From New York Druglord to Following Jesus 😳

I went right back in into the drug distribution  bringing in hundreds of kilograms of cocaine   millions of dollars party life as I opened up  the window the cops was there with their guns   drawn freeze you know don't move so I went back  in my home and I looked at my wife and I told her   my life is over and the preacher says there's  a gentleman here that has been chasing after   things and those things have let him down a road  of Destruction he says the peace that God can give   you will surpass all of your understanding I  was raised in Queens New York my parents are   from the Dominican Republic and they arrived here  in the early 60s with my two eldest brothers and   so they wanted to extend their family and they had  three additional children and I'm the youngest of   five boys uh it was um really challenging at  home because five brothers five boys you can   only imagine the competitiveness and the one  trying to try to find their identity within   the household but I was the youngest and so I  was always taken care of and looked out after   um and so growing up in New York City  such a diverse community in Queens   um you know at my earlier age about 11 12 in the  early 80s and 90s it was the trend of New York   City with the hip-hop culture um there was gangs  surfacing in the area and so I wanted to kind of   fit in and be a part of that culture during the  time and so I got involved with some young people   in the community which they were you know uh local  gang members and I was introduced to marijuana I   I basically at 12 years of age wow um once I tried  marijuana I tried to consider for my parents I had   two other siblings that were also sort of you know  involved with with me and um and so we started   to consume marijuana and alcohol and that really  caused a lot of problems because my parents were   somewhat noticing of my behavior they noticed that  I was really changing in my attitude towards them   and towards School and so at the age of about 13 I  decided to join fully into this gang in Queens New   York and I remember I was hanging out in a park a  smoking weed marijuana and this two assailants two   uh people entered the park and they approached us  and one of the guys took out a bat and almost hit   me and tried to hit the gang leader and he ran  off and as he ran off to the right uh I kind of   you know stood up to sort of grab my posture to  a fighting posture right and as I looked towards   my right uh the person that was deadly ascended  he pulled out a firearm and shot my friend him   and said some words and said look next time you  mess with me I'm gonna kill you well uh so when   they left the park I approached him I didn't see  any blood and I picked up his shirt and apparently   it seemed that he had internal bleeding and he  eventually passed on you know it was I thought   that was it was going to shake my core right it  was going to change my behavior but it didn't   I continued to you know be involved in this gang  um and consume drugs and smoke weed and then   eventually that led me to use cocaine now in the  early 80s cocaine was being used in the streets   it was it was sort of like a fad people wanted  to be a part of the Hollywood culture and people   were using cocaine and um I tried it and when I  tried cocaine I was totally hooked to the drug   and there were some local dealers in the  neighborhood and I had approached him and said   look you know I can sell some drugs I'm young like  what they're going to do to me you know the cops   so I started to sell small quantities of cocaine  wow uh in this particular neighborhood of Queens   and it was all to sustain The Habit um to use the  drugs and that eventually led to me using heroin   um how old were you then I was about the  13 and a half wow when I started using her   um and then at at that time you  know I was just really strung out   using cocaine and heroin did your parents  notice any difference as I mean they know   they noticed my behavior that I was you know  coming home you know drugged out but they   didn't know what to do they didn't know how to  interact with me they didn't know how to address   the situation being you know from from Dominican  Republic immigrants so they know how to deal with   the current situation that they were dealing with  their son so I remember one day I was hanging out   with some guys and I said look let's do some you  know let's do a robbery and we committed a robbery   and I was arrested and I was sent up to juvenile  detention center in Queens in the Bronx and there   um they sent this me to Coastal a year in prison  and so when I was released my parents said enough   is enough they concocted a plan to send me to the  Dominican Republic thinking that would change my   behavior and my character and they sent me off to  my grandparents Hall and so when I arrived there   you know I'm in the Dominican Republic trying to  kind of fit in uh to the kids there and try to   find my place in this island and this community  I was living in and so they uh registered me to   a private school and as I was there I was trying  to you know fit in with the local kids and I just   didn't feel comfortable my Spanish was in 100  at the time even though my first language was   Spanish and I just wanted out I didn't want to  be a part of this school and so the I remember   not going to school they had strict regulations  at this particular school and I was expelled and   so my grandparents said you know this kid is just  a tough kid so I know what I'm gonna do with him   I'm gonna take him out onto the fields they owned  some land uh my grandfather was in the agriculture   business and he said I'm gonna show him a lesson  I'm gonna give him hard labor and they take he   took me to this field passed me a machete and  said you're gonna work the fields with me he owned   um you know he was harvesting rice and plantains  and and other uh vegetables and and he put me to   do hard labor and I was like I wasn't called to  do this like what is going on so I did that for   a while and you know unfortunately the Dominican  Republic's alcohol is readily available to young   people and I started to consume alcohol and drink  you know arrive home drunk and my grandfather he   was just upset with me he's like I don't know what  to do with this kid so he contacted my mom and he   said we need to send them back to New York because  he's just creating Havoc here he's a nuisance   and we're just tired of his behavior and so they  contacted my mom and my mom said okay you know I   don't know what to do with this boy during my time  there in the Dominican Republic I had met soon to   be wife you know uh Alexandria through a friend  of mine that was living in the Dominican Republic   at the time and so we just became friends and they  sent me off to New York and I was back in New York   City you know going to high school and the first  semester of high school I ran into Alexandria   and so we started to talk and then we started to  date and we became close and I just you know at   the time I was still sort of thinking you know  do I continue to behave the way I was behaving   you know getting involved in gangs or do I get  really serious with my girlfriend and so I decided   to get serious with my girlfriend and right out  of high school we got married my parents were   like what are you doing you got to go to college  you know and I was like I'm in love Latinos we   get married early I got married um and I was you  know living with her and my second eldest brother   and my fourth eldest brother were involved in this  cartel out of Colombia and they were Distributing   cocaine to the United States and I didn't want no  part of it because I knew that you know drugs had   affected me as a teenager and um I figured you  know I don't want no part of what they're doing   Distributing hundreds and hundreds of kilograms  of cocaine they had luxury cars expensive homes   but I just didn't want no part of it because  I knew that it affected me as a young person   you know I was addicted to drugs and I remember uh  one day being laid off from work and I contacted   my fourth eldest brother and I said look I need  money and I said I want to sell drugs but I need   to get involved in your uh business dealings and  so he invited me to the Stash House it has some   security measures in place and so when I got there  the first thing that I witnessed was a Mac 10 on   the table uh they had the TV blasted to muffle  the sound of the counting machines and towards   my right there was hundreds and hundreds of dollar  bills uh different denominations and 50s and 20s   and he said to me I want you to count the money  and let me know how much money is there and so I   counted this money there was 1.2 million dollars  in cash and so the TV was blasted to muffle that   sound of those common machines as I was counting  the money and it seemed surreal you know that   I'm over here counting I'm involved in this drug  Enterprise and I'm counting 1.2 million dollars   and I'm only like 20 years old wow he rewards Me  by giving me thousands of dollars and I was like   wow this is an easy end so I started to immense  myself further into the Enterprise and now I was   not just counting the money I was Distributing  the cocaine I was organizing drug uh stops and   runs with the organization and millions of dollars  passing through my hands so I started now to get   involved fully into the operation and I thought  I was on top of the world having all this money   party life and clubs hanging out with celebrities  going to their Mansions um thinking that you know   this is the life you know I have all this gain  I have all these riches you know I'm living the   life one day I was in my car my brother said  look we gotta make this run we gotta drop off   this narcotics to this client in and in front of  this luxury hotel and so we usually don't make   those runs we have our workers take the drugs  and we usually have in our vehicles what we   call in Spanish caletas their uh compartments in  the vehicles they're called traps where we have   kilograms uh house in those areas and so that day  we decided to take the drugs ourselves because my   brother wanted to meet this particular kind so as  I was driving there was a TNT officers that were   pursuing us I had no idea but when I looked back  I noticed that someone was following us and so I   sped away and got close to the Queensborough  Bridge which separates queens and Manhattan   and all of a sudden as I stopped at the traffic  light I see a patrol car approaching our car and   a number of other cars behind us we usually have  when we do these runs we have someone in another   vehicle driving just in case that anyone pursues  us that that other worker of ours would crash into   the police car and that we can get away from  the cops that only happens in Hollywood it   didn't happen in our case the cops surrounded our  vehicle they arrested US they hauled me to to the   local uh Precinct and I remember I was in the in  the precinct thinking man I'm caught now with 25   kilograms of cocaine in the trunk of my vehicle  now they know our Stash House they went there and   they seized an additional six kilograms of cocaine  wow inside a Mercedes-Benz 600. and I'm in this   prison and the very first reaction was I need  to get out of jail I wasn't thinking about the   wrongs I did that I I'm hurting Society you know  spewing narcotics out into the communities I was   just thinking about self I wanted to get out of  jail so I contacted my attorneys we had attorneys   in place and I said listen dude the best that you  can we need to get out and the very next day I   pick up the newspaper and what was blasted across  that particular newspaper read 3.8 million dollars   seized of cocaine two brothers incarcerated facing  life in prison no bail at the time mayor Giuliani   was the mayor of the city of New York and he  wanted to crack down on drug traffickers and   drug dealers and the prosecutor was Richard Brown  and I was faced with life in prison not knowing   what to do you know trying to figure things  out at that moment the attorneys come back   and say look we're going to work out a plea you  have no bail but we're going to work out a plea   they're going to give you three to nine years of  incarceration and your brother four to 12 years   now I was housed in the notorious jail called  Rikers Island where at that time and still today   there's thousands of people incarcerated over  fourteen thousand and I'm housed in this prison   trying to you know I can't figure things out and  the day came of my sentencing I got three to nine   years of incarceration my brother four to twelve  so they sent us out to State Prison and in state   prison there was an opportunity that arose that  whether I can either sign into a program which   was a military cap my census would be reduced  almost in half and I had already in about a   year and a half incarcerated and so I I seized  the opportunity and said okay I'm going to sign   to this program which I did and they send me off  to a program called Shock which is basically to   rehabilitate young people or people that are um  you know consuming drugs or involving drugs and   it was just a deal that the attorneys worked out  with the prosecutor and I figured I'm going to   sign into this program because I'm gonna you know  get out only in in six months as I arrived to this   facility the very first thing that would happen  to me was that I had ex-marines on my face saying   get in parade rest give me a hundred push-ups I'm  like what in the world is going on what is this   and as I was there to try to fit into the regimen  and the program that was registered for these   inmates to apply if they don't finish it they  go back to State Prison and do their time and I   wanted to go to the chapel again I wasn't raised  in a Christian home I had a form of godliness   but denying its power so I knew a little bit  about Christianity but I didn't have a personal   relationship with Jesus Christ at the time and I  went to this chapel and I wanted to negotiate with   God and so as I went there I said God if you allow  me to pass this program because I don't want to go   back to State Prison and finish my time I got  to do three to nine years of incarceration but   if you allow me to finish this program I promise  you I'm not going to drink alcohol for six months   it was ignorance on my part in stupidity instead  of saying God changed my life look what I've done   I'm destroying communities I'm destroying lives  but it wasn't like that I wanted to negotiate   with God and I finished the program and upon my  release I was out in society I'm out on parole and   the first thing I wanted to do after I completed  those six months is to go have a drink so I went   to a bar to celebrate the end of my sobriety  the end of me consuming alcohol and as I was   there how the enemy sets us up I run into an old  associate an old person that I had drug runs with   and he said listen I am controlling now over a ton  of cocaine if you want in you let me know and as I   was hanging out with the old with a buddy of mine  having a drink and and kind of thinking of what   he was saying I my mind was racing thinking man I  can make hundreds of millions of dollars I could   be on top of the world again on top of the game I  know now how the police operates I can have more   control over the distribution of cocaine which I  was selling throughout the Eastern Seaboard I was   like I can do this I can make this happen but my  heart was saying don't do it so I go back to in   the in the bars I was drinking and I go back to  this individual this Colombian individual and I   tell him I'm in I want to take now give me 11  kilograms of cocaine so I send my employee to   get the drugs and it reminds me of the scriptures  in Proverbs 26 11 where it says as a dog returns   to its vomit so do fools repeat their Folly wow  I went right back in into the drug distribution   controlling different locations of distribution  points bringing in hundreds of kilograms of   cocaine mean millions of dollars party life you  know spending tens of thousands of dollars and   my second eldest brother had another case going  up pending case and he got busted in Miami and   they extradited him to New York and when I found  out about his extradition he was in New York we   bailed him out on a half a million dollars and as  I as he got out of jail he said what are you doing   I said man I'm back in I'm controlling hundreds  of kilograms of cocaine he's like great I want to   partner up with you and so he partnered up with me  and he had a client that was working uh he had a   trucking company where he would distribute cocaine  from Miami to New York and from California to New   York and so we use this service to house the drugs  there you know thousands of kilograms hundreds of   kilograms of cocaine unbeknownst to us he was  working with the DEA drug enforcement agency he   was negotiating with us we were giving him drugs  to pick up and all along he was recording all of   our conversations and also he had drugs that we  were giving him as time went on we were being   investigated by the drug enforcement agency by the  federal government so my brother and I were living   this life you know drinking partying and then one  day cops surrounded our vehicles and they arrested   us and they sent us to a prison in Manhattan  called Metropolitan Correctional Facility   uh Metropolitan Correctional Center where the  uh notorious drug lord El Chapo was housed   and then from there we negotiated I tried to  negotiate my case I was waiting about two or three   months to see if I can get bail my brother was  denied bail because he had revoked his first bill   getting indicted on the second case uh with me my  attorneys finally worked out a deal and they got   me out with a half a million dollars out on bail  and so I'm out on bail trying to figure things out   talking to my attorneys what am I looking at and  they told me you're looking at 18 to 25 years of   incarceration and I was like I'm gonna have to do  something you know and I'm trying to think about   ways of getting money again because everything was  seized I lost everything that I'd had before the   very first reaction was I could stick up the uh  drug cartel but then I thought if I do that and   I steal tens of millions of dollars they're  gonna go after my family so what I did was I   just inebriated every day drinking from morning to  night getting drunk and I told my driver because   I couldn't drive I was uh they were looking for  me the cops because I decided to jump bail so I   was a fugitive so I had drivers drive me around  I would hide out in casinos I would hide out in   different homes and one day after being out in the  land for six months I told my driver drive me to   my house and I lived in a gated community he's  like you crazy cops are looking for you I said   I want to see my wife and my kids and as I went  there the very next day my wife picks up the phone   and it was the police the state police Marshals  uh Federal officers and they told my wife tell   your husband to surrender himself if not you  know it's going to go ugly for him uh if he has   any guns toss it out the window you know we want  this to to be a smooth transition of his arrest   so my wife wakes me up he says the cops have the  house surrounded my very first reaction was put   on my clothes open the window jump out as I opened  up the window the cops was there with their guns   drawn freeze you know don't move so I went back  in my home and I looked at my wife and I told her   my life is over open the door cops came rushing  in they handcuffed me my kids were young at the   time you know they were three years old four years  old and so my wife placed them in the back room   and so they came charging in they arrested me my  wife just she had such uh anger and rage because   she felt like this is it I'm losing my husband  she said you know put your guns down he's right   here and so as they arrested me they took me into  the waiting vehicle and they placed me in the back   as they sped away I remember kind of looking back  and my wife filled in she filled in in what took   place there that day after the cops uh sped away  but they were celebrating and they were saying we   arrested this drug lord they were celebrating you  know rightly so but in the same token my wife felt   like man my husband I'm never going to see him  again I'm never going to see him again and as they   were in the vehicle I told the officer and they  were going at a high velocity I said open the back   door I want to end my life and he said you never  know what could happen in your case So I responded   and you know and I looked at him and I was like I  don't know I felt the sense of relief for a moment   and they took me to a Federal Detention Center so  I'd wave my extradition to New York where my case   was out of you know what was crazy is that as they  were transporting me to New York it was like the   movie Con Air because they took me to an Airfield  private Airfield this Lane this airplane lands   you have all these Federal officers with you know  high-end rifles were all chained up they surround   the aircraft and I was like man I'm really in  for a long haul here this is this is a big case   that I'm dealing with and and so they transported  me in this van to New York City to Brooklyn New   York MDC Metropolitan Detention Center now little  did I know in the way that I was when I was going   to prison that my brother had surrendered his  life to Jesus in the six months that I was out   as a fugitive and I didn't even know I didn't  have a contact with him I didn't know about his   conversion and his prayer was God send my brother  to the same facility the same cell block where I'm   housed so I can share the gospel with him and I  had no idea and so I arrived to MDC Brooklyn and   as I arrived to the detention center and I enter  this unit and who do I see my brother and he looks   at me and he just extends his hand up in the air  and he says hallelujah praise the Lord and I look   at my brother with indifference I'm like what  is he talking about praise the Lord hallelujah   we're in jail he's he's lost his mind you know  so he's like you know God loves you you don't   understand I've been praying for you I've been  praying for your salvation I'm like what are you   saying you've been praying for my salvation you've  been praying for for me to to be in jail with you   you know and he said to me one day you'll get it  and he you know he kind of smiled and and he said   it's good to see you it's good for you to you know  to be alive uh because he was having this prayer   with God In This Moment six months prior that I  didn't know and he said God if you don't bring him   here then I can share this gospel they're going to  kill him you know he's perhaps he's running wild   out in the streets and I'm there and I'm trying to  deal with my case in a higher different attorneys   and they're giving me bad news and I'm in this  Detention Center locked up 24 hours I'm not seeing   you know outside you know it's in a warehouse that  I'm housed in and I'm just trying to figure out my   ways again I didn't have no repentance I didn't  have no conviction of my actions I just felt a   worldly Sorrows as the scripture says that leads  to uh condemnation combination leaves to death   and I'm there trying to figure things out again  trying to do it my way and I'm so destroyed I'm   so depressed and the attorneys come back with  the bad news and he said you're facing minimum   of 18 years of incarceration wow and I'm trying  to communicate with my wife can't getting a hold   of her I'm talking to my mom calling her talking  to these attorneys I fired one I hired another   one fired him and I have no money now and I'm  down to the last attorney and my brother says I   want you to come to the chapel now this Chapel was  being controlled or not controlled but being the   services were being held by inmates and he said I  want you to go to the chapel what you need is God   and I felt that there was no other recourse  I tried everything I tried My Own Strength I   tried my own will and power and money you know and  those things failed me and I was just so empty and   depressing so I went to this chapel and I sat down  in the back observing this religious service from   these grown men that are facing life in prison  from cases of murder you know they're being they   were extradited from Colombian other countries to  face their charges in New York and I'm like what   is going on and they're testifying and they're  talking about the goodness of God and giving word   about how their lives were being transformed  even though they're facing life in prison   and the preacher says there's a gentleman  here there's someone here amongst 55 inmates   that has been chasing after things and those  things have led him down a road of Destruction   and he is seeking after peace and this is the  word that I felt that God was telling me I was   telling God I want peace all I need is peace I'm  going crazy in prison and as I'm sitting in the   back this pastor is saying there's someone that's  been telling God that he wants peace he says the   peace that God can give you will surpass all of  your understanding you know who you are God can   change your life around and I just felt this peace  come over me and I knew it was for me I was like   man how does this pastor or this inmate know my  story and I started he says you know who you are   and uh he says I want you to come to the front  as I was approaching the front I just started to   weep and cry and I and and I just came before  the Lord right there and he said look God can   change your life around just receive him in your  heart and he said the sinner's prayer he says   God can change your life wrong do you believe  in Jesus I said yes yes he died for you he's   he wants to give you a new life so that you can  become a new creation in him the old will be God   and everything will become new he's  going to make you a new person Within   and I just started to continue to cry and I  said yes and I repeated this prayer over me   as he was praying over me and I felt like the  spirit of God that was enveloping over me it   was taking hold of my life and it was taking all  of that sinful destruction that I was doing with   my hands poisoning lives and within my mind I saw  like flashes of mothers that were weeping because   of their son that perhaps died of the same drugs  that I was spewing out in society I was seeing   addicts I was seeing women that was perhaps giving  their uh selling their bodies to consume the very   drugs that I was spewing all of these flashes  of these images I was crossing through my mind   and I just told God I'm sorry God forgive me of  my sins and you know the Bible says that that   what happens is when his golly Sorrows it leads  to repentance and repentance leads to Salvation   and I wanted to make amends with everybody  and I remember getting up and I felt that   this weight was off my shoulder wow I didn't feel  depressed even though I was in prison I felt free   and I I went to um where the phones were located  and I made a phone call and I called my mom I said   mommy said mom the scripture says that I'm born  again I don't know but I want to make amends with   everybody I'm sorry you know whatever what I've  done to you and our family and I remember trying   to reach my wife and I couldn't reach her you know  I wanted to to just I was telling everybody in the   in the housing unit hey man I'm sorry and they're  looking at me like they thought I was crazy sorry   of what and I was just so relieved at the fact  that I was no longer in bondage even though I was   in physical change at changed but I felt that I  was you know free yeah how did your brother react   from uh for uh my brother came up to me said that  was what I was telling you that was the prayer   that I was praying to God for you when you was out  there going crazy I was telling God send you here   so that you can listen to the gospel and be saved  and so those dots were connected and and he was so   happy for me and so my brother and I we immense  ourselves in scripture and we started studying   theology I remember writing to uh different uh  colleges and saying hey I'm incarcerated I want   to be a student and they gave us a free tuition  and so we started learning about the word of God   wow and we contacted the American Bible society  and other local prison uh the local excuse me   churches around the community to send us Bibles  and they were sending us Bibles and so my brother   and I became the pastors of this congregation  and it started to grow and grow and we were   ministering to hundreds of inmates and we started  to train our members which inmates of our church   they became the deacons so every time an inmate  would enter a housing unit they would give them   a Bible and a pair of shoes a sandals and some  food and say welcome to five north it is not   Metropolitan Detention Center it is Miracle  Deliverance Center and the brothers and the   Batman those are brothers they're the pastors  and they got Chapel every day go check them out   they'll give us commissary and that commissary  which was food we would tell her about and give   it to the inmates and give them a Bible so God was  just doing some incredible things there uh we were   seeing salvation uh people were being healed that  the warden was saying man what is going on here in   five north and it was just amazing what God was  doing in this particular uh jail and I remember   there was a guy that we had a pastor that we  had reached out to that had a radio station   um in New York and his name is uh the late uh  Pastor Leroy Rickson he would become my pastor   uh when I was released and we reached out to  him and we heard him on the radio and he was   giving a testimony about how he was in drugs how  he was in gangs and how God saved them and so he   became a mentor in the outside and he would  send us letters and it was just an amazing   relationship we had with him so I remember during  my my time in jail I wanted my wife to come to   Jesus so I fasted three days no water this uh  other inmate came up to me from our church and   said hey brother I want to fast for your wife  for her salvation and I want you to fast and   pray for my case and he had a pending case and  he wanted to be extradited back to his homeland   and I said yes brother so we prayed and fasted for  three days no water no food and on the third day I   get a call from the correction officers they come  up to my cell and they say Mendoza you got a visit   so I go down to the visiting area I thought  it was my attorney and I see my wife as she   was seated there and I approached her and she  had this frowned look like man I got something   to tell you and so she looks at me and she says  sit down I have some bad news to share with you   and I said can you give me five minutes I want to  share this good news with you and and I looked at   her and I said I'm sorry I've been unfaithful to  you I've you know basically almost destroyed our   family and our kids you know and I just want you  to know that even though if you leave me today   I want you to know Jesus I want you to know the  Lover of My Soul I want you to know the one that   saved me I'm a new man and she looked at me  and the words the Holy Spirit started taking   a hold of her life and she started to cry and  we started to confess our sins to one another I   started to share of all the wrongs I've done and  I said to her you know I want you to know Jesus   and she said to me you know I want what you have  you are more Freer in prison than myself that I'm   out into I'm out in society I want the Jesus that  you are professing and so I letter to the Lord I   prayed over her and we prayed we forgave our  sins one another God forgive us for our sins   right there and we renewed our relationship and  our marriage and we reconciled our indifferences   and God saved on that visiting area and then I  learned through my sister-in-law after my brother   actually because my brother was incarcerated with  me that his wife my sister-in-law and my wife went   to a church that that week and she got baptized  in water I'm in prison and I'm preaching I didn't   even care about my case I just wanted to preach  the word of God and many were coming to Christ   and I remember the day that I was about to get  sentenced 9 11 happens so they postponed our   sentencing date for three months uh further and  uh my attorneys came to visit me and said look   we're ready for sentencing he gave me a probation  report so basically it's before you get sentenced   they give you a probation report and that just  highlights uh the things you've done in the   community and also any of your past convictions  and I was like forget him they're gonna give me   18 years because this is my second uh conviction  and I told I looked at my attorney and I said look   whatever report that the the feds are giving me  I'm going to listen to the report of the Lord   if God wants me here for 18 years preaching the  gospel I'm going to do it but if he wants me to   be released from prison so that I can impact our  communities and impact our society and work with   young people he's going to do the miracle and he  looked at me he goes okay you know and so I uh get   out into the courtroom and I'm standing before  the judge I'm next to my attorney and I glance   to the back of the courtroom and I see my wife  and I see my wife's Pastor which he had written   a letter to the judge and he was a former police  officer and then I see my family members there   my mom and other family members and I remember  standing before the judge and all of a sudden the   prosecutor speaks and he says your honor whatever  time you're imposed on the defendant I just hope   upon his release that he would continue to do what  he was doing in prison by educating other inmates   and helping them out that he would do that out  into society by helping other young people and   other people in need of a spiritual help and also  uh Academia educational and I look at my attorney   I said did he really say that I can't believe it  he's speaking on my behalf and he says whatever   time you opposed to him let it be so but I just  want to recognize that and I couldn't believe that   this is the prosecutor and so my attorney speaks  and then I speak and I look at the judge and I say   your honor whatever time you impose I just want  you to know that I'm a New Creation in Christ   if you give me the opportunity to be released  I want to work with young people and I want to   help out those that had similar backgrounds to  myself and he looks at me goes that is all Mr   Mendoza I say yes you are and he sentences me  to close to five years I could not believe it   I was like praise God so as I uh go back to the  unit I testify of what God has done and the time   comes I already had about two and a half years  waiting for the outcome of my case they send me   off to the Federal Detention Center to finish  to finish out my time and I went to Louisburg   Penitentiary and I'm there and I'm preaching to  the minister to the the inmates there and um as   I'm ministering to them I'm in a Penitentiary they  send me off to Allenwood low to a low facility   so I'm preaching there doing Bible study the  chaplain there says man you need to preach at   the chapel to the inmates and I'm preaching and  I'm ministering and I'm coming across you know   former politician a politician that goes arrested  there uh he was housed in the facility I was in   um other cases of people have you know committed  all kinds of crimes and I remember one guy comes   up to me that was involved in a Ponzi scheme  of hundreds of millions of dollars and he said   brother God is going to take you around the world  you're going to be before world leaders president   and all kinds of important figures he says your  gift will make room for you and will bring you   before Kings and he says God is going to do that  in your life and I look at him I'm like is he   serious a former you know drug lord is going to  be before world leaders and traveling the world   and I was like okay Amen brother and so as I  was finished my my time there I'm about to get   released my wife sends me my uh my clothing my my  you know my outside clothing I put on my clothing   and I'm about to get released and who picks me up  the New York State parole officers and they arrest   me and they said Mr Mendoza you're going to Rikers  Island because you violated your parole so after   spending almost five years of incarceration  I was going back now from federal prison   to the state jail he says you have to go to Rikers  Island and you have to go before the judge so they   put the handcuffs on me I'm in the back of  the car and he doesn't seem like I was joyful   at the I was like well I guess God wants me to  preach at Rikers Island so the the parole office   is looking at me like that usually inmates they  have an uproar you know they want to fight with   us they're like I'm not going back to jail and I  started to minister to these officers on the way   to New York from Pennsylvania they took me to uh  McDonald they've even removed the cuffs and I'm   menacing to them and talking about Jesus and they  handcuff me again and take me to Rikers Island so   once I arrived there I went to a cell before they  sent me off to my uh dormitory to my housing unit   and I saw the deplorable state of these inmates  they were strung out shruggies and I was like God   you know the cause of my hands I said I want to  minister the gospel to these to these inmates   and I you know in in federal prison and  state prison they let you carry a Bible   and I open up to the scripture and I stopped  ministering to these inmates and a few of them   received Christ into their heart and they got  saved so they sent me off to the housing unit I'm   ministering to gang bangers in there and they come  into my Bible study and from the Bible study there   and it was just incredible what God was doing so  I went to see the judicial judge I was there for   about six months and he looks at my case he says  man you've educated yourself in prison you've   helped so many people uh I see that hundreds of  inmates have written letters on your behalf wow   for leniency on your case from the federal prison  he's like I'm gonna release you to restore revoke   and restore which means I'm going to send you back  into the community I was like praise God so I'm   getting released and as I was going through  these different steps before being released   the enemy was trying to put thoughts in my mind  how about if you get hit with another indictment   how about if you get another case comes out and  I was like God I've surrendered everything to you   everything is out in the open and I was released  and as I was releasing I was crossing that bridge   from the island of Rikers Island which is an  island where 10 jails are located in and as I   went over and I was physically free I just I I  got on my knees and I said God thank you Lord   thank you for giving me freedom and time went  on and so my wife and I started a not-for-profit   um I started to work for my attorneys as a  paralegal because I was studying a lot also   about legal motions in prison and I worked with  them for a while and I decided to leave that and   uh working in this not-for-profit being recognized  by elected officials then going to the U.N to   address world leaders and the prophecy was being  manifested it was coming to fruition I was like oh   this is what this this man said in federal prison  as I was doing all this work in the community I   was being recognized by these all these elected  officials going to City Hall working with young   people getting them out of drugs and gangs forming  basketball clinics going to the different stadiums   talking to NBA players Mets uh I did Chapel for  the New York Mets so I'm doing all these things   oh my God you know this is what I was called for  to you know work on your behalf out in society   and I remember um one day that I get a call  from a pastor and says I want you to come   to uh connect with a Korean church it's  called Promise Ministries International   and I want you to work on behalf of children  I'm like this is what I want to do work with   Children and Youth so I came to the church and  it was amazing I meet the uh the pastor now he's   an Emeritus uh Pastor namster Kim and he stops  talking to me about this movement called the   414 window I'm like what is this and basically  it's to reach children from the ages of four to   Fourteen and I start to meditate and think about  that and I was like man man I wasn't reached   at the ages of four to fourteen no one spoke to  me about the gospel and now God is calling me into   this ministry so I can reach this demographics to  reach these kids from 4 to 14. so the the pastor   uh Emeritus uh at the time it was the past he  was telling me I want you to be a part of this   church part of this movement and this started in  2009 so I started to work with him on this front   to reach this children these children for four to  Fourteen and train world leaders on the importance   of children Ministry we started to connect with  uh one hope with Bob Hoskins and West Stafford   now he's Emeritus from Compassion International  and other world leaders and we started to talk   about with world leaders about the importance  of children Ministry so I started to travel to   Thailand Singapore and around the world in in Asia  Latin America and I was just praising God saying   Lord this is what you've done and you've called me  for such a time as this to reach this generation   and lead them to your kingdom so I I started  to work in this church and I've been here   for I've been in promised Ministries now for  14 years um God is doing some amazing things   in my life and now I've taken the role as  lead pastors to start a Spanish congregation   at promise Ministries International in Flushing  Queens and I wrote a book called uh shifting   Shadows how a New York drug lord found freedom  in the last place he expected and it's in Spanish   as well and now I'm I'm currently in options for  Hollywood film potential Hollywood film and uh God   is just amazing and what he can do he's taken a  broken life that was shattered from drugs and gags   and God turned it around to be his spokesperson to  speak to world leaders I received a letter from a   former president United States being recognized  at the House of Representatives in in DC   that God can take a life and turn it around and  make something new so that the world may know   that Christ that Jesus Christ can transform  lives amen and can be uh just so powerful in   our world and so that we can Mark lives in  our communities and in our world amen Herman   when you came out of uh prison officially when  once you were done with that part of your life   how was it for you and your family when you come  out your kids haven't seen you for a while right   your wife thankfully uh is encountered by the holy  spirit gives her life to Jesus but if you could   tell us a little bit about that Dynamic of coming  from this life in prison but then now starting   life again what did that look like did you have  any struggles was it smooth what did that look   like for you uh obviously there was some struggles  with uh the economic aspect of it even though I   was working for I had the privilege to work for  my attorneys but it took some time to get there   and so there were struggles there was a time I  remember and I didn't want to go to my parents   and say mom dad you know help me out with money uh  my wife and I uh she was living in Pennsylvania at   the time I was in New York and we were kind of you  know grappling with the whole fact that whether I   should return to Pennsylvania or move to Florida  and just start this whole new life and we didn't   have money she was the only bread winner in the  house because I wasn't working for my attorneys   at that moment and we had our first apartment  it was very difficult we didn't have resources   uh but we had the church and we were assisting  we're looking around for a church in a local   community but even though we were attending our  church in Manhattan but we lived in Queens and   it was difficult you know going to Manhattan at  the time so we went to his local church just to   eat breakfast that's how bad it got financially  so that was one of the struggles I didn't have   struggles with alcohol I didn't have struggles  with temptation with women uh because God had you   know delivered me from that but really it was more  of the financial aspects of it and I know that a   lot of people that come that come out of jail they  try to transition into society and they end up   going back to the streets they end up going back  to all all they know to make a quick buck and they   get caught up again in sin so it's very difficult  that transition thank God that I had people of   Faith people within the church uh mentoring me and  guiding me along the way so in that aspect it was   difficult until my wife moved to New York and then  I got a job with the attorneys and then me being   an entrepreneur I started different businesses  with my brother uh that eventually got out of jail   yeah I was going to ask you he got out of jail six  months after I was released wow and then my other   brother that was arrested with me in my first case  he was released way before I I was released so all   my brothers now are serving the lord my eldest  brother is a doctor which she was never involved   in in any uh ill gains and narcotics and my third  eldest brother he's in medical school now and he   was never involved in this world but we're all  serving the lord and thank God that my mother   and father God to witness us being born again  Christians serving God you know and that was that   was an awesome uh time for my mom and dad before  they were home to be with the Lord come on Herman   for people who are watching your testimony  right now and are specifically coming out of   prison maybe they encountered the Lord in prison  and and are in that space of of uh struggling   a little bit financially or whatever it may be  what can you say to that person right now who is   watching your testimony who is losing a little  bit of Hope and are watching your story yeah I   think that the most poignant uh answer to that is  basically to trust God in all circumstances you   know the Bible says that um that we can do all  things through Christ who strengthens us right   in the book of Philippians 4 13. and I think  it's once we apply that principle and say God   sometimes things are beyond our control and  beyond our strength and beyond our ability but   I'm going to seek after help and I think hope  is important but when you seek that help in   all the right places people within the body of  Christ the church that can give a good counsel   could give a good direction and a good advice  I think that's where it starts at and remember   everyone has gifts and talents and as the  scripture says that your gift will make   rule for you you just gotta find that  and apply it and let that be that tool   through Christ that can really bring about your  aspirations and your goals to come to fruition   yeah uh but it's going to be struggles it's  going to be you know Temptations it's going   to be you know those things in your life but  always press forward and always press on Amen   for that drug dealer that's watching right now  and hasn't come to the Lord hasn't doesn't believe   um but for some reason they've made it to this  part of the video what can you speak what can   you say to that person watching right now that's  a great uh question uh I use this as an example   when I came out of jail um there was a particular  individual that used to be in an organization he   used to hang out with us and and do a lot of uh  distribution for us he was our muscle guy when I   was incarcerate I used to write to him and he was  in jail as well on another case and I should tell   them about about Christ and how he changed me and  share the gospel with him and he was like yes I'm   going to get right you're right what you're saying  to me I need to change my life and so when he was   released I ran into him in the streets and he  said hey man I heard all about you what God is   doing that's awesome man that's great so I said  how about you what are you up to he said yo man   the streets is my quality he said I'm gonna go  back and get my hustle and I was like listen if   you go back to the streets they either gonna  kill you you know something's gonna happen   you're going to get killed or you're going back  to jail and he's like Jesus is good for you man   but the streets in my hustle and making millions  of dollars that's what I'm gonna do and I felt so   saddened and about a year later or probably less  than that my brother calls me he says pick up the   newspaper I pick up the newspaper and they read  you know rap bash turns you know violent and my   friend got killed coming out of a club wow and and  I you know I felt so so sad because I warned him   and he didn't listen and he was with these  two rappers well-known rappers here in New   York and he was coming out of Latin quarters  and he got shot and he had a gun on him and   he got killed so this is what I would say that  today is the day of salvation tomorrow maybe   your last day now is the decision to follow  Christ to follow Jesus now is the time to say   no more to that lifestyle don't do it because  look what happened to my friend he got killed   in an instant and so today may be your  last day so I would say to you is see God   you know and he can change your life around  Herman who is Jesus to you Jesus Is My Savior   my God my Lord he is everything to me he is the  breath that I breathe every day uh my comforter   um and he is the one that I look for for for  guidance and uh for every need that that uh   that I need in my life any last words for the  people who are watching your testimony who have   gotten to this uh to this part that With God all  things are possible you may have a prodigal son   prodigal daughter and maybe in drugs and addicted  to drugs or all kinds of addictions perhaps even   marital problems God can turn their life for  real it takes a prayer it took a prayer with me   it even took a prayer with a friend of mine that  also wrote a book his name is Christopher you are   uh he wrote a book called out of a far country  and it just takes a prayer God can turn your   son or your daughter your brother your  sister a loved one around don't give up   gawkin turned up God could turn your family member  around and that's my advice to you uh look at   my life you know through a prayer God turned  it around and it took prison it took the the   extreme places to do that it may take the extreme  places of depravity of a deplorable state but at   that place just like The Prodigal Son he came to  his senses and your son your daughter your family   member can come to their senses through prayer  don't give up God bless you and God loves you amen

Channel: Delafé Testimonies

Views: 317,944

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Id: zakI5tTBOm8

Length: 56min 31sec (3391 seconds)

Published: Thu May 25 2023