Participants:
Series Code: SF
Program Code: SF000042A
00:17 In a world that seems increasingly out of control,
00:21 every once in a while we hear stories 00:23 that make us stop and wonder. 00:26 Stories that confront us with evidence of things 00:29 we can't see or measure. 00:32 Stories that seem to pull back a curtain 00:34 revealing one who is still in charge. 00:39 Every one has faith in something. 01:04 Brian came to the US as a visitor from India, 01:08 but he overstayed his visa so he could work 01:11 and send money back to his struggling family. 01:15 Later he was joined by his wife and brother. 01:19 I, my wife did file for a legal status, 01:22 we got approved but then again for our green card, 01:26 a permanent residence we had to file again. 01:29 There was lot of money involved in this process 01:33 and we were basically just working 01:35 and paying the lawyers the money. 01:38 And for some reason 01:39 or the other it always used to get denied. 01:42 We used to appeal, it used to get denied 01:45 and this used to take year 01:47 like, five years, six years, seven years 01:51 and still we never had a legal status 01:53 and it was just going on and going on. 01:58 Even though Brian was troubled, 02:00 he was not without close friends. 02:05 I met Brian about 15 years ago, 02:07 he was working at an Indian restaurant 02:09 and he was a waiter there 02:11 and he was running a restaurant too 02:12 and we became friends 02:14 because I was attending the restaurant quite a bit. 02:17 I got close to one family. 02:19 He was Italian, his wife was a Filipino. 02:23 So we actually grew very close to each other. 02:28 When his wife and daughter came to the country, 02:31 we became family friends 02:33 and we started socializing outside of the restaurant 02:36 and had a kindred spirit together. 02:38 Brian is one of those guys who is easy to trust. 02:40 He is a real friend here. 02:42 My wife was carrying my child 02:44 in fact, and the child died in the stomach 02:48 and after that the next week my brother died 02:55 and after my brother dying, 02:56 it was completely, I was lost completely. 03:02 We got even closer 03:03 after his brother passed away of heart attack 03:05 and we were there together at that time 03:07 and the roots been a lot deeper after that. 03:10 So it was like one after another things happening. 03:15 I don't know who had my papers so things were getting, 03:19 you know, real tough. 03:26 After that I did a couple of odd jobs here and there, 03:30 driving the taxi and then working in the gas stations 03:34 and again I joined one of my very good friend, 03:38 his gas station I joined. 03:40 So I was working with the owners 03:43 who were Muslims and they knew I was Christians. 03:47 But that did not, you know, make any different for them. 03:52 I was a person who could they could trust. 03:55 The customers, they knew me by name in fact, 03:58 because it was a while I used to work like. 04:01 I did seven, five, six years. 04:04 They had-- they shared a very close relationship. 04:08 Whatever house problems they had, 04:10 they used to come and let me know about it. 04:12 And in that neighborhood, you know, 04:14 that basically they say that that neighborhood is a crime. 04:17 You know, lots of crime happening here, 04:19 there, shootouts, but I never felt that, 04:22 you know, the fright, 04:24 you know, something is going to happen to me 04:26 because I used to be friendly with everybody 04:28 over there in fact. 04:33 I did get my work permit and my social 04:37 but that also got denied 04:39 because my sponsor couldn't show sufficient funds 04:42 and then my papers went to the court. 04:45 Went to the court saying that 04:47 as your papers cannot go more ahead, 04:50 you have to go back to your country. 04:52 You have to leave. 04:53 Yeah, we had got a letter 04:54 that says we're gonna get deported 04:56 and I mean, my parents really never told me much 05:00 not to affect me because I was like oh, deported. 05:03 Didn't realize I was in seventh grade, 05:04 didn't really understand what that meant or anything. 05:06 So it was like oh, okay. 05:08 I thought oh, yeah, we are going to India, it's fun. 05:10 Haven't seen my grandparents 05:11 but to my family that means back to suffering, 05:14 back to hard work. 05:15 So I was in a removal proceedings, 05:18 that means they would send me back home to India. 05:22 We used to ask our self, why is this happening to us? 05:25 Why is this happening to us, you know? 05:27 And I knew lot of people said that, 05:29 you know, you don't have to go back, 05:31 you know, you can still live here, 05:32 you have ten years hardship with your children here. 05:35 You can still live but my thing was already in the court. 05:38 I couldn't, if I go any part of the US 05:40 they would know with my car insurance, 05:44 or residence or anything that I would have been in trouble. 05:46 So I said, you know what, I will leave. 05:47 Neither they had to change the law 05:51 or give everybody asylum 05:53 or you know, some new law had to come in 05:56 and that was nothing which would take place 06:00 at that very moment. 06:03 One day, Brian was working the day time shift 06:06 at the convenient store 06:08 instead of his normal overnight shift. 06:11 It was approximately at 10:30 in the night, 06:15 10:30 to quarter to 11 that was a time 06:18 when I was supposed to get over with my shift. 06:23 So I was doing all my paperwork and everything. 06:25 So I was all by myself 06:28 so that was one regular customer 06:31 who I knew him and he was, he was all by himself. 06:36 He asked me, he wanted to buy something. 06:39 So he asked me, can I get this? 06:45 So at that time, you know, 06:47 as I told I did not consider it a fright that I was, 06:53 you know, scared of that place because everybody knew me. 06:57 So I went out, as I soon I went out opened the door 07:02 and I went out to open the phone accessories... 07:07 suddenly three guys came jetting in 07:11 and they had guns in their hand. 07:14 I thought it was a joke 07:15 because I really never thought that, 07:16 you know, it was something really happening, 07:18 it was a robbery. 07:20 And they turned me around 07:22 for me to come in the bulletproof. 07:25 They had the registers. 07:27 So as I turned and I be nothing 07:31 they just shot me in the back of my leg. 07:47 After that when I gave them the money, 07:51 I was just praising God and there was only three words 07:55 I was continuously raising, 07:57 "thank You, Jesus" "Praise You, Jesus" 08:00 "I love You, Jesus." 08:02 For once I opened both the registers 08:05 they caught me by my shoulder and they dragged me 08:08 because they knew that 08:10 in the office there was money in that. 08:13 As they were taking me to the office 08:16 I see a rays on the floor, 08:19 the golden words Jesus and I could see it. 08:23 That was a time basically gave me more of the faith 08:28 that nothing is going to happen to me. 08:30 That oh, Jesus is there with me 08:32 and here He is, you know. 08:35 But still I was studying these words, 08:36 "thank You, Jesus" "Praise Jesus" 08:38 "I love You, Jesus." 08:41 I could hear the other person with the gun telling me, 08:46 "Give me the money." 08:47 And that's the time I told them, 08:48 okay, take the money on the side 08:50 because I knew we always kept hundred ones, 08:53 it was in the draw. 09:40 I drag myself all the way down to the phone. 09:45 Tried to dial 911 but I was-- 09:49 I never knew the same ear I put the phone in my ear 09:54 and I could not hear the dial tone. 09:56 So I was in a impression 09:57 that there is something wrong with the phone. 10:00 There was chunks of blood just coming out. 10:03 Never in my life I've seen that chunks just coming out 10:08 and I was getting suffocated because I could not breathe. 10:12 Again I tried to dial 911 10:15 so still I could not hear the dial tone 10:17 so I just kept the phone 10:19 and I just hung my head down and I was just on the ground. 10:24 And then suddenly one of our customer 10:27 who I knew he came and he looked at me 10:30 and said, oh, Brian, what happened? 10:33 So he knew that something wrong has happened 10:35 because he could see the blood. 10:37 So suddenly he dialed 911. 10:43 This man doesn't want to be identified 10:44 after he found the Citgo convenience store clerk 10:47 shot inside the store. 10:48 Is that my dad? 10:49 The man says, he entered the store 10:51 to find the clerk alone and injured 10:53 and that he had been shot in the head. 10:57 At my position I was a chief surgery resident at the time. 11:01 So when a trauma work comes in, a lot of times 11:03 if it's just kind of a run of the mill 11:06 no too heavy trauma, 11:07 I let some of the junior residents 11:09 take care of it for their own experience. 11:10 I call down there and they say, you know, 11:12 it's a gunshot would to the head. 11:14 So obviously that's not, that's a pretty serious injury. 11:16 That's not something I let the junior residents 11:18 take care of. 11:19 So I rushed down there and I get down there 11:21 and I wonder where the guy is. 11:23 Usually there is a lot of hoopla, 11:25 usually everybody is just frantic, 11:27 trying to get things done and that just wasn't occurring 11:31 and you know, there is this guy 11:32 in the trauma bay just sitting there 11:33 and he looked completely comfortable. 11:35 We found some blood in his right ear 11:37 and he had a wound in his left neck 11:39 and he also had a gunshot wound to his leg 11:42 but for gunshot wound to the head, 11:44 I mean, he shouldn't have-- 11:46 first of all chances are 11:49 he probably wouldn't have lived, 11:50 the second of all, if you get there 11:52 after gunshot wound to the head you are in a bad way. 11:56 So after we find out that they are stable we do, 11:59 you know, we do a this little test, 12:00 we do check labs, just basic labs. 12:03 We get a plain film of the, 12:05 of the C-spine of the cervical spine. 12:07 We also get a plain film of the chest. 12:09 Both are tricky, they can go anywhere so you never know. 12:12 And then after that, you know, we knew 12:14 it was probably an entry wound to the right ear 12:17 and an exit wound to the left. 12:19 There is a lot of important structures 12:21 in between those two points. 12:23 Because we thought he most likely had an injury 12:25 and even if he didn't have an obvious injury 12:28 we would need to take him to the operation room 12:29 to make sure of that 12:31 because there are so many structures in between there. 12:32 If you don't diagnose it and treat it right away, 12:35 it can be fatal later on. 12:36 And then they told me about that, 12:38 that my husband was shot 12:40 and he is inside the surgery room 12:42 and you know, there is no chances 12:44 of what's going to happen to him 12:47 because he was shot on his head. 12:48 He was vomiting chunks of blood and everything. 12:52 Then there was a screaming over the phone. 12:54 She was, she was really, really upset 12:57 and she said, Brian's been shot. 12:59 My husband got the call and was talking 13:01 and his tone was serious. 13:04 He had been shot in the leg with a 45 13:07 and he'd been shot through the ear and neck with the 45 13:11 and apparently he lost lot of blood 13:13 and she actually thought he's gonna die. 13:17 Ninety five percent of people 13:19 who were shot in the head will die 13:21 and only two percent will live without disabilities. 13:25 Brian's chances of survival were even lower 13:28 since he was shot with a 45, 13:30 the largest practical handgun caliber in use. 13:34 A bigger hole means more damage and faster blood loss. 13:39 The bullet came in right here 13:41 but before it even got to the bone 13:43 it actually ducked down into the soft tissue 13:47 and it broke the mandible here. 13:48 So it didn't completely traverse the bone. 13:51 Also would have done that, 13:52 if it would have gone up 13:53 obviously would have hit the brain 13:55 and that would have either killed him 13:56 or result in pretty significant disability. 13:59 If it would have gone straight 14:01 across his eardrum is right here 14:05 and the carotid artery is right there. 14:06 So we are talking less than an inch. 14:08 We are talking maybe a centimeter difference 14:10 between that artery 14:12 and where the bullet actually ended up going. 14:14 Fortunate for him it went down 14:16 and even more fortunate for him it didn't hit 14:18 any of the important structures in neck. 14:20 As it traverse the neck, 14:21 it would have to miss his windpipe, 14:22 it would have to miss his trachea, 14:24 would have to miss his esophagus 14:26 which is directly behind it. 14:28 Then behind that you got the spinal cord. 14:30 So it missed all three of those structures 14:33 on the right side, then it went across 14:35 and it essentially missed 14:37 most of the structure on the left side. 14:39 It barely caught part of his internal jugular vein 14:42 but barely caught it. 14:45 I mean, we did fix it 14:46 but if it would have been a very significant injury, 14:48 he probably would have died from it. 14:50 When bullets hit solid objects it causes them to tumble 14:53 so the bullet doesn't always go in a straight course. 14:56 Once it hits something solid it tumbles 14:58 and it can spin like a curveball spins. 15:02 Fortunate for him it took a spin 15:04 and it's been in his favor. 15:06 I mean, it could have-- with all these structures 15:09 it should have hit something. 15:10 He said, you know what, 15:13 Mrs. Fernandez, it's a miracle. 15:16 I came and saw Brian he was in a very bad condition 15:20 but I didn't think what's going to happen 15:23 but I would say it's a miracle. 15:25 I saw thousands of traumas when I was at ORMC 15:28 and this was a standout. 15:31 Because he basically just turned around 15:32 and just called, 15:34 this pointblank fired at the clerk. 15:36 And you know, God hand have been on the clerk side 15:39 because it looks like he's gonna make it 15:41 but, you know, that's the devil at work right there. 15:45 She was weak from I guess, crying all night 15:48 but happy and excited that he had survived. 15:51 He had survived the surgery 15:52 which nobody really initially thought he would. 15:56 She had many people that were praying for him that night. 15:59 It was like the dark night with a bright morning 16:03 and that morning was 16:04 the best morning in my whole life 16:06 because I got my husband back, yeah. 16:12 We actually left to see him the next day 16:15 when she called us and said, he made it. 16:17 We were already planning on 16:18 coming down for the kids' spring break 16:20 within a couple of days. 16:22 So we just pulled the kids out of school. 16:24 It was like a second reason that became our main priority. 16:28 At that time we got to get down there. 16:30 Later on that evening we arrived in Orlando 16:33 and we went to look for Brian in the hospital 16:37 but there wasn't anybody registered 16:39 in his name in the hospital because he was shot. 16:42 The people who shot him were still, 16:45 were still unaccounted for. 16:47 So after getting through to Bindu on the phone 16:49 we kind of crept to the right area and... 16:52 My wife and I wanted to bring the kids. 16:54 We wanted them to see this miracle in action. 16:59 When we got there we were just kind of go silent. 17:03 Didn't really want to look at him, 17:05 like afraid what we would see. 17:07 You feel the same? 17:08 Yeah, I know walking through the hallway 17:10 I was like all nervous like, okay, let's do this 17:13 and I was like all nervous. 17:14 When I saw him, it didn't seem like he was speaking. 17:16 You'd expect to see, 17:19 you know, just so much awfulness 17:22 in front of you and even though there was an aspect 17:24 it was like his warm smile was still there. 17:28 I just couldn't believe that 17:31 he didn't have any real problems. 17:33 I said Brian, are you able to hear me out of your ear, 17:38 your bad ear where you got shot? 17:40 He goes, yes. 17:42 He had bandages. 17:44 There was a lot of swelling around his neck. 17:46 Remember seeing that tubes coming out, 17:49 you know, just kind of a draining, 17:51 a lot of drainage and he looked tired, 17:54 just really tired, still groggy. 17:57 To see that firsthand 17:59 and to see the evidence of God's hand immediately, 18:04 it's just so real. 18:06 For about a week or so 18:07 I never even got to go to the hospital to see my dad 18:10 because he was in the critical care 18:12 and then I had my sisters. 18:13 We can't all go together 18:15 so I had to stay home for a while. 18:19 Seeing your dad on the bed and he is in pain, 18:22 it's really not, you know, good 18:24 because he's had a heart attack before, 18:25 he suffered so much. 18:27 You know, he was just honest. 18:29 He was like in pain 18:30 so it's very hard to see him like that. 18:32 I know, so it's really hard because my dad, 18:35 because I really love my dad and then knowing that 18:38 I could almost lose him really scared me. 18:42 So it's really scary. 18:49 I was in the hospital 11 days, 18:52 so after that I was discharged. 18:55 It was like my kids, dad has come home. 18:58 Dad has come home. 19:00 Doing the bed, doing the cot. 19:02 You don't do this, you don't do that. 19:05 I said Brian, are you in any pain? 19:08 He says, no. 19:10 I said, are you not taking any pain medicine or anything. 19:14 I took, I think he said, he took Advil. 19:17 Just, you know, that's just for the pain, 19:19 you know, if I get some pain but I'm not having 19:21 because praise God there's no pain. 19:25 After this incident taking place 19:27 two months I had good rest, I stayed with my family. 19:32 After that I thought as I'm okay, 19:38 let's get back to work. 19:40 He was excited to go back to that neighborhood 19:42 and tell everybody I'm alive and he wanted, 19:44 he was very proud that, 19:46 you know, Jesus gave him a new life 19:47 but at the same time when he told me 19:49 he is going to go back for that gas station, 19:51 I was a bit scared. 19:52 I won't lie to you. 19:54 Oh, no, don't do that, 19:55 you know, they are going to come back again. 19:57 They are going to shoot you and that's not the right place. 19:59 You be in the house or you work somewhere else 20:02 but I'm not going to send you over there. 20:05 So I just told her one thing, 20:06 I said, what they had to do they did 20:09 and God saved me. 20:11 So I don't think so anything more than that, 20:13 what more than that they can do. 20:21 So we were all set ready to go but yet we were really scared. 20:26 When I went back to work no doubt there was four guys, 20:31 three were caught and the fourth, 20:33 the main shooter was not caught. 20:35 He was out on the streets but still there was no fright. 20:41 I went to the place 20:42 and I started telling my testimony 20:46 whoever came 20:48 and all my customers were so happy seeing me 20:52 and it was like overnight I became something 20:57 like, hey, that's the miracle man. 21:04 When I met Brian 21:06 he was actually in immigration court 21:09 and what we call removal proceedings 21:11 which means that the government was attempting 21:14 to remove him from this country. 21:16 And the reason he came to me is that 21:19 he was working for what we attorneys call 21:22 some sort of relief from the removal or deportation. 21:28 There is a very what I would call a rare type of visa 21:34 that is available. 21:35 The purpose behind the U visa, 21:38 the reason that is out there 21:39 is for the US government to be able to know that 21:43 their witnesses are going to be available for them 21:47 when they are prosecuting the criminals. 21:49 And they don't want to be witnesses deported 21:52 so they can be in our criminal courtroom. 21:55 So if you are a victim of horrendous crime, 21:58 but you know, the perpetrators are just will never be found 22:02 or the perpetrators have already been convicted 22:06 and by the time you come to see me 22:09 its already been said and done. 22:11 You are probably not gonna to be able to get that visa. 22:14 And then you have to have the local authorities 22:17 wanting to assist in this case Brian 22:24 by signing an affidavit declaring that they need him 22:28 and they need him to stay in this country. 22:34 It was a long process and a difficult process for him 22:38 because even though we filed the application, 22:42 just filing the application 22:44 does not remove him from immigration court. 22:46 He had to be approved 22:48 before the court would dismiss his case. 22:51 And again we needed some sort of relief 22:54 so this was the form of relief we were after 22:56 and the judge gave us the opportunity 22:58 to go forward with it. 23:04 As it turned out this is a rare visa as I said before 23:08 but it's one that because of his circumstances 23:12 not only work for him but it worked for his wife 23:14 and I knew that it worked for his daughter as well so. 23:18 Yes, no doubt something bad happened 23:22 but that bad happened for something good. 23:24 Because otherwise there was just no way 23:28 I could, I and my family could stay behind. 23:32 We never had our papers and this was the reason what, 23:36 you know, God never wanted us to go back home 23:39 so He made this way for us to live back in US. 23:45 But more than these papers I think Brian was back with me 23:48 that was more important. 23:49 Because I can live anywhere in this world, 23:52 I don't want that visa more than and if he is there 23:54 he is the visa to live. 24:06 I've already forgiven day one 24:09 when they shot me all four of them 24:12 who was involved, who shot me, 24:15 I had already forgiven them through my heart 24:18 and I would like them to ask forgiveness from God 24:22 because God loves them too. 24:24 No doubt they have done something 24:26 which they were not supposed to do, 24:29 but I know it was their hand 24:31 but it was the work of the devil 24:34 who was doing something bad to them. 24:41 You know, that scar symbolizes a soldier wound. 24:43 You know, when veterans they go they get scars. 24:46 Scars show you what happened to your life. 24:48 It shows you the past. 24:50 So that wound that my dad has reminds me 24:53 that my dad is a soldier, soldier for God. 24:55 I think that scar remains on his neck there will be is-- 24:59 it's something which will always make me remember 25:02 that Jesus is alive. 25:03 So I'm really thankful 25:05 and I'm thankful for God who gave my dad back 25:09 because without Him I'm not sure where I would be. 25:11 I would just be crazy because my dad is our-- 25:17 he is our foundation of our family. 25:19 He is the main person of the family 25:21 and I love my dad a lot. 25:40 Marianela was a graduate student. 25:42 When her school announced a mission trip to China, 25:45 she wanted to go but didn't have the money. 25:49 And that's when I decided to go to my professor 25:52 and my supervisor and ask for one week off 25:55 so I can go work and do this literature evangelism. 26:01 For those of you that don't know what that is 26:03 it's knocking on doors and sharing Christian books 26:06 and health book material. 26:09 So I went ahead and went with a group to Georgia. 26:14 So it was really nice to have her along in the trip with us 26:17 that she had done it before and she could help us out. 26:21 Those who were new, like me this is my first time 26:23 we would get a bit more coaching 26:25 on how to approach houses 26:27 if somebody really shut the door on our faces, 26:30 yeah, don't take it personally 26:32 just keep your hopes up, keep praying. 26:35 A good day was selling ten books, 26:38 that's over $100 a day. 26:41 And excellence per day was selling 20 books a day. 26:45 That's over $200. 26:47 I knew that to accomplish the $3,000 26:50 that I needed for the trip 26:52 I would have to sell at least double 26:54 and I only had that week to work. 26:58 We gathered together in a circle, 27:01 I remember holding hands with all the other colporteurs 27:04 and the leader 27:05 and right before we prayed 27:07 we each said what our goal was. 27:09 So the very first day 27:11 when we got there Marianela was like 27:12 well, my goal today Lord, is 40 books. 27:15 The 40 book goal was really, really a high goal 27:19 because it's really rare for somebody to sell that many. 27:24 I kind of look nerd 27:26 because I'm not a really firm believer for, 27:29 you know, that high expectations. 27:32 So I didn't think she was actually gonna get it. 27:36 I was in the van with the rest of the colporteurs 27:39 and started going door to door 27:41 and I remember my bag was full of books. 27:45 And all of sudden I started, I was starting selling sets, 27:49 in sets of five and then sets of three 27:51 and sets of four. 27:54 Then throughout the day 27:55 you can hear through the walkie-talkie 27:57 saying this is a bit of jargon that we need more bread, 28:00 I said more books. 28:02 And then when we are in the van and we are pulling, 28:05 you know, back to our little command center 28:07 I asked Marianela well, how many did you get 28:09 and she got 41 and I was just floored. 28:13 Everybody in the van was floored. 28:15 She actually sold 41 books 28:17 because one of the other girls had prayed that 28:20 she sells one book over what her goal was. 28:23 But then the next day she said, well, if God can do this many 28:27 then He can do ten more. 28:29 He came through so, you know what, 28:31 when it was my turn I said 50 books. 28:34 And again I need more bread, 28:37 I need more books, I need more books. 28:40 I need to be dropped off in another territory 28:43 because I finished these houses 28:45 and at the end of the day she met her goal. 28:48 And so then Marianela, you know, 28:50 all smiling comes along and say, hey guys, 28:52 I met my quota, you know, I met my 50 books. 28:56 I said, well, if God blessed me with 41 books the first day, 29:00 and then the second day with 50 books, 29:03 what's another time books. 29:05 The third day she said, I want to sell 60 books. 29:08 You got to help me sell 60 books. 29:10 Well, when I heard Marianela say 60, 29:12 I was just floored 29:14 and, you know, the one thing 29:15 I was going through my head was Jacob, 29:18 whenever he struggled with the Lord, 29:20 and he said, you know, 29:22 I will not let you go until you bless me. 29:25 And the same through the phone, you hear, "I need more bread, 29:28 I need more bread, I need more books." 29:31 Sixty books is over $600 a day plus donations, 29:35 it was about $800 that day and God blessed me with. 29:39 Every night when I saw the miracle of God 29:43 how He was giving me exactly the goals I had asked for 29:48 and even more with donations. 29:51 I just rejoiced in Him 29:53 and I could only praise Him throughout the night. 29:58 And Marianela then set another goal for 70 books, 30:01 that's just high calling. 30:03 I said well, if God's give me 41 books the first day, 30:07 50 books the second day, 60 books the third day, 30:11 what's 70 books to God that's only 10 more. 30:15 But 70 books is a lot to sell 30:17 and she asked the same prayer of God. 30:21 She really gonna be able to pull this off 30:23 but in the back of our thought, 30:25 in the back of our minds we thought well, 30:27 its not her, it's gonna be Christ pulling it off for her. 30:30 And she sold them. 30:31 She sold 70 books. 30:33 It's really, really unbelievable 30:35 that it's huge amount in one day. 30:38 I thought it was amazing 30:41 while that she was getting all of these books. 30:44 She was able to meet so many people 30:46 and they were all receptive to what she was saying. 30:49 Some of this gives you 13 steps 30:51 on how to find freedom from more guilt 30:53 and fear in your life. 30:54 It's the fact that she had that kind of trust in God 30:59 and it was very obvious 31:01 that she prayed for miracles to happen and they did. 31:05 Four days in a row, 31:06 Marianela sold the exact number of books she prayed for, 31:10 a grand total of 220 books 31:14 and more than $3,000 of earnings. 31:17 Nobody could question the fact 31:18 that the Lord had led in her life 31:20 and for her to be able to go to China. 31:39 Although she was seeing a doctor 31:40 for high blood pressure, 31:42 Gladys was healthy and happily married. 31:45 On Good Friday in 2010 everything seemed normal 31:50 except Gladys was up much later than usual. 31:54 There I'm sitting in the living room 31:56 talking to my friend on the phone. 31:59 Usually, you know, she is not awake, 32:01 she is not-- she is already sleeping 32:03 before, before 10 o'clock and it was 11:30 at night time. 32:08 If you have heard God's words before... 32:12 you know when He is talking to you. 32:14 I was 100 percent sure that God told me to go to ER. 32:20 I'm going to call you back. 32:23 I just told my husband to take me to ER 32:26 without having any pain of any kind. 32:29 I saw that she looked fine to me. 32:31 She didn't look sick or anything 32:33 so maybe inside of me there is some of the fact 32:37 think about maybe inside of me 32:38 I was kind of anxious at the same time 32:39 but then as I was looking her a while, 32:42 she seem kind of serious 32:44 but yet and she got little loud. 32:46 She said, take me to ER. 32:47 I know there has been a bunch of times 32:49 where we could have all easily just been like it's okay. 32:55 Just, you know, get some sleep or take something. 32:58 But for some reason He says that. 33:03 He said something we just thought, 33:04 all right, we got to go. 33:06 And we are driving and I'm telling my husband 33:08 don't stop on any yellow lights. 33:13 About a minute away from the hospital 33:15 I started getting this big pain. 33:18 Jerry, my husband took me into the ER room. 33:22 We tried to register ourselves there 33:25 and things were not working out fast enough for me 33:28 because my head just started to explode. 33:31 I told them to please give me a chair 33:33 because I just felt that I had to sit down 33:35 because its like my legs were weak 33:38 and I just fell really as if I was gonna pass out. 33:42 They brought me a chair and all of the sudden 33:43 I just told them I going to vomit. 33:45 So they got me this bucket in and after a while like crazy. 33:51 When they saw that I was throwing up 33:53 and this pain was just exploding my head 33:56 and they wheeled me into the emergency room 34:01 to put me through the machine for a CT scan. 34:04 I stayed quite about it. 34:06 I just didn't want to hear anything 34:09 bad that was gonna happen 34:10 and then I just was pacing back and forth 34:13 and not knowing what to do. 34:17 When they got me out of there, 34:18 then all the doctors and the nurses 34:21 they all got together to talk about what they found 34:25 and what they were planning to do. 34:27 You know, we went to 34:28 where you were at the room there 34:30 and you had so many things on you 34:31 and stuff that to tell your heart 34:33 and knowing that in the brain waves 34:35 and all that and I didn't want to ask 34:38 what was wrong with you. 34:39 I was afraid to ask I remember, I was afraid to ask. 34:42 Of course, I didn't want to hear bad news about you. 34:49 I remember that she told Jerry, this is serious. 34:55 We got a phone call from the emergency room 34:58 and I was informed by the doctor in call 35:01 that one of my patients had checked into the hospital 35:06 and then they told me the story. 35:08 She had an aneurysm that was rupturing 35:11 and she developed a subarachnoid bleeding 35:13 and chances of someone 35:15 surviving that is maybe one in a thousand. 35:18 And when it ruptures 35:20 the blood gets into your cerebrospinal fluid 35:24 and then you get permanent damage. 35:27 And once it starts bleeding, 35:29 you generally cannot save anybody. 35:31 But they were trying to decide 35:33 which way to take me to Florida hospital in Orlando South 35:37 and by ambulance or by helicopter. 35:41 To tell you the truth I mean, my fear of heights 35:44 and my fear of flying is really, really, really by. 35:48 And since I start to have such a big phobia of flying 35:53 I just asked why the helicopter. 35:57 And she said, oh, because the helicopter 35:59 only takes you in 47 minutes. 36:10 This peace that I had in my heart, 36:12 I mean, it was-- I was not concern about anything, 36:15 I was just relaxed 36:18 which I thought is like I'm shocked. 36:22 Then I just looked at the city of Orlando 36:25 and it looked so beautiful. 36:42 They wheeled me into the hospital 36:45 and from then on I don't recall anything else. 36:51 Aneurysms are like a blister on a blood vessel 36:54 or a bubble on a tire 36:56 and in particular they involve the arteries of the brain, 37:01 a gradual build up is not what typically occurs 37:04 when aneurysm raptures. 37:06 When aneurysm ruptures 37:07 it's just bang right out of the blue. 37:09 And what happens when aneurysm bleeds 37:12 is that the pressure in the head gets so high 37:16 that no blood goes to the brain 37:18 that usually results in death or permanent disability. 37:22 If the patient remains alive after the initial bleeding, 37:26 then they get the attention 37:28 and we diagnose and work them up. 37:30 So like in Gladys' case 37:32 her aneurysm had already ruptured 37:34 when it was discovered and so at that point 37:37 it has a very high chance of bleeding again. 37:40 She has a lot to gain by being evaluated and treated quickly. 37:44 I wasn't even all the way afraid yet. 37:47 I was more like trying to like comprehend what was going on 37:51 like I didn't understand what was going on. 37:54 This is meant to be the, 37:55 an artery of blood vessel in the brain 37:57 and here hanging off the back 37:59 is the bubble that shouldn't be there. 38:01 So it really does look like a bubble on a tire. 38:04 So with coiling 38:06 it's all treated from inside the blood vessel. 38:08 We get into the blood vessel down in the groin. 38:10 Here we drawn another picture with similar aneurysm 38:14 and now inside the blood vessel is a tube 38:17 and that's to represent a catheter. 38:20 We put that into the aneurysm 38:21 and then through that catheter we put in pieces of wire 38:24 that gradually fill up the aneurysm. 38:27 And the goal of the procedure like we said before 38:30 is to prevent the aneurysm from bleeding again. 38:33 And a way to do that is to put in as many coils as we can. 38:37 In general the risks of treating any aneurysm-- 38:41 are the major risks are stroke or death. 38:44 After they told us the procedure 38:45 was gonna take place the next day 38:46 what they would have to do, well, we went back home 38:50 then I actually like felt, it hit me 38:52 like I started getting really depressed and stuff. 38:58 And my son and daughter were really there, 39:00 I know that what they were going through themselves. 39:01 You know, they were, they were silent, 39:04 they couldn't express anything, 39:06 but I know inside of them 39:07 they were afraid that something was gonna happen. 39:10 I kind of dwell on the same similar dots 39:12 over and over again just-- 39:13 it's like, like a loser, you know. 39:25 Saturday I had no-- 39:27 I have no recollections or anything that happened. 39:30 The next thing that I remember is Sunday morning Easter. 39:34 My husband was by my side, he was kissing my forehead 39:38 and I think that his kisses were the ones that woke me up. 39:41 The first time the Dr. Hellinger 39:44 walked into the room, 39:47 the first thing up to me he said his name was... 39:50 You are lucky to be alive. 39:52 You almost died. 39:54 But the thing is that 39:55 it was not only Dr. Hellinger to say about. 39:57 Every other doctor that came in also said the same thing. 40:01 It's like, wow. 40:06 You know, I was still in a shock for a while, 40:08 it took me a long time. 40:09 I could not believe what was happening to her. 40:11 Anytime a nurse or a doctor came into the room, 40:15 I was expecting something negative about her results 40:20 because she was always getting a lot of different tests. 40:23 And one of the nurses that came in, 40:24 she said, "Your wife is going to be here for a while. 40:29 It's going to be weeks, even months." 40:32 Sick patients and the majority of patients are sick, 40:35 meaning they come to us with neurological deficits. 40:38 It's not uncommon for patients 40:39 to be in the hospital for several weeks 40:42 to several months 40:43 and then go through a long rehabilitation process. 40:45 Thinking that she was going to be more than 30 days, 40:48 or maybe two months, 40:49 it was too much for me to even handle, 40:52 so I had to come home 40:55 and just because I didn't want to accept that she was there. 41:00 But the problem is when I came home, 41:02 and I went to the bedroom, you know, she's not there, 41:06 but knowing that she was not there 41:09 and I couldn't see that, I had to go to the family room 41:13 and then sleep in the family room, 41:14 turn the TV on, something, to get away from... 41:17 because I was in shock, really. 41:21 I just want to block it, 41:22 this is just a nightmare, this is a dream. 41:24 I want to wake up and find out that this was only a dream. 41:30 Sometimes I will blame myself 41:31 for the situation that happened to her 41:33 and thought that maybe I was not a good husband. 41:37 I was losing faith in God. 41:40 One day he tell me, he told me, I've always been with you. 41:50 You know, I was asking God, 41:51 please I don't want to see her... 41:53 There are so many days and weeks 41:56 because every time I go to ICU, 41:58 there are so many people, when I pass through, 42:01 that are going through difficult situations, 42:02 some are dying there. 42:04 You know, to me, it felt like just going there every day, 42:08 it felt like months going there. 42:10 It was so difficult, each day was so difficult. 42:12 But one thing I did was, 42:15 well, you know, God, 42:17 I just want to leave it up to you. 42:19 I'm not going to think ahead what's going to happen. 42:22 I am just going to think about now that she's alive, 42:25 and I'll believe that, you know, 42:27 you are going to work it out. 42:33 She was in ICU for about two weeks, 42:35 then she was transferred to a regular room. 42:40 And just as I came in, a doctor comes in 42:43 and he says, "You are leaving tomorrow." 42:47 And I said, "What, leaving tomorrow, 42:48 to another room or what?" 42:50 And he said, "Wait, you are going home." 42:53 And I asked the doctor, 42:55 "Wait a minute, you sure about this? 42:57 She's only been here like two weeks, 42:59 and it almost... and she's already leaving? 43:01 And the doctor goes in a humorous way 43:04 and saying, "Well, you want me to... 43:06 We can keep her longer if you want, 43:07 you know, for several months." 43:09 And I said, "It's okay, doctor. No." 43:11 How's everything, Gladys? 43:13 Pressure, how's your pressure doing now? 43:16 When the doctor, the cardiologist, Dr. Bajaj, 43:19 when he was going through the papers 43:21 and the papers were about this thick 43:24 and he was just looking and looking 43:26 and I was looking at his eyes, as if he was really shocked 43:31 and amazed what was going on. 43:33 Well, he was looking 43:35 and I was trying to see what was going on, 43:39 that if he saw something bad happened or something. 43:41 But this was all the results from the hospital. 43:44 So then he said, "Listen now, I'll be back. 43:49 I want to bring my staff, so they can look at this." 43:53 And a few seconds later he comes back with his staff. 43:56 He says, "She's a living miracle." 44:00 The chances of a patient 44:02 like this to be alert herself, 44:08 to realize that there's something terribly wrong, 44:11 showing up at the right time 44:14 and just when the aneurysm was rupturing could be diagnosed, 44:20 and evacuated, 44:21 and for all these things to work perfectly 44:25 and she not suffer any damage 44:28 and has come out alive is more than a miracle. 44:33 I believe God kept her awake for a reason 44:36 because if she would have gone to bed early, 44:40 she probably wouldn't have survived it. 44:42 This stage of mine, that I was there listening, 44:47 but not reacting, listening but not feeling, 44:51 is like "Wow, God, you are doing this because you love me 44:55 because you know if you let me go through, 44:57 if you allow me to react, 44:59 to all of these things that I'm hearing 45:00 and seeing the doctors." 45:02 They were like concerned, 45:03 it's like I don't think that I would have made it. 45:09 Me by nature, I'm anxious. 45:12 By nature, I'm trying to solve my own problems, you know. 45:18 Yes, I know. 45:24 By nature, I am a person I want to be in control. 45:28 Yes, I know. 45:32 I love my wife more than ever before. 45:34 You know, it's like it's amazing, 45:36 it's like we started dating again. 45:38 That's true. 45:40 You know, as, you know. 45:42 I don't see, call her like my wife, 45:44 it's like my girlfriend, you know. 45:47 And as a matter of fact, we did something great too. 45:51 We renewed our vows, and we had a ceremony. 45:54 We had a wedding 45:56 and all your brothers and sisters 45:58 were there, our friends. 46:00 They came from all over United States. 46:02 Different places they came, 46:03 you know, to share that moment with us, 46:05 and it was a celebration. 46:07 Not only we are together for 32 years, 46:10 but also God giving you life, 46:12 told me that celebration was for you. 46:16 Easter's on that day now has a very special day 46:18 for me, now twice special. 46:21 The resurrection of Jesus and at the same time, 46:23 I feel like I was resurrected too 46:25 because God had given me life one more time. 46:45 My parents noticed that 46:46 I wasn't really making eye contact with them anymore. 46:49 You know, how you smile at your baby 46:51 and you think your baby will smile back and respond. 46:54 I wasn't doing those things. 46:56 I was born into a very normal family. 46:59 I had an older brother. I was born a healthy baby. 47:02 One afternoon, after my parents 47:03 were giving someone a ride home from church, 47:07 we got into a very bad car accident. 47:09 I was thrown from my mother's arms, 47:11 my head hit the dashboard. 47:13 I had a very bad head injury and as a result, 47:17 I was diagnosed with Glaucoma and I lost my sight at 12. 47:22 My parents began to ask God for a miracle 47:26 and they took me to the pastor and had me anointed. 47:29 They fasted and as you can see, I'm still blind. 47:34 I believed that someone who praise 47:37 and asks for a miracle and if they didn't get it, 47:42 do we, that they were expecting, 47:47 you know, that's an opportunity for them 47:49 to be stretched... 47:51 so I began to consider my life 47:53 and you know, I said that I had an older brother. 47:57 He taught me all kinds of things. 48:00 You know, but there was a certain side of his life 48:02 that was not necessarily good either. 48:06 And unfortunately, 48:08 he got himself mixed up in the wrong company 48:12 and got himself killed at a very early age. 48:16 Had it not been for the Lord intervening, 48:20 I may have ended up in a very similar situation. 48:25 I believe our stories would probably be the same. 48:28 And so I look at my blindness 48:30 now as being a blessing, and not a curse. 48:35 You know, blindness for me was 48:37 definitely not a disability in my mind 48:40 but socially it definitely caused some problems, 48:44 until I found music. 48:46 After I found music, a lot of the awkwardness 48:49 that I dealt with socially, fell away. 48:52 And so, I decided, well, it just came to me 48:57 like "Wow, this the way I'm going to make my mark." 49:09 While I was in college, 49:10 I met a guy who wanted to invest in my career 49:15 and his mission was to turn me into a household name. 49:19 He wanted to break my out the box 49:21 and make me into the next TV wonder. 49:24 He didn't come from the University of Miami, 49:26 where he graduated from their music school. 49:30 He had played out in the world, 49:32 you know, he had written songs that Gladys Knight recorded. 49:35 He had done, he had, you know, been around a lot of people. 49:38 I met someone that was opening up a night club 49:42 on South Beach that was owned and operated by celebrities 49:47 and they would have these big celebrities 49:49 that would come in this club every, 49:51 you know, every night or so. 49:53 This is the kind of place that you know, Patti LaBelle, 49:57 Oprah Winfrey, Mike Tyson. 49:59 I had opportunity to meet Mike Tyson several times, 50:03 he would come in there. 50:04 A lot of high profile people would come in there 50:05 and I was the music. 50:14 I decided, well you know, 50:16 I am going to leave this secular scene 50:19 and do it for the Lord, 50:22 and you know, it really wasn't that easy 50:24 because you know, 50:25 nobody really into Christian market knew who I was, 50:29 and I had to figure out 50:30 again how I was going to make my mark, 50:33 'cause see at that point, 50:35 I still thought it was about me. 50:36 When I first met Neville, 50:38 one of the things that impressed me about him so much 50:41 and really made me want to help him was, 50:44 he was working like three jobs. 50:47 He was teaching like three different schools. 50:50 He would get up in the morning. 50:51 I think he had to leave it, 50:52 like get up like five in the morning 50:54 to catch public transportation to get to these schools 50:58 and wouldn't get home until I think, 7, 8, 9 o'clock, 51:02 maybe even later than that every night 51:04 and he was doing that as his full time work, 51:06 and then trying to do the ministry on the side. 51:09 You know, he wasn't trying 51:12 to accept governmental assistance. 51:14 He wasn't trying to take an easy way out, 51:17 and if anybody had a reason to give up, it was Neville, okay? 51:20 If you are blind, everything is 10 times harder. 51:23 So I took care of myself. 51:25 I did my own laundry. I cleaned my own apartment. 51:30 I had clothes organized in my closet. 51:39 "This is Neville." 51:41 I said Neville, what do you doing? 51:42 He said "Oh, I'm vacuuming." 51:44 Now, I'm sitting there in my mind picturing 51:46 how does a blind person vacuum? 51:48 Do they know what they have even gone over 51:50 but yet that spoke a lot to me. 51:52 Neville is living by himself in an apartment down South Florida 51:56 and yet he cared enough about basic things like that, 52:00 that he would be vacuuming to clean his apartment 52:04 before the weekend began. 52:11 When you are not playing in a club 52:12 and you can get a free complimentary meal, 52:15 you know, you don't have the money to stretch like that. 52:19 So I called my mother, I said, 52:20 "You know, Mom, how do you cook rice?" 52:22 So I did exactly what she said 52:24 and while I was like, "Wow, I have rice." 52:27 This is exactly how I learned to cook. 52:30 I'm going to put a little vegetable oil in here. 52:33 Man, I feel like I'm on a cooking channel, man. 52:36 His potato salad was, and I don't think 52:38 my grandmother would be watching this 52:39 but it's better than hers, 52:41 and I mean, he just almost like, 52:43 "Wow, this man can really, really cook." 52:47 I have made this dish for her several times. 52:51 Now she does all the cooking in the house. 52:52 I'm spoilt. 52:54 That's why I love Him 52:57 'Cause you can't find nobody like the God answer 53:01 Hopefully my wife didn't change around her seasonings. 53:04 That's why I praise Him 53:06 That's the curry right there. 53:09 That's why I praise Him 53:13 That's why He is my all and all 53:17 My King of kings, my Lord of lords 53:20 He is good 53:22 He is good He is good 53:25 Hallelujah 53:32 I'm going to make some creamy and dumplings as well. 53:39 When my son first met Neville, 53:41 he said "How can someone like you that can't see, 53:45 how can you cook and do all of these things?" 53:49 and Neville told him, "You see, Christopher, 53:52 you can do anything that you want to do." 53:55 He said "If you trust in God and you believe in yourself 54:00 and believe that you can do anything 54:02 that you put your mind to, you can do it." 54:06 And the sea turn to dry land 54:11 When all confidence gives away to fear 54:18 Who shall... 54:19 He takes it to a whole another level. 54:22 You can hear these other singers and their voices, 54:24 and do you say, "Man, they are really good. 54:26 And then Neville say, opens his mouth, 54:27 starting singing to himself, "whoa." 54:29 Are you faithful to all his comands 54:35 Are you one with Him 54:37 But he sang at the White House, he sang at Carnegie Hall. 54:41 There are not many people 54:42 that ever get to sing at Carnegie Hall, 54:44 and so then we go from those engagements 54:45 back to little tiny churches where there was, 54:48 you know, a handful of people there. 54:53 We were late for a flight one time at the airport 54:56 and we were rushing to get to it. 54:58 And we happen to see an airport worker, 55:00 flight attender or something walking along 55:02 and we ask her where the gate was, 55:04 she told us where it was, and we said thanks. 55:05 We took off run. She stopped us and she said. 55:09 "No, wait, wait. He can't go on the flight." 55:11 And we said "What do you mean? 55:12 We got tickets, we are late for the flight." 55:14 She said "He's been drinking, he can't go on the flight". 55:17 And I said, "He's not drunk, he's blind." 55:22 When I see Neville, I don't see a blind person. 55:24 I don't see someone with limitations. 55:27 I see a normal, beautiful person. 55:29 You know, I do believe that the greatest miracles 55:32 sometimes are not the most visible miracles. 55:36 Because I think a lot of people 55:38 who would probably be in Neville's shoes, 55:40 they would just shrink, they would just give up, 55:44 they would hold their hands up and say, "I can't take this." 55:47 But to be able to get up every day 55:49 and to say "Lord, I'm thankful for what I have. 55:53 I love my family. 55:55 I love what I'm doing for you, 55:56 even though there are challenges 55:58 and there are struggles. 55:59 I think that's the greatest miracle, 56:02 just to be able to know that what you're doing 56:05 effects so many people that are around you. 56:09 There's no anger at God. 56:12 There's no, you know, 56:13 'why me' attitude, feel sorry for myself. 56:18 God is able to reach anyone in any situation 56:24 no matter the circumstances, 56:26 and take a bad situation and make it good. 56:29 And sometimes that good situation doesn't always mean 56:33 that the person would be healed. 56:36 It's a miracle that there's always been a peace 56:41 and an acceptance of like, "I'm okay being blind. 56:46 It's okay." And he really means it. 56:50 Let me take the time to tell you 56:53 What I've seen 56:56 I've seen prayers being answered immediately 57:02 And there are times 57:04 When the waiting seems infinitely long 57:09 And weak and fainting hearts receive 57:12 Strength to be strong 57:15 That's a miracle 57:18 It's a miracle 57:22 They kind it up everyday 57:25 In a personal and special way 57:28 It's a miracle 57:30 I see it's a miracle 57:34 It's a kind that is too obvious for everyone to see 57:40 And the greatest miracle of all 57:45 Is happening to me 57:52 You know, the Bible says, "Every eye shall see Him", 57:56 that includes blind eyes too. 57:59 There aren't many things of which we can be sure 58:05 But let me give you have a dance 58:09 You can't ignore 58:13 I won't stand up reason or two my formal life of sin 58:18 But freedom came my way one day 58:22 And now I'm born again and that's a miracle 58:28 It's a miracle 58:31 They kind it up every day 58:34 In a personal and special way 58:37 It's a miracle 58:39 I see it's a miracle 58:44 It's a kind that is too obvious for everyone to see 58:50 And the greatest miracle of all 58:55 Is happening to me |
Revised 2015-09-28