"The Path to Healing" - From Abuse, Addiction, and Cancer w/ Rik Valdez

In this episode of 'Wrong to Strong Chicago', host Omar Calvillo interviews Pastor Rick Valdez from Cross Com Ministries. Pastor Rick shares his powerful story of transformation, from growing up in the tough streets of Chicago to dealing with childhood abuse, gang involvement, and a life of drugs and rock and roll. He details his journey of repentance and surrender to God, leading to his significant roles in various ministries. Rick describes a miraculous turning point in his battle with stage 4 metastatic cancer, emphasizing the power of faith, healing, and his commitment to making Jesus famous. The episode underscores themes of redemption, faith, perseverance, and the transformative power of God's love.

https://www.crosscomministries.org/

Transcript

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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. everyone, and welcome to another episode of wrong to strong Chicago. I'm your host. My name is Omar Calvillo. And tonight I have my guest here is Pastor Rick Valdez. He's from Cross Com Ministries. Rick, I think it was last week or maybe two weeks ago, it was at, uh, a Compass Church in Whedon. A shout out to Pastor Manny Mill, who, they lead, RTO, which is a radical timeout, ministries, it's basically a, a, a prison ministry. Uh, and through, through that ministry, I had the opportunity to, to network with various individuals, various men, women from all type of churches, different ministries, all who have a heart, uh, for the prisoner. For their families, for their children, so they're doing an amazing work there. But, uh, that's, that's where I met pastor Rick and we connected their exchange numbers. And man, we said, Hey, we got to get together. Be behind the mics over here. Cause my, my, my brother, uh, pastor Rick, he's got a story to tell. So welcome to the podcast master. Thank you so much, Omar. I really appreciate this. And by the way, just, uh, also thank you for this shirt shirt rocks. This is awesome. Yup. So, so for those that are watching this, there's the new gear from darkness to light and in the back, it got from wrong to strong, you know, so that's, that, that's our model actually for, for this, it's a, it ties into Matthew 4 16, you know, which I'm going to read at the end, but, uh, that's, that's my story. And I'm sure as we get through years, you're probably going to relate. To that statement right from darkness to light. Oh my goodness. Yes. Yes. All right So, but you know what? I'll pass the record. Can you tell us where did you grow up? Uh, what part of the country and then if you could maybe share, you know, maybe your childhood How are things for you and your family back then? Absolutely. I'll be more than happy to so I was actually born in texas Many years ago. I'm not going to tell you how many but it was a quite a while ago We're born in I was born in galveston, texas, uh came to chicago You At the age of seven Omar because we had lost Everything in a hurricane was actually hurricane carla, which is I guess it's like one of the top 10 worst hurricanes ever and so we literally had lost our house our pet we had a dog that we lost there too as well and Uh, we lost a family member. Um, and we had nothing my my mom and dad at that point. Uh, you know, they're strong workers But they're they're not educated not certainly not college educated And so because of that we had to then We had an opportunity to come up to chicago My mom's brother my uncle dave lived up here And so we had family up here already through him And so he had an uh an apartment open. He has he had a three flat As a two flat with the basement. Yeah, and then uh, so we we came here and uh, you know, actually my dad came first and then Uh, he made enough money to send us You So, um, and then we grew up right in that area. There was literally right by humble humble park. Okay, like, you know, just a couple blocks from humble park. Where I grew up where I lost my first bike where I got my first, you know beat up I got you know Someone stole my bike hit me Although the good stuff Good stuff. Yeah the kind of stuff that makes you grow up real fast Uh, and then so what they did is, you know, I had loving loving loving parents, uh, good people Again, as I mentioned my dad didn't really speak any english. So, um, but he was and is still You Hardest working man I ever met in my life. Greatest guy in the world. Um, could explain to us how he loved us so he showed us. And he worked hard and he did a bunch of things, some things maybe I can even I can even tell you if that's okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely. So, um, as I mentioned we got here at the age of seven. I found out that I was musically inclined. And, uh, started uh, took piano lessons. And then, uh, my piano teacher finally had enough of me and said, you know, Ricky, maybe you should be playing drums. You're hitting this stuff a little too hard. So, um, so sure enough. So I started doing that. I started playing drums Omar and just took a real liking to it. And it was a real blessing to me. Um, just loving it and I get to hit something hard. And the reason why. I didn't find out until my 40s, um, that, um, I was really taking a lot of aggression out on drums is because before we had moved to Chicago, um, I was, uh, I was, um, abused as a child, little guy, uh, at the age of six. And that is a crazy story, Omar. It's just, uh, it was one of those where, um, As I mentioned I didn't really even just didn't come out to like I was 40 years old for her and and I was wondering why I was Really not together I never really felt bodily physically mentally spiritually together and so a part of that is that and and I just I had hidden it and I and I You know just kept it way down in my my soul in my heart Um didn't tell anybody at all That that had happened? In fact, when that happened, um, talk about God even being with you then as a child. Um, I was in a, I was in a house, uh, in Texas and, uh, there were other kids there that were also being abused. And, um, by the grace of God, I know that now, um, I, uh, I actually, um, got out of the house, uh, and I, and I was determined, determined to help others, some of the others that were there with me. And so I could hear them crying and screaming upstairs and there was lots of stairs from what I recall, lots of wooden stairs going up and I made it maybe halfway up there and I just freaked out and I got scared I couldn't do it. And, um, If I knew prayer, then I'd probably be praying big time, but I, uh, but he, he knew the cry of my heart. And so, um, I, on my way down, I heard some more crying, but it was coming from the pantry in this house. It was a big house. And so I opened the door and it was just a little guy there. And it's, it's, it's even hard to tell the story, but, um, it was a little guy there. And I was determined to get us out and I did by the grace of God I realized that now that God allowed me to do that. And so, uh, I believe I saved him from that um so all that Can I ask you how did you end up in the house and how as well as the other kids like What was going on that that I guess led you there or sure great great question You know, uh, I remember From what I remember from going to counseling for a couple years on that, what I remember is that child of mine, uh, a friend, uh, got me to play at this, in this yard. And, um, you know, someone came out and said, you know, hey, we've got this, you know, and it was about two or three of us, maybe four, uh, playing there. And, uh, it was a beautiful yard. And, um, so we went in. And from that point on it was a lot of memory loss from that point on. Yeah. So, but I, I, um, and it was, I know this sounds strange, but it was, it took a part of my life. Believe it or not, this is, it sounds crazy, but it's true. A part of my life was spent or my childhood was spent learning how to go up steps without making a sound. Cause I was determined to be able to do that. Should anyone else need me up there? Wow. Isn't that crazy? So as a child, we grew up, um, you know, we didn't have a lot of money. My folks, you know, didn't, didn't have a lot of money. We loved them. Great people. Great people. Um, but they gave us what they could. Yeah. Certainly fed us. You know, we were, we were never without a meal. I can't ever remember being without a meal. Um, and I can remember them going without a meal. You know and so But they gave us what we needed if if we needed something at Christmas if we wanted something special at Christmas my dad I remember I'll never forget this I wanted a toy that my cousin had and I you know just being a spoiled little brat so to speak I I Remember going I really want that and he was sick. He had a fever and he went out Worked his second third job to get that for me. I mean that that's the kind of parents I had They were beautiful people So, um, anyway, so moving, you know, moving forward, from there, uh, you know, they would, they would take us, they took us, whenever they made more money, they would, you know, they'd kind of move us a little further north in the city, just better areas. And we did that. We ended up on, uh, Fullerton and Kimball, Holman, if you know where that's at. And so, um, that's near my high school days. And At that time, um, I got, uh, I entered into Lane Tech, went to school there, but prior to that, let me go back, uh, just a little bit. So prior to that, uh, going through, uh, grammar school, I went to Moose, uh, off of, I can't remember what street, maybe it was, maybe it was Mozart, in Chicago, and then I went to, uh, another school, it was an upper grade center for 7th and 8th grader, and there wasn't a day that I didn't get picked on. It was horrible. I mean, I remember from sixth grade on to seventh and eighth grade I got picked on big time beat up You know, and so I was determined not to You know, I still had the that person in mind in the back of my head that you know that Crushed my spirit as I was a child. Yeah And so I was determined not to let big bullies do that again. So I ended up taking self defense and I loved it. I went through, uh, from beginning of seventh grade through high school, doing that, taking that. What, what, what, what, uh, what was, what was it? Oh, I took several. There were several. I took Shaolin Kung Fu. I took Qi Dao Chong Kung Fu. And then I took Tai Chi. Um, for mental and, uh, yeah. And so, um, anyway, uh, all that to say is, you know, it's still getting beat up. I never once, Omar, did I ever use anything, I've never did that. I was, I, in my heart, um, and this is the heart that the good Lord gave me. I could, I could not abuse somebody. I could not hurt someone. I could not, you know, inflict pain. Pain onto someone else. It's crazy how, how that works, uh, because you know what that's like. Correct. You know, you have that pain and you're like, man. And even like going back to the little kid that you, you know, you heard crying and you want to save him. If anything, I think that developed maybe like a protector in you. Instead of wanting to hurt people, maybe trying to help them, I would imagine, I don't know. That's a, that's a really good point. You know, I, I ended up, you know, down the road, you know, when I was, uh, uh, in my 40s that I start to I realized I needed counseling for that. And, um, it was strange. I was driving, I was, you know, we had our family business and I was driving down a road. Um, and I saw a big white house and I was down in the, like, in the country fields, you know, and saw a big white house and it had, uh, dog, uh, kennels on the side. And that's what this house had. So I remember pulling over and I'm maybe 40, 41 at the time, but I remember, uh, pulling over and I started drawing on a piece of paper. I was literally on the side of this country road drawing and things started coming. It's like the good Lord just said, you know, uh, now we can handle this together, Rick, we can do this. Let's, let's, let's get this off your chest. You know, this create something other than, um, Uh, pity for yourself, uh, you know, um, anger, um, You know, just, just looking at it as abuse, uh, instead of, you know, uh, something that I could use down the road, and the good Lord has been able to do that, uh, because I can feel for those that have been gone, that have gone through that, Omar. Um, I know I jumped the gun too much. No, no, yeah, yeah, but eventually we're going to get to, I know you mentioned the good Lord, you know, but we'll work our way there, you know, but, uh, so yeah, you're, you're back in high school. So, uh, did, did you end up, um, um, college after that or anything stand out from the high school years or other than what you mentioned right now? You know, just, just, uh, uh, You know what, through high school, as I mentioned, I, you know, taking self defense, I thought I was, you know, untouchable. And so I started in high school, I started hanging out with local gangs. And, um, and the reason why I did that is because they, I, um, I started playing football with them. Baseball, just sports. I loved sports, but I was never really good at any of'em. But you know, I'm, I'm their witch. You, so, yeah, But, you know, I tried really, really, really hard. And so anyway, we, um, I hooked up with this gang and, and they, you know, on the weekends they would ask me to come out and, you know, play with, uh, you know, sports with them, and I did that. But it led me into other things as well too, you know, um, things I, I really should not have done. And I knew that yeah, you know, you know that you know, what's right? What's wrong at that age, you know But I was doing that. Anyway, why well because a was hurt B I thought you know because of the anger inside inside of me. I you know, I'll take it out some other way See because I thought you know, I'm invincible You know I'm not. We're not. Um, but so anyway, so, uh, that to say is, is, you know, I went down a different path and I've been literally, I've been shot at, I was stabbed in the back. Um, I had, uh, I've been chased, um, down alleys, down streets, um, Quite a while, you know a long distance uh going in and out of Yards and so on and you know, I ended up Where I actually had to take a cab Back home. That's how far I was Because I was scared out of my mind. But anyway, so the um, uh one night um, actually I'm, i'm jumping forward to the jesus thing. Oh, yeah, whatever you want. I mean, how do you feel high school? Okay, so junior year high school Um, I was being chased by by a gang. Okay. I won't mention who it was. Right, right, right. Um, but I was being chased by a gang, and, and I went, and I'll never forget, I jumped the shard and there was a German Shepherd in there, and he just started chasing me you know, I'll tell you what, man, you get, you get Superman stuff inside of that. Oh yeah. And I jumped the fence and I, I, I remember it was the back of this church big. Well a brick building. Yeah And I remember the church, but I remember Jumping the yard was dark and I went downstairs in the back of the church to the steps, you know I could see a door there, but I was I was literally just freaking out. I was scared very scared I remember almost in a fetal position sitting by this door and I could hear stuff going on inside I could hear kids or kids my age. Yeah Doing stuff and just having fun and laughing i'm like I want that You know, I want that, you know, uh, and so all of a sudden believe it or not i'm sitting there the door opens up And it was it was one of the guys that I went to school with in my class And eddie was just a great christian man. Just a just a great christian brother um And he recognized we didn't know each other. Okay Because he was the kind of person I would never talk to You know, I just I was like I guess cool. So I, uh, but I, he, he asked me to come on in. So I did. And, um, you know, again, junior high school, um, there was a very cute girl there. And so I thought, yeah, I could, I could get into this place. You know, I can really. I could really be a part of this in church. You talked about church. Yeah. Yeah. I got you. All right. Not so much. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But, uh, but I did. And then, um, I remember it was middle of junior year high school. And, uh, I said, you know what? I think I want to get baptized. I want to, I want, I want that what you have. I want what you have, you know, God bless this, this young man or now our age, but you know, for being that example, Living that example to the point where, um, to be honest with you, all I really wanted was acceptance. Someone to like me for who I am. Yeah. Not for what I think I am. You know, you know, can I ask you, what was your faith upbringing as far as your family? Like maybe before this? Sure, sure, sure, sure. I grew up in a Catholic church. Okay. Um, my mom and dad were, were devoted Catholics. Uh, That changed but uh, they were devoted catholics at the time and so, you know was every sunday go to church and dress up and go to church and you know, uh, do your thing there and and so on but um, And I I I will get into if it's okay, but my dad um amazed me through life because I did not know that he gave his life to the lord. I never knew that until the end You Near his end of his life, Omar, when, um, I was much older and, and he'd gotten really, really sick. He was going through dialysis. And so I, by the way, there's, I'm sorry, there's, there's three in the family. My oldest, my oldest is my sister. Uh, the middle child is my, my, my brother Herman, who's my hero, literally my hero and then myself. But I would take care of my dad and I would take him to dialysis. And, um. There were times, brother, when I'd go visit them at home, you know, and I'd knock on the door and see my mom and she's like, Oh, Dad's upstairs. You know, and I'd walk upstairs and he'd be in his, you know, lounge chair, you know, sleeping, snoring. But he had the Bible wide open. I loved that. I loved that. You know, what a great example. Yeah. You know, and so, uh, he eventually passed away from that. But do you know at what age he came to faith like his life? Like when, or yeah, I, I heard that it was, I believe, I believe it was in his thirties because he was, he, uh, he drank. You know, we lived in Texas, all my uncles, you know, all those Hispanics, we'd go to the beach every, every weekend and barbecue and drink and all my childhood there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We did that. And so, um, oh, I didn't, I was a kid, but yeah, I went to the beach and we had fun. But, you know, they would do that kind of thing. And so one day my mom just looked at him and he smoked, big time, a lot. And she said, Herman, you're done. You're done with that. Stop. Stop. Or we're done. End. End. He loved my mom so much like that. It was done. Praise God for that that day. Yeah, he just stopped literally He had that kind of will power man amazing amazing amazing little guy just like my height just uh, You know just a great Santa guy So he was around 30 and and um, and now i'm going back to what you mentioned about how the way he loved you guys He how he modeled it. I'm sure that had that played a huge role in the way. He treated mom treated you guys Absolutely. We had to have a whole lot of respect for mom because he did and he loved her with all his heart You could tell Um When we were kids, um, as I mentioned, he worked a couple of jobs and, you know, he, he'd do whatever he took to get us things, you know, and so on. But, um, he would, as we're sleeping, you know, my brother and I slept in one room, it was a bunk bed, you know, and, and I would pretend I'm sleeping my eyes, you know, kind of almost shut. And there he is standing right there praying for us. Wow. In the dark, he'd be praying for us, you know. And he would do the sign of the cross, you know, and then he'd kiss, you know, kiss him on the cheek. Um, I, I did that often because I almost wanted to see if he was doing that all the time and he did. It was crazy. What an example. Oh my gosh. That's, that's, that's speaking to me about what I should do for, for my kids, you know, maybe even from a distance, but at least to be intentional about praying for them like every night. Yeah, I think the, that's, that's a great word. I think the key word there is intentional. Yeah. You know, we, uh, I have, I have three kids. Um, my oldest, you know, she's married now and she's out in New York. Um, my middle child, Luke, uh, he is in Grand Rapids, Michigan and our youngest, uh, Molly. Is, um, she lives out in this area? Well, not too far from LA where we live. Okay. Where we see her quite a bit. Oh, that's good. Yeah. Uh, I wanna go back to something you mentioned. Sure. Your, your middle brother, uh, Herman, her was Herman. You said he was a hero to you. What, what, what made him a hero? Wow. And I, you know, there's, I could, man, I could go on for hours there, but, um, you know, he was, uh, unlike me, he was great in every sport that he played. Everyone. In fact, when he was in high school, he was a running back for the high school. Hmm. Um. Here in Chicago and by junior year, he had colleges, you know, literally knocking at our door, calling us, going, Hey, we, you know, we'd like to talk to your, your son, or, you know, in case this case, my brother, uh, they want her, they, they considered him to be the next Gale Sayers. He was that good. He was very, very good. Um, and every sport he played, he was, he excelled and he was incredibly, uh, competitive. Um, Uh, he's that way with God. My whole family, by the way, is, has come to the Lord. I praise God. We're all blessed by that. But, uh, he is, um, so there was one day I, I'll never forget this. I, you know, it was, uh, it was the end of his junior year. Um, and playing football and I'd go to almost every game. I went to this game and, um, during the game, I was talking to some friends and all of a sudden I hear some, a bunch of, you know, screaming and stuff going on and like, oh my goodness, what happened? And as I look, I can see my brother, number 34, laying on the ground. He was out. It scared me. I mean, really scared me. I just froze at that point, you know. And, um, it, he got up eventually, but what happened then happened. Was that he started getting really, really sick. And, um, my mom and dad, again, not having a whole lot of money, took him to our family doctor. And, you know, family doctor said, you know, it's just Thanksgiving. Ashley said, ah, take him back home. He's got the flu. Something's, you know, nothing's that bad. Just, you know, take him back home. Well, we did. He couldn't eat. He went to, you know, he slept all day. But when he, when he did get up Omar, he would, uh, he'd pass out. And then he started complaining about his eyesight. And so to the point where my mom's like, Okay, well let's take him to an eye doctor. Eye doctor then said, uh, Get him to a hospital right now. Checked his eyes out, checked everything out, and he said, you know, Get him to the hospital right now. Uh, Took him downtown to, to the hospital. Turns out that he had maybe a kidney. Two, if, if we did nothing, two to three months to live. He had three tumors in his head. They were affecting his eyesight, his memory, um, his physicalities, you know, he's, you know, movements, that kind of thing. And, and so they, they right then and there, I mean, you know, immediate operation, actually hang on, let me back up there. And I think, I believe they had a doctor come in from somewhere. for that particular operation, uh, drilled three holes where the, uh, tumors were in his head. And, um, he's, he tells the story that right before he passed out, he said, Lord, if he will let me live, I will serve, I will serve others. And, um, he's been doing that since praise God. Yeah. And, um, he's just an amazing man. Uh, brilliant, very, very smart. Um, And, and we, we laugh a lot. He's now retired from our family business and him and, uh, my sister in law Barb, also a very wonderful Christian lady, uh, they retired and moved out to Spokane. And so, uh, they're out there now then, you know, uh, we ended up taking my mom out there too with them. But, um, But there's so many other things that you know, I could go into it. No, no. Yeah. Yeah. No, no. Thanks for sharing. I just want to get at least a little and I know you mentioned it. So let's you know, those are going to listen to your story. You need to hear a little bit why the made him a hero. But uh, let's go back. You say you will man. I want to get baptized. So tell us about that moment. And then maybe how life look going going forward from that moment. Absolutely. So junior year high school is middle of the year, you know, high school. Um, again, I, I, I wanted what, what they had. This tiny little church Loved on you They they they didn't care about skin color You know what race you were nothing none of that You know, uh, they loved on you and I thought I you know, I I never expected or experienced that type of love And so I wanted that more so I wanted To know the person that created that love. Yeah, you know what I mean? I wanted to know It was not enough to know that they could love like that I wanted to know why and how yeah, they do that. I had the last guy I interviewed It was the the who behind the what there you go. Yeah, that's exactly right. Okay, you you see the effects of the love They're showing. All right, but I want to know who's behind it. I guess in a sense, right? Absolutely, correct Um And so, again, junior year of high school, I, I said, uh, I want to be baptized and our, our youth group leader baptized me, Bruce, wonderful man of God, wonderful man of God, baptized me. And I thought, hoo hoo, you know, life is going to be different, you know, and, and I will have no problems, no worries after this. That just doesn't happen like that, you know? And so, uh, life goes on and. You know, we're, uh, we're flesh, we're sinners, you know, we're not always perfect. Uh, and I proved that because, um, I mean, I, I, I felt the calling to go into ministry at that age. 17, 18. Yep. Yep. Yep. Junior year 17, about 17 years old. Um, yep. And I thought, great, let's do this. So. Uh, senior year I applied at a couple of colleges, uh, you know, and, uh, got accepted, uh, so that I could go to seminary and, you know, become a pastor and, and, uh, but then, um, you know, Satan's not gonna just let you go off and do your thing with God and he'll be a happy man. He's not gonna let that happen, so he certainly stepped in. Um, I've been playing drums since I was seven years old, that was my gifting, I thought, you know, and I love that, and so, uh, an opportunity came to me, and it was one of those where, you know, you're on the fence, and you're like, okay. Do I follow Jesus? Do I follow Satan? Music world, you know, that kind of thing. And, and I sat there for a while thinking, I think I'm just going to sit here and think about this, you know? And then you realize that Satan owns the fence you're sitting on while you're waiting to do, you know, to make a decision. So, um, you know, we're called to be wise as a serpent. And so, um, I ended up Succumbing to that, to that temptation and went into the music industry instead of going into college at that time and, and seminary and, uh, went off for about eight years, traveled, toured, um, got involved with everything wrong. in that industry. Uh, you know, you think you're a superstar cause you're traveling on a bus and you're, you know, you're, you're going to these cities and people think you're great. And, you know, you've got all these friends that are really not friends. Yeah. Uh, they're there because you're there. They're there because you're a person that is, uh, you know, getting glorification for something that is not meant to be glorified. Yeah. I'm not saying the music industry is all bad. I'm doing that because there's a lot of great great Christian artists out there I'm just saying where what I do your experience. Oh my gosh. Yes, I went into rock and roll. And yeah, so all that Then took me down this road called drugs and You know the old saying, you know, there's sex drugs on rock and roll I Became very good at all three You Especially the drugs part and I was just weak hurting still inside from childhood It lasts a long time. Oh, yeah, you know, but I took that as an and made that in my excuse I'm gonna do this is because first of all, I'm a rock and roller. I'm a So called rock star in my own mind, you know And that's what I did. I did, I did a lot, a lot, a lot of cocaine. And, uh, that became my drug of choice. And, uh, also my downfall. It was, uh, at that time it was horrible. I, I consider myself a human hand grenade because I would just leave bodies everywhere. You know, I didn't care who I dumped or whatever. I didn't care who I was with. I didn't, you know, I didn't like, like them to me. They didn't, you know, because eventually as I got off that road, where are my friends? They're gone. They're just, they're temporary because again, you know, you could sign an autograph, big deal, you know, big deal. Um, but the drugs just overtook me and I was definitely became an addict at that point. You said about eight years of doing this. How many years did it last? So you finally The the drug thing. Yeah, it lasts quite some time. Uh, Quite a few years. I was through my 20s into my 30s um And then I became uh You know at one point um my brother and an attorney, uh Came knocking on my door. We had a beautiful home up, you know in the north suburbs And they came knocking on our door saying, you know, you're done. Look at you. Look at you You I was thin as a rail, thinner than I am now, and, uh, sick, angry at the world, um, had, um, really, my value was, uh, material things. You know, uh, drum sets, uh, car, um, you know, home. That was That was my material. Drugs, of course. And all the things in between, that was, that's, I figured that I earned that. Because I worked so hard at playing so hard. And, um, It's just, just wrong. It's just all wrong. It's all material stuff that, uh, I'm not saying it's wrong to have those things. The attitude that I accepted them with, the attitude that I took them in with, you know, the person that I was being as I was doing that was wrong. It is wrong. You know, I could ask you, okay, so the brother and the lawyer came like, well, why was there a lawyer there? I guess, because there was contracts. Okay. You know, you're, you're, you can't just leave. As far as like the, the music, the music. Gotcha. Okay. Partnership with them. So you were kind of maybe breaking the contract by the condition that you were in. Okay. So you were like missing gigs or something or what? Yeah, I would, I would, uh, I would, I would, I never, ever, ever missed a gig. But I wouldn't, you know, I wasn't, I can't, I can sit here and tell you that I can maybe. Remember, 50 percent of those gigs, it was so wasted, but you know, you become mechanical, you become robotic autopilot, like very good autopilot. And, and, and here's the thing with me is that, and it's always been this way. Um, I could be staggering in a room. I could be slurring my words. Uh, but when I got into my kingdom, Behind my drum set and believe me, uh, uh, this is not bragging. I'm not bragging But I had this I had my I the drum set I had was made for me It was huge Huge big old big drum set big rock and roll drum set, you know, but when I got back there This was my land Don't come here You know those people out there. There's no one as good as me because if they were they'd be here Horrible attitude. Yeah Talk about You know, just being ungodly. Talk about, you know, just, just The pride. Pride of life, right? Pride was huge. And, and I allowed it. Because if I didn't, uh, I was afraid not to be prideful. I didn't know what I'd become if I wasn't that way. So, anyway, uh, so, yep, we did, we did the big rock and roll thing, and, uh, played lots of shows in lots of little crazy places, and starting out, when we started out, we, uh, our meals were, we would, uh, you know, just like any other band, you, you, uh, you make no money in the beginning. Nothing. So our meal was like splitting a hamburger between two guys. Maybe some fries. Maybe. We If you're lucky. If you're lucky, yeah. I've stayed at some of the craziest, crummiest motels in the beginning, you know. But then you grow and you gradually get better and then you become a little bit more popular and so on. And I got to know a lot of, a lot of big people, a lot of big people in the music industry and um, and so all that to say is, uh, the, the, the attorney was there and my brother was there because they had, my brother had had it. He knew what I was doing. He knew I was in bad shape and I knew it. I didn't really care at that point. So what, what, what, what did they do at that moment? Oh, well, they, uh, they, they sat me down. Um, I, at the, at the time, um, I had a daughter and so she was taken so we could talk. And, uh, we did talk, uh, they talked, I was, uh, Too whacked out to make any sense, but they told me that what they were going to do and they were going to, you know, they were going to get me away from the band and music and, um, just take a break, you know, uh, we, we did that. Um, and my then wife, uh, was this, uh, rock and roll. If I could say this goddess so to speak, you know, she was You know, you got groupies. Yeah, and then you got groupies that are your wives That was her. So when she Realized that I was stepping away from the music industry. She she couldn't take that She wanted to rock star husband. Gotcha. And so, um And we had a daughter, a beautiful daughter, you know, and so, uh, but they told me what they were going to do and how life was going to change and so on and so forth, you know, and I, I sat there just not really making, you know, much noise with that thinking, ah, they're going to leave and I'm just going to go back to that life. That didn't happen. They were on me. My brother was on me. And, uh, again, as I mentioned, he's my hero. He, he was on me. And so, um, They thought, well, you know, we're gonna, we're going to change your life. And, and, uh, my brother in law, my brother and myself, we started a company and, uh, it was really mostly theirs cause I didn't know what I was doing. But, um, and it was a telecommunications company. I had no idea what I was doing. I had a long hair midway down my back. I didn't know anything about that stuff, you know, uh, never went to college at that, at that time for that. So, but. You know that uh That changed my life, too Uh in the sense that I I realized that I could build something and I liked doing that Um that I could lead people And I liked doing that You know, I have a saying that you know you manage things but you lead people And uh, that's good. I realized that I could get and I was and am By the grace of God, very good at that. Um, but, uh, didn't take me from, from the drugs. It was, it was hidden at that time. I was really good at hiding it for a long time. Um, but, uh, but my family found out, they knew, they know. And so, um, they, they thought an intervention was going to take care of all of that. So. That's what that was the next step. Okay, there's an intervention that was there any results from that or Funny that because I ended up going to a hospital for you know, uh, rehab Uh spent the you know, the 30 days there And uh by the time I was I left there, uh, I was called pastor rick Took god I took god in there and and for some odd reason, uh, you know, I he allowed me to be, I believe then what he expected me to be all along my whole life. Um, so you, you say you took God in there? I took, I took the Lord with me in there because I, you know, wherever you go you're, you know, you're still a believer. Okay. You still got the Holy Spirit with No, no. This is from back when you were a teenager. Is this like. God, they're like, uh, where's God in, in, in the, the drug years, I guess, like, uh, how does that look? Let me talk to you about that because, um, I can tell you time, I can tell you time and time and time again when I would go in abuse and I know that the Holy Spirit was with me. I can tell you that I was driving to a drug den knowing I had the Holy Spirit with me. And I'll tell you that's how powerful gangs, uh, you know, um, pride, Satan, it's strong. It's very, very, very strong. And, uh, but I will also say that God is incredibly forgiving, understanding, patient, and, uh, He really does know the heart of His child. Amen. So, um, He knew of all the hurt. I was in my 30s. So when I became 40 is when I realized, you know, um, I had to do something with that. So, so let me tell you, Omar, what happened with that? Because I'm glad you brought that up. Um, I had been binging. Now I was, I was in a suit and tie. I was a businessman and I made, we made good money, you know? Um, and I took that. To where I went to abuse. Drugs. And, um, I'd been binging since Friday. It's Sunday morning now, almost noon. And, uh, what happened was, um, the Holy Spirit brought to mind church. Hey, it's Sunday morning. Shouldn't we be at church? You know? And I'm like, oh, yeah, I guess you're right. But, there's still all this stuff I got, you know, left to do here, you know. And then it just hit me real hard. I remember sitting there with this gentleman, and him and I, again, have been binging all weekend. Guys, people have been coming in and out of this, this house, uh, all weekend. And, um, Sunday morning, it was bright outside. And where he sat just next to him was a window and the window looked out to his garage And i'm looking out that window And um, I saw a spirit there Just smiling at me And I felt so warm inside I felt so different Because I remember saying I'm gonna die here unless you do something. This is it for me. Right here. And I saw that image and this person was smiling at me. I knew. I knew it was, you know, the Holy Spirit. I just knew. And, All I remember saying to it was, I'm sorry. Forgive me. Forgive me. Forgive me. And, uh, Omar, as sure as I'm sitting here now, that fast, I was completely sober. After binging for a whole weekend, I was completely sober. To the point where I started witnessing to my drug dealer, and I remember saying to him, you Talking about the Lord and this and he was very curious. He he was You know, he he put his stuff down. He's just looking at me like there's something going on here. You're different now. What happened? And I remember looking at him saying I you'll you know, I'm giving you this opportunity right now To come to the Lord Because you will never see me again ever He looked at me, he goes, are you serious? And I said, I am very serious. You're never going to see me again. And he never did. Praise God. I remember driving home, nights, weekends, whatever it was, and I would do that. And, you know, you're just so paranoid driving home. And it was a distance, because I lived out in the western suburbs, and he lived in the city, you know. And, um, this Day My drive time was special. I Was done That grip no longer no longer and So I remember driving home and I just I just remember going. This is great. I Love this. I love this feeling. I Love I could almost hear the shackles being torn off, you know, amen Um, but I remember that and it was a It was a glorious, glorious day for me. Praise God. That was it, man. I mean, I'm telling you, I didn't do anything after that. That What was that like long lasting? That, that moment, did it carry you, like w what, what happens there? How, how does life change for you? Like, oh, well, um, I decided guess it was going to seminary. Yeah, what you wanted to do back when you were young when I was a kid I came back to you You were in your 40s now, and I was Just going into going. Okay. Yeah And he started just changing my life and again as I mentioned earlier just downloading everything that happened to me as a kid And I could I could I could understand it now I could I could you know work with it now I can you know I Not so much accept it But accept the healing part of it. Amen. That I can accept. And so, you know, I went to the Christian Counseling, and they helped there, but, you know, then I, I started taking classes, and, uh, I remember saying, Lord, I think this is where I was supposed to have been many years ago. He took a detour. He took a detour for the better, you know, or then for the worse, but now for the better. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Yep. And so, yeah. Um, yeah, then it was a detour for the worst, but, but God, uh, you know, um, is gracious, loving, kind, as I mentioned, as patient as he is. Um, he, he was at that point of saying, okay, we, we can do something here together now. Let's, let's, are you ready for this Rick? You ready to be what you were supposed to be many years ago, you know, cuz I'm ready for you to be that yeah, and You know, so me and the Holy Spirit became pretty good buddies. And yeah that's what happened so which school and Became ordained and If I could unless you're yeah, no, no, yeah, so then we we started I was going to a church Out out west in the western suburbs great church beautiful church I'm gonna mention it. It's called the well. Okay, wonderful people. They are my Pastor Jerry and I became very good friends. I love him still and He then gave me the okay to, you know, leave the congregation there to start a church because I wanted to start a church, um, anywhere. But, uh, I have my friend Dan, who's also my, my ministry partner in Crosscom. Uh, at that same time, he, I don't, I won't forget this. We were sitting on our deck in the back of the house and he says, uh, Rick, are you ready? We're going to start a church. I'm like, yeah, Dan, I want to do that. I've been telling Jerry that I want to do this. And, and he's like, yeah, we're going to do this. Great. You know, let's, let's find a little spot somewhere. You know, he goes, no, where I got a spot, I got a place. I've been doing this for a couple of months now. I just need, I need a hand. So it was in the, it was in the Austin area, Chicago. And, uh, it was just tiny little storefront church, you know, Uh, what did I know about church or preaching or any of that? You know, I did that in school, but I never did in front of people. And so, um, sure enough that that first Sunday is like, you know what, I think pastor Rick's got some words to teach, teach us today. And I went into this instant sweat, man. Like what am I going to say? Lord, What do I say, you know You know the Bible talks and Jeremiah how it talks he knew you before you know Why are you in your mother's womb and even before then? And he wants us to speak to all the nations, you know But he also says don't be afraid of the faces out there. I Was and then all of a sudden just like I got behind a drum set and that light switch went on and I could drum Good Lord goes click Let's do this and man. I Absolutely loved it and then I love teaching small groups and I just I love teaching okay, I Like breaking down the word, you know that part that part to me is is a true blessing I love I love doing that and I think that that's you know, just certainly one of the giftings The Holy Spirit is bestowed upon me. Amen. Going back to, I know you said, uh, like leading too. Oh. You mentioned leading. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, I learned that in the business. Uh, business grew big time, really big. Um, I had, uh, I became in charge of our technical staff. That's And so I had to learn the business and learn all of that stuff and again as I mentioned earlier I didn't know I mean back then I had long hair and everything. So I learned business I learned how to run a business and I learned how to treat people That were your staff like family members And I respected them all And um I did Whatever I I physically mentally spiritually could do for them And, um, and they followed me. It was, it was great. Um, when I left our family business, I started another business. And, um, the Lord just prospered us there. It grew, uh, we've had, I think it's going to be five now, five businesses. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. Not all of them were prosperous, but, you know, but they were. I will say this. The good news from all of that is a lot of the people that worked for me, by God's grace, went on to do better, better things. And that's when I, that's when, that was my heart. I don't, you know what, don't stay here if you've got these, these type of, uh, you know, uh, giftings. Let's get you out there and, and, you know, become yourself and what you're called to do. Man. That part, I, I used to say I could take the negatives and negate those and I could take the positives and build on those. You can do that. You can accept people for who they are, what they are, what they've done in the past. Everyone's had a past. Me having a bad past, I can accept that. And I walk into situations and I know when someone's hurting yeah, I feel it The good Lord has given me that opportunity to be able to do that man, yeah, that's I got a buddy of mine the one who challenged me to start this podcast JC He has that too because he he went through some similar like yourself and it's almost he called like a superpower to be able to Feel when when somebody's hurting and then you It gives you a heart of compassion What's the word Empathy. Yep, you know like And uh, and then that's good, you know like to be able to to feel you know, that way you could show You know God's love to them, you know, like yeah in that moment and that situation whatever it is That they're going through you said superpower and I'll tell you that's so funny because Just recently I journal as much as I can, and I remember waking up, it was like two 30 in the morning and I, I remember sitting, uh, at the kitchen table going, what's next? Lord, you know what, what I'm, I'm doing this stuff trying to do my best, but what am I good at? What am I really good at? What you tell me? Um, and. You know, what's my superpowers? I was, that's, that's actually the word I used. And I felt him saying to me, and I wrote it down, your superpowers are both kindness and gentleness. And, um, I probably would not have known that or experienced that, you know, or even accepted that, had I not gone through what I've been through in my life. Yeah. Yeah. Really? Yeah. And, and you know what's funny is, is I, I say this a lot, but, um, you know, it's, it's like, um, It's like I've got this invisible Rolodex, you know what Rolodex is? Yes, yes. Yeah, yeah. That's like way back. That's my day, way back. We're going to have to explain it to the viewers. Exactly. That's the way you actually had to write down phone numbers and addresses before and spin them around, right? That's right. And they were all alphabetical. You could put them in a little Rolodex and they would spin, yes. But I would say that, I had a, uh, an invisible Rolodex. So Omar, if you walked into my office and you had your arm in a sling, you broke your arm. I could feel for you. I could help you, but I could never truly understand what you're going. I've never had my arm broken. Okay. Praise God. But I've never had that happen. But if you walked into my office and you said, Rick, um, I'm going through a divorce. I'm drinking way too much. I'm drugging way too much. I've, you know, I've cheated, lied, stealed, stolen, you know, all that kind of stuff. I'd be able to go, my friend, come in. Sit down. I, I, I can relate to that. And, and, and people want that. People want you to relate to them. They want to know, oh my gosh, I was a, I was a, you know, I was not a very kind person, or I was not a very good person, or I, or I cheated, or I stole, or I, Whatever Omar will you still accept me for that? You know what I mean? Amen. That's what people want You know, we we we go and i'm jumping the gun a little bit, but we go to rto thursday nights uh I can't tell you the first time that I was there um I held back so many tears Because I knew I'd never been in prison. Praise God, I've never been in prison. I've never been, uh, I was behind bars, but I've never been in prison. Um, But you don't have to have physical bars in front of you to be in prison, my friend. I was a druggie, drinker. I was, you know, strung out most of my life, most of my, or that part of my life for eight years. I was in real bad shape. I was behind bars. That you couldn't see. But I knew it, every night. Every night I had to go to sleep with it, you know. So, praise God, praise the Holy Spirit that because of that, I can now, uh, relate. I can relate to those, those people that are hurting people that are, you know, going through all of that. So, you know what it is? It's, it's, um, when you bring that up, cause I've been going, uh, to, uh, go county jail through, through coin and the house of ministries, pastor Manny mill, you know, from RTO. And that's exactly how I feel. I know you mentioned like to relate. I can relate with these young men as I go in there because I see myself In there because I was in that suit. I was in in that beige jumpsuit with the doc I love what one of the uh brothers there, uh kingsley says Uh, do you know what doc stands for? Yeah, the department of corrections like no disciple of christ That's what he tells these men you guys are disciples of christ And man, I love that. So when I go there like I I tell these men This is not the end of your story. This is just a chapter of your story. And, and, and I know there's hope for them because there's hope for me, you know, because of what Jesus did for me. Like now I want to go there and share that same hope and go in there without judging them because you, you, you know, one thing I've learned from this podcast that everybody has a story. Right. So now when I go in there, like. I wonder man, what, what's their story? As I, as I'm interacting with them, something happened that led them, maybe it was some abuse, something in their childhood that made them violent, that made them angry, that made them hate the world and they couldn't process it. Maybe, you know, I know the Holy Spirit helped you brought that memory back to, to, to your mind and that brought healing. A lot of these men, they, they need healing. You know a lot of it's easy to point to them and say man, those are the bad guys, you know They they deserve to be there But when I go there that man, what's their story? And I know that god loves them and I know that god has the power to turn their lives around, you know I couldn't agree more. You know, I was blessed this past weekend speaking of manny. Okay. Love him um In fact, I I consider consider him the closest thing to a paul You Uh, uh, of anyone that I've ever met in my entire life. Oh yeah. Oh my gosh. Yeah. Yeah. Just a great man. Um, but he allowed me to go to, uh, Sheridan Prison, uh, this past weekend, and I felt that same thing. I felt, oh my gosh, I can relate to this people, I understand where they're at, you know, and I, I, and, and it's, it's, I, I came home and my wife Kim, by the way, I love her. She's the greatest thing in my life. Um, said. So what was it like? Is that your first time in the prison? It was my first time. Okay, yeah, yeah. Tell us about it. Oh, sure, sure, sure, sure. So, um, you know, got to go to Sheridan, uh, with Manny. And there was Manny, myself, uh, Bill, and Ed. Uh, you probably know them. Yeah, yeah, Bill, yeah, yeah. Bill Ward, uh, incredible. You know, both of them, wonderful people. But, um, so I, so I, you know, I, I was scared. I didn't know what to expect. I really didn't. Uh. But we got there And I experienced something I never would have expected I expected a a love from people for men That did something wrong It doesn't mean they're wrong. They did something bad. It doesn't mean they're bad you know, they created something that Uh, you know, was, was not exactly what our justice system said to do, but they're different now. They're, they're serving their time. They understand that there's a consequence for that. And you know what they, what I got a lot of from there, from them was, um, repentance. Repentance. It's huge is it's it's huge there, you know, I I was Going through that just thinking about them the other day if I could read. Yes, definitely That's one thing we share here is the word. So yeah, yeah You know, I I remember I once I left there and of course, you know repents is big in my heart Huge huge prayer repentance for those that are listening. Sure. Maybe they heard the word Well, what, what is repentance? Well, that's actually, it's something I, I think I will get into. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. If, if I could. So, um, again, it's, it's, it's what we talked about, uh, there. It's, it's what, um, I, I try and, um, live out quite a bit. It's kind of funny'cause I, I saw an interview one time with, um, uh, Billy Graham. And Billy Graham was sitting, uh, with the gentleman and he said, Billy, you know, you're, you're this, you're that. Just a man of God. You know, just Stallworth, you know, just kind of, just a strong man of God. But if you could relive your life again, what, what would be different? And he said, I would repent more. And I sat there thinking, him? Of all people? Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. When you look at and you know, you're asking me to to uh, what what repentance is Um, let me if I could yeah, definitely if you look up the definition of repentance repentance is is shame. It's something that is it's uh, Going against right? It's not doing what's proper that is the the Webster's Dictionary, explanation of that. Basically, it's saying, shame on you for what you did. Shame on me for my life. That's what it says. But if you look at God's repentance, if you look at the word, and let me read something here for you too, if I could. So it's, it's in Romans two, it starts in verse four. And actually, let me go back a little further than that. Verse two, it says, and we know that God in his justice will punish anyone who does such things. Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God's judgment when you do the same things? When we do the same things, it goes on to say then in verse four, and here is the proper definition of all this. Don't you see, Omar, don't you see, Rick, don't you see, out there, how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with us, with you. God is kind. And it goes on to say, does this mean nothing to you? Can't you see, that his kindness, his goodness, Is intended to turn you from your sin Folks, that's repentance. That's the true meaning of repentance It is not because we don't repent because or I don't repent because I feel shame. I Shouldn't repent because I feel bad Or because I've understood that I did something wrong I'm supposed to repent because God is a good God and he calls us to repent Because of his kindness, because of his goodness, because of his tolerance, and because of that, we can now say, Father God, I come to you and repent to you for, for as David said in the Old Testament, it is only you that I've sinned against. We know that we've sinned and others may feel it. We know that we've sinned and others may understand it or may have been affected by it. But it's truly as believers, as lovers of God, that we need to understand the goodness, the kindness, the tolerance, the patience, the love, and the mercy that God has given us. For that reason alone, we repent. Amen. For that reason alone. Amen. Yeah. Thanks for sharing that. Absolutely. And so it is then. When we can get to that point, Omar, when we go, okay, fine, you know what, I, uh, man, I really messed up this weekend. Or Lord, I, I probably said something, you know, to your daughter, my wife, that I probably maybe shouldn't have. Now should we go to them and we ask their forgiveness? But I first go this way. I go straight up. Uh, we have to repent to him. He doesn't live in a world of sin So he doesn't expect us to either but we're flesh. Yeah, because of that he understands Even then we should have a reverence of fear of respect for him to not be okay with our sin like you mentioned Acknowledging it confessing it. I love a pastor. I think it was dr. Irwin Lewis Cole He said, uh, unconfessed sin is unforgiven sin. And I like that. I mean, I believe God forgives us of all, but there's something happens when you confess it. Um, there was a brother interview, he said, uh, a saying, um, tell the truth and shame the devil. There you go. I love that. That's good. You know what I'm saying? And shame the devil. Like that way you can't hold it against you. Like, you know what? Yeah, I did this. Father, forgive me. Because the enemy, the devil, he's going to try to accuse us. That's one of his names in scripture, right? The accuser of the brethren. That's what he does. I believe in Revelation. He's constantly accusing, right? The saints. Absolutely. So he'll try to do it. So we got to beat him too. Like, you know what? Yeah, you're right. I did this. Father, forgive me. You know, like you mentioned, I love that, uh, the scripture you mentioned, uh, Psalm 51. When King Davis says against you and only you have I sent and even though he sinned against man, he said he had somebody killed, took his wife. He knew and I love what you said. It's. Starts by going up. You go straight up first. Correct. Absolutely correct. I want to ask you about another word. We were talking off camera before. You mentioned two words that are big for you. Repentance. And I believe the second one was surrender. Surrender. Yes, yes, yes, yes. So I, I didn't, come to that point. I didn't come to the S word surrender. Until recently, okay. Yeah, you want to tell us what what led you there? Sure. Sure So I retired in september of or semi retired in september of 2022 and I mean, I I still do the ministry and and so on and we you know, I have a little business but one one, uh One of the things as I mentioned earlier is that i'm still a musician. I still drum. I still play. I love playing I had an opportunity to do that again. And, I got a great opportunity to go out and play with a really, really, really good band, strong, big band out here. And I auditioned and I had been, I had not been playing the drums in a long, long, I put the sticks down, cause, um, Well, because some of the memories that it gave me. But there were a lot of good ones too though. Yeah, yeah. But anyway, so I, I ended up, uh, going ahead and, joining this band. They, they took me in for some odd reason. They, they thought I was good enough. So, uh, and we started traveling. We started traveling, touring, um, playing some, you know, the, all the hard rock casinos and, you know, some big spots and a lot of, a lot of outdoor, uh, big events that we did. I think. Played my last gig believe it or not Was at Wrigley Field. Oh, no way. Yeah. Well, when was this? Oh my gosh, this was let's see. So March Summer right before Right before October so it was like September October Wow recently. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, and We played, uh, Chris Stapleton, I heard that name, yeah. He was headlining there, but anyway, so, uh, got to do that, got to play there, and, um, I was tired. I was constantly tired every weekend, or every time we played out, weekends, weekdays, whatever it was. I was tired. And so, uh, to the point where at the end of every night, I couldn't even take my shoes off. My shoes would swell into my shoes, or my feet would swell into my shoes. It was that bad. And so my wife, I would have people. Road crew or Band band members going Rick. Are you all right? You look really tired. Well, yeah, I'm tired I'm the drummer But uh, and I was oh my I was I was exhausted. So all of that to say is we then had two weeks as a break And I took advantage of that. So, my brother and sister in law live out in Spokane, my mom, uh, when she got, uh, um, started getting her dementia, we, um, moved her out there with my brother and sister in law. So, my wife and I are like, let's go, let's go see them. So, but we had two weeks. So, the first week where we were going to spend really seeing sights, you know, Mount Rushmore and all of that, and we did that. Uh, but the first night we got there, um, I was, I was very sick. I was sleeping in the, in the car most of the trip. I couldn't keep my eyes open. So all the sites and everything was like, you know, I, I, I, I missed quite a few of them. And the reason why was because I found out then how sick I was. So it was in the evenings, as the first evening at a hotel, when, I hope I can say this, that I, I started urinating blood. And so, uh, which then just progressively got worse. Uh, I didn't say anything to my wife for almost a week because I know her. So, um, you probably thought I was going to stop, you know, I thought maybe it's just, you know, from all the hard work and all the touring, you know, just everything. Um, by the way, I gotta say this, if I could, the guys in the band that I was with, you know, they knew me. They knew all about me and they knew that, uh, how much I love the Lord. So they would come to me with problems and concerns and things, say, let's go to Pastor Rick. It was really cool. Um, they started praying. Yeah, they were, uh, yeah, they started praying. Yeah. Right. So, uh, anyway, they, uh, so I found out I was, you know, we, we went and saw my mom and next week. Still very tired, but we got to be with her and we had a The last day that we were with her was such a special day. It was great. All of us were together We were in a beautiful spot out in Spokane just you know in a vineyard actually and And we had a precious moment I got her on film it's precious moment with my mom it's a great moment I was very sick, getting worse, but I could not let her know. I was not going to let my mom know that her son was sick. Um, I knew as we would go to certain spots, Omar, I would get out and we'd be on a cliff or someplace, you know, and I honestly felt the Holy Spirit saying, I will be with you through this. And I'm like, okay, what does that mean? Um, what, you know, what are you telling me? I will be with you. And I felt sometimes at peace with that, you know. So we get back home, and sure enough we find out through, um, through doctors that I was diagnosed stage 4 metastatic, uh, cancer. Prostate and bone cancer. Um, I had one doctor pretty much say, Rick, um, you might want to make sure your will and everything is intact, you know. Uh. And we saw several doctors until we found one that we really appreciated. And so, um, he eventually told us that there was nothing more they could do for me. Um, other than maybe give me four to eight months of quality of life. And that was it. Uh, but we serve a big God. And so my, uh, sister in law, love her, I absolutely love her. She, um, she said, no, no, this isn't, no. This isn't going to happen this way. And so she found a place, in, uh, Arizona, Scottsdale, Arizona. And if I could, yeah, yeah. This place is called Envita, E N V I T A. And folks out there, um, telling you if you're experiencing anything like this at all, that is the place to go. It was a holistic, very faith based, you find scripture everywhere in this little buildings there. Um, so we went there and we found out, I had a week, Omar, to pack up my bags. My wife and I, to get out there. Now, I was then so sick I could barely walk. I was in a walker wheelchair or cane. I couldn't go up one step. I could barely move. We didn't think I was gonna make it on the plane to get to Arizona, but I did by the grace of God. So we went there, spent three months there. Uh, holistic treatment. I did get chemo, but they do chemo very different there. And all of their treatment is not like you would never see anywhere else in any hospital. It's the only place in the United States that's allowed to do this. And we had people there from all over the world. I met people everywhere coming in that were sick from cancer, Lyme disease. Those are both very deadly. Um, And, uh, I became Pastor Rick there. And, and even in the midst of your, especially because of that. So you mentioned surrender. So what happened then was, um, I got to this point where I, I said, okay, you know what? I, um, if I don't make it through here, Lord, I still win. I'll be with him. But, until then, I will surrender everything to you. My life, my breath, my thoughts, my vision, my, my body, my everything, my hands, my mind is no longer mine. It's his. May the Holy Spirit come within me, and he is, take over me. May I just follow his lead from this on this period on you know, but I surrender on my knees We were in a beautiful condo in Scottsdale, Arizona. And by the way, this As great as this place is it does not accept insurance. So you're it's pretty yeah But by again grace of god You know, thankfully I have family that helped incredibly friends that helped um But I remember surrendering to God and just, and things, Omar, changed. It feels almost like overnight. Because at that point I felt like the Holy Spirit was saying, we can use that, Rick. We can use that for the kingdom's benefit. And I'm like, let's do this. You know, I'm suffering now, but you need me to suffer more? Let's do this. Let's do this. Let's do this. It's crazy, but that's how I felt, and, and, uh, he, he started moving. He moved in there, at Invita. I was there every day but Wednesday for anywhere between three to five hours for treatment. Um, I can tell you time and time and time again, Omar, of, of, um, opportunities that the good Lord gave me. And I know it was from him because of what happened and how it happened. I can, let me give you this one quick, quick little, uh, for instance, um, I'd been there for a couple of months and treatment's not easy. It's hard. You're already sick and now you're going through this tough treatment. It's hard. I was at Mayo Clinic when I first got there cause I passed out, fell in our bathroom and thank God my brother and sister in law went there with us. That's how my brothers. Somewhat buffed to pick me up. No problem at all, you know, and they Flew me to Mayo Clinic because I was incoherent. I didn't know where I was at or anything like that I was just sick. Very very very sick, but Going through treatment All these great experiences now when I went through treatment, you know, you sit in a room and you're in a recliner It's very comfortable You got IVs, you got two ports in your chest, this actually goes directly into your heart. So you have to be very careful with that too. But um, but it's tiresome. So one day I'm sitting there, um, and every day, every day I got there, I'm either on my, in my, in the word, in the Bible, I'm listening to a sermon, or I'm reading a good leadership book. And so, uh, one day, this young lady comes in, and she sits down next to me. Uh, I felt it right away. I felt her pain immediately. And she just curled up into a little ball, and she just had the saddest face on her. And I'm sitting there, and I got the book open, I got my Bible open, and it felt like the Holy Spirit said, Hey Rick, say hello to her. And I sat there and went, Nope. I'm tired, man. I don't want to do anything but read today. I'm just tired. And so I just kept on reading. Now the funny thing is with that, is that from that moment on when I started reading, nothing was getting in here. That's how God works, you know. So then he says, Rick, say hello to her. So I did. I'm like, okay, Lord. Introduced myself, her name was Shanna. Sweetheart of a girl, just a really nice, sweet young lady. And we started talking, and then I felt like the Holy Spirit said, now Rick, give her Matthew 9. 22. Now Omar, I've been a pastor for quite some time, I know the word, but I don't know every verse in there. Um, so I'm like, Oh, okay. I trust you, you know. And he'll ask you to do some crazy things, you know. So I did, and I said, Shanna, I said, my good Lord and Savior wants me to give you Matthew 9, 22 as a verse. And she goes, she just sat right up. She gets on her phone, she's like, hey, let's look that up, what is that? So we both started looking it up, you know. And if you look it up, I'm gonna paraphrase what it says, but it says, daughter, your faith has healed you. And We're both sitting there now we're both crying What if I didn't say hello to her what if I just stuck to my selfishness What if I did that Opportunity missed To help somebody to give them a good word. She needed it that yes Everybody in that room needed it. Yeah, I But I wasn't directed to them at that time, although I've done that there, I was directed to her. I got to tell you, I don't know who was more pleased. The fact that she got a direct word from God or that I got a direct word from God to be used. Yeah. We were both blessed. It's a, it's a mutual blessing. It is. A lot of times when, when God uses you to bless somebody, like in those moments, like I, I feel refreshed. I feel re-energized. Like, God, you just used me to, to be a blessing. And it's almost like, like I get that blessing too, in a sense. I don't know, I dunno how to explain it, but there's a joy there. There's like a man, like, I like God. God could do it by himself. Yeah. Yeah, but the fact that he chooses to include us in his work in his work It's humbling. Oh my goodness It is That is a true honor. Yeah It's a true honor And things like that happened a lot I can tell you time and time again, there were many many times when I'll you know, there was a lady there Uh, who I became very good friends with, and so did my wife Kim. Uh, she introduced us, since we were going to be there for three months, she introduced us to a church. Um, this church was absolutely phenomenal. Nothing like I've ever seen or been to, ever. Um, it had 16 campuses, and the condo that we were staying in, they had a campus literally two minutes from there. What are the odds? What was the name of the church? CCV. Christ Church of the Valley. Pastor Ashley, if you're watching, unbelievable, loving church, very kind, wonderful church. And we, um, going back, if I could just a little bit, God, God was, from the moment I got on the plane to get down there, God's hand was in all of it. I can tell you that, we went down there, we had a place to stay for one day, it's a condo, and then we were going to go use a timeshare. And the only timeshare, the only place we could get was a hotel, nice hotel, but it only had one bedroom and there was four of us, my brother and sister in law on, myself and my wife. And we're like, Lord, you got me down here. This is all for you. Please just lead us in the right direction, you know. Um, the, the lady that owned the condo that we were staying in, and again, this is a beautiful place. It was just remodeled. Gorgeous place. God, by the way, has a sense of humor because I couldn't get up one step when I, when I left here to get there, the condo was on the second floor, 17 steps, but I did it through God's help. But the lady that owned the condo, Omar, uh, her husband had just had prostate cancer too, and made it through there so we could relate. God's plan It was because what happened then was We we told her hey, this is this is what we can afford. This is our budget I mean, we're paying for all of everything else and it's not cheap, but this is our budget and Her her budget was twice the amount of money that we could give her for housing. Yeah And I remember Kim saying We need to pray about this and I said, okay So I prayed big time on my knees and I remember saying lord We're here. We have no place to stay But you you have a place for us So whatever manger you've got for us, I was just thinking that Whatever you've got available, we'll stay there. We'll just stay there. I've got to be here. I've got to get better And so, um, I prayed And I remember Kim and I are walking, and my brother and sister in law were in the kitchen. We're walking into the front room, and Kim gets a call on her phone. And it's the owner. And, um, Kim says, hey, it's, you know, it's Clara. So I got the phone. I'm talking to her, and she says, you know, Rick and Kim, I've been thinking about this quite a bit. Um, two things. First, we're going to come down to your budget. And second, we're going to let you stay here as long as you need to. Can you believe that? Only in I'm telling you, man, it was, and, and it was, it was things like that. We had, uh, we didn't have a vehicle down there. So we had our cars shipped out, um, there. And, uh, my first day of treatment was on a Monday. And, um, they said, uh, the guy calls up and says, I'm going to be five hours late. I'm in some really bad traffic. And I'm like, I gotta get to treatment. Lord, what do you want us to do? And my brother goes, hey, let's just call an Uber. Let's just call an Uber. I'm like, okay, great. So we called an Uber. True story. This is amazing. The Uber driver goes, oh, I know exactly where you're at. I'm right outside your gate. I just dropped somebody off in your complex. He got me there in time. Yeah, come on. Yeah, come on Omar. Yeah. Yeah. It's like, you know, no, no Yeah, this is and then you could try to tell that to people and I know unless you're there in the moment and in these answer prayers is like God is real and he He loves us. Yes, he does. He loves it. I want to ask you mentioned healing Tell us tell us about that moment. Tell us tell us when you got the word You I'm sure there had to be some tests. Tell us, tell us about that moment. Okay. Let me tell you about the one test. There's a, there's a test and I can't, I can't remember what there's three. It's MTS. I can't remember what it stands for, but it's, it's, it's the activity of the cancer cells within the body. They do that test as soon as you're in there for that, for cancer Lyme disease. I think it's something else, but for cancer, this is what they do. And it gives them a direction in which to go. They now know, okay, well, cancer is this active, uh, it's, it's going this way and blah, blah, blah, and so on and so forth. Um, and so, okay. So they do that for everybody, but I, uh, I took that and they grade you, you're graded, uh, and the highest you could get would be like, uh, it's, it's like the number is 50, 000 something. I don't know what it stands for. But. I was close to 40, 000. 50, 000, you're pretty much gone. You're pretty much dead, you know? I was at close to 40, so I was right there. And, um, I didn't know this until later, but my doctor, once we started a relationship, he told me, Rick, I did not know if you were gonna stay with us very long. Um, but, so that MTS test, I took that, and I was at 40, 40, close to 40, 000. Uh, they then take that six weeks later. I don't know if you know this or not, but a lot of your cells in your body changes every six weeks. Your cells change. So they took it again. The director of the, of the, of the, the, um, cancer center there says, Hey, let's give Rick another test. So I did that. Now, um, a lot of my numbers started doing really well by the grace of God. I just started doing well. And so, uh, you know, as doctors sit around the table, wherever they sit, they just, they compare. Patients and so my name came up and so uh, and this is I heard this through my doctor and my nurse actually and so But one of the doctors said well he's doing pretty good So I think you know, let's let's say that when the test gets back. I think he's gonna probably be about 20 maybe 20 something thousand. He's doing good It's better Another doctor said no, I think god 17 For some reason, I think he's going to be at 17, 000. My doctor was then saying, you don't know this guy. He's with the Lord. I think he's going to do good. Now he may not break 10, 000, but that's good. I'm I'm sitting in the in treatment at the treatment center in the treatment room and my doctor shows up And she's got a big smile on her face, and she's got a piece of paper in her hand her laptop She's looking right at me. I'm like hey, dr. Court. How you doing by the way dr. Kendra court phenomenal absolutely the greatest doctor in the world So she comes up. She says Rick. I know I'm gonna see you and you and Kim tomorrow morning, but this couldn't wait She says it typically takes six weeks to get these tests back. Yours came back in three days. That's unusual. She said, Rick, um, you were here at this number. I went from that 40, 000 40, 000 number to 30, 000 30, 000 No way according to them it's never happened It's never happened in there in there ever ever that much of a drop ever in six weeks or the time period I'm yeah, yeah, it's taken in but it's never happened to them before my nurse said that they were using the word miracle For Rick Valdez. Hey, man, I believe that yes because Um, I kept getting better and my numbers, my PSA levels were dropping and all my, all my, you know, my bad cholesterol was bad and, or, or getting better and my, you know, my good cholesterol was getting better and all these numbers were getting really, really good. Um, I was supposed to be, I was there three months, two weeks prior to my third month. My doctor calls us and she goes, you know, Rick, I could, you're amazing. yeah. Yeah. I could actually let you leave right now if you want. She goes, or we could continue, and we could get your PSA level down a little bit more. But otherwise you could go home. In three months? In less than three months. In less than three months all this happened? Less than three months. Wow. I know. And so I'm uh, I remember looking at my wife, and I said, cause she's like, you know, happy? And I said, no. No, she said are you sure I said no, I'm I I'm not done here yet And I felt that in my heart big time. I'm not done here yet Things happen in those next couple of weeks That were absolutely tiny miracles for other people That God created and did through me For surrendering and making myself available He did that he did that. I didn't do that omar, you know that but he did that through me through us He does these these things that were absolutely miraculous and so, um You do what's called ringing the bell actually, let me let me just go back another second here. So after that that time when I told the doctor no, we'll stick around, you know till the end of three months You And so we saw her again, and she's like, Rick, oh my gosh, your numbers. She goes, if, if we, if you came in with these numbers, these tests, we'd never know you had cancer. We would never know you had cancer. By the way, I was diabetic. I left there without diabetes. I was, I went from diabetic to pre diabetic to not on insulin. I haven't taken insulin. Praise God. God heals. Yes, He does. Am I any more special than anyone else? Absolutely not, Omar. But you know what? God is. God's special. More special than anybody. And so He allows these things to happen to us. When we give in to Him. Yeah. When we give ourselves to Him. Those things happen. Amen. Repentance. Surrender. Tell us where you're at now, Pastor Rick. How much time has passed since they cleared you? Since the three months ended? How long has it been? And what are you doing in this season of life right now? Sure. So, Omar, it's been a little over a month since we've gotten back from Arizona. Oh, no way. Oh, yeah. That's all. This is so this is fresh that fresh just recent. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. And so, um, I did not know that Yeah, man, I I didn't know well when I agreed to do the the podcast interview with uh, pastor rick I I didn't I didn't know anything about his story. So to be honest like even today I don't know what I was getting into like, I don't know what I was gonna hear but man, I just Thank you for, for sharing all that with us. And, uh, and then you, you said something, God allows us to go through these things. And I believe that somebody that's going to watch your story. Yeah. They need that. They need to hear that message of hope. You said something, our God heals. Yes. Not only did he heal you, but he delivers too. Oh yeah. Going back to when you were in that drug house and he sobered you up in that moment and had you, man, Yeah. Yeah. Praise God. But anyways, go, go back to where you're at. Yeah. So it's been, it's been a little over a month. Um, actually just yesterday I had another scan or a pet scan. So I don't know what the result of that is yet, but you know what? God is good. Whatever it is. And however, it turns out, God is good all the time, all the time. Absolutely. But I will say this, and if I could to, to those, um, those, those of you that are going through anything like this, it doesn't, It doesn't have to be cancer. It doesn't have to be life threatening. Hurt is hurt. Pain is pain. You know, we go through many things in our lives, right or wrong, good or bad. They just happen. But we serve a big God. A big God who allows these things sometimes to happen for our benefit. It's always for that. It is always for our benefit. He allows these things because It's an opportunity. It's an opportunity to for us to make ourselves available It's an opportunity for us to declare surrender it's an opportunity for us to Lean into him and get to know him more While I was there throughout this whole process folks. I got to tell you I I grew so much more and I thought I was doing well with the Lord then I He allowed this to happen because he knew one thing. And if I could be prideful on anything, it would be this. I hung in there with him. I understand who he is. I know him better. I have a friend in God, and he does, like the song says, he knows my name. We are friends. We've become closer. Stronger. And because of that, I'm That's when he says, okay, hey Rick, Pastor Rick, we can use this together. Let's, let's, let's Build something. Let's do something. You know my goal since then since I was down in Arizona My thing is to say I want to make Jesus famous He's got to be better to most people he's got a better known I should say yes to all people It has become a duty of ours. And if, again, going back, if you're hurting, this is God. God, God is the type of God that benefits you. He wants you well. He wants you healed. He wants you to be on His team. I'm a walking testimony of that. And so I hope and pray that if there's anyone out there suffering, anyone out there in pain, anyone out there grieving, Uh, lean into God, lean into the Holy Spirit, ask Him, ask Him to help you, cry out to Him. He does hear, you can read it everywhere in the Bible, He, He hears your cries for Him. I can't think of anyone else in this world that has suffered as much as He has, so He knows what you're going through. Call to Him. He responds, I guarantee that, I promise that, He does. He does. So where you at now in this season, a pastor, like what's going on now? It's like fresh off a month that that happened. Sure. What's what's uh, what's your your mission and what are you doing like Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, um prior to heading out to arizona we You know, we've been wanting to do this revival our ministry team dan dan lights my best friend and Also a very good pastor. We've been wanting to do this for a long time. Okay Uh, I got sick so I couldn't I couldn't we had to stop but uh, since I got back god has been moving Uh quickly So we're now going to do this. It's coming up. I know we're going to talk about that. Yes. But it's coming up and, and he has just been putting everyone and everything in place. It's been amazing. Uh, so along with that, um, along with that, that part of the ministry team there as well too, uh, I have made, uh, well contacted with, you know, Manny Mel. And you know him if he can use you he will And so we've been doing that. And so, um, I believe uh, that's gonna be I'll be more prevalent in that ministry as well, too um I've also been asked to uh, preach and teach at several locations which Didn't even know they knew I existed Wow, you know, so i've been laid on their hearts and i've been called and asked if I would um, Uh do another podcast by the way, so oh, thank you for this experience. All right Uh as well as again as I mentioned teaching and preaching and reaching out to uh to others It's just been progress And it's been a really good nice. Um Time in in watching god move Through my life, you know, so, um, I'm looking forward to, to, to many other things. It's, it's kind of scary, but you know, God's prepared the way already. So for me, it's kind of like, you know, when I say scared, I'm It's, it's, it's not much compared to what you faced. I mean, it's absolutely correct. And when you think about all of that in the past, you go, my goodness, seriously, Rick, you're going to be afraid of something like that, but it's not so much afraid. It's just more of the unknown, you know, but, um, but I like God's unknown. Yeah, I like, I like when he does things. When I have people come here You These are our God stories like we're not just telling let's say like you for instance your story No, your story points to him Yes, it points to Jesus and that's exactly what we want to do through through this platform here is through these stories point You know people to Christ. It's only because of him that we have deliverance, you know free from I know you've mentioned that I experienced a similar deliverance from drugs and alcohol like It was a moment of just a purging I will call it And man i've been clean it's gonna 20 years october 26. It's going to be 20 years that god touched me. Amen. That's awesome born again So my man, so it's it's possible Repentance one thing I had to do was repent Confess that's one thing I want to share to those that are listening uh Repentance man coming for the lord asking him to for forgiveness Um It's as simple as a pastor leading me in a prayer. And I don't know if you guys are watching and you want to experience what pastor, uh, pastor Rick has experienced what I have experienced. All we had, I had to acknowledge just like King David that against you and only you have I sent. So he led me in a prayer, which is something like this, like, Lord, I come before you, a sinner in need of a savior. I have broken your, your commandments. I have been disobedient. And I ask you to forgive me of my sins. I asked Jesus to become Lord and Savior of my life. Holy Spirit, fill me. Jesus, take your seat on the throne of my heart, rule and reign in my life. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen. And I believe in prayer you come before the Lord. I think it's in Jeremiah. And I believe it's 29 where it says you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. You might be watching this video and you might say, you know what, I've tried seeking the Lord before, you know, and it didn't work out, I didn't feel nothing. Seek Him with all your heart. The two words that he mentioned, repent and surrender. Surrender it all. Surrender your life completely to Him. And I believe that he will move in your life just the way he's moved and pastor Rick's here. So I just wanted to share that That was awesome. Beautiful. It's very beautiful. Yep, but uh pastor rick man, this has been an awesome time man, I get a fresh testimony or just a month away from that and Here we are, you know, I know i'm blessed by it and I know the lizard is going to be blessed by it Any final words anything? We didn't get a chance to to touch on that that you wanted to share You Before we get ready to sign off, you know, I'm just blessed. I'm honored to be here. And I, I, uh, I didn't expect this. And, uh, but again, it's just one of those things that God's been doing and getting to meet you has been a, it's a pleasure. I hope and pray that we can do more, uh, somehow, some way, you know, a little, uh, I don't know what you would call it, a preview, a trailer. I was talking to a pastor, a Rick earlier. Yeah. And he's thinking about starting a podcast, but we're not going to mention the name because then somebody will run off with his idea, you know, and take it for the, well, we're talking about, man, maybe helping them, you know, get started on doing his podcast. So I I'll be looking forward to it. People need to hear, you know, what God's done in your life and people need to hear what you plan on sharing there. I'm not going to share it. Like I said, so nobody takes your idea, but I love, I love what you were talking about and man, however I could help. I'm here to help. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I and I appreciate that my friend I really do and you know, god god puts people together for a reason for a purpose There's always a reason or a purpose and it's his yes. Thankfully. It's not ours. Yeah, but you know, uh, There's no it's no coincidence that we met. Yeah, certainly no coincidence that we may that we did this and or We'll be doing things In the future. Yes, absolutely. Correct. So I look forward to that. Amen. What a blessing Thank you so very much for allowing me to be here, you know I'm humbled by it. Thank you. No, no. Thank you pastor. Um, could you close out in a prayer? Oh, absolutely. Absolutely Okay, father god, we thank you we thank you for who you are We thank you for the things you do for us We thank you father god that you care for us Your goal your goal for us is to help you Really just grow this kingdom here on earth And just to be allowed to do that for you and be a part of that is incredible. We praise your name. We bless your name. Your name is holy to us. Lord Jesus, for everything you have done, for the suffering you have experienced, I personally want to thank you for that. I thank you for the fact that you love us deeply and dearly and that we in your hearts are like gems. We're gemstones to you. And so I just thank you, Father God, that you believe in us, that you help us, that you preserve us, and that also, Father God, that you allow us to laugh with you at times. Thank you, Lord, for allowing us also to be available. Thank you, Father God, for helping us to surrender to you. Sometimes it takes things like cancer. grieving, hurting, but that's okay. Because the closer we become to you, the better of a person we become anyway. We're blessed. We're blessed to know you. We're blessed to be a part of your family. Thank you, Father God, for Omar and everything that he's doing. Thank you, Lord, that his family is with him and certainly covering him in prayer. Thank you, Father God, for the wonderful family you've given me. Thank you certainly lord for the wonderful wife that I have There is nothing or no one like her at all And so father god, uh as I sit here and as I talk to omar tonight I realized that These podcasts are so important not just for our sake But it's for others that haven't heard this It's for others that need to hear this It's for others that need you help us father to continue to do that and may we continue to just Follow through your path And continue to search Further into your word to get to know you more Thank you for everything that you are and everything you do for us In jesus mighty name we pray jesus name. Amen. Amen, man. Thank you pastor brick. Thank you for being here You know what real quick? Can you share once again the name of your ministry? Uh, where are you guys located? Maybe you guys got a website? Sure. We do. Thank you. Yes, it's cross comm ministry So it's c r o s s like cross Com, C O M, it's one word, Ministries. We're in Wheaton, Illinois, right on, uh, we're actually, the address is 528 West Roosevelt Road. Um, and, I'm sorry, there was something else? Oh, no, yeah, um, what time do you guys meet? Um, are people, like, welcome to come to the ministry, or how does it work? What do you guys do? So our ministry right now is an outreach. Okay. For instance like RTL, okay, go in our new house that type of thing Our ministry is also right now trying to do the revivals and talents Our ministry is trying to help others in church and so on and so forth We have not we were a church. We are now not a church Actually, we are church we're just the church without walls So, uh, but you know what? I don't know what God's gonna do next. I just can't wait for it. Thank you, Pastor Rich. Sure. Thank you for being out here. It's truly blessed by this. And with that, we're going to get ready to sign off a Matthew 416 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 Rick Valdez. My name is Omar Calvillo. We are wrong. Too strong.