SpeakLifeAZ
The testimony of Jesus in, with, and through everyday people like us. A father and son who were addicts for over 20 yrs. You name it, WE DID IT, TOGETHER!!!! we used to use drugs together now we share about what God Has done for us to encourage the body of Christ and anyone else who may listen to this that is feeling hopeless and empty. LISTEN TO OUR STORY...and the testimony of others who feel led to share with you.... GOD BLESS YOU....TODAY WE CHOOSE TO SPEAK LIFE AZ!!!!!!!!!!
SpeakLifeAZ
Ed Green Testimony
What happens when a preacher's kid knows all about God but doesn't know Him personally? In this powerful episode, Ed Green takes us on a journey through his remarkable life transformation. Born into a pastor's family in 1960s California, Ed grew up surrounded by church culture but developed a pattern of "performing" Christianity while internally disconnecting from authentic faith.
Ed's story takes us through his military service, where newfound freedom led to increasing struggles with alcohol and cigarettes. Despite maintaining an outward appearance of religious devotion—even serving as a church deacon—Ed lived a compartmentalized life that created deepening rifts in his marriage and family relationships.
The turning point came unexpectedly when Ed's wife and daughters caught him smoking on his birthday. This moment of profound shame became the catalyst for genuine surrender to God—a surrender so complete that Ed experienced immediate deliverance from a decades-long addiction. "He took that desire from me that very day," Ed shares, describing how even the smell of cigarettes became revolting to him after his prayer of surrender.
Most compelling is Ed's journey to healing from childhood trauma through the Freedom ministry at his church. After years of hiding behind religious knowledge, Ed discovered the transformative power of authentic relationship with Christ. His testimony stands as living proof that no matter how long you've lived with a disconnect between religious activity and genuine faith, transformation remains possible through surrender.
Whether you're struggling with addiction, maintaining a double life, or simply feeling disconnected from a faith you've always known about but never truly experienced, Ed's story offers hope that authentic change is possible. Join us for this raw, honest conversation about the difference between knowing about God and truly knowing Him.
all right, everybody. Welcome back to the speak. Life az podcast testimony of jesus and everyday people. I'm your host, eddie, and always with me my boy rowdy your son rowdy, my boy jesus.
Speaker 2:What up, dude? Hi buddy how are?
Speaker 1:you I'm good bro. Today's been a good day, that's right. It was hot.
Speaker 2:I don't mind that, though, man hey man, you're living it, you're working it. I thrive in it, thriving it, thrive in it.
Speaker 1:That's right, my heart and my body love it, amen.
Speaker 2:That was a good day, man.
Speaker 1:Busy today, man.
Speaker 2:Come on, buddy.
Speaker 1:Got off a little early, so that was good man. How about you?
Speaker 2:It was good. Yeah, this morning was crazy. Man Jeez helping brothers, man Going through them, battles and warfare with roommates and trying to get homeless people into men's homes. Yeah, it was a good morning, buddy.
Speaker 1:Did the dude find his way there? I believe so. Amen, yeah, jesus.
Speaker 2:That's what I said, man. I talked with the homie. I was like man. I think that God's called you to be somebody that can be out there on the streets and evangelize. Yeah, come on Filling up men's homes, bro. Yeah, man.
Speaker 1:Come on, Gary. Who'd you bring with you, brother?
Speaker 2:No one. No one. Who'd you bring with you? I got my brother. Hey, what's up, man, how?
Speaker 4:you doing Thanks for coming on brother man.
Speaker 1:Thank you for having me man for me God made it very clear to us, dude, that when his sons or daughters come on our show and give us their yes to honor them. Yeah, so it's just for me, it's an honor, bro, to sit down with you. Um, we've been on this journey the last year, building fellowship with one another man, and it's been special to me, um. So I just thank you for your time. We know that, uh, time is the one commodity we don't get more of yeah we only allocated 24 hours in a day.
Speaker 1:We don't get no more. So for you to come in and share a little bit of your time with us, man, it's, it's a great honor and a great privilege, brother, and I thank you for that.
Speaker 2:Sure, yeah yeah, for me, ed. Um, not many people invite us over to house, over to their houses, because we're the two crazy guys two crazy guys, but we're radical, we're weird man, um, and so whenever we get invited over to somebody's house, bud, that really, um, it means a lot. Um, and you, you opened your doors to us and you even opened them again to mom and dad for a game night and like, uh, there was competitive fire going on I heard about some.
Speaker 2:I'm like, oh dude but so we're, we're, we're doing life together, man, we, we got back into lifelink I think it was 2020 about covid, and yeah, um, it was just a couple of years ago. You know that god, god really highlighted you to connect with ed. Yeah, um, and and uh, your son, your son, and yeah, I don't do the in-laws.
Speaker 4:I don't okay.
Speaker 2:Your son and your son and daughter have both been on the podcast and shared their testimony. And now we wanted to. At that dinner table that evening, hearing you talk about your story and how you were chasing Kim and the military stuff and just the little things, I'm like, oh, wow, there's actually a lot that I really related to and I wanted to know more. But over a dinner setting it's kind of hard, but that's why this is really cool. This setting, this platform, is actually um, it's a blessing. Yes, it is.
Speaker 2:Um, it's one of the things, man, that we've done in life that, uh, god uses for his glory. Yeah, um. So it's just, it's cool how he uses this. I mean, you guys just heard one of the guys who was in here um, he, he shared it in his testimony. He had somebody who he hadn't talked to in 30 years reached out from back in tennessee. Hey, it was really cool to connect and hear your story. It's like so, ed, you have no idea who's going to listen to this. That's true, we are. We are all over in how many different countries for some reason, like malaysia, indonesia, that area really loves these things, man a lot of the asians.
Speaker 2:Praise god, lord, um. But it's just, uh, this thing um. Yeah, we're, we're really blessed to have you on today. Well, I'm glad to be here, yeah, um let me let me pray and we'll kind of get into this thing. Thank you, Lord.
Speaker 1:Jesus. Thank you God.
Speaker 2:Man, holy Spirit, god, I just thank you first and foremost for just how you do things, how you align things and, in your perfect timing, how it all happens. I just thank you so much for your son, ed, god, just his yes to you, for how many years he's been yours. God, I thank you for just who's going to listen to this God and who's going to watch this, the hope that they're going to hear, yeah, because, god, if you could do what you've done with Ed, you can do it with any of them. You're not a respecter of persons. I just pray for my brother, god, just the Holy Spirit, come alive. Holy Spirit, rest on him right now. God, I just pray that you use his words. Holy Spirit, bring the reminder, all the memories, all the things. God, thank you, lord, thank you for this testimony, lord, real life change. God, I just bless Ed and thank you for what you're doing in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.
Speaker 2:When God gave this to us, ed, it was, uh, it was during COVID, and we, uh, we were not obedient to what he told us to do at the beginning. Man, he showed us a, a three cord strand. He gave us, uh, uh, what were the? The testimony, the testimony of Jesus and everyday people. Um, we really really uh kind of made it our own. We're doing our own things. Man videos, set up a studio in my room preaching messages like that. Yeah, so in uh 2023.
Speaker 1:I think he gave us revelations 12, 11, didn't he?
Speaker 2:is that what it was? Yeah, we overcome the enemy by the blood of the land, the word of our testimony, and loving our lives not under death and so, uh, um, when we really sat down, your, your son yeah, pastor troy was actually our first one yeah, um, and, and it was cool, man, just how that all went. But when we sat down and we started doing what he god told us to do, yeah it just, and?
Speaker 2:and it didn't start like this. We didn't start with video, we started with a little table and audio, you know, and just one thing led to another, and now we're able to do this.
Speaker 1:We're almost at 90 of these. Yeah, it's crazy. That's crazy dude, it's crazy man.
Speaker 2:We just ask I'd say, anybody watching or listening are you being faithful to what God has asked you to do? Yeah, because that's really what it is. God has called us to this. This isn't something that we were smart enough to put together Like we're going to go with Speak Life, az. Man, this is just. God put this thing together and it's cool to be a part of it, but so that's basically what it is.
Speaker 2:Man, just a testimony of Jesus and everyday people, ed. We just want to know who Ed. It is man, just a testimony of Jesus and everyday people. Ed. We just want to know who Ed Green is. Man. We want to know where you were born, what your childhood was like growing up, man, and I know, sitting over dinner, you shared a little bit, so it was a little crazy man Going into a lot of the stuff me and dad serving God and being in recovery ministry a lot of the stuff that we work with people on. Later in life, as they get older, they're actually trying to heal from these childhood traumas and these childhood things that happened to us. Um, but we we have these things happen to us and we don't know how to process, we don't know what to do and we grow with these things and we live with this stuff and we talked about that earlier.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean. We're trying to bury it under the rug. Try to bury it, push it down farther.
Speaker 2:I'm never going to talk about this. I'm taking this one to the grave. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:And then we wonder why we're messed up adults.
Speaker 2:Unhappy, we're sick, we're angry, we're unhealthy, our thoughts ain't right. It's like what's going on? Because god has a healing inside that he does, um, but a part of the healing is talking about this stuff, man, um, and it really uh, it's a way that we can kick the devil in the face, man. We really piss the devil off because he wants to keep us trapped in shame and and guilt and and all the the heaviness, man, that comes when we're, when we're not walking in forgiveness and the love of god, because if god can forgive us, then we need to forgive ourselves. Man, who are we to to carry that?
Speaker 1:you know exactly um, but so I first started coming to church, ed. I didn't want to, I didn't want to tell people I was used to be a drug addict. Yeah, you know I mean, because what are they going to think of me? Exactly I mean, and so I kept that hidden for a long time who?
Speaker 2:cares and you know that's real or not.
Speaker 1:It wasn't until I opened up and started talking about it that I began to realize. Wait a minute, these people are responding different than I thought they were gonna respond, they still want to hang out and talk to me and not run from me. You know what I mean. And, and the more I began to talk about it, man, now people are like man, I love your story. You got a a great story.
Speaker 2:It's like I was trying to hide that yeah, you know what I mean because of that shame that guilt.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:Yeah um, but so so, just your, your childhood, ed, sorry, um, brothers and sisters, mom and dad, uh, what, what? What were you like as a kid man? What were your sports, your hobbies? Uh, what was school like? In school, god was god in the home is the lord. Did you have a relationship with god as a kid or was it something you just, the parents did? And you're the parents. Faith, um, get into the teenager and you know, just go through your life. But I think the coolest thing that we really want to get today, ed, is, um, when god, when jesus, the living god, became real to you, yeah, yeah, um, because it's different for everybody, the way that God draws his people to him, because the Bible says only the Lord knows who are his. The way that God draws us to him, it's so individual, it's so personal, man, the way that God met dad was in a prison cell, me, I was in a drug rehab and teen challenge at 1515 West Grand Avenue in downtown Phoenix. We want to know your encounter with God.
Speaker 2:And it's different for everybody. Some people go through like they have this moment, they have this day Burning Bush moment. That was mine, august 26, 2014. That was the day I went down in water.
Speaker 1:Some people have a process, a process 2014.
Speaker 2:That was the day I went down in water.
Speaker 1:Some people have a process, a process multiple different time and became real over time.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean, yeah, so what that, what that looks like for you, um, and then, like that always says man, a real encounter with god, a uh, uh, it brings transformation. Yeah, it's the evidence. It brings life change. You can see, wow, that dude was one way he met god. Now look, he's a completely another way, man, because that's what God does. You meet Jesus, man, things change. He gives us a new heart, he gives us a new mind. We don't like and love the stuff that we used to. So it's just a process of walking with God Absolutely, and then at the end, we want to know what you're hoping for, ed. Come on, because you got a lot of life left ahead of you, man. You got grandkids, you got a job.
Speaker 1:There's still a lot of ministry in you. That's what I was just going to say.
Speaker 3:What ministry.
Speaker 2:is God calling you to? What did he tell you 20 years ago? That he's called you to man, that I'm praying the Lord can We'll pray at the end, but our listeners and the people that watch us, they will actually pray for you too, man. So go big when we get to that place. Okay, yeah.
Speaker 1:So what was it like growing up, ed brother?
Speaker 5:Well.
Speaker 4:I have to say that, first of all, I am a sinner saved by grace.
Speaker 5:Come on.
Speaker 4:Come on brother and God has done a lot for me. Come on, brother. And God has done a lot for me.
Speaker 1:In 1964, I was born July the 5th 1964, so I'm just celebrating my 61st. Oh, you just had a birthday, huh.
Speaker 4:Come on now. Wow, but I was adopted, oh really, yeah. Okay, my adoptive parents, frank and Mary Green Mary Green, my mom, mary Green had just gone through a miscarriage, so they, you know, getting through the pain of that, they wanted to adopt a child. Now they're quite a bit older. I have two brothers and two sisters.
Speaker 2:That were already with sisters, that that were already with mary and that were with them okay so it was their kids that were not adopted, or they were adopted they're biological okay, I'm the only one that's adopted. All right, all right and uh.
Speaker 4:so mom is 44, dad is 42 and they were born in the 20s.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Okay, okay. So I was blessed, even though there is a great age gap between us.
Speaker 2:Between you and the other kids, or you and the parents, you and the parents, okay, okay.
Speaker 4:My older brother. We were pretty close, but they were also growing up. So there was a period of time when I'm growing up and it's kind of just me, mom and dad.
Speaker 2:At home. You experienced that yeah.
Speaker 4:But I was blessed in that my father was a minister of Friendship Baptist Church. I was born in Los Angeles, california.
Speaker 1:Southern California, oh wow.
Speaker 4:And he eventually became a pastor of Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Pasadena, nice. So I grew up in Pasadena, california.
Speaker 2:Beautiful, beautiful area, beautiful man. I used to fundraise chocolate over there. I loved when they sipped me over there it was great, you guys. There's a lot of money over there. Raised chocolate over there. I loved when they sent me over there, it was great, you guys got there's a lot of money over there.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so I, you know, in an environment. I couldn't have been in a better environment in terms of foundation.
Speaker 2:Yeah, um, in a baptist church, pk preacher's kid yeah, man and um have believers or family members yeah, so you, you basically are growing up. It was different back in the 60s, but you, you were growing up. The way that we are watching these littles grow up here, exactly all around this church family, around all of us, that they know that we're all believers and we love god, and, um, it's really like a village, a community, like, like you said, man. So, okay, wow, that's beautiful.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so the environment that I was in is certainly great. The challenge, however, is that I am a preacher's kid and I am enjoying the benefits of that if you will, yeah, you know, just running amok. Yeah, Benefits of that if you will. Yeah. You know, just running amok. Yeah, and because of the age gap, my dad being a pastor of a small church, he's doing all that he can.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 4:To work Monday through Friday and then preach and teach on Sunday.
Speaker 2:Yeah, what did dad do for work?
Speaker 4:He's a postal worker.
Speaker 2:Okay, man.
Speaker 4:He worked in Glendale, California All right and then every day I mean he's gone like 3.30 in the morning.
Speaker 5:Oh, yeah, early.
Speaker 4:And coming back late at night.
Speaker 2:Yeah, what did your mom do?
Speaker 4:She was at home. Okay, all right, raising the kiddos? Yeah, come on.
Speaker 2:A lot of families were like that back then, man man yeah, you could back then.
Speaker 1:Yeah, amen, now you need two income.
Speaker 5:Now you need three or four kids, you ain't leaving, so we they also decided that they wanted to become foster parents.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh, through the state of California and the state of California. So we have so special it is. That's beautiful.
Speaker 1:It takes special people to do that.
Speaker 2:I have to, because when you're sitting here I get this question over me have you ever tried to find the biological parent, or do you know any information I did.
Speaker 4:I initially pursued it but then I kind of left it to my children to pursue. Okay, Amen. But I did the ancestry and I got some hits. I found a cousin, oh wow. But when I told him that I was adopted now I never met him. I mean, this is through email and I think we got on the phone once or twice. But when I told him he was adopted because he's trying to figure out who I am in the family as well, who my parents were, he's trying to figure out who I am in the family as well, who my parents were yeah, and I told him he was adopted, Then he started to he kind of shied away yeah, Because he, I believe he felt he knew who my birth mother was. Ah, wow. And it seemed like she may not have told her family that she had a son.
Speaker 3:Gave you up for adoption, yeah gave me up for adoption.
Speaker 4:So, I didn't pursue it, amen.
Speaker 2:I let it go.
Speaker 5:Amen Okay.
Speaker 4:But you know, life is going good. I'm in the church. I'm in a Baptist church. However, I have a foundation. I know who God is, I'm exposed to God's word, but I don't have a relationship. Come on, buddy.
Speaker 2:That was like me, ed. I grew up in the church man. I was at the Friday night youth lock-ins. I played the drums in the band. We had Sunday night church. We had Sunday night church. We had Sunday night. It was for the real church people. You know, it was like we were at church all the time, man, but I had to go. I didn't have a choice what we did together, but when we left church, we left church and we went on to our life. And then when we went back to church, we went back to church, we went back to church. You know what I mean. So it wasn't anything for me, a real encounter, a relationship like people talk about. Yeah, it was just something that I did exactly um, so okay, what?
Speaker 4:uh, so I was able to fly under the radar at church, at church. Okay, I mean because I knew all the things to say yeah I knew what buttons to press yeah, when to raise the hand.
Speaker 2:When to hit the knees. Hallelujah.
Speaker 4:But there wasn't a relationship to start off with Plus we had foster kids in and out, young people from different backgrounds, family challenges.
Speaker 2:What ages were they bringing?
Speaker 4:in Young, young or older. I had a couple that were older than I was. I was actually molested by an older girl.
Speaker 5:Jesus.
Speaker 2:One of the fosters that had come in Wow.
Speaker 4:But you know, I've gotten through that.
Speaker 2:I really didn't know what was going on in the first place. Ed, if I can say, man, there's been, like Dad was saying, 80 of these things and I can't tell you, man, how many foster homes or kids that are going through that or adopting. That is very prevalent in homes, man, and me and Dad, you know we do some in breeding it and a lot of it happens from the people that are supposed to be keeping their kids safe, man yeah it's, it's a lot of times the blood relatives yeah, you know, mom and dad bless their hearts.
Speaker 4:I think they thought they were doing the right thing, but being is. You know, I'm 10 years old, they're in their 50s. Yeah, 52, 54 yeah um, so it was difficult for them to really connect with me and my foster brothers and sisters okay and um, I'm 52.
Speaker 1:I could imagine having to deal with a 10 year old. Yeah, just for a couple hours, huh, and then give them back. Here you go.
Speaker 2:So what were you? So I can I see the whole part where how you are spiritually as a young kid. Yeah, what were you like physically Like what were you because you're it's in the 60s, late 60s, early 70s you as a 10-year-old, the times back then were? Did you watch baseball?
Speaker 4:I did.
Speaker 2:Yeah, man, literally I'm sorry, but I'm a sports addict. Bro, Were you a Dodgers fan?
Speaker 1:We got a class for that.
Speaker 4:Yes, you know I had to be a Dodgers fan. My dad was a Dodgers fan so we went to games together. Oh, I had to be a Dodgers fan.
Speaker 2:My dad was a Dodgers fan. We went to games together. Oh nice At the old stadium.
Speaker 1:Yes, wow, really cool, are you still?
Speaker 2:a.
Speaker 1:Dodgers fan.
Speaker 5:I am.
Speaker 2:I think I'll always be a Dodgers fan, All right this is ending right now.
Speaker 5:Dodgers suck, dodgers suck.
Speaker 2:This just got weird.
Speaker 1:He takes his sports a little too serious. Very it's bad.
Speaker 2:But one time we we were at man camp and we had the basketball game going up there and my dad's like look at you, you're so happy you got both your gods in the same room.
Speaker 3:I was like oh my.
Speaker 2:God dude, that's cool, it's real man, all right.
Speaker 4:So growing up, my mom also liked to travel and she liked to take me with her when she traveled. I mean, she really picked up at a hat. She loved to travel. Sometimes she wouldn't even tell Dad where we were going, wow. So school was kind of hit and miss for me because I'm, like you know, in the elementary. She's taking me on a trip to, you know, clear, across town, Nebraska. We even went to the Bahamas. So it was a lot of traveling, a lot of in and out of school.
Speaker 2:Mama's taking her baby with her Exactly.
Speaker 4:And so that was challenging. It made it hard for me to really um develop a real good strong foundation academically yeah, okay um, and it hurt when I started to get into junior high.
Speaker 4:uh, in high school, yeah and uh, so much so, but before I get to high school, I actually well, actually in high school, and so much so, but before I get to high school, I actually well, actually in high school I started to just kind of clam up and become a loner to myself. I'm not really getting what's going on. Honestly, I don't even think I should have been promoted to high school because I didn't do well enough mathematically.
Speaker 4:But I love reading and so there are times that I used to ditch high school and go to the library because I love to read and obviously reading is a great thing but it wasn't doing me any good academically. Then I had a foster brother who introduced me to marijuana, yeah, uh-oh. So we used to get high together, yeah. We used to get high together, yeah. And to make matters worse, when I got a job at the gas station as a teenager, after work we would go to the guy's house.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 4:You know, back in that day 70s, 70s, yeah, you know, you had gas stations that were full service. Yeah, so I would pump gas, check the oil, oh you did that.
Speaker 1:I did all that.
Speaker 5:Oh, you did that I did all that as a teenager.
Speaker 4:I'm making pretty good money. And then after work we'd go over to their house and pull out a bong and get lit.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 4:So, and all the while, I'm still going to church every Sunday, oh yeah.
Speaker 2:Hell yeah buddy.
Speaker 5:My parents didn't know.
Speaker 4:My brothers and sisters. Parents didn't know, my brothers and sisters really don't know, so when they listen to this, their eyes will be open.
Speaker 2:Our dad was a little stoner, so were they good, and you were the black sheep kind of thing. Well, no, no, okay.
Speaker 4:I'm the baby of the family, Okay, Loved, you know smothered if you will, from the standpoint of them being around, yeah, but connecting really with my dad and getting the type of attention I needed to grow academically and spiritually yeah, it really wasn't there and it's somewhat. It may have changed now, but back in the day the Baptist church was like that.
Speaker 4:I mean you know, if you started speaking in tongues, they were looking at you crazy, oh, yeah. So I don't know what the denomination, what the focus was. I'm sure it's not the same for everyone, but the tradition was you know, you go to church on Sunday, you have devotion, you sing, you pray, you hear the word and you go home. Yeah, but focusing on developing a relationship really wasn't there. Yeah, or at least not for me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so For mom and dad, what did you see them doing? Was there family? We're going to all get together and read our Bible tonight. Was there family prayer time?
Speaker 4:No, no, okay. No, I know, my dad did pray, he was doing his thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he was doing his thing with God. Yeah, it wasn't something that y'all did together, exactly Okay, so that's part of the reason why, so I think that generation was like that because my mother-in-law Yep Mighty woman of God. Very personal.
Speaker 1:But very private.
Speaker 2:Very private.
Speaker 1:You know Very private.
Speaker 2:Loved, god Loved.
Speaker 1:God Would not like freely talk about God, but if you asked she would have the answers. You know what I mean. And I remember waking up in the morning seeing her read her Bible, yeah, or bed seeing her read her. Bible Every day, yeah, but not much conversation, not much praying at the dinner table, none of that and I think she was Baptist too, you know what I mean. And so I think it was that generation where it was just a private relationship.
Speaker 4:And I think too, you know I'm at church, almost you know, Saturday because of choir rehearsal. Yep, I'm in the choir, so I'm there Saturday, I'm there Sunday, I'm in Sunday school. I'm actually teaching as when I became a teenager.
Speaker 3:Come on, buddy, I I'm actually teaching classes at Sunday school.
Speaker 4:So I could honestly say my parents are probably thinking well, he's doing great. And you know, when I was younger 10, my dad started, you know, making overtones, you know it's about time that he didn't say this, but he was pushing me towards baptism.
Speaker 3:And.
Speaker 4:I could sense it, so I said okay, well, I'll go get baptized.
Speaker 2:It seems like that's what they want me to do yeah, yeah and I got baptized yeah, but still it wasn't for you, it wasn't for me, it was for him, yeah, and it wasn't a relationship there. But but you know, bless their heart, they were doing what the bible says, what they thought, yeah, it was best train your child up and you know that's what the word says is to raise them in the house and raise them around other people?
Speaker 1:Did they raise you? Were you openly knowing that you were adopted? Yeah, they knew.
Speaker 4:My dad eventually told me when I think it was probably yeah how old?
Speaker 3:were you.
Speaker 4:I'm not quite sure. I want to say I was in my teens, oh, wow, seven, eight, maybe nine, I'm not quite sure.
Speaker 3:I want to say I was in my teens. Yeah, wow, yeah, seven, eight maybe nine or ten.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah, but he told me and I appreciate that, yeah, which is really weird. It's something that my family really struggles with today my older brother. We look so much alike. We even have toes that are the same. Really. The toenails grow crooked, the same way, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I'm like you guys need to tell me something.
Speaker 5:Because there's something that's going on
Speaker 2:that you haven't told me I mean, but you know it's funny. Did you adopt this both?
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah, it's really weird and it's funny he was at. My brother Anthony was associate pastor here at. Oh man, warren Stewart is a pastor at First Institutional downtown. Yeah, and I used to come out here in the summers From California.
Speaker 2:From California Okay.
Speaker 4:He was associate pastor here. Eventually he went on to become pastor in a church in Redlands, california, nice. But so I had some history in Arizona before I actually physically moved here. Yeah, but it's funny I say that to say this. When I actually moved to Arizona, maybe 20 years ago, people were like Reverend Green, but they were referring to my brother.
Speaker 1:Oh, wow.
Speaker 3:We looked so much alike. Yeah, it's like I had to tell him.
Speaker 4:I know who you're talking about, but he's back in California now. He's no longer here in Arizona.
Speaker 1:Yeah, wow, that's crazy, yeah, it's wild, yeah, but so I had a challenging.
Speaker 4:You know, I had a challenging childhood from the standpoint of my relationship with my dad. I know he loved me to death, my mom, but there was just such an age gap. I think it was really hard for them to connect with me to see how I was doing at school.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I could see that and really know what's going on.
Speaker 4:So I struggled in that and when I got to high school, getting ready to graduate, not having enough credits to graduate, I think in my senior year in the fall, I met this staff sergeant in the Army. Oh, and lovely woman. Yeah, she looked great in a skirt, yeah.
Speaker 4:She convinced me to say you know what are you going to do after high school? I said you know, I really don't know, still working on that. She said I've got a great thing for you, I've got a great place for you to start the United States Army and so.
Speaker 1:Are there other ladies? You didn't have to graduate, yeah.
Speaker 5:Are there other?
Speaker 2:ladies that look like you in there. Yeah, of course You're young. You see, a beautiful lady.
Speaker 4:She looked great, all right right, but she is a recruiter.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she's just focusing on getting the numbers.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah so I signed up in the delayed entry program in december and, uh, then I turned 18, uh, in july of the following year, yeah, and you went in 82.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, man.
Speaker 4:Um, army was a lot different back then, buddy no, actually I graduated, I got out in high school in 82, went into the military in 83, august of 83.
Speaker 3:Okay, um, and yeah, it was funny, I was.
Speaker 4:I signed up in December. I forgot all about it and you graduated like hey bud.
Speaker 5:You signed this you're coming, dude.
Speaker 2:Oh man, that's tricky it's the delayed entry we'll wait for you, but we got your name bud so they pulled up in the sedan.
Speaker 4:Oh man, he's got his dress. You know his greens on and um, and I when I saw him pull up, I realized I was like oh, oh, yeah, I think they're here for me. Oh, man my mom didn't even know what was going on.
Speaker 2:Oh, wow, Wow, so like the day that you saw the lady and she told you about it is the day that you went to the office and like filled out for it.
Speaker 4:No, I signed up for it at school.
Speaker 3:I filled out all the paperwork at school.
Speaker 4:Yeah, but that was really much all of that. I think there was one meeting. I went into the recruiter's office once and we had some conversations because you know we I took the test and she the ass fat, the ass fat. And after it came back she.
Speaker 2:We talked about moss yeah, your different opportunities and um what'd you do?
Speaker 4:personal action specialist I was. I was great typist okay, and I was yeah, I was moving paperwork yes, sir um, and that's what a cool, what a cool name.
Speaker 2:Personal action specialist yeah mine. I was a supply and there was an automated logistical system specialist.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it's like yeah, man, what'd you do I just supply cage, so yeah, um, they let me pack a few clothes, knowing that I didn't need a whole lot. Yeah, we went to la uh, the uh station downtown. I had my physical, gave the oath and, not realizing that I could have still said prior to giving the oath no I could have said no, yeah, back home, yeah, but they don't tell you that.
Speaker 2:So I gave the oath you're in so much fear yeah, I don't know about you, but I was so I had so much fear. Getting on that bus and standing in there and the dude in the hat, I was just like I didn't know what I was doing. Whatever you tell me to do, I'm gonna do it yeah, that's basically. You got there. We were right where they wanted us.
Speaker 3:We were.
Speaker 4:Absolutely, and after shortly after that I was on a plane from LAX going to Fort Dix, New Jersey. Wow, Opposite coast Come on buddy and and of course I did you know, six weeks, eight weeks bootcamp, yeah and boot camp?
Speaker 2:Did you get recycled? Did you pass your first?
Speaker 4:I passed the first time. That was a big prayer. Good job, buddy, good job.
Speaker 2:A lot of people get recycled man. That was my big prayer too. I was like God, please, I just don't want to have to repass because of the run. It was that run man. I made the run by six seconds, I don't remember. I made the run, you made it, you made the run, you made it.
Speaker 4:But I prayed I said god, if you get me through this, I will do whatever you want me to do.
Speaker 2:That's real. He heard us, but he heard it um. So I went to fort Jackson South.
Speaker 4:Carolina.
Speaker 2:Yeah, let's go bud. That's where I did my basic. You did AIT, ait down there, yeah.
Speaker 4:I learned everything I needed to know about Army regulations and typing up forms. Everything in the Army is a form, so I learned a lot of that, yeah, and then they sent me to Germany, nice.
Speaker 2:You're 18, just finished your basic over into ait. You're in looking good and your greens man you got a little cat. Well, I don't know how the money was back then when I went in.
Speaker 1:It was great. You're about the same age as my brother. He was in germany.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah, I went to um, I went to, uh, the 32nd Army Air Defense Command headquarters Frankfurt. I think he was at.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was in.
Speaker 4:Frankfurt.
Speaker 2:I was just outside Frankfurt, in Darmstadt. Yeah, and when was this? When were you there?
Speaker 4:Well, 83 is when I got out of AIT. Yeah, so I went home for Christmas.
Speaker 1:Were you there during the Iraqi war.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I was in Desert Storm.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Desert Storm war.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was in desert storm yeah, I was in the military in desert, so were you in germany then? No, no, uh, is that when? Carson, is that when was over?
Speaker 1:there. Well, he was there for he did, god, he did almost seven years there I should have done that well, although I wouldn't have met kim but yeah, he was a. He was a small engine mechanic oh, okay, so he was in some shop fixing generators and stuff like that, making sure they were still running germany.
Speaker 2:So what was that like over there?
Speaker 4:it was. It was nice. Yeah, it was a blast, but an 18 year old kid straight out of high school hitting germany and meeting a lot of older people I was thinking, maybe the german women saw you and a man you know I likey.
Speaker 1:And they like to drink.
Speaker 4:My roommate in the barracks. He wanted to take me out the first night, and now it's important to know. When I went into basic and AIT, I was just as wild as I could be.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 4:I'm a prodigal son to the max, yeah, so I'm drinking.
Speaker 2:You grew up in the church man, you know what I mean. You were kind of dabbling with the weed here and there with the people, but you had never really gone off into the cocaine and the alcohol and the party in life.
Speaker 1:It didn't sound, not yet, but you give a church kid with no relationship to Jesus Freedom and money, exactly.
Speaker 2:And send him into the world. That's what happened to me, Ed.
Speaker 1:He finds everything the world has to offer.
Speaker 4:So the enemy certainly had a smorgasbord of everything out there.
Speaker 2:In.
Speaker 4:Germany. So the first night that I'm there, my roommate takes me to a club, and you know German beer it's a lot stronger, yeah, a lot stronger, a lot stronger and so I had a few of them and they were smooth. Didn't really realize it until it was too late they're carrying me he's carrying you.
Speaker 2:You're not a little man, bud, even at 18, you're a big dude, bro. He's carrying me back.
Speaker 4:So they got me back to the barracks, but that started, you know, for me. A pattern, a pattern of poor choices. Yeah, come on, buddy. Bad behavior. A pattern, a pattern of poor choices.
Speaker 3:Yeah, come on, buddy, bad behavior.
Speaker 4:Yeah, knowing coming from a family who knew God is just total opposite. Yeah, and Dang it's, it's. Yeah, it's what happened, so I spent it's real man A year.
Speaker 2:It's real life bud A year in Germany.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so I spent a year in Germany and before I came home in the summer in June, just before my birthday. But I did a lot there. I hated that I didn't get my BMW when I was over there. I got a little later in life.
Speaker 1:Did you ever drive the Autobahn? No, I was over there. I got a little later in life.
Speaker 4:Did you ever drive the Autobahn?
Speaker 1:No, I did the trains, my brother was telling me about the Autobahn where you can do like 125 or whatever.
Speaker 4:I did do the Autobahn when I came back to Germany. There was a point when I was back in the States that we were deployed to Germany for Reforger, where that exercise is. But I came back to the States smoking constantly. Drinking, drinking, drinking constantly and my family doesn't know. Wow, because that's something I chose to hide from them. Yeah. Like when you say your family, you're talking about all your brothers and sisters and your mom and dad, exactly yeah.
Speaker 2:And when you came back to visit, you went back to mom and dad's yeah, because you didn't have a house back here. Exactly, you know what I mean, okay.
Speaker 4:So I'm home on leave. I've done a year in Germany, I'm back in the States and I am going to a Fourth of July swimming party in Altadena, california, at my oldest brother's house.
Speaker 2:So family.
Speaker 4:Family. Okay, now there is a young lady who was a live-in nanny for my brother and sister. Well, my brother-in-law and sister his wife, my sister. She was a nanny for their three children.
Speaker 5:Okay.
Speaker 4:She was also coming from a challenging home environment broken home, kim yeah.
Speaker 2:And she's staying. You have to wait for this one. It's coming, it's coming.
Speaker 4:So she's staying. You have to wait for this one. It's coming, it's coming, so she's staying there. She knows me. She knows of me. My nephews and nieces love me. They talk about me all the time. There are times that I go over to the house. Now, this is before I got into the military. She knew me, but she didn't like me because I was somewhat of a playboy. Even when I would come to Arizona to visit my brother, I was going through the girls at the church.
Speaker 5:It's just bad.
Speaker 3:It's real bro.
Speaker 2:It's real man.
Speaker 4:She knew me before I went into the Army, but when I came back she looked at me differently.
Speaker 2:Man in uniform bud. Well, you were a different man, dude. You go spend a year in the military. You're coming back different, Guaranteed.
Speaker 1:Well, and you're working out all the time, so you're nice. Oh yeah, oh yeah yeah you're working out all the time, so you're nice.
Speaker 4:Oh yeah, oh yeah, yeah, you're looking pretty good, yeah, yeah so at the swimming party I have a cousin who's obnoxious, a whole lot younger he's probably 10 or 11 and he's splashing and kind of driving her towards me. Yeah, okay, and she swears to this day that I put him up to it.
Speaker 5:I didn't know such a thing.
Speaker 4:We hit it off. We were talking. She ended up offering to take me back home after the party was over. I was like, absolutely Her Volkswagen. She drove a stick shift.
Speaker 2:I was like man, that's nice.
Speaker 4:Real excited. Needless to say, we spent a lot of time.
Speaker 1:What kind of Volkswagen was it? It was a Bug A Bug.
Speaker 4:Was it lowered? It wasn't.
Speaker 2:They're all kind of lowered but, probably not on purpose. He loves Volkswagen Bs man, he used to have one. Grandpa took it away from him.
Speaker 1:I had a 69 and a 62.
Speaker 2:You'll have another one.
Speaker 4:Bud Lost them both yeah we would have you know later on. I would have kept it, but I was uncomfortable with her driving it, and not so much that she couldn't drive. I was worried about somebody hitting her.
Speaker 1:They're little, they're not much to them.
Speaker 4:That summer was a whirlwind summer. We started dating, going out together, spending time together.
Speaker 2:You were on leave for a minute.
Speaker 4:I had at least a month of leave coming back from Germany before I had to go to Fort Myers, virginia, the old guard. So at the end of the summer, maybe around the end of July, towards the start of August, it was time for me to head back and I told her I loved her and I kind of proposed and she slapped me.
Speaker 2:I'll take that as a no. Okay, I don't know why, but I can see that from your watch.
Speaker 4:It wasn't the response that I was expecting?
Speaker 2:No, not at all. Did you get down on the knee? Yeah, oh, so you did it like you were supposed to. Yeah, okay.
Speaker 4:So she agreed.
Speaker 2:I love you, kim, that's awesome.
Speaker 4:We were making plans for a wedding in the spring of next year. Yeah, I'm, you know, back. I'm back now. I'm in Virginia Fort.
Speaker 2:Myers, so she said yes. Yes, she did. I thought she said I didn't know.
Speaker 1:Okay, First I'm going to smack you and then I'm going to say yes, okay. I thought she was playing hard to get, bro, Not right now.
Speaker 2:You're going back to Virginia. I think it was because of to get bro, Not right now.
Speaker 4:You're going back to Virginia. I mean because I think it was because of the mood, the ambiance.
Speaker 1:She knew where I was going when I was heading with this. That's so awesome, that's great.
Speaker 2:Are you a hopeless romantic? Would you call yourself one?
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, all right.
Speaker 2:Cool buddy yeah.
Speaker 4:That's great one. Yeah, yeah, all right, cool buddy. Yeah, so that's great. Uh, I uh stationed in virginia and I have a uh well, she's probably going to tell it to you I have a roommate, that uh, that came over from germany, that I knew back in Darmstadt and he was in a different company at the time, but when we both because both of us are in personnel so we both got assigned to the same company at Fort Myers and we were servicing the old guard in personnel. That's cool, and the only problem is he had an alternative lifestyle and I told him I said, look, I don't swing that way yeah um, he's a roommate, yeah, but there's no, yeah, you're not gonna we're.
Speaker 4:But so, meanwhile, once my mom finds out that I'm talking about getting married and Kim is the the one I'm planning to marry, because, she's still there in Pasadena nanny, nanny and the kids for your family. My mom decides that this marriage is not the right thing to do for Ed.
Speaker 2:No oh man.
Speaker 4:Because she had ambitions.
Speaker 2:Mom's got great hopes and dreams for their kids. Man, she's thinking I'm going to become an officer in the Army. That's not going to happen.
Speaker 4:So, she just knew that getting married was going to ruin that opportunity for me, so she did some things that drove Kim crazy. Kim calls me and says look, if your mother wants you that bad, she can have you.
Speaker 5:Heading back to Alabamaama. So, needless to say, I went awol I'm going to get my girl.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I'm going to get my woman, so I went back home talk to her talk to mom, or talk to kim. Talk to kim. There's no talking to my mother oh, wow, okay yeah, I convinced her, you convinced her to stay. I didn't even have. I took a, you know, took a plane, caught the plane to go back to California, but I didn't have any money to get back, wow. So I was like, well, you, know, now you're AWOL bud, yeah. I would have been if I didn't make it back on Monday morning.
Speaker 2:Oh, you made it back. Oh, okay.
Speaker 4:She paid for, uh, my ticket. Wow, to get me back. Yeah, but we talked and she decided okay, I'm, I'm coming to you.
Speaker 5:I have a cousin in baltimore, maryland okay, a few hours away from where you were, yeah all right.
Speaker 4:She also called me and told me before that I was going to be a dad. Wow, and so I was just overjoyed. Yeah, man, blown away.
Speaker 2:And so Amen, buddy, amen. So when she came out, Is that something that you always wanted?
Speaker 5:Yes.
Speaker 2:To have kiddos, yeah, be a dad.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so she stayed with her cousin when she came out, initially, yeah, and through the pregnancy, um. But we took off one day, on friday after work, september the 27th 1985, uh, went to the justice of the peace, nice, and married.
Speaker 5:Come on, yeah it made it official under God and the witness.
Speaker 2:Did it right. Yeah, Got your woman your blessing.
Speaker 4:But still, I was living a life. I was living a lie. Yeah, cause you know Kim is sold out believer. Yeah, she doesn't know that I smoke. I'm smoking behind her back.
Speaker 5:Oh, wow.
Speaker 2:And yeah, she doesn't know that I smoke. I'm smoking behind her back. Oh, wow, and um, how's your drinking at this point? Okay, still drinking, yeah, um, it's what we do in the military man, what we do, yeah yeah, so, uh, we got through, uh, our time in virginia, washington DC, fort Myers.
Speaker 4:I felt like I need to be all that I can be. Yeah, and this personnel is not going to get me through the ranks quickly. Yeah, because Essentially all the combat support people when they get towards retirement, they go into personnel, so it makes it hard for somebody who's in personnel to move up the ranks, because there's no slots. So I decided I'm going to be all that I can be and change my MOS and I became basically a radio teletype operator, ended up at Fort Gordon, learned how to set up communications.
Speaker 2:Now you'll be in the field. Now I'll be in the field Setting up so people can hear and talk. Wow.
Speaker 4:So Ashley was born in Andrews Air Force Base while we were in Virginia, but I eventually came down on orders for Fort Ord, california. And Fort Ord used to exist before the government shut it down, but it was in monterey, yeah, okay, so we moved to monterey and with the baby, with the baby, yeah, married married, living on base in a in a, in a military housing, yeah military.
Speaker 2:Yeah, why not? They're gonna pay for it. They're to give me more money to live there. They're going to pay for my. It's crazy what they do, yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and it was an adventure, because I mean, the first week that I'm there and I meet my new supervisor, I am invited out to the field. I shouldn't say invited, they took me to the field. I shouldn't say invited, they took me to the field.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 4:And. Kim is by herself in temporary housing. Yeah, she hasn't gotten, or we haven't gotten, a house yet. I mean, I was only there a week before they my unit was going out to the field Really.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so you don't have your stuff, I don't have my stuff nothing.
Speaker 1:When you say the field, what does that mean?
Speaker 2:Oh, you're going out. You're disappearing for a little bit, all right.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it's going out into the woods. There's a place called Fort Hunter, liggett, up near Fort Ord. It's just open range and I was assigned to an artillery battalion, so it's basically an exercise for the artillery battalion to become certified.
Speaker 2:So, they're shooting off, moving the ammo, moving everything, setting up, firing Camouflage, just like you would if you were out there in the real field. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you got to move everything and set up and you're their communications guy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, all right.
Speaker 4:So I'm working out of a van sending messages back and forth, Was it all?
Speaker 2:Morse code.
Speaker 4:No, it was a-.
Speaker 2:Or did they hey.
Speaker 4:Alpha Breaker. A little bit of that, but it's more of a teletype machine. You've seen typewriters just typing and pulling out a message. Well, I was the one typing up messages and then sending them electronically to other units out in the field Nice. Or across the country.
Speaker 2:Okay, You're the guy writing the messages that they pulled out.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, cool dude um, so everywhere they went, you went. Yeah, nice dude, I was gonna be a helicopter mechanic because they wouldn't let me be a helicopter pilot. So I was trying to try to sign up for a helicopter mechanic because they told me you get assigned a helicopter. Wherever it goes, you go yeah, I'm like cool man. They're like no, we can't take you, it would take me, ed. I wanted to be a military man, he wanted to go in.
Speaker 1:Man, you would have been great at it my dad, my two older brothers, were all in the military, that's what I. That's the only reason I graduated high school. Yeah, because at that because in 1990 you had to have a high school diploma to get into the military yeah so that was the only reason I graduated was to join the military. Yeah, just for them to tell me no ruined my whole plan. So what did I start doing? I started drinking and getting high.
Speaker 2:Drinking and getting high. I don't know what else to do, yeah.
Speaker 1:Like you ruined all my plans. I don't know what to do now, so let's just yeah, party.
Speaker 4:So it's fortunately.
Speaker 3:Did you enjoy the?
Speaker 4:military. I think it was a great place to start, yeah, great, I would have stayed if not for the kid and the baby and the honey.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 5:It's a different.
Speaker 2:When you go in a single man into the military, you're going in like you say, man, this is going to be great, I'm going to be an officer, I'm going to stay in there for 20 years, I'm going to retire, I'm going to have all these benefits, good health, all this money, and when the girl comes in, it's like wait, the plans change, things change.
Speaker 1:It's hard on marriages, man.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it is hard.
Speaker 1:My oldest brother, his, ended up in divorce while he was in the military.
Speaker 4:We almost ended up that way, because after Fort Ord, I think we spent a couple years on Fort Ord.
Speaker 2:Are you drinking and smoking?
Speaker 4:oh yeah, oh wow and um, unfortunately still living that lie. Yeah, uh, and then I came down on orders, you know, in terms of getting housing. It's the funniest thing. I told you that was only on post for a week before they sent us out to the field yeah well, kim um, unbeknownst to her, is talking to the lieutenant colonel's wife.
Speaker 2:Great, commander's wife great, she's got an in. Yeah, she's got an in. Yeah, how'd she get that? That's god man. That's god. That's god man.
Speaker 4:So, needless to, say, um, they pulled me out of the field and we worked and we got housing right away. Wow, um. But she explained I have a child, we just got here and you've taken my husband or they've taken my husband to the field and uh, that lady that lieutenant commander's wife knew how that felt.
Speaker 4:That had happened to the commander before, yeah, so needless to say, she gave it to her husband, the battalion commander. Oh yeah, he pulled some strings, yeah he gave it to our company commander, who turned around and gave it to the first sergeant and I got you know I was picked up out of the field.
Speaker 3:They were bringing me back to base shortly after I got there. That's awesome, yeah, but.
Speaker 4:I came. You know, I think we spent two years on Fort Ord before I came down to orders to go to Korea, oh wow.
Speaker 2:Now Korea is a good one. It is if you're not married, oh yeah how old were you when you go to korea?
Speaker 4:I was around 20, 22, something like that oh you're still young yeah, wow, dude.
Speaker 1:Oh, because you went in when you were 18.
Speaker 2:Huh, yeah, oh wow the duty stations are usually only a year there's only a couple of them around the world. That are the three years. Yeah, all right.
Speaker 1:That's a lot for a young man to be dealing with. Bud. Yeah, if you think about it, 22 is not you. Look at my son and my daughter are 25 and 23, and they're God. I don't think they could do that I mean I'm sure they could, they had to, but to think about them having to deal with something like that mentally especially my daughter like having a kid and dealing with all that. I'm like holy crap, that'd be a handful to make matters worse.
Speaker 4:You know, I just I went into a black hole yeah, drinking and smoking man yeah, um, yeah, kim, and I talked about it. You know it's six, it's a year, but you come back in six months. So we talked about okay, I'm not going to be spending any money, the Army's going to be providing my meals and whatever I need.
Speaker 2:Over there in Korea.
Speaker 4:While I'm in Korea. All the money will go to you and you'll be able to take care of it.
Speaker 2:Oh, so she wants to stay in the States. She don't want to go to Korea.
Speaker 4:She wanted to go to korea. She wanted to go, but it wasn't it wasn't, it wouldn't have been a good environment for her and ashley to be in, because the conditions were not such at that time, but it was really set up for any housing really, and um there was no on-base housing, so she they would she would have to live in the city on the economy, so she chose to stay on fort, or while I was in korea and I just I was out there I lost it and I'm spending money I, I got so and I'm not writing, I'm not calling.
Speaker 4:She doesn't know what's going on, man and and she's got bills to pay. Yeah, she's working, but still no, you're.
Speaker 2:She's supposed to be getting checks in the mail, honey. Checks in the mail.
Speaker 4:Money's coming, but I'm spending it. Yeah and uh. I was just out of control, wow, and I got so tore up plastered one night. I don't even know how I got back to the base, wow, wow. I don't know if MPs or buddies carry me back. I mean, I woke up. I remember being at the bar and then waking up in my bed, in my bunk the next day and not knowing how I got there.
Speaker 5:And that shook me a little bit.
Speaker 4:Because so many things could have gone. Oh yeah, oh yeah in that environment.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, um. A lot of bad choices when you get like that, but yeah, yeah uh.
Speaker 4:So I toned it down a little bit, but I'm still. You know, I have this uh addiction.
Speaker 2:Yeah, cigarettes and alcohol how's the women thing with you being over there and no kid, that's got to be.
Speaker 1:Yeah, jesus, challenging yeah, definitely challenging yeah damn.
Speaker 4:Um, and and that's a lot of the reasons probably why I wasn't calling yeah, I was just ashamed of everything that I'm doing. Yeah, um, I back, fortunately okay in six months, and we had a conversation and then the next six months got better and I came back to Fort Ord.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Then the last six months you were sending money. You were writing Well, yeah, the money was going to her.
Speaker 4:I just wasn't, you know, dipping into the account at all.
Speaker 5:Yeah, okay, okay.
Speaker 1:Was that time? Was that you said that was your roughest time in the military? Right there, yeah.
Speaker 4:Korea was hard. Yeah, Very hard she was how old was she?
Speaker 2:She had been in her early 20s with a hard yeah.
Speaker 3:Very hard she was how old was she?
Speaker 2:She had been in her early twenties with a girl. Yeah, and the man's gone. Yeah, and she's working.
Speaker 3:Yeah, man, yeah With.
Speaker 2:Ashlyn yeah.
Speaker 4:And having to deal with school, I mean daycare, yeah, um, and her job in Monterey and, uh, monterey.
Speaker 2:It was a lot. Yeah, it's a lot. She's like I didn't sign up for this.
Speaker 4:I can't wait to get your story, sis. So when I got back to Fort Ord, we came down on orders to go to Colorado Springs Beautiful Fort Carson, Colorado, Wow. And that is about the time. We were probably there for a year before the desert storm kicked off and I was this is the one in the 90s.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so I was excited. I mean, I'm in another headquarters unit in communications but I'm in. I'm in a another headquarters unit in communications but I'm I'm in the army working for the air force, so there's a staff oh cool weather detachment cool um, that is attached to uh, the fourth infantry division. Yeah, and I'm working with them in whether satellite weather communications or satellite communications, so it's a lot of fun.
Speaker 2:The Air Force has best of everything, so the Army's got the crap dude.
Speaker 4:So him working with the Air Force, it's like wow you guys got all the toys and gadgets and great stuff.
Speaker 2:They got better barracks, they got better clothes.
Speaker 4:The Air Force got it all man. So I was living the life and then Desert Storm kicked kicked off.
Speaker 1:Did she go to?
Speaker 4:colorado with you. Yeah, yeah, and we went to colorado together, yeah yeah, she's like I ain't staying behind this one. That last one was crappy um, but uh, desert storm kicked off and I'm excited because I'm thinking, okay, we're going to get to play.
Speaker 2:You're going to go, yeah.
Speaker 4:I've been training doing this stuff playing soldier for years.
Speaker 2:You're a field guy now I'm ready to go. Yeah, nobody told you. Nobody told you. The ones who really want to go don't go, and the ones who don't want to go, go.
Speaker 4:Or if you've got a praying wife who prays you away from them. I still haven't forgiven her.
Speaker 5:I know she prays, I wouldn't end up going.
Speaker 4:So they took some tank battalions from Fort Carson, but they didn't take our unit.
Speaker 2:It probably wouldn't have been good for you, ed. It wouldn't have With where you were at and just coming back from the dark hole time and season, because you go over there and that time. But they were, it was all bad, bro. There's a lot of killing going on. Man, even though you were, would have just been in communications. But it's a different life. It's war. God didn't have that plan.
Speaker 4:Yeah, that's right, man yeah, um, but needless to say I was still spiraling and it got to a point where Kim couldn't trust me, and that's a very bad place to be in. But I was drinking, so much Was she aware of your drinking now.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 4:And I had bottles in the cabinet.
Speaker 2:I was drinking almost every day. What are you? 25, 26?
Speaker 4:At that time. No, I was only 23, 24? 23, 24.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay.
Speaker 4:And.
Speaker 1:Still a young man.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Wow, up in Colorado. Yeah, all the snow, yeah Cold, all the snow cold. You're inside all day. How?
Speaker 5:long total were you?
Speaker 1:in the military for 8 years so we had an argument.
Speaker 4:I was also dabbling with calling these phone lines. I was wearing up and down. I didn't do that they send statements.
Speaker 2:They send statements, they send statements. Who's calling these numbers? Oh man.
Speaker 1:I feel you, Ed. I love you, buddy. I'm about to cover up that lie too. Yeah, dude, I would use other people's cards.
Speaker 2:I was bad Ed. Thank you, god, for new life Lord.
Speaker 4:Needless to say, that was an environment that was totally unhealthy, yeah, and Kim was not going to stand that. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, she didn't deserve that. No, she didn't. She didn't, yeah, okay.
Speaker 4:So she left Her and Ashley Dial a.
Speaker 2:She didn't, she didn't, yeah, okay, so she left Her and Ashley Dial a man up the.
Speaker 4:Honda Accord. They drove to California. California, okay, and she had a family friend and their family that she stayed with initially in the San Diego area Diego area, uh, and I was there at the house in Colorado Springs with the dog and realizing how bad things have finally gotten my wife's gone, my kid's gone, the stuff's gone. Marriage is likely to be over soon. I got a dog, I got the dog and I'm still in the army, still trying to be all I can be Dang bro.
Speaker 4:And then shortly after that, I also come down on orders to go to Turkey. Oh, and that was it. I was like there's no way, and I was coming up on enlistment too, so they made it a package deal.
Speaker 2:You reenlist and you go to Turkey. You go to Turkey.
Speaker 4:Otherwise you're out, because they're also working on the early release program. They were downsizing, yeah. So I knew going to Turkey trying to. You know I could have taken Kim. If Kim and Ashley were with me, we could have gone together, but I knew that she was not going to go to a Muslim environment.
Speaker 5:She would have been witnessing. Yeah.
Speaker 4:And that would have got her locked up. Yeah, so I turned that down. I also realized the the error, my ways. I'm calling and I'm writing and, uh, trying to reconnect yeah, over to san diego.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're up in colorado trying to make some amends repair but I I realized this was also an opportunity for god.
Speaker 4:Have my undivided attention.
Speaker 2:That's what I wanted to know, man, because it seemed like since you had left from high school. It seemed like high school you started dabbling and kind of doing your thing, man, and you graduate and you go into the military and drinking and smoking. And this goes all the way, even the military and drinking and smoking, and so, and this goes all the way, even through marriage and kids and different bases and hiding and living this, having this hidden lifestyle. Where's god? Are you guys like doing the church thing on sundays? And really, ed man, that's so real bro.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know how many guys are doing that, just going through the motions yeah, dude you ain't the only one, but I I would do that and I'd go in the bathroom and get high. Dude, go in the bathroom. After I got out of prison, bro, mom and dad are like you have to come to church with us.
Speaker 4:Fine, I bring dope with me, man and freaking, go in the bathroom and get high, but yeah there's, through the motions Damn, outside of Colorado Springs there is a I don't remember the name of the church, it's a Baptist church, pastor Probey. I'll never forget him. He was the pastor, yeah, but I was made a deacon in the church Wow. Still living two lives. Yeah, buddy.
Speaker 2:But you know I got were you faithful, so you were faithful, he. They could count on you, bud, yeah. Yeah, it's hard to find faithful men. It's hard to find faithful people yeah for the most part.
Speaker 4:Yeah uh. So I left the army in uh 92 uh on valentine's day, oh wow and wow, that was the day you got yeah I went ahead and honorably discharged when I got out.
Speaker 2:I served my time, I did but now you've got VA loans and VA and man, you're good so I packed up our stuff.
Speaker 4:I got some guys in the military to help me pack up our house on base on post. I put in a U-Haul, drove from Colorado Springs to California. Now Kim is in an apartment in Vista at this point. I'm not allowed to stay, but I'm able to drop off the furniture and you know.
Speaker 1:She was standing on her ground.
Speaker 4:Yeah, oh, wow, and I mean I think we were separated for at least a year.
Speaker 2:Really wow bro yeah, she really wanted to make sure you had changed.
Speaker 4:Yeah yeah, I hadn't really changed yet. Um but, um, but there was a point where we needed to rebuild trust. Yeah, and that's still an area that we're working on. Yeah, but uh and I say that because there are things that happen. I, when I got back I'm staying with my mom and dad and they're like what's going on I said you know what? It's not her fault. I made some mistakes and that's the reason why we're separate separated right now.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it's all my fault, Amen, and you know my dad's like well, that's, that's it. We don't need to go into the details. My mom's trying to find out what did you do?
Speaker 2:Mom's always want to dig, but I, you know.
Speaker 4:I started working for a shuttle, a shuttle company, out of the airport. I would be driving people you know around Los Angeles County occasionally from the airport. You know plane was supposed to go to San Diego and it got detoured to LAX, so the airline would contract us to drive or shuttle folks from LAX to San Diego. That gave me an opportunity to swing by and see Ashley and Vista and see them. And so things had gotten better.
Speaker 4:Eventually I was allowed to move back in. I mean because, honestly, she was as bad as things were and I give Kim all the credit in the world she remained faithful. I mean divorce we weren't going to get divorced, but there was no. We were certainly going to remain separated until things got better.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and so I moved in eventually. And so I moved in eventually. Maybe almost a year of being separated, or a year of being separated, I moved into the apartment with her in Vista, and then Kim got pregnant, and that's where Alicia came into play.
Speaker 2:She was born in. She's the one that's married to the football player right yeah Up in Glendale.
Speaker 4:Yeah, August the 13th 1993. So a year after I got out, Alicia was born.
Speaker 1:So there's what like four years between the two daughters, Seven, Seven Wow.
Speaker 4:Because Ashley was born in 86. Wow, and Alicia was born in 86. Wow, and Alicia was born in 93. Remember when?
Speaker 2:Pastor Ashley was sharing her testimony and how she's praying for her little baby.
Speaker 3:Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:God gave me a baby. Yeah, that's right. I remember that.
Speaker 3:Baby sister, baby sister I forgot about that.
Speaker 4:So when I moved to Vista, connected, reconnected with Kim and Ashley and eventually Alicia, I started working for a company called Remote Control International, a software company. You know computers, Tech, tech company, yeah, tech company. All right, computers were just starting out at this time, yeah, this is like early 90s.
Speaker 2:Early 90s company yeah, tech company Computers were just starting out at this time. This is like early 90s.
Speaker 4:Early 90s, but the military exposed me to a lot related to computers and software.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 4:So I started doing technical support for a company that manufactured a software program called TeleMagic, for a company that manufactured a software program called TeleMagic. It was designed for salespersons to help them remain in contact with prospects and sell whatever they're selling to those individuals and keep track of their contacts. I did support for that for a year or more, became one of the senior support people um, and eventually I became the manager of support before they moved operations to texas yeah, but but I was taking a smoke break just outside the office.
Speaker 4:Now Kim is also working in Carlsbad, just south of Vista, in an office maybe a couple of blocks away. She's working for Callaway Golf.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Oh nice. So she decides you know what? I'm going to go surprise him.
Speaker 2:Oh no, and you're outside smoking a cigarette.
Speaker 1:yeah oh no, and so she walked around the corner, and here I am puffing the chimney and she looked at me and she didn't say.
Speaker 4:She just turned around and walked away wow man so you know it, things are really starting to spiral. Yeah, uh. But you know we worked through that. And then she realized you know all the times on ford award, that you know I'd see ashes on the side of the car because I'm flicking ashes out of the window and I would tell her. Well, you know, I don't know how that got there. She realized that I wasn't being truthful, damn buddy, yeah.
Speaker 2:That's the one thing in a relationship, in a marriage, man, that you got to have trust and you got to have communication man.
Speaker 4:So we worked through that. That she's remained with me. She didn't kick me out.
Speaker 1:Come on, bro, um, but it was hard yeah for you, for me for her too yeah that woman gave you a lot of chances come on she is your better
Speaker 4:god is good and she can cook like that man bro, yeah, so dang god um amen buddy so eventually I'm working up to becoming manager of support.
Speaker 4:Yeah, for the software company and it's become a fortune 500 company. The owner of the company decides to sell the company, the software, to another company called sage us. They're out of the uk, they make sterling software, the number one accounting package in europe. They purchased telemagic and they decide they're going to move operations to texas, have DAC-Easy, another accounting package. They're going to relocate everything to Texas. And they came to me and said look, we need somebody to manage support or be a support lead, do training in Texas for the new technicians that are going to, because the entire operation is moving to Texas.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so I agree, they paid for a family move. Yeah, they paid travel expenses and everything.
Speaker 2:That's closer to Kim's family too, because they're in Alabama.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 5:Yeah, okay.
Speaker 4:So we moved.
Speaker 2:Was she excited about the move?
Speaker 3:A little.
Speaker 4:I mean because we had been used to moving being in the military, we moved all the time. And this was a new opportunity Obviously an increase in pay, so it was something.
Speaker 2:Fresh start Fresh start.
Speaker 4:So we moved to Frisco, texas, just outside of Dallas or north of Dallas, and I worked in Plano.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Brand new house. We purchased a home that was just built. We were actually the first house in this community, wow, and things were looking great. Yeah, yeah. Working in Plano and managing a support department group of people, I still have issues. I mean, things have gotten better. You know, I promise I'm not going to do anything, I'm still.
Speaker 1:Are you still drinking? Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4:Not as much, yeah, but it's still there.
Speaker 5:Yeah, and.
Speaker 4:Still smoking, still smoking. Yeah, yeah, and July the 5th comes around. It's my birthday. I'm at work and I am taking a smoke break. Yeah, and Kim and the girls Coming to surprise you. Yeah, surprise me for my birthday.
Speaker 5:They got me cake Dang it.
Speaker 4:And they're pulling around the corner.
Speaker 2:I'm out behind the building, out back yeah and did you see them before they saw you.
Speaker 4:It didn't matter, okay, um, but I saw, you know, when they pulled around the corner, I saw them, kim, just her, just heart just dropped, yeah, but what hurt the most? I mean, I, I realized I had, I had really fallen short, yeah, to see my girls in the car looking at me wondering what I'm doing yeah uh, and that. That's when I decided um, praise God, we're still together. But I said, lord, I need you to take this from me. I'm talking about being addicted.
Speaker 2:How old are you at this point, 27, 28? Around that been smoking for 10 years at that point you get to a point where it's like this is just who I am, honey. It's a hard one, yeah.
Speaker 1:That's a hard one, brother. Yeah it is, but God is faithful, he sure is.
Speaker 4:That I have not Smoked a cigarette.
Speaker 2:Since.
Speaker 3:Since then Come on buddy.
Speaker 4:And Wow.
Speaker 5:I don't drink yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean.
Speaker 5:I might't drink.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I mean I might have an occasional.
Speaker 1:And that's.
Speaker 2:July 5th.
Speaker 4:Yes, july 5th my birthday Wow.
Speaker 2:Of 1990.
Speaker 4:Alicia was born in 93, so it had to be at least three or four years after that 95, 97, something like that it's been a few years of telemagic. I want to say we moved out here in 2020.
Speaker 1:That's 30 years.
Speaker 4:That's a good 30 years.
Speaker 1:Come on brother.
Speaker 4:God is faithful.
Speaker 5:Yeah, man.
Speaker 2:That's the first time you ever humbled yourself before God, and really God. I need you to take this from me, please.
Speaker 4:I had to explain to my girls. They weren't all that old, but they were old enough to see what I was doing maybe not Alicia, but Ashley and I asked forgiveness. I turned it over to the Lord. He took that desire from me that very day. And ask forgiveness, come on. I turned it over to the Lord. He took that desire from me that very day.
Speaker 3:Come on, he delivered then He'll deliver now yeah.
Speaker 1:I'm about two and a half. I'm about two and a half years cigarettes free. I'm sorry. I'm about two and a half years with no cigarettes. God delivered him.
Speaker 2:He threw his pack of cigarettes at Pastor Dave at man camp. I don't want these anymore. I threw them right at him. I had quit for three years.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and me and my wife went on a trip to Cabo.
Speaker 5:And I'm sitting on the beach. You had a drink?
Speaker 1:I don't drink yeah.
Speaker 5:And I'm like, let me have one.
Speaker 1:I mean yeah, and started smoking again. Yeah, I mean, it wasn't until man camp to 2021 2021 yeah, yeah here's the funny thing, right as I'm pacing the seats and I hear god telling me take those cigarettes to your pastor.
Speaker 3:And.
Speaker 1:I'm literally telling him no God, and I'm praying. He's like didn't I tell you to take those cigarettes to your pastor? And now I'm starting crying.
Speaker 5:I'm like no God.
Speaker 1:I'm not ready to let go and he would not stop the whole time I'm walking in these seats and praying for these men. He would not stop.
Speaker 3:And.
Speaker 1:I'm bawling and I finally go, and the pastor, dave, was with the guest pastor With the guest pastor.
Speaker 2:Oh, wow, and.
Speaker 1:I'm like, and he's like take those two. And I'm like I'm like rationalizing with God. Yeah, he's with another pastor. He's like didn't I tell you and pastor, so I go back. They're bawling, you know. I mean, I'm like, I'm sorry, I don't mean to interrupt you. He's like eddie, what's? Going on, I'm like throw my cigarettes at him. Yeah, like god told me to give these to you.
Speaker 4:He's like calm down. You know what I mean. God is good.
Speaker 1:Haven't smoked since man yeah, yeah, freedom is good yeah yeah, yeah, so, uh, so I get it, brother.
Speaker 4:brother, that's a hard one to give up it is and I said it had to be. God yeah, because cold turkey.
Speaker 1:Oh dude.
Speaker 4:Like that, and I mean he even took the desire in such a way that I get sick.
Speaker 2:Sick when you smell it. When I smell it, that's how you know you're delivered. Bud yeah.
Speaker 1:I get in customers' cars man. I'm like oh, it's just revolting. It really is. It's the nastiest thing in the world.
Speaker 4:I'm like what? So we spent a few years here in Texas.
Speaker 2:Texas.
Speaker 4:And then the company that I'm working for that owns the software decides okay, we're going to owns the software decides okay, we're gonna move from, we're gonna move this, we're gonna sunset the software application because it's in competition with another software application that they own called sales logics they also have um what's sunset?
Speaker 2:mean kind of just let it, let it go away.
Speaker 4:Oh they're not going to produce any more updates, they're just going to let it kind of go away, go to the sunset.
Speaker 1:That's a good term. I like that terminology yeah.
Speaker 4:Sunset it.
Speaker 5:That's what they do.
Speaker 1:Just let it kind of go down and just disappear.
Speaker 4:So they came to me and said look, we're going to give existing customers time to leave TeleMagic and hopefully move towards Sales logics cool, and in that transition we're going to need somebody to train up the team at sales logics to understand telemagic so they can initially provide support. Yeah, during this transition period, we want you to manage that that team. Amen. So I moved again from Texas to Gilbert Arizona. Really Wow, because the software company was in Ganey Ranch in Scottsdale.
Speaker 5:Oh, wow.
Speaker 4:And God is so good.
Speaker 2:Money.
Speaker 4:We are. Yeah, there was a raise with that too, yeah. But, we're looking for a home and our realtor is trying to convince us to move to queen creek, and at that time queen creek was really in the early stages, nothing and I and I couldn't see driving from queen creek to scottsdale every day.
Speaker 1:It was bad enough to do it from gilbert yeah but um that would have been an hour and a half, two hour drive.
Speaker 2:Oh, exactly, all you had was surface roads back then. I know because, yeah, it was no freeway, no 24, you ain't got none of that, yeah wow, but um.
Speaker 4:So we we saw kim had been praying for a house with a spiral staircase oh yeah, um she you know she had very specific things she wanted.
Speaker 2:man I remember.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so we, we, we go to tour this house Cause realtor's like I think I, I have what you're looking for. We go to tour this house and it's. It's the house. Wow, everything that she wanted. Wow, this house had, including the color schemes, wow.
Speaker 5:Great.
Speaker 4:And it was a spec home so we didn't have to. You know, there was no modification Brand new yeah. Only problem was the house was under contract.
Speaker 2:That means somebody else already likes it and wants it Exactly.
Speaker 4:So a realtor came back a few days later and said look, I'm sorry, it looks like this house is already under contract. A realtor came back a few days later and said look, I'm sorry, it looks like this house is already under contract and I'm not going to be able to get the house.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 4:And Kim and I are disappointed to say the least, but I said, you know God will provide, and shortly, not too much longer. It looks like the contract fell through a couple of weeks later.
Speaker 2:I can almost guarantee you, bro, that Kim went into the war closet Because she actually had a prayer closet in that house.
Speaker 4:I guarantee it, man.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I guarantee, man, guys, I hear your prayers and I see what you want, honey, that contract's done and here you go, man.
Speaker 4:I love God prayers and I see what you want, honey, that contract's done. Yeah, and here you go. Yeah, man, I love god, that's um, before uh gilbert had the, uh the mall yeah it was, uh, it used to be just an open field and people used to go quail and the mall.
Speaker 2:Are you talking about the outdoor walking area over there?
Speaker 4:okay, before all that was there it's just a field, yeah, um, and doves used to go out there some people would on saturdays, be out there shooting yeah oh, wow, but eventually they built the freeway and they built the mall, yeah and uh, and of course god just blessed, you know.
Speaker 2:The girls grew up and grew out yeah, in a really good neighborhood, in a good area, safe, that's great man. So when?
Speaker 4:we started going to church here in Arizona.
Speaker 2:So you got here in 99? Or 2000?
Speaker 4:It might have been probably 2000.
Speaker 5:Okay.
Speaker 4:Because I think we've been here for about 30 years. Okay.
Speaker 5:All right.
Speaker 4:Um so uh, God just opened doors. We went to Christ life church. No way, yeah and uh, and eventually pastor Dave and Sheree um you were there for that, yeah.
Speaker 5:Wow, bro yeah.
Speaker 2:If you guys want to know, you can go and listen to Pastor Cherie Wright's testimony and she talks about the transition at Christ Life Church. It's a beautiful testimony. I encourage you to go listen to it.
Speaker 1:Wow, you were there for that. It's amazing how many people followed them.
Speaker 2:From there bro that are still because they they disappeared and left there and a lot of the people were like where'd they go? Yeah, and it wasn't until later, when it's like, oh, we're staying and we're starting a church. A lot of the people were like we're coming.
Speaker 4:Yeah, wow man I was one of those, kim, and I were one of those that had to tell the pastor, the new pastor there at Christ Life. I'm sorry, but my pastor is Pastor Dave and Cherie yeah. And we're going to be following them. So we did the CTA and then eventually here.
Speaker 2:What did you see in him?
Speaker 4:Pastor Dave.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because he's in his 30s at this point and I remember seeing pictures of him at the start of the church. I'm like this guy. He had no clue what he was.
Speaker 4:He's authentic and I like the fact that, even in his sermons. I mean we became brothers and families really close together. I mean we took Pastor Lacey to visit my Kim's mother yeah. And back because eventually she moved to Vista back in the day.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 4:So Pastor Lacey went with us on a road trip. Wow, at the time.
Speaker 5:Wow.
Speaker 3:All right.
Speaker 4:So Pastor Lacey and Ashley actually went to the same worship school together, yeah, but we were very close and I saw that Pastor Dave was authentic, genuine in his love and support, even in his ministry. I love the fact there are many ministers and I know it's not him, I know it's the Holy Spirit, it's the Lord but there are many ministers who preach okay, you need to do better, you need to change. But they don't often preach or share what God says you can do to affect change. What God says you can do to affect change, I mean, of course, it's relationship with Christ. But to develop and be a warrior for Christ, a soldier, there are things that you need to do and I really appreciated the fact in messages and sermons that Pastor Dave would preach God would not only share him, what's the thing that we need to turn from?
Speaker 2:but he'd also share what God said about how you can turn. If there's one thing about Pastor Dave that I absolutely love, is he gives you the wisdom, but then at the end he gives you the actual practical things that you can do so your life will change exactly.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's like, wow, but it's like you said, it's from god, because a lot of the time I remember one time I I don't know what it was I was like pastor, I need to, I was struggling with this thing sit down with him and he's like let me see your finances. I'm like pastor, I'm struggling with this. He's like let me see your finances, shows me where your heart's at. I'm like the way he sees and goes through and is able to help. It's like the things that you wouldn't connect them, but it's just God, he knows. Yeah, we're blessed man, definitely yeah.
Speaker 4:Wow. So I certainly grew, I, you know, really starting to develop a relationship with christ. I finally came to the realization that in order for this horizontal relationship to work with me and kim yeah, my vertical relationship with christ, so good, it's gonna have to work so good. You know. Unfortunately, my dad passed away at 71. Just after, maybe a year after, alicia was born, and then, maybe a few years later, my mom passed away. They didn't really get to see the change that took place, but I know they're up there.
Speaker 2:I was just going to say, Ed, don't you dare say that because they were literally sitting next to Jesus. Are you looking at our boy? Are you looking at him? Amen?
Speaker 4:A lot of working with the Lord, counseling Pastor Les, my brother he's also. Well, kim will tell this when she tells her story. Yeah, it's crazy, she, kim, was the nanny for Pastor Les and my sisters. Pastor Les is married to my sister. Oh wow At the time. And Kim is the nanny. Oh wow At the time. And Kim is the nanny oh wow.
Speaker 2:And he's his brother. Yeah, really.
Speaker 5:Oh man.
Speaker 2:Because he's his brother-in-law. He's his brother, yeah, so Pastor. Les treats me as his son yeah.
Speaker 4:Growing up. He's the one that really helped me survive.
Speaker 1:That's where the pops comes from.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's why Pastor Ashley is the way with Pastor Les. Every time I see him, I give him a hug.
Speaker 1:Now I call him Pops.
Speaker 5:Yeah, I do Ever since our conversation.
Speaker 1:I'm like that's Pops now dude.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean. Yeah, I love that Pastor Les. You are now Pops. He is man. That's great.
Speaker 1:Every time I give him a hug on Sunday. I'm like love you Pops, I love that man.
Speaker 4:So I am growing and LifeLink is growing, yeah, and eventually Pastor Dave gets exposed to freedom.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh, the Freedom Life Group. Yeah, buddy, so we were blessed, was that over at CTA in Perry?
Speaker 4:No, I think for the most part we did it here here in the building. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Man, you went through all that change.
Speaker 1:I think I was part of the second or third one they had here. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4:So Pastor Dave took a team. I was included, kim and I were included. We went to Birmingham, alabama, and we went to the Freedom Conference at Church of the Highlands in Birmingham. Great worship, yeah, great worship, great worship, but great foundation.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Great process of turning over, turning your heart to God, understanding what does it mean to be free, you know breaking soul ties.
Speaker 2:Yeah, bud.
Speaker 4:And getting out of bondage and then reconnecting with Christ and that, honestly, is where I turned around. Honestly is where I turned around. I mean, I stopped a lot of the smoking, I stopped smoking period and stopped a lot of the drinking, but it was when I really opened up and recognized God has been there all this time, no matter how far I chose to run, he's been right there with me, he's been working out things on my behalf. So I went through freedom, rededicated my life to christ amen and have been blessed. I was blessed to lead a few freedom classes wow, um here aren't they doing that, I think?
Speaker 1:I think they've recently done I think they're starting about yeah, they. I think they're starting them back up.
Speaker 2:They got Alpha and we got CR. There's a lot of healing and recovery, the grief shares. We're really in a season to help people.
Speaker 1:I went through the one with Jim and Marsha Poole.
Speaker 2:Was that the blue book on the side that said freedom?
Speaker 5:Yeah, that's it, oh wow.
Speaker 1:We went to a church over here in Tempe or Chandler to do the conference thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, wasn't there like a soak prayer or something, a prayer time?
Speaker 1:So at the thing, they literally lined the building with prayer warriors.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 1:To ward off anything, because what's getting ready to happen is crazy, man yeah.
Speaker 4:Wow, and you have people praying. That's leading up to the freedom celebration conference. But you know, it's like six weeks. You go through the classes and you learn how to dedicate yourself to. Christ Great class.
Speaker 2:Is it one of those things where it's like you go through it and you experience it yourself, but then, once you do that, now the next group that comes through now you're able to help them go through it and do it? Yeah, there's this thing up in the native, the Indian Mountains that Justin and I forget what the group is called, but it's like it's a three-day retreat where you go over into it and you experience it up in the white mountains with the natives and then they do it twice a year. But you have to go through it first in order to be a part of it and help future guys that are coming through it.
Speaker 4:The reality is, when people give their heart, their life to christ, they still have issues oh yeah, but I got a subscription to them.
Speaker 2:Connected to christ, doesn't?
Speaker 4:mean that those issues instantly go away I mean it's a work anything, the adversary is going to become more yeah aggressive aggressive yeah, buddy.
Speaker 2:So freedom helps give that new christian and old christians yeah, that's right, uh yeah, because you're going through this dang near in your 30s almost 40, and you've been walking with God. You grew up in the pew, you know what I mean. So you've been doing the church thing with God for so long. But now you're at a place where it's like, okay, god, I want more. I know there's more to this church thing and this relationship with you. So you're at a place where you're really ready to get it.
Speaker 1:There's a way I explain it to people that when you come to Christ, you have these things like think about like Italians, like eagle Italians, that are just dug into you.
Speaker 2:Did you say Italians or Italians, italians, italians that are buried into you.
Speaker 1:They got the deep holds onto you. Some things are just barely like pricked to the skin and kind of holding on, and when you first give your life to. Christ, these little ones kind of fall off. It might be cussing, your cussing might leave.
Speaker 4:You don't cuss no more.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean oh my God, but those other things take time. Yeah, Because you're literally, those things are deep into you. You've got to Strongholds man.
Speaker 4:And you have to be in a position where you're able to forgive yourself or forgive someone else who?
Speaker 1:maybe has abused you or wronged you and accept that forgiveness. My meth and heroin addiction was tied down. Forgiveness to my dad yeah, the minute I forgave my father, my meth and heroin addiction left me. I haven't touched it since.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 1:All it took was forgiving my dad and that addiction left. Yeah, crazy.
Speaker 2:What are you going through freedom for? If you don't mind me asking I'm going through freedom Because you're not drinking. You ain't smoking, but you need healing. You've got trauma, you've got past, stuff that you've got Exactly.
Speaker 3:So what are you?
Speaker 2:going through it for. Just well, of course, is this where you started healing from the sexual trauma, from the abuse and stuff. As a kid, yeah, exactly, wow. And also just reconnecting with Christ, forgiving yourself from all these years of doing what you wanted to do. So it's just the whole God just bringing you back. Wow, dude.
Speaker 1:Wow, ed and the conference part dude is amazing, bro, that's what people say. Man, that's the conference part dude is amazing, bro, that's what people say man, that's the best part, yeah, yeah it is like I literally had a list of people that I wrote down that had soul ties to them and you take this list up to the front and somebody's like all right, what do you got? And I'm like we're naming off these people dude I feel like we're supposed to go through it.
Speaker 2:Freedom knock.
Speaker 3:Knock yourself out bro I don't know what this we stuff is but I encourage you to go through it.
Speaker 4:Freedom. Even having gone through it, and then having led freedom classes a couple of times, god never fails to show me some new dimension or something else that I can be, blessed by Come on it's it's, it is, it is good.
Speaker 1:The beauty of this walk with Christ is we're never a finished product.
Speaker 5:Yeah.
Speaker 1:If you think you're at a part where you're done and you're good you need to go to the altar. Go to the altar, walk with God ever evolving and growing into something where you need to change certain, whether it's a mindset or a thought process or the way you look at somebody or people or a group of people, whatever it might be, there's always something that we have to bring to Christ and work through Exactly. It's always there.
Speaker 2:Right now, I'm really at this thing where god's working on me with a wake up and my food. Yeah, I'm like really, god, why, why can't we? He's like, no, we're gonna work on your food and your health. I'm like dang dude, it's real with god. Yeah, it's the stuff where I just want to go on autopilot and just live life and do what I do and god's like we need to be disciplined here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's no such thing as an autopilot for a christian. That's, that's where christians go go to bury themselves as autopilot.
Speaker 1:We always have to be intentional, yeah I mean, I told someone the other day, if you're truly walking with god, there's no such thing as free time. No, dang, yeah, you don't have this time where it's just free time, I can do whatever I want. We don't have that as Christians. If we have free time, we should be in prayer, we should be in our word, we should be doing something to better ourselves or be in communication with God or something.
Speaker 4:There's no such thing as free time as a Christian as far as I'm concerned, yeah, so time as a christian as far as I'm concerned. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I praise god for loving me throughout all the stuff. Yeah, that was going on, and I thank him for putting me and kim together she is definitely your favor, bud. Yeah, she's your favorite yeah, um, but uh, and now I am looking forward to continuing to share my story. You know, I've been driving seniors.
Speaker 3:Now I'm no longer in the software.
Speaker 4:I'm pretty much I'm out of the office, I'm pretty much out in the field.
Speaker 2:Are you driving like elderly people and sharing your testimony of God, and I love it, ed, I love it.
Speaker 4:Yes, See, you know, because we I'm a bit older now and I kind of relate, but I've had seniors, you know, share with me. We talked, we had wonderful conversations.
Speaker 2:Are you able to pray with them?
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Oh, wow.
Speaker 5:You conversations? Are you able to pray with them? Yeah, oh, wow, you know if they open that door yeah, wow bro.
Speaker 1:Yeah, depends on who he's working for. You gotta be careful.
Speaker 2:Yeah, of course well, one day we're gonna own this thing, bud, and we're gonna have these thing of vans and we're gonna do this dad talks about it man dad talks about.
Speaker 3:He's like I can't wait I can't wait to have this stuff hold on to that business yeah, it's, yeah, it's coming bud Even if it starts with a couple of bands.
Speaker 5:Amen.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we'll make it happen, man, absolutely. Can I just say man like hearing your story, bro, and being at your house and seeing you and your wife interact and the way that she still calls herself your rib. After all, that you obviously put her through for her to still have that mindset just says so much about your guys's relationship. Yeah, you know what I mean. And that's beautiful bro. Yeah, you know, you really are a blessed man I'm.
Speaker 4:You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:I mean because there are she still flirts with you bro yeah that's beautiful bro.
Speaker 2:I mean you guys been together for 30 40 years man 40 years, this september 40.
Speaker 4:You should see them at their house, bro, that's hilarious, I was there for dinner, but I didn't get to see the game night game night. You got to see the personality.
Speaker 1:It was a little different because it was just couples yeah to see her flirting with a man and and just that kind of stuff. It was really cool to see bro. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:You have obviously come a long way. Yes, I have, because for a woman of God to be able to submit herself and serve, I guess, and love and do all the stuff that I know Mama Green's doing, she would only do that to a man that is changed and humbled himself and really trying to walk with God, exactly Because if you hadn't made the changes that you needed to make, she would not be here.
Speaker 4:I can almost guarantee that man, I mean she had actually been advised by a christian counselor to not go back. Oh my god, let's just say what the lord has brought together wow, dude, praise god, she listened to the holy spirit she's probably so.
Speaker 1:I'm getting this feeling that she's she's starting to see everything she's been praying for or has been seeing everything she's been praying for these last years, that she's been good. You know what I mean, that she, all the heartaches that you put her through, she's probably been praying God. Get them, god, turn them around. God, make you know what I mean.
Speaker 4:And now she starts to see it.
Speaker 2:Open them up. God, look, he's on a podcast, and when?
Speaker 1:you begin to see what you've been praying for. It's easy to flirt with and love on brother.
Speaker 2:You know what?
Speaker 1:I mean, yeah, that's so awesome, dude come on, buddy, yeah man, thanks bro, thank you I really all right, so I know there's something, yeah, that you specifically want.
Speaker 2:We've talked about vans and the business, so let's do, let's do things.
Speaker 1:I had a word for you one Sunday and I told you that your ministry opportunity hasn't passed you yet. Do you remember?
Speaker 5:that yeah.
Speaker 1:I still believe that. Yeah, so has God got something in your heart that you believe in. That he told you as a kid. You know what I mean.
Speaker 3:Or even recently, that God said hey, I have this for you. You know what I mean. Is there something?
Speaker 2:God's giving you like that that you're believing in for Jesus.
Speaker 4:I'm certainly believing him for a much stronger relationship, of course, with him.
Speaker 2:Yeah, amen.
Speaker 4:And Kim.
Speaker 2:Amen.
Speaker 4:But being the man of God walking with integrity. Yeah him Amen. But being the man of God walking with integrity and being able to share that, my story with other believers, other men Amen. I'm certainly believing in him. For that, come on.
Speaker 2:Ed, I don't know why, but I feel. Have you ever wanted to go into the jails? Have you ever wanted to go behind bars and talk to men that are locked?
Speaker 4:up. I don't know that I have.
Speaker 2:No, okay.
Speaker 1:All right, all right, amen. I love that.
Speaker 2:If you ever want to, I can get you in there. Man, okay, yeah, okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's my lane. Oh, really, I know that's my lane, pastor Troy loves it.
Speaker 2:Pastor Troy loves it when. That's what troy loves. When I walked, into those.
Speaker 1:When I walked into a jail for the lord, yeah, after being locked up so long it was like wow wow, dude yeah, it was different, bro. Like towers jail dude, I remember walking the tower. Tower gels are the same place that I was literally locked up, shackled and chained and walking down the hallways and shackles and chains and to walk back into that place, a free man ready to share the gospel.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. God showed me some things that day, man. It was like I'm redeeming this time. You know what I mean. And he's been doing it, man. I got to get back in there again.
Speaker 2:He's a good God. Yeah, what's up man you praying for this? Yeah, I got this one, bro. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Thank you, dude, thank you Ed, thank you.
Speaker 2:Appreciate you, bro. Yeah, this is really good man.
Speaker 1:I think you need to know, ed, that I cherish our friendship, our brotherhood, that we have.
Speaker 5:I do too.
Speaker 1:It's very special to me. You know what I mean. He only it's very special to me, you know what.
Speaker 2:I mean, and uh, he only seeks a couple of people out, Ed, there's five, 600 people here on Sunday. He does not do that with everybody, but I see him go making it intentional to walk way over there.
Speaker 1:For me, people are very dangerous because they they tend to want to either pull you away or you know what I mean. So I'm very selective on on who I pull you away, or you know what I mean. So I'm very selective on on who I, who I attach myself to, and god was very, very evident to me that the day that I started coming to you on sunday mornings and giving you hugs and telling you that I love you, that was very much, god, just so you know.
Speaker 1:Praise god but what has come out of that man I cherish? Yeah, you know and you're a man, I'm a man we know it's hard to communicate. You know, text messages, sometimes just whatever. You know, I you're a man, I'm a man, we know it's hard to communicate text messages, sometimes it's whatever. You know what I mean. It's hard, but I just want you to know that when we do connect like that, I treasure that bro so I hope you know that you know what.
Speaker 1:I mean, and I thank you for just your willingness to accept me for who I am, invite me to your home and call me your brother. That's very precious to me. I hope you know that. Can we accept me for who I am? Invite me to your home and call me your brother? Absolutely, that's very precious to me. I hope you know that.
Speaker 2:Can we get another invite for another meal? Absolutely Amen, brother.
Speaker 1:Always food or sports. I love food, bro.
Speaker 2:Food or sports man, We'll do that we got groups, for those at CR, I might be praying for you right now.
Speaker 3:We'll have Ed pray after you. Let me pray for you. Thank you, God.
Speaker 5:Most gracious Father.
Speaker 1:I thank you God.
Speaker 1:I give you praise, I give you honor, I give you glory. God, I just acknowledge that you are the supreme Father, the greatest of the heavens and the earth, God, that all this is not chance. This is all your design and we thank you for it, God. Thank you, God. I praise you for your son, Ed. God. I thank you for my brother. I thank you for my friend, God Lord, I thank you for just an amazing testimony, God Lord. Seeing him at church on Sundays and not really knowing him, God, and to hear his story, to me it just doesn't go together, God, and I thank you for the way that you brought him out of those things, God, because most people who see him and know him in the last 10 years would have no knowledge or understanding of what he actually went through God
Speaker 1:unless they had an opportunity to sit down and have a conversation with him, God. So I thank you for those people that are going to listen, who who know the ed today and hear this story, that they, uh, that they are moved by a God and they can see that you are a mighty God, who one is faithful. You're so faithful, God, even though we try to do all the things we want to do, we run and we try to get away from you, God, that you are always faithful, just like in the story of the prodigal son, to run and meet us when we come back home.
Speaker 4:God, yes, jesus, thank you.
Speaker 1:So I thank you for just the transformation that you've done in Ed God, because the man I see today is someone I like to admire, someone to be esteemed of God, who to admire? Someone to be esteemed of God who is a pillar in the church, who is a deacon?
Speaker 2:who is an elder? Who are all?
Speaker 1:these things. God that men look up to, and I thank you for that, god Lord. I thank you for his marriage and his wife Kim.
Speaker 1:Lord I thank you for just the way I got to see them interact in an intimate setting, god in their home, was just. It was precious to see god and the way that she just dotes on them and flirts with them and just loves on them and calls herself her rib. God is just. It's beautiful to watch, especially after hearing the story that we just heard. God, thank you god. Oh, lord, I know this man's still young, god, I know you still have a lot for him, god. So I pray, lord, god, that you begin to open his eyes to see the ministry that's right before him. God, that you begin to help him see what is there that you have for him, god, because we know you're not done with him. And if it is the vans, god, where he can minister to people while he's driving them around.
Speaker 2:And let that be so, god.
Speaker 1:Thank you god, but I thank you, lord, for the way that he held on to that business. God, he hasn't let that go and that's a dream that he still holds on to kingdom so I thank you, lord, in the right time, in the right season. That that becomes what is evident. God that becomes something that begins to prosper. God that becomes something that he can bring it forth, God.
Speaker 3:Yeah, bring it forth. God in Jesus' name Manifest. Lord, we thank you for just your faithfulness all this time.
Speaker 1:You'll be faithful in this business as well, god. So I thank you for everything you're doing. Lord, I pray blessings over his children. God, I pray blessings over his grandchildren. We were talking he was talking this morning about he got here early and he got to spend some time with his granddaughter's.
Speaker 2:Lord, Thank you.
Speaker 1:God. I thank you for that time that he gets to spend with his granddaughter's God. I pray, Lord, God, that they just see a loving Papa, they see a loving grandfather, God, and that he just enjoys this time. God, because time is precious. So I just thank you for everything you're going to do. God, Again, I lift up his health to you. Father God, I speak health to his body.
Speaker 1:I speak healing to his body, and I say by the name of Jesus body be healed, body be whole. Come back to the way that God created and designed it to be.
Speaker 2:Align yourself with the spirit of.
Speaker 1:God, so I thank you for everything you're doing and designed it to be Blood levels.
Speaker 2:Align yourself with the spirit of God. So I thank you for everything you're doing in his body.
Speaker 1:God Sciatica, have your way in his body. We pray. I just thank you for everything you're doing. Lord, have your way. We love you and we praise you in Jesus' name Amen.
Speaker 2:Hey, ed, can you do me a favor?
Speaker 4:man, pray for, speak Life, pray for me and dad and just whatever god's gonna do with this thing. Absolutely, absolutely, father in heaven, we just thank you, god, for this opportunity. We thank you, god, that you're right here in the midst. We thank you, god, for this ministry that you've opened. You've opened the door and I thank you, god, for the opportunity to walk through it in it. I thank you God for Rowdy and Eddie. God, you have a perfect plan and vision for their lives. God and I just pray for the continued revelation. Thank you, god this opportunity to connect with brothers and sisters and share and be a witness and encouragement to others. Jesus, so we just continue. We pray God that Speak Life. Az will continue and will grow and will flourish, god, and hearts and minds will be changed, and we thank you in advance for that. In Jesus' name, amen, amen.
Speaker 2:Amen. Thank you, brother. Yeah, I really appreciate you, man. Thanks for coming on. Absolutely Everybody out there.
Speaker 2:Man, I don't know where you're listening from or where you're watching from, but if you could subscribe to the channel, man, hit the little bell, it'll get you all the notifications of future upcoming podcasts. We like to get at least probably about one a week. If you yourself got a really crazy testimony, man, and you want to come on and or just a good one or a faithful one, we've all. There's David and there's there's Abraham. Whichever man, we want your story. You want to come on and share? Um, go ahead and reach out through a Facebook or Instagram. Speak, life, az. All one word. Leave me a message. I'll get back to you.
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