Walking the Yard with God: Love, Obedience, and Showing Up Behind the Walls

Hi, I'm Christi Overton Johnson with Victorious Living. Welcome to today's broadcast of MORE. Today I'm in the studio, the Biltmore Studio in Phoenix, Arizona, and I am going to be with my friend JC Almanza. This is his studio. So he's invited me into his house, but we're going to sit and we're just going to chat. Today we're going to talk about some of the things that we're learning as we just go on our walk on God's yard. We're going to be walking with him and we're going to be talking with each other and sharing what we're learning. Today we had the opportunity to go into Perryville Prison. Tonight we're going over to Lewis and visit the youth. Tomorrow we're headed to Central and we just wanted to stop, take a little pit stop, sit and reflect a little bit about what we've already seen, what we're excited about that's to come. And there's some future plans and what God's teaching us. So I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for watching. And don't forget, I love you much and God loves you. Hey, what's up guys? My name is JC. I am wrong to strong and guess who's back back by popular demand. The boss, the boss is back. We just came to do the download and what do they call that? Do an altar report. Oh, that's what we're doing. Hmm. I guess so. What's up boss? It's been a great day.

It's been a great day and we were just eating like crazy people just trying to get something in us before we head over to Lewis facility to be with the juveniles tonight. Young men, young warriors. I was stressed out. I'm not going to lie. I can tell. I know you well enough now. I get stressed out about a lot of things, but I was stressed out just because I wanted you to come into my hood and get treated like royalty and be like, I don't know, just, you know, I'm testing the waters right now. I'm testing my crew. I'm testing my team. Um, well, Pastor Frank did great. We had a great time. I could, I could keep on rolling down the highway with him and he drives your speed. So he drives my speed. He's good. Right. Yeah. Cause I did 90 the whole way here. Yeah. And I was like, I'm pretty sure I passed them up. Yeah. So what'd you think boss? What'd you think? So I thought you had a wonderful group of ladies and it was fun to see some that I had seen last year when I was here and we had a special event for victorious living and several of the ladies were there and to know that they're probably going to sign up for your class. Cause there were some ladies in there that weren't in the class.

It was great to hear, um, just to see you interact with the ladies. Is there, you're, you're their family and they're your family, they're your family. And there's just this beautiful connection that you just keep showing up for them, but they're showing up there for you. I was watching them do pushups and planks and how strong they're getting and their minds are getting strong, their bodies and also their spiritual selves. No, it's, it's a beautiful. I love to build people like as, as a trainer, um, and I'm, I'm pretty sure you, you've seen it throughout your career being an athlete, like you, you watch people get stronger and when you're like a part of it, it's something in you, you're like, yeah, I helped them that one time. I helped them get that extra rep. Like, so it's, it's beautiful to see them grow and, um, it's, it's just love. I tell people, I just show up and I show them the same kind of love. I, I, I feel like I'm, I'm there for my sisters, if that makes any sense. Yeah. No, it does. And for me to get to go in and to meet the women that are reading the magazine and to see the faces on the other side of those prison tablets where they're watching, you know, this interview and to get to say hello to them and thank them for being a part of my family. Um, unless you go in, you just really don't understand, uh, the specialness, uh, being able to minister behind bars. It's, it's nothing like it. I think that's why, um, like when I, when I'm not there, I, I miss it. You know? Um, when I go out of town, yeah, you know, I enjoy it because it's it's it's like new blood new waters It's just different but like when I don't go here I my soul misses it because um I always tell the girls and the boys like you guys do more for me than I do for you

You know, um, I show up because like you guys show up just like how you said it And I don't know like I've grown so much. They've they've seen me grow to you know I'm very transparent with them. There's times where I just cry the whole two hours I'll just make jokes and and they're like, what are we learning today? And I'm like nothing You know, it's funny cuz I'm having to learn to be okay with nothing What it because I've always you know Pushing and always trying to have a plan and better myself. And then I think when we have those That tenacious spirit like we have it's hard to Okay. Well, I just sat and talked with people today and play cards like sometimes I'll do that when I go in the jail We'll just play cards and I was like, well, that's not very spiritual. But I just felt like God just kept saying play face 10 with him sit and we bonded and we laughed and it did something for my soul and There's just something about resting and enjoying each other's companies instead of always trying to teach and to learn No, it's um There was a moment when I was at the juvenile Once and the both classrooms were there they were being used we couldn't use them So the warden's like what do you want to do? I was like, well, I'm just go out to the yard to the basketball court And when I got out there, one of the kids was like, hey, um Can you play basketball with me and I was like, I mean, I don't know how to play that good But I'll play and I started playing. I almost pulled my hamstring And I started playing with them but it started to grow where it turned into five on five with the kids and I'm not gonna lie. Like I had so much fun. Yeah My work was killing me I Named that thing in the last You know, I know it's grown is it's grown way. You're gonna need an extra shoe for that Well, I'm married. I'm wearing an extra size bigger like a half bigger because now I have we need to take up a collection for JC's Removal surgery a go fund me

I showed it to the to the girls. I think last week and told one to throw Yeah, no, you know today when we go to the kids you're gonna see I Mean the girls are still a heart a heart cell, but not as hard as the kids I've been nervous. I'm not gonna lie and you know, I'm nervous too because I Don't I don't want you to feel like I don't know There's just their hearts they're like too busy trying to be gangsters Yeah, and I know in the warden. I have a very close relationship with the warden. He's gonna meet us there He's young too. So he understands what we're dealing with. And that's why he's He's whatever you need. He tells me whatever you guys need. Tell me I'll have my staff there Because he knows how important it is to but these kids They want to be gangsters They're they're running it like a yard leader Racist and I'm like you look at them when you watch when you see them. You're gonna look at them You're gonna be like that kids like 12. I was like 11 the probably the oldest ones like 16 Yeah, and you're like what's going on here? Like but that's they're trying to be men probably the men that they've They've seen exactly and now they're getting to see the men that the man that they can become I Enjoyed going there a lot, but they they make me mad a lot Didn't get into a lot of trouble. Yeah, I told him the other day you guys you guys are kids trying to do Ground grown man stuff and yeah, you did grow man stuff that landed you here, but you guys are still kids Um one of the kids was like, why did you get us kid Bibles I said cuz you're a kid I Was like you you guys think that you guys are men and you're not you know Um, but it's it's gonna take time because I was telling the warden the last group that I had they got already moved They already got Transferred over to adult prison. Um It took me six months to win their trust Yeah, you gotta start over and I gotta start all over again and it scares me because um on the last group I there was a time that I didn't feel I was being efficient enough. And I started kind of like kicking the can around

and like, I'm not gonna go no more. But then I went to Yuma and I bumped into one of the kids and he was so excited to see me. And he was like, Ron is strong, Ron is, and he was like almost repping me like a gang. But like I impacted the kid and I said, okay, so this is what I need to do. So I sat down and like, this is something that I just felt in my heart that I was like, okay, so I need to be there three times or maybe five times a week to teach it like a class because these kids like need to be molded because if not, when they get to the adult yards, they're gonna be molded by gang members. And I don't know, that's the day I called you and you're like, oh, I was thinking about this magazine and I was like, my head starts going crazy because I'm always thinking about stuff. Yeah, I have to have an idea of parking lot because I think about stuff so much to make sure I don't keep running too hard, leave something that I'm supposed to be doing to go to another. And I'm glad that you came back. So I remember when you told me, you're like, yeah, I don't know if I'm gonna go out there. And I was so glad that you went back because I believe the first picture that you sent me after you had gone and you had spoken somewhere and there was all these little kids

with their hands like on you and loving on you and you'd gone to kind of speak to them. I don't even know what you were there for, but it was the most beautiful picture. And I felt like that was almost a prophetic picture of God revealing to you how you're gonna be used and kids would be drawn to you. And it's like being a parent. It's hard. It's hard, but you just keep showing up and they just know that they can come to you and they've got a place to land. That is crazy. I didn't think about it like that until you said it. Yeah. Like I went there to talk to them and they were laying hands on me. Yeah, it was so beautiful. And you didn't get to be a kid. And I feel like God's allowing you to go back and help those kids avoid all of the hardship and trauma. And I think that's how you got to approach it is when you go there and say, I'm not here because I'm perfect. I'm here because I've done all that and I'm here to tell you it brings nothing but pain. You're gonna see all the weird haircuts. That's okay. Yeah. No, I already know all week I've been wrestling with this

because I was like, I mean, just you go into a high school and try to speak to teenagers, it is so difficult. It is so difficult. But now you're going to teenagers who are hard in here. And so I've just been praying for God to soften hearts. But I know when I walk in there, it's not about me. And even if they reject me, it's not they're rejecting me. And so I'm not gonna get my feelings hurt, but I believe God's brought us together and I believe he's gonna do a great work. And we just go in there. All we can do is be ourselves and bring what we got. Yeah, yeah. Which is a little bit of love. Every time, I believe that prison is full of characters. Different, you got the coffee drinker, you got the TV watcher, you got the workout guy. There's different people that focus on different stuff. And same thing with the kids. You got good kids in there that are cutting hair, they're working out. So I always tell people, I just try to, not really lament, I guess, but do something with them that they enjoy doing. And when we work out, that's one of the moments where they give me 110. I mean, if we work out today, you'll see they'll go until they're thrown up on the floor. And so I take advantage of that and use it. We spend that whole hour doing a really tough workout.

By the time we get in the classroom, they're so tired, they're actually paying attention. So, and it's all like, you saw me today just talking, whatever I was feeling, whatever I feel like the Holy Spirit's telling me to talk about that day, that's what I talk about. Last week we spoke about respect. Does everybody get your respect or do they need to earn it? And all the kids are like, they need to earn it. And I was like, that's gangster talk. But we have fun doing it. Right. Yes, when you were talking about how you just playing ball with them or working out with them, it's funny because when I was really wrestling with my faith and really trying to come to a place of surrender, I was. always afraid God would take everything that I loved, like a professional water skier, so I thought he's just going to take that. But what he wanted to do was use that activity as a way to connect with hearts. And we forget that as Christians, a lot of times we want to go blazing in there and give them a message and try to save people when people just need to be loved and they need to be met where they are, but people can bond around an activity. And so you build this trust by sitting there and working out with somebody. For me, it's taking somebody skiing or, you know what, we had a ministry, I have a ministry called In His Wakes that we use water sports and we're bringing kids from the gangs out there and I just climb on a tube with them. And you teach them how to swim or you teach them how to ski? No, nobody knows how to swim. I'd say 90% of the people in our programs do not know to have to swim. They have life vest. You still can't convince them. Still can't get you. But here's what I tell people, all you gotta do is get out there with me and if they go in the water, I go in

the water with them. And I've been taken under when someone's panicking, but it's, and I'm not trying to sell you on that, but what I'm saying is I get in it with them. And who's that lady, as you would say, that white lady over there. And I remember one guy, he's like, lady, what part of no don't you get? But by the end of the day, we were on that tube and he was skiing and he was laughing his head off with me. And that afternoon he was ready to listen to whatever I had to say, but I had to be willing to get in. I had another lady who, God used a shower cap. It was this young black girl and she just had her hair done. She was not getting in that water. And she's like, well, I said, would you get in if I gave you a shower cap or something? And it was one I'd gotten from a hotel room, one of those free ones. And she goes, yeah, if you had one, well, I had one and I go bring it out of my bag. And she got out there. She ends up giving her life to the Lord that day. Another girl, she didn't have a bathing suit. I had a bathing suit, an extra one that I shared. And that thing, she told me at the end of the day, she's like, and then this angel came and gave me a suit so I could go join in and didn't look different in my jeans out there in the water. So God used a bathing suit. He used a shower cap. He uses basketball. He uses weightlifting. He uses water skiing. He uses former gang activity to create a bond. It's those experiences and the things that we have that God wants to use to connect with people. But we run in trying to make a connection with a heart that hasn't been touched yet. We try to do it our way sometimes. I have learned to, like Sundays, I had to step back from work because I was doing too much. And then Beth is like, I mean, you work more now than you did at the gym. And I was like, yeah, and I'm making less. She's like, my point exactly. So why are you not home on Sundays? And I was like, you're right. And it was all really just habit. It wasn't really because I was doing so much stuff. I would come in and do a couple of things and then I would leave. But it was more habit. And now I'm very disciplined on it. And my relationship has improved a lot, a lot just with doing that little thing. But I had to learn to not work so much, boss. And I know I preach it to you all the time, boss, don't work so much. But I have to listen to my own advice sometimes as a training, not a coach, I guess, because when you're a coach, you try to say, do as I say, not as I do. Yeah. No, because I'm always telling you the same thing. Don't burn out, don't burn out. And I'm on fumes myself. And we recognize it in each other, but it's hard to change. And I think it's because we literally love what we do. You come to the studio, you are just lighting up downstairs, show me what you're going to do and

show me an outside and show me this. And it's just a part of who you are. So it's learning to balance that because this place is going to be used for great things. We're going to make movies. I never thought I would leave the gym. I thought, honestly, that would be my career for the rest of my life. I had been doing it for so long. I'm good at it. It's gonna be there. But now that this is happening, one of the documentaries I was on is gonna come out soon on. I forgot what app just bought it. But I wanna start, I wanna give movies a shot. I wanna, I'm gonna try for some roles this year. I wanna get better at public speaking. I've been working on my vocabulary. Yeah, sometimes you say such big words, I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know either. We don't spit those words in the South. I don't know either, boss. Listen, the other day I texted a man named Dan and it called him Diane. That's how Southern, I mean, it takes a three-letter word and will make it into a couple of words and it's really bad. Well, I'm convinced that Google's prejudice because I say things to it and it always gets it wrong. Okay, maybe it is. No, it's how I talk, by the way. So tomorrow, tomorrow we go to Florence.

Yeah, Central, Central, right? Central. It's gonna be a yard event. So today, earlier at Perryville, it was a smaller group of ladies in your class, Wrong to Strong. And is that what y'all call it? And then tonight, like you said, they're only 16 to 19 or whatever signed up and you even put like a glamorous me on the thing. Food. So that didn't work and food, I don't know. But tomorrow we'll have hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of guys on the yard. And did you serve there, you said? I did time there. That's where they almost killed me over there. Great. I was just talking to Beth about it. I think it was a day before I spoke to her on the phone. I was like, God, you know, God, I don't wanna say, I know he has a sense of humor. I know he has this humor, but sometimes he brings you back to places I believe for healing, you know? And for me, almost a laugh, I guess, because yeah, I almost lost my life there. Like, it was bad. I remember to this day, like I walked out of there thinking I was such a gangster

because I didn't wanna get in that stretcher bed that they take you out on. That's right, you walked out with your blood. I walked out with the cops on me, I was covered in blood. And I remember feeling like I was so tough. And then when I saw my reflection in the glass door, I started crying like a little baby because I saw my head was like a pumpkin, you know? But I tell people my whole life, I was the best actor of my movie because I was pretending to be somebody I wasn't. I wasn't tough. I wanted to fit in so bad. I wanted to survive. And it just, it made me portray a villain that I wasn't. So I'm happy and I love what I do. That's why I enjoy. That's why when you call me and tell me, hey, do you wanna go to the sprint? I'll be like, hold on, let me check your records. Yeah, let's go. We're going to Texas soon, next month. Next month. I'm excited about, because that's gonna be, we've been to Texas before, Texarkana, the Federals, but this will be the state. This is the state. And it's gonna be the first, and I hadn't told you,

but we're gonna be on a radio interview in the prison that's gonna go to all Texas prisons. Oh, wow. I have a buddy that lives out there. He's pretty popular on YouTube. And I sent him the names of the prisons. And he's like, oh, wow. He's like, I was in all of those. And he's like, you couldn't pay me to go back. Yeah. Well, it's gonna be good. It's gonna be great. And then you're coming to one of my fundraisers and speak at a room full of white people. As you always say. I say that because you're always saying you're afraid of white people. And I try to work on my tan so you're not afraid of me. I'm just trying to be honest because- No, I love it. It helps me, because it helps me learn and to understand. And it's, yeah. I always tell the girls, I don't mean to offend nobody. I just want to be transparent because if I'm acting weird or if I'm being shy or being quiet, it's just that something's, it's not you, it's me. The other day, there was a girl at the coffee shop

that I go to a lot here. And the other day, I had to walk out really fast because there were so many people in there. There's this guy breathing on my neck behind me. And it's a really small coffee shop. I get it. I jetted out of there. And I came back and I was like, hey, I don't want you to think it was you. It was, there was a lot of white people. Yeah. And I was like, I get really. He's scared. I don't know why. I don't want to explain that to nobody. And she's like, no, she's like, I understand. I was like, so don't take it the wrong way, please. I'm just proud of you. And we've talked about this before. Actually, I'll sit in this chair. And I said, just I admire so much how you face your fears. And yeah, I mean, I had anybody that wants to be a champion at anything has to face fears. And you have to stretch yourself. And there's victory in that. And it hurts. It's painful. It's humiliating and humbling. And but once you once you do it, once you break the power of it bit by bit. And I mean, you know, when you walk in the room, you are already welcomed. And every one of our board members, which we are trying to get the diversity on our board. And it's like it's it's like four or five, these older white people. And their hearts, though, are so beautiful.

And they all met you. Like, we want JC. I love her so sweet. Like, not even because like, we want to use him. We want his story. It's they love you. I feel it. I feel they love you. They want to give they want to have you there. And and I know that in that room, you so what you have the opportunity is to introduce people who maybe would have never met a cartel former cartel member. And you get to show them a different experience. But what Christ did in your life, because they're sitting there, so many of them. And at that event, we'll have a lot of people there who with some resources, but maybe don't know Christ. And you have an opportunity to share with them and be used by God to change their life. And that's the mission that you're on. It's not necessarily to go in and raise money or anything. It's just to tell how good God is and what he did for you, that he can do that for them. I mean, I still think sometimes I'm living the dream. It's like it's only been four years. And I was telling someone yesterday. I was like, man, if I would have got on my knees 10 years ago. Yeah, but I can't look at it like that. Yeah, yeah, you can't. And man, I, I wasted decades. And I was in the church. So how many years have like, like, okay, how many years have you been like, really focused in like, that was it? Like 30, 30 years.

That's a long, long time. I was mid 20s. So I was growing up in the church, knew about God, knew about the Bible. I could, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. I mean, did all the sword drills and I was competitive. So I was going to win it and find the verse the fastest. But the thing is, I knew about the word. I could regurgitate scripture, but I didn't know. And the word know is an experiential knowing. It's an intimacy. You know, Bethany. And I know Tim. There's intimacy. And so that's the kind of relationship that God wants. I didn't get that until I was in my mid 20s. And I had a lot. I was a world champion athlete. But then all of a sudden, I find myself on a hospital gurney. And I'm near dying with bowel obstructions and all this stuff. And I realized that everything I built my life on was sinking sand and it could be gone. As soon as a wave came, your foundation was gone. And so I knew at that moment that everything I had always reached for to make me somebody and to give me comfort couldn't help me. And then I'm looking up and I'm thinking, all right, I've always known about you. And I've asked you to be my savior. But I need help now because I can't fix this. I can't help myself. I can't make myself feel better. Everything that I've always had, it's gone. And that's when I just felt the Lord drawing me really close.

And I started little by little giving him what I had, my sports. OK, Lord, I'm going to go to this tournament. But I'm just going to be skiing. I'm going to win. But my eyes and heart are going to be open while I'm on this site to see where you might could use me. And it was interesting. You'd see another athlete crying or something. You'd be able to go over there and talk to him. Or I started having church services under a Michelob Dry Bud Light tent. in our bathing suits, and we would meet for an hour before we'd go to the dock. And I got the opportunity to share and to speak and to teach the Word, and God used the sport, my platform, my world, and he used me in it. And that's when I started realizing, oh, he didn't want to take everything from me. He wanted me to give him everything so he could use it and give it purpose. So that was mid-20s, 30s, low 30s is when I started the In His Wakes ministry. But in my mid-20s, I had gone to Shrewn Lake, New York, to Word of Life camp. That's a Christian camp in New York on this island, and I was brought there to be the speaker. And I was up there, and I'm talking, and as I'm looking, I'm looking in the eyes of young people who actually knew God, and I was just telling them about him. I got to the cabin that night, and I fell to my knees. That was my surrender moment. So that came before the surgeries. That was my surrender moment, and I said, God, I want to know you better every day, and I want to know you like these kids. Like, they're reading the Word and praying, not because they have to, because they want to. Mine was a checklist. So that was mid-20s, and that has been my goal, to know you more every day, God, and to reflect you in everything that I say and do. And everywhere that I am, if I'm at the grocery store, if I'm in an airplane, sitting next to somebody, coming back from here one of the last times, I had a guy with it. I had been bumped up the first class. It was a little glorious, and I'm thinking, oh, it's going to be a great flight. The man next to me has a panic attack before we've even gotten off, and I had to talk with him, pray with him, get him to breathe. I was like, if you don't start breathing slower, they're going to take you off the plane, and held his hand

basically for the next four hours. That's what God had for me in that moment, and then you get off and go to a prison. But there's joy in every bit of it, to know that you're on adventure with God. It's never boring, and it's hard. You're talking about having to give a guy, God telling you to go give a man a hug who just bumped into you, wanted to fight you, knocked your phone out of your hands, and you get in the car, and he's like, that man needs a hug. Go back in there and give it to him. You're like, what? I don't even know how to give a hug. And he turned out to be one of your best friends. He's my friend now. Yeah. You know, that's why I say God has a sense of humor, because sometimes we want to fight him so much, and something he's trying to teach us, at the end of the day, he always wins anyway. So it's like, it's up to you how many times you want to hit your head on the wall. I can see you right now wrestling with God, and then going like, and just getting up and walking there and doing it. And I've done the same thing. I was at a Joyce Meyer Women's Conference, and this was a decade or so ago. I had my Joyce Meyer living every life, every day, whatever, living every day Bible. And I sit down, and it's probably 40,000, 50,000 women in there. Everybody's worshiping. And I'd gone to the bathroom, and I always see people. I saw the attendant there, and she was in tears. And she's, you know, wiping our toilets and all that kind of stuff, wiping the toilets. And I go sit down. The Lord says, go back and give her your Bible. Well, that's my Bible. So when I minister out of, I've got my notes in it. All the colors. Everything. I was like, I'll go buy her a new one. And he's like, uh-uh, you give her your Bible. And I went in there to give it to her. And I mean, I sat there and wrestled for two songs. And finally, I'm like, dare gum it. And I think I said that, and the lady next to me goes, are you all right? I was like, I'll be back. And I grabbed my Bible, and I went. And I was in there, and I watched women come in at a women's conference, wash their hands, and they never saw the lady. And God showed me, He goes, I need her to know that I see her. Because she's in the midst of Christians, and nobody sees her. And I had to wrestle with it and give it up. And I could get another. But I've gone through, I don't know how many Bibles since then that have been filled and given or whatever. But she needed that. And I don't know whatever happened. There's some seeds and things you do like that of obedience that you never, never know until one day you get to heaven. You're like, ah. I remember you. I remember you in the bathroom. As I tell people, I'm blessed. I get to walk the fields with Jesus. I get to see the girls graduate. I get to see the boys graduate.

I sometimes I get to see them on the other yards. I'm going to Winslow next week. So I'll see our pastor friend. I wanted to go this trip, but yeah, it didn't happen. It's just, it's far, boss, and like I said, that's why I call them the forgotten yards. You know, Winslow, Kingman, Yuma, Globe. All these yards are three hours away, so a lot of programs and a lot of places don't grow. I mean, I'm just being like real, like they go to the ones in the area, you know? Me, I like to drive. I'll drive. I always tell people, give me food and weapons and I'll go fight. Now I've been wanting to go to Winslow. And last year you and I went to Rast. Yeah. And that was something that was really interesting for me because, you know, I travel a long way and then you want there to be a good big crowd. Well, there was, what do we have? Two? Two or three? Two. And it was that long. And one was a janitor. One was a janitor and then we got locked down with them and you ended up leading them to the Lord later after you, yeah, separated me and the chaplain from them

because, you know. Well, he was from my hood. Yeah, he was from your hood. But what the Lord showed me, as I was looking out the glass window over that desert and I said, Lord, I came a long way. Why are there not more people here? I obeyed you and came here. And he showed me, he's like, yeah, I went a long way too for one woman at a well. It's about the one. And, you know, we forget that sometimes because it is nice when you look out and you see hundreds and hundreds of people. But it's about that, you know, tonight, it might be one kid that's listening. And that one kid goes on to be the president of the United States or something, or making a change, or being the next Billy Graham, or the next J.C. Almanza, yeah. No, it's, I was told that once and I was like a little offended by it because he's like, you go there every week for 10 people? I was like, I used to try and give my life for one person like on the streets. I was out there trying to kill people and for colors and I was like, I love what I do. You know, sometimes I say a little bit too much yes and I, you know, give too much I guess, you know, and I don't plan.

But I figure if God is opening up those doors, it's gonna happen, it's gonna, and he always does. Like, I don't know how I did it last year, but I did it. Like, I'm not gonna sit here and question him, you know, everything was paid, we live well, and like, everything was done. We visited over, I think it was over 68 visits to prisons in one year. So like, and it's not about the numbers, but like, to me it's more about making an impact and them seeing me constantly. Like, the girls, they remember me being there so much because I was there on Christmas, I was there on Thanksgiving. I was there on important days for them because I remember how alone I was on those days. I spent my birthday with them. I spent birthday in Kingman with all the men in Kingman and they were like, why are you here on your birthday? I said, Matt, because I spent 40 something years alone. I would rather celebrate my birthday with you guys because you know, you guys are my family. So, I don't know, I'm excited about like, the work that, I know you're gonna be doing more work out here in Arizona. I'm excited about, I don't know, I just wanna go to war, boss. I'm just-

I'm just wanting to get lunch. You're wanting to go to war. I'm just wanting to go to war. I just wanna, I wanna do this full time. It's why I'm putting my head down. You are doing it full time. No, not as full time as I want to. Okay. This is part time. You gotta sleep sometime. I sleep, it's gotta be, I don't know. 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Right now I'm working on my passport because as soon as I get my passport, they're asking me to go to a prison in Mexico in Queretaro. God's opened up some doors where like, I don't know. I don't know why I have to go there, but I'm gonna go there. Well, I have a new team member that's coming on and she's got a connection to pretty much every prison in Mexico, so. might be rolling there together. JC you served many years in prison and today you go back in prison in the front door not the back door why do you do what you do? I wish I wish someone would have done something like that for me. I honestly believe that like somewhere like somewhere I got lost in the system somewhere and um it's it's what drives me like I see myself in different parts of my life when I meet different people and they're like in their chapter but then I see myself too so like it makes me I don't it makes me want to be there more. So when you go in I've gone in with you and you tell your story but you also

very authentically tell how you had tried everything you tried gangs you tried drugs you tried women all everything and nothing brought you peace and then you met the God of peace and can you just explain to someone why Jesus is important to take into prison? I mean he's already there but us to go in and take the message and be the hands and feet of Jesus. I always tell people you know I didn't I didn't I didn't find Jesus or even look for God when I was in prison you know um I was already out when I got to know him but it was very it was very strategic how how he introduced himself um like watching that movie and watching the message of the movie and then watching Beth like in real in real time love me through like my mental health through all that stuff like and then me getting leading to that moment when I got on my knees um like I spent my whole life carrying all this pain around all this like just hate everything and for it to be removed in a matter of seconds like and it was given to me for free why not try and share that with like the world like that isn't that the the answer to the world like isn't that the solution? What you just said I think is so key because so many people will say to me why do we want to help a prisoner why should we support your ministry to send you in to talk to people who have done bad things and that's my answer is we get to go in and bring in the love and the gift of grace that can change a heart and can make a person um totally come to a place where they're a lover of people not a killer of people where they're a helper instead of a taker or destroyer and so anything you want to add to that? Well you know it's how they asked me when they asked me like why do I go like talk to sex offenders after I what I've been through and I tell them you know um you know they need they need God to you know um that's that's their sin like that's that's where they come short that's you know um just because I was a gang member and I try to kill people didn't doesn't make me better like I understand that now um before you know on the streets I mean even in criminals there's like a code like no children and women but I could kill all these people and sell all these drugs and you know it but it's if you really look at it it's pretty dumb yeah like that's why like ever since God gave

me back like my like my like ever since I got my heart back and I feel all these emotions like um it to me it's priceless because I went so much time just feeling like fear and hate and just stuff that I wasn't even supposed to be feeling and now that I feel all this love I mean don't get me wrong sometimes it affects me too much because I want to save every dog out there I want uh I want to help every person out there and sometimes some people are not ready to receive that and it affects me I know it does to you as well you know um but don't how I've learned to love my wife how I've learned to love my pets how I've learned to even love like my kids even when they don't love me back I've learned to interact with like other people. Like I had to learn to be around James. Why? Because he didn't grow up in the hood. He grew up in Yuma riding motorcycles and stuff like that. So like I had to like learn all these things but I've been in the best school ever. I've been in college with Jesus for four years now. And like I want to say something to you boss. Like a lot has happened because also you were obedient to like, I don't know, listening to a little kid. Because I was a little kid the day that you were talking to me at the gym. I was probably about 12 years old that day. That's who was sitting there. And I've grown up a lot. I've grown up a lot but it's because people like you, Pat, you know people that actually love me, check up on me, care about me.

I don't know, like, it's been a beautiful ride. And we're just getting started. I know. Well, let's keep hitting it together and gotta go get some pizzas. All right, that's a wrap guys. We got places to be, people to meet, prisons to go to and pizzas to take the kids at juvenile prison. I'll see you guys later. Subansalat suburban. My name is JC and I am wrong to strong. Thank you for watching our broadcast. Are you an incarcerated brother or sister who needs encouragement? Write to us at Victorious Living Correspondents, P.O. Box 2751 Greenville, North Carolina, 27836. Or email us at hope at vlmag.org. To view Victorious Living 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.