"He Makes Even His Enemies To Be at Peace With Him" w/ Daniel Rivera

In this compelling podcast, host Omar Calvillo interviews Pastor Daniel Rivera, who narrates his profound journey from gang involvement in Chicago and Gary, Indiana, to redemption and ministry. After a tragic incident leading to incarceration, Rivera encountered faith in Christ through a fellow inmate, which became the turning point in his life. At this point he had been incarcerated nine years already and had established himself at the top of his gangs leadership. He was torn as to what to do as he knew that God wanted him to walk away from this lifestyle. One scripture in particular would prove to be what gave him the faith, confidence and courage to step away from his gang life and it was Proverbs 16:7 which says, "When a man’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him". His faith guided him through prison, work release, and reconnecting with his family, eventually leading him to establish his own business and delve into ministry. Pastor Rivera now dedicates his life to helping former inmates and those battling addiction, underscoring themes of struggle, transformation, and the empowering pursuit of purpose through faith.

https://www.restorationhousegary.com/

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: 0:56

Wrong to Strong Chicago. I'm your host. My name is Omar Calvillo and tonight I have my guest here is Pastor Daniel Rivera. Uh, I had the opportunity to connect with this brother, had to be a few months ago. Uh, I drove out to, uh, Gary, Indiana. He's in charge of a ministry called restoration house out there. he called me out there to interview, uh, Mike Petrobic. Uh, if you guys haven't heard that testimony, you definitely, you got to go and check it out. Awesome story that he had, God's redemption and just transformation in his life. But I'm glad to have my brother here. He drove all the way from Indiana. So welcome to the podcast, brother. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Man, it's been, it's been a long time in the making, man. I know what we're talking a little bit beforehand, how it was a struggle to get here, but here you are, man, praise God, praise God. Um, we'll eventually get into how we met. That's, you know, we met, I think it was maybe 2008 or something like that, somewhere around there. What was it? It was 2008, but, uh, we'll, we'll get into that. So how we met and basically why we're here and we'll also share the awesome work that you're doing through that ministry at Restoration House. Uh, but we like to start at the beginning. If you could tell us, you know, what, what, what, uh, area did you grow up in, what city, uh, you know, and if you could describe, uh, how that was for you, like growing up, you know.

Daniel: 2:18

Yeah. So I, I was born in Chicago. I was born on the South side of Chicago, Southeast side. Um, most people are familiar with Commercial Avenue. Um, I grew up close to Bessemer Park Bowen High School, that that area of Chicago. Uh, my mother raised my brother and I by herself. Um, at 10 years of age, my mother seen that I was beginning to become attracted to the gang members and drug dealers. And I had some older cousins who were involved already in the streets and She began to see that my attention was being drawn in that direction. And so she packed up her family to save her son moved to Indiana. And that was in 1986. Okay. How old

Omar: 3:09

are you at this time? When the move happens, I was 10, 10 years old. Okay.

Daniel: 3:13

Yeah. But before that, I was, uh, I was just like, like I said, I was starting to, uh, look in different directions for identity. You know, I was starting to, uh, visualize myself or imagine myself being like what I was seeing. And I think my mother, like I say, I think my mother took notice to that and said, no, not her son. And she was going to, um, do everything she could within her power as a single mother to protect her son. And so she decided to move to Hammond, Indiana. where I got introduced to sports. Okay. Um, I was always an athlete, but in Indiana there were more, uh, there were more sports available for my age group. And so I got involved with, uh, Little League baseball and that, that, that began to take my attention away from the things that were beginning to inspire me to go towards the streets. And, um, as, as a young man, I was pretty good, at least in Little League, I was pretty good. And so I began to visualize myself. a professional baseball player.

Omar: 4:34

Okay.

Daniel: 4:34

And so for a while I began to identify with people like Shawon Dunston and Mark Grace. And

Omar: 4:42

for those that don't know Chicago Cubs, that's right, man. Only team in Chicago.

Daniel: 4:47

That's right. And so, um, as I was saying, I began to, to aspire to become. You know, a professional baseball player. And I did that until I was about 16 years old. I got involved with little league baseball. I got involved with wrestling. I got involved with cross country and just different, different types of sports, which distracted me for a while. But, but baseball was my passion. And at, uh, 16 years of age, I realized I didn't really have. I didn't really have the skills that it took to, uh, at least in my mind, I didn't have the skills that it took to, to become a professional baseball player. So I kinda began to, uh, try to find something else to occupy my time and it wasn't long. It's, it's, it's interesting. It wasn't long brother Omar before I began to think back to those dreams I had when I was growing up in Chicago, looking at the gang bangers and looking at the drug dealers and thinking. Yeah. That, that, that's, that's how I wanna identify myself.

Omar: 5:55

Hey, could, could I ask you this, during those years that you mentioned you were doing all the sports and being involved, you know, it sounds like you were keeping busy. What was, were those thoughts of 10 years old of being in the, were they're like dormant? Did they ever Yeah. You know, didn't cross your mind or, you

Daniel: 6:09

know, the, it's, you know, there's, there are people who downplay the idea that movies. don't influence people. But during those years, those were the late eighties, early nineties. During those years, you had movies like new Jack city and colors and, um, Scarface and all of these movies kind of kept me reminded of what I seen as a child and, and kind of kept me reconsidering the idea that I could be what I was seeing. You know, I find it interesting when I think about my life and I think about my, my story, I see how even as a little kid, God gave me the ability to see before I became since I was a child. I remember as a child growing up, as I said, as I mentioned, my mother was a single, a single mother raising two boys. Um, And so she didn't have a whole lot extra to give. And so if I wanted something, I kind of had to make it happen. And as a kid, it wasn't always with money. Sometimes it was just a matter of, uh, of going out looking for, um, excess or scrap wood. I remember one time I wanted to have a clubhouse and, um, I knew my mother wasn't getting ready to go dish out no money for me to, to, to have a clubhouse. So I decided to walk through the alleyways and, Began to find pieces of wood. And crazy as it sounds, I built a clubhouse. Now, is this in your backyard? This is in my backyard. How big was it? Oh man, the clubhouse, it was big for me. It was about, it was about six feet by five feet. Okay. My door was a sheet.

Omar: 7:58

And you know, it's crazy. It reminded me when we were young, you know, living in the neighborhood, uh, I lived in an apartment building. So it was a number family, top, middle was us and them other. And we did the same thing in the backyard. We found wood like in the garage or under the garage and we built a clubhouse. It's crazy. Just the, the, uh, man, the imagination of a kid, right? Like,

Daniel: 8:18

yeah, that's right. It's amazing, man. How, how you can set your mind to what you want. And if you'll, you'll spend enough time thinking about that, you'll become what you're thinking, what you're thinking about, or you'll accomplish what you're trying, what you keep thinking about, you know? Um, so that was one time. And then I remember another time I saw, I saw my neighbor had a, had a mini bike. And, um, I knew my mother wouldn't let me have the mini bike, but I thought maybe she might let me have a go kart. But again, she didn't have the money for it. So I decided to build one. Oh, I did. I went ahead and found wood two by fours and I built a, I built a go kart only. I couldn't figure out how to put the motor, attach the motor to it so that it would be motorized. But I, but I built a go kart man. It just blows me away when I think about all the things as a child that I seen that inspired me. And kept my attention long enough till I've seen them come to reality. Yeah, man. So even as a kid in Chicago, um, I had vision.

Omar: 9:22

Yeah.

Daniel: 9:22

Yeah, I had vision. I, I, it blows my mind when I, when I think about that, that you're never too young to have a vision for your life.

Omar: 9:31

Yeah. Yeah, man. And even it sounds like a God given gift that I think eventually as we get into your story, you'll probably see it play out more, right?

Daniel: 9:39

That's exactly right. Yeah. Okay.

Omar: 9:40

So, okay. So at this point. Thank you You're 16. You said it. Not now. I know you mentioned the sports made you like, start thinking about those things. Was there a defining moment in your sports? Maybe, uh, defining moment where you're like, man, I can't do this. Maybe somebody spoken to your life that man, you can't do sports or you just felt it on the inside. Like, what, what, what, what happened there?

Daniel: 10:01

I think what happened was at that age, I began to become attracted to the opposite gender. And so I wasn't putting in the hard work that others were putting in right when they were running the extra laps, I was staying behind the bleachers to talk to the girls who were practicing cheerleading right there, right? I mean, I wasn't disciplined. So part of my problem was a lack of discipline. You know, I wanted what I wanted, but I didn't want to put in the work in that case in that sense. I mean, to become to become a I mean, let's just say at that age group to compete at that level, you got to put in some time, you know? And so I began to kind of, um, I got distracted. I mean, my, my attention began to, to, to, to go towards, uh, looking for a girlfriend. Right. And so, yeah. And then I, then I wasn't able to compete at the level as the rest of the guys. So then I began to believe that I was no longer capable of becoming that.

Omar: 10:53

Yeah.

Daniel: 10:54

Yeah. So then at that point in time, my, I began to think, cause I've always, I've always had something in me that wanted to do great. Always wanted to be, uh, well. Accomplished, right? I always wanted to be successful and because I couldn't become successful there, I guess it was easy for me. It was easy to think about, um, going back to what didn't take so much effort.

Omar: 11:26

Gotcha. Just, you know, can I ask you like, You had that desire, like for greatness, like growing up, did somebody like speak that over you? Like somebody encouraging you, man, like, uh, or do you feel that just came like from within you?

Daniel: 11:39

No, you know, I didn't have somebody encouraging me, but, but I had an uncle when I was growing up that just seemed, if I'm honest, he, he just seemed like he was able to do anything. He was able to accomplish anything. And, um, At this time, while I was growing up, my father was in my life, but not raising me, so he wasn't in the home, but he was He was a father from a distance in a sense. He would pick me up sometimes where I would go spend some time with him. But for the most part, the male role model that I've seen in my life was my uncle and my uncle was, was doing well in his career. He was rehabbing homes and things like that. And so I think when I began to see that Success could be accomplished through rehabbing homes. I thought, okay, what I need to do is figure out how I can get me a lump sum of money so that I can buy my first flip. Even at that age, I was thinking along those lines. I swear, when I think of my life, I was always inspired by something that I seen. And so I'm glad you asked that question because in that timeframe, I still want it to be accomplished. I still want it to be successful, but I didn't really know how to do it. There wasn't somebody there to coach me. To navigate that route for me, right? I was trying to figure it out. Like most kids trying to figure it out with their friends amongst their peers. They see the end game, but they don't know how to get there, you know? And so, um, that's exactly what happened. And I began to think, how could I get some money together quickly? Right. And so that I can get on to maybe buying my first property and, and. turning it into profit. Yeah. You know, and so at that age, it wasn't uncommon to know people who were selling weed. Right. So I was, I was soon introduced, uh, just by watching. I was soon introduced to the, to the, to the drug dealing, uh, uh, scene. Right. And so I, I, I had some, I had some, um. Relationships still in the city here in Chicago, and I figured I could connect with them and that they would be able to, um, sell me, uh, You know, drugs at a lesser cost. I keep saying drugs, but at that time in my life, it was just, it was marijuana. I would come out here and I would get like a pound of weed. What, what,

Omar: 14:09

what, what year is this? Like around

Daniel: 14:10

this is, this is the nineties now. So this is in like 90, 1993. Yeah, exactly. 1993. And so, um, as I mentioned earlier, those movies were, were, were, were, were inspiring me to, I was watching in those movies, how they were seeming to get away with living that lifestyle. Right. Well, anyways, so I, I began to, reach out to some, some connections I still had in Chicago, some family connections I had in Chicago. And I, I, I started on that in my life. I started thinking, okay, I'm going to become a, uh, a successful drug dealer. Who's going to turn his life around and get into, uh, buying and flipping homes. Um, well, that didn't take long before I began to draw negative attention. I remember going to school. Um, trying to, uh, trying to be popular, trying to, uh, fit in, also trying to make money. And in high school, I remember being, uh, encountered by the Latin Kings. And I didn't even know those guys. I didn't, I never, I wasn't affiliated. I wasn't, uh, I wasn't looking for trouble, but it seemed like I continued to draw a negative response from them to the point where after school I was, I was having to figure out how I was going to get home without running into them. I was, I found myself alone all the time trying to figure out how I was going to get home safely. And so I still had this desire to begin to flip homes. So I, so I continued to, so I continued to sell. marijuana. And then it came to a point one time in school. Um, it was, it was, it was before I had to drop out of school. The latin kings had come up to to my school and after school they were, they were out in the parking lot starting trouble with people and they pointed a gun at me and um, my mom got wind of it. I guess the school called my mom and about it and she said, that's it. I'm not sending you back to that school. Well, for a young man at 17, at this point, I'm 17 years old. That was like music to my ears. Now I got full time to be able to go out there hustling

Omar: 16:31

and

Daniel: 16:32

still trying to accomplish this goal of being successful. Right. I had my identity now wrapped up in this idea that I could, I could become a drug dealer for a period of time and then turn that over into, uh, uh, uh, Something like flipping homes, you know,

Omar: 16:49

so you go from illegal to legal. Maybe that was

Daniel: 16:52

my mindset, right? I was looking for a pathway to success. And so, um, because of the conflict that I continued to run into, I was kind of forced to choose a side, right? And it wasn't long before I began to, to connect with the disciples that was in the area. And it was like, uh, it was like having It was like having security. It was like, it was like now, now I wasn't by myself anymore. Right. And little by little as I got more and more involved with that lifestyle. Um, I began to get more and more wrapped up in it. And as I mentioned earlier, I always had a, I always had this desire to, to succeed in what I was doing. You know, um, misguided as I was or, or, or, you know, immature as I was, I thought this is how I'm going to succeed. And, and so I began to take on their, their conflict, whatever was not cool with them was not cool with me. Whoever was not cool with them was not cool with me. And by the way, I no longer wanted to have be by myself as, as, as it pertained to the conflict that was having with the Latin Kings. You know, there was, there was some in particulars that would give me a very hard time. And, uh, some in particular is that, that I thought were really, really trying to hurt me. And so as a young man, I'm thinking one day when I'm with my guys, we're going to catch up with, with those particular ones. And we're, I'm not going to be afraid on that day on that day, we're going to fight, right? Anyways, it's funny how that conflict that I had with them never took place, but. As I'm going in my life, I'm finding conflict in other places. Now I've identified myself as a disciple, and now I'm now I'm taking on the conflict that they have with whoever they had conflict with, whether it was in my city or in another city. And so, um. Yeah, at that point in time, it's about 17 years of age. I had, I had went from the young kid who was building clubhouses and go karts to sports to now I'm wrapped up in gang affiliation and drug dealing again, just trying to, I guess, find My identity, you know, still just trying to be successful, still just trying to, uh, reach my goal of success, you know, that I know a lot of people I've listened to your podcast and a lot of people have different, different and different pathways and how they got involved and entangled in the lifestyle. Some of them felt like they didn't have a choice. They, they grew up, I actually had a choice. I heard one of your guests one time, so he had a choice and he just chose to get involved anyways, that's kind of how it was for me because I could have just decided that I was just going to be. Nobody, I wasn't going to get popular. I wasn't going to have the money. I was going to have to work harder to, to go to school and to become a general contractor or something, but I was a kid. And again, there wasn't anybody there to, to say, this is going to end you up here.

Omar: 20:13

You know, can I share something? Uh, I was talking to, to my daughter. And she was, I was telling her like in school, I was like pretty good. They, they put me like with the, like the smart kids cause I tested good. Right. And we were talking cause she's in college. And I told her, I don't remember anybody growing up that encouraged me or pushed me to graduate high school and to go to college. Like I didn't have that, like, or like, I know you're talking about the steps, like, man, these are the steps you need to take in order to be successful. Like, let's say legitimately and in a legal way, did you have that in your life? Anybody pushing you at any college graduates and you're in your family that you could think of or cause I didn't,

Daniel: 20:52

I didn't either. My brother, I want to be careful because my brother was seven years older than me. He always says six years, 10 months, six years, 10 months older than me. If you're listening, bro. Um, and my brother was. opposite. My brother was a, uh, was, was a guy who, who played sports also, who took school serious, who went on to do great in college. But he was, he was my brother. He was an older guy. He was, he was trying to figure it out too. He, he didn't have time to be my father. right? Uh, and and because of the year's difference, by the time I was at this age, my brother was had a full time job and going to college full time paying his own way through there. He was busy. Um, so he really didn't take notice that I was going the wrong way. He probably would have been that person to tell me those things. But no, I didn't have somebody who who pulled me to the side and said, let me let me tell you where you're headed. Let me tell you where you're headed and how you can avoid that if you, if, if you'll go a different way or a better way to get there instead of the way you're taking. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So, yeah. Um, but by the age of 17, man, I was, I was wrapped up in gang affiliation, drug dealing, and I had gotten too far wrapped up in it before I realized it. I was at a moment that would change my life forever. Um, it's, it's, it's really hard for me to, uh, to talk about this part of my testimony because it resulted in another young man losing his life. Um, I've never had the opportunity to speak to the family since this has all taken place except for when I was convicted and it was in the courtroom. But since then, I've never been able to, um, reconcile with the family or or or a man's make amends with the family. And so I just want to be careful that as I as I talk about this next portion of my testimony that it doesn't come off as if it's no big deal to me. Um, yeah. At 17 years of age, I was misguided. I was, I was, I was following my friends. I was pursuing, I was pursuing the next level of accomplishment. And I found myself one day with one of my affiliates in the car with me and he had a conflict with a particular individual and they had fought in school. And on this particular day, we were, we were driving in the vehicle and he pointed out the individual. He said, Hey, there's such and such. And I didn't even know this individual. I never, I never had any dealings with this individual, but because they kind of came to my assistance in my conflicts that I had growing up in my city. I took, I took his conflict personal. And on that day, I shot at this young man who was driving his vehicle. And unfortunately, uh, I've experienced many times where I was on the other end of the I was on the other end of the gunshots. I remember one time we were all just driving down through a neighborhood and, uh, some vice lords were out there and they came out and they began to unload guns and we saw gunfire and bullets were flying over the car and nobody was hurt. And these types of stories went on all the time. And on this day, when I happen to be the one with the gun, I'm shooting in the direction of this vehicle. And I don't miss on this day at one of the bullets. I mean, I shot, I unloaded, I unloaded this revolver that was, I believe it was a six shot revolver and I unloaded the gun in the direction of the moving vehicle. It wasn't personal like you and I are here was a vehicle that was moving at about 40 miles an hour. And one of those bullets landed and killed the young man. Yeah. And it wasn't long after that. I was arrested and I went to prison and I served my sentence for for shooting this young man. But as I said a little while ago, I've never ever since I've been released in 2000 and eight, I've never run into any family members. I've never been able to say to the family that I'm sorry that I realized today I took somebody's life and I feel horrible about that. It's real hard for me to talk about this because we're here today to you know, talk about what Jesus did and and he's really helped me to become the person I am today. Right? He's restored my life. He's healed my life. He's helped me to make peace with that. error in my life, you know, but there are people who may still be grieving or still as the year rolls around and every time that that time frame rolls around are still hurting. I just want to say I'm sorry. I I wish that never happened. It changed my life forever and as it has yours. I just really wanted to say I'm sorry. This is really hard for me, bro. I've never, uh, I've never, I don't want to get on national television on YouTube and, and, and give the impression that I'm okay with what I

Omar: 26:50

did because I'm not. And, uh, for, for sharing that. I know we're talking before we started recording and just how, how hard, uh, but I know you mentioned, you felt like you, you needed to share that, like you, you needed to get those words out. And, um, I pray that there be, you know, like forgiveness, you know, received. And I know you, I know your heart's different from, from 17 years old. You know, when, when you were at the mindset was different, like you mentioned, you know, I was there too. Like you mentioned, you, you just grew up in a life where you're constantly getting shot at your dodging bullets. You're running for your life. At 17 years old, you know, our brain's not even fully developed. You know, I believe they say it's like developed at 25 years or somewhere around there. So our mind we're still thinking. These are the things we need to do in order to become men, you know, and the environment we grew up in order to be a man, you got to do this, this and that, and that's what makes you a man. And unfortunately, we didn't have people leading us the right way. And, you know, but, uh, Matt, for sharing that. And I know that that took some, um, you know, some boldness, you know, like, you know, Yeah.

Daniel: 28:03

Yeah. And so I go ahead.

Omar: 28:06

No, I was gonna ask you. So, so that happened that incident You, you go to court, you get sentenced, but what's the, the, the sentence that they handed down to you? So

Daniel: 28:16

they gave me 35 years to do 17 and a half at 17 years old, that might as well have been a life sentence. I had never been incarcerated before I had, um, sure I was, uh, I was a kid that got into a lot of trouble, but I wasn't a kid who broke the law. Uh, so I had lots of times where I spent many, many, my, my, my mother grounded me a lot, right? Uh, when I began to get to the teenage years, I didn't get into, I didn't get into, I think the most trouble I got into before this was a, was a day I was driving my moped without a helmet. I mean, as far as the law is concerned. And so, yes, I began to dibble and dabble into selling drugs, but I had never got in trouble for that. Right. Um, but at this time, yeah, so My first time ever getting in trouble with the law. It was, it was severe. Yeah,

Omar: 29:07

definitely. You, you, you want to take us through like they sentenced you. They send you to jail. What was that first day? Like that knowing. That this is where you're going to be for man, the next 17, 18 years.

Daniel: 29:18

You know, um, I was so, I was so naive as a, as a kid, as a teenager, I was so engulfed in, I had adopted the mindset of, of, of a gang member. Uh, I believed that I was just going to sit for a period of time. And because there was this. code of silence that was professed amongst gang members that I would, I would see the streets again. So, uh, at that point in time I was, I was afraid, but I was, I was, I was lost. I was, I was confused. I was, I was just my mind wasn't, I wasn't thinking straight. So I thought at that time that, um, I'm still trying to Get out of it, right? I don't I don't I'm afraid I don't want to go to prison. I'm trying to get out of it. Um, so it didn't it didn't set into me just yet that I was going to be there for a long time. I'm thinking at that point in time that I was going to be released and um,

Omar: 30:19

You're talking this while you're still fighting the case, right? This is your mindset during that time. This is okay. Yeah, I

Daniel: 30:24

said during that time, I'm trying to survive in a jail environment mentally, you know, I'm trying to survive as you know, as a gang member now and And, and, and the conversations amongst gang members is that they don't tell on each other and all that stuff. And so I, I just believe that, you know, I, I identified with that. Um, I lost my identity to that lifestyle for a period of time in my life. And, um, so. While I was going through the proceedings and you know, when you're going to trial for anything, it's not like it's all over with on your own on one hearing. No, no, this, this, this process lasted for a year and a half. So I went to, I went to, to the county jail at just about 18 years old. I was, I was 30 days away from being 18. Yeah. And so before this was all over when I was 19 years old, yeah. And, um, At, at that point in time, even, even at that point in time, there was an appeal process. And I thought, okay, so, so I, I wa I was found guilty. And by the way, just for those youngsters that might be watching, uh, every one of those guys testified against me. Every one of'em. There were, there was of, of your guys, of my guys, every, every one of those guys who said that they wouldn't, uh, did. And can I tell you today, man, I'm glad that they did. Hmm. I'm glad that they did because, uh, at that age had. There was another person that was being accused of this crime had that person gone to prison because of Gang affiliation his life would have been ruined. I would have never had closure in my own life I would have never had peace in my own life. I would have never been able to Realize the wrong in my because I would have been running my whole life So I'm glad that they did but I just wanted I just wanted those who are watching to know that That that that idea that you guys won't won't turn on you. I'm here to tell you I'm a living proof that that they will Uh, eight of them, all eight of them, you would think at least one of them didn't know all eight of them as they began to do their investigation and began to see all who were affiliated and connected with that situation as they began to bring them all in and question them. Every one of them pointed the finger in my direction. And so as I'm going through my trial process, there's still that that idea that they won't, um, that they won't come to court.

Omar: 32:54

Maybe they did it during the investigation, but you're like, man, they ain't going to show up to testify.

Daniel: 32:58

Yeah, exactly. And so, uh, so that was my mindset that they wouldn't, but, uh, but, but the fact is, is that come trial, they were all subpoenaed and they all showed up and they all testified. And I'm glad that I just want to keep saying, I'm glad that they did. Uh, but, but there was at that time, I'm thinking, To answer your question, I wasn't thinking I was going to spend all that time in prison. I was, I was believing that what I was involved with was, was, was all that I was told that it was right. Um, so fast forward a little bit, I end up going to prison, but now I'm filing an appeal. And by the way, my, my, my, my mother. Uh, and my father at this time had gotten back together.

Omar: 33:41

Okay.

Daniel: 33:41

Yeah, they did. My case had actually caused my mother to reach out to my father for some guidance on how to deal with this because she didn't know how to how to deal with this. And that began the reconciliation process between my mother and my father. And so then they were trying to get me. some assistance legally and between the two of them, they ended up hiring me an appeal lawyer and the appeal was shot down too. And so it was then that I began to realize I wasn't going anywhere. It was then that I had to, uh, um, uh, accept the, that, that I was going to spend time in prison. Yeah.

Omar: 34:24

Okay. Asking this, so you had that experience where you said like eight of your own guys testify against you. Now, okay, the sentence you you're in the penitentiary, uh, do you still keep that allegiance to what you were in there? Like, well, what's your mindset now? Your view of the gang as now that you're in there?

Daniel: 34:40

Yeah, that's a good question. So while I was in the, while I was in the county jail, I had got what's called the state's discovery and the state's discovery shows you all those, all the, all the, um, evidence that they have against you. And it was then that I saw the statements that were made by these guys. And, um, I Because I was trying to be successful at no matter what I did, even when my mindset was on that type of lifestyle, I thought, how could I continue to have an allegiance to these guys? In fact, we were, we were a group in Indiana that was affiliated through an individual who had. Who had, um, permission from, uh, one of the neighborhoods in Chicago to start a branch in Indiana. Gotcha. So that's kind of how that happened, right? Okay. And so he was testifying against me. So how was I going to be able to get anything done to support me? I'd had to go through him to get any kind of higher up assistance, right? So my mind was that I needed to leave. affiliation. And while I was in, in the, in the jail, another group of disciples, I purposely don't like to, uh, uh, Highlight all of the names, but another group of the disciples that I ran into in, in the county jail. came to me and said, man, we won't let them get away with that. We won't let them come to court. We will put some resistance up so that your appeal will go through and all of that. That turned out to be nothing. Just talk, right? And so then I found myself behind the 44 walls, Indiana state prison, basically trying to survive, trusting in This next group that they were going to be supportive of me. And so I found myself in that environment all alone again, right?

Omar: 36:47

How, how, how, how is that, that your mindset now? Cause you spend that time out in the streets with these guys, you know, you, you give your allegiance, man, you, you're ready, you know, to do what you had to do for them, then they do this to you. And you're basically starting fresh with a group of guys that you don't know, How, how, how, how does the mindset, uh, what were you thinking as your

Daniel: 37:09

survival, just survival, believing that, believing that I, I, I just happened to get involved with the wrong group. But if I get involved with the right group, this did, then I could be successful. Okay. Yeah. This, this whole, this, I think that's, that's what motivates us all is, is that we, we want to accomplish. There's something that we're trying to accomplish in it. Right. Right. And, um, I'm trying to survive too, but I don't know, man. I mean, at 19 years old, 20 years old, 21 years old, I'm, I'm surrounded by people who think like this. And so I'm just trying to co exist. I'm trying to survive these years. I'm trying to make it back home to my family, you know? And so, I don't know, I lose track now, but for about the next three Years, I continue to give my allegiance to this next group of disciples and I wrote letters, I sent letters out, I got very little response back and I've always been one like since I said, since I was a kid who has an ability to see something, have a vision for something and then begin to build it. And so at this time, I'm, I'm trying to be successful in gang affiliation.

Omar: 38:36

Yeah.

Daniel: 38:37

And, uh, I'm realizing that I, I have very, I have zero support from those who I have allegiance to. And so as a young man, I, I, I was, I was, I had the mindset that I could begin to, uh, create my own. reality, my own organization. And I did just that. I did. And I upset a lot of people by doing that. But I felt like nobody to that point had helped me get to that point but myself. And so, um, there were other factions of folks inside of there and and they in that type of lifestyle, they supported me. Um, But they had their allegiance to their own organizations, right? I was kind of this, I was kind of this guy who just, you know, I have my own issue. They didn't have the same issues, right? Um, but they, they supported me. And then I, I introduced to them that I, I was trying to start another organization. And some of them had reluctances about it. And others were like, man, I hear you, bro. Well, it's just us in here. And they supported me. And I went on to do this for about the next five years. I lose track. But about the next five years, I've started my own organization in prison. I created lots of enemies. I also gained a lot of supporters. It just depends. Different. Indiana has different factions from different Cities and different cities don't get along with different cities. Indianapolis didn't get along with Chicago guys. And just it's just kind of how it was right. And so I would gain support from maybe the folks from Indianapolis or Fort Wayne. Um, and maybe not so much from the folks from, uh, Chicago area or Gary area, but there would, there was just different people in different places that supported me and supported us. And so they, that's kind of how we survived. Um, but about five years into this, I got to a place where I had accomplished everything that I thought was going to make me feel accomplished and I was miserable. I was leading an organization in prison. I was calling the shots. I was the top person in this organization. We had recruited up to 26 guys over that period of time. That's not a lot of people but In there. That's how it went. And, and, and, and as, as life, as, as time goes on, these guys would get transfer to other institutions and then they would begin to recruit. And that's how the numbers began to grow little by little, just like any other organization. Right. And we, we had our backs against the wall, but we stuck together and we, we, we, we survived, uh, but like I said, about five years into it, I, I realized that all that I had accomplished had left this. miserable feeling inside of me. I had no peace. Um, I had, I had conflict outside of the organization. Inside of the organization, you have people trying to cut your legs out for monday so they can become the next top dog. And it just seemed like I was always battling to maintain this This position in my life, this role in my this, this lifestyle, I was, I was just wore out, man. And I remember one day I ran into a guy. In fact, I believe he was on your podcast not too long ago. Kojak.

Omar: 42:08

Kojak Fuller, man. For, for those of you, I haven't checked it out. Go back there and check out his, uh, interview.

Daniel: 42:14

Yeah. So I ran into Kojak and Kojak was, was a guy who stood out to me in the crowd of people, uh, in, in, in, in, in the prison and, uh, Kojak had a different, uh, he had a different. Way about him. He, he, he, he, he, he wasn't affiliated. He wasn't, he wasn't, uh, he didn't walk with the crowd. He, he, he didn't, he didn't make, uh, uh, he didn't have limitations to who he talked to. He, he didn't have to operate in the way that, uh, that, that most people who were incarcerated operated because he had a different mindset. Right. He, he, he, he, uh. He marched to a different beat, right? Yeah,

Omar: 42:53

that's one way to put it. Yeah.

Daniel: 42:55

And, and, and it stood out to me and, and I remember for

Omar: 42:58

how long have you, were you, uh, seeing them

Daniel: 43:01

to be honest with you? I don't know, but, but we were on the same block and, and it just seemed to me that this guy was larger than life. He just seemed, he seemed at peace with his circumstance. He had a joy that was unexplainable. He had to eat the same food I had to eat. He had to deal with the same officers. He had to have a roommate, a bunkie, just like I did. Uh, he had to deal with all the pressures that came with being incarcerated, but he did so in a way that just didn't seem like he was, uh, being treated fairly. Just worn down. He didn't seem he just seemed alive. And so he stood out to me. But one day I saw him have a conflict with an individual because he was a great basketball player, as you know. Um, and so even in prison, he was, he was, he was, he was, uh, pretty, pretty good. And, and lots of people, um, You know, they, they love to, to hate on what's great. And so, and so he, he probably didn't help matters much. Cause he would always tell people whenever I step on the court, it's unfair because I stepped on the court with the father, the son and the older. And so usually when he's coming back, he, he was a good talker too. And so one day I remember him getting into an argument with another guy. And, and at this point in time, I have a, I have a, I have a bird's eye view to see how this is going to go down. And this guy actually lived out. Kojak actually lived out what he preached. I watched him be able to deal with conflict in a way that I come to learn was pleasing to God. I come to find out he, I come to learn that he humbled himself and he was willing to give a kind word where, Uh, the Bible says that a kind word, uh, uh, brings down anger, right? But a grievous word stirs it up. Right. Uh, it says a kind word turns away, wrath, grievous words, stirs, stirs up anger. Anyway. So I began to see him operate in the thing that he was preaching on the inside of me at this time. I'm just like, I have no peace, everything that I, everything that I had accomplished to this point seemed like it was. The future was bleak. Nothing was, nothing looked good for my future. It looks, felt like I was digging a hole that was going to keep me in prison forever. And I still wanted to get back home to my family. And so one day I decided I was going to stop him and I was going to, you know, him and I have different viewpoints of, of, of why this conversation took place. But I remember I was going to kind of like, Like say, man, you, you know, you know where you're at and how you, how you're walking and how you're, you're conducting yourself around here. But when I actually came up to him, all I could actually get out of my mouth was, man, do you have problems trusting people? Because when I looked up every time I turned around, he would, he was open to talk to anybody. And, and you see in gang affiliation, or at least in my, in my experience, we kept our circle small because in prison, who, who you allowed in your inner circle was a representation of who you were, right? Guilty by association. And so when I, when I started my conversation with them, it started off that way. It started off with a question like, man, don't you have problems trusting people? Because I was trying to say, man, you talk to anybody. You just open to talk to anybody. Yeah. And he turned and looked at me and he, he, he answered my question with, with another question. He asked, he said, do you trust yourself? He said, do you trust yourself to make the right decisions regardless of what people say about you, what they threatened to do to you? Do you trust yourself? I just witnessed this man, not conformed to the penitentiary ways of doing things in dealing with conflict. And now he's asking me, do I trust myself to make the right decisions regardless of what people say about me, what they threatened to do to me? Did I trust myself? And my mind immediately went to something I left off of, of our, uh, of the story was prior to me coming to prison, uh, getting incarcerated, my daughter was born to me. Yeah, I had a daughter born to me at, at, uh, six at, um, 16 and a half. I'm sorry. I was 17 and a half when I had my daughter and she was six months old before I went to jail. Yeah. So she was getting, she was six months older than my incarceration. And so when he asked me that question, my mind went to her that I trust myself to make the right decisions regardless of what people say about me or what they threatened to do to me. I don't know. For some reason I began to think about her. Am I making decisions? That. Are going to get me back home to her or are the decisions I'm making to satisfy what my guys think I should do. That's what his question did to me. I say that that question had to come from God because I had been in many conversations where people try in prison. They try to kind of. encourage you to do better. Right. But this day this man asked me a question that made me stop and think and I couldn't answer the question right then and there because as, as, as the situation was, it was time for us to go to our cells for the night. I had asked this question kind of at the end of the night, ran into him on the, on the, in the day room area and um, After he had asked that question, all the doors opened up and it was time to go to our cell for the night. So he left me with that question. So I go into my cell and as I'm laying in my cell, my cellie at the time was a young man, 24 years old, 22, 24, whatever, something like that. He was a young man. I can't remember exactly how old he was. And he was getting ready to be released. He was getting ready to go to Fort Wayne, Indiana. And he was getting ready to start. branch of this organization that I started in prison. He was getting ready to take it out. So that's all he could talk about. He was excited. He was passionate. He was He was just ready to go out there and start this new, uh, this new chapter. And so him and I are locked in the same cell and he's just talking about him getting out soon and what he's going to do. And all I keep thinking about is this question that I trust myself to make the right decisions. And so. Uh, in, in our cell, in, in, in prison, they have TVs. And so I have a TV on the TV's, got volume on it. I could hear the TV on, I could hear him talking, but all I keep thinking about is this question and nobody knew what I was thinking. And so I'm thinking about it and I finally answered the question, and the answer came with, with clarity and with conviction. And the answer was no, I didn't. I realized to that point in my young adult life, I had been making decisions based on what other people thought I should do. So here it is. I went to him to kind of straighten him out. And he turned around and asked me a question that began the process for me. To come to know Christ because little did I know at that time, the reason why he marched to a different beat was because he knew who Jesus Christ was. And so he wasn't, he wasn't bound by prison policies and prison, uh, you know, what, what you're supposed to do all the unwritten rules of living life in prison. He wasn't, he didn't live by those. Yeah,

Omar: 50:08

let me ask you this, uh, before this, I know you were talking about his life, you know, as a believer, the way he conducted himself, like growing up, what was your, um, upbringing as far as, uh, religion? God, that's a good question.

Daniel: 50:22

As I grew up, uh, the closest that I knew about God was, um, we would go to church, uh, I grew up Catholic and, uh, we would go to church. I remember I made my communion. Yes. I made my communion as, as a, as a, as a little boy, as a Catholic school. Um, but as far as. Church was concerned. Uh, we would go to church Christmas, Easter, whatever, stuff like that. So, but what I did learn was I learned the Our Father prayer. And so whenever I would have a bad dream as a kid, my mother would say, just pray the Our Father. And that was about the extent of it. So no, I didn't really have a relationship with Jesus Christ. I just knew of the Our Father and the sacraments of the Catholic church and things like that.

Omar: 51:09

All right. So now you're having this conversation where actually the, these thoughts, now you're almost like reflecting, you're having this. So what, what, what happens from there?

Daniel: 51:18

Like, so what happens from there is, um, I'm, I'm laying in my, in my, in my bed and, and as I mentioned, uh, you know, normal, normal activities going on in the cell, but my mind is detached. My mind is on this question and I answered the question with conviction and it both liberated me and just challenged me greatly. But I want to answer the question to myself was no. Uh, to this point, I have been making decisions that that other people thought I should make, you know, as a leader in, in, in, in my affiliation. When I think back, the reality is I was making decisions that were based on what they wanted to do anyway. Right. Had I came to all the guys and I said, Hey guys, this is what we're gonna do today. We're gonna give away our commissary. We're gonna go around, we're gonna walk around the institution and we're gonna find people who don't have and we're gonna bless them and we'll just, we'll just trust God that he'll make, he'll make a way for us. They would have said I was crazy. Get out of here. We're not following you doing that. Right. So the reality is I was, I was leading them in the direction they wanted to go. Yeah. Right. So, so, so who was leading

Omar: 52:23

who? It made it easy for them to follow it. Yeah. Yeah. Right.

Daniel: 52:26

And so, um, At that point in time, I had just graduated from college. Um, I, I was, I was in between in the penitentiary. There are three different things that. Three different options you have. There's what's idle. Idle means you sit inside of your cell all day waiting for the doors to roll to go to, to eat a meal in the, in the, in the, they call it chow hall, uh, or go to rec. Other than that, you're sitting in your cell all day. I learned at an early age in prison. I wasn't trying to sit on idle. Um, so I was, I had pursued education, but I had just graduated from college. I had gone as far as I could, uh, in my education in prison. Um, the only thing left for me to do was to get a job and it wasn't that I didn't want one, but that was my only option. So at this point in time, when I had this conversation with Kojak, I was in the job searching. Mode. I had to get a job

Omar: 53:23

in in, in there. Right in there. Yeah. Yeah. Right, right in

Daniel: 53:25

there. And so to get a job in there, you have to go to your counselor and you basically ask for a job and they assign you a job. It's not, it's not like you, you, you put out your applications, right? And so

Omar: 53:36

you go to interview, right?

Daniel: 53:38

Right. So I went to my counselor and I told her that I was seeking employment and, and, and she decided, okay, I'm gonna put you in laundry. So she put me in laundry, which was a job that was in the nights, and it was from 10 30 at night to five o'clock in the morning. And on this particular unit, only two people were put in that position. She gave me the job. And can you guess who the other person was? Oh, Jack, Jack had the job. So now every single night, the person that asked me this question is in my ear. every single night. I hadn't decided at this point in time that I was gonna give my life to Christ. I was determined that I was going to continue to endure the difficulties of of gang affiliation and living life in prison. And I was just gonna keep going because I had no other options, right? It was just I was I was wrapped up in that lifestyle. That's that's all I knew. And so every night when I would show up to work, Kojak would come in and either Humming a Christian tune or just, uh, talking, he, he was just so charismatic people, uh, who, who knew how to, uh, tell you about Jesus any old way he could figure out any way to talk about Jesus and he would get on my nerves, but every single day he would just come to me and he would, he would say, man, come on, man, let's read the word and, Eventually I decided, you know, I know what you're going to talk about. Cause while I was in college, uh, interestingly enough, I, I, I took an interest in, uh, communications was one of my minors and religious studies was my other. It was the other interest that I took. So I felt like I was prepared for what he was going to say. I said, all right, you want to talk about, you want to talk, you want to read the word. Okay, let's read the word. So I'm thinking I'm going to get this over with. He's going to talk to me about Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. He's gonna talk to me about Jesus. Let's get it over with. So every single night he would. Take me to the scriptures, but he would take me to somewhere that I wasn't prepared for. He took me to the book of Nehemiah. So, yeah, while I was in school, I had learned a little bit about Nehemiah, but I wasn't prepared for that, nor was I prepared for how he would start every time we got into the Word. Every time he would open the word, he would pray and he would invite the Holy Spirit into our gathering. And here we are in a laundry room surrounded by dirty, stinky clothes and we're having Bible study. Uh, far as I'm concerned, I'm just trying to satisfy this man so he'll just leave me alone and I can get back to work or whatever, right? But what I don't know is that God had used this man a couple weeks prior to to ask me a life changing question that he would follow up with. beginning to transform my life through his word. And so, um, we're reading the book of Nehemiah and he would just read a little bit with me, just a little bit, like almost just give me a little, little snapshot of what we're reading and he'll tell me about it. And he would leave me alone. And then the next day he would take me back to the book of Nehemiah and, and we would do this. We would do this for a while. I don't remember exactly how long, but little by little, what I didn't know then was that the Holy spirit was beginning to Soften. My heart was beginning to minister to me and, and, and where the story was talking about Nehemiah, who felt this responsibility to build the wall of Jerusalem for his, for his people. Um, God was beginning to minister to me about the wall, my life that had been torn down and how I become fair game to the enemy. Yeah. And I'm like, man, that's not even in the scriptures, but this is what I'm hearing. Right.

Omar: 57:11

Yeah.

Daniel: 57:11

And so, uh, every, every night he would just share a little bit more of the story with me and my, and eventually, I don't remember wherever you were in the story, but he, he offered Jesus Christ to me, man. And it was something that I had not expected. College didn't prepare me for that. College didn't prepare me for the Holy Spirit. Amen. College didn't prepare me for, um, a need for a savior. College only prepared me for the history. Of the scriptures, right? And, uh, and the names that you can find in the scriptures, but never, they give you a historical account, not a personal, uh, revelation of who Jesus is, right? And so, as I told you, I went into this job, I'm miserable on the inside. I had accomplished all that I had accomplished, and I thought that my life was going to end up bad. Being forever in prison because I had, I had heard of all of those who had gone before me, the, the big names that had gone before me and the other organizations and they were sitting in a federal penitentiary for the rest of their life. Right.

Omar: 58:08

So being involved in this, even though they gave you that sentence by you doing what you're doing, you could add more time.

Daniel: 58:14

I easily could have caught another case. I could have been responsible for that young man going to Fort Wayne and hurting somebody. I could have been responsible for any of the guys who, who got into a conflict in the penitentiary and hurt somebody. They could have just began to pile this on me. Right. And so at this moment in time, God is stepping into my life, but I don't realize it yet. I'm just in a laundry room reading the book of Nehemiah. And so as he is sharing this with me day in and day out, I said, he came to a point where he introduced Christ to me and he offered salvation to me. MN. There was nothing stopping me at that point in time from receiving Christ. And it was like when I received Christ, even though I knew that I had, uh, I had a heel to climb to deal with all the things that I had gotten myself involved with at that point in time, I was so sick and tired of being sick and tired. I was so sick and tired of being miserable that I was okay. Cause in my young mind at that time, It was time for me to start doing something good. I wanted, I, you know, I was immature. I was thinking about my daughter. I was thinking, man, I want my daughter to be proud of her father. Even if it costs me my life, I want her to know that I was trying to get my life together because I was trying to come home to her and be a father to her. I wanted my mother to know that I was trying to get my life. That's where I was at. I was to the point where if this costs me my life, Jesus, I, I, I'm, I'm, I'm going to give my life to you because I want, I want. I wanted to do something good with my life. Even as a child, I always wanted to be good. I always wanted to aspire to be accomplished. Remember I said that all through this story here and that hadn't changed in my life. I still want to be accomplished. I still want to be a successful. And so at this point I'm thinking, Jesus, if you'll take me and take this mess, I'll, I'll give you my life, you know? And, um, I didn't know what that meant at the time. I just knew that I, uh, as I was, as he was teaching me, see, he would, he would share the book of Nehemiah with me, but he was all through the scriptures. And one of the things he shared with me as we were reading the book of Nehemiah was that God was a jealous God, and that he would have no other gods before him. And I began to realize that I had become a God in the life of those 26 men. And that I was in the way of those men knowing Jesus. And so I began to take that personal real fast and I began to say, Oh my God, I gotta get out of, I gotta get out of your way in their life, God. And so it didn't take time, it didn't take much time for me at all to begin to, to, to tell, to tell the guys I couldn't call a meeting. It wasn't like I can call the institution and say, Hey, could you do me a favor and bring all the guys from the different institutions to this institution so we can have one meeting so I can tell them that I don't want to live that way no more. I want to give my life to Christ. It didn't work that way. It didn't. I would run into a couple here. I would run into a couple there. I had to write some letters. I had to, the word had to spread that I was choosing to live for Christ and no longer going to live that lifestyle. Mind you, all my enemies didn't care that I was going to give my life to Christ. So now I'm, now I'm not only am I, am I disassembling what I had built for Christ, but I was also putting myself in harm's way because all of those who, who wanted to harm me because of. Whatever reasons now I was kind of. Easy access. I don't have security on the shower no more. I don't have security in the weight room. I don't have security when this or that anymore when i'm sleeping i'm now at this point in time I'm 26 years old and i'm finally learning what it means to stand on my own two feet I had known I didn't grow up that I didn't I didn't grow up with a father to be able to see what it means to be a man. I constantly looked around at my peers and and I know many of our viewers, young viewers, you're looking around at your peers trying to figure out what does it mean to be a man. And so it wasn't it was it wasn't until I come to know Christ that I actually Had to step out on my own two feet. I was liking it to an example that I remember on the discovery channel, when you see a newborn horse or a newborn calf or whatever, and they first take those first steps and their legs are all wobbly. Those were my faith legs back then. And I had to learn how to walk with, as I mentioned, Kojak was sharing the scriptures with me and, and he would, he would share other passages description. There were things that would stick to me. And one of the other passages of scripture that stuck to me was Proverbs 16 and seven. It says, when a man's ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. And I knew that I needed to, I needed to make things right with God. And I needed to get out of God's way in these men's life. And I knew that if, if anybody was going to see me through this, it had to be God. And, and I was just believing that scripture. And so I would begin to go to the chow hall by myself sometimes, Hey, there was Christians there too. And sometimes we would go together, but most times you just kinda, you just, you were on your own two feet, you know, and I had to learn how to live life that way. And, and it was, it wasn't easy. It was, it was, it was scary sometimes, you know, and,

Omar: 1:03:21

How did you guys receive it? When you finally told them, Hey, I'm walking away from this position from.

Daniel: 1:03:28

Yeah. Some of them, some of them were supportive. You know, you had different relationships with different guys. Other guys were salivating at the opportunity to put their hands on me. Some of the guys were very disappointed because they had, they had gone all gotten all in. And here, and here it is the one who, the one who was the. Covering the one who, who, who, who was the head was stepping away that put a lot of pressure on them, right? They, they, they almost felt like they needed to do something to maintain the, the reputation that we had built. Get it. So they're like, okay, it's not just that you're walking away, but you're putting pressure on us here. And, and I. I apologize to them and I'm like, man, I hear you, but I can't continue to lead you in the way that I know is not the right way. And I can't continue to getting God's way in your life. And so I heard whispers and I was afraid and I wondered if it was going to work. results in me being stabbed or, or killed or whatever. But all I can tell you, man, is that when a man's ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes you and his enemies to be at peace. When God kept me, he kept me, bro. I saw a lot. That's all day. Some people's testimony story is different and that's okay, man. I didn't go to check in. I didn't, I didn't, uh, uh, um, I didn't surround myself with, uh, weapons. I didn't, I, I just trusted God, man. That's all. I was to that point. I was tired of how I was feeling. And little by little, God was showing me that I could trust him. The first thing he did was remove Kojak from my life. The one who was pouring into me. Oh, wow. Yeah. The one who was sharing the word of God. So, so he had a, there was a season that God allowed him to be in my life and it wasn't just me. It was a handful of guys who were showing up for Bible study all the time because it went from just in the laundry room to now it's what we did at rec time. It's what we did at, you know, it's what, it's what we did. I was, that was, that was my new. That was my new literature, right? That was, yeah, I was, I was finding out about what it meant to be a follower of Christ. And so he was pouring into us, uh, every day or every time we had a chance, I'd say every day. Um, but. God removed him. He ended up dropping a security level and going to another institution. So now the little bit that he gave me now, I'm having to lean heavily upon God. I feel like the apostle Paul, because after he left immediately straight forth, I went preaching the gospel. I took on the mantle. If you will. Yeah. And I began to gather the guys and we would have Bible study. It's a man amazes me. When I look at my life, it always looks the same. It does. And, um, So now I'm gathering the guys and we're having Bible study and we're growing and we're buying books, uh, study books and study Bibles. And we're gathering and we're building community this way. And God has just shown me that I can trust them. And I don't know how long bro, I've lost track, but I'd say about another two years later, my security level dropped. So now I had gotten used to the believers there and, and the threats there and the, and the, and the, the environment there, and now I had to move to another institution where I was going to run into people who potentially had got moved or transferred before they can get ahold of me.

Omar: 1:06:52

Yeah.

Daniel: 1:06:52

So now I'm going to another institution and I'm thinking this is all in my mind. Right. And I'm going to a lower security level where there's less. Restrictions on getting to people and dormitories and things like that. And so I'm like, man, this is, you know, God, your word says, if a man's ways are pleasing to you, you make your end and his enemies to be at peace. So I continue to hold onto that word. And, um, now I'm at a lower security level and I run into, you know, there's believers everywhere, praise God, there's believers everywhere. And so I ran into some, some brothers at this lower level institution and, and, and I found that community to, to. Coexist with. Um, and I, I began to grow more there. There, they had a, there they had a chapel where they had tons of study material and it was a place that you could go, if you didn't have to work or whatever, you could go in this chapel. And I would go in this chapel and I would meet with the guys there. And I began to grow. And, um, God just showed me again, man, that. Wow. That when a man's ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. And there were some enemies there, right? But it was different from where I came from. I was making progress. And now I was beginning to become identified as a Christian, no longer as a, you know, As a gang member. So when new people would run into, I mean, I was at a new place. And so now I'm able to introduce myself as Daniel and no longer as the gang member name, right? Even though I had started that at the last institution, now I'm running into people for the first time. They don't know the difference. So now I'm learning how to live this, uh, person of who follows Christ. Fresh in your eyes right now. I don't, I don't have that baggage no more, even though I talked about it, you didn't know it, you know? And so, yeah, so that, that went on for about another, uh, uh, three years there. And, um, I'm learning how to be, how to identify myself with, with Christ. Um, this is all leading up to time to be released because for the most part of my incarceration, for the first nine years. I gave it to the, I gave it to gang affiliation.

Omar: 1:08:58

Gotcha.

Daniel: 1:08:58

Yeah. Uh, because I went to school, I think I mentioned earlier that I went to college and I did those things. It earned me some time cuts.

Omar: 1:09:06

Okay.

Daniel: 1:09:07

Yeah. I ended up getting four and a half years of my sentence reduced. sorry, four years of my sentence reduced. So I ended up going from doing 35 to do 17 and a half. I got four years knocked off. So I ended up having to do 13 and a half. So at this point I'm now down to the like last, uh, year or so to do. And, um, I'm, I'm getting ready to go to work release. And again, new challenges because work release means I have access to society and society has access to me. So now I'm starting to think about, uh, my past catching up on me. I'm starting to think about those who I offended while I was incarcerated. Now there's. Now I'm having to come out and face them in society and things like that. But God just continue to show me his faithfulness, man. God continue to grow me and and and and take me to to becoming who I am today. But at that time it was at the beginning stages, you know, um, so yeah, it was definitely a, uh, big difference, uh, transitioning, uh, into work release, by the way, at this time, work release had just began to accept people who had, who had, uh, murder cases. Before that, it wasn't even possible. So God was showing me that he would make even those enemies that I didn't consider enemies like, like barriers that would stop me from being able to experience, uh, these opportunities to get some work experience and things like that. God was even making that to be at peace with me. He was opening up doors. It was just man. God was blowing my mind that I could trust him. He was showing me and my leg, my faith legs that I talked about earlier were becoming stronger and stronger. And my confession was becoming stronger and stronger to the, to the, to the, point where man, I'm getting ready to come home. Um, see my daughter again. I hadn't seen in years, right? She had visited me periodically throughout prison, but not much. Right. The first time I saw her, she was six years old. Yeah. Yeah. And then from six months to six months to six years old. That was her first time meeting her father. And um, I'm not sure all the details why I can only assume, but I didn't see her much. And then when I came home, um, on work release, she was there and she had her own, um, she had her own ideas of who I was and who I was going to be. And By this time, my life was changed and I was living for Christ. And all I talked about was Jesus. And I wish he was here to be able to give her own, um, side of the story. But all the thing I could assume is that here's this guy who's, uh, all he does is say he's sorry for leaving and all he does is talk about Jesus. And I was expecting somebody else to come home. Yeah, yeah. And so that's a whole nother part of my story there. But, um, Yeah. So at that point in time, I I've come home. I've, I've, I've served, I don't know, the majority of my sentence. I'm living for Jesus. I'm having to learn to get work experience. I went in prison as a kid. I never really had real work experience. So, um, I got a job working for a family member who gave me an opportunity to become an electrician,

Omar: 1:12:51

but

Daniel: 1:12:51

I had no electrical experience, but. I was willing to take the opportunity and so, um, while I was incarcerated, I had learned that I can go to school like I did and I could learn something. And so I decided to go to electrical school when I got out. So it wasn't like I wasn't even out months before I got a job and then I was taking the, I was, I was traveling back and forth to downtown Chicago to a, to a college called coin. It was at that time was called coin. Institute.

Omar: 1:13:20

Yeah.

Daniel: 1:13:21

Coin American Institute. Okay. And I was traveling back and forth there and my classes were like Tuesday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, something like that from 6 30 to 10 at night. And I made that commitment while I was working for my cousin's company and I became an electrician and uh, Yep. Little by little, I eventually started my own business and, um, we did that for a period of 10. What was it? 10 years, 11 years. Um, to where I'm at today. And, um, I know we're going to talk about that here in a little bit.

Omar: 1:13:55

But

Daniel: 1:13:56

when I look back, you know, my, my hopes today was to really point out the fact that, uh, I always had a desire, always had a passion in me to do something great, to do something worthwhile, to do something that my family would be proud of, to do something most important. More importantly, as I understand it today, as I think about it today, something that would be right by God.

Omar: 1:14:22

Yeah.

Daniel: 1:14:22

Right. And so, um, I got a chance to, build my clubhouse and my go kart and, and, and accomplish all the things I did in, in sports and, and go on to, uh, uh, gang affiliation and, and become the, the, the, the guy, the top guy and all of those things, uh, get a, get a degree, all of those things and, and, and, and come to find out that. God had a plan for my life from the beginning and that, and that, and that ability for me to see something and accomplish it came from him. And I never knew it until I got to know him in my life. And, um, so after being my own business owner for about 11, I think it was about 11 years after being released, I began to feel a tug into ministry. And I knew, um, that there were many people who were incarcerated who had, um, who had come out of prison and, and, and didn't have family like I did when I came home. My mother was. there for me. My father was there for me. They, they, they, they made a way for me to have an apartment. Uh, they made a way for me to have transportation. They got me to and from my, my driving, my driving classes or whatever. Um, I had to get my driver's license all over again. They were there to inform. They let me use their car to get my test done and all that stuff. And after Those 11 years of being a business owner, I had been given the opportunity to start. Preaching at the Work Relief Center, the same Work Relief Center I was in, I was given the opportunity to come there and hold Bible studies and it was every Monday night and, and I began to get to know the guys and I began to get to find out that the guys could go home, but they didn't want to go home because home was toxic. They needed a place where they could go and that they can, that they can continue living their life, uh, for God or, or continue to do good as far as they were concerned. They didn't want to go back to the environment where drugs and alcohol and, and, and trauma drama was right. So some of them. decided just to stay in the, stay in the work release center and, and serve the rest of their time rather than go home. Wow. Yeah. And, and then some of them. Um, but that was

Omar: 1:16:44

probably the best choice for them too, right? For them? Yeah. Yeah,

Daniel: 1:16:46

yeah. And then some of them were like, I'm getting released and I have nowhere to go. Um, and so there was just different things that was coming up and God was beginning to show me purpose. He was beginning to show me, uh, what I had already the path that I had already gone through that, that there were people who were getting ready to go through it. Only they didn't have the support I had. And so it was then that I began to pray with, with other people for a place that guys could transition to from prison. And I remember before this place, I had a vision of what it would look like and, and how it would, how it would help these guys. And, and this place would be able to provide transportation to and from their appointments, their court hearings, their court cases, or whatever it is that they had to do their doctor's appointments, uh, job interviews, uh, being able to help them. These guys have a support system while they're getting on their feet and they're getting back to life again, right from the department of corrections. And so. Little by little, God began to give me a burden or a passion of for the Lord. That's kind of a ministry. Well, uh, as, as maybe it's true for a lot of people, I began to get ahead of God and I began to try to build that thing. And I began to look for abandoned buildings where, uh, in the city of Gary, Indiana, and I began to think, well, maybe if I go to the. To the town hall or the mayor or whatever. And I'd tell him, Hey, this is what I want to do. Like a lot of people who are passionate, they'll give me the building. And so I remember taking my wife, she would just go away from me with me for a ride. And I would look at these abandoned.

Omar: 1:18:20

I got to ask you real quick, your wife, when did you get married? We skipped a real quick baby. You could say, yes.

Daniel: 1:18:26

Yeah. So after I got out, yeah. Thank you. After I got out of prison, uh, I was on, I was on work release. My wife today was my girlfriend in high school. Yeah, and she began to see the, the path that I was taking in pursuing, uh, wrong living. And it was in that time of her life, I was, I was 15, she was 16. She, she had enough wisdom in her life to, to, to go a separate way. And so she ended up, uh, having a, um, She ended up getting involved with another individual. They went on to get married. They had three children. The marriage eventually dissolved. Um, but at this point in time, I'm, I'm being released. And she just, she, she just looked me up to see what, what, what had happened. Yeah. And so we started talking again and she found out that, um, that, uh, I was passionate for Jesus Christ and my wife was, uh, at that time she wasn't my wife, but she, she was passionate for Jesus Christ. And so we began to correspond and we began to talk and, and one thing led to another and, uh, it was about, I don't know. I want to say three months, about three months before we decided, I told her, I said, I would not pursue anybody unless it was for marriage. By this time, I had a conviction that I wanted to live for God, you know, and I wanted to serve him. And so she was in agreement. And so we, by faith, we got married and yeah.

Omar: 1:20:02

What year was this?

Daniel: 1:20:03

This was in 2008. Okay. This was in 2008, March 2008. Uh, I was in work release in January 2008. By March we were married and I still had to do two years parole even after that. But um.

Omar: 1:20:17

And this is around the time I met you, right? Wasn't it? Yeah. Yeah,

Daniel: 1:20:20

we actually, that church that I met you at, my wife was attending that church.

Omar: 1:20:24

So yeah, for, uh, this was in East Chicago, Indiana. This was back man. I started going there in two. I got saved October, 2004. So I have been there and that's actually where I met you. And I just want to share that. I remember the, one of the first times you came, You briefly shared your testimony. We were in the back room. It was like having a little meeting. You shared your testimony and that scripture you keep, you keep bringing up. Uh, when a man's ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies to, to live at peace with him. For years, brother, when I talk to people, I share that part of your testimony. For real. Like, man, I, that, I don't know why even I remember that the little meeting man had to be like 10 minutes, man. It wasn't long, 10, 15 minutes. We were talking. You just briefly ran, you know, through, through your story, but that's scripture. I'll be talking to people, witnessing to them. And I'll say, man, man, there was this brother, this was his lifestyle and the scripture right here is what helped him. Yeah. Like when the man's ways are pleasing to the Lord, but my man, they, even back then, I know we only, uh, were there for a while. I don't know how long we were in that church together, but, uh, yeah, your story from, from then 2008, man, how many years ago was that? Wow. That's, uh, 16 years. Yeah, 16. Yeah. Right. 16 years, man. So here we are 16 years, but yeah, just wanted to ask you, cause I know you mentioned your wife, but let's go back into the story. You're trying to build this, uh, this home.

Daniel: 1:21:44

Yes. You're,

Omar: 1:21:44

you're, you're, you're trying to go to the, to the townspeople and see if they can help you. But then you mentioned that your wife.

Daniel: 1:21:50

Yeah. So my, my wife was going along for the ride. She, she thought I was crazy. She's like, what you're going to do? What? And she, she just, she loved me enough to go with me. Love you, baby. I know she can see this. That, uh, so we were driving up and down Broadway and Gary, Indiana. Now, if for anybody who doesn't know, Gary, Gary, Indiana is on its way back up, but there was, uh, yeah, it was pretty, it was pretty broke down, man. And a lot of abandoned buildings. And so there were a lot of buildings to choose from, but I had a vision of what God had showed me of, of what this place would look like. And, and I can't explain it, brother Omar, but I knew it was on Broadway. I just did it. Have the exact location because this today where the facilities that is on Broadway. Anyhow, um, So I, I knew that I didn't have the finances. I didn't have the building. I didn't even have the know how. I just had the vision. And I heard of another person who was already doing the work, uh, pastor Jerry Alanese, and I had heard this man's name a couple of times, but I didn't know him. And I began the pursuit of trying to find this, this person because I don't know, I just thought that if I met him, he would help me to be able to get this ministry going, or at least I could help him do it, whatever. And so eventually I, I, I, I, I found out who he was, where the ministry was, and I began to, um, I began to, uh, call. But the phone calls weren't getting me anywhere. And then one day I was at a wedding in Marquette Park in Gary, Indiana. And, and the wedding was going from the beach to the, uh, like to the gathering area. I don't, I don't know what to call that a pavilion or whatever. And as we were walking low and behold, I run into pastor Jerry. He's out there selling food to raise funds for this ministry. He's in the park. And I said, Hey, I've been trying to get in touch with you. He said, really? I said, yeah, I've made several calls and he said, well, what number did you call? And anyways, he gave me a number and I called that again to no avail. I did not get in touch with him. I hadn't run into him again for another long period of time. I started getting discouraged. I was thinking, you know what? This is taking way too long because this was not just like a week This was like years. Oh, no way. How many years I want to say at least three years. Oh, no way Yeah, about three years. I'm pursuing this this vision and I'm still a business owner at the time and One day I look up in my pastor The church where I was attending after I left the church where you and I were together. I'm at that same church today Um My pastor invited him to come be a guest speaker at our church. So now I don't got to worry about a phone call now. I got you right in my right where I want you. So he's there and he's our guest speaker for the day and he's introducing the ministry and I finally got a chance to catch back up with him. And he's he said he was willing to have a meal with me that day. Breakfast or lunch or something. And we, I think we went to lunch and we met and we talked some more. And, and, uh, if anybody knew who pastor Jerry was, he was, uh, he was a no nonsense type of guy. He was a street guy. He was saved, radically saved by Jesus Christ. And he radically went after other souls, uh, to, to, to, uh, for their souls to be saved. Um, anyways, so when I, when I finally sat down and met with him, I told him about my, my, my, my passion to, to want to do this. And his only response to me was what you're doing this weekend. I said, um, nothing. He said, good, tell you, tell your wife that you're going to go to an encounter. I said, okay, and I'm, I'm, I'm wanting this guy to, to help me mentor me, allow me in whatever. And his only response to me is what am I doing this weekend? So I said, all right. He said, tell her you'll be better for it. And for me, I think this was his way of telling me to try to test to see if I was serious. And so he sent me to this men's encounter at his church was amazing. Um, and I went through there and it was, it was, it was awesome, man. I mean, I, I was, I was impacted greatly by it, but after he saw me sincere enough to go through the men's encounter. Then he began to take me on and allowed me to come in and, and, and kind of be a part of what he was doing, but it was short lived because that was 2019 going into 2020, which is where COVID shook up the world. Right. Um, and caused us all to be separated and all of that stuff. But, um, so during that season in 2020, pastor Jerry had a heart attack. Yeah. He had a heart attack and he passed away and, um, his wife was left with all the responsibility of the ministry. And, and at this time, uh, the ministry is not just one building, it's multiple buildings, it's multiple properties, he's, he's doing a big work for God. He had been doing it for 22 years. And so the ministry had grown greatly, but the, uh, but his wife was, was dealing with Uh, some health issues. Plus this is a men's ministry and she just didn't feel like she was, uh, supposed to keep leading a men's ministry. And so she did for about a year and, uh, during that year, she allowed me to continue to, uh, what pastor Jerry had allowed me to do is he allowed me to come in on Thursday nights and I would teach Bible study and we call it transformation Thursdays, you know? And so, um, I would get to come in all the time and I remain committed to the ministry for that year and she, she called me one day. She said, you know, I believe that it's time for me to pass this ministry on. And she said, I'm believing that God is saying that I need to pass this on to you. And so I, I thought back and I said, man, God, I remember when I was all up and down Broadway, taking my wife through and looking into all these windows and I, and I had the. Yeah. I, I said, I didn't have the finances and I didn't have the know how and I didn't have the, the, the, the building and I didn't have, and I, all these things, and you have eliminated all those hurdles, you know, and, and, and now I am today three years into leading what is called a Uh, it's actually, we, we had to rename is actually the legal name is Christ centered restoration house ministries incorporated. And for all those listening, I say that again, I inherited restoration house ministries incorporated, but We needed to launch a new 501 C three. Uh, it was difficult after pastor Jerry passed away to recover lots of different legal documents and things like that. And so his wife had encouraged me to go ahead and relaunch the ministry. Um, and so I wanted, because people were very familiar with restoration house, uh, I thought it would be wise to keep the name intact, but I wanted it to. I don't know. For me, it was, it was important that that Christ was mentioned. And so, um, today we run the facility different than he did. Um, so yeah, today the, the legal name is Christ centered restoration house ministries, Inc. For anybody who knows the ministry there in Gary, Indiana or Hammond or any of the local. areas. They know the place is restoration house. Um, but uh, yeah. And so the vision that God had given me to begin to pursue souls for Jesus Christ, those who were incarcerated. Now, Because I got to know Pastor Jerry, I got to know what it was like to, to have a heart for those who were addicted because his testimony was he was, he was a functioning addict. He had a job in the steel mill, which provided him enough finances to be able to stay addicted. And he did this for a long period of time and he had, uh, I want to be careful, but as a story I was told he had a household of 14. So this is his children and grandchildren living in one home that he was supporting. And when God had birthed Restoration House, in pastor Jerry, he went out immediately, not allowing any kind of not having a building or anything else would be an excuse. He went out on the streets, rescuing souls, bringing them to his house. And for a season he had, as I understand it, he had 25 drug addicts living in his home of 14. Wow. And. This is the way I tell people anything that could go wrong. Did go wrong. And this was the passion that he had. Pastor Jerry thought after he got saved, he thought that he would only have like five years or less to live because he was sick.

Omar: 1:30:54

Okay?

Daniel: 1:30:55

Yeah. And so he thought, I got a small amount of time. I'm going, I'm going all out. I'm gonna do whatever I can just to, to, to reach souls for Jesus Christ. Well, he lived longer than five years and so, um, as he continued to, to, to do this, uh, for God, God. Blessed him with a location where he could do this ministry away from his home, right? And so he did that there for many years. That was where I began to volunteer was at that location. Well, a year, two years before Pastor Jerry passed away, he acquired the building we're in today. Now, he never got a chance to see that building have lights on. He never got a chance to see that building cleaned up. That building was filled with mold, filled with feces, filled with just, it was just horrible. Uh, he never really had a chance. He had some health issues. He had neuropathy in his feet. Um, He never complained. He was an amazing man of God. Um, but he never had a chance to, to see that place open because now it was going to become a place of his own where he was prior to that. He was renting. Okay. Yeah. So he went from his house to a place. He was renting to a place. He was going to own right for the ministry. So God had been, God had been building this thing up. And so when I came along, um, I, I, I had the responsibility or the opportunity to bring to God. Completion or at least fruition what he was what he envisioned

Omar: 1:32:28

almost like a Joshua to Moses, huh?

Daniel: 1:32:31

Yeah, man. Yeah. Yeah, I tell you and so when Pastor Jerry passed away Those were big shoes to fill And, and I've, and I've been right, right out the gate. I was honest with people. I said, I'm not trying to fill the shoes. I'll sit, you can set them over there and I'll look at them from time to time. And they may inspire me to do, cause this man gave it all after he come to know Christ at his last breath, he literally had to be forced to go to the hospital. He was having a stroke. And, and, and he had to go to the hospital and he never came home from the hospital. Yeah. So he gave his last breath to serve in Jesus Christ, man. And I have a picture of him in my office today. And, and, and, and I know he's not my savior and he's not my Lord and he's not the one who, who died for me, but it's just a reminder of what Paul said when he said that I finished the you know, and so it's just a reminder to me that, that, um, That what has been entrusted to me as is not to take it lightly, but yeah, all my life, man, I've always had an aspiration to do something great, to accomplish something good, to be successful. And I guess I would summarize everything we talked about today and say, I found that in Jesus Christ, man, amen. He has fulfilled me completely. He has transformed my life. I went from a person who took a life to a person who gives life today in the three years that I have been the pastor of restoration house. We have seen close to a hundred different men come through that door. Now, all of them don't stay, but every single one of them will hear the gospel message. Every single one of them will be impacted for Jesus Christ. Every single one of them got a meal, some clothes, a bed, whatever it is that they received, a shower, whatever it is they stood around long enough to receive. They knew that they were in a place that was there because of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. Yeah, man. So, um, in addition to reaching those men who come there from either incarceration from drug or alcohol addiction or from homelessness, we also make it our business to do what the Bible says. The Bible says it's better to give than to receive. So these men who are in Discipleship basically, they don't, they don't see it that way. They see it as they got a place to lay their head. They got a place to rebuild their life, but they're being, they're being raised up in the gospel.

Omar: 1:35:06

You know what? If I could share a Mike Petrovic, which is a, the man that I interviewed that you call me when we were connected a few months ago. You told me you got to interview this brother, Mike Petrovic, who is staying at restoration house. And that's the one thing he mentioned. He's like, man, this is discipleship. That's exactly what he said. This is like, there's not a shelter. Yeah. That's right. We're being discipled here. That's right. Disciples of Jesus Christ.

Daniel: 1:35:27

That's it. That's it. And by the way, he's still doing great today. Amen. Yeah, man. Still pursuing Christ. Uh, a phrase that him and I, uh, have between us is keep pressing. He, he had a revelation recently about the woman who had the issue of blood for 12 years who had to press through the crowd. So his, his, his, uh, his motto is keep pressing. Yeah, but yeah, Mike went through there and, um, and several others have. And, and as I said, not everybody's stories the same, not everybody's experiences the same, and I don't claim that I won't stand here or sit here and say the restoration house is a perfect fit for everybody, but for those who, who, who, who want to make it. Work for them. It has been life transforming, right? The Lord has done a mighty work in their life. They've come to know the Lord. But I started to say, in addition to helping those men, we also have applied the scriptures in the area where it says it's better to give than to receive. So every Tuesday we prepare sack lunches. At this point in time, we, we, we take what we have. We, we, we, uh, we, we purchase, uh, 56. amount 56 hot dogs, buns, uh, snacks, bottles of water. I know it's an odd number, but we based that a number on. Hot dogs on how you can buy them, the packs by eight. And so that's where we're at today. There was a time when we built up all the way, like 300, we were getting lots of donations, lots of support. We were, we were feeding 300 families, but I kind of got lost in the numbers. And realize that what's more important is that we're, we're, we're, we're ministering to people in addition to feeding people, not that we're just running people through a line and giving, uh, giving out a meal. So our 56 today are a whole lot more intimate than the 300 that we were just passing out. You know, it was kind of getting distracted by numbers, uh, one, one summer, a couple of summers ago,

Omar: 1:37:26

I'm thinking not quantity, but quality.

Daniel: 1:37:29

Absolutely.

Omar: 1:37:30

Yeah,

Daniel: 1:37:30

absolutely. And so, um, There's actually a video on YouTube. If anybody's ever interested, you can go look up Restoration House Gary and there's a, there's a YouTube video that actually would, would show us out there serving what it looks like. We actually create a, we actually create a drive thru. where we're at. And so people where we have, we have many of the guys who are inside the program. Uh, if they're not working that day, they're holding signs and those signs say free lunch. And so people are driving by the, this is lunchtime. Okay. And so people get a chance to save some money, man. Nowadays, lunch is expensive, man. You know? And so they see the sign to say free lunch and they see different people. Sometimes we get volunteers that come out, they see women, they see, you know, Young, they see old, they see, uh, African American, they see Hispanics, they see, uh, white people all together. And now everybody's holding a sign saying free lunch. It just seems like. It's okay. And so people would stop and they'll, they'll come through, but when they come through, we, we, we, we bless them with lunch, but we offer the gift of prayer

Omar: 1:38:32

and

Daniel: 1:38:33

man, we find that people haven't prayed in years, people have been running from God. This has become not just a lunch giveaway, but a, a, a, a, a time to where people can be impacted. By the Holy Spirit. And we're seeing people's people were on lunch break. They probably had to fix their makeup, all kinds of stuff because they were just flooding in tears. They didn't think they were coming to that. They saw a sign saying free lunch. And so, as I started to say, the ministry is not only geared towards helping those men, that's our primary focus, helping those men get their lives back together to be restored. But it's also Discipling them to reach other people. And so now these same people who've been broken, who've been incarcerated, who've been addicted, who've been homeless are ministering to other people, the gospel of Jesus Christ. Yeah,

Omar: 1:39:23

man. And it keeps going, man. The discipleship process. And like you mentioned, the mantle, like one to the other. That's it. Man, but the the multiplication man, that, that's awesome, brother. Yeah. But yeah, go, go ahead.

Daniel: 1:39:35

So

Omar: 1:39:35

I, I

Daniel: 1:39:35

was just gonna say that's, that's where we're at today, man. It's, it's a, it's a great opportunity and a, and a heavy responsibility. It's not something that I take lightly. I do understand that he is the one who should receive the glory. Yes. And to do that in the right, in the right way, I must do it with a humble heart. Right. I must always realize that if it had not been for him, reaching into that prison, using a man to share the gospel with me, where would I be? Right. Where would

Omar: 1:40:05

I be without you? I, this is one of the songs I love listening to man, for real. When every time I listen to those lyrics, where would I be without you? And, and, uh, part of the lyric says, uh, I'll probably be in somebody's grave. Yeah, man, without him, you know,

Daniel: 1:40:18

yeah, man, yeah, that's right. And so today I owe him everything today. I owe him everything today. I'm, I'm, I'm a pursuer of life today. My life is transformed today. I'm I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm reaching into the gutters. I'm reaching into the highways and the byways I'm reaching into the streets. I'm reaching into the prisons, into the jails, into the hospitals. To reach another one for Jesus Christ, man. Amen. Amen. Amen. Today purpose is being fulfilled today. I feel accomplished today. I'm all that I've always wanted to be as a child and all along it was in Jesus Christ.

Omar: 1:40:56

Man, from those visions were success of trying to achieve something. It was in him and all along fulfilled in him.

Daniel: 1:41:05

It was in him. Yes, sir. In him. I live. Move and have my being apart from him. I can do nothing. Sit, man.

Omar: 1:41:17

That's the truth.

Daniel: 1:41:18

I'm convinced of it,

Omar: 1:41:19

man, brother, man. I know you, you just said you feel like your fulfillment. I, this conversation here has blessed me immensely, man. And I was going to bless those that are going to hear it. Uh, man, any, any final word, man, uh, man, you have, you've shared a lot, but any final word, something maybe we didn't get a chance to touch on to discuss. That you want to share with those that are going to be hearing your story.

Daniel: 1:41:42

You know, I think I would take this opportunity because I had the privilege of sending, um, Kojak and, and, and Mike to be interviewed. And one of the things that I told them prior to coming, because I told them about your podcast and I told them, Don't forget that this is an opportunity to glorify Christ. And I told him, don't forget to talk to the younger version of you that's sitting out there watching. And so that's what I would like to do. I'd like to look out there and say to the younger version of me right now, you're considering. Can you're considering pursuing a lifestyle of gang affiliation or drug dealing or street life of some kind. And you think that that is what is going to fulfill you. You think that that is what's going to help you feel accomplished or reach success. And I'm here to tell you, I'm a living witness that all of that stuff is just a, uh, it's an imitation of what. Is real. And what is real is found in Jesus Christ. I would tell you, don't waste your time. I already went to the penitentiary. Nobody in there wants to be there. Everybody would love to trade places with you. So I'll tell you now, before you make that decision to, to you. Purchase another, uh, amount of drugs before you make that decision to purchase that pistol before you make that decision to shoot someone and change your life and that family's life forever. And you would have to live with that. I would say to you, today's the day to make a new decision. Today's the day to look up. Today's the day to give your life to Christ and watch him make your enemies to be at peace with you. That would be my encouragement to our viewers today is don't, don't think that it's going to be different for you. The Bible says there's nothing new under the sun before me. There were ones who tried it. And along this podcast, if you keep watching this podcast, you'll hear the same story over and over embodied in a different person who lived in a different area and got to the same results. Why go through that today? You have an opportunity. Turn your turn your eyes to the Lord. Turn your heart to the Lord. He said those who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Thank you, brother. That's really what I would say to the viewers that are out there.

Omar: 1:44:13

Amen. And then to follow that up, brother, if you could close us out with a prayer, man, that'd be awesome, man.

Daniel: 1:44:19

Father, I just thank you for this opportunity, father, God, to take what you have done. God and bring glory to you with it. Father God, thank you for turning my life around. Thank you for, for using a mess and turning it into a message. Lord, thank you for that individual who's watching right now. Father God, who's contemplating doing wrong. Father God, I pray father God, that you would turn this moment into that segue. Into living a life that is strong in you. Father God, I pray father God that you would, uh, restore families. Father God, take away what the enemy is trying to do in the life of these young people. Father God, I pray father God for restoration. Father God. Of children back to the fathers and fathers back to the children. Father God, according to your word, Lord, I pray father God's salvation of souls. I pray, God, you would use this message today. You would use this testimony, father God, to reach people all over the world. Father God, for your glory. Save them father god in Jesus name. Amen.

Omar: 1:45:21

Amen. Amen brother man. Thank you. Thank you for that man Uh, I know before we started recording we had a little uh, some storms opposition We had to pray before and I I feel that Uh, something was trying to stop this story from, from getting out, man, from, from you sharing it, you know, uh, but, but, but I thank God that you made the trip here. I thank God for you pouring out your heart. And like we discussed early earlier, giving the glory to the one who belongs to Jesus Christ, man. So I thank you for that. Hey, before we wrap up, could you share the, you guys had a website, maybe are you guys on social media? Uh, where, where people could go find you.

Daniel: 1:45:58

Yeah. So you could actually find us, uh, on Facebook at, uh, restoration house, Inc. I N C restoration house, Inc. You can, uh, go there to the, to the Facebook page and it'll give you some links where you can begin to communicate with us in various ways and giving in just, uh, volunteering and just getting in touch with us if you need some kind of, uh, support, uh, some kind of, uh, Help in your addiction. Feel free to reach out to us. We definitely, uh, love to come alongside you and, and, and help you to, uh, to live a life for Jesus Christ.

Omar: 1:46:33

Amen. Amen, brother. Thank you. Thank you very much for your time, man. And with that, we're going to get ready to, to wrap up, 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 alongside pastor Daniel Rivera, My name's Omar Calvillo. We are Wrong to Strong.