From the Dock to the Cell Block - From Wrong to Strong Podcast with Guest Kristi Overton Johnson

🎵Outro music plays🎵 It was such a supernatural encounter in that prison. It was such a voice. It was such a calling. When I got in the car, I wept like a baby. And I said, God, I will go. I will go to prison. And at the time, I had not just national, an international water sports outreach. I had been doing that for over 10 years at that point. And I knew so clearly that God was calling me out of that and into prison. And all I could do was give him my yes. I didn't know what it looked like. And I told him, I said, God, I will go, but you have to open the doors. And what he did, within a week or two, he sent the magazine that I published, Victorious Living, and somehow it ended up in the hands of the Florida Department of Corrections within about a week and a half of that visit. They called me and they said, we want that magazine in every prison in the state of Florida. I'm getting calls. We would like you to come speak in our prison. We hear you speak in prisons. I didn't speak in prisons. Like it was within weeks. And it was just absolutely such a God thing. 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. 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. Hello everyone. Welcome to another episode of from wrong to strong. I'm your host. My name is Omar Calvillo. And after taking some time off, we're back. We're back with another interview. And today I have a special guest. Today's guest is a woman who knows what victory looks like both in sports and in the kingdom. She's a former world-class water ski champion with over 80 professional titles. And now she uses that same drive to bring hope to men and women behind bars. She's the founder of victorious living magazine and the leader of victorious living ministries, sharing Christ centered encouragement with people who desperately need it. Family helped me. Welcome to the podcast. The boss lady as JC calls her a Christie Overton Johnson. How are you doing Omar? Doing good. I had to throw that one in there. Cause I listened to the interview that you did with JC. He's like, even when I talked to him on the phone, he's like, oh, that's the boss.

That's the boss lady. So I had to, I had to throw that one in there. He's crazy. I love JC so much. And one day I asked him, I was like, why do you call me that? And he goes, cause I'd take bullets for the boss. And I was like, okay, you can call me boss. Eventually we'll get into how you guys met and you guys are doing together. But usually we like to start at the beginning. You know, can you tell us what, what part of the country you grew up in and maybe you could share with us how was like those first, you know, the, the, the childhood years for you? Yes. I'd love to. So as you can tell, I have an accent and it is Southern. It is not a Northern accent at all. I was born and raised in Greenville, North Carolina, and Sierra on the East coast of North Carolina. When I was 18, I moved down to Florida and I spent the next 30 some years down there and then have made my way back recently back to Greenville. So I'm a Southern girl and absolutely love being back in North Carolina, being with my family. This is where, you know, all my family live and reside. And when I was a little girl, they taught me. water ski. So that was a huge part of my life and through those experiences they took me all over the world and that's why I ended up in Florida for so long because Florida is where all the water skiers end up going from around the world. It's warmer there obviously and you can train year-round and you can train with the best in the world. So when I was 18 I made that move and left here

an 18 year old little girl came back a 50 year old some woman so time flies that's for sure. Yeah it sure does. So is somebody in your family did they like water ski? Was that like big like in your family that sport? It wasn't big it was just something my dad grew up enjoying being on the water and he was not a competitive skier but he was a hot dogger meaning he would go out trying to do tricks and he really thought he was something until one day a competitive skier rode past him in this fancy ski boat and my dad actually drove his more speedboat to catch up with this guy to find out what kind of boat he had what kind of tricks he was doing on those skis and my dad and he was hooked after that. So our family did become very involved in the sport. I started skiing when I was four started competing when I was five. My dad and mom competed a little bit but more at a local and state level and I quickly picked it up and by the eight years old was competing in Nationals was the youngest to qualify for Nationals at that point turned pro at 13 and it just went on and on but as I mentioned skiing was the sport of water sports and water skiing was really an integral part of our life because my dad ended up selling water skis and things anything to do with a boat he would sell them and it started with one a couple of skis and vests in the back of his car at a ski tournament he would carry some extra equipment there and I can still remember men lined up at my back of my dad's car trying to buy his latest items and it became very popular so he set up a ski shop and behind the meat counter at my granddaddy's grocery store and he put a 1-800 number in and it became the world's largest water sports and marine company and my dad so all the time that I was skiing his business was growing and it really we helped each other you know really because my skiing and winning championships and things brought attention to the Overton Sports Center and the mail-order catalog and of course he would feature me on his catalog so it was really a great I don't even know what you say connection about a partnership they're like partnership yeah yeah yeah people want to buy the product when there's a winner behind it you know and if you're winning you know if you're like at the top of that game

they're like definitely want to go with that brand yeah and what I loved about my dad it wasn't just me he supported it was the sport like he just laid it all down for the sport and my competitors even he sponsored them and just everybody loved my dad and he's still alive I got a great father and mother but they really poured in to my life and when I was 11 years old it's just a crazy story and I did not even realize how blessed I was at the time but 11 years old they actually dug a lake and a out in the field in the country here in Eastern North Carolina for me to train on because by that point I was almost turning professional and every day mom was having to pick me up from school and drive me about almost 45 minutes to an hour to the river where I would train and then we'd get home really late at night and there was salt water there's a lot of boats and the conditions were just terrible so he knew to get me to the next level he was going to have to have a private facility and sounds super fancy but basically bought a track of inexpensive farmland got a friend with a bulldozer and just dug out this 2,000 foot long really narrow some some parts of lakes maybe 150 feet wide and some at this biggest maybe two to three hundred feet wide so it's it's basically a glorified pond big enough for you to ski in for competitive skiing and it was also a test facility for all the equipment that he would sell in his catalog they would do photo shoots out there, we would have ski tournaments out there, and over the years it went from being a farmland to every year he would add some grass, some Bermuda grass, some trees, rescue some horses and put a horse stable over there and you'd have all these dogs back in the back, you know, that he was rescuing and it was just, it's been a beautiful place. We've had a lot of church events, ski events, cross-country events, lots of baptisms in those waters, a lot of ministry events out there, so God has really blessed that land and something we thought was just going to be a pond for me to train in has turned in to be this just beautiful facility that the East Carolina University uses, and like I said, we have a lot of community events out there. Sounds like faith played a big part in your family, like with your parents, like growing up, was that big?

Yeah, I always say, you know, my parents, I didn't realize how, like I said, when you're young, you just, you know, your parents are your parents, but now that I've been in prison ministry and I hear so many of the stories, like our friend JC's and, you know, and the neighborhoods people have had to grow up in, and that wasn't my story. And I was always thankful, but I really hadn't been exposed to anything else, so I just didn't know and did not realize just how amazing it was to have both my parents and not just have them, but to have a family that I never heard my parents argue. They would come and my dad would kneel down by my bed each night and tell me stories about me being the best skier in the world and he'd pray over me and my mom, you know, just a godly servant of a woman, just a beautiful wife and worked with my dad and served all of us. She was my coach and boat driver and, you know, I had a brother. We fought, you know, and stuff, but it just, it was a beautiful childhood. That's not to say there wasn't pressures and my pressures came inside here and from the performance aspect of being a world-class athlete, but it wasn't from my parents. And today I know just, you know, looking back, I'm turning 56 soon and to just know the sacrifices they made for me and the life that they gave me, I am so grateful. And, you know, but more than what they gave me, it was what they showed me and the faith foundation that they laid for me. So my great grandparents on my mom's side were really strong. It's really interesting. They're strong in their faith. It's interesting. Recently I found an obituary of my great grandfather and it said in there, you know, just how loved he was by the different communities, the black community, the white community here in Eastern North Carolina in the forties and fifties, that really said something. And that was in his obituary. And it, that just spoke volumes of the kind of person that he was. And then it said that he went on Sunday afternoons to the local prisons and ministered through the fence. And my other great grandfather was a published author for the, for the Baptist Chronicle, Southern Baptist Chronicles and stuff. So just looking in that history, I could see, I've never even really shared this, but I've, I can see like this legacy of ministers, of prison ministry, of loving people who aren't looking just like you or with the same backgrounds that you have. That means a lot to me. And then to, you know, see that the writing and the telling of stories, I've got some of my great grandfather's writings. It's just, it's just a beautiful foundation that I just never want to

take for granted. Yeah, that's big. Like when you, when you look back and see like the generations, the faith, almost like the, I'm thinking about, I think Hebrews chapter 11, where it talks about like, I forget the heroes, I think because of the heroes of faith. Yeah. When you look back and like following in their footsteps. So, okay. So you grew up, you're, you're, you're competing. I believe you were like, you had a record. I think I'll watch a few of your podcast interviews that you did. And I believe you had a record that lasted almost like 20 years. So you were like, I guess on top of that. Yeah, I held the world record in women's slalom for 18 years and was a world champion, masters, eight-time masters champion. I don't know, four times U.S. Open. Lots and lots of victories, but you know, more than the victories, I had that many or more falls. It's just like any sport. And it was those falls and those failures that really taught me how to get up in life and taught me just so many wonderful life lessons that now I get to share in my writings, but also when I get to go behind bars and minister the gospel, whether it's through our magazine or the broadcasts that we do, or getting to go behind bars physically and speak to people. I never dreamed how God would use all those lessons to help people get up in life. And it's the story of, God calls it the story of Hit It, and that was what he called me to go behind bars and share. Back in 2013, I was sitting with a friend of mine who was incarcerated. He had been there seven years at that point, and I'd never thought about him one day. And he reached out to me, and God just moved in my heart and led me to go visit him. And while I was there, the Lord showed me very vividly that this was a demographic group that he had not forgotten about, that he loved, that he cared about, and that he wanted me to go to him and share the story of Hit It. And Hit It's what I used to say to the boat driver. When I was ready to go, you know, my dad taught me that, he goes, when you're ready to go, you don't say go because go sounds like no.

So if you were in trouble and you yelled no, they might go. So you always picked a phrase that was very unique, and most water skiers use the phrase Hit It. And so Hit It stands for when you really apply it, not to life, but even to skiing, it is that decision to get up, to move past your pain, your fear of failure, your fear of what's going to come. It's you saying I'm going to face the obstacles, I'm going to face the hardships, the possibility that I might crash. You put all of that aside and you commit to go. The phrase Hit It is about your decision to connect to a power source and get up out of the waters and move forward. It is a decision to not quit it. You're going to hit it. You're not going to quit it. And so that's why God was wanting me to go and carry that message that God, like the boat, is right there. He's the power source that doesn't fail, but He's a gentleman and He won't go until you give Him the command. But He's cranked, He's thrown out His lifeline, His rope of hope, Jesus Christ, if you grab it by faith, He will take you somewhere. So He wanted me to go and He wanted me to tell the men and women behind bars that He had not forgotten them, that He was there, He was cranked, He was ready to go, and all they had to do was grab hold by faith and say, Hit It, God. If they had fallen, it didn't matter. The message of Hit It is that for 35 years, I competed all over the world, but every single day I fell. Even in the tournaments, I fell, like the winner was the person who fell at the furthest part of the course. And so it's not about perfection, it's about perseverance. And so I tell men and women all the time, and children, I said, you know, for 35 years

I skied, 35 years I fell, but in the midst of falls and failures, I still became a world champion. Why? Because I kept saying Hit It and refused to quit it. I chose to listen to my coaches. I chose to do it a different way. I chose to keep trying when it hurt, when I was cold, when everything was falling apart. It's this spirit of perseverance. And so that is what water skiing taught me, and it is the highest privilege to get to take it to an audience that God chose for me, and me for them, and them for me. Like it is the highest privilege that I have and been the most fulfilling work, and I have met the most wonderful, wonderful people in this journey. God gave me a new family, like my family were water skiers, and we were tight. Now I'm like riding through the desert with J.C. Almanzo, wrong to strong, and meeting you and getting to tell your story. story in our magazine and things like that. Amen. I don't know. When did you know? I know you felt like God calling you to go to prison. How long did it take you? Were you like nervous in the beginning? Or like how long was it before you knew this is where I need to be? It's not just like a one-time deal, you know, like I got to keep going. Yeah, it was actually. So this is a God story for sure. So it was such a supernatural encounter in that prison. It was such a voice. It was such a calling. When I got in the car, I wept like a baby and I said, God, I will go.

I will go to prison. And at the time I had a national, not just national, an international water sports outreach. We were sharing the gospel all over through water sports. It was very successful. I had been doing that for over 10 years at that point. And I knew so clearly that God was calling me out of that and into prison. And all I could do was give him my yes. I didn't know what it looked like. And I told him, I said, God, I will go, but you have to open the doors. And what he did, Omar, was within a week or two, about a week and a half or so, he had sent the magazine that I published, Victorious Living. And somehow, because I didn't tell anybody, somehow it ended up in the hands of the Florida Department of Corrections within about a week and a half of that visit. They called me and they said, we want that magazine in every prison in the state of Florida. And about two weeks later, after that, I'm getting calls, hey, Ms. Johnson, we would like you to come speak in our prison. We hear you, you speak in prisons. I didn't speak in prisons. People in Texas are calling, hey, we'd like you to be one of our platform speakers. Murtha Cerf, the Jack Murphy who they make documentaries, he pulled off the largest jewel heist in American history. All of a sudden, he's my mentor. Like it was within weeks. And it was just absolutely such a God thing. And years ago, I asked the Lord, I was like, okay, I love what I'm doing, but I loved being in water sports too. And I was like, Lord, why prison? And what I heard was, to save you from yourself, he said, I had to take you out of a field that you knew and where you were known and where you had a name, because you were doing everything in your strength.

And he was right. I was chronically sick. I was having surgery after surgery. I was working so hard for God. And that's a tendency of mine. And we were talking a little bit about that before we started, like I put the pedal down and it's hard for me to let up because I've just got such a passion and I love what I do. And that's how I was within his ways. So God sent me to a world that I had no family connection to. I had no name. I had no know-how. I didn't know the difference between a jail or a prison. I thought a roach was something that crawled, not like something to do with marijuana. I didn't know anything, anything. Even the first time I go in prison, I'm talking like, all right, y'all ready to hit it? It's like, I'm talking about turning tricks on my trick ski and things like that, getting paid to turn tricks. And it's like, there's a whole language that I'm using that means something completely different. I'm talking about saying hit it to a boat and turning tricks on a water ski. And it was like, but it was humorous because as I would slip up and I would say things, the guys and the ladies in the audience would just burst out laughing because they knew I was a fish out of water. And so God has just had his hand on me and this ministry since day one. It was not something I would have ordinarily chosen for myself, but I cannot imagine doing anything else. It is, I love what I do, Omar. I have to put the brakes on them to take January off because I, you know, the last few months I've been to Kansas, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Florida, goodness, Arizona.

It's like, I just would go constantly, but you know, you just, you got to be balanced. For sure. I think before we started recording about Martha and Mary and Martha, you know, with the busyness and Mary went by Jesus' feet and was just listening. And one thing recently, as I was studying that is, I would stop, sit and listen. Sometimes we need to do that. Cause what I was learning is sometimes the ones that are the busiest for Jesus or find it the hardest to spend time with them. And we gotta be like intentional, like to schedule it. I know JC is big on that as far as like having a schedule, like very disciplined life. And that's one thing that I know I need to do as well. Cause I'm on the go, go, go, you know, we gotta slow down sometimes. Yeah. And we love the Lord and we get excited about what he's doing and wanting to serve him. But it is very hard. I mean, I've, this word has not been open today except for I was writing some articles and needed to find some scripture and had a little devotion this morning, you know, with our team, but it's, yeah, it's a hard balance. And you can get so busy doing for God sometimes that you miss being with him and there's nothing that can substitute for that. I, you know, the things that you create and in the flesh, you have to maintain them.

The things that are created in the spirit, God maintains them. The things that he has, you know, ultimately he's the only one that can sustain this ministry and me. Yeah. So I'm in a balancing act right now and I can feel myself even slipping back like I was back when I had the water sports ministry as a tendency that I have. And God knows it, yet he's still, still is patient with me. But you know what? I believe it's like, it's almost like a double-edged sword in a sense. Cause it's needed. Like that grit, that determination, that like you said, hit it, like being on the go. And sometimes when God gives you a vision, you just like want to run with it. Like, cause you see what he's doing, like, and you know, it's him doing it through you, but you just want to keep going. And yeah, but sometimes we do, we do got to slow down and that's awesome that you're going to take that month off, you know, like. Yeah. Well, month off and traveling, we'll see. My goal is to listen, to listen. And, you know, it's not just taking off, but being, we can get so busy and like the ministry will grow so fast

and all these cool things are happening. But then it's like, you just keep going to the next thing and the next thing. And that's how I live my life. Cause it was event to event. And then as soon as, you know, I might would win the world's, well, the next week I'm at another competition. So party's over, I had to move on to this. Or even if I crashed and burned, I had to suck it up buttercup and go. So I live my life and I'm just realizing, you know, doing a lot of reflection that, you know, I've lived my life from event to event and really not, I don't take the time to celebrate and I'm being very conscious even to remind our team, we got to stop and we got to celebrate the victories because we can get drowning in the work. And also just, yeah, that happened. Now let's go do more. Let's, you know, go expand here. And we just go from thing to thing. So I'm in a season, especially like in December, I try to like stop and write down things and just basic things. Like I looked at my car, it's getting ready to roll over to 100,000 miles. And I thought, you know, Lord, that's 100,000 miles of driving up down the highway for ministry and prisons and things

and hundreds of thousands of miles flying through the air. And I'm alive and I'm safe. Thank you. And just little things like that. It's not a little thing, but it's things we don't even think about that behind the scenes, he's given us the very breath, the time, the opportunity, and to be a part of what is going on behind bars right now, it's huge. God is raising up an army behind those walls. And he's raising up soldiers like yourself and myself and JC and so many others that are just tenacious for God and for his people and for souls. Amen. So it's exciting to be a part in partnership with you and with him and all of us. Oh yeah. What would you say? There's somebody who's like, when they think about prison, maybe even the prisoners are like, man, there's no way I will go in there. Maybe they're fearful. Like, they don't know what to expect. Like, what would you say to somebody that has that, that mindset or there's some, some people like, I was talking to Jim Kirkland. He's the one that leads Christian chaplains and coaching. And he said, when he got saved, you know,

serving the Lord and somebody told him, you know, about going to prison, he's like, man, and his mindset back then was, man, I'm not gonna go in there. Like, man, when he thought about prisoners, like, man, what would he say, lock them up and throw away the key. Like, that was the mindset. Like, you know, maybe they did something that they served to be in there. And he said that it took a while. He prayed about it and decided to go in there. And he said that first time going in there, like it impacted him, impacted him in such a way that it changed his heart. He said he experienced the presence and the power of God behind bars. Like he had an experience like out here. And years later, he's the one that founded this ministry where he's ordained, I believe over 300 chaplains now that go into prisons, that go into hospice, hospitals, military, all type of platforms. So that's the reason that that comes to my mind. So what would you say to somebody that might have that similar mindset or? Yeah, so my mindset was not like throw away the key. I just, I kind of forgot about them, but my thought was, you know, they've done something wrong. Learn a lesson and get out and do better, serve your time. But I didn't realize the ins and outs of the system, the injustice of the system, just so much stuff. And anyway, I just, you know, but once I got in,

I realized the people behind bars are just that, they're people, they're human beings, they're fathers, they're mothers. When you go in with that, you realize these are people that God loves. And yes, there is evil in there, but a majority of the people are, I mean, they're great people, they're gifted people. You know, maybe, you know, I think of JC's story with just the trauma he went through. But for that trauma, I mean, he's a big teddy bear, for goodness sakes. I mean, he's fun, he's kind, that's who he wanted to be. But the traumas of this world and the pain and the hurt that was dealt, that was given to him, you know, people don't realize that these are people who've been hurt in the most unimaginable ways, and they need to be loved so that they can heal. And getting to go in and be the hands and feet of Jesus and see that love break through to someone's heart, it is amazing. But more than that, what you'll find when you go in is you'll see God move, like you just mentioned, in ways that you cannot imagine. You go sit in a church service, inside prison, I was just in one last week in Kansas, and these different places that I get to go in Florida, it's off the chain. It is, God is moving, people are worshiping,

nobody cares, you know, if you raise your hand or if you, it's, it's so much more alive than most of the churches I've been to, free society. But it's not, I mean, have I been in some situations when I've gone in and maybe I was uncomfortable? There's been a few, but they, someone going in would probably not be put in the situation as a main speaker, left in a room with three or 400 men. You know, there's some moments where they were wanting some autographs and I was like pinned against the wall. It was like, what is happening right now? And it wasn't, I was really afraid for me as there was no supervision and it was a maximum security place and it was just, I couldn't, oh, sorry. I don't know, I just kicked that off. Can you still see me? Yeah, yeah. Hang on. Oh, hey, no, it's fine. We could always edit, you know. My foot hit the- Hit the light. Yep, coming back. So yeah, it's, It's not scary. It's just beautiful. It's absolutely beautiful.

I don't even know if I answered that right. Oh yeah, no, no, yeah. I mean, that's your experience of what you've seen. Yeah, and I've experienced the same thing. Like ever since I reconnected with JC, like to be honest, like prison ministry was like, no, it wasn't even on my radar to be honest, as far as ministry. And then when we reconnected, it's like, he's the one that challenged me to start this podcast. And from there, it's just been like one connection after another that eventually led me back into a prison. So for the last two years, I've been going into a Cook County jail. And I'd be telling my wife, like, it's like, I go in there and I see like younger me's and I go in there with hope because I know like what God did in my life, I know he could do it in the life of these men. Yeah. For two years, you, I mean, and I would say like a percentage of these men been there for the two years. So they, sometimes they come, they move them to a different deck and then they find their way back. And you build like a relationship with these guys and the same thing. And ever since I've been doing this podcast and I have like different men here,

I realized like the trauma from the childhood, like you could see why they ended up doing the things that they ended up doing or the lifestyle that they lived. And it's unfortunate, but yeah, a lot of times it's their childhood, things that were done to them and the things that they didn't have no control over, but God could redeem it and God could turn their lives around, even despite all these bad things that happened to them. And a lot of people would think, well, if I went in, what would I say? Or maybe I won't know what to say. And 90% of it is just showing up, being consistent, not going in and making all these promises or trying to be something, just to be your authentic self and to be there and listen, to be there and encourage. And it's the showing up, like you said, week after week. I mean, one of the highlights of my week on Thursdays, I go sit with five guys in this recovery program in the local jail here in North Carolina. And it's my favorite hour of the week. And we go in there and we sit and we just talk and we just bring out the word of God and I study it with them. And Thanksgiving, just go in and play some cards with them. And it's just showing up.

And they begin to trust you and wanna share and they've been opening up. And every week you can see just a little more of the guard down and a little more laughter and that laughter heals. You're having conversation, heals. And I even see their conversation bringing healing to the volunteers that I bring in. And we're just in there as people just hanging out. And there's one thing I really love and the incarcerated probably doesn't love this, but for me, I check my phone. You can't carry your phone in. It's just me being present where I am with the people that are in front of me. And in the free world, I don't have that opportunity because there's so many things. I mean, even right now it's like, you clicked on them, I'm on this phone over here and there's just stuff coming up on the computers and things like that. Every information and people clawing at you. When I go in there, it's like me and God and the person right there in front of me, which is how it should be out here. But it just, it settles my spirit. And so it's really a lot of selfish reasons I go in because I just, I love it so much. I get ministered to and I don't have fear, I guess, because I know without a doubt, I didn't put myself here.

I didn't dream up one day, well, I'm just gonna go do that because so-and-so's doing it. It was God saying, go. So the first time I went in in a Florida prison, I'd never been in. I'm handed this little panic button thing that I didn't even know what it was. They said, put this on your hip. And they just pointed the way and off I went across the compound by myself, not knowing, we're looking for a chapel. And I'm like, I'm walking through a prison by myself. And I go into the chapel and the chaplain, he was overworked, so he's like, the guys will be in a minute. If you need anything, I'll be back there in my office. And it was my first time. And so it was me and it was God. And about, I don't know, 150, 200 guys sitting there and the spirit of God was there. fail and and he's like God you sent me here you're walking across this compound with me I'm not afraid and I'm confident like it's almost this confidence that comes up in me because I know that I know that I'm where I'm supposed to be and when you're walking with the Lord in that purpose whatever it is in your life even when things are coming at you it's like you can have peace and confidence because you know the God who put you there is the God who's fighting for you when the bills are coming I know God I did not drum up this magazine I did not make this up in my head I fought this for years and you said write a magazine tell people stories in first person do it with excellence make it bilingual give it away and it makes no sense because the world's going digital publish this

and give it away I mean it's a spend countless hours on this for the last 12 years and just one that 14 years but God is faithful and when you are walking with him and you know you're walking in his will you you can even though it's scary you can walk it afraid because you could walk that yard as JC says you can do it afraid set that fear aside I think you can just step off and keep saying hit it and keep moving forward because you know he's with you and I trust him right man you said of 14 years right of doing that the magazine yes it's been 12 years of going into prisons and the magazine going in and that's what's interesting it's like when God told me to do this I could have had a lot of excuses God I'm not a publisher I have no experience with with this at all I'm a water skier I wasn't an English major I wasn't a journalist major I was a marketing major and but God just it would not go away it was to do a magazine but here's the thing he didn't tell me who it was for I had no details it was just do the magazine and give it away and so I printed like 3,000 issues the first time and just put it at local barbecue joints I didn't even know who to give it to and what he was doing was he was preparing the tool for the audience of prisoners this is what he used for me to enter into prison he sent this and so he sent this to DOC in Florida so I tell people when God is telling you to do something even if you don't understand do it because that step of obedience will play into the next step of obedience and open the next door like everything you know hinges on you obeying the first thing and you won't know everything like if the Lord had told me write a magazine for and it's gonna be for the incarcerated I wouldn't have known what to do because I would have like first of all disqualified myself and said who's gonna listen to me why would anybody listen to me when I haven't had their experiences I would have thought you know oh or I would have judged and said well they need to hear this you know God knew I didn't need that detail because I would have messed it all up he just said right and it's exactly what he like when he called Abraham out he's like go Abram go to the land I will show you he didn't have all the answers I mean God protects us but not given us all the

answers and so that was really interesting that you know I really thought about it he didn't tell me who it was for because I probably even knew I wouldn't do it or I would do it wrong but he's not looking as I said earlier for us to have all the know-how I have all the education have anything he's just looking for our faith and our yes trust him and say yes get off the dock the docks what I had to get off of and jump in the water and say hit it God because victory will never happen if you don't get off the dock a quick question how many prisons are you in now and I heard an interview I don't know how long ago where you were actually looking into maybe doing the printing in prison I don't know if that's happened yet. We looked into that, but even in prison, um, with their discounts, it was, couldn't even touch the, the pricing that we get in the free world. So I was a little bit difficult. I mean, if it had been close, I would have switched it for sure, but, um, we have a lot of favor with this printing company and, um, but, uh, yeah, so we are in, I was trying to think what you asked, we are in, we directly ship cases of the magazine into 500 facilities. We have partners, partnerships where we send pallet loads to, uh, library providers and, um, chaplain book providers that they go into another, like 1500 facilities, so we estimate we're in about 2000 facilities, um, that have a presence and also with the prison tablets, um, it's about that same. So I think it's like 1.5 million prison tablets that we're on with the magazine can be viewed, but we also have Bible studies and we put like, hopefully you'll let me put this one on, yeah. And that way, um, you know, people can hear, uh, hear this and, um, yeah. So it's, um, been a journey, you know, and it all started with, with the yes from someone who knew nothing. Yeah. And still, still learning, still growing,

learning, still feels like I don't know what I'm doing majority of the time. Oh yeah. No, same here. I love what you said about Abraham. Cause that's actually the, uh, the scripture, um, that prompted me to start this podcast. It was Hebrews 11, eight, uh, where it says it was by faith that Abraham obeyed what God called him to leave home and go to another land that he will give them as an inheritance. And the key part was he went without knowing where he was going. And that part there, like when I was debating, man, I don't know anything about podcasting and he went without knowing where he was going. And it was that, that walking, just walking with no direction. I mean, not, not, not, not in my own like sense, but just like I tell people, I didn't know where I was going, but I knew who was the one calling me to go. So that's, that's all I needed. And it's been a wonderful journey. Now I want to go back. I know in the beginning I mentioned, how did you connect with JC? How did that come about? And then if you could share, um, some of the work that you guys have done. Yeah. So JC Almanza, am I saying that right? Yes. Almanza. Here we go, Cesar or something. He just goes on and on. Yeah. Yeah. I met him from, uh, Bill Fay, William Fay, Bill Fay, who I think you might've had on.

He, he actually connected me with, with, with the, with the guys that you're going to have with the magazine on the cover so that we got a hold of them. Yes. Yeah. So, um, yeah. So Bill's like, you, you gotta meet this guy. You gotta meet this guy. So I go to JC's gym about three years ago in Phoenix. And, um, he was pretty new in his walk. But, um, there was something just that really resonated in my spirit and God even had me speak over him almost prophetically, but, you know, just saying that God was really going to use them, but he, the thing to be careful over would be, there would be so many people wanting him and I've seen that played out so many people wanting him to be a part of what they're doing. Um, I mean, I knew that God was just going to open doors for him and I saw a soldier that day for God. I didn't, I mean, I had no idea the depth of his traumas and things. I just saw, I just saw a man that loved the Lord and, you know, there was just an immediate love in my heart for him. Um, not in some crazy sexual way, but you know what I mean? As the, as a brother in Christ. Um, I could see he was new in his walk, but I could also see there was a hunger to learn. And that's the one thing. And he even told me at that moment, he's like, you know, he had some things going on in his life. And he was upfront. He goes, you may not want, want me in your magazine. I was like, you know, the fact that you even told me shows me that you were listening to the Lord, you were striving, um, it's the hit it story.

Like JC was the hit it story. It was, he had fallen, he was getting up and he was following God. He was saying hit it to God. And, and that's just learning, you know, a toddler or baby, when they're learning to walk, walks a few steps, falls, walks a few steps, falls. And then, you know, they go from on their belly to crawling, to walking. stumbling and then running. And so it's, I just loved what I saw, it was the hunger that I saw in him. So, you know, we ended up doing a story and I didn't realize, he told me just recently, how much that did for him because it showed that someone believed in him. And gave him the confidence to step into other places that maybe he hadn't felt equipped to do. And I believe, I mean, he would have to come on and share his side of it, but I believe it's been a wonderful partnership. I've gotten to meet Bethany, his wife, and I just think she is just beautiful and they have a beautiful love story. It hasn't been easy, but they have fought for one another and what the enemy has tried to destroy God has just just built a beautiful, beautiful story there. And we've been able to go into prisons together, we've been able to do podcasts together. Going into the prison is really interesting because we've been on a couple of like five-day trips together and, you know, he doesn't like to be away from home, so you got to babysit him a little bit. I'm just kidding. But, you know, we're different. Like, I can go and, but he's ready to get home to Bethany like after about the first day and, but he gets in those prisons and he can connect, man, he can connect with those guys to watch him tell a little bit more of a story each time because God's revealing the Holy Spirit, like peeling these layers. That's been real exciting. We learn from each other. Like, he's watching me serve people and, you know, the last time we were together he's bringing me this hot tea. Like, I thought it was coffee and he goes, no, it's hot tea. And he had watched and he knew that's what I liked and he knew that I needed it and he was serving me and he told me later, he goes, I learned that from you. And, and then I'm learning things from him and we're, we're pushing one another. You know, he's calling, he's speaking in my life and, and then I don't know if he told you, but a few weeks ago, the last three times we've gone into prisons and spoke, he's like, God has told me, God has told me I'm to do an invitation and invite people to accept the Lord. And when I do, all these men are going to get saved. Well, he didn't do it the first event

and he didn't do it the second event. So this last time, but I mean, he still poured out. He did fantastic, but you know, I know it's hard unless you're Bill Faye, who just loves evangelism and like, you know, just, and, and Steve Watt that you've had on. I mean, he lives and breathes, like we all do to tell people about Jesus, but for me to go out and just stand on a corner and go talk to strangers, that's hard for me, really hard. And so I understood the battle that he was going through, like God was, was pushing him a little bit. So the last event, he told me, you know, I'm supposed to do this, I'm going to do it. And after he finished speaking, he sat down. So after I finished speaking, I called him back up and, because not because I wanted to, because I knew that he needed the push. And he looked at me, I said, JC, can you come up? He goes, I know what you're doing. I know what you're doing. And, and I just, but I told the guys out there, there's a couple hundred guys. I said, listen, and I told him, you know, I'm fortunate probably JC didn't deck me, punch me in the chest, as he says, but he's standing there and he's looking at me like, I'm going to kill you. But I said, we've all been asked to do things and it's hard, but right now I'm going to give you another chance. God's going to give you another chance to do what he's asked you to do. And I'm going to stand here with you and we can do it together. But then the Lord started speaking through me. He's like, JC, it doesn't matter what you say. Cause a lot of times we're going to feel like we're going to open our mouth and say the wrong thing. He goes, just open your mouth and I will speak through you. And he, it was so cute. Cause he's the first, he's like, can I do a couple of pushups? Like he drops down in front of 200 guys. But what they got to see is a grown man, a man of God being obedient. It was uncomfortable. It was embarrassing, not embarrassing, but I mean it was being called out and, but he did what he had to do to get off the dock, and he did exactly what I would have done on the water ski dock. I would have dropped down and done push-ups. I would have jogged in place. I would have, you know, got myself ready, and he dropped down. He did about 10 push-ups, grabbed the mic. He said, he said a few words, and then he just said, who will take a knee and surrender their life to Christ with me? And he turned around, handed Mr. Pat, who's on our ministry team, the microphone to finish it off, and J.C. knelt, and men came, and I'll send you a picture of this, and maybe you can stick it on this. Yeah, definitely.

And those men came and knelt beside him and gave their life to the Lord. J.C. afterwards was just all smiles and just thumbs up, and it was beautiful, but the men got to see, like, even when you are following after the Lord, obedience is hard, and it's uncomfortable, and they got to see the struggle. They got to see the obedience, and they got to see the fruit of obedience, and it was beautiful, and so, you know, being in his presence and being a part of his story is one of the highlights of my life. I don't think you realize how much he's loved by so many people, especially on our team, and how grateful we are that God has allowed us, you know, I not chased after J.C. to get him in Victorious Living as much as I wanted to because I remember the Lord saying so many people are going to be after him that I didn't want to be one of those. I was trying to pull him from what God wanted him to do, but I do believe, J.C., and I feel very strongly after all these years that God has called us to do a mighty work together, and he has called me, you know, to work alongside some pretty amazing prison ministries because it's not about Victorious Living. It's not about from wrong to strong or wrong to strong. It's about us coming together. You know, we each got our fields that we're working on, and sometimes we come in there, and you're watering, and I'm plowing or whatever, or J.C. might get to harvest it up, and it's all important, but so many prison ministries, like they're not just prison ministries, ministry in general, it's just it's like everybody gets territorial about the dollar, about the people, about the way you do something, and it's just really a shame. So when you can find somebody that you can push and be pushed by and have fun and laugh, like we just we laugh, we've cried, we've gotten angry. I mean, it's been a really neat experience. You know what? Thank you for sharing all that because, you know, I'm over here in Chicago. J.C.'s out there, and it's good, you know, for people to hear what God is doing in and through his life. I know he's been like a huge part of my life. I remember before we reconnected because we had, man, I lost contact with him for like 15 years, and my wife, during that season, my wife was praying God send some men into my husband's life because I was, I've been serving the Lord since 2004, you know, like, but during that season, I was kind of like just, like, what would you call that? Cruise control in my faith, kind of going through the motions, and my wife was praying, like, God send some men, like, you know, to encourage my husband, and little did she knew that it would be guys from my past, you know, guys from, like, I guess, like, you could say,

like, the street life that he was going to send. Had you served with J.C.? Served in what way? In time with J.C.? Yeah, so that's actually how we met. We met in prison. Okay. So we met back in 1998. Yeah, it was in 98. So we were together, like, from 98 to 99, and then I got out in 2000, and he got out shortly after me, and we reconnected in the streets, and then maybe the club a couple times, but the amazing thing is that just, I think it was a year ago, a year and a half ago, we got to go back into the prison where we met. So he flew out here, and we went into East Moline, and we had an opportunity to go in there, and as we were walking in there, we stopped at the handball court, which is where we spend a lot of our time, and he asked the counselor, Sarah Hartman, she's the one that got us in there. It's a long story of how even that connection came about. But J.C. asked her, you mind if we pray in the handball court? So we went on the handball court. We had an opportunity to pray. And then we went in there and talked to the man, shared our testimony, shared our faith. And what was amazing, that as I was in there, there was two guys from the neighborhood where I grew up in. And there was one guy in particular that was there since 2005. I got saved in 2004. So he's been in there almost going to be 20 years, a little bit under 20 years, when I seen him. And after we did our testimony, shared our word, he comes up to me. And he's like, man, Omar, I should have listened to you. And he said that he would run from me when he would see me, because that's after I got saved. So after I got saved, I went back to my neighborhood.

I just started evangelizing. And obviously, like the Bible says, what fellowship can the light have with darkness? So you were like, oh, man, this guy's coming to talk to me about the Bible. So he told me, he's like, man, I will see you, and I will run. And that was right before he did whatever that landed him in prison. But he's like, man, Omar, I used to run from you. And I told him, man, you should have listened. Man, you should have listened to me. So he'll be out, I think, in five years. So he's going to end up doing about 25 years. But I just see God's hand, like even in us, me and JC, having the opportunity to, almost 25 years later, go back to the place where we met. And it's almost like, you see, there was nothing by coincidence. It was not a coincidence that we met back then. And God's doing something amazing. That's why I'm blessed to reconnect with him. And he's the one that actually got used to reignite my faith. And I'm in a place now where I'm just the same way you are. I have a love for these guys that are in there. I know we were talking about to encourage people to go in there. A lot of times, I think or we think that we're going to go in there and bless these guys. And we get more blessed from them,

because they have a hunger and a fire for the Lord that, man, that encourages me as I go in there. Well, I hope I get to come up and go in with you one day. Yeah, I mean, I'm out here in Chicago. I'm going to go, God willing, in March. I'm going to Phoenix. So I told JC, so I think it's going to be like March, around March 6, somewhere around there. So I'm going to try to go out there for about five days, and maybe be out there in February. Oh, yeah? OK. Cool. Oh, yeah, yeah. So it's amazing what God's doing. But Anne, real quick, I'm grateful for you as well. I know you're going to be able to share not only my story, but my wife in this coming issue, I think. And you mentioned January 20. January 2026, yeah. So it'll go out. It'll be on the prison tablets. We'll also have a podcast, if it hasn't happened already, an interview with you on our channel, and go a little deeper in your story. And so your story is going to, I mean, I'm sure it already has, but it's going to touch 100,000 plus lives. I mean, it's really going to reach a lot of people. And when you were talking about your friend who said I should have listened, there's

maybe someone right now that's thinking I should have listened. I should listen to grandma. I should listen to mom. And they found themselves, because they didn't listen, had been in this consequence for many years in this place where they wish they hadn't been. I just want that person to know that God doesn't waste a thing. He doesn't waste a day. He doesn't waste a tear. He doesn't waste a pain. And it's not over. I mean, that's why he sent me into prison ministry was to say it's not over. So even those 25 years where your friend will not, if he was standing right here, I'll say, God will not waste one day of them. And the only way it's wasted is if we live in that regret, always looking back, and wishing we had done it differently. We've just got to embrace where we are. We've got to learn from our mistakes, and then move forward. And God can use those experiences in ways that you never dreamed, just like he's using your experiences, and JC's, and mine. That's why I love going in with JC, because when he shares his story, his is completely different than mine, having the trauma inflicted on him by family members, as opposed to me having family members who bent over backwards to love me, and sacrifice,

and push me forward. It's just unbelievable. And I don't understand. why life happens like that. It just seems wrong, it seems unfair. I don't understand, but here's what I know. Even with what he went through and my life, we both came to a place in our life of emptiness. We both came to a place in our life where, you know, whether it was being the top of this gang or top of this cartel or me at the top of a sport, there was pain and there was emptiness and it was Jesus who healed us. And it's Jesus who crossed our path. So when we go in and you've got the extreme of his story and my story, you're gonna find yourself between one of them. You're either gonna identify with mine or his or somewhere in between. And the reality is, no matter what you've been through, no matter what you've done, or no matter how good you may have had it, if you don't have Christ, you have no hope. And so I think that's really one of the reasons it's so powerful when we go in there because there is such an extreme and our voices are so different and our stories are so different, but yet the answer for our life is the same. And we have found purpose, we have found sanity of mind,

we have found our health and wholeness and family and acceptance and worth, not in cartels, not in drugs or alcohol or performance, it's been in Christ. And it set all of our lives on a course that is exciting, it's hard, it's exhausting, but it is the most fulfilling, wonderful journey you could ever have. And again, I would say to someone who feels like they've missed it, they haven't. It is never too late. God is the God of not just second and third chances, but of another and another and another chance. And that doesn't mean we set out to go just sin and mess up, it just means we're human and there's gonna be times where we fail. And God would say, get up. I love that song, it says, get up, get up, get up, get up out of that grave. We gotta get up and we gotta come out and then we gotta take the grave clothes off, just like Lazarus. He says, come out. And then he says, Lazarus couldn't take the grave clothes off, God told the disciples, go take his grave clothes off. And that's us, that's what we get to do. Personally, we have to come out of the grave, but then we've all got some grave clothes on that we need some help getting off.

And that's where getting into counseling, talking with your pastor, talking with trusted people who are on a journey that you would like to be on, that you could trust. It's being vulnerable, it's prayer, it's getting in the word, it's renewing your mind with the truth. That's how the grave clothes come off. Otherwise, we're walking through this life blind, we're walking through it deaf and unable to move. We're walking around like a mummy. And so, anyway, got a little rambling there, but it's not over. Come out and get those grave clothes off. God has got something for you to do and something that will fulfill your life like you never dreamed. Amen, it starts with Jesus. Amen. Amen. You know what? I'm already, we're close to that time. I know I asked it before we started, you know? So usually I ask our guests, you know, any final words, and then if you could close us out in a prayer. Yeah, no, I just wanna say thank you to you and Anne for your love for people and each other. You have a beautiful love story. I can't wait for people to read it in the magazine, but thank you for your faithfulness and for having me on. And Father God, I just,

we thank you for this time together. Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you, God, that it never fails us. We thank you that it is true. And of all the things in this world, you, God, are the one thing that we can trust. You're not like a shifting shadow. You are one that is fixed. You are solid. And if we build our lives on you, Father, you are the rock, we become solid. And our lives are built on something that the reigns of this world and the reigns of life cannot destroy. Father, I thank you that you are a firm foundation. Thank you that you are our wisdom. You are our hope. You are our salvation. God, you are our purpose. And I just pray for those right now who feel like they have no purpose. Father, you would say to them that it's not over. You would say that you are chosen. You are loved. You are accepted in the beloved, that God loves you. And Father, you were calling out people right now out of their graves where they might be hiding or where they might have been buried by someone else and left for dead. God, maybe our shame has got us hiding, kind of like Adam and Eve. Our fear. Father, just help us to step out and to face you, a God of love. God, you're not there to judge us.

You're there to love us and to heal us and to set us free. And so, Father, may you just go to work in our lives today as we bow our knee to you and our hearts and our minds to you and we surrender our lives to you, God. We can trust you. Thank you, Lord, for what you've done in JC's life and in my life and in Omar and Anne's life, how you saved us all, God, for such a time as this. And I just pray that someone listening today will know that now, today is the day of salvation to quit putting it off because God loves you and you don't want to waste another day. You don't want to waste another day. You don't want to live without hope another day. Come to him, all who are weary and heavy laden, and God says he will give you rest. He will give you everything that you've ever been looking for, and he will give you a father. He will give you a family. He will give you a sound mind. He will give you a purpose, and he will give you a future. Father, we love you, and we thank you for dying for us. Thank you for the gift of salvation. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you very much for your time, for sharing your story, and for the prayer. You know, thank you very much. You know, before we sign off, can you share, how could people hear more about Victoria's Living Ministries? And I know there's a magazine, I know it goes into the prisons, but people out here, they have the ability to get the same. Yeah, like a subscription. Yeah. Yeah, if you could share, what could people hear more about the ministry, and where can they go to sign up?

Yeah, so it's victoriouslivingministries.org. And if you don't want to write all that out, you can do v-l-m-i-n.org. And if you go on there, you can see all of our digital versions at the header. It says magazine, and you can click on that to read past issues. But you can also give a donation to the ministry. And your story actually is coming out in January of 2026. So if in the next, I don't know when this podcast is going to be shown, but people would need to sign up before the end of the year. And they just sign up simply by going on, giving a donation of $25 or more. And that gives you a year subscription, which are three issues of life transforming, life giving stories. So just go to v-l-m-i-n.org and hit the donate now button. And we would love to put your name on our mailing list and subscription list. It's just a free gift that we give to any of our donors. Amen, amen. And for sure, and when I release this, I'll probably release it like within the week. I usually release them on Monday. So God willing, by next Monday, I'll try to have it out. And I'll definitely, I'll put links to the website. If you guys like on social media, anywhere, I'll put links to that as well. That way people can find it easy to reach you guys. We'll get all that information to you. Amen. Okay. All right. Well, thank you very much for your time with that. We're going to get ready to sign off. 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. Hi, I'm my guest Christy, I'm Omar Calvillo, and we are Rung 2 Strong.

Thank you for watching our broadcast. Are you an incarcerated brother or sister who needs encouragement? Write to us at Victorious Living Correspondents, PO Box 2751, Greenville, North Carolina 27836. Or email us at hope at vlmag.org. To view Victorious Living Correspondents, visit victoriouslivingcorrespondents.org. magazine in its entirety, please have your chaplain contact us at 352-478-2098 or email us through our website at vlmag.org. We are happy to provide our victorious living magazine free of charge, in bulk, with or without staples.