Episode

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. a lot of our brain cells, you know, doing all of that. Just with that alone. Yeah, and then, well, after that, you know, you graduate into your pills, you graduate into your marijuana, smoking marijuana at the age of 10, 12, you know, and then popping reds and rainbows and blue heavens and the whole nine yards, you know. And before I knew it, you know, I took my first fix at the age of 14, heroin. And that was the beginning of a whole different world, night world. That's really young, 14 years old. So all that other stuff, like in this day and age, they say marijuana is the gateway drug. Yeah. Or whatever new drug comes on the market is the gateway drug. Yeah. But back then you had to resort to the things that you could just go get off the shelves. Yes. And that's how you started. And you talk to any junkie, you know. Every junkie smoked weed, you know, first, you know. And I don't know where this generated. The generation is going now. They legalize it and all of that. Yeah. See, I even, I lived in Amsterdam because I got saved later on and went to the mission field. And I know you remember the 60s. I grew up in the 60s, you know, drugs, sex, rock and roll. You know, it seems that the whole generation was lost and looking for identity, you know. And at that time, you know, hate Ashbury, you know, love, peace, the hippies and all that. And after all that, all that finished, all the hippies went to Amsterdam because there was a place where they can, you know, pot was legal and all of that, you know. And so I got to go over there as a missionary. And I seen what started here, legalizing pot. They tried it a long time ago over there and they have created a numb generation that they would have to bring in, you know, people from other countries. To do their labor, to do their work. Because the whole generation just was stoned. And they didn't know how to work or anything. They just kicked back and just smoked weed. So, you know, that's where I see this nation is going, you know. I know that a lot of it is, you know, for medical reasons or whatever, but... You really think a lot of it's for medical reasons? No. I know a lot of guys with those cars. Right, right, right. You know what I mean? And so, you know, it's really an epidemic today, you know. Our ministry, Victory Outreach, works in reaching the hardcores, you know, the gang members, the drug addicts, and now the meth, amphetamines, the speed freaks, and those that come whacked up and crack. It's a whole different, different thing. Yeah. Because when I came, when we were working with drug addicts, it was like a physical thing. We're going through withdrawals and all of that. But now it's a psychological. It's a mental thing. And they can get violent. Why do you think it's changed from the physical to the mental? Because of the drug. Because of the chemicals. Yeah. And a lot of it with the meth is... I know I watched a documentary not too long ago where it was speaking of meth starting in, like, the suburban neighborhoods. So you had, like, your soccer moms and your very prestigious moms using this drug so that they could endure more tasks throughout their day. And that was like a little secret, the little dirty secret of the suburbs. But so much focus was put on that. And maybe I'm wrong from the way I look at it, but the way I see it is who cares? Because when you get down into the inner city, it's so abundant and it's all you see. Just in my neighborhood alone where I live right now, I could walk out my door at any time, and I could walk out my door at any time, at any given minute. And I could point out five what we call tweakers, meth addicts, you know? Back in my generation, it was the same thing. I could walk outside, and all I had access to were crack cocaine addicts. But back then, what I would see with the difference between this generation and that generation is with crack cocaine, from my understanding, it was something you did. It was extremely addicting. And then you kept doing it for the need, for the dependency, as opposed to meth, where it's more of that mental need of wanting to accomplish more or be thinner or sex drive, whatever the reasons are behind it. But it seems like it is so advanced. It's so much more than what the crack epidemic was. And then on top of that, you have the pills, the Oxycontins, and the, well, they don't exist anymore. But it's a lot of people. People now are hooked on prescription drugs. You know, a lot of prescription drugs, Oxycontin, Preludes and all, Quaaludes and all that. And like back in the 60s, you know, in the neighborhoods, you know, we had the marijuana and the heroin and the pills. But the champagne drugs were like in the high society, the cocaine, the cocaine for the rich, rich people, cocaine. And they had them made a way to come and break it down into crack. So it can, you know, bring it down into the, into the ghettos, you know, and now cocaine, crack and all of that. I mean, you find it in elementary schools now. Yeah. You know, and it's terrible. You know, crack babies, you know, pregnant women, all strung out, tweaked out and having babies. And, you know, it's very terrible. I, I myself, one of my, one of my boys, he was born and his mother was addicted, you know, to heroin. She was in, she was busted, you know, when she, she was pregnant and she, she had him in the, well, she was incarcerated and he came out, strung out. Now that was during the time you were, yourself was clean. Yeah. And doing the ministry and everything. Yeah. Yeah. I got saved in 1976, you know, and I've been serving the Lord since then, you know, and I have seen many, many of my homeboys, home girls that are doing life in prison now, or most of them are all dead. And if it wasn't for the Lord coming into my life back then, I would be dead. I have this scar on my right hand, right side, that it reminds me of, the grace and mercies of God. When one day they usher me into the orange girls with a sawed off shotgun to the back of my head and a nine millimeter to my temple. Wow. They were going to kill me. But because of a praying mother, a praying church, you know what? That guy could not pull the trigger. And by the mercies of God, I escaped that ordeal and three months later rededicated my life to the Lord. And that brother that was going to kill me, came into the center where I was at. And I ended up praying for him, forgiving him, and leading me into the Lord. Yes. Yeah. So the power of God is powerful. That's why when we go into the neighborhoods, to the hardcore neighborhood, guys that think that they don't have no hope, I just show them my tracks in my arms, you know, my tracks and I was there, you know, and, uh, God delivered me instantly. I had one of those Damascus experience when I came into a rehabilitation home. Mm-hmm. God delivered me like that. I didn't go through no withdrawals or anything. I knew. I knew. And that's the biggest blessing of it all. Yes. Because the relapse is almost inevitable. Oh, yeah. At least for a couple of years. You just feel like banging your head in the wall just to get a little peace of mind, you know. Yes. Terrible. Terrible. Indeed. You had some experience yourself, right? Yeah. Well, not myself. Indirect experience. Yes. My father, he was addicted to crack cocaine for a little over 20 years. Can you tell what I'm speaking to? I didn't live with my father. I had a, you know, we lived with my mother and my stepfather, and he lived with his wife and their family. I didn't even know, well, me and my siblings, we didn't know that he had this problem until, you know, he stopped showing up for visits. You know, he would say, I'm on my way, and just wouldn't show up. Now, I was about 15, 16 at the time, so really didn't register to me what was going on. And then one day we got the call from his wife, who explained it to my mother, and then she, you know, explained it to my siblings and I, what was going on. And then from that point, it was just, you know, I was like, I'm not going to go to jail. I'm going to go to prison. I'm going to go to prison. I'm going to go to prison. And from that point, it was just, I mean, it was an eye-opening experience. For one, my father was a prominent businessman, very upstanding, you know, devoutly religious. And it was just hard for us to really ascertain him doing something like that. It just went against everything he's ever taught us, everything, you know, he believed in. But, you know, when he was sober, because he's sober now, he's been sober for quite a few years, you know, we had a chance to ask him, you know, what's going on? And I asked him, what happened? And he said, really, when his mother passed, which was his whole world, then his father passed like a year and a half later. It was just too much for him. It was just devastating. And then I guess he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Going through, you know, all the mental devastation and just heartbreak. And there it was, he said, one hit. And there you have it. But you said he was a Christian or a devout religious? Oh, yes. Or was he a Christian at that time or not? No, my father, he's a Muslim. He has been since he was 19. So he just, I mean, just very regimented, very disciplined. It was just like I said. But without the spirit of power of Christ. Yeah. Right. Uh-huh. And what did he, what did he start using? Oh, I was about, I guess, 15, 16. So he was, yeah, older, 40s maybe. No, I meant what kind of drugs did he get into? Oh, I'm sorry. He was, it was crack cocaine. Okay. Yes. Uh-huh. About around the same time, Eric. We're not too much different in age. In the 80s. Yeah, it was the 80s. Uh-huh. Yeah, it was the 80s. So, yeah, it was a little bit of an embarrassment for my siblings and I because, again, like I said, my father was this, and he is now, an upstanding individual. And so, just to know the whole family, cousins, and everyone knew. That's what he was doing. And, you know, it was almost like shame. Not almost, but it was. It was just shameful. Like, oh my God, that's my father. He's, you know, in that condition. He's a junkie. Pretty much, you know. And it just, just to see him having, you know, his own business, money from every pocket to nothing was, yeah, it was devastating. So for a while he was very functional in his addiction, right? Yes, because he was able to hide it. And then, you know, if my stepmother, you know, told us what was going on, then it's like all the clues start to come together, the puzzles. Like, oh, that's why if I was talking to him, he was, hey. And then he'd turn around, he's just, he's asleep. You know, you just, you just start putting all the pieces together. Yeah. Yeah, that's kind of with, with the way it happened in my childhood with that particular drug, is my father was always a drug addict. I didn't, I didn't know anything other, you know, from him other than that. My mother was a very career minded and business oriented executive working for California federal, own office, Cadillacs. We had everything. It was actually my father who got my mother on drugs. And it was one of those things from my understanding, I could be wrong, but as an adult looking back at it, I figure it was one of those, I can't beat this. Let me see what it's about. Let me see what the big deal is. It's as a kid, it seemed like it was an overnight process from going from a regular family, because even though my dad was an addict, my mother kept my, our home very up to par. You know, we had the best of everything and she compensated for everything my dad lacked as a parent. And so when that drastic change came about of both of them now being addicts, everything that comes with that was automatic. The stigma, the depression as a child, the confusion, the in and out of custody battles and all of that stuff. And what amazes me is that to this day, neither one of them can admit because they truthfully don't believe, it's not that they're lying to their self, they really don't believe that their addictions had anything to do with who we are as adults or teenagers or even their own. They're just teenagers or even back then as children, you know? And what it did to me was actually put me in a situation to where addiction was so normal for me. All my friends were addicts. My boyfriends were addicts, you know? Then I ended up ultimately marrying an alcoholic who is now fighting and struggling to recover, you know? But now that I look back on us meeting, us being together, I think that's a really good story because we're all being addicts now. And now we're all being addicts now. And now we're all being addicts now. And now we're all being addicts now. And now we're all being addicts now. And now we're all being addicts now. And now we're all being addicts now. And now we're all being addicts now. And now we're all being addicts now. And now we're all being addicts now. And now we're all being addicts now. And now we're all being addicts now. And now we're all being addicts now. And now we're all being addicts now. And now we're all being addicts now. And now we're all being addicts now. And now we're all being addicts now. And now we're all being addicts now. and you were very young, weren't you? Like five when your mom and dad got hooked on the drugs? Yeah, well, my dad, like I said, all my life, but I remember seeing my mother do it for the first time. I was about six. We were having a very big party at my house, and I walked in on it, and it wasn't until the aftermath to where I realized what she was doing. Now, I know you for a long time, too, as well. Yes, you have. And I don't know. I believe, like you say, drawn to, which is my son. I'm Derek's father. And he is my husband. He's an awesome guy. Thank you, by the way. And I don't know. I don't see it like that, and I don't know, but you guys, to me, were just kids. Yeah. Because Derek wasn't really, at that time, he didn't seem like he was addicted to things. He was just addicted to trying to rap and being that thing. And I think it was pretty just normal. That, you know, you guys hooking up. So, I mean, when you say you were drawn to an addicted person, I don't know. Can you break that down? Oh, sure. You're totally right. In the beginning, no. It wasn't the fact that, you know, I sensed that he would one day become an alcoholic. However, very early on in our relationship, we both were avid drinkers. I mean, we would go nowhere without drinking. Who didn't? But I think you guys also, you guys were very supportive, like what the pastor said, did a very good job of functioning and covering it up. Yeah. With me, I knew nothing about alcoholism. And because when you're the child of addicts, hardcore addicts, you look at alcoholism as minute. It's nothing. You can't compare. Exactly. At least it's not drugs. You know what I mean? Exactly. So, how old were you when you got with your husband? I was 16 years old when we got together. And then I realized he had a drinking problem. Is that when you started drinking when you were 16? Yeah. I've always started drinking because with me, my drinking started with, my drinking and my other experimenting with other things here and there was off to self-medicate. I was unhappy. I was at a lot of mental problems that no adult wanted to accept that I had. So, no one gave me the attention in that area. And the alcohol made me happy. So, how did it make you happy? How did you get a hold of it? I mean, obviously, I know you can get a hold of it, but I mean, it sounds like you were doing a lot of drinking. Yeah. So, how was it so accessible to you? Oh, it's even in this day and age, it's so easy to get a hold of alcohol. You know, your parents have alcohol cabinets. Every friend I had, whether they were poor, middle class, rich, their parents had a bar, you know? And I can say that's true because when we cleaned the alcohol out, when we realized it. I don't know how many bottles. When you, because we didn't use alcohol much, they were filled with water. Oh, no. Yeah. And we didn't realize that. Yeah. You know, and once we didn't even think we're open, that had gotten as gifts and stuff that you just stick in the cabinet under the sink. No, because you're not going to ever think your kid's going to go under there and make a cocktail. You know? That's what I was going to ask the pastor too. And you said you were over, I guess, overseas in Amsterdam. The locals are so high, they couldn't work. So, what did they... Yeah, they were just out of bed. They couldn't afford the drugs. Well, it's a social country and they would support it. Oh, wow. They would, the drug addicts, all they have to do is give them an address and they would send them a check. Wow. And also, what, Amsterdam, porn and everything, everything that you can think of is there. It's legalized. I think, and it's really overwhelming me with LA, that's where we're headed. That's where they're headed. And right, you know, like we would... My wife ministered in the right place. She ministered in the red light district. You know, she's a Colombian, my wife, and she had a team, an evangelistic team, and she would take a team into the red light district. They had a section that all the Africans were at, all the Dutch were at, all the South America, all the ones from the Caribbean. They had them ages of 14, 15, all the way to grandmas on rocking chairs. All the way to grandmas on rocking chairs. You know, so anything your fancy mind could imagine, it was there. It was there. And they seen it as a job because it would run by the government. The husband would leave her wife at the red light district so she can put her eight hours work. Wow. And then pick her up and go home, have dinner with the kids and everything like a normal job. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. And so, you know, the schools are breaking our children down mentally to accept this thing. And it's like the homosexuality and all these things are accepted. And if you say anything against it, then they get offended and they come unglued about it. Now also, they have this red light district and they can have a McDonald's and a hardcore pornography shop. Right in front. Wow. Probably right next to the elementary school. Exactly. And the kids are immune. Yeah. And they're used to seeing that. Right. Like the initials say. And they have a section where all the homosexuals, Rembrandt's plane, what they call it. And on Queens Day, everything shuts down and it's like a Mardi Gras. It's like Sodom and Gomorrah. Everybody just walking around, you know. That's where we're headed. Yeah. Well, it's almost like our government is saying, we're not going to control the moral aspect of your life. So therefore, morally, if you feel it's okay to stay drugged, intoxicated, homosexual, whatever your get down is, it's your prerogative. And maybe they feel it's against an amendment, right, to tell us you can't indulge in these things, but it could be regulated. Even with the medical cannabis, with the pharmaceuticals. Just with my husband's illness. I feel that he gets way too much opiates for his condition. He doesn't even go through all of them for his pain and he stays in pain, you know. And it's like, why are you giving him so many pills? Well, he can sell them. But you know. Introduce a whole other set of problems. But you know that is so true that, because I can remember just going to the dentist and having a tooth pulled and she says, you know, what kind of medication you want, you want, Tylenol, it's good. I'm allergic to codeine. I go, oh, I'm allergic to codeine. Okay, let me just give you some Norcos. How many would you like? I'm like, you know, it doesn't hurt. I'll just take, you know, I'll just take some Tylenol. I'll be cool with that. I mean, something as simple as to me as having a tooth pulled, they're ready to give you some kind of a pain pill. Oh, yeah. You have something major, they're going to write you out six months supply. Exactly. And that's how it comes to that question of how are we, the kids, getting a hold of this stuff because it's just so much of it out there. And then you have the, you know, the irresponsible adult who's like, oh, I'm allergic to codeine. I'm allergic to codeine. And then you have the, you know, the irresponsible adult who's like, oh, I still do it. And when I was younger, I wanted someone to hook me up. So, hey, I'll go buy your beer. I'll give you a second. We used to do that in middle school. The kids would be able to get alcohol really easy. Just ask a homeless man and they'll give him money or whatever he wanted and he would help them out. And he doesn't even have to be homeless sometimes. Yeah. Yeah. I was like, I just I thought it was really weird that they would do that. It was really easy for them to get. Really? Yeah, that was the first time I saw it. And I was like in sixth or seventh grade. We did it all the time. Why no in the neighborhood? Yeah. Yeah. You got him a bottle. Yeah. Got you what you wanted. Yeah. But see, when I was 16 or so, we hit it. Like you said, we, you know, you hit it. But these kids nowadays, they're just, hey, yeah, they're very bold. They don't have to. They don't have to be anything but that. Yeah. But it's a generation that's going out now. If you if you notice the way it is, is that I can do whatever I want to do. If you've got a problem with it, turn your head the other way. They don't feel they have to. They don't have to hide anything. I don't. Don't you dare say anything to me about it. Yeah. Yeah. This postmodernism that there's no absolute truth. Right. Absolutely. Absolutely. Relativism. What's right for you may not be right for me. There's no one true. And what's true for you may not be true to me. So don't get in my case. Right. I mean, come on. Yeah. We have a caller on the air with a question. Yeah. Go ahead. Hello. Yes. Hi. My name is Amanda and I'm calling because your guest, Demetra, I think she said her name was, was talking about her father and that he got on drugs and he was 40 years old. And she said that he was a Muslim. And then the pastor, I don't know if he implied that because he believes in Allah instead of Jesus Christ, that he was able, you know, was weak and took the drugs because he didn't have Christ in his life. So I'm saying if he's implying that, how does he account for the first 40 years of his life where he didn't take drugs? Because I have friends of all religions and I'm religious myself. And I believe that whatever people are, whatever their faith is, whether it be Allah, Buddha, whatever, then that's what they believe. And they should be strong in that faith. And just because you're not a Christian doesn't mean you're going to be weak to everything. So I don't know if he's implying that because he didn't believe in Christ per se, Jesus Christ, that he's going to be weak forever. No, I didn't get that same point from the comment he made. But I know this is a Christian talk show. And we do know from our individual experiences that when a person is brought to Christ and they're shown the right way and they're shown how to let the Lord take control of their life and lead them in the right direction, then that addiction does become diluted and that desire to have a drug eventually goes away because of the power of Christ. Now, I personally think, yeah, regardless of any religion you are, you could be Hindu, Buddhist, you know, whatever, you're still going to, you could struggle with the drug and you can still conquer the drug. But as a Christian woman myself, my first thing would be to direct you to the Lord when you have a struggle. But at the same time, like I said, that doesn't mean that just because you're a Muslim, you're going to still stay on drugs. Yeah, and I mean, I throw it out there because there's no power like Christ. There is none like him. There is nothing, absolutely no one like him. He is God. And in my life, I've seen what he's done in my life. And there's a lot of people can attest to what he's done in their lives. When I say Muslim, I don't believe that, they believe that God is, Jesus is a prophet. Right. And, you know, I don't believe that. You know, that's just what they believe. But like Lanisha is saying, you can believe in hopscotch and that can get you off of a drug. But when you turn your life over to Christ Jesus, he can take it from you. And that's where I was coming from. Yeah. And just to be clear, my father, he still is a very devout Muslim. And to everyone's point, you know, hopscotch and Jesus Christ. And all of that. I believe as long as you do have a higher power, you know, regardless of what it is, you know, you're going to feel accountable to that higher power. And if you really do have the desire, which he did, to, you know, to free himself of the addiction, I think it's possible. Well, I can say I know it's possible because I did witness him. He just stopped. Because at the end of the day, it's all about that desire. Right. You know, but the strength, when you want that strength and you want that struggle and that obstacle to be knocked out efficiently, like, and just never come back and be strong in your sobriety. You know, my personal view is you need to grab a hold of Christ because, you know, but for each for each their own, but not for me. That's all I can say. Okay. Well, I understand that. Thank you, Michael. Thank you so much for sharing your point of view on that. That was, you know, interesting. All right. Thank you. Thank you. You know, I would like to end the show if it's about that time. Okay. 15 minutes. Okay. My main focus of this show wasn't really how to get off drugs or a method for sobriety. I want to concentrate on the stigmas that the children have to endure to stop the cycle from keep from keep going. You know, the children of crack addicts are now the parents of crack addicts. Parents of children who have to watch them do meth, you know, or be on other drugs or alcoholics or whatever the case may be. And there's programs like Victory Outreach. I have a few programs that I wrote down that I just found on the internet actually that were safehouse.com, secondchoiceforlife.com. These are all ministries that don't just help the addict. They help the entire family. It's, there's codependency issues with a spouse who can be a non addict that can still enable her or his spouse to still do drugs. There's things like that that needs to be addressed. There's issues with children who are watching things that we think that they're totally oblivious to and they're not. They see everything. They sense everything. And by the time they're 15, 16 years old, what they didn't know at five, they know now. And it's just something that needs to be addressed. And there's programs out there to help. When I was coming up, when Dee was coming up, we didn't have Christian, Muslim, any type of religious groups to come rescue our parents. There were far and few in between. We had the courts. Yeah. And because you loved your parent, you lied about their addiction because you didn't want CPS knocking at your door. You know, you didn't want to walk outside and go to school and everyone say your mom or your dad was a crackhead. So there's things that come along with that to where I just want to address that. I want to focus on how to reverse that. Like even with Victory Outreach, I know there's programs that you guys have to where you take a hold of the family, not just the addict. Right. Well, you know, it's just like my brother was saying, you know, the Lord in John 8, I believe it's in that chapter where it says, Where who the Son sets free is free indeed. You know, and he says in another verse that that when he was telling them that he was going to prepare a place for you, where I go, you know, take you in. And Thomas says, Where are you going? We don't know where you're going. Says, Well, he says, he tells them, I am. I am the way I am the truth and I am the life. When he says I am the way you see, there's another scripture in progress where it says there seems to be a way that it seems right to man. Oh, man. But at the end is destruction. Death is death. And then he says, I am the truth, not a truth. He says the truth. And that's a definite article. And then he said, I am the life. And there really is no other life outside of Jesus Christ. Outside of Jesus Christ. I found myself that I was just existing. I was dead in my sin until I recognized that I was a sinner, that something was wrong with me. And the only one that can fill that void is not religion. It's not a man, but it's only the Son of God. And when I came, it was something bear witness in my spirit that I am a child of God because his spirit bears witness with my spirit that we are the sons of God. And therefore, I know that I know that now I have eternal life. You see, and you go to Buddha, his body is still there or now bones or dust, whatever. You go to Mohammed, he's still also the same thing. There was only one man in all history that said, I am deity. I am God. That's why they killed him. The religious. The religious leader killed him because he came to destroy their religious system. And when he came, he did destroy this temple. I'll raise it up in three days. And he has been the only man in all of history that had been killed. And he resurrected from the dead. You know, and it says, I am the resurrection. I am alive. So it's like Pascual's wager that it would be best. It's the common sense to believe in this man. Because if you don't, you have everything to lose. You know what I mean? Yeah. But if he's right, I have everything to gain. Because all of us at one time, all man is we have to face the judgment after that, after we die with the judgment, face the judgment. And so I came to a place in my life that I have found life. I have found the way. And I have found the truth. So, so through Victory Outreach, do you also reach out to the spouses, the children, and you have programs there to help them also? We do have all of that. And it's just part of the promise that God sells. When we get saved, the curse of the law is broken. That now my children don't have to be a crack addict. They don't. They can't. I mean, they don't have to now. They don't have to. They don't have to be raised by crackheads parents. Now they can be children that can live a normal life and grow up in a good, healthy home with a productive father and a mother. And I mean, he says that and like, like you say, there's a higher power or we were saying about different forms of reform. Right. In a Muslim household, you know, once somebody makes up their mind to, to straighten up. The same can apply to their children. Once they, they, they decide to make up their minds to straighten up, then that's going to trickle down and affect their, their children and everyone else in a good way. But what the pastor is saying is that the evidence that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior, there's evidence of that through history. And I say history because we can look at it and also prophecy. But history is good to look at because the evidence of his words and his power are there. It's, we cannot, we can't argue it. We can choose to ignore it, but we cannot argue it. And that is a better way. Yeah. Okay. And that's the hope that we have, that our children, we work with the children. We work with the teenagers. We have a ministry called gang because it relates to the ministry. To the people that we reach out gang. I love that ministry. You know, and it stands for God's anointed now generation. That's an acronym gang and people, the young kids are, have the passion and it's great that they're 13, 12, 14 and they're having a great time in the Lord. They're drug free. They have a, they have a life of success. Many of them are going to be enrolling into college. And finding their calling as a missionary, as a pastor. And like so where before, if it wasn't for the Lord, they would be, would be repeating that cycle. And how do you reach out to them? We go share the gospel to them, pray for them, share with them from our heart, how God changed our lives. And the Holy Spirit is the one that speaks to their heart. Yeah. I think for kids that are really, really young. Kids that are raised in houses where there's addiction, whether it's alcohol, drugs or whatever. When somebody is talking to them, that's like, like you have pastor that's walked in those shoes. And now say, look at me now. To me would see, just feel like it makes so much of a bigger impact than for somebody like me. That's not, that wasn't raised in that kind of a household. I don't have any experience with that. And so I can try to talk and try to say, you know, I understand what you're doing. But I may not really understand because I'm not living. I've never lived that lifestyle. Yeah. And you can know, have all the knowledge and have all the degrees behind you and read all the books of sociology, psychology and all of that human behavior and all of that. But when somebody comes and shares with you that they've been there, done that. Actual experience. That, that speaks volumes. And they understand that it's not, you're not just front and they know. Yeah. By your words. Yeah. And actions that you know what's going on. Right. And then you come speak to a junkie and they say, well, what do you know? Exactly. What it means to be sick or like that. Oh yes I do buddy. Yeah. Let me tell you. You've been there and been in those shoes. Exactly. Even as a child you feel that way. When other people from their childhoods, same age or generation try to, you know, comment on how you should feel or the stigmas that you carry. It's like you can't go there. You know, until you've known what it's like to live with an addict of any sort. To go through the mood swings and, and, and the, the, like the alternation of their personalities is the most mind boggling and, and like it's, it's horrible. It's really hard for a child to wrap their mind around this is how my parent is supposed to be, but this is how my parent is now. And there's no association between characters. Like they're two different people. That alone is so traumatizing, you know? Mm-hmm. And I think, like I said earlier, it has to be addressed more. It has to be more programs out there. And that's why I love Victory Outreach because I see what you guys do. I don't personally belong to your congregation. I visit your church from time to time. But I've seen what you did with my brother who I thought would never come back. Yeah. I thought my brother was gone. I was ready to write him off. And I know he's not embarrassed by anything I'm saying because he knows where he's come from. And I can, you know. I can back Lanisha up because we had conversations where it was, I'm never speaking to him. Never speaking to him again. Exactly. It's like you can't do that. And to see when I saw them back together again after he got straightened out was, it was just, it was a blessing. It was. And you know, in the beginning, it wasn't easy. Mm-hmm. Because it was, we were coming from traditional churches. Mm-hmm. And God spoke to our founder. God spoke to, I want you to open a church for drug addicts. Yeah. I said, what do you mean a church for drug addicts? You know? Like an oxymoron. What are you talking about? But sin is sin. That's just the sin they have. It's so different than others sin. And now, he didn't realize, but now we see it. Now we're all over the world. Mm-hmm. Yes. It's almost been 50 years we're in Africa, South America, New Zealand, Australia. And the same people we find all over the world. The same people like us here in the United States. And on that note right there is one of the things that I wanted to end the show with. Because anyone out there who's in the community, they're not going to be able to do that. They're not going to be able to do that. They're not going to be able to do that. They're not going to be able to do that. They're not going to do that. They're not going to do that. They're not going to do that. They're not going to do that. They're not going to do that. They're not going to do that. They're not going to do that. They're not going to do that. They're not going to do that. They're not going to do that. They're not going to do that. They're not going to do that. They're not going to do that. They're not going to do that. They're not going to do that. They're not going to do that. They're not going to do that. They're not going to do that. They're not going to do that. They're not going to do that. They're not going to do that. They're not going to do that. And there's no reason to have to keep going through the life of addiction and the life of turmoil and trauma and everything else. Yes. Pastor, can you give us information on how to get to, I mean, the best way to contact you? They can visit our website, which is www.victoryoutreach.com. V-O, like for Victory Outreach, riverside.com. Or they can go to our main one, which is victoryoutreach.org. Yes. And that would point them to the closest one in their neighborhood. To all the ones that we have. All the rehabilitation homes and all of that. We're winding down on time, but I was wondering if there's some last messages that any of you would like to leave to listeners out there that may be struggling with addiction or have family, friends, close loved ones that are struggling. If you can offer a quick message. Well, if I can leave anything with the audience that is listening, you know, I don't know where you're at. What? If you would like to say a little bit about your situation, your family, whatever. We got to wind it down. Yeah. But Jesus Christ is the answer. Jesus Christ is the answer. That's all I can say. Final comments. I would also like to say, you know, just very briefly. From my father's experience, he's been clean for quite a while now, but he is very open and honest about his situation. He always takes the opportunity to reach out to people who are struggling, who may be struggling. And he shares his story with them so that they can draw something from it. Because we know in the Bible. That's awesome. Because we know in the Bible it says, you know, use your bones as testimonies to help other people. Yes. That's great. Yes. Is there a number that we can reach you? I can be reached at 951-809-3848 if anybody has any questions or anything like that. Yeah. And I would just like to say I could be reached by email. I really have no expertise at all, but I can listen. I can direct. I can find resources. That's what I do. And I can blast the Internet with any type of information that could be considered a resource. So you can reach me at Lanishaboy.gmail.com. And that's L-A-N-E-S-H-A-B-O-Y-D. Okay. I forgot there for a second. I just want to thank you all for joining us tonight. Great conversation. I wanted to end with the message that we are never more like our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, than when we are loving, creating, and forgiving. Thank you so much, Lanisha. You did a great job. Thank you. Thank you all for hosting this show. I'm sure a lot of listeners appreciate it. So thank you so much for tuning in to Positive Perspective. Thank you. Thank you all. Thank you all. Thank you all. Thank you all. Thank you all. Thank you all. Thank you all. Thank you all. Thank you all. Thank you all. Thank you all. Thank you all.