but I got offered through people knowing me for playing bass. I got offered a job playing bass in my favorite band. Like this is something you don't hear, but it's like movie stuff.

Omar: 20:52

So

Jake: 20:53

I was like, like a band that every time they would play a show, I would be at the show, you know, up in the front row, asked me to play bass or at least gave me a tryout. So I went down and I tried out and, and killed it. And they were like, do you want the position? And I was like, well, yeah, I mean, and they were a touring band. So I was like, yeah. I mean, my wife said it was okay. So, um, yeah. You know, I was in the music studio sometimes till one, two in the morning, dragging my kids down there and they're sleeping on the couch and we're writing new songs and, and, and kind of putting stuff together. Or I was on tour, you know, for sometimes three, four weeks at a time. Usually there were about little two week tours. Um, we had some long ones, but so it was while I was touring with those guys, um, that I got noticed by some bigger national bands. I was a very, uh, Uh, colorful entertainer, uh, to say the least, um, you know,

Omar: 21:45

what, what were some of those traits or, uh, things that you were doing with that?

Jake: 21:50

Full mohawk, face paint, black lipstick with smile. I mean, I used to, when I, when I show my testimony, sometimes I'll have pictures on like a screen, but we don't have it up. Yeah, I like fur coats. I'd come out in a fur coat and some of the bands I was in, I was, my name, I don't want to get into my nickname, but they would, they would bring me out on stage in cuffs and a jumpsuit and a Hannibal Lecter mask and uncuff me and hand me the bass. I would start playing. But that's where you started out. Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, needless to say, I was blessed to be a good player, um, and very, very colorful on stage. So I got opportunities, um, by bands that I was just like. I grew up listening to and bands that were on the radio and stuff like that to fill in on tours and, and record songs and stuff like that. So I got endorsed by, um, it all kind of started when I got endorsed by my favorite bass guitar company, which is Warwick, and they're like some of the most highest priced bass. Just, just like a lot of the really, really good players. Um, way better than me. That's all they play. Cause that's all, you know, they're so when I got that endorsement, once you're on that list, it was easier for me to get other endorsements from like AMP companies that I love, um, string companies, GHS, um, different cables and straps. And, and, and so once you're on their website as an endorsed artist, you know, your name gets added to like a roster. And so if someone needs an entertainer, you know, Hey, our bass player is having a baby and can't make the tour. We need someone to configure out the set here in about three weeks and then come out and tour with us. We'll pay, we'll pay you for the show and, and, you know, per show and then a per diem and stuff like that. Um, and so that went on for a while. I was touring all over, um, playing, you know, with. You know, going on tours with bands I grew up listening to. So I'm like sitting down, hanging out with these people, getting invited to dinner with like a lot of really high end famous people. Um, there was tech nine stuff. Um, I mean, just tons of bands, altar bridge, non point seven dust, just big bands that like I've always looked up to. I've kind of, it was able to make friends with these guys. And so I was on tour, um, And a woman reached out to me online and asked me if we were coming through New York on that leg of the tour because she wanted to meet me. She was pretty, um, very rock and roll. Um, we were exactly the same age, almost to the month. Um, and I was like, Hmm. You know what I mean? We even did the same job, which is cleaning up dead scene crime scenes. Like, I was like, what? Oh,

Omar: 24:23

is that what

Jake: 24:24

your job, that's what I do too. I, I clean up hazmat, uh, stuff, so. Wow. So we kind of, we kind of hit it off and we're like, whoa, maybe this is something special. So anyway, um, I didn't end up going through New York, but she flew out here to come see me. And it was when she was out here that I found out that legally she was still married, um, from what she told me is that, you know, they were married, but he sees other people. She sees other people. They're only living in the same house for the kids until they figure out something else, but they're not together. And so come to find out. That well, that was enough for me. Um, we didn't actually have, you know, we didn't have intercourse, but we ended up getting sexual while she was out here and doing some things. And, um, you know, I woke up the next morning after we were messing around and something felt different. And I don't know how to just to really put that into words like the whole world just seemed different and it wasn't like, you know, I was, I was touring around in rock bands, like, so it's a new thing to me, but something was different about this encounter. And I went outside and I remember everything just kind of looked gray, like the leaves had lost their vibrance. The world was different and I don't know how to put that into words unless you were there to just see it the way I was feeling it and seeing it in my spirit. And I wasn't like spiritual or anything at this time. You know what I mean? I was still, I always wore a cross, but I didn't know Jesus. I knew of him. Um, so anyway, she flew home and about. Two, three days later, I started getting sick. I started getting like flu like symptoms and my lymph nodes started hurting really, really bad. And I was getting night sweats and all these things. And, uh, so I thought I might've gotten sick. I was like, great. You know what I mean? Um, I was pretty terrified. So I set up an appointment to go down and get tested. And I went down and got tested. My ex wife, Jema, um, who by the way, cleaned up. And she's been sober about 13 years now. So we, we remain friends and we co parent and stuff like that. Um, so she came down with me to keep me company cause I was such a mess. I was so scared. And, um, so, uh, they said the test will take about a week to get the results back and, and it'll be in your email. So, um, a week went by and on, uh, May 20th or May 17th, or I'm sorry, May 26th, 2017, I got that email. It's Friday. And I was Uh, I was terrified. I didn't want to even open it. I was, I needed my family around. I'm like, just in case. So my mom says I get home at six, just come by over here and we'll, you know, we'll open it over here. So I went over there and we opened up the email and, uh, and it said that I was HIV positive. And so, yeah, so my whole world fell apart. I was in full, uh, Attack panic attack. Um, I remember I went outside and fell on my knees in the street and I was just like. You know, I figured there goes my chance, any chance of having a wife or, or I'm going to essentially be fighting for my life for the rest of my life from something that's going to eventually kill me. Um, I was terrified. Um, my brother Justin came over. My brother Jared came over. Um, and my brother Jared prayed over me for peace and healing and stuff like that, you know, from the Mormon religion, he came over and laid hands on me. Um, My brother Justin at the time was an atheist. Um, our younger brother got killed and it kind of drove him away from God. Um, and me for a little while. But, uh, so anyway, uh, I had my brother Justin take me home that night to my house and I was, uh, Not okay. I was fully suicidal. I was, I didn't see any reason to be alive anymore. Um, I ruined everything. You know what I mean? Um, I walked into my house, I stumbled into my house and I just went into my, my, my man cave, my, my music room. And I just kind of fell on my knees on the floor and I'm just looking up at the walls at all my prideful posters and endorsements and guitars and amps and just all this. It was like, and I started seeing all these autographs and stuff like that that I'd gotten from people and I realized in this absolute broken moment that I'd wasted my whole life. I'm like, none of these people can help me right now. And I've spent my whole life seeking the approval of man. And, and I never took time to get to know God. And I'm like, I didn't even know how to pray. I knew how to, you know, scream, but I didn't even, I didn't take time to do any of that. And so, you know, I had a really, a broken moment on the floor weeping and, uh, my brother, Justin came back and picked me up because he didn't want me to do something stupid. Um, and you didn't want me to be alone. I went over to his house and I didn't really sleep much. I tried to, I was on his couch and uh, it was just soaked. Like literally you could touch it and it would squish. It was soaked with sweat, which is also a symptom, night sweats. So I was freaking out, full blown. Um, I've never experienced anything like it. Um, I tattooed the dates on my, on my hand so I don't ever forget that weekend that changed my life. And so, um, someone reached out to me online. Actually, rewind just a little bit. I had my friend come over to keep me company. He's the lead singer of a band that we used to jam in. Very, very religious. I didn't want to use the word religious, but he had a relationship with God. And, uh, and he came over and was blessing my house and anointing the windows and praying over me. And And, uh, he said, while he was praying that God told him to tell me to go get baptized, go get baptized, go get washed and everything will be fine. And I just thought he was crazy. I'm like, I'm like, what does that even mean, dude? Like, I'm just trying to like, like, haha, this isn't the time for joking. And so I just totally discounted it. I mean, to, to be honest. Um, so I'm over at my brothers and I'm on my, my Facebook page and I'm, you know, I built quite a platform for myself over the years, playing music and the different bands that I was in. So I'm like, I didn't have a community, you know, so I reached out on there with a post just saying, I'm not okay. I didn't get to too much into detail. It's just, I'm not okay mentally right now. And I'm having the worst time of my life and I just need a friend. I just need people to pray for me. And someone reached out to me. I'd never met her before, but she followed some of the bands that I was in. She sent me a private message and it just said, uh, her name is Lisa, by the way. Uh, she's my little white dove. She's that, that, do you ever see the chosen? Yes. Okay. So you remember in season one where Mary walks to the cliff and she's going to jump and kill herself and that little white dove flies over and shows her how to get to Jesus. This is Lisa. She sent me a message and it said, Hey, there's a little church. Uh, it's on price and baseline. It's called 29 11. Uh, it may help and that's it. It's just simple And so I looked it up and it was like a mile from my house. I was like, what are the chances of that? So, um, I woke up that next morning Uh, and I decided I wanted to go check out this church because I was like still like not sleeping I saw no hope as far as I knew i'm dying and and it's just a matter of time. You know what I mean? um So my brother came over and I'm sorry, my mom came over and my brothers picked me up. Um, and took me to church. Jay McCann, my ex wife, and my daughter Soraya. And we walk in this little room and it's dark and they were doing this weird thing called worship that I didn't, they had their hands in the air. And, and, and it was a very small room, dude, maybe like 40 feet, maybe even like 30 feet by like. 16 feet. Um, very, very simple. Nothing I'd ever experienced. In fact, I was very uncomfortable. I didn't know what they're doing and all this stuff. And they knew all the words and I'm like, this is a Christian karaoke. Like, so, but I'm just being honest, man. I sat in the back row, just in the back. And so anyway, I walk in there, dude, and they happen to be doing baptisms. No one knew except me and my friend that talked to me and God. So I walk in there this little baby pool up front and they're doing baptisms and and after a few minutes of watching it was Very clear and very obvious that you had to sign up for this You know a couple weeks in advance because they have your picture on the screen and then they have like a scripture that you chose And so pastor mark did something. Uh, no one knew I was there. He did something that changed my life And at the end, he said, if there's anyone, he goes, I really feel it on my heart that if there's anyone in this room that wants to give their life to Christ and get baptized right now, I want to just hold the band off a little bit, hold the message off and open up time for that. Um, and so I'm just like, By this point I'm in tears because I can't believe like I'm remembering what my friend said and I'm seeing God and I'm like, yeah, I didn't, I didn't even know what I was seeing looking back now. I know that I was seeing something that was giving me hope. So anyway, I raised my hand and I went back and talked to one of the pastors and I went up and just got in the water and the clothes that I was in and I got baptized. And I couldn't even tell you what they were praying over me. Um, I was just so broken. I was so scared that I was afraid to get in the water. I thought I might have a cut on my foot and I didn't want to put that in the water with these two men. Like this is how bad it was being attacked inside. Um, so I remember I said to God in the water, I'm so sorry. I had a really broken moment and I'm just like, I ruined everything that you were going to do, um, with my life. You know what I mean? I'm sorry. I mean, the whole weekend I'm screaming, no and I'm begging God to just help me. And at this moment I just had this calm moment of acceptance and I'm just like, fine. I'm like, I did this and I'm sorry. And I asked him this very, very tough question. Honest humble question and I just said if there's please help what's left of me be with you say that I can still be And that was it. That's all I remember. I got out of the water I didn't feel any different wasn't like I got filled with the spirit at the moment or anything like that Um, I got out of the water and then my mom after the service, uh, you know I got plugged in with some people there and they said give us a four week challenge Come back for four weeks. And if this isn't the community for you, we'll find one that is Thank you So anyway, I leave church. My mom was like, let's take this email down to the urgent care and have the doctor look at it and read it and tell us what the next steps are because maybe you need to start some treatments and all this stuff. So I got out of the urgent care and the head nurse was there and she opens up the email and she says, Well, this doesn't mean 100 percent that you have HIV. It said HIV positive reactive, and it even said reported to the state at 730 PM on blah, blah, blah. So it said that I was HIV positive. She said that we recommend that you get more tests over the next six months to make sure. And so what happened in that moment was God deposited a little bit of hope in me. Up until that moment, I had none and I wanted to die. And so at that moment, I had a breath of his air, his breath. He gave me just enough to sip and, and, and go, there's hope. And so I went back to this church, you

Omar: 35:48

know, can I ask you

Jake: 35:49

something?

Omar: 35:49

I knew you mentioned the name of the church was 29 11. Is that because of Jeremiah 29, 11?

Jake: 35:55

Yeah, right. Other plans. I have for you. That's that's the Lord. Yeah. Yeah. Not, not, not for calamity, but for hope in the future. Um, yeah. So, um, so yeah, in fact, they have a little coffee shop where they make coffee. It's called Jeremiah's. And so, uh, it was a very special community full of love. I'd never experienced anything like it. Um, anointed. So I came back the next week. Um, cause I was going to do this four week challenge. Um, and so. I'm standing there and they start this worship thing again. And this song comes on and it was, it was called, I only want to sing. And the song is I only want to sing. If I sing with any, if I sing with everything, if I sing for you, my King. And for some reason at that moment, I saw everybody with their hands out. And I remember that I had this very simple moment where I just put my hands in front of me and I closed my eyes. And I remember exactly what I said to God, I said, if there's more, I want it. And I put my hands out. And that's when my life changed at that moment. I couldn't stand. Um, I didn't know what was happening. Um, I started crying. And as you see, I haven't stopped for 7 years. Um, I started weeping, um, snot. Um, the words started coming like out of the screen and going into my heart and God just gave me this, um, Overwhelming encounter with him. Um, and I'd never experienced it. And I'd never even heard of baptism in spirit and fire. It was completely organic. Um, I had this burning sensation of my legs and I started going numb and tingly and I couldn't do anything but fall to my knees. And so. You know, one second, I'm embarrassed to put my hands in front of me. And now I'm the only guy in the whole room on my knees, like, like prostrate. I couldn't do anything but weep and put my face to the ground. And then he just had me lay on my side, almost in the fetal position. I just weep. And I laid there. When I finally had the strength, I mean, I don't know how to describe it. There's no putting it into words. It was like, it was a download that God showed me that he's been by me every second of my whole life. And he showed me where he gave me, he let me know that I didn't want this for you. I didn't want you to have to go through this. And I tried to stop it here and here and here and here. And he showed me that he loved me the same now as he did back then. And so, you know, and then they started preaching on Paul

Omar: 38:21

and

Jake: 38:21

anyway So I I get to the back of the room and i'm hiding behind these chairs Um, I didn't know what to do So I crawled back there and i'm just sitting in the corner of the room by myself crying trying to figure out what's going on um And the pastor's wife found me and and you know said and saw me and knew what was up. So she goes anyway, um I go home that night and I sit down and I put on TV to watch Dexter. Like it was my favorite show at the time, you know, I was the, you know, the show Dexter, he's like a serial killer who kills serial killers. And so I put it on to watch it. And for the first time in my life, something didn't feel right. When a kill scene came on, you know, just yesterday I was fine. And, and now I put this on and I felt like I shouldn't be watching this. It's the only thing I can explain. And I was uncomfortable watching it for the first time. And no one, there wasn't like a sermon on, you shouldn't watch this. Or there wasn't like, you know, no one guided me. It was. The Holy Spirit, I realized at that moment that this thing that I had heard of just happened to me and that God was living in here now and he wasn't okay. And he wants to show me how to be. And so I turned it off. I haven't watched it since. And then I went to listen to some music later that night. Some secular stuff that I used to really love. And there comes that feeling again. And I'm just like, He's very gracious. He, he, he, he guided me into truth. And it was that day that my life changed. It wasn't the baptism. It was that day that I realized that God was real. This is all real. This is so real. And then I found him the same next week in worship. And then I remember sitting in my truck going, God, can we have this like all the time? Can I just put on this music and sing to you and you're there? And he showed me, yes, yes, even alone in your truck, I will, I'll sit with you. And so, um, So anyway, I had a lot of learning to do, man. Um, I was like, I was at that moment. I thought I'm going to be the best Mormon ever. I'm just being honest. Like, I'm like, I'm going to learn the word of God. They started with Paul and, and, and I saw, well, if Paul can be used, so can I.

Omar: 40:38

Can I ask you something? The church you went to, was it a Mormon church? Would you experience all this? No, no, this

Jake: 40:43

it was, uh, as a G assemblies of God.

Omar: 40:47

Okay.

Jake: 40:47

Yeah. So again, I wasn't in the Mormon church. It's just all I really knew some moments in other churches, but like, I picked up my Bible because we went through john. Someone told me, you know, started in john and I was like, okay, So I started, you know, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word became, the Word was God, and the Word was with God, and then if you go to the verse 14, this is the verse, and it said, And then the Word became flesh. And I was like, and then I started realizing that this book that I'm holding is Jesus Christ, and that, and if I want to know Him, like really know Him, I didn't want to be a product of my parents, unless that was what was true. And I wanted, God says, if you seek me with a whole heart, you'll find me. And I believed him because I know he's real now, different. I know he's real. I don't have to like, well, maybe no, I'm like, okay, okay. That's it. You have my whole life. So I would get out of my, in my RV every morning and open up my Bible and I was scared at which one to read because in Mormonism, they're like, only read from this one. But I'm like, I'm setting all that aside and I'm going to start with the Bible. And if Mormonism is true, that's where I'll land. And so I opened up the Bible. And you know, I had all these different versions of it like because I didn't have the bible app yet Um, so i'm just reading hours eight hours a day. I'm out there listening to worship music watching sermons I would fall asleep out there and then I had a travel trailer out in front of my house So I made it my my secret place my inner chamber um, and the more I started reading I started seeing these scriptures about having a secret place and I'm, like i'm gonna do that. It was like it was just it was really cool the way everything came together You Um, so anyway, over the next six months, I was tested, uh, four times, all came back negative for HIV. So I've been completely healed. Um, I don't, I don't have HIV. Um, I had people from the church pray healing over me that day because I'd let some people know what, what, why I was such a wreck. And so, you know, why God graced me like that. I don't know because I deserved it. Um, but he did and and since then he's allowed me to become a pastor and a chaplain and the president of a Christian motorcycle club. I get to shepherd these amazing men called the deacons NC. And I just love them and I love, uh, spreading the gospel and I've seen, I can't even count how many miracles I've seen happen when, when, when I pray with people and when I see prayer, it's like, uh, God's graced me with so many holy moments that I'm like, look at me. I'm like, I'm the least of them. And it's the raddest thing ever, dude. It's, it's like, it's like, never think God's done with you. Like, I thought I'd hit the pinnacle of my life. I was touring with all these bands, all the drugs and women I wanted was just there. I mean, that's just how it is. Um, and then I found God and now he lets me do all of this. And, um, I'm just like, I'm overwhelmed with joy and love from him. And now I go and I, I preach the gospel and I bring hope and, and I let people know not to give up, um, that, you know, no matter where you're at, God's got a plan. Um, none of it's a surprise to him. He's not like, Whoa, I didn't see that happen or come in. You know what I mean? So, um, in fact, it says he goes before us and clears a path. So, um, I just pray that everybody's able to find that path and, and, and, you know, I quit all the bands I was touring in. I called them that night, the night that I realized that I wasn't okay watching Dexter. I, I knew I also wasn't okay going into bars and playing music and putting face paint on anymore. So I called the three bands I was, I was in at the time and quit them all. We were actually supposed to leave the next day for, uh, A tour and uh, and I told him you're just gonna have to track my bass play the bass tracks I'm, sorry guys. I love you, but I can't I can't do this anymore. So yeah, and it's just been a uh, an ongoing Uh lovely walk through the garden and god's held my hand and I get to go into some pretty, you know, dark dangerous places Um with this club and and bring the gospel. Yeah, never think that god can't use you kind of a thing

Omar: 45:08

I got you. Okay. Now, um, when they, when you had that moment, how, how long has it been from that moment to seven

Jake: 45:15

years, seven years, seven, seven years ago, uh, last month was the, it's been since I, uh, was filled with the spirit actually may, um, may, may 28th, 2017 was the day that that happened.

Omar: 45:31

The thing that I love about is you, you said you were feeling all this and you, you hadn't never even heard, you know, like, yeah, it happened like the baptism. So like you said, man, You were feeling it. And then, um, like what happened with me, like, uh, when I went up there to the altar and the pastor prayed for me, I felt like that heat. And at that moment, I didn't, I didn't know what it was in my mind. I was like, man, it's just hot in here, but what's going on? You know, maybe it's the lights up here on the altar. But the next day when I woke up, same thing, like nobody needed to tell me, Oh, you need to stop doing this. And that I just felt it on the inside. And it was. So like uncomfortable that man, I just had to stop. Like I, I couldn't explain it. And it wasn't till later on till I start reading the Bible and the scriptures, like you mentioned, you start to realize some of the things that are happening. Okay. Yeah. The Bible says this and that, you know, the Holy Spirit and just what happens to, to, to all the apostles in the book of Acts and all these things. Yeah.

Jake: 46:29

And the cost,

Omar: 46:30

like,

Jake: 46:31

he still does that. And yeah, it's exactly what it did for me. I started seeing what had happened to me in the Bible. And I was like, wow, I'm like, this is true. All of this is true. So if all of this is true, then nothing else matters. Nothing.

Omar: 46:48

Nothing.

Jake: 46:49

I'll be homeless by a dumpster and still be absolutely happy as long as I'm in your will. And as long as I'm trying to show people how important this is, it's like, there's nothing more important than spreading the hope of Jesus Christ. Yeah, it overwhelms me. And being ADD, I couldn't read and retain bro. So I'm sitting in this trailer, more broken moments, crying like, God, I just read this whole paragraph and I don't remember any of it. I'm on to the next one. I forgot what I read. So. I wasn't retaining anything. And so some of my prayers were literally begging God, like God, father, I know that you're real. I need to know you and I know it's here. I need you to help me. I need a miracle. And so to this day, it's the only book I've ever read and retained over and over and over and over. I just, I can scriptures just bubble out. Um, it's literally, You seek me with a whole heart you'll find me and and so he's etched it on my heart. Um, Yeah, it's just really cool There was a lot of really broken moments like scared that i'm not going to be able to know him like other people

Omar: 47:55

Yeah, uh,

Jake: 47:55

do you know what I mean? And so oh, yeah. Yeah Uh, but he even bought a bible scholar the Bible teacher to our church, like she just happened to move there from Germany, talked about four years, taught me hermeneutics, taught me actual, uh, study and inductive method of study, um, ways that were, that would break the Bible down contextually, um, and help me understand it so that I wouldn't get poisoned with different theologies and things that don't really line up with what this says. If you break it down, you know, I'm not a Pharisee by any means, but I like context. Okay. Just because I was, um, you know, I was raised with something that tasted really good, Mormonism. I mean, but it was a lie when I found out that it wasn't true because this doesn't line up and this doesn't line up and this doesn't line up. I needed to have a rock to stand on when I figured out this relationship with God. And so, um, In order to do that, I knew, I knew I had to contextually study the Bible. I had to know what the authors were, why they were writing the book, who they were writing it to, what was going on in the region at the time. Even, I studied Hebrew and Greek, because I, I, I just love it, dude. I, I, the more that I can learn and know about him, do I need to? No, it's not a salvation breaker. Yeah, yeah, yeah, right. I get to, there's, it's out there to go get if you want it. And it's like, I am so in love with him.

Omar: 49:15

So I

Jake: 49:16

know as much as I can know. Um, so when I'm having these conversations, if a question comes up, I want to do my best to answer it because I never know when I'm going to get that moment back. Or when that person's gonna not have that moment. So, yeah. And, and, um, it's been pretty rad, dude. it's been pretty, that's,

Omar: 49:34

that's a, a amazing, uh, I just started, uh, um, in the beginning of July, July 1st. It's only been like, what, how many days were in 11, 11 days? I, uh, I, I had a brother that, uh, told me that he reads through the Bible every year. Bible, man, it really brought conviction to me. Cause to be honest, you know, just to be transparent, I'm like in and out. I'm like, as far as like my word life, it was like very, you know, up and down some days, yeah. Some days, no. When he shared that, I'm like, man, it just brought out like a conviction. Like, man, I know. Um, I, if I'm going to be doing ministry, I got to be in the word like daily, it's got to be like a discipline. It basically, it's a must. And then I actually asked God to forgive me because I feel like I've been, I've been doing ministry, like in a sense, uh, you know, I don't know if you ever heard this term, but like almost if you're, you know, Last year's manner in a sense. Like I'm, I'm, I'm off what I ate, you know, like a long time ago, but yeah, I know I need something new. Like you mentioned something about when somebody asks you something like, like if, how can I give something that I don't have, like, if I'm not in there studying, if I'm not, I'm the same way like you, I don't think I ever got diagnosed. With that, but I, I'm the same way. Like, it's hard for me to pay attention to focus. I've been able to read, but I always had a problem retaining it. And that's been one of my prayers, like, Lord, help me to, to retain, you know, to retain your word and to memorize it, to be able to, when I opened my mouth, that it would go forth. I would say the same thing. So man, definitely got to be in the word. Uh, I was going to ask you, I would say, so you're studying a Hebrew and this, uh, I know in the beginning you said your dad was Jewish and you mentioned Yeshua and I see you got the, then they're like to throughout your studies that, that, that, uh, lead you like to maybe study more like, um, I guess like Old Testament and get more of like, I guess, to put it all together, you know, there.

Jake: 51:36

Yeah. Um, so for me, like. Again, I can only share from a platform in my life. I started with the new testament Um, and I went through the gospels and acts and romans and and then I just fell in love with paul Like so I started really reading the epistles and getting to know, you know About paul and about his missions and and all this stuff and and I would do like little studies about the people Um individually, but once I got the the new testament Um, not like down, but I got it through me a few times and I, and I understood it and I could, you know, tell you the story pretty much. Um, I knew that there was a, this, like, okay, I started being called to read the Old Testament, like, and, and find, because Yeshua's through the Old Testament too. You do the whole book. So it's like, now that I know him and I know his character, I want to be able to, cause I know that I have to teach. I know that I've got to speak to the Jews. I just, it's a calling on me is to call my people home. And so I got to understand how to do this. So I've got to understand their culture too. And, and, and all these different things so that I can show them that the best. The best jewish person that you can be is a follower of yeshua Because it's been it's been spoken through the torah and pentateuch and it's enough for for all the time Uh, you know in the beginning so like before anything he was there. Um, so Yeah, so that's kind of you know, my my my driving force Behind that was was just wanting to know as much as I could know about him. Um, And i've also learned that a lot of times, um contacts can be lost through translation Um You know, so like a word in hebrew may mean something a little bit different than it does now when we read it in english The basic gist is there but then you get theology um Conflicts and all these different things and so it's like it's not a big deal to me if it's not a salvation breaker I'm, not gonna argue with you over it. I love you and try to understand why you feel that way about the theology I'm, not gonna I don't have time to you know have debates. Um, unless it's like You There's there's more than one way to the father, then we're gonna have a talk. Then we I need to show you that it's through the Son, but everything else, like, you know, flat earth and all that stuff. I don't have time to, you know, I'll have a talk. I mean, if someone wants to talk to you, my point on it, but I got better things to do. I got to tell my neighbor about Jesus. You know what I mean? So It's kind of my take on it. I want to be as well rounded, um, as I can. Um, there's a song called deep dive. Have you heard it? No, but by who? No, I haven't. I forget who sings it, but the chorus says, I'd hate to reach the end of my life and find out there was more I could have known about, you know, he's just like, take a deep dive, take a deep dive. He's singing about his relationship with God. Um, I'd hate to reach the end of my life and realize there was more that I could have, you know, walked with him here. Um, Yeah, so that's kind of why. Does that answer your question at all?

Omar: 54:33

Oh, yeah, yeah, for sure. Yeah, yeah. You know, like you, you feel called to them and do you like, um, uh, do that like in, in, uh, in intentionally, like maybe go to them or is that just part of like your ministry?

Jake: 54:46

So I, I want to be equipped when I do because I've been called to that. I feel it on my heart. I do, uh, uh, from time to time attend a messianic congregation, which is, um, there's usually believe that Yeshua is the Messiah and not just rabbi. Um, and so they, you know, they honor the feasts and the festivals and things like that, which is really cool. Oh, yeah. Those things were super important to Yeshua. So, you know, if we're disciples of him, which means a carbon copy of our teacher, then they should be important to us. You know what I mean? But is, is the, we're not bound to them anymore, but we get to do them still. I mean, so I like, why wouldn't I want to know more and, and, uh,

Omar: 55:28

One of my greatest experiences, like, uh, as far as that was like partaking in a, in a Passover where they did it, man, I forget what year it was, but, uh, they, you know, they did everything like, like the way they were with the lamb with the herbs and, uh, the bread and the wine and everything. And they, I love the way they taught what everything meant, you know, like they explained it, how would it meant back then. And it was so amazing. Cause, uh, Uh, it was one of those nights it was an actual Passover where the moon was red So we went outside and it was the blood moon. I forget what year that was man, it was to me that was like so amazing like according to to his to his calendar to his time and Everything was like man. It was just amazing to see like to look up at the moon and Like, I felt like I was seeing what they saw back then, you know, I don't know, to me it was an amazing moment. So I love to learn about that.

Jake: 56:24

I feel the same thing when we do it. You feel this connection. Like, because it actually says that at that same moment, Yeshua is in heaven having Seder. So he's dining with you. And then they've got the open seat for Elijah. So, um, I, yeah, I love it. I try to do it. We just did our first big one here, um, at the ranch. And we, I think we had like 21 people come by and it was just a lot of tears, um, reading the story of the Exodus and, and, and really understanding the bitterness and the herbs and, and, and, and the, the lamb bone and which sacrifice, which is Yeshua,

Omar: 56:58

um,

Jake: 56:58

yeah, it's just, it's really cool. I was, it was, uh, I'll never miss it again.

Omar: 57:02

Okay.

Jake: 57:03

Yeah. It's so awesome.

Omar: 57:05

That's something that, that I will want to do again, you know, so maybe one year I'll, I'll take a ride out there, man, and check it out. I'd love to

Jake: 57:10

have you.

Omar: 57:12

You know, I was going to ask you now, I know you mentioned the club. I got to ask you about that. Cause uh, JC posted a picture, I believe like a whole bunch of you, uh, show up at his house. And like, man, I had all these bikes and all you guys hanging out at his house. Uh, so how did you become involved in the, in this, uh, club

Jake: 57:27

in the club? Okay. So, um, about, uh, A couple years after I found Christ, um, someone, I was having a really rough spell. I'd lost everything and, um, someone had pretty much gifted me a Harley Davidson. And so I'm like, You know, I wish I could find some people that I could just ride around with because I immediately fell in love with pack riding. So i'm like, uh, I wish I could find some people to ride with so I put a post up online on like the the The christian biker page or whatever and I was like, hey, is there any good? You know, I didn't even know anything about clubs. I didn't watch sons of anarchy. What is that? Oh, so i'm just like I just wanted some dudes to ride with And, um, someone reached out, um, and told me about the Deacons, um, and invited me to like a Christian gathering. So I went to this gathering and watched some, some Christian hip hop artists and, and got to meet some people from the club and then, you know, they called me back out to another one of their events. And so I hung around for like, you know, three, four, five months, just, you know, going as a Christian, not a part of the club. Um, and then, uh, I asked what do I have to do to like, you know, if I want to have some of those cool patches too. And, um, So I prospected for a while, I think about 90 days. Um, and then I got patched in. And then about a year later, I got asked to be the chaplain. So, you know, I became the chaplain of the deacons. Um, and that lasted about two years. And then I got voted in as the vice president. And then that lasted about eight months. And then our president was asked to step down. And the national president asked me to be the president of the state of Arizona. Yeah. Of the desert crew and I had all the guys vote. I'm like, I don't not just going to come in here like that I the only way i'm going to leave these men is if they want me to be their president. So, um So that happens and I became their president. They they voted me in and i've been the president now I think like a year and six months a year and five months something like that But that's how that went on i've been with them about five years

Omar: 59:39

Like I showed at the beginning you guys have your statement And all these things you gotta abide by so man, I find that to be amazing You gotta have like character i'm sure there's like your walk gotta be on, you know, yeah

Jake: 59:50

Um, I mean we have That's what we strive for. Yeah, of course, right So, like, to be an officer, yes, you have to line up for sure. Um, to be a deacon and start prospecting, you can still be working through some things in life. Because what better way to learn how to be a man of God than to hang around men of God. So, before you can, you know, there's some things you got to work through. You earn these patches. So when you get them, they mean something to you. It's a brotherhood. You would protect these guys. You would die for these guys. And so that's kind of what we put up here, put up, um, you know, as, as deacons and as we're a family, our girls are involved, our families are involved. Um, we'll drop what we're doing to help a brother anytime. Like, it's like, I'll go to a different state if he needs my help. Um, it's just good to know that you've got, you know, a community like that. And we protect other people. Uh, we, we, we're security a lot. Oh, yeah. Yeah, oh, yeah, like different christian events. They they'll call us and ask us just to do security Um, so we'll you know, we we hold the perimeter Um, just to make sure everyone's safe and all that stuff. So we got a lot of calling like we'll just People like they don't look at us like we're you know, this is what a christian is But so but we're the probably the first ones at the gas station to be holding somebody and praying with them Like so other cars pull in and see these leather vest tattoo guys, you know praying for people and it and it's just Changes their outlook on people. Um, and, and in some cases it's more palatable for people. It's more like, like, it's like, wow, that's something I could get behind. You know what I mean?

Omar: 1:01:23

Yeah. Um, I believe some people feel like, ah, you know, there's no way that, that I could be a Christian or religious, you know, I'm not, I'm not, you know, maybe I'm rough around the edges and they see somebody like you guys, you know, praying and being bold about it. Like, man, that, Definitely. I think it does make a difference, like an impact. And actually I, I seen a, a bit, a little short clip, somebody posted you praying at the gas station for somebody, man, there he goes again. He, he can't go nowhere without stopping somebody. And that's awesome though, man. That's awesome that you guys have that. You know what I know you mentioned security type of outreach work. Do you guys do?

Jake: 1:02:03

Our main thing is we work with the homeless, we try to bring them food and clothing and pray with them and, and, uh, We we serve at churches. Our biggest thing is praying the gospel and doing baptisms So we're we're going to be doing a thing out by the salt river here called bikes and baptisms And it's a once a month thing so we will cook lunch for anybody who comes and And you know teach them some things and if they want to get baptized, we'll baptize them right there um Yeah, that's that's some of our main things and then family and unity is also super super huge and important. Um Um But yeah, that's pretty much, that's our main thing. Plus just being a family, it's, it's a double sided coin. There's a lot of outreach, but there's also a lot of community that we're trying to build with the club too, for the people in the club.

Omar: 1:02:48

Um, does that make sense? Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure. No, definitely. Uh, how did you end up meeting a J C? How did you, how did that happen?

Jake: 1:02:55

So he was talking to our national president. Uh, in California, and the national president reached out to me and just gave me his influence and reached out to him, you know, he's out in Arizona and, and, you know, he's a deacon or not, he's still a brother in Christ and, uh, and I just wanted to bring up, you know, reach out and let him know he's got a family here. He's got brothers here that, that if he needs us for anything or anything, we're here to support him and stuff like that. So we kind of became friends that way. Um, talking back and forth online. I would pray with him before he's going to, to speak at the, at the prisons and stuff like that. So, um, yeah, that's kind of how I met JC. He's he's rad. I like that. I love that.

Omar: 1:03:35

Yeah. He's, he's definitely man. Ever since I, I got like, uh, we reacquainted with him, we reconnected. I think two and a half years ago, somewhere around there. Man, that's how I started doing this. And I'm, I'm currently doing a prison ministry myself out here in Chicago. So it was all because when God grabbed ahold of him, it started like a ripple effect and it started making an impact, not just out there, but even out here. You know?

Jake: 1:03:57

Amen.

Omar: 1:03:58

Yeah,

Jake: 1:03:58

he's amazing. I love JC

Omar: 1:04:00

for sure, brother. But man, thank you for your time, man, for being out here. And I truly appreciate it. Do you have like a, maybe a word, something that we didn't get a chance to touch on that? Do you want to share maybe we're going to listen to your story?

Jake: 1:04:13

Sure. So, um, the message would definitely be don't tell God when he's done with you. Yeah. I don't care what that report says, you know, if you've heard, you know, through my story, we can hear a report of something that we would think means it's, it's no, it's not. Okay. Don't ever give up on God. And just seek the Lord, I guess, just get around a community of people that can remind you who God says you are, and don't ever think he's done with you because right when you think you've hit the end of that rope, he's got, that's just where the ropes actually beginning. So yeah, respond well when those moments come. Um, that'd be the best advice I can give people. Don't, don't give up on yourself. Cause I know God hasn't. And I mean, look at people like me, look at people like JC, look at people like yourself, like God will use us in a big way. We just have to be willing to allow them to do that. Um, yeah, submission is important. It's a much stronger word than we think.

Omar: 1:05:14

Yes, man. Submission. Love that. Hey, brother, can you close us out in a prayer before we get ready? I would love that. I would

Jake: 1:05:20

love that. Yeah. All right. You ready? Father God, Lord, we just thank you for today. God, I thank you for my brother. I thank you for, uh, the ministry of this amazing podcast that you've, that you've deposited in his heart. God asked you that, that, um, that you would prepare the soil of the people that are going to watch this, that, um, the story of my life, the letter that you're writing through my mistakes and through my messes. Um, and how you turn it into a message. God, I thank you that it would touch them in the, in the parts of their soul that, that they need growth, that they need watering, that they need love. Um, God, I that you would protect us all. Um, keep us safe as we go forth and spread the gospel. Um, God, I thank you for your spiritual provision in our lives. Um, I ask you, Lord, allow us to be um, examples of love. Show us how to do that. Help us be effective and palatable. God, we love you. Um, I just pray a special blessing of healing, um, on any of my brothers and sisters that are watching right now, that the Holy Spirit would fill you with healing, um, and strength, um, that he would lift you into a calling, um, that he spoke over you before the foundation of the earth. God, we praise you. We thank you for your breath. Lord, help us steward it wisely in the name of our Messiah Yeshua, Jesus, our powerful, perfect King. Amen.

Omar: 1:06:35

Amen. Amen. Yeshua's name. Amen. Hey, brother. Um, is there a somewhere like where people could Can find your, like, maybe you got a social media handles out there with the kids. So, yeah,

Jake: 1:06:48

I'm, I'm on Facebook as, as Jacob Ekelman, um, it says Deacons MC in the middle of my name, or you can look up the Deacons MC desert crew page. And if you need me, send me a message on either of those and I will respond. So, um, right now it's just Facebook. We had a website coming up soon and, and just different avenues of being able to get ahold of us for help. So.

Omar: 1:07:10

Amen. Amen, brother. Thanks for sharing that. And I'll definitely, once I release this, uh, uh, the interview, I'll put some links on there where people can click on there and reach you guys. And with that, you know, we're going to get ready to, uh, to, to sign off. Um, uh, Matthew four 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. Alongside my brother, uh, Jake, uh, my name's Omar Calvillo and we are wrong to strong.