Glimmers of Faith and Hope!

Discover a powerful journey of transformation from a troubled past in Bakersfield to a life of faith and recovery. Learn how one year of sobriety and a strong connection with God changed everything. This is a story of hope and redemption.

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:21

Welcome to another episode of Glimmers of Faith and Hope. I'm pleased to be uh here with uh my co-host George and uh introducing our guest for the day, Guillermo. And some people call him GQ. So welcome, GQ. Thank you. Nice to be here. Thank you for inviting me up. Good to see you, George. Yeah. Good to see you. Thank you. Yeah. Well, we just kind of want to hear a little bit about you. Um, you know, give us a little background, and uh we just want to hear what your journey's been.

SPEAKER_02 0:54

Yeah, well, thank you for having me. Thank you for thinking of me. Uh, my good friend George here, I've known him for quite a couple years already, and he told me he's always wanted to do this podcast thing, so once he told me about it, I was like, I was just ready to jump at it. So he said it's uh somewhere we get to tell our testimony towards a younger group, and I'm here to tell my story a little bit. Cool. My name is Guillermo. I go by G or GQ. Those are just my initials. Not no, you know. It doesn't mean anything besides just Guillermo Kiros. That's okay. My flood name.

SPEAKER_03 1:31

Ah, so your last name starts with a Q. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:34

Yeah, yeah. So it's pretty it works out perfectly. Perfect. Yeah. Yeah. But um, yeah, so I can say a little bit of my story. Um I grew up in uh more up north in Bakersfield, California. If people know about Bakersfield, you know, there's not much to do out there, but get in trouble like I did. I got into some bad habits, uh depression, and a bunch of other things I was doing. A lot of drinking, a lot of drugs, a lot of just women, and just living a fast life that was not towards not following God. I didn't really have any connection. And I moved out here and decided to change everything. And I'm over a year sober, I'm back in school, I have great friends, I go to church, I have my relationship with the Lord, read the word, and cut even, I even cut off all my hair. Wow. Yeah, did the whole 180. I think you guys went to the same barber. Yeah. Yeah, but um I'm just now in my journey of following the Lord and just gonna give some wisdom towards people through my lens.

SPEAKER_01 2:52

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 2:52

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:53

Well, that just makes me think of do not love the things of this world. And what sounded like to me was you didn't know about God, or you maybe you knew about him, but you weren't curious. I think it's all about curiosity to just pick up the word, the Bible, and I mean that's how it all happened for me. I picked it up and opened it a couple times, and whatever I just read in that moment really spoke to me. It was amazing. Doesn't make logical sense, but it hit your soul so deeply. So, yeah, the the verse that I'm quoting is do not love the things of this world. There's the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. We can all get caught up in these things. And what have you learned from your spiritual journey as you've learned to focus more on Christ instead of these worldly things?

SPEAKER_02 3:54

I would definitely say the challenges that shape you into who you can become in the Lord's eyes, and not like not in my will, like as it says, it's not my will be done, but but yours, Lord, you know, and uh just not trying to like in Proverbs it says to lean not on my own understanding, but to trust in the Lord with all my heart. And that part has been really hard, especially when you lived a certain way for so long, and you reshape your life and all those journeys, because it it's like a I feel like yes, of course the Lord saves you, but once you follow the Lord, it's one of the hardest journeys ever because it it literally challenges you every step of the way because you're leading a life towards Christ, and Christ lived one of the hardest life and ultimately made the biggest sacrifice ever for us. So it's like living like Jesus is never meant to be easy. So those challenges and those hardships I feel are what shape us, especially as human beings, as men, as just people who are here following Christ, is what's what's supposed to happen whenever you follow Christ. It's supposed to shape you and alter your way of being.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

So and when you first started being more curious about Jesus, did you think, oh, I'm not good enough, I have to fix my life first before I can try and become a Christian?

SPEAKER_02 5:27

Yeah, I definitely did. I thought like, oh, I'm gonna have to get sober before I do this, and I have to not live a certain way, I have to, but no, Lord, God qualifies the call, He doesn't call to qualify it. I've heard that many times, and I feel like it's helped me a lot, like just being able to be a sinner and read my word at the end of the day, and just know the Lord is there for me, He forgives me.

SPEAKER_03 5:56

Yeah, and it's uh Well, I think that's a lot of people that they go, Oh man, it says I'm so screwed up. I couldn't possibly, God couldn't possibly love me. And that's just the polar opposite.

SPEAKER_02 6:10

Exactly. Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_01 6:13

Can you say that again with the the qualified?

SPEAKER_02 6:16

Yeah, so the Lord qualifies the called, he does not qualify, he does not call the qualified. It's like the Lord wants you how you are, exactly as you come, and that's what God, Jesus ultimately, he's like, I'm here. What was the uh verse? He says, He's here for or the doctor. People who seek a doctor are sick, and ah, like remind me about that one. I forget what it is. It's like those who are sick need a doctor the most, not those who are healthy. I forget. Right. So it's like that's what the Lord is here for, you know.

SPEAKER_01 6:49

He's yeah, and if you look at the life of Jesus, you would see that he didn't go to the perfect people. He he called the perfect people out and said, Why are you not helping the people who are struggling? I'm gonna show you, I'm gonna help the people who are struggling. He humbled himself and he showed that it's not about being perfect, it's about being humble and being willing to admit that we're all on the same playing field. Nobody is, it doesn't matter if you're the richest man in the world or the poorest, or you know, we're all equal in God's eyes, and so we should all help each other.

SPEAKER_03 7:32

And yeah, when he came to serve, and you know, it's it's said in the Bible the first will be last, and the last will be first, so uh, you know, it's like sometimes it's good to come in last place. Exactly, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 7:49

Yeah, I definitely feel like I can say from personal experience, watching the most important women in my life, women I love the most, are just very, very selfless, and it's been inspirational to me and helped me a lot on my journey to be more like Christ. I think we can learn a lot from men and women, but I feel like women have it in their heart to be very Christ-like in their nature of devotion to others and putting themselves last, like you said, you know?

SPEAKER_03 8:27

And there's so many women in the Bible that play important roles.

SPEAKER_01 8:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:31

So it's good. Exactly. Yeah, um, I definitely agree. I feel like my mother has taught me a lot. I've grew up with a bunch of sisters, and I feel like being able to be humble, being humble and just allowing myself to be last, like we said, not not to be in the forefront of everything all the time. So definitely taught me a lot.

SPEAKER_01 8:56

Yeah, we're we're still learning, obviously. And yeah. Well, I think I think we I think we made some beautiful connections on on on your story and what's what's like a lesson that you would give to your younger self?

SPEAKER_02 9:22

A lesson I would give to my younger self.

SPEAKER_01 9:27

Like picture you and all of your friends, and you can just walk up and say, hey man, this is how it's really gonna be, and this is what's really important. What would you do?

SPEAKER_02 9:38

Say, buckle up, hashk. I would say I would say it's gonna be okay. Like everything's gonna be alright. Like there's no need to worry about anything, whatever worries that I would have. There's no need for them at all. Like the Lord will provide, and to be patient, to surrender. I would say to surrender, because when I was young, I was fighting so so many things, like internally and externally, and I wasn't surrendering towards a lot of things. So I would say being able to say it's okay and surrender and to give myself towards Christ and to just not live in my flesh, not live in my flesh, to say it's okay and allow myself to feel and to heal and to just give myself to God and not live in a world full of yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:36

Oh, you do want to. Yeah, I wanted to ask you a question. Um He was saying surrender, and you've been here longer than us, Boomer.

SPEAKER_03 10:45

Boomer.

SPEAKER_01 10:46

But thank you very much. You're welcome. Um what advice could you give our generation about learning to surrender um to these things that we just want to put in Christ's hands?

SPEAKER_03 11:01

Well, I think uh Gee, you kind of touched about it, just you know, you don't have to be perfect, you know, but um, and I I can attest to that. So you know, it's like uh I mean I've been going to church my whole life. I have family members that are well, pastors. Um they're long gone, but you know, so I've always been around, but um just always being exposed to so I never had a rough you know life, so to speak. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:35

I wasn't I'm just gonna silence my phone and go keep talking.

SPEAKER_03 11:38

Okay. Right in the middle of the shot? My bad. Yeah, so and I only say that um I mean I learned a long time ago that everything is gonna be okay. That if you're up against some trial, something that's worrying you, just start praying. Yeah, and I can say that over and over again that um it might not come out exactly like you think it might come out, but it will be okay. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. It's it's it's not, you know, there's not it's not like okay, I want a million dollars, and you know, the it just jumped on your ground, but God has amazing things in store if you just uh have faith. Wait it out.

SPEAKER_02 12:31

That's being patient. The patience is a yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:34

I always tell my children, uh, I said, you know, you go and if a door opens, go through it. Don't be afraid. Um and don't be afraid if you run into a wall, you know. Then if you want to run into a wall, you just go left or go right. Yeah. And just keep going because God's got your back.

SPEAKER_02 12:54

Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 12:56

Not to be afraid. And uh one of my favorite things in the Bible, I think it's in Proverbs, that says, even a wise man seeks counsel. And part of the reason that I'm starting to talk to young men like you guys is that I'm not saying I'm wise, but it's I can still learn a lot from your generation. Yeah, and I think vice versa. Exactly, just as much as we know that's what I want to create, where um I think a lot of people my age, boomers, they might go like, oh, those young people, they don't know anything. Well, we were there too. We had our parents' generation just going crazy, oh the music, oh blah blah blah blah blah. So um every generation has its own mark. Yeah, exactly. And it's okay, you know? Right. We don't have to let our hair get on fire. Yeah.

unknown 13:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:53

I mean, I think it's a the job of all generations um since long ago.

SPEAKER_03 14:00

You have to raise them up.

SPEAKER_01 14:01

Yeah, we're trying to all be on the same page here about living with morals, living with love towards our neighbors, and just gratitude for being here. You talk about prayer. Um, I think prayer is such a great way to express your gratitude. You can just talk to the God of creation who created us, created this whole existence that we have here, and just express your what you're grateful for. Or like you said, you know, you might not say, like, God, I want a million dollars because the Bible teaches us these virtues that we should seek, like we were talking about Jesus showing us how to live and what's really important in life. And so praying on these things for us to gain knowledge and wisdom on these things, I think is a great thing. And leaning on God's understanding and just listening, I think it's very important to listen. And reading the word can help you listen better to the Holy Spirit when he when we call that conviction, that that inner thought that, oh, that doesn't feel right. Or, you know, the thing, the thing, a problem with that is we have bad thoughts sometimes too. So just I think I think one thing I've learned is you can get a lot of wisdom from reading the Bible uh on how to decipher your your good thoughts, your your spot your thoughts from the Holy Spirit, and then your bad thoughts, temptations. And so, yeah, I mean, you you know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_02 15:42

I can definitely agree because, like I said, it's discernment and being able to listen, and that's the I think in the Bible it's mentioned to meditate on the word. Whatever it means to meditate in the word, it means to be silent, be still, and to listen. And many times we want these words to, like, oh, these words meaning, yeah, I'm gonna get rich, I'm gonna get the million dollars, but no, it's like we have to sit down and listen to it, be still, and just hear the hear the Lord speaking to us, you know, and that that ability to just remain present, remain like in his word and to know what he truly means, to be able to study that and not to put our own understanding and putting our own our input into it because oftentimes we're wrong. We're wrong once we try to understand it, like, oh, this is what he meant. Like, no, the Lord has something completely different in store for you.

SPEAKER_03 16:32

So we have in biblical times, they would have the holy of holies, and you know, you could never go and you know, the common people couldn't just go uh and go talk to God or do anything. Yeah, and we we have a direct line, and that's what's so cool. Yeah, you know, we don't have to we don't have to go and confess our sins to somebody sitting in a box. Yeah, you know, we can just talk directly to God and uh and anywhere we want, yeah. Anywhere, anytime. Yes, wherever we're at, the Lord's. He's open 24-7. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 17:13

Yeah, I'll definitely like touch on that and connect it to the way Jesus acted because Him going, he would go off with He'd be with His disciples, and then He'd go off by Himself and pray. And like it's it's whatever helps you. Like it's a prayer is a very personal discovery that you practice by yourself with people in a in a closet, wherever you like feel called to pray while you're on a walk, you know? And Jesus said, don't get down on your knees in the street and pray so that other people will see you praying and think you're holy. Like just go into your room. If you want to like if you feel called one day to drop down on your knees and pray, do it, but do it because you won't love God so much that you want to praise Him wherever you are.

SPEAKER_03 18:10

Not showing off. Right. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 18:12

It's it's the same thing with being generous, and we're called to be generous and give and trust in the Lord with these things that we have and not hold on to these earthly treasures because the real treasure is what you do here that gets you into heaven. Yeah. And so by giving, we do that in secret, is what Jesus says. What do you what does that mean?

SPEAKER_02 18:38

I feel like it's like nowadays a lot of people like don't boast about it. It's like many people will record doing good deeds, and it's like, no, that's not what the Lord wants. What do you do behind closed doors? What do you do when nobody's watching? How do you act? Like, where's your heart? Like, wherever your heart is, your treasure is stored, and it's like where you are inside, where nobody can see. And that's the true I feel like reformation where many people need to be transformed and to allow God to enter is in the heart because the heart is it's what literally keeps us alive. It's what keeps us moving. So like if your heart is tainted, if you have wounds in those hearts, like allow the Lord to fill those patches up. And I feel like that's what I've I've gone through. Heartbreak is I've experienced so much heartbreak and so much pain. And I still have so many, you know, wounds, but it's like the more I follow Christ, the more He allows He allows me to be healed and I fill those things up. Like I no longer see the same, and seeing by faith is so much harder than it seems, but through that pain, being able to see and walk with faith is probably the best decision to ever make.

SPEAKER_01 19:52

So I feel like what do you mean walk by faith when you're in such pain?

SPEAKER_02 19:56

Like how do you walking by faith and I feel like it's many of us want that instant gratification, but it's it's not it's not the easy things that are long lasting, it's the things that take time, it's the way like what is there's like a bamboo, I think is is planted and it's grown underground for like five years or something, and then after that it just like shoots up randomly. Like, no, it took time for that bamboo to sprout. It's been cultivating in the ground and being there for a long time, and and then it shoots up, and then you see the tall, strong bamboos, and it's like I feel like that's what it is being able to walk by faith is not knowing, not seeing what the outcome is, but in the end, trusting in the Lord, and the Lord will provide that.

SPEAKER_03 20:44

I know you guys have a little bit of history with each other, and uh, you know, you're actually good friends. And I don't know if you want to touch on just lightly how how you kind of met and uh you know what that special connection between the two of you.

SPEAKER_01 21:01

Yeah, real quick, I wanted to say that I'd never heard about the bamboo, but that's amazing because it reminded me of sometimes you think you're buried, but really you're just planted. Oh, that's a good one. Yeah. But man, to touch on Yermo and I's journey, we met from our grandparents. This is a generational thing, you know. We didn't plan to meet. It's God's plan, and we met, and we were both curious about our faith, and we both lacked discipline, but we wanted to have more discipline, and we wanted to be more righteous.

SPEAKER_02 21:42

Yeah, and I feel like we met in a place where neither of us really were. He was going to, I think you were going to Argentina, like probably a couple weeks, like before I met him, and I wasn't even living here yet. I was still visiting. Okay. So, like, where we met, it was like we were both a

SPEAKER_01 22:00

About to take huge steps, and yeah, I mean, we were also trying to figure out our lives, trying to figure out what we were called, and just to follow that. And I had I remember Guillermo said he was thinking about being a chef, and I was like, dude, that's so cool. And like coming back from Argentina, I actually thought I might want to drop out of college and give that a try, but it's just like your walk with God is you just do what he calls you to do, and you and it takes time to figure that out. Like you said earlier, it's not easy.

SPEAKER_02 22:42

Definitely not.

SPEAKER_01 22:43

Starting to like walk with God wasn't easy for us.

SPEAKER_02 22:47

Yeah, we definitely had our we failed and tried again and failed and tried again, and that's what we I I don't know if I've communicated this with you, but it was just like multiple times. I'm like, I'm not worthy, like I fail all the time, and I'm just like keep going back, but the Lord will forgive you every single time. And the more I do that, the more the Lord asks for me, and then the less I fail, the more I'm able to listen and trust in the Lord. And it's like to think about where we first met, how we were, and the way we lived was so like obviously there's not such a big difference, but the way our mindset shifted, like the things that we've done, like we've ran a 30k, we've done like so many other things to help grant, we've just been there for each other, like in a many, like in this journey, growing as brothers in Christ. And I feel like that's also um like a big help too, like being able to find a brother in Christ and being able to find someone to help you in this journey, you know, even though kind of accountability partners. Exactly. Because there's been multiple times where like we just call each other and pray, and I'm just like, hey, brother, I'm I'm not, I don't feel like I don't feel it. I'm not, and he's been there, just prayed for me, and then vice versa. He's called me, said that. That's great, it's important. Exactly. And that's like the things that we as men, I feel like not a lot of men like are able to do so. Like they're not able to say, like, I'm weak right now. That's one of the hardest things I feel like men can do is just be able to admit like I'm I'm weak. I need I need some strength, and should be able to have a brother to help you out. And it's like wherever there are two speaking about the Lord, the Lord is there. So like being able to be there for each other, the Lord is there for both of us.

SPEAKER_01 24:34

So I feel like that's it's a ver it hints to the verse iron sharpens iron as we will sharpen each other. Exactly, exactly. It's like we're like you are like a brother to me in Christ and in this world because God planned it because He knows that we need each other, not just me and you, but people need each other. And the Lord says the most important commandment is love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and to love your neighbors yourself, and to love your neighbors yourself is to be willing to find a brother. Me and you, the first time we met, it was purely because we opened up and were willing to talk to each other and it formed a true brotherhood. So just being willing to. One thing that I've learned from meeting Guillermo is like after I met him, I was like, wow, I just met one of the coolest people I've ever met in my life, and I wouldn't have met him if I hadn't have just gone up and said, Hey, what you cooking, or something like that. I was literally on the stove, I think.

SPEAKER_03 25:46

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:47

Yeah, I was on the stove. Uh because it was, I forget what I honestly forget what I was cooking, and he just came up to me. I was like, hey, what's up, man? And I was just like right there just cooking. Hey, food, man. Hey, food is a that's a good language. I guess it's the fastest way to someone's heart. That's right. That's right. But um definitely I can say that we have grown over the mini course, and I'm very grateful that I've been able to have him by my side.

SPEAKER_01 26:12

And yeah, Rob, I'm sorry. Rob, you seem like a very social guy. I see you at church, you're always shaking hands and taking time to go see how people are doing. What what have you learned from just trying to be social and like make friends?

SPEAKER_03 26:29

Well, it's kind of comes naturally, so it's not a force. Uh either got it or you don't. Yeah, you know, it's like uh I can suck the oxygen out of any room just talking. So no, I just I just uh you know enjoy talking, you know, have a lot of friends at church and and uh you know just keeping up with them and talking to them. But uh I'm just socially I that's my bag. Yeah, I feel like I'm not very smart, but I I can talk.

SPEAKER_02 27:00

Yeah. I feel like that's a that's a a pretty smart trait to have. You get stuck so many times, but I feel like being able to but like talking is I feel like it's so I won't say like easy, but it's just a it's not something that has to be structured, it's just like be yourself. Right, right, and others are themselves too. So it's like yeah, there's no need to when you don't judge, when you don't do anything, you're just there with somebody. I mean, that's our like great relationships are built. Like I've met so many people by just talking to random strangers, just as we were strangers at one point, and that's where we, so like being able to talk and have conversation, like I mean, I love to be in line at the grocery store.

SPEAKER_03 27:42

And I'll always just strike a conversation with a perfect stranger and uh you know, just have those little moments of uh you know just eating people.

SPEAKER_01 27:54

It's pretty amazing. I'd like to hear if you all have experienced this, but just how the nar there's there's a narrative to this life that we live where you meet somebody in the grocery store and you guys get to talking, and then you hear something that happened in their life made a deep connection with something that is either happening in your life or has happened in your life. We all have these things like we can all connect to each other because there's more than just what we have, it's it's a whole plot going on here of so many stories that there's always something you can connect to somebody about, and you would be surprised, you'll be shocked at how that happens, but you just have to be vulnerable enough to put yourself out there and yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 28:43

I mean, and you never know, just walking down the street, just smile and say hello to somebody that it could just totally may change their day. Yeah, but uh 100%.

SPEAKER_02 28:56

I feel like one thing I started doing, I don't know if I've told you this, but I'll go to school and like after I'm done studying, I'm like just locked in on the books, and I'm like, all right, I'll go take a walk and I'll go see random strangers, and I have to play rock, paper, scissors with three random strangers. I'll literally just play rock, paper, scissors with three random strangers. I'm like, hey, hi, how's your day? How are you doing? Like, my name's Guillermo. Are you ready? And then just play rock, paper, scissors, really break the ice really fast, but then many people are like, all right, let's go. Like, they'll just be enthusiastic, but I'm like, all right, you're so enthusiastic to lose, but they get there. And there's also been like people who looked at me like, you're weird, no. I'm like, on to the next. And like, yeah, I'm like, that's not you don't take a person. Yeah, of course not. It's like, of course, that's not a normal thing to do, you know. Don't play, you don't see people every day just like random strangers trying to play you rock, paper, scissors. But I feel like that's helped me like be social and not like take things too to the heart as much.

SPEAKER_03 30:01

So it's like Yeah, I think you can, you know, it's better not to get so bugged about. Yeah, because life can really get people wound up. Whatever's on the news, whatever this and that, and uh, you know, you just gotta keep it, you know, that's this world. We keep your eye on on God and exactly.

SPEAKER_01 30:24

Guillermo taught me something that we run we run together frequently because we trained for this 18-mile race and we did we did very well together, but we we would always run on the Hansen Dam in Burbank, and as we run, we have he will say hello or smile or make a comment to every person that we pass. And just like making a small connection like that, I've found that it significantly improves the mood of the run.

SPEAKER_02 31:01

You just you're on toes, you're just a ladder. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:05

It's like they're it's like you're giving them good energy, and their good energy is with you through your run. And it's uh I believe in it, man, and I've been doing it, and uh, I I think it's great. Well, it's good.

SPEAKER_03 31:17

Yeah. Well, I think that uh it's a good it's a good place to wrap this up on a good high note. Runner's high, yeah. And uh thank you very much for uh joining us today for Glimmers of Faith and Hope. Thanks again to you, George. Thank you. And uh we'll see you next time.

SPEAKER_00 31:35

Thanks for watching. Please reach out to us. Info at glimmers of hope.me