Old Man/New Man Podcast - Armondo Garcia & Stephen Canup

It's time to put off the old man, which is corrupt, and to put on the new man, which is created in righteousness and true holiness. It's the Old Man, New Man podcast with host, Stephen Canup. Hi, I'm Stephen Canup. Thanks for tuning in to the Old Man, New Man podcast. I'm here with my friend today, Armando Garcia. We're gonna have a great time today. That's the old man, that's the old man right there. This is the new man in Christ. The Bible says, 2 Corinthians 5, 17, if any person be in Christ, they are a new creation. And the old has passed away, and behold, all things have become new. And so the purpose, really, of this podcast, most of the time, I think, is just to interview people like Armando and find out something about his past. And we're both ex-convicts. Yes, yes, we are. I got out at the end of 2010. When did you get out? 2015. 2015. So we've both been out a little while, and we thank you for tuning in today. So Armando, I just wanna have a conversation, if that's okay. Sure, sure. So we've got men and women tuning in from all over the country, and through the Pando app, and also Edovo.

And so just kinda tell us a little bit about yourself. Maybe you're growing up years, and what was your life like growing up? And just take a couple of minutes to give them a little summary of that. Yeah, I mean, I was born in here in a little town called Abernathy. We were raised in the farm, growing up, and then we moved into the city, that little town, and started my schooling there in- Abernathy, Texas. Yeah, Abernathy, yeah, Abernathy, Texas. Just north of Lubbock. Yes. Yeah, okay. So growing up there, graduated. I started school there, graduated back in 77, and just moved on and had a goal, had a vision. Wanted to go to the military, things like that. And so it happened that my mom didn't allow me to go, because she said it was getting worse and worse. Who was that, your mom? Yes, that was my mom. Okay, you were real close to your mom? Yeah, oh yeah, she was really close to me. Was your growing up time kind of what we just say, kind of a normal? Oh, you were spoiled. Yeah, I was spoiled. You were the youngest?

Oh my goodness. No, I was not the youngest. Oh, you weren't the youngest. I was in the middle. You were in the middle, okay. We had seven brothers. All right. And so, but, you know, as growing up, and I got a- Get a handkerchief. I got real attached, you know, we got really close, because when she got sick, I was the one taking care of her, making sure that she was okay. And so we got really close. And then living my life like that, and graduated 77. And so my time was wanting to go to the military, she said, no, it's getting worse and worse. So when they went to pick me up for my physical, I was taking a nap, she didn't want to wake me up. She said, no. Oh, wow. And so he said- She didn't want you to go because of the danger? Yeah, the danger. Because it was, you know, it was worse. Yeah, you know. Kind of at the end of Vietnam era or something? Yeah, yeah. Because all my brothers, I had three brothers that went to the military.

Oh. And so, and how they got to respond, how bad it was. And so she didn't want me to go. So, you know, I just kind of said, okay, then, you know, that shattered my dreams that I wanted my goal. And so from that moment, I said, okay, then I won't go. So I started drinking, partying. And so that's how my life was, you know, for seven years, I kept going and drinking and partying. And the Bible says, without a vision, the people perish. That's right. Wow, so you kind of lost your vision. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And so I had a vision at that moment of time, but really, you know, it's kind of like, you know, I kind of just blew it, my vision was gone. So I brought another vision. Yes, okay. It was my drinking. The new vision. Yeah, it was kind of a, I thought it was a new vision, right? That was gonna benefit my life, but it was just partying, drinking. And so during that moment of years, seven years, then that's when I started, had an accident back in 1980. Okay, so you graduated in 77, you didn't go into the service,

but you kind of started a party life, which I think I've heard you tell me before that you kind of observed that in your older brothers or something. Yeah. Is that true or am I? Yeah, because my brothers were drug addicts and alcoholics. My dad was an alcoholic. And so I didn't want to live that kind of life. I wanted to go and, you know, work for the government, you know, have a good job, have a better life. And so when... But you kind of defaulted back to, okay. So, and then you had an accident. So tell us, tell the folks about that. I was, and prior to that, Well, during that time when I was drinking, I came to Lubbock and I was drinking, and I was so heavy on my alcohol, and I didn't do a lot of drugs. It was just my drinking. I had my liquor and I had my alcohol, and so I started partying. And there was a particular night, we had a banquet for my job, and so... Where were you working? Here in Lubbock, it was called... Right there on 4th Street here in Lubbock, there was a building called Phil's and Company. Oh, yeah. I remember that. The tornado tore that thing down. I remember that. 1990. Yes.

No, I mean 1970. 70, yeah. And so, during that time, that weekend, they gave us a day off, early off, but they brought us some beer, so we were drinking, and so we had a banquet that night. And so, it was at 30 degrees. It was really, really cold that Saturday, I mean that Friday night. And so, anyway, my brother, after we were drinking, partying there, and my brother knew that I was drunk, and he said, why don't you take a ride with me, him and his wife. And so, I said, no, it's okay. I said, I'll drive my car. But what happened was that, that particular week, that two weeks prior, I had bought me a Monte Carlo. It was nothing but metal. It was not nothing but metal, fiber. But anyway, I was kind of like- That was back when they really made cars. Yeah, the real cars, right? Muscle cars, right? Yeah. And so, my brother said, why don't you go with us, and we'll pick it up in the morning. And I said, no, I'm fine. But when I took off, went over this light, went over to going home, and as I was going past the 4th Street, I was going straight down, going 70 miles an hour. My brother couldn't- In town. Yeah, in town, couldn't catch up with me. And so, all he saw when I hit that 18-wheeler head-on- You hit an 18-wheeler head-on? Yes. Yes.

And it dragged me a block and a half. Oh my gosh. And so, when my brother got there, he said, I became sober. He seen the way my car was, the whole roof of the car around my neck, and I was laying on the back of the seat, and the motor was cutting the front, and it just spun me crazy. He was so shocked that it sobered him up, is what you're saying. Yes, yeah, because he seen how- Wow. I mean, he was the first one there. How terrible it was. How awful that must have been. Yeah, it was horrible. And so, but by the grace of God, I didn't know. He thought, well, my life ended right there. And so, after that, I was in the hospital. They took me in, and I was in the life support for three days. Oh, wow, goodness. Yeah, three days, I was in the hospital. And so, after my three days being there, my mom, my family was there, and that's when they signed the papers, you know, to disconnect me already, because I- Oh, really? Yeah. And so- You were on life support for three days, and they didn't feel like there was any hope? Yeah, because the doctor had told him, he goes, what are we going to do, because it's, I mean, he just- So, you were in a coma? Yeah. Yeah. Just barely hanging on?

Just hanging on. I guess they had a breathing machine on you, or something. Yeah, and that was it. Oh, my goodness. So, I was told that the cops had gone there, and with the report, insurance, you know, all the damage and all, and the doctor told him, nope, I mean, we're already disconnected. They're signing the papers already, so they left. So, your family signed the papers- My mom. ... for you to be disconnected? Yeah. How horrible, and how awful- Yeah. ... and hard that must have been on her. Yeah. And so- So, what happened? Well, I mean, I was there, and they said, this is what I was told, because I didn't know what was going on. No, you didn't know. So, they said that they disconnect, you know, they signed the papers, the cops left, and so after that, it was like, they started disconnecting, and they were in the waiting room, they were, you know, all the family was there, and my mom, you know, I get emotional- Sure, yes. Because of the fact that- It's okay. ... I remember living in that moment of time where I didn't know, you know, but my mom was, you know, they were waiting, and all of a sudden, when they started disconnecting me, you know, because in me, you know, knowing that I was in a coma, I could, you know, like, I could feel things, right?

You could. I could hear- You could. I could hear things, and I heard her crying, I heard her crying. Wow. It was from a distance, but then it got really closer and closer. And so when they started disconnecting me, that's when I got up and I was ready. And I hollered. I said, I got to go to work, you know, because I thought I was running late. And so, and I didn't know. Somebody had been praying. I'm telling you, you had a praying mom. I mean, mama, I don't know who was praying for me, you know. But all I can remember is this, is that when I got up, I heard all the doctors, you know what I mean? And so the nurses, you know, and so, but then all of a sudden, I see my mom come in. Wow. My goodness. Oh, my goodness. I'm going to get teared up on this. Now, I mean, so they have discovered that people in comas, even though they think they're not, even they may not even have brain activity or something, but now they're discovering that they can, many of them can hear and they're still cognitive. They just cannot respond. They can't move. They can't, you know, so you were able to, you know, the Lord allowed you to basically come back to life. Yes. Let me just ask you real quick, did you have a, while you were in a coma, did you have an out-of-body experience or a near-death experience?

Because I've heard a lot about those. No, it was just like, I was just laying there. Okay. All right. And you weren't aware of anything? Of nothing. Pretty much, but you, well, you must have been aware of something because... Well, it's just nothing but dark. Yeah. Wow. Wow. It was like nothing but dark. I couldn't see nothing. It was just like, if you turn off the light and you were in this tunnel and you couldn't see nothing, but you by yourself, you could sense that you were there all by yourself and not knowing that. Wow. And that was for three days? Three days. And during that time, you couldn't hear things that whole time. In other words, you're just at the very end right before you woke up. So, did you know Jesus at the time? Did you cry out to him from your comatose state? Did you know anything about Jesus or cry out to Jesus? Before that, you know, like before I graduated in 77, it was like 76 when there was a tent revival in that little town. And I remember going to that and I gave my life to the Lord, but I didn't know. I didn't know Christianity. Yeah. But you didn't really live for the Lord?

No, I didn't because I was raised a Catholic. So the Bible says everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. And I have, I'm interested in people who have not eternally died, but clinically they were dead, brainwave and heart, and then they come back to life. So they didn't eternally die, but people who have what they call near-death experience. And yeah, so some people actually are able to like cry out the name of Jesus and things begin to change. Yeah. That's why I even asked you that question. I just wonder. And I've seen testimonies of red books of people that where they go and they see heaven or they see hell. Yeah, through a tunnel. And some people see hell. Yeah. Yes. And I was kind of like in the middle. I was just in the little dark. So it's total darkness. Yeah. Like the Bible talks about, utter darkness, outer darkness, and utter darkness, total darkness. And that's what you experienced. Wow. That's it. That's amazing. I was kind of chasing rabbits there, but I'm so interested in that part. So you recovered and what happened then? And of course your mom was so elated and your family. And you know, when I was taken out of the ICU, they gave me a room to go in.

And so I remember that when I was in the room, my mom was there. She was 24-7. I mean, she was there constantly beside me. And so one particular day I got up and I said, I got to go to the bathroom. And so I grabbed the IV handle and I was walking. And when I turned around, I see myself in the mirror and my face was like hamburger meat. Oh, man. Because all the glass hit my face, you know. Oh, wow. And then I had a surgery on my neck. I cut my whole neck. Wow. And so they said that it was probably like an eighth or maybe real close to my vein. Your jugular vein? Yeah. I would have died by then. You would have died. Yeah. And so I looked to the mirror and I see myself. And I had all these cuts on my head. What'd you think? I mean, I just went like, man, I just couldn't, I mean, see yourself, you know, like, I had one. But you could walk? Oh, I could walk. Did you break any bones? Well, I broke my arm and a rib, and it just cut me. But almost, almost decapitated you. And then all the glass that was shattering in my face.

And I was kind of looking at it. I don't see a lot of scars or anything. God healed you up, didn't he? Only by God. If I was to, you know, if you would only look at the mirror where I was at that moment of time and said, man, it is, you know, it is something. Do you have any old pictures of that? No, I don't. I don't. Wow. The miracle, wonder, working power of God. So you'd given, you had given your heart to Jesus and you weren't serving him, but sometimes I believe that even in our wickedness and rebellion, that God still has a plan for us. That he wants us to cooperate. And if he, sometimes there's, he allows things to happen, I think that get our attention. Yeah. Well, in your, in your case, did, did that get your attention right then? Or was that later? Tell us what happened next. No, that was later. So, so what happened was that I had that incident and so they gave me my job. They said, you know what? We're going to give you a whole month to recoup, get, get better, do, you know, whatever you got to do. So right before the weekend, before going back to work, the end of the month. So I asked my mom, can I borrow your car? And she said, yeah. And so I came back to Lubbock. Cause your car was totaled. Yeah.

So I borrowed my mom's car and, and I came back to Lubbock and so I party for the last so I could, you know, before I went back to work, well, going back home, 2 o'clock in the morning. So you decided you're going to have one celebration before you go back to work. Yeah. Celebrating all drunk again, driving back home with one eye cause I could barely see. And here going to little town between Lubbock and Abernathy, there's a called New Deal is there. And so I flew off that bridge and, and damaged my mom's car again and my steering wheel hit me right on the chest that I couldn't breathe for a while. So did you run into somebody or you just lost control on top of the bridge and went off the bridge? Went off the bridge. Yeah. You know, like, like Evo Knievel, right? Yeah. So here I am. And so when I hit my, my car hit flat on the, on the street, well, the whole steering wheel hit my chest again. And so I couldn't breathe there for a while. And that's how I, I think because I was so relaxed, you know, it just. Because you were drunk. Yeah. Drunk and relaxed. Yeah. Well, so. They say, they say if you saw that coming and you tensed up, it probably would've killed you. Oh yeah. Yeah.

And anyway, after a while, you know, after I got my breath, you know, going and realized where I was at, I looked around and said, where am I? So finally when I realized where I was at, I said, it's only five miles. So I ran five miles back home. Oh my goodness gracious. And right before I got home, probably like a mile before getting home, there was a car to pull over and pick me up. And it was one of my teachers that I had when I was in school. Wow. Wow. Yeah. Wow. She wasn't too happy about that. No. Oh my goodness. Yeah. She wasn't happy. But you were, you were, otherwise you were okay. I'm, I was okay. I'm telling you, God had his hand on you. Yeah. I went through a lot. Yeah. You really did. And so, but during, during my time where, when I was younger, you know, before I was still in school. So I had picked up this habit with my neighbors, uh, that we, we, we used to go through the alleys and we seen some stuff that we wanted and we'd jump over the fence and we started stealing stuff, you know? And so, so gradually we started, you know, stealing here and there.

And for us, like little minor things didn't affect us. But I realized that, hey, that was something that could have been. And so, so I was doing that when I was working, uh, I used to, you know, begin to steal things that were, you know, to just to help, to help my habit, you know? And so. Were you still mainly drinking or by this time were you doing drugs? No, I didn't do no drugs, just drinking, drinking. And so, and then, then from their point on, you know, uh, I used to, you know, just be a womanizer too, you know what I mean? So I became, you know, when I was single, you know, I said, well, I could do whatever I want to do now. And so, so I got caught up with all that stuff and, and that's when the real things about, you know, got me into, into sending me to prison after that. What'd you, how many times have you been to prison? Only one time. One time. Yeah. Yeah. I was, that was my first time ever, ever was sent to prison. Well, that was the first and last. That's what happened to me. I went to prison one time late in life, and I knew I didn't want to make a habit of going back, at least not in shackles and chains. I go in there a lot now, but I make parole the same day. I get to leave the same day. Coming in and out the front door is a whole lot better than being shackled and chained and coming in the back door, by the way. Just a point of information.

But yeah, that's good. So what led you going to prison? So I got married, and so I had my adopted daughter, and so then we had our family. And so we had our family. And so during that time, growing up, and then my stepdaughter who, we went to Denver, Colorado. She was still in school. And so we got into, because of pornography, because of the past, and because of the things that I did, well, I got caught up in a sexual assault. And so I went through that, and so it was probably about a month period when I was reported that I had sexually assaulted. And so for a month, and I was at work. I used to work at a rainbow bread company. And so they came in and they picked me up and went. And so they were, and I, you know, I mean, I was there, so I went to the county, was there in the county in Denver, Colorado for about six months. And then from that point on, you know, they were gonna send me to prison for life. You know, they were gonna give me a life sentence for that. And what's amazing was that when they gave me the report and I was going through it, I had my attorney there, excuse me. And so my attorney said,

well, I want you to go through all the paperwork and mark whatever, you know, is not true. So I said, okay. So I was reading it, and I was so nervous. I was like, I was angry, I was nervous. I was kind of like- Probably ashamed. Yeah, really, really shameful because of the fact that, you know, what I was doing there, you know. And so I started marking everything. I handed it back to her. And she said, you know, that they wanna give you life, you know, and I said, well, wait a minute. I said, what did I do, you know, that they would take me to life, you know? And so I knew that, you know, what they were accusing me of. And so after they went through all that, you know, so I was there and I spent my six months waiting and see what, you know, the results of that. And so finally they came back and we went back to court. And so during that period of time that I was there for six months- In the county jail. Yeah, in the county jail. Well, we had this settlement that was coming in because my wife, my ex, sorry, my ex had broken her ankle at KFC. And so there was a big settlement there.

And we got divorced. She divorced me from that point on and paid everything. And so during that time I was at my waiting point, waiting, I was kind of like, and I was in my room praying, you know, I was just praying. And the Lord reminded me- In your cell? Yeah, in my cell there. I was kind of reminded that the Spirit was telling me, reminded me, and I didn't even know the Spirit, right? I was just kind of sitting there. And this thought came to me, said, well, pray, you know, and call upon me. And so I began to pray and I called upon God, you know, said, God, I need your help now, you know? Amen. And instead of calling Him when I was really, really, you know, when I was in the free world. So when I got into the- So we think we can run our own lives. Right, yeah. Until we can't. Yeah. And that's when we finally, some of us finally, and that's what happened to me when I finally cried out to Him. Right. And I even admitted to Him, you know, it's clear I'm not doing such a great job of running my own life, look where I ended up.

Right. And so that's kind of what you did. You cried out to God then. Yeah, I did. And what happened? Well, during that time, so waiting for those six months and then they came back again. So I had to go back to court and- So did you start studying the Bible or did anything happen when you cried out to God or did you just kind of continue? Yeah, when I first went into that cell in the county jail, and so there was only 11 guys there. Okay. And so when I went in, I was the 12th. And so at 10 o'clock, they said, you know, we're going to turn off the lights, time to go to bed. So those guys called me up and said, look, man, we pray before we go to bed. You want to join us? And I was 12, and from that point on, I told the Lord, I said, you know, Lord, I want to commit myself to you today, completely, not half-heartedly, completely. I want to just surrender everything to you. And I said, you take control from this point on. And you did, huh? And I did, and he did.

And he did, too. He did, too. So we have to totally surrender and submit to him and allow him to lead us and to quit trying to do everything on our own and depend on him. But in that moment of time, not knowing that the Lord was telling me at that moment, he said, you know, you've got to humble yourself. So I had to confess to the Lord. I said, Lord, I'm guilty. I just said, Lord, I am guilty. And from this day on, I said, Lord, I repent. I confess. And I confess everything to the Lord. And I said, Lord, I'm guilty of this. I will step in into where I'm heading to this journey here. And if I, when I'm sent to the prison, whatever I have to go through, I'm just going to hold on to you, and I'm going to trust you. Amen. And so I did that. I was just trusting God. And the Bible says, if you confess your sins, God is faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you of all unrighteousness. Did you feel like a new man? Like 2 Corinthians 5, 17? Did you feel new? Yeah. Well, not at the moment of time, because I kind of like still

had a little doubt, was still kind of wanted to come in. Your faith needed to grow. Yeah. And so I think it was that moment of time, this is where my process started. Because I think in the process of, you know, in the Christian walk, this little process taught me how to trust in God, how to believe in Him, and to take responsibility of my sin. And so during that time, and then having connection with these guys who encouraged me to say, you know what? We all fall. We all make mistakes. We all make wrong decisions. You know, we're here together. It's so true. And so we had to lift each other up. And so what really, really encouraged me to move forward is that the scripture says, iron sharpens iron. And these guys encouraged me. They did. He says, you know, he goes, regardless, don't look at the past. What happened in the back, he goes, you can't fix it. What you need to do now, fix what you can now as we go forward. He said, we're part of that. We're part of your journey, too. The Bible says to forget the former things. Do not dwell on the past.

It says, see, I'm doing a new thing. Don't you perceive it? Yeah. Isaiah 43, 18. Yeah. So that's what they were sharing with you, is how you got to put the past in the past. Yeah. And they were kind of like reminding me of Paul. He said, Paul says, you know what? I forget about those things. That's right. But I look forward to the things that are before me. That's right. And so I had to focus on that and learn how to receive that. Amen. What's in the future that I can't see. Yes. And so when they said, instead of giving the life sentence, the good news was they said, we're going to give you eight years. Oh, wow. And so from my life to eight years. Wow, that's God's grace. Yeah. So what happened to me was that boosted me, gave me more courage. And I said, man, thank you, Lord. You know what I mean? So I began to trust God.

So I said, well, Lord, eight years. So for these eight years, I'm going to commit my life to you and do whatever I have to do. And so during my county, when I was in the county, I was doing Bible study. Yeah. I was in my prayer. Prayer was my key. Prayer was the very thing that gave me the strength and the motivation to do the teaching there. And I didn't know a whole lot. You started kind of leading your group. Yeah. And I didn't know a whole lot, but I studied. And because of the Spirit of God, he was the one that was guiding me. The Holy Spirit was teaching you. Yeah, he was teaching me. Praise God. That's kind of what happened to me, too. When I gave my heart to Jesus, I was all in. And I'm an encourager, and I think you are, too, and a teacher. And so when I went all in, I liked to do the studying. And that's what all my books are. There's one of them sitting right there. All my books are basically the result of me sharing with you men and women what God's been teaching me over these years. And so you began to study and share that with others,

I guess. And then on my eight years of my prison time, I was moved from one prison to another. Because they don't let you stay comfortable in Colorado. On the eight year, I was in one prison for a year and a half. And after I was settled in there. and trying to get these guys, and then it seemed like the devil knew what was taking place. You were trying to start Bible studies and encourage people. Yeah. And I would go to the chapel, and I would see tracts out there, and I would get those tracts. And I would go to the yard, and I started with one guy. Oh, yeah. Well, I started with one guy, and he followed me and followed me, and I said, this is what God called us to do, you know, to preach the gospel. Amen. And so he was so shameful, because he said, man, he goes, you know, I'm ashamed. I'm just ashamed. How can I be preaching the gospel? People know what I did. You know, he was in the same category. He said, I came in because of the way, you know, well, you're, are the same crime. Some kind of sex offense. Yeah, sex offense, crime. And I said, don't worry about that. I said, don't worry about that. Don't let that hinder you. And so we went, and we started passing that tract. And during that eight years, there was like, I got transferred to another place, and we

kind of missed each other. I said, but you know, I said, I'm going to leave this legacy behind. When I go to another place, I just want you to take over and raise another disciple, somebody else. That's right. That's what we're supposed to be doing. Right. And so after, by the time, the eight years, I came back out. So you did all your eight? Yeah, I did all my eight. And so I was out in 2009. And so I was out for that. And I told, and they gave me, and they turned around, they wanted to give me 15 years probation after that. Really? Yes. After you'd flattened out eight years? Eight years. Yeah. And I was questioning that, and I called the attorney, and she go, well, because they couldn't give you a life sentence, then they were trying to fight, they got a report that I wanted to, you know. To be on the sex offender registry or something? Yeah. And not only that, it was that I wanted to murder my ex because of the money, my portion of the money. Oh, they were accusing you. Oh my gosh. And so it got, I mean, it just got worse and worse. But anyway, so when I got out, when I was getting out, I said, okay, well, I'm going

to call my daughter, my youngest daughter, and she's going to pick me up. And so she went to visit me a couple of times before that, prior to, before getting out. And she go, don't worry, Dad, I'll pick you up. I said, okay. Well, the case manager had different plans. She goes, well, nobody's picking you up. We already got a ride for you. And so they had a bus. When I got out, they had a bus that took me to Fort Collins, which is 54 miles north of Denver. And so she said, when you get there, they already got a motel paid for, you know. So you're going to go to that motel, and you're going to stay there. And for, I think they paid it for a month. And then you're going to go see your probation. I said, what probation? That's crazy. I said, because they wanted to give me five years parole. And I said, I'm not doing parole. And I said, I'm going to stay right here and kill my parole. And so I stayed there for five years, you know, for the parole. So you could flatten out your sentence. Yeah. You know, to kill everything. But not knowing that when I got out, they had 15 years probation on me. And so when I was there on my probation, I didn't even complete a year because I was working at a job. And my boss and his wife were out of town, and I was in charge of the job there. And so— So you didn't have trouble getting a job again? No.

No. I mean, the Lord opened up everything for me. Now, were you still in Colorado? Yes. Okay. Yeah, I was still in Colorado. So the Lord opened the doors. You're still serving Him. You're still serious about it. Yeah. You didn't go back to drinking and partying? No. No. None of that. All right. And my case—my probation officer called me. She said, I need you to go and do a UA. He goes—I said, I can't leave right now. And she goes, no, I need you to go now. I said, ma'am, I'm at work. I said, and I'm—and so— So you're in charge. Yeah. Yeah. Right. And so when I got home, after that, I got home and I had to go report in. So when I went in to report in, and so they put handcuffs on me and took me to jail because they said that I was not compliant. Oh, my goodness. And so it was kind of hard, you know, going through all that.

And so they put me in there and I said, well, what's the reason? And they said, you'll find out later on. And so I found out that they said I was not compliant to that. So they see me. They see me. back. I was in the jail, county jail. So when I was sitting there, I called my attorney back and They see me. I said, look, I said, how much time would I have to go back to prison instead of doing 15 years probation? And she said, well, you got to do six more years for that. I said, okay, well, send me back. So I took the six years. So I was sent back to prison. To avoid being on paper for 15 years. Yes. Wow. And so, so I, so when I, when I went. Most people wouldn't do that. Yeah. But why did you just, why do you think you decided to do that? Do you think God kind of was directing you with that or what was your reasoning for doing that? I mean, to me, I would say that, I mean, I didn't know if it was God or not at a moment of time. I made that decision, you know, not like thinking about it because I believe that to me, it was hard to live 15 years. Oh, it is hard. I flattened out my sentence too, although I didn't, I didn't, I didn't have to, I mean, they, they wanted to give me pro, I, I, I stayed in two years. Let's see. I stayed in 10 months longer to get rid of two years on paper is all. So it wasn't a long sentence anyway, but, but I understand that. And, and the reason I did that is because I was first on probation. That's the only reason I even went to prison because they violated me on, on probation. And, and failure to update the sex offender registry and then failure to appear. So I had three small charges, but I'd never been in trouble before. So they didn't throw the book at me, but yeah, so I can understand that. So you went back for six years. What was that like? So I went back for six years and I was in a different facility that, where I would never been before. So I was in there and, and so when I got there, I mean, when I was on the bus, you know, my mind was going a hundred miles an hour. I said, man,

I wonder where they're going to put me. I wonder where I'm going to be at. And so, but I had this little, I had this peace that, you know, that God said that peace that surpasses all understanding. Yes. So I was kind of like, just thinking about God and just thanking God. And even though I was in shackles with the other guys there and I was on the road and. It's almost like you're going back to your mission field. Yeah. I mean, I mean, I don't know if you looked at it that way at the time, but that's what was happening is you were willingly going back to a place where you could impact the kingdom. Right. You may have been impacting the kingdom when you were out, but, but now you're really going to, so, so kind of, kind of give us a short version of what happened there. So when I was, I arrived to the facility in this prison and when I got off and it was a faith dorm. A faith based dorm. Yes. Yeah. And it was 96 guys in there and our, and I got in there. The first thing they give you, like, people have to go to work, right? Our job was to get up at eight in the morning. We'll go to go breakfast, come back at eight o'clock all day to three o'clock. They give us a Bible. They give us paper. And we had our studies every day. Wow. That's like going to Bible college. Yes. And so 96 guys were there. So, so when I got there, that was, God opened that door and I stayed there. And, and then they sent me to another prison. After three years, I went to another prison and I was in a dorm with 170 guys. And so during that time, I began to ask the Lord, I said, Lord, I said, I said, what is your purpose here? What do you want me to do? And so he said, I want you to begin to raise disciples. Amen. He goes, but this time it's going to be a different, you're not going to teach them the word, you know, because we have our, you know, Bible studies, you know, separately and

everything together with volunteers. They'll come in, volunteers will come in. So they had a curriculum. Yeah. Yeah. So the Lord saying, I don't, I'm not asking you to establish a curriculum, but what did he want you to do? So he said, I want you to begin to raise up men, uh, prayer warriors. Prayer warriors. Yeah. And so, so we had, we had 173 tiers. And so in every tier we have prayer guys. First year we have five on the bottom, five in the middle, five on the top. Who were designated intercessors. Intercessors. And that's all they would do. Really? Yeah. Wow. They would intercede for people, intercede for the gangs. And people, and people knew that if they had a prayer request, they could go to them. Yes. But probably a lot of the time they were praying things that they weren't telling other people what they were praying. So they were, they might've been praying for a gang leader to get saved or something. Who knows? Yeah. And a lot of them, uh, that, that we used to have Bible studies also in my room and we talk about prayer. We talk about, and so. When the officers will come in they would stand on the door Mm-hmm They would stand right there and they said you guys know that you can't have more than five people in He goes, but I'm since you guys are doing what you're doing. I'm gonna let this one go. Yeah, you know It's a grace in favor. There was a favor of God, you know, God was giving us favor. And so but during the times, you know, we um, I was there ministering and And gang one of the gang people were getting saved all the young people they were yeah

They will come to me yeah, and and they would say, you know, I need prayer in this and so so we prayed and and so we had a Spanish service one day and one Friday night. And so those guys were getting getting prayed for and The one of the leaders of the Hispanic gangs that was there He found out that I was praying that they were accepting cry so he sent some of the gang guys the followers they sent him a say, yeah This guy want to talk to you the leader and so they see me all the way to the top Right in the corner. Yeah, and so I walked in there and he was like real calm He was just sitting there watching TV and he said have a seat, you know and so we were just talking and not all of a sudden I See one guy come in and then I seen another one come in and it was five There was standing there one protected the door the others the other two there and the leader was there and he said, uh, You know the reason why you know, we brought you up here because you're taking our people away. Oh, wow I said I said I'm not taking nobody away I said did you know that these guys are wanting to give their life to Jesus and I'm just leading them to the Lord I said that's my job. I said, but you know what? Whatever you guys want to do. I already know what you guys are planning So I took my cap off and I put my hand behind me. I said do what it said. They all jumped on me. Mm-hmm And I said I said but before Before you guys lay hands on me I said I just want to say something the Lord said that I would that I was gonna go through hardship as well That's right. And so I said, but in John 16 33, he said he told his disciples I've told you these things so that in me you would find peace in this world. You will find trouble Yeah, but be a good cheer. I've overcome the world, right? And so that's kind of how you felt at that moment and then you know, you had to take the beat down Yeah, yeah, I took it Wow, and so but here's the amazing part of it how God What God did not you know, I mean God amazed me at the moment Yeah, so after I got beat up and everything So I went back to my my room and And all my brothers came down. Mm-hmm. My prayer were Christian. Yeah, so they all and I said no no

No, I said you go back to your rooms. They wanted revenge or something. No. No, they just wanted to see, you know See if I was okay and everything and I said, I don't want I don't want you to guys to come here Go back to your rooms. I said and and get on your knees and say Lord forgive them for they do not know what they do I said that let that be our prayer. That's right. And so when I was there I Was in my room and you know officers they'll come in and check. Oh, you got a bruise whatever he goes Oh, so they want for us to report who did it? Who was the guy so we don't snitch so so so what I did I I was laying on my bunk that that evening and And I said Lord I said, um Would you promise me one thing I Said all I want Is I want these guys to know that I serve a true God. Amen Really? I said I want them to know That I serve a true God who's alive and he's the one that protects me Yes, and I said, I don't want no bruises on me. I don't want nothing. I want them to see The miracle I mean and so so that evening I Was laying down at 6 o'clock in the morning when when they called for chow Well, I jumped out of my bed my bunk and they did a count and and so we'll walk into the kitchen And you know when they called us and so we're walking and in a and I'm right behind them and I got this smile You know, so I'm just walking to have a little smile Enjoying my day and so I'm walking it and and I hear I mean they're just talking right and so So they're they're looking at me and everything and and so after I got my breakfast I ate and so you weren't even sore I mean you were not gonna have broken ribs and nothing. Oh normally, you know, and so the Lord really moved Yeah, so what so you heard them chattering after breakfast what happened? Yeah, so I went back to my my room right and So that particular Friday that week it was it was on a Thursday and then on a Friday We had a Spanish service. Mm-hmm. And so I went to that Spanish service Mm-hmm, and and we were there and the two guys that were part of it was young kid They were part of that gang And so they were sitting way in the back because they come to the service how to plan out what? And so so they're sitting there and so we're the pastor the volunteer came in he was preaching and then after at the end he said

Because I was the sound man. I was over there That's how yeah, and I had all you don't mean I was back there and then he goes, uh, he goes Garcia I want you to come over here. He goes. I want you to do me a favor I want you to close it in prayer. Mm-hmm And and at that moment as I was praying the Lord says give given an invitation No, and so I began to pray and then I gave an invitation Those two guys came they did they came and they stood right in front of me. Yeah, and And I told him I said, you know what I said, I forgive you guys I said don't worry I said God already have forgiven you guys and so they hugged me and so I led him to the Lord Wow and When this when we're walking out One of the guys told me oh, we're gonna get beat up like you did. I Said yes you are Because now they've given the heart to Jesus. Yes. I said Wow because you made a commitment. Yeah, I said to Christ I said now It's not the men That are that are trouble. I said there's a devil that is angry. That's right, and he's mad right now And so we're walking and so I I got to the room they both went in and I kept going Well, the guys were standing up there and watching. Mm-hmm 15 minutes later they go in there and they beat him up they couldn't see their lips were swollen and and and so After they unlocked the doors I went over there and they said man you were right. Yeah, so they were all beat up, right? So I said well, I said don't worry guys I said this thing you're beating was for a good purpose as for for Christ you did it for Christ and I said not because you did anything wrong and So the Lord says now I want you to take care of them And so I want you to take care of them to take care of them And the way I did it was the Lord said the Lord was telling you Yes, the Lord just spear was I see, you know as I was standing there He says now I want you to begin to take you know, take care of them be a servant. So What happened was that I said, oh, what do you open to do? He says now you're gonna feed them You're gonna take him just like us like when the scripture says him in Matthew 25 when I was hungry

You fed me when I was so thirsty. You gave me something to drink. I was in prison. You came to visit me, right? Right, that's on the back of this ministry Yeah, and so I went to my room and I told the guy I said look guys I said you guys don't have to go to breakfast. Don't go to lunch. I said I got food We're gonna eat and so I went to my box and so I went and grabbed the food that we needed and we parted We broke bread together. Mm-hmm. We made it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah better spread, you know, praise the Lord Yeah, well, I can tell you one thing we're gonna have to have you back because we wait there's a whole lot of stuff that's happened since then and you know the free world and and Just kind of take the next three or four minutes just to summarize your life since Since you got out of prison and what God's doing and and you're married now Remarried. Yeah, and just just three four minutes and then I'm gonna ask you to pray and kind of close this out And whatever advice you have for the men and women that are watching Too because Wow what an if we could go on for another hour. Oh, yeah But I mean, I just want to encourage those that are listening I just want you to know that during my time, you know because of my crime I was real shameful that I was in my life was that that can't hinder me I couldn't go any further because I would always look back and I said man, you know I was so shameful to even talk about Jesus because you were branded or how people gonna you know How can people find out my crime? Yeah, it's always kind of like, you know, what are they gonna say? But the Spirit of God told me he says, you know what? It's that's not who you are now. Amen. Amen And so he said doesn't matter what people say is what I say, yes the way God sees me yes my identity I'm just I'm a child of God. And so I just want to encourage for those that are listening, you know, you know, I Had to break through, you know I had a breakthrough of that releasing the shame and I had to step in but when I gave my testimony about My crime that released me that was a release where now I'm not ashamed to say what you know Yeah, why I went you know, my crime of why I went to prison, but during the time, you know, that a lot of maybe you're sitting there and you're thinking, you know, well, you've got this shame. You've got to let go of that. You know, you're not who the devil tells you who you are or the people tell

you who you are. You are a man of potential. You're a woman of potential. You're a woman, a woman, a daughter of God. You're a child of God. And you know, it doesn't matter. People can judge you. People are going to say all kinds of stuff. But what matters is the ultimate, the one is Jesus. What did Jesus say? Who you are. And he's the one that chose you. He's the one that called you. People didn't call you. People didn't put a ministry or a calling in your life. God did. And so I had to come to that realization, Steve, that, hey, you know what? God called me. You know what I mean? God called me. And so it was kind of like, man, you know, when I gave my testimony for the first time in prison, man, it's just kind of like, man, it released a burden. I can feel the freedom now. And so just to say this, that the minute that I began to release my true testimony, then I was able to give hope to other people. Yes, absolutely. And when I was in prison. If God can change me, if he can change you, he can change anybody, right? Yeah. And so a lot of the guys that found out my crime, he said, man, he goes, you just gave me hope because now I can see that if God can use you, God can use me. And recently you were licensed as a minister, you and your wife, Christine. Yeah, me and my wife. Were licensed as ministers by Don Castleberry with Freedom in Jesus Prison Ministry. And God has opened the door for us. Now we do the Crusades. We're part of the Freedom in Jesus Ministry. That's right, part of the leadership team. Oh, yeah. Doing Spanish Crusades and English Crusades. And you also sing and play bass and rhythm guitar. And so you're able, and I think one of your gifts is really worship. And I know you're a prayer warrior. So, wow. Well, we're going to have to have a part two because I'm pretty sure there's other things that we didn't have time to get to, but that was so interesting. I didn't know some of that. And so that's good. Well, I tell you what, I'm going to, I didn't warn you about this, but I'm going to ask you to pray us out. Would you pray us out? Yes, I can do that. Father, I just want to thank you, Lord God, for this moment, Lord, to honor you, Lord, and to just give you honor and glory and praise, Father, for the things that you've done, not only in my life, but Steve's life and others, Lord, that are listening. Father, how you have done great things, Lord. And Father, we just close, Lord God, Father, by saying thank you for even to be here, Lord God, to ministering, Lord God, ministering and giving our testimony,

Father, because your Word says that we had overcome, Father, the enemy with our testimony by the blood of the Lamb, Lord. And Father, we're so grateful, Father, to take this moment to say thank you, Father, for the blessings. And oh, Father, just the things that you've done, Father, the great things that your Word says, greater things we shall do and greater things we shall see. So, Lord, we just leave this in your hands, Lord. We thank you so much for everything that you're going to do. We give you the praise and honor and glory in Jesus' precious name. Amen and amen. Amen. Well, hey, I just want to thank you all for tuning in to another Old Man, New Man podcast with Armando Garcia and me, Stephen Canup. And we'll see you next time. Share this with somebody. God bless you. God bless.